Letter from the Editor With the end of the school year approaching quickly, we are in a time of transition. May means STAR tests, AP tests, and finals just around the corner. It also means that summer has finally become tangible. For seniors, senioritis is reaching new heights as the college selection process finalizes and preparation for gradua-
tion begins. In this issue of Pulse, former Pulser Nachi Baru writes about the pressure today’s high school students face on a race to get into the world’s top universities. In the same vein, Glenn Borok explores affirmative action policies while Natalie Hoffman shows CCA our beloved campus supervisor from another angle. To follow up Mr. Kortman’s guest piece in our previous issue, this edition of Pulse features an article by English teacher Mr. Leal. This semester has been an exciting one for Pulse. We created tshirts to promote CCA’s “football team.” More information about the shirts is available on page 2. We hope you enjoy this issue of Pulse! We look forward to bringing you our last issue of the year in June, which will feature the class of 2012 college map.
STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tess Wallenstein ONLINE EDITORS Elijah Granet Arianna Irwin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Crystal Long ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Arianna Irwin
OPINION EDITOR Glenn Borok
PHOTO EDITOR Daniel Metz
LAYOUT EDITORS Jan Carstens Avery Naughton
STAFF WRITERS Timmy Chu Stephanie Fricker Natalie Hoffman
BUSINESS TEAM Paulina Murphy Rithika Verma MORAL SUPPORT Jesse Ostroff Jon Zhang
COPY EDITORS Elijah Granet Daniel Metz
ADVISOR Christopher Black
Sincerely, Tess Wallenstein
Thank you to Nick Rowe for developing the Pulse App! Special thanks to CCA ASB Printed by Golden State Graphics The opinions expressed by the writers and the content of the advertisements does not necessarily reflect those of Pulse Magazine, Canyon Crest Academy, or the San Dieguito Union High School District.
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Canyon Crest Academy, Pulse Magazine 5951 Village Center Loop Road (858) 350-0253 editors.pulse@gmail.com All photos by Daniel Metz unless otherwise noted.
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Contents Volume 7 Issue 3 Affirmative Action
2
a look at CCA’s beloved campus supervisor...
1
Meet Hector
Mr. Gerstin
3
teacher profile
Spirit
7
Baseball’s Back!
8 Student Art
9
15 College Pressure Guest Piece:
Kevin Leal
16
11 Foundation
where CCA’s funding comes from
18 when 18
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May - June 2012 Calendar of Events May 16 Late start May 22 Dollars for Scholars Ceremony
June 1 Pep Rally June 2 Prom
June 9 ACT
May 23 Late start
June 2 SAT
June 11 Senior Check Out
May 24 Blood Drive
June 2-3 Festival Del Sol
June 12 Senior Disneyland Trip
May 25 Club Sandwich (Pulse is selling Sprinkles cupcakes!)
June 3 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon
June 13 Senior Dance at the Hilton La Jolla
May 25 Beach Boys @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre May 28 Memorial Day, No School
June 8 End of the Year BBQ June 8 Conservatory Grand Finale June 8 Senior Check Out
May 30 Late start
June 8 San Diego County Fair begins
May 30 Senior Awards
June 9 Rock the Canyon
June 14 Periods 1 and 2 Finals June 14 Burrito Lunch June 15 Periods 3 and 4 Finals June 17 Father’s Day June 23 – 24 La Jolla Festival of the Arts
Fisher v. University of Texas: Revisiting the Topic of Affirmative Action by Glenn Borok Sometime in the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Fisher v. University of Texas, when the court will once again revisit the controversial topic of using race as a factor in college admissions, as college student Abigail Noel Fisher – who is Caucasian – asserts that she was rejected from the public university because of her race. The concept of affirmative action, or the consideration of race in college admissions, has been allowed since 2003 in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger, when the Supreme Court – at the time had a liberal majority – declared that this process was legal and had merit. However, with the court currently holding a conservative majority, it looks likely that the court will strike down this practice. In the 2003 decision, former Justice Sandra Day O’Conner wrote in the majority opinion that she believed that this ruling would stand for 25 years before it became redundant, yet just nine years later, the court is reviewing this case. Supporters of affirmative action have argue that the end of this policy would greatly diminish the number of Hispanics and African-Americans in higher education, while schools would begin to accept more
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Caucasian and Asian-American students. They argue that in states such as California and Michigan, which currently ban the practice, there has been a decrease in the number of minority students at state schools. The opposition has fought back stating that by using affirmative action, colleges are utilizing reverse discrimination while also admitting many students who are not properly equipped to deal with the rigors of a top ranked school. Another argument by the opposition encompasses a college’s need for diversity which has similarly been refuted. A brief submitted by University of California, Los Angeles, law professor Richard Sander and legal analyst Stuart Taylor stated that a large number of minority students drop out of college due to the tough curriculum and that the number of minorities in the law and medical professions wouldn’t decrease if affirmative action was banned. The brief, which states that minorities are placed in discouraging situations, similarly stated that a ban of affirmative action would cause minority students to be more likely to finish college and become honors students while also increasing diversity at second tier schools. In contrast, some opponents
of race-conscious admissions advocate an alternative affirmative action based on economic circumstance to help students from lower-income families gain access to a higher education. It seems that the politically moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy will be the swing vote in this decision. Previously, he voted with the conservatives, but refused to completely rule out allowing race to be considered in admission processes at places of higher learning. The case will likely be heard in the fall and the decision will come right before the presidential elections, which could force the candidates to take a stand on this divisive issue. Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself from this case due to her previous work on the case as U.S. Solicitor General, the person appointed to represent the Federal Government, which could have led to a conflict of interest on her part. Despite the fact that the future of affirmative action may not be predicated on this one court case, the outcome of this case could very well trigger a great change in the world of admissions and demographics in American colleges and universities.
