WWW.MCSUN.ORG MAKING THE SUN SHINE ONLINE
The Mt. Carmel
High School
SUN
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2, 2009 VOL. 37 NO. 2
9550 CARMEL MOUNTAIN RD., SAN DIEGO, CA 92129
WHAT’S
INSIDE NEWS
Check out the ASB Update, and find out what’s happening around campus.
DRUG BUST
PAGE A3
CENTERSPREAD
The SUN showcases MC’s diverse gaming community.
CATHY MCDERMOTT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PAGE A4 & A5
OPINIONS
STAFF EDITORIAL: After years of being told to “just say no” to drugs, the effects finally hit home for a group of MC students. Read what the SUN staff has to say about it. PAGE A6
COLUMN: Mackenzie Lance shares her experiences with sport injuries in her column “That’s What She Said.” PAGE A6
PRO CON: Read both points of view, and take a side on whether or not illegal immigrants should be granted amnesty. PAGE A7
ONLINE
www.mcsun.org
MAKING THE SUN SHINE ONLINE
REVIEW: “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs “
REVIEW: Zac Brown Band “The Foundation”
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
NEXT ISSUE
The next issue will be a Special Edition. Look for it in three weeks. IT’S GOING TO BE HOT... VERY HOT.
UPCOMING
EVENTS LATE START
OCT. 9
SENIOR BREAKFAST
OCT. 14
HOMECOMING RALLY
OCT. 23
HOMECOMING GAME
OCT. 30
HOMECOMING DANCE
OCT. 31
INDEX NEWS CENTERSPREAD OPINIONS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES
A2-A3 A4-A5 A6-A8 B1-B3 B4-B5 B6-B8
MC drug use uncommon; prescription drug usage increasing
FIVE STUDENTS INVOLVED IN MC DRUG BUST; ONE OVERDOSES, RUSHED TO HOSPITAL BRITTLYN FOSTER STAFF WRITER The ambulance sirens screamed as paramedics pulled into the MC parking lot on Wednesday, Sept. 3. One of the five MC students associated in the drug bust, one student overdosed on Ecstasy tablets and was taken away by ambulance, but he is now reported to be “okay.” “A Mount Carmel student was involved in selling drugs off campus to another MC student,” Assistant Principal Ron Garrett said. “The second student came onto campus, sold some of what he had purchased off campus, and consumed some of it. One of the students who bought the drugs and consumed it had a bad reaction and had to be taken out in
“Our consequences that we an ambulance, that person is now give are actually pretty light,” okay.” principal, Dr. Tom McCoy said. According to Garrett, the “You hear about teenagers all the police and school district are time that die trying to find in a drug or the supplier alcohol related who sold to the student. Nothing is worse incident, so PUSD has than having to start all to be sent one a zero tolerance over again, and losing from high school policy for drugs everything, the trust another and alcohol on of your family and the to is hopefully campus. trust of your friends. a wake-up Therefore, You have to restart all call because all the students who carried or your relationships with I think a real consumed the friends and teachers, consequence drugs on campus and nothing is really is injuring have now been worth it.” yourself administratively or another transferred. person, or Anyone who sold the drug is watching family suffer because of in the process of being expelled an incident like that.” from MC. “In our community there
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is zero tolerance; the school board and our parents have said ‘there will be no drugs alcohol or weapons at school’ regardless of the situation if you violate one of those things then you will be removed from MC,” McCoy said. According Joe Jones* who was involved in the drug incident, the reality of a drug bust affects more then just the people who get caught. “My family took it really hard, especially because I had to call and tell them what had happened myself,” Jones said. “I have always been a good kid for the most part... so there was no real reason for my family to see it coming, and I think that’s what made it so bad.”
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARY CARMEN GONZALEZ & AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITORS
>> CONTINUED ON A2, SEE “DRUG BUST”
Although narcotics have always been a big issue for some high school students, MC has been fortunate enough to have avoided many situations involving illegal drugs. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 34.7% of San Diego high school students in 2007 admitted they had tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime. That means that about 3.5 students out of every 10 have experimented with it. “It’s amazing how many high school students are part of the socalled ‘drug’ society,” a PQ drug dealer said. “You never realize how many abusers there are out there, until you associate yourself with them. It’s weird because before I started networking with these kinds of people, I had no idea so many were involved. You recognize that almost everyone does it.” In a recent SUN Poll, 19% of 278 Sundevils admitted to experimenting with some type of illegal drug. “I actually don’t have a lot of clients from MC,” the dealer said. “The other Poway schools definitely hold more of my cliental.” Although the obvious assumption would be that the preferred drug among teens is marijuana, the abuse of prescription drugs is actually increasing fairly rapidly. The North County Times reported on a government study that was released, claiming that “teens increasingly are getting high with legal drugs like painkillers and mood stimulators, including cough syrup.” “My best friend and I used to be heavy Robo users,” a senior said. “We used to pop multiple Robo pills just to get a high. It seemed safer since it was an over-the-counter drug, but it really messed us up.” The government study discovered that while teens were reportedly drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs less, prescription drugs were on an increase. “Anti-depressants are my best sellers,” the dealer said. “It’s especially bought by high school girls. I guess they think that because the drugs are ‘legal’ that it’s better to use than illegal drugs. Some girls refill weekly, like they can’t go through a school day without it.” Using drugs is a very serious issue, whether they’re legal or not. The Drug Abuse Warning Network stated that in 2007, 20 underage individuals suffered a drug related death in San Diego County. Unfortunately a MC alumna, who graduated in 2008, recently passed away from a heroin overdose. “I was in complete shock, when I found out she died,” the dealer said. “I don’t use or sell heroin, but I know a lot of people who do use and sell, and it really tripped me out because it could have happened to anyone of them.” “I mean I went to high school with this girl. We used to smoke together. She was only 20.” Luckily, heroin is not a frequently used drug, especially among high school students. Despite the rise in teen drug use over the years, MC has not had many problems on campus.
News
A2
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
DRUG BUST
>>CONTINUED FROM A1
Reportedly, Jones has accepted his consequences and really reflected on the bad decisions he made during the past. “Experiences have taught me a lot of things,” Jones said. “Even admitting to doing it at a previous time can get you expelled. You don’t need to be caught with it. And I definitely would not have started doing drugs at school in the first place if I could go back in time.” He also realizes that getting caught with drugs unfortunately leads people to judge and look down upon you as an individual. “This whole thing really put into perspective about how you’re perceived by other people, especially by administrators and police officers and how they talk to you and what they think about you,” Jones said. The shock to the students involved in the bust, of getting caught with drugs on campus can lead them to learning many things and experiencing consequences that they did not know or were prepared for before the bust. “You never really realize how low or bad you’re getting until you get sat down and talked to like you’re going to get arrested,” Jones said. “That really changes your outlook on the whole deal.” According to McCoy, many students have a mental picture that doing drugs will never affect any aspect of their life, including education or their personal lives. “We haven’t seen much good come from people engaging in drugs and alcohol or related behaviors,” McCoy said. “It never ends well, especially for young people, because they think they’re young and untouchable, but then all of the sudden it gets bad real quick.” There is an answer for students who have drug related problems. MC has many programs to aid students trying to fight, deal with, and control their addictions through Student Services. “We at MC have excellent programs for kids who get into trouble,” Student Services Specialist Edna Mailey said. “If they get into the right program and get away from their old friends, and get educated about thinking properly and not giving into peer pressure, then they can do a complete turn around.” Furthermore, Jones feels that being a part of the drug bust has really penetrated his relationships with his friends and family, and also hurt his reputation. “Nothing is worse than having to start all over again, and losing everything, the trust of your family and the trust of your friends. You have to restart all your relationships with friends and teachers, and nothing is really worth it.” *NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR PRIVACY REASONS
The Homecoming dance will be on Oct. 31 and the theme will be “A Haunting in Hollywood.”
CLUB RUSH Club Rush was a huge success this year bringing in more income then the previous year. “The purpose of Club Rush is to expose students to the various clubs on campus while helping the clubs make money,” senior Jasmin Yoon said. Although, not all clubs participated, more clubs than last year had a table. “The total number of clubs participating is 28 which is better compared to last year’s numbers,” Yoon said.
Club Rush delivers funds and food
AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITOR
MC students cross paths near the stage while on the prowl for the best values. Club Rush is a biannual event and is a major fundraiser for veteran and first year clubs.
VANDANA BHAIRI STAFF WRITER The stage was packed with people, filled with an aroma of Pat & Oscar’s breadsticks, Mexican food, and lumpia. This could only mean one thing—Club Rush. For many years, Club Rush has not only served as a benefit for clubs, but an opportunity to get delicious food. This year, there were about 20 clubs that participated in Club Rush. Yoon gives a few reasons why other clubs didn’t participate. “A lot of the clubs couldn’t do Club
Rush because they didn’t have money to buy the food,” Yoon said. “Some clubs didn’t care to do it.” Senior Jasmin Yoon, the ICC commissioner, explains how Club Rush is beneficial. “Club Rush is for clubs to promote themselves, make the whole school aware of what their club is, what it’s about,” Yoon said. “It’s basically a fundraiser for all the clubs; it’s all for the clubs.” Yoon also adds on, saying how Club Rush promotes clubs. “This year we enforced the whole pass-
ing out flyers,” she said. “…There are kids at this school that don’t really know if there’s a Key Club or a GSA and this is one way for the students to know about all the clubs.” Senior Jodie Ha, president of Best Buddies, says that her club will use the money for various trips and projects. “Club Rush is really important so that we can have enough money to hold all the events that we usually have,” Ha said. “[We use the money for different, smaller events like bowling…whenever we have fundraisers we create crafts so we need money to purchase the crafts.”
Yoon said that there will be another Club Rush in a few months. “There’s Club Fair which is in the spring,” she said. “…Last year…it became Class Fair just because the clubs didn’t feel like doing it again. But I’m going to try to enforce that this year to get all the clubs to participate.” Sophomore Mitchell Kogan describes his overall experience at Club Rush. “It was a tasty and it was a new experience,” Kogan said. “I didn’t eat the same food that I eat every day in the cafeteria which was good.”
Student services cut in half by budget ANGLEA KIM COPY EDITOR
“Do you have food?” This is just one of many questions students ask Student Services Specialist Edna Mailey. But as of late, Mailey is unavailable Monday through Wednesday to answer these questions due to the school budget cuts. Not only was Student Services cut from working five days a week to two days a week, but the three workers in Student Services were cut to only Mailey. Student Services is a program on campus that isn’t actually funded by the district that focuses on personal issues at MC including drugs, abuse and monetary issues. Mailey explains how these cuts happened. “By up until now, we’ve been paid by
WELCOME BACK “Out of all the welcome back assembelies I’ve seen while I’ve been here this one was by far the most entertaining,” senior Melissa Dikau said. Dikau’s opinion seemed to be the general consenses of the school population. With positive reactions, ASB felt satisfied. “It took a lot of work, but I’m happy with the outcome,” ASB president senior Jin Su said. ASB feels confident with the abilities that this class has presented and looks forward to a year of fun events.
-NICOLE BUSTAMANTE
what they call “soft money,” she said. “Which are grants…We are paid through tobacco… prevention money. But this year, we didn’t get any tobacco money.” The fact that she is not available during snack and lunch concerns her primarily. “We deal with the social and emotional aspect of high school,” Mailey said. “We’re here for snacks and lunch, we’re here for kids who are upset, kids who are in trouble, prevention and intervention. The main thing that’s missing is that there’s nobody here!” Student Services is in also charge of Stop Smoking Classes, Thursday night support groups for students, and personal interaction with students in crisis. “Kids come in for community service sometimes because they get in trouble with the law for cigarettes, staying after curfew, domestic violence,” Mailey said. “You know
what? It’s almost like saying ‘I hope none of these things happen on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, because we won’t be there.’ And you know what’s scary? If a kids’ having a bad day, and no one’s going to listen, what is he going to do? …Walk away. In some cases, without intervention, not come to school at all.” Since Mailey is only at MC Thursdays and Fridays, students seeking help all go to the Attendance Office, which “already has so much to do,” said Mailey. Attendance employee Cecilia Chavez explains the dilemma. “When Mrs. Mailey’s not around we get a lot of those kids who come in for a variety of things,” Chavez said. “There are so many kids that come in… They come in for something to eat, or coming in with a problem, for P.E….” Although Principal Tom McCoy “inter-
vened” to keep the program running, Mailey finds that they still need funds. “Why aren’t we paid for the same as food services and…transportation?” she said. “We should be paid for from the general fund and not be relying on the discretion of others… This is a department that deals with wellness. Where’s the wellness for the Student Services ladies?” Mailey has already taken action by petitioning. “I’ve petitioned Superintendent Donald Phillips, I’ve called Pomerado News,” she said. “I have sent copies of my emails to the school board, I have talked to parents. The only people I haven’t contacted are the Pope, Obama, and the Queen of England.” Mailey continues her petitioning, and is now advertising with the SUN in order to spread awareness about Student Services.
News
Mt. Carmel SUN
A3
October 2, 2009
Custodial budget cuts cause increased workload
DENNIS SUN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
In the aftermath of the recent budget cuts, after all the “dust and debris” had been cleared, not a single department was spared some loss. Not only has the custodial department suffered great loss to its crew, but its responsibility has also increased dramatically over the years as its crew has diminished. Custodial Supervisor Ornell Halabaso has seen a good deal of change occur over his years at MC. “When I first came here in 2000, there were 13 custodians; now there are only six,” Halabaso said. “{The budget cuts} have had a negative impact in various areas, especially the morale of the crew.” According to Halabaso, the custodians have lost members, but have maintained the same work schedule. In fact, their workload has increased dramatically due to an increase in extracurricular activities. Halabaso realizes that this problem has increased workload. “Each one of our guys has five buildings to work with in addition to the 32 restrooms we have here at MC,” Halabaso said. “It’s the same
work schedule but the load is more; the area for each custodian is larger and there is less time to accomplish the mission of the day.” Teacher and baseball coach James Lafferty finds that the custodians are doing their best with what they have, and finds that the lack of custodians has affected the entire campus. “I think they’re doing fine, they just don’t have enough custodians,” Lafferty said. “It’s all because of budget cuts. There used to be a custodian that set up the field, but now we have to set up the field ourselves. It just causes a lot of work for everyone else. It’s not the custodians’ fault.” Between cleaning the campus and taking out trash, Halabaso also must manage the requests of various teachers for clean-ups and repairs. “If something isn’t done, or one of our guys is missing, I am responsible,” Halabaso said. Still, Halabaso realizes that his crew is more fortunate than those who were laid off, despite the toughness of their jobs. “You have to motivate them, you have to encourage them, every day,” Halabaso said. “We’re still lucky; there are some people
who don’t have anything to do. We have an income as opposed to those people who don’t have jobs. It’s better to have a hard job than no job at all.” Halabaso believes that students can help lighten the load of the custodians’ work. “Every day before school, the school is clean. Every day before lunch, the school is clean. But after lunch, there is trash scattered everywhere!” Halabaso said. “We have trash cans everywhere. It would help {the custodians} if students put trash in the trash cans instead of scattering their trash.” In the proposed custodial policy, Halabaso has asked for teacher cooperation in many ways. Primarily, students should not eat in classrooms. Classrooms also should only include a maximum of two trash cans and one recycling can. Teachers should also police students to pick up the trash in their classrooms. Halabaso is grateful for teachers who are already very obliging, and asks for little more. “I’m thankful that some teachers are cooperative,” Halabaso said. “If the school teachers could at least tell their students to pick up their trash, it would help us a lot.”
