Granite Bay Gazette; Vol. 14, Issue 5

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Friday, February 11, 2011

Mapping out students’ workplaces

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Gazette

ep

THE GRANITE BAY

ath to a perfect Valentine’s

G12-13

D ay

GBHS basketball makes a comeback

Singles and sweethearts

Th

Return to Glory

A working class

THE AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL

GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL w 1 GRIZZLY WAY w GRANITE BAY, CA w 95746 w VOLUME 14 w ISSUE 5 Commentary

jessica reese jreese.gazette@gmail.com

Experiencing the art of the masters

A

fter 16 years of art history lessons from my mother, I finally was able to stand in front of the work of my favorite painter of all time.

The seven white letters on the far wall seemed so simple, and yet for me, they made my heart race.

Van Gogh. I was standing in a room full of the works of Van Gogh. A self portrait and a few of his scenes hung on one wall.

A few steps away a large group of people hovered in front of Starry Night Over the Rhone – no, not the iconic Starry Night.

Four steps to the right, and I was standing in front of his famous Bedroom in Arles.

From the brushstrokes to the vivid colors, it was mesmerizing.

I could not believe I was standing in front of the painting I’d long seen gracing the covers of coffee table books, staring at the very same globs of paint that Van Gogh had brushed on himself.

It was mind-blowing.

As I wound my way through the rest of the exhibit – the De Young museum’s Van Gogh, Gaugin, Cézanne and Beyond – I continued to be amazed.

There was a Picasso, a few Monet and a number of Renoir’s works.

Each room was a dazzling treasure chest of postimpressionist masterpieces.

One painting that my mother and I kept coming back to was Orpheus by Gustave Moreau.

While a tad gruesome at first glance, the painting was enchanting, not to mention huge.

The canvas was as tall, if not taller, than me. In the center, a life-sized girl stared demurely at the severed head of Orpheus in her arms. Each strand of her braided blond hair glimmered, the shape of her leg was visible beneath her gown and lace and jewels had been painstakingly painted onto the fabric of her bodice.

The detail of it all was amazing.

Surely, it must have taken Moreau years to complete.

When I left the exhibit, the first thing I did was look up Orpheus online so that it would be forever saved on my computer, never to be forgotten.

What I found was saddening. The painting, so gorgeous in person, was lackluster when reproduced.

Similarly, the print of Bedroom in Arles I’d bought at the gift shop - now hanging in my room was dull and gray in comparison to the original.

It was discouraging, but it taught me something: art cannot be duplicated or read about. It’s meant to be experienced, and for that you have to see it with your own eyes.

With the Internet and coffee table books and TV, it’s easy to forget about museums and galleries. Why spend money when it’s all just a click away, right?

My parents never saw it that way. No matter the economy or the distance, they have always made sure I never missed the chance to experience great art.

And for that I can never thank them enough. *** Jessica Reese, a junior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

Hours of focus in just one dose

ADHD drugs find their way onto campus

BY SHANNON CARROLL

I

scarroll.gazette@gmail.com

t was the night before finals last December, and Haley needed a miracle. She had been studying all week, cramming as much information into her head as possible. But it still wasn’t enough.

Haley found her miracle in some tiny orange pills she bought from someone she knew. Washing the pills down with large sips of coffee, she was able

Gazette photo illustration/MAGGIE LOUIS

Aderall, prescribed for ADHD, is more commonly abused by students, who use it to focus, than in the past.

to stay up all night studying, maintained focus on her tests and got all A’s on her finals.

“I took the medication because I wanted to be able to study hard and really be able to focus,” Haley said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do as well as I did on my finals if I hadn’t been taking the medication.”

She was, however, breaking the law, as was the dealer who sold her the pills, which were Adderall, a prescription medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Experts say that “Haley,” a pseudonym for a Granite Bay High School junior who See ADHD, page A5

For rare students, their whole world is in...

Black and White Students tell stories of color blindness

BY GARY NIELSEN

gneilsen.gazette@gmail.com

Are tree trunks brown or green?

What seems at first glance like a stupid question is a surprisingly legitimate concern for a number of Granite Bay High School students.

Color blindness is far more common than many might think.

In fact, the University of Chicago’s Department of Optometry estimates that as many as eight percent of males have redgreen color blindness See COLOR, page A5

Gazette photo illustration/MAGGIE LOUIS and JESSICA REESE

Color blindness, most common in males, comes in a variety of strains. The Ishihara Color Test, like that in the center, is used to test for red-green color deficiencies.

Lunchtime anxiety

Linda Warfield GBHS nurse said there are degrees of severity of food allergies

District works to accommodate those with food allergies

BY SHANNON WAGNER swagner.gazette@gmail.com

“When I first started here 15 years ago, there wasn’t a single student that reported a food allergy,” said Jay Brown, Roseville Joint Union High School District Director of Child Nutrition. “But now, we probably have 1-2 percent of our students that are allergic to something that we get notification about.” *** In recent years, the rise in students with food allergies has prompted the district to put more emphasis on making school foods safer for all stu-

dents.

The typical procedure requires students with food allergies to provide a doctor’s note to inform the school of what substances the student is allergic to and the degree of severity of that allergy.

“If we’re given a doctor’s note, our menus are required to accommodate the student for what they need,” Brown said. “These students are keyed into our computer system, and we then can tailor-make meals for them based on those needs.”

Peanuts, dairy products and wheat seem to be the most prevalent allergies, according to Brown, with the

occasional case of a fruit allergy.

To get nutritional facts and information on ingredients served in the foods offered on campus, a master list of recipes is available for viewing in the cafeteria. Students with health concerns are allowed to read or make photocopies of the recipes.

The Roseville Joint Union High School District has also invested in new software programs that will allow nutrition facts to be posted online or emailed in a PDF file.

“The document that will be posted in about a month on individual school sites will carry that school’s See ALLERGIES, page A5

Upcoming year safe from budget Future impacts are uncertain

BY MATT VENEMAN

mveneman.gazette@gmail.com

Public schools in California, including Granite Bay High School, have taken many cuts to over the last several years because of the economic condition of the state.

But even more cuts to education could again be looming.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a new budget for the state of California. K-12 education, having taken the brunt of cuts in the past, might not suffer as much from the new budget.

The governor will attempt to hold a special election in June if the budget plan passes where voters will either vote to extend the special taxes increase currently imposed on them, or vote to end the taxes.

The amount of funding schools throughout the state will receiveSee BUDGET, page A5

inside this issue

News

A1 – A6

Voices

A8 – A11

Second Look

A12

Features

B1 – B8

Sports

C1 – C6

Green Screen

G1 – G24

Taking to the road Sophomores begin receiving their drivers’ licenses

A4

Breaking free of nicotine High school students who begin smoking young find it a difficult habit to kick

A2

News

A2 NAMES IN THE NEWS

Granite Bay Gazette

Friday w February 11, 2011

Nicotine addiction hard to overcome

Cigarettes pose many health concerns for smokers, but the negative psychological effects from addiction and withdrawal can be even more difficult for student smokers to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

adrienne blevins ablevins.gazette@gmail.com

GBHS junior wins honor medal for essay Junior Samantha McKenzie recently received the George Washington Honor Medal.

McKenzie is a member of the Freedoms Foundation, which is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting leadership, good citizenship, and education surrounding the principles of a free and democratic society.

Among the awards that this organization offers is the George Washington Medal. There are multiple ways of winning the medal, including being part of an influential community service project, being a member of the Armed services and writing an essay, being a school that highlights their students’ service and patriotism, being someone involved with a dynamic public speaking event, and being a student and writing an essay or speech.

McKenzie entered into the youth essay/speech contest with the prompt “Write about your American Dream,” as prompted by a family friend. “(I wrote) about how in America, women have the opportunity to get educated and my dream to go to law school and be a mom,” she said.

McKenzie’s essay was submitted alongside about 20 others from the Sacramento area, and many more nationwide.

“From there…they have a board that judges them, and there are Supreme Court judges and prominent political figures and people from the education system,” she said.

Her essay passed the first round of judging, because soon after she got an invitation to attend an educational program at their base in Valley Forge, Penn.

After that, the essays go through another round of judging, and finally, McKenzie’s was chosen as the winner.

“I didn’t even know I had even won until after I got back from Valley Forge,” she said.

McKenzie was presented with the medal at a luncheon in Sacramento, where the mayor was there to also congratulate her. *** Senior Chase Lokke, the drummer for Granite Bay High School’s jazz band, was chosen to play in the All State jazz band. Lokke was the only drummer chosen, beating out all other drummers in California.

He next will be performing with the All State jazz band in February at the Music Education Conference in Fresno.

Know something we should know?

Contact the Gazette’s Adrienne Blevins at: ablevins.gazette@gmail.com

CORRECTIONS In the Club of the Month feature in the December issue of the Gazette, the title of Eco Green Club founder Stephanie Gascon was incorrectly listed. Gascon is the club’s president. The Gazette regrets the error. *** In the “Surviving a disaster” story in the December issue of the Gazette, relief worker Hernando Garzon’s last name was incorrectly reported. The Gazette regrets the error. *** Contact the Gazette at: gbgazette@yahoo.com 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

Gazette photo / MAGGIE LOUIS

Student smokers face daily difficulties with the addictive need for cigarettes

BY HALEY MASSARA

hmassara.gazette@gmail.com

Joann Sawin has been a smoker since sixth grade. “(The cigarettes) were just there, at my friend’s house, and we thought it was cool, and started, and just kept on going,” she said.

“I got addicted.”

Sawin, now a senior, goes through multiple

packs of cigarettes per week. She can purchase her own smokes legally now, but getting them as a minor was difficult. “(You would) try to lie (about your age), but they’d catch you,” Sawin said.

She would sometimes hide a pack of cigarettes off-campus, and smoke as soon as school let out.

Over time, Sawin’s smoking began to prevent her from dancing.

Privacy sacrificed with online profiles Information on Facebook easily seen KELSEY KNORP

kknorp.gazette@gmail.com

In a world that places increased value on the efficiency of technology, often it seems old values are sacrificed.

The concept of privacy used to be held more sacred, while today it seems everything is posted on the inter- net, especially on sites such as Facebook. Though this has become a generational norm, college-bound students as well as job-seekers should be wary of the risks of leading a completely public life.

Scott Hamilton is a college counselor for Future Stars, a company that advises many college-bound Granite Bay High School students on how to get accepted to their top schools.

Hamilton has noticed the growing paranoia about colleges checking social networking profiles mainly in the past 3-5 years, due to the growth in popularity of these sites.

He cautions his clients about the risks of inappropriate posting and advises them to remove from Facebook anything they do not want seen. Hamilton also tells them to change unprofessional e-mail addresses and use more appropriate

“I had such a bad smoker’s cough,” she said. “I couldn’t do half the stuff that my dancemates could do.”

She tries to cope by avoiding smoking for a few days before dancing. Despite being smoke-free for two years, she has gone back to smoking and is unable to permanently quit.

“It’s too hard not to smoke,” she said.

Sawin isn’t alone. According to a survey conducted by the Granite Bay Citizens Advocating Safe & Healthy Youth, 12 percent of Granite Bay High School students have smoked at least 15 cigarettes or more throughout their lifetime. A standard pack of cigarettes contains 20-25 smokes.

Zachary Weidkamp Technology teacher warns that removing information from Facebook does not permanately delete it

ones for use by college admissions claims not to use Facebook as a factor in admissions, and Hofstra Unipurposes.

Hamilton believes that only versity claims to use it as a tool for smaller, private colleges will check communication with applicants.

Despite these claims, a 2008 KaFacebook and other sites, and only plan survey revealed that 10 percent in special circumstances.

Most likely, he believes, they of college admissions officers check would do a background check on Facebook as part of the admissions process. Of this a candidate 10 percent, 38 perfor special cent felt negatively recognition (Colleges) about an applicant in the form after checking his of something check (profiles) or her profile. such as a at random or if Zachary scholarship.

Weidkamp, GBHS something jumps Cindi Unteacher of indusderwood, the out at them on trial technology, GBHS Colsays that employthe application. lege and Caers are culprits of reer Center Facebook snoopc o u n s e l o r, – Cindi Underwood, ing as well. He has not expecollege and career reveals the ease rienced any center counselor with which suspiissues firstcious employers hand, but she or potential emstill cautions ployers can view students to be careful. someone’s past history through his “(Colleges) check (profiles) at or her social networking page. random or if something jumps Weidkamp says regardless of priout at them on the application,” vacy settings, it is all too easy for an Underwood said, having attended employer to gain access to the Faa conference at which admissions cebook account of someone who is officers discussed the topic.

Loyola Marymount University See PRIVACY, page A6

The ill-effects of cigarette use have been well-publicized in recent years, with relentless ad campaigns and public safety announcements to combat tobacco manufacturers.

Though the number of teens who smoke has been falling steadily, those who do may stand an elevated risk of becoming chain smokers.

Nicole Paul, clerical director at Sierra Family Services, a drug and alcohol treatment center, explained.

The pre frontal cortex – the area of the brain responsible for higher-level thinking – doesn’t mature until the age of 25, long after a young person has begun smoking.

See SMOKERS, page A6

Wi-Fi arrives

Wireless connects GBHS students

BY MOOSA ZAIDI

mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

Granite Bay High School now offers a new way to connect using a not-so-new technology.

Even though Wi-Fi is not recent to the world, it is recent to the school.

It was first added to the Learning Center over winter break, and has also been added to the area surrounding the GBiT room.

This addition to GBHS that seems to have occurred so suddenly has been long in the making.

Technology teacher Zachary Weidkamp only joined the Roseville Joint Union High School District two years ago, but he knows the school district has wanted Wi-Fi since its advent, even though it has taken time for it to develop enough to be usable in a school setting.

A stronger push for Wi-Fi is more recent. “Three years ago was the first time I sat in the Learning Center and said that I wanted this to be our first Wi-Fi location in the school,” GBHS principal Mike McGuire said.

McGuire wanted a learning center more conducive to research.

“Honestly, my inspiration was the International Baccalaureate program,” McGuire said. “I know how much research is expected in

there extended essays, expected (for) what they’ve got in all the programs.”

McGuire hopes to have extended evening hours for the Learning Center to make it more accessible to student athletes who have practice after school and help students work collaboratively on team research.

“We of course have computers in (the learning center), but they’re not set up in a way where you can easily get a team around you to talk,” McGuire said. Wi-Fi would allow students to sit around a table with their notebooks and research together more effectively.

Weidkamp, McGuire and Matt Cox, a computer systems technician who works mostly at GBHS, for the school district, all recognized several obstacles in bringing Wi-Fi to the schools.

One issue was simply the technical problems involved, since Wi-Fi technology itself had to sufficiently develop.

“The wireless is more complicated than one personal wireless router at a home,” said David Todd, a district telecommunication/network administrator. “We have different networks with security concerns for different users and machines, plus much larger areas.”

See WI-FI, page A4

ACLU lawsuit will have little effect at GBHS Elective fees are justified; they comply with lawsuit

BY KYLE PAWLAK

kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

In December, the resolution of a suit between California and the American Civil Liberties Union decided that public schools could no longer force students to pay certain fees.

This lawsuit was filed in an effort to stop students in California from paying for supposedly free public education.

Practices such as charging for textbooks were frequent in parts of the state such as Los Angeles, where the lawsuit was filed.

At Granite Bay High School, however, the suit will have a much smaller impact.

For example, little will change in the English department as a result of this new legislation.

“When the school started, we bought all of the initial books,” said Kay Bacharach, the co-coordinator of the English department. “But we have changed some of our curriculum, added new books and we haven’t bought new

sets of those.”

Given that there are about 500 students in every class, the school would need to buy 250 copies for each book taught in order to have one for every student.

“That would be roughly $5,000 which we don’t have,” Bacharach said.

“We have never made it mandatory that kids buy their own books, but we certainly encourage it…for annotating,” Bacharach said. “We always give other ways that they could do that, taking notes on binder paper…(or) post it notes.”

By only encouraging and not requiring students to buy books, the English department at GBHS appears to be acting within the guidelines set out by the ACLU suit already.

“If we couldn’t even suggest it and we were to have to buy class sets of books, that…would really affect us (financially),” Bacharach said.

The athletics department at GBHS is another department See ACLU, page A4

Gazette photo /RACHAEL VASQUEZ

Required reading books are part of the ACLU suit, but won’t be affected because buying them is not mandatory.

News A3

Friday, February 11, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette

News Briefs

COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER SAT I & II Deadlines: Test date

Deadline

Late

Mar. 12

Feb. 11

Feb. 25

May. 7

Apr. 8

Apr. 22

Jun. 4

May. 6

May. 20

Speakers: Gazette photo /maggie louis

College night for students and parents approaches On April 5, at 6:30 p.m., freshman, sophomore and junior students and their parents can get information on preparing for college, UC and CSU admissions, private universities, community colleges, financial aid, NCAA and more. The college night will be held at Oakmont High School. For more information, visit the College and Career center and speak to Cindi Underwood.

Financial Aid Applications California’s Cal Grant Program is an entitlement to those who meet minimum GPA requirements– 3.0 for a Cal Grant A and 2.0 for a Cal Grant B– and eligibility requirements for financial need. FAFSA applications are due by March 2nd and can be filed electronically by visiting www.fafsa.ed.gov.

For more information, contact Cindi Underwood in the College and Career Center or go to the Student Aid Commission’s online website at www.csac.ca.gov.

Gazette photo /maggie louis

Distict 4 representative Tom McClintock speaks to local citizens gathered at Woodcreek High School, above, while interested listeners wait to ask questions, above right.

Sierra College Parent Information Nights At their Rocklin campus, Sierra College will hold information nights for interested seniors and their parents. On Feb. 16, March 2, 16, and 30 as well as April 12 from 6-7 pm,

None

parents and students can get information about registration, classes, and the Sierra College experience in the Learning Resource Center, room 212. To reserve a space at one of these presentations, e-mail outreach@sierracollege.edu with your interest.

Teens for Jeans Now through Feb. 15, students can drop off their gently used or new jeans to Teens for Jeans in room 814 or in the office. The donated jeans will be given to homeless teens in the Sacramento community.

School play tickets Preorder your tickets for the GBHS spring musical production of Grease through April 1. Tickets cost $12 and reserved seating applies. The musical will have showings on March 31, April 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. To reserve your seats, visit http:// www.seatyourself.biz/granite.

Honor Choir Congratulations to the 12 GBHS students who were selected to participate in the 2011 California Music Educators Association Capitol Section Honor Choir. The high school choir was one of 16 choirs represented in a larger mass choir on Jan. 30 at the Fremont Presbyterian Church.

– compiled by Shannon Wagner

Some students fulfill graduation requirements early Nearly a dozen students choose to graduate from GBHS early

BY JON SETIAWAN jsetiawan.gazette@gmail.com

On January 4, 2011, when classes resumed at GBHS, some noticed a few less seniors on campus. Approximately a dozen GBHS seniors graduated a semester early, finishing their high school careers.

Despite what students might have heard, the process to graduate early is really not as difficult as it might seem.

According to GBHS counselor Walt Wild, there are only a few simple steps a student must go through in order to graduate a semester early.

If students are thinking of graduating early, they should make sure they are on track to meeting all of

the college A-G requirements by December of their senior year.

After that’s done, once they come back in the fall of their senior year, all their counselor needs to do at that point is to get a statement indicating their desire to graduate early with a parent signature indicating they are supportive of it.

Then, their counselor will make sure all graduation and all college A-G requirements are satisfied and approve the decision Wild also said the decision to graduate early should be made at the latest by the end of students’ junior year if they want to graduate a semester early, although some might decide earlier.

However, if a student wanted to graduate a full year early, they would need to know for sure by the

end of their sophomore year.

“I realized that each opportunity To graduate a full year early, stu- we have in our academic careers is dents have to make up their mind as valuable as the next one,” Holon the decision to do so by the end mes said, “I think that after that of their sophomore year in order to trip, I sat down and really thought accommodate about it and I reEnglish 12, alized that most government of my ambition The more I and economto graduate early ics in their jucame from a dethought about nior year. sire to just jump it the more I “It can only the gun and get to work out that the next step.” thought it was way if they are There are variright for me a pretty top ous reasons for student,” Wild why students said. graduate early.

–Mackenzie Sato, Junior Adam One of the bigGBHS junior Holmes had gest reasons stuthe urge to dents seemed to graduate early want to take a seas early as his mester off was to freshman year, but later changed work and earn some money before his mind before his junior year, af- college. ter a trip to Brown University over “I have a job now, so I work about the summer going into his junior 20 hours a week,” early graduate year.

Haleigh Pimental said.

Must GPA be maintained?

Uncertain clause of acceptance letters explained

BY MOOSE ZAIDI

mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

All grades students earn before applying to a college are clearly considered in determining admission. Apparently, admission is often contingent upon grades after applying as well.

Over the last few years, many colleges have added a “must maintain GPA” requirement to their acceptance letters.

Unfortunately, these words are ambiguous, and that may just be the effect that colleges are after.

When asked about the specific amount by which a student’s GPA is allowed to decline before admission is revoked, a spokesperson in the University of California at Davis admissions office evaded a definitive answer.

Apparently, the policy varies student by student.

When students submit applications to UCs and to the California State University system, they are allowed to report current grades and planned course work on the honor system.

These colleges look at only the final transcript.

This is done long after acceptance letters have been mailed, and that’s where the potential is for students to run into trouble.

Seniors are expected to inform colleges of any failing grades or changes in class work. Colleges will then tell students how such a change will affect their admission status and what they can do to make up for it.

Students informing colleges of a class change are required to provide a reason for the change to any college they have been admitted to and plan to enroll in. But an admissions officer at UC Davis was unwilling to disclose the kinds of reasons for such changes that would nonetheless allow students to maintain their admission status.

According to counselor Walt Wild, CSUs are concerned primarily with failing grades (D or F), especially those in required classes.

Wild explained that, as the competitiveness of the school increases, so does the concern with senior spring grades. Overall, UCs and CSUs mostly care

that students earn at least Cs, but even this depends upon the individual competitiveness of the school.

Unlike California public universities, competitive private schools often have counselors submit an actual transcript at the time of a student’s application.

The Common Application used by most private schools requires the counselor to send a transcript as part of the application process.

Some private schools will continue to closely monitor students’ grades, even asking for midspring reports.

Therefore, seniors planning to attend these universities face potentially very stringent requirements for maintaining their GPA. Just how strict these requirements are for any specific colleges is, again, somewhat unclear.

Wild estimates that, of the entire entering class last year at UC Berkeley, only 20 to 40 students had their admission revoked based upon academic standards.

At GBHS, as far as Wild can remember, there have been no students who actually enrolled and were then unable to attend because of lowered quality of grades and coursework. There have been, according to Wild, some instances of students scrambling to make up failed grades in their final semester.

Wild said GPA is not an issue for top students such as those going to UCs because of the work ethic they have established.

“To most of those students, a C is like an F,” Wild said.

Top students will often even try to gain in class rank during their final semester.

Overall, seniors tend to keep their GPAs high.

Wild notices a significant drop in GPA only for a few students every year.

Jarrod Westberg, a government/economics teacher who has been exclusively teaching seniors for 12 years, notes that only a few students have trouble maintaining a continued effort during their senior year.

Brandon Dell’Orto, from his experience teaching See GPA, page A6

Early graduates, however, might suffer from negative consequences in college admissions.

“There’s no real advantage to graduating early in terms of college admissions” Wild said, “Colleges tend to want to see a student take advantage of all the courses that Granite Bay has to offer, and maximize their high school experience here.”

However, others see no difference.

GBHS early grad Alison Levine has already gotten into the University of Oregon, and she says the semester off is well worth it.

“On many college applications, they ask you for a high school start and end date,” Levine said, “I put my end date as January, and a box came up with a space for an explanation.”

Levine believes that after an explanation, her early graduation will not affect acceptances.

The only exception to this is tak-

ing more classes at a community college such as Sierra during a semester off.

However, those students must be college ready and typically have already contacted the California State Universities and got an approval about their decision to graduate early.

GBHS junior Mackenzie Sato, who is graduating a full year early, said the decision to graduate early should not be a difficult one to make.

“My decision was really natural, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was right for me,” Sato said.

For those who do, the overall results seem positive.

“When I was deciding, it was annoying because a lot of other kids kept telling me how bored I was going to be, and it was discouraging,” Levine said, “but I feel that a lot of people are starting to wish they graduated early, too.”

ASB UPDATE Senior Brooke Holt reflects on new school tradition The Gazette talked to former athletics commissioner Brooke Holt.

Gazette: Originally, what was your position in Student Government? What does it entail?

I was ASB athletics commissioner. Basically, I promoted sports on campus, went to the events to support the all the teams and organized the student sections.

Gazette: With the increase of boys’ basketball success, how have the “white-outs” been?

For the very first game, I designed a GBHS tribe shirt that continued the idea from football season. At “white-outs,” fans wore all white to support the teams.

Cheerleaders now sit in the student section and help start cheers.

Gazette: How are “white-outs” going to be a new tradition at GBHS? At the moment, it’s new. We had a “whiteout” last year with a basketball game against Del Oro High School but we lost the game. But, now our team is really good and we hope to beat Del Oro this year so we’re promoting it more.

Gazette: By promoting people to show up at athletic events, how has the overall school spirit been improved?

Gazette photo /RACHaEL VASQUEZ

Brooke Holt, former athletics commissioner, talks about the new “white outs” and increased school spirit at Granite Bay High School.

I think that more people have taken pride in our school now than they have in past years. We are GBHS and we do have great athletics, but we have school spirit in all of our organizations.

– compiled by Rachael Vasquez

A4 News

Friday, February 11, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sophomores take to streets, despite danger First year of driving offers difficulties, freedoms to teens

BY AUSTIN DOWNS

adowns.gazette@gmail.com

It’s the biggest challenge along with the greatest accomplishment: Getting your license.

For many sophomore students at Granite Bay High School, getting their license has been on their mind since the start of the year.

But just how hard is it to get a license? What are the challenges and dangers sophomore drivers will face?

According to safeteendriver.com, 63 percent of teenage passenger deaths were caused by another teen driving. Along with that, a total of 81 percent of teenage car deaths were passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 55 percent of teenage passengers killed were not wearing seat belts.

This means that although older peers (seniors and parents) make driving look easy, driving to new sophomore drivers is highly dangerous.

Despite this, things are improving.

The death rate of teenagers involved in fatal car crashes has been on the decrease since 1998.

“The biggest challenge sophomore drivers face is ignoring the phone.

A lot of new drivers are addicted to texting, and they need to put that on hold,” newly licensed sophomore

driver Patrick Carroll said.

In a recent survey conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA) about driving distractions, 46 percent of teens concluded that texting was the cause of their distraction.

“The biggest challenge I faced when I first got my license was staying focused,” Carroll said. “(The biggest challenge I had) was getting used to driving alone, which is difficult at first,” said Cody Womack, a sophomore driver.

Womack said he is afraid of getting into an accident and not knowing what to do. Along with that, Womack said another safety issue he and many other new drivers will face is becoming comfortable with their vehicle.

Terry Stafford, a health and safety teacher at GBHS, said new drivers aren’t getting enough information about safety.

GBHS used to have a drivers education class, but it was cut. This class offered an insightful and more in-depth approach to driving “(New drivers) aren’t getting good instructions, ” Stafford said. “The online course only teaches you the handbook.”

Many students who only took the online course are at a disadvantage.

When caught in a real-world situ -ation, most students will struggle

Gazette photo illustration/JOHN PARK

Sophomore drivers sometimes have trouble staying focused on the road, thanks to cell phones and other distractions. to decide what to do.

As Stafford put it, there is a tremendous gap between the driving handbook and being behind the wheel. That huge gap would be bridged by the driver’s education course offered.

Shane Bonnar, a AAA insurance

agent, said that along with the challenge of acquiring a California license, getting insurance can be difficulty. For AAA, if a new driver’s parent is already an insured member, getting that new driver covered is incredibly simple.

However, if a new driver’s parent

’10-11 school year brings new AP classes to GBHS’ selection

IB film class slated to be added to next year’s list of available classes

BY SAHIL KHOSLA

shkosla.gazette@gmail.com

February is here and it’s time to start thinking about picking new classes. This year there are several new classes being offered and there’s a even a new film class being offered next year.

AP microeconomics/macroeconomics, blocked with AP government/Law and Justice was a new class offered this year, taught by Karl Grubaugh and Jarrod Westberg.

Both microeconomics and macroeconomics offer plenty of PowerPoints, graphs and lectures of market concepts and economic performance. “(The block is) fairly challenging but nothing anyone can’t handle,” Hollingshead said.

The load consists of near-nightly reading for government, and economics has a problem set due at the end of each unit.

Micro/macro is mostly PowerPoint, and the lights may be dim at times, almost making it a comfortable sleeping environment. But according to Hollingshead, the class isn’t a bore.

“Grubaugh’s very energetic (and you’re) constantly engaged, (so there’s) no way you can fall asleep,” Hollingshead said.

Sam Freitas, a senior, suggested that students take the class. “(AP micro/macro) is a good investment, pun intended,” he said.

Westberg’s AP Gov/Law covers topics including political beliefs and behaviors, civil rights and

liberties.

“I like the discussions in government with Westberg, (and) hearing everyone’s opinions about current events,” senior Brooke Holt said.

Senior Grant Dechert said that taking AP government has proven useful, as he plans on becoming a political science major in college.

“Don’t procrastinate, make sure you do your problem sets and (government) study guides progressively,” he said.

All classes are weighted except Law and Justice, but students can take AP tests for gov, micro and macro.

Hollingshead said that he prefers the classes to college courses, as they are free, have smaller class sizes, and offer college credit.

“It’s definitely worth it to me,” he said.

AP Literature/AP Language is another new class offered this year and is taught by Ramona Drury, who is no stranger to teaching English. “(The classes) focus on the idea of learning to read with a very careful eye and recognize what a writer (is) doing in his or her writing,” Drury said.

Every day, students “read, write and discuss,” she added.

Taking Lit/Lang may result in including a more eloquent and developed writing style, though the class can be difficult.

“It gave me post-grammatic stress disorder,” senior Connor Puhala joked.

IB Film, a projected new class to be taught by

Bernadette Cranmer, is still in the logistical planning phase. It has yet to be decided whether the film class would be an SL or HL class.

SL classes run for a single year, meeting every day, while a two-year HL course might be a possibility, meeting every other day.

Unlike other IB courses, this class would have no IB exam in May. IB film would include topics such as film history, script writing and film terminology.

Freshman Chinar Sheth, a pre-IB student, has high hopes for the class.

“I’m most looking forward to making cultural connections and links between different cultures,” Sheth said.

The course will also venture into the topic of film theory. “(The class encompasses) the appreciation of film and the philosophies and style of film making,” Cranmer said.

The main assessments of the course include a documentary script on a specific aspect of a film, an oral presentation examining a film sequence and a short film.

The class is currently closed to all except currently registered IB students. However, several AP students have been expressing interest, including junior Jacob Ball, an aspiring film director. “(The film class) seems interesting and is something I would consider pursuing in college,” Ball said.

is not part of AAA, getting covered can be very difficult. The requirements for getting insured that way are to have a legal California license for a minimum of three years. Not only that, you must have no more than one point on your overall driving record.

Keeping a perfect record can prove quite difficult for sophomores, who have less driving experience and may get into accidents.

“It was hard to keep myself completely focused on the road, and not what’s going to happen,” Carrol said.

ACLU: Lawsuit means students need not pay Continued from A2 that the ACLU suit will affect less than its counterparts in other sections of the state.

“The district spends 2.7 million on athletics, and in lieu of the cuts in academics and athletics, the district felt like it might become impossible to continue providing athletics,” said Tim Healy, the athletics coordinator.

To augment what it already spends on athletics, the district has requested parent donations to maintain the same level of athletics.

“The district knows it cannot mandate that request…they are simply asking for a donation,” Healy said.

Because the district only requests a donation, and does not order it, the district obeys the rules outlined by the ACLU suit.

“On our campus it has never been stated that you had to pay to play,” Healy said. “What the district wanted to see happen was that if you wanted to opt out of it, you at least had to go through the process of requesting to opt out.”

In addition to academic and

Kay Bacharach Bacharach says the GBHS English department will not be affected by the results

athletics programs, elective programs such as construction tech will also be unaffected by the ACLU suit.

“It is against the law for us to give taxpayer funded materials (to students) that are purchased by the school,” construction tech teacher Steve Dolan said. “We do have the right to charge students for those materials.”

“When I started the program, (our old principal) made me justify my shop fee…I calculated the costs of quantities of materials, and was able to justify the fee that I charge,” he said.

Other electives such as culinary will be unaffected because of the same principal: the students take home what they pay for.

“I don’t believe that the ACLU suit will affect us at all,” Dolan said.

WI-FI: School-wide install delayed by technical, financial, security problems Continued from A2 Other issues involved coordination between the district and the school. The question of who would install the Wi-Fi, someone from the district or a private agency, also had to be considered.

Another major issue was availability of resources, such as the monetary costs of Wi-Fi equipment and cost in personnel time.

Cox estimates that each router costs about $500. Cox also points out the limited time that Todd has.

According to McGuire, Wi-Fi is free for GBHS because all costs have been and will be covered by the school district.