Feature
n i t s r e G h t i w ’ Groovin a By Rithika Verm
From receiving a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology to working in the lab, science teacher Mr. Ed Gerstin is a prime example of the idea that no matter where we go in life, we can always end up somewhere unexpected. Gerstin graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in biochemistry and cell biology. He then proceeded to the University of California, Irvine, where he studied pharmacology and toxicology. After finishing his schooling, he began working in labs, eventually becoming a project manager at a drug discovery company in La Jolla. After a few years there, he began to realize that he was not enjoying this line of work anymore, “Maybe I never have been doing the right thing,” says Gerstin of his time working in the lab. Looking back on his decision, Gerstin says, “It took me a long time to realize it, but the parts of each job that I had that I liked most was always around teaching.” Because of Gerstin’s extensive experience and impressive degrees, university level teaching seemed fitting, but Gerstin chose high school because “the one-on-one interactions aren’t there in college and you have an impact here [in high school].” Teaching chemistry and biology at CCA is Gerstin’s first teaching job. Over his past three years at CCA, our
campus has become a place where he feels at home. “I ended up at the right place first,” says Gerstin. “There is a culture [at CCA], acceptance, and excitement about being here that I didn’t really see at other schools that I was a student teacher at, because [CCA students] chose to be here.” Aside from the student culture, Gerstin notes that the science department at CCA is more closely connected and collaborative then he’s seen at any other schools. He enjoys that all the science teachers have lunch together and are always discussing and bouncing ideas off of one another. “It’s an optimum collaborative team environment that we have here,” says Gerstin. This school year marks the first time that Gerstin is teaching AP Biology and Quest classes. While AP Biology was difficult in that Gerstin had to relearn some of the material and do so at a quick pace, it is his favorite class to teach. “It’s one of the more fun classes that I’ve taught because the students want to be here, they are choosing this class and it is more of a discussionbased class.” Gerstin says that Quest presents a new challenge because it is a lot of responsibility to create research projects and labs for such a freelance class. He strives to teach things that students would find interesting. As exemplified by his own career, Gerstin advises students to find what they love and pursue it. “When you find something you love, carers come out of that,” says Gerstin. For science lovers at CCA, he advises that students take advantage of the large diversity of science classes. “Focus on something you like and care about, and if there’s some field of science you care about then chase it down,” he says.
Support CCA Football!
The Canyon Crest football shirts are now officially on sale! Created by Pulse Magazine, the t-shirts are sure to be a perfect addition to your own wardrobe. The shirts, which feature a simple logo as well as the phrase “undefeated since 2004.” As we one of the only two schools in our district not to have a football team, the shirts are reflective of Canyon Crest’s unique culture. -- By Avery Naughton
$9 for Students $10 for Non-Students Want to reserve a t-shirt? Email us at editors.pulse@gmail.com
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CCA, Meet Hector On most high school campuses, there is a social stigma attached to the position of campus supervisor. For the majority of students, such a role comes with a direct, negative overtones that have been forever emphasized by a collective despise of archetypical authority ďŹ gures. Campus supervisors are associated with referrals, consequences, and punishment. Due to such association, the holder of such a position is rarely accepted warmly by students. At Canyon Crest Academy, we’ve made an exception. Natalie Hoffman 3
CCA, meet Hector Gutierrez. Call him Hector, for short. It is impossible to define Hector’s position at Canyon Crest. While officially he is our campus supervisor, such a limited role does not nearly come close to justifying or illuminating the ways in which Hector serves our students, faculty, and school each and every day. Hector is a friend, role model, and symbolic campus figure. He faultlessly personifies the spirit of Canyon Crest Academy through his kind hearted nature, compelling sincerity, selfless disposition, and undisputed willingness to sacrifice his time and energy for those around him. These qualities unquestionably reinforce Hector’s position as the most cherished and appreciated person at CCA. Apart from that, Hector is easily the most recognizable figure on campus. His signature red and black apparel, contagious smile, and decorated golf cart—a preferred method of transportation for students forced to park in the outermost sections of the parking lot— can instantly be identified around campus. His trademark catchphrase, “Hola señor/señorita” is celebrated by students, parents, and teachers alike. However for many, these well-known attributes serve as the limitation of intimacy. While the entirety of CCA may appreciate, respect, and love Hector, not all students know or understand how he came to be the complete embodiment of Canyon Crest. I arrived at school well before my typical 8:15 alarm sounded. It was 7:20 in the morning, and while driving through the damp CCA parking lot, I caught a glimpse of that infamous red and beige golf cart driven by none other than Hector himself. After parking in the first row of the student lot—a first in my four years here at CCA—I found Hector casually setting up green and orange cones to prepare for the chaos of the oncoming morning traffic. This has been a
“
”
When the students smile,” he explains, “I don’t need coffee… I don’t need anything.
