Granite Bay Gazette; Vol. 14, Issue 8

Senior edition

Graduating class says goodbye and shares college plans

Friday, May 20, 2011

reviewbook The Gazette’s Katie Zingheim and Justin Shiiba look back at the school year - B1

Gazette THE GRANITE BAY

Fro-Yo guide

Find the best frozen treats this summer G13 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 8 Commentary

GOODBYE TO THE

jessica reese

jreese.gazette@gmail.com

Life lessons learned from an English prison

L

ately I’ve had an idea stuck in my head: the Panopticon.

No, it’s not one of the millions of vocabulary words the SAT expects all students to know, nor is it some type of rare genetic mutation. It is a prison, or it was supposed to be.

In 1785, Jeremy Bentham – an English philosopher that AP European history students have probably already forgotten – created a plan for a new prison.

It was designed in such a way that a guard could watch all of the prisoners at once, but the prisoners couldn’t see the guard.

The idea at the basis of Bentham’s plan is that since the prisoners never know when they’re being watched, they will always be on their best behavior.

Thus, there is no need for a guard at all.

The idea gets even more interesting when you apply that concept to everyday life.

Meaningless things like “Don’t Walk on the Grass” signs and social norms that everyone is expected to follow are all Panopticons.

I was fascinated to say the least.

While I was taking the SAT and listening to the hundreds of rules the ever-dull script outlines, I simply could not get the idea out of mind.

Yes, some of the rules are valid and necessary to keep things fair, but others are trivial.

I mean, why do I have to show my ID every time I reenter the classroom when there are only 15 kids, all of whom the proctor has seen? And why does he have to read the stupid script in the first place? Who will know if he doesn’t follow it word for word?

Elementary school, STAR test-taking me would’ve said the test makers. They would know if anyone detoured from their rules.

After all, they know everything.

Back then, I imagined the windows exploding as ninjas rushed in to punish me for bubbling ahead of directions or using a mechanical pencil instead of a standard No. 2 (a rule I still cannot stand.)

Now, I laugh at how successful the Panopticon was in conditioning my thoughts and actions.

Honestly, the College Board will never know if I bubbled ahead or if the test started slightly off schedule. There is no ninja squad or vindictive test queen waiting in the wings to punish me or the proctor.

There’s only the illusion of the Panopticon.

And while I’m not saying that means all rules should be thrown out, I do think people need to become more aware of the Panopticons around them.

When I began to notice the Panopticons in my life, I felt a lot like the scholar who broke free of his chains in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” The world was less scary, less stressful and I felt I had more power. *** Jessica Reese, a junior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Seniors Rachel De Los Santos and Amanda Befort enjoy the slip-n-slide at Day at the Bay, one of the last in a string of events that mark the end the school year.

Administration prepares for ceremony and celebrations

Chelsey Lee Senior and valedictorian earned a 4.61 GPA, the highest in her class. Next year she plans to attend UC Berkeley.

BY JESSICA REESE

jreese.gazette@gmail.com

The class of 2011is often described as having exemplary character, leadership and, with 20 percent of the class holding a GPA of 4.0 or higher, academic talent.

“There are times in the course of things where a class will graduate and adults will comment, ‘I wish them well, but, boy, those were an interesting four years,’” Principal Mike McGuire said. “With this class, (nobody) feels that way.”

With AP tests behind them and college acceptances finalized, the seniors can, at long last, set their sights on their impending graduation. The administration, in conjunction with student government and parents, has a number of events planned to make their remaining time fly by.

Stacey Wong Senior and valedictorian earned a 4.52 weighted GPA. She will attend Stanford University in the fall.

2011 valedictorian and salutatorian selections announced at Senior AMAs

BY ALLISON GARVEY

agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

There was much debate this year over which students would receive the distinction of representing the class of 2011 at the May 28 graduation ceremony.

A great deal of dedication and ambition characterized the class of 2011 as one of extraordinary merit, and there were many graduates eligible for the honor of salutatorian or valedictorian. The selection of the students who would speak at the ceremony was a detailed process.

As with previous years, a committee was put in place to determine which students would be chosen. The decision took a variety of different qualities into consideration.

“There is an administrator, a counselor and three teachers (on the See SPEAKERS, page A5

See GRADUATION, page A5

GBHS teachers moving on to new futures Seven faculty to leave for retirement, administration, transfer

BY MATT VENEMAN

mveneman.gazette@gmail.com

Sharry Colnar IB coordinator and chemistry teacher will be retiring at the end of the year after joining the staff in 1996.

At the end of every year, Granite Bay High School says goodbye to some of its teachers.

This year is no exception, as the school is losing some of its most accomplished and beloved teachers who are moving on after many years in the classroom.

GBHS will be losing seven teachers at the end of this year; Greg Holmes, Sharry Colnar and Walt Wild will be leaving due to retirement, Chris Roberts and Judi Daniels will be moving schools and taking on administrative positions and Dynah Cunkelman and Angela Ash will be transferring schools.

Greg Holmes Holmes began teaching in the district in 1979 at Oakmont High School. After 17 years at Oakmont,

inside this issue

News

A1 – A6

Voices

A8 – A11

Second Look

A12

Features

B1 – B8

Sports

C1 – C6

Green Screen

G1 – G20

Holmes decided to switch schools and teach at the brand new GBHS campus.

“It became real obvious at Oakmont that Granite Bay was going to be the academic campus,” Holmes said.

Although there were minor setbacks and obstacles in the first few years, Holmes says that nothing was ever a struggle while here at GBHS. “I have great colleagues. (They have) been great to work with and have become some of my best friends,” Holmes said.

Holmes’s greatest accomplishment while at GBHS was building up the math department to where it now is.

“Yearly we have at least 20 percent of our senior class taking the AP calculus test, and that’s incredible,” Holmes said.

Holmes looks forward to traveling and seeing new parts of the world once he retires, as well as fishing, camping and doing things he hasn’t had

Teen depression GBHS students share their stories and struggles

A2

time for while working.

“I’m really anxious to go on a trip when all the kids in the world aren’t on vacation,” Holmes said.

Sharry Colnar Colnar, like Holmes, is another one of GBHS’ original teachers.

Also like Holmes, Colnar came to GBHS from Oakmont, where she taught for 21 years.

Joining the GBHS staff in 1996, Colnar built and designed the science department.

“We got to invent everything because the school was brand new: invent our mascot, invent our colors, invent traditions and that’s something they say you only get to do once in three lifetimes,” Colnar said.

Colnar made many great memories at the school, which she says she will carry with her throughout her life.

Not everything was easy however.

See STAFF, page A5

Ripple Effect Analyzing the success of student government’s anti-bullying campaign

A4

News

A2

Granite Bay Gazette

Friday w May 20, 2011

GBHS students take opportunities

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Internships can give students a leg up in college admissions

adrienne blevins ablevins.gazette@gmail.com

Students receive many awards at AMA ceremony On Mon. April 11, the Junior Academic Merit Awards ceremony was held. Juniors who had achieved a GPA of 3.31 or higher were recognized with a medal and certificate.

Both technology teacher Zachary Weidkamp and Principal Michael McGuire spoke, while assistant principal Cathy Raycraft presented awards and coordinated the event.

Aside from the academic merit awards, two special awards were given to students who especially excelled in the area of humanities or sciences.

The first was the Bausch and Lomb honorary science award, which was presented to Moosa Zaidi. This award puts him in the running for a scholarship to the University of Rochester, located in New York, worth $7,500 per year.

The second award honoring excellence in the humanities and social sciences courses along with leadership went to Shannon Carroll.

She is also automatically entered into the contest for a scholarship to the University of Rochester.

Finally, the representatives for both Girls’ and Boys’ State were announced. Danielle McFarland and Bradford Smith were chosen out of many nominees. *** On Mon. April 25 it was the seniors’ turn to be honored. The Senior Academic Merit Awards ceremony was held, and medals were given to students who achieved a GPA higher than 3.31.

Aside from these medals though, local scholarships that seniors applied for were given out.

Eighteen scholarships were given out, including the Roseville Girls’ Softball Scholarship, the Granite Bay Jr. Grizzly Leadership Scholarship, the Bill Santucci-Ted Gaines Scholarship and the Granite Bay High School CSF scholarship.

Twenty eight students were awarded either one or two different scholarships. These seniors were Allie Burger, Joshua Calton, Courtney Dale, Jonathan Davis, Dominic De Marco, Blake Delaplane, Katiana Fischer, Stephayne Gascon, Taylor Glowacki, Jennifer Goishi, Kevin Hollingshead, Rebecca Howard, Kyle Howarth, William Hubbard, Matthew Kasner, Katharine Leigh, Taylor Lilley, Amanda Matsuhara, Lauren McAvoy, Zachary Meyer, Laura Preston, Grant Rigdon, Kendall Roth, Alison Sale, Ashwin Subramanian, Ashby Vose, Kelsey Waltrip and James White. *** On the weekend of April 16, the GBHS speech and debate team coached by Rita Prichard went to the state tournament with 17 members.

They did exceedingly well, and six students placed in various categories. Junior Ishaan Gupta was a semi-finalist in Impromptu Speaking, senior Blake Delaplane achieved third place in International Extemporaneous and senior Dominic Demarco was a semifinalist in Student Congress.

In Parliamentary Debate, which is a partner event, seniors Gary Nielsen and Stacey Wong won second place.

Finally, senior Jessica Northam placed ninth in Student Congress, and was the highest scoring woman in the final round.

The team’s season ends June 19.

BY SAM SPARGO

sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photo /Maggie louis

Junior Ally Pexa will be serving as an intern for her church’s ministry during the summer months.

See INTERN, page A6

Class rank can be a precursor to good health Those in top 25 percent of class are in better health later in life

BY KYLE PAWLAK

kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

According to the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a lifelong study of the 1957 graduating class of high schools in Wisconsin, class rank at the time of graduation is a predictor of health decades later.

The authors of the study found that students who graduated in the top 25 percent of their class were in better health much later in life than their lower-ranked counterparts in multiple respects.

This study showed that high ranked graduates were less likely to have diseases, and had better healthy habits than those who had a lower class rank.

GBHS health teacher Kathy Sinor was able to offer insight into possible causes for correlation between class rank and health discovered in this study.

“You have to look at the overall causes of death. For young people

it’s accidents…however when it comes to overall life expectancy it takes into account…conditions that are long-term consequences of our health behaviors,” Sinor said.

One possible explanation for the relationship between lifelong health and class rank is simple.

Those with more years of school and higher marks are more often successful in business, and therefore can afford to live in more expensive communities, have health care, belong to gyms and eat better food.

In this kind of environment, of which Granite Bay is an example, people often have better health habits.

“You can look around Granite Bay on a typical Saturday morning… and count the people walking…

You go down into (lower-income areas) I beg you to compare, there will be hardly anybody going for a walk,” Sinor said.

“Less-educated people…often

don’t have access to medical care.

That’s huge. If you have an employer at a good-paying job they are going to include medical care,” Sinor said.

While GBHS likely reflects the trend identified in this study, it is possible that due to the higher than average socioeconomic standing of its students, the top 25 percent may not be an accurate estimate of graduates who will be in “better health” throughout their life.

A higher percentage of GBHS students go on to college than the national average for high schools, which in turn means a higher percentage will have high paying jobs and have access to health benefits.

Junior Jordan Long exemplifies this possibility. While not at the top of his class, Long still portrays habits that will improve his lifelong health.

“I exercise seven days a week, sometimes I do two things in one day. I usually go to the gym every day, but I also play basketball three days a week,” Long said.

“My diet is pretty healthy. I eat fruits and vegetables, and although I could eat a little more, it’s pretty healthy.”

While GBHS has not been in existence long enough for its graduates to experience the long-term effects of their habits, its early graduates are near the age of 30, a time when long-term health begins to become a concern.

GBHS and college graduate Zachary Weidkamp, IT teacher at GBHS, who graduated in 2000 has certain behaviors Sinor identified that pro-

mote good long-term health.

Because of his education, Weidkamp said he has had few jobs that involved physical labor and keeps himself in good health with regular visits to the doctor’s office.

“I don’t go to the gym regularly, but I do things that are physically strenuous: water skiing, running, that sort of stuff,” Weidkamp said.

Gazette photo /maggie louis

Studies show that there is a strong correlation between high class standing and life-long physical health after graduation.

Teens face depression Mental disorder leads to suicidal thoughts

BY SHANNON CARROLL scarroll.gazette@gmail.com

Know something we should know?

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

As the college rat race gets continuously more competitive, it has become increasingly more common for Granite Bay High school students to work as interns. Many GBHS students have or are planning on taking part in internships this year, both to set themselves apart from the crowd and gain skills that they will be able to use when they enter the workforce.

Junior Ally Pexa was recently accepted as a summer intern for her church’s ministry.

During her time as an intern, she will help with the younger children’s ministries and her church’s annual Breakaway summer camp for kids.

“I think this is going to be a really good experience because I am interested in going into ministry and so this is the perfect opportunity to see if it’s for me,” Pexa said.

One of the major benefits of an internship, says College and Career Center counselor Cindy Underwood, is that students can figure out if they are passionate about the field in which they are interning and ultimately can decide if they

want to pursue the career in the future, or change directions.

Senior Luke Keffer initially sought out internship positions because he wanted to experience the medical field, in which he hopes to work in the future.

“Aside from the physiology there is not really any difference between being a neurosurgeon or a heart surgeon until you are actually in the operating room,” said Keffer, an intern for neurosurgeon Barry Chehrazi. “(Dr. Chehrazi) told me that a lot of the doctors who decide what they are going to do don’t figure it out through their schooling, they figure it out during their residency.”

“I definitely got an inside view of what it’s like to be a surgeon and what it entails,” Keffer said.

“I would follow him around and I would go into patient pre-op consultations. Then I would follow him into the operating room.”

Over the course of his internship, Keffer was able to witness eight spinal surgeries and two neuro surgeries at the side of Dr. Chehrazi.

Senior Blake Delaplane went through a more hands-on intern

Gazette photo /maggie louis

The weather is a factor in seasonal-affective disorder. Lack of sunlight during the winter months can cause the body to underproduce serotonin, leading to depression.

Jenny, a pseudonym for a Granite Bay High School student, had gone to AP Economics, had taken notes and had studied, but when she started to take a test she couldn’t remember a single thing. She considered turning her scantron in blank.

Jenny is one of the many students at GBHS who suffer at least occasionally from depression.

Although it’s impossible to know just how many there are, national statistics are daunting.

Washington University’s school of medicine, in St. Louis, estimates that 17 million Americans, or more than 5 percent of the population, are affected by some form of depression and that two-thirds of people with clinical depression don’t seek necessary treatment.

If GBHS reflects what’s going on with the population as a whole, the Washington University numbers suggest that more than 100 GBHS students face depression and that more than 70 aren’t being treated adequately.

Recent research by the World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will become the second-most common health problem in the world behind heart disease.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, everyone will at some point be affected by depression, either by their own or by that of someone else.

In Jenny’s case, she has what’s known as seasonal-affective disorder. Her depression occurs mainly during the fall-winter months, likely because the lack of sunlight makes her body not produce enough serotonin. Her problems diminish but don’t disappear in the spring and summer.

“It’s like you’re in a cloud where all of the colors have been taken out of the world,” Jenny said.

Jenny is also one of many people who has suffered from depression and who has contemplated or attempted suicide.

“Suicide is part of depression. It’s kind of automatic,” Jenny said. “When you’re in that downward spiral, you start thinking ‘What’s the point? Why am I here? No one cares about me. No one sees me, I just don’t want to be here any more.’”

When she’s feeling really low, Jenny listens to the song “Best Day” by Atmosphere, as she can relate to the lyrics: Every day can’t be the best day.

Do what you can right now, don’t hesitate.

That’s why we try to make love and get paid.

Take the bad with the good, now let’s play.

Jenny’s family understands her depression and tries to help her through it as both her parents and two of her siblings suffer from depression, as well.

She gets therapy, including regular visits to See DEPRESSION, page A6

News A3

Friday, May 20, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette

News Briefs

2003 GBHS grad murdered

2003 Granite Bay High School graduate Thomas Kyle Williams, 26, was shot and killed in a San Jose State University parking garage Tuesday, May 10.

According to media and police reports, Williams was in a car with a female student when that student’s husband allegedly fired multiple shots at the vehicle, killing Williams and Marcory Caliguiran, 25. The shooter, Napoleon Caliguiran, then turned the gun on himself and later died at a San Jose-area hospital. Williams and Marcory Caliguiran were pronounced dead at the scene.

Williams transferred to San Jose State after attending Sierra College.

He was married and was preparing to work as an accountant at a Bay area firm in the fall.

Junior prom to be canceled After years of declining attendance and revenues, student government has decided to cancel Junior Prom for next year.

In past years, revenue received from prom ticket sales by the junior class helped fund the next year’s senior-year activities, but the dance has gone from being a money-maker to a money-loser, according to ASB adviser Tamara Givens.

The Sadie Hawkins dance is also in jeopardy of being canceled because of increasingly low attendance.

Band performs at Kennedy Center The GBHS Emerald Brigade band performed April 18 at the at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The band received a Gold Rating and performed alongside the Virginia Tech University concert band.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Students play with a Frisbee at Cuatro de Mayo. The event, which was created this year by the Campus Connections club, was a huge success. The afternoon started once classes were dismissed, and included food and fun activities. Students were encouraged to branch out and get to know new people by eating with a different group of people and playing the available games.

Robotics team competes in World Championship The GBHS Robotics team finished out its season by taking 12th out of 88 competing teams at the Robotics World Championships at the Edward Jones Arena in St. Louis in late April. The 20 GBHS students also competed in the UC Davis Sacramento Regional tournament and finished 26th out of 52 teams, as well as in the Silicon Valley Regional tournament, where they finished 13th out of 56 teams.

– compiled by Shannon Wagner

Classes cut for next year due to low sign ups Several electives fail to make the grade for 2011-12

BY ARI BLACK

aublack.gazette@gmail.com

Granite Bay High School is an evolving environment. As discussion arose for next year’s potential classes, it became clear that certain ones would have to be cut. Decisions have now been made about which classes will stay, and which will leave.

Throughout the decision process, the question came into play of how the absence of certain classes will affect current and incoming GBHS students.

GBHS assistant principal Brent Mattix explained the hectic process through which the classes that appear on next year’s schedule are chosen.

“The master schedule is a complex process beginning with the school deciding what courses to offer to best suit student learning, students selecting courses that will most benefit their educational needs and personal desires, and finally fitting everything together to make sure it’s effective,” he said.

Through the process, multiple elements other than the classes themselves had to be put into consideration.

“We have to consider facility constraints, teacher qualifications, program

requirements, and balance of seats among list for the class. We needed at least 20 other things,” Mattix said. “Of course enrolled to keep the class,” she said. budget elements play a major role in Despite the cuts, Cranmer believed many of these areas.” the class would pull through because of Although reaching the needs for each school culture and usual preference. group of the situation “We have such a was difficult, these popular and successful classes were chosen media program here that The class was to be eliminated: we thought there would cut because of Advance level physics naturally be at least 20 (AP Physics, IB Physstudents who would low enrollment. ics, and Physics C and also be interested in We only had 13 Physics B), IB Film, filmmaking,” she said. people on the list Sports Journalism, Another reason that Students Teaching the class did not get for the class.

Students and Childenough sign ups could hood Development. be the fact that the “In addition, precourse was not ap– Morgan Anderson, Gazette photo /GARY NIelsen engineering will be proved until after the teacher’s pet The AP Physics class, which is taught by Steve Miller, is one of the classes to absorbed into our registration materials be cut in the 2011-12 school year. IB physics will also not be available. new ‘Project Lead were printed. By that the Way’ program,” time, it was too late.

Originally planning to go to Del Oro, IB Film, I’m going to have to take ChemMattix said.

“It’s always hard to get people to change Bales had transferred to GBHS specifiistry instead,” she said.

The IB Film class is one of the bigger their schedules,” Cranmer said. “Once cally in hopes of getting her IB Diploma.

Bales had taken drastic measures to get letdowns for potential students. Berthey’ve made a decision and entered The class of IB Film would have served to GBHS. nadette Cranmer, the potential IB Film it into the computer, they’ve stopped as an alternative to taking chemistry, since “I came to this school to do IB, so I was teacher, explained the reason for the cut of thinking about what to take the following Bales does not consider chemistry to be really depending on this class (IB Film), her specific class. year.” one of her strong points. and I don’t want chemistry to get in the “The class was cut because of low Sophomore Nicole Bales was heavily “I have to block something with IB way of receiving my IB diploma,” she enrollment. We only had 13 people on the affected by the class being cut.

Bio senior year, so now since there’s no said.

ASB UPDATE Junior Wes Finkemeier looks ahead to the next school year The Gazette talked to next year’s ASB president Wesley Finkemeier.

Gazette: What is your current position?

Right now I am one of the Activities Commissioners. I also oversee five committees currently going on. Next year, I will be the official ASB President.

Gazette: What have your past positions taught you?

I have been in Student Government my whole time in high school. Of all things, my past positions have taught wisdom.

Gazette: What do you hope to bring to the school next year?

I hope to bring a positive and happy atmosphere to the school. That way everyone feels included and encouraged to do well. I want everyone to have a good year.

Gazette: What are the changes to programs do you with to make?

I’m planning to have the Ripple Effect last two weeks or have reoccurring days when we go back and remember how to be respectful and nice to each other.

Gazette: How do you plan to work with other officers while listening to the student body?

We have meetings in Student Government so I’ll get their input every day. I plan to go on the bulletin and keep friendly relationships with the whole student body.

Gazette: How do you plan to improve the school atmosphere?

Gazette photo /RACHaEL VASQUEZ

Wesley Finkemeier, next year’s ASB president, talks about some of his plans for next year. He especially wants to continue and improve the Ripple Effect.

I hope to improve the Ripple Effect and I want to make a difference by setting an example and being nice to everyone I see.

– compiled by Rachael Vasquez

Changes to AP Biology are on the horizon

College Board considers a reduced curriculum

BY SONIA IYER siyer.gazette@gmail.com

At Granite Bay High School, it is safe to say that most Advanced Placement courses cover a broad range of material.

But for one course, AP Biology, the curriculum is so extensive that recent changes – both by the school and College Board – have been made to improve the learning experience.

Since the beginning of the AP Biology course at GBHS, it had been a one-term, fall course.

But two years ago, teachers decided to shift to a year-long AP Biology course blocked with physiology.

The change was made in the belief that it would improve students’ ability to learn and grasp the material in several different ways.

“When it was a fall course, students had to do five chapters (of homework) from the book each week, which was hectic,” AP Biology teacher Shane Dixon said.

As a blocked course, the curriculum is more spaced out. This slower pace gave students a better chance and more time to absorb and understand all of the material.

Senior Allison Haworth, who took AP Biology in its first year as year-long course, agrees that this situation helped to better prepare for the AP exam.

“I liked the fact that we had more time to review everything and that it was not as rushed as past classes I’ve heard about,” she said.

In addition to the extra time, students and teachers said that taking physiology alongside the course can greatly improve one’s success in AP Biology.

According to senior and current AP Biology student Kristin Slingerland, physiology is not only helpful, but almost necessary.

“At least half of the AP Bio test is physiology,” Slingerland said. “At least one of the four FRQ’s (on this year’s test) was entirely

physiology and then a good portion of the multiple choice was physiology.”

According to Dixon, scores from last year’s GBHS AP Biology exams averaged about one point higher than they did from previous years, when the course was only in the fall and not combined with physiology.

“I think this is because of both the extended time for studying, and I think the physiology material absolutely helped,” Dixon said.

While GBHS has successfully been adapting to this change in course set-up, College Board officials have been brainstorming ideas to change the AP Biology course curriculum.

A new plan has been announced for the 2012-13 school year to take the extensive curriculum and condense it, for a more indepth study of biology.

Revisions to the course, according to the College Board, include a plan to “reduce the breadth of content to promote conceptual understanding,” and distinguish between required and optional content so teachers and students can focus in on certain topics.

The general consensus is that this change will give students a better handle on major biology topics.

“I think it’s definitely a good idea because the AP Bio book has over 50 chapters, and there’s no way you can get that much information in a year,” Slingerland said.

In addition, students and teachers are hopeful that focus on certain, required topics will help for the exam.

“FRQ’s were the main problem we had last year because we didn’t know enough (about a topic) to write about it,” Haworth said.

Once these changes are made, Dixon expects the test scores to only continue to rise.

“I think it will definitely have an effect on (test) performance,” Dixon said. “Both the school’s (schedule) change and the College Board’s should help.”

A4 News

‘Ripple Effect’ makes waves

Friday, May 20, 2011

Californians face a taxing problem Schools face cuts statewide if taxes don’t pass

BY AUSTIN DOWNS adowns.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photo /aRI bLACK

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

The Ripple Effect was an effort by Student Government to reduce the incidence of bullying on campus and promote positive student interaction. To publicize the campaign, Student Government sold T-shirts, like this one modeled by teacher Duane Blomquist.

Campaign spreads message of compassion

BY AUSTIN DOWNS adowns.gazette@gmail.com

From April 4th – 8th, Granite Bay High School’s student government and advanced media classes worked together to create “The Ripple Effect,” an anti-bullying campaign aimed at raising awareness about and resolving the issue of bullying.

For some students and teachers, the campaign exceeded their expectations of just how effective it would be. For others, the campaign changed nothing about the school’s amount of bullying compared to before the campaign began.

Jimmy Jack, a senior at GBHS who co-anchored the daily broadcast of the campaign along with senior Allie Burger, said the campaign was a great success.

“I think we (the school) should do this kind of campaign every year,” Jack said.

He first learned about doing the bulletins a week before the campaign started.

“Allie Burger (co-anchor) and Priti

Donde (the editor of the bulletins) That survey was conducted near the spent hours after school working on end of the last school year. it. I just worked with them on it dur“The results of that survey showed ing school hours,” Jack said. that the school did not have any He added that the campaign really severe bullying compared to other appealed to many students at the schools. But according to national school, and has received a lot of at- bullying statistics, our school fell tention locally. into the range it “I wasn’t sure was supposed (if the camto,” McGuire I think we (the paign) would be said. taken seriously The motivaschool) should do by the students, tion for “The this kind of but Allie and Ripple Effect” Priti did a great originated campaign every job at it and it many years year. really turned out ago when congreat,” Jack said. cerned parents Principal Mike told McGuire – Jimmy Jack, GBHS McGuire, who the bullying senior has been inissue at GBHS volved in antihas to be adbullying efforts dressed. for the campus, As for sucsaid the whole campaign is deeper cess, McGuire said he expected the than it appears to be. campaign to be successful from the “We had a bullying incident in beginning, but not as successful as one of our sports team a few years it really was. back,” he said, “and that’s where the ASB president Taylor Lilley first idea to address it through learning created “The Ripple Effect” camcame up.” paign back in February. With her idea McGuire then met up with counselors, teachers and parents to discuss what the school should do to settle these bullying issues.

The outcome of those meetings was that GBHS would conduct a survey to analyze the bullying problems at the school.

formulated, work on the campaign picked up in March and April.

“People really liked the campaign idea because it didn’t mostly focus on anti-bullying, but more of having good actions and promoting positive feelings on campus and not on all of the negatives,” Lilley said.

With Lilley’s idea supported, she, along with student government, went to the GBHS advanced media class to talk about teaming up to make the campaign possible.

“It really worked out because at the time we went to advanced media, they also wanted to do something positive, so working together worked out really well,” Lilley said.

Lilley also said next year’s student government president, Wes Finkemier, plans on doing another anti-bullying campaign. This next campaign would address the errors that this year’s campaign made, along with more daily activities for students to participate in.

“I’m really glad I was able to be a part of the whole campaign,” Lilley said. “It was a blast and I hope it reached out to every student who watched it.”

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Mike McGuire GBHS principal says school is prepared for possible budget cuts.

California’s ongoing state government could have revBut other school districts enue of $45 billion from taxes suffering in the state, such as for the next five years. That is, Elk Grove United and Los Anif Gov. Brown’s special elecgeles United, are being forced tion to continue special taxes to take terrifying cuts.

– initiated two years ago and Those districts will be afexpiring this year – is passed fected in one of two ways.

by California’s citizens.

They could suffer a reducAs part of his gubernatorial tion of four weeks in their campaign, Brown promised he school year, meaning that would not raise any taxes un- their school year would start less approved by the public. two weeks later and end two So that leaves California weeks earlier. with two possible outcomes: Another, more severe posthe special taxes continue and sibility is the change of a fiveCalifornia’s budget avoids day week to a four-day week, tremendous cuts, or the taxes removing Friday and considexpire and the state faces even ering it an off day – teachers more cuts. would receive no pay.

So what does each possible Aside from public schools, budget option do for public departing seniors bound for schools like Granite Bay High universities of California School?

(UC) and California state According to Brandon schools (CSU) will be victims Dell’Orto, coordinator of the of tuition increases. social science department, said CSU’s tuition is already the scenario of not extending scheduled to increase by those taxes would result in around 15 percent, which deeper cuts into the district- will bring the state schools wide budget and a decrease $121.5 million next year. As in the per-student ratio. for the UC’s tuition increase, “(The special taxes are) what the universities will have an 8 would be best for our school,” percent tuition increase, which will be at a total of $12,150 for Dell’Orto said. undergraduate tuition.

The per-student ratio is a Both systems project an system by which GBHS is additional tuition increase funded. The state of Califorof up to 32 nia gives percent if school B r o w n ’s districts (The spetax extena certain sions fail. dollar cial taxes are) These tufigure what would be ition costs, based on of course, an enbest for our do not inrollment school. clude room check and board. initiated GBHS in Febru– Brandon principal ary.

Mike Dell’Orto, history Suppose McGuire teacher GBHS said there would are two receive scenarios a certain GBHS could face. amount of money for the “The positive scenario is that school’s per student ratio. the special taxes get passed, That per-student ratio is but no one sees that happenthen multiplied by the total ing,” McGuire said. “The number of enrolled students negative scenario is that the in February which gives the taxes don’t get passed and the school its total budget.

So for GBHS, suppose that school faces a $300 reduction the per student ratio is $3,000. in the per student rate.”

If that was the case, McGuire That number is than multiplied said the school would be preby the total enrolled – an estimated 2,100 – and that total is pared and no layoffs would happen. the budget for the school.

“In an Armageddon sceThe district will then base salaries and other funding on nario where the state deficit is deeper than we originally that budget.

The California government expected, the per student ratio announced in early May that would be reduced by $600,” they would only pay school he said. “Then there would districts next year 160 of be major problems and many the 180 school days, a cut of school districts would go bankrupt.” around 10 percent.

Overall, the budget crisis Luckily for GBHS, the for public schools includdistrict has a reserve backup fund which could cover up to ing GBHS and California’s 23 percent in cuts, so GBHS universities and colleges is will not face any large cuts looming, but thus far, GBHS is prepared. next year.

The Granite Bay Gazette

w Friday, May 20, 2011

News A5

GRADUATION: Senior event organization faces obstacles Continued from page A1

This string of traditions began with Senior Ball on May 7 and will conclude with Sober Grad Night on May 28, following the graduation ceremony.

This all-night event will give seniors the chance to celebrate their graduation.

From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., SunSplash will be open exclusively to the GBHS senior class. This includes free arcade play and access to the miniature golf course, waterslides and go carts. There will also be a professional hypnotist and casino company, providing even more entertainment for the seniors.

The theme for this year’s Sober Grad Night is Senior Splash Down, featuring a beach theme and, new this year, access to the SunSplash wave pool.

If all of these attractions aren’t enough to lure in the seniors, a number of prizes will be given out to those in attendance.

These prizes range from movie tickets and gift cards to brand new iPads and Flip video cameras.

Despite Sober Grad Night being an annual tradition, the event has faced a number of obstacles this year, namely a lack of ticket sales and volunteers.

Senior co-chair Debby Duarte attributes the low ticket sales to a lack of awareness

and promotion.

Duarte and her fellow co-chair Jenny Kinloch became involved with Sober Grad Night last year when the event was in jeopardy due to a lack of volunteers.

Unfortunately, the event once again had difficulty finding volunteers this year. Duarte hopes to see more sophomore parents step up next year, so that they can fill the committees early. This would, hopefully, ease the problem with volunteers that the event has consistently faced in recent years. “(Sober Grad Night) is a very important event to provide (seniors with) a safe environment to celebrate their graduation,” Duarte said.

Other graduation celebrations include a trip to Disneyland during the break between the end of school and the actual graduation ceremony.

The idea for the trip was proposed by senior Brie Shimada, who heard about the trip while at a leadership conference.

“It just looked like a lot of fun and I wanted to try something new and bring it to the school,” Shimada said.

The 150 seniors signed up for the trip will depart from the school after graduation practice on May 26 and caravan down to Disneyland on three buses.

Upon their arrival, the seniors will head

to California Adventure where the park a day earlier than usual. To accommodate will host a dinner and dance party for this, all of the other schools in the district them and thousands of other grads from will hold their graduation ceremonies on across the west.

Wednesday evening or Thursday.

At 11, they will transition to the main McGuire was originally of the same park, Dinseyland. opinion until stu“All of the stores (on dents and parMain Street) will be ents asked for the filled with ‘Class of school to main(Sober Grad 2011’ (items) just for tain the standard us,” Shimada said.

Saturday mornNight) is a very imSeniors will spend ing graduation. portant event to prothe rest of the night, Despite his pervide (seniors with) a until 6 a.m., enjoying sonal inclination all of the rides and atagainst such a safe environment to tractions Disneyland move, McGuire celebrate. has to offer. decided to open “(Because of the the discussion to trip) there was a the community.

– Debby Duarte, whole other group This was done Senior co-chair of Sober supporting the Satthrough an online urday graduation,” polling of the seGrad Night Shimada said. “We niors and their could have only gone parents. The reif (graduation) was on sult was a strong Saturday, so it worked response in favor out perfectly.” of Saturday.

The decision to hold the graduation McGuire chose to honor the commuceremony on the traditional Saturday was nity’s opinion, but not without some a difficult one to make. concerns.

Because school was in session the Mon“Our graduations have been spectacular day after Easter, the school year will end because they’re planned around certain

logistics,” McGuire said, “and this year we’re blowing them all up.”

Because of the date change, there is a large gap of time between the end of school and the actual graduation ceremony. The school will have to hire extra security to look after the graduation equipment and maintain the janitorial staff for longer than usual in order to break down the set-up after the ceremony.

McGuire plans to alleviate some of this burden by giving non-senior members of student government community service credit for aiding with the break down. “(Graduation) is a community event and I respect the fact that is what the community (wants), but what I am asking for in return is respect from the senior class,” McGuire said. “(All I ask is that, during) the speeches, we just don’t do beach balls.”

GBHS has a reputation for holding, in McGuire’s words, spectacular graduations. McGuire and the administration hope that their decision to postpone graduation does not negatively impact the ceremony.

“It’s not about me. It’s about the seniors and their parents,” McGuire said. “It took them 13 years to get here, from kindergarten to now, and they deserve something amazing.”

SPEAKERS: Four students chosen STAFF: Wild to retire; Roberts, Daniels as speakers for graduation ceremony prepare for new administrative positions Continued from page A1

other activities.

“I have participated as a tutor in the school’s Learning Center after school for two years, (am) a volunteer in the Beale AFB Clinic’s pharmacy, and (have been) the music coordinator for my church’s youth groups’ praise band for three years,” Lee said.

In the fall, Lee will be attending the University of California at Berkeley.

board) and they review the top, maybe 20, students (based on) where GPAs fall,” assistant principal Cathy Raycraft said. “Those students get looked at in several different criteria.”

These criteria included things such as their weighted and unweighted GPA, number of transcript B’s earned, amount of AP/IB classes, rigor of schedule and junior college classes.

Stacey Wong It is then up to the committee Wong has distinguished herself members to decide which students as a student of unique prowess at will represent the graduating class. GBHS, involved in a myriad of The one exception to this rule, both academic and non-academic however, is the naming of the top ventures, earning prestigious disvaledictorian. tinctions in all.

“The board policy does state that Wong has a weighted GPA of the absolute top unweighted GPA is 4.52 and has been heavily involved the valedictorian, then the commit- in the school’s speech and debate tee uses their discretion to decide (if program, winning distinctions at there will be) other valedictorians regional, state and national comand salutatorians,” Raycraft said. petitions.

This year the top GPA was Outside of school, her accomplishChelsey Lee, who will be sharing ments include participation on the the honor of valedictorian with girls’ varsity tennis team, for which Stacey Wong. she was team captain this past seaThey will address the class of 2011 son. During her time on the team, along with they won four salutatorisection chamans Luke pionships.

Keffer and Wong is also I’m blessed to Dominic a member of have been involved DeMarco the American at the gradRiver College with my class and I uation cerCommunity hope I can represent emony.

Jazz Band and participates (the senior class) Chelsey in a summer well at graduation.

Lee program at Lee has the Wharton spent her School of – Stacey Wong, four years Business. co-valedictorian as a GrizFor Wong, zly imhowever, the mersed in real honor is various in representacademic ing the class programs, earning a weighted 4.61 she has grown up with.

GPA and distinctions in many aca“I’m so lucky to be speaking for demic arenas. such a talented, cohesive and dis“I have enjoyed an invaluable tinguished class.” Wong said. “I’ve experience by participating in the been friends with some of my classschool’s Academic Decathlon team mates for 11 years, and it’s been for three years, (assisting) as team amazing to see everyone transform captain for the 2010-11 season,” into the accomplished students and Lee said. “Also, as an IB Diploma athletes they are today.”

Candidate, I have taken a variety of Wong will be attending Stanford courses spanning from chemistry University in the fall. higher level to mathematics stan“I’m blessed to have been involved dard level.” with my class and I hope I can In addition to balancing an impres- represent (the senior class) well at sive academic schedule, Lee was graduation,” she said. able to round out her high school experience with involvement in Luke Keffer

Keffer has spent his four years at GBHS with a dedication to academic excellence, as well as an ambition to excel in areas outside of the curricular realm. Achieving a 4.56 weighted academic GPA, Keffer has made academic excellence his goal during his time as a Grizzly.

For Keffer, this goal included joining the IB program.

“Sophomore year, I decided to (participate in) the IB program. It was a last-minute decision, (but) I felt like it was a good decision at the time,” Keffer said.

In addition to a challenging and demanding course load, Keffer managed to excel in areas outside of academics, receiving distinctions in swimming and heading up the Impact-A-Village club on campus.

“I’ve swam all throughout my four years of high school on the school team and on the USA Junior Olympic team,” Keffer said.

Keffer will be attending Boston College in the fall.

Dominic DeMarco Over the course of his academic career at GBHS, DeMarco has put forth a full effort in his activities both academic and otherwise. Earning a weighted 4.52 GPA, DeMarco has taken advantage during his time at GBHS. “Total, I’ve taken 12 AP classes,” DeMarco said. “With the exception of AP biology, I’ve taken every science and math AP class that the school has to offer.”

Along with honors classes, DeMarco has taken a total of 18 weighted classes, along with two Sierra College courses.

DeMarco has also been involved with South Placer Robotics and was a member of the GBHS water polo and swim teams.

A large portion of his time, however, was devoted to the speech and debate program. During his junior year, DeMarco won a state championship in public forum debate with Alex Wagner.

In the fall, DeMarco plans to attend the University of Southern California.

“I’ve really run the gamut. It’s crazy how much time I’ve spent (on campus),” DeMarco said. “I remember sophomore and junior year I would get up early to take the CML and then have a water polo game or swim meet after school, so I’d literally be at school for 13 or 14 hours a day, and I don’t regret any of it. It was a lot of fun.”

Continued from page A1 “I think the 4 x 4 (block) system makes everybody really stressed,” Colnar said. “I had to eliminate a lot of things and that’s been hard for a lot of teachers, deciding what to let go of and not teach.”

Two of Colnar’s favorite things she did at GBHS were teaching academic decathlon for several years and setting up and supervising the IB program.

Upon retiring, Colnar will be going to Holland in June and aspires to go to a Giants’ baseball game during the week.

She, like Holmes, looks forward to traveling and doing things during times when students are still in school, a first for her since before her kindergarten days.

relationships he’s had with his friends, colleagues, students and players.

“The cool thing about being at a middle school is that I have no affiliation with any other high school,” Roberts said, “so this will be my high school forever.”

Dynah Cunkelman Cunkelman has been a special education teacher at GBHS for several years.

However, due to a rising number of special ed students at Antelope High School and a low number at GBHS, Cunkelman knew that she would have to step up and transfer.

Since she has nephews that will be attending The teachers Antelope, she thought it would be a good time Walt Wild here have taught to transfer.

Wild, although currently known for his me a lot of things, Cunkelman, expecting position as a school counselor, originally a baby boy towards the was a history and government teacher at things that I will be end of August, will be Roseville High School. taking with me into taking next fall off from He first came to GBHS in 1998 and her teaching duties and originally served as the college and career my new position. then will takeup her new counselor. position in the spring.

Due to budget cuts, however, the position of college and career counselor was – Chris Roberts, Angela Ash phased out.

