JagWire | Volume 10 | Issue 5 | Feb. 2010 by JagWire

EMERALD RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL.12405 184TH ST E SOUTH HILL, WA 98374.volumeTEN.issueFIVE.february2010

Left: Coordinater of Students for Global Wellness, Rebecca Waller, makes certain everything is in place for the auction to begin, delegating tables to different students. Top: Math teacher Paul Hill selects an item to bid on at the table while juniors Christina Tuschoff and Brianne Wolfe closely moniter each item. Right: Junior, Linda Sakhan watches over the hat table while waiting for persepective bidders to show.

Walking to make a difference March 20th, 2010/ 10:00-2:00 pm/ at Sparks Stadium /$10.00 Bring your Frisbee

50% of Proceeds to Communities in Schools of Puyallup 50% of proceeds to UNICEF to help relief in Haiti

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STAFF EDITORIAL BOARD........................... Alanna Nugent .............................................................. Chris Schroll ......................................................... Amanda Wyma TOC DESIGNER...............................Quinn Sanderson NEWS MANAGER.............................Milena McLaren OP/ED MANAGER.................................Moe Herbert FOCUS MANAGER.................................Allie Rickard FEATURE MANAGER.........................Aubrey Kendall FEATURE MANAGER.......................Billiemarie Klein SPORTS EDITOR....................................Chris Schroll A&E EDITOR......................................Amanda Wyma SOUNDOFF/BEAT EDITOR................Alanna Nugent PHOTO MANAGER........................Nathan McCurtain SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER......................Casey Duke AD MANAGER..................................Kaitlyn Schlegel REPORTERS........................................... Zach Albert ............................................................. Erin Bechtold ................................................................. Jason Britt ............................................................ Andrea Cottle ................................................................ Casey Duke .............................................................. Kayla Gower ............................................................... James Hunt ................................................................ Kate Meyer ......................................................... Christa Noonan ................................................................... Ross Reid ................................................................ Jacob Roos ................................................................ Kelsey Yost ................................................................ Mellisa Yun ADVISER............................................... Kevin Smyth AFFILIATES

JEA, NSPA, SPJ, WJEA, WSJA

THE FINE PRINT Emerald Ridge High School 12405 184th St. E. South Hill, WA 98374 253-435-6300

EDITORIAL MISSION As a limited forum, JagWire exercises student expression rights under the jurisdiction of the Puyallup School District. We pursue an unbiased truth while maintaining the highest journalistic integrity. Out top priority is to raise awareness while covering a wide variety of issues that impact our readership. By exploring different angles to make sure

our coverage is fair, balanced and accurate, we seek to continue the publicationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tradition of excellence through self-reflection and improvement. As part of the curriculum of the Puyallup School District, we are subject to the scrutiny and evaluation of The administration. JagWire is used as an academic tool to interact with the surrounding community and improve journalism education.

LETTERS POLICY JagWire will accept unsolicited copy from students, staff and community members. Only signed and dated letters with address and phone number from community members, or grade level from students, will be accepted. Letters should be limited to 300 words and will be published as space is available. All Letters are the sole opinion of the writers, and the staff

reserves the right to edit any letter for space and/ or clarity. We will not publish material that may substantially disrupt the school process. Letters tot he editor may be submitted by mailing them to JagWire c/o Emerald Ridge High School, or by e-mailing them to smythkg@puyallup.k12.wa.us.

ADVERTISING MISSION The JagWire publication staff accepts advertisements for most products and services available to the public. However, the staff reserves to right to reject, edit or cancel any advertisement that the staff deems offensive in light of normal public standards. Ads identifying students as athletes by photo or text (WIAA 18.20.0 and 18.20.1) also will not be accepted. The staff will not accept advertising that is racist, sexist or illegal for high school students.

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SPORTS

Winter sports re-caps cont. Boys swim & Dive Even though the boys swim and dive team posted a losing record of 2-3, they qualified a number of swimmers to participate in post season. Two relay teams qualified for districts while junior Tanner Kuestemyer qualified as an individual to move onto the State meet. Kuestemyer placed 18th in the 200 IM and 21st in the 100 Fly at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way on Feb. 18-20. “We need to get more practice in so we can send more people next time,” Kuestemyer said. Dispite the losng record, the teams goal is to send more people to swim at districts and state next year. “As long as we head forward and dont let the little things get in the way, then we will achive our goals and achive victory,” senior Matt Washburn said. With their two wins this season, they snapped a winless drought that had lasted four years. With noticible improvments

being made and the only State competitor returning next year, the team is looking forward to next season where they hope to improve their overall record and send more swimmers to State. --James Hunt

