May 10 11 by The Mustang Newspaper

THE MUSTANG

issue 6, volume 15

May 13, 2011

June 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG Editor-In-Chief News Editor Assistant News Editor

Seniors 2011. Check out the strip at the bottom each page to see the graduating class of 2011, like seniors Jillian Nichols and Katherine Joplin (pictured).

Senior map. The time has come for seniors to bid their farewells and head off to new plans in the fall. Check out where seniors are headed next year on pages 12-13.

In 10 years. Although they are just graduating now, seniors have their plans of where they see themselves in 10 years, like senior Derek Miller (pictured). See full story on pages 16-17.

“Cars 2.” The summer of 2011 is fast approaching, and that means summer movies! Check out previews to this summer’s hottest movies, on pages 21-23.

Kerry Roberson Kaylin Greene

Essays Editor

Kerry Roberson

Features Editor

Cara Reichard

Arts Editor Online Arts Editor

Thea Brown Angela Zhang

Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor

Copy Editor

Amy Dushkin

Advisor Staff Writers

408

Seniors going to college Incoming freshmen in the outside of California next class of 2015. year.

1,370 67 dollars made from students selling “Seniors 2012” shirts.

pints of blood donated at the Blood Drive on May 31.

Natalya Ballard Katherine Berriochoa Tate Dannemiller Kianna Eberle Kira Elliott Elisa Figueroa Kira Gaby Ty Gibson Caroline Glass Emily Hall Nicholas King Taylor Reese Knudson Joseph Kobara

Jocelyn Lee Emily Maxwell Katy Swanson Tim Roberts Sarah Kochanek Timothy Kontje Tacy Manis Erika Lynn Mazza Kiana McCune Katie McPherson Olivia Mock Cassia Pollock Alexa Risen Jack Rushall Aaron Steger Anna Williams Sierra Zounes

San Dieguito Academy Room 93 800 Santa Fe Drive Encinitas, CA 92024

The Mustang is the student newspaper of San Dieguito Academy. Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the newspaper. The Mustang is an open forum which welcomes letters. Letters can be submitted to room 93, emailed to sdamustang@hotmail.com, or mailed to the above address.

336

2,101

Tiles painted by seniors to be placed on a wall.

Tatiana Skomski Ari Brin Eleanore Hendrickson

Ads Manager

Numbers

Pauline Disch Anna Sheridan

CAF Editors

Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor

No Dracula here. “I give blood because it is needed and I have the universal donor blood (type O). It’s also good for me [to give blood]. I learned from my first time giving blood that I need something to do or else it is very boring. I’m usually pretty slow; this time was fastest, it took me about five minutes to give [one pint]. This time, I was reading “Pride and Prejudice,” trying to get ahead on my homework.” - Tori Lhota, senior.

Lindsey Agnew

Opinion Editors

Steeze Editor

whaT they were thinking

Alexa Shapiro

Portable bathrooms brought to the school on May 24.

plant puppets used in the minutes left in the 2010-2011 musical production of “Little school year. Shop of Horrors.”

on the cover Senior Jillian Nichols has been doing art since she was really little. “My mom still has this dog drawing from when I was two-years-old,” said Nichols. The cover piece is in response to the prompt “darkness into light” for the Artists For a Cause auction. Nichols will be studying art next year at Boston University.

news

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

a change in curriculum Students, teachers, and local officials talk about a new bill that would require social study courses in public schools to teach the role of homosexuality in shaping American society. Story by Alexa Shapiro.

proposed bill is making its way through Sacramento that would require schools to teach about the contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders. SB-48, the bill that attempts to make this change, was proposed in December of last year and is currently in the Assembly. The bill was proposed by Sen. Mark Leno (D. San Fransico). “More needs to be done to protect young people from bullying,” Leno wrote on his website. Currently, social studies teachers are required to instruct about “the role and contribution of both men and women to the development of California and the United States,” SB-48 states. If the bill is passed, it would require California textbooks to include the “study of the role and contributions [of ]… lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans… to the development of California and the United States,” the bill says. The public’s opinion California Senator Mark Wyland, who represents North San Diego County, believes SB48 is unnecessary considering current law prohibits discriminatory bias in education, said a representative of Wyland’s office, Julie Hooper. While Wyland believes the bill isn’t needed in California, many SDA students are in support of the bill. One such student, sophomore Keith Patton, likes the idea of getting more then one perspective from his social science courses. This way, students “don’t get a one sided story,” said Patton. Others supported the bill because of the concepts it opened up to students. “I feel this is a great step in reducing homophobia in the state of California and by educating our children and basically telling them there’s nothing wrong with being gay,” said freshman Celine Parker. “I really think that that’s a great bill. It puts less pressure on how people should be, opens up more possibilities,” said freshman Matt Hutton. Some students did not support the bill. “I think that there’s

a fine line on what needs to be taught in schools. From a student-driven point of view, I really don’t need to learn [about homosexuality] in school. I’ve already learned what it is. Information will be said whether or not it’s from a teacher. I think to pass it would do nothing but anger the conservative right,” senior Brian Like said. Hitting the target While many students liked the idea of SB48, they did not believe it would reduce bullying towards homosexual students. “Some [students] may understand effects [of bullying], but some may bully more because it draws more attention to the topic,” said senior Tara Miller. “Eventually, [bullying] will decrease, but starting out [students] won’t be comfortable talking about it. But in the long run they will grow use to thinking about these ideas and not reject it,” said senior Brittany Parker. “I think this bill would do nothing to decrease bullying. Bullies are going to bully someone whether or not it’s taught that that is wrong in school,” said Like. Many SDA teachers say that topics of homosexuality are not ignored in their classroom. “We do kids a disservice to ignore [the topic of homosexuality],” said English teacher Rob Ross. Social science teacher Kerry Koda says she has “no problem teaching about the subjects outlined in SB48... Especially if they played an influential role in a person’s career or political identity,” said Koda. Other teachers have trouble understanding how the bill will work. English teacher Justin Conn believes that the bill might add to the problem of bullying. “It could perpetuate stereotypes if not taught carefully,” said Conn. In terms of bullying, Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones believes this bill gives the possibility to ending bullying towards students. “I think accurate knowledge always has the potential to play a positive role in prejudice based on preconceived notions,” said Jones.

Students

Teachers

School board

“As much as I want to believe that this bill will do something, teenagers are put in their own ways. Passing this bill wont affect how they feel or change their actions,” said senior Gabby Povoli.

“I tend to believe that what is taught in Social Science classes should be from a variety of perspectives and backed up by lots of evidence and information. In an ideal world, I don’t believe that a mandate to include specific groups in textbooks is necessary. Unfortunately we do not yet live in an ideal world,” said English teacher Mary King.

Although she would have to see the bill before making any final comments, SDUHSD school board president Beth Hergesheimer, said, “I am fully supportive of any legislation that is consistent [with] our Board’s Policy 5137.” That policy encourages the staff to teach the meaning of equality, human diginity, and mutual respect. When asked if she thought this bill would help reduce the amount of bullying towards homosexual students, Hergesheimer said that no matter who bullying is directed towards, it should be addressed. Hergesheimer noted the School board’s policy on bullying. “The schools shall promote nonviolent conflict resolution techniques... As part of this effort, students may be taught the skills necessary to reduce violence, including communications skills, anger management, bias reduction and mediation skills,” the policy says. “My personal hope is that, for all of our district students, topics such as this will become a ‘non-issue’ at some point in your lifetime,” she said.

“Honestly, I do not think that this bill will really prevent bullying or youth suicides caused by homophobia or intolerance, because a child’s schooling or education has little to do with the way they treat people,” said senior Kendall Wood.

“I hardly remember learning anything about homosexuality in school through text books,” said junior Caitlin McKinley. “If the bill passed, I would hope that it would better educate children on the different life styles people live.”

Social science teacher Oly Norris has read the bill and followed it since its creation. “To me, it looks like an honest attempt to expand the angle of textbooks,” said Norris. Norris said homosexuality is brought up when he teaches about the civil rights movement. How homosexuality was once perceived as an illness as well as the progession of the gay rights movement is taught, said Norris. To him, the bill is “opening up dialogue of who we chose to remember,” said Norris.

A day with no voice Students observe Day of Silence on campus. Story by Katie Berriochoa.

katie berriochoa Stand up. Junior Lonnie Safarik stands against a wall with her mouth taped shut to show that she will be silent to stand up for those who can’t always safely voice their sexual oreintation or opinions.

On April 19, SDA students observed Day of Silence in support of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders. Begun by the GLSEN, the Gay and Lesbian Education Network, schools have participated in the nation-wide event since 2001. GLSEN was started to ensure the understanding of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression among youth. “The National Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across the country take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. “Through their activities students can speak out against harassment and organize for change for their schools and communities,” according to GLSEN. Many supported the protest by silencing themselves for the day. Some taped their mouths shut and others wore signs. “I don’t think it’s right for anyone of any sexuality, gender, or ethnicity to ever be discriminated against. No one deserves to have their rights taken away because they’re different…I just hope this raises awareness,” said junior Lonnie Safarik.

news

Fair grounds for testing This year students trek to the Del Mar fairgrounds for AP testing. But will this change in location sit well with SDA students? Story by Anna Williams.

tarting this year, the majority of SDA students took their AP tests at the Del Mar fairgrounds. Students who ordinarily would have walked to the church across the street, surrounded by faces of their fellow Mustangs, instead drove to Del Mar to test besides students from other schools. This change prompted mixed responses from students. Some saw positive effects, while others viewed it as a complete disadvantage. Then, there were those who saw both sides. Along with the location change, the arrival time was slipped back from 8 to 7 a.m. The earlier start ensured students had enough time to complete their personal information on the test, said Elloise Bennett of the AP Test Service. Bennett said, “The Del Mar fairgrounds was needed to accommodate the greater number of students taking the test. For a number of years, the Academy used the church across the street as a testing space, and some tests were taken in the SDA library. But, the gym inside the church was no longer available every day because the church was using it for their school, prompting the change, said Bennett. The AP Testing Board was “only able to get that space for a limited number of days, because they have a school,” she said. Other schools in the San Dieguito Unified High School District, such as Canyon Crest Academy, La Costa Canyon High School, and Torrey Pines High School are also taking tests at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, as well as outside schools such as Cathedral Catholic High School and San Diego Jewish Academy. Some students felt that the early start combined with taking the test with students from other schools and having more people to each room yielded worse results. “[The testing location] sucks. Testing there was horrible. It was far away, and I didn’t like the atmosphere. The school could have easily done testing somewhere closer,” said junior Raveena Patel. “I can’t believe I have to drive all the way to Del Mar! I don’t

have that much gas!” said junior Aaron Stiles. But others, such as junior Bianca Rice, believed that there were positive effects. “I liked it actually. It didn’t really affect me. If anything, it made it better because I wasn’t distracted as much,” said Rice. Another student who appreciated the change of location was senior Katherine Joplin. “I live down the street from the location, so it’s much easier for me,” said Joplin. Some students were indifferent to the location change, such as sophomore Daniel Spiegel. “[Testing in Del Mar] was fine. I really didn’t have a problem with it,” said Spiegel. In past years, a focus on keeping the unique SDA sense of community ingrained in students’ everyday atmospheres even during AP testing week was integrated by several of the SDA faculty. An optimistic start of the day for AP World students began in the SDA kitchen, where culinary arts teacher Scott Huntley prepared pancakes for the students before the group walked to the church. Chemistry teacher Russ Davidson gave out candy to his class. Students were concerned that this year’s move to the fairgrounds combined with the early time would cause the loss of the ability to engage in these bonding activities, although a few classes, such as AP World, still have testing at the church. However, Davidson found a way to still incorporate the element of unity to his spring AP Chemistry class by providing popcorn, nachos, and red vines after the test, along with a movie showing. Though there may be more students in each room, Bennett expects higher AP scores from students who will have experienced the location change. A positive aspect of the switch is that the test centers will be strictly free from distractions. “What’s nice about the off-campus locations is that there are no interruptions, no bells ringing, no lunchtime music. It’s the perfect, quiet place,” Bennett said.

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

news

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

emily maxwell Sculpting the Future. Art teacher Jeremy Wright teaches an intro to tech art class. Wright will be teaching a new, community-based Art Leadership class, which is on the edge of running next year.

