March 26, 2010

Page 3: Should birth control be offered at school?

Page 6: Pop culture affects the way students view sex.

High Tide Redondo Union High School

XC Number 10

631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

March 26, 2010

Friday

focus

Perfect Harmony Musical showcases

Today, both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams will play Beverley Hill: the girls at home, the boys away. Go out and support your fellow Sea Hawks.

general

break in the new auditorium

Information

2.

The ASB Finance Office is open for student business at the following times only: before school, after school, snack, and lunch.

by Josh Hillsburg

The College and Career Center student visit times are before and after school, at snack and at lunch. The center is closed during class hours except by appointment.

1.

3.

Club

Information Auto Club-10 California Scholarship Federation- 301 Chess Club- 64 fellowship of Christian Athletes- 823 French Club- 808

4.

info for

Students Sign-up for Grad Night 2010! Forms are in Administration or at redondounion.org under LINKS. The cost $80 until April 30th, $100 after.

Stop by and check out the new daily lunch menu in the café. You can also see the menu on redondounion.org under Students, Food & Lunch Menus.

Space Science Day 2010 : Held at El Camino College on Saturday, April 3. To make reservations or for more information email: SpaceDay@ elcamino.edu or call 310660-3487.

South Bay Adult School is offering a floral design class, which can save students a lot of money when it comes to prom.

Check it out at southbayadult.org or call 310 318-5152.

CSF Spring Registration is here ! If you earned outstanding grades in your academic courses last semester, you should apply to CSF—RUHS’s only academic honors society. Come to room 301 during lunch to pick up and return an application.

All grade levels are eligible this semester. Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

The High Tide is now available online. See: www.hightideonline.org

weekend

weather

Saturday: Partially Cloudy 66˚/50˚ Sunday: Mostly Cloudy 62˚/51˚ Source: www.weather.com

High Tide What’s Inside...

Pages 2......................News Page 3...................Opinion Page 4,5,6..............Features Pages 7,8..................Sports

Clubs to promote cleaner campus

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1. Band Director Mark Aguero conducts at the all-area concert to open the new auditorium. According to Aguero, one of the best improvements in the auditorium is the acoustics. 2. A band plays on stage during the concert. The construction improved conditions for both the performers and the audience. 3. A choir member sings at last Wednesday’s choir concert, “Around the World in 80 Minutes.” 4. Two middle-schoolers play the clarinet at the band concert. The event included not only high school bands, but those from all school levels. 5. Seniors Seanna Iraci and Shelbylyn Allen sings during the choir concert. 6. A male soloist sings during the concert. The group performed multicultural songs at last Wednesday’s conert.

ALL PHOTOS BY CAMI WERNER-LONGO AND JAKE COLLINS

by Cammille Mitchell

Last Wednesday the newly constructed auditorium hosted its first concert featuring wind ensemble, concert band, and jazz which performed by various students throughout the district.

“This event was an opportunity for the younger musicians to see what opportunities are ahead of them in their musical development. Additionally, it was an opportunity for the schools, the district, and the community to see the growth of the students as they advance through the music programs,” Band Director Mark Aguero said.

The new auditorium features improvements including new seats that accomodated not only the attending guests but also the acoustics in the performances. According to Superintendent Dr. Steven Keller, was the most important acoustic change.

“Redondo Union now has a state of the art facility that rivals

many professional theaters,” Aguero said.

Aguero was very impressed with the improvements the new auditorium had made and hoped to see the same reaction from the audience.

“There is definitely a ‘wow factor’ when you first walk in to the building. My hope was that people would notice the clearer sound and acoustics in the performance hall,” Aguero said.

Jason O’Connell, a student from Redondo High who played in the concert, enjoyed performing in the new auditorium and appreciated the new improvements.

“It seemed like it took forever to complete, but it was worth it.

The new seats are great, especially because anyone who had been in the old auditorium knows that we needed new seats badly. The stage is amazing. Acoustically, it sounds really good and it looks great too,” O’Connell said.

Due to the new seating configuration in the auditorium, traffic flow was made easier with the addition of new aisles between sections of seats. The new seats also improved the audiences’ sight lines.

“This concert required us to move many students on and off the stage quickly - the new configuration sped up the transitions, making for a smoother flow between ensembles,” Aguero said.

Administration calls upon clubs to aid in campus cleaning, plans “Green Week” to raise awareness of waste.

In response to an increase in campus litter, school clubs and administration are working together to start a campus beautification program.

“My idea was to enlist the help of all the clubs to help with campus beautification,” Principal Mary Little said.

As a part of the program, clubs will “adopt” certain areas of the school to monitor and keep clean.

“The point is to have students take ownership of an area and encourage other students to pick up their trash,” Assistant Principal Amy Golden said.

“I think sometimes students listen to each other more than to adults. If a friend or another student told them to pick up their trash, they would be more willing to than having one of us telling them,” Golden said.

To combat the escalation of campus litter, the administration has held two meetings with club representatives to discuss the merits of the program and to receive feedback from students.

Senior Nicole Moncada, the Inter Club Commissioner for ASB, has voiced support for the program.

“This campus clean-up is necessary because with the custodial staff cuts, there is more work for fewer custodians,” Moncada said. “If we all pitch in and clean up, it will lead to more school pride.”

The amount of litter on campus appears to fluctuate day-by-day, according to Golden.

“Some days it’s horrific, but on others it seems pretty good,” Golden said. “Sometimes I’ll find a half-eaten sandwich in the bushes and I just don’t get it.”

Golden will be collaborating with ASB on publicity for the program. “[ASB] would like to do a ‘Green Week’ for Earth Day,” Golden said. “Once enough progress is made, we might have a carnival in celebration.”

Clubs that choose not to participate will not be punished, but the administration strongly encourages all support.

“We just want people to pitch in and do their part to keep the place clean,” Golden said.

Roberts recieves ACSA award for perserverence

by Joy Ohiomoba

Senior Krystle Rose Roberts received the “Every Student Succeeding” Award from the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

She was nominated by Assistant Principal Megan Cassette.

According to Cassette, the purpose of the award was to honor students who were doing well in school despite difficult situations.

“It is to give a pat to students who have had really challenging circumstances and succeeded in spite of them,” she said.

Teachers and counselors presented the names of students who they felt ought to get the award. According to Cassette, both she and Principal Mary Little chose Roberts to get the award.

“She has such a positive spirit and she’s ambitious, willing to work hard. She sets goals for herself and reaches them,” she said. “We felt that Krystle really exemplified the kind of student that this award is designed for.”

According to Cassette, Roberts was given a check of $100.00 and was honored at the recognition banquet.

Although she was not selected to go on to the statewide division of the award, Roberts is pleased

that she was recognized for her hard work despite the hardships she has faced.

“I was born a drug baby addicted to crystal meth.

I was taken from my birth mom because she didn’t clean up her act after the court ordered her to,” she said.

She and her younger sister were adopted by her aunt at the age of four. However, when she was 13, she and her sister were victims of abuse from her “mom.”

“My mom used to lose her temper and [my sister and I] would talk back like most teenagers do and so things just got worse,” she said, “That’s how the abuse started.”

Due to problems at home, Roberts began to make poor decisions that caused her grades to suffer and worsened her relationship with her mother.

“When I started high school, I started doing things like drugs, alcohol, and boys. One night, my younger sister saw me sneaking into the room through the window,” she said. “That was when I decided that I had to clean up my act.”

Roberts feels that the mistakes she has made in her life and the challenges that she has been through has made her stronger as a person.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRYSTLE ROBERTS

Krystle Roberts recieves her award at the ASCA ceremony, with sponsors Mary Little and Megan Casette. The award recognizes students who have overcome personal issues and have become “successes.” Roberts was born addicted to meth and suffered abuse and illegal substance abuse until becoming clean.

“I find that the things that I’ve been through and the things that I have seen have made me stronger. You don’t expect a teen to go through all that,” she said, “I’ve already made some adult decisions and I’ve seen the consequences. I definitely regret some decisions that I made.”

She advises teens who are going through difficult times to stay strong and to not try to handle things by themselves.

“I hope that kids who are going through hard times would realize that help is out there and there are people that they can turn to for help,” she said.

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Opinion

2

March 26, 2010

Society needs to accept birth control alternatives

Letters to the Editor

If you have an opinion about one of the articles published in the High Tide, we welcome letters to the editor.

We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar and space constraints. Letters must be signed, and are not guaranteed to be printed.

Please bring signed letters to room 209.

High Tide Editor-in-Chief: Sonya Egan Managing Editors: Danielle Lew; Austin Pritzkat News Editor: Molly Simon Opinion Editors: Jackson Greer; Julia Uriarte Features Editors: Ashley Pournamdari; Sophia Lykke; Claire Simon; Jake Collins; Jonathan Martin; Dylan Futrell Sports Editor: Jessica Cascio Photo Editors: Daniel Fallon; Erika Gavitt Copy Editors: Josh Hillsburg; Joey Hoy; Brittney Madera; Adam Ammentorp; Mark Rieth; Christina Mehranbod Cartoonists: Josh Fogelson, Asad Nazif Staff Writers: Vanessa Alarcon; Cody Anderson; Victoria Balding; Ramya Bhaskar; Shannon Bowman; Claire Chiara; Kelsey Chung; Alexis Curtis-Olson; Michael Cross; Julia Denney; Brianna Egan; Kaelee Epstein; Josh Fogelson; Daniel Garzon; Allie Goldberg; Ulises Gonzalez; Garrett Gutierrez; Meglyn Huber; Bethany Kawa; David Kawa; Steven King; Anthony Leong; Elisa Martinez; Cammille Mitchell; Asad Nazif; Alexandra O’Hagan; Joy Ohiomoba; Alison PeetLukes; Madeline Perrault; Alix Politanoff; Melissa Rosero; Allison Salazar; Alyssa Sanchez; Derek Sarno; Katie Scheyer; Laura Shodall; Casey Smith; Shelby Stitch; Shayna Stuart; Emily Sutton; Emily Vavrek; Anneliese Wilson; Alyssa Wolf Adviser: Mitch Ziegler The High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.

This newspaper is a wholly student managed, designed and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

The High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, 631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

Advertising is $7.50 per column inch, $6.00 if paid in advance. For information call (310)798-8665 ext. 2210.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the High Tide staff.

Students should pick up their trash Look down. See that piece of trash right there? Now go pick it up and put it in the trash can. It’s not that complicated, right?

Then answer these two questions: Why does litter lie everywhere but in the trash cans that can be found pretty much anywhere around school? And why are our principals picking up after us with their seriously awesome Gator Grabbers when you can do it without breaking a sweat?

Maybe if we took the time to walk the five feet to a trash can, school administration wouldn’t have to intervene and push us to show a little more pride in our school.

Administration has proposed a campus beautification program in which clubs and athletic teams will adopt a part of the school campus as their own by caring for it and encouraging others to help keep that area clean, similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program.

It is a nice idea at first glance as students should help out in keeping our school grounds clean. And it’s a nice thought that club members and athletes can set that example.

It probably would come out with great results if students really took this to heart and helped by doing their share.

But, if school groups are to become responsible for reminding others to maintain the campus, what happens to our integrity and willingness to clean up our own messes? Realistically,

Editorial

no one else will care enough to do anything about the litter unless there is something in it for them.

Odds are that these school groups are going to be the only ones really concerned enough about this school to clean up everyone else’s messes. There wouldn’t be any incentive for other students to pick up after themselves

Maybe if we took the time to walk the five feet to a trash can, school administration wouldn’t have to intervene and push us to show a little more pride in our school. when they know that a Key Club member will just clean it up later.

Think about going to a football game. People go to socialize and show support for their school team.

But after the game the bleachers look like a tornado had come and gone, and hardly anyone cares enough to clean up the mess. It’s not exactly a great way to show support for our school.

Showing pride in our school isn’t just limited to attending sporting events and rallies. It can be done in simple ways too, like cleaning up the area where you eat lunch.

It shouldn’t solely be the clubs’ responsibility to encourage others to keep the school neat or to clean up the mess.

Ideally, every student should take pride in their campus and clean up after themselves without being requested to do so neither by their peers nor the administration.

Yes, the campus needs to be kept clean. And yes, it is a great idea for clubs and teams to set an example for the rest of the students. However, it may not be very effective in getting the student population to cooperate unless an incentive is created that will inspire others to see the benefits of throwing their gum away in a trash can instead of sticking it to the bottom of their desk.

