GBHS Trap team
Senior Conduct
Rave about it GBHS students rave the night away
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Trap shooting gets recognition
New rules cause controversy among students
The Granite Bay Gazette GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL w 1 GRIZZLY WAY w GRANITE BAY, CA w 95746 w VOLUME 18 wISSUE 7 w FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014
Commentary
New principal named for Granite Bay
Leighton discusses some of her goals for GBHS
Former GBHS choir teacher to take over sydney kahmann for McGuire Admins, time on July 1
dents, parents and staff. These focus groups came up with specific desirable and undesirable characteristics. According to the focus group
Jennifer Leighton sat down with Gazette co-editor-in-chief Sydney Kahmann last Friday afternoon, a day after the Roseville Joint Union High School District announcement that she will become the third-ever principal of Granite Bay High beginning July 1. *** Gazette: I understand you worked at the school when it opened in 1996 – so what was your experience at Granite Bay High School like? Leighton: Well it was exciting, you know most of us had been at
See PRINCIPAL, page A7
See LEIGHTON, page A8
skahmann.gazette@gmail.com
lost is never found again
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e are masters at procrastinating and wasting time. We procrastinate and waste time individually and as a school. I guess you could say we’re devoted. We choose to do things that don’t matter, or only matter a little, instead of starting the daunting, yet important, projects we don’t want to do but know we should. They say we make time for the things we want to do, but I think we take time away from the things we should do. This year my Powder Puff name for the back of my jersey was rejected, and I am told it was reviewed by an assistant principal and the student government teacher. While it was a little annoying I couldn’t be “Kahmannkaze,” my brainchild, because a kamikaze is a World War II Japanese suicide bomber, I completely respect the right of the administration to review Powder Puff names. My problem is it took two people to review Powder Puff names, when these names are of little importance. We lack textbooks and have clocks that don’t work, yet Powder Why Puff names are superdon’t the thoroughly admins screened? Taking crack two people down to review Powder Puff on the names is far less atrocious rampant than the daily cheating administrathat tor lunchtime huddle where happens multiple in assistant princlasses? cipals, and sometimes other notable staff members, can be found chatting in the middle of the quad. I understand the importance of a visible adult presence, but the daily huddle does nothing to prevent cafeteria food fights or school-ditchers. But at least we haven’t had a campus-wide, lunchtime quad riot. Instead of the huddle, why don’t the admins crack down on the rampant cheating that happens in classes– what is this new policy being enforced by some teachers that requires test-taking students to put their phones face-down on their desks? Maybe the administrative huddle time could be used mentoring teachers or building relationships with the students. Granite Bay High has a long list of amazing teachers, but they are overshadowed by the constant struggles students experience in classrooms staffed by apathetic and unengaged teachers. If these infamous names freely circulate among students, why haven’t the administrators taken note and intervened? All I ask is that we reevaluate and reinforce the true weak spots on this campus. Let’s face the messy, gritty problems now, instead of later. *** Sydney Kahmann, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.
BY SYDNEY KAHMANN
skahmann.gazette@gmail.com
With Granite Bay High School’s principal, Mike McGuire, retiring at the end of this school year, the new principal hiring process is underway. “We are looking for a visionary leader with excellent communication skills and a proven record of effective leadership,” said Ron Se-
Gazette photos /GRACE MOORE
Antelope assistant principal Jennifer Leighton will be the third-ever principal at GBHS. verson, Roseville Joint Union High School District deputy superintendent, in an email. Severson also said a candidate with “both teaching and administrative experience at the high school level” and “experience in
a school of similar size or demographics to Granite Bay” was important. To help determine what the school and community would like in their new principal, the district conducted focus groups with stu-
Seduction on social media
Gazette photo illustration /CAITLYN HURLEY
Some students’ bad behavior ends up visible to everyone BY CAITLYN HURLEY
churley.gazette@gmail.com
On Feb. 11, Woodcreek High School senior Michael Contini was accused of six felonies, all related to unlawful sexual conduct with three minors and possession of material displaying that conduct. Contini has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his bail has been set at $200,000. He has remained in Placer County Jail for over the past month. His life has suddenly been dramatically
altered, all because he allegedly decided to post images of the sexual acts online. Contini videotaped himself having sexual relations with numerous girls, some who were as young as 14 years old. Some of the girls claimed to have known they were being videotaped, but others had no clue. None of the girls that he allegedly had sexual relations with were 18 years old, however, so they did not have the legal right to consent to the acts with Contini.
Self-harm still an issue for teenagers
Students discuss intervention BY WILLOW WOOD
wwood.gazette@gmail.com
Thankfully the trend of making jokes about people who are“emo” has ended, but self harm is something that still af-
fects students, and it’s no laughing matter. One Granite Bay High student, who asked to remain anonymous, has been self-harming for almost See HARM, page A5
inside the Gazette news
Cameras on campus Admins installed surveillance to monitor nighttime lot activity
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I stopped because I realized that I could do other things to help myself.
There were no signs of foul play or intoxication, but under the law the minors could still not legally consent. The social media sites that Contini posted to are unknown. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat are popular social media sites for high school students in the Roseville Joint Union High School District. When something is posted to Facebook or Twitter, it is more likely to be seen by more people for a longer period of time. Snapchat limits
the time anyone can view a post, and it is only forwarded to specific recipients. For high school students, social media is a part of everyday life. Haylee Miller, a Granite Bay High freshman, is only 14 years old, and social media is one of the biggest factors of her life. “Every morning when I wake up I check Twitter and Snapchat to see what happened when I was sleeping,” Miller said. “I know a lot of people who are completely addicted to social media, and I know a lot of people who abuse it.” See SEDUCTION, page A8
The SAT is a-changin’
Dramatically different testing to be introduced to current freshman class BY JENNA MCCARTHY
jmccarthy.gazette@gmail.com
Say goodbye to the current Scholastic Aptitude Test. On March 5, the College Board announced extensive changes to the SAT that will
Robotics team faces set backs Bureaucracy may cause former champs to miss competition
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be put into effect by the spring of 2016. The new SAT will be assessed out of 1,600 points, instead of 2,400. This revision was brought about by the elimination of the essay component of the test – now
voices
an optional and extended section. The essay section is now 50 minutes long instead of 25 minutes long. Other significant innovations include no penalty for incorrect responses, refocusing of
See SAT, page A5
The big picture about Kanye West
The rapper plays by his own rules and fights institutionalized racism
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News
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Granite Bay Gazette
Friday w April 4, 2014
NAMES IN THE NEWS
Engineering program jump starts car project
kristine khieu kkhieu.gazette@gmail.com
Colleges made up their minds ... have you?
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ranite Bay High School seniors, make sure to bring in your college acceptance letters to the College and Career Center. A map is being created in the administration building to track all the results. This means that Stage 2 of the college admissions process has started. Stage 1 was finding out which colleges accepted you, now it’s time to make the choice that may or may not change your life forever. No pressure, or anything. *** Lisa Kunst, GBHS Geometry and AP Statistics teacher, just had a baby boy. His name is Nathan Edward Kunst and he was born on March 13 at 11:51 p.m. Congratulations to the Kunst family! *** The annual Powderpuff game is tonight. Come to see junior and senior girls play flag football. They’ve been practicing all week … which means they’re really good. *** In February, freshman Henry Moore was officially welcomed into the GBHS family when a seagull dropped its lunch onto his lunch. Just a couple weeks ago, a seagull mistook him as an uninitiated student because it decided to repeat this process, this time on his head. Henry Moore, GBHS’s unluckiest freshman? *** Junior non-prom is tomorrow night at the Blue Goose Event Center in Loomis. The theme is “Footloose.” *** For St. Baldrick’s, science teacher Andrew Phillips and drama teacher Kyle Holmes performed at the local Jack’s Urban Eats. They rocked it to help raise money for research in childhood cancer. Thank you Holmes and Phillips for being awesome!
GBHS on its way to compete at Shell-Ecomarathon competition gram to a model called Project Lead the Way, an engineering course designed to foster more critical thought. Dolan believes that this competition fits right in with the program ___The Granite Bay High School engineering program because of all the complex components associated with it. got busy with the introduction of a new national project Junior Max Cole, one of the members of the body – the Shell Eco-marathon. fabrication team, joined the project as part of the ROP This competition was brought to GBHS by Steven Engineering course and has been working on it since the Dolan, the engineering and ROP teacher, beginning of the school year. and it requires schools to design and build a According to Cole, he has enjoyed car that maximizes fuel efficiency in given the involvement, but the time commitparameters. ment has been challenging. It’s very time “I’ve always recognized that students enjoy “I’m here every Wednesday from 1 consuming and p.m.-4 p.m. (for ROP) and every Tuesmore and are motivated by projects (that incorporate) the design and then fabricate day and Thursday night from 6 p.m-8 can be kind of or build process,” Dolan said. “I decided to p.m. and sometimes on Saturdays,” stressful, (but) look for mechanical engineering projects that Cole said. “It’s very time consuming I thought would interest students. We have can be kind of stressful, (but) it’s it’s been fun… an and robotics … (but) I wanted to give another been fun… an experience to say the alternative.” experience to say least.” Dolan said he initially struggled to find Cole said that the team has faced the least. higher-level engineering competitions at the numerous problems in fabricating its high school level. However, when he found design, including issues with the cut video of the Shell Eco-marathon online, he of panels and mismeasurements, caus– Max Cole, GBHS ing them to go back and start from the was sold. The Shell Eco-marathon has two categobeginning. junior ries in which students can submit – Ultra Over time, problems with the project Mileage, where students focus solely on have discouraged team members, but maximizing gas mileage and Urban Concept, now that they’re nearing the end, they where students build a fully functioning car just want to finish. with all standard features. Students can choose which Peter Favaro, trained in automotive engineering, has category to do, and Dolan’s class chose the latter. been one of the mentors overseeing the completion of the Three years ago, GBHS switched its engineering pro- project and has witnessed this setback. BY JACQUELINE GORDON jgordon.gazette@gmail.com
See CAR, page A7
Reports of illegal activity and conduct prompt actions by administrators BY NICOLAS ONTIVEROS nontiveros.gazette@gmail.com
CORRECTIONS
Identification Statement Granite Bay Gazette Published eight times per academic year c/o Granite Bay High School 1 Grizzly Way Granite Bay, CA 95746 Subscriptions: $25 per year/ $15 per half year
“(Team dynamics) have not been as good as we would like,” Favaro said. “When most of the people haven’t done anything like this before … (it’s hard) to coordinate. (Getting) everybody to recognize that this was a group
Cameras bought for school surveillance
Kristine Khieu, a senior, is a Gazette news editor.
In a story on page C2 in the March issue about local fencers at Granite Bay High School, the story incorrectly reported that Ted Smith was currently working with the Sacramento Fencing Club. In fact, he is now working with the Hangtown Saber Club. The Gazette regrets the error. *** Accuracy is perhaps the most important fundamental of good journalism. It's the policy of the Gazette to correct all factual errors that are brought to our attention. Email us at: gbgazette@yahoo.com
Gazette photos / JACQUELINE GORDON
Ruben Vera, top left, sits in the shell of the car as his teammates work around him. Nicho Steiner, top right, tests out the metal frame. Steiner and other engineering students and mentors, above, are preparing to compete at in Texas at the end of April.
Gazette photo / Kristine khieu
Jatagan Security cameras have been installed in front of the big parking lot to discourage criminal activity.
___The Granite Bay High School administration has decided to improve security by installing surveillance cameras in the big parking lot due to recent reports of students gathering there after parties or other events. According to Michael McGuire, principal of GBHS, neighbors have called in about large groups showing up at school at 1, 2 or 3 o’clock. Other Granite Bay residents saw teenagers drinking alcohol, spinning tires and going on campus after hours. “We have problems with vandalism, problems with theft, problems with donuts, reckless driving, and (people) leaving trash out,” said Dep. Joe Herrick, the GBHS school resource officer. “(These teenagers) are unauthorized to be on campus late at night.” With neighbors contacting the police and the school district, McGuire wanted to establish rigorous security measures to prevent illegal activity from occurring. “I authorized Paladin Security between 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. to shoo people away,” McGuire said. “(We) could get license numbers, but we still got phone calls.”
Antelope High School recently had a similar issue and installed Jatagan Security cameras to reduce crime after school hours. The Roseville Joint Union High School District recommended GBHS to install the same ones. McGuire loved the idea and because the district had the budget, it would pay for the cost. So far, the Jatagan Security cameras have proved a worthy investment at GBHS and in other areas where they have been implemented. According to its website, the crime prevention success rate for their cameras is 99.4 percent. and the cost of cameras ranges from $1.30 per hour to $3 per hour. “I’m too busy to look at the (video feed) all day,” Herrick said. “We have an outside agency look at the (video feed). We don’t have as many reports from neighbors.” However, many GBHS students have negative opinions on the new surveillance cameras. Matt Javier, a GBHS junior, does not view surveillance as a deterrent of activity. “The cameras force students who do donuts in the school parking lot to go to other places
such as the Safeway parking lot or on the street,” Javier said. “It endangers others because the alternative places are full of people and drivers.” Others view the cameras as an infringement on their right to privacy, but when students step on campus, their right to privacy changes. Jarrod Westberg, a GBHS AP Government teacher, acknowledges that the law allows the school administration to do this. “There is not much of (a right to privacy),” Westberg said. “The safety of the masses (is more important) than the rights of the individual.” Furthermore, the school faces a liability issue when students come on campus after school hours. It has an obligation to prevent students from coming on campus while they are unsupervised. Because of the limited complaints against the cameras and the recent success, school officials are considering the implementation of the cameras all across campus. “We want permanent cameras (everywhere),” McGuire said. “They (will) decrease vandalism and keep out (student) crowds gathering at GBHS after hours.”
Granite Bay recently named top water user in the area Millions of extra gallons used to maintain school’s athletic fields BY MAGGIE BELL
mbell.gazette@gmail.com
___The Roseville Joint Union High School District Board Meeting in February determined that Granite Bay High School is considered to be in a state of water emergency and needs to make major water reductions. Approximately 28 million gallons of water is consumed by GBHS in a year. In comparison, other schools, including Oakmont, Roseville, Woodcreek and Antelope use only 21 million gallons or less. With many well-kept facilities and athletic fields, GBHS is in the
top 10 highest users in the region according to the RJUHSD Board. The main source of water for the Granite Bay community comes from Folsom Lake, which has served as an issue in the face of the current drought. Approximately 20-25 percent of water usage cutbacks have been instituted to help relieve this as compared to last year, according to the San Juan Water District. Despite the statistics, some experts believe GBHS is not entirely at fault. “We don’t necessarily think (GBHS) is overusing water based on parcel size,” Judy Johnson of the San Juan Water District said.
“When we are ... compared to LA or the Bay Area, we are much lower, but they don’t have the same size properties.” Even though the SJWD believes Granite Bay is not overusing water, they are still asking residents to cut down on water usage. “We feel that everyone, by doing their part, can achieve the goal (of) 25 percent reduction from last year’s use in order to get us through the current drought situation,” Johnson said. According to Scott Braly, GBHS fish and wildlife and biology teacher, one way people can easily reduce the water usage for landscaping is hand watering and
installing drip watering without even changing their yards. With the rain that comes from this time of year, people don’t need to be watering their lawns and gardens all the time. The last storms in Granite Bay have helped raise the water level of Folsom Lake from approximately 35 percent to more than 50 percent of capacity. “These past storms have helped a lot because we did have a lot of rainfall, but they definitely didn’t get us out of this drought or anything,” Braly said. The drought and lack of conservation of water are also going to affect the animals and nature of the region. Being a naturally dry place prone to wildfires every
year, California’s drought will only make matters worse. If the Granite Bay area continues to use water at the current rate, the lack of water is going to cause a dry summer, making for a less enjoyable hot season. Therefore, experts like Braly recommend everyone try and conserve as much water as possible, taking up better habits such as shorter showers and hand watering. “California always burns, but it will be more severe this summer,” Braly said. “All the river systems and animals need water too, and there are a lot of people living in this area. We all need water and we are simply going to have to accept that water is in short supply.”
Friday, April 4, 2014
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w The Granite Bay Gazette
Robotics team battles growing pains
Room restrictions and red tape challenge past champions BY EMILY WAGNER
ewagner.gazette@gmail.com
For more than sixteen years, Granite Bay High School’s Robotics team has built new robots each year. The team has grown in popularity, but the lack of experience from new members is now causing some problems. “We’re experiencing growing pains this year,” said Steve Miller, GBHS physics teacher and robotics adviser. “We got over 50 students involved in the team. In the past, the most we’ve had (was in the) mid20s, so we’ve doubled our size.” Many members from last year had been on the team for fours years and had more than six years of experience with robotics. This experience and strength led the team to take 13th place in the global competition last year in St. Louis. Now, the team is larger and generally younger. They only won one match at the first competition this year, and according to junior Maadhav Shah, who has been on the
team for three years, the losses were due to a combination of lack of experience and bad luck. “We had a lot of people who knew how to work around robotics and get all the specifics (last year),” Shah said. “It might take us a little bit longer to bounce back from losing them, but we’re getting better and better as we gain more experience.” In addition to the lack of experience, the team is also facing some issues with administrative support. “I don’t feel like the school supports us enough,” said junior James Brown who, like Shah, has been on the robotics team for three years. “Without their support we can’t do well, and they won’t support us if we don’t do well. It’s an endless cycle.” Robotics leaders have recently struggled with getting permission to stay later after school, as well as getting permission to practice in certain areas like the gym. Right now, the team practices are limited to half of the woodshop room and Miller’s classroom, which according to Brown,
isn’t very useful. However, Miller said he understands that the administration has to help a lot of different groups. “We’ve got a lot of successful programs vying for the same space,” Miller said. “It’s a good issue to have. We are all trying to be successful and do great things.” Despite these problems, Miller said he believes that administration is actually supportive. “They’ve been … making sure that we’re doing the right thing, and that we’re getting the right pieces in place that allow us to continue to have longevity as a team, as a club, as a program on campus,” Miller said. Although the rest of the team is unhappy with the administration, they try not to let it affect their work. “It’s frustrating but we mostly push past it and try our best; both to win and to learn,” Brown said. “I think we just need to shoot high, and we just need to look back at our mistakes and learn from them for the future.”
Special to the Gazette /KEN CHEW
Robotics junior Alex Chiu, senior Christian Homme and their mentor Matthew McCormick, left, work on their robot. Seniors Johnny Zhang, Connor Ryan, and other students wheel the robot out just before competing,above, and set it down on the field, below.
New STRIPE program attracts new students with a college alternative Energy courses teach apprentices in eight weeks BY MARY-FRANCES HANSEN mhansen.gazette@gmail.com
The STRIPE Program has become popular among students and adults within the greater Sacramento region since its beginning five years ago. STRIPE helps people that don’t want to go to college, are financially strapped, but want to get out into the workforce. “This program is for graduates, so you have to have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development and it’s for those students who aren’t interested in going to community college,” said Cindi Underwood, College and Career Center counselor. “It is connected with American River College, so you can get college credits for it, but it’s an infrastructure for the trades.” There are two sets of eight-week classes, and the people who sign up learn skills to go out into the trades, which apply to unions. “After taking eight weeks of these courses, they
can get a job right away as an apprentice and then in a trade,” Underwood said. “It’s a paid position where they get medical and dental (benefits) and I think they make something starting at $20 an hour.” According to Michelle Restani, special education teacher at Granite Bay High School, one of the classes deals with green energy – solar, electronics and electrical. The other class in the program is in the field of infrastructure – construction buildings, work on the Bay Bridge, and Caltrans work. Restani has recently had experience working with the program and has helped some of her students find jobs along the way. “I had a student go there last year, at this time, and for him it was the perfect set-up because he didn’t have to have two years of school,” Restani said. “He just had to have eight weeks of green energy and (then) got a job as a plumber.” Students at GBHS have recently decided to take advantage of the STRIPE Program. “I have some seniors now that were kind of floun-
NEWS briefs
ASB UPDATE Senior Ball preparations are underway The Gazette talked to senior Audrey Tate about Senior Ball, which is one month from now.
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Gazette: What is this year’s theme?
Tate: Senior Ball is May 3 at the Hyatt in downtown Sacramento.
Tate: Carry On by Fun. We use a song title as a theme every year. Our colors are lavender, shades of dark purple and ivory
Gazette: What goes into the planning of Senior Ball? Tate: A lot. We have to account for a lot of the small details like making sure everyone is seated at the table they wish to be seated at and making sure our theme and color is incorporated everywhere, and we try to make sure every senior knows where to go and times and everything. We started planning in January and work on it every day.
Students design successful proposal for stadium
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Gazette: When and where is Senior Ball taking place?
Gazette photo /EMILY WAGNER
Gazette: When should people ASB member Audrey Tate start asking their dates? Tate: Probably now! Ticket sales start Monday.
dering (in what to do), so I asked them if they would that don’t have them, and the other day is general be interested in this program and they are super plumbing,” Blair said. “You get a taste of everything excited now,” Restani said. “If they because you don’t do the same thing decide that they don’t want to do the everyday.” program, at least they learned a trade, Students who have participated in the After taking eight STRIPE program would recommend it which is definitely beneficial.” Some GBHS graduates who have weeks of these to anyone struggling to find work. found out about the benefits of this “The teachers know if you’re mocourses, they can tivated and want to do it, then they’ll program are now enrolling to increase their own chances of getting a job. get a job right help you out, but if you’re just looking “I didn’t understand what everything for some money, then they’re going to away as an ap- know that too because they can read was in the construction trade until I went there,” said GBHS graduate Aarprentice and then you pretty well,” Blair said. “STRIPE on Blair. “They give you a broad view is the way to go.” in a trade. of all of (the trades) instead of just The STRIPE Program has made it – Cindi Underwood, College possible for people like Blair to go to learning what they are about.” and Career center counselor work every day and experience someEven though Blair has to wake up early in the morning to get to work, he thing new. said he still enjoys going because of all “The whole point of getting the the interesting people he meets, and he STRIPE Program at GBHS is for peois able to work hard while doing something he loves. ple to know that there is another option out there if “One day we re-pipe of all the apartments, the next you’re not going to a four-year or Sierra College,” we put washers and dryers in the old apartments Restani said.
plans the upcoming formal dance for the senior class.
Sometimes girls prefer flashy Gazette: How do you suggest stuff at school and sometimes it’s sweet to have a small people to ask their dates to gesture. Senior Ball? We see it all during Winter Ball and formal dance seasons. Tate: The more creative the better. It depends how their date would want to be asked. –Compiled by Emily Wagner
Months of hard work paid off for the Regional Occupational Program architecture, engineering, and construction students of Granite Bay High School when they won the Architecture Construction Engineering competition on March 15th. Fifteen schools as members of the program across the Sacramento area were challenged in August to design the best Sports and Entertainment Center on the lot of the Westfield Mall in downtown Sacramento. GBHS students paired up with licensed architects and engineers to build an energy and water efficient behemoth that facilitates music concerts, hockey games and even monster truck rallies as well as basketball games. Students took a field trip to the construction site and refined their design plans until mid-February, while balancing their internships. “Back in December, I knew, I knew we were going to win based on their motivation, their responsibility,” said ROP teacher Steve Dolan. “Students organized themselves.” Uniquely, the stadium, painstakingly rendered seat-by-seat in SketchUp, features a green roof, playground and thoughtfully planned entrances for supplies and concert band. At their March presentations of their designs where they won first place, Dolan said the National Basketball Association vice president of the Sacramento Kings applauded their design. –Compiled by Grace Moore
Special to the Gazette / ROP at GBHS
GBHS students partnered with engineers to design a unique stadium, which they rendered in Google SketchUp and presented to local professionals.
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Friday, April 4, 2014
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Some minorities struggle academically at GBHS Administration increases efforts to close gaps BY MEREDITH DECHERT mdechert.gazette@gmail.com
With a student body predominantly comprised of white middle-class teens, it’s no secret that some criticize the relative lack of ethnic and economic diversity in the Granite Bay High School population. According to principal Mike McGuire’s Master Student Disaggregated Data, only 18.5 percent of GBHS students are non-white. Some groups are especially underrepresented: AfricanAmericans, who make up about 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population, according to the 2010 Census, constitute about two percent of the current GBHS student body – 45 students. Forty-one students identified themselves as Hispanic and non-white. Junior Chanel Savant, who identifies herself as halfblack, said she feels the effects of the lack of diversity at GBHS often, as fellow students make comments casually referencing her race nearly every day. Much more rarely, she said, peers might also use racial slurs in her presence. “People will call me ‘nigga’,” she said, “and I’m like, no. Even when other black people call me that I don’t really like it … I’ve had people tell me, ‘I bet you eat this every day – fried chicken,’ and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t.’ I’m not from the ghetto, I don’t have fake hair, I don’t do ‘ghetto games’ or whatever.” Savant said she feels the mostly white population at GBHS creates a relatively sheltered environment leading to students making insensitive comments or jokes. “Most of the times the kids don’t even realize it,” she said. “Or they’ll be like, ‘Oh, yeah, no offense … If they’re my close friends, then I’m totally OK with it because I know they’re kidding, but if it’s someone I just met then I’m not OK with it.” Senior Alyx Verras is a Hispanic student and says her household is relatively low-income in comparison to other GBHS students. Verras said peers will joke about her ethnicity, though not often. She also said she feels that GBHS is accommodating to low-income students and helps them succeed. “We don’t have a lot of problems at this school,” she said, “and because it’s in a fairly well-off area, people that aren’t financially well-off kind of benefit. At one of my old elementary schools, we didn’t have new textbooks.” But despite individual experiences of minority students, a recent report on socioeconomic groups’ achievement at GBHS compiled by the school administration shows economically disadvantaged students at GBHS achieving an Academic Performance Index of 767 relative to the white population’s 868. African-American GBHS students performed at a lower API of 682, Hispanic or Latino students at 846, English-learners at 741, and students with disabilities at 642. About 79.2 percent of Hispanic students and 62.5 percent of African-American students take a math class up to the Algebra 2 level relative to 84 percent for the entire student body. Discrepancies in academic achievement among different socioeconomic groups have prompted the state government to instruct high schools to invest more time and money into disadvantaged or underperforming groups, according to McGuire. “You need to make sure you narrow all these gaps,” McGuire said. “The state is saying … ‘We’re not going to tell you how to do it any more; you’re the experts, you know your kids, you know your communities, but, let’s be clear, you’re going to get money, so make good use of
it and narrow the gaps’.” As part of the California education system’s new Local Control Funding Formula, which allows individual school districts the ability to more freely allocate their resources, the Roseville Joint Union High School District has received about $1.2 million more than the previous year to use for narrowing the achievement gaps of “target students” – English language learners, low-income students, historically disadvantaged ethnicities and students with disabilities – for the 2014-2015 school-year. The solutions implemented will likely be adapted specifically to each school, McGuire said – so much so that what the Roseville Joint Union High School District does to remedy inequality at Woodcreek High School, for example, could be different than action at GBHS. McGuire said possible future efforts at GBHS include creating smaller class sizes with more teachers, lending Chromebooks to students without computers, more attention for intervention classes and English-learner programs, implementing incentives for after-school programs and even personal visits by counselors and administrators to the homes of target students to help foster communication. McGuire notes the difficulties low-income students face contribute to their lower quantitative achievement. “When you’re just trying to get by from day-to-day on very low subsistence,” he said, “it’s hard to be having conversations about what college you want to go to or what you want to major in … especially if you are being raised in a family where no one went to college before you.” More than 80 percent of students at GBHS have a parent who has a college degree, McGuire said, and many GBHS parents hold graduate degrees or higher, which contributes to the overall success of the school. However, in recent years, especially since 2008, the number of financially struggling students at GBHS has increased. “We’ve gone from about fifteen to 200-and-something (economically disadvantaged students),” he said. “So these tough economic times that the nation has just gone through have even impacted a community like Granite Bay High School.” After attending a meeting on March 26 where certain teachers gathered to discuss and offer ideas for narrowing the gaps, English teacher Jenny Padgett, who has been involved for the past six years in the GBHS Academic Literacy program, which provides a class and tutoring for struggling students, said she is glad the state, district and GBHS are taking steps to more directly address differences in academic achievement between groups. She said she hopes the efforts will include the addition of new teachers to lower class sizes. “I think for teachers it’s a no-brainer,” she said, “Let us hire some more people in the fields of math and English where we can spread these kids out.” Padgett also said she hopes more will be done to address the problems that can arise from having a study body composed of overwhelmingly a single race. She said she has witnessed arguments involving racially based insults many times throughout her career at GBHS and often has students speak to her about offensive comments they have received. But despite the relative lack of ethnic and economic variety at GBHS, McGuire said he believes there is more cultural diversity at the school than many initially recognize.
