Issue 2 of 2008-2009 (B Section)

www.mcsun.org

SPORTS & ARTS

Friday

october 3, 2008

B Mt. Carmel SuN

Girls golf starts season with perfect record; no ifs, ands, or putts Katelyn Cutts news editor

allison rogers | Photographer

The girls on the varsity volleyball team start every game in a tight knit circle, singing “Ole, ole, ole.” This Sundevil tradition has been kept alive for the past eight years.

Sundevil traditions kept alive NICOLE BUSTAMANTE STAFF WRITER

The loud music stops and it is quiet. The 14 girls on the varsity volleyball team gather in a circle, and then it starts. The girls start jumping in a circle and shout loudly “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole.” Many MC students have witnessed that famous “Ole” performance. After all, it has been one of the team’s traditions for eight years. However, there are many other teams on campus with their own traditions.

Boys swimming shaves not only their legs but also their entire body when CIFs comes around.

“I like doing it because it brings the team together,” senior Patrick Nowak said. “And it attracts all the ladies.”

In addition to going hairless the boys team also wears shortshorts once or twice a season. Which Nowak also thinks will make it “easier to pick up the ladies.”

The first year that you make varsity girls’ water polo you get a special welcome from the returners. On a school day prepare to be woken up and kidnapped by your teammates.

“They will come from 5-6:30 a.m. depending on when they plan to pick you up,” senior Vanessa Evans said.

The girls dress in letterman jackets, beanies, and a gold mask. Once you’re awake a returner will give the newcomer a costume.

“The smaller the better because it’s funnier,” Evans said.

They call the parent ahead of time to make sure it’s okay but it’s a complete surprise to the girls. Once all the girls have picked up everyone, someone breaks out the makeup and the returners go crazy. Once they are completely dressed up and decked out it’s picture time. The new varsity members then wear there costumes to school, but as the day progresses slowly take off bits and pieces of their costume. Once the day is over it’s just a memory, but there is no doubt they are waiting for their turn

“

It’s more comfortable, and bright colors help make sure cars can see us. I like showing off my legs, I have a nice leg tan.”

- Vincent Heng (12)

to dress up their friends next year.

When you see a boy walking down the hall on campus wearing bright, loose, extremely short shorts most people automatically think cross-country. Although it may just seem like a silly tradition, there is purpose behind the shorts.

“It’s more comfortable and bright colors help make sure cars can see us,” senior Vincent Heng said. “And I like showing off my legs; I have a nice leg tan.”

Although it may seem like the stereotypical thing for crosscountry boys to do, only about half the team actually wears short shorts. However, Heng believes that “the freshmen are learning the ways.” Other traditions of cross-country include dressing up before meets. “[We dress up] like a girls’ team, but not,” Heng said.

Heng’s favorite shorts are his bright yellow pair. So if you see them running down the street you know Heng is coming.

When the shirtless, body painted wrestlers step onto the field with the cheerleaders, all eyes are on them. Even when they are just standing at the stadium in a line a couple wandering eyes find their bodies.

“Everyone participates except the freshmen,” sophomore Derek Wilcox said.

The show the wrestlers put on every year is rehearsed and has been a tradition for over 12 years.

“The alumni come down every year to join us,” Wilcox said. “They tell lots of stories and give us good tips on how to wrestle and live life in general.”

Every sport has its own tradition, and they are all different.

But what is the same is they all bring the teams together while having fun.

Girls tennis aces opponents; undefeated in league VINCENT PHAM STAFF WRITER

Momentum has smashed into the rackets, and into the adrenaline of the girl’s varsity tennis team.

After losing their first two matches, the girls have bounced back and walked away victorious in seven of their last eight matches as of Oct. 1.

The team victimized Orange Glen, Scripps Ranch, Oceanside, Ramona, and San Marcos. They pulled off impressive wins against RB and San Pasqual before that.

Senior Amrita Rao recognized the team’s hard work and diligence in making the successful surge.

“We’ve gotten a lot of practice as of late,” Rao said.

“Because of that, we have developed a close bond with our teammates, and the support is immense.”

Junior Melanie Corbin says the team’s focus has been a major factor in winning.

“During practice, we concentrate and don’t mess around,” Corbin said. “This translates into our matches because we are able to focus and get the job done.”

Another big part of the success can be attributed to the team’s optimistic approach and their ability to focus on positives.

“How you interact with your teammates is a vital part of tennis, especially in doubles,” Rao said. “When they make a mistake, you go to them and reinforce the fact that it’s alright and tell them to move on to the next point.”

The team began Valley League with a 16-2 win over Oceanside. After starting league play red hot, the team has realized the stark contrast between the Valley League and the Palomar League.

“Our Palomar League last year forced us to play the top teams like RB and Torrey Pines,” Rao said. “Our league opponents this year aren’t nearly as strong.”

Freshmen Lamella Belgica is quickly getting a feel for her teammates, and the game at the high school level.

“It feels amazing to be a freshman on varsity,” Belgica said. “I love the team concept of tennis. To me, team success is always put before individual success.”

Junior Sabastiani Leon Chao has a 26-4 singles set record.

Belgica also states that it helps to have experienced teammates who know how to step up in clutch situations.

“The great thing about our players is that we are all confident in ourselves,” Belgica said. “We have players that are capable of beating anyone just because they have the mind-set that they can win every match.”

Over the past couple of years, the girls have developed a big rivalry against Westview.

Corbin claims that both teams’ success over the past couple of years has intensified greatly.

“They’re always been our biggest competition,” Corbin said. “We always try our hardest against them because it always seems like it’s us versus them at the end.”

As Westview has also switched into the Valley League with MC, it is certain that the teams will continue to faceoff against each other frequently. Rao would also concur with the team’s increased rivalry.

“The rivalry is definitely greater because we beat them for CIF last year and they won it the two years before,” Rao said. “They’ve gotten better as well so it will be tough.”

The team faced Westview just yesterday and will have a rematch against them in the final Valley League game on Oct. 28 Belgica’s outlook on the team for the rest of the season is clear.

“Win. We just want to win.”

kyle covey | Photographer

Sabastiani Leon Chao (11) swings into action, during the Ramona game on Sept. 25. MC is currently undefeated in league.

JV girls volleyball

Girls volleyball fights diligently against Chapparal. The coach praises the team’s hard effort, despite their loss.

JV boys water polo

It would be one of the toughest matches during league competition for girls golf.

By the end, they knew they had won their sixth consecutive match, third in league.

On Sept. 24, the girls defeated Oceanside, 225-241.

Sophomore Tracey Huynh shot a 40, senior Katie Scanlan a 42, and freshman Silvia Torrez a 45.

Huynh thought the team just outplayed Oceanside.

“I think we were really focused and the coach gave this pep talk before [the match] about how individual scores need improvement,” she said. “Oceanside players were really strong, but we just played better.”

The victory over Oceanside greatly increased the team’s chances of making it into CIF and being league champions.

“Oceanside along with Valley Center will both be stiff competition in our league,” varsity coach Jay Van Vark said.

“I am hopeful that we could qualify as a team this year for CIF, and one of the ways is by winning the league.”

According to Huynh, Valley Center and Oceanside are the biggest competition, because their average team score is very close to MC’s.

The four league wins were Orange Glen, 229-324, on Sept. 17, Ramona, 236-325, and San Marcos, 239-270.

During the San Marcos game, junior Shelby Jones shot a 43, Huynh a 44, and Torrez a 47.

Huynh is extremely hopeful for the team’s success.

“It’s feel really cool [to be undefeated] because it hasn’t happened before, and we are trying to keep it like that,” she said. “We hope we can.”

According to the North County Times, Huynh is ranked twelfth in the county with an average score of 40.67 in her past eight matches as of Oct. 1.

Along with her average score, Huynh has had the lowest score for MC during five matches. Jones has had the lowest score for one match.

With an overall record of 7-2 as of Sept. 30, the team is ranked number one in league.

Van Vark has high hopes for the team’s continued success.

“I am conservatively hopeful for the outcome of this year,” he said. “If we all pull together and continue to improve, we could have a very strong year.”

According to Van Vark, he is structuring the practices to try to help the girls peak at the end of the season for a better chance at individual and team CIF. Another important factor that is leading to the success of the team is the team itself.

“We have a balanced and much deeper team this year in terms of scoring,” Van Vark said. “Our addition of a strong freshman, Torrez, has really helped to bring our scores down. Of course, you wouldn’t get that opportunity if we didn’t have the continuous improvement from our returnees.”

With the team undefeated in league and high hopes for CIF team and individuals, the girls are just hoping to stay strong against their final big competition of league, Valley Center.

They played Valley Center yesterday and will face San Marcos again on Monday.

Boys water polo team starts the season off undefeated, winning their first three games.

Also visit the web for ..

- JV football - JV cross country - JV girls tennis - More pictures of all the sports!

Sports

B2

Mt. Carmel SUN

October 3, 2008

Parkour sport sends students flying for fun Kaveri gyanendra features editor

Senior Jeff Morris quickens his pace, now going faster and faster as he gets closer to the car. He places his hands on the roof of the red sedan and pushes himself up and over. He spins his body as he clears the roof of the car. Landing sturdy on his feet, he accomplished his goal of jumping and clearing the car.

Car jumping, which Morris often does, falls under the category of the sport of parkour.

Parkour, pronounced par-core, is defined as the art of movement. The objective of parkouring is to move from one point to another as quickly as possible.

A male who practices parkour is known as a “traceur” and a female who practices parkour is called a “traceuses.”

MC’s own “traceur,” Morris, has been practicing parkour since freshman year.

“I have always kind of climbed on stuff but freshman year I found out that there was actually a name for it,” Morris said. “It is very popular in Daniel Than | Photographer Europe.”

Morris and his friends are known Matt Sitler (12) jumps over a car while Jay Caparino (12) watches. Sitler is participating in parkour, for jumping over cars which they simwhich developed in France. It’s essentially the sport of jumping over an object of any size or shape. ply refer to as “car jumping.”

“Car jumping is exactly what it The unofficial moral of parkour is,” Morris said. “You jump over the is “etre et durer,” which means “to be car. That’s about it.” and to last.”

