Bishop Montgomery High School
Knightlife June 5, 2015 XLVIII • ISSUE 6
70 Days of Summer
Left: Fili Diaz ‘16 trains hard with his soccer teammates. Center: Kristen Powell ‘17 meets the director from the show “Joffrey.”
Written by Lourdes Lidzbarski, Interviews by Kassandra Madrigal Photographs courtesy of featured students.
four-day tournament in particular because many college scouts will be present to watch and recruit, including UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UCI, Cal State LA, UC Davis, and Stanford. Every Bishop Montgomery student is accomplished and participates in outstanding activities and programs, but they never forget to leave room for fun! Try to set time aside to relax and make memories, Junior Andrea Guzman is at Lake Havasu, where she will be visiting family, jet skiing, playing soccer, and going on adventures with friends. No matter how you choose to spend your summer, remember to stay safe and uphold the Bishop Montgomery values of justice, truth, and honor!
How Bishop Students Stay Active Even When School’s Out With less than a half a week left in the 2014-2015 school year, the anticipation for summer break is at an all time high and the students are beginning their ultimate push in order to get through finals’ week. Although the stress levels are soaring, this is also a time to start planning all of the fun activities and vacations that we are going to take in our cherished two months. However, to quote the philosophical and groundbreaking television show Phineas & Ferb’s theme song, “The annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it.” While we are not quite capable of building a rocket or fighting a mummy, the following Bishop Montgomery students have some exciting plans that you can use to schedule your own exhilarating, but still effective, vacation, whether
it be through volunteering, summer school, sports conditioning, college visits, or Netflixing. Every other year, the family of Junior Petra Holdbrook-Smith tries to go to family reunions in Ghana, West Africa. She says, “This year we are celebrating my grandparent’s 80th birthday. Also, my dad owns a school for underprivileged children down there, so we go and see how it’s doing during our visit. This year, my sister and I are doing some volunteer work in a hospital where my uncle works.” Similarly, a group of students from Bishop Montgomery often volunteers with the Pediatric Therapy Network’s Camp Escapade program in the summer. The week-long summer camp is designed for children with special needs and it always needs all kinds of volunteers. Past students who have
helped at the event include Kira Iwai ‘15, Spencer Higgins ‘15, Jessica Seto ‘16, Sydney Silva ‘16, Krystine Bernas ‘16, and many more. It is well known in the Bishop Montgomery community that Sophomore Kristen Powell is a talented singer and dancer, so she is attending a five week summer ballet intensive that includes training in flat and en pointe ballet, as well as singing at Nationals in San Jose. Leanna Handley ‘17 will spend her summer developing her faith by traveling to Mexico to build houses with her church and teach impoverished children how to read. It is always a good idea to get a jumpstart on college plans, so Junior Filiberto Diaz is spending his summer attending soccer tournaments. He is training hard for one
Finals, Sleep, and the Real Zombie Apocalypse Your Tips for Survival. Written by Stephanie Trelease. Photographed by Simon Tran.