“There is a minimum of 15 different (ethnicities) represented at Granite Bay High School,” he said. “When you really open your eyes and look … there’s more diversity than we give the school credit for. There are 34 different languages spoken in the homes of the students of Granite Bay High School other than English.” McGuire said the importance of all kinds of diversity
Gazette illustration/AKASH KHOSLA
on campus is great. “Diversity only makes a high school better and richer,” he said. “The experiences are much broader and much more international, more global, whether you’re looking at politics or religion or other cultural aspects of dress, or interests, or music, or anything else. It just makes the school better.”
The wait for college decisions is over ... now what? Choosing the right school for you BY KIANA OKHOVAT
kokhovat.gazette@gmail.com
College season has officially come to a close, with most decision notifications having ended in early April. The Gazette had a conversation with four Granite Bay High School alum at various colleges. Below is some of what they had to say. For the full interviews, see GraniteBayToday.org. *** w 2012 graduate Jessica Reese, sophomore at Harvard College. What made you choose this school? As soon as I read the email beginning with “we are delighted,” I knew I was going there. What do you know now about your school that you wish you knew when you were choosing a school in senior year? Everything. My circumstance was rather unique. I applied to Harvard only because my mother was willing to spend $90 on what I fully expected to be a rejection letter. It was only during my interview and then, after I had been accepted, that I began to research the university. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? Had I known about Boston, about the Yard, about the wonderful homework haven Crema Café in the Square, about the housing system, about the (soon to re-
open) Fogg Art Museum, and all the other wonderful things about Harvard, I know I would have made it my top choice over Yale or Princeton. What advice would you give to your younger, senior-stressing self? Take a deep breath. What has been the best part, so far, about your college experience? Freshman fall was by far the best four months of my life. In a new city with a whole university full of new peers and access to some of the most brilliant minds in the world – there is truly nothing quite as magical as that first semester. Worst? Dinning hall food is terrible, no matter where you are. *** w 2013 graduate Megan Zabrowski, freshman at University of Michigan. What made you choose University of Michigan? I know you were deciding between that and UCLA. I’ve always known I wanted to major in business so even though UCLA has beautiful weather and is very similar to UM, I ended up going with the school that had my major which I think is very important. What do you know now about your school that you wish you knew when you were choosing a school in senior year? I wish I knew how satisfying it was going
to be going out of state and pushing myself to go somewhere where I knew nobody. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? I think a lot of people turn down schools that are out of California (if money isn’t a factor in the decision process) because they’re afraid to be so far from home, but I can say that it has made me the best person I could be at this point in my life What advice would you give to your younger, senior-stressing self? College admissions is a weird game, so just remember that. Also, I got denied from my dream school and cried forever, and now looking back, I would’ve absolutely hated going there so it all works out for the best. What has been the best part, so far, about your college experience? The best part about college has been the organizations I’ve joined. Worst? Worst part is the weather right now. *** w 2013 graduate Kristin Taylor, freshman at UCLA. What made you choose this school? For me it came down to UC Berkeley, Saint Mary’s, and UCLA, which are all extremely different. Up until the night before the deadline for my decision, I didn’t even know if I wanted a big school or a small school so the decision-making process was a nightmare. What do you know now about your college that you wish you knew when
choosing your college? The food! This is so sad to admit but I absolutely love our dining options. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? I think I was so tied between the three schools that the smallest of “pro’s” I could have added to my pros and cons list, which I stared at for hours the night before I was forced to finally decide, would have pushed me to one over the other two. What advice would you give to your younger, senior-stressing self? In my head I kept telling myself that this decision was a four-year commitment and that if I made the wrong choice, there was no going back and I would have to just basically be unhappy and live with regret. What has been the best part, so far, about your college experience? Gamma Phi Beta. I didn’t think I was the sorority type at all and people were surprised when I told them I was planning on rushing, but deciding to rush in the fall and joining my sorority has been such a great experience. Worst? The worst part is the classes. People fail classes they study enormous amounts for. It’s a thing. They are ridiculous. *** w 2013 graduate Emma Gracyk, freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. What made you choose this school? I chose Cal Poly because it is currently the No. 1 undergraduate architecture program in the nation and that was originally
my major. What do you know now about your college that you wish you knew when choosing your college? I knew that changing your major at Cal Poly was difficult, but I guess I didn’t realize what a pain it was until actually going through the process. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? At the time I was applying for schools I thought I wanted to do architecture, but if I knew that I wasn’t ready to choose a major so soon I would have gone to a school like the UC system, where they don’t even make you choose a major until your third year. What advice would you give to your younger, senior-stressing self? I would tell my younger, senior-stressing self that it gets so much better from high school. If only I knew how much better it got in high school, I feel like I maybe could have been happier in senior year. *** w 2013 graduate Will George, freshman at University of Oregon. What made you choose your school? I went to Oregon because of the football, and I thought I loved rain. What do you know now about your school that you wish you knew when you were choosing a school in senior year? See COLLEGE, page A7
School media crew documents GBHS band trip Performance at Carnegie Hall forever captured BY MAGGIE BELL
mbell.gazette@gmail.com
As the principal of Granite Bay High School, Mike McGuire has the means to make special expenditures from his personal discretionary fund. Recently, one of those opportunities presented itself when the Granite Bay High School Concert Band traveled to New York to perform in Carnegie Hall. In the beginning of the year, the Concert Band became the only band out of seven nominees to be named by the Boston Composers Coalition to play at Carnegie Hall. The GBHS band has only gotten to play in Carnegie Hall one other previous occasion, however this time the performance was even more exclusive: being named by
the Coalition meant that it would have a piece composed solely for them to perform at Carnegie Hall. “Since this was such a big deal and such a cool opportunity, I thought, ‘Lets do a cool documentary on it like you see on CNN and the Discovery Channel,’” McGuire said. “I went to (the media class) and said ‘I’d like to send a couple of media students along with them on their trip.’” Principal McGuire’s idea was turned into action on Feb. 29, when the Concert Band, along with the documentarians seniors Kylee Floodman, Sierra Putnam and media teacher Zachary Weidkamp, boarded the 6 a.m. flight to New York. “We basically filmed them on all their excursions, sightseeing, and as much as we could of their rehearsals,” Floodman said. Floodman and Putnam had also been gathering interviews and background stories on the band in the months leading up to their Carnegie Hall performance,
to produce a more complete DVD. The media crew was flown to New York with the trip paid for by the school, from McGuire’s discretionary fund. However, the three-person weeklong trip to New York ended up being more costly than McGuire had initially planned on. “It turned out it was a little pricey, since it is expensive to fly back and forth to New York and stay in hotels … but that came out of my side budget,” McGuire said. Aside from the plane ride and hotel rooms, McGuire’s costs also covered the film crew going along on the band’s pre-planned sightseeing adventures, to capture the musicians in activities outside of their concert preparations. “It was cool because, (since we were filming them), we got to (not only) go on all the sightseeing tours with the band, (but) also get to experience New York a
little while we were there too,” Floodman said. For members in the band, having their own personal camera crew follow them around was a cool experience even in itself. “I feel like the week will be more memorable because now we can look back on the trip, and, in a way, the documentary is going to allow us to relive it all over again,” said Sarah Fassler, a sophomore band member. Despite their success, many GBHS students are not aware of the extensive awards and recognition the Concert Band receives. “Knowing that people are going out of their way to record our program for us showed us that we matter to the school,” Fassler said. The DVD is planned to be approximately 45 minutes long. The media crew has hours of footage to edit to prepare for the film’s release. They are expecting it to go on sale in mid-April.
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HARM: Students who self-harm tell why and how to appropriately help
Continued from page A1
officially diagnosed with a minor form of bipolar
four years. The sophomore boy has been officially diagnosed with a minor form of bipolar disorder and clinical depression. “Borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and depression are most often associated with self-injurious behaviors,” said Marissa Williams, a marriage and family therapist intern at Hearts and Hands Counseling. But self harm and diagnosis are not synonymous – people who self-harm might never have been diagnosed, and people who are diagnosed might not self-harm. Self-harm is not dictated by diagnosis. For students who do not self-harm, this might be a confusing thing – wanting to hurt yourself to make yourself feel better. “A reason for self-harming is that the person may be feeling numb or disconnected and engaging in selfinjury helps them to feel alive,” Williams said. Beta endorphins are released after self-harm that act as natural painkillers and can bring on good feelings, making it more likely that the person will continue to engage in the behavior. “It’s a way of regaining feeling, when I feel numb,” the sophomore boy said. “I just want to feel something.” Opening up to friends and family is always a good step, but seeing a professional is also an option. Opening up to people, however, can be hard, the sophomore said. “I didn’t really feel like I trusted (my therapist) for a long time, I mean he was my therapist, but he was just someone new,” he said. When the therapist was told about the self-harm, he did not tell his patient they would be starting a therapy that was gauged specifically for helping his self harm. “Dialectical Behavior Therapy works on finding replacement behaviors, decreasing or eliminating self- injurious behaviors,” Williams said. “DBT uses mindfulness and self-acceptance to teach distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.” If young people do not think they can talk to friends or a therapist, for whatever reason, they can always call any of the hot lines available. And for those who do not like talking on the phone, there are online chat suicide hot lines. Self-harm is often something that people try to hide. If they cut their wrists, for example, they might wear long sleeves or lots of bracelets to cover the scars. If the marks of self-harm are seen, people can turn to making excuses to avoid uncomfortable sharing of personal information. “My first excuse I used with my parents was saying
that I smacked my arm on a locker walking out of the locker room,” he said. “Some people also think I have lots of cats.” For many people, when others see their cuts, making up stories of why they have those cuts is easier than telling the truth. For this boy however, when he relapsed this winter, he stopped caring about what people said or what people saw. “I got weird comments from people, but normally I would just blow them off,” he said. “It’s not their business, so I don’t need to explain myself.” Some students might not know how to react when told their friend self-harms, or when they see the evidence. “Do not try to make the person feel guilty, they most likely already feel really guilty or ashamed,” Williams said. The sophomore boy said there is a difference between pity and caring, even if it’s just the way you phrase things. “I have had people say, ‘I’m sorry you feel the need to cut,’ which to me feels like I’m being pitied,” he said. “But when someone says ‘I’m sorry you want to cut,’ it feels more like they’re saying that they’re sorry that they couldn’t stop that reason, and for me that shows that they do care.” While students should reach out to others, if friends notice something, without bringing up the self-harm, they can still prove to that person they care. “Actually the first time my friend directly said to me that she cared about me and said that she really wanted me to be OK, it just really made me not want to cut anymore,” he said. “She wasn’t implying that she cared, she straight out said it. It made a difference.” Another student, a girl who asked to remain anonymous, began self-harming January 2013 and has been in recovery since October. The sophomore girl, even though she was seeing a therapist regularly, never told her therapist about her self-harm. “I figured if I told my therapist they’d tell my parents and make my treatment more severe,” she said. She also tried to hide her self-harm from her friends. “I didn’t want them to have to worry about me because I knew what it was like to constantly worry about someone like that,” she said. Her friends eventually found out about her selfharm, and they created a long list of great things they loved about her and self-harm alternatives that she could look at when she found herself triggered. Her self-harm was triggered by something different than the sophomore boy. “A reason a person might self-harm is they are under a great amount of stress and becomes overwhelmed,” Williams said. “At some point, that
SAT: Exam to be graded out of 1,600 points Continued from page A1 math concepts and the elimination of so-called “SAT words” – vocabulary terms only encountered on the SAT. Carly Lindauer, senior director of external communications of the College Board, helped to explain why such dramatic changes were implemented. “Our members, including admission officers, school counselors, teachers and students, have called on us to change the SAT and go beyond assessment to deliver opportunity,” Lindauer said in an email. “Our goal is to support college readiness and success for more students and to make sure that those who are prepared take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve earned through their hard work.” Lindauer said another major component of the redesigned SAT is the incorporation of relevant curriculum. “The redesigned SAT will ask students to apply a deep understanding of the few skills and content areas most important for college and career readiness,” Lindauer said. “The questions will be more familiar to students because they’ll be modeled on the work of the best classroom teachers.” These recent SAT revisions come at a turning point for standardized testing, as this is the year of Common Core implementation. Granite Bay High School English teacher and SAT prep tutor David Tastor said he believes there is a strong correlation between the Common Core and SAT changes. “I understand … the head of the SAT and College Board, also happens to be one of the founders of the Common Core,” Tastor said. As an English teacher, Tastor said he sees danger in the elimination of the essay component of the test.
“I know they’re getting rid of the writing, which I understand, but it frightens me that we (might) get kids who can write illegibly and still get into college,” Tastor said. “Understanding clarity and being able to communicate clearly is such an important skill, especially in a dayand-age where we (send) off emails and text messages and posts in an instantaneous fashion without thought.” With major changes coming to the SAT, the GBHS administration plans to incorporate curricular,Common Core reforms. Brent Mattix, the GBHS assistant principal who oversees SAT testing, described the school’s future plans. “It starts with just educating students so they know about the changes,” Mattix said. “I really think (the SAT changes) … are going to be more in alignment with the Common Core shift that’s happening, so … tests, assessments should measure what students are being taught – what they’re learning.” Furthermore, Mattix said that much SAT success lies with knowledge of vocabulary. “Really, at the heart of (the SAT) is vocabulary,” Mattix said. “Logically, the more educated you are, the better vocabulary you have … We already as a school … (have) a much greater emphasis on vocabulary and literacy, so that’s … going to benefit kids.” The class of 2017, the current freshman class, will take the new version of the SAT, benefitting from changes such as the elimination of the wronganswer penalty. “I don’t think that the changes to the SAT will make it any harder,” said freshman Madeline Pautsch.. “I’m glad that there won’t be any penalty for wrong answers so that students won’t be afraid to answer questions they aren’t sure of.”
A5
FAST FACTS Self-Harm Resources w Suicide Prevention hot line 916-368-3111 w CA Youth Crises Line 1-800-843-5200 w Runaway Switchboard 1-800-RUNAWAY w Planned Parenthood 916-446-5037 w Harm Reduction 916-456-4849 w WEAVE 916-920-2952 w Gender Health Center 916-455-2391 w https://www.imalive.org/ w https://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat. aspx person will experience a trigger that pushes them over the top and they will self-harm (usually cutting) to cope and relieve pressure or feel calm.” Whenever she was overwhelmed with negative feelings, usually when she was trying to sleep but couldn’t, the sophomore girl said she felt like she needed something, and whenever she cut she would space out and not feel anything. To her, that was better than constantly feeling like a failure. There can be a wide range of things that can trigger a person, which is what makes social media extremely scary because if someone happens to stumble upon something that triggers them, they’ve already seen it, they’re already triggered. “With the increase in social media usage, young adults feel they have to portray a certain image, and this can lead to increased stress, almost like general anxiety disorder,” Williams said. “Also, self injury has been glamorized among some groups as a way of coping with painful emotions.” The sophomore girl has made progress since her last relapse – she has not only not relapsed, but she has
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also been able to go off her medication. “I stopped because I realized that I could do other things to help myself and it would make my friends happier if I stopped,” she said. Mental health professionals are not mandated to report self-injury to parents but encourage adolescents to tell their parents if they are supportive. Therefore, young adults who want help but are afraid to tell their parents can still get help from counseling. Mental health professionals are, however, mandated to report any suspected child abuse or elder adult abuse to protective services. They are also required to contact the police if a client tells them they are going to commit suicide and will not go to the hospital or if a client says they are going to cause serious bodily harm to another person. “I know that a lot of people are embarrassed or ashamed that they self-harm and do not want to tell other people,” Williams said. “But keeping it secret makes it too easy for the person to keep engaging in the self-harm and keeps them from learning how to positively cope.”
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News A6
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COLLEGE: Graduates look back Continued from page A4
I do not love rain, and the school isn’t that great. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? Yes, I am hopefully transferring after this year (to University of Mississippi). What advise would you give to your younger, senior stressing self? Find someone you know who goes to the school, stay with them for a week going to classes and doing everything they do, see if you like it. What has been the best part, so far, about your college experience? Fraternity life, go Greek people, join or die a GDI. I’m very into Greek life, and Oregon Greek life sucks – no row, it’s dry, etc. Worst? The weather, and the hipster liberal oasis that is the University of Oregon. *** 2013 graduate Justin Habashi, freshman at the University of British Columbia.
What made you choose your school? I decided on UBC because it was high in international econ school ratings and Canada seemed like a new experience. What do you know now about your school that you wish you knew when you were choosing a school in senior year? You’ll truly know if you love the school after experiencing the parties, classes, and peers. Would this knowledge have convinced you to have chosen differently? Even if I knew that I wouldn’t know which school was perfect for me without going there. What advice would you give to your younger, senior-stressing self? Keep stressing, you’ll have plenty of time to relax in college. What has been the best part, so far, about your college experience? Every part of college is great. Even the 5 a.m. 2 cups of coffee 10 page essay due in 4 hours nights were better than high school. Worst? ... Learning to budget.
PRINCIPAL: GBHS prepares for new leader
Continued from page A4
input results, students wanted an approachable principal who is open to student input and relates well to both students and staff. Parents favored a strong leader, who understands and interacts with students. They labeled someone who wants to change the system as undesirable. The staff wanted someone who respects them and allows them to try new things. They also wanted a principal with a passion for working with young people, and an understanding of the community’s needs. McGuire said the school needs “a very relational, collaborative, intelligent, fun school leader who understands the value of developing other school leaders.” The new principal should also know how to deal with problems professionally and without taking offense, McGuire said. According to McGuire, the new principal will have to be prepared to face significant changes over the next year. “We’re in this big transition to the Common Core State Standards,” McGuire said. “Coupled with that is a new state funding formula.” This formula gives schools more money with fewer strings attached. The catch is that schools must “narrow the gap” between at-risk students and students performing at or above grade level. The state will be comparing the performance of “English language learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities (and) some ethnicities” to the rest of the school, McGuire said. Thus, the new principal will have to know how to collect, analyze and report data, as that is how the state will decide if the gap narrows from year to year. In its search for the new principal, the school district advertised the position on EDJoin (the primary online job forum for California schools), in journals by the
Association of California School Administrators as well as with a national journal, Severson said. Then, the district paper-screened down to eight candidates. Of the eight candidates, two were assistant principals from GBHS – Brent Mattix and Sybil Healy – one was from another district school (Jennifer Leighton, a former GBHS choir and English teacher who is an assistant principal at Antelope High) and five were from outside of the school district. On March 20, two panels interviewed seven candidates, as one candidate from outside of the district did not show up for the interviews. Of the seven candidates, three were female and four were male. One interview panel was comprised of teachers and administrators, while the other was comprised of students, parents and teachers. There was an assistant superintendent with each panel. Candidates were interviewed for 40 minutes by each panel, and the panels had a list of 11 questions they were allowed to ask the candidates. The panel members were allowed to rephrase the questions or ask follow-up questions if necessary. “Most of them answered more than thoroughly,” said panel member Jennifer Hill, a GBHS Spanish teacher and the school’s teacher
in charge of professional development. “Sometimes it was like, ‘You have 10 minutes left and five more questions, so here we go.’” The panels had the list of desired characteristics and would note if a candidate said something contrary to the list. “Some people would come in and say, ‘Well, I’d completely redo the way this is done here,’” which did not coincide with student, parent or staff wishes, Hill said. After concluding the interviews, the panels narrowed the seven candidates down to four, and from these four the school board will choose the new principal. According to several sources on the GBHS campus, Mattix and Leighton and two outside candidates are the four finalists. The finalists will interview with district officials and school board members, and RJUHSD officials might conduct site visits at the candidates’ schools. “The new principal will be announced once the board has granted final approval,” Severson said. “Depending on how the process goes, we are hoping to make a final announcement at the (Tuesday) board meeting.” The new principal will officially start work on July 1, but will transition into the position over the next few months.
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CAR: Team will be Houston-bound soon Continued from page A2
effort … was a little challenging.” Even with these difficulties, the team will still plan to compete in the Eco-marathon from April 24-27 at Shell’s race track in Houston. The car will race six miles on less than a pint of Ethanol fuel. GBHS will be up against other high schools and colleges from across the nation. Some of the most prestigious engineering schools, such as UCLA, MIT and Cal Poly, will also compete. “(The colleges) have more mature students with a higher skill set than we have, and they definitely have
better facilities, equipment, and financing than we have,” Dolan said. “So, we’re the underdogs … but success (for us) is getting to Houston.” While the competing colleges wield an advantage, it is not unheard of for high schools to gain some recognition. In 2013, an all-girls team from Granite Falls, Wash., won first place out of 125 teams in the safety features category. “It’s possible for high school teams to make a very big showing and do very well against these big-name colleges,” Dolan said, “I hope, for my students, that we can do the same.”
