SDA Mustang May 2009

the

mustang

03.06.09

issue five volume xii

mustang the

02.09.09

Staff Editor in Chief News Editor Alex Matthews

On the back

A peep at people On the cover They’re reminiscent of poinsettias, crossed with a dozen poison salamanders that adopt the muted colors of a peacock’s plume like chameleons. Tiny quasi-tentacle-feelers are windowed between the petals (or legs), reminding one of some aquatic masterpiece of evolution, like the jellyfish or anemone. These sit on top of calm waters, or cling to tree bark, or some other material covered with spongelike fungus.

Or maybe it’s the reflection of afternoon light. In any case, it’s original, pretty, and strange in just the right way. And it’s on the cover. What now.

Therein lies the unnatural natural beauty of junior Jasmine Kubart’s art, abstract visions of nature that, through her own perspective, become warped yet familiar images. A relatively recent painter and prospective fashion designer, Kubart’s a veteran with pastels and pens as well, and constantly draws in class. Oh, the places you can go with a few years of neat doodles in the margins of notebooks from your A-G required classes….

page 2

People. Fat ones, small ones, thin ones, tall ones. Homeless ones named George, posses of “Mad Hatters,” worrywart parents and their confused children.

This issue’s essay section has a recurring theme.

It’s this glorification of people that’s forced our essays section to loosen its belt a little. Writers went out in a wide arc to collect observations about people and their day-to-day lives, and this is what they found from the DMV, downtown San Diego, and the 10 foot radius of a disruptive single Post-It note. The stories range from optimistic to indignant, and then everyone gets on with their lives.

The new Norris There is a special enclave of the underworld devoted to the useless exercise machines offered in late-night infomercials. Likewise, there’s a holy 24ever Fitness in Elysium where the good machines and their inventors are allowed to enter. Eric Peck could be placed in limbo.

As our beaches start to thaw out in spring, it’s never too early to start conditioning for that tight summer bod, and Peck’s workout will probably… maybe… it’ll get you on track, at least, never mind where to.

Peck’s workouts give the 20-set of crunches a different meaning. And what’s there to lose?

Fat and calories. To gain? With the food exercises. most likely fat and calories roughly equal to what you just lost. With his revolutionary technique, Peck hybridizes conditioning, consumption, the couch, and the restroom in a way that should give you just enough credibility to claim “I probably had more fun working out than you did.”

By the laws of nature, Amanda Walker, senior, should be blacklisted from The Mustang since her appearance on the cover last year. But rules are meant to be broken, and Walker’s art was meant to be placed in color on one of our covers, so why not the back one? Technically legal, definitely a good decision.

Walker’s creativity has earned her an exposé on page 31, giving a background of her art. It also includes a short biography that encompasses her mostly untutored, unrestricted evolution from painting with her fingers to painting for Art Wars. She believes her “cartoony realistic abstract” style of painting begins as a loose connection of randomized brushstrokes that gradually connect themselves back to her own thoughts. She likes to think of them as “self portraits.”

So what if she had become a Thespian, or a band kid? For one thing, we wouldn’t have a “self portrait” of a stripey blue sundaisy in an urban setting on the backpage.

Opinions Editor Michelle Cancellier Features Editor/ Ads Manager Erin Donaldson Arts Editor Zach Garcia Circus Animal Fun Editor Eric McCoy Sports Editors Eric Peck Sean Znachko Nicole Fisher Copy Editor Ben Johnson Photo Editors Kendall Daasnes Liz Mills Staff Writers Lindsey Agnew, Emily Bartram, Domenica Berman, Megan Bradley, Thea Brown, Ariel Chao, Taylor Chapin, Alexis Cook León, Teal Coppock, Pauline Disch, Paige Ely, Dimitri Fautsch, Danielle Gradisher, Kaylin Greene, Eleanore Hendrickson, Andrew Kasselmann, Madison Lyon, Jocelyn Lee, Deanna Melin, Shelby Meyers, Nina Moussavi, Katherine Murphy, Alysse Rathburn, Cara Reichard, Ana Reyes, Kerry Roberson, Jack Rushall, Alexa Shapiro, Anna Sheridan, Kyle Shohfi, Robin Sickels, Tatiana Skomski, Kaitlin Spooner, McKenna Taylor, Ariel Vieweg, Savanna Vrevich, Shannon Wright Advisor Tim Roberts San Dieguito Academy Room 93 800 Santa Fe Drive Encinitas, CA 92024 (760) 753-1121 x5161

