Volume 50, no. 2

trailblazer

carson high school

1967

volume 50, no. 2

1980

1982

22328 main st. carson, ca 90745

2000

What’s in a logo? Coming in November...

october 30, 2012

Carson Holds Coach V’s Wake

by Bridgette Jameson

photo editor

Carson High held a wake in memory of Coach Gene Vollnogle on Saturday, October 13, 2012 in the quad and OAR of the Carson Complex.

Coach Vollnogle, “The Winningest Coach Ever”, passed away on Saturday, September 6, 2012 at the age of 81. He was Carson High’s football coach for the first 28 years of being open, but

Memorial picture: Bridgette Jameson; Portrait courtesy: LA Times A wreath and other memorabilia were on display in memory of Coach Vollnogle at his wake. he coached for a total of 47 years.

Eight of Carson High’s L.A. City Section Championships were won with Vollnogle in charge. At Carson High alone, he had 310 victories, 76 losses, and one tie in his career.

Alumni from different classes gathered on the campus;

former students and team members from his time at Banning High and Los Alamitos High put aside their school pride rivalry and came together to celebrate the legacy of Gene Vollnogle.

“I used to sub for him several times; that’s how I first met

him,” our very own Coach Wilson Labasan, who graduated class of 1980, recalled. “He’s always been very nice. I’ve never seen him mad or raise his voice. On the field, things change. But to me he was the nicest person.” (continued on page 5)

Academic Performance Improved

Racquel Baidiango (left) and Frances Bundalian (right) smiling during the walk.

Krystal Cabotaje

30,000 Walk to make a Difference

by Richelle Acebedo

staff writer Over 30,000 people went out to walk in the 28th annual ten km AIDS

Walk that took place on Sunday, October 14 in West Hollywood, CA. AIDS Walk raises money to fund further research in the cure for infection called AIDS. Money is raised through the sponsorships

and donations of the participants.

Founded in 1984 by Craig R. Miller, AIDS Walk has spread throughout the country in cities like Milwaukee, San Francisco and Los Angeles. (continued on page 5)

by Karina Lopez

co editor-in-chief

Carson High school improved by 37 points, amounting to a total Academic Performance Index score of 689 based primarily on CST and CAHSEE testing last school year.

“I’m very proud of the achievement -- that out of the six schools in our area that we compete against, we were number one,” said Principal Dr. Windy Warren.

As a result of the CST’s that freshmen, sophomores, and juniors took last school year, Carson made the highest improvement out of the LAUSD South Bay High Schools.

“Teachers and students took testing more seriously, so we improved... We had a great testing coordinator: Ms. Fataii,” said Dr. Warren.

2

trailblazer

op/ed

october 2012

Men Can Get Breast Cancer, Too

By Mariano Isaac-Garcia

Exchange Manager

In October the first thing we think of is Halloween, and that’s justified with the amount of decoration around the city, but for those who aren’t aware already October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women and about 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Cells in the body reproduce when new cells are needed.

At times cells grow and divide out of control, which can create a tumor. If the cells that are growing out of control are normal cells, then it’s called a benign tumor (non-cancerous tumor). At times the cells are abnormal and do not function like the body’s normal cells, then; this is called a malignant tumor (cancerous tumor). This goes without saying, when we think about breast cancer, why is it only women that we think of?

Men have breast tissue, just not

as much as women. As children, boys New Jersey officially declared Oct. 21-27 and girls have similar breast tissue. “Male Breast Cancer Awareness Week” Once we hit puberty, high testosterone to help spread the word that breast and low estrogen levels stop breast cancer isn’t only a women’s disease. development in all males. Some milk Men have a high risk of a ducts exist disease very but they just similar remain unto breast developed. cancerMen’s risk of prostate developcancer. If ing breast anyone cancer is 1 was aware, in 1,000. Far September less than the is Prostate occurrence Cancer in women Awareness but not Month.

I rare, just honestly uncommon. w a s n ’ t There is no “I might have breast cancer? Does that make me a girl?” aware of doubt that we Drawn by Megan Florescamyself, and do overlook in case anythe fact that men get breast cancer one else didn’t know, black is the too. Not much publicity goes towards signature color for prostate cancer. raising awareness for male breast Small steps are shining through so cancer, but Governor Chris Christie of that men can finally come out of the

What Do You Care About Most?

40

40

15 AEE 7 AMA 18 CHS

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# of students

30

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9 AEE 10 AMA 8 CHS

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11 AEE 9 AMA 13 CHS

shadow of pink. Enforcing that men should also “check their pecs” for early symptoms of breast cancer are critical.

For more information refer to this website, http://www.cancer. org/cancer/breastcancerinmen, equipped with a detailed guide of causes, prevention, early detection, treating, and many more.

Laid out on the web site is support and treatment along with an opportunity to explore research and get involved in their community.

Feel free to call the toll-free number 1-800-227-2345.

trailblazer staff 2012-13 Editors-In-Chief Karina Lopez & Francis Espina News Editor Dylan Angel Opinions Editor Thea Cabrera M. Features Editor Kate Masancay Sports Editor Matthew Mata Entertainment Editor Samm Streitfeld

10

Copy Editors James Copeland, Josh Cinco, Julia Cruz

Halloween

Breast Cancer

Politics

Letters to the Editor Have any comments about the newspaper or anything happening in the school? Do you need your voice to be heard? Write a letter to the Trailblazer and have it published here! All letters to the editor must include the writer’s name and contact information. The Trailblazer reserves the right to edit content for appropriateness and length. We also reserve the right not publish the story but rather have it posted online on our web site.

Editor notes

corrections from previous paper

The Features section apologizes for failing to acknowledge Ms. Kimble’s new Forensic Anthropology class.

Ms. Kimble William’s new Anthropology class at J11 takes you deep into crime scenes and investigations. Ms. Williams takes her students through crime scenes and being able to scan finger prints, blood tests, skeleton remains, and autopsies. Ms. Kimble, with a background for forensics and autopsies wants to show students cool and neat ways to enjoy school for global business and law and justice.

Business Managers Claudia Curiel, Cesar Oropeza Photo Editor Bridgette Jameson, Teresa Ortega Computer Technician Jordan Sayson Staff Writers Richelle Acebedo, Vanessa Aragon, Ivan Barragan, Demme Carter, Santino Chavez, Steven Crespo, Lawrence Dizon, Madel Flores, Alexandria Herrera, Pamela Isidro, Alonso Jimenez, Fatima Larios, Kyle Lee-Garcia, Ian Lina, Leony Mijares, Dakota Morales, Alexander Noriega, Genesis Reyes, Cassandra Rodriguez, Justin Rojas, Mary Santomin, Justin Silva, Levaivaialii Tiliaia, Alexa Vazquez, Aldo Vega

october 2012

trailblazer

op/ed

3

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

By Richelle Acebedo and Claudia Curiel

staff writer & Business Manager

I believe it’s unfair how men are able to buy a costume that is funny, scary or masculine. When I visited Party City to shop for a humorous costume, I checked for “funny women’s”. To my surprise, I found clown costumes with a sultry feel to them.

So I checked “men’s funny costume”

Now that it’s the month of October everybody begins to think about what to be for Halloween. It’s the time of the year when the kids are able to be their favorite superhero and guys can be the famous cartoon character, Popeye the Sailor, where they show off the muscles they wish they had; but what about the ladies?