New Class Offerings

For the first time, students are able to take business management, art leadership, contemporary Spanish literature, and a combination AP English language and AP US history class. The number of signups each class received are shown below in circles. Story by Lindsey Agnew.

ach year SDA expands its course offerings and runs new classes to match student interest and demand. A variety of new courses are running next year for the first time. While these classes are likely to run next year, the status of classes cannot be confirmed until the fall, according to Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones. Cooking received almost 300 signups, causing an additional period to run but still resulting in a large number of students not receiving their first choice elective.

opportunity to gain business about how motivated these kids “The idea is that we want AP test. “I signed up for the experience,” said junior Kara are,” said McCluskey. to promote art in a larger scale combination class because I Gorman. “It will be a group of people than just the classroom by liked how it was spread over a “The course was instantly sharing a passion for the Spanmaking it more visible,” said whole year instead of squished approved to run at SDA, the ish language through short Glasgow. into a semester, and you have district and administrastories. All modalities of Junior Loraina Stimson the class when you have the tion were really suplanguage will be incorposigned up for the class because AP test,” said sophomore Kelly portive of it,” said rated – reading, writing, of the community aspect Dittoe. Spanish Norris. Business speaking, and compreof it. “I like to paint The two classes Literature management will hension at a very high and draw. and this running year-long on 33 most likely be run level,” said McCluskey. class gives back to alternating days would Cooking during second period the community so be the first of its kind to 278 both fall and spring Art Leadership I’d like to help out,” run at SDA or CCA. semester, according to Norris. Another new course offered said Stimson. next year is art leadership, a Cooking Contemporary Spanish class unique to SDA in AP US History/AP Cooking received 278 sign Literature which students will English Language ups, but only three class periFor the first time, a Contemtake on art projects The English and Hisods are going to run, according Combo Business Management porary Spanish American around the school tory departments are to Assistant Principal Jeanne English and Business ownership and literature class will be offered. and the local comworking together to Jones. This will result in around management, a class Students will read works munity. offer a new year-long 170 students being switched to History in which students of Nobel Prize-winning “Art leaderAP English and AP a different elective class. 160 authors from throughwill start a shop ship is similar to the US history combina“We knew this was going Business out the Americas in and develop busiASB leadership class, tion class. Classes will to happen, so we made sure Management this high level literaness skills, will but with a focus on art, both be taught and graded sepaeveryone who registered for 130 ture class, according to run for the first on and off campus,” said visual rately, but students will go to cooking had alternate electives,” Spanish teacher Suzanne time at SDA next arts teacher Neal Glasgow, who each class on alternating days said counselor Ann Nebolon. McCluskey, who created year. The class will worked to create the class. throughout the year. Students were removed from the class. be taught by social sciThe class, which is on the “We’ve been working on the class randomly, according “I’ve never been more ence teacher Oly Norris. brink of running acways to make AP classes work to Nebolon. excited to teach a course,” “In this class students will cording to Jones, will the best since the academy “[The popularity of cooking said McCluskey. It took be learning the essentials of be taught by visual started,” said social science is] because kids like to eat a lot, Art four years for the class how businesses are run and teacher Kerry Koda, who will and in this class they get to eat. Leadership arts teacher Jeremy to get approved and to how to start a business. They Wright. “There will be teaching the AP US History With the growing popularity of 27 garner enough student will learn how to apply for a job be a focus on murals, course. The AP English teacher cooking in our culture, with all signups to run, according position, how to interview, and gallery shows, and art has not been decided yet, acof the food shows, its cooler to to McCluskey. research and development,” said events like the chalk mancording to Koda. cook,” said culinary arts teacher Students are required to Norris. dala, live art and visual perfor“I’m hoping that it will help Scott Huntley. have completed at least SpanStudents will be able to mances,” said Wright. reinforce skills needed in both ish IV to take the class. The design the business and decide Projects in the class will be classes, and let students stay in Courses Not Running purpose of the class is for kids how it will be run, according to geared towards both underthe class until the AP test and These courses did not receive who finish high level Spanish Norris. classmen that want to stay on retain the information,” said enough signups to run. classes to be able to continue This aspect appealed to campus and upperclassmen Koda. -Robotics many students. “I wanted to their studies and read great that can drive off to do art projMany students were at-Advanced Math Decisions take it because I thought it works of literature, according ects in the community, accordtracted by the aspect of having -AP Comparative Politics sounded like a fun, unique to McCluskey. “It speaks a lot ing to Glasgow. a course which runs until the -Soccer PE

news

Poetry Slammin’ Students present their creative side at the first SDA Slamboree. The creative writing class joined forces with SDA’s writing club to throw their first-ever Slamboree event on April 21st. The event showcased students from the class and club’s work. Short stories, songs, screen plays, and brief selections of writing were all presented to an audience of approximately 30 at the library. Some were sad, some were chilling, and some were downright hilarious. From sophomore Riley Gallagher’s inspiring song to senior Yoshi LeaVessear’s hilarious soap opera parody screenplay to the grand finale in which junior Suki Berry, accompanying herself on ukulele, wrote and sang an impromptu song about LeVessear, the audience laughed, cried, and screamed for more. “Everyone was so witty and I was surprised at how good each piece was. Everyone was so incredibly confident when reading their pieces and I really admired them for that,” said freshman Lily LeaVessear. Around $50 was raised for the writing club through sales of concessions during the intermission of the event. In addition audience members were asked to preorder Thread, the magazine created by students which features stories and poems written by students, for $5 which can be bought through the writing club. The next Slamboree event will be held on June 9th, and the performers are always looking for more people to attend. caroline glass

STUDENT POEMS

THE MUSTANG

locks of donations

“Estival Festival” Estival festival flavored of fuit Honey straw steaming the air The tents lounge low in lazy content To bask in the glow of the fair Brigitte Williamson Sophomore “Hands” Glints of sunlight bounce from hips to big toes, Hitchhiking upon waves of ebb and eased flow, Everlasting horizons paint themselves in joyous reds, The burning goddess of light lays to rest in her bed Caitlin Hird Junior

May 13, 2011

jocelyn lee

Locks of Love. Many SDA students (and a few teachers) participated in the Locks of Love charity event on March 29. “I thought it was a good cause and I wanted change, so I decided it was a good time to do it. At that moment I was shocked and surprised because I hadn’t cut my hair in three years,” said junior Loraina Stimson, shown above during her haircut. Each participant had to donate at least eight inches of hair.

debating at another level SDA debaters suceed in a tournament, going on to Nationals.

pauline disch Late Start. This years seniors will have senior olypmics in the morning as opposed to after school, like last year. In addition to this, seniors will come to school during STAR testing week on Monday at 10 for a senior meeting and java, Tuesday at 9 for senior tile making, Wednesday at 9 for a movie in the gym, and then Thursday at 9 for the olympics.

A testy subject

SDA changes the STAR testing week schedule for seniors, causing students to have to come in earlier then in years past. “Most of the seniors are not going to come because it’s not class,” said senior KayLee Watkins. “I think it’s kind of ridiculous that they took away the ultimate latestarts,” said senior Kaiya Inouye. “It’s kind of lame…I want to sleep in,” said senior Blaire Meredith. “I wouldn’t be surprised if students have their parents call them in,” said Principal Michael Grove.

The class of 2011 has been waiting years to sleep in during STAR testing week, but that luxury is now unattainable. As of this year, students must attend school earlier then in years past. The changes were made after attendance auditors noticed senior attendance during STAR testing in the past did not meet state requirements. “State law says that all students have to be in school 240 minutes each school day,” said Principal Michael Grove. The day does not count if it falls below 240 minutes. Although unlikely, SDA could have been fined for this. Seniors will not be required to perform school work, however, seeing that classes will not begin until later. Instead of attending class, students will participate in senior events. Some students are indeed frustrated about not receiving the same privileges as previous senior classes. “When you take the star test you’re thinking, ‘when I’m a senior I won’t have to do this,’ but now we do,” said senior Jessie Barbeau. Other students are enthusiastic about the opportunities. They see it as a last chance to have fun and bond with their senior class. “I’m down for it because a lot of the people I won’t see again,” said senior Alex Rosengarten. Despite reactions, the school will enforce the change during STAR testing week, said Grove. elisa figueroa

Sophomores Michael Wimsatt and Elliot Horen became one of the top eight debate teams in the state at the California State Championship tournament on April 15-16. The pair will advance to Nationals in June. Wimsatt and Horen listened to two seniors from Northern California deliver their argument to the judges. The military isn’t buying lasers now, and withdrawing from Korea would save the US money, so then we would buy lasers… and then everyone would have laser wars, their argument went. “This is going to be an easy round,” Wimsatt thought to himself, as he mentally deconstructed his opponents’ stance The audience of parents and other debaters watched attentively. The judges included a college kid who appeared to be listening to his iPod and a mom taking notes. The desks were askew, and a fly buzzed around the SDSU college classroom. When his turn arrived, Horen stood and delivered a concise counterargument: not only would money saved not go to purchase lasers, but such lasers don’t even exist. Then the pair presented their own position. They advocated that the US withdraw from South Korea to prevent further South Korean belligerence and to stop inciting North Korea, effectively avoiding being drawn into a second Korean war. That was the first team they competed against, and beat, in the California State Championship debate tournament at SDSU. Wimsatt and Horen were one of three other SDA teams and over 50 other policy debate teams in the tournament. To read the rest of this story, visit The Mustang

ditching

online at www.sdamustang.com

Administration addresses attendance problems during advance placement testing. On May 3, the attendance office made an all-call regarding excused absences for AP exam takers. The school wide policy only exempts students from classes which take place during the exam. “It’s the same as it’s always been...all students are expected to be in class after the test and if they are tired, they just need to call in and get excused,” said Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones. The allcall was intended to reinforce the school rules and remind students about attendance policy. However, many found it difficult to return to school in time for class after the test, given that one of the testing sites was at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. “The school is legally responsible for all it’s students,” said Jones. Students who don’t get an excuse for their absence will be marked truant, said Jones. katie berriochoa

opinions

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

ex-tiled from sleep

Mandatory senior attendance during STAR testing has been announced, upseTting this year’s seniors for many reasons. Underclassmen have also voiced their discontent, as they will inevitably be affected by the changed policy in the future.

any seniors are quite upset about having to report for the new “Mandated Senior Activites” while underclassmen take the STAR test. In the past, seniors have been able to enjoy a free morning and show up to school at noon while the rest of the school undergoes testing. This year, however, the policy regarding senior attendance during STAR testing has changed because the school is responsible for providing all students activities throughout the entire school day. Even though the seniors are not taking the STAR test, their

early morning presence on campus is necessary. This year, seniors are being asked to arrive at school at either 9 or 10 am each morning instead of noon, which is when the seniors from years past were asked to arrive. Activities such as senior meeting, senior tile-making, senior olympics, and a pajama movie party will be held for seniors between the time they are asked to arrive in the morning and the time before regular classes commence. While some students feel this may be a good bonding experience with the senior class, we

would rather have the freedom of having the entire morning to ourselves. Every year, SDA students have woken up early to take the STAR test while envying the seniors’ morning freedom -- not to mention, for eight years in elementary school and junior high, we were forced to do the same thing. We’ve probably bubbled in more than a thousand bubbles in total. And then, finally, last year, we set down our pencils after filling in the last of a thousand bubbles and waited for our turn. As our reward for 11 years

of filling in bubbles and making our school look good, we would be able to enjoy nearly a week of late starts, sleeping in, and fun with friends. But now plans for shopping, breakfast, beach trips, and other various activities, including precious time to sleep in, have all been thwarted by the new mandated senior attendance during STAR testing. Many seniors feel cheated out of the chance to have free mornings during the week of STAR testing because this is the first year that seniors are mandated to arrive at school before

STAFF EDITORIAL

testing for the rest of the school for that day has ended. Furthermore, on one of the days that seniors are required to attend Senior Activities, the freshmen are given one late start during STAR testing week. Out of fairness, if the freshmen are allowed to have one free morning, then at the very least, the seniors should be given one too. The bottom line is, if seniors value bonding with other seniors at school, they will attend the senior activities. If seniors would rather spend time with close friends elsewhere, then there is speculation that they will not show up at all on any of the days.