Reviewing for six classes worth of material can definitely be tricky, but several students have effective methods of studying that still allow for plenty of sleep: Sophomore Angelo Pasco says, “I review things I don’t remember clearly and again right before the test.” Sophomore Carlos Bernal comments, “I review only what I need to memorize or what I don’t know too well. If I know how to do something, I don’t give it a second glance.” He also advises to follow Mark Baldo ‘17 and Natsuki Hishinuma ‘17 feel the effects of finals induced sleep deprivation. According to The National wonder that many suffer with fatigue sleep cycles: “Three, six, and nine hours are the best amounts to sleep Sleep Foundation, only 8% of teenthrough each day. However, as finals the night before a test, as it helps me agers report to sleeping the recomapproach, sleep should be climbing mended nine hours each night. An the list in terms of priorities. Because focus on my day.” Sophomore Natsuki Hishinuepidemic of “walking zombies,” as lack of sleep results in a limited abil- ma emphasizes, “Time management Cornell sleep expert James Maas put ity to concentrate and solve probis extremely important. I don’t really it, is sweeping across American high lems, being well rested each day in schools, resulting from less than sev- preparation for the big tests is crucial. lack sleep because I try to make time to study. I also have my own little en hours of sleep that two-thirds of Preparation for finals comes teenagers manage to accumulate each not just from sleeping, but also from white board, and I study by writing stuff on that.” night. With high-stress classes and a studying. Finals present a real chal Knowing your desired grade myriad of extracurricular activities lenge, especially having to recall a going into the final is a huge motivathat students participate in, it’s little semester’s worth of information. tor to perform well. Students can use 5430 TORRANCE BOULEVARD, TORRANCE, CA 90503 • WWW.BMHS-LA.ORG
the final grade calculator at rogerhub. com to determine what they must score on the final to achieve the grade they want in the class. Prioritizing your classes also helps focus studying on the classes that require more work or more reviewing. The general consensus on finals was the desire to just finish them. Carlos Bernal elaborated, “I feel that finals are the last step to finishing the year. I feel worn down going into them, but getting through them will be that much sweeter afterwards.” Natsuki Hishinuma expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I just want to get them over with.” Finally, as Angelo Pasco so eloquently rhymed, “Finals are whack. I can’t even pick up the slack. I study and get lost. I get pulled in too deep. Maybe it’s the work. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep.” Finals are the last obstacle before summer freedom, and as daunting as they can be, everyone should try their best to do well. It will make the reward of summer even sweeter!
Campus Life
Knights’ Honor Written by Anna Leoncio. Photographed by Yearbook.
Tessa Allen ‘15 competes in the high jump. As the year winds down, so does an eventful year of sports for the Knights. The past year has been full of tense games ending in both magnificent wins, bittersweet losses, and an astounding number of honors for players. The Boys’ Varsity Baseball team advanced to CIF play-offs and brought the game to their home field in a match against Hemet where they, unfortunately, lost 2-0. Despite this, the Bishop community is immensely proud of the team, with special congratulations to Tim Bever ‘15, Austin Garbe ‘15, and Liam Kent ‘15 for being named 1st Team in the All-Camino Real League as well
as Nic Martinez ‘15, Patrick Kohly ‘15, Brendan Marafino ‘16, and Corey Caldwell ‘18 for being named 2nd Team All League. The Boys’ Varsity Volleyball team advanced to CIF as well, advancing to the 3rd round of playoffs until losing to San Gabriel 3-1. Congratulations to Drew Beimel ‘15 , Blake Miles ‘15, and Bryce Tokatlian ‘15 for being named Del Rey 1st Team All League as well as Christian Arevalo ‘16 and Shane O’Donnell ‘15 for being named 2nd Team All League. Great season, boys! The Boys’ Varsity Tennis team had an outstanding season, winning the Del Rey League title for the 6th year in a row thanks to their win against La Salle 13-5. Congratulations to Spencer Higgins ‘15 for winning the Del Rey League Individual Title and to Jonathan Judan ‘15 and Nnaemeka Nadozie ‘17 for winning the Doubles Title. The Track team accomplished a lot this season as well. Justin Moore ‘16 came in with a time of 40.41 to win the league title in the 300 m Hurdles. Josh Brooks ‘17 won the league title for high
New Year, New Clubs Written by Caroline Cusolito. Photographs from featured students
Gillian Miles ‘16 enjoys playing with members from her Volleyball Team. With a school year coming to a close and a new one right around the corner, Bishop has added a total of four new clubs making twenty-five clubs and organizations to chose from in the 2015-2016 school year! Twenty one clubs are returning for next year, including
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American Red Cross, Drama Lab, JSA, Concordia, Key Club, Black & Gold Letterman Club, and International Club. With the addition of four new clubs, two of those clubs are based on Bishop’s athletic program. Under faculty moderator, Miss Featherstone and student
jump. JaNarie Rhambo ‘17 won league titles in both the shot put and the discus. Lastly, special congratulations to Tessa Allen ‘15 who not only won the Del Rey League High Jump title (for the 3rd time), but also continued on to win 2nd place in the CIF-SS Division 4 finals and 3rd place in the CIF Masters in order to qualify for state competition. More congratulations is needed for the Softball team! Anizza Fuentes ‘17, Jamie Garvey ‘18, Andrea Guzman ‘16, and Zia Norris ‘17 for being named 1st Team All League for Camino Real and to
Gillian Miles ‘16 and Kaitlyn Vargas ‘15 for being named 2nd Team. Last but not least, congratulations to the Boys’ Golf Team for finishing the season 10-0 in League and taking the Camino Real League Title. Special congratulations to Scott Von Kanel ‘16 for winning the League Individual title with a playoff score of 152. What a great year for all of our sports teams! The Bishop family is immensely proud of all of you, and we can’t wait to cheer you on next year!
