InFlight November 2009

in flight

AU B U R N R I V E R S I D E S T U D E N T November 10, 2009 VOLUME 15

The magic of Michael Wong See page 13

Raven scores birdies See page 15

ISSUE #2

VOICE

OPINION 2

11/10/09

Happiness from thankfulness Portfolio Madness!

Sydney Shuman STAFF REPORTER It’s too often that we think…

The wallets we carry aren’t full enough.

The reflection in the mirror isn’t attractive enough.

The car we drive isn’t posh enough.

The friends we have aren’t cool enough.

The lives we live aren’t good enough.

What we sometimes fail to realize is that we will always have enough to be happy. There are plenty of people living in dire conditions, without a wallet, without a car, without friends, and still they feel their lives are good enough.

Lori Haun, a homeless woman said, “I believe that sometimes we must take a couple of steps backward and give up worldly pleasures in order to get the ‘better’ things in life and appreciate life more.”

These “better” things in life that Lori speaks of are what we need to focus on in order to be happy.

For one, we are alive and as is commonly printed on P.E. teacher Julie Moberg’s attire, “Life is good.”

We should also give thanks for our uniqueness. We all have special talents,

and can complete tasks better than anybody else.

For instance, give Michael Jordan a basketball and “whoomp there it is!” However,

but we have rare talent ourselves. We need to embrace who we are, talents, flaws and all.

Most importantly, we should be grateful for those who love us. It doesn’t matter who we are, what we look like, what we drive or who we hang out with; we all have people who truly love us. To the world you might be one person, but to one person you may be the world. We should not only love them back, but be grateful for them.

So, when life gets rough and we are feeling unlucky, we need to look on the bright side.

“If you start out counting the main things you are thankful for,” junior Telisha Amero said, “you won’t be able to stop.”

This is true. If we dig really deep, we will find our list of blessings goes on and on. In fact, we have much more than any of the pilgrims and NaPHOTO BY SYDNEY SHUMAN tive Americans had on the very first throw Michael Jordan in a pool and he’d be Thanksgiving. We really don’t have a reason out of it just as fast; he’s afraid of water. to feel down.

On the other hand, throw Michael Phelps However, if the day comes when life in a pool and he’d be to the other side and feels fruitless, I suggest popping Sheryl back in a few seconds. Toss Michael Phelps a Crow’s CD in the old boom box and considbasketball and chances are he’d toss it right ering her words, “It’s not having what you back. Sure, they are both famous athletes, want; it’s wanting what you’ve got.”

idk y txtrs fail 2 communic8 Sydney Shuman STAFF REPORTER

It’s certain Matti Makkonen, the inventor of text messaging had no idea what a negative impact his invention would have on the English language of teenagers in the 21st century nor should he be blamed. However what he meant to better communication has nearly butchered it. Like an uninvited guest at a party, texting words, acronyms and abbreviations are entering into everyday life and are unwelcome.

There is a time and a place for an “OMG” or even worse, “WTF.” It is after school on the screen of your Blackberry. Then again, these abbreviations are just an annoyance.

Sure it drives most people crazy to hear a

in flight

editors-in-chief Kim German James Kozanitis photographer Sydney Shuman business manager Brianne Kopp

adviser Patrick Swenson

staff reporters Tralayna Haslett Brianne Kopp Berlyn Lee Shayla McGinness Emily Morisawa Sydney Shuman guest reporters Cassidy Brown Jaymes Fleury

group of valley girls twirling tootsie pops in their mouths and simultaneously giggling, “LOL,” but the real problem that presents itself is the mistakes in school work.

As expected, dedicated texters tend to misspell more than the average Joe. Using “U R” instead of “you are” and abbreviations alike formed habits. What builds habits? Repetition, repetition, repetition. Therefore, phone owners should beware.

Text messaging a little less would be a good start. When surrounded by friends, texting makes situations awkward, boring, diverts attention away from whoever is talking and is plain rude. It’s a bit challenging to listen to a story with a phone blinking, buzzing and vibrating every two seconds. It turns the focus from the speaker to the at-

tractive blonde who just replied “Nothing” to your “What’s up?” Texting around company also creates silences in conversation besides the clicking of keys. Sitting around in silence should not even be considered hanging out with friends, especially when everyone’s minds are looped around their cell phones.

Instead of condensing words into acronyms and excluding letters, just type it out. It takes a couple more seconds for the nimble thumbed to dismount the proper, complete version of a word. Then, to avoid social failure, turn off your cell when visiting someone. This way, the option is there but not distracting. After all, cell phones were invented to add to the variety of communication, not eradicate all other forms.

Berlyn Lee STAFF REPORTER “I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If someone should come up to me and challenge me to a fight, I would take them kindly and forgivingly by hand, lead them to a quiet place and kill them.” -Mark Twain My fellow seniors: I would like to invite you to join my friend, Mariah Shinners, and me in a competition that requires cunning, endurance, and, in some cases, insomnia.

Unlike Mark Twain’s method to ending challenges, this competition ends with graduation rather than death.

What is this competition, you ask?

Well, shortly after the first advisory meeting, I discovered that, being a chronic procrastinator, I would be one of the students who finds themselves awake at two in the morning finishing their portfolio the day it’s due. In order to avoid such a horrible fate, I did what any normal human being would do in my situation: challenged my best friend to a monthly duel. We have ripped the portfolio into several different parts, so every month we can finish a different part. Hopefully, by the time March rolls around, we will be asleep long before two in the morning.

This is a competition, so there is punishment for ending up in last place, or second place for that matter. The loser of each monthly competition will have to do whatever punishment the winner chooses.

In this competition, you, the reader, can choose to join our battle by completing the parts of the portfolio as we do or simply laugh at our efforts every month. I do encourage that you get started on this project before it gets too late; it is quite the work-load.

This month’s challenge was the personal essay and artifacts. Shinners and I had completed the artifacts over the summer as a way to motivate ourselves to get our portfolio done. Unfortunately, this method did not work for us, because we stopped once we finished them. However, the Career Center’s Steve Mead does believe that starting with the artifacts is a good way to get motivated.

“The artifacts lead into the reflection essay,” Mead said, meaning that they

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11/10/09

Portfolio: Mariah’s bad day continued from Page Two

encourage the student to think back and start brainstorming on their four years in high school.

As for Mariah and me, we only had to complete the reflection essay. We decided to start this month’s competition at 9:32:04 on October 12. However, the competition didn’t really begin until the next day.

“I put a heading on,” Mariah said, “but I didn’t really start until the next day.”

I began two days after the competition began, and my method was simple; I took apart my letter to my college writing teacher and added whatever I needed to about my high school experience. I finished within a day or two and handed it off to a few of my friends for the preliminary editing. While at that point, Mariah was trailing behind, though her method was similar. She, too, had taken the letter from her college writing class and edited it to fit the needs of the reflection essay.

“I placed it in chunks,” Mariah said, “then laced it all together later.”

Upon the Thursday of October 22, I had edited my essay from both its preliminary editing and teacher editing, and the last thing I had to do was get it signed off by my advisor. This is when I found out that Mariah and I were on the same level. However, I had first lunch, and with my extra time, I dashed up the stairs to find my advisor and was victorious.

In order to avoid punishment next month, Mariah declared that she would “Not tell when she is almost winning.”

As for this month I’m proud to say that this month Mariah faced the ‘Worst Morning Ever’ challenge. On October 28 around 6:30 I arrived at Mariah’s house and messed her hair up to the point where it looked like she had fallen asleep in a tornado. That’s only the beginning. Mariah has to wear awfully large sweats and, as an added bonus, I drew a curled mustache on her face with a sharpie.

The last part of the challenge is that Mariah cannot tell anyone why she is dressed the way she is, she can only reply, “I don’t even want to talk about it.”

Mariah said that the day was interesting and the only part she really did not like was the fact that when she walked through a large group they would stop talking.

“I’m pretty sure Stenson couldn’t take me seriously while I was soloing,” Mariah said.

As for the essay, Mariah finished a week after I did and was not forced to buy me a nice dinner.

Mariah may have lost this month, but will she prevail next month? Before I bid you ado for the month, I want to throw out a few tips to help students finish artifacts and reflection essay.

“Be concise,” Mariah said. “Too much ‘fluff’ will take away from the situation you are trying to describe.”

Senior Kelly Hedstrom said that she finished her artifacts and her reflection essay because her father paid her to get it done early. She also recommends that juniors definitely start on the artifacts and the reflection essay.

Until next month, my fellow seniors, stay on top of that portfolio. Otherwise it will come after you when March rolls around like Mark Twain goes after his challengers.

OPINION

More homework, good capitalists James Kozanitis Editor In Chief

“There are students who really go for it [academically], and I feel for them,” Phillips said. “But I don’t cry buckets of tears, either.”

We as students do have the choice to take a hard schedule, with loads of homework. But some choices with stressful ramifications students are obligated or coerced

McCarthyism took over and ran rampant when attitudes towards homework started to shift. The nation’s blatant distaste for communism and fear of how communist nations’ students, were doing in comparison to the good capitalists of the US gave homework the spark it needed to begin to destroy the lives of students.