Next flop model

Emily Hall believes that celebrities are no longer good role models for teenagers. The number of respectable Hollywood stars worthy of our reverance has dwindled down to single digits while the number of celebrities behind bars has dramatically risen.

icolas Cage wowed America with his staggering talent and boundless versatility in his acting roles. But then whoops, he had to play the domestic abuse card, and National Treasure turned into a portrait of a tragically lost dream. There was Tiger Woods, golf guru, human example of a dude ‘living the dream’, lost to his own failure. Then there’s Lindsay Lohan, whose rubbled life still stings me. Freaky Friday was a good movie. And Charlie Sheen? Maybe he had one too many hits of Charlie Sheen. It is only becoming more apparent that the poor adolescents of today are left without role models to lovingly follow in the news to find out about their latest movie or album. Lately, it’s been nothing but various celebrities’ latest arrest. Who’s success are we supposed to be inspired by, when half of our childhood idols have landed themselves behind bars? I thought Nicolas Cage, at least, was better than this, but I guess I was wrong. When we were younger, the Disney Channel movies and

emily hall A Bad Example. Lindsay Lohan has become an increasingly worse role model for teenagers as she has aged. She morphed from an innocent tween in “Parent Trap” to a rebellious teenager in “Freaky Friday,” “Mean Girls” and “Herbie--Fully Loaded” to being an adult perpetually locked up behind bars.

latest PG DVD’s, where we, or myself, at least, found characters and then human beings to look up to and copy when we were playing pretend. The picture of Lindsay Lohan with runny makeup and fried blond hair still burns in my mind’s eye in comparison to her

Disney movie days, when people ate good old fashioned Redvines at movies instead of Crazy Core Skittles and things were simpler. Some of those movies have lost their nostalgic factor, now that I know what my childhood heroes have become. Not even halfway into the

year 2011, I guess the only thing to blame this on is the coming apocalypse. Maybe the celebrities, like most sane human beings, are thinking: Why not take some chances before I die next year? Either way, the number of respectable role models available

who have turned out “all right” has dwindled down to barely enough to count on my fingers: Ellen Page, Emma Watson, Jesse Eisenberg, George Clooney, Taylor Swift and Joseph GordonLevitt. Heed their example, adolescents. Stay strong.

opinions

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

TOO COOL TO SHRUG Kianna Eberle thinks that it’s time to put away the judgmental stares, take off the ironic t-shirts, and try some sincerity on for size.

e live in a scary world where those who sincerely love certain music or sincerely love church and their God or sincerely love anything, really, must always be on guard, ready to be attacked and judged. It takes an immense amount of courage to express oneself genuinely and even if you do you must always be on the defensive. We all think that commitment to an ideology is tacky these days. Those who have found something that they believe in enough to fight for make us lament and curse. Yet, our detached, tongue in cheek generation is just as closed minded as any. We’ve found our own religion, one of cynicism and irony. Instead of worshipping some God we worship melancholy and irony and condemn all sentimental attachment and expression. Yet all of this weary cynicism doesn’t have to be. Yes, you’re tired and scared and the world sucks, and yes, though you’d never say it, you’re yet another teen yearning for acceptance. Aren’t we all. Sadly, wearing a solemn mask of nonchalance and being full of sassy, cynical retorts has become the solution for our generation. We are a community of terrified, tiny people riding the stilts of cynicism and hiding behind the mask of ironic detachment, unable to accept people who live

any other way. It’s time to remember that there are other ways to live. As we grow up we have two options: we can either allow the costume we have donned to become a deep part of who we are, or we can also rip it all off and strip down to being a raw human being while our young souls are still malleable. There’s this thing called sincerity. It entails honesty, emotion, vulnerability even, and courage to show what you feel and say what you believe in the face of opposition. It is looked at with a wary eye. It allows culture, ideas, expression, and hopefully some real human connection and communication to finally be possible. Our ironic masks are hardening, engulfing us. We, the real humans underneath, are becoming less recognizable. An honest effort for sincerity seems to be the only solution. Trying to change your ways will feel awkward, terrifying sometimes. You’ll be putting yourself in the most vulnerable of positions expressing those things that you think in your head and bottle up in your heart. You will want to retreat behind your mask again. Yet, if you can find the courage in you to persist, you will be something of a pioneer. And don’t worry; in due time everyone will be doing it and you can look back at your radical youth full of sincerity and say, “I was one of the first.”

tate dannemiller Wolf Shirts. are purchased and worn as statements of irony. And if you’re really cool, you can buy three of them!

teacher’s pet on a leash

Jack Rushall believes that learning how to deal with life is just as important as what is traditionally learned in school. As influential adult figures, teachers may provide students with some invaluable guidance and life lessons.

ometimes, we talk to our teachers on a “personal level.” Typically, this ends up a game of limbo to see how low we can go and how low, in turn, the teacher will go with us. Teachers generally don’t speak with hostility concerning other students, members of the faculty, or even people that simply pertain to their own personal lives. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and it should not be expected that teachers become a sort of brick wall for students to shout their frustrations and biases at. Although, there are

many commonalities between those that have been alive for sixteen years and those that have been alive for many more than that. Behind these developed commonalities, and sometimes imperfections and flaws, there is truth—and there should be more of this truth that is relayed and shared between two distinctive generations. I mean, after all, we’re all mammals, right? For many students, there is at some point a moment where a teacher gives, stiffens their hand, levels it, and says “Go no further. Anything you say can be

held against you in the court of the administration.” Or in other terms, teachers admit that if a student opens up to them about a personal crisis that revolves around sex, drugs, and rock-androll then the teacher by force must relay the information to a higher authority. One of the main reasons that students continually poke a teacher with a stick and try endlessly to have a more open conversation is not just because they’re interested, but also because there is potentially the idea that they could learn. A teacher should be allowed

to look into a student’s red and distant eyes and say, “Hey, I know what you’re up to. And I’ve been there. But then my memory was shot, I was working at a sushi restaurant and stealing bottles of soy sauce to get by, and I was even sniffing lines off of dead circus animals. So don’t go there. Quit while you’re ahead.” It should be their choice as to whether or not they want to reveal embarrassing tidbits about their own maturation process, and in many cases, this could predictably be much more effective in allowing a student to make the right choice and

snap out of their unlawful acts of disillusionment. Instead, students receive a trip to the principal’s office— rather literally. A teacher should be encouraged in dispensing to a student a number for a cheap rehabilitation clinic in exchange for a prospective set of increased semester grades. At the end of the day, it’s all going towards a good cause. And at the end of high school, a few more students might be attending graduation with flashier transcripts and with a greater number of brain cells intact.

opinions

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

yes, spelling counts

Amy Dushkin thinks people shouldn’t mess with the carefully created English language by overusing slang, skipping punctuation, or misspelling words because these acts disgrace the English language.

he Oxford English Dictionary recently released a list of new words that were being added to the dictionary. Among them were the words “bootylicious,” “LOL” and “OMG.” These terms have previously remained in the digital world, as abbreviations in text messages, or Beyoncé songs. But they have escaped the confinement of technology and have slowly crept their way into the speech of this generation, bringing along with them even more abbreviations and improper grammar, which has lead me to the sad realization that the English language is devolving. Words used to be elegantly strung together into flowery sentences, emphasizing the beauty in the written language. Take for instance, Elizabethan English. In a play that you may or may not know or recognize, Shakespeare once said: “Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” Most teenagers wouldn’t take the time to read this line and appreciate its beauty. It’s right off to Sparknotes to decipher this nowancient language. The modern equivalent would be some words carelessly thrown together into a simple “Catch ya later.” Words are delicate things, not to be casually flung around or thrown together; why have they been facing so much abuse? It can be answered in one word: laziness. Talking about “a sweet parting till morrow,” takes a consider-

emily hall Read It and Weep. Even dictionaries have taken to bashing the delicately crafted English language by adding unsubstantial words, and the result is quite unnerving.

ably longer amount of time than shooting a three-word text at someone. But isn’t it the thought behind the words that really matters? Short, lazy sentences that have almost zero emotion within them don’t show the same level of consideration that is

beyond words. I can’t count the number of times I see people commenting “lyke dis,” using numbers, symbols, and countless misspelled words, sometimes intentionally. Not to mention using the wrong form of a word: “their,”

“there,” and “they’re” all mean completely different things; “your” and “you’re” aren’t the same word. “u r kewl” does not in any way resemble “you are cool,” the first being just a jumbled bunch of letters. This kind of text is a disgrace to the

written English language. Real words are there for one reason: to be used well and properly. This delicately crafted language is out there, and although it seems distant, it sits, dormant, waiting for the day when it will finally be used correctly again.

relax, take it easy SDA

Cassia Pollock beseeches the student body of SDA to cease stressing too much about life in the pursuit of perfection, as the consequences of this sort of neurotic behavior may adversely affect your health, leading to weight gain, hormonal imbalances, and other destructive behaviors.

don’t like the pursuit of perfection and I don’t think it’s healthy. I would go as far as to call perfectionism a legitimate mental disorder. It can lead to depression, anxiety attacks, and general neurosis. This prevents students from relaxing, which is a skill with under appreciated value. Otherwise, other everyday activities like walking your dog and eating warm brownies are not as enjoy-

able. People who care too much about accomplishing everything will inevitably have higher blood pressure and a shorter life expectancy. Then they’ll blame it on an unhealthy diet or not exercising enough. It’s true these are legitimate factors but ultimately they eat terrible food and don’t exercise as much because they don’t have enough time. They don’t have enough time because

they’re too busy trying to be perfect. They suffer unnecessarily. Flaws are valuable. They make you who you are. That’s why people should mess up, fall down, and not be afraid to show vulnerability. Basically, people should just relax. But relaxing isn’t easy these days. Our society stresses the importance of multi-tasking, competition, and survival of the fittest. College admissions aren’t

getting any more accepting, so parents urge their children to further stress themselves. Students have to deal with different kinds of pressures from their parents, friends, siblings, teachers, and even their own ideals. This all leads to more stress. It’s an endless cycle. There’s no way to beat the system, but you can always stop caring. In the film “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” all these factors

cause Craig’s head to nearly explode. By the end, he’s actually ripping his college applications in half and playing hopscotch while saying, “Yeah I know it’s lame but whatever.” It’s just for fun. The point is life would be more meaningful in general if people didn’t overthink and overwork themselves so much. Why don’t you unwind, relax, and take it easy SDA?

features

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

essays

May 13, 2011

STAR Testing May 16-19 Hour lunch on Wednesday and Thursday

Prom at the Catamaran Resort “Tahitian Nights” WANT TO BE A LINK CREW LEADER?

May 19 is last day to purchase tickets

ORDER THE MUSTANG SPECIAL (Papa Toni’s Dinner Deal) Papa Toni’s will donate $2 to SDA w/ every purchase**

EVERY WEDNESDAY IS FREE PENCIL DAY FOR STUDENTS! **Must mention to cashier at purchase

THE MUSTANG

bag-ette

Kiana McCune thinks her minimum wage job is the best thing since sliced bread.

y fingers fumble with my buttons and bow tie while the clock glares 3:57 at me. The work clock, of course, is almost two minutes fast and I could very well be late. I toss on my apron and take a deep breath before I go in to face my job as a bagger at a grocery store. I swiftly walk by the check stands, swipe in and stroll over to see what my four hours entail. “You’re outside right now,” says the grumpy clerk with the clipboard. I nod and continue to study the clipboard; he gives me a look of exasperation as if memorizing my schedule for one minute seriously offends him. One hour of carts and then I’m stuck by the check stand for the next three. I grab the safety vest that smells like teenage boys’ hormones and mildew. Most stores have adopted less formal polo shirts while I wear a bow tie. I dodge cars and grab as many carts as I can comfortably push. Seems simple enough, right? Not when people blatantly walk in front of you while you head back to the store or add another cart when they see you struggling. They all avoid eye contact. “At least you don’t have to go to the gym, huh?” someone says. I do my best fake laugh which quickly turns into a grimace. Everyone thinks it’s the first time I’ve heard that joke and it got old after a week. Once a trophy wife asked me, “Why don’t they make the boys do that job for you?” I think to myself, “Well, some of us have to work for a living.” What I say is, “I do most of the same things as the boys do, ma’am.” As soon as I hear her high heels and the jingle of her Tiffany’s bracelets in the distance, I sigh deeply. I finish my hour and go in to the pleasantly balmy store to bag. If you enjoy people watching, here is the place to work. Everyone turns animalistic while hunting and gathering, yet remains complacent enough to wait in line. I get the yuppie couples, elderly people, teenagers and, sometimes, genuinely nice customers. The yuppies either are very strict about their grocery bags or

act as if they couldn’t care less. Money does strange things to people. Sometimes they respect your obviously terrible job or, disregard you entirely and make you die a little inside. “Hello, would you like paper or plastic today,” I ask in the most chipper voice I can manage. You can never guess how strongly people will feel about what you put their groceries in. I’ve had people come in and act as if I murdered their cat when I start to do plastic and they wanted paper. Proud men will tell me to fill it up as much as possible and struggle with nine bags out the door. I try to at least be somewhat courteous at other stores but I’m not perfect. I know how it is when you just need to grab and go. Although there are some things that I just don’t get. To the customers putting the frozen peas and deli meat tucked in nice little nooks and crannies like the magazine rack or by the Windex: thanks. Also those who have made me pick up their pee diaper out of a cart and clean up piles of parsley and smashed grapes in produce – thanks a lot. People think that their need of putting food on the table is more important than the next person in the same predicament. I understand it’s my job and laugh it off but when there is no empathy or any patience for those that have it worse, I lose hope. If a mom with three kids is redeeming her WIC coupons, a program that gives mothers or guardians food if they can’t afford it, or an old woman who can’t sign her check because her hands are shaking too violently, all hell breaks loose. You get the deep sighs, people leaving for a quicker line and even eye rolling. Some people have this inflated sense of self-worth that makes you disgusted with the human race. They come in and expect their needs to be put on a pedestal above others. Life has made them uncaring and they distance themselves from anything that might burst their bubble of convenience. One can hardly dream of world peace when people can act so cold in a damn grocery store.

features

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

zuckerberg’s america Junior Will Chu wrote a poem inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s “America.” Instead of lamenting the state of his country, however, Chu laments the state of his Facebook-oriented social life.

acebook I’ve given you time and it has been wasted. Facebook five hundred million users March 26, 2011. No I will not tell you what’s on my mind. Facebook I have six hundred and ninety friends. I like three of them. I don’t feel so good I got diarrhea. I think I’ll update my status so everyone knows it. Facebook when will stalking be challenging again? When will I log off of you for good? When will people be able to talk to each other again? When will I actually open a real book? When will there come a day when your options for civil unions and domestics partnerships are superfluous and marriage is defined as between two people who love each other? More importantly, when will someone comment on my status? Facebook I demand a dislike button There are idiots that need to be put down. Liking and unliking things no longer gives me the same satisfaction. My self-esteem is dangerously high. If I weren’t so handsome I would say we might have a problem. Facebook after all it doesn’t matter what others have to say about them selves. It matters what others have to say about me. Facebook there is something wrong. I’m in sixty-nine groups, sixty-nine photos, and like sixty-nine pages. Facebook you have turned me into a pervert. I refresh the page ten times a minute to see if I’ve gotten any new notifications. Facebook I tag random Asians as myself to see if anyone notices. Your new layout stinks I hate dealing with change. I just felt an Earthquake I must be the first to post. Facebook I feel sorry for Myspace. She’s like a fat girl that you’ve sprayed with mace. Facebook I never forgave your founder for sinking the Titanic. Zuckerberg Ginsberg Iceberg it’s all the same. Facebook I don’t do drugs I play Robot Unicorn Attack. After seven hours the effect is the same. Facebook I took one of your quizzes it told me I was insane. Then again another one told me I was most like the Pink Power Ranger. Facebook the only people who know I spend my Friday nights on you are the people that are also spending their Friday nights on you. I’m sending you a private message. Are you going to let our sleep schedules be determined by Farmville? I’m obsessed by Farmville.

