Issue 6 by Sequoia High School Raven Report

Raven Report Sequoia High School

Volume Viii, Issue 6

1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062

March 11, 2015

Art and service efforts honored

Community colleges to open doors to bachelor’s degrees

By CLAIRE BUGOS Managing Editor

Junior photographer tops 17,000 contestants to win national contest A single click of the camera landed her with $2000, a brand new Nikon DSLR camera and the title of one of two students out of 17,000 to win the Photographer’s Forum 35th annual Best of High School Photography contest. In the moment, however, junior Kate Heller was thinking only of getting the best shot for her Photography 2 assignment. “The photograph is very special to me because my sisters got to be a part of it,” Heller said. “This picture really makes people think and question if there is a story behind it.” She often photographs nature and optical illusions as a way to relax. Photography teacher Kate Sheehan required all Photography 2 students to enter the contest and encouraged Photography 1 students to do the same. Her photo will be published in the November 2015 issue of the Photographers Forum magazine and in the “Best of College and High School Photography” book and the Nikon Hall of Fame. “With photography, you have a chance to express yourself,” Heller said. “The same picture can be interpreted different ways by many different people.”

By XAVI BOLUÑA Staff Reporter

Photo by Dalia Jude

Cara Green was awarded $25,000 for her various volunteer efforts, including helping at an HIV clinic in Tanzania over the summer.

Sequoia Awards honor dedication to community The 2015 Sequoia Awards, presented to students who live in Redwood City, honor outstanding volunteer efforts in the community. This year’s Sequoia awardees are: Cara Green, Jennifer Castro, Dalia Jude, Sasha Levin-Guracar, Mario Martinez, May Martinho, Jenette Masarie, Samuel Medrano, Isabella Schreiber, Alicia Menendez-Brennan, Alondra Soto and Makayla Arvin. The awardees won scholarships of various sizes. Cara Green, this year’s Outstanding Student of the Year, was awarded $25,000 for her time spent tutoring at the Catholic Worker House, volun-

teering through Girl Scouts and helping at an HIV clinic in Tanzania over the summer. “[Community service] is kind of a give and take,” Green said. “You’re giving them your time but at the same time, when they appreciate your help it makes it really meaningful.” For her, community service is therapeutic and rewarding. “Sometimes being in IB and all these difficult classes, it’s hard to focus on things that aren’t surrounding yourself,” Green said. “A lot of times it’s about me and how stressed I am, but if I can just go and tutor or go to a Girl Scout event and help someone else, it can help my stress and clear my head, and it’s a nice way to change things up.”

Mindfulness program aims to minimize stress By MADDIE PEI and PHILIP TYSON Staff Reporters Students sit in a circle in a dim room. Eyes closed, there is nothing else to focus on than the rhythm of their breathing and the lightness of their posture. In January, IB Diploma juniors in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class began the mindfulness program, which primarily uses meditation to reduce stress. Science teacher Tiffany Burkle’s Health Career Academy students and last semester’s senior TOK class have taken part in mindfulness training in the past. English and

TOK teacher Justine Rutigliano will also incorporate the program into her current IB English class. “A lot of times for people in general, we stress about things unnecessarily. We get so preoccupied that we forget to appreciate the present,” junior Teagan Webb said. “We forget to enjoy where we are, and instead worry about stuff we don’t have to. [Mindfulness] really helps you to connect to your feelings and your body and your mind.” Teen Resource Center (TRC) director Judy Romero brought in social worker and psychotherapist Carin Winter to lead the mindfulness activities, with TOK students partaking in three

Feature:

20 day challenges

Page 4-5

forty-minute sessions. “I hadn’t been so convinced that [meditation] worked until [Winter] came and did it,” Webb

Graphic by Maddie Pei and Philip Tyson

said. “Maybe it was because I was so stressed out at the time that it helped so much, but I’ve tried yoga in the past, and though it’s relaxing, her

Sports:

Day in the life: lacrosse

Page 8

methods in particular really resonated with the stress of school and adolescent life.” See MINDFULNESS, page 2

Current sophomores will have the opportunity to enroll in community college and get a bachelor’s degree for the first time, through one of 15 four-year courses to be offered in 2017-2018. Skyline College and Foothill College, among others across California, will offer programs in dental hygiene, mortuary science and health information management and others. “Everyone wants a good job but might not want to go to a four-year college,” said College and Career Counselor Teresa Ignaitis. “The kid who is traditionally going to a four-year who actually wanted to do something at a community college... might be now attracted to a community college because... they can get a four-year degree.” The courses are in accordance with SB250, a bill passed last fall in response to growing estimates of a shortage of one million bachelor’s degrees and close to forty percent of jobs requiring them by 2025, according to statistics published in The Sacramento Bee. Bachelor’s degrees generally result in higher paying jobs, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Courses offered by the bill are based off of jobs that are in high demand and not covered by UCs, such as information management, mortuary science and dental hygiene, occupational studies, respiratory care, airframe manufacturing, industrial automation, emergency services and allied health systems, equine industry, biomanufacturing, respiratory care, automotive technology and interaction design. The technical nature of these courses could also attract a different type of student. Automotive technology, according to Ignaitis, isn’t something students would normally go to a four-year college for. Someone interested in that could now get a four-year degree and have more opportunities. “If you already know what you want to do, I think it’s a really good idea to [have a] four year [course],” senior Ivan Aguilar said.

