December 2015

opinion 5

inside the issue

Seriously Satirical: Starbucks Cups

Challenging Stereotypes

DIY: CHRISTMAS GIFTS

a&e 8

feature 10

the bull’s eye NEWS

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OPINION

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F E AT U RE

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sports 14

DECEMBER 16, 2015 Volume XXXIV, Issue iV ONLINE at dbbullseye.com

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

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S P O RT S

Hong leaves DB for new position

a sing song christmas

The dean will be transferring to Monrovia High School starting second semester.

CALVIN RU

Varsity Song, one of the many groups who performed in the Dec. 11 Winter Sports rally, strikes a pose after completing their routine. See dbbullseye.com to read about the team’s latest competition.

Misconduct results in re-vote; two USB members removed

The recent election for the USB executive board was compromised by a flawed election process. emily jacobsson asst. a&e editor

The altering of ballots during the election of USB’s Executive Board in October was the main reason behind the re-vote the following week, according to numerous students and school officials. The voting irregularities resulted in two students being dropped from the student government group.

On Oct. 29, USB representatives visited classrooms to hand out bal-

lots, which is the usual routine on election days.

One or two days after the original election, it was discovered that two USB members manipulated the votes in the favor of one candidate, according to those familiar with the situation. The following Monday, representatives returned to the classrooms to conduct a revote, and were accompanied by staff members who oversaw the process to ensure full integrity.

The two members who altered the initial results have since been removed from USB. According to the DBHS constitution, in typical situations, removal from USB requires a two-thirds vote from the E-board or approval from the President; only an administrator has the authority to over-

ride this process. In this situation, USB members were neither notified nor given an official explanation as to why the two members were removed, according to various USB members.

“I was as in the dark as was everyone else. I found out what happened from someone else who was talking about it. I only heard rumors,” Kevin Lee, outgoing USB president said.

With the re-vote correcting the problem, USB and the administration are focusing on creating a more secure and effective election system so that future problems can be avoided.

“I am not pleased with the almost primitive way we count votes.

usb on p.2

Societies, AP Physics B, AP Physics C, Physics, and Chemistry at DBHS. In addition to his contributions in the classroom, Hong has served for 17 years as a scorer for APES exams, and was a member of the APES Development Committee brian chang for three years, as well as a College Board Advisor for the APES Develasst. news editor opment Committee.

Due to his position as DBHS’ As students prepare to leave STEM Instructional Dean and his school for two weeks of winter involvement with the creation and break, one Diamond Bar High scoring of the APES exam, Hong School administrator is packing is familiar with the math and scihis bags in preparation for a final ence curricula taught on campus. farewell.

However, one of the challenges he David Hong, the school’s Sciexpects to face at Monrovia is the ence, Technology, Engineering, widened range of topics he will be Mathematics, and Fine Arts Inin charge of. structional Dean who has worked “I will be responsible [for] the at DBHS for the past 25 years, will whole school, rather than a few be transferring to Monrovia High departments. I will have to learn School to become the Associate more about literature and social Principal of Cur- riculum and sciences, world languages, and Instruction. The become familiar announcement, with their stan“I think if you’re not made via email dards and a lot growing, you’re missing on Nov. 23, trails more knowledgeout on life...” former principal able on those Catherine Real’s subjects,” he DAVID HONG decision just said. three months Hong will begin prior to transfer to the district ofworking at Monrovia in January fice of the Monrovia Unified School and said that he expects a large District. workload. Since the school was unThe job opportunity was posted able to find someone to fill the posion a website for educators named tion during the summer, Monrovia Edjoin, the same one that DBHS is High School has been without an currently using to search for a new Associate Principal for the entire principal. first semester.

“I went through two rounds Hong will be supervising more of interviews with the Monrovia on-campus activities and extraSchool District, and after the seccurriculars alongside his duties ond round of interviews, they conas Associate Principal. He is confitacted me and told me they wanted dent that he will be able to hit the to offer me the position,” Hong ground running and learn the basaid. sics quickly.

Hong has been a teacher at Hong said he will regret leaving DBHS for 25 years, becoming an behind is his APES classes because Instructional Dean 14 years ago. of his enjoyment for teaching and He currently teaches AP Environmeeting new students every year. mental Science after having taught hong on p.3 IB Environmental Systems and

Low acceptance rates embracing winter spirit prompt UC action University of California schools will be accepting more in-state students over the next few years. angela yang contributing writer This year’s Diamond Bar High School seniors are in a particularly good position to be applying for a University of California school.

The nine UC schools are accepting 5,000 extra in-state undergraduate applicants for the 2016-2017 year.

This is an attempt by the UC school system to mitigate the situation of more out-of-state students

FOR A VIEW ON THE NEW UC POLICY, SEE OPINION, PAGE 5 flooding its colleges, a highly criticized issue amongst Californian families. The UC system is currently undergoing a state of financial difficulty, and admitting more out-of-state students is helping to alleviate this challenge. According to the San Jose Mercury News, nonresident students pay around $23,000 more each in annual tuition than in-state students. UC President Janet Napolitano has responded with a plan to increase the number of in-state undergraduates over the next few years.

admissions on p.3

Current USB members wear Christmas-themed clothing for Ugly Sweater Day as part of Spirit Week.

CALVIN RU

2

NEWS

DBHS ranks in top 100 DBHS was named the 37th top school in California by an online education rating website. ingrid chan staff writer Placing in California’s top 100 out of 4,495 high schools can be considered an almost impossible feat for most schools, but Diamond Bar High School has done it again.

Recently, DBHS ranked 37th on the 2016 Best Public High Schools list, a survey done by Niche.

Schools across the country were

judged according to the quality of their academics, teachers, culture, and facilities.

Niche is an online website that posts a multitude of reviews, statistics, and surveys on schools across the United States. In addition to the four main aspects, elements such as extracurriculars, academics, teachers, student fitness, safety, parent reviews, and student diversity also have a significant influence on results. DBHS’ highest scores were for its academics, teachers, and overall safety of the school.

At the time of the survey, Niche covered a total of 23,861 public high schools in the U.S. In order to be considered, a public school has to

be located in one of the 50 states, offer grades 11 and 12, and have sufficient data available for analysis.

The final rankings resulted in 17,102 high schools receiving an actual letter grade, with about 16,500 of them actually achieving a numbered rank.

DBHS placed 332nd, which is quite high considering the number of schools being ranked across the United States.

Niche does not only rank the general quality of high schools; it also has separate surveys and rankings for a variety of other things such as best administration, extracurriculars, food, facilities, and many more, most of which DBHS ranks in the top 50 for California.

USB plans new election process

USB from p.1

I think it’s a system that invites flaws and irregularities and so we are talking to other school about how they do that,” interim Principal Denis R. Paul said.

Paul is looking to implement more technology into the election process to eliminate the possibility of irregularities.

Meanwhile, he is also considering setting up voting booths during lunchtime and having students present their ID before placing their vote. Lee said that USB is in the process of brainstorming alternatives to be put into action before the next election.

“I want to see one Brahma, one vote,” Paul said. “I want to see the will of the student body enforced.”

Originally, as reported in the Bull’s Eye’s November issue, the reasons for the re-vote included a

near-tie for a position, problems with the ballot that made voting unclear, and the presence of officials visiting from the district that disturbed the process for several classes.

Leading up to elections, each

“...I want to see the will of the student body enforced.”

DENIS R. PAUL USB member organized their ballots and scantrons in a folder to take to their classes on Election Day, as they have done for years.

There was no one regulating the number of scantrons taken, a problem which made the system vulnerable to misconduct.

the staff

Activities Director Janna Van Horn said that after receiving feedback from staff members and students, the re-vote was conducted to assure accuracy.

“I wanted to be sure there was no room for question regarding the results so we did a second vote. The candidates that ran for Executive Board all put in a lot of time and energy and they deserved to have fair and accurate voting process,” Van Horn said.

The newly elected USB Board consists of David Song (President), Nicole Kim (Vice President), Nishat Nayem (Secretary), Jenny Yun (IOC Chairperson), Fiona Yan (Speaker of the House), and Stephanie Pan (Finance Director).

The positions were incorrectly reported in the November issue of the Bull’s Eye.

NEWSBITS

or worn for eating and sleeping, the fangs are a one of a kind opportunity that only a vampire specialist dentist can provide.

ENGLAND

ZIMBABWE

“The internet never lies,” said no one, ever. Suzanne Dale, a 66-year-old British woman in Greater Manchester almost burned her house down after trying a suggestion on Facebook to create the perfect grilled cheese. Dale followed the life-hack by turning her toaster sideways, but it ended up bursting into flames. She quickly threw the toaster out of her home on Nov. 18. Dale then proceeded to upload an image of the burning toaster onto Facebook.

Beauty is generally a desirable trait; however, for Mison Sere, a 42-year-old from Zimbabwe, it is the exact opposite of what he wants. Sere won the 4th annual Mr. Ugly contest without the help of beauty on Nov. 21. After the contest was over, Sere was criticized by his competitor William Masvinu, who claimed that the winner was “too handsome” to have gained the title of Zimbabwe’s Mr. Ugly.

FLORIDA A typical Florida picnic took a bad turn when a hungry alligator decided to stop by for a snack.

Michael Tamayo, a University of Florida student, was sitting with her friend when a gator showed up unannounced. The four-foot gator casually waddled in and snapped at a nearby sandwich on the blanket. However, other residents were not particularly concerned because they were used to alligators dropping by.

Chaos reigned at an airport recently as a result of the illegal import of a large number of tamales. Several hundred pork tamales were smuggled from Mexico to Los Angeles, stuffed in travelers’ suitcases. The traveler had previously denied carrying pork products on a declaration form, but inspectors later discovered the plastic wrapped food. The traveler was fined $1,000. Customs officials ordered the tamales to be destroyed.

CZECH REPUBLIC

SWEDEN

Christmas is a time for celebration for everyone, including criminals. A Czech man broke into a restaurant and hid in the restroom, coming out after closing time. He proceeded to consume over $800 in food and wine but was discovered by a cleaner before he could make his great escape.

Famous singers from Sweden include Tove Lo, Zara Larsson, and now goats. ActionAid, a company dedicated to eradicating poverty, created a Christmas album consisting of eight classics like “O Holy Night” in order to raise awareness about the positive impact goats can have in Third World countries.

CALIFORNIA

the rise of esports

Editors-in-Chief News Editors Asst. News Editors

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

Lilly Ball, Yusheng Xia Frances Wu, Yusheng Xia Brian Chang, Hannah Lee

Opinion Editor Asst. Opinion Editor

Eric Hong Sarah Markiewicz

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editors

Michelle Ki Vrinda Chauhan, Catherine Zhang

A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editors Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editors Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editor Business Manager Asst. Business Manager Web Editor Asst. Web Editor Staff Writers Advisor

Lilly Ball Emily Jacobsson, Pauline Villegas Bernard Chen Ryan Chae, Emily Kim Eric Hong Calvin Ru Vrinda Chauhan Emily Jacobsson Gaby Dinh Tess Guan Ingrid Chan, Sophia Kim Doug List

contact us Diamond Bar High School, Room 563 21400 Pathfinder Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Phone: (909) 594-1405 x33563 Email: eye.editors@gmail.com Business Inquiries: thebullseyebusiness@gmail.com

editorial policy The Bull’s Eye is a public forum that welcomes the views of our readers. Letters to the Editor and Op-Ed pieces will be accepted only if they are signed. The author may, however, request anonymity. The staff reserves the right to edit letters without changing content. You may forward letters to Room 563 or submit them online at dbbullseye.com.