The Boys’ Varsity Volleyball Team shows their appreciation to their fans. representative Gillian Miles ‘16, a new beach volleyball club team will start as of next spring. This team will participate in IBVL (Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League) Varsity Club Beach Volleyball as well as compete against local high schools. They will practice after school at local beaches in the area in preparation for their games and tournaments. Mr. Sheckler will be the faculty moderator for the new Bishop Barbell Club with student moderators Maliek Reed ‘16, Anthony Baeza ‘16, Armando Correa ‘16, and Aidan Gomez ‘16. This club will be open for all athletes interested in participating in strength exercises during their off seasons, as well as any students looking for a way to learn weightlifting techniques. Students will meet in the weight room after school on designated days and times. The third addition to our clubs and organizations is
the Knights Council club whose teacher moderator will be Mrs. Traxler. This club will participate in encouraging prospective students interested in attending Bishop Montgomery to become involved in the shadow program. The fourth new club is the Youth for the Elderly club with Mrs. Morski as the faculty moderator and Daniel Muncherian ‘16 as the student representative. This club will assist the elderly in senior housing facilities, as well as provide entertainment and become involved in helping them with daily activities. We look forward to the addition of these new clubs so keep your eyes open in the fall for clubs that interest you!
Entertainment / Opinion
Avengers: Not an Age of Ultr-Yawn
Written by Theresa Sitter. Photographed by Simon Tran. The much anticipated sequel to the Avengers film series, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the eleventh installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was released on May 1. Like all of the Marvel films the Avengers excels with its outstanding graphics and visual effects as well as a riveting plot that keeps its audiences on edge that was led by writer and director Joss Whedon. Upon its release, the movie grossed $1.3 billion, making it the second highest grossing film of the year, after Furious 7, and sixth highest grossing film of all time. The film begins as Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Banner, who are played by actors Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, try to manipulate a peacekeeping program, Ultron, voiced by James Spader, until things start to go terribly wrong with their plan. Fighting possibly their most challenging and skilled enemy, the Avengers unite together for a war between good and evil. In addition to its epic fight scenes, the film sheds light on the Avengers themselves as individual characters, creating more depth to the storyline and deepening the audience’s connection to the characters for future movies. Sophomore Michael Smet commented, “I was expecting lots of action, and I felt that the movie lived up to the hype! I also enjoyed the Black Widow romance drama.” The film also differs from the first Avengers film by introducing new characters who possess new su-
per powers. Sophomore Rachel Alvarez thoroughly enjoyed the movie and said, ”It was amazing! It was better than all of the Marvel movies put together!” Two more movies are planned to complete the Avengers series- Avengers: Infinity War-
Above: Juniors Sabrina Cruz and Cielo Calderon-Gutierrez imitate their favorite superheroes.
Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War- Part 2, which are scheduled to be released May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019 respectively.
Violent Video Games: Not PS4 Everyone
Written by David Carroll. Photographed by Simon Tran.
Above: Sophomores Joshua Ebel and Carlos Bernal react to each other after playing popular video games.