Administration should not have to ask for clubs and athletes to take on the responsibility of cleaning the house. They shouldn’t have to ask anyone to clean up period. Keeping our campus clean is a task that should be done willingly by every Redondo student without having to be asked.

If everyone did their share by picking up that piece of trash and throwing their sandwich in the garbage, we’d have a much cleaner campus.

Cleaning isn’t a trend that needs to be set; it’s a virtue.

South bay provides many cheap restaurants

AP test costs pay for more than just tests With $258 saved after weeks of backbreaking manual labor, it’s time I finally buy a new guitar, or even that pneumatic swimming pool for the backyard. This Steven King year however, it is more than likely that money will be spent on my three Advanced Placement classes’ exam fees.

As if spending late nights finishing homework isn’t payment enough, it appears that my hard earned money is going to the College Board.

It turns out that the College Board is a “non-profit” organization that has recently come under fire for you guessed it, exorbitant exam fees.

Yes, there is a fee waiver available to students whose parents’ income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level (collegeboard.com), but there’s a catch: the schools have to pay the difference.

Schools such as Rosamond High School in California are literally running marathons to pay for their AP Calculus students.

Supposedly, all of this money goes back to the development of the test: a multi-year process with thousands of test graders. The money is used to ship millions of exams

In today’s Western society, the responsibility of using contraceptives is most often the concern of the female. Women have the option of using the pill, taking Alex O’Hagan injections, and using the morning-after pill. For men, the most common choice of contraceptive comes in the form of using condoms or getting a vasectomy.

Yet for all the forms of contraceptive available, options are restricted and not always desirable. The condom is is not fully accepted, and is not always effective. While a vasectomy is very effective, it is not readily available or reversible. For these reasons, birth control usually becomes the responsibility of the woman, who seems to have more options of a contraceptive.

But what if there were another option for men in the form of a male hormonal contraceptive (MHC), a pill? Would it have the perfect combination of effectiveness and acceptance in our current society?

Unfortunately, the answer at this time is a firm‘no’.

There has been research in the past for an orally-taken male contraceptive, but nothing has come of it quite yet. In fact, research in the last decade has slowed to a stop.

The slow development stems from the issue of limited acceptance in Western society. A MHC focuses on manipulating hormones to lower a man’s sperm count. The side-effect of dropping the sperm count is that the size of the testes will drop as well.

And in a society where ‘size is everything’, the demand for a MHC is not high enough to create a push for this product.

So with little demand for this product, the Research and Development departments working on MHC have little to no income. The push for a new form of birth control has disintegrated. Even advances in new female contraceptive have been limited.

Unwanted pregnancy continues to be a significant health problem today. According to the World Health Organization, over half a million women die annually from the complications of pregnancy, childbearing, or unsafe abortions each year.

There needs to be a push for more research in alternative forms of contraceptives. The world needs effective and convenient forms of birth control that will be both accepted and used. The use of birth control should be an equal responsibility between men and women.

Michael Cross

across the country and fund teacher development.

But when you put into perspective that the College Board made a surplus of $55.1 million dollars in 2006, one must ask: What is the definition of a non-profit organization?

According to Rutgers University, a nonprofit organization is “an organization not conducted or maintained for profit, whose net earnings are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes.”

Nearly 800,000 seniors took at least one AP test in 2009, according to the College Board. If you have your calculator handy then you know that amounts totals over $68.8 million. And this money doesn’t even

include the juniors and sophomores taking AP classes across the nation.

And they’re telling us this pays for a couple thousand employees and shipment price for exams?

I don’t think so, considering College Board executives make roughly $300,000 every year.

I think the bottom line is that the College Board is gouging college-bound students who they assume can pay the money. And their tactics work because today college admission hinges on the number of AP classes a student takes.

It would appear as if students are stuck between a rock and a hard place called the College Board.

Every weekend students embark on the never ending quest for cheap food. But where to go? There are so many places in the South Bay, every one unique and appropriate for differ-

ent occasions.

If you just want some good, cheap food, I strongly recommend Jack in the Box. The two tacos for only 99 cents is a deal I can rarely pass up. They also have delicious chicken sandwiches for a dollar each. With just five bucks in your wallet, you can easily enjoy a fatty, fried feast at Jack in the Box. But what if you’re a big spender? Mom and Dad raise your allowance and now you have ten bucks to blow on food. Well in that case I suggest making the trip down Inglewood Boulevard to In-N-Out. A number one animal style, no onions, extra cheese, substitute a chocolate shake for your soda, and you’ll believe in heaven.

However, you are not always in the mood for a burger. Say you want some Mexican food. Now there’s always the classic LBJs special C for a mere five dollars and twenty-one cents.

But lets mix things up. Chronic Tacos

just opened on the corner of Torrance Blvd and PCH. The nachos are to die for, the tacos are superb, but it’s the burritos that keep people coming back. The Wake-andBake burritos especially. Whatever time of day it is, Chronic Tacos has what you need to satisfy your hunger.

Saturday night you have a date. You don’t want to seem cheap, but you also don’t want to blow all your money on someone you might not even want to be exclusive with. Where’s the happy medium?

Johnny Rockets tends to be fairly priced and a bit higher quality than most cheap burger joints. And since it’s located at the mall, if the date is going well, you can always turn into a big spender and take her to the movies right next door.

Why not check out Brogino’s on Artesia and Phelan? An Italian restaurant with great pasta, dim lights, and a candle at each table makes for an intimate date that she will love, without killing your wallet.

But for the few of us that are made of money and deeply in love (and enjoy making the rest of us look bad), there is no better place than the Cheesecake Factory.

A fancy dinner over the water at sunset will make her go crazy. Sure you won’t get out of there for under 50 bucks, not including the valet parking, but if you really want to impress someone, Cheesecake Factory never fails.

Opinion

March 26, 2010

Page

3

Should schools provide contraceptives? around Redondo

PRO

Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant and die. Unless, that is, you take preventative measures to prevent possible pregnancies and other unwanted side effects linked with sexual activity. Using contraceptives is important for anyone who isn’t trying to become a parent, so it’s safe to say that if you’re in high Mark Reith school and are sexually active, you need to be using some sort of contraceptive. But should the school be responsible for helping students obtain these contraceptives? And how much of an issue is sex in high school?

In a 2005 report by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the organization stated that 46.8 percent of all high school students reported having sexual intercourse. While this percentage has been dropping over the years, there is still a considerable part of the student population that has had

sex at least once—enough to warrant state funding that would make condoms and birth control easily available through the school nurse.

Some would argue that tax dollars spent on providing contraceptives to high school students is a waste, and that doing this would only encourage teens to have sex. Just because the school provides contraceptives doesn’t mean the school encourages sex. Everyone wants students to stay children-free, and offering contraceptives is one way of doing that.

The school isn’t encouraging sex, it’s discouraging pregnancies and STDs by providing birth control and condoms.

Attempting to convince teenagers not to have sex doesn’t work. According to Harvey Feinberg, president of the Institute of Medicine, abstinence-only programs have no enduring effect on teens’ sexual behavior (www.webmd.com). The federally funded Mathematica Policy Research Inc. published in April of 2007 their report on abstinence-only programs.

The research group found that “participants had just as many sexual partners as nonparticipants and had sex at the same median age as nonparticipants.” Yet funding for abstinent-only programs nearly tripled, from $73 million per year in 2001 to $204 million

per year in 2008 (www.mathematica-mpr.com). By cutting the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for these programs, the government can allocate money to other, more effective programs.

California, along with 17 other states, has already opted out of the abstinence only funding in favor of teaching abstinence along with contraception. If paired with this type of sex-ed, providing condoms and birth control on campus would make the schools’ attempts to keep their students safe even more effective.

Many colleges give out free condoms and make birth control easily available, so why not do this in high school? About one in three high school students are currently sexually active (www.sadd.org).

This means that many students would be able to take advantage of what the school is offering and protect themselves.

The bottom line is that it’s human nature to have sex. No matter what we tell teenagers, they, or some of them at least, will have sex. It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep teenagers from becoming pregnant.

By cutting funding from sex-ed programs that are known to be ineffective, schools will have the resources to keep their students safe and child-free.

It’s no secret that teens are having sex. The high number of sexually active teenagers raises serious questions about what a school’s role should be in teaching about safe sex. Should a school provide contraceptives for its students?

Would doing so promote safe practices or advocate underage sex?

CON

“I think that if a kid gets a condom from school they’ll think the school is endorsing sex.”

–Micha You, Teacher “I don’t think students should be having sex, but if you need birth control, I think you should be able to get it.”

–Sarah Logan, 9

“I don’t think the nurse should hand give [condoms] our because it’s not up to the nurse its up the the parents.”

–Jacob Kirts, 9 “Providing condoms to students will only encourage students to engage in sexually deviant behavior.”

–Moe Elhindi, 11

Do you think sexual education should be taught in school?

“No. Teachers should not interfere with student’s sex lives. It isn’t their business.”

–Michael Springman, 10

Masses of horny teenagers run rampant throughout the halls, fornicating with everything in sight. When left off of their leash teenagers will become as promiscuous as gerbils, dedicating their lives to eating, breathing, fornicating, and nothing else. And with birth control distributed on campus, this nightmarish world may become a reality Garrett Gutierrez Okay, so perhaps hordes of teenagers won’t run around having sexual intercourse with every living thing imaginable if the school begins distributing birth control.

However, we should consider the message we’re promoting by providing access to birth control at public schools. Are we condoning sexual activity among the youth of today? If one looks close enough, the answer has to be a resounding yes.

Everyone who has gone through puberty is constantly being bombarded with messages about sex.

While it’s up to individual interpretation as to whether or not teenagers should be engaging in sexual inter-

course, it’s undeniable that sex sells and that shows, movies, magazines, and other media specifically geared toward teenagers are choc full of sex.

Whether or not sex is good, bad, or ugly is not the question. If it’s outside of school, it’s usually not the school’s business. But if you bring a sexually explicit magazine to class, don’t be surprised when you suffer consequences. The school is a place of education, not another place for teens to have sex. It’s hard enough trying to find a clean taxicab or bus that someone hasn’t had sex in; who wants to worry about finding a clean desk?

So what’s the point of all the sex talk? By providing access to birth control at school, although we may not be outright and explicitly encouraging sexual activity among teens, we are one step closer to turning the school into something its not. When students come to school every morning, they should be focused on schoolwork, not getting condoms or birth control pills.

Why should schools distribute birth control, when it can’t even give an aspirin to a kid with a headache?

The school can’t provide access to any medications for students, period.

Even if a student has a major ache or pain, he or she will not receive any medication whatsoever. If you’ve

got a boo-boo, you’re only options are band-aids and ice. With that in mind, it’s kind of ridiculous to think the school should keep a certified gynecologist, a medical doctor, on staff to prescribe birth control pills to any girl who walks in with the desire to exercise more control over her ovaries.

And if one wants to argue that if the school can hand out band-aids, that it should be distributing condoms, that’s a big leap. Again, the cost of those condoms are going to come straight out of the taxpayers’ pockets, and California’s public educational system is suffering enough economically as it is without having to pay for keeping the sex acts of teenagers safe from sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.

If one of the students wants to have safe sex, he or she can walk into just about any gas station, supermarket, pharmacy, or yard sale and pick up a box of condoms for hardly any cash. And if that student can’t afford to fork out the cash for a few condoms, there are centers that hand out condoms for free. The bottom line is that sex is a student’s business, not the school’s.

Rallies increase class and school spirit The Associated Student Body (ASB) is drawing back from its communist manner of running rallies and moving towards a more laissez faire policy.

Joey Hoy In the past, rallies have been more of a show for the students, which can get boring after a time. They would usually consist of an ASB representative talking and directing people where to go and what to do. Instead of actually participating in the rally, students would merely watch while ASB would pull the strings on its marionette.

Now the strings have been cut and students have been turned from their former wooden, motionless Pinocchio bodies into real boys and girls.

Student involvement is key to rallies.

Do you think schools should provide contraceptives such as condoms or make birth control easier to obatin for minors?

Besides, what would a rally be without the student body? ASB has made a good decision in incorporating the students into the rally.

The salsa team’s preformances are becoming more current and eye pleasing.