JARED SERVANTEZ | PHOTOGRAPHER
Night Crew Chief Greg Carpenter reaches for a piece of trash after school. The school budget cuts have decreased the custodial staff by over 50 percent in the past decade, and the lack of custodial staff has affected classrooms and sporting teams who relied on custodians to set and remove athletic equipment.
PQ Fire Watch established, searches for student volunteers MELANIE DICKINSON CENTERSPREAD EDITOR The hottest, driest months of the year may not be the most appealing time to sit out on the canyon side, but they could prove to be the most vital in terms of fire safety – especially in consideration of the disastrous fire that ravaged neighborhoods surrounding MC just two years ago. From now until November, local volunteers will be leading the first Community Canyon Fire Watch in San Diego County. Instigated by City Council member Sherri
Lightner on behalf of community interest, the program is cooperating with Local Station #40, and will be focused on the Los Peñasquitos Canyon adjacent to Canyonside Park. Of the 44 people signed up to volunteer, eight have already began shifts. “Community interest in helping protect neighborhoods around the canyon from fire and fire related activity prompted local fire watch],” Lightner said. Each volunteer will choose one out of seven primary and three secondary viewing sites to monitor for two-hour shifts. He or she will employ skills learned from the Fire-
Rescue Dept.’s special volunteer training sessions to spot and report signs of fire. Ideally these volunteers would participate on a regular, weekly basis, but the program will accommodate Sundevils’ busy schedules. “The local schools are a key part of the neighborhoods so I definitely welcome and encourage students to participate,” Lightner said. The Rancho Peñasquitos Fire Safe Council is even willing to offer community service hours. “This is a great opportunity to support your community,” Lightner said. “Your help is needed!”
GET INVOLVED Students are invited to attend the next PQ Fire Safe Council meeting on Oct. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree Golf Resort 14455 Peñasquitos Drive, in the El Dorado Room. To get involved in the Rancho Peñasquitos Fire Watch, contact Volunteer Coordinator Tim Pomeroy at 858-527-9695. And visit Lightner’s office website at www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/cd1 for a map of the monitoring sites, as well as more general information about the program.
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Sun Spread
Mt. Carmel SUN
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
The Guitar Hero: Shaun Boley KEVIN LAGE SPORTS EDITOR When most people think of the song, “Through the Fire and the Flames” they think of the lyrics and the rhythm, however when senior Shaun Boley thinks of it, the first thing that pops in his head are green, red, yellow, blue and orange. While some people get excited when they think of the release of a new movie, Boley gets excited when he hears of the release of the latest version of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. “These games are better than other video games because you get to listen to good music
and utilize a skill while playing,” Boley said. “It also feels good when you finally beat a hard song.” Even though Boley is really into playing these games, he doesn’t let it affect his schoolwork. “I try to always stay focused and do my homework first, but sometimes I get distracted,” he said. “Part of the reason I love the games is that unlike other games, you can just
The WoW Fiend: Jesse Liang KELLY FAN STAFF WRITER
take a quick homework break and finish a song before going back to your homework.” While some musicians believe that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are just for fake guitar players, Boley is attempting to master both the real guitar and the virtual one. “I bought a guitar, but never actually learned fully,” he said. “However I would like to learn in the near future.”
The signs are ominous: teenagers holing up in their rooms, oblivious to everything but the glowing screens of their monitors, oftentimes accompanied by a disinterest in food and sleep. It must be a World of Warcraft addiction. WoW is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, commonly abbreviated MMORPG, and is a virtual universe that has attracted millions of players all over the world. One such player is senior Jesse Liang, who manages to find time for WoW despite schoolwork. “I play whenever I want,” he said. “Pretty much every day I put in a few hours. I just have to move my school work around so that I can finish my school work.” Introduced at an early age to the MMORPG world, Liang prefers WoW for several reasons, including the game’s clearcut objective and storyline.
Gamer Stats Preferred game: RB2 Preferred console: PS3 Favorite song: “Bloodmeat” Highest score: 1020000 AVG time to beat a game: 2-3 days Fastest time to beat a game: 6 hrs Money spent: $900
The Noob: Mr. Kris Hizal JAY HUEY STAFF WRITER In the left corner of his classroom is a mural consisting of Beatles posters and framed photographs. He says that there isn’t a single Beatles song he doesn’t know by heart. When he heard the news of the release of Rock Band: Beatles, AP US Government teacher Kris Hizal was convinced on buying a Wii that he had been denying his two boys for many years. “I kept saying no, but when I heard Rock Band: Beatles came out, I told my wife, ‘Hey, maybe we need to get a Wii!’ She just slapped me.” Hizal says he purchased the game not
“WoW has a clearly defined goal, which makes it easier to work towards that goal,” Liang said. “I also play to get the best set of equipment, or to create the perfect character.” Despite his fondness for WoW, Liang is still able to prioritize his hobbies and work. “These games are fun, they are a great stress reliever, but you shouldn’t spend too much time on them,” Liang said.
Gamer Stats Realm: Tichondrius Faction: Horde Race: Orc Class: Hunter Profession: Leatherworking/skinning Months on WoW: 10 Money spent: $100
The Gamer Chick: Heidi Dotimas
only because he’s such a huge Beatles fan, but it also provides him with the fantasy of being on stage as someone people looked up to. “It’s also the idea that as a kid, I dreamed of being a rock star,” Hizal said. “Rock Band kind of allowed me to be one without really having any musical talent at all.” When Hizal and his children played Rock Band: Beatles for the first time, he says his two boys got a kick out of watching him. “I play with my sons Daniel and Keith. They laugh at me really badly, I didn’t know I was supposed to strum and push the colored buttons at the same time.” Considering that Hizal only got 18 percent on his first try, it would be fair to call him a “Noob.”
ANGELA KIM COPY EDITOR As many people will confess, “girl gamers” are often stereotyped as noobish, wannabe-gamers who mess it up for their teammates. Junior Heidi Dotimas, part of clan called “The Greenhouse Tribe” on the first person shooter games Team Fortress Two and Left 4 Dead, expresses how she deals with the stereotype. “One thing that video games changed in me is that I became more defensive,” she said. “I learned how to defend myself, because I’d get a lot of insults…People would say bad things about me and I can take it.” Dotimas tries to keep a “professional air” by practicing five hours with her clan on weekends (though practicing is currently on hiatus) and maintaining
Gamer Stats Preferred console: Wii Money spent: $149.99 plus tax Worst score: 18% (“I Saw Her Standing There” on Easy) Best score: 87% (“Fixing the Whole” on Easy)
her web identity. By taking her games seriously, she also developed a close bond with her teammates. “We had a really close knit relationship,” she said. “We were online friends for a long time… members from the East Coast came over our side, but we never got each other’s numbers to hang out in person.” Dotimas will resume her gaming once she replaces her computer and continues to keep in touch with her team.
Gamer Stats Preferred platform: PC TF2 side: Blu TF2 class: Spy Time spent on TF2: 21 hrs/wk L4D character: Zoey Time spent on L4D: 7 hrs/wk
ALL PHOTOS BY MARY CARMEN GONZALEZ | PHOTO EDITOR ALL ART BY MELANIE DICKINSON | CENTERSPREAD EDITOR
The App Whore: Ryan Enshaie JORDAN UGALDE STAFF WRITER With the advent of the iTouch and iPhone came applications for almost any occasion, whether it be SAT prep or guitar tuning, or just a game for when one is bored. Junior Ryan Enshaie has over 10 pages of apps (16 apps on each page), most of which are games to keep himself entertained. One of Enshaie’s favorite app that he had to pay for is iShoot because of the destructive force he commands by playing a tank. “In iShoot, you can blow up anything you want on the screen,” Enshaie said. Among his favorite free apps is Jelly Car, which he enjoys for its puzzle-like qualities. “You play as a jello-like car that must squeeze into small places and
enlarge yourself when needed to complete the levels,” Enshaie said. The main reason he loves apps so much is because they help waste time when there’s time to waste. “They’re a good way to kill time in class as long as you don’t get caught,” Enshaie said.
Gamer Stats Platform: iTouch Favorite app: Pocket God Number of apps total: 163 Money spent: over $100 AVG class time spent playing app games: about 20 minutes per period
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The Retro Gamer: Raymond Remigio DENNIS SUN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Some games are so archetypal that they never grow too old to be enjoyable. Junior Raymond Remigio finds Nintendo to be a great video game company through the ages. “Right now, I’m still playing a whole bunch of Pokemon, Mario, Kirby…Basically, I’ve been with Nintendo since I was born,” Remigio said. Remigio still plays games he considers to be Nintendo classics on one of the first video game consoles developed by Nintendo. “Well, the Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the ‘80s, and the games I’ve played for it are, of course, the ever-classic Mario series, and the occasional Kirby games which pop up from time to time,” Remigio said. “I actually still play on my NES, even though it’s 20 years old now, because the games – they’re just classics. They’re the kind of games that everyone wants to play, or follow the series.”
Remigio compares the feeling to the experience felt by any other exciting story. “It’s like after you read a good book or watch a good TV show, Remigio said. “You like it so much that you want to go through the experience of reliving it again.”
Gamer Stats Preferred platform: Super Nintendo Preferred developer: Nintendo Money spent on games: Over $1000 for sure Favorite series: Pokemon Favorite Pokemon: Gengar Favorite retro game: Super Mario World
Opinions
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Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
STAFF EDITORIAL
MACKENZIE LANCE
Drug bust calls for attention towards zero-tolerance policy Mo’ Runnin’ Mo’ Problems As part of my cross country team’s bonding ritual, we make team shirts. Many of them include the phrase “Eat. Sleep. Run. Repeat.” At one point, that was my life. Of course, I threw in some school and hanging out with friends time, but the four word phrase encompassed activities of my life. That all changed sometime in March of 2008. I was entered in the frosh/soph county invitational for track in the 800 meter race. I had only run the 800 twice before frosh/ soph, but I was eager to prove myself and set a new personal record. Everything seemed good that day. My race was in the morning, I had time to digest my food, it wasn’t too hot out yet. I knew I would meet my goals that day. I head to the starting line with my teammates and 29 other girls longing for the champion title. The starter gives a boring speech about what happens in the event of a false start or if someone falls. I thought to myself, ‘Self, what kind of loser falls in the most important race of the year?’ Me. I do. I’m that loser. The starting gun went off and within four seconds I was on the ground. I don’t know if I was tripped, but the most likely scenario is that I fell over myself while trying to get to the head of the pack. The pain when I hit the ground didn’t set in. I didn’t feel anything except fright. Then I heard a second gun shot. A second gun shot means something that was mentioned in the starter’s speech occurred, and the race is restarted. I attempted to stand up to return to the start line and noticed my leg. There was blood. A lot of blood. From the top of the inside of my knee down to my ankle, gushing blood covered my leg. The number of swear words that left my mouth in the moments that followed was immeasurable. I shook with fear and was unable to support my own weight and was carried over to the trainer’s table. The gashes in my lag were so deep, you could see the bone. The race went off again without me, and without any other causalities. The trainer cleaned the cuts, wrapped my leg in gauze and sent me back to my coach. Luckily a teammate’s mom was there to help me waddle back on one leg. After a few weeks the cuts closed, but major scars began to form. We’re talking raised pieces of purple skin covering the inside of my knee. Also, despite the healing, it was still difficult for me to run. I went to the doctor and he explained that my body had produced extra scar tissue on the inside and outside of my leg, which was blocking up the inside of my leg, and just making the outside of my leg look ugly. Soon after the consultation I began a treatment where medicine was injected into my leg in order to decrease the amount of scar tissue. After that was successful, the dermatologist used a laser treatment, similar to what is used to remove tattoos, to remove some of the color from my scar, so that section of my leg wasn’t purple. It’s been over a year since my internal scar tissue was reduced and my leg was re-beautified, and although I haven’t returned to my former speed, I realized running for me isn’t about speed or winning. It’s about loving the run. It’s about loving the team. It’s about loving the pain and the results it produces. So I’ve decided to adapt my four word cycle. “Eat. Sleep. Love. Repeat.”
CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST
A few weeks ago, five MC students were greatly impacted by a drug bust. One student was expelled from the district. Three students were administratively transferred to other PUSD schools, and one student was suspended. This is the first large drug bust on campus in a few years, and the administrators didn’t let the students off easily. MC has a zero-tolerance policy for having drugs, alcohol, or weapons on campus. If students use, sell, furnish, possess, or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school, they will be punished. The administration stayed strong with this policy when the students were recently found with drugs. This zero-tolerance policy is a good policy to employ on a high school campus. Although many students may feel it’s too strict, the policy is necessary to maintain an orderly and educational learning environment. Students shouldn’t have drugs at all, let alone bring them onto campus. Campus includes the parking lot. If school officials find drugs in students’ cars, those students will be punished in the same way as if they had it in their
pockets. It’s common sense that students shouldn’t deal, or be in possession of, drugs when they are at school. Just like students wouldn’t show up to school drunk or with an automatic weapon. Drugs have no place at school. The administrators did the right thing by quickly cracking down on the students who broke school policy. Students should look at this drug bust and realize that the administrators are serious about the zero-tolerance policy. If they choose not to follow it, they could be expelled, which will have serious repercussions. Students who break this policy could have a hard time being accepted to colleges and getting jobs. The incident will also be on their permanent record. Hopefully, this policy will encourage students to quit using drugs. An MC alumnus recently died from a drug overdose. No other students want that fate for themselves. Drugs are a serious problem for teenagers. Students should look to the administration for support to steer away from a life filled with drugs and pain.