Climbing or scaling walls, climbAs Morris’ passion for parkour ing through tree branches or anything grows, he tries to involve his friends in which involves overcoming physical the art of movement. obstacles falls under the generalization “I am trying to spread it more of parkour. thoughout my friends because almost Founded by Frenchman David everyone I tell about parkour has no Belle, parkour focuses on practicing idea what it is,” Morris said. “Basically effective movement to develop one’s it’s like climbing and jumping around body and mind. Many practice park- on anything. There are different our so they will be able to overcome moves and stuff and it is kind of like obstacles in an gymnastics in emergency. a way but outParkour side.” does not involve A chalBasically, [parkour] is like team work, forlenge could climbing and jumping around be finding a mal hierarchy or any sort of strict on anything.” place to praccompetitivetice parkour

ness. It closely as the loca- Jeff Morris (12)

resembles forms tion needs of self-defense to be a place in ancient marwith many tial arts. obstacles.

The most important part of park“I do it as much as I can and a few our is moving as efficiently as possible. of my friends are really into it,” Morris In parkour, efficiency also involves said. “We go around looking for places avoiding injuries, whether they are se- like all the time.” rious or long term.

Youtube is one helpful resource Each obstacle an individual jumps for seeing exactly what parkour is. over varies in difficulty depending on In order to get more Sundevils the physical makeup of both the per- involved in parkour, Morris plans on son and the obstacle. starting a Parkour Club.

“

Polo players persevere through adversity, triumph together Boys Water polo Practice Schedule Monday-Friday 4:45 - 8:00 Dry Land Workouts 4:45 - 5:00 Warm-Up 5:00 - 5:15 600 Yards Swim Set 5:15 - 5:30 1000 Yards Passing 5:30 - 6:00 Shooting Drills 6:00 - 6:45 Scrimmage 6:45 - 7:30 Sprints 7:30 - 8:00 Compiled by Kevin Lage | Entertainment Editor

Aditi Pai Staff writer Junior Evan Heise holds the ball away from his opponent, 20 yards from the goal.

The buzzer for the second quarter echoes across the pool deck just as Heise shoots the ball.

Flying through the air to that familiar sound, it slips past the goalie’s fingers, scoring the sixth point of the boys’ water polo game against Ramona.

This was one of many epic throws that continued for the rest of their game.

MC dominated their first game of the season with a score of 11-2.

The following Thursday, they shut out Orange Glenn, 13-0.

Senior Michael Rawls saw improvement in the team’s performance.

“We performed very well as a team and worked together to win,” Rawls said.

Their initial focus on conditioning lessened as the season progressed but the team still puts a lot of importance in it.

“We are still conditioning at every

practice,” Rawls said. “We’re also doing more ball handling and game scenarios.”

Although the team has been succeeding in games, they had to rearrange their lineup after senior Patrick Nowak quit the team to focus on swimming.

“It was a decision I had to make based on my future and college,” Nowak said. “I will miss hanging out with my buddies and getting out of class early.”

Nowak still has confidence the despite the team’s loss, they will succeed.

“They are going to do great.” Nowak said. “They are a great bunch of water polo players and will do fine this season.”

Even the players are optimistic despite their loss.

“Losing a starter was difficult,” Rawls said. “But we were able to compensate by moving players to different positions.”

Their plan worked.

“We countered really well which got us lots of easy shots,” Rawls said.

Their games on Sept. 26 were against Orange County schools and they faced their first big challenges of the year.

“We didn’t do too well,” senior Chris Gallardo said. “We played tough teams and

played well as a team but they were better.

Where they play is more competitive.”

A turn of events led the coach, Anthony Cabrera to get red carded at their game over the weekend which led to difficulty with their latest game against Valley Center.

These factors along with the different type of pool greatly affected the team but also provided them with an opportunity to adapt to different circumstances.

“Everybody’s playing was sub par,” senior Austin Woolley said. “We need to learn to not get distracted in a shallow deep pool.”

They all work to cope with the shallow deep pools and have learned a lot after this first experience.

“You can’t jump off the bottom,” Woolley said. “We have do our best to ignore the bottom. You also need to pick a shooting location better because the goalie is used to different circumstances.”

Overall, he liked where the team stood and how the experience helped them.

Allison rogers | PHOTOgrapher “I think it helped us,” Gallardo said. micheal Rawls (12) throws the ball to a teammate during “We had to lay under pressure which was a recent match with Ramona while keeping it away from good.” an opponent. They defeated Ramona last Tuesday, 11-2.

Sundevil Spotlight

Wood won’t stop; focuses on running hard Benson overcomes injury for court comeback

Jacob Wood Paresh dave web editor “Stop Jacob? What’s that?”

White t-shirts with a red octagon reading “Stop Jacob” worn by some at MC have prompted that question repeatedly during the past year. In actuality, it’s not a what but a who.

The who is varsity cross country runner junior Jacob Wood. The shirts glorify Wood by comparing him to Steve Prefontaine, an American distance runner who once held five American track records and, through his explosive personality, increased the popularity of running in ‘70s.

Prefontaine’s competitors’ fans wore “Stop Pre” shirts to encourage their favorites to chase “Pre” down.

To honor Wood and raise some money for coaches’ gifts, a teammate decided to sell “Stop Jacob” shirts last year.

Wood, in turn, said he idolizes Prefontaine.

“I’m not as super-insanely crazy and awesome as him, but he’s someone I want to try and be like,” he said.

Pre, who at 24 died in a car

accident, hated being anything but first in a race. Wood, who, with his flowing blonde hair, resembles Pre, likes to run with one of Pre’s sayings in mind: “I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.”

That mentality lets Wood focus on two things while running: not giving up during races and the benefits of the workout during training runs.

His focus has paid off.

In each of his first three races this season, Wood, who almost chose football over cross country, ran the fifth best time in MC history for those races.

Wood said he hates being sad so he tries to keep things loose, relaxed and positive. As a result, he’s excited rather than nervous about the expectation that he will be among the top finishers in the CIF race in November. For some of his success, Wood can credit his dad. He told Wood that he should never walk during running club on Fridays in elementary school.

Since then, most of Wood’s hobbies have involved running. One nonathletic activity Wood enjoys is building models.

Although he plans to always run, his goal is to become an architectural engineer.

Wood said he prefers cross country to track because of hills, which is why one of his favorite training runs is Black Mountain.

“It’s just cool to say that you ran up a mountain,” he said. “Hills are my favorite.”

QUICK HITS If you had $100 to spend on anything, what would it most likely be?

A good fake moustache.

What is your greatest fear and why?

Breaking a leg jumping over a small wall in a scavenger hunt the week before CIF. If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be?

Nike What is your weirdest food combination?

(Example: potato chips and caramel dip) Apples and peanut butter, but that’s not very weird.

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

Leg injuries, so you could run forever!

What do you plan to do after high school?

Go to college and continue running there.

Name one person or group of people that you admire.

Prefontiane, and my family.

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

To fly, that would be just awesome.

What is your worst pet peeve and why?

When people say “back in the 5th grade” instead of “back in 5th grade.” I have no idea why, though...

Sydney Benson sara shantz staff writer It was Nov. 8, 2007 and junior Sydney Benson was warming up for the second round of CIF in girls volleyball.

She went up for a hit and when she came down she heard a series of “pops” and in that instant, her entire life fell apart.

Those “pops” she heard were the sounds of every ligament and bit of cartilage tearing in her left knee.

Benson is passionate about volleyball and soccer. Sports are a huge part of her life and having to sit on the sidelines was devastating.

“The hardest part was not being able to finish off the season with my team and play during CIF,” Benson said. “It was also tough having to sit out during club season, instead of playing for my high school coach like I had planned to.”

Luckily, Benson had tons of people who love her by her side through this rough time.

“My friends, family, and teammates were a really big support; I couldn’t have done it without them,” Benson said.

Before she was able to have the surgery, Benson had to wait three months because she couldn’t straighten her left leg.

During that time she went to physical training to work on this problem.

After her surgery on Feb. 11, Benson went through a lot to get back on the court.

“I was on crutches for a total of three months, one and a half before and one and a half after,” Benson said. “Then I did rehab three times a week and once I was further along in my recovery, personal training three times a week.”

Even though it was a tough time in her life, Benson managed to maintain a positive attitude about her injury.

Benson believes that everything happens for a reason and has learned from her injury.

“It taught me I can’t look forward if I’m looking down, it’s not my personality not to look on the positive side,” Benson said.

Benson’s back and better than ever. She went from being out for the entire club volleyball season to making varsity as a returning defensive specialist. She didn’t go through all of that for nothing. Benson has high expectations for this season.

“I want to come back even stronger, jump higher, and play harder,” Benson said.

quick hits If you had $100 to spend on anything, what would it most likely be?

Clothes or jewelry.

What is your greatest fear and why?

Earthquakes because they scare me, and re-tearing my ACL. If you could own any brand of clothes, what would it be?

Lucky or Anthropologie.

What’s your weirdest food combination?

(Example: potato chips and caramel dip) The weirdest thing [I eat] is dipping french fries in Greek gyro sauce.

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

Fast food, because it’s unhealthy and is the leading cause for obesity.

What do you plan to do after high school?

College, and hopefully play volleyball.

Name one person or group of people that you admire.

My older sister. Misty May, Mia Hamm.

What is your favorite TV show?

One Tree Hill and That 70’s Show.

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

Read minds (when I want to) to see what people are thinking.

Sports

Mt. Carmel SUN

B3

October 3, 2008

Football recovers despite early setbacks CATHY MCDERMOTT SPORTS EDITOR

“The quarterback is one of the leaders on the team, so losing him changes how we play.”

While the team as a whole is dealing with his injury, After an unfortunate start to the season, the football Strauss is undeniably the most affected by it, considering it team is quickly turning things around. In spite of losing is his senior year. the first two games and having the starting quarterback “Every minute of the game [is hard],” he said. “It injured, the team has pulled through , claiming two wins. sucks having to sit and watch, knowing that there’s nothing “We really are improving every week,” senior Marcus you can do. I just want to jump in and do something, but Strauss, the injured quarterback, said. “The first two games of course I don’t mind sitting there and supporting my we just fell short. The last two weeks, we’ve stayed focused team.” and finished the games. We’re Even with the lost of Strauss, playing really strong right now.” the team has accomplished two On Sept. 19, the team battled amazing victories with junior Every minute of the game [is hard]. it out at home against Fallbrook, Wesley Wallace filling in.

“Marcus is a great quarterback, winning 19-10. Then last Friday, the It sucks having to sit and watch, knowing that there’s nothing you can do.

I just but I think Wallace has a lot of team slaughtered RB 35-7, taking want to jump in and do something.” potential,” junior Ted Kassen said. home another victory. The boys have “The whole team relies on the just begun a strong winning streak - Marcus Strauss (12) quarterback, and he’s really pulling and have no plans of getting off it. through.”