Party City and other Halloween costume stores provide a variety of costumes for the male department that range from being a simple doctor to a hilarious Shrek costume. However, in the female department, what we all usually find is the skimpy nurse or breast revealing cop. Why is it that for women the assump- Drawn by Nancy Chavez tion is automatically made that we can only dress and I found many hilarious costumes up in skimpy or flashy costumes? that I wished they had made specially

Should I Care About Politics?

tus saying “Watching the Presidential Debate. #Obama #4Moreyears” When

staff writer my friends and other students do that Should we be concerned about on Facebook all I see is “Skimming what’s going on in the world of poli- through channels oooh Presidential tics? It does affect us in a way, right? Debate #Ignorance” I’m not saying I’m Some don’t see it but, I do. Some stu- “Mr. Politician” because I don’t have dents just go with the flow, with what the full time to watch everything and their parents, teachers, or even peer’s get everything right on politics because say; they hop on the bandwagon like I’m busy in school. But at least I unalways. We see people up for Demo- derstand what’s going on in the world. crats but is there anyone up for ReWhat I’m trying to get across to publicans? I wonder why we students you is educate yourself as boring and don’t care too much about politics? dull as it may sound its better than beEvery election matters and affects all ing oblivious to about everything. It’s of Ameriour future, so “But at least I understand what’s cans not understand just those what people going on in the world.” who can are voting for vote. We can’t do much but that doesn’t and see if it will affect us from Govmean we should be uninformed teens ernor Romney. We should actually do and feed off of each other’s beliefs. We our own research and get into politics should look into it more and really more because when we are older we see and understand what’s going on. will understand more about politics Some think, ‘Most of us can’t even and how we each have to do our part vote yet because we are minors. So with voting and realize how our votes why should we?’ Well that may be matters. Read the newspaper, watch true but don’t be ignorant and skim the news, and get informed. If you turn through channels and update your sta- 18 before November, register to vote!

By Steven Crespo

for women. I was so shocked by this; I checked at other stores such as Target and Wal-Mart. It’s clear that we are dealing with a double standard. Sure, it’s a good thing that men are able to dress up in these costumes that provide a positive appeal to most audiences, but it does not feel right that women

are instantly assumed to have a certain look on Halloween. Although

there is nothing wrong with having costumes that show skin, it would be great if stores carried more variety to their costumes for the other women who want to dress scary or funny or something that would empower them than rather degrade them. Is there a deeper meaning on why mostly all the costumes are put together this way?

There has been improvements from back then to when women were viewed in a way that they were only good for housework, sure, that’s true, however nowadays we have seemed to improve. However, based off of these costumes on Halloween, this proves how society still has a biased view on how women are viewed as sexual objects.

If we keep sexualizing the human body, we will never become equal genders. If we viewed each other equally, something as simple as costumes can be solved, and the existence -of double standards will finally be gone for good.

E-Books Should Be Banned

cate the device, and I think that maybe the librarian did not see it. After that

copy editor day, I saw several students that were Cell-phones, as we all know, are using their E-Readers inside the cambanned in school since it is a pus. I started to think that they are huge distraction for us stu- allowed in school but then I rememdents, but why not E-Readers? bered the deans’ policy that says: E-Readers are portable electronic de- “electronic devices are subject to convices like cell-phones, but they have fiscation,” meaning all electronic delimited capabilivices will be confisties. E-Readers “It should be banned be- cated if it is out and primarily de- cause you’re in school to seen by the dean. signed for readSeeing students ing books, mag- learn important things bringing their Eazines, journals, and follow rules not break- Readers inside the newspapers and school, I wonder any other peri- ing it by using electronic why deans are not odicals. I mainly confiscating it. I devices inside the school use my E-Reader think it is unfair for reading stuff that they are not premises.” but now with taking it, because the revolution of E-Readers, compa- E-Readers are electronic devices just nies are adding more features into like cellphones. They can access interit like games and applications mak- net and offer games that are enticing ing us students crazy about it and and distracting for students. It should distracts us from just reading on it. be banned because you are in school to Lunchtime, I was reading a book at learn important things and to follow the library when a student sat beside rules not breaking it by using electronme and took his Kindle out and start ic devices inside the school premises. reading. I even saw the librarian sitting on his chair but he did not confis-

By Vanessa Aragon

4

op/ed

trailblazer

october 2012

Debate About the Debate

Round 1

Round 1

Oh, Mr. President, oh how you have disappointed droves of Democrats. In this first presidential debate, held on October 3rd at Denver University, the president seemed to have arrived unprepared and was unassertive; he let his head down and wrote notes during the debate.

A strategy he used was to attempt to link Romney to policies that were used during the George W. Bush administration, then alluded to Bill Clinton’s presidency when talking about himself. Clever. He also pointed out the holes in Romney’s policy plans, saying, “Is the reason Governor Romney is keeping all these plans secret, is it because they’re going to be too good?...No.” Obama reinforced the pre-existing beliefs he holds, like stressing the importance of strengthening the middle class. These debates seem to begin in one place, trail off, and end up on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. What else can you expect from presidential candidates who have such little time to get their point across? More discussion about tax policy, of course! Oh, and two additional debates.

Overall, there was much left to be desired on the president’s side, and personally I was waiting for him to make a clever remark or deliver a devastating blow.

The first debate took place in Denver, Colorado on October 3. Mitt Romney appeared to be very dominant in the first debate, however I still didn’t buy anything that he said. He also has a horrible tendency of constantly switching sides on important issues. During the debate he claimed that he wanted to help middle-class families, but back in May during a fundraiser, he said that 47 percent of Americans will vote for Obama regardless because they’re dependent upon the government. This kind of inconsistency is exactly why he doesn’t belong in the White House.

During the debate, Romney also claimed to have a better health care plan than the one that’s in effect right now, but he refuses to release any details about his health care plan. You should also keep in mind that “Obamacare” was originally introduced by Mitt Romney when he was still the governor of Massachusetts so therefore Romney is basically against his own health care plan.

Overall, I believe Romney really did win the first debate. He was a lot more aggressive than the president and a lot more energetic but he still hasn’t won my support and I really doubt that he will be able to.

Oh, Mr. President, oh how you have disappointed droves of Democrats. In this first presidential debate, held on October 3rd at Denver University, the president seemed to have arrived unprepared and was unassertive; he let his head down and wrote notes during the debate.

A strategy he used was to attempt to link Romney to policies that were used during the George W. Bush administration, then alluded to Bill Clinton’s presidency when talking about himself. Clever. He also pointed out the holes in Romney’s policy plans, saying, “Is the reason Governor Romney is keeping all these plans secret, is it because they’re going to be too good?...No.” Obama reinforced the pre-existing beliefs he holds. These debates seem to begin in one place, trail off, and end up on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. What else can you expect from presidential candidates who have such little time to get their point across?

Overall, there was much left to be desired on the president’s side, and personally I was waiting for him to make a clever remark or deliver a devastating blow.

The second debate took place in Hempstead, New York on October 16. Mitt Romney didn’t appear to be as dominant in the second debate as he was in the first one which is probably because the president appeared to be half asleep in the first debate.

Mitt Romney was as vague in the second debate as he was on the first.

Romney started talking about a five-point plan that he claims will fix our nation, but the only problem is that he never explained what those five points were, therefore I really doubt that this magical five-point plan actually exists.

Romney was also as rude in the second debate as he was on the first one. He not only interrupted the president but he also interrupted the moderator throughout the entire debate.

Yet again Romney said something that many people will remember for a long time. During this debate, Romney coined the term “binders full of women”. This term was used to describe how many women were qualified to become members of his cabinet. Somehow I feel that he’s not going to get a lot of female support.

Overall, Romney didn’t do as well in this debate as he did in the first one.

Nowhere to be found. Mr. Obama who showed up to the first presidential debate could not possibly be the same man as President Obama who inhabited the third!

The debate did not seem like a debate at all; more like two old pals who secretly hate each other, discussing politics over brunch, agreeing to disagree.

Mr. Obama poked holes in Romney’s elusive plans. An editorial published in the Times October 23, went as far as to say that Romney has no “real ideas on foreign policy beyond what President Obama has already done.”

