Raven Report Issue 7 2012-2013

Raven Report Sequoia High School

Volume vi, Issue 7

1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062

April 17, 2013

Holiday honors Chavez

Genderneutral bathrooms announced

By ANGIE CALDERÓN Staff Reporter

After years of discussion by the Sequoia District Teachers Association (SDTA), each school in the district received an extra day of spring break to commemorate Cesar Chavez Day on April 1 for the first time.

“As a union, we were excited to honor a labor leader. Chavez is someone who reflects our community here in the district,” SDTA union president and Spanish teacher Edith Salvatore said.

A farm worker since he was ten, civil rights activist and environmentalist César Estrada Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association to fight for migrant workers’ rights in California.

Since 1995, California has recognized March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as a state holiday to commemorate him on his fighting against racial and economic discrimination towards Chicanos.

“His work really goes unnoticed,” said senior Derek Vargas, who recently did a history assignment on Chavez. “[Chavez] showed dedication. Until the day he died he was fighting for [farm workers’ rights].”

The SDTA, responsible for negotiating teachers’ contracts as well as advocating for educational, student and statewide issues, recently added two new holidays to the school calendar to replace two canceled teacher workdays.

Because a large majority of the student population in the SUHSD is Latino, it only seemed right to use one of those holidays to commemorate a Latino union leader.

To honor Chavez, some students took the time to learn more about Chavez and other important civil rights activists and their work in order to appreciate his work as a civil rights activist.

“I hope that people take [the holiday] as an opportunity to learn more [about Chavez] and access resources available to them, so that it’s not just a day off, but a day to learn,” history teacher Teresa Yeager said.

“It shows people how they could participate without doing something really difficult, and it will also raise awareness that the fight is not something that stopped.”

Feature: Religion in school

Page 5

By SIMON GREENHILL Staff Reporter

Photo by Simon Greenhill

Africause hosted a West African dancing class in the B-quad on April 10, where students learned Macru, a traditional Guinean dance.

Acting on a proposal by the GayStraight Alliance (GSA), principal Bonnie Hansen has decided to convert an on-campus bathroom into a gender-neutral facility. The GSA, which expressed concern for transgender and genderqueer students’ comfort and safety in gender-specific bathrooms, met with Hansen on April 5 in order to request the modification of existing single-stall bathrooms in order to accommodate people of any identification.

The bathrooms, located in the LL wing, will undergo minor changes including basic restoration and sign replacement, and are meant for use by all students. The cost, Hansen said, will be negligible.

Senior Rory Jacobs, who identifies as non-binary (and uses the gender-neutral pronoun “they” rather than “he” or “she”), is a member of the GSA committee appointed to the proposal.

Go to BATHROOMS, page 2

Immigration reform advocate visits Sequoia

By ERICK CASTRO Page Editor

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who came out as undocumented, spoke in Carrington Hall on April 7 to raise support for the immigration reform movement.

“I’m not a hero, I’m not inspiring, I’m not courageous.

I just want to be what you are, what you take for granted sometimes,” Vargas said.

Vargas, who publicly announced his status in an essay for The New York Times Sunday Magazine in June 2011, learned he was undocumented when he was 16 when he went to the DMV to apply for his driving permit.

At his talk, Vargas retold his life story to a large audience and answered questions from Sequoia Adult School Scholars president Elizabeth Weal and DREAM club senior Rossmeri Ramirez.

“My faith has to be tied to your faith and that faith has to be tied to the faith of people in this same situation,” he said.

Vargas’ status—and subsequent threats—has not deterred him: he has been touring the country and has done

Opinion: The Swag Report

Page 8

150 events in 30 states, with up to six cities in eight days to promote his advocacy organization, Define American. He was recently on the cover of Time Magazine and is producing two documentaries.

“We have to preach beyond the choir. I think it’s really important for us at this historic moment to be talking to a lot of people who may not agree with us,” Vargas said.

Once the talk ended, Sequoia Union High School District superintendent James Lianides congratulated Vargas and a reception was held in the MPR. Before his talk, Vargas spoke to reporters from the Raven Report, as he was a former high school journalist himself.

“I’m not here to judge,” Vargas said. “My job is to figure out why people think what they think.”

Since the announcement of his status, Vargas has not been deported and has dedicated his life to bring about immigration reform.

“I am an American,” Vargas said. “I’m just waiting for my country to recognize that.”

Additional reporting by Simon Greenhill and Lily Hartzell.

By the Numbers

35

School days left until summer vacation

287

Number of prom tickets sold on the one-day sale

2

News

Sequoia considers adding a new IB elective

By JARRETT CROWELL Page Editor

Two surveys were recently sent out to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on Naviance to gather feedback on a potential new IB elective for a future school year.

After 367 students responded to a primary survey that included a wide variety of potential classes, a second survey was sent out that included the four most popular choices; IB Economics, Design Technology, Global Politics, and World Religions.

This second survey had a description of each class, and defined the basics of the course. The second survey has been completed by 322 students, but is still open to submissions.

What were the choices?

