February 2017 gazette all sections combined by Karl Grubaugh

Lack of sleep can harm health

Art show

Tribe behavior

Sleep deprivation B1

G10-11

‘Pennygate’ incites controversy

GBHS students showcase paintings

The Granite Bay Gazette GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL w 1 GRIZZLY WAY w GRANITE BAY, CA w 95746 w VOLUME 21 w ISSUE 5 w FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017

Eyes on the road, not on the phone AB 1785 prohibits contact with devices while driving BY WILL ANDERSON

wanderson.gazette@gmail.com

hannah xu

hxu.gazette@gmail.com

Diary of an Asian kid: the dangers of stereotyping

ollege season has just passed for many of us. What do college applications usually mean? Many, many essays. As I wrote my first few essays, the hardest topic to think about was what makes me unique. I searched for essay examples, tips from professors – anything to help me come up with something that would set me apart from others. The most, or maybe least, surprising thing I learned from my endless searching came from an exDartmouth admissions officer: East Asian students are at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to college applications. East Asians are lauded for being smart. Since I was young, I was told by my peers that I was “so lucky” because I must be a math genius. However, this stereotype that Asians are smart, and only smart, is dangerous – teachers typically only focus on one aspect of an Asian student’s personality when writing letters of recommendations, and admissions officers only focus on their GPA or their scores. There is nothing to set us all apart if there is nothing more to say about an Asian student. These last three years, I’ve spent countless hours pouring my heart into journalism. Journalism requires all the skills that Asians aren’t typically known for. I’ve had to be creative, develop my writing, learn how to design and illustrate. However, as I learned more I was about what told by I could offer my peers creatively, I was also getthat I was ting a C in AP ‘so lucky’ Calculus. because I I don’t think that earning a must be a C in any class math geis something nius. to be proud of. But, because it has been nailed into my head for years that I was supposed to be naturally good at math, I felt an even greater sense of shame for not doing well. It was all I could focus on. I did as every responsible student would do, and worked to get my grade up. And my grade did go up, but only slightly, and at the end of the semester, I was still left with two C’s. Suddenly, this grade defined me. I was nothing if I wasn’t getting good grades. It didn’t matter if I was winning awards for my work for journalism. It didn’t matter if I was being recognized for my writing or drawing outside of school. I was my C. And, now, as I finish up my last college application, I still look at that C and worry that, as a Chinese student, I will be defined by that grade in the college’s eyes. I worry that I will only be known for my memorization skills, not my ability to innovate and create. My creativity is what I see as my best characteristic, and unfortunately, I fear it will remain as my least recognized quality.

*** Hannah Xu, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

“Pass the AUX,” is a phrase that will no longer be uttered from the mouths of Californians sitting in the driver’s seat – assuming they are abiding by the law. Effective as of Jan. 1, Assembly Bill 1785 prohibits drivers from holding their cellular devices while operating a motorized vehicle, unless the device is completely

hands free. What does that really mean for drivers though? In theory, the law eliminates the preexisting gray area where drivers were once within their legal limits while using navigation, music or even various social media applications while driving. But if drivers truly want to check their phone when they are behind the wheel, there is not much stopping them.

Law enforcement over the years has not seriously cracked down on drivers using their phones, and the baseline fine for breaking the law is only $20, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As to why the bill was passed, and what its effects may be, Granite Bay locals and law officials weighed in on the topic. “It was obviously passed due to the excessive use of cellular devices while driving in California,”

Granite Bay High School senior Dan McCourt said. During a research study done by Baylor University, it was released that the average student, ages 18 to 22, spends nine hours a day on his or her cell phone. James Roberts, a professor of marketing at Baylor’s business school, said in the same report that “as cellphone functions increase, addictions to this seemingly indispensable piece of technology become an increasingly realistic possibility.”

(The law) was obviously passed due to the excessive use of cellular devices while driving in California. – Dan McCourt, GBHS senior

See LAW, page A7

Should they stay or should they go?

School district offers faculty a one-time $5,000 early retirement incentive BY SURINA KHURANA

skhurana.gazette@gmail.com

very year schools often bring in new teachers as they see other ones retire. The Roseville Joint Union High School District is offering a $5,000 bonus to any employee who intends to retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year and who submitted

a “fully executed resignation form” by Feb. 3. Steve Williams, the RJUHSD assistant superintendent of personnel services, said in an email interview that the district is offering a “early notice of retirement incentive” in order to “get an early start on identifying, planning and recruiting certificated staff who will be needed in the 2017-18 school year.”

vs.

Gazette photo illustration /CARISSA LEWIS

COMMENTARY

Teachers in the Roseville Joint Union High School District decide between retiring early and continuing to work. Should teachers announce their retirement now, they will be given a $5,000 stipend.

According to Brandon her resignation from GBHS Dell’Orto, the GBHS Ad- in July, the district scrambled vanced Placement U.S. His- to find an English teacher retory teacher and the president placement. of the Roseville Secondary When Matthew Huddleston, Education Association, when now an English teacher at teachers wait until the late both Oakmont and Granspring or summer months to ite Bay High School, heard declare retirement, the dis- about the position, the term trict has a difficult time find- was already in session. ing replacements. “I had a position at another “Some people are angry school but my family lives (with) the district for what- in this district (and) my kids ever reason,” Dell’Orto said. go to school in the district, so “One of the classic ways a I wanted to get into the disvery small fraction of teach- trict,” Huddleston said. ers get back at the district The process was rushed as it is (by making) life hard for was already three weeks into the district by basically not the school year. saying ‘I’m going to retire’ “I found out about (the open until the very last minute so position on a) Friday,” Hudthat the district now (has) to dleston said. “I submitted scramble to (an applicaget sometion) Satbody to take urday and these classI got a call I understand … es. on Mon“I underday mornthe anger of the ing from … stand … the revenge. anger of the principal revenge. I (Jennifer don’t agree – Brandon Dell’Orto, Leighton), with it bewho asked AP U.S. History cause you’re if I could teacher not really come in screwing the for an indistrict over terview be… you’re cause they screwing the wanted to kids in the classrooms be- fill the spot right away. She cause they’re going to get a called again that evening sayless qualified teacher or pos- ing we need to work out how sibly a sub for weeks until we you can leave your district can find a teacher.” and come here.” The hiring process beHuddleston explained that comes more difficult and once a school year starts, a chaotic closer to the start of faculty member is bound to the school year. Last year, afSee RETIRE, page A7 ter Jenny Padgett announced

Newer technology leads to new classes at GBHS

Schools begin to teach coding, programming BY NATASHA CHANDA

nchanda.gazette@gmail.com

Over the past few years, the world has experienced a substantial surge in technology, creating a relatively new requirement in the job realm for both students and adults across the globe. Without computer skills, it has become increasingly difficult to attain entry-level jobs in various fields, including business and media. Businesses have begun to prefer workers who are able to effectively problem solve using the resources they have, especially in the world of technology. To equip students with such skills as they enter

the workforce, schools such as Granite Bay High School have begun incorporating optional computer classes into their curriculum. At the moment, GBHS has a total of four computer-based courses available for students to take on campus. These classes include Information Technology Essentials (GBiT), Technology Leadership (GBiT), Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles and Exploring Computer Science. All four of these classes are taught by GBHS teacher Marc Irie. Although GBiT has been a class on campus for alSee COMPUTER, page A8 Gazette illustration/HANNAH XU

inside This Section news A personal account of the Women’s March The Gazette describes their experience with the Women’s March on Sacramento

Ponderosa student brings gun on campus Local threat starts a debate about campus security at GBHS

voices

‘A Dog’s Purpose’ is hypocritical New film should be condemned for behind-thescenes animal abuse

A10

News

Friday

NAMES IN THE NEWS

surina khurana skhurana.gazette@gmail.com

GBHS Media wins California film festival

edia students Gage Phillips, Matt Penkala, Victoria Grivette, Ian Mackey, Shianne Dingeman, Nash Rood, Connor Vivaldi, Camden Castillo, John Lang and Jaden Troxel placed first at the Northern California Media Educators 6-hour film festival. A picture perfect moment. *** Junior Jillian Arizcuren was selected as Granite Bay High’s Girls State delegate. Next, she’ll be headed to the UN. *** Daylight Savings Time was in November but the GBHS clocks are still not telling the right time.

*** Math teacher and swim coach John Sherman was nominated for Coach of the Year in swimming. That sure doesn’t seem fishy to me.

*** Pride and Prejudice is playing in the GBHS theater. If you have GBHS pride and you aren’t prejudiced, I bet you’ll be there to see it. *** Tim Healy was nominated for Coach of the Year in golf. Swing at that! *** David Tastor wants you in his International Baccalaureate World Religion class next year. *** Random Acts of Kindness week is next week. Remember that actions speak louder than words. *** The Patriots won the Super Bowl last weekend. Tom Brady, I love you. *** Powderpuff packets are due today. Juniors, if you forgot to turn in your packet don’t sweat – the seniors will win anyway. *** Jill Franze, a senior director at Cisco, paid a visit to GBHS last week.

*** The talent show is on Friday, Feb. 24. Even though you’re not in the talent show, use your talent to drive over to watch it. *** Surina Khurana, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

CORRECTIONS Accuracy is perhaps the most important fundamental of good journalism. It's the policy of the Gazette to correct all factual errors that are brought to our attention. Email us at: staff.granitebaytoday@gmail. com Identification Statement GRANITE BAY GAZETTE PUBLISHED EIGHT TIMES PER ACADEMIC YEAR c/o Granite Bay High School 1 Grizzly Way Granite Bay, CA 95746 Subscriptions: $25 per year/ $15 per half year

Granite Bay Gazette

w February 10, 2017

Perspectives from the Million Women’s March

Gazette photo illustration/CONNOR HINSON

Thousands of Sacramentans gathered at the capital to show support for women and other oppressed peoples in light remarks made by President Trump. Editors note: Gazette editors Hannah Xu and Anjali Shrivastava both attended the Women’s March Sacramento. They have compiled their thoughts on the event for the readers of the Gazette.

COMMENTARY

Women’s March not inclusive to all

In sixth grade, if there was one political topic that swarmed the area, it was Prop 8. I was, as a sixth grader would be, completely ignorant on the subject. The only piece of information I had was that it was against same-sex marriage in California. Despite not knowing much about the topic, the one thing that I did know was that it seemed immoral – how could we not let people marry? If the point of marrying is securing a promise to who you love, who are we to say that a man can’t love another man, or a woman another woman? Six years later, the argument in opposition or in support of LGBTQ+ rights is still one of deep tension. However, today, I not only have knowledge of the topic, but also the courage to speak about my beliefs. When Trump won the presidency, I was admittedly heartbroken and worried. I was concerned that the rights of the marginalized would be stripped away. Similarly, I fear that this type of oppression would directly affect me.

COMMENTARY

It’s OK to be an ally

hannah xu hxu.gazette@gmail.com

When I heard about the Women’s March on Sacramento, I knew that it’d be the perfect chance to voice opinions. When I arrived at the march, I immediately burst into tears. Already, I was incredibly overwhelmed by the immense feeling of support and unity in the community. I was overcome with a deep sense of love and appreciation that entire day. The speeches moved me beyond belief. I finally felt that I could speak without being mocked as a “baseless liberal,” express my ideology without being villainized. See WOMEN, page A5

During the election, I was concerned. I was concerned that if Donald Trump won, he would repeal the Affordable Care Act. That he would defund Planned Parenthood. That he would restrict immigration even more. That he would normalize racism. My mother always said “What does it really matter? It’s not going to affect you.” And she was right. I don’t rely on the ACA, nor do I use Planned Parenthood’s services. I don’t plan on immigrating to this country anytime soon, because, how could I when I already live here? Trump becoming president wasn’t going to, and will not, affect me directly. My voice doesn’t really matter, especially when compared to the voices of people who have been affected by all that has happened. I have nothing to contribute to the conversation other than support. I acknowledge that I am not in a position to lead any sort of charge. I should not be the face of the LGBTQ+ movement, or the movement against Islamophobia. But that doesn’t mean I can’t lend my voice. On Jan. 21, I went to the Women’s March on Sacramento, where I heard several rallying cries. “Si se puede!” in response to Trump’s racist rhetoric.

anjali shrivastava ashrivastava.gazette@gmail.com

“I’m with her!” to encourage standing up for fellow females. “Love trumps hate” to preach inclusivity over anything else. Perhaps the most impactful message, though, was the following: “Don’t mourn, organize!” You don’t need to be the loudest voice in the crowd to matter. You don’t need to be personally affected in order to stand with a cause. You can be privileged, but still empathize with those who aren’t. Even the most influential people in history were never alone - their power came from the voices of hundreds of people, and you can be one of those voices. This is me lending my voice. This is me organizing.

Drought ends for Northern California residents Four-year water crisis is officially over, however conservation still encouraged BY BRAYDEN JOHNK

bjohnk.gazette@gmail.com

For the past few years, California has suffered through a drought, forcing people to alter their daily routines in order to conserve water. However, the influx of rain and snow that we have experienced this winter has changed that. As of Jan. 12, and for the first time since May 2013, the Sacramento region has been removed from drought status, although it is still considered as “abnormally dry.” According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of Jan. 31, almost 50 percent of the state is no longer under drought conditions, vastly different from a year ago when only five percent of the state was drought free. This has resulted from the massive amount of precipitation that

northern California has recently received. The Northern Sierra 8-Station Precipitation locations, which are monitored to measure water conditions for the Sacramento region, reported 53.2 inches of precipitation since Oct. 1, 2016, which is 197 percent of the historical seasonal average, according to the California Data Exchange Center. Additionally, during the month of January 2017, the region received 23.6 inches of precipitation, which is 262 percent of the historical average. While all this rain has had a long term positive impact on the region’s drought conditions, it has also brought with it some negative results in terms of flooding and storm damage. Granite Bay High School health teacher John MacLeane welcomed

YOUR NAMES.

the weather, but he also experienced an unwelcome consequence of the massive amount of recent rain. “(I’m) thrilled that the drought is over,” MacLeane said. “Obviously that was putting a lot of stress and strain on people in northern California.” Yet an unfortunate incident complicated things for him. “My car hit this puddle out here on Eureka, and water went everywhere and got into my fuel canister,” MacLeane said. MacLeane was left to deal with a costly auto repair bill because of the severity of the damage. A window inadvertently left open on another one of his vehicles also resulted in additional problems. “There’s now a lot of water damage in the inside of my truck,” MacLeane said. “So, yeah, I’m about done with the rain.” California’s abnormally rainy weather has also resulted in negative consequences for junior Hunter Mortensen and his family. “I haven’t been flooded, but a

YOUR FACES.

few trees fell down in my backyard,” Mortensen said. “They fell down like two feet from missing our house and broke down some fences.” Despite this series of unfortunate events, the clean-up was better than expected. “We ended up getting rid of them pretty easily,” Mortensen said. Sophomore Emma Holmes lives in a house overlooking Folsom Lake and has had the opportunity to witness the remarkable rise in water level resulting from the rainfall and runoff. “I remember when the drought was really bad. (The lake) was really low, like it just looked like a tiny puddle, and I think it’s gotten a lot better over the past few weeks,” Holmes said. Although northern California has seen great precipitation improvements, GBHS biology teacher Scott Braly acknowledges that other parts of California unfortunately haven’t. “I’m hoping that central California and southern California will

get more because it’d be really nice to have (the drought) end officially everywhere,” Braly said. More importantly, he fears that people might become complacent now that the drought is over. “My main concern when they declared the drought done is that some people would take it as ‘OK, then we can waste water again,’” Braly said. “And we can’t do that.” Braly urges continued diligence and smart use of water. “We need to conserve (water) and use it wisely because we do live in a dry state and the indications are the droughts are becoming more frequent and more severe with climate change,” Braly said. Conservation is key and will only do us good in the long run. “If everybody (continues to) make little changes, the savings are huge,” Braly said. “And if we use (water) wisely and continue to use it wisely, then we will help ourselves in the next drought.”

THE GAZETTE.

Friday, February 10, 2017

News A3

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Local threat to Ponderosa High raises questions of the threat. Placer County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Hopping, the school resource officer at Granite Bay High School, said that in some situations, lockdowns are unnecessary. “What’s the use of going into lockdown after the fact?” Hopping said. “Once the individual’s gun has BY ANJALI SHRIVASTAVA been taken, why disrupt the school day? If that ofashrivastava.gazette@gmail.com ficer would have identified another threat, a plan or On Jan. 19, a student at Ponderosa High School in determined that there were other students involved, Shingle Springs, was arrested for allegedly bringing then at that point (the school) would have gone into a loaded firearm onto campus. The stulockdown.” dent – 16-year-old boy who is a junior at According to assistant principal Mike Ponderosa – did not harm anyone on the Fischer, who runs the School Site Safeschool’s campus, but he allegedly killed a Team at GBHS, on-site administraWhat’s the use ty female relative earlier that morning. tors typically decide when a school Although the gun was never fired, some of going into should go into lockdown. But he is students were shaken by the incident. On if Ponderosa follows similar lockdown after unsure Friday, there were extra counselors on site protocols. the fact? to help these students cope with the incijjjLockdowns are not the only procedent. But for the most part, PHS students dures schools have in place to miniand staff members resumed normal operamize risk. Hopping said that having – Deputy Greg tions on Friday. a law enforcement officer on campus Hopping, GBHS “A little part of me was worried, but the greatly increases the school’s safety, school resource officer reducing response time from minutes school handled it very well,” said Emily Dahla, a senior at PHS. “Friday was just to seconds. Fischer said administrators a normal day (for) all of my friends. … continually work with law enforceThere was a rumor that he had brought the ment to ensure the effectiveness of gun to school and was planning (on) killing two kids safety procedures. who had bullied him, and that impacted many of my “We are always looking to keep this campus safe and friends more than anything else.” secure, to the best of our ability,” Fischer said. “We PHS did not go into lockdown when officials learned do our best to keep a fairly secure campus perimeter,

GBHS faculty discuss lockdown procedures

Creative Commons /MATT POPOVICH

As the number of school shootings per year continues to increase, schools regularly review and update safety procedures in order to ensure the students’ security. and this is why we ask staff members to (relock) gates if they need to unlock them during the school day. … What people need to understand, we hope, is that any fraudulent or false claims or threats are investigated and prosecuted and have pretty serious penalties.”

Officials have concluded that the student acted alone. He was booked into juvenile hall, and officials with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that he will be charged with murder. The investigation, according to officials, is ongoing.

All of your questions about charter schools, answered

their custom-tailored learning experiences, according to Bertelli. Many charter schools specialize in certain activities. “Specifically with Natomas Charter being an arts school, there were more performance opportunities than you would find at most public schools,” said Tucker Harrah-Ferguson, who went to Natomas Charter School for six years. “You are expected to fulfill a specific grade requirement to enjoy extra curricular activities, which really pushes you to your academic limit.” Like traditional public schools that have to follow federal education standards, charter schools do as well. Because of this, charter schools can’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality or sex in the admissions process. “They are public schools and therefore cannot ‘choose’ which students attend,” Bertelli said. “Charter school students are admitted on a first-come, firstserve basis, or by lottery when applicants exceed available slots.” Even though charter schools don’t choose certain students, the wait list at some schools can be long since the schools are on the smaller side. “They are typically a lot smaller, so you don’t really get to interact with a ton of people,” Esposito said. Charters have to be based on the personal preference of a family. It doesn’t cater to everyone, but for the ones it does, the benefits outweigh the downfalls. “Charter schools foster strong relationships between parents, students and teachers,” Bertelli said. “(They) promote high achievement, (and create) a sense of community that extends beyond the classroom.”

Charter schools explained BY KATIE COLOGNA

kcologna.gazette@gmail.com

Creative Commons /CHEAPFULLCOVERAGEAUTOINSURANCE.COM

Students generally do not know much about taxes, leading some to propose a class which would teach students how to file taxes and what taxes are, among other things.

GB students react to taxes

Are young workers aware of what’s on their paychecks? BY KALEY DOVER

kdover.gazette@gmail.com

Nothing in life is certain, except death and taxes. Many students who have a job argue that being taxed for Social Security is unfair, as they believe that it is an unsustainable system that they will not benefit from once they retire. “It’s sad when you receive your paycheck since you’re expecting more based off of the number of hours that you’ve worked,” said Michaela Garza, who has been working at Kumon since September of last year. “Except then taxes take so much out.” According to Jarrod Westberg, who teaches Advanced Placement Government at Granite Bay High School, Social Security is “absolutely no way” sustainable. “There are lots of proposals to change it,” Westberg said. “You could raise retirement age, cut benefits, privatize it ... (Social Security) will be dead within a couple of decades, completely exhausted. “But they’ll change it at some point,” Westberg continued. “I couldn’t tell you when that will be, but usually it’s when you have (a nearing) emergency ... The crisis isn’t here yet but it’s close.” When only making minimum wage, a paycheck is reduced to ap-

proximately $9.60 an hour, as ac- in Colorado, where there is a recording to California’s tax service quired course for all four years center. that is supposed to teach “lifelong That wage is almost a dollar less skills” – including taxes. than California’s state minimum “Most people just used it as a wage of $10.50, but is still higher study hall or slept during it,” Feng than the federal minimum wage of said. “I’m glad that they don’t have $7.25 that has not increased since 2009, according to the United it here. There was also a personal finance class that (you were) reStates Department of Labor. Many students who work part time quired to take either over the summer or as one of your do not know classes.” that they are actually able The general sentiIt’s sad when you ment is that if Granto get reimbursed for ite Bay High School receive your the income paycheck since were to add taxes to tax that has the curriculum ,then been withyou’re expecting it should be incorpoheld from more based off rated into an alreadythem, since class. most do not of the number of existing “We could add make enough hours that you’ve how to do taxes to throughout our econ (classes),” worked the year. Westberg said. “It “I’ve been wouldn’t take that getting a ton – Micheala Garza, GBHS of … letters long for the kids ... senior about taxes,” I think it would be said Trevon good for econ ... it’s Lockwood, kind of a big deal, a senior who (and) something that you’ll be dohas been working at Wendy’s for ing for the rest of your life.” about eight months. Garza seems to agree. “So I just walked up to my parents “I feel like building how to do and was like, ‘Hey, can you help taxes into another class would be me with this?’” very beneficial, but there should Given that taxes are a guarannot be another required class since teed part of life, some students and teachers think that learning how to schedules are already so limited,” file taxes should be incorporated Garza said. “Adding another class into the curriculum. would take away opportunities. Gabriel Feng, a sophomore, used If it was built into government or to go to Fossil Ridge High School econ, it would work out.”

NEWS BRIEFS

Westberg explains policies surrounding detention, tardies Every day without fail, students race against the clock to arrive at or before 7:45 A.M., or else face disciplinary action. Jarrod Westberg, who leads detention sessions, says that the reason detention is mandatory at Granite Bay High School is “to enforce a rule that they believe (in).” According to Westberg, a student who graduated early during midterms was forced to face the consequences and was given detention, even though he had already graduated from GBHS. “I have no idea..I mean don’t know,” Westberg said on the issue of giving detention to an alumni. After enforcing detention, Westberg said that students, as a whole,

tend to be more on time. “Most of the students in here don’t want to have (detention) again,” Westberg said. “Before we had it, (there) was literally no punishment.” Apparently before Westberg assumed the position, GBHS did not offer detention at all. The GBHS handbook states that no student can be excused from attending detention, even if it conflicts with “other activities.” Because of this, the graduate was forced to return to GBHS to attend detention. Assistant principal Melanie Pando said that detention is only a minor punishment. “Detention is one of the only

Jarrod Westberg

AP Gov teacher leads detention sessions in addition to other teaching duties.

lower level disciplinary actions that we have as a current tool at GBHS and in most schools around the country,” Pando said in an email. “Are there other alternatives to detention? Yes, of course! As an administration team, we are just starting to talk about this and what it could possibly look like at GBHS.” All administrative staff members, were unable to comment on the early graduate’s situation, in order to protect the student’s identity. –Compiled by Sanjna Saini, staff writer

Since 1992, charter public schools have been on the rise across the country. “Today, charter schools exist across 43 states and the District of Columbia,” said Emily Bertelli, the California Charter Schools Association leader of media relations and public affairs program. “California has 1,230 schools serving more than 581,000 public school student.” Charter schools allow more freedom for the school, yet are still required to follow state regulations, including academic, financial and managerial standards. Charter schools not only have the freedom to create their own rules, but also create a different environment for the students to be surrounded in. “They focus a lot on morals and they had all of these principles that they want you to follow,” said Granite Bay High School junior Sydney Esposito, who attended Loomis Basin Charter school from third to sixth grade. “They focus on making you a good person and shaping your character, not only your mind.” Aside from having the freedom of making their rules and regulations, charter schools attract families for

ASB UPDATE ASB plans SportsA-Rama. The Gazette talked to Activities Commissioner Sarah Breilh about what to expect this spring.

Gazette: What events are coming up this term? Breilh: Right now we are working on Sports-A-Rama. Gazette: What’s different about SAR this term? Breilh: This year, Sports-A-Rama will be a daytime Rally.

Q A &

Gazette photo /CAROLINE PALMER

Gazette: How will you encourage students to participate? Breilh: Instead of it costing $15 to be on the team, it’s now free. When is the rally? Breilh: The rally is on February 17 during school.

Sarah Breilh, a junior, discusses preparations for the upcoming Sports-AGazette photo /Natalie Erickson Rama.

Why should students come to the rally? Breilh: The SAR rally used to be one of the most popular rallies at the school, and it’s always a lot of fun. –Compiled by Caroline Palmer

Stay focused. Read The Gazette.

Friday, February 10, 2017

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News A5

Ditching Door Dash Food delivery trend at GBHS gets quashed BY CAROLINE PALMER

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On Jan. 20, an official statement was emailed to parents and students, as well as posted to the Granite Bay High School website, about the policies toward the student phenomena of Door Dash. The statement said food delivery services (such as Door Dash) were no longer allowed to deliver to the campus. According to the GBHS website, “Recently, we have experienced a surge in students using the app ‘Door Dash’ to have fast food delivered here at Granite Bay High School. This email is a reminder to both students and parents that food delivery services (including pizza restaurants) are strictly prohibited from making deliveries to a school campus. This is due to safety concerns, as well as Ed Code that prohibits bringing outside food onto campus from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Please plan your student’s lunch accordingly.” The statement leaves some questions about what “outside food” means and what is and is not allowed on campus. In the banning of outside food delivery services, students who use the service on a regular basis are having to find different ways to get their lunch to school. “I just want to know why they banned it, because

sometimes that’s how I get my lunch,” said Brianna Kirby, a GBHS sophomore. Assistant principal Melanie Pando explained that “allowed food” means “students are welcome to bring food from home or purchase food from the cafeteria if they choose.” At the school, many students enjoy the selection of food offered – however, not all do. “While the school offers a fairly large variety of hot lunch you can buy on campus, it is not high quality,” senior David Arden said. “The theory of the food sounds good, but once you eat it you can see that it is not.” Pando said it wasn’t the administration’s choice to ban the app. “There is legislation, Competitive Food & Beverage Sales, that all schools are required to abide by,” Pando said. “There are five criteria – sold, to a student, on the school campus, during the school day, and outside of the federal reimbursable meal program.” While Arden only used the food delivery service about once a week, he said he will miss the variety the app offered. “What I do now for lunch I just pack a couple small snacks like a bag of chips, because I don’t have time to make a full lunch,” Arden said. In the banning of the service, students and parents are wondering how the rule will be enforced. “Door Dash employees are not permitted on campus – we have campus supervisors and/or administrators at the main entrance before and after as well as during both lunches,” Pando said.

Special to the Gazette /CHASE LEDERER

GBHS senior Matthew Voelker makes a delivery to his fellow GBHS classmates after he joined the Door Dash food delivery service a couple months ago. Pando said as soon as administrators became aware of the use of Door Dash, they decided to communicate the message immediately to make sure the school was in compliance with Education Code regulations. While the school has set the new rules, students can

still get food delivered from their parents. The school, however, isn’t trying to be at a disservice to students. “Most importantly, we are keeping our campus and students safe,” Pando said.