Obama delivered some devastating blows. The president expressed no hesitation in portraying Romney as more of a socialite than a presidential candidate. Referring to his visit to Israel as a candidate back in 2008, Obama said, “I didn’t take donors; I didn’t attend fund-raisers.”

Highlight of the night was when Romney mentioned our Navy has fewer ships than it did in 1916. The president replied, “we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed…[it’s] not a game of Battleship [or] counting ships.”

The outcome of Election Day seems predictable, but I hope that I’m not jinxing anything. President Obama, I look forward to four more years of your presidency!

The third presidential debate took place on October 22 in Boca Raton, Florida. Mitt Romney, in the third debate, was like Barack Obama in the first debate. Romney and Obama agreed on most of the issues that were addressed which made this a fairly uninteresting debate.

Mitt Romney wasn’t nearly as aggressive or rude as he was in the other two debates. He would’ve usually interrupted either Obama or the moderator, but he didn’t interrupt anybody this time; in fact he was pretty quiet throughout the debate. Romney was just as vague as he was in the other two debates, and once again didn’t release any details about how he is going to put his plans into motion.

Romney also believes Russia still to be a threat even though the last conflict with Russia was resolved in 1991.

After watching all three presidential debates, I would have to say that the overall winner of the debates was Obama. Romney won the first debate but after that Obama started to retaliate; Romney never gave out any specific answers in any of the three debates. I strongly doubt that how Romney presented himself at the debates will have an effect on Election Day.

“Anybody out there can check the record. Governor Romney, you keep on trying to airbrush history here.”

Barack Obama

“This kind of inconsistency is exactly why he doesn’t belong in the White House.”

Aldo Vega

Round 2 Round 3

Written By Teresa Ortega Photo Editor

Round 2

Round 3

Written By Aldo Vega Staff Writer

october

2012

trailblazer

Presidential Debates 2012

In the first presidential debate, held on October 3, 2012, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney discussed contemporary issues.

“I think it’s important for us to develop new sources of energy here in America, that we change our tax code to make sure that we’re helping small businesses and companies that are investing here in the United States,” said Obama.

The president says he wants small business to thrive and the middle-class to be able to spend more. He acknowledged that cutting taxes allows the middle-class families to spend more thus helping business.

“My plan has five basic parts,” says Romney about his approach. “One, get us...North American energy independent...Number two, open up more trade, particularly in Latin America...Number three, make sure our people have the skills they need to succeed and the best schools in the world... Number four, get us to a balanced budget. Number five, champion small business.”

While they do share some of the same goals, questioned each other for inconsistencies in each other’s respective plan. Obama attacked Romney for not definitively saying how he would execute his plan; Romney attacked Obamacare saying that it added additional taxes.

“How do we get schools to be more competitive? Let’s grade them,” said Romney. “I propose we grade our schools so parents know which schools are succeeding and failing, so they can take their child to a school that’s being more successful. I don’t want to cut our commitment to education; I wanted to make it more effective and efficient.”

When it came down to education President Obama and Gov. Romney each stated their own approach.

“I’ve also said let’s hire another hundred thousand math and science teachers to make sure we maintain our technological lead and our people are skilled and able to succeed,” said Obama. “And hard-pressed states right now can’t all do that. In fact, we’ve seen layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers over the last several years, and Governor Romney doesn’t think we need more teachers. I do, because I think that that is the kind of investment where the federal government can help.”

As the debate closed, both candidates said their thanks and summarized their plan.

Debate 1

The second presidential town hall debate took place on October 16, 2012 in Hosftra University in New York, where undecided voters asked the presidential candidates their questions.

This debate followed a different format, allowing audience participation. The first question was asked by a 20-year-old college student Jeremy Epstein, about how he will be able to support himself after he graduates.

“We have to make sure that we make it easier for kids to afford college,” says Romney.

“And also make sure that when they get out of college, there’s a job.”

What Romney did not mention is how he plans to do something like that.

“I want to build manufacturing jobs in this country again,” Obama says. “Now when Governor Romney said we should let Detroit go bankrupt. I said we’re going to bet on American workers and the American auto industry and it’s come surging back.”

Obama definitively outlines his goals of adding manufacturing jobs, emphasizing the importance of college and creating our own energy. He also addressed wages for women.

He highlights that Romney had deferred his opinion of the bill when he was asked.

From all things said, Romney delivered a famous line.

“We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet,” Romney said. “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

In a mix of words, the phrase “binders full of women” became instantly popular.

The debates ended with a final word on Obama’s and Romney’s character.

“I care about 100 % of the American people. I want 100 % of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future. I care about our kids,” said Romney.

“I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative and risk takers being rewarded. But I also believe that everybody should have a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same rules, because that’s how our economy’s grown,” said Obama.

Debate 2

The third presidential debate was on October 22, 2012 in Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida where the presidential candidates tackled issues centered on both domestic and foreign policy.

There were several instances where both candidates agreed on issues; however, differing tension was still evident. It is also believed that Romney deemed himself as a not-so-knowledgeable candidate in regards to foreign issues.

The first topic of debate focused on issues regarding the Middle East.

“I congratulate [Obama] on taking out Osama bin Laden and going after the leadership in al-Qaeda. We’re going to have to put in place a very comprehensive and robust strategy to help the world of Islam and other parts of the world reject this radical violent extremism which it’s really not on the run. It’s certainly not hiding,” said Romney.

In response, Obama said, “We ended the war in Iraq, refocused our attention on those who actually killed us on 9/11. And as a consequence, al-Qaeda’s core leadership has been decimated. In addition, we’re now able to transition out of Afghanistan in a responsible way, making sure that Afghans take responsibility for their own security, and that allows us also to rebuild alliances and make friends around the world to combat future threats.”

Several issues regarding the U.S. Military were also hotly debated on.

“Our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now at under 285. We’re headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That’s unacceptable to me,” said Romney.

“You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916.Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them.We have these ships that go underwater—nuclear submarines,” said Obama. His rebuttal was widely received by viewers.

“The debate couldn’t have come on a better time, it being the 50th anniversary of the night that President Kennedy told the world that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba,” after which moderator Bob Schieffer said, “it is a sobering reminder that every president faces at some point an unexpected threat to our national security from abroad.”

Debate 3

news

5

Coach V ‘s Wake (cont’d from pg. 1)

Many members of the community gathered together to share stories of their experiences with Vollnogle: good times, sad times, hard-working times—anything and everything about Gene, people were willing to share.

Age didn’t play a part in who showed up to the event either. The legacy of Coach Vollnogle spread from older teachers that were at the school the same time as Vollnogle, to younger children that had been told stories of what he had done.

“It was the small things that taught us unity,” said Ernie Enesi, a class of 1975 alumna.

Gene Vollnogle Stadium was a small part of the wake, which many alumni didn’t know was located at Carson High. What had started in March 2011, the stadium was not finished until August. September 2, 2011 marked the first game played in the new stadium.

Tina Frondarina-Richardson, class of 1972, said, “He was truly an icon that was well respected and loved by all. Aloha.”

AIDS Walk (cont’d from pg. 1)

Out of the thirty thousand participants, there were four Carson High organizations attendees (National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Toyota Organization for the Development of Latinos and Key Club). There was an estimated 100 Carson High students that attended in this year’s walk.

Key Club President and fourth time walker Dean De Dios said, “At first, the walk was exhausting, but it felt good to be there because I was able to be one of the many thousands of people there that were able to make a difference.”

The walk was 10 kilometers and took about 3 hours to finish. Within the walk, there were three different checkpoints where the participants were able to grab a snack or a water bottle from volunteers for the event.