GBHS language teacher Ash, a culinary teacher, A few years ago, a guidance counselrecently announced that ing position opened up and Wild took she too will be transferthe job. ring schools after sev“It has been a (really) good way for me eral years at GBHS. to finish up,” Wild said.

Currently, Ash is shuffling between teaching posiWild has found one of the most challenging aspects of his job to be balancing and juggling parents’ and tions at GBHS and ROP at Del Oro High School.

Roseville High School offered Ash a full time job, students’ desires with the institutional policies and which Ash has decided to take. finding a way to mix the two together.

Some of the incentives for transferring are the new Some of Wild’s fondest memories of his career come from his 19 years as a teacher and coach at commercial kitchen at Roseville as well as the fact that Ash has two children there.

Roseville.

“The camaraderie you have with teaching and the (interactions) you have with students (are) on a much Judi Daniels Daniels has been teaching at GBHS for a number of more personal level,” Wild said.

Wild plans on pursuing hobbies such as guitar, years. She, like Roberts, has been working toward a golf and reading, as well as traveling with his wife position in administration for almost 10 years.

Daniels has held leadership positions at the school upon retirement. as the lead teacher and the professional development coordinator, as well as teacher leadership in other Chris Roberts Roberts has been in the classroom teaching for places in the community.

“When you go from teaching to administration the last 11 years. Currently he teaches Spanish and there is often a perception that you are crossing over coaches the varsity girls’ soccer team.

“When I started (in education) my aspirations were to a different line and you are going to have different points of view,” Daniels said. “So there’s this administration from the get go,” Roberts said.

Roberts applied for two administrative positions relationship between teachers and administrators that within the district but was denied and told he needed has some tension in it.”

Daniels says this will be one of the toughest things more experience.

He found that administrative experience in an as- in making the switch; the other is the time commitsistant principal position at Lyman Gilmore Middle ment.

One of the things Daniels will miss most is this School in Grass Valley, which he will take next year’s senior class. year.

“But on the other hand, its kind of a good year to go “I think the biggest (challenge) will be just getting to know new people and new personalities, as well out because I love these kids and I think the feeling is fairly mutual,” Daniels said. as 500 new students,” Roberts said.

While teaching at GBHS, Daniels has learned that Although this will be his biggest challenge, getting to know new people is also what Roberts looks other people have ideas that are often better than hers, and this she believes will help her greatly in forward to the most.

“The teachers here have taught me a lot of things, her new position.

“I think that makes me a better leader,” Daniels things that I will be taking with me into my new said, “because I’m not trying to push my own agenda position,” Roberts said.

The things Roberts will remember most are the through.”

granitebaygazette.com

A6 News

Friday, May 20, 2011

DEPRESSION: Assistance is available with medication, hotlines Continued from page A2 a counselor, and is on medication, the SSRI Celexa.

“People don’t realize that (depression) is a disease, an illness,” Jenny said. “Just let that go, and realize you need help. You can’t get back in control by yourself. You need to get help.”

Granite Bay High School psychology teacher Natalie Elkin – who also is a counselor – says she has a lot of teenage clients who come in seeking help for depression. “(The kids) think they’re weak and flawed because they can’t deal with this on their own,” Elkin said.

“There’s some shame involved. It’s the feeling that I’m going through this while everybody else is happy and frolicking.”

Elkin has seen that girls sometimes feel the way they do because they’re empathetic and want to take on all their friends’ problems, then feel overburdened. Females experience depression about twice as often as males.

Elkin says that in her male clients, depression sometimes manifests it-

self in anger, which confuses and maddens parents who don’t understand what’s happening with their sons.

Depression can be triggered by a number of different things, from the death of a loved one to a bad break-up. However, physical factors such as genetics and hormones can increase the possibility of suffering from depression.

Symptoms include a loss of enjoyment in activities that once provided pleasure, significant weight loss or weight gain, inability to sleep or excessive sleep, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and feelings of what Elkin called “worthlessness, helplessness and hopelessness.”

Some students are finding a correlation between depression and the drug Accutane, which helps clear stubborn cases of acne.

Junior Hailey Israel was on Accutane for six months and said she could see the correlation.

“The littlest things make you irritable,” Israel said. “My mom told me I couldn’t borrow a shirt, and I literally cried for two hours. I legit-

imately sat in my room and cried.”

After six months – the amount of time you’re supposed to be on Accutane – Israel stopped taking the drug. When her acne came back later, her dermatologist wanted to put her back on Accutane, but her mom wouldn’t risk it.

Nicole, a pseudonym for another student, was diagnosed with bipolar depression the summer after her sophomore year. She believes she has suffered from depression since before sixth grade.

The summer after her junior year, Nicole tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills.

“Luckily, my mom found me,” Nicole said. “I was barely conscious, and she took me to the emergency room. They almost had to send me to a special hospital.”

Nicole is extremely thankful that her attempt didn’t work and has been trying hard to get better.

“I know things will get better, and I feel like I should be there to see it,” Nicole said.

Nicole is on the medication Zoloft and sees a psychologist. The fre-

quency of the visits depends on her ple of every economic status, every progress, but progress isn’t easy. race, all ages and both genders.

“Sometimes Experts say I get to that the most impoint where portant thing You can’t get I just want to for people sufback in control give up. I don’t fering from want to have depression is to by yourself. You any feelings or realize they’re need to get help. emotions, and not alone. They I don’t want to are urged to talk to or see talk to a fam– Jenny, an anonymous anybody. I just ily member or senior suffering from want to stay in friend and exdepression at GBHS a room all by plain how they myself,” Niare feeling. cole said. “It’s Medical profesthe thought sionals are also (because) nobody understands me available for contact. If that feels or what I’m feeling. At the same uncomfortable, suicide hotlines are time, I don’t even know how I’m available, including 1-800-SUIfeeling. And it’s such a lonely, iso- CIDE and 1-800-273-TALK. lated feeling.”

One of Nicole’s favorite quotes Suicide is one of the main con- that helps her cope comes from the cerns about depression – it’s the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth 11th leading cause of death in the Gilbert.

U.S. and takes the lives of more Gilbert wrote: “I am stronger than than 34,000 people every year.

Depression and I am braver than Depression has no boundaries Loneliness, and nothing will ever and has no favorites. It affects peo- exhaust me.”

w The Granite Bay Gazette

INTERN: Senior wrote bill

Continued from page A2

ship experience than most when he served as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C., last summer. Delaplane spent two months living and working with three other high schoolers directly behind the Supreme Court building.

“The first week I had all the typical intern work, answering calls and doing busy work. But then I just started asking, ‘Hey, is there anything I can do,’” Delaplane said.

His inquiry was rewarded when the Congressman’s team allowed him to work with them on legislation dealing with his favorite topic, foreign affairs.

“It got to a point where I was loving it so much that I said, ‘What’s the possibility of me authoring a bill for Congress’” Delaplane said.

The team admitted it had never had an intern write a bill, but allowed him to give it a try.

Eventually, Delaplane presented his resolution, against child conscription in Somalia, to the legislative director who then passed it on to a House of Representatives committee.

“My internships opened up a lot of doors that I would have never expected would be opened and it was all because of initiative,” Delaplane said.

Delaplane will be attending Rice University and has used his experiences as an intern and his renewed passion for foreign policy as inspiration when he wrote his college admissions essays.

“I think that more and more internships are being recognized by colleges because they’re hands on,” Underwood said.

College recognition is what drives most students to seek internships.

For Delaplane, though, the most important effect of his internship was the passion that he gained for international affairs as a result.

“Once you’re given an internship you can sit there in the office and take phone calls all day, but that’s not fun, so pursue something that you’d be interested in doing and then it turns into a life- changing experience,” said Delaplane.

Your faces.

The Gazette.

Friday, May 20, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette

News A7

Voices

Granite Bay Gazette

GAZETTE The Granite Bay

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

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

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Commentary

o unto others as you wish they would do unto you.

No matter what religion or belief system you apply to your life, the golden rule has been a socially accepted standard for ages.

Of course, no person is without flaws.

Perfection will never be an achievable standard, and moral discrepancies will always exist in any society.

But then again, so will apologies, the remedy for any minor mistake.

Unfortunately, an apology cannot always serve as a quick fix. Too often teenagers are scarred by others’ actions and left with irreparable insecurities. Too often, morality is cast aside in a moment of stupidity that can never be taken back.

As children, we are taught not to cheat.

Then, this meant we couldn’t steal another’s work and claim it as our own. We weren’t allowed to succumb to laziness and fake our way to success.

Cheating as defined by small children, while not entirely morally sound, is forgivable when compared to the definition it adopts in high school. This kind of cheating doesn’t hurt anyone but the perpetrator, who receives undeserved rewards and a slightly less clear concept of the value of hard work.

I don’t care how young you are. No one is so morally stunted that he or she can’t grasp the idea that betrayal of another person, a person he or she has made a commitment to, is wrong.

I could get touchy-feely and talk about broken hearts and betrayal, but what it really comes down to is respect. A relationship, after the removal of all emotion, is a contract – a deal. Both parties have agreed to respect the terms of the contract, to restrict romantic tendencies, both physical and emotional, to a single person.

It’s not slavery, and it’s not communism. No one forces you

Adviser: Karl Grubaugh The Gazette is published eight times per academic year by students in the advanced journalism class at Granite Bay High School.

Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Granite Bay High School’s faculty, administration, adviser or student body.

Students are protected in their exercise of press freedom by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and California Education Code 48907.

Signed editorials and columns reflect the views of the writer.

Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and must be signed, although anonymity can be granted on a case-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.

Friday w May 20, 2011

High school couples have lost integrity

Advertising Manager: Nico Mamone

A Section

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to make the commitCommentary ment. For some, the terms of the contract are too restricting, too smothering. There’s nothing wrong with that; if you know yourself well enough to make that assesskknorp.gazette@gmail.com ment and have the foresight to avoid commitment altogether, I respect you.

Cheaters, at least nullify the contract before you break its terms. If the desire to stray from your significant other exists, have the courage to cut ties with him or her before you do something deceitful.

Have enough respect for the person you say you care for to back out while you’re still in neutral territory. Show them the respect they deserve for honoring their end of the commitment as long as they have.

If you respect someone, you would never subject them to the loss of dignity that is bound to result from a lie of such magnitude. Your partner doesn’t deserve to sacrifice his or her own self-esteem as a consequence of your thoughtless action.

The short-lived satisfaction of an impulse will never outweigh the long-term consequences of a disloyal action. Trust takes time and effort to built, but at any time the smallest nudge can send it crashing down as if hit by a wrecking ball. Humans are suspicious creatures, and we are all equally fragile when it comes to matters of trust.

The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes may have said humans are predisposed to be evil, but I don’t believe this is the truth.

In my mind, our most critical defect is the tendency to be selfish.

This naïve period of youth is the time to mold ourselves into who we will become as adults. You most likely won’t meet the person you will marry in high school, which is all the more reason to build respectable relationship habits now. It won’t do you any good to build habits now that will lead you to drive away Mr. or Mrs. Right later in life.

I won’t spout clichés or tell you to walk somewhere in someone else’s shoes, but to me the Golden Rule is golden for a reason.

At some point, someone recognized this principle as sacred.

It’s never too late to restore a concept to its former glory, especially with regard to something as fundamental yet imperative as right and wrong. *** Kelsey Knorp, a junior, is a Gazette staff writer.

kelsey knorp

t’s a typical night for me. My homework is all done and I decide to turn on my TV. Oh look, it’s the 10th season of American Idol. No thanks television, I’ll pass on watching this.

I change the channel.

Oh hey! It’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. And there goes Camille Grammer and she’s complaining about her plastic surgery (that probably didn’t happen, but it sounds good, right?).

I, then, continue to change the channel, but what keeps appearing stays the same.

It’s all reality shows.

Here’s how reality shows play out in my perspective: there is tension between two characters. A close-up on how one of them can’t stand another person. A mildly dramatic incident of two characters that dislike each other. And then a cliffhanger telling me to come back next week for more drama.

That’s what TV has come to; they are all reality shows. There is a huge lack of quality scripted shows, which if I recall, is what original TV was made for.

Now it’s just plastic housewives and drunken Guidos that dominate the TV airtime.

There need to be more shows like 30 Rock, Modern Family and Cougar Town.

Whenever I watch 30 Rock on Thursdays, I feel like my intelligence is growing by their quick and witty references to famous events or people.

A quarter of the time I don’t even know to what they are referring to or whom they are referring.

But that’s why I love that show. Its intelligence is beyond me, and therefore it’s a great show.

What angers me even more is that some “reality” shows aren’t even real.

Most reality shows have a cast that is intentionally supposed to create conflict among characters.

But the frustration I have with the reality shows doesn’t stop right there. Not only is the cast of the show precisely put together, but during filming, alcohol is available at all times (I wonder why that is…).

Even the drama is falsely heightened.

Haven’t you ever noticed just how dramatic things look when the show does that “Coming up next!” feature? It’s merely overdramatizing what is really happening.

Let’s say that Snooki forgot to send her friend a birthday card, but the network decides to make a big deal out of it. They then edit in an angry face of Snooki’s friend and add a teaser voice announcing “You’ll never believe what Snooki did!”

Another thing that angers me is just how fast reality shows come and go. They are cheap to produce, so if the show doesn’t generate a profit, the network can cancel the show with no large loss of money.

OK, so maybe I’m being too harsh on reality shows. There are some good reality shows that are as good as scripted shows, such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

But while I’m not advocating for the complete abolition of reality shows, I am advocating for a decrease in quantity and increase in quality. *** Austin Downs, a sophomore, is a Gazette staff writer.

Stay true to the Ripple Effect’s pledge

ullying has become far too easy and, most unfortunately, far too common in school settings today.

Where in the past bullying was limited to spoken word or physical brutality, now all it takes is a status update or a picture – something done miles away electronically behind the safety of a computer screen.

These kinds of instances are serious problems at schools across the country, including Granite Bay High School.

However, thanks to the noble actions of Student Government, GBHS recently employed the use of an anti-bullying campaign week.

Focusing on the idea of a “Ripple Ef-

EDITORIAL The voice of the Granite Bay Gazette

fect,” students were introduced to five different-themed days. There was the Day of No Hate, the Day of Awareness, the Day of Respect, the Day of Celebration and the Day of Resolution.

At the end of the week, students signed a pledge, stating that they “promise to pass on kindness and respect and encour-

age others to do the same.”

However, now the difficult part remains: keeping that pledge.

Surely there wasn’t anyone who refused to sign the pledge card, but just as surely there will be people who fail to follow their word. Whether it will be an accidental slip-up or an outright attempt to bully, not everyone will remain true to his or her pledge.

It’s an unfortunate reality, but just because it cannot be stopped doesn’t mean it cannot be stemmed.

So, the students of Granite Bay High School must support each other in keeping to their word. As soon as one person breaks his promise, it opens a door for

others to easily do the same – unless everyone supports each other in maintaining respect between one another.

To be honest, we don’t have a lot of respect for people who make empty promises or back out of commitments, so let’s try to make GBHS a place free of those people.

Don’t just forget the Ripple Effect week now that it’s over. Rather, spread the word and keep the message going for as long as it takes to prevent bullying.

The problem can’t be fixed in just one week, which is exactly why the student promises must be kept to create the worthwhile solution of a bully-free zone at GBHS.

Friday May 20, 2011

Voices A9

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Cafeteria brings cold judgments

Commentary

Walking into the GBHS lunchroom, students are faced by staring peers to sit there and offer some comment on my outfit, face, shoes or hair, I should actually feel rather sorry for them.

Sorry for the fact they cannot just sit with their so-called “friends” and eat lunch in a somewhat normal manner and talk about their own lives, hair or toenails.

Luckily for me, I never let these thoughts prevent me from being myself. I learned to sortof accept the walk of doom after these past four years.

But, when I imagine how others feel, who may suffer overbearing thoughts of fitting in or have constricting self-security issues, I feel upset. Enraged. Sad. No one deserves to feel like they are ugly, alone, stupid or unable to fit in; especially after a walk through a stupid, mindless cafeteria.

Whether or not the cafeteria is an inspection room to you, you never know if your hard stare and immediate whisper can cause one person to be hurt and struggle to figure out what is wrong with them, when, in reality, it is probably nothing.

No one is perfect, and I can guarantee whoever is constantly staring and poking immature, unnecessary fun at others, is the most imperfect of all.

These small observations have led me to want to speak out for those who may suffer insecure thoughts and pain.

We all need to stick to ourselves, eat our lunch and quit drawing conclusions about others’ lives when we probably have more important things to be actually worrying about.

shannon carroll scarroll.gazette@gmail.com

Thanksgiving should come more than once a year

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

A

s a senior, I am now finally beginning to reflect on my wondrous experience here at the highly regarded, yet adored-to-behated Granite Bay High School.

It has enabled me to experience leadership in student government, partake in rowdy Powder Puff games, witness nail-biting and epic basketball games and evolve my knowledge in ways to prepare myself for my exciting latter days of life.

Beneath all the positive things of Granite Bay High School, I have been struck by one negative aspect: what happens when I walk into the cafeteria after I buy my meal.

A cafeteria is dictionary defined as a dining hall, where food is served, or brought from home and eaten in the room.

Granite Bay’s cafeteria completely fails to live up to this simple definition.

At Granite Bay, our lunchroom is like a grueling inspection machine; where one walks in and glazed eyes immediately glance and study the tiniest teased hair on one’s head down to one’s slightly molded hang nail on their pinky toe.

Walking into the thick air of the room, I immediately begin to wish I was wearing Harry Potter’s beloved invisible cloak, for I usually can slightly hear whimpering whispers and slight laughter as occasional eyes repeatedly gape at me. I just wish to be invisible.

If anything, I feel annoyed and, sadly, a bit violated.

Eyes seem to scan my physique as they search for some microscopic flaw to snicker at with their friends to perhaps boost their own confidence or to merely make small conversation.

Inside my head, a multitude of tiny voices are screeching and searching to discover what is so terribly wrong with me.

If there even is anything wrong with me…(I am sorry my pinky toe nail is harshly bruised.)

I have witnessed this catastrophic inspection happen to my own peers on multiple occasions as well.

This is also known as the walk of doom.

The walk has adopted this name because of the doomed feeling that’s felt by various individuals who experience the tragic feelings that come with the simple stride down the gossip-radiated cafeteria walkway.

I have learned that if someone honestly has time

Commentary

alex pink apink.gazette@gmail.com

Ultimately, I think the GBHS cafeteria dwellers need to find some inner peace and begin to reflect the true dictionary definition.

Ditch the stares and dump the negative talk about others.

Better yet, make the walk of doom pure history. *** Alex Pink, a senior, is a Gazette staff writer.

The long to-do list before college

Gazette illustration/SHANNON WAGNER AND ADAM TILFORD

Large expenses, a new school, and a new lifestyle bring anxiousness

T

he seniors breathed a sign of relief after submitting their final college apps. For a while we felt like we would get a break, and then the acceptances and rejections started rolling in.

We decided what our next steps would be and what we would be doing after this summer in Granite Bay. As my excitement has built up to move on to the next chapter of my life, I have also realized the build up of jitters due to all of the things that I’ll have to prepare for this summer before the big moving days occur.

While sitting on my computer a few weekends ago and applying for housing, I realized how much I was going to need to do within the next few months. After submitting my housing applications, I started making long lists in my head.

Not only will I have class registration and orientation, I also have to worry about learning about a completely new city, along with next year’s meal plans, furnishing my dorm room and not being surrounded by the same people that I have been around for 12 years.

Upon entering the green gates of Granite Bay High School, I felt a similar sense of anxiousness.

Commentary

jamie cologna jcologna.gazette@gmail.com

However, at that time I was learning my way around a new campus, not a new city. I was worried about filling my back pack with binders and books, not my dorm room with a computer, printer, TV, microwave, mini-fridge, desk, chair, bedding… It all starts to add up.

Then I began to worry about the price of all of these things. On top of tuition, housing, food and my dorm, I started realizing the amount of things I’ll need for my classes.

I mean, of course I am waiting to attend my

classes before buying what I need, but then I feel like on top of adjusting to a new school and having brand-new classes, I also have to go out and buy the basics like notebooks, papers, folders and the college textbooks – textbooks that I may or may not actually crack open, textbooks that I might only need because they were written by the professor. All of those requirements are just adding on to the already expensive class.

It was only the words of a friend from last year that was able to calm my nerves about college.

She reminded me that everyone else is in the same position and everyone else manages to work through it. It may be stressful now, but if you conquer your list one thing at a time, it seems far less daunting.

She reminded me that everyone going off to school is learning about a new city, signing up for classes and trying to manage a busy schedule. Remembering that I’m in the same boat as the rest of my peers is helping me stay sane during this crazy, hectic time. *** Jamie Cologna, a senior, is a Gazette Green Screen editor.

W

hen I was younger, on road trips my mom played the Sheryl Crow CD, C’mon C’mon, all the time. Her favorite song? “Soak Up the Sun”. Every time that song was on, my dad pointed out one specific line: “It’s not having what you want; it’s wanting what you’ve got.”

Yeah, he’s repetitive, and I asked him to lay off a little, but I’ve come to understand the lesson he was trying to impart.

We’re so caught up in what we don’t have and what we want that we are never content with what we have.

That lesson hit home when I recently went on a mission trip with my church to Mexicali, in northern Mexico. I was lucky enough to be part of a team that focused on community service, meaning I got to visit lots of different locations.

It’s hard to imagine, but one of our visits was to a dump where families lived.

Three brothers had built a house out of materials they scrounged up from the dump. The odor was stifling, and they didn’t have clean water or food, let alone things like air conditioning and heat that we tend to feel are God-given rights.

These men had flies crawling all over their bodies and looked like skin and bones. Their clothes were so tattered they looked like they might fall off.

Yet their smiles still put mine to shame.

They didn’t complain about where they lived or how they had to scrounge for food. They were grateful for what they have because, although it seems crazy to us, they had a lot more than many others.

Another family at the dump had crammed themselves into a water tank.

This family of four had no room for personal space, and one of the girls who looked about 14 years old was eight months pregnant.

None of them complained about the situation they were in. They were thankful that they had each other, a supportive family in which they felt content. It didn’t matter to them that their house had no walking room or that they shared the house with millions of flies. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it was their home.

In Mexicali, I also had the chance to go to a nursing home with my team. As we drove there, dust blew everywhere, even on the paved roads. We passed several signs advertising “car wash,” in English, even though the desperate entrepreneurs had to know that anyone who paid for a wash would have their car covered with dust again before traveling 100 yards.

I learned that nursing homes aren’t like they are here. Residents either had no family or were kicked out. Many were brought to the nursing home after being found on the side of streets, living under bridges.

The elderly lit up when they realized they had visitors, and it warmed my heart to be able to provide a speck of joy, but seeing these sad people made me realize how much we take our families for granted. Sure, we say words like “I love you” and “thank you,” but we never sit down and tell our family how much we appreciate them.

When we visited a pastor, who was poor beyond anything most of us can imagine, he insisted on making food for all of us and offered up his house for showers. He offered up what little he had, perfectly content and expecting nothing in return.

You know the saying that money can’t buy happiness? It seems true to me.

Coming home from Mexico, I realized just how fortunate I am. The people I met owned maybe one pair of jeans each, while I have so many pairs of pants. I felt frivolous knowing I have spent more than $100 on a single pair of jeans, something that could have bought 10 to 20 pairs for someone in Mexico.

I like the Oprah Winfrey line: “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

We have Thanksgiving, the one day a year we are supposed to give thanks for what we have. One day a year? Why can’t we be thankful every day? And for all that we have.

Let’s want what we’ve got. *** Shannon Carroll, a junior, is a Gazette Features editor.

A10 Voices

Friday May 20, 2011

HEARD

BAY

What is your most memorable summer vacation?

“When I was in 8th grade, I went to D.C. I saw all the monuments, and it was interesting to experience our nation’s capital.”

F r e s h m a n

Kristine Khieu “My most memorable moment was in sixth grade when I went to Yellowstone with my family.”

S o p h o m o r e

Gregory Callaghan “When I was in my sophomore year, I went to Mexico over summer. It was really fun.“

J u n i o r

Jack Hanley “In 8th grade, I went to Japan and lived with a family for two weeks. It was the most cultural thing I’ve ever done.”

Biased teachers affect success

Faculty who demand respect should give it back to their students first

A

s my junior year comes to with an adult who acts less mature an end, I cannot help but than the students they teach. to notice the reoccurring Having higher authority is a resituation that students sponsibility and an honor. Abusing have brought to obvious attention: this power is completely preposterbiased teachers. ous, especially Whether it is late when students Commentary homework asget scolded for signments, taken standing up for phones or failed themselves when tests, students have teachers stand begun to realize on their high hidden motives behorse with the hind teachers’ hosability to change tile actions other the grade dethan the “school pending on how rules” themselves. the student acts As students, we in class. aublack.gazette@gmail.com assume that teachIt seems that ers will act in a professional and unbiased way, but throughout the school year this belief has been clearly contradicted.

Everyone has their off days.

Some teachers assume that students should act in porcelain acts of perfection, when it is clearly impossible. School is not the only thing going on in our lives; it is merely a part of our day that is another thing to add on to our “to-do list.”

I firmly believe that humans should treat others as they would like to be treated. In any form of authority or higher positions of importance, these expectations should remain the same.

I realize the importance of teachers in the everyday world, and fully acknowledge how impactful their roles are, but some individuals’ lack of kindness in the educational setting is discouraging to the poor student who must deal with it.

As teens, students are faced with the everyday obligation to wake up early and follow through with hours full of difficult work and exhaustion. On top of everything, the last thing we need is putting up

ari black

some teachers despise every extreme: teacher’s pets are considered annoying, and rebels are considered slackers. Is there a perfect balance for these particular teachers?

In an environment where standards of perfection are already hard to reach, we continue to be judged and criticized in an environment that should be accepting.

The closed-minded environment not only leaves students dreading to spend an hour and 45 minutes with a teacher who rudely calls them out in class, but also discourages the student and their desire to learn.

School is for gaining knowledge; not for battling with teachers who cannot maintain their own lives and

have to take it out on poor students who are already stressed out enough.

All of our lives, we have been taught the moral standard of treating others the way we would like to be treated. Now, those teachers are the very hypocrites taking unnecessary action to make our lives miserable.

I realize the world doesn’t revolve around students and their needs, but before students start treating teachers with respect, we must gain it in return. *** Ari Black, a junior, is a Gazette staff writer.

Gazette illustration/ADAM TILFORD

The obsession with categorization Beauty can’t be classified, so why must everything be placed in a genre?

W

hat kind of music do As humans we seem fond of Commentary you like listening to? categorization. Perhaps it’s What type of movan attempt to create order in a ies do you like to watch? What perpetually disordered world. For type of food do you like? some reason it seems to make These are questions I’m sure more sense to think of movies that we’ll all been faced with as romances or comedies, and to innumerable times. These are think of people as metalheads or questions we ask and are asked hipsters, instead of seeing them when we meet someone new. as diverse and not defined by any These are questions we answer one category. in those “get to know you betYet should we not take joy in mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com ter” activities that numerous the fact that so many of us defy teachers at Granite Bay seem to be inexplicably simple classification in our tastes? fond of.

Personally, I think it only makes sense for us to However, as I sort through these questions again enjoy multiple genres and classifications. It is proof and again, I have a growing suspicion. The answer to the fact that we appreciate beauty and pleasure to all these questions is “everything” more often and multiple forms. than anyone seems to realize.

I think it is reasonable that what matters to most Don’t we all like pieces from every genre of music of us is not whether a song is rap or classical, but and movies? Don’t we all crave certain foods from whether it sounds good. It matters less whether a every cuisine? menu is French or Italian, and more if it’s simply If so many of our interests are really so broad- if delicious. our own interests are broad- why do we continually Often food, music, movies and other creations of expect the interests of others to be specific? humanity defy classification, just as we do. They

moosa zaidi

incorporate many influences and genres and yet can be just as pleasurable.

Given that in reality so many of us do have broad tastes, it is all the more strange that we attempt to categorize and continually expect narrow tastes from others.

Perhaps people like to believe that they are unique in having broad tastes because it makes them feel special in some way. People choose to wrongfully believe that they have especially broad tastes and are sophisticated, complex, and diverse, while others are narrow, simple, and easily classified.

In reality, having broad interests makes us the opposite of unique- it makes us similar to everyone else and connects us.

Our ability to look beyond the narrowness of one particular genre when searching for beauty gives us all more in common.

We should stop trying to classify and simplify the tastes of others, when our own interests are rarely so clearly defined. If anything, we should be thankful that there are certain creations in this world we can all find beautiful. *** Moosa Zaidi, a junior, is a Gazette staff writer.

Thumbs Up

S e n i o r

Ashby Vose “Traveling through Europe playing baseball when I was 18.”

S t a f f

Jarrod Westberg Compiled by Sarah Bertin

Thumbs Down

on the

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Thumbs up: Summer means road trips with friends.

Thumbs down: Too bad gas is so expensive.

Thumbs up: School is done next Wednesday.

by Sarah Bertin, a Gazette voices editor.

Thumbs down: Seniors won’t get to see their best friends as often as they all leave for college.

Friday May 20, 2011

Voices A11

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sticks and stones can’t surmount speech

Despite what a children’s rhyme says, words have the power to make or break someone’s day

“S

ticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.”

This little expression that was proclaimed so often on the playground in elementary school tried to teach us at a young age that the negative comments of others won’t affect those who don’t let it affect them – that with the conscious effort of choosing to deny the critical remarks that target us, we can overcome them.

And to a certain extent, it holds true. Believing everything that everyone tells you about yourself is just a recipe for identity crisis and an insecurity disaster, but sometimes we do rely on other people’s opinions to verify our own beliefs.

And I don’t think people realize just how powerful are the words they speak. With just one sentence, you have the ability to make someone’s day, or ruin it entirely.

We often have no idea what kind of circumstance someone is dealing with when we see them, and a little comment you make that seems to you like a harmless joke could actually make a deep impact.

I will never forget the afternoon where, after only having just met him two minutes before, someone told me “You’re an ****ing loser,” and turned and walked away from me in disgust.

And while I know it came from his frustration about a circumstance and not real hatred for me, I couldn’t help feeling that if he was willing to say that to me, it had to at least be somewhat true.

Four words had taken my confidence and selfassurance and completely shattered them into insecurities and doubt.

It didn’t matter whether or not he meant it, or who he was, because at the end of the day, all I remember were the words that he said and how they made me feel.

And even though I walked away from that situation devastated, I pretended it didn’t bother me at all.

Which made me wonder – if I feigned

M TILFORD

stration/ADA

Gazette illu

Great Debate

The

Commentary

shannon wagner swagner.gazette@gmail.com

indifference about being told something hurtful, who else acts like they are fine when they are really impacted by others’ words? Can we ever really know how we affect other people by what we say?

Probably not.

But if we do know that we can impact people with what we say, why not use the power of our words as an opportunity to make people smile?

While one sentence full of anger and malice can cut someone down, a few sentences of positive and encouraging thoughts have just as strong of an impact, but for the better.

It doesn’t take much – just a little compliment here or there to the people you see every day.

Nothing spectacular, but maybe a “You look really nice today,” or a “I’ve always loved the way you (insert characteristic here).” ... why not It’s esuse the sentially effortless. And power of our regardless of words as an what you end up saying, opportunity the message to make comes across, people and the person you are smile? complimenting will most likely love it no matter what. *** Shannon Wagner, a senior, is a Gazette Green Screen editor.

Gazette staffers go head-to-head to debate a topic of their choice.

Does going to a community college for two years and then transferring to a university detract from the quality of education or the college experience as a whole?

Allison: There are few experiences in life which are said to be as transformative as the four years which are spent at college. Whether we’re talking about the professors, the dorms or just the college atmosphere in general, there’s something unique that happens to the student who studies at a traditional four-year university. There are some, however, who say that the only thing which the “traditional” four year plan gives students is 24hour access to unnecessary distractions like keggers and frat parties. In my opinion, that turns a blind eye to the overall college experience, which is a lot more than just sitting in lecture halls for a few hours every week.

Commentary

Commentary

v. gary nielsen

allison garvey

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.com

agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

Gary: While the “traditional” four-year plan might be a wonderful experience, it is not the only option for graduating students to obtain experience. Community or junior college can offer a solid foundation for students who either didn’t get into a four-year or are looking for a more cost-effective route. I feel like our community places too much of an emphasis on where students start, but doesn’t it really only matter where we end? With tuition skyrocketing, transfers out of community colleges are looking more and more appealing. Students can still have years of the college experience without the high cost for G.E. classes that can be taken anywhere.

A: Even if it’s true that the tuition of four-year schools is increasing every year, and these universities are limiting the number of applicants which they admit to account for budgetary restrictions, these limits are also being applied to the very transfer spots which look so appealing. In truth, once you get down to the nitty-gritty of transferring credits and applying for transfer, the prospect of simply entering a university during the traditional entry period ...there’s makes a lot more sense for something unique the long run. In terms of that happens to the financial burdens, many four-year schools offer the student who more work-study programs studies at a than previously available traditional four and work with individual cases to create financial aid year university. packages that work for the student and the university in question.

G: It’s true, but at the same time I feel like it’s not fair to set such a high standard. There are thousands of students who don’t get accepted to any traditional colleges each year, but by making it seem as if it’s the norm to go to a four-year college, our society makes community college students feel inferior. There are probably far more success stories from people who started in a community college, for example, than we give credit for. I think a person’s motivation and ambition will always prevail over a single acceptance. The entire emphasis on who’s going where is appropriate to the ends of congratulation, but it’s almost as if students are judged whether or not they will succeed based on where they get accepted. That’s the reason why I feel like whatever route a student takes, whether it be Sierra or Stanford, it should be satisfactory.

A: I agree completely that the amount of motivation and drive individuals put into their education determines the level of success, as opposed to the university name on their diploma. I think it’s a stretch, however, to say that it’s that overwhelming of a factor. The value of a college education in and of itself has huge bearing on our society. There may be brilliant and talented individuals who forgo a college education, and while there are a few success stories, the reality is, most without a diploma of higher education are simply at a disadvantage. My point here is that yes, it’s up to individuals to determine their success, but the greater the education level, or even perceived education level, the better shot they have at career opportunities and successful futures.

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G: Where I disagree with you is that a “perceived education level” puts a person in a better position. Starting in a community college allows students to take the exact same courses for the exact same credit.

I feel like our Students can take this and community places transfer to those big-name schools. The problem I too much of an have is that there is a negaemphasis on tive stigma about students where students who choose or default to start, but doesn’t this path and I think it’s an unfortunate perception. At it really only the end of the day I applaud matter where we any student that pursues end? higher education regardless of where they start.

A12 Second Look

Second look

DAY AT THE BAY

Friday, May 20, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette

GBHS students enjoy a day of waterslides and fun

ď ˇ Senior Allison Ewing-McDonald, top, splashes feet first into a pool of water at the bottom of the corkscrew slide.

This year’s Day at the Bay featured a few new activities. Volleyball, however, is a reoccuring event to count on.

Alison Hamby, middle right, leaps to volley the ball back across the net. Students, bottom left, enjoyed scaling the portable climbing wall. Freshman Ben Gorsen, bottom middle, shouts victoriously after being named the winner of the pie-eating contest. Senior Hayden Parker, bottom left, emerges from the obstacle course on the way to a Day at the Bay victory. One of the new events was hampster ball races. Sophomores Amber Miller and Jessica Taylor, middle left, spin to the finish line in thier inflatable balls.

wGazette photosw Maggie Louis

Lifestyle

Granite Bay Gazette Commentary

B Section

Friday w May 20, 2011

scrolling through the year

Justin Shiiba

jshiiba.gazette@gmail.com

When school gets too busy, embrace your inner child

A

s my last couple days of high school were winding down, I was in panic mood. Four AP tests in three consecutive days, the last journalism “death” deadline and section playoffs for tennis championships; all combined into one single week.

My life was a chaotic scram to cram knowledge and dominate the tennis court at the same time.

Meanwhile, my mind was in another mode – summer.

Warm nights spent up late with friends, sunny mornings at the lake and lazy afternoons waking up at 1 o’clock. The dreaded “senioritis” had infected every cell of my body and refused to allow my to complete my homework and studying.

College, therefore, was my one and only motivator.

It was like my entire high school experience had been one big race to the end, and college was that finish line in the distance, beckoning me forward yet remaining so far away.

But amidst this hurricane of physics, economics, literature and government, I found the eye – that small, peaceful center where the winds have ceased and the rain has halted.

It was during the short break between the Macro and Micro Economics AP tests that I discovered this happy place.

After the first test, a couple friends and I found a nice sunny spot on the grass outside of the testing center to eat our bag lunches. We watched the local kids kick a soccer aimlessly around, and laughed at our ridiculous inside jokes.

After finishing our lunch, we spotted a jungle gym in the distance and instantly ran to it.

There, between a 6 hour period of AP testing, we forgot about all our troubles and played a game of tag on a play structure made for five-year-olds.

Running back and forth around the playground and climbing up and down the slides, five seniors from Granite Bay High School regressed back to elementary school – a time when studying was nonexistent and the word “stress” wasn’t in our vocabulary.

It was in this moment the stress of school and AP testing, of tennis and playoffs, of meeting deadlines and writing columns, had all disappeared into oblivion, replaced by the care-free games of my childhood.

I had been so busy with trying to memorize the shifters of the supply curve and perfect my backhand slice that I had forgotten what it was like to actually have fun and forget about the stress.

It wasn’t just an act of fun that made this experience so meaningful. I have “fun” regularly, whether I’m playing a game of FIFA on my Play Station or relaxing on the coach watching Modern Family.

I think this simple game of tag was so meaningful because at a time when college is approaching and I am leaving home for the first time of my life, I did the exact opposite of what was expected of me – I was a kid.

High school can sometimes feel like you’re running through a hurricane, with the finish line in the distance. But the best solution that I have found to escape this madness and chaos is to leave it all behind for a awhile.

Forget the pressures of becoming an adult, leave behind the expectations and become that kid you use to be.

Photo credits: Abaca Press (MCT), Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press (MCT), Yomiuri Shumbun (MCT), Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times (MCT), MAGGIE LOUIS and JOHN PARK/Gazette

The year’s events ranged from the horrific to the sublime, including the Japanese tsunami and earthquake, Every 15 Minutes, the Libyan civil war, the boys’ basketball team at Arco Area, the Rally to Restore Sanity, the Powder Puff game, the Royal Wedding, the seniors’ float and the Tribe at a football game.

Katie Zingheim and Justin Shiiba reflect on the past year’s events and trends Friends

Katie Zingheim Wow! I can’t believe this year is coming to an end already! The Barack Obama President of the United States of America

TCID:BW

Ramona Drury, Brandon Dell’orto and Karl Grubaugh like this.

Justin Shiiba Yeah, what a year we’ve had. Middle Eastern protests? The Japanese

earthquake and tsunami? The BP oil spill? It seems like it’s just been one crisis after another…

Lady Gaga Can wear meat as an outfit and still pull it off

Katie Zingheim Not every world event has been a riot or disaster – Kate and

William got married! Kate’s dress was so beautiful, and her sister, Pippa, looked amazing, too. Did you see all the royalty at the ceremony? And all the crazy hats some of the guests were wearing? The whole event was just magical!

Justin Shiiba Magical? Not as magical as the second to last Harry Potter!! But speaking of terrible fashion trends, did you notice those feather extensions everybody is wearing? I swear I thought there was a bird in this girl’s head.

Jarrod Westberg Meanie on the outside, softie on the inside

Katie Zingheim Okay, so maybe a few of the trends weren’t a success. There were

plenty of hipsters and wanna-be-hipsters roaming around campus spreading new trends. Of course, once a trend catches on the hipsters can’t follow it anymore, but that’s beside the point. Urban Outfitters sure made a lot of money, and those lenseless glasses can look nice.

Justin Shiiba Those hipsters remind me of all those hacky sackers and Frisbee

throwers out in the quad this year! How did that even start?

Charlie Sheen Self-described as “Bi-Winning”

Katie Zingheim I ask myself that about a lot of the trends this year. Like who knew chucking angry birds at unsuspecting pigs would be so addicting?

Justin Shiiba You know a game is addicting when Mr. Westberg gets hooked.

Jarrod Westberg likes this.

Donald Trump Reality TV star known for the catch phrase “You’re fired”

Katie Zingheim Then Tiny Wings came along, and turned out to be almost a big-

ger trend than Angry Birds. I don’t know why though, I never could get the hang of Tiny Wings. I swear I need someone to teach me how to play it.

Justin Shiiba Well I can’t teach you that... but I could teach you how to Dougie!

See YEAR IN REVIEW, page B5

inside lifestyle

How to

B4

Top Ten

B2

Random student B6 *** Justin Shiiba, a senior, is a Gazette’s Lifestyle co-editor.

seniors three-peated Sports-A-Rama, won floats and dominated at Powder Puff. Now we’re all heading off to college in a few short months. I think we’re all ready to leave the Bay, but I’m going to miss this place. What a year we’ve had!

Student spotlight B4

Eagle Projects Boy scouts improve school with service

B8

Blockbuster shutdown Local video rental store closes

B4

Separation of church and school?