By the numbers

202

Average number of hours an athlete spends playing a spring sport

News

Young actors stand in the spotlight

By MADALENE SCHORR Staff Reporter Script. Check. Stage crew. Check. Lights. Check. Action. The play “You Can’t Take It With You” hit the stage Feb. 20 after pounds of makeup and hours of practice. “It’s really fun, and I think it can be for anyone,” said freshman Julianna Porter, who performed as Gay Wellington, the drunk woman. Directed by performing arts teacher Danny Broome, “You Can’t Take It With You” is all about living life happily, doing what you love, surrounding yourself in good company and recognizing when to take a different path. The 18 actors practiced after school every day this semester. “It took a lot of practice and playing with my voice. A lot of it is body language,”

March 11, 2015

Second International Festival a result of student leadership By MADDIE PEI Staff Reporter

Photo courtesy of Ronnie Guinto

Wyatt Gilman had 207 lines in the play while playing the role of Martin Vanderhof. Porter said. Junior Wyatt Gilman has been acting since sixth grade. He played the lead male role of Martin Vanderhof, better known as “Grandpa.” “I had 207 lines to memorize. You have to get them

as close to the original as possible or else it can mess up other people’s [lines] and ruin the continuity,” Gilman said. Sophomore Lauren Regnier auditioned for the winter play after being in the

fall ensemble. “Not many people in the audience see this, but in practices we bond behind stage, before we go on,” said Regnier. “We’re silly and it’s fun, and then when we get on stage we’re in acting mode.”

Instructional aid directs second career By ERIK HUISMAN and ZACK ROSENBLATT Staff Reporters Steve Wilson-Briggs is one of the many instructional aides at Sequoia who helps students by adding another adult in classrooms. What most people don’t know about Wilson-Briggs is that he is also a part-time movie producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Wilson-Briggs started out as a musician and he can still be found playing guitar in the hallways. He soon fell in love with writing and moved to New York to pursue screenwriting. “Somehow I had a proclivity for writing. I thought that one day I would be a writer,” Wilson-Briggs said. After seven years of screenwriting, Wilson-Briggs felt confident about releasing content. “Initially for the seven years of writing, there was a lot of doubt, but after making a lot of mistakes I felt I no longer needed approval,” Wilson-Briggs said. “I knew when I had something good and I could share it, receive input and modify

it accordingly to that input.” will still be in the appeals process for the Wilson-Briggs has produced and di- next few months. rected inexpensive movies such as “The “I’m going to fight until there are no Amazing Mr. Excellent.” more options. Right now I am in the “It’s kind of a fish out of water story appellate court. If I win, great, and if I about a [superhero] who goes out and lose, if it seems reasonable and if somechanges lives,” Wilson-Briggs said “I also thing is done improperly, I would hope wrote the music for [it].” “The Amazing to go to the next level,” Wilson-Briggs Mr. Excellent” contained about 15 orig- said. “I will fight until there there is no inal songs by Wilson-Briggs. fight left.” Two years ago, Wilson-Briggs filed Wilson-Briggs’ sister, Morgan Marchfor a copyright inbanks was Sequoia’s fringement lawsuit “When I came back to principal from 2000 to bringing his producing California, I thought why not 2009. Wilson-Briggs career to a short term make my own movie?” started working at Sestop over the movie —Steve Wilson-Briggs, quoia about four years “Elysium” which came instructional aid ago as an instructional out in 2013. aide. During his free “Elysium” earned period, he spends time about $286 million worldwide and outside with the physical education starred actor Matt Damon and actress classes. Jodie Foster. Wilson-Briggs’ claims that “He comes by and hangs out and is “Elysium” used the plot, characters, set- friendly,” physical education teacher tings, themes, conflicts and climax-twist Adrian Dilley said. “Also, it’s pretty neat of his screenplay “Butterfly Diver” after for [Wilson-Briggs] to have done a full he posted the script on the screenwriting movie script and it’s unfortunate that website, TriggerStreet.com. it was allegedly stolen from him. It is On November 3, 2014 Wilson-Briggs pretty cool to know someone that’s into lost on summary judgement but the case [movie making].”

Rutigliano named Exemplary State IB Teacher of the Year By CLAIRE BUGOS Managing Editor On a day like any other, IB English and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) teacher Justine Rutigliano woke up, ate an oatmeal breakfast, and became the California IB Teacher of the Year. After a secret nomination by IB Coordinator Lisa McCahon, Rutigliano was selected for the award for her dedication and passion for teaching. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to be recognized,” Rutigliano said. “This job is so funny because—this is my 16th year [teaching]—and you work all these weekends and hours and summers and

it’s just amazing how people just don’t get recognized all that often.” Rutigliano has been teaching IB English for 10 years and has been at Sequoia for five years. This year, she teaches IB English Y2 HL and TOK. “The vibe here—the love and the support and the congeniality, I don’t think that’s extremely common,” Rutigliano said of the Sequoia community. Rutigliano was presented a plaque, $1000 and registration and hotel accommodations at the spring California Association of IB World Schools conference in San Diego. “I have never known a teacher as dedicated and passionate about IB and their

students as Justine,” McCahon said. “Justine lives and breathes IB. She holds high expectations for all students and welcomes all student perspectives and voices into the class discussion.” Rutigliano looks forward many more years of teaching and being part of the Sequoia community. “That was the most touching thing I think I’ve ever gotten,” Rutigliano said. “I was incredibly flattered and humbled. To think that my colleagues, who I adore and look up to for my own inspiration and just hearing the kind words they had to say was just extremely humbling. There were definitely a couple days of disbelief. I’m just so grateful.”

Food trucks will line the field. Student art will be displayed next to performers onstage. Videos will play in the MPR alongside clubs with individual tents. The second annual International Festival will take place on Apr. 11. Junior Abby Hartzell and senior Nani Friedman lead this year’s preparation of the festival. Admission is free. “There are four pillars, which are the food trucks, film festival, art show, and stage,” Hartzell said. The festival is a convenient segway into the dance show taking place the same night. With food trucks still open, visitors can get their food around 6 p.m., then attend the show at 7 p.m. The mission of the festival: to showcase Sequoia’s talents to the community. “People can come at a flexible time period,” Hartzell said. “It’ll bring up Sequoia’s name and what we have to offer.”

