2013 November issue

Crimson Volume 74 | Issue 3 | 11.18.13 | Paso Robles High School

Misunderstood.

Few options.

Alone— While the world goes on.

| Table of Contents

News

Food

Environment

03 Bearcat Sign put up

17 Hot Lunch Lines

33 Eco-Friendly clothing

near the theater reading “Bearcat Country”

InDepth

07 Special Education

misconceptions of the department are dispelled

Feature

12 Basketballin’ senior

financial aid given to students who can’t afford to buy their lunch 18 Thanksgiving create the Thanksgiving of your dreams by following these tips

A&E

25 John Green crimson

gets a second chances after reviews of The Fault in Our Stars being arrested 02 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Table of Contents

that doesn’t leave a large impact on the environment

Fashion

34 Girls V. Boys

comparison of styles

Sports

37 Injuries season ending injuries for athletes

CTE 28 Welding senior welds his

way through school, making the new “Bearcat Country” sign For more news and updates of campus events scan the code or check out www. crimsonweb.net or Crimson’s Facebook

Photos by Jordan Nevosh, Natalie Martin, and Eden Peterson Photo illustration by Sydney Matteson

News

|

Bearcat Country Gleaming in the bright yellow glare of the mid-afternoon sun, the 10 foot tall burgundy bearcat head was unveiled on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at a lunchtime ceremony hangs poised between the words “Bearcat Country.”

Nearly 80 students and community members celebrated during the half hour long ceremony. Senior Gage Lux, captain of the varsity football team, and senior Amy Sudberry, chant captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, shared with the crowd why they were proud to be bearcats. The bearcat head is positioned on the rear-facing wall of the 500 building: greeting the daily parking lot crowd. The Gaspar family, parents of PRHS alumni, donated the idea and design for the head, and senior Anthony Kerstiens welded the head together.

- Lauren Reed, Fun & Games Co-Editor

Gathering skills

Paso runs dry

PRHS students prepare for SkillsUSA competitions

Residents face diminishing water supply

by Analía Cabello, Copy Editor

By Pearl Herrera, Advanced Photographer

In over 90 competition areas, with approximately 60 students going to State each year and over 10 PRHS advisors, PRHS has excelled at all three competition levels of SkillsUSA–Regionals, State, and National–and the trilogy of 2014 competitions are expected to produce similar, if not improved, results.

Though the Region 2 competition, which includes Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, and SLO county, won’t take place until Saturday, Feb. 1, participating students are already honing their skills.

“In my ROP class, I’ve been preparing since last year,” said senior Hannah McMinn, whose involvement in the Bearkitten program will largely benefit her performances in the 2014 competitions.

“Last year, I learned how to be a better teacher to the children and write a lesson plan. Since Skills is a few months away, my class will further our learning in January.”

This will be McMinn’s first year participating in SkillsUSA; though competing is a requirement for second-year Bearkitten teachers,

she would have chosen to enter on her own as well.

“My decision to compete [was influenced by] just knowing the thrill of the competition and being able to show what I have learned over the past few years. This will benefit me by having the experience and coming out with new knowledge.”

Senior Nickie Gurney, whose hard work at the 2013 California State Convention earned him a Gold in Internetworking, is planning to compete in Mobile Electronics this year.

“I had to build ethernet cabinets, construct a virtual computer network, address a potential customer with a Technical Assistance Center call, as well as a test,” Gurney said. SkillsUSA has opened his eyes to real-life scenarios of competition in job markets and how he’ll need to perform in order to succeed.

A registration form, available online, is due by Friday, Nov. 22, along with a $20 fee payable to advisor Randy Canaday, who teaches ROP Construction/Cabinetry, Building Trades 1 and 2, Architectural Drafting, and Mechanical Drafting, in room 601.

No more running through sprinklers, no more bright green lawns, and no more water. For some residents of Paso Robles, the 70 foot water level drop of the local aquifer has made this nightmare a reality. Many locals have even began to point fingers at the more than 180 wineries who have set up business in Paso Robles for the sudden drought.

“It’s just not right that I have to drive past my neighbor’s homes on the way to work and they have signs out that say their wells went dry. Then I drive a little bit further and there are grape vines as far as the eye can see.” said Diana Peterson, a Paso Robles citizen who has had enough of the growing industry. Wine grape acreage has more than tripled in 15 years, growing to 36,550 acres, with an estimated 8,000 acres being prepared, according to the website Grow Wild.

California and Texas are the only two states that allow

landowners unlimited access to groundwater, and with 75% of the local water going to farmland, many are tired of the growing number wineries in Paso Robles.

“I'm tired of the wineries taking all the water and new vineyards being planted..making a profit and private landowners get nothing but dry wells,” said Rosemary Erler, a Templeton citizen.

While many residents believe that the wineries are to blame for the loss of Paso Robles’ water, wineries are an important tourist draw in San Luis Obispo County, attracting over 1.2 million visits by tourists, spending locally more than $113 million and creating more than 1,800 jobs, according to Grow Wild.

News | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 03

| News

Victory

FFA team receives ninth overall

by Matt Durian, Health Editor

More to munch on Students rewarded longer lunches

by Maureen Pushea, Photography Director Principal Randy Nelson rewarded students for good behavior and scarcity of trash by lengthening lunches on Fridays once a month. Nelson will shorten periods one, three, four, five, and six by two minutes, adding up to a total of ten extra minutes that students will have for lunch. Period two will remain the same, which is fifty-seven minutes, due to the morning announcements. As the superior behavior continues, Nelson will grant students an extra ten minutes during lunch on Fridays only. The next extended lunch in November is to be determined.

The state winning livestock judging team consisting of alumni Branson Medeiros and Kaitlyn Bedell and juniors Jake Dilger and Nathanael Bourgault traveled back to Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 30 to compete for the national title.

The team of four had to raise over $13,000 to fly back and compete in Nationals. Dilger and Bourgault, along with their coach Mark Clement, left Oct. 24 to Oklahoma to pick up the rest of their team and drive to Kentucky, making stops in Miami, Oklahoma, Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University to practice.

On Wednesday, Dilger and Bedell were selected to compete in the genetics problem where they have to select livestock that will produce the best quality in a herd. Medeiros and Bourgault were chosen to compete in the marketing problems, where they had to price out to transport livestock to a specific destination. The last competition was to take a 25 question multiple choice test. On Thursday, the team judged 12 classes of livestock consisting of beef cattle, swine, sheep, and goats. Out of the 12, there were four classes in which they were required to take notes and give reasons about why they placed the class the way they did.

The team placed fifth, with Bourgault placing ninth and third in sheep and Dilger placing fourth in beef. This is the last time they will get to judge as a team.

Burnt steer Livestock project set on fire

by Matt Durian, Health Editor A steer was set on fire sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The steer belonged to junior Dylan Wilkinson, who has invested over $1,200. Wilkinson’s father found the steer when he went to feed the steer Saturday morning.

The steer wasn’t injured badly, only having hair singed off, but some areas were more severe, and the plastic ear tag melted down the side of his face. The steer is being treated with a salve to help the healing of the burns and is doing much better, expected to make a quick recovery. Heritage Oaks bank is giving $2,000 in exchange for information leading to an arrest.

An excuse to have fun

PRHS club takes meetings to the next level

by Amy Cantrell, Fun & Games Co-Editor Formed by Nick Stair, a 2013 graduate, Adventure Club is a new way to get involved in school. Starting off the year on Oct. 9 with an activity at the River K pumpkin patch and corn maze, over 50 club members, new and old, gathered for a Harry Potter themed game.

Sorted into four teams based on the four houses of Hogwarts–Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor–they battled each other in search of the prized Triwizard cup, hidden somewhere in the maze.

Regardless of chilly, 40 degree weather, the students had a great time.

“The Triwizard Tournament was tons of fun! It was by far been the best thing we've done,” said junior Jake Taylor, who joined Adventure Club last year.

The three rounds yielded a victory for each house, except Gryffindor.

Sunday, Oct. 27 the club also hosted a Halloween-themed event at Eberle Winery’s Haunted Caves on Highway 46. Around 25 students showed up, and were led through the spooky, pitch-black caves. Frightening details like skulls, spider-webs, and creepy clown masks added to the eerie mood.

“How dark the cave was made me nervous for what would happen next. We sang One Direction and The Beatles to calm ourselves down the whole time!” said junior Kassidy Rice.

The members had fun bonding and getting scared together. “[The events] are very different than other things happening around school,” said senior Tricia Stotts. She recommends the club for anyone interested in adventure and trying new things. Adventure Club meets every Tuesday at lunch in Jon-Paul Ewing’s room, 305.

Adventure Club Timeline First official club meeting

2012

Dec.

4

04 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | News

These two events were huge successes, and the club president, senior Matt Neuman, is excited for the future with the group. “This club is so great because it gives us students a chance to go out and have a great time with friends and people you've never met before and just have good clean fun.”

Matt Neuman, 12

Beach trip to Avila

14 The Hobbit Midnight premiere

2013 Sept.

2

Beach/ Surf party

3 First official club meeting

Oct.

6

Haunted Caves

9

27

Triwizard Tournament Photos by Madeline Raithel

News

Treehouses grow up

|

Local business receives show on Animal Planet

by Rachel Cole, Feature Co-Editor Wood board by wood board the tree house is built up; nail by nail the wood is pieced together, and day after day is spent roofing the top just the way your grandfather would have done it; however, this is not your grandfather’s tree house. It’s the kind of project that has hired alumni and put this originally local business on the national map.

Daniels’ Wood Land is a tree house building enterprise that makes atypical tree houses and promo projects like statuary and signage that stand in front of stores across the nation.

An average tree house would cost around $3,500 to $49,000. “ W e have a very h a rd wo r k i n g workforce and they are very skilled, and most of them have worked here at least one year, if not five years or more.” said Ron (John) Daniels, co-owner and founder of this unique business, which started 16 years ago “They make huge, custom treehouses, massive shooting galleries with full-size talking trucks and interactive targets, themed environments (like the little village at Tortilla Town), and huge themed props. It’s pretty awesome,” said Bryson Loughmiller, a PRHS alumni of 2009 and a veteran of the workplace for four years.

The Paso based business has exploded in the last two years and is currently hoping for the Animal Planet show about their production that will air on November 29 after the show, Tanked.

The show will feature both the construction and the placement of the treehouses, also focusing on the aspect of the brothers owning the business together and is called Redwood Kings.

The first episode was filmed over a period of a few months, using 13 full work days.

“I had camera guys asking us if we could make it quiet so they could film. It was pretty crazy,” said Daniels, whose employees usually work 40 hour weeks, although, as trade shows approach, occasionally these get pushed to 60

hour weeks.

“I’ve worked there for a few years, mostly over the summers, although I still do some long distance work for them, making sound effects and mixing tracks for their products. Right after I graduated he had me do a big promotional video to market their shooting galleries. I also did voices for several of their characters in the galleries. That’s really how I got the job in the first place. He paid me to do voices for some of the characters, he liked them, and asked me to do more. Then he had me do the promotional video. I left for a couple of years for a mission for my church, but then came back and worked there summer of 2012 and this past summer as well. I work in the art department, working on building the big props, and I also do promotional videos for the company, as well as mixing all the sound effects and creating voices for the characters and targets in the shooting galleries,” said Loughmiller, who went to the same church as Daniels and got connected into the company because of this.

Each tree stands at least seven feet tall and, although these treehouses may already seem different from the average treehouse, they push the boundaries even further by providing the tree that comes with the new play structure.

The logs are at least three-four feet in diameter and, by themselves,4,000-6,000 pounds, with the largest being a 40,000 pound redwood sequoia log. A door is cut into the log and it is hollowed out. Then, a ladder inside the log leads to a trapdoor into the treehouse, which can be added to with slides, windows and other custom touches.

There are production line treehouses and custom build houses, both of which have their own team to work on the building.

The testimonials on the website suggest both that the price is worth is and that the products are thorough and fun. The craftsmanship delights

“We are the guys who people come to when they need something crazy done. We have computer styrofoam carving machines and a treehouse department and a steel fabrication department, if you put these together you can make a shooting gallery. We have core teams and then we put them together to make crazy things.”

-Ron Daniels

1

2

3

4

ILENE’S MINING COMPANY (1): Named for its notorious leaning nature, this structure was modeled after a gold mining structure from the 1800s.

ANIMATRONIC ANIMAL (2): In Daniel Woodland’s upcoming trade show, this animated bear will talk to the shooters in the shooting galleries.

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY? (3,4): Part of the shooting gallery Critter Gorge, Daniel Woodland plans to send this project to Phoenix, Arizona. This gallery includes talking foxes and a hen that lays ping-pong ball “eggs.”

buyers around the country.

“What you do is breathtaking! The boys have added a few touches themselves...The springboard staircase is amazing. It even creaks like an old ship and just “feels right” like something out of a pirate novel or Peter Pan. I love that the steps themselves are rounded and almost seem carved. The staircase is actually one of my favorite parts. I cannot thank you

enough for the incredible structure that rules over our yard now. Any child, and most adults for that matter, are just shocked when they round our corner and see the treehouse (Will asked me to get a lock for his to keep other kids out) -I mean literally stop-in-your-tracks-and-hangyour-mouth-open shocked. It is truly, truly cool,” said Mary Bess from Miramar Beach in Florida.

News | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 05

| Editorial

BEFORE BURNING (far left): Panda Bear before the burning on Oct. 25.

Panda Bear was only housed in the PRHS Agricultural for about one month before the burning. Students keep animals at the barn if they do not have access to proper facilities to take care of their animals.