They have also become more of a competition instead of a show. By setting the classes against each other encourages students to participate while increasing their chances of actually paying attention and staying interested. It brings back the whole seniority system in high school of booing the freshmen, screaming for your class, and having the seniors win every time. It’s a return to normalcy if you will.

Turning the rallies into a competition amongst the classes will create an array of positives. School spirit can only grow because students actually have a cause for it: supporting their class. That is the one thing that every student at this school has in common: they all have a class that they belong to. Each student is associated with

one and can’t help but represent for his or her class from time to time, especially if you’re a senior.

It can be considered more “class spirit” than school spirit, which can be better since a little competition is involved. Half the kids at this school don’t even know when the rallies are. They come to their first period asking “Why are we getting out of class 20 minutes early?” because they don’t know that there is a rally that day. Even by providing some extrinsic motivation for the students like keeping track of which class wins what rally and having a prize at the end of the year for the winning class.

This is the track that ASB has laid for the rallies of the future. After the last rally ASB has given itself the opportunity to increase participation and expand school and class spirit. Everyone wearing class colors and having the school decked out in the appropriate class colors as well isan idea that is not that far from reality.

“No. I think the ‘sex talk’ should be between you and your parents. I don’t think teachers should teach about it.”

–Travis Fischvogt, 11 “Yes. They should teach both views on the issue so teenagers will be educated about it”

–Brandon Folkman, 10

Compiled by Bethany Kawa and Julia Uriarte

Page

Features

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around

STUDENTS

CONFRONT

Redondo Which do you think is more effective, abstinence only or comprehensive sex education?

“Teaching comprehensive sex education, because it teaches what the consequences are and how your actions will affect your future.” –Albert Morales, 11

“Comprehensive sex should be taught, because there is a higher population of sexually active kids, rather than abstinent kids.”

“Comprehensive sex, because students should be prepared for the problems they will face in the future with sex.”

–Alec Aloni, 12

THE

SEXQUESTION

March 26, 2010

Education and awarness of laws allow students to make healthy decisions when it comes to sex.

Couple works around age difference

by Bethany Kawa

Junior Nich Graham, who just recently turned 18, has been dating junior Alex Johnson, 17, for two months now.

According to California penal code section 261.5, part a, Graham could be guilty of a misdemeanor if he is sexually active with Johnson, due to their one year age difference.

Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony.

This person will be imprisoned in a coun-

ty jail not exceeding one year, or the state prison.

Any person who is 21 or older and engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and will be punished in state prison for two, three, or four years.

Although juniors Alex Johnson and Nich Graham are familiar with the law, it does not stop them from dating.

Johnson, though not sexually active, believes that the law is unfair.

“I have never really thought about this law before. But, I think if someone wants to be sexually active, it shouldn’t matter if their partner is over 18. The legal age to be sexually active is 16, and I don’t think there should be another age limit at 18,” she said.

Johnson’s parents know that they are dating

and do not have any problems with it.

“My parents and I do not worry about getting in trouble because we aren’t doing anything wrong,” Johnson said.

Graham on the other hand, agrees with the law and understands the purpose of it.

“I feel the law is logical, and I can understand where the law makers are coming from because there are a lot of immature teenagers in the country,” he said.

He does not see this law affecting his future realtionship with Johnson.

“Since we are mature and can handle ourselves, I don’t see the law affecting the future of our relationship,” Graham said.

Like Johnson, Graham’s parents know that he is dating someone under the age of 18, and do not have any concerns.

“My parents are not concerned about the

situation because I am a very responsible person in their eyes. Alex and I do nothing that is illegal, which keeps us in the clear regarding the law,” he said.

Graham believes that sexual intercourse does not define a relationship.

“Having sex is not the epitome of a relationship. I think that having fun and enjoying each others company is the epitome of a relationship,” he said.

Health teachers clarify and give students answers about sex

by Elisa Martinez

–Andrew Faris, 11

How have highschool health classes prepared you for being sexaually active in the future?

“I took health in Ohio, a more conservative part of the country.

They screamed abstinence at us, and there weren’t any pregnancy problems in our –Kyle Esparza, 12 school.”

It isn’t always littered with clichés about birds and bees and storks and such; sometimes it’s all about memorization and diagrams with labeled parts. No matter what their teaching strategies, health teachers seek to inform students on the topic of sex.

“As adults, we want what’s best for the students,” Assistant Principal Amy Golden said.

According to Golden, part of “what’s best” is exposing students to the consequences of their actions and dispelling the “it could never happen to me” mentality that younger generations have.

Health teacher Alvin Fletcher agrees.

“It is very important to teach sex education because the ramifications of not teaching it are immense. Teen pregnancies, STDs and abortion are issues a young teen is not prepared to handle the consequences of,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher’s class focuses on the basics of the reproductive system (anatomy, pregnancy, and

the development of the baby) as well as the hormonal changes that accompany adolescence.

Health teacher Gene Simon follows much of the same curriculum as Fletcher. According to Simon the major importance of sex ed isn’t to be the only source of information for teens, but to be a means of clarification.

“Frequently, interested high school kids take advantage of sources readily available in today’s media, so kids have more informationabout sex available than ever before,” Simon said. “It’s important for the health teacher to clarify what the facts are as a resource who’d interested in promoting and protecting [the student’s] physical, mental and social health,” Simon said.

In order to clarify such things, Fletcher is open to most questions his students ask and has even given them the option to anonymously submit them.

Physiology teacher Anita Stoddard also utilizes this practice when teaching sex education.

“I always answer questions posed by my

students about anything they want to ask and, at times, the questions deal with sex. I answer them in a clinical fashion. My feeling is that students need to have correct information, and I do my best at providing this for them,” Stoddard said.

Though she is open to discussing any topic her students bring up, most topics have to be brought up in class to be discussed in detail. Things such as pregnancy and STDs are touched upon briefly during normal lessons, unless students ask to know more.

Stoddard thinks that it’s important that these topics be discussed. Like Golden, she sees value in informing teens of the consequences of sex.

“High school students are at a very important stage in their development. Their bodies and feelings are changing almost on a daily basis. They will experiment with sex,” Stoddard said. “This is why it is important for them to be educated so they can make smart decisions.”

According to Golden, having these class-

room discussions may help some kids become more enlightened about sex because it provides a safe environment to talk if its’ difficult to have the discussion with parents or if parents avoid the topic, as Fletcher and Stoddard believe.

“In a perfect world, it should be up to [the parents] to teach their child about sex. But this is not a perfect world, and some parents may feel that the discussion of sex is a daunting task that is best avoided,” Stoddard said.

Though she believes that some parents may avoid discussing sex because their children may think they’re condoning it, many parents do a very good job of educating their children and she’s happy to fill in any blanks her students may have.

“Whatever the case, students need to be informed so they can make good decisions,” Stoddard said. “However I can be a part of this education process, and I will do my best to provide my students with the best information there is to offer.”

Features

March 26, 2010

Page

‘I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me’ Marvray and Garcia discuss the phenomenon that is Lady Gaga.

by Victoria Balding

People were screaming and yelling and the theater was packed. Suddenly the lights went down and Lady Gaga emerged onto the stage.

This was the moment that junior Christiana Marvray, a dedicated Lady Gaga fan, had been waiting for.

Many pop artists have exploded onto the scene and faded gradually as their fifteen minutes of fame end, but Marvray believes that in Lady Gaga’s case it may be a different story.

In Jan. 2009, Lady Gaga’s first single “Just Dance” became a hit, according to billboard.com. She has since had many chart-topping singles such as “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” featuring Beyonce Knowles.

The pop artist has also captured attention with her unique fashion statements and adventurous style.

Most may see her as another pop singer who had temporarily captured the media’s fascination, but people like Marvray see her as the next big artist.

“It’s her style that sets her apart from any other pop group,” Marvray said.

Marvray follows Lady Gaga on Twitter

and checks Gaga Daily, a blog, in order to always know the latest news.

“She isn’t afraid to be different or sexual or out there, and she knows that you don’t have to hide who you are…she isn’t the cookie cutter pop artist,” Marvray said.

While she is a big fan of her style, Marvray is drawn to more substancial elements

“She isn’t afraid to be different or sexual or out there and she knows that you don’t have to hide who you are.”

—Christiana Marvray

PHOTO BY DANIEL ÅHS KARLSSON

Williams produces music

by Allison Salazar

Junior Chris Williams starts with a beat and then adds in other sounds until the mix is just right. Although he works from his bedroom, he has produced unique beats for upcoming artists for two years. Producing has become more than a hobby for him; it has defined his future.

“Being a producer is something I feel I can take to the next level. I feel if I can put my mind to it, I can accomplish what I need to do. It is something I love to do and I am good at it,” he said. “If I keep going at the rate I am, I hope and pray to God I can get signed by a major label by the age of twenty-one. I have faith I will get signed.”

Williams started producing music two years ago when he discovered he could compose different types of beats his friends could rap to.

His friend and rapper, Garland Heard, encouraged him to pursue his dream. Heard signed him to his underground label, The Hundreds Entertainment, in Sept. 2009, according to Williams.

“Some of my producers and label mates were all in the studio going over some beats off my record one day. I played a song I recorded to one of Chris’s ‘Mellowboy Beats’ and they all felt it,” he said. “It was that song that opened the doors. Once the C.E.O gave me the okay, I personally signed him because I see a bright future for him. There are not too many cats out there with natural talent like his.”

The technique Willliams uses, is different from professional producers. He works from home and guides rather than directs artists from different parts of the nation, including Ohio and Apple Valley.

Although he is open to different types of music, he refuses to do country music and focuses mainly on hip-hop and R&B. “I’m not the bossy type who directs people and tells them exactly what to do. I’m a people person. I don’t limit myself to anyone. I put people on game if they are serious about making music,” he said. “I listen to my artists and see what they have in mind.

Then I let them know what I have in mind and we collaborate to make great hits. I produce rappers, singers, newly signed artists, and any artists that want to get there music exposed.”

This style has helped Williams develop close connections to his artists and to his collaborators. According to Williams, he takes risks and by challenging himself and he has developed diversity in his productions.

“Chris is different. He has a rare style and ear for music as I do. He came into contact with some of my music a couple years back and even though he had never produced before, I let him produce for me.

I helped guide him into the right path and to this day he is one of my favorite producers,” he said.

Heard emphasizes the potential and talent that he sees in Williams.

“He keeps an open mind because he

of Lady Gaga as well.

“Other than her style and lyrics, I’m really drawn to her outlook on life and her overall attitude,” she said.

Marvray feels she can relate to Lady Gaga’s music because “there is a song for every mood that [someone] could be in.”

On Dec. 19th, Marvray went to go see her icon in concert at the Nokia Theater even though she had gotten her wisdom teeth extracted three days before the concert.

“It was dedication,” Marvray said.

realizes all musicians are different. He is also a productive person and if I ever need a beat or mixing, he is the first one to hop on it,” he said. “What I also like about him is the imagination he puts into his music. He doesn’t stick to one genre, but the final product always represents his style.”

Another reason why Williams enjoys producing music is the profit. Not only does he have his own money, but producing has given him the opportunity to help his family financially.

“I produce for fun and money. It is something I love to do and it defines who I am.

I also need the money to buy things such as equipment and to help with the groceries at home. I feel I should contribute around the house and that is my way of doing it,” Williams said.

However, Heard believes Williams’ true motivation is passion and that is the reason he has been successful.

“Chris has something we all have at The Hundreds Entertainment, passion for our music. We are not materialistic people. We don’t rap or produce for fame or money, we do it because it is something we’re all passionate about. The money just comes with it,” Heard said.

Despite the amount of time he has to put in to complete an album, producing has not affected his grades. The support his family has given him has helped him stay on track.

“My mom, stepfather Gary and my brothers have been there for me even though they think I get distracted. I balance school and music but sometimes it can get a little hard. I have to say my biggest supporter is my mother; she gives me financial advice and words of wisdom,” he said.

Williams is currently working on producing a mix tape and album called “Born Into This” for rapper Rxbot. He is also working with singer/rapper King, who is signed to Williams independent label, Music is Life Entertainment, to produce his first mix tape called “In King’s Mind.”

However, he plans to expand his practice and pursue a career in the music industry in the future.