MINDFULNESS

from page 1 Besides meditation, with an emphasis on breathing and posture, Winter also noted the importance of students valuing their self-worth. “When we were meditating, she [said], ‘You are beautiful. You are strong. You can be successful’,” junior Lucia Abela said. “I think the concept of meditating and being aware is especially important for teenagers who are so self-absorbed and always stressed, but I felt like it was difficult to take seriously.” Abela thought Winter’s methods were just rebranded, centuries-old eastern practices, though they are based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Abela believes meditation is significant and useful, but methods in the teaching were “fluffy.” Studies show teaching mindfulness in classroom reduces behavior problems and aggression because it improves happiness levels and expands the attention span. Evidence also reveals meditation boosts the immune system, improves memory skills and can be considered as good as antidepressants in fighting depression and preventing relapse. “[Teenagers are] under a tremendous amount of stress, academic pressure [and] issues at home,” Winter said, “People don’t recognize the deadlines adolescents face.” Schools in the nearby area have recently incorporated mindfulness into their curriculum. Burton High School in San Francisco is one of the first in the nation to implement a mindfulness program, which they call “Quiet Time.” Students in it reported greater self-esteem, significantly less stress and a dramatic increase in grades.

Feature

March 11,2015

Music plays into and enriches teachers’ lives By NORA FOSSENIER

Staff Reporter

Music is a driving force in many of our lives. It is also something more than a few of our teachers have an interest in. We all know teachers as the people who grade our tests and homework; however, some of our teachers are also involved in playing music. English teacher Jonathan Hoffman plays music ranging from folk to grunge to rock on acoustic and electric guitar. “I love [playing music], it’s fun, it helps me relax after work. I always hope to get better,” Hoffman said. “[Music has] played a huge part in my life...It captured how I felt, it helped me connect to other people.” He’s a member of The Hall Passes, a group of teachers who perform at the talent show. Other members include Daniel Broome, Jane Woodman, and Othello Jefferson. “Playing in the talent show was always something I’d wanted to do, but I can be kind of shy outside of my teacher persona. Then last year, Ms. Woodman and I started to jam after school,” Hoffman said. “All of a sudden we were doing it!” Photography teacher Kate Sheehan played in a rock’n’roll band for three and a half years, before leaving about a year ago. She was also in a couple Irish and folk bands when she lived in Boston, be-

Photo by Nora Fossenier

Psychology teacher David Weyant keeps his electric guitar in his classroom which can be heard during his prep period on occasion. fore becoming a teacher. she currently sings in a women’s chorus, “I have always had an interest in mu- Conspiracy Of Venus, which plays varisic. [I took] music lessons when I was ous events around the Bay area. young,” Sheehan said. “I got away from “The reason why I picked up music music for a while in my high school again was because I found I wanted anyears but returned after college.” other creative outlet—outside of teachSheehan’s main instrument is the man- ing art,” Sheehan said. “Doing activities dolin, a stringed instrument in the lute outside of your day to day duties does family. She was inspired to learn to play invigorate you, and enrich your life. It’s it due to her Irish heritage. She also plays a good balance.” keyboards and a little guitar as well, and History teacher Eric Kobrick occa-

Self-taught student uses passions to prepare herself for future By IRIDIAN VILLANUEVA Staff Reporter Senior Ruth Hernandez scribbled and scribbled until she got the characters right in her Japanese practice book. Hernandez began teaching herself Japanese four years ago by using the internet and different websites to help her learn and enrolled herself in Soko Gakuen, a Japanese Language School. “I like taking challenges. I’ve learned that you must study the culture as much as the language because there are things that can’t be translated directly from English to another language and vice versa,” Hernandez said. Hernandez didn’t restrict herself to using only one website to help her learn; instead, she searched for different websites that offered free classes. She also went to local book stores to look for workbooks that would give her more practice. She learned Japanese on her own for three years by practicing every day for about three hours. Eventually Hernandez didn’t have time to keep learning on her own: school work started to take most of her time. She decided to attend a Japanese Language School every Saturday morning to further

sionally plays the trumpet, which he learned after high school. He also sang in a couple garage-type bands when he was younger, as well as played a bit of bass guitar and drums. “I can think of two or three little bands [that I was in],” Kobrick said. “It’s not like we toured or anything. We’d play a party and do mostly covers of bands that [we’d] liked.” Psychology teacher David Weyant was surrounded by music as he grew up with musically-oriented parents. He plays acoustic and electric guitar, even keeping his electric guitar in his classroom. “I play guitar by ear, so if I hear a song that I really like, I just try to play along with it and figure it out,” Weyant said. Weyant can occasionally be heard playing guitar during prep periods, that is, when he isn’t busy working and grading. It is often difficult for teachers to find time to play music in their busy work schedules. “[It’s] really hard to find a time when [our band] can all get together to practice,” Hoffman said. Knowing that a teacher plays music can also help musically-inclined students relate to them. “It’s cool seeing that [my teacher and I] both share a passion for music,” senior KC Calderaro said. “It makes them more approachable, like a friend rather than a teacher.”

Teen explores culture through summer volunteering adventure By CAMRYN HABECKER

Staff Reporter

Photo by Iridian Villanueva

Senior Ruth Hernandez attends an online Japanese Language School every Saturday and has created a blog all in Japanese. her knowledge and attended with mostly adults in her class. Hernandez also created a blog where she combined her passion for makeup and fashion with her knowledge of Japanese. “I had problematic skin, and not every product worked well for me, so I decided to do beauty reviews on products to help people with the same problem I had,” Hernandez said. Her blog has also helped her prepare for the future since her dream job is to work for a magazine in Japan or create her

own. Her plans are to integrate beauty standards of the Japanese with those of Americans after going to college in San Francisco. Even though there were times when Hernandez felt overwhelmed and thought about giving up on learning a new language, she kept going because she knew she would benefit from it in her future. “My best advice would be to invest your time wisely in something that will help you succeed in life,” Hernandez said.

