WELCOME NEW KNIGHT STAFF! NICK HALABY CHIEF EDITOR
ALEX STEPHENSON MAGAZINE EDITOR
JANET YEO LAYOUT EDITOR
VICTORIA MARTINEZ ADVERTISING MANAGER
KATHRYN BRACKEN BLOG EDITOR/ WRITER
GABRIELA AVILA WRITER
LAUREN CRITTENDEN WRITER
ANDREW GAVINET WRITER
And perhaps... YOU?*
VIST THE KNIGHT MAGAZINE’S ONLINE PUBLICATION AT:
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TO ADVERTISE IN THE KNIGHT MAGAZINE, PLEASE CONTACT: (818) 933-3654 NEWSPAPERKNIGHT@GMAIL.COM *Ask how you can become a GUEST WRITER for THE KNIGHT MAGAZINE today! Contact Nick Halaby or Journalism Teacher Mrs. Elisia Harkins-James for details. © 2014 NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL, 13645 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91423 AUGUST 2014
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Cheer Camp Q&A
The Knight Magazine interviews Payton Hare, Notre Dame Varsity Songleader
By Kathryn Bracken Photos By: Haley Amber Montroy, Varsity Cheer Coach
KB: How did you like cheer camp overall? PH: I loved it personally. KB: Why? PH: I thought the overall experience was enjoyable. I really enjoyed the new routines I got to learn. I got to make new friends and I got to bond with my team. KB: What was your favorite part of cheer camp? PH: Well, the food is always amazing! [Laughs] but I believe my favorite part was the unity workshops because not only was it a bonding experience for my team, but also the captains, Britney Martinez and Maddie Reif, really took control and showed me that we are going to have a fantastic year. KB: Did you find the staff members helpful? If so, why? PH: I cannot speak for the cheer instructors but the songleading instructors were very helpful. They always answered my questions and went over the moves whenever I was confused. KB: Do you believe that cheer camp helped you improve your skills? PH: I don’t know if it helped improve my skills as a dancer technically but definitely when it comes to picking up the routines quickly and remembering them. KB: What was it like earing the Spirit Star ribbon for the third time? Payton: Well I honestly didn’t think I would get it, let alone top three. There were so many amazing dancers there. It was still exciting though beyond belief! PH: What did you do to earn all those ribbons? Payton: Everyone who got the ribbons were examples of true leaders and people who were kind to everyone. KB: And how was the final day overall to you? PH: Very tiring [Laughs] but it was fun to hang with cheer and do everything together. KB: Were you sad to leave? PH: Yes and no. I was sad to leave all my friends that I’ve made but I was happy to sleep in my own bed for hours and hours. KB: Well thank you so much for your time! PH: It was my pleasure!
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Getting Back in the Swing of Things
By: Janet Yeo, Photos by Janet Yeo and Coach Ann McClung
The fall season is coming up, and you know what that means…Notre Dame Girl’s Golf! With the smell of fresh cut grass and a lingering scent of sunscreen in the air, the girl’s golf team is ready to make the 2014 season a great one. The girl’s golf team has had an excellent record over the last few years. They have won CIF two years in a row in 2011-2012. The girls have won the title of Mission League Champions for five consecutive times, adding to the total of 11 championships. The girls have also won numerous tournaments throughout the season. Despite the previous successes, Coach Ann McClung will not base expectations on past performances. She stated, “We cannot have the same expectations as the year before because every team is different.” She explained, “I don’t have any clear expectations but for everyone to improve on their golf, get better, and do the best that we can do.” Coach McClung’s goal is for all the girls, returning or new, to work hard, make personal progression, improve, and most importantly, have fun. Although the team lost two valuable seniors, Vivian Markel and Katelyn Reynolds, the Lady Knights have two new freshmen, Stephanie Ahn and Bernadette Ochoa to join their squad. Coach McClung said, “The freshmen are new to competition golf. They will experience it for the first time this year. This is a year for them to adjust to rigors of playing.” The team is excited to have Ahn and Ochoa on their tight-knit squad. The team will also have new captains as well. Seniors Lauren Crittenden, Kathryn Newton, Sammy Winchester, and Janet Yeo will be leading the girls to another exciting season. To get ready for the upcoming season, the team will be heading to Ventura for their annual boot camp. The team will be playing on CIF competition courses and also get to know one another better. The girls will be playing at great golf courses, have fun in the sun by the beautiful beach, and enjoy each other’s company.