part of Hector’s morning routine for the past 11 years, since the start of his career in the San Dieguito Union High School District. He began his duties at Torrey Pines High School, where he was hired in 2001 as a custodial worker and campus supervisor. Hector happily worked there for years, occasionally transferring to Earl Warren Middle School upon necessary district staff relocations. However in 2004, he was given an opportunity to begin work at a new school—Canyon Crest Academy. Due to his overwhelming seniority, it wasn’t necessary that he make this change. He could have easily remained at Torrey Pines, a campus he was familiar with and had grown to love. Nevertheless, Hector chose—just as the incoming freshmen and their parents has chosen—to be part of the grounding of this new school. In his words, he wanted a new start. As we stand on the side walk adjacent to CCA, it’s hard to imagine a campus without Hector. With a red stop sign in hand he directs the flow of traffic, simultaneously pausing to greet the passing students with a familiar “Hola” or an occasional “Have a nice day!” His friendly demeanor seems to permeate those who receive these greetings, and as the students shuffle across the street, a shift in attitude can be noticeably observed. Hector says this shift is a revolving cycle. “The students make me nice,” he clarifies, “and I make the students nice.” However he pauses to emphasize the severity to which the students influence his mood around campus. The best
part of CCA, Hector tells me, is the students. “When the students smile,” he explains, “I don’t need coffee… I don’t need anything.” And while the students of previous campuses, both Torrey Pines and Earl Warren alike, have always positively received Hector as their campus supervisor—which he modestly attributes to his friendly and outgoing nature—the atmosphere at Canyon Crest is different, he tells me. “It’s more like a family,” Hector explains. However in late 2009, the students at CCA were informed that Hector would be relocated to Earl Warren Middle School the following year due to the layoffs and budget crisis affecting the district, state, and nation. This notice sparked immense protest from students, teachers, and parents who were appalled to learn of the upcoming loss. Facebook groups were made, letters sent, and petitions signed all in an effort to ground Hector’s position at Canyon Crest. David Maynard, a sophomore that unfortunate year, created a Facebook group of over 900 student members who collectively
4
exchanged ideas to inhibit the transfer of a cherished member of the school staff. In a letter to the superintendent of the San Dieguito Union High School District, Maynard shared these ideas, which ranged from a “clean up trash day, where we keep our campus spotless in order to show respect for our janitorial, maintenance, and supervisory staff, to a Hector skip week, where we all are absent during the week of the STAR testing.” He went on to explain the frustrations of the collective student body, stating that “if you take Hector away from CCA, our very spirit will be diminished so far that it will likely never recover. Hector is not only our Campus Supervisor, but our
in their sorrows, but understanding and respectful of the decision, the students had no choice but to hope for Hector’s return the following year. And in 2010, no more than a year following his departure, as if by an act of fate, Hector was back at CCA. After three months at Earl Warren as a campus supervisor, followed by the majority of the remaining school year at Torrey Pines as a custodian, and finally back to Earl Warren—he was home. And while he was accepted with open arms, it was evident that he had enjoyed his time the previous year. “The students are amazing everywhere,” he explained, “but at a smaller school like Earl Warren, I
“
coming high school year that much more comfortable. It is unmistakable from this short, but sincere interaction, that the students who have the chance to bond with our beloved campus supervisor truly cherish the unique relationship he has with them. To these students, Hector is much more than a campus supervisor. Principle Brian Köhn summarizes the school’s spirit and admiration: “Hector embodies the spirit of CCA! We all enjoy his cheerful and kind ways. Nobody is quicker to help students and staff and nobody cares more about CCA. In my mind the best of CCA is all about people like Hector.” This spirit is indisputably channeled by the students
To these students, Hector is much more than a campus supervisor.
The author goes for a ride in Hector’s infamous golf cart. friend.” While Maynard’s arguments were valid and sincere, Frederick LabibWood, the Director of Classified Personnel for the district, adamantly explained that “the departure of Mr. Gutierrez from Canyon Crest [was] simply a function of the layoffs caused by the State of California’s current budget crisis.” Although his exit would seemingly change the entire atmosphere of the school, it was quickly realized that “the application of the layoff rules at least allowed him to remain employed in the district full time with benefits, which [has been] a status very important to Mr. Gutierrez.” United
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had fewer things to do every day.” That’s an ideal almost all high school students can associate with. Standing next to the golf cart, parked beside the cross walk, two young freshmen females stop to catch up with Hector on their way class. The three laugh and exchange their various plans for the upcoming weekend before the girls race to beat the eight o’ clock morning bell. Hector tells me these are two of the students he met during his past year at Earl Warren. For them, his return to Canyon Crest was a continuation of a previous friendship, and having that one familiarity may have just made their in-
”
of Canyon Crest, who are the frequent recipients of Hector’s universal acts of kindness. Hector is not only our campus supervisor, he is our friend, role model, and symbolic campus figure. Most importantly he symbolizes the ideals that define and represent our school as unique, thoughtful, and nonpareil - ideals that make CCA the exceptional campus it is.