Division between religion and the classroom

B3

B2 Lifestyle

Craziest things that could happen before the end of school

Friday, May 20, 2011

Students help spread their beliefs Teens gain new perspectives while giving aid on missions

BY KATIE BOSTEDT

kbostedt.gazette@gmail.com

S

one such mission to Nairobi, Kenya.

During the trip, he helped build a church and played with hundreds of local kids. There was one part of the mission Wright found particularly difficult.

“We went to the Mathare Slum, which is the poorest slum in the world. There are 800,000 people in around two square miles,” Wright said.

“There’s a sewer that runs through the middle of the road and the kids were playing in it. That was a lot to take in emotionally.”

Wright gained a new gratitude from his experience seeing how these people live with so little.

“Just seeing how poor it is, and all they have to worry about is food for the next day it puts a perspective on where we live,” Wright said. “It’s hard to come back. The first week I came back I was just like, ‘What am I doing here? This is so lame.’”

On the other hand, junior Chloe Shaw attends a church that has missions that are a little different than the typical short-term trip, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Although anyone can go, guys more than girls commonly leave on a mission.

“For guys, (the missions) are two years, for girls they’re a year and a half,” Shaw said.

When it comes time for someone to leave on a mission, the president of their church prays about where to send them until he feels a spiritual prompting for a certain area.

“Missionaries can go anywhere,” Shaw said. “They don’t actually preach our gospel; they help out with schools or help them out with whatever they need.”

Shaw hasn’t gone on a mission yet, but hopes to go on one in the future.

“I want to go on a mission because I love my church,” Shaw said. “I love the happiness and peace within myself, and I wish I could give that to anyone.”

Sophomores take over the parking lot – oh wait, that’s already happened.

pring is known for sun, flowers and warm weather, but a lesser known tradition is going on mission trips.

Churches all over the Roseville/Granite Bay area support mission trips to various parts of the country, and even the world.

For example, Bayside Church of Granite Bay has an annual mission trip to Mexico for high school and college students and adults.

This year’s trip occurred in the last week of April, and was nine days long. Bayside’s trip was also the largest they’ve ever had with over 600 students and adults signed up.

Every year, the group leaves the Friday before spring break, and makes the all-day drive to Mexico. Once there, they stay at “Base Camp,” where there are around 40 army tents set up for everyone to sleep in.

Before arriving in Mexico, everyone is broken into different teams that travel to various churches in Mexico to either play with kids or build houses.

Sophomore Brooke Adams went to Mexico for the second time with Bayside this year.

“I was on an Impact Team, so we did the (Vacation Bible School) everyday for the kids, which is like you read them Bible stories, do crafts with them and play with them,” Adams said.

Although many students weren’t able to attend in the past due to the drug wars, Adams wouldn’t have missed the trip for anything.

“I went last year and it was a really life-changing experience because connecting with kids in another country and helping them makes me really happy,” Adams said. “Getting to serve God this way is really fun.”

Bayside Church also offers other mission trips on a much smaller scale to countries further away, such as Kenya and Cambodia.

Senior Andrew Wright took ten days in March to go on

Juniors act like they own the place – oh wait, that’s already happened, too.

After graduation, seniors take a summer trip abroad

Seagull apocalyspe: They launch their longplanned attack and we have to fight them off with Bosco sticks.

It rains so much that some guy named Noah starts building a boat near the library.

Senioritis gets so bad that the whole graduating class drops out.

Freshman think people will start taking them seriously now that they’re almost sophomores. Ha.

Justin Bieber gets sick of people making fun of his girly voice and shows up to sing at lunchtime.

The faculty are so done with school they declare third period to be naptime.

Mr. McNulty streaks across the quad.

-Lifestyle Editors

Gazette courtesy photo /ANDREW WRIGHT

Senior Andrew Wright traveled to Nairobi, Kenya in Africa for a mission trip, where he interacted with children (top) and gained a new perspective in how the people live (bottom)

Greg Holmes GBHS math teacher will lead students on a trip around Europe

Teacher Greg Holmes will be leading students to Europe SAHIL KHOSLA

The cafeteria sells only cupcakes, ignoring all healthy food laws.

w The Granite Bay Gazette

A

skhosla.gazette@gmail.com

s the school year comes to an end, seniors who are attending the Europe trip, lead by Granite Bay High School teacher Greg Holmes, anticipate their imminent first departure.

Holmes began leading the Europe trip when his oldest son was a senior, as an alternative to the conventional Hawaii and Mexico trips.

“I thought it was a far more valuable experience to go to Europe (since) we’re much more European in the United States than any other (foreign influence),” Holmes said. “It’s an easier first exposure to slightly more foreign countries.”

Students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in historic European cities such as London, Paris, Lucerne, Florence, Rome, Vatican City, Venice, Munich and several others during their three week stay.

“It’s an educational trip and it’s not just great sightseeing. You learn a lot

(from visiting theses cities),” Holmes said. “It’s a safe and wonderful (experience).”

However, there are some ground rules for the travelers: there is no consumption of hard liquor or drugs.

“We had some difficulties last year, but in 16 years (combined) that was it,” Holmes said. “The parents must (first) sign a form (to give consent to consume alcohol).”

As in many foreign countries, the drinking age is lower in a number of European countries. Thus, seniors will be legal to drink in many of the countries they’ll stop at.

“Wherever it’s legal and safe, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a sip with a crazy Irish pub man,” Senior Connor Puhala said.

The senior trip also allows free time for students to explore the city from their own perspective. “(I always tells students) to grab your own trip, to find out something that’s going on, and (then) we’ll make it happen,” Holmes said. “I was in Italy near Naples, Sorrento, building a wooden

platform (for an American singer) James Taylor. I watched him play acoustic and sing, it was best night of my life.”

Senior Sam Freitas, who is attending the Europe trip this summer, has his own ideas for seizing his trip.

“I’m looking forward to meeting people in various countries. I want to go to pubs in Britain and talk to old guys and see what they have to say,” Freitas said. “And I’m mostly excited to go swimming in Italy, because it’s the Mediterranean Sea.” Puhala also shares Freitas’s desire to meet new people.

“I want to meet people with interesting lives, I want to meet someone who swam across the English Channel, and (I want to) develop an accent,” Puhala said.

However, the senior trip can be bittersweet for some as it’s the ending to their senior year.

“I feel like it’s the last big trip I’ll go on with all my friends, but I think its going to be a great experience. At the same time, I don’t know how I’m going to feel to break those bonds after the time(s)

we’re going to have,” senior Moby Ahmed said.

Class of 2010 graduate, Sheeva Nesva, attended the Europe trip last year and made many amazing memories during her experience. “(The trip) really was the best balance between a life-changing, educational (trip),and a fun-filled senior trip,” Nesva said. “I feel like we got the best of both worlds since I can now say that I have seen all of these beautiful cities and historical landmarks throughout Europe— but more importantly, I can say that I saw them with my best friends and my senior class.”

For Nesva, the trip was surreal after having learned about these places in Advanced Placement European history her sophomore year.

“Being able to experience all these different cultures and create memories with my closest friends was definitely one of the best parts,” Nesva said. “But the educational aspect was also huge for me. To see the Sistine Chapel at Vatican City, as an example, was literally breathtaking.”

Your stories. The Gazette.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Lifestyle B3

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Thin line regarding what is acceptable in classrooms Students and teachers talk about what they feel is OK to share

BY KELSEY KNORP

T

kknorp.gazette@gmail.com

hroughout the history of public education, there has always been a controversy about whether or not teachers say too much about their personal beliefs in the classroom. Granite Bay High School is no exception.

English teacher Anthony Davis believes there is a fine line, and it is up to both a student and a teacher not to cross it.

“I maintain a position of influence in a classroom, so what I say will carry a lot more weight,” Davis said.

Davis makes it a point not to force his beliefs on his students during a class period, but if, after class, a student approaches him, he is willing to answer that student openly.

Davis believes it is a teacher’s duty to respect a student’s personal boundaries.

“As teachers, we have a strong obligation to make sure a student never feels

exploited or taken advantage of,” Davis said.

Junior Gabby Cho, a student in Davis’ Honors English class, says it is inappropriate for a teacher to express his or her views unless it directly relates to the class’s subject matter.

“The only time that it may be okay is if a student comes to (a teacher) and specifically wants to discuss a topic with them,” Cho said.

Mackenzie Sato, who is graduating this year, says an experience from her time at Eureka Elementary School left an impression on her entire sixth grade class.

One day, her teacher took apart a watch, put the parts in a plastic bag, and shook it around. When the parts didn’t assemble themselves back into a watch, he disparaged the idea that life could have evolved out of non-living material.

“I knew it was really offensive to my friends who were not of the Christian faith,” Sato said. “Their parents told him it made them uncomfortable.”

Yet the teacher used numerous similar examples throughout the year.

Sato said that in high school, teachers express views in more measured and acceptable ways.

For example, AP Government teacher Jarrod Westberg has stated his party af-

filiation as well as his ideas on social issues in Sato’s government class where they could be considered relevant.

Chemistry teacher Suchi Krishnaraj also revealed her party affiliation, but no one in the class expressed discomfort.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily poisonous to have your class know your political party, religion, etc,” Sato said, “but that’s only if you can do it Gazette photo /Maggie louis with a class that’s mature enough to Teachers have to be careful with what religious and political beliefs they share in the classrealize that you as the room. Some students believe it’s not okay, while some feel that if it works with the subject it’s fine. teacher aren’t telling them how to think.” in a public school setting is the Point and interact with each other in an open Senior Briana Whitney says that a Break program, which is sponsored environment. “Because it has religious teacher’s views can be relevant.

by Campus Life, a Youth for Christ backing, it certainly creates a gray area,” “Sometimes it helps us better underministry whose website says it seeks to Davis said. “My only concern would be stand a concept, such as laws and bills “engage young people wherever they a teacher or adult in a place of authority in (AP Government) or social issues,” are found as lifelong followers of Jesus (abusing) a vulnerable relationship with Whitney said. “And sometimes it makes Christ.” a student.” a teacher seem more like they care about Point Break is a school-wide program “I think that if they’re not explicitly what they’re actually teaching.” in which students and faculty come telling you to believe something, then One debatable issue regarding religion together and break traditional barriers it’s okay,” Sato said.

Summer season comes with dangers

If you really knew me,

you would know...

Alex Machado

I do crew. It’s competitive rowing. It takes a lot of practice just to learn the basics, and I like it because it is challenging and it helps people stay in shape. It’s probably one of my favorite things to do whenever I have the chance.

Cameron Poindexter

Mikayla Graham

I’m really good at guitar. I have a very creative mind and I’m very open to people and their feelings. I really like being open to people. It makes me feel confident and the people around me really like that about me.

I am double jointed. I have the ability to twist my wrist, arm, shoulder and elbow completely around. So can my twin sister Marissa. People are really freaked out about it, but I think it’s pretty awesome that I can do that.

- Compiled by Austin Downs

The

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 B5.

Chalkboard 2

Chalkboard 1 1. Abhor 2. Interminable 3. Solicitous 4. Consecrate 5. Paramount

a. Greatly distressing, vexing b. To hate, detest c. To bring forth, draw out d. Harsh criticism e. Brave in the face of danger f. To lower in importance, defame

6. Vilify

7. Cavort 8. Harrowing 9. Munificence 10. Elicit 11. Intrepid

g. Concerned, attentive h. Without possibility of end i. Greatest in rank, importance, or character j. To behave boisterously, leap about k. Generosity in giving l. To dedicate something to a holy purpose

12. Censure

GBHS students suffer from sunburns and dehydration

mer,” Shelton said. “I feel like I’m going to faint probably once a week.”

Another common summer problem is sunburn.

“I was out at the lake, (and) I didn’t wear any sunscreen because I figured it wouldn’t be bad for just an hour,” junior Adam Holmes said. “I found out when I got home that

BY JON SETIAWAN the burn was actually pretty bad.” jsetiawan.gazette@gmail.com Because the sun’s rays are most intense between 10 a.m and 2 p.m, it’s best to try to limit ummer is approaching; there’s no doubt sun exposure during those hours or make sure about it. Seniors are looking forward to to wear sunscreen. college, and current freshmen, sophoSinor said that if a person gets a really bad mores and juniors are ready to relax. sunburn, one of the best things to do is apply While this may be good cool, moist cloths. Aloe news for students, there are a vera gels have a topical few potential hazards that the anesthetic to soothe the extremely hot summer temI wasn’t drinkskin, and drinking plenty peratures bring. ing enough liqof fluids also helps.

One problem is that many “After getting the students do not take dehyuids. About three burn, I used aloe vera dration as seriously as they fourths of the every day and every should, according to Granite night,” Holmes said.

Bay High School health and way through, I “(The burn) is not as bad safety teacher Kathie Sinor. fainted. now.”

“Dehydration can be very Many students are serious and even life-threatmisled into thinking that, ening,” Sinor said. “In our – Tanya Shelton because it’s a cloudy geographic area, dehydration senior day, they can’t get sunis typically caused by sweating burned. excessively due to exposure to “(The day I got sunheat while working or exercisburned) was cloudy, so ing outdoors.” you would think (the sun’s rays) would be less Sinor says a person should drink at least a potent, but apparently clouds magnify the rays quart an hour even if the person doesn’t feel so it makes buns worse,” Holmes said. thirsty or faint.

Senior Sara Bhouri, a foreign exchange “(Dehydration has) gotten to the point where student from Germany, has noticed a huge I have fainted from it,” senior Tanya Shelton difference between the German and American said. “(I was) running for a gym exercise on a cultures in preventing burns. hot summer day. I wasn’t drinking enough liq“People in Germany put (sunscreen) on all uids. About three fourths of the way through, I the time,” Bhouri said. “Here, no one ever refainted.” ally puts it on.”

“Dehydration is so much worse in the sum-

S

- Compiled by Katie Bostedt

College of the Month: Hofstra University Who: Approximately 12,400 students (7,631 undergraduate students, 4,993 postgraduate students) Where: Hempstead, New York, less than an hour away from New York City Tuition and Fee Cost: $31,800 Acceptance Rate: 56.7% U.S. News Ranking: 139 Athletics: The Hofstra Pride w17 intercollegiate sports are offered such as baseball, field hockey, men and women’s basketball and many more. wAthletes compete in the NCAA Division I. Mascot: w Kate and Willie Pride, a lion and lioness Academics: wHofstra University’s offered majors include law, medicine, and communication, all imposing the goal to tie in real life application to the academics taught. w Students are offered 16 different departments to help students reach their full potential. wHofstra University has a variety of institutes and

centers for the specific interests of attending students, such as an Institute of Real Estate, Center for Climate Study and a Center for Technological Literacy.

Fun Facts: wThe founders of Hofstra University, William S. Hofstra and Kate Mason, established the university on their estate. wBefore 2008, the New York Jets held their summer training camp at Hofstra University’s on-campus headquarters before moving their headquarters to New Jersey. wIn Season 3, episode 14 of The Office, Andy invites Michael to watch the Hofstra-Cornell football game with him. wNotable alumni include producer, screenwriter and director Francis Ford Coppola, former New York governor David Patterson and actors James Caan and Christopher Walken.

–compiled by Ari Black

Your faces.

The Gazette

B4 Lifestyle

Friday, May 20, 2011

Student

Spotlight

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Senior portraits for the yearbook When, how and where to take your pictures

Melissa Miller

Spends time during spring break to go to Mexico to help the communities

BY ADRIENNE BLEVINS

Gazette: What did you do in Mexico?

S

ablevins.gazette@gmail.com

enior portraits can sometimes seem like a daunting task for juniors. Once spring rolls around, glossy mailings start arriving in people’s mailboxes, showcasing the overwhelming amount of attractive options available from the different photography agencies.

The one thing that must be done though is the yearbook portrait, since without it, one won’t be in the senior section of the book. Every year there are a few people who don’t get them, and this can be for multiple reasons, including forgetfulness or simply a lack of time.

Senior Anouk Lenaerts was one such person.

“I always procrastinate, and then I just decided that I didn’t care about being in the yearbook since I’m not buying one,” she said. “I don’t regret it, but I do feel kind of left out.”

Another factor that can often affect when or if a senior gets the yearbook photo done is cost.

Bill Smith Photography, which is the company who takes the yearbook pictures, charges 17 dollars for the sitting fee.

“I would have definitely been more inclined to do

M: In Mexico, I was on what was called an Impact Team which is basically a team that worked with kids. We played games with the kids and gave them piggy back rides.

Gazette: How are you involved with your church?

M: I am part of the Student Leadership Team. I help plan a lot of the events for the high school group.

Gazette: What did you do over Spring Break?

M: Over Spring Break, I went to Mexico with Bayside church. There are a bunch of different teams and a lot of people from other schools go, so I was on a team with a mix of Granite Bay freshman through seniors, and a few people from other schools.

See PORTRAIT, page B6

-Compiled by Samantha Spargo

How to:

Water marble your fingernails

Gazette illustrations/SAMANTHA SPARGO

The beginning of a dying business

Blockbuster Video stores bought out MOOSA ZAIDI

Gazette illustration/ALISON SALE

Supplies: A small cup of water, tape, a toothpick and multiple colors of nail polish 1. Put tape around your fingers, with fingernails exposed to prevent water from leaking all over your fingers.

2. Drip various colors of nail polish into the cup of water and swirl using the toothpick.

3. Dip your fingernail directly onto the cup, nail down.

4. Use the toothpick to swirl the extra polish away from your finger, then remove your finger from the water.

5. Let dry for 5 minutes, then remove the tape.

-Compiled by Katie Bostedt

A

mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

s Blockbuster stores slowly fade in the Granite Bay and Roseville region, and around the country, it remains unclear whether Blockbuster may disappear altogether.

Blockbuster’s troubles lie with recent competitors.

Blockbuster was founded in 1985, before DVD’s had even yet been invented. For a long time, Blockbuster’s main competitor was Hollywood Video.

However, soon the game began to change. Netflix was established in 1997, and Redbox, operated by Coinstar, was established in 2003.

Since their creation, Netflix and Redbox have both gained incredible popularity. Such competition forced Hollywood Video to sell to smaller competitor Movie Gallery which filed Chapter 7 in May 2010. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the business simply closes and liquidates all of its assets.

Bankruptcy of some of its competitors seemed promising for Blockbuster, but

then it met a similar fate. On Sept. 23, 2010, Blockbuster filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Unlike Chapter 7, Chapter 11 bankruptcy keeps the business running. Filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy meant that Blockbuster would have to sell itself to another company that could assume its liabilities and assets, since Blockbuster could no longer pay its own debts.

Speaking on Jan. 5 of that year, Chief Executive Officer Jim Keyes had acknowledged the challenge created by competitors.

“The next 12 to 18 months are going to be very challenging,” Keyes said. “We are building a multichannel platform approach ... (and) at the same time we have brand new competitors certainly taking some of the demand out of the market.”

Employing some of the same distribution methods as Redbox and Netflix, Blockbuster had introduced mail order DVD’s and kiosks.

However, by the time Blockbuster filed the bankruptcy, according to Home Media Magazine, Netflix controlled 36 See BLOCKBUSTER, page B6

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

The Blockbuster Video store on Foothills Boulevard, Roseville is the only Blockbuster store left in the Roseville and Granite Bay area

Friday, May 20 2011

Lifestyle B5

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Students make unconventional college choices Bible school and dance academy are among many different options for students to attend

BY SHINEUI PARK

W

spark.gazette@gmail.com

hile most students choose colleges in the United States, a few go a different route.

They go abroad, not just to study for a term or a year, but for their entire college experience.

Come September, Granite Bay High School senior Dacia Biletnikoff will be attending the London Contemporary School of Dance, a school affiliated with the University of Kent, the “UK’s European University.”

“I decided to go there because all the schools out here in the States have more of an academic-based program," Biletnikoff said. "That's not what I was really looking for."

The London Contemporary School of Dance was recommended to her by her ballet instructor. She considered colleges like Marymount Manhattan University and the Boston Conservatory before deciding London was the place for her.

“There’s a hundred percent guarantee to get a job afterward,” Biletnikoff said. “They’ve never had a student not get a job for dancing.”

Biletnikoff’s schedule will be filled with intense dance classes from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., she will be rehearsing different pieces. All this, she hopes, will help her reach her

goal to be a choreographer and establish her own dance studio in the future.

Of the estimated 1,600 applicants, only 45 are chosen for the school’s incoming freshmen class.

These 45 students are chosen from all over the world, allowing Biletnikoff to be exposed to different cultures.

“It’s a small school, but with all the awesome faculty, the opportunity to meet new people and the school being in London, I’m really excited to go there,” Biletnikoff said.

Senior Uriah Volinsky is also going to continue his education abroad. He will be attending Bodenseehof, a Bible school in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Volinksy was introduced to Bodenseehof through his peers at his church and through students he knows who attend the school.

“I wanted to grow more of my faith and sort of figure out what I want to do with my life,” Volinsky said. “Bodenseehof is one of Torchbearer’s Bible schools, and I heard it’s one of the best programs Torchbearer offers.”

Bodenseehof is not just a college. It’s a yearlong Bible school that has an intensive six-month discipleship program. There are no majors, although students can get credit in theology and transfer the credits to a college afterward.

After attending Bodenseehof, Volinksy is planning to attend Azusa Pacific University or William

Jessup University.

“Going to Bodenseehof is basically a year off (to go to) Germany and learning about God,” Volinsky said.

Ali Habashi, who graduated in 2010, is attending the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The school is Scotland’s oldest and most prestigious university, established in 1413.

For Habashi, the decision to go to University of St. Andrews was easy. She received a postcard in the mail, and, after some research, applied. She was accepted before she even applied to any other universities inside this country.

Because Habashi already planned to study abroad for a year, she jumped at the opportunity to go to the university. “(I figured going) to St. Andrews for the full four years would be a ‘two birds with one stone’ situation,” Habashi said.

When asked how she liked the school, she said: “You can’t get much better than this … I’m not exaggerating when I say I live in a building (that) resembles a small castle. The real castle is about 15 minutes away.”

If she hadn’t been accepted into University of St. Andrews, she would have attended Boston University. However, she is glad she decided to attend a school that is on the other side of the world.

“If ever the opportunity arises to go to a university overseas, take it,” Habashi said. “I’m in a costume half of the time. I live in a castle and there is an excessive amount of bunnies outside my window. I’m in a Disney movie, and life couldn’t be sweeter.”

YEAR IN REVIEW: Gazette editors reminisce about the year’s events Continued from page B1

Gazette photos /YOUTUBE

Popular YouTube videos of the past year included Rebecca Black’s song Friday, Antoine Dodson’s Bed Intruder Song, B.o.B’s song Airplanes and the UCLA girl’s rant on Asians in the library.

Katie: Um...keep dreaming...

Justin: Like a dream within a dream? Within another dream? Within another dream?

Katie: Okay you’re done. I really wish people didn’t feel the need to reference Inception at every opportunity.

Justin: Well you know we could all really use a wish right now...

Katie: Wish right now, wish right now...

Justin: Yeah...well speaking of wishes, it’s too bad our basketball team didn’t win at ARCO. But it was a great end to an amazing season!

Katie: Actually it’s the Power Balance Pavillion...

But regardless, the newly-formed Tribe came out in full force to support! Did you go to the game on the buses they offered?

Justin: Yeah but I didn’t know which seat to take!

Should I have taken the front seat? The backseat?

Which seat should I have taken?

Katie: Really? A Rebecca Black reference? Oh! Did you see the Glee version of Friday? It was so good!

Justin: Yes I hear about EVERY Glee song that is better than the original.

Katie: No need to be so hateful about it, you’re going to sound like the racist UCLA girl!

Justin: Hey don’t call me racist! I’m winning!

Katie: Oh jeez... Charlie Sheen is absolutely insane.

Justin: He should have gone to the Rally to Restore Sanity.

Katie: Maybe not, because the Tea Partiers, the Birthers and Schoolers are just as crazy as ever, so apparently it didn’t work.

Justin: I think they were just born that way. Did the Ripple Effect teach you nothing about tolerance?

Katie: You’re right, Justin, I did learn a lot from the Ripple Effect. What I didn’t learn much from was Retro Day. It was basically a day off from school, though, so it was chill.

Justin: It was chill... but you know what was sketch?

The Galleria Mall Fire! I can’t believe half the mall was burnt down the day before Black Friday. I wonder what happened to the guy who did it and how it really occurred?

Katie: I bet we could get Wikileaks to uncover the truth! That Julian Assange guy can find out anything about anyone. It’s scary!

Justin: He’s climbing in our windows, snatching our info up! He’s trying to unleash it so we need to hide our kids and hide our wives!

Katie: I think you’re a little paranoid... But this sure has been a crazy year! And one that we’ll never forget.

Thanks for a great year!

Love, your Features Editors

B6 Features

Friday, May 20, 2011

Random facts

A list of facts you will never need to know but always find interesting

Random club of the month

One of 2,100 GBHS students is randomly selected every issue

Gazette: What is the purpose of your club?

The purpose of Intramural Sports Club is to get a group of people together and play various games in a friendly and non-competitive environment.

A group of monkeys is called a “troop.”

In Kentucky, it is against the law to remarry the same man four times.

How often do you meet?

We try and meet once or twice a month.

A person’s sense of smell is better at night.

What are some things you’ve done with the club?

We have played ultimate Frisbee, played capture the flag, had a poker party, played football and played soccer.

Only 3 percent of the Earth’s population is immune to the effects of pepper spray.

Giraffes and humans have the same amount of vertebrae in their necks.

What are some things you plan on doing with the club?

We have plans for a quittich game, going glow bowling and a large game of fugitive.

The typical porcupine’s body is covered in 30,000 razor sharp quills.

There were real trained squirrels in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Every time you type a text message you increase your chances of arthritis.

Sources: http://facts.randomhistory.com/ http://www.allrandomfacts.com/

–Compiled by Katie Bostedt

Caleb Wanner, junior

Gazette photo /rachael vasquez

1. If you could be in any celebrity’s shoes, whose would you be in?

Matt Damon. He plays in a lot of cool movies.

2. If you were a Pokemon, what Pokemon would you be?

Definitely Charizard. It’s the coolest Pokemon!

3. Which teacher on this campus is the most like you?

I don’t think I relate to any of the teachers on this campus, but I think I’m most like Mr. Stevens.

He’s really funny.

4. In what position do you usually sleep?

I sleep on my left side.

sends them off to Jostens.

“When Bill Smith goes through, I don’t sooner if they were free. Since I had to just get a bunch of random pictures,” pay even more for the yearbook photo afPadgett said. “They give it to me as a ter (my other) senior portraits, it made me whole (and) they check for the uniformity not want to make my appointment,” said for the whole page.”

Sania Jan, a senior who took her senior Aside from the yearbook photo, there portraits during Thanksgiving break. are also traditional senior portraits to be Some high schools do actually get their considered. yearbook photo for free, but the contract Most students do generally get them, that Granite Bay High School has with either because they or their parents are Bill Smith sets up a different arrangement. really excited about the photos.

Bill Smith is a local, and family–owned “For families it’s such a benchmark business, which has now been around for thing, those are photos that stay up for a three generations. They have been servlong time, that mark an event,” Padgett ing GBHS for a long time and offer their said. “They give them to grandparents services free of charge. and family members, but also they’re the The school gets ID cards, the graduating photos they send out with graduation anclass “number” picture, sports teams’ pho- nouncements.”

There are quite a few options availtography and candid events photographed, able for those who including dances and choose to go for the special events for free, portraits. Bill Smith along with many other The best and Enchanted Imthings. ages tend to be the The only revenue images of people main two photogthat Bill Smith makes are when they raphy agencies comes from purchases that students use. made by students, facrelax and are There are also lesser ulty and parents. genuinely having known local photogThe yearbook photo is a good time. raphers, along with free every year freshthe possibility of man through junior year, having a friend who but the senior one does – Scott Smith, is skilled at photoghave a price. This is photographer raphy do them. due to it being a much Bill Smith will nicer photo; retouching do a lot of GBHS’ is even included in the senior portraits cost. Bill Smith does because of their extensive advertising, and waive the fee, however, for families who just for being well known. cannot afford it.

“We will take care of you, we love what The deadline that the picture absolutely we do,” Scott Smith, a photographer and has to be taken by can vary between grandson of Bill Smith, said in an email January and February to make it possible interview. “Our goal is to make you look for the publishing company. There are good.” multiple deadlines created though.

One of their specialties is to photograph “We start deadlines knowing that for seniors with their hobbies. Aside from a lot of people they just forget,” Jenny that, they’ve got quite a few classic indoor Padgett, the head of the yearbook probackgrounds. gram, said.

“Our brick (background) is pretty popuBill Smith generally starts advertising in lar.

We like to get creative with angles the spring, using mailers, phone calls and on the brick and it always looks great in more recently, Facebook and Twitter to black and white too,” Smith said. get the word out for future seniors to get Jan decided to go through Enchanted their photo done.

Images for her portraits, and was really Yearbook will also try and help by puthappy with the experience. ting an announcement in the bulletin once “I felt like a real model, getting my hair the deadline draws near. and makeup done, deciding what clothes Once they’re all done, the images get and accessories to wear,” she said. put on a disc and sent to Padgett, who then The variety of poses and overall unique-

5. If fire trucks weren’t red, what color should they be?

Something bright, like orange.

6. Who is your favorite short person at school?

There’s this one freshman I see around campus. I don’t know his name, but I think he’s my favorite short person.

–Compiled by ShinEui Park

PORTRAIT: Advice for taking senior pictures Continued from page B4

Intramural Sports Club President: Nick Grimm

A dog’s shoulder blades are unattached to the rest of the skeleton to allow for greater flexibility for running.

1 acre of wheat can produce enough bread to feed a family of 4 for about 10 years.

w The Granite Bay Gazette

ness of the photos is what ultimately made her decision to use Enchanted Images. “(They) give you the control on what you want your pictures to be like and how the pictures define you as a person,” she said.

Senior Priti Donde had a different outlook. She is a locally recognized band photographer, but was enlisted by a friend to take her senior portraits.

Donde did it free of charge, and considers having a friend take the portraits to be a great, and sometimes better, alternative.

“Go with a photographer you feel comfortable with (and) someone you can afford,” Padgett said. “It’s a lifetime purchase (though, so) go with someone who has a reputation. Don’t save money to the exclusion of getting a good product.”

A lot of thought has to be put into the decision since the pictures are very important to a lot of families.

“I sometimes think the parents just cannot believe that their child is in their senior year of high school,” Smith said.

“Time seems to go so quickly; we get a lot of tears in the camera room.”

When juniors start signing up to get their portraits done, there are a lot of things to keep in mind.

The first big piece of advice is to not stress out.

“I think most of the students are anxious about being in front of the camera because in today’s society there is a lot of pressure to look good,” Smith said. “The best images of people are when they relax and are genuinely having a good time.”

Getting them early is another tip, which often makes it easier to relax.

“Get in and get it early! People get so frustrated when it’s tough to get an appointment. They show up and they end up waiting an hour, it gets so stressful and it’s hard to be your best,” Padgett said.

Overall though, the idea is to have fun.

“Schedule your appointment at the same time as a friend, make it a fun day,” Smith said. “You can go shopping or to a movie afterward.”

Also, it’s a good idea to go with a familiar hairstyle and bring extra outfits to choose from.

“I think Senior portraits are definitely amazing photos to remember for the future, and I recommend getting them done so you can look back at how you were as a senior in high school,” Jan said. “It’s great to give to your family, teachers and all your friends that you’re parting from.”

Where do you meet?

We meet at various locations depending on what event we are doing, usually at Ron Feist park or the football stadium.

What is your favorite thing about the club?

My favorite thing about the club is being able to get together with a group of friends to play games. My favorite activity is fugitive, because we can get everyone involved with it.

–Compiled by Jon Setiawan

BLOCKBUSTER: Redbox among firm’s competitors Continued from page B4 percent of the market share, Redbox 25 percent and Blockbuster only 22 percent.

Cobalt Video Holdco entered in an agreement with blockbuster to place the starting bid of $290 million but lost to DISH Network in bidding.

On Apr. 6, 2011, Blockbuster announced its agreement to sell to DISH Network for $320.6 million.

The presence of new owners creates uncertainty about the future of Blockbuster.

It is unclear how DISH Network will utilize its newly purchased assets and which services it will continue to offer.

Some speculate that DISH will use Blockbuster’s streaming agreements to compete with Netflix, but DISH Network CEO Charlie Ergen refuted this notion.

“I don’t see Blockbuster necessarily being a competitor to Netflix directly, in terms of streaming, because Netflix has a formidable lead and probably insurmountable lead in that business,” Ergen said in a first quarter earnings conference call.

Ergen compared DISH’s seeming lack of direction to an episode of Seinfeld with “a lot of things that happen (in) the first 28 minutes of the show where you didn’t know exactly where that show was going,” Ergen said.

One Blockbuster employee who chose to remain anonymous, thought that the future of the stores was unsure. He personally had not noticed as significant decline in customers over the years but emphasized that currently no one can foresee the fate of Blockbuster stores due to the buyout and restructuring.

Overall, Blockbuster stores have not done well, with significant numbers of stores being closed around the country, even before bankruptcy was filed, in an attempt to increase profitability.

With the Blockbuster on Sierra College Boulevard in the Safeway Parking Lot recently closed, the Foothills Boulevard store remains the last store open in Granite Bay and Roseville, although stores remain in surrounding cities such as Orangevale.

Since Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video closed, Blockbuster is the last of the chain brick-and-mortar stores, perhaps a legacy of a bygone era.

“It’s funny because my whole life has had video stores, places where you could rent VHS, Beta, or DVD’s,” Granite Bay High School teacher Bernadette Cranmer who has a bachelors in film, said. “So, it’s hard for people to let go of the idea that you would have an actual store, a building that you could go to but it makes sense.”

According to Cranmer, as Netflix, Redbox and even public libraries compete with Blockbuster, Blockbuster is likely to die out even if a different corporation owns it.

“Why are there any video stores really?

We don’t have to have them,” Cranmer said.

On Apr. 17, 2011 The Dallas Morning News reported that DISH Network plans to renew the leases and keep open an estimated 600 of the about 1700 stores it has received Whether these 600 include the last one in Roseville and Granite Bay remains to be seen and waited for in uncertainty.

“It’s still going to fail, because technology is advancing by the minute,” Senior Priti Donde said.

However, although Donde is of a younger generation and does not go to Blockbuster often, perhaps she continues to experiences some nostalgia.

“It has been there for as long as I can remember, so it shutting down saddens me,” Donde said.

Continued from page B3: The un-Official SAT practice guide answers; Chalkboard 1: 1. b, 2. h, 3. g, 4. l, 5. i, 6. f Chalkboard 2: 7. j, 8. a, 9. k, 10. c, 11. e, 12. d

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Friday, May 20 , 2011

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Lifestyle B7

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Drumming up

Fall coffee shop review Unwind and warm up

As league play wraps up teams reflect on successes, failures of the season

G8

THE GRANITE BAY

C1

success

Camaraderie takes drumline to the top

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010

B1 THE AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL

GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL  1 GRIZZLY WAY  GRANITE BAY, CA  95746  VOLUME 13  ISSUE 3

COMMENTARY

Fallen GBHS graduate remembered

katie zingheim kzingheim.gazette@gmail.com

Technology age given bad reputation

I

recently spent a productive afternoon entrenched in a few informative hours of Law & Order.

While I witnessed firsthand the intricacies of the executive and judicial systems, a commercial for the search engine Bing came on.

I am a hard-core Google bandwagon-er. I’ve detested Bing since its inception for admittedly vague reasons.

“Is Jack LaLanne dead or alive?”,“I don’t know, Bing it,” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Yes, Bing shamelessly appeals to my love of adorable jungle animals.

Who doesn’t want to open up their web browser and be greeted by a baby panda bear, for instance, that fills the entire computer screen?

I also enjoy scrolling my mouse over those little transparent boxes and learning how many bamboo shoots said panda bear will consume in a week.

I cherish the 20 seconds I can waste soaking up these little intellectual tidbits before proceeding to the Granite Bay High School website to look up my English homework.

So I find a contradiction in Bing’s commercial that pairs an amusing concept with the tag line: “What has search overload done to us?”

Personally, I find search overload to be a wonderful, wonderful thing.

One of man’s finest creations is the automatic suggestion list that, I assume, was crafted by Google. We can learn things we never knew we wanted to know.

For example, the stock project in economics could inspire me to look up the phrase “What is the stock market symbol for Wal-Mart?” But I’ve only typed in “what is” when I’m presented with a magical list of possible searches.

Before I finish keying in my intended query, I notice, a few lines down, the question “What is lupus?” I, in fact, would greatly like to know what lupus is. Despite the 15 House episodes in which I have watched a patient being diagnosed with lupus, I still have no idea what it actually does.

Thus, an engaging and revealing 30 minutes is spent frolicking through the fountain of knowledge that is the internet.

I was looking up statistics on the number of arrests for marijuana possession in California (for English, of course), when I came across a summary of the various California gangs by the state district attorney’s office.

After about 40 minutes, I discovered that Cryps and Bloods are exclusively African American gangs. I did not know this. I also found it interesting that most white gangs are based on principles of racial supremacy. I can’t imagine any scenario in which that information would be useful.

But now I know, and I feel enlightened.

I feel a small sense of accomplishment every time I browse the inter-webs for a seemingly useless slice of my day. In reality, I am proving wrong all those who claim the technology age has made us too fast-paced, too hectic, not able to appreciate the little things.

I appreciate every little thing about the people I Facebook stalk, the episodes of The Daily Show I watch on Hulu and minutes I spend perusing Fail Blog. *** Katie Zingheim, a senior, is the Gazette’s co-editor-in-chief.

Marine Victor Dew killed in the line of duty 2009, was killed in combat Oct. 13 in Afghanistan.

He made similar impressions on all who knew him.

GBHS 2008 graduate Eric Seidman graduated in I got to know Victor just because he was Victor.

He was an individual – he didn’t follow the crowd. the same class as Dew. The boys met at Olympus Junior High School soon after I mean, he just stood out. As a Dew’s family relocated from teacher, I think you have specific the Bay Area. kids that you think about “I was pretty intimidated often (because) they made an Even though he (when I first met Victor), to be impression on you – I’ve been honest. But upon hearing him here seven years (and Victor was quiet, he had speak, I realized that he was was one of those kids). a tremendous one of the most down-to-earth In class, he was always a guys,” Seidman said. participant. It’s not that he inner strength.

“He could talk to anybody, always had the right answer; and nobody ever had anything but he always had an opinion, – Granite Bay parent against him. This is how believed in the opinion, backed he always was – perhaps if it up and that affected other kids and former Olympus anything changed about him, (so that) they respected him Junior High School it was that more and more when he spoke. He was a silent volunteer Valisa people realized it,” he said. leader.

Granite Bay parent Valisa He really touched my heart.

Schmidley Schmidley is one of many There are kids you (teach) that others who were impacted by make you say: ‘God I hope my Dew’s kind heart and quiet kids turn out like that’. That’s demeanor. She worked with how I felt about Victor. him at the OJHS snack bar, *** where he insisted on being her teacher assistant.

Granite Bay High School teacher Liz McCuen is “When he came to Olympus as a seventh grader, one of many who remember Victor Dew, a GBHS 2008 graduate and Private First Class in the U.S. See MARINE, page A12 Marine Corps. Dew, who joined the Marines in

BY ALISON SALE and KATIE ZINGHEIM

asale.gazette@gmail.com  kzingheim.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photos /MAGGIE LOUIS

Father Arnold Ortiz, O.S.J., above, blesses Patty Schumacher at the graveside service for Pfc. Victor Dew. Dew’s fiancée Courtney Gold, top left, mother Patty Schumacher and father Tom Schumacher pause and reflect at Dew’s casket.

GBHS students often feel judged on appearance Survey: 32 percent feel unwelcome

BY SHANNON CARROLL scarroll.gazette@gmail.com

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the vainest of them all?

We may be, according to a survey by Biddle Consulting Group Inc., which focuses on assessing the climates in workplaces and schools.

The survey, which drew 1,401 respondents from GBHS last spring, found that 32 percent of GBHS students reported feeling

unwelcome at school because of how they look.

While students generally reported feeling positive about the school and felt accepted both by students and staff, those who felt otherwise generally did so because of their appearance.

For instance, of those who felt they faced barriers to learning, the majority said their appearance was the reason.

A majority of those who felt the administration treated them better

Cathy Raycraft Assistant principal often sees the results of GBHS’s appearance conscious culture or worse than others also cited appearance as the reason.

“It’s almost like you have to look a certain way,” GBHS senior Ariel Cervantes said. “There is that stereotype at Granite Bay that basically says you have to look good every day.”

Cervantes said she might want to have a career in fashion later on, so the appearance-based culture doesn’t really bother her.

See SURVEY, page A6

Fire ravages Galleria, jobs

GBHS students among the many locals affected by recent shopping mall blaze

BY STEPHANIE SHAULL sshaull.gazette@gmail.com

On Oct. 21, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a suspect walked into Gamestop on the upper level of Roseville’s Westfield Galleria Mall, where he yelled for customers to evacuate the store and proceeded to light the store’s merchandise on fire.