Members of the newly formed Esports Club participate in a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament on Dec. 11.

CALVIN RU

Principal search continues The hunt for the next DBHS principal is expected to conclude before summer break. eric hong opinion editor Starting with former principal Catherine Real’s August resignation, the search for the new head of Diamond Bar High School is into its fourth month, and is projected to continue through early months of 2016.

The district is currently repeating the process of “flying” the position, or seeking candidates for the job. The school’s search for a new principal started earlier in the year, after Real’s departure on Aug. 25, and then was closed on Oct. 1.

The district reached out through various publications in the state and country, but later delayed the process to find more applicants.

“We had a good, strong pull of

candidates but we also had many people express an interest in the position, should it start later in the year so they could finish out their current commitment,” WVUSD Superintendent Robert Taylor said.

The district plans to meet with the school community in January, including staff members and students, to discuss what qualities in a principal they feel match the needs of DBHS, according to Taylor. After more potential candidates have been found, the district will work with the school community to assemble a vetting panel for applicants toward the beginning of the new year.

Taylor said that by delaying the process until next year, applicants interested in the position will be able to complete their current commitments for the 2015-2016 school year, allowing more candidates to be considered.

“This gives us a deeper pool of applicants to choose from to try to get the best fit,” he said.

Taylor said that with former principal Denis R. Paul serving as

the interim principal throughout the rest of the school year, the district will be able to take its time in making sure it finds the best possible candidate.

“We really like Mr. Paul being here, and we have no reason to rush him out. We want him here,” Taylor said.

Because Social Security laws put limits on the amount of income a retiree can earn, Paul will cut back on his time at DBHS next semester.

Another interim principal, Guy Roubian, has been selected to share Paul’s position. Roubian, English teacher Daniel Roubian’s brother, was the auto shop teacher from 1982 when DBHS was established to 1995. He left to serve as the assistant principal of Upland High School and became the principal.

Last June, Roubian retired as Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in the Ontario-Montclair Unified School District.

Taylor anticipates that the new principal will be announced in the spring and will start the job over the summer.

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

3

Hong’s duties will be split into three positions hong from p.1 Hong is unsure what the future may have in store for him in regards to teaching, as he has not been told whether or not he will be instructing at Monrovia, and said that he will miss his friends and coworkers at DBHS that have worked with him for the past quarter century.

“On both a professional and a personal level, I will miss having [Hong] around. Personally, I think we serve as each other’s mentor and sounding board. That is an invaluable form of support that everyone should have,” math teacher Dena Lordi said. “I was the IB coordinator for a long time, and for every second of those 15 years, Mr. Hong was there, helping me meet all of the challenges that the program encountered.”

Despite journeying off into a new environment, Hong said he looks forward to change and thinks of it as a positive experience in his life that motivates him to keep doing his best.

“You have students for one year, and then you have new students the next year, and that keeps us fresh and motivated to do a good job,” Hong said. “The opportunity to grow really appealed to me. I

think if you’re not growing, then you’re missing out on life and I feel a little bit like I’m doing the same thing over and over again, and I’m not growing as much as I’d like to currently in this position.”

According to interim principal Denis R. Paul, Hong’s position will be split into three pieces for second semester: Mathematics, Science, and Performing Arts, which will be headed by Latitia Thomas, Nicole Cabase, and Steve Acciani, respectively.

“Those are the three major components of [Hong’s] division, so it was a very natural way to break things up,” Paul said. “It would make a lot more sense to me if the permanent principal is the one who gets to assist in picking the new dean.”

The teachers were chosen based on four criteria: each teacher is preeminent in their field, each has the respect of their colleagues, each has expressed that they are not interested in becoming the permanent replacement dean, and each has a schedule that allows them to be out of the classroom for at least one period a day in order to attend meetings with school officials.

UCs will accept more in-state applicants admissions from p.1 Following the new enrollments of 2016, Napolitano’s plan is for the universities to accept an additional 2,500 students for each of the two subsequent years, aiming for a total of 10,000 additional in-state students by the 2018-19 academic year.

Although the universities will still continue to accept an ever-increasing number of out-of-state applicants, the growth will be slowed by the plan to integrate more instate students.

The new resident students will not be distributed equally throughout the nine colleges; factors such as housing capacity and number of available courses will determine the number of additional in-state undergraduates that will attend each school.

To accommodate this influx of undergraduate students, UC Executive Vice President and Chief

Financial Officer Nathan Brostrom has announced that close to 500 new staff members will be hired over the next two years. The school system also expects to expand its campuses by approximately 919,000 square feet by 2020, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

A $25 million grant has been allotted to the university by state legislature to aid the placement of additional students for the 2016-17 school year.

As this does not cover the full cost, the UC school system has created a budget plan to provide the additional $25 million required to finance the operation.

Over the next two years, the university plans to solicit allotments from the state government to fund the admittance of students until 2018, by which time all 10,000 new students will have been integrated.

more on THE WEB ASK A MUSLIM The Muslim Student Association held a discussion with guest speakers to clarify any misconceptions about Islamic beliefs.

IB AND APES CHARITY TALENT SHOW The students from the two programs held a school talent show to support women in developing countries.

FACEBOOK PROFILE PICTURE FILTERS An opinion on the recent Facebook trend of temporarily covering Facebook profile pictures with transparent French flags.

A VIEW FROM THE CORNER A plea for students everywhere to refrain from pounding the chairs in front of them with their feet.

VISIT DBBULLSEYE.COM

Instructional Dean David Hong instructs his APES class a few days before he will transfer to Monrovia.

CALVIN RU

Math Team’s success multiplies The team places first in its division after its opponent in the final round cheats. brian chang asst. news editor After a record-breaking performance in this year’s Math Madness competition, the Diamond Bar High School Math Team’s wild run through the gauntlet has cumulated in a first place finish in its division.

The team faced off against Valley Christian High School from San Jose in the final round, a match that resulted in a 93-62 defeat for the Brahmas.

However, the result of the match was reversed due to the discovery that one or more of the members on the VCHS team had been cheat-

ing.

The misconduct was made obvious by the fact that the top scoring competitors of the VCHS team were not in the top 100 scorers in the nation, making it was highly unlikely that they would be able to earn a perfect score.

Additionally, the two teams had been very evenly matched in the previous round despite not playing against each other; the DBHS team earned 69 points and the VCHS team had earned 70.

Tom Kelley, the founder of the Interstellar website in which the platform for Math Madness is held, found an inconsistency between VCHS’ score in the final round and its past scores.

“I’m not as studied in math as you are, but I know it well enough to detect a statistical anomaly,” Kelley said in an email to the DBHS Math Team. “The numbers just

don’t lie here. One or more of Valley Christian’s students cheated.

I cannot reverse the score, but I have reversed the winner in the bracket.”

The DBHS team is now ranked first overall in the nation for their division. There are a total of six different brackets that teams are divided into based on the number of active math competition participants. DBHS is in Division IIE, which is made up of teams with more than 20 active members. The ranking is a new record for the team, which had previously only been able to reach the quarterfinal round.

“This is my second year of Math Madness, and [the final round] was the best round I’ve ever had,” president Ava Wu said. “I was already impressed with my team when we made it to quarterfinals, but finals; it’s a totally new level.”

4 OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

EYE EDITORS

DECEMBER 16, 2015

OF THE

DISENGAGED TEACHERS: Although students are generally capable of managing themselves, they need teachers to stay engaged with their classes.

T

here seems to be a widespread trend that is being taken up by teachers across the nation.

It’s called: not teaching.

And as capable as many high school students are of learning things independently, this should not be the default option.

In some cases, teachers may give a bit of a lecture, and then retire for the rest of the period so that students can try the work themselves. There exist other teachers who leave much of the teaching to the students, through presentations and other activities.

For many teachers at Diamond Bar High School, this style is becoming more and more common.

Although teachers are right in giving students more responsibility and allowing for students to become more engaged, they have recently begun doing this to an extent where the educators have basically become moderators who throw in advice for a student’s version of a “book club” or a “math club.”

There are many gifted students who would be

more than capable of doing the assigned work, and although they may be capable of working independently or leading a presentation, this would not be of much use to students who find it difficult to understand the subject.

Those students need a teacher; someone who can take on a neutral position to present the material, and still make it meaningful for the class. If a presentation were to involve students who barely attempt to understand the material, what effect would this have on the students who could learn so much more from someone with actual experience in teaching?

No matter what you think of them, instructors have spent more time than any student with the material being taught, and therefore possess more thorough views than students.

When an instructor becomes disengaged from a class, the students are deprived of someone who has experienced different world views on his or her subject.

They have only the opinions and feedback of each other,

Administration: The wrong enemy bernard chen sports editor

S

tudents at universities across the U.S. are protesting through hunger strikes and sit-ins to express frustration over what they see as the marginalization of discrimination on campus.

Stemming from racial incidents at the University of Missouri, protests have risen up in Southern California, ranging from the University of California schools, to Claremont McKenna College.

However, students are targeting the wrong subject at fault. It isn’t a matter of the administration doing too little to protect those being discriminated, but rather a problem with the mindset of the society we live in.

Since September, students have been protesting the administration’s slow efforts in addressing the marginalization of minority students on the University of Missouri campus, thus leading to the resignation of two MU administrators. Soon after, efforts to improve treatment of students of color and other minorities spread to colleges like Claremont McKenna, where Dean of Students Mary Spellman was forced to resign. Spellman came under fire after responding to an email, stating that the school would work to serve students who “don’t fit our CMC mold.”

Administrators have essentially become a magnet for protests, but looking at larger issues, college admissions for minorities have grown favorably over past years.

According to the Journal for Blacks in Higher Education, black acceptance rates have increased tremendously, more than doubling since 2004 at Columbia University.

The trend for other universities follows closely behind Columbia’s, and Berkeley has made efforts to create a more diverse campus, despite a ban on affirmative action.

Because admissions cannot take students’ ethnicity into account, students are viewed more objectively. Some UCs believe this puts black students at more of a disadvantage due to those students often coming from less privileged backgrounds, and UC Berkeley has acted upon this by announcing the African American Initiative, hoping to increase recruitment of underrepresented minorities and increase staff diversity.

However, protests prompting the resignation of many administration staff at colleges have had the effect of putting the blame on the wrong people.

Spellman previously counseled hundreds of students, but simply through a badly worded email, she was ousted from her position.

Though it may seem as if staff have been negligent about racial bias on campus, the issue forces the public to address the greater problem of discrimination. Many have failed to realized that it is not the fault of the university administration for racial bias, as efforts have been made to increase diversity and put emphasis on the safety and well-being of students.

It is not possible to create change overnight, which is what many of these protests seem to be expecting, through pushing for the hiring of a more diverse faculty and an increase in minority admissions. It’s not possible for administrators to create a perfect environment for students, but they can put in their best efforts to take care of marginalized students.