Remodeled schedule system receives mixed reviews Students say the new method can be effective if kinks are worked out BY SANJNA SAINI

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For the spring term at Granite Bay High School, the GBHS administration required students to request schedule changes during mid-December, hoping to allow for a more effective process. Senior Paige Erickson said the process was “unfair because students don’t know how hard their schedules can be until they start classes.” Having three AP classes at once can be intimidating for some students, and “making students request schedule changes before winter break causes even more problems,” Erickson said. Stuck with three college-level classes,

Erickson said she has been more stressed than ever, and “it’s taken a lot of fun out of senior year.” Although the school officials have attempted to make the process for changing student schedules more practical, Erickson said she thinks they made these alterations because they would mainly cause less stress on counselors. “My counselor has been very helpful and has tried to give me the classes I wanted, but my appeal wasn’t accepted,” Erickson said. “I sent (a letter) to my counselor, who then sent it to Mr. Mike Fisher, and he denied it.” Erickson said schedule changes after the spring term has begun are necessary for some students because they might have to

balance academics and extracurriculars. Some students, including senior Madeline Yang, found the new schedule change system helpful compared to previous years. “I was really lucky and I was able to change (to) all the classes I want,” Yang said. “I don’t know if it was more enhanced, but I had to do (fewer) schedule changes in the past than I had to do this year.” Yang wanted to sign up for other classes because she said she “was assigned the wrong classes, and I didn’t want to be in the classes they put me in.” In addition to her successful experience, Yang said she was pleased with her counselor’s efforts on her behalf. “My communication ... was better than others … because I was able to contact her and email her back and forth for a few days before meeting with her and discussing changes I wanted,” Yang said. Overall, Yang said the changes made by

GBHS students reflect on Obama’s presidency Eight years were filled with highs and lows BY ASHLEY YUNG

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Currently, America is witnessing a change that hasn’t happened in eight years. Eight years ago, Barack Obama was new to the White House, and America was saying goodbye to George W. Bush. “A lot of people didn’t think Obama could become president because of his race,” said Aidan Maney, a Granite Bay High School freshman. “He really showed that it was possible.” Obama’s second term as President has just ended and a new President, Donald Trump, has taken office. Some students are sad to see Obama leave while others are excited to see change. “You really can’t tell how good a president was until 20 to 25 years after they leave office,” GBHS history teacher Jillyan McKinney said. “He was such a loved president at the end, but not at the beginning,” Maney said. The actions that Obama has took as president have resulted in a mix of emotions. “I think the level of engagement with foreign affairs really did heighten (during his presidency),” McKinney said. One of the things Obama did during his presidency is start Obamacare, a major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. “I believe in health care for all,” McKinney said. “I think it is something that everyone in our society

should have.” Maney agreed in the need for universal health care, even if it isn’t in the form of Obamacare. “Obamacare has its flaws, but it did help a lot of people,” Maney said. Many are happy and relieved that Obama ended the war in Iraq, but some have words of criticism. “I feel like we shouldn’t have been in Iraq in the first place,” freshman Dallas Thrift said. Maney agreed that there are problems in the Middle East that have been causing presidents problems over the past few decades. “(Bush) left a really wide vacuum in the Middle East that was instantly taken over by terror groups,” Maney said. President Obama also legalized same-sex marriage, one of the many things he did for the LGBT community. “He was incredibly progressive on equal rights and women’s rights and equal pay,” McKinney said. Another action Obama took was to eliminate Osama Bin Laden. “Assassinating Osama Bin Laden was something that needed to be done,” Maney said. People’s view of what kind of president Obama was varies. Some are not so positive and are glad to see change happening from Donald Trump’s executive orders. “I almost want to forget that (Obama) was ever there,” Thrift said. However, some are grateful for the role he has played in the lives of American people and only have words of thanks and praise. “I think the last eight years have been a sign of progressive change in a way I would like to see the country move forward in equality and understanding of others,” McKinney said.

“(The process is) unfair because students don’t know how hard their schedules can be until they start classes. – Paige Erickson, GBHS senior

the administration were helpful for most people. “I think the system is pretty fair,” Yang said. “There are some people I’ve heard

that their counselors wouldn’t let them switch classes. ...I understand if there are too many changes or if their reasons aren’t good enough because there are a lot of students … (but) if someone really wants to switch out, they should be able to.” Counselor Tasman Nicolodi said she thought the procedure was simple and practical for both the staff and students. “It felt really good to have the teachers’ rosters set for the spring semesters and having the classes balance and not doing a lot of shifting of classes the first week of school,” Nicolodi said. Nicolodi said the counseling staff spent many hours perfecting the schedulechange process to “provide students with detailed descriptions in the catalog of what the classes are all about. “I feel that a student should have an idea of what they are getting into previous to the class,” Nicolodi said. “They should do the proper research and utilize their resources that are available.”

WOMEN: Feminism has many branches Continued from page A2

However, while I still look back at the event in a positive light, I can see the flaws in the message. If there was one major criticism of the march from the supporters of it, it was that the march lacked inclusivity. The dominant message of feminism that was touted on signs and in speeches was “white feminism,” or a type of feminism specifically geared toward the issues of white, cisgender, heterosexual women. This isn’t necessarily a “white-

person-only” problem – the only feminism I knew was white feminism when I first became aware of the movement – for it is the mainstream feminism that has overtaken social media for the last three years. The problem of “white feminism” is that it ignores the issues of women of color, queer women and many more. We ignore that women of color make at least 20 cents less per hour than white women. We ignore that transgender women are more likely to be sexually assaulted than cisgender women.

We have to recognize these issues. If we don’t, then we no longer fight for a message of equality. Unfortunately, far too many people think that “white feminism” is a problem of race, but it’s a problem of inclusivity. Feminism is for the marginalized, but now, the movement itself is marginalizing. I still believe the Women’s March was a necessity, and I still feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to attend. As we keep going in these coming years, it’s important that we recognize that feminism is not “one-size-fits-all.”

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Teachers must fill out form to change student grades

Students say they deserve a ‘grade bump’ based on the effort they put in BY AVANTHIKA PANCHAPAKESAN apanchapakesan.gazette@gmail.com

The occasional difficulties between teachers and students are consistent in today’s education system. The majority of these misunderstandings are due to grades. Often, students find themselves with borderline grades or score high on an Advanced Placement tests and find themselves asking their teacher to change the letter grade on their transcript. California state law outlines that a grade given to a student can only be altered by a teacher, excluding discriminatory acts. A finding of “bad faith” should be supported by specific evidence that the instructor was biased and had discriminatory intent while entering the grades in the system, according to “I have noticed that some teachers can discriminate (against) students during class, but it’s rare,” Granite Bay High School senior Ryan Fang said. Some students say there is a sense of academic en-

titlement on campus – students believe they should be graded on how hard they work, not the quality of their work itself. “When I ask my teachers for a grade change, I generally tell them how hard I’ve worked on that assignment and I need a better grade,” Fang said. Shrina Mishra, a freshman at GBHS, also has asked a teacher to change her final grade in a class with the reasoning of hard work. “I justify my grade changes by telling teachers that I worked hard most of the time,” Mishra said. A teacher changing a grade from a B to an A or a C to a B brings up another issue. “The most flawed part of our grading system is the fact that a student who gets a 99.9 percent in a class gets the same credit as a student who gets a 89.5 percent,” Brandon Dell’Orto, the Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher at GBHS, said. Students sometimes place the blame on the teacher, claiming their poor grade was a result of an assignment that was too difficult. “Generally, I miss points on things like tests which overall hurt my grade,” Mishra said. “Sometimes they’re projects but not too many. And those tests are hard.” When most students rejoice over their new grade, what many do not know is the turmoil that can race through the teacher’s mind. “Curving, like anything, can be abused,” Dell’Orto

Public education funding possibly at risk in future

Gazette photo /SURINA KHURANA

Teachers must fill out a form when changing a student’s grade after the term has ended. said. “Students now believe that they only have to be the smartest in the group, and they just have to do better than everyone else.” For teachers, grade changes can pose as a problem. Requests to alter grades can potentially draw teachers into confrontations, making them explain their grading methodology to angry students, parents and department chairs.

It is crucial for students to understand that higher education is more than just the knowledge attained. It is the conceptual skills students develop that are more influential. “The new method of grade changes only makes students believe that they don’t need to work as hard anymore,” Dell’Orto said. “Students need to understand quality always comes first.”

New Secretary of Education might cause change for GBHS and other public schools BY SAMREEN SIDDIQUI ssiddiqui.gazette@gmail.com

Betsy Devos has become the new Secretary of Education for the U.S. government, despite the debates about her nomination. Devos, an advocate for private and charter schools, has made public schools nervous about possible changes in the school system. Paige K. Stauss, vice president of the Board of Trustees for the Roseville Joint Union High School District, voiced her opinion. “She is not committed to public education,” Stauss said. “She did not attend public schools, her children did not attend public schools and she seemingly has no knowledge of or experience with public education.” Another criticism about Devos is her qualifications for the job. She has served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, but her background relating to education is what worries others. And, after her rough performance in her nomination hearing, even senators who were on her side changed their minds. “(She) is totally ill prepared for the job,” Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher Brandon Dell’Orto said. “But I don’t think that matters to her because from my personal experience all she wants to do is execute as many destructive things that she can do to public education.” Devos has also planned to cut federal funding for education and leaving funding up to the states, affecting crucial acts, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, composed of four parts, makes sure to provide students with disabilities the same academic opportunities as students without disabilities. Part D includes support programs that are funded federally, which makes these programs at risk of being cut from the budget that may be proposed by Devos.

But, according to Dell’Orto, Devos isn’t aware of the effects of this act. “I really get the feeling that she is so out of her realm and I think that’s exactly what (some government officials) want,” Dell’Orto said. “I think the IDEA bill is one of the extremes of those circumstances.” The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now called the Every Student Succeeds Act, creates equal academic opportunities for all students, especially bilingual students. This act receives the most federal funding and would likely be a main target for federal budget cuts. While all of these concerns are crucial, the concern that people consider the most extensive is Devos’ ideas about school choice and how, in a broader aspect, money defines education. School choice allows students their choice of private or public school, through scholarship and vouchers. Stauss says that she believes Devos has another definition of school choice in her head. “What her version of school choice does is take millions of dollars of public money to subsidize those who are already attending private schools,” Stauss said. “This is unacceptable in a country that consistently underfunds public education.” Dell’Orto also agrees with Stauss, and sees the outcome of Devos’ direction. “There is a black hole effect to this,” Dell’Orto said. “Thinking about privatizing all of education, you find, literally, academically and intellectually, the rich getting richer in education and the poor getting poorer in education.” Junior Laura Berthelsen interpreted this, saying Americans are seeing better education in highly funded schools and worsened education in poorly funded schools. “Devos’ plan to bring even more money in private schools,” Berthelsen said, “would change the quality of public school education.”

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RETIRE: Teachers are offered a financial incentive for leaving early

Continued from page A1

far from the edge over. “They offer a little bit of a carrot (but) it depends their contract. Thus, if a district is looking to hire, on how prepared (a faculty member) is to retire it’s critical they find employees who haven’t al- (and) if it’s worth taking the offer,” Huddleston said. ready signed to a district. Though at first glance some may see the district “Theoretically, you have all (the) candidates to look at because they haven’t said yes to any place trying to save money by incentivizing elderly, and yet,” Dell’Orto said. “You’re the first in line. If you more experienced, teachers to retire, Dell’Orto says RJUHSD is actually “leary” of wait until May (or) June, a lot the offer because of that. of really good candidates will “The first people let go in … the have already been gobbled up by different districts.” We don’t have recession of 2008 … in most disAccording to Williams, as were brand new teachers beclose to enough tricts of Jan. 25 eight employees in cause they didn’t have seniority,” the district had accepted the Dell’Orto said. “It has rippled back teachers early retirement offer. the system and a lot of kids coming through through On Feb. 3, Duane that may have gone into college the college Blomquist, the GBHS Interthinking (they) might teach, have (against) it, so we don’t national Baccalaureate cotraining system. decided have close to enough teachers comordinator, announced to the ing through the college training sysfaculty his intention to retire – Brandon Dell’Orto, tem to fill the people that are going at the end of the school year. Though Dell’Orto and WilAP U.S. History teacher to be retiring in the next three to five years.” liams both said that the ofDell’Orto continued saying most fer was designed to “hurry teachers won’t retire if they weren’t up the decision making proalready planning on retiring. He set cess,” others might first see the scenario as taking a $5,000 bonus now or workthe economic benefit the district would receive. “If (a district) can get rid of the older teachers ing another year to earn $2,500 more each year for who are making more because they’re on (the top the rest of his life. “Even though (teachers who have been teachof the) pay scale – if you’ve been teaching for 30 years you are maxing out the pay scale (and) can ing longer) are more expensive because you do get bring in a new teacher that just started who’ll be at paid more by the district, the district is not really in the bottom of the pay scale – it actually saves (the a mindset to get rid of a whole bunch of people,” district) a lot of money,” Huddleston said. Dell’Orto said. “They’re not trying to push people Huddleston acknowledges, though, that the out. They really just want to be able to go out and $5000 incentive is likely not going to push anyone get the very best people we can get.”

News A7

LAW: Now, drivers can’t hold phones Continued from page A1 So whether it be addictive tendencies, or a society that is always rushing from one thing to the next, most people would agree that a law is simply not enough. “Each time I find myself at a stop light, immediately I notice heads around me going down to check phones,” McCourt said. “The digital epidemic that has swept roads will be tough to control.” McCourt also said, in comparison to driving laws, American driving laws are a “stark contrast” to what he is used to, but he said if the law is to be effective it must be “readily enforced, with penalties that are regularly upheld.” GBHS junior Mackenzie Brown says the notion itself may be good, but the execution might be difficult to maintain. “It is a good starting point,” Brown said, “but if police aren’t strong in reprimanding people who still use their phones anyways, I don’t think the law will do much good.” The main issue is that many drivers will continue to actively choose

to disobey the law, regardless if they actually need to check their phone or not. Brown said the Bluetooth on her phone automatically connects once she enters her vehicle and that she never – due to necessity – has to be on her phone while on the road. Often, it is not the technology itself that is lacking, but the slight inconvenience and extra bit of time that many people just aren’t willing to sacrifice.

Gazette illustration/CARISSA LEWIS

“For the younger crowd, that need, that urge to check their phone, it comes from somebody who needs to be active all the time, they want to

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be in the know,” said Deputy Greg Hopping of the Placer County Sheriff’s Department. “We have created a problem, an addiction.” In 2014, the National Safety Council reported that 26 percent – a number that is only increasing – of all car accidents in the U.S. were due to the use of a cellular device while driving. “To me I think of it as a very selfish behavior,” Hopping said. “Enforcement wise, I don’t have any patience for it.” Hopping said that in law enforcement you get to “see the ugliness in the society,” and an overwhelming amount of cell phone usage makes up a decent portion of that ugliness. “(The law) is a step, but it’s not effective,” Hopping said. “It won’t get there the whole way, and it won’t make a change – it’s very difficult to change habits and behavior.” He said the law is just another way for politicians to make a name for themselves, and ultimately the bill only takes a minuscule stab at a much larger problem. “You would really have to have some severe consequences and some major changes,” Hopping said. “Just creating laws is lip service, that’s all it is. “It’s some politician putting their name on a piece of legislation and justifying their job, but it’s not going to do a thing.”

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COMPUTER: GBHS now offers a plethora of computer science-related courses Continued from page A1

most 15 years, Exploring Computer Science was introduced only two years ago, and AP Computer Science Principles first became available for students to take during this school year. With the help of the College Board, University of California at Berkeley professor Dan Garcia created the AP course to help increase the interest in computer science and technology related jobs. “What he saw on campus was the need for diversity in computer science … (not only) in female enrollment, but also in ethnicity and socioeconomics,” GBHS computer science teacher Marc Imrie said. “He was able to get 50 percent female enrollment at Berkeley in their (introductory) computer science class … so he saw that as an opportunity to then get high school students at that same place. Very few schools offered computer science classes at all, and those that did had similar problems as he had – the majority were male or of a certain socioeconomic level, and he wanted to see that change.” Making the course eligible for AP credit was another factor in helping increase

enrollment. “If you put ‘AP’ in front of any class, it’s going to attract people because of the grade bump and the competition of getting into colleges,” Imrie said. “So if you can make this an AP elective and make it a fun, engaging, hands-on class, maybe you’ll increase the enrollment.” GBHS ultimately succeeded in increasing enrollment, raising the female enrollment from around 10-15 percent to almost 30 percent. Though AP Computer Science Principles teaches many in-depth computer skills, Imrie reiterated that the class was more than just about learning how to code and creating algorithms. “The big idea of the class is getting students to think not only about technology and how to create it, but (also) the impact of technology,” Imrie said. “There’s lots of hands-on programming labs, but it’s more about the thinking and process of writing code than it is to learn coding.” Along with the new courses, the GBHS course catalog now includes an updated computer science pathway for students who are interested in pursuing the subject in the future.

The pathway suggests students take Exploring Computer Science as an introductory course in their freshman or sophomore year. Students are then encouraged to enroll in GBiT or AP Computer Science Principles during their junior year. Finally, the catalog recommends enrolling in either GBiT or Technology Leadership, also known as the management sector of GBiT, as a senior. This pathway has helped students like Jada Berenguer, a senior at GBHS, pursue their interests in the field of computer science. “It’s a great industry to be in because you can always learn something new,” Berenguer said. “I joined GBiT because I’ve always had an interest in technology and I thought that class would be a great class to expand my knowledge of tech. I’ve learned a lot of factual and tech information from GBiT, but the bigger take away I got was learning a lot of soft skills, like communicating and working with a team consistently, communicating with teachers and respected staff members and being a leader, since I became a manager my junior year.” The need for computer engineers and scientists has grown recently and computer

engineers are becoming some of the top paid individuals in the job market. “I think they’re becoming some of the highest paid individuals because they’re the people that are creating and inventing new innovations to make a better, more advanced future to make all of our lives easier,” Berenguer said. “They both have very creative minds … along with very intelligent minds, needing to know how to actually make those ideas come to life, and that’s what makes them so valuable.” Due to automation of jobs, both at the moment and in the future, Imrie said he believes understanding technology is even more important. “Computers are taking over a lot of jobs,” Imrie said. “Every industry that has the incentive to automate is going to take away a lot of jobs that we think are secure. “There’s so much automation that we just need less workers, but if you know how to program or invent, then your jobs are more secure than other people’s.” Businesses are also more keen to hire individuals who are familiar with multiple computer programs as opposed to those who are not, especially since the surrounding world thrives on technology.

“I think you should be able to work some spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel (and) Microsoft Word,” senior Jovan Rangi said. “If you’re looking into real complicated things like engineering or other computer-science based jobs, then you should know how to code a computer program using advanced methods like Java and Javascript.” Many of the students at GBHS have interests in pursuing jobs that could require computer skills, whether it is in the field of computer science or not. “If I pursue my interest in finance and end up working in private equity or asset management, I might need to create a program or algorithm that would be able to identify ideal price movements on which to make a trade,” Rangi said. The relevance of technology has rapidly been increasing and the necessity for students to learn these skills for the future are vital to maintain a strong employment rate. “Technology is everywhere,” Imrie said. “No matter what job you’re in, you’re interacting with technology.”

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Ideas can and should be your own

can find an answer to nearly every question, a plethora of opinions on literally anything and a tweet that perfectly sums up a feeling you didn’t even know you had – just like that. Basically, we’re not typically asked to think for ourselves. In Granite Bay, we can leave it to Common White Girl and Megyn Kelly to tell us how we feel. And even when we’re told to think for ourselves, like when assigned homework, how many people actually do their homework completely on their own? Maybe one kid. Good for that kid. The rest of us get handed a paper and text someone asking what they got before we even know what there is to get. In no way, AN

have a problem. I write a few sentences, which turn into a few paragraphs and then unsatisfied, I hold down my ‘delete’ key until my paper is as blank as my brain. What I’m writing isn’t bad. It’s interesting to me, and it’s surely my opinion. Only, it isn’t. Too often I find myself writing out a curation of thoughts I have heard previously and agree with, but none that feel like my own. And for one reason or another (the decline of individuality in our culture as a result of society’s tendencies and this thing called the internet) I can’t find my own voice. But I’ve temporarily found it, so listen up, please. To expand on my little parenthetical up there, millenials (and I) have a problem, and we have the internet to thank for it. To be blunt, we don’t know how to think for ourselves. Like completely, honestly, formulating an idea all on our own is just not our thing. Don’t believe me? How many times have you said “idk” today instead of making an attempt to think? Now in a life or death situation, I think we’re capable. But every day is generally not subject to those circumstances, and transparently, it’s so much easier to think using other people’s brains. Take the internet as an example. We have a question and Siri has an answer for us within five seconds of its inception. Side note: that’s so far from being a fact, Siri lets me down every time and is no better than CalTrans: painstakingly slow and ineffective. Nevertheless, in this era you

The Gazette is published eight times per academic year by students in the advanced journalism class at Granite Bay High School. Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Granite Bay High School’s faculty, administration, adviser or student body. Students are protected in their exercise of press freedom by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and California Education Code 48907. Signed editorials and columns reflect the views of the writer. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and must be signed, although anonymity can be granted on a caseby-case basis. The editorial board reviews letters to the editor, advertising and guest commentaries and reserves the right to edit and refuse material. Reasons can include length, clarity, libel, obscenity, material disruption of the educational process at Granite Bay High School or violation of copyright laws.

A game of don’t follow the leader

Adviser: Karl Grubaugh

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Whether or not the man was doing a good job training this dog and getting him accustomed to the rushing water is not the question. I don’t know enough about show dog trainers to recognize a good one, but I know the image of fear and anxiety well enough to recognize animal abuse. It’s clear to me the dog didn’t want to be in that scene. It’s true that police dogs rescue people drowning in rough waters. And it’s noble to try and pay homage to those animals who act so valiantly. But a dog doesn’t need to be mentally harmed to do so. Producers, if that one dog was so terrified of going into the water, don’t make him. Look for a dog who doesn’t mind the water, who has grown up around rivers, who doesn’t shake with fear in your scene. If you can’t find a dog to take part, film the dog in calm waters and use special effects to get the intense feel you were initially going for. If that’s too much trouble, cut the scene. I assure you we are just fine without it. What really pains me is the thought of how many other films are produced that terrorize animals like this one did.

AT AS

Staff Writers/ Photographers: Lyndsey Benner Jake Criscione Brian Ding Kaley Dover Logan Embree Jack Kehoe Jack McGrail Caroline Palmer Avanthika Panchapakesan Sanjna Saini Max Schwartz Samreen Siddiqui Emily Talmi Dean Wilson Ashley Yung Sidney Zabell

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shape or form am I suggesting that helping one another is awful. Collaboration in my opinion is humankind’s most powerful tool: if Adam and Eve didn’t work together, we definitely wouldn’t be here. However there is a fine line – actually a rather thick, dark, distinct line – between collaboration and lack of motivation that seems to traumatize our generation. Don’t even get me started on group projects. At the end of the day, we all thrive on each other’s imaginations and contributions, but we have to learn how to survive without them. So often we get told what’s good and what’s evil, and who’s a bigot and who’s a liar and what our opinions should and shouldn’t be. And as antithetical as this might be to what I just said, your opinions should be yours; your opinions should not be someone ati o

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illu str

Social Media Editor: Megan Nimtz

hen I heard that my favorite childhood book, “A Dog’s Purpose,” was being made into a movie, I was beyond ecstatic. The novel filled my heart with joy and appreciation. It accurately depicted the beautifully strong connection humans and dogs have. It paid tribute to the impact dogs have on us: bringing into our lives laughter, comfort and happiness. Excited for the movie that would bring my favorite novel to life, I planned to see the movie on opening day. However, my opinion of the movie changed dramatically when I saw a video circulating on social media. The video, taken during filming of a scene, depicted the literal opposite of what the movie set out to do. It showed a man forcing a trembling German shepherd off a ledge into rushing water. The dog was clearly terrified and made multiple attempts to break away. Yet the man held him by his collar, forcing him into the water. A later take showed the dog’s head under the surface of the water. People have spoken out and written on behalf of “A Dog’s Purpose,” claiming that the dog trainer was actually doing his job well with the way he introduced the dog into a difficult setting. Yet what they have said has little impact on how I feel.

ze tte

Sports Editors: Ali Lemos Isabella Tkachuk Will Anderson

skhurana.gazette@gmail

Green Screen Editors: Natasha Chanda Katie Cologna Whitney Knorp Amanda Prather

surina khurana

natalie hatch nhatch.gazette@gmail.com

At the end of the day, we all thrive on each other’s imaginations and contributions, but we have to learn to survive without them.

else’s. So I encourage you, think for yourself every once in awhile. At least try to find meaning in that poem before opening Sparknotes. It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child. Do me a favor and pretend that child is now an idea. I think the best minds are those that can work with a village to raise the idea that they created on their own. But if no one is audacious enough to have that idea, then you just have a bunch of village people, who at best will write a bad song about a local community center. No one wants that. Not even at dances. Use your brain. Use your gifts. Use your imagination and your one-of-a-kind thought process and see what happens. We don’t have to rely on a resource just because we have it. If you ask a dozen computers the same question, you will likely get a dozen of the same answer. What would happen if you ask a dozen people? Thinking for yourself might lead you to the same conclusion as someone else, and that is perfectly OK. But then again, maybe it won’t. *** Natalie Hatch, a senior, is a Gazette Voices editor.

It’s just as bad to think of the money some individual is making by sending dog into the film industry where they are harmed. The dog doesn’t opt to be a show dog– the owner does. You decide whether your dogs are hunters, actors, agility competitors. You are making a profit off the lives of living animals. The least you could do is ensure you aren’t profiting off the lives of suffering animals. I can say with certainty there are few people who care and love the way my dog does. I’m disgusted, saddened and angered that the production of a film, based on a beautiful, compelling, praise-worthy novel, negatively impacted at least one dog’s life. One of my favorite quotes from the novel was by the main dog, himself. “My purpose, my whole life, had been to love him and be with him, to make him happy.” That’s how dogs feel about us, as humans. It’s our duty to repay them, to treat them the way they treat us – with nothing but love. *** Surina Khurana, a senior, is a Gazette co-editor-in-chief.

Faking news is breaking news A

fter decades of journalistic broadcasts, it’s no surprise that “breaking news” has had its occasional cracks, but now, with the widespread advancement of “fake news,” real media has started to crumble. 2017 has welcomed us with shocking new vocabulary. Who in 2016 would have predicted the emergence of “alternative facts?” There is no such thing as a substitute truth, but although the words hold no real weight, they have still made a significant impact on the media. Fake news is becoming expected, leading to the questionability of journalistic endeavors. From newspapers to broadcasts to late night sitcoms, journalism has altered according to the public’s interests. Inevitably, people are attracted to comedy, but this draw toward entertainment has often forced journalists to choose between factual and striking content – and unfortunately, the latter has become increasingly prevalent. While it is important to be skeptical of outlandish headlines and not blindly soak in information, it is equally important not to assume every statistic is false. Because phony media organizations have taken to creating fake news, the public’s faith in media has plummeted. According to the Pew Research Center, only about 22 percent of people have significant trust in their local news organizations. The misconception is that the more fake news sources are produced, the more corrupt regular media is becoming. The general public fails to see the distinction The voice of the between real journalism, Granite Bay which strives to reveal Gazette truth, and phony journalism, which purposefully manipulates information to tease the viewers. Legitimate journalists are in their field because they love and know how to research and report about current events. It is not fair to attribute the malfunctions of fake media to all news publications. Even without the defective influence of fake news, people are swayed to judge the media according to their own bias. People just don’t believe that the media is capable of being unbiased. Every news organization is dubbed some condescending name – sometimes “too liberal,” sometimes “too conservative,” sometimes both. It all just depends on the perspective of the viewer and what current events are going on at the time. Often, a reader will fixate on one article that presents a viewpoint contradictory to their own, and even if the story is completely unbiased, the reader will maintain the news source is unreliable simply because they are not hearing what they want to hear. Although not representative of every news source, The Granite Bay Gazette’s experiences can reflect much of what is happening to journalists nationwide. Each month, The Gazette goes through an intricate process of evaluating and researching articles that we believe will unfold into interesting stories, collecting information from studies, interviews and other credible sources. Still, The Gazette has received critiques of being “overly feminist,” and, almost humorously, “too controversial.” Recognize that there is a difference between presenting wellanalyzed, intriguing reports and assembling headlines solely to catch one’s eye. If you come across questionable data, fact check. Look for reliable sources to verify the information, but do not assume all statistics reported by the media are inaccurate.

EDITORIAL

Friday, February 10, 2017 w

Voices A10

The Granite Bay Gazette

HEARD on the BAY Do you support the push to repeal Obamacare?