R w
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“Keep CCA Weird!” By Tess Wallenstein
Since its inception, Canyon Crest Academy has been synonymous with the alternative. In the spring of 2004, just over 360 eighth graders of a braver sort chose to abandon the idea of the traditional high school experience, offered just down Del Mar Heights Road, and opted to begin their high school careers in a cluster of leaky, portable trailers. For two years, classes were taught to a symphony of saws and jackhammers as our campus was constructed. In a quotation to CCA’s then online newspaper The Canyon Echo, freshman Freddie Misleh likened the trailer restrooms to “biological waste factories.” While Torrey Pines’ athletics raked in crowds at their much beloved and decorated gym, CCA’s home games meant a trip back to Carmel Valley Middle School’s gymnasium. Yet while these early days were filled with annoyances, this original conspiracy of Ravens persisted and created a true community culture. As English and Yearbook teacher Mr. Gaughen recalls, “The trailers were arranged in a triangle and the lunch area/quad was the space in between. In a way, we could always see each other all day. It was a small town vibe. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.” At the time, students and teachers lunched together in the quad as the makeshift campus began to feel like home. “By the end of the year, the students wanted to keep the trailers and simply add a second deck of them for the incoming freshmen. Obviously not realistic by any sense, but it demonstrated how much they came to appreciate that space they created,” says Gaughen. They maintained that the unique high school experience they were promised, with its emphasis on the arts and sciences, would come into fruition. By all accounts, by choosing to attend CCA when it lacked any
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sense of reputation or even a campus, these students established an invaluable precedent for CCA: this is a culture of students who want to be here. These students are inspired by the idea of creating something new, something entirely their own. In CCA’s eight years, much has changed. That first crop of freshmen who were so eager to establish a school of their choosing are graduating from college this year. While CCA still has many familiar faces from its trailer days, our staff, too has evolved and changed with each school year. Our gymnasium now has some banners of its own. Envision is no longer a distant idea, but an everyday reality. Our Academic Team was recently named San Diego county champion. And our API score? Well, that goes without saying. However, something less tangible, less concrete than all of those things has also been transformed. At a late start meeting this past semester, our faculty discussed CCA’s changing atmosphere, a discussion that was later recalled by several teachers to their students. After having this conversation during their AP Literature class, seniors Natalie Allen and Mindy Kral realized that they too were disappointed in the changes in CCA’s culture over their four years at CCA. “I’ve noticed an alarming increase in negativity and teasing on campus, and I think this shift in attitude is what is moving CCA away from its previous culture of weirdness,” says Kral, “Because older students aren’t modeling the same acceptance of themselves and their peers that they learned from past students, that aspect of CCA is dissolving.” Inspired to do something to preserve CCA’s “weirdness,” Kral and Allen created a Facebook group called The Non-Football CCA Legacy 2012. “We feel that CCA’s lack
of a football team is representative of the ‘weird,’ alternative culture we would like to preserve,” says Kral of the group’s name. With more than 800 members to date, the group has evolved into a forum for current and former Ravens alike to discuss if and how they believe CCA is evolving and what students and faculty can do to preserve the original culture of our school. It has also become a place for students to say what they love most about CCA and for alumni to offer words of advice for current students. It has become a bulletin of sorts for students to post about events happening on campus, from costume days to musical performances. . Other students, however, believe that it is natural for CCA’s culture to be shifting over time. As senior Meagan Fry writes, “CCA is always moving, constantly changing. That’s what makes it special.” Fry is one of many students who has used the Facebook group as a place to write about the impact that CCA has had in her life. “From the 5th to 8th grade, I had to wear a scoliosis brace and headgear. I was labeled a freak. I lost the majority of my friends and got picked on constantly. When I came to CCA, I was leaving the most depressing years of my life,” says Fry. “[CCA] encouraged me to be me.” While the group’s founders will be graduating this June, they hope that this discussion will continue on for years to come and that current and future Ravens will keep this spirit alive. “We hope that we can be an inspiration to them just as previous classes have inspired us to embrace our inner weirdness,” says Kral. Want to see what CCA’s first campus publication looked like? Check it out at http://teachers.sduhsd.net/canyonecho/
Student Art Sara Wong (12)
“Senior Portrait”
“Bed Redone”
“Clothes on Floor”
“Orange Blue” 8
Baseball is Back!
The calendar year is approaching late spring, and for sports fans, that only means one thing; MajorLeague Baseball is getting back into full swing. With a new season, all 30 teams are alive once again to fight for the World Series title, and here are the rundowns on the handful of sides that will be teams to watch in the 2012-2013 campaign. by Timmy Chu
Biggest Losses: Mat Latos and Heath Bell Mat Latos was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in mid-December, 2011 for four promising prospects: young, slugging first baseman Yonder Alonso, one-time MLB All-Star starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, catcher Yasmani Grandal, and 2009 first-round pick Brad Boxberger. Latos was drafted in the eleventh round of the 2006 major league draft, but was a potential first-rounder. Latos is the first Padres pitcher to win four of his first five career starts and is also the first Padre to throw for a minimum of 5 innings and allow 2 or fewer earned runs for fifteen consecutive starts since 1900 in the 2010 season. In the 2010 season, Latos also threw a complete game shutout, allowing only a single, against the San Francisco Giants on May 13. Latos was the Padres number one starting pitcher in the 2011 season. After going into free agency, right-handed closer Heath Bell was quickly snatched up by a Rebuilding Marlins club, now based in Miama. Bell
Potential Breakout: Yonder Alonso The projected starting first-baseman for the Padres was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in the Mat Latos trade. Alonso was drafted in the 15th round of the 2005 draft by the Minnesota Twins, but decided to attend the University of Miami where he led his team to the College World Series in his freshman year. Alonso later entered the 2008 MLB draft and was picked seventh overall by the Cincinnati Reds where he was the number one prospect in the Reds organization. Alonso was prevented from playing first baseman for the Reds because of the rise of superstar Joey Votto and remained in the minor leagues for most of his career with Cincinnati. In his 47 game stint with the Reds late last season, Alonso hit for a 0.330 batting average while smashing 5 home runs and driving in 15 runs as well as scoring 9 runs in 88 at-bats. In the majors, Alonso typically pinch hit or played left field. With the Padres, Alonso is expected to be the everyday first baseman and hit in the 5 or 6 slot. He is projected to hit for a high average with a 20 homerun ceiling in the spacious, pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
filled in the void left by future hall-of-fame closer Trevor Hoffman in 2009 and came out of the bullpen throwing strikes. In his first year as a full-time closer, Bell was named the MLB Delivery Man of the Month for the month of April, made the National League (NL) All-Star team, led the NL with 42 saves, and also won the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award. In the 2010 season, Bell continued his hot pitching and won his second consecutive NL Rolaids Relief Man Award. He also converted 34 straight saves to end the season, had a career-high 47 saves, made the NL All-Star team for the second straight season, led the MLB in save percentage (47 of 50 for 0.940 or 94%), and won the DHL MLB Delivery Man of the Year Award. In 2011, Bell made the All-Star team for the third consecutive year. Bell will be sorely missed, but former Rookie of the Year Huston Street will be expected to fill in for Bell just as Bell did for Hoffman.