We have heard it all. Violent video games makes violent people, gives them a higher chance of going to prison, etc. Are these claims legitimate or uninformed remarks? Who are these people and why are they making these claims? Are they trying to protect children or are they people with a malevolent agenda using video games as a scapegoat? Who are the people who support these activists that start to rally around these so called “anti- violent video game leaders?” First of all, studies show that video games don’t cause people to become violent. There have been many different research programs that have shown this,
including one from Gamespot, which stated, “Searches for violent video game walkthroughs and guides were also related to decreases in aggravated assaults and homicides two months later. Finally, homicides tended to decrease in the months following the release of popular M-rated violent video games.” When it comes to homicides, it also says “finding that a young man who committed a violent crime also played a popular video game, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto, is as pointless as pointing out that the criminal also wore socks.” Now seeing that so called “vio-
lent video games” are not making people violent, and the information is false, who would spread this misinformation? The answer: Politicians and news casters. According to the Marin Independent Journal, “District Attorney Ed Berberian is launching a new buyback program where people can turn in toy guns and violent video games in exchange for delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.” Another politician who talked about “violent video games” was Glenn Beck, who worked for Fox News and later Blazenews, and, on live television, commented on the video game Watch_Dogs, a game where the gamer plays as a hacker and hacks imaginary machines by pressing the A button, taught its players how to hack in real life.
The illogical connections portray that politicians crusade against video games to make them appear better to the public and news casters demonize games so they get more traffic on their news sites and channels, which later translates to money. Most of this propaganda is targeted to the parents and grandparents that did not grow up with video games or other forms of technology. We have unveiled the rather unscrupulous spin doctors, but how can we prevent this type of fear-mongering that is done nowadays? These “violent video games” which are rated M for people 17+ and say its for 17+ on the box. In order to buy such games you would need to be 18 or older. If a minor tries to buy a mature rated game they will be required to present a picture ID with the appropriate birth date, unless a parent is present to purchase the game. This is the source of the debate over violence in video games, as many parents do not check the rating and just buy these video games for their kids, later blaming the video game companies for making violent games that children play and complaining about their effects. It is not the game companies’ and politician’s job to decide which games get made, but it is a parent’s job to choose which games are appropriate for their children. In conclusion, the “violent video game” myth was created by older generations fearing new technology, current generation parents not regulating what their children play, and sinister politicians manipulating fear to accelerate their agendas. All we can do is educate parents about how to choose appropriate games for their children in order to create a better connection between generations.
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Campus Life
A Letter from the Editors
It’s Friday afternoon. 1:00pm. The computer lab and a frazzled little Samantha Nishimura walks in to find Alexander Rodriguez, another awkward freshman, working on the layout for the first issue of Knightlife for the school year - it’s already January. At this very moment, a partnership and friendship was born that would put Alex and Sam through a storm of stress, “issues,” people, and pizza parties. Alex and Sam would eventually take over Knightlife near the end of their freshman year and essentially revolutionize the paper with Mr. Hong as their moderator. The two recently graduated, and we asked them to reflect on the past four years of their Knightlife experiences.
From Alex: “Knightlife has been completely life-changing. Working with the staff, Mr. Hong, the students, and the faculty as a writer, photographer, interviewer, supervisor, etc. since freshman year has helped push me out of my shell and evolve into the leader I am today. Knightlife has presented many “issues” - there were many nights that Sam and I were calling each other at 2am Monday morning, lamenting that we had to publish an issue on Wednesday. We were missing four photos, an article, and two pages of the issue weren’t complete. That definitely wasn’t fun, but those occurrences helped us realize what we were doing wrong with Knightlife. As a sophomore, I led Knightlife with such a snobby attitude - I had this inflated ego since I was a sophomore and already in-charge of a club, which wasn’t really that big of a deal. Furthermore, I was very disorganized: we assigned all the articles verbally and had all these random deadlines and that definitely did not work.