I think having it readily available and more affordable would be good for everybody.

freshman

AA leader tries new teaching tactics

Passive-aggressiveness reveals poor leadership

om, who refused to state his last name on the record, has been a local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) chairperson for the past six years. After putting off the interview multiple times, Tom finally decided to speak about his uncommon methods. Once an alcoholic, Tom chose to turn his life around and start helping others who have similar struggles. However, Lauren Johnson, Tom’s wife, was confused all together as to why her husband leads the meetings. Knowing he usually leaves responsibilities for other family members when it comes to helping out around the house, Lauren was “near shocked” when Tom began to take initiative a few years back. Later Mrs. Johnson said that he seems at times

COMMENTARY

“more addicted to his passive aggressive personality than his beer.” Tom usually begins meetings with a quick introduction welcoming all members, new and old. “I usually show up to meetings about 15 minutes late because I know Larissa, the impatient middle-aged lady who sits right next to me, will just leave,” wanderson.gazette@gmail.com Tom said. Tom’s avoidance of “obnoxious” group members is just one of his surprising tactics. “During morning sessions, I tend to put out only decaffeinated coffee instead of regular – no reason to spark unnecessary conversation,” Tom said. Although irregular, Tom’s unique style is favored by those in his meetings. “Once he told me that he loved how I speak my mind without even thinking about what I’m saying,” regular

will anderson

AA attendee Ryan Jones said. “It was so encouraging.” Jones has been sober for a whole year now, and to celebrate, Tom gifted him a full keg of home-crafted non-alcoholic beer. “How did he know that’s what I wanted? I mean where do you find a guy like that,” Jones said. Jones later continued by stating, “It was like he wanted me to give into temptation,” and “It almost seems, well, passive aggressive.” A recent case study conducted by Wikianswers, reported that Tom uses the phrases “no offense but” and “am I the only one who” 29 times during any given meeting. The same report stated that Tom ends every evening meeting with the same statement “it would be really helpful if someone took out the trash” with body language that directly implies he would like Cathleen Rodgers, a young mother of two, to do it. “I always end up telling Cathleen that ‘it’s fine, don’t worry about it,’ and she never quite gets what I truly mean,” Tom said. “Maybe I’m being too upfront with her and it’s throwing her off.”

***

Will Anderson, a junior, is a Gazette sports editor.

It’s not rocket science – pull the plug on phones Modern technology is depriving young generations of childhood experiences

Kaycee Jane Guiao I do not (support the Affordable Care Act) because it’s taking away people’s money that they ... need.

he generation that will follow One shock to me was when I went ours will never know what it’s to my cousin’s house over winter like to not have an iPhone. break to learn that my 7-year-old Its invention in 2007 changed cousin had received an iPhone for American culture forever. Christmas. This was completely unnecessary I can hardly imagine what my life because the only apps my cousin said would be like without its presence. she used were the games. My iPhone makes everything so However, I believe the problem easily accessible to me. The latest with children having iPhones extends news, contact with my friends – far beyond it just being unnecessary. whatever I need can instantaneously Youth is when chilbe found on a tiny dren are supposed to device I carry with make friends and deme everywhere. velop people skills. Yet the truth Having an iPhone is that while the to hide behind prealmighty iPhone’s vents you from being convenience has its in positions where benefits, it also has there are awkward its drawbacks. silences. We have grown An iPhone will dependent on the suck up all their atiPhone and are traintention so they won’t ing future generaseek companionship tions to do the same. from others. Simply put, we In future genshould not allow our ayung2.gazette@gmail.com erations, the problem iPhones to continue could be worse if it’s serving as a crutch. not prevented. Yet that is exactly what most The age limit we set for kids with parents do. Children receive iPhones phones continues to lower, and soon, from parents who believe it’s a children as young as 4 or 5 will be necessity. seen with a phone. These parents might argue that I know it might seem ridiculous, children need phones so parents can but I remember when I thought the contact and keep tabs on their kids. idea of a 10-year-old with a phone However, a flip phone does exactly was insane. that without all the extra games and What is the ideal childhood – kids access to social media. tapping away on their iPhones, You might think others agree with communicating solely via text? O me, but what I’ve observed tells me otherwise. It seems like everywhere I children laughing and playing? To me, the answer seems obvious. go, I see children with iPhones. I was astonished when I found out *** many children in elementary schools Ashley Yung, a freshman, is a Gazette staff writer. started getting iPhones.

COMMENTARY

sophomore Clayton Rathjen America is one of the last (countries) to not provide healthcare for every single citizen … I don’t see the point of repealing it.

junior

Savannah Martin No, because I know that while millions of people have lost their health care or have had their healthcare (prices) raise up, even more people received health care because of the Affordable Care Act.

senior

ashley yung

Does the women’s movement mock males? Radical views of feminism do not necessarily reflect the overall movement

ecently, the term “feminazi” has been applied to feminists. According to the usually unreliable Urban Dictionary, a feminazi is “a person who justifies their hate for men by calling it feminism.” Do radical views of feminism define what the movement is all about? In my science class last semester, one of my classmates explained how she wanted to stop talking about feminism because it had started creating

Saawan Tiwari A rush to repeal (Obamacare) without having a replacement in mind ahead of time seems a bit hasty.

staff

Damien Lawrence Compiled by Sabina Mahavni Gazette illustration/CARISSA LEWIS

feelings of hatred toward men. Another classmate then introduced the term “feminazi” to me, and that’s when I started to question feminism myself. According to The Washington Post, 43 percent of the population said the word “angry” describes modern feminism. Feminism has clearly gotten a bad reputation in recent years, but I don’t think it has gone too far. I think there is a misunderstanding of the motives of feminists. The way I look at feminism is that it’s a spectrum. On the radical end of the spectrum (this includes both genders), there are people who believe that men are the source of all of their problems. The other side of the spectrum is the group of people who see an inequality between men and women in society and want to change that. This is the more common mindset, and the dictionary definition, of feminists. After that, the spectrum ranges from people who have no opinion at all to people who resent feminism altogether, mostly because of personal reasons. Yes, these radical groups exist, but according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, feminism is “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” This definition sounds moral and acceptable, at least to me, and definitely counteracts the idea of feminazis. With this in mind, I believe that feminists who have a prejudice toward men aren’t actually feminists. Not because they

Gazette illustration/CARISSA LEWIS

COMMENTARY

samreen siddiqui ssiddiqui.gazette@gmail.com

It is a concept that has been empowering females for centuries to protect the rights that every human deserves to have. don’t want to support women but because they don’t support the idea of equality, which feminism inherently entails. The way, I think, that people who don’t support both genders could make a positive difference is to use the energy of their hatred and, instead, direct it toward a way to create a proper balance. A good example of this is the Women’s March on Sacramento that I went to. The crowd’s disappointment of the new presidency turned into a peaceful protest that supported important causes, such as equality, human rights and social justice. Yes, it isn’t the same situation, but the concept of using your efforts in support of human rights really could empower both genders instead of discriminating against them. So, to make a short story long, feminism hasn’t gone too far because feminists don’t hate men. Instead, it is a concept that has been empowering females for centuries to protect the rights that every human deserves to have. Even if gender inequality seems outdated and no longer existent, there is always room to grow.

***

Samreen Siddiqui, a junior, is a Gazette staff writer.

February, Friday 10, 2017 w

The Granite Bay Gazette

Taking a sick day is actually healthy

Voices A11

Why does everyone look down upon skipping one day of school?

Just recently one of my teachers even yelled at the class to “Stay home if you’re sick, don’t get the rest of us sick!” Even the teachers who rant about the need to not miss their class tend to be understanding if you talk to them. They’re human too, and have been sick before. issing one day is better than missing your entire life. You’re also potentially harming anyone you interact with since you When you’re feeling sick, you should allow your body time might get them sick as well. to recover, rather than keep going until you break down – Now there is an entire generation of students who are whether that breakdown is mental, physical or competing over how little sleep that they get. both. You can’t just be tired anymore, since there’s always Yet, taking needed time off from school is someone else who got less sleep, and someone who absolooked down upon by the administration, and even lutely must mention it. by other students. When you have a “simple” cold You can’t just be sick anymore, since there is always or flu, you’re encouraged to just suck it up and go someone who is sicker. to school anyway. How you feel should only matter to you, and how others It doesn’t matter that you won’t be able to conview your sickness shouldn’t affect how you treat yourcentrate and won’t get anything done, inevitably self. Just because someone might have it worse doesn’t falling behind despite having gone to school. Then mean that your situation doesn’t suck. We shouldn’t after wearing yourself out, you’ll have even less devalue how others feel. This competition is unhealthy. drive to do homework than normal and fall farther How sick or tired you are should never be a competition. behind. Why can’t we instead brag about things that are actuSome students choose to go to school despite ally worth bragging about, and that would actually be being sick out of fear that they will completely kdover.gazette@gmail.com beneficial to talk about? fall behind by missing one day. Except that while Why can’t we appreciate that as individuals, we have there will be makeup work from not being in different limits than others? Why can’t we accept that it is completely school, it will not be the end of the world. OK to take one day off? Why must we compete over every single thing Most of the teachers that I have had have been incredibly helpful in life? with assisting me to get caught up after having missed a day or two. *** Most teachers would rather have you stay home when sick and just Kaley Dover, a senior, is a Gazette staff writer. make up the work afterward.

COMMENTARY

kaley dover

Don’t mention the ‘c-word’ around seniors the country and my life as a wave of anxiety

me of the inevitable decision I have only I don’t know where I will reminds months to make. However, my response has become mechanic and be for the next four years, well-rehearsed. “Oh, well, I’m still deciding. I have to hear back and that’s not a bad thing from a few schools still, but I have a few main ones

COMMENTARY

whitney knorp

wknorp.gazette@gmail.com

y eyes dart around the room, desperately searching for an escape. A single bead of sweat forms on my forehead, and I know – yet again – I’m trapped. “So, what college are you going to?” I shudder. In my head, I’m fleeing the room and

in mind. I’ll probably stay in California.” This is my new default, because it didn’t take me long to realize that people don’t like to hear the panic and uncertainty in your voice when you tell them that you have no idea what you want to do with your life. I think it’s amazing when students have the commitment to know exactly what they want from a college, but I am only 17. I need way more information and life experience before I can truly know what is right for me, but seniors are only given so much time to assess their choices. So, yes you better believe that I am making the most of all the time I have to make an informed and (hopefully) confident choice. I will say that I didn’t set myself up for the easiest decision making process. I applied to 14 colleges, which has left a lot up in the air since I won’t hear from half of them until March. Nonetheless, I try not to let this hold me back. I hardly go a day without researching any colleges and watching videos about college dorms and cam-

puses. I’ve watched 45-minute virtual campus tours, already have a list of items to bring to college, plan on touring schools for the second and third times and will RSVP to almost any events my schools put on for applicants. You may call it neurotic, but I call it prepared. By the time seniors hear back from every college we’ve applied to, we are left with less than two months to commit to something that we hope will be the perfect fit. Unfortunately, the “perfect fit” is defined by numerous factors: school size, dorm life, academic rigor and requirements, the major you want, the campus, the location, what other students and professors are like, extracurriculars, the prominence of Greek life, sports, food options, other necessities and tuition. It is realizing that there is so much to know about going to college that causes constant uncertainty for many seniors. No one wants to have regrets or have a bad college experience when college is hyped up to be this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to “find who they are” and “make lifelong friends” and, of course, find a career path. According to a 2012 Rutgers University study, 37 percent of a group of college students who had recently graduated said that they wish that they were more selective in choosing a major or had chosen a different one.

The ‘Islamicization’ of radicalism Islam does not promote violence, contrary to popular opinion COMMENTARY

avanthika panchapakesan

apanchapakesan.gazette@gmail.com

/11 was and still is a call to arms. That is what we’ve been told seemingly every day on virtually every news telecast, every speech, every political statement, every policy announcement and every public appearance by every government official since September 11, 2001. And now society seems to believe that all Muslims are terrorist, and that it is OK to make offensive statements and target Muslims – even innocent ones. Some see a turban and a beard and automatically jump to the most negative conclusion. Let’s take a moment and think: who do we see when we think of a terrorist? Certainly not the white man who conducted the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, or Paul Ciancia, a white Christian who opened fire in 2013 at the Los Angeles International Airport. Instead we tend to picture the man with brown skin and a long beard. A man who is garbed in black with a turban atop his head. Never a smiling white face clutching a holy Bible. Islam, which is a monotheistic religion, is a faith that includes all races, genders and over a billion people. While the majority of people knows what the Quran is, many are misin-

formed about the teachings, hence perpetuating misconceptions. Perhaps the most prominent misconception is the declaration that ISIS members are Muslims. Yes, members of the Islamic State do indeed proclaim themselves as “Soldiers of Allah.” But their violence is contradictory to the teachings of Islam. Islam promotes tolerance, but these extremist groups believe that it is a sin to converse with another of a different faith. We live in a generation where we can kill swiftly with drugs and bullets. Decapitation is a method used by extremist groups for propaganda and a way to grab headlines and to capture the eyes of all. The warped agenda followed by extremist groups establishes a whole new dynamic – one that distorts Islam into a radicalizing agent, as opposed to a religion. The Quran is intended to be read in its original language, Arabic. Any other translation of it may be similar, but it is not accurate. I doubt those who make assumptions about Muslims know Arabic. How can they make claims about the faith when they are unable to read its very foundation? Far from being religious zealots, those associated with terrorist organizations often do not observe or practice their faith regularly. Ironically, those who claim to follow the religion the most ignore the religion’s most basic fundamental principle: the respect of human life and dignity. Fifteen years ago, the largest terrorist attack on American soil left much of the world shocked; and the impacts of those attacks in 2001 are still felt to this day. The feeling which has left a lasting footprint after 9/11 is the changed way

Gazette illustration/HANNAH XU

By the time seniors hear back from every college we’ve applied to, we are left with less than two months to commit to something that we hope will be the perfect fit. The study also reported that two thirds of the surveyed students say that in retrospect, they would have done some things differently regarding making decisions about their college educations. I can confidently say that regret is something I and many of my fellow seniors are determined to avoid, but it might be difficult with all the pressures we face to choose certain schools. These pressures might come from friends and family and, often, the community you live in. Some people are too scared to be judged for not picking the “good” school to pick a different school where they’d be happier. College is an important decision, so it is crucial that people recognize that choosing where to dedicate these significant next four years of our lives is something that matters, requires thought and consideration and should be taken seriously. *** Whitney Knorp, a senior, is a Gazette Greenscreen editor.

Ironically those who claim to follow the religion the most ignore the religion’s most basic fundamental principle: the respect of human life and dignity. Americans look at Muslims. Americans feel as if they are never safe, always fearful and uncertain about their future. Otherization, which can be defined as the mental move of casting a member of society into a false-alien group existing outside of acceptability, is a pernicious form of prejudice suffered by many Muslims during the Bush administration. Essentially, their value, or more likely, their danger to society was viewed solely through the prism of terrorism. This racialization essentially sees Muslims as different from and potentially inferior to whites, violent and threatening, and society has labelled them as a distinct group of people. Bigotry against Muslims cannot be labeled as a ‘current trend.’ Instead, it is a repetition of a centuries-old tradition of consistently demonizing people who look, dress, speak, worship or even think differently than the norm. Otherization and racial prejudices against Muslims did not surface because of 9/11. Instead, it is the latest manifestation of the idea that America is a land for white Christians only. By asking Muslims whether or not they condemn terrorism, you are simply doing nothing but questioning their humanity. *** Avanthika Panchapakesan, a freshman, is a Gazette staff writer.

Gazette photos /MCKENNA ARAM

In response to President Donald J. Trump’s Immigration Ban, several hundred Californians organized a protest at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Sunday, Jan. 29. Trump’s ban has been referred to as a “Muslim ban” because it blocks seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya.

Friday, February 17, 2017 w The Granite Bay Gazette

Second look

News A12

Million Women’s March 20,000 march and rally in Sacramento to prostest  At the Million Women’s March in Sacramento, people of all genders, ages and skin colors come together to protest and listen to speakers. A woman, below, holds her dog and a cardboard sign. Drummers, upper middle right, perform at the front of the stage. Two teenage girls, lower middle right, hold hand-painted signs. Two women, bottom right, hold up a baby and a sign.

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

Gazette photo /MARYNE MATTHEWS

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

Gazette photos by Carissa Lewis & Maryne Matthews Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

A grandma, top left, smiles as she raises up her sign. A woman, bottom left, wears a pink crown handed out at the protest. A man, above, rides a motorcycle adorned with a rainbow-striped flag.

Gazette photo /MARYNE MATTHEWS

Lifestyle

Granite Bay Gazette

B Section

Friday w February 10, 2017

New 3-D printer additions are underutilized

COMMENTARY

Recently purchased technology owned by the GBiT program is open to use by all students

to coming to GBHS, he had never seen or even heard of a 3-D printer before. Junior Garrett Allington, who has been a part of the team since sophomore year, has been working on printing out a ranite Bay High School has recently introduced three dimensional design of a soda machine. a new device for its students in the Granite Bay While the elaborate designs and features of the printers Information Technology program that can produce seem very complicated to people designs drawn from a computerwho have never seen nor used the the 3-D printer. printer, it is easy to learn how to Members of the GBiT team work the functions in an hour or claimed that a majority of the The printer is beneficial two. school had no idea the 3-D printer Recently, GBiT purchased a new existed on campus, despite how to the class and should printer totalling the number of cutting edge the technology is. be expanded towards 3-D printers in Granite Bay High The 3-D printers owned by School to three. the GBiT team and Steve Dolan others schools. However, these printers also are open to GBiT members, the – Junior Garrett Allington come with the expense of the robotics team and other students material. who have permission. As a result, the usage of the 3-D Ryan McKean, now a junior printers has declined amongst team who has been a part of the GBiT members and Dolan now requires program since freshman year, is excited to have the printers his students to donate money to help pay for new supplies on campus. for the printer ink. The printers have added a different type of learning style 3-D printers are a new form of technology which are contoward the education of the team and they help the team tinuing to create jobs for people around the world. with different projects. Wang Ringan is a professor and the owner of a 3-D busiMcKean was initially surprised and curious because prior BY BRIAN DING

mckenna aram maram.gazette@gmail.com

The Muslim ban strikes a chord

y Middle Eastern background is known by many for a reason- I’m proud of my heritage. With the new Muslim Ban now implemented in the United States for 90 days, cultural advocacy has been more prevalent than ever. Over the past couple months there has blatantly been premonitions throughout the nation pertaining to future actions of President Donald Trump. They were for good reason. Out of all of the abhorrent things he has said and done, the Muslim Ban outperforms them all. My father’s side of the family is indigenous to Iran. He and his family immigrated to the United States during the Iranian Revolution when he was just eight years old. My grandfather’s brother, who still lives in Iran, was planning to visit my dying grandfather in Los Angeles this month, probably for the last time. Yet seeing as Iran is one of the seven countries on the ban list, that possibility now seems unlikely. Trump’s executive order signed on January 27 (not to mention that January 27 is Holocaust Memorial Day) called for “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States” . Since 9/11, not a single person indigenous to any of the countries on the ban list have committed any terrorist attack on the U.S. All of the terrorists from 9/11 were predominantly from Saudi Arabia followed by Turkey and Egypt, yet none of those countries are on the ban list. I suppose it’s just a coincidence that Saudi Arabia happens to be the second leading oil producer for the United States. Even Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Vice President Mike Pence have previously expressed opposition to the proposal of a Muslim immigration ban. As the ban has increasingly become an imminent issue, previous statements from Trump and his cabinet in interviews and through social media have been dug up to show the present hypocrisy and corruption of U.S. politics. In December of 2015, Pence tweeted, “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.” Unsurprisingly that tweet has resurfaced and been widely displayed throughout the Internet. Not only is America divided, not only are the GOP and the president divided, but Trump is inherently working on dividing us from the rest of the world. This clearly strikes a chord with me on a personal level, which is why I participated in the protest at San Francisco International Airport on January 29. After hours of reading and researching the details of the ban, my pent up frustration could be detained no longer. I called my best friend and together we drove down to the protest in San Francisco. Standing up for what I believe in among thousands who share the same intent to fight for equality was an experience I will never forget. I pray this ludicrous ends soon.

***

McKenna Aram, a junior, is a Lifestyle editor.

bding.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photo /BRIAN DING

The 3-D printers are available to all students ness in China called “Porimy”. His business has been working on their new chocolate 3-D printer which has already seen many customers from Europe and the U.S. “The industry and business opportunities for 3-D printing companies not only grows for printing, but other fields as well,” Ringan said.

Success comes at a cost

Gazette Photo Illustration /Katie Cologna

A healthy set of eyes are shown above in comparison to a photoshopped set of eyes to demonstrate the possible physical consequences of lack of sleep

Long-term sleep deprivation among students remains common

BY MCKENNA ARAM

maram.gazette@gmail.com

ight to ten hours is the minimum sleep requirement for teenagers, but according to a poll at Granite Bay High School, that benchmark is only met by a mere 20 percent of students.

Comparatively, only 13 percent of youth nationwide are actually meeting basic sleep standards. “Adolescents are still growing physically and developing cognitively,” said emergency physician Dr. Walter Bush, MD. “If your body is not functioning (efficiently) because of sleep deprivation, then your mind will not work efficiently either.” Studies completed by Stanford University’s renowned medical center show that sleep deprivation leads to increased risk of disease, mental illness and deficiency in productivity. Those risks are further enhanced for teenagers. “For teens, in just the day to day needs of cognitive functioning, (sleep deprivation) may affect them on a greater scale (than) adults,” said GBHS psychology teacher Natalie Elkin. “Teenagers need

about an hour more of sleep than adults.” While it is widely claimed that teenagers should be averaging nine hours of sleep per night, the sleep survey taken at GBHS shows that 70 percent of students get between five to seven hours of sleep nightly. “Kids, at this school particularly, believe that they have to do the work of ten people to get into the most prestigious college in the U.S. to be successful,” Elkin said. With pressures of college, standardized testing, maintaining grades and balancing extracurriculars, there is little time left in the day for sleep in a high school student’s life. That rigorous high school schedule is an enhanced commonality at GBHS. “If every teacher gives you two hours of homework, then it adds up to around eight and that gives you no time to do anything else,” said GBHS sophomore

Chloe Clark. A teenage brain doesn’t even start to become productive until 9 a.m., though most high schools across the nation tend to start at around 8 a.m. “Being sleep deprived makes it harder to get through the day,” Clark said. “It puts you in a bad mood and your school work gets (increasingly) worse.” According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprivation greatly impacts the biological and behavioral structures of growing teens. “Sleep is a fundamental, biological need of survival that is being sacrificed because of expectations,” Elkin said. “We sacrifice survival in order to be successful. It makes no sense.” Although students may feel the need to hamper their sleep schedule in order to complete school work or study for tests, studies show that neural pathways are strengthened during sleep. That strengthening of neural pathways throughout REM cements learning obtained during the day into the brain, a crucial function for students. “If kids get used to telling themselves ‘I can study, I can do this on five hours of sleep’ they will never realize their full potential lies within an attained eight hours

of sleep,” Elkin said. If this pattern of sleep deprivation continues to be exercised as a commonality throughout all four years of high school, teens will likely be more susceptible to attaining certain diseases in the future. Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and depression are all linked to continuous sleep deprivation. “I often encounter sleep deprivation impacting people emotionally, resulting in stress or in the more severe cases, psychiatric problems,” Bush said. College boards are beginning to recognize the severity of the pressure dispositioned on high school students. According to U.S. News, colleges are currently having discussions about limiting the number of Advanced Placement classes they will accept as a means to ultimately lower stress levels and better sleep schedules. “If you’re miserable now because you’re getting four hours of sleep because you have this expectation to go to an Ivy League school, you need to let it go,” Elkin said.

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Siblings of Students

Engineering at GBHS

Last Neon Dance

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Difficulties are present in meeting previous siblings’ achievements.

Students participate in competitions in new engineering course.

The final Neon Dance at GBHS was held in January.

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Friday, February 10, 2017

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Older siblings lay ground for future expectations

Younger kin are pressured to follow footsteps BY LOGAN EMBREE

lembree.gazette@gmail.com

s destroying a sibling’s chance of attaining academic success part of being an older sibling? Having an older sibling who has fulfilled if not exceeded the normal academic expectations of being a Granite Bay High School student may have negative impacts upon their younger siblings. The name of these effects whether good or bad is known as the, “sibling spillover effect.” These younger siblings have become victim to excessive pressure and insecurity resulting from the older sibling’s past actions. Comparing your own achievements to those of your older sibling is a completely natural and normal behavior. Unfortunately these comparisons have underlying effects which may harm self confidence. “My (older) sister had very high academic achievements, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to achieve what she did,” said Claire Miller, who is cur-

rently a junior at GBHS In the microclimate that is GBHS, most students has the academic goal which is to attend college after graduating. This standard goal for every student on the GBHS campus is set upon them by their teachers, administration and parents. “We are expected to get really good grades while taking hard classes,” said GBHS junior Lauren Angelo, who also believes that her fellow grizzlies are also pushed to be well-rounded and go to college. In general the overall amount of pressure placed upon each GBHS student is substantially higher than the average amount for a high school student. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2015 only 69.2 percent of high school graduates were registered to attend any colleges or universities in the years to come. With only 69.2 percent of high school graduates attending college this places far less pressure on the average student to succeed academically compared to the normal student attending GBHS. In addition to the normal amount of pressure placed upon every GBHS student, those who possess older siblings have a more significant amount in general. The total magnitude of the pressure placed upon these specific students is

already abnormally high. This is before the addition of the remaining amplifications. Along with the pressure absorbed from the comparison to their older siblings, there is additional pressure found in the goals each student sets for themselves. “I give up easily sometimes and get frustrated and put too much pressure on myself which causes stress,” said GBHS Junior Lauren Angelo in response to being inquired about her personal academic goals. If you have an older sibling hope is not lost and you are not completely bound for despair. Having an older sibling experience and navigate tough circumstances before you can give you an advantage over those experiencing these processes for the first time. A study was performed by the University of Essex on the effects of the older sibling’s academic performance on that of their younger siblings. The study concluded that having an older sibling is beneficial in the fact that they can pass on important information about educational choices to their younger siblings. This “sibling spillover effect” not only benefits the younger siblings by sharing information but they also act as a role model. “Seeing my siblings work hard in high school to get where they all are now has

Gazette illustration /HANNAH XU

Weighing pros of block schedule GBHS’s four-class-per-semester system remains debated BY SIDNEY ZABELL

szabell.gazette@gmail.com

n recent years, Granite Bay High School’s method of scheduling classes has raised inquiry, especially concerning how the blocking and unblocking of certain classes affects students’ learning. GBHS students currently have four classes per semester; four in the fall and four in the spring. This opens the window to students “doubling up” on classes. For example, they could take Spanish 2 in the fall term and Spanish 3 in the spring term. Many students also tend to double up on math classes. One can take Integrated Math 2 in the fall term and then take Integrated Math 3 in the spring, which is also useful for course material recollection. Several GBHS students depend on this flexibility while creating their schedules. There is a variation of opinions on the benefits and disadvantages of GBHS’s system. “(For finals) you only have to worry about four classes,” sophomore Pooja Jadhav said. “You have to learn a lot faster and you have to figure things out on your own… (because) the timeframe you learn in is a lot smaller.” Junior Olivia Greiss says that GBHS’s system has some significant drawbacks.

“Cramming a year’s worth of work into one semester usually means that you go through topics and material faster,” Greiss said. “If you miss a day or two, you can end up pretty far behind and sometimes it’s not so easy to catch back up.” Advanced placement European History and Honors English 10 are currently blocked over the entire year as was AP U.S. History and AP Language and Composition until the 2015-2016 school year. “I feel like it would definitely be beneficial to have (APUSH) every other day as it probably wouldn’t feel as rushed,” Greiss said. “We’d have more time to cover the subject and I could definitely use more time to do the homework for that class.” One disadvantage to having the classes blocked is that many students do not want to take both AP U.S. History and AP Language. Sydney Ladrech, a 2016 GBHS graduate and current freshman at California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, took AP U.S. History and AP Language the final year it was blocked. “I think the blocking of APUSH and AP Lang was really effective,” Ladrech said. “The classes alternated days, it was nice to get an extra night in between the lengthy AP U.S. History reading assignments.”