Most Valuable Player: Cameron Maybin Young centerfielder Cameron Maybin was drafted tenth overall in the 2005 draft by the Detroit Tigers, but was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2007 with Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, and others for slugger Miguel Cabrera and former Rookie-of-the-Year Dontrelle Willis. Maybin didn’t last long with the Marlins and was traded to the Padres in 2010 for pitchers Ryan Web and Edward Mujica. Maybin has always been considered a top prospect and is a prototypical five-tool player. He has outstanding speed and is a superb defensive player with an above-average arm. Maybin led the club with a .264 batting average, 40 steals, 82 runs scored, and .716 OPS (on-base plus slugging), and is expected to start in centerfield and hit leadoff for the Padres. Maybin is still very young (24 years old) and recently signed a 5-year deal worth $25 million with the Padres that should keep him in San Diego through his prime. Maybin is expected to break out this season and has been compared to Kansas City Royals late-blooming left fielder Alex Gordon. With Maybin leading off day in and day out and anchoring the outfield, he could be the spark plug the Padres need to finally win a pennant and reach the playoffs.
Possible Surprise Teams:
Season Preview by Glenn Borok
Los Angeles Dodgers: Watch out for the red hot Dodgers who have surprised everyone in the MLB. After being bought by a group including the Guggenheim partners and Lakers great Magic Johnson for over two billion dollars, the team seems to be reinvigorated and eager to please the new owners. With NL MVP Matt Kemp possibly winning the triple crown and Clayton Kershaw dominating early in the season, don’t be surprised to see the young Dodgers fly through a very weak NL West. Washington Nationals: Long known as the laughing stock of the MLB, the Nationals,
Philadelphia Phillies - 5/1 The Phillies have started off extremely slow this season, and are second to last in their division at press time. This season they field a team very similar to last season, having not added many players to their roster. However, this team couldvery easily bounce back from the horrid start thanks to their star talent and solid depth. Despite losing Roy Oswalt, the Phillies have a superb lineup of pitchers, including former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and San Diego-native Cole Hamels which they will rely upon to get back into thepennant race. The Phillies will also look to improve upon their lineup asoft-injured Chase Utley and All-Star Ryan Howard will return after being sidelined for the start of the season. Although the Phillies will have to show more mental toughness than they have in the past couple of seasons to keep up with the perennial favorites, this team, talent wise, is clearly a class ahead of the rest of the National League, and are still one of the favorites to win the title, despite their rocky beginnings.
New York Yankess - 6/1 The Yankees have been one of the most active teams in this offseason, fixing most of the holes from last season, causing many experts to put them in pole position for their 28th World Series Title. However, similarly to the Phillies, the Yankees have started off below average, and have lost young ace Michael Pineda, whom theYankees traded for after proving to be one of the best young aces in the league. With Pineda out, the Yankees have relied upon number one starter C.C.Sabathia, and young aces Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova, as well as late signing Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees fixed their pitching, a weakness that signaled their failure last year, but are now struggling once again as Pineda is out for the season with an elbow injury, putting the team back where they were last year. In terms of hitting, the Yankees return a strong lineup that includes MarkTeixeira, Robinson Cano, and Curtis Granderson. Their former All-Star Alex Rodriguez was in dismal form last season, due partly to injury, but an offseason procedure in Germany looks to have him recuperated and ready to return to MVP-caliber form. While the Yankees need to solve their pitching woes, don’t be surprised to see the Yankees bounce back using their superb hitting talents and maybe a midseason acquisition or two.
formerly Expos, have been stocking up on talent, draft picks, and money for several years. The diligent work of their front office is finally paying off as young phenomenon and SDSU product Stephen Strasburg leads a very talented pitching rotation. The Nationals, while overpaying, also acquired a formidable amount of hitting talent that will rival almost any lineup in baseball. With the best prospect in baseball, outfielder Bryce Harper, now arriving in the Major Leagues to add to their roster, the Nationals have become a popular pick to sneak into the World Series.
Detroit Tigers - 6/1 With the huge off-season acquisition of first baseman Prince Fielder, the Tigers catapulted themselves into the upper echelon of American League squads and are currently playing like the best team in baseball. Returning to his hometown, the home-run hitter has joined forces with an established team that includes current Cy Young holder and best pitcher in the game Justin Verlander at the front of the rotation. Despite losing key piece Victor Martinez to an ACL injury, the mere fact that the Tigers can play a lineup that includes Miguel Cabrera and Fielder, gives them a chance in any game. To even increase their chances, the Tigers giant step forward has coincided with regression on the part of the rest of the AL Central, almost assuring the Tigers of an easy road to the playoffs.
