The SUN 2009-2010 School Year Issue 7

the Mt. Carmel

www.mcsun.org making the sun shine online

High School

SuN

FRIDAy february 12, 2010 VOL. 37 No. 7

9550 carmel mountain rd., san diego, ca 92129

Fight breaks out after WV game; MC student gets week suspension

WHAT’S

INSIDE MOCK TRIAL Speech and Debate team battles it out against schools across the county in an annual tournament.

jared servantez staff writer

news page A3

ADDICTED TO FACEBOOK?

From group fanatics to camera whores, get the SUN’s opinion on Facebook addiction.

Opinions page A8

GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT A 20 year old ex-convict shares his unfortunate experiences, life struggles and road to recovery.

At only 12, he was living on his own, with no money, no home and no one taking care of him. centerspread pages A4 & A5

amanda stintsman | photo editor

Sundevils showed off their spirit during the Westview basketball game. The fans were decked out in scarlet and gold, cheering on their team, but when Westview’s team was announced, they held newspapers over their faces, showing their lack of interest.

frustrated

Restrictions on sports fans lead to strong reactions from students and teachers kelly fan staff writer

ONLINE

www.mcsun.org

MAKING THE SUN SHINE ONLINE

last minute Valentine

GIFTS

for every

RELATIONSHIP

1

YOUR BEST FRIEND

Chocolate.. Chocolate..

Chocolattttteeeeeeee!

And if they don’t like chocolate, don’t get them anything.

2

A LITTLE MORE THAN FRIENDS

ASB is selling candy grams during lunch on the stage. Send out a gram, then add a single rose.

3

JUST DATING

You’ve got a lil’ something something, so give a lil’ something something.

Hallmark is your one-stop shop.

4

NEW RELATIONSHIP

If you’ve reached the stage where you have a pet name for your other half, get them a little stuffed animal to match.

5

LONG TERM LOVE

You love each other. You can’t buy love, so don’t try. Write a love note, or make a collage of all your memories together. Get sentimental.

sundevil fans

T

he buzzer screams at a boys basketball game against Westview on Wednesday, Feb. 3. It’s halftime, and the score is close. As always when playing against MC’s cross-town rival, the atmosphere is filled with tension.

Both schools have turned out with vibrant displays of school pride, school colors, faces painted, and voices screaming.

Senior Chris Santiago bursts onto the court, shirtless, an MC flag trailing behind him, and does a lap.

The fans on both sides made their cheers and boos heard. The next morning, Santiago was called in by Assistant Principal Katie Salo.

Santiago is now barred from all basketball games for the rest of the season. Salo says that Santiago had been taunting the opposing fans by running on the Westview side.

“He was to run up and down our side,” Salo said. “He was not to go to the other side, or even look at the other crowd. We follow through with the same expectations as we have for cheerleaders – they can tumble, but only facing our side of the crowd.”

This expectation is in

EVENTS late start

FEB 26

end of the trimester MARCH 5

INDEX NEWS CENTERSPREAD OPINIONS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES

A2-A3 A4-A5 A6-A8 B1-B3 B4-B5 B6-B8

amanda stintsman | photo editor

The varsity basketball girls cheer on their varsity boys team with enthusiasm from the sidelines, during the Valley Center game. other hand, if she only told him not to taunt the other side, then I don’t think he did anything wrong.”

A miscommunication seems to be the crux of this situation. Salo says that she had specifically told Santiago not to run on the other side, while Santiago only recalls her telling him not to taunt the other side. It all depends what Santiago really had been told.

Salo would like students to remember why such restrictions are in place. It has to do with the

emotionally charged climate of Wevtview-MC games.

“We don’t know what’s going to be happening after the game, in the parking lot, over the weekends,” she said.

But Santiago feels that he knows where to draw the line, and that he did not cross it.

“It was all part of being a part of the sport, and being a fan,” Santiago said. “I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, but if my actions came off that way, I apologize.”

UPSET fans speak up, starting chain reaction from agreeing teachers Monday morning, Feb. 8, the MC administration and staff received an e-mail from anonymous Sundevil fans.

This is the original e-mail sent out from the fans.

Dear Administration:

UPCOMING

accordance with CIF regulations.

However, Santiago said that he had only been told not to taunt the other side, and feels that he did not do so in any way.

“I ran around the court just a single time,” he said. “What I did, I did to support the school. I don’t think my running was inappropriate, harmful or disrespectful, but I do apologize if people feel that way.”

Many teachers also feel that what Santiago did was not particularly negative.

“What I saw that night, was a bunch of kids displaying an appropriate amount of Sundevil spirit,” Craig Racicot, photography teacher, said. “The Westview kids were cheering louder than we were, and I was a little bit disappointed. I was even more disappointed to see that when someone started showing more spirit, [the spirit] was squelched.

I did not witness or hear anything that I feel could have been classified as unsportsmanlike.”

Economics teacher Tom Jamison agrees that there seemed to be nothing especially inappropriate at the game. However, he feels Santiago’s punishment really depends on what he had been told not to do.

“If Ms. Salo told Chris not to go on the other side, than he was in the wrong,” Jamison said. “On the

This letter is in regard to why we have no sports fans or school spirit. The treatment of our fans is unfair, and therefore leading to the lack of school spirit, which is a motivation to our school’s sports teams.

Without this motivation our sports teams can’t perform at their best, and therefore we lose more often than not.

We feel that it is useless to spend time and money to support

our school if we are limited in everything we do.

We understand that you are trying to watch out for our wellbeing; however many of us are adults and are able to make wise decisions on our own.

We just feel that the restrictions on us as fans need to be greatly reduced for the sake of our school spirit, as well as our sports victories.

Many of us are involved in sports at this school, and we know what it is like to perform with a

huge fan base and also without fans. High school is a short time, and most, if not all, the memories are made at sports events. We don’t want to think back about going to the games and just sitting there unenthused and watching our team lose.

We want to remember all the fans, the school spirit and the crazy times we had during these games.

Again we want to stress that we understand your need and {your} importance at these games, we just feel that we are greatly and unfairly

restricted in what we can do.

Talking to other schools, they have fewer limitations on their school spirit and therefore their whole school is involved with these once-in-a-lifetime memories.

For all the years we have been here it has been the same thing year after year.

We’re tired of losing, and we’re tired of the restrictions on our sports fans. As a result MC has just lost its best fan base that this school has ever seen.

--Sundevil Fans

The e-mail sparked controversy throughout the school, causing various reactions. A few of the teachers sent out mass e-mails to the staff, supporting the stance of the Sundevil fans.

After a last-second loss to crosstown rival Westview in last Wednesday’s boys basketball game, tensions between both schools’ fans hit a boiling point.

By the end of the night, fighting between students from both schools broke out, sparking a shocking controversy to add to the history of this storied rivalry.

Westview fans poured out of the stands to storm the court at the buzzer, and the ensuing chaos continued out into the parking lot as fans made their way to their cars.

About five minutes after the final buzzer sounded in the gym, with many fans still inside and the parking lot sparsely populated, a fist fight broke out between senior Rick Gannon and some Westview students.

According to several eyewitnesses, many students were trash-talking in the parking lot.

When a car full of Westview students neared Gannon, he started talking back and making obscene gestures.

The car then bumped into Gannon, who pounded on the hood and walked around to confront the driver, senior Josh Vargas.

“Rick turned around and he hit the hood of the car,” an MC senior said. “Then he opened the door, punched the guy a couple times, and then pulled him out of the car and started beating him.”

Although some witnesses stated that it looked as if Gannon was looking for a fight, he insisted that he was not the instigator.

“Well, they spit on me, and tried to hit me with their car,” he said. “They provoked it.”

According to witnesses, Gannon easily overpowered Vargas with his punches, although Vargas did attempt to defend himself, landing a few blows to Gannon’s body.

After less than a minute spent punching Vargas, another Westview student came up behind Gannon, who turned around and knocked him to the ground with one punch.

Meanwhile, smaller skirmishes had broken out around Gannon.

Contrary to rumors, however, MC students did not gang up on an opponent; Gannon did most of the fighting while a couple others, like senior Tyler Cervantes, attempted to control the situation on the fringes.

“It was Rick fighting two or three Westview kids, and then off to the side Cervantes and (another MC student) were stopping some other kids,” an MC senior said.

Cervantes stated that he was only trying to break things up, and attributed the rumors that he choked out a kid to high school exaggeration.

“Two kids were teaming up on an MC kid, so I went over,” Cervantes said. “I’m a wrestler, so it was kind of instinct; I lifted him off in a more aggressive way.”

A parent eventually broke up the fight, but the students involved left the scene before administrators made their way out a few minutes later to piece together what happened.

After the fight, Vargas and another Westview student checked into the hospital, although both were released the same night with some contusions and minor lacerations. >> CONTINUED ON A2 see “westview fight”

News

A2 >>Continued from A1

WESTVIEW FIGHT Assistant Principal Greg Magno declined to comment on how many students received punishment, although he did say that around 10 students were called into the office. Gannon said that he received a five-day suspension, and Cervantes was only called in for questioning. The police were involved but mainly worked with Westview’s administration.

According to Magno, situations inside the gym were controlled despite the raucous crowd.

“Any time we have a crowd like that, especially for Westview, we always have to call a couple kids aside and talk to them, but kids for the most part do the right thing,” Magno said. “This was more of an issue of kids wanting to run their mouths once they got away from the gym and didn’t think anybody was paying attention or watching.”

In the days following the incident, repercussions were felt as emotions still ran high among both schools. Facebook groups were created on both sides, with names ranging from “Free Rick Gannon” to “100 Strong for Josh Vargas”.

Heated arguments grew on these pages, and MC administration took disciplinary action towards students once threats and plans for more fights were made on the discussion boards.

“We’ve been dealing with… some of the carryover, or people who want to carry on the issue and take up the cause,” Magno said.

Magno concluded that such incidents as this one, while not common, are simply a fact of intense high school rivalries.

“It’s rare, but there’s issues every once in a while,” he said. “I wouldn’t say this is too far out of the ordinary.”

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

MC teachers retire, cherish Sundevil experience KEVIN LAGE | SPORTS EDITOR

ANTHONY MILES

JOAN HANLEY

Anthony Miles began teaching in 1974 and was later hired to start the AP Physics program at MC in 1988.

“Although I had been considering retirement as a possibility anyway, the offer from the district provided the incentive to do it now; and if my leaving now means one fewer teacher will lose his or her job, all the better,” he said.

He feels that retiring will give him the opportunity to continue his world travel, but he will miss the joy that teaching has brought to his life.

Math teacher Joan Hanley has taught students all around the world in her 30 year career.

“I’ve been teaching for 30 years; eleven at MC, 10 at Bernardo heights Middle and multiple years in the overseas program in Izmir, Turkey, the Philippines, and Okinawa, Japan,” Hanley said. “It’s been a wonderfully exciting experience and I’ve enjoyed every single year.”

Luckily for Hanley, the early retirement incentive aligned perfectly with her plans to retire this June.

“I am anxious to turn the next page and engage in a whole new world of excitement and adventure,” Hanley said. “I will miss the past and hold onto the wonderful memories but look forward to many new adventures.”

ROBERT PACILIO JOYCE DAUBERT Joyce Daubert is a Spanish at MC, and has been ever since she started here 31 years ago. She sees the early retirement incentive as just a bonus for her as she was already planning to retire. She will miss watching her students develop and learn but ultimately looks forward to retirement.

“I look forward to allowing my days to unfold rather than planning every single second,” Daubert said. “I’ll miss enjoying my students becoming mighty learners”

Robert Pacilio started his teaching career at MC 32 years ago. He teaches freshman honors English and junior American Lit. The early retirement incentive gave him a reason to retire now, which he is excited about. He plans to spend his retirement promoting his book, “Meetings at the Metaphor Café.” “{I will miss} the kids, the show, the dancing, the fact that they want to know more and I can help that cause,” Pacilio said.

TOM JAMISON Tom Jamison has been teaching for the past 41 years, but he was hired 33 years ago to work here at MC. He was already planning to retire after this year so the retirement incentive is a very convenient bonus for him. Jamison looks forward to playing golf, fishing, and travelling with his wife.

“I will miss the teachers and students.

I have made some great friends in my time here at MC. I will especially miss this year’s seniors. They are the best group I have been associated with in my 41 years of teaching.”

DAVID GIBBS Math teacher David Gibbs has been teaching at MC for all of his 26 year career. Although he was not planning to retire before, the financial incentive provided by the district, gave him the motivation to do it.

“I am looking forward to having time to do the things I’ve always wanted to do,” Gibbs said. “I will miss seeing the students’ eyes light up when they say ‘ohhhhhh, now I get it!’”

MARY ELLEN STAMPFLI Receptionist Mary Ellen Stampfli has been working at MC for the past 23 years. She was hired as the volunteer coordinator but later her responsibilities expanded to being the receptionist, handling the intercom, bus passes, and the bulletin. Unfortunately, she was not offered the financial incentive to retire but decided that it is time anyways.

She looks forward to retiring and being able to travel and avoiding learning all the new things on the computer.Stampfli says that she will miss all the friends that she has made at MC. “We have a very special staff at MCHS and they have been wonderful to work with,” she said. “Over my years here I also have worked with outstanding students. I feel blessed.”

RICHARD MERCURIO

This year Richard Mercurio teaches AP Gov, Journalism 1 and Journalism 2. He started his teacher career in 1976 but wasn’t hired at MC until 1998. Mercurio was planning to retire this year anyways and the new financial incentive was just icing on the cake as far as he’s concerned. He looks forward to retiring and getting to travel with his wife but says that most of all he will miss being the advisor of the MC SUN. “I will miss all of the dynamics of the current generation and all of the fun of producing a paper,” Mercurio said.

THOMAS HUMPHREY Thomas Humphrey began his teaching career 42 years ago. In 1986 he came to MC and began teaching US and world history. He was not planning to retire this year, but after the offer of a financial incentive was introduced this year he decided that it would be a good idea. Since it was a recent decision, Humphrey doesn’t have any plans yet as to what he will do with his free time.

“I really don’t have any plans right now,” he said.

“I think the best thing will be the lack of a daily routine in my life. {I will miss} the kids that care enough to be respectful and to do what they’re supposed to do on a daily basis.”

KATHY BACZYNSKI Fashion teacher Kathy Baczynski has been teaching at MC for 35 of her 39 year career. Bacynzki was planning to retire after the 2011 school year but the financial incentive motivated her to do it this year.