“The difference between With assistance from Strauss, winning and losing is black and Wallace has definitely stepped it up. white,” junior Troy McClelland said. “Our whole weekend “Marcus is always there helping me on the sidelines, depends on whether or not we win. If we win, it’s a great supporting and showing me the ropes,” he said. weekend. If we lose, it’s not that great.”

Despite the change in quarterbacks, the team still has Although things are looking up for the team, their star quarterback Strauss is currently out because of an injury. its shining stars in play. Senior Shayne Khalil currently He was missing in action the last two games due to what is leads the team with five touchdowns. Along with him, thought to be a sprained ACL. He is still awaiting an MRI, senior Kenneth James, Jr., rushed an outstanding 283 yards matt coffelt | Photo editor in order to confirm it, but the team has definitely taken a in the past four games.

Shayne Khalil (12) stiffarms his opponents to the side as he rushes toward the goal line. The team defeated hit from his absence.

With Wallace in play, the team is fired up for the Fallbrook 19-10 two weeks ago.The team also crushed Rancho Bernardo, winning 35-7 last Friday.

Homecoming game tonight against Ramona.

“It affects the team a lot,” junior Mike Nelson said.

“

Increased summer training routine pays off for cross country team; many runners achieve personal bests

Field hockey strives for improvement; hopes to build momentum for league

MACKENZIE LANCE COPY EDITOR

KAREN MICHEL STAFF WRITER

A group of red jerseys sway from side to side. A murmur cuts through the noise of surrounding teams. “Help our legs to stay strong. Help our team to pack up and help us pass everyone we can.”

A collective deep breath and an end to the prayer comes. Then, an explosion of spirit.

“MC red wave on three,” junior Erin Menefee calls, and begins to count.

Her entire team answers in unison, “MC REDWAVE,” followed by a round of anxious screams.

The girls step up to the starting line and the race starter begins to speak.

The race begins and the pack of red becomes lost behind the blues and greens and whites of other schools.

The courses range from two to slightly over three miles and every course has advantages.

Earlier in the season, the Sundevils had another opportunity to show off their speed at the Rancho Bernardo Bronco Invitational.

“Rancho Bernardo’s meet is much smaller than MC’s, but it is a good place to start the season,” junior Matt Johnson said. “My

summer training allows me a base of which I can build upon for the rest of my season and it really showed at Bronco.

Just a week after Bronco, the team conquered a harder course at their own invitational in Balboa Park.

“Mt. Carmel Invite has been the best meet so far because it’s such a huge meet and it’s challenging,” junior Jared Servantez said. “It is also the same course used for CIF Championships and the Foot Locker Nationals, so it’s a great course to run on.”

Now, after three invitationals, the league season begins.

“I think the team will do well in upcoming duel meets where a strong team and we push each other to do our best,” junior Courtney Hedgecock said.

BOYS

Junior boys David Vasko, Jacob Wood, Marvin Medina, Matt Johnson, Jared Servantez and Brandon Foster have dominated their races so far.

Vasko and Wood both placed in the top ten at the MC Invite and Dana Hills.

The boys are confident in their ability to win future dual meets.

“Our team should do very well at our dual meets,” Servantez said. “We need to

work on closing the gaps a little more, but with our switch to an overall less competitive league it shouldn’t be too hard for us.”

One thing that does concern the boys is the changing weather that comes in the fall season.

“Weather affects running a lot,” Servantez said. “Running when it’s hot out is really horrible. But sometimes it rains during a race the terrain changes, but it’s also more fun.”

GIRLS

In the first three meets, the junior girls team has captured two team championships.

At the MC Invitational, the girls won medals and running bags and at Dana Hills, the junior team took home a trophy. This team included Menefee, Lindsay Valdez, Mandy Blume, Madeline Goldkamp and Kiersten Iwai.

Head coach Nathan Boyer began a new tradition by giving the trophy to the star runner from the week. For the Dana Hills Invitational, Goldkamp received the trophy for an outstanding effort and consistently moving up during the race.

Yesterday, the team faced Ramona in their first dual meet. Results were not available at press time.

The girls field hockey team threw themselves into a good direction this season at their first scrimmage against La Jolla in the Fallbrook tournament last Thursday.

“The first half of the game was a little shaky, but it was probably just because there were new people on the field,” junior captain Ashley Romano said. “The second half was a lot better. There was a lot of communication on the field and it felt like we were becoming a team.”

During the second half, the girls stole the ball from La Jolla and came close to making a goal.

“We intercepted their pass and took it all the way down field we were close but they stopped us,” Romano said.

After that scrimmage, the girls have focused on their areas that need improvement and plan on working on those areas so that they can be victorious in their first game on Oct. 9 against San Dieguito.

“We have to work on our communication the most, which is probably the biggest thing,” Romano said.

Many of the other teammates agree with Romano.

“We need to improve on transferring to offense,” senior Katerina Musto said.

“We also need to work on staying low to the ground.”

The girls have been practicing consistently for the last couple of weeks and are anticipating a good beginning of the season.

“Since we’ve had so much time, I feel like were really prepared, and our teams really excited to play,” Musto said.

A majority of the girls agree with Musto, and hope to have many of their lessons from practice help them in their games.

“We really want to apply everything that we’ve learned from practice and create it into a good game,” senior Sarah Tran said. “We all really want a big win.”

Romano feels that the new Valley League will work to the team’s advantage.

“I’m actually really excited for the new league change this year, since there are new schools, our team will probably be even more competitive,” Romano said.

The girls optimistic outlook for this season is creating a good atmosphere.

With the team a mix of rookies and veterans, the girls are planning on creating a strong bond so that they can become one, as a family, but most importantly become one as a team.

Undefeated girls volleyball hopes for continuous success MELISSA ROADMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Daniel than | Photographer

Team captain Sarah Votel (12) jumps to the ball and spikes for a point. The girls beat their Vista opponents in a quick victory, playing only three games. The team remains undefeated.

FOOTBALL:

-7:00 p.m.

-vs. Ramona -October 3. 2008 -At Sundevil Stadium

After coming off three straight wins, the girls volleyball players were pumped up for the first home match against Vista, until they heard the news that senior starting setter Sam Warner would not be playing.

“When I first found out, I was shocked and scared, especially [because] the game was starting in ten minutes,” junior Carly Voris said.

Junior Victoria Low, who played as the back-up setter, was called upon to play as a starter. “[I was] nervous but confident that my team would be there to help me through the time, and we would do well,” Low said.

Although they were a man down, the team still went in with confidence.

“We were thinking it was going to be like every other game,” Low said. “[We just needed] to play as a team, communicate, and just have fun.”

The game ended in a quick success for the Sundevils, defeating Vista in just three games, the first three-game match this season. Voris led the team with ten kills and senior captain Sarah Votel had

three blocks.

The next day, the Sundevils took on Orange Glen. With Low setting, the team once again defeated their opponent in three games.

The young team is undefeated in non-tournament matches, as of Sept. 25, beating Rancho Bernardo, Chaparral, Ramona, Vista, and Orange Glen.

Although the RB match ended in victory, the team was not as pleased as they anticipated.

“Since it was our first game we were trying to get used to the way we work as a team,” Votel said. “We went in with higher expectations than we should have had. We didn’t give them enough credit.

We ended up pulling through.”

On Sept. 18, the team traveled to Temecula to take on Chaparral. According to Votel, the team played with great chemistry and fought hard throughout the whole match. The girls hope to continue with their success as they take on San Marcos, Westview, and Ramona in the coming weeks.

According to Votel, the team is continuing to work hard and improve.

“We’re learning that we are a team,” she said. “We do believe in each other and we’re working together.”

daniel than | Photographer

Sara Shantz (11), the team’s designated librero, lunges for a dig in the home game against Vista. The team anticipates for continuous success as they shoot for a perfect record this season.

FALL SPORTS UPCOMING EVENTS:

GIRLS TENNIS: -3:15 p.m.

-vs. Orange Glen -October 9. 2008 -At Sundevil Stadium

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: -3:30 p.m.

-vs. San Marcos -October 7. 2008 -At Sundevil Arena

BOYS WATER POLO: CROSS COUNTRY:

- 3:15 p.m.

-vs. San Marcos -October 7. 2008 -At San Marcos

-3:00 p.m.

-vs. San Marcos -October 10. 2008 -At San Marcos Stadium

FIELD HOCKEY:

-3:30 p.m.

-vs. San Dieguito Academy -October 9. 2008 -At San Dieguito Field

Entertainment

B4

Mt. Carmel SUN

October 3, 2008

90210 zips into new decade

Movie: Lakeview Terrace Starring: Samuel Jackson Talk about a bad neighbor. When Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) move to a new neighborhood in Los Angeles, they were excited to be able to call themselves homeowners. It seemed like the perfect place for them to settle down. That is, until they met their neighbor.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Abel Turner, an LAPD officer living with just his two kids after his wife died years before. He doesn’t take too kindly to his new neighbors and has no problem showing it.

Tension begins rising between both neighbors, starting off with Turner’s lights shining in the Mattsons’ bedroom, and the Mattsons’ lewd scene in their pool that was seen

by Turner and his children.

The Mattsons feel that they just got off on the wrong foot, however, it very soon runs far past that.

What starts out as petty arguments eventually leads to more than just unkind words to each other. As Turner’s harassment gets worse, the Mattsons realize that they can’t turn to anybody for help. Chris learns it’s time to fight back.

Jackson’s performance is nearly flawless. His character gives uneasy feelings about how a person can act towards other people. His character is the serious and strict type but is also the kind of father who cares for his children and wants to raise them right.

This movie went far beyond showing the definition of a bad neighbor. It was a great movie that will keep your attention throughout. The ending was a bit predictable, but it tied in well with the rest of the movie, so it works.

-Sean Williams

Katelyn Cutts News Editor

High school, gorgeous actors, over-exaggerated drama, and the perfect zip code was all a show needed to become a teen sensation for ten years.

“Beverly Hills, 90210,” starting in 1990, was a television show about rich, popular high school students going through the trials and tribulations of life in the hills.

The show was based around eight high school students: Brenda, Brandon, Donna, David, Kelly, Steve, Dylan, and Andrea. The series starts with Brenda and Brandon moving from Minnesota to West Beverly Hills High their junior year and meeting new friends immediately.