AFTER BURNING (left): Panda Bear after burning showed server injuries to his face, back, and his ear where the plastic ear tag melted. Panda Bear is now being house at a family friend’s barn. We all at Crimson are wishing Panda Bear a speedy recovery!

photos used with permission by Dylan Wilkinson

Pandemonium over Panda Bear

Student’s steer severely burned

by Jordan Nevosh, Co-Editor-in-Chief

“Sick” was the only word that came into junior Dylan Wilkinson’s mind when thinking about the horrific deed done to his steer sometime in the night of Oct. 25, 2013.

Weighing roughly 500 pounds and only seven months old, Panda Bear, a Angus Cross steer was lit on fire by unknown persons, but thankfully survived with severe injuries to his face, ears, and back. The abuse of this innocent animal is still under investigation, and PRHS students are not taking the matter lightly. And rightly so.

Walking the campus, you could hear buzzing rumors of baffled students. Who could commit this crime? “Justice needs to be served,” seemed the dominant talk. All agreed this act of animal cruelty is unacceptable.

‘It was a sickening act and I can’t believe that someone could do such a cruel thing to an innocent animal,” said junior Nathaniel Bourgault.

An unfortunate development amid the animal cruelty and campus revulsion was local media coverage--and associations that PRHS deserved being labeled as a torture center. Specifically, Paso Daily News, the local online media outlet, chose to run a photo of the school marquee next to the headline “Police investigate animal cruelty at high school.” We object to the implication that the school, its student body, or its culture condone or commit “animal cruelty at high school.” The facts are that we do not know who committed the crime, how, or why. All we know that the crime was committed on PRHS site at the agricultural barns.

Happily, the student body has come together to donate and support Wilkinson with his steer, as well as with the rest of the FFA program. They have chosen to create instead of dwelling on hatred and punishment back to the person/s who committed this crime.

Wilkinson, a three year veteran to the PRHS’s FFA program, has raised numerous types of livestock since his freshman year, and this year he was voted treasurer of the program. Before this incident, he

has never had a problem with the program and still loves the work that he and his fellow peers do.

His response tells the fuller story that Fox News-style crime headlines do not reflect.

“I could not be more proud to be apart of the wonderful agricultural programs that we have on campus, and I still couldn’t be more proud to be in FFA. The only thing that I wish could be done a little bit better would be the security measures taken a little more seriously. I mean they do have cameras up by the baseball field. But they do not have any cameras up in the barn where students like me house our animals.”

When word got out about Panda Bear, word spread-and fast. Wilkinson not only has recieved mass sympathy texts from friends and peers, but has also received offers from local businesses trying to donate money and treatment plans for the steer’s recovery.

“I am honored that people are doing so much for me however, I don’t want people to think that I am looking for money. It’s more about getting Panda Bear healthy and well again,” said Wilkinson.

So please when you see articles or hear rumors about this cruel crime, do not get a warped representation of Paso Robles High School. We as much as the next person are horrified and disgusted at this crime. We as a student body are alive and well with Bearcat pride.

Don’t believe us? Please come to Friday night lights and sit in the Crimson Crew student section and tell us that we don’t have spirit. You can just drive onto campus and see the new 15-foot, studentcreated Bearcat sign gleaming with honor from the 500 Wing. Or even ask the group of four FFA members who just arrived back from Louisville, Kentucky with fifth in the nation under their belt in judging. It has never been a better time to be a Bearcat.

As for Panda Bear his recovery is promising, eating and drinking water, although it will take some time to see if he will still be able to compete in the California Mid State Fair in 2014.

Crimson Newsmagazine Co-Editor-in-Chiefs

Brandon Kearns, Sci-Tech

Eden Peterson, Food

Jordan Nevosh, Fashion

Emily Ayer, Environment

Maureen Pushea, Photo Director

Courtney Thompson, In-Depth

Erica Binkele, Opinion

Lauren Reed, Fun and Games

Amy Cantrell, Fun & Games

Matt Tyra, Sports

Jessica Cole, A&E

Mariela Villa, World

Rachel Cole, Feature

Photographers

Claire Farrell, Business Manager

Pearl Herrera, Photographer

Matt Durian, Health

Luis Macias, Photographer

Brigitte Maina, Blind Date

Reporters

Natalie Martin, Blind Date

Madeline Raithel, Reporter

Rebecca Mitchell, Career

Maddie Moore, Columnist

Managing Editors Angela Lorenzo, Center Sydney Matteson, Front Page

Copy Editors Analia Cabello

Editors Carly Cargill, Feature

Danae Ontiveros, Sports

06 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Editorial

Facebook www.facebook.com/ crimsonnewsmagazine Website www.crimsonweb.net Email prhsjournalism @pasoschools.org Instagram crimsonnewsmag

Adviser Jeff Mount PRHS 801 Niblick Rd., Paso Robles, CA 93446 (805) 769-1500 ext. 50033 Room 604

Crimson, an open forum for the exchange of student ideas, is an independently funded newsmagazine of the journalism class at Paso Robles High School. Crimson reflects the majority opinion of the staff and does not necessarily reflect the views of Paso Robles High School, its faculty, administration, or students. All stories, graphics, typesetting, and layouts are completed by Paso Robles High School students. We are happy to talk with you further about our content, subscriptions in U.S. Mail, and advertising on our pages.

Indepth

“We are all family”

Special Education

Close knit students and staff in Room 331

by Eden Peterson, Food Editor and Jessica Cole, A&E Editor The door is hidden in a hallway that hardly anyone knows is there. The hallways sits there silently even as the rest of the school bustles with lunch time energy. Once you open the door to room 331, however, the lively talking and warmth of the room grab ahold of you and pull you inside where eleven of “the happiest, most content students on campus” roam and socialize during their lunchtime break.

Room 331, the classroom where the severely disabled students at PRHS spend their day along with teacher Chris Emmons and other one on one aids that assist certain students throughout the day.

Though most of the students in 331 stay with each other the whole day, some students participate in other classes on campus such as art, life skills, P.E., and even some ag classes.

Though the rest of the school maybe cycle through the same boring schedule every day, the students in room 331 are constantly engaging in compelling and creative activities.

Emmons and his students go on frequent field trips to an array of places such as art museums, theatres, bowling alleys, parks, libraries, and aquariums. Recently, they went to pick pumpkins at the Avila Valley Barn in honor of Halloween. And they help pay for the majority of these privileges with the money they earn collecting and cashing in recyclables.

Besides frequent field trips, a new visitor from a foreign country comes and teaches the class about their country’s culture every week,. The students then get to make a cultural dish from the selected country. During a recent visit when an Indonesian visited the classroom, the whole class got to make a meal that consisted of rice, assorted vegetables, and a spicy sweet sauce over the top. On October 30th the students even had a fall food cook-off, where the made all sorts of autumn comfort foods like chili and other dishes.

With so many unique activities, it’s no wonder Emmons describes his students as the most content kinds on campus.

“These kids are such a joy to work with. They’re just happy with simple things and are still so innocent and sweet” said Emmons.

And maybe their sweetness is what contributes to such a familiar and comforting atmosphere. Emmons describes the classroom dynamic more of that of a family, than just school mates.

Ty Fansler and David McFarland “We are all like family,” said Emmons, “like a big group of friends. I usually have the same students all four years so we all get to know each other pretty well.” Like any family, it wouldn’t be complete without nicknames. One of the students, sophomore Fidel, is lovingly called Kiki, and fellow classmate

,David, even teasingly calls him “Potato.”

With so much love and learning in one classroom, it’s clear the students in room 331 enjoy their time here at PRHS, and are proud to be Bearcats.

Karina Munoz’s School Day She starts the day as her chair monitor job, where she is responsible for sitting everyone down to watch the student news every morning

7:55am

Nutrition

She goes to her favorite class, PACE, where she learns skills like handling paperwork and gaining computer knowledge

After nutrition she listens to Emmons while he instructs them, getting them ready for the workforce

11:22am

After she goes to lunch in room 331 to hangout with the other 10 students

3:02pm Indepth | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 07

|

| Indepth

Special Education

Special Ed funds, workforce, and population Revenue

Workforce

Students

PRHS

$4.3 Billion

35% Employment

11% Disabled

12% Disabled

The state and federal

A 2004 survey found that only

About 11% of all public school

The number of students on active

governments have provided

35% of working-age persons

students in California receive

IEP’s (indicating a disability) at

California about $4.3 billion

with disabilities are in fact

Special Education services

PRHS is 244. That is over 12% of

for Special Education in 2007-

employed, compared to an

and of those with disabilities

the student body at PRHS.

2008.school year.

employment rate of 78% in the

roughly half have more than

rest of would like to work but

one disability.

$ According to edsource.org.

could not find jobs.

According to www.un.org/disabilities

According to edsource.org.

Social stigmas

Graphic illustration by Sydney Matteson

Special Education is full of misconceptions

by Courtney Thompson, Co-Editor-in-Chief Special education remains a secluded corner at PRHS; the fallacies surrounding the topics grow ever more extensive as the giggles and teasing turns into bullying which catalyzes the insecurities of these students in the special education program.

The common misconceptions entail ideals that prevent students from breaking out of the special education stigma. These include the idea that everyone in special education has severely intellectual or physical inabilities, which is the furthest thing from the truth.

These misconceptions stem even from the slightest “offense”: picking up trash.

So many students on the campus think it is a demeaning task but that perception can be overcome if they were to become educated about the circumstances.

“Sometimes students come up with a

08 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Indepth

chip on their shoulder and ask ‘How could you make these students pick up trash’, but I know they are speaking out of ignorance.

We rarely ever pick up trash.

We pick up the recycling, take it to the recycling center, and then receive money for it to use toward our monthly field trip. And we aren’t only raising money but teaching them job skills. They [the students] are proud of the job they are doing,. They are proud of their work. It is work they can do well. Why assume, in the first place, that

there is something wrong with cleaning and beautifying the campus. There are adults who do the same,” said Chris Emmons, a teacher of the Special Ed day class for the severely handicapped with an IQ below 70.

T w o hundred and forty four students here at PRHS are in Special Education with some sort of IEP (Individualized Educational Plan).

These students are spread amongst classes like the day class, for severely handicapped students, the emotionally disturbed, and a

Having an understanding that everyone can learn, but not everyone can learn in the same way will help PRHS overcome these obstacles,” -Randy Nelson

slight intellectual disability.

But nowadays, disability has such a negative connotation that it has only added to the lingering misconceptions of this area.

“I never want to tell people that I am in Special Ed because they look at me like I’m dumb,” said an anonymous student, who has been in the Special Education since third grade. “It seems like as soon as I say those words everything changes. I’m judged because I learn differently.”

Randy Nelson, PRHS Principal, realizes that the social stigmas faced by these students is due to a general lack of knowledge in these areas.

“Having an understanding that everyone can learn, but not everyone can learn in the same way will help PRHS overcome these obstacles,” said Nelson.

Opinion

|

s Loss for wcololegre d essay The journey of writing a

by Angela Lorenzo, Managing Editor

FALLING APART: The harmful effects of the zombie drug are on display as this male krokodil addict shows off his peeling skin and ripping muscles. Usually, the injection area is where the skin first rots.

Photo used with permission by stopnarkotik

The walking dead Fatal drug enters America

By Sydney Matteson, Managing Editor Exposed bone, pus oozing out of opened sockets, skin escalated confiscation,” according to New York State Office of being pried apart by the rotting flesh, not a zombie, but a Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) website.

When the drug is injected, it ruptures the blood vessels, user of the addictive opiate krokodil. Desomorphine, eight to 10 times more potent than morphine and better known as causing the tissue to die, while the users body rots from the its street name, krokodil, has began to pop up in Europe with inside out. Because of the toxins and poisons in the deadly over ten known cases in the US, after being imported from drug, the average lifespan of a krokodil user is only two to three years. Though most cases are fatal, those who survive Russia as early as Sept. 2013.

Named after the scaly dark appearance of the skin much often have serious scarring, amputated limbs, gangrene, and like that of a crocodile’s skin, krokodil addicts shoot the brain damage, living proof against using the zombie drug.

“It’s really scary. I mean even though codeine isn’t over the dangerous mixture of a cheap codeine into their veins counter here [in America] like it is using a hypodermic needle.

“Our biggest issue with this is the fact in Russia, it’s still crazy to think that The drug is usually combined that anybody who uses needles in some people are willing to try it, while with red phosphorus, gasoline, iodine, paint thinner and lighter type of drug situation, is highly suspected knowing what their skin is going fluid. Because it’s cheaper and of other highly contagious diseases, such to fall off.” said senior Bella Aguilar. more addictive than heroin, as hepatitis and HIV.” The first cases appeared in the number of users is rapidly -Columbus Division of Fire Deputy Arizona in late September, but increasing, with as many as one doctors fear that it’s been on the millions individuals who have Chief Jim Davis streets for over a year prior. The tried krokodil and 100,000 using popular street drug made its first the drug in Russia, according to appearance on Russian soil in 2003.

Fox News, although the dangers of the drug are rampant.

“As far as I know, these are the first cases in the United “The Russian government has considered some steps to curb this epidemic, including banning websites that explain States that are reported... We’re extremely frightened,” Dr. how to make the opiate, placing codeine back into the Frank LoVecchio, the co-medical director at the center, told prescription only category and increasing enforcement with CBS5.

There is a difference between having something to say, and having to say something. As awkward teenagers and young adults, we’ve all experienced that moment when a teacher, friend, peer, or family member has put the spotlight on us to speak, answer a question, or propose a question, and somehow, try as we might, no words came out.

It’s hard to have an opinion about a topic when we don’t have strong feelings towards it. And it’s hard to tell a meaningful story when our lives consist mainly of extended stays in a classroom filled with CYMK color schemes, layout inspiration, donuts, printed stories covered in purple corrections, and endless hours of cleaning dishes for the bare minimum wage.