Notice 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.

news

Budget cuts deep In the midst of a budget freeze, cuts have school officials worried.

the

mustang 03.06.09

Recession hits home

The effects of worldwide economic woes are becoming evident in Encinitas. As local businesses vanish, SDA students are experiencing more difficulty in getting hired.

kyle shohfi

T

he San Dieguito Union High School District is facing a $6.7 million budget cut for the 2008-09 school year and an $11.7 million cut in the 2009-10 school year, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Steve Ma. The cuts come as part of the California government’s efforts to erase the $42 billion deficit.

Ma said that the state is supposed to provide the district with $7371.44 per student enrolled, but as Director of Financial Services Michael Taylor said, “Unfortunately, the state cannot fund that entire amount.”

Ma added that due to the $42 billion California deficit, this amount will be lowered by 13 percent, or $965 per student.

In a presentation at a district budget workshop on Feb. 24, Ma said there will be 20 percent “across the board cuts to categorical programs…” Such programs include English Learner Instruction, Tobacco Use Prevention, GATE, School & Library Improvement Grant, Arts and Music Grant, Peer Assistance & Review, CAHSEE Preparation, and more. “It is amazing to me to see this list of categoricals,” said Superintendent Ken Noah.

Principal Mike Grove said that SDA is not going to drop any programs, but instead will scale back spending. The school will look for new sources of financing, including the parent foundation, to make up some of the difference, he said.

“The money we do have, we have to try to make stretch through the end of this budget year,” Grove said. Noah feels that the uncertainty of funding is especially strenuous because the district is asked to make “midyear changes” even though the school year is over two-thirds completed. According to Grove, our district has been in a spending “freeze” for a little over a month. Teachers have been told that spending must be limited to materials essential to instruction and that extra items would need to be forgone.

The school will have to cut some staff in order to cope with the shrinking budget, but that that decision will be made at a district level. The cuts are most see budget issues on page 7

cara reichard alexa shapiro

I

t was a typical day for Ryan Anderson as he drove to work at the Yellow Coyote Tortilla Factory—right up until he stepped out of his car and joined the assembling group of coworkers staring at a small piece of printer paper thumb tacked to the door. In blue crayon it read, “Closed for floor repairs.” “But the floors were completely fine,” Anderson, a senior, said. The manager was just trying to buy time, Anderson said.

The closing of the Yellow Coyote in Carlsbad was not unexpected. “Everyone saw it coming,” Anderson said. For months the restaurant had seen less business, and the employees had suffered the consequences. “It was definitely dwindling down,” said Anderson.

The Yellow Coyote has not been the only business in Encinitas to close due to the economy in the last several months.

Linens and Things, Albertson’s, Shoe Pavilion, Fillipi’s Pizza Grotto, and Toy Garden have already closed their doors. Soon major anchor stores such as Circuit City and Home Depot Expo will follow. Students like Anderson have been hit by the economic crisis. Some have been laid off, some have had hours cut, and still others have simply had difficulty finding a job.

Encinitas has avoided the worst of the problems.

In Encinitas, 80 percent of income comes directly from housing, while 20 percent is from retail, city councilman Dan Dalager said. This system has kept Encinitas afloat amidst the economic recessions. Within the region, Encinitas is one of the top four cities, said Dalager.

Traditionally, economic downfalls come every 10 years.

