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OCTOBER 8, 2014 Volume XXXIIi, Issue II ONLINE at dbbullseye.com

ART S & E N TE RTA I N ME N T

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Dance teacher to lead USB

S P O RT S

Janna Van Horn, the former dance coach, has recently been promoted to the Activities Director. frances wu asst. news editor

Photo courtesy of ANDY SHIN

Andy Shin grins with triumph after receiving his award at the Los Angeles County Fair on Sept. 11.

Volunteer service award for local hero Andy Shin was awarded the title of “Community Hero” after completing over 150 hours of work. frances wu asst. news editor At the Los Angeles County Fair, extraordinary things happen—children win stuffed animals at game booths, the band Earth, Wind, and Fire performs, and outstanding citizens are recognized.

This year, Andy Shin, a junior at Diamond Bar High School, was awarded with the title of “Diamond Bar Youth Community Hero.”

Jack Tanaka, a council member of Diamond Bar as well as one of the advisors for Leo Club, nominated Shin for the award because he served over 150 hours of volunteer service in a single school year for Leo Club.

“Serving the community while having fun, it’s a part of my life already. The advisors, the Tanakas, are like my second parents. They really care about me, and all of the board members. It’s like my second family,” Shin said.

Shin stated that he volunteered because it was a passion of his.

For him, volunteering is a way to not only socialize with his fellow Leo Club members but also help out the Diamond Bar community.

Shin was surprised when he was notified about the award because he never expected that his hobby would lead to something as great as this.

The community hero award is given every year at LACF to local heroes from 17 cities in the Los

˃˃ COMMUNITY on p.2

Once the mastermind of Diamond Bar High School’s award winning dance department, Janna Van Horn said goodbye to her dancing shoes and hello to student leadership. Van Horn has recently replaced former activities director Chelsea Grunseth, who left the position to serve as the Vice Principal at Townsend Middle School.

Before taking her new position, Van Horn, formerly known as Lindenberg, managed the Dance department of DBHS. When Van Horn heard about the open position, she jumped at the opportunity to apply and immediately went through a thorough interview process.

“I was excited at the idea of being more involved in supporting all the amazing things that happen here at DBHS,” Van Horn said in an e-mail.

Now that she has become the Activities Director, Van Horn will no longer be able to

ANDREW CHOI

Janna Van Horn discusses USB business with Sharon Kim, Speaker of the House, during a meeting last week. coach dance and DBHS must find a replacement instructor.

“It would be unfair to both programs for me to split my time …

Of course, I am still on campus to help with the transition as needed. There is no doubt in my mind that the program will continue to thrive and grow,” Van Horn said.

After graduating from DBHS in 1996 and later from Long Beach

Chemistry teacher Jennifer Bravo named as the new ECEA dean.

See page 3.

State University, Van Horn returned to DBHS to work as a Performing Arts coach and was later hired full-time to oversee

the entire dance department.

During her time here, her dance teams have earned Regional, State, and National recognition.

The former dance coach also established the school’s All-Male dance crew. She has been so successful that she was named

˃˃ VAN HORN on p.3

Two students selected as delegates for annual U.S. Senate Youth Leadership program Seniors Rochelle Sun and Sabrina Liang will have the chance to go to Washington, D.C in the Spring. calvin ru staff writer For the first time in Diamond Bar history, junior and senior Grade Level Coordinators have offered upperclassmen a chance

to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program. Seniors Rochelle Sun and Sabrina Liang were chosen out of the many participants to move on toward the next phase of the competition and represent Diamond Bar against the rest of California.

Junior GLC Marc Natividad was in charge of the process, offering it for those interested in leadership, government, and politics.

“This particular opportunity allows students to be involved,” Natividad addressed. “The students must be well-rounded and show

leadership outside of just school clubs.”

The program allows two students from each state to participate and earn a chance to win a one week trip regarding political education and experience our nation’s capital in action. The 50 finalists will get to meet senators, cabinet members, officials from various departments, representatives from NASA, and a Supreme Court justice. All of the trip’s expenses are paid by the Hearst Foundation, which has been funding this leadership education program for 53 years.

“This is a great opportunity for students,” senior GLC Sonja Burns said. “Those who are big into leadership and government can visit D.C. There’s also a $5,000 scholarship chance. Who wouldn’t want that?”

In order to qualify, competitors must write a minimum of four essays chosen from 11 topics, all of which relate to politics, media, government, and the environment.

The contestants will also have to

˃˃ LEADERSHIP on p.3

DBHS’ Age of Aquarius

ANDREW CHOI

Students and drama advisor, Beatrice Casagran (far right), dress up as hippies to help promote the upcoming school play. See preview on page 10.

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NEWS

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

Leo Club enthusiast recognized for his community service COMMUNITY from p.1 New teachers Melinda Corrall, Gyamine George, and Whitney Prenger (left to right) have joined the DBHS staff this year.

Photos by NADIA LEE

The ever-growing Brahma family

Three new additions to Diamond Bar faculty were announced at start of the school year. nadia lee staff writer This year, Diamond Bar High School welcomes additional members to its ever-growing staff: Melinda Corral and Whitney Prenger, along with returning alumnus, Gyasmine George, as the College/ Career counselor.

They will be joining teachers, Albert Lim, Mike Wagner, Taylor Canatsey, and Sally Jarvis to make DBHS’s newest teachers of the year, who were profiled in last month’s edition.

Melinda Corral begins her first year at DBHS as a full-fledged teacher in Special Ed English, working with students of all grades. Corral’s pursuit of teach-

ing began when she was inspired by her 12th grade English teacher’s passion toward her job and how her teacher seemed to enjoy every minute of teaching. Before coming here, Corral was an intern teacher at Torrance High School in Special Ed. She believes that she can help students have a better understanding of the school’s curriculum and the English language in general.

“I just enjoy seeing kids’ faces when they understand the subject or when they learn something new,” Corral said.

Another new member of the rahma family is Whitney Prenger, the Pep Advisor for DBHS, who now teaches sophomore Pathways English and English Language Development 1 classes.

Prenger grew up wanting to dance on Broadway and never planned on becoming a teacher, but she knew she wanted to do something that would have an impact on people. Teaching has given Prenger the opportunity to pursue her passions and make a difference in the

the staff Editors-in-Chief News Editor Asst. News Editors Editorial Editor Asst. Editorial Editors

Katlyn Lee, Joseph Park Yusheng Xia Bernard Chen, Frances Wu

Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor

of Arts degree in Psychology from Cal State Los Angeles University in 2005 and Masters in College Counseling and Student Services five years later from the University of La Verne. She previously worked at the McKinley Children’s Center in San Dimas, where she helped students with behavioral, emotional and reading disabilities. While there, George also coached girls’ basketball for five seasons and softball for one season.

She will now be finishing her Pupil Personnel Services credential at La Verne in December allowing her to counsel students of all grades and currently also teaches Multicultural Psychology at La Verne once every week.

George’s return was inspired by the support that the teachers, GLCs, coaches and teammates gave her.

“This is Diamond Bar’s home to me and I’ve had nothing but great experiences here,” George said.

“And I hope that whatever kids I come across, I can help them have a better experience too.”

Band director nominated for Grammy Award for second time

Hanna Kang Eric Hong, Sasha Rivera

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editor A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editor

lives of others.

“My credential allows me to teach English for now, but I won’t stop there. I would love the opportunity to continue educating myself in different areas,” Prenger said.

Prenger attended Cal State University Long Beach and majored in Journalism and Public Relations.

She has taught in the Walnut Valley Unified School District for nine years and was a teacher for CJ Morris, Castle Rock, and Westhoff Elementary, as well as summer school classes at South Pointe Middle.

Class of 2000 alumnus, Gyasmine George, returns to DBHS as the career counselor to guide students to a better understanding of their next stage in their lives.

“My immediate goal is that they [the students] know who I am and what I do. My second goal is providing the students with resources and information. I want the Career Center to be the one-stop shop for anything that’ll help them get to the next level,” George stated.

George received her Bachelor

Angeles area. Each city is assigned a day, and the nominees are acknowledged on that particular day. This program is split into three categories: seniors, adults, and youths. Nominations must be submitted by someone other than the nominee and are usually due in June.

Shin remains humble and denies that what he did was truly heroic. In his perspective, he only did what every average citizen should do: support his community as well as other people around him.

“I don’t consider myself a hero.

There are lots of people who really deserve it and it feels like a luxury to me. All I did was go to events,” Shin commented.

The Leo Club vice president is ready to reach further and undertake more. For example, Shin will soon be applying for a position on a committee to help manage 36 of Leo Clubs in the surrounding area, called District 4L4.

Some of his other goals and aspirations are to work even harder this year and accumulate an even higher number of volunteer hours. Shin also hopes to become the President of Leo Club next year.

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Steve Acciani directs DBHS’ music department, which was awarded a Grammy last year.

DBHS’ head of music department has earned recognition via a Grammy nomination yet again. vrinda chauhan asst. a&e editor Over 28 million viewers tune in every year to watch the Grammy ceremony as it presents musical superstars with what is considered the most prestigious awards in the industry. Next year, on Feb. 8, it may provide an opportunity to honor the man behind Diamond Bar’s Grammy-winning music program itself: Steve Acciani.

For the second year in a row, Acciani has been nominated for the Music Educator Award. The Recording Academy and The Grammy Foundation are looking to distinguish a music educator, who

has “made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate[s] a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools.”

Although over 7,000 nominations were submitted from across the nation, only 25 semifinalists, including Acciani, were selected.

The semifinalists will have the chance to earn $6,000 for their music department through the Ford Drive 4 UR School program.

With the help of a local dealership, the program allows school groups and clubs to hold a oneday Ford-sponsored test drive event for the community. For every completed test drive, Ford will donate $20 to the school and will allow students to earn up to $6,000.

“I feel very honored to be considered for this award, but it really is a reflection of the vision that our school staff has, combined with a

YUSHENG XIA

strong connection we have developed with local universities and professional musicians all working towards providing opportunities that our amazing students deserve.,” Acciani said.

The top ten finalists will be announced in December and the winner will be announced during Grammy week next year. The winner will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award and will receive a $10,000 honorarium.

The music program, directed by Acciani, was also recognized by The Recording Academy and The Grammy Foundation last year.

Out of 123 semi-finalists last year, DBHS’s music department was given honorable mention and was awarded $6,000.

“Winning the national award has established a new standard for what we’re going to be and now we have kids coming in who are really excited to be involved with the arts,” Acciani said in Grammy in the Schools.

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

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The two will compete against other Californian delegates LEADERSHIP from p.1

Infographic by KATLYN LEE

DBHS highly ranked in Los Angeles County LA Magazine placed DBHS as 13th among the county in last month’s issue. calvin ru staff writer The Brahmas have done it again.

After being ranked 54th out of over 700 schools nationwide in August

by Newsweek magazine, DBHS has been listed as one of Los Angeles County’s top schools.

Recently, Los Angeles Magazine composed a list of 75 schools, ranking them based on average SAT, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate scores.

DBHS placed 13 out of 75 schools

partially because of its students’ outstanding AP and IB scores, average overall score of 1743 on the SAT, and high graduation rate. AP and IB curricula are more desirable toward colleges, as they require more strenuous activity with a tighter curriculum.