4 Options:

√ IB Economics √ IB Design Technology √ IB Global Politics √ World Religions Broadening the scope of IB classes offered at Sequoia will potentially attract new students and create a more balanced set of classes, while allowing students to enroll in a class that they are truly interested in.

367 Respondents

“IB is a program that is always evolving and changing and so are we. We want to open IB to as many students as possible and we want every student to be able to access IB,” said IB coordinator trainee and guidance counselor Lisa McCahon.

Academy career fair offers job help

By KYLE SHEA Staff Reporter The Electronic Arts Academy and Health Academy paid a visit to Cisco Systems April 5 to prepare themselves for job interviews and discuss opportunities that are available to them after high school.

The various Academies from Sequoia, Carlmont, Woodside and Menlo-Atherton attended the visit. The schools mixed together and were later divided into three separate groups.

The trip started out with students listening to three prestigious speakers talk about their experiences in the Silicon Valley technology industry. Two of the speakers currently work for Cisco; one works for Netflix. Each speaker spoke for about 25 minutes.

Students got to dress up in business apparel and partake in mock job interviews, where the students were asked about what jobs they wanted in the future. They then heard from adults who gave advice on how to deal with school and job environments.

Finally, students toured around the career fair itself, looking at different college and career booths.

Photo courtesy of the Electronic Arts Academy

Junior Carlos García asked questions about the tech industry to Cisco Vice Presidents Ana Corrales and Guillermo Diaz Jr. and Netflix Director of Research Xavier Amatriain.

“I liked the mock interviews because I thought they were funny, and then you got excited, but then you got nervous. You feel more prepared for your job,” junior Gonzalo Rodriguez said.

There were 11 colleges and universities that had booths set up at the career fair, including and Carnegie Mellon, San Jose

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State, as well as local community colleges like Cañada College. There were also seven career booths set up, ranging from government to aerospace to marketing jobs.

“I liked the one with the airspace program. They had U.S. defense missiles and rockets; it was sick,” Rodriguez said.

BATHROOMS, from page 1 “For trans- and genderqueer students, going into the bathroom can be a source of discomfort,” Jacobs said. “I just don’t feel comfortable going into the girls’ bathroom, because I’m not a girl.”

Grant High School in Portland, OR recently made headlines by providing its students with gender-neutral facilities.

Gender-neutral facilities are very uncommon in many public areas, and arguments over their necessity is part of an ongoing debate over transgender rights.

Arizona has recently proposed a bill that could prosecute people for using public restrooms that are not for the same gender as that noted on their birth certificate.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, protects transgender and genderqueer students by allowing them to use the facilities in which they feel most comfortable.

A recent survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has found that 80 percent of transgender students feel uncomfortable or unsafe at school due to their gender expression.

“We want people to feel as comfortable as possible on our campus, and [installing gender-neutral bathrooms] is a very easy way to [do that],” Hansen said.

“Everybody wants kids to feel at home on campus.”

Confused about applying to colleges?

Peninsula Young Writers offers College Consultation and Personal Statement Coaching Call Beth Harrison for personal statement coaching 650-743-1959 or email penwritelitpro@gmail.com

3

Feature

Senior transforms passion for woodworking into business

The sixth in a series of features starring student entrepenuers

By CARMEN VESCIA Staff Reporter When he began Woods I as a junior, current senior Eli Dugan had no idea that over a year later, he would have his own business selling handmade wooden pens and other creations making an estimated $2,000 in doing so.

He also didn’t know he would sacrifice completing the IB Diploma to continue woodworking instead. “[I] just kind of fell in love with it,” Dugan said. “It came naturally.”

His affinity and interest for woodworking lead him to complete many Woods II level projects while in Woods I. One of the first projects he did was a chessboard, which he then set into the top of a table.

Meanwhile, many of his peers made simple cutting boards and footstools.

Woods teacher Ethan Sanford believes that what is unique about Dugan is his willingness to try new and difficult things, as well as his ability to turn failure into opportunity.

“He purposefully takes on challenging projects that, by their nature, create many opportunities for obstacles and failure,”

Photo By Carmen Vescia

Since creating his business, Dugan has made around $2,000.

Sanford said. “When he comes to an obstacle to something that fails, although he might be disappointed, he assesses how to then surmount the obstacle.”

Dugan found he also enjoys the challenge of creating more

technically difficult pieces.

“The challenge was definitely part of it,” Dugan said, “to see how far I could push myself. Another key part of it was making things that I find beautiful.”

The majority of the things

Dugan creates and sells are pens. ing Woods II, and is playing his At home he can make one in third year of varsity baseball.

His family supported his roughly two hours, and usually sells them for around $100-$150 decision to continue woodeach. He also sells ingrained cut- shop, even if it meant making ting boards for upwards of $200 some sacrifices. “[My family] encouraged apiece.

Dugan decided to start sell- me to drop the diploma and ing when he realized many peo- take the certificates because they knew ple would “What’s unique about Eli is that I liked pay for his obstacles and the potential for failure woodshop products. is not seen as a ‘stop, don’t go there,’ he so much.

He began uses it kind of as a challenge.”

I had their selling his —Woods teacher Ethan Sanford approval, work this w h i c h past summer, and works both in the Se- helped,” Dugan said.