L.A. Angels of Anaheim - 6.5/1 The surprise team of the offseason vaulted from a possible contender to one of the favorites with the additions of the two most prized possessions on the 2012 free agent market, but the Angels have started off slowly, and the team doesn’t look championship caliber. However, the Angels still have future Hall-of-Fame first baseman Albert Pujols, who has been awful in the opening stages of the season, but is too talented of a player to continually hit this badly. Similarly to last year with the Cardinals, Pujols will bounce back and likely produce a stellar season,while proving why the Angels paid a daunting 240 million for ten years of service. During the offseason, the Angels added Pujols to an already daunting lineup featuring the returning All-Stars Howie Kendrick and Torri Hunter. On th epitching side, the Angeles paid over 77 million to add local southern Californian C.J. Wilson which added another ace to the formidable duo of Ervin Santana and Dan Haren. While the bullpen looks suspect, and has already blown games on numerous occasions, the Angels have the talent throughout their roster to overcome their bullpen and early struggles to become the World Series winners in October.
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Teacher Guest Piece: Kevin Leal
Confessions of a Curmudgeon, or How I Grew To Love Middle-earth Story by Kevin Leal, with introduction by Arianna Irwin
Kevin Leal teaches AP English Literature and Composition, Honors English 9, and Honors English 10. He is known for his extensive literary knowledge and his passion for donuts. Guided by Mr. Leal, Pulse embarks on a voyage to Middle Earth.
In my younger and more vulnerable years—never mind how long ago precisely—a friend gave me some advice. It wasn’t about reserving judgments as a matter of infinite hope (though hope would come indirectly much later). I was a stripling lad of four-andten, wandering myopically through the dense jungle of adolescence, and a boy three or four years my senior told me to read The Lord of the Rings. I took up his advice, and, although I didn’t know it until years later, that made all the difference. In my twenties, when I believed I held the wisdom of countless generations and the intellectual severity to be acerbic in my scorn for the mediocre, I argued with another teacher regarding “literature.” I place the term in quotation marks not to suggest the word’s indefinability but rather to indicate that I was speaking on something about which I had no idea. You see, I was arguing for the demanding necessity of hacking through the dense woods of language and subjectivity as the gauges of a novel’s or poem’s greatness. After all, if the author isn’t a master of words and ideas, what is he? Would Picasso be Picasso without knowing the intricate complexities of paint in its myriad
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forms and applications? What would Rodin be without understanding bronze? Or Bach ignorant of pitch, tone, scale, and instrumentation? With the passion of the newly converted, I mistook linguistic difficulty (and in many cases, sophistry) for truth, convolution for reality, and worse, ambivalence for the true human condition. As inevitably occurs in such discussions on the nature of literature, The Lord of the Rings was lobbed into the fray by my opponent. I had him! He had just shown himself to be an ignorant boob! I wondered, how could this poor creature be put in front of innumerable young and burgeoning minds? It was criminal. It was worse than criminal—it was lazy. Literary understanding came through
With the passion of the newly converted, I mistook linguistic difficulty (and in many cases, sophistry) for truth, convolution for reality, and worse, ambivalence for the true human condition.
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great effort, and the appreciation of literature is not dispensed from the hands of a simple-minded soul who believed Tolkien appropriate to any discussion about literary worth. After all, Tolkien wrote children’s stories, and how could those ever hope to grasp and explore the immense subjective complexities of the modern consciousness, wrestling with being and non-being, attempting desperately to assert itself in the face a cruel and indifferent universe? How could naïve delineations of “good” and “evil,” “nobility,” “honor,” and “courage” have any place in a world that had moved beyond such easy and, dare I say, lazy, classifications? What I’ve come to discover (unbeknownst to me then but horrifying to consider now), was that I was elevating subjective density above objective truth. Believing that everything is open to interpretation, I had quite simply abdicated my responsibility to choose. I had given away the most essential component of human consciousness, retreating to the detached, empty, and sterile stance of what one might call the “wise” and aloof postmodern existentialist, the cliché of a man who has nothing meaningful to live for so he fills the emptiness with “complexity.” He can’t stand the isolation of being surrounded by vistas of bleak and desolate plains, so he plants a forest around himself, choosing one prison over another, not realizing that each paralyzes and corrupts, and becomes, if I may be so bold, preciousss.
I was inspired to write this piece by a seemingly random incident. I was lying on the couch re-reading The Lord of the Rings when my fifteen-month-old little boy enthusiastically ran to me from across the room where he had been playing in the last light of a brilliant sunset blazing through the window. He slapped my book, pointing (as all children learn to do at that age, pointing willy-nilly at anything that strikes their fancy) directly to the following paragraph about Boromir’s funeral: Sorrowfully [the remainder of the broken fellowship] cast loose the funeral boat: there Boromir lay, restful, peaceful, gliding upon the bosom of the flowing water. The stream took him while they held their own boat back with their paddles. He floated by them, and slowly his boat departed, waning to a dark spot against the golden light; and then suddenly it vanished. Rauros roared on unchanging. The River had taken Boromir son of Denethor, and he was not seen again in Minas Tirith, standing as he used to stand upon the White Tower in the morning. But in Gondor in after-days it long was said that the elven-boat rode the falls and the foaming pool, and bore him down through Osgiliath, and past many mouths of the Anduin, out into the Great Sea at night under the stars.