“AIDS Walk is a good and fulfilling experience because you’re doing it for a good cause”, junior Jeffrey Orejana said. There were many diverse representatives from plenty of areas around California that came together to walk and make a difference.

trailblazer Gen-J Day at CSUN

6

features

By Karina Lopez editor-in-chief Carson HIgh School’s Trailblazer staff visited CSU Northridge for High School “Gen-J” Journalism Day and AdviserFEST at California State University, Northridge on October 20, 2012.

“It was pretty fun,” said News Editor, Dylan Angel.

The conference consisted of a competition and various workshops with guest speakers from the Los Angeles Times, ABC 7, KPCC and more.

“It [visual journalism] introduced a completely different form of story telling through pictures and videos,” added Editors Thea Montejo and Kathleen Masancay.

Carson High had three winners from three different categories: Mariano Isaac-Garcia received third place for photojournalism, Samm Streitfeld won first place for opinion writing and I, Karina Lopez, won second for news writing.

october 2012

“Opinion writing is very natural to me and since I took AP English Language, I was already prepared for writing opinions - it was hard picking the topic though, time restraints forced me work harder,” said Streitfeld.

Walking into room 206 at Northridge, the computers are aligned four computers in five rows. The supervisor, Taehyun Kim was present only to play the Youtube video and to watch. Unknown to the Carson students, they had walked into a competition without acknowledgment about the subject or how to go about the assignment.

“I was freaking out, it was so unexpected, and I was emotionally unpreBRIDGETTE JAMESON pared,” Bridgette Jameson said.

TRAILBLAZER VICTORY: Karina Lopez, Samantha Streitfeld, and

Students Shantell Atienza, MiMariano Isaac-Garcia hold up their certificates. chelle Franco, Aiza Espanola, Elsy Gutierrez and Jemimah Beltran from Academy of Medical Arts were also present at the event, representing their online newspaper The Pulse.

“I learned that connections are extremely important,” said Teresa Ortega.

Tisian Nealy TOP: Second -place photo journalism winning photo.

Marianno Isaac-Garcia LEFT: Third-place photo journalism winning photo.

Award-winning “opinions” article:

By Samantha Streitfeld entertainment editor What has education in America become in the last few years? States are endlessly competing against each other to see who can achieve the best grades, the most “points”, and the highest test scores – that are supposedly meant to measure a school’s competency. Obama’s Race to the top plan has only resulted in transforming educational facilities into test-taking factories. It should be put to an end in order to allow schools to create and maintain their own academic structure that they find fit for their students and faculty.

Race to the Top instills the idea into students that the amount of “points” their school achieves measures their intellectual capability. It also embeds the idea that education in our schools will only strive to develop if it is funded properly. Our schools are not meant to measure us, compare us, and test us to determine our academic achievements. An educational revolution needs to be called upon.

Although schools have improved because of the new test-taking policies, we are still deprived of a flourishing education that is supposed to teach us how to teach ourselves. Instead of being captains of our own ships and exploring our own potential, we are being deemed capable or incapable of having a fundamental future.

Our education is not a black-and-white, competitive procedure. Thriving, young adults are not robots who feed off of textbooks and textbooks of information only to regurgitate it into an A-B-C-D way of thinking. Yes, Race to the top has benefited how our states look, but underneath that surface are merely making educators and students who are making an effort – when funded – to meet expectations that don’t benefit our well-being.

There is nothing wrong with having a little competition in education. Race to the top has, in fact, motivated schools nationwide to strive for progress and to instill new, innovative curriculums. It has successfully turned some low-performing schools around and it has also led to demonstrating more efficient preparation for instruction. However, this “push” o achieve greater has slowly resulted in an unwanted force that has turned many of us into bitter, “hard” workers who have no room left for zeal, patience, and exploration. We have been routinized down to our very essence, stripped of our character and replaced for our measurements.

Race to the top has not benefited us as individual educators, students, and leaders. It has put on a façade of glory and status and eliminated our power to be in control of our intellectual capability. There needs to be an end put to it soon, before our nation’s children and teens become adults who never knew what it was like to be truly cultivated.

trailblazer

october 2012

features

7

If you haven’t noticed already, the living dead have taken full control of Hollywood. From The Walking Dead and Zombieland to True Blood, The Vampire Diaries and Twilight, it’s safe to say these monsters are out for the real world next. The end of the world is coming after all, and no one can say exactly who’s going to be controlling the post-apocalyptic days after December 21.

It might be zombies, it might be vampires. Just in case, etch these survival tips in your mind. You might just need it.

how to survive a

zombie

apocalypse 1. Find a safe refuge. A space with concrete walls, locked windows, heavy doors, and tons of food, water and medicine (do I smell Costco?).

2. Cardio. Pass your physical fitness exam folks, a lot of running is necessary for survival. We’ve all seen Zombieland. Zombies nowadays can run.

vampire apocalypse

1. Vampire-proof your house. A lawn abused by loads of crosses (or a symbol for every religion because not all vampires are Christians) , plethora of garlic and a sprinkler that bursts holy water wouldn’t hurt.

2. Always have the following things at arm’s reach: holy water, crucifix, wooden stake, a gun and silver bullets.

3. Stock up on artillery, fuel and ammunition. This is a no brainer. We’re in America people, the land that spends billions on these things over anything.

3. Don’t trust anyone who looks like blood was drained out of their skin (even if he looks like Robert Pattinson).

4. Consider having a stationed boat—or while you’re at it, a yacht. Do zombies swim? Yeah, didn’t think so.

4. Create underground tunnels to use as passages…just make sure vampires don’t find out.

5. Self defense lesson via Zombieland: douple-tap.

5. Learn the ways of swift decapitation. Make sure to burn the remains.

6. Zombie-proof your clothes a.k.a. smear the blood of a dead body on your clothes. This is most helpful when you need to cross a sea of zombies to open a gate or get more food. If you smell like a rotten human your chances of being chowed on deacrease.

6. Don’t fall “unconditionally and irrevocably in love” with one (again, even if he looks like Robert Pattinson).

7. Don’t hide out forever in one place; zombies can collect outside your doorstep pretty quick. Have several hideouts!

7. If you still can’t tell who’s a vampire or not, carry a mirror. These beautiful and handsome creatures are miracle workers. They look so divine yet can’t reflect off a mirror.

8. Not bleeding would boost your survival a whole lot.

8. Learn the ways of Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild). Desperate times call for desperate measures.

9. For the Sam and Dean Winchesters (Supernatural) out there, track the Alpha and kill it (disclaimer: it’s not going to be easy).

9. Baseball bat. Guns run out of ammunition. A Louisville slugger won’t.

10. DON’T INVITE THEM IN. They can be out there for days, but if you don’t invite them into your house, they can’t come in.

10. The obvious: don’t get bit.

Halloween Pollution?

By Claudia Curiel business manager

How in the world does Halloween affect the environment? Well, there are multiple factors that contribute to this issue. Since Halloween is the second biggest consumer holiday, many people go out of their way to buy candy, store-bought costumes and pumpkins. Some people celebrate with bon fires and fireworks. There are good and bad aspects to keep celebrating the way we traditionally do.

KNOTT’S HAUNT: HYPE It’s alright. Many people knew about it, but said they weren’t going.

LOCATION Buena Park, CA MAZES 13 THRILL FACTOR 6/10 SCARIEST Uncle Willy’s Slaughterhouse.

CARDIO & CRAWLING No, a few yelps and screams were all that was needed for the night.

WORTH THE HYPE Yes NOTEWORTHY Trapped is a maze with a VIP fee and a signed waiver—it combines both elements of a terrifying Haunt maze where monsters can touch you AND Fear Factor, because they can feed you too.

The good aspect of celebrating Halloween with candy and store bought costumes is that they help the economy. In 2011 Americans spent $2 billion on candy alone. With children getting sugar rushes and rotting off their teeth; dentist have more teeth to fix creating for them. Having individually wrapped candy makes Halloween a lot safer because there are people that inject drugs to the candy.