Discrimination is part of a much larger movement, and faculty at universities have unjustly taken the blame for it.

and they may become isolated from the ideas that other generations have acquired when they go out into the world.

It is true that a teacher who only lectures is depriving the class of stimulation to participate. However, teachers should not resort to becoming moderators who leave the strings of the class to the few who try, while the other students can fade into the background and do nothing.

There should be enough class time in which the teacher actually goes through lessons, and makes sure that every class member is at least paying attention. That is not to say that students should always sit dumbly through the lectures, and there should also be availability for students to ask questions or to offer differing viewpoints.

That is also not to say that students are never capable of leading each other. Still, teachers should not disregard the influence they have on students’ educations, and should deliver what they know to all of the students in their classes.

JESSICA GOMEZ (12)

ANDREW LEE (12)

BRIAN DONG (11)

CHARLOTTE SORENSEN (SPANISH TEACHER)

“Teachers should be more interactive and more engaged with the students and should ask questions.”

“Learning to teach yourself prepares you for college, because in real life no one is going to be micromanaging you all the time.”

“Teachers provide the fundamental material, and then students can share different perspectives. That’s good for any class.”

“In order to know that the students learn the same information, it’s important that you come together with them and debrief them.”

a watchful eye

Cartoon courtesy of MEGAN LEE

UCs fix admission for in-state students California undergraduates should have priority over outof-state applicants in the race for spots in schools.

gaby dinh web editor

N

ovember 30 marked the deadline to apply for a spot at any University of California school. For many students, this is the culmination of four years of academic excellence in the hopes of being accepted into these prestigious state schools. But with a high amount of rejections in recent years, this process has unjustly become more difficult, especially for California residents.

However, this year, instate applicants will have more to look forward to. Just recently, the UC system has announced that it has pledged to accept 5,000 more in-state applicants after finally negotiating and settling on a $25 million state budget allocation. This decision will not only affect the current year of 2015-2016 hopefuls, but also other future applicant classes as well since the UCs have also pledged to accept 5,000 more students the in 2018 and in 2019.

This decision was made because of the diminishing amount of instate students being accepted. This year’s current UC freshman class marked a record low, with only 60 percent instate students—something that shouldn’t happen in state universities.

Lack of state funding in recent years has caused UC schools to rely more on tuition revenue to fund the universities. As a result, because out-of-state students typically pay $20,000 more in tuition, the UCs have been accepting these students based more on their ability to pay than their actual merit. It is good to see that this issue has now been resolved with the new budget adjustments, because this should not be the way the universities accept students.

Admissions to UC schools and even Cal States have become more competitive, as even promising applicants get turned away. This is a distressing note because UCs are required to accept the top 10 percent of students from California public high schools into at least one UC school. This pledge grows more difficult to fulfill when multiple UCs reject students. As a result, qualified students are forced to apply to private universities, where the tuition costs are typically higher.

It has yet to be discussed how the UCs will accommodate this increase in students and if their campuses can handle this increased student population. Still, students and their parents should not have to feel slighted, after paying taxes to support the UC system, because these schools feel the need to accept outof-state students for budget reasons.

Many Californians, like me, have lived with the expectation that the UC schools will open their doors to California applicants. When it comes to college, students see state schools as the best option in comparison to the more selective and pricey counterparts, private universities. Thus, in-state applicants have every reason to be excited by this decision, as it should have happened sooner. The UC system’s mission, after all, is to provide quality and affordable education to Californians.

OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

5

SERIOUSLY SATIRIC AL brian chang asst. news editor

I

must say that I am absolutely outraged at the notion that Starbucks refuses to decorate its cups for the Christmas season. How dare they! Its obvious lack of Christmas spirit, refusing to adorn their cups with snowflakes, snowmen, or reindeer, is an attack on the spirit of the season and definitely founded by heathen views against the holidays.

Plain red cups are the most pressing problem in the world today. How do the Syrian refugee crisis, America’s upcoming presidential election, or even the problems of poverty and world hunger even begin to compare to this holiday controversy?

What does it matter if people are unable to make enough money to afford food if I can’t celebrate the season with the biggest coffee vendor around?

Those tiny cartoons doodled on Starbucks cups since 1997 are the true symbols of the coming Christmas season. Snow

Cartoon courtesy of DUSTIN PARK and ornaments are obviously emblems of the Christian religion and their disappearance is the beginning of an all-out war against Christmas waged

by Starbucks. The 30 minutes I spend drinking out of my cup

feels so much dimmer and less joyous compared to years prior.

Undecorated cups are, without a doubt, reflections of hate for Jesus felt by Starbucks, as ex-television preacher Joshua Feuerstein rightly

pointed out. There is just no other explanation for this pagan display put on by everyone’s ex-favorite international coffee giant. Starbucks’ attempt to pacify its slighted customers with its so-called “Christmas blend” coffee mix and other products such as CDs and ornaments is just another obvious attempt to win back the love of angry consumers and only adds insult to injury.

The very idea that a Christmasthemed gift card makes up for the loss of religious symbols on cups is shocking and pretentious, and it only serves to show how little Starbucks thinks of its loyal customers. Using such a gift card would only serve to remind me year-round of how Starbucks spit on the joy and spirit of the Christmas season.

I feel personally attacked by Starbucks’ refusal to ornament their cups and cannot go back to buying coffee from the company, no matter the weather. Dunkin’ Donuts, at least, has the good grace to celebrate the holidays with designs on their cups, a colorful wreath adorned with the word ‘joy’, and I’m afraid I will no longer be providing Starbucks with my hard-earned money.

SYRIAN REFUGEES:

SHOULD THE U.S. OPEN ITS DOORS?

emily kim asst. sports editor

PRO|

Forced out of their own countries, Middle Eastern refugees have no choice but to turn to other countries to escape terrorism and homelessness. However, due to the attacks in Paris, the people of Syria may face rejection from any haven in the U.S. for a crime they did not commit. This is wrong, as these refugees cannot help the situation they are in. Help should be offered wherever it can be given.

The conflicts in Syria and its neighboring countries seem to have no end, as the situation grows worse even after five years of constant warfare. There are 4.2 million refugees who have been displaced from their homes, and 700,000 have made the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean. The journey is not easy, with 2,600 people having already drowned trying to reach Greece and Italy in flimsy rubber boats, according to BBC News. Yet, refugees continue to take that risk in order to escape what has become of their war-torn homeland.

However, many in the U.S. are afraid to allow these refugees into our country, for fear of possible terrorist attacks. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a letter to President Obama that Texas “cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees – any one of whom could be connected to terrorism – being resettled in Texas.” Thirty other U.S. governors joined Abbott and reacted in this fashion after the terrorist attack on Paris, criticizing the idea of al-

lowing 10,000 refugees into the U.S. The opponents of such an action are mostly afraid of a attack similar to what happened in Paris.

However, Syrians flown to the U.S. are the most heavily evaluated group of immigrants according to the State Department. They must first be evaluated by the UN refugee agency, then the State Department, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Defense Department. On the other hand, a terrorist posing as a refugee can pay $1,000 to be smuggled into Europe.

There are no background checks or identification papers in Europe.

The process in the U.S. is completely different than the one in Europe.

The attack on Sept. 11 is another reason governors have raised for refusing entrance. But should the actions of 19 decide the fate of millions? In fact, all of the 9/11 terrorists arrived in the U.S. by visa, a much easier process used to enter the country. On the other hand, this group of immigrants would have to wait anywhere from 18 months to two years to be admitted into the U.S. as a refugee with all of the processes that they must go through. It is during this process that the U.N. refugee agency provides these Syrians aid while they undergo this resettling process.

Fears surrounding terrorism are ungrounded. Refugees fear what ISIS has done just as much as anyone else, perhaps even more so since their acts of terrorism is the reason behind all of the refugees fleeing. They have no reason to support the group who has uprooted their lives and destroyed so much of what they have cared for.

Refugees are just another victim of the terrorist acts of ISIS.

michelle ki feature editor

CON|

As the Obama administration prepares to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees, it has prompted new scrutiny amongst many due to the fact that there is no way to validate the new arrivals from the wartorn Muslim nation that’s a hotbed of terrorism.

During a congressional hearing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it has been confirmed that the U.S. has no method of vetting the new refugees because the Syrian government doesn’t have an intelligence database to run checks against.

The massacre in Paris opened the world’s eyes to the threat that accepting refugees represents.

ISIS, which has strongholds in Iraq and Syria, has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings and shootings, which killed 129 people and injured 352 others, 99 of them critically.

ISIS has the capability to strike anywhere in the world. Recently, four Syrians with forged passports were caught at the Mexican border trying to cross into the U.S. The term “refugee” is being used too often. Some are indeed refugees fleeing persecution. Others, however, aren’t refugees, but migrants.

In February, Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, testified that the U.S. government has no way to vet the refugees pouring in from Middle Eastern countries. He also admitted that the refugees don’t have passports and

that “[they] don’t even know if the name they give is their real name.”

The American ideal of humanitarianism is being exploited and until we have the capacity to truly identify all of these people and ensure the security of U.S. citizens, we should not be allowing any of them into our country.

We therefore cannot risk the chance that extremists similar to the terrorists that attacked Paris will embed themselves into the U.S. America has almost always opened its heart and borders to oppressed people fleeing persecution, but the world is changing. In fact, one of the Paris bombers came into France as a refugee on a fraudulent passport, which is why there is no way to authenticate what he is affirming as the truth.

We must stop the Syrian refugee admission process at least until we can truly validate these people.

Even if 99 percent of the Syrian refugees that may come into the U.S. are innocent people, if the other 1 percent are potential terrorists using this crisis to gain easy access into the U.S., President Obama and government officials should realize that we can’t let these refugees in.

What will happen if another incident resembling the Paris attacks in November occurs in America and the attacks were indeed made by the “refugees?”

Will we kick out all the Syrian refugees that are coming? Or will we do more “background checks” on all the refugees?

U.S. government officials must stop ignoring the facts and stop pursuing what they believe is the “American” way to deal with this current refugee crisis before it’s too late.

6

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Lilly Pad

In love with The Killers lilly ball editor-in-chief I elbowed my way through the crowd, fighting for the spot closest to the stage, knowing that in a mere few seconds, they would emerge. I had memorized the words to every song, sang every lyric with a fiery passion while alone in my room, and as the opening chords of my favorite song rang out into the arena, tears streamed down my face. It was 2013, and I was about to see the band that I had loved for the past four years, perform live.

While boy bands have come and gone, with my friends obsessing over each one, I have stayed loyal to my favorite band ever since my discovery of them. And while their name may make them sound like a heavy metal band, this native Las Vegas group is anything but.

The beauty of The Killers (other than lead singer Brandon Flowers’ face) is that they change their genre with every album, yet somehow maintain a certain sound that makes them so unique.

Just as their fans have changed, so has their music. Whatever troubles I may face, there is an album that understands me. From dancing around and screaming the chorus of “When You Were Young,” to feeling sorry for myself while listening to lyrical masterpiece that is “Dust Land Fairytale,” this band is a part of my daily existence.

Though I love every song that Brandon Flowers has sung, the album “Hot Fuss” holds a special place in my heart. I was only six at the time that “HF” was released, (I didn’t discover The Killers until much later) but it was around this time that they reached stardom.