I play it every day. Orphaned cows stare at me every time I bring the webpage up. I play it until the only light I see is the light from my computer screen. It’s always distracting me from the real world. The real world is dangerous. The real world is cold. The real world probably eats orphaned cows for dinner. It occurs to me that the real world sucks. I wasn’t supposed to learn that until I was at least thirty-one. 4chan is catching my interest. My human innocence is in jeopardy. You have to give me a reason to stay. One reason is that most my precious teenage memories are stored on your servers. Someone who thinks might be worried by this. Your reasons include the fact that most of your users aren’t pedophiles. Only some of them are. You are surprisingly quiet about the fact that you sell my personal information to advertisers without my knowledge. Personally, I am flattered that you treat me like some sort of information prostitute. Facebook I feel more disconnected than ever. I’m not blaming you I’m just saying it’s your fault. Facebook once my friends and I decided to go to the park it was so warm and sunny you should’ve been there we sat underneath a big tree for shade and we talked and we laughed and a girl played her guitar and we sang along to every stupid word and we looked each other in the eyes and we took our shoes off and felt the grass between our toes and we let the wind tousle our hair and we ran in circles for no reason and this girl I liked laid her head down on my thigh and everything felt alright. And now for the love of God she won’t stop poking me. She only talks to me over chat. Facebook what we have here is a failure to communicate. Facebook I haven’t been outside in weeks. I don’t see what’s around me anymore. There’s a problem and it needs to be fixed. Facebook this is important Facebook are you telling me that we are doomed to showing our emotions only with typed faces? Facebook I am sorry but I am setting my relationship status to single. It’s apparent to me that I’m too old to trick or treat but I’m also too young to die. I’ve got to make the most of it. Facebook I am ready to live my life. Facebook I am turning the computer off.

May 13, 2011

facebook depression

What happens when people spend too much time on social networking sites and not enough time in the real world? Depression ensues. Story by Sierra Zounes.

new type of depression has been discovered, and brought to the attention of the public. Facebook depression, recognized as a new illness by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is “depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression,” according to this group’s website. Facebook depression is said to happen to teens who look at other people’s pages and think to themselves, “Wow, they’re doing so many things and have so many friends, while I have three friends and spend all my Friday nights at home. What is wrong with me?” Some cases of Facebook depression have been seen at SDA. Ann Nebolon, counselor and leader of the PALs program, said that there has been an increase lately in the number of children suffering from this depression. “There are probably more [people suffering from Facebook depression] than we know. Lots of kids just don’t say anything about it,” said Nebolon. Drew Goldberg, senior and PAL of two years, doesn’t see Facebook as a website that’s a cause of depression, but more of a place that spreads rumors and gossip. Goldberg said that since Facebook is a universal social website, everyone is affected one way or another. “It’s not so much depression. It’s more like rumors and gossip from Facebook that just stirs it up too much, throws people off,” she said. Real or no? Other students seem to think Facebook depression isn’t a real illness at all. Anthony Polloreno, junior, said, “I don’t think it’s a big problem. It’s just a freaking website. If kids are getting depressed over it, they have bigger problems than how big their friends list is.” Freshman Sara Portnoy said, “Facebook Depression is not a real illness because life doesn’t revolve around Facebook. Facebook is where you can let people

see your life. If you’re depressed it’s because of something else going on.” On the other hand, some students think there may be some truth to Facebook Depression. Niki Williams, junior, said, “I really think Facebook Depression being legitimate really depends on the person, and whether they are very emotionally stable or not.” Junior Derrik Marow agreed, saying, “Maybe there are people who are legitimately affected by it, but I think if you’re affected by it, that’s a sign you need to get off Facebook and live.” Student views Whether Facebook depression is real or fake, some students are affected by Facebook negatively. Jessie Vahalla, senior, said, “I guess it makes me upset to see my friends smiling without me.” Many are hurt by being left out of activities their friends have done. Savannah King, senior, said, “When I see pictures of my friends without me, I feel jealous, like why wasn’t I invited.” Haley Jo Lewis, senior, said, “Why aren’t I having that much fun? Why wasn’t I invited?” Katherine Fidel, sophomore, has also suffered from being excluded. “It makes me feel unimportant [when I see pictures of smiling people without me] because I wonder why they didn’t invite me,” she said. Some students feel that Facebook depression is unnecessary. Danny McNeela, junior, said, “At first it makes my heart bleed and I shed a tear. Then I realize that they probably spend too much time on Facebook and don’t talk to half the people they’re friends with.” Some who are upset by Facebook only suffer for very little time. Sophomore girl (anonymous) said, “I sometimes get upset, but I realize that I’m closer to the people I’m friends with than they are to theirs. It seems like Facebook friends are just numbers rather than actual friends.” Anonymous sophomore girl said, “It’s supposed to make you happy, but it ends up bringing you down.”

features

THE MUSTANG

Do you like what you see?

visit sdamustang.com more news, reviews, steeze, opinions

features

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

Wolf-man. Junior Kiley Dalrymple’s fan art of Jacob Black from “Twilight.”

Stranger than Fan Fiction Ever wished you could change something about your favorite book or movie? The people who run and write for sites devoted to this very desire introduce you to the world of fan fiction. Story by Tacy Manis.

or people who think of fan fiction as a fan-girl’s desperate attempt to get with Edward Cullen, it’s hard to believe that the earliest forms of fan fiction appeared during the 8th century. The works of Homer and “The Tale of King Arthur” would be changed through the many retellings. Around the same time, Arabic storytellers would add sequels onto original Arabic fiction, such as “Sinbad the Sailor”. When the 20th century rolled around, several parodies, revisions, and fan-written versions of popular stories such as “Alice in Wonderland” and “Sherlock Holmes” appeared. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Jane Austen fanzines were being published. These magazines featured stories about her characters, written by her admirers. The start of modern-day fan fiction was in the 1960’s with the aid of “Star Trek” fanzines. Of course, its popularity grew significantly with the aid of the World Wide Web, but one of the biggest moments in fan fiction history was in 1998 when FanFiction.Net was created. The ability to easily submit and read fan fiction for a number of different fandoms all on one site made it extremely popular in an

extremely short period of time. These days, FanFiction.Net has over 3,744,842 stories for over 5,879 fan communities and that’s only one out of hundreds of websites devoted to the art of fan fiction. However, what makes this site the home of over 2.2 million users? What’s so appealing about fan fiction? Why write? “I think that if a book is wellwritten, it won’t tell you everything – it leaves quite a lot to the imagination,” said Jennie Levine Knies, former “Headmistress” of The Sugar Quill, a “Harry Potter” fan fiction site. This is where fan fiction comes in; it allows the writer to work out what they think will happen next and create their own version of events that can then be shared with the world. Knies added, “Fan fiction can be an excellent way for someone who wants to write, or who is thinking about writing, to jump into the process and to learn how to create a plot, work with characters, etc. The hope is that eventually you will write a story that is all your own, but in the meantime, fan fiction can be quite original!” Freshman Jessica Rowan said, “I wanted more out of the sto-

ries, so I just wrote them myself.” “I wanted to write stories I had imagined for the characters I loved, things I imagined them doing that didn’t happen in the book,” said Arin Mallin, sophomore. Keith Mander, owner of

“Twilight Archives” said, “People often imagine new adventures or different endings in the stories they read or watch.” Fan fiction gives people the freedom to toy around with different storylines and plots that the original story wouldn’t give them otherwise.

Why read? People read fan fiction for very similar reasons. Senior Matt Dalrymple said, “[Fan fiction] gives you a new perspective on the characters.” “People simply can’t get enough of what they love.” said

Accio Sexy. “Hermione Seduces Fat Harry,” a Harry Potter fan art from Julian Dennis, sophomore.

features

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

FanFic Vocab The world of fan fiction almost has its own language. This glossary of commonly used words might help you along the way.

AR (alternate reality): The world is the same, but some basic canon facts are different, e.g. Ron is entered into the Triwizard Tournament instead of Harry AU (alternate universe): The world is different, e.g. the characters from Naruto go to a realworld high school Canon: Tthe “official” source material upon which fan fiction can be based (Harry Potter, Twilight, Star Trek, etc.) Crack Fic: Named after the drug to imply that it can only be the product of a deranged mind, crack fic is identified by its absurd, surprising, or ridiculous premise. It might feature bizarre or disturbing “ships”, e.g. Hagrid/The Giant Squid Dattebayo. Freshman Jesus Aguilar’s fan art for the manga/anime “Naruto.”

Lauren Willoughby, webmaster for a “Lois and Clark” fan fiction site. Freshman Mimi Kennedy said, “They don’t want [the series] to end.” Katrina Olsen, freshman, said “[Fans] want to read more about the characters.” Fan fiction provides a place for fans to satisfy their curiosity. Fan fiction can have a much greater meaning to it. “Ultimately, it’s a positive force for communities of fans to interact with each other and share story telling,” Mander said. Junior Annie Tarabini said, “It’s fun to be a part of this huge community full of people who share the same interest... it can even make the canon more exciting.” “I think it makes people feel good to know there are others who share their obsession. It’s also a way to let a finished story stay alive,” said senior Ariel Jones, who writes fan fiction in her spare time. Despite the above, some people have negative views of fan fiction. Lily LeaVesseur, freshman, said, “When [fan fiction authors] take characters from the

original stories and make them their own, it kind of spoils it.” Mander said, “It might come across as obsessive and there has been some criticism over the quality of some fan fiction.” “It can be a little bit ridiculous,” said Tarabini. Jones said, “[There’s] a TON more bad fan fiction than there is good.” One of the better known of these stories is “My Immortal”, a “Harry Potter” fan fiction in which most of people’s favorite characters have been transformed into gothic bisexual vampires. However, the constant use of appalling spelling and

Piiiiiika art. Junior Shelby Hidalgo’s fan art for her favorite game, “Earthbound.”

need to talk. ‘What do you know, Hargrid? You’re just a little Hogwarts student!’ ‘I MAY BE A HOGWARTS STUDENT….’ Hargirid paused angrily. ‘BUT I AM ALSO A SATANIST!’ ‘This cannot be.’ Snap said in a crisp voice as blood dripped from his hand where Dumblydore’s wand had shot him. ‘There must be other factors.’ ‘YOU DON’T HAVE ANY!’ I yelled in madly.” A world of possibility Despite the bad fan fictions, others have much to offer if looked for. A good example of engaging fan fiction would be CP Coulter’s “Dalton” from the “Glee” fandom. Dobson said, “[It has] entertaining plot lines, characters, and conflicts,” “Dalton” explores the life at Dalton Academy, an all boys school that was introduced at the beginning of the second season of “Glee”, and would best be compared to a spin-off series of the show from where it originated. Each chapter is an episode

“It allows us to read plot lines completely different from the original and wonder, ‘What would happen?’” -Kerri Dobson, sophomore. grammar make the story horrendously hilarious to read with passages like this: “Suddenly Dumblydore ran in. ‘Ebony, it has been revealed that someone has - NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!’ he shouted looking at Snape and Loopin and then he waved his wand and suddenly... Hargrid ran outside on his broom and said everyone we

that contributes to an overall plot line as well as having its own small storyline throughout. CP Coulter has even divided Dalton Academy into three separate boarding houses each with its own quirky, well-thought-out characters that all play a significant role in the story. Even with all this, the author still manages to maintain an educated writing style and the original character’s personalities. CP Coulter’s story has become so popular that some fans have created fan fiction of her fan fiction. This really goes to show how much fan fiction can offer. Almost anything is possible in the world of fan fiction. Maybe you wished that Harry Potter would end up with Hermione Granger. Maybe you wanted Frodo Baggins to fail his quest, and have Sauron take over Middle Earth. Maybe you hoped that Jacob Black would have internally combusted halfway through the Twilight series. I can almost guarantee you that if you look for it, you can find a number of stories about any one of these topics. Well, maybe not that last one, but who knows? As Mander said, “Get involved!”