Ladrech still says she would have taken AP US History and AP Language, even if they were not blocked. “I actually loved the block system because it allowed you to focus on four classes at a time, much like I do now,” Ladrech said. “The pace of the block schedule really helped prepare me for the speed of the quarter system at Cal Poly.” Although some courses at GBHS are not officially specified as blocked, they are recommended to take over the course of two terms during a school year. For example, Honors Spanish 4 is recommended to be taken in the fall followed by AP Spanish Language in the spring term to prevent the forgetting of the language. Similarly, physiology is advised to be taken prior to AP Biology as a means to help with the course knowledge. Whitney High School in Rocklin operates under a very different schedule than GBHS. “We’re what some people consider an A-B block, so we have kids carry eight classes for an entire year,” said Jennifer Hanks, an assistant principal for Whitney High School. “(On) day A — we call them odd days — they go to classes one, three, five, and seven. The next day, they go to even days and they go to two, four, six,

both positive and negative effects on the younger siblings of older students. It places more pressure upon them to succeed and fulfill the expectations placed by their older siblings. This effect also gives them several advantages in this process over a student who is completing the high school journey for the first time.

definitely pushed me to work harder,” said junior Addir Follett. Being exposed to the intense process of venturing through high school by being around older siblings in this process gives younger siblings an advantage over those completing the process for the first time. The “sibling spillover effect” contains

and eight.” Whitney students have the same eight classes all year, which can result in a heavier amount of homework than other schools. “It is more work… (and) it’s more classes that you have to be ready for, have homework for, and have tests (in),” Hanks said. Having all eight classes over the year benefits Whitney’s students, too. They have longer to understand and learn the concepts of their classes, and although they have more work to do, Hanks says that it better prepares them for things like AP tests. “They have the class all year long, so they’re ready still getting prepped a week before the AP tests,” Hanks said. GBHS students often struggle with AP tests in May because of the timing with their classes. If they took the AP class in fall, they may forget the information, and spring AP students have to rush to learn everything in time for the tests because they have fewer weeks to prepare. Both forms of schedules have their perks and flaws, but GBHS’s appears to be working well for now. “We do go faster in the classes, but we also have more time to focus on those classes,” Jadhav said.

College of the Month Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY

Location: Santa Clara, CA Enrollment: 5,435 undergraduates Tuition: $43,812 Acceptance Rate: 49% Mascot: Bucky the Bronco - Researched by Jake Criscione

Random... Facts

Club Club Name Ping Pong Club Club President Nick Iskandaar :

BY NATASHA CHANDA

nchanda.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette: What is the purpose of your club?

1) 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest 2) The Amazon rainforest represents more than half the Earth’s rainforests 3) During the past 40 years, at least 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been cutdown. 4) The Amazon rainforest encompasses an area of 5,500,000 sq kilometers (2,100,000 sq mi), two times the size of Argentina. 5) The Amazon rainforest has been existence for at least 55 million years. - Compiled by Cole Kahmann

Student Gazette photo /ALI LEMOS

Ashley Martinez

Gazette: What is your favorite food?

Nick: The purpose of the Granite Bay Ping Pong Club is to create a fun community of ping pong players.

Ashley: Sushi from Mikuni.

Gazette: When do you meet?

Ashley: Because people are hyped and everyone is there.

Nick: We meet every other Friday after school. Gazette: How was the club created? Nick: ‘What is everyone’s favorite sport?’ The first sport to come to mind was, “Ping Pong of course.”

- Compiled by Logan Embree

Gazette: Would you rather fly or be invisible?

Gazette: What is the best time of day? Ashley: What did the sea say to the sand? Nothing, it simply waved. Gazette: Who is your idol? Ashley: What did the sea say to the sand? - Compiled by Ali Lemos

Friday, February 10, 2017

The Granite Bay Gazette

Lifestyle B3

FBI Teen Academy enthralls Program gives two GBHS students a chance to learn more about agency BY AVANTHIKA PANCHAPAKESAN apanchapakesan.gazette@gmail.com

hile junior year is always hectic and filled with activities, this school year, high school juniors have another thing to look forward to. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sacramento field office is accepting applications for the upcoming FBI Teen Academy, a program that is offered twice annually.. “Today’s teens are exposed to a nearconstant flow of information from a variety of Internet and social media sources, but it is often difficult to discern which are credible,” said special-agent-in-charge Monica Miller in an FBI press release. With TV shows like “Quantico” and “Criminal Minds” circulating frequently, many teens are becoming more and more curious about the role of the FBI in society. High school juniors in the 34 counties surrounding the Sacramento region are eligible to apply for the program, which will be held is held in April and November. Students that are currently in a public, private or even a home schooling system can

apply for the program. Students who participate in the one-day program are exposed to topics of cyber safety, terrorism, active-shooter situations and civil rights investigations. Faraz Saeed and Brayden Johnk, both juniors at Granite Bay High School, attended the camp this past November. “The camp allowed me to understand the importance of cyber safety for the next generation,” Saeed said. FBI public affairs specialist Gina Swankie said students participate in a range of activities and discussions including a simulated evidence-response team and bomb tech scenarios as well as conversations about online communication. Every junior is qualified to apply, and applicants don’t have to be planning to pursue careers in forensics, law or law enforcement. Swankie said the teen academy is a unique opportunity for any student who is interested in knowing what the FBI does, how the FBI works and what the FBI investigates. “You never know where life will take you,” Swankie said. Applicants have to complete an application and write an essay about why they think the

Book of the Month Title: Pride and Prejudice Author: Jane Austen The Great Gatsby of mice and men Romeo and Juliet

Grapes of Wrath

Gazette Photo/ BRAYDEN JOHNK

Academy program is a good fit, and they also have to include one recommendation. The spring Academy is scheduled for April 7; it will be held in FBI’s new Sacramento field office in Roseville. “I want students that are going to be interactive,” Swankie said. Looking back on the November academy, both participants from GBHS would like to spread the word about the FBI. “I would recommend this camp to any junior,” Saeed said. “It helps you get to know the FBI better and important safety concerns in the status quo.” Johnk also has positive words about the academy. “I would recommend this academy to other juniors mainly because it gives you an opportunity to see if you have interest in any aspect of the FBI,” Johnk said. FBI officials and students feel the Academy is a unique opportunity. That was certainly true for both Saeed and Johnk. “The FBI Teen Academy helped me learn the basics of cyber safety,” Saeed said. “Something I normally wouldn’t be able to do.” “I think I’ve become more versed as a person and citizen since being exposed to the variety of different topics in the FBI Teen Academy,” Johnk said. “It has changed who I am for the better.”

Special to the Gazette /FBI SACRAMENTO

Attendee Brayden Johnk, right, views alternative light modes.

If you really knew me, you would know...

BY SAMREEN SIDDIQUI ssiddiqui.gazette@gmail.com

It has been over two centuries since the book “Pride And Prejudice” has been published, but the piece, written by the brilliant Jane Austen, has left its marks not only in the world of literature, but in the worlds of theatre, film and pop culture. The main character, Elizabeth Bennet, gives off the perfect mixture of witty repartee and complications in her love life that every leading women character needs. With her sisters Jane, Lydia, Kitty and Mary, they all form the Bennett Sisters, a prominent group of young women who try to survive the ups and downs of wealth, marriage and family in 19th century Britain. Their parents, the sarcastic Mr. Bennett and marriage-obsessed Mrs. Bennett, are funny characters who add even more to the sisters’ crazy lives. With the strong female presence that this book has, the male characters don’t disappoint either. Mr. Darcy is a complicated character who has even more pride than he does dry humor (surprisingly). This might sound like a bad combination, but along with his awkward nature and his conversations with Elizabeth, he still remains a favorite among readers. Mr. Bingley, who is Jane’s love interest, represents the perfect guy except for the fact that he is easily influenced.

Mr. Collins, the overly humble distant cousin of Mr. Bennett, brings necessary comic relief while also complicating Elizabeth’s love life even more. Along with the original book, there has been a movie starring Keira Knightley (2005), a television show starring Colin Firth (1995), a book named “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies” and a web show called “The Lizzie Bennett Diaries.” Many theatre adaptations have also been done, including this year’s winter play run by Granite Bay High School’s drama department. The pop culture influence this book has is shown through these projects and exhibits the love for classic literature that nerds like me have. The only criticism for this book along with the rest of Jane Austen’s books is that it doesn’t appeal to male audiences. But, with how characterized the male personalities are in this book, there is bound to be a least one character that a guy can identify with. And, as I say all of the time, words don’t have genders. “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has no pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid,” Jane Austen wrote in her usual, harsh words.

Kevin Lee

If you really knew me, you would know that I moved from South Korea at the age of 16.

Candice Leung

If you really knew you me, you would know that I am always trying to improve myself because I’m self-critical. - By Brian Ding

Seniors look out of state Heading to Hollywood Non-California schools provide another option BY WHITNEY KNORP

wknorp.gazette@gmail.com

n 2014, California lost 17,196 residents to outof-state colleges and gained only 4,681 students from other states to attend in-state public colleges, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. The motivation for California students to attend college out-of-state is evidently high. Many Granite Bay High School seniors also yearn to follow thousands of their peers by taking their academic pursuits to various states. Jovan Rangi, a GBHS senior, hopes to get his college education on the east coast where he can have access to better academic and career opportunities. “I’m looking to study finance in college, and some of the best universities with this major are private schools in the northeast, around New York City, Philadelphia and Boston,” Rangi said. Rangi also said that he expects to have more opportunities in finding internships and jobs in his career concentration on the east coast than he would have in California. Kevin Yang is also a GBHS senior whose ideal schools are out-of-state due to their esteemed academics and reputations. “Most of the top-tier elite schools like the Ivy Leagues are all out of state, besides Stanford, so that’s the main reason why I applied out of state,” Yang said. The main setbacks students expect to face in the out-of-state route for college are much higher tuitions, living far away from family, worse weather conditions and expensive rates to travel back home. “I’m going to South Carolina, so that’s all the way across the country,” GBHS senior Audrey Foster said. “It’s going to be hard being away from everyone for four or five months at a time because I can’t come home.” Yang said that tuition was the biggest downside to out-of-state college, and that he doesn’t expect any scholarship, need-based or otherwise, to be substantial enough to prevent enormous debt.

“The biggest thing holding me back right now is the cost,” Yang said. “You’re not really getting any money because you have enough to pay, but once you pay you don’t have any money left to use.” GBHS senior Genna Kozlowski, on the other hand, says that out-of-state schools with scholarships will end up being less costly than some California schools for her. Some students want to leave California looking for change and new experiences in new places, as well as to evade the competitiveness of many California schools. “(Going out-of-state) gives me the opportunity to live in and explore another area of the U.S., and a lot of in-state schools are super impacted right now,” Kozlowski said. Sometimes students’ families also inspired the move for students. “I never thought of leaving California for college until my brother did,” Kozlowski said. “He goes to college in South Carolina – Clemson University – and by him going to the South, I realized what a cool experience it could be going to another state for college.” Yang said that his parents played a big role in helping him choose to pursue Ivy Leagues and nonCalifornia schools. “They were the ones who pushed me to apply to out-of-state colleges like Ivy Leagues,” Yang said. Originally, I wasn’t planning on doing that because I knew it would be very expensive, but they thought it’d be worthwhile to try to get in,” Yang said. Some students’ parents play a lesser role in the decision process. “I will end up making the decision myself, and (my parents) said they would support me no matter what,” Rangi said. No matter why the decision is made, for many seniors, going out-of-state is an opportunity to gain more diverse and exciting life experience. “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of California,” Foster said. “So I just want a new experience and adventure.”

Emily Schofield leaves GBHS early in pursuit of her passions BY ASHLEY YUNG

ayung.gazette@gmail.com

ost seniors graduate in May, but at least one Granite Bay High School student graduated early to pursue her dreams. Emily Schofield didn’t decide to graduate early until the end of October – later than most midyear grads. To complete the graduation requirements, Schofield switched out of the Advanced Placement Government and AP Economics blocked course and met these requirements online. Although she is done with high school, Schofield still sees more schooling in her future. She plans to go to college. “Education is definitely a big priority,” Schofield said. The whole point of graduating early was so Schofield’s main focus could be on acting. She is currently traveling to and from Los Angeles while she goes to auditions. “I admire her for pursuing her dreams,” friend and fellow actress Sophie Brubaker said. “She’s just not afraid to make big decisions and go for exactly what she wants.”

Schofield found her passion for acting when she was five and watched the film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” “Since that movie, I wanted to be an actress,” Schofield said. Her mother, Lorna Schofield, said her daughter is perfect for the job. “She’s not the kind of person you have to wonder what she’s feeling,” Lorna said. Another person who has words of praise is the GBHS drama teacher, Kyle Holmes. “I think she is very talented,” Holmes said. Emily got her first role when she was in the third grade. She played the character of Molly in a local production of the musical, “Annie.” After that, she acted for the Sacramento Music Circus, a professional acting company, four summers in a row. Her mother said it was the first time Emily saw what professional theater was like. The first acting classes Schofield ever took were at John Robert Powers, a performing arts academy. Later on, Schofield was given the opportunity to be coached by Faith Prince, winner of the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Schofield said she will most likely be cast as a quirky character. “Anyone who knows me knows that I’m kind of a weirdo,” Schofield said. Schofield is versatile in that she can sing, dance and act. Therefore, she is both ready and

willing to take work in both television and Broadway. Critics praise Schofield for more than just her versatility and drive. “She’s also very talented,” Brubaker said. One of the reasons Scholfield is pursuing acting as a career is that a performance can go a long way to speak into the lives of people. “So much of our culture does revolve around the entertainment industry,” Schofield’s mother said. “Acting provides the opportunity to share important messages that can lighten people’s loads.” Despite all the glamour Hollywood is known for, there are also some drawbacks. “The entertainment industry is one of the hardest if not the hardest profession to go into,” Schofield said. “Half of it is based on your talent and half of it is based on who you know.” Holmes agrees that breaking the industry is hard. Despite this, he said that Schofield already has a leg up. “It seems like she already has a lot of contacts in place though,” Holmes said. Schofield said she is ready to face a lot of rejections. Yet, despite all the obstacles she will have to overcome, her passion for acting fuels her desire to pursue it as a career. “I really can’t see myself doing anything else,” Schofield said. “I love acting because it’s what brings me the most joy.”

Lifestyle B4

Friday, February 10, 2017

New engineering course attracts creative students Those enrolled in the EDD course are (project) leading the way in the schoolwide competitions BY JAKE CRISCIONE

jcriscione.gazette@gmail.com

o you ever find yourself with the urge to design and assemble? Do you believe you have what it takes to solve complex problems? If so, a career in engineering might interest you. In the 2016-17 school year, Granite Bay High School introduced a new course in the Technology department. Named Engineering Design and Development, this class is designed to give high school students a real-world learning experience in the field of engineering. Engineering Design and Development – EDD for short – is part of the Project Lead the Way pathway. “Project Lead The Way is a national engineering curriculum that is used by (more than) 4,000 high schools,” teacher Steve Dolan said. “They already had the course established, so all we had to do was adopt it.” Dolan originally became interested in introducing the course to GBHS after years of hearing from numerous engineering departments that had successfully implemented the course at their high schools. The main focus of the class is for “students to work in groups on projects or prototypes that lead to a student competition,” Dolan said. Some of these student-run projects include the Shell Eco-Marathon, Robotics, Solar Regatta, RC Car and EV Car teams.

Students work collaboratively with the ultimate goal of competing against other high schools and even colleges. “The class brings a bit of the math and science in engineering while keeping it fun,” Dolan said. Sophomore Everett Hayes decided to take the class because of his passion for engineering. “I wanted to experience the process of going from an idea to a prototype,” Hayes said. “Also, I was interested in the idea of actually building a physical prototype and seeing if it works.” Along with Hayes, junior Connor Getz enrolled in the class in an attempt to “learn more about real-world applications of engineering.” More specifically, students learn industry methods such as welding, soldering, coding, project management and professional communication. “Learn by doing,” Getz said. These Industry techniques are described as “priceless” by sophomore Jack Stinson, who mastered soldering and Arduino coding in the process of fabricating an autonomous RC car in the class. Reflecting back on the EDD’s first run, Hayes “thought that the class was an overall great experience. ... It taught me a lot about engineering.” This past fall, the class took up one period with a total class size of 22 students. In the future, Dolan hopes to enroll upwards of 50 students. For those who might be interested in this course, Dolan encourages his students to “take at least one class” and explore engineering to ensure they have a passion and background for engineering. The class is a “capstone course,” which means all students interested must complete the prerequisite of Intro to Engineering and Design before enrolling in EDD. “I would definitely recommend this class to any students who want to go into engineering in their future,” Stinson said. “This class will teach you problem solving and working as a team.”

Three-day weekends in February creep closer

Students plan how to spend their mini vacations BY CAROLINE PALMER

cpalmer2.gazette@gmail.com

n the month of February, there are two three-day weekends. For some people, that might mean catching up on sleep or homework for the week. But for senior Jack Armstrong, three-day weekends mean more time on the slopes. Armstrong started skiing when he was two years old with his parents and brother on the weekends. Armstrong got into the sport because both his parents are avid skiers and decided to teach him when he was young. While he has been recreationally skiing for almost his entire life, Armstrong has been a competitive skier for the last several years. Armstrong said that he started competitive skiing because he wanted to see “how good he was in relation to other kids his age.” While Armstrong does compete on a Ski team, he has tried his hand at snowboarding. “When I was four or five, we were at North Star and I asked my mom if I could try snowboarding,” Armstrong said. “She said I could when I could ski the hardest line there, so we went up later that day and I skied run with her. At that point I was so in love with skiing that I never asked to switch again.” Armstrong said that the week between Christmas and New Years is especially busy along with three-day weekends. “It takes a lot longer to do everything,” Armstrong said. “Traffic getting to the slopes, lift lines (and) everything.” Dan Arnold, a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, works at Squaw Valley Ski Resort seasonally. While he didn’t snowboard through high school, he grew up with the sport and now snowboards regularly. Arnold has noticed that on long weekends, there are more people coming up. “(There are) especially (more) people coming up late Friday in waves from the Bay Area,” Arnold said. Both Armstrong and Arnold recommend that if someone wanted to learn how to ski or snowboard,

Students in the new EDD course collaborately work on a project including an RC (radio control) car.

Students gather up school spirit for Sports-A-Rama The schoolwide competition introduces changes as the year proceeds BY JACK KEHOE

Jack Armstrong prepares to ski down a slope at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. they should come up on two-day weekends, as opposed to three-day weekends. “It will be much less overwhelming and you would have more room to learn,” Arnold said. “People with experience usually have season passes and avoid the busy weekends.” Senior Allison Newell recommends that if someone wants to go skiing on a three-day weekend, they should plan ahead. “(Students) should try and go on a three-day weekend that is just for our school, so it isn’t as busy,” Newell said. While the upcoming long weekends will be fun, one should remember the lines at the slopes may take a bit longer than usual.

The Granite Bay Gazette

Gazette photo /JAKE CRISCONE

jkehoe.gazette@gmail.com

Special to the Gazette /TREY ARMSTRONG

ports-A-Rama is an event that goes on in many schools across the nation, and Granite Bay High School has picked it up more and more over the last few years. For the last two years, SportsA- Rama has been an after-school, nighttime rally event that many kids signed up for in their respective classes. The event is a big competition against the other classes in various sporting events. Student Government and the GB Today Bulletin had gotten word of the event out the last two years. This year, things are a bit different. Tamara Givens, the Student Government teacher, has run the Sports-A-Rama event for many years at GBHS. Starting this year, Sports-A-Rama is going to be a daytime rally, so everyone on campus will be going to watch, unlike how it was open to spectating before at night. Student Government students have been working really hard to promote this event even more than they did in

past years, given that they will have a much bigger crowd now. “I always get kids who come out to the event at night and say ‘wow this is super fun, how did I not know about this before?’” Givens said. Now that it is going to take place during the day, Givens expects that a lot more people will know exactly what Sports-A-Rama is about and that it will hopefully encourage people to participate in future years. Because Sports-A-Rama is a rally this year, it also has to be run a bit differently- MC’s and more pre-planning are among these differences. “Since [Sports-A-Rama] is going to be run like a rally now, the teams of 25 students from each class will be participating in various sporting activities,” Givens said. “We’ll also get MC’s and judges for each of the rally this year.” Along with Givens, there are numerous teachers that pose as the class representatives for this activity. Julia Bonilla-Leary, a Spanish teacher, is in charge of the juniors and has been for some years now. She also is very pleased that SportsA-Rama is a daytime rally now. “Hopefully [Sports-A-Rama] will get more attention now because it really is a fun event,” Bonilla said. Besides the daytime rally change now, there will also be a series of games featured during lunches in the quad the week before SportsA-Rama. These games range from things like a barrel racing to seeing who can shoot a rubber chicken the farthest.

One of the best resources for getting the word out about this event is the 25 students on each team, due to the fact that they are the most involved in it. Givens said that usually, the students involved get the word out to a lot of their friends, and that can go a long way. Plus, all these new, more convenient additions to an already great event will make students want to come out even more. They won’t have to give up a weekday night anymore, and they can also enjoy the games in the quad. Some kids who participate in Sports-A-Rama have been involved even before they were at GBHS. Sophomore Andrew Dolan has been in the know of this event for a big part of his life. “I became involved in SportsA-Rama way back in almost 2005 since my dad was a class advisor and took me to a few of the rallies as a child,” Dolan said. “As I watched, I thought to myself ‘Hey, one day, I want to be like those kids.’ So last year, I decided to sign up for it.” Lots of the kids participating in Sports-A-Rama absolutely love it, and plan on going through with in all four years of their high school life. Whether people are huge sports fans or just want to see some friends do some funny stunts, Sports-ARama is for everyone. “Sports-A-Rama is a really good rally,” Bonilla said. “If you choose to go to any rally this year, make it this one.”

National Park of the Month Glacier National Park • • • • •

Glacier National Park was founded on May 11, 1910. As resembled by its name, Glacier National Park has 25 named glaciers. There are 151 total trails adding up to 745.6 total miles. The famous Going-to-the-Sun Road, which traverses through the park, was created in 1932. • There are 762 lakes total, of which 631 are unnamed. – by Brayden Johnk, Lifestyle editor

Special to the Gazette /NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park is known world-wide and visited by many.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Senioritis strikes again at GBHS The class-oriented ‘disease’ spreads as seniors near the end BY MAX SCHWARTZ

mschwartz.gazette@gmail.com

enioritis: a disease that plagues most senior classes toward the end stretch, affecting motivation to study and try at school in general. It is something often experienced at Granite Bay High School - but why does it happen and to what extent? The official definition of senioritis is “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or

college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.” This definition proves true for many GBHS seniors, both past and present. “(Senioritis) affected my determination as a whole, not only to do my homework, but also my willingness to participate in school functions, because I figured that I’m so close to never seeing these people again, so why should I bother getting to know them, ” said Natalie Krisa, a freshman at Chico State who graduated from GBHS last year. After sending in her college applica-

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

 Just as spring rounds the corner, seniors begin to suffer from the infectious disease – senioritis – being demonstrated above.

tions, Krisa stopped worrying about school. “I didn’t need to impress people with my grades because I had already reached my goal,” Krisa said. “My next goal was just to pass my classes, and that was insanely easy.” Krisa said that it was due to under loading her classes. “I took the easiest classes I could for the second half, again, making it as easy as possible to slack off,” Krisa said. Given that most kids suffer from this same kind of dilemma, the root cause is easy to identify. “There is no virus – it’s really just a lack of motivation, Todd Dilbeck, a psychologist specializing in sports and school studies, said. “What happens for a lot of kids is they are so close to the end, and they anticipate everything being over because there are so many months and years behind them, that they lose focus on how to finish at the end,” Dilbeck said. Parents can also be a factor in the loss of motivation. “If parents have been a driving force of a kid passing high school and passing classes, it’s a huge mistake,” Dilbeck said. “If someone else is pushing the student the whole time they haven’t learned to do it themselves.” But there is a way to avoid that from happening as a whole. “The person who should be driving to get good grades early on, and all the way through the middle, should be the

kid – if that’s the case the kid is probably not going to lose the motivation in the end because it is what they are used to doing,” Dilbeck said. Friends can be a factor as well with losing the motivation. “(My friends) had a major influence on my senioritis because I surrounded myself with people who were determined students and, once I started seeing them slip away from that, it gave me a reason to also stop caring,” Krisa said According to Dilbeck, the influence of friends is often significant. “Sometimes we get influenced by what others say ... and so some kids will get adrift and get caught up in what the group wants them to do instead of what their own values are,” Dilbeck said When faced with a challenge Dilbeck had one final thing to say. “When you get to a point where you are frustrated, and you hit that wall not knowing whether you want to keep going, you ask yourself two questions,” Dilbeck said. “When this moment is over and you are on the backside of it, what do I not want to say about myself. And once you answer those questions the answer will be clear.” Even though senioritis has no actual ties to any medical condition, it can spread just like any viral sickness — it can turn into a pandemic.

It’s a trAP? The difficulty of deciding Students discuss the high-level, intense classes many take BY JAKE CRISCIONE

jcriscione.gazette@gmail.com

Lifestyle

w The Granite Bay Gazette

igh school is a time for family, friends and fun, but for many students at Granite Bay High School, this can be a tough statement to agree with. For these individuals, it tends to sound more like homework, studying and stress. Students at GBHS constantly find themselves overwhelmed with the workload that comes with higher placement classes. It is an ‘epidemic’ that seemingly sucks in its victims year after year. So what is the cause of this continuous decision cycle high school students make? Counselor Tiffani Gieck believes GBHS students load up on Advanced Placement classes “to improve their GPA as well as make them more desirable for colleges.” A great example of this can be found in junior David Song, who enrolled in eight AP courses this year. Song felt obligated to load up on APs “because of school competitiveness at GBHS.” In order to gain an advantage on college applications, students similar to Song take many AP classes to distinguish them from every other high school student. Rafy Maldonado, another junior at GBHS, has enrolled in five AP classes so far in his high school career. “You have to take AP classes if you want to go to a good college,” Maldonado said. This urge to beat fellow classmates can drive students to ‘bite off more than they can chew’ when it comes to academics. “APs are considered college level courses, so you have to go into them in that regard,” Gieck said. “(Students’) health ends up being compromised. “Being able to balance a high school experience alongside taking rigorous coursework. Each individual AP course starts to compromise things like sleep, diet, exercise and overall mental health.” “There is a lot of stress and study time put into each AP class,” junior Max Johnson said when discussing the five AP classes he has. Many GBHS students are also adding extracurriculars and athletics to the mix. Time management becomes a huge issue when it comes to APs and after school activities. Gieck encourages students to “strike that balance of academics and extracurriculars throughout high school.” Johnson recommends underclassmen to “take AP classes because it will help you prepare for college.” “We want students to take an academic risk, but also ‘put your toes in’ first,” Gieck said when explaining the importance of trying higher placement courses gradually rather than ‘loading up’ right away. Gieck emphasizes the importance of taking only a few APs at a time or enrolling in honors courses before diving into every AP offered. For many, it is best to find certain subjects that are a personal interest or strength, then seek out those higher placement courses correspondingly. Song advises GBHS students to “enjoy (APs) because they’re a good learning opportunity and a fun time.”

Some ponder whether they are choosing the right college BY MEGAN NIMTZ

mnimtz.gazette@gmail.com

here is an immense amount of self-inflicted pressure by high school seniors when it comes to choosing the “perfect” college. There are so many elements that go into a life decision such as this, and many are overwhelmed with the amount of options they are presented with. Applying to a wide variety of universities increases a student’s odds of getting into at least one, if not more. “I’ve applied to UCLA, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, USC, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine and Cornell,” Granite Bay High School senior Jack Lugo said. “I’ve applied to Yale, USC, UCLA, Columbia, University of Washington, UCSB, UC Davis, Air Force Academy, University of Alabama and Stanford,” Madeline Pautsch, also a GBHS senior, said. Dozens of factors contribute to a student’s decision on what college they want to attend. “I basically want a college where the social and Greek life is really good but also somewhere where I can focus academically,” senior Alison Bishop said. “I’m looking for a college that’s going to get me an education that

will get me a job once I graduate,” Lugo said. “That’s pretty much all I’m looking for is somewhere that is going to get me out of there with the ability to obtain a job that’s going to allow me to support myself for the rest of my life.” Having lots of things to do outside of campus is a priority for many students. “I targeted the Rocky MountainColorado area because I want to go play in the mountains. I love rockclimbing, skiing and cycling,” GBHS senior Taylor Kring said. “I want a nice college town with a wide variety of shops and restaurants so there is always something fun to do,” Audrey Wagner, also a GBHS senior, said. Already having a best friend going into college can make the experience less intimidating. “I hate to admit it but if my friend Sydney gets accepted into Chico, I will most likely go to Chico,” Bishop said. On the contrary, Lugo and Kring are not taking into consideration where their friends from Granite Bay choose to go when deciding on a college. When starting the application process students normally have an ideal college in mind. “My two top choices are Air Force and Yale — I’m really interested in

serving in the Air Force, and they have a great pre-med program,” Pautsch said. “Yale is one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools which gives me a great chance of getting into a really good pre-med program from there.” The major one wants to pursue is seen as a gateway into the work world and provides a vision for what an individual sees their life looking like in the future. “I chose to go in as a business major and a lot of schools have great programs for that,” Wagner said. “It’s kind of a popular major to pursue and programs at some schools are definitely better than others - so I would consider it a priority.” “I applied to pretty similar majors everywhere I went,” Lugo said. “There are a few select schools that offer this program called Science, Technology and Society which is kind of rare and so those ones are ranked higher on my list because it’s pretty unique.” For others, the experience of being in college helps an individual find themselves and then decide what major is right for them. “I chose undeclared when I applied to all the colleges because I don’t have a very good idea of what I want to do yet, so it’s not a very big priority,” Bishop said. “The scariest thing about deciding what college you want to go to is there’s always a sense that you might be missing out on an incredible experience at another school,” Wagner said. “I just don’t want to make the wrong choice.”