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News A8
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LEIGHTON: New principal returns to GBHS
Continued from page A1 Oakmont. All the kids who lived in Granite Bay also went to Oakmont because there was no school out there, so everybody just wanted to go to Granite Bay. Those of us that were able to go felt pretty excited, pretty privileged to be able to go out there. And then you had those crazy days with the fire alarms going off randomly. In my choir I think I had like 28 girls and two boys and that was all I had. … It was a lot of work, and I’m glad I did it. Gazette: You were also an English teacher at Oakmont before you were a choir teacher? Leighton: I was. I was actually an English major, and I taught English for 10 years. And then the choir program kept growing, and I kind of found my passion there. I said, “That’s OK, I’ll let someone else grade the English papers.” Gazette: So tell me about your experience working with high school students. Leighton: Oh, I love high school students. I raised three kids of my own ... Ariel is a junior at (the University of California at) Davis and Emory’s a freshman at Davis. My son (is) about ready to graduate from UC Irvine in mechanical engineering. I’ve lived with teenagers. It’s more fun working with them than living with them, I’ll tell you that. I originally thought I wanted to teach junior high, and I found out, no, I don’t (want to teach junior high). I love high schoolers, and the energy, and the authenticity. … I just feed off of that. I just can’t imagine working with elementary school or junior high or all adults ... high school is the best by far. Gazette: I talked to (deputy superintendent Ron) Severson yesterday – he mentioned that being principal at GBHS has always been your dream job. Leighton: Yeah, there’s something about Granite Bay, maybe it’s just that level of expectation that I loved. The only reason I left is that it was time for me personally to move into administration, and there weren’t going to be any openings (at GBHS). I knew they were going to need a female leader (at Antelope) soon, so I came here, but I thought I would be (at GBHS) for life. So it’s been exciting to come back, there’s just, I call it a little buzz in the air, just an electricity of students that are working so hard, maybe working too hard at times. I was the same way. My students would rise to the occasion – you could do more with those students than you could
at a lot of other places. Well you guys mainly have really supportive parents. ... So I just always thought we could do great things, and yeah it’s been my dream to go back. I was hoping there would be a chance. Every once in a while someone would say, “Are you going to come back?” and I would say, “Well, if there was ever an opening.” Gazette: So what are your short-term and long-term goals for GBHS? Leighton: Oh wow, I feel like I’m interviewing again. My shortterm goals are just to get to know as many people as I can, to hang out, to find out what’s going on. Because when I was a teacher ... I didn’t spend a lot of time hanging out in English classrooms, on the soccer field or in the office. I just don’t have a clear picture of everything. So it’s going to be information gathering. I just need to get to know what we’re doing, all of the great things that we can do. Once I have an idea, which I think will take that first year, then maybe we’ll set some goals of doing even greater things. But it’s a fantastic school, so I’m not going to say, “We’re Granite Bay, and we’re a mess. I need to come in and take over.” That’s not how I feel at all. You have some incredible teachers and awesome students, I just want to get to know everyone and hang out. I want to be at all of the plays and all of the football games, the swim meets and wherever else. I just want to get to know people again, because I’ve been away for a long time. Gazette: What are you most excited for at GBHS? Leighton: Everything. To get to know people again, and there’s a lot of new teachers ... I think I read in the WASC report there’s like 20 left who opened the school, and that surprises me. … Some of the teachers that we’ve had here ... ended up out there – (Michaela) Badaracco, we hired her first, and Crystal Buskirk started here first, Ryan Beidler, he started here too. Those are the only newcomers I really know, so I have to go see all these new, fabulous, young teachers. … I’d hate to say, “Well, this is my plan” when I feel like I have to gather information for myself. Of course I’ve read everything that I can read, and I’ve interviewed some teachers and some students and some parents. I went out there myself, but I just don’t see how I can make anything very firm other than I just want to be the best that we can be ... I don’t feel comfortable making any statement other than: I know it’s a great place and
Leighton: Oh they wouldn’t here because they’re here so much anyway. (Superintendent Tony) Monetti comes and visits me twice a year, Mr. Severson is here a lot, (executive director of personnel services Steve) Williams is here a lot, Mr Montgomery is here a lot. I’ve worked with all of them on different projects over at the district office ... so they’re very aware of what’s going on. I think they would do more site visits for someone outside of the district that they didn’t know. They talk to my principal all the time, so they know what I’m capable of and what I’m up to. Gazette: Mr. Severson mentioned that you do a lot of the master schedule and things that a principal would normally do. Will you be bringing that experience to GBHS? Leighton: Absolutely. I’ll be happy to have some assistant principals helping me, and there are some good ones out there. But I did everything from (hiring) probably half of the staff here, ... (overseeing) the counselors … (and deciding) who taught what and in which room. You have portables at GBHS, we don’t have any portables. No teacher has their own room here, its like this giant puzzle where you teach your first and second here and then you go out and have prep and then this other person comes in. We have some teacher lounges, and there’s a math office and that’s where they have to go during their prep because they don’t have their own classroom. … I’ve also overseen athletics and been heavily Gazette photo /GRACE MOORE involved with some issues with Jennifer Leighton was a choir teacher at GBHS before becom- coaches, issues between parents ing assistant principal at Antelope High School and coaches and issues between boosters and coaches ... (Rob) me put it that way, intense. And it’s all about the students. I need Hasty, who is now the principal at to support the teachers too, but it’s then moving over to the student, Oakmont, opened the school. He parent and teacher panel ... was what’s best for the students. I just was the only assistant principal probably a little more comfortable for the first four months, and I was want to bring out the best in the because students are in the rooms. best teaching choir. I had expressed It kinda reminds you that this is Gazette: So how was the intermy interest, and finally they said, what it’s really all about, these are viewing process? “You can hire a second assistant the people that are going to have Leighton: It was really nerveprincipal.” So I taught one period to work with you every day. But racking, there’s just a lot of of choir and then came into (the they were each 40 minutes long, people. There were teachers and office) for the rest of the day. and then after that they said, “Well There (were) only two of us, we district office people and students you made it to the second round.” and parents. (On) the first panel had to do everything. You name Then I had to go to another (in(were) maybe 12 to 13 profesit, testing, athletics, activities, all terview) over at the district office sionals, there was a principal, a the discipline, and there were only counselor, a clerical staff member, with some school board members two of us. It was a little crazy the a bunch of teachers and Mr. Sever- and then all of the district office first few years. The kids were a people. So it was definitely someson and (assistant superintendent little wild, and just everything that of curriculum John) Montgomery. thing that I had to prepare for, be was thrown at you, you didn’t reready for and put my game face Some of the teachers, like (Branally have anyone to share it with. on for. It wasn’t miserable, it was don) Dell’Orto and I, taught toI mean we both would be in our gether at Oakmont, and so to be in just intense. I had to work hard for offices just kind of going crazy. this. that professional setting and still When you open a new school as Gazette: Did the district do site try not to crack a joke and answer an administrator, you get a lot of visits and come out and see you? the question, it was intense. Let responsibility really fast. What
he finally started to do with me is give me even more responsibility, and take me out of the discipline. So I’m just overflow discipline. I do a lot of work with curriculum and instruction and working with teachers. I evaluate a lot of teachers, I walk teachers through each other’s classrooms and we work together on lesson planning ... I do oversee the (Academic Merit Awards) and ... graduation. ... I’ve already talked to (GBHS assistant principal Sybil) Healy about (the GBHS graduation), I think she has a good plan. I oversee registration, how the kids sign up for classes, outreach to the eighth graders, and then getting all of those numbers in and figuring out the master schedule. Then you have all those schedule pickup days in the fall I have overseen ... clerical … I’m in charge of a lot of the number things, so I have to come up with all of these numbers and spreadsheets. You name it, I’ve done it. Gazette: (Retiring GBHS principal Mike) McGuire was talking about the new state funding formula where you have to show the gap narrowed between at-risk and average students. Leighton: I know, for instance, that your socioeconomically disadvantaged students are 100 points lower than the average. So that’s something that we do want to take a look at, but again until I’m there I don’t want to make any guesses or say how exactly we’ll address that. But I will be paying attention. Gazette: You mentioned you work with athletics, so what’s your favorite sport? Leighton: Well that’s such a great question, because I played volleyball in college. So you’d think I’d say volleyball, but I think basketball is my favorite. I played basketball in high school and it just moves so quickly. I mean I love football and I love soccer and baseball, softball, track – I did track too, so I’m really interested in the hurdles and stuff like that – but you’re just so close to a basketball game. Gazette: Will we be seeing you on campus over the next few months? Leighton: I hope so, not as much as once I’m official, I still have to finish strong here. I still have work to do, I’m still in charge of graduation, I’m still in charge of the AMAs ... I still have teachers’ evaluations to finish, but I’ve been talking to (GBHS assistant principal Brent) Mattix already ... we were talking about the master schedule. I’ll be involved, I just won’t be out there as much as I’d hoped. I’ll (...) be at graduation.
SEDUCTION: Students’ poor decisions are now permanently documented online Continued from page B1 Miller said social media dictates a lot of her friends’ lives, and they rely on it for day-to-day life. “If someone were to post a sex tape on Twitter, everyone and anyone would know about it immediately,” Miller said. When the videos and photos were posted to social media, Woodcreek students quickly saw them, and the images electronically spread across the campus. Woodcreek principal Jess Borjon said the scandal was only an issue with the students at Woodcreek for about a week, and then people seemed to stop caring about what happened. “The circle (of students) that it directly affected was relatively small,” Borjon said. “It took our school probably less than a week to get over it. Other than the media coverage, people moved on.” Borjon also said one of the biggest detriments to the school that came about from the scandal was the way that the school was portrayed by the media. “We are a school of 2,200 students and one student made a very bad decision,” Borjon said. “People were disappointed in the incident it-
self, but more disappointed that the school as a whole was being portrayed in (a negative) kind of tone.” Borjon went on to say how this could happen at any school – it’s not exclusive to Woodcreek. “This is real life,” Borjon said. “We have deaths and tragedies and everything else, just like Granite Bay.” An anonymous GBHS alumni who graduated in 2008 made a sex tape during her sophomore year. She was dating a senior at the time, and after they broke up, he decided to show it to all of his friends. “People were coming up to me and telling me that they had seen me having sex. It was one of the worst experiences in my high school career,” she said. “In 2006, it was a crazy concept to be having sex when you’re 16 years old, so everyone freaked out.” Fortunately for her, social media didn’t play as big a role in high school students’ lives in 2006 as it does today. In 2006, high school students were making the transition from MySpace to Facebook, so the idea of posting everything to a site wasn’t comprehensible to many high school students. “I don’t know what I would have done if it would have been put online, I wouldn’t be the
person that I am today,” she said. “I wouldn’t have gone to the college that I went to, and I wouldn’t have gotten the jobs that I’ve had because everyone would know and everyone would have seen what I had done.” She said she is incredibly thankful there weren’t sites like Twitter and Instagram when she was in high school, and how it makes her sad that teenagers’ mistakes will permanently be online because they post everything that happens. Borjon said teenagers make mistakes, and it’s unfortunate they are all documented on social media. “Teenagers make decisions that most rational people wouldn’t,” Borjon said. “What behaviors go on in the teenage world prior to social media, we had no idea what was going on.” Borjon and the GBHS graduate both said they hope students are learning from Contini’s mistake, and that social media will be used for good in the future. “Teenagers have sex and teenagers use social media and teenagers make mistakes,” the former GBHS student said. “One of those being that they display that sex on social media. I just hope that people learn from this kid’s mistake.”
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Voices
Granite Bay Gazette
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GAZETTE The Granite Bay
GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL 1 GRIZZLY WAY GRANITE BAY, CA 95746
Editors-in-Chief: Caitlyn Hurley Sydney Kahmann Kiana Okhovat Alexa Zogopoulos News Editors: Kristine Khieu Grace Moore Voices Editors: Haley Byam Nicolas Ontiveros Lifestyle Editors: Meredith Dechert Akash Khosla Willow Wood Green Screen Editors: Austin Alcaine Tamren Johnk Colleen Vivaldi Brian Zhuang Sports Editors: Parker Burman Kevin Burns Zack Zolmer Social Media Editor: Kiana Okhovat Online Editors: Makenzie Brito Caitlyn Hurley Thomas Taylor Illustrators: Austin Alcaine Thomas Taylor Brian Zhuang Photographers: Luke Chirbas Grace Moore Staff Writers: Maggie Bell Steven Gerisch Brendan Gonzalez Jacqueline Gordon Mary-Frances Hansen Treasa Mairead Hayes Jenna McCarthy Katherine McGrail Caroline Palmer Emily Wagner Dante Weeks
Adviser: Karl Grubaugh
The Gazette is published eight times per academic year by students in the advanced journalism class at Granite Bay High School. Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Granite Bay High School’s faculty, administration, adviser or student body. Students are protected in their exercise of press freedom by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and California Education Code 48907. Signed editorials and columns reflect the views of the writer. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and must be signed, although anonymity can be granted on a case-by-case basis. The editorial board reviews letters to the editor, advertising and guest commentaries and reserves the right to edit and refuse material. Reasons can include length, clarity, libel, obscenity, material disruption of the educational process at Granite Bay High School or violation of copyright laws.
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Kanye West: Beyond The Hip Hop Artist How iconic rapper and his music represent the oppression of African Americans T COMMENTARY
he world has become fascinated by the warped, sensationalized view of the “crazy Kanye West” that the media has created – one that Kanye himself has perpetuated to show the rest of us how little influence we hbyam.gazette@gmail.com have over him. Kanye and other musicians like him have found a powerful way to dictate their own narrative, but instead of resisting the stereotypes he’s been reduced to, he has used them to his advantage, exaggerating and embracing the typically restrictive ways that hip-hop artists are typecast. At a quick glance, it seems like the media has revealed Kanye to be this cartoonish, egotistical oaf that we love to hate – the New York Times released an article called “Behind Kanye’s Mask,” an apparently candid look at the “crazy” rapper’s inner dialogue – but, in reality, the “mask” is another carefully-thought-out demonstration of the persona he’s been constructing since the launch of The College Dropout. He first appeared as the perfect representation of the African-American man trying to find his own slice of the coveted “American dream.” Kanye spoke of the difficulty he faced as a person of color in the music industry, claiming that minorities often have to work twice as hard to get the same opportunities as a white artist – a valid statement in many cases. He started out as the confrontational antiracist and classist we know, pointing his finger at everyone who lacked confidence in his ability to succeed as a rapper, a student and a careerist. Kanye then released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, largely a critique on fame and excess, and expressed his inner uncertainty about his place in the world. This can be connected to feelings of isolation that people of color experience after fighting their way to the top, as theorized by professor Michael Eric Dyson. Kanye continued his evolution so artfully and seamlessly that seeing him as a fameobsessed egomaniac with a Christ complex seems like intentional ignorance, as is the racist subtext in dismissals of the rapper as “cocky” or “materialistic.”
haley byam
Gazette illustration/THOMAS TAYLOR
In a way, Kanye is the personification of the African-American community’s growing outrage at so-called “post-racial” society – and Middle America is terrified. “Colorblindness” tricks people of color into identifying with systems and people like Michael Dunn who, after shooting and killing Jordan Davis for playing loud music, went home, ordered pizza and patted himself on the back for protecting his fellow citizens from the dangerous wrath of a black teenager with an iPod. Pretending that our actions are never racially motivated is both naive and selfgratifying. In his refusal to, essentially, roll over and play dead to producers telling him to “just stop talking,” Kanye has rejected the stereotypical role of black hip-hop artists:
make music for consumption, don’t cause controversy and “act white.” In Yeezus, he appeared as everything a “good” African-American man shouldn’t be and dared disbelievers to challenge him – he created his own rules instead of aligning with the ideal American definition of success. This shows an obvious awareness of the white-dominated power structure that still exists today. While not as blatant as racism displayed in past decades, modern racism – as paradoxical as that sounds – is much more ingrained and internalized, therefore making it a difficult force to subvert. Kanye employed an equally subtle tactic in his usage of the Confederate flag on the Yeezus tour, co-opting a traditionally racist symbol and making it his own. Because the flag itself has no intrinsic
meaning, he is hoping people will begin to associate the controversial symbol with his music – much like the gay community reclaimed “queer” and sexual assault victims made “slut” a term for empowerment. The rapper captured America’s attention with apparent “publicity stunts,” but a closer look reveals a deep understanding of the institutionalized racism that makes success convergent on conformity. We must think that Kanye West is an object of our creation, another washed-up celebrity with more money than he knows how to spend – but, either way, we’re doing exactly what he wants us to do. *** Haley Byam, a senior, is a Gazette Voices editor.
Discrimination is still present
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Race is key for determing one’s quality of life
ith Granite Bay High School students making clubs dedicated solely to opposing affirmative action, calling out what they perceive to be “special privilege,” it’s hard not to paint the residents of “The Bubble” as ignorant. In California, 35 percent of the poor are African-American and 33 percent are Hispanic, while only 13 percent are Caucasian, according to a study conducted by the Kaiser Foundation. Last year, African-American students at the University of California, Los Angeles drew attention to the lack of racial diversity at their school with an emotional spokenword poem posted on YouTube pointing out that of the 660 African-American male undergraduates, 65 percent were athletes. We know the lack of wealth and representation at top-tier educational institutions of African-Americans and other minorities is because of historical oppression of these minority racial or ethnic groups. We should know that historical oppression leads to disadvantage that might not always be easily perceptible. I’ll give a personal example: When my family was evicted from my home during my freshman year of high school, we didn’t
COMMENTARY
meredith dechert mdechert.gazette@gmail.com
become homeless. Instead, we simply hopped on over to my grandmother’s home in the next town over – a tight fit, but it worked. Nor did we lose all means of transportation to get to work and to get to school and to get to the store to buy everyday necessities. Instead, an aunt of mine helped my parents buy a car. Had I been African-American, I would likely have been homeless, and I would not
have had a car to drive. Instead, I’d guess I would have dropped out of school to begin working. What does this tell us about privilege? Race isn’t everything– I know AfricanAmerican families that are more financially well-off than my own. But race is significant. What are the chances that my grandmother, a woman born in 1929, would have a father educated and successful enough to give her a job at 19 years old and insulate her from the rampant sexism of the time had she been African-American? She would not have owned her own home at 83 had the color of her skin been any different, and, as a result, I would not have had a place to live. The reason I am here today, soon to graduate from Granite Bay High School, is that John Winthrop, one of the English-born aristocratic Puritans who founded Massachusetts, is my 11th great-grandfather. This, my friends, is “privilege” – a term that even social justice circles have become wary of. No, we cannot calculate our privilege with charts that suggest being white is plus 100 points or being black is minus 200.
We should know that historical oppression leads to disadvantage that may not always be easily perceptible But we can be aware of the privilege endowed upon us simply by being born with a certain color of skin or in a certain location or of a certain sex. In the same way I didn’t work to be descended from aristocracy, I did not ask to be born in the United States or the safer side of the Mexican border. The same blindness to our own sheer luck and a feeling of entitlement to what we never earned is what makes us resistant to things like progressive immigration reform. *** Meredith Dechert, a senior, is a Gazette Features editor.
Cameras in the parking lot are harmful to students
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A Section
he American populace. Some believe a sacrifice of privacy is necessary for much needed security, while others believe a sacrifice of privacy is not worth an ounce of security. Months after Edward Snowden let the world know about the NSA’s privacy violations, academics and lay people alike are still talking about the NSA and companies such as Verizon and Facebook that aided the NSA. On the Granite Bay High School campus, privacy is being tested. With the recent addition of surveillance cameras in the parking lot, students worry about what these cameras are re-
EDITORIAL The voice of the Granite Bay Gazette
cording: faces, license plates or illegal activity. Are these cameras legal? Yes. It’s preposterous to believe that these cameras restrict privacy to the same degree that the NSA did. However, what should be alarming is the mindset the school is adopting.
Students have a right to privacy and should be treated as adults. Instead, installing cameras on campus almost treats young adults as infants: we are not responsible enough by ourselves, so we need the school to be watching over us even when we are in the parking lot. GBHS should be trying to students responsibility. So what if a few students are in the parking lot at night. If they are not doing anything illegal, does the school really need to play mom and dad by spying on these kids? Furthermore, the cameras deter illegal activity from occurring in the parking lot, yet the illegal activity is displaced to other parts of the community. Cameras
do not solve the problem of illegal activity. Surveillance cameras are just a band-aid solution that seem to be effective. But the precedent of restricting student privacy is frightening. Since the school has already installed cameras, what else can the school do to limit privacy? Patting down students as they enter the campus? “Random” searches of backpacks? The floodgate has been opened, and who knows when it will close. GBHS should get rid of these surveillance cameras. In an age where governmental regulations on privacy are at an all-time high, the school should not partake in this phenomenon.
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Heard on the BAY
It’s just a part of the game
Voices A11
Precautionary action against sports injuries is ultimately useless
What are you planning to do over spring break? “I’m going to see my grandparents.”
freshman
Ruben Vera
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“Well, I’m starting it off by going on choir tour and then I’m staying home and relaxing.”
sophomore
Julia Mains “I’m studying for AP tests.”
junior
Ashley Alunan
Gazette illustration/AKASH KHOSLA
ports, especially professional sports, are synonymous with injuries. In 2010, the NFL reported 154 concussions in just the first half of the season alone – up 21 percent from previous years. So how can this trend be curbed? Though advancements in technology can help, injuries in sports cannot be put an end to entirely. When I play basketball or football or baseball, I’m not too worried about getting injured. I may suffer the occasional bruise, cut or raspberry, but those will all heal by themselves fairly promptly. What injuries won’t heal quickly and on their own? Torn knee ligaments, concussions and ruptured achilles tendons, among others. Or, in other words, three of the top major injuries plaguing today’s world of professional sports. The National Basketball Association has arguably the best athletes in sports. The ones who can jump the highest, cut the quickest and those who maintain the most responsive and precise reflexes are generally those who play basketball professionally. For this reason, there is little the NBA can do to control injuries in its athletes. Derrick Rose, point guard for the Chicago Bulls, is a prime example of
Commentary
zack zolmer zzolmer.gazette@gmail.com
the reason for increased injury rates in professional sports. Coming from being the youngest ever athlete to win the NBA MVP award in 2011 at 22 years of age, Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the 2012 playoffs during a game at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. As a result, Rose missed the entirety of the following 2012-13 NBA season, rehabbing his injured knee. He returned to action this year, only to suffer a tear to his right knee meniscus against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Nov. 22, effectively ending his season once more. Rose is regarded for being perhaps the greatest athlete to ever play the point guard position. His game fea-
tures a variety of explosive and agile jumps, cuts, hops and jabs, all of them impressive but undoubtedly physically damaging. Because Rose is near the perfect embodiment of athletic ability, he puts himself at an increased risk for a damaging injury – this is both unfortunate and ultimately unavoidable. Of course, inevitable injuries are not just unique to basketball. On Sept 5, 2012, pitcher Brandon McCarthy – then playing for the Oakland Athletics – was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Los Angeles Angels’ Erick Aybar. McCarthy subsequently underwent two hours of surgery to relieve cranial pressure after suffering an epidural hemorrhage. Eight months later, pitcher J.A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays was struck by a liner off the bat of Desmond Jennings, an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays. Happ immediately collapsed onto the mound, where he laid for 11 minutes before he was transported to Bayfront Medical Center. So this past January, Major League Baseball approved for use a protective cap that would aid in shielding a pitcher’s head from line drives hit back up the middle. The cap, made by isoBlox, was the first product to
meet the MLB’s safety criteria. McCarthy, who said he still won’t be wearing the protective device, citing its size and lack of comfort, acknowledged that the cap’s “technology is there” and that “it’s proven to help.” Then, during a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman – who in a game in 2010 threw a fastball a record 105.1 mph fastball – was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of catcher Salvador Perez. The face. Had Chapman been wearing the protective cap, it would have done nothing to save him from a mild concussion and metal plate inserted in the bone above his left eyebrow. A football helmet complete with a full facemask might have been enough to save Chapman from the face-bound line drive. But if a pitcher is uncomfortable with a marginally heavier hat, it’s unlikely he will be willing to don a helmet. Try as they might, the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL and NCAA will have a tough time weathering the storm of athlete injuries, mostly because injuries in sports are inevitable. *** Zack Zolmer, a senior, is a Gazette sports editor.
Comic Relief: an udder failure
“After the choir concert in Anaheim, I’m staying in Disneyland, then leaving for San Diego for the first time.”
senior
Nina Madden Gazette photos/Jacqueline Gordon
“I am doing house and yard work, and I have some projects to do on my automobiles.”
staff
What did the cow say when the seniors put him on the top of the stairs?
Mike Valentine Compiled by Jacqueline Gordon
Gazette illustration/THOMAS TAYLOR
Friday, April 4, 2014
News A12
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St. Baldrick’s cuts for cancer Many GBHS students shed their locks to support the fight against cancer
To help support the fight against cancer a Granite Bay High School student cuts of his hair. Students prepare to get their head shaved, left, in support of St. Baldrick’s. Senior Will Greenwood, right, shares his compelling story of why he decided to participate in St. Baldrick’s. One of the only girls to participate in St. Baldrick’s, center left, sheds her hair. GBHS student, bottom left, explains his excitement about the event. In anticipation, bottom right, a student prepares to have his hair removed.
Gazette photos by Luke Chirbas
LIFESTYLE
Granite Bay Gazette
Friday
COMMENTARY
B Section
April 4, 2014
akash khosla akhosla.gazette@gmail.com
‘American Dream’ lives on, for some
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t’s often said that those who immigrate to the United States are trying to pursue “a better life” by incorporating themselves into a society of upward mobility. Even today, many still hold this idea. America, the “land of opportunity,” has changed immensely since the first boom of immigration. And that’s a good thing – if it wasn’t for foreigners, America would never have prospered to become the economic superpower it has been for so long. Xenophobia really doesn’t belong in a place like the states, because everyone who lives on land is an immigrant, even if they’re Native Americans. Some have simply been around longer than the current generation of immigrants, which predominantly migrated from the east. Almost every human in the United States (except those who were forced to emigrate) came here for prosperity and opportunity. Even today, people still make the journey hoping to create a better living than they would back home. Africans, Europeans, Asians and Latin Americans who feel they could be living better lives look at the U.S. and say, “this is the place I want to live in.” Even the poor have cars, they think, and one could live in much better living conditions at a lower cost, especially if their parent country is underdeveloped. While the immigrants are pursuing the American Dream, many U.S. citizens are trying to face their own economic situations and find jobs. Immigrants often experience harsh realities while aspiring to be millionaires. But Americans don’t face the same situation. While immigrants are often raised with the idea they need to start a business because they couldn’t get a wellpaid job and need to survive, Americans are taught they need to start a business to make millions and spend it all on materialistic items. Given that the immigrants who see America as a place of hope often have lower standards than the average American, most of them who arrive on the footsteps of America are satisfied with their starting position: a condo or apartment with a used dream car. It isn’t until a generation later where their kids begin to realize that they could have more than their parents. Some will aspire to become more wealthy than their already wealthy parents, and others will go from low class, to middle class. The Americanization of immigrant offspring will result in higher standards towards everything for them. The American Dream is a subjective matter – the standards one has in reality also carries into imagination and aspiration. Being able to move in society is the very epitome of America for only those who never prospered. *** Akash Khosla, a junior, is a Lifestyle co-editor.
Class of 2014: On the Stand Newly enforced disciplinary policy sparks controversy BY TREASA MAIREAD HAYES thayes.gazette@gmail.com
Gazette illustration/THOMAS TAYLOR
T
he introduction of senior conduct at Granite Bay High School has affected several upperclassmen and is continuing to make a difference in students’ views of administration. Although Roseville High School has implemented student conduct, a program that encompasses all grade levels and can prohibit students from attending events like homecoming and quad dance, GBHS focuses only on seniors as of right now.
“Specifically for seniors, senior conduct came about in this district mainly because seniors are held to a higher level in terms of behavior, attendance and academic progress,” assistant principal Sybil Healy said. “So that’s what senior conduct is based on -- making sure students are on track for graduation and if they are, they can also participate in those activities that are generally senior-related.” If a student is added to its list, they will receive a formal letter
Stories of Adoption Students share their families’ experiences JENNA MCCARTHY
jmccarthy.gazette@gmail.com
Though many new parents adopt children each year, the topic of adoption is typically left undiscussed. Selena Lunsford, a Roseville High School senior who was born in Guatemala, shared her personal backstory. “(My biological mom) had me, and then she left me at a bar,” Lunsford said. “Someone took me in … and took me to the hospital … because I was really malnourished.” Lunsford said she knows the name of her biological mother, but her father’s identity is entirely unknown. She said it was a “onenight kind of thing” between her biological
that includes three boxes: lack of academic progress, attendance and conduct or behavior, one of which is checked. Assistant principals, counselors and teachers discuss together whether a student should or shouldn’t be put on senior conduct, and the administration strives to be fair in all of their decisions. Even though approximately 127 seniors have been added, the program is both easily avoided and possible to be removed from, according to Elizabeth Delikat GBHS Senior thinking of trying to find her biological parents
parents. While Lunsford was being nursed back to health, her biological mother had another child, she says. “I have a half-brother out there somewhere,” Lunsford said. “I’m definitely going to go search for (him).” Lunsford said she was nearly two years old when she was adopted and brought to live in the United States. Her parents ventured to Guatemala in hopes of bringing a child home. “It was, literally, a catalog of children and you could pick,” Lunsford said. “My mom saw my picture … and they chose me.” Lunsford said that from an early age on See ADOPTED page B5
Healy. “Academics is the easiest: don’t have D’s or F’s,” Healy said. “Attendance is the hardest one because you have to show (a large) improvement in attendance. That means no absences, no cuts...unexcused absences or tardies. Kids come in late and get cleared but it’s still a tardy because (they) didn’t make it on time.” However, seniors who face greater consequences have to attend a district appeal hearing, in which they will have to make
their case in front of a panel on April 23 and 24. A common excuse for seniors is to have their parents call in to the office and claim their child was at a doctor’s appointment, but Healy believes a student can only have so many of these appointments in a two-week time frame. “We’re not trying to be punitive,” Healy said, “we just need you to be on time every day in your seat making good. “I See CONDUCT, page B5
504 Plans grant accommodations For students with disabilities, the program can be invaluable, yet difficult to acquire BY MARY-FRANCES HANSEN mhansen.gazette@gmail.com
In the past, students with physical or mental impairments may have been treated differently by their teachers and peers daily at school, but 504 Accommodation Plans are beneficial to students. Brent Mattix, assistant principal at Granite Bay High School believes that students with disabilities should be accounted for. “There was a point where students that had disabilities were being underserved, so there was a program that was passed through legislation
to give law behind making sure we take care of students with disabilities,” Mattix said. 504 is a section in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – it allows accommodations to come into place based on those disabilities a student has. According to Mattix, there are two prongs that the school’s 504 evaluation team looks at to give a student a 504 plan. The first prong is looked at to see if the student has a legitimate disability.
inside lifestyle Top Ten
B2
SAT Guide
B3
How to
B5
Random student
B5
TCID:BW
‘4/20’ and Easter Religious holiday falls on day dedicated to marijuana
B2
Scott Braly The inside scoop on all the wildlife lining the walls of his classroom
B3
Teachers and Technology GBHS staff transitions to new technological advances
B6
See 504 PLANS, page B5
Friday, April 4, 2014
B2 Lifestyle
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Teens devote April 20 to smoking
TOP
Easter coincides with infamous date
EMOJIS
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BY CAROLINE PALMER cpalmer.gazette@gmail.com
very year many Granite Bay High School students wait for spring break to finally come. It’s a break from school, a time to spend with family and friends, and, for some students, April 20, a day notorious for being delegated by many as a date to celebrate marijuana-smoking, is especially appealing. Some smokers use “Four-Twenty”, or 4/20 as a day to simply relax and smoke marijuana, while others try to get more high than usual on the special day. Others spend 4/20 trying to spread awareness about legalization of marijuana. According to a Huffington Post article about the day, 4/20 supposedly originated in the 1970s with a group of teenagers at San Rafael High school in California. The teenagers had heard of a mysterious cannabis crop and used the phrase “420 Louis” as code on days they were looking for the crop. They would meet at the school’s Louis Pasteur statue at 4:20 p.m, according to the article. The teens never discovered the crop, but the term 4/20 spread and morphed into a way for teens to jokingly describe marijuana-smoking overall, using the phrase, “4/20 blaze it,” to encourage smoking.