“Ranking high schools is an invitation to arguments. What [are not] debatable are the qualities that set the best schools apart: passionate teachers and administrators, characterized by high expectations for all students and a willingness to provide everyone an opportunity to participate in the most demanding courses and activities,” LA Magazine reported.

Additionally, extracurricular activities and creative teaching pro-

‘Bravo’ for new English instructional dean Chemistry teacher Jennifer Bravo was has been promtoted to head of the ECEA department. yusheng xia news editor After 14 years of teaching chemical changes to her students, Jennifer Bravo is finally ready for some changes herself. On Oct. 1, Bravo was formally announced as the new Diamond Bar High School Instructional Dean of ECEA. Bravo will now be in charge of overlooking the departments of English, Career Tech Education, Fine and Performing Arts, and Special Education. The Walnut Valley Unified School District approved of Bravo as the new Instructional Dean after she passed numerous application steps for the job.

“There was a first round of interviews with two different groups of people asking two different sets of questions. After the first round

there was the second round with the superintendents and other district office personnel. From there they make a recommendation that you aren’t aware of until the board of education clears that recommendation,” Bravo stated.

The Instructional Dean position had opened up at DBHS after the departure of Julian Rodriguez in June. By taking over the position, Bravo has to leave behind her many of her chemistry periods, as the Dean position only opens up 3rd period for Bravo to teach.

“Even though I’ve only known Bravo for a couple of weeks, it is still sad to see her leave but I’m also happy for her and her new job,” AP Chemistry student Peggy Hsieh said.

The school will have an opening for a new chemistry teacher to take over the chemistry regular, honor, and AP classes left behind by Bravo. Until then, a permanent substitute will be in charge of managing all the classes.

“I’ll miss teaching all my chemistry classes, especially my AP classes. [However] I look forward to getting to know everyone I will be working with,” Bravo said.

CORRECTIONS In the last issue, long term substitute Leonard Romero was misidentified as Mike Wagner. Wagner did not officially come onto the DBHS Staff and Romero was filling in for him as the ROP Environmental Science teacher.

In addition, the class of 2017 class advisors were misidentified as the class of 2016 advisors. Pat Wakefield, Jon Haprov, and Ty Watkins are the Junior class adivsors; the Sophomore class advisors are Shari Decambra, Stacy Tenace, and Mary Gaxiola.

grams are taken into consideration for a school’s overall ranking. Summer programs benefit the school as a whole. DBHS’s ranking is attributed partially to the various clubs and electives on campus which have earned multiple awards; the Grammy Signature School Award, which was awarded to only 12 institutions nationwide in 2013, and Diamond Bar Orchestra’ second place title at the National Orchestra Cup 2013 in New York are a few examples of the many awards that Diamond Bar has been presented.

“Our Grammy award and other extracurricular options for kids are specifically mentioned as well as the fact that we maintain high standards in critical thinking and

writing for all students. It is refreshing to be recognized not only for our Academics, but for the other A’s: the Arts, Athletics, and Activities which are the foundations for the enriching experience that is Diamond Bar High School,” Principal Catherine Real stated through an e-mail to staff members.

A study done by the National Association for College Admission Counseling declared that high school grades predict college success more accurately than SAT scores do.

“The best high schools don’t make it easy for students,” LA Magazine states. “They’re not supposed to. But they should make it educational and, above all, inspiring.”

write a letter to a newspaper editor and to the local government. Most students who apply must have some knowledge regarding politics and must be involved in a leadership position for an educational club to apply for this program.

Leadership position include commissioner in USB and state officers from national clubs such as Future Business Leaders of America and Technology Students’ Association.

To determine the two representatives that will compete against the other high schools, DBHS opened up a mini-competition within the school. However, the competition at Diamond Bar was not easy. Several requirements were the deciding factors in becoming the winner: leadership positions in clubs, jobs of the leadership position, and number of community service hours outside of school.

“I have an interest in politics… [so] this program was right up my alley,” Sun stated. “I hope to inspire the youth who engage in government, politics, and world relations.”

“Although the prompt was sent out late, I thought the time provided enhanced my excitement and motivation,” Liang said. “I aspire to major in international relations.”

The competition will now continue to the next phase as the state selects two students through a strenuous process of reading essays and arranging interviews to see who is most fit to represent the state.

Van Horn, with an already sucessful career, hopes to achieve even more with USB VAN HORN from p.1 Teacher of the Year last year, and was a finalist in the Music Center’s Bravo Award in 2010.

Many students will miss Grunseth, including USB Council Chairperson Kevin Lee, who says, “She taught me to always aim higher and that there are no impossible tasks.”

Grunseth has previously taught Journalism and served at summer school for at-risk students in the Bridge program.

While many USB students will miss her greatly, it seems that not everybody feels the same way.

“It is hard to say that Mrs. Grunseth lived up to the high expectations we had for a new activities director. We felt her style of supervision, as also witnessed

ANDREW CHOI

Grunseth addresses USB for the last time before she leaves for her new job. in her years as journalism advisor, was not conducive to learning leadership and responsibilities,” Justin Park, class of 2013 alumnus commented. Park was in USB for four semesters and was also in Grunseth’s Journalism class.

The current advisor has

endless enthusiasm towards supporting USB and continuing to better the school.

“I am looking forward to creating new traditions as well as supporting the staff and student body to make this a place where everyone is happy to be,” Van Horn wrote.

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4 EDITORIAL

EYE OF THE EDITORS ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR: As Janna Van Horn takes over, students question USB policies.

T

he arrival of a new activities director may breathe new life into USB. Goodbye Mrs. Grunseth. Hello Mrs. Van Horn. This change in directors calls for new changes for the governing student group.

Too often in recent years, students, USB members included, have been left befuddled in the way USB runs things.

Students pile in the gym, loud music plays, the lights are dim and fancy decorations are displayed, all in the name of promoting the spirit of the student body? The rallies organized

by USB, though a valiant effort, fail on too many levels that many students in all grades sometimes question whether we should even have rallies. USB succeeds in making the gym look absolutely stunning on rally days, but then a fool and his money are soon parted. Money doesn’t buy success in this case. In fact, decorations aren’t even needed to have a spirited rally. USB needs to cut the money and focus more on

the rally itself. In the time and money it spends for decorating the gym, USB needs to repair the colorless skits and technology issues.

It becomes evident that changes are needed once you experience the superficially attractive rallies.

Lunchtime begins and USB is setting up its activities— why? Once again, the motive here for these events seems to be revolved around the central purpose to promote student spirit. But it doesn’t, at all. Take a break or work on something else, because these lunchtime activities are fruitless. Half the time, it’s only USB members tossing water balloons and running around like chickens without a head. Where are the students? Where is the needed interaction with the students to generate a successful lunchtime activity? These activities are so useless that there is no solution other than to just cancel it. Although, the food fairs are a success during lunchtime.

Let’s take a step back and try to understand what

ISIS plight escalates; president falters Obama fails to properly attend to a national emergency. hanna kang editorial editor

O

ne of my absolute favorite things to do is to watch Watter’s World, a segment on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor.” With that said, I was thoroughly disgusted with the latest edition, and for good reason.

For one, the interviewees were attendees of a recent conference held by the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization that works for liberal causes, and if you have been keeping up with my articles regularly, you should by now be aware that I am conservative through and through and anything even remotely associated with ACLU is immediately on my radar.

When asked what the United States should do about Islamic State militants who have beheaded American citizens, one unidentified interviewee said this: “Nothing.” Another attendee said that ISIS should be given lawyers, while yet another compared ISIS to Christians, the very group of people the Islamic militants have committed unspeakable acts against. She went on to sympathize with the terrorist attacks against the United States, saying, “How else are they going to get our attention?”

This is madness at its peak. With an utterly incompetent president who deems ISIS as “junior varsity,” and is also unable to mount the proper response against the terrorist organization, and crazy individuals who believe they should be represented by lawyers, American influence on the world stage is headed toward a slippery slope. It is altogether absurd for the president to hope that his plan to destroy the Islamic State will

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

Photo courtesy of WWW.COMMONDREAMS.ORG

manifest itself and everything will fall into place, especially when he is detached to lead and his strategies are shaky at best.

Obama’s game plan on degrading ISIS consists of two discouraging elements: a volley of airstrikes and ratcheted up rhetoric. The president must learn from past experiences and realize that airstrikes without boots on the ground will never work. Only a combination of troops on foreign soil, special forces and advocating military reform will be successful.

Sans all of these components, Obama’s strategy to fight terrorism will surely blow up in his face.

What is also extremely disturbing is that Obama did little to nothing in response to the warnings of the rise of ISIS and the imminent threat it posed to the United States. He did not stop there.

In an interview with the news program “60 Minutes,” Obama blamed his intel community for his own geostrategic shortcomings, claiming they “underestimated” the situation. Obama’s “spread the wealth” ideology does him a huge disservice by revealing the rock bottom of his shoddy foreign résumé.

The president may wish to deny it, but we are at war against radicals who will not stop until their flag flies in place of ours.

Wars are fought and won, and this one should be no different.

exactly USB is. It’s called “The United Student Body” but really, where is the unity? Find any student in this school and ask away if he or she feels a sense of togetherness. All the hours and days USB spends are for no cause if students fail to feel even the tiniest bit of spirit, which is the currently the case.

Cut the rally decorations and the unnecessary Rodeo Round Up, and use that money for more school dances. There’s not a better way to promote student spirit than a dance. With just a slight effort and a little bit of thinking, USB can easily eliminate the activities no one cares for and use that money to start a Winter Formal or a Sadie Hawkins in DBHS for once.

The first step in fixing a problem is realizing that there is one, and for too long, USB has failed to do so. As the new activities director takes charge, it is the perfect time to implement changes so that the students of Diamond Bar can experience the spirit USB tries to deliver.

usb insider: “What changes should USB make with the arrival of a new activities director?”

BRYANT TANG

COMMISSIONER OF AUDIO “I want to see that the new director can give us new ideas in which we can make a difference in the school.”

NAJLA BERNICHI-SHILEH

USB FINANCE DIRECTOR “I look forward to seeing more organization and communication. I also want more events to incorporate student involvement.”

JACQUELINE ALUNING

VICE PRESIDENT “We want to make ourselves better leaders by being our own leaders.“

ROCHELLE SUN

COMMISSIONER OF SPIRIT “We are bringing back old spirit events and introducing new ones to reinvigorate the spirit of DBHS which has been fading over the years.”

Letter to the Editor

I

am writing to you about an article that I read in the school newspaper (“With Israel I stand,” Sept. 2014) which I found very offensive and incorrect. This article was written by student Hanna Kang about the Israel and Palestine genocide.

As many people have seen over their summer break, if they were lucky enough to have one, would probably be the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in Palestine. Although many of us sleep peacefully at night, that is not the case for many Palestinians who are under attack. Some might take the side of Israel for “defending” itself. But in reality, what they are doing is mass murder just for more land.

Israel bombed families houses; they shelled peoples houses; and killed innocent families.