Within the first season, these eight kids go through love and heartbreak, drugs and alcohol, cheating, and the infamous SAT. During the next nine seasons, the gang from Beverly Hills goes through more drama than any of us will in our entire lives.

Through it all, they have one common, stable place to go, The Peach Pit, run by Nat. The Peach Pit is home to the famous mega burger and ‘50s inspired interior décor. The kids always get together and meet there to talk things through or just gossip about the latest drama.

At the end of high school, they all go to California University, where people join the Greek system and party until graduation day.

During college, the gang finds themselves at crossroads between love, happiness, and their families they left behind.

By the end of season seven, the 90210 kids have graduated

I’m sure everyone hatched butterflies in elementary school. When the butterflies burst out of their cocoons and fluttered away, the teacher would say, “Look kids, a miracle.”

Wrong. According to Leif Enger’s 2001 debut, “Peace like a River”, true “miracles” are so supernatural that they bother someone long after.

“Peace like a River” is a novel narrated by a severely asthmatic boy named Reuben Land who lives with his “miracle-working” father Jeremiah Land, his poetic little sister Swede, and his older brother, Davy.

The plot goes from mild to thick when two classmates of Davy, Israel Finch and Tommy Basca, attempt to rape Davy’s girlfriend.

Davy’s father, Jeremiah Land, comes to the rescue and teaches the boys a lesson, but the boys respond with serious pranks that even threaten Swede.

This leads Davy to lure Finch and Basca to his home, and Davy shoots them both dead in cold blood. Davy is arrested, jailed, but later breaks out. This brings the family to a crosscountry search for him encountering hardships and a few miracles, too.

I found the language a bit disconnected, but this is understandable, considering that the narrator is recalling his 11-year-old experiences.

Enger skillfully links ideas from the Old Testament and the Wild West. His characters are multifaceted and scintillatingly resemble figures in Christianity. Anyone looking for a Christian novel with heart-wrenching and warming moments should check this one out. A movie interpretation starring Billy Bob Thornton comes out in 2009.

-Angela Kim

college and start facing life in the real world. In every episode in season eight through ten come new scandals and story lines straight out of a soap opera.

Although “Beverly Hills, 90210” started when most of us were born, the addictive nature of the show started a phenomena of drama series based on high school students like “Gossip Girls” and the new sequel “90210: the next generation.”

While most sequels in Hollywood are tragic and useless compared to the first one, “90210” brings a fresh, modern twist to the golden globe nominated, “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

The series starts exactly eight years after the original show ended. Like “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “90210” begins when the Wilson family moves from Kentucky to Beverly Hills. Sister, Annie, and adopted brother, Dixon, join forces with West Beverly’s in-crowd.

Naomi, Ethan, Navid, Erin, Adrianna, Annie, and Dixon become the new gang on this show. Erin is Kelly’s little sister from the old show and still has to deal with her big sister because Kelly is now the school’s counselor.

Browser battle: comparing web entry points Dennis Sun Staff writer In the modern world of computers and technology, getting online is a vitally important thing. And because of this importance, people have tried to develop all kinds of ways to reach the Internet.

Title: Peace Like a River Author: Leif Enger

Photos courtesy of tv.msn.com

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer is the stable browser many PC owners are used to; it comes with all Microsoft computers. This browser is the one that is fitted into all of MC’s PCs. It’s a bit of a novelty, nowadays, however, with all kinds of faster competitors being released, but it’s still the most popular, according to a survey done in Aug. 2008. IE 7, the most up-todate version as of Sept. 22 that is nonbeta, has a clean feel to it, but its edges are a bit too rounded in some aspects, giving it a bubbly feel.

More importantly, the browser is much slower than its competitors when loading pages. It opens up pages piece-bypiece, which can become slow and timeconsuming, and, although other browsers work the same, IE’s rendering engine is more archaic, making it slower.

However, it has some cool features, such as movable tabs and also a quick-tab selection page that allows you to view all open tabs at once and select which tab they want to use. Internet Explorer is also relatively versatile, with plenty of addons and toolbars to make your life more confusing.

Most add-ons available on the web are for Internet Explorer or Firefox, so Internet Explorer is a good choice if you want lots of interesting gizmos to make the web experience more enjoyable.

Fortunately for those who don’t like the current IE, there is a beta for Internet Explorer 8 available for free download.

Although it looks essentially the same, it has some new features and also promises to be faster and safer.

Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox is the open source web browser that is developed and managed by the Mozilla Corporation. It is, essentially, the smarter, faster, shinier younger brother of Internet Explorer.

However, like many younger siblings, it is less popular and less well known than

Internet Explorer, holding the secondplace spot in the percentage usage among computer owners as of Aug. 2008, with 19.73% of customers using Firefox, according to Net Applications.

Firefox 3.01 is the most up-to-date version as of Sept.

22, and features tabbed browsing, spell check, and a download manager, among other things.

It has a clean, sleek, sharp-edged look to it that can be adjusted with hundreds of different add-ons that change the appearance.

Firefox also has great page loading speed, loading pages faster than Internet Explorer. Opening extra tabs tends to slow the browser down, however. When the browser crashes, it will ask if you would like to recover all the previous information, which can be useful.

Firefox has hundreds of thousands of add-ons for you to choose from to enhance your surfing experience, and these can all be found on Mozilla’s website. Also, Firefox is compatible with Window, Mac, and Linux computers so almost all computer owners have the ability to use Firefox.

Safari For all Mac, iPhone, and iPod Touch users, Safari is the primary web browser that is used. It comes with all Mac OS X computers, along with all Internet-capable Apple products. A Windows-compatible version was released mid-2007. Safari, however, is not one of the more popular browsers, despite its appearance in all things Apple and Internet-friendly, but its usage is steadily climbing.

The latest stable version is version 3.1.2, released at the end of June this year. It features tabbed browsing, Quartz-style font smoothing, ad blocking, and spell check, along with many other important features.

Safari looks extremely similar to iTunes, with the same grayscale, slate feel to it. Even the bookmarks are organized in an iTuneslike manner. The loading speed on Safari is about the same as Firefox’s, quick and complete page loads instead of the bitby-bit loads of Internet Explorer.

However, some pages appear different and Apple automatically applies certain styles to pages, changing the look and feel of pages. There are also plenty of add-ons for Safari, ranging from appearance upgrades to music players and fancy web programming editors.

Along with computers, Safari also comes with iPod Touches, iPhones, and iPhone 3Gs. It has a similar look and feel to it, and also has the same great speed.

Google Chrome Google Chrome, a browser recently released by Google, is very different compared to other browsers. It has only been released for Windows XP and above, however, so older versions of Windows and Mac and Linux users won’t have access for a while. Chrome’s processor is touted by google to be twice as fast as Firefox, Opera, and Safari, so it’s essentially the fastest browser around.

However, it is still in a beta release, so many things could change in time.

Chrome is also a multithread browser, meaning that each tab that is opened is like a whole new browser, so if one tab crashes, the whole Chrome does not crash. Chrome looks like many of Google’s products, with a light, sky-blue color scheme, and smooth, eye-pleasing graphics, but is very, very simple, with one box for everything; the navigation box is also a search box and a bookmarks box.

There are some Chrome add-ons already for advanced users, even though it was only released on Sept. 2 of this year, which can change the color scheme and add some interesting features. Chrome is also generally very secure, warning users about sites that have been reported for suspicious activity or malware downloads.

Chrome also has some interesting quirks to it, such as being able to drag tabs out to create new windows and to rearrange tabs by clicking and dragging.

It still has not been released as a stable version yet, so some glitches may exist that have been overlooked, but for many, Chrome is a new step in the evolution of web browsers.

For more information on Internet browsers, including others such as Opera, visit MCSUN.org and search “browsers.”

Although Kelly, played by Jennie Garth, and Nat, played

by Joe Tata, are the only people signed on for the whole season from “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Brenda, played by Shannon Doherty, does a cameo at the beginning of the new season to be the play director.

While no other cast member from “Beverly Hills, 90210” is certain to return, Kelly has a child with Dylan, her love interest from the old show.

With cast members from the old show appearing left and right, it is hard to find a difference between the old and the new show. While The Peach Pit has redecorated its ‘50s motif and the high school looks a little more modern, the drama and rich kids are all the same.

“90210” is the show that we hate to love, but can’t get enough of.

The old one will go down in history as a teen sensation in the ‘90s. Where the old one lacked good writing at times, and the new one has gained. For once in the entertainment industry, people can’t get enough of a sequel.

“Nick and Norah’s” lacks infinite joy Sarah Carrigan Staff Writer Only in the movies can people navigate a traffic free Manhattan on a Friday night while miraculously being able to find parking places wherever they go.

Only in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” can a jaded Jew, a heartbroken Michael Cera, a ditzy tramp and three gay men in a passenger van navigate do all that while hunting down an alcoholic teen and a secret indie band.

Such is the illogical state of this season’s comeback to Juno.

Nick (Michael Cera) is still reeling from his break up with the trashy Tris (Alexis Dziena) as he makes evident by the mix tape he burns, “The Road to Closure: Volume 12.”

In a desperate attempt to lift his spirits, Nick’s band mates take him out for a night on the town after his favorite band, Where’s Fluffy, announces a surprise concert at a secret location.

Tris goes out in search of the concert also, along with school Chihuahua chums Caroline (Ari Graynor) and Norah (Kat Dennings).

Early in the evening, the two groups’ paths cross, and a complicated series of events is set into motion.

The night may be all about finding Fluffy, but when a drunken Caroline disappears, Nick and Norah are thrown together for the first date of an improbable romance where they will discover the truth about themselves and their friends.

As much potential as the previews promise, the film fails to deliver the independent standard moviegoers expect.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist takes viewers on a roller coaster ride that has them constantly asking, “Wait, what just happened?”

High points of good acting and plot developments are followed by dips of illogical connections between situation and character development.

Admittedly, the script is laugh out loud funny, especially the portrayal of Nick’s gay band mates. But more often than not, the humor is taken several steps too far by crossing the lines of comfort and sacrilege.

The title is also misleading. Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist contains no mention of a playlist between the two leads (let alone an infinite one), and the underground rock references throughout their night, one supposedly dedicated to rock clubs and music, were beyond minimal.

Michael Cera has become the poster boy for successful tales of teenage awkwardness. However, his latest project tries too hard to live up to the likes of Juno. So much so, in fact, that the script’s potential to deliver a great film experience flops.