Surly everyone who has gone through a punk phase has heard “Mr. Brightside,” and has seen the music video in which Flowers wears copious amounts of guy-liner. Since then, the band has stopped wearing makeup, and has managed to maintain their position at the top of the charts over the years.

Along with their immense musical talent, “The Killers” also know how to get into the Christmas spirit.

For the past nine years, the group has released annual Christmas singles, aiding the charity Project Red in their fight against AIDS. With titles such as “Dirt Sledding,” “Don’t Shoot me Santa,” and “Joel the Lump of Coal,” it’s pretty obvious that these Christmas songs can’t be compared to classic carols. Along with these unique singles, the band also releases equally strange music videos.

While the members have all gone off and participated in side projects, and a hiatus of The Killers seems reasonable, no matter how many years pass, I will always smile like I mean it.

Photo Courtesy of Institute for Vocal Advancement

The Killers, led by lead singer Brandon Flowers, continue to top charts.

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

video games of the year ryan chae asst. sports editor In the past few years, bland firstperson shooters and underdeveloped games have taken over the video landscape. However, during 2015, gamers were gifted with some of the most beautiful animation, along with long-awaited sequels and spinoffs from some of the most popular games of all time.

September saw the return and departure of iconic developer Hideo Kojima with the final installment of the magnificent Metal Gear Solid series, “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.” The game takes place nine years after the events of “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zero,” and you, the player, awake from a coma as a soldier called Big Boss.

With Big Boss’ past military group destroyed, he forms a new army and heads to Afghanistan during

the Afghan-Soviet War, looking for the people that destroyed his previous militia. Bringing back beloved characters and introducing a spectacular open-world gameplay, Kojima leaves fans both happy and sad as he creates a concluding installment that will be cherished for the ages.

Seven years ago, Bethesda Softworks released “Fallout 3,” a game that changed the video game scene, as millions of fans were brought onto its “hype train.” This year, “Fallout 4,” was released, and the game lived up the expectations set by its predecessor. “Fallout 4” takes place in 2287, 210 years after a third World War that left the world in a nuclear holocaust. You, the player, wakes up from cryostasis as a character of your gender preference, who must travel through the Commonwealth, a post-apocalyptic Massachusetts, in search of your son. Traveling in an open-world,

Photo courtesy of BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS

Fallout 4 takes players back to the Wasteland, alongside a trusty companion.

Choir’s Winter Wonderland emily jacobsson asst. a&e editor What better way to get yourself into the holiday spirit than with the sound of sleigh bells jingling and the Diamond Bar High School choirs singing? Earlier this month, Marquis had their Winter Winds concert and then joined Solitaire, Chamber, and Diamond Tones for the complete choir department concert on Dec. 10 -11.

The Winter Winds concert opened with a few slower songs to ease the audience into the Christmas spirit. Wasting no time, they then dove head first into a medley of 21 Christmas classics, featuring many solos. The songs ranged from the lighthearted “A Marshmallow World,” complete with a jaunty dance by Larry Chen and Jacob Loor, to the hauntingly beautiful “Once Upon a December,” from Disney’s “Anastasia,” sung by Mary Thomas.

From there, the mood quickly switched, and the audience was suddenly transported to the South, where choir president Nicolas Zhou invited them to join him at the Christmas party down at the bar. After setting the scene, he joined the rest of Marquis on stage, as they sang songs like “Country Christmas Tree.”

After the intermission, Marquis returned with traditional choral songs before returning to the upbeat atmosphere.

As the concert drew near its end, Gabby Thornock sang “The First Noel,” and reminded the audience that many of the greatest Christmas songs have their roots in the story of an infant king being born in a manger. Thus began the singing of a series of sacred carols, including, “Away In a Manger,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” and “O

Holy Night.”

Ending the night on a high note, Marquis tried to fit in any last few Christmas favorites that they missed, into 30 seconds.

“One special moment was when we sang ‘Home for the Holidays,’ and that’s the piece where the veterans were all in the front and it was just fun to dance with my friends for the last part of the show,” junior Allyson Cantimbuhan said.

This past weekend, all four choirs came together for their combined show. Marquis performed excerpts from their Winter Winds concert, while the other choirs performed their songs for the first time.

The show began with the combined choirs singing a mashup of “We Need a Little Christmas” and “Let it Snow!” Then the Solitaire ladies took the stage with the classic “Winter Wonderland,” which they sung acapella. For their premiere of the night, Chamber sang “Patapan,” a French Christmas carol. The highlight of the night for Diamond Tones was their endearingly choreographed performance of “Little Saint Nick.”

“I think ‘Santa Baby’ was the hardest song because we really had to build up our stamina for the choreography,” sophomore Solitaire member Stephanie Tang said.

Soloist Arianna Gonzalez earned loud cheers for her effortless performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” as did Hannah Prince for her performance of “Ave Maria.”

Each group performed several more traditional choral songs before the concert ended with the annual performance of the chorus of hallelujahs from Handel’s “Messiah.” During that final song, the audience was asked to stand as alumni joined the choirs on stage.

Photo courtesy of CD PROJEKT RED

Geralt of Rivia returns as the protagonist in the final story of “The Witcher.”

“Fallout 4,” continues its tradition as a role playing game, as every decision you make has an impact on your entire world. The game brings back the fan favorite aspects of the previous game, while adding respectable improvements, such as weapon customization and the ability to build towns and homes.

After returning in 2014 with “Mario Kart 8,” and “Super Smash Bros. for Wii U,” Mario is back with the release of “Super Mario Maker.” The game combines the simplicity of the side-scrolling Mario gameplay, with the introduction of allowing players to develop their own custom maps to play on. They are able to create their own levels using features from “Super Mario Bros.,” “Super Mario Bros. 3,” “Super Mario World,” and “New Super Mario Bros. U.” Also, players are able to share their levels online while having the ability to down-

load others. From “Super Mario Maker,” players will be able to reminisce about old games, while creating their own journeys throughout the Mushroom Kingdom.

Although released earlier, “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” went against the mainstream norm of games that witheld content. It gave fans everything they wanted from the final game in “The Witcher” trilogy as it went through multiple updates throughout the year, bringing improvements and volume to the game. “The Witcher 3” concludes the story of Geralt of Rivia, a genetically enhanced and trained human in a medieval fantasy world. With an open gameplay filled with amazing magic and sword combat, and a fantastic plot that the player has the power to shape, “The Witcher 3,” is a game that many fans will enjoy, and one that hardcore fans will love.

Teachers Take Over the Stage calvin ru asst. photo editor Imagine yourself standing upon a stage, as the crowd before you shouts out random topics and features of a character that you must act out. Now, hold that scene, and add an opponent, a teacher, who will act against you with equally random ideas that are suggested from the crowd. For members of Drama Club, this is just another one of Diamond Bar High School’s Thursday Night Live improvisation comedy duels.

“Improv is basically learning how to listen to other people on stage, how to trust your own instincts, how to create story and character,” drama coach Caitlin Lopez said. “It’s not all about being quick and witty. A lot of time it’s more about finding honest characters and honest moments and the comedy will come naturally.”

Since the beginning of the year, drama club has worked on their improvisation skills every Wednesday night with coach Lo-

pez, and eventually brought the show together, which was displayed as a comedy segment during the previous Thursday Night Live. The students in drama club come from every corner of the school, and as long as they have a sense of love toward this form of acting, they were included as part of the act.

Teachers were notified a couple weeks in advance, and had some practice on improvisation acting in order to get a feel for the art.

Some of the teachers who may participate include dance teacher Kari Simonson, cheer coach Whitney Prenger, theater teach Jacob Kaitz, and math teacher Latitia Thomas. Along with the teachers are drama coach Lopez and drama director Beatrice Casagran.

“In an improv show, suggestions are taken from the audience that then form scenes or forms a character choice,” Lopez said.

The improvisation comedy duel will be presented during tomorrow’s Thursday Night Live, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door, and also online at for $5 each.

CALVIN RU

Teachers and students perpare for their improvisation performance.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

7

Dbhs students are honored by choir frances wu news editor Singing in the shower (albeit terribly) is the favorite past time of many, but for eight of Diamond Bar High School’s rising stars, singing is more than a casual activity.

At the Southern California Vocal Association’s annual District Honor Choir at the University of Redlands in November, eight Brahmas represented DBHS. The process began with auditions at the beginning of October, with students from every school in Southern California striving for an opportunity to participate in this choir.

After receiving scores from the judges, the selected students were sorted into men’s choir, women’s choir, and mixed choir. Seniors Nicolas Zhou and Crystal Ng, along with junior Karoline Chuang performed in mixed choir,

while senior Kassie Craft, juniors Allyson Cantimbuhan and Jodie Lu, and sophomores Rebecca Chuang and Kaitlyn Lee were in women’s choir.

After being notified of their acceptance into the program, the singers received their music a month in advance in order to prepare. Then, at the University of Redlands, the three choirs had two days of rehearsal, with roughly eight hours of practice on each day, before their concert on the second day.

“In preparation for it, we learn things like how to sing taller and have better diction and to learn the true meanings behind the songs we are singing,” Zhou said.

Participants were also tested on the first day to see whether or not they had learned the music beforehand, and were sent home if they had not.

“The rehearsals at Honor Choir were much more rigorous than the ones at school, since we only have

Photo Courtesy of DBHS CHOIR

DBHS Students partcipate in the annual District Honor Choir Festival after a long audition process. one day to prepare all the songs that we need for the concert. So it definitely taught me how to build endurance for my voice, and physically for my health, because it’s really tiring after eight hours [of rehearsal],” Zhou said.

The students sang songs like “At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners,” which was originally a sonnet, and “Verduron,” a traditional folk song.

“It’s really fun, and you learn a lot. It’s just to celebrate music

Now Showing:

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA Ron Howard’s newest film tells the tale of the men who inspired Herman Melville’s classic novel. ridiculous special effects and unrealistic action scenes, he makes the attempt to explore the true battle of man versus nature. The men aboard the Essex are pushed In 1851, American author Herto their absolute limits, growing man Melville published his classic wild with hunger, and physically tale of a great monster of the sea, deteriorating as the film progress“Moby Dick.” Director Ron Howes. Their determination to survive ard took on the ambitious task of is admirable, but their physical creating a film worthy of such an metamorphosis is hard to watch, American classic, yet it is only the and left me feeling very unsettled. dedicated cast that does the story Hemsworth lost much of his musany justice. cle mass in order to portray the “In the Heart of the Sea” makes stranded seaman, and while this an attempt to reveal the origins of representation is realistic, it is Melville’s great epic, and the men very disturbing. “In the Heart of who inspired the tale. Though the Sea” is not a pleasant movie. at times hard to watch, the film Hemsworth, who is typically makes a powerful statement, showrecognized for his good looks rathing its audience that the only thing er than his acting, has proven his stronger than the currents of the skills in his role of first mate Owen ocean, is man’s will to survive.