Gazette photo ALEXA ZOGOPOLOUS
’4/20’ falls on Easter this year, causing a moral conflict for some.
Now, some smokers will go out of their way on any given day to begin smoking at precisely 4:20 p.m. and sometimes even 4:20 a.m. “I don’t especially plan to smoke right at 4:20 p.m.,” said a GBHS senior girl who wished to remain anonymous. “But if I am, it makes that hit a lot cooler.” This year, for the first time since 2003, 4/20 happens to fall on Easter Sunday. The overlap might be a conflict for some students. “I usually smoke on 4/20,” an anonymous sophomore girl said, “but I’m not going to be able to this year because I’m going to my grandma’s for Easter, and I’m not about to bring that to her house.” Others see no problem with the dates clashing. Smokers might have ritualistic behavior associated with the date. For example, a senior boy who wished to remain anonymous said that last year on April 20 at 4:20 a.m. he and his friends consumed a “bleezy” – marijuana and “dabs” rolled in tobacco – with 21 dabs, solidified hash oil and a potent form of the drug. This, the boy said, approximately totaled out to 4.20 dabs consumed per person. “For many,” the boy said, “I’m sure the holiday will be an enticement rather than a conflict of interest. I know it will for me.” Another story about 4/20 sometimes passed around, according to an article by LA Weekly, is that 4/20 is the birthday of Bob Marley, a known proponent of marijuana. However, Marley’s birthday is February 6, according to Bob Marley, the Official Site – not April 20. Yet, some remember Marley on this day due to the day’s meaning of support for marijuana. “4/20 has always been associated with Bob Marley,” the senior boy said. “As a pot activist, Marley also stood for many other peaceful causes. I like to to think that 4/20 is a celebration of all those positive things.” In California, locations like Santa Cruz and San Francisco, specifically the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, are known to be popular areas for public demonstrations in support for marijuana legalization. “Last year I was in San Francisco for 4/20,” said GBHS junior Kate Johnson. “It was crazy. People were advertising marijuana on about every corner.” While some teens in the Granite Bay and Roseville community know what 4/20 means, some adults do as well. “I think most parents in this community are pretty aware of the date and its significance,” said Kyle Holmes, GBHS theatre instructor and teacher. “As teachers, we are always looking (for high students) – just on 4/20.” Holmes said he thinks the forbidden factor of marijuana contributes to 4/20’s popularity among teens. “I think it’s the thrill of (the thought), ‘Oh, it’s 4/20 – let’s all get high and not get caught.’”
‘Liking’ mental illness
Kendrick B
Social media can foster unhealthy attitudes
Gazette illustration/AKASH KHOSLA
–Compiled by Maggie Bell
pro-ED blogs, the website has recently established a “no self-harm” policy. The staff has set out to take down blogs that glorify or promote anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders, as well as those that promote self-mutilation or suicide. In addition, if a user attempts to search for tags BY HALEY BYAM that typically go along with a pro-ED blog, a Public hbyam.gazette@gmail.com Service Announcement with the name and number of a help organization would appear. While social networking sites can be platforms “This prohibition is intended to reach only those to meet friends with similar interests and virtually blogs that cross the line into active promotion or gloexplore the world, some users are drawn to Twitter, rification,” a post on the Tumblr staff page said. “For Tumblr and Instagram for darker reasons. example, joking that you need to starve yourself after Teens struggling with self-harm, eating disorders, Thanksgiving or that you wanted to depression and other mental illnesses kill yourself after a humiliating date might collectively normalize their conis fine, but recommending techniques ditions, defending them not as diseases People glorify for self-starvation or self-mutilation but as something that separates them depression and is not.” from “the rest of the crowd.” However, many argue that joking “People really glorify depression and suicide and try about such a serious subject can also suicide,” said Julia Huss, a freshman at to make it into be problematic. Granite Bay High School, “and try to “(Joking about mental illnesses) is make it something beautiful and don’t something extremely hurtful and has affected me realize how it makes it less of an issue, beautiful. deeply,” said Olivia Huss, a junior which it really is.” – Julia Huss, GBHS at GBHS and Julia’s sister. “This is There are blogs on Tumblr dedicated the first time I’ve ever really openly to the “tragic beauty” of mutilated freshman talked about my depression or publiarms and emaciated bodies, many with cized it in any way because of what thousands of young, teenage followers people might think of it.” susceptible to their influence. Making light of heavy issues has a real impact on “Tumblr was a huge contributor to my (eating society’s view of people with mental disorders, acdisorder),” said a 16-year-old whose name has been cording to Dr. Tony Paulson, a psychologist at Sierra withheld to protect her privacy. “I came across the ‘thin-spiration community’ when I first started out on Treatment Center in Sacramento. “Mental illness is portrayed either in a joking manTumblr. It started as a diet and swiftly morphed into ner or as something characteristically wrong with the days upon days of restriction of food intake. Within person,” Paulson said. “It’s amazing how we can apa year, this developed into anorexia nervosa, accompanied by feeding tubes, hospitalizations and all. I’ve proach physical illnesses from a place of compassion, but when it comes to a disorder of the brain, people been a diagnosed anorexic for two years.” In an effort to reduce the unprecedented number of are either afraid of it, or they make it into a joke.”
Some students opt out of AP tests BY KAT McGRAIL
kmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com
The end of the year is approaching quickly, which means Advanced Placement students are preparing for the cumulative AP tests. These tests give students an opportunity to receive college course credits if they earn the score required by a college for a particular class, and in some cases, can allow them a retrospective grade boost in the class, usually if they earn a 4 or 5 on the test out of 5. In some AP classes teachers might assume that almost every student will take the AP tests, which are offered in mid-May just prior to the end of the school year. Therefore, the courses are taught primarily in preparation for the big tests. However, some students do choose not to take the tests.
Milani Lee, a sophomore at Granite Bay High School, is currently enrolled in AP European History and will not be taking the AP test. Though she knew she would not partake in the test at the end of the year, Lee says she was still interested and eager to take the course, regardless. “A downside (of AP testing) would definitely be the fact that (the AP test) is what the class focuses on throughout the year,” Lee said. For students who know they will not end up taking the test, much of the information learned in the class might be helpful, but much of the time is devoted to AP testing and is therefore wasted, according to Lee. Brandon Dell’Orto, the AP United States History teacher at GBHS, said that some students do not take the AP tests because they feel they won’t pass or receive a higher score.
College of the Month: University of Notre Dame Who: 11,733 students (8,475 undergraduate) Where: South Bend, Indiana Tuition: $44,605.00 per year Acceptance Rate: 46 percent U.S. News Ranking: #18 School Colors: Blue and gold Mascot: Leprechaun
Katherine Lin @Katlolz haha idk why girls don’t eat... I love food!
Daphnie Rent @Drent150 #Teamanorexia
Jack Tretton
Fun Facts: • The famous 1993 film Rudy is based off the true story of Notre Dame Football player and student Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger.
• The band of the Fighting Irish is the oldest marching band in the history of any college in the United States and is considered to be one of the most prestigious.
• The engineering company of Notre Dame Stadium, Osborne Engineer Cooperation, is the same company that engineered Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.
Sports:
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If this gets 20 RT’s i’ll stop abusing myself
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yeah....... I love #mydisorders.
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Jokes about suicide and the acronym “kms” – meaning “kill myself” – are commonplace on many social media outlets. Comical portrayals of eating disorders, self-harm and anxiety not only hurt those who have dealt with such conditions, Paulson said, but discourage people from seeking help. “I think the best thing we can do to raise awareness is just to give people perspective on what these disorders really mean,” said GBHS sophomore Hannah Holzer. “I really love the signs I’ve seen discouraging people from using the words ‘retarded’ or ‘gay.’ Things like that can make a big difference, and that will cause people to think twice before they post.” For more information on self-harm and the role selfharm plays in the community, see pages A1 and A5.
a not-so-great time,” Dell’Orto said. The price to pay for the AP tests can be not only a fiscal hardship but men“A handful of students every year know tally taxing. that they never tried very hard in (the The tests are close class),” Dell’orto said. to four hours long and “They might have gotten include a multiple choice pushed into the class… scantron portion, and, I don’t want to their heart (was) never for some, in it.” waste my money essays. multiple timed Some students might if I don’t even get “(The tests) take such not take the test due to credits for passing. a long time,” Stone said. the almost 100 dollar fee “The fact that you have per test. I’m not taking any to study and prepare (is “Cost is a big factor. so stressful).” of my tests. (Not passing) is a big Doing well on the test waste of money,” said – Julia Beck, senior and might also be more diffiCJ Stone, a senior AP cult than getting through student. AP student the class. Even though students “In the class you can can get help with paycoast, but then here ments for the exams, comes the test, and it’s students might hesitate to seek the just a lot of extra work,” Dell’Orto necessary aid. said. Some students just don’t want to “It can be embarrassing sometimes, especially if the family is going through put in the effort, even if it means being
The college credit exams pose both benefits and drawbacks
@k_bill
Fav this if you cut yourself...lol
rewarded. In other cases, students opt out of the test because there is no point to spend money to take a test that means little to them. Julia Beck, a senior taking multiple AP classes, will not take any of her tests because she is committed to play soccer at a school where passing the test with a 3 or better will not be recognized. “I don’t want to waste my money if I don’t even get credits for passing,” Beck said. “I’m not taking any of my tests.” Students taking multiple AP classes might decide to focus on a specific class rather than trying to cram for every separate test. Others feel unprepared due to a lack of preparatory time. “A downside is not having a blocked AP class and not having a full year of prep, or taking the class in the fall and then coming back forgetting everything in the spring,” said senior Jackson Rodriguez, who is enrolled in a number of AP classes. “Having to come back ( in the spring) and cram is definitely a downfall.”
• The women’s soccer team of the University of Notre Dame has won three national championships, in 1995, 2004 2010, in addition to 11 conference championships throughout the university’s history.
• Notre Dame has 26 varsity, NCAA Division I athletic teams, most of which are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference and others, part of the FBS Independents. –Compiled by Colleen Vivaldi
Friday, April 4, 2014
Lifestyle B3
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Gazette photo /EMILY WAGNER
Many different taxidermied animals line Braly’s walls, including the ducks, center, that come from the biology teacher’s own collection from backpacking and hunting trips.
Scott Braly brings animals into the classroom Biology teacher excites students with unique decor BY KRISTINE KHIEU
kkhieu.gazette@gmail.com
A
t the beginning of each school year, Scott Braly, Granite Bay High School’s fish and wildlife and biology teacher, is greeted with wide eyes as new students see his room for the very first time. These students are met by over eighty different specimen, including various taxidermied ducks, deers, fish, bear and even a caribou. At first, some are shocked by the amount of animals surrounding the classroom. Yet, according to Braly, when students and parents see his collection, they always ask him questions about where they came from which ultimately leads to positive discussions about wildlife and conservation. No matter what, Braly’s room never fails to spur some interest. “Some of (the specimen) I’ve collected myself in places I’ve found, some of them on various hunting and backpacking trips, but most of them came from parents,” Braly said. “They come to back to school night and see the collection and want to give something.
Parents and people who care ... want to provide for our students and that’s very cool.” A few of the ducks in his classroom came from various trips over the years. After getting new animals, he’ll get taxidermists to mount them and he’ll put them in his room. But, even with his own contributions, most of the animals belong to the school and will stay there even after he retires. Braly’s interest in nature and science stemmed from his experiences as a child, backpacking and hiking with his family for much of his childhood. Being in nature is still one of the places that he feels the most comfortable and it’s apparent in his classroom. Many students who take his classes have been inspired by his passion and want to learn more about science, including Colin Fitzgerald, a senior at GBHS and a fish and wildlife student . “(Braly) is very passionate about wildlife and he does his best to explain things as thoroughly as possible,” Fitzgerald said. “I already adored nature, but this class made me want to experience it more.” The fish and wildlife class was first introduced to GBHS in the second year of the school and has been
offered ever since. Braly describes this class as being a compilation of forestry, fishery and wildlife, or a mixture of different disciplines in natural resources with a special focus on current events. Students aren’t focused on creating solutions to current day issues, but rather gaining an understanding on the environmental impacts that affect everyone. Over the years, Braly has had several people move on to pursue a career in natural resources and wildlife management, their initial foundation coming from this class. However, Braly said he believes that all students can benefit from being more exposed to wildlife issues, despite their plans for the future. Jaeden Calton, a GBHS junior and fish and wildlife student, enjoyed Braly’s class and like Fitzgerald, he’s gained a better appreciation for the world around him. “I thought the class was very fun,” Calton said. “We learned about species and how to identify mammals (and) about all the poaching that’s done in Africa. It was informative (and) I think (Braly’s) super cool and nice.” Braly’s fish and wildlife class not only examines issues around the world, but also the ones right in our backyard. A few years ago, Braly and his class built duck nesting tubes and goose nesting platforms in two of the ponds by GBHS.
Special ed. overlooked Students, staff sense a lack of spotlight BY JACQUELINE GORDON jgordon.gazette@gmail.com
In California alone, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, over 600,000 students qualify to receive special education services. Assistant Principal Brian McNulty oversees special education programs on campus. “As a parent of a special needs person, early (on) I knew that my son … (had) special needs,” McNulty said. “At that point, I exercised my right, which is (every) parent’s right, to say, ‘I think my child needs to be tested.’ ” Students who might have special needs can be identified through testing. If they are deemed to have even a slight learning disability, the school is mandated to provide an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to cater to the student’s individual needs. “My son … had a cognitive disability, but he also had some physical disabilities, too … which I knew were going to challenge him in his handwriting (and) communication,” McNulty said. “All these things added together for my son came up (in his) IEP.” According to McNulty, the school assembles an IEP team of the student, the parents, and special education counselors to set goals for the student. A goal is set for every part of the student’s education, even social and behavioral skills in certain cases. The majority of special education students at GBHS are in mainstream classes, but many take an additional resource class. Eric Oxford teaches an Academic Lab class, an elective intended to provide more individual-
ized support. “Typically students only have me for one class,” Oxford said. “If they have an academic deficit in math, I teach a math course that will prepare them for a regular math class.” Academic Lab is also heavily geared towards providing homework and individual attention similar to one-on-one tutoring. Oxford said that it is common for students with mild disabilities to test out of the special education program after meeting their IEP goals. Formal special education accommodations are taken away in favor of programs not affiliated with special education such as tutoring. “That’s the main way we measure … success – through students (meeting) their goals,” Oxford said. “So I’d say we’re highly successful.” But while GBHS may excel in the area of academics when it comes to special education, the culture of the school is one of indifference and even ignorance to special education, according to a freshman boy in the special education program who chose to remain anonymous. “Most people think that when you’re disabled … (you’re) completely retarded,” he said. “Most of the disabled kids are either average or just below average of a normal person. (But) when they think of a disorder they think of somebody (who) has Tourette’s, or something bad that you can really tell.” This particular student has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, a disorder that does not affect his intelligence as much as his ability to focus in a school setting. However, the student said that people often
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Ignoring the rules
Eric Oxford Teacher for an Academic Lab class, which provides individualized support
Students of all grades accused of not following parking laws
do not understand that special education covers an incredibly broad range of disabilities. The student said that when he is on his medication, it is almost impossible to tell he has a disability, but many people still treat him as intellectually handicapped. Even the position of the special education classrooms, all of them being on the very outskirts of the campus, the student said, is somewhat reflective of the mentality. “This (school) … prides its perfection,” he said. “It’s like they don’t want us to be known.” Despite that Academic Lab classes contain other students that have disabilities, the student said they do little to provide community. “I don’t have many friends,” the anonymous freshman boy said. “I only have three from this school and two from my old school … (The classes) really only help with your grades.” Because the student’s primary disability is focus, not intellect, he excels in math and science. However, testing into the special education program bars him from taking AP classes in those subjects. In spite of drawbacks and misconceptions, the program has still proven a success overall, according to Maribeth Alsop, another Academic Lab teacher. “The amount of kids in the program is declining,” Alsop said. “Which is very good, because we’re seeing fewer and fewer kids needing special education services.”
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Because ducks nest in the tall grass and less of that habitat is available to them due to climate change all around the nation, nesting tubes can be made to help them. Being a member of the California Waterfowl Association, Braly got the idea from them and decided to try making some with the students in his class out of pvc pipes. “(The tubes) last almost forever and you just put new straw in it each year,” Braly said. “There’s all kinds of evidence of scat from foxes and raccoons and possums. There are a lot of creatures that use those. It’s just an opportunity to provide nests and habitat for the animals.” Braly’s passion for wildlife, apparent through his help in these ponds, drives him to educate new students and clear up misconceptions about hunting and fishing. At first, hunters may seem to contribute to the issues with preserving the environment, but according to Braly, the money that comes from these people are used to protect animals and purchase land. Helping students become more scientifically literate is one of his main goals as a teacher and most students recognize and appreciate that. “I learned about some environmental issues,” Fitzgerald said. “And facts about animals that I didn’t know before and that was pretty interesting.”
BY EMILY WAGNER
ewagner.gazette@gmail.com
Spring has sprung, bringing with it beautiful blossoms and allergy season. But, this year, spring fever has a new symptom – lack of regard for parking rules. Parking in the school parking lots is a privilege Granite Bay High School allows only to juniors and seniors. There is limited space available for parking, and therefore it’s given to the upperclassmen, who have been attending GBHS longer. However, as the year progresses toward graduation, more and more sophomores get their licences and begin driving to school and look for parking spots. Although they are not permitted to park in the school lots, there are sophomores that park there, regardless. This is both annoying and disrespectful to upperclassmen like junior Cole Pautsch. “They have no right to park there,” said Pautsch. “As juniors we’ve waited our turn, so now it’s their turn to wait.” However, it’s not just underclassmen who are breaking the rules by parking in the lot.
According to GBHS’ Resource Officer Joe Herrick, it is illegal to park in the school lots without a parking permit. If students don’t put a parking permit on their car, they are not allowed legally to park in the lots, and if they do they will be ticketed. Parking permit forms can be found in Student Services in the GBHS office building, and must be filled out in order for a student to get a permit. In order for students to qualify for a parking permit they must be an upperclassman, a licensed driver, insured and have a registered, legal vehicle. “We require those things so that if students get in an accident here, the school is not going to be held liable,” said Herrick. Instead, the insurance companies and the students will be held liable. Therefore, if anyone parks in the parking lot without a permit, they will be fined. According to Bonnie Boone, who works in GBHS student services, a lot of the students who are fined are ticketed for reasons that could beeasily avoided. “Mostly all the tickets come See PARKING, page B5
If you really knew me,
you would know...
I use the Princeton Review prep book. I got it from a course that I took … Also the College Board book is very helpful and I use that sometimes, too.
Studying advice:
Definitely take practice tests and score yourself afterwards. Also, for the essays it’s very helpful to prep on a couple of big item topics … Themes like sacrifice and justice (are common).
What not to do: Daisy Koch is a senior at Granite Bay High School.
Don’t study the day before at all. Be done with your studying because … you don’t want to be stressing yourself out and wearing out your endurance the day before, because a lot of the test is a test of endurance.
- Compiled by Jacqueline Gordon
Katie Carson
I’ve never had a McDonald’s hamburger
Emily Kasarjian
I really like going target shooting with my dad and watching him hunt.
Amanda Gordon
I’m a Disney nerd.
- Compiled by Jenna McCarthy
Lifestyle B4
Students make bowls to help cause Ceramics teacher turns assignment into outreach opportunity BY ALEXA ZOGOPOULOS
azogopoulos.gazette@gmail.com
They say that every drop counts – and so does every bowl. For many Granite Bay High School students, community outreach and helping others sounds like a positive and rewarding activity. However, most don’t know where to start and find opportunities to help the community. For the GBHS ceramics department, every school year brings a new opportunity to use creativity to feed the hungry and give back to Sacramento-area families in need. The ceramics department has taken part in the Empty Bowls program, which is run by the River City Food Bank, for eight years now. Every year, advanced ceramics students design and sculpt bowls that will be sold at the official Empty Bowls event, with all profits going toward feeding the homeless. According to the River City Food Bank website, “Empty Bowls is River City Food Bank’s signature event that raises funds, friends and awareness for our ongoing fight against hunger in Sacramento County.” The program itself just held its 11th event on March 10 and 11, where bowls made by students and professional artists were sold and auctioned off, to promote a greater cause of hunger awareness and to support locals who are in need of food. “A group of students came up to me one year and asked me about it and said they wanted to participate ... since then, we’ve done it every year,” said Bradley Cordell, Ceramics 2 teacher. “It’s an assignment for every student to make a bowl, and it’s up to the students if they want to donate it,”
Cordell said. “This year, everyone donated theirs.” Though it is not a requirement for every student in the class to sell their handmade bowl, every year, most students choose to have their bowls sold so that their work can go to a greater cause. “It’s such a simple way to make a difference,” senior Morgan Paris said, who designed and made a bowl that was sold at the Empty Bowls luncheon on Mar. 10. This year was Paris’ second time being involved in the charitable event. “I first learned about (Empty Bowls) junior year through Cordell ... I participated last year and I really enjoyed it,” Paris said. The program is supported by artists in the entire Sacramento region, meaning that many take part in not just attending the event, but also in the bowl-creating. “There are usually more than a thousand bowls made yearly by both professionals and students,” Cordell said. Tickets for the luncheon cost $30, and tickets for the evening auction cost $60, Cordell said. “They’ll never sell more tickets than there are bowls made, that way all money donated does end up with someone who attends the event getting to pick their favorite bowl,” Cordell said. For the ceramics students who took part in making a bowl for the event this year, the amount of time spent on designing, creating and glazing the bowl was just a few days for most. “I only spent about one day actually making and shaping the bowl,” senior Dayton Allegra said, who donated a bowl for his first time this past March. “I thought it was a good idea, and it was easy ... it took a day to make something that could help multiple people,” Allegra said.
Friday, April 4, 2014
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In order to promote total creativity, the program does not have specific designs that artists must follow when creating their bowls, allowing there to be a widevariety available for both purchase and auction. “It was Special to the Gazette /Bradley Cordell Students made bowls in their ceramics class as pretty possible donations. GBHS Students Dayton Allegra, left, and Megan Kolster, right, free-range,” made bowls for the cause. The experience is enriching artistically and philanthropically. Allegra said. dating for someone without experience, Paris said that it “You could is a lot easier to do than people think. make any type of bowl – it was up to your own creativ“I think the more opportunities students have to give ity.” For future years, participating in Empty Bowls may be their time or donate, the more opportunities they’ll end up taking,” Paris said. “Making a bowl from ceramic is open to more than just students of the ceramics departway easier than people think.” ment, in order to give more people the ability to express Allegra also said he thinks more students should be themselves through art, while still giving back. able to contribute to this cause, as it can help so many “I’m thinking to maybe open it up to students other locals in need. than just the advanced ceramics kids,” Cordell said. “If “I think it’s definitely an easy thing for at least beginsomeone is willing to come in after school and put their ning ceramics students to make for sure,” Allegra said. time into making a bowl, then they should have the op“It doesn’t take a lot of effort, and it goes to a good portunity for that.” Although creating a ceramic piece could sound intimi- cause.”
Student
Spotlight Junior shares his outlook on the IB Program
Last year’s group had a positive experience volunteering down in Mexicali.
Gazette courtesy photo /Chanel savant
Teens ready for Mexicali trip GBHS students volunteer on mission BY TAMREN JOHNK
tjohnk.gazette@gmail.com
Spring break is usually a time to take a rest from all the stress of school. It’s a time when the sun is finally out and many Granite Bay High School students go on vacations to exotic places. However, there is a new trend. More and more students are still going to a place where it’s sunny, hot and historical, but for reasons less common than one would think. Mexico. These students just aren’t going there for a regular vacation. They have a mission and a goal once they get there: helping the less fortunate, in Mexicali. In the 18th annual spring break Mexico Outreach trip, Bayside Church creates an event to impact these students and make it possible for them to change a small part of the world. One doesn’t have to be part of Bayside to volunteer to go – anyone can participate. Junior Chanel Savant, second time volunteer, urges anyone to take part in this trip since it’s an experience that one will never forget. Even if one doesn’t have the money, Bayside offers sponsorships and special fundraisers to help pay for this once in a lifetime opportunity. “It’s obvious that it would help if you are a Christian, but I had some friends (who) were atheists and were trying to figure out some things in their lives and where they wanted to go with their religion, so it was really good for them,” Savant said. “They totally respected the Christianity and learned that it’s okay to not be 100% positive – everyone has questions.”