PE rules treat girls unfairly; should be reconsidered CATHY MCDERMOTT EDITOR-IN CHIEF Physical education is a required class. A good percentage of students find it tedious and a waste of time, but the class is a necessity to graduate. For the most part, it’s an easy A because the only real way to lower your grade is by not dressing out, not participating, or not showing up. Lately some of the P.E. classes, such as badminton and field games, have been using the pool to their advantage, during the hot weather. It is a privilege to be able to swim instead of run in this heat, so the coaches were being very lenient and understanding. But in a recent incident, a few female students were penalized five points, which makes up about 5% of their grade. Why? Because they didn’t swim. Not because they just didn’t want to, or they forgot their clothes, but because they couldn’t due to their menstrual cycle. It’s understandable that all students enrolled in P.E. must partici-
pate, but knocking off points for an activity that a student can’t physically do is preposterous. An alternative activity should be offered, such as running during the class period. Swimming isn’t even part of the structured curriculum of the particular P.E. class. It’s one thing if a student decides that they prefer not to swim because they don’t want to get their hair wet, or if they forget to bring their swimsuit. It’s another when they came dressed out and prepared for P.E., but they cannot participate due to certain personal reasons. Students shouldn’t have to come back on their own time and run a make-up mile. What was most upsetting about the situation was that the students who were receiving full credit for “swimming” were just lying out and sunbathing, sticking their feet in the water, or walking back and forth in the small pool. How is that any more of a physical activity than walking the deck in regular P.E. clothes?
The rule is a bit ridiculous, especially for the female students. Although, it is reasonable that they made the rule because some girls were taking advantage of the rule, but you can’t argue that every girl is being dishonest. Thankfully, the coach of the particular class did allow students to make up the points during class, by putting away equipment and helping out, which is a reasonable alternative. This option should replace the currently established rule that is in place.
KELLY FAN | ARTIST
Society has become immoral; accepts mediocre as normal JORDAN UGALDE STAFF WRITER America, since its inception, has been a land of societal progression, whether it be the colonists’ freedom from Britain, or more recently, African Americans’ and women’s rights. Our culture has become more accepting and free, but some supposed improvements have indirectly led to a general desensitization of America. The acceptance of increasingly ludicrous issues has led to a corruption of our media. Movies, music, T.V., video games, and magazines all stand as a testament to America’s increasing lack of feeling; towards sex, towards violence, towards everything that
used to be considered extreme. MTV is a prime example of all of these social degradations. The name, Music Television, would imply that music would be the focus of the network. However, a majority of the shows are about glorifying money dependant emotionally unstable lifestyles (“My Super Sweet 16”), comedy through violence (“Jackass”), and prurient sexual desires (“A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila”). But MTV can’t be held solely responsible for the production of trashy T.V. shows. The people who have watched these shows and kept them on air are equally responsible for both accepting smut as entertainment, and becoming part of MTV’s
sphere of influence. Has our culture really reached the point where we can no longer entertain ourselves by our own means? Are we really dependent on disfunction to guide us through life’s journey? Or is the fact of the matter simply that most of us have a relatively comfortable lifestyle, and have grown bored of the luxuries we have taken for granted? Those of us well off have given ourselves too much, and as a result, taken away our own drive for something better. In an era of instant gratification, many people have lost something to strive for, since many things have been attained without effort. The blame for this travesty lies on all
who have endorsed the desperation which leads people to seek any source of stimulation. But who is to blame isn’t the issue. The true issue is, how does a desensitized culture pull itself out of a self-made hole? We have the power, as a nation that can make what was once thought impossible, such as a black man in office, become a reality. All that is needed is a will, a desire to not accept things how they are, to improve one’s life, to strive for a better day. As said in President Obama’s address to the schools. “Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up.…. You make your own future.” Never have truer words been spoken.
Steroid testing ensures equality among high school athletes LAUREN HALL STAFF WRITER
DENNIS SUN | ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
It’s been four years. Four years of hard work, emotional stress and competing, and you’re finally at your senior year CIF race. Everything goes perfectly and the race just seems to fall into place. But, out of nowhere another random competitor manages to steal the first place title in the last few steps of the race. Of course the disappointment settles in, but how could one be mad at the winner. They won fair and square right? Well how can people be certain with the increased use of steroids in high school sports? It’s not fair that someone can take the
easy way out in their training and get away with it. According to orthosupersite.com, an estimated 4-12% of high school boys and 3.3% of high school girls have tried steroids. If we were to assume this is true for our school, this would mean that about 332 of our roughly 2,500 students have tried anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are a synthetic version of testosterone. These steroids can stunt bone growth. With these possibilities for unfair advantage why is it that high school athletes are not drug tested? After all, competing in a high school sport is not a right, it’s a privilege. If these tests are too pricey then parents
should be required to pay a fee to have their athlete tested before the athlete can enter CIF. Steroids make it more likely for an athlete to get injured. With higher chances of getting caught, athletes may think twice before using steroids in the first place. The pressure from parents, coaches, and fellow athletes may be overwhelming, but by working and succeeding the right way athletes get more of a reward in the long run. So why shouldn’t we test for an illegal substance that would help athletes cheat? This could be because parents or trainers support their athletes taking steroids, and maybe even supply them with the substances. It’s not right that high school students should get away with something that is strictly enforced in professional sports.
Opinions
Mt. Carmel SUN
A7
October 2, 2009
Should illegal immigrants be granted amnesty in the US? Summary on the meaning of amnesty: Amnesty is an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of people as a whole. Amnesty in this case refers to whether illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be pardoned for trespassing into the country, and gain citizenship instead of being deported. In a letter sent to Barack Obama, the House of Representatives proposed E-Verify, a system to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new workers. The program has been delayed four times, but as of Sept. 8, usage of E-Verify is a requirement for federal contractors.
Sundevil Perspective
YES JARED SERVANTEZ STAFF WRITER Living in such close proximity to the international border with Mexico, the issue of illegal immigration is one which we are constantly faced with both in the news and in real life. While it is true that the manner in which these people are entering the United States is illegal, it is nearly impossible to completely enforce this law and deter every potential illegal immigrant. As a result, one of the most pressing questions we must answer is what to do with the millions of undocumented illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. The amount of money and effort it would take to root out every illegal immigrant already here in the United States and have them deported is simply not worthwhile. Especially with more urgent issues currently taking priority on our government’s policy agenda, our nation should not pump an excess of its valuable resources into such an unlikely task. Instead, our government should pass legislation giving illegal immigrants the opportunity to gain legal status as United States residents. Any amnesty program passed, however, should not be too soft on illegal immigrants—the fact is that they broke the law, so they should still face some consequences, although not automatic deportation or a prison sentence. The program also should not grant legal status until those seek-
Kelly O’Callaghan
Tana Duong
ing it meet a series of strict requirements. President Obama currently has plans along these lines, which would require illegal immigrants to pay a fine as well as go through a rigid legalization process. Despite what many opponents of an amnesty program may want to believe, illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States are an integral part of our societal makeup and their presence cannot be ignored. Here in California, our workforce is made up of an overwhelming number of immigrant migrant workers, many of them undocumented and here in the country illegally. With their deportation, employers would lose a significant number of workers. But if these immigrants were given a chance to earn amnesty by way of a government-regulated legalization process, it would benefit both sides as the immigrants would be able to enjoy legal status in the United States and employers could keep their workers without having to worry about being prosecuted for hiring illegal immigrants. Rather than pursuing an aggressive deportation policy, our government would find it much more productive to enact some sort of legalization legislation. Such a plan would be a step in the right direction for the United States. The millions of illegal immigrants already here in the country should be given an opportunity to gain legal status rather than face deportation.
NO
Sophomore
Freshman
SHAYON SAID OPINIONS EDITOR
“Yeah, they’re already here and shouldn’t be sent back.”
“Yes because they have already set up their lives here.”
Junior
Senior
Jake Espino
Josh Dubois
“Yeah because everyone has a right to be a citizen.”
“No, because if they follow the legal way it should be easy enough to get citizenship.”
Teacher
Allison Bolin
“It’d be best if they went through the legal process so they could be a U.S. citizen.” JENNIFER FARRELL | PHOTOGRAPHER
According to the US Census, as of 2007, 18% of Americans were uninsured. Because of those millions of uninsured Americans, many people seek to have government-funded health care, and allow medical treatment to every citizen, whether or not they can pay. I believe this is a bad idea, and will raise US debt and lower medical standards. As of 1984, Canada has had publicly financed health care. But since establishing that act, health care facilities have shut down, and surgery wait times are at an all time high. According to the Fraser Institute, US patients have greater access to medical technology than Canadians do. The US has over twice as many open-heart surgery centers, and nearly four times as many MRI units. If we adopt universal health care, what do we have to look forward to but long lines and poor care. Great Britain has lived with universal health care since 1948. In April of this year, their health service denied liver cancer patients a life-prolonging drug. Now the 7000 patients diagnosed with liver cancer each year will have less time with their families. Also, in 2008, there were a total of 57,000 surgeries postponed from lack of available hospital space. When surgeries are postponed you
risk patient health. Besides lowering patient care, universal health care would throw our government into even more debt. The Institute of Medicine estimated that universal health care would cost $34-$69 billion per year. The United States debt is already nearly $12 trillion. If we are already cutting funds for schools and cramming kids into classrooms, what will we have to cut next to compensate for this unnecessary plan. Also, think of every single American who works for health insurance companies. They will be out of work, and those entire companies will be shut down. Every person with stock in those companies will also lose out, and how is that fair? Also, imposing universal health care will cost the government money that they simply don’t have. And besides taking away money from programs such as education and armed forces, every American will have taxes raised. You may think this is fair in exchange for not paying health insurance, but what about everyone who receives insurance through their work. These people will have to pay for a commodity they already received for free or for a small fee. Overall, if the US imposes universal health care, not only will health care providers suffer, but every American will suffer with raised taxes and worse medical care.
Do you think amnesty should be granted?
43% 37% 20%
Yes
No
No opinion *270 students polled
LAURA SLUSSER | ARTIST Editors Mackenzie Lance News Melanie Dickinson Centerspread Shayon Said Opinions Mt. Carmel High School 9550 Carmel Mtn. Rd., San Diego, Kevin Lage Sports CA 92129 (858)484-1180 ext. 3211 rmercurio@powayusd.com Dennis Sun Entertainment/Web http://www.mcsun.org Rachel Martin Features Angela Kim Copy Our mission is to provide the MC community with an informative, Mary Carmen Gonzalez Photo accurate and respectful student-run publication. The SUN seeks to Amanda Stintsman Photo stimulate the discussion of issues in order to promote a more aware Staff Writers student body. Whether informing, voicing opinion, or entertaining, the Vandana Bhairi SUN strives for standards of balance and good taste. Andy Bolin Nicole Bustamante Cathy McDermott Kelly Fan Editor-in-Chief Brittlyn Foster Lauren Hall Rick Mercurio Jay Huey Advisor Cordell Hunter Zachary Jensen Abby Mansour Catherine Jaravata TJ Rivera-Alonso Assistant Advisor Jared Servantez Sara Shantz Craig Racicot Laura Slusser Photo Advisor Jordan Ugalde Staff Photographers Jennifer Farrell The Mt. Carmel SUN is the official newspaper of Mt. Carmel High School, published by its Journalism 2 students. Abbas Mamdani Jared Servantez The views expressed in the SUN do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Mt. Carmel High School Artists administration or PUSD Board of Education. Unsigned editorials reflect the beliefs of the SUN editorial board. The SUN is a student open forum, and all final content decisions are made by its student editors. Letters to the Christian Jun editor are welcome and should be signed. For advertising rates and information please call, email, or write the Kelly Fan Laura Slusser SUN at the address above. Business Manager Alison Ashworth
KELLY FAN | ARTIST
MT. CARMEL SUN
I have a speech today. I I’m drowning in college hope Kanye West doesn’t applications. Somebody show up. call a lifeguard. -Kelly Fan
-Kevin Lage
Thumbs The next issue of the SUN is going to be hot...very HOT. -Lauren Hall
Trimesters are in full swing. I’m finally getting used to being hungry. -Rachel Martin
A8
Opinions
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
First Impressions Guys interested in feminine Girls weigh boys’ appearance by hair, smile, confidence scale “assets,” personality secondary BRITTLYN FOSTER STAFF WRITER Let’s face it: when a girl is checking out a new guy; she’s not focused on personality. I mean, how many of us girls would go out of our way to walk over and flirt with a guy that we didn’t find the least bit attractive? The answer is a unanimous zero. That’s because with first impressions, as sad and as shallow as it sounds, appearance is half of the picture. Even before the guy says a word to the girl, we already know where they stand on our scale. The scale consists of hair, smile, and confidence. The hair can make or break your chances of having a girl find you attractive. Long or short hair, both need to be maintained to some extent. I can’t speak for every girl but I wouldn’t want to date someone who had such greasy hair that I could see my reflection in it every time I walked by. For you fellow grease-balls who are sitting there wondering why you can’t get a date for Homecoming, take a reality check and run some shampoo through your hair. Let’s move on to the smile, which can be the reason girls are drawn to talk to you. If a guy has a nice smile it can instantly say, “Hey, I’m a good guy who is here having fun and being happy,” all without speaking a word. Guys who constantly look miserable and weep over the fact that the Chargers didn’t make it to the Super Bowl last year, aren’t going to win the attention of any girl that is in her right mind. Last, but most important, is having the right balance of confidence. By balance, don’t over do it by being cocky but don’t dismiss it at all by being too shy to come up and talk to us.
Dear self-indulged, egotistical teenage boys: no girl wants to hear you exaggerate about how many pounds you benched, or which way the beach is, or for that matter, who has tickets to the gun show. So stop trying to impress us with the size of your biceps or stories of how you beat up some annoying freshman, because we just DON’T care. But the confidence of a guy to come up and talk to a girl after both of them have been playing eye tag during the entire party is something that any girl will appreciate. Also guys, when you first meet a girl, don’t stare directly at her chest, but since we all know you will anyway, make sure you do it when she doesn’t look. It’s not like we go up to you and stare at your zipper the whole time we engage in conversation with you. In a relationship, communication is undeniably significant. If you’re dating a guy and all you do is fight constantly, then that’s a big red flag for not being able to communicate effectively. Another important quality is being completely comfortable with whoever you date. I always try to date guys who I could easily be best friends with. In that sense both people shouldn’t have to dress up when they see each other or worry about making conversation because that should come naturally. Trust is the key in a lasting relationship, because it’s vital for both people to know that the other can go places without having to text each other demanding to know what people are with them; if two people trust each other, that shouldn’t be an issue.
