The Mt. Carmel SUN

www.mcsun.org Entertainment: What’s your favorite version of batman? Read about the evolution from a cartoon to a hollywood hit. page b4

MT. CARMEL

SUN

INSIDE pep rally

centerspread: read about how the recent economic problems have impacted students around MC and some tips for dealing with the economic crisis. page A4 and A5 news: the beginning of the year pep rally brought spirit to the mount.

Read about upcoming events the asb is planning. page a2

FRIDAY, September 12, 2008 VOL. 36 NO. 1 | MT. CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL, SAN DIEGO, CA 92129

Budget cuts hit home at MC New CA budget repeals potential job loss from last year’s pink slips

Cuts increase class sizes, prices; reduce class budgets Erica Byerley & Jordan Ugalde Staff Writers A lot of rumors flew around school last year concerning the budget cuts, leaving many students questioning what actually happened. The truth is that $10.7 million was lost from the district’s annual budget.

Although the cuts were not as severe as anticipated, Assistant Principal Ron Garrett is in charge of handling their main effect:

growing class sizes.

“Essentially what happened in Poway [Unified School District] is that the cuts were less than originally announced,” Garrett said. “After people started complaining to Sacramento and writing letters, they backed off.”

After receiving the new budget, the district knew it would not have to let go everyone who received pink slips in the spring.

Garrett explained that schools had to plan in advance for the fall semester.

“They gave pink slips out just in case, and they were hoping they wouldn’t have to fire [the teachers], but they gave them out to protect themselves,” he said.

Still, the school added 99 students from its previous 2215 and has a total of 84.4 teachers, up only .4 from last year. The .4 comes from part-time teachers.

A large majority of the money spent by the school goes to teachers’ salaries. Money has to be cut from other places in the budget, and a lot is taken out of each depart-

matt coffelt | photo editor

AP Calculus AB teacher Patricia Brook’s classroom is packed with desks and over 40 students. This is just one of 107 classes with over 35 students. Cramped classrooms have become the norm around MC’s campus. The recent budget cuts have caused a dramatic increase in the number of students in each class. The cuts have also impacted department budgets. Teachers are not able to print out as many materials, forcing many students to do it for themselves. The price of bus passes has also increased, costing $5 for a one way ride.

ment.

The department heads, now more than ever, have to be careful about spending.

“We’ve had an incredibly reduced budget,” John Earnest of the Science Department said. “The money we’re going to be spending on consumable materials has been drastically reduced. Just across the board it is going to mean a decrease in lab experiences.”

Students are impacted by this as well, having buy their own supplies and print out more of their own papers.

AP Literature students experience this change on a daily basis.

“We have to print out most of what we read in class off of learningpoint,” senior Michael Rawls said. “This week I printed two packets which were 10-15 pages total.”

Students must also learn to cope with larger, louder, hotter classrooms.

While the average class size for the whole school is just over 32, there are 52 at or above 37 students, with two classes, both AP Calculus AB, at 41 students each, according to Garrett.

Gabi Zois, the only German 3-4 teacher, became distressed when she realized she had 44 students and had to advance six to the next year of German.

“If this is their second year, they should be in second year [German],” Zois said.

According to Zois, in enlarged classes, everyone suffers, not just those who had to be skipped a level. It often forces classes to become more rigid, sometimes expelling all fun, and leading to a miserable class where people will learn less.

On the other hand, small classes are forced to share a room with other classes.

AP Studio Art, for example, splits theirs with two other art courses, which can make it more difficult for everyone involved.

“At the beginning of class, [Ms. Adams will] talk to each group and she’ll be there to help, but it’s pretty much just us on our own,” junior Michelle Clifford said.

Another casualty of the $10.7 million slice out of PUSD’s budget was the bus system. To the disgust of sophomore Michael Wilensky, bus prices without a $400 year-long pass increased from $2.50 to $5 per ride.

“The bus money is almost as if I’m paying a high school tuition,” he said.

True, if Wilensky did ride the bus at that price to and from school the whole year, it would run him $1,800. And also true, the enrollment fee for six classes a year including a bus ride at Miramar College is $1260 for California residents, $540 more than the school bus fees.

Still, high schools rarely have the luxury of an overly inflated budget.

“We’ve dealt with budget problems in the past and we’ll deal with them this time, but it’s not ideal,” Earnest said. “We’ll do the best we can with what we have.”

RACHEL MARTIN OPINIONS EDITOR “A lot of people go into education because it is perceived to be a very stable field,” English teacher Danielle Schelhorse said. “It’s sad when you find out it’s not.”

Last year, due to the statewide budget cuts in education, some teachers at MC received pink slips, giving them notice that they might be laid off over the summer.

“I was not expecting it in the least bit,” art teacher Kristine Adams said.

Adams was especially surprised by the pink slip because she has been working at MC for 13 years. However, many other teachers with less experience were expecting it.

“I knew it was coming, so I think I had been thinking about it for a while,” English teacher Stacey Rodillion said.

All teachers at MC found out that they still had theirs job at the end of May. “I was relieved, but I was still worried,” Rodillion said. “I was relieved for the coming school year, but I’m worried that it will happen again. It was so hard last year that I feel like if it happened again and it kept happening, I wouldn’t be able to stay a teacher, because it’s just too emotionally stressful.”

Some teachers were so worried about their jobs last year that they made alternative plans.

“My plan was to sell my house, because my son is in school at Sunset Hills, so I didn’t want to move,” Adams said. “And I had just had a baby.

“So I looked at it like this. God has reasons for everything. And maybe the reason this is happening to me is that He wants me to be with my baby this year, and I would get my job back the following year.”

However, Adams and all the other teachers at MC were hired back for this year.

“It was like, ‘okay, well, there you go. I’m just gonna switch gears now, and now I have my job back,’” Adams said. “You have these forks in the road and I was heading down this fork and had to turn around and come back and go back the other fork. Because that was the path that my life was supposed to take. Then I had to switch gears and find day care.”

The most devastating part of this scary experience for MC teachers was that they all have a passion for teaching. “[When I found out I was staying] I was very excited and ecstatic,” Schelhorse said. “Because I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t a teacher.

And I’ve taught at other high schools, and MC is the place that I wanted to be at. We went from really low, sad feelings to bringing in new teachers.”

Professional time moves to after school, impacts tutorial Professional Growth Tutorial Schedule No tutorials school-wide on the first Wednesday of the month.

THe social science department will hold department meetings and therefore not hold tutorials on the last wednesday of the month.

THe rest of the departments will meet for additional professional growth time during lunch or after tutorials.

Inside the SUN:

Section A:

Dennis Sun staff writer

Due to the new schedules for the 08-09 school year, tutorials and professional growth meetings have been re-adjusted.

The students have lost late start days in the new schedule, and teachers still have to meet for professional growth.

Previously, these meetings were held on late start days, and were a period of time where teachers would meet and work on ways to improve the school.

In order to make up for the loss, professional growth will be held during the first Wednesday tutorial of each month.

A second departmental meeting will be held, for most of the teachers, at a time that will not affect student’s tutorials.

However, some departments will meet at different specified times. The

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Sunspread..........4

Social Studies Department will meet during the Leadership Committee meetings, which occur on the last Wednesday tutorial of each month. (See infographic at the left for the tentative schedule.)

According to Dr. Tom McCoy, the principal, a full list of all the professional growth meetings will be released to the school around September 29, at the latest.

For some students, this loss of tutorials will be unfortunate, because there will be less time for students to get help. Junior Jen Steindorf has trouble getting enough hours with AVID when a tutorial is lost.

“I’m in AVID and I’m required to have an hour of tutorial each week,” Steindorf said. “Having only one tutorial for 30 minutes some weeks makes it hard to get the whole hour, and my grade will go down [if I don’t].”

Fortunately for students like Steindorf, many teachers stay after school or

Opinions..........6

come early during regular days of the week, and Thursday tutorials and lunch meetings are also an option.