The school has been very eager to get Wi-Fi, but the district, especially the technology department, has been somewhat more reluctant and cautious to install it. “(The tech department was) not necessarily completely against it, they just wanted to take a more objective view of

it,” said Cox. “Instead of saying ‘OK, let’s go and get the Wi-Fi right now,’ let’s research it, see if there are going to be any security issues in doing this, any legal issues (concerning) people across the street using our network.”

In response to such concerns, McGuire mounted his self-described “come on you’ve got to be kidding me” campaign, arguing that even doughnut shops have Wi-Fi and that issues would be resolved as they arose.

Certain issues remain to be fully resolved, however.

Several precautions have been taken to increase security, such as social networking sites still being blocked and needing a student account to access the network.

One of these many precautions is preventing the servers from being accessed through Wi-Fi, though. The problem is that students and teachers cannot access files stored in network folders (such as those stored on the H:\ drive or P:\ drive),

which are usually accessible from every school computer. “(Wi-Fi) is only half what it needs to be until students can access thier files,” said McGuire.

He suggests that a possible solution might be storing files locally on school servers. However, this is a problem the tech department is still working to solve.

Another major issue that is not completely resolved is that of connectivity.

According to Weidkamp, several factors including the overall health of a device and its drivers can affect whether a specific device is able to connect to the network.

In an email Weidkamp sent to all GBHS staff Jan. 19, Weidkamp warned that Apple products in particular are having trouble connecting.

Also, the number of devices that can connect to an access point before quality and speed begin to degrade is limited.

Weidkadmp estimates about 15 devices for now, hot spots will be located only can connect to an access point before such where they seem most beneficial. degradation becomes noticeable.

Several locations are being considered In addition to the technical challenges for new hot spots. Most likely the gym, of Wi-Fi, the district had to consider its the cafeteria and room 902 will all have educational value.

Wi-Fi soon.

Cox said he was con“There is no quescerned with whether tion it will add val(Wi-Fi) is only the Wi-Fi would actuue to the school ally be used. and educational half what it needs Some of the strongest experience. The to be until stuadvocates for Wi-Fi challenge has been have been PE teachers working to identify dents can access who would like to use exactly how it will their files.

Wi-Fi to take roll and be used effectively show the bulletin. and in which locaWeidkamp, in an etions first,” Todd – Mike McGuire, mail, asked teachers said. principal to be trained so that Wi-Fi is expected they can best use Wi-Fi to expand both in and help their students its uses and in its use it. coverage. “Where I am with Wi-Fi (is Having Wi-Fi on the entire GBHS cam- that) it’s a tool we’re going to grow into,” pus is unlikely in the near future. At least McGuire said.

http://www.granitebaygazette.com

Friday, February 11, 2011

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ADHD: Side-effects of prescription drug abuse

Continued from page A1

asked to remain anonymous, might also have been endangering her health.

Still, she says she’s happy she took the pills. Many stressed-out, sleep-deprived GBHS students say they feel the same way and are routinely taking ADHD medication to get through a tough week at school or to study hard before a big exam.

GBHS is not alone.

A study by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in a 2009 issue of the British Medical Journal indicated the abuse of ADHD medication has risen by about 75 percent between 1998 and 2005.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported around 3,100 people every year are sent to emergency rooms after taking ADHD medication.

Two-thirds of those people were there because of abuse of the medication.

A study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which surveyed 3,407 students at colleges such as Duke, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Michigan, showed that 89 percent of students who use the drug felt they could study for longer periods, and 81 percent said they were able to concentrate better in class.

Experts say access to ADHD medication has become easier for students. At the same time, students are feeling more pressure to

keep grades high and produce stellar SAT scores, because of intense competition to get into top colleges.

Some have likened students’ use of ADHD drugs to athletes’ use of steroids, because the use is typically banned and because of potential health problems.

Part of the problem is, instead of taking the dosage recommended on the label – a maximum of 30 milligrams once daily – teens are coming up with their own doses.

Drugs like Adderall, a mix of amphetamine salts, can cause intense side effects, such as lack of appetite, insomnia, nervousness and headaches. Yet, rather than accept the side effects and recover, teens may just keep increasing their dosages, until the side effects become perilous.

According to Dr. Timothy Wilens, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, “some people may have underlying heart problems that they do not know about, and taking ADHD medications may increase those problems in susceptible individuals.”

Matt Cabrey, a spokesman for Shire Pharmaceutical Development Inc., the company that makes Adderall, said, “It raises your heart rate… (and there is a) risk of cardiovascular adverse effects. Don’t do it.

It’s illegal.”

English teacher Ramona Drury said: “Is it immoral or unethical to enhance your ability to study? No, I don’t think it is. Is it

wrong to use medication that isn’t yours?

Yes.” She also said the potential dangers of abusing the drugs are too high.

“That’s just stupid,” Drury said. “You’re trying to be smarter, but you’re just being stupider.”

While it’s difficult to know just how widespread the problem is at GBHS, because students aren’t exactly eager to identify themselves as users or sellers, it didn’t take long to find a supplier.

“Max” (not his real name), a senior who was diagnosed with ADHD in fifth grade, says he sells his pills because he doesn’t need them and won’t take them.

“I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they need pills because they have a test coming up, so I give pills to them,” he said.

“I’m happy to do it.”

Max sells his pills for about $2 for 18 milligrams. He said he has to keep his prices low because there is competition from other dealers.

He sells his pills at school, carrying them around in his backpack, wrapped in a cloth to help disguise the rattling sound the pills make.

Max said he has earned more than $2,500 in less than a year. The money goes to buy marijuana and pay for damages to his car.

He said his parents have become suspicious about the source of his money, forcing him

COLOR: Learning to cope without color Continued from page A1 alone.

“Color blindness” is a bit of a misnomer, however.

If somebody is color blind, it does not always mean they are completely robbed of their ability to see color, or even robbed of their ability to see specific colors.

“Probably the most rare (form of color blindness) is full-on black and white vision,” biology teacher Scott Braly said. “The most common forms are like redgreen color blindness, where a person sees red and sees green but can’t discern shadings of those colors when they’re side by side.”

Here’s a metaphor for color blindness: the vision of most color-blind people is comparable to a printer that is running low in one of its color ink cartridges.

Pictures come out either faded, or with a closer-toneutral shade of whatever color is lacking. Junior Adam Wagner has red-green color blindness – what most see as blue, he sees as green.

“In my eyes I’ll always think I’m right,” Wagner said. “If I see something that … I think is green, it looks green. That’s green to me, but I guess it’s blue.

Or at least that’s what other people call it.”

Wagner explained that he mostly has trouble distinguishing when there are certain colors placed side by side. For example, if there is both red and brown mixed in a pattern on a shirt, it would be hard for him to read anything on that shirt Scientifically speaking, color blindness is actually a lack or impairment of cells called cones in the back of the eye. Although eight percent of males have redgreen color blindness, only half a percent of females experience any form of color blindness.

“The gene for color blindness resides on the X chromosome, and being that females get two chromosomes, and males only get one,” Braly said, “a lot of women are carriers for color blindness but very few get it because the chances of you having two recessive alleles for that trait is (low).”

Essentially, females have a second X chromosome to correct any problems or recessive traits that may appear on the X chromosome.

Males aren’t so lucky.

For color-blind GBHS students, however, teachers are willing to be accommodating.

Art teacher Myron Stephens has even had colorblind art students in past years.

“They have to handwrite the colors that they are using, and blue, brown, green and red all look about the same to these kids,” he said.

To fix that problem Stephens says he is always more than happy to write the colors down for them.

Luckily in art there are options.

“There are a lot of artists that choose to do monochromatic paintings,” Stephens said. “They focus on a minimalist palette. They loved the black-and-white assignments, though.”

A monochromatic painting is a painting that is done using only one color mixed with black or white to make a spectrum of shades – which makes it easy for color-blind students to create images that don’t “clash” for viewers who aren’t color-blind.

Senior Grant Gunderson has trouble seeing brownred, blue-purple and sometimes green.

“For chemistry, we had to pick the colors of the flames,” he said, “and I couldn’t tell the flame colors (apart).”

As a result, his chemistry teacher Suchi Krishnaraj had to adapt the assignment for Gunderson.

It seems that color blindness doesn’t typically cause trouble in the classroom, but it does sometimes result in awkward social situations that arise from situations that non-color-blind students take for granted.

For example, Gunderson said that, for the longest time, he didn’t even know he was color-blind.

“I thought I just didn’t know the colors,” he said.

In fourth grade, he learned he was color-blind after a call to the principal’s office and some color tests.

Although it never really affected him much, he said he had an embarrassing experience in sixth grade.

“I colored the tree trunk green and the leaves brown for my outdoor ed. cover page,” Gunderson said.

Gunderson has never faced any significant trouble with his color blindness, but he did admit to taking dance as an elective at least partly to avoid basic art.

“For Winterball, I have to go with my mom or the person I’m taking to pick out the matching-color (accessories),” Gunderson said. But aside from that life continues as normal.

This would have been good counsel for fellow color-blind senior Josh Calton.

Calton’s girlfriend, senior Maddie Lummis, recounted the “Winterball story” involving the couple.

“I showed him the dress and the fabric – at the time, I didn’t know he was color-blind,” she said. “(When) he went to get a tie, he got a bright purple one instead of a darker purple magenta color. Luckily he didn’t get the whole vest with it.”

Purples have always been a problem for Calton.

“My mom would always make fun of me because I would wear navy blue basketball pants with my Kings jersey, and apparently the Kings are purple,” Calton said.

At least Calton didn’t inherit the degree color blindness his cousin has.

“His cousin sees green as orange and orange as green,” Lummis said. “When he looks at the grass, it’s orange – and pumpkins look green.”

to be more careful while driving.

“If (my parents) found out, I’d definitely be grounded,” Max said. “I don’t really care. I’d do it anyway. I could use the money.”

“Katie” (not her real name), a junior, has been buying Ritalin because her brother was getting good grades while she wasn’t.

She felt pressured to perform better in her classes.

“I didn’t want to put in the effort, and I thought the Ritalin would put the effort in for me,” Katie said.

She took the medication every day for about three weeks. After a while, she began to realize that the medication also helped her stay skinny – one of Ritalin’s side effects is appetite suppression. After that, the medication became more than just a study crutch, and she was telling her friends about the pills.

However, she discovered adverse effects.

She couldn’t play sports because the medication really speeds up the user’s heartbeat.

“Even though my grades improved, I wouldn’t recommend taking medication unless you actually suffer from ADHD,” Katie said. “I think it would have been better to learn how to do it yourself and not just take the easy way out.”

Haley, who took Adderall as a miracle drug, also has reservations.

ALLERGIES: Students adjust eating habits to avoid reactions Continued from page A1 menu ingredients,” Brown said.

“The version on the district website will have a master file of all our recipes available.”

Efforts to make information about cafeteria food ingredients more readily available for students are also underway. A program called My Tray is currently being developed by the district, which will allow a student to go online and put together a meal and see al the ingredients and different components involved to make it meet their requirements. It is scheduled to be available prior to the start of the 2011-12 school year.

“Until (My Tray) is up and running,” Brown said, “we’re going to have to keep working with students on a one-one -one basis to meet their food-related needs.”

The changes in documentation by the district will make nutrition information about cafeteria foods more available for students, which may benefit those with allergies, as ingesting something they are intolerant of can be dangerous.

Depending on the severity of the allergy or intolerance, a reaction can trigger a variety of symptoms for someone who ingests a food that their body disagrees with.

“Mild reactions might be hives that can progress to a kind of tingling around the face,” GBHS nurse Linda Warfield said. “The tongue and lips can swell, and in the worst-case scenario, the throat swells up and breathing becomes difficult.”

Hives, facial swelling and breathing difficulties are all characteristics of a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylactic shock. However, not all allergies result in this type of reaction.

Some other conditions allergic reactions may cause include skin

irritation, wheezing, stomach pain, nausea or headaches.

The amount of time it takes for a reaction to occur also varies from person to person. “(A reaction) can be a progression and take a little bit of time, or it can just happen to you very quickly,” Warfield said.

For the students who have the potential to experience severe reactions, most don’t bother taking the chance to eat food prepared by anyone other than themselves or their families.

“Typically if students are allergic to something to such an extent that they are going to die from eating it, they won’t usually gamble in the cafeteria,” Brown said. “Most don’t even gamble in restaurants.”

Even for those students whose allergies and intolerances are not life-threatening, ensuring the safety of the foods they eat is a high priority that is often affirmed by the students bringing their own food.

“It’s just easier for me to eat what I bring from home,” said senior Sarah Chalmers, who is lactose-intolerant. “I know what goes in the food at that point because I’m the one making it– so it’s less risky.”

Senior Katharine Leigh, who began experiencing an intolerance to tomatoes four years ago, also prefers to bring food from home– finding it to be the easiest and safest way for her to avoid the possibility of coming in contact with tomatoes. “I don’t want to take the chance of eating something that would make me sick,” Leigh said.

“Bringing food from home is the best way to do that.”

When bringing personally prepared meals isn’t an

BUDGET: Potential state budget creates uncertainty Continued from page A1 depends on whether or not the tax extension passes in June. If it passes, schools will not experience further cuts. If voters do not extend the taxes, education will be cut heavily.

“It’s like doom and gloom for K-12 education if those tax increases don’t go through,” government teacher Jarrod Westberg said. “We could have billions more cut.”

According to principal Mike McGuire, the cuts can be calculated to about $300 per student in the Roseville Joint Union High School District.

But will these hypothetical cuts bring about clear changes to the district?

“For the first year (2011-12), it might not be that noticeable because we will have created our master schedules prior to when the budget situation gets resolved anyway,” McGuire said.

Because of surplus money the district has received from the state coming into this year and money in the district savings account, there will be enough money so that presumably no teachers will be laid off at the end of this year.

“We will spend the money from the savings account to stop the layoffs hoping that when things get better we can replenish that savings account so we don’t have to lay anybody off so (the students) don’t suffer,” Westberg said.

The master schedule for next year is being built the exact same way that it was built for the beginning of the current school year: with a 27.5-to-1 teacher-to-

“Coming off the medication was definitely rough. I was having trouble sleeping so I took Dramamine, a motion sickness medication that’s supposed to help you sleep,” Haley said. “I forgot you’re not supposed to take it on an empty stomach, which I had because the Adderall only allowed me to shove about two pretzels down my throat. I was dry heaving in my bathroom for about an hour.”

Haley also said that, while it wasn’t especially difficult for her to hide the fact that she was taking medication, she did feel guilty, especially when she went with her family to pick up her sister from the airport. “(My family) all started talking about how you shouldn’t abuse ADHD medication if you don’t have it, while I was sitting there in the back on it,” Haley said.

“My mom asked me if I knew anyone on it, and I had to say, ‘Yeah, I’ve heard of a few people.’”

“I felt like I was on top of the world.

You can just feel like you can do things you normally can’t,” Haley said. “It made me feel like Superman. I was prepared for anything, and nothing was going to get in my way.”

She says she’s done using Adderall when asked if she’ll take the drug again, but then adds: “Alright, that’s a lie. I know I will.”

student ratio. ting laid off because of a cut in an elective course.

She now is a full-time substitute teacher for the disSo for students, this means that next year, regardless of the special election in June, classes and class sizes trict, but the news was devastating.

“To add insult to injury, my husband was officially will be the same as they currently are.

“In the 2012-13 school year, that’s when we will see laid off the same day as me, so a lot of worries were some difficult times in many public schools, including going through my mind: will we be able to afford our ours because we are going to have to figure out how to house, keep our cars or afford school clothes for the make up a loss of millions of dollars,” McGuire said. kids,” Geistert said in an e-mail interview.

Because of language in the California Education The district has about $5 million in its savings acCode, Geistert can substitute teach in the district, count that will be used in order to prevent layoffs.

“With no (new) taxes, that fund is done and gone in have top priority over regular subs and make what she would regularly make on a daily basis as a regular two years,” McGuire said. teacher.

There is always the hope that the economy will turn Without passage of the tax extension, Geistert story around or the district will get extra money because of might become common for teachers around the state increased revenue within the state. and eventually even in the Roseville region.

“Three years out it looks really grim, but who knows what will happen next year or the year after,” Sophia Wang & Associates, Inc. McGuire said.

Center for Integrative Therapy History teacher Brandon Dell’Orto believes that GBHS will Sophia J. Wang, PhD see some negative effects in the Marriage & Family Therapist coming years if the tax extension 805 Douglas Blvd. does not pass.

Suite 112 “We will probably will see a Roseville, Ca 95678 couple of electives collapse and we probably won’t see IB,” Dell’Orto 916-580-1938 said.

506-936-1998 Last year, one person in the disdrsophia1@aol.com trict, Roseville High School business and computer teacher Cindy Geistert, had the misfortune of get-

option, students take extra precautions when eating out. “I have to ask if the food is homemade if I’m eating (at another person’s house,)” Leigh said. “And at restaurants I always ask if the food is made with tomatoes just to be safe.”

Chalmers said that when eating out, she can make decisions on what is safe to order based off of what is written about the food. “I can look at a menu and decipher what is and isn’t ok based off of ingredients and the description (of the dish).”

When she does eat at the cafeteria, Leigh said she avoids foods that have the potential of containing tomatoes, and opts for more simple selections like salads that she knows won’t affect her.

Others choose to avoid the cafeteria, and potentially harmful food all together. “I’ve never even gone to the snack bar before,” Chalmers said.

But for those who don’t have an option, Brown said schools are more than willing to work with students based on their needs.

“As we’ve seen a trend in the economy going down,” Brown said, “we’re having a lot of students district-wide who, in the past, (didn’t) chance the cafeteria needing to be able to eat at school, because that might be their only meal.”

District and GBHS faculty encourage students to contact them in order to work through their issues and develop a plan to keep them safe at school.

“The whole high school district is really willing to work with students and parents on all of these issues,” Warfield said.

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Friday, February 11, 2011

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SMOKERS: Abuse hurts students more than adults GPA: Clause can motivate Continued from page A2

“There is evidence … that adolescents are more affected by all substance use than adults are,” Paul said. “They’re still developing.”

Nicotine ranks as one of the most habit-forming substances around, and, according to the American Heart Association, tobacco addiction is behaviorally and pharmacologically similar to addictions to harder drugs, like cocaine and heroin.

A junior girl, who asked to remain anonymous, had trouble quitting cigarettes, despite only starting to smoke in her sophomore year.

“I quit, and then I’m like, ‘Oh, well I’ll just have a cigarette,’ and then I have another, and then I’m (smoking again),” she said.

Withdrawal can be a major deterrent from quit-

ting and is often characterized by headaches, shakiness and cravings for a smoke, though symptoms vary from person to person.

“Life sucks when I don’t have a cigarette for more than a day,” said a junior boy. “I just get (mean), I’m rude to people. It makes me more of a (jerk).”

As the dangers of secondhand smoke become common knowledge, and smokers become fewer in number, the social dynamics of smoking have changed.

The junior girl said that while smokers tend to be considerate of those who don’t smoke, nonsmokers tend to scorn smokers.

“We respect that they don’t smoke, so it’s kind of off-balance,” she said.

The junior boy agreed.

“People think it’s gross, for the most part,” he said. “People look down on that.”

Sawin said she felt as though older generations weren’t as chastised for smoking at a young age as her generation is now. “(Adults say to) young people, ‘Did you not learn from our mistakes? You need to stop,’” she said.

Although Sawin expressed concern about the diseases smoking has been linked to – including serious conditions like lung and throat cancer – but the junior boy and girl said they weren’t worried.

“I think that we’re all going to go out of this world when we’re supposed to,” the junior girl said. “It doesn’t really matter if I smoke cigarettes or not.”

PRIVACY: Teenagers affected by ‘permanent’ web posts Continued from page A2 friends with the person whose page they are trying to view.

Not only this, but information posted on Facebook is never truly deleted. Deleting something from one’s profile merely makes it unable to be viewed by the public; however, it is still kept in the Fa-

cebook archives.

One 16-year-old from Essex, England, was employed by the British company Ivell Marketing & Logistics, and her job involved menial office tasks. Frustrated by this, she posted ranting comments on Facebook, which were discovered by her boss.

Following this incident, she was immediately fired.

Junior Elizabeth Porter is among the few at GBHS who has yet to create a Facebook profile, and she doesn’t plan on it.

“Too much stupid drama gets started on Facebook,” Porter said.

“None of it is worth the risk of

someone important seeing it later on.”

Employed senior Jen Rowland, however, doesn’t foresee her profile causing problems.

“You always have to think about what you post,” Rowland said, “and how it will affect you if the wrong people see it.”

seniors to keep grades up

Continued from page A3 seniors, said the decline in senior grades and effort is much more dramatic “You can almost with laser precision, pinpoint accuracy, tell when they’ve been accepted to the college they want to go to, because everything but the bare minimum of breathing falls off the face of the earth,” Dell’Orto said.

Despite slipping grades of many seniors, Dell’Orto doubts colleges usually revoke admissions, although they may place an incoming student on academic probation.

Westberg and Wild encourage students to respect the policy.

Westberg is known for frequently reminding his students to not let their grades slip. He said he doesn’t know the full danger of the requirement that students maintain their GPAs, but he insists he is only trying to warn them.

“How scared they get, that’s their (decision),” Westberg said.

Some seniors might find the maintain GPA clause to be somewhat unfair. Westberg, however, said he is overjoyed by its addition. He believes it helps all teachers because teaching a room full of willfully C students would be a nightmare.

Dell’Orto agrees that colleges requiring seniors to maintain GPA is an important motivator to keep seniors going.

“Short of telling them that if they don’t keep a C at least average, they’re going to die of some unknown brain hemorrhage disease, really it’s all you can do to keep them hanging in there sometimes,” Dell’Orto said.

Some students might choose to neglect the benefits of continued effort, but Wild, like Westberg, does his best to warn them.

“All we can do is tell them the consequences,” Wild said. “If they decide to take a gamble, they have to live with the results.”

Friday, February 11, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

News A7

Voices

Granite Bay Gazette

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Friday w February 11, 2011

Stuck-up stoners

GAZETTE The Granite Bay

Personal habits should be just that: personal

GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL 1 GRIZZLY WAY GRANITE BAY, CA 95746

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Editors-in-Chief: Parker Evans Jessica Reese Alison Sale Katie Zingheim News/Web Editors: Adrienne Blevins Haley Massara Matt Veneman Kyle Pawlak Voices Editors: Sarah Bertin Adam Tilford Features Editors: Katie Bostedt Shannon Carroll ShinEui Park Justin Shiiba Entertainment Editors: Jamie Cologna Brittany Hince Sonia Iyer Shannon Wagner Sports Editors: R. Slater McLaughlin Laura Preston Christine Zavesky Photo/Graphics Editor: Maggie Louis Illustrators: Justin Shiiba Alison Sale Adam Tilford Photographer: Rachel Vasquez John Park Allison Garvey

Advertising Manager: Nico Mamone

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

Adviser: Karl Grubaugh

M Send Letters to the Editor to: gbgazette@yahoo.com 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

’m really tired of hearing on a daily basis the things people share with the world that they should probably keep to themselves.

While there are many offenders of this nature, I’m referring specifically to the stereotypical stoner population.

They’re the kids who sit in the back of the class discussing the nefarious activities they were involved in over the weekend, just loud enough so everyone around can hear how incomparably awesome they are.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike them because they smoke. I know plenty of people who smoke and are functioning, intelligent human beings.

I dislike them because they act as if they’re having a contest to see who can be the most obnoxious, useless, burdensome waste of space I ever had the misfortune of sitting next to.

Let me reiterate; their smoking habits don’t bother me in the least. The problem arises when they turn taking drugs into a persona; they talk, dress and act as if they have absolutely nothing better to do with their life than impress upon unsuspecting citizens what hard-core stoners they are.

For those of you disappointed about the failure of Proposition 19, these people are the reason. Their chosen lack of intelligence overshadows those who are able to smoke pot and not define their lives by it.

This type of student exemplifies himself in the classroom, when he can be seen first creating a problem and then complaining about it.

There’s really no need for these students to curse at the teacher when they walk out of the room, and call them all sorts of horrible things because it’s somehow the teacher’s fault they make absolutely no effort to learn.

I’ve withheld the urge to tell such a classmate, “No, Commentary actually the teacher isn’t out to get you, and she doesn’t have some personal vendetta. It’s probably your untoward, self-gratifying, ceaseless rhetoric that bothers her most.

Your insatiable laziness doesn’t help either.”

I have learned much more about using, obtaining, selling and pricing drugs than I ever cared to, all because some unwashed degenerate couldn’t be bothered to shut up and actually try to learn something between sessions of blowing out his brain cells.

I have gone so far as to ask the teacher to move me so I don’t have to listen to one more curse-word-laden story about how horrible some kid’s mom, dad, kzingheim.gazette@gmail.com teacher or dealer is.

I’d really rather not feel my hope in humanity slipping away as I look at what these people choose to occupy their existence with.

Of the druggie/stoner population, I have a particular hatred for the kids trying really, really hard to look really cool.

This is the kid who, while sitting in the middle of a group, says loudly, “Yeah, dude, I was so high.” When no one responds to him, he says it again, louder.

“Ha ha, we were so f-ing high, bro.” I almost feel bad for the pathetic creature, in his Bob Marley T-shirt and greasy black beanie, when his friends ignore him for the second, then third time.

But then he laughs like he’s auditioning for Pineapple Express or something, and my brief sense of pity quickly dissipates.

Really? Is it totally necessary to talk and act like you’re perpetually stoned? I have a hard time believing these people talk like this because they are high at all hours of the day, or that at 16-years-old they’ve smoked enough to permanently affect their speech habits.

Let me illustrate just how much loathing I feel for these people.

Let’s say there was going to be another flood—whether caused by global warming or an act of God doesn’t really matter—and the world knew the flood was coming and built a huge boat.

But alas, we discover the boat isn’t big enough and we’ll have to decide who doesn’t get to come on the boat, but rather be condemned to a watery death.

If we just exclude every person who, while not actually intoxicated, has ever muttered the phrase, “Dude, I was so high,” and then chuckled like they have the I.Q. of a fruit bat, we’d probably solve our space problem.

The boat would be much lighter, and when the waters recede society would be off to a much better start.

I’m sure all the reprehensible things you do in your spare time are fascinating.

But there isn’t a single part of me that wants to hear about them. *** Katie Zingheim, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

katie zingheim

Staff Writers: Ari Black Austin Downs Allison Garvey Sahil Khosla Kelsey Knorp Gary Nielsen John Park Kyle Pawlak Alex Pink Jon Setiawan Sam Spargo Rachael Vasquez Moosa Zaidi

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-bycase 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.

Commentary

kelsey knorp kknorp.gazette@gmail.com

Online attention pleas are pathetic

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e’ve all seen those statuses in our Facebook news feeds that give all of the user’s hundreds of friends an exclusive peek into the user’s personal life; the cries for attention posted on a virtual wall for the world to see.

Some react with a sympathetic concerned comment, while others such as myself merely shake their heads, roll their eyes and resist the urge to “like” the culprit’s misery.

To anyone who believes his or her Facebook profile is meant to replace a diary, it’s not. If you need to vent your depression, frustration or hurt feelings via technology, send a text to one of your close friends – someone that will actually care about your problems.

The worst are the cryptic, vague posts that make general statements as to the horrors of life or love, sometimes addressing an unnamed “you,” “he,” or “she.” This cowardly use of pronouns is meant to provoke questions as to “who?” or “why?” which of course will go irritatingly unanswered.

A close second on my list of least favorite Facebook faux pas are serial relationship status changers. I don’t care how long you’ve been dating, if you break up every two weeks it becomes irrelevant old news that no one has any interest in. If after multiple breakups you are still too oblivious to see that you are clearly not meant to be with your beloved, at least keep your repeated reunions off Facebook and off my radar.

This also applies to those more, uh, promiscuous Facebook users who seem to be in a new relationship every week. If you would like to avoid judgment, perhaps you should stop lying to yourself. Stop pretending each and every one of your short-lived flings is a relationship and hold off on becoming “FBO” (Facebook official, duh).

I will concede that when posts such as those defined above lead to scandal, they become fascinating. Facebook drama caused by bratty comments on statuses or pictures can escalate in mere minutes into a fullblown catfight (or smack-talking session, if you’re male).

Granted, this type of Facebook behavior is still undeniably embarrassing, but I will tolerate it because of its high entertainment value. It also serves as a great way to weed out which conflict-hungry peers to avoid in everyday life.

Lastly, who came up with the ridiculous tradition, meant only for those with absolutely no time on their hands, of posting a status encouraging friends to “like my status and I’ll tell you ______.” Fill in the blank: a confession, my favorite memory of us, the worst thing about you, some other useless piece of information.

Within five minutes, this status receives 65 “likes” and the corresponding wall posts begin clogging my news feed. There is nothing more cumbersome than weeding through endless identically gushing wall posts (because, come on, who’s really got the guts to tell someone what sucks about them on their Facebook wall?)

I’m sure Mark Zuckerburg never predicted his ingenious social networking site would pit friend against friend, and expose petty, attention-desiring behavior in even the most seemingly shy of people. Reality check: public whining will not make friendships in the real world. *** Kelsey Knorp, a junior, is a Gazette staff writer.

Modern medicine is not for abusing

odern medicine is absolutely incredible.

The depth of knowledge we have in the medical field today is astonishing considering where we came from.

Ancient peoples relied on plants, herbs, and superstitions. Cleanliness was unheard of for the longest time, and sanitizing instruments was non-existent. The transmission of disease by bacteria wasn’t even known until the late 19th century.

Medical things that are widely accepted as common knowledge were still unheard of mere centuries, or even decades, ago.

Now, there is a pill for anything and everything.

Knees ache? Here’s a pill.

Head hurts? Here’s a pill.

Depressed? Distracted? Tired? Tingly?

EDITORIAL The voice of the Granite Bay Gazette

Cold? Crying? Hungry? Poor? Small apartment? Dead-end job?

There’s probably a pill for that.

Medications are great when used for their purpose, and when used according to their directions.

Unfortunately, not all of these miracle pills are used in moderation.

Drug abuse is a problem that’s almost as abundant as the drugs themselves, and

this addiction can happen with almost any medication.

Students, especially, should use only medicines prescribed to them, and follow the dosage directions. Pills are great, but their power should not be abused, because then they only cause pain in the end.

Personal health should never be sacrificed, and once an addiction happens, it’s very difficult to break that habit.

Unfortunately, as far as we know, there isn’t a pill to prevent the craving of pills.

So, the best advice we can give is to avoid the problem in the first place.

Don’t delay until you’re dependent.

Medicine is a very technical and precise field, and the prescriptions for all those very long-named medications are given in certain amounts for a reason.

Ridiculous amounts of research go into every drug on the market.

Scientists study and refine everything as much as they can to reduce the side effects and find the right amount of medicine to help, and not harm you.

Hundreds of people often sacrifice their well-being to test out drugs that are still in the “iffy” stage of development, so that they can be made safer.

There is basically no extent that companies don’t go to in order to make drugs safe, and all that research culminates in a pill with dosage instructions.

So, let’s not take advantage of the miraculous pills that modern medicine has given us.

For your own sake, medicate in moderation.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Voices A9

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Individualism should flourish without trends and television

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as a fashion he statement in accesthe future. sories Girls are not the that had once been only ones to blame rejected from the for today’s ridicutypical point of what lous attire. The boys of is “cool” in the past GBHS have also been have now evolved into aublack.gazette@gmail.com stirring up repulsive trends the sophisticated looks of their own. of the 2011 trend. High Watches, like glasses, have school students have now not always been accepted as a “cool” accessory mastered almost every type of poser style in to wear. modern clothing.

Today, GBHS boys have begun to wear large A poser is an individual who wears the clothand expensive watches from foreign companies ing that reveals a style that they wish they could whose names they can’t even pronounce. be portrayed as.

The increase in this trend just goes to show that In junior high, my youthful mind first experistudents wear items to attempt to be something they enced what would become a repeating occurrence are not. throughout the rest of my educational career.

Watches should be worn to tell the time; not to The hippy trend of plastic peace sign necklaces, tie-dye shirts and funky, bright-colored rings quickly show off wealth or sophistication. Most of the wearers of these watches cannot even tell what time flooded the halls of junior highs all over the state. their $200 trinkets reveal.

The repeated lesson that moms would tell us of Students feel the need to take these simple con“always being ourselves” has clearly been rejected cepts and turn them into fashion statements. by our ignorant and rebellious standpoints.

Although some might argue that the media do One ridiculous trend of 2010 was unfortunately not impact the decisions of teens, these trends dragged into the New Year: fake reading glasses. alone prove this belief to be true.

Many girls of Granite Bay High School felt the On top of Ed Harty T-shirts and designer need to take the initiative of turning a disability jeans, stars from the popular Jersey Shore also of some individuals into a fashion statement. wear bulky watches. The correlation between When did the concept of 20/20 vision go out the TV show and the trend is obvious. of style?

Styles will always change within time.

Maybe the sudden halt of past judgment of What is perceived as fashionable now will glasses is because of the increasing desire be pushed out within the next few years. for a unique style. Stores such as Urban Society constantly promotes individuOutfitters have broadened the level of alism, but in order to be original, you conformity for a huge diversity of must apply your own tastes so that clothing styles. you don’t live your only life as Wearing glasses that were a stereotype. once considered unattractive *** in the eyes of high school Ari Black, a junior, students years ago is is a Gazette staff like students wearwriter. ing braces

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Driving is a privilege; use it wisely Our safety and the safety of others is something that should be at the front of our minds each day.