“It’s cyclical. It happens,” said Dalager. “We were about eight or nine years overdue.”

The economy had been doing so well that businesses were able to flourish, said Dalager.

This created competition among companies which ultimately led to their demise.

This has been seen with Circuit City, which began to

liz mills

A CORNER FIXTURE An advertisement shows the benefit consumers can reap from a business’s failure.

deteriorate with the coming of Fry’s, said Dalager. Albertson’s faced this as well as new grocery stores emerged.

As stores like these fell, residents began to see the severity of the situation. They cut back on luxury items. One place that felt that cut back was the Home Depot Expo. “This is a luxury.

First place people want to save is luxury,” said manager Domingo Clemente. Unlike Yellow Coyote, the closing of Expo was unforeseen. “Blindsided, we were hit by a semi truck, literally. It was completely unexpected,” Clemente said.

Once the decision had been finalized, nothing could be done

to change it—although not from lack of trying. Customers called the main office in Atlanta and begged them to keep the Expo alive, said Clemente. He had taken part in opening six Home Depot Expos nationwide. His position put him at the head of many employees, all of whom he had to break the news to only days after finding out for himself. “We employ about 100 employees. Where will these 100 employees go?” Clemente said.

Students face difficulty finding jobs and getting hours.

Many student workers have either been laid off or had their hours cut back drastically.

Senior Kayla Frost has applied to seven businesses, almost all of which have not returned her calls. One business that did, an Italian restaurant, sat through a whole interview with Frost before explaining to her they were not hiring at that time. She is now faced with the decision of either pulling money from a savings account and risking her college funds or living without the luxuries she used to have.

Sam Stern, senior, was once an employee of the local Dairy Queen. As the economy began to decline, so did the number of hours he was given. “They stopped giving me hours for two weeks,” said Stern. Eventually jobless, Stern entered a scientific study in order to earn money.

“Now I have to live off $20 a week. It’s pretty bad,” he said.

Stephanie Friedman, a senior, has also faced the dilemma of fewer hours. She began working at Cold Stone in the fall of 2007, taking two shifts a week until November, when her hours were cut significantly. For two months now, Friedman has not been scheduled to work. Friedman plans to ask her boss for more hours or to cover shifts of coworkers, but if all else fails, she will be forced to start searching for a new job, she said.

Lindsey Prest, junior, also a Cold Stone employee, was accustomed to getting three to four shifts a week. When the business started to go down, she was cut back to one to two shifts per week. “It was unexpected. Pretty much all the employees got cut,” she said.

Finding a job has become increasingly difficult as more businesses suffer from the economic difficulties. According to Nadine Coune of the SDA College and Career Center, fewer businesses have called to post job opportunities, and many of those that she has contacted herself have turned towards hiring adults instead. “There are some places, but it’s much more difficult,” Coune said.

However, overall Encinitas is not suffering as badly as many cities across the country, Dalager said. “The economy is like a growing garden. At times certain kinds of plants die out, but there are always others growing up,” he said.

page 3

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

Gap in district AP scores Parents of Torrey Pines and Canyon Crest students are better-educated...

Socioeconomic differences between south and north area schools are the likely cause of disparities, officials say. Principal Grove hopes to develop school-wide AP policy.

Parents with college degree CCA

90%

TP

88%

SDA

75%

LCC

73%

A

and have higher average incomes...

Average Adjusted Gross Income for 2006 South County areas served by CCA and TP: Rancho Santa Fe 92067 92091

$607,063 $333,098

Del Mar 92625

$314,098

Carmel Valley 92130

$164,921

Solana Beach 92075

$126,472

North County areas served by SDA and LCC: Carlsbad 92009

$110,736

Encinitas 92024 92023

$106,636 $66,055

Cardiff 92007

$90,474

while SDA and LCC parents are poorer.