In addition to gaining techquoia woodshop, as well in the woodshop he made in his garage. nical woodworking skills, Du“I looked online and I saw re- gan feels he has learned other ally high prices for stuff I knew more business-related skills.

“I would say that this busiI could make,” Dugan said. “I ness has helped me learn cost thought, ‘you know, I could do that type of stuff, and sell it for a efficiency... [and] how to run a business and make money lot of money.’”

He sells mostly to people he while still buying materials and knows, and works on an order- tools,” Dugan said.

Although he may not have to-order basis.

“I haven’t made a website or time to continue it during colanything, so I get orders based lege, Dugan doesn’t want to on pretty much word of mouth,” stop working with wood anyDugan said. “It just kind of time in the future.

“I love doing that type of spreads to people who have seen craftsmanship. It interests them or want them.”

Although Dugan decided not me,” Dugan said. “I definitely to complete the IB diploma, he is want to continue as a hobby currently in all IB classes, exclud- throughout my life.”

Avoid Internet humor pitfall of misusing popular memes

By ANGIE CALDERÓN and CARLOS GARCÍA Staff Reporters

Y U NO guy.

Philosoraptor. Rage comics. Bad Luck Brian. LOLCats. Socially Awkward Penguin.

If you don’t know what memes are, then you most likely live under a 1997 Dell.

However, not everyone knows how to

use them correctly. With the emergence of memes, the internet community has generated jokes that range from being absolute genius to over-the-top insensitive.

As a redditer and a 4channer on the lookout, we find memes so bad that we cringe at the very sight of them.

First off, what exactly are memes, and where do they come from? Internet memes are captioned pictures that travel from person to person like a virus. They usually originate from websites like 4chan and Reddit.

Picture this: Besides 4chan and Reddit, memes also make their way through a variety of other lesser websites such as

9gag, Pinterest and Tumblr, where they are shared by immature 12-year-olds.

By the time they reach Facebook, however, all memes come to their untimely deaths.

Bad and terribly-phrased jokes exist; life is always full of disappointments, and you just can’t change that. Worse though, is turning a bad joke into a meme.

If you are aware of the existence of memes, prove it; you’ve got to know their joke structures to make for a better meme. If you’re going to make a meme, make sure you know exactly what you’re doing, that you get the right picture and that you have a funny joke or pun.

Also, make sure the meme can connect to a variety of people. By that, we mean make sure that you are not the only one laughing at your own joke before you click that create button. Save yourself the embarrassment. Please don’t make Bad Luck Brian or Futurama Fry feel bad.

If it weren’t for social media, memes wouldn’t be as huge as they are now.

People need to know how to create a good meme. Some can be hurtful, and some can just be very unfunny. Sooner or later, these great memes will die off because they will be misused, but it’s good to educate yourself about the importance of a good meme.

Meme style guide: it’s not A joke Forever Alone Guy Common Misuse: “I

Condescending Wonka

Common Misuse: From

the point of its creation, people have begun to ditch just broke the joke structure of the up with my meme from the common significant “Oh, you...? You must be...” other... Forever alone, you guys!” or when to plain sentences. They also everyone else is in a relationship. pair it with random jokes.

Correction: It is actually a more general Example: “In Soviet Russtatement on being alone — where most sia, Oompa Loompas own you!” things, living and nonliving, would Correction: This form of meme should sound as conderather not make contact with you, ever. scending as it looks, using the “Oh, you...? You must be...”

Rage Faces

Common Misuse: Some of these rage faces are taken from their homelands in a rage comic and are forcefully moved into other sites, where they are abused and stripped of their true identities.

Correction: Rage faces are at home when they are in Rage comics only. Nobody likes to be put somewhere they feel uncomfortable, so don’t do it to these poor guys.

4

Feature

prom couple The anatomy

p a e ch

of a

In 2012, the average amount of money spent on prom in the nation was $1,078, according to Visa Inc. Not in the mood to spend a fortune on a designer dress, getting your hair, makeup and nails done for your brand new heels you will wear for 10 minutes? No problem, we’ve got you.

Makeup:

Many of the cosmetics counters at Hillsdale or Stanford mall will do your makeup for free. Sequoia also offers makeup tutorial classes as part of the SAFE afterschool program on Thursdays at 3:45 p.m.

The Dress

Rent the Runway (renttherunway.com): Avoid stressful shopping in big department stores, and order your dress online. The dress of your dreams will come just in time for the dance, but your wallet will have no clue it was designer. A rental can last four or eight days; you can even order a second size for free. Once prom is over, send the dress back with free-shipping; don’t worry, you get to keep the compliments.

Tuxedo:

Save money by buying a lightly used tux on eBay, then make money by selling it for more than you bought it for!

Prom Spotlight

Make Your Own: Can’t seem to find your dream dress anywhere? Make it yourself ! If you want to venture a little farther out of the box, make a duct tape dress, and enter to win a $5,000 scholarship from Duck brand tape. One quick YouTube tutorial, and you are on your way to shine on the purple carpet.

Senior Amanda Willett had a dream 50s dress in mind and when she couldn’t find a reasonably priced one in stores, she took matters into her own hands. She spent 15 hours making her perfect prom dress after working extensively on its patterns.