I’m at a loss for words when staring blankly at a sheet of paper, hoping that a beautiful idea will spring out of my head and flow into a perfectly crafted college essay that tells not only about my trials and tribulations as a 21st century teen, but also expressed the maturity and knowledge of a girl who has learned.

My lack of product isn’t for lack of trying. A cumulative effort of around five hours in my first period English class, plus another good seven of sitting in my room, staring at tiny black line flashing on my computer, waiting for me to read back into memory and find something to move it along.

I’ve been shown sample essay after sample essay. “Just make it like theirs!” I tell myself, only to realize I haven’t lived in four different countries, had 13 nannies, grown out of my awkward puberty stages through the help of a band teacher, or posses the ability to talk to wolves.

Finally, after feeling like my attempt was futile, I chugged out a meaningless 555 words essay on a partially true, over exaggeration of the truth that I learned I didn’t even need to apply to any college I plan on attending.

So half a day of work time later, and unweighable emotional stress later, I’m left with a _grade_ on an essay that was half a lie, and then exaggerated truth.

We used to be told, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But after painfully slapping letters and words together, I realize that we should follow a different, simpler motto: “If you don’t have anything to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Opinion | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 09

| Health

Moore motivatili on Boost your brocco and count your kale

by Maddi Moore, Reporter

Everyone has those days where all we want to do is sit and do nothing, and with winter approaching, it sounds so appealing. It’s time for the pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon cookies, and apple pies. Thankfully, colder weather doesn’t mean we can’t still be healthy. Plenty of fall-season vegetables come into season when the summer foods are gone.

Senior Matthew Dutton understands. “I love vegetables and fruits. They are packed with essential vitamins.”

Remember as a little kid you found broccoli the nastiest thing your parents could feed you? Try to love it: broccoli has nutrients like Vitamin A and C, calcium, and fiber. Its enzymes “squelch cancer-causing agents,” according to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. It averages 34 calories per hundred grams, making it one of the lowercalorie vegetables. Oddly, broccoli is considered a flower, providing a rich source of Vitamin K essential for strong bones and heart disease prevention.

Kale is causing its own craze. It looks like a combination of lettuce and spinach with the texture and dark green coloring. The forgotten vegetable is being recognized “for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.” One cup of kale costs us 33 calories but delivers 206% of Vitamin A, 134% of Vitamin C, and 684% of Vitamin K. It helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Kale is delicious chopped up in a fresh salad or in favorite soups and can be cooked, combining wonderfully with eggs.

Fruit is an easy way to fill hunger pains while still getting nutrients. Grapes are an excellent example and are junior Lindsey Horst’s top choices. “My hands down favorite healthy snack is grapes.” One cup of these little plump balls, an easy snack, is only about 58 calories and provides Vitamin A along with many minerals. It’s peak season to enjoy them.

So working out is not the only way to get healthy and fit.

Eating better is the ticket.

“I would recommend everyone to eat healthy. Not only will you feel better, you will look better. Having a healthy diet is essential to having both a healthy lifestyle and body,” said Dutton.

10 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13

Sleepy A’s

Photos by Matt Durian

Students sleeping habits affect their schoolwork and extracurriculars

by Mariela Villa, World Editor Amid dealing with classes seven hours a day, having to do homework and other extracurriculars, and trying to maintain a social life, sleep is the last thing students have time for.

Sometimes students have so much homework, they end up pulling all-nighters to complete the work that seems never ending-one moment homework is in sight, and the next, drool adorns the textbook. Eyes close for what seems like five minutes before the blaring alarm goes off. And the morning routine starts once again.

Bearcats find themselves in the same situation as junior Kathryn Moreno, who is enrolled in three AP classes, two science classes, and band, which fill her entire schedule and feels the pressure and on average gets five to six hours but she has almost stayed up all night on a school night.

“I haven’t really pulled an all nighter although I have come close to that,” Moreno said. The longest Moreno has ever stayed up is 23 hours meaning Moreno only had one hour of sleep.

“I was exhausted and I had struggled to stay awake for the whole day not really there, not paying as much attention as I could have. I also had a huge headache.” The symptoms that Moreno felt are usual when not getting enough sleep.

Moreno isn’t alone. Sophomore Samantha Garrett feels the same with one AP class, two honors classes, and is involved in BCASE and key club which requires some time after school.

“I've been close to pulling an all nighter to study but remind myself I have to go to sleep however I sometimes toss and turn because I'm stressed about the test even if I studied. Probably one of the main causes is either worrying about school.” On these type of days she only gets five and a half hours of sleep with is almost three hours less than the 8 hours we should get,” Garrett said.

Garrett and Moreno are part of the Bearcats who have busy schedules filled with activities from sports, clubs and many more and feel the pressure from everyday school work and

their sleep isn’t a high priority.

According to Center for Advancing Health only 10 percent of adolescents sleep only five hours and 23 percent sleep only six hours on an average school night when we should be getting eight to nine hours of sleep. Nearly 20 percent more 12th-grade students have sleep deficits than do those in ninth grade. This is do from the heavier workload.

Sleep deprivation, caused by massive workloads from challenging classes is causing students to stumble around like zombies. Balancing school and sleep is nearly impossible but studies show that eight to nine hours of sleep will improve focus and emotional stability. Sometimes the best thing to do in preparation for a scary test is to put the books away and go to bed.

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Sleep students get on an average night 2

10

10%

9

3

4

8 7

23% 5

6 Of high schoolers get six hours of sleep a night

5

Of high

schoolers only get five hours of sleep a night according to Center for Advancing Health

Feature

Preparing for the long road

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Seniors practice writing their college essays

by Angela Lorenzo, Managing Editor

College essay prompts range depending on the school or state of school that you are attending. Seniors are asked to write about the world they grew up in, a characteristic quality that they have, a place that feels safe to them, or other similar prompts. AP Literature teachers Aaron Cantrell and Steve Arnette have coached their seniors through the task of composing college application essays.

12 1st

2

Schools that Meredith sent her essay to.

Agnes Scott College was the first school that Meredith sent her essay to.

1st

for me. As I entered high school, the difficulties tripled, from anxiety and panic attacks to the depression that followed me through my sophomore and junior years.

After my first choir director retired, I dropped the after school class for a year, and when I rejoined as a senior, I really noticed how much more I was able to handle, how much more focused and energized I was, when I had music in my life.

High school is often thought of (especially by adults) as a place where students grow as citizens and scholars, where they gain political and social consciousness, that is an entirely positive experience. Despite this belief, and attempts by teachers and administrators to keep school engaging and interesting, I doubt that I or any other high school students would agree that high school is “the best four years of your life.” I am so lucky to have found my passion early...

“What exactly was that tiny difference between those two words, when they both seemed to perfectly describe the frustration I felt at some of my pieces.”

—Meredith Butz, 12

UC Santa Cruz was the first school that Kelsey sent her essay to.

—Kelsey Vaughn, 12

—Meredith Butz, 12 “It’s not too hard. This piano is hard. This wood is hard. It’s tricky, it’s complicated, it’s going to take work.

But it’s not too hard for you.” My piano teacher, an elderly but vigorously round woman, would always knock on the face of the upright piano in her living room to emphasize the difference between hard and tricky. As a five-yearold just beginning piano lessons, this was nonsense to me.

What exactly was that tiny difference between those two words, when they both seemed to perfectly describe the frustration I felt at some of my pieces.

Music has always been my passion. I started piano at age five, and I’ve played everything from Rachmaninoff to Debussy. I joined advanced choir my freshman year, and I’ve taught piano lessons and vocal parts. But it took me losing music for me to realize the extensive role it played in my personal discoveries. I always used music as an escape from school, from things I found too difficult

Schools that Kelsey sent her essay to.

“It’s just one gum wrapper, big deal, don’t be such a hippie.” The ignorance of my brother’s statement shook me to the core as he threw his in the gutter. So, once we were seated at my computer desk at home, I went to work, showing him the Pacific Trash Vortex, floating in the ocean. Immediately, it opened his eyes to see that one “harmless” gum wrapper that has been dropped, could end up in a floating trash heap in the middle of the ocean.

November 23, 2012 was the start of the next three days that would change my view of the world.

I boarded the boat that would take me and sixteen other eager students and teachers to the mystical Santa Cruz Island. No cellphones, no mp3 players, no connection to the media-filled world, just three days of gawking at nature and enjoying wildlife.

The thought of being on an island where the top predator was the puppy-like, berry-eating Santa Cruz Island Fox,

gave me a sense of security and the several ghost stories that went along with it made me even more interested in learning more about it. Once we set foot on the island, I could tell that this trip was going to be like no trip I had been on before. Strange animal sounds filled my ears, and enormous Red Gum eucalyptus trees towered over me and the rest of my group as we started our first, of many, hikes up into the island. After our day hikes, the group would get to work plotting native grasses to see how . many have grown or not. Lots were gone, and at first I didn’t know why. I thought that it meant that none grew in this specific area. It didn’t really occur to me that the island’s native ecology was dwindling until my teacher explained to me that once species start to invade, they slowly wipe out the natural species. Soon, nothing is left of them...

“Strange animal sounds filled my ears, and enormous Red Gum eucalyptus trees towered over me and the rest of my group as we started our first, of many, hikes up into the island ” —Kelsey Vaughn, 12

To read the rest of Butz’s and Vaughn’s college essays, scan the QR Codes to take you to www. crimsonweb.net, Crimson’s website.

Photos and graphics by Carly Cargill

Feature | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 11

| Feature

S E C N A H C D N SECO boost his outlook on the freedoms students take for granted Senior’s struggles

Josh Wilson-Murry Photo by Carly Cargill

by Carly Cargill, Feature Co-Editor

At 6’2” and 155 pounds stands the face of determination, dedication, and the will to live a better life: former PRHS student senior Josh Wilson-Murry. While proving his place on the basketball court, Wilson-Murry’s struggles with the law show the darker, more secretive side of teen life, simultaneously finding hope as he turns his life around with the help of his “straight-up” friends and coaches.

Wilson-Murry was enrolled at PRHS as of August 27, 2013, but was arrested for probation violation on July 1, 2013, ultimately sending him to San Luis Obispo’s juvenile hall for 27 days, his longest stay of the four trips, then released.

“I was just in [juvenile hall] for probation violation—dirty drug test, smoking too much weed, that kind of thing. That’s what I was doing wrong. I just didn’t stop smoking weed while I was on probation, so they just started locking me up,” Wilson-Murry said.

He reflects that the start of all his problems began after he received his license at the Paso Robles DMV in 2011.Wilson-Murry drove his mom’s Ford Hybrid Escape feeling invincible, free, and in control. His freedom left him when he received a DUI (driving under the influence) issued on May 5, 2011 after he found his keys that a friend tried to hide from him.

“I had just got my license; I thought I was on top of the world, so I don’t know, I just decided to

drive drunk one night. And that’s all it takes, just to decide to drive drunk one time,” Wilson-Murry said . His license was taken away for one year after he ended up in a ditch by the La Quinta Inn off Highway 46, “putting [himself] and others in danger.”

Wilson-Murry was put on probation immediately after the incident, but jail time only came with violations, the first time being two months after he was put on probation.

“I was on probation for a while. I was doing good, but then I started smoking weed again, then I started getting locked up,” Wilson-Murry said.

This same sequence of events reoccurred throughout the next two years, putting him back in juvenile hall every few months.

Choosing an outlet to take out his stress and anger, Wilson-Murry trained harder than ever on the basketball court, averaging 17 points and 2 assists per game, often being a lead scorer since his debut on the varsity basketball team in 2011 as a sophomore. He was also second team All League in 2011 and 2012.

“It’s the only thing I know that I can take over, honestly. I can take over the game of basketball. I can control basketball,” said Wilson-Murry, who picked up his first basketball at the age of two and has played for the love of the game ever since.

Not only did the game help relieve Wilson-Murry’s troubles, his close friend senior Anthony

“It’s the only thing I know that I can take over, honestly. I can take over the game of basketball. I can control basketball.”

—Josh Wilson-Murry, 12

12 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Feature

Feature

m ri b e th to d le u d e h c S : ll a H Juvenile

7

Time to get up!

Breakfast is served

am

Weekend: clean room Weekday: go to class

Weekend: get some fresh air outside

Time to go back to room for lunch

8 10 12 2 am

am

pm

Come back in and stay in room for rest of day

pm

The San Luis Obispo juvenile hall holds approximately 47 minors each day and “is guided by the minimum standards contained in the California Code of Regulations Title XV & Title 24”, according to slocounty.ca.gov.

Wilson-Murry’s struggles have boosted Spencer and long time coach Gerrel Knightshead did their best to aide Wilson- his basketball career, but also his outlook on life and the freedoms students take for Murry in all his struggles. “[Anthony] has always been there granted.

“You know that every one of your friends telling me I’m a dumb*ss for doing the stuff I was doing. He’s always there for me; he’s is out in the free world doing their thing, always trying to get me to do better stuff. and you’re just in juvenile hall where you He’s always trying to keep me straight in have no rights and you have to ask to go to line. Gerrel Knightshead, he’s like a friend the bathroom, and you’re in your room half and coach. He coached my club team, and the time. You go to school in there, and it’s he’s always there. He’s given me second just bad,” said Wilson-Murry, who shared chances and stuff, so I gotta have a lot of rooms with other young men two times out respect for those guys,” Wilson-Murry said of the four. Both times, his roommates were with appreciation written in his eyes. He in for methamphetamine use.