Other schools within PUSD take different approaches to tutorials and professional time.­­­ At Westview, a built-in time every Tuesday and Thursday called Wolverine Time acts as their tutorial. Poway High has a schedule similar to MC’s last year’s schedule, where professional growth takes place during late start Mondays, and the tutorial occurs at the end of every lab day.

However, their late start Mondays do not occur every Monday, rather, they occur during various Mondays throughout the year.

Rancho Bernardo High School has yet another approach, having professional time for teachers every Wednesday after school and tutorials every Thursday after school.

Section B:

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“Tutorial time is precious to us to support student learning.”

--Spanish teacher Joyce Daubert

“It’s just more important to be with the kids and the department business can be taken care of at other times.”

--English teacher Bob Pacilio

Entertainment..........4

-to read reviews on mama mia! and All shall perish’s new album “The price of existence” log on To mcsun.org.

Features...........6

News

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Mt. Carmel SUN

September 12, 2008

New teachers welcomed to the Mount

PARESH DAVE, ANGELA KIM, AND SEAN WILLIAMS WEB EDITOR, STAFF WRITER, AND STAFF WRITER MEGAN ARGABRIGHT AND PARIS BROWN

They may have entered this school year as new teachers, but their faces were already familiar to each other as well as some students.

World history teacher Paris Brown and math teacher Megan Argabright have matched each other move for move the past few months. They grew up on opposite sides of MC, but met in classes to earn their teaching credentials.

Then, they were reunited as student teachers at MC. And now, they both have their own MC classrooms.

For a while, Brown appeared a step ahead of Argabright. After student teaching under history teacher Thomas Humphrey last fall, he accepted a job as the football team’s defensive backs coach. Head football coach Darren Spence then helped him get a teaching job. When he was hired, Brown said he celebrated by jumping around his fiancé’s office.

After student teaching under math teacher Joe McEachron in the fall, Argabright had to wait until the summer to learn about her new job.

It was worth the wait because the first time she unlocked her classroom door she came to the wonderful realization that the bare white walls were hers to fill up.

Argabright, a three-sport athlete at Orange Glen High School, decided in middle school that she wanted to be a math teacher. Brown, a Navy child, graduated from Mira Mesa High School. Though coaching consumes most of his non-teaching time, his hobbies include rooting for the Chargers and bamboo stick fighting.

Even though her desk kept falling apart the first week, Argabright said the transition into her own room right across from McEachron’s has been a comfortable one because she already knows MC well.

The friendly chess match between Argabright and Brown is not over yet. Both plan to marry their fiancés in the coming months. If plans hold, Brown will be first again.

EVA GIUSEPINNI, SHIRA MOREHOUSE, AND CRAIG RACICOT As we are still in the beginning of the new year, we see many new faces among the students and the teachers. MC

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has received nine new teachers this new school year. Some are new to teaching and some are just coming from other schools. Almost all of them have agreed that they were nervous on their first day.

“I think any time you go to a new school you’re nervous because you don’t really know what to expect,” English teacher Eva Giuseppinni said.

Giusepinni is actually a familiar face to MC because she went here when she was a high school student.

“It’s really hard for me to call my former teachers by their first names, especially the ones in the English Department that I was very fond of,” she said.

While Giusepinni is returning to MC as a teacher, there are teachers that are absolutely new to this school.

“I came here from an elementary school,” English teacher Shira Morehouse said. “Mount Carmel is enormous.”

Morehouse came to this school because she is friends with a couple of teachers here. Craig Racicot, who is the new photography teacher, is very happy to be a part of the MC teaching staff.

“I am so impressed with the students,” he said. “The teachers here have a buddy system. When I first came here, Marie Cashion was assigned my buddy. She helped me through e-mail, Learning Point, Making the Grade, every program you can imagine. That’s a direct reflection of the commitment the teachers have to the students and each other here.”

Racicot used to be a photographer for the zoo and Sea World, and has traveled all around the world photographing many things.

All of the new teachers seem to be very committed to being a great addition to the MC teaching staff. They are all very happy to be here, and soon, they’ll be familiar faces throughout the school.

INDIRA RYAN AND MEGAN THOMAS Every old and new teacher has a story to tell, and returning teachers Indira Ryan and Megan Thomas have just that.

Ryan returned for her second year at MC after traveling abroad to continue teaching speech and language.

Ryan helps students with a variety of speech problems, from stuttering to problems in comprehension.

She had her own experience with language issues

ANA ALVAREZ | PHOTOGRAPHER MC welcomes new teachers (from left to right): English teacher Eva Giusepinni, photography teacher Craig Racicot, English teacher Megan Thomas, history teacher Paris Brown, and math teacher Megan Argabright. Speech and Language teacher Indira Ryan and English teacher Shira Morehouse are not pictured, but are also new to the Mount.

which is partly why she became a speech and language pathologist.

“I had a problem saying my ‘R’s’ when I was young and went to speech therapy myself. I was frustrated with being misunderstood—even when I said my own name,” she said. “When my speech therapist helped me, she not only fixed my ‘R’s’ but helped me become a more confident, happy kid. I knew when I got older that I wanted to do the same for other kids.”

Ryan looks forward to connecting with her students and helping them become more confident communicators both academically and socially.

Thomas began her career at MC in the middle of the previous year, teaching freshman English and AVID. She originally taught in northern California, but after learning that there was an open spot at MC from teacher

Allison Bolin, she joined the staff.

Thomas began her teaching career with one inspiration.

“My third grade teacher inspired me to become a teacher,” she said, “I actually taught third grade at one point…but it was hard to get the kids in line and behave… but at the end of the year I was so sad because it was over.”

She did enjoy teaching elementary grades, but her most of her experience and passion lies within high school. “[In high school,] it’s more about the human experience…I like to see growth in a person, not just learning what clauses are but learning about life,” she said.

Thomas enjoys the diversity and worldliness of MC and anticipates teaching juniors American Literature this year.

Administrative crackdown on fighting leads to calmer campus; students asked to contribute towards new efforts of protection CORDELL HUNTER STAFF WRITER

The two buff guys had their hands on each others shirts.

Each of them lifting the other onto his toes and shouting in his face.

They shoved each other back and forth until one finally gained an advantage and threw the other down.

He then bent over and began repeatedly punching his face.

One of the food service workers noticed the commotion and tried without success to break it up.

With her face right next to the whirling fists, she seemed to recognize the danger she was in and ran off to the teachers lounge to get Assistant Principal Greg Magno.

Two seconds later, the fight was over, and Magno and a teacher were ripping the two combatants apart.

With their arms held, both were escorted to the office to await judgment.

This is a scene becoming less and less common at MC as the years go by.

A crackdown on fighting in school districts across the nation since 2001 has resulted in a 13% decrease in fighting in six years.

Officials at MC have begun to notice the decreasing amount of violence in the district records. According to Assistant Principal Magno, “The discipline statistics for MC and the Poway Uni-

fied School District are going down. There is a lot less going on than when I first arrived here.”

Also, contrary to rumors spread that there had been five fights in the first two weeks of school, “There have only been two fights so far, and no one has been seriously injured, arrested or hospitalized,” said Magno.

Another interesting fact is that both of the fights could have been prevented if someone had talked to either Assistant Principal Magno, Ron Garrett, or Katie Salo before the fights started.

“Normally fights get organized days in advance,” said Magno. “This gives people enough time to tell me or the other Assistant Principals before things get physical. It is rare that people just get jumped.”

For people not sure about the repercussions and punishments of fighting, these are the rules.

Anyone involved in a fight gets handled the same way and self defense is only a valid excuse if there is no other choice but to act physically.

If a person participates (yes this includes circling the fighters and shouting “fight! fight! fight!)” they will be punished the same way as if they were the ones fighting.