Crossover: 1) Characters from two or more stories interact 2) Characters from one story exist in (or are transported to) another pre-existing story’s world Fandom: 1) A group of individuals who share interest in the same media (story, character, game, etc.) 2) A synonym for the canon work Faved: An abbreviation of “Favorited” generally used in comments or reviews to indicate that the commenter has added the story to his/her favorite stories list. Flamer: A term used to describe someone who enjoys commenting or reviewing a person’s story harshly, only pointing out the faults. The comment or review left by such a person is known as a “flame.” OC (original character): Refers to a character created by the author of the fan fiction, as opposed to one already existing in canon. OOC (out-of-character): Refers to stories in which the personality or actions of a character does not conform with that established in canon. Ship: Short for “relationship”, a romantic pairing in a particular fandom. Many fans may consistently favor a particular character pairing (or more than one), and such a fan is referred to as a “shipper.”

features

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

Concentrating. Senior Max Fogelhut thoughtfully twists his hair during an AP Calculus test.

Time’s up. Students check in with the clock to make sure they’ve got time.

Take five. Junior Derek Morrow steals a quick stretching break between sections.

Focused. Junior Maddie Holcomb gets a closer look at her AP English language essay.

Testing, Testing The air of test taking is a pungent one, the testy situation putting a quizzical look on everyone’s face. Story by Ari Brin. Photos by Jocelyn Lee, Kerry Koda, and Emily Maxwell

room is filled with stressed bodies, contorted over a sheet of paper before them. Some sweat, some sleep, some check the clock every five seconds with crazed eyes and frizzed hair. They write frantically, bubble frantically, breathe frantically. These are the test-takers. They live on the edge. “It doesn’t matter how much I’ve studied,” said junior Jenny Fisher. “I’ll still be stressed until it’s done.” Many students have developed habits during tests or ways of dealing with the test-induced stress load, some of which they are hesitant to divulge. “It may sound weird, but I start tap dancing with my feet under my desk. When I’m moving, I can think better,” said Fisher. “I do this awful thing where I bite my pencil,” dishes junior Xana Young. “I do it when I think hard about something.” There are some students, however few and far between, who sincerely… enjoy (!) the act of test-taking. “It’s kind of a way to test your intelligence,” said freshman Shane Moring. “I don’t think about anything when testing. I enter into a meditation state.” Though not all students enter the testing center with the same mindset as Moring, many more are a test-ament to what SDA students will go through in the name of academics.

Test mode. Students rest their heads while focusing diligently on their tests. From left to right: Juniors Skyler Castle , Danny McNeela, Daniel Fugett, Emi Karydes.

arts

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

Into the Roaring

Singing Along. PK’s lead singer, Travis Hawley, serenades Sophomore Laurel Sorenson, while Mikel Van Kranendurg (right) struts along with his bass.

emily maxwell

Pk, better than ok A rising band from Southern California, who all wear extremely tight pants, plays at SDA to gain fans. Usually unenthusiatic teenagers enjoy the concert and (gasp) cheer. Story by Olivia Mock.

t was hot out, even in the shade under the front of the gym. Like usual, school was basically empty on April 28 at lunch. A few people here and there sat and talked to friends. They all stole glances at each other for signs on how they should react to the band playing in front of them. Students began to trickle in. The band finished the second song. The lead singer, mic in hand, announced that the band playing before the crowd was PK. Students cheered and clapped like there was no tomorrow, even though most have no idea what was going on. Anyone who liked The Strokes or the Killers enjoyed listening to the band, but most didn’t have a clue who PK was. This was exactly why PK was here. The band has been traveling around Southern California to play at high schools to get their name out. Power of PK The rock band from San Luis Obispo, first formed in high school, fell apart during col-

lege, but came together again, two years later. Singer Travis Hawley, guitarists Matt DePauw and Nick Fotinakes, and bassist Mikel Van Kranenburg were the original band members and named it after the main character from the book, “Power of One” according to DePauw. PK’s drummer, Rico Rodriquez, joined only a few months ago. PK has also been touring to work on DePauw’s lack of geography skills. “For me, everything from LA to Mexico is all LA and San Diego is somewhere in that general area,” said DePauw in a telephone interview. (SDA should also take pride in the fact that the band wanted to play here, because out of all the schools they were considering, they thought SDA was the coolest.) After introducing themselves, Hawley sang “London.” Students didn’t recognize the music, but they seemed to have liked it. The sound of the bass had a hypnotic pull, and the students swayed awkwardly to the music while trying to sing along. PK continued to keep the beat going and move along with their

audience. Like a Rolling Stone PK may be unsigned, but it’s not because of a lack of talent. They’ve released an album, “Into the Roaring,” and they were also featured in the “Choose the Cover” contest in Rolling Stone, but were not among the finalists. DePauw said, “[The Rolling Stone interview] was pretty cool and really fast. We were up at Atlantic Records in New York one day and back home the next. We had to sign this 90-page contract. It was a blast, a lot more people found out about our band. It was amazing to be featured in a national magazine. We got a taste of the big music industry.” Like most bands, their favorite part of performing is playing with each other and working off of the crowd’s energy, though they do have some other favorites. “I like the random cuts and bruises you get from performing but not remembering getting them,” Van Kranenburg said. “Like you’ll have lost a tooth and you go ‘I don’t remember that’ and someone else will go ‘Well,

it’s gone and you’re bleeding everywhere.’” After the show was over, the band invited everyone to come up and bang on the drums, talk to band, buy a shirt, take some stickers, or get a signed poster. After most of the swarm went away and multiple sharpies died, Van Kranenburg was having a conversation about the instruments the students play and their inspirations. DePauw was selling merchandise to keep the band afloat, and Hawley was doing the manual labor of packing up. What students really seemed to appreciate about the band was how approachable, laid back, and nice they were. Their Own Way When you turn on the radio, most likely some pop song about breaking up with a boyfriend or a rap song about banging a bunch of girls will be playing. This is why PK’s Pop-Rock sound is so hard to find these days. The days of The Eagles, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, their major influences, have passed. “It’s important for the music to make you feel something, unlike

The soul of “Into the Roaring” by PK, an up and coming band, is the bass. It can be heard playing with the drums, or creating a beat of its own. The guitarists manage to fly across the fret board without missing a beat or covering up the lyrics. The band is not in your face, but instead they are skipping along next to you. As for the lyrics, they are a mix of love, hurt, memories, and life. Out of all the songs on “Into the Roaring” my favorite has to be “Innocence.” It has driving rhythms, melodic flourishes, and makes you wonder what our lives are meant for. Another favorite is “Beware the Moors!” with its cheeky lyrics on how you should not try to be anyone but yourself. PK is not an obnoxious band that makes you rebel; they are the band that inspires you to live your life the way you want to live it.

a lot of music these days, which is garbage,” said DePauw. “Travis is the lyrical master, but the auto tuned garbage inspires us as a group to keep that Rock n’ Roll feeling, like the Stones, because that is real music and there will never be anything that can replace that,” said DePauw. DePauw said what inspired all of them to form a band was “growing up everyone told me to live my life a certain way: go to college, get a job, get married, have kids. I decided I wanted to live my life differently. Being in a band is more exciting than having an actual job.” Anyone who wants to get the album can download it from PKband.com or buy a physical copy which has a secret acoustic track. The “London” music video can also be seen on their website. As PK continues to tour, make albums, and eventually get on the cover of Rolling Stone, students can always remember the show PK put on at SDA and laugh at how awkward they were compared to PK and their skinny jeans.

May 13, 2011

arts

THE MUSTANG

Professional assistance with

College Application Essays and tutoring for high school essays Dr. Kathleen Balgley •Ph.D. Former English Professor (Cal Poly, SLO) •Faculty in Writing Programs (UCLA) •Director of Sixth College Writing Program (UCSD) •High School English teacher (SDUHSD) Various packages available

619 • 540 • 8390

balgleyfam@earthlink.net

Cook it Harry Potter and cooking go hand in hand. Story By Kira Elliott and Kira Gaby

arry Potter is on the Hogwarts Express on his way to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He and his new friend Ron Weasley are talking when they are interrupted by an old lady asking if they wanted anything off of the food trolley. Harry gets up to by a candy bar only to find licorice wands, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, and more. Throughout the series, Harry continues to dine on various magical dishes, such as treacle tart in the Great Hall or rock cakes at Hagrid’s hut, and thanks to Dinah Bucholz, the non-magical community can now enjoy them too. Using Bucholz’s book, “The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook”, we have recreated a recipe from the spell binding series: Cauldron Cakes. Cauldron Cakes are something of a celebrity in the books, up there on the list with pumpkin juice and treacle tart to name a few. In the cookbook, we were surprised to find the recipe titled “Big, Fluffy Pancakes”. What, no cauldron shaped sugary sweet? Pancakes? Yes, pancakes, with a slight twist: Bucholz adds the zest and juice of one lemon. At first, we were skeptical. Surely pancakes would taste sour and down-right wrong with lemon in them. We set aside such doubts, however, and made only one deviation from the recipe. Instead of using a ½ cup of batter for the cakes, we used ¼ cup. This might not have been the best idea. The recipe reads: 11 large pancakes. We made, in total, 26 3-inch pancakes. It was time to taste our creation. We each took one from the over-flowing plate and bit in. The cakes tasted like any old pancake, but in a way sweeter and lighter, with the lemon zest and lemon juice leaving a very yummy after taste that made you crave more.

arts

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

YouTubers to Check Out The world of YouTube is home to many entertaining channels. Here is a list of some of the most viewed.

vlogbrothers: Two brothers who communicate to each other through a series vlogs on all things nerdy and hilarious.

Watch This. Michael Buckely, host of his YouTube show, WhattheBuck, has earned thousands of dollars for the content he puts on YouTube.

burps, babies and bieber YouTube holds more quality content than the viral videos it’s often known for, so much in fact that some get paid for the content they post. Story by Taylor Knudson.

ouTube: A wasteland of laughing babies, talking twins, cats on treadmills, Rebecca Black and Justin Bieber. But in the depths of these viral videos several quality pieces of content with several million views are hidden from the eyes of mainstream viewers. More than viral videos YouTube is no longer the abyss of viral videos(very popular videos) that it is known for. It is the home to many scripted sketch series, such as nigahiga. “I like watching Ray William Johnson, this guy that evaluates and makes fun of viral videos, and cute animal videos,” said Ben Lang, senior. Alongside these series, are many news outlets like sxephil. “During the tsunami... there were a lot of videos showing footage.. .it gets the word across,” said Zoe Fox, senior. Another useful genre of YouTube videos are makeup tutorials and how to videos like MichellePhan and householdhacker. “I think that Youtube’s excel-

lent for funny videos, but even better for “how to” videos,” said Shelby Hidalgo, junior. A very popular genre of videos is video blogs (vlogs) like charlieissocoollike. “There are people who film their everyday lives which can be boring, but sometimes they’re very interesting “said Arin Mallin, sophomore. Another genre of videos is charity channels used to help charities like UnculturedProject. “With projects like Project for Awesome, where they all band together to help raise money and awareness of world problems, it shows how the little things really do make a big difference,” said Emily Huang, junior Famous YouTubers You name it; YouTube has it and enough response videos to watch for days. However, YouTube holds more than just a few minutes of entertainment. For some, it provides a day job and comfortable income. Michael Buckley is a YouTube star famous for his “Whatthe-

buck” show on YouTube that covers television recaps and celebrity gossip. He is one of the first to experience YouTube stardom with a YouTube channel that has attracted over 20 million views since its debut in 2007. Buckley became so popular he was able to quit his “real life job” (as Buckley said) and pay his bills from the money he earned from his YouTube partnership (being paid for posting his content on YouTube). Michelle Phan is one of the most viewed makeup tutorialists on YouTube, with over 50 million channel views. In an interview with “facesbyangie” Phan tells of when she applied for a job at a Lancôme make up counter, before her YouTube career blossomed. She was denied. Three years later, Phan now has a contract with Lancôme in which she advertises their products in her makeup tutorials on YouTube. Unlike Phan, Shane Dawson’s YouTube videos haven’t always brought him success in his career. Dawson’s channel is one of the most subscribed in YouTube history, with over 100

million channel views. Dawson specializes in sketch comedies, starring his brigade of alter egos ranging from “Shanaynay” to “S-Deezy” After posting a parody on YouTube involving a stripper pole, Dawson along with members of his family and friends were fired from their jobs at Jenny Craig Inc. “I was depressed and suicidal, [YouTube] gave me a purpose in life,” said Dawson in his video “My YouTube Story”. A comfortable career Working at YouTube is basically the American dream; get rich and famous fast and easy out of the comfort of your own home. It takes a Lancôme reject, cubical worker or even a Jenny Craig receptionist and tosses them into the world of international internet fame and fawning fan girls. “I felt worthless and YouTube gave me this feeling of… I really have a reason for being alive. It’s made me feel like God has put me here for a reason,” said Dawson.

communitychannel: A female Youtuber who specializes in sketch comedy videos about life’s daily troubles.

wheezywaiter: A medley of news and sketch comedy involving a series of segments including “clones” “alligator pits” and “explosion”.

charlieissocoollike: A British vlogger takes dares from his fans and showcases songs he writes on the ukulele.

glozell1: A comedian who specializes in rants on her day to day life.

arts

May 13, 2011

facebook.com/ktownrealityshow A Situation. Cast members Joey, Peter, Jasmine, and Young show off their swag.