“It’s like the feeling you get when you find that perfect dress,

Thrift Shop: Embrace your inner hipster and ask, “Hey Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping?” Make it an entire day and trek up to the Haight in San Francisco, thrift shop capital of the world. In the middle of all the fun, you just might find a one of a kind gown, and given that the theme is 1920s, vintage dresses will be more than acceptable.

Photo courtesy of Willett

plus the feeling of having created something beautiful. I just can’t stop smiling,” Willett said.

—By ANNA DAGUM and DALIA JUDE

Public Transportation: Prom is conveniently located just a block away from the Embarcadero BART stop. A roundtrip ticket is $3.20 for youth (under 18). Save gas and carpool to Millbrae, and take BART with your friends from there.

Carpool with friends: Go with a couple of friends in a car, and split the cost of gas between you. If you want to get in the prom spirit, decorate the car windows with “#Prom2k13.” Nothing says classy like showing up in a soccer-mom minivan.

School Bus: A school bus leaves from Sequoia before prom and it’s only $10. It’s an easy, sure-fire way to get to prom and back safely.

Breathe: Why you should chill out about prom

By SIMON GREENHILL Staff reporter Did you hear he asked her? How’s he going to ask? Didn’t she want to go with that other guy?

Even Mr. Priest was in on it.

Let’s talk about prom. At this point, it’s hardly a novel topic.

Every day between now and April 27, talk of prom will buzz through the halls, permeate private conversations and really cause a whole lot more stress than it’s worth.

To me, it seems that the age-old tradition of gentlemen asking ladies to prom is a ridiculous vestige of a bygone era.

Prom is full of customs (it just wouldn’t be the same in a tank top, would

it?), but that doesn’t mean that we should stick to antiquated traditions.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a guy asking a girl to prom, nor is there anything objectionable about asking your sweetheart out in a cute or creative way. What’s wrong is the social pressure that makes girls uncomfortable when they want to ask a guy, or that compels someone who would like to go to prom with someone of the same gender or who doesn’t want a date at all to forego prom completely.

Just as ridiculous is the pressure that makes the guy who has been with his girlfriend for years feel forced to ask her “cutely” in order to avoid friends’ constant pestering.

Last year, junior Cassidy Thompson went to prom with a close friend of the same gender in order to encourage her friend to attend after her boyfriend re-

fused to. This year, she asked a guy to prom.

“It’s a good opportunity to ask somebody you want to get to know or somebody you like. I don’t think girls should have to wait around for the boys,” she said.

“The worst he could say was no; it’s not a huge deal.”

Unfortunately, prom is not a Disney movie (well, maybe that’s a good thing).

In Thompson’s words, “The girl wants to be asked to prom by the boy, and have the perfect dress and everything. We live in reality, so that’s not always going to happen.”

So, why act like it is going to happen?

Rather than perpetuating an old-fashioned and frankly uncomfortable tradition, maybe we should break free from it. As cute as it is when a bunch of swimmers with body paint on their chests help a bro ask someone to prom, it’s just as

cool when a girl writes a guy a song. (Or, in Thompson’s case, brings him a grilled cheese after a baseball game.) Likewise, it’s perfectly awesome to go to prom alone, particularly when you have no interest in going with a date at all.

“People are just accepting the fact that they can go by themselves and that’s ok.

Now, you can go [to prom] and still have fun and nobody will judge you,” said junior Gracie Cardenas, who asked her male date to prom.

The tradition of going to prom with dates may not change, and that’s fine.

What should change, however, is the social buzz around who is asking who, and how. Stop worrying about social and gender norms, and ask whoever you want to ask. Whatever you do, just breathe, and then maybe prom would go from a stress bomb to the great event it’s supposed to be.

5

Feature/Opinion

Speak and engage

Race is an issue that everyone thinks about, but doesn’t talk about. It’s something that impacts every single person’s life. You can’t control it, but you shouldn’t let it define you.

What race are you?

White

Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian

Black or African American

American Indian

Vietnamese

Spanish/Hispanic/Latino

Korean

Other:

Chinese

Asian Indian

Filipino

Samoan

it adttoeersn’t m

Race should not be a factor in how we learn

My race does not define me

I’m saying.

But as soon as I walk into class, as soon as that bell rings, I’m done. I’m silent. Sure, I socialize, but in an academic discussion I don’t say anything.

School is a place to learn. To speak your mind. To feel like an individual with a voice. To me, people who speak and hear only English all day are naturals at verbalizing what they think.

It’s hard being a person of colWhat these people may not or. It’s hard being in an IB class be aware of is that it’s hard for and being a person of color. It’s people speaking English as a sechard voicing my opinion when I ond language. It feels like what feel it’s not as great as my white we have to say is not as great. classmates’.