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The Universal Difference By Nick Halaby Southern Californians are spoiled when it comes to the amount of theme parks we have. One of the most famous is Universal Studios Hollywood, whose trademark “movie” experience has been drawing visitors for decades. Its sister park and resort, Universal Studios Orlando, is quickly climbing up the theme park ranks. Its growth in popularity has helped it become the second most visited resort in the attraction heavy Central Florida. Although both resorts are popular, one has to be better than the other. Here is a comparison to show which of the two has the upper hand.
The Resorts This is a comparison between the two overall resort features of Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando. This means aspects that don’t include the amusement parks, such as hotels, restaurants and accessibility. The first major difference here is the Universal Studios Orlando is much bigger than Hollywood. Being in an underdeveloped area like Orlando gives it an advantage when it comes to size. When it comes to Hotels, the resort in Orlando has multiple while the one in Hollywood only has a single one. For both size and hotels, Orlando has it better over Hollywood. Where Hollywood has the upper hand is City Walk. Although the resort in Orlando has more space, its city walk is not nearly the size of the one in Hollywood. Furthermore, its shops, restaurants and clubs can’t compare to the experiences that are present in the original City Walk. Universal Orlando could have completely replicated what was done in California, but for some reason, they didn’t. Although the Hollywood resort dominates when it comes to City Walk, the fact that there are more hotels and space in the Florida property gives Universal Studios Orlando the upper hand.
The Theme Parks The Theme park comparison is probably the most discussed and most important of all when it comes to comparing the two resorts. Let’s start by realizing that the resort in Orlando has two parks. While its namesake Universal Studios Park is almost a replica of the Original in Hollywood, its second park, The Islands of Adventure, is nothing like what you find in California. It’s dozens of attractions and size compliment to the rest of the resort. What really sets it apart is its famous Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This part of the park is greatly themed and is a full scale replica of many of the sets of the famous Movie series. Its authenticity and closeness to the films are so impressive, it is even better than most Disney park creations. This alone gives the advantage to Orlando over Hollywood whose most famous aspect, the studio tour, has become so cheesy that it’s novelty has worn off. In the near future the resort in Hollywood will be creating their own Harry Potter themed area, but until than the two theme parks in Florida will remain the best of Universals properties.
The Winner Is? After comparing both the overall resorts and the theme parks it is apparent that Universal Studios Orlando is the better of the two resorts. Although the Hollywood Resort’s City Walk kept the race close in the Resort contest, Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter completely left no comparison between the two in the Theme Park competition. Although it is the lesser of the two resorts, Universal Studios Hollywood is on its way back into the theme park lime light. It’s success with Halloween Horror Nights in the last five years along with its coming additions, including an exciting Harry Potter Themed area, means that the resort in Orlando might not remain atop the Universal Studios comparison for long.
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Alumni Corner ND Alum is on the Road to the Show
By Nick Halaby Notre Dame Alum David Armendariz is on a very unusual career path. In June he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB Draft. At that moment, David was transformed from a collegiate and amateur baseball player into a professional athlete. The beginning of his minor league career is just the most recent chapter in what has been a long road for Armendariz. After graduating from Notre Dame in 2010, Armendariz went on to play baseball in college, were he had an extremely successful run. After a great senior year with Cal Poly Pamona, he received All-American honors and was named CCAA MVP. His success in College helped him rise in draft stock when it came to getting selected by a Major League Ball Club. “ … My goal was to have an MVP type season so it was satisfying to be given that honor,” exclaimed Armendariz. He said that the accolade would not have been possible without his coaches and teammates. “I share those accomplishments and memories with them.” After having an astounding college career, it was time for Armendariz to shine on the minor league field. Although his tenure as a professional has been short, he already has some great memories. “My favorite memory so far is my first homerun,” he explained. His first professional long ball came against the Milwaukee Brewers in their big league stadium. “I remember everything about it, the pitcher, the pitch, the count and the distance.” So far, Armendariz has had a solid career in the pro’s. He’s had to make adjustments and get use to the speed of the game. “Everything is faster, the Pitches, the hits, the fielders…” explained Armendariz. According to him, the change in speed and intensity is similar to the one that occurs in the jump from High School to college. When asked about what it takes to successfully adjust to the minors, Armendariz
says that the key is mentality. “You can always fix physical or athletic challenges… My biggest thing is the mental side…to make it in this game you have to be strong mentally,” said Armendariz, who’s biggest goal isn’t just to make it to the Big Leagues, but to also develop to the point where he can be successful at that level. David Armendariz is trying to achieve what few have ever had the chance to. Major League baseball is extremely hard to get to and as explained by Armendariz, it is grind for anyone to get to that level. He has already had an extremely successful career, with MVP and All-American honors that are highlights on an impressive baseball resume. With an ultimate goal for improvement and success only time will tell if Armendariz’s Major League Baseball dreams will come true.