How to: Plan a Party 1) Set a date a few weeks prior and create a guest list. 2) Send out the invitations. 3) Plan the menu (serving size should be relative to the final head count), decorations, and a loose agenda for the party. 4) A week before the party, check in with guests who have not responded to the invitation and gather a final head count. 5) Come up with a music playlist.

TOP Dutch Bros “Secret Menu” Drinks Dirty Caterpillar Smoothie

S’mores Breve Latte

Ocean Water Italian Soda

The Bob Marley

Gummy Bear Rebel

Cinnabon Latte

Unicorn Blood Rebel

German Chocolate Mocha

Double Rainbro Rebel

Wallaby Freeze

6) Gather any help for setup if necessary. 7) Greet guests as they arrive.

- Compiled by Natasha Chanda

- Compiled by Maryne Matthews

B6 Lifestyle

Friday, February 10, 2017

Students convey their feelings about parting with the annual, brightly-decorated Neon Dance

BY SABINA MAHAVNI

smahavni.gazette@gmail.com

anuary 20, 2016 marked the evening of the last ever Granite Bay High School Neon Dance, much to the dismay of many of its attendees. The Neon Dance is organized every year by the GBHS Cheer team. According to senior Sarah Ribota, a decoration coordinator for the dance and cheer captain, budget issues prevent another Neon Dance in the future. “Due to the need for teacher chaperones, the administration does not want to pay extra for them to be there,” Ribota said. While most students are aware that this was the last Neon Dance, not all of them know why. “I have no idea why it’s the last Neon Dance,” Kabe Teague, a sophomore who attended the dance, said. Some students even have different interpretations of why GBHS can’t afford another dance like this. “I heard it was because the cheerleaders weren’t making any money off of it, and Student Government doesn’t have enough funding to (hold) another dance,” Chloe Miller, a senior who attended the dance, said. Emily Larson, senior cheer captain who helped decorate the dance and advertise beforehand, said that not enough students are attending the dance for it to continue into the next school year. “I’m sad they aren’t continuing it (the Neon Dance) because it is a great way for students to bond,” Larson said.

I’ve gone all four years, and this year was by far the best. – Sarah Ribota, cheer captain

To avoid solemn feelings following the parting with this colorful event, the cheer coordinators made sure it went out with a bang. “It was really high-spirited,” Ribota said. “I’ve gone all four years and this year was by far the best.” Some highlights of the night included confetti-poppers, flamboyant outfits and, for some, the DJ. “My favorite part would probably be the DJ,” Kabe Teague said. “He mixed a lot of good songs that were easy to dance to.” The varsity basketball team winning the game beforehand was just icing on the cake for the dance’s grand send-off. “I was more hyped for this dance than previous ones probably because we won the basketball game,” Ribota said. On the other hand, not every aspect of this year’s Neon Dance was very satisfactory to all its participants. “One reason why I think Neon (Dance)

isn’t that great is because it’s in the cafeteria, which is obviously smaller, and the lights bounce off the walls more, which makes them a little too intense,” Miller said. Sweating accompanies almost all GBHS dances, which can lead to a very condensated and sticky cafeteria- not a major high point during the Neon Dance, even for one of the dance’s coordinators. “My least favorite part was sweating off all my makeup,” Ribota said. For many seniors, the idea of cancelling the Neon Dance in years to come is irrelevant because they will soon be off to college or other adventures. “I don’t really have any feelings about it being the last neon (dance) because I won’t even be here next year to even care,” Miller, said. However, underclassmen will face one or more years of high school without this hyped event. Teague, as a sophomore, remains optimistic about the future of other dances at GBHS. “I feel like we can implement another kind of dance, but the Neon Dance was really fun,” Teague said. Although the news about the very last Neon Dance saddens some enthusiastic participants, many students remain hopeful that the other school dances will make up for its loss. “Since I’ve done this for all four years, I had a great time making the last one the best one,” Ribota said. “It was bittersweet, but there will be other dances.”

Gazette Photos by Carissa Lewis and Hannah Xu

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Sports

Granite Bay Gazette

C Section

Friday w February 10, 2017

COMMENTARY

Lewis takes football career to Boulder, Colorado GBHS football athlete leaves early BY COLE KAHMANN

ckahmann.gazette@gmail.com

isabella tkachuk itkachuk.gazette@gmail.com

Appreciate the parents who help us succeed

Coming off an impressive Granite Bay High School career, early graduate, Isaiah Lewis, made his decision to go to the University of Colorado Boulder. After relishing meeting his long term goal of playing in the PAC 12 division, Lewis is now excited to compete at the next level. “I made the decision to graduate early over the summer, close to when I committed, so I could get football started early and

get a jump on my education,” Lewis said. Lewis graduated on January 13th from GBHS. Not only is he planning on getting a jumpstart at CU, but he also plans to graduate in three and a half years. Lewis spent a substantial amount of time deciding where he wanted to play. “The recruiting process started in 8th grade when I realized I wanted to play college ball,” Lewis said. “I received a couple letters and as each year went on more letters and more contact from coaches starting happening.” Having had a strong junior year season, showing his versatility across many positions, Lewis had drawn attention from multiple colleges.

He received his first offer from a small division two school his junior year, then went on to receive his offer from CU later on. “Over the summer of my junior year, I went to a CU football camp in the Bay Area and tore things up,” Lewis said. “I went up for a visit, got offered and a couple weeks later I ended up committing.” “I chose CU because one of the first things I noticed when talking to them was their emphasis on the importance of family and sticking together no matter what happens,” Lewis said. “Personally, I am all about family so that was an immediate sign for me to be there!” Lewis’s varsity football coach, Jeffrey Evans, has a optimistic outlook on his future. “He is an excellent player on both sides

***

Isabella Tkachuk, a senior, is a Sports editor.

As an early graduate, Lewis joins the University of Colorado, Boulder’s football team and begins life as a collegiate studentathlete. of the ball and we were counting on him to be a real leader for us on and off the field,” Evans said. “ It was a pleasure to coach him because we knew that he could go out and execute what we were coaching him to do See LEWIS, page C3

Behavior in bleachers

rowing up constantly around sports, I never really noticed how much my parents have done to help me get where I am in my soccer career today, until now. I always said thank you every time my mom bought me new cleats or my dad drove me to my game in San Francisco, but what I never acknowledged, however, was their kind and motivational words after a rough game. My dad used to always tell me, “I’m proud of you no matter how you play, and no matter what you do.” Those words have stuck with me until now, as I am about to begin the second half of my club soccer career and prepare to play at the collegiate level. I realized that every single time I got angry after a bad game or after I disagreed with my coach, they constantly supported me and took my side. Yes, there were plenty of times where my parents would give me tough love and make me deal with problems on my own. But honestly, the tough love is what made me stronger and able to defend myself and stand up for Because myself. of my My parents, I parents taught me never settle many lessons through for less. I sports am able to that have recognize developed me into the my full person I am potential. today. One thing that I owe to them is their constant reminders that I needed to go workout on my own if I wanted to improve my skills. At first I would get defiant because I didn’t want them telling me what to do, but I grew to understand that they just wanted me to be not only the best soccer player, but also person that I could be. By constantly pushing me to take the next step in bettering my career, I learned that they were teaching me to always work as hard as I can and to test my abilities. Because of my parents, I never settle for less. I am able to recognize my full potential. So regardless of how much our parents seem to push us to do things we may not want to in the moment, we must recognize that they are trying to make us better. As I set off to continue my soccer career, I will always remember that if it wasn’t for my parents constant support and sacrifice, I would not be close to the person I am today. The day someone realizes that their parents tough love is for the sole purpose of support and bettering them, is the day they will become successful, not just in their sport, but in their lives.

Isaiah Lewis

Tribe restrained from negative activity towards opposing team BY AMANDA PRATHER

aprather.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette Photo /SURINA KHURANA

The Tribe dressed up in USA themed clothes for the second game against Oakridge high school.

Soccer under the season changes Positives and negatives of winter season BY ISABELLA TKACHUK itkachuk.gazette@gmail.com

Ever since the season was changed from spring and fall to winter, girls’ and boys’ soccer has not been the same. For the Sac-Joaquin Section, high school soccer for the girls has always been in the spring, and boys’ soccer has been in the fall. Two ideal times of the year to play an outdoor sport. According to The Turlock Journal, the SJS board agreed to move the seasons to the winter to

correspond with the California Interscholastic Federation’s official season. “There’s been a big impact on our team in particular,” said Mark Broers, girls’ varsity soccer coach, as well as IB Psychology and CP United States History teacher. “We have a lot of smart, skillful players…. (the weather) takes the skill factor out of the game.” Because of the weather, the varsity teams are forced to play in the stadium, on the turf football field, as opposed to the grass soccer field because of the absence of lights. “We are playing a much more narrow field that’s about 15 yards narrower than our grass field,” Broers said. “Athletic teams that are big and strong match up better on small fields against us.”

Even though the team finds it difficult to perform well on a field smaller than regulation size, Broers does recognize the positives of playing in the winter. “The girls aren’t playing club soccer and high school soccer simultaneously,” Broers said. “I’ve actually seen a reduction in injuries.” Not only are the players getting injured less because of their seasons coexisting, they are also able to focus more on outside activities. “The girls’ soccer players are able to stay on top of their homework, better than when they are playing club and high school soccer at the same time,” Broers said. “The players don’t seem as mentally fatigued. They seem more excited and energetic when they get on the field for practice and games.” GBHS senior and girls’ varsity soccer captain, Gemma Rizzuto, agrees with Broers about the weather being a major setback throughout the season.

January 6, 2017, when a shiny piece of copper landed on the court potentially causing a defeat by the Trojans, an uproar was caused in the Granite Bay community. Who threw the penny? Will revenge be sought? We may never know. “Pennygate”, as some refer to it, occurred during a Granite Bay Boy’s away basketball game held at Oak Ridge High School. This controversial event, that some may say is the sole reason for the loss, will never be fully understood. Whoever the “penny thrower” may be, a consensus has been made that they cannot be to blame for the team losing the game that night. However, it does allow reflection on Granite Bay’s student section behaviors, and changes the new year has brought. Tyler Weaver, GBHS senior and Tribe leader said that the event may have affected the outcome in that moment, but not in the bigger picture. Some may have seen this event as a bigger deal than in actuality because of the timing of the penalty. “We had opportunities in the game to capitalize,” Weaver said. Weaver also said that the tribe has a large impact on the outcome of the games. “Other than not being in the end zone for football games, there hasn’t been very many restric-

tions that held us back in the tribe,” Weaver said. This 2016-17 school year has brought a few new tribe changes such as not being able to cheer in the end zone for football games and a few chants being restricted. Senior Jake Redmon, a member of the GBHS Boys Varsity Basketball team also said that the Tribe has a huge impact on the players during games. “If the tribe comes out spirited and loud then it helps us by hyping us up and giving us more energy on the court,” Redmon said. Redmon continued to say that the penny incident cannot be the blaming factor for the loss. “We lost simply because we didn’t finish the game as strong as we needed to which allowed them to comeback,” Redmon said. Although the penny landing on the court gave the Trojans an extra free throw, Redmon and Weaver agreed that it is not to blame for the defeat that night. Redmon agreed that although some tribe rules have changed, the Tribe still gives the team an advantage in close games, home and away. GBHS’s student section has undergone some changes in rules and restrictions particularly over the past four years, however these cannot take away the Tribe’s power to pump up any GB sports team or crowd. Satgur Mann, GBHS senior and frequent Tribe member, said that the Tribe is an important part to See TRIBE, page C3

Gazette Photo /MEGAN NIMTZ

Carter Bliss, front, dribbles during a game against Del Oro “I think the weather has caused us to not play as well as we possibly could have,” Rizzuto said. “The weather has caused us to cancel games, rearrange schedules, and practice inside the gym

with tennis shoes.” Even though Rizzuto enjoys the season and hopes to continue building as a team, she acknowledges that the weather is a factor See SOCCER, page C3

inside sports Grizz Quiz

Fan of the Month

C3 C4

Athlete of the Month C5

Hotshots

Football Captains

GBHS students reveal rivalry in recreational league

GBHS juniors selected to be captains for fall 2017 season

Winter Sports Update GBHS athletes discuss records

Friday, February 10, 2017

Sports C2

w The Granite Bay Gazette

Hotshots rivalry heats up among senior teams Team Trump and Team Moderates faced off against one another Jan. 20 BY NATALIE HATCH

nhatch.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photo /SURINA KHURANA

GBHS senior Bradley Jones defends Team Kevin’s Kids inbounder in their first loss of the season.

It may be the middle of winter, but the inferno of competition that is Hotshots recreational basketball isn’t cooling down anytime soon. In a surprising upset, The Granite Bay Moderates (formerly known as The Republicans) beat out their bitter rivals, Team Trump, in the January’s highly anticipated match up. “No one thought we would win, and that’s only made the rivalry crazier,” Moderates coach Arjith Jayaraman, a Granite Bay High School senior said. The rivalry began when the team of GBHS boys from last season split into two separate organizations, a story The Gazette covered in November. Now, having defied many expectations, the Moderates are putting up scores representative of their hard work and improvement. “Our team held (Trump’s defense) through the half and we decided to change it up and play closer ball,” Jayaraman said. “My team held it together and played to my expectation playing big points exactly when necessary.” According to Jayaraman, the team is 3-0 in league play, and has a promising future. “Our players are working hard and preparing to get better and better before playoffs,” he said. “You’ll see it on the court that’s for sure.” And though it’s only the team’s rookie season, with each win comes more momentum, and a growing audience. “We definitely are gaining fan base after every game and that’s cool to see. I know the guys love playing and having fun out there and it’s cool to see others want to watch us work,” Jayaraman said. On the other side of the ball however, is Team

Trump, who suffered a particularly surprising and devastating loss to their intra-school rivals. Trump players like GBHS senior Matt Voelker believed that they did not “perform up to expectations,” but added they are consciously working to improve their offense and defense. And though the effort as a whole was not enough, the unprecedented loss came with an explanation from Trump’s sideline. “We played very well considering we were missing two very key players,” coach and GBHS senior Bryce Cassidy said. These two key players were GBHS seniors Christian Murphy and Connor MacDonald: both starters. But despite their important absences, Team Trump played valiantly, losing only 33-34. “The game was very close and hard fought, they deserved it.” Cassidy said. Such an intense rivalry has caught the attention of many basketball enthusiasts, even that of the GBHS’s Men’s Basketball program, attracting fans like senior guard Steve Trythall. “I think it’s awesome to have this rivalry and to see friends competing and having fun,” Trythall said. “It’s been pretty competitive and there’s a good amount of people involved.” With this one loss, Trump stands at an overall league record of 2-1, but Cassidy assures that the team is practicing hard to “develop (their) game,” and is confident Team Trump will come out victorious in their next meeting with the moderates. “I believe we will win by a pretty good point margin, simply because we will have a healthy 10 man roster,” he said. “We know how they play now and it will be very easy to prevent what happened the first go around.”

See HOTSHOTS, page C4

Cam Smith earns recognition at USC

GBHS alumnus wins Rose Bowl BY MEGAN NIMTZ

mnimtz.gazette@gmail.com

Granite Bay High School alumni Cameron Smith continues to excel at the University of Southern California playing collegiate-level football. During his time at GBHS, Smith played varsity football for three years. “His sophomore year he was surrounded by a bunch of really good players and that was the year he started every game – all 16 – and we won the state championship that year,” former coach Ernie Cooper said. Smith received the Freshman Pacific 12 Conference defensive player of the year award in 2015 and then went on to play in the Rose Bowl his sophomore season. Preparing for a Bowl game takes an enormous amount of effort from the individual and the team as a whole. “During bowl practices, (the team) focused a lot on doing the same thing we

had been all season and staying true to ourselves,” Smith said via text. Every athlete dreams of playing in front of an audience of die-hard fans, and that is exactly what the Bowl game had. On Jan. 2, the No. 9-ranked Trojans played the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State. “The atmosphere in the stadium was really special,” Smith said. “USC fans travel really well – apart from the fact that it was in our own backyard. Penn State fans travel really well too, so it was a great mixture of fans and a lot of fun.” During the third quarter of the game, Smith was ejected because of a targeting call against Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley. “I was pretty bummed when I was ejected, but I just needed to cool off a little in the locker room,” Smith said. “There wasn’t really much I could do at that point.” Local fans have also enjoyed seeing and sharing Smith’s success at USC.

Used by permision of USC Media Relations /PERCY ANDERSON

Linebacker Cameron Smith, after an interception, runs the ball back to the end zone for a touchdown against Utah.

“He is really excited coming off of the Rose Bowl victory, and that was big for the program,” said GBHS junior Jack Powers, a close family friend of Smith’s. Smith has continued to progress throughout his first two seasons. “First year, being a freshman All-

American, and second year killing it – leading the league in tackles the first couple weeks,” Powers said. Coming off such a good first two seasons, Smith has the potential to go pro. And playing at the professional level is nothing new for GBHS athletes.

“We have a bunch of guys that have made the pros,” Cooper said. “All of them were supremely motivated individuals – they didn’t need me to motivate them, they motivate themselves.” See SMITH, page C4

Athletes reflect on signing Players focus on Some feel the ceremonial moment is significant individual successes BY JACK MCGRAIL

jmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com

National Letters of Intent are not acceptances to the school, but binding contracts stating the athlete will play that sport at the school the next year. Committing to a school is frequently one of the biggest decisions that young adults go through in their athletic and academic journeys. Many coaches would prefer to see high school students sign National Letters of Intent whenever, as opposed to a certain time and place. The plan would save coaches the uncertainty of non-binding verbal commitments changing often, but students may consequentially make uniformed decisions, signing right away. However, for many studentathletes, especially at Granite Bay High School, signing ceremonies and committing to play sports are important and meaningful parts of the collegiate athlete process. Many commits enjoy bringing their families and friends to watch the signing because it is a time of celebration. One current GBHS athlete that signed a National Letter of Intent is Granite Bay High Junior and student-athlete, Connor Vivaldi. “I signed on February 1, 2017,”

Vivaldi said. “The club signing was a surreal experience, and signing with fellow teammates made it even better. I will sign with Granite Bay in the fall.” Vivaldi will be continuing his soccer career at the Richmond International Academic Soccer Academy, located in Leeds, England. “Committing to a school for a sport is a huge milestone,” Vivaldi said. He emphasized the importance of celebrating the athletes and their accomplishments. Colleen Vivaldi, a GBHS graduate, and soccer player at American University, seconded that notion. “After and during my signing, I definitely felt like all the time and energy I put into playing and trying to get recruited paid off,” Vivaldi said. “Signing the paper is a ceremonial aspect of the whole process, but physically signing the document made me feel like everything was real and I had something to concretely look forward to for the following four years.” She believes the signing process is the reward after the long journey. Others however, feel differently about the signing. “I actually don’t remember signing my letter of intent,” said Maggie Bell, who is a GBHS graduate and student-athlete at the University of California, Berkeley. “It wasn’t ceremonial for me since I graduated early.

Maggie Bell

Early graduate reveals her signing experience at GBHS.

“For most people it’s a day to be proud of all you’ve accomplished through your career. I’ve heard it’s a very validating feeling.” Though Bell shared the same experience of signing a National Letter of Intent, her experience was hindered because of her early graduation. Varsity baseball coach Pat Esposito usually tries to attend all the signing days, even if there aren’t baseball kids there. According to Esposito, signing day is “a cool event for kids to get recognized as getting college scholarships or signing letters of intent.” Esposito says that attending all the signings is a great way “to carry the Granite Bay name with them” and seeing athletes like “Cam Smith make it big on TV, and when they say his name, and Granite Bay California,” it is a cool experience to see him sign in his hometown.

rather than team successful. “The motive is pure culture,” Elkin said. “We are taught from the get-go that we have to figure out what makes us special and unique. We as a culture emphasize the indiBY EMILY TALMI vidual above everything else.” etalmi.gazette@gmail.com Due to culture’s reigning influence, individuals are constantly looking to prove Defining the line between individual and themselves to society, so as to determine team success is difficult to say the least. their individual worth and success. Is it black and white? Or, can they peaceHowever, some believe it is the inner mofully coexist? tive that drives them. Junior Connor Vivaldi, who is on the “My motivation to be successful comes enGBHS varsity soccer team, said he thinks the roles of the individual and the team end up tirely from within,” said Savanna Thompson, blending together. a GBHS graduate who is a student athlete “The two come hand in hand in my opinat the University of San Diego. “I’m a very ion, as when the team is successful, the indidriven person, and I try to attain perfection vidual benefits in many cases,” Vivaldi said. in all aspects of my life.” Vivaldi emphasized the need for balance. Though many athletes have different inThe individual and team seem to be codependent on one another, not efficiently function- centives for why they pursue success, many ing without a partner. seem to share a common focus – that one of On the other hand, some disagree that the the root causes for why most people chose two can live harmoniously. individual success over team success is be“I think that sometimes they are in indirect cause of social and environmental influences. conflict with one another,” said Natalie “GBHS is known for producing top-of-theElkin, a licensed therapist who teaches Adline athletes that compete on teams with a vanced Placement psychology. “We have to make a choice between the two.” constant reputation of winning,” Thompson Elkin said Americans live in a country said. “People really praise the individual where individualism is valued more than success of student athletes because the comcollectivism– a culture that emphasizes the munity is so small. group first. “This praise fuels athletes’ desire to be the Furthermore, the understanding of people’s best as an individual rather than improving a motives, greatly contributes to why some team as a whole.” will strive to be more individually successful

Desire to excel can cause friction on a team

Friday, February 10, 2017

Grizz Quiz

The Granite Bay Gazette

Compiled by Jake Criscione

What is the hardest part of your sport?

Sports C3

Avani Singh Basketball

Mason Lopez Soccer

Never giving up, even when you want to stop and rest

If you could play for any college, which would it be? Do you prefer Gatorade or Powerade?

What’s your favorite professional sports team?

Developing a strong offense or defense with players that are better

West Point

University of Tennessee

Gatorade

Ethan Tabaie Wrestling

Bouncing back from a bad week after doing great

Johns Hopkins University

Gatorade

Kiana Beheshtian Soccer

Juggling academics with athletics because it’s a 5 day commitment

Any school in California

Derek Galvin Basketball

Giving 100% every day because we play 5 days a week

University of Kansas

Gatorade

Powerade

Manchester United

Golden State Warriors

New Orleans Saints

Real Madrid

Golden State Warriors

Step Brothers

White Chicks

Interstellar

The Hunger Games

Deadpool

What is your favorite movie?

Tennis athlete finds success in recent fall season BY AVANTHIKA PANCHAPAKESAN apanchapakesan.gazette@gmail.com

Every teen aspires to excel in all their activities, whether it be academics or even sports. However, freshman Shreya Iyer is able to consistently balance both her grades and her school work efficiently, while excelling in both. As a former member of the 2016 Granite Bay High School girls tennis team, Iyer has felt as if tennis has changed her into a more hard-working, patient and resilient person. Iyer has also been playing competitive tennis and has been taking lessons since she was 4.

“Tennis makes me patient because everything is not always going your way. It has also made me a resilient person because it has made me learn that even when you are as tired as you can be, if you just push a little harder, you can do it” Iyer said. Initially, it had seemed difficult managing grades

LEWIS: TRIBE: Student section has Football alum more regulations than normal begins career at Colorado Continued from page C1

Continued from page C1

at a high level.” His level of success is credited to both his athletic and mental abilities. “Isaiah is a very good player, but he is also very intelligent. He has the skills and mentality to adapt and fit in at the next level,” Evans said. “He is nice and friendly and gets along well with most anyone he comes in contact with. He is a good student and will be able to make the transition as a student at the college level.” In terms of Lewis’s impressive development over the years, Evans described it as a more of a “maturation” than a “transformation” since he has been performing at a high level for years. “He has matured as a player and he kept working hard in the weight room and on the field to get better,” Evans said. “We have watched Isaiah grow and mature since he was a young player in the Junior Grizzly program.” Lewis has already enjoyed his time at Colorado. From the weather to the people to the environment, Lewis has enjoyed his experience at University of Colorado, Boulder and looks forward to beginning the season, as well as the next 4 years, _thus far. “Everyday we wake up at 5, run for an hour, lift for an hour, eat then have class,” Lewis said. “Our head coach emphasizes being done with school work before 6 p.m.” After pursuing and completing his lifelong goals, Lewis can now relax for a while and admire his accomplishment that he worked day in and day out for. “The recruiting process is not for the timid or the weak mainly because you have no clue what coaches are thinking or going to do,” Lewis said. “I kept my head right and focused on me and got blessed with this opportunity!”

any sports game at Granite Bay. “I feel like administration has been cracking down more lately, but the Tribe leaders do a good job of keepin’ it real,” Mann said. He added that some restrictions limit the things the Tribe can say or chant which can sometimes limit how riled up students can get. “If we were able to say other things, the group would potentially get more rowdy and excited,

helping the team,” Mann said, “but regardless, the Tribe still gets the team and crowd hyped.” Maan continued to say that the players on the court feed off the crowd’s energy and play better when they can hear the support of their peers and families. The Tribe has the power to impact the team in ways that can’t be done from the bench or the court. “The Tribe is the best part of any game,” Maan said, “they are a huge part of every win for Granite Bay sports.”

and tennis simultaneously, however Iyer was able to describe how she efficiently manages her time. “I play tennis and dance. I balance tennis and school and all my other activities by using time management. I always try to finish homework in class till after tennis so I can just practice dance, study for upcoming tests and relax of course,” Iyer said. Being on the tennis team has helped Iyer form more connections and also gives her time to showcase her talent to college scouts for potential future scholarships. Although Iyer is not extremely keen about pursuing a full-time career in the field of tennis, she is keen

about the sport itself, allowing her to excel in it as she is extremely driven. Iyer was also prompt to say that she will never give up tennis. “(You feel like you’re) on a different world where certain strategies can help you win,” Iyer said. Besides tennis, Iyer also enjoys dancing on a regular basis. Iyer takes part in Indian Classical dancing and has been learning from approximately 5 years. Shreya Iyer’s hard work is coherent in both her academics and her performance on the tennis courts.

SOCCER: Coaches and players respond to changes from the spring and fall to the winter Continued from page C1 in the way the team has been performing. “As a team, you can’t play to your full potential in poor weather conditions,” Rizzuto said. “Half the time we are playing in rainy, 30 degree weather.” Even though the SJS season made sense to be moved to the winter for both girls and boys logistically, it’s complications are struggling to be tolerated amongst all participants.

“I think it’s a cool change and all, but it works better the way it was last year ( in the fall),” said Carter Bliss, GBHS senior and boys’ varsity soccer player. Contrary to the girls’ team beliefs of the weather affecting their performance, Bliss doesn’t see much of a difference from his team’s abilities this year than last. “I don’t think the season change has had any effect on our record,” Bliss said. “We are doing a lot better this year compared to last year.”

Cheer for the winning team. Read The Gazette

Not only does weather seem to be one of the major issues of playing soccer in the winter, but the opportunities to support the other sex has increased dramatically. “I think playing the same time as the girls kind of sucks because it makes it tough for each team to support the other,” Bliss said. “Soccer players generally support each other.” Even though both teams agree to the positives and negatives of the season, they still look to continue their success and make playoffs.