A student’s to-do list runs novel length.

Math homework, psych homework, English homework, after school club, prepare for SAT, finish portfolio, start portfolio, apply for college, think about college, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Never mind their girl troubles, boy troubles, friend troubles, family troubles, and every other kind of trouble. Good thing we have the weekend. But wait, there’s a family dinner, a friend’s birthday, and several days’ worth of homework that we missed due to sickness, on top of the homework that was assigned over the weekend. No wonder we’re over-caffeinated, under-rested stress hogs. Hope you don’t have anything else going on, Ravens; we have a long day ahead of us.

That is why, ladies and gentlemen, homework should take it easy on us, so we can do the same to it.

Let’s talk AP classes. Everyone knows their philosophy is that, since it’s a college level class, students should get a college amount of work.

“If you struggle and scream and yell, you won’t like college,” Principal Bruce Phillips said. “If you aspire to go to college, you need to get used to it.”

The only problem with that philosophy is that you don’t have nearly as many classes in college. So, we’re balancing at least one class of college work, with five high school work.

Oh no! You got the flu. Hope PHOTO BY SYDNEY SHUMAN there’s no homework that day, in a dream world when you’re only out for one day with an illness like the flu. Students are constantly held back from doing everyday things by the presence of too much homework.

You can at least hope for the best. Oh wait: your AP classes usually always have homework. Remember their philosophy? to make. Students who actually do the large In 1948, just a year or so after the fear So, for missing one day, students have at amount of homework given to them want to of communism started to peak, a national least two nights of homework to complete get into college. It wouldn’t be a problem study showed that students did two to four in one night. Remember that it’s potentially that we only wanted one AP class and to TA, hours of homework a week. Students now do at least two nights of college level work in but the college scene is continuously shrink- over double the amount of time. I can only addition to two nights of high school work ing due to numerous budget cuts, so we now imagine how students who went from doing in one night. need multiple AP classes and three different almost no homework to doing two hours a A study conducted at Duke University after school activities while we pick up our week would have felt. I also imagine that concluded that schools should give 10 min- siblings from the bus stop, do our chores, turning their weekly time into daily time utes of homework per day per grade level. finish our homework, hopefully hang out with wouldn’t sit well with them.

So a first grader should receive ten minutes, our friends, stop time to sleep and wish for a This amount of time didn’t change and a senior should receive 120 minutes. weekend we can have to ourselves. much until the 21st century. In fact, it had That means the average high school student I can already predict the popular argu- taken a slump before that. A study in 1981 should spend 105 minutes a day doing home- ment against these claims: we’re just whiny concluded the amount of time on homework work. In actuality, students do far more. kids, because previous generations went was 80 minutes a week, less than the amount Fifty-one percent of ARHS students do two through the same thing without complain- of time freshmen are supposed to spend a to three hours of homework. This is overkill ing, and we can’t do that. This argument day. In 1999 this number was 95 minutes a even for seniors, and seniors don’t make up does not hold up to scrutiny. Homework has week. Students today would give so much 51 percent of the school. gone through a drastic change in the last to only have to do 95 minutes of homework Could this be good? I mean, it’s been century. a week. concluded that there is a positive correlaIt’s time for this tyrant to take a step Around the turn to the twentieth cention between the amount of homework and tury, the consensus was that homework was down. It’s far from the fifties, and I’d hope performance on tests. However, this positive detrimental to education and health. The that the nation is far from the fear that comcorrelation comes to a screeching halt after Ladies Home Journal printed an article in munists will take over the world if we don’t two hours per night.

1900 about homework called “A National do more homework than they do. If anything Granted, not every bit of stress and Crime at the Feet of American Parents.” above two hours of homework a day causes a homework is due to someone else. A lot of it According to the San Francisco Chronicle, decline in performance then it’s no wonder is related to our choices. Our stress has a lot in 1901, California legislation banned home- that the country is on the lower end of the to do with the choices we make in life and work in K-8 and limited it in grades beyond. global scores. It’s time for people to realize the resulting budget of our time.

It was not until the 1940s and 1950s when that enough is enough.

NEWS

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11/10/09

ASB UPDATE Matt Hudgins PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER With the holidays soon approaching and classes quickly gaining speed, the year is officially in full swing. The same goes for the ASB, as your student body officers are hard at work preparing for the coming months.

October was host to a number of major events, including the Homecoming dance, which was a big success. A huge thank you to the cheerleaders for their hard work and tireless efforts to make the night a very special one indeed. Thanks also to everyone who attended the Homecoming football game, participated in the Hercules-themed Homecoming assembly or dressed up for spirit week. It was a great start to the year and your involvement was awesome!

As for this month, much is being done to plan and prepare for some major upcoming events. The Executive Board has been meeting on a weekly basis to make decisions about assemblies, fundraisers and service opportunities. A few of the things on the list are a winter sports assembly scheduled for December 11, a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly in January and a Make-A-

Wish Foundation special needs fundraiser.

We have also been looking for more ways to raise student involvement and continue our efforts to creating a safe, compassionate atmosphere here at Auburn Riverside. If you have any ideas, input or opinions you would like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to do so; we want you to have just as much of a voice as we do.

The student council as a whole has also been meeting regularly to decide on spending, activities and the overall functions of ASB. At our most recent gathering, we were very excited to approve the creation of four brand new clubs: Team Twilight (a club for fans of the popular Twilight series), Meditation Club (a club that has students explore themselves and find their inner peace), Dance Club (open to anyone who loves to dance) and the Book Club (a group of book lovers who meet monthly and read selected books as a group). For more information about any of these new clubs, please stop by the Activities Office or talk to the club’s adviser. These new clubs will provide even more opportunities for students to become involved in what they love. So join one today!

Another thing to look forward to is Teacher Appreciation Week, which will take place November 16-20. This week is a great opportunity to recognize and thank the wonderful teachers and staff who work so hard to make this school the best it can be. To ensure that all staff are recognized, the week will be split up into the following chunks: Math and Science teachers on Monday, Social Studies and Foreign Language teachers on Tuesday, Language Arts teachers on Wednesday, P.E./Arts/C.T.E. (Music, Drama, VisCom, Sports Med, Drafting, etc.) on Thursday, and Support Staff (administrators, office staff, custodians, security guards, kitchens staff, etc.) on Friday. So mark your calendars and be sure to give these people the thanks they deserve.

Individually, your class councils have also been hard at work planning fundraisers and organizing details.

Freshman class officers were elected last month and are already doing a great job with their contributions to ASB meetings and assemblies. The freshman officers are: Delaney McCausland (President), Yeh-eun Lee (Vice President), Jonathan “JB” Dirk (Secretary), Brooke Wellman (Senator), Angela Cho

(Senator) and Kia Uwaine (Senator).

The sophomore class is busy planning yet another Wobble to Gobble Fun Run/Walk scheduled for November 21 at Roegner Park.

This event is not only a fun way to get out and get some exercise, it’s a great fundraiser for the 10th grade class. Register today or sign up as a volunteer. The more the merrier!

Juniors are working hard on planning for their senior prom and looking for ways to raise some much-needed funds. They are currently looking at selling ARHS Staff Gear and planning a Battle of the Sexes day sometime soon.

The senior class is finalizing prom details and trying to make this year the best it can be. Brand new “Class of 2010” t-shirts went on sale last month and are still on pre-sale, so get yours today! They are also planning a volleyball tournament fundraiser and looking into selling Class of 2010 car stickers.

Indeed, it is a very busy time of year for your ASB officers. There are a number of exciting events to look forward to, and much work is being done to make the 2009-2010 school year an amazing experience for all. So have a great November, a filling Thanksgiving and an even better holiday season!

Second annual Wobble to Gobble welcomes all Leadership camp develops well-rounded students Tralayna Haslett STAFF REPORTER The second annual Wobble to Gobble Run will take place on November 21 in Roegner Park.

The proceeds generated from this event will go to Raven Crew and the sophomore class. The cost is $20 for people who sign up before November 11 and is $25 anytime afterwards. This includes a long sleeve T-shirt, bib number and plenty of other incentives.

It is a healthy way to hang with friends; participants can walk or run, but if health benefits aren’t persuasive enough, additional entertainment is provided through energy enhancing music, food at the finish and a selection of prizes dispersed through a raffle drawing. Prizes include a Ripstick and a $25 gift card to The Rock.

“It’s a great family event that’s good for the soul,” coordinator Julie Moberg said. Heading into the second annual event she hopes to increase the number of participants and maintain the high standards from last year.

Like all good races, there are heartwarming moments. For some it is seeing the

underdog cross the finish line. For Moberg, it was when she noticed a small child complete the race. Later she asked the child what she had enjoyed most about the race. “Running it with my mommy,” was the child’s reply.

The Wobble to Gobble triggered the start of a new tradition for that mother-daughter duo.

This goes to show that anyone and everyone can participate in a 5k.