The suspect, Alexander Piggee, an African American male in his early 20’s, was a frequent shopper at the Galleria prior to this incident.

“If I had seen his picture, I would

be able to point him out right away. Many people working in the mall had seen him around before,” Westfield maintenance employee Igor Karpov said.

After initially being notified of a possible situation, employees continued business for about a half hour.

“They told us to leave around eleven o’clock. First, (we) had a fire drill and (were told to) just be still and that there were police around the mall. Then, about

News

A1 – A7

Voices

A8 – A11

Second Look

A12

Features

B1 – B8

Sports

C1 – C6

Green Screen

G1 – G24

Teen suicide Point Break program among many efforts to reduce the effects of bullying

A2

wStudio2Dphoto.com wTennis Town wTuxedo Den wVillage Juice ’n Java

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See FIRE, page A5

inside this issue

Fund-raiser Community hosts annual Are You Smarter Than a Granite Bay Grizzly? event.

A3

B8 Lifestyle

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Eagle Scouts soar to new heights GBHS students give back to Granite Bay through community service projects

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO

A

Gazette photo /Jon setiawan

A new tortoise enclosure was recently built by GBHS senior Erik House at Cavitt Junior High School.

sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

nyone that has walked through the Granite Bay High School campus, a local church, a local park or any of the elementary and middle school campuses in the area has witnessed some of the hard work of local Eagle Scouts.

The prestigious level of Eagle Scout is reached only after a Boy Scout has attained numerous merit badges and completed a final service project, a process that takes around five years.

Junior Colby Moeller is currently working toward reaching the rank of Eagle. Moeller is preparing to clean up the nature trails at Oakhills Elementary School for his Eagle Scout project.

“I’ve been over there spraying weed killer because I’m going to have to remove weeds.

And the benches out there are kind of ruined so I‘m going to take them out and repaint them,” Moeller said.

Moeller started Boy Scouts when he was in sixth grade, and since then has been working to complete the merit badges necessary to rank up.

“I’ve talked to older people (who are Eagle Scouts) and they say that it will help you in jobs and in life,” Moeller said.

In the past, Eagle Scouts have worked on projects on GBHS grounds, in the community and beyond.

Senior Albert Garrido completed his Eagle Scout project as a sophomore at GBHS. He modified the band’s sound room, removing and replacing shelving, hanging heavy sound equipment, and painting the walls. “(The Eagle Scout project) is never something as big as building a whole school,” Scout Master John Hooten said. “But there are lots of little projects around the schools that probably wouldn’t get done otherwise without having someone volunteering to step up and make that happen.”

In all, it took Garrido and his team of 30 volunteers 185 hours to complete the project.

Garrido worked hard to earn merit badges while in elementary and middle school because he knew he would be busy in high school.

“People think (reaching Eagle) is hard, and it is, but I played baseball all four years and I was in the band all four years. Any guy can do it,” Garrido said.

Other Eagle Scouts, such as senior Erik House, chose to work on projects out in the community.

For his Eagle Scout project, House rebuilt Cavitt Junior High School science teacher Shelly Davis’ tortoise enclosure that is next to her classroom. He and 13 volunteers spent 150 hours working on the enclosure, as well as adding a sprinkler system, fixing a gate and planting some greenery.

“I really like the Boy Scouts,” House said. “I think it taught me a lot about organization and life skills and I’m going to carry that for the rest of my life.”

A few Eagle Scouts chose not to work in either the school or community, but attempted to tackle issues abroad.

Junior Jake Neptune sent care packages to Uganda for his Eagle Scout Project.

“Some people in my church were talking about the project and they needed someone to head it up, so I decided to do it,” Neptune said.

Neptune passed out flyers around the community and in local grocery stores for money donations to buy items for the care packages and created donation boxes to hold donated goods. He then packaged all of the items with the help of 50 volunteers and sent the gifts off to Uganda.

“I had fun with it. I think it’s a good thing to put on your résumé,” Neptune said. “It’s a good program to be involved with.”

In Hooten’s time as Scout Master, more than 200 Eagle Scout projects have been completed.

The grizzly bear that sits at the entrance of GBHS, the dirt track course, the nature trails at both middle schools and the wall ball courts at the elementary schools were all made possible by the hard work of local Eagle Scouts. Eagle Scouts in local troops completed over 11, 700 service hours in 2010.

“When everybody thinks of Boy Scouts, (they think) camping and hiking events,” Hooten said. “But it’s a lot more than just wearing a uniform and tying knots.”

Gazette photo /JON SETIAWAN

GBHS senior Albert Garrido built the trophy shelves and other projects in the band room on campus.

Gazette photo illustration/GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL

Gazette photo /jon setiawan

Eagle Scout Jonathan Pinney raised money to finance the building of the bear out front of GBHS.

Gazette photo /jon setiawan

Sports

Granite Bay Gazette

C Section

Friday w May 20, 2011

Top of the class

Commentary

laura preston lpreston.gazette@gmail.com

End of high school means end of an era

T

he final whistle blew.

It’s something that has happened hundreds of times, signaling the end of the game, but this time was different.

This one simple tweet of the whistle ended a career; a four year era in my life that has been dedicated to playing high school sports.

As I walked off the field and court this year at the end of my seasons I found myself reminiscing about my time as a Granite Bay High School athlete and found that, if based solely on athletic achievements, I failed.

In four years, three sports and thousands of minutes played I have never won a league championship and have only been to the playoffs once, and we didn’t even make it past the second round.

But as I recollected all of my failures as an athlete I realized that thinking about everything I hadn’t done was overshadowing the amazing gift that the last four years has given me.

I’ve felt the exhilarating rush of a buzzer-beater, the adrenaline brought on by overtime and the exuberance of beating a rival.

I’ve made friends with teammates who were once my opponents in junior high and have countless memories from games, bus rides and practices.

And so in the scope of it all, when the final whistle blew, I have achieved all that I wanted to and more out of high school athletics.

It’s not just about winning games or proving you’re the best; a driving force in high school sports today is the camaraderie that is formed between teammates for that three-month span of the school year.

It’s not the individual games that I remember about my high school career, it’s the moments I’ve shared with my teammates and how we have pushed and helped each other through the best and worst of times because we’ve had that common bond that athletics gives.

When that whistle blew, I knew I would never play with any of the people I had daily spent two hours with again. And that was the only thing that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

And as I go on to college with no immediate athletic plans, I don’t know if anything can replace the times I’ve had being a high school athlete.

Sure, I’ll be able to watch great football games and suspenseful basketball games with a great fanbase next year at Oregon, but I don’t think it will compare to being a member of the Tribe this year and watching our school explode with spirit.

So cherish your teammates, your opportunity to play and your chances to support your teams, because when that whistle blows for the final time, it’s all over.

And there’s nothing really quite like it. *** Laura Preston, a senior, is a Gazette sports co-editor.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Senior Kevin Nielsen, pictured above, participates in ten different track and field events which include running, jumping and throwing events.

Nielsen excels in 10 different track and field events

BY CHRISTINE ZAVESKY

Male Athlete of the Year

czavesky.gazette@gmail.com

The title of the “World’s Greatest Athlete” is traditionally given to the top decathlete in the world. After competing in ten grueling events over a twoday period, there is no doubt the title is well-deserved.

Senior Kevin Nielsen, the Gazette’s 2010-11 Male Athlete

of the Year, has been on a tear this season for the Granite Bay High School track team.

Nielsen won the varsity Sierra Foothill League championship in the high jump, long jump and 110-meter high hurdles and running the leadoff leg of the runner-up 4x400 meter relay team, but his best event is the decathlon.

The decathlon is not offered as an event in most high school competitions, so Nielsen usually competes in three or four events at a typical meet where the maximum number of events an athlete can participate in is four.

In regular high school competition, Nielsen specializes in the 110-meter high hurdles, 400-meter dash, long jump and

high jump. However, Nielsen had the opportunity this season to participate in a decathlon at the Arcadia Invitational in Southern California, one of the most competitive high school meets in the nation.

At Arcadia, the Day One events were the 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meter dash. After those five events, Nielsen found himself in first place over the entire field.

“I started off really strong with a (personal record), then I got another PR and another PR so I knew I was off to a good start,” Nielsen said. “It was really cool because once See NIELSEN, page C5

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Senior Katie Zingheim, pictured in a series, recently won the SFL title for pole vaulting and will be vaulting for Stanford University in the fall.

Female Athlete of the Year

Zingheim takes her talents to the highest level

BY LAURA PRESTON

czavesky.gazette@gmail.com

Sometimes it’s more than just exceptional athletic talent that contributes to being a great student athlete. For the 2010-11 Female Athlete of the Year, her résumé in academics and her

personality are almost as great as her accolades from pole vaulting.

Katie Zingheim has set the bar high and her hard work and perseverance have paid off. With one Sierra Foothill League, one Master’s and two Sac-Joaquin Section titles, not to mention two top ten finishes at the State meet, she is the best pole vaulter in Northern California but yet still maintains a very level head.

“I’ve been around high schools long enough that I’ve had

the occasional student who was a very gifted athlete and knew it,” said Karl Grubaugh, Zingheim’s Advanced Placement Economics teacher and journalism adviser. “There was a certain degree of arrogance about (them) and she doesn’t have that and I find that really, really refreshing.”

Zingheim began vaulting five years ago, because a family friend wanted somebody to try the sport with her. From then on she has excelled, becoming a top vaulter in the state and See ZINGHEIM, page C5

Softball coach creates dramatic differences

BY RACHAEL VASQUEZ rvasquez.gazette@gmail.com

The quality of a coach isn’t always measured by how many games the team won but rather the improvements the coach helped lead. This year, the new Granite Bay High School varsity girls’ softball coach Michele Granger has shown her coaching talent by improving the program using her knowledge and experience.

Currently, the team has won nine games, an incredible improvement from winning only two games last season. However, Granger sees no reason to stop winning games after exceeding the 2010 record.

“If you go into a season thinking that if you win three games you’ve improved from the year before then that’s what you’re going Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS to achieve and you’ll stop trying after (that),” Granger said. Michele Granger has used her Olympic experience to turn the softball program at GBHS into a league threat.

See COACH, page C5

Coach of the Year

inside sports

Grizz Quiz

C3

Rising Star Sports Briefs

C2

C4

Water Sports GBHS students find ways to stay cool and be active during summer.

Disk Golf Disk golf provides a fun, cheap alternative to traditional athletics.

Fan of the Year Senior Kevin Harkin takes the nod as the Gazette’s Fan of the Year.

C2

C3

C5

C2 Sports

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

GBHS graduate tops the NCAA Scott Roth wins second consecutive indoor title

write those 9 points (on the score sheet) before we even vaulted.” kknorp.gazette@gmail.com Within a short period of time, GBHS On March 1, 2011, Granite Bay High records were broken, championships were School graduate Scott Roth defended his won, and GBHS began an era of track and title as NCAA Indoor Pole Vault Champifield dominance. Valentine attributes this on at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track largely to the introduction of the vaulters.

Stadium.

“Most kids can’t handle the pressure,” The monumental athletic success Valentine said. “The way these kids achieved by the University of Washington handled pressure was amazing.” senior is merely a continuation of Roth’s Roth’s ability to cope with the pressures impressive career, one that is marked by of competition seem to at least in part consistent victories since the start of his stem from his father’s influence. high school Curt Roth, a years. former high school GBHS history and college pole I gave myself a new teacher Mike vaulter, invested in Valentine, head Scott Roth’s future mindset—to enjoy coach of the early on by opening pole vaulting. I used track team at his own pole vaultthe time Roth ing facility for kids. to vault for other entered high The Roths trained people, (and) now I school, predictsix days a week for ed the athlete’s two hours beginvault for myself. success from the ning when Scott beginning. was ten.

– Scott Roth, GBHS ‘06 grad “I had heard Curt Roth emphaabout these sizes the difficulty and current University of kids before they of separating his Washington pole vaulter came to Granite role as coach from Bay,” Valentine his role as father said. “(They throughout his were) these son’s competitive seventh-graders career. who were al“Mom would be ready vaulting 15 (feet).” standing at the end of the pole vaulting Valentine also notes Ryan Shuler, Roth’s line giving me the evil eye that meant classmate, as another rising GBHS pole maybe I was pushing ‘baby’ too hard,” vault star of the time and Roth’s equal at Curt Roth said. the start of the boys’ freshman year. The Around his sophomore or junior year in state champion title Shuler earned as a high school Scott Roth became recognized freshman was followed by three consecuas one of the top pole vaulters for his age tive state championships for Roth. in the country. Since then he has made 3 “In a (dual) meet, you get 9 points for U.S. teams, won 2 NCAA championships, vaulting,” Valentine said. “We could broken UW records formerly held by

BY KELSEY KNORP

CURT ROTH

GBHS Class of 2006 graduate Scott Roth won three state titles in high school. At the University of Washington, Roth has won back-to-back NCAA indoor titles in the pole vault. His indoor and outdoor personal best is 18 feet, 9 1/4 inches.

American record holder Brad Walker, and been named the Pac-10 conference champion. In April, he set the school’s outdoor record of 18 feet and 9 ¼ inches. “(Being a) 3-time high school champion, even though that seems like a small thing now in comparison, shows that he worked hard and was consistent from the day he started,” Curt Roth said.

Curt Roth admits that he steered Scott Roth in the direction of University of Washington when it came time for a college decision because he was impressed

by UW’s pole vault coach, Pat Licari, who coached Walker.

“It really made sense that to continue what I had started (Licari) was the guy to

hand (Scott) over to,” Curt Roth said.

Scott Roth attributes most of his success to both his dad and his UW coach, but has also adopted a new way of thinking since starting at UW. “I gave myself a new mindset—to enjoy pole vaulting,” Scott said. “I used to vault for other people, (and) now I vault for myself.”

Roth demonstrated this changed mindset after suffering a hamstring injury a month before the Indoor Championships. He dedicated himself to physical therapy and managed to become healthy just in time to compete.

“When I hurt my leg, I thought I was done for the next few months,” Roth said.

“(Winning the championship) was a defining moment for me.”

Roth is currently the only pole vaulter in the U.S. who makes the international A standard for pole vaulting, which means he is automatically qualified to participate in world championships or the 2012 Olympic Games if he makes the team by finishing in the Top 3 at the U.S. Championships or Olympic Trials. Though he makes a point not to put too much pressure on himself, he is always looking forward.

“I would love to get a contract with Nike, or Adidas, or any shoe company really,” Roth said. “I want to live life as a professional vaulter for a while.”

Students beat the heat by playing with water Recreational summer activities require some skill or simply pebbles

BY SAHIL KHOSLA

skhosla.gazette@gmail.com

As the temperatures rise and the enticing freedom of summer approaches, more Granite Bay High School students head off to the lake for some refreshing water fun.

Senior Connor Puhala has been skimboarding and wakeboarding recreationally for five years.

“My favorite thing about skimboarding is that (almost) anyone can do it, you just get up there and see a trick thrown down and you just go out do the exact same thing without a ton of practice. It’s not that difficult of a sport,” Puhala said.

Junior Max Vogt also finds skim boarding to be a simple yet fun activity.

“Skimboarding is not too hard, you don’t need a lot of equipment, it’s a lot of fun and you can go out with your friends and have a good time,” Vogt said.

Additionally, sophomore Brandon Hughes has been skimboarding with rails to intensify the exhilaration while skimboarding.

“Its really fun because you can express yourself, the rails give you a lot of different opportunities to perform (a variety of) different tricks” Hughes said.

Grizz Quiz

However, there is a striking contrast between an avid tuber. wakeboarding and skimboarding, according to “I go tubing a lot, and I really love the exhilaraPuhala. tion, and the rush I get,” Uy said, “ I also (enjoy) the “Wakeboarding is the opposite of skimboarding bumpiness and the speed which makes it really fun.” (because) even standing up and Junior Eric Darragh also greatly staying up for a while is a lot of enjoys tubing during hot summer fun because it’s super tough,” days.

Puhala said.

“The best part about tubing is (Jet skiing is) like The intense challenge of wakethat you’re at the mercy of the boarding even pushes wakecaptain of the boat, as the waves flying over the boarders to create additional are pounding against the thin sea, but there’s competition between each other. plastic tube, and water constantly “Wakeboarding is really fun splashes in my face,” Darragh engine under because you can challenge said you. yourself and you can set goals Darragh is also a big fan of jet between your friends. There’s an skis and loves the thrilling experi(ongoing) competition between ence – Junior Eric Darragh, my friend and I and we’re “Its like flying over the sea, but jet ski enthusiast always battling to see who’s there’s engine under you,” junior better,” Senior Zack Carroll said.

Eric Darragh said.

“My favorite part is just being Darragh has been jet-skiing for with friends and having a good three years and has experienced time at the lake.” adrenaline-pumping moments that he won’t soon Skimboarding and wakeboarding aren’t the only forget. popular water sports at the lake, as senior Ben Uy is “The first time (I went jet-skiing) was easily

Zack Meyer Swimming

James White Baseball

Danelle Pfennig Track and Field

the most intense moment as soon I pulled on the throttle, I took off and nearly missed crashing into the dock on my way out,” Darragh said.

However, water sports aren’t simply reserved for the conventional board-related sports. Swimmer Luke Keffer has recently picked up a new water activity: stone skipping.

“Even though I don’t get wet, I consider it as a water sport because there’s so much water involved,” Keffer said. “I really enjoy the idea of the stone rappelling off the top of the water and seeing how many times it can rappel off the top of the water because it’s defying all the (typical) forces.”

Keffer’s water sport has several unique qualities unlike the adrenaline rushes and adventurous qualities of mainstream water sports.

“It’s so peaceful and calm until the stone hits the water and then it just (goes) splash!” Keffer said.

Keffer has been practicing frequently and strives to improve his record.

“My record is 20 skips, I’ve been stone skipping for 6 months and I saw a dramatic improvement in my ability,” Keffer said.

Despite his new water sport, Keffer remains dedicated to continue swimming competitively throughout the summer.

“I’m going to continue to work hard and prepare for swimming at Boston College,” Keffer said.

Jarred Oliveira Boys’ Volleyball

Christy Cooper Girls’ Soccer

Summer track

Finding a job and earning some money

Going to soccer camp at Air Force Academy and some out-of-state tournaments

Oreos

Pretzels

Cookie Dough ice cream

Cucumbers

University of Southern California

Cambridge University

San Diego State University

Air Force Academy

People asking me pointless questions

When people say “like” every sentence

Grammar errors in text messages

When people stop walking and block the sidewalk

Hubba Bubba Cotton Candy bubble gum

Anything fruit flavored

Five gum Solstice flavor

Spearmint

My summer plans include...

Going on a backpacking trip with my two best friends

Going to the Bahamas

What is your favorite snack food?

Trail Mix

What is your dream college?

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

What is your biggest pet peeve?

People smacking their gum

What is your favorite gum flavor?

Trident Tropical Twist of Cobalt Five gum

Compiled by Christine Zavesky

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sports C3

Flying through the course GBHS students stay on par with disc golfing movement

BY ADAM TILFORD

Just like ball golf, disc golf has a number of types of “clubs” available. There are special clubs for driving, midrange, putting, spin, curve, and just about any other purpose, Oates said.

The sport of disc golf is increasing in popularity, and has However, compared to a golf club price tag in the hundreds quickly become one of the fastest-growing sports in America. of dollars, a single flying disc for disc golf only costs anyWithin the Roseville and Granite Bay area, there are plenty of where from nine dollars to 25 dollars. opportunities to try out this great sport.

The sport is also very friendly to beginners, according to Often mistakenly labeled as Frisbee golf, the sport of disc golf actually utilizes flying discs, and Frisbee discs are just one Oates.

“The evolution of the beveled edge that created the craze in type made by Wham-o Inc. disc golf – that created all the speed, all the distances that you The sport is played in a similar way to can see guys throwing now,” Oates said, “just traditional golf, with 9-hole and 18-hole makes it easier and easier for people to learn offerings. However, instead of a hole how to play.” being the ultimate goal, there is a standAny shape or When Jim was growing up, he could hardly ing metal basket which the flying disc is throw a Frisbee, he said, but obviously that has size person can thrown into. changed over the years. play... (and) it’s Generally, disc golf courses have Some students at Granite Bay High School tighter, smaller fairways than ball golf, relatively inexhave been playing disc golf for a couple years, and they utilize trees, creeks, and other and they enjoy the sport no matter their level of pensive comthings as hazards on the course. talent. pared to most The sport is governed by the Profes“I’m not very good,” GBHS senior Jon Davis sional Disc Golfers’ Association, or said. “I can’t throw a Frisbee too well, but I just sports PDGA, which conducts tournaments, really enjoy it.”

– Jim Oates, world disc gives awards, and offers membership It’s fun mainly because it’s free and because golf champion for enthusiasts. it’s outdoors, Davis said.

Jim Oates is the co-owner of Final 9 Also, the number of courses in the area is Sports, a disc golf retail store located actually quite large, with nearly a dozen all at the Shady Oaks park and disc golf within a reasonable distance. They are often course on Hazel Avenue in Orangevale, and he has been a prosubtly located, in places like municipal parks or schools. fessional disc golfer for over 25 years.

“There’s such a nice variety of disc golf courses in this area and around the country,” Oates said.

Having won 3 disc golf world titles, Jim is definitely an According to the Disc Golf Association’s website, the numexpert in the sport, and he has nothing but good things to say ber of courses has skyrocketed over the past 30 years to over about the sport.

3000 courses. The sport is growing exponentially.

“Any shape or size person can play, it’s fun to play with “It’s a lot of fun,” Oates said, “it’s enjoyable, and like I said your peers, (and) it’s relatively inexpensive compared to most it’s inexpensive.” sports,” he said. atilford.gazette@gmail.com

Connor Puhala tees off at a local disc golf course. Puhala, a GBHS senior was disc golfing for his first time.

Gazette photo / Maggie Louis

Staying active off the beaten path

GBHS athletes turn to paintball, hiking and other alternative outdoor sports

BY JOHN PARK

jpark.gazette@gmail.com

The longing for summer is a peculiar one.

Amidst various AP tests, finals, and projects, the wait for freedom seems unbearable at times. However, the initial feeling of ecstasy usually fades away as we remember that there is actually nothing to do in Granite Bay and Roseville.

After a couple of weeks of bumming around the house, we often wonder how to spend our seemingly endless time, and perhaps even how long until school starts again. So this summer, instead of just wondering what you should do with your time, go out and enjoy yourself with these outdoor activities.

TRACY CONROY

A paintball player lines up his shot in a game of woodsball, a form of paintball played outside, usually in a forested area.

Twin Bridges to Desolation Wilderness Basin If you are up to a physical challenge, then you may want to consider backpacking. However, true backpacking trails are rare in the Sacramento area, so you may want to make the trip up to Lake Tahoe instead with family or friends.

There are a huge selection of trails available, specifically in the South Lake Tahoe area, but one very popular choice is the Pyramid River (or Twin Bridges) trail that leads to the Desolation Valley Basin.

This specific trail is seven miles in length

one way, and usually takes about two days to complete the round trip. Although permits are required for hikers to entire the Desolation Wilderness, the scenery is well worth the trouble. The Desolation Wilderness earns its namesake from its largely bare landscape, with huge slabs of granite marking the area.

One popular location in Desolation Valley is Lake Aloha, a shallow man-made lake. Surrounded by bare granite and scarce trees, the resounding emptiness and haunting beauty is something that you will surely never forget.

Once in the valley, various trails lead up to the different peaks surrounding the basin that provide spectacular views of Lake Aloha.

Capital Edge Paintball Park For those of us that would like to stay a little closer to home (or perhaps test whether their aim in Call of Duty has carried over to real life), paintballing is luckily an option that is readily available in the area. Capital Edge Paintball Park in Sacramento provides the opportunity for a safe and fun competition among friends.

From the Roseville and Granite Bay area, take I-80 West, merge onto the Capital City freeway, merge on to Highway 99 south, exit Florin Rd. East, make a right on Florin, continue down for about five miles and the park is on the left.

Never been paintballing before? No problem, as the park will conveniently separate the

Two-sport sophomore star Colin Brown

BY JOHN PARK

jpark.gazette@gmail.com

GBHS sophomore Colin Brown has been turning heads around the track for years, racing past the competition with his formidable speed.

Brown began his track career in the 7th grade at Olympus Junior High School, running in the 100m dash, the 200m dash, and the 400m dash, and met success early on.

He continues to run the same events today on the varsity level as a sophomore, but has maintained the same level of success. Brown has placed in the top three at every dual meet (meets against schools in the Sierra Foothill League) this season in all three of his events. He has also been an integral part of the varsity boys’ 4x100m relay.

Brown recently participated in the prestigious Meet of Champions, held at Sacramento City College, where only the most outstanding junior varsity and varsity athletes are invited.

However, Brown has not only achieved success on the track, but on the football field as well. He was a standout kicker this past season on the league champion junior varsity team.

“It’s definitely fun playing multiple sports. Running track is a completely different experience from playing football, but I enjoy it anyway,” Brown said. “My track experience since 7th grade has just been fun...and I’m pretty decent at it too, so that always keeps things interesting.”

Yet however well Brown may be running this season, he is not wholly satisfied with his achievements thus far. His biggest goal for his next two track seasons

is to improve enough to qualify for the state meet.

Brown’s performance has also attracted the attention of his teammates and coaches.

“It’s not easy running on the varsity level as a sophomore, especially in our league, so it’s really good that Colin is able to compete at that level,” senior captain Maddie Lummis said. “[Colin] has got real talent,” sophomore teammate Ty Serna said. “He’s definitely going to be going places.”

As for college aspirations, Brown stated that he sees playing football or running track as potential options, but that he is not looking that far down the road.

“I’m just worried about the next meet,” said Brown. “Give me a good time and I’ll be happy.”

beginners to play against each other, so lack of experience will never be a barrier to having a good time. Lack of equipment should not be a problem either, as the park also provides allday rental options for $40. They will also offer $10 off admission for 4.0 students.

There is a large variety of different terrain that can be played on, allowing for many different game modes, from capture the flag to standard elimination games.

An environment like Capital Edge Paintball Park is perfect for those doldrum days when you are looking for an adrenaline rush but do not want to go too far out of the way, unfortunately they are usually only open on the weekends.

Folsom Lake Campgrounds For a quick getaway with friends, you can go for a real camping experience at Folsom Lake’s Beal’s Point Campground.

Drive down Douglas Blvd., take a right on Auburn-Folsom, drive for about two miles, and take a left at Beal’s Point.

Whether you decide to drive an RV or pitch a tent, a variety of amenities are provided, from the classic firepit to more modern bathrooms equipped with showers.

Rates for campgrounds vary, but are generally affordable. If you are looking for a nearby spot to hang out with some close friends, Beal’s Point is a readily available area.

Colin Brown practices his starts after school during track practice.

He runs for the varsity team as a sophomore.

Gazette photo / Maggie Louis

Your names. Your faces. Your games.

The Gazette Sports.

C4 Sports

Friday, May 20, 2011

Granite Bay Spring Sports Wrap Up Girls’ soccer “We had a couple tough defeats in the middle of the season… we came into our last three games needing to win two and tie one – we did just that... We will now host first round of playoffs… It’s a great team. This is my last year coaching here at GBHS… I can’t imagine a better way to go out with a better group of girls. They play for each other.”

Coach Chris Roberts

Boys’ volleyball “We lost in an upset so we’re not too happy… Overall we won a league championship making that three in a row.

We are a really young team, only starting two seniors…

Overall we had a good experience. They battled well which is a good sign for next year. ” Coach Bruce Honberger

Boys’ tennis “This season has been awesome. Granite Bay is definitely the superpower of the Sierra Foothill League having gone ten wins zero losses… It’s a very talented team, a very deep team.”

Coach Rory Wood

Track and field “I definitely think we ended on a good note… I consider this year weird with the weather and the way the meet schedules worked out… Despite those obstacles I think we did a good job at overcoming them.”

Coach Roosevelt Kent

Boys’ golf “We knocked off both Christian Brothers and Del Oro to win the section which no one expected us to do, as young as we are… If we play like we did [at sections] we have a chance of going on to state.”

Coach Terry Stafford

Girls’ lacrosse “ We finished with a 10–5 record and second place in the league, which I can say is a very positive thing considering we only had two seniors on the team…

Basically the kids did very well and improved their skills significantly. They were very competitive.”

Coach Stu Brokowski

Swimming “This season went really well. We did what we needed to do, which was develop some young swimmers. We won league in all four divisions and kept our streak alive.”

Coach John Sherman

Baseball “For the most part the guys did the best they could and got some opportunities. We’re done and finished up at eight and seven missing the playoffs by a tiebreaker. We are looking forward to next year because we have a good group of guys coming back. We were a relatively young team.”

Coach Pat Esposito

Softball “We won nine games which is more games than we’ve won in three years… All of our games except for one have been teams that are ranked top twelve (in the section).

We didn’t have a wimpy schedule… We’ve seen what the higher level teams play. With some experience under our belt, I fully intend that we’ll win this league next year..”

Coach Michelle Granger

w The Granite Bay Gazette

“Our team works really well together and we click with Roberts. I think this is the best year so far I’ve had in high school. We have a lot of talent on the team. ” Junior Amy Schlehofer

“We had a really successful season. We entered some of the hardest tournaments in the nation. For a while we were ranked nationally by ESPN. We tried our best and we’re definitely a young team. We ended up tying for the league championship with Rocklin, but the juniors got some good experience. ” Senior Franklin Zhuang

“This tennis season has been awesome. Our coach this year is great, we love him. The team works pretty well together. We got a few characters, but other than that we’re good. We’re excited to go to states.”

Junior Jake Keester

“We have a lot of really good individuals… The team is very close – we’re all really good friends” Senior Anne Barton

“ We just won the section tournament so we’re moving on to Masters. We have a deep team so we’re all pretty solid. We shot 379 which is the best we’ve shot (as a team) this year.”

Senior Connor Hallisey

“We all came together to make an awesome season together. One of the major highlights was how a lot of freshmen stepped up during the season, from where they started to where they ended. It was awesome.”

Junior Kenzie Gainer

“The team is awesome. We know each others strengths and weaknesses which has really helped us in practice. A lot of people have stepped up and improved so this season has definitely been great.”

Senior Dominic DeMarco

“The last ten games we didn’t play to our fullest potential. We won our last game so we ended on a high note. Our team was really young… we had a freshman starting. In the next couple years we will be really good I think.”

Senior Chase Dickson

“We still didn’t have a winning record, but I felt like we improved a lot over the season. Michelle was a good coach and definitely knew what she was doing. We came together as a team more. Our games were a lot closer.”

Sophomore Kristin Kupershoek

Compiled by Gary Nielsen

The Gazette wishes you a happy summer in sports. Go eat a hotdog and watch some baseball. –Sports Editors

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sports C5

The most spirited Grizzly

The Gazette’s Fan of the Year nod goes to senior Kevin Harkin

BY ALEX PINK

apink.gazette@gmail.com

“He was the guy decked out in face paint, always positive, and cheering louder then everyone else.”

So said Grant Dechert about Kevin Harkin, who has been recognized as Granite Bay High School’s 2010-11 fan of year.

Due to his vast involvement in the Tribe at many GBHS sporting events and his indomitable spirit, Harkin has captured the attention of many of his fellow students and his own brother.

“I think one of (Harkin’s) best qualities is his leadership in straight edge society,” said Grant Dechert, one of the founders of the Tribe. “He makes sure everyone isn’t getting bullied or doing drugs, or else he will wrestle you.”

“What I like about Kevin is how… enthusiastic he is when he is doing something he likes,” Will Harkin said, brother of Kevin Harkin. “(And) he’s always there to support me.”

Harkin surely enjoyed the many nailbiting games and never-ending excitement that came with his involvement in supporting athletics, but his favorite part was far beyond those aspects of GBHS sporting events. “(The best part about the Tribe) was the friendships,” Kevin said. “I met a lot of new friends.”

He also loved giving his peers support as well.

“I like to rally and support my seniors (too),” Harkin added.

He not only formed new friendships around school, his relationship with his younger brother, Will, grew and strength-

ened as well.

“Kevin and I have bonded tremendously,” Will said. “(On our way to games) we would blast music in the car…while I pretended to be an announcer and call out his name.”

“He would talk my ear off about every game (too),” he added.

Although Harkin supported a variety of sports and events here on campus, he admitted to have one favorite GBHS sport in particular: boys’ basketball. “(My favorite is) boys’ basketball…because they worked really hard and I (was) excited for them,” Harkin said.

Known for his dominant role in the Tribe spirit section, Harkin also served as the GBHS varsity soccer team’s manager for the 2010 season, where some of his true leadership and spirit qualities shined.

“He was loyal and enthusiastic…and pumped up the boys,” said boys’ varsity soccer coach Steve Fischer. “Everyone loved having him around.”

His enthusiasm and devoted nature off the field soon led him to the opportunity to play in a varsity soccer game at Roseville High School, in what Fischer recalls as the best moment of his coaching career.

“Kevin told me right before he went on the field, ‘I won’t let you down coach, I won’t let you down,’ and he didn’t,” Fischer said. “ (It was) one of the best moments of my career.”

His persistence and support on the sidelines led him to experience the game on the field, which Kevin admitted was a lot of fun.

Aside from his involvement with sports, Harkin also displayed remarkable spirit during rallies and school events as well.

COACH: New coach rights direction of bottom-of-the-league program Continued from page C1 “This year was different with me as their coach because my mentality works in over drive and I always think before each game that we’re going to win.”

A coach with such a strong mentality didn’t become that way over night. For nearly thirty years, Granger has been devoted to softball.

“My sister and all her friends played softball so I wanted to play but they told me ‘You’re not good enough and you’re too small to play’ so I decided to prove them wrong,” Granger said. “And I’m still proving them and other people wrong.”

Since her early playing days, Granger has competed on countless teams and won many championships. One of her most remarkable victories was winning a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics, the first year that softball was introduced in the Olympics. Granger even pitched during the first and last games.

Granger also has an impressive pitching coach record from working with players from the University of Tennessee, UC Davis, San Jose State and Sierra College. Although Granger has the experience, she’s happy that she didn’t start coaching at the highest levels.

“Thank goodness I worked with lower level team because if I would have started coaching the best, coaching high school later would have been a complete shock,” Granger said. “Coaching high school girls has definitely taught me patience both on and off the field.”

This is understandable especially since Granger has a determined, competitive side.

“What the girls’ varsity players don’t quite understand is that they see the version of me that is dialed down,” Granger said. “They probably think that I am high strung but I can understand that since their past experiences have been with a coach who wasn’t passionate

or who hadn’t played softball for 30 years like me.”

According to senior player Amanda Befort, Granger’s coaching style isn’t dialed down but rather persistent and demanding. However, Befort doesn’t view her coaching style in a bad light because of the progressive benefits.

“She does yell at us but what I like about it is that she makes us run if we miss a throw,” Befort said. “It helps us in the end of the day because we learn not to make the same mistakes again.”

While Befort sees the benefits of Granger’s coaching style through the improvements made in the 2011 season, her senior teammate Karina Muniz acknowledges how Granger’s influence can help next year’s softball team and seniors who are leaving the field.

“The girls who are staying are more confident and mentally prepared for games. (As) one of the two seniors, I feel like we can use that confidence and (discipline) after high school,” Muniz said. “I hope that everyone just continues to listen to Michele because I’m sure she’s going to turn around the program and win a lot more games in the years to come.”

The bar is set high for next year’s softball team considering that this year the team won more games and were competitive against highly ranked league teams until the last moments of the game. The returning players have the capability to be great with the help of Granger.

“There’s not a question in my mind that the girls aren’t capable of competing harder at the high school level but the concern is getting them to believe that,” Granger said. “If we’re not in the top ten every single year from now on that would be a disappointment because I believe that we will get there faster than some people think.”

“Kevin was the heart of our spirit for the (seniors) at the rallies and Sports-a-Rama,” Lizzy Schliessmann said. “He was the one always running the chants and carrying the giant senior flag.”

Harkin’s unconditional support to the many athletics and rallies at GBHS have earned him this mention as the fan of the year, and many seem to agree that he is the ideal candidate to receive this admirable award.

“No matter if it’s soccer, football, basketball, lacrosse or volleyball (Harkin was) there, cheering on the Grizzles through the best and worst of times. There is not a greater Grizzly fan in our…school,” said Dechert.

“I can’t (think) of a more enthusiastic fan for Granite Bay,” Fischer added. “He loves the green and black.”

Gazette photos /MAGGIE LOUIS

Kevin Harkin cheers on GBHS basketball with the rest of the tribe. Kevin cheered for almsot all GBHS events.

ZINGHEIM: Vaulting from GB to Palo Alto Continued from page C1

even the nation, at one point being ranked second in the country with a jump of 13’ 4”.

Much of Zingheim’s success can be credited to what she has learned from her coach, Tracy Majors, who is a three time NCAA pole vault champion at UCLA and also pursued a professional career in the sport.

Majors, who has been coaching Zingheim since her sophomore year at GBHS, has watched her student grow from when she first met her.

“When I first met her she was insecure about (pole vaulting). (She was) sure about herself as a person, but not sure about herself as an athlete, Majors said. “(She was) not confident on the runway, not confident about what she already knew how to do, so Katie really surprised me because she has changed completely since I first met her… just as an athlete, she’s definitely blossomed.”

However as a person, Zingheim’s maturity has been noted to be well beyond her years.

Ramona Drury has been Zingheim’s English teacher for three years, at the College Prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement levels, and has experienced her maturity firsthand.

“She was always, always mature.

As long as I’ve known her I thought she was a mature young woman,” Drury said. “She’s always had great poise. She’s grown in terms of maturity in thinking but she was already a mature person.”

In addition to Zingheim’s talent

NIELSEN: Decathlon success for Grizzly Continued from page C1

I got to the Day One mark I realized that I was really close to the 7000 (point) mark which I didn’t think I was going to get.”

The 7000 point barrier proved to be elusive for Nielsen on Day Two, as he faltered slightly in the shot put and javelin. He still scored 6,928 points and finished in second place behind Oklahoma’s Gunnar Nixon, who was attempting to break a national record.

Nielsen’s performance was more than a 500-point improvement over the previous summer at the Junior Olympics and vaulted him to an elite status among multi-event athletes. He was mentioned as being among California’s best track athletes

by DyeStatCal, a website following high school track and field.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to GBHS sprint coach Roosevelt Kent, who has worked with Nielsen since he was in eighth grade.

“When he came out, we noticed that he could do several different events (well),” Kent said. “The kids who can do multi events on our team, we try to coach them that way to see what they can do.”

Nielsen’s potential was apparent early on, and Kent has continued to be impressed by his physical gifts.

“He’s got the tallness (and) the strength. A lot of the things that Kevin does, he does naturally,” Kent said.

Statistically, Nielsen has significantly lowered his personal bests on the track and increased them in the field events, resulting in school records in the 400 meter dash (49.84 seconds) and the high jump (6’9”). His best high jump leads the Sac-Joaquin Section, and he is currently ranked second in the long jump (22’9.25”), fourth in the 110 meter hurdles (14.80 seconds) and seventh in the 300 meter hurdles (39.62).

His impressive marks have created an unofficial standard for the other athletes, according to senior teammate and hurdler Anne Barton.

“He’s always been really good but this year he’s stepped it up and (is) just an amazing athlete at everything he tries,” Barton said. “(The younger athletes) see him as someone they want to be like because he’s so talented at what he does. They hope to be as fast as him and they all base their times off of his times when they run.”

In the postseason, Nielsen will choose to pursue either the California State Meet on June 4-5 or head to the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic in Albuquerque, where he could try for another personal best in the decathlon. Regardless of which one he chooses to participate in, he hopes to set more personal bests in his main events.

Kent says that if Nielsen chooses to forgo the Great Southwest, there are a number of events that he could qualify in for the State Meet.

“He continues to improve and continues to run better as we get to the end of the season,” Kent said. “I can see him going to State in the high jump, the long jump, (and 110 meter hurdles), so he has the potential to do a lot of events.”

After he wraps up his high school career, Nielsen will head to Brigham Young University on athletic scholarship, where he was recruited as a decathlete. He plans to take two years off from competition in order to go on his mission, but when he returns, he will be someone to watch, according to Kent.

“I think after (his mission), with the maturity that sets in with his body and his strength work, I really think he’s going to be what I would call a dangerous athlete,” Kent said. “I think he has the potential to strive toward the Olympics.”

becoming more prominent through her hard work and dedication to her sport, she also excels in the classroom.

With a grade point average of 4.23 she is ranked in the top 10 percent of her class and her academic and her athletic achievements have led Zingheim to receiving a partial scholarship to Stanford University.

“Katie is intelligent, focused, dedicated. She strikes that fabulous balance between taking things seriously and not obsessing about them,” Drury said. “She’s just the quintessential student. She works hard, she’s intelligent and it’s paid off in her talents.”

But balancing rigorous academics, athletics and a social life can be hard on any teenager and requires certain sacrifices.