So, with some self-reflection that was very necessary for our own development as people and leaders, junior year, Sam and I revamped Knightlife once more. With a staff of 50, we started using Issue Breakdown Handouts which detailed who’s writing what, when is it due, who is taking the photos, etc. We made ourselves very available to our staff and had a secretary who collected all of our staff ’s contact information so we could have better communication. We had a very successful year, including the publication of Bishop’s first 16-page issue! I wrote about that accomplishment in my personal statement! Knightlife made my Bishop experience somewhat more stressful, but so much more rewarding because I have learned so many skills including working with a team, empathizing, mentoring, and leading. I can call myself a leader today because of Knightlife. But most of all, Knightlife has introduced me to some of the best people I have ever met, including the future CoEditors-in-Chiefs (Lourdes Lidzbarski and Anna Leoncio), Sam, and Mr. Hong. It’s been a wild ride with Knightlife but a good one. I hope to see issues of Knightlife for years to come and I will always check up on it as it is my legacy here at Bishop. I’ll definitely use all of my experience from Knightlife on the Daily Cal at UC Berkeley! Thank you for everyone who helped along the way - your participation in Knightlife has helped create one of my favorite life experiences that I will cherish forever.”
From Sam:
“I often reminisce about the first time I attended a Knightlife meeting freshman year, which also happened to be the first time I encountered Alex Rodriguez. At the time, we were nothing more than a pair of ungainly and unremarkable freshmen, a far cry from the brash and overly sassy seniors (college freshmen? high school graduates? lazy loafers who Netflix all day now that graduation has passed?) we have become. Whether or not the personal change has been for the better, well, that’s probably an analysis best left for the likes of a college personal statement. At the very least, we’ve learned to be capable, efficient leaders along the way, although not without encountering our fair share of stress and late night - early morning phone calls. When the previous Knightlife moderator left abruptly in the middle of freshman year, Alex and I were given the task of reviving and running the stagnant newspaper. Personally, this came as a huge
surprise; when I first joined Knightlife I had hopes that I could eventually work my way up to some small position by senior year, but I never expected to be Co-Editor in Chief as a freshman. We were both enthused and encouraged, however, with the success of the small four page paper we released at the end of freshman year. Now, we release regular, monthly issues from a club of over fifty staff members that is entirely self-sustaining and student-run. This year round leadership role demands several hours each week, but learning how to coordinate a large number of students into a cohesive whole, balance diverse talents, settle conflicts, and run meetings has taught me how to be a better leader, listener, and mentor. I see my leadership, the good qualities that I try to cultivate and the bad habits that I try to break, reflected in the staff members’ responses and work ethic. In turn, they challenge me to be a better leader, to work for their good and for the team’s good instead of my own. I’ve come to treasure the sense of camaraderie and teamwork that comes with accomplishing goals together. Being able to give back to the school community through such a fulfilling and creative outlet and learning the benefits of teamwork have made Knightlife one of my most positive high school experiences. I am proud to be a part of such an outstanding team. A big thank you to the amazing Mr. Hong, the hard-working staff, and of course, the fantastic students and faculty who have supported Knightlife the entire way.”
Alexander was the Valedictory Speaker at this year’s Graduation and will attend UC Berkeley, while Samantha was this year’s Senior Awards Speaker and will attend USC. We wish them the best of luck!