She looks forward to being able to travel the world on days that she would normally be in school.

While she looks forward to retirement she knows that she will miss all the MC students, colleagues, and support staff.

ALL PHOTOS BY MAHSA FIROOZINASAB | PHOTOGRAPHER

News

Mt. Carmel SUN

A3

February 12, 2010

Mock Trial competes in courtroom setting Jared Servantez Staff Writer Prosecution, jurisdiction, cross-examination, writ of habeas corpus—all terms that the average high school student would probably have a difficult time explaining, yet topics of utmost importance for the Speech and Debate team in the 2010 San Diego County Mock Trial Competition.

Last week, the team was able to show off their weeks of hard work in their first ever mock trial competition as a school. Although they were not one of the top two teams in the competition that advanced to the championship round on Saturday, the team was still proud of what they were able to accomplish.

“For our first time ever, and knocking out some really good schools, I think we did really good,” junior Billy Watson said. “If we were a little more polished, we definitely could have been {in the finals}.”

Official rankings had not yet been released at press time, but according to team members as well as their coach, they scored very well overall. In addition to their strong debut showing as a team, senior Eddie Brann took home honors as the competition’s top defense attorney.

Each school had a team for both the defense, or the party being accused of the crime, and the prosecution, or the party presenting a case against the defendant.

In three different matches for each school, the prosecution of one team was matched up against the defense of another team and a trial was staged, mirroring the structure of an actual criminal trial. The case being argued involved a comedian being charged with first degree murder in the death of an entertainment critic who wrote a negative review about the comedian.

This case brought up a constitutional question for the students to ponder involving the Fourth Amendment freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. The defense argued that the search which implicated the comedian in the murder was a violation of her privacy, while the prosecution held that it was authorized and available as legitimate evidence. Each side argued their case eloquently in front of a presiding judge and three scoring attorneys who evaluated them on the quality of their presentation. Everything took place in an actual San Diego County courtroom in the downtown area,

Photo Provided by Farnaz Nabi

Judge Vic Bianchini, Jessica Hong (9), Alexa Mauzy-Lewis (9), Eric Hurd (12), Minkyung Kim (12), Kristina Ocampo (12), Eddie Brann (12), Farnaz Nabi, Vandana Bhairi (10), Billy Watson (11), Shabnam Habib (10), Kelly Fan (10), District Attorney Garrett Wong and attorney David Majchrzak pose after the mock trial. The mock trial took place in the San Diego Superior Court Hall of Justice. heightening the sense that this was a true criminal trial.

“The students were very well prepared and also very nervous, but they did really well,” said Garret Wong, one of the team’s coaches and a San Diego deputy district attorney.

In order to successfully conduct the mock trial, the team spent hours preparing and learning about the complex legal system. Actual attorneys from the San

Diego County Bar Association coached them in the weeks leading up to the competition in order to prepare them for the event.

“We talked about how a trial works, the components of a trial, how to prepare witness statements, how to prepare direct examination and cross-examination, advocacy skills, and things like that,” Wong said.

The team met twice a week to go over evidence,

Olympics opening ceremonies commence tonight; Vancouver native, teacher Ken Matson, offers insight Alison Ashworth Business Manager Only once every two years does the world come together to witness some of the most amazing athletes compete for Olympic gold. This year, the world will gather in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the 21st annual Winter Olympic Games.

Beginning with the highly anticipated Opening Ceremonies starting tonight, the 2010 Winter Olympics will run for 17 days until the Closing Ceremonies which will occur Feb 28.

Math teacher Ken Matson, who was born and raised in Vancouver, feels that the Olympics will have a long-lasting positive effect on the city, benefiting from all of the new buildings built especially for the Olympics.

“The new facilities, like the new speed skating rink, will give the people growing up in the area a chance

to participate in sports that require those certain facilities that didn’t exist before,” Matson said.

Vancouver will host everything from Alpine skiing, snowboarding and ski jumping on the snowy mountains, to figure skating, curling and ice hockey on the rinks down below in the heart of the city.

Matson also mentioned that this historic event will bring a lot of interest to the city.

“I think it will be really positive, bringing in the world’s attention, and a lot of tourism,” he said.

Hosting the Olympics for the third time, Canada is tied for third place along with four other countries (Great Britain, Japan, Italy and Germany) for the most Olympics held by one country.

The United States is in the lead with an impressive number of eight Olympic Games.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will

be the first Olympics to hold their opening ceremonies indoors.

Both opening and closing ceremonies will be held in BC Place Stadium, which received over $150 million in renovations in preparation for the games.

Although all eyes will be on Vancouver this next week, many of the city’s residents are leaving during the games to escape the commotion and traffic.

“My parents are actually coming down to get away from the traffic and congestion of the Olympics,” Matson said. “It’s sad because I would love to go.”

The 2010 Olympics have been highly anticipated not only in Canada, but in the United States as well.

Even though Canadians are traveling away from the busy city to avoid the crowds, whoever is able to attend these Winter Games will be very lucky.

prepare their arguments, and learn the intricacies of a criminal trial.

Despite all the hard work that went into the competition, it was a rewarding experience for the team.

“It definitely makes you want to become an attorney,” sophomore Talya Herring said. “It makes it seem so much fun.”

Future Doctors, Red Cross Club, Science Club unite for Haiti earthquake relief fundraiser Nicole Bustamante Staff Writer

On Jan. 12 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, destroying much of its capital, Port au Prince.

Since then, the world has flocked to Haiti attempting to assist it in every way possible.

Students and staff at MC were no different. Three of MC’s clubs, the Red Cross Club, Future Doctors, and Science Club have joined together in order to raise awareness and donate money to help ameliorate the situation in Haiti.

“We just saw the news and thought that all three of our clubs kind of dealt with health or community service so it was natural to join together,” Future Doctors president, sophomore Olivia Wu said.

Junior Tracey Huynh, the

president of Science Club, also believed it would be less challenging to raise money with triple the people.

“Science Club is already really small on its own so we have kind of already joined with Future Doctors and this way it will be easier to collect money,” Huynh said.

However, even with three clubs working at a cause, it is difficult to raise awareness.

“We collect the money about every couple days but right now I don’t think we have a lot we are really trying to encourage people to donate any spare cash or change they might have,” Wu said.

Although, the clubs have no set dollar amount as a goal they are still attempting to raise enough to make a small impact.

“We don’t really have a goal, it is just what people are willing to give up,” Huynh said. “We have

a lot of people at our school and if everyone donated a dollar we would have more then enough.”

After looking at a couple of different organizations to donate to. The clubs have decided to donate to St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

“We decided to send it to St. Michael’s because they give 100% of the profit to Haiti, unlike most places that take a little bit out,” Huynh said.

While the clubs are starting their relief efforts a a couple weeks after the earthquake they believe there is still a lot of work to be done in Haiti.

“Even though it has been a while since the earthquake a lot of people still don’t have the help they need,” Wu said. “So we believe it is is important to get students to donate in order for us to help them get the resources they need.”

A4

Sun Spread

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

BY CATHY MCDERMOTT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Society has bred us to believe that your character can be determined by what you look like on paper. School records, police reports, credit scores, personal style, income, body image, and what neighborhood you come from are all factors that contribute to how people will stereotype you. However, a piece of paper cannot define your character.

Your heart, mind, and soul should be the most significant indicators of who you really are as a human being, but people can’t fairly determine who you are until they take the time to look beyond the papers and truly get to know you.

Mt. Carmel SUN

PHOTO BY CATHY MCDERMOTT | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF An MC student poses as the person mentioned in the article.

A5

It’s 1 a.m. Thursday morning, April 30, 2009.

The street lights are barely visible through the thick haze of fog that hovers over the empty roads. We’re parked on top of a small hill, in a newly built apartment complex, overlooking the 4S Ranch police station.

“I like being able to watch them,” he said. “That way I know they’re not watching me.”

I turn towards him. It takes a few minutes to take in the sight of him since it’s been over six months since we last saw each other. His face is tired, worn, and scruffy. He’s gained about 40 pounds of muscle, so his biceps are the size of a softball.

And even though he’s only 19, his eyes make him seem older than his years. His once happy-go-lucky, free feeling, live life, happiness in his eyes has been replaced with an almost empty sadness that only months of loneliness could cause. But even with the drastic changes, he’s by far one of the most handsome guys I know.

“Where should I start?” he asks.

I continue my analysis, ignoring his question. He’s wearing the same thing he always does: white t-shirt and basketball shorts, except his clothes are more wrinkled than usual. He used to never go anywhere without a pack of cigarettes, but his pockets are now empty.

His eyes narrow in on me, as if he’s trying to figure out what I’m thinking about. I lock my eyes with his, and instantly his eyes soften, pleading with me to tell him what’s on my mind.

How about why you disappeared six months ago?

You just left. Poof, and you were gone.

“I was just hustling it,” he said. “I wasn’t making enough money from just dealing anymore. I cleaned out (robbed) this guy’s house, and somehow he found out that I was the one who jacked him. He came to my house and got in my ma’s face, telling her I took his stuff. When my ma told me, it just pissed me off. To me, that’s disrespectful to get into it with my family, regardless if I did it or not. I was so fumed over it, I sort of made death threats towards him. I ended up buying a gun. He took the issue to the police.”

His entire body was tensed, as if he was preparing to run at any minute. His gaze didn’t once leave the windshield. I’m pretty sure he was watching for police lights.

So you just robbed someone?

“That was just the start,” he said “I knew I had to find a way to get out of San Diego with everything that was going down. I usually only deal weed, but there was a demand for harder shit. I started hustling thizzles, ecstasy, blow, cocaine, heroin, and prescription drugs. Anything that would sell. It was the only way I thought I could get quick cash, so I could get out of here. Once you get a taste of easy money, you get a craving for more.”

He shifts onto his side and reclines his seat.

With his head propped up on his arm, he gives me a moment to reply or ask a question. I can’t think of one.

“I hit a police car,” he said “My car was loaded with drugs. I was on my way to do a run through (drop off drugs). I was arrested and spent four days in jail. When I got out, I left. Took all the money I had, which was only a little over $300, and bought a ticket to Philadelphia.”

He’s lying down with his arms behind his head and his feet on the dashboard, giving me an expectant look, like he’s waiting for me to start lecturing him with “I told you so.” I don’t say anything.

“I was only in Philly for a couple days before I got arrested for terrorist charges and possession of marijuana,” he said.

“I’ve been in jail the past six months. I just got out today.

They didn’t even take the handcuffs off until I got on the plane. I got here about two hours ago, but I have a warrant out for my arrest here in California. I’m turning myself in. I don’t really know how long it will be. It could be 30 days or up to four years. I just want to get this all over with so I can move on and do something with my life.”

He sits up, placing his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He takes in a deep breath, and lets out an almost silent sigh. If I wasn’t so focused on him, I wouldn’t have heard it. I desperately want to reach across the car and give him a hug.

If anyone ever needed a hug, he did, right now.

You just spent six months in jail and are going back to jail tomorrow, and you’re here with me?

Shouldn’t you be hanging out with your close boys or partying or something?

“Honestly I don’t really have friends,” he said. “I thought I did, but when you’re a dealer, everyone is either using you or is your smoking buddy. I didn’t really have a relationship with any of them. My addiction was the only thing that kept me in contact with them.”

Addiction?

It surprised me that he could admit he was an addict. I knew he was. Everyone knew he was. But I didn’t think in a million years that he would ever realize it.

“Yeah, I was an addict,” he said. “That’s why I would get so frustrated with you all the time. When you would tell me that I could live a better life, I had a choice, I should go back to school, I should quit dealing, I should give up smoking, I thought you were just some naive rich suburban 16 year old who didn’t know anything about the struggles of life. I’d tell myself that I could quit at any time, but I just didn’t want to face the facts. I’d been smoking since I was 12, and I wasn’t going to stop at 19.”

That’s when I met him. Right after he got out of jail.

I was immediately drawn to his live-life personality. If he wanted to go do something, he did it. He never put on a facade, or tried to fit in with anyone. These days it’s hard to find someone as honest as he was with me.

When I found out he was a dealer, I constantly hounded him about how I hated his business. I repeatedly told him how he could change his life if he wanted to, and that I’d be there to help him. I could even tutor him in school. He always gave me back some speech about how I didn’t get how the world worked. He thought I lived in some happy bubble of fantasies and rainbows.

In reality, I just saw the potential he had. He wasn’t a bad person.

Not at all. In fact, he was probably one of the best people I’ve ever met. He had a big heart with even bigger dreams. He was just lost.

He didn’t know how to live a different life, because he was only surrounded by people who lived their life just like him. I was his first real sober friend.

He never really understood what I saw in him.

“You’re pretty much one of my only friends,”

he said. “One of the only good influences I’ve ever had. I remember you told me that you believed in me. That’s the first time I’d ever heard someone say that. When I got off the plane, I wanted someone to talk to. Someone who would understand everything and get that this time I was different, and I am different. I got my G.E.D. and my head straight this time. I don’t want to go down that path anymore. I’ve been clean for six months, and I’m done with drugs. I used to think that it was the only way to live for me. As much as I hate to say it, you were right. I had the choice of living the right way.

I just wanted to take the easy way. None of it was worth it.

Kind of wish I listened to you, instead of ignoring what you said.”

You never listened to me?!

“Haha, I’d listen, but I wouldn’t hear you.”

We spent three hours in that car. Three hours talking about what happened, what was going to happen, and what would happen after that. He explained his life plans and goals he hopes to accomplish. I felt like I was listening to an ambitious child with big dreams. His vulnerability and pure honesty made my heart go out to him, but every time I tried to give him sympathy, he’d brush it aside and tell me “It’s my own fault.”

This was not the kid you bring home to your mother.

Nor is he the kid who any of your teachers would approve of you being friends with. He’s not even the kid who your own friends would want you to have.

The entire time I’ve known him, I’ve constantly heard the cynicism and sarcastic remarks about me being friends with someone like him. Someone who has been classified by society as a bad kid with no future. I’ve heard countless rude comments about him and put up with judgmental, narrow-minded people giving me that disapproving look. I never cared once, because I knew who he really was. Other people’s ideas never affected my own view. It may have taken him longer to figure out how to get his life together than the rest of us, but he always had the potential to do so. But no one ever chose to see it. No one ever took the time to see the kid behind the police record.

I’m in no way saying that his actions can be justified or completely overlooked, because the crimes he committed are a serious matter that deserves to be punished. But I don’t think they should be the only factors that decide what kind of person he is.