Punishments include referrals, fines of hundreds of dollars, suspension, expulsion and possibility of law enforcement involvement.

“All of these consequences are severe,” Magno said.

“But they can all be avoided if someone talks to an administrator.”

New math law requires geometry for freshmen; teachers concerned RACHEL MARTIN OPINONS EDITOR The state Board of Education approved a new math requirement stating that all 8 graders will have to take Algebra I after being pressured by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger over the summer in Sacramento.

This new requirement will call for all eighth graders to take Algebra I beginning as soon as the 2009-2010 school year. The state of Minnesota also has a similar law. However, the math teachers at MC seem to agree that the new requirement will not benefit the students.

“It doesn’t make sense that all students of a certain grade level should be required to take the same math class, because they all learn at different paces,” Algebra I teacher David Gibbs said. “They are all at different levels at different times in their lives.”

The controversy over the requirement is occurring because algebra is a unique type of math.

It involves variables and is also said to be the foundation for all of the higher math levels in high school and college.

“I feel very sad…I feel very sad that we’re going backwards,” Honors Geometry teacher Joan Hanley said. “Algebra is a developmental ability. Kids in the 8 grade are not all there yet.

“And I don’t care what you say, you can’t wave a magic wand and magically say, ‘Whoop, everyone’s going to be ready at the 8 grade to receive this abstract concept,’” she said. “It’s just not going to work. It will affect our whole math program horribly, because algebra is the gatekeeper. Algebra opens the door.”

When the new math requirement goes into effect, it will place all 8 graders in at least Algebra I, all 9 graders in geometry, and all 10 graders in Algebra III. This means that by the time the SAT rolls around junior year, all students will have at least taken Algebra III. However, if not all the students are ready for algebra in the 8th grade, it could slow down progress in other math courses in the following years.

“What happens is, if this is the case, and they say magically you’re going to know it, then the whole curriculum is slowed down to such a point that the kids that we get in high school aren’t as ready as they should be for the next course,” Hanley said.

Although the requirement was passed by the state Board of Education, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell, has strongly opposed this idea.

“Every student has different circumstances and histories of math,” Gibbs said. “So how can you say everybody is ready for algebra at the same time? It’s just not true. It doesn’t make sense.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MATT COFFELT | PHOTO EDITOR Rahi Shah (12) and Derek Osmon (12) pretend to fight during snack by the D building, while Laura Heilbrun (12) and Erica Wade (12) try to pull the boys away from fighting. Only two fights occurred during the first two weeks of school. During the fights no one was seriously injured or arrested. The crackdown has led to a 13% decrease in the past six years. According to Assistant Principal Greg Magno, most fights are preventable if kids report rumored trouble.

News

Mt. Carmel SUN

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September 12, 2008

ASB puts on pep rally, prepares for eventful year aditi pai staff writer

matt coffelt | Photo editor

Victoria Whitener (11), at left, performs with the Colorguard team at the beginning of the year circus themed pep rally. The ASB is working hard to keep the Sundevil spirit strong this year. The pep rally was the kick off of many fun school spirited activities they will be putting on throughout the school year.

Music flowed through the MC gym as excited ASB members bustled around blowing up balloons and setting up for the welcome back pep rally.

Their optimistic attitudes didn’t give any hint at the fact that they planned on staying until ten, or that they were stressed because they wanted the kick-off of the school year to be a success. They just diligently worked, calmly following an organized plan that they created earlier that week.

“It is a good way to reach all the students,” Carvajal said. “We are trying to reach more people instead of just financing clubs.”

The shirts are everywhere. People wore them after the welcome back assembly to school. ASB decided to promote wearing them every Friday to show even more school spirit.

ASB prepared for starting the year well before school resumed. They went to a leadership camp in UC Riverside to meet with other schools and share ideas.

A great start to the school year, ASB has much more planned for the student body.

While most of the school compensates for the budget cuts, ASB still has a steady flow of money to keep them going.

“We get out money from the student store,”

Gross said. “So as long as people keep buying from it, we are good.”

Luckily for Sundevils, the means school activities, dances, and pep rallies will rival the excitement of previous years.

Of the many school activities, Homecoming is next on ASB’s list.

Their theme, “A Dance of A Million Dreams”, suggests a relation to Disney. They want to promote an easy dress up week so more people will participate for class points.

Another new addition to school activities is the reward for accumulating the most class points. The class that wins gets a free harbor cruise.

Senior ASB President Alejah Tabula hopes that now students will care about taking part in competitions and help their class on spirit days.

“Now that the points matter, hopefully people will be more excited about taking part in activities,” Tabula said.

For spirit week, Tuesday is Mickey/Minnie day, Wednesday is Princess/Prince day, Thursday is Disney everything day, and Friday is red and gold day.

ASB plans on living up to their great last year.

Right now they are promoting float building which starts Sept. 27 for the homecoming floats.

“We want to exceed everyone’s expectations this year,” Tabula said. “Our motto that we live by is ‘We set the pace’”.

Parking lot place of chaos before, after school; warnings distributed to ensure rules are known

Link crew passes down MC spirit to freshmen

Kaveri Gyanendra Features Editor

Megan ashworth Business Manager

The minute the clock strikes 2:35 p.m. it seems as if the MC parking lot goes from a quiet serene place to an area of chaos and havoc.

Horns blast pedestrians who don’t look and students grimace at the parents who park their cars in the rows, blocking students from backing out of their parking spaces.

According to Assistant Principal Katie Salo, parents are encouraged to stay out of the parking lot when dropping and picking up their students. “[Parents] are asked to use the red zone that goes around the parking lot so the lanes do not get blocked,” Salo said.

In order to keep the flow of traffic smooth, the top of the parking lot is used for a double lane entry and the bottom of the parking lot is used for a double lane exit.

“Our first priority is to get the buses out,” Salo said. “Because of their width, they need the entire bottom to make the turn [onto Carmel Mountain Road].”

Buses making their wide turn often encounter problems as many parents wait and park in the red zone under the marquee. The administration has placed caution tape in that area in order to prevent par-

ents from illegal activity.

The correct area for students to load and unload after and before school is the white zone, below the steps around the band room.

In order to improve the traffic gridlock, Salo encourages students to stay till about 3 p.m. and have their parents come then, when traffic will be lighter.

“Students can get help from teachers as well as get involved in clubs and sports,” Salo said. “By about 3 o’clock the parking lot will clear out and the traffic flow will be smoother.”

As for the mornings, the heaviest time is from about 7:10 a.m. to 7:20 a.m. Students who do not drive are asked to wake up a few minutes earlier in order to get to the MC premises early, beating the main rush.

Along with the chaos of traffic, driving Sundevils encountered the unusual sight of parking warnings on their front windshields during the second week of school.

The white pieces of paper that fluttered in the wind under the grasp of the windshield wipers were placed on violator’s cars in order to notify them of their offense.

“We wanted to make sure that everybody knew the rules,” school secretary Erin Kelly said.

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the admin-

ana alvarez | Photographer

The new policies being enforced by the administration are made evident by the warning slips left on these students’ cars. The warnings were just a prelude before actual tickets were handed out.

With a tightened reign put on the parking lot rules for everybody, the administration is making students’ safety their priority. istration started writing out tickets to violators.

The warnings proved to be successful as fewer than ten tickets were written.

Tickets were and will be written for the following offenses: Not having a valid parking sticker, parking in staff or authority parking, and parking against the flow of traffic.

For many incoming freshmen the change to high school life can be challenging.

Link Crew, run by the ASB, tries to help bridge the gap between middle school and high school. This school year, Link Crew leaders consisted of mainly MC’s current seniors who were eager to take on this task of helping the 556 incoming freshmen for different reasons.

“I thought it would be fun to help the freshmen because they were probably really nervous about starting high school and I wanted to help them realize that high school’s not that scary,” senior Link Crew leader Monica Fajardo said.