Thousands of young teens each year are injured or killed because they take advantage of the privilege of driving, regardless of the restrictions that have been placed upon them.

Being a young teen driver myself, I know how tempting and easy it is to get away with driving other passengers, staying out after curfew or talking on the phone. I have realized that in the long run, it is not worth risking your life and the lives of others doing this.

By not following the restrictions of driving, not only can young drivers be fined, but people will be putting themselves and others in danger.

“Since the fatal crash risk among teen drivers increases when teens drive at night and when distracted, these laws will save lives,” said Melissa Savage, of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Reasons for having these restrictions are understandable considering the thousands of fatal car accidents that happen because of distractions.

New drivers are less mature and tend to abuse the privilege of driving a car.

Therefore, the chance of a crash occurring because of a new driver is much higher. You will find that these rules are placed for the best reasons and, as easy as it is to drive recklessly, it will be worth saving your life and the people around you by not doing so.

To lower the amount of accidents and fatalities, we need to do our part by obeying the laws of driving.

Megan McFarland, junior

Feel the burn

Workouts are a pain for the nerdiest

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Commentary

haley massara hmassara.gazette@gmail.com

a Katy Perry CD. I live in fear of the day she pops up behind me and says that I’ve been doing everything wrong this whole time. I know I’m probably not using any of the equipment right, and have instead been flailing around like a drowning pill bug, but give me the right to believe I’m working out.

As treacherous as my pathetic quest for fitness might be, and as intimidating as all those gurus in skin-tight nylon seem, and as stupid as I look, humming along to my pop-punk workout playlist as I screw up even the simplest of workouts, it’s that unpleasantness that makes any success there all the more rewarding.

I mean, what kind of person would wake up from a super-mega-liposuction, look down at themselves, and think, “Wow, I’ve earned this – I feel great!”

A whole mess of celebrities, but that’s beside the point.

If you’re like me, slugging along on the “weakling” setting on the Stair Stepper, know that while you might not look attractive or have a fraction of a clue as to what you’re doing, you are, at least, not alone.

Maybe in a couple months, I’ll get my own pair of yoga pants, and we’ll see who’s the n00b then. *** Haley Massara, a sophomore, is a Gazette news editor.

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hanging one’s body with the use of chemicals, such as Tren, alters the muscle formation to give the appearance of longterm muscle building throughout a short period of time.

In the past six years of my life, I have talked to an abundance of students who have felt they need what these enhancement drugs can give them.

The use of these drugs should be restricted from the public and should not be used no matter how old or how small someone is.

If someone you know is using a drug to boost or enhance his or her abilities, they should be told by a loved one that it’s not the right thing to do.

The use of performanceenhancing drugs is a problem at Granite Bay High School because of the daily use and abuse by students. No one needs to use this drug. When you work your muscles the right way, you will have stronger muscles much longer than those who use enhancement.

Most commonly, someone will use the drug and stop when they feel their body is where they want it. Unfortunately, they find out all that so-called hard work, has turned to water weight.

One of my good friends decided to use a performance-enhancing drug for football, and that exact situation happened to him within a month of not using the drug.

To eliminate this problem at our school, you, your coaches and fellow athletes should talk to your friends to help them stay away from these enhancers.

Tyler Ditmars, junior

LETTERS to the EDITOR

ari black

n the sweat-miasma-covered, medically clean holistic underworld that is my health club, survival is hard for the un-fittest.

I joined a gym with average enough intentions – that is, I wanted to walk out a week later looking like a non-pregnant Natalie Portman with the abs of a Greek god. That’s what everyone wants, right?

But now that I’ve actually started showing up on a regular basis, so often that the sandy-haired attendant with the healing lip ring nods approvingly at me as I check in, I’m quickly realizing just how much of a wimp I am.

I’m a gym n00b. And chances are, if you’ve ever uttered that word, you’re right there with me.

The cross-trainers and treadmills aren’t so hard to figure out, if you can manage to claim one. But it seems as soon as I set foot in the gym, a gargantuan flood of yoga-pants-clad 30-somethings is swarming toward the few working machines.

My strategy – I couldn’t make this up – is to run inside and cling to a cross-trainer, as if it were a safe zone in a demented game of tag.

Weights are where the real degradation kicks in. The fluid, eerily seamless movements of the ever-ripped regulars contrast pretty starkly with the oh-so-elegant clunk of my kindergartener-appropriate weights clashing back down when my flimsy carcass gives way.

That is, of course, providing I can actually figure out how to use a given weight-lifting machine.

Give me a smartphone fresh off the assembly line, and I can write you a user’s manual in 10 minutes flat. But stick me in front of some Medieval-looking tangle of steel and padding with a few stacks of weights loosely strung on one end, and you might as well have asked Michael Bay to make a movie without explosions in it. They just don’t make sense.

What’s worse is that an acquaintance of mine frequents this very same gym, and suffice to say she’s ripped like the wrapping on

Ability-enhancing drugs don’t give long-lasting results

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

No homework will increase student performance Many students lose determination toward achieving outstanding grades because of the struggle of boat-loads of homework, which also restricts time in class to teach. If homework was banned, children and teens would have more time after school to study and retain the material rather than quickly finishing a forced assignment.

In my years being an elementary and high school student, I’ve learned that homework has caused more hardships than positive outcomes.

Without homework students will see better results because learning with the teacher’s help in class is more efficient than finishing homework alone and wasting time in class to review it.

The absence of homework will lead to a more stress-free environment at school, and improve the grades in school throughout the world. In a 2004 national survey, it states that the time spent on homework has increased by 51 percent since 1981.

Homework has been affecting Granite Bay High School, and not having homework would give students more time in class to review the subject, understand the material better and give us free time at home to study instead of writing.

Denmark and Japan give little homework but have better test scores than the countries that carelessly pile it on such as Greece, Thailand and the United States.

Homework has been hurting some students’ grades, and it should be restricted to help boost the confidence of our school to make a better future.

As students we need to stand up for ourselves and respectfully question the teaching tactics that we’ve previously experienced. Voicing our opinion will make our school one step closer to a healthier and more educated lifestyle.

Alex Leon, junior *** The Gazette welcomes letter to the editors. Feel free to send comments to gbgazette@yahoo.com.

A10 Voices

Friday, February 11, 2011

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What are your Valentine’s Day plans?

“As of now I don’t have any plans. I’ll probably hang out with my friends.”

F r e s h m a n

Kristin Howard

What’s wrong with being young?

Treasure your youth, because it’ll be gone in the blink of an eye

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hysically I’m 16 years old, dressing but, to be honest, I have the like a 25mentality of a 7-year old boy year-old at certain times. who goes clubI act way younger than I look and bing every night people often view me as immature; is not. however, the majority of the time, I Sure, I might don’t let it get to me. All I’m trying to understand why some do is live to the fullest. Soon enough, kids would want to I won’t have time to play video games act mature. Being older or watch cartoon shows. Instead, gives people new priviI’ll be sitting in a cubicle picking up leges that they never had phone calls or washing the dishes before compared to when they while doing were younger. the laundry But what’s the Commentary as a stay-atuse if you’re just a home mother. teenager? You don’t But it have those privileges, doesn’t mean because you’re obvithat I’m ously still too young. always like These kinds of this. I do teenagers don’t know realize I’m a the reality of all teenager who the responsibilities has to focus grown-ups take. They on school. may think they can spark.gazette@gmail.com When the “walk the walk,” but time calls, they aren’t ready to I’m a regular “talk the talk.” junior in high school: I hang out with Personally, I truly think you my friends, I stay up studying for tests, shouldn’t act older than you actually I go through unnecessary drama. are. Embrace your youth. High school What I don’t understand is why should be remembered by the fun and some teenagers persistently try hard emotional times students go through to appear more mature than their age. before going into adulthood.

Having the intellect of a college stuAs author Chad Sugg wisely said, dent in high school is an exception, but “Enjoy your youth. You’ll never be

shineui park

“I’m down to hang with Sydney’s dogs.”

S o p h o m o r e

w The Granite Bay Gazette

younger than you are at this moment.”

As you concentrate on acting more adult-like, your teenage life will speed right before your eyes. You’ll miss out on things that are only possible in your youth. Once you turn 25, fresh out of college and looking for a job, you’ll think back on your teenage years, wanting to have made more enjoyable memories. *** Shineui Park, a junior, is a Gazette features editor.

Griffin Powers “I’ll probably watch The Notebook with my two dogs.”

The rigged race to college

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

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Sydney Mendenhall “I’ll celebrate with my mom and my dad. I’m single.

I love Granite Bay.”

Academically-focused students should get the same attention as athletes

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efore I get started, I just want to make one thing clear: that in my opinion, athletes work just as hard, if not harder, than hardcore students, and deserve to be rewarded for it.

However, I do have an issue with the fact that colleges search for athletes and recruit them early, while those who focus on academics, for the most part, don’t generate the same level of interest.

Additionally, some high profile athletes sign commitment letters to the college of their choice early in the year.

At the same time, students of similar caliber have to wade through a large volume of applications and suffer

Commentary

kyle pawlak kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

a painful wait until they finally find receive the letters that may decide their future.

My issue with the situation is this: its one thing to reward athletes for their

efforts, but it is another completely to allow athletes to skip the pain of not knowing what college they will go to, as well eliminate the arduous process of applying to many colleges.

Universities were created primarily for the purpose of education of new generations of students, not as stepping stones for professional athletic careers.

Despite this, colleges seem to be more concerned with collecting athletes to represent them on the field, than finding the next generation of politicians, scientists and teachers that will take care of the world.

I know that high-caliber college athletes may be in far smaller supply than

Thumbs Up

Kevin Harkin “It’s not so much of a romantic holiday for me because it’s my dad’s birthday. He’s been undergoing treatments for melanoma, so the focus will be mostly on him!”

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Natalie Elkin Compiled by Kelsey Knorp

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strong students, and as a result colleges are eager to claim what they can from the small pool.

However, I think affording athletes the comfort of knowing their future is unfair to students who devote large volumes of time to their work.

Finally, I think this gives off the wrong message. Colleges exist to promote higher levels of education, but through their actions, they promote the idea that even in a place of learning, athletics are more important, which I think is just plain wrong. *** Kyle Pawlak, a junior, is a Gazette web editor.

Thumbs up: Valentine’s Day is almost here! Hopelessly smitten couples have their excuse to display affection in ways that could be, on all other days, interpreted as embarrassing. Not to mention the endless supply of chocolate and the boost in sales for See’s Candy and Hallmark.

Thumbs down: Happy singles’ awareness day! Bachelors and bachelorettes, here’s your reminder that you didn’t manage to hook a fella or gal to be your Valentine. Feel free to sulk and wallow as you please. At least you save money, right?

Thumbs up: Thank you Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and all the other presidents for giving us three three-day weekends in the months of January and February. We could definitely use the relief.

Thumbs down: Yeah, we get days off, but we don’t get a real break until April 18. Here’s to 66 more school days!

by Kelsey Knorp, a staff writer.

Gazette photos /SARAH BERTIN

Forum

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Friday w February 11, 2011

Gazette staffers debate which holiday mascot is least symbolic Katie Zingheim: Ah, Valentine’s Day. A holiday that conjures up visions of roses, romantic dinners, and… nude, weapon-wielding infants. What?

The arguments both for and against Cupid as a legitimate holiday representative are ancient and worn-thin. OK, so the figure of Cupid was birthed from some Roman mythology something-orother – I really don’t care. What matters is that Cupid is undoubtedly the stupidest holiday mascot society ever had the misfortune of adopting.

Gary Nielsen: Regardless of its mythological history, Cupid is not far from representing Valentine’s Day perfectly. He is essentially a floating manbaby who hovers around reminding everyone that doesn’t have a special someone of their social inferiority, better known as the average man on Valentine’s Day. See the similarities? If there is any poor representative of a holiday, it has to be the Easter Bunny. A rabbit that hides eggs full of candy to celebrate the resurrection of Christians’ Savior, need I say more?

K: Actually, I think the Easter Bunny and his colorful hidden treats are a great representation of the resurrection. Surprise, there’s candy inside that egg! Surprise, Jesus is alive! Egg, cave… they’re sort of similar. Regardless, the whole idea of a baby shooting innocent people with demonic poison arrows to force them to fall in love with a person not necessarily of their choosing undermines the entire idea of a day dedicated to love.

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

G: After extensive research – honestly, I spent a solid 10 minutes on Wikipedia – I have determined that nobody knows why the Easter Bunny even exists. The closest thing we have to an explanation is that Germans started doing it in the 18th century. And I don’t think we should jump on the bandwagon of every German idea, just saying. Where would we be now if that was common practice? As far as Cupid being some blood-thirsty, demonic baby, I’m failing to see the connection. The arrows he shoots are tipped with hearts and explode in pink confetti upon impact. If there is something lovelier than that, I would like to see it.

K: Blood thirsty? Who said Cupid is blood thirsty? Manipulative and sneaky, yes, but blood thirsty, no. The Easter Bunny is far less creepy than Cupid – adorable, even. He’s basically the spring-time, toned-down version of Santa Claus, using subterfuge to delight children everywhere.

People of all ages can fall asleep the night before Easter, dreaming of a present-laden fluffy rabbit prancing about in field of dew-sprinkled daffodils, hiding eggs in the purple light of a spring dawn. And without the dark and slightly suggestive undertones associated with Cupid.

G: The problem with your argument is that you are working under the assumption that I think the Easter bunny is bad. Just the opposite is true. I love the Easter Bunny. If I could go to Sunday brunch with any holiday character, I would probably even choose him or her (or it?). What I’m trying to say, rather, is that the Easter Bunny is a bad holiday representative. See, this is not an issue of character or motive, but rather one of holiday-character association, and accuracy therein. The facts laid out are hard to refute. A bunny does not connect with a resurrection, yet Cupid basically oozes of romance.

Forum is a section reserved specifically for the opinions of the Granite Bay community.

Students, alumni, parents and friends are welcome to submit work of any length. Stay posted for future topics. E-mail all submissions to gbgazette@yahoo.com

A12 Second Look

Second look

Circus, circus

Friday, February 11, 2010

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Student government jumps through hoops to put on rally.

ď ˇJunior Brady Nations, top, dives through a hoop during the first competitive event of the rally. Nations won the diving contest after the hoop was raised several times. Assistant principal Brent Mattix, middle right, posed as the balloon master, creating balloon animals for students before and after the show. Senior Jimmy Jack, bottom right, sits beside his ferocious lion, senior John Holway. As the conjoined twins of this GBHS circus, seniors Jessica and Alison Hamby, right, host the second half of the rally. Ramona Drury, above, escorts junior Kevin Staniszewski into the rally on her radical motorcycle.

Freshman Johnny Zhang, middle left, holds on to his fellow unicycler while performing their routine.

wGazette photosw Maggie Louis

Lifestyle Abracadalgebra

Granite Bay Gazette

B Section

Friday w February 11, 2011

Commentary

shannon carroll

Teacher tricks to help you learn

scarroll.gazette@gmail.com

Life requires faith, trust... and pixie dust

A

s a kid, I dreamed about being an adult. I clomped around the house in my mom’s high heels. I wore her curlers in my hair and imagined the sophistication and freedom that would come with being an adult.

The reality? Growing up is highly overrated.

When I was little, my biggest worries were whether I should use the red or the blue crayon for a picture in my coloring book, and whether my parents would let me have ice cream for breakfast.

These days, it seems like the decisions I make will affect the rest of my life. I worry about what college I’ll attend, what career I’ll have, the name of my husband – OK, maybe not that last one.

I miss the days when class included naptime and when homework was something that took 20 minutes to do.

Now, classes are packed with important information, and homework can take more than an hour in each subject. My math classes have gone way beyond addition and subtraction and include wild concepts like imaginary numbers. I mean, really.

If the numbers are imaginary, can’t I just imagine a world without them?

I remember watching Peter Pan and laughing at the absurdity of a boy who never wanted to grow up. Now, I’m ready to book the next flight to Neverland, where the promise of never having to worry about grown-up things is extremely appealing.

It’s not that I don’t love some of the things that come with growing up. I do! I love being able to hop in the car and drive myself somewhere, rather than wait for my parents. Politics fascinate me, and I like the idea that I’ll soon be able to vote.

Still, I feel like it would be better to be four years old again and be the personification of “ignorance is bliss.”

I want to go back to the days when I thought that getting high meant going on the swings and when war was just a card game.

I would give up later curfews and crazy parties in a heartbeat if it meant I got to go back to when I could run around and chase boys, thinking the worst that could happen is that I’d get cooties.

As a kid, everything seems possible. I believed I could do anything and everything I wanted to. My dreams were huge. You could try to tell me I couldn’t do something, but I wouldn’t believe you. I believed I could be a famous singer and actress, marry a billionaire athlete and save the world. Hey! I thought it could happen.

Now, I find I’m having to make choices. When I come to a fork in the road, I take one, and I generally like my choice, but it means I don’t get to take the other fork, too. I’m realizing I probably can’t be both a U.S. senator and write the Great American Novel.

As a result, my life isn’t as colorful as I once imagined it would be. I guess what I’m really longing for is that wonderful sense that every possibility is open to me. However great my future turns out to be, I don’t just want one. I want a whole bunch of futures, or at least their possibilities.

So, every night, I’ll be staring at that second star to the right, waiting for Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to take me straight on till morning.

After all, all it takes is faith, trust and pixie dust. *** Shannon Carroll, a junior, is the Gazette’s Lifestyle co-editor.

inside lifestyle

How-To

B2

If You Really Knew Me B3 Random Student

B6

College of the Month

B7

BY KATIE BOSTEDT kbostedt.gazette@gmail.com

E

veryone has had those teachers–the kind who lecture in a monotone while showing a boring PowerPoint.

But everyone also knows the other kind of teachers, too—the funny ones who tell jokes and play games in class.

Students feel more compelled to listen to these teachers and remember what they’re learning.

What makes those teachers so interesting? We asked teachers to share their tricks and tips for keeping students engaged in the classroom.

Anthony Davis When Anthony Davis began teaching Honors English 11, he was looking for a way to keep his students’ attention, especially through the many books they read.

“I was looking for some kind of hook to bring the literature alive,” Davis said. He began to take on different voices for every character to help students tell them apart.

“It helps them appreciate how the tone of [a character’s] voice might have sounded,” Davis said. “It’s one thing to read it in print, but it’s altogether another thing to hear it.”

Davis adds, “I try to be organized and clear in my presentation of instructions.”

Things don’t always work out as planned. But, even if a joke or character voice doesn’t end up working like he hoped it would, sometimes it can still have a positive effect. “If anything,” Davis said, “the bad joke at least helps them remember.”

Jennifer Hill Spanish teacher Jennifer Hill finds getting students moving helps them to focus better during class. When learning vocabulary, she has students stand up and act out

words.

“It’s really good for those kinesthetic learners,” Hill said. “They learn by doing– by physically moving themselves.”

Hill also puts vocabulary words and grammar into songs for the students to memorize, sometimes even playing music for the students to listen to while they work.

“Sometimes,” Hill said, “just playing music for the class gets them to be more engaged.”

Hill knew she wanted to make Spanish interesting and fun for students after going through boring Spanish classes herself in high school.

“When I was a freshman in high school, I had a really boring Spanish One teacher,” Hill said. “We would just sit there and look at the book, and I thought she was awful. But next door was another Spanish classroom, and you could hear games going on in there all the time.”

Learning from her bad experiences with boring high school teachers, Hill began working to help student’s pay attention in class while she was a student teacher.

“I knew I wanted to be a Spanish teacher,” Hill said, “a teacher who keeps kids engaged.”

For her, the games and activities are the key to an exciting classroom.

“You have to get (students) up and involved and doing something,” Hill said, “so they learn and remember longer.”

Dede Walker As a math and physical education teacher, Dede Walker’s techniques are slightly different from most teachers. When students aren’t paying attention, she has a special tool to use.

“In math, if students are sleeping, I’ll squirt them,” Walker said. “I began using the squirt bottle the second year I started teaching.”

Walker has found that, in addition to the threat of the water bottle, simply having her walk around the classroom helps students focus.

“Students tune out, but if they know a teacher is watching them it makes them think more,” she said The technique that receives the best response for her is interaction with the students.

“One of the most important things,” Walker said, “is knowing their name and getting to know them.”

Brandon Dell’Orto Brandon Dell’Orto, AP US History and World Studies teacher, tries to make things funny for his classes to keep their attention and help them remember things.

See TEACHERS, page B5

Gazette illustration/ALISON SALE

New shop offers caffeine with a conscience All volunteer coffee shop opens in Rocklin: profits go to help end sex trafficking

BY PARKER EVANS

A

pevans.gazette@gmail.com

t Rocklin’s Origin Coffee, a cup of Joe stands for more than just a caffeine boost.

The baristas at Origin work for free, and 100 percent of the shop’s profits are used to battle sex trafficking around the world.

The coffee shop was the brainchild of Mark South and Chad Salstrom of Origin Community Church in Rocklin. The project, which was two years in the making, opened for business in January at the corner of Sunset and Park.

The church holds services in the shop on Sunday mornings, but the coffee shop is a separate entity.

“Origin looks like a coffee shop and sells

Braceface Students talk about having braces in high school

B3

products similar to a coffee shop,” Salstrom says, “but it’s really a city-wide, collaborative effort to end sex trafficking. We’ve found an opportunity to fight one of the most selfish evils with selfless love.”

Salstrom says they allocate the profits into three separate areas.

Some of the money is sent to rescue the victims, often actually buying them out of sex slavery.

Proceeds also help the girls get back on their feet again. This includes much-needed counseling and job training.

Finally, Origin supports cultural development to help make the common practice of sex trafficking around the world less acceptable, raising awareness of the problem and creating a sense of self-worth in the girls.

Origin asks for just one, four-hour shift

Class of 2021 Second graders tell what they think their high school experience will be like

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a week from most of their employees.

The volunteers say the shops’ cause produces a deep commitment. The baristas consider fighting sex trafficking a global emergency.

“We care about this,” barista Ryan Alias says. “We want to make great coffee because we want Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS people to come back.” Baristas at Origin donate their time, usually a four-hour Salstrom says the shift once a week, to help victims of sex trafficking recover. coffee has to be good.

“We have to do it better than anyone else Rocklin,” Alias says. He adds, “We want because of what’s at stake,” he says.

Origin to be a place where the community Origin places a focus on community. comes together.”

They get their roasts from a local roaster, As part of their training, workers were Vaneli’s Coffee in Rocklin.

See VOLUNTEERS, page B7 “We want to be good for

Google Jobs A guide to the perfect places to find jobs

B8

B2 Lifestyle

Friday, February 11, 2010

Student

Spotlight

New year brings focus to fitness Gym membership increases at the start of the year but few continue

result of losing weight,” Stevens said.

“People feel better about themselves.

Working out just made me feel better.”

Senior Bobby Stuckey, who regularly attends Gold’s Gym throughout the year, believes physical health is important, but also knows a balanced lifestyle is crucial.

“I think being active is important and good for you, but not as important as school and education.”

As the new year began, Stuckey continued with his ongoing goal to stay fit and active.

“I think it is good to make goals and to follow through (with them.) Goals can actually be successful. It just takes 30 minutes to an hour every day to stay fit, leaving you with plenty of time for school work.”

Although Stuckey notices many insecure individuals around the school, he tries not to be self-conscious about himself. He believes judgment negatively impacts students all over the campus.

Granite Bay Gold’s Gym employee Alita Patterson is a firsthand witness to the increase of gym-goers in the region around the new year.

“There have been over fifty sign- ups this New Year, and that’s not normal,”

BY ARI BLACK

aublack.gazette@gmail.com

A Edoardo Campana

Italian foreign exchange student adjusts to new life Q: What makes you unique on the Granite Bay High school campus?

A: I am an exchange student from Italy. I have been in the United States now for six months since August.

Q: Where are you from?

A: I am from Perugia, Italy. Approximately two hours from Rome.

Q: What classes are you taking?

A: I am taking classes such as Chemistry and English 12. They are different from school in Italy because her (classes are) easier. Here you have a lot of multiple choice questions. In Italy, we have tests, quizzes and essays more often and no multiple choice.

Q: What activities do you do?

A: I go to Squaw Valley on the weekends. I just started snowboarding, but I normally ski. I also just started playing rugby and I played water polo at the beginning of the year.

w The Granite Bay Gazette

t the beginning of each new year, people around the nation make resolutions in an attempt to overcome the past year’s mistakes and faults.

Making the resolution is the easy part, following through is the real challenge.

Getting in shape is the most common New Year’s resolution. Gyms begin to overflow with determined individuals ready to work off the excessive amounts of food consumed over their Christmas breaks.

Being often considered an active environment, most Granite Bay High School students are enrolled in sports, clubs, and activities on a regular basis.

The well-known resolution of past years isn’t as prevalent on the GBHS campus.

“My goal was to fit in my tuxedo for my wedding,” GBHS history teacher Marcus Stevens said. “I had to schedule a time each day to work out, and it’s challenging. I don’t think anyone likes to work out, but everyone likes the results of it.”

Stevens believes as long as students keep themselves occupied, they will remain healthy.

“Whether it’s a sport or an activity, I think as long as someone is active daily, then that will fight against obesity and weight gain.”

Although he did it, Stevens knows that accomplished resolutions are rare.

An improved physical appearance is not the only result of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for Stevens.

“Self confidence is a main

Patterson said. “The usual is 25 to thirty signs ups at the most for the New Year.”

Patterson has noticed a common inspiration for these individuals and their motives. She believes as people get older they begin to realize that health is a main factor in life, and you must be healthy in order to live longer.

Although resolutions are made, following through is a rare action within the gym walls. “(The increase enrollment at the beginning of the year) doesn’t usually affect the overall gym, because people will start their resolutions,

go for a little bit, and then stop, so it doesn’t get too busy,” Patterson said.

Lack of exercise is not the only cause of weight issues. Unhealthy eating habits are also a leading factor to today’s high obesity rates. To stay in shape, people should go to the gym three to four times a week.

Patterson said that because students are still young, they do not have to concern themselves with staying fit as much as adults. “(Staying healthy) is a little harder for adults. They have to work harder because their metabolisms are lower,” Patterson said.

“I think that if you start (exercising) earlier (in life), then you’re more likely to get into the routine of it, leaving you less likely to stop working out.”

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: I would like to go to UCLA after going to another year of school in Italy. I will go to Spain or France after graduating here hopefully, and then eventually come back to the United States.

Q: Do you miss home?

A: Kind of, but not really because my family and I stay in touch. We Skype about once a week.

Q: How hard is English to learn?

A: It is a lot different than Italian. It’s not hard, it’s just different. It’s a requirement to take in Italy. I was failing the required English classes two years in a row, but I knew I was going to learn it better once I got here in the United States.

Q: Was it easy blending in at Granite Bay High School?

A: Playing a sport made it easy to make friends. Most of my friends were made through water polo.

Q: What is the biggest difference between Italy and California?

A: The biggest difference is everything is bigger here. The roads, buildings, and cars are a lot smaller in Italy. Also, people here seem friendlier.

Compiled by Ari Black

How to:

Lucid Dream

Gazette illustration/JUSTIN SHIIBA

1. Take mid-day naps frequently to induce a meditative state.

2. Lying down, relax and take a few deep breaths.

3. Keep completely still, resisting the urge to shift or move.

4. Let your body fall into a state of relaxation, keeping your eyelids closed.

5. Keep your mind clear and focused while allowing your body to fall asleep. Continue to relax and stay still.

6. Allow your body to fall into sleep paralysis – where your body is completely asleep but your mind is still alert.

7. Become focused on the dream you are entering. Once aware that you are in a dream, you can do whatever you want!

– Allison Garvey

Gazette illustration/JESSICA REESE

Adjusting to AP classes Learning from grads European history proves rewarding

BY JON SETIAWAN

F

jsetiawan.gazette@gmail.com

or over 200 sophomores at Granite Bay High School, the start of the new semester in January officially marked the halfway point in their first year-long class, Advanced Placement European History.

The class, as one of the first available AP classes a student can take at GBHS, teaches not only European history, but also the skills required in higher level classes during their junior or senior year.

Junior Aaron Suthers, who chose not to take AP European history sophomore year, slightly regrets not doing so now that he is in AP United States History.

“Taking AP Euro would have set me up better for AP classes in general,” Suthers said. “In my harder classes now you need skills of time management, test taking and writing that early AP classes would teach.”

The skills learned in AP Euro are probably one of the factors causing a dramatic increase in students taking the course.

In the previous few years, roughly 190 students signed up for the class. However, this year over 240 are enrolled in the course.

Another factor could be the weighted grade that AP classes offer. Instead of receiving four points for an A, a student would receive five.

“The grade bump is certainly one of the reasons why kids are taking the class,” AP European History teacher Mike Valentine said, “but people know that if they have trouble in the class and get a B, at least they know their grade point is that of an A.” Speaking from the other side, reasons for not taking this class can include the heavier load of assignments involved.

Suthers said that his primary reason for opting out of the AP route sophomore year was due to the fact that he heard from upperclassmen who took the

class that it was a larger workload.

Others argue that the heavier workload is a good reason to take the class.

“I really like the class, it’s a nice challenge and raises the expectations for students to better prepare (them) for college,” AP Euro student Scott Downs said. “It seems that a lot of the kids in our class are harder working, which could be why more people are deciding to sign up this year.”

Valentine notes that a workload that students cannot handle is sure to only deter them from taking future AP classes, which is why he sees the class as a transition.

“The questions that are asked in that class involve higher level thinking, as if they’re trying to mess with our brains,” Downs said.

As much as it is a challenge for students, many consider the payoff to be well worth the work.

“They may not know it yet,” Valentine said, “but we’re taking them down that road of critical thinking skills…I don’t want to burn them out, because the English is just as hard—especially when the classes are blocked together.”

Blocked with AP Euro is a more challenging English 10, which is also a more vigorous course when paired with history.

The blocked English class, however, does not offer a weighted grade boost, but can look good on college applications later on, as the student begins the college search.

Passing the AP test can also be very beneficial to those looking to fulfill credits in college.

“Passing the AP Euro test helped me by fulfilling a few general education credits in most of the schools that I applied to,” Senior Kristi Shinfuku said.

Whether the incentive lies in challenging themselves or credits that can be applied to college, more people are taking AP courses and seem to be satisfied with their choice.

Reflecting on college readiness

BY JESSICA REESE

jreese.gazette@gmail.com

A

n Academic Performance Index (API) score of 845, the International Baccalaureate program and award-winning extracurricular programs – Granite Bay High School has a lot to boast about.

Since its opening in 1996, accolades like these have earned the high school a reputation as one of the best in the area, especially when it comes to college preparation.

The large number and variety of Advanced Placement courses offered, in addition to the IB program, have been an anomaly in the district.

It has earned graduates acceptances to Cornell, Stanford, UCLA and other top universities for those students who make it through the programs.

With numbers and facts on its side, the high school shapes up well to its local competition.

Equally important to consider, however, are the opinions of the school’s graduates.

It is the graduates who have taken all that was offered to them at

GBHS and applied it in their studies at universities across the country – a true test of the school’s abilities when it comes to college preparation.

Overall, the general consensus was that GBHS did its best to prepare its students for college.

According to graduates, though, not all classes at GBHS are created equal.

Morgan Karalash, who graduated from GBHS in ’09, found that “CP classes generally were a bit lackadaisical.”

At University of California San Diego, it was the AP courses she took in high school that served Karalash the best. What made these classes so valuable were their high expectations and demands of the students.

“A student should be forced to come up with an intelligent thoughtdriven paper rather than simple regurgitation,” Karalash said.

In college, where teachers expect “more of the student’s own insight on a topic,” the depth at which the AP classes explored their subjects was especially useful.

See College, page B6

Valentine’s Day is around the corner...

She’d love a subscription to The Gazette

Friday, February 11, 2011

Lifestyle B3

w The Granite Bay Gazette

What it’s like

to be a

Students learn to adapt with the social effects of wearing braces while in high school

BY ARI BLACK

aublack.gazette@gmail.com

T

he movies portray high school as a place where students are shoved in lockers daily, cliques disperse into their corners of the lunch room to judge, and scandalous rumors fly around the student body, ruining the reputations of their victims. This is the bird’s eye view of high school.

On top of the pressures of maintaining grades and a social life, students must deal with self image issues that are put on by the daily pressure of classmates and peers.

A common dreaded feature of adolescence today is the increasing rate of high school students with braces. A physical burden that was once popular in the middle school setting has slithered its way into the halls of Granite Bay High School.

Although some students are self conscious about their braces, junior Steven Fender does not mind his.

“Having braces in high school isn’t that bad, but I wish I had them in middle school instead.”

Fender does not feel pressure on his self image because of his braces.

“I don’t feel judged in high school for having braces because it’s now overlooked since everyone has worn them at some point.”