Receiving almost admits that smoking “You know that everyone nine hours a day to marijuana is the think in his room, easiest thing not to of your friends is out in the Wilson-Murry do and feels that he rapidly should’ve quit earlier. free world doing their thing, matured each time in juvenile While rumors and you’re just in juvenile hall, also reading spread about Wilsonhall where you have no approximately 14 Murry stealing a car, books with his time to friends like senior rights and you have to ask burn.

Gage Lux were “I just made stupid there to shine a to go to the bathroom, and positive light on the you’re in your room half the mistakes over and over again, and I subject. time. You go to school in never changed what “He’s a real down I was doing. That’s to earth guy and just there, and it’s just bad.” what people need to cool with everybody; —Josh Wilson-Murry, 12 do, and they need to he is always looking realize that you gotta for a good time or just to have fun, whether it’s playing basketball change at some point in your life,” Wilsonwith his peers or just hanging out with his Murry said. “Everyone gets in trouble, friends,” said Lux, who met Wilson-Murry but I still think people deserve a second in the seventh grade at Lewis Middle chance. Like, not third chances, but people definitely deserve a second chance, and School.

“I’d try to keep Josh out of trouble.. .Don’t it’s a big impact on peoples lives when get me wrong, Josh is my boy, but I had to they don’t get that second chance.”

Wilson-Murry was 75 days sober as cut him off because I felt like I was going to start getting in trouble, but [Josh] is a of Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, and he plans to really cool guy. I just hope that he will learn stay that way. His dream is to coach and before it’s too late,” said Spencer, who calls play basketball overseas where he will Wilson-Murry “J-Bobby” and has played continue his progress in a career that he basketball with him for approximately four has a passion for and can control as much as he pleases. years, after meeting on a club team.

Graphic by Carly Cargill

SHOT CALLER: (below) Senior Josh Wilson-Murry works his magic on the court at Centennial gym in Paso Robles. In his free time, he either practices at Shandon High School gym or Centennial, a popular place to practice.

Photos by Carly Cargill

Feature | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 13

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| Feature

Living to the beat PRHS junior raps with talent

by Rebecca Mitchell, Career Editor

Junior Grisey Castro has been rapping since he was in seventh grade. He got into this because he didn’t listen to much music up to that point and rap was the first style that peaked his interest.

“I thought it was awesome how much wordplay could be put into a verse. I guess I just appreciate how easy it was made to look when in fact it’s very difficult to execute,” said Castro, who admits he loves it not only for the music but the culture as well. “I loved how well developed, and thought out, and witty rap can be.”

One of the things that comes with the culture of rapping is rap battles, which he said he has always liked.

He mostly jokes around more than actually battles, but he also said that some people can take it to the next level and be really competitive. Castro has never been in an actual battle but plays around with his friends and has “battles” with them. An actual battle consists of one person coming out a winner rather than just messing around with someone else.

Castro said that he would enjoy pursuing this as a career, but he is cool with where he is at right now. “I know I have a lot of growing to do and a lot of room for improvement.”

He wants to be able to buy all the supplies needed to record his tracks at a quality he feels accomplished with. Ultimately he wants to be able to perform Eminem’s song Lose Yourself with his supportive friends, juniors

Alec Wingfield, Ryan Weber, and Abigail Venturini to see how people perceive him. Then he would like to perform his original work. .

Anything can inspire Castro to write his lyrics, from something he hears in a classroom to how he feels that day. His lyrics don’t just do something for him though; they inspire other people as well.

“I think people would feel inspired by his lyrics. I’m almost always inspired by him, his lyrics have meaning and stories behind them and if he got the chance, he could go far with his rapping,” said Castro’s sister, Alma Castro.

“I’m not usually a big fan of rap, but Grisey adds this unique style that I just love!” said Castro’s girlfriend Venturini. She added that Castro is dedicated to his rapping and can connect to people with everyday problems though his lyrics. Venturini went with Castro and his family to get him a microphone in Arroyo Grande.

She admitted that he was so excited to open the box that he only lasted five minutes before breaking it down.

Castro is well-supported and his friends and family all believe that he could go to the top with his talents. Castro has found a hobby that he enjoys and puts everything he has into it. He will continue to rap and hopes to find a way to pursue it as a career, but will always do it no matter what.

LAYING IT DOWN: (above) Castro runs his homemade beats under his raps as he uses an interview with former foreign exchange student Taiki Kiyokawa from Japan.

SETTING IT UP: (right) Castro sets up his computer, ready to record a track with his brand new pop filter and microphone. He has produced three raps and written 12.

Photos by Carly Cargill

Crossing the finish line

Sophomore motocross rider wins state championship Approximately 300 racers gathered on Oct. 6, 2013, for the Dodge Motocross race in Sacramento to test their rank among the best 300 dirt bike riders in the state.

Racing number 41, full of adrenaline, sophomore Chris Hernandez won first place in his class—Hernandez’s biggest victory yet.

“After I was told I had won the championship, and that all I had to do was finish, going out on our sight lap, I was nervous not to screw up. But as I lined back up on the gate, I just found peace. And as we went around the first turn I was in the very back and just got determined. I worked from 38th up to 6th in five laps and felt like I could literally do anything. I could put my bike in whatever rut I wanted, hit whatever jump however fast I wanted to. It was WINNER’S LAP: (above) Hernandez effortless,” Hernandez said. rode his bike after winning the Dodge Riding around a track on a motorcycle at up to 60 miles per hour may National Championship. His class not seem like everyone’s cup of tea, but for Hernandez, it's a lifestyle rather contained roughly 12 percent of the entire race classes. than a hobby. While most kids usually learn how to ride a bike at about 4 or 5 years old, Hernandez first started his riding career on a PW 50, the STARTING UP: (right) A four year old smallest motorcycle made by Yamaha—only under three years old.

Hernandez smiles while riding one of his first bikes. The bike is an orange In Tulare, California at 4 years old, Hernandez started the first race of his KTM 50. career.

Hernandez raced around the state for another three years but then Photos used with permission by Chris Hernandez decided to call it quits.

14 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Feature “I just got burned out” said Hernandez, ending his career at age seven.

by Maureen Pushea, Photography Director

His passion had stalled.

Long time friend of Hernandez’s, sophomore Carlen Gardner has also been racing motocross since he was six years old. Gardner receives fifteen different sponsors, meaning discounts on products. Along with Hernandez, Gardner also raced at the Dodge motocross race in October and won third in his class.

In 2012, Gardner reignited Hernandez's flame by taking him out riding again and convinced him to start racing again.

“Now I love it more than ever. Maybe I wouldn’t if I had kept racing,” Hernandez said.

Back on the track racing a yellow Suzuki supermini, Hernandez attends an average of eight races per year and has come home with a total of five first place, three second place, and ten third place trophies to store on the shelf, along with a few sponsors to brag about. Hernandez receives a 35 percent off discount from Leatt neck braces, 35 percent off Dunlop tires, and 50 percent off steel motocross goggles. When Hernandez is a races, he makes sure to introduce himself to companies so that they keep him in mind while considering who is good enough to sponsor.

Hernandez and Gardner both hope to race professionally someday by training harder and continuing to race around the country.

|

Jersey girls of Bearcat football Feature

Football girlfriends support their boyfriends on and off the field

by Matt Durian, Health Editor with cont

ributions from Carly Cargill, Feature

Co-Editor

The jerseys say it all Photos by Carly Cargill

Amid the drama of high school relationships, some learn to fight past those things that won't last to focus on supporting each other on and off the field. The Bearcat Varsity football team not only sports their crimson and white jerseys, but their girlfriends do as well—with a little more sparkles than the average jock can wear and still look tough.

"I make cheesy signs and shirts for him," said junior Mackenzie Bragg, who has gone to all the games except the preseason opener at Bullard High School in Fresno, California. Bragg and senior defensive end Drake Phillips have been dating since Jan. 4, 2011. "I go with his parents to all the away games and go to all the home games."

As well as going to all the football games, Bragg has made two shirts to wear that say "hands off 59," Phillips’ football number.

“My favorite thing is probably being able to be so supportive and being able to do supportive things and cheer for him. My first shirt took me a day, but the second one took what seemed like forever!” said Bragg, who has spent approximately four days

total making football shirts.

Senior Claudia Tews and senior cornerback Trever Dunn, dating since November 1, 2011, have been through almost every game together, from football to volleyball and also softball.

"I always tell him good luck before his game and to not get hurt," Tews said. Dunn has gone to all of her volleyball and softball games since her freshman year.

"He tells me good luck and makes signs for me and cheers for me when I have volleyball games."

Having the unique opportunity to attend every game and be there through every win and loss, Varsity cheerleader junior Blair Orlando cheers for her boyfriend, junior Cooper Silva.

"I support my him by always being there for him. Whether he needs something, or just giving him that extra boost of confidence," Orlando said.

The loudest cheers in the crowd come from the proud girlfriends of the Bearcat football players. Even when the game’s over and the season comes to an end, they will be there waiting for the “boys of fall” and another year of cheering.

YOUNG LOVE: (above) Bragg, Phillips, Orlando, Silva, Dunn, and Tews smile and show their happiness while walking on the football field. Each of the couples have been together for close to two years.

CREATIONS: (below) Junior Mackenzie Bragg and Senior Claudia Tews have spent hours making shirts for their boys.

They wear them to the friday night light games to show their spirit.

“I support him by always being there for him, whether he needs something or just giving him that extra boost of confidence.”

—Blair Orlando, 11

Feature | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 15

| Ads

16 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Ads

Food

Reduced Fees for Lunch

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The “free” lunch line has a variety of food with reduced prices many students would envy. Featured below are the foods and beverages that are most consistently available on the menus. The food is provided to those students in need of financial assistance.

Approximately 240 students go through this line per day.

Nutrition menu

ENTERING THE LINE: Students crowd the doors of the free lunch line as some leave the line, lunches in hand. Low price and vegetarian options populate the menu, though stigmas concern some qualifying students.

Photo by Eden Peterson

Is it really free?

Students on financial aid for lunch may forgo price breaks because of embarrassment

by Rachel Cole, Feature Co-Editor

The lunch bell rings and students rush to the nearest line to purchase their meals as quickly as possible.

But some students may rush not just to be in the front of the line, but also to avoid being seen entering a certain line.

In the farthest line from the entrance of the school, two open doors lead into half of the cafeteria, is where students who need monetary assistance purchasing their lunches can get a free, or reduced-price lunch.

However, the free lunch is different and separate from the lunches that are paid for, different not only in sustenance, but in the fact that every student is required to take the entire lunch, in hopes of creating a more balanced meal.

The differences may not seem like much to those who don’t have to utilize the financial aid, but to some who spend part of every lunch in the line, it is embarrassing that the lines, food, and workers are different.

“It is embarrassing, because a lot of people make fun of the people in that line,” said freshman Carmen Nevarez, who has been in this lunch line for 10 years.

Nevarez thinks that the system that her past middle school,

George Flamson Middle School, has of putting everyone through the same line would be a doable plan for the high school, and says that she would prefer that if possible.

However, she also said that not everyone who goes through the line is embarrassed, only some of them are embarrassed by the one-two minutes that they spend waiting. Roughly 240 students go through the line in the 15 minutes of nutrition and the same in the 35 minute lunch.

She also said that the workers don’t really pay attention to who is going through the lunch line and they don’t judge, it’s the others around them who might look down on them.

Sophomore Karla Rodriguez, a worker in the lunch line, agrees with Nevarez about how the workers feel.

“I don’t pay attention to who’s in the line and I don’t know anyone who does notice who’s in the line.

But maybe [the students in this line] think that people pay attention to them. I’ve never seen anyone bullied because they are in the line,” said Rodriguez, who has worked in the free and reduced lunch line both freshman and sophomore years, and in the cafeteria at Flamson in

eighth grade According to Rodriguez, although the food is very different, it’s still just as good. She believes that the system of keeping the two lines separate is the only way to keep the cafeteria from falling into chaos, trying to keep the food and prices different.

“Well nobody really bullies me it is just that it’s embarrassing because people call you beaners and poor,” Nevarez said.

Although most people don’t pay attention to those who are given free and reduced lunch, there are those who call it the “beaner line.” The derogatory term “beaner” refers to people of Hispanic or Latino descent.

However, this term has also been used frequently by the students who are in the line, and other students of Hispanic or Latino heritage, so many students in the free lunch line are not offended by it.

Although several students have their friends calling them this derogatory term, there are still some who are offended by this and so, it is not too hard to imagine why there are students embarrassed when they choose to buy food from the “free” lunch line.

milk............. $.25 juice............ $.25 Poptarts..... $.75 bagels......... $1.00 corn dogs.. $1.00

biscuits & gravy.......$1.00 coffee cake...............$1.00 muffins......................$1.00 cinnamon rolls.........$1.00 b-fast burritos..........$1.50

Lunch menu All entrees $2.50 chicken burgers pizza sticks hot pockets chimichangas salad chicken and rice

pizza pasta nachos cheese sticks hamburgers egg rolls

“Well, nobody really bullies me. It is just that it’s embarrassing because people call you ‘beaners’ and ‘poor.’”

—Carmen Nevarez, 9 Food | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 17

| Food Three Thanksgiving leftover ideas: (courtesy of the Cargill family

Turkey: Make a Rosemary Garlic Roast Turkey to wow your family and guests. (courtesy of http://spoonful.com/recipes/rosemary-garlic-roast-turkey)

1.One of the most popular ways to eat up the leftover turkey is to make turkey sandwiches with mayonnaise and a little added salt and pepper. You will eat it up in no time without getting tired of the turkey.

2.Strip excess meat from turkey, boil the carcass in water, pull out the bones, and add vegetables or any other ingredient to make turkey soup. It is sure to warm you up on a cold day.