This includes not being able Yes, I really did just say that. to structure a beautiful sentence I do compare on the spot, or myself to It becomes hard to focus on not knowing white people class when all I can think about the meanings all the time. I is what I’m not saying and I try of the words know it’s not so hard to get those words out but they use. If I right, but I do I never do. don’t hear the it anyways. word at home, Ask my then I won’t know it at school. friends, family or anyone who Speaking two languages at knows me, and they will tell you home interferes with how I perthat I love to talk. It’s so easy for form in class. My parent didn’t me to get carried away with what go to college. Their high school

By SABRINA VILLANUEVA used to describe any white non-Latin foreigner.

-AVALOS This is just one of the many Staff Reporter types of comments I get once people discover what race I really am.

All my life, others have classified me as white. I grew up in a wealthy environment, which contained mainly light skinned people. Since before I can remember, I have always When we first meet a per- been just another white girl. son, we have already created White, rich and smart; that’s our own perspective of him the assumption, anyway. That’s or her before we even learn what I am to others when I their name. While our brains first meet them, until they read slowly work on this imaginary my last name. That’s when the personality, we feel the need questions come out. to put a label with it, wheth“Oh, that’s a complicated er it be Caucasian, African- name. What are you, anyway?”

American, Asian or Hispanic; I would be asked. It is soon the possibilities are endless. discovered that I am not just What we all fail to realize is white; I am Mexican, Spanish this: there is a variety of ethnic and Portuguese. groups, and looks can definite“Then why are you so ly be deceiving. white?”

“Seriously? You’re the whitIt has become a routine: est Mexican girl I’ve ever seen. theassumptions, the qetions, Gringa.” and the comments. At first, I’ll The term gringa is slang See DEFINE, page 6

By MATVARI MAHARAJ Staff Reporter

Religion grounds students, holding key place in lives

diplomas are from Fiji. That’s why it’s so hard for me to believe that what I say could potentially be right.

I love coming to school to interact with people of different ages and different minds, but that love only comes when I’m outside the classroom. I do love coming to school, but I hate being a student.

Race plays a huge part in how I learn, but not by choice. I always have been on edge about what I say in class, especially in English, since my younger days when I transferred schools from Taft Elementary to North Star Academy. Going from a dominantly Latino school to dominantly white school changed everything. That’s when my race and other people’s race began to impact my learning.

Coming to Sequoia and immediately diving into honors classes, I thought it would be different, but it wasn’t.

As much as we hope for our honors classes to be diverse, See RACE, page 6

Where do you find time to pray between classes? How do you pick food from the Speedway when you keep Kosher? How do you take a history test if you’ve been fasting for the past 15 hours? At Sequoia, students take on these challenges daily for their religions. Perhaps the most common reason teenagers identify with a religion is because their parents do. Some, however, find churches through their friends or their own exploration. Many move away from the religions they grew up with during these four years. I talked to several students to to shed a little light on the range of experiences with religion that we have.

—LILY HARTZELL

Differing with marriage definitions

Relationships with God

School and home teachings differ

Sophomore Alby Calles is Catholic, like many students at Sequoia. That doesn’t mean she agrees with every detail of their doctrine.

“I believe the basic beliefs, but there’s little things like gay marriage; I think they should be married,” Calles said. “I believe God’s a god of love and he won’t judge you if you ask for forgiveness.”

For Calles and her family, the “basic beliefs” are what is important.

“My family’s not super-religious, they think like me. They’re ok if I believe in other things, as long as I still believe in God because they think God’s behind everything,” she said.

Her core faith is always present, even if Calles is uncomfortable with the church’s stance on gay marriage.

“I know that God’s always watching me, so I think about stuff twice and I make the right decisions.”

Belief in a higher power unites religious students across Sequoia. For some, this means praying is a central part of their daily lives.

Freshman Kubilay Agi is a Muslim, which means that prayer is a central pillar of his denomination.

“It’s not like the Middle East where you pray five times a day because that’s kind of hard with school and everything,” Agi said.

Instead, Agi appeals to God when he has a specific request.

“If I want a new bike or something I’ll pray to God, ‘please get me a new bike.’ It’s not a formal thing, just casual,” he said. “I’ll ask my parents nicely, and say I’ll pay for half. When I think they’re close I’ll pray just to seal the deal.”

Sophomore Jasmine Simmons grew up going to Buddhist temples with her mom, who is Thai and Cambodian.

“I never understood it and I didn’t like it because it was boring. I just sat there and I didn’t know anyone,” Simmons said. “Now I like it more as a philosophy more than a religion.” When she was little, Simmons didn’t understand the teachings of reducing material wants. “My mom never taught me what [Buddhism] was, we would just go to the temple and pray,” she said.

Much of Simmons’ understanding of her religion came from her freshman World Studies class.

“My mom says different things than what I’ve learned in school, but I believe what I learned. When we pray we’re asking someone for something, but I don’t believe in that because you should be at peace with what you have,” Simmons said.

6

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

I truly appreciate the Raven Report and all the work the staff does for each issue. I was extremely surprised and alarmed when I read the article “Rape statistics remain unseen, students remain unaware.” In life, people do need to be careful, but the article misrepresented rape statistics thereby contributing to the rape culture practice of victim blaming. By quoting an authority figure suggesting that students “ask [themselves] if [their decisions] are putting you in a vulnerable position,” the article implies that it is the victims fault they were sexually assaulted. It does say that rape is never ok, but hedges that statement by referencing “the quality of the decisions we make.” The article left out the statistic from the National Center for Victims of Crime that only 22% of rapes are committed by strangers, so avoiding strangers is not the best prevention method. I wish the article said “a) don’t sexually assault people—be 100% sure whatever is happening is consensual, b) let’s not be a community that allows sexual assault to be ok, that laughs at posts about people being sexually assaulted on Facebook” instead of “sexual assault happens - protect yourself.”