Many people find it just to say that Israel

is doing this to defend itself but in reality really what Israel is doing is trying to take over the land of which belongs to Palestinians. Palestinians now lack clean water, and the water that they do have gives them diseases causing them to die. Fiftyseven percent of Palestinians lack food. When both parties tried to make peace, the U.S. came in and started supplying the Israelis with weapons. So the Zionists aren’t the only people on the bad side, the U.S. is also on the bad side for supporting them with billions of dollars and weapons.

I believe there won’t be a change unless we as community members stand up and protest against this mass murder. Over 3,000 Palestinians have had to suffer the bombing and persecution from the Israeli army. Many of the innocents included few month old babies, and more than 500 were killed. 400 and

more children were murdered and tortured. And altogether, 485,000 Palestinians have been misplaced from their own homeland. More than 9,000 people were injured, and 1400 new orphans were made. And the world calls Hamas the terrorist group. All Hamas is doing is trying to take back what is rightfully theirs.

How can someone call Palestinians terrorists when they only killed close to 300 people, 297 being soldiers and 3 being civilians where as Israeli forces killed more than 3,000 people, 90 percent of them being civilians, children, mothers, fathers, and babies. This genocide has to stop!

You can tell that humanity is lost when you need hundreds of people to protest that bombing children is not OK. If 9/11 deserved a moment of silence, then Gaza deserves for us to never speak again.

Basim Awan, Senior

BLAZING TRAILS O F S AT I R E eric hong asst. editorial editor

T

he Chinese have done it again.

They have already gifted us with the invention of paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass, but they have given us much more to marvel at. The city of Chongqing has nobly divided its sidewalks into two, three-meter-wide sections—one for pedestrians on their cellphones and the other for the empty-handed. Ladies and gentlemen, this is innovation at its prime.

In today’s technologically developed society, the smartphone is an invaluable asset to citizens of every country; the act of separating the two would be a violation of an intrinsic freedom. Sadly, there are times when people are forced to resort to the

most primitive form of transportation, walking, and their lives are put in danger by their very surroundings. Unable to see where they are going with eyes necessarily fixated on their phones, innocent civilians are prone to fatal collisions, often with other human bodies, texting or not.

“There are lots of elderly people and children in our street, and walking with your cell phone may cause unnecessary collisions here,” said Nong Cheng, a spokeswoman for Chongqing’s property management company, Meixin Group.

In the one month that this brilliant plan has been put into effect, the results have been astounding. The number of injuries, near 20 per day, has been reduced to an absolute zero.

This injustice has cleverly been dealt with, as discouraging pedestrians from using their cellphones when walking is simply out of the question.

This statement of innovation

must not stop in Chongqing—the students of Diamond Bar High School are also in dire need of salvation. Too many times have inattentive students bumped head-on into each other while checking the latest on celebrity gossip. Until something is done to aid these poor souls, they will continue to be left broken and tearful, knowing they cannot escape the ever-present danger.

How can students be expected to succeed when they cannot even use their smartphones in peace?

DBHS administrators must hear the desperate pleas of these students. They have been through too much already. Let us follow in the footsteps of Chongqing and give our students what they truly deserve.

Forget facilitating proper learning environments and enforcing “no child left behind;” preserving the safety of our students is what really matters this instant in our school.

EDITORIAL

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

5

The latest in scandalous fashion

closed

Urban Outfitters raises controversy with the production of its recent, tactless sweater. emily wong a&e editor

U

Cartoon courtesy of MEGAN LEE

rban Outfitters is renowned for its hipster, overpriced clothing catered to teenagers and young adults.

However, it is also equally known for its multiple controversies that have erupted through the years. Whether marketing anti-Semitic garments or “Eat Less” t-shirts, the corporation is no stranger to instigating a whirlwind of bad publicity.

The company’s most recent offense, a Kent State University sweater stained with what looks like blood, reaches a new level of insensitivity—even for the obtuse clothing chain.

The article of clothing is an obvious allusion to the 1970 shooting at the university, when the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four anti-Vietnam war protesters on the campus.

The incident, which caused many schools in surrounding areas to shut down, sparked a violent flurry of national rebellion and chaos.

The sweater, retailing for $129 as a one-of-a-kind garment in the store’s vintage collection, has drawn so much criticism that the company wrote a statement on Twitter regretting that the sweater

was “perceived negatively” and removed the garment from its website to “avoid further upset.”

That’s right. Urban Outfitters did not even apologize for its own misjudgment. Instead, the corporation expressed regret that the public believes a clothing

Photo courtesy of NYPOST.COM

item commercializing one of the most shameful historical events in modern American history is offensive. Indeed, I regret Urban Outfitters’s inability to see that a materialistic item glamorizing a tragedy is a crass insult to

those affected by the Kent State shootings. Even the university itself condemned the company’s questionable moral compass for attempting to profit from such a sensitive topic.

In addition, the company’s excuses that the blood stains stemmed from the discoloration of the original sweater color and that the holes derived from natural frays are ludicrous at best. One would have to be blind to not see the offensive implications of the clothing item. This oversight showcases Urban Outfitter’s willingness to disregard proper respect for those affected by the Kent State tragedy in order to stir up some discussion and maximize publicity—good or bad.

The company’s consistent offenses scream nothing but an attention-seeking motive.

There are limits to how far Urban Outfitters can go to make itself appear “hip” and different. Though several of its products are significantly vulgar, the Kent State sweater was an unfortunate step too far, and a half-hearted “apology” on Twitter will not ameliorate its mistakes. Having already been in the limelight for several other controversial garments, Urban Outfitters clearly does not learn from its mistakes. Perhaps people should think twice before buying that $40 plain t-shirt.

The pious bias

Should classes be allowed to include religious topics as a part of the curriculum in schools? sarah markiewicz staff writer

PRO|

While one’s decision to live with or without religion is too philosophical for written editorial, having an education without religion is just as dangerous as walking into a room where everyone knows something of vital importance and you have no clue as to what it is.

There are people who take offense to any thread of religion that appears in classrooms. Sometimes there are good reasons for this, like when the student is required to recite something going against his or her belief, but when simply learning about religion, students should enjoy the opportunity to learn the perspectives of other cultures.

Students should realize that learning a subject with an open mind is very different from truly believing in it. While public school teachers bear a legal responsibility to remain unbiased about religious topics, the perception of the student is entirely based on how strong his or her beliefs are.

As someone who has attended both public and private schools, I believe that there’s a difference between preaching and teaching religion that some students and parents misunderstand. In the Christian school I attended, we went to sermons and were asked to participate in religious ceremonies. How-

ever, even in the classroom, religion was relatively objective. While I can’t speak for every public school, the teachers that come close to forcing religious views on students are few.

Exposure will occur because it’s impossible to teach a literature, history, or culture class without skimming over religion. DBHS students enrolled in AP Literature had summer homework with a section on Biblical allusions. Hopefully, these students know the importance of these allusions in literature, and if not, then chances are they shouldn’t take the class.

Christianity isn’t unique in its recurrence in school literature. A popularly assigned novel, “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok, describes the daily rituals and education of two Jewish boys, and exposes readers to both sides of Zionism, which is still controversial.

I must reiterate how important religious knowledge is when forming an opinion of other cultures. I regret paying little heed to what I was taught in middle school history classes since those were the only classes where I could learn something other than Christianity.

As news reaches us of terrorist organizations in the Middle East, it is common for us to form opinions, about a religion that many non-Muslims have barely been exposed to.

There is no correct interpretation of a religious text, but a solid knowledge would give us backbone in an argument.

michelle ki asst. feature editor

CON|

Public schools speak for themselves in the sense that they are public. The word “public” is highly disguised in today’s society as an open place— a place where anyone can participate in. However, public schools should in no way have the authority to decide religious matters for the actual public itself.

Public schools should not be a place where students are taught, who or what they should believe in, or whether or not they should believe in anything at all. Children are not to be proselytized by other students, teachers, or any other school official. Any form of religion taught inside school may indoctrinate children into feeling that they must believe in a certain religion or belief.

Religion in school violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says that the government shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, thus also violating “the separation of church and state.” In general, all the students in an entire school are not entitled to religion, so therefore it would be essentially impossible for any religious curriculum to be created that would satisfy everyone. Public schools should be free of religion and respect the term, “the separation of church and state.”

If Christianity, for example, were to be particularly emphasized in a certain public school, atheists and every other student that believed in a different religion, would have a problem with it. If the topic of religion in schools stirs so much controversy, why must it still be an ongoing debate? Why must children be pressured and obligated to learn about different religions for the sake of those who believe in a distinguished religion? If the child’s parents believe that religion is an essential aspect toward the educational values of the child, there are options, such as a religious school.

For the many children who don’t have an option at all, it is genuinely unfair. There is no difference in saying, for example, a group of students having the option to go to a religion-based school but choose not to, while the remaining students don’t have an option to attend a different school. The term ‘public’ comprehends that the school imposes to be an unbiased and analytical environment.

In no way am I stating that students should not be able to practice their religious needs at school. They should be able to, just on their own time. Besides, isn’t religion supposed to be an intimate subject? There is a time and place for everything but religious matters is just not acceptable nor is it fair to those who are religiously involved. With that being, religion in any school curriculum should be not allowed for it will cause controversy and unhappiness among students in any circumstances.

from the brahmas’ perspective: “It all depends on what we are learning but it should be part of a class because you never know what new things you might learn.”

ARON COOK (10)

“In AP Lit we study western literature so learning about Christianity is helpful, but otherwise no because teaching should be secular.”

“I think so but it should be an option.”

NIKKA PISIGAN (11)

SABRINA LIANG (12)

“Yeah because a lot of people really believe in their religion so they might want to actually know more about their religion.”

ELIJAH WHITE (10)

6

FEATURE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

Tony Chung Shoots cover behind the COSTUMES For Success hanna kang editorial editor

Junior team of USA Shooting. The Brahma has already been to two international competitions to represent the United States — one in Most students who boast of a the Czech Republic and the other unique talent most likely knocked in Spain. themselves out on refining it for Although it may seem as if he years on end. However, the same only relies on his innate talent, the cannot be said for freshman Tony amateur shooter confessed that the Chung, a shooter with skills besport has not always gone well for yond his age. him.

The baby Brahma embarked on “I had many slumps throughhis shooting caout my shooting reer three years career. It’s a tirago when he ing process, but was 12 years old. that’s how you The reason was win and become simple: shooting the best,” Chung sounded aweexplained. some.

At a recent For his seemnational compeingly short tition, he placed three-year cain the top three reer, the ambifor every event, tious freshman and at the World has an advanced Championships, profile. his team placed Chung is curfifth.

Photo courtesy of TONY CHUNG rently a member The deterof three orga- Chung practices at a shooting range. mined sportsnizations—the man also has big Bridge Junior Shooting Club, USA plans for the future. While Chung Shooting, and the National Rifle says that he’d love to continue Association. When he first startshooting at a professional level, ed, Chung made himself at home he is thinking about whether he at the Bridge Jr. Shooting Club, wants to go to the Olympics or use which later opened the door to both his shooting records to gain admisUSA Shooting and the NRA. sion to West Point or the Air Force As a hopeful participant in the Academy. future Olympics, Chung has al“What I love most about shootready laid out his plans to “wow” ing is the competition. The adrenathe world. He achieved a feat unline rush drives me crazy. Shooting heard of in the world of competiunder pressure is difficult, since tive shooting when, at 12, he beshooting involves steady movecame the youngest member to land ment. The top shooters overcome a spot on the roster of the National the pressure.”