The bad aspect of celebrating Halloween the traditional American way is that the candy wrappers and store-bought costumes are not bio-degradable. This means that they are plastics which take thousands of years to fully decompose thus, hurting our planet.

When people celebrate Halloween by going to the

UNIVERSAL HORROR NIGHTS: HYPE Surprisingly, it’s alright.

LOCATION Hollywood, CA MAZES 6 THRILL FACTOR 7/10 SCARIEST Texas Chainsaw Massacre CREEP FACTOR In your face CARDIO & CRAWLING Not unless you’re REALLY vulnerable WORTH THE HYPE Yes. Movie-inspired mazes, foggy scare zones, clowns with chainsaws, killer bunnies—it was very well worth the scare.

NOTEWORTHY TRAIT Terror Tram was invaded by the Walking Dead

beach and burn up fireworks and bonfire works; it pollutes our earth’s atmosphere. The air pollution in Los Angeles is not foreign to us but if we are aware of this, why do we keep doing it?

In order for our species to survive global warming, we need to address simple issues such as Halloween.

A solution to this issue is to create your own costume (which is what the Halloween spirit is all about) keep the candy to a minimum and when finished with the candy wrapper, throw it away in a recycle bin. If you start with yourself by doing these simple actions, you will help save our human existence. Because in reality earth is not in danger of dying, the human species is. Act local, but think local.

SIX FLAGS FRIGHT FEST: HYPE Pretty hyped LOCATION Valencia, California RIDES Rollercoasters and rollercoasters MAZES 8 SCARIEST The Aftermath THRILL FACTOR 7/10 CREEP FACTOR Monsters were “in your face” WORTH THE HYPE Definitely worth the hype!

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features

our

trailblazer

october 2012

PINK RIBBON our very own...

By Justin Silva staff writer

Mrs. Susan Ghotra and Mrs. Haydee Hart founded themselves in a long-fought battle against cancer and won.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual national health movement arranged by cancer survivors, patients and charities with the intention of spreading awareness of the life-threatening disease.

Mrs. Hart went to the emergency room in late November 2010 because she felt a pain under her harm. She was told by the ER doctor to not worry about it as it was just a swollen lymph node and to put a warm compress on it.

Mrs. Hart asked for a referral for a breast specialist, but he refused. She looked the doctor in the eye and exclaimed, “Doctors get paid regardless whether there is something or nothing, so me a f*cking referral.”

She was given the referral and got to see the specialist in early December, but a biopsy had to be performed. The waiting period was really a nerve-wracking experience for her especially since she had not told anyone. In January 2011, it was confirmed that she had stage 2A breast cancer and opted to have her breast completely removed.

It hit her that she had cancer when she was going to pick up her daughter, and thought, “who was gonna pick her up now?”

She had her surgery seven days later, and six months of chemo followed. She only missed eight

days of work because her husband would not drive her and took a surprised trip to Guam, courtesy of her sister.

She got through it with the support of her husband, family, friends, staff, cheer girls, students and parents.

“I had my faith and left it to God. I wasn’t going

to give up. I wanted to make others laugh and raise awareness that cancer is air-born and the surrounding environment and foods contribute to cancer. We all have a sixth sense and I am glad I pushed the issue with my doctor,” She says, “it bothers me when people give me the title “cancer survivor” because I didn’t survive it, I conquered it.”

Mrs. Ghotra was devastated when she got the news that shed had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. “ I knew something was wrong and I did tests in December of 2007. The doctor told me that it was nothing, and that my blood cancer markers were up slightly and I had scar tissue,” she says. “When they finally discovered it was cancer during exploratory surgery. I was devastated, you know, to face death.”

Mrs. Ghotra explained how she had to sacrifice teaching for six months, being with her pets, giving up helping others and just focusing on taking care of herself and, of course, her hair. She had been in chemo for 18 weeks, losing red blood cells, getting weaker and weaker.

“I did a lot of resting, took many shots and had a hard time walking. I had no energy,” she says.

She clarified that her cancer was hereditary genetic mutation.

Her mother and sister had been previously diagnosed and passed away from the disease. She now has a tattoo with a ribbon that’s colored half teal and half pink, representing ovarian and breast cancer, and two tear drops honoring her mother and sister. She is also currently invoved with support groups and organizations.

“I wanted to be an advocate to encourage families with a history of cancer. I want to advocate health and surveillance, Doctors didn’t understand even after many tests. From the look outside, you just don’t know. I want to good in the world. I want to enjoy life,” she says.

There’s a fine line between being alive and actually living. If there’s something one can take from this, it’s to forget that life’s a beach. When the waves kick, surf ‘em! Soak in the little things. Let cancer be the example that life is short and it’s all on you to live it.

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october 2012

features

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RACQUEL BADIANGO COLT SPIRIT: During the Homecoming game against Washington, the crowd didn’t only support the team but the battle against breast cancer as well.

SPORTING PINK FOR THE RIGHT REASONS By : Demme Carter & Alex Noriega staff writers Everybody knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month; but what are students doing to show their support?

Some of our own Colt football players are wearing pink during their games to show their support.

Varsity player Manoah Pearson says he wears pink in the games to show support. “ I don’t feel forced

or pressured to wear it, i do it for all the right reasons,” Pearson says.

Senior Alex Maluomalo who is also on Varsity honestly states,” I do not wear pink but I would.”

Maluomalo adds “ I honestly think some guys wear it as a fashion statement instead of the right reasons. If I wore pink, it would be for the cause and to support all people with breast cancer.”

When our football team wears pink, it shows how much we support this cause. One look into the audi-

I LOVE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

By Pamela Isidro staff writer Remember the days when the “I Love Boobies” wristbands once graced everyone’s wrists? When it was the “it” thing to have? When it was the $5 we all had to spend? Whatever happened to these bands of awareness?

Alas, the 15 minutes of fame of the “I Love Boobies” wristbands have gone. Today, it’s not as easily spotted as it was. Why is that? Was it only a trend? Some people, such as ESET junior Mathew Miranda, believe that it was merely a trend, adding that it “got old.”

Some people on the other hand have surpassed the trend and still believe in the support that these pieces have to offer, such as AMA junior Evingrace Hilario. She said, “I love the bracelets, it looks nice and the meaning of it makes it special because I personally know someone close to me that

Start with a visual exam.

Look in the mirror with your arms over your head and then with your hands on your hips being sure to check both the front of your breasts as well as the sides and ask yourself: Do my breasts look the same?

has breast cancer.” Another AMA student, freshman Justin Sampilo, said “It looks nice with my outfits and its also for a good cause.”

New or old, fashionable or not fashionable, awareness or support, these wristbands are still around. You just have to keep an eye out for them.

Next, lie down on your back with one hand behind your head. This flattens the breast tissue against the chest wall and makes it easier to evaluate. Use the pads of your three middle fingers from your opposite hand to examine each breast.

ence reinforces our commitment as parents, cheerleaders, band members and fans “rock the pink,” too.

When football players or anybody buys Breast Cancer Awareness products , some of the money is donated to different breast cancer awareness charities like the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society. October may be over soon but its never too late to wear pink and show your support!

WHY PINK?

By Julia Cruz copy editor The international pink ribbon symbol stands for awareness and moral support for women diagnosed with breast cancer, but why is it pink? “[I’ve always] thought it was pink because pink is a feminine color,” ESET senior Arielle Bertulano replied when asked the question and she is absolutely correct! The color light pink connotes femininity and women’s common characteristics—caring, supportive and cooperative.