Set in a world of mix-tapes, late nights, and live music, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a patchwork of good scenes that are stitched together, like a feature film made from a diverting YouTube series, but as a whole, the film lacks the indie edge it seeks.

OUT IN THEATRES TODAY

Entertainment

Mt. Carmel SUN

New apple products keep company crisp ERICA BYERLEY STAFF WRITER Students interested in keeping up with the latest iPod trends will be excited to see Apple’s newest models of some of its most popular products.

Both the iPod touch and the nano have a wide variety of new features, from enhanced battery power to games designed specifically for each of them.

Possibly their best new feature is a playlist-creating tool called Genius.

GENIUS FEATURE

If you would rather not shell out hundreds of dollars for a new iPod that comes with Genius, you can get one of the best features for free just by downloading the latest version of iTunes onto your computer.

It is very easy to use. All you have to do is find a song you like from your music library or from a playlist and click on the Genius icon in the bottom corner of the screen. (It looks like a purple atom.)

Genius will find other songs that go well with the selected one and make a playlist, which can be controlled to have 25, 50, or 100 songs in it.

If you don’t like the ones Genius picked, just click refresh and it will make an entirely new playlist.

It usually picks songs based on genre or artist, but sometimes it selects from beyond those boundaries, creating better playlists than many people would be able to make for themselves.

NEW IPOD TOUCH

Apple has really added a lot to the latest version of the iPod Touch to make it even better than its first model.

Leaving the screen display on while listening to a song wastes a lot of battery power, so it was always a big headache to have to turn it on to

adjust the volume on the old iPod Touch.

The new version has volume control buttons on the side, eliminating that problem.

Its batteries, by the way, now last longer than they did before: 36 hours of audio or six hours of video.

This makes it possible to watch multiple movies in one charge, making it the perfect iPod for long car rides, plane flights, or lab days.

It also features a built-in speaker in case you find yourself somewhere without headphones. Additionally, if its size was previously an issue for anyone, it is now even thinner than before.

Along with the standard maps, Internet, photos, and calculator applications, the new iPod Touch has games and Nike features.

You can now download countless games off the Internet, which range from Crash Bandicoot racing to poker.

To use Nike, special technology is sold separately that slips into shoes, allowing runners to view how far they’ve gone, the number of calories burned, and how long they’ve been running.

The iPod will also sync with nikeplus.com, allowing athletes to set goals for themselves, view progress, manage workouts, and even compete with friends.Prices start at $229.

NEW IPOD NANO

Besides having the new Genius feature to select a song, you can shuffle the Nano by simply giving it a slight shake.

It also has the iPod Touch technology that senses whether the iPod is vertical or horizontal, allowing nano owners to now browse through cover flow or view videos or pictures in widescreen mode. If that were not enough, they come in nine new beautiful colors, including all the colors of the rainbow, pink, charcoal, and silver.

Depending on how much music you want to put on one, they range from $149-199 and are made entirely from aluminum and glass.

B5

October 3, 2008

Killer competitors threaten iPhone

DENNIS SUN STAFF WRITER

The recent release of the iPhone 3G rocked store shelves, as people scrambled frantically to purchase them. But Apple’s iPhone isn’t the only touch-screen phone in the market.

Competitors like LG, Samsung, SonyEricsson, HTC and Nokia all have iPhone-like products, some called iPhone “killers,” that not only look similar to iPhones, but also beat them in many aspects.

The iPhone 3G has many cool features, such as internet and Wi-Fi capabilities, a touch screen, GPS, and a 2 megapixel camera and video camera, along with its accelerometer feature that senses motion.

The 3G simply means that it has wireless broadband, which can be used almost anywhere, where as Wi-Fi is restricted to hotspots.

It is sold for $199, which is $400 less than the original iPhone, which sold for $599 initially. The iPhone has 8GB of memory, enough to hold more than 2000 songs. It also has 8 hours of talk time, beating all competitors in that aspect.

LG’s Dare, an iPhone killer, is similar to the iPhone, as it sports a touch screen, has GPS, and costs as much, but has differences in weight and size. It is available through Verizon wireless.

Dare is lighter but thicker than the iPhone, and also has a 3.1 MP camera and video camera that beats the iPhone’s, but it’s battery life i s substantially shorter than the iPhone.

Samsung’s Instinct is another smartphone with a touch screen, GPS and a 2MP camera. It sells at $129 and is available through Sprint.

Along with its horizontal modes, the Instinct also comes with plans for Live TV, which lets you watch shows and news on-the-go on the screen of the Instinct.

The SonyEricsson Xperia X1 is another

iPhone killer, with, like many others, a touch screen, GPS, and horizontal capabilities.

Unlike the iPhone, Dare, and Instinct, the Xperia X1 has a full, slide-out Qwerty keyboard, allowing for faster typing than other smartphones, but it also makes the phone substantially thicker, too.

The Xperia X1 also has an MP3 player built in, along with a 3.2MP camera and video camera.

However, it is only available in select markets and costs a whopping $899.

The HTC Touch series of phones is one of the most impressive iPhone ass kickers, boasting powerful, fast processors and tons of extra features, giving it the reigning position over most iPhone killers.

The HTC Touch Diamond is a touchscreen phone with Windows Mobile on it, while the upgraded soon-to-be successor, the HTC Touch Pro, has Windows Mobile along with a full, slide-out Qwerty keyboard. The HTC Touch Diamond sells for $594.

A n - other much anticipated phone HTC released on Sept. 23 is called the G1. It is sold by T-Mobile in a partnership with Google. Similar to the iPhone, it has a touch screen, but also has a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, and costs $200 with contract.

Nokia’s N Series phones are another set of touch-screen smartphones that have internet access, GPS, and MP3 players.

The N Series boasts 2 to 5 megapixel digital cameras that allow for high-quality pictures. However, the N Series phones are a bit heavier and thicker than competitors due to this feature, along with their slide-out number keyboards. They cost around $350. All of these fancy phones are available through local retailers, so if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, and you want to spend it, buying a new smartphone may not be such a bad idea.

iPod evolves with intelligent designs JORDAN UGALDE STAFF WRITER At the turn of the 21 century, a new generation of digital music players was born. It was bulky, Mac exclusive, expensive ($400), held only five GB (1,000 songs), and started a media craze that swept the nation.

This craze that holds strong even today is known simply as the iPod. Created on October 23, 2001, from the mind of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the iPod, as Jobs put it, has “helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music.”

Jobs’ words ring true, as evidenced by the 19 different types of iPods that collectively have sold over 160 million units as of the most recent sales estimates, making iPods the biggest selling digital music players of all

time. But in the beginning, from 2001 to 2003, the iPod wasn’t selling nearly as much. It was leading the market at the time, yet its sales compared to today are minimal. Then again, compared to the present, the past iPods don’t stand a chance.

Apple’s music player started its first three years relatively simple. The big changes made in its first models were gaining space, moving buttons (which weren’t originally on the wheel), and becoming Microsoft compatible.

It wasn’t until 2004 and 2005 that the iPod began to be what we commonly use today.

The iPod Mini was the first in a series of smaller compact music players. It sacrificed music space for size, but it was the first iPod to use the scroll wheel we see today.

Its predecessor, the iPod Nano, continued on the idea that smaller is better, but incorporated with its durability. It was tested

to be able to function after being run over by a car twice.

The also durable, but considerably smaller (in size and storage), iPod shuffle was mainly for the casual music listener. Its lack of screen and small storage size lead to unpopularity among those who wanted a portable music library.

Apple did not disappoint those wanting more.

Their iPod video could contain over ten times the amount the original carried.Also, this new iPod was able to play videos and hold photos, a new aspect to the iPod line.

From this aspect, the Shuffle, the Nano, and the Video, modern iPods birthed.

IPod Nanos are smaller than ever and have added video playing among its abilities. It is nearly one sixth of the size of the original iPod, yet it stores more data and it is at most half the cost of its ancestor.

The iPod Shuffle remains relatively the same except that it has shrunk again and costs at max $70. Its current volume is less than an inch cubed. But it still has a relatively small amount of room for music space. That is where the new iPod classic comes in. Able to store 24 times that of the original iPod and with almost half the cost, this iPod is the definitely the best for those who want the most bang for their buck.

But when it comes to innovation, the all new branch in the evolutionary chain, the iPod Touch, is unmatched. Though it costs at most the same as the original iPod, it can go on the Internet, turn the screen, and of course, it is controlled by touching the screen.

Evolution never ends unless the species dies out, but if the iPods’ profits are any indication (over $10 billion) the iPod will be a constantly evolving part of society.

Sundevils use Youtube to inspire, entertain and kill time JORDAN UGALDE STAFF WRITER YouTube is a well known video posting site but sophomore Carlos Rivera calls it “the greatest brain fryer man has created.” What goes into the work required to contribute to this “brain fryer”?

According to senior Patrick Smoot, not much. Whenever something cool or random happens for him, he just takes advantage of the moment and posts it on YouTube.

“When I do something funny, I like to share it with my friends and whoever else wants to see it,” Smoot said.

And apparently a lot of people want to see random stuff, as evidenced by a video of him singing American Idol reject Renaldo Lapuz’s “I Am Your Brother” garnering over 32,000 views since being posted at the beginning of this year.

Sophomore Doug Saavedra believes that achieving this high view count is what posting on YouTube is all about.

“It’s kind of funny seeing how many people want to watch your video even though it’s kind of stupid,” Saavedra said.

Body of Lies October 10

But for some, posting on YouTube is done for more simple reasons. Junior Catherine Allen creates and posts random videos simply to alleviate boredom.

“It started because I was sick and had nothing better to do,” Allen said. “It’s something to keep you busy.”

Random videos are often the most popular, like the video of a baby laughing, which received over 60 million views. Yet not everyone wants only randomness from YouTube. Some people want inspiration from the videos, which is exactly what sophomore Nicole Balagtas tries to provide.

“I started writing songs [and posting them] to inspire people like music has inspired me,” Balagtas said.

A comment on one of Balagatas’ original songs shows that she has been successful in inspiring with her music.

The comment says that Balagtas’ original song, “Last Choice,” was used to get two best friends back together, a feat unmatched by the videos of the other mentioned YouTube posters.

Not all videos are inspirational, but many, in some way or another, touch the emotions.

As Carlos Rivera says, “Screw the dogs, YouTube is man’s new best friend.”

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People Today

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

Elmer Pres Urbano (11) begins to conquer his rubix cube during his YouTube video. To watch the students’ videos visit mcsun.org.