Photo Credits to Susan Armendariz
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Small Town Charm
By: Gabby Avila
On the coast of Oregon there lies a town with extraordinary sights and crisp air, where it does not take long for your hair and clothes to smell like the sea. Sandwiched in between the shoreline and a forest is Seaside, Oregon, a town that looks like it belongs on a Hollywood back lot. The town’s main street is filled with candy shops, an arcade, and dozens of souvenir shops. Stickers with the town’s high school mascot- the Gullsare in every other store window. A lot of small towns like to say they have a big city feel, but Seaside is a small town with an even smaller town feel. But maybe that is not such a bad thing. Living in Los Angeles County, we all know what a big city feels like. Most of us have been downtown at least once, and some of us even live there. For someone who has lived near or in the city all their life, living in a small town like Seaside might be hard to imagine. And yet, for some like me, the idea is at least somewhat alluring. Big cities can be overwhelming. They are filled with crowds, cars, buildings that block out the sun and lights that dim the stars. Traffic and parking are always nightmares. It is almost impossible to find a peaceful or quiet spot. Small town do not have those problems, or at least not to the same degree as cities. Smaller populations mean less crowds and more personal space. Most small towns are designed with the pedestrians in mind, so almost everything is within walking distance and traffic is not an issue. Skyscrapers do not line the streets and make you feel small. There are, of course, down sides to living in a small town as well. While being in the middle of nowhere away from big cities can allow you to get some peace, it can also cause you to get a little bored. After a week of vacation in Seaside, my family began to run out of things to do. The arcade games got less fun, the beach grew less entertaining, and all the different shops started to look the same. There are also less practical things around, especially in small towns that cater to tourists. Most of the shops sell nothing but souvenirs and novelties. There is only one choice for a grocery store, and clothing options are limited unless you want all your tops and bottoms printed with Seaside, Oregon all over them. Big cities are big because they have a lot of things inside of them: museums, zoos, shops, theme parks, restaurants, cinemas, concert venues‌ Big cities have more options for diverse groups of people. Seaside has activities mainly for outdoorsy types of people, and not all small towns share the same beautiful surroundings. Some are in the middle of plains or deserts with no forests to roam or beaches to relax on. In retrospect any place, big or small, can get old after a little while. Someone who has always lived in a city may find themselves wanting to move to a small town, and vice versa. What both types of people really want is something different than what they have lived with for so long. That is why this city girl sees so much charm in small town life.
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TRAPPED IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY
One student’s odyssey through the Great Firewall of China reveals prisonlike control over Internet access By Andrew Gavinet
Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in the People’s Republic of China with my dad on vacation. It was a great trip, with the only problem being I couldn’t share it with all my friends and family back home. China is a Communist country, and although the massive shopping malls and golf courses may tell you otherwise, they only hide what still remains China’s biggest problem: censorship. In wake of China’s newfound wealth and prosperity comes a harsh set of rigid rules and regulations that most Chinese people don’t even notice (they have spent their entire lives under Communist rule and are used to it), but to the average American tourist, they are very visible. In my two weeks overseas I could not use Facebook, YouTube, or even Google. A majority of my apps did not work (oddly
enough with the exception of Instagram) and in order to surf the Web, I had to use a censored version of Bing. And perhaps the strangest thing was what happened on June 4th. On the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre I was lucky enough to be in Hong Kong, which is the only part of China in which free speech and full use of Internet is allowed. Outside my window from the Sheraton Hong Kong, I saw 180,000 people holding up candles just outside of the bay, in memoriam for all of those innocent men, women, and children that were killed on that fateful day 25 years ago. The Chinese news never even mentioned the event once in my hotel room. The word surreal could not do it justice. As I previously mentioned I had a great trip in China. But all of the rules and restrictions over my use of the Internet and social media felt
like a small weight on my shoulder, a weight that I carried all over Shanghai’s giant buildings and Xi’an’s terracotta warriors. Something that is so taken for granted in our country is viewed as a poison on the other side of the world. I spent my last day in China outside of a bar in Shanghai looking at the skyline. My father always told me you can tell how successful a city is by the amount of cranes it’s using to build new buildings. I saw no less than 10 of them in the skyline alone. It is no secret that China is wealthy. The newly paved roads, building cranes, and architecture make quite clear. But in many ways China still seems very poor. As I write to you on my airplane towards home I’m happy that I can finally use my phone free of restrictions. And I’m happy knowing that this story won’t be censored either. In many ways China still seems very poor. AUGUST 2014