Freshmen Orientation is the main event that Link Crew runs during the school year, and it took place one week before school started.

At Freshmen Orientation, Link Crew leaders led their group of freshmen in several icebreaker games, such as the name game and the human knot; so students could get to know each other.

“I liked playing the name game because it was fun, and I got to know everyone’s name,” freshman Hamza Koudmani said. “My group leaders were fantastic!”

Tours of MC were given to the

freshmen as well, so that they could become familiar and comfortable with the campus before the first day of school.

“I felt I knew the school better after orientation because I knew where everything was,” Koudmani said.

On the tour they learned important school traditions such as not walking on the MC and staying off of the plants! Link Crew Commissioners Christina Leo-Shahid and Dalia Zhang, both seniors, helped to plan and run the event.

“Freshman Orientation was really important,” Leo-Shahid said. “It gave the freshmen an important first impression of Mt. Carmel.”

According to Leo-Shahid Freshman Orientation ran smoothly, and has had good responses so far.

Link Crew still has plans to continue interacting with the freshman this fall by holding a retreat for all freshmen in the gym on Friday, Nov. 7, from 7:30 a.m. until noon.

The keynote speaker at this event will be Keith Hawkins. Hawkins is a professional youth speaker, who talks about high school, and reminds students to make every moment memorable.

Overall, Fajardo believes that Link Crew accomplished its purpose this year, helping the freshmen to have a smooth transition into MC, and ease any of their fears about high school.

SDG&E raises energy costs; district Upcoming sundevil events enforces new regulation on amount club rush of energy used by air conditioning Melanie Dickinson Staff Writer The seemingly hot classrooms some MC students are suffering through this year may have something to do with the new contract PUSD signed with San Diego Gas and Electric, which raised the price for electricity by almost ten percent.

So there is now an even greater incentive to save energy than in past years, when it was done to help the environment more than to save money.

A ten percent increase in utility costs would mean an additional $500,000 on top of the $5 million per year spent on electricity.

A possible but unlikely 20 percent increase would cost PUSD another $1 million.

Needless to say, wasting energy would prove to be a harsh strain on PUSD schools.

“That money comes straight out of the funds that pay teacher salaries and buy classroom supplies,” PUSD Energy Conservation Coordinator Steve Rogers said. “The quality of the educational programs we can offer for students is affected by rising energy prices or wasteful energy practices.”

The district’s energy is produced by power plants that use natural gas.

As the value of fossil fuel and natural gasinflates, so does the cost of electricity in San Diego.

“SDG&E is basically just passing their in-

creased costs on to their customers,” Rogers said.

“The prices of all types of energy are interrelated, so when you see the price of gas go up the price of electricity generally goes up as well.”

Teachers now more than ever are encouraged to keep doors and windows closed, to turn off computers and especially computer monitors when not in use, and to get rid of appliances in the classrooms.

Math teacher Patricia Brooks was asked to get rid of the microwave oven she kept in her class.

“They told me to get rid of it or they’d take it away,” Brooks said. “So I got rid of it.”

There is a detailed district policy outlined that discuses these regulations, among others.

Though it was written in 2005, it is more widely followed this year, and can be found at the PUSD website.

It establishes thermostat setting as 68-70 degrees for heating and 76-80 degrees for cooling.

So MC teachers basically have control over just five degrees of A/C in their classrooms.

Air conditioning is not turned off after lunch time contrary to popular belief.

Because the district pays utility bills, individual schools tend to take a less proactive role in electricity conservation.

MC normally puts little effort into adding to the district’s policies, but during the campus renovation, Principal Tom McCoy had co-generators installed by the pool, allowing MC to generate some of our own energy to heat and light the pool.

Wednesday september 17 thursday september 18 at lunch in the quad

homecoming week Tuesday september 30 Mickey and Minnie day Wednesday october 1 Prince and Princess day Thursday october 2 Disney Everything day Friday october 3 red and gold day 7:00 p.m. homecoming football game Saturday october 4 homecoming dance

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Mt. Carmel SUN

Sun Spread

Mt. Carmel SUN

September 12, 2008

Economic downturn shapes America’s new standing throughout the world

“It’s the economy, Stupid.”

This phrase was coined by James Carville, a Clinton campaign strategist, amidst a tough 1992 campaign. Clinton used this mantra to drive home the fact the he felt his opponent did not adequately address the economy.

And according to Alternet.org: “It’s still the economy, Stupid.”

In the last few years, the economy has dipped into a decline as more and more Americans begin to feel the pinch on their wallets.

The economy is at the forefront of issues in this year’s presidential election. CNN has even gone as far as to coin the phrase “Issue #1” in light of the voting public’s increased interest in economic issues.

Even with huge issues like the war in Iraq and illegal immigration to contend with, the far-reaching consequences of an economy in crisis have pushed this issue to

the breaking point.

A recent documentary, I.O.U.S.A., highlights the impact of the increasing national debt and possible consequences to come if the nation does not change its path.

The movie boldly states the heart of America’s situation from the beginning:

The current national debt is over

$9,000,000,000,000 “The US is going broke.”

The movie clearly outlines this nation’s economic history elucidating the fact that politicians have always found it impossible to spend only tax revenues.

Although alarming, the film transcends

fear-mongering and moves on to propose solutions to the economic woes.

The fact is, the state of the economy is rapidly shaping the way this nation is viewed by the rest of the world.

The weakness of our dollar means more than just higher prices. The US depends on foreign investors for much of its finances. It is probable that if the dollar continues to be weak compared to other currencies, they may take their much-needed capital elsewhere.

Jobs are still being outsourced overseas and America continues to import more goods than ever, choosing to invest in cheaper goods made internationally.

In the words of I.O.U.S.A....: “Wake up America! We’re on the brink of a financial meltdown.”

>>Kylie Baranowski

Tough economic times plague What do the candidates say? Sundevils’ wallets, budgets

John McCain >> PRO TAX CUTS >>MAKE BUSH TAX CUTS PERMANENT >> NO-DEFENSE SPENDING CUTS >> CUT THE CORPORATE TAX RATE >>PRO OFFSHORE DRILLING

Economic turmoil hits home for students It had been a long day. She finally got home to find her parents fighting and her father drunk.

Unfortunately for one MC student this wasn’t a one-time occurrence, lately; it’s the norm.

It may seem like adults are the only ones being affected by the high gas prices, cost of living, and lack of jobs that afflict our economy today, but MC students are affected by it too.

“I worry about my family’s situation all the time,” a sophomore said. “I mean, even when I’m trying to focus on school I think about it.”

Many families are struggling to get by these days and have had to make sacrifices.

“We have to spare money and I can’t

hang out with my friends a lot of the time,” the sophomore said. “I have to help out more at home and be more independent because my parents are always working or arguing. I always have to check with them to do anything and worry about rides and how much everything would cost.”

A lot of companies are choosing to hire people in different countries because they work for much less then people in the US. Lots of people are losing their jobs and can’t find new ones, including parents of MC students.

“My parents are self-employed and because of the situation right now the main office has called and threatened to completely detach them which means they will no longer have jobs and be able to support the family,”

the sophomore said.

Gas prices are skyrocketing. Not only are the MC students who drive and pay for their own gas suffering from this, but their families are too.

“Well, my parents drive for their living so the current gas prices hugely affect us,” the sophomore said. “We have a truck and a van and they require the highest gas prices so that really hits us hard.”

She lays awake at night crying, nothing in her life is going right…and tomorrow will be no different.