DYLAN CRowell

ALAN PENG

JACKIE gabela

Marcelene the vampire queen

GUMBY

BRAzilian soccer fan

ood from the Harry Potter series.

“I really like Harry Potter,” Crowell said. “And I like her [Lovegood] the best.”

She will be assembling her costume to recreate Lovegood’s eccentric attire, including her Spectrespecs and her butterbeer cork necklace.

Dressing as a character that is a bit more obscure, senior Alan Peng will once again be the mysterious figure that many students of DBHS have probably never heard of, Gumby. For those who don’t know, Gumby is a green humanoid character made of clay that starred in the 1950s children’s series.

Peng bought the Gumby costume from Amazon because it looked funny due to its lumpy shape, and he likes to see people smile and laugh as they walk by.

Peng isn’t the only student who is going for a comical costume this

year. As a fan of the Brazilian soccer team, freshman Jackie Gabela had been one of the many fans disappointed by their defeat in the World Cup this past summer.

This Halloween, she plans on dressing as something very disturbing- for other Brazilian soccer fans, that is.

“Brazil had a really bad loss this World Cup which I was pretty upset about. I bought a Neymar Jr. [the star player of Brazil] jersey. So I thought, why not be a Brazil fan for Halloween?” Gabela said. “My dad said I should be a crying fan to make it funny.”

In recent years, Gabela has gone to school dressed as a present and as Flo from the Progressive insurance agency. So far, the Flo costume has been her favorite.

“People liked it and thought it was really funny, so I want to keep doing funny ones,” she said.

nadia lee sarah markiewicz staff writers Although most teenagers no longer make a big deal about dressing up on Oct. 31, there are still some Diamond Bar High School students who have Halloween spirit leftover and show up to school in costume.

However, some DBHS students surpass expectations and dress up as something that will make their fellow students turn their heads.

Dressing up as gruesome creatures has always been a tradition for junior Dylan Crowell. In recent years, she has come to school dressed as a wind-up doll or as Marceline the Vampire Queen from the TV series “Adventure Time.” This year, she has chosen to dress as a more dotty character- Luna Loveg-

STAFF Janitor Sweeps

Club C o r n e r

DEBATE

SPOTLIGHT

eric hong asst. editorial editor

Photos courtesy of ANNIE ZHU

Debate members represent their country at a MUN conference and raise their cards in agreement for a policy to pass.

calvin ru staff writer For many students, public speaking is a difficult task to accomplish, even more so when they must convince judges with a persuasive argument. However, for Debate club, this challenge has become a high school hobby.

A combination of Grand Crossfire Debate, Junior State of America Debate, and Model United Nations, Diamond Bar High School Debate exists to make better rhetoricians of DBHS students.

These clubs merged together so that students do not have to join three different debate clubs. Although a merged club, each group in DBHS Debate participates in different competitions that pertain to its specific subject area.

For example, GXF Debate debates on broad topics, from controversial world events to those of international interest. In compari-

son, JSA Debate encourages people to take a greater interest in public debate and become better informed about important events around the world.

Finally, in Model UN, the students perform the roles of national diplomats, using their knowledge of international law and their rhetorical prowess to advocate for laws beneficial to the nations that they represent.

“Debate helps in everyday life. It comes up in every aspect and you might not even know it,” Justin Chuang, co-president of GXF Debate, said. “In the round of everyday life, people can’t have such sophisticated discussions.”

Each member entering the competition must research and study a certain topic, preparing an argument and rebuttal against the opposing team.

At the end of each round, the team that wins advances to compete for the final round against many competitors.

Up Smiles

At these events, members can also socialize and interact with students from schools all over the county. “[Debate] opens up your mind and eyes on things you never thought that you would learn,” Annie Zhu, co-president of GXF Debate, said. “For me, debate was less of a competition and more of a socializing event. We were growing closer as a team and meeting competitors from other schools.”

Through their interactions with rivals, DBHS Debate students often gain insightful skills and information that they can use in future debates.

Practicing and running scrimmages during team meets also help the debaters improve and create stronger bonds between each member.

“This is a really big part of my high school career,” Morgan Pak, a JSA Alliance Member, said. “I got to meet so many people; it helped me become a better speaker.”

Chins dripping with sweat as they diligently hurl trash bag after trash bag into the dumpsters, school custodians are probably one of the most underappreciated individuals on campus. Without them, who knows how our campus would really look?

Jason “Jay” Johnson, Diamond Bar High School’s lead custodian, is the go-to guy for taking care of the needs of students and staff.

Whether it’d be opening a jammed locker, cleaning the restrooms, or setting up for events, Johnson is there to be the “hero without the cape,” as he described.

Nearly three years ago, after 12 years of working for the Walnut Valley Unified School District facilities department where he would clean campuses for four to five schools at night, Johnson took the job at DBHS. As the lead custodian, working Monday through Friday from 2 - 10 p.m., Johnson’s primary concern is providing quality service to the school and district in any way possible, often organizing and di-

recting teams of other custodians.

Although he has his own set of daily tasks to accomplish, usually assigned by Operations Manager Doug Mefford, it is also Johnson’s duty to fill in for those unavailable to complete certain tasks. Though he primarily works independently, he always enjoys interacting with students and teachers whenever he is given the opportunity.

“Being a custodian is all about being a problem-solver,” Johnson said. “You have to be able to adjust to your environment. There’s always a surprise, especially at DBHS.” When he is not tirelessly serving our school community, Johnson is an entrepreneur and runs his own business, JJ Air Heating Services.

With this business, nearly 12 years in the making, Johnson is able provide more for his wife, son, and step-son while leaving a “legacy” for his children to undertake in the future.

“I have no regrets. I’m doing the best I can on a daily basis, even with my errors and mistakes. Yes, being a custodian may be a dirty job, but we’re here for you guys.

There’s never a dull moment— that’s for sure.”

ERIC HONG

Johnson keeps campus clean while cruising around Diamond Bar High School.

7

FEATURE

A Homecoming Gutterball yusheng xia news editor It’s that time of year when girls get crazy with makeup, guys get fancy with suits, and couples get down on the dance floor. Expectations flowed through my mind as my group journeyed to Anaheim GardenWalk for Diamond Bar High School’s Homecoming. It was my first high school dance, and I hoped for the best night of my life.

Man was I disappointed.

Let’s start off with a few positives. The venue itself wasn’t that bad; restaurants were scattered around Bowlmor Anaheim, offering a variety of options ranging from seafood at Bubba Gump to fancy pizza at California Pizza Kitchen.

I must say the true highlight of my night was the CPK waiters who were friendly, offered free birthday desserts, and constantly cracked jokes about my Spanish language incompetence. At one point, they even sent a waiter up to me spewing a list of questions in Spanish, and she received nothing but a blank stare from my utterly confused face.

The nightlife at GardenWalk was bustling with people and random street venders throwing up flashing lights. Overall, the surroundings was a nice place to be leading up to the dance. It was the inside of Bowlmor that I had problems with.

Don’t get me wrong, the place looked amazing with bowling alleys stretching out across the room. Oxygen tanks were present with many flavors, and small photo booths were scattered around the area. The back of the venue had a colorful dance floor, and

ALUMNI

SPOTLIGHT

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

the overall venue was filled with drinks and snacks for attendees to enjoy.

However, after the initial glance, I started to notice many irksome things about the venue. The whole “dance” settled around bowling, but finding a lane was difficult with the number of people present. My group ended up getting a lane but then I realized after multiple gutters that bowling wasn’t such a fun idea. At the end of the game, my date and I had lost by some 60 points.

That didn’t leave many other options for my group. Oxygen tanks were something I really wanted to try out, but the lines were painfully long since there seemed to be only one station with three tanks grouped together. Not really an ideal setup for a place as crowded as Homecoming. Other than the oxygen tanks and picture booths, the only other activity available was dancing.

With that being said, I am not a dancer. I dream of being in AllMale, but sadly, my imaginative mind leaves my physical abilities crumbling in the dust. Put me on a crowded dance floor with music I couldn’t really hear, and the whole situation was less than ideal.

But in all seriousness, there was barely enough room for dancing at Bowlmor, as people were all jammed up into one corner of the building. Basically, crowded bopping concluded my night.

Overall, Homecoming wasn’t a letdown, but it was not a jaw-dropping experience. For a first high school dance, I was actually content with the whole event. However, I do hope for a better setup at next year’s Homecoming event.Oh and there is that prom thing coming up too.

Restaurant Review

L i n’s Wo n d e r l a n d Te a R o o m

lilly ball asst. a&e editor Popular for its “Alice in Wonderland” themed menu and colorful décor, Lin’s Wonderland Tearoom in Rowland Heights is a typical teahouse with a cute spin; perfect for anyone who has ever dreamed of having a tea party with the Mad Hatter.

When I looked the restaurant up on Yelp, I was overwhelmed by pictures of dainty tea sets, colorful plush chairs, and intricate dishes.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I felt as if I had been transported to a modern wonderland.

Neon colored booths and chairs popped out amongst the white tables, brightly lit by large clear chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The walls were adorned with shelves of cute trinkets, Rilakkuma toys, gold and silver bound books, and model cars. I was given the option to sit at a candy-colored booth, or at a separate tea table, surrounded by large plush chairs.

I opted for a booth, where I was presented with a menu and a cute plate with a lace design.

The menu was rather limited, with the majority of the foods, choices yummy dessert items, like crêpes and waffles. There was a section of “Wonderland” inspired drinks, which were mostly fruit drinks. I ordered the Mad Hatter, which was a very sweet, bright green drink that had kiwi bits floating around in it. The non-dessert items were few, they consisted of typical teahouse snacks like fries and popcorn chicken, with the exception of sandwiches with side salads. The small menu was surprising because I saw many dishes on Yelp that I could not seem to find in the menu. I ordered a chicken salad, which was under the sandwich section, but because of the lack of description, I was unsure wether I was ordering a sandwich or a salad.

After about 10 minutes of sipping my drink, a waitress came over and explained that the kitchen was closed that day and that we could not be given our orders, but that we could order any dessert item or fries. We were given two plates of fries, one order of sweet potato fries and one order seasoned with Lawry’s seasoned salt. The

fries were average, nothing that I haven’t eaten at any other tea house. However, I was thoroughly disappointed as I had postponed eating beforehand, so I could fully experience the restaurant and the seemingly delicious dishes that I saw on Yelp. If the kitchen was closed, why couldn’t the waitress have warned me before ordering?

I was offered 10% off of my total order, but it was not what I had wanted in the first place. I ended up spending about $20 on the fries and drinks, leaving me hungry and unsatisfied.

The only aspect of Lin’s that would ever lead me to returning after my horrible experience is the cute décor and Yelp reviews suggesting that others had at least gotten the food they had ordered. It is possible that I had just went on a bad day, as there were only two visible waitresses who were multitasking by working behind the counter as well.

Overall, my experience at Lin’s Wonderland Tearoom was unsatisfactory due to the service, but I will admit that the theme and original décor, made it the cutest teahouse I have been to.

DETAILS Address: 18248 Gale

LILLY BALL

A plate of sweet potato fries from Lin’s Wonderland Tea Room.