Teaching English. Mosquitos. New friends. Baseball fields. Humidity. Senior Samantha O’Neill visited the Dominican Republic last summer with VISIONS Service Adventures along with other high school students from all over the United States. O’Neill AS found out about the program through Summer Search, a program that helps low-income students with opportunities such as this one. The group spent 27 days in the city of Santa Domingo. “We [lived] directly in the community that we were helping,” O’Neill said. Before she went to the Dominican Republic, there was a lot to be done to prepare. “I had to get a lot of paperwork, my passport, pills and shots. It’s crazy. I was worried about mosquitoes because they carry diseases,” O’Neill said. “At first, I was super hesitant, but once I got there everything was going to be okay.” Student volunteers adjusted to different conditions and helped out the com-

munity by building baseball fields and teaching kids English. “Baseball is really important there, it’s a gateway to get out of the bad neighborhoods. There were a bunch of training camps. It was crazy that our baseball field could get people [into the training camps],” O’Neill said. “We had to make all of the cement and dig a lot; it was a lot of manual labor. I also loved the kids at the camp.” Daily life for O’Neill started with cooking breakfast for all of the students, leaders, and some of the Dominican people. On most of the days, the group would go to the work site for many hours with lunch in between. Sometimes they would also go to the beach, but other times they had to go back to the house and clean. Following that would be dinner and an activity, then lights out was at 10 p.m. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity; you get so much out of it,” O’Neill said. “I met so many people and learned a lot.” VISIONS students also travel to Alaska, Ecuador, Peru, and Cambodia, among other places.

Special

Repeat to self: I am enough. I am fab. By ABIGAIL WANG Feature Editor Why take the challenge? This junior year, one of the most stressful years of my life, the amount of self-hate I thought and expressed was mounting. I was getting the lowest grades I ever have and developing a habit of anxiety about friends, sports, college and competition. I was stuck in a dark spiral of negative thoughts. When the suggestion came up of doing a non-self-deprecation challenge came up, I immediately jumped at the chance to fix a habit that had destroyed what little self-confidence I had. The rules were simple: twenty days of no negative thoughts about myself said aloud or in my head, and I had to accept all compliments. I began with a list, to record every time I screwed up. The list was about thirty items long at midday. I didn’t think I could make it. About five days in, I wanted to scream. I wanted to brainwash my mind and press a reset button. But there was no off switch. They were a gut reaction to nearly every situation. I couldn’t untangle the mess of my thoughts. Why did I constantly tell myself I was stupid? I thought about middle school, where puberty hit along with teasing from classmates. Being 5’6 in sixth grade and weighing over 100 lbs. didn’t make sense to me. It didn’t mean beautiful. I began to self-deprecate as a way to deal with a situation I clearly felt sensitive and insecure about. I used it deal with my changing body and when I felt more ashamed due to classmates comments about my physical appearance, I said the insults to myself so they didn’t have to. But now the situation seemed idiotic. Five years later I was left with bad habits that had only evolved. The gut-reaction to awkward situations: I began to realize patterns in my negative bashing; it’s always a response to feeling uncomfortable, like when I’m meeting someone for the first time and desperate to make an impression I immediately blurt out the first bad thing I can think about myself. Or after a test is over I immediately set my bar extremely low for myself. That way I can either meet my goal or exceed it, no false hope. I use self-deprecation as a sort of safety net for myself, there’s no way anyone can insult me because I already have and I won’t disappoint my-

Mission

self because I already stated the worst possible situation. The environment: How we give compliments and the response I also began to reflect on what others were saying to me, especially since I had to accept all compliments and I began to notice a trend. My friends give what I like to call “empty compliments” where they’ll say, “You’re really pretty” or “you’re really skinny” (I get that one a lot). Even worse, “You’re so lucky you can wear shirts like that if I tried all my fat would be hanging out.” My response: “Um thanks?” But these are compliments that only focus on your outer appearance. The first problem is saying that it isn’t a real compliment—a real compliment is something that focuses on a characteristic that is unique to you as a person. Focusing on what outfit I have on today isn’t really a compliment. If someone’s giving you empty compliments, it’s really easy to internalize that physical beauty is more important. It’s really nice that someone said I’m skinny, but I also realize that it’s more important to think, “Yeah, but I’m more than that label.” The problem is that we often utilize compliments paired with self-deprecation to turn the situation to focus on ourselves. This results in an endless cycle of “You’re not fat, I am” and on and on and on. When did compliments become turn into self-absorbed comments? The process: I guess I never really believed in the myths of suddenly waking up and realizing that you can be happy about yourself or that telling yourself that you’re beautiful every time you look in the mirror really can boost your self-confidence. But I was sick of it, sick of the terrible lies I told to comfort myself and sick of the excuses I used to justify it. At day 20 of the challenge it was a make or break moment and I wanted to give it everything I had. I looked in the mirror and said, “You’re beautiful,” per my editor Sabrina’s suggestion and yeah, it felt weird, but I felt a little lighter. I started saying that all the time mentally and aloud, any negative thought I had was replaced with a positive comment. In some ways it felt easier than the negative thoughts I was used to. I realized that being confident didn’t mean being an arrogant douche that I despised so much, it meant focusing on the things you are good at, what you can achieve rather than all the negative things. I was excited by my discoveries and texted both my friends to tell them about my epiphany. I acknowledge it won’t always be perfect, and I still have days where I doubt myself and fall on bad habits of the past, but I’m beginning to balance out the self-hate slowly.