Struggling through life, if anyone ever did that, he did. The first time he told me about his past, he left me speechless. He even made me believed that I actually was some “naive rich suburban 16 year old who didn’t know anything.”

His dad had abandoned him when he was only two.

He was raised by his mother in Philadelphia, but when he was 12 he was kicked out of his house. He started living from friend’s house to friend’s house, staying wherever he could. Being a 12 year old didn’t really provide many job opportunities, so he started dealing marijuana.

At first it was for necessity, just being able to afford food. But when he realized how much he could make so easily, he started getting greedy. He’d been arrested three times before and sent to juvenile detention. He told me how he liked being there, because he could go to school, have a place to sleep, and food to eat.

He moved to San Diego when he was a sophomore in high school with “nothing but a box of stuff.” Although he was an extremely bright student, enrolled in AP courses and honors classes, he eventually had to drop out of high school four months before his graduation, because he was arrested. He never graduated, and when he got out, his mom finally took him back into her house. He started working at minimum wage and tried to piece his life back together.

I never gave him the “I told you so” speech that he was expecting. Instead I smiled as he rambled, then when he was done, I told him that I’ve never been so proud of someone.

When we called it a night and said our goodbyes, he looked at me boyishly, then nervously looked down at his hands.

“Will you write to me when I’m back in jail?” he said. “No one wrote me the entire six months I was there last time. It’d be nice to hear from a friend.”

Of course, as often as I can.

He is currently doing the last of his time in jail, and when he gets out, he promised to call me. It won’t be easy for him to leave his entire life behind, including his friends, lifestyle, and habits. But I believe he can do it.

This isn’t about why drugs are bad, drug dealers, or a bad boy gone good. It’s about looking beyond the stereotype, finding the story behind the person, and trying to understand the misunderstood. Sometimes all you need is someone to believe in you.

Ten months later...

It’s been ten months since I first sat down and put this story on paper.

Since then, I’ve watched this young boy evolve.

I kept my promise and wrote to him in jail. The letters I received back hurt to read. Every line was written with a heavy hand and a sense of hopelessness.

He was released on June 1, 2009, with no money or real place to go.

Although the first few months were the hardest times he’s ever had to deal with, he is currently working full time, going to school, living on his own, attending support groups, and, most important, he is sober.

Every day he thinks about his past and how much he wishes he could just restart.

Every day he motivates himself to keep pushing towards his goals.

And every day he reminds me that he couldn’t have gotten through it alone.

Opinions

A6 THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID MACKENZIE LANCE

February 12, 2010

‘In reality, violence solves nothing’

VANDANA BHAIRI STAFF WRITER

This is what I do...

EVERY DAY

Halfway through senior year, I began to take note of the people who make high school tolerable even after Senioritis sets in. This is a normal day for me, annotated with the people who make it amazing.

Of course, for the sake of brevity, not every extraordinary Sundevil can be mentioned. This is a day in the life of a second trimester senior.

Disclaimer: I actually do work in my classes sometimes, those just aren’t the exciting parts, so I didn’t include them.

6:15 Alarm goes off.

6:20 Wake up in the morning, feeling like slightly less than P. Diddy.

6:25 Shower, put on clothes, eat chocolate chip Pop-tart and a banana.

7:00 Pack my lunch, read the pages I was supposed to for APGov the previous night.

7:15 Out the door. Walk to school, rather, strut to the music of Lady Gaga.

7:30 Sit in chemistry. Socialize with my sophomore buddies. Every day I can feel our bond growing a bit stronger. Soon it will be unbreakable, like a nitrogen bond!

8:40 Collect my books and walk out the door that is clearly marked “use other door.” I’m so Barium.

8:47 Oh Calculus. My feelings for you are ever changing. Some days I love you. Some days I want to U substitute you out of my life.

I think that last sentence really explains how little of a grasp I have on Calc. I always say a little prayer to my math gods, Matsonn and Kevin Lage before my exams.

9:57 SNACK! In the next 15 minutes I do the following things, in no particular order: take a trip to the restroom, fill up my water bottle, walk around with my best friend, and/or finish homework that is due third or fourth period.

10:16 AP Gov. Reading quiz.

Hopefully my morning/snack reading will earn me a 5. After current events and a few sneers at Fox News, we have a lecture which I’m sure is filled with some awesome jokes, that luckily Andy Bolin and Bryan Waters are there to rate.

11:35 AP Lit. Luckily this class is fun every day. From listening to the philosophy of David Dannecker to taking note of Ms. T’s style, this class always provides a place to learn while also laughing out loud with my newspaper girls and occasionally owning Catchphrase. This class also taught me about Beees, Keats, and that certain children should never be allowed to do creative writing.

12:45 LUNCH. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit in the sun and listen to all my friends? Instead, I head off to GSA, Anti-Malaria Club, Academic League, Red Cross Club, and newspaper.

1:18 Newspaper. The best possible way to end the day. Sometimes I sit on the couch, sometimes I have dance parties, sometimes I listen to jokes, and once in a while I even write an article. Some of the best moments of my life have occurred around 8:45 on press nights, when online quizzes suddenly become more than impending calculus and Gov tests.

My staff is deserving of more than one paragraph. This is where I’d like to give clever shout-outs to my crew that always cheers me up when I’m sad, helps me study for my other classes, and makes fun of me for my inability to pronounce “Burglary.”

2:35 School ends. I mosey out of newspaper to my locker to get my books or my track bag, depending on if I’m heading to Academic League Practice or athletic conditioning.

5ish. I’m home from school and my extracurriculars and begin to start my homework. I proceed to study hard for several hours so I can excel in my courses.

Just kidding. I go on Facebook.

Mt. Carmel SUN

A couple weeks ago I was watching the news when I heard a story that made my mouth drop down in awe. An 83 year old man got into an altercation with a 99 year old man over, yes it is true, a PARKING SPOT. What was the result? A broken nose and broken ribs.

As I was struck dumbfounded by the story that I had just heard, I couldn’t help but think to myself how people always seem to resort to violence, and how sick I am of it.

I am. It makes my lip curl every, single time I hear about a war, fight, or everything in between. If I hear one more person say “You wanna go?” I think I am going to lose it. I’m absolutely tired of people thinking that violence is the answer to everything, when in reality, violence solves NOTHING. Let’s take a step back from everything and think for a second. In every physical fight you have ever gotten into (if you haven’t gotten into any, then more fantasmic points comin’ your way) what was the result?

Maybe some injuries, suspensions, the list goes on. One may think that all the physical and material consequences aren’t anything major, and they may not be. But what about mentally?

If a fight is what you need to get your “high,” and to get your blood pumping, then

bucko, you really have a problem.

Just think about these next few questions and answer them. Who did your last dispute affect? The other person? Their family? Your family? Most importantly, you? Lastly, was it really worth it? Oftentimes, the answer to that last one is a big, fat N-O. Everyone’s blood boils sometimes, it’s human nature. However, we don’t have to smash our fist into someone’s face every time we get mad at someone.

Think of Mahatma Ghandi, one of the biggest believers of non-violence. He once said “Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.”

So with this in mind, I propose a challenge. From here on out, every time you get mad at someone and feel like raising your hand against them, just stop and walk away because in the end, it isn’t worth the aftermath, and violence is never, ever worth anything.

I think that all of humanity has seen enough of war and violence to realize the detrimental effects it has had on every race, every culture, and every person.

Violence needs to stop. It is never the answer, and it never will be, and WE are the ones that need to stand up and make the change.

After all, in the words of author Robert Fulghum, “Peace is not something you wish for; it’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.”

CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST

Rumors distort truth, create emotional distress

SARA SHANTZ STAFF WRITER

One girl’s jealousy became another girl’s misery.

It’s hard not to be jealous of her; she seems to have everything going for her. She’s beautiful, smart, talented, and she’s dating the star athlete.

One day she couldn’t take it anymore and her jealousy got the better of her.

She decided to spread horrible rumors about the perfect girl being a slut and a whore, because maybe if guys thought she had been around…they’d lose interest. Maybe if girls thought she was easy… they’d lose respect for her.

Why should she get all of the attention?

What’s so great about her? Maybe if I tear her down and make her feel as miserable as I do, I’d feel a

little better about myself.

The fact is, rumors spread like wildfire and they have the potential to ruin lives.

“I’m so sick of coming to school and having people come up to me telling me what they heard I did that weekend,” an MC senior said. “Not only is it none of anyone’s business how I choose to spend my weekends, but the rumors that are going around school about me are complete lies.”

Rumors have caused a lot of drama for this senior.

“I wish people would just mind their

own business,” the senior said. “People hear a rumor and then tell all of their friends about it. So, instead of stopping the fire, they’re fanning the flames.”

It’s always funny how people can twist the words in a story to make it completely different.

“This guy liked me last year and he had a girlfriend, but he told me he liked me anyway,” an MC junior said. “Then, on my way to lunch, like five people came up to me and asked if I was helping him cheat on his girlfriend. It’s crazy how fast people can take one little thing and

turn it into a huge rumor so fast.”

And while some rumors stem from a grain of truth, it’s never the good things about a person that you hear, because all people want to hear is the bad stuff.

There is good and bad in everyone and rumors can often be misleading.

If you don’t know the person the rumor is about, you are only hearing the bad stuff about them and that may give you the wrong impression.

Rumors are a just another part of the high school experience. Some are insignificant but some have the potential to cause the people involved a lot of pain.

Everyone has most likely heard a rumor going around school but that doesn’t mean they have to spread it. Next time you hear a rumor going around school, make sure it’s true before you make any judgments.

CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST

Students forfeit communication skills to technology LAUREN HALL STAFF WRITER People all over the globe think of texting and the Internet as a god-sent gift that can allow people to communicate without even making a sound.

But it can also be used as a mask, giving people the confidence to say and do things that they would never be able to do in person.

Websites like Facebook and Myspace allow people to act obnoxious while hiding behind a computer screen, never realizing the damage that they can do until it is too late.

With the click of a button, their words can be posted in front of an entire network of peo-

ple. At the time, people may not realize how The mystery of Internet posts and the extheir comments come across to other people citement of instant messaging through texts until after they see that person’s reaction, can be too much for these “kids” to handle. causing them Facebook and othto say rude and er sites are more often maybe even used as a display, where There is no doubt that people abuse embarrassing people can brag about things without the privilege of technology rather than us- the partying they did completely re- ing it for the right reasons.” over the weekend. alizing it.

It’s ridiculous that Accordpeople log on just to ing to a recent update the world about survey, most cyber bullying happens between every moment of their day. Clearly if they middle schoolers because they haven’t yet ad- really do have a life, they would not have the justed to the power that the Internet and cell time to constantly update their status. phones allow them.

By having pictures of themselves party-

“

ing, and having serious conversations online, people put themselves at risk of being judged by others, maybe even by future employers.

There is no doubt that people abuse the privilege of technology rather than using it for the right reasons. Instead, people use it to present an image of themselves to their peers however wrong it may be.

People would never have the courage to say something to someone’s face, but are perfectly willing to bash someone behind the protection of a computer screen. It’s sad that people can not learn to communicate in the real world without having to express their feelings with a smiley face or a frowning face.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Sundevil pride benefits teams, school; limits are necessary

KELLY FAN | ARTIST

Dr. Tom McCoy always ends his mass phone calls with the same line: “And remember, it’s great to be a Sundevil.”

Just not at basketball games, apparently.

Last week at the boys basketball game against Westview, there were a few restrictions put on our cheering crowd.

It appeared that an administrator disciplined a student for running around the perimeter of the gym with an MC flag after she had told him not to.

Some teachers commented that it can be hard to instill school spirit, and they were fairly upset that the administration placed restrictions on an especially spirited student.

Despite the many rumors floating around school concerning new restrictions, however, there will be no drastic changes made that will affect our ability to cheer on our teams.

The administration follows CIF rules. Just so long as students don’t take their pride too far, we probably won’t see any of our rights taken away.

It is great that Sundevils have so much pride for our teams, especially during games against our cross-town rival. However, students need to realize when their pride may have gone too far.

Taunting specific players on the opposing team and yelling inappropriate comments do not show the Sundevils in a good light.

A fight also took place after the Westview game last week. Two Westview students went to the hospital following the fight.

By the next day, there was a Facebook group in support of the MC student who was responsible for the fight.

The group calls for his suspension to be recalled. This behavior is despicable.

No matter how much Sundevil pride students have, we should never be in support of fights, even between school rivals.

There is no doubt that everyone should be in support of students having pride for their school.

However, it is easy to take that pride too far.

Opinions

Mt. Carmel SUN

A7

February 12, 2010

Should there be a Sadie Hawkins dance?

Sadie Hawkins was originally a character whom no man would marry, from a Li’l Abner cartoon. In order to find a husband, the town gave all unmarried women free reign over the most eligible bachelors in the city for one day. Since then, the concept has exploded into a dance that spans the nation’s high schools and colleges.

Though it takes place at different times during the year for different schools, the theme for the dance is the same: girls have to ask guys to go with them.

Sundevil Perspective

YES KEVIN LAGE SPORTS EDITOR In this world where we supposedly have reached a level of full equality, how does it make sense that at MC, a guy still has to be the one that asks a girl to dances?

Now, of course there is no rule against girls asking the boys to dances, but there is just such a precedent that is it so rare that it almost never happens.

The only way schools encourage girls to take on the role of asking a boy to a dance is with the use of Sadie Hawkins dances.

Because of our lack of a Sadie Hawkins dance, the pressure to ask is almost always placed upon the guy.

Every dance the guy has to come up with a cute, creative way to ask the girl.

This task is almost always unfairly given to the boy.

Then when guys don’t ask the girls who were pressuring them to ask, the girls end up feeling angry and hurt.

This could be avoided if girls would take the initiative and ask the guy in the first place instead of dropping hints that end up confusing the boy more than guiding him.

Girls will argue that it’s not

NO

CORDELL HUNTER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman

Sophomore

Matt McEachern

their job to break the tradition that states that they must wait and hope that the guy will ask them.

If you choose to believe that, then you cannot complain when the guy you like chooses to ask someone else over you.

Some girls think that, even though they wouldn’t mind asking, it would be strange for them to ask the boy because it wouldn’t be normal.

That’s the point of the Sadie Hawkins dance—to make it normal and gives the girl the chance to ask him without the strangeness.

It would also be a potential boost for the schools finances. Before almost every dance, we hear ASB pleading with people to buy tickets. Adding a change like a Sadie Hawkins dance could help ticket sales.