Chase. As the true leader of the The film begins with Melville crew, he is strong and manly, yet attempting to persuade the lone grows to appreciate and respect survivor of the Essex, a Nantucket both his crew, and his prey. Whalwhaling ship, to tell him the haring had been his only source of rowing tale of his survival. The income, and up until his terrifying man, later revealed to be Thomas interactions with the white whale, Nickerson, is reluctant at first, he had viewed the whales as nothknowing that the monstrosities he ing more than an opportunity to had committed to survive would get large profits. Hemsworth honnot be understood by those who estly portrays the struggles of a had not gone through such turman facing starvation while at sea, moil. In need of money, Nickerson and manages to deliver the most concedes, and the film shifts to the heartbreaking performance of the story 30 years earlier. Nickerson film. was only 14 when he first boarded Howard is well known for his inspirational and thrilling films, such as “A Beautiful Mind” and “Apollo 13,” yet “In the Heart of the Sea” fails to match up with his previous work.

The film could have been great, yet is held back by Benjamin Walkers bland performance of Captain Pollard, and by the lack of depth in which it explores the relationship between hunter and prey.Either way, I was disappointed in the film, knowing that it had much potential that was not reached due to the shallow demands of audiPhoto Courtesy of Village Roadshow Pictures ences for more action, and Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) prepares to battle a frightening whale after being lost at sea. less emotion.

lilly ball editor-in-chief

the Essex, a beautiful ship tainted only by the tension between its captain and first mate.

First mate Owen Chase, played by the Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, is a respected whaler who had hoped to become captain in order to support his growing family. He is forced to work under the guidance of George Pollard (Benjamin Walker,) the son of a rich whaling patriarch, who is unprepared for the responsibility the comes with such a distinguished position.

As the Essex sets out on its journey to bring home barrels of oil, it is clear that the dissonance between its crew members will cause problems.

The crew of the Essex does not experience much success, and as tensions grow, a new enemy is introduced. The sailors had originally dismissed the rumors of a monstrous white whale as ridiculous, until they came face to face with the animal. Apparently on a mission to avenge the horrors committed against his species, the white whale attacks all those who sail into his waters. The crew of the Essex much put aside their differences in order to survive, while the white keeps a watchful eye upon them.

Though Howard could have easily made “In the Heart of the Sea” an action packed film, riddled with

and singing. It’s a great way for students in vocal music to expand their perspective and knowledge on choral music,” Nicolas Zhou, choir department president, said.

If the students’ scores are high enough during their initial audition, they will move on to the allstate Honor Choir in February after being notified in early December.

From DBHS, all of the aforementioned students will participate in this choir, except Crystal

Ng and Allyson Cantimbuhan.

The choir department also recently hosted its annual Winter Winds concert, which featured the Marquis singers, on Dec. 4 and 5, and its Winter Concert last weekend, with all four choirs participating.

It is now competition season for choir. They are working toward perfecting their performance “We’re going to have sets that are bigger and better than those of years past,” Zhou said.

Tune In:

Adele’s “25” vrinda chauhan business editor One can call Adele many things-boring, bland, stagnant--but I would be lying if I said Adele was talentless. With her powerful voice that can carry seemingly any note, Adele makes a statement with her new album, “25.” Unfortunately, this statement is neither interesting nor groundbreaking.

To be frank, I have heard Adele on the phone one too many times, messily calling up an old lover, in need of comfort. She sings the same old tunes, reminiscing about the past. To be honest, it bores me.

There has been nothing particularly innovative or revolutionary about her work for a while now.

Such is the case with “25,” where Adele attempts half-heartedly to reinvent and diversify her lyrics. Her opening song, “Hello,” does not make too strong of a case for this, though. On top of the usual lyrics, (“I must’ve called a thousand times/ To tell you I’m sorry, for everything that I’ve done”) the tear-stained ballad is slow-moving. I feel like I need a box of tissues every time this song plays on the radio, so I can cry about things that haven’t even happened to me. It is simply depressing. Adele writes in this song that she hasn’t “done much healing” over time, and this heavily foreshadows the theme for the rest of the album.

A Taylor-Swift-esque shift in her style makes an appearance in songs like “Send my Love,” which features a percussive guitar and light, airier tunes than is her signature. But even here, this song fails, as we see her fall back on bitter sentiments toward an old lover, to whom she sarcastically wishes a brighter future. I wish she would explore this side of her music more--the less emotional side.

The main problem I have with Adele’s emotional side is that it is very vague. She does not address whether the problem she so often sings about is betrayal from a lover, or something she did herself,

and we can never quite picture what exactly happened between the two. One minute, she seems to want to kiss and make up, the other she is telling him she no longer needs him. The only centralized themes in her lyrics are romantic problems. These vagueries make it evident that she is attempting to appeal to a large audience. Adele isn’t even basing these lyrics off her personal life anymore, which implies her true reason for her repetitive lyrics: she is a sell-out.

While I do have many complaints with the album, I have to point out a few songs that caught my attention. Though “A Million Years Ago,” seems to follow Adele’s signature ballad format, her lyrics address her decaying youth and shift in lifestyle.

Though lyrics such as “I miss the air, I miss my friends/ I miss my mother, I miss it when/ Life was a party to be thrown,” still sport a strong sense of emotionalism, Adele seems to mature out of singing about her lover for a while to look into other, larger issues--at least in this song.

Still, I do not think I would have finished listening to the album if it were not for Adele’s voice. Adele’s voice is magnificent- to call it anything less would be sacrilege. It is almost awe-spiring to hear her transition from a deep, earthly boom, to her twinkling high notes.

She makes even the most horrendous songs bearable, and her music totally milks her voice. By featuring ballad-type songs, Adele is able to fully exercise her range.

I am not complaining, though. She has tremendous vocal talent, and she has every right to flaunt it.

All in all, the album disappoints. Every single one of these songs may have just as well been featured in “21,” because that’s how little she changes.

Adele may have grown older, and her views may have matured, but her music is stuck in a monotonous, boring rut. In “A Million Years Ago,” Adele remarks that we have been here before. Indeed we have, Adele.

8

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

Sarah Markiewicz ASST. oPINION EDITOR

“In a galaxy far, far away…” Since 1977, these words and the stories they unfolded became legendary to the generations before us. Starting Friday, we will be able to experience an important landmark in the Star Wars 8series with “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.”

It will be the first Star Wars film in the ten years since the last (and best) prequel “Revenge of the Sith” was released, and the first sequel since the original trilogy. Because of this, fans are thrilled knowing that Luke, Leia, and Hans will be reintroduced, this time about thirty years after the events in “Return of the Jedi,” with all of the familiar characters being reprised by their original actors.

This alone will make this opening much more magical and nostalgic than the 1999 release of “The Phantom Menace,” which was marred with a cast of characters that was not as well received. Despite the more updated special effects like CGI, the prequels could not match the revolutionary spirit and the brilliant epic that the original trilogy began.

On top of that, fans will see how new director J.J. Abrams has chosen to add to the series’ canon, and continue the storylines and loose ends of the prior six films. Where are the beloved characters of the original trilogy now? Will we actually be able to spot the bones of Jar Jar Binks? Will that galaxy far, far away still be familiar to us? And how is Disney going to incorporate the new films into the upcoming Star Wars Land?

From the devoted fan to someone completely new to Star Wars, everyone who watches and rewatches George Lucas’ masterpiece will find at least one thing to praise as they progress through the movies.

Read about Sarah's favorite moments of the star wars franchise at dbbullseye.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

prepare for the battle I-the phantom menace

Take an adventure into the past IN PREPARATION FOR THE NEW BATTLE BEGINNING fRIDAY. iv

Jedi Knight Qui-gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi try to keep peace in the galaxy. They try to protect a young queen, Padme Amidala, and they come across a slave child named Anakin Skywalker, who has an aura about him that can’t be ignored.

II-attack of the clones Now a young man, Anakin Skywalker is given the task of guarding over Padme, and simultaneously falls in love with her.

Obi-Wan is still a guide to Anakin, but finds himself occupied when he learns that an army of clones is being created.

III-revenge of the sith

v

TThe power of the Sith is continuously grow-

vi

ing, and Anakin is caught between a thirst

i

for power and loyalty to the interests of Padme and the Jedi, later becoming Darth Vader.

IV-a new hope

In the midst of a war between the tyrannical Empire and an alliance of rebels, the Rebel princess Leia Organa is captured by the enigmatic and powerful Darth Vader. It falls into the hands of a naive farmhand named Luke Skywalker, a former Jedi warrior, and charming smuggler Han Solo to save her.

V-The empire strikes back

After the destruction of the first Death Star, Sith leader Darth Vader is on the attack for Luke and the other Rebels. Meanwhile, under the guidance of Jedi Master Yoda, Luke trains to become a Jedi warrior himself.

VI-Return of the jedi

ii

Luke and other members of the Rebel Alliance align to rescue Han Solo from the confines of the revolting Jabba the Hutt.

iii

Then, they enlist the help of an unlikely alien species to destroy the new Death Star, and to defeat Vader and the evil Emperor once and for all.

“I think the new movie brings back my memories from when I was five, and I was seeing ‘Star Wars’ for the first time. It’s very nostalgic.”

Ricky Ma, 10

“For me, ‘Star Wars’ is genetic, because it was my dad’s obsession and his brother’s obsession, it was what they bonded with, and it’s what me and my dad bonded over.”

Aminah Santos, 12

9

“‘Star Wars’ is more than just the movie, it’s a world that you can immerse yourself in. Two fans can talk for hours about the thousands of stories.”

Evan Landi, 12

“I grew up watching and loving ‘Star Wars’ because my parents were fans. I went to all the prequels opening day.”

Daniel durkee, 11

10 FEATURE

diy

STAFF

SPOTLIGHT

Christmas Gifts

Candy Pot 1 Hot glue a styrofoam ball to a

pot.

2

Hot glue the candy onto the sticks (if you are using lollipops then you can skip this step).

3 Push in the sticks of candy (or lollipops) into the styrofoam until all the spaces are filled.

4 Tie a ribbon around the pot.

Teacup Bookmarks 1

Print or trace an outline of a teacup.

Cut it out and trace it against a piece of patterned paper.

Operating behind the scenes

tess guan asst. web editor Despite working behind the scenes in the administration office, Joanne Taylor and Elsie Garcia are still able to keep a connection to Diamond Bar High School students.

As secretaries and office assistants, the pair assist the guidance level counselors, Assistant Principal John Terry, and other staff members working in the front office.

Unlike the GLC’s, Garcia and Taylor issue minor referrals, such as those for tardiness or cell phone usages but often consult with the GLC’s to consider additional punishment in some situations. They also handle student detentions and SWAPS. “The very best part of my job is working with the students. I get to watch students come in as freshmen, just out of middle school and not quite sure what high school is all about. Then four years later, [to] say goodbye to young adults starting to plan their future,” Taylor said. “You guys can always seem to make us laugh when we may not be having the best day.”

Taylor, the school’s GLC secretary, has been working in the DBHS attendance office with Garcia for 19 years.

She is in charge of organizing the senior reserved parking lot, and the All School Awards Night.

Along with GLC Dave Desmond, she is also responsible for running the PSAT at DBHS. Furthermore, she’s in charge of the course description booklet, preregistration, and summer registra-

line on the patterned paper.

Then, tape a length of string on the back of the teacup.

3 Draw a tea bag

and tape the string to the back of it.

Emoji Pillow 1 Take some yellow felt and cut two

identical circles.