3.Make potato patties by flattening leftover mashed potatoes and frying them for delicious hash brown treats for breakfast.

What you need: 12 to 15 lb whole turkey, fully defrosted if frozen 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tablespoons dried) 1/4 cup olive oil 8 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon coarse salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup at from the roasting pan 1/4 cup flour 2 cups defatted turkey pan juices, turkey broth, water, or a combination

kitchen)

Brief Procedure: In a small bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper until it forms a thick paste. Pull away the skin at the breast and rub the rosemary garlic paste onto the breast meat, all over the skin, and in the cavity. Cook the turkey as you normally would, basting every 15-20 minutes until the thermometer in the inner thigh reaches 170 degrees. This may take three to four hours.

by Carly Cargill, Feature Co-Editor

Stomachs growl as the smell of turkey cooking in the oven and the gravy boiling on the stove fill the air.

Every family member waits and watches in delight as the food is set on the dining room table. Finally, it is served. The Thanksgiving meal, while known to be gut filling and superb, can have the reputation of being the “same old” meal. These tips can make your Thanksgiving new, fresh, and unique among all other 248 million turkey meals made each year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Pie: Our Famous Pecan Pie (courtesy of the Cargill family kitchen) Gravy: No-Fail Make Anytime Turkey Gravy (courtesy of http://www.food.com/recipe) What you need: 1/2 cup butter (or hard margarine) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ( freshly ground pepper) 4 cups pan drippings (or see options below the recipe) Brief Procedure: Drain the pan drippings for the roasted turkey through a fine strainer. Let sit and then remove any fat. Add in chicken broth or water to make 4 cups if necessary. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine or butter. Add in lots of black pepper. Add in 1/2 cup flour plus 3 tablespoons; constantly whisk for about 3 minutes over low heat. Slowly add in the 4 cups turkey broth/ drippings; whisk constantly over medium-low heat until bubbly and thickened (about 3 minutes). Use right away or keep warm over lowest heat setting, whisk again before serving.

18 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Food

What you need: 1 cup white sugar 1 cup white Karo syrup 2 eggs-beaten 1 ¼ cup pecans chopped 4 tbs butter ¼ tsp salt Brief Procedure: Mix butter and sugar; add salt, well beaten eggs, Karo syrup, and chopped nuts. Mix well.

Bake in raw pastry shell for approximately one hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Use 8” or 9” pie shell.

Photo by Eden Peterson

The Homeless

" Sometimes it strikes me how poverty and

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privilege became silent neighbors...

20-21

Look into homeless shelters Two local homeless shelters in the San Luis Obispo county are sometimes the only options for the homeless.

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Where does the food go?

Grocery stores such as Wal-Mart and Albertsons donate most of their dented or damaged cans that are still in date to local food banks and agencies.

What’s it like to be homeless Many homeless children and adults experience different events, schedules and lengths of being homeless.

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Handouts can be helping hands Homeless people are just that: people. And helping those people is not a crime.

...And the world just keeps going because it has to. "

"

- One Tree Hill

Photo illustration by Angela Lorenzo

Homeless | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 19

Welcome to “The Jungle”: Many homeless people turn towards homeless camps, large communities built from tents and wood scraps, when they leave the shelter system. The largest homeless camp in the U.S, “The Jungle”, is located in Silicon Valley. The camp covers 65 acres and can house up to 175 people at a time.

Many of its residents are former carpenters and masons who build elaborate homes in these camps, yet even the most skillful of these structures pale in comparison with the multi-million dollar mansions located nearby in Silicon Valley.

20 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Center

Rest&refuge

by Eden Peterson, Food Editor

Homeless shelters provide sanctuary for those hit with hard times

| Homeless There are 633,782 homeless people in America,according to data from U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development, and 3,774 of those people are in SLO county. With so many people between homes, many people wonder, where do the homeless go?

SLO county has a total of two stable shelters where those between homes can seek refuge: El Camino Homeless Organization in Atascadero, and Maxine Lewis Shelter in San Luis Obispo.

Types of Shelters

There are many different types of services and housing available to those in need, but there are three main types of shelters where the disadvantaged can seek assistance, safety, and simply a roof over their head.

Emergency homeless shelters are shelters where the homeless and those with low-income can be provided with lodging for three months at a time or less.

Typically these shelters do not allow their occupants to stay at the shelter during the day.

Day shelters are another type of shelter. These shelters allow the homeless to stay during the day. Like emergency homeless shelters, they commonly provide laundry facilities, shower facilities, meals, hygiene services, and case management. Case management is defined as “a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, care coordination, evaluation, and advocacy for options and services to meet an individual’s or family’s needs” by the Case Management Society of America.

Halfway housing is the third type of shelter. It is considered any shelter that allows their residents to stay for a period of time longer than six months. Usually these shelters provide housing for their occupants from six months to two years.

Often, but not always, if those living there have some type of income, they are required to pay 30% of their income to cover program fees. These types of shelters are used to create a smooth transition from homelessness and living in shelters, to finding permanent housing.

Streets over Shelter Although shelters are provided to the homeless in many communities across the United States, 42% of the homeless remain unsheltered.

“Part of the reason [for staying on the streets] was, you know, the paranoia and the fear of large groups of people that comes along with schizophrenia, but

part of the reason was, and I think this is more generally the case with people, is that you hear a lot of terrible things about shelters, that shelters are dangerous places, that they're full of drugs and drug dealers, that people will steal your shoes, and there's bedbugs and body lice,” said David Pirtle, a homeless man, in an interview on NPR. Whether it’s mental instabilities, drug addictions, or the stigma of danger and disease, that’s keeping nearly 266,188 of the dispossessed away from the over 4,000 shelters listed in the U.S., is unclear, but what is clear is that 58% who choose to take advantage of these resources, depend on them dearly.

An Inside Look El Camino Homeless Organization, or ECHO, is located in Atascadero and is the only homeless shelter in the north county.

ECHO was first started in 2001 and was originally “just a group of people with a [35] cots that would move from church to church [in Atascadero] on a monthly basis,” said Sheri Moen, shelter manager.

In March of 2013, ECHO took a big step of purchasing the First Baptist Church, and finally establishing a stable and permanent shelter in North County. This shelter currently has 31 beds and one shower, and is undergoing renovation and expansion that will lead to a new set of wheelchair accessible showers and toilets and will provide enough space to house 50 new clients.

ECHO is considered an Emergency homeless shelter, as residents are only allowed to stay three months at a time and is open from 4:30 PM to 7:15 am. Like most shelters, ECHO has case workers that work with residents in helping them through things like substance abuse recovery and helping them find jobs. Residents also receive assistance in managing all mental and physical disabilities. Occupants must be completely drug free and are regularly drug tested. They also have to be at the

shelter at all times when it is open to them, unless they have a verified job. This helps to ensure that all residents remain free of drugs or illegal substances .

Although there are many rules and procedures like any other shelter, ECHO truly is a home for many who are down on their luck. Moen describes the residents as being “like any other family.

We sometimes disagree over who gets to choose the nightly TV show or who might get to shower first, but just as much as we bicker, we make an effort to comfort those residents who are feeling down” Moen said. The family at ECHO consists mostly of women who have been abused or abandoned, a few men, and a total of 12 to 14 children.

Whether the residents fell victim to the spiraling economy, the iron grips of substance abuse, the burden of failing health, the snare of abuse, or simply were born into it, they have the support of nearly 2,000 yearly volunteers that donate their time to cook, serve meals, monitor the yard or assist in anyway the shelter needs it. There are over 40 organizations in SLO county that continually donate items such as food, blankets sheets, socks, underwear, and other necessities.

“This shelter couldn’t survive without the support of the community. We receive almost everything we use through donations and the help of volunteers, and although we have around 2,000 volunteers annually we are always looking for more,” Moen said.

Shelters are sometimes the only option for those in need and agreed by most to be a necessity for the community. Without shelters, many families, men, women, and children would have no choice but to sleep in the street.

“No one ever says when I grow up I want to be homeless. It could be you,” Moen said.

Photo illustration by Angela Lorenzo

Center | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 21

| Homeless

May the food be with you Local grocery stores and their fight to end hunger

by Lauren Reed, Fun & Games Co-Editor Forrest Gump’s mother always said that “life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” For the approximately 3,800 homeless in SLO county, that chocolate is coated in hunger and filled with need.

Around 1,600 of the homeless have gone without eating for a day within the last month. The six major grocery stores in Paso Robles--Albertson’s, Walmart, Target, Vons, Smart and Final, and Food-4-Less--throw out roughly 3,000 pounds of food yearly, which is enough food to feed one adult for around 1,500 days, and have acknowledged a need for change.

“We throw out probably 20 pounds of meat and perishable items weekly, and 50 pounds of produce weekly… We throw it out if we wouldn’t purchase it ourselves,” said Ricky, Food Department Manager at Walmart.

Although food is wasted, Walmart donates defective, dented, sealed items, such as cereal boxes and cans, to the needy.

“We are working to help families across the U.S. by generating meals and awarding grants to local food banks and agencies to support hunger relief programs,” said Julie Gehrki, Senior Director of the Walmart Foundation.

Walmart isn’t the only grocery store fighting on the front

lines against hunger–Albertson’s bought refrigerated trucks for the Food Bank, allowing them to come to the store and pick up food that is either physically unappealing or nearing the expiration date. The Food Bank then gives the food to the needy and elderly around the area.

“Each individual Albertson’s store is able to pick which charity to give their unwanted food, and all the southern stores have chosen to do the Food Bank,” said Cindy, assistant manager at Albertson’s.

Albertson’s also hosts a “Giving Thanks” campaign each year that began Oct. 23. Customers have the choice of donating $1, $3, or $5 that goes directly to making meals for the needy in Paso Robles. These meals include a poultry dish, some vegetables, and a side. Last year, the local store raised nearly $36,000 dollars. They also held a rummage sale the weekend of Oct. 26: last year, the rummage sale brought in a revenue of $2,900, which went directly to the campaign.

“The great thing about the campaign is it directly helps the citizens of Paso. All of the proceeds go directly to buying meals for the needy. The money isn’t going down to Southern Cal. to be distributed elsewhere,” Cindy said.

Though life’s figurative chocolates may be disappointing at

times, local grocery stores are doing their best to house the figurative chocolates in a box of generosity and compassion.

Moving homes

22 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Homeless

What life is like for people who are in between homes

by Angela Lorenzo, Managing Editor Housing adjustments, family problems, schools issues, and drug problems occur in many lives, these issues typically present themselves as a source of problem that gets resolved. But sometimes, these events that start out as family tiffs can turn into the loss of home and shelter.

Ocean Epperly, a Templeton High School student, was with his parents and four siblings in Las Vegas for 2 years, where they stayed at a homeless shelter for eight months during the nights.

Each morning at 5 PM, they would receive a “rude awakening” that signaled that it was time to leave, and would not be able to come back until 12:30 pm for lunch.

Epperly, who was nine and ten during this stage, lost his home when their landlord neglected to tell them that he was auctioning off the house they’d been staying at. They would walk for three to four miles and panhandle for food money because they could not always rely on the homeless shelter.

When the shelter was full or shut down they were forced to find other places to sleep for the night.

“I would mostly stay at people's houses and sleep on the floor. Most of these people I did not even know. Sometimes we would manage to get enough money

to have a hotel for the night,” Epperly said.

Epperly moved to California after his mother called her parents and asked to help get them out of Las Vegas.

“My mom decided she had enough of what we were going through and we left my dad sleeping on a bench,” Epperly said. “We stayed in a hotel for 6 months until we found an apartment we could pay for each month with our cash aid each month which was $1,200.”

Epperly now lives with his foster parents.

Homelessness can last for more time, and last into adulthood.

Tim, 27, has been living in his friends car and around Paso Robles for four years. He dropped out of Atascadero High School as a junior, but sees himself going into the culinary field in the next few years.

Tim utilizes many areas of town and typically makes about $20 in direct donations a day before he stops panhandling. This $20 is usually enough to get him through the day.

“My goal is to usually get $20 and then leave so other people can have a chance instead of staying out there all day,” said Tim, who also gets clothes, and food donations.

Photos by Angela Lorenzo and Sydney Matteson

by Courtney Thompson, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Sidwalk beggers are just trying to get back on their feet

A helping hand, not a handout

Homeless While people start to cozy up against the fire, cup of cocoa in one hand, a television remote in the other, 3,800 people in San Luis Obispo County are wondering where their next meal will come from.

But of course the real question still remains: why don’t they have a job?

It is six simple words that plague us and make us wonder what is that five bucks we hand the person on the street corner actually going to be spent towards.

And it also seems that we only hear of the stories that the drugs have made them homeless and they only stand on the street corner to fulfill their addiction, but does that apply to every single one?

No, it should not.

The argument is that if someone is able to stand on the corner holding a sign asking for a donation, they are able bodied and can go find a job, but who would want to hire a vagabond?

And in such a deeply rooted economic crisis, even the cleancut all-American homeowner has a slim

chance of being hired.

Constantly drifting from one place to another and never rooted in a stable environment, it seems like the exact person employers wouldn’t want, and with only a select few shelters in the area and the almost impossible task of getting a job, getting back on one’s feet isn’t as easy as it seems.

Tim, a frequent “beggar” on the Walmart shopping center corner, has been living in his car for the past four years. When his mom kicked him out after he turned 18, his troubled teenage years metamorphosized into hunt for a new home that he still hasn’t found.

Without access to identification or a high school diploma, Tim is at a standstill attempting to find work, but with his ID on its way, his hope prevails.