Students whose families (of four) earn less than $38,203 a year and qualify for free or reduced-priced meals CCA

3%

TP

6%

SDA

8%

LCC

9%

Parent education and low income information from the School Account Report Card on the district website. Average area income information from melissadata.com.

page 4

andrew kasselmann alex matthews s students bring home a report card at the end of each term, schools also have report cards available for parents to assess the school’s performance. The Academy’s latest School Accountability Report Card displays a broad variety of programs for students, such as Mustang Minds and PALs, as well as an API score of 810.

“Nestled in a canyon and sometimes referred to as one of the most beautiful schools, LCCHS has the feel of a small college,” La Costa Canyon’s report card reads. It also reports a high rate of college-bound seniors.

At Torrey Pines, though, its report card says that in the last three years, the 3600 students that have taken AP exams have achieved an 80 percent pass rate.

Canyon Crest does even better. An 86 percent AP pass rate “makes it a leader among San Diego County high schools,” its report card notes.

While SDA and LCC’s report cards, which can be found on the district website, may earn a place on the refrigerator, they don’t include the pass rates Torrey Pines and CCA boast. In 2008, CCA had an 86 percent pass rate, the highest in the district, followed by Torrey Pines’, which was 79 percent. SDA had a 64 percent pass rate, while LCC’s was 56 percent.

Socioeconomic differences a likely reason for the gap.

The schools in the southern part of the district traditionally score higher on standardized exams, according to Executive Director of Curriculum and Assessment David Jaffe, one of the people responsible for compiling AP exam results. Jaffe and Principal Michael Grove cited the socioeconomic differences between the areas as the most likely reason; parents’ income and education level is the number one predictor of success on standardized tests, he said.

English teacher Blaze Newman said her experience teaching at both Torrey Pines and San Dieguito serves as proof that these demographic differences are the most likely cause of the

test disparities between schools.

(It should not be ignored that schools on a four-by-four schedule have 45 fewer hours of instruction than schools on a normal block schedule, she added) Although her teaching and lesson plans have improved since she taught at Torrey Pines years ago, her AP scores here have never been as high as her results at Torrey Pines, Newman said.

“The houses are stuffed with books; the kids have been traveling the world since they were six years old; parents had a huge amount of time to read to [the kids] …. That fundamental difference in the home culture based on income level and the parents’ education has a profound effect [on test scores] that can be overcome, but in general isn’t,” she said.

AP Spanish teacher Suzanne McCluskey said it isn’t fair to compare SDA’s scores with technologically advanced CCA and Torrey Pines that have language facilities SDA does not. She has heard from teachers in the district that CCA and Torrey Pines have recording facilities that aid the students with the audio portions of the test. SDA students took the AP test in the library last year where echo and entrances by other students made it hard to hear the recordings.

“It was hard for them to do their best under those conditions,” McCluskey said. This year, however, SDA is putting the finishing touches on booking the MiraCosta language lab for the AP test, which will be a much better experience for the students, she said.

SDA scores high in a national context.

Although SDA is behind CCA and Torrey Pines in overall pass rates, the school is still well ahead of the state and national scores. Classes like calculus, psychology, Spanish, and English all achieved over 70 percent pass rates in 2008, surpassing the national averages by as much as 28 percent.

Meanwhile, other classes are struggling for a majority of the test-takers to pass. Economics, chemistry, and United States government and politics all fell just short of a 50 percent pass rate in 2008, making them all below the national averages in

those subjects.

Pass rates are a source of concern for teachers who hope to see their students receive college credit or see them as a reflection of teaching skills. After hearing the concerns of individual teachers, Grove decided to start hold meetings with the AP teachers to develop a school-wide policy about the AP program, he said.

The first one was last month.

At the first meeting, it was determined that one of the biggest obstacles AP teachers face is preparing students for a test while simultaneously trying to include the material they believe an introductory college course should cover, he said. In addition, teachers struggle to integrate both of those elements into an 18-week class.

Instructors face a ‘dual obligation’ in teaching philosophy.