CORDELL HUNTER STAFF WRITER
tend to observe…something else. Yes, there actually was a study done at Wellington University that showed that 80 percent of men looked Boys are, well…boys. There isn’t really a word to at a woman’s boobs before anything else. I know this describe us. is very shallow, but it’s proven. Guys don’t only like Shallow is too shallow, boobs though. and deep is too emoIf a girl smells nice, that also influences tional. our impression, the same goes for eyes and The closest figure. word that can Guys also notice a girl’s face. There’s come to catesomething about a pretty girl’s face that gorizing us is makes us guys want to look at them. different. We With guys it’s totally different, I have our own mean, when a dude meets another dude styles, sports, who looks good, he might think, “that and ways of guy looks cool,” but he’s not going to eating food. stare at the guy and forget what he was We also going to say. have our own When a guy meets a pretty girl, way of seeing the exact opposite can happen. the opposite Depending on how pretty sex: Girls. the girl is and how cool the Yes, we boys like dude is, the effects range girls, especially if they from an excellent conare attractive. versation and a possible Unlike members of date with that girl, to the female gender, who complete loss of functend to be less superficial tion and memory, endthan most guys, we will date ing in embarrassment the most horrible person as long as and rejection. she is beautiful. A guy’s first imWhile girls tend to take into acpression of a girl decount all of a guy’s features, including pends on what the personality, for most guys, character guy is looking for. comes second to looks when they are If he is not meeting a girl for the first time. looking for a poPersonality does have an influtential date and ence on whether or not we will enter just wants to be a long-term relationship with said girl. friends, then he When a guy is meeting a pretty girl for is more likely to the first time, though, a long term relalook past the surtionship is probably the farthest thing face and focus on from his mind. her personality. Our thoughts are usually along On the other the lines of, “Damn, she’s sexy.” Not, hand, if the guy “Whoa! What a great personality she is a normal dude has.” I hate to sound totally superficial, and is looking for but it’s true. a lady friend”, he Another difference between guys will be more inand girls is that, while girls tend to noclined to notice ALL ART BY CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST tice things like a guys smile and hair, we how pretty she is.
Girls use inner thoughts in meeting Guys base first impressions through other girls, judge through intimidation competition, friends by “Bro-Code” CATHY MCDERMOTT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” We’ve all heard the saying countless times throughout our lives, and we ladies have learned quite well. We learned that if we don’t have anything nice to say, we lie and say something nice anyway. Then we proceed to criticize and attack them in our head and/or to our friends.
“I really like your shirt.” Trust me, 80% of the time we’re either lying or are completely jealous, so the minute you walk out the door, what we really think comes spilling out. “Did you see how low cut that shirt was? Where does she think she is, a bar?” Truth is that most girls will instantly make- their first judgment based off the way you look and act. Whether it’s based off of your outfit or the way you talk, girls’
minds are running about a million miles per minute, criticizing every single thing about you. Even before words are exchanged, our heads are filled with rash conclusions of what you’re really like. Girls assume what your personality is like from your eyes to the way you move your mouth. We decide if you’re promiscuous, snobby, or a complete idiot in about 2.9 seconds. If a girl decides that she’s a bit intimidated by another girl, she starts sizing up her competition. It’s like going down a checklist in our minds. Is she prettier than me? Is her outfit better? Does she get better grades than me? More importantly, upon first meeting another girl, we ponder whether or not she’s judging us. What does she think about me? If she gives off negative vibes, and yes, most girls can definitely feel other people’s vibes, then we automatically dislike her. On the other hand, if she’s friendly and positive towards us, we might just give her the honor of befriending us. In that circumstance, we’re usually just looking for someone who is a great shopping partner, can make you laugh till you cry, let you vent out all your feelings, and honestly make you feel good to be around.
TJ RIVERA-ALONSO STAFF WRITER Girls think that they are the only ones scoping out guys. Not true. Yes, I’m talking about straight guys. The difference is that women will look for characteristics that attract them to a guy, or in some cases, to want the guy. Guys, on the other hand, will check out other guys for mainly two reasons. The first is for competition. We look at height, strength, and actual looks. What does he have that I don’t have? What do I have that makes me more of a man? Can I get more girls than that guy? All guys know it’s true, in fact, everybody knows that, and, honestly, it’s a stupid reason to check out other dudes. We don’t really check out other guys too much anyway. If we are to check out another guy as far as first impressions go, it’s by looking into their eyes. We wonder if this guy could be a good guy. It is very hard to distinguish a guy that could be a bro. However, it is important to say that bros must follow “bro-code.” Now, don’t go crazy thinking this is man law, where we lie to girls to get our way. No, this is different.
On first impression, it might be tough to find out if this guy is legit. There are several signs that point to an illegitimate bro. Walking with so much swag that you look like an idiot is definitely a bad sign. Wearing your pants so low, you look like you’re walking on stilts is another bad sign too. It’s up to each man to decide which bro is for him. What really matters, however, is what is inside. “A bro is always entitled to do something stupid, as long as the rest
of his bros are doing it,” “Always help a bro if he needs to move but make sure he lets you know just how many things he needs to move,” “Always help a bro out,” are just some of many requirements mentioned in the Facebook group “Bro-Code”. These circumstances that must be met for a group of guys to become friends can’t be checked by looks, disproving the fact that guys are superficial because, obviously, we aren’t.
SPORTS & ARTS WHAT’S
INSIDE SPORTS Check out the spotlights on your fellow Sundevils David Vasko, Jennifer Martin, and Coach Paris Brown. page B2
Read about girls golf’s progress so far and their continuing hopes for conquering the CIF title. page B3
ENTERTAINMENT Get the inside scoop on the upcoming remake of the movie “Fame,” with an interview with one of the actors from the movie. page b4
Ever wonder if those products you see in the informercials actually work? Check out our reviews of products like the ShamWow, Magic Bullet and more. page b5
FEATURES check out the inside scoop on the Sea Shepherds Club, and their quest to save the whales. page b6
Read about the experiences of MC alumni at community colleges, and stats on how many seniors plan to attend community colleges. PAGE B7
JV SPORTS
on www.mcsun.org
MAKING THE SUN SHINE ONLINE
Do you participate in a JV sport? Have friends or family on JV? Log on to MCSUN.org to check out their progress so far and their expectations for the season. Read about boys water polo’s success despite their lack of players, and their hopes to finish off their currently undefeated season. Check in on the cross country team’s progress and continuing hard work. Read about the girls volleyball team’s preparation for the season and successes so far.
SUNDEVIL
WIN-LOSS
football g. volleyball b. water polo field hockey g. tennis
1-3 5-5 5-2 2-8 4-0
UPCOMING HOME
GAMES
football g. volleyball b. water polo field hockey g. tennis cross Country
OCT. 16 @ 7:00 OCT. 13 @ 3:30 OCT. 2 @ 4:00
OCT. 2 @ 3:00 OCT. 6 @ 3:15 OCT. 2 @ 3:00
Friday
October 2, 2009
B Mt. Carmel SuN
Football recovers from RB loss, push onward Andy Bolin Staff Writer All it took were a couple of text messages, and an on-going rivalry, for the MC vs. RB showdown to be one of the best games of the year. “Many of the RB players texted our guys saying they were going to cheap shot us during our game,” senior Willie Johnson said after the 21-14 loss to RB. “It’s a tough loss to swallow,” senior Wesley Wallace said. “We had the game in our hands and we didn’t take advantage of some mistakes RB made. It’s always tough to lose to one of our big time rivals.” Even though the Sundevils lost, there were a lot of positives came out of the game. “We made some plays that we haven’t been making in previous weeks,” Wallace said. “Some breaks are just not going our way, but that’s the nature of football.” The Sundevils plan on taking many positives from this game and putting everything together to take on a very good Ramona team tonight. Ramona, undefeated, at 4-0, is considered one of the best teams in San Diego County. “It’s going to be our toughest game of the year so far,” Wallace said. ‘Many people are already writing us off, but we know that we have enough talent to compete with the Bulldogs.” The game is going to have an extra incentive to win, because this morning, the Prep Pigskin Report, PPR, came to MC for the Sonic Boom Pep Rally. The Sonic Boom Pep Rally is when the high school’s football team is interviewed and gets to show the rest of the county, their team spirit. Many MC students filled the home bleachers in the gym, wearing red to support their school’s team. The PPR is shown Friday nights on KUSI. They have been covering high school football games for 11 years, and this show is very popular with players and their families.
“I watch the PPR every Friday night,” senior running back Ken James said. “It’s fun seeing all the Friday night games and seeing how all the other teams in San Diego County are doing.” It is not very often that MC gets as much publicity as they are getting this week, so they have to take advantage. “All of us are so hyped for this game,” Wallace said. “It’s our first league game and we are going to show the rest of the Valley League that we are here to compete.” Many people might be underestimating the Sundevils because of the loss to RB, but the undefeated Broncos are a good team and the Sundevils played them well. The game started off with a 71 yard touchdown pass thrown by Wesley Wallace, hitting senior wide receiver Troy McClelland. The Broncos answered back with a touchdown pass in the second quarter making the score 7-6 Sundevils. Right before the half ended, the duo of Wesley Wallace and Troy McClelland hooked up for another touchdown, extending the lead at halftime to 14-6. “We were playing them tough,” senior Troy McClelland said. “We had all the momentum going our way.” The Broncos came into the second half starting with the ball. They answered quickly with a 3-yard quarterback scramble, and then scored on a two point conversion to tie the Sundevils at 14-14. Early in the fourth quarter, RB returned a punt for a touchdown, bringing the score 21-14 RB. MC had a late surge at the end of the game getting all the way to the Bronco 10 yard line. The team had four chances to score a touchdown and they could not connect. MC might have a record of 1-3, but they have competed in every game and plan on doing that the rest of the season. Now they are just hoping for those close losses to turn into victories. “We are a team to be reckoned ith through league,” Wallace said.
photo illustration by Jared Servantez | photographer
XC bonds over pasta dinners, bus sing-a-longs Brittlyn Foster Staff Writer Reeking socks, sore legs and charismatic MC athletes were nothing out of the ordinary for a typical cross country bus ride home. That all changed the second senior Erin Buchner opened her mouth. Buchner abruptly started belting out various Taylor Swift songs, which led the whole team to not question her random outburst, but rather all join to sing in unison. This type of energy is not uncommon for this team because they have all bonded through various traditions, especially having a pasta dinner the night before a race. “The whole team goes to the dinner and
we pretty much all sit there and load up on really helps because if you don’t know the percarbs,” Junior Max Latifi said. “We talk to each son who’s cheering for you then it doesn’t mean as much,” other and Latifi said. think about “Over the our race for years running the next day, Being closer to the people on your together and and it’s just a doing the pasreally fun ex- team really helps because if you don’t ta dinners has perience.” know the person who’s cheering for you Accordreally brought then it doesn’t mean as much.” ing to Latifi us all closer cross country together.” -Max Latifi (11) Accordbeing more of ing to sean individualistic sport doesn’t seize this team from creating nior Mandy Blume, the first meet on Sept. 12 (Bronco Round-Up ) was just to get the team’s an important connection of friendship. “Being closer to the people on your team feet wet and get the right pace down.
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The team also competed in the “MC Invitational on Sept. 19 and the “Dana Hills Invitational” on Sept. 26 which is where they had the chance to improve from the first race. Cross country’s next meet is a tri-meet between Del Norte, and Valley Center, today. The meet starts at 3:15 at the stadium. The top runners for the team include seniors Jacob Wood, David Vasko, and junior Brandon Latifi for the boys. And for the girls it is seniors Erin Menefee, Lindsay Valdez, Courtney Hedgecock and Mandy Blume. So whether it’s singing Taylor Swift songs after a long day at a meet or hanging out at pasta dinner, cross country’s upbeat attitude will hopefully carry them to another CIF this season.
Girls volleyball declares “It’s MC time,” works on team bonding Cordell Hunter Staff Writer The girls huddle together in a tight circle with senior Anna Oh in the center. All is quiet, then Oh shouts “What time is it?” The players around her respond, shouting, “It’s MC time! It’s MC time! What! What! It’s MC time! It’s MC time! Woot! Woot!” So begins the girls varsity volleyball team’s new cheer. It started with the freshman team,” Oh said. “They would say it at our games, like when we were down and trying to come back. We heard it and decided it was a really cute cheer that got us pumped up. And then I just decided to say it this weekend and it really stuck with us the whole game and kept us fired up.” As well as “MC time,” as this cheer has come to be known, the girls also circle up and sing “Ole!” before their games, yell “Aruba!” after blocks and “Oh Dang!” after kills. Evidently, these cheers are contributing, because the team has won two of their three league games. Although they lost to Ramona during a weekend tournament two weeks ago, when the girls played them in an actual game last Tuesday, no one doubted they would win. “We came in really confident and they came in really cocky,” junior Sierra Moran said. “They thought
they were gonna win this one just because they beat us on the weekend. But we played strong and beat them easily.” Sophomore Caroline Zin also feels good about this year’s team. “We are really energetic and enthusiastic,” she said. “We dominate our games and we’ve had a lot of fans come out.” As well as having motivation, unique cheers and a winning record, the girls have an excellent relationship with each other. “Most teams with 16 girls on them don’t really get along very well because there are so many girls that at least one of them will have a conflict with someone else,” Moran said. “But our team is so strong and we are all really good friends with each other and we all love each other, so we haven’t had any of those problems.” Zin agrees that the team is close. “We do a lot of team bonding. We go over to each other’s houses and make shirts and we have team dinners together,” she said. In a talk that the girls had last Monday, their coach said that they wouldn’t be successful this season unless they were “16 strong.” Meaning that the team is only as strong as its weakest link, and the players would JENNIFFER FARRELL | PHOTOGRAPHER have to stay strong together if they wanted to win. Victoria Low (12) and Lauren Dorsey (11) leap to block Ramona’s hit. The girls won This has become their new motto, and they havee the match, despite a loss to Ramona in an earlier tournament. The team relies on the concept been trying to live it every game. of being “16 Strong,” meaning that they are only as strong as their weakest player.