Though Tim’s life has been a constant struggle to find stability, his aspirations reach far above this nomadic lifestyle. With hopes to overcome his plight and mistakes, Tim seems to be getting on the right

path.

“I could see myself opening a restaurant, having my own name, and having people work under me,” said Tim, expressing his love to barbeque and dine on breakfast for dinner.

But as Tim experiences the conquests of getting on the right path, his desire takes a plunge as the public’s compassion towards homeless people seems to be plummeting.

“I stay out there for an hour or so, and 60 to 70 cars pass me without even a look or a ‘Get a job,” he said. “I think people are ignorant to the situation, especially when they haven’t been in the situation and they have no idea how it’s going to be. They’re just talking trash. I wish they’d be out there and know what we’re going through.”

Senior Devon Bone agrees that the public’s approval of the homeless is disconcerting.

“The public always needs someone to blame for a crisis, and who better than a social group with

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no political or economical power.

The public needs to realize that homeless people are not a different species but part of humanity and if they would just take a second to even acknowledge one, they would see it’s true,” Bone said.

So the final verdict is that yes: some people will take advantage of the generosity offered. And yes, it’s impossible to tell the truly needy, who suck up their pride and try to survive amid frigid weather and equally bitter stigmas, from the con artists looking to make a quick buck, but we as fellow humans need to extract the gelidity from our hearts. We need to hone in on our benevolence and realize that homeowner and homeless, everyone goes through rough times, and we all need to be that person play a role, large or small, to give them the opportunity to turn their lives around.

A couple bills won’t necessarily change their lives, but it will make it a little easier just to survive for one more day.

Homeless | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 23

| Blind Date

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Topping Up Blind daters make pizzas at a local pizzeria

by Brigitte Maina and Natalie Martin, Blind Date

Editors

Departing from the high school at 3:05 p.m. in a white 2004 Toyota Tacoma, seniors Delaney Cline and Graham Yoshida--both ironically neatly dressed--eagerly hopped into the truck, and after a few hug exchanges, wondered what events were in store. Filling the silence of the car, Cline and Yoshida made conversation on college applications and places they’ve dreamed of getting acceptance letters from.

“I’m trying to go to either Fordham University or Wagner College, in New York,” said Cline, after Yoshida stated he wants to go Regent University in Virginia. During the six minute car ride, they each found out, coincidentally, that they both took the ACT the same morning, and that they both conveniently both enjoy pizza.

Arriving at Chubby Chandler’s, the daters entered the pizza kitchen and were eager to begin creating a few round, saucy masterpieces.

After washing hands, the two listened to a few instructions and pizza lessons taught by the owner and Paso High Alumni, class of 1982 Steve Bryant, for precautions. Learning how to properly roll out dough, spread sauce, and proper cheese distribution, the daters began making their own personal pizzas. Cline up first, struggling a bit on the rolling of dough, made an eight inch cheese pizza and placed it into the oven.Yoshida following, made a mushroom pizza, placed it in the oven,

24 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Blind Date

and simultaneously pushed the revolving oven getting Vanilla Cake Batter yogurt with sprinkles, into place. Cline continued with an extra pesto cookies, and boba, the two sat and continued conversations that were left off. Before leaving, personal sized pizza.

Taking a soda break, Cline and Yoshida Cline and Yoshida performed a small rendition of conversed on favorites such as sports and Fear Factor by trying an Asian fruit called “lychee,” weekend adventures while pouring two cups of white, soft with ripples on the outside, tart, sweet, and squishy in the center. “That was weird,” said Dr. Pepper.

Continuing the pizza making, the daters, Yoshida, letting Cline try for herself. “The texture assisted by Steve, each participated in making a is so weird! Ew!” said Cline, who proceeded to large sized cheese and pepperoni pizza. Rolling throw the rest away.

Cleaning up, the two walked down 12th St. out the dough together, they each, starting from opposite sides of the pizza, wrapped the excess and straight into Brown Butter Cookie Company. dough around the pizza pan to constrain it to the Sampling cookies such as the signature Salted, perfect 14 inches. Making it fun, the owner created Mocha, Citrus, and Cocoa-Mint, the couple a game in which, before placing the pepperonis, decided it was enough sweets for one day, the daters each had to guess how many fit onto the rejoined in the backseat of the truck, and headed large pizza pie. Cline, guessing 30 and Yoshida back to the high school.

Arriving on campus at 5:17 p.m., Cline and guessing 32, each were off with the total number Yoshida hugged it out and were on their ways. residing at 50.

After placing the large pie into the oven, each had to fold their own box to put their now cooled personal pizzas for safe keeping.

Folding it quickly, they put in their pizzas, grabbed their drinks, and sat on the benches outside the building to enjoy their creations. Enjoying their lunch and fitting Yoshida Cline conversations about possible ACT scores, family, and the awkwardness in other Rate: Rate: people, the couple thanked Steve, hopped Favorite Part: “Steve’s Favorite Part: “Taking into the white truck, and traveled a few jokes.” free samples at Lilly’s.” hundred feet to Lily’s yogurt to enjoy a little Second date: Second date: “As dessert. Cline, getting Watermelon yogurt friends.”

“Probably, as friends.” with assorted fruit toppings and Yoshida

Rate The Date 8

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1. Pizza Posing (left): Cline and Yoshida pose before placing their pizzas in the oven.

2. Laugh Out Loud (top right):

The daters share jokes while enjoying their hand made personal pizzas.

3. Go for Froyo (middle): The daters pose with sample cups. Cline had Vanilla and Yoshida had Yellow Cake Batter.

4. Careful Placing (right):

Yoshida places pepperoni on his pizza.

Photos by Brigitte Maina and Natalie Martin

A&E

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This is not a cancer book The Fault in Our Stars elicits mixed reactions

by Analía Cabello, Copy Editor

Sometimes, when I’m really bored and have nothing else to think about, I find myself contemplating who our classics will be. It’s a valid question, isn’t it? When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, I doubt he expected that, nearly a century later, high schoolers across the nation would be analyzing the symbolism embedded within Doctor T.J. Eckleberg’s eyes, nor did Mark Twain suspect Huck Finn would make its way into the sophomore English curriculum. It’s almost eerie, trying to name the books and authors who will rise to fame once we’ve aged and disappeared.

But whichever jumble of authors and titles will emerge as classics with the passing of time, I guarantee you, John Green will lie among them.

His works are few–four solo novels, one co-written with fellow author David Levithan–but he’s been named the 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize twice, according to johngreenbooks.com. Each novel proves, over and over again, that outstanding quality is much more desirable than quantity.

Such is the case with his latest novel, The Fault in Our Stars.

Winner of the 2013 Children’s Choice Teen Book of the Year Award (a title I find to be extremely confusing–children are now choosing best teen books of the year?–and unnecessarily lengthy, but probably flattering all the same), Green’s newest masterpiece illustrates the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a cynical but lovable cancer patient, who meets and falls in love with Augustus Waters, a boy whose “leanly muscular” figure and short brown hair make up for his “aggressively poor” posture.

I read the entirety of the book in roughly three hours (from about 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., because who needs sleep anyway?). By page 213, I’d essentially dissolved into tears, which doesn’t seem

like that big of a deal in the middle of the night. Laughter comes more easily then, so it naturally follows that tears flow more easily as well. But when I went back and reread the ending in broad daylight, the same page elicited the same flood of tears, and I concluded that this, my friends, is a sad book.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t hate this book. I couldn’t. John Green writes with voice and style that is unrivaled and, honestly, hard to find with teen books in this generation.

His descriptive narration is simultaneously bizarre and realistic (Hazel and Augustus argue about the “ghettoization of scrambled eggs.” If that isn’t bizarre, what is?

“Here’s the thing: I didn’t hate this book. I couldn’t. John Green writes with voice and style that is unrivaled and, honestly, hard to find with teen books in this generation.”

Yet, as I read the dialogue, I could totally picture a girl with an oxygen tank and a boy with a prosthetic leg standing in an airport, debating the merits of scrambled eggs as a breakfast food), his characters so real and raw and beautiful, his word choices so wonderfully precise. I could read his writing all day long: to take a line from his book, “frankly, I’d read [his] grocery lists.”

The reason I can’t say I loved it? Well, it’s simple: it didn’t contain the traditional happy ending.

Anyone who’s read the book can tell me their theories and

justifications for the death that occurs in this book (sorry for those of you who have yet to indulge in this literary masterpiece. Yes, someone dies. I won’t say who), and I’m not saying they’re incorrect.

Green probably did cause a character to succumb in order to prove his point, to prove Gus’s point and Hazel’s point, to bring all their philosophizing to a head. I respect their opinions, but sometimes I just feel like throwing a tantrum, kicking and screaming, lamenting the loss of the happily-ever-after. I believe it’s human nature (or maybe it’s just female nature–or maybe it’s just me) to, at some point, lose ourselves in wishes for happy endings.

And a lot of the time, books or movies provide just that. I feel like, if characters who’ve gone through as much as these don’t even achieve their happy ending, where do we stand? Rationally, I know the real world doesn’t work this way, that people’s lives don’t unfold positively or negatively as compensation for their past circumstances. But people’s thoughts can be immensely irrational and challenging to change, and mine are no different.

Hazel insists that this is not a cancer book, and it’s not, really.

Instead, it’s the tragically realistic love story of two people who happen to have cancer, which has a side effect of dying. Because, after all, almost everything does.

If you like Romance

If you like Mystery

If you like Sports

The Truth about Forever—The excellent novel is the story of Macey, whose family and dating life are falling apart. Then she meets Wes and her world spins out of control.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—This action packed tale features Mikael Blomkvist, investigative reporter, who has been convicted libel. But when a mysterious source offers him evidence to keep him out of jail he doesn’t know that it might cost him his life.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game—This insightful insiders scoop on the baseball world shows the truth on when to enter the baseball world, and areas that pay off most among other things.

If you like Sci Fi

If you like Horror

If you like Fantasy

Ender’s Game—In this brilliant novel Ender is the third child in a family of geniuses. He is brilliant and his brother hates him for it....

But when he is recruited into the Battle School even his jealous brother cannot compare to the danger he faces.

The Shining-—This spooky and haunting story begins when Jack Torrance takes a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Little does he suspect the dark secrets that the hotel holds and that the key to unlocking them has just stepped through the door.

The Game of Thrones—The Seven Kingdoms, The East, The Wall. The three story lines in this classic tale of love, action and political games make this tale a real classic to behold.

A&E | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 25

| A&E

Etching Freedom

Sophomore sketches artwork that goes to shows

by Rachel Cole, Feature Co-Editor

The graphite pencil scratches softly across the smooth sheet of 12x20 paper, leaving light grey marks that frame the face of a porcelain doll, portraying texture.

Sophomore Sabrina Peterson shades in the face of the portrait that she is drawing on the larger than average paper for her independent project assigned by her fifth period Drawing and Painting class, taught by Advanced Placement Art and General Art teacher Kelly Clark.

The independent project is a semester long drawing that is done completely in graphite, though Peterson has recently been branching out and trying any types of mediums that she can get her hands on.

The portrait focuses on a porcelain dolllike face, with texture to look more realistic.

My mom was an artist and watching her at a young age she influenced me to start drawing,” said Peterson, who started sketching

26 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | A&E

when she was in second grade. She is inspired by the concept of freedom and regularly draws faces to portray this, sometimes branching into animals as well.

While working Peterson listens to alternative music, such as her favorite band, the Arctic Monkeys, so that she can be inspired.

S h e is also inspired by Norman Rockwell, a 20th century artist from New York who chose to portray serious subjects such as racism and war.

Not only does Peterson choose serious subject matters to deal with, she deals with it in a way that clearly gets the point across and reveals her subjects in a way that draws the audience in. She sketches random faces and never draws people that she knows.

Peterson has a piece that is titled, “Inspiration” in Morro Bay’s Art Association’s

student art show. After entering her art piece titled “Family” in the Paso Library contest she won Best of Show.

Like her inspiration, Rockwell, Peterson focuses on the concepts behind pictures rather than just the drawings themselves. The meanings behind her pieces contain passionate feeling and experience beyond her years, according to Clark.

“Mr. Clark was sharing [“Inspiration”] with the whole class and I just thought that I could enter it in the contest,” said Peterson, who enters competitions in order to see the effect that her artwork has on those who see it, not just to win.

“She definitely has some art background, and she has a good understanding of form, perspective, and elements of art. She has great lines and technique, she’s comfortable with her drawing ability, and she takes on strong subject matter to draw and paint. She also has a great ability to render realism, and she is always

“She has great lines and technique and she takes on strong subject matter to draw and paint. She also has a great ability to render realism and she is always enthusiastic.”

-Kelly Clark

enthusiastic,” said Clark, who has her for the first t i m e this year, and is Peterson’s first official art teacher because she has never taken an art class before.

Clark’s favorite piece of Peterson’s is the independent project that she is drawing for his class. He loves the aspect the serious subjects that she portrays.

Peterson draws all the time, doodling in class and in every spare moment that she has. She says that it relaxes her to draw and keeps her from being too stressed out.

Art is more than a passionate hobby for Peterson though, she reaches to the stars with her work and hopes to make it a job someday.

“I plan on pursuing art for the rest of my life. I have a passion for doing art. Any time, anywhere, drawing, doodling, it’s my life.

It represents me. I don’t know what position I’ll have in art, but I know that my future is in art” Peterson said.

POSTER CHILD: (bottom left) Sabrina Peterson poses with her picture.

WEEPING IN THE RAIN: (bottom right) Peterson’s picture depicts depression in atmosphere and colors.

FALL BLUES: (bottom center) Peterson depicts vivid fall colors against the richness of blue to portray a leaf on water.