Barack Obama >>AGAINST BUSH TAX CUTS >> FAVORS TAX CUTS FOR MIDDLE CLASS >> BALANCE THE BUDGET

>>Sarah Shantz

A5

>>LIMITED OFFSHORE DRILLING

With sky-rocketing gas prices, so when that first paycheck comes expensive designer clothes, and the rolling by, they find it easier to just occasional night out with friends con- satisfy all their cravings first and then suming your whole paycheck, teenag- worry about what they owe later. ers are finding money more and more Although as you grow, the difficult to keep. true value of money begins to show “I usually spend all my mon- more clearly. ey on gas, food, clothes, and movies,” “I only spend my money on senior Katie O’ Callaghan said. “It gas and books,” a student from Palosucks to realize that only after a week, mar College said. “I opened a savings your whole paycheck is gone.” account towards the end of my senior One of the most popular year at MC so I could start saving up ways teenagers spend their money is for my transfer to a four year” he said. when they go out to eat. Islands, which “And it’s hard putting the majority of is located in my paycheck the Carmel in my savings, Mountain because I could Plaza off It sucks to realize that only be using some of Carmel after a week, your whole payof that money Mt. Road for shopping and in Mira check is gone.” or just hangMesa off of ing out with We s t v i e w -Katie O’ Callaghan (12) my friends, but Parkway, is I know it’ll be famously worth it in the known as end”. one of the The more preferable choices where teens epiphany of saving up money won’t choose to eat. usually occur to a teenager until their “I normally always get the ju- adulthood. At that point, their whole nior tiki tenders, Caesar salad, and the reason for making money is often to mango-strawberry smoothie...which pay off taxes, bills, car payments etc. adds up to about $15. It probably is so they can live a contented life. too much for a dinner but I don’t reAnd for right now, the way ally care, it’s good,” senior Samantha a teenager lives a contented life is Flores said. through shopping, eating out, and Money can be deceitful. It just hanging out with friends, which can be your best friend when you’re can often have a costly price. Howborrowing it from your friend to buy ever, if they were to begin their saving that shirt that you’ve been wanting for process a bit earlier than adulthood, the longest time, and then your worst money may not be such a big issue in enemy when you have to pay your their future. friend back but don’t have any of it.

The unfortunate truth is that many teenagers lack experience with money,

“

>>Karen Michel

DANIEL THAN | PHOTOGRAPHER

Opinions

A6

Mt. Carmel SUN

September 12, 2008

Glued to a screen

Welcome to the 08-09 school year Letter from Editor-in-Chief

Paresh Dave

From Guam to Denny’s, sleep overs are forever Cocooned in my blue sleeping bag with contacts off, shirt off and lights off, I was in nearly the perfect environment for a good night’s rest.

Except for, of course, some peace and quiet.

“Hey Black, are you from Guam?” the annoying question kept thundering down from the bunk bed atop me directed at one of my roommates.

In a room filled with eight teenage boys, the task of falling asleep is rarely easy.

There’s always someone that wants to be the annoying one, incessantly asking the same questions.

There’s the quiet one who only speaks to prove he’s not asleep.

There’s the annoyed one who replies back once in a while to let the others know that his head has not exploded.

There’s the “texting guy” too busy talking with girls to pay attention to the guys. There’s the quick sleeper who’s snoring before the lights are even out.

There’s the random guy with the comments the world would have been better without. There’s the prankster who’s pumped and ready for some mischief. And then there’s a leader keeping order before anything gets too out of hand.

For a week at High Altitude cross country camp in Big Bear Lake this summer, the time between tucking into bed to falling asleep was twice or three times as long as I would normally endure sleeping alone at home.

But this week at camp was like a week of sleep overs. Until recently, sleep overs were a thing I attended or hosted maybe once or twice a year.

Now, it’s a couple of times a month because I’ve have learned that those moments that the body is trying to enter a state that allows it to rest is when you can really learn a lot about people. Maybe the body is more vulnerable and people are less shy as some of their firewalls start to turn off for the night.

All the most recent sleep overs have been more memorable than the ones I had in my early youth.

These late nights give you an idea about what people really think about things and other people.

The conversations give you insight into who really cares and who you can really trust. Who can deal with pressure and who can’t. Who can make a bunch of tired souls erupt into cheer and laughter and who can cause frustration and argument.

Nights that can produce these results require a bit of spontaneity.

For one, think zero preparation.

Plans are going to get messed up no matter what so just go with the flow from the very beginning. A crazy adventure before getting to bed always helps to open up discussions to the entire group.

Lastly, you need some food.

Whether it’s visiting Taco Bell at midnight, baking frozen cookie dough at 1 a.m. or dashing to Denny’s at 2 a.m., having a great night is not possible without a full stomach.

At sleep overs, the sleep may not always be great. However, those moments spent trying to fall asleep, as annoying as they might be, are truly eye-opening and forever entertaining.

Now, our team knows that Black is Guamanian. I propose holding a team reunion there some day to keep the memories of the sleep overs at BBC alive.

Dear Readers, Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year. This year, the MC SUN will continue to report local and school events that are impacting the MC community. This year, we have changed our format. Changing to two sections has presented us with some excellent opportunities to improve the quality of our publication.

First, we have increased the number of color pages, enabling us to print more color pictures as well as giving more staff members the experience with color design.

As we strive to create a more acclaimed publication, I believe that the two sections create a more professional look. In the last two years we have made some major advances in improving our paper, transitioning to broadsheet size and adding more pages. This was the next step in our evolution.

We are also making improvements to our website, www.mcsun.org. Last year,

the website won Best of Class at the Del Mar Fair, and our new web editor Paresh Dave is continuing to develop our online paper as we “shine online.” I urge you to visit this website frequently as new articles will be updated weekly.

On a different note, the recent budget cuts have not excluded us. Like all clubs and organizations, we need revenue to continue printing our publication. We have many ways for community members to support us, including buying a subscription or flat donations. We also like to honor local businesses by running ads. For more information regarding subscriptions or for advertising rates, please email us at businessmcsun@yahoo.com.

The MC SUN staff appreciates input.

Letters to the editor are welcomed and can be dropped off in N-9 or emailed to the address above.

Sincerely, Melissa Roadman Editor-in-Chief

‘We don’t need no education’ Teachers who prep for reality are under appreciated SHAYON SAID STAFF WRITER I think it is safe to say that every student has had a harsh teacher at least once in their life. No doubt we all have been victims to teachers who we think push us too hard.

We have all experienced the “no re-takes” or the “I don’t give Extra Credit” from teachers.

That is the kind of stuff that makes teachers seem like jerks, and that is the reason we love the teachers that make the class an easy “A.” In truth, however, I believe that the teachers who make school a challenge are the teachers we should be thanking,

maybe even more than others.

It’s hard to notice, but when we are pushed by those teachers, we are getting a sense of reality and what life is really going to be like after school.

Most students who studied under a hard teacher believed that life is too hard and isn’t fair. Well, get used to it because life isn’t fair! I guess what I am trying to say that if you think school and a teacher is hard, just wait until you get a job and a boss.

Sometimes we get as many chances we want in school to fix a mistake or get something right. Unfortunately, it is a little bit different with a real life in the real world, so you better

enjoy it while it lasts.

I don’t know if it is obvious or not, but in real life, there is no such thing as a re-take or extra credit.

When you mess up in real life your boss doesn’t come up to you and tell you to stay after work to make up for your mistake; when you mess up in the real world your boss comes up to you and fires you.

Work from our perspective is called homework and studying; however, work in the real world is your only ticket to new opportunities. If you don’t like your teacher then learn to live with him/her and pass their class because their class is probably the one class.

America’s independence causes rift in international relations MACKENZIE LANCE COPY EDITOR

Liters, pounds, yards, meters, centimeters, inches, kilograms…

Confused yet?

Probably not in a science class, but in a real life different systems of measurement are an annoying pest when traveling.

On a recent trip to England, I noticed the gas prices ranged between two and three pounds, which converts to roughly four to six dollars. I had heard that gas prices were worse in England, but a few dollars didn’t seem like that much.

Then I learned gas was measured in liters overseas. This means prices were about four times as high This cultural shock was only intensified by the measurement confusion. I’d only seen liters on bottles and graduated cylinders and was never taught how

they are translated in the real world.