It’s too easy being mean By SABRINA VILLANUEVA AVALOS Opinion Editor I gave myself the challenge of not being mean for 20 days. The rules were simple: do not say anything mean to anybody else. I considered going as far as avoiding mean thoughts, but let’s be real, that’s nearly impossible, so I started off easy. The issue I faced throughout my days was determining what is considered mean. Obviously I can’t call my friends idiots, or strangers for that matter, but how far is too far? I wondered if I was allowed to laugh at others’ jokes that are mean, or if sarcastically saying nice things, even if they weren’t completely true. I came to a simple, yet challenging conclusion: do not agree with, or state anything, that is not an absolute fact. Simple, right? Wrong. The past 20 days have taught me that perhaps I’m not as sweet as I thought I was. Actually, I’ve realized how mean we all are. We all insult people in everyday conversation. If we were to delete every insult or negative comment about others, we would probably only be saying about 30 percent of what we normally say. Well, I would at least. When I first started this endeavor of niceness, my initial thought was, who would possibly say I’m mean? I’m sweet, approachable and relatable. I can do this, no problem. Boy, do I realize how narcissistic that thought was. Of course, on day one it was easy to avoid being mean because I practically walked on eggshells all day, knowing that I was going to mess up. I also stated after nearly every comment everyone else said, “I can’t say anything, I have to be nice for 20 days.” However, when I woke up the next morning, I completely forgot about my goal and officially returned back to my overly sarcastic ways. I forced myself to write down everything mean I said that day. It wasn’t even 8 a.m. when I called someone stupid for paying over $3,000 for a tattoo. But come on, that is pretty stupid I pondered unique ways to channel my inner friendliness. Rather than saying mean things, I tried saying, “I have no comment because I have nothing nice to say.” I know what you’re thinking. Sabrina, that’s still mean. I know, but it’s better than saying what I really think. And slowly but surely, I was able to stop saying that. Not completely, of course. When people bring up aggravating topics, how does one keep their mouth shut every time? But I definitely learned some self control. Nearing the end of my journey, I found that I was capable of just keeping my mouth shut. I discovered the joy of simply changing the subject. Starting conversations about things that I actually can’t verbally tear to shreds is magical. Being social was possible again without being a sarcastic asshole to every person that was within a 5-yard radius from me. The unfortunate part of all of this is that I can’t say I’ve changed a single bit. The day I discovered that my challenge was finally over, I found a sassy comment for everything. What can I say, sarcasm is what makes me, me.

B O

Feature

n: Impossible?

Meditation mediates... or Four students take on different causes stress 20-day challenges to eliminate bad habits. See how they did.

I solemnly swear that I am up to no cursing

By GLENN BILLMAN Online Editor

would but substituted my foul diction with blanks instead. The message was still clear, and in the end, probably just as rude. The main problem is that by and large, the people I spend time with continue to swear like reality stars. Despite the isolation, I manage to stop myself from swearing a good 90 percent of the time. This should be rewarding, but I don’t feel improved as a human. I’m beginning to think that as long as a swear word isn’t a slur or derogatory, it might not be so bad to use in front of my tenderhearted teenage peers.

Swearing is just my special way of showing I care. I cuss out the people I am deeply passionate about disliking and those whom I’m trying not to walk into while they stand in the middle RIP humor and other fatalities of the hallway. Whether something tremendous or Day 15: I’ve mastered the art of not swearing. Havretch-inducing happened, four-letter words just ing overcome the vulgarity of my humanity, I feel a serve to communicate the extent of my feelings. closeness to my surroundings. I am pure. Fulfilled. They’re the staccatos to my stories, the pizzazz to More like full of it. my punchlines. And most likely going to get me in Although it’s true that I now have the ability to a s*** ton of trouble one day. curb my swearing, there isn’t a compelling reason I’m not saying that I go off around toddlers or to keep it up in a social setting. If there’s anything teachers, or that cursing is acceptable in all scenarI’ve learned, it’s that va-va-voomph is impossible to ios. For me, swearing is an icebreaker to awkward generate with everyday English. social situations and the umph to emphasize how much I hate Cal- I’ve submerged myself so far into the Impolite people aren’t “silly,” “dogculus and love Zac Efron. Internet’s garbage culture of poor goned,” or “so annoying.” They’re Either way, swearing has start- grammar and surly language that I asshats. Even Shakespeare, one of ed to be such a default for me that don’t know how to make jokes with- the most eloquent writers in history, knew that sometimes calling I don’t think before cursing. At out being crude. someone a “puke-stocking” wasn’t this rate, its only a matter of time enough. On occasion, you just have to let people before I accidentally drop an f-bomb in class. Which know that they “art as loathsome as a toad.” would be less than ideal. I’ve submerged myself so far into the Internet’s So, for 20 days, I embarked on a journey of selfgarbage culture of poor grammar and surly language improvement. The goal was simple: don’t swear that I don’t know how to make jokes without being like a trucker. The reality, however, was much more crude. This should, and to some extent does, repulse complicated. me. But I am a curmudgeon, which makes it a little hard to care. The ultimate form of peer pressure is to Fixing myself, part one conform to the language of high school, and at this Day 1: Lol, fail. Every time I feel an emotion, I cuss. point, why change. I might have a problem. Day 7: The last week has been a triumph for bad Day 20: Release isn’t as sweet as expected. The habits everywhere. I start each day saying that I challenge is over, but swearing still feels a little like won’t swear, but then I just need to add a little ancheating. Although it’s doubtful that this challenge ecdotal cussing. Alternately, I get angry or defensive actually grew me a functioning moral compass, I’m or stub my toe and all bets are off. glad that I was able to stop swearing for a few weeks, even if only to prove that I can. I’ve managed to Again, with conviction. notice how I use language to evade awkward situaDay 8: New week, new me. This week, I am detertions and resemble a funny person, and although I’ll mined to cut the crap and leave my foul mouth in never exercise it, I have more control over what I say. the past. And if there’s one thing I love more than Which might be an okay skill to have if I ever intertelling people where they can shove it creatively, it’s view for like, a job, or whatever. In the meantime, being stubborn. My resolve is steadfast. I am armed I’ll continue to be a swearing machine, fighting the with an arsenal of substitute swears. Dang it to Haman and keeping the teenage rebellion against audes, I am going to make it through this. thority alive. Day 14: To cope this week, I talked like I normally