Although Fender does not feel insecure,

he acknowledges that it is a major prob“The media makes lem at GBHS. it seem like you can “I think people are so insecure about only be successful if how they look because everyone makes you have the looks.” judgments within the first five seconds of Local orthodontist Dr. meeting someone based mostly on their Russel A. Sutliff notices the physical appearance.” physical improvement of braces Although the numbers have increased, over the years as they become more Fender does not common in every believe braces are age. the main concern for “Besides the famstudents at GBHS. ily’s desire for the If people judge “I think people are highest degree of me just because more concerned about dental health and their weight than anyfacial esthetics, braces I have braces, I thing else.” themselves have shouldn’t associSophomore Carly evolved into smaller, Flajole holds simimore attractive apate myself with lar opinions on the pliances in the eye of them anyway. matter. She believes the beholder and the her braces serve as a orthodontist.” gateway to long term Dr. Sutliff acknowl– Carly Flajole, happiness. edges the broadened sophomore “I feel that it doesn’t age range for older really matter because students receiving my teeth will look betbraces. ter in the long run.”

“As all high school Flajole does not feel students know, the primore judged, either. mary teeth are lost and replaced in stages “If people judge me just because I have beginning early in grade school. Develbraces, I shouldn’t associate myself with oping orthodontic conditions may be best them anyway.” treated during this early transition while Flajole believes that the media is the some on-going conditions may be best main cause of insecurities for high school alone until all of the primary teeth have students. been replaced, hence treatment in middle

If you really knew me,

you would know...

A lot of people didn’t know I (have acted before) – I was on two TV shows: E.R. and iCarly. I started acting when I was 10 years old, and I moved to Los Angeles (and) got a manager. (In iCarly,) I was in the Tech-foot episode and I just walked in and said two lines and walked out – I was one of the Emily Gonsalves students. In E.R. I played Ruby, and I was in two episodes of that. It was a really interesting storyline; it was during one of the winter seasons and we were homeless kids that lived under a cellar. When I did E.R., I met John Stamos and the whole E.R. cast and ate lunch with them, as well as Miranda Cosgrove and the iCarly cast and I met Corbin Bleu at a bowling alley.

I have this obsession with tattoos on people’s necks. I like tattoos that tell a story, that have a purpose to it. I don’t think I (will get one) because I’m too much of a baby and I hate needles, but I want to get a dream catcher on (the back of my arm) above my elbow. I want the beads to say my mom’s name, my dad’s name, my sister’s name Justin Bradley and my nephew’s name and then I want the beads in the dream catcher to be hearts.

I’ve been wanting it forever, since like seventh grade.

When I was 9, I wanted my cartilage pierced, so I had my sister who was 17 at the time pierce it for me.

It got infected and I had to go to the doctor, and my family got in big trouble because the doctors thought my parents let me do it. My sister did it with a safety needle, and it’s fine now.

I volunteered over 300something hours (last summer) over at the libraries in Roseville, and I’ve gotten to know the library staff so well that they know me by name and I know them by name, and their life stories. We’ve had so many functions, like the Literature Festival, where over 1,000 Stephanie Gascon authors came and I got to talk to them – people that have published real books. I (also) got to meet the mayor and I know him on a personal basis, and this wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t volunteer. I got to meet so many adults and get to know their perspective on life.

I’ve been to three high schools – two different ones freshman year, one in Southern California and one in Texas – and it was strange. It was a different state, no family there; I had to start freshman year all over again. Then I came to (GBHS) sophomore year. It’s been a privilege to have met so many different people.

- Compiled by Alison Sale

or Gazette illustration/JESSICA REESE high school,” Sutliff said.

Dr. Sutliff also has noticed the improvement of technology for braces and teeth care, shortening the time that an individual will wear braces.

“Memory wires, bracket fabrication techniques, and light force orthodontics are amazingly effective. Hence, we now expect to see reduced treatment times compared to “old fashioned” braces. It is not uncommon to finish cases 6 to 9 months sooner than several years ago.”

Not only is the technology increasing, but also the amount of high students wearing braces today.

“Interestingly, we are seeing many more adults in treatment than ever before, but the predominant age range for orthodontics is 11 through 15 years of age.”

Although orthodontists can be viewed as unfair by children as they have braces put on, Dr. Sutliff explains the reasoning

behind why they do what they do.

“A patient’s treatment is his or hers, not the orthodontist’s. The braces are not on his teeth. The orthodontist wants to treat the patient in the fewest appointments and the shortest time frame that will result in a quality end product.”

The aftermath for braces proves that the long journey is worth it.

Sophomore Emily Rocha now has her braces off after wearing them for three years.

“It was a big relief to get them off. Less than half of my friends have braces now, but almost all of them had braces freshman year.”

Rocha now reflects on the time that she dreaded her appearance with braces.

“In general, I just didn’t think they looked good. I wanted to get them off; I was ready to get them off all the time,” Rocha said.

Now she smiles with a mouth full of sparkling, white teeth.

When broken down by Doctor Sutliff, the concept of braces begins to not look as dreadful as the original viewpoint for the beholder.

“Braces take quality participation from

Students face age restrictions

Products are banned from purchase by underage teens

BY GARY NIELSEN

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.com

T

eenagers count down the days until their 18th birthday and the freedoms that come with it.

But most teenagers don’t include purchasing Sharpies and White-Out on that list of new-found responsibilities.

Believe it or not, popular corporate policy is to refuse sale of Sharpies and White-Out to anyone under the age of 18.

This poses a particular problem to students trying to buy school supplies on their own.

The reason behind this restriction is that children may “huff” the fumes to get high. Many corporations put age restrictions on their product to avoid being linked to minors engaging in this activity.

Moreover, the hope is that by making these products harder to obtain by minors they will be abused less.

“It’s kind of overkill… there are other things (students) can inhale. Your garage at home is probably full of stuff,” Resource Officer Joe Herrick said.

This limitation can be particularly irritating for GBHS students trying to get ready for school or even just running errands for a parent.

Over the summer, senior Nik Reeves helped out his mom at his parent’s law office. One day Reeves’ mother’s secretary was absent, so Reeves’ mom asked him to go buy White-Out for her while she worked.

“I walked up (to the counter) with three things of White-out,” he said, “the lady gave me a weird look and said, ‘You can’t buy that unless you’re 18.’ I

had to go back and get my mom, then drag her to the store to buy White-out.”

The store clerks were embarrassed when they came back and actually gave them an additional pack of White-Out for free. Despite this kind gesture Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS Reeves still thinks the age limit is Sharpies, White-Out and spray paint are among popular household absurd. items that are frequently abused by teenagers to get high.

“I think it’s In reality, these restrictions might not have any ef(freaking) ridicufect on the frequency of substance abuse. lous,” Reeves said. “Let’s be real – if someone “There are always going to be other substances… wanted to get high, why would they buy WhiteThings are just available,” Officer Herrick said.

Out.” In addition, often age restriction protocol just isn’t Although “huffing” might not be considered as enforced. dangerous as other drugs, it can have serious con“The happiest day of my life was when I bought sequences. spray paint from Home Depot and they didn’t ask “One of the first deaths I ever responded to was for my age,” senior Austin Sewell, age 16, said. a 14 year old kid who decided to inhale brake The biggest effect it has on GBHS students, it cleaner,” Officer Herrick said. “He stuck a bag seems, is irritation. over his face… and passed out… He (eventually) “I don’t like (the law). It’s stuff you need for suffocated.” school,” senior Ryan Marakas said.

Allegedly, the young man tried this after kids at Upon hearing about these restrictions, AP Govschool told him it was fun. ernment teacher Jarrod Westberg said, “You’ve got It seems the companies that make Sharpie and to be kidding me. That is ridiculous.”

White-Out would like to avoid association with these activities.

Offering her helping hand in El Salvador

Chelsea Willett recently traveled abroad to make a difference through the Peace Corps

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

F

ormer Granite Bay area resident Chelsea Willett sat crying in her college advisor’s office her senior year as an undergraduate student at California State University, Chico. Willett was overwhelmed because she was at a crossroads, with the choice of three possible futures; either take the LSATs, enroll in a Masters program, or join the Peace Corps.

“My advisor said ‘Do now what you can’t do later,’” Willett said. So shortly thereafter, Willett joined the Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps is a federal government agency that sends volunteers into underdeveloped areas of the globe to improve the lives of those who live there. The goal is for the volunteers to teach their assigned town about the United States, then in turn inform the people of the United States about the culture of the country where they served. These volunteers commit to the program for a mini-

mum of two years and sometimes are American country. not given an assignment for over a So when Willett got a phone call year after they apply. and was told she would be volunteerUnlike other similar organizations, ing in Africa, she was more than a bit the Peace Corps has volunteers go confused. She called up the agency to through one year inquire about their of integration reasoning. once they have A few phone I want them to reached their calls later, Willett community, as was speaking with see a person like well as an extenone of the agency’s them from here sive training prodirectors and manand say, ‘That’s gram before they aged to get her apleave. Applicants plication put back cool, I could do do not choose into the grab bag. that.’ their destination, Months went and can be sent by, and then she anywhere around eventually got – Abram Ditman, the world –althe call she had Spanish teacher though most end been waiting for: up in Africa or she was going to South America.

South America, the While Wiltiny country of El lett did not know where she would Salvador to be exact. be sent, she did speak Spanish and “I was jumping up and down in had traveled to Ecuador in the past; my kitchen because I was so happy,” which made her the perfect candidate Willett said. “And then I had to check to serve in a Spanish-speaking South to see where El Salvador was on a

map.”

The small, yet densely populated country of El Salvador is wedged between Honduras and Guatemala on the Pacific Ocean. It is known for its modern capital city relative to the other countries of Central America, and also for its violent gangs.

“If no one went because it was scary, then it would be worse,” Willett said.

While in El Salvador, Willett learned that volunteers from other countries help lower crime levels, specifically crimes involving transportation.

“They say (volunteers) keep buses safer in a way, because if (gang members) are planning on committing a crime, they don’t,” Willett said.

“They are smart. They know you don’t mess with the gringos because then you alert the international community.”

In the modern world, Peace Corps volunteers are not completely isolated See WILLETT, page B7

B4 Lifestyle

Friday, February 11, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

TOP TEN WAYS TO RUIN a vALENTINE’S DAY date

10

Show up with no reservations at a popular restaurant

A glance at future high school students

9

Attempt to cook a meal

8

Wait until the last minute to buy gifts, or don’t buy any

7

Start a food fight, hoping to be appreciated for spontaneity

6

Have few different activities planned

5

Get food poisoning

4

Don’t dress appropriately for where you’re going

Gazette photo /SAMANTHA SPARGO

Second grade students of Greenhills Elementary school during “Sing,” above, little girl scoots closer around a shy boy, bottom left, elementary kid reads, bottom right.

3

2

Be self absorbed and monopolize the conversation

1

Give flowers that your date is allergic to

By Allison Garvey

sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

M

eet the students of Nancy Bolyard and Karen Kuntz’s second grade class in the Eureka Union School District, also known as future members of the Class of 2021.

I traveled across Douglas Boulevard over to Greenhills Elementary School to meet Bolyard/Kuntz’s second grade class, and walked into their classroom just as the recess bell rang them into their seats. They all gaped curiously from behind their desks at - gasp - a teenager.

At first, my attempts to talk to the kids were met with only mumbles and a few apprehensive nods, but they eventually warmed up to my presence.

When I asked, none of the second graders would tell me what they thought of high school students. A brave little girl eventually blurted out that she thought they were “cool;” it was obvious that they felt the same by the way her classmates watched and scampered after me.

As a guest, I was privileged to watch the second grade “Sing,” an event that happens every week at Greenhills. Each grade level comes together to sing songs that revolve around a certain theme or event, the most recent week’s being Valentine’s Day. During “Sing,” I watched one little girl ceaselessly try to scoot closer to and put her arm around her neighbor, a shy little boy in her class, who was futilely resisting. Who knows, maybe in ten years she will be his date to Senior Ball.

The “Sings” are like GBHS’s rallies, the only difference being that everyone participates, and I mean everyone – no self-conscious teenagers mouthing silently or pretending to look bored in sight.

The voice of a second grader is so sweet and innocent it is impossible not to feel the urge to sing along with them. I may have joined in once or twice.

I couldn’t help but imagine and laugh at how differently the songs would have sounded if the post pubescent boys of the senior class joined them.

Most of the second grade students know very little about everyday high school life, but they do know that the scholastic part will be more challenging.

“Homework might be a little harder (in high school),” second grader Grant Whitney said.

Second grader Lauren Lund shared that she is assigned twenty minutes, or less, worth of homework on a nightly basis, and spends most of her after school time playing. As many collegebound high school students would attest, the days of twenty or less minutes of homework and free time are long over.

From a second grader’s perspective, the greatest challenge of all will be having less time for play during school hours.

“You wouldn’t be having recess on a playground or anything like that,” second grader Jordyn Pauser said.

Exactly right, unless a ten minute passing period can be counted as playtime.

“I think it might be different because I (won’t be) a kid anymore,” second grader Caitlin Jensen said.

The psychological and physical changes that go hand in hand with the maturation from second to twelfth grade are the most striking differences between these two age groups.

But apart from this variation, second graders and twelfth graders aren’t all that different. Ironically, most would love to be in the other class’ shoes.

Second graders can’t wait to grow up, and seniors would love to be able to return to the freedom of childhood.

When I asked the second graders what they wanted to be when they grow up, like many seniors, most didn’t have an answer.

Though nearly all of the second grade class doesn’t know where their future will take them, Kuntz assures that they can look forward to a lot.

“I see them being really successful academically… this class really is very bright,” Kuntz said. “And I see a lot of really empathetic children… and I think that’s something that will carry on through their life.”

At the end of my visit, an appreciative little girl who I had probably spoken to for a mere five minutes, sheepishly walked over and presented me with a note she had written. In bright pink highlighter and scraggly second grade script, she thanked me personally for coming to her class that day. If this little girl is any representation of the generations yet to wander the halls of GBHS, the future is looking bright.

Two cultures in one Granite Bay home Being bilingual at home brings unexpected benefits that help in high school academics

BY SONIA IYER

Bring up your exes and how great they were

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO

F

siyer.gazette@gmail.com

or a large portion of Granite Bay High School students, means of communication is simple: English twenty four-seven.

Many students, however, return home each day to communicate in an entirely different way – through their family’s native language.

Bilingualism is not an uncommon trait at GBHS. Japanese, Rus-

sian and Spanish are only a few of the languages apparent on campus.

For freshman Masashi Yamamoto, who was born in Japan, being bilingual has been a necessity since before he can remember.

“I have to know both because… my dad got his job transferred to America when I was (two) years old,” Yamamoto said.

He then returned to Japan in the second grade, and came to America for the second time in the

sixth grade.

Because of these dramatic changes, Yamamoto had to attempt to master both English and Japanese, but has found some difficulty.

“I can’t speak (English) fluently,” he said. “Sometimes I know how to say something in Japanese, but I don’t know (how to) in English.”

In addition, speaking Japanese primarily at home has resulted in a

Speech and debate team begins early Program created in local middle schools for opportunities to gain experience

BY KYLE PAWLAK

kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

L

ast school year, Granite Bay High School debate teacher Rita Prichard started a junior high school debate team with the assistance of freshman Reed Klaeser.

The team, which started as a group of eight students, has expanded to include students from both Cavitt Junior High and Olympus Junior High.

“I had a parent of a middle school student… Reed Klaeser’s mother… (who) wanted (him) to do some competing,”

Prichard said, “so (he) asked if he could come over and watch the high school team.”

While working with and watching the high school team, Klaeser impressed some of the team members, and an opportunity arose for Klaeser to compete.

“I was doing research on some of the things we were working on… and I saw the Junior National Forensic League, and it’s for middle schoolers,” Prichard said.

When this happened, Prichard immediately asked Klaeser if he would be interested in competing.

“I did some research, and we found out that we needed three people to make a team,” Prichard said, “so I said Reed, ‘do

difference in culture.

“It’s like Japan in my home and then America at school,” Yamamoto said.

This mixture of cultures often comes with knowing two different languages because of the large role language plays in one’s perspective.

Having spoken primarily Russian at home for her entire life, senior Caryn Zagaynov sees bilingualism as having a door opened to an entirely different world.

“Even though I wasn’t born in Russia, I feel like I’m straddling two worlds – I can be Russian or American,” Zagaynov said.

“Knowing both languages allows me to understand both cultures and mentalities.”

This can actually be an advantage in academics, such as history.

“Learning about the Cold War, some students can’t understand why the Russians did what they did or what they were thinking,” Zagaynov said. “But I have a bigger perspective and can understand the behavior both ways.”

History is not the only class that allows bilingual students to exploit their linguistic abilities for an advantage.

See BILINGUAL, page B7

you have any friends that would want to do “There were two teams that had been in this?’” (the league) for years, and only two teams Klaeser recruited a team of eight, five of were able to go to nationals,” Prichard said. whom are now on the high school debate “(The three students) we call the ‘Olympusteam as freshmen.

Cavitt team’ went to “I don’t usually have nationals, so we won very many freshmen, one of the top two because they usually take spots in the league.” ... the ‘Olympusthe beginning speech The effects of the Cavitt team’ went class first, but I jumped middle school team them right onto the team encompass more than to nationals, so we because they already had just lending students won one of the top competition experience,” extra experience; it two spots in the Prichard said. gives an advantage This year the middle in getting on the high league. school program is being school team. continued, with many “We had fifty kids of the participants being on the team this year, – Rita Prichard, Speech friends or relatives who which is too large. We and Debate coach have heard about the team are heading toward a from the original memtime where it will be bers. very competitive to “We ended up with get on the team, and a good sized team… maybe fifteen to (being on the junior high team) is certainly twenty,” Prichard said. a way to get on early,” Prichard said.

Prichard was extremely pleased with the Klaeser and Prichard were one of the drivsuccess of the middle school team, especial- ing forces in the creation of the team. ly considering that they’re relatively new compared to some of its competitors.

See DEBATE, page B7

Friday, February 11, 2011

got S T A N F O R D ?

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Lifestyle B5

A

t evBY KELSEY KNORP ery high school, kknorp.gazette@gmail.com there is an “upper echelon,” those admirable few whose only downtime must be scheduled amongst their various activities. Four of these students from Granite Bay High School’s class of 2011 have been deemed acceptable by California’s prevailing cultivator of excellence, Stanford University.

Senior Stacey Wong dedicated her high school years to a range of extracurricular activities, including speech and debate, tennis (both in which she achieved the title of captain), American River Colleges’ jazz ensemble, Grants Advisory Board for Youth and National Charity League.

“I would be lying if I said I loved going to practice all the time,” Wong said, “[but] you never want to look back and say, ‘I wish I did something more.’”

Despite her hectic schedule, Wong managed to maintain a 4.5 GPA and take advantage of as many of GBHS’s Honors/AP classes as possible.

Of course, balancing all these obligations was no easy feat, and Wong spent her junior year staying up until one or two ‘o clock in the morning each night. While many of her classmates relaxed on Saturdays and Sundays, hers were spent keeping up with schoolwork, as well as attending tournaments for speech and debate, her passion.

“You have to make sure your extracurriculars are meaningful ones that you can distinguish yourself in,” Wong said. “For me, it was speech and debate.”

Jade Huang also understands the importance of finding a passion during her high school career. She has dedicated much of her life to studying, performing, and competing piano.

Huang spent her sophomore and junior years participating in marching band, as well as working in piano trios and a piano-cello duo while still upholding a 4.4 GPA. Her weekends and summers were dedicated to music festivals and other means of furthering her musical education.

She advises younger students to find something they love as much as she loves music.

“Flirt with different activities,” Huang said. “Make yourself available to opportunities.”

The same opportunities that Huang was able to find through music, others found through athletics.

Katie Zingheim is an active pole vaulter who approached 3 universities with her ambition to participate in college track. These schools were Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, and University of California at Los Angeles.

Zingheim worked throughout high school to become a prime candidate for recruiting. She currently holds a 13 foot personal record and is tied for the third place national ranking.

Stanford, unlike other schools, doesn’t have what Zingheim calls “gimme spots,” spots reserved for athletes that meet athletic standards but not academic ones. This means even though she qualified for Stanford’s athletic program, she still had to have her application accepted, which it was due to her 4.2 GPA and extracurriculars such as journalism.

“I’ve just learned to be efficient [with school],” Zingheim said.

Matt Kasner, starting tight end for GBHS’s football team, seems to defy the “dumb jock” stereotype by also earning his Stanford acceptance based on academics.

Throughout high school, Kasner balanced rigorous Honors/AP classes as well as football, basketball and volunteer work.

He maintained his GPA and athletic records such as an average of 17 yards per pass and a total of 10 touchdowns for the 2010 season, the season’s highest total for receiving touchdowns.

“I’ve missed a couple episodes of Desperate Housewives due to lateSee STANFORD, page B6

Senior class offers advice for underclassmen What they wish they would have known freshman year

BY ALEX PINK

apink.gazette@gmail.com

I

nvest in some reading glasses for Brandon Dell’Orto’s quizzes, never miss a chance to go to a Grizzly football game and arrive to school around 7:10 a.m. for the most legit parking spot.

“Those are definitely some things I wish I had known when starting my freshman year, and I probably would’ve been more successful,” senior Alex Fidler said.

The seniors in the class of 2011, who have completed just over half of their final year at Granite Bay High School, are beginning to reflect on their past four

years on campus.

What do they wish they knew as they walked through the green gates of GBHS their freshman year? What’s some advice they have for current and future upperclassmen?

Grades, school involvement and even parking-spot issues are all some things these seniors wish they had on their mind when starting their high school career.

“I wish I would’ve known freshman grades count,” senior Drake Smalley said.

“I believed the rumor that colleges don’t pay attention to your freshman grades.”

Others agreed that grades are an important aspect of high school in order to be prepared for the future.

The

“Freshmen should think about college early because certain schools require specific grades … so you need to start early,” senior Allie Burger said.

However, coming to high school and not slaving to the studies of school and constantly worrying about grades has been seen as a better route for some people.

“Getting involved and gaining experience is important … then you have those high school memories forever,” senior Joey McIntosh said.

“I wish I knew to get involved more because it’s … enjoyable and you meet a lot of cool people” senior Casey McConnen added.

CollegeBoard SAT

un- Official SAT practice guide

Match the words in the first column with the definitions in the second column. Each chalkboard is its own separate game. Answers can be found on B7. - Compiled by Katie Bostedt

Chalkboard 2

Chalkboard 1 1. Assiduous 2. Deleterious 3. Misconstrue 4. Rampant 5. Resplendent 6. Magnanimous

a. Brilliant; shining brilliantly b. Persevering; hardworking c. Unrestrained

7. Hackneyed

d. Greathearted, generous e. Harmful

10. Beguile 11. Superfluous

i. Excessive; more than enough j. Sneakiness; deceit; deliberate deception k. Lacking originality

f. Misunderstand; interpret incorrectly

12. Garrulous

l. To deceive by charm

8. Innocuous 9. Duplicity

g. Not harmful or offensive h. Talkative; chatty

Source: http://www.satvocab.com

Some seniors were fortunate enough to find a balance between the stress of school and social time.

“I was able to balance (the International Baccalaureate program) and a sport by giving myself time for social time and not strictly focusing on just school,” senior Ben Steiner said.

“Focusing on the one extra-curricular activity I loved saved me from being overloaded,” McIntosh added.

Senior Erin Pellerin even learned a life lesson in her short three-plus years on campus.

“I learned a valuable lesson of not (becoming) friends with people who won’t be there for you in the end,” Pellerin said.

Other soon-to-be graduates shared some of their own personal advice to help younger students be successful at GBHS.

“Park wherever in the parking lot … because no one really cares,” McConnen said. “And know that the way teachers perceive you can affect your grade.”

“Stay true to yourself and don’t sway away from what you believe, and everything will be fine,” Burger added.

Focusing on school, finding a niche, making the right friends, and staying yourself are all different pieces of advice unleashed by these current seniors.

But if there is one thing to live high school by, in McIntosh’s words, it is to just go with the flow and have a good time.

“The best piece of advice I could give someone? It’d be to just have fun,” he said. “Find the thing you love, and just excel in that.”

TEACHERS: Exciting activities keep GBHS students engaged Continued from page B1 “I try to add humor wherever I can…which makes it more interesting for [students],” Dell’Orto said. “I talk in different, really bad accents; I’ll wear a hat sometimes– all kinds of different things.”

One of Dell’Orto’s most popular tricks is the use of Sniglets.

“Sniglets,” Dell’Orto said, “are words that should be in the dictionary that aren’t.”

His favorite sniglet is the

word “destinesia,” the act of forgetting why you were intending to go somewhere when you get there.

“If kids aren’t engaged, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. If they’re not in it with you, then you’ve completely lost them,” Dell’Orto said.

“You just have to try to be so constantly energetically demanding that they have to focus on whatever you’re trying to focus them on.”

www.granitebaygazette.com

B6 Lifestyle

Friday, February 11, 2010

Random facts

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Random club of the month

A list of facts you will never need to know but always find interesting

Campus Connections

One of 2,100 GBHS students is randomly selected every issue

Co-president Alex Towne What is the purpose of Campus Connections?

Thomas Jefferson invented the coat hanger

Our goal is to improve the high school campus by creating a harassment-free environment where all students are treated well and everyone has an equal chance to succeed.

It’s not possible to tickle yourself Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are all of the same sex

What methods does Point Break use to connect to students?

2nd street is the most common street in the United States; First street is the 6th most common

Point Break takes a large group of students through several small activities, and it gets everyone to lower their guard and become more comfortable with each other. Throughout the entire event, students become a lot closer with their classmates and they are more willing to open up to them and ask for help if they have problems.

Why do you think students should get involved in Point Break?

Cleveland, OH is home to the first electric traffic lights One lump of sugar is equal to three feet of sugar cane All scorpions glow in the dark The archer fish can spit water up to 7 feet to shot down bugs from overhanging trees A pelican can hold more food in its beak than in its stomach Honeybees have hair on their eyes A cat has 32 muscles in its ears The only joint-less bone in your body is your throat Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees.

Maine is the only one-syllable state name.

Source: http://www.snapple.com/retired-facts/

Jessica Taylor, sophomore Gazette photo /Rachael VaSQUEZ

The Gazette: Do you put your right or left leg in first when putting on pants?

I put my left foot in first.

If you could hold a world record for anything in the world what would it be?

I would like to hold the record for the longest hours awake.

If you could marry any one of the GBHS teachers who would it be and why?

Mr. Dell’ Orto because he is very entertaining.

If you could invent a new color what would it be called?

Perklecue.

–compiled by Justin Shiiba

What famous actor would play you in a movie of your life?

Snooki because she’s an interesting person.

If you were a rapper what would be your rapper name?

Momo.

I think students should get involved in Point Break because it really improves the campus. Any kind of hazing or harassment, cliques or other harmful barriers are broken at this event because people understand each other better.

Besides the Point Break event, what does the club do at meetings?

We try to integrate new people into the club by introducing each other and becoming friends. One event we’ve done is the Jingle Walk – we walked around caroling to houses with bells and raise money that way.

How often does the club meet?

We meet on the first Wednesday of every month.

–compiled by Justin Shiiba

–compiled by Sonia Iyer

STANFORD: Frosh admits balance academics with extra curriculars Continued from page B5

night studying on a Sunday,” Kasner said of his jam-packed schedule, “but never anything important.”

Unwilling to abandon his love of football, Kasner contacted a recruiting coach at Stanford hoping to play for the school.

“When I was accepted I was elated,” Kasner said. “Football is a game I have grown up loving [that] I would love to

play at the next level.”

GBHS counselor Walt Wild believes the combination of these students’ work ethics with the number of academic opportunities offered at GBHS was a major factor in the high number of Stanford acceptances, which doubled from the usual one or two.

“What a school like Granite Bay does, because it’s so focused on academics,” Wild said, “is allow academic students to

COLLEGE: AP classes help students prepare Continued from page B2 Jordan Caines, ’10 graduate, also took AP classes during his time at GBHS. In addition to these classes, he participated in the IB program. Now at Cornell University, he has found that the IB classes are a great help in college, due to the rigors of the program.

Of all the classes he took at GBHS, the one that stood out most clearly in Caines’ mind is IB history with Brandon Dell’Orto.

Robert Thyberg, who graduated alongside Caines in ‘10 and is currently at UCSC, also took one of Dell’Orto’s classes: AP U.S. history.

Similarly, it is this class that had the most impact on him.

In both classes, Dell’Orto applied the same technique – reading assignments nightly, classes consisting solely of lectures and the occasional essay or test. This, according to Caine and Thyberg, is similar to the structure of most college courses. “(Dell’Orto) taught us much more than simple facts from a text book,” Caine said. “It wasn’t about memorizing meaningless facts but about understanding the true material that was to be taught.”

The significant amount of reading in the class proved to be beneficial for Thyberg.

“AP U.S. taught me valuable study skills, like how to speed read if you (have to) cram, and how to extract the information from long, unexciting texts.”

Being able to pull information from

texts is an extremely important skill in college, as ’10 graduate Jordan Saylor, currently a freshman at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo pointed out.

“I spend at least thirty hours a week studying and reading textbooks,” Saylor said. “You have to force yourself to read hundreds of pages from textbooks and keep up with it.”

If one fails to stay on top of their reading and falls behind, the teacher will not be there to help the student get back up. “(The teachers) don’t really care whether you pass or fail, they expect you to know all the (material) already and to be prepared to work hard and do your work,” Lauren Weinberg, ’09, said.

Coming from GBHS, this was, across the board, one of the biggest changes graduates experienced when transitioning to college.

The best way to prepare for this is, as stated by Weinberg, not to procrastinate.

“All the work really creeps up on you fast, and the assignments are more intense than they are in high school,” Weinberg said. “They’re worth a lot more, they grade harder.”

Other advice from graduates includes taking as many AP courses as possible (especially government in Saylor’s opinion) and learning the various ways to cite sources in essays.

“And seriously – enjoy home cooked meals,” Saylor added, “(because) you’re going to miss them as soon as you leave.”

get a foot in the door [at elite schools].”

When it comes to questions of actual attendance, all are sure but Huang, who is considering a double major of computer science and music at east coast schools such as New England Conservatory, Juilliard School, Harvard University and Yale University.

“I was considering other schools for a while,” Kasner said, “[but] I thought about it and there is no other school I

would want to go to more than Stanford.”

Wong is of a similar mindset. As soon as she received word of her acceptance, she withdrew applications from Harvard and Georgetown University, as well as other schools. She didn’t want to take a spot from someone as adamant about attending one of these schools as she is about going to Stanford.

Zingheim verbally committed to Stanford, then signed a commitment with them

on February 3.

“If I could go back and change anything, I would change absolutely nothing,” Wong said.

Perhaps what most sets these students apart is the mindset that their full potential is never reached, that there is always something better to be achieved.

“I want to forever be becoming more than I am at the present moment,” Huang said.

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Friday, February 11, 2010

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Lifestyle

B7

VOLUNTEERS: Money from coffee shop goes to help stop sex trafficking Continued from page B1

stands out because of its high ceilings and lots of indoor seating.

“It’s relaxed,” Bates said. “When taught about the sex trafficking you compare it to Starbucks, industry as well as coffee-making where everyone has their own tricks of the trade. crazy order, it’s a Already, lot more casual.”

Origin is To construct the being herbuilding, Origin alded as a In a society shied away from success. where everything traditional fundThe grand raising in favor of opening is about money, a more personal featured it’s just cool that word-of-mouth a packed approach based house and they’re around the comlive music munity, which from lovolunteering their Salstrom says has cal artist time. banded together Josiah behind Origin.

James.

– Meghan Bates, “Instead of fundMeghan Rocklin sophomore raising,” Salstrom Bates, a says, “we looked sophomore for a carpenter at Rockor an electrician lin High willing to do the work at cost or School, says she heard about the for cheap.” coffee shop on Facebook and was eager to see what the buzz was all Origin is reaching out to the about. She has become a regular community on Facebook and customer.

Twitter and hopes to integrate “In a society where everything itself even further into the neighis about money,” Bates says, “it’s borhood. cool that they’re just volunteering “We’re personally invested,” their time.”

Alias says. “Girls’ lives are at In an industry often characterstake, so I do my job to the best of ized by tight spaces and close my ability.” quarters, Origin’s architecture

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Origin has tried to get information about the shop into the public, using both word of mouth and technology such as Facebook and Twitter. They have also tried to create an atmosphere different than other coffee shops through the open architecture and music.

BILINGUAL: Students grow up in homes where the main language isn’t English Continued from page B4 Being able to understand two languages can aid in learning a third one, an advantage many GBHS students would like for foreign language classes.

“In Spanish (class) it can be hard to understand in what situations you would use a certain word or why you have to say things a certain way,” Zagaynov said.

“But I have experience with Russian so

College of the Month: Santa Clara University

VE R

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Who: 5,200 undergraduate students and 5,650 graduate and professional students Where: Santa Clara, California in the middle of the Silicon Valley and adjacent to San Jose Tuition and Fee Cost: $37,368 Acceptance Rate: 59% U.S. News Ranking: Not ranked Athletics: The Santa Clara Broncos wSCU has 19 varsity teams as well as 18 club teams. wThe football team was discontinued in 1993 after equal funding for male and female sports was required, which allowed for other sports such as baseball, soccer and volleyball to take the spotlight.

Mascot: w Bucky the Bronco, a grey untrained horse is the official mascot of SCU. Academics: wSanta Clara has six different academic programs, located in either Santa Clara, CA or Berkely, CA. wSanta Clara offers more than 45 undergraduate majors in arts, sciences, business and engineering, as well as many other interdisciplinary majors, minors, and special programs.