Boys Basketball With their final game of the season ending with a loss to the Cutris Vikings, the boys basketball team concluded their season with a final record of 4-16. Even though the Jags didn’t make it to post season, the love of the game still rings through the walls of the gym though play has ended until next year. “We had a good team and I got along with everybody on the team,” senior JT Smith said. “It was a good year and I had fun.” Even though the boys didn’t end this year in a winning season, they continue to look forward to the future of the program. With incoming sophomores next year, the return-

ing jags are looking forward to brighter beginnings. “It will be hard to replace the talent and leadership our nine seniors provided for us this year,” head coach Ben Muehlenbruch said. “Next year is sure to be exciting with many new players at the varsity level and it should be a lot of fun to watch as these guys compete for a playoff spot.” The boys were grateful for the support that the students and staff continued to give them throughout the season. The boys will continue to work towards a brighter future next season. With the underclassmen getting experience this season, this year is just a stepping stone to better things to come for the Jags. “Thanks to all the students and staff that attended our games, especially the home game against Puyallup,” Smith said. “That was a good turn out that day. The support helps.”‘ --Kayla Gower

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[dih-skrim-uh-neyt] â&#x20AC;&#x201C;verb 1. To make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which theperson or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit.

Focus Photos by Allie Rickard

Rac·ism

[rey-siz-uhm] -noun 1. A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. 2. Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. BY ALANNA NUGENT

SOUNDOFF/BEAT EDITOR Within the boundaries of Emerald Ridge High School, where does racism end and where does it begin? Many understand what racism means, but may not realize the small actions that follow from being racist. Racism is a belief that the inherent differences between human races determine cultural or individual achievements; which typically involve the assumption that one’s own race is superior to all others. The smallest act such as a glare, or even the obvious act of calling another by a discriminatory name can be considered a racist act. Many people do not realize they are being racist, they instead think they are just making a joke or a simple statement about the individual’s personality, not their race. However, it is this kind of misunderstanding that gets overlooked and hurts the deepest. The infamous stereotypical jokes about AfricanAmericans, Hispanics, Asians, and even Caucasians are all forms of racism. The level of stress, anxiety, worry, and hatred involved around racism is unhealthy, for both the racist individual and the individual being discriminated against. Studies show that forms of racism cause an unprecedented increase in stress levels, depression, and anxiety among varying ages, genders, and races. These forms of anxiety can prevent these individuals from getting a proper education. This is because they become more concerned with what the racist individuals say to them or about them than doing well in school and/or life. Even though ER is a predominately Caucasian school, with 74.6% of it’s population in

Ho·mo·pho·bia

[hoh-muh-foh-bee-uh] -noun 1. Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. BY ANDREA COTTLE

REPORTER

The normal reaction for most teenagers is to walk down the hallway and judge the people that we pass by. When we see two females or males holding hands we are more likely to pass judgement on them than the boy and girl making out in the hallway. Some students disagree with the rights of gay couples. “I don’t have a problem with gays, but I don’t think they should be married. It says that in the Constitution and the Bible,” sophomore Collin Hill said. Although there are people who disagree with gay rights, there are some that support equal rights for others regardless of sexual orientation. “I think that it’s perfectly alright, and it makes me sad that they don’t have the same rights as straight couples,” junior Andy Bleich said. GSA, the Gay Straight Alliance club at Emerald Ridge, is working toward a better tomorrow and peace to be created between both straight and gay individuals. This club is striving for having acceptance for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) just like their heterosexual peers who wander the school hallways. “Every month we pick a theme to discuss and present to the student body. February’s theme is being in love and how one expresses it,” senior and president of GSA Dan Kneirim said. One day that the club takes pride in is the Day of Silence (DOS ). This is a day for people to hear the silence in support of bringing attention to and eliminating discrimination against LGBTQ people. This year, DOS takes place on April 16, 2010. “Founded in 1996, the Day of Silence has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression,” according to www. dayofsilence.org. Day of Silence was created as a way to protest anti-LGBTQ behavior.

this category, there are also a large number of Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, African-American, and Asian individuals. With a large mixture of ethnicities and races, one would typically assume that there is not a problem, or even a minor issue, with racism. However, it still does exist among the population at Emerald Ridge. Senior Dominic Carlos, who is of mixed ethnicity, experienced a form of racial discrimination when he moved here his sophomore year from Hawaii. Another student told the administration Carlos was carrying drugs and when he was called down to the office, security and an assistant principal immediately starting questioning him and searching his belongings. Carlos told them he did not know what they were talking about because he has never used any sort of drug before, but they kept searching and ignoring his statements. “I feel like they did it without question because of my race, but more so appearance,” Carlos said. Carlos is not the only individual to go through this type of discrimination at ER, but he is the only one to come forward and talk openly about it. -Dominic Carlos, senior The United States has come a long way from slavery and the era before the Civil Rights Act, but racism has still not been erased. Within schools across America, forms of racism are everywhere, proving ER is not alone in the fight against discrimination. The only thing left for students and faculty to realize is that racism is still a prevalent issue and needs to be addressed.

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I feel like they [searched my belongings] without question because of my race.

This includes harassment, bullying, name-calling, and any behavior that discriminates against LGBTQ people and allies. Many schools do not support the DOS because they do not feel that the LGBTQ rights should be promoted. However, ER does support this cause to make students feel a little more understanding of each other’s differences. “I support it as a student-sponsored activity just as I support all student-sponsored activities,” Principal Brian Lowney said. “I’ve worked with the students of GSA here at school and have been impressed with their stance of non-discrimination for the day.” On November 3, 2009, Washington state passed Referendum 71 giving LGBTQ couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, except for marriage. Nearly 700,000 voters voted yes while roughly 640,000 voted against the referendum.

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It makes me sad that [same sex couples] don’t have the same rights as straight couples.

“I see Referendum 71 as a major stepping stone toward equality in Washington. Honestly, I don’t see it affecting Emerald Ridge very much as very little of the student body really care about it anyway,” Kneirim said. With the passage of Referendum 71 and the effort for gay rights throughout the nation, the LGBTQ community has been gaining acceptance and visibility. In similar fashion as past civil rights movements, the future of gay rights is uncertain, but will no doubt bring change throughout the country and world.

-Andy Bleich, junior

Sex·ism

[sek-siz-uhm] -noun 1. Attitudes, conditions, or behaviors based upon traditional gender stereotypes. 2. Discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex. BY MILENA McCLAREN

NEWS MANAGER

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When a first grade girl, innocent and unaware, wears a pink shirt with ‘Girls Rule’ written across the front, no one would guess that this small mantra could be the beginning of a sexist attitude. When one gender is promoted, the other is put down, thus creating the issue of sexism. Media influences along with peer and adult views become pushed upon those who are most impressionableyouth. With media being prime entertainment among teens, it is often packed full of sexist messages. A recent Air Force commercial during the 2010 Super Bowl showed scenes of young men snowboarding, surfing, biking, skiing, and skateboarding along with other typically male dominated hobbies. Aren’t women allowed to join the Air Force as well? Instead, women were used in commercials such as Motorola, where actress Megan Fox appeared in a bath tub. Both of these ads epitomize the sexism present in media. When a classmate says ‘be quiet, you’re just a girl’, or a boy says to his friend ‘be a man,’ it is like saying sexism is acceptable. When sexist attitudes are created among young friends and peers, they turn into sexist men and women who pass those morals and values onto their children, thus creating a viscous cycle of sexist views. If a child only sees their mother in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning, and their father in the garage, tinkering and fixing things, they will associate these activities as female or male. Not every woman is meant to make bread in the kitchen and not every man is going to be the bread winner. When Emerald Ridge was opened, many unique spirit opportunities where given to the students to create camaraderie. Gender Defender was a spirit week for males and females to battle it out to see which gender would prevail. It was soon phased out. The week began innocently enough with girls wearing pink, boys in blue, both ‘defending’ their gender. Throughout the years, however, the goal of Gender Defender was flipped creating increasingly sexist behavior during the -Hannah Nylin, senior week instead of highlighting the benefits in each gender. The idea that one sex would come out on top and win by the end of the week also had an undertone of sexism. The most recent Emerald Ridge spirit week included a Gender Defender day which many thought went well while others speculated about the return. “I find it ironic it was cancelled a few years ago, but now it’s back again.” senior Hannah Nylin said. Although many participated in this spirit day, others took the opportunity to dress up as the stereotype of their gender, wearing aprons and 50’s clothing-- a time when female roles were extremely exploited. “I don’t see anything wrong with it and I never felt threatened by the idea behind it,” Class of 2006 Emerald Ridge alumnus Caitlyn Olmtead said. “In today’s society if you honestly believe that men are better than women or vice versa then it is generally believed that you are sexist. I’m not saying the inequalities or imbalances don’t exist, but a harmless school competition isn’t establishing the divide nor is it perpetuating it.” Being just as big an offence as racism, sexism is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s culture without many being aware. With nonchalant views on sexism, it’s no wonder sexism is becoming tolerable. People are unaware of how often sexism is significant and brought up in everyday life.

I find it ironic [Gender Defender] was canceled a few years back, but now it’s back again.

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Rac·ism

Ho·mo·pho·bia

[hoh-muh-foh-bee-uh] -noun 1. Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. BY ANDREA COTTLE

REPORTER

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I feel like they [searched my belongings] without question because of my race.

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It makes me sad that [same sex couples] don’t have the same rights as straight couples.

-Andy Bleich, junior

Sex·ism

[sek-siz-uhm] -noun 1. Attitudes, conditions, or behaviors based upon traditional gender stereotypes. 2. Discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex. BY MILENA McCLAREN

NEWS MANAGER

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I find it ironic [Gender Defender] was canceled a few years back, but now it’s back again.

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Ti·tle IX

[tahyt-l nahyn] -noun 1. A part of the 1972 Education Act (U.S.) stating that no person could be denied the benefits of a federally funded educational program or activity on the basis of their gender. BY ZACH ALBERT

REPORTER

Title lX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...” In layman’s terms it means that no student can be denied the right to participate in any school activity because of their gender. It is difficult for current students, especially males, to fully understand its effects on extra-curricular endeavors. If it wasn’t for Title lX there likely wouldn’t be girls’ basketball, wrestling, water-polo, swim and dive, soccer, tennis, or golf. It would be a different world for all students who wish to participate in sports.

“I would be so pissed,” junior Lori McMullen said. “I would do some protesting or something, go to a school board meeting. It would be totally unfair if boys

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Today, Title lX is something more than a simple way to eliminate gender bias in school athletic programs. It is now used to make sure the number of boys and girls involved in sports meet certain proportionality quotas. This means that if 54 percent of the students enrolled in a high school or college are male then 54 percent of people involved in athletics must be female. This forces many schools to cut sports that have large numbers of males on a team, such as wrestling and track, in order to meet these proportionality ratios.

I would do some protesting or something. It would be totally unfair if boys could play sports and we couldn’t!

could play sports and we couldn’t!” If Title lX had never been passed the Emerald Ridge girls’ bowling team could not win state, Kayla Stueckle would never become ER’s first track state champion, and numerous other championships, awards, and recognitions would not be given to exceptional female athletes.

-Lori McMullen, junior

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Have there been any issues concerning Title lX within ER? “No, about three years ago girls wrestling became a big thing, which helped us come into compliance,” Athletic Director Dell Dittus said. When asked if the school was currently in compliance with Title lX, he

43% no 40% no 39% no yes

57% 60% 61%

Have you ever been discriminated against because of your personal choice or belief in something?

yes

Have you ever been discriminated against because of your appearance or gender?

yes

Have you ever discriminated against anybody for any reason?

responded in the affirmative and pulled up the raw data about winter sports participation on his laptop. It showed that 89 males and 103 females had participated. To be in compliance with Title lX, the percent participation must be at the very least 48 percent to 52 percent. The winter sports totals create a 54 percent female to 46 percent male participation rate, but our school is still in compliance simply because the female participants outnumber the males. “It doesn’t work in reverse,” Dittus said. Reverse discrimination seems to be an unintended side effect of Title lX. As reported by Matt Morris on aauwrestling.org, approximately 20,000 athletic opportunities have been eliminated for college bound men. New opportunities, however, were created to draw women into the newly founded sports programs made specifically for the purpose of being in compliance with Title lX regulations. Such discrimination has caused schools to give massive amounts of money to women’s sports and, because of Title lX, the money must be divided by gender instead of by need. Even though Title lX has helped women fight for their equality, the law seems to be going out of date in the current era.

Sur·vey

[ser-vey] -noun 1. A samplingof facts, figures, or opinions taken and used to approximate what a complete collection might reveal. 2. A survey of 625 students.

Acceptance · Empathy · Grace · Humanity · Love · Understanding The JagWire staff does not condone discrimination and hate. We have noticed the problems related to discrimination and feel that the students and staff of Emerald Ridge and, more importantly, the greater community needs to become consciously aware as well. There are countless stories to that concern such consequences of derogatory actions, and what we have shown here are the most prevalent stories to the students and staff of ER. Race, sexual orientation, gender, or any form of expression or belief should not hinder a person’s opportunities in life. America was once the place where one could escape the hatred, discrimination, and intolerance of their own country. How can we still be considered such a place when a considerable amount of the bias, intolerance, and prejudice happens within our schools? The young people of the United States are the future. If the future holds a future of hatred, inequality, and judgement, then how can we ever overcome the predicament we are in now? More importantly, how can we fix this issue?

JagWire strongly believes in equality and balance. We are not pointing fingers or calling out names and we understand that discrimination and hate is not an trivial issue. Many individuals are not aware of the intolerance directed at them or that they are discriminating against another person. As mentioned in one of our stories, hatred and discrimination can be easily disguised through the form of jokes. People tend to cover up their true feelings and thoughts with the common excuses of, “It was just a joke,” or “I was only kidding.” However, studies show that 50-percent of what an individual jokes around about coincides with a judgment they do in fact believe. No matter the reasons behind a person’s inequitable statements, they are hurtful and belittling. Even the most subtle glare from a prejudiced individual can cause another’s self-esteem and confidence to drop dramatically. As a staff, JagWire hopes these articles open the eyes of those who may tend to joke around a little too

School Dis·trict Pre ·ven·tion

[skool dis-trikt pri-ven-shuhn] -phrase 1. Preventative measures taken to combat and diminish the effects of discriminatory behavior and actions. BY NATHAN McCURTAIN

PHOTO MANAGER

Each school in the Puyallup School District is in a constant uphill battle against intolerance and hatred manifesting into violent or demeaning acts. Anti-hate policies are constructed every year on a district-to-district basis

throughout the state of Washington. As for the PSD, the policy is created and maintained by the Office of Diversity Affairs (ODA). The ODA was formed as a part of a lawsuit filed against the district in 2000. The lawsuit accused the district of “tolerating and encouraging a racially hostile environment.” This five million dollar lawsuit was brought to the courts because of several racial incidents within the PSD. Parents argued that the schools were permitting racial slurs,

often or have judged an individual based purely on their race, sexual orientation, gender, or for any other reason fueled by intolerance. We understand how easy it is to pass judgement, but this form of assumption is one that afflicts internal pain and distress. How would you feel if an individual was discriminating against you? Whether it be for your beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, or race, would you want someone to say belittling words about you? Would you want a person to speak negatively about someone you love and care about? This is the concern we are now facing. America is a country full of pride and inspiration. Let us not begin to fall back to the time when slavery and discrimination were standards of this country. We should instead recognize people on the content of their character rather than prevalant stereotypes and discriminatory judgements. Editorials are approved by, and are the opinion of the JagWire Staff and Editorial board.

racial graffiti, and ignoring the racial factor in fights. The school district dismissed the claim of damages for the student attacked in the fight. Eventually, the district agreed to a settlement establishing the ODA to monitor issues of racial sensitivity within schools The ODA created its policy for the district with the assistance of the Community Relations Service (CRS). The CRS is a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice which specializes in servicing the state in diffusing racial and ethnic conflict, violence and civil disorders. The CRS takes censuses to keep programs up to date. A recent study found that 61 percent of hate crime incidents were motivated by race and another 11 percent by ethnicity. Of incidents motivated by religion, 41 percent targeted Jewish victims, and 60 percent of race related crimes targeted

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blacks. When the district needs to diffuse racial or violent incidents, they call upon the CRS. The ODA creates policies and training for all the schools to implement and the teachers at Emerald Ridge are trained yearly to deal with hatred among the students. All rules related to intolerance are spelled out within the student handbook and in the planner given to students at the beginning of each year. Even though teachers are extensively trained for such violence and discrimination, most hate-related acts within the school are handled by the administration. However, if it involves anything that could be considered illegal, it is then dealt with by the school police officer. “We give extensive training with teachers before the start of every school year where they are trained on how to deal with racial slurs and intolerant insults,” principal Brian Lowney said. “The rule for teachers -Brian Lowney, principal is that it is always dealt with.”

The rule for teachers is that [discrimination] is always dealt with.

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n i w d a i l j h E l Ba BY KELSEY YOST

REPORTER

Mini Soccer balls and bean bags, fly methodically in the halls, each in it’s turn. Fixated on the objects, Elijah Baldwin juggles in between classes. His goal? To break the world record of nine objects for a minute, set by Vova Galchenko. Three years ago, Baldwin’s mother bought him a juggling kit for Christmas, starting him on a new and addictive hobby. “I became obsessed with it.” he said. “I got a ton of tricks off the Internet also.” Starting small, he became better at the smaller numbers, then, as time went on, he added another until perfection, then again. Now he can easily maneuver seven bean bags, or four clubs. “One day I was bored, so I said, ‘Hey I’m gonna juggle.’” Baldwin said. One of his favorite tricks is Mills Mess, which he learned from the Internet. The bean bags rotate in an almost snake like pattern, each chasing the other, but never quite catching it’s tail. The juggler needs to switch their hands constantly while juggling three, but the pattern is slower. The more complicated version, with 4 objects, each stays it

the same hand, making it more difficult. “When Elijah juggles, he puts all other jugglers to shame,” Trevor Rogers, junior, said. The Factory is also a trick Elijah picked up. For the 3 ball version it involves taking one ball from the pattern, snatching it out and dropping it back in while snatching the next. “That’s the one I get the most ohhs and ahhs on.” Baldwin said. Besides juggling, Elijah also enjoys being on the debate team, where he and his partner, Joseph Martin, are heading to State for their performance in the Duo, a ten minute presentation of a novel of their choice. “We pretty much act out the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, but it’s more precise than normal acting,” Baldwin said. “So, we don’t have curtains like normal plays do.” But, for his ambitions, Baldwin wants to achieve the status of a notable writer. He posts his poems and short stories on his Facebook page, and is entering one of his poems, ‘Houston’, in an online contest. “Not necessarily a super seller or anything, I just want my name to be recognized. So, if someone says, ‘I read a book by Elijah Baldwin, and was pretty good writer’, then I would be happy.”

Photo illustration by Billiemarie Klein

FEATURE

Bryan Bui had a dream and it’s become a reality. Ninja Assasin has taken over Emerald Ridge. Players are willing to take their target out at any cost. Beware of spoons and paper balls coming your way, you never know who is playing.

“You couldn’t go anywhere without frantically looking around,” Senior David Walters said. You don’t want you’re target to know that you are after them. “If your target sees you coming and knows you are coming after them, a ninja duel is initiated, you can get counter killed in a duel,” Bui said. BYJACOB ROOS A ninja duel is when you fail to kill your target, REPORTER and you both try to get each other at the same time. When a ninja duel occurs there is the opThe rules are simple. Number one: never talk portunity to get a counter kill. If someone fails to about Ninja Assassin unless you are Bryan Bui. kill you, then you kill them during a ninja duel it Number two: never hurt an innocent. Number is a counter kill. three: never reveal yourself. Finally, number four: Being counter-killed is the worst thing that never jeopardize the game. can happen to you while in the game. Not only Ninja Assassin was created by senior, Bryan Bui, do you face the humiliation of not taking out who most people know as “Bui”. The concept was your target, but you also lose three of your contrived during long naps, induced by Sobe and points. The scoring system is straightforward. lack of sleep. Bui had a dream and in this dream When you kill your target with a spoon you he was a ninja, taking out targets one by one. receive two points. When you kill them with a Inspired by his dream, Bui created a game paper ball you only get one. The points are used unlike any other. A game in which crawling on to keep track of who is the top assassin. Right the floor, sneaking around, and looking around now the player with the highest score is senior every corner are actually accepted as normal. It Drew Blyth. is called Ninja Assassin and it creates the oppur“You gotta be strong to be a ninja, “ Blyth said. tunity to live the dream and become a stealthy Ninja Assassin started out small with only killing machine. about 10 people, but three days later twenty The game is simple, the mediator (Bui) has a list eight were playing. of all the players and their numbers. The player “I thought it would be around ten to fifteen receives a text with the name of another player, people max. I was suprised,” Bui said. this is the target. The object is to take out your Although that is a small number in comparitarget at any cost. son to the amount of people at the school, most There are two ways to eliminate another player: people know what the game is. In fact, even a spoon to the throat or a paper ball to the head some teachers have helped players get their or chest. It may seem like an easy task, but all target. players are constantly watching their backs. Realizing that school is more important and Some even go as far as to walk the hallways with that the game can tend to be a distraction, it was shoulders hunched and hoods on, so their necks put on hold during finals week and has not yet are covered. started back up. Bui plans to continue the game “It got to the point where people could not later in the year. have a straight conversation, everyone would be “It was fun,” top assassin Blyth said. “It was a freaking out,” Bui said. good way to pass time.” Tensions were high around Emerald Ridge.

volumeTEN.issueONE Photo Credit Nathan McCurtain

FEATURE

Unique aptitudes abound

Daniel Grace has one of the smallest carbon footprints at ERHS. How? He bypasses traffic and bikes to school everyday. BY ZACH ALBERT

REPORTER

It all started in ninth grade for Daniel Grace (i.e. Matt Damon, i.e. The Bike Kid). Some one told him he didn’t have what it takes to bike to school, so he decided to prove them wrong. “After I biked to school that first time I discovered I liked it,” Grace said. He’s still going strong, biking to and from school every day. Grace has only been able to bike in one major

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race, The Seattle to Portland. He was able to complete fifty miles of the two hundred mile long marathon. However, that is only a fraction of the longest distance he has peddled, a massive distance of one hundred and twenty miles. Over the years, Grace has had a slew of nasty spills. The worst, in his mind, was a nasty crash while turning on to Meridian. “I thought I broke my leg,” Grace said. “and my helmet got cracked in three places. It happened because my shoes weren’t clipped in to my pedals (Grace has specialized shoes that clip onto their peddles, so he can utilize power of both upward and downward movements) and when I tried to clip them in while already going ten to fifteen miles an hour and turning on to Meridian I went down hard.” Each mornings ride is risk filled. “This morning one got within a few inches, but I’ve

been doing it for so long it doesn’t really faze me, “ said Grace. The high-end cycling equipment that gets Grace from home to school can range into the thousands of dollars. His parents pay for the essential equipment that he uses to get to school. When it comes to the extra bells and whistles, he has to pay for half. This young man knows his bikes. When off handedly asked what model of bike he would ride, if he could afford it, his expression immediately became dead serious. “Oh that’s hard,” Grace said, “I’ll give you two: the Pinarello Prince and the Trek Equinox 9.9.” It came to mind during the interview that cycling can be quite lonely, and that he must have some way to combat that loneliness. That’s when I saw his iPod. “[I listen to] harder rock, like Disturbed, Static-X, Megadeath, and occasionally the Blue Man Group,”

Grace said. With all this biking, Grace’s carbon footprint must be quite small. When the question was posed he responded with a smile. “Extremely small, I only drive to go to church, stuff like that,” Grace said. Another quirk about this unique young man is that some people, especially in his advisory, have adapted to calling him by a nickname, Matt Damon. “They say I look like him,” Grace said. Grace has big plans for the future and plans to pursue cycling as a profession. “Yes, I want to do the Tour de France when I’m somewhere between twenty one and twenty five,” Grace said. This is a lofty goal indeed. No doubt with his determination and healthy infatuation with the world of cycling he shall meet it head on.

Photo Credit Casey Duke

FEATURE

Dalton’s melodious gifts Jagwire gets to know a familiar face with an unusual story. Meet the musician who plays his song for students at Emerald Ridge for an irresistable price: free. BY ALLIE RICKARD

FOCUS MANAGER Lunch is served. The bell rings and students jockey for a prime position in the snack line or rush to claim their spot at a lunch table. Dalton Turner pops five dollars into the soda machine and receives a cherry coke and a handful of change. He then sits down at his customary spot, the hallway ground. Why? Well, to play his guitar of course Turner found inspiration to learn to play both the acoustic and electric guitar after seeing his neighbor’s band play. Between a mixture of lessons and teaching himself, he now plays covers and has written roughly four songs. Every day, he practices at school and at home, with his microphone and two amps. He will soon be aquiring a Johnson acoustic-electric guitar and is pretty excited. “You can make it sound different by changing the different knobs, like you’re playing live,” Turner said. Stage fright is no problem for him as he plays all the time in front of anyone who walks down the hallway as well as a couple of past performances. He has played at Ferucci Junior High and at open mic nights at the 720 Bistro. He wants to form a band which would play 80s style “pretty” music and have five to six fellow bandmates. “The minute I get out there, people are gonna scream,” Turner said in regard to playing professionally. More immediate prospects include playing in local parks once the weather improves and playing for the school. “I’ve talked to Lowney a couple of times, asking for any chance to play in front of the school,” Turner said. “And for parks, I could get a big bucket, and people would toss money in and it would be full. I bet it would hold thrity dollars or so.” His music preferences don’t include popular music, that he calls “rappy crap.” Garth Brooks, Bryan Adams, and Daughtry rank among his favorite artists of what he likes to call “pretty music.”

Photo Credit Nathan McCurtain

Despite Turner’s outwardly jovial nature, he suffered a medical emergency when he was just six years old. “The doctors found a hole in my brain and they stitched it up,” Turner said. “It left me all goofed up after that.” Following surgery, he had to contend with the difficulties posed by hourly seizures, frightened parents, and runs to the hospital in his dad’s police car with the lights and siren blaring. With age he has outgrown the frequency of the seizures and takes daily medication to control his health problems. “It’s pretty scary, I had a few seizures last year at school,” Turner said. “In the lunch room and testing in the gym and I was rushed to the hospital.” Turner is anxiously awaiting the day when he no longer has to worry about seizures so that he can get his driver’s license. He is learning to drive with help from his neighbors. They teach him on back roads near his home. “I like how you can go really fast, get the car up to speed by shifting, and push the pedal, but you can’t get too fast because you’ll get pulled over,” Turner said. For now, he spends his time outside of school with friends, family, and on a volunteer work crew. He regu-

larly goes to local fire stations with the work crew and helps out the firefighters by doing chores around the station and yard work. In the future, he’d like to get a job working in a local restaurant, like Mazatlan, Red Robin, or Pizza Hut, where his friends could come and eat and visit him. He loves to go camping with his church and visit the Puyallup Fair and all kinds of restaurants with his family. Huge elephant ears are a necessity when he visits the fair and he never misses a chance to ride the rides. He speaks about what brings him happiness with a passion, but still not as strongly as he does when he talks about playing music. Back in the hallway, strumming his way through the half hour long lunch period, Turner appears genuinely happy and at peace in the midst of such a chaotic atmosphere. “Being able to play guitar is a pretty good gift, I think. I’m one of the luckiest people to be able to get to do this,” Turner said.

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FEATURE

ERHS Wrestling Elite What is your favorite aspect of wrestling? You cant hide how hard you worked or didnt work. you're a winner or a loser and You are out there by yourself. Who has been your biggest inspiration in wrestling? In life? Wrestling: Fredrikson and Meyerehoff. Life: My grandmother. What has been your biggest accomplishment this year and in your wrestling career? This year: Winning league. Career: Going to state last year or getting through the Eastern Washington Camp. What are some of your favorite tactics on the mat? The midnight and the power-half. What motivates you to wrestle? Knowing your getting better and and being able to see the results.

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What is your favorite aspect of wrestling? I love the intensity of wrestling. You’re out there by yourself with someone who wants it just as bad as you do. Before there was a girls wrestling team, was it awkward wrestling with only boys? With just the guys team you weren’t really respected as much. They thought they could walk all over you ‘cause they are guys, so it’s more rewarding when you beat a guy. Have people thought less of you because you are a cheerleader? People don’t believe that I wrestle when I wear my cheer uniform. People also think I am wuss if they haven’t seen me wrestle before. They stereotype me. What are some of your favorite tactics on the mat? Arm bars and jake legs Who has been your biggest competition? Probably myself and being confident in myself.

Photos by Casey Duke

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Kelsey

Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”

Kelsey- This CD has such wonderful instrumentals that make up for the sometimes mediocre lyrics fo the band. Their voices harmonize together perfectly, bringing sweet honey to my ears. If you wanna dance and be wild, they have a song for that. If you want to be taken to a bright summer meadow, they can and will take you there as well.

Chris- I am a cowboy at heart, not gonna lie. Country music will always have a place in my heart, but not the dumb, “I drive a truck and shoot things with my gun,” redneck stuff, I mean real cowboy country. Lady Antebellum captures a lot of that feeling in their songs. Lyrics about love and riding horses. Now that’s real country. If you’re like me, and love REAL country, hit up Lady Antebellum.

Nate- The songs have a good beat but its the same beat of every country band that ever existed in the history of country. It brings nothing new to the genre and you could basically buy any album of country music and get the same experience. Melissa- I really liked the rhythm of this music. Now normally I don’t like Country, but I was warming up to Lady Antebellum. Their music is really easy to follow, but the lyrics were a little too deep for my taste. This is the kind of music I can really relax to. You know, sit on the beach and just sun bathe.

Melissa

Eye Alaska “Genesis Undereground” Nate- Vocals dominate this band, the instrumental is basically a second thought but that is completely acceptable when the limited instrumental pieces fuse with the vocals perfectly. A great harmonizing band that is fitting to most any mood.

Kelsey- The first time I have ever listened to this band, and i thought the lyrics, or rather the way they were sang, was very flowy. They had an interesting rythm, soft yet sharp. Definatly different, but its a good unique band.

Crash Kings “Crash Kings”

Chris- “I hate my life, you have hurt me so much! Ahhh!” Oops, I thought I was in a modern hard rock band for a second. If you couldn’t tell, I don’t like this genre. I mean, I did in junior high, but I was weird in junior high and so was my taste in music. I’ve grown up now and moved on to big-boy music. They are trying too hard to be, well, hard. They act too emo, and they try to have hard music, but those two don’t mesh well together. Kelsey- This band is dark, intriging, and a little eccentric, but I liked it. Not my usual pick in music, but if I was forced to listen to this again, it wouldn’t be too much torture. Definatly an enjoyable band to listen to, and a very different feel.

Chris- I have never heard a band like Eye Alaska. When I first heard this album, my mind was blown away like a house in a tornado. Completely awestruck. And I mean, it was like I won a million dollars. Okay, so I don’t know what that feels like, but it was close. They posess an element that no other band has. I haven’t heard sounds like them, their lyircs sometimes confused me, but in a good way, and they hit a place in my heart. I listen to these guys literally all the time. I will never turn down an opportunity to listen to them or see them live. I am surprised they have such a tiny fan base. You NEED to check out their other CD as well, “Yellow and Elephant.”

Melissa- At first when I listened to Eye Alaska, I thought “Not so great.” But then I listened to it a little bit more and I was starting to warm up to it. Though they do repeat a single word or phrase over and over again, I kinda like it. The voice kinda bugs me, but I’ll get used to it.

Breaking Benjamin “Phobia”

Melissa- When I first listened to this band through a friend, I loved him even more for that! The lyrics just make me feel free to do whatever I want. Even though the music is a little dark, Im okay with that, its the kind of music I can listen to whenever I feel upset.

Chris

Nate- This is a really plain Rock band with the exact same beat, the exact same guitar, and same lyrics that probably are fairly similar to a thousand other rock bands. Don’t get me wrong they do it well, but its just all been done before.

Nate

Chris- Who do they remind me of... Oh ya, every other modern rock group. But you know what, I like that. Crash Kings sounds like Kings of Leon and The White Stripes were captured by a mad scientist and he created a Frankenstein like hybrid of the two. They mix in-your-face vocals and and bigbang-then-quiet instrumentals If I was on a road trip, these guys would be a definite pick. Melissa- So, I thought Crash Kings would be a good band, but oh how wrong I was! That kind of music is the kind my old man listens to, and I absolutely hate my dad’s taste in music. It makes me want to smash my head into a wall. The music sounds like instruments smashing together.

Kelsey- At first I thought “no way the country girl in me would rebel to this.” But it turns out that I actually enjoyed the majority of it. A few times I felt that it was a bit too much, but those moments were mostly short lived, and overall.... pretty decent.

Nate- They have ood combination of instrumental sounds. The vocals arn’t going to woo you or amaze you but they’re strange enough and fuse well with the instruments to be memorable. Crash Kings’ definite strength is its unique sound and edgy music style.

Snoop Dog is playing at Showbox SoDo in Seattle at 8 pm. Tickets range from $35-$40.

Get a chance to mingle witht he 2010 Daffodil Princesses at the Princess Tea in Sumner.

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Sunday March 7th Nickleback comes to Tacoma with Breaking Benjamin and others at the Tacoma Dome.

Sat. March 6th

Friday March 5th

The regional High School instrumental Solo Ensamble takes place at Puyallup High School.

The Crazies hits theaters. Don’t miss the chance to watch this dramatic thriller.

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Saturday Feb. 27th

Friday Feb. 26th

Friday March 12th Hit the theaters to watch Matt Damon’s new action movie Green Zone also starring Amy Ryan.

Sat. March 13th

Sunday March 14th

The Irish Festival comes to the Seattle Center for a weekend of good ol’ Irish fun and games.

Daylight Savings Time begins. So set your clocks ahead one hour and be sure to get extra rest.

Friday March 19th

Sat. March 20th

Emerald Ridge boys soccer team plays Todd Beamer at Sparks Standium at 5:30 pm.

Spring finally begins! It’s the perfect time to get some outdoor time in before the weather gets hot.