“At times during the year I don’t sleep a lot, I really just don’t get a lot of sleep. I just learned how to work efficiently to still have fun and do stuff,” Zingheim said. “Freshman and sophomore years I would give up a lot of stuff for pole vaulting so senior year has been better because I made a point to make sure I could go do all the things my friends were doing.”

As if AP courses and high level athletics weren’t enough, Zingheim is also a co-editor-in-chief of the Granite Bay Gazette.

Using her inspiration from the character Rory in the television show Gilmore Girls, who is the newspaper editor at her school, as well as her love of literature and written word, she joined the staff her sophomore

year but her talents as a writer were immediately apparent.

As she grew older she remained on the staff, becoming a sports section editor her junior year and caught the eye of her adviser when she became a candidate for editor-in-chief, and ultimately was chosen to be one of four for the 2010-11 school year.

“She’s a very gifted writer; she has the sense and the ability to go from point A to point B to point C to get readers into and then take them along on a story,” according to Grubaugh.

“She’s a natural writer, her leadership skills I think are terrific, she’s respected by other people and obviously she’s an unbelievable athlete.”

As for Zingheim’s plans for the future they’re very much up in the air. She is planning on majoring in an English related field and is hoping to qualify for NCAA championships all four years at Stanford as well as win a title at some point.

In addition, if the prospect arises, she would like to continue to pursue her sport professionally after college and maybe make a run for the Olympics.

No matter what though, it is certain that Zingheim has a very bright future ahead of her.

“As a person she’s got so much going for her that she will be successful in whatever she pursues,” Grubaugh said. “She’s going to go off to great things. She’s totally in her element (at Stanford). She wants to write and she loves literature and she’ll do that and she’ll be successful…she’ll rock.”

Sports Briefs Adams wins fourth Sierra Foothill League diving title in four years

ous University of Washington school record.

wStandout GBHS senior aquatic athlete Elliot Adams recently won his fourth Sierra Foothill League diving title. Adams has won the SFL title every season since his freshman career began. He scored 434.2 total through 11 dives, beating out second place by over 100 points. However, Adams placed second at sections, unable to obtain his third title of his high school career. Adams will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this fall on scholarship.

GBHS swim dominates the Sierra Foothill League and Sections

GBHS graduate ranked second in the world in the pole vault wJust one month after GBHS graduate and current Unversity of Washington standout Scott Roth won his second straight NCAA championship, he proceeded to vault 18 ft 9 ¾ in. at the Mt. SAC Relays. This mark now sets him at 2nd in the world this year, and also broke the previ-

wThe GBHS boys’ and girls’ swim team extended their streaks of undefeated seasons and league titles to 14 seasons and 15 seasons respectively after they defeated the Roseville Tigers. The girls’ team was led this season by Hannah Calton and Sophie Weber, while the boys’ team was led by Andrew Murch, Austin Akre, Luke Keffer and Max Vigeant.

Boys’ golf captures Section title wThe boys’ golf team captured the SJS title at Haggin Oaks’ MacKenzie golf course with an 18 hole team total of 379. In addition, the boys placed in third behind Del Oro and Davis at the Masters golf tournament with a 388 and will move on the NorCal tournament on May 23.

C6 Sports

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette

2010-2011 All-Grizzly Team

The Gazette’s sports editors pick the top GBHS athletes of the year

First Team

Elliot AdamswDivingw Cal Poly SLO Adams won four consecutive Sierra Foothill League diving titles, won section championships his freshman and sophomore years and placed second his junior and senior year. He played a vital part for the Granite Bay High School swim team and will be diving for Cal Poly SLO in the fall.

Clare CarrollwCross Country/Trackw Freshman

Carroll won the cross country section individual title with a course record, finished second at the state meet, and earned a place in the Foot Locker Nationals race. She also finished third at SFL Finals in the varsity girls’ 1600 meter race.

Connor Halliseyw SoccerwUC Berkeley

Jon DaviswBasketball wCal Poly SLO

Hallisey was a three year varsity soccer player and helped the team to two section titles and three consecutive league titles. In addition to his key role at GBHS, he was selected to play for the United States U-18 national team, and played in a tournament in Israel. He will play for Cal in the fall.

Davis was a three year varsity basketball player and played a leading role in the boys’ basketball team’s run to the section and NorCal playoffs.

He was named SFL co-MVP by the Roseville Press-Tribune and second team All-Metro by the Sac Bee. He will be attending Cal Poly SLO.

Jessica HambywWater PolowMarist College Hamby spent four years on varsity, has won four league titles and is a two time section runner up. She was a member of the SFL first team all-league all four years, was a first team all-section for three years and has been both the SFL and SJS MVP. She will be playing at Marist College in the fall.

Brooke HoltwCross Country/TrackwBYU

Holt has a total of nine individual league titles in cross country and track during her career and including four consecutive SFL cross country and 3200 meter titles.She also had a runner-up finish in the Section meet and a twelfth place finish at the state meet. She will be running at BYU in the fall.

Second Team

Will AndersonwFootball/Wrestlingw Sierra College

Anderson helped lead the Grizzly football and wrestling teams to SFL league titles. As a wrestler he also won back-to-back SFL individual titles, placed first at Sections, sixth at Masters and qualified for the state tournament. He also received the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the league.

Chris CampbellwFootball/Lacrossew CSU Humboldt

Campbell played varsity football for two years and varsity lacrosse for three. Being one of the best kickers in the area, Campbell made the Optimist All-Star Team.

For lacrosse, he led the team in goals with 38 and made the SVLC all-conference team.

Kyle Howarthw Soccer/Basketball/ VolleyballwUC Davis

James KinlochwTrack and FieldwCSU Sacramento

Andrew Murchw Water Polo/Swimw Junior

Paige LeewGolfw Sophomore

Sophie WeberwSwimw Junior

Christine Zavesky wCross Country/ TrackwUC Berkeley

Howarth was a three-sport athlete with three years of varsity soccer and two each of basketball and volleyball. Over his career he accumulated six league titles and four section titles. He received the A. Dale Lacky award and will be attending UC Davis.

Lee started her high school career strong by winning the section title and finishing high enough in the Masters Tournament to qualify for NorCal tournament her freshman year. Her sophomore year she placed fourth in Nor Cal and fourth in state in addition to winning sections again.

Kinloch dominated Northern California in the discus this season with his school record and section leading throw of 186’6”. He is currently ranked 25th in the nation and third in the state with his throw. He recently won the SFL discus title and was runner up in shot put.

Weber has been a member of the varsity swim team all three of her years and helped claim three SFL titles for the team.

She finished first in 200 IM and second in 100 backstroke this year in sections. Weber also won the 50 freestyle and 500 freestyle in the SFL tourney

Hannah CaltonwSwimwSophomore

Calton has been on the GBHS varsity swim team all of her years at GBHS. She was the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle SFL champion both years and finished third in sections in both events this season.

Murch has played two varsity seasons for water polo and swam varsity all three years, winning five SFL team titles and two section titles. He has made the all-section team the last two years and finished first in the 100 backstroke and second in 200 IM at sections.

Zavesky has won seven league titles between the 800 and 1600 meter runs. She helped the cross country team win league and sections this season and place seventh in state. She will be running for Cal this fall.

Honorable Mentions Boys

Gavin AndrewswFootball/Wrestlingw Junior Cory BrehmwFootballwSenior Trent BrendelwCross Country/Trackw Freshman

Chloe ForliniwTenniswSophomore

Chloe Forlini made first team all SFL and won the doubles section championship her freshman and sophomore years with her teammate and sister Lily.

She helped the Grizzly team win team section titles both years.

Zack BurgerwLacrossewSophomore Nate EspositowFootball/Baseballw Senior Cody GiddingswSoccerwJunior Matt KasnerwFootballwSenior

Robert DuncanwBasketballwAir Force Academy Prep School

Duncan was a varsity basketball player for both of his years at GBHS. As a senior he led lead the Grizzlies to an SFL title and was a key member of their historic run through the playoffs. He was also chosen as a member of the Optimist All-Star team, first team All-SFL, and third team All-Metro by the Sac Bee.

Lily ForliniwTenniswSophomore

Lily Forlini made first team all SFL and won the doubles section championship her freshman and sophomore years with her teammate and sister Chloe. She won the team section title as a member of the GBHS girls’ tennis team the last two years.

Brendan KeeneywFootballwJunior Jacob KeyswBasketballwSenior Mitchell KobayashiwSwim/Water PolowSenior John ParkwTrackwSenior Brad WongwTenniswSophomore

Kendall ModistewSoccerwSan Deigo State University

Modiste was a four-year varsity player for the GBHS soccer team and won two section championship and four SFL titles. He was one of the first freshmen to play varsity in school history, and was named all SFL his sophomore and junior year as well as SFL co-MVP his senior year. He will be playing for SDSU in the fall.

Tommy ThompsonwSoccerwFreshman

The youngest of the dynamic Thompson brothers, Tommy was a critical piece of the Grizzlies’ success in soccer this year. He scored a team-leading 29 goals and added 12 assists and led the SFL in scoring.

Ty ThompsonwSoccerwJunior

As a midfielder for the Grizzlies, Thompson has played three years on varsity. This season he played an important role in the boys’ soccer SFL championship and the SJS championship scoring 14 goals on the season. He also was a member of the first team all-league for the SFL. He is already committed to play at UCSB in 2012.

Alison HambywWater Polow Marist College

Hamby received a second team All-League nod her freshman year, a was a first team All-League member her junior and senior years. She also was on the first team all-section her sophomore, junior and senior years.

Girls

Allison DalywCross Country/Trackw Sophomore Maria Dela CruzwBasketball/Soccerw Senior Anna GoddiwSoccerwJunior

Maddie LummiswTrack and Fieldw Northern Arizona University

Lummis has raced to three individual school records in the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes and had a strong senior year despite being bothered by injury. At the SFL finals, she was a close runner-up in the 400 meter with a new personal best of 58.79. She will be running for Northern Arizona University in the fall.

Katrina ReeveswBasketball/Lacrossew Sophomore Reeves was a two-sport varsity athlete as a sophomore and excelled in both. As a lacrosse goalie she played a vital role in the team’s 10-5 record with 197 saves. She was also named the SVLC girls’ lacrosse MVP.

Jerra HaganswSwimwSenior Kayla KarlssonwSoftballwJunior Cayley McDowellwBasketballwSenior Caitlyn McDuffeewSoftballwFreshman Karina MunizwSoftballwSenior Taylor NelsonwVolleyball/ Basketball wFreshman Jen OhlsonwVolleyballwSenior Laura PrestonwBasketball/Lacrossew Senior Alexa WolfwBasketball/Lacrossew Senior

Green Screen Soaking up sun

Make sure summer is as exciting as possible.

G13 Local fro-yo hot spots Eat some

G16 Likable lake locations Visit the best.

G17 Spend money wisely... or not at all.

Page 2

May 2011

Contents.

In this Summer Fashion

G8 & G9

Fro-yo Guide

G13

Lake Guide

G16

Free Summer Things To Do

G17

issue...

Gazette front cover photo illustration/ ALISON SALE and SHANNON WAGNER and KATIE ZINGHEIM

May June May 2011

SUNDAY

Page 3

Calendar.

Y

MONDA

Y

TUESDA

DAY

WEDNES

AY

THURSD

24 Last Day 26 of School

FRIDAY

20

Senior Sunset

Graduation Practice

Minimum Day Finals 1, 2

29

Memorial Day

6

Graduation

Senior Breakfast

Mary Poppins @ Sacramento Community Theatre

Midtown Stomp Swing Dancing @ Eastern Star Ballroom in Sacramento

SAT @ GB

9

15

12

28

Minimum Day Finals 3,4

1

AY

SATURD

Britney Spears with Nicki Minaj @ Power Balance Pavilion

18 Gazette illustrations/KATIE ZINGHEIM

Mundane mainstream movies Popular films follow predictable patterns

W

atching movies has always been a wonderful pastime – you can go to the theaters for a cinematic adventure with your friends or family, on a date or for just a fun outing. And there is almost always a genre of film that appeals to everyone.

But over the past few years, mainstream movies have become less and less innovative when it comes to plot lines and overall content.

Viewers can easily guess as to how the film will turn out, what decisions characters will make, and the curve balls that screenwriters will throw at them to make the story “interesting.”

A lot of the time, the entire movie is either given away completely or portrayed in such a way that the audience can figure out the entirety of the basic plot just by watching the previews – which often show too many of the important scenes and give away the best parts of the film.

And it’s not even just the chick-flick films that are falling prey to this conventionality any more, (even though they have always been, and still are, notoriously

Commentary

shannon wagner swagner.gazette@gmail.com

predictable.)

Outcomes of all genres are becoming susceptible to expectedness; as endings to action, adventure, suspense and spy movies alike are easily foreseeable.

Angelina Jolie’s Salt about a Russian spy who vacillates between betraying her country or completing her mission ends the way everybody

expected it to, despite the plot’s feeble attempts at dissuading the audience.

Sci-fi film Predators follows a group of talented hunters around on a futuristic island where they are being hunted by unknown creatures, until, surprise!

All but the protagonist and his love interest are killed off one by one. Convenient right?

But if you walk away from the theater, there are plenty of movies that are interesting and original.

Cult films like (500) Days of Summer and Donnie Darko present unique plot lines and characters that don’t follow the conventional styles of mainstream films.

Since they aren’t big-budget projects, these cult films (movies that aren’t successful in theaters but gather a large following after being released for purchase,) have to rely on engaging stories and creative filming strategies to earn their support.

Even though they aren’t box office blockbusters, non-mainstream movies are often more entertaining for those who don’t want to know what is going to happen before it actually does.

Page 4

Music.

Gorillaz The Fall

BY BRITTANY HINCE

F

bhince.gazette@gmail.com

ive years after their hit album Demon Days, the Gorillaz are back and in full force with the releases of two albums within a six-month window.

The Fall was streamed online as an early Christmas present for subdivision members last December, (following the release of Plastic Beach in early March 2010) and is now available in stores as of the physical release date in mid-April 2011.

The Fall was recorded as a musical diary during the Gorillaz’ 32-day North American tour. According to their website, each song was recorded in each place on each day, giving it the uniquely distinct feel of a “sonic journal.”

If you are awake and alert, you can pick up on the subtleties that lend themselves to a reflective, electronic/ hip-hop interpretation of a journey across America.

The first track on the album, “Phoner to Arizona”, is partially dubstep-esque with eerie echolocation-like sounds accompanying what sounds like pseudo-alien vocals; the song is a surprisingly engaging opening to the album.

“Revolving Doors” is one of the best tracks on the album. It has replaced “Clint Eastwood” as the Gorillaz’ second most popular song on iTunes, right behind Feel Good Inc. “Hillbilly Man” starts out with light guitar plucking (that coincides with the song title) and then quickly switches back to the band’s

A

SUB POP RECORDS

Helplessness Blues

by Fleet Foxes was released on May 3.

Skip to: Helplessness Blues

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signature electronic beats. Fortunately, Gorillaz are able to do this without sounding overproduced, but the song certainly has its share of oddities.

“Detroit” is easily forgotten, and acts more as background music. “Shy-town” is just as anti-climactic.

“Little Pink Plastic Bags” has a drowsing effect that is encouraged by the lazy lyrics and a lazy beat to match; it could not sound more like a stoner anthem: “They’re just little pink plastic bags/ blowing on the highway alone/ They don’t know where they’ll go/They just gonna float out.”

“Joplin Spider” – Joplin is a city in Missouri for those of us unfamiliar with the Midwest. However, the song sounds a lot like entering into the middle of some epic laser battle. It’s unexpected, but a kind of cool.

“The Parish of Space Dust” begins with the tuning of a radio dial, enters into a rendition of orchestral space music with crackling transmits between the shuttle and Houston, transitioning smoothly into a hokey “Texas can you hear me?” reminiscent of “Home on the Range.”

Wait…what?

“The Snake in Dallas” contains more eerie sounds building up to some horn action and a series of whispered snake sounds that makes for a truly interesting listen.

Amarillo – most likely named after the city in Texas – begins with the easily recognizable sound of a choo choo train. The album takes a little turn here; it sounds as if the Gorillaz are lost in the desert as the wind blows in the background behind the drawn out cry of: “Oh Lord send me transmissions/ forgive me for what I’ve become/The sun has come to save me/Put a little love into my/lonely

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May 2011

soul” Ok, so the album keeps getting weirder.

“Speak it Mountains” begins with several cold VIRGIN RECORDS voices similar to those The Fall by Gorillaz you would hear from your voicemail or GPS. Their ee- was released on April 18. rie, unnatural sound echoes into presumably empty Skip to: space. The song continues with a slow, steady count Revolving from one to seven, and then Doors changes into the sound of trickling water.

The trickling water flows into the “Aspen Forest” as we journey from the mountains into the serene woods. It is oddly soothing and melodic in comparison with the rest of the album, giving it that desired sylvan quality.

The album concludes with “Bobby in Phoenix (feat.

Bobby Womack)” and “California and the Slipping of the Sun” in much the same bizarre manner as the rest of the album, while “Seattle Yodel” serves as a 39 second outro (and yes, that does mean 39 seconds of straight yodeling).

The Fall is almost like one massive experiment; an album made purely for fun; the product of boredom.

And although it is not necessarily for everyone, I would recommend it to anyone who likes thought-provoking albums or is looking for a new brand of music.

Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues

BY PARKER EVANS

pevans.gazette@gmail.com

irst things first. Helplessness Blues is a beautiful record.

For Fleet Foxes to follow up their flawless 2008 self-titled debut with another masterpiece is impressive to say the least, yet Helplessness Blues matches its predecessor step for step.

The album is the final result of a painstaking process; the band spent frustrating months writing, recording and perfecting between tours, yet still had the conviction to record the vocal tracks in a single take in order to preserve the gritty earthiness of the band’s sound.

Helplessness Blues is marked by a folk sound unlike any other. The music is huge and sweeping, balanced by Robin Pecknold’s sincere voice and remarkably mature lyrics.

Fleet Foxes set the tone straight out of the gate with the standout “Montezuma.” Beautiful three-part harmonies abound, as Pecknold makes it clear that the last album’s “big folk,” so to speak, hasn’t lost any speed or appeal.

It’s not easy to make a true folk song that encourages head-bobbing

and jamming, but “Sim Sala Bim,” aside from being the catchphrase of Hadji from Johnny Quest, does exactly that.

But the album shines brightest on its title track; “Helplessness Blues” is simply a masterpiece. Pecknold’s guitar is bursting with a contagious energy before the song gives way into a huge, echoing breakdown.

It’s as earwormy as any Katy Perry song, yet refreshingly cool and smart – an early candidate for Song of the Year.

“If I had an orchard I’d work till I’m sore,” Pecknold sings as his bearded band creates a spectacular, swirling soundscape behind him.

The record is paced well with short instrumental tracks interspersed throughout balanced with the occasional lengthy jam intro.

The album’s biggest trip is the 8-minute “The Shrine/An Argument.”

Aside from being Pecknold’s best vocal performance, it includes a strange Sufjan Stevens-esque detour, complete with squawking horns and squealing clarinets, resolving gracefully into the minimalist folk of “Blue Spotted Tail”.

Helplessness Blues is an experience and a journey. It’s everything a great album should be – well-paced, beautiful and massive in scope.

Teacher Playlist: Scott Braly “(These songs) bring back memories, and just feel right.

Some of them describe who I am and who I think I am.”

1. “Silver, Blue and Gold” by Bad Company 2. “Lunatic Fringe” by Red Ryder 3. “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” by Journey 4. “Out in the Country” by 3 Dog Night 5. “Come Sail Away” by Styx

6. “Magic Power” by Triumph 7. “Sing Me Away” by Night Ranger 8. “If I Could Change the World” by Eric Clapton 9. “The Cradle Will Rock” by Van Halen 10. “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” by Queen - compiled by Haley Massara

Scott Braly

May 2011

BY KELSEY KNORP

E

kknorp.gazette@gmail.com

lementary schoolgirls across the nation, including myself, were enthralled by the half-hour glimpse into pre-teen/teen life they got beginning at 7:30 p.m., weeknights on Disney Channel.

From the magical first kiss to the awkward purchase of the first bra, viewers enjoyed every clichéd teen journey Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) embarked on.

Of course, Lizzie couldn’t do it all alone. Alongside her were her quirky but caring parents, her mischievous younger brother Matt, and her equally dorky friends Miranda and Gordo.

But let’s not forget her ever-hated, cheerleading arch nemesis Kate and her obsessed-over, dumb-jock crush Ethan.

Lizzie’s most envied asset, however, was the

chatty voice inside her head, materializing in the face of any and every situation and in the form of a spunky cartoon character. This miniature, subconscious Lizzie proved to have endless opinions that Lizzie herself, in her judgmental junior high school environment, would never voice aloud.

In the classic first episode, Lizzie musters the courage to try out for the cheerleading squad, an endeavor she colossally fails at. Kate, Lizzie’s former friend, makes the squad. The incident results in an increase in the sense of rivalry between the two.

One popular episode that we avid viewers will never forget featured guest star Aaron Carter, heartthrob of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The episode understandably solicited much excitement from the show’s preteen audience. Many an elementary-schooler across America turned green with envy when Lizzie’s many attempts to sneak into Carter’s concert resulted in her receiving a kiss from the teen superstar.

One of the most climactic episodes of the series, “Bye, bye Hillridge”, encompassed the inevitable transition of the characters from junior high to high school. The episode reveals Gordo’s hidden crush on Lizzie when he takes a long time to think of something meaningful to write in her yearbook.

Recipe of the Month: Chai Tea Cupcakes

BY RACHAEL VASQUEZ

T

Page 5

Enjoy.

rvasquez.gazette@gmail.com

ea fanatics – chai tea fanatics, specifically – will love the spicy kick from these chai tea cupcakes. The light ingredients and the powerful cream cheese frosting makes it the perfect cupcake for a relaxing day or a special dessert.

Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup instant chai tea latte mix 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Frosting: 3/4 softened cream cheese 1/4 cup instant chai tea latte mix 1/4 tablespoon confections’ sugar Cocoa powder (optional) Cinnamon (optional) Instructions: 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line muffin pans with paper or foil liners.

2. In a small bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

3. On a slow speed, alternately beat dry mixture and milk into butter mixture, start-

ing and ending with the dry mix. Mix in vanilla last.

4. Divide batter among prepared cups, preferably with a piping bag.

5. Bake for 15 minuets at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove cupcakes from pans to a cooling rack.

6. With the cupcakes baking, beat together cream cheese, chai mix, confections’ sugar and 1 tablespoon milk, if needed, until smooth. Refrigerate until cupcakes are cool enough to frost.

7. Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.

Dust cocoa powder and/or cinnamon on frosting, if desired.

Gazette photo /RACHAEL VASQUEZ

Chai tea cupcakes combine the best of both worlds: tea and dessert.

The franchise ultimately ended with The GOOGLE Lizzie Lizzie McGuire was a popular McGuire Disney Channel series starring Hilary Movie.

Duff during the late 1990’s and early Keeping 2000’s. with the slightly fantastical sense of most of the show’s prior storylines, Lizzie and her friends go on a school trip to Rome, where Lizzie not only makes her musical debut and reveals the fraud of musical sensation Isabella, but finally realizes her feelings for Gordo. The movie ends, of course, with a successful performance of one of Hilary Duff’s first original singles, “Hey Now,” as well as a romantic kiss scene between Lizzie and Gordo.

Young viewers such as myself could always rely on the comfortably predictable coming-of-age storylines of Lizzie McGuire, which has since made way for other more recent Disney TV series that unfortunately and inevitably pale in comparison to the original tales of Lizzie and the gang.

Summer Punk Playlist

BY HALEY MASSARA

hmassara.gazette@gmail.com

1. “Wild in the Streets” by the Circle Jerks – Gleeful, derange, and classic, this song is the perfect soundtrack to that moment of glory when the last bell rings. You’ll have to stop yourself from moshing your way off school campus.

2. “Suburban Home” by the Descendents – A fantastic song from a truly great album, it’s a sarcastic, catchy punk-pop ode to all things upper-middle class.

3. “Rockaway Beach” by the Ramones – I may not be the most diehard Ramones fan you’ll ever meet, but their dance-able riffs and chant-able choruses make for excellent summer listening.

4. “One Way Rocket” by the Secretions – My favorite local band! The Secretions are just fun to listen to. With witty, endearing lyrics and hooks you’ll be singing for days. This song is a good example of their work, and it tells the story of a man leaving to venture into outer space – a sentiment of excitement and freedom I know I can relate to when school ends.

5. “Feeling Groovy” by the Queers – One of my newest favorite bands, their cheerful, silly pop-punk is nearly irresistible.

This song, in particular, is so much better when listened to while skipping along the sidewalk.

6. “Punk Rock Candy Mountain” by Ashtray – Another incredible local band, this song spirits the listener away to a magical place, free from cops, Nazis and bouncers.

7. “Ashtray” by Screeching Weasel – Something about this band reminds me of summer – perhaps the howling, I-don’tcare-how-awful-I-sound vocals. It’s hard to listen to Screeching Weasel and sit still.

8. “Mission” by the Phenomenauts – One of the local bands that hit it big. Half-rockabilly, half-punk – it’s easy to see why their lyrics reflect their geekiness and love of science fiction.

Their studio recordings don’t do justice to their live performances, but even so, one listen and you’ll fall in love.

9. “TV Party” by Black Flag – A satirical song about a group of friends whose brains are rotted by television. I don’t know about you, but two weeks into summer vacation, I can certainly sympathize.

10. “I Wish I Was Attractive” by the 9:00 News – Another local band (I bet you didn’t see that one coming). Seriously though, these guys are excellent. This song, in particular, is a murderously catchy, self-deprecating anthem that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks.

Page 6

May 2011

Enjoy.

Worst Fight Scene Ever

BY GARY NIELSEN

Feather earrings at Forever 21 --- $8.00

Gold detailed earrings at Urban Outfitters --- $20.00

Earrings

On the Bay

breaks off.

With still four feet of wood left, the Gorn throws his weapon to the side – you know, because four feet is hen this video calls itself the Worst Fight meaningless if your enemy is undefended.

Scene Ever, it’s under exaggerating.

All the while the Gorn is making the funniest gurgling The scene comes from the original season and hissing noises, while his face (mask) flops around of Star Trek in an episode titled “Arena.” emotionless.

Essentially Captain Kirk It gets better. is stuck in the middle of a In an ever aggressive esdesert environment and for calation Kirk and the Gorn whatever reason has been embrace one another. forced to fight a reptilian Suffering for air, Kirk creature called a Gorn. cups his hands and claps This Gorn however is them on the Gorn’s ear the epitome of low budget holes. Classic. costuming.

Kirk then runs up a hill Apparently Gorns are and struggles to pick up a slow moving, rubber Styrofoam rock. He then skinned reptiles with an afhurls it at the Gorn and it finity for leather vests. bounces right off his leopThe fight begins simple ard print vest. enough. Both Kirk and the The Gorn then turns and Gorn are wielding sticks.

YOUTUBE picks up a massive rock This terrible fight scene results in unintenThe preposterous nature effortlessly and throws it tional comedy. of the fight begins as early straight forward. as five seconds into the The camera switches to scene.

Kirk only to have the rock fall from above, so presumFor no apparent reason Kirk throws his stick to the ably the rock traveled in an parabolic trajectory. side leaving him weaponless against the Gorn with a Nimbly, Kirk is able to dodge the massive rock and branch of a stick. duck out.

What makes this fighting so bad is the speed at which All in all this video is a side splitter. it happens. In one long sweeping stoke the Gorn swings The acting is so bad it’s good making it one of the his branch, Kirk ducks, and the top forth of the branch best videos of the month.

W

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.

iPhone App of the Month

Trainyard

BY GARY NIELSEN

Jeweled feather earrings --- $10.00

Stud earrings at Juicy Couture--- $45.00

Compiled by Jamie Cologna Gazette photos /Jamie Cologna

P

gnielsen.gazette@gmail.com

uzzle games are great for making you think, but this month’s app takes something other puzzle games lack.

Trainyard is a sandbox puzzle game in which the user must draw tracks from outlet stations, marked with a plus pattern, to goal stations with a circle on them.

What sets this puzzle game apart is that the entire puzzle is created by the user.

All that is provided in this game are an array of outlet and goal stations of different colors. Each level is a grid to which there is no limitation as to how many tracks can be drawn.

One of the major ripples in this game which make it a blast is the fact that when trains collide via fused tracks from separate outlet stations a new train is created that is a combination of those two colors.

For example if there is a yellow and blue outlet station but there is only one goal station, but it’s green, in order to complete the stage a green

train must finish in the green goal station.

To do this simply draw tracks of the same length, because trains travel at the same speed, into one another then route them to the green goal station. Yellow and blue make green, green train goes into the green goal station, T rainya GOOGLE level complete! both cha rd is a puzzle a pp that is llenging Some of the most fun levels and time wasting are called Rainbow Levels. .

For these levels there are For sometimes even eight different colors this the trains must be that have to all be accounted for in looped and collide until there is only the end. one of the desirable trains.

The outlet stations and the goal For example if there are four green stations of each color aren’t directly trains but only one green goal station across from each other either so tracks must be drawn so that no trains tracks must be drawn in such a way that either a color is created by collid- crash but only one train makes it to the end. ing trains to form one that is needed, Even more fun is the scissor station or tacks or woven around one either and staggered so that trains don’t cre- which will actually split a train into two trains. So, if there are six red goal ate unwanted colors. stations but only one red train, trains The game at advanced levels gets must be fed through the scissor staeven better than that.

Each goal station can only hold one tion then routed to each of the goals.

This game is pure ingenuity and train, but there are some outlet staquite frankly hard to put down. tions that spit out multiple trains.

May 2011

Page 7

Trendy.

Fashion Followers Junior high students get fashion inspiration from older generations

BY ARI BLACK

A

ablack.gazette@gmail.com

s times change, so does fashion. Throughout the years, younger generations have began to catch onto trends of older generations more so than in the past.

Typical brands such as Abercrombie and Hollister have been pushed out of today’s main styles, and have been replaced with more sophisticated and mature clothing.

In a society that is under constant pressure to have the best clothing, a question arises: are junior high girls beginning to adopt fashion ideas to keep up with “the in crowd,” or are the measures being taken for personal reflection of individualistic style?

Granite Bay High School Senior, Brie Shimada reflects back on what she had worn in her middle school days.

“I used to wear literally all Abercrombie, Shimada said. “I wore their catchy little t-shirts and skorts everyday, which is really embarrassing looking back on now.”

The considered styles of today consist of “crop tops that are off the shoulder, high waisted skirts, floral scarves, Fedoras, jeggings, combat boots, cute summer dresses with a jean jacket, tights, wedges, and all lace pieces such as dresses or shirts,” Shimada said. “Hair feathers are worn by girls all over campus as well.”

As she watches her younger sisters’ trends evolve, Brie notices the change of the styles from past to present.

“I think junior high fashion has become more sophisticated and a lot more similar to what girls in high school wear in comparison to the simple t-shirts and tanks we wore back then,” Shimada said.

Shimada believes the reasoning behind the evolvement is because junior high girls look up to the trends being set by high school students. They want to imitate that style.

Brie’s younger sister Kylie Shimada is a seventh grader at Cavitt Junior High School. Kylie believes the main style of the school consists of Toms, high waisted skirts, and floral summer dresses.

Kylie also notes that Abercrombie and Hollister are still prominent in junior high, however the store has toned down its advertising.

“The shirts are more based on the style such as v-necks, long sleeves, etc,” said Kylie.

Kylie believes her age group gets their style ideas out of admiration.

“I think girls in junior high get ideas from the high school students because we see them as role models and like how they dress,” Kylie said.

Kylie does not view the change as a positive thing for her grade.

“I think the increase in younger generations wearing mature clothing is kind of a bad thing because I think that the younger girls are trying to grow up faster,” Kylie said. “When they try to pull off the looks that high school girls wear, they end up looking as if they are trying too hard.”

Natalie Rhodes, an eighth grader at Cavitt Junior High School believes the change is both negative and positive.

“It shows that they are more in style and know what is trendy, but it is also a bad thing because they might

Seventh and eighth graders have replaced Hollister and Abercrombie with more sophisticated styles that mimic those of high school students. start to wear showier clothing or things that are inappropriate for their age,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes thinks that the internet is a main cause of the spreading trends.

“I do think we get some ideas from older girls because we see pictures on Facebook and get inspired by the cute styles or pieces of clothing, so we try and create our own replica of that outfit,” Rhodes said.

In middle school, Rhodes did not wear her current apparel consisting of bandeaus’, pencil skirts, designer jeans, and Rainbow Sandals. Back then, her closet was filled with Paul Frank shirts and hand me downs.

Rhodes acknowledges the difference between junior high and high school fashion.

“When you get to high school, you might start developing your own style and knowing what you like,” Rhodes said. “Opposed to junior high school students who shop at the popular stores and wear what is in style instead of creating their own unique one.”

Gazette photos /Rachael Vasquez

Loose fitting clothes, high waisted skirts and Toms have become staples in the wardrobes of Junior High Students.

Page 8

Fashion.

April 2011

Sunny Summer Styles Pack away jeans and sweatshirts and prepare to soak up the summer sun

BY SARAH BERTIN

sbertin.gazette@gmail.com

S

ummer is just around the corner and the weather is getting warmer and skirts are getting shorter. There is nothing better to do but lie out in your favorite new bikini and soak up all of the sun. This season’s hottest trends are sure to keep you cool even with the rising Temperature.

Gazette photo /Natalie Hassna/ Ari Black

Gazette photo /Sarah Bertin

May 2011

Covering up may be the last thing anyone wants to do over the summer, but sometimes the bikini needs a rest. Throw out those barely there cut-off shorts and start filling your closet with more light and airy fabrics. The fabric breathes so your skin doesn’t feel trapped. Long linen pants are great to throw on after the beach but can also be dressed up. The loose fitting, relaxed feel makes them look comfortable yet put together at the same time.

Page 9

Fashion.

Big sliver rings with gem detailing and layered bracelets are a nice addition to any summer look.

Classic styles like Ray Bans and Aviators are not only protective from harsh UV rays but are also a timeless look.

Staying with the relaxed vibe, try topping off an outfit with feather earrings.

Gladiators, flip flops and flats are the favored footwear for this Summer.

For tops stay loose and light and stick to the always comfortable crop tops and trapeze tops. Even if its something that is just thrown on, it gives you an instant boost in style and they look great on people of all shapes and sizes.

Summer dresses are probably the easiest thing to throw on after a long day at the pool or beach. Stick to short dresses opposed to the maxi dress with empire waists.

Make sure to experiment with color, you can never go wrong with a bold print or color.

Gazette photo /Natalie Hassna/ Ari Black/ Justin Bradley

Gazette photo /Sarah Bertin

Pages 10 and 11

May 2011

Hang.

Fourth of July in Lake Tahoe There are always tons of options for the Fourth of July, but this year head to South Lake Tahoe for some of the best fireworks displays. These firework shows are held on the lake, the amazing light show corresponds with music and is an awesome way to spend the holiday.

Fun in the Sun

San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival

Activities to make your summer a blast

BY JAMIE COLOGNA

jcologna.gazette@gmail.com

San Francisco Day Trip Gazette illustrations/ KATIE ZINGHEIM SHANNON WAGNER

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour in Wheatland at the Sleep Train Amphitheater on August 11 is the perfect way to spend a summer day listening to a multitude of different music. It includes rock, techno, hip hop, screamo, reggae and other genres. This year’s line up includes over 100 artists in a one-day span. So attendees can pick and choose their favorite bands and spend the day making their way from stage to stage.

Electric Daisy Carnival The Electric Daisy Carnival is one of the largest electronic music festivals. It spans over three days and features electronic DJ’s like Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

This event used to be held in Los Angeles but is moving to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 14 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. This music festival is full of crazy people who dress up in bright and eccentric costumes and show up to rave to their favorite house and techno music, and will be held on the 24 and 25 of June.

Carpool with friends to Discovery Kingdom and spend the day exploring the park. The park provides animal shows that feature killer whales, walruses, dolphins, tigers, sea lions, sharks and elephants. If animals aren’t providing enough excitement, get in line for some of the exciting roller coaster’s including fan favorites like Kong, Medusa, Vertical Velocity and Roar.

Folsom Lake One of the easiest things for everyone to do over the summer is spend a day at the lake. Bring a towel and sunscreen along with a skim board to spend the day at the beach. If you can find a friend with a boat, go out on the lake, swim and wakeboard.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 For all of the die-hard Potter fans, make a day out of the release of the final Harry Potter installment. Dress up as the best Hogwarts characters and wait outside for the midnight premiere with friends.

The movie opens July 15, with the midnight premiere the night before. Make sure to get tickets in advance, to guarantee you a seat.

There is always something to do in the city.

Explore places like Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square and Golden Gate Park while riding around on cable cars and seeing places like Lombard street, Chinatown and the Golden Gate Bridge. It is the perfect daytime destination for anyone looking to see the city, eat amazing food and possibly getting a little bit of shopping in Union Square.

Outside Lands is a music festival that has been held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park since 2008. The festival is well known for supporting the green movement by making the festival eco-friendly. The festival spans over two days and features over 50 artists over a multitude of different stages.

This summer some of the artists will include Muse, Arcade Fire, Deadmau5, The Shins, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, Sia, Collie Buddz, The Vaccines and dozens of others.

The concert will take place on August 12-14.

Page 12

May 2011

Enjoy.

Do It Yourself: T-Shirt Surgery

BY HALEY MASSARA

hmassara.gazette@gmail.com

A

re you dwarfed by your class shirt? Wish that cool concert t-shirt actually fit? Sick of all your old, oversized or boring t-shirts?

With a little t-shirt surgery, that back-of-the-closet eyesore can become a stylish, fitted, unique work of art. It’s like getting a whole new wardrobe for free.

Best of all, none of these tutorials require sewing – just a t-shirt, a pair of scissors, and some creativity.

How to make a big shirt smaller:

Try on your shirt to see how much you’ll need to resize it. Tighten it to your body by grabbing handfuls of fabric from the back and/or sides.

Lay your shirt out flat, and make a series of cuts up one side. You should leave about an inch of fabric between cuts, so that the side of your shirt looks like a hula skirt. The deeper you cut, the tighter your shirt will be.

Alternately, you can make the cuts going up the back of the shirt, instead of on one side, for a cool spinal effect.

Once you’ve made your cuts, go through and cut each loop of fabric.

Then, tie the ends of the loop together, pulling snugly. Double-knot to keep your shirt from coming apart.

When you’re done, you’ll have a knotted-up shirt that should fit you like a glove!

T-shirt surgery isn’t an exact science, but no need to fear. If your shirt comes out too tight, simply stretch it by yanking hard on the knots. If your shirt is still too large, repeat the above process on the opposite side, or on the back.

How to braid a shirt:

Start by making a series of long horizontal cuts where you want to braid.

(Lots of people braid down the backs of shirts, but small patches of braiding at the ribs or shoulders can look fantastic, too.)

After you make your desired number of cuts, take each strip of fabric and stretch it out with your hands, so that it curls in on itself and becomes more string-like. Then continue to braid the pieces.

Tie off the braided section by cutting the last loop in half and tying the ends.

When you’re done, you should have a loose pattern woven in your shirt.

Double braid for extra knotty goodness!

How to add some personality To a boring shirt:

To quickly give a shirt a bit of an edge, simply cut out the neckline.

Once you’ve tightened a shirt, you can make a sporty tank top by cutting off the sleeves at the hems. For thinner sleeves, cut out the t-shirt neck and use it to tighten the sleeves.

Random, strategically placed rips and cuts can do wonders for a boring shirt. For a punk look, make large rips and safety pin the edges back together.

(Just make sure to wear something underneath!)

Cut fringe out of the bottom or sleeves of a shirt, and tie plastic pony beads onto the ends for a hippie-chic look. This works especially well with patterns of beads, like rasta colors or stripes.

Cut out a large section of the back of a t-shirt, and snip pairs of small holes running up each cut-out side. Run a ribbon through the holes, and you’ve got an instant, comfy corset.

For more complicated surgeries, try searching Youtube, or looking up dedicated DIY craft sites, like cutoutandkeep.net.

Gazette photo /HaLEY MASSARA

Making t-shirts more unique is simple as long as you have the right tools.

Alexa Wolf

BY ALEX PINK

A

Gazette photos /Rachael Vasquez

Senior, Alexa Wolf has been in the art program at Granite Bay High School since she was a sophomore and has been involved every year since.

apink.gazette@gmail.com

lexa Wolf, a current senior at Granite Bay High School, had always been intrigued by art.

“Freshman year, when I saw older students carrying their art around, it inspired me to want to be able to do that too,” Wolf said.

Her simple curiosity later turned into a reality.

Wolf began her art career her sophomore year and since then, she has devoted the past three years to the many art electives Granite Bay High School has to offer.

Currently enrolled in AP studio art, Wolf has greatly appreciated her journey through the challenging art classes, especially because of GBHS’s art instructor, Myron Stephens.

“Stephens always tells us how well we can do and that we can all succeed,” Wolf said, “it has made me want to keep working hard and continue through all the classes.”