Sports C4

Friday, February 10, 2017

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Recent GBHS graduates find success in college Tooley, Isaacson shine at UNR, Villanova BY JACK MCGRAIL

jmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com

Many Granite Bay High School graduates are continuing their education and athletic career in top-tier colleges around the country. Becoming a college athlete is becoming a more popular goal for high school athletes and more are striving to get recruited and test themselves in the world of collegiate sports. One such athlete, in his first basketball season at the University of Nevada, Reno, is Charlie Tooley. Tooley, once a standout guard on the GBHS varsity basketball team, now plays as a walkon on the Wolfpack men’s basketball team. In his career at GBHS, Tooley was a first team All-Sierra Foothill League selection three years in a row. He not only averaged 16.4 points and 5.5 assists per game in his senior season, he also holds the GBHS men’s basketball all-time scoring record with 1,169 total career points. Tooley said his extensive high school sports experience prepared him well for Div. I college basketball. “The speed of the game is a lot different, faster, and requires more attention to detail,”

Being a part of a team in college is mentally and physically difficult, Tooley said, but it builds lifelong relationships and experiences Tooley said. In maybe his most influential highlight of the that outweigh the occasional exhaustion. “The conditioning and practices are a lot season so far, Tooley kick-started one of the harder,” said Tooley, but the experience is most thrilling comeback games ever in college rewarding. basketball. Carlin Isaacson, who graduated last May, One of only two true freshmen at Nevada is now Villanova’s lacrosse team. She comthis season, Tooley sank a pull-up 3-pointer mitted to Villanova in her sophomore year in off a fast break, to help start an 18-4 run for high school – most high school athletes don’t the Wolfpack against the University of New commit until their junior or senior years. Mexico with just over a minute remaining in “In high school there are typically a few regulation. Nevada had tied the game just players that stand out by a long shot,” Isaacson before Tooley challenged New Mexico’s final said, “but in college, everyone is good.” shot – the Lobos failed to convert the basket, With lacrosse season just around the corner, and that sent the game to overtime. The Wolfshe is excited to play her first league games afpack won the game in overtime. “It was the most insane game I’ve ever been ter weeks of practice and tournaments. Playing on a well-known team against schools that she apart of,” Tooley said, and a moment he will used to watch on TV is a crazy and rewarding never forget. experience, Isaacson said. Tooley is one of many recent GBHS graduBalancing her “school work and social life ates who is experiencing college sports this with (lacrosse) training every day for 3-4 year. hours is difficult,” said Carlin’s younger sister, “If students have the opportunity to play in college, then they should take that chance and freshman Meryl Isaacson, in a text message. As for her older sister Carlin? run with it,” Tooley said. Lacrosse in college “gives me something Last year, 23 GBHS students signed letters to focus on and keeps me in shape,” she said, of intent for college sports in February and “and gives me a great group of girls for supNovember, with many more athletes committing later in the year. port.”

Junior supports fellow athletes Powers has dressed up and cheered at a variety of sports events throughout the year BY EMILY TALMI

etalmi.gazette@gmail.com

Jack Powers, a Granite Bay High School junior, is known for his constant ventures to miscellaneous boys and girls basketball and soccer games. Recognized by many fans, Powers always exudes immense amounts of energy and enthusiasm when game time shows its face. Though he attends many other sports team games, Powers said his favorite is basketball. According to Powers his loyal attendance to the basketball games can be attributed to his close friend being on the team. “I get dressed up because it intimidates the other team and makes them think, ‘Why is this guy wearing a suit?’” Powers said. His humor and enthusiasm first became evident during a basketball game against Whitney. Powers showed up in an ensemble composed of a royal purple button up, black dress pants and a black tie. To complete his look, he held a sign that read, “Smitty Smash,” a nickname for one of his closest friends who plays for the varsity boys’ basketball team. “I come out to the games because I like to support my friends, make high school memorable and provide a fun environment,” Powers said. Involvement, one of GBHS’s mantras, is supposed to be one of the keys to a

Jack Powers GBHS junior and varsity football and baseball player knows how much cheering can help a team

great high school career, and Powers seems to agree. Being part of the varsity football team, Powers understands that an enthusiastic crowd really helps motivate the team. Although he doesn’t feel like he benefits from going to the games, he believes the team enjoys his presence along with the whole Tribe because he understands that nothing is greater than playing in a packed house. “The energy is always crazy. I walk into the tribe with my game face on and my game face doesn’t change till the opposing student section (if any) acts up,” Powers said. Clearly motivated and passionate about the game, Powers makes sure he stands out from the rest of the Tribe. While others attend games for a leisurely activity, Powers shows up ready to defend and encourage the GBHS team, regardless of what sport. “I get so hyped for the games because I am competitive and I want my school to be the best it could be,” Powers said. Filled with school spirit and the love for sports, Powers is definitely the goto guy if an electric atmosphere for a sports game is needed.

Used with permission /JOHN BYRNE, NEVADA MEDIA SERVICES

UNR freshman Charlie Tooley dribbles the ball up the court.

SMITH: Alumni excels on the field at USC Continued from page C2

the best of all worlds for me,” Smith said. “Great education and great football in “You can see he’s gotten better every the heart of Los Angeles, with so many year, and he’s not done getting better,” opportunites.” Cooper said. Not only did Smith sacrifice his last Dedicated and elite athletes like Smith semester of high school in order to get often miss out on fun in order to perfect a head start on the team, but he had to their craft. adjust to the independent college lifestyle “Cameron knew he had to sacrifice the earlier than most of his best part of high school, peers. which is your last semes“I feel that Cameron ter of your senior year, so has grown personally by he could start his college graduating GBHS early career early,” said Smith’s and starting college at mother, Suzy. 17,” Suzy Smith. “He Suzy Smith said this was in an apartment allowed her son to “prove instead of a dorm, so he himself as an athlete by had to cook, clean, pay showing discipline, motivahis bills and manage his tion and drive.” life without his parents USC is a prestigious uniand family.” versity in both athletics and Since graduating from academics, and balancing GBHS, Smith has conboth is no small feat for a tinued to excel at USC college athlete. – and family, friends, “School gets tough somecoaches and fans are times, but we do get a lot looking forward to what of help from tutors, so that the future holds for this makes it easier – balancing athlete. both is definitely a grind,” Many believe that Smith said. future is the pros. When it comes to aca“He has to stay demics and life in general, healthy and he has to Smith said you “have to stay motivated because love the grind and enjoy everybody wants that every moment of working position – it’s a very hard.” Although strenuous at Used by permission of USC Media Relations /JOHN MCGILLEN elite group,” coach Cooper said. “I think he times, Smith understands what Cameron Smith directs the USC defense against Utah. has what it takes.” he is working toward. “I think he has grown to know the importance of a college education and will graduate from USC in three and a half years,” his mother said. “After that, he will be working on his masters.” What makes a his experience so special, Smith said, is loving what he’s doing and especially where he’s doing it. “My favorite part of USC is that is has

HOTSHOTS: Two local teams fight for bragging rights on the GBHS campus

Score Big

Read The Gazette Gazette photo /SURINA KHURANA

GBHS senior, Satgur Mann a member of Team Trump, defends the basket against Team Crump to win the game. Continued from page C2 However, when asked about the rematch, Jayaraman would only promise a “good game.” “Predicting results creates expectations and players playing with expectations only brews doubt… I would like to say we will play our hearts out,” he said. Regardless of the scoreboard when the buzzer goes off, there are sure to be celebrations and tears on court– but not just from the players. With growing audiences

for each game, the Hotshots league has gained much momentum, consequently motivating the teams. “The fans have given us a new level of energy to beat our opponents,” Voelker said. While each team has respective superfans, Trythall described the general crowds as a “shared fan base,” allowing numbers to grow beyond those exuberantly committed to a specific team. “It has definitely helped the players gain a solid boost in

The fans have given us a new level of energy to beat our opponents. – Matt Voelker, Team Trump player

confidence knowing that we have a lot of people out there rooting us on,” Cassidy said. “It really boosts our team morale.” And while some may say there is a seriousness about school sports that make these leagues seem subordinate, Trythall says there’s one thing that sets recreational basketball apart. “Hotshots is a league where guys can play with all of their friends and just go out and have a fun time.”

Friday, February 10, 2017

Sports C5

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Varsity football focuses on the upcoming fall 2017 season

New captains continue team’s push BY LYNDSEY BENNER lbenner.gazette@gmail.com

The Granite Bay High School varsity football team is working to rebuild for the 2017 season that is approaching. Recently, GBHS juniors Jack Powers and Will Craig were named as the first two captains for the 2017 football season. They were voted in by the senior football players. “Both are very good players and have values and strengths that are going to lead our team on the field,” varsity coach Jeffrey Evans said. “They are very qualified for the job, and they represent Granite Bay High School and its football team very well.” The Grizzlies are planning to change some of their training in an effort to go farther in the playoffs. Last season they ended with a 4-7 overall record (including a loss to Grant in the opening rounds of the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. 1 playoffs), and they are evaluating how they can improve. “We have met with coach Evans

vidual day whether it is on the field, in the weight room or in the classroom,” Craig said. a lot and scheduled a lot harder The coaches are looking at what off-season workouts, especially they can do to enhance the team, going into the summer,” Powers and they see last season as a learnsaid. The team is also looking at what ing experience for themselves and the team. it can change besides just being “The coaches are at work stronger physically. breaking down “I feel like last year’s tenden(communication) cies, strengths, is something we We plan to weaknesses, didn’t have a lot of last year, so I plan breaking down win every for the whole team game films and individual day, preparing for our to be on the same page and communiupcoming opwhether it is cate a lot,” Powers ponents,” Evans on the field, said. said. The varsity team in the weight Evans is opis already worktimistic going room or in the ing hard in teacher into the season classroom.” Ernie Cooper’s because of the advanced weight – Will Craig, Varsity incoming juniors training class to being a combined football captain. prepare for the 17-3 during their season. freshman and JV Even though it is seasons. He also the off season, the is very impressed with how the players want to be as strong as incoming seniors performed last they can before summer practices year. begin. “Many juniors got more oppor“We plan to win every inditunities for playing time because

Senior ends year with success, looks towards next level Varsity runner fulfills her goals and sets sights on her upcoming future BY JACK KEHOE

jkehoe.gazette@gmail.com

The Granite Bay High School cross country team had a great season last year, with many athletes gaining recognition. One of which is Alexandra Beitia, who has gotten amazing awards that stretch as far as the statewide level. Beitia has ran cross country all four of her years at GBHS and is one of the top athletes in the program as of now. This year, Beitia got to both state and national championship events.

The biggest events she ran in were the 2016 CIF State Cross Country Invitational and the Foot Locker National Championships. In the CIF State meet she placed 4th, a 37 place improvement from her 41st place finish last year. In the Foot Locker National Championships she placed 47th. Beitia received the Asics Clovis Cross Country Invitational Varsity Girls Seeded Champion, third place at the Foot Locker West Regionals and is a Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 Champion. That much of a difference is a huge accomplishment for any runner. “I ran six days a week for six months, incorporating speed workouts and threshold runs twice a week in order to maintain strength and increase speed,” Beitia said Alex wouldn’t have gotten this far without

there were multiple injuries to senior players in the last season,” Evans said. Evans said he believes the experience will help them be able to lead new players joining the team and show them how to handle the pressure. “(The sophomores) have a lot of great talent and we will be helping them get ready to play varsity football,” said Blake Peterson, a junior who was on the varsity team last fall. The players on the team see great potential in themselves and are hoping to extend the legacy of past GBHS teams. “I’m looking forward to showing the town of Granite Bay that Granite Bay (High) football is back,” Peterson said. “My expectations for the team are big.” Even though the team is very focused, many of the athletes are still excited for the what they said they hope will be amazing experiences the games bring in the fall. “It’s my last season,” Powers said, “so I’m looking forward to taking it all in with the band and making the most of Friday nights.”

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

Junior Will Craig heads to the sideline after a tough defensive stand against SFL rival Nevada Union.

Alexandria Betia Senior looks toward collegiate level to continue competitng in cross country and track

her continued support from her whole family. “My brother has always been at every meet and invitational with encouragement and a hug at the finish. My mom will run down to the finish with a huge smile plastered on her face, beaming with joy,” Beitia said. Beitia also looks forward to when she graduates and moves on to college. “I plan to compete as a collegiate athlete for the next four years in Cross Country and distance track,” Beitia said. “Currently, I am looking at a few universities and I can’t wait to see which road I will take.”

Swim team plans to continue strong season The consequences of Spring sport programs look to bring home league titles in the SFL BY LOGAN EMBREE

lembree.gazette@gmail.com

Last year the Granite Bay High School boys’ and girls’ swim teams were all very successful – and this year, they’re hoping to duplicate that success. Both the girls’ varsity and JV teams went undefeated in Sierra Foothill League, and later won Sac-Joaquin Section championships. After losing a league dual meet to Oak Ridge – the Grizzlies’ first league dual meet loss in more than 20 years – the varsity boys’ beat Oak Ridge in the league meet. GBHS then finished second to the Trojans in the section meet two weeks later. Varsity swimmer Claire Miller, a junior this year, said the Grizzlies are looking to defend their winning streak and fight for a league and section title. “I think (GBHS) is the dominant team,” said varsity swimmer Chloe Clark. “We should win league and hopefully we can get a section title too.” Coach John Sherman said he is also “looking forward to see this year’s leadership take (the) team to new heights.” Boys’ Volleyball After winning sections and advancing to the Nor Cal playoffs last year, the team is looking to push itself even harder in the upcoming season. Junior Hunter Mortensen is looking forward to the upcoming season and planning to put in lots of work alongside his teammates in hopes for a competitive season. Many GBHS players have been competing on travel teams in order to be prepared for the upcoming high school season. Returning players hope to start the season with the same fire they finished with last season and carry the team to more titles. Track and Field After a strong season last year, the track and field team is looking to come out and improve even more. This year the team is looking to train hard and minimize injuries, something that bogged

down the Grizzlies last year. We’re planning to “train hard and win meets,” distance runner Evan Chinn said. A majority of this year’s track and field team were training in the off-season to be ready for the upcoming season. Girls’ Lacrosse After having a very competitive season last year, with an overall record of 17-7, the girl’s varsity lacrosse team is planning on fighting even harder in the upcoming season. The team is looking to continue bringing new players to the team. There are two significant goals for the team this year: “Coming closer with our new coach,” junior Colbie Orbea said, “and making it to (more tournament championship games.” The girls’ lacrosse season starts Feb. 28. Softball After a rough season last year, the Grizzlies are hoping to come back and improve this season. Taylor Stiern, a junior, is hoping the experience and confidence the Grizzlies gained last year will aid them. GBHS starts its season on Feb. 24 with an away game against Christian Brothers. Boys’ Lacrosse Last season the boys varsity lacrosse team had a 16-3 record. The team carried its success into the postseason when it claimed the Sacramento Valley Lacrosse Conference title for the third year in a row. The Grizzlies have already begun preseason training and are hopeful for a top finish. We want to “clinch the section title for a fourth year in a row,” junior James Spargo said. This year’s team is heading into the season with last year’s mentality of having “a fun and competitive season (and) to defend the SLVC championship,” coach Scott Pink said. Baseball After a mediocre season last year, the Grizzlies are raring to come out strong and improve upon their record.

“Our goal is to win 20 games and maybe league,” said coach Pat Esposito who is interested to see how last year’s juniors take up leadership roles and guide the team. “We have a lot of talent if we can put it all together – we can do many good things,” said senior pitcher Darren Nelson, who is prepared to compete for a league and section title. With a strong set of varsity and upcoming junior varsity players, the team is in a good position to have a successful season. The team’s first game is March 10 against Clovis West High School. Boys’ Golf After having a dominant season last year in which the Grizzlies won all but two matches, the boys’ golf team is striving for a league title this year. Many wonder if the team will be able to recover from losing several key senior players last year. Varsity head coach Tim Healy is confident in the abilities of the upcoming junior varsity players to fill the open spots, and he’s hoping for another solid season this year. Golfers such as junior Brayden Johnk, who was on the JV team last year, have been playing consistently in the off season in order to stay sharp and be prepared for the upcoming season. “I hope we can win league,” said Jordan Bliss, who competed at the junior varsity level last year. Boys’ Tennis The boys’ tennis team dominated last year winning a pre-season match against Jesuit and going on to an undefeated season in league play. The team’s only loss was in the section tournament, but senior Arjith Jayaraman said he believes this loss is playing a key factor in fueling this year’s team. “I think coming into this year we are all more focused on the game and getting off to a great start,” said Jayaraman, who has committed to play college tennis for the University of California at Davis.

leaving school early

Athletic P.E. classes face strict policies BY MAX SCHWARTZ

mshwartz.gazette@gmail.com

Student-athletes who take fourth-period athletic P.E.., still have to stay in the class when their sport is over – regardless of how tired they may be. When the season is over for football, the athletes stay active. “The juniors would all lift weights and work on next season,” said junior Jack Powers, a varsity football player. The seniors, who were graduating and weren’t going to play the next season, had a different way of handling the time. “(They) watched movies, film, and did their homework whatever they wanted to do,” Powers said. Powers added about how strict the coach was about leaving early “We didn’t leave early because the coach would hold us back at the gate” Powers said. Despite seniors being on their own in the backroom, Powers still said they were held in. “The seniors would creep by the door, but coach Smith would have them on lock,” Powers said. There were times where the athletes would get out a little early. “There were times where we were at the bear at 2:30. We got a warning by the lady who checks slips, and we didn’t do it after” Powers said. Men’s water polo is also a sport where Athletic P.E. runs past their season. “After the season is over we play other sports like soccer and frisbee, or we just hang out in Sherman’s room,” John Murphy, a junior water polo player, said.

Despite the sports the teams play to pass time, the team still has had problems with leaving early. “People have tried to leave early in the past and yes they have gotten in trouble with admin and the coaches,” Murphy said. Murphy added how tough administration is on them, and how they do a good job of doing so. Due to administration enforcing the no-leave rule, there is some frustration from students. “I think we should be able to leave early because if we are done with our work. It would benefit us getting to leave to go home to work on homework or family related work,” junior Ricky Frank said. Some students feel that just sitting is pointless to some degree. “I don’t see the point of sitting and doing nothing. The least we could be able to do is go get food and come back,” junior Tara Zimmari said. Although the circumstances are not great, there is some understanding. “I think it’s pointless not to let your TA leave if they are finished with everything, but I do understand that the school is liable for us until 2:35 p.m. so it is beyond their control,” senior Bailey Mamone said. As a whole, both of these situations have one same common denominator: liability. “As much as we would want the kids to be able to leave early, the school is still liable for the kids if they did end up leaving,” PAWS volunteer Shara Danilson said.

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Friday, February 10, 2017

w The Granite Bay Gazette

SECOND LOOK

Boys’ basketball staying strong in SFL BY ALI LEMOS

alemos.gazette@gmail.com

This Granite Bay High School team is having a successful winter season and have worked their way to be second in the Sierra Foothill League (SFL). They’re over halfway into their season and the varsity team has gone 5-2 in league. According to senior Steve Trythall, a small forward, the team coordinates well. “The team works Winter Sports well together and Update loves being around one another,” Trythall said. “It has been hard getting there though because our guys haven’t played together as much as other teams in the area.” Although the season isn’t over Trythall said as long as the boys’ continue on their current track they’re poised to enter playoffs. Girls’ basketball The Grizzlies are off to a tough start; the team is currently 2-5 in league play. However, that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t fought through some tough games. Brie Curran, a GBHS senior, is proud of the team’s victories. “We’ve won some games that we knew were going to be a battle,” Curran said. “We’ve also lost some games that we should have easily won.” The Grizzlies have three more games left in their season, and they hope to finish strong.

Gazette photo /MEGAN NIMTZ

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

Boys’ soccer Working through the winter storms, the varsity boys are in second place in the SFL. According to Zach Wong, a junior striker, the team is a full of underclassmen that all have to work together in order to succeed. “We have a young team without a single superstar player, so this forces us to work as a team to get the result,” Wong said. Although, their current league record is 6-3 and overall record is 10-4-1, Wong is worried about the team’s mindset. “I would want to change our mentality,” Wong said. “We went on a winning streak and thought that we had the league in our hand and got complacent. It is crucial that we stay hard working and put and leave our 100% on the field.” Despite this, the team is hoping to make it to playoffs and continue winning. Girls’ soccer Facing a new season, the girls’ soccer team has been facing difficulties with the weather. Despite needing parkas on the sidelines, the team is 2-3-3 and ready for their upcoming games. The team works well together according to senior Sarah Thomas, a forward. “Our team gets along great and everybody encourages each other and performs their best on the field,” Thomas said. The Grizzlies work on improving at each practice as they push to make it into playoffs. “We are in a very competitive league, so grabbing a spot in the playoffs will definitely come down to the results of every game,” Thomas said. Wrestling The wrestling team has been performing well this year, although the team only has 28 wrestlers competing, the Grizzlies are 3-2. However what they lack in size they make up for with talent according to senior Parker Wilkin. “The quantity of wrestlers on the team has been somewhat lacking, but the quality of wrestlers has been extraordinary, largely due to the improved intensity and work ethic in the room this year,” Wilkin said. Since the sport relies on the individual’s performance, each wrestler is focused on an individual goal. Wilkin’s focus is to improve his footwork. “I have the strength and the necessary toolbox of moves and techniques,” Wilkin said. “ But if I want to compete at the state level, I’m going to need to bring my foot coordination and quickness up to par.” While post-season participation is focused on individual achievement, Wilkin said he believes many of the wrestlers this year will finish quite well.

Gazette photo /MEGAN NIMTZ

wDarren Nelson, below, shoots a free throw while playing against SFL rival Del Oro. The Tribe, bottom left, led by Tyler Weaver, wears their USA gear as they cheer on the boys’ basketball team. Nicolette Lewis, lower middle left, dribbles the ball near midfield past an opposing defender. Varsity wrestler Nolan Stabbbert, left, paces back to the mat after forcing his competitor out of bounds. Junior Ryan Smith, upper middle left, drives past defenders to shoot a contested layup. Sophomore Ryan Rosnack, top left, fights for a ball near the sideline to help setup the varsity boys’ offense. Brianna Lambey, top right, leads the fast break late in the game against Del Oro. Midfielder Connor Vivaldi, above, passes the ball up field. Gazette photo /MAX SCHWARTZ

Gazette photo /SURINA KHURANA

Gazette photo /HANNAH XU

–Team records current as of Feb. 3 Gazette photo /SURINA KHURANA

GS The Gazetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts and entertainment guide.

February 2017

GREENSCREEN GBHS students participate in local art show

PAGES 10 &11 Special to the Gazette/ KENDALL SMITH

Page 2

February 2017

sneak peek.

Gazette photo/ WHITNEY KNORP

wSee page 8 Senior fifth quarter preview

Gazette photo/ CARISSA LEWIS

wSee pages 10 & 11 GBHS student art exhibit

wSee page 20 Valentine’s Day

Fake news causes eruption among teens

Are our news sources actually reliable?

ith print news declining in popularity increasingly Furthermore, most of our “news sources” these days are platas the years go on, people are finding new ways to forms like snapchats and tweets. be informed. The Snapchat stories from Cosmopolitan, Buzz Feed and People Our generation relies solely on social media and are not the most reliable sources of news. other quite unreliable sources to find our news. I’m sure everyone is aware of the incident with Buzzfeed Although it is saddening that print news is going out of style, releasing the scandal involving Trump and his Russian affairs, there are still ways to get news from a reliwhich caused numerous problems among the able source other than ‘Snapchat Discover’. public. Not going to lie, I do spend my fair share This is just one example of potential fake of time browsing celebrity gossip on Cosnews that gets spread blown out of propormopolitan and checking up on my Buzzfeed tion. horoscope. The current generation, and even past ones, Although these are entertaining, the probare much more susceptible to fake news. lem with them is that some choose to believe With all the different forms of news that are that the things said on there are always true at our fingertips, it is easy to believe the first or are real news, when in fact they are often thing you read. spreading rumors on purpose. Unfortunately, we have to take more time I don’t agree with Donald Trump on pretty and research to actually find out the truth much anything, but fake news exists, or as about politics or anything reported on. Kellyanne Conway refers to it “alternate Checking multiple sources and ensuring facts”, that get spread and erupt among youth your facts are correct before – I don’t know and even adults that can cause unnecessary – sending out angry tweets or causing an unaprather.gazette@gmail.com commotion and angst from the United States necessary scene, might be a good idea. and everywhere else frankly. It can be easy to believe a tweet from some Before I go any further I want to clarify this, “Alternate facts” is famous person but we have to remember that most of the time, just another way to say lies. people tweet things with the intention of starting an argument There is no such thing as an alternate fact, it’s either a fact and it chain or controversy. is 100 percent true, or it is a lie or gossip. So next time you’re sitting in your bed at three a.m. and you see A fundamental flaw in the human race is that we like to overract some crazy out of this world piece of information on Snapchat’s and draw attention to ourselves. Cosmopolitan story, you might wanna check twice before you So when we see what we think is news, but it is in fact fake, this spread this possibly false piece of information all over the internet. overreacting causes a rippling of commotion on the internet or by *** word of mouth. Amanda Prather, senior, is a Gazette Greenscreen ediotor

COMMENTARY

amanda prather

Guide to Green Screen

Page 3 tatoos

Page 8 Senior fifth quarter

Page 4/5 Food reviews

Page 9 Talent show and Winter play

Page 6 Top Tweets

Page 10/11 Student art show

Page 7 music reviews

Page 12 Artist of the month

Page 13

Memes fuel nostoligia

Page 14 New years resolutions Page 15 Chinese New year

Gazette Illustration /AMANDA PRATHER

Upcoming GBHS Events for February and March February 9,10,11 Winter play February 13&20 No School March 1 Powderpuff player meeting Page 16 GBHS percussion Page 17 Desperation Day Page 18/19 Movie reviews Page 20 Valentines Day

Page 3

February 2017

chats about tats.

Tat-too Cool for Rules Students share their thoughts on tattoos and the rules surrounding body art in schools BY SAMREEN SIDDIQUI ssiddiqui.gazette@gmail.com

Special to the Gazette /KYLIE SHIMADA

Granite Bay High School alumnus Kylie Shimada showed off her wave tattoo that she had done as a junior in her time at GBHS.

attoos have been extremely popular among the younger population for quite some time now, especially with all of the pictures of them circulated on social media. According to an article from The Huffington Post, 38 percent of Americans ages 18-29 have tattoos. While that age range doesn’t match the age of high school students, it does represent the popularity of tattoos. So how common is it for high schools to have rules against tattoos? At Granite Bay High School, there are no specific rules against tattoos in the school handbook. Jessup McGregor, an assistant principal at GBHS, said that as long as they aren’t unsuitable or offensive, tattoos are allowed on campus. “What it comes down to is that if the tattoo is inappropriate, then that would lead to a conversation on a one on one basis,” McGregor said. “For example, if you had a tattoo on your neck saying that you hated a certain ethnic group, then you would have to cover it up.” But other schools do have rules against tattoos. The dress code at the Lutheran High School of San Diego, for example, bans tattoos and visible body piercings. The ban is actually repeated three times in the school’s written dress code. GBHS senior Hannah Bociek, who has

two tattoos, does not agree with a blanket ban on tattoos and body piercings. “I think that’s it’s somewhat ridiculous,” Bociek said. “Students should be able to express themselves in whatever way they choose to.” She added that students shouldn’t be able to have clearly obscene tattoos that are visible during the school day, but she doesn’t have any problems with students sporting tattoos on campus. Candice Leung, a GBHS junior who doesn’t have any tattoos, also disagreed with the concept of banning tattoos. “If the tattoo is deemed appropriate, just like the rules for T-shirts, then I think a student should have every right to display them,” Leung said. Hannah Sides, who has recently gotten a tattoo, said she thinks high schools make these rules in order to protect their image and, in the case of private schools, conform to their school uniform requirements. Bociek, however, argues that tattoos are more than their image. “Tattoos are definitely more than just the looks of them to me,” Bociek said. “They give me a chance to visually share a part of my life that’s meaningful to me.” Sides also has a tattoo that is more than meets the eye, “It’s great to be able to put something on my body permanently that makes me happy every time I look at it,” Sides said. Tattoos might be visually distracting to certain people, but with their rise in popularity and deep personal meanings, Sides, Bociek, and Leung all said they can be appropriate in school settings. “Tattoos are art,” Sides said. “It’s so cool to think that your body can be a canvas.”

Page 4

February 2017

food.

Give these a Thai... Ruen Thai BY MAX SCHWARTZ

mschwartz.gazette@gmail.com

f you are looking for an authentic Thai-sit down experience, then Ruen Thai is your place. Ruen Thai has been one of my personal favorite restaurants since the day I found out about the place. When walking into Ruen Thai, you are immediately immersed in the Thai culture that the place is covered in. From the plates and silverware to the paintings on the wall, it is clear that the owner knew what they were doing with the decorations. In the back of the restaurant there is also a fish tank, and it is nice to see all the colors of the fish. The service is really impressive considering how good the food is. All of the waitresses are very nice and if you are a regular, which many of the customer base is, then you are greeted as a familiar friend. When ordering, the menu is full of authentic Thai cuisine, from curry to noodles. I got the green curry with a side of white rice and started with the shrimp spring rolls. While we were waiting for our food, the owner of the restaurant came to our table and asked how our meal was. This is just one of the many examples of how good the service is. When the food arrived, it was in a good portion. Not too big to where it was overflowing, but big enough to fill you up. The shrimp spring rolls came first as an appetizer and is a prime example of how something so simple can be so

The Gazette staff reviews local Thai restaurants.