Thank you for including challenging, important topics.

—Allison Stafford Physics teacher

RACE,

DEFINE,

there is still a white majority: in my English class, there are around 10 people of color out of 35.

As much as faculty have tried to convince me to take honors classes, the fear of not being “smart” enough has lingered in the back of my mind. I tried to drop both my IB classes even before the school year started because I felt like I wasn’t good at Socratic Seminars and I just couldn’t write history papers.

I’m not a racist person. I love everyone. I think it’s a waste of time to dislike people. But I can’t help but feel dumbed down when I’m around white people in class.

I know it’s not intentional.

I know no one ever realizes that I feel this way, but it’s true. I do.

It becomes hard to go to class and learn. It becomes hard to focus on class when all I can think about is what I’m not saying.

I try so hard to get those words out, but I never do. It becomes hard to be a student. A student of color.

Race shouldn’t be a factor in how we learn.

For people in my shoes, start speaking up. No matter how it may sound, just say it. For those who have never thought about it, if you see people of color not speaking, help them join the conversation.

And teachers, be aware of who is speaking in your class and be cautious of who is being encouraged and discouraged to participate.

admit, I laughed too. It’s funny that I’m the whitest girl in my family with green and blue eyes and I cannot tan to save my life. But I’ve been made fun of for this all my life.

To a certain point, it no longer feels like a joke, but rather a judgement. Saying, “no offense” does not mean I’m not offended. I began to think something was wrong with me. Why can’t I look like the race I am? Why can’t my skin obtain a color other than white? Do people seriously think it’s funny when I eat Mexican food? Yes, that’s come up.

These are the things I worry about.

The real question is, why should what I look like matter? Because the reality is, I will never look how people expect me to look. Just because I don’t look Hispanic or Portuguese doesn’t mean I’m not. And even if I did, would that really make a difference? Does having a tan really change a person’s view of me? It shouldn’t.

I want to be seen as me, not what others perceive me to be. It shouldn’t matter whether I’m light or dark. My color doesn’t reflect who I am. The only reason we worry so much about what we look like is because for some reason, we all feel like our look matters. I hate to break it to you, but no matter how much pigment I have in my skin, I’m still the same person--and more than what I look like. Judging defines who you are, not me.

from page 5

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Staff Editorial

No free crowns:

Prom Court elections should be altered At the top of high school’s social pyramid—no matter how unimportant, irrelevant or even stupid—are the King and Queen of Prom. This archaic tradition is as old as high school itself. Every year, two plastic crowns are taken off the royal shelf—or purchased at your local party store—and polished for the teens next in line for the throne.

How do these incredibly qualified and beautiful people rise to such a high level in the hierarchy, you ask?

Well, a couple of people who want to see their friends become Prom royalty nominate them by writing one girl’s name and one boy’s name on a Post-it note.

The two boys and two girls with the most nominations are put on a ballot, and on Prom night, students vote. Often the people nominated only get five or six nominations.

What is the basis of this competition? Is there even one? No. So let’s try to make it interesting. If you want to be Prom King or Prom Queen, we want you to fully embrace your goal.

Let’s get rid of the covert nominations carried out by only a few people.

Let’s see some real campaigning.

Feel free to make a speech, make posters, pass out buttons, do whatever you need to do to sway the public in fa-

vor of your cause. This will ensure that the people running own up to their desire to become King or Queen. And everyone should get to vote; not just Prom-goers.

Or maybe the election of the Prom Court should be based on involvement at school. Teachers and club leaders could nominate students who are very active at school and display leadership.

Then the crowns would be given to those who make a real contribution to Sequoia and to the community. Students should also be able to turn down a nomination if they do not want to run.

Or, we could get rid of Prom King and Queen altogether. We have a chance to start something new and change a tradition. The idea that we elect people to be King and Queen of Prom is, well, silly. It’s just a popularity contest.

However, if removal of the royal couple is too much for you, we should at least consider altering the election process.

This plastic-crown accompanied inauguration should not take place unless the people have spoken; and by people we mean the school—not your three friends and their Post-it notes.

Sequoia High School

Raven Report 2012-2013

Editor-in-Chief Hanna Bolaños Online Editor Caroline Lempert Sports Editor Laurel Dearborn Feature Editors Lily Hartzell Araceli Efigenio News Editor Anna Dagum Page Editors Erick Castro Jarrett Crowell Ty Dewes Staff Reporters Angie Calderón Becca Melmon Brianna Escobedo Cam Rebosio Carlos Garcia Carmen Vescia Claire Bugos Dalia Jude Glenn Billman Hagop Narkizian Jenna Paliughi Kyle Shea Lorna Wake Matvari Maharaj Paul Kiraly Sabrina Villanueva-Avalos Simon Greenhill Mission Statement The Raven Report strives to provide Sequoia High School with informative, engaging and relevant news. The staff will exercise integrity and adaptability while promoting justice and transparency through professional reporting about the school, community and world.