Due to Stephens encouragement, Wolf continued art and was able to distin-

guish an artistic style that makes her unique.

Her artistic style merely depends on her daily attitude and the animated world around her.

“What I paint depends on my mood,” Wolf said, “but I really like pop art, street art and some graffiti.”

Edgy art style may be the general way to describe her work, but Wolf’s paintings have deeper meanings behind them as well.

“I like to incorporate things that are going on in my life (into my art),” Wolf said, “as well as stories (about my life) and my inspirations.”

She has displayed her art in a few galleries’, including Blue Line Gallery in Roseville and Lumens Lights and Living in midtown Sacramento.

“I have always wanted to display my art to the public,” Wolf said, “it has been a great opportunity.”

As for the future, Wolf plans on continuing art in college by taking few classes to continue her profound passion but simply as a sense of enjoyment. “(I just want to) keep painting as a hobby…and enjoy it.”

May 2011

NJoyogurt 3988 Douglas Blvd Suite 130 Roseville

Page 13

Yogurt.

With a really cool vibe and hip design, NJoyogurt sports an orange and blue color scheme and exciting environment. Located in the Safeway shopping center, the shop offers six frozen yogurt flavors that change once a month like white vanilla and red velvet cake – and with the abundant toppings bar, the options are limitless. So grab a pink or orange cup and fill up!

Feeling in a creamier mood? Try some of NJoyogurt’s many flavors of gelato in a waffle cone.

It’s the perfect afternoon treat.

Fro-Yo

The Gazette’s Shannon Wagner reviews local frozenyogurt favorites

Nuyo No more than a ten minute walk from school, Nuyo is an easily accessible option for an after class snack.

It offers self-serve frozen yogurt and a sleek counter full of sprinkles, candy, fruit and syrups that can satisfy any toppings lover’s desires.

Take it to go, or stay and watch entertaining music videos that play on the television screens throughout the store.

1821 Douglas Blvd Roseville

9213 Sierra College BLVD. Roseville

Honey Treat Since 1983, Honey Treat has sweetened up Roseville with its frozen yogurt.

With an old-fashion candy bar feel, customers immediately get the sense of being welcome upon entering. Along with the traditional cone, Honey Treat also sells packaged candy and fresh-baked cookies.

Sit and enjoy your sugary goods, and maybe even play a game of Pac-Man on the few video game machines.

Freshberry About three miles from the GBHS campus, Freshberry boasts a clean, modern feel and a new take on yogurt.

Located in the Rocky Ridge shopping center, the store serves a select few flavors that change once or twice a week with a wide variety of fruits and candies to top it all off.

The management is very friendly, and the atmosphere is inviting and fun. It’s a great place to sit down with a new book from Borders and indulge in some creamy delights!

2030 Douglas Blvd #16 Roseville

Gelayo

8789 Auburn Folsom Rd Granite Bay

With unusual flavors such as pink ginger lemonade, Gelayo offers some choices that are truly unique.

The store, which can be found on Auburn Folsom road, is a really comfortable place to sit and relax, as the décor offers multiple chairs and seating arrangements for conversation and eating.

Gazette photos /MAGGIE LOUIS

Eat.

Page 14

May 2011

Dominick’s Italian Market & Deli

BY SAHIL KHOSLA

skhosla.gazette@gmail.com

F

or eight years Dominick and Raquel Bellizzi have striven to provide a restaurant that both gives customers exceptional quality and follows in the Italian tradition of first-name friendliness with Dominick’s Italian Market and Deli.

As I entered the restaurant its cozy atmosphere and quaint styling made for a comfortable and enjoyable dining experience.

I’ve sampled several dishes at the trattoria, what they call their dine-in restaurant, all of which have been simply delectable and made for an excellent meal.

The New York style pizza is simply scrumptious, with a crispy thin crust and the right amount

of chewiness that accentuates the toothsome ingredients.

I loved the Veggie Pizza, which is layered with black olives, mushrooms, crispy onions, peppers, spinach and ripe tomatoes.

This made for a picturesque visual, a heavenly aroma that will make your mouth water and a flavorsome meal.

The Manhattan pizza is another style, which pairs sausage with mushrooms, onion and peppers.

Additionally, the calzones follow in the wondrous taste and appeal of the pizza, all of which arrive piping hot after being baked in the stone oven.

Of course Dominick’s wouldn’t be a true Italian eatery without a fine selection of pastas.

I really enjoy angel hair pasta so the Capellini Alla Campagna was the perfect choice. It consists of angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and basil.

It’s a very simple and savory dish combining the subtle notes of the olive oil with the bold notes and ripeness of the tomatoes to complement.

The food will leave you with a pleasant feeling that will satisfy your Italian cravings, without emptying your wallet as the pricing is fair, a principle by which Dominick strongly abides at his restaurant.

Moreover, the portions can be large, making a filling meal for even the most voracious eaters, but the quality is certainly not sacrificed in doing so.

The service was great; my sever was very amicable and inviting, which made the experience even more amusing. Additionally they always checked in and the food was brought in a timely manner.

My trip to Dominick’s certainly left me in foodiebliss after indulging in a delicious Italian meal. I definitely recommend trying out the trattoria and browsing through some of the Italian imported goods in the market. Dominick’s Italian Market & Deli serves quality food in a warm and friendly atmosphere, leaving customers with their Italian food cravings satisfied.

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Lolita’s Authentic Mexican Cuisine

BY MATT VENEMAN

mveneman.gazette@gmail.com

I

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

Lolita’s Authentic Mexican Cuisine provides an array of authentic Mexican dishes at reasonable prices.

n a society dominated by fast food and cheap impersonations of different cultures’ foods, authentic cuisine is sometimes hard to come

by.

There is however, one restaurant that stands out in my opinion for authentic Mexican food: Lolita’s Authentic Mexican Cuisine.

Lolita’s is located in Folsom, but is only a few miles from the heart of Granite Bay. As we walked in we were greeted by friendly employees and were told we could sit anywhere we pleased.

I was instantly impressed by the relaxed family atmosphere in the restaurant.

Only a few minutes after we were seated, the bus boy brought us fresh chips and salsa – both medium and hot – and waters for all of us.

I found myself eating the chips and unable to stop, for they were delicious and stayed warm and fresh.

The menu was extensive and full of variety. Any traditional Mexican food one could think of was on the menu, and all were very reasonably priced.

Because of all the choices, it took me several minutes to narrow down my choices. I decided to order from the ‘à la carte’ portion of the menu to satisfy my cravings. I ordered two crunchy tacos and a meat and cheese burrito.

To me, it seemed that the ‘à la carte’ menu had

the most variety and was the best priced of any of the meals. Any single item was on that menu. The only downside was that the items were not served with rice and beans. For that, customers need to order off the regular menu.

My parents both ordered entrées.

After a short wait our food arrived, piping hot.

My dad ordered a two-item combination plate which included a pork tamale and a chicken enchilada. Both the tamale and the enchilada were stuffed full of flavorful meat and spices. Each item came with a special sauce that added an additional dimension to the platter. My dad was more than full when he finished his dinner.

My tacos were excellent – homemade crunchy shells filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato. My burrito consisted of beef and cheese and was served hot with melted cheese.

My mom also ordered a taco as part of her combination plate. Like mine, the shell was freshly made and the fillings substantial. To complete her dish, she ordered a cheese enchilada.

Although rather small, the tortilla-wrapped treat was made specially with the delicious “traditional” red sauce that was drizzled over the top of the enchilada.

Overall, I was very impressed with the authenticity of the food as well as the ambience of the restaurant. I felt as if I could be in Mexico enjoying my delicious food.

As we walked out of the restaurant, about five amiable employees said thank you and told us to come again soon. And I can assure you, we will.

May 2011

Page 15

Eat.

Dos Coyotes

BY ALLISON GARVEY agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

I

entered the spacious restaurant at around three in the afternoon, which was obviously downtime for the restaurant.

At the front lobby was a sign asking customers to please order before claiming a table, but the group I was with needed to set their things down so we quickly grabbed a larger table without any problems and went up the counter to order.

I looked through the menu above the cash registers, and noticed they had quite a variety of options available, from fish tacos to enchiladas.

A friend and I decided to share a simple chicken quesadilla, a side of chips, and we got small fountain drinks, which came to about 15 dollars for the both of us.

It was nice to be able to pay for my food upfront, which allowed me to leave whenever I needed to instead of being chained to the table waiting for a waiter to pick up the check.

The cashier, while not incredibly friendly, was cordial enough.

He quickly finished up our order, filled two glasses with ice, handed me a large basket of chips and gave us a number to set on the table.

I then spent a few moments looking around for where I was supposed to fill up my glass, and found myself aimlessly standing by the table until one of my friends told me the drinks were in the back corner of the restaurant.

I filled my cup with sprite and went back to our table, where I plopped down onto a cold, uncomfortable wooden chair, and began to snack on my chips which tasted more like uncooked corn meal.

With no salt or napkins on the table, I found myself getting up quite a few times throughout the meal to find things which I assumed would be provided for a customer at a restaurant, or at the very minimum that I wouldn’t have to search around for.

Things weren’t looking very good for Dos Coyotes, and it was only about seven minutes in.

And then the main course came.

European Bakery & Deli mainly the basics: bagels, cinnamon rolls, scones and pastries. There were also a few ready-made pastas. Upon request, salads and other lunch items idden away just past the Safe- can be made as well. way complex on Sierra ColI decided to try a cheese bagel with lege Boulevard, the European plain cream cheese, while my friend Bakery & Deli often goes unnoticed. ordered a cinnamon roll. At about $2 Because most of the surrounding each, we felt they were well-priced. shops in the complex have gone unMy friend found her cinnamon roll der, the area is not exactly a center of to be very flavorful and filling with attraction. its powerful cinnamon taste. HowUpon entering, I noticed just that ever, it could have lightened up a bit – it was 11 on the frosting. a.m., and My cheese there were bagel with plain no customers cream cheese besides one was also made couple that well, with the had just left. cheese on the As a familybagel packing a owned busipunch in every ness with all bite. Although, home-made I wasn’t sure it items, the was any more bakery had a special than cozy feeling your generic, The European Bakery & Deli is a good to it. There factory-made place for a quick snack, but lacks variety. were a few cheese bagel couches in with cream the corner and a few vines hung all cheese. But for $2, and considering over the walls for additional decorathat it was fresh and homemade, I tion. wasn’t complaining.

As my friend and I scanned the opOverall, the European Bakery & tions, we noticed that there wasn’t Deli seems a good place to stop by much to choose from. The owner for a quick breakfast or brunch, or mentioned that a previous customer when looking for a low-priced snack. bought a lot of stuff for a party, but I But if in search of higher quality and still felt it was a little too scarce for if willing to pay a little more for it, I only 11 a.m. would stick to the more popular bakThe baked goods consisted of eries out there.

Baja Fresh

BY SONIA IYER

BY SAMANTHA SPARGO

siyer.gazette@gmail.com

H

Gazette photo /MAGGIE LOUIS

A server came out with a good sized chicken quesadilla with guacamole and sour cream, pre-cut into six slices, which was perfect for me and my friend to share.

The quesadilla was steaming, and the cheese pulled apart beautifully as I took my first bite – suddenly the chair didn’t seem as uncomfortable.

The tortilla was crispy and there was the perfect balance of chicken to cheese, without it being too oily or too heavy.

The chicken tasted charbroiled, it was crispy on the outside and juicy inside, and had a nice smoky flavor from the in-house grill.

My friend and I quickly finished our halves of the meal, and I was surprised by how filling I found the meal, having split it with another person.

Since we had already paid, we were free to sit and talk at our table for a little while and leave as we pleased.

Overall, if you’re willing to do a bit more work for your meal than in a traditional sit-down restaurant, but are looking for filling, tasty main entrees without spending a fortune, Dos Coyotes is a great bet.

sspargo.gazette@gmail.com

B

aja Fresh Mexican Grill has been around for a long time: I remember dining at the eatery with my family as a kid. It has weathered the tough financial times that at one point took down many of the stores surrounding it.

The dining space is clean, the décor is simple, and the floor plan is open.

It would be easy to seat a sizeable group in the large dining area that features both bar and dining height tables.

A continuous track of cheery Spanish music is played pleasantly over the restaurant’s surround sound speakers and the temperature in the restaurant is always cool, even in the dead of summer.

When I walked in, there was no line. One downside to Baja Fresh in comparison to other Mexican fast food eateries in the area is that the food is not prepared as you order, which means extra time wasted waiting. I’ve had it take as little as five and as many as twenty minutes for my food to be ready.

Baja Fresh’s menu is extensive and filled with lots of fresh yummy options. And unlike Chipotle, they serve fish. Shrimp, Mahi Mahi, and breaded fish options can all be found on the menu as well as chicken, steak and carnitas. They serve burritos, taquitos, salads, tacos, quesadillas, soups, nachos and fajitas, and they

have special meals for kids.

After scanning the menu, I chose to order the grilled Mahi Mahi fish taco. I was impressed to find out that avocado was included in my taco at no extra charge, a rarity in fast food fare.

Initially I was worried that the taco would have a sharp, fishy taste, but my fear was unfounded. The taco actually didn’t have much flavor, which I chalk up to the fact that Mahi Mahi fish meat is generally bland.

The flavor in most of Baja Fresh’s foods comes from fresh ingredients, rather than spices or sauces.

Baja Fresh has an extensive salsa bar with salsa options that run the Scoville scale. Salsa is the main condiment used to add varying levels of flavor and spice to the restaurant’s foods.

My taco came with chips, which were excellent and had just the right amount of salt. I ate them with the always fresh pico de gallo salsa from the salsa bar. I even took the chips I couldn’t finish and a small to-go container of salsa home to enjoy later.

Baja Fresh’s menu items are inexpensive. Its prices and menu are similar to those of Chipotle or Costa Vida.

I was able to purchase my taco snack, which came with chips and unlimited access to the salsa bar, for a cool three dollars and change. For an after school snack, it was filling.

One taco, though, would not have been sufficient for a meal.

Page 16

May 2011

Lake.

Lots and Lots o’ Lakes Pick and choose from Nor Cal’s finest

BY R. SLATER MCLAUGHLIN rmclaughlin.gazette@gmail.com

Folsom Lake

Gazette photo/JON SETIAWAN

M

ost Granite Bay High School students spend the majority of their water time at Folsom Lake, or Folsom Lake State Recreation Area as it is more formally known.

Folsom offers the outdoor enthusiast bike trails, equestrian trails, camp sites and many other facilities

in addition to being open to boats.

Boating at Folsom Lake is very popular, and the launch facilities are numerous and were built with large crowds in mind.

Granite Bay beach is a major attraction at Folsom and in addition to being one of the nicest beaches, Granite Bay has facilities that include snacks, equipment rentals, picnic areas and barbecue pits.

Beal point is also popular, but everything at Folsom, including the recreation sites, are at the mercy of the water level, which fluctuates greatly.

When completely full, Folsom looks like any other lake but when the water level is low it resembles more of a muddy puddle.

Wind also presents a problem in Folsom, as the main area of the reservoir is unprotected and the water often becomes unbearably rough.

This would not be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that most of the calmer, well-protected forks are very narrow and become difficult to navigate when the lake is busy.

Folsom’s ultimate allure is its accessibility, and being such a short drive from Granite Bay and with very high quality facilities for beach-goers and boaters alike.

Lake Oroville L

ake Oroville is about two hours away (North on Highway 65 to Highway 70 North) and offers one of the best lake experiences in the area.

Oroville has a large main body with three main forks, and most visitors approaching Oroville from the south will be serviced by Bidwell Marina, as Lime Saddle

Marina is much farther to the north.

Lake Oroville State Recreation Area offers trails and campsites but its main attractions are on the water as beach space is limited.

Lake Oroville offers floating campgrounds (officially called “Boat-in Camps”), which are small floating structures that offer bathrooms and kitchen facilities and can easily accommodate several boats. Houseboating is a major part of the recreational experience on Lake Oroville, and Bidwell Marina offers boat as well as houseboat rentals.

Compared to Folsom Lake, Lake Oroville is bigger on every scale, with the exception of the crowds. The main body is much bigger than Folsom Lake’s and the water is just as rough as Folsom’s, but the forks are much wider and easier to navigate.

Courtesy photo/MIKE BELL

Lake Oroville also handles water level fluctuation much better due to its depth.

Lake Oroville is similar to but better than Folsom Lake in most ways, with the exceptions of convenience and beach access.

Lake Natoma

C

Gazette photo/JON SETIAWAN

reated by the Nimbus Dam, Lake Natoma serves as a regulating reservoir for water releases from Folsom Lake.

Located just south of Folsom Lake, Lake Natoma stretches along Highway 50 and Folsom Road and is a short distance away from Granite Bay. Lake Natoma is accessible to boats, but the speed limit is limited to five miles per hour.

Fishing is popular at Lake Natoma, and it is known for large Rainbow Trout, due in some part to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery which is on the lake.

The Sacramento State Aquatic Center is located on Lake Natoma and offers many aquatic facilities, which offer everything from kayak rentals to beach reservations.

A huge attraction of Lake Natoma is that it is perfectly suited for rowing teams. Lake Natoma has hosted large collegiate tournaments and several large rowing clubs are based at the lake.

While Lake Natoma doesn’t offer the same experience compared to Oroville or Folsom for boating, its beach facilities and other activities will cater to the more physically active lake-goers.

May 2011

Summer.

Page 17

Home for the Summer Fill even the idlest of summer days with these exciting activities

BY ALLISON GARVEY

agarvey.gazette@gmail.com

S

ummer: the time for relaxation and fun, vacations and spending time with friends.

Stressors which weigh on Granite Bay High students like tests, homework and lack of sleep melt away and are replaced with the easygoing, carefree days of summertime.

Students can watch movies and eat popcorn, stay up with their friends to watch the sunrise; the list of summertime activities goes on and on.

The only dark cloud which seems to threaten these almost idyllic few months is boredom, sitting idle by as the days of summer roll by.

In truth, there are many ways which students can spend their break which make every day seem like the best day of summer.

Backyard Camping It’s no longer just the cliché phrase which adults whip out when kids say they’re bored during the summer; there really are some ways to have an awesome time, right in your own backyard.

One of the most unique ways to do this is to turn a normal backyard into a campsite for the night.

Get together with a group of friends, set up tents or forts in the backyard, and spend the night re-creating a traditional camping trip within a few feet of your house.

This form of non-traditional camping makes it easy to bring the best aspects of a camping trip to you, without getting attacked by mosquitoes and other bugs which delight in making campers uncomfortable.

For senior Carina Fiorenza, it’s a great way to do something different with friends without the hassle of finding a campsite.

“It’s way more fun to set up a tent and stuff in your backyard than having to drive out to a campsite you have to share with a ton of people,” Fiorenza said.

If you own a fire pit, pull out the smores supplies and spent the night gathered around the fire roasting marshmallows and telling stories. It’s surprising how much fun can be had in your own backyard.

Poolside Day Spending an afternoon by the pool seems to be the quintessential summer activity, and unfortunately that means it can get boring quickly.

However, with a few creative twists an afternoon by the pool can make for a perfect summer day.

To make your day more unique, get supplies to make refreshing snacks for yourself and friends.

Look up a recipe for instant dry-ice ice cream, which can be made pretty easily in a Ziploc bag, and if nothing else is definitely a good time to make. Or, buy snow cone flavoring and shaved ice to have a slew of delicious snacks that will cool down the hundred degree days.

If nothing else, spending a day outside by the pool is a great way to spend time with the people in your life in a relaxed and fun setting.

“We sit outside and my mom makes piña coladas, and I have friends over for a barbeque,” senior Emily Tate said.

“I love just reading magazines, listening to music, spending time with friends and family.”

Hiking & Biking With gas being close to 5 dollars per gallon, the prospect of hopping in the car and driving a few hours for a short summer road trip suddenly isn’t as appealing as it once was.

Luckily, there are dozens of biking and hiking trails within a reasonable distance that make for an entertaining day and a great way to get outside to enjoy the summer sun.

There are many different bike trails around the Granite Bay/ Roseville area, but there are few that are more beautiful than the trails available by Folsom Lake.

Drive the short distance to Cavitt Jr. High, walk up the trail in the back of the school to the levy trail at the top and enjoy and afternoon biking around with friends or family.

“There are a lot of great bike trails by the lake,” senior Lauren McAvoy said.

“It’s so amazing to be biking and look out at the view of the lake all around you, it’s so much better than an ordinary bike trail,” McAvoy said.

The trail is about 2 miles both ways, bike as far or as short as you’d like, and enjoy some of the best views that the Granite Bay area has to offer.

Gazette photo /JON SETIAWAN

Page 18

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May 2011

Film.

Paramount PICTURES

B

20th century fox

P

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

Rated: PG-13

Rated: PG-13

Rated: PG

By: R. Slater McLaughlin rsmclaughlin.gazette@gmail.com

By: Austin Downs adowns.gazette@gmail.com

By: Shannon Wagner swagner.gazette@gmail.com

prom: C

rom. It’s just one of those life events that Hollywood seems to thrive on to make its annual quota of movies relatable to the American public.

And this year, it was Disney’s turn.

Main character Nova Prescott (and really, did the producers need to emphasize her brilliancy and star power with such a name?) is the archetype of a good student: class president, head of the prom committee and heading to Georgetown on a scholarship in the fall.

But when the decorations for her perfectly planned school dance get ruined, Principal Dunnan appoints Jesse Richter, the disciplinary nightmare who is straddling suspension for cutting class so many times, to help her rebuild – much to Nova’s dismay.

It’s the story of the good girl who falls for the brooding, leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycleriding bad boy; but since it’s a Disney film, he can’t really be a bad boy – he’s just “misunderstood.” Nova, unlike everyone else, can see past his façade and through an unlikely friendship is able to bring out the best in him.

So cliché.

Not only that, but there is a minor plot line that follows the overlapping love triangles between the macho senior lacrosse star Tyler; his long time girlfriend, Jordan; Simone, the girl Tyler is cheating on Jordan with; and the sophomore JV lacrosse player, Lucas, who has a crush on Simone.

But cheaters never prosper in the world of Disney, as Tyler is left alone on the dance floor with no girlfriend and no back up date after Jordan breaks up with him and Simone leaves him for Lucas in a myriad of independent womenempowering scenes.

However one thing that Disney did accomplish rather successfully was a modern sound track compiled by Hollywood Records. The movie used songs from artists like Naked and Famous and Neon Trees to appeal to a current high school audience – one such appeal that didn’t fall short of my standards.

So when it’s all said and done, Prom was incredibly predictable, but the film’s lack of originality added to an unintended comedy that accompanied the ridiculously clichéd characters and situations – making it almost worth watching.

water for elephants: B-

efore I begin, I must first point out that I found it extremely ironic how Robert Patterson, famous for his role as Edward in Twilight, played a main role in this movie with the name of... Jacob.

Aside from name irony, Water for Elephants is a slightly better than average romance that this time, uses a 1931 traveling circus as its setting.

Nevertheless, I found that this movie is definitely worth the ticket price, except for a few minor plot issues here and there.

To start with the positives, I absolutely love the scenery and the way the movie was presented in a very authentic early 20th century America.

From start to finish, the movie maintained a feeling of hard economic times as the country was in the midst of the Great Depression.

Not only that, but the variety of different characters in the movie was better than any movie I have previously seen. Each of the characters, when you put all of them together, come together to give a unique blend to ranging characters from an abusive ring master, to a beautiful and kind horse charmer, all the way to a thoughtful performing dwarf.

As for the romance, I felt that it was nothing special in terms of depth and the conflict. Like any other romance movie, the conflict follows a similar pattern: handsome boy appears in a setting where a troubled female is present. The two then fall in love, but no romance movie is complete without an angry third party. So put those things all together and you have the romance in Water for Elephants.

What baffled me from the very beginning of the film is just how quickly the circus people adapted to Jacob, in the middle of the night, hopping onto their train.

Instead of kicking him off, they simply invite him to stay and he immediately fits in.

And then when Jacob has to go to the circus ringer, August Rosenbluth (Christoph Waltz), who at first is very angry at the fact that Jacob was given food and shelter without his knowing, he allows Jacob to stay on the condition that he must heal an injured show horse since he studied to be a veterinarian at Cornell University. But the very next day, Jacob than shoots the horse he was told to heal. Confusing... I know.

I guess I’m rambling on too much. The movie doesn’t disappoint, but it also doesn’t exceed your expectations of a great film.

thor: B

here have been many mighty comic book superhero revivals in movies over the last decade or so with Spiderman, Batman, X-Men and so on – but how could any of these heroes hold a candle to a full-blown god?

Based on the Marvel comic of the same name, Thor brings the eponymous hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder to the big screen.

The plot of the movie more or less follows its comic book predecessor; picking up when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is exiled to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) from the kingdom of Asgard after his hubris has endangered the people.

At the same time on Earth, unconventional scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is investigating cosmic anomalies when she finds Thor in the desert, stripped of his powers and more closely resembling a bum with illusions of grandeur than a god.

Thor’s nearly two hour run contains everything from family feuds to diplomacy to government coverups and love. One of the movie’s most fantastic performances comes from Tom Hiddleston, who portrays Thor’s brother, Loki, in a role from which he drew inspiration from King Lear’s Edmund.

Thor is of course tied in with the whole Marvel comic universe, with references made to SHIELD and Tony Stark, but while the movie draws so much from its comic book roots, it is also let down by it.

As I am caught up in the mythological Norse roots of Thor, my immersion was broken by the fact that one of Thor’s companions isn’t a fellow hammer swinging Viking, but is instead a ninja.

The immersion-breaking culprit is Hogun, a member of the Warriors Three, who are central to the comic.

While staying true to the base material is noble, it felt very strange to see a Japanese warrior in the midst of a Norse tale.

With the exception of this almost comical peculiarity, Thor is one of the best comic book films in a long time.

The action – while surprisingly sparse – is awesome.

Thor’s fighting prowess is terrifying as he wields his mythical hammer, Mjolnir and the battle scenes have a symbiotic relationship with the plot. Nothing feels forced and there are no weak ends tied together with explosion filled car chases.

The acting is strong, and Hemsworth’s godlike good looks and body make him a believable Thor and Portman and Hopkins anchor the film with their talent.

Thor’s big-budget thrills are combined with strong acting and a surprising amount of character development to create a compelling movie that is worth the time and money.

May 2011

P

Page 19

Film.

warner bros. PICTURES

I

Screen gems

I

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Rated: PG-13

Rated: PG-13

By: Katie Zingheim kzingheim.gazette@gmail.com

By: Kyle Pawlak kpawlak.gazette@gmail.com

By: Moosa Zaidi mzaidi.gazette@gmail.com

fast five: B-

Rated: PG-13

priest: B

walked into the movie theatre expecting a solid, but not incredible, movie– and that’s exactly what I got.

The movie is set in a slightly futuristic world where humans and vampires have battled for centuries.

After wreaking havoc upon one another for all this time on top of destroying vast sections of earth, the humans have finally found a weapon capable of defeating the vampires: Priests– who, of course, fight with their hands (because firearms would make it too easy and less entertaining).

With the vampires defeated and placed on reservations, the Church now rules supreme over the lives of the people who live in the walled cities. The only humans outside of their jurisdiction live in outposts in the middle of nowhere.

The main character, a priest without a job, finds out that his niece has been taken by vampires, yet when he asks the Church for permission to go after her, the clergy members deny it and force him to go against their will to save his kin.

With this interesting and slightly promising premise, the movie then proceeds to engage in a series of fights against vampires, motor bike rides across deserts, and scenes where the stereotypical evil boss talks to Priest’s niece.

Throughout the movie the viewer gains more insight into the sacrifices Priest has made, and while the man himself is a static character, the viewers’ perception of him changes.

Despite the usual movie go-to’s (explosions, hand-to-hand final battle between two super powered guys and a reunion) the movie is still engaging because it used these in moderation, rather than using repetitive action sequences to drive the story.

Finally, I really appreciated the restraint of the movie makers when it came to the action.

Unlike plenty of other movies I’ve seen, the fights were kept to a decent length.

something borrowed: A-

ut simply, Something Borrowed is a slightly above-average romantic comedy.

Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson and John Krasinski, the film was delightfully less predictable than I had expected.

After seeing the previews for Something Borrowed, I was pretty certain how the movie would go– girl is in love with a guy who loves her best friend; in the end she falls in love with her guy friend and realizes she never really loved the first guy in the process.

The relationships were realistically complex, with several plot turns that actually left me wondering what would happen.

At times, it seemed that characterization was sacrificed for humor, and while it did make for a truly funny film, a few of the main characters were cliché and often obnoxious.

Hudson played Darcy, the stereotypically selfish and dramatic best friend. She played the character well, I suppose, but really added nothing to the film but an annoyance for the main character Rachel, played by Goodwin.

What made the movie was the chemistry between Rachel and the two male leads, Dex (the incredibly attractive Colin Egglesfield) and Ethan (the everadorable Krasinski).

What resulted from the love quadrangle was a nice combination of the emotional roller coaster you look for from a chick-flick and an actually thought provoking and entertaining movie.

Each time I thought to myself, “Oh, so those people are going to end up together and that’s how it’s going to end,” I was proven wrong by another surprising –but believable– plot twist.

There were several back stories woven throughout the film, adding subtleties to the relationships and motivations of the various characters.

Something Borrowed is the movie version of a novel by the same name, and this was evident in the true complexity of the plot. This was both a positive and negative thing, for while I enjoyed the multifaceted emotional journeys the main characters went on, I was often left feeling like various sub-plots and bits of information were either stuck in last minute or disappointingly under-developed.

The end of the movie was satisfyingly bittersweet, and after the credits we see what appears to be the set-up for a sequel.

While the story line alone didn’t exactly leave me dying for more, I grew attached enough to Rachel, Dex and Ethan that I will certainly see the sequel to see where they all end up.

f you expect an exciting action-packed film when watching Fast Five, you will not be disappointed.

The movie takes place after Fast and Furious (the fourth movie) but before The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, beginning with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) being taken away to prison when a group of racing cars crash the bus and help him escape.

Eventually, Toretto is reunited with his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), her boyfriend Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and friend Vince.

Mia, Vince and Brain have all fled to Brazil to escape U.S. authorities.

Vince who has been there longest has established relations with local gangsters in Rio de Janeiro. He secures the team a job stealing cars from a moving freight train.

However, cooperation with the gangsters goes awry, so Mia and Brian decide to steal money from the head of crime in Rio for revenge.

But there are a few little problems that make their plan more than just a drive in the park. The man they want to steal from happens to be the most powerful man in the city and in control of both sides of the law.

Meanwhile the team of fugitives is being hunted by the supposedly most formidable of U.S. law enforcement officers: Diplomatic Security Service Officer Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).

To help them in the heist Dominic and Brian call up all their friends from the previous movie.

For someone such as me who had only seen the first movie prior to this one, some of the nuance of the characters and their relations were somewhat unclear, however, fortunately this did not create too much confusion.

Overall, this movie was worth it because of the action, full of explosions, fast paced fist fights, high caliber gunfights, high speed chases and physics defying-stunts which dominated the film.

As should be apparent by the title, the most exciting scenes were the ones featuring modified muscles cars doing speedy and complex maneuvers.

As for story, the plot line was decent. Overall it was somewhat predictable. The story of stealing from a corrupt powerful criminal and infiltrating as a spy was not the most original, but it was classic and satisfying.

The movie doesn’t qualify as inspiring, but it is easily a fun, exciting movie worth watching.

Page 20

May 2011

Movies.

paramount pictures

Thor

B

walt disney studios motion pictures

20th century fox

Water for Elephants

B-

Prom

C

In Theat ers

A-

Something Borrowed

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

B

Priest

Screen gems

B-

Fast Five

universal pictures

Dive into swimming 7

Fro- Yo battles

8

Gazette

Are high school relationships worth it? Read your peers’ opinions. 4

?

THE GRANITE BAY

Friday, May 20, 2011 Commentary

PRODUCED BY THE STUDENTS OF THE INTRODUCTORY JOURNALISM CLASS AT GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL

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

Banding together

for badminton

megan beiler

Why all the hatin’ on the Biebs?

W

hen people hear the name Justin Bieber they either groan in pain or squeal in excitement.

Some people are head over heels for young star Justin Bieber, but others can’t stand to hear his name and wouldn’t even dare to listen to his music. Some hate him because of his voice, others because they’re jealous.

And then there are those that cry when they meet him and can’t go a day without seeing his face or listening to his music. But why the controversy?

A lot of people hate Justin because he has a high voice and some claim that he sounds like a girl. But why is that bad? Sure his voice is higher than most guys’, but he truly does have a good voice. Michael Jackson also had a really high voice, but people didn’t hate him. For having a high and “girly” voice like Justin, Michael Jackson sure did make it far in the entertainment industry and was even named the King of Pop. And I have faith that the Biebs will also gain that same status and respect.

Most of the Bieber Haters are guys…and why, some may ask?

My theory is that they are just jealous of the Biebs. I mean, who wouldn’t be? He has the looks, the fame, the voice and millions of screaming girls madly in love with him. Now what guy wouldn’t want to have millions of girls all around the world in love with him and willing to do anything for him? Come on. It’s every guys dream to have a girl fall all over him by just singing the words “baby, baby, baby” and this 17-year-old does.

Now I get that the cute, charming and teen boy look doesn’t work for everyone. And that pop/R&B isn’t everybody’s jam, but just because you don’t care for his music or aren’t swept away by his looks, it doesn’t give you the right to hate somebody you have never met. People don’t just have a dislike for the Biebs; they take time and work to make blogs, Facebook pages and even YouTube videos about how much they hate him. If people hate him so much, then why do they spend time complaining about him and making videos on YouTube listing ten ways to kill Justin Bieber? I know that all the star struck girls in love with Justin don’t know him either, but at least they don’t talk negatively about him and don’t judge him by the way he appears and what the media puts out.

Like lots of teen girls, I’m head over heels for Justin Bieber. He has the voice of an angel and a face that you wouldn’t mind watching sing all day. His songs are catchy and whenever I hear his song, “Somebody to Love,” I just want to belt out the words hoping that the song never ends.

It’s nice to hear music that’s not about drugs, sex and alcohol.

And I like songs that I don’t have to pause when my parents walk into the room. Songs that I can sing out loud with out getting lectured by parents about how it’s inappropriate and it sends a bad message. But that’s not the case with Justin. His lyrics are catchy and appropriate; it’s a win-win.

You get a boy with a dreamy voice and a dreamy smile in one package. How could you go wrong?

It’s completely understandable if you dislike Justin’s music, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. And I understand that, but do you truly and honestly hate him? I highly doubt it. So if you’re one of those people that groans when you hear his name or his song come on the radio, just remember that you don’t know the slightest bit about him or his life. So be a little more open about the Biebs and his music, because you could come to love him like I did.

Mrs. Dickson’s fourth period sophomore PE class takes a break from badminton to pose for a picture

Gazette 2 photo /Hayley Mcavoy

Students enjoy sport and want to form a team

S

BY KRISTIN TAYLOR

wat, swoosh, smack. The clank when the birdie hits the wrong spot on the racket. “In, out,” students yell as the birdie falls either in or out of the boundary line.

These are the sounds of the sophomore gym class mid period of the badminton unit.

Just about every sport played in P.E. also has its own program outside of class.

Badminton is one of the exceptions.

Badminton is a much anticipated gym unit at Granite Bay High School. Of the dozens interviewed, not a single student showed dislike to the game. It’s a fact: everyone likes badminton.

“Comparatively to the other sports we played in P.E., it’s probably the best,” Brandon Borjon (sophomore) said. His opinion represents the majority at Granite Bay. Badminton’s a blast.

“It’s fun because a lot of people are good at it,” Carina Fiorenza (senior) said. It’s true that badminton is super easy to pick

up. All it takes is some hand-eye coordination, so players don’t necessarily have to be super athletes to dominate the court.

Anyone can do it. Lots of students consider themselves “pro” at the sport. They feel as if they’d dominate in a competitive league.

“It’s easy and you don’t have to move around a lot,” Abigail Schmalz (sophomore) said. No running: That’s what kids want to hear. Badminton isn’t intensely tiring, but there’s enough action to sustain the fun.

“I like badminton because you play with your friends,” Emily Tate (senior) said, a big fan of the sport. Playing a doubles match with your friend is always a good time. In PE, partners fight for a spot in the top court, competing against their classmates. The gym is always filled with laughs. Badminton is the perfect way to have some fun and take some aggression out on the birdie.

Badminton isn’t one of those sports

Facebook: GB’s newest drug

Do you “like” facebook too much?

Comparatively to the other sports we played in P.E., it’s probably the best.

– Brandon Borjon, GBHS Sophomore

dive for the point. Smacking a birdie back and forth would seem monotonous, but when it gets competitive, you never want the rally to end.

Badminton is a spring sport at Palo Alto High School in the Bay Area. “My cousin plays on their badminton team and she loves it,” said Madison Touloukian (sophomore).

If they have accommodated to the demand, why can’t Granite Bay? Equipment only includes nets, rackets and birdies, which the P.E. department already has. There’s nothing holding the growth of the sport back. Students just need to voice their desire and enthusiasm for it.A badminton program could bring together the students who don’t excel in the more popular sports. Students who get cut from the more competitive teams would have another sport to fall back on.

GB trying to outshine competitors New incentives, new expectations, new goals.

BY DANIELLE DIETERICH

BY CHRIS PEI In September 2010, Shannon Johnson’s 13-month-old baby was pronounced dead, having drowned in a bathtub while Johnson was allegedly on Facebook in another room playing a game, checking on a friend and sharing videos.

While this is an extreme example of Facebook addiction, GBHS students say they, too, feel the tension that heavy reliance on Facebook can create in their tight schedules and stressfilled lives.

Students can easily spend upwards of an hour on Facebook and some students seem to be on it constantly, partly thanks to their smart-phones. Many students wind up distracted and unable to pay attention to everyday tasks like doing homework.

where half the people play and half sit out.

Everyone seems to participate because everyone enjoys it. There’s just something magical about beating your high score for rallies with your partner, or making the

Gazette photo /Megan beiler

Gazette 2 photo /Megan beiler

“I’m totally addicted to Facebook.” said Granite Bay High School senior, Alexis Rojas.

“When I wake up, the first thing I do is check Facebook, even before I get ready.”

See NEW DRUG, page 2

Free parking. Grade bumps. Final passes. What do all these things have in common? They are all incentives put in place to encourage Granite Bay students to achieve good scores on the California Standardized Test.

To many students, this sudden interest in the STAR test is a surprising change from the school’s previous policies.

In past years, it has not been uncommon for teachers to address the issue of standardized testing as nothing more than an unavoidable disruption to their teaching schedule.

Math teacher Scott Becker said, “I think the general mindset of GBHS, both students and staff, was that the state testing was just something that we needed to get through.”

With teachers who cared so little about the test and students who were not directly affected by its results, the school’s poor scores should come as no surprise.

This is not to say, however, that Granite Bay’s scores are worse than the district average. In most subject

areas, the school matches or even exceeds district history. Unfortunately, the Roseville Joint Union School District’s average score is often lower than the California State average.

All of this information is easily accessible online through websites such as Education.com.

Websites like this provide rankings for schools nationwide based on Standardized test scores. They also provide information such as the student to teacher ratio, and the money spent per pupil in the district.

What these sites do not offer is an accurate representation of the school’s academic level based on the classes offered, the average student GPA, or even average scores on other tests like the SAT and AP tests.

To students and parents of students who are currently attending Granite Bay, the concept of using the STAR test to measure our schools’ academic level is borderline ridiculous.

See STAR TESTING, page 10

Gazette 2 is the newpaper created by intro to journalism students.

news

Page 2

Granite Bay Gazette 2

Friday w May 20, 2011

U.S. teen athletes experience heart attacks at early age Cardiac arrests among high school students shock people across the nation

BY SYDNEY KAHMANN The crowd screamed as the undefeated Blackhawks were tied in overtime, the last game of the season. Star player, high school junior Wes Leonard, went up for a lay-up closing the game 57-55 Blackhawks win. After Wes was carried around on the shoulders of his celebrating teammates, he collapsed, with his mother and father running forward to his unresponsive body.

Wes Leonard succumbed to cardiac arrest, along with two other athletes in the same week.

Just like Wes, every three to four days, an athlete has a sudden cardiac arrest. Eighty percent of these victims have no previous symptoms and only eleven percent of them survive.

Parents and athletes across the nation are wondering what can be done to find the problem before a fatality occurs to those around them. But unfortunately, doctors are split on which examination works best.

The controversial favorite, across the globe, involves getting an electrocardiogram (known as an ECG or EKG). An ECG detects small differences in the heart. This method however is not always successful due to the fact that it does not always discover all of the grave abnormalities within one’s heart.

Granite Bay doctor, Virginia Mayer, weighed in on the ECG debate. “You can pick up some abnormalities with an ECG, but you are still going to miss some,” Dr. Mayer said. “Tests like the stress echo give much better results, but they’re more expensive

and harder to administer. Really what it comes down to is the cost-effectiveness ratio.”

While it is hard to tell how many athletes have been saved by an ECG, research is showing its benefits.

This is why getting one is mandatory in almost all sports in some other countries like Israel and Italy.

Although, some studies in Israel show eleven athlete deaths per year pre-ECG and thirteen deaths per year

New tradition at Granite Bay

results. Overall, in evaluating the research, Italy has come to the conclusion that the ECG has helped in lowering incidences of sudden cardiac arrest.

Furthermore, the European Society of Cardiology and the International Olympics Committee both require athletes to get an ECG in the hopes of finding problematic heart defects.

Dr. Sanjay Sharma, a British cardiologist from King’s College Hospital in London favors the ECG screening. “For every 300 athletes we screen, we find one with a condition that could kill that individual,” Sharma said.

Even though only .3% of the 8,000 screened British athletes had a serious heart condition, ECGs are beneficial from Sharma’s standpoint.

“How can you put a price on a vibrant 16-yearold dying?” Sharma said.

On the other hand, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association only require a physical medical exam and a detailed health history to allow athletes to compete in a middle school, high school or college level sport. Thus, athletes at Granite Gazette 2 photo illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY Bay High School (GBHS) only have to get a physical and then turn in a health history. post- ECG for students participating in high school While geographically smaller countries mandate sports, leading people to believe the ECG may not be the use of an ECG, the U.S. would find this harder to fool-proof. implement. The U.S. has only 1,500 pediatric cardiItaly’s results are more promising. An average ologists nationwide, not nearly enough to treat all of of 3.6 people per 100,000 died of sudden cardiac the high school athletes, not to mention the number of arrest; this number then turned to .4 out of 100,000 athletes in middle school or college that would also post-ECG. Some doctors feel these numbers may need to get an ECG. be a little high because of problems formulating the See CARDIAC, page 11

GBHS launches feature magazine for first time

BY MADISON TOULOUKIAN With bright colors, vibrant pictures and easy-to-read articles, magazines are becoming a teenager’s first choice to read. And this year, Granite Bay High School’s Advanced Journalism magazine class has created one.

Led by the well-known, well-liked PE and former English teacher Mrs. Dickson, AT THE BAY was born.

With Gazette editor-in-chief Alison Sale by her side, the advanced magazine class emerged. “I was in her freshman English class, and she was the one who got me interested in journalism,” Sale (senior) said. “I promised her I would be her T.I. senior year.”

Sale was originally supposed to be a teacher intern for the Introduction to Journalism class, but as the idea of a school magazine entered their heads, it sounded too irresistible to pass up.

Palo Alto High School is the Granite Bay Gazette’s main competitor for high school journalism. And they have a magazine. It was time to step up the competition.

And thus, the magazine class was created.

But what’s a magazine without pictures, intriguing articles, and astonishing illustrations?

Mrs. Dickson contacted past students that she knew had the talent to basically create a magazine out of raw passion.

Among these students were Alison Sale, who is one of GBHS’s best graphic designers, Shannon Carroll, another Gazette editor and amazing writer, and Heidi Smith, stellar photographer.

But a magazine needed more than a writer, designer, and photographer to progress.

Brooke Bohan, Granite Bay High School senior, was signed up for the Intro to Journalism class. However, Mrs. Dickson knew she had the talent to write impressive stories.

“My first story took me a long time…but then I was able to get my next one done faster,” Bohan said.

She and Jessica Hamby (senior) even wrote a story in a few hours, in order to meet the magazine deadline.

“The small staff created everything,” Dickson said.

“We even borrowed stories from the intro kids.”

AT THE BAY comes out on May 23rd, full of local stories, fun facts and intriguing commentary. Be sure to get a copy. And if you’re interested in the magazine class, see Mr. Grubaugh.

Gazette 2 photo /Erika chauvet

 The first AT THE BAY staff poses for a picture after finishing the new magazine. Back row from left: Alison Sale, Natalie Haskell, Brooke Bohan, Jessica Hamby, and Stephanie Shaull. Front row from left: Shannon Carroll, Chiyoh Arai, Kaitlin Crider, and Heidi Smith.

NEW DRUG: Grizzlies face social networking addiction Continued from page 1 “I almost always have Facebook open, either on my computer or my phone. Sometimes I get so into (Facebook) that I can’t focus on anything else.

Even if I plan to just check it for a minute or so, it ends up where I’m on Facebook for (about) an hour. I find that I barely have time to do things like homework or chores because of it,” she said.

Clare Carroll, a freshman who checks Facebook on her iPhone, said, “I’m often switching back and forth between doing other tasks and checking Facebook. It definitely can get pretty distracting sometimes when I’m doing homework, especially when I have a lot to do, and I don’t feel like doing it.”

Montana Strohl-Roy, a sophomore, said, “I wouldn’t consider myself addicted, but I can see how someone could be.

I feel like I have to keep checking it every so often to just ‘keep in the know.’ If I don’t, it feels like I’m missing out, because there’s always going to be people posting new things about their day. It rarely ever gets boring because peoples’ lives are always changing, and Facebook reflects that.”

While Facebook is undoubtedly enticing, there is a debate in the scientific community about whether a person can actually

be physically or psychologically addicted to Facebook.

GBHS psychology teacher Natalie Elkin said, “In a psychological sense, the Facebook addiction could be caused by a person’s emotional side, which innately requires a sense of validation, belonging, or a need of feeling prized by others.”

Elkin added that when a person feels some kind of pleasure, the brain releases a chemical, serotonin. The serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps improve a person’s mood.

I’m totally addicted to Facebook. When I wake up, the first thing I do is check Facebook, even before I get ready.

– Alexis Rojas, GBHS senior The serotonin gives the feel of a “teeny high,” according to Elkin, so that the more time spent on Facebook, for example, the more serotonin in the brain.

So when the person isn’t on Facebook, they would be able to feel the lack of serotonin. This means, the person could face an addiction to Facebook, not wanting to part with the pleasure they receive from it.

To cope with this, Elkin suggested: “If you really need to find out if you’re addicted, make yourself a timeline and see if you can go one day without checking your Facebook. And if that can’t work, try 12 hours. Or even 1 hour. Really ask yourself, how bad is it?”

For some students, like senior Brian Wood, Facebook is simply a convenient social networking tool, rather than something to obsess over.

“Only some people are actually addicted to Facebook,” Wood said. “There are some people who spend way too much time on it, but for most people, it’s just become a part of daily life.”

Clare Moore, a sophomore, said “Facebook has just become routine. It’s gotten to the point where checking Facebook has become a daily ritual, as common to do as eating breakfast or doing your homework.”

Likewise, Elkin agreed, saying “Facebook can easily and harmlessly act as a social supplement.”

She said, “When you’re on Facebook, sure, you’re interacting with people you know, but Facebook is a cyber world, and not everything translates from there to reality.”

In the end, Elkin added, “the important thing to realize is that Facebook doesn’t compensate for an adequate social life alone.”

Anxiety disorder hits Granite Bay family

Granite Bay family made big changes after father was diagnosed with anxiety disorder this year

BY EMILY KING Only a few weeks into the school year, Joseph Miller* came home feeling very tired and anxious. Thinking it was just some apprehension due to what was going on at work, he didn’t take it seriously. Little did he know that he would spend the next six weeks barely leaving bed due to severe anxiety.

Anxiety, like Joseph’s, affects 40 mill-ion Americans eighteen or older every year, according to recent government studies. These disorders are serious, sometimes lasting more than six months. Joseph’s mother has been experiencing anxiety for more than twenty years and is still learning to cope with the disorder at age 66.

Unlike many phobias, anxiety is different.

People can feel an anxiety attack at anytime,

without warning. People with phobias know what they are afraid of (speaking in front of crowds, heights, spiders, etc.), while sufferers from anxiety find themselves frightened and extremely nervous for no reason at all.

But even though one person in a household may be living with anxiety, the condition also has huge effects on the family.

The Miller family first began to realize that Joseph was not just suffering from a lasting flu virus when his behavior became different. “Even when he was under the weather, he still had a sense of humor,” the oldest Miller daughter said. “When he was anxious, he lost that.” When he became more than pessimistic and emotional, his family began to suspect depression as the culprit.

Depression and anxiety are usually con-

fused because they share many of the same symptoms. Patients of the two experience trouble sleeping, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, oversleeping and many others.

But after seeing doctors and receiving help from a psychologist, Joe was diagnosed with general anxiety.

With this information, there was some management going on as both Joseph and his family had to cope with the change.

The kids had to get used to other small changes in responsibility, such as being quiet throughout the day so they would not wake Joseph. But the most challenging part of the adjustment was getting used to the mood swings that so suddenly came upon their father.

“His mood would change so easily, one moment he would be okay and able to hold a conversation and the next, he needed to

return to bed,” Joseph’s wife said. His constant need to return to bed was also the side effect of a restless mind.

He spent all hours of the night in constant worry over his business deals and small details that he could not control.

“I couldn’t shut my brain off,” Joseph said.

His family dreaded every business call for fear that it would bring bad news. “I always listened in the car, praying that he wouldn’t become upset by the news that didn’t use to bother him,” the eldest daughter said.

Joseph decided enough was enough and started on some medication that was going to help with his anxiousness.

All medications have side effects and this one was too good to be true. This medicine, although it made him relax, was known for being highly addictive. He decided that it

was in his best interest to slowly get himself off of the pills.

The Millers became closely knit as they tried hard to help Joseph through this rough patch. They relied strongly on their religious beliefs through the time, and owe his recovery to their faith in God. Over the next couple of months, Joseph began to see a change in himself. He was laughing more, and started to begin relaxing.

He was able to attend more events and stay up later with the family.

Anxiety is still going to affect Joseph Miller from time to time, but he now has the strength from his friends and family to help him get through it. *Name changed for privacy

voices

Granite Bay Gazette 2

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Friday w May 20, 2011

Commentary

Dear politicians, I have a question

taylor simon

The absurdities of social networking

S

Gazette 2 illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

Where has all the country’s money gone, and where does that leave us?

D

BY NICOLE BALES

ear Politicians, this year you decided to drain billions of dollars from education and schools, leaving us a not so grand total of $77.4 billion, and I want to know why.

Out of a budget of nearly $3.5 trillion, this is you telling me that we can continue growing and making advances in the world without education. Unless of course you’re making over $100,000 a year because then you can just buy it, right?

I am talking to the “leaders” of our country, the people that we placed there trusting that they would use their power to shape the future of our country in ways that we so desperately want to, but don’t have the power…or excuse me, money to decide.

Money going to schools (kindergarten all the way up to colleges and universities) does not even add up

to1% on the U.S. Federal Spending Budget.

I personally think that anything under $500 billion is pathetic.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Pentagon and Iraq spending greatly surpass veterans, administration, housing, health, education, community development, transportation, agriculture, environment, science and energy, and international affairs spending combined.

The U.S. spends ten times more on the military than every other country combined.

I’m all for a big powerful army, but while you’re spending so much money hovering over other countries and maintaining all these weapons, you’re detracting from our own well being, and ignoring the problems within our own country.

People lose their jobs and homes every day. It’s becoming impossible to afford an education, and also,

insurance companies are corrupt and charging clients whatever they please.

Everyday people go bankrupt from not being able to pay their medical bills. It is completely unnecessary and inefficient to spend so much on military. I’m sure that if you cut military spending in half, we will still be able to maintain a strong and powerful army.

I have nothing against people 65 and older or people with a low-income, but does it make sense that 23% of the national budget consists of Medicare and Medicaid?

Maybe it’s because it has one of the strongest lobbies.

So when you have $800 billion dedicated to taking care of elderly and those on Medicaid and $1.35 trillion going to military spending, what does that leave education?

See BUDGET, page 10

Lessons Learned:

Powder Puff isn’t for cowards

J

BY EMILY MIRACLE

ust because girls had pretty hair and painted nails didn’t mean that they couldn’t be vicious on the football field.

Many people seemed to share the idea that Powder Puff wasn’t even real football. If it wasn’t real football, then why on the second day of practice would the girls be getting hit in the face, shoved over, and bruised on their arms? After practices, my friends and I compared the new wounds we received while pushing and sliding through the mud.

Rain and thunder obstructed many practices, however, the girls stayed outside in the cold and slippery land in order to be tough for the game.

When I was talking to the coach one day about Powder Puff, a guy in the room turned to me and said, “Oh you’re in Powder Puff? So you just stand there and do nothing the whole time, don’t you?” The coach then told him how hard all the girls were working, and how I had actually gotten tackles. His smirk then turned into a look of confusion.

On the field, most girls turned violent and victory seeking. Not once was a girl afraid of “breaking a nail”. Everyone became muddy and sore from the brutality of their fellow females.

Rain poured down on us for most of the game, which only added to the drama of the competition. Girls talked smack to the opposing team, even going as far as writing profanity on their mouth guards.

When lined up, a girl would smirk evilly and call you a rude name with her teeth.

All of the players really gave all their effort at the game. That effort was mostly painful, especially when you would get pushed over and rammed, but no one ever gave up or was “chicken”.

So, next time you insult a sport simply because a girl is on the field, think about what you’re really saying.

Females can bring on the competition too.

Gazette 2 illustration/DANIELLE DIETERICH

omeone has requested to be your friend on Facebook. Someone has followed you on Twitter. Someone has sent you an anonymous message on Formspring that will probably crush your self-esteem. Isn’t this the normal routine for teenage life online?

Almost every teenager nowadays is connected to Facebook. Studies show that up to 75 percent of teens are linked to Facebook, and 27 percent of them check into the site continuously throughout the day.

According to a survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, three out of ten teens check their profile at least once a day. Teens with Facebook on their mobile phone even admitted to being continuous users of the social networking site.

Out of all the teens on Facebook, many take it upon themselves to add every person that goes to their school, even if they haven’t said one word to some of them. Sure, it makes you look cool when you have 800 friends, but is it really necessary that you go about adding people you don’t even know?

Saying that teenagers are addicted to social networking sites is an understatement. Facebook has become a competition to see who has the most friends or even comments on their pictures. I’m not trying to be particularly offensive, but every comment usually goes along the lines of “You are so pretty! I’m so jealous!”

Originally, Facebook was supposed to be for staying connected with friends and family, not fishing for compliments or friend requesting every single person that you have or have not come in contact with.

It’s not just Facebook that aggravates me.

Formspring, another type of a social networking site, allows users to say things anonymously.

This is basically begging people to send hate, which is completely absurd. It gives people the option to hide behind a gray mask and destroy a person’s self-esteem.

Tumblr, the new blogging website, also allows the hated anonymous button. Cyber bullying, the new type of bullying taking teenagers by storm, has become a serious problem for young people and can cause long term effects to victims and bullies.

Almost every social networking site that I know of has some form of cyber bullying.

Whether or not it is the use of the anonymous button, or comments on a Facebook status, bullying is happening everywhere.

Another social networking site, Twitter, allows you to update your “followers” on every thing you do throughout the day. This is the site that appeals the least to me. What’s the point in telling people everything that goes on in your life?

I’m sorry, but knowing that you just ate a piece of toast really isn’t all that exciting and kind of wastes my time.

This brings me back to the fact that people are now obsessed with “facebooking” and “tweeting.” Even my mom has a Facebook. I found it really irritating getting Farmville requests from her daily. These requests, along with all of the random friend requests I got from people who had walked by me in the hallway once, are what pushed me over the edge.

I couldn’t take it anymore. All of the useless fights and creepy requests from the guy that stares at you in math class are what forced me to delete my Facebook account. I don’t see myself reactivating it in the near future.

Teenagers are getting too caught up in social networking. I know people who can’t go one day without checking their Facebook. But why?

Do you really need to inform people by writing a stupid status about something in your life?

Can’t you just tell them tomorrow at school in person?

I’m starting to think more and more that we talk to people online more than we do in real life. Here’s an idea: go meet up with a friend for once instead of hiding away in a dark room chatting on IM. I’m not saying that Facebook is bad. I originally used it to keep in contact with family and friends in other states. But now it has evolved into something bigger. You can have Facebook with you wherever you go on the mobile app, and even businesses are saying “Find us on Facebook.” Please tell me why a furniture store needs to have a Facebook page.

What if one day Facebook just shut down? I honestly believe people would break down. This isn’t a healthy obsession.

Oh, and don’t forget to “like” this article on Facebook. Calm down; I’m just kidding.

Pet owners: Is your pet neutered?

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BY AMANDA BONIN

o you have an animal at home that is not spayed or neutered? What happens when your pet escapes and gets pregnant or impregnates another animal? Then your pet or another helpless animal has several puppies or kittens and you have no choice but to give them away.

More likely than not, the little defenseless babies will not all get into loving homes and will be dropped off at the nearest shelter you can find. Of course you probably know that this is the reality, but do you understand what you just did?

You added more animals to a shelter that is already full to its capacity.

According to Common Questions about Animal Shelters published by the Humane Society of the United States, “Animal shelters care for 6-8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million are euthanized.”

I understand that there are people who fear getting their animal spayed or neutered because there is a chance that there will be complications or life altering

changes to the pet.

I’m not going to lie, with any surgery, animal or otherwise, there are going to be complications or problems that could affect the health of your animal.

The major risk of spaying or neutering an animal before one year of age is the increase in risk of bone cancer. Although it is an increased risk, it is also manageable if you are determined to keep your pet healthy with a healthy diet and exercise.

There are other complications that could happen during or after a spay or neuter procedure, but the chance of death for your pet while in surgery is slim to none if you have an experienced veterinarian.

There is also the problem of finances when it comes to a surgery, as procedures can be pretty pricey.

You can contact a local humane society, like the Placer SPCA, to see if they will do a low cost spay or neuter. You can also visit spayusa.org and locate a clinic in your area.

There are always ways to find a cheaper spay/neuSee PETS, page 10

Reflections of high school Gazette 2 illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

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BY JESSICA HUBER

alfway through high school, it is easy to reflect on what I’ve learned.

I learned more about myself and through my actions, I learned a lot of good life lessons.

High school definitely isn’t easy. It’s academically challenging. One of my mistakes was, I excelled myself way too fast. I managed a 4.0 all through freshman year by overworking myself.

This was a mistake because by sophomore year, I was already burned out. I decided to be class president in the fall and take on an honors and AP One of the most class.

It was one important lessons of the hardest I learned is that things I ever only you can conput myself through. If trol your emotions my family and actions. hadn’t been so supportive, I would never have survived.

High school is even more challenging socially. It’s hard when you change friends because of something that happened between the two. It hurts and I felt completely betrayed by a lot of people.

In high school, I learned to push myself through.

Things aren’t perfect, but there are a ton of fun memories.

Creating the homecoming float, attending the football games, going to dances, making new friends and living all the funny moments shaped me into what I am today.

One of the most important lessons I learned is that only you can control your emotions and actions. As hard as it is, you can’t make someone else do something you want them to.

Throughout these two years, the most important thing is my family. Because of all the hardships, I became a lot closer to family. No matter what, I know they will always be there for me.

And when I look back, the classes I took, or the tests I did or didn’t study for, don’t seem to matter half as much as I thought they did.

High school is tough, but through it, you can learn about life and yourself even in as short as two years.

Features

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Granite Bay Gazette 2

Friday w May 20, 2011

Love, hate and teenage Pros and cons of young relationships

BY MADISON TOULOUKIAN

How to Survive the GBHS Parking Lot Gazette 2 illustration/HAYLEY

BY SYDNEY KAHMANN

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• Be observant: Do NOT take crosswalks, of any kind, for granted. I am talking about the big “ladders” painted on the road. They are formally called crosswalks, the point being they are supposed allow pedestrians to cross.

Cell phone = danger: If someone has a cell phone, proceed with caution.

They are the type of people who would hit you, and update their Facebook status to “Just hit someone :( .”

Loud music = danger: If people are listening to obnoxiously loud rap music, do NOT drive near them. They are just trying to figure out the words in the song. This task is so mentally demanding that the driver can’t focus on the road. They are NOT trying to avoid a car accident.

Drivers DON’T care: Be aware that at any intersection, the whole “right of way” rule doesn’t apply. So, be prepared for someone to drive out of the blue into the intersection.

Park like a normal driver: Make sure your car is within the white parking spot lines. The late GBHS student doesn’t care if they scrape the side of your car as long as he’s not there when you get back. But, be forewarned, parking in the lines doesn’t mean your car is safe from idiots.

They are idiots after all.

Drive unique vehicles: A pink VW bug will probably be better off than one of those small, ugly white/tan things as far as GBHS inflicted damage goes.

Do NOT honk your horn for everything: Being purposefully annoying might get you into a crash. They will hit your annoying self and you will have to explain to your parents what happened after school. That will be a very unpleasant conversation. Good luck.

Use common sense: For example, running across the parking lot when a car is coming quickly toward you, is not a great idea.

Drive at the speed limit: If you are above the limit, don’t pull any stupid stuff. For example, don’t cut people off, swerve dangerously, or tailgate someone. If you are below the limit, you are driving like a grandma. And even then, high school kids who drive freakishly slow are even more irritating than the ninety year olds on the road.

With this advice in mind, feel free to hit the road. But please remember that while you can control your driving, you can’t control everybody else’s driving.

TCID:BW

But for some, their discovery is hindered by their boyfriend/girlfriend’s experiences.

Matheus attended the junior ball as a freshman, and senior ball as a sophomore. This year, her own junior year, she didn’t get caught up in the excitement of attending an upper classmen dance. She didn’t spend a weekend in San Francisco picking the perfect dress, and didn’t even attend the dance.

She may have missed the chance to experience her own high school memories.

After Colby left for UC Irvine in the summer of 2010, Brianna was faced with one thing – herself. “(When he left), it forced me discover a lot about myself as me, not Colby’s girlfriend, and also to realize that I don’t need someone else to help define who I am,” Matheus said.

Is all this intense drama really worth it? What’s wrong with merely enjoying high school, and the various flings that come along with it?

When asked if he’s ever been in a serious relationship, junior Mitchell Cooper replied with a sarcastic laugh “it’s high school.”

However, sophomore Meghan Carlsen has been in a serious relationship with her boyfriend Chase Evans for a year and a half. When asked if high school relationships are worth it, she replied, “totally and completely” with absolutely no hesitation.

But with some couples, the drama is incredible, to the point where some passer-bys wonder what those two people are even doing together. “I feel like there’s drama because they didn’t explore each others morals and values before committing,” Carlsen said.

“Dating is supposed to be finding qualities that you want in your future husband, or wife,” Cooper said.

While he enjoys being single, he is still open to a

Gazette 2 illustration/DANIELLE DIETERICH

relationship, if the right person comes along.

Sophomore Lena Eyen agrees. “I don’t find a purpose in having a relationship simply to be able to have something to show off,” Eyen said. But are these relationships truly worth if?

“If you’ve met the right person, then of course,” said Megan Beiler, sophomore.

When Brianna Matheus was asked if she could ever see herself dating someone else, she replied, “Yes, maybe I won’t be happy, but yes I can see it happen.”

Maybe she’s met the love of her life, and will go on to raise a family and have a career with her high school sweetheart by her side.

But maybe she and Colby will eventually go their separate ways. She’ll go to college, and meet someone

else, and begin a life beyond her high school relationship.

Only time will tell, but for now, she’s appreciating all that she’s learned from Colby, and appreciating the fact that she did find someone to have such a special relationship with, no matter what the outcome.

“I will always have a best friend,” Carlsen said.

Think back to the age old motto, “boyfriends (and girlfriends) come and go, but friends last forever.”

While some may think that the lucky ones have both, others appreciate the enjoyable carefree experience of singleness in high school.

So, whichever one you are, appreciate it. It’s worth it.

American Idol: Simon vs. Steven

BY KRISTIN TAYLOR

No villain: no show. Last year was the final season for the grinch. Idol was losing its big, mean British bully and the buzz was that the show wouldn’t survive without him. Simon Cowell was the show.

People thought Idol didn’t stand a chance without Simon, but they thought wrong.

Everyone was unsure about the replacements, but this year’s new judging panel brought with it a refreshing dynamic. Simon’s blunt, non-sympathetic comments have been replaced by the wild and loud commentary of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler. And whatever drama there was between Simon and Ryan Seacrest is now nonexistent. The fighting is gone too because when Simon was on the show, he “was always right.”

Truth is, Simon isn’t really missed.

Tyler is the perfect substitute because he is Cowell’s opposite. His crazy screaming replaces the British accent and his constant smile replaces the constant frown. He is highly energetic, insted of pessimist. He is always encouraging even when letting the tone-deaf down.

Simon’s frank and flat out rude comments were entertaining, but Steven Tyler is just as amusing. Here’s a comparison and a lookback: Simon Cowell: “It was almost like you were giving birth up there at the end.”

“If you would be singing like this two thousand years ago, people would have stoned you.”

“You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium.”

“I never want to hear that song again. I cannot stand it.

I’m allergic to it.”

“If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you look like the Incredible Hulk’s wife.”

“There was one great part to your song, the end!”

“Do you have an eraser? Because I can’t get you out of my mind.”

Gazette 2 illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

“I didn’t know angels flew so low.”

“You must be a broom, because you swept me off my feet.”

“I must be in a museum, because you truly are a work of art.”

Cheesy Pick-up Lines

“Are you religious? Good, because I’m the answer to your prayers.”

BY EMILY KING

In movies and T.V. shows the awkward characters use cheesy pick-up lines to “pick up chicks”. Little do they know that these lines aren’t cool, they are just plain stupid. So here are a few hilarious ways to get some weird looks.

WARNING: These don’t actually impress girls.

“Do you have a map?

Because I’m getting lost in your eyes.”

“Was your father a thief? Because someone stole the stars and put them in your eyes.”

“You’re like a dictionary; you add meaning to my life.”

“Excuse me, do you like raisins? How about a date?”

“I’m in the process of writing a telephone book.

May I have your number?”

Gazette 2 illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

“How much does a polar bear weigh?

Enough to break the ice – can I have your number?

Steven Tyler: “Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?”

“I feel like I’m on a jungle gym.”

“Slap that baby on the (beep) and call me Christmas!”

“You scared everyone in the room.”

“You got so much of the drama and all that, but you got no notes.”

“You went up into the way-out-osphere. You went to squeak-land. That’s insane.”

“You delivered the song, like a blue plate special.”

“What do you get from that-- they’re wrong!”

“Well hellfire, save matched, (beep) a duck and see what hatches!”

Concert in the Park

BY HALEY MARR

Gazette 2 photo illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

Love. There’s love for chocolate, and love for people. There’s the love for your friends and love for your family. Here at Granite Bay, there are even those “first love” feelings.

Many Granite Bay High School students claim that they’re experiencing this blissful, passionate love during their high school years. But don’t all good things always come to an end?

Yes, everyone knows of those perfect, happy couples who play Frisbee in the quad and are never seen far from each other. They’ve been dating all through high school, and are all smiles whenever they’re together.

But there may be something more hidden underneath those seemingly carefree giggles and laughs.

“The entire summer before he left had been a build up of a whole basketful of emotions…not only was I losing the…love of my high school life, but also my best friend,” Brianna Matheus, Granite Bay High School junior, said about the summer before her boyfriend left for college.

“I was obviously distraught because we had decided that we were not going to stay together…we were going to be separated by hundreds of miles,” Matheus said.

An immense feeling of sadness overwhelmed her and she realized how directly her emotions were tied to those of her boyfriend.

“It’s confusing being in love so young…and committing yourself to one person at such a young age,” Matheus said.

Now, they’re back together, and she’s been dating the same boy, Colby Abbot, for almost three years -since her freshman year of high school. High school: a time to begin the journey of discovering who you are as a person.

When the weather gets warm, we all anticipate summer vacation. Seeing friends, family and traveling are some of the many things we do.

Concerts with their high energy and exciting performances are another great summer activity. Combining the two, creates Concert in the Park.

Concert in the Park is held at Cesar Chavez Park in Downtown Sacramento, located at the Cesar Chavez Plaza off of 10th and J Streets.

Starting May 6th, there will be a free concert every Friday night starting at 5 p.m.

Families, friends, couples, the young, and the old, will all come out with blankets and chairs to watch rising, local bands.

With genres ranging from rock to folk, and everything in between, no one goes unsatisfied.

Though the concert is free, snacks and dinner aren’t. However, with little vendors scattered around the park and restaurants scattered around town, you’re bound to find something to eat.

To kick off Concert in the Park, two bands, Aaron Kind and The Imperials, and also, Wahnderlust will both be performing.

Both bands have a unique sound and incorporate a blues feeling into their music.

Towards 9 :00, things start to wrap up and die down.

With the concert done, nightlife in downtown Sacramento,will just be starting up.

With clubs and restaurants around almost every corner, Dowtown Sac will provide a great source of summer fun and entertainment.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Page 5

w The Granite Bay Gazette 2

Going the extra mile or taking things too far How much is too much when it comes to sucking up to teachers?

BY KRISTIN TAYLOR

Gazette 2 Photo illustration/HAYLEY MCAVOY

W

ho could ever think a letter of the alphabet could make or ruin someone’s day?

And yet, as grades hang in the balance an A- can cause rejoice while a B+ results in tears. The difference between success and failure hangs on possibly tenths of percentages. You did the extra problems, you came in early for help and you studied until the material was ingrained into your mind. You are so close but that grade is just out of reach. So what do you do? You turn to the person behind the Aeries updates.

You have to get that grade bump. You suck-up.

Grades are important to students here at Granite Bay, so they do everything in their power to make the cut, sometimes taking things to ridiculous levels.

Such was the case with one GBHS student.

In 8th grade she had a goal to get 100 percent in all of (her) classes. At the end of the year she had a 99.4% in English and became desperate in reaching her goal when the teacher wouldn’t offer any more extra credit and there were few assignments yet to be entered in.

So what did she do? She made up

her own extra work to get the teacher to give her the points. She took the simple worksheet about Romeo and Juliet her teacher assigned for homework, put four hours of work into it, and made it into an entire project. Students were just supposed to write notes on the page and answer simple questions, but she made a big poster about the material. She cited works and looked it up online and put definitions for all the words.

“He gave me five points for the poster but said he’d give me ten if I presented it. So I did. . . People probably hated me,” she said, laughing and thinking back on what an obnoxious overachiever she was. “So I got 100 percent in all my classes,” she said with a smile.

By showing such an interest for the subject her teacher was teaching, she got what she wanted.

This year she faced a similar situation when she once again was in that frightening 79, 89, 99 percent zone.

She reacted the same way as back in middle school and turned to the teacher in plea. “I needed a little bit of extra credit, so I offered to bring in supplies for the classroom, and after that

it ended up that he offered the whole teacher said. class the same opportunity”, she said.

This event was especially devastatSo the ultra-competitive type has ing because it happened at just about the sucking up tactic nailed, but what midterm time. Two months later the about the kids who teacher coincidently aren’t so motivated? met the mom in I talked to a teacher, the office and she It’s not so who would prefer to confronted her much the go unnamed, and she again, trying to fight students that shared a story about improbable odds how sometimes it’s when “even the suck up to me, the parents, not the father believed the it’s the parents. students who do the son had cheated” the sucking up. About teacher said. two years ago the “It’s not so much – Anonymous Teacher teacher had a student students that suck up with a borderline to me, it’s the pargrade. ents through emails “Towards the end of the year he or the students are being pressured by cheated on a quiz and so I gave him the parents to get that good grade,” she a zero and put him on that list (the said. “The kids come to me, but I don’t academic dishonesty list) The mom got necessarily feel like I’m hearing the really upset with me asking ‘what’s the kid. I’m hearing the parent behind the proof that he cheated?’ through emails- kid,” she said. lots of emails” she said.

With the ever increasing pressure This determined mother refused to put on students to do well in school, it back down despite the fact that there is not surprising that sucking up is so were “two test forms…they were common here at Granite Bay. multiple choice…he had all the correct answers of the other test form and he actually got a zero out of ten” the

Make the most of this summer Five ways to beat the heat once the school year ends

W

BY EMILY KING

ith summertime just around the bend, there are countless hours of free time to be spent. But since summer vacation comes only once a year and seems to fly by so fast, its a shame to spend any time bored. So that you don’t have to spend time regretting your summer, here are five fun things you can try on these hot days.

1. RPM Kart Racing Located at 3130 Bradshaw Rd, RPM Indoor Kart Racing is a fun way to spend a day doing an outdoor activity in an air-conditioned indoor setting.

If you are under 16 you will be taken to conference room where the staff will instruct you on the safety protocols and driving rules. If you are under 18 a parent must sign a release form and 18-year-olds can sign their own. Afterward, you and your friends will be given full racing suits and helmets because these karts are fast! For you speed demons, the karts go from 35 to 45 mph.

2. West Wind Drive-In Movie Now that the weather has heated up, when the sun goes down, the air becomes very pleasant. One way to take advantage of the pleasant hours is to go see a movie. But instead of seeing one in a freezing cold theater, the same movies are offered at the drive-in.

West Wind Drive-In is located at 9616 Oates Drive.

3. Marianne’s Ice Cream Those of you who know where the parlor is are thinking, “What? Drive three hours for ice-cream?” I know that at some point, almost everybody will find their way to Santa Cruz, California. So while you are in Santa Cruz, here is an ice-cream shop you won’t want to miss out on.

Marianne’s is an old fashioned ice cream parlor found on 1020 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. They make more flavors than Baskin Robbins, and usually have an unusual flavor like Mexican Chocolate or Burgundy Cherry. But the pride and joy of Marianne’s is their signature flavor 1020 (vanilla ice

Running outside

Healthy cookies The best of both worlds

BY EMILY KING What person doesn’t love a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven? But some people don’t give in to these tasty treats, knowing how full of fat and sugar they are.

Well, no longer do people have to give up enjoying these cookies as often as they normally do. Here is a chocolate chip cookie recipe for a health conscious person.

2 ¼ c. whole wheat flour ¾ c. rolled oats 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 c. of butter (softened) ¾ c. brown sugar ¾ c. granulated sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 eggs ½ c. Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a separate large bowl until creamy.

Add eggs to the large bowl one at a time mixing well after each addition.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture about 1/3 c. at a time.

Then add in the chocolate chips. Bake for 9 - 11 minutes or until golden around the edges.

The wheat flour adds protein to the cookie while the rolled oats adds some fiber. Also, using the 60% cocoa chocolate chips gives you a richer flavor with fewer calories.

So now that there is a delectable cookie that is rich in flavor and is lacking the fat and sugar, go ahead and bake to your hearts content. Enjoy!

cream with chocolate ribbons and fudge brownies, topped with a swirl of caramel). At any time, Marianne’s ice cream is the perfect finale to a day at the Boardwalk.

4. Emerald Bay Emerald Bay in Tahoe California is to known for its historical tea house and Viking manor, but it is also home to Eagle Falls. Eagle Falls is a fun spot to cool off from the summer heat. The water fall creates pools of crystal clear water that are super fun to wade into. Though it’s a bit chilly, after a while you forget how cold it is because you’re lost in the beauty and fun.

5. Petroglyphs Ceramic Lounge When you find yourself with nothing to do, and the weather has exceeded 108 degrees, the last thing you want to do is leave the comfort of air-conditioning.

Here is an idea! Head on over to Petroglyphs Ceramic Lounge, located off of Douglas Blvd. in the Rocky Ridge Town Center.

Financially and physically rewarding

BY JACOB SMITH

W

ith the rising gas prices, home prices, and medical prices, Americans are now trying to find new, inexpensive ways to stay fit, healthy, and in shape.

Running is in our DNA, because of this are made to run.

Like our ancestors, for some of us, running is necessary, if financially rather than for survival reasons.

The most popular gyms in the Granite Bay are Johnson Ranch Racquet Club and Gold’s Gym. For John-

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son Ranch, the te et az membership cost G is around $100 a month, amounting to over $1,000 a year. Gold’s is a bit less expensive, with the cost about $50 a month but $600 a year is still a little hefty. Both gyms come with an initiation fee.

While avoiding the cost and hassle of going to the gym, running outside is also one of the best ways to get in a quality cardiovascular workout.

Who better to ask for advice than one of GBHS’s cross country runners?

“To get a quality workout, I would run at least 25 minutes in your target heart rate zone,” said Weston Holt, freshman. A ‘target heart rate zone’ is the zone between 60% and 85% of your maximum heart rate.

The target heart rate zone allows you to burn calories while staying in a safe place 2

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in terms of beats per minute.

Equipment is also important in running.

For the average runner, shoes are what cost the most. Clothing, water bottles, and energy bars are also components. A running shoe can cost anywhere from $60 to $140, depending on the brand and type.

“You need shoes that are a right fit, shorts, and a t-shirt,” said Holt. Doesn’t sound like much to me. Compared to the cost and hassle of the gym, running seems like the logical choice.

Running can mean different things to different people: a way to relax, a method to stay in shape, and a competitive sport. But whoever you are and whatever you want to be, you can be a part of the national push to be on the trails, running in nature.

List of Trails

Inside you will find an array of ceramic items, from pots to figurines, ready to become your next masterpiece. Most of the items are relatively low priced and useful. Once you pick out your item, you can make your way to the painting table with hundreds of colors at your disposal. For us less artistic people, there are an array of stencils and stamps to guide your paintbrush. Then you leave your creation be put inside the kiln and can pick it up within the next few days. No matter what, Petroglyphs Ceramic Lounge is a fun way to have a conversation with with friends as you express your creative side.

Now that you have heard about a few fun options to cure the dog days of summer, there is not much left to do but try them.

Thor: Just another super hero movie?

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BY WILL DAKHIL

ou win this round Thor. I went to see Thor for two reasons. First, Iron Man 2 was really good and I wanted to see what would be next. Second, I was looking forward to making fun of it the whole time, but surprisingly, the movie was great.

The plot was original and had a lot of unexpected twists. In the movie Thor was supposed to be crowned king but was thrown out of Asgard (the mythical home of Norse gods) for starting a war with the ice giants. While on earth, he learns lessons and changes his views on life. The moral of the story is don’t be an arrogant jerk.

I’ve never been a fan of spoiling movies so I’ll just leave it at that.

The special effects were phenomenal and the animation was breath taking. My favorite part of the movie was the costumes.

They were downright fantastic.

The wardrobe department outdid themselves. It was a treat to see the magnificent suits of armor.

However, the acting could have been better. The leads weren’t great. Chris Hemsworth didn’t fully make me believe he was a fallen god, but hey, he gave it a shot. Also, Natalie Portman gave in too fast to her love interest, and made it hard to believe that she was truly in love.

That being said, it seemed as if the actors with the smaller roles out did those with the lead roles.

Tom Hiddleston (the main antagonist Loki) really sold “villain” right off the bat. I was impressed.

Kat Dennings rocked as the funny sarcastic assistant, Darcy Lewis.

All in all, I would recommend this movie. (3D especially). It was a good movie, there was action, romance, and stuff blew up. What’s not to like?

Thank God that’s over Eight reasons junior high won’t be missed

H • •

w Folsom Lake – many marked horse and bike trails, also used by local runners w Miner’s Ravine – paved trail w Cavitt Trails – close to home, connected and similar to the folsom trails

Gazette 2 Photo illustration/DANIELLE DIETERICH

• • • • • •

BY SARAH TORKELSON ere are some reasons why the student body should be happy to have moved past their junior high days and on to bigger and better things here at Granite Bay: A larger student body means many more opportunities to meet new people and make new friends GBHS provides many exciting electives such as culinary, journalism, ceramics, and art.

The school hosts more dances than the junior highs do. These dances are more varied with themes and decorations.

The block schedule means that students only take four classes at a time.

The teachers are passionate about their job and often connect with their students.

The lunch menu has more variety than a junior high menu with items like teriyaki chicken, orange chicken, sandwiches, tacos, spaghetti and more.

Students are allowed to use phones and iPods at school.

Ten minute passing periods mean time to talk with friends between classes.

Sports

Page 6

The danger of contact sports

Granite Bay Gazette 2

Fridayw May 20, 2011

New school, new experiences Freshmen athletes try new sports as they enter into high school

How concussions affect athletes

BY TAYLOR SIMON Like any other game, Granite Bay senior football player and wrestler Ryan Williams, played his best. It was September 3rd 2010, during the first quarter of a football game at St. Mary’s in Stockton.

Williams had always been a hard hitter.

He hit so hard, that this particular day, “he took himself out of the game.” His mother, Julia Williams, said.

Mrs. Williams was surprised to see that Ryan wasn’t playing, and even more shocked when she noticed that the coach was evaluating him. Mrs. williams and her husband went to the coach to see if he was okay. “He wasn’t sure where he was,” the coach had said. “He forced a fumble in order to be taken out of the game.”

During half time, Williams’ parents took him to the emergency room in Roseville to see what was wrong. The doctor said he had a concussion, and that he should “wait two weeks before playing again,” as well as “limit[ing] everything” that could cause harm.

When a person gets a head injury, it can lead to the brain knocking against the skull. This can cause bruising of the brain, tearing of blood vessels and injury to the nerves. If this happens, a person can get a concussion. A concussion is a temporary loss of normal brain function.

If a person manages to get more than one concussion, it can lead to many serious problems. If the brain is seriously injured, someone could have long-lasting problems with movement, learning, or speaking.

Ryan experienced headaches for about two weeks after the incident.

