THE PINI N
Student-edited paper of McKinley High School
Sporting Events: Are you in or out? Vol. 92 No. 2
by Lin Song Every day, there are announcements of upcoming matches and you can see athletes training hard at the tennis court or practicing for football games. Sometimes, however, it’s just like we are watching the athletes preparing for the games yet keeping out of the affair for the most part. “ I’ve never watched our school’s sport matches before,” said a junior. Her reasons are no time, and no interests. Because of homework, applying for colleges and social engagements, students who might have gone to watch a game find themselves with no time to do that. On the other hand, there are also students who are passionate about sports. They not only play sports but also go to see the matches often. An athlete said that she
Honolulu, Hawaii
November 2013
Photo by Maelani Taumua
would feel glad and confident if her schoolmates came to support, because every moment of their struggle is worthy of the applause. “It’s kind of entertainment to go to the matches with friends,” said a freshman. Observing from some football games, there are some empty spots in the stands. “The atmosphere is exciting enough and the audience is cheering for the teams. Nonetheless, more of them are better,” said a coach. Principal Ron Okamura thinks the attendance of the matches has improved but he wants more students to become spectators of the matches. “The school sport should also be connected to the communities” he said. Having the community residents come to watch the games is also important.
Screenshot from video by Austin Watkins
Photo by Baby Manu
www.webdesignhot.com
2 THE PINION
NEWS
mhspinion.com
Education: About the City and Country of Honolulu Storm Drain System The original storm drain system was developed in the early 20th cenutry. As the City began to grow, rainwater that was once absorbed by miles of undevloped areas began flowing into the streams. These streams could not contain the increased amount of water and flooded. In response, many streams were lined with concrete, initiating the development of an underground urban darinage system. As the City and County of Honolulu continued to grow, a complex drainage system developed. Today, more than 20,000 catch basins, almost 700 miles of underground pipes and open channels comprise the City’s storm drain system. Runoff from the City system reaches the ocean through approximately 2,200 storm drain outfalls or opening at the end of a storm drain system that allows water to flow into a channel, stream, or ocean. City crews have found an unusual collection of items that have been dumped or have made their way into storm drain channels. These items include: chicken cages, surfboards, motorcycles, automotive parts, mattresses, stuffed animals, exercise bikes, shopping carts, baby strollers, and more The City’s storm drain system is a vast network of underground pipes and open channels that were designed to prevent flooding. Runoff drains from the street into the gutter, and enters the system through an opening in the curb called a catch basin. Catch basins serve as the neighborhood entry point for the journey into the ocean. Water in the storm drain system receives no treatment or filtering process and is completely separate from the City’s sewer system.
The Pinion Staff Adviser: Cynthia Reves Editors: Silvana Bautista and Sean Gleason Reporters: Isaiah Blanko-Rettig, Shaunna Keb, Daniel Le, Lin Song, Keisha Togores, Austin Watkins,
Publication Information
THE PINION is published by the Newswriting Staff and printed by the Reprographics Learning Center. The Pinion McKinley High School 1039 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814 Email comments or questions to pinion@mckinleyhs.k12.hi.us
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day. Celebrate by entering the Society for Professional Journalism High School Essay Contest.
Topic: “Why is it important that we have news media that are independeny of the government?”
Go to http://www.spj.org/a-hs.asp
Registration for School Year 2014-2015 is soon Have you thought about your electives? Consider Newswriting:
A place to exercise your First Amendment Rights and learn valuable skills at the same time.
The Pinion needs
Reporters (news, feature, editorial, sports) Photographers Videographers Artists Social media experts
See Adviser Cindy Reves in W225 for more information.
THE PINION 3
mhspinion.com
NEWS/EDITORIALS
Mathematician showdown at Roosevelt by Vivien Chen & Colleen Duong As math team members gathered one by one in front of Roosevelt High School, anxiety and excitement were evident on each of their faces. It was the day that all of their hard work was going to be put to the test. Would their weeks of practices and tests finally pay off? Math team is an organization consisting of hard-working students who spend their free time solving higher-level math problems. Workshops are held a few times a week along with three practice tests before each meet. The most determined students who attend the majority of the workshops earn the opportunity to compete at the math meet. Like always, there were ten varsity and ten JV students participating, but during
Art by Colleen Duong
this particular meet, several JVs had to move up because many upperclassmen signed up to take the ACT on the same day. This put pressure on both the remaining JV and the new varsity members because they were not used to facing such responsibility. Nevertheless, they persevered and through much trial and error, managed to place fourth for JV and third for varsity.