These systems are not the only difference between American culture and the culture of most other developed countries.

The one that concerns me is football. Yes, the game played with your feet. Not the one where one player touches it with one foot on a kick. Soccer, as it is called here, is the most popular sport in the world, yet we insist on using our own name.

I don’t know if this comes from our nation’s need to be different, or our inability to change, but international relations for business, or personal reasons would be much simpler if our cultures were similar.

Of course it’s important to have our own culture as an ever-evolving nation, but common things we share with the world, like sports and scientific works, should become uniform.

Clearly, we are not totally intolerant

of the European way of life. Many of the cultural experiences from the Old World are still with us today since colonial times.

Architecture, food, and education systems in the United States are still similar to those in Europe, or are at least rooted in the same principles.

More modern connections to the culture of Europe include our devotion to Harry Potter and the remakes we do of popular English shows like The Office.

As long as Hermione Granger, Ron Wesley, and everyone’s favorite boy wizard continue to cast spells and

releases teen angst, we will buy and enjoy. If we can live like Europeans in our leisure time, why not do it when it’s more convenient?

With simple changes to our daily lives we can become a more integrated part of the international world while still retaining our independence.

Christian Jun Artist

Staff Editorial Decreasing funds increase class size, personal spending for faculty and students Two more chairs were brought into Victoria Stewart’s AP Statistics classroom in order to provide every student with a chair. Her classroom now has 40 chairs.

This is not the only classroom that has had to increase the number of chairs to fit enormous class sizes.

As a result of the California education budget cuts, schools in California, including MC, are now feeling the brunt of the crisis. While the state is fumbling with different budgets and not making any decisions, we are stuck dealing with the repercussions.

Class sizes are topping 35, with 107 classes over 36 students, according to Vice Principal Ron Garrett. Every class is affected differently, but none have experienced positive consequences.

Bigger class sizes make it harder to learn due to more distractions, students receive less one on one time and MC suffers from an overall crowded environment.

Class sizes are not the only thing affected. Bus pass prices have increased dramatically. Some families are not able to afford busing, leaving students long walks or trying to find alternative modes of transportation.

That’s just not fair. If students are required to come to school, there needs to be an affordable transportation system for all.

Sports have also felt the burden of the cuts. Athletes

Alyssa Surmillion | Artist

are now asked to contribute $90 for each sport they play for transportation. If the price for equipment, uniforms, and other necessary gear wasn’t enough, the budget now cannot support transporting athletes to away game facilities.

The classrooms have been hit in another way other than the crowded conditions. The department budgets have been cut dramatically. Teachers now cannot print out handouts for students and other information for students. Students are asked to print them out at home which is unfair to students who do not have a computer at home.

Not only can some students not print out the material needed for class, students are required to take more notes.

This situation may cause students issues in classes because they are required to take notes that were previously copied.

Although the current classroom environment is not desirable, we need to remember we go to school for our education. Even though there are more people in our classrooms, we’re still getting that education.

Yes, the budget has been cut, but our beloved teachers have not, and we have been extremely lucky in that sense.

If a teacher asks for a box of tissues or money for a broken test tube, remember these extra costs are coming out of their pockets. We as an MC community need to band together to deal with these cuts and help the 08-09 school year run as smoothly as possible.

Biased pundit programming influences opinions of impressionable viewers KYLIE BARANOWSKI CENTERSPREAD EDITOR Stephen Colbert is America. At least this is what he would like you to believe.

Colbert hosts The Colbert Report, a mock political opinion show in which the personality and biases of the host overshadow the true issues at hand.

Colbert flaunts his ego nightly, with an almost eerie mock seriousness, interrupting and discounting any guest who disagrees with his ‘beliefs and perpetuating ridiculous myths about political dissenters.

Sadly, Colbert’s pointed parody of the modern news industry isn’t far from reality. Huge personalities like Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News’s The O’Reilly Factor, and Sean Hannity of Fox News’s Hannity’s America, have emerged onto the front lines of news reporting, unabashedly injecting their biases into their programs.

O’Reilly trashes the credibility of his show almost nightly, literally verbally abusing guests who disagree with any of his opinions, liberal or conservative.

Hannity also wears his bias proudly, perpetuating ridiculous antiObama myths and fear-mongering on a nightly basis.

However, the problem with these news shows is not the presence of the opinion of the host. Political commentary is not unprecedented on cable news.

The problem arises when the opinion of one man, no matter how egotistical he may be, is presented as fact.

In an ideal society, the average citizen would take the time to sort through election material, carefully gleaning relevant information in order to make informed decisions on political issues.

Unfortunately, reality is far from ideal. Most voters form their opinion on candidates and other political issues based purely upon what they see on television, which is too often biased.

Every time Americans tune in to the news, they are placing their trust in the anchors and pundits to report fairly and accurately.

The news media hold a certain amount of responsibility to the American public. They have an undeniably real impact on the final result of elections.

The news media have a unique opportunity to have a truly positive impact on society, producing a voting public that is more informed than ever with accurate and probing reporting on current political issues.

They should seize this opportunity to empower Americans in the upcoming elections.

The MC SUN welcomes letters to the editor.

If you wish to send us your opinion, we will gladly print your letter in the next issue. The letters must be signed. We reserve the right to edit the letter for any reason, including, but not limited to, clarity and length. Please try to keep the letters less than 250 words and submit them to Mr. Mercurio in room N9 or email them to businessmcsun@yahoo.com.

CHECK OUT MCSUN.ORG FOR MORE OPINIONS

CONTACTS vs.

GLASSES We welcome comments on all articles online.

Opinions

Mt. Carmel SUN

A7

September 12, 2008

Are summer assignments worth it?

PRO

MACKENZIE LANCE COPY EDITOR The five point A. The loaded college resumé. The joy of a high AP test score. These are the results of a successful AP class.

Unfortunately, the opposite can happen. A zero point F. A resumé riddled with failing grades and withdrawals, and a failed AP test and a waste of $90.

So how does one become a successful scholar? Enter a class prepared and ready to learn, with an understanding of the rigor that will be endured through the year.

This preparedness is measured by teachers through summer assignments.

Aw, the dreaded summer assignment. When received at the end of the year, it seems like an intolerable amount of reading and writing that will consume your two months of freedom.

In reality, it normally becomes the “how much work can I get done in the two days before school starts” assignments. If students spread the work out throughout the entire summer, the assignments would not be nearly as tedious.

Seriously, if we spent a few hours on Hemingway or Dickens during a summer week instead of watching reruns of Family Guy or America’s Next Top Model that we’ve seen before and will show infinite more times, summer assignments would be a way of keeping up study skills, not a

CON

Did you feel your summer assignment was worth your time?

66%

worthless last minute task.

Time management is a skill needed for the school year. Lack of time management becomes a bleak reality when syllabi are distributed and numerous classes promise several hours of homework and reading a night Summer assignments provide a way of gauging one’s time management. If you can’t handle reading a few books and busting out some essays over a two month period, you do not belong in an AP class.

Every summer assignment has a purpose. It’s not to be enjoyable, or entertaining, or fun. It is to prepare the student for the difficult class they have enrolled in.

The school year may seem endless, but it does not allow enough time for teachers to provide students with all the material they will need for the AP test.

Summer assignments often include reading and taking notes on the first few chapters of the text book.

Often these chapters are review and just the basic knowledge of reading them before school without teacher’s instructions is enough for the class.

When books are read during the summer it is only to supplement the material used in class.

Are they enjoyable? No. Are they more fun than a day at the beach? No. Do they play an integral role in preparing students to face the challenges of a high level class? Yes. And yes, we will have to deal with summer assignments forever.

KEVIN LAGE ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

34%

YES

NO

*83 students polled

ALYSSA SURMILLON | ARTIST

Summertime in San Diego is a time of peace, relaxation, reading two boring books, spending time with friends, going to the beach, and writing a compare/contrast essay.