It took him about five hours to get back to normal, and still, he was “slow to react” and “dazed,” Mrs. williams said. Ryan didn’t go back to playing football until nearly a month later.

During this game, Ryan had the oppurtunity to impress many college scouts. It was important that he played his best.

Later on, he had his first wrestling tournament since the incident. He had tied three rounds against his opponent, and went into five overtimes.

During one of the rounds, he headbutted his opponent, suffering another concussion. “It took him two hours to get back to his normal state,” Mrs. Williams said.

After this, Williams’ parents took him to see a pediatrician. Again, he was told to wait two weeks before going back into football and wrestling.

His parents were still worried about him. Since concussions can be fatal, Mrs. Williams decided to take further action. They agreed to take him to see a neurologist, which brought sad news.

“The doctor said we wouldn’t like what he had to say. He couldn’t play anymore contact sports. That meant no more football or wrestling,” Julia said.

Ryan’s multiple concussions put his health in danger. Concussions can lead to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss down the road. “We decided what would be best for him long term,” said Mrs. Williams.

It was a mutual agreement to remove Ryan from any sports that could evidently harm him.

Even though Ryan can’t play contact sports anymore, he still continues to stay active. “He has other opportunities,” said Mrs. Williams. He still works out, lifts weights and was even a coach for powderpuff this year.

“I still enjoy working out and I’m looking forward to playing sports in college,” Williams said.

For the first time in GBHS history, boys’ wrestling won the SFL League section championship. Sadly, Williams’ injuries prevented him from participating in the championship.

“It was bitter sweet. The team did well, but it hurt because I wasn’t apart of that.”

Williams might not be able to play football or compete in wrestling tournaments, but he still has other options.

Taking Williams out of contact sports was the best choice. It might not have been his preference, but when one door closes, another will open.

Gazette 2 photo /Jonah Poczobutt

First time swimmer Francisco Cervantes practicing for his breast stroke race at sections

BY JONAH POCZOBUTT High school sports are great for exercise fun, and competition, but is there opportunity for new athletes to join a sport in high school?

Club sports are great for exercise and practice but don’t give competitors a chance to represent their school.

One of the goals of high school sports programs is to provide an opportunity for students to participate on a school team.

However, on some teams the level of competition is just too high for a first time athlete to join. With coaches making such harsh cuts, even experienced athletes may not be able to play for a high school team.

This leaves many athletes without a team. These athletes are forced to look elsewhere if they want to participate on a school team. But with many teams making cuts, the probability of these athletes finding a team to join is very low.

For others, stepping out of the comfort of a familiar team into a new sport with different teammates can be intimidating.

However, there are some exceptions. CJ Stone, a

freshman, was playing on the school football team when he suffered a severe knee injury. Unable to play football due to the conditions of his recovery, he was left perplexed on what to do for an athletic activity.

“My neighbor told me I should try swimming.” CJ said. Sure enough, diving into the water rekindled his competitive flame. “[Swimming] is awesome.” Stone said.

Water sports appear to be a good option for independent athletes that want to contribute to a team.

Francisco Cervantes, a first year swimmer and water polo player, said “I got a lot of playing time. The team was great.”

This activity also doesn’t require a lot of experience.

“The sport was really easy to learn,” Cervantes said “I liked water sports and I wanted to do something athletic, so I did it.”

Even people who did not grow up on a swim team can join and become great swimmers. For example, Frankie Cervantes made a section cut for breast stroke in his first season on the Granite Bay swim team. The swim team makes very few cuts, making it a good option

for athletes who are looking for a new team. This also relieves some of the pressure of tryouts.

Some students still worry about not being accepted by their teammates.

However, these athletes felt welcome joining a new team. Jacob Smith, a freshman water polo player said “(he) was definitely included.” This is something that is important for athletes looking for a sense of team in their sports.

These sports also give contestants the opportunity to push themselves. “I liked the challenge water polo presented,” Smith said.

So it’s not too late for lost athletes to find a team to take them in. “The people, the coaches, and the sport in general are different than anything I’ve ever done,” CJ said.

All of these competitors are excited to continue pursuing their sports. “I look forward to continue playing water polo.” Said Jacob Smith.

There are a lot of opportunities for students to try a new sport.

Out with the old, in with the new Lacrosse quickly gaining more popularity at Granite Bay High School

BY HAYLEY MCAVOY The fastest game on two feet. No, it’s not basketball or soccer or any other well-known sport, this is lacrosse.

Lacrosse is a relatively new sport at Granite Bay, gaining popularity on the west coast over the past couple decades, whereas, other major sports have been played for centuries.

Not too long ago, lacrosse was a sport stuck in prep schools on the East Coast. Now it’s on ESPN and played across the country The innovation in the sport gives it an edge, and captivates and compels athletes with its fast-paced aggressive nature.

Some people, like varsity player Daniel Arnt ‘12, didn’t even know much about lacrosse until playing the game in 7th grade P.E. Arnt became interested in the game only in 7th grade. He went on to play club and, now, plays varsity.

For most other sports, this is unheard of. For example, Granite Bay soccer players are all prodigies that have been playing since birth.

Each year more and more people are trading in their defeated soccer cleats or baseball bats for the new opportunity of a lacrosse stick.

According varsity player, Tyler Arneson (sohphomore), “There are more and more, good teams and players in our area every year.” All these great talents create more local competition.

As for the nature of the sport itself, “It is a full contact sport, but it also (requires) a lot of skill,” Arneson said, “it takes aspects of a couple different sports and rolls it into one.”

Those aspects include the skill and technique of hockey and soccer, the speed and agility of basketball, while still maintaining the strength and aggression of football.

Combining them makes lacrosse stand out as a high intensity, highly skilled sport.

Varsity boy’s coach, Scott Pink said, “It is a fastmoving game, with lots of action, scoring and hitting,” There is never a dull moment, and as each second passes, the intensity and speed of the game increase. The players keep going nonstop.

This is different than other sports like soccer and football. Those are played on such a large scale, that players are often left without contact with the ball for long periods of time.

The ever-moving sport of lacrosse forces players to stay on their toes and ready for whatever happens in the game.

According to Arnt, lacrosse requires various skills to play.

Players must be disciplined, physical and aggressive in order to play the game.

In fact, Arneson said, “it has as much contact as football.”

This surprises most people, but lacrosse is a full contact sport.

And as the sport has evolved, the players have gotten bigger and stronger, according to Pink.

The more this sport progresses, the more it is recognized by everyday people.

Lacrosse is becoming a major sport in America, and a winning sport at Granite Bay. The team is ranked 20th in the state, behind the top teams in the Bay Area.

But, Pink said, “(We) are becoming more competitive with them every year.”

Lacrosse has captivated the minds of many young boys and girls in our area, due to its innovation, and fast-paced and brutal nature.

So lax bros, play on.

Gazette 2 photo/ NATALIE HASKELL

Friday May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette II

Commentary

Frosh plays with the big boys

Page 7

Freshman baseball player tells about his experience playing on varsity joey mugno

Quad vs. dirt bike W

hat kind of machine is better, a quad, or a dirt bike. Everyone that has ever put a leg over a quad, a dirt bike, or both always want to know the answer.

Dirt bikes were the founding machines of the dirt. They are mixture of a bicycle and motorcycle, making them a much more difficult machine to master. They are harder to ride because of the weight distribution of the rider and machine.

Quads are more similar to cars or dune buggies in that the driver needs no skill or technique to ride.

This is my opinion though; others may feel differently than me.

I have been riding dirt bikes since I was eight years old and I love the feeling of having control over a machine.

I have been mastering the skills of my dirt bike, but I know I still have tons of more to learn, and whenever someone gives me advice of how to perfect my riding skills, I always listen.

I tried riding quads at a friend’s farm last summer and absolutely hated it. In my opinion, they take no skill what so ever to ride. All you have to do is turn your bars and push the thumb throttle.

Now don’t get me wrong, its not that I don’t wish that a quad was never invented. They have some great purposes.

For example, on my friend’s farm, they have lots property and there is some rough terrain. This is where a quad is a better fit than a dirt bike. All you have to do is hop on and push the throttle and let the four wheels do all the work for you. A dirt bike on the ranch just would not be sufficient for getting around.

Every local riding place I go to, there is always a crazy quad rider that has no respect for anyone else around him.

My friend and I were out on a trail ride, riding smoothly and watching out for other people. Then, around a blind corner, a quad rider came going about 40 mph and ran right towards my friend. Luckily he was able to avoid him and the quad only nicked his rear tire. The quad rider didn’t stop to ask if he was okay, he just kept riding out of control on the trail.

Quads are the right kind of machines to have on your farm, or property, but definitely not suitable for any track or trail riding.

BY olivia boucher “It takes hard work, devotion, and experience to make the team,” says Vinny Esposito. This year Esposito was the only freshman to make the varsity baseball team. Some would think that being around older plays, such as juniors and seniors, would put a lot of stress and pressure on an incoming freshman, but Esposito explains that’s not the case. Since his talent has led him to play above his age level throughout his entire baseball career, he says he is used to the pressure, and it easily makes him a better player.

Clearly there are many pros and cons to playing on an older team.

The amount of playing time is less when the players are younger. On the baseball team, the amount of time the players spend on the field is determined by their years of experience. So as a freshman coming on to a team of all older peers, Esposito admits, “At times, yes, I do have less playing time, but it’s worth it because playing at a higher level will make me better.”

Even though he may have less playing time, that doesn’t mean his coach doesn’t push him as hard as the rest of the players.

The varsity coach for the baseball team here at Granite Bay High School is Coach

Esposito.

When asked if having his dad as a coach was a motivator he said, “It’s definitely a good thing because he pushes me even harder to do better.” Which shows that he is treated the same if not pushed more then the rest of the players on the team.

Some seniors may not be open to the idea of having someone so much younger on the team, but senior Jimmy Jack says, “Personally I love Vinny. He fits in with our team and it doesn’t even really seem like he’s younger.”

Esposito and Jack both seem to agree on how well the team is bonding and working together. The players seem to be getting along very well and is some cases “a little too well [in a good way]” in Esposito’s opinion. He says, “At practice we always seem to be messing around with each other.” Jack agrees by saying, “We are a little immature. Other than that our team is meshing really well and working really well together.” Once they’re on the field they put on their game faces and use their team bond as a way to beat the other team.

Jack says Esposito, “has more experience that most the kids on our team. And I know he deserves to be on Varisty.” This

Courtesy photo /Julia williams

‘experience’ he mentions has to do with the fact that Esposito has played across the country at different high level events on an older team. He seems to play his best when pushed the extra mile by either his dad or fellow teammates.

Considering Esposito is so used to playing on an older, more advanced team, his dream of getting into college for baseball is not too far away. If you see him around school, you might want to get his autograph; it may be worth a fortune one day.

you like “Zumba-ing” the way to fitness IfZumba, Zumba dancing is gaining popularity in the work-out world

BY Jonah Poczobutt Almost everyone at Granite Bay is familiar with Zumba. Some say it is a Columbian word meaning to “buzz like a bee.” However, acording to the creator of Zumba, Beto Perez, “Zumba actually doesn’t mean anything… but it has come to mean different things to different people all over the world.”

For such a huge movement in fitness, the beginnings of Zumba are almost unbelievably humble.

“One day I walked into one of my classes and realized I had forgotten my music. I improvised the class using what was considered very non- traditional aerobics music and Zumba was born,” Perez said in an interview with a Fitness Passion.

For many, exercise seemed too boring and strenuous to be fun. Through Zumba, participants can burn up to 500 calories an hour while dancing.

Zumba has helped millions of people around the world stay in shape and improve their overall health.

One of the many who have benefited from the “Zumba revolution,”

is singer and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. The artist recently lost thirty pounds. “I just started doing Zumba and it’s so much fun,” Sparks said in a interview with In Touch magizine.

Zumba has impacted people around the world, and here in Granite Bay. Many Granite Bay students have participated in Zumba with Mrs. Walker. She is one of the many people who have made a career out of Zumba. As a result, she frequently makes guest appearances in GBHS P.E. classes to give students their monthly dose of Zumba.

Her Zumba passion branched from her desire to mix things up a bit while still teaching aerobics. “When I first started teaching at Granite Bay, I wanted to be able to do something fun during aerobics. (So), I got certified to teach Zumba,” Walker said.

Walker recently had the priveledge of “Zumba-ing” with the dance’s creator, Beto Perez. “I got to train with him last March and it was a lot of fun,” Walker said.

Most students prefer Zumba to other exercise methods used at the school. “I like dancing and (Zumba) is a lot better than running,” sophomore Megan Beiler said. “It’s a fun way to exercise,” sophomore Hayley McAvoy said, agreeing with Beiler.

While some may find Zumba awkward or uninteresting, most Granite Bay students can agree that this method of exercise is great for anyone looking to have a good time while exercising. “The key is that it’s fun,” Walker said “People stick with Zumba because it’s fun.”

For those who wish to take their Zumba experience farther than P.E., Walker teaches Zumba classes at California Family Fitness and encourages Zumba for anyone looking to have a good time.

Gazette 2 photo /Nicole Bales

riding bikes or lifting weights be sure to take Mrs. Walker’s FITNESS class, formerly called Aerobics before you graduate!

Beach Hut Deli- a huge wave of flavor for over 30 years!

6823 Douglas Blvd. Granite Bay, CA 95746 BeachHutDeli.com 916-791-3130 Like us on Facebook!

Reviews

Page 8

Friday w May 20, 2011

Nuyo

T

BY MADI TOULOUKIAN

here must be dozens of frozen yogurt places all over the 95746 zip code. But my personal favorite, Nuyo, has to reign supreme.

I recently visited the trendy frozen yogurt shop, popular among many Granite Bay residents, and was instantly impressed.

The moment I walked in the door, a friendly young employee greeted me with a smile and asked me how my day was going. The shop appeared clean, organized and modern, with an eco-sort of twist.

A large, colorful sign informed me that not only does Nuyo have a variety of different frozen yogurt places; it also has an array of shaved ice.

The frozen yogurt selection ranged from fruity and tart flavors, like pomegranate and peach, to decadent cheesecake and cookies and cream.

Even the classic, simple vanilla flavor is one of the best I’ve ever had.

I decided to indulge in a dessert-type nuyo, choosing the chocolate milk shake swirled with cake batter.

Next were the toppings, varying from fresh, farm-picked fruit

to sinfully delicious peanut butter cups and chocolate chips. With the soft, chewy, colorful gummy bears and sour worms to crunchy granola and cereal, and even exotic “lychee” balls, there are hundreds of possiblities.

I eagerly scooped up chocolate cups filled with gooey sweet caramel, my mind filled with delight as I added pieces of cheesecake to my mouth watering treat. I topped my frozen yogurt joy with dreamy caramel and gooey marshmallow sauce, finishing it off with classic chocolate sauce.

My Nuyo weighed in at about four dollars, but since I had my super saver card, available to all GBHS students, I only had to pay three – a small price for the little cup of heaven I now held in my hand.

I took in a seat in the tall, modern glass- looking chairs that surrounded a small table and looked around the restaurant. The walls, painted a bright green and blue, reminded me of warm sunny days.

I took my first bite of my Nuyo, and was instantly impressed. The rich, creamy taste of the cake batter complemented the chocolate milkshake’s smooth, perfect chocolate to milkshake ratio.

The toppings I chose mixed with the flavors of the extra sauce and the velvety taste of the frozen yogurt scrumptiously.

Nuyo is a sweet, satisfying treat – the perfect compliment to a hot summer day, or merely to create the illusion of one.

Fro-Yo Battles

Big Spoon

I

Granite Bay Gazette 2

BY KRISTIN TAYLOR

O

scream, you scream, we all scream for frozen yogurt.

Behind Chipotle, frozen yogurt is the new trend at GBHS and franchises are eager for business. Frozen yogurt shops appear in shopping centers as frequently as nail salons, forcing a sweet tooth to pick a favorite. In frozen yogurt wars, the biggest contender is Big Spoon Yogurt.

The customer walks in to a splash of color on the walls

with a giant mural of a sundae, rows upon rows of candy and sweets, and a self serve frozen yogurt bar and instantly goes into their warm, fuzzy place. They feel like they’re on the inside of a gingerbread house or a marker piece on a Candy Land board. There’s an environment delighting in and accepting of sugar, unlike that of some places who fear and try to cover up the concept. The atmosphere of Big Spoon openly admits that they serve dessert, which is what people want when going out for frozen yogurt.

Situated in the Fountains, location serves the restaurant well. On a Monday at 3 p.m. after school, the parking lot was practically packed and filled with mini van families taking the kids out for a treat. The area has a really friendly kind of vibe to it and there is plenty of seating both inside and outside to savor the Big Spoon flavors. Music playing in the background, welcoming employees, a nice spot in the sun, and a cup full of heaven makes the dining experience memorable.

Big Spoon takes flavors and flavor combinations to a creative level. six types of frozen yogurt to choose from,

Gazette 2 photo illustration/LENA EYEN

sauces ranging from pie fillings to traditional hot fudge, and a greater variety in candy then a seven year old would get on Halloween. How many different types of sundaes can be constructed? Sounds like a math problem on a Star test...the possibilities are endless. Dessert can be made into an art project and a tasty one.

Big Spoon has more to offer compared to a lot of its competitors, most importantly that they have cookie dough as a topping and that they serve root beer floats. Also, they’re generations beyond

N’JoYogurt

BY MEGAN BEILER

ut with the old and in with the new. Forget Nuyo and Big Spoon, this summer its all about N’Joy Yogurt.

What’s better than a nice cold bowl of frozen yogurt from N’ Joy Yogurt after you’ve just enjoyed a nice lunch at Chipotle?

Yup. That’s right, nothing.

N’ Joy Yogurt is in a great location. It’s right next to Chipotle and Z Pizza in the Safeway Center. You can enjoy a nice lunch, then go there for a sweet and delicious dessert.

Especially with the rise in gas prices, why would you want to drive all the way to Big Spoon or Nuyo when you could just as easily walk to N’ Joy Yogurt. Not to mention work off that meal you just ate.

Not only do they have frozen yogurt, but they also have over 20 different flavors of gelato. If you’re not in the mood for a tasty bowl of chocolate yogurt, you could always go for the crème brulee, white chocolate rasperry or many of the other flavors of gelato.

Even though N’ Joy Yogurt doesn’t have as many yogurt choices as Nuyo or as many topping choices as Big Spoon, the quality is better than both. And trust me, the flavors they do have are incredible.

Now, I’ve had my fair share of visits to both Nuyo and Big Spoon, but out of all three, I’d have to say that my favorite is N’ Joy Yogurt.

And I’m not just saying that.

N’ Joy Yogurt was exceptionally clean. I did not see one topping spill or one yogurt over load spill, as you often see at the other two.

To add to the cleanliness, the workers were extremely kind and offered us as many yogurt and gelato taste tests as we liked.

So next time I’m craving a big bowl of frozen yogurt, you know I’ll be on my way to N’ Joy Yogurt.

the original chocolate and vanilla flavors, but the simple flavors are just as delicious as the modern types.

The frozen yogurt costs 40 cents per ounce, which isn’t too steep. Four of us went in my family and it came out to less than ten dollars. The deals are one-dollar mini Wednesday and one-dollar root beer float Sunday. Plus, they offer coupons.

And, even though they’re not healthy, they’re still earthy: they recycle their cups.

For big satisfaction, Big Spoon Yogurt’s the way to go.

Pete’s Restaurant and Brewhouse offers customers pasta, pizza and a good time

BY LENA EYEN Pasta, pasta and more pasta. Wherever you go, whether it be an airplane or in Como, Italy, you can get pasta just about everywhere. Not saying that all pasta is good, because macaroni and cheese during a flight to Denver is far from spectacular.

So in my constant journey for good pasta, specifically a spaghetti dish, my journey landed me at Pete’s Restaurant and Brew House on 5540 Douglas Blvd. in Granite Bay (replacing the now gone, Pizza Antica.)

As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with the warm and enticing scent of baking pizza, along with the endless chatter of families enjoying a Sunday night meal.

Within seconds, we were swiftly offered a roomy booth with views of the three televisions scattered across the restaurant, which were muted in place of lively music setting the scene.

Looking at the menu, I was thrilled to find everything from “Fish and Chips” and “Mushroom Jack” burger to their “Veghead” pizza and “Fettuccine

Alfredo” pasta.

I decided on the basic spaghetti dish, with garlic cheese bread and my choice of soup or salad.

After we placed our order, I sat back and enjoyed the warm colors that covered the wall, along with the glowing golden lights, which came together to create a bar like atmosphere (considering there is a small bar near the entrance), something that definitely intrigues me when looking for a place to relax at the end of a long day.

Not right away, but as soon as I became increasingly aware of my hunger level, the waitress arrived with an

Granite Bay High School Dance Show

enormous amount of food (for the hungry three of us.)

Expecting a generous amount of food, I was overwhelmed with a monstrous quantity of mouthwatering food.

The waiter apologized for not delivering me my side salad sooner, however I was too caught up in a friendly conversation at my table to notice. The side caesar salad pushed away all stereotypes of the usually measly side salad, as it filled nearly four inches high a standard plate, nearly larger than my dad’s meal salad.

I immediately dug into my spaghetti dish, which was equally as big.

With each bite I was delighted with a mouthful of flavors that ranged from sweet tomatoes, to a kick of spice that made each bite a little different.

The consistency of the sauce was perfectly thick, but

The Strokes: Angles Alternative Rock Album

BY CHRIS PEI

Hip-hop, tap and jazz, a combination that can satisfy everyone’s expectations.

On May 10th, 11th and 12th our school’s dance classes had their annual dance show in the theater.

If you weren’t able to make it this year, make sure you go next year.

The show was Mrs. Milburn’s first period dance class smiles for the camera very well-choreographed and had a of music. It was nice that people of all ages could large variety of dances that everyone could apprecienjoy it. ate.

After the show, I talked to multiple people who It easy to see that the dancers and choreographers all had nothing but good things to say about it. worked very hard and it all paid off because the I also liked that the dances were kept clean. I show was a hit. don’t want to seem pre-judgmental, but I expected The audience was even more excited as the the show to be racier and more promiscuous, but performances continued and as each dance left the I’m pleased to say I was wrong and that significrowd anticipating the next. cance and character of the dances stayed intact.

Dances included music and inspiration from, Step Overall it was a great show and definitely worth Up, Disney, Hairspray and Michael Jackson. seeing. The dancers are extremely talented and at I’d have to say the tap dance and footloose were some points I forgot I was in high school, but felt my favorite. They were very entertaining. instead that I was watching professionals.

What pulled it all together was the great selection

The New York City post-punk revival rock band, the Strokes, is back with a brand new album, also bringing with them a refreshing, reinvented sound.

Their metamorphosis might come off as unsettling to some au courant indie rock enthusiasts, but loyal fans will likely appreciate their new direction and sound that they’ve achieved on Angles, while still maintaining their nonchalance and classic-rock vibe that they’re so known for in the first place.

The album is filled with melodic, bittersweet songs that accentuate the lead singer’s, Julian Casablancas, signature threadbare vocals. Despite the album’s somewhat mellower feel, it’s apparent that the band has not lost its ability to fashion exhilarant and lively, beat-filled songs.

The single on the album, and the most Strokes-sounding song, “Under Cover Of Darkness” features the Strokes at their best—a wholesome, complete-sounding song that keeps you listening to the end. It has everything one

Gazette 2 photo /nicole bales

BY NICOLE BALES

TCID:BW

not too thick as too make it un-slurpable. And in addition, the pasta was neither too rubbery, nor too mushy.

After the pasta, I dug into the mound of salad, and was somewhat disappointed with the globs of caesar dressing incorporated, making the consistency of the lettuce a bit soggy and a tad sour.

Pushing the remains of the salad aside, I focused on the bread, which was drizzled with melting cheese and a pinch of garlic. Even though it was tasty, it was sadly a little cold upon arrival, however that was easily overlooked.

After finishing, the check arrived, which in comparison with the quantity and quality of the food, was not painful at all. The spagehetti came in at a meager $9.99 (with the addition of meatballs an extra $2.99.)

In the end, my journey was absolutely successful.

Whether you’re in the mood for a melting pizza or savory salad, Pete’s has something to satisfy every palette, along with a cozy, homey feeling that contentedly invites you back again.

would hope for from them: a catchy beat, thrilling guitar solo, fluid and natural transitions, and Julian’s mesmerizing vocals. For those who love the old Strokes, this song is for you.

The album opener, the upbeat and groovy “Machu Picchu”, however, is one of the more unexpected turns on the album, with what seems like 80’s pop influences. Instead of the guitar riffs tearing through the background like in a predictable Strokes song, the guitar serves as an accompaniment to the percussion and vocals, brushing across the ears of the listener.

Of course, the other, even more unusual songs on the album such as “Games” and “Two Kinds of Happiness” also have their own highlights. Making use of synthesizers, and fast-paced, almost ethereal, guitar sequences—each song seems to beckon the listener to bask in its placid tones, though still resonating the band’s strong rock echo.

Even the drum-less “Call Me

Back” shines in its own, quiet way—presenting their fresh new sound in a nostalgic way, reminiscent of their previous albums.

That being said, this album is definitely a new facet of the Strokes. For those who loved the old Strokes, don’t worry, this album indeed holds the strong flavors of their old days, intertwined in gripping, interesting tones and melodies.

It’s a concoction of both old and new, and overall an enjoyable and enthralling listen.

Grade: A

Friday, May 20, 2011

w The Granite Bay Gazette 2

Page 9

free inaugural edition of the Granite Bay High School magazine distributed to third period classes may 23, 2011

Friday, May, 20, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette 2 Page 10

One Day at Granite Bay... t my “ Three days after I go the fence. permit, I crashed into I didnt No, I was not drunk, no eI hit anybody and last tim d lady. I checked, I wasnt an ol lerator merely hit the acce k. I instead of the brea it too; know you’ve done fence there just wasn’t a in your way.”

‘13 -Madi Touloukian

“Freshmen year, at the bathrooms near math, a girl asked me to pee in a cup so she could do a drug test. It was really awkward, so I said no.” -Kaylyn O’Donnell ‘13

“One tim e, we w walking ere to math and Juli Cerro r a an into a pole.”

-Ashlyn Howes ‘1 3

“In the middle of class I fell out of the chair at my desk. My class thought it was hilarious and never let me forget it.”

-Mr. Valentine E X TR

Languages...

Banj our hola

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“We had to make a video fo leadersh r my ip class a nd in the bloopers , my frie nd had a me fartin video of g.”

-Grace R eego ‘14

Arts, Journalism,

History

Yearbook, Photography...

S.G.

Math

“Nothing specific. My whole life is an embarassment.”

-Mrs. Krishnaraj up t to pick n e w i t t e andr and “Jason S his arms y in d n ie e totall his girlfr mped, h as ju e h s butt. It w when r e h n o her 2 dropped - Laura Rogers ‘1 .” y so funn

Science

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History, English...

Library

band

English, Math...

Eng

Theater lish

Dance...

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Ad mi nis tra tio n

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Gym

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milk

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“I was doing a high kick during dance and I completely fell on my butt in front of the whole class and all these hot guys.”

-Lisa Orchard ‘12

“I fell completely down the theate r steps and when I got up, people started clapping so I took a bow.”

-Scott Gaebler ‘1 2

Weight

“I accidentally went into the wrong car after school and walked in on a couple making out...” -Megan Hansen ‘13

“At one of our early morning practices for swim, all the guys took out water balloons and started throwing them at the girls.” -Hayley McAvoy ‘13

r game, JV socce d people r u o g “Durin e hear udden w GO!’ as all of a s ‘Go GB! Go GB! g n out on chantin team ra t im w s hing bu the JV ring not suits. a e w ld the fie nd swim eedos a as really p s ir e h t w er team The oth d.” confuse en ‘13 y -Lena E

“I was playing musical chairs in the cafateria and it was just me and one guy left and when the music stopped he pulled the chair out and I fell on my butt in front of everyone. And they all laughed.” -Rebecca Schmidt ‘12 I ate it going over a hurdle during practice, over a year ago. I still have the scar.

-Christine Zavesky ‘11 Gazette Photo illustration/LENA EYEN AND MEGAN BEILER

STAR: Schools’ future lies in the results of standardized testing Continued from page 1 As a school that focuses so intensely on academics, the mediocre rating of seven is neither impressive nor truly accurate.

Unfortunately, it has serious ramifications.

Having the STAR tests scores widely available to the public means that the results of past STAR tests are the information many parents use to determine which district and school to enroll their child in.

With the poor test scores Granite Bay has commonly been receiving, it is ranked below such schools as Rocklin, Nevada Union, and Del Oro. As can be expected from the old advice that the key to a highly

valued property is “Location, location, location,” areas with good schools have higher valued real estate.

Unimpressive STAR test scores are therefore resulting in the decline of Granite Bay real estate value while areas like Rocklin are experiencing real estate booms.

This is only one in a series of serious issues raised by poor STAR test results and as students begin to receive their scores over the summer the faculty’s freedom to conduct this school as they please lies in danger.

According to Becker, “With poor scores comes more mandated direction from the state in terms of use of funding and training which limits the flexibility we have as a

school to decide on our own direction.”

Apparently the state of California does not find the lack of correlation between Granite Bay’s academic ability and its scores on the state test as unimportant as the school has in past years.

The threat of Big Brother-like government interference may seem like an overzealous reaction, especially considering the multitudes of schools doing significantly worse than Granite Bay on a regular basis.

Regardless of whether this reaction is justified or not, however, the threat is very real.

The irony of the situation is that to avoid a system of “teaching to the test” on a constant basis,

teachers have been focusing more class time than ever on reviewing for the STAR test.

Becker clearly showed this reluctant yet resigned view when he said, “no matter how we may feel about these tests, they are here to stay and if we want to stay in control of the direction of our school then we need our students to demonstrate their true capabilities”.

In short, the future of this school lies in the hands of students, who were willing to take the initiative . . . or who really wanted a grade bump.

The threat of government interference paired with the dropping real estate spells trouble for Granite Bay’s future if the school’s

scores don’t drastically increase.

As a way to motivate the student body to work for improved scores, various departments offered incentives ranging from a parking pass to grade bumps for students with impressive scores.

When asked if the incentives put in place have encouraged her to work harder, Sophomore Nicole Bales said, “Yes because [doing well has] never benefited us as much as it does now and with all the incentives they gave us to do well this year it definitely pushed me to improve”.

So perhaps all the emphasis suddenly placed on the STAR test is not so surprising after all. Perhaps a little motivation is exactly what the school needs.

BUDGET: Prioritize more budget money into education Continued from page 3 Where does that leave the young, the future of the world?

Schools in Virginia are facing a $20 million cut this year. In California 22,000 teachers were laid off across the state in March of this year.

According to The Huffington Post, the reason for these cut backs is because the districts believe they won’t have enough money to pay them.

Meanwhile administrators in Marin County got raises over $10,000 added to their salaries.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the educational UC system will be cutting $800 million from it’s budget, raising prices for students, cutting teachers pay, but giving raises to over 24 executives.

Kansas City is faced with two choices, closing half of their schools or going broke. Fifth graders will now have to go to school with twelfth graders, and they will not have the opportunity to attend a public school, which means that they will either have to attend a charter school or parents will have to pay out of pocket for a private school.

This is both devastating and eye opening to what could eventually happen across the entire country.

The Granite Bay

GAZETTE 2 GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL 1 GRIZZLY WAY GRANITE BAY, CA 95746

Editor-in-Chief Hayley McAvoy Editors Nicole Bales Megan Beiler

News Editor Sydney Kahmann Voices Editor Chris Pei Features Editor Danielle Dietrich Sports Editor Jonah Poczobutt

Pool Room

kristin taylor

“Freshmen year during Day at the Bay, I was going down the slide and my swimsuit ripped all the way.” - Joe Wilkie ‘11

“What’s your most embarassing moment at GBHS?”

This year the government is cutting 83% of district budgets in 43 states including California.

They will also cut jobs 66%.

This cut will cost 700 jobs- mostly in teaching.

California has a little known law that says if funding doesn’t increase by at least 2% from the previous year, the district can lay off its teachers.

This is just a law they placed in there because it’s easy to manipulate and keeps administrators’ pockets feeling fuller than the year before, regardless what’s happening in the state.

The Department of Education stated, “K-12 education receives one of the only significant funding increases in the 2012 budget, though the increase is smaller than last year due to fiscal environment.”

So they can’t put more money into education “due to the fiscal environment?”

And yet the Department of Defense stated that they will continue to invest in the nation’s military.

Everything else in the budget is also being cut, so is it possible that they’re subtracting money from all these priorities and adding it on the military spending?

That explains their budget priorities.

The Department of Education introduced a program, “Race to the Top,” and said that it would bring together teachers, school leaders, and policy makers to, “achieve difficult yet fundamental improvements to our education system.”

I don’t think that involves firing tens of thousands of teachers this year.

I certainly don’t think a smaller teacher to student ratio and squeezing fifth graders in a school with twelfth graders promotes “fundamental improvements” or “meaningful change.”

Teachers, who devote their lives to educating and helping students succeed are painfully underappreciated in this country.

They work to pave the way to a prosperous future which is more than I can say for anyone in politics.

As far as I’m concerned, teachers are the true leaders of this country.

The budget needs to be enhanced to become the foundation of a prosperous future.

We are living in a very fastpaced world and those countries which once posed no threat to the United States economy are about to leave us in the dust.

History always repeats itself.

No matter what seems to be lesson learned always has a way of creeping up again.

I’m hoping that the government will wake up and realize that this is probably the most important issue out of everything that needs to be sorted out.

It’s hard not to think about the major challenges we might have to face after high school and how many of us will not be able to afford college, or be able to find a job.

The United States was built on the hard work of its people, and today the government has let them down.

They are so power driven and corrupt to the point that they’re about to drive our country off a cliff.

Every year, they cut out more and more money aimed at the growth and prosperity of the U.S. and redirect it towards to the destruction of other countries.

We need to get our priorities straight, and spend less time worrying about others and more on how to help boost ourselves.

We are ranked 114th in industrial production growth rates.

That’s not good enough.

What I can’t seem to understand is if the United States has the number one economy in the world,

and California number seven, why do people lose their houses every day? Why aren’t we number one industrially? Why can’t we figure out healthcare? Why can’t so many people afford education?

Why are all our teachers being fired? Why are all these schools being closed? Why is UC having a $1 billion shortfall this year? Why is my country spending trillions of dollars on military and trying to recruit my classmates and me instead of using that money to educate us?

We need to do better than this.

Our generation is next in line, and we’re the ones who are going to be prioritizing the budget.

I don’t want to be a part of that same repetitive generation that accumulates problems and leaves them for the next generation to fix. I want to be apart of a generation that puts America’s needs first by prioritizing education, innovation, and technology above personal gain.

This all starts with educating us.

Government officials were put in their positions of power to create a better country. It is time we as the youth of the country demand the end of a budget system based on the greedy desires of politicians and put our future on the top of the list.

Reviews Editor Lena Eyen Fashion Editor Willow McConnen Photography Editor Erika Chauvet

Staff Writers Amanda Bonin Olivia Boucher Will Dakhil Jessica Huber Emily King Haley Marr Emily Miracle Joseph Mugno Taylor Simon Jacob Smith Kristin Taylor Sarah Torkelson Madison Touloukian Business Managers Mary Haney Brian Mueller Natalie Sekigawa Adviser Linda Dickson Teacher Interns Natalie Haskell Alison Sale

PETS: Be kind and neuter your pets Continued from page 3 ter job; you just have to use the resources that many clinics have provided to make choosing the right veterinarian easier.

And if you won’t do it for your pet, then do it for yourself.

Seventy thousand puppies and kittens are born every day. That is more than the amount of human babies.

All you have to do to save thousands of little animal’s lives is to get your pet spayed or neutered.

It’s time to overcome your fears because the positive overcomes the negative in this case.

Go to your closest veterinarian office now and talk to the vet. If you are scared, they can help you to relax and inform you about the procedure.

Vets do spay or neuter operations frequently, but not as much as they should. If you have a pet that is not fixed, then stop reading this article and call or visit your vet now.

Friday, May, 20, 2011 w The Granite Bay Gazette 2

Page 11

CARDIAC: Becoming a bigger high school issue Continued from page 2 Fortunately, the U.S. does have certain precautions in place for sudden cardiac arrest in a sports game. Each district high school is required to have a portable automatic external defibrillator (AED). An AED helps the heart come out of its shocked state, giving it a chance to regain a healthy, normal heartbeat once again.

Mrs. Warfield, the GBHS nurse, described the purpose of the AED in a more visual way. “(The) AED zaps the heart and shocks (it) into the normal sinus rhythm,� Warfield said. “But if there is too much fatty buildup (on the heart), (the person) needs to get to a hospital for a bypass surgery.�

For those in need of the AED machine, GBHS has two; one located in the trainer room inside the gym, and the other in the nurse’s office. As for operating it, all coaches know how to use the AED because they attend a training annually. “Pretty much all PE teachers coach something, so they would have participated in the training,� Warfield said.

Mr. MacLeane, a health and safety teacher at GBHS, believes that the AED is the key factor in saving someone’s life after sudden cardiac arrest. “CPR doesn’t always save the person,�

MacLeane said. “What a person with a heart attack really needs is an AED to shock them and get the heart back to normal.�

Unfortunately, if the machine is used too late, the AED will not be of any use to the victim of cardiac arrest. It is crucial then, that the coach or certified AED user be able to access and use the machine within ten minutes of collapse for best chance of recovery.

While waiting for an AED to be brought to the scene, CPR should be performed. If an athlete or other sufferer of sudden cardiac ar-

rest receives treatment by an AED or is given CPR, the chance of survival is increased by seven to ten percent per minute, according to the American Heart Association. As a result, people who are treated immediately by either CPR or an AED have a double or triple chance of regaining consciousness.

According to MacLeane, CPR only “stalls (the death),� but an AED allows the victim to carry out life functions without help from others.

A few seasons ago, GBHS experienced its own cardiac scare. During a football game, CPR had to be performed on referee, Ernie Cooper, who had a heart attack during the game.

Fortunately, the man survived thanks to the help of equipment manager, Brain Alvarez, who had the CPR training required to save his life. According to Mr. Dickson, GHBS CP Biology and IB Biology teacher, “Alvarez came over, recognized he wasn’t breathing, and had no pulse so he administered CPR.�

In this case, the CPR still did not allow the victim to function on his own. “A minute and a half later, the paramedics came out with the AED and they had to shock (Cooper) three times,� Dickson said. Only after the AED was used did Cooper regain consciousness.

While GBHS’s story of survival had a happy ending, people aren’t always so fortunate.

As an example, Wes Leonard never regained consciousness. After being rushed to Holland Hospital near his small town of Fenville, Michigan, the varsity football quarterback and varsity basketball combo guard died an hour after arrival.

The Kalamazoo Gazette had named Wes the top player in the boys basketball Southwest Athletic Conference. On the outside, Wes appeared to be a picture of good health, and

unlikely to lose consciousness during a basketball game. But nevertheless, another great high school athlete did die, surprising everyone in his community.

Could Wes have been saved by an electrocardiogram, AED or the practice of CPR? Sadly, CPR and an AED weren’t enough. Unfortunately, we will never know if an ECG could have saved his life.

THANKS

Doug and Marquis for awsesome GB fitness seminars!

Law Offices of R.T. HANEY & ASSOCIATES

ROBERT T. HANEY Attorney At Law

______________________________

Marquis: virgofit.com Doug: totalbodyadvantage.net

6085 Douglas Blvd., Suite 400 Granite Bay, CA 95746 rthaneylaw@surewest.net (916) 772-3300

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Club Cruise

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Call Club Cruise to book your next cruise and earn up to 5% of your cruise fare as a donation to Granite Bay High School!

You will pay exactly the same, or less for your cruise with Club Cruise versus booking directly with the cruise lines. If you are already booked, you may be able to convert your existing booking to Club Cruise and earn contributions for GBHS.

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Log on to www.ClubCruise.com and book your next cruise online.

Convert your existing booking over to Club Cruise (prior to final payment).

Call 916-789-4100 and book your next cruise with one of our experts.

Come in to Club Cruise at 2901 Douglas Suite 220, Roseville and book your next cruise in our office.

Club Cruise Reservations and Information 991 1 ce - Sin CST#203338040

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2901 Douglas Blvd. Suite 220 Roseville CA 95661

Page 12

Fashion Forward

Friday, May 20, 2011

w Gazette 2

As the modern world moves forward in advancements, the fashion world retracts to simpler days full of trouble-free styles. Summer is about freedom and enjoyment and fashions of the season ought to reflect that feeling. Flowy tops and hippie styled headbands convey a sense of bliss and ease. A long necklace is a staple accessory seen worn by many girls at The Bay. As summer approaches and the heat rolls in, the saying “less is more� is proven through fashion.

The boys of summer roll in with loose button up shirts and laid back clothes that fit the season. While not skimming at the lake guys sport layers and baggy shorts. Universal fashion of the summer includes both guy and girl comfort in their wardrobes.

Gazette 2 photos /WILLOW MCCONNEN