By REBEKAH WESTERLIND Staff Reporter I am a person who always needs to be doing something. Whether it’s my math homework while the teacher is talking or squats during a deep discussion with my friends, I am most happy when I am being productive. So sitting still and doing nothing for even five minutes is not really my thing. That being said, I also love to challenge myself. Put those two together and I get stuck with the challenge of meditating every day for 20 days. Since we just started mindfulness training in Theory of Knowledge, I decided that my meditation would include silence, attention to breathing, and clearing my mind of any thoughts. This took the form of five minutes sitting peacefully on my bedroom floor while thoughts spun through my head. Day 1: I think that I actually got more stressed out during the first five minutes of meditation. I just kept running through everything I had to do before bed: Extended Essay. Math review. English socratic prep. Annotations for French. Find my mouth guard. Wash my uniform. This is not how you are supposed to feel while meditating. Day 2-6: Once I finally got over stressing myself out during the meditation, I ended up blocking my thoughts out so well that I fell asleep. After a long day, most of my effort is really just to stay awake. I started out with good intentions each night, but by the end of five minutes I was out cold. Day 7: Ok, I know this might sound weird, but I decided to meditate while brushing my teeth, paying close attention to my breathing and my thoughts. It actually had a mind-numbing effect in which my body was active, but I wasn’t thinking about anything. And it was relaxing! Who knew brushing your teeth could be so therapeutic. Day 13: This time I switched back to more traditional meditation methods, including background music and an instructor who told me to ponder my meaning in life (it’s 42) and reminded me to control my breathing. Breathe deeply in through the nose. Hold it. As you exhale… repeat every 2.5 seconds until you successfully tune out. While I didn’t fall asleep, I still failed to follow the instructions, instead relaxing and letting my thoughts follow a path of loose connections. I ended up thinking about why people ask questions, which, despite being a bit of a conundrum, must relate to my life purpose somehow. Day 20: I found that I cannot meditate in the traditional sense. If I try to sit still and think about nothing, I just end up feeling frustrated and unproductive. However, I did appreciate the time to take a step back and let myself just float through ideas. I’m sure meditation works for other people—I even have friends that can’t stop raving about it. But having given it an opportunity to prove itself, I can now accept the fact that meditation is not for me.

6 March 11, 2015 Opinion Embrace, don’t fight campus public displays of affection By MARS SVEC-BURDICK Staff Reporter You probably hate that freshman couple kissing on your locker. They’re probably in the way of your chemistry textbook, and now you’re probably going to have to ask them to move. Ugh, couples, you think. However, I’m calling you out as a hypocrite. If that wasn’t you today, it was last week. Halfway through the year in these dreary, rainy months, in lieu of better things to do, many Sequoia high school students resort to each other. Following the long-term relationships’ milestone of Valentine’s Day, and the subsequent new relationships bonding over not having a sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, loving couples exhibiting public displays of affection are an unavoidable hazard in the hallways between point A (biology class) and point B (physical education). “It’s a problem if they’re loud. Loud kisses are annoying,” said sophomore Alfred Louchard, who’s in a relationship of his own. “But our friends still complain about us.” His girlfriend, sophomore Lauren Regnier, explained that since they aren’t the type to make out in the middle of the cafeteria, their friends’ complaints are unjustified. “It’s not the honeymoon phase anymore; we don’t have to be next to each other [all the time],” Regnier said. For couples still in the honeymoon phase, the forbidden Japanese tea garden is a steamy and obvious romantic getaway. Other couples have top secret and elaborate codes referring each other to more private corners of the school.

Many students know where they’re most likely to run into couples engaging in PDA. “I know different people who’ve been mostly. I wouldn’t say seniors because on the campus long enough to make ac- they’re the mature ones on campus,” ronyms for the different places they go,” Taradash said. freshman Morgan Taradash said. Though comparatively innocent to Taradash wouldn’t tell me the acro- the horizontal picnic table ‘cuddling’ nyms, but if you I’ve seen, hugging hear someone seems to be the Coupled students, keep in mind throwing around most hot-button that school is a place for produc‘meet me in the issue around PDA. tiveness, not reproductiveness. BSW’ or ‘see you “At my old under the FBFB school you weren’t baby,’ avoid seallowed to hug for cluded areas. more than three She has a theory about who’s to blame seconds, so it’s so different here,” Tarafor the puppy love. dash said. “It’s people hugging for ten “I’d say sophomores and juniors minutes. Like, you can let go now.”

Modes of transportation inspire driver-vehicle bond outside with my breakfast and I was so excited I ate my breakfast in the car. I didn’t know how to drive stick yet.” Bond with the car: “It’s my baby.” Jeep club: “There’s this cool thing when I see another person with a Jeep Wrangler there’s this little Jeep wave.” Typical pastime: Driving over sidewalks

Photo by Rebekah Westerlind

AUSTIN BAKER, senior 1965 Chevy C10 truck Bond with car: “We’ve had our ups and downs. I’ve had to work on it so much and put a lot of money into it, but it makes the payoff that much better and I get back a potentially show-worthy vehicle.” Classic car club: “I like the recognition I get from other classic car drivers. It’s a community of everyone that drives older cars. We give each other respect.”

Typical pastime: Baker spends his weekends working on his car with his grandpa. “I insulated the cab, waterproofed the windows, and recently put in a new stereo and speakers in it. I’ve been trying to get a new bed installed that’s made out of oak.” BEN MORRISON, senior 2006 Jeep Wrangler Sport Edition Acquisition of the car: “My dad came home with it and I was like ‘What the heck is that doing out there?’ So I ran

Graphic by Mars Svec-Burdick

I’m not on a high horse here; I’ve occupied just as many lockers, and complained just as much about the rest of you. But, come on guys, we can get better at this. Sex positivity doesn’t have to mean sexual tension everywhere. If the campus aids aren’t around to keep hugging in check, please self-regulate hormone and/or jealousy levels. Coupled students, keep in mind that school is a place for productiveness, not reproductiveness. In the meantime, unpaired students, complaining is a waste of breath. Please save your moaning for your next kissing partner. Either shack up, or shut up.

Sequoia High School

Raven Report 2014-2015

Editor-in-Chief Dalia Jude Managing Editors Claire Bugos Carmen Vescia News Editor Emily Ducker

Feature Editor Abigail Wang

Opinion Editor Sabrina Villanueva Avalos

MARC CROWNOVER, teacher 1982 Yamaha 650 Maxim 4-cylinder

Sports Editor Lily Friebel

Motorcycle Advantages: “Parking, gas economy, cheaper insurance, ability to move through traffic, ‘cool’ factor.”