Other schools, like Rancho Bernardo, run their Winter Formal dance as a Sadie Hawkins dance, and it always works out very well.

Now as Winter Formal is one of our top dances as far as ticket sales go, it’s understandable to leave it as is.

A dance like MORP however, which almost always seems to be undersold, could use a nice change like turning it into a Sadie Hawkins dance.

Herby Collins

ANNIE FERGUSON STAFF WRITER

“Yes, it’s a chance for guys to sit back and relax while the girls do all the work.”

“Yeah, that way guys aren’t pressured to ask girls out. Girls get to feel what guys go through.”

Junior

Senior

Emily Myers

Danielle Hindi

“Yes, I think it would be fair for girls to have the chance to ask out the guy. It would be fun for girls to get the opportunity.”

“Yes, it changes things up a bit, and guys get a break, and girls will get to ask someone they actually want to ask.”

Teacher Kris Hizal

To see more pro Sadie Hawkins articles written by Jay Huey, Isaiah Bruce, Shayon Said, and Jordan Ugalde visit the Opinions section on MCSUN.org.

To be entirely truthful, I must tell you that the original insignia for Sadie Hawkins is a cartoon of a rednecked, homely spinster in an awful getup. She does not, in any respect, portray the kind of character most girls strive to become—and I can’t say I blame them.

Just like the image of Sadie Hawkins, the concept is out of date.

We no longer live in a society where men have the sole ability to begin a relationship, and women are forced to wait to be asked out or bide their time until this once-a-year event.

The turn-around dance is an old fashioned concept that no longer has a place in our world where men and women have equal rights and liberties. We don’t have to wait for any guy to ask us out. We can do the asking anytime we want to— Sadie Hawkins dance or not.

Diving back into hick roots is another unappealing aspect of this event. The Sadie Hawkins dance requires participants to bedeck themselves in their finest flannel shirts and long-johns. Everyone knows that the best part of the dance is the dress, making the requirements for Sadie fall short of what is acceptable for a dance.

I have the feeling that not only do few people want to embrace this image, but even fewer would go to the dance to begin with.

Though some might say that a flip-flop dance is wrong because tradition supports men doing the asking, this isn’t the reason I object to this dance. In our go-get-‘em generation, both guys and gals are willing to ask the big question, and no restrictions should be placed on that right.

This dance goes against everything women have strived for the past 150 years. The only message it sends is that girls should only be assertive on this one occasion, and the rest of the time they should stand around batting their lashes until their guy gets the message.

Not to mention that this dance is a joke anyway. The idea came from a comic strip. It’s supposed to be a joke that the girls do the asking; it’s an indulgence for females who don’t want to wait to get asked.

If anything, this dance is derogatory, rude and crude. I don’t find it funny or cute. No one, women included, should be subject to the restrictions it places on finding dates for dances.

Women today deserve more than just one dance out of the year to ask out their special someone.

To see more con Sadie Hawkins articles written

by Mackenzie Lance and Camille Mansour visit the Opinions section on MCSUN.org.

“Absolutely, just once I’d like someone to ask me to a dance.”

Should there be a Sadie Hawkins dance?

59% 36% 23% DENNIS SUN | ARTIST

Yes

No

No opinion

LAURA SLUSSER | ARTIST

*250 students polled Editors Mackenzie Lance News Melanie Dickinson Centerspread Shayon Said Opinions Kevin Lage Sports Mt. Carmel High School 9550 Carmel Mtn. Rd., San Diego, TJ Rivera-Alonso Entertainment Rachel Martin Features CA 92129 (858)484-1180 ext. 3211 rmercurio@powayusd.com Dennis Sun Copy/Web http://www.mcsun.org Mary Carmen Gonzalez Photo Amanda Stintsman Photo Our mission is to provide the MC community with an informative, Staff Writers accurate and respectful student-run publication. The SUN seeks to Vandana Bhairi stimulate the discussion of issues in order to promote a more aware Andy Bolin student body. Whether informing, voicing opinion, or entertaining, Isaiah Bruce the SUN strives for standards of balance and good taste.

Nicole Bustamante Kelly Fan Anne Ferguson Cathy McDermott Brittlyn Foster Editor-in-Chief Lauren Hall Jessica Hong Rick Mercurio Jay Huey Cordell Hunter Adviser Angela Kim Abby Mansour Catherine Jaravata Camille Mansour Assistant Adviser Jared Servantez Sara Shantz Jacob Snyder Craig Racicot Jordan Ugalde Photo Adviser Staff Photographers Jennifer Farrell Cordell Hunter 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.

Christian Jun The SUN is a student open forum, and all final content decisions are made by its student editors. Letters to the Kelly Fan editor are welcome and should be signed. For advertising rates and information please call, email, or write the Laura Slusser Dennis Sun SUN at the address above.

Business Manager Alison Ashworth

MT. CARMEL SUN

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. Yay for a second chance at my resolution.

-Kelly Fan

Valentines Day! Cupid’s arrow hit me directly in the heart, causing massive hemorrhaging but no love .

-Mackenzie Lance

Thumbs Valentine’s Day is on Sunday. I’m going to have the most romantic date with me, myself, and I.

Everybody keeps talking of school being over in 72 days. Too bad I still have another year.

-Lauren Hall

-Isaiah Bruce

A8

Opinions

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

Lifestyle

The Addicts RACHEL MARTIN FEATURES EDITOR Signing up for Facebook should come with a warning: “Permanent addiction possible.”

A friend of mine recently joined the Facebook world, and I warned her about the horrible side effect: an addiction that some people might compare to nicotine.

She said she was fairly certain she would be able to contain herself. And now, mere weeks after signing in for the first time, she feels the need to check her notifications at least once a day.

This addiction is definitely not rare and uncommon.

It is prevalent among high schoolers, who could probably be using the time they spend

stalking their friends’ photos doing their math homework instead.

Despite this knowledge that they are totally wasting their time, the addicts still feel the need to join numerous groups per day (or hour), like “If Facebook Never Existed, I would Get Better Grades and More Sleep.”

Most people are secret addicts. They don’t particularly want the whole school to know they spend the majority of their time not at school with their eyes glued to their Facebook home page. However, there are always the few people who are fine with broadcasting their addiction.

I recently heard someone ask a girl how many times she logs on to Facebook a day. Her response was that she just logs in once and stays on all day.

It is widely known that teenagers are the

Camera Whores

ALL ART BY CHRISTIAN JUN AND KELLY FAN | ARTISTS

28%

46%

OF STUDENTS CONSIDER THEMSELVES ADDICTED TO FACEBOOK.

OF STUDENTS SPEND AT LEAST ONE HOUR ON FACEBOOK A DAY.

*141 STUDENTS POLLED

*141 STUDENTS POLLED

START

6:00 A.M.- Wake up, open up

Facebook and check your notifications

12:46 P.M.- update status via iPhone at lunch

3:05 P.M.- Get

Creeping

BRITTLYN FOSTER STAFF WRITER

Creeping. The utter verb sends chills down my spine. It can constitute an array of actions; from the stereotypical hairy 40 year old man, to the eerie yellow toothed stranger whistling at you in the Ralph’s parking lot, creepers are everywhere.

Lately, because of the intensifying popularity of Facebook and other social networks, this type of stalking has hit a new all time low: digital creeping.

You have all been there, from adding the mysterious friend request of a person you sort of recognize, to the 15 notifications you later receive from the same person commenting about how “amazing” you look in all of your pictures.

Let’s be honest, the picture your best friend tagged you in looking like a crust

ball after just waking up, with no makeup on is definitely not the best looking picture in your album. But according to your creeper, this may as well be a priceless Picasso.

The occasional compliment or thumbs up “like” on your photos may appear all too innocent at first, but over time and in excess, it really just masks the creeper’s successful manipulation to go undetected on the creeper scale.

Creeper scale, you might ask? Well you can just about guarantee most girls have a strong radar to separate the average Joe from the next satanic stalker.

But for the rookie Facebookers here are a few warning signs of a developing creeper.

They pounce on the opportunity to interact with you by commenting on every one of your statuses no matter how

8:45 P.M.- Become a fan

of the random things that make your day.

dull. Or, another sign of immediate danger is when they automatically IM you the second you sign on. You might ask yourself, ‘hmm that’s kind of weird that this random person continually tries to spend time and talk with me, when I’ve never seen them in my life.’

Well, my friend, this is what you would call an instant RED FLAG! And the longer you enable it by responding and trying to be cordial, the longer it will continue to eat away your desire to even sign onto Facebook for fear of your social career. Take my advice and just RUN, or in this case delete them!

And to the fellow Facebook stalkers, if your “creepee” (person you creep upon) has repeatedly avoided your IM attempts or responded to everyone on their status conversation but you, please, get the hint and just CREEP OFF.

8:45 P.M.- Pick one of the clever 5:30-8:30 P.M.- Ignore groups like “I Shower Naked” that homework by choosing infest your feeds and join it. to creep on some friends instead.

9:00 P.M.- Remember you have homework, consider doing it. Log off to start it.

Groups and Pages

9:05 P.M.- Five minutes later you’re back on Facebook.

11:11 P.M.- Make sure

11:30 P.M.- Call it a

to catch all the 11:11 statuses and make your wish.

night. Maybe update your status for the night.

Status Updaters

CORDELL HUNTER STAFF WRITER

It started with Twitter, but has since spread into an epidemic affecting most social networking sites. Yes, I am talking about people who seem to have an uncontrollable desire to post their entire life story online.

Some may argue that Twitter was made for play-by-play narration of your daily life, but seriously, no one needs to know the exact moment you are going to the bathroom.

One woman was so obsessed that she pulled

out her phone to update her status in the middle of giving birth. Facebook users have also been bitten by the bug. There are several types of these “life-storyiers,” and while each do different things, they are all equally annoying.

First, there are the drama queens. Drama queens do not have to be girls; the only requirement is to post several times a day about every small issue in your life and blow each one way out of proportion.

Next are the pessimists. As their name suggests, they have big problems with their lives.

But that does not mean they need to share them

11:45P.M.- Abruptly remember you have homework.

home, upload photos, if any, from the school day

3:16 P.M.- Fin-

ish tagging and writing captions for the photos.

VANDANA BHAIRI STAFF WRITER Think about these next two words: camera whore.

Now is it just me, or did you just roll your eyes and scoff a little?

Every Facebook user has at least a couple friends who cannot resist taking countless pictures of themselves.

Let’s lay out the basics.

True, it’s not a crime for someone to take a couple pictures of himself or herself, but when he/she has a whole album labeled “ME” with countless pictures of his/her face in an array of kissy faces, smiles, and peace signs, then he/she has a problem.

Not to stereotype, but a majority of camera whores are usually girls who will oftentimes post these pictures to rack up whatever comments they can as a way to boost their self-esteem.

No offense to camera whores but it’s really quite an

TJ RIVERA-ALONSO ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Ever since the introduction of the “new” Facebook about a year ago, people have been complaining about every new aspect. In my opinion, the worst part is the News/Live Feed.

It’s good to be able to log on and instantly see all of my friend’s recent status updates. Being able to look at recently posted pictures is pretty nifty as well.

There is one part, however, that annoys the hell out of me.

All of the groups and fan pages that everybody feels the urge to join are fine. What’s ridiculous is that it fills my Live feed. Every day!

I don’t care if Jim Bob joined the group “I Shower Naked” or “I hate it when naked Asian men jump out my trunk and beat me with a crow bar”.

Fan Pages are really annoying too. Does it

FINISH with everyone. We do not need to know how much you want to kill yourself because of an English essay you failed.

Finally, you have the person who treats Facebook like twitter. These people constantly update their statuses as if they think we care what they are doing every second of every day. While it is tempting to post whatever comes to mind, just remember, you wouldn’t constantly remind your friends how bored you are or how much your life sucks if you were talking face to face, so why do it online. Facebook is not your diary; don’t treat it like one.

best procrastinators. Facebook simply adds to this label. Whether the founders of this brilliant social networking site ever knew it would add to the list of reasons to procrastinate, it is unknown.

And yet, teenagers everywhere are getting lower grades on their English papers for precisely one reason: looking at recently posted photos and chatting with three friends simultaneously is simply more fun than homework.

I know someone who deactivates her Facebook during the school year to avoid distraction.

Good for her. But for the rest of us who aren’t so disciplined? Welcome to less sleep and harder tests. But let’s look on the bright side — Facebook is definitely more fun than studying your flash cards.

annoyance to the rest of your friends when you ask them to comment on newly- added pictures you’ve taken of yourself.

Another thing that constitutes a camera whore is a person who takes a ridiculous amount of pictures with their significant other.

Dear Happy Couple: It’s time to face the facts and realize that NO ONE on Facebook cares to see picture after picture of you and your boyfriend/girlfriend making out.

Yes, I actually threw up a little in my mouth when I saw the pictures which happen to own my news feed. It’s really pathetic if you guys feel you have to prove your relationship through those pictures.

I mean it when I say enough with the virtual PDA, get a room.

So as harsh as this truth may be, camera whores, put the camera down, get away from the mirror, and go experience a REAL Kodak moment.

matter that Jamie Jones became a fan of “Strawberries,” “Starbucks,” “In-N-Out,” and “Water.”

Water? Really?!

Facebook is a social networking site and should be used just for that. It should be for building friendships, maintaining friendships, and finding old friends.

With the creation of the live feed, Facebook has also opened the door to “feed stalking.”

Is it not weird when people you are not even acquainted with know what your favorite food, worst fear, and biggest pet peeve are? Or maybe what your favorite movie is? How about your favorite part of that movie?

If you agree, like I assume many would, why join these lame groups and fan pages? Doing this further exposes your life on the Internet. And the Internet has no limits or bounds.

Don’t get me wrong, the feed is cool and groups are fine. It’s just the ridiculous ones that take away from my Facebook experience.

SPORTS & ARTS WHAT’S

INSIDE

FRIDAY

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

B MT. CARMEL SUN

Boys soccer beats rivals, high CIF chances

SPOTLIGHTS Check out the spotlights on your fellow Sundevils: JC Buford, Meghan Berry, and coach Laura Ifergan.

SPORTS PAGE B2

CUTE DATES Need ideas for last minute Valentines Day dates? We have eight quick and easy dates for under $20 .

ENTERTAINMENT PAGE B5

SCHOOL LEADERS They’re in charge of the organizations that make MC the way it is. These Sundevil leaders volunteer their time to keep their clubs running.