Letters to the Editor The Raven Report welcomes letters to the editor from students, parents, or community members, sent to adviser Kim Vinh or by email to ravenreport09@gmail.com. Letters must include the writer’s full name and ID number, and the staff reserves the right to edit for space and style.

The Sequoia High School Education Foundation (SHSEF) is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) that supports projects and programs to ensure that each and every student has the opportunity to reach his or her highest potential. They raise funds for academic enrichment programs, professional development for faculty and staff, as well as student and family support.

7

SPORTS

Dancers ready to exhibit their talent at 44th annual show

By BRIANNA ESCOBEDO Staff Reporter Hip-hop. Jazz. Salsa. Ballet. Contemporary. The 44th annual dance show is coming up on April 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. With about 100 students performing, the show promises to bring much talent with a variety of dance styles. The intermediate and advanced dance classes will be performing in the show, with a few solo acts and extra senior dancers.

Junior Chloe Moissis has been dancing since she was three years old, when the tutus and pointe shoes in ballet caught her eye. Now, 14 years later, she is dancing in nine numbers in the show, including one she is choreographing.

“It’s fun [preparing for the dance show]. It’s a bit stressful as we get closer to the show because we need to make sure we get everything ready,” Moissis said.

It has taken all school year to prepare

Photo by Claire Bugos

The annual Dance Show sells out every year and features over 100 dancers. for the show, starting with the homecoming number at the beginning of the year, which is being used in the show.

“It’s nice because [dance teacher Taylor] White is really organized, so she has everything planned out to get all the

dances done on time,” Moissis said.

Moissis loves dance because its a way to express herself and entertain people.

“It’s always fun, both the dancers and the audience seems to have a good time. I love all types of performing, and dancing

is one way to express myself,” Moissis said.

Freshman Oscar Ramirez, though, just began his dancing career. He started with beginner dance physical education, but signed up as a teacher assistant for zero period advance dance. He feels like he finally has a way to express himself.

“I love [dancing] because its a way to express how I feel and it’s nice to get everything out and move in a certain way with the music. Just to listen to [the music] and let go is such a great feeling,” Ramirez said.

Even though he just started dancing this year, he is in two dance numbers for the show, including the advanced dance number.

“Ms. White asked me to join in salsa as they needed more guys in the dance. I’m so excited because [the dance number] is so awesome and lively, ” Ramirez said.

Dance has also pushed Ramirez to try new things, like the YSC dance team.

Teacher dodgeball: History and Math battle in the ultimate face-off

Photo by Jenna Paliughi

Track members Madi Griffith, Jonah Walker and Joey Shinshiro build their endurance and stamina for their next meet.

Track Update

Photo courtesy of Key Club

English teacher Jason Drogin launched a dodgeball for a good cause.

Balls whizzing through the air. The Eric Kobrick impressed with his baresqueak of sneakers on the gym floor. footed blasts and math teacher Josh Teachers ducking from flying dodge- Yezerski led the math team to pull balls. Cheers echoing from the students. through for the win.

The tie-breaker is scheduled during The teacher dodgeball game featured 24 teacher players and raised $240 for May to determine the champions.

—BECCA MELMON Key Club. History and BUILD teacher

Sequoia’s track team has gotten off to somehwat shaky start. However, the team is staying positive and remains supportive of one another. “We’re all pretty encouraging of each other. At the end of each race we high-five each other,” senior Aubrey Westerlind said.

Girls varsity: 1-2 Girls junior varsity: 1-2

Dissecting a computer not so hard

—CARLOS GARCIA

Boys varsity: 0-3 Boys junior varsity: 0-3 —JENNA PALIUGHI

8

Sports

Cheer team claims first place at Nationals

By CLAIRE BUGOS Staff Reporter Amongst the hundreds of teams that competed, only 35 made it to Nationals. Only four made it to finals. Sequoia took home the first place trophy.

The cheer team overcame a challenging season to win their division by one point at the USA High School Spirit Nationals in Anaheim March 17.

“We wanted to show everyone how great we could be,” said sophomore cheerleader Claire Grossman. Coached by Stacy Morell, the team competed in the Co-ed Varsity Show Cheer Novice division.

In addition to perfecting some of the most difficult stunts allowed in their division, the team had to make last-minute changes to their routine. Grossman, who was not originally placed in the routine due to back problems, stepped up to backspot in a stunt that would

Photo courtesy of stacy morell

The Sequoia cheerteam performed some of the most difficult stunts allowed in their division. have otherwise been illegal.

“If anybody in the group went into it thinking it was going to fall, or freaking out, it wasn’t going to work,” Grossman said.

In their several years competing at Nationals, this was the team’s most successful. Be-

fore the competition, Morell housed a heart to heart in her hotel room, where the cheerleaders shared their experiences, downfalls and gratitude for the season.

“By the time we performed, the atmosphere was so loving.