CTE

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Welding holding strong

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This month we devote the Career Technical Education section to welding, a hands-on experience that allows students to actively participate and learn techniques first hand. Over 450,000 welding jobs will be available in the year of 2014, making it one of the more secure jobs after high school. Welding has sparked the interest of many students at PRHS; maybe it will spark yours, too.

Program Overview 89 students in Welding Technology and ROP Welding 61 freshman in Agriculture exploration 2 periods of welding technology 2 periods of ROP welding

3 total projects in the school year 1 ROP project qualifies a welder to enter the CMSF 6 seniors each year continue their welding education 2-4 seniors go directly into a welding industry — Angela Lorenzo, Managing Editor

Voices from the shop SPOTLIGHT: Welding teacher Justin Pickard Pickard has been a welding teacher at PRHS for five years and has been welding since he was a freshman in high school In college, he had the opportunity to participate in research experiments with farming equipment and was hired on as a welding fabricator. This helped him realize that he wanted to pursue something in welding because he enjoyed the hands on experience more than what he learned in the classroom.

“My first goal in high school was to become an Ag teacher because I wanted to take over for my adviser, who I knew would be retiring around the time I graduated from school.”

Madison Heeley, 12 “I look forward to going to the class everyday. it’s been my favorite since freshman year. I’ve learned a lot in that class and hope to continue learning. I don’t think I will have a career in welding, but hope to be able to use that skill as a hobby and to be able to fabricate something that I can’t necessarily buy.”

Anthony Sanchez, 10 “I love the class. It’s great. I think it would be an interest after high school and I may pursue a career in it at some point it time.”

Photos by Brigette Maina and Clair Farrell

Kasey Millsap, 11 “I have learned dedication and how to produce desirable projects. After high school I would like to work for Cal Fire, and in my spare time start a small mobile welding business with my dad.”

A word about this section

Crimson thanks Cuesta College and its SB70 Minigrant program for supporting this monthly project. Funds go towards coverage in various media—print, web, video—of high school students building career skills.

CTE | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 27

| CTE

Arcin’ and sparkin’ since 2009

Senior strives to pursue welding career

By Natalie Martin, Blind Date Co-Editor

With four years of experience tightly tucked into his all cotton Miller jacket, C E senior Anthony Kerstiens is easily a T respected welder here at a school who has birthed many award-winning metal masterpieces.

During a period 4 weld session, Kerstiens carries in his sticker-smeared Lincoln electric welding helmet to the booth of his choice to begin today’s work. With deft speed, he strikes alight the day’s heat with the electrode and aims the 5000 degree arc at the day’s victim: a quarter inch thick piece of steel to practice his skills at welding a bead.

His most recent work is hanging with a shiny coat of Crimson paint, visible to students and members of the community, on the outside of the visual/performing arts building. Kerstiens welded a 10 foot by 10 foot Crimson sign of a Bearcat accompanied by the words “Bearcat Country” to its left and right. The project took approximately 4 hours to complete.

Justin Pickard, welding teacher, asked Anthony to lead the project along with his partner Nathan Taylor.

“I felt privileged and trusted”, said Kerstiens.

Kerstiens has been on the FFA welding team

for 3 years and has competed in three regionals and two state competitions for Skills USA, where he placed second overall in welding his Freshman year, first and fifth his sophomore year on the fabrication team. Fabrication is the process of manufacturing or inventing something.

This year he looks forward to competing in combo welding on in February.

“Being around the heat and sparks... it never stays the same, it’s always something new to learn or do,” said Kerstiens.

His grandfather, who is a former welder and weld inspector for PG&E, lit a spark in Kerstiens interest in the trade. “My grandpa is who I look up to when it comes to welding. Whenever I have a question or need help he’s always there to give me advice and it seems like every phone call is a learning experience,” said Kerstiens.

A look ahead for Kerstiens means completing his overhead and 6G Pipe Welding certifications. He has already achieved his 1F, 2F, and 3F 1-inch Plate Unlimited certifications. Kerstiens is also looking into welding for PG&E or getting into a fabrication shop for trophy trucks and offroad racing components.

“Being around the heat and sparks... it never stays the same.

It’s always something new to learn or do.”

—Anthony Kerstiens

Welding work (top): Kerstiens practices TIG welding third period.

His latest work is the 10 foot bearcat hanging outside of the performing arts building.

Sparking a smile (right): Kerstiens has been welding for four years and hopes to work for a fabrication team for offroad racing components.

Photos by Natalie Martin

Alumni’s skills land job in the welding industry

by Matt Durian, Health Editor

ALL SMILES: Alumni Conner Herrera portrayed in his senior photo, Herrera now work at Andros Engineering.

28 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | CTE

From striking their first arc to flipping down their helmet everyday in the field to hanging up their jackets for the last time welders are retiring from they're favorite job and lifestyle.

There approximately 500,000 welders in the industry but less and less are joining while more are retiring. This isn't the case for Paso PRHS graduate welders David Wilkinson and Connor Herrera.

There will be 25,000 students going into the welding industry and 50,000 retiring," this can probably be paraphrased, since it’s mainly numbers according to the Hobart Institute of technology. In the year 2014 there will be over 450,000 welding jobs available. Herrera, Wilkinson, and other welding students will have a secure job when they graduate.

Justin Pickard, the welding teacher at PRHS, believes that there has been a shift from labor intensive jobs to different types of jobs because

students are thinking they need a college degree. Even without a college degree, students can get a blue collar job that still earns pretty good money.

Herrera has taken every opportunity to better himself as a welder, including taking three years of ROP welding and going from school to become an American Society of Mechanical Engineers certified plate and pipe welder.

To become a certified welder you have to do multiple kind of welds in diverse a variety positions. The welds must be strong enough to put through a bend test where the metal is bent at the weld. The welder will weld two pieces of metal together which is then bent into a U-shape to test the strength of the weld.

"My favorite part of my job is fabricating and welding something and then being able to see it assembled," said Herrera, who is working for Andros Engineering. "The most common thing I

do at my job is read blue prints, fabricate, weld, and make it look nice and clean."

While Herrera works on land, another alumni, Wilkinson, works under the surface in Louisiana off the Gulf of Mexico and off the shore of Texas.

Wilkinson has taken an air/mixed gas commercial diving training course in Jacksonville, Florida. Along with the gas diving courses Wilkinson is a American Welding Society certified welder. His courses and training were all paid for by the company he works for, Thechnip. Along with getting to do what he loves everyday and getting paid to do it, Wilkinson never does the same thing every day and gets to work with equipment that you couldn't if you had a normal 9 to 5 job.

Even without a college degree Wilkinson and Herrera have the skills and abilities to do what they love and always enjoy going to work.

Zoom

College Night With over 40 colleges from all over the nation and around 500 students from all over the county, College Night was a success at Cuesta College San Luis Obispo. It provided college bound students and their parents information about applying, attending, and paying for college.

SEARCHING FOR COLLEGE (top): Students and parents roam around the room stopping at college booths that catch their eye.

HUMBOLT HAPPY (right): Sierra Mosely, 12 and Delany Cline, 12 proudly hold up Humbolt State’s gold and green.

COLLEGE CHESSIN’ (far right): Keenan Harris, 11, Taj Williams,11, Alec Wingfeild, 11, and Kera Bruce,11 stop for a quick photo. photos taken by Jordan Nevosh

Teens and Self Esteems

Insecurity and teen depression run rampant through America

By Madeline Raithel, Reporter Nearly one in six high school students has seriously considered suicide, and one in 12 has attempted it, according to the semi-annual survey on youth risk behavior published Thursday, month date by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, the suicide rate among teens has climbed in the past few years, from 6.3% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2011, numbers which reflect the trend gaining national attention as more teen suicides are reported as a result of bullying.

These suicides are mostly due to the increasing poor self image teens have today. With media bombarding young, impressionable teens with similar messages that they should be smarter, prettier, or funnier. It’s hard to find one teen who is perfectly content with the person they are. According to Dosomething. org 59% of girls are unhappy with their body.

Being self conscious doesn’t just apply to poor body images–many teens suffer from insecurities about their grades, clothing, jobs, and anything else under the sun.

It’s well-known that being a teen is hard. And with adolescence comes insecurities; the minute one person says something mean about anything it, becomes something we stay up at night thinking about. “Approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood, and between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time.” Said Psychcentral.com The point is, no teen is alone. All teens have insecurities; it’s a part of life. And it feels better to know that peers share the same anxiety-ridden thoughts. Austin Molon, 11 Zoom | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 29 photo taken by Madeline Raithel

“My insecurity is being fat and not liked. I try so hard to make people’s days but I can’t even make my own.” ­-Austin Molon, 11

|

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11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 31

| Environment

Q&A: Emma Zelus, environmental heroine In a world of increasing pollution, population, and poverty, Emma Zelus fights against environmental injustice

by Jordan Nevosh, Co-Editor In Chief What are some of the environmentally friendly activities you partake in (at home or out in public)?

In general, I strive to do the little things whenever possible, such as recycling plastic bottles or paper, using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, and choosing reusable containers or bags over disposable ones. Also, whenever I meet someone who is perhaps curious about environmental issues and things they can do to remedy those issues, I do my best to answer any questions they may have. The bulk of my environmentally friendly activities, however, are done through BCASE. In the past, we've conducted and participated in beach and creek clean-ups, planted tree saplings, and worked to preserve native plant species. Some of our ongoing projects include our shark conservation efforts and monthly Breathe Easy Bike Days.

I heard you won an environmental award, could you elaborate on that?

I won the SLO County Energy Champion Award, for which I was nominated by Mr. Land. The purpose of the award was to recognize "achievements in energy innovation, technology, and education," as well as environmental leadership. Mr. Land nominated me because of my involvement in the effort to stop sharkfinning, research into how we could go about acquiring solar power and energy independence for our school, and trips to Santa Cruz Island.

GREEN BUT NOT MEAN: Emma Zelus, 11 takes pride in her motativation to change the enivorment through living a green lifestyle. Not only does she motivate herself she motivates other to do the same.

Photo by Emily Ayer

Why are you environmentally friendly?

The way I see it, we humans are, collectively, only one of the innumerable species that inhabit this planet, large and powerful though we may be. We, along with all of these other organisms, rely on the continued prosperity of our environment, and in order to ensure the wellbeing of all life, we ought to do everything in our power to protect the environment. Certainly, we aren't responsible for all environmental issues, past or present, but we have indeed contributed to some of them. As such, I believe it's our responsibility to not only take what we like from nature, but to give a bit back to nature, in return.

What does the environment mean to you?

The environment is indeed important to me because, as a living being, I rely upon it to survive, but I also find incredible beauty and wonder in it. It has given rise to

32 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Environment

stunning landscapes and life forms alike, which should be preserved if at all possible.

This led me to both greatly appreciate nature for all that it has to offer and seek to protect nature.

Do you plan on having a career in environmental studies or anything to do with the subject?

I am not actually planning to have a career in environmental studies, but even so, I plan to continue being environmentally friendly.

Have you been on any of the Santa Cruz island trips?

I've been to Santa Cruz Island twice so far; my first trip, as previously stated, was in the Summer of 2012.

I then went on the 2013 Summer trip as a TA, and I plan to go on the upcoming fall trip, as well.

When did you find your passion for nature? Or do you even have one?

I think I found my passion for nature during my first trip to Santa Cruz Island, during the Summer of 2012. While on the island, I was able to experience pure, undeveloped nature, and that experience most certainly changed me. I found that such places as Santa Cruz Island, which were relatively untouched by mankind, truly deserved to be preserved, for they were more beautiful than even the most exquisite of man made structures.

What is your position in BCASE? I am the co-President of BCASE, you could say. Ryan is currently the President, and I will hold the position during the second semester.

What are some tips you would give to other people about saving the environment?

Most people are, by now, aware of several small things that they can do: recycling, riding a bike or walking, using energy efficient appliances, and utilizing reusable

items. However, there are many larger environmental issues that people are either unaware of or skeptical about. As such, I think the greatest thing that we can do is first learn about those issues and what we can do to fix them. Then we can spread the word and tell our friends, family, and coworkers, who will hopefully go on to tell others.

Information is an incredibly powerful tool, for it both educates people and serves as a call to action. Once people have a bit of knowledge, the rest will fall into place with a little bit of effort.

Quick Facts ○• Zelus has been to Santa Cruz two times.

• She has been in BCASE for two years.

• She also plans on majoring in some form of biological science.

Environment

Factories

Organizations

|

Dollars

$

86 members

8 U.S. factories

yer Monthly A $40 million donated cerned

There are 86 organizations who partake in creating a more sustainable environment by recycling, reusing and reducing.

There are eight Patagonia factories in the U.S. that produce Patagonia garments.

Roughly $40 million dollars have been donated to environmental causes over the past 20 years.

Eco-friendly apparel

Eighty six major brands and organizations join to create a more sustainable apparel and footwear industry

by Madeline Raithel, Reporter That new pair of jeans at your favorite store may soon have a new factor to consider. It’s not size, color, nor style. It’s their efficiency: the amount of energy they took to make versus the projected time they will last. And chances are the jeans we are picking are not very efficient.

That is exactly what the Sustainable Apparel Coalition wants to change. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was founded by 26 brands, including Patagonia and Nike, 14 retailers such as Walmart and Gap, 33 manufacturers like Gildan and Dupont, 12 other industries including Cotton Inc., and 18 non-profit, government or education such as the University of Delaware who felt that the current need to be addressed, according to the web site ApparelCoalition.org. The companies that are members of the coalition use the Higg Index, a tool for measuring the environmental and social performance of apparel products.