2 2 Glue the two circles

together, leaving about a three-inch opening unglued.

Once the glue has dried, turn the pillow inside out.

33 Use the additional felt to

create a face of the emoji of your choice. Glue the facial features onto the pillow.

Fill the pillow with the stuffing, and glue the opening together to seal the pillow.

TESS GUAN

Joanne Taylor (left) and Elsie Garcia (right) work to improve student’s high school experiences by organizing events and issuing minor infractions. tion packets.

“I really feel blessed to have landed at Diamond Bar High School as the GLC Secretary. DBHS is a very special place, not only for students, but for staff too. Many of the staff members are like family to me,” she said.

Prior to working at DBHS, Taylor served as a principal’s secretary at an elementary school in the Alhambra school district. After 17 years of working there, she decided that her job was not convenient for her, and switched to work for Walnut Valley Unified District.

“I really loved my job, but the commute was getting to be too much. My son, who is now 31, went to Suzanne and Walnut High School, and I wanted to be home for him,” Taylor said. “I knew that WVUSD was one of the best districts around, so I started watching for openings,” she explained.

Similarly, Garcia also finds

working with students as the highlight of her job.

“The satisfaction of seeing students who are having problems adjusting in their classrooms, and helping them know we are there to nurture them for their graduation day; it’s the gratitude they express to you,” Garcia said, referring to her favorite moments working with students.

Garcia has been working at DBHS’s guidance office for 20 years.

As the school’s office assistant, she handles situations that don’t require special attention from a student’s GLC. Her job consists of issuing minor infractions, such as detentions and STAR’s.

“I love working with students at this age. I enjoy interacting with students, kidding around and teasing them when they’re down, and seeing them smile when they leave our office,” Garcia said.

Club Corner

2 Cut out the out-

4

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

sophia kim staff writer Believe it or not, a group of high school students can make an impact on children in developing countries. Nearly 200 Diamond Bar High School students are members of the club UNICEF, with the goal of making a change in the world and their community, through volunteering and donating.

UNICEF was started at DBHS in 2013 by student Jonathan Tau, with the purpose of bringing awareness to high school students about children living in poverty, and helping those children in developing countries gain access to free education, equal opportunities, and proper nutrition.

Starting off its first year with a mere 20 members, UNICEF has successfully expanded their mission on campus, and now has ten times the membership.

“I’m really excited because we’re coming up with new events that relate to helping children in Third World countries,” historian Mena Kim said.

UNICEF engages in events that help the underprivileged citizens in their community. Every Saturday, through a nonprofit organization called Bread of Angels, UNICEF club members help serve a warm meal for the needy in a Brea church. The club also participates in canned food drives to donate to the hungry, and Operation Christmas Child to help package shoe boxes that include resources that poor children need.

UNICEF

Photo courtesy Dorothy Lewes

DBHS club UNICEF volunteers and donates in the hopes of helping less fortunate citizens in their communities, and children in Third World countries.

“They really appreciate what we do for them and try their best to help us in any way that they can,” freshman Angela Zhang said.

In addition to helping the underprivileged citizens of the community, UNICEF helps children in impoverished countries as well.

Every Halloween, instead of just collecting candy, club members participate in UNICEF’s own trick or treat, where they go around the community to collect donations.

The club made over $400 last year, which went toward helping children in developing countries.

Aside from trick or treating, all the profit the club makes from boba sales, food fairs, and fundraisers are donated to the organization.

On top of the myriad events that UNICEF partakes in, the club is planning to add more volunteering

events that aid those in the community. The club is hoping to participate in the Operation Toy Drive, in which they will visit a children’s hospital to give gifts to the patients and spend time with them.

They are also planning a charity gala with campus club, Interact, to donate towards the fight against Polio, a virus that may cause paralysis, and also a beach cleanup event. One of the biggest events UNICEF is hoping to participate in is the Tap Water Project, which would help citizens of poor countries gain access to clean water to prevent diseases and viruses from spreading.

“I hope that [members] can help continue UNICEF’s mission and continue to grow the club in the future,” President Dorothy Lewes said.

FEATURE

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

11

bREAKING STEREOTYPES: BEAUTY PAGEANTS michelle ki feature editor Most of the public dismisses beauty pageants as something of a joke. The pageant girls are often portrayed as ignorant and laughable. Diamond Bar High School’s four beauty pageant titleholders, seniors Chloe Lee, Alley Ornelas, and Rebecca Wang, along with juniors Kaitlyn Chao and Ashley Chen, share the obstacles and efforts that go into these pageants, and prove that it’s not just about looking pretty.

In October, senior Lee won her first pageant for Miss Teen Korea, which was held in Garden Suite Hotel in Los Angeles. She also won the Miss Congeniality portion of the pageant. Lee initially decided to compete to “boost her self-esteem” and “see where she was potentialwise.”

Having to maintain her weight, perfect her ability to walk in heels, and attending dance practice every other day, Lee stated that the hardest aspect was the preparation for the pageant itself.

During the pageant, Lee had a few interviews, which consisted of questions regarding the U.S. government and the initial division of Korea.

“I was very nervous during the pageant because a lot of the girls

competing were either very competitive or had great potential, yet at the same time, I was excited to show off my abilities and just have fun,” Lee said.

Lee plans on competing for the title of Miss Korea in 2016.

Also representing an Asian country through pageantry is senior Rebecca Wang, who won Miss Teen Taiwan International in 2013.

She also competed in the Miss Diamond Bar pageant earlier this year, and became a Miss DB Princess.

Wang states that pageant girls are widely misinterpreted for being unintelligent. While in actuality, judges base most of their criteria on confidence, intellectual ability, and interviewing skills. She also works with numerous organizations to fundraise for homeless people. Wang initially decided to pursue pageantry to build her selfconfidence.

“Previously, I was never comfortable with my own body. Joining a pageant allowed me to accept my flaws and enhance it through confidence and poise. Pageantry improved my communication skills and taught me how to be a leader,” Wang said.

Following in the footsteps of Rebecca Wang, junior Ashley Chen also won the title of Miss Teen Taiwan International in early 2015.

The pageant was held at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in

ERIC HONG

Photo courtesy of Chloe Lee

DBHS students, from left, Ashley Chen, Rebecca Wang, Alley Ornelas, and Chloe Lee (also at right), recently won titles in pageants, where they developed their poise and perfected their presentation skills in order to win.

Los Angeles.

Through her title, Chen has attended many local events in her community, along with a couple of international events, such as the Taiwan National Day Celebration Reception. She also aims to promote and increase awareness of Asian cultures to local communities.

Chen’s preparation included many hours of training on proper

etiquette, how to speak in front of an audience, and how to present herself.

“Regardless of the stereotypes that pageant girls are catty and have fake personalities, the girls I competed with are my close friends and my personal support system,” Chen said.

A contestant in the recent Miss California Teen USA pageant, held in the Long Beach Terrace Theater,

junior Kaitlyn Chao won the title of Miss San Bernardino County Teen in early 2015.

Another competitor in the state pageant was senior Alley Ornelas.

She was crowned Miss Diamond Bar earlier this year. Pageant restrictions kept Chao and Ornelas from being quoted for the story.

Also, DBHS class of 2013 alumni, Nadia Mejia, won the Miss California USA Pageant on Dec. 5.

Boba Showdown yusheng xia editor-in-chief Boba. The magical drink, also known as bubble tea, was invented in Tiachung back in the 1980s and has since become highly popular in the Southern California region.

Not a week goes by without me craving the rich, flavorful drink and in my four years at Diamond Bar High School, I have tasted so many different varieties of milk tea that they have begun to all taste the same.

While the big chains like TenRen, Half & Half, and Lollicup dominate the world of boba in our community, there exists various local cafes that offer the same beloved drink, but are just not as well

Photo courtesy of CBS.com

known.

A regular size cup of boba milk tea costs $3.25 at the Rainbow Cafe, and was worth every cent, if not more. Everything about the drink was perfect, from the simple yet appealing design of the packaging, to the freshness of every single tapioca ball. Yes, for the first time, I almost discovered perfection existing in a single cup.

Although the black tea flavor was stronger than that of most milk teas, it only served to further strengthen the overall quality of the drink, and the gradual disappearance of my beverage left me wanting more.

In addition, the cafe itself had a welcoming, bright atmosphere, and a colorful menu filled with different fruit alternatives to the regular black milk tea flavor.

With a price of $3.40 for a standard boba milk tea, the drink at the Dragonfly Tea Bar managed to bring out the smooth and creamy texture of milk, without losing the black tea flavor.

While the milk tea was excellent, a bit sweeter than most if I were to nitpick, the actual boba for the drink was weak in quality.

In addition to looking unappealing, since many of the tapioca balls stuck together in my cup, the taste was very bland, and seemingly lacked freshness.

Make this winter a wonderland catherine zhang asst. feature editor

Address: 3277 Grand Ave # J, Chino Hills, CA 91709

This resulted in me sadly dumping most of the remains of my boba balls into the trash, a very heartbreaking action for me since I hate wasting.

However, the very pacious restaurant also offers a wide variety of alternative smoothies and slushies that satisfies the taste of those who aren’t particularly fond of drinking regular milk tea.

Address: 19208 Colima Rd, Rowland Heights, CA 91748

The classic milk tea drink with boba costs roughly $4 at Sharetea, and although the cup size is bigger than most standard boba places, the quality of the drink was quite lacking.

To be very blunt, I was highly disappointed, especially since the cup looked highly appealing.

In contrast with other typical black tea flavors, the milk tea at Sharetea seemed to taste watereddown and very bland.

The boba itself is decent, and probably even good if you are a big

fan of chewy boba, but the overall lack of flavor made the boba milk tea very disappointing.

The teahouse contains a single table with very interesting cactus decorations, but would not fit more than perhaps one family of customers. Sharetea also offers a variety of milk teas, such as Ginger milk tea, Hokkaido Pearl milk tea, and Ice cream Black milk tea.

Address: 2983 Chino Ave, Chino Hills, CA 91709

With the holiday season coming up, many Diamond Bar High School students are starting to plan activities for the long-awaited time off school. If you are unsure of how to entertain yourself, do not fret, activities such as laser tagging, jumping on trampolines, and visiting a festive neighborhood notorious for its residents’ Christmas decorations are sure to relieve the boredom the break may cause.

Laser Quest, located in various locations such as Fullerton and Chino, definitely exceeded my expectations, proving to be the perfect way to spend a day off. Adding a modern twist on hide-and-seek, laser tag is suitable for all age groups, ranging from children to adults.

In the game, participants are required to wear a rather heavy vest with sensors attached and carry a laser gun, which also has a sensor attached. The main objective of the game is to “tag” as many people as possible by aiming the laser gun toward one of the many sensors located on the vest or gun.

Entrapped in a dark maze-like arena with two floors, hiding is an option for those who are less combative, however most players choose to actively seek out anyone who comes their way. At the end of the session, your points are calculated, and a placing is announced.

Laser Quest offers a Regular game, which consists of fifteen minutes in a maze-like arena with swirling mist and heart-pumping music for $9.50. In addition, the Ironman game is double the amount of playing time and costs

$12.50, but it is available only on select days and times.