Upcoming Movies

Blindness Today

Religious Today

Title: The Hunger Games Author: Suzanne Collins Blood and romance, gore and kisses, the occasional fireball and the healing power of love. Whoa, back up, those don’t seem to mix at all, but somehow author Suzanne Collins strings all of those elements together into a neat little package in her new book, “The Hunger Games”.

The setting of the story is not too fun to think about. In the future, on the ruins of a land once known as North America, a new land known as Panem has been built. The rich center is in a city called the Capitol and the poorer subdivisions are in the 12 Districts, where they grow the food or make the products.

Long before the time of the story, rebels from the Districts, attacked the Capitol, but their rebellion failed. As a sign of authority, every year the Capitol picks two tributes from each District to throw in an arena. The Hunger Games throws the 24 kids into a televised fight to the death: last one standing wins.

From the poorest parts of District 12, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are thrown into the arena for the 74 national Hunger Games.

Katniss, who is used to hunting for her own food, feels somewhat natural inside the forest setting of the arena. Peeta, on the other hand, is the son of a baker and therefore never had to struggle for his food, so he is out of his element in the arena.

Collins does a great job describing afflictions like dehydration, burns and the fear of death. She makes the reader feel like they are hiding in the caves along with Katniss and watching the people slaughter each other.

Overall, the author does an awesome job, but with a disappointing cliffhanger at the end. Watch out for the sequel.

-Kevin Lage

Artist: Clique Girlz Album: Incredible With bleached out hair, screeching vocals, and an overdose of attitude, The Clique Girlz, yes, with a “z”, strut on to the music scene.

If you can really call this music.

From the fateful day they met at a water fountain at their school in New Jersey, these pint-sized pop-punks have been performing together.

Sisters Paris and Destinee, “best friend for life” Ariel sing and dance their way into manufactured tweenstardom.

Obviously going for the Hannah Montana “good girl with an edge” vibe, the Clique Girlz take the motto of “No drugs, no alcohol, no boys and no partying,” according to oldest member and group leader Destinee.

Even without the rock star excess, the Girlz like to look as hardcore as possible, while maintaining a girly edge.

The cover of their debut album “Incredible” displays the girls in boots, suspenders, and skinny jeans.

This image is completely compatible with the music. It’s beyond the maturity level of young teens and is a carbon copy of many other already exsiting acts.

It lacks originality or anything special. Even in those moments you just want to relax and hear some fast paced music that makes you happy, Clique Girlz are below standard.

Pop music is popular because it appeals to the public. Somehow, through songs like “Then I Woke Up” and “Smile” the Clique Girlz mange to alienate massive groups of people who aren’t involved in the middle school dating and heartbreak scene.

If predictable pop if you’re guilty pleasure, The Clique Girlz are for you.

But if you desire any sort of creativity or talent, steer clear.

-MACKENZIE LANCE

Features

B6

Mt. Carmel SUN

October 3, 2008

From the End of Heaven

Food for Thought

Sarah Carrigan

Stuck in the suburbs?

“Just one more year. Be patient.

Just one more year.”

Senior year has yet to kick off with full force and I’ve already caught myself whispering my newly discovered mantra repeatedly under my breath.

An entire school year still to go, yet for some reason graduation looms before me like a beacon of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

In a nutshell, I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand!

A year from now we seniors will be making our way in the world.

Many will be leaving home for the first time, bright eyed, bushy tailed, and eager to change the world.

On the one hand we look forward to liberation.

College is the chance to find ourselves, experiment, and protest anything and everything just because we can.

Adulthood is ours in the eyes of our parents, the registrar of voters, and the clerk at 7-11!

Gone are the days of boring routines and conformity.

Diversity and excitement are waiting.

All of these promises ran through my head with considerable appeal as I took my dog for a walk early this summer.

I was tired.

I didn’t feel like traipsing all over the neighborhood, thank you very much.

But despite my proclivity to relax, I’d been instructed to take him for a long one.

Of course, a long walk translated to a trip to the park for a nap in the grass.

Instead Logan, my giant cotton ball of a dog, and I ended up people watching.

Here’s what we saw: • A large personal trainer with a couple of wimpy clients and several inexplicable cylinders of Styrofoam.

• An aged grandmother pushing her infant granddaughter in a stroller.

• The first flight of a remote control airplane piloted by a young father and his two small sons.

• A Chihuahua who thought he was a tiger.

• Several children chasing after a bouquet of escaped balloons.

• The vain attempt on the part of several fathers to teach soccer to six kids under the age of four.

• A middle aged dwarf playing with a little girl his same height.

• The first time the training wheels came off.

Who knew such everyday things held could be so significant?

From my patch of clover I was witnessing life: small, insignificant moments that piece together and shape who we are.

In one swooping moment something new hit me.

We all want to escape, but what are we leaving behind?

A comforting and uncomplicated home, that’s what.

Sure it isn’t perfect. The world we live in is growing darker every day no matter where you are. Immoraltiy is seeping into even the most idealistic corners of America at a depressingly overwhelming rate.

But simple pleasures can still be found in peaceful moments.

Even tough I’m eager for new adventures in college, it’s important to appreciate the special things we have here that make our home unique.

Maybe being stuck in the suburbs isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Photo illustration by ALlison ROgers | photographer

A number of restaurant signs represent some of the most popular off campus lunch spots for MC students. Many Sundevils head to the Peñasquitos Town Center for lunch.

Off campus options soothe students’ hunger pains Vincent Pham Staff Writer As lunch draws closer, so do the eyes of MC students. That is, their eyes grow closer to the clock.

Dinggggggggggg.

The bell rings, and in an instant, students flock to the parking lot, getting out to beat the traffic, and beat the lines at fast food counters.

Going off campus is a privilege that many MC upperclassmen enjoy. It’s an opportunity to get great food, and great value, which makes it all worthwhile.

One of the major hot spots for students to go to for lunch is Jack in the Box. Junior Tyler Wilson, like many others, goes there to enjoy quality meals and deals.

“I usually order a Jumbo Jack because it’s cheap and it’s filling,” Wilson said. “Jack in the Box stands out from other places because it gives you your money’s worth and provides decent food.”

Wilson admits, however, that because places like Jack in

the Box are so popular amongst MC students, problems can emerge.

“Sometimes when you go a little late, the lines get long and seem endless,” Wilson said. “It makes it nearly impossible for us to have the time to eat in.”

Other students, like senior Cynthia Stanley, would rather enjoy a more prestigious place to satisfy an appetite.

“I like to go to a new place called Wonderful Sushi,” Stanley said. “A lot of their items are 50% off so my friend and I can enjoy Sushi for a relatively good deal.”

The short time span of lunch is a definite factor as to where students decide to go for lunch.

Many people choose places to go simply for convenience.

Senior Samantha Flores deciphers where she goes to lunch based on the allotted time given.

“I usually go to places like Golden Bagel and Starbucks,” Flores said. “They are the only good places around here that I can get to in 30 minutes and back.”

Wilson admits that the price of foods does play a role in what he chooses to eat off the menu.

“I care about how I spend my money at places like

McDonalds,” Wilson said. “It is just not worth paying six dollars for a combo meal [that] you’re not even going to have time to finish when you can just pick something from the dollar menu.”

In fact, many students would agree with this, preferring to take items like the double cheeseburger or a chicken sandwich over a combo of burger, fries, and a drink.

Other students, like Andrew Kim, prefer places that are specific to Rancho Peñasquitos like Cotijas and Rodrigo’s.

“I like these places because they aren’t one stop shops where you buy a burrito then leave,” Kim said. “It’s an actual restaurant. There is a grand variety of foods to choose from like the infamous El Grande from Cotijas.”

Kim also mentions that places like these are often the easiest to get food fast and promptly.

“I seem to get my food quickly and efficiently at Cotijas and Rodrigo’s,” he said. “It seems like the workers there know we’re in a rush to get back so they help us out and speed up their process of cooking.”

Regardless of where people go, it is certain that off campus restaurants always gratify those taste buds.

Cheap choices, creative thinking weigh light on wallet Shayon said Staff writer

Ana Alvarez | photographer

Golden Bagel is a favorite of students for off campus lunches because of its selection and wallet friendly prices.

Money has always been one of a teenager’s biggest dilemmas.

When it comes to going off campus for lunch, it’s sometimes one of the harshest problems to deal with, but also one of the easiest to control.

Some MC students drive and drive, constantly questioning the best place to grab some grub. Seniors Alex Wright and Saloni Desai spend almost all of their lunches off-campus, and money is rarely on their mind.

“All of my off campus places are cheap anyways, so it (money) doesn’t really matter,” Wright said.

“We don’t look for specific food that is cheap; we go to specific places that are generally cheap.”

Desai also agrees because of the low prices that PQ provides.

“I rarely pay attention to money anyways,” Desai said. “We only buy what we need so it’s not wasting money.”

Though it’s true that most PQ

fast dining areas are cheap, you can easily spend way too much money than you’d want to.

Suppose you went off campus for 180 lunches and you only spent five bucks each time. It may not seem like a lot; however, once you do the math you actually would have spent a total of $900! And that’s not even including gas.

Everything accumulates over time, especially money. So inexpensive places are only cheap when you don’t look at how much you pay over time.

Some students eventually fall to the lure of money and let it control what they buy. Senior Soraya Ewing only eats the food that she can truly afford.

“I buy what I can at a reasonable price,” She said. “If I have the right amount of money then I will buy it.”

However, it really is simple to make it so that you control your money, and not the other way around.

Carpooling provides efficient

travel, and you get to hang out with your friends.

You could easily save gas by alternating whose car you use each day.

Of course some students can’t drive others; however, it’s not that hard to find alternates.

“Sometimes my friends just give me money and I’ll go buy what they want for them,” Wright said.

“After I buy for them, they do it for me.”

Considering many local PQ shops have coupons in local magazines and newspapers, a one dollar coupon to Starbucks or Golden Bagel will help out much more than you think.

All in all, money is the factor of our desires, no matter how much we have of it. We may be the ones who make money, but if we aren’t careful, money will be the one to control us.

Money is a beast waiting to pounce on you, but just like any beast, with the right amount of thinking, you can easily tame it.

Fast food favorites help make quick lunch figure friendly Karen Michel Staff writer After the 4th period bell rings which allows you to go to a 30 minute lunch, the first thing that crosses many juniors and seniors minds at MC is, “Should I get the two tacos meal today? Or a carne asada burrito?”

The reality of off campus lunch is that the PQ shopping center is over populated with many fast food restaurants.