K-Town

Eleanore Hendrickson lays out what’s down on K-Town.

f there is anything that “Jersey Shore” can ever be credited with (other than introducing a generation to genital herpes), it’s replacing stereotypes. No more is the Italian pizza aficionado that a-speaka like this-a; the Gym-Tan-Laundry guido/guidette is here to stay. So it would seem that the same is to be expected from a new reality show yet to be picked up by MTV: “K-Town,” or its more common title, “Jersey Shore, but with Asians.” The jokes to be made off of “K-Town” (named for Korea Town in L.A. by the way) are obvious: “Asian Jersey Shore? What are they going to do, solve math problems and squint all day? Hurr hurr.” I know, hard to believe, but there are Asians who do not spend their summers appeasing their ancestors by studying for the SAT. In fact, there are some exceptions from the Orient like these “K-Town” stars: former porn star Peter Le, dubbed “The Situasian,” or exotic dancer Scarlet

Chan, who “wants to hook up with a vampire so bad.” See? Asians can be promiscuous and wonton (get it? Noodles?) too! (Though I’m not sure that’s really something to be proud of.) “K-Town,” though yet to be picked up by a studio, has already wrapped up its pilot episode. By the looks of the trailer, it is sure to be as much, if not even more, of a muscle-tastic booze-filled STD hootenanny as “Jersey Shore” is. The possibilities that this show has are endless. Will there be an adorable Asian grandmother who makes regular cameos to supply the cast with dumplings? A drunken shout-athon entirely in Korean? Tiger Moms? Who knows? There is nothing that could possibly prevent this show from being broadcast on every channel that ever exists. MTV? Yes. CNN? Yes. PBS? ABSOLUTELY. So take this show and run with it, television programs of the world. You’ve got a winner in your hands.

THE MUSTANG

Learn German Native Speakers & Credentialed Teachers

High School Credit Program Available Individualized Instruction One-on-one to four-on-one class size Meets California Performace Standards Graduates at Duke, Northwestern, Calpoly, UCSC, UCB, Haverford, etc.

Interested?

858-259-7202

German Language Services • germanls@cox.net

sdamustang.com

CAF

San Dieguito Sentinel THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

sda’s favorite news section! right? we are your favorite, right? :(

100¢

Boys tired of mistreatment at dances

woman chokes on ring

By Cassia Pollock

By Tate Dannemiller

Recently the PALS administration reported a huge wave of male complaints mainly focusing on mistreatment received at school dances. A large amount of girls allegedly bullied boys who attempted to freak dance with them. Boys said they walk away from school dances deeply offended by the intense lack of female chivalry. “I do everything for girls,” said freshman Harley Quinn. “Yet when I try to freak dance with them as a romantic gesture of my admiration, what do I get? Kneed in the groin.” Counselors are uncertain how to approach this problem. Boys report that punches, kicks, and very pointy heels were involved in the assaults. “I think girls need to consider the validity of their justification before they give in to their violent impulses,” said Quinn, before spewing saliva onto the ground and cracking his back. The school is still debating how to punish senior Mel O’Drama for her brutality at the last dance. O’Drama said, “Excuse me for having quick reflexes. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for guys to vocalize their intentions before pouncing on girls like cavemen.”

A woman found a potentially lethal metal object in her drink at the famously romantic Chér de Sondage last night. The woman was celebrating her third year with her quiet, well-to-do lover, when suddenly, after what was described as, “the sweetest, most heart-felt toast” she’d ever heard when a jagged 24-karat diamond ring was discovered at the bottom of her glass, waiting to cause irreparable damage to her esophagus. A man who claimed to have been standing outside the restaurant while the incident was taking place said, “I’ve seen this once before. Forty years ago in the jungles of Saigon, I was offered a champagne glass from a local warlord, but this glass was not an ordinary glass. Underneath its bubbly charm, its sweet grape flavor, a golden ring was lying in wait. I drank. My god, I drank it all before I realized what they’d done to me. The next morning, MASH came along and pumped my stomach out, it didn’t hurt too bad. That’s how I got… THIS!” he said, tearing open his shirt to reveal a tiny scar across his gut. “And they gave me a lollipop.” The woman’s lover, noticeably red, presumably with anger, offered no comment.

courtesy of robbie dale “I DON’T.” The royal wedding quickly ended in divorce after the nuptials failed to live up to the fairytale expectations.

Royal wedding ends in royal divorce By Eleanore Hendrickson

In the wake of the disastrous April 29 betrothal of England’s Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton, the world is already making preparations for a royal divorce. The split was announced on April 30, with televised court proceedings set for May 14. The Friday wedding ended in catastrophe, with sources close to the royal family blaming high stress levels and increasing media pressure to have the perfect storybook wedding. “Kate looked terrible,” said three-time divorcee Dee Vors, who wore sweatpants and a stained blouse to her own wedding. “If you’re in front of 2 billion people, you might as well take care of those bags under

your eyes.” Kate had reportedly taken to overeating crumpets to deal with the high expectations, resulting in her oozing out of her wedding dress seams midway through the ceremony. William, too, succumbed to media pressure at the altar, breaking out in tears when demanded by the congregation to kiss his ballooning bride. “Will and Kate, Will and Kate, I’m sick of it!” He screeched in an outburst, throwing his crown onto the floor and stomping on it. Though the much-publicized wedding guest list included celebrities and royals alike, the royal divorce is shaping out to be even more of a star-studded affair. Rumored guests include American Supreme Court Justice

Clarence Thomas and Judge “Judge Judy” Judy. In America, where about 50 percent of couples eventually divorce, the excitement level is high in anticipation of the televised royal court. “It’s nice to see that divorce can happen to any couple, no matter how rich and famous,” said Vors. “That’s sure to knock them down a peg. How does it feel to be experiencing normal people problems, huh? Where does royalty help you now?” She stomped her foot emphatically. The split is reportedly not an amicable one. A source close to the couple claims that Middleton is fighting for half of the royal assets, including exactly half of Buckingham Palace, where a tape line has been drawn to enforce boundaries.

All adults actually dead and hopeless on inside, study finds By Tatarinore Brinemillerson

A recent study conducted by the ITT Technical Institute found that approximately 99.38 percent of adults are not truly alive, but rather just lifeless, sad sacks of human-shaped flesh. The finding was shocking to many scientists, who were later discovered to be among those 99.38 percent of inert lumps devoid of all sense of wonder. “When we realized what our results implied, a slight hush fell over the room,” said lead researcher Mona Tone, her eyes

drooping. “But most of us didn’t really react at all.” The finding, featured as the cover story in Scientific American, detailed the exact time frame in which a fully functioning human body becomes a soulless creature: an empty, walking bag of organs doomed for misery. “The transition from imaginative child to dead adult is when most humans are in their mid 20s,” reads the article. “This is about the same time that most people are leaving college for the life-sucking vacuum of the job market.”

Lee Thargic, who gave up his childhood dream of being an ice cream man to become a janitor in inner city Brooklyn, vividly remembers the moment when his life committed suicide and he became a meaningless drone. “One day, I just realized that I no longer wanted to make children happy by offering them the cold, delectable treat on hot summer days,” Thargic, the miserable hole of a human being said, with no sign of tears from his long-dried up ducts. “When my soul jumped off the metaphorical bridge deep inside of me, it was the most crushing

feeling.” said Thargic. After extensive testing on vacation cruises, foreign cars, and tubs of ice cream, scientists have proposed the theory that small children hold the key to internal happiness. A radical group has even suggested “harvesting” such a pool of subjects, when the life is at the most ripe and fruitful, juicy and plump, prime for laboratory use. A group of select individuals has already taken measures to establish “life-rejuvenators,” machines that extract the whimsy from young children for pharmaceutical use.

Rob Ott is a dead-eyed research scientist at Pfizer who is developing the extract for topical application. “In laboratory tests, the subjects reported a sense of fulfillment upon applying the skin cream,” said Bott. “The only drawback is that after regaining the capacity for empathy, the adult specimens felt a small sense of guilt for having smeared the paste-form of young childrens’ happiness and dreams all over their bodies.” A $15 reward has been offered for viable happiness donors.

May 13, 2011

sdamustang.com

CAF

San Dieguito Sentinel THE MUSTANG

look! 3/4 of a page just for comics!

“A Juicy Contradiction”

Arinore Brindrickson

“Al-Hydra”

“Telephone”

110¢

Eleanore Hendrickson

Tate Dannemiller

Man present at origin of joke ‘you had to be there’ for By Arinore Brindrickson

After being stiffed out of inside jokes for years and met with snide remarks of “you just had to be there,” Cincinnati resident Joe Kerr was finally present at the right time when such a joke was made. Feelings of elation and relief were reported to have surfaced in Kerr almost immediately after realizing that he was, at last, in the “in” crowd of an inside joke. Kerr’s eyes allegedly lit up with a happiness that no loner

before him had ever known, as it dawned on him that he finally had a common ground with all of his friends who were present when the joke was made. “It was great. Finally, I could repeat a seemingly meaningless phrase and actually have my friends laugh without having to come up with any original joke!” Kerr said Thursday, to no one in particular. “Banana chips! Am I right?” Kerr continued, relishing in the fact that he was of a select handful who would understand

the context behind his outburst. “Oh, wait, you had to be there. Just like I was!” Kerr’s friends have become increasingly concerned with his futile attempts to start even more inside jokes that he could be a part of. “He thinks he’s on a roll or something,” commented Kerr’s friend Frank Lee. “Like yesterday. He saw me eating some ham salad, and then he was like, ‘Ham salad! Am I right?’ I was like, no, man. Just no.”

Kerr has evidently tried to make inside jokes out of many things with no inherent comedic value, such as his friend’s drinking habits, or his wife’s pregnancy. “Breast milk, am I right?” Kerr was reported to have shouted during a recent dinner party with his in-laws, who were unaware that his wife was pregnant at the time. Kerr was allegedly verbally reprimanded for his “vulgar &*%$-ing sailor tongue” by his mother-in-law.

The tensions at Kerr’s accounting firm have been high, with coworkers becoming agitated by Kerr’s insistence that they “had to be there” to understand his incoherent slew of perceived inside jokes. “The original joke really wasn’t even that funny to begin with,” said coworker Hugh Mer, who was present at the origins of the “banana chips” joke. “I mean, we were just eating banana chips and… well, actually, you really did have to be there.”

steeze

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

steeze

steeze May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

prom

2011

With prom only eight days away, the search for the perfect dress is on. If you are still on the hunt here is your ultimate prom style guide. Story By Tatiana Skomski.

Lovely in Lace

Bold Colors

f you are going for a sweet and soft look for prom, a lace dress is perfect for you. Whether you just want subtle lace detailing or a completely lace dress, you will surely be dressed for the ball. Although a lace dress may feel to casual for a night out on the town, beading and sparkles can add the perfect touch of evening fun to your look. Lace has been one of the biggest trends of 2010 and 2011 and why not create the perfect prom look with this lovely trend? Because lace dresses are most popular in cream or white you can easily pair it with bold colored shoes and you’ll have an adorable, fun and flirty prom look.

ant to make a bold statement at this year’s prom? Then bright colors are the way to go. Bright purples, reds, and blues will truly light up the room and put all the attention on you. Whether you choose a mini, flowing, or long gown, this year’s trend of bold colors will surely add a pop to your prom look. Although this look is great, moderation is key. Because bright colors can easily overpower you and add an almost cheap look to your dress, you have to make sure you use this trend to your advantage and not your detriment. Even if your bold color trend is used in your heels, you will surely have a fun filled night.

Grecian Goddess

Retro Swing Skirts

hannel your inner Grecian goddess with a classic, flowing gown. A long floor length gown is perfect if you’re going for that classic prom princess look. Whether it has a sweetheart neckline, a one shouldered sequined gown, or a more structured style, you will be sure to turn heads. Pair your gown with the perfect stiletto heels and the eyes will surely be on you all night long. Because a long flowing gown is the ultimate prom look, you will be faced with the ultimate price tag. Although you can sometimes find gowns on the cheaper side, they will usually start at around one hundred dollars. If you are willing to splurge though, you will truly look like the prom queen.

wing your way back to into the fifties with retro and vintage swing skirts. Knee length, full-skirted dresses are all the rage this year. You will surely wow the crowd in your retro almost poodle like skirt. Modern twists on this classic look have been walking the runways of Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and Valentino this past fall and are on the top of all the magazine’s lists. Channel your inner Madonna and twirl your way through the night with this fun and flirty trend. Sweetheart necklines, halter tops and even one shouldered bubble dresses, complete this ultimate prom look. Add some bold large earrings, fun neutral colored pumps and be ready to spin into the best night of your life.