Another option for students to go to during winter break is Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park, located in both Anaheim and Covina. Sky Zone offers multiple jumping sessions, ranging from thirty minutes to two hours for $10-$25.

Participants are allowed to play in the main court, foam pit, and various games of dodgeball and basketball. The main court is a vast open jumping area which is divided into multiple squares, and participants can jump or do flips on a single square.

The foam pit is quite similar, except attendees temporarily experience the sensation of weightlessness by vaulting into a foam pit.

Meanwhile the dodgeball and basketball games are held on a trampoline, which makes it more amusing, however much more challenging than its gravity induced counterpart.

As the holidays approach, visiting neighborhoods that go all-out decorating, such as the Eagle Hills community in Brea, is sure to get you in the holiday mood. While many homeowners decorate their property rather plainly, the residents of Eagle Hills elaborately deck out both the outside and inside of their houses, while blasting jolly Christmas tunes.

This festive community attracts crowds of people who visit to see the astonishing decorations of the neighborhood.

In previous years, some residents have even rented horse drawn carriages and coordinated their house’s Christmas lights’ to the music. Visiting Eagle Hills is free of charge, and will be open all of December.

12 FEATURE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

“I would describe myself as stuck between decisions. Every single decision could influence my life in a huge way so it’s time for me to carefully rethink all the things I’ve done so far and make a fair judgement of what to do in the future.”

jamie brewer, freshman “I like my hair. It’s puffy I don’t need a pillow to sleep.”

martin wang, junior

HUMANS

+STUDENTS

OF DBHS

jonathan peng, sophomore

“My goal is not to be a hobo, so maybe I should go to college.”

janet wong, sophomore

“I don’t fear dying or anything, but I fear loneliness in people. I fear them being lonely, I fear myself being lonely. When I see someone lonely, I try to talk to them, but if they don’t want to talk to me, it’s ok.”

Brian Ho, Armaan Kohli, Austin Chiang, Austin Zhang, Seniors “[Playing Yu-Gi-Oh] is a genuine human interaction since we aren’t connecting through electronics or anything.”

Scan the QR code to view more portraits on the Students + Humans of DBHS Facebook page.

Marissa Barela, Junior “I’m really scared of drowning, but I actually swim on a regular basis. It’s pretty weird because I like swimming, but I just don’t want to drown.”

December 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

BUSINESS

13

14 SPORTS

DECEMBER 16, 2015

THE BULL'S EYE

A fresh face on the team

SPORTS COLUMN

Fighting for Super spot

Sophomore Rejie Palingayan, the only girl on the Diamond Bar High School wrestling team, hopes to contribute skills in this mostly male sport. emily kim asst. sports editor Despite being the only Diamond Bar girl in a male-dominated sport, sophomore Rejie Palingayan has not let that hold her back from competing just as much as any other member of the Diamond Bar High School junior varsity wrestling team.

Palingayan decided to join wrestling after seeing the team practicing in the amphitheater. After realizing that the sport was not very female-oriented, Palingayan decided to challenge herself by trying out.

Because she is a girl, Palingayan faced obstacles to compete. Being physically weaker than the males on the team is one of the handicaps that she has to deal with. In order to compensate for this, Palingayan trains everyday alongside the team and on her own time at the gym.

She also takes care to maintain a healthy diet not only to help improve her body’s condition, but

also to help her lose weight when deciding what weight class to compete in.

“She wrestles with the rest of the guys and she works out with the rest of the guys,” coach Marcus Johnson said. “It’s just when she wrestlers, she wrestles girls.”

Palingayan says that she has not experienced any form of discrimination within the team. She feels that she is just another member of the team who has to work harder due to the natural difference in strength.

“Every single day it’s hard work,” Palingayan said. “We have to stay strong the whole time.”

Many of her friends have been shocked to hear that Palingayan is on the wrestling team, and some question her ability to physically compete against the boys. Nevertheless she refuses to let the words of others determine what she can do.

“People are always going to say something no matter what you do,” Palingayan said. “Do what you want to do and do your best in ev-

ryan chae asst. sports editor

E ERIC HONG

Sophomore Rejie Palingayan prepares to pin her opponent during practice. erything.”

Wrestling has been more than just a physical challenge. The mental and emotional hardships, such as the determination needed to be pushed past one’s limit, that Palingayan also has to face, is something every wrestler experiences.

It is more than just performing the moves and getting the opponent pinned on the mat. It also requires dedication and mental determination to continuously wrestle for two minutes.

“Sometimes I feel like an outcast

because we would do a drill and everyone already has a partner and I would have to ask the coach for a partner, things like that,” Palingayan said.

Due to the physical and mental demands of the sport, wrestling has taught Palingayan that success is something that needs to be earned.

“It pushes you to your limits,” Palingayan said. “And that’s when you see are you going to pull through or are you going to give up?”

Kicking off with a strong start SOCCER Winning against both alumnus and Alta Loma, the boys are ready to face the new season. sophia kim staff writer After losing in the first round of the CIF playoffs last year, breaking its three year hold on the league title, the Diamond Bar High School varsity boys soccer team is looking to regain its title as Palomares League Champions.

Starting off the season with a scrimmage against DBHS soccer alumni, the team showed its potential by winning 2-1. During the scrimmage, head coach Kemp Wells kept an eye on the players to determine their positions on the team. Senior Mohamad Abboushi made both of the goals during the game, and is the leading offensive player this season, according to Wells.

“The one who has probably stepped up the most is Mohamad Abboushi because we lost so many forwards that scored so many goals

Senior David Ripley handles the ball at the game against Alta Loma. from last year’s team,” Wells said.

With the team losing quite a few seniors, including four captains from last year, Wells hopes the returning players are ready to lead the team. Abboushi and Tony Didonato will be tasked with running the offense, while three-year starter and captain, Anthony Vasquez will anchor the center back for de-

ERIC HONG

fense. Two returning players, Bryan Becerra, and Josh Bortis, will also be active as midfielders.

“The midfield [is] the strength of our team due to the returning players,” Wells said.

With Claremont winning CIF last year, the players are looking to take back their title after finishing second in league, with an overall

record of 17-6-2.

So far in the preseason, the team played to a 1-1 tie against La Serna, won their second game 2-1 against Alta Loma, and tied their third game 0-0 against Lakeside. The team will be going up against Wilson High School today at home.

“We are conditioning hard and trying to be serious and focused during practice,” first year varsity player sophomore Nicholas Wong said.

In order to put their hopes into action, Wells implemented new drills into their practice to help the players in their techniques. As a team, they are practicing more corner kicks and free kick plays in order to strengthen their aim.

The 10 returning players and 16 starters are actively training for upcoming games, regardless of who plays in the matches. Although the players plan on winning league and CIF, the first step is to show up to practice and work hard, according to Wells.

“Whether we win or lose, everyone can take pride that they played their best,” Wells said.

Today, the boys will take on Wilson, and will also face Ganesha on Friday.

Strength from experience GIRLS BASKETBALL With the return of seven players, the team looks to improve upon last season. ryan chae asst. sports editor Coming off a disappointing firstround exit in the CIF playoffs last year, the Diamond Bar High School girls basketball team is already showing signs of improvement after dominating its first two preseason games and the Claremont tournament last week.

Last season, the girls finished with an overall record of 11-14 while holding a league record of 4-6 in the Palomares League.

In the girls’ inaugural season in the league, the biggest problem was the inability to finish games. The

Destinee Garr, along with new captains senior Kayla Rice, and juniors Lauryn Del Campo and Juliana Gamboa. Garr and Rice have been team lost against Glendora, 48-45, varsity players for their entire high even with a ten point fourth quarschool career, and Garr has been a ter lead. Another close loss was an starter in all four years. away game against Ayala in which According to McCabe, the most the girls were unable to extend the important piece in the team’s bid game to overtime for league is havafter missing a ing all of the “Every game is a league three pointer players ready to championship. The best with 14 seconds team plays ten championship go. Last year, the left in the game. team lost one of games in league.”

While three of its best ball hanCOACH TONY MCCABE last year’s capdlers in Del Camtains graduated, po to a knee injuhead coach Tony McCabe believes ry during the preseason and junior that the team has a strong chance forward Candace Black to transfer at success this season due to the re- ineligibility. turn of seven players.

Both Garr and Gamboa were Players that are back for the leading factors for the team’s sucnew season include senior captain cess to the playoffs last year as the

two were named to the first team all-league.

Starting this year off, the Lady Brahmas were ranked fifth in the San Gabriel Valley. To make the season even easier, the team was bumped down from Division 1-AA to Division 1-A. Even though the team is still a month away from playing its first league game, the girls are still preparing to set every game to the highest standard.

“Every game is a league championship. The best team plays ten championship games in league.

The worst team would only play one,” McCabe said.

Before the season begins, the team will be in the San Dimas Tournament this week, and the Don Lugo Tournament from Dec. 26-30.

ven with only a month left in the regular season, the NFL landscape is still changing with division races, wild card hunts, and unseen injuries. As of right now, there are only a few true contenders for the Super Bowl in the league, and many more pretenders.

Starting at the top of each conference are the New England Patriots and the undefeated Carolina Panthers.

This is a familiar spot for the Patriots since they have been able to enter the playoffs for the past 12 years with a ten plus wins record.

It also helps that the team has one of the greatest quarterbacks of alltime in Tom Brady.

This year has proven to be different for the Patriots as the team has not had to deal with so many injuries in a year. The Patriots lost the bulk of its offensive weapons, as No. 1 wide receiver Julian Edelman broke his foot, starting running back Dion Lewis tore his ACL, and star tight end Rob Gronkowski became week-to-week after a knee injury. The team also lost two of its starting offensive linemen in Nate Solder and Diamond Bar alumni Ryan Wendell. However, the Patriots may be fine until some of their players return in the postseason due to their weak division For the Panthers, the case is simpler. Since week one the team has nearly been healthy, and has been making improvements as the season progressed. With the most dangerous linebacker corp in the NFL and a formidable secondary, the Panthers have proven to have the most consistent defense in the league. Although the team lost its best receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, to an ACL tear in the offseason, the Panthers were still a threat on offense due to the MVP-like performances of quarterback Cam Newton and the team’s run game.

The Panthers would be the only team in the NFC that have a clear path to the Big Game if it weren’t for the Arizona Cardinals. Even with their starting running back, Chris Johnson, out for the year, I still have faith in the entire roster. Quarterback Carson Palmer is having an amazing season with 31 touchdowns along with his wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, and Michael Floyd. The Cardinals are a top five defensive team as well. The secondary, also known as “The No Fly Zone,” is one of the best with defensive backs Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu leading the group. As an overall team, Arizona is the deepest and most complete.

Now, the final team in the NFL that could pose a threat to the Patriots’ bid for a place in Super Bowl 50 would be the team that handed them their first loss, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos are a dangerous team on defense with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. in the backfield and Pro Bowlers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware on the front lines. Wide receivers DeMaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have been a versatile duo this year. The run game of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman has started to heat up as the year ends.

With the way each of these teams are playing, the championship game for their respective conference should include them all, but there is still three weeks of football left. And in the NFL, the entire league can change in just a week.

SPORTS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Defensive changes key to success BOYS BASKETBALL After a 2-2 record at the Bosco Technical Institute Tournament, the Brahmas prepare for their upcoming season games. ingrid chan staff writer

just because we were up against a better team flat out,” Frierson said.