Jack in the box, Cotijas, PQ Donuts, Carl’s Jr., Rodrigo’s, and pastries at Starbucks are just a few examples.

Of course, there are also many other upperclassmen who find Subway as a more appetizing lunch.

However, the long lines at the “eat fresh” restaurant can create a big stress to students who don’t have 5th period off and have to squeeze in a 30-minute lunch.

With these long lines, students are sadly forced to go to the restaurants that can prepare a meal for you in under 5-minutes, which are also notoriously known as the “Fast-food” places.

“Subway would probably be my first choice to go to for lunch,” senior Vicky Tran said.

“It’s just that sometimes the lines are ridiculous and I worry that I won’t have enough time to make a sub, eat it, and then get back to school on time.”

Although lines can be

long, and the lack of time for lunch can be a big burden to worry about, there are also many healthy choices to make when going to eat off campus.

“Well, I know that I have a limited time to eat, so I tend to always go to place like Jacks [in the Box] or Carl’s Jr.,” senior Christine Henson said.

“Even though they are known for their cheeseburger and fries, I try and always get stuff like the all white chicken breast sandwiches or fruit.”

Although the choices for eating off campus are often unhealthy, many of these restaurants have created an alternative for kids who enjoy a more fresh meal.

At Jack in the Box, they have the sourdough chicken fajita pita which has only 300 calories and nine grams of fat.

Starbucks is now offering the skinny lattes which can start off as low as 90 calories and zero grams of fat.

Many kids tend to use the “but I only have 30 minutes for lunch” excuse when eating off campus, which makes them feel forced to get the carne asada fries, or the melted cheese on a precooked burger, which are unnecessary calories.

However with the alternative selection of many of these restaurants, students now have the choice of living a better and healthier lifestyle.

MEAL MAP: Some of the best spots for sundevils to grab a bite are nearby in the PQ Towncenter.

Features

Mt. Carmel SUN

October 3, 2008

Chris Nolan: trumpet player by

B7 Don’t Blink

day, professional gamer by night MELISSA ROADMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Energy drinks flowing and competitive spirits filling the room, senior Chris Nolan prepares for his chance to show off his skills on the video game “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas.”

Nolan, who is a professional video gamer, has been playing for two years.

Two summers ago, Nolan joined a free online game and became friends with someone who invited him to play on his team because of his skill.

“We practiced about 12 hours a day, testing guns, working on technique and strategy,” Nolan said.

In order to prepare for tournaments, the teams practice several techniques.

“We train together and work on specific strategies, certain advantages and weaknesses, work on specific terminology and try to understand the makeup of how the game is played and how we can use it to its full potential,” Nolan said.

In order to learn the game, Nolan and his teammates go through a rigorous process of trial and error.

“We do something we call ‘Weapons Physics,’” Nolan said.

“For example, we select a gun, and in each level with different attachments [and equipment] we fire off rounds within the game and watch where the bullet goes. We write down the results and then repeat it for each weapon. Each game only has so much memory so patterns repeat. We learn these patterns and memorize them to use during a competition.”

As a video game professional, Nolan has a sponsorship that pays for him to participate in tournaments. At these tournaments, the gamers compete for prize money that ranges from $200 to $100,000 per team.

What is your favorite color?

Green, because I’m Irish ANA ALVAREZ | PHOTOGRAPHER

Chris Nolan (12) plays video games professionally. What started as a cool skill turned into easy money. Although what may seem like every boy’s dream is actually very stressful. Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a disease that causes brittle bones, led him down this path.

Nolan competes in tournaments playing “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2.”

“It’s a tactical Shooter that requires patience, strategy, tactics, and of course skill,” Nolan said.

He also enjoys playing “Halo 3” and “Call of Duty 4,” but he does not compete in tournaments with these games often.

The experiences Nolan has gained through his professional game playing career are once in a lifetime.

One of his coolest experiences involved playing online with a group of Scottish teams. “[I] couldn’t understand a word,” Nolan said.

His current team, which is not yet sponsored, played 35 games a few weekends ago, and “didn’t lose single game.”

Besides gaming, Nolan spends most of his time working at Jamba Juice and playing trumpet in the band.

Nolan enjoys being in band because of the friendships he has developed and the times they have shared together on trips. “[In band you are] with practically all your friends, going places and spending time with them while producing awesome music!” Nolan said.

Throughout his whole life, Nolan has suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a disease that causes brittle bones due to a deficiency of Type 1 Collagen, which strengthens bones.

Nolan explains he has developed into the person he is today because of his disorder.

“I [have] learned to accept who I am as a person and helped me get through what for others may be a hard time,” Nolan said.

“I may break bones, but I’m not dying with cancer or in a wheelchair permanently. Gotta live with what you have and be happy with it... others don’t get that chance. God has used this as a blessing to me so that I can understand compassion and understand struggle.”

Fun Facts

Favorite hobbies?

Play games, hang out with friends and my dog

What is your favorite food?

I like potatoes and steak.

Favorite instruments played?

Guitar and trumpet

What is your favorite band?

Underoath and My American Heart

Favorite activities?

Bike ride and beach

New student shares his Mexican culture PARESH DAVE WEB EDITOR

A lack of restraints and looser enforcement of rules creates a very different environment in Mexico compared to the United States.

In his first month at MC, junior Edgar Gold has already brought accounts of his life in Mexico City to San Diego by telling stories of exotic animals, hunters, professional soccer and professional boxing.

Gold moved with an extended family member to San Diego for one year to improve his English.

He said that although he learned English in school in Mexico, he needed to get better at speaking it if he wanted to reach his goal of someday becoming a publisher in the US. One of things that has actually been less strict in America, according to Gold, has been school.

Not only does he find the work and tests less challenging, but he said he was happy to stop wearing the formal blazer and slacks required by the small private school he attended in Mexico

City.

At MC, Gold is able to wear a fashionable style of clothing. He said that he is proud of his style and that if you have the money, it is good to dress well.

Overall, Gold has not tried to attract too much attention.

Because he knows he will return home in nine months, he does not want to deal with too many sad partings. He has become friends with a very small group, who he said have been really good to him.

Those friends are important to him because Gold will not travel back to see his family between August and Christmas break.

He has, however, done a lot of traveling around Latin America in the past. His favorite locale is the beach of Puerto Rico.

While he has not settled on a favorite hang-out in San Diego, he said the best restaurant that he’s tried so far is Ashoka. Indian dishes and sushi have always been his favorite non-Mexican dishes.

Among the liberties Gold has enjoyed in Mexico has been being paid to play soccer professionally as a teenager while in school.

Gold said he also competed in a

professional boxing circuit, and he has scars and bruises on his face to prove it.

As a boxer, he won some regional titles and other accolades. At about 5’10’’ and built very strong, Gold hopes to play and make an impact for MC’s soccer team.

Mexico City also offered Gold more freedom because there he’s able to go to night clubs and roam around aimlessly with friends.

Additionally, like many other Mexican families in his region, Gold’s family, neighbors and friends own some exotic animals with names like Tequila and Astacio. His grandfather, a hunter, captured some of the animals stored as pets by those in the area.

However, Gold says the animals kept as pets are treated better than the animals in Mexican zoos, in which he claims animals are abused.

Instead, people in his area travel to each other’s ranches to see animals like lions, giraffes, dolphins and panthers.

At home in Mexico City, Gold cares for his own pet. Already preALLISON ROGERS | PHOTOGRAPHER paring to live the American dream, Edgar Gold (11) comes from Mexico City bringing eccentric stories of boxhis favorite pet is his dog Toby. ing, soccer, and exotic animals with him.

Digital media undergoes smooth transition to broadcasting class

ADITI PAI STAFF WRITER

Every Monday, third period, the first five minutes of class presents some of the most important information a sundevil needs to know. From scholarships, to club meetings, to advertisements for school sponsored functions, the daily bulletin is a vital aspect of MC life.

One more addition to the changes at MC this year is the curriculum in the digital media class. Now mainly focusing on broadcasting, this class teaches students what happens behind the scenes of the MC daily bulletin.

Although ASB started this alternative way of hearing information, the class will slowly take over most of the broadcast.

Senior Blake Fisher and senior Brad Catcott were the first of this class to go on air.

Although Fisher initially signed up for the class with it’s previous curriculum in mind, he now enjoys this new class.

“I felt important [doing the broadcast],” Fisher said. “but at the same time I was really nervous. I had to concentrate on being perfect.”

More work and time goes into putting on a good show than most people realize.

The digital media class spent two weeks learn-

ing the process behind broadcasting before they tried it in front of the student body.

“We spent the whole period getting the speed and timing of the show down,” Fisher said. “It wasn’t hard but it was nerve-racking because you know the school will watch it. You can’t have mistakes.”

Even though Fisher is taking this class for a second semester, he learns different things.

“I like making videos and took the class last year,” Fisher said. “The format is different this year because of the new teacher and different equipment.”

Besides just the two newscasters, the show needs a sound crew of four people and someone to man the teleprompter. All the technical effects of the show make up a large part of the overall result.

Although most students at MC enjoy the broadcast weekly, two unfortunate buildings are deprived of this. During MC’s reconstruction, two wires running to the U and K buildings broke. As a result, the rooms don’t get cable, or the MC broadcast.

Hopefully these classes will soon be able to watch the broadcast with the rest of the school as this class grows and our daily bulletin grow and blossom.

photo illustration by ALLISON ROGERS | PHOTOGRAPHER

Angelica Rocha (11), Britney Ferrer (11), Albert Paras (12), and Yachi Fails (12) pose as the broadcasting team as they prepare for another Monday morning bulletin. The digital media class has been a crucial part of this year’s show as they are involved in the overall production.

Melissa Roadman

Reflecting on the wildfires one year later Wow. It’s October already.

Thinking back to this week last year, did anyone expect many of us were going to be displaced from our homes and experience probably the most devastating natural disaster any of us have seen firsthand?

I don’t think so. At least I didn’t, and I wasn’t ready.

The fear of the unknown is a little scary. After experiencing two natural disasters, it worries me that you never know when they are coming. And when they do, there’s not much time to prepare.

I remember texting both my sisters a picture of the orange air on the Sunday the fires started. It said, “October fires again :( .”

I literally watched the news online for 16 hours straight, constantly updating family and friends about what was going on. I didn’t even realize the severity at the time. It hit me while driving back from my grandpa’s house in RB at midnight to check to make sure his house wasn’t too smoky. Leaving him, my family didn’t know if we would be returning in the early morning responding to an evacuation call.