The pressure that clothing and footwear industries and consumers put on the environment today can only be supported by using more than four planets’ worth of resources according to footprintnetwork. org.

A majority of environmentalists agreed that it isn’t only the industries putting a strain on the environment. We can see the results of this strain every day. Especially at our local gas stations; to make products we need energy, to get energy we use gas. Gas to power our plows, gas to power factories and machines, and everything else to produce things that we don’t necessarily need. The over-use of gas

has made it harder to get gas, making it more valuable. According to Lester R. Brown in his book Plan B 3.0 he says that from 1950 to 1972 a barrel of oil cost $2 and could be traded for one bushel of wheat, but according to oil-price.net that price has climbed to a whopping $98.68 per barrel. We wouldn’t need to make so much if we didn’t want so much. The Apparel Coalition isn’t just about businesses improving–it’s about consumers improving, too.

“Making things in a more responsible way is a good start, and many companies like us have started doing that, but in the end we will not have a ‘sustainable economy’ unless we consume less,” said Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia Inc. in his September essay in the Patagonia catalog.

Patagonia, a company associated with the coalition, follows a similar mission statement to the Apparel Coalition: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

Companies like Nike and Hanes have gotten the same idea and have become members. They hope to become more sustainable like Patagonia, whose every garment is recyclable.

Already innovating the apparel world, the coalition hopes to take it even further.

“You will be able to see the impact and history of a pair of jeans by pointing your smart phone at the bar code on their label,” said Chouinard.

PRHS con over paper waste

by Emily Ayer, Enviorment Editor You have probably heard it from your teacher, “No you cannot have another copy, we need to save paper”, or seen it strewn about the bottom of a garbage can: the evidence that PRHS may have a paper-wasting problem. An increasing concern such as this cannot be swept under the rug; on average a single teacher uses roughly 400 pieces of paper on a weekly basis. That is about 16 pounds of paper. So roughly for every six teachers, one tree is consumed.

Some students feel paper is being wasted while others feel as if, as long as used in moderation, paper usage may be increasing but is not yet a concern.

Sophomore Lindsay Svinth had a different view on the subject.

“Well I definitely think that the waste of paper is an increasing concern, and that the hybrid of the problem is the over usage of paper by the school staff, targeting, more so, the teachers. However a possible way of resolving this dilemma is by reusing papers, such as worksheets, and by encouraging recycling as well”, said Svinth.

Some teachers are however turning to technology as a recycling option to decrease the waste of paper occurring in their classrooms.

“I think that the use of paper in the traditional sense is being antiquated with the increases in availability of technology” said PRHS principal Randy Nelson.

PRHS teachers have taken to posting class notes online for their students.

For those teachers who do not use this method however, Nelson expresses his trust in the teachers and said his, “hope and expectation is that as a school we are using it (paper) wisely” Environment | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 33

| Fashion

s e r u l i a f n o i h s a f l Fal an Nevosh, Co-Editor-in-Chief

by Erica Binkele, Opinion Editor and Jord

The Boys: “Girls take too long to get ready, and they worry about the smallest details.”

—Stephen Schouten,9

Fall is here and, along with it, a plethora of strange fashions. Here’s what the Bearcats had to say about the opposite sex’s style:

The Girls: “Running shoes with jeans. Just why?”

—Makaila Carlson, 12

Ceramics Teacher

“Two hats because you are already wearing one what’s the point in having one on your belt loop.”

—Sarah Matthews, 12

“Why do girls wear sweatpants to school?”

—Kai Bedell,12

“Long Nike socks with shorts: it just looks wierd.”

—Laileha Vermy, 12

“Ugg boots, they are big and clunky. Hence the name: UGGly.” —Keegan Keelan,12

“Sagging skinny jeans, because you have to walk while trying to hold up your pants—and you look like a duck.”

—Brittny Nation,

“I don’t understand why they wear clothes from different decades.”

—Joshua Gwiazda,

34 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Fashion

Chemistry Teacher

photos taken by Jordan Nevosh

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Ads

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Ads | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 35

| Ads

36 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Ads

Sports

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TyRant

Giving recognition where stat sheets don’t

by Matt Tyra, Sports Co-Editor

DOWN AND OUT: Sophomore quarterback Justin Davis hobbles to the sideline during Paso’s game against Pioneer valley on Oct. 25. Davis suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus, and won’t be able to play any sports until next season.

Photo by Carly Cargill

Stitching up and moving on Injuries: the risk haunting every athlete

by Matt Tyra, Sports Co-Editor It can happen in almost any way: a helmet to the knee, a torn ACL, done for the year; come down awkwardly on a foot while jogging off the beaten path, broken ankle, season over; fall and land on a forearm after a serve, broken arm, out for weeks. Injuries are an athlete’s worst nightmare, one that can strike while doing just about any athletic movement from running to lifting weights. In some cases they’re extremely preventable; other times, the only thing to do is accept fate and walk Recovery Road.

Almost every sport suffers from injuries; tennis has been dealing with multiple wrist injuries and a sprained ankle, football has dealt with a torn labrum, a hip fracture, ACL and MCL tears and multiple concussions, and cross-country is battling three separate injuries.

Among these was the leg injury endured by junior cross-country runner Jake Taylor.

“We’re guessing it’s a really freak thing. At first we thought it was shin splints, it had all the symptoms of shin splints, then they X-rayed it to check it and make sure it wasn’t a stress fracture, then it turned out it was broken. So we’re guessing it was a freak thing where I was running and stepped on it the wrong way,” said Taylor, whose injury, a transverse fracture in his tibia, ended his season.

Taylor’s injury is just one instance where the most innocent and essential of athletic activities, in this case running, can devastate an athlete in the form of an unexpected injury. According to stopsportsinjuries.org, 30 million children and adolescents participate in sports annually in the United States. Comparatively, 2 million injuries are sustained yearly by those athletes. So statistically, a team of 15 that practices for most of the year is nearly guaranteed to succumb to some injury troubles. Take a team like varsity football, which usually houses between 45-55 players and whose plays area

constant physical struggle, and injuries are more an inevitability than a chance. Sophomore quarterback Justin Davis, who slid down in an attempt to duck under a hit and tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus, was a victim of such inevitability.

“I tried to slide to avoid a tackle and my foot got stuck and I got tackled wrong,” said Davis, whose injury usually takes about a year to recover from.

An aspect of injuries that often gets overlooked are the emotional and mental effects that can develop along with the physical ailment.

Watching teammates from the sideline or a bench can take a toll, as Davis testifies.

“It was hard at first when I was waiting for the results and then it was hard to realize that I’m out for football, basketball, and baseball,” said Davis, who was filling in for injured junior Gunnar Griffin before his own injury.

Taylor agrees with this sentiment, while emphasizing the difficulty of watching his teammates compete in the sport he can now only spectate.

“The worst part has been watching [my teammates] go on without me. It’s...I’m not even sure how to say it. It’s very painful...it just rips my heart out really,” said Taylor, who should be able to compete in track this spring after his recovery process is complete.

The easiest way to cope with the difficulties an injury brings is to focus in on the recovery process in order to get back to competing as soon as possible. This is currently what Davis is focusing on.

“My rehab has been going good and I’ve been getting a lot of support from friends, coaches, and teammates,” said Davis. “I hope to come back stronger than before.”

Everyone loves the stats. Throw for 400 yards, score 20 points, or drive in five runs, and you’re all the rage among your peers, family, and anyone else who follows your sport. Stats are the easiest way of tracking how well a player performs; heck, they’re the only way, right? Wrong.

Team sports are called team sports for a reason; while the star player is going to do what they do, everyone in the field of play in any sport has an assignment, be it baseball, volleyball, football, waterpolo, or three-legged races. In some cases, like singles tennis or wrestling, there’s only one person completing their assignments and doing their jobs. In most other sports, however, the success of a play lies in the abilities of everyone on the field or court to do their job so that one person can score.

Even more overshadowed are players whose impact don’t come during the game: practice squad players. Almost every team in every sport has them, and for good reason. They work hard to produce a game-like environment during practice for starting players, and have to be prepared to fill in due to injury at a moment’s notice. The better a practice squad can play against the starting lineup, the better the starting lineup can play against opponents, reiterating a phrase most coaches preach: “We are only as strong as our weakest link.”

For far too long, sports have been an industry of flashiness and star players; morals such as “teamwork” can easily get buried by highlights and stat lines that emphasize the same players over and over. Every once in a while, you’ll see a play where multiple different players fail their assignment and the star still comes through and produces a big play, but sustained success results from strong team play. Although those who know their sport recognize strong team play, too often casual viewers see sports as “you score or you suck” events. Therefore, the easiest way to know a sport is to give credit where credit is due: in this case, everywhere.

Sports | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 37

| Sports

!

Y B A B N O S ’ e T d I i r p t H a c r A a YE tudents show off their Be PRHS s

Face painting, confetti falling, cheering and chanting all help bring spirit and spunk to the high school's sports. Leading the charge by raising the spirit and Bearcat pride at many different Paso sports events is the Crimson Crew.

The Crimson Crew is a student group that contains over 30 PRHS students who dedicate their free time to cheer on and support the athletes. The group is responsible for bringing spirit to the games, usually volleyball and football, and rallying other students to come and be a part of the effort.

"All we can really do is just spread the word around campus, which has been a huge success," said junior Vanessa Napoli, an active member of the group. "Crimson Crew has brought so much energy and spirit to Paso. More and more people are wanting to join because of how successful it's becoming," Napoli said.

“It brings more tenacity to want to win because knowing you have a crew to support you would be the best feeling to have, because you have others to win for, and those others are your school family,” said senior Michael Piña, also an avid member of the Crimson Crew.

The group is often described as a family, where more is merrier. According to Piña, they get together before an event to paint their faces, bodies, and chest and get "pumped" for the night ahead. The Crimson Crew is the epitome of what Bearcat Pride is and how students should carry that enthusiasm wherever they go, whether it be on campus, at games, or out in the community. “[We] encourage [students] to cheer along with certain chants we come up with,” Piña said.

Piña believes most students are drawn to the group by their “support for fellow peers in their sports and just cheering together

38 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Sports

by Danae Ontiveros, Sports Co-Editor and bringing the spirit as one big family.”

"I truly think that all the sports that are going on right now really appreciate how enthusiastic we are towards the games," said Napoli,. "All the athletes I have talked to really appreciate how much spirit...we bring to the stands. I think it really pumps them up."

The group meets every Thursday at nutrition and welcomes all who wish to become a part of the liveliness at sports events. The student section during games is also another way to join the group in their efforts to cheer on their classmates. In order to receive information about the current plans of the group, text @gobearcats to 805-296-7284.

Those unforgettable Friday nights under the stadium lights are often what people remember most about their high school life.

With creativity and life the Crimson Crew encourages everyone to partake in the fun and help create a spirited environment for the student body to follow.

Y R T N U O C BEARCAT Can’t h

ide! r p r u o e id

The above pictures show the student section during football and volleyball games where students come to support the players and show off their school spirit to the community and the rest of the school by making up chants, painting their faces, and wearing school colors. The student section is open to all PRHS students who want show their pride for Bearcat Country.

Fun & Games

In order to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer, and encourage men to get screened, the charity Movember puts on the event “No Shave November,” in which men— including students and teachers—forgo shaving for the month of November.

by Lauren Reed and Amy Cantrell, Fun & Games Co-Editors

Help Evan Ball, U.S. History and Government teacher, pick the perfect ‘stache. Cut out each style and paste it on him, or on your friends!

“Ready to Rumble” This hairy centerpiece oozes manliness and muscle. Made popular by the WWE champion, Hulk Hogan, this upper lipholstery leaves the faint smell of sweat with a hint of testosterone wherever present.

“The Southerner”

Nothing says “don’t mess with me” like this upper lip curl. This face lace demands respect, and yet at the same time hints at your gentle, southern charm.

“The French Waiter” This iconic ‘stache has been featured beneath the nose of classic animated character Boris Badenov, the villain, from the classic TV show “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” It screams poise and panache, and adds instant class to every look.

The French Waiter is like a semicolon: always useful in joining two sides of the face.

“The Bumper Car”

No need to worry about upper-lip collisions on the facial highway. This mouthbrow not only protects your philtrum from sunburn, but also ensures a safety cushion from unnecessary blows to the face.

Photo by Courtney Thonmpson

Fun & Games | 11.18.13 | crimsonweb.net | 39

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| Photo Essay ,

Student Life

SCREAM AND SHOUT: Crimson Crew members get excited for Paso’s Homecoming football game.

CLOWNING AROUND: Freshman Emmanuel Servin shows his Halloween spirit at school.

IT’S ON BABY: Football captains senior Gage Lux, and juniors Gunnar Griffin, Michael Horne and Richie Flores pumping up the crowd.

SPARKS FLY: Senior Anthony Kerstiens, who welded the Bearcat sign on the front of the school, works on another project.

COLORS AND CUBES: Senior Christiaan Jansen van Rensburg sports his creative Rubik’s cube costume on Halloween.

OVER THE RAINBOW: ROP Floral Design students use crayons to create a colorful masterpeice.

KICKOFF: Junior Bryce Pasky kicks off at the Pioneer Valley game on October 25.

The Bearcats beat the Panthers 31-28 in the last quarter.

DANCING TO THE BEAT: Junior Allie Giroux dancing during the Homecoming assembly on October 18.

40 | crimsonweb.net | 11.18.13 | Photo Essay

ROYALS: Senior homecoming King Omar Guillen and Queen Sydeny Throop walking down the red carpet at the assembly.

Photos by Luis Macias, Pearl Herrera, Maureen Pushea, Carly Cargill, Natalie Martin, and Claire Farrell