It doesn’t take a genius to find the two things that don’t fit in with the childhood fantasy of summer vacation, yet teachers insist on ruining our summer by making us do ridiculous assignments that often don’t even apply to the class.

Seriously, what does the fictional Julius Caesar have to do with or Honors Humanities? Nobody wants to do these assignments, and teachers certainly don’t enjoy grading an extra 150+ essays.

I can understand when teachers assign stuff from the actual class to help you get ahead for the year. For example, the AP Chemistry students, having to take notes from the book makes sense to me, because then the teacher doesn’t have to dedicate time to the review chapters of the book. I can understand the reasoning behind these types of assignments, but I still don’t agree with it.

A junior taking AP English Language, AP US History, and AP Chemistry, has to read two books and take notes for APEL, read the textbook and take notes for APUSH, and read the textbook and take notes for AP Chemistry. A student with this schedule has at least 50 hours of work to do for the summer.

This isn’t even considering the overachievers taking five or even six AP classes. These students have barely any time to relax, and probably have a more stressful summer than they did in the previous school year.

How is it fair that teachers can assign us homework before we even know what teachers we have for the next school year?

If summer assignments are given to AP and honors classes because they are college level courses, how come you don’t see college kids doing homework in the summertime?

Some may argue that as AP classes are worth more for the GPA, and count as college credit if you pass the AP test, that more work needs to be put in. Fair point, but then what is the excuse for the Honors classes that have summer assignments?

Plus, when applying for college, most students don’t use the college credit they earned, and end up retaking the class in college.

Some students also have jobs and sports in the summer. So if a student works 40 hours a week, has to dedicate ten hours to sports, and probably two hours a week for assignments, then they have hardly any time for friends or any of that other stuff that summer is supposed to be about.

So if summer is supposed to be about having fun and taking a break from school, then how come it is being loaded up with a ridiculous amount of summer assignments that will probably not even be useful in the college version of the class?

VICTORIA STEWART

PATRICIA BROOKS

LEE RASKIN

“I do not do a summer assignment because of the extremely wide range of students that go into AP Stats. It is easier for someone to target one prerequisite class for a summer assignment than it is to target five different classes. Besides, isn’t summer for FUN?”

“[I did a summer assignment] because I wanted students to know what I expect, because Calculus uses all the mathematics [students] have learned.”

“They [summer assignments] provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to an academically rigorous course. Giving them an assignment over the summer prepares them for the class during the year.”

Sundevil Perspective Are summer assignments worth it?

ALLISON ROGERS | PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman

Sophomore

Brisa Arviso

Danny Ettelson

“No, because kids should have the summer to relax and rest so when they come back to school they are refreshed.”

“ Yes, because they get you ready for the class.”

MT. CARMEL SUN Mt. Carmel High School 9550 Carmel Mtn. Rd. San Diego CA 92129 (858)484-1180 ext. 3211 rmercurio@powayusd.com http://www.mcsun.org Our mission is to provide the MC community with an informative, accurate and respectful student-run publication. The SUN seeks to stimulate the discussion of issues in order to promote a more aware student body.

Whether informing, voicing opinion, or entertaining, the sun strives for standards of balance and good taste.

Melissa Roadman Editor-in-chief Rick Mercurio Advisor Catherine Jaravata Assistant Advisor Craig Racicot Photo Advisor The Mt. Carmel SUN is the official newspaper of Mt. Carmel High School, published by its Journalism 2 students. The views expressed in the SUN do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Mt. Carmel High School administration or PUSD Board of Education. Unsigned editorials reflect the beliefs of the SUN editorial board. The SUN is a student open forum, and all final content decisions are made by its student editors. Letters to the Editor are welcome and should be signed. For advertising rates and information please call, email, or write the SUN at the address above.

Editors Katelyn Cutts News Kylie Baranowski Center Rachel Martin Opinions Cathy McDermott Sports Kevin Lage Entertainment Kaveri Gyanendra Features Paresh Dave Web Mackenzie Lance Copy Matt Coffelt Photo Staff Writers Nicole Bustamante Erica Byerley Sarah Carrigan Melanie Dickenson Lauren Hall Cordell Hunter Angela Kim Karen Michel Aditi Pai Vincent Pham Shayon Said Sara Shantz Dennis Sun Jordan Ugalde Sean Williams Staff Photographers Ana Alvarez Allison Rogers Daniel Than Artists Christian Jun Alyssa Surmillon Business Manager Megan Ashworth

Junior

Senior

Teacher

Shelby Jones

Leverett Morgan

Peggy Elder

“It depends on the class.

Some summer assignments prepare you better than others.”

“I think that summer assignments are good because they give you a head start on the school year.”

“AP students have to be willing to work harder than others, and it shows that they have the desire to put out the extra effort.”

The Homecoming theme this year is “Dance of a Million Dreams.”

Hopefully Prince Charming will be there.

Michael Phelps is not a fish.

But is he single?

-Sarah Carrigan

I appreciate the new schedule.

Now I have five extra minutes to do homework at lunch.

-Nicole Bustamante

-Mackenzie Lance

Thumbs Apparently “pulling through” parking lot spaces is now illegal.

I can say goodbye to escaping after school traffic quickly.

- Megan Ashworth

No more late Mondays means no more fun Sundays.

-Shayon Said

Desks are crammed into classrooms to fit class sizes. Looks like we’re all going to be very “close” this year, Sundevils!

-Melissa Roadman

Opinions High School Sports Dilemmas

A8

Mt. Carmel SUN

September 12, 2008

Sports coaches should require testing for Performance-enhancers must be universally steroids; drugs provide unfair advantages available for sports games to be considered fair SEAN WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER Using hidden notes on a test is cheating. Inputting a code in a video game is cheating. These are both considered cheating because they give you an unfair boost that other people do not have. With this in mind, the use of steroids can easily be called cheating.

They give an unfair advantage over those athletes who want to play fair.

Steroids can make you stronger and faster without even trying. It is unfair to those who spend months actually training, exercising, and practicing to get where they are. Using steroids is taking the easy way out because it is as thought the athlete is not even trying to make an effort. A person does not become a better player by taking steroids. They just become a cheater.

Besides cheating, the use of steroids can be a health risk. One of the more common side-effects of using steroids is aggression. Some people that use steroids may turn very aggressive toward others. This is one way you can tell a person is on steroids.

Other side effects of steroid use can include high blood pressure, liver damage, sleeping problems, and even acne.

The problem of steroids runs rampant in the professional sports

and even in high school sports.

Many times, people have asked if high school athletes should be tested for them.

Well, in the classroom, teachers always check for students cheating on their tests, quizzes, and homework. It would make sense that a high school coach would check for players who are cheating by requiring their players to be tested for steroids. It would almost guarantee the games would be played fair.

It’s not just high school players who should be tested. Professional athletes should also be tested. Imagine seeing your favorite team lose the biggest game of their career because some players on the other team had an extra boost that no one on your team had. It would be pretty frustrating.

However, it is a controversial topic whether athletes should be tested for steroids without any suspicion.

If an athlete isn’t using steroids, though, they shouldn’t have a problem proving it, so coaches should have the right to test an athlete without suspicion at any time. The only athletes who would have to worry about being tested without suspicion are those who are actually using steroids.

In addition to getting in trouble with the school, you could also get in trouble with the law for steroid use.

The possession or sale of steroids is illegal, and if caught, you can be left with a heavy fine to pay and even jail time.

It is always better working to become better, rather than taking the easy way out and risking your health with the use of steroids.

If you would get in trouble by getting caught cheating on a test, you’d definitely get in trouble for using steroids.