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It’s all there, you see. All of it. The archetypal truth of the flow of time. The leaving of the world, moving from mortal river into endless sea. All the elements of morning, sunset, and night bringing to bear their myriad associations of birth, life, and death. But more importantly, the human connections are there. It’s significant that Tolkien connects Boromir with the past (“son of Denethor”) as well as the future (“…in Gondor in after-days it long was said…”) within the human dimension. The hero exists within both the family and the community, connected to and, when it comes down to it, inseparable from both. But we must also read this passage with the knowledge that at the end, Boromir failed. He gave in to the lust for power, trying to wrest the ring away from Frodo. Fortunately for us, he comes to
Despite the differences between the Shire and Carmel Valley, the Gandalfs come to call you to tasks bigger than yourself, maybe even bigger than your potential to succeed.
realize his grave error, and dies fighting the forces of evil, sacrificing himself which allows his friends to escape destruction. We are heartened also (in a day and age that salivates over the destruction of heroes), that despite Boromir’s faltering, his name lived on in its heroic dimensions rather than the all too human ones. Tolkien gives us both dimensions. The humanity he presents in Boromir’s fall gives us all hope to achieve what Boromir did afterwards, namely to rise above his fallen nature and fight for good—to become legendary, and maybe indirectly, to save the world. It’s not accidental that Boromir’s end at the conclusion of The Fellowship of the Ring foreshadows Frodo’s at the end of The Return of the King, warnings to every saint and hope for every sinner. Which brings us full-circle (a ring, you say?). In a post-postmodern world where (to paraphrase Yeats) the best lack all conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity, a world that seems to have given in to the temptation to retreat from calling good good and evil evil, wherein a pseudo-intellectual elite, preaching a new
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Photo from maryannelouise on Flickr
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orthodoxy of confusion and elevating sophistry over common sense and paralysis over action, has become an infallible priesthood in a new church overseeing the decline of America, where everything is open to interpretation and the massaging of a few facts. Perhaps Sauron is just misunderstood. Or maybe all those murdering Orcs are merely trying to assert their independence in a society that misunderstands them. And maybe Gandalf is just some senile, old war-monger, glorifying war for war’s sake. And there had to be something in it for those hobbits, after all. People don’t give in to delusions of grandeur about saving the world without something being in it for them. Start going through their trash—there’s something in there somewhere. These preceding ideas might be more realistic or absurd (two sides of the same coin), but they aren’t more real. When it comes down to it, put me on the side Tolkien over Camus, G. K. Chesterton over Bertrand Russell. Too often the realistic is given precedence over the things which really animate us. What did Homer have to do with the realistic? Does Beowulf provide for us only Old English words for “snow”? Is Milton concerned with humdrum wanderings through a squalid London? No. Of course, we’re all subject to our time and place, but I argue that this “truth” is so obvious as to be inconsequential. Despite the differences between the Shire and Carmel Valley, the Gandalfs come to call you to tasks bigger than yourself, maybe even bigger than your potential to succeed. The typical choose Melville’s warm hearth and cozy home (a hobbit hole?), while the heroic go the way of Bulkington, out into the howling infinite. Or even into the depths of Mordor. But I refuse to live in a world where someone tries to convince me that my hobbit hole is really Mordor, and Mordor my hobbit hole. This is what I mean by the “real.” Without the ability to make accurate distinctions, the Ringwraiths become just other people, with different interpretations of the world and their (and your) place in it. The only problem is that though you refuse to call them servants of Sauron, they don’t. And their goal is the same, whether you face up to it or not. So instead, be Boromir. Be Frodo. Be Saruman, if you must. But don’t place yourselves within the ranks of those mediocre masses too open-minded to stand for very much at all. “And now,” said the wizard, turning back to Frodo, “the decision lies with you.”
Foundation: Where Money Comes From By Crystal Long
Photo from maryannelouise on Flickr
“Where did we find money to pay for the marquee? Our teachers aren’t even getting paid!” Something along those lines was one of the most often used conversation starter of the 2010-11 school year. At one point, it was probably even used as a pickup line by the greasy scene kid in the back of the class. Eventually, it became apparent – at least to the aware population of the student body – that the donor was ASB. Even so, it remains mostly unclear to even that population how or from where the funds were received and for what those funds can and cannot be used. The answer begins with the envelopes distributed in our classes in February. Listed were seven checkboxes: “ACADEMICS: All core curriculum subjects ENVISION: All courses and programs in the arts Discipline: ________ ATHLETICS: All CIF sports Sport(s): _____________ COUNSELING, COLLEGE AND CAREER SERVICES: Services offered by the student counseling office QUEST: Electives in the practical application of science, technology, engineering and math TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE: Equipment, computers, software, lab equipment and general supplies RAVEN’S FUND: Unrestricted. Use my donation where it is needed most.” These envelopes were distributed by the CCA Foundation, a board of parents who work with our school’s administrators
to raise funds for student extracurricular activities. Upon entering a CCA Foundation board meeting, one realizes that the room is filled with strikingly familiar faces – for example, the faces from Raven Readiness Days. The group meets in “the Cage” each month, a sparse, standard school room with stacks of chairs in the corner, two large rectangular tables, on which lie rows of black coffee and bagels, and drab white walls, on which hang reprints of iconic Van Gogh paintings. Despite its milieu of school day casualness, there are the trimmings of a serious business meeting. The categories given above establish outright the distinction that CCA Foundation is an organization dedicated to the upkeep of our school’s supplementary educational materials, rather than basic school needs – the basic supplies would be supplied instead by the San Dieguito Union High School District. A sub-group of the Foundation oversees and tracks where money is most needed around campus, known as the Raven Wishes Committee. But despite their mission to gather and raise funds, “The board makes no funding decisions directly… the budget worked over the summer with [principal Brian Köhn],” according to CCA Foundation President Chuck Flacks. The roomful of board members nodded in unison during the meeting when Brain Köhn, our principal mentioned in passing that Envision and Athletics are the programs that “typically drain the Raven’s Fund.” The basic idea behind Foundation is that it is “parent-run and… [solicits] for donations” to pay for educational materials aside
from the mandatory supplies provided by the district. Things get hazy when this mission is confused with the objective of ASB, which ASB advisor Erica Williams explains is “under guidance of the district and run by students. The district [requires ASB] to provide specific commodities… things that students can benefit from activity-wise.” Because they are activities, and not simply tangible learning materials, Envision and Athletics have both ASB and Foundation financial accounts; both departments receive $15, 000 each every year from ASB. Another difference between Foundation and ASB is that Foundation takes 25% off each fundraising effort to pay for their operations, and ASB takes 2% off to cover their costs. From a quick scan of the financial records posted on Foundation’s website, the 75% of the funds after operating costs is used all over campus: from the computers in the media center to the athletic equipment used by the number of students involved in school sports at one time or another during high school. Although the Foundation cannot fix the branches of school finances beyond their control – i.e. staff salaries – it’s undeniable how much they contribute to our campus and supply us with extracurricular activities and additional materials not found at the average public high school.