Moberg wants to give students the inspiration to accomplish a 5k as well. Students in Moberg’s weight training classes are currently participating in a five-week program specifically training them to run a 5k.

“We were introduced to it last week when we were in the library,” senior Varinder Singh said. “We immediately got a packet and started looking into it.”

The Wobble to Gobble is enjoyed by teachers, students, children, staff and pets alike.

“I’m running it!” exclaimed teacher Kaisa Swendall-White. “I think everyone should come out and enjoy this nice fall running weather.”

Emily Morisawa STAFF REPORTER A handful of Riverside students participated in leadership camp October 25 through the 27 at Cispus. They went there to learn leadership skills while being counselors to sixth through ninth graders at the same time.

By being counselors, students were able to learn communication skills, decision making skills and team building.

“I went for cheer and to get new ideas of how to do assemblies and spread information,” senior Cheyenne Robinson said.

Anyone can attend leadership camp so long as they have approval or recommendation from a teacher. Some people who went this time were in cheer and were handpicked because they demonstrated strong leadership skills. Usually each camp is tailored to fit a specific group of people with specific skills. Some specific groups that might go to leadership camp are ASB, leadership, cheer or club officers.

“Students should go to leadership camp because they build lifelong skills and make new friends,” Camp coordinator Kelly Brown said. Brown has been coordinating the camp for the past four years.

Leadership camp occurs year round at different locations in the state. This means that if people didn’t get a chance to go this time, they may be able to attend the next upcoming leadership camp.

While at Cispus, the students were able to coordinate assemblies as well as come up with social ideas.

“We taught the middle schoolers to go the extra step to be the leader,” senior Amanda Smith said.

This can really benefit middle school students because it helps them with leadership skills and developing those skills better.

“The camp is also good because you get to meet new people from all over the state of Washington,” senior Cheyenne Robinson said.

This is part of leadership skills because it helps the middle school students to reach outside of their comfort zones and meet new people, much like Raven Crew does, rather than just chilling with their buds.

Different types of lessons are taught at leadership camp as well.

“You learn life lessons that you don’t always learn at school,” senior Amanda Smith said.

These lessons, like responsibility and being a leader not only in school but outside of it as well, are not always on a whiteboard or in textbooks.

“This camp really helps students share ideas, develop their skills, and have fun,” Kelly Brown said.

The camp can help students feel more comfortable in the role of leader or as the head of a group. The camp can also help the students come up with ideas for ASB in their own school.

“You don’t have to be interested in a specific thing to go, anyone can go,” senior Cheyenne Robinson said.

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NEWS

North Auburn in danger from Green River floods Jaymes Fleury GUEST REPORTER Residents who live in North Auburn and other Green River communities may experience flooding due to the damage caused to the Howard Hanson Dam last winter. This could highly affect the bus routes this fall between the school and student homes.

The cities that will see the most flooding are Kent, Renton and Tukwila, but the King County Emergency Response Team will be helping people prepare for the flooding.

Also, city websites have tips and ideas for flood preparation.

Residents at Regal Senior Housing Center of North Auburn are beginning to fear the chances of flooding. One resident who lives on the third floor has even got flood insurance. However, the manager of this senior housing center is confident they won’t be affected, even though they are 10 yards away from the river. The housing center is surrounded by a bank that is about eight feet high. This should detour the flooding for them.

“The biggest issue I’m worried about is that the sewage system can get backed up and cause our toilets

Obama calls for more hours Brianne Kopp STAFF REPORTER President Barack Obama has been contemplating increasing school hours, as well as shortening summer vacation across the country. He is considering this with intentions to improve test scores and reach the demand this new century is requiring.

Obama reasons this country has a need for more school because kids from other countries have more schooling.

“Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the Seattle Times.

Although how to get the extra hours in is still being discussed, there’s been thought to shorten summer vacation as well as tacking on extra minutes to each day.

Some schools already participating in longer school days have seen significant results. Beginning with exceeding their school district averages on state tests, these schools have also proved to have higher understanding of core classes, especially in math.

With none of this official and many decisions still up in the air, Obama has been putting forth efforts to make this a new policy.

to overflow with sewage on the first floor,” Regal Senior Housing Center manager Scott Hanz said.

Due to the snow and heavy rains of last

winter, the 40-year-old earthen dam has been critically damaged. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will attempt to create a temporary fix by November 1. This is until they will create the permanent fix in about three years, which will cost millions of dollars to make. The new dam should be much more resistant and durable.

“The dam is somewhat like you and I did with sticks and mud when we were kids,” Principal Phillips said.

Riverside shouldn’t be affected by the flood by this, except in transportation. But other schools may be damaged, including Cascade Middle School, Dick Scobee Elementary, and other North Auburn schools.

At Left: The Howard Hanson Dam might not be holding up much longer.

Below: These drainage tunnels are meant to divert some excess water.

PHOTOS COURTESY AUBURN WA.GOV

State pushes for increased core credits Berlyn Lee STAFF REPORTER

The requirements for high school graduation are always changing: what parts of the WASL must be passed, what tests must be completed and how many credits of science is required.

In recent years, Washington has been trying to pass “Core 24.” This bill is attempting to “up” the requirement of high school core classes. This means that students will be required to take more math and science classes in order to graduate their senior year.

Though Core 24 would raise grades and test scores, it would rob students of electives. Students taking band, choir, or art will not be able to take the elective for four years. The bill’s intention is to raise the bar, but teachers and students believe it will rob students of electives.

“The intention is good,” choir teacher John Stenson said, “but they shouldn’t do it by pounding what isn’t working.”

Art teachers, like Stenson, believe that some students excel in different areas of study instead of core study. However, the state of Washington wants to raise test scores

so U.S. students can meet the test scores of students all around the world.

“This is not the key to success,” said teacher Robyn Saarenas. “Kids don’t mature through simply core, they need to be wellrounded.”

Although Saarenas teaches math, one of the subjects Core 24 wants to up the require-

24

ments for, she believes that high school is a place where students should be exploring their options by taking classes that allow

them to travel outside the box. However, Saarenas does agree that the test will bring up scores and make it easier for students to succeed in college.

“They may build more math classes for lower levels,” Saarenas said. “It will push the higher-level kids.”

Senior Conner Lester, who is currently the lead in the school play Our Town, agrees with Stenson and Saarenas saying that “music and other activities are a vital requirement to the education system.”

On the other side of the argument, sophomore Tavis Levchak said the bill will raise test scores and give students more of what they need for college.

Principal Bruce Phillips thinks that Core 24 is not based on a lot of reality and is not going to happen anytime soon. In other words, Phillips believes the bill is both good and bad. The bill will raise grades, but it will also cost the school money and time to make room for more science classrooms and teachers.

Core 24 may raise grades for students, but it will rob them of electives. Also, the bill will force the school to put time and money into building more facilities to fit the needs of Core 24.

FEATURE

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11/10/09

Club promotes spirituality in meditation

Kim German Editor In Chief

Thousands.” Collier believes that everyone at Riverside could benefit from attending some meditation meetings. He aims for it

to be a place where people can be themselves and not be judged. “[Riverside] is a good place,” Collier Students are constantly being told said, “but everyone needs to to join a club. Make sure to be blow off some steam every social, but put in hours upon once in a while.” hours of homework. Finally, While Collier believes there’s a club designed to reduce meditation can be a powerstress instead of adding more ful thing for individuals, he daily problems. Meditation Club also believes in the power of will provide recluse and a safe numbers. He believes that if haven for students looking to every student at our school be involved at school but don’t got together and focused their have the time to worry about energy on one common goal, feeling obligated to participate they’d be able to achieve it. in everything.

“I’m trying to promote Senior Evan Collier wanted to spirituality, not religion,” Colstart a club that would allow him lier said. “I want to teach the to bring what he’d learned about philosophy of meditation and meditation to meetings. The club different ways to find inner has already started meetings, but peace.” it keeps gaining more and more Collier has been meditatfollowers. ing the majority of his life, PHOTO BY SYDNEY SHUMAN “I’m thinking there are probthough he hadn’t cognitively ably about 20 members so far,” Early in its run, Meditation Club already has considerable interest. labeled it as such until a few Collier said. “But I want hundreds. months ago. He states that he’s

grown exponentially over the past three months and has several “tidbits of wisdom” he wants to share. For example, many people understand the general concept of meditation but aren’t aware of what it actually is.

“Meditation is conscious relaxation,” Collier said. “It’s when your body is calm and all the systems in your body are working perfectly together.”

Breathing is the heart of meditation for Collier. He focuses on the benefits of breathing, and then they are ten folded.

According to Collier, meditation has healing powers. This is a reason why so many students could profit from it. To help him with his mission, ASL teacher Cindy Anderson is the club adviser.

“I chose somebody who would allow me to be creative but lend a hand,” Collier said.

The club was just made official, and Collier is aiming high. If things end up as he had hoped, meetings will be Wednesdays for about an hour each. Join if you want your “quality of life to improve.”

Intuition GFX teaches the trade Book Club, binding us together James Kozanitis Editor In Chief The most computer savvy people roam the halls of the school. Some are really good with Movie Maker or PowerPoint. Some may be deep into some sort of advanced coding.

But for those who excel at turning a white screen into a graphical masterpiece, there’s Intuition GFX Club.

Intuition GFX is Riverside’s own graphics design club. It originally started last year as an internet club before alumni Jon Paik decided to make it a club at school. Most of this club’s members, including Paik, were seniors, and when they graduated only one was left.

Enthusiastic and eager to prepare, senior Billy Schunke has stepped up to take on the responsibility of club president.

“I have no idea how to run it,” Schunke said. “I’ve never even been an officer of a club, and suddenly I’m president.”

Though Schunke is still finding his footing as the leader, his experience with graphics design will make it easier for him. Schunke has worked with several different graphics design programs such as Photoshop and the less popular GIMP. He has been doing such activities since the end of freshman year, when he was designing forum signatures.

Before its beginning, a few people were interested in joining the club once, including seniors Sager and Sanjeev Kamboj and Danielle Bargala.

“Billy said he was going to do it,” Sagar said, “and I thought it might be a cool idea to learn about Photoshop.”

The club is not simply be a group where people sit around designing things. Schunke has a different approach in mind, saying that they will teach about graphics design, instead. “[It is] sort of like a graphics design class,” Schunke said, “but more lenient.”

This may also prove to be a learning experience for Schunke, himself. His future career goal includes graphics design.

Schunke is thinking that web design would suit him, and he would rather freelance than work for a firm.

The club will start off teaching its members “little tricks,” as Schunke put it. These tricks include designing different planets and even a whole galaxy. The galaxy could be in the shape of any image, like an image of someone’s name.

“I’d have to know what everyone knows,” Schunke said. “If everyone knows the basics, we can start off more advanced than if everyone doesn’t know the basics.”

Continuing the trend of democracy, the club runs on the program the members want to learn. If everyone wants Photoshop, they’ll learn Photoshop, if everyone wants GIMP, they’ll learn GIMP. The members of Intuition GFX will engulf themselves in design every Tuesday and Thursday after school.

What image this club creates remains to be seen.

GRAPHIC BY AMANDA CLEVELAND

Berlyn Lee STAFF REPORTER Like talking about books but have no one to talk to about them?

This year, librarian Lisa Gallinati and Language Arts teacher Jennifer Garcia have created a book club to give students a chance to not only have the chance to fall into someone else’s shoes by reading books, but also allow them to talk to others about their thoughts on the books. Both advisers hope the club will bring together a group of kids who love books just as much as they do.

“Mrs. Garcia and I both love talking about books,” Gallinati said. “There must be students out there who love to talk about books.”

A lot of students have not heard of the club because the club’s government is still brand new. Therefore, advertising is still being worked on. Senior Kyla Thompson has “heard a little about it,” and sophomore Suhaila Hanno hasn’t heard about the club at all. However, both girls think the club is a fun idea.

“I’d love to talk about biographies with other students,” Thompson said.

“I’ve read a lot of them.”

Other students are interested in different types of literature.

“I’d like to talk about the Twilight series,” Hanno said. “I like them.”

Gallinati believes that the club will be fun. “There will be food, literaturebased events and things with authors,”

she said. “The students of the club will choose the books that the club reads.”

Book club meetings take place at least once a month on Fridays right after school. Although the meetings have already begun, the club is always accepting new members.

If you love books, come to the next book club and talk with others about the amazing world of literature.

Book Club Officers PresidentBerlyn Lee, senior Vice PresidentKim German, senior SecretarySarah Vatne, junior TreasurerMichelle Parks, senior HistorianAshley Holloway, senior

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11/10/09

t h g i l F In

ng

ivi Thanksg

aff t s e h T : y B

FEATURE

Holiday Eggnog (Serves 16) Ingredients: 2 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 quarts milk 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 2 cups heavy whipping cream ground nutmeg In heavy 4-quart saucepan, with wire whisk, beat eggs, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually stir in 1 quart milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon well, about 25 minutes (mixture should be about 170 F to 175 F. but do not boil or it will curdle). Pour custard into large bowl; stir in vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg and remaining milk. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about three hours.

To serve, in small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat heavy or whipping cream until soft peaks form. With wire whisk, gently fold whipped cream into custard mixture.

Zapato-Hombre’s Caramel Corn Ingredients: 2 cubes butter 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup Karo syrup 1 dash salt 1 tsp. baking soda Air popped popcorn Melt butter in large pot. Add Karo syrup, salt, sugar and bring to boil.

As soon as mixture starts to boil, remove it from heat. Add baking soda and stir. Pour over desired amount of air popped popcorn according to preference.

Pour eggnog into chilled 5-quart punch bowl; sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Crust: 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 stick melted salted butter Filling: 3 (8 oz.) can pureed pumpkin 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk 1/4 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For crust: In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add Melted butter. Press down flat into a 9inch spring form pan. Set aside.

For filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth.

Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for one hour.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours.

Sugar Coated Pecans: Ingredients: 1 egg white 1 tablespoon water 1 pound pecan halves 1 cup white sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Quick Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili: 3 medium-large sweet potatoes 2 tablespoons light olive or extra virgin oil 1 cup chopped onion 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium red bell pepper, diced Two 28-32 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes One 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 or 2 small fresh hot chilies, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley or cilantro 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 250°F and grease one baking sheet. In one bowl, mix the egg white and water together until it turns frothy.

In a different bowl combine the salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Dip the nuts into the mix of egg white and water until they are thoroughly covered. Then put them into the salt, sugar, and cinnamon bowl and roll them around. When finished put the pecans on the baking sheet and in the oven for one hour at 250°F and mix every fifteen minutes.

To start, make sure the potatoes are firm, then peel and cut into 3/4 inch dice. Set aside until needed.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot.

Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until the onion is golden. Add the remaining ingredients except the last three.

Bring to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.

Add the sweet potato dice and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the parsley and scallions, then season gently with salt.

Enjoy!

FEATURE

8

11/10/09

Quoth the Raven: What are you thankful for?

Kim German Brianne Kopp Editor In Chief STAFF REPORTER

Friends To get the opportunity to travel to Orlando to compete.

- Sara Suznevich and Colleen Brewer, sophomores

Life and friends.

- Tanner Fairweather and Andres Osuna, seniors

Getting a wonderful education at this fine school.

- Brandon Trinadad, Andy Russel and Kevin McPeak, juniors

9

11/10/09

FEATURE

Twilight’s venomous bite obsesses readers Shayla McGinness STAFF REPORTER Dozens upon dozens of vampire costume clad fans stand waiting for hours on rain slicked streets for another Twilight convention.

What possesses people to stand waiting for a simple book conference? The fact that they are obsessed with the series; it’s obviously not difficult to get bitten by the unrealistic love story, as romantic as it is.

PHOTOS COURTESY TWILIGHTSUCKS.COM CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE Not only is the series perfect for girls in the sense that it’s overfilled with Crazed Twilight fan gets tattoo of the Cullen Crest desire and devotion, it’s also a good read for guys vampire. A lot of girls hope because it has a danger factor. and dream one day to meet Why are people so obsessed with Twi- their own Edward. light? What makes it so special? Well, let’s Edward, our second take a look at the two main characters. Bella main character, is a man is a shy and smart girl who doesn’t think she’s who has been around for very pretty. It’s clear she is a character to decades - a man who has identify with. Not only that, but she’s the been the odd one out in object of affection of the most beautiful his family. He has no comand perfect individual, who happens to be panion, yet is wanted by

PHOTO COURTESY CULLENBOYSANONYMOUS.COM, CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

See Edward Cullen while you’re naked.

practically every girl around.

It seems people (mainly girls) are so infatuated with this bloodlust love-crazed couple because the story creates another world to fall into to escape the daily hassles of people’s everyday lives.

Something about vampires interests us, they are portrayed as alluring and mysterious creatures whose only goal is to feed their blood lust and maybe wreak a little havoc along the way. For many people, a book about vampires is too tempting to not read.

Stephanie Meyer has effectively created an exciting story with an interesting structure. While many people may not like her writing style and find it too plain and immature, many people do. Let’s not forget that the series is directed toward teenagers.

Teens aren’t looking for some ridiculously enigmatic novel to read. We want something that captures and keeps our attention, and this series has done that quite successfully.

It has even lured adults into the secret world of vampires. Lets face it: it definitely does not hurt that it is on the silver screen as well as in print.

Overall the series can be an enjoyable read, but the press and screaming fan girls the Twilight ordeal get are a bit much. It’s just a good series of novels, not the second coming.

Sadie Hawkins not making a reappearance Emily Morisawa STAFF REPORTER

Sadie Hawkins, a dance that’s been excluded from Riverside tradition for two years, will continue to be non-existent this year as well. The Sadie Hawkins, also known as the Tolo, is a more casual dance than Homecoming and less expensive as a result.

According to dictionary.com, the Sadie Hawkins dance is “a dance held annually among high school or college students, to which each girl escorts the boy of her

choice, or invites him to escort her.”

“It’s because of the sexual overtones that come with the dancing,” Principal Bruce Phillips said when asked why we don’t have Tolo. “It’s unacceptable.” The dance will be back on when dancing changes to not include any dirty dancing.

“I don’t want to play the police officer,” Phillips said. “The issue is just all about the dancing, I wouldn’t mind having seven or eight dances a year if people just danced cleaner.” The end result, due to dirty dancing at Homecoming, is that we now only have Homecoming and Prom; the

Prom being a senior event.

“It’s good that the Sadie Hawkins Dance was taken away because it enforces the fact that we need to dance cleaner,” junior Anna Marshall said. “I think that we should get it back though.”

The dances also give a chance for the girls to ask the guys instead of the usual other way around.

“The dance takes the pressure off the guys and onto the girls,” sophomore Bridger Harlington said. To many Riverside students, this is a bonus of the dance and looked forward to. It gives girls a chance to pick the guy they want to go with and find cute ways to ask.

Another aspect of the dance that seems well liked is that it’s more of a casual dance rather than a formal dance like homecoming.

“This dance is tight because it’s not formal, less expensive and less stressful,” sophomore Chris Connacher said. The Sadie Hawkins dance gives people a chance to go to a dance without spending a lot of money in the process.

People also don’t have to dress up in a formal way as they do in Homecoming.

For some people this allows the dance to be much less stressful and more fun because they don’t have to think about a tuxedo or dress.

This is also the last year for seniors, who have only experienced the dance once.

“We should have it because this is [the senior’s] last year” senior Lena

Tu said. “So I think we should get a second chance.”

However, due to the inappropriate dancing, it seems like the dance won’t be making an appearance any time soon.

Several methods have been tried including flicking the lights, stopping the music, and going up to students to tell them to stop and separate.

One method that doesn’t seem to have made an appearance at our school is adopting schools like Thomas Jefferson’s policy with bracelets. Students get a bracelet upon entering the dance. If the student is caught in the act of dirty dancing, the bracelet is removed. If caught again without the bracelet, the student is asked to leave the dance.

“My friend said that Thomas Jefferson’s dances got cleaner fast,” junior Ashlyn Mundo said.

Teachers just don’t want to have to continue separating couples throughout the dance; the bracelets may end up being a good solution to this.

Many people get frustrated because they are not the ones dirty dancing, but they are the ones getting punished for it.

“I think that they should be stricter at the dances because not everyone was dancing dirty,” junior Anna Marshall said.

In the end, if the dirty dancing is stopped, Riverside students will be able to receive the benefits of more dances rather than being told that other dances are being taken away because of the actions of others.

FEATURE 10

11/10/09

Who’s behind locker number... n o i t i d E Music James Kozanitis Editor In Chief

Otila Fonoti, freshman

5 1 6 9

InFlight: Who is your favorite musician/band, and why?

Otila Fonoti: Mariah Carey.

IF: How many of her CDs do you have?

OF: About 12 songs.

IF: What kind of music do you lean towards?

OF: Hip Hop. IF: Do your friends lean the same way?

OF: Yeah, basically.

IF: How has music impacted your life?

OF: It makes me happy when I’m sad.

IF: What’s your favorite song and what feeling do you get when you listen to it?

OF: “Bye” by Mariah Carey. It’s about someone who dies in a family. I can relate to it.

IF: How often would you say you listen to Mariah Carey?

OF: Every time I go to sleep and when I wake up.

8101

Hunter Looper, freshman

3 1 5 0

, d o o W l e h c a R freshman

InFlight: Who is your favorite musician/band, and why?

Hunter Looper: Yngwie Malmsteem. He’s an excellent singer and solo guitarist.

InFlight: Who is your favorite musician/band, and why?

Rachel Wood: We the Kings. I think their music is really cool.

IF: How many of his CDs do you have?

HL: None. He’s old old, so it’s hard to get any.

IF: How many of their CDs do you have?

RW: I have, like, 5 on my iPod.

IF: What kind of music do you lean towards?

HL: Rock, some hard rock.

IF: What kind of music do you lean towards?

RW: Pop and Rock.

IF: Do your friends lean the same way?

HL: Yeah, some do. Some are into rap, though.

IF: Do your friends lean the same way?

RW: Yeah, some listen to different kinds, though.

IF: How has music impacted your life?

HL: It’s made me think more about what I do.

IF: What’s your favorite song and what feeling do you get when you listen to it?

HL: “Red Devil.” It’s kind of like a soft song and then it hits just the right beat.

IF: How often would you say you listen to Malmsteem?

HL: Probably once every day. If not I’ll have to go two days.

IF: What song most describes you and why?

OF: “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. I’m “out there” and don’t like to be boring.

IF: What song most describes you and why?

HL: “Flamenco Diablo” by Yngwie Malmsteem.

It describes how crazy I am.

IF: If you could play any instrument, what instrument would it be and why?

OF: Harp. It’s graceful. The sound is soothing.

IF: If you could play any instrument, what instrument would it be and why?

HL: Probably a bass. Its deep tones are pretty sick.

IF: What would your life be like without music?

OF: I would be a very grumpy and unhappy person. I wouldn’t be as peppy or hyper.

IF: What would your life be like without music?

HL: It would suck! There would be no concentration.

IF: How has music impacted your life?

RW: Life can be really stressful sometimes. I mean, my mom has cancer, and my dog just died, and it’s really soothing to be able to go into my room and listen to music.

IF: What’s your favorite song and what feeling do you get when you listen to it?

RW: “Check Yes, Juliet” by We the Kings. I just get happy when I listen to it.

IF: How often would you say you listen to We the Kings?

RW: Every day or every other day.

IF: What song most describes you and why?

RW: I don’t really think about that.

IF: If you could play any instrument, what instrument would it be and why?

RW: Guitar. You can do so much with it. There’s so many different kinds.

IF: What would your life be like without music?

RW: Very dull. Music is a way to express yourself, and without it you couldn’t have the feelings you do have.

11

11/10/09

FEATURE

How many kids do your parents tuck in at night?

Cassidy Brown GUEST REPORTER

in the summer.

“We are just a normal family,” Irina said.

The Yakimchuk’s aren’t the only large family at the You are woken up in the middle of the night by the sound school. Although they have only seven kids in the family of your baby brothers’ shrill cry. In the morning you groggily instead of nine, the Cowan family also knows what it is pull yourself out of bed and step on your six-year-old sister’s like living with lots of people. Eighteen-year-old Hunter, Barbie Doll. You’re finally at school, and walking down the seventeen-year-old Skylar, sixteen-year-old Morgan, and hallways you see one…two…three of your siblings pass you fourteen-year-old Maddison all go to school here, and have by. Once you’re back at home, your older brother helps you an older brother, Blake, who is in college, and two younger with your homework. brothers, Halston and Ashton in middle and elementary Although the average American school. family has two children, cities across “It’s like a zoo,” senior Hunter said. “Everybody the United States are scattered with is always yelling.” He continued to say that whenever larger families. Auburn is no excepit gets too loud and he needs to get away, he goes tion. running.

Siblings sophomore Eduard and “I just go to my room and watch T.V.” freshman junior Irina Yakimchuk, both of whom Maddison said. attend school here, have seven other With seven kids, it’s no surprise that the family siblings back at home. Yes, there are spends a lot of time away from each other. They all run, nine kids in their family. The ages however and spend a lot of time together at meets and range from one-month-old Sophia to on bus rides. They still manage to stay close.

18-year-old Yuliya, with three-year“I’m closest to Blake,” Maddison said about her old Tim, five-year-old Tanya, eightoldest brother in college, “We have a lot in common.” year-old Viktoriya, 11-year-old Diana, They still talk a lot, despite the fact that he is across 14-year-old Alex, 16-year-old Eduard, the country in New York City. and 17-year-old Irina filling in the age “Skylar and I are close,” said Hunter. “We’re algap between them. The nine kids plus ways around each other.” the parents that live with them make But the family is not only occupied with seven it an 11-person family. kids; their mom, Rose, also breeds dogs as a side job.

“They keep you company, and So not only are the kids running around, but Yorkies they’re fun to hang out with,” sophoand Great Danes also roam around the house. The kids more Eduard said. He continued to don’t pay much attention to that though, and have say that although he does enjoy PHOTO COURTESY BILLMUMMY.COM, CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE learned to live with it. spending time with them, babysitting The gigantic family in Cheaper by the Dozen represents large Raven families.

“We never have food!” Maddison exclaimed. all the younger kids does get a little Hunter agreed, saying that their empty cupboards are old after a while. the hardest part about having such a big family. But they Irina agrees, saying that she, still both enjoy having all the siblings they do. too, has to spend a lot of time babysitting, and she rarely part about having such a big family is trying to find some“There are more people to love!” Hunter said, laughenjoys it. Both Eduard and Irina are busy with sports and where quiet. Eduard, however, said that the hardest part ing. school, and would rather spend their free time having fun about having an 11-person family is trying to find family Both the Cowans and the Yakimchuks have large families, with friends and cousins than babysitting their younger members around the house, and that organizing events the and they wouldn’t have it any other way. siblings.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Eduard said, summarizing what having entire family wants to do is no easy task either.

“I read a lot at home, but I also like to go to my friends’ But on that rare occasion when the entire family is a big family is truly all about. houses,” Irina said. “Nobody is ever home at the same together, they normally all get along well. They spend a lot Irina agrees, saying how much fun it is. “It just wouldn’t time!” of time at church and take vacations to Eastern Washington be the same without them.”

Eduard also enjoys getting away from home on his free time. He likes to hang out with his friends and cousins, and enjoys playing sports.

With that many kids, life at home is crazy. They all have to share rooms, and it’s no surprise that finding a quiet place isn’t easy.

“It is loud!” Eduard said. “There’s a lot of yelling and people are always getting in trouble.”

Irina also said that it gets really loud, and the hardest

Cognitive learning stimulated through technology Tralayna Haslett STAFF REPORTER Technology is filling its role in American culture as an unstoppable learning commodity. In the past few decades, drastic advancements have occurred in society and those advancements have found their way into classrooms of schools across America.

Throughout Bruce Diehl’s 28 years of teaching, he has witnessed these developments first hand. Back when he first began teaching, classrooms merely had an overhead projector and a few movies, but the old movies were such a hassle to show that they were only used occasionally. The benefit of rarely showing the movies was that they captivated the students.

“The problem is that you have to use shorter clips because children have such a short attention span,” Diehl said. “You basically need to have an assignment with it now or students won’t pay attention.”

Advancements of technology have provided the shift from appealing to just the auditory learners and increased the effectiveness for visual learners.

“I learn best from PowerPoint because it’s visual and I’m a visual learner,” sophomore Jade Swepston said.

Jade is just one of many individuals who welcome the introduction of PowerPoint and contribute to its growing popularity.

Scantrons and online testing have also experienced an increase in popularity. However, the online testing currently available is not appropriate for all subjects. In the science department, teachers hope to be administering online testing next semester as they have made requests about what they need.

This form of testing has negative and positive effects.

Unfortunately, there is an overestimation about how many families actually own computers. Luckily, all students have access to a computer outside of class, whether through the library or even a friend.

Recently, our school has seen the emergence of the SMART Board and eBeam. Both of these new learning technologies allow the user to manipulate the text and graphics in a more interactive way than an ordinary computer. Between the two, there is only one significant difference.

“The eBeam is portable, while the SMART Board is stationary, so it doesn’t move,” librarian Lisa Gallinati said.

The SMART Boards have already made their way into a few classrooms, but the eBeam is still in its piloting phase.

“The glitches are being worked out,” teacher Michael Van Eaton said. “There are still some dead spots, but we take pictures and send them to computer technician Toni Dudley, who then talks to the company to see what is wrong with it and get it fixed.”

Technology takes its toll on the American way of life through education of the youth. Its advancements over time have improved students’ ability to harness knowledge and adapt to more productive methods of education.

A&E 12

11/10/09

Sixth installment to horror franchise amazes James Kozanitis Editor In Chief “Another Saw film,” you might say.

“Jigsaw’s going to kill people, and try to teach them a lesson afterwards.” Despite the fact that this position is one-dimensional at best, I’ll tell you right now, this is not a review of another Saw film. Saw VI is not simply another Saw film. Its predecessors were nothing short of genius, but Saw VI is easily found to be the best Saw film yet.

As those familiar with the series should know, John Kramer (Jigsaw) is dead. This film focuses partially on his “replacement,” as some would say, Detective Mark Hoffman.

In Saw V, it seemed that Hoffman would get away, framing the innocent Peter Strahm almost perfectly. As Hoffman soon finds out, the FBI is smarter than he anticipated, and they don’t buy the Strahm story. Hoffman is incapable of doing anything but watch as they close in on who the new killer is.

While the FBI gets closer and closer to Hoffman, Jigsaw’s master game is starting, focusing on the poster boy for the modern

scum of the world, William Easton, a health insurance head. In his first scene, he makes quite the impression on the audience when he denies a man coverage on a live-or-die procedure, based on a near criminal technicality.

Jigsaw knew Easton previously and once told him that he decides who lives or dies.

When Easton is a player in this deadly game, Jigsaw makes him do just that. Easton must decide who lives and who dies, but this time the people he makes the decisions for are right in front of him.

In every standard horror film, there is a clearly defined antagonist and protagonist.

The villain is the killer, and the victims are the heroes. Saw VI continues the trend of being vastly different from every standard horror film by conflicting its viewers. Jigsaw is supposed to be the bad guy, and his victims are supposed to be good. But wait, his victim is a greedy careless health insurer who accepts and denies claims based on how much profit it gains him. The audience is further conflicted the more they get to see Jigsaw.

The flashbacks and personalized video tapes

for victims continuously show that his morals are almost those of a model citizen. Jigsaw has been unjustly victimized by various parties in the past.

But wait, once more, the movie will continue its conflicting by the excellent character development of Easton.

Could Easton’s change be only because of Jigsaw’s games? Unclear. Perhaps what the movie shows best is that everyone is human, and that even the most odious people can retain that humanity. The motives Jigsaw holds are not those of revenge, vigilante justice or sick sadism. Jigsaw is motivated only by showing people that life needs to be appreciated and that life exists in all of us. His means of conveying this message are twisted at best, but the conflict still exists. Even villains who we previously thought were unredeemable were shown to be the very opposite.

Perhaps the only exception to this is the more present living villain Hoffman. Not a lot of people in this movie like him doing Jigsaw’s work, and not a lot of them like him as anything else.

He’s a sick man who has yet to show any humanity. Even Jigsaw scoffed at Hoffman’s treatment of a passed out subject from Saw III, telling him “that’s a human being.”

In the oddest way, the movie addresses the political issue of health care reform.

The basics outline it perfectly: the greedy health care insurer is forced to choose who lives and dies, like he does so many times.

The details imply it more heavily. The main game in Saw VI takes place in an abandoned zoo, comparing humans to animals in the way we are treated. Jigsaw himself, with his cancer, has been knocked around by the system a few times. In a flashback, Jigsaw even addresses the issue of health care, saying that it’s not the doctors or the government who decide who’s treated, but the insurance companies. Though this brings up a hot button topic, it doesn’t clearly take a side. It only mentions that there is a problem with the current health care system and that the problem is greed and an unappreciative, apathetic view of life, which fits into the Saw series perfectly. No, this isn’t the whole point of the Saw series. Jigsaw isn’t seeking vengeance by putting a health insurer to the test, and the whole point of his games aren’t to show the world how much we need socialized health care.

Most critics identify a slump in the Saw series that occurred with Saw IV and Saw V. However, even the critics that slammed those two movies the most find themselves

very fond of this movie. Some people only hung on to the Saw series to see how it all played out, and if you are one of those, you will be blown away.

Saw VI retained its gore factor and did so better than ever before. You will cringe and gawk and squirm in your seat. If you thought the traps were crazy in the other movies, you haven’t seen anything yet. It wasn’t just the gore involved in the traps, but the emotion involved with them. The movie and the amazing actors will make you feel like you’re involved in the game, which is horrifying in itself.

Saw VI was not just an addition to the series, but a complete transition into new beginnings. It tied up every question posed by the previous movies in a beautiful bow.

This bow, however, is tied just loose enough for more to happen. This raises the question: what happens next?

Well, Saw VI was originally planned to be the last, but the series has been given new life by this movie It will return for a seventh installment. For all you excited fans, it helps even more to know that this installment is likely to be in 3D. The new director Kevin Greutert did not disappoint any fan of the series out there.

Saw V director David Hackl barely missed the mark of best Saw movie with that one, but Greutert took the cake and surpassed even that of the classic Saw, with the horror masterpiece that is Saw VI. If there was ever a sequel that surpassed the original, this is it.

13

11/10/09

A&E

Fall talent show goes beyond entertainment James Kozanitis Editor In Chief On a chilly fall night, the Ravens swarmed the ART. They spread their wings, chirped their songs and impressed the audience. It was perhaps one of the better talent shows that ARHS has seen in a while.

“I think it’s going to be phenomenal, the best ever,” talent show head Jon Stenson said, before the show, optimistically tongue-in-cheek.

At times, the audience seemed more nervous than Stenson. Up to their ears in anticipation, they waited for curtain up. Audience member senior Mariah Shinners (former talent show participant, herself) was already looking forward to the piano and cello duo act, with seniors Steffi Range and Tessa Goodwin. They performed “My Immortal “ by Evanescence.

Overall the show turned Stenson’s optimism into reality, starting with senior Erik Vatne performing a comedic acoustic version of “Hey Ya,” which almost made the song sound poetic. Vatne worked the crowd and gave a previously unjustifiable song justice.

The night continued on with a wave of singers, but not without the entertaining presence of junior E.J. De Los Angeles, the commentator of the show. The audience was presented with giggly puns and an excellent accent to the talents.

Senior Kate Marez and junior Elisa Rosin harmonized perfectly with each other, singing “The Chain,” by Ingrid Michaels, and accompanied by juniors Sarah Vatne and Katie Grey on guitar.

The two guitarists weren’t done yet. Vatne, Grey and seniors Berlyn Lee and Kate Marez came out with an inter-

pretive dance to “Escape” by Enrique Iglesias. They left confidently, after a wildly dressed and oddly entertaining performance. Brava, ladies.

Topping off a wonderful night for Grey, she came out for the hat trick, singing and playing an original song. She delivered her lyrics confidently and personally.

Not even De Los Angeles could keep his cool when freshman Tyler Bunday came to perform the Plain White T’s hit “1, 2, 3, 4.” The song garnered premature interest because of its popularity, and the crowd was anything but disappointed, as Bunday’s voice and guitar really delivered.

Audience member senior Madison Hoevett said he came in support of magician junior Michael Wong.

“I’ve never seen Wong do [magic],

but it should be pretty good.” Hoevett said. “He’s charismatic.”

Wong was truly a breath of fresh air, from a talent show that was beginning to seem more and more like a concert. It would have been pleasant to see anything that wasn’t music at that point, and what a show Wong put on. He entertained and interacted with the audience, baffling them with card tricks and entertaining them with several laughable situations. Wong said he sought to “loosen” the audience’s moods up a bit, and he did that and more.

“It surpassed my phenomenal expectations,” Stenson said, far more literal than before.

The next talent show will be the first Thursday in May. Stenson thinks that everyone will only get better as “everyone’s gotten better so far.”

PHOTOS BY JAMES KOZANITIS

Above: Talent show performers take a final bow after a successful performance At Right: Senior Erik Vatne gave a good start to a great show.

Magician shows Wong way to do sleight of hand Drama fights the fight Kim German Editor In Chief Amongst all the musical acts at the fall talent show, one performance stood out against the norm. Junior Michael Wong created a unique twist to the night, wowing the crowd with his magic tricks.

Against popular belief, one has to practice tricks for a long time to actually pull them off and be believable. Wong has been doing close-up magic for seven or eight years now, and it shows. Not one member of the show’s audience appeared bored or unimpressed. “Oohs” and “Awws” filled the ART even though students had no idea what to expect ahead of time. What many may find shocking is that the talent show performance was the first stage show Wong had ever done.

The playground in elementary school was the basis of Wong’s magic shows. He would perform magic during recess at a young age, but as he got older, family members were the only ones to witness Wong’s magic. This changed within the past few months. Wong admits that he was yearning to

show off the skill he had been perfecting, but was afraid of being laughed at or not taken seriously. So instead of doing a private show for his friends, he took it to the stage.

“Now people ask me to amaze them randomly,” Wong said, “and I’m happy to supply.”

Loving to joke and entertain, Wong puts his mind, humor and skills to the test in everything he does. Not only does he excel in magic, Wong enjoys baseball, riding fixed gear bicycles, playing various sport games on the Wii and hanging out with his long-time girlfriend, junior Anna Marshall.

Though Wong, who says people think he looks like American Dragon Jake Long, may joke about almost everything, he is a very smart person.

He states that he has a 4.0 (though jokingly boasts that he’s earned a 4.01) and would like to “reap the benefits of a well constructed education” after high school.

His future is very promising, but does that mean he will leave his pasPHOTO BY SYDNEY SHUMAN sion for magic behind?

“I absolutely love [magic],” Wong said. “I think that it is the best type of entertainment, and it’s one of my skills that I’ll hold close to me forever.”

Berlyn Lee STAFF REPORTER

Drama Club has always been about reaching out to students and teaching them more about theater than they will learn working in shows or taking the high school courses.

Drama Club shows all actors a side of theater that they never thought about before. This year, the Drama Club is working on teaching students the many aspects of theater through workshops. The most recent workshop took place on October 29. This workshop was dedicated to stage combat.

Drama Club adviser Karla Seman had got in touch with a former student named Sarah Morrison who has been certified in stage combat. The workshop was not just for Drama Club participants, but rather for anyone who wanted to learn a little bit more about working on stage. In all, about 15 students participated in the event.

Morrison taught the participants how to appear as if they were really fighting. She taught the group how to slap, punch, and push one another in a way that looks realistic, without getting hurt.

The last thing she taught the students was a fight sequence from Romeo and Juliet between a Capulet and a Montague. All of the participants performed the scene with maturity, but had fun.

At the end of the workshop, the participants thanked Morrison and went home. Seman believes that later on in the school year there will be more workshops. The next one will center around how to act in a Shakespearian play and how to understand his text.

A&E 14

11/10/09

Take a Twilight break with these vampire books The Vampire Chronicles The Vampire Chronicles is a sequence of novels by author Anne Rice that is mainly about the character Lestat de Lioncourt, who is a French nobleman made into a vampire in the eighteenth century.

There are ten books in all, and most of the books are written is first person, with the exception of Interview with a Vampire, which is the first book, which was made into a movie. A movie was also made called Queen of the Damned.

The movie is based on the novels The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. The books are written with lavish descriptions and articulate and elegant characters. This is definitely a great series to fall in to.

Shayla McGinness STAFF REPORTER

Vampire Academy Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is the first book in The Vampire Academy series.

The series consists of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Bite, Blood Promise, and the next book Spirit Bond. The books revolve around the life of 17-year-old Rosemarie Hathaway, whose life is dedicated to protecting her best friend and vampire royalty, Vasilisa Dragomir.

The academy introduces Rose and Lisa (both commonly used nicknames) to a world of vampire culture and customs. This includes, most importantly, the vampire social classes: the dhampirs, moroi, strigoi and the humans. The books are packed full of intrigue and romance; they should have no problem keeping readers captivated.

Night World Night World is a series of nine novels written by L.J. Smith. The novels are Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder/Enchantress, Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate, Huntress, Black Dawn and Witchlight. Night World is a secret society made up of vampires, witches, werewolves and shape-shifters. They have to abide by two basic laws: never allow humans to know of the existence of the night world and never fall in love with a human. Each novel consists of its own protagonist, which is always a girl who must face various trials of love and the danger that follows as a consequence.

The House of Night The House of Night series is about a 16-year-old girl named Zoey Redbird who has just become a vampire fledging. What makes Zoey so special is she is the only vampire fledging ever to have her “mark” (a sapphire crescent moon tattoo that marks them as vampires) filled in so soon. Since she is a vampire fledging, she is required to go to the House of Night Boarding School. The House of Night Boarding School is a school specifically for fledglings to mature and train to become adult vampires. Another thing that makes fledglings so difficult is the fact that they can’t be away from an adult vampire for too long or else they will die. There are six books so far in the series: Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted and Tempted. The series is thrillingly engaging to read; once you start you won’t be able to put it down.

Dramatic overload; teen soaps make brain dirty Kim German Editor In Chief

actually find them engaging.

Greek, for example, is a teen soap opera with wittier content than others. It is still You go home after school and turn on over dramatized, but much more subtly. the television. What’s on? If the “I think Greek is interesthousehold television was tuned to ing because it shows college the morning news before school, life from the Greek system,” it’s most likely All my Children, senior Chelsea Humphries said.

General Hospital or Days of Our “It makes college look fun, not Lives. Teens think of these as stressful.” over-dramatic, corny soap operas.

But what if the lives porWhat most students don’t realize trayed in these shows seem is that the shows they watch while too desirable? Think about it. procrastinating on homework and Both The Secret Life of the so easily relate to are actually American Teenager and 90210 modern-day soap operas. feature pregnant teens. Though Think about it. Degrassi? Not the struggles that accompany everything really happens to the these problems are shown, same group of people over and both Amy from Secret Life and over again, like the show depicts.

Adrianna from 90210 end up 90210? It is a really entertaining okay afterward. show, but all the plot twists are Admittedly, most of the totally implausible. teen soaps do at least attempt “I think [teenage soap opera’s] to teach a lesson. Secret Life is representation of the average famous, or perhaps infamous, American life is a little off,” for throwing in “meaningful” PHOTO COURTESY TIMEINC.NET; CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE senior Adam Murgittroyd said. messages in every episode after “They’re definitely dramatized The cast members of 90210 attempt to represent the average teenagers characters face a conflict. The and skewed.” consequences of the characSo if most of the teen soap ters’ irresponsible behavior operas are just as exaggerated as are often insignificant and the daytime soaps, what makes these shows said. “But they are addicting.” temporary. so addicting?

However, Secret Life does a better job Then, of course, there is a totally dif“I love The Secret Life of the American ferent end of the spectrum: some people of representing reality than 90210 does.

Teenager,” senior Natasha Radford said. “It’s don’t watch to make fun of the shows, they Many characters in 90210 have learned to get so unlike real life that it’s funny.”

Other people think these dramatic shows are entertaining for similar reasons.

“They’re so dorky,” senior Jillian Hawley

ahead in life by lying their way through sticky situations. Dixon, a junior in high school, ended up landing the girl of his dreams after telling her that he is a successful member of the music industry. This eventually lands him in trouble, of course, but everything worked out on its own.

Where the concern really comes into play is when viewers can relate to a character and take that connection too far.

If you idolize a character in your favorite teen soap and that character makes a huge mistake that goes unpunished, wouldn’t you be more likely to be compelled to imitate such an act?

What differentiates modern day teenage soap operas from the daytime soaps is the believability of the content. Neither come close to realistic, but the acting is more subtle in teen soaps. This is why the teen soaps are so easy to get caught up in; some of them are actually pretty believable.

What really matters is that these shows are entertaining and a fun way to fill time while procrastinating. And for the negative effects the messages may have on teenage viewers? There’s about the same amount of evidence on that theory as there is on violent video games causing aggression in children: none that’s valid.

So, teens, go ahead and watch these shows for entertainment value only. As long as you realize how dramatized they are, you’re safe from imitating the characters’ behavior.

15 SPORTS

11/10/09

Boo on the court, not the sport Popular activities commonly denied title of “sport.”

Brianne Kopp STAFF REPORTER We fill our time with games, matches, meets and competitions. We have individual hobbies and our own strengths and weaknesses. These activities, whether a sport or a hobby, are what keep us going. But what makes a sport a sport and not just an activity?

Gymnastics, cheer, golf and bowling: sports or activities?

What about swim, boxing and pool? Look the definition of a sport up in the dictionary and you’ll find, “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often a competitive nature.” Doesn’t that check yes for all the above, then?

Everyone seems to be so quick to judge and belittle all the sports that aren’t football, baseball or basketball. But if only skill played into it, don’t all these so-called “activities” outweigh the NFL, NBA and World Series?

Get one of those players on a beam; how many could max out a perfect ten for their dismount?

How about a triple fouette, striking an opponent out every time, or landing a back tuck perfectly?

Probably none. The tough sports make every other non-intimidating sport seem worthless.

True? Not so much.

If you give one of those “bogus” athletes a ball, they could certainly try to shoot it, kick it and hit it. Maybe not as good or even close, but they could still make it happen.

So shouldn’t the title of

“sport” be more carefully considered?

Let’s break the definition down part by part: The first part simply states that a sport is an athletic activity, so if it involves physical activity, it already qualifies. As for the skill part, anything unlearned that you need to actually practice to be good at— now that’s skill. How about a game though? Look that up, and you’ll find that it’s “an activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime.” Doesn’t that qualify all sports as games? Yet our society tries to differentiate activities from sports or games. Poker, a game or a sport? By definition, it’s both. The same goes for dance.

All the so-called “bogus” sports meet the same criteria to be called a sport as any other.

So is it true that all sports are activities, but all activities aren’t sports? Yes, but this doesn’t make any sport

more of a sport than another. Each requires different skills and strengths. So it makes no sense to be so quick to judge and hate on a sport that supposedly isn’t one. A sport is an activity in which both mind and body are challenged.

To left: Does that not look like a sport?

Above: You could argue that billiards is a sport.

Above: PHOTO COURTESY OF OPENPHOTO.NET; CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE At Left: PHOTO BY BRIANNE KOPP

Raven shoots birdie; Brooke Skagen finds calling on golf course Sydney Shuman STAFF REPORTER Steady, swift and clean is the golf swing of junior Brooke Skagen. Although it’s her first year on the girls golf team, she’s earned the spot as number one. Not only does Skagen excel in this position, but she loves it.

“I am so happy to be number one,” Skagen said, “but even if I wasn’t, I would still be happy with my decision to play.”

Skagen has been playing golf all her life and finds the sport to be positively addicting. This addiction comes from her quest for perfection. Whenever she has a bad round, it frustrates her, but soon enough she’s right back on the course battling for a better score. It is also understandable that her “addiction” to golf comes from its ability to relax her. With three AP classes on her plate, club volleyball just around the corner and a 4.0 under her belt, Skagen needs some down time. Golf is a perfect way to unwind.

In just a few months, Skagen has become a valuable asset to the team and a friend to all of her teammates.

“She brought natural ability, dedication, another level of competitiveness and humor to the team,” women’s golf coach Crystal Conant said. “Plus, she raised

on the Tapps Island golf course all her life and was even a participant in the junior Golf program there. Nowadays, she does most of her practicing at her home course and can often be seen putting around, so to speak, in her little black golf cart.

In her near future, Skagen hopes to go to State. After nearly making it this year, at Gold Mountain golf course, she is even more pumped to make the cut next year.

“I can’t wait for Districts next year,” Skagen said. “I want to breeze through it and qualify for State.”

After high school, Skagen plans to attend Stanford, UCLA or Purdue, where she will become some variation of a surgeon. With her unquestionable talent, zest for the sport and her excellent grades, these goals seem in close range; she Skagen drives one to the center of the fairway. might even be able to use her pitching wedge.

the skill level.”

Besides her team, Skagen is grateful for her dad, mom and older brother, who support her on and off the course.

They are her heroes in life, along with Tiger Woods, her “golf hero.”

Of all sports, golf is most convenient for Skagen to play. She has lived

PHOTOS BY SYDNEY SHUMAN

SPORTS 16

11/10/09

Player hands success to God and family Brianne Kopp STAFF REPORTER Dedication, participation, support and love for the game? Assets to a teammate, but encouraging, positive, and genuine? Assets to junior football captain Brandon Hand.

Hand got into the game because of his dad. Eventually finding his own passion for the game, he picked it up with ease. Because of his size, Hand took on defensive center, guard, and tackle. It wasn’t until a recent injury that Hand was challenged to try a new position.

“It threw me off balance a lot and I really had to adjust my style and technique,” Hand said. Becoming more familiar with other positions only expanded Hand’s insight of the game, making his favorite part of football even more true.

“The hitting” Hand said. “I’d like to think of myself as a nice guy off the field, but on the field, there’s no holding back.”

While hitting, tackling and being an asset to his team, Hand concentrates on the bigger picture.

“Doing my absolute best every play,

making sure I know what I’m doing and trying my absolute best to be a light for Jesus to other players on the field,” Hand said.

Before every game, whether by himself, or with members of his team, Hand shares

Hand takes down Auburn opponent.

encouraging quotes and verses, as well as a quick prayer. With huge inspirations from Jesus Christ and his parents, Hand knows he can count on them.

“My family is super supportive of everything I do, from the constant driving, to showing up to every game, as well as being very encouraging after a tough loss,” Hand said.

Beyond just the encouragement and knowledge, Hand focuses on staying in shape.

Living an active lifestyle, Hand keeps busy with weight lifting, running and participating in other sports. As for conditioning, fastpaced jogs and football exercises get the job done. During off season, Hand enjoys swimming, track in the spring and skiing.

When not focusing on sports, filling his free time is done by listening to music, reading his Bible and hanging with friends.

With priorities in order, Hand’s life centered on Christ keeps his life balanced.

“My relationship with God comes first, then loving my family and others, then school and sports,” Hand said. “With that being the case, everything else falls into place.”

While constantly doing his best, Hand desires to hopefully continue ball throughout college while keeping his heart set on becoming a minister.

As for future players with their heart set to play, Hand’s advice: always give a hundred and ten percent, listen to the coaches (they know what they’re talking about), be disciplined and have mental toughness.

PHOTOS COURTESY BRANDON HAND

Cross country looks at State from both sides Shayla McGinness STAFF REPORTER Tennis shoes tied, heartbeat thundering, runners in position…on your marks, get set, go! The cross country team is on a roll this year, running their hearts out to try and make State.

This year both the girls and boys cross country teams have successfully made State.

The girls cross country team has won four of their dual meets which put them in second place for SPSL. They received third place overall and almost all of the girls earned personal records. Each of the races they run is 5 kilometers long and many of the girls have improved by over two minutes. The girls cross country team’s best running time so far is Rachel Atwood with 19:28.9.

“Our top runners so far this year are

Rachel Atwood, Cassidy Brown, Emily Morisawa, Megan McCabe, Elise Jones, Lauren Saunders and Jessica Hall,” coach Kaisa Swenddal-White said. “However, all of the girls have run well and each has

achieved a personal record.”

The boys cross country team did a great job as well, taking first in the SPSL Sub District meet. They are currently ranked fourth in the state. The boys’ best

ond, losing only to a team from California.

Also, at the Sunfair Invitational, they took second place and defeated all the teams except for Jackson High School, which is currently ranked number one in the nation.

“This season has been a remarkable one,” coach Bill Sumner said. “We started out not even mentioned in the state rankings and have consistently moved up in PHOTO BY SHAYLA MCGINNESS the state and national rankings.”

Cross country team runs all throughout the area to prepare.

On Saturday Octorunning time so far this season ber 31, the girls team took came from team captain Kenny fifth place in West Central Districts, and Krotzer with 15:44.7. the boys team took second place. They did The team is currently looking for a a great job this year in that their times top four finish at the State meet. The are faster and they were also one of the turning point for the team was the Nike six teams to make State, which they will Pre-nationals meet in Portland, when competed in on November 7. they surprised everyone by finishing sec-