“I am finding connections so that I can prepare for the major labels. I know some people that work for Capital Records, Def Jam, and some producers. I’m also good friends with a producer named JHawk. I would like to work in Pharrell’s, Lupe Fiasco’s, and Blake Hightower’s studios when I’m older,” he said.

Heard believes Williams has what it takes to make it in the music industry. In order for him to get enough exposure, he has credited Williams on six tracks in his upcoming album “Born Into This” and he has him down as the executive producer as well.

“I’m proud of where he is at as a producer. He’s incredible right now. I am quite excited to see where he is going to go because if his music is amazing right now, imagine how phenomenal it will sound later on in his career,” Heard said.

According to Marvray, the concert had an extremely friendly atmosphere that made everyone feel comfortable and at home, since everyone shared a common love for Lady Gaga.

“You went not knowing anyone but the people you came with and everyone there was so friendly and nice,” Marvray said.

Junior Abby Garcia is also a huge Gaga fan.

“With every performance, it’s a show for her audience and she does what she wants,” Garcia said.

Even though Garcia does not normally listen to pop music, she is always willing to make an exception for Lady Gaga.

“She brings something new to pop culture and many people like her creativity…she really is only the pop music I like,” she said.

Garcia began listening to Lady Gaga before most people and considers herself a fan from the very beginning.

“I heard ‘Just Dance’ before it was out on the radio or anything and I just really liked it,” Garcia said. Her current favorite song is “Monster”.

Garcia is also drawn to the deep lyrical meanings and expressions in every song.

“Her music has a deeper meaning, is based on her experiences, and deals with life,” Garcia said.

Garcia finds Lady Gaga intriguing and absolutely loves every aspect of her. According to Garcia, she is able to express her various experiences and theories in Lady Gaga’s lyrics.

Unlike Marvray, Garcia has never had the opportunity to see Lady Gaga in concert, but she hopes that one day she will get to.

“I think she could really be the next Elton John or Madonna,” Marvray said.

5

around

Redondo Do you think that pop culture has too much influence on people’s lives?

“Looking at the way celebrities dress, it makes people want to try to dress like them and follow trends.”

–Pamela Mauricio, 12 “I feel like people become obsessed with celebrities when really they’re jut normal people.”

–Gianna Esposito, 11 “Yes, because it’s all mainstream and it’s all over the TVs, magazines, and newspapers.

Everyone follows it.”

–Conor Beatty, 10 “People just idolize anybody on TV because they think that they made it and they want to make it too.”

–Chris Oyervides, 11

THE

INFLUENCE OF

POPULAR

CULTURE

“Yes, because a lot of people look up to celebrities and obviously sometimes they don’t do the right things and aren’t good role models.”

–Cara Ulizio, 9

—Compiled by Sophia Lykke

Whether students are infatuated with pop icons, adopt certain lifestyles, or focus on musical careers, the influence of popular culture is abound.

Ridio admires and emulates ‘The King’

by Anneliese Wilson

It’s another day for senior Nick Ridio.

He walks towards his friends and finds himself greeted with mix of names, specifically “Elvis” and “King.” It’s nothing out of the ordinary for him. After all, he is an Elvis fan.

Ridio has admired Elvis since he was a young child. His dad would constantly play Presley’s music along with other artists. Some of Ridio’s favorite songs in-

clude “Suspicious Minds” and “Don’t Be Cruel”.

“His lyrics and stories inspire me. Some of the stuff he went through, I went through,” he said.

Ridio has many other past and present musical idols, yet Elvis remains one of his top pop culture icons.

“He decided to be a rebel and that’s what I like about him,” Ridio said.

Elvis Presley was known to be a controversial artist, crossing barriers that were considered risky at the time.

Nick’s father, Anthony Ridio, believes that Presley serves as a great role model for his son. Seeing that Ridio’s father had previously met and later befriended Elvis Presley back in 1970, he understands the great characteristics Presley had.

“You want your child to have role models. More than anything, people with substance and character,” Anthony said.

Nick believes that after many years, Elvis still inspires generations of people.

“His image and presence is what made him. To him, it was no prejudices and love [for] everyone,” Ridio said.

Among the sea of popular artists in the late forties and fifties, Elvis Presley’s charming good looks and distinct voice

allowed him to stand out.

“He wanted to be different from everyone else and he challenged people,” Ridio said.

Nick Ridio is used to remarks about his admiration for Elvis, yet he uses them for positive outlooks.

“When I walk down the street, people point at me and stare. That doesn’t [really] bother me, because I try to be different,” Ridio said.

In particular, Ridio’s replicated necklace that he wears everyday holds importance.

Elvis was known for wearing a necklace, which had a lightning bolt and the symbol “TCB,” which stands for “taking care of business”.

“He gave it to all his guys. It symbolized family,” he said.

Ridio mainly takes inspiration from the sixties and tries to somehow incorporate the style everyday.

“I just like that sixties throwback,” he said.

From his hair, to his clothes, even down to his replicated necklace, Nick Ridio is inspired by Elvis.

“Without him, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today,” Ridio said.

Drale admires and adopts the pirate lifestyle

by Camille Duong

With her white shirt, vest, boots, and other accessories, sophomore Katy Drale is ready for the pirate festival.

Drale has been in love with pirates ever since she saw Peter Pan 11 years ago.

“I love Captain Hook and how Peter Pan was a pirate himself,” Drale said. “I watched more movies and did research on pirates and found that I love to be one.”

According to Drale she began dressing as a pirate about two years ago.

“I dress like a pirate a lot,” Drale said. “I go to school in my outfits and out in public; I get a few stares now and then but I do not care.”

According to Drale she also uses the pirate language setting on facebook.

“It’s fun [to use],” she said.

Drale has also attended three pirate festivals.

“I watched more movies and did research on pirates and found that I love to be one.”

—Katy Drale “It was awesome to be in a place where people have the same interest as you,” she said. “There were pirate enthusiasts, pirate bands, and people who make pirate

attire for a living.”

According to Drale her parents think that she has an open mind and are impressed by how much she knows about pirates.

“I think Katy’s love for pirates is amazing and fun to see what she does or learns next,” Katy’s mother, Ann Drale said.

“I won’t say I’m obsessed with pirates,” Katy said. “I do this because I love it and it is so much fun.”

According to Mrs. Drale she does not know if Katy will grow out of the pirate phase.

“We will have to wait and see,” Mrs. Drale said. “If she does then okay, if not I do not mind I think that it is her life so she can do what she wants.”

Page

Features

6

around PRESSURES TO HAVE Redondo Does pop culture create pressures to have sex?

March 26, 2010

SEX POPULAR CULTURE INFLUENCED BY

Pressures to have sex have changed over time to reflect changing social pressures.

“Yes, because talking about sex attracts people and people are interested in the topic because everyone does it eventually.”

–Della Taylor, 12 “Media is exposing kids to sex. It’s like in advertising; sex is being advertised more.”

– Jonathan Orozco, 11 “Yes, popular culture affects people because its everywhere in television, music, movies, and magazines.”

Social norms, sexual pressures changed over years

by Kelsey Chung

– David Alexander, 9 “People are going to follow what their role models are doing . . . they’re going to be influenced to have sex.”

– Loren Brown, 11 “I think kids try to be more mature and be like what they see in movies and shows.

Popular culture kind of pressures kids.” – Lauren Scheuber,10 –Complied by Danny Garzon

Nowadays, more than ever, the media and popular culture are interwoven into every minute of our lives. Every decade, every year, every day, the media changes, creating new pressures. However over the years, the media’s pressures have evolved to a more explicit level.

History teacher Shannon Rodriguez graduated from Redondo in 1981.

Rodriguez sees that the media has a “huge part” in influencing students.

“Pop culture sets the norm. Pop culture has set the sexual activity at an earlier age and has glorified drug use and drinking.

Girls wear much more revealing clothes,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez believes that the social norms, not the pressures to have sex, have changed.

“I think everything is relative. There isn’t more pressure now than there was then. Certain things have become more acceptable than then though, such as drug use, sexual activity, and obscene language.

It could be translated to pressure. But it’s almost the norm,” Rodriguez said.

Keith Van Swearingen, psychology teacher and class of 1989, believes that sex pressures in the media have “changed for

the negative.”

“Society is telling them sex is great and that it’s OK to hook up. People are having sex sooner and are not emotionally ready than they ever had been,” Van Swearingen said.

Although, Van Swearingen believes that sexual pressures are still relatively similar to 20 years ago.

“In the 80s, we had rap and hip hop videos and Madonna. At that time, Madonna’s outfits were pretty controversial. But somebody would look at Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, or Beyonce today and would still make the same statements about Madonna 20 years ago,” Van Swearingen said. “It’s just that boundaries have been pushed but there were those who pushed the boundaries back in 1986.”

Teacher Danielle Berger, class of 2003, sees the sexual pressures students feel everyday.

But Berger believes that there is a major change in the media itself.

“The media teens are exposed to is getting more and more explicit, not just with sex but with violence and other things,” Berger said.

The increasing sexual content in media is affecting younger students every year.

Van Swearingen is especially afraid for the

media’s further influence on future generations.

“I’m worried about over sexualizing girls and boys to the point of having elementary girls worried about how sexy they are or how much they weigh. 20 years ago, it was high school kids getting into sex. Now it’s middle school kids who are getting into sex. In 10-20 years, will it be elementary school kids getting into sex? It would be years of emotional problems, STDs, and pregnancies,” Van Swearingen said.

As an observer, Van Swearingen is already seeing younger kids feeling the need to behave a certain way.

“One of the most frustrating things is how many freshmen and sophomore girls feel that they need to have sex in order to get a boyfriend or boys who feel that they are defined by the amount of ‘conquests,’ or the number of girls they were with,” Van Swearingen said.

Although the media has become more provocative, Van Swearingen does see one positive side of the change.

“Sexuality is a much more open topic of discussion. People feel free to ask more questions about it and not feel weird, which is important for their health and knowledge,” Van Swearingen said.

Besides the sexual pressure, Rodriguez

believes the media has opened up people’s eyes to be more understanding of a variety of things.

“What I do see is that students today are more independent and willing to go against the flow and stand up for what they believe,” Rodriguez said. “People are more respectful of your personal choices.”

Van Swearingen also believes that the media has opened the doors for all different types of people.

Especially with the added stress from the economy, Van Swearingen sees that the media shows the family complexities of real life.

“In the 80s, the shows all showed perfect kids, perfect parents, perfect families.

They made it look as if problems could be solved in 30 minutes. [But now] I feel that the media has done a good job of showing people with many different lives and jobs.

It gives younger people the opportunity to model themselves after different people,” Van Swearingen Good or bad, the media’s influence is inevitable.

“These are major decisions that young people make that affect them for the rest of their lives. They don’t really realize the impact until they get a little older,” Rodriguez said.

Sports

JV/Frosh

March 26, 2010

fast stats

JV

Score vs Torrance: 9-3 W Quote: “Our pitching was great and our hitting was on spot.

We did everything right. Next game we are going to keep our momentum,” junior Tommy Huberty said.

FROSH

BASEBALL

Score vs Torrance: 7-7 T Quote: “We could have cut down some errors in the outfield,” freshman Simeon Philips.

TENNIS JV

Boys’

Score vs West: 13-5 W League Record: 6-5

VOLLEYBALL FROSH JV

Boys’

Score vs Harvard Westlake: 25-18, 25-23 W Score vs Harvard Westlake: 25-21, 23-25, 15-9 W

FROSH

SWIM League Record: 2-1 Key Players: Nick Johnson and Alex Niebergall

by Adam Ammentorp

Girls Lacrosse beat Chaminade High School, 22-1 yesterday and Culver City the day before, 21-0.

“We’re on a roll right now and we want to keep it up,” junior Ava Elsner said.

The team’s game Wednesday was the first shut out for the team, showing drastic improvement for the “young” program, according to senior Jelly Truong said.

“Our Culver City game really shows how far we’ve come since the beginning of the program,” Truong said. “When we first started, we didn’t even dream of shutting anyone out.”

The program has grown so much that a separate JV team was made after last season.

“After all these people joined for the first time, it wouldn’t have made sense for them all to be on JV,” Truong said.

The JV team has gone undefeated thus far, and some girls from the JV team moved up for the game yesterday against Chaminade and against Culver City on Wednesday.