Lunchtime Story: A Tasteful Review Written by Carolyn Egekeze. Photographed by Simon Tran. The bell rings at 11:50 sharp. You jump out of your seat and rush to put the books from your last period into your locker. Fighting through the sea of people tha crowd the buildings, you use a combination of fast walking and just a little bit of pushing to speedily get to the snack bar and join the closest line...only to find that there are already twenty other people in line ahead of you. There are just as many people in the other lines, and you wonder why you even bothered to go to your locker in the first place. Letting out a frustrated sigh, you choose a line and move to your spot behind all the others, praying that nachos don’t sell out. Step-by-step you move forward, watching as others emerge with nachos in hand. The wait is made even longer by the fact that five rude people have cut in front of you. Suddenly a strange and ominous thought enters your mind: They may run out of nachos today. After waiting for what seemed like forever, you get to the front of your line. Holding a folded five-dollar bill, you ask, “Can I have some nachos and an Arizona Iced Tea, please?” Your stomach growls while your heart craves nachos. The cashier frowns, preparing to say the words you dreaded the most: “Sorry, we’re out of nachos.” Of course, despite all your efforts, they ran out of your favorite. Bummer, though you end up buying a California burrito that’s almost as good. Sounds familiar, right? While seniors may go to Wendy’s or students may bring homemade lunches, the Snack Bar continues to be a very popular option for students looking to eat a quick snack or a much-needed lunch break, even after a recent price increase. Almost every day, students race to be first in line so they are assured to get what they want. So many students and faculty members rely on the
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snack bar for food that the lines usually extend into the parking lot and sidewalks. Part of the appeal of the Snack Bar is the variety of meal options that are offered. This year, students were able to choose from chicken teriyaki, spaghetti, fettuccini alfredo, sandwiches, burritos, and other hot and tasty lunch options. Those desiring colder or healthier choices picked fresh salads or fruit bowls to eat, or the introduction of ice cream and milkshakes. While not as nutritious, chips, candy, and the ever-popular cookies served as delicious treats during break. The staff serves both teachers and students, foreign and international, the new freshmen and the seasoned senior for a price unseen in many restaurants nearby. The snack bar also accepts debit cards as a form of payment, meaning that students who prefer a card over carrying many bills do not have to go hungry. Rachel Rong ‘16 says, “One of things I liked about the snack bar, besides the food, was the price. You can get a lot of things for cheap and they take cards, which is really helpful for international students.” As a supporter of local businesses, the snack bar also partners with Dominoes to provide pizza as an everyday lunch option. Nowadays, the snack bar also featured a comprehensive breakfast menu that included breakfast bowls, breakfast burritos, french toast, tater tots, and cereal to hungry students who may have forgotten to eat breakfast before leaving the house. While almost everyone wishes that the long lines could move a little faster, members of the Bishop community remain grateful to the snack bar staff for their commitment to offering a wide variety of tasty foods to satisfy the varied palettes of our diverse student body. In these last days of school, don’t forget to thank our hardworking snack bar staff for all they have done this year!
Above: Sophomore Matthew Topacio pours Tapatio on Derek Kido’s burrito.
KNIGHTLIFE STAFF The Knightlife newspaper is published by the Knightlife Club of Bishop Montgomery High School, 5430 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503. Opinions expressed in this paper are not a reflection of those of Bishop Montgomery High School. Knightlife 2014 - 2015 Board Editors-in-Chief: Alexander Rodriguez & Samantha Nishimura Vice Presidents: Lourdes Lidzbarski & Anna Leoncio Photography Executives: Milanne Izawa & Danielle Julifs Secretary: Aimee Myers Art Executives: Kira Coyne & Jackie Nkansah Treasurer: Manaka Sato Media Manager: Sam Thompson Graphic Designer Executive: David Kim This issue: Graphic Designers: Lourdes Lidzbarski, Anna Leoncio Peer Editors: David Macareg, Carolyn Egekeze, Aimee Myers Staff Writers: Anna Leoncio, Lourdes Lidszbarski, Alex Rodriguez, Jacqueline Pistole, Caitlyn Kester, Kayla Ables, Emily Blair, Erin Hall, Kassandra Madrigal, Shelby Richardson, David Carroll, Matthew Cusolito, Isabella Bacoka. Theresa Sitter, Caroline Cusolito, Stephanie Trelease, and Manaka Sato. Staff Photographers: Alexander Arucan, Danielle Julifs, Emily Blair, Erika Akyeah, Isabella Bacoka, Joshua Villalta, Kassandra Madrigal, Kathryn Graz, Libby Hadnett, Lourdes Lidzbarski, Matthew Alcado, Milanne Izawa, Sabrina Supapkooha, Sara Awad, Sebastian Atashi, Sebastian Contreras, Shelby Richardson, Simon Tran, Stephanie Nwaiwu Staff Advertisers: Caroline Cusolito, Jordan Bell, Kayla Ables, Manaka Sato Matthew Cusolito, Sara Awad Advisor: Mr. Hong Proofreaders: Mr. Marafino, Ms. Vigon-Morffi Publisher: Ms. Libbon