Online Editor Glenn Billman

First experience: “I got my first bicycle when I was seven and immediately I crashed it into a car. I have been on bicycles ever since.” Favorite memory: “Before my wife and I got married, when we were still going to rock-n-roll shows, having her on the back at night with our leather jackets. That’s when we were cool.” —REBEKAH WESTERLIND

Staff Reporters Xavi Boluña, Sunaina Butler, Samantha Caswell, Lauren Cresta, Trevor Crowell, Isabel DeCastro, Nora Fossenier, Dominick Graham, Camryn Habecker, Erik Huisman, Maddie Pei, Jasleen Pelia-Lutzker, Chaz Rosado, Zack Rosenblatt, Madalene Schorr, Mars Svec-Burdick, Philip Tyson, Iridian Villanueva, Erik West, Rebekah Westerlind Adviser Kim Vinh

Sports

March 11, 2015

Same sport, different gender: new experience By REBEKAH WESTERLIND

Staff Reporter

Boys lacrosse is known for being brutal, so when I first got to practice, I put on all of my friend’s pads. Gloves. Elbow pads. Chest pads. Helmet. Then I tried to throw. The elbow pads slipped down to my hands. The pass missed entirely. And the stick slipped out of my grasp, probably because the gloves wouldn’t even budge when my hands wiggled inside them. Thankfully we found the smallest set of pads Sequoia has ever owned, and with my sweatshirt underneath, they didn’t slip... too badly. I was expecting to come back with an excruciating story about all my bruises, scrapes, and spectacular falls. Unfortunately, the lacrosse boys were too respectful to give me that. I noticed many of my opponents pulling back and allowing me to pass unscathed. Not known for their clean language, the lax bros, as they are known, were careful not to insult me, but they still made fun of each other. There were insults shouted across the field, people casually shoved and sticks jabbed into suspecting, and even unsuspecting teammates. One even apologized to me for his teammates’ behavior. I was singled out pretty quickly as “the girl” on the field. Two major downsides to this were 1) they wouldn’t hit me, no matter how many times I told them to, and 2) everyone wanted to see me get the ball and do something with it. Which is fine, except for when you have no idea what you are doing and are most likely to make a fool out of yourself. Determined to prove myself, I sprinted out to the ball. And tripped. Landing flat on my face in front of the entire team.

Photo by Claire Bugos

Submerged in this chaotic environment, however, is a game worth playing. I am being completely truthful when I say it was the most fun practice I have been to in a long time. Part of this fun was probably derived from the enthusiastic reaction of both teams whenever I actually scored. I turned from the goal, my team erupting in a huge wave of arms, cheers, smiles, and, of course, insults for the other team. I only scored three goals, but the coach still decided to name me the top goal scorer of the practice, a much appreciated gesture. I was then called on to close the practice with a team cheer. As the team huddled around me, I settled on the suggestion of “Squad on three.” Squad, as defined by Urban Dictionary, is a group of individuals with a common identity and sense of solidarity. The boys lacrosse team fits this definition well. I am honored to have spent a day practicing with and experiencing the unique culture and unity of Sequoia’s boy lacrosse.

Photo by Theo Darmayudha

By DOMINICK GRAHAM Staff Reporter Warm up laps, stretching and simple drills that anyone could do. I, being a boys lacrosse player, thought this was going to be a walk in the park. Well I was wrong. The only thing more embarrassing than missing every catch is throwing the ball so far away that someone has to run and pick it up.

The only type of protection I had obviously the giant metal stick and a very uncomfortable pair of goggles that didn’t feel like they would protect me from anything. Fortunately no hitting is allowed in girls lacrosse, so I survived. As soon as the coach yelled to start running actual plays I started to grow more afraid of it being my turn. Ball after ball hit the floor and my confidence

level went with them. At that point I couldn’t wait for the practice to end. I realized it was only 45 minutes in. Next the coach told us to get in a line with our partner behind us. “SUICIDES,” one of the girls yelled. Running back and forth, this couldn’t be that bad. Just as we were about to finish, one of the girls asked, “Are we doing this twice?” The coach replied with “Good idea” and I heard “UGH” from everyone and me as well. After that agonizing torture, we went back into dodging drills and setting up an offense. Once again, I couldn’t cradle or catch. I had no idea what was going on half the time as balls were flying everywhere. While everyone going 100 percent I was taking my time and slowing people down just trying not to mess up. I could just feel the eyes of all the girls around me staring and feeling a lot better about their stick skills. I could just remember how the entire boys lacrosse team makes fun of the girls team for them not being intense or hard or even a little physical. Honestly now I don’t know why the guys team picks on the girls saying, “it’s too easy” or “it’s not physical enough” because no, it’s HARD. After one practice with the girls team I have developed a whole new respect for women’s lacrosse. I will be attending every game I can with a different perspective. The game is intense and worth watching. Even though there is no physical contact, this sport is the most exasperating and tiresome sport you can play, but also the most fun watching and participating in. I am very grateful that the team and coach allowed me to play with them and have this great experience.

New coach steps up to plate By CARMEN VESCIA Managing Editor

Photo by Sam Caswell

Frank Benetua is the first new head coach the varsity program has seen in 13 years, and the team played its first game March 9 vs. Terra Nova.

The varsity softball team began the season with the first new head coach the program has seen in 13 years, and it’s been a transition for coach Frank Benetua and players alike. “It might bring [the team] closer because we’re all adjusting together,” sophomore Kiley Lubeck said. This year the team is young, with only two seniors who were on varsity last year and six in total. The team went undefeated in league in 2012 and moved up to Bay, the highest division, making CCS playoffs the year after, but last season the team went 3-11 in league and 6-14 overall. “We’re a good team, but it’s a build-

ing season,” Lubeck said. “There’s a lot of different ages on the team, so we need to work on chemistry and trusting each other.” Benetua is confident in the players’ drive to grow and succeed. “The kids are working hard, working together… and doing the best they can so we can be consistent, positive and win our league,” Benetua said. Benetua describes his coaching style as “disciplined but fair” and has around 20 years of softball experience. He recently retired after 30 years of teaching physical education and coaching. Senior and three-year varsity player Jenette Masarie hopes to improve.“I really want to get my team to CCS,” said Masarie. “[I hope we] just try ourbest the whole season.”