Frierson said that the team’s top priority for this season is to Although the Diamond Bar High strengthen the boys’ overall skills School boys basketball team has and create good habits when playyet to begin its regular season, ing, preparing not only for this seathe players are currently spendson, but for the following season as ing much of their time intensively well. training for the upcoming games.

He also said that the team is In the offseason, the boys pracworking to develop its defense, one ticed every other day. However, of the team’s weaknesses. with league games quickly apThis year’s captains are seniors proaching, the boys returned to Evon Shubin and Peter Valencia, practicing two along with juhours every day, niors Tyler “I’m really excited about what only taking a Tang, and Mawe can achieve in the next two break when they lik Corey. or three years as the players have a game.

After last coming in are really, really good,” year’s gradua“It’s going pretty well so tions, only four COACH HENRY FRIERSON far, we have a seniors are left lot of little kinks on the team. to work out, but it’s going pretty But Frierson believes the future is well,” head coach Henry Frierson promising as many of the younger said. players have displayed great talent, The team participated in the including freshman Ethan Galang, Bosco Technical Institute Tournawho performed well during the ment last week, ending with a reBosco Tech Tournament. cord of 2-2.

“I’m really excited about what The Brahmas lost the first two we can achieve in the next two or games and won the last two. The three years as the players coming boys lost to La Serna 53-49 and Gain are really, really good,” Frierson brielino 54-47, then defeated Rosesaid. mead 69-58 and Mountain View The annual White Out game 79-37. against Walnut will be played on “I thought we did okay. The first DBHS court on Jan. 6. The first game probably was the closest league game is on Jan. 8 against game we had, the second loss was Ayala.

15

IN HER GLORY DAYS

MALINALLI COOKE calvin ru asst. photo editor As a group of friends were playing soccer, one suggested that they all try out for Bishop Amat High School’s cross country team in La Puente. At the time, Diamond Bar High School chemistry teacher Malinalli Cooke, then known as Malinalli Martinez, was unsure of the idea of running as a sport. Little did she know that during the span of her high school and college career, she would set new records and win two CIF championship titles.

During Cooke’s high school career, she played in club soccer, sprinted in track and field, and ran in cross country. In track and field, Cooke set personal records and broke school records in one-mile and two-mile events, finishing with times of 5:19 and 11:38, respectively.

Cooke made the switch from soccer to cross country during her freshman year after her friends made her try out for the team.“Once I started running, I realized [soccer] wasn’t my sport,” Cooke said.

Despite starting off her freshman year completely oblivious to the existence of cross country, Cooke had the endurance that pulled her through to the CIF Finals that year after joining the team. Cooke was able to surpass previous school records in cross country as well, finishing the Otterbein/Schabarum meet with a time of 19:13 her fresh-

man year. She also continued to place first by finishing with top times under 19:30 at the Stanford meet her sophomore, junior, and senior years.

As an upperclassman, Cooke placed first among her peers with the fastest time of 19:03 as a junior and 18:26 as a senior. She made the all time list for cross country at Bishop Amat by running with a time of 18:32 her senior year at the Woodbridge meet.

Cooke received a notable write up in the Los Angeles Times after she won the Colton invitational

with a time of 18:50. Cooke was also named All-Southern Section selection in San Gabriel Valley and the Del Rey League’s female athlete of the year, and placed first in the Del Rey League Finals with a time of 18:39 later that year. Cooke placed second in the CIF Prelims and third in the CIF Finals twice, with a time of 19:01 during her junior year.

Cooke was offered athletic scholarships to USC and Long Beach State, before deciding to attend Loyola Marymount University. She quickly rose to the top of her peers and broke several records throughout her following years at LMU. She was able to place top three in the entire region during her time at college, and was chosen as San Gabriel Valley Champion for three out of her four years at LMU. “At the time, I ran with a lot of really good runners,” Cooke said.

“Some of them were in the Olympics and ran professionally, not on my team, but people I competed against regularly. I was like ‘Oh my gosh I wish I could run like her’.”

After graduating from LMU in 2000, Cooke went on to teach at Suva Intermediate for one year and Montebello High School for eight years before finally coming to Diamond Bar High School’s science department. Now, although not actively participating in competitions for the sports she loves, Cooke holds the position as assistant coach for DBHS’s cross country team.

Setting new goals for a fresh season GIRLS SOCCER The Lady Brahmas finish in third place at the Wilson Tournament. brian chang asst. news editor With a challenging preseason and a tough league schedule ahead of them, the members of the Diamond Bar High School varsity girls soccer team are prepared to work hard. After last year’s disappointing season during which the team finished with a record of 3-5-2, the girls are looking for a chance to redeem themselves.

Despite a win against the eventual league champion Ayala 1-0 in DB’s final game of the season, the

Lady Brahmas were left one game and one rank short of the coveted third-place CIF playoff spot. Over the preseason, head coach Matt Brummett was replaced by Matt Franco, who has been busy making sure the team is ready for the rigorous competition it will face in the Palomares League.

“We have a tougher preseason that I set up. We play some good Division II schools, we’ve already played St. Lucy’s and had a tight game against them, they’re Division I,” Franco said. “We [also] play higher end Division III schools; that way it’s getting them ready for league.”

Franco emphasized a large pool of defensive talent, citing players such as junior Kayla Pak and senior Sabrina May as key components of the backline. However, he said the team needs to work on cre-

ating offensive opportunities.

“We’re having trouble scoring right now. We have a lot of talented individual players, but it’s gonna take us putting it together, us working together, and finding that chemistry,” Franco said. “We had a tournament this past weekend, and we scored one goal in four games.”

By rotating players on offense, Franco hopes to find the best combination of players. By testing different partnerships, Franco wants to find players who are compatible and have similar styles.

Along, with offense, one of the major components of the game is communication, a previous team struggle. Franco said he believes that communication will come once the players feel more comfortable with each other, on and off the field.

“On the field, in the moment,

ERIC HONG

Sophomore Valerie Swisher chases down the ball in a match against the La Serna Lancers.

sometimes it’s hard to be like ‘Oh, ball’s here,’ and sometimes people just forget. I think we’re going to change that just by talking to people more and have a lot more team bonding,” sophomore Sam Blaze said.

“[Communication] comes down to me and them. There’s different things we can work on. When they start getting to know each other and actually liking each other off the field, it shows on the field,” Franco said.

SPORTS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 16, 2015

16

SPORTS

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

Anthony Vasquez

tess guan asst. web editor After many weeks spent playing for the varsity football team, senior Anthony Vasquez heads back to the same field where he will lead the Diamond Bar High School boys varsity soccer as team captain.

Vasquez began playing soccer at the age of seven. In his freshman year, he played on the junior varsity team, and then made varsity as a

sophomore after one of the players was injured. ”Anthony did such a strong job that when the other player came back, we took another center defender and moved him to offensive half so that they could play alongside each other,” head coach Kemp Wells said.

Vasquez plays sweeper, a defensive position, in soccer. Before he quit earlier this year, he also was a member of the Legacy club soccer team. According to Coach Wells,

Vasquez wanted to spend this year focusing on football.

“He’s a very strong kicker. Just in case he got a scholarship in kicking, he has two options: either kicking for a football or a soccer team,” Wells said.

Currently, Vasquez is unsure of what colleges he hopes to play for.

However, he is certain he wants to play for a club soccer team.

As one of the team captains, Vasquez is responsible for organizing the defense, guarding the other

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Senior Anthony Vasquez races towards the ball during the Alta Loma Braves game which ended 2-1, a win for Diamond Bar.

team’s offensive players, and running the backline.

“We really count on him to set the floor and hold down the defense. If he really steps up onto this role, which so far he has done, but if he continues to progress with that, with this organization and leadership, we should be real good,” Wells said.

Despite just beginning the soccer season, Vasquez also has high hopes for the team’s future games.

“I think we’re doing really well, our teams really strong, so we’ll go far,” Vasquez said.

In addition to soccer, Vasquez was also a part of the school’s varsity football team.

Re g a rd l e s s of his inexperience in football, he joined the sport and started playing on the frosh team as a freshman.

Vasquez has kicked for

the team for all four years, but occasionally plays different positions as well.

Vasquez was selected by Maxpreps.com as special teams player of the game for three contests, including the Branding Iron game and games against San Dimas and Duarte.

“At first we thought we were going to do pretty well, but toward the end, they all got into pretty close games; I’d say it was a pretty good season. Sometimes, we just got unlucky,” Vasquez said, referring to this year’s football season.

After his first year of playing, Vasquez was selected to play defense for the junior varsity team.

Halfway through his sophomore season, he was chosen to play for the varsity team.

“Even though you might not be a part of a winning team, you’re with your friends, and that’s just half the fun, it’s really all that matters,” Vasquez said.

Second year sport ready for trials GIRLS WATER POLO The Lady Brahmas are honing their skills, through both tournaments and hours of practice, in order to improve on last year’s season. hannah lee asst. news editor As the girls water polo team enters its second season in Diamond Bar High School history, it strives to open with an overall improvement and hopes to continue their strong start to the season after winning in their first two pre-

season games against Chaffey, 8-3, and Nogales, 17-8.

After struggling as a first year team, the players are now using their past experiences to their advantage.

To push toward improvement, the team has been practicing two to three times a week since the start of the school year and recently increased practices to six times a

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Senior Jenna Canova and the team prepare for the start of league on Jan. 7.

week for three to four hours a day.

Mainly, the players are focusing on improving their passing and shooting abilities, along with body positioning on both offense and defense.

“We want to improve on our overall record from last season, be more competitive with the teams that we played during our inaugural season, and to win our first league game,” head coach Alexander Matal said via email.

The Brahmas sought to play as many offseason games as possible to further improve upon their fundamental skills. Some members played almost all open games in summer programs or clubs, playing up to 50 games between the end of last season and the start of this season.

At the Rancho Bernardo Tournament in December in San Diego, the Lady Brahmas won one ERIC HONG of their five games, with a score of Junior Simar Cheema is ready to make a pass during the St. Joseph game.

9-8. In addition, the team will also be hosting the 2nd Annual Lady Le said. due to the addition of rookie playBrahmas Winter Classic on Jan. Because the team has many ers.

15-16, during which 48 teams will new varsity players and only three “I want to set a good example for be competing. returning them. I encourage them and open “[The Ransenior varmyself up to them. If they’re not “I want to set a good example for cho Bernardo sity memdoing something correctly, I’ll corthem. I encourage them and open Tournament] bers. Jenna rect them or help them adjust,” Le myself up to them. If they’re not was a really doing something correctly, I’ll correct Canova, Le, said. fun experience and Alyssa While the girls have the entire them or help them adjust.” playing all Moran plan winter break off for games, the SENIOR MIA LE the teams. It to help team will be back with multiple was especially guide these games in January. hard playing teams that are by the younger members through the new On Jan. 5, the team will face ocean because they’re typically a season with their prior experience Wilson in the girls’ final preseason lot better at water polo, but it really and strong leadership. game. Then, on Jan. 7, the team helped improve us and our expecThis year’s team is also focusing will have their first league game at tations for the season,” senior Mia on team play and communication Ayala.