“Playing in the varsity game was a great experience. I hadn’t played against competition like that before, but it was a rush to get in there and go for it,” junior JV player Bonnie Mata-Matthews said.

The coaches felt comfortable moving up the JV girls against Chaminade, and feel this move was beneficial for the girls, as the

PHOTO BY ERIKA GAVITT

Sophomore Mikyla Kotzback shoots the ball in last Thursday’s game against Peninsula. Redondo won 18-4.

competition against both Culver and Chaminade.

“Chaminade is a brand new team, and considering that they’re still working on catching and throwing

JV

[we moved girls up],” coach Tom Borgia said.

After winning five straight, the girls are working to keep their momentum going into today’s game

against Beverly Hills.

“Beverly Hills has never been a serious threat to us, but we can’t let our guard down,” Elsner said.

According to Borgia, the team

is in peak form, supported by the “offensive machine” the Attack provides.

“Whenever we get the ball up to the opposite side of the field, it’s nearly a guaranteed goal,” Elsner said.

The girls have racked up the goals over their past games, averaging 19 goals a game.

“Our offense definitely leads the way for us,” Elsner said.

However, the defense is nothing to shake a stick at, according to Borgia.

“Having Ava [Elsner] back makes a huge difference. When she’s in the game we get the ball every time,” Borgia said.

According to Elsner, this balance of strong defense and “quick” offense is the cause of the girls’ success.

“We always come out fast and try and score as much as possible, then we get into a natural rhythm and let the game take care of the rest,” Elsner said.

The girls play against Beverly Hills tomorrow, who they have defeated in the past.

“We’re feeling really confident going into tomorrow’s game, if we play at our level than we should dominate,” Elsner said.

Though focused on the game tomorrow, the real test for the girls comes next week, playing against La Cañada on Tuesday.

“La Cañada is ranked higher than us, but we’ll find out next week how good they really are,” Borgia said.

Baseball loses to Torrance

Girls’

Score vs Penninsula: 14-1 League Record: 3-0

by David Kawa

Boys’ JV

7

Girls’ Lacrosse still on winning streak

LACROSSE

Score vs Culver City: 3-2

JV/Frosh

sports shorts

by Laura Shodall

He feels a powerful force strike his shoulder and suddenly freshman Curtis Paine finds himself falling to the ground, his collarbone torn completely in two.

Payne was injured a little over two weeks ago during boys’ lacrosse practice.

“At the time of impact I didn’t really realize the full extent of the injury,” he said.

The injury occurred when freshman Chad Simonek, goalie for junior varsity boys’ lacrosse, unintentionally slammed Paine with his shoulder during a drill.

“I was just messing around and I didn’t realize how badly I hurt him,” Simonek said. “I didn’t hit him on accident, but at the same time I wasn’t looking to demolish the guy.”

According to Simonek, Paine didn’t make a scene about the situation and merely wandered off the field for a few moments.

“He wasn’t crying or anything,” Simonek said, “He was being really tough for an injury that bad.”

Paine says that the impending pain of his injury didn’t emerge until he left the field.

“Right as I entered my car, the pain grew almost unbearable,” Paine said, “That’s when I knew this injury was bad, and my mom drove me to the hospital.”

Paine received surgery on his collarbone because each side of the bone had plated on top of one another.

“I couldn’t believe how bad [the injury] looked on the X-Ray,” Paine said.

Post surgery, Paine had to wear a sling for 2 weeks and has now been instructed to keep from sports for two months.

“I’m really disappointed because two months is basically the whole season,” Paine said, “It’s my first year on the team and I don’t even get to play.”

Page

PHOTO BY JAKE COLLINS

Junior Drew Kozain throws a pitch during Tuesday’s game against North Torrance.

Boys baseball lost to Torrance High, 16 - 5, yesterday. The team are focused on its next game on Saturday against Westchester.

“We came out mentally unprepared. That caused us to make two quick errors in the first inning,” junior Drew Kozain said.

The slow start caused the team to lose focus and motivation, according to Kozain.

“They got four runs to start the game and after that we kind of just got down. We were never able to regain momentum or keep momentum going,” Kozain said.

Senior Kyle Esparza agrees that the slow beginning hurt Redondo’s chances. Torrance held a 9 - 0 lead after the first two innings.

“The first couple innings they got a lot of runs. They jumped up to a giant lead in the first two innings,” he said.

Kozain feels the team was

intimidated by Torrance.

“I think we were overwhelmed by the fact that a couple of their players are prospective college players. Also, Torrance is always a challenge. I think we got intimidated by their reputation,” he said.

The team had been preparing diligently, but it was not enough to clinch the lead. The team addressed Torrance’s specific strengths in practice in hopes of being better prepared for the match up.

“We had a lot of batting practice this week to prepare for their pitcher,” Esparza said.

Junior Grant Wessel agrees that the team tried their hardest, but just couldn’t pull out a win.

“We prepared, but they just have a shortstop that is really good. We lost because Torrance is really good and our defense didn’t do so well,” he said.

Despite being down, Redondo made a “slight” comeback.

Softball loses, 5-0

by Kaelee Epstein

The softball team lost Wednesday 5-0 against Santa Monica.

Going into the game the team didn’t know what to expect.

“We were hoping for a win, but we didn’t know much about [Santa Monica] except that they are a tough team. We thought we had a good chance at coming away with a win,” junior Bret Aspel said.

The team lost because they were unable to get good hits.

“We really need to work on our hitting because most of the team strikes out and the others just hit it to someone for an easy out. The key hitters are hitting the ball well but it needs to be contagious throughout the entire team,” junior Linda Park said.

However, it didn’t make any major mistakes.

“We were happy with our defense even though SAMO scored five runs. We had no errors it was just that they were hitting the ball into the gaps,” Park said.

Park had a home run against Mira Costa last Monday and continued to prove to be a key player on Wednesday. In the game against Santa Monica, she caught a hit with girls on first and second base, preventing Santa Monica from scoring that inning.

“Park has a strong bat, she will be a key hitter throughout the season,” coach Jennifer Dessert said Dessert also helps encourage the girls, according to Aspel. “[Dessert] is encouraging words, she tells us we are a better team and we need to show it and get passed [the troubles]. She tells us to show the heart,” Aspel said.

Today the teams plays Marymount which will be their first official game.

It is hoping to do better than they have been.

“This game is expected to be a close one, if everybody hits the ball and if our defense stays great we definitely have a chance,” Park said.

In preparation for the game the team will continue working on hitting.

“We are working on everything possible that will make us a stronger team including teamwork and especially out hitting,” Park said.

Now that the official season is starting the team is going to work even harder and make sure it is successful.

Dessert believes success is definitely possible.

“The team is strong this year, we just need to put our hearts into the game and practice and believe we are the better team,” she said.

PHOTO BY DANIEL FALLON

Senior AJ Anello dives for a dig during a game against Thousand Oaks on Monday.

Volleyball, 13-4 record

by Allie Goldberg

Boys’ volleyball team is optimisitic going into the first Bay League game against West on Tuesday, after a win 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 against Harvard Westlake, and an overall pre-season record of 13-4.

Coach Duncan Avery is proud of the way the team played last night.

“These boys are working pretty hard right now,” he said. “We definitely take pride in hard work and they have been doing great.”

Avery believes that the win against Harvard Westlake was a good win, and the boys gave it all that they had.

Austin Moore, junior, believes that last night’s game was a good

note to end on for the pre-season.

“We came in wanting to end our preseason on a good note,” he said. ”We played strong and determined because we lost to Harvard Westlake earlier in a tournament and wanted to get back at them.”

After a good win last night, Avery feels that the team needs to step it up even more for Tuesday’s game against West.

“The Bay League is arguably one of the toughest leagues in the country,” he said. “We can’t take any games off during the Bay League.”

Avery doesn’t underestimate West.

“Every game is going to be a good game. West is a great school; it has a

“Our pitcher, Michael Heredia, did really well. He came in when we were down by a lot and made up,” Wessel said.

However, this mid-game streak of momentum was not enough to carry the team to victory. The team could not keep up this momentum and lost focus towards the end of the game.

“We came back 9 - 5 in the next couple innings. But, in the last couple innings, [Torrance] got a lot of runs on us and it was too big a reach [to win],” Esparza said.

The team is reworking their strategy in hopes of a win on Saturday.

The team plans to address specific issues of tonight’s game in order to become stronger and more wellrounded.

“We need to just work on our overall game and step it up. We are going to work more on defense because [Torrance] got a lot of runs on us,” junior Adam O’Rourke said. good program with a good coach,” Avery said.

Butler believes that the success in the game against West will be determined by the teams’ mentality.

“We need to keep focus in practice and in our games,” he said. “[To have success],we come together on the court to slow the momentum and we talk about the next play.”

Moore is confident going into the first Bay League game.

“We’ve had a good preseason, so we have to come into our first League game strong to make sure we can keep playing the way we have been, and keep our record strong,” he said.

However, Moore explained that although the pre-season was successful, the team can’t get cocky.

“We’re confident because our team has a huge up side and we can do things this year, but we need to stay focused and can’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.

According to Moore, the team can’t underestimate West.

“West competes every year. If we underestimate them, we will have a hard time closing them out, which has happened in the past,” he said.

Moore believes that the team has been working hard and really deserves the Bay League championship title.

“Bay league is competitive. It’s one of the most elite leagues in the state,” he said. “Being Bay league champs would put us in a great spot to go far in CIF.”

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March 26, 2010

Swim has mixed results

Tennis beats West,15-3

by Alix Politanoff

The boys’ tennis team won its first Bay League match yesterday 15-3 against West, making its season record to 7-5, and Bay League record to 1-1.

Senior Kevin Maniar was happy about the win against West and he thinks that this win will keep the team’s momentum alive in Bay League.

“Considering we lost to them last year, it’s good for our confidence to win by such a large margin, and it definitely keeps our CIF hopes alive,” he said.

Senior Trent Dantzig believes that the 6-0 lead in the first round added to the momentum of the team, and that both singles and doubles played very well.

“Changing our line-up today to have both confident singles and doubles seemed to pay off with a win over West,” he said.

Despite the loss against Peninsula, coach Seibert is still working hard to improve the team.

“We’re still working on getting the strongest doubles teams that we can because we know that the Bay League is stacked with good singles players, so if we’re going to win some points, it’s going to be in doubles,” she said.

Yet, Seibert states that she doesn’t want to strengthen the doubles to the singles detriment because singles is still needed in

helping the team pull out of a tie.

“By stacking up doubles and leaving the singles struggling we can’t pull out of a 9-9 tie if all the singles players are losing 0-6,” she said.

Maniar agrees with Seibert concerning the stacking of doubles and how it can leave singles vulnerable, yet he believes that it has been effective in the team’s recent matches.

“It kind of leaves singles open, so it puts a lot of pressure on doubles to win, but for the most part they have handled it really well,” he said.

The team’s next Bay League match is on Tuesday against Palos Verdes, and while Palos Verdes is a good team, Seibert is keeping a positive attitude and hopes that the team will do well.

“We did pretty well against them last year. I mean, a win would be nice but I think we’re looking more on improving our score from last year because we know they’re a good team,” she said.

Junior Paul Levchenko realizes that Palos Verdes is a difficult team to beat, but he states that if the team does well against them, it will definitely improve morale.

“If we play well against Palos Verdes, it’s going to be a confidence booster for the rest of the season and hopefully will result in more wins in Bay League, such as against Costa or West,” he said.

by Meglyn Huber

PHOTO BY ERIKA GAVITT

Freshman Derek Levchenko, “The Prodigy”, returns a serve in yesterday’s match against West.

Track rests, coasts toward West meet

by Alison Peet-Lukes

Track won against Peninsula yesterday, but according to coaches Julie Ferron and Bob Leetch, the scores don’t come out until some time today.

Ferron believes that the distance team dominated most of its events.

“We are coming in first, second, and third in most events,” she said.

Though it performed well, the team was not running to their full potential, according to Ferron.

“We are trying to not go all out for this meet. We are trying to save [energy] for the meet on Saturday,” she said.

According to sophomore Lyndsey Mull, the team was running to place high, not for times.

“We ran fast because we wanted to place, but we weren’t trying to get a new personal record,” she said.

Mull believes that support for each teammate is what makes the distance team such a success.

“The distance team really pulled it together and pushed each other to get the job done,” she said.