Sports B2 Ultimate competes in new league
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
jared servantez staff writer Senior Jacob Wood scans the field, waiting for an open teammate to cut across the middle beckoning for a pass. He pivots away from the defender in front of him, and with a sharp flick of his wrist releases the Frisbee into its high arc through the air towards sophomore Zach Barnes, who dives and catches the disc in the end zone for a point. This is the game of Ultimate Frisbee, a fast-paced, energetic sport quickly gaining popularity among students on campuses across the country. Ultimate, as the sport is colloquially referred to amongst its players, can be played almost anywhere by any number of players, although the official rules call for two teams of seven on a field 40 yards wide by 120 yards long, including a 25-yard end zone each end. The object of the game is to pass the disc until a player catches it in the end zone, scoring a point. Players cannot run while in possession of the disc; once catching it they must stop and pass to a teammate. A group of MC students, including Wood and Barnes, enjoy playing the sport as part of the school’s Ultimate Frisbee Club. Two years ago, athletes on the cross country team began playing Ultimate with each other in pickup games on the weekends. Last year, Wood and senior David Vasko decided to start a club on campus for the sport. “We’d already been playing
Ultimate for a while in little games with just kids from MC, but we figured we could take things further with an official club,” Wood said. The club found an advisor in teacher and cross country coach Nathan Boyer, and after being approved by ASB and the Inter-Club Council, began meeting to organize games and discuss ways to get more people involved with the sport. “At first the club was basically all cross country kids,” Vasko said. “We wanted to get more people out playing
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We figured we could take things further with an official club,” -Jacob Wood (12) with us and maybe even form a team to start playing other schools.” As the members of the club improved with the weekend pickup games, they found themselves wanting more of a challenge. Luckily, Wood came across an article in a local newspaper about a team started by a student at La Jolla Country Day, and soon contacted them about playing a match against each other. After beating LJCD in their first official game as a team, the club began collecting contact information of other high school Ultimate teams in the San Diego area and scheduled more games. “We never realized how many other schools there were that had
teams,” Wood said. “It was almost like an unofficial league, because everybody got to know everybody else and we all helped each other put together games.” Over the past summer, many of the teams expressed their interest in turning this unofficial network of teams into something more legitimate. Zach Mulert, coach of LJCD, took the lead in organizing all of San Diego’s high school Ultimate teams into one cohesive league and getting it sanctioned by the Ultimate Players Association. In its inaugural season, the San Diego Ultimate Frisbee League consists of six teams: MC, LJCD, the Bishop’s School, Escondido High, High Tech High, and University City High. MC’s Ultimate Frisbee Club currently holds a 1-1 record in the league; they won their opener against University City and lost their second game against Escondido. “We just didn’t come out ready to play in the first half against Escondido,” Wood said. “We outscored them in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome our bad start. We need to play an entire game in order to win against a good team like that.” Despite the difficulties, the club remains confident and excited about their participation in this groundbreaking league. “It’s great to be a part of this league in its first year,” Wood said. “We want to get off to a good start, and hopefully allow the league to grow and expand. Ultimate is a great sport, and this league could be what we need to help establish it in San Diego high schools.”
mary carmen gonzalez | photo editor
Nick Deak (12) lunges towards the disc in a game against Escondido High. MC lost 15-9, despite a valiant second half effort. The team has an away game tomorrow against The Bishop’s School, as well as upcoming games against University City High, High Tech High, and La Jolla Country Day.
Polo remains undefeated, strives to crush competition nicole bustamante staff writer Two minutes have never gone by so slowly. One hundred and twenty seconds turns into an eternity when it is 6 a.m. and you’re anxiously waiting to escape the treachery of morning practice. Last Monday, the boys water polo team was promised by substitute coach Mindy Davis that if a lifeguard did not show up in two minutes that they were all free to go. “When the two minutes was up everyone bolted to Drew and Kevin‘s cars,” junior Grant Still said. “Then we went to PQ Donuts and watched “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” all kiersten iwai | PHOTographer morning at Kevin Lage’s house.” Nick Heffner (11) powerfully passes the buoyant ball to a teammate during When junior Nick Heffner heard the offer the game against Valley Center, MC won, 13-3. Yesterday they played an he was ecstatic. away game against Orange Glen (results were not available at press time).
Compiled by andy bolin, sara shantz, vandana bhairi | Staff Writers
jennifer martin
“That was the greatest news I ever received that early in the morning,” he said. Although, it may seem as though a loss of a practice is not a good thing, the roll that the team has been on proves otherwise. Coming off a 15-7 league win against Ramona, the Sundevils felt confident going into their tournament last weekend. “We won every game except our last two,” junior Daniel Ettelson said. “But we were missing Evan {Heise} so we could have done better. We only lost against Grossmont and University City.” The team placed 4th in the tournament overall. Going into the game Wednesday against Valley Center the team was confident in their passing, counter attacks, and their swimming abilities.
Sundevil Spotlight
all photos by abbas mamdani | PHOTOgrapher
david vasko
coach brown
field hockey
“We beat them last year so im expecting that we will beat them this year,” Ettelson said. To Heise the outcome of the game was obvious after only a matter of minutes. “The score was 4-0 in the first minute and 15 seconds,” Heise said. “After that I knew we were going to win.” The Sundevils won 13-3 and got an opportunity to play team members who normally don’t see much playing time. The team attributes a lot of their current victories to their stand-in coach, Jon Au. “He is amazing,” Heise said. “We really appreciate having him here, he is an excellent coach.” As of press time, Wednesday night, the team was undefeated with a 2-0 record in the league. The team played Orange Glen Thursday and will play Oceanside this evening.
football
cross country
MC football is a chance to have young men come together [Field hockey] requires so much more than just being In cross country, greatness is simply a reward for to learn how to work together as a team. They learn skills such putting in the effort. That means try hard, support your team, physically in shape. You have to be mentally prepared for all as being tough and taking responsibility for their actions and and always make practice; no excuses.” sorts of situations that you come across during the game.” they learn how to be successful outside of school.”
QUICK HITS
If you had S100 to spend on anything, what would you spend it on? First I’d probably go to Rubio’s then hit up the mall and probably Michael’s craft store, because it’s pretty much my favorite place ever. What’s your greatest fear and why? I actually have a fear of rubber bands. It’s called veloxrotaphobia. I don’t know why but they just frighten me. Name one person or group of people that you admire. My fearsome foursome (Caraline Goodman, Serena McClintick, Sandy Shyu, and me). When did you start playing your sport? Junior year.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? I would totally love to see into the future and the past or to be able to teleport myself all over the country. If you could un-invent one thing, what would it be and why? Drama. It’s so pointless. Let’s all just be friends! Why did you decide to start playing your sport? My friends got into it and after hearing it was so much fun I tried out, and made the team. What’s the worst injury you have received in your sport? I pulled my groin muscle, I’ve been hit multiple times off shots and just recently got a ball hit up at my lip.
QUICK HITS
QUICK HITS
If you had S100 to spend on anything, what would you spend it on? Escrima equipment. It’s a Filipino martial art.
What’s your biggest pet peeve and why? People giving up. All I want is for people to try. It shows their weakness.
Why did you decide to start playing your sport? My mom wouldn’t let me wrestle or play football, and I was pretty fast in middle school.
If you had $100 to spend on anything, what would it be? Either a bunch of new pairs of short shorts, or put it toward a surfboard.
What is your greatest fear? Why? Dead animals. Their dead little bodies creep me out.
Did you compete in your sport in college? After playing in college for two years it stopped being fun to me. Coaching filled that void. I enjoy teaching young men.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? It comes down to Spiderman’s powers or Wolverine’s.
Do you hope to continue playing your sport in college? If I get a scholarship I’ll run for the team, but whether I’m on the team or not I’ll run to stay fit.
If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be? My closet would be full of Armani suits. What’s your weirdest combination? Asparagus w/ mayo.
food
If you could uninvent one thing, what would it be and why? Keanu Reeves as an actor. He is just bad at it.
Name one person or group of people that you admire. Saint Paul (He is in the Bible. Look him up.) If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? I wish I could fly. I love watching birds of prey glide through the air.
If you could un-invent one thing, what would it be and why? SATs. It’s the most pointless thing ever. When did you start playing your sport? Freshman year. What’s the worst injury you have received in your sport? Shin splints three years in a row.
What do you plan to do after high school? Go to a four-year university, get a job as a fireman or engineer, then start a family. Name one person or group of people that you admire. Runners. I know I am one but it’s because of the dedication and attitude that it takes to be a runner.
Sports B3 Girls tennis dominates, undefeated Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2 , 2009
SARA SHANTZ STAFF WRITER
JENNIFER FARRELL | PHOTOGRAPHER
Lamella Belgica (10) takes a backhand swing at the tennis ball during their match against Valley Center last Tuesday. The team has been working hard in practice to improve individual aspects of their game.
The girls tennis team is dominating the Valley League with a record of 4-0. The team beat Orange Glen, Ramona, San Marcos, Westview, and Valley Center. “The good things are that our singles players (Sabastiani Leon-Chao, Bella Genkina, Lamella Belgica) keep showing up and dominating,” junior Melissa Anewalt said. “The bad thing is that the doubles teams haven’t been doing the best that they could be doing.” “A lot of doubles is moving around the court and coordinating with your partner so that the whole court is covered and looking at your opponents’ weaknesses and attacking those areas,” junior Karen Troung said. “Most of the time I play with my partner (Melissa Anewalt) at practice and we’re already friends, so that’s a good thing,” Troung said. “After every point we give high fives or either give pointers or a compliment each other, and click rackets.” The team has been working hard in practice to improve their game. “Our coach gives us a new drill every practice to work on different aspects of the game and to keep things interesting,” junior Bella Genkina said. The girls have a unique way of inspiring each other. “To push ourselves, we pants anyone who loses all three sets; it’s our motivation to win,” senior
Joanna Stewart said. The team is continuing to focus on improving their team chemistry. “We had a water balloon fight once after practice and we still continue to have pasta nights every Wednesday to help with our team chemistry,” Genkina said. Tuesday, the team faced off against Valley Center and swept them 18-0, meaning they didn’t lose any sets. “Tuesday’s match was good practice, although they weren’t really up to our level,” Troung said. “We didn’t get a lot of practice at playing in a difficult situation.” Stewart believes that tennis is a sport everyone can enjoy. “Tennis is about more than just hitting the ball back and forth,” Stewart said. “There is a lot of strategy to the game. We have to always be on top of our game because there is always a way for the opponent to win. “If they get ahead we have to come back twice as hard but we always strive to win 6-0 every time. It’s a very entertaining game to watch that everybody can get into.” For some of the girls, the best part of the season so far was beating Westview, but for senior Emily McKeon, it’s been bonding with her new teammates. “The highlights have included everyone getting to know each other since we have so many new people on the team,” McKeon said. “We have such amazing and fun people that being with them and playing with them has made this season awesome.”
JENNIFER FARRELL | PHOTOGRAPHER
Melissa Anewalt (11) prepares to receive a serve at the Valley Center match. The team swept the match, winning every set they played. The team is dominating the Valley League with a unscathed record of 4-0.
Golf breaks record, owes successes to coach TJ ALONSO-RIVERA STAFF WRITER It is hard to be more than a champion. Once a team has hit the top, there is nowhere to go but down. This principle, however, does not apply to the varsity girls golf team. “We will try our best to be undefeated league champs like last year,” junior Tracey Huynh said. The players feel that there is still more to achieve than winning the Valley League championship again. Among their other goals are a perfect record in league and a CIF title. The team prefers to keep the atmosphere light and fun amid the high expectations. The girls say that Head Coach Dave Rudgers excels at this. “Coach Dave is really chill and all for promoting the ‘have fun’ part of the game,” Huynh said. Golf is a game of inches and every small improvement makes a difference. The veterans of the team worked hard during
the offseason to get better and the new members have On Sept.. 24 the team faced Orange Glen and won contributed a great amount to the early success of the by a comfortable margin. team this year. On Sept. 28 the girls beat Valley “It all just really adds up and Center with one of their lowest scores of shows in our team’s the season, 223. totals,” Huynh said. Junior Karena “Our team is stronger Fujii led the team [Coach Dave Rudgers] is everything you than last year.” with her best score of Evidence proving could ask for in a coach...he helps with golf but the year, 49. their hard work is Freshman Julia their low score for the also with our bad days and he actually listens Kang scored the best season, 214. and understands...He has two daughters, that’s on the team with a 38, “We have been and Huynh impressed pushing ourselves why he gets it.” with a 42. for lower and lower Team Captain Shelby Jones scored scores and have --Caraline Goodman (12) a 46. broken the MC girls Senior Christina golf for the overall Lewis and sophomore lowest score at 214,” Sylvia Torrez scored a 56 and 45 respectively. senior Caroline Goodman said. “That made us really The change in size to a bigger team has not affected pumped.” the performance of the team. The hard work has paid off as the team has “This year we have nine girls on the team with dominated league and is still without a loss against six returning,” senior Shelby Jones said. “This is our league opponents.
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largest team in years…but we are all very close and hardworking.” The girls on the team are all about helping each other and giving constructive criticism to get better. “I haven’t played as well as I wanted, but we always have our critiques,” Huynh said. Rudgers has helped the team improve with his knowledge of the game of golf. “He gives us as much individual attention as he can,” Goodman said. “He is everything you could ask for in a coach...he helps us with golf but also with our personal lives. “We can tell him about anything, school, boys, and our bad days and he actually listens and understands...He has two daughters, that’s why he gets it.” Rudgers is also focusing on helping the girls become better people as well, not just great golfers. “I hope all the girls improve their game, but I also expect the girls to become better individuals as we compete this year,” he said. The team has definitely improved and expects to dominate throughout the season. The girls seem poised to bring a CIF banner to the MC gym.
Field hockey utilizes strong defense; work to improve LAUREN HALL STAFF WRITER Girls field hockey has already won two of their games. One was against Mission Bay, 2-1, and another against Madison, 4-1. Their strong defense allowed them to play a majority of their games on the other team’s half of the field, giving them more chances to score. “Our defense is pretty sturdy as a whole,” senior
Jennifer Martin said. “We are all seniors and have known and played sports with each other since high school started, so we have a really strong bond and are able to communicate well with one another and block up the goal.” The girls lost 2-1 against Mira Mesa in an intense round of double overtime.