FEATURES PAGE B8

ISAIAH BRUCE STAFF WRITER Just like the New Orleans Saints won their championship trophy, high school teams are also looking to have the same opportunity to hold trophies of their own. As all winter sports seasons come to a close, many teams begin to worry about their chances of even qualifying for the playoffs, let alone championship games.

But with a 16-4-2 record (as of press time), the MC varsity boys soccer team has nothing to worry about. With a spot already sealed up in the playoffs, the team may soon hold the number one seed and make it to the championship game.

“To make it to the playoffs as a freshman would already be tight,” freshman Michael Griswold said. “But I want to win a championship game and be able to hold that trophy at the end.”

And with the help of strong team players such as Griswold and San Diego County’s third leading scorer, senior Aohdon Quinn, the team seems to be on the right path to making it to that championship game. Their game against Ramona on Jan. 29 put them to the test.

“They talked a lot of trash when we played them the first time,” freshman Aaron Zamarriba said. “But that just made me want to beat them even more so I could talk trash back.”

And they did. The Sundevils pulled out a 3-1 victory with the help of the fourth ranked leading scorer in the

county, senior Andy Bolin.

“I love it when you beat a cocky team like Ramona,” Bolin said. “And when you shut them up because you scored it makes it so much better.”

But this built-up rivalry wouldn’t compare to one made over the years between cross-town schools. For another match against arch-rival Westview was yet to come.

With a miraculous last-minute goal scored by senior Nick Ibanez, with an assist from freshman Quintin Brillantes, they would do just that, resulting in a 1-0 win over Wetsview.

But this wouldn’t be the end to this dynamic duo. With the help of Ibanez and Brillantes scoring a last-second goal they would go on to beat Valley Center 3-2 on Feb. 5.

“I felt like a superstar after scoring that goal since I knew it would decide the game,” Brillantes said. “But I was just happy to give us a win since it was a really important game.”

And it was. A loss in league could possibly drop their high seed in the playoffs, ruining their chances of being the number one seed and having a first round bye and home-field advantage.

They could finish first in league and obtain the number one seed in the playoffs with all its advantages if they win in today’s game at Orange Glen at 5 p.m.

With the playoffs in sight and a trophy on their minds the team looks to mimic that of the New Orleans Saints.

They want to be champions.

AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITOR

Nick Ibanez (12) struggles with his Westview opponent for possesion of the ball.

The Sundevils beat the Wolverines 1-0, with a last minute goal from Ibanez.

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 articles and pictures of your favorite teams.

Read up on the early games and season-long expectations of junior varsity water polo, basketball, wrestling, and soccer.

Keep an eye out for updates on the junior varsity teams. Find scores and schedules for the teams every three weeks.

3 REASONS TO TRY OUT FOR

SPRING SPORTS

1

MAKE NEW FRIENDS Sundevils who sweat together, stay together.

Bonding over the trials and triumphs of competition is a great way to meet people.

Girls polo thrives in Valley League, confident for CIF CAMILLE MANSOUR STAFF WRITER For most teams, the season is coming to an end. But for the girls varsity water polo team, CIF games are coming closer and closer.

Being undefeated in leagues is not as big as a deal to the girls as you might think.

“Honestly, nobody keeps track anymore because we’re in such an easy league,” junior Ashley Purdy said. “We’re going to have to face teams {in CIF} that are a lot more prepared than the people we see in our league.”

Although they don’t see beating all the teams in their league as an accomplishment, Purdy does feel like she has met most of her goals this season.

“I think the hardest thing every only relevant to the people who are “Just even being on the team as year is just keeping up with the past going to be here. For the seniors, it’s a whole was a huge accomplishment and then improving upon that,” Purdy the last time they’re ever going to because it’s so competitive,” she said. play for MC. said.

“We want to show up and come “I am most likely not going to “Anybody who has ever played continue next year at Cal Poly,” water polo can tell you. senior captain Wendy Dorr said.

It’s really intense. Just “I am going to miss the friendship that you’re able to play as and closeness of the team.

I miss it a team is a really big deal.

Anybody who has ever played water every year when the girls graduate In the beginning you could and it will be so odd to be the one tell how everyone kind polo can tell you. It’s really intense. Just of was like individually that you’re able to play as a team is a really leaving. I will miss playing polo a lot too.” placed on the team. But big deal.”

“It’s kind of weird how fast the then after a while we were -April Purdy (11) season has gone by and it’s coming able to work together as to an end, especially since I’m a a whole and honestly I senior,” senior captain Emily think that’s part of the Bell said.

“It’s the last time I’m ever reason why we’re able to do so well,” even further than we did last year. So going to play with these girls and for Purdy said. it’s not only being able to do as well MC.” In addition to winning most of as we did last year, but being able to The seniors are going to miss the games, the girls make other goals improve and even do better.”

Making goals for next year is it and the other girls on varsity are that don’t only include competition.

“

Basketball hopeful for playoffs despite early losses

2

JESSICA HONG STAFF WRITER

GET INTO SHAPE Spring sports are a great way to get your six pack and toned butt before spring break and summer.

3

LOOKS GREAT FOR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS Commitment, a competitive spirit, and time management, are all traits coveted by colleges and required for athletes.

SPRING SPORT

TRYOUTS

SWIM & DIVE B. TENNIS TRACK & FIELD B. VOLLEYBALL BASEBALL SOFTBALL GYMNASTICS B. LACROSSE G. LACROSSE

FEB 20, 8 - Noon FEB 22, 3 p.m.

FEB 22, 3 p.m.

FEB 22, TBA

FEB 20, 9 - 3 p.m.

FEB 20, 9 - 3 p.m.

FEB 20, 8 - Noon FEB 20, 11 - 2 p.m.

FEB 20, 9 - 11 p.m.

going to miss the seniors.

“The seniors—dude, they’re awesome,” Purdy said. “When you practice that much together you become really good friends and to lose them it’s going to be hard.”

The team has just finished participating in the San Diego Open tournament, in which it placed fifth overall.

“We lost against Steele Canyon and that was really disappointing because it’s a team that we could have beaten,” Bell said. “Fortunately, there not in our division so it doesn’t affect our seating for CIF.” Purdy and the rest of the team think they might have a shot at even making CIF finals.

“That’d be awesome if we made it to CIF finals. Who really knows what could happen,” Purdy said.

AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITOR

Lewis Sheffield (12) and Mike Nelson (12) await the rebound after their Westview opponent shoots the ball.

Despite a couple of missed opportunities, the varsity boys basketball team has been fairing well.

The team attributes the losses in its 4-4 valley league record to minor errors.

“It’s just little mistakes in games like not executing and making bad passes,” junior Danniko Tiu said.

While usually not a major factor, when added up, these small mistakes can influence the standings of the game.

“We should have won the Westview game,” junior Brandon Ford said.

“I think we could have had fewer turnovers and missed lay-ups and we would have won.”

The team is working hard towards improving its game.

“I think we just went a little downhill but we’re going to get back from it and get back on track,” junior JC Buford said.

The coach and players have targeted specific areas to work on to raise their performance level.

“We need better defensive effort and executing on offense,”

sophomore Kishan Naik said.

“If we put both of those together then we’ll start winning games again. All we can do is keep worrying about us.

As long as we keep winning, because we can’t count on other teams losing, and keep doing our part then things will happen.”

Compared to years past, this year’s team has done exceptionally well.

“In recent years we haven’t been very good so this year is definitely an improvement,” Naik said. “We’re just going to keep looking to build off what we’ve been doing.

“The top four teams in league go to playoffs so that’s what we’re going for,” senior Mike Nelson said. “We’re tied for fourth so as long as we keep winning then we should be able to go to playoffs.

“We haven’t been to playoffs in five years and there’s a high probability. We have to play San Marcos one more time but the rest of our schedule is pretty good.”

Many team members credit their success to the fans.

“I think the school spirit is getting better,” Nelson said. “We feed off the energy from the crowd. Of course you play well in front of your friends, fam-

ily, and girlfriend. I think that’s one of the big reasons why we’ve been playing well lately.”

The players also find that they perform better at away games than home games.

“Sometimes fans can change the momentum of the game,” Tiu said.

“When the bench tries to get the crowd pumped up, we get pumped up too. It gets us riled up. We get more pumped up if there are more people [in the stands] for the away team because we want to prove them wrong. It’s motivation.”

Junior Brandon Ford explains the problem.

“We like going in other people’s houses and just tearing it up,” he said.

“But home, not so much. I don’t know what the problem is but we just can’t seem to pull it together at home. Hopefully we can work on that.”

Though they still have some to work on, things are looking up.

“We absolutely have a chance to win the league,” coach Brad Enright said. “But we are going to have to play very well both at home and on the road to do so.”

We’re going to do good. I think we can win,” said Buford. “We just gotta play hard and do what we gotta do.”

Sports

B2

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

Students participate in winter sports lauren hall staff writer

photo provided by andy salazar

Andy Salazar (11) bravely blocks the shot and saves a goal during a heated hockey game. Salazar has such a passion for the game that he plays for West States Hockey League. Salazar, along with many other stupendous Sundevils, proudly participate in many other winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. They enjoy doing these activities for the adrenaline rush and utter uniqueness.

The crisp winter air whistles through the frozen branches of the pine trees, as the people down below, now like small ants in a bug village, ascend the mountain. Senior Marita Barger feels the butterflies rise in her stomach, and, swallowing her fear, sets off, speeding down the mountain on her snowboard.

“I love the adrenaline rush and conquering my fears by going off big jumps,” Barger said.

For Barger, snowboarding is a more than just a hobby. It is a way of life.

“I started skiing at the age of four and then a couple of years later my dad started snowboarding,” Barger said. “I’ve always looked up to my dad and it seemed so fun so I had to try it! He taught me and I’ve been snowboarding ever since.”

Winter sports are usually influenced by people’s families. The traditional “ski” trip is something that each family looks forward to.

“I grew up around it (skiing), and my whole family did it so it became something that my family and I bond over,” senior Mandy Blume said. “I was born in Juneau, Alaska so I’ve been skiing since I could walk.”

Blume started on a team where she did downhill skiing. Downhill skiing is a type of competition where the racer must go around each flag as fast as possible in order to get the full number of points. Since then Blume continues to travel back to Alaska to revisit the sport she loves.

“I’ve already gone skiing five times this winter and I’m going again over the break for four days,” Blume said.

One thing is certain. Those who truly love winter sports need the initiative to take it up on their own, whether it’s by going on trips or joining a league outside of school in order to compete.

“I started (ice hockey) by just playing around in the streets,” junior Andy Salazar said.

“Now I play in the West States Hockey League.

It’s pretty good quality hockey.”

What once started as a fun game for Salazar has now become a serious part of his life.

“Back in seventh grade we played in the California State Games, and the last game came down to a shoot out, and I’m the goalie and I was able to block the last goal, so we won.”

The brutality of these sports is not for everyone, but for those who can tough through the battle wounds, the rewards are even bigger than their swollen injuries.

“I may get pretty bruised up, but I love hockey because it’s a fast paced game, and I love ice skating,” Salazar said.

But people’s true love for winter sports comes from the fact that one can exercise and go on an adventure and experience something completely new all at the same time.

“Once the park was closing but my boyfriend, sister, and I made it up a chair lift right in time and we wanted to go down a double black,” Barger said. “There were rocks and trees all over the slope and my heart was racing.

The ski patrol was sitting at the top waiting for one of us to lose control but we conquered that run!”

Winter sports offer a break from the normality of field sports and give athletes a different feeling: a passion for adrenaline of the sport that one can not feel with other sports.

Sundevils take advantage of snowboarding season Andy bolin staff writer It’s that time of the year. The time of not going to sleep because you know that you will be waking up in three hours to go hit the slopes.

Although we live in San Diego, the snow is just a mere two hours away and many students take full advantage of this.

“I try to go as often as I can,” senior Bobby Luft said. “Since the season is not that long, I need to take full advantage of all the opportunities that are given.”

Many of the big time snowboarders at MC do whatever it takes to make the trip up to Big Bear or Mountain High.

“There are a lot of three day weekends and breaks during the snowboarding season,” senior Bryan Waters said. “Since there was a snowboarding trip that a lot of my friends

went on this year, it made snowboarding way more fun.”

The trip that Waters referred to is S.W.A.T. This trip is sponsored by Rockstar and many MC seniors went on this trip.

“It was one of my most memorable experiences in high school,” Luft said. “All the people that went were super chill and it was a great time. S.W.A.T. Up!” Also, with the Winter Olympics starting tonight, snowboarding is something to talk about with all of your friends.

“All of my friends snowboard,” senior Rachel Pham said. “It’s something to talk about because we all have that love for snowboarding in common.”

It is also fun to watch snowboarding during the Olympics because of people like Shaun White. Since he grew up in San Diego, he is a fan favorite.

“I love watching snowboarding during

Compiled by isaiah bruce, jessica hong, andy bolin | Staff Writers

the Winter Olympics,” Waters said. “Shaun White is so good. It’s amazing how he is that talented and grew up in San Diego. And we both have the same hair style.”

San Diego is definitely a surfing city.

Many students surf or used to be really into surfing.

Since snowboarding and surfing are very similar, snowboarding becomes a pretty easy transition for surfers.

“I used to surf all the time,” Pham said.

“When I tried snowboarding for the first time, I was pretty good. I feel that since I surf, snowboarding just came easy to me.”

Although for many people, getting to the snow is a hassle and not worth it, but for these Sundevils, it’s definitely worth the inconvenience.

“Two hours is not that far,” Luft said.

“Even if the closest snow was three or four hours away, I would still go as often as I do.”

photo provided by monica riturban

Monica Riturban (12) skillfully snowboards at beautiful Big Bear. Many students take advantage of the wonderful winter season by hitting the slippery slopes as often as possible.

Sundevil Spotlight coach ifergan

meghan berry

girls basketball

soccer

[What I like most about soccer is] the rush you get when you score and being able to push people around.”

QUICK HITS

Basketball is a team competition. You need to perform The thrill of playing in a big game later that night is the individually but there’s also a responsibility to the other players best feeling that I have.” on the court. There’s nothing like pulling out a tough win and knowing you are sharing it with everyone else.”

QUICK HITS

What do you plan to do after high school?

Play college soccer/ live next door to Lauren Margallo.

If you could un-invent one thing, what would it be and why?

The Chia Pet! What a dumb idea!

And people pay money for it.

Name one person or group of people that you admire.

My dad - he was always there to support me in EVERYTHING.

What’s the worst injury you have received in your sport?