Ave, Rowland Heights, 91748 PHONE #: (626) 9657771 HOURS: Mon,Wed-Sun 12 PM -10 PM PRICE RANGE: $3.50-$10

confessions of a professor

victoria ly asst. feature editor Among the many career choices given to students, finding the “perfect” one might be a bit overwhelming to consider, especially at such a young age. However, for Professor Alissa Crans that was far from the case.

Graduating from Diamond Bar High School in 1995, the academically driven alumna aspired to become a teacher well before her high school years.

“I wanted to inspire and challenge students like Mr. Alcosser or Ms. Lordi. I loved my time in their classes, and I wanted to do the same for my own students.” Crans said.

After entering undergraduate school, Crans initially pictured herself as a high school math teacher. However, the professor’s love for both mathematics and music posed a difficult challenge for her when deciding her major.

“I actually applied to graduate programs in both mathematics and musicology because I wasn’t sure which I would enjoy teaching

Photos courtesy of ALISSA CRANS

Crans (left), with her students from Loyola Marymount University visit a museum in Bonn, Germany on their foreign exchange program trip (right). more: math or music,” Crans said.

During her high school career, Crans was especially involved with the marching and concert band.

Playing the clarinet in her college orchestra, the professor took many music history courses and still continues to pursue music as a hobby today. However, eventually after much reflection, Crans decided to pursue a career in teaching mathematics.

“You should only go to graduate school if you absolutely love the field. It’s too hard and demanding to spend five plus years of your life doing something you don’t love,” Crans advised.

Like most professors, Crans was able to finish her undergraduate

work in four years and received her Ph.D in five. However, the hardest part about pursuing teaching is finding a position at a school after graduation.

“There is far more people who get Ph.D’s in math every year than there are professor jobs. Also, you do not have much control over what school you get to teach at,” the professor said.

Being fortunate enough to find a teaching opportunity in Southern California, Crans has been a professor at Loyola Marymount University for 11 years.

As a professor at LMU, Crans has been able to teach all types of mathematics courses from Calculus I to senior level classes like to-

pology, abstract algebra, and complex variables.

One benefit that goes hand-inhand with Crans’ profession is that she has complete autonomy over her teaching schedule.

“I don’t have a boss! I can choose the textbook I use, how many exams I give, whether I assign homework. I don’t have to show my lecture notes, activities, exams or materials to anyone,” Crans said.

Aside from teaching in Southern California, she also had many opportunities to teach out-of-state and sometimes even outside of the country. In the summer of 2009 and 2010, Crans taught at LMU’s university program in Bonn, Germany.

“Our program is a summer program for students who are math/ engineering majors. It gives them a way to go abroad and still satisfy the requirements of their majors,” Crans stated.

Although, academia is largely emphasized in Crans’ life, the professor also takes pleasure in traveling. Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Prague, and Vienna are some of her favorite place she has visited.

Aside from traveling, Crans enjoys having active lifestyle, biking to work every day and participating in triathlons over the summer.

“I like experiencing new places, new cultures and people and traditions, and especially new foods!” she said.

8 FEATURE

OCOTBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

What’s the best memory you’ve had together?

“Hmmm..what about that time at the mall where you...”

“No no no! Don’t bring that up.”

[Period of laughter] “Yeah, you don’t want to know...”

ARIOSTO KUIT, ADAM WAN, JONATHAN NG , JUNIORS

Students + Humans of DBHS

Can you describe yourself?

“Well, I wear glasses and I am what most people would call cute!”

helen huan, freshman

“The reason I feel so greatly about Taekwondo is because without it I know my life wouldn’t be as great as it is now. I gained so much more than skills, I gained friends and family who continue to support me no matter what.”

brian shi, junior

“Trust. I believe in trust. To me that’s key to a long-lasting friendship... and having fun.”

gabrielle maloney, senior

“I got this phone case because it looks like me.”

Edward foo, sophomore Scan the QR code to view more portraits on Students + Humans of DBHS Tumblr.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

9

terror-ific halloween events

If trick-or-treating no longer brings you the thrills it once did, or if you’ve decided it’s no longer socially acceptable for your age, there are plenty of alternatives for the night of Halloween.

A little over a 30 minute drive from DBHS, the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor returns once again to Long Beach. From 7 p.m. to midnight, a $20 ticket will give you access to all of Dark Harbor’s hair-raising mazes, rides, and shows. Favorite monsters such as the Ringmaster will be returning to haunt the visitors, with new characters like the Priestess.

Two additional mazes added this year will take brave visitors into the depths of the famously haunted Queen. The doors of Dark Harbor will be open from Oct. 2 to Nov. 2.

Photo courtesy of QUEENMARY.com

dARK hARBOR In Diamond Bar, there is the annual Haunted House located at the Heritage Park Community Center. As you try to escape, the Haunted House is filled with zombies, clowns, and other monsters that will scare you. In order to get in, you must purchase a $5 punch card, you will also be given a buy one-get-one free coupon for the vendors. The location is at 2900 Brea Canyon Road, Diamond Bar, and the Haunted House will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 30-31.

Photo courtesy of INSIDESOCAL.COM

fall fun festival

In Fullerton there is the famous Sinister Pointe attraction. The interactive maze is based on the classic urban legend, Bloody Mary. Beginning Sept. 26 and closing on Nov. 2, visitors are sent off in groups of four. However, at various points in the maze, titled Behind the Mirror, visitors are separated, leaving them to face whatever lurks in the darkness alone. Open from 7 p.m. to midnight, general admission is $17 for 15 minutes of pure fear.

Photo courtesy of sinisterpointe.com

Sinister PointE On Halloween Night, Brea will be celebrating Orange County’s largest annual street party: Kidz Block Party. This eye-catching Halloween event will be filled with over 40 carnival style game booths in addition to amusing rides and slides. Hundreds of thousands of the best Halloween candy will be given away with gift-card raffles and game prizes. Activities such as pony rides, rock climbing and face painting will be accompanied by live music performances. To top it all off, everything is free. Bring your friends and families on Halloween night from 5-9 p.m. to the thrilling party!

Photo courtesy of kidzblockparty.com

kIDZ bLOCK pARTY

10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

Alumnus Returns with New Book, New Wisdom evon hung asst. web editor Students and adults alike – we all aspire to achieve our dream occupations and to be happy. For former Brahma Jamie Borromeo, she is doing exactly that.

The Class of 2003 alumnus visited the Diamond Bar High School library on September 25 as a motivational guest speaker.

As a high school student, Borromeo was the Arts & Entertainment Editor of the Bull’s Eye, board member of Girls’ League, president of the Barkada Filipino club, and was the 2001 Homecoming Princess.

Borromeo later attended UC Santa Cruz. After college, the alumnus worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, but abandoned her political career to follow her heart and true passions, to pursue an occupation in writing and media.

She now has published a book, “Young, Educated, & Broke,” which will be featured in an upcoming reality show “Pacific Beats,” and is currently on her book tour as a social commentator and entrepreneur.

“Young, Educated & Broke” is a travel journey memoir of Borromeo’s experiences in Millennial America. In its 190 pages, Borromeo reflects on the Millennial Generation, those born between the years 1980 and 2000, and takes the readers through seven years of her personal

financial recovery after the economic collapse of 2007.

Borromeo returned to her alma mater to share her journey of personal growth from high school to various occupations and to advise and inspire students pursuing their aspirations.

The alumnus began her presentation with a background of her high school involvement. Borromeo went on to express her thoughts on the Millennial Generation, and encouraged students to engage in human interaction in this world dominated by technology.

“There is a human element and energy that exists that isn’t there on your iPhone,” Borromeo said.

Borromeo is currently on tour with the theme “#millennialstreetteam.” Through social media, Borromeo hopes to combine students’ stories and the responses of previous generations into an open dialogue that will create a goal of the future.

“Young, Educated, and Broke,” is set to be released January 6. Preorders are available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powell’s.

To conclude her visit, Borromeo advised that personal development, and individuality can be found through self-reflection.

Especially for those who plan to

Photo courtesy of naaapconvention.org

attend college, the alumnus emphasized the importance of cultural and environmental ties with one’s own ambitions.

“It’s essential to think about the economic impact that college will have on you,” Borromeo advised.

“My challenge to you today is to think about what is it that you want to do with your career. Is it something that really sticks to your heart or just something that has been told to you?”

OCTOBER 8, 2014

The Fine Br s.

lilly ball asst. a&e editor

If you’ve watched the most popular videos on YouTube recently, chances are you’re one of the billion viewers who have seen a video

by The Fine Brothers. Siblings Rafi Fine and Benny Fine have taken over the internet with their videos, amassing over 10 million followers since their start in 2004. The duo is best known for their popular “React” video series, which won them an Emmy for “Best Viral Video Series” in 2012.

The Brothers started the wildly popular series with the simple idea of showing viral videos to kids.

“Kids React,” consists of showing a group of children a popular video suggested by fans. Following the youngsters watching the viral videos is a question portion led by the brothers, which always starts with their classic question, “What happened in the video?” Every episode of the series has surpassed one million views, and the most popular, “Kids React to Harlem Shake,” has over 27 million.

Only a year after the start of “Kids React,” the brothers launched a spin-off, “Teens React.” The popularity of the shows led to more spin-offs, “Elders React,” “Youtubers React,” and even a “Celebrities React” special that featured celebrities such as Disney actress Debby Ryan and “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland.

Many of the videos gained popularity because of the hilari-

ous guest reactions, such as in the video “Elders React to Nyan Cat” in which one guest exclaimed “Are you kidding me?” while another guest told the brothers the cat was her friend. But instead of just delivering comedy, the Brothers have used their fame for good causes, raising awareness through the voices of normal kids and teens.

One episode, “Teens React to Drunk Driving,” was filmed to raise awareness over the serious topic of driving under the influence of alcohol. The video is one of the most emotional in the series, and had the teen guests in tears rather than the usual fits of laughter. Many of the guests knew teens who had died, and one guest even admitted to have driven drunk before, but shared with the brothers that she regrets it.

Another video, “Kids React to Gay Marriage,” covered the sensitive topic of same-sex marriage. A group of 13 children were filmed viewing proposal videos of gay couples, followed by the classic question and answer portion. The video, which gained over 21 million views, gave children a chance to voice their opinions on the subject to a wide audience.

After creating over 200 Youtube videos, The Fine Brothers continue to deliver new videos every week.

The brothers have over 10 million subscribers, and if you’re not one of them, I recommend you start watching the series, and YouTube videos starting with the hilarious episode, “Elders React to Dubstep (Shrillex).”

Drama Modernizes Shakespeare in Fall Play Falling for New Shows gaby dinh asst. web editor emily jacobsson contributing writer It’s hard to beat 2013’s award winning shows including “Breaking Bad,” “Orange is the New Black,” and “Game of Thrones.”

Luckily, the lineup for 2014 continues to show that we are in a golden age of television.

The Flash – Oct. 7 For fans of comic book adaptations, “The Flash” is a show you wouldn’t want to miss. Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) witnesses the murder of his mother and is helpless to prevent his father from being wrongly accused. Allen becomes a brilliant forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department to try to clear his father’s name. This leads him to Dr. Harrison Wells’ (Tom Cavanagh) particle accelerator, which gives him the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Faced with the threat of villains on the rise, Allen vows to use his gift to protect Central City while trying to discover his mother’s murderer.