My Thai Kitchen delicious. The roll consisted of three pieces of shrimp on a bed of lettuce, rice noodles, carrots and one slice of cucumber. All of this served with sriracha and a very tasty peanut sauce. Both of these sauces compliment the rolls very nicely and are great when used together. The serving size was six, which is a very good quantity and good for sharing or for one hungry individual. Other than the beef, the curry contained bamboo, mushroom, and peppers. All of the above was served with white rice, where you would put the sticky rice down to absorb all of the liquid and then you ate it with bites with all of the ingredients. The ingredients fused together to create a really tasty bite that coated my whole palette. The spice level was very up to par, on account of my preferences. The food at Ruen Thai is easily one of the best in Roseville as a whole. Whether you are talking about the food or the service, this place trumps all.

Gazette photo / MAX SHWARTZ

Ruen Thai offers various dishes and a multitude of options for any Thai food lover.

BY ASHLEY YUNG

ayung2.gazette@gmail.com

verall, I really enjoyed my dining experience at My Thai Kitchen. Its pricing was average for a restaurant. It was just under $30 including tax and tip for two main dishes, an appetizer and a drink. I ordered egg rolls, pad thai, yellow curry, and a Thai iced tea. The salad that came with my main meal was quite flavorful, and the dressing was unique in that it felt light and tasty without being too heavy or overpowering. However, the egg rolls didn’t really stand out to me. In my opinion, they were below average. The slices were thin so all I could taste was the fried, oily outside. The yellow curry was delicious and flavorful. The only complaint I had was that I did not like the avocados despite the fact that I am usually a big avocado fan. My favorite dish was their pad thai. It had a lot of interesting flavors and I especially appreciated how the peanuts added an extra crunch. The different spices made the dish feel more dimensional rather than bland. Finally, there was the Thai Iced Tea which is the drink I get every time I order Thai food. The only problem I had with it was that it tasted very caffeinated. The service at My Thai Kitchen was about average. I was pleased that the food didn’t take too long to prepare, as well as all the dishes were served hot.

However, it did take awhile for our check to be brought out after we were done with the meal. The waitress was very friendly and cheerful. She even gave me a Thai Iced Tea to take home which I was very happy about.

Gazette photos /ASHLEY YUNG

My Thai Kitchen offers a variety of Thai options as well as quality service.

Khunsuda BY ANJALI SHRIVASTAVA

ashrivastava.gazette@gmail.com

was greeted by one lone server, standing in the corner. “We have the best pad see ew in Granite Bay,” she said to me, handing me a menu. I briefly glanced over the options, unnerved by some of the prices. “Do you?” I asked in response, feigning incompetence. I knew their pad see ew was fantastic, as I had been to Khun Suda many a time, and ordered that specific dish. Yet, this visit was different – this time, I was eating as a critic, not as a fan. And so I ventured out of my comfort zone. I was lured into ordering the crab and cheese wontons by a friend, which did not disappoint. I typically avoid appetizers, and I’m not sure I’ll order the wontons in the future, but I will admit that they were a nice starter. But before the wontons came, our adorable waitress served the complimentary soup, which was perfectly okay. It was bland, but because it was free, I can’t say that I expected any more from it. The aforementioned friend also persuaded me into ordering the yellow curry, as opposed to my usual red curry. The yellow curry was sweeter than what my taste buds are accustomed to, but was still enjoyable. Then the real star of the show arrived – the pineapple fried rice. Which was, again, sweeter than what I am accustomed to, but the sweetness worked in this dish’s favor. The pineapple and the raisins added flavors that were certainly distinct, but I’d be

lying if I said I didn’t enjoy them. I was concerned by how quickly the food came out, thinking that it was not fresh. These concerns vanished as soon as I took my first bite; it was obvious that the food was prepared with care. Because we bought lunch portions, the pricing was reasonable; every dish was under $10. That being said, if you order a dish with seafood, or one that is seasonal, the price is no longer within the typical student’s budget. Khun Suda is neither glamorous nor trendy, but it’s a place with story and tradition, and they sure know how to spice food. As far as I’m concerned, that makes it worth returning to.

Khun Suda is a simple Thai food restaurant in Granite Bay with a variety different plates to try.

Gazette photo /ANJALI SHRIVASTAVA

Page 5

February 2017

food.

Khobkoon Thai Cuisine BY EMILY TALMI

etalmi.gazette@gmail.com

eing my third time ever trying Thai food, I was curious if this experience would differentiate from my prior attempts. Neither a Thai food aficionado nor a critic, I entered Khobkoon Thai Cuisine with an open-mind and an empty stomach. Welcomed by the smell of turmeric and garlic, I became instantly enticed. My father and I went on a Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Not to our surprise, there were only two other families present, as their hours for a Sunday are 4:30-9:00 p.m. The traditional decor strewn across the walls and ceilings, rendered an authentic cultural atmosphere. After looking over the menu for quite some time, being that most of the ingredients in the meals were ones I’d never heard of, we finally came to an agreement of one appetizer and one entree. Phla Kung, the appetizer arrived in a timely fashion and was presented in a fresh, clean manner. My senses became overwhelmed with flavors of pungent lemon, piquant chili peppers and fresh seafood. The appetizer, fulfilling its job at being appetizing, heightened my desire for my next meal. The entree, Nua Pad Phrik Dang, provided us with a different side of Thai cuisine. Warm and hearty, the meal was perfect for the cold and rainy day.

Between every meal and when my glass of water looked to be the least bit empty, the waiter was always there to grace us with his great manners and provide us with help. Our total came out to be around $24 which was decently reasonable for one appetizer and one entree. Though the decor, service, and food were all great, I felt that what Khobkoon Thai Cuisine fell short of was a nice ambiance. The mood seemed to be emotionless and dreary. I prefer when a restaurant is lively and exuberant, filled to halfway capacity. The hindrance of the ambiance could’ve been due to their hours, bad weather conditions and the location (located at a small strip mall off Foothills Blvd.) Another problem arises. Being a 20 minute drive from Granite Bay, the question, “is it worth it?” seems to be of the pressing matter. Depending on whether you enjoy Thai cuisine and are up to trying something new, I believe the drive is worth it. Quality food for an affordable price is not a deal to pass up. Khobkoon Thai Cuisine offers a variety of Thai dishes and chices. Khobkoon is a great place for a new food experience.

Gazette photo /EMILY TALMI

Thai Basil BY BRIAN DING

bding.gazette@gmail.com

n a weekday, I had the opportunity to visit Thai Basil, a Thai food restaurant on Douglas Blvd. that lived up quite well to my expectations. Finding a parking space was fairly easy because the location of the restaurant is inside a fairly small plaza. The area seems a bit old so not many cars were there like your local Safeway or Costco. Upon first glance the overall environment of the place seemed very welcoming, and the workers there were very kind. They were all dressed in Thai apparel and ready for the occasion. The restaurant itself was not that large. Thai Basil chooses to keep dining quiet so don’t expect to hear any loud music when visiting. One key aspect about the place was how authentic and simple the menu was. Many restaurants tend to have a menu which included a large amount of selections, which may allow for a variety of options, was particularly overwhelming. As soon as I saw the menu, I was able to order in less than five minutes of searching because of how clear and concise Thai Basil kept their menu. Additionally, the wait time for the food was not long at all. I ordered the Gai Yang chicken that included vegetables and sweet and sour sauce. Along with the Ma Muang Him, which consisted of beef and a bunch of vegetables. There was not too much oil and nothing too overboard, the sauce and the food tasted quite well. The only downside that I encountered was how

My Thai Table watery the food was with the beef and vegetables. While eating I noticed that not many people were there to eat at the time. Normally Thai Basil’s busy days are on the weekends. The bill in the end was about $25, which was a pretty good deal considering the serving size of both dishes. I ended up having to order a box for both of the foods. However, the amount of time for the check to arrive at our table in the end took a bit long despite the lack of customers. There were not that many personnel working at the time so that may have been a factor. Overall, I highly recommend giving Thai Basil a try because of their medium to low prices and the authentic taste that their dishes to offer. Thai Basil has a wide variety of Thai options on it’s overwhelmingly large menu.

Gazette photo / BRIAN DING

BY DEAN WILSON

dwilson.gazette@gmail.com

’ve never been a stranger to Thai food. My grandmother and I frequently visited various Thai restaurants in the Roseville and Lincoln area. I fell in love with it at a young age and learned to tell the difference between good and bad Thai food. That’s why I was excited to go out on my own and check out a local Thai joint that I had always seen, but never actually been to. My Thai Table is located in Quarry Ponds where other popular restaurants such as GB Alehouse and Hawks can be found. My first impression when entering the restaurant was that the decor was very elegant and surpassed my expectation when looking at the building from the outside. The smell of roasting vegetables and savory chicken drew me in. I was greeted by a very nice waitress who led me to my seat. To my surprise, I was the only one in the place at 1 o’clock on a Tuesday. The service was great and the staff was very kind. I never waited long on any of my dishes for more than seven minutes. The rapid transition from me ordering to the waitress setting my food on the table was outstanding. The fresh produce drizzled in a peanut based dressing was the perfect amount of sweet. To tell you the truth, it was so good that I probably could have eaten that for the meal and I would have been happy. The first entree that arrived was their most popular dish, the Basil Stir Fry. The dish consists of beef, sauteed onions, green beans, bell peppers and eggplant. The presentation made the

dish look amazing. The steam was coming off of the vegetables looked like a commercial. Right on par with the presentation, the taste was great. Each of the components were cooked to perfection. The green beans had just the right amount of crunch and the eggplant wasn’t soggy at all. The beef was outstanding. The savory kick that it added to a dish with all veggies really pulled it together and made for a great stir fry. My second entree was the yellow curry. Throughout the years, I have had many different types of curry, and I must say, this yellow curry could be one of the best. The curry was a solid balance between sweet and tangy. It only consisted of onions, potatoes, carrots, and chicken but that was really all it needed. It’s easy to mess up on chicken in curry, and that’s one of the reasons that the dish is hit or miss. After my visit, I knew that My Thai Table would gain a new frequent customer. The food was fantastic and the price was reasonable. What more could you ask for in a restaurant? My Thai Table is located in Granite Bay and offers many flavorful dishes.

Gazette photo /DEAN WILSON

February 2017

Page 6

current.

Top Tweets

Gazette illustration/AMANDA PRATHER

Spirited tweets by Granite Bay High School students BY LYNDSEY BENNER lbenner.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette file illustrations/THOMAS TAYLOR

Netflix Picks

Twitter

BY SANJNA SAINI

ssaini.gazette@gmail.com

1. A Series of Unfortunate Events The fantasy-adventure tells the story of three orphans who lose their parents and their home in a fire, later having to live under a incompetent guardian named Count Olaf. With questions unanswered, the siblings find out mysterious clues about their inheritance and their family.

2. Fruitvale Station “Fruitvale Station” is a true story following Oscar Grant and how his New Year’s Eve was spent, leading to the aftermath of the highly controversial police shooting that took place in Oakland after midnight on January 1st, 2009. 3. The Finest Hours After a storm hits the SS Pendleton, engineer Ray Sybert hatches a plan for him and his crew members to make it out alive on the waters of Cape Cod. 4. The Shining “The Shining” dives deep into the encounters a small family faces in the woods of a northern Oregon lodge. These encounters include a father going after his family after becoming mentally insane from “cabin fever.” 5. Bates Motel This American drama series follows the life of Norma Bates and her son wanting to begin again after the death of her husband by buying a hotel business. However, neighbors aren’t happy to have newcomers.

MEMES

There are so many people I wanna be friends with before my senior year ends

Rhanda Abasi @its_rhanda

11 Retweets

47 Likes

If anybody just got a FaceTime from a random #, that would be my g ma who logged into our family’s iCloud... hope you enjoyed meeting Nana

Brennan Holt

@brennanholt_

0 Retweets

15 Likes

sometimes I pull into my garage and then realize i’ve been zoned out to another dimension all the drive home and I’m like how did I get here

nash rood

@grandpalover22

0 Retweets

35 Likes

SHOUTOUT TO EVERYONE IN THE TRIBE TONIGHT! LOUDEST WE HAVE EVER HEARD!!!

GBHS TRIBE @TRIBEGBHS

20 Retweets 104 Likes

The Gazette is celebrating the creativity of the internet and social media by choosing some of their favorite memes. None of these memes are the Gazette’s original content...but we still like them.

OF THE MONTH

Compiled By Sidney Zabell

February 2017

Page 7

tune in.

4 Your Eyez Only J. Cole BY JACK MCGRAIL

jmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com

reating a modern rap album that is both unique and meaningful in the music industry is difficult, but J. Cole managed to handle the task quite well. In early December, J. Cole came out with 4 Your Eyez Only, his fourth studio album. Coming off of his extremely successful and popular third studio album 2014 Forest Hills Drive, there was a lot of pressure on Cole to sell his project and to please his fans. J. Cole prides himself on rapping about real world situations and problems in his life instead of the popular topics of drugs,

parties and girls. This is evident in his song “Immortal” where he talks about his friend being a good person because he loved his daughter, not because he was hard on the streets. Through his music, J. Cole speaks out on his ideas about the responsibility of fatherhood, black lives and doing the right thing despite the world having so much wrong. His songs “Neighbors” and “Change” look at the problems surrounding communities of color. J. Cole is known for his pleading, emotional and deep inflection to the point of his voice nearly cracking. This is especially accurate in 4 Your Eyez Only, one of his more meaningful albums. He ties in his ideals and values on touching subjects such as being a father and dealing with

common problems in inner city lifestyles. Growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, J. Cole taught himself how to play the piano, and he even worked with the Dreamville Foundation, a non-profit organization to help young people achieve their dreams. His new songs include strings of jazz with a bass line and his proven and popular rap style and voice. The rap game involves thousands of rappers trying to push their way onto the main stage, but J. Cole has consistently outperformed even the seasoned vets to keep his music on the scene. Track for track, 4 Your Eyez Only is one of the best new rap albums on iTunes. The rap world is lucky to have J. Cole continually produce the music he does.

Dreamville Records and Roc Nation

4 Your Eyez Only was released December 9, 2016.

A-

Skip to: “Immortal”

Awaken, My Love! Childish Gambino BY DEAN WILSON

dwilson.gazette@gmail.com

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Awaken, My Love! was released on December 3, 2016.

A-

Skip to: “Zombies”

rtists in today’s music industry seem to frequently look to past musicians to receive inspiration in their creative process. Though not all projects that nod to the early sounds of a genre or styling end in success, Childish Gambino’s newest album, Awaken, My Love!, absolutely hits the mark. The record is unique for Gambino in that he deviates from his typical self-pitying blues to a soulful and funky album that plays with older artists like George Clinton or The Meters. Gambino captured the attention of his audience prior to the actual album drop with the release of the dark yet funky “Redbone” and the uplifting soul track “Me and Your Mama.” The most impressive aspect of this album in terms of Gambino’s growth as an artist is the array of moods that it captures. When listen-

ing to Awaken, My Love!, you can switch between an inspirational track to a dark and sensual vibe. The mixing on this record is incredible. Gambino’s attention to the small details like the sharp snare hits and crisp background vocals pulls the album together, and you can see the effort that he put into each and every song. Though Childish Gambino deviates from his past work in terms of sound, the one aspect that is still present in the album is the social commentary embedded within his lyrics. For example, the track “Zombies” deals with success in the entertainment industry and how others attempt to feed off of the prosperity of others. Similar to other artists in today’s industry, Gambino plays with some gospel flare with a background choir. Earlier in 2016, Chance the Rapper popularized the sound to the mainstream. Rising in popularity, soulful background vocals have made their mark on today’s music. It’s very

impressive to see Gambino to infuse the sound in tracks such as “Have Some Love” and “Boogieman.” For those who crave a diverse array of instruments, Awaken, My Love! showcases bright woodwind and brass samples and sharp, poppy snare hits. The mixing on this album is incredibly clean with every beat where it needs to be. The only complaint that could be had when discussing the record is the scattered crossover into repetitive pop writing. We see this on the track “California” where the hook and chorus reiterate the same lines with somewhat whiny vocals that are present in some of today’s more simplistic pop. As always, the catchy tracking and engaging vocals of Childish Gambino deliver an impressive album. The new creativity shown by the Georgian rapper show great promise for future projects. As for Awaken, My Love!, the overall production quality maintains the precedent that Gambino has set for funky and inspirational music.

Hang Foxygen BY JACK KEHOE

jkehoe.gazette@gmail.com

hen you first hear the name Foxygen you may think, “Who is that?” but this group has come out and made some amazing music. The band consists of Jonathan Rando and Sam France. They started Foxygen when they were 15 years old. They started out with purely experimental music. Some of their earlier albums include Peace and Magic and We are the 21st Century. Now, they have Hang, which has received countless positive reviews from old rock fans and even newer song listeners. Features in the album include a collab with Steven Drozd of Flaming Lips, and even a massive orchestra piece put on by Matthew E. White. The songs in this album make you think of

what it was like to live back in the 70s, with the usual nostalgic feelings that come with that. Hang has a connective feel back to the 70s song styles, with new, bold lyrics thrown into the song. It has more of a smooth pop feeling rather than just a rock feeling. This album will take you back to the 70s for sure, but no one quite knows how it has been able to also feel so modern. It is a rare case of its own. This band promotes a very classy feel to fans because of the elements they leave in, which is similar to Aerosmith. Hang has hints of various music genres within it, so there’s bound to be something for everyone. The tone of this album gives you the feeling of leaving your troubles behind when listening to this album. There is extensive amounts of orchestra put into this album. It’s very worth a listen just for the orchestra alone, just to hear what you can hear. Hang has had major success all over the

world so far. Foxygen is also doing tours around the world. One of the more known songs in the album, “Follow the Leader,” has a pop theme with some jazz thrown in there, too. “Follow the Leader” portrays the way we always follow people in life and conform through human nature. The album then closes out with an epic song titled “Rise Up,” bringing you full circle by covering many different types of vibes within the music. Though this album puts a different twist on what Foxygen usually does, they’ve accumulated a bigger, more diverse fan base because of it. Hang has attempted to appeal to the younger generation, while also keeping their older fanbase around with the blast back to the 70s. Hang by Foxygen is a very unique album with many great hits, and manages to do the special thing of feeling retro and modern all in one.

Jagjaguwar

Hang was released on January 20, 2017.

Skip to: “Follow the Leader”

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hypnotizing.

February 2017

Senior Fifth Quarter is worth every Penny Student government commissioners discuss the upcoming plans for the hypnotic event BY LYNDSEY BENNER lbenner.gazette@gmail.com

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enior 5th quarter is an annual event where seniors who volunteer get hypnotized in front of the rest of their classmates. The highly anticipated event will take place after a Granite Bay High School varsity boys basketball game. This year it will be held on Feb. 10 in the cafeteria, and the student government class is working hard to make it the best one yet. “We are making adaptations based on what we feel worked well from previous years as well as innovating things,” said Daphne Peters, a GBHS senior who is a cocommissioner for the event. Usually the seniors eat dinner in the cafeteria and then go watch the hypnotism in the theater, but this year it will all be in the cafeteria. “We moved it from the theater to the cafeteria because, unfortunately, it is that same week as the winter play,” said GBHS senior Danielle Griggs, the other commissioner for the event. “The theater will have a show earlier that night and will have all their sets in there.” The event planners do not want to get in the way of the play or have anyone accidently ruin a prop or set.

Even though the event is changing, both commissioners said they are optimistic that this change is for the better. “In the past (the seniors) would have to go into the cafeteria eat quickly and then it was a mad dash for the theater,” Griggs said. “Being able to stay in the same place will avoid having to rush the food part and take out the transition from different locations entirely.” Many seniors are trying to decide if they want to get hypnotised or not. There are also skeptics who do not believe it is real. “I remember parts of (being hypnotised), but there are definitely a few videos I’ve seen that I don’t remember,” said Kassidy Henson, a GBHS graduate who participated in the event last year. The event is not just for the people being hypnotised but also for the people watching. “A lot of people get upset if they are unable to be hypnotized or if they don’t make it onstage in time but watching the show might be more fun,” Henson said. Many GBHS seniors are excited to make memories with the rest of their class. This is one of the first senior events of the year and many have looked forward to it throughout their time in high school. “The thing I’m most excited about is to see the senior class get hypnotized and see everyone’s reactions,” Peters said. “I feel like it’s going to be pretty funny,” The event is known for making the audience laugh. From people thinking they are giving birth to others falling out of their chairs, this event is known for the variety of things students end up doing. Russ Peak is the hypnotist who has been performing for over 15 years and does hundreds of shows a year. Overall, he has hypnotised over 50,000 people. He strives to keep his shows safe, entertaining, and clean. “The best part (of senior 5th quarter) was seeing the videos of all the other seniors and I from that night and just how much fun we all had together,” Henson said. “The memories from the night will be some of your favorites from senior year.”

February 2017

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gb’s got talent.

GBHS Talent Show Gazette illustrations /WHITNEY KNORP

A look into the talent show’s origins and what to expect from this year’s production BY SIDNEY ZABELL

szabell.gazette@gmail.com

here’s one thing Granite Bay High School’s finest performers will have in common on Friday, Feb. 24 – they will all be at the third annual GBHS talent show. Students will be singing, dancing and more in front of the Granite Bay community. “I am looking forward to laughing with the fellow contestants backstage, warming up with other singers before going on stage and taking in the energy of the crowd as I perform at the GBHS Talent Show for the very last time,” senior Cierra Brown said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed performing at the talent show since freshman year.” Brown has performed in the talent show since the first show in the 2014-2015 school year. For her final show, Brown said that she hopes to perform her own version of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire.” Brown said that students should look forward to seeing the wide array of talents GBHS students

have to offer in the show. Junior Claire Lugo, head commissioner for the talent show, said that the goal of student government this year is to encourage performers to have fun and to be confident while performing. “This year, the talent show is the Grizzly Globes, so we are going to try to make it similar to the Golden Globe Awards.” Lugo said. “It’s just going to be a fun-filled event, and I encourage everybody to come.” “(We) encourage people who dance and sing and play instruments and things to be in it,” activities director Tamara Givens said. “We’ll have auditions, and then we choose from those, and then we have a rehearsal and show.” The show generally has 15 to 20 acts in it. “Somebody played the sitar once, and that was cool,” Givens said. “We would love to have different things.” Before the talent show, GBHS did a yearly lip sync. Because there weren’t enough acts participating, it was switched to a talent show. “It seemed to be a need that was untapped out there because we had a lot of kids come out who

just wanted to show their talent,” Givens said. “It’s awesome to see how talented our students are.” Students can expect a staff act in the show and some group acts as judges tally up votes. Junior Laynee Daniels said that she was not yet sure of what she plans on auditioning with, but looks forward to participating. “I’m trying to find out… whether to go for more of a classic ukulele song or something that’s more relatable to everyone who will be there,” Daniels said. “This is my first talent show since fourth grade, so I’m kind of forcing myself to get out there.” Daniels said that signing up to participate was a last minute decision for her. “It was really spur of the moment signing up, so I’m looking forward to just performing something for the first time and seeing how talented everyone else is,” Daniels said. The students who hope to be in the show are excited to share what they love doing with their peers. “There is just no greater feeling than sharing that with others,” Brown said. “It’s good to come and support your peers in what they love doing.”

Winter play provides a new spin on ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Gazette illustrations /WHITNEY KNORP

A synopsis and behind-the-scenes preview of the GBHS winter play BY EMILY TALMI

etalmi.gazette@gmail.com

t is that time of year again where our beloved winter play bears its beautifully crafted face. With a total of six shows put on of this winter’s play, there are still shows available the nights of Feb. 10 and 11. The winter play this year is based off of Jane Austen’s classic novel, “Pride and Prejudice.” The play is a satire that portrays the family dynamics and what was expected of women. It contains a strong and witty female lead who continuously fights for what she wants and ignores the social pressures placed on her. The story takes place in the early 1800’s where marriage was the only important thing for women. It follows the Bennet household and looks at marriage through the five daughters’ individual situations. Presented with many possible play choices and

themes, the theater team chose “Pride and Prejudice” for a reason, according to Georgia Seagraves, a Granite Bay High junior and one of the lead female roles in “Pride and Prejudice.” “This play is unique because the author Jane Austen wrote it to make a statement about society,” Seagraves said. “She took extreme and ridiculous societal expectations and turned them into characters in hopes of changing the social norm.” In agreement with these aspirations, Anika Maney, a GBHS senior and one of the directors of the winter play, exuded a very similar hope. “Hopefully this show is a nice break from the hectic world we are living in, and people can just enjoy the show and appreciate its message – follow what you think is right,” Maney said. However, though the play is based off the novel, it still differentiates itself from its origin. “The novel contains a lot more details on everything. In the play, more of the characterization comes through the lines,” Mehdi Hajar, a GBHS junior and lead male role in Pride and Prejudice, said. Katie Hunter, a GBHS junior and lead female role in “Pride and Prejudice,” seconded that notion.

“I would have to say the one big difference is how long it is,” Hunter said. “If we were to make our show exactly like the book, it would be at least 5 hours and not 2.” With restrictions such as these, the actors and actresses face the challenge of having to accurately convey their characters within the short time span. Another challenge they are faced with is the accurate portrayal of the well-known characters from the classic novel. “I think my biggest challenge was getting the character right,” Hunter said. “Normally when an actor takes on a role they have the ability to choose how they want to play the part. Because I’m playing such a well-known character, it is very important to me that I get that character right for all the people that are die-hard fans of the book.” With the power of influencing the audience, Seagraves hopes that the play sparks conversations about girl power and societal evolution. “Everyone should come and watch because it is supporting their local high school theater,” Seagraves said. “We want to share the résumé of our time and effort with the audience.”

Pages 10 & 11

February 2017

we heART it.

It’s not as easel as it looks Two GBHS art students participate in local art show

Special to the Gazette /NOELLE BEREXA

Kendall Smith

Noelle Berexa

Senior Kendall Smith, artist at GBHS, prepares to show her artwork at a local show with fellow GBHS artist, Noelle Berexa. Above is a self portrait Smith

Special to the Gazette / KENDALL SMITH

BY CARISSA LEWIS

clewis.gazette@gmail.com

p to this point, not even state-of-the-art technology has been able to transport humans to new realms, but two innovative individuals have figured out a way to take people to Elsewhere. Coming February 18, emerging artists Noelle Berexa and Kendall Smith will be featuring an art show, entitled – you guessed it – Elsewhere. The exhibit will display the artists’ paintings, photography and other featured works. Berexa and Smith will hold a reception from 5-9 p.m. at The Studio in downtown Roseville for visitors to come and talk to the artists. Smith said they were encouraged by their art teacher, Myron Stephens, to gain exposure for their work. After receiving this encouragement, Smith researched local exhibits and was drawn to a tattoo parlor that also functioned as a studio. Smith said the workers at the parlor were very impressed by her portfolio and told Smith her work was some of “the best quality (they’d) seen from somebody (her) age.” Soon afterwards, Berexa partnered with Smith to create a combined exhibit. Smith will have about eight paintings on display, along with illustrations and photography. Most of her paintings will be up for sale. Smith said the inspiration for her art come naturally, while others have difficulty coming up with concepts. “A lot of things that are in my paintings are either ongoing in my life right now or have been,” Smith said. “I used to do songs for my inspiration from one specific band – Death Cab for Cutie – but I don’t really do that anymore.”

 Noelle Berexa, GBHS senior, also prepares to show her artwork at a local art show. Left are six of her pieces that will be shown in the show on February 18.

Although Smith also admires landscapes and animal paintings, she focuses primarily on still lifes. “I really like textures,” Smith said, “so all my still lifes have concrete or metal shelves or they have some sort of metal or wood aspect in them.” From start to finish, Smith said a painting takes her about three to four weeks. This includes developing the concept, photoshopping her ideas together, sketching an outline for the project and then finishing with painting. “The reason I’m happy is because I paint every day,” Smith said. “If I didn’t, I’d be insane.” Smith’s partner, Berexa, will have about ten creations displayed at the art show, including acrylic paintings and possibly some mixed media. “I want to build recognition as my own brand,” Berexa said. “My favorite style of art is definitely realism. I’m really drawn to a picturesque quality and I obsess over the small details.” Berexa’s favorite piece is an acrylic still life painting of a wolf that measures 40 inches by 30 inches. Berexa said she has been influenced by director Tim Burton and by painter Andrea Kowch, as well as by her teacher Stephens. “Inspiration for my art is drawn from my own life experiences and emotions, films and stories,” Berexa said. Berexa has also had work featured at the 2015 and 2016 California State Fair, the 2016 Congressional Art Competition Show and the Granite Bay public library. “I want the viewer to feel something while looking at my art,” Berexa said. “Whether they relate to it, visually like it or find it interesting, I hope they enjoy the art.” Food and drinks will be provided at the reception. Additionally, the artists will have personal business cards available. Special to the Gazette /BART LUMBER

Page 12

February 2017

current.