I don’t get injured, other people get injured by me.

If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be?

Lucky Brand.

What’s your biggest pet peeve and why?

When someone doesn’t own up to their mistakes and dismisses them with “my bad.”

What’s your weirdest food combination?

Mint chocolate chip ice cream with coconut and caramel sauce.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

When you tell someone something and they say “what?” and then you have to repeat yourself.

Why did you decide to start playing your sport?

I didn’t; my parents forced me to start playing and I just went from there.

What is your greatest fear and why?

Becoming paralyzed.

Name one person or group of people that you admire.

Erica Lohrenz because she’s my best friend and Sarah Hsu. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Invisibility because then I could sneak up on people.

jc buford

boys basketball

If you had S100 to spend on anything, what would you spend it on?

New cleats.

What’s your weirdest food combination?

Jack in the Box curly fries and sweet and sour sauce.

all photos by cordell hunter | PHOTOgrapher

What is your greatest fear and why?

Not having a family and friends to share and spend every day with.

When did you start playing your sport?

When I was 14 years old.

If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be?

Nike or Adidas. I’m not too impressed with big name brands.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

To fly! I could see everything from above and float through the clouds.

If you had S100 to spend on anything, what would you spend it on?

I would take my team to dinner so we could have fun off the court and let them know how much I appreciate their hard work!

QUICK HITS What is your greatest fear and why?

Drowning. I’ve always been scared of it.

If you could un-invent one thing, what would it be and why?

Guns because of killing and war.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

To read minds, because it would be cool to know what people are thinking.

Name one person or group of people that you admire.

Rosa Parks.

If you had S100 to spend on anything, what would you spend it on?

I would probably spend it on shoes and clothes.

What’s your biggest pet peeve and why?

People who stare, because it makes me feel awkward.

Why did you decide to start playing your sport?

I thought it was fun and it kept me busy and out of trouble.

What do you plan to do after high school?

Go to college and start to become a firefighter.

What’s your weirdest food combination?

Chocolate chip cookies with Hot Cheetos and water.

If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be?

Neff or LRG.

Sports

Mt. Carmel SUN

B3

February 12, 2010

Girls soccer looks to CIF, hopeful for fourth seed Andy bolin STAFF WRITER When making pre-season goals, the one at the top of the list is always winning CIF. Having an undefeated season or winning the league title is just a cherry on top.

This is the attitude for the girls varsity soccer team.

The league title seems to be out of reach, but there is still a clear path to reaching the playoffs, and returning to the Division II CIF finals.

“Westview pretty much has the league title wrapped up,” sophomore Briana Pompa-Hogan said. “We should still make it into playoffs fairly easily. Since playoffs are a one game elimination, any team can take the trophy.”

By making it to the CIF finals last season, the girls’ team has a good reputation going into the playoffs.

“We were very good last year,” senior captain Kellie Fox said. “We are still a really good team and hopefully we will get a good seed in playoffs.”

Having a good seed is a huge advantage.

One reason is playing at home for at least one game in the playoffs.

Another reason is if you get a top four seed, you have a bye in the first round and then get an immediate home game afterwards.

“Getting home games last year really helped us out,” Pompa-Hogan said.

“Playing at home is way more comforting and it helps to have your home crowd.”

With a record of 13-3-3 as of Feb. 10, the girls are making a strong argument for a top four seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.

“With our record, we should get a top four seed,” senior captain Lindsay Valdez said.

“We will be a scary team in playoffs because of the experience that is on our team.”

The girls have three remaining league games before the playoffs.

Two of those games are against Orange Glen because of the rainout that occurred on Jan. 27.

The games against Orange Glenn should be two of their easiest games of the season.

“They are not a good team,” Fox said.

“We should handle them quite easily.”

Their other game is against Oceanside. jared servantez | photographer Last time these two teams met MC blew them out, 5-1.

The girls are excited for CIF to finally arrive.

Many teams’ goals at the beginning of kiersten iwai | PHOTOgrapher the year are to win CIF’s.

Team co-captain Lindsay Valdez (12) leads the girls soccer team in their recent game against Serra.The girls won narrowly, 1-0.

For most teams this goal is unreachThe girls have only three league games remaining, two against Orange Glen.

They currently have a record of 13-3-3. Although the able, but for the girls’ soccer team, reachgirls expect Westview to take the league title, they are optimistic that they can still take CIF and hope for some home games. ing CIF finals is very achievable.

Lady Sundevils excel, despite tough WV loss Wrestlers vandana bhairi STAFF WRITER

jennifer farrell | PHOTOgrapher

Geanna Verde-Burke (12) goes in for a lay-up during the game against Westview. Although the Lady Sundevils lost the game 51-42, their record is 7-2. The girls owe their success to their focus before games, their coach, and the strong team chemistry.

Girls basketball is having a great season with a 7-2 league record as of Wednesday. So far, their only two losses have been to Westview. After losing to them the first time, the girls wanted nothing more than to seek payback. According to sophomore Victoria O’Donnell, they worked extremely hard during practice, trying to improve their game and learn Westview’s game before they faced the Wolverines again.

“The week or so before [the Westview game we practiced hard and worked harder on defense,” she said. “Our coaches re-watched the games (because we videotape them) we watched some of their [Westview’s] main plays so we could learn how to guard them better; we learned their offense so we could get through tough screens.”

Unfortunately the team lost to Westview in a close game, 51-42, a mere nine points. Sophomore Erica Lohrenz explained exactly what happened in that game.

“I feel like during the halftime when we were up, we stopped playing as hard as we were in the first two halves,” Lohrenz said. “We started to relax a little. I think we were still determined, but relaxed a little.”

Senior Alix Johnson said that when it came down to it MC put up a great fight but WV just played better.

“WV is a good team,” she said. “We knew they were going to make shots, make big shots and big threes, and we just wanted to limit them. We started fouling them a lot and they’d make every free throw.

It wasn’t anything that we, particularly, were doing wrong, but they were making their shots and none of our shots were falling.”

Johnson also said how devastating the loss was,

not only to her, but the whole team, because it meant that they can no longer be in the running for Valley League champion.

“I had the worst feeling because it is my senior year and this might be the last time we play WV EVER,” Johnson said. “Yes, I cried. It was pretty upsetting, but it’s only a game.”

Despite this, the Lady Sundevils have been crushing the rest of the teams in their league, including Ramona, Valley Center, and San Marcos. The team credits much of their successes to their coach, who always pushes them to do their best.

“She (Coach Laura Ifergan) expects more out of us,” Johnson said. “Every game there’s going to be negative and positive. She’s seen us play at our best and whenever we don’t play at that level she’ll hold us to it and tell us what we’re doing wrong and what we need to fix.”

Also, a huge part of any team’s success comes down to team chemistry. The team does different bonding activities such as team lunches on game days and even different games at Hilltop Park that helped them bond as a team.

Johnson also says that while there are some new underclassmen on the team, most of the upperclassmen have been playing together since freshman year.

Although the players on the team are great friends, when it’s game time it’s all about focus.

“We show up to the gym focused; everybody has their own music,” Johnson said. “Nobody really talks to each other before games; it’s all about focus. Before the game we get into a huddle and tell each other what we’re going to do and how we’re going to come out strong. We just get everyone into it.”

The team is facing Orange Glen tonight, as well as Oceanside in their last league game on Feb. 17 in the gym.

MC athletes triumph on the field, sign with colleges TJ RIVERA-ALONso entertainment editor As the pen touched the paper, four MC seniors cemented their commitment to participate in a sport at a 4-year university.

Last Tuesday seniors Troy McClelland, Kenn James Jr., Erin Menefee, and Andy Bolin signed letters of intent.

According to the NCAA website, the National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution in which the institution agrees to provide a prospective student-athlete with financial aid or athletic aid.

McClelland will play football at the University of San Diego this fall.

“I visited a couple schools in New York and Colorado,” he said. “But the basic factors for me were getting a good education and continuing to play football. The University of San Diego is just a perfect fit for me.”

James will also attend and play football for USD in the fall.

He and McClelland are excited for the opportunity to play together for four more years.

James said that it was very impor-

tant that the school he chose was close to home.

Ask most students at MC what they think of James and they will respond with one word: Fast. In reality, James has put in much more to achieve his goal of playing in college.

“I got to this point by hard work, dedication, commitment, and good grades,” he said.

Menefee has chosen to attend the University of Arizona. She will run track and cross country. She had a difficult decision to make because she was offered scholarships from several colleges.

“It was a really hard decision because I loved ASU’s campus, honors college, and was offered more scholarship there,” she said. “But overall, University of Arizona was a better fit for me because I loved the team and their attitudes.”

Senior Andy Bolin has committed to attend Colorado State University at Pueblo.

“Pueblo seems perfect for me because I have family there,” he said. “They also offered me a good amount of money in scholarships.”

All four students are extremely excited to begin their college careers at their chosen schools.

AMANDA STINTSMAN | PHOTO EDITOR

Kenn James (12), Andy Bolin (12), Erin Menefee (12), and Troy McClelland (12) signed their letters of intent for their colleges on Tuesday. James and McClelland both signed to play football at USD, Bolin will be playing soccer at Colorado State University, and Menefee will be running for the University of Arizona. If you have committed to a school and we missed you, let us know at MCSUN.org.

undefeated; confidence increases Cathy McDermott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Walking into the wrestling room, a circle of boys, dressed in scarlet and gold, form on the mats. Mingled in the ring of boys, Coach Gail Miller sits. During 5th period, the seniors with off roll get in some extra training.

“We do a lot of cross fit workouts, which typically don’t involve weights and focus more on using your own body weight,” senior Danny Grant said.

“Sometimes it’s really tough, but we all benefit because of it.”

Ranked number one in the Valley League, the wrestling team remains undefeated in league.

“We feel confident and excited as a team,” Grant said. “We’re undefeated so far and have won all of our duals in convincing fashion, so we know we are capable of winning.”

The boys are currently 5-0, after their most recent match against San Marcos, on Feb. 8.

“We won by upwards of 30 points,” senior Ted Kassen said. “It was a blowout, when it was supposed to be close.”

The boys feel confident about their upcoming CIFs, on Saturday, Feb. 20.

“Compared to last year, this team feels a lot closer and more like a family,” Grant said. “Last year, we won both league and CIF and were hoping to repeat this year.

As a senior, I am really excited going into CIF. We’ve been working hard for this one goal, so it’s very exciting to be this close.”

The seniors on the team are definitely realizing that this is their last year.

“We had about 20 freshmen four years ago,” Kassen said. “As the years went by, that number dwindled until we have the nine guys that have done everything the coaches ask and have stuck with the program, regardless of how much success they have achieved. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t wrestle just to wrestle. It’s my brothers who make the team and the whole program worthwhile.

Every team on campus says they’re a family, but no team shares a bond like we do.”

From cheering on other teams to supporting each other, they’re known for being a close knit team.

“The one thing I will remember the most about this team is the closeness and brotherhood between all of us,” Grant said. “We’ve worked really hard together for the last four years and a result, have created a bond between all of us that we’ll never forget.”

Their last match was against Westview yesterday, but the results were not known by press night.

Entertainment

B4

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

Vampire obsession growing among teens CORDELL HUNTER STAFF WRITER They live forever, hate sunlight -ohand they drink your blood.

If you don’t know what I am talking about by now, you must have been living in a cave for the past few years.

Spurred on by the Twilight series, vampire fever has become the newest sensation gripping the nation. And it is as ridiculous as it is pervasive.

It seems like everything these days is about vampires. TV shows such as “Vampire Diaries” and “True Blood” as well as the movie versions of the Twilight Series have kept the bloodsucking beasts in the public’s attention for far too long.

Whereas before, a vampire movie or show would come out only every once in a while, nowadays they are springing up left

CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST

and right.

Symptoms of vampire fever include strange desires to buy ridiculous clothes, often with the words “Team Edward” or “Team Bella” printed on them.

Also on the list is the obsessive checking of certain fan websites; Twilighters.com anyone?

One might exhibit an uncontrollable urge to watch one, if not all of the many spin-off shows, movies and in the near future, video games.

And this is just the beginning. Twilight fans have redefined the word obsessed.

“Twihards” as they have come to be known, are taking over everything.

Everywhere you go, you can find something involving Twilight.

Magazines and tabloids constantly run stories on the actors and fans spam Facebook, Twitter and Myspace with statements and groups about how hot the

characters are.

If misfortune befalls you and you happen to encounter one of them face to face, I suggest you turn the other way before they start telling you a load of mindless jabber.

Some fans have even gone so far as to follow Robert Pattinson, the actor who plays Edward in the Twilight movies, and ask him to bite them on their necks.

People just need to calm down and take a step back into reality. Getting a little excited over a book or movie is okay, but the line needs to stop somewhere.

Yes, I understand that loads of people can relate to the story, but it is a novel, not a biography.

No matter how many times Robert Pattinson bites your neck; you will not become a vampire.

Web provides alternative Immersive story of “Lost” to to commercial-ridden TV end with sixth, final season DENNIS SUN WEB EDITOR

REVIEWS

In the world of the Internet, television is becoming more and more accessible. Too busy to catch the latest episode of “Lost” or “Chuck”? You can watch shows online, for free – and it can be done completely legally.

While some sites can offer shows the day they are shown, such sites are more often than not illegal. They are not contracted with the companies that film these shows, and also lack the quality that legal websites can offer.

Some of the more popular websites for watching shows legally include Hulu.com and Fancast.com. While watching shows requires a waiting period, these websites offer high quality, fast streaming videos.

For very popular shows such as “House,” videos are not available until eight days after the show is initially aired, while other shows, such as “The Office,” offer videos the day after the premier. Most of these shows hold videos for months at a time; some shows, like Lost, have all episodes available online.

Even shows that have stopped airing, such as the sci-fi action show Firefly, are available to viewers. Junior Aaron Srivastava appreciates the convenience and accessibility of watching shows online.

“I watch shows online because I don’t have time to watch when the shows actually come on,” he said. “I like how you can control

when you watch it. No network trying to commercialize on ads means more time spent watching the show.”

Srivastava also appreciates the quality of the videos. “{Websites such as Hulu} tend to be supported by the networks, so the videos have fairly good quality,” he said.

Due to the convenience of having computers accessible in closed rooms, junior Laura Li finds that TV online is very convenient.

“It’s easier to multi-task that way and my parents won’t be watching me that carefully,” Li said. “Also, there are fewer commercials.”