Fun Facts: wSanta Clara was originally an old mission. Cattle used to roam on the mission’s lands. wIn order to differentiate between the University of Southern California and the University of Santa Clara, the university changed its name to Santa Clara University in 1985. wFamous athletes from Santa Clara include former womens’ soccer player Brandi Chastain, Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Phoenix Suns basketball player Steve Nash and Boston Red Sox baseball player Daniel Nava.

I know how to adapt myself to different languages and word meanings.”

Similarly, senior Stephayne Gascon has experienced a benefit from her fluency in Spanish in her classes.

Having learnt about the MexicanAmerican War in history class last year, she attributes her greater understanding of the Spanish mindset to her ability to speak the language.

However, possibly an even greater benefit to Gascon is having the edge in the

job market. “(Some) places I’ve volunteered for have offered me jobs partly because I can communicate with Spanish-speaking individuals,” Gascon said. “The Spanish population is growing in California especially, so they need someone who can speak it fluently.”

In fact, recognizing how much Spanish helps her in the job market has encouraged Gascon to learn Chinese as well.

Like Zagaynov, Gascon also embraces

the fact that another language is the door to another culture and lifestyle.

“Language comprises everything of an individual,” Gascon said. “With another language you know two worlds at once.”

With all of these benefits, bilingualism is really something that students with this special ability should use to their advantage.

The only possible threat lies in neglecting one language by not practicing it enough.

DEBATE: Student starts a middle school debate program Continued from page B4

Klaeser felt that his middle school debate experience had prepared him for the high school level.

“This year I have done really well. I went 4-0 in the first tournament,” Klaeser said.

In addition, debating in middle school helped Klaeser integrate into the team quicker.

“The first day I came in, I already knew people. I knew Mrs. Prichard and had already been accepted on the team without taking the preparatory class,” Klaeser said.

However, debating in high school has come with its own challenges such as adapting to different types of debate.

“In high school I debate ‘Lincoln- Douglass,’ which is when I debate by myself, but in middle school we debated

in a more parliamentary form or public forum,” Klaeser said.

In addition, Klaeser noticed a higher level of competition between high school and middle school debate.

Paul Zeiss, a student at Cavitt who is currently on the middle school debate team, also has a positive outlook on the program.

“I really like the program.

Mrs. Prichard does a really

good job and it showed me that the people that the juniors and seniors are more experienced speakers and are really talented at what they do,” Zeiss said.

Similarly to Klaeser and Prichard, Zeiss felt that the team will have success in the future.

As Zeiss said, “The competition is really tough, because other schools had actual

Reed Klaeser Freshman started a middle school debate team with speech and debate coach Rita Prichard

speech and debate classes… but considering that we didn’t, (we) did pretty well.”

WILLETT: Students connect with Peace Corps volunteer Continued from page B3

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from their families during their two years of service as were their predecessors. Willett calls and video chats with her mother through Skype almost on a daily basis.

A fellow Peace Corps volunteer and friend of Willett’s, who was sent to Africa, was able to use the Internet on her phone to check her email and update her Facebook account.

New technologies and programs have also given high school classes the opportunity to connect with Peace Corps volunteers in the field.

Abram Ditman, a Spanish teacher at GBHS, learned about the possibility of partnering with a Peace Corps volunteer from another language teacher in the Roseville Joint Union High School District, Nicole Naditz. Naditz had successfully maintained a connection, via Skype, with a Peace Corps worker volunteering in Africa.

In the hopes of having similar success, while at a conference in San Diego last year Ditman signed up his Honors and AP Spanish block class to be correspondents with a Peace Corps volunteer through Coverdell World Wise Schools, a program run by the Peace Corps.

The fates aligned and Ditman was matched with a Granite Bay area local, Willett.

Not long after, Ditman first introduced Willett and the program to the students of last year’s AP Spanish 5 class, during the early stages of her service.

This year, his Honors Spanish 4/AP Spanish 5 class spent three days in the Skype laboratory in GBHS’s

college and career center speaking with Willett, who is to the United States for two weeks, reunited with her family and friends, and met up with a few of Ditman’s currently in El Salvador, about the numerous programs students. that she has started in her small town.

Senior Courtney Dale, Ditman’s Teacher Intern for Most of Willett’s programs are focused around the fall semester and a student of the AP Spanish 5 women and youth development: creating opportunities class that originally contacted Willett last year, was one for women to run businesses, funding scholarships for of the students that met up with Wilunderprivileged students, and lett in a meeting arranged by Ditman. running a weekly exercise group.

“It was really cool to be able to “I’ve been impressed with how meet (Willett),” Dale said. “It made it interested the class has seemed,” I wanted to be more realistic to actually get to meet Ditman said. “I want them to see invisible (when I the person that we have communicata person like them from here and returned home). I’ve ed with and to be able to see that there say ‘that’s cool, I could do that.’” had 11 months of are many different ways that you can Ditman’s students initially sugpeople paying atuse Spanish while helping the rest of gested donating backpacks with the world.” tention to me.

I just school supplies or buying a water When Willett returned home over wanted to be anonypurifier as ways to help Willett the winter break, she couldn’t wait to with her cause. But what the mous for a little bit. see her family, but was not excited to Salvadorans needed most was – Chelsea Willett, be the center of attention. the opportunity to further their “I wanted to be invisible (when I rePeace Corps volunteer education by attending college, turned home),” Willett said. “I’ve had and so scholarships became the 11 months of people paying attention class’ main focus. to me. I just wanted to be anonymous “I’ve learned that our first imfor a little bit.” pulse to help is a good one, but Willett has learned a lot from her first year about the we really need to know what people need before our Salvadoran culture and expectations, as well as the help really is worth much,” Ditman said.

Peace Corps experience.

So far, GBHS’s current AP Spanish 5 class has raised “People who are disappointed and unhappy in the over $600 to fund scholarships to help hardworking experience are people that had these unrealistic expecSalvadoran teens with the expenses of college. tations about what it was going to be like,” Willett said.

Willett was given tickets to fly home to California as “Either (they thought) that they were going to be saving a gift, and so over the winter break, Willett came back the world, or that they wouldn’t be doing anything.”

–compiled by Rachael Vasquez

Continued from page B5: The unOfficial SAT practice guide answers 1. b, 2. e, 3. f, 4. c, 5. a, 6. d, 7. k, 8. g, 9. j, 10. l, 11. i, 12. h

“I speak English so much at school that I forget words in Russian and sometimes my parents have to correct my grammar,” Zagaynov said.

But in the end, knowing two languages can only enrich ones life, as it has for these students.

“There’s no disadvantage to knowing two languages,” Zagaynov said. “I can visit a different country and feel comfortable there, and I just have overall more variety in culture and perspective.”

Your names. Your faces. The Gazette

Friday, February 11, 2011

B8 Lifestyle

w The Granite Bay Gazette

GBHS students look for and find jobs in Roseville and Granite Bay

BY SHINEUI PARK

spark.gazette@gmail.com

The Roseville Galleria

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ext to the Fountains is the most popular shopping center in the Roseville area, the Roseville Galleria.

With renovations completed in 2008, the Roseville Galleria has been attracting customers more than ever with their new food court and numerous store additions.

Senior Clark Stevenson has been working at Vans since early October for minimum wage.

From bringing out shoes to rearranging the clothes, Stevenson does every duty in the store except work at the register.

With other teenagers working alongside with him, he has an enjoyable time working with these humorous co-workers.

“I needed something to do since I wasn’t playing any sports anymore,” Stevenson said. “The reason why I found this job is for the combination of both needing money for college and just trying to find something to do.”

Another popular store at the mall is Zumiez, where senior Kelsey Baughman worked over winter break for minimum wage.

With interest in snowboarding, she applied to Zumiez to learn more about the culture of the sport and to work with the style of clothes she personally likes.

“I helped people find what they were looking for, folded clothes and kept areas clean. We kept up a friendly atmosphere and it was our job to greet people and make our customers feel like they wanted to be in that store,” Baughman said.

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Fountains

ith a gorgeous setting and active atmosphere, the Fountains is one of the best places to spend an afternoon of shopping and eating at some of the popular restaurants in Roseville.

With over 35 stores and restaurants, the Fountains never ceases to provide fun and entertainment for everyone.

Senior Lauren Scott works at Madam Butterfly Boutique, which is inside Article Hair Salon.

Scott has been working at the boutique since the end of August. Being paid nine dollars an hour, she works four hour shifts on school days and four to seven hour shifts on weekends.

There is a second Madam Butterfly Boutique located in Downtown Sacramento, where workers switch back and forth.

“I don’t switch, but every girl that I’ve been working with is very nice and never causes any drama,” Scott said. “They’re helpful in every way possible, and we’re all very close to one another, like family.”

With their second youngest worker being 21, Scott, being the youngest, has been dubbed with the name “Little One.” Originally, she needed something else to occupy her extra time, and started looked for a job over the summer.

“My mom used to work for the other boutique in Sacramento, which has been there for 30 years. Since she worked there she knows the manager’s, so now I work for the managers daughters over at the Fountains,” Scott said.

GBHS: YOU ARE HERE

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Rocky Ridge

hether it is books from Borders, food from Dos Coyotes, Macaroni Grill or Noah’s Bagel, or painting at Petroglyph, the Rocky Ridge Town Center has a vibrant blend of entertainment and fine-dining.

This local lifestyle center has also been well-known for students to apply for jobs.

Junior Julian Scribner works at Dos Coyotes for minimum wage.

As a busboy, he goes around cleaning tables after customers leave and then washes their dishes.

Not only can he interact with his interesting co-workers, Scribner has the opportunity to meet diverse people who come to eat at Dos Coyotes.

Near Dos Coyotes is the fairly new frozen yogurt cafe, FreshBerry. FreshBerry is another popular place for students at GBHS to find work. One of them is junior Danielle Dieterich.

“I actually met the owner at [junior] Rebecca Schmidt’s house and talked to him. I never had a formal interview but our one-on-one conversation was basically like an informal one,” Dieterich said.

Dieterich had been training for the job at FreshBerry a few weeks prior to its opening day of June 16, 2010.

Being paid minimum wage, she serves people yogurt, mans the register, and cleans up the store before closing.

“I have friends that work there too, like Rebecca Schmidt,” Dieterich said. “But we never work together because it’s normally just a manager and another person, so we never have shifts together.”

With her job, Dieterich now has spending money for hangouts and shopping.

“It’s nice to have this sort of money while I get to drive around and hang out,” Dieterich said.

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Renaissance Creek

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ften called SPL (short for Safeway Parking Lot), Renaissance Creek has been a hotspot for GBHS students not only for entertainment, but for jobs as well.

With its Mediterranean themed architecture, this upscale neighborhood shopping center has been attracting shoppers ever since its development back in 2005.

With stores such as Safeway, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, HomeGoods and Staples, there are many places teenagers can apply for jobs with the convenience of being near to GBHS. Junior John Chang has been working at Togo’s Baskin Robbins since February of 2010.

Being the youngest of all his co-workers, Chang has complications with scheduling hours to work. When working, however, he usually scoops ice cream for customers in the Baskin Robbins side of the store, washes the dishes, and makes sandwiches at the Togo’s side of the store for minimum wage (eight dollars per hour).

Another student who works in Renaissance Creek is junior Connor O’ Guinn. Since the middle of January 2011, he has been working at Jamba Juice.

In order to prepare for the job, the working hours were initially high. But after gaining the right amount of experience, O’ Guinn qualified to work on the floor. The first day O’ Guinn was working hands-on, he was told to clean the dishes and learned how to make the well-known Jamba Juices and smoothies.

“I prefer not to sit down a lot, so it’s nice to stand up, work and run around to make smoothies for customers,” O’ Guinn said.

With a great atmosphere for family and friends, Renaissance Creek has been providing local neighborhoods a bundle of opportunities for teenagers from GBHS to work.

Sports

Granite Bay Gazette

C Section

Resurgence

Friday w February 11, 2010

Commentary

laura preston

The Grizzlies are tied atop the SFL and on their way to being the best in school history

lpreston.gazette@gmail.com

Sexism exists whether you like it or not

BY PARKER EVANS

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pevans.gazette@gmail.com

t’s been a while. As Granite Bay High School’s varsity basketball team kicks into gear, the expectations are at their highest in recent memory. The Grizzlies are tied for second place in the Sac-Joaqin Section, and the team has its hopes set on ARCO Arena where the later rounds of the section playoffs are held.

I

n December, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team went for a record-breaking 89 wins in a row, a commendable feat for any team in any sport.

But what made the run even more spectacular was that the Huskies beat a men’s record.

There was an uproar from critics who said it didn’t matter how many consecutive victories the team ended up with, it could never surpass the record set nearly 30 years ago by the John Woodencoached men’s team at UCLA. UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s reaction to this line of thinking was the best one I read: “Because we’re breaking a men’s record, we’ve got a lot of people paying attention,” Auriemma said. “If we were breaking a women’s record, everybody would go, ‘Aren’t those girls nice, let’s give them two paragraphs in USA Today, you know, give them one line on the bottom of ESPN and then let’s send them back where they belong, in the kitchen.’ ” And he’s right. Not nearly as many people would have cared or paid attention to the UConn women if they hadn’t been breaking a record that shouldn’t be broken by women.

And that leads to a much broader conclusion: sports viewing and broadcasting is sexist.

It doesn’t matter what sport it

Senior forward Jon Davis is seniors. aware of the expectations for But the Tribe is about more than just the this years’ team. fans. The noise they make energizes the “We’re expected to win a players. league title and take it far “The Tribe is great because the team feeds into the playoffs,” Davis off of the energy (of the crowd),” Davis said. “We want to play at said. “It gets us all pumped up and motiARCO vated.” and win at GBHS varsity basARCO.” ketball coach Jason But the Sitterud has a theory “We’re expected Grizzlies’ as to why more fans to win a league play on the are showing up than in court isn’t years past. title and take it far the only “We’re fun to into the playoffs. improvewatch,” Sitterud said, ment the “And the intensity the We want to play at program fans bring makes the ARCO and win at has made. players want to play Headed by harder in front of their ARCO.” the GBHS fan friends and fans.” group calling Of course, the team’s – Jon Davis, boys’ themselves The play on the court has Tribe, home attencontributed to the buzz. varsity basketball dance and general The Grizzlies’ thrillfan intensity has ing Feb. 4 victory over spiked. league powerhouse “We have an Woodcreek saw the outstanding basketball team, and it’s fun team overcome a 9-point deficit late in the to watch our friends play at such a high fourth quarter. level,” Tribe member and GBHS senior In front of a packed house, junior guard Franklin Zhuang said.

Nathan Brilingtton drained a three-point Home attendance has risen with the shot with five seconds left on the clock to influx of spirit The Tribe has brought, put Granite Bay up by 1. but Zhuang acknowledges that there’s After the final buzzer sounded, the Tribe certainly room for growth. The Tribe has rushed the court in what was one of the made flyers and dispersed them around Grizzlies’ greatest victories in the team’s campus in hopes of improving attenhistory. dance both at home and on the road.

As of Feb. 8, the Grizzlies are tied for The players have taken notice too.

1st place in the Sac-Joaquin Section and “Our class is a lot more spirited than have won five in a row since a league in past years,” Davis said of the loss at Woodcreek, including an emphatic Tribe, which is composed largely of See BASKETBALL, page C5

See SEXISM, page C5

Wrestling sits on top of the SFL

Signing away

New coach and hard work pays off

Five Grizzlies sign Letters of Intent By the Gazette staff

BY ALEX PINK

staff.gazette@gmail.com

apink.gazette@gmail.com

Ever pass by that room on campus where the windows are swallowed by grey fog and steam seems to seep from the cracks of the door?

That would be Granite Bay High School’s wrestling team heating up with victories, who officially earned the Sierra Foothill League championship title after defeating Woodcreek on Feb. 2.

With a 5-0 record, both the varsity and junior varsity wrestling squads have been pinning teams left and right. In addition, they have participated in multiple tournaments, giving them each 16-1 overall records.

And it appears that their journey to victory has just begun.

Coach Shane Dixon, coaching both the varsity and JV teams, is in his first season as head coach with assistant coach John Cooley.

As a coach, Dixon has set high expectations for his team in order to bring success.

“I expect the wrestlers to come to practice each day with a positive attitude and to leave better than they came,” Dixon said.

“Enjoyment is (our) source of motivation.”

See WRESTLING, page C5

GBHS senior Jon Davis works to beat a Nevada Union defender during the boys’ basketball game on Jan. 18.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Granite Bay High School’s senior class athletes are proving quantity isn’t always the most important aspect.

Five Grizzly athletes signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday Feb. 2, formally committing themselves to a college. The group was unusually small compared to recent years, when the typical number of signees has been around 10-15.

When students sign an NLI, they are guaranteed athletic scholarship for one school year. Signing also binds the student to the university for that year.

GBHS soccer players continued their legacy of excellence, with three students signing. Kendall Modiste committed to San Diego State University, Connor Hallisey to University of California at Berkeley and Chelsea Putman to Point Loma University.

Katie Zingheim signed with Stanford University for track and field, and Nate Esposito committed to Oregon State University for baseball.

While no football players signed, a few athletes are receiving preferred walk-on status. Matt Kasner will walk on at Stanford, and Cory Brehm will walk on at Boise State University.

Putman had one of the most harrowing journeys to get to the collegiate level. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament before her freshman year.

After having surgery and going

Chelsea Putman Putman is one of five GBHS athletes who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

through physical therapy, Putman was able to play on GBHS’s varsity soccer team her sophomore year.

Her junior year, Putman began contacting college coaches, and having recruiters watch her play. Midway through her junior season, she tore her other ACL. Point Loma was the only school she was able to visit before the second injury ended her season. “(My second torn ACL) was frustrating for me, but I was glad that I still had (Point Loma as an) option,” Putman said. “I was just thrilled they still wanted me to play with them.”

Putman said the recovery process was painful and frustrating, but there was a silver lining to her double injury.

“Now that I think back on it, it was definitely better that I had my first injury, because (it) reassured my college coaches that I would be playing again since I’d already (recovered from a torn ACL) once.”

To avoid another injury, Putman won’t play her senior season.

Putman began her soccer career playing See LETTERS, page C5

inside sports Grizz Quiz

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Rising Star

C3

Athlete of the Month

C5

Sports Apps New apps make it easier to stay up-to-date on the latest sports news

Recruiting Trips Grizzly students visit colleges with hopes of playing at the next level

Freshman Athletics New students get their first opportunity at playing in high school

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C2 Sports

Friday, February 11, 2011

Collegiate athletes turned teachers

w The Granite Bay Gazette

GBHS staff participated in variety of sports at NCAA level prior to being educators

BY LAURA PRESTON

lpreston.gazette@gmail.com

The smooth, glassy surface of the water broken by the rough strokes of the oars powered by students pushing and pulling with all their might is an image that coincides with college crew.

A commonly overlooked sport, crew is both an NCAA sanctioned sport and is played at the club level. Granite Bay High School English teacher David Tastor was a member of the crew team at the University of San Diego while he was a student.

Tastor had never been a part of rowing before college other than watching the annual San Diego Crew Classic and, although he was athletic from playing football in high school, he found that crew was much harder than he had expected.

“Football didn’t help. You get to rest in football. I know football players think they’re tough but they get 20-40 seconds in between each play to rest,” Tastor said. “(In crew) you basically stay at maximum heart rate for six and a half minutes.”

Since crew was a club sport at USD, anybody who was interested in rowing could sign up and attempt to row, but the early morning workouts and intense physical demands of the sport caused many of Tastor’s teammates to drop off the club team.

However, Tastor remained and filled the third seat position on the team where his main job was to act like the engine of the boat, as opposed to the coxswain, whose main duty is to motivate the team and steer the vessel.

Although he did not row all four years of college because he wanted to focus on his studies, Tastor still was able to keep some nest mementos from his time on the team.

“We got to travel and row against other crews. In rowing…when you beat the other crew your boats row up to each other and the losing crew gives their jerseys to the winning crew,” he said. “It was kind of cool to be from this tiny university in San Diego and have on my dorm room wall jerseys from Santa Barbara, Washington State, UCLA and San Diego State.”

The hard work Tastor put into crew by pushing his body harder than he ever had before paid off and has left him with a lesson he will never forget.

“I was just able to do things physically that I had never been able to do,” said Tastor. “I think (crew) prepared me for everything else in life in the sense that when you hit the wall, you know you can get past it.”

Linda Dickson In today’s day and age it is very rare for a collegiate athlete to have never played their sport before entering college, but at the University of California, Berkeley in the late 70s physical education teacher Linda Dickson did just that.

Dickson played numerous sports through her youth and high school including tennis, golf, football and softball, but there were never any youth soccer leagues for her to participate in like there are today.

It was not Dickson’s original intent to play soccer in college. She was in a class titled Advanced Tournament Play Tennis when one of her classmates suggested that she should go out for the soccer team.

“They told me I should play because I was athletic (so) I went out and the coach said, ‘Yeah you’re an athlete, I’ll train you’ so I played soccer because of that,” Dickson said.

Dickson began to train with the soccer team for two to three hours per day, three times a week and also had individual workouts that focused on improving her soccer skills whenever her class schedule would permit.

Since she had never played before, Dickson spent her first year as a substitute but then worked to improve her skills all summer and returned the next year as a starter. In the consequent seasons she remained in the starting lineup as soccer transitioned from a club sport to official collegiate sport status as a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

Dickson was a member of the Cal team who played in the inaugural AIAW National Soccer Tournament in 1981. The team played the University of North Carolina in the first round of the tournament and although Dickson scored a goal off of a header, it was called back due to offsides and the team lost 1-0.

“The ironic thing about it was I would always refuse to head balls,” she said. “I hated head drills, they gave me headaches and my coach would make me and I’d hate to do it and try to get out of it or do less when he wasn’t looking because I didn’t want to head the ball. And sure enough (it was me) and I dove.”

Although she loved her time playing in college and even continued to play almost constantly in her first four years out of college, Dickson realizes that if she was going to college today there would have been almost no chance of her playing college soccer.

“I was an athlete who was trained to play soccer,”

DAVID TASTOR

Above, English teacher David Tastor, third from right, poses with his crew team from the University of San Diego. At right, P.E. teacher Linda Dickson, left, with her Cal soccer teammate.

Dickson said. “Now, athletes can’t just be trained to play soccer because there are so many kids playing at the club level and competitive level. That didn’t happen back then.”

John MacLeane Besides exceptional athletic talent, having passion for their sport is a part of what makes collegiate athletes excel.

Health teacher and water polo coach John MacLeane began high school playing football and swimming because he enjoyed participating in sports where he had a direct effect on the outcome or was always involved in the play.

His love for water polo came when the new coach suggested that he try to play both water polo and football one season.

“I just absolutely fell in love with the sport, it was just so much fun,” MacLeane said. “The big difference for me was every other sport I had played I loved the game but practices weren’t a lot of fun. In water polo practices were the highlights of my day. I couldn’t wait for practice to start and I never wanted it to end.”

After high school, MacLeane took a one year break from school to work in the construction business but found that he would rather earn a living in an easier manner than hard labor. He then began attending junior colleges which gave him the opportunity to play once again.

“What lured me to college was the idea that I could play water polo,” he said. “I wanted to keep playing so I played water polo at the junior colleges for a couple years and that’s what (eventually) got me into

LINDA DICKSON

Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo).”

At Cal Poly, MacLeane played set guard and along with the intense practice schedule he had, he remembers the long van rides and the crazy songs he and his teammates would create to pass the time.

In addition to the team bonding and countless hours he was able to spend playing the sport he loved, MacLeane found that being a member of a college team has many perks.

“I can’t imagine not playing. It plugged me into college right away. I had a peer group and friends, certainly not close friends right away, that came later, but a group of people that I knew and I would see on campus,” he said. “And having that (connection) was invaluable.”

Sports applications for smartphones grow in numbers Many companies are coming out with up-to-the-minute information for variety of sports

BY R. SLATER MCLAUGHLIN rmclaughlin.gazette@gmail.com

The emergence of smartphones has changed the life of a fan for the better, giving near-instant access to the sports world. While there are hundreds of apps targeted at sports fans, here are some of the most essential.

Eurosport (Free) The Eurosport app is essential for any fans of soccer (“football” as it is called in the menus) or Formula 1 racing.

The app is mainly just an iPhone ready version of eurosport.com, and gives the user a customizable list of sports to follow ranging from basketball and tennis to cross country skiing and snooker (a type of billiards).

A large amount of Eurosport’s cover-

Grizz Quiz

age is dedicated to the English Premier League, which they cover with a large variety of stories including game recaps, manager and player interviews and previews to upcoming matches.

Beyond being a useful source of news, Eurosport also has live sport coverage, allowing the user to set up notifications on the progress of their favorite teams, giving a goal by goal story of the game with written commentary between every few minutes of play.

Twitter (Free) Twitter has become relevant to sports fans due to the droves of professional athletes who post the story of their lives through their Tweets.

The Tweets range from interesting, firsthand information about trade rumors or upcoming games, to hilarious nonsense

Blake Allen Boys’ Basketball

and trash talking, like football players Steve Johnson or Chad Ochocinco.

Most large teams have official Twitter accounts, and while the teams Tweets might not be as entertaining as the PR disasters of their players, they are nonetheless informative.

ESPN Apps (Prices Vary) ESPN’s family of apps is as extensive as they are useful, and they cover nearly everything from fantasy football to radio and special events such as the X-Games.

ScoreCenter is undoubtedly one of the most useful apps for sports fans across the board, and is completely free. It combines live score updates and written commentary with game recaps, previews and statistics.

A slick user interface with a slide for just about every sport and tourna-

Maddy Wolf Girls’ Basketball

Shane Saylor Wrestling

ment from NCAA to professional levels presents the information in a flashy yet accessible manner.

The huge variation of sports is combined with a myTeams slide which shows all the past, current and upcoming games of teams of your choice.

The notifications in ScoreCenter come to the tune of the famous SportsCenter jingle and offer a huge amount of customization.

ScoreCenter also organizes a slide called The Lead, which gives users the scores and times of the most important events from any sport daily.

ESPN also offers many event specific apps such as ones dedicated to the World Cup, X-Games, Olympics or college bowl season, and most of these are novel but relatively pointless unless you pay the extra couple dollars for the “Premium”

Grace Borgesi Girls’ Basketball

versions.

Another useful offering from ESPN is their ESPN Radio app, which lets users stream live feeds from ESPN Radio stations across the nation.

At $2.99, the app is very useful for fans of out-of-market teams.

Sport Specific Apps (Prices Vary) Apps such as NBA Game Time plus and MLB.com At Bat are incredibly useful to fans of out of market teams and fans who are often unable to access a TV while their favorite teams are playing.

Most sport-specific apps have a free version, which is mostly useless, and the full version will usually set you back around $10.

In addition to providing interesting live stats and news, they also stream live radio. This is very useful to San Francisco Giants fans, for example, who want to listen to KNBR but have trouble with spotty reception.

Nick Yeaton Boys’ Basketball

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Take a shower

Go back to sleep

Take a shower

Go to the bathroom

Take a shower

What is your favorite time of year?

Winter

Winter

Summer

Summer

Christmas time

Blue’s Clues

Spongebob Squarepants

Rugrats

Seventh grade

Seventh grade

Eighth grade

I can make really weird noises with my mouth

I taught myself how to play guitar when I was 11

I like turtles

What was your favorite cartoon when you were little?

When was your first kiss?

What is an interesting fact about you?

Powerpuff Girls

Fifth grade

My real name is Graziella

Rocket Power

Seventh grade

I like to watch Oprah Compiled by Sarah Bertin

C3 Sports

Friday, February 11, 2011

Grizzly talent travels afar

James Kinloch, Willamette University

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Nate Esposito, Oregon State University

Alison and Jessica Hamby, Wagner College

Maddie Lummis, Chico State

Kevin Nielsen, Brigham Young University

Elliot Adams, Cal Poly SLO Chelsea Putman, Point Loma University

Matt Kasner, Brown University Nik Reeves, Grand Canyon University

Brooke Holt, Georgetown University

Kendall Modiste, San Diego State University

Seniors courted by universities

Gazette illustration/ALISON SALE Gazette photos /RACHAEL VASQUEZ

BY CHRISTINE ZAVESKY

O

czavesky.gazette@gmail.com

ver a dozen Granite Bay High School senior student-athletes have to traveled around the the school, country visiting various instiindicating his full intent to go I wouldn’t take tutes of higher education in through with the process. anything back from search of a university to earn a “I had to send my transcripts, in-progress degree at and compete athletithat trip. I’m really transcripts, letters of recommendation, and my cally. application (to the university),” Kasner said. glad I went and got These “official” visits are “We talked and called each other, and he set to experience what limited to five because the it up on his own. Then he mailed the flight athletic department of the uniit is like. list and told me what to do (to finalize everyversity pays for the visit. thing).”

When he visited Brown Uni– Matt Kasner, GBHS During the visit itself, the number of athletes versity in Rhode Island from senior on the trip can vary greatly. Kasner said there January 21-23, senior football were 18 other athletes on his trip, while Hamby player Matt Kasner’s host from and her sister were the only two on their trip to the team was given a card to Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. cover the cost of everything However, some elements of official visits they were to do. are consistent in all sports and colleges, such as touring “They paid for (my) flight because it’s obviously a long the campus, spending time with the team, and going to see trip to get there, a car for (me) and (my) host and gave (us) some of the interesting places in the immediate area. money so (we could) do whatever (we) wanted,” Kasner Senior track athlete Maddie Lummis did all of these dursaid. ing her trip to California State University Chico, where she This seemingly endless flow of money allows prospective says she captured a snapshot of the college experience. student athletes to feel the full spectrum of possibilities the “The best part was (of the trip) is figuring out what colschool and its surroundings have to offer. lege is like because going to tour and see the campus can “The first night we went to Dave and Buster’s to loosen give you the vibe of the school,” she said. “But by spendthe mood and play some video games, toured the campus ing the night, eating in the hall, and taking a shower there, and visited the football stadium,” Kasner said. “On Saturyou can get a lot better idea of the school, even if you’re day we went to a hockey game, which was extremely fun just there for one night.” to watch. After the game, they had dinner waiting for us Even if the school isn’t an athlete’s first choice, the expeand then we walked around and met people, got the lay of rience can still be a positive one. the land, and stayed up until 2 a.m. just hanging out.”

“I had a great time (at Brown). I loved visiting the school As much as official visits are fantastic experiences for and seeing the great connection players had with one recruits, they come as a result of both outstanding athletic another,” Kasner said. “I wouldn’t take anything back from achievement and a job-like effort to maintain relationships that trip. I’m really glad I went and got to experience what with prospective programs, including extensive exchanges it is like.” of phone calls between coach and athlete starting July 1 However, official visits don’t necessarily end with the after the athlete’s junior year. athlete giving a verbal commitment to the school. With After seeing the effort that her older brother had to put Brown, Kasner was given a one day window following his visit to decide the next four years of life. With Staninto the recruiting process, senior water polo player Jessica ford University still an option, he had to decline attending Hamby was well aware of how the relations with college Brown has hopes to play in Palo Alto next year for the coaches works and dove into the process slightly earlier Cardinal. than most athletes.

“I’m not a kid who is going to make a quick decision that “(My sister Alison and I) emailed coaches and let them will affect the rest of my life,” he said. “I wasn’t about to get to know us (early on), so (the process) started a couple put my whole life on the line because I thought I might like of months before the end of junior year for us,” Hamby Brown more when I hadn’t even experienced Stanford.” said. “We started right away talking to coaches and introUnlike Kasner, Hamby and her sister are weighing their ducing ourselves.” options still and anticipate making a decision in April. They Once a coach feels like the athlete is comfortable with himself and the program, the plan for an official visit begins are very much looking forward to the end of the intensive process and are ready to reap the rewards of their labors. to unfold.

“The process has been really long but worth it,” Hamby For his January visit to Brown, Kasner began planning it said. “All the hard work definitely opened up a lot of opin November with the university’s local recruiting director. portunities for us.”

In order to go on the visit, he had to submit his application

Sophomore wrestler Phil Canete finds GBHS junior varsity success

BY MATT PALKOWSKI

mpalkowski.gazette@gmail.com

Even though he has been wrestling for just two and a half years, Phil Canete is making quick strides in his sophomore year at Granite Bay High School.

Surprisingly, even though his parents were unfamiliar with wrestling, he felt that he was able to easily catch on to this sport.

“I started wrestling last year. I started because I wanted a new challenge,” Phil Canete said. “I really don’t think I have reached my peak and I have a lot of room left for extreme improvement.”

Being a sport of physical strength and skill, wrestling training has acquired a vigorous reputation.

“The training is tough. You have to lift weights for an hour and then run a mile right afterward,” Phil Canete said.

“We have to practice three hours a day and seven days a week.”

Coaches Cooley and Dickson have had much success while coaching athletes such as Phil Canete on the JV wrestling team at GBHS and are much respected by the athletes on their squad.

“They want us to train extremely hard until it hurts and they really care about us improving. They have definitely helped me get better while attending the team practice sessions,” Canete said.

While Coach Cooley has a son who attends GBHS, he is able to relate to his athletes and is able to use the right coaching methods in order to prevent frustration and to promote a strong working environment.

In contrast to many beliefs, wrestling requires a strong mind as well as a toned body.

“My ultimate gameplan before every wrestling match is to dominate and get on top of my opponent. However

I also try to be the aggressor and be faster than my opponent. My strength in wrestling is being able to relax and choose a good strategy to beat my opponent,” Canete said.