Picture Perfect. Models in magazines such as Seventeen and Teen Vogue present a too-skinny image for girls to follow.

mAGAZINE MADNESS

Anna Sheridan thinks the ideas portrayed in magazines are responsible for corrupting millions of young girls.

hroughout our whole lives we are told how to live. We are taught how to set our moral compasses by our parents, how to play competitive sports by our pee-wee soccer coaches, and how to love by our first best friends. For everything else that we teenage girls need to be taught, there are magazines such as CosmoGirl, Teen Vogue, and Seventeen magazine. These magazines not only show teenage girls how to do their hair, makeup, and how to dress, but they try to influence girls’ attitudes. There are features on how to text boys back, what to do if you are in a fight with a friend, which celebrities to pay attention to, and more interesting tips and facts. If every teenage girl conformed to the cookie-cutter magazine image of a seventeen-year-old, the world would completely lack individuality, attitude, and the oddballs that we all love. While Seventeen offers many different styles to choose from

when readers flip through their pages, I feel that none of them quite seem to hit the mark too. While I might not be the most well-known fashionista at this school (my school outfits usually consist of sweatshirts, uggs, and jeans) I can tell when something is off. These magazines are setting girls up for disasters. They advise bikinis with high-waisted bottoms. While those style shorts are in style, high waist bikini bottoms make girls look they are pregnant. Very unfashionable. In the May issue of Seventeen, super-flared jeans were encouraged. These extreme bell bottoms could be yours if you open the side seams and sew some lace into your favorite jeans. I think we could all do without a flashback to the seventies. Monokinis are promoted like crazy even though only about .01% of the population has the body to pull those off. Way to make the rest of us feel awful about our bodies. It is trendy now to not act

your own age. If you are ten, straighten your hair, apply way too much make-up, and dress like a street prostitute. Maybe someone will mistake you for 20-year-old. It’s more socially acceptable than ever for young girls to dress older. However, should Seventeen magazine really be advocating lingerie-inspired outfits for teenage girls looking for fashion tips? While never advocating tanning salons, for that would be bad for your skin, Seventeen magazine will frequently advocate self-tanning lotions reinforcing the idea planted in all of our minds that we cannot be pretty unless we exhibit the bronze glow of the movie stars. Teenage girls can do better than reading Seventeen magazine. We deserve company that will encourage us to be ourselves, no matter what kind of body types we have. We deserve a magazine that won’t only print certain types of clothes, or advice us how to text boys. We deserve a magazine that won’t try to corrupt our already messed up sense of selves.

steeze

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

sports

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

pauline disch Carlsbad scores. The varsity girls lacrosse team couldn’t quite get in the groove in this game versus the Carlsbad Lancers.

Big fish no more

SDA was recently moved into a sports league with larger schools to compete against. Now Mustangs are struggling to keep up with Division I opponents. Story by Sarah Kochanek.

he whistle blows and both girls lacrosse teams jog off the field. Everyone looks at the scoreboard above the brightly lit Torrey Pines field, which reads: “Home-18, Visitor-4.” Once again, SDA’s pride has been bashed in a match-up against a division I school. For some SDA sports teams, this is not a rare occurrence. “In field hockey we lost to Torrey Pines three times. It sucks, but it was good that we were able to hang with them for so long,” said senior Katey Ford. There have been similar games all year for a variety of SDA sports. SDA is a division III school, yet teams including girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, baseball, and softball all compete against the much larger, division I schools.

school size, but sometimes there are exceptions. SDA was moved out of the Coastal Conference because of its number of students. “We have an enrollment of about 1600 compared to many of those schools within that conference with 500 or less,” said athletic director John Labeta. Smaller schools wanted SDA

think about playing better.” Pumpin’ it up Players also get pep talks to help prepare them for important games. Glass explained, “Before big [JV baseball] games, we get pumped and excited. We are all very quiet and serious on the bus...Our coaches [Brandon Me-

“[LCC has more] appearances in the finals or semi-finals as opposed to other schools including SDA. That builds interest from others as to what LCC is doing to keep this going each year,” explained Labeta. “It’s not the Division I school; it’s the youth program that feeds it. My goal is to get younger and older players ready (for SDA girls lacrosse) who know they’re coming here. By senior year our girls have four or five years of experience, they [Division I girls] have seven or eight,” said varsity girls lacrosse coach Chuck Kaczmarek.

“When we played LCC for the first time, we were all thinking about how good they were and how we were probably going to lose...we lost 22-2 and we were all pretty embarrassed.” - Nate Glass, freshman

From big fish to little fish The divisions are classified by the number of students at each school. The bigger the population, the lower the number the school is assigned. The leagues for high school sports are usually chosen by

out. “We were the big fish in the small pond.” SDA is now in the Avocado League with larger schools and tougher competition. “We knew we were going to lose against LCC, but that didn’t stop us from trying our best to win,” said senior basketball player Brandon Anderson. Freshman Nate Glass said, “When we played LCC for the first time, we were all thinking about how good they were and how we were probably going to lose. That game we lost 22-2 and we were all pretty embarrassed about that. It doesn’t feel good to lose like that, but you just have to put that loss behind you and

dina and Joe South] usually give us a pep talk and basically tell us to play our hardest and never give up.” Junior Kendra Scruggs, JV field hockey player, said, “Practices and warm-ups before playing a stronger team are more serious and difficult...The coaches also do a pep talk before [the game] to get you prepared.” Division I, #1? Although it’s not always the case, larger schools usually have more developed sports programs. Division I schools have a widespread student body to choose from in terms of putting together a strong sports team.

Hanging in there Labeta feels Mustang teams can hold their own against larger schools: “I am proud of the accomplishments that our athletic program has made...and have no problem supporting our continued play against our current league rivals.” When SDA doesn’t give up, it can result in glorious victories. As freshman Lizzy Knox put it, “[When we win] daisies pop out of the ground, rainbows are in abundance, and the sun casts golden beads of light upon our

sports

THE MUSTANG

May 13, 2011

Girls lacrosse Division I league leads to losses.

Dust Storm. Senior Kailie Pasko leaps to shoot at the Carlsbad goalie. Unfortunately the Lancer was one of the best in the county and blocked the ball.

Despite competing with division I schools and finishing last in the Avocado League with a 5-11 record as of May 11, the girls were able to develop their skills and go out with high hopes. “The future is bright; we have a lot of experienced juniors for next year,” said head coach Chuck Kaczmarek. He said they had more athletes this year, but not many experienced lacrosse players. However, this can be built on for next year. The team will also be losing seven seniors. “Kailie [Pasko, senior] Avocado League Standings is a monster warrior, I believe she could play on Torrey Pines 9-0 any guys team. Julia [PedLa Costa Canyon 8-1 erson, senior] is another warrior,” he said. Carlsbad 5-4 He commented that Mission Hills 3-6 senior Morgan Joel has San Dieguito 2-8 improved the most as goalie this year. San Marcos 1-9 Kaczmarek hopes to start a youth program for lacrosse players who know they’re attending SDA due to the advantage other schools have with these programs. pauline disch

track and field

Boys volleyball

jocelyn lee pauline disch

After a confrontation with an opposing coach, SDA runners answer back with their speed. During a track meet on April 21 the Canyon these schools chose to hide their information. Crest girls coach approached San Dieguito As track and field comes to an end the team coach, Justin Conn. will be in search of new runners to fill the shoes “Hey are your girls excited? You can show of graduating seniors. According to Conn the them our banners in the gym for inspiration,” boys team is losing the valuable Steven Forthe CCA coach said to Conn. sythe, Connor Paris, Lane Jackson, and Nate The banner he was referring to was from Myer. Myer’s absence is especially scary to the league championships last year when one of team because Conn said he contributes a ton of the girl runners from SDA forgot to take out points and will be hard to replace. her earring and was disqualified, which led to What seems to be holding the boys back CCA’s victory. is that many fast male athletes participate in “Our girls don’t other spring sports April 21 Track Meet at need motivation. We like the three baseball Canyon Crest Academy did our talking on the teams or two lacrosse Time and Event Athlete, Grade, Place Jenna Asperslag (11) 1st 13.25 100 m track, which is what I teams. However, prefer,” said Conn. Kayla MacKeldowney (10) 1st 55.27 300 m hurdles Conn said they do The SDA girls not go out and try to Steven Forsythe (12) 1st 4:48.90 1600 m team indeed anpull kids away from Nate Myer (12) 1st 16.68 110 m hurdles swered back by beattheir sports. Evan Armstrong (11) 1st 2:06.53 800 m ing the Ravens 76.5 On the girls team seKatey Ford (12) 1st 1:02.07 400 m points to 55.5. niors Katey Ford and Ford, Asperslag, 51.89 4x100 relay As for the end of Kaylin Greene will be Amy Concha (10), Grace the season Conn is missed. Collins (11) according to athletic.net “cautiously optimis“Katey is irreplacetic” as SDA still has to compete against the able. She competes in four events and wins competitive Valley Center and Del Norte today nearly every one,” said Conn. “But almost all at League finals. Both are mysterious teams our girl sprinters are soccer players [like juniors because they are tricky in revealing any inforJenna Asperslag and Grace Collins and sophomation about their runners. Conn and SDA more Amy Concha], so we hit a gold mine.” post results and statistics for each match, while pauline disch

girls win state championships After surfing against schools across the state, the girls shortboard team wins it all. On May 1 the San Dieguito surf team traveled to Oceanside Pier to compete in state championships. After a long day of catching waves, womens shortboard-

ers Sam Lamirand (freshman), Hannah VanVeen (sophomore), and Larissa Lambrou (sophomore) won by one point in the final round to take home

the first place trophy. On May 2 surfers who were invited competed in the individual state championships. Sophomore Lucas Foster finished sixth

in men’s longboard, VanVeen third in women’s shortboard, Lamirand second, and senior Daniel Bocater second in mens shortboard. pauline disch

boys tennis Varsity players advance to CIF. The boys tennis team continues to be positive and focus on their character and discipline this season, even though their record does not show how hard they have worked. Senior Frank Song says that their goal this season is to “keep strong, and learn from mistakes.” Despite a devastating loss to CCA, the team looks forward to seeing Tor Syvrud and Steven Lee compete in CIF. Coach Joe Tomasi predicts that the team should finish third in their league. The team lost in the first round of CIF to Bishops. They were previously ranked 12th. Aaron Steger and Elliot Horen came in 5th, and Tor Syvrud and Steven Lee were 3rd. “We are already looking to next year,” said Tomasi. anna sheridan

Recent win over Orange Glen ends season on high note. With the season nearing an end, SDA’s varsity volleyball team is 1-14 overall as of May 11, according to maxpreps.com, sixth in the Valley League. Coach Russell Burns said he knew it was going to be a development year. Nevertheless, Burns is happy with his players’ efforts. Their mentality, he said, is their best attribute. “It’s no easy task to stay positive and committed when playing every game against more experienced, larger athletes.” Still, there have been highlights. On April 21, against rival CCA, the Mustangs won a game even though CCA is ahead in the Valley league. In a match, a Valley League team needs to win three Standings games to be victorious. Canyon Crest 9-1 Burns also said consistency is a weakness San Marcos 9-1 because many players Valley Center 5-5 are new. “With a young and Del Norte 4-6 inexperienced team, evOrange Glen 2-7 ery game is a challenge. My focus this year is to San Dieguito 0-9 improve consistency.” According to Burns, Junior Mitch Fierro and senior Alec Smith, two of the teams experienced veterans, are doing great providing consistency on the outside and at setter. Though SDA is not going to make the playoffs, their season ended on a high note with a win over Orange Glen on May 3. But this point, Burns knows winning isn’t the most important thing. It’s having fun and learning. “Talk to the volleyball guys, and they’ll tell you how much fun and how challenging it is,” said Burns. aaron steger

sports

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

Baseball

Baseball boys need to win consecutive games to maintain hopes of advancing to CIF.

angela zhang emily maxwell Watch That Ball Go By. Junior Austin Scott dodges an inside pitch during his at-bat.

With the end of the season looming and a 12-14 record according to maxpreps.com as of May 11, baseball needs to finish strong to make playoffs. “This week and next will determine our playoff chances,” said Coach Jack McDowell. To make playoffs, SDA will have to win their final six games. Even if they do win their final six, Valley Center will have to win two out of three games against Valley League Del Norte to assure a Standings playoff spot for SDA. Del Norte 7-2 “We will most likely have to win league to San Dieguito 5-3 advance to the playCanyon Crest 4-4 offs,” said McDowell. In the beginning of Valley Center 4-4 the year, one MusOrange Glen 2-9 tang goal was to win the Lions Baseball all league statistics Tournament. Even according to maxpreps.com though they didn’t win the tournament,

they made it all the way to the finals losing to University High School in Irvine 4-0. However disappointing, this was the first time the Mustangs have ever made it out of pool play. Senior Ryan Daspin has really come on at the end of the season batting .400 with 26 hits as of May 9 according to maxpreps.com. He also threw a complete game and 1-0 shutout against Valley Center April 15. Dominic Anguiano is also hitting well for the team with a .314 batting average and contributing the most RBI’s (runs batted in) for the team with 10 this season. The Mustang pitching is another contributing factor. Sophomore Noah Huggins is 31st in San Diego County with a 1.58 ERA (earned runs average). Also on maxpreps.com SDA was ranked 12th in division three standings for San Diego as of May 9, meaning the team is predicted to win their league beacsue no other Valley team was ranked above them. ty gibson

Softball

Boys Lacrosse

Troubling times are in the past as softball girls pull it together to advance to CIF.