Li has had some experience with watching shows on illegal sites such as SideReel.com, but finds that the quality is not as comparably good as that of legal providers.

“For SideReel, most of the links that are uploaded the day the show comes out are very low quality and some links are broken, so that’s sometimes bad,” Li said.

Li finds online TV a much better option than regular.

“Online TV is much more convenient because you can pause, rewind, and still do your homework,” she said.

For most with high-speed Internet access, online TV is a great alternative to regular television. Although legal sites have waiting periods, they offer high quality with fewer ads than on regular TV.

JACOB SNYDER STAFF WRITER

From polar bears to smoke monsters, ABC’s hit TV show “Lost” has been driving fans to near insanity since its beginning in 2004. But this year, the show will finally come to an end with its sixth season.

“Lost” follows the lives of plane crash survivors of Oceanic Air flight 815 on a tropical island filled with mystery and deceit somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

With flashbacks (and forwards), the show proves to be one of the most mysterious on television.

Unlike a lot of shows, “Lost” will be having a planned ending, which means that the story is coming to its conclusion.

Most shows these days get cancelled because of poor ratings and a lack of viewers. “Lost” has not suffered this fate.

“Lost” has a similar effect as “Star Trek” in that it has developed a cult following and has many ways for it to continue to be profitable for a very long time.

Ever since it stole the hearts and minds of viewers when it premiered in 2004, “Lost” has continued to keep fans watching thanks to its great character development and shocking plot twists.

With this final season’s premier on February 2, unanswered questions from

the beginning years of the show will finally be answered. No other show’s final season has ever garnered as much hype as “Lost” has.

“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen,” junior Connor Gallinetti said.

“They left it at a pivotal point where it could go in multiple directions, and I really don’t know what’s going to happen.

No one does.”

What makes “Lost” successful is the way it presents a story so immersive to the human mind, that it keeps one wanting more, which is why people continue to watch every week.

After the unfolding events of the

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ABC

The cast of “Lost,” arranged in a pastiche of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” return to the mysterious island for the last time in the sixth and final season.

4.0//5.0

4.0//5.0

4.0//5.0

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season finale last year, the story can now go in two different ways. One, the event prevents their plane from ever crashing on the island. Two, they are still on the island.

Which one will it be?

When the show finally goes off the air in May, it will leave a big hole in television and fans’ hearts. A show may never have the same effect on people for years to come.

“It’s a sad moment for television,” junior Austin Sher said. “We’re losing the best show on TV hands down, and I don’t think that any other show will ever compete to its standards when it comes to theories or just plain mystery.”

Title: The Lovely Bones Rating: PG-13 Genre: Drama

Title: When In Rome Rating: PG-13 Genre: Comedy/Romance

Title: Hunting and Gathering Author: Anna Gavalda Genre: Realistic Fiction

Name: [insert phrase here]-berto’s Location: Southern California Style: Mexican Food

KELLY FAN STAFF WRITER

ABBY MANSOUR STAFF WRITER

ANNE FERGUSON STAFF WRITER

JORDAN UGALDE STAFF WRITER

“The Lovely Bones” is the story of a 14-year-old dead girl, who narrates her story from the fantastic netherworld in between heaven and Earth. The brilliantly talented Saorise Ronan plays Susie Salmon, murdered by her neighbor on her way home from school in 1973.

Susie watches from a dazzling, intrepid, dream world, featuring beautiful, but overthe-top special effects that distracted from the plot.

The movie attempts to capture the aftermath of Susie’s murder, but can’t fully capture the terrible despair her family and friends suffered. Instead, the story is choppy and insufficient, with unrelated scenes randomly intruding the storyline.

For example, Susie’s grandmother is randomly and inexplicably inserted into the middle of the movie, and her inept cooking and trailing cigarette ashes offers the kind of comic relief one would expect to find in a farce.

The movie ended with no closure, leaving me slightly confused. I was expecting a bittersweet tale about a girl’s emotional and spiritual journey after death. Peter Jackson sacrificed depth for pretty computer effects, and that left me unsatisfied.

“When I find someone I love more than my job, that’s how I’ll know he’s the one.”

This is the mentality of Beth (Kristen Bell), an ambitious young museum curator, in the recently released film, “When in Rome.”

Her job dominates her life, barely leaving her enough time to attend her little sister’s wedding in Rome. Once in Rome, after a turn of events, and more than a few drinks, Beth finds herself in a “fountain of love,” where she then takes a few coins, hoping to “save” the romantics that threw them in.

She soon finds that the three men (an awkward street performer, a sausage factory owner, and a self-admiring model) who threw the coins have fallen madly for her.

Although the plotline seems thin, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in the end, the movie was genuinely enjoyable.

The craziness of the characters provided endless laughs. Even the more serious side of the plot didn’t ever get dry or dumb.

It seemed as though it was a little less romance and a little more comedy.

“When in Rome” is definitely worth seeing if you’re in search of a good laugh.

Although it was not the most deep or moving, it proved to be cuter than just your average chick flick.

Despite the fact that this book is set in Paris, France, it is not a love story. It is the story of four quirky, imperfect people brought together by fate and held together by a common goal: discovering who they really are.

French author Anna Gavalda delivered fresh and powerful insight into the human mind with her novel “Hunting and Gathering.”

Though it is only fiction, the characters are so real and personable that they could be the next passersby in the street. This captured my attention as I blew through the pages.

The very ‘real’ quality in Camille, Philibert, Franck, and Paulette makes this novel a quick read despite its size.

Their plight is one shared by many, but, at the same time, it is unique to this book.

And yes, there is a little romance and drama, but the true brilliance in Gavalda’s work is in her ability to comprehend what people actually feel and think and translate it into words.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is fed up with the steadfast predictability of teen authors. Branch away from vampires and enter the stark but hopeful world of “Hunting and Gathering.”

Since San Diego is so close to the border, it should be expected that Mexican restaurants would be in abundance.

Restaurants such as Alberto’s, Aiberto’s, and Roberto’s provide mouth watering food choices such as carne asada fries (fries with meat cheese and guacamole) and California burritos, the equivalent in burrito form.

The food servings are a bit large for some people, but for fans of Mexican food, the servings are just right.

Similarly, the number of Mexican restaurants may seem excessive to people who aren’t huge fans of Mexican food.

A good example is in Poway, where two Mexican restaurants are only about a mile away from each other.

However, both places have been open for over five years, and both are surviving the recession, indicating either the number of people that love Mexican food, or just how many people are in love it.

Since these restaurants are usually small and not the most hospitable, their success is mostly dependent on their actual product, proving more than any rating or review that Mexican food is delicious.

Mt. Carmel SUN

Entertainment

B5

February 12, 2010

What to do and where to go on

As a couple...

CORDELL HUNTER STAFF WRITER Valentine’s Day is meant to be spent with a member of the opposite sex.

If you have a date, then you are in for the task of choosing a date both of you will enjoy. Luckily for you, there are many ideas to choose from.

beach? If the weather is nice, take your girl/boyfriend to the sand for the day.

Nothing is more fun than bumming it out by the waves, and hanging out with your significant other makes it that much more fun.

If you want to be really romantic, take a picnic dinner and watch the sunset together. It’ll be a night you won’t forget.

DINNER AND A MOVIE

THE PARK

While not very original, going out to dinner and watching a movie with your significant other is a great way to spend Valentine’s Day. Guys don’t only like violent movies and girls don’t only like gushy “chick flicks,” so it shouldn’t be hard to find something enjoyable for the both of you.

If the beach is not for you, and you don’t want to spend loads of money on Valentine’s Day, take your date to the park. while there isn’t much in the way of activities, you can still have fun hanging out together.

And if it gets boring, you can always take a walk.

If you are one of the lucky ones and have a date on the day of love, don’t ruin it by making your girl/boyfriend do something they don’t want

THE BEACH Who doesn’t like going to the

As a single guy

MARY CARMEN GONZALEZ | PHOTO EDITOR

Frank Ni (12) and Jodie Ha (12) pose as a couple spending their Valentine’s Day sitting on a grassy hill. Popular among many couples, relaxing at the park is an affordable option.

If it were up to him...

JACOB SNYDER STAFF WRITER Yes ladies, Valentine’s Day is not the guy’s most favorite day of the year like it is to many of you. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to have fun.

It would really make the guy feel loved and cared for if he got to choose what to do. Guys tend to have good imaginations, so he will most likely pick something that is very fun.

One thing he might choose is the basic dinner and a movie. All guys love to go get some good grub and catch the latest action flick. That’s a great way to keep him happy.

Swapping movies out for bowling and still doing dinner is another example of having a night to remember. Bowling is fun to guys.

They love to bowl because it’s an activity that provides the opportunity to bond with the people he plays with.

Playing each other one on one is a great way to connect.

Girls aren’t the only people who love to ice skate. Guys actually enjoy it sometimes. Depending on his mood, the guy might want to skate. Holding

hands and skating makes the guy feel special. Afterwards, ice cream is a good way to end the night.

Laser tag. Paintballing. What guy doesn’t love to shoot fake lasers and balls of paint at their Valentine? Not in a violent way, but a flirty and funny way.

A guy might also like a trip to Miramar Speed Circuit, or K1 Speed in Carlsbad, two of the best indoor karting facilities in San Diego. Adrenaline-junkie heaven.

If a guy doesn’t like driving something really fast and beating the girl at something, I don’t know what would be fun for him.

If the guy likes relaxation, he might like a walk on the beach. Walking down the beach hand in hand with his girlfriend makes the guy feel extra loved on the day of love.

See ladies, just because Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean as much to them, it doesn’t take away from the fact that they want to have fun too.

Valentine’s Day is a day meant to share love with your significant other.

If they didn’t want the day to be special for their Valentine, they wouldn’t take you out at all.

When you’re in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is something to look forward to. But, when you’re single, all of the flowers and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are no longer cute; they’re nauseating.

All of the loving that’s going on around you is just a constant reminder that you’re single.

Every person has a different way of coping with being single on Valentine’s Day. “I plan on just hanging out with my friends and doing stuff I do everyday,” senior Victoria Low said. “I’m just going to treat it like any other day.”

Other singles are planning on getting together with their other single friends and having a movie night.

“All of my single friends and I are going to have a sappy movie marathon,” an MC junior said. We’re going to watch the classic tear-jerkers; “The Notebook” and “A Walk to Remember.” It seems like a bad time to watch romantic movies, but it somehow makes us feel better about being single. It gives us hope that there is a guy out there that will sweep us off our feet like in the movies.”

Most singles come to the same conclusion, that being single on Valentine’s Day is not as fun when you don’t have someone to share it with.

If it were up to her...

2

Go paddle boating at Lake Poway, but make sure to bring bread for the duckies.

Ride over to Seaport Village, rent some bikes, and cruise along the shoreline.

4

Half price admission to museums in Balboa Park all of February; be an art critic for a day.

Show off your fun side, and go laser tagging, go-karting, and miniature golfing at Boomers.

7

As a single girl

It’s a pity that people determine whether to celebrate Valentine’s Day based on their relationship status. Love is for everybody, not just for those who are in a relationship.

So show some love to your friends. Chances are they won’t want to be cooped up in their rooms logged onto Facebook the whole night.

Guys, don’t be a hopeless romantic. Think about the positive side of being single; you don’t have to spend all of your cash on pointless bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates that you probably devour on your own time anyways.

Get together with all of your single guy and girl friends. A house party gives single guys the opportunity to get away from other couples out on a romantic night in restaurants, movie theatres, or wherever couples go on dates.

If all you want is a night away from the indoors, head over to Downtown’s Gaslamp.

Whether you’re up for a night of clubbing, or just a casual walk on 5th Avenue, you’re bound to meet single girls almost anywhere.

Whether at a house party or a night outdoors with your guy friends, look forward to having a great night on Valentine’s Day. Just think of it this way; Valentine’s Day isn’t really a day of romance, it’s simply just a day for candy stores and flower shops to make a boatload of money.

Work up a sweat. Go ice skating, then grab some ice cream to cool down.

5

BOWLING Bowling is another great way to hang out with your date on Valentine’s Day. Bowling alleys are easier to find than ice rinks, and there are several of them nearby.

Not only is it fun for the both of you, but it is cheap and a good way to get exercise.

However, if you plan on trying to save money, I suggest you bring your own food, because bowling alley food is ridiculously expensive.

These are just a few examples of the things you can do with your girl/ boyfriend on the day of love.

No matter your personalities, budget or interests, it shouldn’t be too hard to find something both of you enjoy.

SARA SHANTZ STAFF WRITER

Grab a blanket, some Subway, and then head to the beach to watch the sunset.

3

These aren’t the only ideas out there, but they provide equal enjoyment for everyone.

JAY HUEY STAFF WRITER

Eight dates for under 20 bucks

1

to.

6

Take the four mile hike in the PQ canyon to the waterfall and have a picnic.

But don’t eat too much. You have to walk the four miles back.

8

Tired of going to the same old movie theaters? Try something new: clean out your car for a change, and go to a drive in movie.

ANGELA KIM STAFF WRITER For us girls who spend “Singles Awareness Day” without chocolates and stuffed bears from boyfriends, we sit and watch mushy chick-flicks at home and dream wistfully for a guy to sweep us off our feet.

Well, if high school guys are going to woo us on dream dates, we’re going to have to lower the standards substantially.

So, no cruises, no swanky restaurants, no afternoon trips to Milan. But don’t be discouraged, boys.

There are affordable yet adorable ways to please a girl on a date.

Girls like basic things. We like dinner and a movie. But try watching the movie first—just so you have something to talk about at dinner.

Try a movie that emits a positive mood, like a comedy—sometimes too much action and gore can spoil a light-hearted night.

Now that the movie’s over, on to dinner. Contrary to popular male opinion, most girls aren’t evil moneysuckers.

So, on a first date, splurge a little.

This means a restaurant with a sitdown table, and waiters. The menu should not be a dollar menu.

Avoid unfamiliar restaurants where you’re not comfortable with the food. You don’t want to sweat profusely because the food’s too spicy.

Most girls do enjoy the basic dinner and a movie, but also crave variety.

Try taking her to a local rock concert, which are casual and not so focused on conversation—if that isn’t your forte. Picnics are a time-honored tradition and a great way to get to know somebody.

If you’re not into one-on-one dating, try going to a beach bonfire with a group. Bring blankets to snuggle.

If she’s into sports, take her to a game.

If she’s into gaming, throw a LAN party. Get dressed up and hit a teen dance club.

As a general rule of thumb, try to pick dates that you and the girl would enjoy doing.