Surprisingly, this pink symbol was derived from the popular red ribbon symbol used for AIDS awareness. Pink ribbons were first handed out in 1991 by the Susan G. Komen Foundation

to those who participated in the New York City fundraiser for breast cancer survivors. After such a successful event, the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) campaign adopted the pink ribbon as its certified emblem the following year.

Besides women, men can be diagnosed with the cancer as well; therefore, pink and blue ribbons were made

by Nancy Nick in 1996 to support these men. Although they are rarely seen, pink and blue ribbons represent the same ideas—to fight breast cancer and hope for a better future.

Since the pink symbol is so prominent during the month of October, isn’t it good to know what it embodies? Well now you know!

CHECK YOUR SELF! Move your three fingers in dime-sized circles. Do three circles in one spot, starting with light pressure, then medium and lastly use deeper pressure. Now “walk” your fingers to the next area.

Do not lift your fingers off your breast, “walk” them to the next spot.

Starting at your breast bone, work your way down your breast and back following the arrows. Continue to do dime-sized circles, moving into the armpit area continuing all the way into the inside of your arm. Your last line will be up your side just below the outer edge of your breast, finishing on the inside of your armpit.

NOTE: More information can be found at http://www.keep-a-breast.org/get-educated/check-your-self/.

Be sure to spend extra time in the armpit. It’s important to go all the way to the inner arm area to make sure you cover all the lymphatic systems in your armpit and arm area, as this is where many breast cancers develop.

Repeat these steps for both breasts.

Lastly, gently squeeze each nipple. Look for any discharge or pain. Tenderness is normal during your period. The best time to check your breasts is about a week after your period ends. It’s important you check at the same time every month.

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entertainment

trailblazer

Everlasting

october 2012

Ghosts and Night Goosebumps

www.theblackkeys.com The Black Keys rocking out live in concert.

by Steven Crespo staff writer

The Black Keys! This amazing band played live in concert at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on October 5th, 2012 with Tegan & Sarah opening up for them. So far, it’s my favorite concert I’ve been to.

For those of you that don’t know who they are, The Black Keys are a modern blues, alternative duo band. They’ve been around for about ten years now and have hit mainstream radio off of their album, titled Brothers, in 2009.

They are currently finishing up their El Camino tour this fall.

The Black Keys are my favorite band so it was a must for me to go see them. I’ve listened to them since they first formed about ten years ago. I like them because they are different from most bands today. They tend to play sweet, raunchy blues riffs.

The singer, Dan Auerbach, sings with deep soul and passion.

Alongside him, drummer Patrick Carney performs with a full throttle attitude by playing head-banging rhythm and beats. You can listen to them in any mood you’re in.

I wanted to go to the concert be

cause I’ve heard from interviews that they sound really great live and the fact that they are a duo band is something I didn’t want to miss.

In my opinion, the concert was amazing! It could’ve been better if they had a different group open up for them because I’m not really a fan of Tegan & Sarah. Even though they were pretty good live, they’re just not my cup of tea. The interviews and rumors were true, The Black Keys perform great live; they sound just like their studio albums. The opening song was a pumping up tune, “Howlin’ For You.” When they arrived on stage, the singer Dan said, “How you doing LA?!”and the audience screamed as he responded, “Alright, let’s get this started!”

The crowd got out of their seats and jumped up and sang along. From that moment on, I knew it would be a great night.

Later on, they played “Thickfreakness,” “Girl Is On My Mind,” and my favorite, “Your Touch.” Since they played almost all of my favorite songs, it was just like a dream-- it was too good to be true.

The best part of the show was probably the encore performance. We didn’t know if there

was going to be one, since they finished their set list for the night and said their goodbyes and appreciation. We saw people getting out of their seats and leaving through the exits. I didn’t want to leave yet, I wanted an encore! So the rest of the audience and I started cheering.

I told my friend Tony, “We are not leaving until that encore!”

After two minutes of straight screaming and cheering, a disco ball slowly dropped down the stage. I thought, could this be that encore performance? Suddenly, everyone went dead silent; we looked towards the stage to see shadows walking behind the curtains. The crowd continued to cheer as Patrick sat on his drum set and Dan plugged in his guitar. FINALLY, AN ENCORE! Lights from the disco ball filled the arena, and they started to play “Everlasting Light”.

I was so happy to be there while the song was playing, wondering what they’d finish up with. Distortion from Dan’s guitar roared through the amplifiers when they switched to their rawest song, “I Got Mine.” The night finished perfectly with great solos and a great performance. dfI still can’t believe I was there.

By Bridgette Jameson photo editor

Silence. That’s all you could hear in the house during the early morning hours.

Quietly, I opened the door to my room; slowly turning the knob so no sound would escape. I hated making noise that early, waking other people up.

As I stepped into the hallway and reached for my mom’s doorknob, something was breathing on me. I could hear it; I could feel its icy cold presence next to me.

Then, before I could think about it or fully turn the knob to open the door, its hand was on my arm, pulling me slightly. It was like something airy wrapping itself around my arm; goose bumps appearing everywhere else but where a hand would be placed.

Somehow, I couldn’t shake the terrible thing off of me.

The door flew open under my hand and I shrieked, hoping to bring attention to the fact that something was attacking me. I backed into the cabinet behind me, trying to breathe and stop myself from screaming.

Closer and closer, the monster seemed to come, but I was too stunned to move. Raspy breathing continued from the direction of the creepy thing that was the ghost as I called out for help.

When everyone had woken up, the thing had vanished.

“I swear, something was touching me, breathing on me,” I cried out, hoping they would believe me. I stood in the hall, petrified as they all tried to come up with an explanation. One by one, everyone ran together and vanished.

That’s when I knew I must have been imagining the whole thing, creating some kind of monster in my mind.

That is, until I saw a shadow walking through my hall not too long after that and stranger things started happening. I thought I had seen my friend’s brother in the living room one night, only when I took a step closer to realize that it was a mysterious shadow.

Frequently when I’m alone or hanging out with friends in my room, someone can be heard moving things around in the kitchen; walking through the hallways.

It’s clear now. I really had been attacked by a ghost; and it was coming back for more.

Spirit Week 10/29 - 11/2:

10/29 Monday: Jersey Day. There were many students sporting their football jerseys, showing off their Carson High sport spirit.

10/30 Tuesday: Disney Day.

We all hope to see students wearing Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears in the spirit of spirit week!

10/31

Wednesday: Halloween. So what, you’re in high school? You’re never too old to show a little weirdness.

11/1 Thursday: Flashback

Fever. Be thankful the flashback will only last a day. Go all out, be crazy and be creative!

11/2 Friday: Colt Day. Wear anything Carson High School related.

Last chance to express your school spirit!

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entertainment

Babel

by Genesis Reyes staff writer

Babel, the latest album from Mumford & Sons, a band from London, England, was released September 24, 2012.

The album stays true to their indie rock style they are so known for. The entire album is a great listen for those days when all that is needed is a cup of hot chocolate and some relaxing music playing in the background.

The album itself has twelve songs, though most people have heart ‘I Will Wait’ more than once being played on the radio no matter what station is being heard.

The album as a whole is very powerful in the lyrical choices and musical instruments that are being played. Most people don’t know but the lyrics for the

trailblazer

songs were inspired by Shakespeare’s plays and by other writers. Bluegrass instruments like the banjo and upright bass are being played with such strong lyrics - like “keep the earth below my feet for all my sweat, my blood runs weak”, ‘Below My Feet’.

The album has no weak links when it comes to the songs; it does have some strong songs such as ‘I Will wait’ and ‘Lovers Eye’s’. People can really relate to these songs no matter what is going on in their lives - weather it is the ending of a relationship or self empowerment. Anyone can find one song in this album that they can relate to in some way.