The sprints team did not perform as well as they could, according to senior Ryan Hyman.

“We aren’t doing too well because we have a lot of injuries,” he said.

He believes that the team is not working hard enough to improve.

“The laziness that we have is really making us get injured, when our some players are injured it brings the whole team down,” he said.

Hyman, however, still is optimistic about the future for the sprint team.

“I hope that we will improve. I’m sure that we will as the season goes on,” he said.

PHOTO BY CAMI WERNER-LONGO

Senior Jack Kadelbach sprints over a hurdle, racing to catch up with a Torrance runner just ahead of him.

The hurdlers are also not performing as well as they could, according to junior Brandon Pritzkat.

“We did a little bit worse because the track is different, but we still performed well,” he said.

According to Pritzkat, the Peninsula

hurdle team was good competition for them.

“The races were always really close so we found it important to kick in the end and lean forward to the finish line,” he said.

According to coach Bob Leetch, the girls’ 4 by 800 is ranked number one in the nation, and the girls’ Distance Medley is ranked number two in the nation.

“National recognition is nice, but we are excited to start racing against real competition,” he said.

Senior Chloe Curtis is proud that her team is ranked highly in the nation and is getting recognition for it.

“It is an opportunity for everyone to see how good we are, because no one in our area is nationally ranked,” she said.

Leetch believes that the Azusa “Meet Of Champions” on Saturday will be a bigger meet with more competition.

“We really need to run fast on Saturday. It is a big meet invitational and has the biggest races for this time of year,” he said.

According to Curtis, the Azusa meet will feature our runners competing against each other.

“We’re running individually and racing each other. There will be a lot of good freshman jumping up and will race for a spot on varsity,” she said.

Curtis is excited for the season to progress so the team can race bigger competition.

“We need to get into meets with competition, that’s the only way we are going to get better,” she said.

Coach Leetch is also anticipating next Thursday’s meet against Palos Verdes because it is the first real competition for the team.

“It’s a big meet next Thursday night. It’s a home meet and there are a lot of runners we have to watch out for,” he said.

The swim team lost to Peninsula yesterday after last week’s win against West.

Junior Ethan Peak knew that the race against West was an easy win.

“We did great and all felt good about that meet. They’re not that strong of a swim team so it was just an ‘ok’ win but, overall, a win is a win,” he said.

Although the team won the last two meets, junior Jake Kirchner knew that racing against Peninsula would not be as easy as the prior meet.

“The meet should be fairly close.

Historically, Peninsula is not as good as Mira Costa and PV, but they are better than Brentwood and West, who we have beaten this season already,” he said.

Although Peninsula has a good team, Kirchner believed that beating them was not an unreachable goal.

“I think that if we all swim well in our events then we can beat them, but it’ll be tough,” he said.

Peak thinks that, overall, Redondo was a good competitor against Peninsula.

“I think over all we did pretty well considering just how fast [Peninsula] is.

They have some really good swimmers that are just hard to compete with,” he said.

“This season will be a hard season because we don’t have a pool and we are always traveling.

We don’t have a large team [either].”

—Jake Kirchner According to Peak, even though the team lost, there were notable high points.

“Over all I think they have a better team but in some individual events we do really well in,” he said.

Kirchner thinks that the team might not do as well as they could this year because they have limited pool time at Mira Costa while our school’s pool is being built. “[This year] we don’t have as much time to practice and it will lead to slower times than we would have if we had two hours to practice,” he said.

Peak has optimism about the season even though he believes the pool situation as well as the size of the team could contribute to lower times.

“I think that this season will be a hard season because we don’t have a pool and we are always traveling; we don’t have a large team,” he said. “We’re mostly a young team so I think there’s a lot of room to grow and great better.”

Lacrosse ends its losing streak

by Olivia Loveland

PHOTO BY ERIKA GAVITT

In the game against Culver City, junior Dillon Guth cradles the ball on offense. The team won, 12-3.

Boys’ lacrosse had its first win of the year against Culver City, 12-3, on Wednesday, giving the team a 1-4 record.

“We’ve had effort the whole season so far, but last night we had execution and that made a huge difference, senior Josh McClendon said.

The younger players had a role in Wednesday’s win, according to McClendon.

“Our younger and less experienced players also stepped up last night, like seniors Gabe Park, Zach Machen and sophomores Jeff Brandon and Eddie Clites,” he said.

Brandon scored three goals and had one assist.

In addition, the team played defensively, dominating the ground ball game, assisting in the win over Culver City according to Comito.

“Overall, I’m really proud of how the boys stepped up and I’m excited about the rest of the season,” Comito said.

Senior Gabe Park is new to lacrosse this year but has made himself useful as a midfielder.

“It’s really fun. I enjoy hitting people.

The first couple games were hard, but last night [Wednesday] was easy because we’ve been working hard and Comito has been pushing us really hard. Now we have team chemistry and that has really helped,” Park said.

Last Monday the team lost to Peninsula, 9-3.

“We’ve had effort the whole season so far, but last night we had execution and that made a huge difference” —Josh McClendon Peninsula is currently ranked third in the eight-team Bay League.

“We expected to compete with [Peninsula] and we should have, but we played sloppy, had trouble clearing the ball, and couldn’t execute offensively.

Additionally, we lost two of our better players. It was a really tough loss and I feel that we beat ourselves” Comito

said.

The team will face Peninsula again on Monday night at home.

“Fortunately, we get to play them again and hopefully we’ll clean things up before our game,” Comito said.

Against Mira Costa last Wednesday, Redondo was playing without five starters due to injuries and lost 12-5.

“The 14 guys who were ready to play that night gave an awesome effort. While we cleared the ball well and played tough on defense, our offense was struggling to find shots,” Comito said.

The strong defense, however, was not enough to win the game against Costa.

“Ultimately we lost that game, but I felt good about our effort and confident that, if we could get our offense going, we’d be successful moving forward,” Comito said.

Tomorrow night the team will be playing Beverly Hills for another League game.

“We always play well against them and tomorrow should be no different. If we have the same intensity as we did [against Culver] there is no reason why we shouldn’t win,” McClendon said.

Features Magazine We’ve known them from the first day of freshman year on. always working, usually underappreciated...

They are....

But who are they beyond the walkie-talkies?

They come from a variety of backgrounds and share a plethora of experiences.

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Look on B4-B5 for more security madness!

March 26, 2010 [High Tide]

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Entertainment

House Rules debuts at number one nAuthor Jodi Picoult speaks about the inspiration behind her newest book, House Rules, at her Mar. 16 book promotion event.

by Danielle Lew and Sabrina Buendia

WWW.JODIPICOULT.COM

Jacob Hunt seems to be the textbook case for a guilty criminal: he does not look police officers in the eye when he is questioned and his hands twitch uncontrollably. Debuting at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, Jodi Picoult’s House Rules tells the story of Jacob Hunt, a teenager with Asperger’s syndrome. Because of his obsession with forensic analysis and inability to explain himself, Jacob finds himself in the middle of a murder trial.

Picoult shows readers what it would be like, not only to be Jacob, but to be his younger brother, Theo, who is constantly ignored, or their single mother, Emma, an advice columnist who is unsuccessfully trying to keep the family together.

Although over 35 kids emailed Picoult giving her hundreds of pages of material, and a girl with autism read the book to help Picoult shape the character of Jacob, the characters Theo and Emma stand out.

At one point Theo says, “Here are the

things I am afraid of: That the subject Jacob loves the most [forensic analysis] has stopped being an interest and has started to become an obsession. That this is why he is in jail in the first place. That you can love someone and hate him at the same time.

That age has nothing to do with who is the older brother”.

As the author of 17 books, 4 of which have been made into movies, Picoult’s House Rules meets expectations. Her next book, Sing You Home, comes out March 2011 and comes with an album with lyrics written by Picoult and music by Ellen Wilber.

At her book tour event in Pasadena, Picoult talked about how her characters take on a life of their own in Sing You Home as well as in her other novels.

“It is very common for my characters to do something I didn’t intend for them to do.

In [Sing You Home], a character falls in love with his sister-in-law and I’m thinking ‘Oh this is bad, you shouldn’t be doing this’, but I keep typing away,” she said.

Although Picoult surprises herself with

the outcome of her novels and the ease with which she creates her stories, Picoult is also surprised by the mass appeal her novels seem to have.

“I still feel like I’m teaching, but the classroom has just gotten really big. It’s hard to believe that anyone but my mother is buying my books, but at this point I know she doesn’t have this many friends,” Picoult said.

With House Rules, Picoult takes on a challenging topic without sacrificing the truth.

What makes House Rules and Picoult’s other novels so genuine is the effort she takes to produce the true voice of her characters and the reality of their situations.

While Picoult said that Jacob is one of her all time favorite narrators, ultimately she believes her novels are all very different and readers will have varying opinions about them.

“Everyone has a different favorite, and it’s okay only as long as it is one of [my novels],” she said.

Invisible Children club sponsors Uguanda education

by Annica Stitch

Invisible Children organization is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that was founded in order to rescue and aid abducted and formerlyabducted child soldiers in Uganda, Africa. Recently, the head branch of Invisible Children (IC) asked their friends from Uganda to come to America and share their personal stories on tour—The Legacy Tour.

As president of Invisible Children club on campus, I was not about to let anyone miss out

on the great opportunity IC was offering. Unfortunately though, administration told our club that the school would not be able to accommodate the Legacy Tour.

I called three churches, a synagogue and even asked the city library about using their facilities, but nothing worked out. Luckily, Emily Salazar and her mom Dorcas Daley were happy to host the Legacy Tour in their backyard.

It turned out to be the perfect, warmest night to do the screening. There were more than 50 people sitting, watching and listening to the stories of the

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNICA STITCH

amazing survivors that came to share their stories with us.

Jolly, a formerly-abducted child soldier nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, spoke at the screening as well as 18-year-old Ronald who escaped abduction, despite being surrounded by war his entire life.

As Jolly spoke to us she stressed the importance of education. In Uganda, children have to pay for their high school education, which we receive for free.

Jolly explained that if those children even had a school to go back to it would mean that that child also had a mentor, a teacher and peers to go back to.

“You can give a child money, but money can be spent. Money can be taken away. You can never take away the things a child learns,” she said.

Ronald looked so homesick as he spoke because someone asked if he liked it in California and he just stopped talking. When the crowd laughed he just smiled and said he liked the South Bay but missed home.

Jolly then told us how she missed home also and could not wait to get back to her family in Uganda.

She said that if there was one thing she could bring back to her country it would be the generosity of the American people.

We had seen these people in film, but as Jolly and Ronald spoke to us, the situation in Uganda became more real. More importantly though, a lot of people saw how much hope is left for the children there. After they finished, our club decided

The Anchor

The recently-opened Wee Man’s Chronic Tacos offers good location, great food, plenty of personality, and unfortunately, high prices.

by Ulises Gonzalez

Looking for an alternative to the same old “Special C” from LBJ’s? If this is the case, then Chronic Tacos is definitely a place worth checking out.

Chronic Tacos brings a new flare and style to what is otherwise a fairly familiar type of restaurant. As soon as you step inside you notice the restaurant’s unique atmosphere.

With music surging through the place, televisions on almost every wall and skateboards hung from the ceiling, the place seems more like a second ET Surf location than a restaurant.

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Entertainment

March 26, 2010

Although the surroundings may be overwhelming initially, they definitely create a completely new type of environment for this type restaurant. You may be a little surprised when you look above the counter, see the menu, and remember that you are in a restaurant rather than a skate shop.

One of Chronic Tacos’ major attributes is the visibility of food preparation. Additionally, the employees do a great job of simplifying the entire ordering process.

Everything you would expect a Mexican food place to serve is there, but there is a definite difference here––one which starts to make Chronic Tacos seem subordinate to LBJ’s––the prices.

Buying a single burrito with a drink can cost almost ten dollars, while a “Special C” at LBJ’s gives you two burritos and a drink for half the price. However, the tacos are stuffed and the burritos are bursting, so high prices are understandable.

The food is not necessarily better than other mexican restaurants, although it does belong in a class of its own.

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The food is not terrible by any means, but when you pay ten dollars for a meal you could buy somewhere else for almost half the price you expect it to be worth the extra money, not in Chronic Taco’s case however. Disregarding the price, however, it is not bad at all.