“I really enjoyed the fact that we were able to play a team that plays the higher division schools and keep the game tied at 1-1 which forced us to go into overtime, and then into double overtime,” Martin said. “This game really showed us how hard we play and how strong we really are to play more advanced teams and pretty much shut them down. It was really awesome.” Even when the team plays a great game, they always have areas to focus on and improve. “I’m working on my patience,” Martin said. “My coach tells me that I’m so aggressive that I just go straight after the ball and don’t really give myself the opportunity to really stop the other players, so in practice we’ve been doing a lot of defense drills so I can work on my positioning and slowing the opponent down.” It’s obvious that this team has a strong defensive unit that is constantly improving. The girls owe much of their progress and success to their coach, Katie Fixen. Fixen played defense for her high school field hockey team, so her expertise in that area has given the team the knowledge they need for an unyeidling defense. But defense is not this team’s only asset. Their strong standout players also push the girls to play better. “Some of our key players are senior Ashley Romano, our center midfielder; freshman Dominique Cappello, our center forward; our low defensive line, and everyone else,” Martin said. Every player is important part of this intricate team with so many years of experience and commitment.
AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITOR
Jennifer Martin(12) intensely follows through her long hit at a recent practice to a fellow teammate. The team has already beat their last years’ record and is working hard daily in practice to prepare for their upcoming league games; the first against Del Norte taking place on Oct. 9. They have already played seven games in pre-season. The team takes on Otay Ranch tonight at 6 p.m. here at Sundevil Stadium.
Entertainment
B4
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
“Fame” interview with actress Naturi Naughton “Fame” conducted a phone interview in which high school reporters asked one question each to an actor of the movie “Fame.” MC was not able to be present during the phone interview, so the following interview has been provided courtesy of Nahir Wold, the email coordinator. The film is in theatres now. Interviewee: Naturi Naughton, 25, actresss
Compiled by Angela Kim copy editor Q: Why did you decide to turn away from your political science major and follow theatre? A:”Well, it was like a choice to turn away from political science, I just felt like doing Broadway was a once in a lifetime chance… I decided to follow what I thought my initial dream was.” Q: Do you have a piece of advice you would like to give teens who are trying to pursue a dream in the performing arts? A: “My piece of advice would probably be to stay encouraged. You know, anybody who’s pursuing this career is going to always get a lot of rejection and discouragement. People are going to tell you that you’re not good enough or have the right look. But you, yourself, have to stay really, really encouraged. Focus on your assets as opposed to your flaws and focus on what you can do to make yourself better….”
Q: I hear that the 2009 version of [“Fame”] is only loosely based on the 1980 version. Do you believe that [this film] will live up to the original film’s reputation? A: “I think it’s going to do that and more. I think that it’s not even about living up to the other film, but bringing something new and fresh to the new generation to relate to it…I believe the original was amazing and it spoke to so many young performers who were striving for a career in the business, and I think that this movie will do the same thing and [define that] ‘fame’ is more than what we see in just pictures and videos and the glamorous life.” Q: I know you toured with Destiny’s Child. Did that influence your path in any way? A: “Well, it was a kind of inspiration to see Destiny’s Child which was huge and to be onstage with them. [It inspired me] to maybe continue my career and maybe I can reach that point…It probably more affected my future.”
Q: How do you fulfill the role of both actress and student? A: “I didn’t go to online school…I thought about it…I had a tutor with me all the time who traveled with me on the road. And it was really challenging being a student and a performer. I think that the balance is that making sure that you are self-motivated because no one’s going to be behind you every day….” Q: What’s new about “Fame” that’s different from the original movie and TV show? A: “What I would say is different [from the original] is that it’s just a modern setting, new characters, it’s like a whole new style of music, you know, with all the dancing…We’ve added all different styles of music like classical music and pop music of course. We wanted to give people a wide range of styles of music than just 1980s. Things are very different now. We just wanted to modernize it.” Photos courtesy of Dulcelina Tello
Excessive sex on TV promotes Campers escape promiscuity among observers from life at beach
TJ rivera-alonso Staff Writer
REVIEWS
The excessive portrayal of sex on TV has raised concern among many parents. These parents worry about their teens getting the idea that everybody is having sex except them. Most students have opinions on the issue too. “I feel like sex on TV makes teens think it’s okay to have sex as a teenager in high school,” junior Sierra Moran said. “But some shows do educate teens and tell them why not to have sex, like the pregnancy possibility.” Shows such as “Gossip Girl,” “Californication,” and “Cougar Town” can get graphic, and they are available to the majority of the public on cable TV. Also, a wide variety of reality TV shows such as “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” and “Flavor of Love” send messages that promiscuity is acceptable in today’s society. “I think it definitely affects teens,” senior Sarah Hsu said. “But I don’t think there is any way it would be able to be completely censored.” According to the Washington Post, the first study conducted to link TV sex to teen pregnancies found that 12 to 17
year olds who watched the most sexual content on TV were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy than those who saw the least. The journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics published this in 2008. Junior Bernardo Raymundo compromises with the censoring of sex on cable TV. “I think that it should be censored in case any smaller kids are watching,” he said. “But, I don’t think that teenagers would get the wrong idea, because they already know enough about it through health classes and general conversation.” The general consensus seems to be that sexual suggestions, references, and actions can’t and won’t be censored from TV, but some shows do go over that line. “Some TV shows make sex seem like all fun and nothing serious or not that big of a deal,” Hsu said. “They don’t show the possible consequences or the necessary steps to be safe.” In the end, the facts do not lie in the study, but it is necessary to not put all of the blame on TV. Other factors are obviously involved. As Raymundo said, “I don’t think TV is such a huge factor, but kids might get ideas from shows.”
Andy Bolin Staff Writer
He wakes up early and looks outside, not to see cars and street lights, but to see the waves breaking on the beach and the sun shining on the water. Senior Nick Ibanez knows this feeling better than most students. “I like to go beach camping because it’s a break from everyday life and technology,” Ibanez said. “It’s a much more mellow way of life.” Many students at MC love the experience of beach camping. It’s not often that people get to wake up in the morning to a great surf session. “Surfing is an escape from life,” Ibanez said. “There is no better feeling when beach camping than to wake up and grab my surfboard and have a nice morning ‘sesh’.” Beach campgrounds are not the only places where people can camp. “When I was younger, my family and a bunch of our friends went to Lake Dixon,” senior Kevin Cardenas said. “We would spend like a week there during summer and do everything you can imagine when it comes to camping,” Cardenas said. “We did everything from biking, to rock climbing.” Like Cardenas, many others love to go
christian jun | artist
4.0//5.0
2.0//5.0
2.0//5.0
camping, but to most people, beach camping is the kind of camping they enjoy most. “I love beach camping because I get to hang out with all of my friends,” senior Eric Poggioli said. “My friends and I love to surf so it’s very convenient for the surf to be just a few steps away.” There are many different places to go beach camping. One of the local favorites is Carlsbad. “Carlsbad is the place to go,” Ibanez said. “It is very close to home so the drive isn’t too far and it’s a great campground.” Some other places where people enjoy beach camping are San Onofre, San Elijo, and San Clemente. Even though Carlsbad is a favorite, but many people go to San Clemente, and San Onofre. These two campgrounds are very close to one another, and also very close to Trestles Beach, where the surf is as good as it gets. “One of the main reasons why I love camping at San Clemente is because of Trestles,” Poggioli said. “Many pros surf there so it is kind of cool to know that anytime I surf there, I might see somebody who I look up to.” Beach camping is a great escape of life to many students. “Life doesn’t get any better than spending a weekend beach camping,” Ibanez said.
5.0//5.0
Title: Jennifer’s Body Rating: R Genre: Horror
Name: Ultrastar Theatres Location: Poway Type: Movie Theatre
Title: Love Happens Rating: PG-13 Genre: Romance
Name: Anthology Location: Downtown Type: Music Club
Mackenzie Lance News Editor
Zachary Jensen Staff Writer
abby mansour staff writer
Jordan Ugalde Staff writer
In an attempt to satirize the teen, horror and buddy comedies, Oscar winning screen writer Diablo Cody, famed for her indie superfilm Juno, misses the mark with “Jennifer’s Body.” The film revolves around Jennifer, played by Megan Fox, a teenage girl, possessed by a demon after a satanic ritual from a local rock band in order to gain a record deal. Jennifer begins to feast on human flesh to satisfy her demonic desires. Her former best friend, Needy, realizes Jennifer is responsible for the deaths of several students and tries to stop her at any cost. Megan Fox’s acting seems to be based in speaking with a slow, sexy tone and wearing as little clothing as possible while still maintaining an R rating. Needy, played by Mamma Mia actress Amanda Seyfried, is the classic, frumpy foil to sexy Jennifer, but her character never fully develops, and it’s hard to feel any emotion toward her. This attempted satire fails because of bad acting and a predictable plot line that seems like every other high school flasher film, only with a few bad jokes thrown in.
Going to movies is one of the most popular activities among high school students, and there are many theatres to consider. Ultrastar Theatres offers a clean environment, low prices, but lacks available showings. The first thing you notice at Ultrastar is the cheap prices, and fairly un-crowded theatres. Prices for students start at $6.50, for showings earlier than 5 p.m. Ultrastar’s theatres are very rarely crowded, so you don’t need to arrive extra early. They are clean and well kept, but there are occasional problems with the movie itself or the sound. The problems are usually quickly resolved, but are still a bother. Beyond the appearance, Ultrastar does, however, have a limited movie selection. For example, while every other nearby theatre offered the movies “G.I. Joe,” and “500 Days of Summer,” Ultrastar was not showing these popular movies. Overall, Ultrastar offers everything you would want in a theatre, for a cheap price, which fits great into the teenage budget.
Although the title appears to state a fact, the film itself doesn’t have me convinced. A more suiting title for Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart’s new movie might have been “Love: incredibly predictable and scripted.” The movie tells of Dr. Burke Ryan (Eckhart), a self help writer who visits Seattle to give motivational speeches on his book “A Okay!” While in the city, he meets florist Eloise Chandler (Aniston). The plotline itself had the potential for great interest and dissection of human emotion and grieving. However, the film falls completely short on nearly all accounts. Both characters are extremely onedimensional to the point where it feels as though every move and word is scripted. There is also clearly very little chemistry between the actors and even just watching it made me feel awkward. The bottom line is that a potentially good idea crashed and burned due to lack of chemistry and the predictable course the movie took.
Upon entering the glass doors of Anthology, one is immediately immersed in a music lover’s paradise. At night, the blue overtones emphasize the relaxing mood of the club/restaurant, while the high quality sound system, coupled with professional musicians, makes every tone sound sweeter than the last. Host to a variety of genres, whether it be jazz, rock, or R&B, Anthology has something for everybody. But if one has a desire to see a specific band perform such as the Stanley Jordan Trio, one must pay an additional fee which can make a trip to Anthology a bit pricy. People who aren’t big fans of any type of music will still appreciate Anthology for the quality of its food. The menu might seem a bit threatening, with the majority of entrées $20 or more, but after the first bite, it becomes obvious that the price is worth it. Even pommes frites (European term for french fries) have been improved and are served with mayonnaise, which might sound weird, but tastes delicious. So if you have a decent amount of money and a zeal for music or food, Anthology is definitely worth the price.
Entertainment
Mt. Carmel SUN
B5
October 2, 2009
AS SEEN ON
TV
When put to the test however, this claim did prove to be false. While it did remove most of the colors of the stain, it failed to soak up the soda that had sunk to the roots of the carpet. Ironically as pointed out in the commercial, the left over moisture will lead to mildew and will ruin the carpet. Overall, the ShamWow works as amazingly as promised, but just in case, you still ought to be careful to not spill your sodas on the carpet.
SUN staff investigates TV products:
SCAM or SUCCESS?
MELANIE DICKINSON, JAY HUEY, KEVIN LAGE, DENNIS SUN CENTERSPREAD EDITOR, STAFF WRITER, SPORTS EDITOR, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Bumpits
ShamWow
The ShamWow commercial makes some serious claims. It claims to be able to absorb up to 12 times its weight in water and not drip. When dipped into a bowl of water, it was able to absorb about one-fourth a liter of water and sure enough, there was no dripping water, so there was no extra mess to clean up. And the claim that it cleans up any mess without scratching the surface proved to be true as well. Perhaps the largest claim made by the ShamWow is that it is better than a steam cleaner for cleaning carpet stains. In the commercial they spill soda onto a carpet sample and then, simply lay the ShamWow on the carpet and apply some pressure the stain magically disappears all the way through.
Does it work? YES
NO
ABBAS MAMDANI | PHOTOGRAPHER
Strap Perfect Taylor Baldwin promises easy, quick, and effective bra strap concealment with Strap Perfect. What she doesn’t mention is the sore shoulders, the red strap lines, and the comments about “that weird thing on your back” that you are almost sure to get with the “Ultimate Bra Strap Solution.” By clinching the two straps together in the back, Strap Perfect does hide them effectively. That is, until it slides up over the course of
the day. The “concealer” is giant at over two inches, and easily seen through tank tops when you lean over. And God forbid you take Baldwin’s advice and wear it with the sports bra. It’s painful enough with bras whose straps are adjustable. The “silhouette boost” is, however, true to its word. Your boobs do look “at least one cup size bigger!” (at the expense of comfort).
Victoria’s Secret has a much more subtle and stable hook attached to many of their bras, for far quicker and less strenuous strap concealment. Unfortunately, they also put a strain on the shoulders.
Does it work? Does it work? ABBAS MAMDANI | PHOTOGRAPHER
YES YES
NO
of putting pressure onto the skin and buff in circular motions (three times, both clockwise and counterclockwise). There will be no results. Maybe try it another three times? Still nothing. Another three? Hey, maybe one strand of hair will be removed! Smooth Away does not do the wonders it claims to do. It does not remove hair instantly. In fact, if anything, it damages your hair with the friction put onto it.
Nor should it be considered as a painless task. It causes skin irritations. It’s as if you are rubbing sand paper all over your body. Sure, Smooth Away may look like a more “glamorous,” way of removing hair, but unless you don’t mind having a dysfunctional system of hair removal, one that leaves your skin with a tarp-like scent, girls (and yes, guys too) should stick to removing hair with their razor.