Sports

March 11, 2015

Varsity three sport athlete shows heart, hustle year round By TREVOR CROWELL Staff Reporter The football team breaks the huddle and jogs off the field after its final game. The drained players hang up their equipment and discuss off season plans. Senior Tommy Lopiparo heads to the basketball gym just the following day. A few months of constant sprinting and aggressive play on the court later, Lopiparo’s aching legs still have enough energy left to maintain his hustle on the baseball diamond immediately after the conclusion of basketball. For Lopiparo, playing sports all year round has become a constant routine. “Nothing is better than the energy that you get with suiting up for your games all year round,” Lopiparo said. Lopiparo, who was inspired by his three multi-sport older brothers at a young age, has played football, basketball and baseball throughout his four years at Sequoia. As athletes try to be more competitive, many high schools have seen a rapid decline of three sport athletes. Still, some students meet the challenge of managing time in the classroom while playing sports year round. These athletes find that homework after a few hours of practice has just become a standard routine. “The workload for school isn’t much different because for all three sports I pretty much have the same amount of time to do my homework. So as long as

Fall

As one of five multi-sport brothers, Tommy Lopiparo folllows in their footsteps.

Winter Photo courtesy of Pam Beard

Spring

Photo courtesy of Karen Lopiparo

Lopiparo was playing at the varsity level for basketball by the end of the his freshman season; he made the varsity teams for football and baseball his sophomore year. Photo courtesy of Andrew Elias

I know I have to get it done then I’ll do it,” Lopiparo said. His competitive nature is what allows him to also get better on the field.

This leads to maturity and leadership not only within a three sport player, but for the team community around them. “In playing multiple sports, you can

Winter sports recap Girls Wrestling 2nd place in the PAL Tournament “We exceeded expectations, we did our best we did what we could no matter how hard [the competition]. We pushed through and did our best.” — Ashleah Cano, junior

Girls Soccer 5-3-3 “This season, we really improved. We had a couple of games where we didn’t apply what we knew... but then we kind of picked that up towards the end. We knew the position we were in and didn’t want to go any lower, so there was this moment where it just clicked in our heads.” —Jackie Vargas, senior

Girls Basketball 2-10 “The game that I remember the most was the [Carlmont home] game because of how much effort I put in. I never have [before], even last season.” —Veronica Aoka, junior

Photo courtesy of Joshua Danovitz

Boys Wrestling 3rd place in the PAL Tournament “Last season we had more numbers, we were able to compete with the other schools, we had a few wins last season. This season we were a smaller team. I hope that Sequoia starts to advertise wrestling more, no one really knows about it. Numbers would be a lot better in the future.” —Austin Baker, senior

Photo courtesy of Brady Stubblefield

Photo by Claire Bugos

Boys Soccer 7-4

“The preseason was kind of a transition. We started out the season really well, and we went on a six game winning streak. Then, six of our seniors quit. Our first game after those players quit was against the bottom team, so we won 6-1, but then we didn’t win a game after that. We finished the season with zero wins in the last four games.” —Luca Richardson, sophomore

Boys Basketball 10-2 “There was a variety of ages on our team, so at first we had to try to mix to get the team chemistry down...When the seniors and the younger guys got closer, our play improved and we started to trust each other.” —Brady Stubblefield, senior —LILY FRIEBEL and ERIK WEST

experience the bonding of teammates in many different forms which allows you to connect quicker even if its all new kids when you play on another team,” Lopiparo said. His coaches have noticed. “You wish that everybody had his competitive nature and will to bring it every day. And that sort of competitiveness is contagious too which makes his biggest role fueling an intensity and a will to win,” varsity baseball head coach Corey Uhalde said. A potential challenge is having enough passion and motivation to get through every season. “As a coach, you sometimes sound like a broken record trying to get athletes to give 100 percent. I have never had to ask that of Tommy,” Uhalde said. “Every time he steps on to a field, you know he is giving it everything he has. When you turn your back and are focusing on something else, a certain athlete doesn’t need to be watched, and they are always giving their best.” There are many reasons why Lopiparo chooses to take on the task that could daunt some of returning to three different sports year after year. “I can’t ever stay still, I am always out doing something,” Lopiparo said. “I could never imagine myself just going home after school and just sitting there all day. For me its just something to look forward to with having practice every day, five days a week.”

Wrestlers pin down post-season success By LILY FRIEBEL Sports Editor After sophomore Hannah Dosen went 4-1 at Central Coast Section (CCS), she competed at the state wrestling match Feb. 27, where she went 0-2. Senior Austin Baker ended his season by placing fourth and sophomore Masa Danovitz followed in a close sixth place at the boys CCS championship Feb. 28 with a record of 6-2. “I really didn’t know what I was in for when I started, it’s definitely a commitment,” Dosen said. “It’s a hard sport and it’s helped me focus. You have to really put 100 percent of your effort into it. I’ve had a good outcome this year.” This year Dosen played three sports—water polo and lacrosse, and wrestling. “Everyone’s there to push you. If I didn’t have close teammates I definitely would be falling behind,” Dosen said. “The team is really supportive and everyone wants you to come back.” The Sequoia wrestling coach, John Peavler, works under the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and follows their national safeguards to ensure safety and health. All coaches under the NWCA discourage weight control practices that could put their players at risk and they focus more on competition. Each player is assessed at the beginning of the season for their hydration level, body fat composition and weight, and they are given a safe weight loss plan from the NWCA that cuts their body fat down to a healthy percentage for athletes. Peavler does not enforce the weight loss plan and does not promote unsafe weight loss for any of his athletes.