The employees, if nothing else, contribute largely to the lure of Wee Man’s Chronic Tacos. They give the place a warm aura that is difficult to find elsewhere. Every person behind the counter is a qualified employee with a big smile.

With grade-A employees, big, tasty meals, and a hip environment, Chronic Tacos is a great new establishment.

It is definitely worth a visit. Just remember to bring a few extra bucks.

4.

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1. An employee prepares a carne asada burrito.

2. Another employee adds cheese to a carnitas taco.

3. Wee Man’s Chronic Tacos is located on Torrance Blvd. and P.C.H. 4. The restaurant has a sports bar. 5. The employees enjoy a laugh as they prepare a burrito.

6. A carnitas taco. ALL PHOTOS BY JAKE COLLINS

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The Anchor

Chavez passionate for fishing

by Melisa Rosero

He stands before freshman circle, carefully places his prescription black Ray-Ban sunglasses on his face, takes a deep breath, and plunges into the sea of students. He tries to walk quickly to his assigned gate, but it is no use as he is quickly spotted and begins to be bombarded with “Hey Joe” or the most common “JOE!” But behind his sunglasses lies more than meets the eye.

Joseph Chavez has lived in Hawthorne in the same house his entire life. He graduated from Hawthorne High in 1971 and even worked there for six years.

Joe was not the only Chavez to graduate in 1971, for Joe has a brother named Larry who is his fraternal twin.

Fishing is Chavez’s passion and has been an active member of the S.W.A. fishing club for over 30 years; a hobby that he use to share with his brother Larry.

“Back in the day we use to go Redondo Beach and go fishing at the pier and do overnighters and just stay on the boat,” Chavez said.

Unfortunately, Larry passed away last year due to his drug addiction. However, Joe does not focus on the negative aspects of his life because he is grateful for the things that he does have.

“I love working here, I love all the kids, and

I love to watch prep-sports,” Chavez said.

Before Joe started working here as a security guard in 1988, he had variety of other jobs.

“There was the furniture factory in 1972, then I went to the Chevron refinery where they called me Jose, but I left because it was too dangerous; then came my job as a tool and dye maker in Northrop where they called me Jay-Jay, then Hawthorne High in 1992, pony baseball, and now here I am,” Chavez said.

Chavez especially loves being the basketball team’s water-boy. He calls himself a “sports-guy” and has memorized every significant volleyball, baseball, football, or basketball game that has happened since he started his job here.

Aside from enjoying the sports that this school has to offer, Joe has built a strong relationship with Paul Tuiasosopo and Kevin Wadman, two other campus security guards.

“I use to work with Paul in Hawthorne High School where Kevin used to go, he was such a little terror,” Chavez said.

Although Chavez has dreams about being a fisherman and retiring, he enjoys every moment as the campus security guard.

“I love this school, I have a lot of new friends that I make and this is just a small world man.

There isn’t any memorable moment that I can remember, because they’re all good,” Chavez said. “It’s all good man.”

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The Watchmen Episode X: Guarding the Union

Joe Paul Lorenzo Ramiro

Bud

Ruiz enjoys Security position

by Allison Peet-Lukes

Security guard Ramiro Ruiz walks up and down the halls in search of a student that is scratching graffiti into the walls or vandalizing the bathrooms. He finds a student wandering the halls without a pass and takes the student back to the office.

“My job is nice, I walk around the classrooms and bathrooms to make sure there is no trouble, or no kids with out a hall pass,” he said.

Ruiz applied for a job as a security guard 13 years ago when he saw an ad in the newspaper.

“I saw an ad in the newspaper and I decided to apply, they called me in for an interview and I have been working here ever since. I am also a crossing guard down near Adams Middle School,” He said Ruiz has come across many interesting cases in his thirteen years. In his most extreme case, he has had to break up a fight between two girls. He has also come across students smoking or drinking in the bathrooms. He strongly disapproves of this behavior because he wants kids to stay on the right path.

“I walked inside the bathroom at snack time and saw a kid emptying out his backpack into the sink. I saw that he had two empty beer bottles in his hands,” he said.

Though his job is never too exciting, Ruiz finds his job an opportunity to help kids stay n the right path and be successful in life.

“My job is great, its always nice to keep kids out of trouble, these kids are our future, we need to make sure they have a safe environment to learn in. I love being able to help with that,” he said.

Sanchez Spends Time in the great outdoors when not on campus

by Shayna Stuart

Lorenzo Sanchez upholds the long family tradition of living in Redondo Beach and continues to live the life of a spontaneous outdoorsman.

“My entire family’s roots have been here before this was even Redondo Beach,” Sanchez said.

Graduate of the Redondo class of ’77, Sanchez has been working as a security guard for twenty years, and has spent twenty eight years coaching.

Sanchez had past experience and a good background in security, which led him to the job.

“I really wanted to coach, but you have to be part of the staff in order to hold a coaching position. So, the previous principal Bob Paulson suggested being a security

guard and at that point it was decided,” he said.

According to Sanchez, it was very rewarding to work during the daytime and then get to coach great kids in the evening.

“I love coaching because you get to watch someone go from being horrible to being very good,” he said.

In Sanchez’s free time, he enjoys lake and river fishing, hanging out with friends, and sky diving.

Sanchez started sky diving when he was 17 years old because his Grandmother owned a ranch in Lake Elsinore. Lake Elsinore, according to Sanchez, is one of the ideal spots for diving and is located near a take off area.

Sanchez enjoys skydiving because it is exciting, different, and accelerating.

“The feeling of falling through the air just gives me this rush that is just unimaginable,” he said.

According to Sanchez, his favorite pastime however is fishing.

“Not many people know this, but I’m at outdoors kind of man,” he said Sanchez was very influenced by his uncle who taught him how to properly camp, fish, and hike.

“I don’t like to do the boat on the rocky sea thing. I like the simplicity of just sitting by the lake or river and getting those big old bass fish,” he said.

Sanchez also has a variety of duties on campus.

“I basically look out for the well being of the students and the faculty,” he said.

Sanchez believes that the faculty and staff are pretty closely knit which makes

coming to work better.

“I would have to say that Paul, the other security guard, and I have a pretty good relationship. We even hang out outside of school sometimes,” he said.

According to Sanchez, another thing that makes his job pretty easy is the fact that he knows most of the families around Redondo.

“If I see a kid doing something they’re not supposed to and I know his family, it’s pretty simple. Obviously the kid doesn’t want me to go tell his parents what he did, so it’ll usually stop immediately,” he said.

For the most part, Sanchez believes that his decades of experience at Redondo have paid off.

“I get to hang out with great people and watch students grow up to meet their full potential. It’s very rewarding.”

Tuiasosopo comes from sports backing

by Christina Mehranbod

Growing up in a large Samoan family of four brothers and four sisters, all of whom were athletes, Paul Tuiasosopo looked forward to having a career in coaching athletics after developing a passion for sports at a very young age.

Security guard Paul Tuiasosopo, an employee of the school for 18 years, coached Hawthorne High School’s football team with ex-principal Goy Casillas from 1988 to 1992 after Tuiasosopo’s two younger brothers presented him this job opportunity.

“My family is full of athletes. I have coached my nephews, younger brothers, and more,” Tuiasosopo said.

Having played football at Morningside High School in Inglewood, Tuiasosopo felt driven to teach others the basic necessities and skills of the sport in order to be an important asset to Hawthorne’s football program.

“I love coaching football, basketball, and volleyball. I was brought up to win, so I want to pass on my knowledge from my experience as a player to the new players. I even like give a piece of my mind to the football program at Redondo,” he said.

Not only did Tuiasosopo work as a football coach, but at the same time he also worked a second job running the labor-demanding night shift at American Airlines.

“At the airport it was all hard labor, so I would take out all my stress in coaching football. I would finally be able to kick back and relax while coaching,” Tuiasosopo said.

After Casillas came to be a part of Redondo’s administration, Tuiasosopo began his career as a security guard in 1992 after going through all the necessary training as to how to handle dangerous situations, how to effectively com-

municate with teenagers, and simply how to keep the school safe for the students.

According to Tuiasosopo, he was not going to simply throw away his passion for sports, so he therefore began to become interested in the school’s athletic program and found ways to help the teams while consistently fulfilling his job as a security guard.

“I’ll ask the coach [to help]. I don’t step on anybody’s toes because my job here is as campus security. But I can help with defensive line, offensive play, or even just how to lift weights correctly in the weight room,” Tuiasosopo said.

Having been a coach and coping with the financial burden of sports, Tuiasosopo donates his time and sometimes his money to further the excellence of the athletes.

“I don’t want anything out of it: no money, no gear. I volunteer out of my love for the program at Redondo and the sport. I love sports and I love donating. If I have money or something to give, I’ll donate it. I’ve been through having my athletes sell stuff for the team, so I understand and enjoy donating,” he said.

Although one may see him at the football games, basketballs games, or volleyball games checking IDs or patrolling the vicinity as a security guard, Tuiasosopo attends events as an avid fan of sports and out of care for his students at the school.

“My goal is to keep students safe at school without people to having to be worried about their security. In four years, I enjoy seeing the development of kids as they walk across the stage and receive their diploma. Then I know I have done my job of keeping the school safe so students can successfully graduate,” Tuiasosopo said.

Irwin is Decorated Veteran byDerek Sarno

Bud Irwin can be your best “bud” if you play by the rules- but get in his way and he’s your worst nightmare.

“I started doing this about 3 or 4 years ago,” Irwin said.

He is a part time owner of a plastics brokerage company and decided to work at the school while business was slow.

“I am not a flunky security guard,” Irwin said. “I have a degree in business and am a certified mediator and negotiator.”

Irwin enjoys the work he does at the school.

“I really like working with [students],” he said. “I love the students, even the jerks I like, they’re not so bad.”

This will be Irwin’s last year here however, “I love what I do but I have to go with the money,” he said.

Irwin is a Redondo alumnus and earned a second-degree black belt in Korean karate from Chuck Norris while in school. “I still talk to him occasionally” he said.

After graduating he was involved in the conflict in Vietnam as an Army Ranger. He earned a Bronze star, an air medal, jump wings, and a special award from the South Vietnamese army for meritorious service.

“I am a combat veteran so I react to things differently,” Irwin said. “I don’t get rattled. I try to encourage kids, give them all the help I can.”

In his free time Irwin still does some karate and lifts weights. He also pans for gold with his friend.

“My friends and I have gold claims in Feather River and Mariposa” he said “Last time we found 16 oz. of gold in feather river and a 10 oz. nugget in Mariposa.”

B6

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March 26, 2010

The Anchor

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Entertainment

Bieber’s big bust Justin Bieber’s new album, My World 2.0, fails to justify his rabid fanbase www.justinbiebermusic.com

by Julia Denney

To get an idea of the admiration surrounding Justin Bieber’s latest album My World 2.0, which was released on March 23, just look at the posts on his twitter feed: “MY WORLD 2.0 is so A-M-A-Z-I-N-G” or “THIS NEW CD OF [Justin Bieber] IS MAKING ME SMILE LIKE CRAZY!” Though the album does not quite meet the criteria of musical genius, it fulfills the standard of a good pop album. That is, the songs are relatively short love songs, they are catchy and Bieber utilizes technological innovations, such as synthesizers and auto tune, to produce new variations on the same theme.

These catchy love songs were not entirely unbearable to listen to due to the instrumentation and placement of certain beats

were creative, even for a typical tweenage heartthrob.

For example, Bieber’s “Runaway Love” creates a sassy, bad boy feel with the active use of the symbol, repeating minor bass tones, and sudden suspenseful halt to beats every so often.

On the other hand, the soft rhythms and and slow beats of Bieber’s smooth jam “Up” starkly differentiates from his other songs. Also, Bieber incorporates some Hip Hop beats and rapping in his singles “Eenie Meenie” and “Baby”, with the help of fellow Pop Star, Sean Kingston, and rap legend, Ludacris.

Both the rap sequences and slow jams of My World 2.0 create an comforting feel reminiscent of classic Lil Bow Wow or Aaron

Carter hits.

This diverse range of sounds make the album somewhat tolerable, but once his lyrics accompany the music, Bieber’s creativity completely plummets.