Phil credits much of his success to his two parents.

“My parents don’t know much about the sport of wrestling in general, but they both try to help out the team in any way they can. My mom usually helps out by bringing team snacks or drinks for our team during team meets.”

While contemplating his future after his four years at GBHS, Phil highly doubts he will wrestle after GBHS. He primarily competes to receive physical exercise and to have a fun hobby.

“I have really enjoyed and have had a lot of fun wrestling recreationally during my GBHS career but I do not plan wrestling in college or participating competitively in the future,” said Phil Canete.

Recruiting trip marks first step in collegiate journey For an athlete to take a recruiting trip is to know you have “arrived.”

Finally, after years of endless workouts, extra training sessions and competitions, institutions of higher education recognize your efforts and want to bring you down to visit their school, all expenses paid, in the hopes that you will want to compete for their program.

As a recruited athlete myself, I counted down the days to July 1 following my junior year because that is the first day that colleges can call an athlete for most sports, according to NCAA rules.

The seemingly pointless conversations I had with about a dozen different coaches during midsummer eventually unintentionally dwindled down to just a handful of serious options.

I received a phone call on my birthday at the end of December and was offered an amazing present: to be flown down for a weekend to visit the most successful athletic program in the nation, the UCLA Bruins.

Being asked to come had the thrill of a surprise and the pride of a job well done.

I eagerly anticipated my visit, which was planned for the next weekend as a 48 hour stay on Friday through Sunday.

As insignificant as it may feel, being dropped off at Sacramento International Airport by my mom plastered a smile on my face. It was a real sign of independence. I was about to fly to Los Angeles and spend an entire weekend living the life of a college student, minus the classes.

The athletes on the team treated the recruits, a small group of four girls and one boy, like we were celebrities. I was introduced to dozens of other athletes, not just members of track and field but the football, baseball, crew, and water polo teams, including a GBHS alumnus. Every time I met

Commentary

christine zavesky czavesky.gazette@gmail.com

someone new, my host would say, “This is Christine. She’s a recruit.” and without fail, the other athletes would become more engaged in conversation and exclaim that I had to come to UCLA. It was amazing that I could be exposed to the opinions of strangers and yet be so impacted by their words.

It exemplified school spirit and pride, and every single athlete was so proud to be a Bruin.

My 48 hour visit wrapped up as quickly as it had come. The coach dropped me off at LAX and I went through security and into the terminal to come home.

I had thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my visit, from the 10 mile run in the hills just outside campus to brunch with the team in the dining hall to the bonfire on the beach. The trip had completely changed my thoughts about UCLA from wishy-washy to a serious option for my future.

I didn’t absorb the full impact of the visit until I was alone with my thoughts in the terminal. It then hit me how amazing my trip had been and my desire to go back.

I took it as a sign of fate that my flight was delayed two hours back to Sacramento.

Destiny wanted me to stay in Los Angeles just a little longer.

Canete brings down a Golden Eagle wrestler in a meet against Del Oro Gazette photo / MAGGIE LOUIS

C4 Sports

Friday, February 11, 2010

Granite Bay Spring Sports

“This year should be really fun with all our teammates...(we want to) go undefeated and do our best to win sections.”

GBHS junior Jodie Higgins

Girls’ soccer “We haven’t brought home a section championship banner in a while, but I think we’re due. And this is a good year for us. I think we’ve got a good team, and we’ve got a good nucleus coming back.”

Coach Chris Roberts

“We’re definitely one of the best teams in the league, and it should be a good fight for the section title. That’s definitely our goal, to win sections.”

GBHS senior Anthony Gianotti

Boys’ volleyball “We have a lot of young players, but they’re very talented. I have no doubt that they’ll be successful on the varsity level…we want to win the SFL and the section championship.”

Coach Bruce Honberger

“We’re definitely (going to be) contending for sections this year…the guys have been putting in some good work during preseason, so I’m excited about this season.”

GBHS junior Jake Keester

Boys’ tennis “I don’t want our boys just to be comfortable with just winning our league…I’d like us to focus on winning that, (but also) sections…I think that since the team’s been presented that challenge, they’ll step up and go for it.”

Coach Rory Wood

Track and field “(After) implementing our new (style of running) last year, I’m excited because people will be doing even better this year, since they’ve gotten used to it. We have individuals that went to state last year, and so I want to get even more of us to there.”

Coach Roosevelt Kent

Boys’ golf “Historically, we’ve been one of the top teams in the area for years…our goal is to beat Del Oro and Christian Brothers, and find our way into the section title.”

Coach Terry Stafford

Boys’ lacrosse “We’re going to be relying more on juniors and seniors this year, but I think we’ll be even more athletic than last year. We should definitely compete for the league title again.”

Coach Scott Pink

Girls’ lacrosse

“The coaches in the league took a poll and picked (our team) to finish next to last, so we definitely (want to) go out and prove everyone wrong... We’re up to the challenge however, we’re going to fight through the whole season.”

Coach Stu Brokowski

Swimming “This will be our hardest year in a long time; partly because of who we graduated last year and partly because our league is more competitive this year.”

Coach John Sherman

Baseball “We’re trying to build a little competitive nature with our guys and make sure they understand how important it is to compete everyday, just like a job.”

Coach Pat Esposito

Softball “(We will work on) the fundamentals of throwing, hitting, gaining speed on the bases, doing everything quickly. First you do the basics, and you get that down. Then you do that just faster.”

Coach Michelle Grainger

w The Granite Bay Gazette

“We didn’t lose very many seniors, and we have a lot of really good incoming freshman, so our team should be even better this season.”

GBHS senior Brooke Holt

“It should definitely be a good season. Our team’s going to be competitive for sections…we look good, and we’re all working hard. We’ll see where it takes us.”

GBHS senior Zach Witt

“(Our team) has played together and been really tight for a long time, and we’re going to be playing even tougher teams this year, so it should be fun.”

GBHS junior Alex Towne

“I would say that we need to play our best every game whether we in or lose. I’m excited to play, we (want to) win a lot of games and beat our rivals.”

GBHS junior Page Kastner

“It’s going to be harder this year because we lost a lot of people, but–14 undefeated league championships– it’s going to be 15 this year. And then maybe a section title. We have a lot of depth.”

GBHS senior Derek McKeon

“We’re working really hard– we’ve got some good talent– so it’s just going to come down to our offense, and if we can hit or not.”

GBHS senior Nate Esposito

“I hope we win most of our games... this year we have a better crop of girls. We have a lot better talent and more commitment all around.”

GBHS senior Jovita Engwer Gazette photos /John PARK and Rachael vasquez

Compiled by John Park

Freshman athletes hit their first big stage Granite Bay athletic excellence built from freshman bottom to varsity top

BY AUSTIN DOWNS

adowns.gazette@gmail.com

For a decade now, Granite Bay High School has had one of the most successful athletic programs in the region.

So how have students at the school developed into such terrific athletes?

The answer: freshman athletics.

Excluding those few athletes who skipped playing on their freshman team, most athletes at GBHS transitioned to the different and more challenging atmosphere of high school sports by playing on their sport’s freshman team.

It is at the freshman level that new players at GBHS learn about the competition, are exposed to the high school sports atmosphere and, most importantly, what they can expect for the remainder of their high school career.

“It’s a different way of playing,” said Tommy Thompson, a GBHS freshman who played varsity soccer last season. “I was shy at first. But towards the end of the season, I became more comfortable.”

Thompson said his first year of playing high school sports was a learning experience, and when he returns next year, he will know what to expect and some of the pressure will go away.

But how is the competition tougher at GBHS?

Among the sports programs at GBHS, wrestling raises the concept of competition to a whole new level. And perhaps more than in any other GBHS sport – and certainly more than in the major sports such as football, basketball and baseball – freshmen can make a contribution on the varsity level.

“In middle school, you could make mistakes and get away with it,” said Matt Berry, a GBHS freshman who played freshman football in the fall and is competing as a varsity wrestler in the 145 weight class. “But in high school, one mistake could cost you the match.”

Berry’s transition into high school sports has been challenging. On the wrestling team, any wrestler can challenge any other wrestler for a spot on the roster.

Suppose, for example, that Berry was competing at the varsity level, but a wrestler on the JV team wanted to compete in Berry’s spot.

That wrestler would challenge Berry to a match, and the winner would get the varsity spot. With this system, maintaining your ranking on the team is not easy, and Berry said this helps keep him in sharp physical shape along with excellent endurance.

Berry is among 13 other freshmen who are currently competing on the school’s JV or varsity wrestling teams.

“It’s a hard transition, and it’s tough to compete,” said Shane Dixon, the GBHS wrestling coach.

Dixon had been the assistant coach for the wrestling team since 2002, before taking over as head coach this season. His JV and varsity teams have a roster of 43 athletes, including the 14 freshmen. Dixon says many of the freshmen he has have competed on the varsity level, many of whom had to wrestle older, stronger, bigger and faster athletes.

“You have to grow up quickly,” Dixon says, “One minute you could not be (wrestling), the next minute you are.”

With constant competition for spots, many of the freshmen on the wrestling team are developing their skills at a rapid rate.

“They were definitely shy and nervous at first,” said Marcus Stevens, who coaches the freshmen.

Stevens has been a football coach for 12 years, and he has previously coached JV football. But this year he took on the role of coaching the freshmen and led them to a winning season.

The freshman team this year had many “rookies,” according to Stevens, but that didn’t affect his coaching style and team goals. Stevens and his team progressed over the season, and the Grizzlies were a much improved squad at the end of the season than they were when they went to camp last summer.

Gazette photo / MAGGIE LOUIS GBHS freshman basketball team develops talent for a “This team,” Stevens said, “grew more than any varsity future against Woodcreek High School other team I have coached.”

Friday, February 11, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sports C5

WRESTLING: Talent is found in both the varsity and JV levels Continued from page C1

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

GBHS junior Shane Saylor works to pin a Del Oro High School wrestler during a dual meet between the two schools on Wednesday, January 26. The Grizzlies eventually defeated the rival Golden Eagles 39-18.

BASKETBALL: Team has brought the spirit of football season to the court Continued from page C1

“I felt like I arrived in the middle of a rebuilding victory in decisive fashion over league rivals Rockphase.” lin, 85-40.

Fitting into the tight group of seniors didn’t prove Before the defeat of the Thunder, Granite Bay to be as challenging as Eyen thought. was 0-6 against Rocklin dating back to 2007.

“It was a little difficult at first,” Eyen said. “It Davis attributes the Grizzlies’ success to veteran took time to adjust to the way they played and their leadership. “We have eight personalities off of the court.” seniors this year,” Davis said, But Eyen has fit in well, both on “which is a huge advantage and off the court, and is quick to because so many players have state that the bond built between We’re going experience.” the players helps their game. to need a lot of “We have a lot of strong “There are no cliques,” Eyen seniors playing well together, said of the team. “We are definitely people to come playing for the same purpose,” a family.” out and support Sitterud said.

Although the Grizzlies are taking Led by the veteran play of it one game at a time, the players us. senior guards, Jacob Keys and can’t help but look ahead.

Robert Duncan, and senior “If everything goes well, we forwards Davis and Kyle Howshould have a couple of home – Jon Davis, boys’ arth, the Grizzlies have plenty games in the playoffs,” Davis said. varsity basketball of familiarity with each other.

“But we’re going to need a lot of But as deep as the connecpeople to come out and support tions between the players are, us.” their connection to their coach Zhuang is excited about the upis just as strong. coming playoffs, and promises that The Tribe will “(Sitterud) has watched us all come through the make the trip to ARCO Arena, should the Grizzlies program,” Davis said. “He’s invested a lot of time make it that far, but he recognizes that there is still in us. He’s sacrificed and spent time away from his a lot of room for improvement in fan participation, family because he cares about this team.” even after the unprecedented turnout for the game The bond that the Grizzlies have developed after against Woodcreek. years of working together is paying dividends in “We still need more people to come out,” Zhuang what will be the final season for the eight seniors. said.

Senior guard Joe Eyen moved to Granite Bay his After four years of playing in gyms, some of them junior year and quickly joined the varsity team that full, Davis knows that there’s still a long way to go had struggled the year before. before Granite Bay reaches the attendance level of “When I first got here, basketball felt a bit Woodcreek. overshadowed by the football program,” Eyen said.

Now the Grizzlies just have to live up to the hype.

Chris Gallegos, an incoming freshman who earned a spot on varsity, has gained much respect and love for the GBHS wrestling program.

“I like how competitive and serious the coaches are and just getting to hang out with everyone,” Gallegos said. “It’s an honor to be a part of the varsity team.”

Leading the varsity team this year are senior captains William Anderson and Ryan Williams.

Both have been wrestling at GBHS for four years and are in the third year on varsity.

“As captain, I have to be someone who can push everyone so we can be the best we can be,” Anderson said.

To maintain the ride to an SFL championship, Anderson and Williams have been conditioning hard to prepare the team for its journey.

“We’re always learning new moves so we can be prepared for anything … during a match. You just never know (what to expect),”Anderson said.

Starting off the season with tough conditioning and practices every day, the wrestlers have prepared themselves to excel not only in league matches but in tournaments as well.

They have won two major tournaments, including the first-ever Mike Lynch Invitational at GBHS, and placed third in the Big Valley 72-team tournament.

The Grizzlies even defeated Del Oro, one of their biggest competitors, in a league match two and a half weeks ago.

“Every part of our program is working at a

LETTERS: Milestone for athletes Continued from page C1 in a recreational league when she was four. Since then she has played for Placer United and San Juan Soccer Club. Earning a college scholarship was her goal since she began playing on the competitive level.

Modiste and Esposito have also been working towards playing on a college team for many of their athletic years.

Modiste has played soccer since he was five, most recently for the California Development Academy.

Besides SDSU, he was considering UCLA, University of Washington and Cal Poly, San Louis Obispo. “(Working towards a college scholarship) was basically expected, especially playing at a high level for so long,” Modiste said.

Esposito began talking to colleges at the end of his sophomore year. Schools he was considering included Texas Christian University, UC Berkeley and Sacramento State University. He said that OSU ended up being the best fit.

“I went there and watched the practices, and how they take care of their players,” Esposito said. “The guys get along pretty well– it just looked like my place.”

Signing with OSU was the result of twelve or thirteen years of playing and training to be on a college team. “(Signing was) relieving, because (I’m) just stress free,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to baseball season, getting as good as I can get and letting those coaches do what they want with me.”

SEXISM: UConn women’s basketball success reopened debate over single-gender coverage Continued from page C1 is, what time of year it is or even what country, male sports will always have the grand majority of sports coverage and respect in the sporting world.

While the popularity of women’s sports has increased, and more and more women are beginning to participate in athletics, the media coverage for women has dropped considerably from a pathetic 8.7 percent of all sports coverage in 1999 to a dismal 1.6 percent in 2009.

The main argument against televising women’s sports is that they’re not entertaining and fail to bring in the viewers that are needed to maintain high ratings. The rationale being that because women can’t dunk or don’t wear helmets and pads and tackle each other that they don’t have any athletic talent.

But guess what? They’re not supposed to be able to do any of these things, because they’re girls.

If the sporting world wants women to have the same entertainment value and the same talent as men, then have them take steroids and be filled with testosterone so they can jump higher and be stronger.

Let the integrity of the game be ruined so the big networks like ESPN can earn a few extra bucks.

Or just accept women as they are. They are still the best players in their given sports, just like men are in theirs, and every time they step out on the court or field to play, they work to outperform their opponents.

It shouldn’t matter how flashy their moves are or how fast they can run. They should still be respected for how they play and their achievements should be celebrated … regardless of their gender.

UPCOMING GAME OF THE MONTH

Keys opens doors to success in basketball

BY MOOSA ZAIDI

mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

On Wednesday, Feb. 16, the Granite Bay High School varsity boys’ basketball team will play at home against Rocklin High School.

In the past, RHS has been a formidable team. In the 2008-09 their varsity team went undefeated in league.

“We’ve played them for a long time (and) had a lot of good games with them,” said GBHS coach Jason Sitterud.

This year, however, the Grizzlies seems to have the edge over the Thunder. GBHS senior Joe Eyen, one of four varsity captains is very confident they will win and Sitterud thinks the RHS team is struggling this year.

“Rocklin is a lot younger than they

have been in the previous years,” Sitterud said. “A lot of their best players (graduated).”

GBHS, by contrast, has 10 seniors, Sitterud explained. “(This group) is one of the better teams we’ve had come through (this school).”

The GBHS team lost many great players last year as well, but the group as a whole has stepped into their places well, according to Eyen.

So far, the GBHS team has had a strong season.

“If we get the same production we have been this entire season, we’ll continue to win,” Eyen said.

However, Eyen still emphasizes the need for support from the school.

“We need a loud gym, just like all the other gyms,” said Eyen. “A strong fan base is essential to our team’s performance (and) it gives players an extra boost of energy.”

FEBRUARY

16

BY JOHN PARK

jpark.gazette@gmail.com

Granite Bay High School senior Jacob Keys came into his third season of varsity basketball with high expectations for his team, but not necessarily for himself. “(I want us) to try and win league”, said Keys.

Beyond that, the door is wide open he says.

Going into the season, Keys saw the fantastic work ethic of his teammates and how well they played together, and knew that they had an opportunity for something great. And the team has excelled thus far, with Keys at the helm.

For the past decade, he has been honing his skills on the court, and Keys has made clear how talented he is, as he is no stranger to success in basketball. As a freshman, he played for the junior varsity team, and moved up to the varsity level the next year.

On the court, Keys has an aura of control which is only exceeded by his stout resolve to never give up.

“At first, my parents forced me to play basketball. But as I continued to play, I realized how fun it was, and I’ve loved it ever since,” Keys said.

Keys says that above all, he loves the game, and that passion is what allows

high level,” Dixon said.

Varsity is not the only team bringing victory to the wrestling program. The JV wrestlers have also maintained the same undefeated record in the SFL. This team will be the future varsity program in the next few years, and these younger wrestlers have created an outstanding reputation for themselves.

Austin Smith, a JV wrestler at 285 pounds, has built an impressive record himself.

Smith, who broke his arm last season as a freshman and wasn’t able to compete, has been striving to make amends for that first disappointing year.

“I started off slow but …. I trained hard and recapped things I learned last year,” Smith said.

Smith, who hopes to eventually place in the frosh/soph state tournament, has impressed not only his coaches but his teammates as well.

“Austin’s improved drastically, and it’s been pretty cool to watch the JV be successful as well,” Anderson said.

With both teams on the way to a successful second half of the season, much of the credit seems to go to the coaches.

“They are always there to support me, and they push you to your full potential,” Anderson said.

“They understand how to work hard and have fun,” Williams added.

Dixon, for his part, believes the Grizzlies are definitely headed in the right direction.

“We want to continue on this path,” he said.

“Keep setting and achieving (our) goals.”

Gazette photo /JOHN PARK

Senior Jacob Keys defends Roseville basketball player Cole Jacobs during a recent game. Keys has been instrumental to GBHS’ success this season. him to continue playing even when and all the guys on the team respect him. things get tough. The game is a physical When he works hard, the others see that, one that requires large investments of and they’re pushed to work even harder.” time and physical exertion, but he does Senior and teammate Robert Duncan not shy away. also holds Keys in high esteem.

Looking at the box score of a game “You feel bad letting (him) down,” does not always accurately represent how Duncan said. integral Keys is to the team’s success.

According to Duncan, Keys gives the “The things he does for us are not game his best every time, so the team has always things that would appear in his come to expect the same from themstat line. Keys really excels at the intanselves as individuals. gibles” Granite Bay High School varsity Currently, Keys has not received any basketball coach Jason Sitterud said, who scholarship offers, but he is open to playhas helped Keys develop as an athlete for ing for whoever wants him. the past three years.

“I love the game,” Keys said. “I love “He runs the team,” Sitterud said. playing, so I (want to) continue wherever “Nothing fazes him, and he sets the tone I can.”

SPORTS BRIEFS Girls’ basketball wins second game of season

Spring sports begin preparation for 2011 season

wThe GBHS varsity girls’ basketball team, in the midst of a rebuilding year, won its first league game and second overall against visiting Roseville High School on Friday, January 28. The final score of 56-49 was anchored by senior captain Laura Preston’s 15 points and nine rebounds. Preston was aided by senior captain Cayley McDowell, who scored 18 points, including five threepointers.

wAll ten sports participating in the spring 2011 season have started conditioning in anticipation of the new season. Contests begin Saturday, Feb. 19. Varsity softball visits Lindhurst High School for scrimmages, freshman baseball visits the Oak Ridge Jamboree, junior varsity heads to the Vista Del Lago Jamboree, and varsity baseball hosts the Granite Bay Jamboree.

—From staff reports

C6 Sports

Friday, February 11, 2010

w The Granite Bay Gazette

AT A GLANCE

wJunior Shane Saylor, below, works to pin a Del Oro wrestler in their Sierra Foothill League match on Jan. 26. Junior Nathan Brilingtton, far left, is lifted in the air by members of The Tribe after scoring the game-winning three-pointer against the Woodcreek Timberwolves on Feb. 4.

Senior Joe Eyen, left, looks to drive baseline against a Roseville defender on Jan. 20.

Gazette photo /JOHN PARK

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Stats at a Glance:

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Boys’ Basketball

Girls’ Basketball

Wrestling

2/11 @ Roseville 2/16 vs. Rocklin 2/18 vs Del Oro League record: 5-1 as of Feb. 8

2/15 vs. Rocklin 2/17 @Roseville

2/12 SFL Tournament @ Rocklin 2/18-19 vs. Divisionals Div. II 2/25-26 Masters @ Stockton League Record: 6-0 as of Feb. 8

League Record: 1-5 as of Feb. 8

Green Screen The Gazette’s entertainment guide February 2011

Dateland

Activities for singles and sweethearts Pages 12-13

Virtual reading Literati, Kindles and Nooks – oh my!

Page 20

Shift to thrift

Local discount stores to suit your style and budget Page 8

New technology

Forecast for devices to come in 2011 Page16-17

Page 2

Contents.

February 2011

In this

ISSUE...

Fashion feature Page G6 & G7

Thrifting Page G8

Valentine’s guide Page G12 & G13

Apps to organize Page G16

Virtual reading Page G20

Gazette illustrations, front cover design /Alison Sale

February 2010

SUNDAY

Page 3

Calendar.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

February 13

Senior Valentine’s 5th Day Quarter No School!

Academy Awards

28

22

16

March

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

11

ACT Test

Disney on Ice @ Arco 16-21

Lip Sync Soja in San Francisco

9 Midterms

7

19

5 Gazette illustrations/ALISON SALE

MTV shouldn’t stand for Music Television

M

MTV plays almost all reality shows and minimal music

TV has stood for Music Television since 1981. That means for the past thirty years, they have been bringing music videos to the homes of their viewers.

However, music has slowly made its exit from MTV and has been replaced by endless reality shows.

With the ending of Total Request Live in 2008, the content of music on the famous music channel became almost non-existent.

A channel that was once known for airing music videos for over eight hours a day is now better known for “guidos” fist pumping on Jersey Shore, Teen Moms and their drama and seven strangers picked to live in a house on The Real World.

I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy Snooki and her increasingly large hair, but it would be nice to hear songs other than those played on the reality shows.

The only time legitimate music is played is during the small blips or video at the closing

Commentary

jamie cologna jcologna.gazette@gmail.com

credits of many shows. Unless, of course I choose to turn on my television from 3-8 a.m. in order to watch full music videos on AMTV. I’m sorry MTV, but that isn’t going to happen when the audience you target tends to stay up studying all night and is incapable of waking up 3 a.m.

Many viewers might assume that by changing

the channel to MTV2, they may actually be able to catch some tunes. Nope. It’s more reality television.

MTV2 was launched in 1996. It was supposed to give viewers a channel where they could watch commercial-free music videos; that didn’t happen.

Instead it became cluttered by more TV shows where the subject was humor over music, the exception being Sucker Free on MTV. These reality TV take-overs didn’t happen over night. Many of the first reality shows on MTV were music based shows, they were either based on growing music careers or the lives of musicians.

Shows like The Osbournes, The Ashlee Simpson Show, Run’s House, Meet The Barkers, and Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica were all shows that focused on the lives and families of musicians.

That didn’t last, and before long the shows about musicians lives turned into shows about comedy filled competitions and drama, making the network for music, the network of reality drama.

Page 4

A-

Music.

The Decemberists The King Is Dead

BY PARKER EVANS

N

pevans.gazette@gmail.com

o rock operas weaving a high fantasy storyline this time.

After 2009’s brilliant but inaccessible Hazards of Love, the Decemberists abandon the medieval setting and confusing plot and return to a more rootsy sound, infused with country and Americana.

For a band known for its grandiose and extravagant taste as well as its vocabulary, The King Is Dead makes a conscious turn towards the rustic and simple.

The hyperliterate indie pop scholars return in 2011 with a fantastic record that successfully balances a more simplistic approach with engaging, entertaining songwriting and musicianship.

This time around, The Decemberists work with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck on a handful of songs, a relationship which seems strange on the surface, but makes much more sense as the album progresses.

Buck’s influence becomes immediately apparent. His jangling guitar on “Calamity Song” sounds like it could have been ripped straight from an R.E.M. album, and singer Colin Meloy does his part in selling it.

However, the album

B

BLUE NOTE RECORDS

Mission Bell by Amos Lee was released on Jan. 25.

Skip to: Windows Are Rolled Down

A

loses something in abandoning the stories-within-stories that graced previous albums, such as Picaresque and The Crane Wife. Sometimes, I miss good old Colin Meloy storytime.

One thing missing on The King Is Dead is one of The Decemberists classic nautical shanties, of which Meloy has a particular affinity for. The shanty is replaced by “Rox in the Box,” certainly one of the best songs about mining in recent memory.

Even though the subject material has been simplified a bit, one of the most well-read frontmen in music can’t help but infuse a bit of his unique vocabulary into the album, dropping a “trillium and ivy” in the opener, and a “gabardine” in the single “Down By The Water”.

“Down By the Water,” another song with Buck, features a rare prominent bass guitar which lays the foundation for a tune that probably wouldn’t be out of place being sung by railroad workers.

Sometimes, Meloy’s references seem to be obscure for the sake of obscurity, though. He opens one of the verses of “Calamity Song” with the lyrics “Hetty Green/ Queen of supply-side bonhomie bonedrab,” before adding with a smug smile, “know what I mean?”

Hetty Green, of course, was the first woman to make a fortune on Wall Street. Come on, you didn’t know that?

BY BRITTANY HINCE

bhince.gazette@gmail.com

in the midst of all Lee’s trials, and he even asks if God has been hanging out a “little violin” all this time, as if in an act of mock pity.

Lee is on a roll – he really makes use of those soul-sy backup vocals on Mission Bell.

“Flower” shifts from desparation to a declaration of the power of love. It somewhat sounds like Lee should be playing this track live in some Motown dinner theater: “My heart is a flower/That blooms every hour/I believe in the power of love”.

“Jesus” is exactly what the title suggests – a call to the Lord in a time of sorrow and anguish. A baritone voice echoes every stretchedout cry, with the help of soul-infused electric guitars accompanied by a tambourine keeping rhythm. This song was written for Lee’s grandfather, and was composed on the day he died.

“Hello Again” takes on a Spanish vibe, throwing a trumpet solo in between verses every now and again. It’s not the typical Amos Lee, and not my favorite song by any stretch, but it breaks up the album a bit, taking the listener on a detour off the border road while continuing to play upon the idea of loss.

Jake Shimabukuro Peace Love Ukulele

BY AUSTIN DOWNS

I

t’s not everyday that you hear a ukulele album.

Jake Shimabukuro’s new album Peace Love Ukulele is entirely acoustic, with the ukulele being the dominant feature.

The album’s first song “143 (Kelly’s Song)” fits as a good precursor for what to expect with the rest of the album. The song has a nice tempo, yet it felt a tad bit too long.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a great song containing many unique and peaceful ukulele parts. One thing that really stood out to me during

References to 19th century economics aside, the Decemberists seem to feel at home with Americana, with a mournful guitar always CAPITOL RECORDS just around the corner.

Tracks like the twin songs The King Is Dead by “January Hymn” and “June The Decemberists was Hymn” would have been too released on Jan. 18. simple for previous Decemberists albums, but are two of the brightest stars on The Skip to: King Is Dead.

June Harmonicas and accordions abound in The King Hymn Is Dead, contributing to the old-timey feel. After previous ambitious albums, the Decemberists don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel.

The record sounds like a jam session overheard in a back room of a late-1800s saloon.

The King Is Dead is the Decemberists’ shortest album to date, clocking in at just over 40 minutes. The album is very open, accessible and even somewhat radio-friendly.

The King Is Dead strikes a much-needed balance between ornate and straightforward.

Amos Lee Mission Bell

mos Lee takes a different route with Mission Bell. A route down the El Camino, actually.

Mission Bell has the same folk/soul/jazz undertones as his previous albums, but this time Amos takes the soul element of his style and amplifies it tenfold. Mission Bell is rich with spiritual content, and its maturity offsets much of the more playful folk songs of his previous albums.

“El Camino” sets the tone for the rest of the album. It depicts a downtrodden man’s journey to cleanse his soul – this song radiates freedom.

The reprise at the end of the album ups the ante with the addition of Willie Nelson and a sweet harmonica bit.

“Windows Are Rolled Down” is my favorite track on the album. It is sophisticated folk (if there is such a thing) with a great deal more soul, and beautiful acoustic accompaniment.

There is quite a bit of desperation on this album. “Violin” questions where God has been

adowns.gazette@gmail.com

February 2011

the song was when Jake Shimabukuro broke out into a “ukulele solo.”

“Bring Your Adz” is the album’s most upbeat and fast-paced song – the speed of the ukulele is something of its own. This song’s tune will probably make you listen to it again, except you would be jamming to it on the air-ukulele.

The song “Boy Meets Girl” is the weakest track on the album. It has a boring chorus that does not engage the listener in the slightest.

Following that, “Go For Broke” offers a unique mix of background instruments as well as maintaining a slower, more thought-provoking beat.

“Trapped” has the album’s greatest intro. It carries a dramatic sense to it, which suits the title quite well. The song has many noticeable good transitions between speeds of the ukulele.

“Variation on a Dance” is the album’s jazziest tune with a fantastic, enjoyable ukulele solo.

The album’s shorter song, “Pianoforte,” satisfies for the time allowed. On top of that, the ending is very well done.

“Five Dollars Unleaded” is spoton as far as a chorus that can be repeated without any sense in the slightest of becoming too repetitive. Also, this song has great transitions and a very engaging solo.

“Learned a Lot” is another soul-infused, reflective song with the additional flare of an organ in the background, and an electric guitar solo somewhere in the middle.

And here’s where the spiritual content makes its reappearance and lays it on heavy.

“Cup of Sorrow” is still more folksy than gospel-ly, but you can’t help imagining yourself clapping along with the congregation of some church down South. It’s different, but it’s fun.

“Clear Blue Eyes is Slow,” depressing, and possesses the country drawl of Linda Williams; not very noteworthy.

“Behind Me Now” has harsh enjambments in the chorus that give off the sense of trudging forward. The idea is easily summed up by the last line: “All my best days are behind me now/ still I find a way to live somehow.”

I definitely recommend Mission Bell if you can handle the folk, and if are looking for an album that’s rich in soul-sy instrumentals and powerful lyrics. It’s not for everyone, but it’s worth checking out.

A-

“Ukulele Bros” has the album’s fastest intro. The beat used in the song is very suspenseful at some points, yet the overall length of the song is just a bit too long to keep the entire song fully engaging.

The final song, “Hallelujah,” is the most relaxing. The end of the song picks up speed, but then slowly fades out to successfully conclude the album.

Overall, in terms of the style Shimabukuro went for, Peace Love Ukulele is definitely entertaining and a blast to listen to. If you are looking for acoustic music that is unique and fun, I would recommend this album.

MAILBOAT RECORDS

Peace Love Ukulele

by Jason Shimabukuro was released on Jan. 4.

Skip to: Bring Your Adz

February 2011

Teacher Playlist “Falling” by Iration – This is so mellow and it’s just ear candy.

“Other Side” by Rebelution – Probably my favorite song right now, both the lyrics and the beat. I love the bridge.

PARTY MUSIC M I X TA P E

BY JON SETIAWAN

jsetiawan.gazette@gmail.com

“The Courage to Grow” by Rebelution – I like this song because the lyrics are pure and simple.

“Is This Love” by Bob Marley – This song just makes me happy.

Page 5

More Music.

 Judi Daniels

“White boots” by the Vaughan brothers – This is my favorite song from their album “Family Style” because I cannot sit still when I hear it. I have to move.

“Nick of Time” by Bonnie Raitt – I like the beat and the lyrics. They also make me want to move.

“Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt – I also like the beat and lyrics to this song.

“There is a Line” by Susan Ashton – This is a song about integrity and boundaries. It’s a sort of personal anthem.

“Mockingbird” by Derek Webb – Again, lyrics that I can relate to.

“When Doves Cry” by Prince - I first heard the song when I saw the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet. It hit a chord in me about how we often grow up to be just like our parents (even though we swore we would never be like that) and that can cause such difficulty and pain in our lives. I also relate to the idea of isolation and being bereft of love as often as not because of our own shortcomings. So, clearly, it’s the lyrics that have personal meaning for me here, but the changes in the music and the sort of alternative sound also attract me.