This is a great album that shows off Mumford & Sons’ style in such a great way, as their past albums have as well. Great music will come from this band in the future, so take a listen and enjoy!

october 2012

Top Ten Horror

Video Games 1. Slenderman 2. Silent Hill 2 3. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly 4. Siren: Blood Curse 5. Penumbra: Black Plague 6. Condemned: Criminal Origins 7. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth 8. F.E.A.R. 9. Dead Space 10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem courtesy of: http://www.toptenz.net

Upcoming Events Movies Music - November 2: The Man with the Iron Fist - November 2: Wreck-It Ralph - November 2: Amber Alert - November 15: To Kill a Mockingbird

- October 30: Miike Snow @ Hollywood Palladium - November 2: All Time Low @ House of Blue, Anaheim - November 25: Trey Songz @ Nokia Theater LA Live - November 13: Wiz Khalifa: Gibson Ampitheater, Universal - November 18: John Legend @ The Wiltern

Halloween Playlist 1. Pet Sematary by The Ramones 2. Halloween by Dead Kennedys 3. Spellbound by Siouxsie & The Banshees 4. Pumpkin Head by The Misfits 5. I Put A Spell On You by Screamin Jay Hawkins 6. Oogey Boogey Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas 7. Thriller by Michael Jackon 8. Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult 9. Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show 10. I Was A Teenage Werewolf by The Cramps 11. Mommy’s Little Monsters by Creature Feature 12. Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett & The Crypt Kickers

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trailblazer

photography

Spellbound Love What’s more romantic than a stroll through the cemetery?

That’s, um, normal... right?

october 2012

Baseball bats and Boogeymen Let’s hope that Freddy doesn’t come for any of us this Halloween.

Want a Balloon? - You will never look at clowns and sewers the same way

Dirty Nights - Who can ever forget the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho? “Eee-ee-ee-ee-ee!”

Graveyard Girl - “She collects crowns made of black roses, but her heart is made of bubblegum.”

Creeps and Ghouls!

Journalism staff members, Jordan Sayson and Samm Streitfeld take part in a photography project for this month’s theme: Halloween!

Both students took inspiration from iconic horror movies, traditional Halloween archetypes, and their environment to create a visual, spooky experience for you. With their imagination, they bring you Creeps & Ghouls-Happy Halloween!

Photography by: Jordan Sayson and Samm Streitfeld.

Special thanks to Nancy Chavez and Gian Cagliero for modeling.

october 2012

trailblazer

interactive/ads

13

Interested in Journalism?

Are you a sophomore or a junior? This coming spring semester, Journalism class will be accepting those who are willing to work for the school’s newspaper, the Trailblazer.

Requirements:

-A recommendation letter from an English teacher (current or past).

-One page essay explaining about yourself and why you’re interested in Journalism (must be typed in MLA format).

All requirements due to Editors by Friday, November 30, 2012 to Room G-7.

“Creature Feature” A spooky play made by our very own Drama club

How to play:

The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes (also called blocks or regions) contains the digits from 1 to 9.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 During Period 4 @ the MPR

A cell is the smallest block in the game. A row , column and region consists of 9 cells and the whole game consists of 81 cells. A region has thicker lines surrounding it. This simply makes it easier to play the game. credit to: www.instructables.com

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sports

trailblazer

october2012

Homecoming Hype

By Karina Lopez

Editor-In-Chief Kendell Sparks, senior and running back led Carson to a 53-0 victory at the Homecoming Game vs. the Washington Prep Generals on October 19.

After a nullification overriding the first score, Sparks made the first touchdown of the game, giving Carson the upper hand.

An eight yard run, and another touchdown brought the first two quarters to a close, leaving the Colts at 39-0 for Half-Time.

The seniors in football and several auxiliary units were recognized for their last year at Carson during half-time.

“The alumni are out to support you and you don’t want to let them down; you don’t want to disappoint them” said Sparks.

Homecoming means a reunion for all alumni from Carson High School – it invites previous members of band, tall flags, drill team and cheer to come back and relive the memories of when they attended the school. “[The win] was not only me, it was the whole team; but “I think, other than celebrating the alumni who have made the school it feels good that I actually know what I could do,” said what it is, it’s (Homecoming) a good way to broadcast the current] band with the Sparks. “Every week, we’re getting better and better.” alumni,” said band director, JeffAnderson (an alumnus from Carson himself).

Marisol Williams Danny Barnes – a percussionist from the class of ‘68 was the oldest UNSTOPPABLE: Carson on the left and Washington on the right alumnus present who showed up to join the band during the half-time show. of the line of scrimmage, getting ready for a play Albert Itula made a 50 yard run to score, making the final score a win for Carson 53-0, during the third quarter. .

Carson Conditioning

By Santino Chavez and Ian Lina

Staff Writers Our Carson Colt athletes condition almost every day to make sure they are in perfect shape for their games. Conditioning plays a huge role in an athlete’s life; it is necessary in order to build stamina, endurance, strength, and speed. Let’s take a look at how our very own Colts condition.

Tahje Spratley, a Sophomore of Junior Varsity Football states “We do dashers, reindeers, and bear crawls usually for our daily workout, its not really hard, but only when we get in trouble it

gets hard.” The workouts Carson’s football team does seems to be primarly focused on stamina training.

Spencer Go, a Junior of Carson Wrestling mentions; “We usually start off by jogging around the mat 5 times, practice stances, doing bear crawls and crab walks. After that we go outside to sprint and then finally do our wrestling drills.”

What sounds like a tiring workout is what helps these wrestlers have the strength and stamina while on the mat.

Francis Castellon, a Junior and a member of the Cross Country, team says, “ We do a one mile warm up and then we run up and down the bleachers, do box

Santino Chavez Determined: Carson High football team running back and forth conditioning themselves for upcoming games jumps, frog jumps, wheel barrows, duck walks, and core workouts.”

Francis says that these particular workouts help them build strong legs able to endure long distance runs. Also, these workouts help her for those intimidating tall hills they to run.

Joy Caday, a Junior and a member of the Girls Tennis Team mentions, “We do 5 laps around the court, lunges across the court, suicides, blocks, sit-ups, planks and a bunch of hitting drills.”

These workouts help her build stamina, footwork, and strong legs for her games. Hitting drills are crucial in order to be able to have hand

eye coordination and ball control.

Alvin Malabanan, a Junior from Boys’ Volleyball states “We do lots of cardio like four minutes of jump roping. We work on our legs with ply metrics and lunges. We also do diving lines where we have to run and dive then get back up with many repetitions.”

Overall, you can see how hardworking and determined our Carson High athletes are. Having to go through what seems like long never-ending practices and workouts, these athletes manage to pull through and keep going; striving to be the best they can be.

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2012

trailblazer

sports

15

Every Player Has a Story

By Justin Silva

Staff Writer

Emily McNabb, captain of Carson’s 2012-2013 girls Tennis team, juggles schoolwork, going to concerts and leading over 26 girls.

“It’s nice meeting 26 girls, but the thing with that is there’s too many of them and some listen, some don’t,” she says.

Emily had started playing tennis when she was just six years old, but it wasn’t until the 8th grade when she became competitive. She reminisces on how she used to pick up her cousin up from tennis practice and watched her play. Right then and there, she felt a spark that later lit a flame in the sport throughout her four years of high school.

“I was pretty nervous trying out freshman year, but I knew how to play and so I just showed Emi what I had to offer,” she says.

Mr. Emi, the girls’ tennis coach, is a big believer in how you’re only going to go as far as leadership takes you. He has faith in the team this year’s season and most importantly, the tennis captain herself.

“Em is our team captain this year and our team has been doing great,” he says. “The captain of the team has so many enormous responsibilities to take on and she just cares so

much about the team and was willing to make sure everyone can reach their potential and be successful.”