Grant’s Gone series seizes audience attention by Silvana Bautista
The mother buckles her daughter into the car seat in the back seat of their car. They pull out of their driveway and head off to the toddler’s daycare. The little girl sings along to the music playing while she points at the passing cars. Her mother looks in the mirror and smiles at her giggling daughter. Suddenly, the car veers off the road and kills the child instantly. The mother’s state, on the other hand, remains a mystery. She disappeared right before the car crashed. This is one of the many strange and disregarded events of one unfortunate day in Perdido Beach, California. In the Gone series by Michael Grant, everyone fifteen and older disappears without warning, leaving everyone else confused, scared or dead. The surviving children name their new society the FAYZ as in Fallout Alley Youth Zone. Sam Temple is one of the children who immediately decides to take action. Several other children, such as Astrid Ellison, Quinn Gaither and Edilio Escobar, assist Temple in this. In addition to the children of Perdido Beach, children from the neighboring school arrive. From this school, several students immediately stand out, such as Caine Soren, Diana Ladris and Drake Merwin. Grant writes about these characters, as well as many others, and their successes, tragedies, maturity and, ultimately, their freedom from the FAYZ. The Gone series consists of six books titled Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear and Light.
kasl.typepad.com
4 THE PINION
EDITORIALS
by Austin Watkins
mhspinion.com
Originality as wild as a fire
On this year’s “Lighting of the M,” I decided to throw in my two cents and perform during the entertainment segment. I wanted to do this simply because I was tired of everyone thinking that the ONLY talents in the world were singing, dancing or playing an instrument. Not that it’s not great to do those things, but there are other talents out there. But for some reason, people don’t seem to want to express any others. I’ve never been one to just stick to the status quo, I wasn’t afraid to be different and do something people just don’t do. Everyone knew I could beatbox from the “Weed N Seed,” but I only did it for 30 seconds. I was hoping that by performing at Lighting of the M I might actually spark a flame in other students, to make them want to try and do something out of the ordinary. This is the reason that I said, “I don’t sing and I don’t dance! I’m a Stereo-head!” in my performance. As for me, I’m not a very popular guy; I know it and that’s exactly why I wasn’t
afraid to make a fool of myself. I’m not afraid of what people think, so I enjoy going against the grain…even if it’s by myself. My original act, was meant to be a beatboxing version of “The Cup Song.” I was going to beatbox, while my friend was supposed to sing the song. At first I would have the cup in my hands and I would attempt the beat for a few seconds, then I would scream, “I can’t do it! Oh! Forget the stupid cups!” Then I would beatbox the beat of the cup instead. I thought it was a good idea, but I could never find a time to practise with my partner. I guess she didn’t want to embarrass herself because she didn’t even show up to the audition. I wasn’t all that upset though, because I had a backup plan, which was just me beatboxing by myself. Needless to say, the judges enjoyed it and let me in the performance. During my performance, I almost completely forgot what I was supposed to be doing, which is why if you rewatch
my performance, you’ll probably notice I did more messing around than actual beatboxing. But I felt taken over by the excitement and electricity in the auditorium. I love to be on stages because the feeling I get is just … phenomenal. When the crowd is chanting for you, when they want to see you, a feeling of overwhelming excitement takes over. I love that and I feel like a completely new person, someone who lives in the thrill of that electricity. The first time I felt this, someone gave me the nickname, “FoXtroT.” I guess that’s why I’m so proud of my name. I hope that the people who saw me and who read this article will not be afraid to do what I did. Not beatboxing, but standing against the status quo and doing something unusual, something unexpected, something people don’t see all the time. You can be sure, though, that I’m gonna keep this up and do something like this again, at the first chance I get.
newheavenonearth.wordpress.com
THE PINION 5
EDITORIALS
mhspinion.com
Upcoming Movies at Consolidated Theaters
imdb.com
The Hunger Games saga continues in Catching Fire that finds a revolution brewing as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark take a "Victor's Tour" of the districts, and President Snow plots their downfall during preparations for The Quarter Quell, which occurs every 25 years in celebration of the Capitol's victory over the districts. At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens in his own life in About Time. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think. Nelson Mandela’s life story is told in this adaptation of the South African leader’s autobiography detailing his early life, education, 27-year imprisonment, and eventual presidency and rebuilding of the previously segregated country. Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves have escaped the Misty Mountains and continue on to get their gold back from the dragon in The Desolation of Smaug.
Blackfish documentary ‘eye-opening’ by Sean Gleason This movie blew my mind. This movie revealed so much information that I didn’t know. “Blackfish” begins with former orca trainers recalling how happy and joyous everything was when they were starting out. All the anticipation, awe and excitement, however, quickly fades, and the mood makes a huge shift. The movie brings up the 2006 orca attack on a senior trainer at Sea World. From here on in the movie, there’s a constant serious, regretful and gloomy feel. Especially when the movie starts talking about the claimed unethical and immoral things going on at Sea World, from habitating the orcas in confined crates, to food deprivation and punishment of orcas, and even misinforming the public. The movie said the orcas were purposely not fed if one of them didn’t do the rou-
tine correctly. This would then make the orcas that performed well gang up on the orca that didn’t do well. Footage was even shown of orcas having multiple gruesome and bloody scratches and lacerations. Speaking of footage, the live videos of the orca attacks on trainers are phenomenal and horrific themselves. When it came to misinforming the public, the movie claimed that Sea World would always find an excuse as to why the trainer was at-
tacked. I was convinced, because being just an average-joe, I don’t know anything about orcas or training them. In the end, this movie was extremely eye-opening and illuminating, I guarantee you’ll look at Sea World and orcas in a whole new way from watching this movie. The film is available on Netflix. Thanks to Consolidated Theatres for inviting The Pinion to the press screening.at Kahala 8.