Pay attention to her, but don’t forget to stay true to what you like, too.

Single ladies are everywhere, so tidy up and go get ‘em!

Features SURVIVING A NUCLEAR DISASTER

B6

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

MC staff member lives through Chernobyl catastrophe

MELANIE DICKINSON CENTERSPREAD EDTIOR On April 26, 1986, at 1:23 a.m., a chain reaction of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant‘s Reactor #4 grew out of control. Within seconds, the 1000-ton sealing cap on the reactor building was blown off, and the radioactive fission products were sucked into the atmosphere.

Three-hundred kilometers away, Ukrainian native, now an instructional assistant for the MC Special Ed Dept., Tatyana Gurovich and her family woke up to nine thunderous explosions.

Their large apartment building was soon swarming with the uproar of residents frantic and fearful of the unexplained blasts.

“We thought a war had started, or that an atomic bomb had been dropped,” Gurovich said.

By dawn, people had wandered outside to find the sky completely black and that the air tainted their breath with an unfamiliar metallic taste. They later discovered that “taste” was among the first effects of radiation.

The population furthermore in-

gested vast quantities of water, having no idea that it was now toxic. By only 10 a.m., nearly 10 hours after the fact, did they receive any information about what had happened that night.

Gurovich was among the first of the 200,000 evacuated from the devastated site of the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. She was able to leave just two days after the core meltdown.

“We were lucky,” Gurovich said. “Some were not evacuated until May. For many that was too late.”

Told to leave all possessions behind for fear of contamination, they were given showers and new clothes, and were taken to a shelter near Romania. Each room was about the size of an average MC classroom, but housed more than 20 refugees.

“It felt like we were there forever,” she said. “By that point, most of us didn’t even care about the pollution anymore. We just wanted to go back to our homes and to our beds.”

Her husband stayed behind to remove radioactive debris from in-

side the reactor. Of the 30 people on his team, just a few are alive today.

Mr. Gurovich himself is now suffering from heart disease.

A bizarre several years followed the reactor’s meltdown. Gurovich watched in awe as the news told stories of children born with two heads and six fingers. Parents attempted to stop pregnancies in wake of the prevalent defects in newborns.

Two-foot-long cucumbers and other abnormally large vegetables grew in Gurovich’s grandmother’s backyard. At her son’s preschool, 28 children and three teachers caught pneumonia on the same day at the same time.

The Gurovich family finally moved to America to escape a cruel and backwards communist regime.

She still carries a smile despite the hardships she’s endured.

“My life was good in Ukraine, and I like America, but it is different,” Gurovich said. “Over there, Russians are Russians and Ukrainians are Ukrainians. There are so many different cultures here. And there are so many opportunities available for those willing to work for it.”

KELLY FAN | ARTIST

Club Corner Featuring...

The African American Club

CAMILLE MANSOUR STAFF WRITER “The club is a way to go into depth of AfricanAmerican culture,” junior Tess Moore said.

Moore is the president of this new club and is inspired to spread awareness.

“For example, we talked about Tiger Woods and how that affects other African-American athletes,” Moore said.

“We talked about how it was going to affect our culture and how the world and other cultures are going to look at African Americans.”

Sophomore Alanah Grisham, the vice president, explained what happens on Wednesdays at lunch in Paris Brown’s room.

“We discuss everything that’s happening with the African-American community and how we can help get awareness out about our culture,” Grisham said.

“We usually bring in different articles like on Haiti or Obama and different things and we discuss them,” she said.

“It’s my job to basically just organize the meetings like what we’re going to talk about and I try to find a community service event.”

The community service that they do and plan to do isn’t targeted to one specific organization, but they do whatever they can to help out.

“We talk about stereotypes of African Americans

and what we think about it and how we can change it,” sophomore Taylor Koetting said.

Not only do they discuss recent happenings involving African Americans, the club talks about their hopes of spreading awareness to other schools and communities.

“There was a Black Student Union before but that stopped, so my friend and I thought it would be a good idea to make an African American club,” she said.

“We want to get the word out to students to start any type of African American culture club. “Hopefully that spreads to other schools.”

“We just want to get our club known,” Grisham said. “This year is our trial year and by next year we want to come out and be a bigger and wider known club.”

The meetings consist of more than just reflecting on recent news in the African American community. The students involved in the club make it fun and keep it low key.

“It’s a really fun environment,” Moore said.

“You won’t go in there without smiling or just learning something new. You can voice your opinion without worrying if you’ll get in trouble.”

“Our club is open to everyone,” Grisham said.

“We just have fun and hang out. We also try to get to know each other better.”

No matter what race you are, the African American club always welcomes new members.

Media multitasking prevalent among teens; large factor in distraction, procrastination ANDY BOLIN STAFF WRITER

everything changes.

“I usually tune my parents out when I am trying to do my homework,” sophomore Drew Galaway said. “It’s not that I want to disrespect them or anything, I am physically not capable of listening to my parents and doing my homework. That is just too much work.”

There are many other things that students use for media multi tasking.

Some of these include playing video games while listening to iTunes, or listening to your iPod while texting away on your cell phone.

“When I am playing video games and I hear this high pitched buzzing noise, I know there is a text message arriving,” Poggioli said.

Students have mastered the art of media multi tasking. While students used to have to ask their parents for help on their homework, now parents are asking their kids how to work the DVR on the television.

“They have no idea how to work anything that has anything to do with electronics,” Galaway said. “Whenever something goes remotely wrong with anything electronic in our house, I am the go-to person.”

Media multi tasking is part of our generation. Students are very knowledgeable with anything that has to do with technology, and students will always accept the challenge of trying to use more than one electronic and still being totally comprehensive.

Things are different now from how they were just a decade ago.

When homework was assigned when we were younger, it was done at the dinner table with no distractions.

Now, when homework needs to be done, you can always find a cell phone or an iPod near the homework assignment.

“I always have my iPod headphones in my ear when I am doing my homework,” senior Eric Poggioli said. “If my homework assignment has to do with the computer, then Facebook will be an open window on my computer screen.”

This is a common theme with MC students because homework is not what most want to be doing when they get home from a long day at school.

“I hate doing homework,” junior Jack Ellis said. “If there is a way to make homework go by without completely dreading it, then I am going to find that escape route. And for me, that would be my phone, and of course, Facebook.”

Teenagers these days are very skilled at what is called media multitasking. Ask a student to read his or PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ABBAS MAMDANI | PHOTOGRAPHER her homework and listen to your parents lecture you is particularly tough, An MC student watches videos on Youtube, logs onto Facebook, texts but when electronics are involved, his friends, and plays video games at the same time.

Features

Mt. Carmel SUN

B7

February 12, 2010

Sundevils escape dysfunctional home lives Fighting parents, raging emotions lead students to leave home at night BRITTLYN FOSTER STAFF WRITER He couldn’t endure to watch it any longer. From the relentless screaming of his dad followed by the incessant sobs of his mom, one MC sophomore knew he had no choice but to escape from the unyielding tension in his own home.

“Every day I feel like home is the last place I want to be,” he said. “I leave about two to three times a week during the night, because it’s the only get away from where I am and the park is the only place I can feel safe.”

Unfortunately, situations like this have become all too familiar for the teenagers who deal with the seemingly continuous stream of fights and abuse within their family, throughout their childhood.

“When I feel hurt I just think to myself you’ve only got a few more years of high school left, you can make it work, just stay strong,” another MC sophomore said.

The constant battle between suppressing a person’s emotions during this type of issue, and actually letting

how they truly feel surface, is a raging struggle too many teenagers face on a frequent basis.

“You feel like you’re not good enough for your parents to really care that they are hurting you,” an MC sophomore said.

“You feel inadequate, like if you had been better then they wouldn’t have fought and you feel like you’re causing it. Even though in your head you know you aren’t, but deep down in your heart you know you are.”

Through all the traumatic stress and scarring, emotional pain, leaving is the only option some students feel they can turn to, in order to be able to get themselves as far from the real world as possible.

“I just get fed up with everything and feel like there is no way I can make it better at home so I might as well go somewhere I can feel a little better,” an MC sophomore said. “I feel relaxed once I get to the park, and I can actually fall asleep there, but I’m more scared being at home because of the constant tension I can’t escape at my house.”

The ultimate decision to leave the

house for the night may be made at a moment’s notice when all the built up rage and emotions culminate. It seems like the only rational option is to get out, but later on the choice may even worsen the issue further.

“In the beginning when I walked out my front door I was just trying to escape everything, and it was all in my head,” an MC junior said. “I was just so angry at first, but after a while I realized the decision I had made to leave just made things worse because I wasn’t escaping my problems, I was just putting them off.”

Many students in this situation believe that having someone to lean on or some type of release from the stress gives them a determination to continue the strenuous battle.

“It’s important because you’re always going to have your down times in life,” another MC sophomore said.

“But it’s nice to have a trusted friend to go to and be able to talk about these things with, and the fact that I know I have someone who I can go to makes the situation less worse. It gives me a hope that things will get better.”

IF YOU NEED HELP OR ADVICE CONTACT EDNA MAILEY--STUDENT SERVICES (858) 484-1180 EXT. 3140

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JARED SERVANTEZ | PHOTOGRAPHER Matt Terrones (12) poses as a student forced to leave his harrowing home at night. A few Sundevils have a horribly hard time dealing with the constant fighting of their parents. Teens often turn to trusted friends.

Students deal with having divorced parents; forces teens to become more responsible

Death of parents difficult to cope with; students strive to deal with experience in mature way

SHAYON SAID OPINIONS EDITOR

SARA SHANTZ STAFF WRITER

Friday morning. Should be a good day considering it’s the end of the week. Well, for most. However, senior Brooke James has to deal with the one thing that about 40 percent of kids in America have to deal with daily: divorced parents.

Whether they are simply separated or completely detached, Fridays become one of the more interesting days for many kids who deal with having divorced parents.

“By court order, I see my parents each for a week,” James said.

So, every Friday becomes the day when she switches houses.

“My parents have been divorced for almost 14 years,” James said.

“Ever since I was just three years old.”

Because James’ parents got divorced when she was so young, she is lucky enough to not think much of what it was like at first.

“I didn’t think much of their divorce,” she said. “I was really too young to even remember them together.”

Unfortunately, some aren’t as lucky, and an MC student whose par-

ents also are divorced thinks often of it.

“I always wonder what it would be like if they were still together, maybe my life might be a little easier” he said.

The bitter truth is that having divorced parents really does force many young adults to grow up faster and live harder lives as a result.

“The hardest part about having

29% OF MC STUDENTS HAVE DIVORCED PARENTS *141 STUDENTS POLLED

divorced parents is that whenever they meet each other, they never talk,” James said. “I have to be the middleman whenever they need to tell each other something. They’ll never be direct, they always have to talk through me and I have to do the work to solve what it is they’re talking about. Like, why can’t they just solve it themselves?”

This student agrees, a harder

lifestyle is a common side effect to divorced parents.

“Money is probably one of the harder things to deal with,” he said.

“If I need money, I’ll ask my dad, who tells me to ask my mom for it, who in return tells me to ask my dad for it. Eventually, it gets so frustrating that I end up using my own money so that I don’t have to deal with them.”

Doesn’t sound too bad at first, but then again kids whose parents are together don’t have to deal with keeping their possessions like clothes and school materials in order.

“I have to bring my clothes and stuff from my dad’s to my mom’s and vice-versa,” the student said. “It’s not too bad, until you forget to bring one small thing. I once forgot my Calculus book, and I didn’t notice until the day before they test. It didn’t turn out too great.”

Growing up is usually gradual and natural. Sometimes, though, the process is sped up, especially with divorced parents.

“After living my life with divorced parents, all I know is that I want to make sure I don’t put my kids through the same thing,” the student said.

You wouldn’t be able to tell by just looking at her, but once you start a conversation, she’s surprisingly open about it.

Six years ago, senior Kelly Kasmauski’s dad passed away after an open heart surgery. His heart gave out on him due to a history of drug abuse.

“I was sad when I first found out,” Kasmauski said.

“My sister from the East Coast called and she doesn’t usually call, so I knew something was wrong. She sounded upset on the phone and she asked to speak with my mom, so I gave my mom the phone. When she got off I asked her if my dad died and she said yes.”

Despite not living with her dad, Kasmauski had a solid relationship with him.

“I was pretty close with him,” Kasmauski said. “My parents were divorced but I saw him every year. He told us all the time that he wasn’t going to make it past 49, so I kind of expected it.”

Although Kasmauski’s whole

approach to the death of her father is calm and understanding, she will continue to miss things about him.

“I miss being able to spend time with him,” Kasmauski said.

“Our family was closer when he was alive; he kind of held us all together.”

Her father’s death has affect-

7% OF STUDENTS HAVE A PARENT WHO HAS PASSED AWAY *143 STUDENTS POLLED

ed Kasmauski’s relationship with her extended family too.

“It kind of changes you,” Kasmauski said. “Usually your parents force you to spend time with their side of the family, but now that he’s not here, I don’t see his side of the family unless I make the effort myself.”

Because of her father’s in-

volvement in the drug world, Kasmauski and her family have suffered.

“It makes things more dangerous,” Kasmauski said. “We’ve had drug dealers break into our house. It was actually a gang of drug dealers. They broke into our house, stole our stuff, and stalked me and my mom. They just keep going after you until they get what they want.”

The passing of her dad has helped shaped who Kasmauski is.

“It’s taught me to never do drugs because it ruins your whole life,” Kasmauski said.

“He lost his job and his license to nurse just because he did drugs. It taught me to be stronger and caused me to grow up quicker because I had to take on more responsibilities.”

Kasmauski has a very mature way of looking at this experience.

“After a few years, it’s not a big deal,” Kasmauski said.

“It’s just like losing any other family member. They were here and you have memories with them, but just because they’re gone doesn’t mean your life has to end.”

Features

B8

Mt. Carmel SUN

February 12, 2010

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“I like being the president because I can interact directly with the advisors and with the different people in the clubs and COMPILED BY I get to address the issues that concern me CATHY MCDERMOTT | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RACHEL MARTIN | FEATURES EDITOR and interest me. It’s especially rewarding KEVIN LAGE | SPORTS EDITOR VANDANA BHAIRI | STAFF WRITER great out turns to see when everything ANDY BOLIN | STAFF WRITER ISAIAH BRUCE | STAFF WRITER and everyone is happy and smiling.”

NICOLE BUSTAMANTE | STAFF WRITER