- compiled by Jon Setiawan

Music for all the party animals.

Whether you are throwing a party or partying it up by yourself, this mixtape is sure to get you off the couch and moving.

1. “Tell Me When to Go (Trackademics Remix)” by E-40 Most people will remember this song from junior high school dances. This version adds a fresh new take to an old song, and is enhanced by a very interesting beat.

2. “Outta Your Mind” by Lil Jon Caution – May result in concussions when everyone on the dance floor begins to “get outta their mind” dancing.

3. “San Francisco Dreaming” by Benny Benassi vs. Global DJs This is another old favorite with a new twist, including Benny Benassi’s signature electronic sounds.

4. “Blade” by Ali Payami Techno makes for the ultimate party music. This upbeat song will have you and your friends fist-pumping for hours on end.

5. “The Only Rave Party” by The Only And the party continues with The Only. This is another song with an

insane techno beat, perfect for fistpumping.

6. “Alors On Dance” by Stromae This is a European house song that’s a little more laid back, but it still qualifies as a party song that’s fun to dance to.

7. “No Matter What You Do” by Benny Benassi For anyone who is a little tired of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction,” but who still enjoys the style, this song has a fast beat, with Benny Benassi’s signature synth sounds.

8. “Shots” by LMFAO feat. Lil Jon A classic electronic dance song, “Shots” will make anyone get up to dance, no matter the situation.

9. “Call Me Dougie” by New Boyz featuring Chris Brown For those who like the hip hop over electronic beats, this song has a very catchy beat that’s sure to get stuck in your head and keep the party going.

10. “Go Girl” by Baby Bash featuring E-40 Baby Bash’s popular dance hit combines the electronic sounds of many house artists and the hard hitting beats from hip hop.

Musician of the Month: Carson Johnson

BY MOOSA ZAIDI

I

mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

f you go to Club Retro, you will find Carson Johnson.

Club Retro is a local venue for bands, and junior Carson Johnson is a Granite Bay High School student who can do much more than just strum a few chords.

Johnson is in the band World at Large that regularly plays at Club Retro.

Just recently, Johnson became an employee at the music club. However, Johnson has a history with music that extends far beyond these recent acquisitions.

Johnson has been playing guitar since sixth grade. He can play the bass and drums, even though he has neither instrument and has never received music lessons. Johnson is completely self-taught. “(Music is) almost like a sport,” Johnson said. “(It’s) something you’re just passionate about.”

For Johnson, music is much more than a hobby. He wants to keep working for Club Retro, but he also eventually wants to go on tour with a band, even if the band is not a large or greatly famous.

Johnson currently plays for the band World at Large with fellow juniors Nick Jones, Jonathan Schifferle and other friends.

Johnson has been part of several bands before, but he considers this one by far the most successful.

The other bands just held practices and played music with each other. The World in Large is the first band that Johnson has been in that actually performs publicly at shows.

Johnson describes World at Large as having alternative rock music and acoustic sound.

Johnson’s favorite rock band is the metalcore band A Day to Remember. Johnson and his friends are also working on forming a new metal band.

The band members create most of their own songs, both the music and lyrics.

To compose songs, Johnson and Jones will sit late into the night in a room filled with strawberry-flavored incense.

They haven’t written too many songs because they prefer to spend time on each song and craft it carefully.

Song titles so far have included “Friends Are All That It’s About” and “Napalm Strike” – a reference to the popular video game, Call of Duty.

So far the band’s only booking has been at Club Retro, but Johnson is confident they have more in store.

Johnson, who has met hundreds of musicians throughout his life, no longer considers meeting musicians especially thrilling. “(The) most exciting (thing is) definitely just playing a show,” Johnson said.

No band that Johnson has been a part of has gone on tour yet. However, he has hope for the future.

Gazette photo /RACHAEL VASQUEZ

Carson Johnson works at Club Retro in Orangevale.

Gazette illustrations/MATT PALKOWSKI and SAMANTHA SPARGO

Page 6

February 2011

Fashion.

Warmth in the midst of cold Gazette story and photography by Sarah Bertin

A

s the New Year passes by, more winter rolls into California and the rest of the states.

With another few weeks of cold and clouds in Granite Bay, today’s winter fashion attire should be able to keep us warm: fur, leather, boots and scarves.

Leather and denim jackets can be used interchangeably since both have been seen in these winter months.

Dark or light, or tight or loose, denim jackets keep coming back to be used any time of the year. Whether it is gray, black or brown leather and whether it is for women or for men, there is no denying leather is in. It can be Blake Lively’s tight motorcyclist jacket or Jessica Alba’s plain, loose jacket.

Urban Outfitters, H&M and Forever 21 have a variety of different items.

Multiple rings on your hands are the season’s biggest accessories.

Scarves finish off the perfect outfit, whether with an infinity scarf or a classic around-the-neck one. -

Jacket: H&M Scarf: Vans Pants: Victorias Secret Boots: Saks 5th Ave. Gazette photos/ SARAH BERTIN

Gazette model /Andrea Obradovic

February 2011

Page 7

Fashion.

T

he braid is innocent. The sizes vary from small braids in the front of your hair that frame the face or big, thick braids that can wrap around the entire head.

T

he middle-hair part is back. It might not be for everyone, but the part accentuates your face by removing the bangs that used to cover your eyes and forehead.

Gazette photos/ SARAH BERTIN

O

ut of Paris’s fashion week came fur. The models were covered in fur, whether it was their hats or their jackets. The short and long pea coats were either completely covered in fur or trimmed the neck and wrists.

These can be especially expensive when the stores use real animal fur, in stores such as Nordstrom and Bebe, ranging from $199 and up. Thankfully for those animal lovers, there are coats with faux-fur in stores such as H&M and Macy’s.

Dark brown, black and cream colors will create a perfect outfit. This winter has been all about the neutral colors. Over-the-knee boots will keep you warm through wind and rain; those from Saks 5th Avenue or Nordstrom look good any day.

Jacket: Bebe Shirt: H&M Jeans: Pacsun Ring: H&M

Page 8

February 2011

Thrift.

[SHIFTING TO THRIFTING] A store guide for those seeking fun fashion at low prices Deseret Industries

BY ALLISON GARVEY

agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

Eco Thrift

3000 Auburn Blvd Sacramento, CA 95820

7305 Greenback Ln Citrus Heights, CA 95621

On Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento lies a giant Costco-sized complex by the name of Deseret Industries.

As I walked into the store, I was greeted warmly by a cashier as I took in the massive store, which looked a bit more like Nordstrom’s Rack than a conventional thrift store. It was incredibly clean and organized – I breathed in a light scent of Pine Sol as I took in the huge selection of jackets, short and long sleeve shirts, dresses and every other type of clothing that was categorized neatly on separate racks by size.

Within five minutes I found at least four items that I would be willing to buy.

They have a wide variety of clothing available in a wide range of sizes.

However, none of their clothing is too adventurous or out-of-the-box. Staple items – shirts and sweaters in mostly basic colors – are Deseret Industries strong suit. “(Deseret Industries is) good for getting basics…to layer with other pieces” senior Brittany Vu said.

If you’re thrifting to get that vintage lace vest or distressed leather jacket, this probably isn’t the place to find it. But if you’re looking for essentials to add to your wardrobe, Deseret Industries is the place to go.

Tucked between Safeway and the Dollar Tree on Greenback Lane is the environmentally conscious Eco Thrift, which is packed with rack upon rack of clothing.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and the store was bustling with every type of customer from teenager to grandmother. At first I was a bit overwhelmed because the store was packed with clothes that everyone was just sorting through; I became concerned I’d be there for an hour without getting through all of their merchandise.

Most regular Eco Thrift customers have a specific item which they look for.

“It’s the best store for hats” Kevin Kong said.

Once I got started, however, I found it easy enough to find quality pieces for incredibly cheap prices.

The store has ongoing sales, so depending on the item you can get anywhere from 25 to 50 percent off your purchase; for me, that meant getting a denim jacket, sweater and scarf for $8.99.

Thrift Town 5005 Stockton Blvd Sacramento, CA 95820 Thrift Town is the perfect store for the more traditional thrift shopper.

Upon walking inside, I realized this wasn’t the store to go to when there isn’t time to search for that perfect item.

“You’re sorting through all these clothes, but eventually you find something that looks cool and is really cheap and it’s so satisfying” senior Ashby Vose said.

Thrift Town offers everything from jewelry to sleepwear: if you’re willing to put the time into finding the clothes, chances are Thrift Town will have something there for you. The prices are slightly higher than the norm, but after some searching I managed to find a few sweaters and a pair of leather flats, all for less than ten dollars.

To fully appreciate Thrift Town, you have to be ready to do a little digging and enjoy the thrift store atmosphere. If you can do that, there is no doubt that you will walk away with something completely one-of-a-kind.

Freestyle

6412 Tupelo Dr Ste D Citrus Heights, CA 95621 Freestyle lives up to its name, the Crossroads-esque consignment thrift store is made up of everything from floral long sleeve shirts to colorful, beaded vests.

“The thing about Freestyle is, they have a lot of different looks...you can find whatever you want” senior Ben Steinher said.

I browsed the racks of clothing and stylish outfitted mannequin’s to the beat of Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears, and eventually gravitated towards a small corner of the store that was vintage-inspired, a bit more indie in contrast to the rest of their merchandise. There they featured vintage dresses and leather jackets, and a variety of shoes, hats, belts and other odds and ends that bring life to a wardrobe.

Being on the upscale side of thrift stores, you’re not going to find a jacket for $3.99--most pieces are priced upwards from 8 dollars.

As an added bonus, Freestyle will pay for clothing that you bring in, whether that’s in the form of actual cash, or trade for their merchandise.

Thrift Town offers everything from jewelry to jeans and is located in Sacramento.

Gazette photo /ALLISON GARVEY

February 2011

Shop.

Page 9

What’s the deal with this coupon craze?

BY ADAM TILFORD atilford.gazette@gmail.com

F

or most people, the value of a dollar is never understood until their first job, where they have to earn every cent. Once this value is understood, frugality becomes a normal part of a person’s life.

Of course, there are the extremists: the “wait-threedays-in-line-for-the-sale-of-the-decade” kind of people; the “I-may-not-need-it-but-this-deal-is-too-good-to-passup” kind of people. These coupon-clipping, sale scouring individuals represent the attitude of almost all consumers, albeit in an extreme way.

Everyone wants to find the best deal – everyone wants to save money.

For this reason, any company that helps them do this is most likely going to do well, including the recent company Groupon.

Groupon is an online coupon site that has a daily deal for most major cities. The coupons are generally about 50 percent discounts, but here’s the interesting part: when you purchase the coupon, it will only go into effect once enough people buy it, otherwise everyone gets refunds.

On the site, the number of people required to purchase the coupon before it goes into effect is called the “tipping point,” and it is almost always reached.

This sounds like a simple premise, but it works so well that the company has grown incredibly fast.

Groupon, barely two years old, has had a lot of success. In fact, according to Forbes Magazine last year, Groupon is the fastestgrowing company in web history, and was already earning profits just 7 months after its inception.

The man behind the curtain of this seemingly magical success story is Andrew Mason, who seems to be pretty much the exact opposite of a stereotypical businessman or CEO. This funny, relaxed man from Pittsburgh managed to create this situation where everyone involved with Groupon wins.

“I think it’s good because it helps keep sales up for the firms and it gives the consumers a discount,” Granite Bay High School senior Ryan Marakas said, “so it helps the economy.”

Gazette Illustrations/JUSTIN SHIIBA

Evan Miller, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, uses the term “golden football” to describe the economics behind Groupon.

Groupon warps the general constraints of supply and demand through its “group buying” platform, and allows everyone to benefit from the results.

For every daily deal, customers get a great value, businesses get new customers, and Groupon gets a cut of the profits.

Ben Steinher, a GBHS senior, points out that Groupon is so great that creates something even better than a winwin situation.

“Actually it’s a win-win-win,” Steinher said, “A triple ‘W’.”

This “triple W” is all dependent on people buying the coupons, so the question boils down to: are the coupons for places people actually want to go to?

The answer is yes, and Groupon works hard to keep it that way. They use surveys and demographic information to tailor the offers they send out, so there’s always something for everybody.

“Despite the fact that I am a... male teenager, it still comes in handy to me,” Steinher said.

GBHS parent Grace Pettingill is a proponent of Groupon as well.

“I think it’s a good way to try new things,” Pettingill said. “Maybe... products that you might not have tried before or would be unwilling to try at full price.”

Almost everything about the system is beneficial, so it’s very hard to find any downsides to the Groupon equation.

Hard, but not impossible.

“The one downside... is you definitely have to read the fine print,” Pettingill said. “Some of them have expirations and exclusions that some people may have a problem with.”

Pettingill knows this from firsthand experience, when she once bought a coupon that expired in only about two weeks. However, cases like that are very rare, and the risk level is pretty low when you only have to pay half price, she said.

Groupon continues to grow on a daily basis, and has huge potential. Mason even rejected a 6 billion dollar buyout offer from Google.

For all the stock market players out there, keep those fingers crossed for an IPO from Groupon in 2011.

For all you coupon-hoarders, just relax. Groupon’s got you covered.

Page 10

February 2011

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Italy

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s t a T the

Mexico

China

world

India Lebanon

Mehfil Indian Restaurant

BY JON SETIAWAN jsetiawan.gazette@gmail.com

E

very once in a while, I get a craving for some truly ethnic foods. That’s why when a friend of mine told me about a great local Indian restaurant called Mehfil, I knew I had to get a few close friends together to try it.

For some, driving a ways to get a decent meal can be a hassle. Luckily, the restaurant is a short distance for most Granite Bay citizens.

Mehfil is conveniently located in the Office Depot complex off of Douglas Boulevard in Roseville.

The first thing you’ll notice as you enter the restaurant is the atmosphere.

The dining room is simplistically decorated, and two flat screens that play various Bollywood videos keep the mood light.

This, accompanied by a very welcoming staff, creates a warm environment that will make anyone feel at home.

My friends and I were immediately seated to a table and began to browse through the selection of dishes at the buffet.

Mehfil has a buffet lunch seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to three p.m. for just under ten dollars.

The buffet features a wide variety of dishes including vegetarian and vegan friendly dishes as well as different curries.

Although I was not quite sure

of some of the dishes, an employee kindly came over to talk my friends and me through the buffet, explaining what each dish was, and the various ingredients in it.

I ended up getting a plate of butter chicken curry with rice. This was accompanied with fresh hot naan (Indian bread) which was promptly delivered to our table after we sat down.

First off, the bread was phenomenal.

It was very fresh and flavorful, and the servers kept refilling our breadbasket with more fresh bread.

Without a doubt, this was one of the best parts of our meal.

The butter chicken was equally delicious. It was incredibly smooth and complimented the white rice very nicely.

A little into our meal, we were personally served a few specialty items, including assorted fried vegetables, which tasted similar to an egg roll.

The service was something else.

The staff was exceptionally warm and helpful, frequently checking in, and refilling our drinks, along with offering more naan at the first sight of an empty basket.

Overall, the meal was incredibly filling, and for less than ten dollars, it was a great deal.

The service was great, and the staff was very friendly. Mehfil is highly recommended to anyone looking for great Indian food and great service for a cheap price.

Chicago Fire

BY CHRISTINE ZAVESKY czavesky.gazette@gmail.com

C

hicago, Illinois may not have glaring Italian qualities besides its gangs and immigrants, but the restaurant that carries its name makes a pizza as mean as a Mafia boss.

Chicago Fire is a locally owned restaurant that was first established in Folsom in 2003 by a man who moved to Sacramento from the Chicago area, wanting to bring the notorious pizza style to the West Coast. The original restaurant was so popular that it tripled its locations, with the most recent one opening in Roseville at the intersection of North Sunrise Blvd and Eureka Road in the United Artists movie theater parking lot.

Due to the popular nature of the restaurant, my friend and I chose to go in the quiet hours between lunch and dinner with two large appetites.

To “go big or go home” was the outlook we had going in, and we decided to order a full meal, with an appetizer, main course and dessert.

First was the appetizer, and we went with the intriguing Baked Artichoke, which is a whole artichoke seasoned with Caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, butter, and olive oil.

I’m not the biggest artichoke fan – I could easily last the rest of my life without eating another one – but it was surprisingly good. The Caesar dressing sounded like a strange combination with the artichoke, but the flavors went together perfectly.

For our pizza selection, we chose a deep dish cheese pizza with chicken. Honestly, it isn’t an amazing stand alone pizza, but when I used ranch dressing for dip, the flavors richened and it reached a whole new level of flavor. Every bite was absolutely fantastic.

Even though I was completely full, I couldn’t resist their Chocolate Chip Cookie pizza, similar to a Pizookie from BJ’s Brewery. However, I think Chicago Fire has BJ’s beat on this one. A large, delicious chocolate chip cookie completely covered in vanilla ice cream and whipped cream was the perfect finish to a delicious meal.

It errs on the pricier side, but the food is worth every penny. At least an hour and a half must be slotted out because the experience at all hours tends to take some time, especially with deep dish or stuffed pizzas.

However, with all that in mind, Chicago Fire is a restaurant worth trying if you want a large, tasty meal.

Gazette photo/MAGGIE LOUIS

Chicago Fire may be pricey, but it’s worth it for the rich food.

February 2011

Lorenzo’s Mexican Restaurant

BY ALLISON GARVEY

agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

W

ith popular restaurants such as Chipotle, Costa Vida and Rubio’s scattered across the area, it’s easy for others to be left undiscovered. This is the case with Lorenzo’s Mexican Restaurant on Taylor Road in Roseville.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted warmly by a waitress who promptly asked if we preferred a booth or table and walked us to our seats.

Before I could settle into the chili pepper upholstered seats, our waitress appeared with a basket of warm corn tortilla chips and fresh salsa.

As I munched away on the crispy chips, I started to look around and take in the rest of the atmosphere.

The walls were traditional stucco, there were colorful masks hung on the walls, and a mural of a mission at sunset sat on the wall opposite our booth.

After we ordered our drinks, I began to look through the menu. They offered a large variety of appetizers, sides and entrées; you could choose anything from seafood fajitas to burritos.

I decided on the flautas, a smaller version of a chimichanga, which is served with avocado and chipotle sauce.

I barely had time to finish the chips in front of me before our waitress

Page 11

Eat.

returned with a plate as broad as my shoulders, with generous servings of beans and cheese, rice, and four flautas.

The quality of the food matched the service we had experienced. The flautas were crispy and warm, and the chipotle sauce was spicy but not overpowering.

After being so pleased with the entrée, I was slightly disappointed with the rice and beans, which while tasty didn’t seem up to par with the rest of the meal.

The restaurant has a true family style atmosphere – the servings are large enough to share, and smaller rooms keep warm air circulating.

The close quarters, however, seemed to be the restaurants biggest downfall.

A group of three women seated at the table across from us gabbed and shouttalked throughout the course of their meal, to the point where I could barely hear my mother speaking across from me.

Once we finished our meal and got the check, I was surprised as I saw that the meal was about $11 per person, including tax and tip. The chips and salsa were complimentary, as were drink refills. For the size of the portions they give you at a sit down restaurant, I thought it was an exceptional deal.

Overall, if you’re looking for a smaller, less frequented restaurant with exceptional food and service and don’t mind closer quarters, Lorenzo’s is the perfect place for you.

Maalouf’s Taste of Lebanon

BY SAHIL KHOSLA skhosla.gazette@gmail.com

A

bdul and Rita Maalouf were born in Lebanon and grew up with a shared passion for culinary arts and Lebanese cuisine.

Abdul fulfilled his lifelong dream of opening a restaurant, upon his arrival in Sacramento. In 2001, Maalouf’s Taste of Lebanon was born, providing traditional Lebanese fare to the community.

After I strolled in, a friendly server greeted me, led me to a table and handed me a menu. And so began the luscious meal.

I started with several appetizers, including the classic Baba Ganouj with its rich and bold, velvety eggplant and tahini pleasure.

The flavorful Foul Muddamas, made of crushed fava beans, was a smooth, creamy bowl of heavenly goodness, with its subtle accents of zesty lemon and sharp garlic notes.

It was served with a side of warm pita bread, fresh olives and pickle. It was an impressive beginning to an even more exquisite meal.

Chef and owner Abdul Maalouf was cooking up some appetizing delights, and after a brief interval, the main course, the Chicken Shawarma and a side of tabouli arrived with its splendor, enticing my taste buds with an aromatic scent of steamy delight that made my mouth water.

Succulent slices of well-seasoned

chicken were enclosed in soft warm pita bread with cool and refreshing pickles, tomatoes and a special piquant garlic sauce topping. The course was truly ambrosial, the pièce de résistance that left me in foodie bliss.

I also got a bite of the scrumptious falafel, an appetizer made of chickpeas, which was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

The last part of my extravagant meal was the baklava, with its rich crispy layers; its nutty and dulcet flavors brought a splendid conclusion to the gastronomical adventure.

Overall the presentation was very neat and well executed, providing dishes that not only tasted great but also looked just as appealing.

The atmosphere was simplistic yet made for a close and amicable setting for such a meal – my table was close to the partially-exposed kitchen, allowing me to watch the food sizzle and cook as I waited anxiously.

The food was reasonably priced and freshly prepared by Maalouf and his staff. At the end of the meal, it was nice to see Maalouf check on his diners to see if their meal was satisfactory. “Yes,” it certainly was in my case.

If you’re in the mood for something a bit more adventurous than the conventional local fare, then head out to Maalouf’s Taste of Lebanon and let your taste buds indulge in some epicurean delight and experience Lebanese cuisine at its finest.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

BY MATT VENEMAN

mveneman.gazette@gmail.com

P

.F. Chang’s has a reputation of being one of Roseville’s finest Chinese restaurants.

P.F. Chang’s is located off of East Roseville Parkway, near the mall, easily accessible from nearly anywhere in the surrounding community.

If you plan on going out on a weekend, it is wise to make a reservation, for the wait is usually very long without one.

My party, however, made reservations and we were instantly seated in a large circular booth overlooking most of the restaurant.

The building was filled with traditional Chinese artifacts and statues, and big iron horses overlooked the restaurant.

We were quickly greeted by our waitress and I soon found myself very annoyed with her and her personality.

To me it seemed as if she acted like a young teenage girl. She constantly tried to make stupid jokes and talked in weird, sometimes inaudible voices.

She took our drink orders and returned a few minutes later with them. The wine my mom ordered,

however, was not correct and once we notified the waitress of this, she promptly brought a new glass.

After that ordeal, we ordered our food and began to wait eagerly as hunger set in.

Nearly a half hour passed and our food still had not arrived.

Our waitress, though, was at the table next to us talking and laughing with another party. I looked over and saw her giggling and showing them pictures of her baby.

Once she finally stopped socializing and started doing her job, our food arrived. The waitress seemed to have talked and talked and lost track of time, leaving our food sitting out on the counter, for when it arrived it was only warm and a layer of glaze had formed on the food.

Although the food may have sat out for a minute or so, it was still quite good.

The lemon chicken was made with fine chicken breast, served in bite-size pieces mixed with fresh broccoli and topped in a homemade lemon sauce.

The orange peel chicken contained bite sized chicken pieces with homemade orange sauce made with real orange peels. To me this dish was a little too dry and sometimes I felt like I was actually eating orange peels.

The mu shu pork was served with a variety of

vegetables and wrapped in thin pancakes.

And finally there’s the lo mein. This is basically the traditional Chinese noodles served with vegetables and chicken. To me, this is one of P.F. Chang’s best dishes.

Although the waitress may have been annoying, the food was delicious – even the poor service did not overshadow the quality of the food. Dishes are not cheap, but not terribly expensive either. Most dishes are around $15.

Despite some unpleasant service, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro has delicious and satisfying meals.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

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r o o rt l o s a e o h g t e o t e y s w a e s c D r a l u s ’ o ine P y h ent t i o t w Val n e m r fo acra ALE S S N O n ff i S ALI e Sta

February 2011

Date.

Every F rid Eastern ay, Midtown S to S swing d tar Ballroom h mp ancing le olds partner ssons. N n p.m. Da ecessary. Less o o n ($8-12 p cing: 9 p.m. - m ns: 8 - 9 er perso id n) 2719 night.

K Stree t

Learn to dance the tango!

Firehouse 5 holds beginning tango classes at 6:30 p.m and open dance floor at 8:30 p.m.

Thursday – 2014B 9th Street ($10 per person for drop-in)

Oscar-nominated short films at The Crest Theatre – 1013 K Street (Students: $6)

Bike Re n 114 J S tals at Practica treet. (C l Cycle r and tan – dem bik uisers $5 an h o es $12 an hour ur )

BY azett G

T team wo impro s com v the h it sho pete like Line w Wh is 2230 it Anywa ose y A Frida rden Wa ? y and y.

8 - 9: 45 p. Saturday m. ($ 8-10)

Couples

Singles

-In ive ve Dr ri ix s D -S te ne a O 6O to 61 en – 9 am s cr tre Sa hea T

Mayhem! Chicago Style Improv at the ComedySportz Theater – 2230 Arden Way. Different improv formats: Soap Opera, SoundTrax, Mock-u-mentary and others. Age 15+ Thursday 8 - 9:30 p.m. ($5)

Sky High – 11327 Folsom Boulevard, Rancho Cordova.

Under 18 must have parentsigned waiver. ($9 for the first hour, $6 for the second) Book online before to reserve a spot.

Rocky Mo u Chocolate ntain F 1039 2nd actory – Street

Home-made gluten free hostess cupcakes at Sugar Plum Vegan Café – 2315 K Street

 For a wide variety of high-end cakes go to Rick’s Dessert Diner – 2322 K Street

Michelangelo’s Restaurant – 1725 I Street (Check out the live guitarist on Thursday night)

Attention all Monty Python diehards! The 39 Steps is a comedy based on an original Alfred Hitchcock movie, with references to Monty Python. B Street Theatre – 2711 B Street

Free samples galore at Candy Heaven – 1201 Front Street

Granite Arch Climbing Center – 11335 Folsom Boulevard, Rancho Cordova. Friday and Saturday nights (after 6 p.m.) is $12.50 for students. $17.50 any other time.

Gazette illustrations and photo illustrations/ALISON SALE

Page 14

February 2011

Enjoy.

iPhone App of the Month: Bubble Ball

BY GARY NIELSEN

W

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.

hile on another voyage to find a bearable time-killing Iphone App, Bubble Ball managed to make its way onto my Iphone.

The name itself didn’t seem as engaging as Angry Birds or any of the other popular apps, but you can’t judge an application by its title.

Like any good addicting application, the ultimate goal of Bubble Ball is simple. Get the bubble ball to the checkered flag.

“How does one achieve this goal?” One may ask. Well, this is a physics app. Using a limited supply of drop down tools the user must use gravity to roll the ball to the flag.

Movable blocks that are predetermined on each level can be placed anywhere on the level, even overlapping preset unmovable platforms.

Once placed, pressing start kicks in the game’s gravity allowing the ball to free fall along with any floating wooden blocks. Any wooden blocks that were placed overlapping a platform get moved either up or down depending on their placement.

Level one lets this entire idea sink in, as it is just a floating ball with a single triangle block after having read the message “To get started, drag the wood triangle from the top and place it under the bubble, so it can roll into the goal.”

Each level introduces a new block to be utilized and different walls and floors that

must be maneuvered around to reach the flag.

To be frank, it seems that four levels into Bubble Ball there is little to no potential for entertainment.

Then there is level five.

A combination of floating horizontal platforms, along with the limited supply of blocks makes this level one of the most frustrating yet rewarding levels to conquer.

All there is to use are a triangle block and a flat board, and it’s hard.

Nothing is more validating however than watching that bubble ball barely inch its way to the flag.

This stage is also the first in which the rotation tool is utilized. Tapping the blocks will rotate them clockwise adding more variability and possible combinations to each level.

By level seven most players should be block-placing masters. So to make things even more interesting, gravNAY GAMES ity shifting circles are added to the arsenal.

When the bubble ball moves in front of these it is thrown towards the direction the arrow stamped onto it points.

Only one more tool remains to be introduced, and those are the medal blocks.

Medal blocks don’t fall after pressing start, so they can be the most useful.

A basic concept along with 3 tool types makes for an entertaining equation. The fun lies in Bubble Ball’s difficulty. Mindless it is not. Bearable and time killing it most definitely is, which is what makes Bubble Ball this February’s App of the Month.

Pac Man (Rémi GAILLARD) ghost onto a golf course, seeking the little white orbs that Pacman is famous for devouring. nown very well in the Unfortunately he chooses the wrong YouTube community for his little girl to try and steal a golf ball insane public pranks, Gailfrom, as her father runs up and lands lard managed to out do himself once a solid blow to Gaillard’s leg with again. what appears to be his putter.

Gaillard, dressed in a Pacman Luckily for Gaillard, Pacman has costume, is seen sprinting through three lives. the sliding doors of a store followed He continues his white orb feeding by a red, a pink and an orange ghost frenzy at a local bar, but this time it following closely behind. is the billiards cue ball he craves. The The group then proceeds to run tides then turn on his ghost counterup and down the various isles of the parts as Pacman becomes the predator market while concerned shoppers with his adversarial ghosts now the look onward. prey.

Galliard then tackles a man in a As they run around the pool table, strawberry costume standing in the pushing and shoving for space. Galproduce aisle. liard returns the cue which he has As the video continues however, the been carrying the entire time and situation only seems to escalate. leaves the scene.

The setting changes and Galliard The viewer is taken back to the now runs followed by a single pink original super market in which the red ghost meets his end. A man in a suit, supposedly the store’s manager, tackles the poor unsuspecting red ghost to the ground from behind only to have the pink ghost trip running the opposite direction right into his custody as well.

The four are thrown out onto the streets and the man in the suit starts shooing them away. He notices the camera and extends YOUTUBE a palm into the lens angrily. Pac Man is imitated by Rémi GAME OVER. Gaillard in this public prank.

BY GARY NIELSEN

K

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.

Rugrats

BY ALEX PINK

W

apink.gazette@gmail.com

hether people are watching Snooki party hard on Jersey Shore or Stewie and Brian set off on thrilling, witty adventures on Family Guy, people always seem to be drawn to the amusing, irrational drama and the hyperbolic situational irony of modern day TV. What happened to being entertained by babies?

Not just any kind of babies, but Rugrats.

Joining the Nickelodeon Channel in 1991, the Rugrats TV series aired for 13 years.

Tommy Pickles, the one year old adventurous baby, was the leader of the pack. He was always accompanied by his best friend Chuckie Finster, who was the typical, witty scaredy-cat.

Watching the life of Tommy Pickles and his three friends Chuckie Finster, Phil and Lil Deville was always beyond entertaining. The adventures of these clever babies consisted of exaggerated baby challenges and conflicts they faced in the sand box or within the infamous bars of the play pen.

The babies also faced tension with Angelica, Tommy’s evil, three year-old cousin.

The babies were constantly terrorized and pushed around by Angelica’s villainous attitude; however, she

always suffered the worst and eventually learned a valuable lesson, usually involving how to treat others.

This is the typical plot of a childhood television show. However, the baby’s cute humor made Rugrats exceptional.

As the viewers began to grow up, watching the babies became less and less entertaining.

However, the best part of the Rugrats show is that it later turned into the first spin-off of Nickelodeon, All Grown Up! All Grown Up! revealed the lives of the Rugrats in their adolescent stages and showed the many middle school issues they faced.

Rugrats was not only a Nickelodeon television show.

Rugrats Go to Paris and the Rugrats Movie were two movies created and spun off of the Rugrats TV show that exposed the other adventures that Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie, Phil and Lil embarked upon.

Rugrats is no longer aired on Nickelodeon. However, DVDs can be purchased to satisfy Rugrats fanatics.

Sadly, television has evolved and modern day interNICKELODEON ests have changed.

The new hit television stars are no longer charming Rugrats was a hit show on Nickelodeon for babies, but Rugrats will remain a beloved and remem- over a decade. bered childhood television show of Nickelodeon.

February 2011

Page 15

Organize.

Applying organization

BY ADRIENNE BLEVENS ablevens.gazette@gmail.com

W

ith the importance of smartphones on the rise, it’s unsurprising that there are thousands of apps nowadays to help people in nearly every facet of their lives.

Many of these apps can be used to help organize day to day activities and make life a little less hectic. Whether it’s a tool that creates and categorizes lists and notes, aids with studying or keeps track of homework, there’s an app for that.

LockBox Store important, yet easily forgotten, information on secure “note cards” with LockBox. It is designed to hold things like account usernames and passwords, bank account numbers, and other secure data. It is encrypted via AES128 and the app is protected by a user created secret code. The information also can be backed up by syncing it to a computer over a WiFi connection. An Android version is available as well.

RunKeeper Pro This free fitness application can be used in multiple ways to monitor athletic progress. The app’s ultimate goal is to help improve performance, whether it be in running, cycling or other activities.

Using GPS, RunKeeper tracks distance travelled, and even shows it on a map. It also records pace, time and calories burned.

The Android version is also very popular.

Evernote This free app makes it easy to remember anything. From text, to pictures, to even audio recordings, it is designed as a tool to help the user take notes in almost every form. Each note can be tagged with a location, making it easier to remember where something important was seen, or tagged with a category to organize notes into different notebooks. Signing up for an account is fast and free, and enables notes to be accessible from a computer, through a program downloaded from their website. The upload limit is 60 MB, but can be increased to 1 GB by signing up for a premium account. Evernote is also available for Android.