6 THE PINION
SPORTS
mhspinion.com
JROTC Tiger Battalion Quarter 1 by Queenie Kiluwe
The first quarter for SY 13-14 has been been very busy for our JROTC Tiger Battalion. The quarter was packed with many events from community service to competitions and parades. The first event of the new school year was the American Heart Association Heart Walk in Kapiolani Park. At the Heart Walk, several of our cadets handed out water to the participants at the finish line. Next up was Organizational Day on the 24th of August. This event was a field day hosted by the National Guard at Bellows. Teams competed in Coconut Tree Climb, Ghost in the Graveyard, and the physical test where 4 of the Tiger’s strongest cadets did the Jump-Push-Curl in under 2 minutes. Like every year, JROTC provides the Color Guard to open the
Homecoming Assembly and the Sabre Chain Squad to present the Homecoming Court at the Assembly and at the Homecoming game during half-time. On the 14th of September, the Vietnamese Club held the Moon Festival at school and asked the Tiger Battalion’s Color Guard to present the Colors to open the festival. The Tiger Battalion was also invited to march in the Aloha Week Festival Parade once again. Over 50 cadets marched from Ala Moana Beach Park to Kapiolani Park to show McKinley Tiger pride. Six appointed cadets were involved in the O’ahu AJA Veterans Council 8th Annual Joint Memorial Service, escorting 442nd Regimental Combat Team retirees and military VIPs.
McKinley seizes victory in soft tennis
by Sharon Washio
On September 28, the OIA championships for soft tennis was held at Kaiser High School. McKinley’s girl soft tennis team came in as East #1 for girls, with boys as East #2 for boys. In the semifinals, the McKinley girls played against West #2 for girls, Campbell High School, with a win of 2-0. Likewise, the McKinley boys played against West #1 for boys, Aiea High School, with another win of 2-0. This led both teams into qualifying for the final round. In the finals, the girls played against Kaiser High School, and won 2-1, succeeding in claiming the girl soft tennis OIA champions title for McKinley this year. As for the boys, there was a moment where everyone held their breaths
in an atmosphere full of tension and anticipation. Both teams had a win each, and it came down to the deciding match between the second doubles players of Kalani and McKinley. The second doubles pair for McKinley was Richard Hong (12) and Yuki Sugawa (11). In spite of the pressuring situation, both boys pulled through and with encouraging support towards each other and from their teammates, they successfully won the match with a score of 5-2. Last year, the boys were OIA soft champions, but the girls were runner-ups. This year, the boys were able to defend their title, and the girls have avenged their previous loss.
THE PINION 7
SPORTS
mhspinion.com
Conclusion of 2013 air riflery season by Brandon Kong
Three -year returnee Chanelle Ulep gets in position by finding her natural point of aim. Photo by Brandon Kong
October 12th marked the final match of the season for the McKinley Tiger’s Air Rifle team. Under the direction of coach Nicholas Haigler, the team this year went through hard work in each and every game. Practices took place at the shooting range every Tuesday and Friday, afterschool which lasted from an hour to an hour and a half. Games took place at the shooting range every
Arwyn Yim spots for shooter Joey Abe who is just about done shooting prone. Photo by Brandon Kong
Wednesday and Saturday ranging from two to three hours. On Saturdays the team has to be at the range before 8:00 in the morning. The members of the team put in real dedication towards this sport by showing up to practices daily, and being on time to every game. Congratulations to all the tigers of the McKinley Rifle team.
Vivian Au concentrates as she shoots her kneeling position. Photo by Brandon Kong Ben Ngo received top shot for the boys division with a 410, and Arlene Chan made top shot for the girls division with a 432. Photo by Brandon Kong
8 THE PINION mhspinion.com
Leadership Conference Memorable Quotes
If you help one person for a day, you’re a hero. If you help multiple people for multiple days, your a legend - Ron Okumura
Worry is a misuse of imagination - Zig Zigler You will go through challenges; it a matter of when - Stanley Lau The more you laugh the healthier you’ll be - Ron McNichols
Challenges are a sign that you’re growing - Stanley Lau
Lead from whatever position you’re in Kim Gennaula
Learn to say no and be assertive - Ron McNichols
You can’t make everyone happy. Do not promise to do things you do not have the time to do - Ron Mcnichols
Take the high road in even the most dire situations Stanley Lau
We may not be as smart as the next guy, but staying focused, working hard, and being on time can get work done - Ron McNichols
You have to have the courage to try the things that nobody tries - Kim Gennaula Leaguecraft.com
Have you checked out mhspinion.com? Watch videos View photo slideshows Take polls
You can contribute, too! Just go to the About Us/Submit link at mhspinion.com to share your Tiger Voice!