GBHS sophomore Emily Allison, first time volunteer, wanted to go because it was a good opportunity for her to meet new friends outside of Granite Bay and to get a different perspective of what it’s like in a place where people are not as fortunate. “I am most looking forward to not only impacting the little kids lives but also having them impact mine by changing my point of view,” Allison said. Because Allison has only been out of the state once, she was nervous at first to go out of the country. But as she prepared more and more for the trip, Allison became confident with her group and their guarantee of safety at camp. “You are in a group and you always have a guy with you,” Savant said. “You are never ever alone and you always have protection if you are either at home base... or if you are at the site with your entire team.” Senior Luke Bussey is another GBHS student who has gone to Mexico before. This time is his third year attending. “A couple of my friends kept convincing me to go, so (at the) last minute I (decided to go),” Bussey said. “It actually turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.” GBHS junior Erin Caracristi is a student leader who helps coordinate things for the trip and loves helping the less fortunate by setting an example for others. “I am the student leader, which means I am a team leader for my team, Impact 3,” Caracristi said. “I help make sure people are prepared for Mexico and I advise the other people on my team and assure them about everything. I help set up base camp, which is where we live for the first week, so I have to make sure it is ready and set up and prepared to get the tents ready.” An average day in Mexico is full of nonstop fun and rewarding experiences.
“You play a few worship songs, then you head out to the Mexican church site and hang out with the kids the whole time,” Bussey said. “At the end we do a little church service and talk to them about God; then we go back and talk to our team about our day.” There are several different volunteer opportunities that you can sign up for at Mexicali. “Impact is just for playing with kids, then there’s Festival who brings the kids activities like jump houses and balloons and face paint, then there’s Construction who builds houses, and Commission comes around to the sites and helps encourage the volunteers if they are having a bad day,” Savant said. The groups start preparing weeks before hand to get ready for the big trip so there are no surprises once everyone gets there. The Impact group, which both Savant and Allison are part of, engage with all the native children more than any other group. “I have gotten with my group and we’ve talked about how to interact with the kids, the best ways to play with them and what they like to do. I have even written my testimony to share with them,” Allison said. “My favorite part last year was helping out the kids,” Savant said. “One of my favorite niños was Daniel, I really bonded with him, taught him English and I played with him like everyday – it was really sad to see him go.” Because of these memorable experiences, Savant acquired a new viewpoint on life from seeing so much poverty and realizing how privileged people are here at home. “You are helping people that are less fortunate and are going there for yourself, but also for God, because the trip really shows you that it’s not all about you,” Savant said. “A lot of people that I have visited in Mexico still talk about how we have changed their lives, so its just an amazing experience.”
granitebaytoday.org
Walker Knauss How would you sum up the IB experience? IB can be either an amazingly enriching experience or a living hell. It all depends on your outlook and motivation. I’ve found it to be the former. Through the program I’ve learned about myself in addition to being shaped by it. What have you learn from your experiences in the program? Because of the heavy workload in IB, I’ve been forced to develop discipline and effective study skills. In my free time I have the choice of being productive and getting sufficient sleep, or wasting my time and being sleep deprived. Quite honestly, sleep deprivation has been the largest motivating factor for developing productive habits. If I waste my time, my sleep will suffer. Because of this, I seek to spend every minute of my time doing something productive. What is your experience with cross-country and having a heavy course load? Sports and IB complement each other surprisingly well. This might run contrary to common sense. It seems like playing sports would exhaust you and take time out your schedule for schoolwork. While some might see it this way, I attribute a large portion of my success in IB to playing after school sports. I run cross-country in the fall and track in the spring. After a hard day of classes, the socialization and relaxation afforded by sports can make all the difference in the world. Who should enroll in the IB program? The desire to learn and better yourself must come from within. No external motivation can compare with internal motivation, especially when IB is concerned. One must want to complete the program and do the work, otherwise it will all seem meaningless. And the quantity of work is so great that if you aren’t interested in applying yourself, you will drown.
-Compiled by Akash Khosla
Friday, April 4, 2014
facts
A lion’s roar can be heard from 5 miles away. One in 8 million people has progeria, a disease that causes people to grow faster than they age. Dr. Seuss coined the word “nerd” in his 1950 book If I Ran The Zoo.
B5
Random ... It is illegal to frown at cows in Bladworth, Saskatchewan Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. During hibernation, a woodchuck will breathe about once every 6 minutes.
- Compiled by Willow Wood
Source: allrandomfacts.com
club
Lifestyle
The Granite Bay Gazette
What has been your favorite experience in high school so far? Being on the yearbook staff because I have met so many new people, and I have been given the chance to leave my mark at this school with the best yearbooks we have ever had. Sunrise or sunset? Why? Sunrise, because it means a new day to have a new experience. If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would you be and why?
once a month because we’ve been busy with shows. President: Maddy Alpha 3. About how 1. What is a general drama club many members attend regularly? meeting consisting of? It actually varies a lot, but there Usually sually we try to do some are about 60 people who are constructive activity signed up all together. that teaches you about 4. Do you have any big acting, but we also plans for drama club for do improv and play the rest of the year? games. We’re just going to try to 2. How often do have as much fun as we you usually have can while still focusing on meetings? Shrek. Lately it’s only been - Compiled by Alexa Zogopoulos Club Name: Drama Club
student
I would be in (Los Angeles), because I miss my friends and family that live down there. What is your top choice for college? Why? I have chosen to go to Sierra College because I’m going to play on the soccer team there. It’s cheaper and a good starting point for life after high school. Do you have a celebrity crush? Yes, Ian Somerholder, who plays Damon on the Vampire Diaries. What is your all-time favorite Disney film? My favorite Disney movie is The Lion King, because it’s the best movie ever.
Gazette photo /TAMREN JHONK
KYLI OLESEN, senior
- Compiled by Tamren Johnk
CONDUCT: Controversy over new policy on attendance for seniors Continued from page B1
academic progress and good behavior. That’s the biggest thing.” Many students currently on senior conduct were notified through the letter sent by administration, and they may be denied participation in the following activities: Senior Ball, senior picnic and their graduation ceremony. “I got a letter in the mail and was super surprised since all I’d done was miss a few days of school for vacation,” senior Sierra Panter said. “I hadn’t had any issues with my grades or behavior or anything else.” This confusion about the program doesn’t just apply
to Panter, either. “I was honestly a little surprised because I really haven’t missed that many periods or whole days of school,” senior Kylee Floodman said. “I was a little irritated because there were some people who had missed at least 10 classes of one period for the semester and my absences were nowhere near that, yet I was on senior conduct and they weren’t.” According to Panter, she had heard that half of the senior class got letters for tardies or absences. “I feel like I can never miss a day of school or a period for whatever reason, even for a doctor’s appointment or because I’m not feeling well,” Floodman said.
“I shouldn’t have to feel like I have to be at school every day no matter what. If I’m at school enough to maintain my GPA and keep up with my classes, I don’t think I should be classified as someone who is missing school enough to be on senior conduct.” Although administrative attention is centered on seniors during this school year, Healy hopes that GBHS will create a student conduct program next year that includes all grade levels. “Just because they’re a senior doesn’t mean they have any more special treatment than freshmen or sophomores, etc.,” Healy said. “They still need to come to school on time. But in place of that, I do be-
lieve seniors should have more privileges so we... need to restructure how we do senior year.” Despite the confusion and mixed feelings toward the school that senior conduct may produce, the program attempts to get seniors to focus on academics and their actions on campus rather than enjoying the year without a challenge. “I agree that there should be some sort of system in place to make sure students are not just skipping out on school senior year,” Floodman said, “but I think it should only punish students who are literally missing school the majority of the time, or if you can see an obvious effect in that student’s academic performance.”
ADOPTED: Students in the area tell their stories of being an adopted child
504 PLANS: Those who have disabilities lobby for benefits
Continued from page B1 her parents gradually introduced her to the idea of adoption so that there were no surprises. Her parents read her books about adoption, she said. Lunsford explained that she hasn’t faced any severe struggles but that life as an adopted child hasn’t been plain sailing. “I couldn’t do those projects in biology where you had to get genes and see which genes you got from which parent,” Lunsford said. “Also, I don’t have an awareness about the history of diseases in my family.” Kylie Peterson, a junior at Western Sierra Collegiate Academy, was adopted from Russia as an infant. “If I didn’t get adopted (then), my doctor said I would’ve died within a week,” Peterson said. “It’s practically a miracle.” Like Lunsford, Peterson said she’s faced some difficulties and challenges while growing up as an adopted child. She said it can be difficult for her to think about her biological mother giving her up. In addition, Peterson said she has experienced struggles in the school environment because she is an adopted student. “(Guys at my junior high) asked me about it continuously and (said things like) ‘little Russian girl’,” Peterson said. But however hard her experiences, Peterson said she never doubts that adoption was the right decision. “Anytime I question if this was a good choice, I look at my life and realize how good I have it,” she said, “and how lucky I am that, out of all those kids, they picked me.” Unlike Lunsford and Peterson,
Continued from page B1
Granite Bay High School senior Elizabeth Delikat was adopted domestically from Virginia. As a younger teenager, Delikat said she experienced more challenges accepting that she was adopted. “I used to be a crazy, angsty teenager,” Delikat said. “I would say, ‘You’re not my parents!’” She explained that, since she recently turned 18 years old, she’s thinking about finding her biological parents, although she doesn’t know very much about them. Delikat said she hasn’t experienced any struggles at school as an adopted student, which she said she thinks is because she was adopted at a young age. She thinks of herself as “normal” and “just like” any other student. She also explained that she believes love and affection alone are not enough to make an adopted child feel truly part of the family. “You have to really get to know each other … and look over … differences,” Delikat said. “I’m different than my parents right now … and that’s something that’s challenged our relationship.” An anonymous junior girl, given the pseudonym Jane, was adopted domestically from California. She explained that being adopted has affected her in a positive way. “Being adopted has given me a chance at a good life,” Jane said. “If I was never adopted, I probably wouldn’t be in school or live in an amazing home like I live in now.” Jane said she had struggles as a young child. “People were immature,” she said, “and didn’t understand what adoption was and were uncomfortable with the whole idea of it.”
However, today, Jane said she feels like any other person. “Everyone has struggles,” Jane said. “I don’t feel like I struggle (more) than anybody else.” Jane’s mother said that, from a young age, she felt called to adopt if she wasn’t able to have children biologically. “When we started to try to have a family, I had 10 miscarriages … two tubal pregnancies … (and) seven failed adoptions … so we decided that we would go down the path of adoption,” she said. Jane’s parents now have three adopted children – two domesticallyadopted and one internationallyadopted. The mother said that her children differ in how they feel about their adoption. “My first child has definitely struggled with adoption (in part) because he wasn’t taken care of well in the womb,” she said. “(He) struggled from the beginning – (there is a) hole in his heart. My second child (Jane) was taken care well of in the womb, and she is very sure of who she is.” Jane’s mother also said she feels like some adopted children are characterized by fallacious stereotypes. “I have heard many times that a child may go to the principal’s office or end up in (Juvenile Hall) and then it comes out that child is adopted,” Jane’s mother said. “It just seems that people tend to focus on the adopted child (rather) than the 80 percent who are not adopted in that situation.” Jane’s mother said there is “no way” she would trade her adopted children for biological ones. “I couldn’t imagine loving my children any more.”
The second prong determines whether or not that disability substantially limits access to education for that student. “504 is a legal document so we have to make sure we have integrity in our process to make sure that it’s put into place well,” Mattix said. The 504 evaluation team takes into precaution the steps into giving a student a 504 plan. “After we have established that there is a medical or physical impairment, then we have to actually have a discussion about whether that impairment is substantially limiting the student’s access to the curriculum,” said Jan Lucas, the school’s special services coordinator. Natalie Hahn, junior at GBHS, is currently in the process of seeking a 504 plan. “The process is very tedious because you (first) have to get a note from your psychologist and they will send it to your school (enclosing) your specific information like whether (you have) ADHD or anxiety,” Hahn said. This triggers an assessment process by a 504 evaluation team that involves the student, the parents, counselors, administrators, a school psychologist and teachers. A student who came to
PARKING: Students speak about parking lot issues Continued from page B3
ther students who don’t want to buy their ticket or they’re forgetting to put them on their cars,” Boone said. Although many of the parking violators are sophomores – and upperclassmen are quick to report this to Officer Herrick – many of the violators are just upperclassmen with a disregard for the rules. “We get people that park in red curb areas and sometimes we get people that take up multiple parking spots,” said Herrick. “So I write tickets for all those different things.” There is also an issue with students parking in spots that are reserved for visitors and staff. “We get a lot of students that are parking in those spots because they’re late getting to school,” Herrick said. However, there are campus monitors that watch to make sure students don’t park in staff and visitor spots. If the monitors or teachers see a student parking in those
spots, they will report the offense to Officer Herrick who in turn will write them a ticket. A simple parking ticket has a $35 fine, however some fines like parking in handicap spots can be up to $230. Officer Herrick doesn’t go out and write tickets everyday and for this reason some students feel like they can get away with parking illegally. However, at the end of the day, it would be smarter for students to purchase a parking pass than risk a fine. “We’d rather that they pay the twenty dollars to buy a permit than the thirty-five to get a ticket.” Herrick said. Herrick said he does not enjoy writing tickets, which he and Boone say they agree is a time consuming process, however, it is important to both enforce the law and discourage students from breaking it. Herrick said he feels that at the end of the day it’s better for both school administration and students if the parking laws are followed.
GBHS with a 504 plan was evaluated after six weeks into the fall term, but the 504 review-team did not feel the student met the requirements of the two prongs. “Even though the student came to us with a 504 plan, we indicated that (the student) does have a medical diagnosis, but we did not feel it was impacting (the student’s) performance because (the student) was doing well academically, receiving A’s and B’s, performing advanced and proficient on the California Standardized Testing, and is having no significant social issues,” Lucas said. If the student begins to have difficulties in the future, the 504 review-team can reconvene to determine if the student needs a 504 plan. “We usually like the students, before we give them an accommodation plan, to take advantage of the afterschool tutoring because we do have a lot of supports and services that are already available on campus,” Lucas said. Generally, most students who are on a 504 plan have reading disabilities, attention deficit disorders, visual impairments, diabetes or anxiety. “We rarely do a 504 accommodation plan for a student who has behavioral issues, the handicap condition would
have to be an impairment and it might be somebody who has (an) attention deficit disorder, but substantially impacting their educational performance would have to be proved,” Lucas said. Common accommodations for 504 would be preferential seating, so if somebody had difficulty seeing, hearing or keeping their attention, the administration would put them in a location in a classroom to maximize their education and instructional time. Another accommodation the 504 evaluation team is willing to make is to give students more time in class to finish assignments and tests. “It’s challenging sometimes because we don’t want someone having too much additional time where now they’re missing a lecture, missing another class or staying after school for long periods of time,” Mattix said. The teachers and the administration work with the students who need a 504 plan to make sure they feel comfortable at school. “The other thing I tell everybody is that 504 is not a silver bullet,” Mattix said. ”Just being on a 504 doesn’t mean that things are going to change because a lot of our teachers already do the great things that we expect to be happening.”
HOW TO...
Creatively Decorate Easter Eggs Sprinkled Eggs • Cover egg in Tacky Glue and dip in sprinkles. Vintage Floral Eggs • Glue pressed flowers or leaves to eggs’ surface. • Wrap the egg in hosiery and tie it off. • Boil onions in water; once water is boiling, put in eggs. • Once eggs are done, remove them and pull off the hosiery and flowers.
Ombre Eggs • Use a small bowl with very concentrated amount of food coloring; dip a portion of the egg in the dye. • Let dry. • Add more water to the dye and dip in further; let dry. • Repeat these step until the entire egg is covered as desired. - Compiled by Willow Wood
Friday, April 4, 2014
Lifestyle B6
w The Granite Bay Gazette
Teachers begin the transition to technology Increasingly more GBHS faculty are using software for courses
BY AKASH KHOSLA
akhosla.gazette@gmail.com
As technology becomes the standard for high schools, teachers are beginning to utilize different tools in the classroom to enhance the overall course experience. From foreign language to mathematics courses, almost every course is capable of having technology incorporated into its syllabus. The plethora of online and offline tools available for teachers not only make the lives of students easier, but also allow for faster grading completion and convenient feedback. Kathleen Angelone, a social science teacher at Granite Bay High School, uses online services such as Edmodo and Socrative, both of which are Learning Management Systems to keep her students immersed in the classroom. “I think it’s absolutely necessary to provide students opportunities with technology in the classroom not only for engagement,” Angelone said, “but (also) to provide skills and tools that will help them in the future.” Gradually, more classrooms are starting to transition into technology friendly environments. Jennifer Hill, a Spanish teacher at GBHS, uses her iPad paired with an Apple TV as a Smart-
board alternative for lecture. “If everyone had an Apple TV (or WiFi), they could make it work,” Hill said. “Using an iPad (to teach) has made things more convenient for me.” Hill also manages her own website for homework, resources and general course information through Google Sites. Other teachers often use a Learning or Course Management System in order to manage students and post homework. “I started out as not a big fan of Google, I was always more of an Apple person,” Hill said. “The google sites are very user friendly – it only took me a weekend to setup.” By using Google Sites, a teacher is capable of creating sites with more customization options whereas CMSs such as BlackBoard are limited to their original offerings. Hill also makes students create their own websites using Google Site and has the students upload content regularly. Students are expected to complete speaking and presentational projects by recording and posting images that pertain to the topic. Hill believes that technology implementation is the future of education – going paperless is becoming increasingly important to GBHS and the school district. While the entire GBHS language department
with pen and paper, I have to ask, “is it in your has iPads, the lack of wireless connection in backpack or somewhere (else)?”” most classrooms doesn’t allow for the same Currently the technology is evolving into even unity Hill’s setup has. Teachers won’t be able to present their iPad screen through their projectors more powerful forms. With Chromebooks as cheaper alternatives to PCs for accessing the until the new wireless connection is implementweb, websites have been creating ed. The new wireless connection extensive learning tools for course is planned for the 2014-2015 assistance and understanding school year, in which all classBringing your concepts. rooms on the GBHS campus own device to “Technology can be used to furwill be provided with sufficient ther check for student understandinternet access. school is cool, ing,” said Jared Amalong, the “It takes the right personality, contrary to popu- technology instructor at GBHS. the pioneer type who’s willing “We’ll get to the point where there to get past a learning curve,” lar belief. will be (quality) algorithms that Hill said. “In the long run, it will will (automatically grade) essays.” save me time to put everything – Jared Amalong, Many free tools are available online.” linking students’ devices with Once the transition to online technology instructor at their teacher’s devices. More is completed the first year, all GBHS teachers are transitioning towards worksheets and assignments are the technology based curriculum already sorted out for students and are encouraging students to the following semester of the bring their devices to school. course. Convenience and speed plays a ma“We’re hoping to inform the incoming stujor role in using technology as the basis for a dents about a recommended list of devices for course. school,” Amalong said. “Bringing your own “It takes me 60 seconds to look for a missing assignment that was turned in on the cloud,” Hill device to school is cool, contrary to popular belief.” said, “whereas if the student did the homework
Gazette illustration/AKASH KHOSLA
Sports
Granite Bay Gazette
C Section
GBHS gives the trap team a shot Friday w April 4, 2014
Commentary
parker burman pburman.gazette@gmail.com
The anatomy of a superstar
W
hat makes a superstar athlete? Their work ethic? Their talent? Their competitive spirit? Regardless, the perfection of an all-pro athlete is aweinspiring. No matter the sport, it is easy to find a well known player that has defined and changed their sport through their high level of play and electrifying talent. Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter. All are household names and will all likely land a spot in their respective sports’ hall of fame when they decide to call it quits. But what allowed these players to dominate? One could argue that it is a combination of many things. Those without the work ethic are destined to be a flash in the pan. Exciting and talented but with no drive to reach the next level. They may dominate but will never be included in a conversation about all-time greats. Former basketball player Allen Iverson famously refused to take practice seriously, and although dominant for a time, was forced out of the league early when his natural ability started to fade. However, a good work ethic without the talent is probably worse. There is a reason that only .00005% of American athletes play sports at the professional level. If one could play pro sports based on hard work alone, there would be vastly more professional athletes in the world today. Many people have excelled in their sports only to be told they didn’t have what it takes to make it to the next level, even after working so hard. The sad truth is that most of the time talent trumps hard work, regardless of what coaches may tell you. The important thing however is that an athlete can have both. Only those that have the drive and the measurables can takeover and become truly great. But why do fans love super stars? Perhaps it is because they can do what most can only dream of. Watching players master their sports seemingly effortlessly is incredible to watch. The level of athleticism on display in any given sporting event is simply amazing. And the fact that some can dominate against such lofty competition puts them on a pedestal where they are admired and emulated by countless spectators. Only the best can dominate, it’s in their blood. Others may have their moments, but only the cream of the crop can consistently be the best player every time they play their sport. This immense talent, hard at work to hone their skill is a spectacle to watch, and regardless of how much one watches sports, the superstars on display can only be admired and marveled over. *** Parker Burman, a senior, is a Sports editor
Special to the Gazette /Brandon Dell’ orto
Granite Bay High Schools’ new trap team competes against other teams as they look to follow up their great year with yet another. They are now an official sport of GBHS.
Clay-shooting club officially sanctioned as a school sport BY KEVIN BURNS
kburns.gazette@gmail.com
The unique sport of trapshooting has been a relatively new establishment for Granite Bay High School students, yet it has already won a national championship for varsity, increased its size to over 40 members and now has become an official state-sanctioned sport. The team, which debuted in 2010, received third-place for junior varsity in the Scholastic Clay Target Program State Championship in its first year and has since won numerous awards. Recently, the clay-shooting club has been officially sanctioned by
the California Youth Sport Shooting Association, making the team an official GBHS sport and has given the varsity members the opportunity to varsity letter for the team, a privilege club teams do not receive. Some people argue that trapshooting should not be a letter-worthy sport because of its easiness and lack of practice, but senior junior varsity member and first-class marksman Trevor Befort disagrees, arguing that the precision needed to succeed is truly amazing and that the sanctioning body made the right choice. “People have finally realized that it is just as much a sport as any
Wrestler overcomes injury to make state Berry has successful senior season despite significant setbacks BY PARKER BURMAN
pburman.gazette@gmail.com
When Granite Bay High School’s wrestling season met its end, only one athlete made the trip to the state wrestling competition. Fighting through a torn meniscus in his knee, senior Matt Berry was able to quickly rehab and qualify for the tournament in his last year at GBHS. Berry, who has been wrestling for seven years, worked especially hard to improve his game heading into the season. “I did a lot of off-season work before the year to prepare for the season,” Berry said, “because once it starts you either know what to do or you don’t.” As with many athletes, Berry’s senior season held the most importance as he refined his skills and took on more responsibilities. “I had to help with practices a lot more this year,” Berry said. Sophomore wrestler Matt Ontiveros appreciated this extra work. “(Berry’s) a great teammate, (who) made the team really fun and was always there to help me,” Ontiveros said. With Berry serving as the team’s co-captain this was to be expected, but was still important to the team’s success. Fellow captain, senior Alex Cooney, has been wrestling with Berry since seventh grade. “It has been a lot of give and take. He is a great
other,” Befort said. “It takes hard work, practice and determination to become good at it.” Just like any other GBHS sport, the team practices multiple times a week at the Auburn Trap Club and puts in the effort to be the best they can be. Faculty advisor and coach Scott Braly was a founding member of the trap club and has watched the team improve from an amateur group of friends to a competitive team, which he believes is just as legitimate as any other sport. “Not only is trapshooting an international sport,” Braly said, “ but it is an Olympic sport also.” The members of the team agree, Matt Berry Senior wrestler looks to keep wrestling in college as his high school career comes to an end
teammate who knows when to joke around and raise morale and when to get serious,” Cooney said. The two were instrumental in the wrestling team’s development. “They were both great leaders in helping run the practices and pushing our team,” Ontiveros said. Alongside helping his teammates, Berry also had success in his individual matches, using his size and athleticism to his advantage. “He is also an incredible lengthy wrestler that uses his opponents’ mistakes to create openings to attack, which is very challenging,” Cooney said. Ontiveros agreed that Berry was a great competitor. “(He) is a stud at wrestling,” Ontiveros said. “It is fun to watch his matches.” However, Berry’s great season was almost derailed when he tore a meniscus in his knee late in the year. Berry’s meniscus was removed and he was on crutches for a few weeks. “Hurting my knee was a very big setback,” Berry said. “I couldn’t practice for two weeks, right before league matches, so I had a lot of catching up to do and my endurance had gone down the toilet.” It was a tough situation, but after a successful surgery and rehab process, Berry was able to fight his way into the state tournament. Being the only wrestler on the team to make state was bittersweet for Berry. See WRESTLING, page C5
and they have seen the same growth in themselves that all of the coaches have seen. “The team just started as 12 guys who were just out there to have fun,” said senior distinguished expert Dakota Burley, “but the team has grown a lot each year; we are now at over 40 people (both guys and girls) and we are still out there having fun, but we have grown into a real competitive team.” Despite their massive growth and success, the team knows that they must stay true to what first brought them all together - having fun and practicing gun safety for the future. “Our everyday goals are to be safe, have fun and support skill development and personal growth in our students,” Braly said, “but we would love to do well in season shoots and compete for another state and national championship.” The road to becoming an official
team has been tough for the club, but they are glad that they have finally reached their goal and can now simply practice for their season, Befort said . But much like how their journey to become a team has been different than other more mainstream sports, the trap team has its own rules and guidelines for being a shooter. For example, all first year shooters, regardless of age, are put onto the junior varsity team as a way to develop their skills as a shooter and their teamwork and a member. After a year, every athlete, regardless of age or grade, is put onto varsity to test out their skill and help the team in whatever way possible. In addition, the team’s main focus in practice and training is to teach the students about gun safety during trapshooting. See TRAP, page C5
Powderpuff game gains extra meaning Seniors look to bounce back from disappointing Sports-A-Rama BY DANTE WEEKS
dweeks.gazette@gmail.com
Powder puff has gotten more heated than usual due to the results of Sports-A-Rama, where the juniors beat the seniors. Both sides have anticipated this event for a while and cannot wait to start practicing. “We are putting together offense, defense, and special teams; we can’t wait to get out on the field,” junior Tre Ball said. Tre Ball, along with the other coaches, meets every Wednesday morning before school to collaborate and put together a strategy to win. The event itself will prove whose strategy (seniors or juniors) works out the best. Although the junior coaches haven’t yet seen what their players can do, they can figure out who the athletes are based on the other sports they have played. “We have Annie Wright playing and I think she will definitely make a difference plus we have a lot of good athletes and a lot of
speed,” Ball said. After this years› Sports-A-Rama event, the juniors have been given hope that they will at least make it a close game if they don’t win the whole thing. “After seeing how we destroyed the seniors at sports a rama I believe our class has the upper hand in this game and I won’t accept anything short of a victory,” Ball said . The players, along with the coaches, have been waiting all year for this event and are doing everything they can to prepare themselves for the big game. “I play soccer so it’s keeping me in shape and I get to work on my foot skills at the same time so it’s a win-win,” said junior Natalie Rhodes. This event also gives the girls the chance to meet new people in their coaches and fellow players and build new friendships. “I’ll be playing with other girls I don’t normally hang around so I will definitely be making new friends,” Rhodes said. Like the coaches, the junior players truly believe they have a chance at winning this thing. “It may be very small but I do think we have a chance to win or at least make it a good game,” Rhodes said. See POWDERPUFF, page C5
inside sports Rising Star
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Fan of the Month
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Grizz Quiz
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Girls’ Freshman Soccer Team New team gains funds to remain available for ninth graders
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Cameron Smith Junior football player receives attention from many college programs
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Spring Sports Update Athletes look for success as their seasons continue
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Girls’ freshman soccer team given chance to succeed Community fund-raising and unity spearhead campaign to keep once-eliminated club active BY MAKENZIE BRITO mbrito.gazette@gmail.com
For the first time in Granite Bay High School history, the freshmen girls’ soccer team is ran separately from the Junior Varsity and Varsity soccer teams. On a yearly basis, GBHS girls’ soccer tryouts have had less and less girls come out – a trend that has been occurring for awhile now but has never had such large repercussions. “We’ve gone from 80 girls to about 50 girls, and that includes the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors,” said head varsity girls’ soccer coach Mark Broers. This tendency can in part be attributed to the numerous other sports taking place during the spring. “Lacrosse, track, and swimming are all big sports and really successful so there’s a lot going on in the spring,” Broers said. “So I don’t see our tryout numbers going up anytime soon and our enrollment will be fairly steady.” Because of this heavy drop off in tryout numbers, after varsity and junior varsity tryouts ended, only a handful of girls were left without a team – and not enough to create a third team. “For the first time ever, we only had enough for two teams and had about eight girls left over so we wrapped up the program,” Broers said. Upon hearing that GBHS wasn’t going
to have a freshmen soccer team, many “We tried to get a coach on campus but freshmen, including Quincey MacMillan, it was far too late for someone to comwere upset with the news. mit,” Healy said. “But we had some off “I was very disappointed that our freshcampus people who were qualified so we men class would not be represented for moved forward with it.” soccer,” MacMillan said. “So many of us Following this, Mallory Gallegos was love it and it’s a great way to be apart of chosen to coach the freshman team. your school, especially during your freshAlong with the need to have the proper man year.” faculty and coaching posiShortly after this tions filled, the acquiredecision was finalized, ment of funding was a numerous freshmen problem that the team The problem began to express interneeded find a solution to est in playing for a for a team. was that we freshmen team. Once “Junior varsity and never made this happened, adminvarsity get funding for istration and the athletenough money to head coach’s stipends and ics department found some money for uniforms cover the it necessary to put and equipment each year together a third team. freshman team. and freshmen get nothing; “The school’s their coaches stipends, perception and the uniforms, and equipment – Mark Broers, varsity athletic department’s are paid for by fundgirls’ head coach perception is that when raising,” Broers said. “In there’s a genuine desire the past our boosters paid for something to occur for all three teams but the we should make it happroblem was that we nevpen,” athletics director er made enough money to Tim Healy said. “So when suddenly there cover (the freshman team) too so that was were about 16 girls that said they wanted a difficult situation to work with.” to play it resulted in a move from the Although and having to face some athletic department to make that happen unique challenges and obstacles differbecause there was a desire and we had the ent from other years, administration and capacity to go through with it.” Healy are taking the freshman team under Their first step was to find a coach able their wing and are having success. to take on the responsibility. “We’re doing everything we can to make
Gazette photo /Emily Wagner
Quincey MacMillan (right), and other freshman play for the GBHS freshman girls’ team. it a great experience for the kids that wanted to play,” Healy said. This initial hardship played itself out as everyone behind the scenes worked to ensure coaching, funding, and a solid game
Dual-sport athlete hoping to receive college honors
Gazette photo /Mary-Frances Hansen
Sophomore Brad Fina practices baseball as much as he can, even if it is secondary to football.