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A New Perspective
By Alex Stephenson There are many ways to express yourself, but art was not a way I ever thought would find me. Stick figures being my specialty, I only signed up for the college class at Pierce to fulfill a one-year art requirement. Little did I know, it would be one of the most educating classes I had ever taken. Art 201 Drawing is situated on the top of campus, and with a red stock folder and drawing board, not to mention the tool box to carry, 10 flights of stairs was never fun. However, the three-hour class that ensued was. Every morning from 8:00 to 11:00 Monday through Thursday, I would sit in a classroom, straining my eyes and fingers, trying to get the exact proportions of the still life in front of me onto the page underneath my pencil. It was hard, very hard. I had never drawn before, and am certainly no artist, but by the end of those three hours, I felt one step closer to an accomplishment. No, it wasn’t the best drawing in the class by far, but I had done the best I could, and that was a good feeling. That good feeling, however, never lasted too long as my classmates and I slumped home, saddled with 5 hours worth of sketches and drawings to complete. Like most things in life, this class required a lot of hard work and determination, but it paid off. Art class was not number one on the list of things to do in summer, however I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The class I thought I would hate, I soon came to love. Despite the graphite covered hands and charcoal stained jeans, realistic drawing was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I made new friends along the way, including a very talented 14-year-old cartoonist, as well as a mother who was gifted artist. There were a surprising amount of adults in the class, including an American woman just trying something new, and a Russian couple inspired by the artistic talents of their children... not to mention the other 35 college kids all there for some reason, whether it be a requirement for a fashion major, they wanted to pursue art, or the simply had nothing better to do each morning. We all improved together, from the shaky Van Gogh copied on the first day of class, to the jacket final, every student turned out spectacular work with which the professor was well pleased. I can now safely say that I am a better artist, as well as a better person. I have discovered a new talent and given truth to the sayings of old: you really can do anything when you put your mind to it, well, in this case, your pencil.
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Entering a lecture hall classroom at UCLA, Cameron Crowe looks beach casual. Wearing a denim button up and striped bermudas, hair styled messy rocking some white converse. “I’m not very good at public speaking,” Crowe admits, a nervous grin stretching across his tanned face, “So go easy on me, okay?” This is the genius that wrote the cult classic “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and won an Academy Award for best screenplay for his semibiographical flick “Almost Famous”. He has crafted iconic lines like “Show me the money!” and lovable characters like Lloyd Dobbler. Crowe confided in us that he found inspiration for his future stories through an embarrassing article he had to write for “The Rolling Stone”. The catch was, the magazine editors didn’t know Crowe was only fifteen at the time. “They told me I had to write a story about an adult subject The Quest to Find “In Your Eyes” matter,” laughs Crowe, “And I freaked out since I had no idea what I could “It was difficult to get write about.” the song right for the boom box The story he crafted for the magazine turned out to be the most scene,” said Crowe. According to truthful thing he had ever written. “They called my article real writing,” Crowe, John Cusack wanted to remembers Crowe, “And that is when I decided these are the stories I want play a song from Fishbone, but to continue writing. It turned out the most embarrassing things were the the audio wasn’t quite right. “We most truthful, which attracts my audience the most.” didn’t want the audience to feel His passion for writing stems from his various projects. He devel- as if Lloyd was stalking Diane,” ops stories that are extraordinary, but he manages to keep his characters jokes Crowe. down-to-earth and realistic. In “Fast Times” every individual could be a Crowe’s wife at the time, classmate you pass in the hallway. In “Say Anything” and “Almost Famous” Nancy Wilson of Heart, sugthe protagonists embody the boy-next-door sterotype. gested a new song. After playing His impeccable taste in music is evident in all his films as well. the song back they realized it Crowe handpicks songs from his personal library to enhance the experi- was the one. ence in each of his films. “It’s hardest on the “Even now, I’m still amazed when I see my name in [Rolling band though,” comments Crowe, Stone] or on a screen,” Crowe confessed. “It feels like I’m living in some “They want to be remembered surreal dream. for their song being a song, not being in a Toyota commercial or movie.
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