Marry Me – Oct. 14 “Marry Me” is the choice for viewers looking for a new romcom to watch. Premiering on Oct. 14th, the show is loosely based off creator David Caspe’s relationship with his wife, portraying the relationship between longtime couple Annie (Casey Wilson) and

Jake (Ken Marino). Although in a deeply committed relationship together, Annie and Jake can’t seem to get their engagement right and face major road blocks on their way to a happy ending. The couple struggles with the idea of getting married after a series of botched engagements, and wonder if the signs mean that their relationship is doomed or meant to be.

Gotham - Sept. 22 Rookie detective, Jim Gordon, and his partner are assigned to investigate the murder of the parents of a young Bruce Wayne. Sound familiar? “Gotham” is the origin story of future Commissioner Gordon, ally of Batman. Far from just another crime series, “Gotham” is worth the watch for any DC fan, as it will feature origin stories of several DC villains, revealing chapters that have before never been told.

The series had a strong premiere on Sept. 22, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Selfie - Sept. 30 “Selfie” follows the life of selfinvolved Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillian of “Doctor Who”) while she struggles to reinvent herself. With 263,000 followers on twitter, Eliza’s life hardly goes beyond her phone screen. When an embarrassing video of her is uploaded online, Eliza instantly realizes the difference between friend requests and actual friends. “Selfie,” which premiered Sept. 30, is about learning to make connections offline.

evon hung asst. web editor The Drama department brings Shakespeare to Woodstock.

Returning with its annual fall play, the school’s drama department will present Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a Woodstock twist, o p e n ing Oct. 17.

Set in 1969, the play’s magical woodland framework, originally set in the 16th century, is turned into a 1960s urban backdrop; a club in New York City’s Times Square serves as a location along with Woodstock, the historical 1969 music and arts festival, representing the woods.

The plot revolves around the interactions, relationships, and power struggles between characters.

A hierarchy of four social groups coexist with intertwining conflicts.

The wide range of characters includes an authoritative duke to lower class mechanics to faeries

who dominate everything – and everyone in between. The lead of the production includes sophomores Chloe Reyes and Rylie Mahorter, junior Jonah Martinez, and senior Katarina Avalos.

“With something like Shakespeare that’s 400 years old, there’s more latitude to reimagine it. It’s a bit of weaving in things of those eras that are in common with the themes in Shakespeare. The concept has to shape the story and I think it does that,” drama teacher Beatrice Casagran said.

In addition to a modern theme, the play also incorporates choreography and music in order to fully maximize the Shakespeare experience. Differing from previous fall plays, this is the first to include other elements of performing arts.

Dance teacher Janna Van Horn, as well as members from the dance team will choreograph and be part of the play.

Though the entire play is altered to the 60’s theme, the script remains unchanged. Shakespearean

original language will be delivered verbatim, although it has been stripped down to the bare essentials for a more fluid plotline.

“Because it’s Shakespeare, it actually takes twice the effort to memorize it, but we’re having a lot of fun doing it,” Avalos said.

The production is purely student-run by Advanced Drama, such as handling business, designing the process, and acting.

“This is the first time we’ve [had students run it] without systems in place and just bringing all different elements together for the play, from my standpoint, is the most difficult part,” Casagran said.

Tickets will be sold at the door at $11 for students and $13 for adults.

The play will take place on October 17 to 19 and 24 –to 25, starting at 7 p.m.

“I think that Shakespeare told well can be really accessible and be extremely moving or funny. One of my passions is to present Shakespeare in a way so that everyone can enjoy it.” Casagran said.

Photos courtesy of BILL FOLEY

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” stars sophomore Chloe Reyes (left) as Hermia, junior Jonah Martinez (middle) as Lysander and Katerina Avalos (right) as Helena. The play premires on October 17, and also shows the next week.

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

The ‘New’ iPhone

pearl lian contributing writer

When You Believe vrinda chauhan asst. a&e editor

the

Apple has finally released its newest version of its popular smartphone. Still, Apple customers have not yet made up their minds about purchasing the iPhone 6, due to their uncertainty of the improvements.

As iPhones have evolved throughout the years, some have criticized the company for making few changes from the phone’s predecessor. Apple has encountered these opinions again.

The screen of the iPhone 6 is larger—this is what most buyers noticed immediately. The new product is 4.7 inches long, becoming the biggest Apple phone besides the iPhone 6 Plus, which is even more impressive for its 5.5 inches length. With a wider screen, typing text messages will be an easier task, with better accuracy of texting.

The camera has also been updated, with a quicker speed to focus on the object before the picture is taken. The iPhone 6 also has the ability to take high resolution slow motion videos and panoramas. On the downside, the current camera causes the phone to lie unevenly on a flat surface as a result of the thickness of the lens.

The iPhone 6 adopts the color choices of iPhone 5ssilver, gold, and space gray. The phone is also offered in three memory sizes, providing different prices for varied storage capacities, allowing buyers to enjoy a flexibility of balancing their financial budgets and their necessary demands.

On the other side, the bigger shape backfired for some loyal Apple users. Accustomed to the smartphone that can fit the size of one palm, the new member of the iPhone family is not welcomed, because it requires both hands to grasp the iPhone 6.

Nonetheless, nothing can extinguish the flame of excitement of the Apple fans. Thousands of people are willing to wait in front of Apple Stores around the world every morning.

The beginning of autumn typically entails red and orange leaves, scarves, and pumpkin spice lattes.

This year, however, choir’s fall concert, “When You Believe,” can be added to this list. The concert, held at Diamond Bar High School at 7 p.m. tonight will bring a classy twist to fall.

The concert, a one night, hourlong blend of classical and cultural music, will be performed by all of the school choirs, including Diamond Tones, Marquis, Solitaire, and Chamber. Unlike previous fall concerts, this show will incorporate choreography by Amy Mauzey. Marquis, Solitaire, and Diamond Tones will be dancing to songs “The Heat is On,” “Believe in the Music,” and “Keeping the Faith.”

The sophisticated, black tie theme of the concert will fit in nicely to the musical pieces that will be performed. The music will include classical music from as far back as the romantic era, to religious music, such as that of Elijah

Those who doubt the religious intentions of Vic Armstrong’s “Left Behind” can rest assured that no one else will be taking this flop of a Christian movie seriously. Of course, the intentions are certainly clear, but they are carried out with such tactlessness that the purpose of the film is self-destructive.

The movie, which itself is a reboot of a trilogy of the same name, is based on a lengthy series of books detailing what the author imagines would happen during the Rapture, which is a prediction of the ascension of Christ’s followers into heaven.

Naturally, this is a topic that is open to so much interpretation that there are many possibilities as to what could happen to those who are trapped on an earth where all of the signs seem to lead to an impending doom for all. Unlike the books or even the first trilogy of films, this adaptation makes no attempt to bring anything new to the story of a dysfunctional family that has been torn apart by this event.

Half of the storyline is contained to a plane full of annoyingly clichéd passengers and an emotionally deadpan Nicholas Cage.

Then, back on terra firma, Cage’s daughter in the film darts through a terrorized New York, where the streets are crowded with a scattering of abandoned clothing and the equally abandoned (albeit scream-

Rock. In addition, choir members will be singing songs in foreign languages including French, German, Latin, and Greek, as well as spiritual African music.

A major challenge of the year’s first concert is the unifying of the older members of the choirs with newcomers.

“It was like starting from scratch but we made it work. We definitely got to know each other better and that was nice,” Senior Joseph Harvey said.

Though choir members had practices throughout the summer, they only began practicing their choreography since school started.

“I really love putting on concerts because it’s such a fun environment. Everyone just wants to sing and we all love what we do. It’s a really fun experience,” junior Felicitas Anijielo said.

The tickets will be sold tonight outside the theater. They retail for $8 for students and $10 for adults.

“This concert in particular has a more sophisticated and serious theme and I’m very excited to display all the hard work my classes have been doing,” choir teacher Patty Breitag said.

CORRECTIONS In last issue’s student spotlight featuring orchestra musician Betty Kim, it was incorrectly reported that she served as first chair for the All-Southern Orchestra.

Kim served as assistant concert master, which is second chair.

BUZZ: L e f t

sarah markiewicz staff writer

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Behind

Inspired by the predictions of the Biblical rapture, “Left Behind” fails as a dramatic postapocalyptic film, coming across as poorly developed and uninspired. ing and looting) unbelievers.

All of this is done while trying to keep the mood of the film in a state of suspense over what had happened to the people who had suddenly disappeared. The portrayal of the disappearances and of the reactions almost prompted me to hope that they might throw some sort of plot twist at us; perhaps some other theory might be more viable (or at least more interesting.)

Along with this lack of deviation

toward a more interesting plot, the film fails to inspire any feelings within the souls of the audience, other than amusement over the idiotic behavior of some of the characters. Those who are left behind have shallow personalities and so little motivation that it is difficult to feel much sympathy for them.

For a film about an apocalyptic event I had hoped to see my daunting end-of-the-world nightmares brought before me on-screen, but I have no doubt that many of the

stunts in the film were recycled from former horror and disaster films.

With little to prompt action buffs or Christians, the intentions of the film remain vague considering that the original series in itself did not seem to garner much resonance with a popular crowd. While they may have had more planned for those left behind in later films, a second installment seems as unlikely as the instantaneous Rapture shown in the film.

Photo courtesy of BEYONDHOLLYWOOD.COM

Chloe Steele (Cassi Thomson) is emotionally torn after the sudden disappearances of her mother and younger brother.

11

WORDS WITH WONG:

A Nud e Path to Fa me emily wong a&e editor Once upon a time, celebrities were able to take a walk in the park without being chased by paparazzi.

However, a pique in public interest of celebrity’s personal lives has been a trend throughout the decade, so much so that a celebrity’s trip to McDonald’s makes headlines at major news sites. Yet nothing epitomizes society’s augmented nosiness more than the recent attacks on multiple celebrities who became victims of a massive leak of celebrity nude photos.

Though some of the victims of this scandal are already known for their scandalized lives, such as Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, other shocked victims include Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, and Gabrielle Union. Catalyzed by the growing popularity in social media and a flaw in Apple’s iCloud system, this major leak serves to not only accentuate technology’s pitfalls but also society’s fallbacks.

To think that, in such a technologically centered world, people still believe anything they save on their phone or computer is safe from outsiders is rather pathetic.

There will always be a person who will be able to crack any electronic barrier (such as iCloud) to access all files stored on your computer— deleted or not. People should not entrust their extremely private information on a traceable device unless it is a relative necessity.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this scandal is the celebrities’ reactions to the publication of the photos. The more respectable ones concede right away that the photos are real and were stolen from their phones. Meanwhile, other celebrities—particularly the younger ones who serve as role models to young girls such as singer Ariana Grande and Olympian gymnast McKayla Maroney—deny the photos of them are genuine.

Many of the victims, such as Gabrielle Union, have even gotten the FBI involved. Whether real or fake, the photos are a flagrant violation of privacy—even if it was entirely preventable.