The next morning, the fires were closer and the advisory evacuation call came. After evacuating, I told myself that I would prepare better if another fire started (and I hope one doesn’t).

Looking back a year later, am I any more prepared than that Sunday in October? No. I guess I’m just hoping it won’t happen again. The only preparations I have made are to move far away from the fire dangers while attending college. Fires are too much for me to handle.

There is only one good thing that I see has come out of our experiences with the fires. While natural disasters are horrible and devastating in every sense of the word, I witnessed us coming together.

While sitting at church last weekend, the priest was discussing the two major drives behind people’s behaviors: justice and generosity. I flashed back to the fire and all the heartwarming stories about students helping out.

The number of people, especially teenagers, who reached out to the community to give back was unimaginable. We felt the call from the community to help and generously answered it.

Sports teams reached out to victims, church groups helped sift through destroyed possessions, and individuals donated supplies.

Thinking about all the people who lost their homes and those whose homes were affected by smoke damage, I wonder how their situation is now. Sure we all reached out and helped them while they were in shock after learning their homes were destroyed, but how much has the fire relief continued?

Homes aren’t rebuilt yet; people’s lives are changed. Should we seek out an opportunity to support those who lost their homes?

I was extremely pleased to read in the Corridor News that a concert will be held to benefit fire victims at Qualcomm Stadium on Oct. 24.

The man who is organizing the rock concert, Vincent Puma, lost his home in the wildfire. Because he lost his home in the fire, he is still affected by the devastation.

It seems as though we’ve all moved on, but can we?

As the anniversary approaches, so does the increase in fire danger.

What if the fires strike again, which is very likely, are you ready for it and all the repercussions? I’m not.

Features

B8

Mt. Carmel SUN

October 3, 2008

Lighting it up...

Marijuana becomes increasingly popular among teenagers; few take time to learn consequences

KAVERI GYANENDRA FEATURES EDITOR It seems like in today’s society, nearly everyone smokes marijuana, more commonly known as weed or pot. The media has a way of portraying weed as a substance that is cool and often connects the drug with success. For example, movies such as “Pineapple Express” and artists such as Snoop Dogg and M.I.A make it seem like smoking weed is no big deal.

According to Abovetheinfluence.com today’s marijuana has higher levels of THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, than ever.

The average amount of THC in a joint has gone from 4% in the ‘80s to about 9.6% today.

Although people see it as a natural drug that isn’t addictive or as harmful as others, they are strongly mistaken. The conception that weed isn’t addictive is contradicted with the studies that show many users who quit have withdrawals where they can experience irritability and anger. Because of the high THC concentration, people who smoke today are at higher risk of becoming addicted.

“I decided to try it once when I was at a party with my friends,” an MC senior said. “I had always thought it’s a drug that you can’t get hooked on but after doing it a few times I felt myself wanting more.”

Pot also has side effects that people don’t pay attention to. Weed affects the user’s judgment, motor coordination and short-term memory. It also causes a lack in concentration, perception and reaction time, skills that’s required for activities

such as driving.

“Normally after I get high one of my friends has to drive my car to a safe place,” the senior said. “It can be embarrassing but at least it is for safety.”

Marijuana can also increase heart rate and cause the user to become anxious or paranoid. Long-term consequences include chronic bronchitis, which comes from the smoke particles affecting the air passages.

School is also a factor that tends to slide once drugs are involved.

According to a survey taken by Abovetheinfluence.com, students with failing grades were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year as students who had an A grade average. Students who smoke pot are also more likely to cut class and later not attend school due to illnesses caused by marijuana.

“My freshman year I was completely clean but during sophomore and junior year when I started smoking I noticed my grades were severely falling,” the senior said. “I realized why my grades were falling but I couldn’t bring myself to stop.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, teens ages 12-17 who regularly smoke marijuana where shown to be three times more likely than non-users to have suicidal thoughts.

Pot, which is the most widely used drug by teenage girls, is growing in popularity and continuing to corrupt the teenage population.

Clearing up the haze

Myth | Fact

Marijuana is harmless Marijuana is not addictive Marijuana makes you mellow

25%

of MC students have smoked marijuana at some point in their life

     

75%

of MC students know somebody who smokes marijuana

*334 STUDENTS POLLED

Smoking weed interferes with relationships CATHY MCDERMOTT SPORTS EDITOR

The clock strikes midnight. Clutching her phone tightly, an MC senior lies in bed, trying her best to forget.

Forget that he was supposed to call three hours ago. Forget that it’s been several days since she’s seen him. Forget that he’d blown her off twice this week already.

She feels pathetic and weak. She should be used to this by now; it happens every day. And so far, she does a pretty decent job of persuading herself that there’s a good reason he hasn’t called, but there never is.

That is, unless she counts him getting high with his friends, losing track of time, then being too tired to call a good reason.

“Almost every time I called him, he would be busy smoking and say he’d call back later, but he rarely ever did,” she said. “And if by some miracle he remembered to call, it was no earlier than midnight. It was so frustrating because I would sit up and wait for him to call back. It would really aggravate me because it made me feel like I couldn’t rely on him.”

Thousands of teens are involved in a relationship where at least one of the partners actively smokes marijuana.

Although people perceive the drug as harmless, smoking marijuana is not only illegal, it’s destructive to relationships.

High school relationships are complicated enough as is. Adding drugs to the picture just explodes the already difficult relationship into a chaotic emotional roller coaster. As if teenagers didn’t have enough on their plate, marijuana usage just adds a heaping serving of new problems.

“Instead of hanging out with me, he would go off and smoke,” an MC junior said. “And if he did come see me, he was high. It wasn’t fair. I hated seeing him like that. He seemed like a completely different person, not the guy I liked. It made the relationship hard because pot was his main priority. I always came second.”

Even though only one person may be involved with the drug usage, both people in the relationship are affected by it. The problem escalates rapidly, but fixing it proves more difficult than one would expect.

“It was always a hassle when he would come over to my house,” the junior said. “I would get paranoid that my parents would realize he was high. If I’m staying clean, I shouldn’t have to deal with all that trouble. At one point I realized that, but in the beginning it was hard to speak up.

“I didn’t want him to judge me if I stood up for myself. I dealt with his behavior because I really liked him. I didn’t feel like it was my place to try and change him.”

Just building the courage to step up and say something can be difficult to manage. Building enough audacity to end the relationship is close to impossible.

“I would always talk about breaking up with him,” the junior said. “There was something that was always stopping me. I loved him. I would be really determined, but when he was in front of me, I could never do it.

“There were a lot of times I felt like it wasn’t even worth it. None of my friends even liked him. He would always be high and act like a jerk. It made me feel like it was the world against me, and all I had was him. But I didn’t even have him because he was always smoking. I really didn’t have anyone.”

But like anything, there’s only so much someone can take. Everyone gets to

that point, where they just can’t endure one more second of it.

“After two months of dating, he cheated on me while he was under the influence,” a junior said. “That was the point where I realized how much his problem was affecting us. That’s when I basically said that I’ve had enough. I straight out told him that it’s the bud or me, and that’s when he finally understood how much it was hurting our relationship.

“Six months after he told me he quit, I found out he had still been smoking. I felt like a fool. I felt like an idiot. I was embarrassed. I was disappointed and angry. I felt sad and frustrated. I just didn’t know what to do, because at this point, he was someone that I loved. I couldn’t believe I had been so gullible and just took his word.”

Trust is claimed to be one of the foundations for a strong relationship, but marijuana causes that trust to shatter. There’s just no way around it. Drugs and lying can often go hand in hand.

The clock strikes midnight. Clutching her phone tightly, the senior lies in bed, trying her best to forget.

“I wish I could forget,” she said. “It would make falling asleep a lot easier.”

Pot common among MC athletes; few see drastic decline in performance PARESH DAVE WEB EDITOR In a parked car outside of a house party hosted by an MC student last October, members of several athletic teams were “hotboxing.”

They locked themselves up in the car while smoking marijuana, taking in the secondhand smoke as it hovered over them like the marine layer over the early morning waves.

Without a doubt, there are MC athletes who use recreational drugs. Marijuana is used by athletes across all sports (all levels and both genders), but its effects are not always noticeable on the field.

Several athletes said that pot is going to be an issue for anyone in high school, but it is tougher for athletes when they hang out in groups.

Because teams tend to consider themselves as families, they often peer pressure each other into doing things.

In normal groups, students can get pressured into using drugs like marijuana, but athletes say the pressure increases when people in that group are teammates.

One coach said the peer pressure might actually be opposite in some athletic groups. Athletes would stop their teammates from doing something that would hinder the team’s performance.

CHRISTIAN JUN | ARTIST But, that may not be what is happening

because athletes do not seem to be noticing performance drops in their pot-smoking teammates.

Former MLB player Rob Dibble once said, “[Pot] never affected [my teammates’] play, because if it had, I know personally I would have stepped in to try to stop that because you were taking away from what we were going to do on the field.”

Even if the effects are not noticed on the field, for athletes, there are consequences for smoking pot. Not only does pot create short-term memory loss, but it slows down reaction times and lessens concentration levels. Over time, respiratory and immune system problems may develop.

Coaches said that the main things they noticed were a decrease in motivation and an increase in apathy among athletes they suspected of using pot. Many of them also noticed a drop in grades among those players.

Several athletes and all but one coach questioned said they have not seen any eyeopening performance declines from suspected users because they are not lighting up right before games or practices.

One of the things athletes and coaches seem to disagree on is whether the coach should step in if he or she suspects an athlete is doing something harmful to his or her body.

A couple of MC athletes said coaches only have a say in their lives if athletic performance declines. If not, it’s not the coach’s problem.

In reality, coaches and trainers said they have reported suspected pot users to the correct authorities. And two coaches who have not suspected anyone of use said they would do the same if the situation arose.

No coach was surprised that MC athletes use marijuana. They had all heard rumors about parties over the years similar to the one last October. None of the coaches had any idea how to control pot usage either. The athletes who use it know the consequences, but until they get caught they said they are not going to stop.

It’s similar to what NBA player Josh Howard said after admitting in a radio interview in April that he used pot.

“What can I say?” Howard told the Dallas Morning News. “If you can do it and it’s not affecting your everyday life, why stop?”

One MC coach understands that mentality.

“I know a lot of people who have smoked pot and been very successful,” the coach said. “Good for them. You can get away with it and be successful sometimes, but you are still stacking the odds against you.”