Mixtape - Favorites

Artist of the Month MELANIE RIES

1) What is your favorite piece you have ever done? My favorite piece was probably the last piece I did which was a girl who was upside down and a guy who was right side up and the backdrop was a hotel building and a brick wall. 2) Where do you draw inspiration from?

BYJACK MCGRAIL

jmcgrail.gazette@gmail.com

1. “Down” by Marian Hill A popular electronic R&B single from 2016, now used in Apple’s Airpod commercial. 2. “Black Mambo” by Glass Animals A slower, more sentimental song from the well-known English band. 3. “How to be the Man” by Riff Raff A catchy, somewhat clean rap song by the studio rapper Riff Raff. 4. “ Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest

I get inspiration from my daily life. Things I see on the internet (or) Gazette photo /KATIE COLOGNA stories I hear, so if I hear about or read a story that is really dramatic online, or if know something about my past, I just kind of use that. 3) What is your favorite style of paintings? I really like to look at really realistic paintings and I like to look at surrealism paintings and see what they might mean, but I wish in the future I could paint really realistic things because I like painting skin tones. My favorite type of paintings is anything with acrylic and skin tones.

A smooth, throwback tune to get in back in touch with the past.

4) What made you want to get into art?

5. “Darkness and Light” by John Legend

My oldest sister Candyce was an artist and then my sister Kayle was. Candyce was really good and was such an amazing artist and so I would go home and trace things and try and get good, and I got better at it because I just wanted to be an artist like my older sister.

A brand new, feel-good ballad from John Legend’s new album Darkness and Light.

Compiled by Katie Cologna

FRESHMAN VS. SENIOR

Follow Friday

Instagram

2020 vs. 2017

Do you think there is a different dynamic between the upperclassmen and underclassmen Summer Holt, on the Granite Bay High School girls varsity freshman goalkeepsoccer team? er on GBHS varsity girl’s soccer.

Sarah Thomas, senior captain of GBHS girl’s varsity soccer.

Sarah Thomas: “I feel like everyone on the team is treated equally, there’s a bunch of great girls with amazing abilities. The only difference is age really.”

Check out @taylor.wills’ instagram account for some fantastic shots of the great outdoors. Compiled by Sidney Zabell

Summer Holt: “The upperclassmen have been really welcoming and you don’t really get the vibe that the underclassmen are any worse than the upperclassmen ... It’s really cool to see that they treat us the same way.”

Gazette photo /MEGAN NIMTZ

Compiled by Megan Nimtz

February 2017

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what do you meme?

Old shows fuel new memes

GBHS students explain how certain memes affect their personal lives

BY CONNOR HINSON

chinson.gazette@gmail.com

“What are memes?” “Where do they come from?” “Why do they matter?” These are not just questions my mom asks me after browsing Facebook, but genuine topics of debate in modern times. “Memes are a unit of cultural expression that provide a shorthand visualization of emotions that we all feel sometimes,” said Ryan Fang, a Granite Bay High School senior. Living up to their original definition, memes are usually a good litmus test to the current culture, especially with millennials. A quick scroll through someone’s favorite memes can reveal anything from their political views to their preference in entertainment. “My favorite meme changes fairly quickly depending on which memes are the spiciest at the moment,” said Hannah

Sides, Granite Bay High School senior. “My most recent favorites have been the Biden and Obama memes, which started when people took pictures of Joe and Barack together and added funny captions to the pictures, usually about their bromance.” More recently, memes have had a increasingly tangible effect, in one case helping to save a man’s life. Last October, a GoFundMe was created to help Stefan Karl, the actor who played Robbie Rotten on the children’s TV show “LazyTown,” pay his hospital bills after he went through a surgery to remove his pancreatic cancer. Soon after, a meme was created that involved remixing the song “We Are Number One,” a song from the show. The popularity of this meme brought attention to Karl’s condition, and the initial goal of $100,000 was surpassed. Memes based on old television shows and movies have become more popular, and as a result, the shows and movies on which they are based have also grown in popularity.

“When Shrek first became a meme, I definitely went through a Shrek phase,” Sides said. “I rewatched the movie a couple of times and I listened to the soundtrack on repeat.” The most recent case of this is “The Bee Movie,” a 2007 comedy featuring Jerry Seinfeld as an anthropomorphic cartoon bee. The memes about the movie became so popular that Netflix bought the rights to host the movie on their streaming service. “ Recently, I have been watching the Bee Movie. When Netflix brought it to (streaming), I watched it 4 times in 3 days,” Sides said. Granite Bay High School Senior Jack Armstrong was impressed with the power of the Bee Movie meme. “It’s tremendous. It’s a great example of democracy and the people in action getting it on Netflix,” Armstrong said. “Memes are kinda like the words of today’s generation,” Fang said. “It’s not necessarily speaking anymore with just simple words, it’s the language of today’s generation.” Gazette illustrations/KATIE COLOGNA

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February 2017

new year, new me.

Entering the New Year with a New Mindset Students discuss whether making yearly resolutions has a lasting effect Gyms around this time of the year know lots of people are coming to them – if they have been sticking to their resoluGo to the Gym! tions, that is. So, taking advantage of this, gyms crank up hen it comes to the advertising campaigns and raise prices on memberships and thought of New other fitness equipment. Year’s resolutions, “I don’t think any more people come into gyms now,” said there are many places people Jackie Nasca, a track coach at GBHS who also has another can go when creating one. job working at the popular training center 24-Hour Fitness. You can go for unique and “It used to be a lot bigger of a trend about five or six years cater a resolution to your ago. We still do get a bigger amount of lifestyle, or your decision could be focused on something people coming in to get memberships simple, such as going to the gym twice a week. around this time, Keeping your goals realistic is also a thing to keep in mind though. The big joke – don’t make it totally impossible or unreal. is that after about “I think that New Year’s resolutions are realistic because three months, they’ll they are supposed to be something that you can achieve withall disappear,” in a year, such as getting As in all your classes,” said Taylor Evidently, most Thorton, who is a junior at Granite Bay High School. people’s commitment Whether or not you made a New Year’s resolution, you can to their resolutions still gain a lot from hearing about other people’s. slowly fades, whether Lots of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but they end up either giving up or just not being able to achieve them. they’re hoping to work out at the gym for a It could be a lack of motivation or not understanding how to whole year or just trying go about conquering the challenge. Another issue many people to lose a couple of pounds. “Because I’ve been working at the gym so long, all the new face is time constraints. employees often think ‘Oh, come Jan. 2, it’s gonna be huge, Junior Mackenzie Hall said she did not make a New way more people at the gym,’” Nasca said. Nasca also said that the entire resolution process sets Year’s resolution because people up for failure. she simply did not have “No, I don’t think most people will stick to New Year’s enough time in her busy resolutions because (resolutions are) dumb,” Nasca said. life to make one. “Of course,” she said, “They’re not gonna work for something like a gym membership because the person won’t be fully committed to it. It’s “I wanted to go to the not always easy for people to lose 50 pounds just like that, gym more and get better with managing my time.” Nasca said. “It takes time.” BY JACK KEHOE

jkehoe.gazette@gmail.com

Stay Positive

Be Kind

Gazette illustration/NATASHA CHANDA

February 2017

chinese new year.

Page 15

New Year, Same Traditions

GBHS students discuss their favorite parts of celebrating Chinese New Year

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BY BRIAN DING

bding.gazette@gmail.com

he age of celebration is once again upon us, the year of the rooster, Chinese New Year, which fell on Jan. 28 this year. With each family having the opportunity to celebrate in their own unique way, food and culture reaches its all-time peak, where stories and wishes of luck for the future are common phrases used among the people. “Chinese New Year for me has become an event where parties are to be expected,” Ryan Fang, a senior at Granite Bay High School, said. Every year, in many households that celebrate Chinese New Year, families host parties at houses where friends and family are all invited. Chinese New Year for Fang is a time to meet with old friends from his childhood and to enjoy the surrounding scenery. “While the food and decorations are key features to experience during Chinese New Year, what truly enhances the celebration is the environment of the party,” said Allan Yu, a GBHS senior. Yu, who was born in New York City, has consequently celebrated Chinese New Year in different forms, providing a variety of different experiences. What makes the holiday unique from others is the way of celebration, the attire, the food and the language. Chinese New Year in the Granite Bay community has its own unique

twists that make it more American than it is in other communities. During Chinese New Year, celebrants can expect to see a great amount of decorations and festivals appropriate for all. One of the key elements of the holiday that many hope to see is the dragon, a huge puppet that requires multiple people to hold up. Among the countless activities many participants look forward to is the sharing of red envelopes between friends and family members – with money inside. Junior David Song said that he views the holiday as an event that’s not a necessity to his life but an enjoyable time to meet with friends to celebrate the New Year and eat really good food. Song’s family is known to hold New Year parties occasionally, and the Song gatherings often include other GBHS students. One long-standing Song tradition is the making of dumplings for friends and family members. An important Chinese New Year tradition is to wish family members a happy new year and success for the future, either in person or on the phone. The Chinese culture has great respect for the elderly, often seeking wisdom from them or thanking them for their contributions to the family. Also, there is great emphasis on children and their duty and responsibility to carve out a future for themselves and be successful for their family. “Chinese New Year (...) is not only tied down to the boundaries of food and party,” Wendy Li, principal of Rocklin Chinese School said, “but (it’s) also the pure image of culture and how it defines us.”

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beat the drums.

February 2017

Drumming up some competition The GBHS Drum Line prepares for its first exhibition of the season

The Granite Bay High School drum line leads the remainder of the marching band onto the track as they prepare to play. BY DEAN WILSON

dwilson.gazette@gmail.com

s Feb. 25 approaches quickly, the Granite Bay High School drum line anxiously awaits their first exhibition of the season, and they’re looking to beat more than their drums. The winter percussion program at GBHS has been in full swing for several months now. The students have been working day-in and day-out to sharpen their chops, and Feb. 25 will be the first piece of outside feedback. The exhibition is to take place at the drum line’s home court, GBHS, where several other schools will come to compete for the recognition of the judges. The percussion program is a subset of the full Granite Bay marching band, where the students in the drum line can receive more personal feedback. Similar to the Emerald Brigade, however, are the long hours and dedication that the percussionists have to put into the season. Practices occur every day during the week. Senior Andy Sazima is enthusiastic about the effort that has been put into the practices by the drum line. “This is the most prepared we’ve ever been for a first show in the group’s history,” Sazima said. “The whole show is memorized by each and every musician, and the design has great potential for the future” Despite the tedious work that the drum line puts into the preparation for the show, some students have their doubts about the very first performance.

Gazette photo /CARISSA LEWIS

“We like to think of the first performance as our sloppiest,” freshman Keaton Brasse said, “but it gives us an opportunity to add onto it and become better and better.” Upperclassman Chance Vano agrees with Brasse in that “there will be kinks and wrinkles, but there is only room for improvement.” The camaraderie amongst the percussionists helps to pull the performance together. Newer members look up to upperclassmen for guidance on the difficult new routine. The enforcement of good techniques is crucial. Vano is a snare drum player, the first drum in the formation that leads the others, and takes upon a leadership role to help others in the group. “It’s really important to get people up to speed with what we’re doing and understand the process we go through here in the Emerald Brigade” Vano said. On the other side of the hierarchy, the freshman class has played a far greater role in this year’s winter percussion program. The drum line has a far greater number of underclassmen, so the younger students are able to adapt quickly to changes in the routine or other complications that may arise. All preparation aside, the GBHS drum line has shown a great deal of success in the past several years. The reputation that the program has built sets a standard that the percussionists have to live up to. “The competition is going to be tough,” Vano said, “but I have no doubt in my mind that we will be able to compete right alongside them.”

Gazette illustrations/ NATASHA CHANDA

February 2017

SAD.

Page 17

Desperation Day Desperate times call for desperate measures as GBHS students discuss February 13 and what it entails.

BY DEAN WILSON

dwilson.gazette@gmail.com

alentine’s Day is a day that the whole country can feel the love. Flower and chocolate sales skyrocket and sappy love poems are aplenty. Yes, everything feels right for couples who crave the day dedicated to showing affection to one another. But what about the other half of the population that isn’t in a relationship? Who then will buy the assorted sweets or purchase the bouquet of roses? Even the most “beautiful” of holidays has an ugly side. The day before Valentine’s Day, February 13, is where the claws come out, known primarily as Desperation Day. The premise of the fake holiday is simply to get into a relationship 24 hours prior to Valentine’s Day as to not be lonely or miss out on the festivities. The only issue with the last attempt at love before cupid arrives is that it isn’t pretty. The “search” for love turns out to be much less graceful than it sounds and becomes a desperate scramble, hence the nickname of the faux-holiday. So where does one even start to “pitch” their proposal to just begin a relationship at a moment’s notice and bypass months of hard work that goes into forming a bond with another person? “I really don’t think there’s any good way to go about it,” junior Addie Follett said, “It’s pretty difficult to successfully pull off a stunt like that. But I suppose that if you said everything in the right way, it could be done”

Others are far more skeptical about how possible it is to ask somebody to be your boyfriend or girlfriend without really talking it out before. “There is absolutely no way that something like that would work,” Senior Evan Sarmiento said, “I would say that 90 percent of students at Granite Bay High School wouldn’t even consider it. People want to take a minute to breathe and think over what it means to be in a relationship,” The majority of students at GBHS seem to dismiss the notion of participating in the “festivities” of Desperation Day, but there are actually many people who think that the holiday is a great invention. As one may expect, the activity on Tinder and other dating apps increases prior to and during the 13th. There are even blogs that are dedicated to the conversation of Desperation Day. “Though I couldn’t say really that I know anybody who would search for a partner on Desperation Day, I definitely see why people do it,” junior Connor Vivaldi said, “The culture at the high school seems to steer away from the idea of it, but there is some validity in not wanting to be alone when everybody else is with somebody.” These GBHS students agree that the holiday of Desperation Day is not quite realistic for kids or really anyone. “I have never felt obligated to be in a relationship with somebody on St. Valentine’s Day,” junior Nicollette Lewis said, “It actually seems ridiculous to frantically search for a boyfriend or girlfriend because of one silly holiday.”

Page 18

film.

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

SBS DISTRIBUTION

Rated: PG-13

Rated: R

By: Caroline Palmer cpalmer2.gazette@gmail.com

By: Connor Hinson chinson.gazette@gmail.com

elle: A-

hat begins as a tragic narrative surrounding the rape of Michèle (Isabelle Huppert), a high-strung video game producer, slowly and subtly devolves into a tale of defilement and lust, exposing a side of humanity rarely explored outside of the arthouse. Although the film is directed by Dutch icon Paul Verhoeven, a man known for his late 80s sci-fi blockbusters, “Elle” is decidedly French. The typical Hollywood three-act structure is ditched for a New Wave approach in which the plot held together primarily through concepts and themes. This is not to say the film lacks a coherent narrative, however. Each scene flows naturally, and the loose structure is only noticeable in the later half of the movie which drags on a little, but to a positive effect. French national treasure Isabelle Huppert is the standout quality of the movie. Her conveyance of character through visual cues and body language alone is astonishing, especially considering that the character she plays is unlike any other I have seen. Sans spoilers, Huppert does not play the archetypal rape victim character, and in fact doesn’t let her defilement define her. Moreover, “Elle” is mature enough to not singularly focus on the rape, instead using its implications as a foil for the struggles of multiple characters. Equal in importance to the main narrative are the subplots, weaved into the main narrative of the film to expose some twisted facet of Michèle’s life or the lives of her family or friends. The blunders of her slacker son hold the same weight as her unhealthy relationship with her mother or any of the film’s multiple infidelities. Each of these situations reflect back onto Michèl, revealing something about her character. By the film’s end, nearly every character is well-developed, even those who have little on-screen time. The title, “Elle,” is French for “she,” a clever choice as it conveys both femininity as well as the otherness that comes with being the victim of assault, she being used as a distancing term. In many ways, “Elle” is a feminist film. “Elle” is the antithesis of “fun for the whole family.” It’s for sure one of the strangest films I have seen in theaters in a while and certainly the boldest.

rogue one: a star wars story: B+

hy would the engineers of the Death Star include a hidden self destruct button, and why would the resistance have any idea where it is? The answer to this age old question and more are included in George Lucas’ newest installment of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” After the iconic yellow text rolls over the screen, we meet a young Galen Erso and his family in the outer rim, with their young daughter Jyn. After years of isolation, the Erso family are hunted down by Orson Krennic who forces Galen to build an all powerful weapon for the Empire. Once her father is taken by the Empire young Jyn Erso hides on her home planet, until she is found by Saw Gerrera, who is with the resistance. How did he know what hidden latch Jyn was hiding under? That’s a great question that was never answered. Years later, we see Jyn who is a prisoner of the Empire escape while on the way to a work camp. However, we are unaware of why she is captive or even for how long. After her escape, Jyn joins Captain Cassian Andar and later joins up with Bodhi Rook and K-2SO. While we have not seen many Jedis in the most recent “Star Wars” movies, we do meet Chirrut Imwe, who is able to use the force in place of his sight. Chirrut is almost never seen without Baze Malbus, who says he is keeping him from getting into trouble, however, I got the feeling that there might be something more going on with the duo. While I was quite impressed that both the late Governor Tarkin and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin as well as a young Carrie Fisher made an appearance, it was pretty obvious that there was something out of place. The “Star Wars” corperation did hint to us that the characters in this movie would only be in “Rogue One” because none of them appear in “A New Hope”, they did make the ultimate sacrifice for the rebellion on the beaches of Scarriff. I know that “Star Wars” fans around the world are looking forward to seeing Carrie Fisher for the final time in the next movie: “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi”

FOX STAR STUDIOS

omantic Hindi films in the Bollywood industry are almost always a hit, with some love story blockbusters reaching remarkable numbers in the box office. Yet, “Ok Jaanu” failed to grasp any intriguing plot in the relationship of modern love. Directed by Shaad Ali, the chemistry between both Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur was obvious, and the story seemed predictable. Coincidentally running into each other at a mutual friend’s wedding, the two hit it off in an instant, believing that fate brought them together, which in many cases is a common occurrence in bollywood films. Dharma Productions, led by the very wellknown, Karan Johar, generally has the best romantic films of today, but statistically, the movie hasn’t received well numbers on ratings and profit. As they say in India, the movie was a complete “flop.” The couples six month relationship became one that they hoped they could never put to an end. Many in today’s age face the same issue, long-distant relationships. Shot in both Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the production seemed to be detailed, giving an in-depth look at the busy markets and beautiful mosques set in India. Both not wanting to get married, they decided to be focused on their career paths, but they ultimately steer into the direction of love. What would a romance genre film be without love? Moving in with one another may seem odd in Indian culture, but times have changed and the landlord grudgingly agreed to the idea and the relationship between both Tara and Aditya reaches an ultimate peak. Resolving the issue of never seeing each other again, both agree to not argue with each other and have the best ten days before they leave for their own career paths. Choosing career over love is one that doesn’t happen often in traditional Hindi movies. With music composed by A.R. Rahman, some tracks became increasingly popular and liked by many viewers. From acoustics to party themed songs, there was a variety of songs many can relate to. Although the plot was predictable, the distinction between traditional love and modern love was one many should view to see the other side of relationships in today’s world. Rated: NR By: Sanjna Saini ssaini.gazette@gmail.com

ok jaanu: B-

February 2017

Page 19

film.

COLUMBIA PICTURES

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Rated: PG-13

By: Lyndsey Benner lbenner.gazette@gmail.com

By: Max Schwartz mchwartz.gazette@gmail.com

split: C+

issociative identity disorder (DID), is a disorder that affects many people and is something that M. Night Shyamalan uses as his source of horror for his new movie “Split.” The opening of the movie shows Casey, the main character, as a complete outcast. This is confirmed by the two other girls and their dad talking about how she was a “pity invite” Kevin, the character who has DID, is introduced as he comes in the car where the dad should be, after knocking out the dad. The teenagers, who are too involved in their phones, didn’t notice the man except for Casey. Casey is completely frozen as Kevin, or as you learn later, his other of his 23 personalities, Dennis. Dennis is characterized as having extreme OCD and is a prime example of how different each personality is. There is another personality named Hedwig who is nine years old and has the same distinct nine year old personality I remember from elementary school. One scene to describe this is when Hedwig asked to kiss Casey, and then proceeded to do so with a weird fashion in which a nine year old would expect their first kiss to be, which ended up being a pretty funny scene. Split’s run-time was longer than it needed to be. This was mostly noticeable due to how the movie tied all of its’ loose ends in a span of five minutes. This almost gave the movie a rushed feeling despite the two hour run time. The ending was very interesting but it gave way for a whole new sequel which made me say, “seriously?” out loud in the theatre. I usually don’t mind having endings in movies that pave the way for a second movie, but the way Split handles this, makes the movie seem like a Marvel ending, which came across as very annoying. The movie was advertized way differently than the finished product ended up being. In my opinion, there was too much revealed in the preview to the point where I knew something was about to happen in the scene that wasn’t even predictable, I just knew because half of the climax of the movie was shown in the preview. The movie was also advertised to be way different than it was. When I walked into the movie theatre, I was expecting a horror that would be completely innovative to it’s genre, what I got was innovative, but it was a thriller, not horror. In all “Split” was a good movie, but it was completely different than advertized.

passengers: B+

he chance to leave earth and create a new life is an opportunity some could not pass. In the sci-fi romance movie “Passengers,” five thousand people decide to be put in hibernation for one hundred twenty five years to go to a new world called Homestead II. Jim Preston, an engineer, happens to wake up ninety years too early and quickly realizes he is all alone. The film develops the idea of how someone reacts when they are isolated from people for a long period of time. Chris Pratt as Jim Preston conveys the insanity one would go through perfectly. From getting a long beard to looking like a completely different person. The movie can be compared to “Titanic” in space. The love story between Jim Preston and Aurora, a journalist, is however very predictable and not as intense as Titanic. I think “Passengers” should have spent more time developing their love and making it more complex. I also wish the story would have dug deeper into the background of Aurora and Jim’s lives on Earth before they left. I wanted to better understand their incentives for being on the ship to a new world and why they would leave everything behind. Jennifer Lawrence as Aurora and Chris Pratt did give impressive performances. Considering there are only four actors who come into the story, they kept the movie entertaining. The relationship between them seemed real in both the parts where they were in love and when they were fighting. Jennifer Lawrence especially impressed me. Most people only see her as Katniss from the “Hunger Games,” but she completely transformed. The special effects were spectacular. The spaceship and space were realistic enough to where I felt I was there with them. In many movies I have seen people float because of a loss of gravity, but in this movie a whole pool floated. It was breathtaking, and I have not seen anything like it. This movie got me thinking about what I would do if I was in the situation of Preston for hours after I watched it. It challenges one to think of how selfish they would be if they were stuck alone for the rest of their life. Would you wake someone else up knowing they would have to die on the ship alone with you and never get a chance at life?

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

s an avid fan of musicals, I was excited to go see this supposed modern day “Singing in the Rain,” but I left the theater disappointed after watching “La La Land.” Maybe it was all of the hype surrounding the film, but personally I don’t believe that it’s comparable to the classic great musicals. The opening scene of director Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” was spectacular visually, even reminiscent of older musicals, but as the film continued it was evident that it wasn’t really a part of the plot and was just added for the awe value. Starring Emma Stone as a struggling actress, Mia, and Ryan Gosling as a jazz pianist, Sebastian, who wants to make classical jazz popular again, the characters proved to be cliché LA stereotypical dreamers. The main characters are two-dimensional, lacking in personality. One of the few places where there is the opportunity to learn more about Mia is when Sebastian asks her why she wants to be an actress. But she only talks about how she aspires to be like her aunt. Having one of the main character’s ambition in life to just be like someone else is cheap. Mia as a character is reliant on Stone’s acting to give her a personality. Gosling’s character Sebastian comes off as the stereotypical hero coming in to save the genre of jazz that would die or at least severely change without him there to save it. It is reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling’s white heroes. The acting is great and so are the costumes, which are whimsical and bright, bringing a retro feeling to the modern day musical. But the songs aren’t memorable, which is a key aspect of musicals. I left not even remembering what most of the songs were about. Most of the songs seem just added in and not as though they were originally planned to be apart of the movie. The plot is also lacking. It’s dragged out for the majority of the film and then rushed at the end. It’s a movie that you’ll focus more on the visual than the plot. Although the ending did have some redeeming factors as it didn’t follow the cookie cutter mold, it was still predictable but appreciated. If you want to spend $13 to go see a mediocre plot that has been hyped up but has beautiful cinematography then “La La Land” would be a great choice as it is still fun to watch. A film about following your dreams left me dreaming about what could have been different about it. Rated: PG-13 By: Kaley Dover kdover.gazette@gmail.com

la la land: B

February 2017

Page 20

save the date.

OR P KN

NE Y

HI T /W ion at

aris might be called the city of love, but you don’t have to be there to enjoy this Valentine’s Day. Places all over the Granite Bay area provide romantic and fun date ideas that allow for a change from the standard dinner and a movie. “We’re planning on going to dinner,” senior Trevon Lockwood said about his Valentine’s Day plans with his girlfriend Micheala Garza. “We’re not exactly sure where yet, but after that we’re going to an art gallery,” Senior Kendall Smith also does not want to be “basic” about her Valentine’s Day plans with boyfriend Cameron Harmon. “The best thing would be doing (something) like going on a hike or doing a movie in for the night, but outside with a campfire,” Smith said. Your Valentine’s Day plans don’t have to stay confined to Granite Bay, either. “I would love to go on a day trip and just do something wherever we go, like if we went to San Francisco and just (did) touristy things,” Garza said. Many students are choosing instead to go out to celebrate either the weekend preceding or following Valentine’s Day. Because the holiday falls on a Tuesday this year, it just isn’t practical for everyone to celebrate on the actual date. “My boyfriend, Basil Hassoun, is probably going to be a counselor at Shady Creek that week, so I’m probably just going to stay home and do homework and maybe watch a little Grey’s Anatomy,” senior Hannah Stubee said. “But we’ll probably go sailing or something before he leaves or when he gets back.” Garza also plans on celebrating the weekend after because she has to work on Valentine’s Day. Others plan on celebrating both on the actual date with some kind of small event and then with a larger,

more elaborate plan before or after the holiday. “We’ll probably go out to dinner the weekend before, then Tuesday after school we’ll probably hang out and watch a movie and cuddle,” Smith said. The general sentiment of gifts seems to be that, while it doesn’t matter what you receive, it’s the meaning behind it that counts. “I like something creative and from the heart, like if my boyfriend played me a song,” Smith said. “Or if he wrote me a letter, or gave me flowers or both.” For many couples, unique is the way to go when it comes to giving this Valentine’s Day. “There isn’t really an ideal gift,” Lockwood said. “It would just be something that’s meaningful – it isn’t really something specific, just something that means something, whether it’s like an inside joke of ours or something that we’ve done before.” Food is a fan favorite for many couples. “I’m looking forward to after Valentine’s Day when all of the chocolate is discounted,” Garza said. Stubee agreed: “Food, always food. And memories.” Many couples also appreciate unique dates, not just thoughtful gifts. Stubee said her favorite date was when they took pictures on the side of the road in a rural area, got pizza, then went flying in a plane. Smith said she also enjoys the flexibility that Valentine’s Day allows for. “I feel like Valentine’s Day,” she said, “is really like the one day for couples to get creative with their relationship.” And although many see Valentine’s Day as a couples’ holiday, it isn’t just for those in relationships. “Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be about relationships,” Garza said, “it could be about your love for your family and friends, appreciating each other.”

illu str

BY KALEY DOVER

kdover.gazette@gmail.com

Kendall Smith and her boyfriend at Winterball 2016 now look forward to a romantic Valentine’s Day together.

Ga ze tte

Special to the Gazette /MICHEALA GARZA

Micheala Garza and her boyfriend Trevon Lockwood enjoy an adventurous date in San Francisco.

Tips from GBHS couples on how to survive and thrive on Valentine’s Day

Special to the Gazette /KENDALL SMITH

A Date and Gift Guide to Valentine’s Day