Sophomore Brad Fina competes hard in both his sports junior varsity individuals who perform well enough during the junior varsity season get moved up to sgerisch.gazette@gmail.com potentially play in case of injury to other varsity players. Fina believes that if given the opportunity, As the spring sports begin their league play, many he would be able to help out the team and make an opportunities for younger players to impress varsity coaches arise. Brad Fina, a sophomore on the Granite impact. Fina doesn’t want to get caught looking too far Bay High School junior varsity baseball team, begins ahead in the season however. He stressed staying his transition from quarterback of the football team to full time starter for the Grizzlies baseball team this focused on the games at hand and winning league. Winning league isn’t the main objective for Fina new sports season. though. During the fall semester, Fina spent his time start“(Our) biggest goal this season is to go undeing for the JV football team and was a natural leader feated,” Fina said. on the team both on and off the Though it may be too early in field. Poised to move up to varthe season to tell for the young sity and compete for the starting prospect, he seems to be performquarterback position, most would ing well for the team as the Grizbe preparing for spring practice. It’s not really a zlies look to dominate during their However, Fina is using this time dream to play upcoming league play. Fina will be to improve his baseball skills, varsity but more leading his team alongside other JV something many would consider a starters Charlie Tooley and Drew horrible decision. of a goal. It’s a Kindelt. “It can be tough to make the dream to play Like many at the high school transition,” Fina said. level, Fina plays multiple positions Fina acknowledged how the college and pro. for the team as he pitches and plays throwing motions for quarterback infield. However being a pitcher and baseball are drastically differ– Brad Fina, sophomore puts a lot of strain on the arms of ent and how it can take some time these young athletes, and fear sets to adjust. athlete in on whether he will ruin his arm Despite these complications, for football season or not. Fina Fina seems poised for a breakout must be careful not to throw out his season and hopes to impress the arm and maintain good health for varsity staff enough to place himself in prime position to compete for a starting varsity the entirety of the season in order to make the type of impact he hopes to achieve. spot next year. While many consider it a dream to All in all the young dual sport star has a bright play on a varsity sports team for their high school, future ahead of him on the horizon as he strives Fina sees his opportunity in a different light. for greatness in pursuit of a college scholarship. “It’s not really a dream to play varsity but more of Regardless of what does happen in the next couple a goal,” Fina said. “It’s a dream to play college and of years though, Fina’s promising start to his high pro.” Traditionally during the playoffs for baseball, some school career is on to watch. BY STEVEN GERISCH
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schedule – all of which are settled now. “The office downstairs is in charge of them and they’re moving forward with the team,” Broers said. “It all worked out in the end.”
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Junior linebacker receives offers from several universities Cameron Smith currently weighing his collegiate options
Looking forward towards Smith’s senior year, head coach Ernie Cooper is set to make his return to the team next season. Smith already played the entirety of his first varsity season this period. under Cooper during sophomore year. “It makes you want to play a lot “My goals for my senior year of harder but its definitely more nerve football are to be remembered, to win wracking” Smith said of being a championship and just have fun,” watched. Smith said. After the evaluation period coaches Cameron Smith was a team captain have a period of time when they can his junior year of football and played contact players and their families on the state championship team his personally, and players can continue sophomore year as well, but coach to visit schools. Cooper thinks Smith’s real time to Next comes the shine will come next period when coachyear. es are barred from “So far he’s played having any personal on a state championcontact with the ship team and did a I am seriously player apart from job, but he did considering USC, good visits, and then that in a role where he UCLA, Oregon, finally the death was an underclassman period where no and looking up to the Michigan, contact is allowed seniors,” Cooper said. Nebraska, Penn “I think his defining between coaches and the athlete. moment will be this State and “I’ve just visited year because he’s goAlabama. USC and UCLA, ing to be a senior and but I am going he’s going to be the – Cameron Smith, to Oregon and leader.” Alabama on spring In Cooper’s eyes junior linebacker break,” Smith said. Smith compares “Once Tony [Elliclosely to former son] gets to Arizona Granite Bay High I’ll go visit him School linebacker there.” Miles Burris, both of On ESPN.com, Smith is rated #2 in them sharing a similar build and set his inside linebacker position, 19th of skills. Burris graduated in 2007 regionally, 13th in the state and 110th and went on to play collegiately at overall for the recruiting class of San Diego State, and was drafted in 2015. 2012 to the Oakland Raiders. Smith’s most recent offer was from When asked which university he Cal on March 18th, marking the 12th thinks Smith should attend after high offer he’s received. school, Cooper said it should be only Smith already has an idea of what Smith’s decision, but that it is impordirection he wants to go. tant to choose a college where Smith “I am seriously considering USC, would want attend even if he wasn’t UCLA, Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, playing football. Penn State and Alabama,” Smith said. As for his plans after college, Smith “I’ll have a top 5 during the sumhopes to ultimately go pro. mer and then I’ll commit during the Said Smith, “I want play in the season my senior year” (NFL) and be remembered.”
BY CAROLINE PALMER cpalmer.gazette@gmail.com
At 6’2” and 240 lbs, Cameron Smith is already bigger than most boys in his junior class, an ideal size for his position of inside linebacker. “I was 6 years old when I started playing football and I would say I’ve always had a passion for it” Smith said. All of Smith’s years up to freshman year he played quarterback, but upon coming into high school he realized that he would have more success as an inside linebacker. As of now Smith has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal Berkeley, Colorado, Louisville, Oregon, San Diego State, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, and Wisconsin. Most of the time when Smith gets an offer he will “tweet” about it and get a lot of feedback from people in the community and from recruiting accounts. A lot of these accounts will tweet about Smith before he even tweets about being extended an offer. Additionally, the university’s Twitter account will often tweet to Smith announcing that they have extended an offer. “There is a lot of media that is involved,” Smith said of sports recruitment, “like Twitter and Facebook. It’s actually gotten a lot crazier in the past couple years just because of all the new technology, but it’s kind of crazy how the coaches are a lot more involved with outside activities you’re doing” There are a few stages of college recruiting for football. First is the evaluation period where college coaches can come out to the players’ practices or games and watch them, and players can also visit campuses in
Gazette photo /PARKER BURMAN
Junior linebacker Cameron Smith stands on the end zone in front of Granite Bay High School’s “Tribe” before the start of a previous football game.
Spirited senior shares common passion for athletics A track athlete himself, Jared Liang views cheering as a means of assisting those playing BY LUKE CHIRBAS lchirbas.gazette@gmail.com
With so many spirited students in attendance at Granite Bay High School sporting events, it is always hard to only choose one to be named the coveted fan of the month. Senior Jared Liang has displayed his passion for GBHS athletics, and has been chosen as the official fan of the month. His passion for cheering on his fellow peers rooted from freshmen
year, when he looked upon the upperclassmen in admiration.. “When I was a freshman I saw all of the seniors and juniors cheering, and it looked really fun so I joined,” Liang said. Unlike most GBHS students, Liang has a respect for every sport. He is constantly cheering on the athletic teams that aren’t always as publicized as football. “I like the major sports like football and basketball; but I also really want to support the not-as-popular teams as
well,” Liang said. Liang is also trying to innovate the cheering squad called the Tribe, constantly trying to encourage everyone to synchronize their attire and wear all white. “I put body paint on with all white gear,” Liang said. “White Tshirt, white socks, white free runs--I show off my grizzly pride.” Liang’s career of cheering for
GBHS has also presented him many new friends. Attending athletic functions has introduced to Liang a variety of people that he may otherwise not know. “I bond with those people who I stand next to in the bleachers, and talk to them about the game,” Liang said. He also realizes the hard work and dedication that goes into being an athlete. “It’s a lot of dedication to be an athlete, and a whole lot of time,” said Liang. Liang is also a participant in GBHS
sports. Currently he is a member of the varsity track team. “ I know how it is to have a crowd cheering me on. It really helps me out, so I try and do the same to my fellow athletes,” said Liang. At the end of the day, Liang finds it exhilarating just to be a part of the Tribe. “I attend (sporting events) because they are fun to watch,” Liang said. “I have a real appreciation for all of the sports.” The next time that you see a GBHS student covered in body paint and wearing all white clothing, you can be assured that his name is Jared Liang.
Grizz Quiz Compiled by Brendan Gonzalez
Chloe Dobson Girls’ Soccer
Michael Geraghty Boys’ Lacrosse
Conor Ingersoll Baseball
Kristin Lundeen
Brice Absalon
Swimming
Boys’ Golf
Who do you think will win March Madness?
Florida Gators
Florida Gators
Cal Poly Mustangs
Florida Gators
Duke Blue Devils
What is your favorite breakfast food?
Cinammon rolls
Breakfast burritos
Strawberry pancakes
Smoothies
Bacon
What is the last song you downloaded?
“Drunk in Love” by Beyonce
Black Hippy’s mixtape
“Break the Bank” by Schoolboy Q
“Heavy Feet” by Local Natives
The entire “Oxymoron” album by Schoolboy Q
What is your favorite show to binge watch?
Revenge
Naruto
Last Man Standing
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Prison Break
Going to SoCal to tour colleges
Touring colleges
Playing baseball
Hopefully going to Southern California
Visit colleges and go to the beach
What are your spiring break plans?
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Sports C4
Spring sports: Seasons progress for GBHS teams
won their last tournament, the Rocklin Invitational, while the junior varsity team placed fourth among 16 varsity teams.
Baseball team finds camaraderie in Fresno BY STEVEN GERISCH
sgerisch.gazette@gmail.com
As the seasons change and leaves begin to cover oncebarren trees, spring athletes begin their long and grueling process on the road to reaching their goal of becoming section champions. Baseball started their nonleague schedule off in style by traveling down to Fresno, CA to compete in their spring showcase against some of the top teams in California. However, this trip contains more value than simply gaining meaningful offseason experience. Preparing for a tough league schedule, it was an opportunity for the team to bond as a whole. “The Fresno trip really brought the whole team together and took us from a regular team to a bond of brothers,” junior second baseman Brett Munkdale said. Added junior shortstop Peter Schofield, “(The tournament) really brought us together and helped us mesh.” The Grizzlies started out the showcase very well, playing
some of their best ball during the first two days. However, the Grizzlies start didn’t reflect their finish as players said they played far from their best in their final game. “Excluding the last game, our team played well offensively and especially (well) defensively,” Munkdale said. “We had great pitching and defense, and our hitting was beginning to come around” said Zach Hall, a senior outfielder. Schofield said it felt like the team came out hot, but fell apart and played lackadaisically the last day. As the team looks to build upon their Fresno experience, they now focus on fixing the flaws that presented themselves during their final-day struggle. “Anytime you play good competition some weaknesses will be exposed,” Munkdale said, “but the rare ones we saw are fixable.” As the team prepares for their league schedule, they agree the Fresno trip provided exceptional competition for the them to measure their game up against.
Rugby team not affiliated with school
“Our competition was much harder in Fresno than in (our) league,” Hall said. ***
Lacrosse The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams are both playing exceptionally well, each with only one loss this year. Track and field The track team has started its season very strong, placing
well in their early meets. Boys’ Tennis The tennis team is off to a hot start after beginning their season undefeated in league play. The Grizzlies recently blew out the Del Oro Golden Eagles 9-0 in their recent matchup. Swim Both the boys’ and girls’ swim teams have continued their fantastic run, both
of them continuing their historically-impressive streak since each teams’ respective inception. Rugby Last but certainly not least, the Granite Bay club, the school’s unofficial rugby team, is playing very well thus far. Despite losing to Jesuit earlier in the season, the Grizzlies look to rebound as they face the Islanders in an upcoming matchup.
While the GBHS baseball team was preparing for the heart of their season, every other spring sport is in the midst of their Sierra Foothill League schedules. Girls’ soccer The girls’ soccer team has been dominating every game they’ve played lately. Led by junior Tamren Johnk, junior Sydney Talmi and senior Mackenzie Brito, the Grizzlies have yet to surrender a goal and have gone undefeated so far this season, having only played one match to a draw. Boys’ golf Moving from the field to the links, the Granite Bay men’s golf team is undefeated so far having just dominated Del Oro at home by a score of 181-198. The golf team is lead by junior Jeffrey Inouye-Wong, junior Mason Troike and senior Zack Kwan. The Grizzlies also Garrett Walker Junior feels rugby games would have higher attendance if the sport was schoolaffiliated.
A club activity, Granite Bay rugby is not considered a high school sport
Your sports.
Gazette photo /GRACE MOORE
Two Granite Bay baseball players (above) play catch. Bradley Chee (below) strikes a tennis ball with great ferocity. All of GBHS’s spring sports teams are nearing the end of their seasons.
Staying involved and active after high school Former GBHS student-athletes participate in college intramurals to stay in shape football,” Leskauskas said. “Let’s just say the other kids playing against me have another thing coming if they think it’s going to be a walk in the park.” The choice to focus solely on school Intramurals are a great way to release or to continue to play a sport and get built up competitive energy that stays involved in intramurals is one that plagues dormant in many kids who don’t get the minds of seniors. Different schools involved. offer different intramural programs for “I wanted something that had the those students who don’t want to play competitive element, but at the same a full blown sport but still want to stay time wasn’t too time consuming,” senior active and be apart of something fun. Johnny Pellerin said, “and For many Granite Bay intramurals gives me both High School students, of those things.” sports play a big part in The stress of the work their high school lives and load in college can be it is hard to give them up. a heavy burden, and Most college students’ idea working out at a gym of staying active in college Let’s just say the might not be right for is joining a gym or going other kids many students. to the recreation center, playing against “I personally love to but what many kids don’t go to the gym so I don’t realize is that there are a me want to do something handful of intramural sports (in intramurals that would interfere with that colleges offer but don’t will) have another that, and intramurals heavily advertise, so many fit perfectly into my students miss out on what thing coming if schedule,” Pellerin said. could be a worthwhile they think it’s Playing intramurals also opportunity. going to be a has it’s perks. A lot of Some of the intramural schools offer team trips, sports colleges offer include walk in the team parties and a lot of flag football, badminton and park. memories made with the wiffle ball. people you will never “I never really got into – Eddie Leskauskas, forget. playing a solid sport “I was hesitant at first throughout high school Granite Bay High School because I didn’t really but when I did, I liked it a senior and future think intramural sports lot so I have been looking intramural participant were for me, but after at intramurals and I’m reading up on them they thinking about playing flag sounded like they could football,” said senior Eddie be a lot of fun,” senior Leskauskas. Faiz Khan said. For many kids who still Another reason not many kids get want to be part of a team but don’t have involved in intramurals is the social time for the commitment that comes along factor, though it is much different with playing college sports, intramurals than playing a college sport. Many are a perfect fit. fraternities have their own intramural Intramurals usually don’t hold try-outs, teams that bring out crowds. which brings about suspicion for students “I was thinking about joining a leaning more towards sports that are frat just because they have their own solely competitive. intramural programs,” Khan said, “and “I played rugby in high school so all the festivities that come with being a you could say I’ve honed my skills and part of a frat seem worth the initiation.” am ready to show up some kids in flag BY DANTE WEEKS
dweeks.gazette@gmail.com
are not any worse or more frequent than other sports like football.” bgonzalez.gazette@gmail.com This general outlook of rugby as a violent sport is one that Miller hopes will be disproven The Granite Bay Rugby program won state soon. championships at both the varsity and junior “The idea that rugby players get injured varsity levels last season. more often than other sports could not be However, these titles cannot be attributed to further from the truth,” Miller said. “The only Granite Bay High School because rugby is a reason somebody would think that is due to club sport, rather than a school sport. ignorance. They clearly don’t understand the High school rugby is governed by USA sport.” Rugby, not the California Interscholastic Miller pointed out that no doctor or Federation (CIF), which governs almost all researcher has or will provide sufficient data to other high school sports in California. prove that there are more injuries in rugby. In There are, however, other rugby programs, fact, most studies point towards rugby actually such as the programs at Jesuit High School and being a safer sport than football. De La Salle High School, which are schoolUniversity of Washington head football sanctioned sports. coach Chris Petersen backs “When I went to high school this up. Petersen is from at Jesuit, I helped bring rugby to Northern California, having the school,” Granite Bay Rugby grown up around rugby. head coach Chris Miller said. “I When he was the head coach The idea that was in the athletic director’s office at Boise State University, he rugby players everyday telling him to bring would bring in players from rugby to the school.” the local River Snake Rugby get injured more However, Miller feels differently Club to do a tackling session often than other now about wanting his rugby team to demonstrate proper to be sanctioned by the school. tackling techniques. sports could “There aren’t many benefits Miller believes that another not be further if the high school were to bring reason rugby is viewed it on,” Miller said. “The school sometimes in a negative light from the truth. would want to control everything, is due to the idea that rugby The only reason and that is the last thing we want.” players are all dumb jocks Another benefit of Granite Bay who just beat each other somebody would rugby maintaining its status as a up on the field and then go think that is due club sport is the ability to bring in party. to ignorance. players from other schools, not just There are however, some GBHS. benefits to a sport being “I definitely think the players sanctioned by the school. – Chris Miller, from other schools help the team a “The only negative I see Granite Bay rugby lot,” junior Garrett Walker said. in us being a club sport is “My team is a melting pot. We not having a lot of student head coach have players not only from GBHS support at our games.” but also from Oakmont, Bella Walker said. “I think if we Vista, Del Oro and Vista del Lago were a school sport, our just to name a few,” Miller said, games would have much “so that is definitely a big reason to higher attendance.” stay club.” But it in the end, Miller believes that the There is also a rumor that GBHS does not negatives of rugby being school sanctioned want to take on the sport of rugby due to the outweigh the positives. general view that it is a sport with a high injury After helping Jesuit rugby become a school rate. sport, Miller has no intention or desire for “I think the school is nervous about rugby his Granite Bay rugby program to become because of the liability from injuries,” junior affiliated in any way with Granite Bay High Mike Pragg said, “even though rugby injuries School. BY BRENDAN GONZALEZ
Gazette photo /EMILY WAGNER
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Sports C5
Alumnus Dominic Scotti impresses at Wake Forest Early graduate of GBHS works on his soccer skills at the collegiate level of play
“Dom was obviously a key player for us this year,” senior and teammate Jeff Gaebler said. “He came up big for us in the A quite successful three-year varsity Jesuit game and I’m glad to have played soccer career was capped off when senior with him for so many years.” Dominic Scotti had one of the most Scotti was selected to the Sierra Footmemorable games in Granite Bay High hills League First Team all three years School soccer history during the section in which he played varsity, including championship game against Jesuit in winning the SFL Most Valuable Player November. during his junior season. He also named After Jesuit scored the to the All-Region game’s first goal with team for his junior and minutes left in the second senior seasons. overtime, the game apDuring high school, Dom has peared over. Scotti also spent time However, mere mowith the San Jose adapted very ments later Scotti asEarthquakes academy quickly with sisted on a goal to fellow and won seven club senior Zach Boyle. After state championships the team, this goal, both teams with three different both on and every fan in attenteams. dance began preparing Now, after graduating and off for penalty kicks. But early, Scotti is already the field once again, Scotti came playing soccer at Wake through. Forest University. – Ian Harkes, Wake As time was running In his first game as a Forest midfielder out, Scotti seemingly Demon Deacon, Scotti came out of nowhere to started, playing 78 guide a loose ball into out of 90 minutes in the goal and send “The a spring season game Tribe” into a frenzy. against Duke. Scotti’s heroics led to “Collegiate soccer is the Grizzlies becoming the Sac-Joaquin definitely different than high school socsection champions and the unofficial cer,” Scotti said. “It’s a lot more physiDivision I State Champions. cally demanding. Players are bigger and “Playing for Granite Bay taught me how stronger at this level.” to win at all costs,” Scotti said. “A team Wake Forest midfielder Ian Harkes, may have less skill, but if they have good coming off a season in which he was chemistry than they can be unbeatable.” named to the All-ACC freshman team, BY BRENDAN GONZALEZ bgonzalez.gazette@gmail.com
POWDERPUFF: Yearly rivalry between seniors and juniors starts to heat up Continued from page C1 The tension between the two teams is a little more serious than years in the past because of the rare outcome of Sports-A-Rama and the raise in morale that is giving the juniors that fighting chance that they may not have had in the past. However, Sports-A-Rama didn’t just raise morale for the juniors, the seniors have something to prove now and they need to let everyone know they’re still the top dogs on campus by taking home the win. “I’ll show them the basic techniques and then teach them to have the right mindset that they’re the best,” senior Luke Bussey said. Unfortunately for the juniors, the seniors had last year to see what their players can do and have a better idea of what they’re dealing with going into the game. “I’ve got several secret tips to teach the seniors that the juniors don’t know about, but overall the seniors are really athletic and we have a clutch kicker, Makenzie Brito, who I know will dominate,” Bussey said. The seniors are coming out ready to
play and put the juniors back in line. “No doubt we’re gonna win, it all comes down to who is the best and most prepared team and that is easily us seniors.” Bussey said. The senior players have a year of experience under their belts that will help them when it comes time to play and put their seniority to the test. For some, regardless of the outcome they are happy to be a part of something big and the chance to meet new people is always a plus. “I love this event because it gives you the opportunity to make new friends and play with girls you don’t normally talk to so it’s a great bonding experience,” senior class president Audrey Tate said. The seniors are ready to leave their mark and go to college knowing they won one of the biggest events of the year. “Oh we can definitely win, our coaches are ready with great plays, basically we are going for a repeat of floats if you know what I mean,” Tate said. This year’s Powderpuff game is shaping up to be a more competitive game than usual, as the seniors and juniors have extra reason to be angry this year to go at it due to the results of Sports-ARama.
Special to the Gazette /JULIE SCOTTI
Dominic Scotti dribbles past the opponents’ defense during one of his matches as a member of the Granite Bay soccer
believes Scotti is meshing well with the team. “Dom has adapted very quickly with the team, both on and off the field,” Harkes said. “The guys all respect him as a player and he has a great personality that makes it easy for him to fit in at Wake.” The Demon Deacons are coming off a season in which they were ranked in
the top-15 teams nationally when last season ended. However, after eight players from last year’s team graduated and began to play professionally, they were left with some holes that Scotti hopes to fill. “For the upcoming season, I’m looking to just make as big of an impact as possible, and hopefully be the ACC and national champions,” Scotti said.
As for personal goals, Scotti hopes to follow in Harkes footsteps and be named to the All-ACC freshman team. “Next season we hope to be the best team in the ACC next year and make a run at the national title,” Harkes said. “Dom is a player who can make an immediate impact by getting in games and helping us when with his smart play and hard work.”
WRESTLING: Senior culminates his last season with a trip to state Continued from page C1
“Making state felt good but I also wish other people could have been there because it gets kind of lonely,” Berry said. “It was a great experience and it feels great to be able to go, but I wish more of my teammates were there to prepare them for next year.” Alone at state, Berry failed to make the impact that he had wanted coming into
the tournament. “I could have done better as I didn’t wrestle my best and that sucks, but overall I’m pretty happy with my performance,” Berry said. While his season had its ups and downs, Berry looks to the future for his wrestling career. “I’ve gotten a few scholarship opportunities from Division two schools and I’m talking to ASU’s coach about wrestling
TRAP: Unique sport is a fun activity to bring people together Continued from page C1 This system that they have has led them to become a closer and better team, which is evidenced by their varsity first-place finish at the Las Vegas US Open for trapshooting. With all of their success, the team is gaining popularity, but there is always more room for new members on the team. “The best things the members can do is take a friend out to the shooting
range or bring them to one of the local tournaments to see how it all works,” Burley said. “It’s really different from any other sport I have ever played.” Hoping to attract more and more members will be easier now that the team is recognized as an official sport and people can realize the work that this group puts in to be the best in the country. “It really brings kids together to do something they love,” Befort said. “It isn’t just shooting a gun.”
Division one there,” Berry said. “I’m going to wrestle with them in the offseason and see where that takes me.” His hard work has paid off in several scholarships and Berry will look back fondly on how hard he fought in his last high school season. “As a whole I feel that I did pretty well for my senior year,” Berry said, “especially coming off a mid-season knee surgery.”
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Friday, April 4 2014
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AT A GLANCE
For the Record Boys’ Lacrosse wMarch 14 – Granite Bay 9, Las Lomas 7 wMarch 25 – Granite Bay 18, Grenada 3 wApril 11 – Granite Bay vs. St. Mary’s, at St. Mary’s wApril 22 – Granite Bay vs. Lincoln of Stockton, at Granite Bay Girls’ Lacrosse wMarch 11 – Granite Bay 17, Foothill 16 wMarch 18 – Granite Bay 17, Menlo-Antherton 4 wApril 24 – Granite Bay vs. Bella Vista, at Bella Vista wMay 2 – Granite Bay vs. Oak Ridge, at Oak Ridge Track & Field wApril 5 – Track & Field Stanford invite, at Stanford wApril 9 – Granite Bay vs. Nevada Union, at Granite Bay wApril 10 - Granite Bay vs. Arcadia, at Arcadia wApril 12 – Track & Field Halden Invitational, at Davis Girls’ Soccer wMarch 13 – Granite Bay 1, Del Campo 0 wMarch 25 - Granite Bay 0, Roseville 0 wApril 22 – Granite Bay vs. Oak Ridge, at Granite Bay wApril 24 – Granite Bay vs. Woodcreek, at Woodcreek Boys’ Golf wMarch 20 – Granite Bay 212, Woodcreek 182 wMarch 25 – Granite Bay 198, Del Oro 181 wApril 21 – Granite Bay vs. Vista Del Lago, at Empire Ranch wApril 22 – Granite Bay vs. Yuba City, at Plumas Lakes Boys’ Baseball wMarch 20 – Granite Bay 1, Franklin 7 wMarch 27 – Granite Bay 5, Oak Ridge 1 wApril 14,17 – Granite Bay at Boras Baseball Classic, at Mcauliffe Field wApril 9 – Granite Bay vs. Woodcreek, at Woodcreek Boys’ Tennis wApril 22 – Granite Bay vs. Del Oro, at Granite Bay wApril 23 – Granite Bay vs. Rocklin, at Granite Bay wApril 24 – Granite Bay vs. Rocklin, at Granite Bay wApril 29 – Granite Bay vs. Davis, at Davis Boys’ Volleyball wMarch 11 – Granite Bay 3, Oak Ridge 0 wMarch 18 – Granite Bay 3, Jesuit 1 wApril 23 – Granite Bay vs. Roseville, at Granite Bay wApril 28 – Granite Bay vs. Nevada Union, at Nevada Union Girls’ Softball wMarch 18 – Granite Bay 1, Christian Brothers 2 wMarch 28– Granite Bay 0, Roseville 2 wApril 23 – Granite Bay vs. Rocklin, at Granite Bay wApril 25 – Granite Bay vs. Roseville, at Roseville Swimming wApril 5 – Swim Travel Squad @ Nor Cal Champs, at Roseville wApril 10 – Granite Bay vs. Del Oro, at Granite Bay wMay 2 – SFL Swim Trials, at Roseville
Varsity freshman Kaley Stunz outruns her competitor, top, racing on her way to make a goal. Senior Garrison Schlauch, middle left, sets the ball to teammate TJ Nieman. Freshman Austen Berry middle right, directs a forehand swing against his Folsom High School opponent. Junior Bradley Chee, left, watches the scorecards change in his favor. Junior Colin Downs, bottom left, spikes the volleyball from his strong side.
Gazette photos by Grace Moore
The Gazette’s arts and entertainment guide
Find out why people rave about raves Pages 8 and 9
Page 2
April 2014
sneak peek.
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE/RAVE PIX
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE/ DANIELA BRIOULO
Gazette photo /KAt MCGRAIL
wSee pages 8 & 9 for an inside look on the growing trend, raves.
wSee page 16 for the scoop on upcoming spring music festivals.
wSee page 10 for the revival of the drive-in movie theatre.
Let the madness commence
I
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is back with even more at stake than ever before
When it comes down to the picking, it is just downright luck. t’s that time of the year again – late March, and the Madness has begun. The madness of the NCAA men’s champi- You could choose your bracket based solely on whose mascot you like better, and you could end up with more correct picks onship tournament, that is. than the guy who sits on his couch for hours watching expert Every year, the 64-team tournament begins, and madness is analysis on who to pick. That guy was me, in an understatement for what takes place from this case – the tournament was only a day in, March 20th to April 7th. Over the three-weekand my bracket is already busted. span, you see the best of the best of college The reason I watch March Madness is never basketball, with 12 seeds taking down 5 seeds for the brackets, that is just an added perk, but and Cinderella stories like last year’s, when the real reason is to watch the players light up Wichita State made a run all the way to the the court. Every year you see it, the underdog final four. pulling the upset against the team that everyone But the real story of March Madness is the thought was unbeatable. brackets filled out by contestants across the The reason I love the NCAA Men’s Basketcountry in hopes of achieving the perfect ball tournament is for one simple reason, the bracket. level of competition is unrivaled to any other This year, the stakes are even higher for the bracket, with billionaire Warren Buffett’s sport played. aalcaine.gazette@gmail.com challenge. The challenge has taken March Also, nothing can compare to seeing your Madness to the next level, along with my stress favorite team make a run to the Final Four in levels during those three weeks. the tournament, conversely nothing compares to the heartbreak The Billion Dollar Challenge is not the real reason I am in of seeing your team get knocked out in one of the early rounds love with March Madness – the chances of a perfect bracket are of the tournament. about 1 in 1 trillion odds. The real reason I am so competitive The heartbreak never lasts long however, because as you about my brackets is so I can rub it in my friend’s faces when I watch the tournament you will see plenty of the top dogs get have a better bracket than them. taken down by the underdog. After all, everyone knows that their strategy is the right one, The best thing about the tournament though, is when a team and everyone else is just ignorant. I mean, come on – Gonthought to be eliminated in the first round pulls off the imposzaga beating Oklahoma State in the first. Do you live under a sible and makes a run all the way to the Elite 8 to face one of rock or something? the top seeds.
Commentary
Austin Alcaine
Guide to Green Screen
Page 3
Page 6/7
Music Reviews Food Reviews Page 4
Top Hiring Page 5
Spring break travel guide
Page 8/9 Raves
Page 10
Music Festivals
Page 11 Book to Movie Adaptations Page 12 Best Cars
Upcoming GBHS Events for March April 4 Powderpuff game April 5 Track and Field Stanford invite & Junior Nonprom April 14 Spring Break Page 14 Star wars
Page 15 Movie Reviews
Page 16 Drive-ins
April 2014
Page 3
tune in.
Foster the People Supermodel BY TREASA HAYES
thayes.gazette@gmail.com
F
oster the People’s new album that debuted on March 18, Supermodel, creatively combines their traditional alternative sound with a more modern flair in 11 songs. With their imaginative single Coming of Age that I first discovered on Spotify, I was very impressed and excited for the rest of their album to be released to the public. It didn’t take long for this single to air on popular radio stations such as 94.7 and 107.9, and I’m hoping that not all of their album songs become broken records on the radio, too. I would have to say my favorite track on the album is “Best Friend,” which uniquely achieves authenticity yet is different from their previous album, Torches. The beat makes it perfect to dance alone to in the car, and sets a definite tone for the whole album. The different musical elements in the song, such as trumpets and extra sound effects, just blend together wonderfully and create a lovely tune for my ears. Probably my second favorite song on the album is “Nevermind,” which has a Jack Johnson-esque tone fused with a Jason Mraz pitch and I just love the lyrics.
The slowest song on the album is “Fire Escape,” a totally untraditional style for Foster the People. For ordinary fans of their music, this song incorporates heavier emotion paired with When their first song, “Pumped Up Kicks,” debuted in the summer of 2011, many believed that it was a one-hit wonder, that this one song would be what solely defined Foster The People. Although “Pumped Up Kicks” still remains one of their trademarks, they are creating a wide repertoire for themselves with Supermodel and definitely expanding their fan base to various audiences. Track 6 on the album, “The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones,” is merely an instrumental piece about 30 seconds long, and I honestly don’t understand the meaning of the song or even why it’s on the album at all. However, I like the array of song types that Foster The People creates rather than settling for similar-sounding tones on all of the tracks. I absolutely love the different song titles on Supermodel, and I think it separates them from other alternative bands in that their originality is not influenced by other popular artists. I’m really excited to download Supermodel off of iTunes and listen to these songs until my ears are angry with me as I traditionally do with all quality albums.
Columbia Records
Supermodel was released on March 18, 2014
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YG My Krazy Life BY KAT MCGRAIL
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Capitol Records
Spring Break 6 ... Like We Ain’t Ever debuted on March 13, 2014.
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Skip to: Night One
kmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com
ountry singer Luke Bryan’s short, new album called Spring Break 6 … Like we Ain’t Ever, is a continuation of his previous annual album, Spring Break: Here to Party. These six songs are about as serious and sincere as spring breaks get, which is hardly serious at all. Though the album is short, the compilation provides the perfect feel good soundtrack for the beach. The song titled “ Night One” is about a girl he wishes he could have met earlier in the week of spring break because their time together is being cut short. He utilizes the image of meeting the perfect girl too late, but still wanting to make the most of the time they spend together. The song titled “Like We Ain’t Ever,” which the album is named after, is one of the more upbeat tracks. This song, as are most of the songs on this album, are prime background music for driving with the top down and making memories. With a pretty even mix of songs about girls and parties, this track shines the spotlight on the stereotypical college kid spring break on the beach.
Every track on this record is perfect for getting into a warm weather mindset, which is especially perfect since spring break is on its way. These couple songs are all meant for the party scene, but never get too wild and out of hand. The album is a classy contrast to the rap music which, for the most part, accentuate the dirty side of drinking and relationships. Though they both do talk about drinking and partying, Bryan, who helped write all the songs for this album, kept it clean time after time. Most of the songs are considerably mindless and simply provide a good beat to drink lots of beer to, but at the same time are just meant to glorify the good weather , the sand, the waves and of course, spring break. Just as everyone is getting antsy for nice weather and summery tunes, Bryan obliges. Though a considerable number of people disagree with the genre, this album represents the essence of a lot of country music, which is essentially having a good time with good friends. Bryan captures the easy-going feel of your typical spring break, but does so in a catchy way. These few songs are sure to be new crowd favorites and spring break anthems.
Luke Bryan Spring Break 6 ... Like We Ain’t Ever BY BRIAN ZHUANG
Y
bzhuang.gazette@gmail.com
G is a relatively new artist that has surfaced on to the major hip-hop scene. With his new album My Krazy Life, YG establishes himself as an artist to look out for. Within the album, there have been many songs that have gone viral because of their compelling instrumentals and lyrics. YG has a unique style in the way he raps and the beats that he uses. His songs are usually songs you would listen to in a club, however, he adds a special touch of his own style that creates a different and appealing sound. When you listen to his songs, you can’t help but dance because they are extremely catchy and overall fun to listen to. Songs like “My N***a (feat. Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan)” and “Who Do You Love? (feat. Drake)” have been major hits even before YG dropped his album to the public. “My N***a” got enormous exposure from the Vine app, where thousands of people made videos using the song for their backgrounds. I feel as though whenever anyone hears this song, everyone gets the inherent vine videos, attached to the song. Both these songs have mediocre instrumentals, but contrary to belief, adds to the organic feel and brings out YG’s lyrics within each of his songs.
Though these songs are loved, the instrumentals are very simple with only a beat and a basic melodic tune. Yet, he makes it work, most likely from his fluidity of his rapping, which overall creates a coherent song. Most of YG’s songs are quite vulgar and under “turn-up” conditions. However, he also incorporates other songs that don’t resemble the “good-times” club songs. Some are calmer with a more produced instrumental that binds perfectly with his robust voice. YG uses a piano and a saxophone in “Sorry Momma” which evokes a calmer and easier tune. In this song, he talks about his childhood and many of the times he put stress onto his mother, growing up in Compton Later, a girl, that isn’t officially featured, harmonizes with YG on the chorus, adding a more peaceful sound. Many people say that YG holds down west coast hip-hop with Kendrick Lamar and that he is the new era artist that will continue west coast rap traditions. Overall, My Krazy Life is the type of album that you have to be in the mood for. It is mostly songs for dancing and having a good-time, so don’t expect it to be pleasant while you try to relax. If you don’t mind club hip-hop, then I suggest you give a listen to YG’s new album.
Def Jam Records
My Krazy Life came out on March 18, 2014.
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April 2014
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Spring time music
Artist of the Month: Claire Ellinwood Senior BY MAKENZIE BRITO
mbrito.gazette@gmail.com
When did you first start painting?
BY TREASA MAIREAD HAYES thayes.gazette@gmail.com
“Feel It All Around” by Washed Out
This mostly instrumental song is the opener for the popular IFC show Portlandia and you’ll feel like you’re a hip Portland local yourself.
“Riptide” by Vance Joy
Gazette photo /MAKENZIE BRITO
I started painting my freshman year when I took Art 1. After that I continued taking art classes at the school.
What are your inspirations?
This song is the ideal tune to lift your spirits and get you ready and excited for the spring season for time at the ocean.
My inspirations come from imaginary based highs that question reality with the use of surrealism, abstract, and figurative painting.
“Girls” by The 1975
What has been your favorite part of your art career?
You’ll fall in love with these British boys and their style in this upbeat song and its unique tone.
“The Mother We Share” by Chvrches
This alternative song and its electric sound is the perfect accompaniment to spring road trips and parties.
“Partition” by Beyoncé
Listening to Beyoncé can make both male and female feel empowered, especially with this sick beat that is conveniently two songs in one.
Top Netflix picks BY CAITLYN HURLEY
churley.gazette@gmail.com
My favorite part of my art career is knowing that I will never be completely satisfied with my skills due to the amount there is always left to learn. Why do you think art is important? Art is a never-ending upward climb that inevitably turns you into a one of a kind artist with the content and talent to aspire to individuality and success.
Orange is the New Black (2013)
Creator of hit HBO series Weeds, Jenji Kohan introduced a Netflix original series where main star Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is given a 15 month prison sentence for a decade old crime where she smuggled drugs with her ex-con girlfriend. This hilarious drama pushes boundaries while still illustrating what it’s like for an average girl to go to prison.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
A classic book remade into a movie in the early nineties has recently been released on Netflix for viewing. A young FBI agent is forced to confide with a manipulative killer in efforts to catch another.
Scandal (2012)
Award winning actress Kerry Washington stars as a young lawyer in Washington D.C. After leaving her job at the White House as a communications director, she opens her own crisis management firm and deals with all the scandals within Washington D.C. politics. This sexy political series is full of twists and turns that will leave any viewer on the edge of their seat.
Parks and Recreation(2009) ABC Studios
This “The Office” esque series that takes place in Indiana deals with members of park up keeping departments. Each character is quirky and strange in their own way, yet they all somehow tie into one another and relate back to the plot.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
A Quentin Tarantino classic, a movie that every person should see at some point in their lives. This movie can be dark and disturbing, but underlying religious messages throughout the movie lead some to believe that this movie is Tarantino’s own version of the bible. Tarantino’s favoured actors, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson play disturbed yet intelligent and complicated roles that are essential to the theme of the movie.
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April 2014
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Gazette illustration/BRIAN ZHUANG
GBHS students tour popular colleges over spring break BY STEVEN GERISCH
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sgerisch.gazette@gmail.com
ith Spring Break right around the corner, most students are excited to relish this break away from school and spend it in different states, or countries with their friends and family. However many other students will spend their time using this break to tour possible college spots around the area, embarking on long winding road trips with their family. These road trips provide time for family bonding in addition to experiencing the beautiful campuses within driving distance of Granite Bay. Many of these destinations can double as scenic vacation spots as well though. While California State University at Long Beach doesn’t have the allure of the big Los Angeles schools that University of Southern California and UCLA have it provides a scenic campus and an enjoyable atmosphere. More than 35,000 students are proud to call this university home and soak up the LA weather year around. Claire Norris, a sophomore at Granite bay, said “I loved how large the campus was”. Norris continued on and said how exciting it was to have the ocean so near. When asked if having the ocean so close to campus would be a distraction Norris said that she believes it could be difficult but thinks she could manage to stay focused on her school work if she attended there. With the combination of having the ocean so close, and also having Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles within driving distance, CSU Long Beach offers an array of activities for students to partake in while either visiting campus or actually attending the university. Just up the coast is one of the most popular universities amongst GBHS students, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Located just up the coast from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo boats a scenic, laid back campus that many fall in love with at first site. While Cal Poly, as it is formally known as, doesn’t boast a very prestigious sports history, the Mustangs’ basketball team recently shocked many people around California and made the NCAA national tournament. Sophomore Kennedy Christie said “I liked how the student body supports all of their athletic programs and the amount of school spirit around campus”. Cal Poly has an enrollment of about 20,000 students and has one of the best engineering programs in California. Cal Poly is not like your traditional state school. Cal Poly’s admission process is based upon which major you wish to pursue while attending college, making the acceptance rate much more difficult for some. Also creating more of a gap from the other state schools is
their learning process. While touring, Christie said she liked how their style of learning information was different than the others and felt it produced a much more productive process. Regardless, Cal Poly is considered one of the most beautiful schools in California and draws a large amount of GBHS’s population to attend its university. Up in the heart of the Bay area, the University of California at Berkeley boasts one of the most prestigious academic programs in the country. Being public, Berkeley has a student population of almost 36,000 students. It is considered by many to be the best public universities in the nation and also boasts a very diverse campus. Many students fall in love with the pristine campus and various division one athletic teams. Along with a proud athletic tradition, Cal also has a brand new football stadium that Junior Alex Stamas feels is one of the main things that drew him to Berkeley and is one of the main attractions while visiting. Being in the heart of the bay, Berkeley has an abundance of activities in and around campus. “I liked how all of the libraries on campus are intertwined with an elaborate underground tunnel system” Stamas, “It’s one of the various things on campus that makes Berkeley the unique institution it is”. Last but not least is another university that is frequented by various Granite Bay students year in and year out, the University of Oregon located in Eugene. Oregon might not be known as a place frequented by Nobel Peace prize winners, but some of the nation’s best athletes flock to Oregon as it boats some of the best programs in the nation for Division I sports. Jesuit junior Blake Clarkson recently visited Oregon’s campus and said “The athletic facilities are all top notch”. “The campus is also really beautiful” said Clarkson. While on his visit Clarkson was able to step inside of the legendary football stadium and was in awe at how large it was while on the field. The campus is full of athletic supporters and it is a tradition on campus to go on Saturdays to Autzen Stadium during football stadiums to watch a college football powerhouse. While in Eugene, the city of Portland is not far away and is considered by many as one of the most interesting cities in the country and boasts a great basketball team. The city of Corvallis is also not far from campus which creates an interesting scenario during rivalry week or whenever they play Oregon State. All in all, there are many neat and intriguing colleges through California and near to the state that are all within driving distance, and located near great vacation spots that would make great stops on a family road trip.
Page 6
We are wanton some Chinese food
Tsing Tao BY DANTE WEEKS
dweeks.gazette@gmail.com
Tsing Tao has gotten multiple good reviews, five stars in some instances on Yelp and other apps/sites that review restaurants. Their service is exceptional, they treat their customers with the utmost respect and are very polite. My waitress was very friendly and funny; not afraid to crack jokes and join in on conversation which always makes the experience more enjoyable. They always make sure the customers have what they need but are not pushy about it. Also, the ambiance is very soothing with a traditional Chinese cultural theme setting while also keeping the restaurant smelling nice with scented candles that mix surprisingly well with the smell of the food. They have hanging paper maché lanterns along with Christmas-like paper maché ropes hanging on the walls that add a nice touch to the overall atmosphere. I chose the sesame chicken which was hands down the best sesame chicken I have ever had. It was cooked to perfection with a golden crisp that when you ate it, the chicken almost melted in your mouth. They offer soup, rice, pot stickers or rangoons as sides to accompany the main dish. Although I played it safe and stuck with what I know, there are definitely many other things that I would consider getting next time I go to Tsing Tao. Some of the other dishes I tried are the Mushu pork served with shredded pork,
April 2014
chow fun.
The Gazette staff is on the hunt for the best Chinese joints in town.
bean sprout, carrots, cabbage and eggs, the garlic beef which is cooked with water chestnut, onion, bell pepper and mushroom. Both dishes were excellent and had the perfect amount of spices that made the flavor of the meat pop out. Tsing Tao is open from Tuesday to Wednesday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm then 4:30 P.M. to 8:45 P.M. and then Friday and Saturday until 9 P.M Their portions are pretty big so I would recommend bringing a big group of people or at least sharing one meal between a few people. They offer free refills and the waiters/waitresses will come to your table and fill your drink when it looks low. They offer family portions that contain a lot of food, enough to fill a family of at least 7 people for an affordable price. If you decide to go around dinner time, the restaurant is candlelit and they usually play music at a low volume and the music they play is strictly instrumental and very calm, soothing tunes that compliment a very nice meal. Their prices along with their service and the ambiance of the restaurant all contribute to a worth-while meal that will not cease to satisfy.
Gazette photo /DANTE WEEKS
The Rose Garden BY CAROLINE PALMER cpalmer.gazette@gmail.com
The Rose Garden is a delicious hidden Chinese food place in Roseville. Right by the Raley’s on Sunrise Ave. The Rose Garden is a great place for authentic Chinese food. Upon arriving to the restaurant I noticed the place was moderately filled. The Rose Garden has a very relaxing and authentic atmosphere. Traditional Chinese style music was playing quietly in the background. There are two huge fish tanks towards the back of the restaurant, I noticed most little kids ran straight to it when they entered. Parents were happy to have something to distract their children while they waited to be seated or for their food to come. Within two minutes of arriving my mom and I were seated. Almost as soon as we sat down a waiter was there to take our drink orders. The menu is huge and has a variety of items; anything from kung pao chicken, to sweet and sour pork, to chow mein and chow fun. Having been there before I already knew what I would want. I ordered the kung pao chicken with the egg drop soup. I would recommend always sharing an entree with a person or even two people, the portions are huge. Even after my mom and I had eaten there was still about half of the meal left. The kung pao chicken comes with fried rice, chicken egg rolls and a miso
soup, but you can ask for a different soup. The fried rice is probably the best part of the dish. The egg drop soup is also delicious and so is the miso soup. What also sets the Rose Garden away from other restaurants I’ve been too is the service. Within a minute of finishing my water a waiter always showed up to refill it. Another thing I like is how when they bring you out you’re water, they bring you out a pot of piping hot tea and tea cups. If all the reasons above aren’t enough to make you want to go, the prices are pretty low especially for what you’re getting. My mom and I both got soup, soda, and the entree which came out to around 20 dollars. This is a great place to go to if you’re looking for a laid back yet upbeat restaurant with great food. I would definitely recommend the Rose Garden anytime anyone is in the mood for great Chinese food. The service is great and overall I always have an extremely pleasant experience every time I go.
Gazette photo /CAROLINE PALMER
Granite Bay Chinese BY AKASH KHOSLA
akhosla.gazette@gmail.com
One of the first meals my family had after moving to Granite Bay was at a small Chinese restaurant named, well, Granite Bay Chinese Restaurant. Although the location wasn’t spectacular (it was squeezed between a dollar store and a furniture store) and the name wasn’t very creative, the small Asian cuisine became a favorite place for us to go. Since then, we have gone back probably hundreds of times, satisfied as ever when we leave. Despite the outer look of the restaurant - a dull building blended in with all of the others in the center at the intersection of Douglas Blvd. and Auburn-Folsom Blvd. and a simple sign reading “GB Chinese Restaurant”, the interior displays traditional Chinese decor. To start off the meal, GB Chinese-goers are seated by a friendly staff who act more like next-door neighbors than waiters and hosts. In fact, the last time I went, The hostess remembered the names and orders of the people at the table next to us and had it ready for them quickly after they had arrived. But their speedy delivery to the
memorable family was not a case of favoritism, as the appetizers we ordered also came out in record time. The appetizer, an order of 6 pot stickers, was both delicious and light enough to leave more than enough room for the main entrees. Although there were not many sides or extras to complement the flavors of the dumpling, the flavor was good enough to tease my taste buds and keep me wanting more. Whereas the appetizer came to our table quickly and efficiently, the main entrees - a chicken chow mein and pork fried rice - took their sweet time while cooking. It was a while to wait for them to make the food, and was surprising based on the speed of the pot stickers. Regardless, passing the time was easy, as the restaurant was decorated with traditional Chinese customs. On the far side of the cuisine, a beautiful mural distracted me with its peaceful scene. On my place mat, the Chinese Zodiac signs and meanings provided easy conversation and entertainment while comparing years and matching personalities with my family and friends. When the main courses finally came, I found that the wait was worth it. The hearty noodles of the chow mein and expert mix of the fried rice ingredients filled me
with a contentedness that only a few restaurants can. Not only were the flavors perfectly crafted together, but the dishes also had enough food for everyone to have as much as they wanted to and more for leftovers the next day. The food was already great itself, so when I picked up the check at the end of the meal to find that it was only about six dollars per item, even the main entrees which were enough to feed a person for three meals. Of all of the Chinese restaurants in Granite Bay, there is only one that can call itself “Granite Bay Chinese Restaurant,” but because of its great value and taste rather than simply its name.