Does it work? YES
Slap-Chop
Brought to you by Vince the ShamWow guy, this chopping kitchen utensil promises simple chopping efficiency. All you’re supposed to have to do is slap the switch, and it chops! Unfortunately, this is all a lie. Slap Chop fails to do as it is advertised. First of all, the device is cumbersome to use. It is large, ungainly, and awkward in shape. Secondly, this utensil is really very dull. The blade isn’t very sharp, so, in order to get it to cut anything, you have to press your full weight down on the device. Tested on celery, Slap Chop is unable to cut through very well. It leaves a crushed, but not cut, mess of uneven chunks. There’s no way you’re going to be able to make a salad out of that junk. When used on a tomato, Slap Chop squashes the fruit (or vegetable) without really making much of a cut,
leaving a bloody red mess on your cutting board. If you’re looking to make salsa, look somewhere else. The Slap Chop commercial claims that the contraption can cut onions while leaving the skin intact. Obviously, this is a sham. When tested, Slap Chop fails to perform as promoted. After pressing down with massive force, it only manages to pierce the onion’s skin and get stuck, damaging the blade in the process. The only thing Slap Chop is really good for is pulverizing nuts and crackers into very small chunks. If you’re looking for a $20 crumbmaker, you’ve found the right product.
Does it work? YES
NO
ABBAS MAMDANI | PHOTOGRAPHER
NO
Mighty Mendit
Smooth Away “As Seen on TV” claims it is an “easy, safe, painless hair removal.” Maybe the company should change the slogan to “troublesome, laborious, and ‘will not remove a single strand of hair.’” The Smooth Away kit comes with a small applicator (for the face), a large applicator (for most of the body) and flex-crystal hairremoval pads. After sticking a pad onto the applicator, follow the step
Big Happie Hair, Inc.’s Bumpits hair volumizing inserts guarantee perfect salon-style volume in seconds. Ranging in size from mini, or Princess, to extra-large, or Rockstar, these things can make your hair look up to two inches bigger. Putting them in, however, is not as fun as the name makes it sound. With fine hair, you need a flair (and an arm) for teasing, and a couple thousand bottles of aerosol. And it may be my ignorance of fancy hair devices, but it took about 30 minutes to go from “flat to fabulous,” when they promised seconds. Removing it is a pain. A deep, tugging, throbbing pain. Also, be careful of low ceilings. Yet there is potential. When it was all done, I felt a little more like Brigitte Bardot and less like the Triceratops or Bride of Frankenstein that I had expected. And in the hands of people with some kind of expertise on hair, it could actually look fabulous, be installed in seconds, and give you the big happie hair you’re looking for.
Mighty Mend-it claims to glue any fabric, be strong enough to stand up to up to wash and not stick to your skin when it spills on you. Unfortunately for many buyers that believed it, only the last claim is true. When used to patch up jeans, it peeled apart with almost no effort. When attempted again and put in the washing machine, it fell apart in the wash. Billy Mays, the late host of the Mighty Mend-it
commercials, claims that it was strong enough to patch up a torn parachute, but I wouldn’t trust it to patch up my pants. So if you’re looking for a strong glue, stick with the good old white Elmers glue.
Does it work? YES
NO
NO
Debbie Meyer Greenbags
The smiling old redheaded lady, Debbie Meyer, is actually not going to trick you as badly as all the other scamming salesmen on television. Her Greenbags work, surprisingly. In a simple test, her Greenbags were able to do as they promised; they kept tomatoes fresh for longer periods of time than “traditional storage.” In the experiment, we used two sets of two tomatoes, all starting at the same firmness and size. One set was placed outside, with one tomato in a plastic bag and one tomato in a Greenbag. The other set was placed in the fridge, with one tomato in a plastic bag and
one tomato in a Greenbag. After waiting for a period of nine days, we were able to obtain some pretty convincing results. The outside group was more degraded than the inside group, but the Greenbags did, in fact, help slow the progression of vegetable rot! The tomato in the regular clear plastic bag was molded and very squishy, while the tomato in the Greenbag was still quite firm. In the fridge group, the regular plastic bag tomato was mushy, while the Greenbag tomato was still very firm and solid, almost as good as it was nine days before. So, the conclusion is, Debbie Meyer’s Greenbags actually work! You can use these tinted bags to save money and prevent produce waste.
Does it work? YES
NO
ALL UNLABELED PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES
ABBAS MAMDANI | PHOTOGRAPHER
Magic Bullet As its name implies, Homeland Hardwares says Magic Bullet is an appliance that will do “any job in 10 seconds… or less.” Is this tool really the blender of tomorrow? The Magic Bullet comes in a set of 21 pieces, including two blades for different jobs: the crossblade and the whipping blade. The crossblade is used for a majority of the tasks. For chopping garlic or onions, just add into the included blending cup and pulse. Repeat if you want finer onions and garlic. Blending smoothies and shakes was as easy as they claim. Just simply add any ingredients you like and then blend. The Power Base locks the cup onto it, so there are no buttons to press. Also included in the Magic bullet set is the whipping blade. To whip cream, just add one-fourth cup of heavy cream and whip until the sound of the Power Base dies down. And the amazing thing about the Magic Bullet is that it really does
do basically any job in 10 seconds or less! Whether you’re pulsing, whipping, blending, chopping, every task is hands-free and simple. For those tasks that exceed 10 seconds, use the “shake technique.” This technique can be used to unclog food, allowing the Magic Bullet to do its job much easier. The Magic Bullet is definitely a handy appliance that will make your job in the kitchen more convenient.
Does it work? YES
NO
Features
B6
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
Pacilio tells stories of past students in novel ‘Meetings at the Metaphor Café’ Shayon Said Opinions Editor He’s the one teacher who doesn’t teach a class, he teaches a “village.” The one teacher who doesn’t think of his students as people he needs to teach, but as teenagers who see the world in an entirely different perspective than adults. Bob Pacilio’s American Literature (Village) and Honors English courses are noted for being two of the most requested classes in school. Pacilio’s unique way of interacting with his students by treating them like real people is the reason why so many students want to be in his class. Pacilio has recently written his first book, and it reflects on the very classes he teaches. “I’ve always really been a writer, and in my 32 years of teaching, I found that there is a story,” he said. “And if you compressed
all of the years and all of the classes that I taught into one room of kids, there are many stories that have come to me in speeches, in talks that we’ve had, they’ve come to me in tears with tissue boxes, they’ve come happy and they’ve come sad.” Pacilio found alluring stories in four of his past students’ lives, and they embody the four central characters of his book, “Meetings at the Metaphor Café.” “I just lassoed all of those stories, and decided to put them into four boxes, and the four boxes are the four narrators of the book, “Meetings at the Metaphor Café,” and these four kids tell the story through the class they are in, which is a special class that they really connect to,” Pacilio said. “And so I postulated this idea: what if these four kids liked the class, but wanted to just get out of the house and meet at a coffee shop and just talk.” Surprisingly, what the kids talk about doesn’t specifically reflect the “special” class they are in, but more of their personal connections with the real world as teens. “They obstinately talk about their lives, their crushes, their ambition, their frustration, and their parents,” he said. “And at the same time it’s about falling in love, and their frustrations about being a young adult trying to crack into this crazy world where school’s cost too much and their parents ambitions for them aren’t their own.”
The book also embodies the personal lives of the four students, and the problems that they create such as being the child of a father who simply decided to leave his real family, or having a father who puts their life on the line every day in the war in Iraq. “The kids also represent the problems their parents have,” Pacilio said. “What would happen if your own father is in Iraq? Or what if your father just leaves? What happens when your parents want you to become a very successful lawyer or business man and go to a very conservative institution but you really wanted to vote for Barack Obama? “Lots of students feel like the “other”, and Pari the Iranian-American is an “other” person caught between two worlds.” Pacilio’s book will be the first to cross the complex border between being a teenage student, living in a world that seems to be all against them. And through their “meetings,” they find a way to face it.
photo illustrations by abbas MAMDANI | photographer christian jun | artist
Club Corner
Students prove Twitter effective for coordinating activities, keeping up with friends on daily basis
Featuring...
Kevin Lage Sports Editor
President: Marita Barger Vice President: Erica Barger
Meets every Tuesday in K3 Laura SLusser Staff Writer At Sea Shepherds’ first meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15 in room K3, every single seat was taken. More than half of the members were sitting on the floor, crowding in to hear what president senior Marita Barger had to say. “I saw this show over the summer called ‘Whale Wars,’” she said. “After I saw it I was devastated, and I wanted to help.” The club’s mission is to donate money to the international organization after which they are named. Sea Shepherds is considered one of the most controversial non-profit organizations, renowned for their aggressive techniques. Currently, whaling is illegal under international law, but the Japanese government has taken few actions to prevent illegal whaling. That’s where Sea Shepherds comes in. “Sea Shepherds use butyric acid or something, and they throw it on the illegal whaling ship,” vice president sophomore Erika Barger said. “It smells, and it helps prevent them from cutting up the meat, because it just smells so gross that they can’t stay out there to cut up the meat, and then the meat rots.” “It’s just a big stink bomb, though,” senior Scott Hansen added. “It’s not like any acid that will hurt anybody.” They also create blockades and have damaged and
Some sports teams, such as boys water polo are even using it to coordinate practices and games. “Our coach set up a Twitter page for our team,” Since its creation in 2006, the social networking senior Drew Carlson said. “That way he can send out site, Twitter.com has quickly grown to one of the most a mass text message from Twitter to let us know when frequently visited websites worldwide. practices are cancelled, or to update game times etc.” Many students now Many celebrities and use Twitter to keep up with politicians now use Twitfriends on the internet. ter to “tweet” the details “I have two Twitter of their daily lives to their accounts. One of them is “followers.” President Bafor people like little, imrack Obama has the most mature high school kids followers Twitter with can’t see, and the current over 2.2 million followers one that everybody can see 1. Barack Obama worldwide. and follow,” senior Andrew Some people refuse to Kim said. “I’ve been us2. Ashton Kutcher try Twitter because they ing Twitter since mid 2007, believe that there is no about the time where Twit3. Britney Spears point when they are already ter exponentially increased on Facebook and Myspace, its popularity. I guess I’m a 4. CNN but Kim claims otherwise. pioneer, but that would be “I don’t think it’s right jaded of me to say so.” 5. Twitter to compare Facebook or Many people have their Myspace with Twitter simown reasons for having a 6. Demi Moore ply because they are two Twitter account. Some use entirely different things,” it to text friends, some use 7. Miley Cyrus Kim said. it to follow celebrity lives, “Twitter is especially and some just use it to kill 8. P. Diddy made for mobility whereas time when they are bored. Facebook or Myspace is “I viewed Twitter as a 9. The New York Times more of a ‘sit-at-your-commass way of sending a text puter’ social networking, to all the people follow10. The Onion despite its ability to use ing,” Kim said. “I use that from the iPhone or whatevto basically send out mass according to twitterholic.com er like how you have been messages for events, hangusing it to communicate outs, etc. It’s a practical use. I’ve eventually come to with it. I just don’t think such a powerful site like Faamends with using a Twitter just for the ‘facebook sta- cebook or Myspace should be mobilized. It loses its tus update’ purpose, annoying people with my quotes greatness, in my opinion. Twitter, on the other hand, and weird stuff. It’s pretty fun because people can say is lightweight and great to use especially in terms of anything they want and they can’t do anything about mobility. I would never think someone would replace it. That’s a joke. Twitter has become a multitude of Facebook with Twitter and vice-versa.” things in my life. Status updates and event shoutEither way, Twitter continues to grow exponenouts.” tially with no signs of slowing down.
Top 10 people followed on Twitter:
sunk ships, but Sea Shepherds claims that they have never been charged with a crime or hurt anyone. Some whaling officials have called them terrorists. On the other side, Japanese whalers have used violent and aggressive methods to fend off Sea Shepherds. They have thrown metal balls at environmental activists. Additionally, they use acoustic weapons which emit high frequency waves in order to disorient Sea Shepherds’ crews. Sea Shepherds claim that if they can stop ships from whaling for ten days, they can save 100 whales. “They have to do what they have to do to stop them from killing whales,” Erika Barger said. MC’s Sea Shepherds Club intends to make recycling bins for ink cartridges, bottles, and cans to put in every classroom. They will donate the money to Sea Shepherds and other research organizations. They also want to write letters to the Japanese government, do beach cleanups, and hold a garage sale fundraiser. “We’re going to protest to stop people from killing not just whales, but also seals and dolphins and sharks,” Erika Barger said. Sometime soon they intend to visit the Birch Aquarium as a club. “I hate seeing all of these poor creatures being treated so horribly,” senior Jennifer Martin, co-publicity manager, said. “We’re just trying to raise awareness… and get people to notice.”
Features B7 Community Colleges
Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
Amanda Stintsman | Photo editor
Some MC students attend community college to avoid the tuition at four-year institutions. Above is Miramar Community College, one of a few community colleges 34 percent of MC 2008 graduates attend.
Attendance at community colleges on the rise; Obama provides more funding, still not enough Rachel martin features editor
About seven years ago, 21-year-old David Murphy began his American education in San Diego after moving from Ireland. When he graduated from Rancho Bernardo High School in 2006, Murphy had a tough decision to make about college. With two younger siblings and limited funds, he chose Palomar College. “College was free in Ireland so after moving we didn’t have money saved for college like many American families,” Murphy said. Murphy is just one high school senior who considered community college as an alternative to expensive, fouryear universities. This migration toward junior colleges has increased over the past few years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2000 to 2006 the total enrollment of community colleges increased by 10 percent. During the 2006-2007 school year, 1,045 community colleges enrolled 6.2 million students nationwide. This accounted for almost 35 percent of all postsecondary students that year. In January 2008, the American Association of Community Colleges reported that there were 6.5 million students working for credits, and the number of non-credit students was 5 million.
Obama’s Plan President Barack Obama is aware of the community colleges’ growth and revealed his plan to invest in them during a July 14 speech. He called his 10-year, $12 million plan the “American Graduation Initiative.” Obama said he has pushed this community college plan because an increasing number of jobs require postsecondary
education. “I am very, very pleased that President Obama recognizes the enormous value of our community colleges nationwide and is putting significant resources in place so that we can serve more students,” Terrence Burgess, president of City College in San Diego, said. And they are indeed serving more students. The growth has been so prevalent that the aid that President Obama is providing may not be enough for California community colleges. “Unfortunately, so much more is needed,” Dittbenner said. Dittbenner added that the $200 million to $250 million they are expecting to receive for California would amount to only about $2.2 million for each of the 110 community colleges. “That would amount to under $7 million over 10 years for the three colleges of the San Diego Community College District,” he said. “The total amount of up to $250 million spread over 10 years is $100 million less than the cuts the California community colleges have taken in this year alone.”