Such uncreative lyrics can easily be ignored by falling into the awe of Bieber’s use of acoustic guitar in “That Should Be Me” or the piano in “U Smile”. However, this simple addition of instruments should not justify his right to actually use “I need to know should I fight for love /Or disarm/ Its getting harder to shield/This pain in my heart”. Not only does this not rhyme, but Bieber’s attempt at being profound falls flat on its face.

Along with Bieber’s rhyming deficiencies, each song has the same theme or a slight variation of it. Bieber is either trying to get a

girl, trying to keep a girl, or expressing total infatuation for this girl. The repetition of Bieber’s troubled love life in every song is stale and headache-inducing.

The album is not worthy of any special recognition besides its execution of a relatively good pop album. It targets the emotions of an average “tween”, it is short in length, and the melodies are catchy.

However, My World 2.0 pales in comparison to pop’s greatest, but holds its own with every album any previous tween heartthrobs have ever released.

It might not be worth the $9.99 for someone who is looking to enhance their iTunes library with substantial music, especially when the album is available for free on YouTube.

all!

Gotta catch [’em over again ] Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

provide an entertaining blast to the past

www.pokemon.com

by Dylan Futrell

To our generation, Pokemon was a bonafide phenomenon. The craze reached a feverpitch in 2000, with the release of Pokemon Gold and Silver for the Gameboy. Millions of children across the globe, including myself, were caught in the frenzy, trading and battling their collectible creatures like there was no tomorrow.

However, the honeymoon was short lived.

Shortly after that brief and shining moment, our generation relinquished the title of “Pokemon Masters,” replaced by younger and brighter trainers, hoping “to be the very best, like no one ever was.”

Remnants of this craze can be found collecting dust under beds, buried under mountains of other childhood toys.

The Pokewalker comes packaged with the game. This pedometer allows you train your Pokemon while you walk.

But time has passed. Three games and almost a decade later, Nintendo is attempting to rekindle the spark with the release of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS, a remake of Gold and Silver.

Once again, you take the role of an aspiring Pokemon Master, tackling eight gyms and eventually the “Elite 4,” all the while

battling the evil Team Rocket.

There’s nothing new to see here, storywise.

The story only serves to move along the gameplay, which amounts to a complicated game of rock-paper-scissors and remains as addicting as ever.

Being a remake, the game remains largely the same, even down to the nostalgiac presentation.

An interesting addition, however, is the addition of the Pokewalker, a pedometer that comes packaged with the game.

You can upload your Pokemon onto it, and gain experience points while you walk, catching Pokemon and gathering items along the way.

The Pokewalker is not much more than a

glorified Tomagachi, but is a clever attempt to get today’s kids out of the house–– or shaking their arms.

Other new features include the ability to battle trainers across the world via Wi-fi, and having the first Pokemon in your party follow your character around, a la Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow.

Also new are the Pokeathlon events, touch-screen minigames you can play to get items and medals.

HeartGold and SoulSilver is a faithful reincarnation of a fantastic game.

Those who played the original Gold and Silver will be both pleasantly surprised at the new features and overtaken with nostalgia by the solid foundation that’s always been there.

The Anchor

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Entertainment

March 26, 2010

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// Lightning Reviews //

1

two

The Runaways There are two ways that you can look at The Runaways: the first is a basic, flat rock biopic that will be forgotten within the next few years; the second is a raw, visceral film that will expand the careers of two young actresses.

The movie is certainly both of these things. The Runaways, while lacking in effective screen writing, is propelled by fantastic directing and an energetic young cast.

The movie is at its core a biopic, from the opening scene to the film’s epilogue (Cherie Currie is a chain saw artist? Who knew?). Centered around the rise and fall of the LA-based band, the movie is a good one, but its potential to be a great

The Bounty Hunter

tionship with Joan Jett, as well as a more insightful look into the members’ lives, but Dakota Fanning’s and Kristen Stewart’s respective performances save the lackluster script and bring the two women to life.

This, combined with skillful directing and cinematography as well as a butt-kicking, glam-punk heavy sound track, make The Runaways an exhilarating ride. Girl www.therunawaysmovie.com film leaves the viewer with a sense of mild power, guitars, sex, drug, and rock disappointment. The screenplay is lacking; ‘n’ roll–these are the components of The the story behind both Currie and Jett seem Runaways, and all missteps aside, it is a shallow and contrived at times. ride to be rode.

There could have been a much deeper –– Claire Simon story behind singer Cherie Currie’s rela-

www.thepursuitbegins.com

Remember Me

3

www.remembermemovie.com

In The Bounty Hunter, Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), an ex cop turned bounty hunter gets the assignment of a lifetime when his ex wife Nicole (Jennifer Aniston) fails to appear in court for a traffic fine. But the problem is not in catching her but in hanging on to her. Nicole is a reporter on the trail of a story full of police cover up and foul play.

The conflict is not just working together for 48 hours without killing one another, but doing so while escaping murders, dirty cops and a bookie. The Bounty Hunter embraces every stereotype about bickering, opposite-personality couples, but throughout the movie Gerard Butler and Jennifer lack on-screen chemistry. It is the typical cliché romantic comedy, but with a few action scenes thrown in to mix it up a bit. In the end The Bounty Hunter turns out to be just another predictable romantic comedy.

–– Madeline Perrault

4

Hot Tub Time Machine

After a lag in the quality of MGM’s recent productions, Hot Tub Time Machine (directed by Steve Pink) is surprisingly hilarious. The story follows three men (John Cusack, Craig Robinson, and Rob Corddry) and one of their nephews (Clark Duke) as they are transported www.hottubtimemachinemovie.com back into the 80s and

try to find a way back to the present. The characters must do everything exactly as they did it in the past to avoid changing it. It is basically The Hangover of 2010, but with time travel and a lot of neon colors. The film is quirky, but somehow flows together believably. Whether you’re 13 or 30, you’re sure to find this movie entertaining and well worth the money to go see. –– Alex Curtis

Remember Me is a story about Tyler (Robert Pattinson), a rebel young man in New York City trying to find the meaning of life. He gets into trouble, has a bad relationship with his father, and has a bit of an anger management problem; that is until he meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin). They fall in love and soon, secrets are revealed, tragedy hits, and everything that brought them together threatens to tear them apart. This movie is a roller coaster of emotion. There is love, hatred, happiness, sadness, anger all thrown into one movie turning out surprisingly well. While most people think nothing more of Robert Pattinson than his mediocre performance in Twilight, in Remember Me, he proves his acting ability.

–– Madeline Perrault

Repo Men

One may say Repo Men, directed

by Miguel Sapochnik, was either good or bad. If it was intended to be serious, it was bad. If it was meant as satirical comedy, it succeeded.

Repo Men is set in the future, which looks remarkably like the present, where a company called the Union gives you a transplant of any organ you need, and will take it back in three months if you can’t pay for it.

The film revolves around a former repo man named Remy (Jude Law)

fi/ ve

and his ex-wife (Alice Braga) as they try to beat the Union’s system and keep their transplanted organs.

Needless to say with all this organ steeling, there are blood and guts everywhere.

There is a point in the movie where Remy whirls around wielding a saw and decapitates three men instantaneously.

–– Alex Curtis

B7

THE ANCHOR [ENTERTAINMENT]

B8 [MArch 26, 2010]

Cracknell’s Ties with school run deep Mendoza enjoys RUHS Tradition

by Joanie Schnieder

One would think he was born to be a security guard with his black mirrored glasses and professionalism on campus, but 28-year-old Jeff Cracknell became a member of campus security by chance after graduating from the school in 1994.

“It kind of fell into my lap. I was coaching at school, and I was out of work. I applied as a sub, but got this job instead,” Cracknell said.

Cracknell is not an ordinary alumnus, since he works at the school with other family members.

“Ms. Stoddard is my aunt. My brother is also an English teacher here,” Cracknell said. “I enjoy it. My brother is pretty much the reason why I got a job here so I have to appreciate it.

I never really have to interact with [Ms. Stoddard], but we’re as close as a normal family.”

When Cracknell was a student at the school, he worked as his brother’s Teacher’s Assistant, but the school considered it a “conflict of interest” for him to be a student in either his brother’s or his aunt’s class.

Cracknell feels that he has a good relationship with the students.

“It helps that I’m younger. I’m 28, the youngest supervisor on campus,” Cracknell

said.

Cracknell enjoys working with staff members that have been here since he was in high school.

“Most of the security guards, like Paul and Jon, were working here when I was a freshman; they already knew me,” Cracknell said.

“I played football for Coach Simon and now I work for Coach Simon.”

Even though he has good relationships with other members of campus security, his job is not always easy.

“Sometimes we have big issues on our hands, and I need to stand my ground,” Cracknell said.

Cracknell doesn’t like restraining and acting like a “bad guy” but sometimes, the situation calls for immediate action.

“I never want to restrain students, but if I had to, I’m properly trained to do so,” Cracknell said.

At times school can be a very threatening place, so therefore Cracknell pursues ultimate safety for students.

“You need to draw in the confidence, you cant back down. You don’t know what students will do,” Cracknell said.

by Brianna Egan

S

Wadman’s dedication shines through

by Alyssa Wolf

A

s campus supervisor Kevin Wadman walks through the campus, he is greeted by shouts of, “Hey Birdman!” He smiles back.

He has been doing this same routine since he started the job in 1990.

It has been Wadman’s goal since he graduated high school to be a security guard or law enforcement officer because he grew up surrounded by them. He loves his job.

“Being at Redondo high is a good atmosphere,” he said. “The kids are good, everything is awesome.”

Wadman’s friend and coworker, government and economics teacher Shannon Rodriguez, thinks it is a great job for him and he does it very well.

“He feels it is his duty to protect our students and it is sincere,” she said. “He takes his job very seriously and he loves this school.”

His dedication to the school shows through in certain incidents, such as trouble at rallies or fights at football games. Citing a previous scuffle at a football game, Wadman does not hesitate when duty calls.

“I was just trying to protect the kid who was down,” he said. “I put my body on line to protect my students.”

Even though some of the kids tease Wadman, Rodriguez believes it is in a friendly way.

“I think there is a mutual respect. The students treat him well, and they treat him respectfully. They know that he cares and is here to help, and Kevin feels that. He has told me before he really enjoys the students here,” she said.

“Because it is a mutual respect, he feels like he owes these kids.”

She thinks that his tenderness towards the students is what makes him so well equipped for the job.

“Even when a student was in trouble, he will always follow up and ask later ‘is he or she okay?’ He was really worried about the students after the fact,” she said. “It just goes to show he is not all about disciplining students, he is about helping change behavior and making kids better people.”

If he knows there will be no security at an event, he will work for free to ensure the students’ safety. It is this sort of dedication that has earned him the reputation of one of the most well-known security guards.

“Protecting the students is my job, to keep them safe from harm,” Wadman said.

he’s on a mission–walkie-talkie in hand and eyes scanning the hallway while clutching the wheel and slamming on the gas. Irene Mendoza, campus supervisor, is off to question the student who is trying to slip off campus.

Mendoza, known by the golf cart she drives while on the job, may come off as strict, but she finds that a firm patrol on the school grounds is necessary.

“I’m not here to give students a hard time; I just enforce the rules. I do my best to keep the kids safe,” Mendoza said, who has been on the school staff for 16 years.

On a daily basis, her duties include patrolling the parking lots, regulating girls’ bathrooms, locking the P.E. areas, towing sick or misbehaving students, and checking for off-grounds passes or free periods before students leave campus.

Mendoza’s dedication is rooted in her personal connections: She, her children, and her father are graduates of Redondo Union High School.

Mendoza finds that being an alumni means she takes her work seriously.

“It’s a school that I care about, which is why I work to keep kids safe and enforce the rules,” Mendoza said.

As for the golf cart she uses around school, Mendoza appreciates its convenience.

“Having the golf cart makes [my job] a lot easier transportation-wise. I go from one end of the school to the other multiple times in a day,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza traverses the campus in the vehicle, responding via walkie-talkie radios to administrators’ calls concerning safety or health issues of students.

Mendoza’s golf cart doubles as an escorting vehicle during such emergencies–she tows away students who are injured, ill or misbehaving.

“But I’m cannot give students a ride unless there’s an actual reason,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza values her role on campus and hopes that students feel the same.

“I want kids to know that I’m not here to be mean. Some students just see me riding around, but don’t realize that I’m looking out for them and it’s not such an easy job,” Mendoza said. “I’m making sure it’s a safer place to learn.”