We were so close that it didn’t even matter if we didn’t win, we were just there for the team,” said Cheer team co-captain Alma Sanchez.

Performing in front of thousands of people, the team could hear the encouragement of local

cheerleaders. South City, Mercy Burlingame, Lincoln, Notre Dame, Hillsdale and Woodside High Schools’ teams attended the competition in support of Sequoia. “[Before the competition] you feel like you forget everything, so you just try and do it in your head and imagine it hitting,” Sanchez said. “This is your point to prove everything.” They finished their soild performance with high energy. The judges announced that they had pulled ahead of the runner-up by one point.

“Once the second place team had been announced, they knew they’d won,” Morell said. “It was a classic ESPN moment. They were all screaming and crying and jumping up and down and hugging.”

The team brought home medals, a trophy and a banner to display at Sequoia. To celebrate, the team spent a day at Disneyland, where they showed off their success and let all the pressure go.

Freshmen Wray and Webb invigorate girls lacrosse during second season After a tough loss on April 2 against Pioneer High School that ended 6-9, Wray remained positive about her team’s effort After coming off a year filled with and play.

“We’re improving,” Wray said. “We many losses and few goals, the girls lacrosse team has found improvement with lost 0-19 [in one game last year]. I know freshmen Ashlyn Wray and Teagan Webb. we’re gonna win a game [eventually].

“Once we win again it will boost everyLacrosse became a sport at Sequoia just one’s spirits.” last year. Before last And they did win year, many of the cur“Hard work is better than skills. rent players had never If you keep a positive attitude, and 13-2, in a scrimmage even seen a lacrosse you stay happy and calm, things are on April 4 against George Washington ball. more likely to work out.”

Wray and Webb, —Freshman Ashlyn Wray High School.

Besides just teachhowever, have been ing technique, Webb playing since elementary school, and have been sharing their hopes to inspire her teammates to have knowledge about the game with their the same outlook she has about the game.

“Hard work is better than skills,” Webb teammates.

“I try to teach as a peer, not as a supe- said.

“If you keep a positive attitude, and rior,” Webb said. “I give them tips during the game instead of screaming from the you stay happy and calm, things are more likely to work out.” sideline.”

By ARACELI EFIGENIO Feature Editor

Photo By Simon Greenhill

The girls lacrosse team’s next game will be April 22 at 7 p.m. at Sequoia.

Returning junior Kate Elliot has noticed how much the team has improved since the addition of Wray and Webb.

“Not only are they really good, but

they are also really humble,” Elliot said.

“There’s a lot of support emulating from them which is a very unique quality in freshmen.”

Style, personal health and hashtags: A PSA about SWAG

By ERICK CASTRO and TY DEWES Page Editors

On average, how many times do you swag in a month? Amidst stressing about the ACTs, the SATs, the IOCs, the IBs, and the ABCs, swag should be your main concern.

According to the Society Which Analyzes Gs (SWAG for short), our national swag has never been higher. Justin Bieber shows us that double watches,

sagging pants and swooshy hair warn others that your swag levels are radioactive and dangerous.

Nicki Minaj, a classic example of rational and coherent swag, targets the most intelligent and successful individuals in society with her thought-provoking lyrics.

The Kardashians are also still at it, proving to everyone that it really is hard to keep up with them.

National research also shows that swag is beneficial to an individual’s health. The repetition of “#YOLO” and “#SWAG” can help combat the common cold and old age.

With the end of the year approaching and stress beginning to accumulate, never forget your

swag. But what is swag? How do I know how much swag I have?”

Luckily, there is a simple mathematical formula that proves swag.

If we let swag=x, d/dx(x)=1 and therefore d/dx(swag)=1.

Therefore the maximum of swag is equivalent for all.

An additional way for you to know if you have swag is to answer these questions: 1. Do you constantly use the phrases “#YOLO,” “#SWAG” or “#YOLOSWAG?” 2. Does your wardrobe make other wardrobes cry?

3. Do the hallway crowds part like the Red Sea did for Moses when you walk through?

4. Have you been compared to Rihanna before?

5. Do your milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard? Literally. Do you make milkshakes so good that boys actually come to your front yard?

If the answer is yes to any of these, your swag levels are off the charts. Scratch that. Your swag levels define the charts.

You may be wondering, “how do you know so much about swag?” and the answer to that is simple: we have bestowed ourselves with swag.

Each day, we rep Sequoia with more than two watches on our wrists while we sag our pants, on top of our shorts, on top of our other shorts on top of our boxers. We also tend to spit mad rhymes and solve our conflicts with shuffle-offs.

You may know our famous rap, “#YOLOSWAG,” with the hit chorus “We like to swag, yeah. YOLOSWAG, yeah. We like oranges, yeah. They give us swag.” That’s right, we found a word that rhymes with orange.

Due to our life motto of “#YOLOswag,” the number of rap battles we’ve won and the amount of friends we have has grown incredibly. Everyone we know promotes our swag, and as a result, we bestow our swag upon others.

Just like in “The Lion King,” that’s the circle of swag. We give and receive this otherworldly gift.

Don’t worry, we know what you’re thinking. You’re welcome. #swagout