Since freshman year just goes to show that Emily has more than enough experience for her position. No one deserves it more. When asked what was her biggest accomplishment, she responded, “Being captain! You know, Big Momma!”

Emily is currently a senior at the Academy of Medical Arts (AMA) and with graduation just around the corner, imagine all that she has on her plate. Where does she squeeze in her family, friend time and free time for herself with her college applcations, tennis, and all her academics,?

“Usually, as much as possible, I try do work as soon as the day it’s assigned.

Depending on what it is, if it’s important, I always put it first,” she says.

When she does have time on her own, she likes to listen to music, and loves to see and hear it live.

Emily loves going to concerts because it’s much more raw and lively when you see it in person. She also enjoys painting with water colors.

Emily has such a sweet, bubbly personality as a friend and as a captain. The tennis team has definitely made an impact on her as much as she has made on them.

Coach Emi says, “ We wouldn’t be where we are without her.”

Tennis Team Reign Ends

By Leony Mijares

Staff Writer

Carson Girls Tennis lost their 13-year title as Marine League City Champions, placing second behind their biggest rival, Narbonne,

with a final league score of 10-2.

The team plays 12 games over the expansion of October against Narbonne, Gardena, Banning, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, and Washington Prep. Narbonne beat Carson High 4-3 at the first game of the season, and the team knew they were off to a rocky start.

Carson High School Tennis 2012 - 2013 team picture

Richelle Acebedo Carson High School’s Tennis Captain Emily McNabb smiling for her spotlight

“This year, I knew our team would be young and inexperienced. Lots of new faces. I knew we had a long way to go,” Coach Gordon Emi says.

Our Lady Colts proved themselves to be determined and hardworking—winning their following games and redeeming themselves against Narbonne. The girls beat Narbonne at their home court 4-3, making it a tie for the season. But in a misfortunate turn of events right before the last game of the season, the team encountered a terrible loss of 3-4 against Banning High. This then advanced Narbonne to first place with a final league score of 11-1.

Coach Emi says, “We were successful this year, just not as I hoped. We just took [Banning] too lightly, and they fought harder than we did. Narbonne has the talent, so our loss against them wasn’t as shocking. The loss against Banning, on the other hand, was very unexpected, but things happen and there’s not much you can do about it.” Assistant Coach Tien Nguyen, who’s been coaching the team since 1994 adds, “What we needed was more preparation and

confidence. Tennis is 95% mentality and five percent strength.”

No matter what, the Lady Colts continue to keep a positive mindset.

When asked about her last year on the tennis team, Alyssa Roc, Varsity doubles player, said, “Despite the loss of our 13-year streak, I had such a memorable last year. I honestly think we could have pushed a little harder because the league win was almost in our grasp, but the team gave it their best and we were always supportive and that’s all that matters!” Junior Shantell Atienza, varsity doubles, says, “It’s disappointing, but there’s always going to be obstacles and the only thing to do is work harder and get through them. It’s not the end, it’s just the beginning!”

The Carson Girls tennis team put up an immensely strong fight this year. They worked very hard this season—enduring tiring practices, balancing schoolwork and playing games to their best ability. Overall, they had a great season and next year, they are sure to come back strong!

“We’re going to make next year so much better,” says Assistant Coach

16

news

trailblazer

Carson Says Goodbye to Eric LaMotte

Eric LaMotte posing with his diploma after graduation.

by Ivan Barragan

staff writer

Eric LaMotte, alumnus of 2012, died Thursday, October 4, 2012 in his sleep. His viewing was Thursday, October 11, followed by his funeral on the following day of Friday, October 12.

He was an alumnus of

LaMotte Family

Carson High. Everyone who worked with Eric described him as friendly and always smiling.

“Eric loved football; his favorite team was the San Diego Chargers. He loved video games and Blow Pops,” said John White, a teacher who worked closely with Eric. Eric was wearing a San Diego

Chargers jersey at his viewing. He went to Stephen White Middle School before following his siblings into Carson High.

“He had many health issues but he had the most supportive family. His mother would wait for him every day after school with a smile for him,” explained Mr. White.

such as the CarsonBreakers Clubs recruited as many new mem- Club and Carson Co-ed Dance bers as they could on Club Rush. team, to technical clubs, such as Colt’s Kitchen Cooking Club and

by LawrenceDan Dizon Outsider’s Club. To sign up, stu staff writer dents had to walk to a booth and

This semester’s Club Rush sign up to receive further informawas held on Friday, October 12, tion from the corresponding clubs.

2012 to enlighten and enlist stu- “This year’s Club Rush dents to some of the various clubs is much livelier than last year’s in the Carson High Complex. with Black Student Union’s loud

Organized by the Inter music and many previews of Club Council, there was a total COED’s dance lifts,” AMA sophof 14 clubs present in the Quad omore Abigail Abella stated.

Black Student Union and Area vying for students’ interests.

Clubs varied from dance groups, the Timothy Circle were heav-

ily surrounded by Carson High students because of their mu sic and food. Clubs such as Volunteer Chapter Youth Coalition had hula-hoop shaped signs and Breakdance Club used the stage to showcase their dance moves. Carson Student Movement and COED wore their signature attires to attract the students of Carson High.

“I was looking for an environmental club because it interests me, but I couldn’t find any clubs that dealt with the environment,” said by junior Alyssa White from the academy of Global Business and Law.

Otaku Club and Animal Rescue Club were some of the that

Rushing for Clubs

october 2012

In school he spent a lot of time at the nurse’s office. His health prevented him from coming to school at times, collectively missing about two years of school.

During that time, Eric was homeschooled, but he did manage to graduate with the rest of his 2012 class at the Home Depot ceremony.

“He wanted to graduate; that’s the thing he wanted most in his life,” said Mr. White.

“The thing I remember most was the smile and the pride the kid had, and how happy he was at his graduation. He couldn’t be in the heat at his ceremony but we sat in the tunnel at the end of the field and when we walked up on stage the big smile he had,” said White. Eric was very proud to have graduated and walked that stage.

“[Eric] had a very challenging medical situation… but he never gave up,” said the school nurse Mary Anne Hishinuma. “The best memory of him [was] having him smile with his Blow Pops,” said Mrs. Hishinuma. “Eric didn’t like the sick kid role, so when he would come in he would have his own chair and that was his chair, he would sit there smiling.”

Eric LaMotte was laid to rest October 12, 2012. He touched many people. He will be deeply missed. did not participate in this semester’s Club Rush. Students can refer to room G2 for the full list of clubs currently active and when and where certain clubs meet.

“People were still signing up at the end of lunch because of the huge crowd and occupied space at the booths,” ESET senior Jonathan Bondad said.

Students were not aware of the bell due to the large crowd that was followed by loud music. Some students were making last minute sign-ups while others took advantage of the event as an excuse for being late to class.

Koletty’s Corner Did you know there are various scholarships and internships information available in Scholloop?

What’s better is they are easily accessible in five simple steps.

1. Go to Carson High’s Schoolloop at carsonhs.org.

2. Look for “Student Quicklinks” at the right side.

3. Click on the third link.

4. Scroll down until “Scholarships and Internships” is shown.

5. Explore the various scholarships and internships.

Oct. 31 Common App Workshop Nov. 1 December SAT deadline Nov. 1 Westmont College visit Nov. 2 December ACT deadline Nov. 2 Biola University visit Nov. 7 CSU Workshop Nov. 8 College Apps Workshop Nov. 14 CSU Workshop Nov. 26 CSU Workshop Nov. 27 Parent Awareness: College Requirement Workshop Nov. 28 CSU Workshop Nov. 30 CSU and UC Apps due *Seniors must finish their ACT and SAT by the end of December.*

L to R Marc Roaquin, Nizza Laurencio, Robyn Pelayo and Francis Espina advertising their club, VCYC.

Ann Sena