Sundevils at community colleges San Diego is home to five large community colleges. Richard Dittbenner, the director of public information and governmental relations for the San Diego Community College District, said the enrollment in the district’s three community colleges has been steadily rising. They have seen a 4 percent to 11 percent increase in each of the last four semesters. The interest in community colleges begins in high school. MC has always had a large number of seniors who attend community colleges after graduation.
In 2008, 34 percent of MC students pursuing higher education entered community colleges. Similarly, 32 percent of the 2009 graduating class said they intend to continue their studies at such institutions. Principal Tom McCoy said the community college attendance is consistently between 35 percent and 40 percent of MC’s graduates. MC graduates continue their education at community colleges mainly because cheaper alternatives are a large plus for many families. The current economic downturn has translated into a hard time for some students, and they are choosing inexpensive community colleges over universities that may not give sufficient financial aid. “Student demand has been particularly strong during the past year, coincident with the recession, job layoffs, and other poor economic conditions,” Burgess said.
Expenses San Diego community colleges are more affordable than other San Diego four-year institutions. City College’s annual in-state tuition is $632, while San Diego State University, a public school, costs $15,715 for in-state tuition plus room and board. The price goes higher for private schools. The University of San Diego’s annual in-state tuition plus room and board reaches $48,894. By attending City College instead of the University of San Diego, a family could save more than $48,000 for just one year of education.
pros and cons Also, at larger universities the class sizes grow, and there is a lesser chance a student will get to know the professor. Murphy said one of the advantages of going
to community college was the small classes, along with it being flexible and local. California also offers programs to let community college students transfer to four-year universities. Despite such transfers, not everyone is always a proponent of community colleges. Independent college counselor Maureen Roadman said someone should attend a community college right after high school only when a family is unable to afford a four-year university. The other exception, Roadman said, would be if a student was not accepted to their dream school but is “highly motivated” to complete required classes to eventually transfer to that school. “We would say no to students who want to attend community college to ‘find themselves,’” she said. “If parents were adamant they not attend a four-year or if the student felt they were not ready, the time would be better spent doing a purposeful ‘Gap Year.’”
Students have continued to enroll in San Diego community colleges. The budget cuts, coupled with the enrollment growth, could pose a problem for the colleges in the next few years. Burgess said he expects demand to continue to rise, and he fears City College will not have the classes that students “want and need.” Still, whether for financial or personal reasons, students will keep looking at community colleges as a good alternative to expensive universities, just like David Murphy. “Community college was a good stepping stone from high school to university,” Murphy said. Apparently, more than 6 million students agree.
Students participate in transfer programs from community colleges to UCs, CSUs
Community colleges ‘a lot like high school;’ good place to decide on major before transfer
Abby Mansour Staff Writer
Angela kim copy editor
who couldn’t afford to pay for all four years of a university. According to the Palomar College website units Right around springtime, seniors have to make cost $20 at Palomar College for California residents. that tough decision; attend a four-year college or uniAnother benefit of attending a community colversity or attend a community college. lege just long enough to transfer is the time it offers For MC graduate Kendra Vejmelka the choice without having to choose a major. was especially hard to make. The deciding factor was, “It gives you more time to realize what you want in the end, financing. to do which is good because a lot of the time we think “Originally I was planning on going to a private we want to major in something, but then you realuniversity in New York called ize you hate that subject,” Cazenovia but it cost around Vejmelka said. $35-40,000 a year,” Vejmelka Although these prosaid. grams offer several benefits, of MC seniors polled said they are Vejmelka brings up some of “My parents told me I have to pay for everything the disadvantages of attendplanning to attend a community myself including plane ticking community college. college after graduation ets and dorm stuff so I chose “While most of your to stay here and they’re payclassmates are buying stuff ing for everything,” she said. for their dorms and moving, Vejmelka is part of a you’re staying here and sort program similar to the TAG of feel left out of the experi(Transfer Admission Guarence,” she said antee) program called the In addition, according of those seniors said they plan to IGETC (Intersegmental Gento Vejmelka, some stigmas transfer from that community eral Education Transfer Curof attending community colcollege to a four-year institution at leges still exist. riculum). According to igetc.org, “There are a lot of some point the program is the transfer adults and kids, especially core curriculum which fulkids from our school, that *140 students polled think going to community fills the lower division general education requirements college isn’t good and sort of both the UC and the CSU. of look down on it, like it’s a place for students who In simple terms, it’s a program at community col- were too stupid to get into a real college,” she said. leges that allows you to complete the general educaShe adds that it often takes a while to work with tion classes. the counselors to get into programs like TAG or IGMany of the UCs, such as UC San Diego, UC ETC. Irvine, and UC Davis, have this program, which guar“Getting counseling appointments is ridiculous at antees your admission as long as you meet certain re- Palomar; it makes the DMV look like a beautiful land quirements. with no waiting and great customer service,” she said This transfer program has allowed many students sarcastically.
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community college,” he said. “But it’s not a bad idea to do community college…It’s basically like a four-year college. You get the same education.” Many students, after bounding out of school Similar to Williams, MC alumnus Devon Torres tossing their graduation caps into the air, don’t head attends Palomar to avoid too many expenses. But Torres straight for four-year universities. also finds that Palomar can be a place to determine his Some students attend local community colleges major. like Miramar, Palomar, Grossmont, and Mesa. “I went to Palomar really because I haven’t decided Reasons why students go to community colleges on a major, plus it’s cheaper,” Torres said. “And it’s vary. been going good.” Some go to complete general education Torres describes the environment to be very similar requirements, others because they are forced to do so, to high school, with a few differences. others due to monetary “Palomar’s a lot reasons. like high school,” he MC alumnus Sean said. “Only there’s no Williams simply found bells, no enforcing of that going to Palomar is Palomar’s a lot like high school. rules, classes start late... less expensive. Only there’s no bells, no enforcing of and teachers don’t really “It’s a lot cheaper,” rules, classes start late...and teachers care if you’re late.” he said. “And going to Torres also explains don’t really care if you’re late.” community college will that, unlike high get you guaranteed to school, the restraints on transfer].” behaviors are very much However, recent relaxed as well. - MC alumnus Devon Torres budget cuts have been “Well, you can preventing community smoke on campus,” college students from he said. “And the transferring to UC atmosphere is pretty laid schools after two years. back, the professors, the This fact doesn’t faze Williams as much, as he is students…we’re all going there to learn.” confident in the “guarantee system.” Torres likes community college better than he liked “They’re still going to be accepting some students, high school, mainly because the staff and teachers treat just not everybody,” he said. students like adults. “It does worry me kind of…but my main goal is to That would be expected, since many community finish up two years.” college students are older adults. Even though he wants to complete required However, Torres feels completely comfortable courses, Williams also delves in a major he would like with sitting in class with much older people. to try: computer science. “There is a wide range of ages,” he said. “From All in all, Williams feels that community college 40s to 50s, some people are just ancient.” retains the four-year college atmosphere and integrity. Financial aid can also be provided by Free “Basically, a lot of people look down on Application For Student Aid (FAFSA).
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Features
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Mt. Carmel SUN
October 2, 2009
Birthdays Nicole Bustamante Staff Writer We have all seen the balloon bouquets, the flowers, the signs, the cakes, and the countless other treats and shenanigans friends bring for their friends. And we all know they mean one thing: it’s someone’s birthday.
EARLY AWAKENINGS
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“We woke up at 5 in the morning met at our friend’s house and equipped ourselves with masks for the girls and panty hose legs for the boys,” alumna Vanessa Evans said. After meeting with her friends, a group of 12 packed into two cars, drove to their friend’s house, crept up stairs, kidnapped their friend, and took her to breakfast. “It was the most exciting birthday morning I ever had,” kidnapee and MC
alumna Taylor Bugg said. Sophomore Aly Ruiz also enjoys waking up her friends unexpectedly on their birthdays. “I go to their house really early and bring them Starbucks,” Ruiz said. “Then I usually spend the day with them or at least the morning.”
BALLOONS Who doesn’t love the smell of latex? Pretty much everyone, right? Yet, when one thinks of birthdays, balloons come to mind. When it’s someone’s birthday at school you know you can count on seeing his balloon entourage following him wherever he goes, getting tangled in his hair and hitting innocent bystanders in the face. “I like getting balloons for my friends because it is fun to have a big display so everyone knows it is their birthday,” senior
Emily McKeon said. “The balloons are fun and flashy and everyone just loves balloons.”
CAKES If it’s your birthday, there is one girl on campus who will almost always give you cake. The only requirement: you just need to be one of her many friends. This girl is junior Ashley Purdy. “I like to bake and birthdays are the perfect occasion,” she said. “Plus, I like making people happy, and I realized that making cakes is an easy way to do that. It kind of just lets them know that someone remembered and is thinking of them on their birthday.” However, as most Sundevils know, Purdy is not the only friend who bakes. Chances are one of your friends will greet you with a treat on your special day.
Poker Nights
Vandana Bhairi Staff Writer The group of guys looked cool and collected. They strategically placed their bets without giving anything away. Junior Brandon Latifi slyly looked over at the hands of the people next to him and bursted out laughing. The boys now had faces of shock as they finally realized that their hands have just been revealed. This was poker night for some of the boys on the cross country team. Senior David Vasko said poker nights helped out with the economical downturn. “Poker was fun,” he said. “It’s cheaper than going out to a movie.” Senior Matt Johnson said poker nights help team chemistry. “We bond and we have a good time,”
he said. “We become bros; it’s about the bromance.” Latifi agreed, saying the jokes that come up add to the closeness of the team. “We start having more inside jokes which we can all relate to,” he said. “We can connect with team more instead of being out of the loop.” Junior Max Latifi depicted the atmosphere of poker nights as extreme. “People are usually yelling at each other,” he said. “It gets really intense!” Senior Jacob Wood described some of the “intense things” that the loser of a game has to do. “We used to have a rule that the first person out has to make brownies for everyone,” he said. “Or take spoonfuls of cinnamon or shots of egg whites.” Although they’ve all had many memories, only one stands out to all of them. “When we were playing Texas Hold
‘Em, I had two spades,” Max Latifi said. “…I knew I had a flush but apparently I had a straight flush. I guess a straight hand is one of the most impossible to get. Everybody around me was cracking up because they couldn’t believe that I had gotten it but didn’t know.” Brandon Latifi conjured up another funny moment which involved singing Disney songs. “A funny moment was when Matt Johnson was singing the Mulan song, ‘I’ll Make a Man out of You’ to Max Latifi,” he said. “He has the pool stick and he’s pointing it everywhere. It was so funny!” Cross co With all the funny moments Johnson with th untry runner J e rest o explained, it’s ultimately the people who f the te acob Wood ( team c Jared am 12 hemistr are at the poker night that make it the eny and b . The runner ) and a WesServantez | P tview s hotog s say th ring ab joyable experience it is. r ap tu out ma ny insid ese competiti dent play poher “When you’re with Brandon Latifi, ker ve nigh e jokes ts help . everything’s a funny moment,” he said. the
Eating Out
Abby Mansour Staff Writer
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To keep themselves from the oppressive boredom of sitting home alone on Saturday nights, some MC students have begun traditions with their friends. For the boys on JV cross country, dinner at Pat and Oscars have become a weekly occurrence. “It started when a group of us just wanted to go hang out and have dinner and we liked it so much, we just made it something we do every week,” sophomore Blair Bickel said. Sophomore Zach Barnes was also one of the original few who started this long-lasting tradition. “We originally went there because we wanted a place that everyone knew, and it has an outdoor area so we can sit
and hang out while we wait for people to show up,” Barnes said. The weekly tradition also gives the boys, most of whom are on the JV cross country team, time to “talk running” and talk about the meets they have competed earlier in the day. “It’s mostly cross country guys and some girls, and it’s cool because it gives us the team time to bond as a team,” Bickel said. Sophomore John Chisholm also appreciates that, along with some other friends, the group is mostly made up of the cross country team. “It gives a chance to have fun after we’re done competing at the meets,” sophomore John Chisholm said. “We get to have a fun time reflecting on this week preparing for next week while having a good time.”
They expect it to be a long standing tradition within the team and are even starting to get the freshman cross country team involved. “Some of the freshmen have even started coming,” Chisholm said. “It helps the freshman get to know some of their older teammates and feel part of the team.” While some may think it can be dull, picking the same place to eat week after week, sophomore Blake Eaten defends their choice. “It’s near other restaurants and the movies so it’s a good starting point,” he said. Whether to increase a sense of team unity or just to hang out, the Saturday tradition of eating at Pat and Oscars can be counted on to keep on going throughout these boys’ high school careers.
Movie Marathons
The girls in the group cling to their pillows and cover their eyes with their blankets during a scary part in the movie as the guys roll their eyes and laugh at them. This type of behavior is typical of one MC group during their movie nights. Senior Victoria Low and her group of friends have movie nights regularly. Their movie nights usually consist of her friends going over to someone’s house, where they stuff their faces with junk food. After they’re finished watching movies, they go in the spa, where they have long talks. “The type of movies we watch depends on what mood we’re in,” Low said. “Sometimes when we’re feeling down we just have to go with comedies or chick
flicks. Other times when we feel adventurous, we watch a scary movie to fill the night with thrills. Swimming in the dark after watching a scary movie is the best.” Senior Ashley Romano recalls her favorite parts of movie nights. “The best parts of movie nights are eating Swedish fish and popcorn until our stomachs feel like they’re going to explode, drinking a ton of pineapple orange juice, talking about how hot the guys in the movie are instead of watching it, and putting ice in the spa,” Romano said. Low’s group isn’t the only group around MC that has movie nights. “I really think getting together with your friends on a regular basis is important,” senior Audrey Blantern said. “With today’s busy life style for all teenagers in high school who are in clubs, sports, work, or other activities, it is hard to make time to just kick back and spend carefree time with your friends.”
Movie nights are a cheap way for friends to spend time together. Blantern and her group of friends started having movie nights her sophomore year and continued the tradition. Usually the group would watch scary or funny movies and eat together. “We would normally have pizza and I would make my famous Shirley Temples and chocolate cookies,” Blantern said. “Everyone loved them.” Blantern and another group of friends also gets together to watch TV shows. “This past summer I really got into the HBO series, ‘Trueblood,’” Blantern said. “I got two of my friends hooked on it too. So to keep in touch over our busy summer we got together once a week and watched the second season at my house. The season just ended, but we plan to watch the third together as well when the show starts up again.”
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