Division one schools aren’t getting in the way of this team as the boys produce wins.

After a rough 0-6 start the varsity softball team has come back. The girls beat Del Norte 8-3 May 5, which put them first in the Valley League at an 11-14 record overall as of May 11. Although the Mustangs have faced many experienced division one schools, they have stayed strong and pulled through with several big wins. According to maxpreps.com, they beat division one schools Rancho Bernardo 7-1 April 8 and Carlsbad 3-2 March 23. “We did bad in the beginning of the season because we all had to learn to work together and were playing really hard teams. We made stupid errors that contributed to our losses, but as we played more games and practiced we were able to work better together and it finally came together halfway through the season. We have been playing well ever since,” said senior co-captain Tori Lhota. One winning factor for the team is starting pitcher Tonia Wu who is 12th in the county with 75 strikeouts this season according to maxpreps.com. Wu is also an offensive threat with a .326 batting average. Sophomores Taylor Sills and Marissa Sacco have been a huge part of the SDA offense as well each scoring 13 RBI’s (runs batted in) this season. Freshman Maddie Silverstein is also a force to be reckoned with due to her .380 batting average and 30 hits this season, the most on the varsity team. Junior Ryleigh Wright has scored numerous runs for the team with a .344 Valley League batting average. Standings The girls won TuesSan Dieguito 6-1 day, May 10 against Valley Center 2-1. If Del Norte 5-3 the team won yesterCanyon Crest 4-3 day against CCA, they will win their league Valley Center 2-4 and advance to CIF Orange Glen 1-6 playoffs. anna sheridan

gratulating us for that win. No one saw it comWho says SDA sports teams don’t win? Well ing… but we did,” said Borden of the 9-6 win. the boys lacrosse team this season has shot Although the team still needs to work on their down that stereotype. With a 13-7 record as of clears and togetherness, they’re constantly May 11, they are the SDA team with the most improving and are ready for wins this year. Palomar League playoffs. With games left against After being placed in a new Standings teams like LCC and Carlsbad, the league with big competitors such as La Costa Canyon 10-0 team expects to finish strong. LCC, TP, San Marcos, and CarlsJunior Sam Cody attributes the bad, the Mustangs are holding their Torrey Pines 8-3 winning season to the amount of own and are third in the Palomar Carlsbad 4-5 experience the boys have unLeague. der their belts. Many boys also “Torrey Pines presented the bigSan Marcos 4-5 participated in indoor lacrosse gest problem for us this year,” said San Dieguito 3-7 programs over the summer. coach Nick Borden. He attributed “We have a really strong junior TP’s 17-4 win to their agility and Fallbrook 0-10 class, and we have all been playefficient offense. ing together for a while,” said Cody. The team’s greatest accomplishBorden expects the team to finish with a ment so far would have to be the game against record of 15-6 by the end of the season. CIF Carlsbad. Carlsbad is a school known for its playoffs are expected. sports, and although the rivalry isn’t as intense “It’s a definite,” said Borden as CCA, a victory is still held in high regard. anna sheridan “I still have refs coming up to me and con-

emily maxwell Leap of Faith. Senior Austin Paccione jumps to pass the ball during a Torrey Pines game, which they lost 10-3 April 25.

golf Boys golf stays focused for May. As the varsity golf season comes to a close head coach Doug Timmons is hoping for the best. “If we beat CCA and Valley Center we will be tied for first,” said Timmons. This season had its challenges, but competing against last year’s CIF Southern California champions, Torrey Pines, isn’t easy. Timmons said Valley Center is tough competition as well, but they’re neck and neck for Valley League champions. “We have a young team this year: five freshman, and two sophomores. If they want to work on their game during the off season we could have a strong team next year. Either way they’re a great group of guys and it’s a pleasure to help them improve,” said Timmons. The San Dieguito Mustangs have an overall record of 7-10 as of May 10 according to Timmons. pauline disch

sports

THE MUSTANG

labeta leaves due to budget cuts Athletic Director John Labeta serves his last year at SDA as Ryan Yee takes the job.

ext year SDA will be losing Athletic Director John Labeta who will be replaced by Assistant Principal Ryan Yee. Yee will still serve as one of the Academy’s two assistant principals, but will have athletic director responsibilities as well. “It’s definitely going to be busy. As assistant principal I usually only handle discipline and deal with academics, but I’m looking forward to seeing other students in a different aspect with sports,” said Yee. Although Labeta is leaving, he is happy to give more focus towards La Costa Canyon and connect with those students. In the past Labeta has bounced between both schools and coaches girls basketball at LCC. “I have mixed emotions. I have been athletic director here for three years and it’s been a good experience. Mr. Yee will do

a great job. There are solid athletes here at SDA. Good things are happening with the program and I will always be there to help,” Labeta said. The decision was made due to district budget cuts. Both SDA and CCA had to cut either their athletic directors or an administrator. Both schools chose to have one of the assistant principals be responsible for athletic duties. Labeta thought somebody was going to replace him eventually with somebody who could work at SDA full time. Yee plans on working with coaches and help with things like student eligibility and player/ coach conflict. “One thing I want to do is, if enough kids are interested in a particular sport, trying to get multiple teams for that sport. For example I know a lot of boys were cut from soccer in the winter, so if the sport can afford

it we could try and field a third team, but there is the coast of another coach and other stuff,” Yee said. Yee also wants to work on minimizing the amount of time athletes miss during fourth period to go play sports. He knows this isn’t in the coach’s control but believes “student” should always come first in “student athlete.” According to Labeta a significant challenge for athletic directors is coordinating with off campus coaches. “I think it’s definitely going to be a challenge because of the rules within North County, CIF, and the district. He’s going to deal with student athletes being honest and stating where they live,” said Labeta. “Mr. Yee is going to do a great job, he works well with students and loves sports.” pauline disch

May 13, 2011

evening the playing field

The score is SDA and CCA plus two coaches, LCC and TP minus six as the academies get new sports stipends. SDA may never have as strong of a sports program as La Costa Canyon or Torrey Pines, but the district has taken steps to even out the athletic programs next year. Athletic Director John Labeta said SDA will receive two more coaching stipends. SDA now has 44 coaching stipends. “The money would go to support the golf and water polo programs,” said Labeta. After a budget cut in 2008, 6 stipends were cut. While many teams felt the budget cut, the girls golf team suffered the most. Becuase of the lack of interest in the

program three years ago, This new budget will help support the growing team. The rest of the money would be split between the girls and boys water polo teams to pay for pool funds and coaches salary. “Right now, the majority of this funding comes from parent donations,” said Labeta of the water polo program. Last year water polo parents were asked for a $150 donation to cover the pool fees, Labeta said. This new budget will alleviate the need for parent support. anna sheridan

Local Number of Coaches 44

Approximate number of coaches currently at Torry Pines.

Number of coaching stipends for SDA and CCA in 2011-2012 seasons.

Approximate number of coaches currently at La Costa Canyon.

*numbers according to school websites

ATTENTION

SENIOR CLASS OF 2011... 13 years of school is almost over and 200 volunteers are throwing you a party! A $30,000 party where YOU...are the GUEST OF HONOR! A party so exclusive... that none of the teachers get to attend. A party packed with so much FUN...that it takes ALL NIGHT! $65 admission includes games, prizes, food and entertainment unlike anything you have ever experienced. Buy your today before they are all gone!

SDA Grad Night Friday June 17th

8:30 p.m. -5:00 a.m.

sports

May 13, 2011

THE MUSTANG

surfer vs. skater

Junior skater Stefan Schweitzer and senior “surfer” Skyler McKee are asked some of mankind’s most titillating questions, questions that never should have been answered. Let’s just say they tried their best... but that’s kinda pushing it. Story by Arinore Brindrickson. If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what do humanitarians eat? Skater: What’s, like, a humanitarian? Surfer: Vegetarians eat veggies because they don’t like meat touching their food, so when humanitarians eat food, they don’t like vegetables touching their humans. Oh, the humanity, Skater! “What’s like, a humanitarian?” What’s like, minus 5,000 points for you? (Man, that was a good one.) And, Surfer, I had no idea that vegetarians didn’t eat vegetables because they hated meat contamination. Forget the moral objections to eating other animals or health benefits – it’s because all vegetarians function by the same food logic as picky 5-year-olds! Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was getting confused there. But minus 50 points, for taking away my ignorant bliss. What happens if a black cat

walks under a ladder and breaks a mirror? Skater: Uhh…. Someone dies. And another Justin Bieber is born. Surfer: 68 years of bad luck. A cat is seven, ladder is 11, and a mirror is 50. Hey, enough with the Bieb hate. This isn’t Surfer versus Skater; it’s more like Surfer versus Hater! Minus h-8 points for your hate. Surfer, you’ve once again shown your mathematical genius through a series of complex, calculus-level equations. I, for one, could not hope to solve the math you just dropped like it was NBD. Plus 68 points for them math skillz. Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs when bunnies do not lay eggs? Skater: Cause eggs are steeze. Surfer: Because an old folk lore of Easter is fertility and bunnies have babies and eggs equal fertility.

Eggs are steeze, Hater? Would that make the holiday Steezester? Ha HA! Surfer, egg-celent answer! Your “yolks” made me slap my l-egg in amusement! He’s (egg)shelling out the jokes! What a (bun)knee slapper, even though I’m a Jew and I have a rabbi(t)! I mean, please(ter!) I’ll make it easy(ster) on you both and gift you 10 pts each. (ster) What is the difference between “regular” and “fancy” ketchup? Skater: I swear ketchup isn’t fancy. That’s like having a fancy, beat-up, ’74 Honda Civic or something. Surfer: Doesn’t fancy ketchup come in packets? Hey, Hater! I have a beat-up ’74 Honda Civic! You sayin’ it ain’t fancy? I’ll have you know, I have five cupholders! Minus 74 points. And 5 more for each cup you don’t get to hold! Surfer, if your idea of fancy is fake tomato paste that comes in plastic containers with a tear-top, then I suspect

ari brin The “Surfer” and the Hater Skyler McKee and Stefan Schweitzer flash some mildly frightening smiles for the camera... and we really wish they didn’t.

you think Snooki is a real class act! I guess you think this section belongs in the New York Times! Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Plus 500 points for every word in my pending letter to the NYT editors. Am I

right? Zing! Skater: -5,097 Surfer: 528 Congratulations on a sweeping win, Surfer! There is no prize.

Today’s Gourmet Pizzas

Call in your pizza on Wednesday to have it ready for lunch!

Wednesday Lunch Special Free soda with any 8-inch pizza 2 Free sodas with any 12-inch pizza 3 Free sodas with any 16-inch pizza

• • • • • •

Traditional New York Cheese BBQ chicken Mediterranean Pizza Garden Fresh Veggie Classic Combo And many more

• • • •

Classic Caesar Greek Salad Asian Chicken Salad And many more

Today’s Healthy Salads

A large selection of Hot Subs, Pastas, and Sides also available. you want to Call Today’s Pizza if DS Saturday nights. showcase your BAN ITERS SINGER/SONGWR also welcome!

(760) 753 – 6425 481 Santa Fe Drive, Encinitas Across from Scripps Hospital in Von’s / Rite Aid Center

backpage

THE MUSTANG

June 13, 2011

Balancing act. Sophomore Gordon Yee uses his strength as he does a handstand. Sky high. Freshman Joe Hamamoto flies off a skate ramp as he demonstrates his skateboard skills in front of the gym for students.

Back to back. Seniors Austin Burns and Tim McNalley play guitar together for students as they perform by the art gallery.

Exhibition DAy SDA students show off their art, talent, and skill as others observe and participate in games and activities. Photos by Jocelyn Lee, Emily Maxwell, and Thea Brown.

Great wall. These girls get colorful as they paint the art wall in front of the library.

SDA: a school known for its wide variety of people and clubs. Exhibition day, a SDA tradition, is the most prominent event with dozens of clubs, bands and people displaying who they are and what they do. SDA’s reputation for being out of the ordinary was exhibited with a wide variety of exhibits. This day was filled with dozens of displays, some selling food, others selling merchandise, and the rest just performing for an enthusiastic crowd. Sarah Gallagher, sophomore, and Sam

Lameran, freshman, directed a giant chalk mandala in senior court. “We want to further the school’s unity; create a product to be proud of,” said Gallagher. Senior Yoshi LeaVesseur of the club The Writers’ Block sold the Thread, a student-produced literary magazine, in front of the library along with hosting an open mic. LeaVesseur hoped to get people out of their comfort zones to share their work. Another exhibit was Screen Printing, where students bought

and sold t-shirts that they designed. Kathryn Chapman, freshman, said, “The money benefits the program and the leftover money will go to the students.” Exhibition day has continued its legacy of being, as Gallagher said, “…the epitome of SDA’s spirit. It’s happy, lively, and amazing.” Many clubs benefited from sales, attention, and enthusiastic students. story by kira gaby, taylor knudson, kira elliott, and sierra zounes