Remember the Milk Remember the Milk is another free app designed to help with remembering things, but does so through lists. RTM works in conjunction with an online account accessible from a computer to prioritize tasks and make them viewable from a calendar set up. Lists can be organized by tags and “Smart Lists,” and can be designated with a location. The free account that comes with the app is limited in that it can only be auto-synced with the online version once per day, and it does not send push notifications.

An Android version is available.

Notecards Take studying on the go with Notecards. The app will store 50 flash cards for free, and can hold an unlimited amount on the full version of the application, offered at $1.99. There are six different study modes, and flash cards can be shared with other users over a WiFi network.

Not available on Android.

MyHomework

Gazette photo/MAGGIE LOUIS

MyHomework is a homework agenda for the iPhone that keeps track of classes and assignments/ projects. Due dates are recorded and can be viewed as either a calendar or day by day format. Email reminders can also be set to make sure a deadline is not forgotten.

Page 16

February 2011

Technology.

Forecasting Predictingtechnology’s the future Sony 3D Bloggie Camera

Motorola Xoom

BY SAHIL KHOLSA skholsa.gazette@gmail.com

T

he New Year brings in plenty of joy with new resolutions and a fresh new outlook on 365 days of potential to accomplish goals.

But even more importantly to some, a new year brings with it a whole fleet of new technology.

Here are some of the latest electronic gadgets coming out this year, from providers like Google, Sony, Motorolla, Microsoft and Nike.

Check out what’s heading to stores next!

SONY

MOTOROLA

Sony’s new line of 3D cameras for 2011 has been revealed, and the entry-level 3D Bloggie is a sleek camera with a stylish, modern design. With a slender frame, the camera takes a simple approach with fewer buttons and weighs only 4.2 ounces.

According to Sony, the Bloggie comes with dual lenses to record high-definition 3D video and crisp still images, ready to view directly on the camera’s 2.4-inch touch screen LCD display, without the need for 3D glasses.

This camera is perfect for recording users’ favorite moments in high-definition, so they can share them with friends and family on a 3D television. Images and video can also be posted on YouTube by simply plugging in the flip-out USB arm for quick uploads without the hassle of cables.

The Bloggie comes with software that makes it easy to tag friends in videos and images while on the run, making it easier to upload to social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter.

The camera also has face detection technology to preserve skin tones in photographs. “(It’s relatively inexpensive) for a 3D camera while being extremely portable,” junior Mehdi Razouane said. “The rotating front-facing LCD is good to take pictures by yourself and with friends.”

Motorola has unveiled a new tablet, and it’s been getting plenty of hype.

The Xoom won CNET’s Best of Show at the Consumer Electronic Show last month. The large 10.1-inch HD display features a glossy finish for rich and clear video playback. It’s the first tablet to be designed specifically for Google’s latest Android operating system, Honeycomb. It has a front- and rear-facing camera with HD capability, and users can instantly watch, edit and share videos on social networking sites using either WiFi or 3G. It can also work on 4G when available.

“The tablet PC market is really expanding,” said Justin Toms, a senior who leads Granite Bay Information Technology at Granite Bay High School.

Toms said there is a growing appeal in the concept of small electronics that are and able to be written on, and touch screens open up far more possibilities.

The Xoom features a dual-core processor which allows for faster downloads and video streaming. It has the ability to open, edit and share documents on the go, making it perfect for note-taking in class.

“I really like that it has Adobe Flash player for the best browsing experience, unlike some other popular tablets,” junior Hamza Abbasi said.

Release date: April 2011

Release date: Feb. 24

February 2011

Page 17

Predict.

of technology Gazette II Illustration/Danielle Dietrich

Nexus S

Microsoft Nike+ Sports Watch GPS Surface Table

NIKE

MICROSOFT

The Nexus S Google phone is the first Android device to run on Gingerbread software.

With its slim and refined body and a 4-inch contour display by Samsung, the new Nexus is a real treat to drool over. The screen makes it possible to watch vibrant videos with high contrast, and there’s 75 percent less glare than other smartphones, so users don’t need to be afraid to take it outside.

Gingerbread enables the Nexus S to place internet calls with both VoIP and SIP support, and the phone can also serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to six portable devices such as tablets and laptops.

The Nexus S features the latest Google applications, including Google Maps in 3D, enabling the user to zoom, tilt and rotate the maps. Users can also orient themselves with the compass and find the best local restaurants, ATMs and other destinations using Places.

Speak Now allows users to, with the push of a button, give voice commands more easily and more effectively than ever. Users can get directions, call home or send a text to friends.

Android has also redeveloped the YouTube app to allow a personalized home screen feed, in-page playback and rotation for full screen. “(This is definitely) one of the better smartphones on the market,” senior Chris Nguyen said. “It has a certain appeal to it.”

Winner of the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show “Best of” innovations for heath and wellness, Nike’s latest watch combines the company’s dynamic style with the convenient functionality of a TomTom GPS. The watch features a tap screen and a backlight that is activated by touch, simple enough so runners can mark laps during workouts. It also stores personal records and provides onscreen reminders for athletes who have missed workouts. It even offers kudos for new personal records.

The TomTom GPS device provides pace and distance records in order to help runners enhance their training and improve their personal best times.

The watch works in sync with Nike+ shoe sensors to keep count of steps, calories burned and heart rate. Nike also makes it easy to log individual results on NikePlus.com, the largest online community for athletes with nearly four million members globally.

The watch easily plugs into a computer with a built-in USB port to upload data and recharge. “(The watch makes it easy) to map out your runs,” said senior Dan Liu, a cross-country and track runner. “It’s great for people who want to log their runs and share with other passionate runners.”

The ability to access an online community for runners gives consumers the capability to map and personalize their runs as well.

For most people, using a PC without a mouse or keyboard is unheard of. But not for long. Say hello to the Microsoft Surface Table.

At first look the Surface Table seems to be something out of a James Bond movie.

With a slim four-inch frame, the table offers a full HD 40-inch Samsung display and is centered around a vision-based experience. The Microsoft Surface sees and responds to real-world objects, using PixelSense software as a bridge between reality and the realm of computing. If users place a hand on the screen, the computer will register and “see it.” The device is capable of seeing more than 50 simultaneous objects, or inputs, at the same time.

The Surface Table experience is streamlined for touch-based experiences, making it easier to run applications without the need for a keyboard or mouse.

The new 2.0 software makes it easier for users to create custom settings, including changing the background, organizing applications or modifying the settings.

Several applications have already been created for the new 2.0 platform, including an app to paint with friends simultaneously, an app for tourists to explore new areas and games.

Release date: Dec. 16

Release date: April 1

Release date: Late 2011

GOOGLE

Page 18

Enjoy.

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO sspargo.gazette@gmail.

February 2011

Ally Pex a

J Plaid Scarf at Nordstroms --- $30.00

Plain Gray Scarf at Forever 21 --- $10.00

Scarves

On the Bay

Multi Colored Scarf at Macy’s --- $20.00

Chunky Knit Circle Scarf at Urban Outfitters --- $50.00

Compiled by Jamie Cologna Gazette photos /Jamie Cologna

unior Ally Pexa accidentally For now Pexa uses special pens Normally, Pexa comes up with her came across her knack for demeant for drawing on fabric but is own references, but occasionally she signing TOMS when a friend planning on beginning to use paint will look online to find inspiration, asked for a pair of the shoes for her in the future to make her TOM’s. or turn to her trusty reference binder birthday earlier this year.

That is, once she can find a paint that where she stashes magazine clips for “I looked at all of the TOMS works with the rough canvas surface, future designs. online, and I couldn’t find any that I and is smooth enough to provide Most of the TOM’s that she has really loved,” Pexa said. precise application. made have feminine designs, like So she decided to buy a blank flowers, peace signs and birds. white pair, and try designing Pexa’s whole family has them herself. gotten involved in the process.

They were a success, and her Her father helps her sketch hobby blossomed from there. and come up with ideas, and Drawing and painting on a her mother helps market the TOMS shoe, versus a sleek sheet shoes; while her younger of paper or a canvas, presents a sister wears them. unique challenge.

“My dad has probably The curving shape of the toe influenced me more than art was particularly difficult to maclasses (have),” Pexa said. I neuver around in the beginning, look at what he did when he Pexa said. was my age, and he was a Now that she has experience, really good (artist). He is my she hardly notices the awkward inspiration.” shape.

Pexa sees future design The cost also adds another opportunities related to her tricky aspect to the art. hobby.

“If you mess up, you’ve just “I am looking into (designwasted $48 on TOMS that ing) shoes for places like someone has just bought,” Pexa Heritage (a brand sold by said.

Forever 21),” Pexa said.

For this reason, it is imporAfter her initial success, tant to take specific care in the Pexa has made many more preparation before the actually stylish pairs of TOMS for drawing begins.

Gazette photo /Samantha spargo friends and family and hopes “(The fabric) is really unforJunior, Ally Pexa paints Toms to make to turn her hobby into a busigiving, so you can’t mess up,” more unique shoes for her friends and family. ness.

Pexa said.

Happy Valentines Day

s, y a lw creen A e Lov reen S G

February 2011

Page 19

Enjoy.

From the small screen to the smaller screen...

Television and the web join forces for your convenience

BY JAMIE COLOGNA

jcologna.gazette@gmail.com

S

tudents are often bound to their books at night due to challenging course loads topped by endless amounts of homework.

For many, studying makes it impossible to get to bed before midnight. Because of this, those who are glued to the books often miss their favorite shows.

When the most popular shows air between eight and eleven at night, it is difficult to keep up with the latest scandal on reality TV or with the daily dose of comedy on The Office.

“A lot of the time I’m busy at night, either working or studying,” senior Austin Henderson said. “I never know what happened (on) my favorite shows, so online TV catches me up.”

Over the years many television channels have moved to the web as a way to update the fans on upcoming shows. These sites air trailers and interviews with the actors. There is also a sec-

tion on many of these websites that includes full episodes.

Channels like the CW and FOX post their shows online within a few days to a week of the show’s airing.

Another option for online television is Hulu.

Hulu was launched in early 2008 and its popularity quickly skyrocketed. Unlike the waiting period for shows on independent channels’ websites, Hulu generally uploads its shows the day that they air.

“I really like Hulu because the shows are always up quickly and there are a lot fewer commercials than there are on actual TV,” junior Hank Montgomery said.

Hulu carries some of the largest networks in the television industry, such as PBS, Bravo, USA, Oxygen, E!, FX, Disney, Style and the NFL. “I usually watch it twice a week so that I can watch Glee and Pretty Little Liars,” Montgomery said.

Beginning this month new shows are going to be available on Hulu, with both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show being added to the

line up.

This may prove to be helpful for students who are trying to learn a thing or two about government through comedy.

“We watched The Colbert Report and The Daily Show in AP Government with Mr. Westberg,” senior Andrea Obradovic said. “It was an entertaining way to help me understand a lot of what was going on in the world.”

Other students found online television helpful in finishing their government assignments.

“In Mr. Rath’s class, we always had to write about the debates and speeches on TV,” senior Chelsea Lenck said. “When I had work I had a hard time getting home for them, so I would always watch them online afterwards.”

The first step was TiVo and DVR, and now there isn’t even time for that. Instead, most people are turning to their computers for every TV show that they want to watch.

“I don’t like the DVR anymore, sometimes it cuts my shows short or just doesn’t record them all,” Henderson said. “I never have any problems with Hulu or any other online TV.”

Video Game: Just Dance 2

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO

J

sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

ust Dance 2 for Wii is the Dance Dance Revolution of 2011. Instead of working up a sweat simply tapping their feet north, south, east and west, Just Dance 2 players shimmy, shake and sway to the mirror image of life-like dancers.

After choosing to “Dance!” from the initial Just Dance 2 menu screen, there are three main categories, “Just Dance,” “Dance Battle” and “Just Sweat.”

Choosing “Just Dance,” allows players to choose a song to dance to with up to three other players.

They can also challenge friends to a “Dance Battle,” either solo or in teams.

Up to 8 players can join in.

“Just Sweat” is a workout mode that encourages players to dance every day with either a mild, tough or advanced

program to earn “sweat points.”

To play, a participant holds the Wii remote in his or her right hand and mimics the actions indicated by the icons that slide across the screen from left to right, or the motions of the dancer who is doing the same moves on the screen.

Points are then awarded for how closely the player follows these directions.

No level of dance experience is required to play this game, but it does help. Regardless, be prepared to look ridiculous.

With the vast variety of song choices and dance styles, there is something for everyone.

From 70’s “Soul Bossa Nova” to Bollywood’s “Katti Kalandal” to Hit Crew’s electro cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” the song list satisfies a broad range of tastes. Most of them are catchy enough that players will find themselves singing at least one, even days after having

Rating: E10+ played.

The game is also a great workout. It’s easy to work up a sweat, even while not in “Just Sweat” mode if you really get into it.

For those over 30, it is suggested that they take a minute to do the “Warm Up” provided under the “Extras” tab in the main menu before throwing themselves into the game.

Overall, this new edition in the Just Dance series is very pleasing: the layout is easy to navigate and I would recommend it to all ages.

But there is one flaw.

Around 80 percent of the world is right-handed, so it makes sense that the game forces players to hold the controller in their right hand. After a few songs, however, the extra weight of the controller makes that right arm ache.

Unfortunately, dancing with the controller in the left hand results in the

player receiving a dismally low score.

Despite this one flaw, I would highly recommend Just Dance 2 to anyone who is considering the $30 purchase.

Grade: A

Page 20

February 2011

Read.

Kindling sparks for reading The new trend of e-reading brings paperbacks into the 21st century

BY BRITTANY HINCE

bhince.gazette@gmail.com

Y

es, the rumors are true – the book worm is making its way onto the endangered species list.

Well, at least in the case of traditional paperback or hardcover literary works.

The reason, you ask? Habitat invasion.

The release of the Amazon Kindle in 2007 sparked a rise in the popularity of e-book readers that has since contributed to the releases of new electronic devices such as the Barnes & Noble Nook, later editions of the Sony Reader, the Sharper Image Literati and even the Kindle app.

“We went from selling a few units a day to selling, I would say…10 to 20 times as many e-readers as we used to” said John, a Best Buy employee who asked that is last name not be used.

The e-book readers have attracted a large audience, and not just the younger, more techsavvy crowd.

According to John, the older generation is also getting into e-readers, primarily the Kindle, as it is the least complicated.

John sees no real downside to the use of digital reading devices, and predicts that they will further permeate society in terms of widespread usage.

“Basically, everything you can do with a book you can still do with an e-reader,” John said. “Once the market catches up to e-readers…you won’t need paper books. It’s going to save trees and save a lot of money with manufacturing…Don’t be afraid of technology and come over to the change.”

Junior Katie Gezi came over to the change in 2009 when her father bought Gezi and her family Amazon Kindles for Christmas.

“I didn’t even know what it was,” Gezi said. “(My dad) told me it was an electronic book and that I could hold all these books on it.”

Gezi now uses her Kindle on a regular basis for recreational books, such as reading the series The Hunger Games, which she purchased on Amazon. com.

However, Gezi does not see the Kindle as being practical for educational purposes.

Gazette photo/JOHN PARK

“For school you have to annotate the books…I wouldn’t recommend it to students exactly,” Gezi said. “You can do it, you can highlight…but it just takes longer.”

Although e-book readers are not commonly used for, say, an honors English 11 class, (or any class for that matter) senior Khloe Layo uses her Amazon Kindle at school regularly during her English 12 class with Katrina Wachs.

“I have (my Kindle) with me all the time,” Layo said. “Ms. Wachs played with it when she first saw it and thought it was really cool…the excitement has died down from the first day I brought it in.”

The use of e-readers is gradually becoming less of an oddity at Granite Bay High School.

As the district continues to become more in-tune with technological advancements and their role in education, it is foreseeable that e-readers may eventually be incorporated into the public school system.

“I don’t doubt that they will (be used in the classroom), not at all,” English teacher Anthony Davis said. “We have the Smart Board, the Blackboard, the kids now have the BlackBerry devices where they can search the Web if we’re doing the research unit…I’m at the point of allowing that to be used in my classroom as a specific tool.”

One of Davis’ main concerns regarding e-book readers and their impact on the school system, as well as society as a whole, is the increase in technological reliance “I’m a technologically backwards man,” Davis said. “I don’t (even) own a cell phone…(but) we get so trapped by these devices (that) suddenly (when) your computer goes down: ‘Oh my God I can’t teach!’… ‘My Kindle isn’t working now, I can’t read or learn!’”

Davis acknowledges that there are definite merits to e-book readers, but warns against the fixation that comes along with them. “(We) have become fascinated by techie stuff, and we lose track of the fact that this is a means to an end,” Davis said. “It’s a tool just as much as a hammer or a stick…I think in our intents to keep up with the latest and greatest thing we’re both going broke and becoming dependent.”

February 2011

Explore.

Page 21

Restaurants that flaunt it The Gazette’s Rachael Vasquez reviews the most standout restaurants around Pottery World Cafe

W

hether it’s before school, after school or the weekend, countless arguments take place, all on the Out of its two locations in Rocklin and El conflict of where to eat.

Dorado Hills, Pottery World Rocklin shines past its Yes, the Safeway Parking Lot has many small restaurants, quick eats and ails decor brother with its unique and unexpected cafe. of boxed food and serve-yourself sections. Though convenient, the SPL can become Since its opening nine years ago, the Cafe has been under the overcrowded and repetitive. current manager’s hands for four years. Judy Faulknar takes pride in the When it’s decision time, there are countless options outside the small unusual success of a restaurant within Pottery World’s paradise of exterior, proximity of the SPL – the trick is where to look for the most unique interior and boutique shopping. restaurants with the best quality of food.

Many people may not be convinced that a cafe inside a home decor store is At Pottery World Cafe, shoppers and eaters unite more of a restaurant than a quick bite to eat. However, their views may change under one roof. At Venita Rhea’s, the atmosphere after eating the Cafe’s acknowledgeable sweets, such as carrot cake, Italian makes the eating experience far from lemon cake and homemade scones. normal. And Parker’s Hot Dogs is With a growing popularity, the Cafe recently had to make changes that known for its famous food further improved the service and quality of the Cafe. These changes include challenge. breakfast being served from nine to noon and group reservation.

Also, afternoon tea is served twice a month starting at two p.m. On the first and third Thursday of each month, reservations can be made for the occasion.

The Cafe’s charm is simple – they make everything homemade from scratch, like the salads, dressings, sandwiches and scones, with a splash of heart and passion.

Venita “Our food is always fresh, crisp and unique,” Faulknar said. “It satisfies Rhea’s countless people who step into the Cafe.”

Among the older customer pleasers are the grilled chicken panini, with aioli After 36 years of successful business, sauce, grilled chicken and pepper jack cheese and the spinach salad with a the workers at Venita Rhea’s have to be doing signature dressing, cranberries, sugar walnuts, blue cheese, and pear slices. something right at 4415 Granite Drive in Rocklin.

As for teenagers, Faulknar knows the way into their stomachs and hearts.

The atmosphere takes costumers onto a visual journey with a “Teenagers love to eat so I recommend the lava cake,” Faulknar said. “Who feel of Italy. wouldn’t want to have warm chocolate gush from the center of a dessert with Outdoor seating is desirable when the weather is perfect for a relaxing a dab of whipped cream?” breakfast, and a black iron fence provides a secluded shaded area way from After shopping, some costumers may stop by for a quick the cars and street. bite to eat, but in fact, more will come to the Cafe Inside the restaurant, murals of the markets and streets of Italy cover the primarily to eat its delicious dishes. walls. Also, the brickwork brings in an outdoor feeling with rustic colors.

Flowers are place everywhere to make a care-free, enjoyable environment.

The eating bar and window wall are also big focal points.

To owner, manager and operator Ralph Kim, it’s not just the atmosphere that makes the restaurant far beyond normal “Our goal as a restaurant is to cater to family,” Kim said. “We focus on providing good old fashioned American breakfast and lunch.”

Parker’s With such a simple recipe to success, it’s easy to see how Venita Rhea’s has Hot Dogs stayed so popular throughout the years. Of course, its quality of food, large portions and freshness also add to its popularity for a perfect family outing.

Parker’s Hot Dogs was made famous by Man “The cinnamon roll French toast is huge and weighs about one and a half vs.

Food, a popular TV show on the Travel Channel. to two pounds,” Kim says. “It’s popular and commonly shared.”

In the program, host and food enthusiast Adam Richman Even though Venita Rhea’s is more popular during the weekends, Kim is took on a hot dog eating challenge. not discouraged.

At the franchise’s Pleasant Grove location, the challenge is called the “During the weekdays, business community people come to the restaurant Knuckle Head Challenge. On Douglas, it’s known as the Five-Pound Chili Dog to have lunch and our specials,” Kim said. “Weekends are just livelier.”

Challenge.

Out of a hundred challengers, none have succeeded – not even Richman.

Among popular weekday and weekend favorites besides the challengThe prizes for a winner for eating it under 20 minutes includes not having to pay for the ing cinnamon roll French toast is the Benedict Arnold, the wide $24.50 hot dog, while also receiving a t-shirt and, above all, prestige. variety of omelettes and chicken fried steak.

The task sounds simple before learning that the challenge consists of five hot dogs and a “If it weren’t for the community we wouldn’t be pound of cheese, chili and French fries. great,” Kim said. “We work closely with the In the late ‘40s, magic was made when Parker Wilson established Parker’s Jumbo Dogs off community and because it supports us, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Though it was only open during the summer until the arrival of we make it important to help any Labor Day, Parker’s Jumbo Dogs made quite an impact. community based organiWilson and his son John once planned to expand Parker’s Jumbo Dogs into the Bay Area but zations in need.”

Wilson passed away at a young age.

Since then, his son opened Parker’s Hot Dogs at 1605 Douglas Boulevard in 1997. French fries, onion rings and potato salad were added to the menu in later years.

Other than a few additions to the menu, Parker’s Hot Dogs maintains its simple roots and is all about family.

John Wilson uses his mother’s chili recipe, while also serving a hot dog that was created by his oldest daughter – the Western Bacon Cheese Hot Dog. The hot dogs are hand made, with no fillers and the buns are bakery buns.

Besides the famous chili dog, Parker’s Hot Dogs has other great quality hot dogs and side food.

“I’d say that we have the best hot dogs in California,” John Wilson said. “Not only that, but we treat everyone like family here as soon as you come in.”

Gazette photos/RACHAEL VASQUEZ

Page 22

Rated: R By: Shannon Wagner swagner.gazette@gmail.com

no strings attached: B

f you are uncomfortable with the topic of sex being discussed in a public medium, take note of the disclaimer: This is not safe for you, and neither is Ivan Reitman’s new film, No Strings Attached.

However, if you don’t mind a little humor surrounding the subject, and are willing to pay $7.75 matinee price for a light-hearted love story, then it may possibly be worth your while to go out and see.

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play Emma and Adam, two friends who meet at summer camp as kids, and reconnect after years without contact.

Just beginning her new job as a doctor, Emma is terrified of commitment and pushes every romantic opportunity away from her, and Adam has had a few bad relationships of his own.

There is obvious chemistry between them, but neither character wants to date. The solution they come up with? To be friends with benefits.

Now, this is not a major motion picture, and therefore cannot be treated like one. I can’t comment about the cinematography, the depth of character development or the post-production editing because No Strings Attached was filmed not to provoke thought or win awards, but to entertain. It’s genre can be described as only that of a chick flick– and will be reviewed as such.

That being said, it was very entertaining.

Granted, it was also incredibly predictable, as it followed a very simple sappy, girl-targeting storyline that the audience was anything but surprised at. However it provided a satisfying mix of cute and funny that any girls-night-out group would enjoy.

After being a little put off by the constant bombarding of conversations and situations that explicitly portrayed sex between a multitude of characters, including seeing Emma and Adam in more than enough implicating scenes, the storyline ultimately broadened to discuss more than just who was sleeping with who– much to my gratitude.

True love and family prevail, as did the “warm and fuzzy” feeling that accompanied a happy bow-tied ending.

Aside from being in-your-face about sex and lacking true plot originality that is infamous of every chick flick, No Strings Attached will satisfy any hopeless romantic.

S

universal pictures

I

MILLENIUM FILMS

anctum takes the viewer down into the unexplored depths of an underwater cave system in New Guinea as an exploration team is forced to deal with impending disaster as a cyclone strikes and floods the caves.

Inspired by the real life experience of cowriter Andrew Wight, the movie focuses on master-explorer Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) and his reluctant, tag-a-long son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) as they attempt to lead the remaining crew out of the cave and away from imminent death.

Back-story and plot are minimal, as the film instead focuses on the beauty and awe of the cave and the reactions of the very fallible characters as they are put under extreme stress.

The acting, while not particularly bad, added little to the movie due to the often predictable and sometimes pointless dialogue.

Sanctum instead relied on its strengths, which were the incredible beauty of the cave system and the unpredictable nature of the cave to inject suspense and surprise seamlessly throughout its 109 minute run-time.

As tension begins to tear the characters apart both physically and mentally, the best moments of Sanctum are born from the constant doubt as to how the explorers are going to handle the situation.

The only problem with the drama is that the audience has little invested in the characters, and this lack of depth compromises the story telling heavily. But the cave shots and the tense action help retain the viewer’s attention where the characters themselves do not.

Sanctum was filmed in 3D and uses it to an effective, if unobtrusive extent, with many scenes shot underwater.

While there is something to be missed by not viewing this movie in 3D, the extra dimension isn’t as necessary to the experience as a movie such as Avatar.

Yes, like Avatar, James Cameron’s name is on the piece, but he is one of nine producers, and Sanctum was directed by the relatively unheard of Alister Grierson.

While Sanctum doesn’t give you a full film experience with engaging characters, palpable drama and a compelling story, it is more like an extreme, all out version of a National Geographic documentary gone wrong.

sat up in my chair, watching intently as the lights fell and the movie began to roll.

Jason Statham, whose work in The Transporter, Crank, and more recently The Expendables, has easily become a favorite of mine. As such, I was anticipating a movie filled with explosions, gun fights, car chases and other action-related scenes.

However, much to my dismay, I got very little of what I was hoping for.

Statham’s character, Arthur Bishop, is a highly trained, highly effective assassin, virtually without equal in the realm of hired guns.

Arthur receives his “assignments” from a company, and works under the guidance of long -time friend and mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). However, when Harry is taken out by the very company Arthur works for, the rest of the plot unfolds.

Arthur takes Steve, Harry’s estranged son who is hell-bent on revenge, under his wing, and the typical fight scenes and explosions ensue.

These action scenes were, unfortunately, lacking in quality and quantity. The mood of the movie is almost the same throughout, and the action scenes were never engaging.

Arthur is never really challenged by anyone or anything, and in fact, his character is rather uninteresting as a result.

Moreover, the acting throughout the movie left much to be desired, as Statham and Co. looked almost bored in every scene. There was not much in terms of a variety in facial expressions from any of the characters.

Plot holes also seemed to be almost encouraged.

Steve gathers enough experience in only two minutes of on-screen training time for Arthur to give him his own assignments. This training mostly consisted of Steve shooting bullets into a car seat, and nothing is even mentioned about stealth training.

I went in expecting my jaw to drop– to be amazed by the sheer awesomeness of Statham’s character– but all the fallacies of this movie effectively take away from anything Statham might have accomplished.

A lack of truly involved acting, some rather annoying plot holes and a thoroughly boring and predictable plot take this movie to previously undiscovered depths of monotony.

Rated: R

Rated: R

By: R. Slater McLaughlin rmclaughlin.gazette@gmail.com

By: John Park jpark.gazette@gmail.com

the mechanic: D+

Paramount pictures

sanctum: C+

I

February 2011

Film.

universal pictures

Rated: PG-13 By: Austin Downs adowns.gazette@gmail.com

the dilemma: C

t’s that typical moral dilemma. Do you tell someone you care about the truth, even though you know it would greatly hurt them?

This question sets the premise for Universal Studio’s newest movie, The Dilemma. Main characters Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) are best friends as well as two businessmen who invent and market the idea of electric cars that still maintain the image of a loud and powerful American car.

Nick and his wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), are happily married while Ronny and his girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), are happy as well.

The major conflict first arises when Ronny is at a botanic garden, a spot in which he plans to propose to his girlfriend. When he finds the perfect spot, he suddenly hears the laughter of his best friend’s wife, Geneva. He heads toward the sound, where he spots Geneva with another man.

Ronny is now torn between telling Nick what he saw or keeping it to himself, when he knows that telling him would end any chances the two of them finishing their car presentation.

Ronny decides to confront Geneva about the affair, but like a typical accused person, she wittingly turns the blame back onto Ronny.

Determined to catch her in the act, Ronny begins spying on Geneva, but is confronted by Zip, Geneva’s lover. Here is where the plot begins to head downhill.

Ronny’s spying and suspicious behavior leads his family to hold an intervention, as they think Ronny has had a relapse back into gambling.

To my surprise, Zip, Nick and Geneva are all conveniently present at the meeting.

Ronny ultimately musters the strength to tell Nick about his wife’s affair.

Yet instead of the climax of the movie being climatic, Geneva does not deny the affair. I was dumbfounded.

After using most of the movie building up tension about the affair, the climax seemed to reach out and slap me, laughing “How does it feel to have your time wasted? You thought the climax would be worth waiting for. Ha!” While the male characters seemed to develop adequately through the movie, the females seemed flat and had no significant change.

This movie looks appealing, but it really isn’t. It lacks a clear and realistic resolution and has poor character development. I would not recommend this movie to anyone I know.

T

COLUMBIA PICTURES

he Green Hornet will sting, but the movie falls short of its true potential.

The superhero action-comedy stars Seth Rogen as protagonist Britt Reid, a young and irresponsible hedonist whose life is radically changed after his father, James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) perishes from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Britt is left in charge of his father’s huge fortune and newspaper The Daily Sentinel.

Rogen assumes the role of a spoiled, naive, child-like persona, which at times is difficult and irksome to watch. However Rogen successfully brings his notorious style of humor and charm that greatly benefit the movie, with his comedic powers making me laugh hysterically but, unfortunately, not very often.

After the loss of his father, Britt builds a good friendship with Kato, played by Jay Chou. Kato, a martial arts expert with an inventive mind set, becomes the man behind the imaginative and ingenious gadgetry in the movie.

Later in the movie, Britt convinces Kato that they should become superheroes, and so the Green Hornet and his associate are born.

The film also features Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case, who becomes Britt’s assistant and the architect for the Green Hornet’s next move. But Lenore’s role as the love interest of both Britt and Kato is lost, and often strained as the plot progresses. Her character fails to develop past the most basic details.

The Green Hornet does shine in its special effects as it’s packed with enough fast-paced handto-hand combat, intense gunfights and a plethora of explosions to draw your eye’s attention.

There are some nice gadgets designed by Kato’s engineering expertise, and I wouldn’t mind owning a Black Beauty, the highly upgraded car made by Kato.

However, the storyline simply loses focus and detriments the whole film’s progress. At times I felt as if the movie was dragging, making me question why its running time exceeds 90 minutes.

The movie doesn’t hold much ground with respect to character development other than what’s simply on the surface, in addition to several plot developments that can be difficult to follow.

The film aspires to be a great thriller with its occasional laughs but comes up short– lacking plot development and failing to appeal past the surface level.

Rated: PG-13 By: Sahil Khosla skhosla.gazette@gmail.com

the green hornet: C+

I

Page 23

Film.

L

NEWMARKET FILMS

eaving the theater after watching The Way Back– a movie about prisoners who escape from a Russian gulag, or prison– I felt as if I was escaping a personal gulag of boredom and pity.

The beginning of the movie opened my eyes to the injustice and dehumanization of political prisoners, and the terrible conditions that the characters face easily stirs empathy from the audience.

As the story progresses, the main character escapes the gulag with a few companions, and the story continues to focus on the hardships the escapees face as they traverse the unforgiving land that separates them from freedom.

While the actors did a decent job portraying the roles of hard men pushed to desperation, there was little distinction in the attitudes of each character, and it made if difficult to connect with or care about any of them.

In addition, there was very little talking from any of the characters during their journey, limiting interactions between them.

Instead of focusing on the few meaningful interactions and significant character development, this movie consists mainly of scenes of the companions traipsing across the rugged terrain in silence, which gets boring very quickly.

As a result of the minimalistic bond portrayed between the characters, it is difficult to understand their personalities and motivations, making some of their decisions seem very random to an unmoved audience.

And since the characters could only evoke pity and not affection, I cared very little about plot twists that were meant to engage the audience’s emotions, as the characters involved had never grown on me.

As the theme of struggling continues, the scenes blend together and the viewer loses all sense of time. The only respite from this boredom is the variety of scenery in the areas the escapees pass through.

While the ending is somewhat happy, those who watch movies for the interesting plot will likely find this movie lacking, while those who enjoy watching a sad, but well portrayed, struggle through extreme hardship may actually enjoy it.

Rated: PG-13 By: Kyle Pawlak kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

the way back: B-

February 2011

Page 24

February 2011

Movies.

Paramount pictures

No Strings Attached

B

millenium films

universal

Sanctum

C+

The Mechanic

In Theat ers

C

The Dilemma

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

C+

The Green Hornet

columbia pictures

B-

D+

The Way Back

newmarket films