In speaking with individual teachers and listening to their concerns at the meeting, Grove said he has seen a “dual obligation” teachers face: teach the class in a way that they feel best prepares students for college and help students pass the exam. “I hear that struggle teachers are having,” he said.

As an example, Grove mentioned the concerns of an AP science teacher who said she could guarantee high test scores if she just taught what students needed to know for the exam and didn’t do any labs. However, the teacher sees those labs as an integral part of the experience she thinks AP Biology should provide, he said.

Economics teacher Stephen Fisher said he has achieved high pass rates in the past, but he now believes current scores are too low. He expressed concerns, however, that he would have to sacrifice his teaching philosophy in order to raise scores.

“I try to push kids to be more like college students,” Fisher said. “I just think it’s so important for kids to do things on their own because they want to do it, as opposed to doing it for the teacher.”

Some teachers, however, felt that their students were adequately prepared for the test if they simply taught the skills that an introductory college class in their subject called for.

Newman and English teacher Justin Conn both said they were

Overall pass rates 86% 79% 64% 56%

SDA

LCC

58%

CCA

TP National

= 10 percent of test takers confident that the college English skills they taught in their classes were adequate preparation for the test.

Calculus teacher Darlene Blanchard said that her exam also fits well with the material she believes is necessary to teach.

While Conn said that “teaching to the test” was a “taboo term,” he acknowledged, “Ultimately, I do end up teaching to the test, but I have a good test to teach from.”

Educators evaluate the importance of participation rates versus pass rates.

Jaffe emphasized how pleased he was that in the last four years the number of students taking AP exams has increased by about 45 percent across the district.

This is due to a policy instated about five years ago that opened honors classes to more students. Although AP classes were always open to all students, Jaffe explained, the expanded honors programs resulted with an increase in the number of students prepared for the difficulty of AP classes. “More kids are getting more opportunities at the most rigorous classes,” Jaffe said.

Prerequisites to AP classes usually increase test scores.

Blanchard said that one of the reasons her scores were so high was that the students had to perform well in a number of math classes prior to taking AP Calculus. Still, Jaffe pointed out that with the 45 percent increase in participation, there has also been a seven percent increase in pass rates.

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

AP pass rates, by the subject

These are the pass rates for the four SDUHSD schools as well as the nation in the 2008 AP tests.

Scores of three and higher are considered passing.

Beneath each column, the number of students who took each test is shown. Only subjects that had 30 or more students testing are shown.

World History

US History

English Language (11) 86% 84%

74% 80%

76% 68%

90%

71%

86% 74% 74%

77%

62%

69%

63%

60%

58%

57%

60%

48%

48%

44%

Spanish Language 94% 91%

English Literature (12)

35%

SDA LCC CCA 111 exams

194 exams

91 exams

TP

Natl.

SDA LCC CCA 110 exams

297 exams

173 exams

112 exams

TP

Natl.

158 exams

243 exams

Chemistry

Calculus AB 100% 98%

SDA LCC CCA 227 exams

163 exams

TP

Natl.

47 exams

322 exams

Environmental Science 94%

100% 96%

SDA LCC CCA TP 178 exams

98 exams

Natl.

257 exams

50 exams

42 exams

72% 69% 58%

61%

67%

65%

56%

53%

41%

53 exams

77%

80%

61% 56%

35 exams

Natl.

85%

85% 71%

CCA TP

US Government

Psychology

89%

SDA LCC

50%

47%

31%

SDA LCC CCA 36 exams

65 exams

49 exams

TP

Natl.

170 exams

Although it would be a violation of Collegeboard’s policies to stop certain students from testing, Grove said that some schools practice a sort of subtle discouragement to increase pass rates. Here, there is a districtwide policy to encourage all students to take the exams.

“We’re going to be better served by having more students in that experience, so if that ends up with us having a lower pass rate I don’t know that that matters as much,” Conn said.

Some structural changes may affect scores.