21% OF STUDENTS SAID THEY KNOW STUDENT-ATHLETES WHO HAVE USED PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS

4% OF STUDENTS SAID THEY HAVE USED PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS

6% OF STUDENTS SAID THEY HAVE CONSIDERED USING PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS *225 students polled

MELANIE DICKINSON STAFF WRITER Steroids are the most wellknown unfair advantage in competitive sports, partly explaining why they are illegal without a prescription and so looked-down upon.

But there are other ways to tilt the game in your favor, some as dangerous as Anabolic steroid ingestion.

So how can we decide what athletes are and are not allowed to do?

Do we judge it by whatever is legal?

Or whatever is not harmful to the body?

Or what can be accessed by everyone?

With a vision of “all athletes created equal” (and safe), I believe that a combination is necessary. A fair advantage is one that doesn’t jeopardize physical safety, is universally accessible, and keeps physical performance within some kind of natural bounds.

One legal, well-known alternaroid is Cortizone, a drug that reduces pain from injury. It allows athletes to push themselves to heightened levels of performance by virtually erasing their natural limits for pain.

Legal performance-enhancing drugs can not only mask pain, but also build bone and muscle, reduce weight, and increase oxygen delivery.

Therefore, a drug’s legality cannot, in my opinion, deter-

mine its fairness on the playing field.

Cortizone is legal, but easily abused and dangerous. If we allow it, we then judge victory by an athlete’s willingness to harm themselves to reach the top.

Similarly, the caffeine pills and energy drinks common among high school athletes are as socially acceptable as a cup of coffee and just as safe.

Almost every competition, including the Olympics this year, allows them.

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In any sport, the test should be based on natural physical ability, no matter, or perhaps because of, how easy buying a pill is at an Albertsons.”

The only problem is that the first place medal in these games will go to the athlete whose Rockstar outlasts opponents’ natural endurance.

In any sport, the test should be based on natural physical ability, no matter, or perhaps because of, how easy buying a pill is at an Albertsons.

But performance-enhancement is not limited to drugs or grocery store fixes. Sports equipment is playing an increasingly significant role in extrapolating athletic ability.

Engineers specializing in

air and water flow are designing physically and chemically advanced equipment and uniforms.

This year’s Beijing Olympics saw the greatest presence of ‘technology doping’ in history.

The NASA-designed Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit has ultrasonically-bonded seams to reduce drag.

Since its February introduction, 37 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing this bad boy.

In cases like this, in which an innovation is accessible to everyone, technology should be used. However, very rarely is technology universally accessible, especially at the high school level.

A game is unfair if even one player in that game can’t get what his opponents can.

In reality, very few, if any, leagues or divisions will actually restrict their athletes this much for the sake of equality.

CIF will never restrict athletes to wearing identical uniforms or to drinking only water. I don’t think that decision is at all unreasonable.

It’s extremely impractical to shoot for total equality. But if you can’t change the rules, change the name of the game.

All this means that being a successful athlete in today’s world is having skill and discipline as well as the knowledge to use available resources to your advantage.

Pro athletes inspire kids to work hard for goals; can also exert bad influences VINCENT PHAM STAFF WRITER In a world where the Olympics is seen by billions of people with their eyes fixated on their nation’s hero, and many athletes in various sports who have endorsements exceeding their actual playing salaries, it’s not difficult to imagine why many teens grow up idolizing these people.

As sports have grown increasingly competitive, more and more athletes are doing whatever they can to get a “leg up” in the playing field, even if that means using steroids.

Many teens, who revere their favorite athletes as “cultural icons,” are taking the lead from their heroes and pumping up the juices, blatantly disregarding any possible effects that lie ahead.

But who’s to blame them?

Naturally, as teenage athletes strive to become their best, they look up to those who have already achieved the success and fame that they aspire to attain.

By taking after their favorite athletes, teens get the preconceived notion that they should do whatever they can to prosper, even if that means resorting to cheating.

In a survey reported on MSNBC, 57 percent of students from eighth grade to twelfth grade, who confessed

to steroid usage, noted that professional athletes influenced their decision to do so. They also stated that they would risk using steroids, even if that jeopardizes their personal health.

The impact of anabolic steroids has already left a dark shadow over the professional sporting world.

Former baseball all-star Ken Caminiti suddenly died in 2004 at age 41. One of the primary factors that caused his death was cardiac hypertrophy, or an enlarged heart, one of the lethal side effects of prolonged steroid usage.

Although most teens have heard that death is a serious consequence of taking anabolic steroids, that won’t stop many from trying to get an edge on the competition in any way possible.

The harsh truth is that most teens don’t bother to think about the consequences later on in their lives. They simply live in the heat of the moment, and make impetuous decisions with no second-thoughts.

There have been many attempts to stop teens from considering the use of steroids such as specific training regimens and diets that assist people to naturally gain their muscles. But apparently, that hasn’t worked either.

Steroid usage by high-school students more

than doubled from 1991 until 2003 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Professional athletes simply underestimate the impact that they make on teens. They fail to realize that by injecting growth hormones, they are influencing a younger generation of teens who know no better than to try it for themselves as well.

Athletic success isn’t the only reason why some people decide to use steroids. Some could argue that teens are also affected by television and the media’s tendency to glamorize physical appearance.

Junior Andrew Kim knows a friend who decided to take steroids

because he had issues about his physical appearance.

“At his school, he was considered physically inferior and he got bullied in middle school,” Kim said. “As hard as it may sound, he used steroids because he felt very insecure about the way he looked.”

So why do we idolize these athletes and celebrities who take steroids and are often motivated by money and fame?

This could be attributed to our societal flaws. Let’s admit it, we are a country that is motivated by money and fame.

As long as these so-called “role models” of society can cut corners and get away with it, we can expect teens to do the same. It’s just a case of monkey see, monkey do.

High school athletes have effect on younger kids whether they want to believe it or not RACHEL MARTIN

OPINIONS EDITOR

People who play sports have many duties.

They have a duty toward their coach to turn up at practice and try their hardest. They have a duty to their teammates to work at bonding together and becoming successful as a joined unit. But they also have an important and unique duty to their fans.

Although many student-athletes don’t realize it, they are role models. At high school sports games, whether it be football, basketball, soccer or any others, students bring their younger siblings. Parents bring their kids to cheer on the teams. And during summer camps for kids, varsity athletes tend to help out.

Whether varsity athletes want to realize it or not, little kids really do look up to them.

When high school athletes make bad decisions regarding what they put into their bodies, it affects people other than just themselves.

Using performance-enhancing drugs, drinking at a party after a victory, or smoking a joint sets a bad example for the next generation of student-athletes.

If the best football player on campus is caught holding a beer and everyone else finds out, they are making it seem as if those actions are okay.

We don’t want our younger siblings sneaking a beer out of the refrigerator at home.

We don’t want them to even think about doing drugs. And we really don’t want them to let out an f-bomb at the dinner table.

The athletes that all these kids look up to every week at a game — the ones who score the winning touchdown or hit a game-winning

three pointer at the buzzer — are most always characterized as the popular or cool students.

When they drink or do drugs, the young kids automatically think that is cool. They think they should be like that and do those things to be happy and popular in high school.

When you’re a star athlete and you just won a CIF championship, it is a natural reaction to want to party and celebrate. But there are many other satisfying ways to party than to get high or drunk.

Besides, if you just won a CIF championship, you should be high on life, not drugs.The use of performance-enhancing drugs is dishonest and cheating. It is a blow to every person sitting in the stadium cheering that team on, including the coach and teammates.

There is a case to be made for the argument that athletes shouldn’t be considered role models or heroes.

Many parents would rather have their children think that teachers and nurses and others who make personal sacrifices for our community are the heroes of our country. Nevertheless, it has been accepted that the athletes, even high school athletes, are going to have an impact.

If that is going to be so, athletes have an obligation to be honest and real. We don’t need our athletes to have fake muscles. And we sure don’t need the athletes at our high school to make bad impressions on our younger brothers and sisters. If our athletes are going to be role models, they should at least be good ones.

CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST