Volume 37, Issue 5, February 3 2005 by El Estoque

perspectives

Does buying textbooks in bulk hinder our education?

entertainment

Choir class prepares for Valentine’s Day singing grams

sports

centerspread

Struggling wrestler reaches the top through hard work

hidden dangers vol

february

2006

Winterball takes place with no court named

edition

Teaching Tomorrow’s Teachers Today

by Alex Cohn, editor-in-chief

n Jan. 20 at 8 pm, crowds of gowned and tuxedoed students filed into the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara for Winterball, excited for the dancing and good times to come. Yet, a pall was cast over the night as a long-standing tradition, the naming of Winter Court, was omitted. Rumors have been swirling as to why no Winter Court was named. The most prevalent one is that ASB planned the nomination process poorly and did not leave enough time to name a Winter Court, an allegation that ASB completely refutes. ASB Social Manager, senior Julia Co, explained, “Not all the teachers sent in nominations and thus, there weren’t enough votes to get a top three like we had planned for.” The process of nomination is done in senior Government and Economics classes. Students nominate people from their grade level, with the three people most frequently nominated going on to be a part of Winter Court. Two out of the five senior social studies teachers confirmed that they did not send nominations to ASB, citing a lack of class time and for one period, a lack of student interest as the reasons. Senior social studies teacher Catherine Hambleton, who did send nominations to ASB, said, “My classes just weren’t that into it.” When the time came to nominate students, her classes were reluctant to nominate anyone, in the end only nominating a few students each class. Leadership Advisor Tim Krieger said of the nomination results, “There was no overlap between any of those names. Because there were very few votes it was just a few students [nominated].” Krieger went on to explain that since the votes were so spread out, no majority could be determined, so “there was no clear top three, or top five, or even top seven. At that point, it would be just us deciding [who made it onto Winter Court]. There was no other alternative. We’re not going to decide the students.” ASB decided not to have classes revote. Co said, “Our advisors felt taking more class time for a second nomination would be rude and unfair to teachers.” As a result, Winterball went on without a Winter Court being named. Attendee, senior Michelle Lai, said, “[ASB is] supposed to do it every year, but this year they didn’t, which was kind of weird.” Lai was disappointed as she felt the Winter Court “gives people a chance to be recognized for their contributions to the school, like people other than the ones that were on Homecoming Court.” ASB plans to rework the schedule for next year in order to make the nomination process more efficient so that Winterball Court will be able to return next year.

XXXVII

Teacher Cadet program gives students the opportunity to switch roles with teachers and gain real world teaching experience in classrooms by Steffi Lau, news editor

Austin Cheng | photo editor INSTRUCTING Junior Monica Ramakuri instructs a Spanish class on Jan. 30 through the Teacher Cadet program. The program allows students to prepare lesson plans then teach in local schools. In addition, students also observe classes and learn about child development.

unior Aneesha Nilakantan clearly remembers a favorite experience from first semester in which she read a story to a third-grade class. Amidst her hectic schedule of studying for tests and balancing rigorous classes, she found solace for four days a week teaching younger children. “I read a story about teasing,” she reflected with a smile. “I was sitting in the chair and freaking out, ‘I can’t believe [the teacher] is going to make me read in front of the class. What if I mess up and ruin their whole lives?’ But in the end I was completely into it with all the voices and you could tell [the kids] were enjoying it. They were pointing to pictures and saying things to each other like, ‘Hey, did you notice that fish?’ ” Nilakantan is part of the Teacher Cadet program at MVHS in which students, otherwise known as Cadets, obtain hands-on experience through working with students of all ages. Math teacher I-Heng McComb teaches the course. The Cadets each have one free period in the day in which they go off campus to do fieldwork at various schools. They meet once a week after school to learn the curriculum. In the first semester, Cadets focus on exploring differences in development between age groups. They are assigned placements of three different age groups: preschool to second grade, third to fifth grade and sixth grade to

high school. Nilakantan was placed with a first grade and a third grade class at Lincoln Elementary and a Japanese 1 class at MVHS. In the first semester, the Cadets do not actually teach. Instead, they work with kids who need individual attention, assist in activities or simply observe. Each year a few students return as second year Cadets and are able to immediately begin teaching with just one placement. Junior Monica Ramakuri is one such person. In her first year she worked with preschool, kindergarten, fourth grade classes and Kennedy. “It was at a preschool. I was really scared,” Ramakuri remembered of her first fieldwork experience. “I tried to get to know each one, but little kids don’t just come up to you. But by the end of the day I was playing with them. They actually became attached to me.” After the first semester, the Cadets begin advanced fieldwork, choosing one of the three age ranges that they most enjoyed. Nilakantan chose her first grade class. “I bonded the most with them. They probably show the most respect and interest in me,” she said. “That makes me want to help more.” Of the differences that come with the age levels she said, “High schoolers do respect you less because you’re

see CADET on page 20

Duration of provisional driver’s license lengthened 5 am Before these new laws, provisional license holders could drive passengers six eenagers hear this statement all of the months after they received their license and time. “Vehicle accidents are the num- could drive until 12 am, instead of 11 pm. “That’s ridiculous,” said sophomore Nirber one cause of death among teenagran Hebron. “A whole ers.” Because of this fact, year until I can drive my new driving laws seem to friends around. The govget passed every year. ernment isn’t liable for Effective as of Jan. 1, our driving, we are.” new provisional license Legislators believe the changes were put into eflaw will decrease autofect in California. mobile related deaths The changes include among teenagers; acprohibiting provisional cording to the Automolicense holders from carbile Club of Southern rying passengers under the age of 20 during the - junior Connie Lui California, the number of crashes that involve 16first 12 months of their license, unless accompanied by a licensed year-old drivers is 13 percent higher than parent/guardian or a licensed driver over those of 17-year and older drivers between 25 years old. The new law also prohibits 11 pm and 12 am. “For some of my classmates, who I don’t driving between the hours of 11 pm and by Rachel Lui, backpage editor

“

I would feel safer if [some of my classmates] were given an early curfew and not allowed to drive other people.

”

think are fit to drive alone, much less with any of my friends,” stated junior Connie Lui, “I would feel safer if they were given an early curfew and not allowed to drive other people.” Opponents argue that even with this new law, reckless drivers will continue to break these laws, while careful drivers will continue to adhere to them, but will be punished unfairly. “It’s kind of annoying and all,” said junior Michael Chu, “but the six-month law before this new law didn’t really stop too many people anyway. For the 11 pm curfew.” Since the length of time to drive passengers has been extended to one year, some teenagers argue that they will have to continue driving by themselves, using more money on gas, where before they had the opportunity to carpool. Moreover, it puts a larger burden on fellow family members

who are obligated to transport students. “It definitely affects me negatively because it’s hard for my mom to give me rides all the time,” said sophomore Leslie Kon. “It’s not good because we used to be able to carpool places to save gas to meeting places, but now everyone has to get themselves to wherever we end up. It takes more coordination to tell everyone where to meet if plans change because everyone has to drive themselves.” There are many different opinions on whether it is necessary to have stricter rules or if it is completely ineffective. Although many teenagers may be upset about this new law, a good amount of students are also expressing their support for it. “In any case, a year does seem like a long time,” said junior Gabriel Lam, “but for some kids, I guess you’d want them to have more experience before allowing them to put someone else’s life in their hands.”

news

Neha Joshi | Staff Photographer PLAYTIME On Jan. 27, (From left, Top row) Seniors William Chen, Nicholas Moe, Eric Wang, Calvin Trinh, (Bottom row) Josh Lequieu, Gary Peng, Romin Bahk, Anthony Kwon, and Harrison Chen are involved in an intense round of video games.

Frivolous fun for the seniors n

Seniors celebrated their ascension to second semester status by sleeping over in the Gym from Jan. 27 to Jan. 28. Seniors demonstrated the experience they have gained in their four years at Monta Vista through complicated activities such as video games, volleyball, poker, and karaoke. Cold pizza, cookies, and soda fueled the students through the nighttime affair. Last year’s seniors were the first to experience such an event. Senior class officer Jim Chin said, “Last year’s seniors really liked it and the juniors (this year’s seniors) expressed interest in having it.” The event was chaperoned by AP Chemistry teacher Travis Hambleton and social studies teacher Kristine Gray, the senior class advisors. Social studies teachers Benjamin Recktenwald and Viviana Montoya-Hernandez also oversaw the event.

Until now, student groups and organizations have been able to sell homemade foods (baked goods, sushi, etc) during club day and fundraising events. This will no longer be the case. Club council members have been made aware of California Health Department food standards that prohibit the sale of such homemade goods. The food sales standards, as of Jan. 17, mandate that all food sales on campus must be prepackaged from a vendor or purchased by a local vendor (including fast food) and sold within a reasonable time frame, such that the food stays safe. Also, while serving food, students must wear plastic gloves as a sanitary precaution. These rules apply to club day and any other fundraising event. Why now? “The cafeteria staff saw what we were doing and gave us guidance on how to keep the food safe and within health codes,” said Leadership advisor Tim Krieger. This will undoubtedly affect clubs that make profits by selling homemade goods.

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New

february 3, 2006

Station

elestoque

News-Information-Updates

2005-2006

Monta Vista High School 21840 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014

MVHS officially wrapped up its annual food drive on Jan. 3, the first day back at school after vacation. when Second Harvest Food Bank trucks arrived in the bus circle to load and haul away the dozens of barrels of food that had been donated by MVHS students. The food drive ran from Dec. 5 to Dec. 16. It is a yearly event that takes place before every mid-year break. This year it was organized by the Campus Commission: senior Edward Young and juniors Christopher Moe and Lisa Merkhofer. Traditionally, the top three classes who donate the most food are treated to complimentary In-N-Out burgers at lunch. Math teacher Kathleen McCarty’s class was the top contributor. In addition, the Campus Commission attempted to provide even further incentive for students to donate with the promise of a slightly unusual reward. If MVHS students managed to donate a full 50 barrels full of goods, a lineup of teachers promised that they would shave their heads. Unfortunately, Campus Commission was short of their goal by 12 barrels. Nevertheless, the Campus Commission isn’t disappointed. They managed to collect six more barrels than they did last year, meaning that participation and interest in donation is rising.

n On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, numerous

works of art were displayed. One of the paintings on exhibit was done by Monta Vista senior Leon Chen. Chen won an Honorable Mention for his painting “Tomorrow’s Deliverance” and was one of only four winners in his youth painting & drawing category. The competition was open to youth and adults across the US and the world. According to the website of the contest, sponsored by the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County, “Each submission should reflect the artist’s hope, desperation, celebration, fear, or dream about HIV/AIDS and the work left to be done.” The artwork can be seen at www.unfinishedworks.org.

n During the week of Jan. 23, the MV Young Republicans held a voter registration drive in the hopes to encourage seniors on the brink of turning 18 to take advantage of their new voting rights. To register, seniors had to be 18 by March 8, the date of the primary elections for the governorship and other state offices. The club’s members asked seniors in classes to fill out voter registration forms and they also had a booth in the rally court. In an effort to catch the attention of as many as possible, the booth was placed in the path of seniors walking toward their cars in the parking lot. However despite the attempts of the members over a period of two days to encourage seniors to register, the grand total of people registered amounted to ten. While this number is considered a fairly high turnout for a typical voter registration event, compared to the amount of eligible seniors at MV, the members feel that the numbers could have been much higher. “It just shows that MV students have low levels of political awareness ,” Young Republicans Activities Manager junior Dan Fan speculated. “Many students don’t understand how important voting is. Voting is a way to make our voices heard and is a key component in maintaining democracy.” The Young Republicans club will hold another drive after March 8 for seniors who will be 18 by the November elections.

El Estoque seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the Monta Vista community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our community. Editors-in-Chief Alex Cohn Edward Young Managing Editors Neha Joshi Vikram Srinivasan News Editors Raj Dedhia Steffi Lau Perspectives Editors Jordan Kolb Julia Stenzel Design/Centerspread Editors Stephanie Snipes Daniel Yang Entertainment Editors Radhika Chandrasekhar Michelle Tanaka Sports Editors Carolyn Chuang Suzie Smelyansky Back Page Editor Rachel Lui Art Editors Nandini Dasarathy Julia Stenzel Photo Editor Austin Cheng Staff Writers Sarah Bennett Symrin Chawla Aniqa Hasan Cheryl Ho Adam Jacobs Michael Leung Judy Liang Melissa Ni Sonal Patel Samika Savanur Prateek Tandon Anagha Vaidhyanathan Matt Wang Adviser Michelle Balmeo The El Estoque staff can be reached at elestoque06@gmail.com or by contacting advisor Michelle Balmeo in room C210. Advertisements may be sent to the address above. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District.

Taking on the tough issues in our issues by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

ournalism has the power to affect change. By bringing forth institutional problems, Journalism sparks discussion, the first step toward transforming the way organizations conduct themselves. The benefits of journalism were demonstrated in our December issue ,which dealt with The Wall Street Journal article. There was a largely positive response to the centerspread, but even more significantly, it was utilized in PTA and District meetings. It became a resource for community members to evaluate the real issues. As a member of Leadership for the past three years, I have been able to see first hand the program’s need to be evaluated externally. As far as personal growth, it is the best class I have ever taken. The problem is that Leadership is meant to be more than a class for the development of its members. The fear is that Leadership’s programs have grown away from the actual desires of the student body. Recently, I have heard comparisons of Leadership to the oppressive government in George Orwell’s 1984. While clearly an exaggeration, the fact that the analogy applies is a frightening thought. In past years, we would have strayed away from covering issues which directly criticize programs at Monta Vista, like the complaints surrounding Leadership. To be perfectly

honest, we weren’t courageous enough to face the possibility of offending people around us. This year, however, we began experimenting with articles which challenged Monta Vista’s institutions. This is reflective of our changing approach towards journalism. The intent of the press is to inform, but at its best, it can affect change. My co-editor Alex Cohn achieves the first goal in his article covering the absence of Winterball court, satisfying students’ curiosity as to the reasons for its disappearance. This is in line with our past articles, presenting the facts but passing no judgment. Where we break away from our reluctance to address controversy is in our perspectives section. Columnist Vikram Srinivasan challenges the efficacy of the Leadership class, questioning the use of its power for trivial projects. By voicing complaints in a public manner, it forces Leadership to confront its faults, hopefully improving the way it runs itself. Neither article was written to criticize individuals or detract from the accomplishments of the class. They were written as a reflection of student opinions, the opinions that Leadership is supposed to represent. My experience in Leadership has taught me that it has the capability to make a tremendous impact; sometimes it requires vocalized criticism to maximize its potential. By doing exactly that, El Estoque continues what it learned from The Wall Street Journal debacle. Good journalism has the power to alter readers’ perceptions of the world around them and even change the world itself.

EDITOR’S LETTER

el estoque

february 3, 2006

Clever seniors win science award MVHS students awarded prize for writing data encryption algorithm SMART

GUYS

(From left) Se-

niors George Chen, Victor Shia, and Frank Chuang win big at the Siemens Foundation Math, Science and Technology Competition on Nov. 5 at UC Berkeley. The team developed a security encryption algorithm on their own, without the help of an adult mentor.

Photo courtesy of the Siemens Foundation

by Nandini Dasarathy, staff writer

wo thousand dollars may not seem like a lot of money to a multi-billionaire like Bill Gates, but to aspiring engineers George Chen, Victor Shia, and Frank Chuang, the money was the result of weeks of hard work. These three MVHS seniors participated in a science, math, and technology competition sponsored by the Siemens Foundation on Nov. 5, held at UC Berkeley (one of the six locations for regionals), and used their knowledge to win scholarships for themselves as well as money for the school. The competition was rigorous and involved researching and designing a new product, writing a research paper, and

presenting it through several stages of its production, which included a visual and oral presentation. For this competition, the three started conducting extensive research early on. Chen coded an encryption algorithm; a high-demand security device that makes sure only those who are entitled to access a certain piece of data can access it. “I started working on the code over the summer,” said Chen, “It was twelve weeks of intensive research, starting in July. The algorithm had to be written and re-written, and we only actually started writing the research paper one week before the entry deadline.”

Chen wrote a data security algorithm over a data compression one because he felt that the market for the later was “over-saturated” and had also been done as a previous Siemens-Westinghouse project. After creating the initial code, Shia and Chuang worked on proving the security of the algorithm, which took rigorous mathematical knowledge and complemented a written research paper. The significant detail is that all of this was completed independent of outside help: there was no mentor involved. Chen said, “We did not receive any assistance except from books, the Internet and a few

see ENCRYPTION on page 20

Local teachers offered affordable housing by Austin Cheng, staff writer

Anyone would want to live in California and even better, in the Bay Area. It has the beaches, gets sunny weather, moderate temperatures, and is close enough to the mountains. Therefore, any teacher would want to teach in the Bay Area, too. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. The Bay Area has some of the highest housing prices, left by the dot-com boom. When boom turned to bust, the housing remained high. Teachers simply do not have an easy time paying for the high prices of housing because they are not paid adequately. Last year,

approximately five teachers left the Fremont Union High School District because Bay Area housing is too high. Director of Human Resources Nancy Braughton acknowledged these problems are apparent in the FUHSD. Braughton said, “The FUHSD doesn’t recruit out of the area because teachers in other places do not understand how hard it is to work here. It is a waste of time to recruit from other places because most will not end up staying. We have our own recruitment fair which the teachers come to us.”

To address the problem of high living, the Santa Clara Unified School District has created an apartment complex, creating affordable housing for their teachers. The apartments have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a private garage for $1,075 a month, about 40 percent of the rental cost of equivalent apartments in the same area. These apartments were created with the intention of low rent for teachers in order to reduce the number of new teachers who are forced to leave the district. The amount of pay is too little to afford the

high living costs. Dedicated new teachers, some who have come straight out of college, want to teach in schools that are as good as those in the Bay Area. Math teacher Martin Jennings knows how tough finding an affordable place to live is. Aside from being a teacher, he is also a real estate agent, selling housing around the Bay Area. Jennings said, “Over the summer, I helped a teacher purchase a condo. The down payment alone was huge and very difficult on a teacher salary...

see HOUSING on page 20

Faith clubs strengthen understanding A

by Carolyn Chuang, sports editor enough and know enough about their religion,” said junior Hindu s I walked into B212 Monday at lunch to be the only ChiAwareness Club President Chetan Surpur. nese person at the Star of David Club meeting, senior Noam In addition to educating others and being involved in religion, Cadouri asked, “Are you Jewish?” As I shook my head, he religious clubs also hope to provide a safe and comfortable envisaid, “That’s okay, you’re still welcome.” ronment where students can come to be involved in their religion One misconception about religion-based clubs is that their entire at school. focus is on prayer. However, much more is par“It’s hard to find a balance between your ticipating in interesting activities that help people church life and school life,” said Eng. “Most get a feel for the religion and culture. Junior Waof my friends are non-Christian, so if I want ter Walkers core leader Kortney Eng points out to talk about church or God, they think it’s that their religion, Christianity, is not simply a set kinda weird.” of beliefs but rather a lifestyle. Also, the Star Many of the activities during Water Walkof David Club provides activities such as trivia, ers meetings are ice breakers so people in - junior Kortney Eng Israeli music listening sessions, and celebrations the club can get to know each other better. for holidays such as Hanukah and Rosh HashaGet-togethers outside of school are also held nah, the Jewish new year. to strengthen bonds. “We all feel connected to Israel and Judaism,” said junior Star Even with this focus, Eng continued to say, “We’re not just a of David Club Co-President Dana Yakoobinsky. “We wanted to little bubble of Christianity.” make a place where we can talk about our culture and live in it.” All religious clubs hope that people who do not practice their The Hindu Awareness Club celebrates its religion by wearing religion come to their meetings and learn about others’ beliefs and traditional Indian clothing to school during Diwali, the festival of cultures in a fun way without having the obligation to convert. lights. Junior Dana Yakoobinsky said, “We want people to know “We decided to start this club because people didn’t feel proud about it and not be ignorant about a culture.”

“

We’re not just a little bubble of Christianity.

”

news

Coming Home

ags packed. Tickets and passport checked. Toilet paper in pocket? Sounds like a trip to India all right. Every so often, Indian families living in the United States pay a visit to their home country. Whether it may be to indroctinate the value of culture into their children or simply to visit relatives, the tradition of homecoming is often seen throughout the nation. It was 4:00 am and after 24 hours of travel, I was sleep deprived, tired, hungry, yet I didn’t mind. Alas, I was in the motherland! This time around, my trip was filled with a tad more than visiting boring old relatives. A few hours after we arrived in Bangalore, a large metropolitan city in southern India, my family and I took a train to another town, a night’s journey away, the lovely city of Coimbatore. Upon arriving in the train station, I assumed we would roam up and down the street stores, spend hundreds of thousands of rupees (Indian currency) buying dresses and shoes, and eventually return to some distant relative’s house where we would be treated to a cup of tea. Boy, was I in for a surprise. We managed to travel for about an hour down the nicely paved road before it began to resemble a narrow brick and dirt path. The Tata Sumo (a pathetic rattling excuse for an SUV) swerved into a teeny red dirt--laid lot and the driver parked before a large green and brown billboard that seemed to have been covered with paint that had been peeling for years. Talk about your fix-err-upper. It didn’t quite strike me what we were here for until I saw a skinny man in a dull gray shirt walk out from behind the billboard with outstretched arms and hug my dad. Who on earth was this guy? He smelled of stale rice and spoke in a familiar tongue. My dad said a few words to him and he turned to face me with glistening eyes. He addressed me as “Ms. American” and began to ask me if I remembered my birth country. I began speaking to him, only to realize that he was my dad’s cousin, and that not only was he pretty interesting, but that he knew English! In a few minutes, he hopped on his 1989 scooter and took us behind the billboard to a small dark cottage where a woman and two children waited: his family. Wait no, it was my family. We spent a few more hours at their house. As my parents and their cousins mingled, I watched the kids play games with chalk in the dirt path outside their house. It was the most amusing sight to see them poke around with sticks and pebbles and then cock their heads to one side, as if to pose, as I took out my 2006 Nikon SLR to take their photos. I wanted some lifelike shots, but what I captured was more than I could ever aim for. It was a matter of gratitude and respect. MV kids are, more often than not, likely to take what we see for granted. Not on purpose, rather because we remain blissfully ignorant of the world around us. We live our lives in our mini Cupertino-bubbles and tend to have a one-dimensional view of lifeinformed of the bare minimum. My uncle and aunt in Coimbature live on $2000 a year and manage to remain happy regardless of the troubles they experience. While we live day to day wondering how to make more money, fulfill new greedy desires, and take advantage of all our resources, they live day to day hoping to feed their family. Another set of cousins we met had borrowed money from my father many years ago to pay for their child’s hearing aid – a year’s salary for them, but something that we valued us as much as we would an iPod. Life-changing, baffling, mindboggling. Call it what you wish. But this was truly the experience of a lifetime I would never forget. As I gave my little cousins my CD player, they gave me a look of gratitude and astonishment. A look that I would never forget: that I had made a difference in someone’s life. On the flight back home, the irony of the situation finally hit me: how are they going to buy CDs?

news

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Returnof the feburary 3, 2006

Hypnotist by Austin Cheng, photo editor

Hypnotist Russ Peak returned to Monta Vista for two shows on Jan. 20, the end of ‘RELAX Week.’ Underclassmen got their first experience seeing his hypnotic tricks, while upperclassmen had a good laugh seeing his new acts. Participation in both assemblies was in the hundreds as people stormed out of the stands to be hypnotized.

1. The participants leaned their heads on the shoulders of the people to their left and later their right in preparation for hypnotism. 2. ”I’m on top of the world!” shouts junior Ayse Celebioglu, an exclamation that was triggered by the word ‘Titanic’ after she was put in a post-hypnotic trance. Both Celebioglu and junior Cheryl Ho screamed, “I’m on top of the world” twice. 3. Senior Desmond Chang grabbed senior Leon Chen for warmth because he was under the impression that he was in a freezing cold environment. Right after thinking he was freezing, he was put under the impression that he was very hot and stripped off his jacket. 4. Freshman Steven Chien and senior Madhavi Raman weaved through the edge of the stands searching for a leprachaun. They were also in a post-hypnotic trance.

5. Seniors Eric Wang and Andrew Gasperini and junior Brett Colloton lie on the ground in their hypnotic unconsciousness. Wang danced, Colloton became a cheerleader spelling the name ‘Buffy,’ and Gasperini was a caveman who grunted in his own caveman language. 6. Junior Ahmed Naguib lays unconscious, about to play his role as a lifeguard shouting at people for peeing in the pool. When awoken the second time, Naguib charged Assistant Principal Erik Walukiewicz for pooing in his pool. Naguib then patted Walukiewicz’ forehead and fell asleep. 7. Freshman Blake Fitzgerald, under the impression that he was a star cheerleader, led the crowd in spelling ‘Buffy.’

Driving law needs ‘grandfather’ing

Number of deaths to go down, number of law breakers to go up

Lead by Example

n Jan. 1, teens below the age of 18 could be heard groaning collectively across California as AB 1474 came into effect. Since the passage of the Graduated Driver’s License Law in 1997, provisional license holders were forbidden to drive past midnight and needed a minimum of six months of experience before they were allowed to transport passengers under 20. However, AB 1474, sponsored by Bill Maze (R-Visalia), extends the nighttime curfew. Now provisional license holders are unable to drive between 11 pm and 5 am and may only transport passengers under 20 after a year of experience. The rationale for the law, of course, is that it will save lives, which is certainly true. Young drivers will complain about the law’s restrictions, but they must also recognize that it is a necessary sacrifice in personal freedom for the sake of safety. However, it also has a shortcoming—in applying to teens who have already received their provisional license, the law reneges on the contract promising such teens the full benefits of a license holder after six months. Such a move is unfair, and the law should be amended by exempting these teens from the requirements of AB 1474. Now, there’s certainly no arguing with the law’s benefits. It seeks to extend upon the success of the Graduated Driver’s License Law, which according to a study by the state of California, prevented 700 deaths and injuries. The Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that the risk of injuries from accidents involving teenage drivers

Julia Stenzel | Art Editor

and underage passengers significantly declines each month after receiving one’s license and stabilizes after a year. Given that teen drivers with passengers are at a greater risk for causing an accident than those without passengers, the law makes sense in extending the no-underagepassengers requirement to the entirety of the period in which teenagers are most at

Staff Editorial

risk for injury. A common complaint is that this extension is too restrictive. However, there are exceptions to the requirements. Those with less than a year of experience can still have underage passengers as long as there is an adult aged 25 or older in the vehicle. Family members can be transported without the presence of an adult, and those who have work or school after 11 pm are exempt from the nighttime curfew. Moreover, a proper balance must be struck between personal freedom and safety. If several hundred deaths can be prevented in the segment of drivers most at risk for accidents, then six more months is certainly worth the wait. Of course, not even the risk of death is enough to deter law breakers. Many might argue the futility of extending the sixmonths requirement, since the existing law

is hardly followed. A 2003 DMV report found that the compliance rate for even the existing six-months requirement is 50 percent. Still, a 50 percent compliance rate was enough to prevent several hundred deaths. The solution to this objection is to have harsher penalties for lawbreakers as a deterrence measure not to reject the new law for ineffectiveness. This coupled with an extended period of time for teen drivers to gain experience on the road before driving friends should significantly reduce the number of accidents involving teenagers. The most controversial aspect of the law is its lack of a “grandfather clause,” an exemption for drivers whose six months are already underway. This is probably its greatest shortcoming because in retroactively applying, the law is a violation of contract. Teens who got their licenses before the law’s passage had an agreement with the government sealed by a monetary payment that they would be granted the full privileges of a license holder after six months. The law unfairly reneges on this contract. Therefore, the proper solution is to reform this law by inserting a grandfather clause. Such a clause should specify that AB 1474 applies only to teens who have not already received their provisional license. This both preserves the stated goal of greatly reducing deaths while still upholding the government’s promise to a minority of teens who agreed to a driver’s contract on the premise that their license loses provisional status after six months. That way, if the law does make teens groan, it will do so legitimately.

SBS tutoring fails to make the grade

Too many unmotivated participants found in after-school program by Nandini Dasarathy, staff writer junior sits in the corner of room A209 after school, his head buried in the pages of an Amsco Spanish 4 book. The freshman next to him, his tutee, is chatting excitedly with the girl across the room. Welcome to an SBS tutoring session. Study Buddy Society (SBS), a program aimed at motivating and encouraging students with Ds and Fs to do better in their academics, has been something several MVHS students have been involved with at one time or another during their high school career. Run by volunteer parents Carol Satterlee and Seema Tandon, the program targets increasing the academic achievement of students who are not doing

matador ((vibe))

well. Although Study Buddy Society has undoubtedly helped many students achieve their needs in the past, interactions between students and the environment they are in hinder this productivity. First of all, tutors and tutees are randomly paired according to their time convenience with little regard to their areas of comfort. Communication is an integral part of building a tutor-tutee relationship. Junior Sophia Gu, reflecting on her own experiences, said, “It’s really difficult to accomplish anything without a good relationship with the tutee. They need to tell you about their needs so you’re able to help them correctly.” Because of poor tutor-tutee pairing, communication, essential to successful ...to the absence of a Winterball court this year. Someone really dropped the “ball.”

tutoring, is lacking. Students with completely different interests find it hard to communicate with each other. Tutor sessions are often counterproductive because they fail to understand each other despite training sessions for both the tutee and the tutor. Preconceived assumptions about the other party cloud any efforts to accomplish the organization’s goals. SBS could definitely use better discretion in pairing people together, which could be utilized to make each session more productive. Even in the case that tutors and tutees were paired together according to their respective interests and goals, they themselves don’t

see SBS on page 7

...to the MVHS community for not reaching its 50 barrel goal in the December food drive. Living in our affluent neighborhood, it should have been a simple task.

hen the Leadership class proposed its new alcohol policy, I remember being quite impressed. Over the last four years, I’ve known Leadership to be the bunch of kids responsible for distributing doughnuts in the rally court after finals, renting out an inflatable obstacle course, and overseeing stress-free week, but besides Every 15 Minutes, which happens every four years, rarely anything serious. Before my junior year, I considered (briefly) applying to be a member, but I stopped myself. Leadership’s reputation was one of a laid-back class that organized fun events for the school. Now, that’s fine, but MVHS has major issues on campus that need to be dealt with, like smoking, drug abuse, teen shoplifting, and an inestimable degree of academic cheating. To me, the class represented the stereotypical, teenage lack of concern with real issues that prevents youth from being taken seriously. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve always felt like our ASB money could be better spent than on bagfuls of birthday treats. With a class of 65 people, this body of student representatives has the power and influence to tackle genuine problems at MVHS that clubs can’t always address and the Administration isn’t always keen to. Certainly, Leadership isn’t useless, but the real question is, does it do enough? The way the class works now, there are about a dozen different Leadership “commissions,” each targeted with addressing the problems of a certain aspect of campus on an annual budget of money raised from ASB gold card sales. Money means power, and with the funds they hold in store, Leadership does have the potential to be an effective, meaningful force. So why isn’t it? Some students in the Leadership class complain that a lot of the problem in the program stems from the standard MVHS ethic of participating in extracurricular activities for the sake of the vaunted college application. One member, who wished to be quoted anonymously, said that people apply to get into the Leadership class, and once they’re there, neglect their responsibilities. It could be argued that an inherent problem with student government is that it has no real power, so it can’t effect change. Digging into the problem, though, the only reason why our class and ASB officers never really campaign on specific “issues” is because we, as a student body, don’t demand them. If we want our student government to be accountable, we need to keep a personal eye on it, to make sure it’s doing what we want it to. Student government exists for the purpose of instilling values of civic participation, so the student population at large should be a part of Leadership’s decision-making as much of the time as possible. MVHS’ Leadership class is supposed to be one of the best in the country, but there’s always room for improvement. By communicating more directly with the student body, the Leadership class can develop a broader, more comprehensive agenda for schoolwide change. In that spirit, the Leadership class ought to make an effort to reach out to the population, and as a school, lead an effort to reform some of the real problems at MVHS. Therefore, I would encourage Leadership to build off the initiative it showed in enacting the new drinking policy. If Leadership wants to be taken seriously, it needs to take on more serious issues. ...to the fact that the girls’ bathroom in the music building is finally operational after an extremely long downtime.

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february 3, 2006

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V a r y i n g Who should choose our textbooks? Viewpoints For a textbook to find it’s way into a Monta Vista student’s hands, it must go through a long process of committees, discussions, and approvals. At times in the past, all five schools in the Fremont Union High School District have decided to pick one textbook. The Chemistry and Chemistry Honors books are now up for review, and the question still remains whether all five school should be required to have the same textbook. by Sarah Bennett, staff writer

by Adam Jacobs, staff writer

obody questions that all of MVHS’ Algebra 2 textbooks are the same. Departmentally hile seemingly boring and minor on the surface, the selection of a textbook uniform books within MVHS provide fairness and allow for a certain level of is much more integral to a course than one would think. The curriculum of standardization within a subject. Having the same textbook also lets teachers a class more or less follows the progression and depth of the book. Yet, the collaborate with each other over the curriculum, and saves money. So why stop there? complication is that textbooks take different approaches to the same subject material. Uniform textbooks at a district-wide level would offer the same advantages, except at a Chemistry Honors teacher Kavita Gupta explained that the students in larger scale. her classes learn by making connections. She said, “A textbook which presents concepts Standardization, of course, allows the material covered in each subject to be similar. by making connections is much more useful to them.” However, the other schools may not “In a sequential course, the same material is covered,” said modern language Department value that emphasis or other points as much as MVHS does. The process tries to force five Chair Maria Coughlin. If the textbooks are identical, “we know that all the students are different schools with different students, teachers, and needs to learn by the same book. receiving the same content.” This makes the classes more equal where different teaching It is true that if the textbooks are the same not only may the price go down, but schools styles can’t. can transfer textbooks and students can easily pick up the With standardization also comes teamwork. “That same course if they transfer to another school. ability is there to collaborate and really work together,” However, the benefits gained from buying in bulk do says FUHSD’s Coordinator of Curriculum, Standards & not outweigh the problems of teaching in bulk. Every Assessment, and former Assistant Principal of MVHS, teacher interviewed explained they would adapt to a Bryan Emmert. With the same curriculum between District textbook that did not fit the needs of MVHS by providing schools, teachers can pool resources and ideas districtsupplemental material for the course. However, it takes wide. This way, students can migrate between schools. extra time to find and organize these resources. Furthermore, student transfers can be assured that As math teacher Colin Anderson said, changing schools will be smoother. Emmert “It’s a challenge to work outside. It’s much approximates that about 100 students easier to fall on the book.” transfer within the District each year. A Anyone who has taken Physics teacher could also switch schools much Honors recently can remember Physics more easily. teacher Jim Birdsong’s dislike of the new textbook. The Having the same textbook is also cost-efficient. textbook did not cover the material he tested to the Considering the repercussions of recent budget cuts, it is extent he wanted, nor did it provide the type of practice an easy way to save money. While it is possible to get problems he wanted. Birdsong wanted a different book deals on bulk book-buys, money is mostly saved since for MVHS but ultimately had to comply with the wants of identical books can be borrowed within the District. In the other four schools. As a result, Birdsong has had to 2003, MVHS didn’t have enough Economics books, so make extra handouts for each chapter in the book. they used a class set from Cupertino High School at no MVHS wanted to include a certain Chemistry extra cost. There was little waiting period, and it saved the textbook in the selection process, but the textbook failed District valuable money. This would not have been possible the literacy committee. Gupta said that though the if their textbooks had been individually selected. literacy committee stresses “the layout of the text, Monta It is the teachers that are choosing their own teaching Vista, in order to better serve our students’ needs, places material, assuring that the textbook itself will be of a high emphasis on what the content of the book is.” standard. The District brings in several sample choices, In compromises, no one gets the best of everything. and a panel of teachers selects the one that is most Yet, there seems to be no strong need in this case to qualified. “If teachers wanted a different book, there’s an compromise. As Anderson put it, “There are different avenue for that,” said science teacher Supriya Moore. needs. The schools do not do the same tests and lectures. “Teachers bring it up to the committee.” Having a panel Why do they need the same textbooks?” consisting of teachers from several schools allows for One argument states that identical textbooks will consideration of different learning and teaching styles beneficially equate the same classes across schools. and different levels of literacy within the student bodies. However, this is implying that one textbook is “better” Generally speaking, the wider the range of teachers there than another, in the sense of content. Now, if a school are on this panel, the more likely it is that the final textbook wants to choose a textbook with different content, why will appease the widest range of students. The best and shouldn’t it? Should UC Santa Cruz force UC Berkeley to most well-rounded textbook can therefore be chosen for use the same textbook? If a teacher feels that a disparity NANDINI DASARATHY | ART EDITOR everyone involved. will occur, then he or she should use another book, not Finally, if a textbook does not cover a certain topic as force another school to choose his or hers. in-depth as a teacher likes, there are still always outside sources available. AP US History If a literature teacher was more comfortable teaching Fitzgerald, enjoyed teaching famously uses Out Of Our Past as a supplement to the course. Literature teachers often it, and noticed that the students loved reading it, would anyone want to deprive that photocopy handouts of essays or poetry to go along with the core reading. Teachers are school of The Great Gatsby? Of course not. The exact same thought process can be capable of using their own style and technique in the extent that they choose in order to applied to any other subject. If the teacher would rather teach with one book, thinks the teach a course. This way, while there will always inevitably be differentiation between students will enjoy it more, thinks it will challenge them more, then why not let the teacher classes because of different teachers’ styles, the content will at least be more consistent use the book? Teachers know themselves and their students better than four other schools with the same textbook. in a committee do.

Con

Pro

Teachers

District

Voices of MV “[The schools] should have the same textbooks because by selecting books with higher or lower standards, students might feel singled out or degraded.” -Freshman Cindy Kong

“I think textbooks should be purchased according to individual schools to accommodate their students. Because of their different intellectual needs, they shouldn’t have to feel restricted or pressured by an inadequate book.” -Junior Jennifer Sun

“Books should be all the same with within the District. There should not be fluctuation in each school’s curriculum.” -Senior James Shan

“I think that books should be chosen uniformly by the District. Even though a teacher wants to go above and beyond the normal curriculum, he/she can do it with supplementary material.” - Sophomore Naomi Yu

“I think books should be selected based on each school’s standards because every school should be challenged based on personal standards.” -Freshman Alex Leu

“If you use different textbooks, schools can accommodate different students in each school. They won’t have to follow a set standard.” -Junior Jason Liu

Statistics 45

Should each school in the school district choose the same textbooks for each course? A. If they belong to the same district, book choices should be uniform. B. No, they should be able to choose based on each school’s standards, tailoring textbook selection to the unique needs of each school’s student body.

56 Should the District select textbooks that

A. Cater to the lower tier of the student body. B. Cater to the highest tier of the student body.

53 47

Are there textbooks on campus that you find too difficult to understand? A. Yes B. No

*Taken from a random poll of 100 students.

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Cafeteria has become a monopoly Monta Vista food policy negatively affects health, clubs by Edward Young, editor-in-chief, and Vikram Srinivasan, managing editor

Julia Stenzel | art editor

time-worn saying goes “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” It’s a surprise that MVHS doesn’t have more sick children considering the junk the school cafeteria supplies to the student market. Taking advantage of a monopoly over whatever food can be sold at brunch and lunch, the school cafeteria forces students into buying whatever it chooses to sell, stifling competition and taking away from the entrepreneurial spirit that should thrive in a school, of all places. The food agency’s contract with the district allows the cafeteria to sell its goods unfettered during student recess periods; clubs like Endangered Species Awareness (ESA), cannot sell the chocolate bars they use to fund raise for a wildlife fund. Students should be allowed to organize food fund-raisers in the same peak hours that the cafeteria is currently allowed to dominate. If Club Day is any indication, the restriction over food sales during brunch and lunch eliminates a significant source of revenue for student organizations. Reserving the right to sell food when it is most demanded to the cafeteria is to prioritize cafeteria profits over all other criteria. Sure, it can be argued that the cafeteria needs a monopoly to be able to effectively estimate how much food to produce on a daily basis. That’s a legitimate concern. But if individual student groups inform the cafeteria in advance how much food they’re going to be selling ahead of time, the cafeteria should still be able to estimate how much food to produce. Allowing the school cafeteria a monopoly over food production for the whole school reduces its incentive to be responsive to the demands of the student body. Obviously, students will not buy food if they do not want it. However, the MVHS food supply is a lot like being stranded on an island—you’re starving and hungry, so you eat whatever you can find. The fact that the analogy even works is a sad reflection of a defunct system. Introducing competition can only help student diets. Any student who has ever visited the cafeteria can attest to the fact that eating cafeteria food daily is a recipe for obesity. Forcing the cafeteria to compete with student sales

would not only boost food quality and offerings, but lower prices. MVHS students who have been here a few years can remember the good old days when orange juice was still $1.25, and cheaper than soda, and a bag of chips was $0.75. Call it inflation, but somehow, these products have become more expensive, though the cafeteria maintains that they subsidize food costs to make food cheaper for students. A simple trip down an Albertson’s food aisle says otherwise. Not to fault the intentions of the cafeteria. Surely, the monopoly currently exists only to provide students a consistent, dependable source of food, especially for lower income students who receive subsidized food. The cafeteria can remain on MV’s campus and be a positive force—it just needs to be put in its place. Otherwise students will continue to live (and eat) as they have been, becoming unhealthy, unwealthy, and unwise.

Teachers wise in decision not to censor Students glimpse reality by viewing more mature media

or complaining about them. Literature classes provide the comfortable environment where students learn to become loody violence, explicit nudity, and excessive profanity more tolerant about the issues without feeling self-conscious are factors for a movie to earn an R rating. Since most of their lack of maturity. In fact, literature teacher Kerry Hosmer does not students at Monta Vista are not 17, they cannot, by perceive the content as offensive but as “a whole new level law, watch such movies unless accompanied by an adult. The choice of films used to enhance the learning experience in in literature.” “I think [that the issues help teens mature] because class is up to the teachers. In history classes, rated-R movies are only shown if teachers believe that the films will help people can really find their individual opinions,” she said. students understand the experience of a certain historical “Getting an opinion and standing by it is a huge part of event. History teacher Robyn Brushett shows “Schindler’s maturation to becoming an adult.” To provide a comfortable, open discussion, Hosmer gives List” after school as a supplement to the documentaries the topic and sets that she shows discussion standards in class, but if before allowing the parents prohibit students to interact. their children Teachers who set UNDER 17 REQUIRES ACCOMPANYING from watching aside a time for it, she provides TEACHER APPROVAL students to confront an alternative controversial issues assignment that help students realize the importance of these problems. also provides a unique perspective on the Holocaust. Because teachers are leaders in society who shape the “I think most teachers are pretty aware of what has a profound purpose in the classroom, so I don’t think that world’s future leaders, their decision to teach books with they would necessarily present something in the classroom sexual content, violence, and profanity affects students’ perspectives on those issues. Choosing to use these books that isn’t appropriate,” said Brushett. Although students may feel uncomfortable with the harsh shows students that these issues are timely and significant. Senior Cheney Chen said, “You can’t be sheltered all reality presented in these movie supplements, they give a start towards maturity in learning and how to handle it. The the time. You can’t just be like, ‘Oh, rape. I don’t want to same occurs in literature classes in which required books deal with it.’ It does happen in our world, and you should contain offensive material that occurs in life. In World be aware of it. I think the point of some literature is to Literature, sophomores read When Heaven and Earth disturb you…is to make you aware. It shows that the world Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip, which contains detailed isn’t perfect and that there are these issues.” At an age when awareness develops, high school descriptions of the narrator’s rape, and Night by Elie students must formulate their opinions based on the degree Wiesel, which explains a man’s true story of the Holocaust with details similar to those filmed in Schindler’s List. In of importance, demoralization, and extremity of the Literature AP, seniors read The Adventures of Huckleberry recurring matters, since they not only appear in books but Finn by Mark Twain, in which the word “nigger” is used also in society. Identifying and defending a specific opinion defines a person’s identity, and part of maturing is to figure 139 times. Shocking as the material may be, it provides the chance out one’s own unique characteristics. If a student believes to become familiar with the problems in today’s society and that using profanity should have harsher consequences, those of the past. Although students cannot escape offensive he has the perfect opportunity to speak his mind here at material that recurs in many books, they need to take school during a literature discussion. If a student has no advantage of the opportunity of learning and discussing the issues with people of the same age rather than shying away see R-RATED on page 20 by Judy Liang, staff writer

the

extraordinarily ordinary

Life’s full of those silly little moments. Moments that, although fleeting, are cherished, for how they enliven our daily lives with humor, and encapsulate life at MVHS. The journalism staff is lucky enough to experience such moments, and here, share them with you. Delve into the dreams (or nightmares, really) of any senior and you know that everyone fears making a mistake on college applications. We’re afraid of spelling something wrong, making something sound stupid, or forgetting to send in a part of our application. A few weeks ago at lunch, I learned of a story where this nightmare actually came true. A good friend and Monta Vista alum was submitting his application to Yale University at the last minute. With only a few minutes left before deadline, he quickly pressed the submit button and the application was sent. He then proceeded to print out the application, only to realize that he had maxed out on the number of characters allowed for the “Jobs” section. Instead of saying “Laboratory Assistant” on the application, it simply said, “Laboratory Ass.” Not to worry however, He was admitted even after spending 40 hours a week for eight weeks during a summer, working as a Laboratory Ass. One of math teacher Scott DeRuiter’s Calculus BC classes had a special performance this January. During class, DeRuiter overheard a student talking with a friend about his robot dance. When the amused math teacher asked the student if he would like to demonstrate for the class, the student replied that he would do the robot if he answered a question right. Finally, when called on, the student hesitantly answered a question. Upon hearing that his answer was indeed correct, the student screamed from his seat, “Yes!” He then continued his celebration by promptly getting out of his chair and doing a cartwheel across the classroom floor. To the astonishment of the class, he proceeded to unbutton his overshirt while dancing from side to side. When he finally managed to get his shirt unbuttoned after some work, he took it off swung it around his head like a lasso and let it go, as it flew and landed right on DeRuiter’s head! The shirt remained on DeRuiter’s head for about 30 seconds before the student retrieved it and returned to his seat. In AP US History, we were writing Document Based Question, a type of in-class essay. There were two prompts passed out, one on Populist and one on Labor Movement. During the DBQ, a student walked up to the teacher and said that he was missing some papers. The teacher acknowledged that there were papers missing and then said to the class, “Is there anybody else with Labor Movement who is missing papers? Documents go from A through I.” The person next to me raised his hand. The teacher came over to him, looked at his papers, and said, “You have Populist.”

SBS

continued from page 5 take the program as seriously as it is made out to be. Often, the main reason students join to tutor is for the community service hours, not because they truly care about helping another student. As a result, they pass each hour of tutoring just waiting to go home and start their homework. Junior John Ma said, “Most of the time, tutees and their tutors spend the entire time goofing off when they should be working.” This is partly because the tutors simply don’t care enough to enforce restrictions upon their tutees’ liberty because it’s more about earning service hours than actually helping a student’s academic life. Similarly, several tutees do not show initiative to succeed. Sophomore Vinson Yuen, a participant in this program attested, “I didn’t do anything productive when I was being tutored; I was just there because I had to.” Forced to show up because of parental or peer pressure, tutees lack motivation necessary to get good grades. Another problem faced is the expectation of tutors to provide motivation to their tutees. Sometimes, these tutees face problems that go beyond the scope of academics. Tutors are not trained to deal with relationship-oriented problems and cannot communicate accordingly. Teachers, on the other hand, are always available in the room during tutor sessions. However, some are oblivious to what exactly goes on throughout this time. Many fail to enforce strict policies in their rooms, which leads students to do whatever they please during this valuable time. Furthermore, teacher conferences do little to help the tutee, rather than letting the tutor know their current strengths and weaknesses. Unless these weaknesses are acted upon, the tutee continues to uphold the same study habits and inclass behaviors. Without diagnosing and exterminating these communication problems between students and host teachers, Study Buddy Society will only remain a semiuseful, largely untapped program.

perspectives perspectives

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february 3, 2006

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LETTERSEDITOR TO THE

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Is there an article that perks your interest, admiration, or fury? Has something at Monta Vista caught your attention? Send a letter to El Estoque responding to articles in the newspaper or issues at MVHS. Letters of any length should be submitted via e-mail or mail. They become the sole property of El Estoque and can be edited for length, clarity, or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion.

pon entering French teacher Lise creatures anymore because of all the imprint- El Estoque Gabet’s classroom, one sees vividly ing the book has done on me about the rhi- 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014 colored posters of cheery photo- nos representing brute force.” Because of the negative symbolism of the graphs and various French adages. However, a quick scan of Gabet’s front desk rhinoceros in the book, Gabet explained her and a nearby bookcase singles out the set dislike for it. “I hate, with a passion, dinosaurs, and for of rhinoceroses. The animals range in form from a ferocious, black figurine to a shin- me, [rhinoceroses] are reminiscent of the dinosaurs. They are brutes. Bruting silver cookie cutter to a I wish to commend everyone on the journalism staff on the issue for December 2005. ish, huge animals,” she said. This was a difficult and conflicting paper to publish with all of the controversy surroundhandmade sculpture made “It is a symbol of everything ing the Wall Street Journal article. of two wooden clotheswhich is not human: force, brupins, fake hair, and black We teach students who live in our boundaries. Our job is to academically move them tality without thinking or com- forward, help them make connections to the outside world, and personalize their genuyarn. passion, survival of the fittest, ine learning opportunities. It is a privilege to serve the students who come before us every These animals apand lord of the jungle.” pear not only on her desk day. MVHS is a special place, and anyone who thinks we do not serve our students However, her aversion for does not know MVHS or this staff. This was a great issue. Keep up the magnificent work and bookshelf but also the animal does not stop her and I commend everyone involved. in French author Eugene from displaying all the rhinocerIonesco’s play, “Le RhiBradford Metheany, Assistant Principal oses in the classroom. Gabet’s nocéros,” which the AP favorite is a gray and furry but French class reads durTeacher: French slightly worn stuffed rhinoceros ing the first semester. In My compliments to the Journalism staff for a wonderful newspaper prior to the Decemteacher Lise Gabet that sits on top of her computer remembrance of the play ber break! You handled a very difficult and sensitive issue (The Wall Street Journal article) at the front desk. Object: The Rhino and their teacher, her thoughtfully and thoroughly. You presented a full spectrum of the Monta Vista community. “It’s soft when you touch it students have given her Collection and it is not dangerous. It’s not You should be extremely proud of your work...we are definitely proud of you. There are rhinoceroses as gifts for mean like this one,” she added many reasons for us to be glad that we are part of the Monta Vista family. The Journalism Christmas, on the last day by Judy Liang, staff writer as she picked up a more omi- team is definitely one of those reasons! Congratulations on a fine job! of school, or as a surprise. AP French students such as senior Solomon nous-looking figurine. April Scott, Principal Fortunately, the rhinoceroses sit silently Lee often have the first impression that the display is a set of calm creatures, but after as decorations in Gabet’s room rather than come alive with the immense brutality demreading the play, their views change. “I’ve always pictured them as nice ani- onstrated in “Le Rhinocéros.” To Gabet, they mals that peacefully munch grass, not the bring back memories of past students and charging idiots you see in ‘Le Rhinocéros,’” add a touch of whimsical ambience to the said Lee. “I can’t see them as just peaceful teaching of Ionesco’s play.

Wall Street Journal article coverage compliment

Principal commends staff on excellent issue

Julia Stenzel | art editor

A Dangerous Hand by Stephanie Snipes, centerspread editor

There’s a small casino running at Monta Vista, powered by lucky mouse clicks, Friday night meetings around kitchen tables, and enough actual and virtual cash to back it. Poker is played by many students at MVHS with stakes ranging from the low side of $10 to the high of around $50 and rewards that allegedly let local masters of the game, such as MVHS alumnus Justin Ho, “live like a king.” Signing up on the site required Lee to pretend to be his older brother and over 18 years of age - an illegal action that most online poker players at MVHS who are still underage have taken despite the potential consequences. Choosing not to throw caution to the wind, however, Lee claims to have played responsibly, keeping in mind that “online poker mainly goes off probability and statistics rather than determining if a person is bluffing or not like you commonly see on TV” and that the money in the pot, although virtual, was indeed backed by real cash. Although it falls under the category of a card “game,” poker is still a gamble with its own share of risk and danger. “It’s a danger in itself,” said senior James Hsu who plays weekly - a sentiment shared by most other poker players who have experienced what it is like to become caught up in the thrill of winning and the frustrated need to pool more money into the game. “It’s a wonderful feeling the first time

2. How often do you play poker for money? a) Never.....65.1% b) Once a year.....11.6% c) Once a month.....14.0% d) Once a week.....5.8% e) Multiple times a week.....2.3% f) Nearly everyday.....1.2% 3. What is the largest poker sum you have ever gambled (choose one)? a) I don’t gamble or play poker.....64.0% b) Less than $10.....26.7% c) Less than $50.....5.8% d) Less than $100.....2.3% e) Less than $500.....0% f) Less than $1000.....1.2% g) More than $1000.....0% 4. Why do you play poker for money? a) For the thrill of it.....29.1% b) I need the money.....3.4% c) Peer pressure.....3.5% d) I am addicted to it.....0% e) I don’t gamble or play poker.....64.0%

Gambling

what you said about

While the amount of Ho’s profits might be another player’s motivation to increase the stakes and play more, Ho attributes his earnings to what he has learned from the game. “I don’t see poker as a form of gambling because so much skill is involved...I see poker as a business. Poker players don’t just gamble because they hope they’ll catch a lucky card,” said Ho. Obviously, for those interested in playing poker for the “big pots,” poker isn’t a game based entirely on luck or chance. Like any other risk-taking activity involving money, poker requires good decision-making, experience and a constant mental reminder that “most people lose online because the casinos take a percentage of every hand,” as Ho puts it. After all, in the end, “the house always wins.”

• According to a federally funded report by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, 2.5 million to 3.2 million American adults and 1.1 million teens between the ages of 12 and 18 are compulsive gamblers. Compulsive (Problem) Gambling includes all gambling behavior patterns that compromise, disrupt, or damage personal, family, or vocational pursuits. • Studies in California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Connecticut, Texas, Minnesota, and the United Kingdom (all with legalized gambling) have found four to six percent of the adolescent population to be pathological gamblers. This is at least twice the rate for adults. • About 80 percent of people age 17 and younger have gambled at least once within the past year, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. People under 17 were twice as likely to develop a gambling problem as adults were. Ten to 15 percent in that age bracket demonstrate early signs of a gambling problem, while another one to six percent experience severe problems. • The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) reports that 50 percent of those teens who gamble are likely to binge drink and 75 percent smoke marijuana. • Children as young as 11 can gamble online because of failures by websites to carry out proper age checks, according to a report published in the Birmingham Times. Research found the vast majority of sites tested allow under 18-year-olds to register their details. Children’s charity NCH, which helped compile the report, called on gambling websites to install effective age verification software to prevent youngsters logging on. • Poker sets were among the holidays’ hottest gifts. U.S. sales of Bicycle playing cards were up 30 percent last year, and demand for poker sets doubled, according to U.S. Playing Card Company. • A study of patients at three Wisconsin clinics found that people with potential gambling addictions were more likely to smoke, drink, and suffer from certain health problems. Researchers found that 57 percent of those with gambling problems were smokers, compared with 29 percent of those without problematic gambling habits. Nearly 30 percent of problem gamblers used alcohol, compared with 12 percent of non-problem gamblers. Gambling habits also affect perceptions of health, the study reported. Patients with gambling problems reported more severe symptoms of anxiety or depression, heartburn, abdominal pain, and backaches. • A study published in the Victorian Times reported that a test for Anti-Social Personality disorder administered to a sample of 306 problem gamblers showed that 155 met the criteria for the disorder.

risk gamble

1. Choose the option that characterizes the relationship between you and poker. a) I don’t play poker.....48.8% b) I play poker, but not for money.....29.1% c) I play poker for money.....22.1%

you take a big pot...[but] the most scary thing is once you deposit once, you’ll want to deposit again,” said Ho, “and some of those poker sites are really fishy - they’ll give you a fat upswing [of “luck”] so you experience ‘winning.’” Junior Calvin Lin deems the beginning of playing poker a state of “initial craziness.” “Poker is indeed dangerous for those who are not ready for the addiction. I always tell my friends after they hear how much I’ve won online [and] they all want to play, [that] I guarantee [they] will lose when [they] first start,” said Lin. Because of the risk included in poker, most experienced players only play with money they consider to be “excess.” “People shouldn’t play poker with money that they need,” said Ho, who claims to have profited thousands of dollars by learning how to take “calculated risks” with his playing strategy by studying poker books and using experience gradually gained over time.

what you when you take a

Most poker players at MVHS are amateurs, playing by habit and hobby on online. For senior Daniel Lee, poker started out as a “major addiction,” and his decision to play was both opposed and supported by friends. “[Friends] were telling me how they got into online poker last year...and how much they were making. At the same time, a lot of people were telling me how online poker was rigged and not legit,” said Lee. However, despite the surrounding air of skepticism, Lee joined an online poker site and took advantage of a free $25 promotion because in his opinion, “there really wasn’t much risk involved.”

entertainment

MV Bands Are Rocking Out

The next level: Talented groups begin recording at home by Matt Wang, staff writer

n the modern age of online instant messaging and futuristic video games, it is rare to find high school students engaging in healthy musical expression. The age of garage bands seems to have come and gone. Yet amidst the dying trend, Monta Vista harbors a select few who have let their passion for music or need for musical expression. Among these bands, only a few have surpassed the musical threshold and taken a step toward recording. The widely-renowned high school band, Days of Stillness and a newer band, Hat Trick Hero, have both taken their music and recorded. Hat Trick Hero, commonly known as HTH, plays their own music, records it, and shares it over the internet. HTH is the first of its kind to allow their music to be shared over an internet database. Established in May of 2004, what started as a bunch of guys with free time, has now become a serious project. The band’s first attempt to record their music was far from professional. P. Lee comments, “Jon Ko used to tape his mic to his shirt, because we didn’t have a stand. We used to cover the mic with a paper towel because t h e top

of the mic was missing, paper towel and a rubber band, very ghetto.” From this amazingly humble beginning the group has taken great strides towards perfecting their delivery. The band bought new speakers from Oakland, as well as more microphones. The group also used the last of their finances on a new audio recording software. The all junior band include drummer, Kazuma Funaki, guitarist Brandon Nguyen, Bass player, Chinoy Lee, and vocalist John Ko. Starting May 2005, HTH took a new member, violinist Philip Lee. When asked what the best thing about playing in the band, P. Lee enthusiastically responded, “Being able to make music with friends; listening [to music] is cool but creating [music] is even better.” The band focuses on primarily on rock, drawing inspiration from groups like Switchfoot, Relient K, and

unpro[fessional], but the studio was pro[fessional].” Days of Stillness plays music under the general category of rock. The four man group includes bass player Sourav Roy, Jason Plank on guitar, D

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Roger Kapul on the a sb oto drums, and lead f hi o Ph ers vocal Mark Nichols. mb e e m c. Lastly, the youngest h th usi wit n m g w n ro group is a band named Lemon o l i , a the He 80D. The band banded together (no D. ks of 0 on8 rac pun intended) in June 2004. Drawing em oundt L r l fo ting s a inspiration from a diverse background, s r a hea cre t re and Lemon 80D “officially” plays progressive indiea ile os wh studi rock. Lemon 80D recorded their music in the band’s t n tale home bass player Michael Ahn’s house. The recording took cal usi from m c i e s place over the Christmas vacation of 2005 where they m u xtre g m s e osin used Apple’s Garage Band software. This software allows w sho mp rd in co each instrument, except drums, to connect directly to the S o n i c a n e Leo pat Flood. The computer. This method virtually eliminates background vin artici e T K tp ban records static, enhancing the music to a semi-professional level. The OU tha NG t MV I K C ts a and links their band then links their music through Myspace.com. When O R en d music on webpages like asked why they chose Myspace.com as a digital database, stu Myspace.com and Xanga. Michael Ahn responded, “Myspace is very easy to upload com. Though relatively our music on. In addition, everyone looks at Myspace, so new at recording, the its a great way for people to hear our music.” Vocalist, groups recent addition Adam Jacobs, guitarist, Kevin Leonard, drummer Derrick of an electric violin shows Chan, and Ahn all play under the name of Lemon 80D. The group plays music categorized under a blend of 80’s, rock, the groups potential growth. Arguably the most popular band at and a small portion of punk. Bands like Interpol, U2, and Monta Vista, Days of Stillness played for the Greenday have all provided musical inspiration for this first rally of this school year. Days of Stillness group. Drawing on these influences, the group has plans to has been practicing as a band since 2002-2003 record again soon. From a microphone taped to a shirt, to a professional school year. Having a dedicated band for almost four years, the band felt it was time to record their studio, these three high school bands have all taken music professionally. This summer, the band found their bands to the next level. By expanding, composing, a professional studio funded by an enthusiast. The practicing, and perfecting their music, they have decided studio’s website, www.fingerbros.com, contains pictures to spread their music to a wider audience. Using new and appointments for future recordings. Concerning the technologies, these bands have brought music from their studio, Sourav Roy comments, “The [studio] website is very garages to listeners sitting at home. cou

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The alternative sound: ¡No más! by Jordan Kolb, perspectives editor

icture this: It’s the last day of break, you are ready to hit the sack, and you set your alarm for the morning to your favorite radio station. The alarm goes off, but for some reason, it isn’t the Gorillaz and Jimmy Eat World you are used to. Instead, you’re woken up to Gloria Estefan’s “Mi Tierra.” Upon the new year, residents across the Bay Area experienced just that. Channel 104.9 was a favorite among Bay Area high school students for many years. The channel played popular alternative rock music, but also managed to showcase local bands and concerts, big and small. Channel 104.9 managed to play it all, from sentimental songs of Coldplay and Jack Johnson, to the harder rock of Staind and Nine Inch Nails. “I enjoyed how it was all alternative, the odd party remixes and the other stuff that I had no idea what it was,” said senior Hilary Reeder. So why did the channel go from “the new music alternative” to “La Romantica” in one fateful night? The universal, business answer of - junior course: money. Channel 104.9 was most popular with the under 25 age range. However, that demographic did not bode well for making profits on advertising. It was just 14 months ago that the owner of 104.9, Clear Channel, changed KSJO 92.3 to Spanish-language music as well. The change paid off: KSJO became the number one station in San Jose for listeners of ages 25-54. Clear Channel decided to try their luck again with 104.9. According to Clear Channel, there is a much larger audience for Spanish music than alternative rock. At Monta Vista, however, it does not seem to be the case. “I turned on my radio, it was Spanish, and well…I practically cried.” said senior Kevin Leonard. It seemed to not just be the change that angered 104.9 fans, but the unexpectedness of the transition. “I had no idea it was coming. I was really confused,” explained junior Brian Bedord.

“

Even employees of the channel only found out a week before the switch when they were told they would be employed at other Clear Channel stations. Quickly, and loudly, the anger built up. Profile messages and T-shirts with “Save 104.9” messages started up, and the 104.9 MySpace was flooded with lots of angry listeners not wanting to depart from their radio comfort zone. Petitions at petitiononline.com were also a popular form of protest. Fans want their station back, because, when it comes to radio, old habits are hard to break. “It’s still in my preset channels—I still press it occasionally until I realize it isn’t there anymore,” said Bedord. In the meantime, students are left with two options: find alternative ways for their alternative rock, or manage to enjoy the Spanish pop. Surprisingly, both are working. “Like most former channel 104.9 listeners, I was slightly distraught Brian Bedord upon realization of the loss of ‘the old way,’” said junior Chris Moe, “but after listening to the soothing yet catchy, poppy yet different sounds of this foreign genre I developed a strange appreciation for the music. The new channel 104.9....it’s the kind of station you just listen to continuously. [It’s] not necessarily exceedingly inspirational or rousing music, but [it] still maintains that modern edge that keeps bringing me back!” He was proud to say the station was still what he woke up to in the morning, not because he was too lazy to change his radio settings, but because he enjoyed the new ciento-cuatro punto nueve. As for getting the same alternative rock, transitions have to be made, whether it’s more downloading off the internet, buying more CD’s, or listening to different stations. “Now I listen to channel 105.3. But it just doesn’t cut it,” said Leonard. For some, the switch has matched Enrique Iglesias’ “Rhythm Divine,” but for many it has been, in the words of Shakira, “La Tortura.”

It’s still in my preset channels - I still press it occasionally.

”

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I could complain about. That doesn’t mean that this book isn’t without quirks, however. The serving proportions are off by a generous amount at times, and in reading this book, you have to remember that Ray is an abbreviation addict. She uses phrases like MYOTO (make your own take out), EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) as if they’re ordinary English language and you’ll find yourself screaming across the kitchen, “Oh no, the EVOO is missing in the MYOTO!” A friend and I made Ray’s recipe number 195, a combination of various kinds of cheese, sauteed vegetables, and spices, all mixed in with pasta. The recipe was delicious, and cooking time was well under 30 minutes. Ray’s titling whims don’t just end with 365: No Repeats, but her humor is present throughout the book. With recipes titled “Burly-Man-Size Chicken-Cheddar Barbecued Burgers and Spicy Coleslaw” and “Grilled Steak Sandwich… I Mean, Salad—No! Sandwich!”, Ray’s book is worth the $19.95 plus tax cost. Madlysized proportions, abbreviations galore, and more than enough recipes to keep your taste buds alive, 365: No Repeats, A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners is a perfect addition to anyone’s kitchen.

by Neha Joshi, managing editor

t’s the typical fourth-grade lesson—in order for anyone to be attracted to your piece of writing, you need a catchy title. It looks like Rachael Ray surely paid attention to that concept, and her new book 365: No Repeats, A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners is evidence of that. The only downside of attractive titles is that although there are hundreds of recipes in this cookbook, many recipes are clear masks of one another. Ray changes a couple of ingredients in the original recipe, tosses in an extra spice and voila, considers it a whole different dinner. I think that’s cheating. Nevertheless, despite the repetitive recipes, Ray’s book does cover the anticipated 365 recipes. 366, actually. Ray also adds in her favorite recipe for Christmas Pasta to finish off the year. Her recipes are clear, concise, and easy to make. Her directions and timings are written to precision, and it’s definitely a struggle to go wrong with Ray’s work. The book is set up with thirteen chapters, including “On the Light Side,” “Make Your Own Take Out,” and “Comfort Food.” Each chapter has a generous amount of recipes, enough to make you never want to buy a restaurant burger or pasta ever again.

Photo taken without permission from amazon.com Rachel Ray’s new cookbook provides people with a different dinner for every day of the year, all made in less than 30 minutes.

Ray hasn’t just included the standard casseroles and such, but has expanded her book to cover our nation’s growing love for diverse food. Her recipes include adaptations from Chinese, Indian, Mexican, and Italian dishes. With Ray’s superbly written recipes and diverse range of foods, there was very little

Valentine’s Day is coming up in two weeks. Do you need a place to get away from all the love-struck people, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, and Singing Valentines? Here are some great places to hide on campus.

Thirst for power? Hide under Principal April Scott’s desk.

Time to make your dirty fantasy into a reality, hide in the dumpsters in the parking lot.

3. If you’re under the weight

food review

maximum, hiding above the ceiling tiles is a Mission: Possible.

No one will think to look for you in the swimming pool, especially now that it’s empty.

5. Do you have the yellow fever?

Spice up your hiding experience in the bamboo plant behind the B building.

6. Climb the big tree in the parking lot, you know, the one that looks like Rafiki’s treehouse, in the parking lot.

7. Get some exercise and be the

Boxcar Children hiding in the sheds by the track.

Warning: not for the claustrophobic hider. If you can handle uber-crowded places, the library at brunch or lunch is rather discreet.

in the

HALLWAYS

9. Now, something for all the little people. Go to Lincoln Elementary School.

10.

If you are an isolationist, hide in the AP Biology textbook because no one will look for you there.

2/25 comedy

Season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy is released

2/14 dvd

Outkast’s new cd, Idlewild premiers

Monta Vista students went all out for Winterball 2006. Here are some of the hot new looks that hit the floors of the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara on Jan. 20.

2/10 cd

Curious George debuts

It’s Friday night and you and your friends are going out for dinner. Tonight, Chinese food seems boring, but you don’t want a 9-pound steak either. Might I suggest a place that is exotic and serves delicious food? Try some Thai food at Thai Pepper Cuisine located across from Fremont High School. Begin the meal with juicy appetizer meats served on a skewer, otherwise called a ‘satay.’ In a short time, your meal is served, whether it be Pad Thai noodles with chicken or see-ew chicken cooked in oriental sauces served with wide rice noodles. Thai Pepper has large servings and taking half home could be advised, unless you’re really hungry. The restaurant gets its name from the charged spiciness of its dishes. Its yellow curry, made from coconut milk and other spices, is an explosion of the most exquisite flavors you can imagine. Spicy tofu, another curry offering, will dazzle your taste buds into a state of reverent awe with its eye-opening fusion of chili peppers, onions, bell peppers, and tofu. Afterward, you can count on a fried banana with vanilla ice cream for dessert, though dessert takes the longest time to serve. Hungry yet? Thai Pepper is an experience, not just a meal. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be taking home leftovers so you can live it more than once.

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LIST

Bon Jovi performs at the HP Pavillion in San Jose

There’s always that new, cool teacher at school – the one that doesn’t follow a seating chart, or the one that cracks good jokes. In the “dram- edy” School of Life, a biology teacher (David Paymer) tries to out compete the new history teacher (Ryan Reynolds) for “Teacher of the Year” after the usual contender, Mr. Stormin’ Norman Warner (John Astin) kicks the bucket the year before his grandson Dylan’s (Andrew Robb) eighth grade graduation. The new, young, and hip teacher, Michael D’Angelo, more widely known as “Mr. D,” seems to be leading this race, doing all the right things with his original and entertaining history lectures. In addition, he teaches the students how to respect life. In the end, it is Paymer himself who learns something special from Mr. D. School of Life is quite bland and predictable; the only thing that keeps you entertained are Reynolds’ occasional comedic remarks.

365: No Repeats leaves its mark in kitchens across America

2/27 concert

dvd review

Rachel Ray’s cookbook hits the counters

the

cd review

Yes, Yellowcard, a popular favorite of most teenagers, is back with a new album, Lights and Sounds. The album opens with “Three Flights Up,” a piano/violin duet. Following the instrumental is “Lights and Sounds,” an unexpectedly bland song that doesn’t seem to keep the listener interested. Many other songs with the same tempo as “Lights and Sounds” are similar and plain. However, “Rough Landing, Holly” is an experimental sound far from the anticipated Yellowcard style. Though “Lights and Sounds” incorporates the same heartbroken and emotional lyrics. More ballads are used to express those emotions in songs like “City of Devils.” This album doesn’t have a song that stands out from the rest as “Ocean Avenue” did in their previous album, but it is a more accomplished album. Hopefully, their first single will not be overplayed like “Ocean Avenue” to make you feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.

february 3, 2006

Brad Garrett at the Flint Center at 8PM

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entertainment

Quirky games for quirky people fun as you make it though, so as an added recommendation, refrain from playing with people who have a bad attitude. But with a whole “23 ways to win!” and pictures of graves, cookies, and war tanks adorning the cards, Fluxx is sure to become a definite favorite.

by Symrin Chawla, staff writer

Fluxx: “The card game with ever-changing rules!”

or those too simple-minded to achieve the art of a well-played poker game, Fluxx is the way to go. It can fill up a lonely night or perhaps even a particularly long block of awkward silence if you have the right, let’s say, “Fluxxability.” With four types of cards including Keeper cards, which, unfortunately, have no connection to Quidditch, it can get a bit confusing for first-time players. Once you’ve got the hang of it though, Fluxx is an excellent addition to anyone’s game collection. For those less skilled in arithmetic, minor math skills are required, which is probably why the makers have labeled the game for those ages 880. In other words, know that 1+2=3 if you expect to follow along the twists and turns in the “ever-changing rules” of this game. Players start out with three cards and spend the rest of the game playing any card they want to change the rules of the game, the motive of the game, or the events within the game. To win the game, you must fulfill a “Goal,” which can also change throughout the duration of the game. With numerous end Goals of “War = Death,” “Toast,” and “Squishy Chocolate,” all of which correspond to certain Keeper cards, Fluxx is as wacky as it sounds and potentially a very addicting card game. Fluxx is only as

Chez Geek: “You can’t throw them out…they live here!”

or those not enrolled in a French class, “Chez Geek” translates to “the geek’s house.” But after playing this card game, it is puzzling that it is not called Chez Slacker instead, as the entire game revolves around obtaining the most points for being the biggest s l a c k e r. It’s the card game version of SIMs that is absolutely hilarious to play with your friends, w h o , as soon as dealt cards, become your roommates in the slacker world. All the players get jobs and income, which of course, are slacker-worthy. Cards are filled with time consuming activities such as dumpster diving, justifiable homicide, and sci-fi conventions which can either raise or lower your slacker level. The box says it all in it’s warning; “No actual maturity required.” A warning, which is missing on the box though, is this: Do not play this game at family game night! What with its repetitive references to “nookies,” “bong,” “booze,” and more than just several other un-family oriented things, Chez Geek is the perfect

replacement for movie night with friends and nothing more. Guillotine: “The revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head.”

on’t be fooled by the ever-so-witty pun on the box. Playing this game is more like a caricature of a history lesson than anything else. The mission: behead the most nobles during the French Revolution and gain the most points by using trickery and witchcraft (a.k.a action cards) to fix the lineup to the guillotine so you get to behead the French nobles worth the most points. Yes, it’s quite a mouthful, and the mission does sound perfectly lovely until you realize there’s no miniature guillotine to chop off the cards’ heads with. I would recommend playing this game with a paper shredder or a pair of rusty old scissors to shake it up a little and add a bit more drama into the executions. The pictures of French nobles are quite entertaining on their own…but staring at them for a good ten seconds just about covers all the perks of playing Guillotine. So if you’re looking for a game to play while babysitting some sadistic little youngsters, this should be your first choice. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a laugh and a good time, Chez Geek and Fluxx are two much better options.

Singers serenade staff and students Variations prepares to perform for school on Valentine’s Day

by Aniqa Hasan, staff writer

here’s a knock at the door. All eyes turn to stare as half a dozen red and pink clad students file into the room. “Excuse us, but may we deliver a singing valentine for ....?” Whispers can be heard around the classroom and her cheeks start burning, as her two best friends discreetly give each other high fives in the back of the room. She hesitantly makes her way up to the front of the classroom and seats herself on a stool. The choir then breaks out in a chorus of “One Fine Day” while slowly surrounding her. The girl sinks down on her stool, attempting to disappear as giggles erupt across the classroom. It’s Valentine’s Day. And, of course, with it comes the everpopular singing valentines, courtesy of Monta Vista Variations. Every year since 1998, students in the choir class have been given the responsibility of relaying a friend’s love and appreciation to another through music. People buy grams in the weeks prior to Valentine’s Day, and on the actual day, Variations sings to those individuals during their classes. Though the program takes place during school and is supervised by Variations teacher Shari D’Epiro, it is mostly studentrun and organized. Variations students sell the grams and are then responsible for

Q’s

What is your most embarrassing Valentine’s Day moment?

What would be your perfect Valentine’s Day evening?

What is your worst Valentine’s Day memory?

working out schedules so that each person who was bought a gram receives it. The entire process begins in early January. Variations is split into three groups of 10. Then, as Senior Chen Chen Jiang said, “Our teacher gives us preliminary songs. If we have music in mind already, then we Aniqa Hasan | staff photographer can change our songs.” FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART A Variations group breaks out its newly-choreographed moves as Each group chooses a they practice with junior Mandy Lucas on Jan. 25 in the choir room to prepare for Valentine’s Day. good learning experience for them.” total of two songs, ranging from “Kiss the Senior Eric Chai, a two-year member of Girl” to “For the Longest Time.” Then begins Variations, said he enjoys working on the the rest of the process, which includes the memorization, choreography, and practice singing valentines. “You get to bond with of each individual song for every group. a group of people. You get to experience Rehearsal includes both class time during working on choreography and singing in a the month prior to Valentine’s Day, as well smaller group than usual.” Singing valentines allow people to work as several hours of practice a week outside of class. When Valentine’s Day arrives, in smaller groups, forming the bonds that each group misses a day of school in order Variations is all about. Said Chai, “It’s a different experience from the things we to give everyone their singing valentines. D’Epiro said of the process of singing usually do in choir. We express ourselves valentines, “Aside from getting to have with choreography.” Unlike last year, this year’s groups will a fun day of singing for their friends and be comprised of both males and females. teachers, I think the process of putting the serenades together with their group is a see VALENTINE on page 20

Teacher Kelly Wong

Sophomore Brittany Azevedo

Junior Lillian Zhang

“[During a musical program], I stepped on my partner’s foot “Breaking up with my boy“Probably getting a valentine and from a boy I didn’t like in first friend a week before Valentripped, knocking over the tine’s day in 7th grade. “ grade.” microphones...” “It would comprise of time with my husband and good food and drink.” “When I got a homemade love Valentine from an exboyfriend.”

“Walk[ing] “Dinner in the city on top of through Times Square in New York drinking hot a building, with candles.” chocolate and holding hands. “In third grade, the guy I wanted to be my valentine did not like me.”

“I ate cookies a crush made me and had an allergic reaction.”

The dangers of invisibility

If I was invisible Then I could just watch you in your room If I was invincible I’d make you mine tonight Yeah, it’s pretty creepy. But Clay Aiken sings it, so who wouldn’t want him stalking you? (Okay, well that’s debatable, I know). I must say, I hate American Idol, but Clay Aiken’s song “Invisible” came back into my life a couple of days ago when I heard a rumor about a new drug that makes you feel like you’re invisible. Yes, a lot of people would say that’s pretty awesome. A lot of people would also say that’s pretty stupid, probably because they visualize you standing stark naked on the freeway, expecting cars to go straight through your “invisible” body. A year ago, I would have set myself out on a mission to find the invisible drug. So why am I not going on that quest right now? Just listen to my story. This summer I took an Introduction to Social Psychology class at De Anza. For the first three weeks, I was quite content sitting, every now and then, amiss some rather attractive college students and a lovely middle-aged woman. The assignment: Write a paper about what you would do if you were invisible for a day. Be completely honest. There was a fancy method to turn in your paper to ensure anonymousness and allow for brutal honesty in our confessions. Of course, in my paper, I went on about how many cars I would steal, the massive amounts of money that would be missing from banks, the clothes that would be gone from Valley Fair, and the people I would stalk. I also had an ingenious plan to break into the school office, hack into the computer and change my transcript to ensure my admission into Harvard instead of having to return to De Anza after senior year. (Note to Administration: I pinky swear I will NEVER do that). A week later, the teacher gave us back the results. In our single class of 31 people, just about everyone that I genuinely respected had admitted to stealing, breaking into places, and stalking others. But that was all expected. What blew me away though, were the three people in the class who confessed they would have raped someone, had they the power to be invisible. One person confessed that he would have killed someone. Invisibility isn’t so cool anymore, is it? The class ended, summer ended, school started, and I got over my fear of college students. But that feeling of thinking you trusted someone, and then finding out they were…twisted…has stuck with me. Now Clay Aiken, he’s a pretty jolly-looking fellow. What’s saying that another person singing his song isn’t so jolly? That makes it a whole lot more…wrong. Appearance is a very strong and useful thing. Everyone trusts the pretty people because the pretty people, they just don’t do bad things. If you don’t believe me, go look up Jack the Ripper. He was an attractive fellow, which is why all the attractive ladies opened up their doors for him. I know, it sucks, but that’s the way we are. I judged all the people in my class based on their appearance. The clothes they wore, their hair, shoes, the pins on their backpacks. I never thought they would stoop to such low levels. What I didn’t realize was that people do things based on reputation, not morality. Back to the drug, then. If it makes you feel invisible, it’s giving you the same sense of security that you can do anything you want without society’s eyes watching over you. And then being high at the same time probably only increases the chances that you’ll do something reckless, a.k.a, murder. You think you know someone, but when the lights go out, their intentions change. So what am I trying to say? Don’t turn off the lights.

woot! O Which online store is your secret addiction?

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verstock.com

othing in life is free, but good deals are easy to find if you know where to look. An online retailer called Overstock. com is an excellent place to start. Overstock is the online equivalent of the more well-known brick-andmortar outlets in the Great Mall and Gilroy. Overstock, however, has a significantly broader range of products, from pearl necklaces to iPod car kits. Generally, items are 30 to over 70 percent off. In addition, they have a best price guarantee, which gives store credit to customers who find items they have purchased for cheaper at other online retailers. There are also liquidation and clearance bins, with items as much as 80 percent off. Standard shipping is a ridiculously low $2.95 and special offers can reduce the cost to $1. Plus, the site sells items in bulk, giving even deeper discounts to consumers. And the bulk amounts are often not an incredible excess, like getting six down comforters or two inflatable travel mattresses. After purchasing the pair of travel mattresses, one could purchase travel tickets on Overstock’s travel section, which includes flights, hotels, cruises, and hotel specials. And unlike Woot, there are items which the average person would actually want such as houseware,

february 3, 2006

electronics, and clothing. For the by Edward Young, editor-inentertainment buff, even TV series chief, Raj Dedhia, news editor season collections and video games are available at a discount. Also, Westinghouse WST3001W the traditional online sales model ToasterSlicer: does not promote midnight rushes to the computer. In addition, customers can purchase products over a significantly longer time, discouraging people from making Woot!: 29.99 for TWO of these compulsive purchases. If anything, Woot beats out machines + 5.00 shipping Overstock: 67.99 for ONE + 2.95 Overstock in personality. In fact, the shipping site has absolutely none. Loading the site’s homepage reveals nothing Altec Lansing inMotion more than an online warehouse Portable iPod Speakers: store. Still, Overstock has its merits, as the ultimate online bargain retail store to find a wide range of items. In fact, by paying $29.95 InFocus Screeenplay 61-inch per year to join “Club O” and becoming an Overstock member, you get 5% off every order, $1 Woot!: 49.95 + 5.00 shipping shipping on all orders, $10 credit Overstock: 119.99 +2.95 shipping for every reffered friend that joins, among other benefits as well. DLP HDTV UltraThin Plus, the site even has a return Television: policy that allows you return a product within 30 days (they advise you send it in within 20) in its original condition, for nearly full refund (there’s a $4.95 restocking fee). So, although nothing in life is Woot!: 2499.99 +5.00 shipping with free, Overstock.com is a great FREE BLENDER Overstock: 3299.99 +2.95 shipping place to look for good deals.

“T

he brainiacs at Beyond try to make a big deal about the barcode scanner on the confusingly-titled Beyond Smart iCEBOX Bread Maker, but we’d bet our last Old Style that exactly zero of you will ever use it. Is it a bell? Is it a whistle? It’s neither, because an actual bell or whistle could conceivably be of some use.” For any sales person or company, this is probably not the best strategy for advertising. But for woot.com, an online store, this does not seem to prevent the item from selling out. Everyday, starting at 12 am central time, Woot posts one item on their site for sale. Yes, just one. By buying this single item in bulk quantities, whether the item is new or refurbished, Woot is able to lower the cost of the product to, many times, half the retail price. Plus, they have a standard shipping rate of $5 for all items, whether it is an mp3 player or a desktop computer. Woot keeps the inventory of the item a secret until the item is sold out. The only sign a customer has is the bouncing up and down of the “I Want One!” button on the main page, which means that the item is almost sold out. Nearly all of the items sold on Woot are consumer electronics, many times interesting gadgets everyone would want to try out. No wonder they manage to

sell out a breadmaker. But even this breadmaker (breaking from Woot’s usual speakers, mp3 players, TVs, etc.), is quite unique. It can connect to the internet and retrieve recipes for different breads and cakes. Also, it has a barcode scanner, which allows users to scan the barcode of their cake mix and have the bread maker take care of the rest. Yes, very high tech baking. Many times, Woot sells a “Bag O’ Crap.” This is a random item from their warehouse. This item costs only $1-3 (depending on whether you buy one, two or three), but most of the time people receive junk (paper organizers, etc). However, it is possible to get cell phones, home theater systems and mp3 players. Woot also conducts Photoshop competitions weekly. The winner receives $100, second $75, and third $50. The worst incorporation of the image receives the screeching monkey award, which is an image of a screeching monkey. Odd, but funny. In fact, Woot is an extremely addictive website. Everyday at 10 pm, people sit down and hit the refresh button on the web browser until the next day’s item appears. Compared to Overstock.com, the prices are much, much cheaper. The only disadvantage is that Woot only provides one item a day, while Overstock has millions.

sports

Wrestler tackles new season

Sophomore Daniel Lu’s performance increases with dedication by Daniel Yang, centerspread editor

ooking his opponent’s neck in a double arm bar, sophomore Daniel Lu crushes him to the mat. Lu follows through his attack with a leg hook in a series of moves that he likes to call “double arm bar with a figure four to the neck.” The result: a squarely-pinned wrestler and another win for Lu. It comes as a surprise that only one season ago, Lu was struggling in the sport of wrestling. “When I first started wrestling at Kennedy,” Lu explained, “I didn’t really take the sport seriously. I thought it was like WWF...I was really out of shape. I used to be butterball. You know, I was hella fat. I didn’t take the sport seriously at all. I just did it to lose weight.” Lu took the same apathetic attitude with him to high school wrestling and was met with many disappointments his freshman year. Although he does not keep exact track, Lu admits that besides being unable to make varsity, he had a dismal record of around 25 losses to 15 wins. Desiring to improve his game after freshman year, Lu worked hard during the off-season. Lu said, “Instead of spending my time doing stupid things, I actually spent time on wrestling. Like watching TV, chatting online. I used all those times. All my free time basically, I spent on wrestling. I went to clubs; I went to camps; I went to clinics…to get better.” As expected, training was difficult for the aspiring Lu. One problem Lu especially had to overcome was the difficulty of losing weight. Since wrestlers always want to be the heaviest

Agonizing Pleasure

Photo courtesy of Ken Greenwood

COMPETITION Sophomore Daniel Lu locks his opponent and secures another win. His hard work paid off as his record greatly improved compared to last

in their weight class, they have to constantly maintain body weight so that they are never over, but still one or two pounds just short of the weight limit. In order to maintain body weight, Lu ran three to six miles every day while wearing heavy clothing. Defying thirst, he literally traded sweat for his eventual wrestling success. “Cutting weight had been a problem for me,” Lu said. “I’d run bleachers like 50 times and I’d wear a sweater, so I’d sweat a lot to lose weight. I was not really used to it, and I’d get really dehydrated.” Since wrestling embodies the old concept of “no pain, no gain,” there is no other possible path to greatness other than hard work.

The MVHS wrestling coach, David Liebert, explained, “Wrestling is a sport where you have to have speed; you have to be in shape; you have to be conditioned. You have to have everything. Typically the people that don’t know think it’s just all strength, but it’s really a combination of things…[the most important of which is] hard work. It’s not like you’re going to learn one secret move and it’s going to beat everybody. It’s just hard work, dedication.” And when asked about the formula for his dramatic improvement from freshman year, Lu almost exactly repeated his coach’s words, “Dedication. Hard work. That’s all.” In conditioning his physical skills, Lu has also improved his

mindset. Lu explained, “I’m more confident when I wrestle now. I’m not as nervous as I was before because I had a lot of matches during off-season. I’m mentally better, more prepared, and less nervous…I go in there, I think about what I’m gonna do, and I do it…[I] want the moves and the techniques to flow. It’s like instinct.” Having made both drastic improvements in physical technique and mental mindset, Lu dominated the recent Delmar Frosh/Soph tournament, claiming first in his weight class. With strong showings from other underclassmen such as freshman Jay Voy and sophomore Daniel Kats, MVHS claimed sixth out

see WRESTLER on page 20

S.O.Cal club helps disabled athletes

Students support the special olympics with care and attention by Samika Savanur, staff writer

she heard the plans the club had for the year. “At first I wasn’t really interested, but over the summer Christine et me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the at- told me what the club was planning on doing, so then I was really tempt,” states the Special Olympics Athlete Oath. More excited to become part of S.O.CAL,” said Satterlee. Sylvia Joo, a junior and treasurer for S.O.CAL, mentioned that than 1.7 million people with intellectual and physical disabilities in 150 countries are given yearly training and opportuni- Whitehill approached her with the idea of starting the club as ties to compete and participate in 26 different sports. To support well. “[Christine] was already working with this global organization, junior Christine the people at SONC, but wanted to bring Whitehill along with fellow classmates deit to Monta Vista. I thought it was a great cided to step up to the plate by starting idea,” said Joo. S.O.CAL, short for Special Olympics CaliAfter officially becoming a club in Octofornia, at MVHS. ber 2005, S.O.CAL plans to raise money As president, Whitehill founded the club for the Special Olympics in order to boost because of her love for sports and to make the number of opportunities given to atha difference in society. Prior to starting this letes worldwide and have already started club, Whitehill helped out as a coach for to volunteer as assistant coaches to help Special Olympics swimming at SONC, Spetrain athletes. cial Olympics Northern California. “I think our ultimate goal is to get people “[It] was life changing,” said Whitehill. at involved with the community, specifical“Seeing the huge effect coaching had on the ly with people with special needs. We also athletes and how hard they tried every day - junior and S.O.Cal president want to raise awareness and give people changed my perspective on Special Olyma chance to know these people, who really pics and how important it truly is.” Christine Whitehill are amazing,” said Joo. Another motivation for Whitehill to start As one of their first activities, S.O.CAL members had the opporS.O.CAL was her father, who was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was a freshman. Once discharged from the hospital after tunity to participate as assistant coaches in floor hockey practices with athletes at Campbell Middle School. Junior Laura Worsham, surgeries, he was unable to enjoy the sports he used to play. “Seeing how much he wished he could be out on the field play- club liaison for S.O.CAL, has frequently participated as an assising made me realize what a passion I had to help others like him tant coach at the floor hockey practices. “I think that a lot of people are also intimidated by the athletes, who are not ready to let their physical or mental disabilities get in their way,” said Whitehill. Junior Allison Satterlee, vice president of S.O.CAL, joined after see SPECIAL OLYMPICS on page 18

“L

“

Seeing the huge effect coaching had on the athletes and how hard they tried every day changed my perspective on Special Olympics and how important it truly is.

”

hen I entered the Pilates studio, Center of Balance, English teacher Amy Moore greeted me with a smile and brought me on a tour. The first room had this gigantic blue and black symbol on the wall, like a tilted cursive “O.” It was hanging over a golden figurine of a man sitting-up straight with Pilates-perfect posture, surrounded by four unlit, low-lying candles. I asked her if it was a sacrificial chamber, and she laughed and said of course not. Then she smiled. What target: English teacher I saw in Amy Moore the next Location: B203 r o o m , When: January 21, 2006 t h o u g h , Mission: To learn Pilates was proof enough that the Center of Balance has terrible motives. Moore first revealed one behemoth of a machine, The Cadillac, which had vast similarities to an eight-foot-tall car engine of intertwining metal bars raised on a big block. Its only use that I could fathom was a cage to lock up bad little Pilates customers. As Moore examined some trapeze-like instruments for hanging meat, my eyes strayed to another, smaller contraption. Moore appeared by my side and grandly introduced it as The Reformer: like a leg press turned on its side, but without the press and with more springs, hooks, wood, and traps, all painted a haunting black. I shuddered. Moore smiled. I shuddered again. We first lay down on a row of foam mats on the floor—apparatus I thought I could outwit. I soon came to realize, though, that Moore was actually not trying to perform horrid experiments on me, but was simply teaching me about Pilates. I relaxed and the smile now became an invitation into the secrets of this exercise form. “Pilates,” as Moore puts it, “is a system of exercises to balance the muscles of your trunk. It’s learning how to move from the strength of your core.” Every movement is focused on the connection between the different parts of the body and pulling the muscles toward the spine. Pilates will not give you bulking muscles, or a six pack (Moore explains: “A six pack is the most superficial of the abdominal muscles”). It does give you long, lean muscles (Moore explains: “That’s why so many women like it, and not so many men”), but also improves your posture, stability, flexibility, breath, movement, balance, longevity, and connection between mind and body (Moore explains: “Which is why everyone should like it”). All that I can remember, however, is looking over on The Reformer and watching Moore execute this convoluted pattern of elevated leg movements and breathing like a woman in labor. Then she turned to me and realized that I could not even manage to lower my head rest without tangling myself up in the instrument. The next day I thought about my Pilates journey. I still didn’t understand what had happened, so I opened a dictionary, looked up “torture,” and found what I expected: intense pain. I searched for “Pilates” to see if there was a connection and found “Pilate, Pontius: Roman governor who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.” Great. All my fears came flowing back—it seemed that when the Reformer was creaking it was a tipsy plank overhanging an ocean; it seems no coincidence that “Pirates” and “Pilates” are one letter apart. I soon came to a conclusion. It may have appeared to be a place of pain-inducing structures with a sacrificial pit next door, but in all truth, it was fancy equipment, spiritual incense, and brilliant effects. What situational irony. Mission accomplished.

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sports

Play by play

Game: Varsity boys basketball on Jan. 27 against Saratoga

7:41 pm The game starts as MVHS gets the tip-off 7:44 pm Junior Marcus Woo scores the first MVHS points 7:57 pm Junior Phillip Kou makes a basket, putting an end to a Saratoga 18-4 shooting streak 8:03 pm MVHS turns over the ball to Saratoga, allowing them an easy lay-up 8:05 pm Junior Ben Hodges makes a solid shot-block, resulting in the ball bouncing off the head of a Saratoga player Junior Brett Colloton scores a three-pointer off the play 8:10 pm Woo sinks a three-point buzzer-beater to end the first half 8:32 pm After a few minutes into the second half, Kou makes a fade-away two-pointer 8:34 pm Another shot block by Hodges, allowing Junior Eric Sum to score 8:43 pm Woo makes a steal, scoring another two points. 8:50 pm Junior Kevin Schroeder scores his first points of the game 8:51 pm The game ends

Score: 66-45 Saratoga

Health on the run Energy food

CLIF SHOT BLOKS

The main ingredient is an easily digestible brown rice syrup, which provides carbohydrates for working muscles. It also has mineral salts that replenish electrolytes lost during workouts. Shot Bloks contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients and should be eaten well before the activity.

POWERGEL

These low-fat pouches have a blend of simple and complex carbohydrates for quick and effective energy, making it ideal for a last minute energy source. Each packet contains antioxidant vitamins C and E to fight waste that the body produces during workouts. Electrolytes, such as sodium potassium, are also found in the gel.

GATORADE SPORTS DRINKS

All Gatorade sports drinks are made up of four key components: electrolytes, flavor, carbohydrate mix, and maximized fluid osmolality. The maximum fluid osmolality and electrolytes ensures that minerals lost during exercise are replenished. The mix of carbohydrates ensures that energy is delivered throughout the body. The drink is perfect for use before, during, and after exercise.

SNICKERS MARATHON BAR

Snickers Marathon Longlasting-energy-bars provide sustained energy. Its protein blend of soy, peanut, casein, and whey delivers energy regularly over a period of time. These bars, unlike other energy bars, have a low Glycemic Index, which helps to keep blood sugar levels stable as you exercise. It is best used for longer amounts of exercise.

By the numbers

1204

new boys and girls lockers in the rebuilt locker room

4 new team locker rooms 1hairdrying room for girls 0 hairdrying rooms for boys

february 3, 2006

Dad and daughter team up Varsity girls soccer coach trains his daughter on team by Michelle Tanaka, entertainment editor

t’s 20 minutes until four in the afternoon on gloomy Friday afternoon and Coach Alan Kute watches the varsity girls soccer team as they warm up, passing the ball back and forth. He tells junior Jenny Kute to make sure she’s alternating legs if she gets tired. She acknowledges his advice knowing that it’s coming from her coach. And her father. Alan has coached his daughter since she started playing on California Youth Soccer Association’s (CYSA) under 9’s team. Since then he has coached Jenny on and off again, but most currently at MVHS and her club team, De Anza Force. Alan played college soccer but started getting into coaching when his daughter first started the sport. Soccer is a big part of the Kute family; Jenny’s three younger siblings all currently play soccer and have been coached by their father at some point in their soccer careers. Although it may seem awkward to have your dad as your coach, Jenny shrugs it off. “[My dad and I] are really close, so that helps a lot. It doesn’t bug me.” Since Alan started coaching Jenny at a young age and coached a similar group of girls on the club team that currently play for MVHS, Jenny has always maintained a comfortable relationship with her dad on the field. Jenny admits that Alan still plays a fatherly role on the field. “He pushes me more in practice than other people because he expects more from me.” “When I get mad at him it’s usually soccer related. My attitude is a big thing on the field and he always has to remind me.” Jenny adds, “He definitely focuses me.” “Sometimes you can see the father role in Alan come out when he talks to Jenny on the field, which sounds like something he would say at home,” says junior Emily Rubin. “But most of

Radhika Chandrasekhar | entertainment editor DADDY’S GIRL Junior Jenny Kute and her dad, Alan Kute, share a moment to take a break from working hard at practice by joking around. The Kutes have been playing soccer together for more than seven years, and they are are still going strong.

the time he just treats her like a regular player. Jenny has played on the varsity team since freshman year as a forward and midfielder. Last year the team placed first in their league division, moving up to the higher league, and competed in CCS. Jenny received the award for “best offensive player” in her league division, an award given to only one player within the five schools of a league. Although the varsity team lost some strong seniors last year, they

SPECIAL OLYMPICS continued from page 16

at first, because they think that they will not be ‘normal,’” said Worsham. “Once you talk or spend a little time with them, you find out that they are welcoming and friendly people, just like the rest of us.” Practice, which ended on Jan. 28, usually began with laps around the gym to warm-up the athletes. The warmup continued with stretches and then dividing the athletes into groups of three; two athletes to one coach to pass the puck back and forth. After the warm-up athletes pushed pucks around cones that were set up and at the end and practiced shooting them into the goal. This drill was more of a challenge for the athletes since they could not knock down any of the cones, however it definitely helped them improve their skills. “It amazes me how motivated and determined they are to win and have fun. It’s a different environment there; everyone is so friendly and great to talk to,” said Joo. “When you watch them play, you can see that except for a few slight differences, they are just like everybody else.” To end each practice, the athletes got to scrimmage where some of the coaches played as well when teams were short of players. Whitehill claims that her best experience yet has been attending these practices and watching MVHS students getting involved with the athletes. “People usually go to the practices not sure what to expect but always come out with a smile after realizing how much of an impact they’ve had,” said Whitehill. During the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, a series of Special Olympics floor hockey games took place at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds where several Bay Area teams came to participate. The teams that the officers were scorekeeping for were good friends. Throughout the game, both teams laughed and made jokes while having some friendly competition.

Scoreboard

Boys Basketball Girls Soccer

Girls Basketball

Varsity: 7-14

Varsity: 4-3 JV: 5-2

JV: 3-16

have a supporting cast of veterans who have continued to make strong contributions to the team. The girls are currently first in their new league and plan to compete in CCS this season. Jenny plans to play soccer in college. Alan will continue to coach MVHS soccer after Jenny leaves, and he will probably coach his younger children once they are older. “My hope is that they end up having a good time with [playing soccer],” said Alan.

“I think what made this memorable for us was it showed take this very seriously, like we us although many athletes do, they always know how to keep it light hearted and fun for everyone,” said Whitehill. “We had numerous athletes coming up and talking to us, and I think that made the experience memorable overall.” Though only a few of the club officers were able to attend, they enjoyed themselves whole-heartedly and hope for more club members to join them. As a new club on campus, the officers hope to gain new members in the near future to get involved with their cause. They would also like to continue to be assistants and committed coaches who attend more than one practice, with other sports like swimming and basketball as the new spring season starts. “The Special Olympics organization has a particular seasonal schedule, and according to that, we will continue to help the different sports along the way, even during the summer,” mentioned Satterlee. In order to increase awareness in the school and community, S.O.CAL plans to host fundraisers at local restaurants, where students can dine and profits from their meals go to support the Special Olympics. S.O.CAL has also invited two Special Olympic athletes to MVHS in the beginning of February to talk to the club members and anyone else that is interested during lunchtime. The athletes will advocate the Special Olympics, speaking about its importance and how clubs such as S.O. CAL make a tremendous difference. Worsham concluded, “All of the other volunteer clubs do not focus on one specific group of people. I feel that a separate club needed to focus solely on the Special Olympics. The people who participate are truly amazing. The determination they have to overcome their disabilities is worth noting. S.O.CAL is dedicated to work with this amazing organization and do all we can to help.”

Boys Soccer

Wrestling

Varsity: 11-2-4

Varsity: 2-7-1

JV: 7-8-1

JV: 5-2-2

Varsity: 7th overall out of 16 schools at Castro Valley Invitational

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february 3, 2006

sports

Dressing up the way students dress out by Sarah Bennett, staff writer and Alex Cohn, editor in chief

gymnasium

or over 30 years, MVHS locker rooms have served as both a place of camaraderie for sports teams in their pre- and postgame routines, as well as a place of anxiety for freshmen, where the distant notions of modesty and privacy cease to exist. Now, an entirely new locker room facility is under construction, with a due date around May/June. Here is a sneak peek inside the future of MVHS athletics.

Wrestling room: Moved to west side to make room for girls’ locker room on east side. Team locker rooms: Two boys’ and two girls’ team locker rooms. The boys’ were moved from east side, while the girls’ is a new addition altogether.

Boys’ locker room: Fully renovated, with 595 doubletier, metal lockers and two shower rooms. Teachers’ office: Boys’ and girls’ offices combined for better communication between the staff and easier access between students and teachers of both genders.

Fitness center/weight training locale: Girls’ locker room: Moved from above the gym, with Moved from west side and identical more space and overall convenience. to the boys’ locker rooms with a supplementary hair-drying room. Handicap access: Wider aisles and six accessible lockers Hair-drying room: for both boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. Sorry, no boys allowed.

west side

east side

Joining together, team finds more success Boys’ varsity soccer team starts kicking things into gear in a game against Cupertino

In spite of the tougher varsity environment, Boman maintained a shutout in goal and communicated well with his defenders and making strong saves. he varsity boys soccer Matadors received the sweet taste of justice on Jan. 26 in After wrapping up the first half with two goals under their belt, the Matadors approached a home game against Cupertino, shutting out the Pioneers 2-0 after losing to them the second half more defensively with the intent of maintaining their lead rather than trying earlier in the season. to score a lot more goals. “We really wanted to win,” said senior Hiroki The Matadors did just that, playing Udagawa. “Cupertino is our rival, so we had more what seemed very much like a keep-away motivation.” game with Cupertino. Even though Chang Aside from the rough start to their season, the boys and Tom were forced to sit out because of had another motivation to win this game – the last injuries, the team pulled together a 2-0 win. time the two schools played, Cupertino clinched a “The main reason we won is because we victory 2-1, in spite of MVHS dominance of the field had good chemistry working together,” said throughout most of the game. They had let two goals Courtright. slip during the second half, even after maintaining a With an incredible amount of talent, the 1-0 lead in the first. Needless to say, they were set only reason why the Mats haven’t been on winning the rematch. winning games is the missing elements of The boys were missing some key players from the teamwork and dedication. There have been lineup, including starting keeper senior Max Khurgin, many conflicts between the school soccer who was out with a broken finger, and backup keeper schedule and players’ individual club junior Hamish Ferguson, unable to play because of team schedules, so they have rarely had a red card from the previous game. Junior varsity opportunities to play as a whole. Merely starting keeper sophomore Jeff Bowman replaced having almost the entire team at the game the injured goalies in the game against Cupertino against Cupertino was a big improvement High School. to their game. The boys’ team dominated the game by As it stands, boys soccer has seen a maintaining control of the ball. They kept it in the record of two wins, seven losses, and one Carolyn Chaung | staff photographer opposing half of the field from the first 10 minutes of tie. This could potentially be the turn-around ONE ON ONE Senior mid fielder Ian Courtright fights fiercely for control of the ball in a varsity soccer game the game to the second the clock ran out. In contrast for them, as they are finally playing up to against a rival varsity team from Cupertino high school on Jan. 26. The matadors shut out Cupertino 2-0. to their previous games, where the Matadors have their fullest potential. had a hard time holding on to possession of the ball, the boys began to act more like a team than eleven separate individuals on the field. The ball was more controlled, with fast-paced, crisp passes opposing Cupertino’s sloppy game of kick and run. In the middle of the first half of the game, junior forward Derek Ley skillfully dribbled the ball up the right side into the box for a shot. After it was deflected off the Cupertino keeper, junior forward Darryl Tom tapped it into the goal for the first Matador point. Both forwards received much support throughout from senior mid fielder Ian Courtright, who used his speed to win nearly all the balls that came his way. A Cupertino player received a yellow card for tripping senior center mid fielder Desmond Chang on a goal-scoring opportunity. On the ensuing free kick, Chang fooled the defense and the keeper by going low toward the goal. The ball was deflected off the keeper and picked up by Courtright who finished the goal. Because of a strong defense led by junior center defender Bryson Rovetta, Cupertino received few shots on goal. Freshman right defender Drew Constant solidly tackled the Cupertino left forward, stopping many attempts to bring the ball into scoring zone. “Even though they are bigger,” said Constant, “I have played at a similar level with my club team.”

by Carolyn Chaung, sports editor

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back page

Congratulations dance team!

photo courtesy of Alvina Lam

On January 28, the Monta Vista Dance Team competed in a regional competition at Homestead High School. Senior Brittania Poon stood out in the solo competition winning first place and sophomore Gabi Drusinksy took first place in the Drill Down competition. The Monta Vista team took first place in every other event they competed in as well. This solidifies Monta Vista reputation as a top competitor in the dance community. R-RATED

VALENTINE

wrestler

continued from page 7

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continued from page 17

opinion at all, he must take a stance, because passion, not ignorance, to work for a cause improves others’ lives and perspectives. Literature books are taught over and over for several reasons. The provocative content teaches students to be aware of long-lasting issues and to defend their opinions, thus aiding their minds in maturing. Rated R movies that tell us the stories of historical events imprint in our minds to not repeat history. Offensive content that is part of school resources shapes us to become knowledgeable and responsive adults.

Jiang said, “We thought that with guys and girls, the groups would appeal to more people and it would allow us to have more fun with choreography and song choice.” Singing Valentines have been taking place for eight years. D’Epiro said, “It is quickly becoming an on going tradition.” Look out for the Singing Valentine’s hitting Monta Vista on Feb 14. In the words of D’Epiro, “Hopefully, the school [will] enjoy having some music in their classroom for a day and individual students [will] get to feel “loved” by a friend who wants to embarrass them a little bit.”

of 25 schools, an extremely strong performance considering the size and strength of the field. The dedication is certainly paying off. In his sophomore season, Lu has not only made varsity, but has also improved his record to around six losses and 20 wins in. His accomplishments are even more amazing because of the stronger level of competition in varsity. Lu had begun this wrestling season with the hopes of making CCS, and with the end of the season just around the corner, his chances are higher than they have ever been.

HOUSING

continued from page 3 This special housing gives teachers a good start.” On the other hand, some teachers do not agree with the idea of specialized housing. Even though the apartments are not located on any school campus, the lands where the building resides are owned by the district. English teacher Jeremy Ebbink said, “I do not like these apartments because I am against teachers living on government owned property.” History teacher Viviana Montoya Hernandez expressed her concern about the idea of the apartments when she said, “I feel that the apartments are kind of restricting. I want my own space and do not want to live amongst co-workers.” There are no current plans that the FUHSD has for making apartments such as the ones in the Santa Clara Unified School District. Santa Clara was able to build the housing because they already owned the land. However, there are options for teachers through FUHSD that assists teachers in finding a place. Braughton said, “HOWSE is our most successful organization for teachers gives. It helps by having workshops, providing a walk through process, and bringing in realtors. Teachers can also go the Chamber of Commerce which provides discounts, rebates, and reductions of mortgages.” Regardless of whether or not teachers think this is a good or bad idea, the question always comes up: should teachers be paid enough to be able to live in a high cost area, or should they instead be given lowered costs and special privileges?

ENCRYPTION

continued from page 7

‘Stay Awakes’ from Coffee Society. This definitely made us feel more intimidated since we were the only ones at the western regional finals without a mentor.” The intimidation factor was definitely present in Chen, Shia, and Chuang’s competition experience. “We thought we wouldn’t get anywhere with this; we had to send the research paper through overnight mail and with the 1,600 students that were competing, we didn’t think there was much of a chance,” said Shia. In this competition, out of 1,600 students, just a little more than 80 were selected for regionals, held at six different colleges. At the actual competition, there was a poster presentation, an oral presentation, and an intimidating question/answer session in which professors and experts from the science and math field would question them about their product and research paper. Once they reached the regional

“More pay means more respect,” said English teacher Greta Garbisch. This seems to be the overall feeling of most teachers at MVHS. Ebbink said, “If they really want teachers to stay, then amount of pay should reflect that.” One new teacher, and new to the Bay area, is Andrew Sturgill. In order to live within commuting distance of MVHS, Sturgill rents a townhouse in Campbell. The cost for renting the townhouse each month is about the same as renting one in Cupertino. Sturgill said, “Right now it is impossible to buy a house…being paid more would definitely give more options. I also have a heap of student loans which is like paying a second rent. Eventually I would like to own a home close to campus so I can ride a bicycle to school everyday.” Currently, new teachers make $44-48,000 a year in the Fremont Union High School District, depending on their level of college education and amount of experience. Although teachers within this area make the most money out of all other areas within the state, the cost of housing is disproportionately higher in this area than in other locations of California. A teacher could make below $40,000 a year in another place, yet the price of a house near the school would be only half as much as a house in the Bay Area. Perhaps the logistics for which teacher wage are increased cannot be figured out at this time, especially when budgets are tight. Later when money is more available, hopefully salaries will be addressed or something will be done to further help teachers live in the Bay Area. Braughton said, “If anybody has any ideas on ways to assist teachers, I would be very open to hearing it. I want to keep

level, the Siemens Foundation paid all expenses, including transportation to the event, lodging, food, and a campus tour. Shia described the experience as being an “awesome competition. The [competitors] were all geniuses who had been involved in internships and science competitions. It was different because they were more intellectual and [their projects] were aggressive beyond high school level.” Shia added, “Those who have been in Biology AP are probably familiar with gel electrophoresis, a process for testing DNA that normally takes 2-3 days. A team entered in the competition came up with a small silicon and gold microchip that minimized this process to around 4-5 minutes.” This device is also portable, making it feasible for DNA testing to happen at the scene of the crime. Although they did not make it to nationals, all the regional finalists were awarded a bronze medal, a $1000 scholarship, and $2000, which went to each team’s school

to be used for math, science, or technology purposes. Chuang and Shia went to the math and science department heads and inquired about their necessities, allocating the funds to the physics, math, biology, and chemistry classes where needed. Chuang confirmed that these funds were used to purchase “new equipment and textbooks.” Chen, Chuang, and Shia, demonstrating an extraordinary interest beyond the high school level, have future plans in this field. Chen and Shia are planning on majoring in electrical engineering while Chuang is proceeding to mechanical engineering. Chen said, “On the final night of the competition there were several physics professors, Siemens officials, and CollegeBoard officials. One of the professors, Richard A. Mueller said something that stood out: engineers acquire a unique type of happiness others may not experience—the feeling of combining science and creativity to produce something that benefits society.”

february 03, 2006 CADET

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the same level as them, but they still want to know what they’re doing wrong. I definitely learned that as kids get older, the method you teach them with changes… “There’s not a lot of difference between first and third graders, but first graders are more open. Third graders are more inquisitive like, ‘Why are you here? Do we need your help? I don’t think so.’ But first graders are more like ‘Oh cool, another person!’ ” Although Ramakuri enjoys working with young children, she chose a MVHS Spanish 1 class as her placement this year. “I’m already good with little kids and wanted to teach people my own age,” she explained. “I get nervous talking to the class, like stage fright, so talking in this program helps.” In the second semester, the Cadets take on a more interactive role as they begin to teach lessons to the entire class once a week. “The first lesson is something that you remember forever,” said McComb. For younger grades, there is more flexibility in teaching, so Cadets are more likely to teach whatever topic they choose; however, for older grades, students will usually be given a topic the teacher wants taught and then design their own lesson plans. Ramakuri decided to teach origami to her kindergarten class as her first lesson ever. “We made origami frogs and butterflies,” she remembered. “I made posters of each step, so that they could look at it, but I also had to help individually.” When not helping students, the Cadets grade or merely observe. They receive a worksheet each week to help them observe aspects of child development. “One week it might be on the physical domain or moral domain of kids, so we write notes based on our observations,” Nilakantan explained. Asked if the schools truly benefit from having the Cadets or if it is a favor to the program, McComb said, “In some cases it is more of a favor, in some cases, the teacher and the cadet really work together and the teachers get new ideas for lessons. “They say they like the students’ creativity. And since the Cadets help individually, the teacher can focus on the rest of the class.” McComb once received a note from a teacher telling her about a student who had previously never talked in class, but after working with the Cadet individually, began to talk. “Most elementary school teachers are women and mention that it’s good to have a guy in the classroom as a model for the boys, especially if they come from a single parent family,” she said. Though McComb says that Teacher Cadet is not just for those who aspire to be teachers, a number of participants have gone on to pursue a teaching career. One of her past Cadets enjoyed working with kindergartners and decided to pursue becoming a teacher yet had poor grades. She became motivated to pass her classes to attend college through her decision. “It makes me feel appreciated,” Nilakantan smiled. “There’s this one kid who, whenever I walk in, whether he’s in a corner or busy with the teacher, will say ‘Oh look, the helper’s here!’ ” Though Nilakantan does not have plans to become a teacher, she still finds the program rewarding. “One of the students I was working with got a 30% on a test, but after I worked with him, he got a 100%,” she said. “It just feels great to see the effects of your hard work.” Asked if she wants to become a teacher, Ramakuri replied, “No, I do Teacher Cadet because I love working with kids. I want to become a pediatrician so this helps me connect and gives me an opportunity to lead and improve my communication skills.” Unlike many other classes, Teacher Cadet is not just based on theory or concepts; it is an experience. Students learn by doing. “The best part of the program is that for the thirty minutes you are working with the kids, you’re focused on just that,” Nilakantan said. “You’re not thinking about your three tests tomorrow or that you have a lab due… it takes your mind off of everything else.”