Nowadays, there appears to be too much emphasis on famous people’s personal lives. We end up knowing more about actors’ and actresses’ personal lives than the list of movies they have been in. We launch talentless reality stars to fame and fortune. Nevertheless, I must deploringly say that I, too, am one of those people. In fact, I am ashamed to say that I can tell you more about Angelina Jolie’s personal life than her movies. Hollywood has become less about skills and arts and more so about Twitter followers and botox.

If people were not so interested in celebrities’ personal lives, celebrity hacking scandals may not be so prevalent (and Kim Kardashian would not be the highest-paid reality television personality). The social media frenzy that ensued from this scandal merely added fuel to the fire. Celebrity nude photos continue to persist for the sole purpose of stirring up the public.

When you are a high-profile person, leaving a digital trail to a picture of your goods might not be the brightest idea. People, not just celebrities, should learn to be more perceptive of their actions and skeptical about the safety of technology. Moral of the story is that some things are better left in the bedroom.

12 ADVERTISEMENTS

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Lady Brahmas come up short

SPORTS

13

SPORTS COLUMN

What’s wrong with my Trojans

andrew choi sports editor

Junior Emily Zhang(left) and Freshman Angeline Cheng(right) returns the ball in play inorder to keep the game close.

Photos by ANDREW CHOI

GIRLS TENNIS| The young and inexperienced Diamond Bar girls tennis team still has some areas to improve on after losing to the Glendora Tartans in a close head-to-head match. andrew choi sports editor After keeping up with the Glendora Tartans for most of the day, the Diamond Bar girls tennis team failed to come out of the league contest with a victory, losing 10-8 in the closing sets of the match. The Lady Brahmas have an overall record of 2-5 and have a few areas to improve as the newly Palomeres League is now underway.

“We went out did our very best since we were trying to bounce back from our loss with Bonita on [Sept. 30]. [Senior] Harleen Mehrok and I really had to grind it out and

not give up since the games were so close,” senior co-captain and No.2 doubles player Rosanne Chen said. During the match, coach Tisa Shavers substituted Mehrok in for senior and No.2 doubles player Kimberly Chen in the second round to mix up the matchups of the doubles team.

Although the team consists of many young and inexperienced players, the Lady Brahmas are led by the strong performance of senior No.1 singles player Amberly Cheng and the No.1 duo of senior co-captain Karrie Tran and senior Ashley Yeh. Throughout the season, the team has kept the mentality to

keep on improving. Practicing in the hot SoCal heat every weekday, the Lady Brahmas have currently refined some of their skills in order to compete in the Palomeres

“We are still working on our fundaments and getting all our doubles teams together.”

COACH TISA SHAVERS League.

“We are still working on our fundamentals, and getting all of our doubles team together. Our footwork has improved and we are working right now on mental strat-

egies and focus,” coach Tisa Shavers said.

Last year, the Lady Brahmas were able to reach the CIF playoffs after finishing the Hacienda League in second place, behind the first place Rowland Raiders. However, the 2014 tennis team will have many hurdles and obstacles to overcome to match the 2013 team’s performance.

“This year, I have some great singles players and some doubles players, but we are still working on our chemistry. As the season goes, I expect the team to be more consistent, to possess stronger shots, and to have a better camaraderie,” Shavers commented.

A look into Sahith’s dream Theegala placed second in the Canadian International Junior Challenge, losing by only one stroke. victoria ly asst. feature editor Swinging-in at second place, Diamond Bar senior Sahith Theegala achieved a triumphant feat at the Canadian International Junior Challenge last month in Lakefield.

Ontario losing first place to England’s George Gardner by just one stroke.

Participants in the competition were selected based off their performance over the past year. Four junior players were invited from each region and Theegala represented the Southwest region of the United States.

“It was a once in a lifetime thing; you’re never going to do it again as a junior,” Theegala said.

Along with playing for the Diamond Bar High school varsity golf team, the talented golfer is also a member of the Southern California’s Professional Golfers Association. He ranks in the top 40 amongst the thousands of golf members in Southern California PGA. The Brahma worked hard to earn his place in golf tournament.

He took up golfing at the age of six and has been playing the sport for almost 10 years now.

“Practice definitely helps but you have to stay there mentally.

You always have to be positive about what your doing,” Theegala said.

The accomplished golfer earned many accolades this past year.

Qualifying for CIF Southern California Finals in May, the Brahma finished seventh in the CIF-SS/ SCGA finals and fourth at the CIF/ SCGA finals.

“The most difficult part [of the

sport] is staying in the game mentally because you’ll have a bad hole and get down on yourself, but then you’ll have 17 other holes to go so you have to keep going and tell yourself ‘I can make it up,’” Theegala said.

In June, the young golfer took first place at the 97th annual Los Angeles City Championship, winning by eight strokes and playing in his first major non-amateur tournament. Recognized for his outstanding performance in the sport, Theegala was also named San Gabriel Valley Tribune’s Boys Golfer of The Year this past summer.

“It’s a really underrated sport.

People think that it’s so easy to just hit the ball into the hole, but no; you have to think, strategize and time what you’re doing physically too,” Theegala said.

He attributes much of his success in the sport to the teachers that support him on campus. Staff members such as Bill Zylstra and Ty Watkins have supported the young golfer significantly. “[Mr. Watkins] has done so much to help the golf program here. He posts all the golf related news online to the DBHS website and shows up to every tournament I go,” Theegala said.

And while most seniors are in the process of college applications, Theegala has already gained a verbal commitment along with a scholarship to Pepperdine University. He hopes to pursue golfing as a professional career and looks forward to playing the sport in college.

“The first two to three years I want to see how well I play against the other juniors and if I’m good enough I definitely want try to go professional,” Theegala said.

courtesy of SAHITH THEEGALA

Senior Sahith Theegala is ranked 40 in Southern California PGA.

After a hyped offseason that featured the hiring of former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as the head coach of USC and signing of high school phenom Adoree Jackson, the unranked USC football program, with a 3-2 record, is off to another disappointing start.

The Trojans have suffered two huge upsets, losses to unranked Boston College and Arizona State, that may ruin the team’s chances of ever competing in the PAC-12 championship this season. This mediocre start is becoming very similar to last season’s team that had former head coach Lane Kiffin fired shortly after losing to ASU. Sarkisian and his crew better start fixing their problems and convince the Trojan nation that he was right man for the job.

Last Saturday, the Trojans headed into a PAC-12 showdown against the ASU Sun Devils. Coming off an impressive win against the Oregon State Beavers, USC was the favorites to not only win the game but also to destroy the Sun Devils. However, the cardinal and gold faltered once again in the closing seconds of the game as Sun Devil’s quarterback Mike Bercovici completed a 46-yard Hail Mary that sealed the game. All the blame should not be pointed at the Trojans’ defense, but there has to be a revival of both the offense and defense if USC wants to go back to its glory days of winning consecutive Rose Bowls.

The defense is now horrendous for USC. Prior to the season, Sarkisian brought Justin Wilcox from Washington and assigned him as the new DC. This move has been terrible for the team. The unit gave up 510 yards to Bercovici, who is the backup quarterback for ASU. He only played because starting quarterback Taylor Kelly is nursing a foot injury. The Trojans’ secondary also gave up three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the game which was fatal to the Trojan’s postseason hopes. This is not the first time the cardinal and gold gave up this many yards. In week 3, the Trojans coughed up 452 rushing yards to Boston College. If USC wants to be considered elite, the team has to fix numerous solutions on the defensive side of the ball.

The Trojans’ offense has to improve as well. In the offseason, Sarkisian implemented a high-tempo, no-huddle offense which is very different to the traditional slow paced USC offense. The offense looked great in week 1 against Fresno State as the Trojans ran 105 plays and earned 701 yards. However, ever since that game, the offense has been very inconsistent with the ball. In the game against BC, USC only mustered 20 rushing yards on 29 carries. The week prior to the game against Stanford, the offense only had 135 passing yards with no touchdowns.

Even though there is still at least nine games remaining for the 2014 season, the Trojan nation must be biting their nails in every game because who knows which USC will come out and play. If this mediocre season continues to disappoint, expect the Trojan family to make moves on the coaching staff.

14 SPORTS

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

Tyler Peterson ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

Mr. Front-flip vrinda chauhan asst. a&e editor You may know him as the quarterback who flipped over two players and scored during the last Branding Iron game. Or you may know him as the star varsity football player who led Diamond Bar to success all three years at Diamond Bar. Senior Tyler Peterson is known by many around campus for his success as a leader on and off the field.

Born into a family of football players, Peterson was heavily influenced by football and took up the sport at the young age of eight.

Peterson began playing after his father took him out of soccer and placed him in Diamond Bar’s Pop Warner team. He played around the community for six years before he finally began his career as a Brahma.

This venture turned out to be a huge success, as he landed a spot on the varsity football teams in his sophomore year and has been the driving force behind the success of the DBHS football team since.

“It can be a lot of work sometimes, but I really like the sport so it’s definitely worth it,” Peterson said.

Among his many accomplishments in football, his favorite memory is the school winning its first freshmen Hacienda League title in 10 years his freshman year.

“We were seven and two going into the championship game and we were playing against another seven and two team and when we went in, they were beating us 20-7 at halftime. But then, our friend [and teammate] Brandon Rice gave us a really effective pep talk and we just powered through it after that.

“The front flip was so unanticipated. If I were to try to front flip right now, I probably wouldn’t be able to.

The adrenaline took over and I just did it.”

TYLER PETERSON We ended up winning 27-20 at the very last minute of the game,” Peterson said.

Another warm memory Tyler recalls is this year’s Branding Iron game against the rival Walnut Mustangs. His flip, the clear highlight of the game, was covered by ESPN and NBC. “The front flip was so unanticipated. If I were to try to front flip right now, I probably wouldn’t be able to. The adrenaline took over and I just did it,” he said.

A slow start to the season

Along with football, Peterson has also been pursuing basketball for seven years, and is beginning his second year on the Diamond Bar’s varsity basketball team. He currently plays the forward position and has been one of the best defenders on the team.

Since the two sports are back to back, Peterson has a harder time than would a single sport athlete.

“It’s really difficult. You’re constantly tired and you don’t really have time for yourself until spring,” Peterson said.

Despite his hectic schedule, which often involves him coming home at late hours, Peterson manages to juggle a relatively rigorous academic schedule. The quarterback maintains an unweighted GPA of 3.3.

Peterson hopes to continue playing football in college, but he wishes to pursue a medical career after college and help the community around him as a doctor.

He looks up to his grandfather, who played at UCLA and encouraged Peterson to play as a youngster. This heavy involvement in football motivated Peterson to continue pursuing football in college.

“There were always hurdles [in football]. People would say I’m not good enough, but it just motivated me to try harder,” Peterson said.

VOLLEYBALL| Under the new coach Jeff Weihert, the volleyball team intends to have a successful season despite the slow start in the Palomeres League.

Freshman Alex Diaz spikes the ball passed the Glendora’s blocker.

Seniors Olivia Hernandez and Andrea Belden jump high to block the Tartans’ spikes.

james kil asst. sports editor Currently with a record of 6-7, the Diamond Bar varsity volleyball team gets ready to leave a legacy of competitive play. However, in order to successfully get past the first round in the CIF Southern Division, the Lady Brahmas must build endurance to have a consistent performance throughout each match.

The Lady Brahmas are now under the guidance of a new coach, Jeff Weihert, who came from Whittier College.