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by Stephanie Fricker
So your eighteenth birthday rolls around and your life quickly morphs into that of an adult. The eighteen year old is finally seen as a legal adult and given more rights and privileges than ever before. At CCA, the main privilege that every student can’t wait to get their hands on is the ability to call oneself out of school. This allows the student to excuse themself from school without having to have a parent call in. To obtain this special ability at CCA, a student must simply be eighteen years of age. The bright green sheet, the holy grail for senoritis, lets the attendance office know that you are finally an adult and ready to call yourself out when necessary. In order for this sheet to be valid however, it must
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Call yourself out of school
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Vote
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Buy cigarettes/tobacco
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Sign legal documents
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Buy a house
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Change your name
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things you can do when you’re
be signed by both a parent/legal guardian and an assistant principal. The fact of the matter is that eighteen year olds, no matter what the law states, are still seen as young and somewhat naive. The first few years of adulthood are treated with a certain caution and care by older generations who believe that true adulthood comes after the age of twenty-one. No matter what people believe, being an eighteen year old United States citizen comes with more power than one might imagine. Whether it’s being able to call yourself out of school or buying a lottery ticket, being an adult opens up a world of possibilities and it is up to you to decide what to do with it.
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No curfew
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Get a hotel room
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Gamble
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Get a tattoo
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Get married/divorced
Work full time
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Go bungee jumping/skydiving
Enter contests/sweepstakes
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Adopt a child
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Get a Costco membership
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Join the military without parental consent
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Buy a monkey (with a license)
Guest Piece
College Pressure By Nachi Baru
It’s a ubiquitous phenomenon, an every-day fact of life for most teenagers, especially those of us living in the sheltered, carefully manicured affluence of Carmel Valley; the race to get into college, and the chaos and stress it engenders. Of course, when one mentions “college” when discoursing with the average Canyon Crest student, the connotation doesn’t refer simply to one of the many thousands of institutions of higher learning that litter the nation. For the typical CCA student, “college” means an establishment that the powers-that-be have deemed “elite” or “prestigious” i.e. Ivy Leagues, the top UCs, etc. This attitude has taken root across the nation, among the assorted other academically overachieving high schools in America, and the burning desire among the teens of idyllic middle class suburbia to get into a “good” school has become something of a cultural trope in recent times. Witness the rise of the so called “Tiger Mom”, and the resulting anxiety in the media that American parents were being too soft and accommodating, resulting in the unforgivable consequence of their kids not getting admitted into the likes of Stanford and Harvard. A billion dollar industry has risen around comprehensive college” guides”, to say nothing of the millions of SAT/ACT tutoring services, in fierce competition to see who can better teach students on how to effectively fill in a set of bubbles. This hype and handwringing in the worlds of media and publishing have undoubtedly had negative effects on the paradigms that the average high school student attempts to conform to. Perhaps the most ridiculous development is how the high school experience has been transformed into a perverse checklist, education and self-enrichment having been turned into nothing more than a list of requirements cultivated to impress a group of middle aged admittance officers sitting in the basement of a college on the East Coast . Such and such school looks for such and such grade point average? Commence an overloading of AP classes, regardless of natural aptitude or interest. After all, doing what you love can presumably wait until later in life, after you’ve left the school of your dreams with a special piece of paper.
Yale would like you to have displayed “leadership” by the age of sixteen? Cough up a few thousand dollars to attend a summer camp, or become “president” of a school club that never meets, so long as you have another thing to note on your application. You need a certain number of hours of volunteering to show that you care about your community? Who cares if your hundred hours of “service” at a charitable event consist of sitting behind a booth texting, and confers no tangible benefits to anyone? Another box has been checked off. This is not to say that there aren’t students who are naturally inclined to take on challenging course loads or immerse themselves in admirable out-of-school activities. Unfortunately, they are vastly outnumbered, (especially in the CCA’s of this world) by those who view an acceptance letter from an esteemed institution as an end that justifies any means. The most depressing part of it all is that they are largely successful in their hollow endeavors; there exists no mechanism by which universities can get a sense of a student’s sincerity, whether their exhaustive list of achievements is the product of a bright and inquisitive mind, or a robotic, one-track mentality. This deplorable state of affairs has had an even deeper effect on the psyche of the average teenager, to the point where college acceptance has been turned into a twisted status symbol. Getting into a good school is no longer just about pride in oneself; it has become a competition, where the arbitrary college “rankings” have been parlayed into a societal order, where the anxiety is that one will “lose” in comparison to one’s friends by dint of which university accepted whom. The kid who got into state school? Obviously inferior in every way to the person whose off to Harvard. Any hope of returning some semblance of sanity to the high school experience would entail a massive mentality shift, where students stop running this ferocious race where “winning” is the only objective, where learning and expanding one’s horizons are treated as more important than the amount of As on a transcript, or the number of bullet points on an application. But of course, none of that is liable to help you get into college.
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