Gazette photo /KEVIN BURNS
Page 7
April 2014
chow fun.
Asian Blossom BY ALEXA ZOGOPOULOS
azogopoulos.gazette@gmail.com
I’m what one might call a “foodie.” I don’t just eat to live, I live to eat. I make it a point to try new dishes of different cultures, and I care deeply about every aspect of the food I eat. But, I’m also a picky eater. So when I tried Asian Blossom, located near the Westfield Galleria Mall, I was hoping the food would meet my standards. However, Asian Blossom did not quite hit the bar. But I’ll start with the good parts. What I valued most from my Asian Blossom experience was the reasonable pricing. The appetizer I purchased, vegetarian egg rolls, cost just $2.00. Also, my egg rolls were delicious though they were brought out to me so quickly that I couldn’t eat them without burning my mouth until about ten minutes after the plate was in front of me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the rolls, and the dipping sauce they came with. I will also say that the service was not bad – not amazing, but not bad. And at many restaurants, that’s all you can really ask for.
As for the ambience, it was alright. Fortunately, the decor was not horrifically old-fashioned like at so many other local Chinese restaurants I have been to. It had a modern theme, which was a bit more pleasant. Then came the entree. You must keep in mind that when I ordered my entrée – chow fun with vegetables – I was being adventurous. I’ve had enough chow mein and stir fry in my life to feed a small country, but I had never tried the thick chow fun noodles, so I thought I would try something new. I should’ve stuck to the chow mein or stir fry. The chow fun noodles were so eggy, it almost tasted to me like I was eating scrambled eggs with vegetables and sauces. And I’m personally not a fan of scrambled eggs. At all. I tried to finish the plate, I really did. I tried to make it look like I even put a dent into my meal, but after a few bites, I just couldn’t take it. The sauce--which tasted a bit like teriyaki--was far too heavy, and it produced a less-than-pleasant smell when mixed with the noodles and vegetables. I will blame myself for not liking the chow fun, though. If I had a real vested interest in
Fat’s Asia Bistro BY JENNA MCCARTHY
jmccarthy.gazette@gmail.com
There’s truly nothing like the deepfried goodness of Chinese food. After a long day at school, I drove over to Fat’s Asia Bistro & Dim Sum Bar, hoping for a comforting and satisfying meal. Fat’s is conveniently located on the corner of Rocky Ridge Drive and Eureka Road, so the drive only took about ten minutes. When I walked in, I was greeted by a lively waitress and seated promptly. It was fairly fancy and extremely roomy in addition to being very dark and relaxed, which I appreciated after the hustle and bustle of a school day. After grazing the menu, I decided to order orange chicken, an old Chinese cuisine favorite of mine. The waitress wasted no time in delivering my meal and placed it in front of me. Setting my eyes on the meal was like seeing a small, very small, glimpse of Heaven. I quickly consumed the orange chicken, and I will repeat; there’s truly nothing like the deep-fried goodness of Chinese food. My lovely, sizzling plate of orange chicken was everything I hoped for, and more. It managed to achieve the perfect ratio of chicken to orange batter while staying delightfully crispy. I especially loved the taste of the luscious orange flavoring. It didn’t taste artificial or too sweet, like many other Chinese restaurants. In addition, the meal was extremely flavorful, but didn’t rely too heavily on salt
returning to the restaurant, I would try the chow mein instead--and maybe then, I’d become a regular at Asian Blossom. But for now, unless someone I’m with really wants to eat at Asian Blossom, I’m not too sure that I’ll be coming back. It’s not because it was terrible--it was nowhere near that bad. It was just okay. There are so many options for Chinese food in the area, that there’s no reason for me to eat at one that is just ‘okay.’ Perhaps someday I’ll return to Asian Blossom for their good prices and spring rolls. Maybe that time, I’ll be happy with my meal as a whole.
Gazette photo/CAROLINE PALMER
Located on E Roseville Pkwy., Asian Blossom is a mediocre restaurant that needs improvement.
This Month’s Picks
content, another folly of many Chinese restaurants. One of my favorite elements of the meal was the actual chicken inside the orangey goodness. It was hearty and wholesome. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the chicken itself as many Chinese restaurants use lower-quality Chicken or cook the daylights out of it, but I was pleasantly surprised. After my meal, I was served a fortune cookie, which I munched on while driving home, making my trek back to Granite Bay extremely enjoyable. It was a lovely way to end a delicious meal. My only reservation in recommending Fat’s Asia Bistro & Dim Sum Bar is the cost. My simple meal of orange chicken cost me nearly $15, which seemed slightly expensive for one plate of food. However, I would gladly spend my money at Fat’s again. I received great service and an incredible meal that heightened my day.
My only reservation in recommending Fat’s Asia Bistro is the cost.
Fat’s Asia Bistro is located on Eureka Road passed the Century 14 Theater.
The Gazette food reviewers sample dishes from each restaurant and ranks them.
#5 Asian Blossom- Mediocre dish-
es with better restaurants out there
#4 The Rose Garden- Laid-back
restaurant with reasonable pricesgood value.
#3 Tsing Tao- Friendly service and big portions for great value
#2 Fat’s Asia Bistro- Good food
and and reasonable prices, with a lively atmosphere
#1 Granite Bay Chinese- Traditional decorations create a very authentic dining experience
Pages 8 and 9
April 2014
RAVE about flashing lights
Something to
Students lose themselves in the beat of the music
Photos special to the Gazette/RAVE PIX
BY AUSTIN ALCAINE
aalcaine.gazette@gmail.com
Flashing lights, fast paced music, hordes of people, crazy outfits – it seems right that the generation that was born into the technological world are in awe of the rave scene. Raves are a cousin to the traditional concert where, typically, the band performs onstage – but, at a rave, the DJ will be placed in a cocoon of laser lights that illuminate the
dark space as he creates beats for the ravers to dance to. The thrill of attending a rave is more for the amazing light show, which at any particular rave, will encompass the mood of the dance floor. From the outside of a rave, it appears to be a cacophony of fast-paced beats and a mosh pit of bodies slamming into each other.
Recently, the rave tour Life in Color came to Sacramento, and dozens of Granite Bay High School students went to see what the rave scene was all about. “It was an amazing experience I have never seen anything like it,” Xavier Hunter senior said, “From the outside it looks like pure commotion but once you are in the middle of all the ravers you just feel the beat and have to be in awe of the amazing lights.” Raves are now being streamlined towards Granite Bay High School students, with the
new event known as Electric Friday put on by senior at GBHS Claire Ellinwood. “I put it together to influence electronic music, because all we ever hear at school dances is what is played on the radio,” Claire Ellinwood senior said. Raves are gaining popularity, but Ellinwood is taking it into her own hands to spread the rave lifestyle among GBHS students. “I have always loved the fact that everyone at raves is there for the same common interest which is music,” Ellinwood said.
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old cinema.
April 2014
D
rive-In Revival: Circa 2014
GBHS teens enjoy activity from past generation
Juniors Annie Wright, Lauren Markle and Lauren Jackson snuggle up in the bed of a truck to see a drive-in movie on the big screen.
M
BY TAMREN JOHNK
tjohnk.gazette@gmail.com
ost people are familiar with a movie theater. They know where to get the popcorn, where to buy the candy and which seat is the best spot to get the best view of the main screen. But do people know anything about drive-in
movies? Recently among Granite Bay High School students, drive-in movies have become increasingly popular. They offer a unique setting, and to some people, even a revival of an old era. Throughout this past year, junior Tana MacPherson has been to six drive-in movies and will continue to go to several more. “I go because it’s fun and it’s just different from sitting in a movie theater or at home,” MacPherson said. “You can sit out on the truck bed and talk without it having to be quiet and you can even look out at the sky and stargaze.” Senior Ash Gunn also enjoys going to drive-ins because of its open environment of being outside compared to sitting in a theater. “They are really fun. You get to sit and chill in the back of a truck with a lot of blankets and have a nice cozy time,” Gunn said. Gunn also likes the secluded atmosphere that drive-ins evoke. “There are always less people around you,” Gunn said. “You can also have a nice one-on-one time with your significant other.” To create the best experience possible, MacPherson advises to bring a lot of food, candy, drinks, pillows, blankets and even mattresses if they can fit in your vehicle.
Gazette photo /KAT MCGRAIL
Any car would work, however a truck is the most preferable. Movie times range throughout the night, however MacPherson enjoys the earlier movies the most. “With early times, at some places you can go to watch the sunset,” MacPherson said. “It’s really cool because not many people can say they have watched a movie while also watching the sunset.” As word spreads around quickly, MacPherson believes that drive-in movies will keep becoming more popular due to their uniqueness and the fact that people are willing to try new things. “Our parents used to do this back in the day in the ’50s and ’60s so it’s cool how more people are starting to go again in our generation,” MacPherson said. “I think now people have realized how much fun they really are so several students are now willing to try more new and different things.” Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate United States History teacher Brandon Dell’Orto also has always enjoyed the entertaining aspect of drive-in movies. “There’s an old saying that everything old is new again, so I think that after a while people get bored of what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been doing things. It’s just kind of a novelty,” Dell’Orto said. Throughout his lifetime, Dell’Orto has been to about 15 drive-in movies and continues to enjoy the unique experience they bring. “I think the revival of drive-in movies among students is a really cool thing,” Dell’Orto said. “I mean me being the history geek guy loves anything that is a throwback to the way we used to do some things. It’s just a purely different experience.”
April 2014
turn the page.
Page 11
Don’t judge a movie by its book Recent growth in adaptation popularity has created mixed reactions BY BRIAN ZHUANG
I
bzhuang.gazette@gmail.com
n the cinematic area of entertainment, the idea of converting books into movies has a popular plan for movie producers. Many novel readers, when invested in a major series, have mixed reactions when they find out that there will be a movie about the book they’ve been reading. Some are skeptical about whether or not the movie will do the book justice and capture all of the minute details that readers pick up. Some simply watch the movies because they look interesting. Granite Bay High School junior Jack Fish was part of the GBHS Media team and a member of the GBHS theatre. Fish has looked to movies for inspiration. “I’ve had great movie experiences and there are plenty of films that have made an impact on who I am,” Fish said. While producers say novel adaptations often entice people, especially those who have read the books, they can turn off the “hardcore” readers who may be dubious about the quality of the adaptation. “I enjoy reading a book and then seeing the film version,” Fish said. “But, if it’s a really good book, then I might not watch the film because I wouldn’t want to take the chance of the movie turning out to be trash.” Because movies provide a visual experience for readers, some say that they hinder imagination. Instead of creating pictures in their minds, many people simply just see the pictures from the movie. These disadvantages, a lot of times, push away readers who want to preserve their unique interpretations of specific aspects. But, many of people say that they really get excited when they find out that there will be a movie based off of a book they have been reading. “It makes reading more intriguing and popular because everybody is talking about it,” said Shannon DiasMcCann, GBHS English teacher. “The buzz around
the movie makes the book more popular, and sometimes people don’t want to see the movie before they read the book, so it keeps everyone on a steady pace of reading.” Oftentimes, many choose to watch the movie regardless of whether or not they have read the book. “I would rather watch the film, but I do know that films are not going to include everything,” said Zachary Weidkamp, IB Film teacher. “Producers know that they have to fit the format of short attention spans of 90 to 120 minutes like Harry Potter.” Many say that finishing a book and knowing that there is a movie provided to watch is one of the best parts. “I always enjoy being able to compare the book to the movie ... it’s almost like a game,” McCann said. “However, I do always end up being disappointed at some point, but that’s okay because that just proves that books are better.” With so many films being adapted from books, Weidkamp says that producers are simply seeing how much money they can get from readers who love books. “It’s modern-day capitalism at its best, taking something and seeing how far you can press it to make a buck,” Weidkamp said. “However, movies do seem to help people get back to the book. They basically help each other; you see the book, you want to see the movie – you see the movie, you want to read the book.” Movie adaptations are ways of keeping older novels alive that may have been overshadowed by modern stories. However, many say that they hope society doesn’t depend on movies to save reading culture, and instead try to make an effort to maintain classic literature. “I hope that literature doesn’t deteriorate and that society doesn’t become too enthralled by the virtual, digital world that they wouldn’t recognize the novels,” Weidkamp said. “Good films come from great scripts, and novels are the scripts.” Gazette illustration/BRIAN ZHUANG
Page 12
April 2014
current.
Car of the Month:
Top Tweets
Spirited tweets by Granite Bay High School students BY MAGGIE BELL
mbell.gazette@gmail.com
Gazette photo /DANTE WEEKS
BY DANTE WEEKS
At first, yes, but not so much anymore which I don’t mind
dweeks.gazette@gmail.com
Car: 2011 Camaro LT1 Owner: Tyler Johnson
What do you add/plan to add to your car to make it better? Rock star rims, Matte black wrap, and a flowmaster exhaust.
Why did you get this car? I have always wanted a Camaro and I liked the lines on the car, and the color white showed the lines the best. What makes your car special? The flat black wrap I have on it Does your car get a lot of attention?
Do you think you have the best car out of all your friends? No, Nico Saviotti does because I like the loud sound of his truck and the brown paint looks good with the black rims.
Recipe of the month: BY KAT MCGRAIL
kmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com
Ingredients:
Farmers Market Pasta
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1 yellow squash, chopped handful of spinach, chopped ½ red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium zucchini, chopped 2 fresh ears of corn (cut from the cobs) 16 oz. package of pasta (penne or linguini) 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Boil pasta according to package directions, drain, add a teaspoon of olive oil and set aside until ready to use. 2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add garlic, onion, tomatoes, spinach, squash, peppers, zucchini and corn then stir to coat everything in oil. 3. Once vegetables are cooked, stir in pasta. Top pasta mixture with cheese. 4. Serve and enjoy!
Gazette photo /KAT MCGRAIL
April 2014
Stand out. Read the Gazette.
express yourself.
Page 13
Page 14
return of the jedi.
April 2014
Gazette illustration/BRIAN ZHUANG and AKASH KHOSLA
BY THOMAS TAYLOR
T
ttaylor1.gazette@gmail.com
he last Star Wars movies left a bad taste in the mouths of many die-hard fans. George Lucas is undeniably a master of creating fantasy worlds, but directing movies is one world he cannot conquer. Fortunately for many dissatisfied fans of the prequel trilogy, Lucas has been removed from the helm and instead J.J. Abrams has been out in charge of an incredibly profitable ship. This change is one of many evident in the galaxy far, far away. Other changes include Disney’s purchasing of the lucrative franchise in 2012, which has raised a whole slew of questions from the Star Wars faithful. “Since it is Disney I don’t know what to expect. I’m going to assume the worst, that it sucks, and then I won’t be disappointed,” senior Armin Anderson said. “I’ll see it if it looks promising, as long as it’s accurate to the last six movies. If it doesn’t have the Disney movie trappings and remains its own individual project, I will be excited.” Many things are changing, but some old faces will reprise their roles. Their original actors, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, will play Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker respectively in the 2015 Episode VII. “For the first movie, Disney needs to show that they will be treating the franchise seriously and not just as a cash cow, that they actually care.” Anderson said. Fans are pining for a new story; a reincarnation of the
previous saga would be very disrespectful to the original creators. Introducing new “padawans” to the Star Wars order would be worth it even if the movie was a flop financially, Kyle Holmes, drama teacher, said. “I don’t need it to be lucratively successful for Disney, I think Disney would be okay,” Holmes said. “But I would like for it to reignite our cultural excitement for Star Wars. Hopefully it will bring in a new generation of star wars fans.” Besides the initial trio of main characters, the only other actor confirmed for the series is Girls actor Adam Driver. He had a major role in the comedy-drama television series as a defensive boyfriend. Driver has been rumored to play a part in Star Wars for a while but has finally signed on to play the villain of the story according to the Mirror. Driver’s facial build lends himself to playing Grand Admiral Thrawn, making Star Wars fans froth at the mouth for December 18, 2015. “In terms of actors I really don’t think it’s a movie for the DiCaprios or the Clooneys,” Anderson said. “He doesn’t belong in the Star Wars universe because then people won’t take it as a serious Star Wars movie and they’ll just watch it for Leo.” The tone of the original trilogy was fantastically intense and at times a little dark. Parental strife, bloody conflicts and an ancient struggle between good and evil spanning a whole galaxy. How could you not become invested? Unfortunately the new trilogy- episodes I,II and III- are more light hearted; pod races and silly Gungans run amok. Hopefully for fans, J.J. Abrams can change the nature of Star Wars.
“I’d be interested in the Mara Jade or Grand Admiral Thrawn stories,” Holmes said. “Both of those stories could take the series into a darker place which, well we’ve been gungans for a while here in Star Wars and it’d be nice to get a little bit more intense.” Fans are still hung up on the bizarre characters that were presented in the new trilogy. “Anakin when he was a tween, couldn’t stand the guy.” said Myron Stephens, GBHS visual arts teacher. “He gets all emotionally upset over his teenage love and angst but as an adult I don’t want to see that, I want to see magic and swords and lasers and hijinks. I want you to levitate some ships. it’s like they throw something into the recent star wars movies to kill it for any male over the age of eight.” As long as Abrams steers Star Wars with the same care and consideration he gave to the recent Star Trek movies, fans can rest easily. Abrams has a vast tract of space to operate in, he could follow one of the novels already written in the expanded universe of Star Wars novels-The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn, any one? - or Abrams could craft an original tale in the galaxy long, long ago. “There are a lot of critics out there that didn’t like the new three, and yes, Jar Jar Binks was probably the low point of the new trilogy but overall I enjoyed them,” Holmes said. “I thought it added to the story that I loved. I think the new three will do the same thing, I’m not expecting them to be the original three, but I am looking forward to three new films that are going to add to this story, this universe that I grew up playing make believe in.
bullwinkle studios
Rated: PG By: Kiana Okhovat kokhovat.gazette@gmail.com
mr. peabody & sherman: A
r. Peabody & Sherman is yet another DreamWorks success. An instant hit. In simplest of terms, it’s an animated film revolving around time-traveling madness. Mr. Peabody, a dog, is a genius. After having achieved international success and helping change the world for the better, he decides to adopt a boy. And, of course, by the sheer logic of ‘since a boy can adopt a dog, I see no reason why a dog can’t adopt a boy,’ Mr. Peabody received the right to adopt baby Sherman from the Supreme Court. And so begins the loving father-son relationship between Mr. Peabody and his adorable son, Sherman. What immediately stood out to me was the voice casting, it was fantastic. Modern Family’s Ty Burrell cleverly played the main character, Mr. Peabody. He was very successful. There was virtually no trace of the ‘Phil’ persona in his interpretation of Mr. Peabody. Two satisfyingly completely different characters, I was very impressed. Modern Family’s Ariel Winter voiced the supporting female character, Penny Peterson. And finally, my personal favorite, was newcomer Max Charles, who voiced Sherman. This was Charles’ first major motion picture, having previously done small roles on TV and film, his most recent appearance being the young Peter Parker in 2012’s The Amazing Spiderman. What I loved most about this film was its creativity, it kept me on my toes throughout the entire 92 minutes. The film could have easily been a boring, cheesy, cliche type of story, but the seemingly endless unraveling of subplots and jokes was impressive. This film is equally enjoyable for both kids and adults. A light hearted comedy, it’s well worth the cost of a movie ticket, a deep belly laughing film. It has been such a long since a decent film was in the cinema, Mr. Peabody was a breath of fresh air. I’d gladly go see it again. I will mention, that I saw this film in 2D, but might recommend it in 3D. Because it is a timetraveling adventure, there were many scenes that I was curious as to how they ended up in 3D. Go watch the film, be ready to laugh.
N
electronic arts
eed for Speed has burst onto the scene as a possible rival to the popular Fast and Furious movie series. The movie starts off with Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) being forced to rebuild his arch rival’s rare Mustang to help pay for his struggling auto shop. Once complete, Tobey takes the Mustang and drives it against the owner’s will to prove to a high profile buyer that the Mustang can break 230 mph, despite their disbelief. In an angry tirade, the owner hastily challenges Tobey to a street race – he either win all of the profits from selling the 2.7 million dollar car or lose his stake. The movie then fast forwards to the day Tobey, who was wrongfully committed of a murder, gets out of jail. Dino (the owner) had hidden the car that he was driving, hiding the evidence that he was there. On the cross-country journey from New York to California, the group has bounties set on them, police who will stop at nothing to capture the supposed ex-convict breaking his parole and friendships that were put on hold while Tobey was in jail. Upon reaching California and checking into the race, Tobey and Julia are hit by a semitruck, who was paid by Dino, which totals the Mustang and threatens Julia’s life. After fleeing the scene, Tobey meets up with Dino’s wife, who was also Pete’s brother. Once Tobey gets to the garage, he is shocked – it’s the car that Dino raced the day of Pete’s death, adding yet another sub-plot to the already dramatic race. This race not only entails racing against each other, but also against the California Highway Patrol, which tries various tactics to stop the various cars, resulting in a thrilling and heartpounding finish. Need for Speed is a great rival to the Fast and Furious movies who have run unopposed for the past several years. This is a great film to see if you love expensive, fast vehicles – or if you just love action films in general. Although at times the movie can seem like a love story, it does a great job of staying on track and not getting too romantic. All in all, this is definitely a film I would recommend seeing. Rated: PG-13 By: Steven Gerisch sgerisch.gazette@gmail.com
need for speed: A -
M
Page 15
film.
3
strike entertainment
00: Rise of an Empire is another installment in the series that started with the hit film 300, which was released in 2006. The original movie stars Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, the leader of the Greek army, as he fights a bloody war with the Persians. In the movie, the Greeks achieved a victory in battle, but King Leonidas and his men were killed. After this movie became a box office hit, a prequel seemed inevitable. Rise of an Empire, however, cannot be described as a sequel nor a prequel, as it has different characters and a different story line. First of all, I must start off by recommending that, unless you are prepared for nearly two hours of blood and gore, you do not watch this movie. Because this is a war movie, much of it is full of violent battle scenes. 300: Rise of an Empire centers around the Greek general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), as he and his rag-tag army and their tiny fleet tries to ward off the invading Persian navy led by vengeful commander Artemisia (Eva Green). Artemisia is of Greek blood, but she seeks payback upon her own countrymen after the town she lived in as a child was pillaged, and the man who saved her, Persian King Darius (Igal Naor), was killed. Her past, filled with abuse and tragedy, makes her even more ruthless and bloodthirsty. She uses the tactic of seducing and manipulating Themistocles during negotiations and eventually tries to kill him. One thing that nobody can say about this movie is that it lacks action, especially when seen in 3D. Blood spurts, bodies collide and ships crash. An aspect of 300: Rise of an Empire that differs from its predecessor is that it is much more focused on the women in the film. Artemisia is the main focus of the film, and her mortal-turned-god partner Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) is pushed to the background. Living up to the highly-rated first film would not be easy, and, as expected, this film fell short. The war scenes are almost all over-the-top, and the style of the film could be unappealing to some viewers – the action constantly switches between slow motion and over-acceleration. As stated before, if you are not a fan of violence, then you will not be able to stomach this movie. On the other hand, violence lovers will enjoy 300: Rise of an Empire as a slightly overexaggerated, but still entertaining, action movie. Rated: PG-13 By: Brendan Gonzalez bgonzalez.gazette@gmail.com
300: rise of an empire: C
April 2014
Page 16
April 2014
festivals.
Music MASH UP
Chance the Rapper and Grouplove. Coachella includes on-site camping options, a shopping boutique with an array of vintage collectibles, a record emporium, and professional chefs at the Terrace. “I’m going with three other girls,” senior Hailey Lederer said. “I’m most excited to hear bands that no one else has heard of and reggae come back all jazzed about music and life.” festival Lederer paid $400 for her ticket because her in parents bought it late, and she received it as Monterey her 18th birthday present. Bay on May However, a six month payment plan 23-25. is available in which an initial 20% California down payment is paid. “I had a bit of an Roots offers experience because I procrastinated and painters, multiple didn’t do the monthly plan,” senior Kerri food vendors, yoga, O’Brien said. “When I tried to buy the ticket a bike valet and unique online for the regular sale instead of pre-sale, recycling it sold out. So I ended up paying almost $600 opportunities among other on a secondhand seller website.” activities. While this will be Lederer’s first music This festival also encourages festival, junior Daniela Briuolo attended people to purchase tickets and save Outside Lands last summer in Golden Gate money in October with “Have a Little Park, San Francisco and is planning on going Faith” tickets, ones that are sold before again this August 8-10. a single artist is announced to the public. Tickets for Outside Lands go on sale in “Some awesome bands will be there (and) April, and the usual price ranges from $250 I’m most excited to see Aer, Rebelution and to $300. Iration,” senior Kerri O’Brien said. “As of right now, I’m really looking for As music festivals have gained ward to the line-up to come out to see which popularity in the past few years, they bands are going to be performing,” Briuolo have also gained hype. said. “I have pretty high expectations Not only do Briuolo and Lederer have sum- for the festival because I know mer birthdays and are going as a gift, so does people who have gone and junior Kristina Ledwith. they all have nothing but “Tickets haven’t been released yet, algood things to say about though early release prior to lineup release it,” O’Brien said. might cost less,” Ledwith said. “I think I’m “Good music, good going to ask for it (as) a birthday present.” Outside Lands 2013 featured bands such as people and good the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phoenix, Vampire vibes are all I’m hoping for.” Weekend and Young the Giant, and GBHS students are anticipating a similar lineup this year. “Given recent year’s lineups, I am really hoping to see Grizzly Bear and Dr. Dog and Cage the Elephant the most,” Ledwith said. Besides entertainment and eateries, the festival consists of art galleries, a DJ dome and an Ocean Beach clean-up for those environmentalists. Yet another music festival BY TREASA MAIREAD HAYES that GBHS students are thayes.gazette@gmail.com attending this spring is the fifth annual Gazette courtesy photo /JOSE LUNA California Gazette illustration /COLLEEN VIVALDI Roots, a Gazette photo illustration /AKASH KOHSLA
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W
ith spring and summer approaching, there
are various music festivals around California that Granite Bay High School students will be attending. Some of them include Coachella in Indio, Outside Lands in San Francisco and California Roots in Monterey County Fairgrounds. Coachella is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, and individuals from all around the world travel to it. Throughout the three weekends the festival puts on this year (April 1120), alternative artists include Arcade Fire, OutKast, Lorde, The Naked and Famous, Lana Del Rey, CHVRCHES,
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Gazette courtesy photos /DANIELLA BRIOULO