“Well I am a first year head coach at Diamond Bar High School, but last year’s 2013 class made it to the first round CIF so it is a good building block to build off of, and to make a run for playoffs again this

year,” Weihert said.

With senior Jessica Pierce and freshmen Alex Diaz, the Lady Brahmas will be in good hands because of the players’ fast, piercing spikes. Senior captain Morgan Dempsey also proves to be a strong asset for the team.

This year, to have the Lady Brahmas compete at a higher level, players must increase the intensity of their practices and prepare themselves for a future of challenging matches. Although the players are aggressive at the beginning of each match, they eventually lose their momentum as the match progresses.

“Our team has a very good core of players that have been playing together for a long time which will work well, but we lack in experience in closing out games and clos-

Photos by ANDREW CHOI

ing the door to shut other teams down,” Weihert said.

The volleyball team starts each practice with a team meeting to go over what areas it is working on for that day. Then, the Lady Brahmas start to warm up and stretch before their passing, defensive, and offensive drills. They end each practice with a scrimmage.

In a match against Glendora High School last Thursday, the Lady Brahmas managed to either be in the lead, or tied, in the beginning of all three matches. However, the Lady Brahmas could not keep up with the Tartans and ended up losing 3-0.

“It definitely was an improvement from Brea Olinda. We are getting to where we want to be, but we are not really there yet,” senior Amanda Beltran said.

SPORTS

THE BULL'S EYE

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Peterson, Hull lead the way for DB football

FOOTBALL| The Diamond Bar football team continues to prove critics wrong as they head into the first week of the new Palomeres League.

SPORTS MEMES

15

andrew choi sports editor The Diamond Bar football team had an offseason that it would like to forget after the losses of former head coach Ryan Maine, former running back Tyler Brown, and wide receivers Cordell Broadus and Kanya Bell. However, after the hiring of head coach Marcus Hughes, the football team, while having a 3-2 record, consists of many talented athletes to help the program reach the CIF playoffs.

“We are glad to have Mr. Hughes be the coach of the football program. He motivates everybody on the team play their hardest and to never give up. The systems he created for DB has helped our chances of winning in each game,” senior defensive lineman Jason Kim said.

Even though the team lost many core players from last year, the 2014 Brahmas have some of their own standout athletes that make flashy plays in each game. Seniors quarterback Tyler Peterson and athlete Antonio Hull have provided the offensive highlights of the early parts of the season.

Instead of running a pass-first offense, Hughes has implemented a run-first spread offense that focuses on the zone-read option between Hull and Peterson. The DB pair currently have a combined total of 1,580 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns.

“Without a good offensive line, the team cannot really do anything no matter how good the players are,” Hughes commented.

ANDREW CHOI

Senior Antonio Hull runs through a gap behind junior offensive lineman Blake Goodman during a recent practice.

Peterson, who relied on his arm for the past two seasons, now uses his legs to outrun opponents and now has 488 rushing yards and 397 passing yards. Hull, on the other hand, has been all over the field.

The superstar athlete has 658 rushing yards, 117 receiving yards and 179 punt return yards with one punt-return touchdown.

DB’s defensive front seven has been the underrated unit throughout the entire season. The Brahmas’ defense has consistently been able to pressure the opponents’

Trying to reach their full potential GOLF| The Lady Brahmas look forward to winning the State title after finishing in second place last year. james kil asst. sports editor After a successful season last year, the Diamond Bar’s varsity girls golf team strives to reach greater heights. The Lady Brahmas are off to a great start, as they are 5-0, at the top in the Palomares League and ready to chase after the state title.

Last year, the talented golfers won league for the eighth straight year while having an overall record of 15-1. The Lady Brahmas also won CIF and placed second in state, losing to Torrey Pines High School, the four time state champs.

DB won the Ayala tournament and placed third in the San Clemente tournament.

“I think we played pretty well.

Everybody stepped up when we really needed them. We had a lot of close calls winning by tie breakers but we managed to go all the way to state. We all played the best to our abilities and as a team,” senior cocaptain Joan Park said.

This year, the Lady Brahmas are expected to win league and CIF again. Instead of winning each game by a tiny margin, they hope to clean up their mistakes so that they blow-out other teams.

“We have to get through all those hoops again. When you win close every time, you could have lost at any time,” Coach Tony McCabe

quarterback. The unit has returned one interception for a touchdown and forced two fumbles.

Kim and senior linebacker Oswaldo “Ozzy” De La Torre leads the team in sacks with 3.5 and 3 respectively.

On Friday, the Brahmas will go against the South Hills Huskies to kick-off the start of the Palomeres League. Expect the Brahmas to continue to run the ball and use some trickery as the team has been practicing new plays that Hughes created over the bye week.

the

Parking Spot

sports talk with joseph park

joseph park editor-in-chief

said.

Co-captains seniors Bethany Wu, Park, juniors Kaitleen Shee and Josephine Chang will be the key players to help DB to another successful year. With the addition of freshman Crystal Wang, DB will pose a greater threat. With the talented group of golfers that DB has, the Lady Brahmas look to surpass Torrey Pines and win State.

“Everything we are doing right now is getting us ready for it. We’re planning to go to the state finals,” McCabe said.

Losing in a tie breaker against Troy High School, Diamond Bar placed third in the San Clemente Tournament on 26. Unfortunately, DB did not have Wu because she was in Scotland playing for the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup. Torrey Pines came in first with a score of 387, Troy and DB with 406.

The Junior Ryder Cup consisted of six boys and girls from the United States and Europe. This year, it took place at Blairgowrie Golf Club, Blairgowrie in Scotland.

The U.S. won for the fourth consecutive time. Wu played in three matches, losing one foursome, and tying the other two.

Although the golfers did not beat Torrey Pines like they wanted to, the Lady Brahmas still managed to beat Mira Costa High school, the best team in the CIF Southern Division.

I fell in love with the Los Angeles Lakers. The history and tradition, the purple and gold, the legends, I’ve become utterly infatuated. October calls for my annual predictions for my love. But love hurts, especially this season.

Let’s be honest here Lakers fans.

The Lakers are going nowhere but south. Ever since the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss, the domino effect of failure has been haunting the organization. From being swept in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs in 2013 to having a Kobe Bryant-less season, it comes with no surprise to say that the expectations for this season aren’t high.

A championship caliber team is the norm in LA and fans are ad-

justing to this distressing period of time. Don’t be expecting too much this season. Maybe with a touch of magic from above, Dr. Buss can grant the City of Angels mediocrecy but that’s going off on a limb. Mr. Jerry Buss: Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington, really? Where are the stars? Where is Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony? Simply put, where is the future?

The Lakers have lost their glow and what star would want to go to a team with no set plan for the future. I don’t blame Howard for leaving, I didn’t expect Anthony to come, and I’m really hoping some miracle happens in the next few years so I don’t end up in a therapy session dealing with my pain for my love. Though the season looks dim, there’s always room for optimism, even if it may be pathetic.

Let’s say Steve Nash plays all 82 games in top shape. Let’s hope Bryant will play at the same level. Let’s wish the Staples will chant “Can’t handle the Randle” while our seventh rounder Julius Randle establishes himself as a double-double machine. Let’s hope for Linsanity 2.0. Maybe, just maybe, with a combination of a myriad of miracles, the Lakers can reach the playoffs.

I rather they not, however, because getting swept in the playoffs is a far more embarrassment than not making it, in my perspective.

Bryant and Nash are gone after this season. It would’ve been a Bryant’s fan dream for 24 to get his sixth ring so he can be in discussion with 23. My heart goes out to all the Lakers fans out there. Not all hope is lost however. The Lakers, always did and always will, find a way out of a mess, hopefully.

courtesy of LAKERSNATION.COM

16 SPORTS

OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE BULL'S EYE

SPORTS

Always room for improvement

Sophomore Antonio Reyes (left) wrestles with the opponent for possession of the ball while sophomore Kristopher Chang (right) looks for an open teammate.

WATER POLO| Despite a losing record, the Brahmas are still learning and gaining experience against the top teams in the early parts of the season. bernard chen asst. news editor With the creation of a new water polo team at Diamond Bar comes the difficulties of inexperienced but devoted players. Despite the many losses that DBHS’ water polo has fought through, there is still hope for improvement and a better future.

“It’s tough for a new sports team to transition into something great, especially when you concern the rigor that comes with water polo. However, the traditions and foundations are being set and the ‘family feel’ of the team is starting to get there. Coach [Alexander] Matal, Coach [Kevin] Hammond, and I all believe in the potential this team has,” senior Derek Peng, one of the captains of the varsity team, said.

The team is already progressing rapidly, especially from the small number of experienced players at the begin-

ning of the year. Of the 60 players, only three were trained in the sport before the formation of the team.

“The team has been great as far as attitude towards learning and wanting to improve.

For [this] season, it’s going to be tough for us in league because the teams in our league have had water polo programs for many years. Plus, they have club players which is a huge advantage,” Diego Hammond, one of the few experienced players, said.

Therefore, as with any other developing organization, the water polo team must learn from its losses to build a winning team, pinpointing the opponents’ strategies and skills that may help them in upcoming games. This type of improvement is encouraged by the coaches.

During these post-game practices, the coaching staff meets with the team to discuss the areas that need improvement and to ensure that the players learn from their mistakes. From these weaknesses,

the coaches are able to structure practices made to improve upon the skills that are most lacking.

“It’s true that most of our games have been losses. However, half of the losses were only lost by one point. The team has much to learn, and I believe failure is the first step to success. Sure, we’ll experience the bitter taste of defeat, but we learned that no matter how hard we get hit, it’s all about coming back up again,” Peng said.

Matal is making plans for year-round training as well as a youth program to help feed players into the Diamond Bar program. “[The team is] progressing every game that they play.

[They use] these games as motivation to continue to improve and strive to be competitive in their future games,” coach Matal said.

Funds are also a necessary factor as the players plan to raise money to support the team. One of coach Matal’s long-term goals is to create one

Photos by ANDREW CHOI

Sophomore Jeffrey Chang gets ready to take a shot at goal.

of the most distinguished and premiere water polo programs in the area.

“Our team really does have a wide and optimistic view of

UPCOMING GAMES Girls Golf

10/17 @ Mt. Sac

10/09 vs Wilson

10/10 vs South Hills 10/9 vs South Hills

10/25 @ Mt. Sac

10/14 @ Ayala

10/17 @ Claremont

10/14 @ Claremont

10/14 @ Claremont

11/05 @ League

10/16 @ St. Lucys

10/16 vs Bonita

10/16 vs Bonita

Finals

10/17 vs Torrey Pines

10/24 @ Bonita 10/31 vs Glendora

10/21 @ Glendora

10/21 @ Glendora

10/23 vs Ayala

10/23 vs Ayala

(2:30 PM)

10/21 @ League Prelims 10/22 @ League Finals

(6:30 PM)

Volleyball

OCT. 8-NOV. 5

Cross Country (3:30PM)

Football

the future. We hope to gather enough funds for more water polo equipment and become a serious contender in state games,” Peng said.

(5:30 PM)

10/28 @ South hills 10/30 vs Claremont 11/04 @ Bonita

Girls Tennis (3:30 PM)

10/9 vs South Hills