The difficulties of covering enough material in just 18 weeks are why structural changes—how courses are arranged with regards to the master schedule— are another important challenge educators face when dealing with AP exams. In the last year, the social science classes have

SDA LCC CCA

TP

56 exams

57 exams

62 exams

45 exams

Natl.

undergone a number of structural changes that may affect the scores.

According to Fisher, the structure of AP Economics has changed every year he has taught it. This year has been the most challenging, as it was first year he has tried to teach both Micro and Macro Economics in one semester; this has cut his time in half, as in the past few years he has only taught Micro Economics and has had a full semester to do it.

In addition, the AP Government classes have been separated from the AP United States History classes, and right now, teachers can only speculate as to what effect these will have on the pass rates. (The US history and government classes had previously been combined into a year-long class for juniors. Now, history is taken junior year and government senior year.)

SDA 32 exams

LCC CCA TP 178 exams

35 exams

Natl.

74 exams

“I’ll have to edit myself a bit more,” history teacher Kerry Koda said. Both Koda and teacher Oly Norris agreed that the test scores will be dependent on students’ willingness to attend review sessions, as the United States history portion of the class has been condensed into a semester.

However, Koda said that she imagines that if government is taught as a separate class, those scores will improve.

Percentages can’t explain everything.

“Like any data, you’ve got to look at it in a number of different ways,” Jaffe said of the AP scores. Simple percentages don’t take into account the number of students who take the test, or as chemistry teacher Russ Davidson pointed out, how many took the class. If 100 students take an AP exam and only 50 pass, then

SDA LCC CCA TP 34 exams

45 exams

92 exams

Natl.

114 exams

there is a 50 percent pass rate, he explained. But if the 50 that failed the test had flunked out of the class and didn’t take the exam, then the pass rate would be 100 percent even though the same number of students were successful in the class.

Koda added that a percentage can’t explain how much more difficult one subject is than another or other factors that determine students’ success on a test. “Looking at just straight numbers trivializes the actual learning the students are doing,” she said.

In addition, percentages cannot account for what actually goes on in a classroom. Fisher explained that his scores were likely lowered by his college-like approach to teaching, but he wants to make sure his students are experiencing the academic rigor they would in a real college class, although that may mean

SDA 105 exams

LCC CCA 96 exams

88 exams

TP

Natl.

103 exams

lower scores. “No matter what you’re trying to do philosophically, you can’t put an asterisk next to every [score],” he said.

Grove hopes to develop an AP site group.

Grove plans to develop a schoolwide policy for the AP program that will increase participation and pass rates. He said he wants to establish a permanent AP site team because right now there is no one responsible for the coordination of the school’s AP program.

The group, which will be responsible for monitoring the number and demographic of students enrolled in AP courses and pass rates, among other things, will consist of AP students, teachers, parents, administrators, and counselors.

“I think everyone needs to be involved in some of these discussions,” Grove said.

page 5

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

Teens use technology to send nude photos

Seniors out of homeroom for java

Two incidents of students sending naked pictures through cyberspace garner media attention when a deputy sends a letter home. alex matthews

N

ews cameras pan the scene of yet another scandal involving teenagers and sex.

They record feet adorned in sneakers, skate shoes, and trendy boots as they bustle from class to class, strategically blurring out any identifiable features on their underage subjects. These hazy figures punch keys on cell phones, illustrating the problem: students sending one another nude photographs via text message. But to many San Dieguito students, the fuzzy locations may have looked familiar.

As the panning cameras came into focus on the signs in front of the schools, it was understood why: the story was about something that happened at Oak Crest and Diegueno Middle Schools. The story reporters were telling suddenly hit even closer to home, as they discussed the occurrence of “sexting,” at San Dieguito Academy.

In the days after the story broke on KUSI Feb. 11, stories appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune and the North County Times newspapers.

These stories were triggered by a letter Sheriff’s deputy Tony O’Boyle sent to parents in reaction to the most recent incident at Oak Crest.

According to O’Boyle, “sexting” is sending naked or pornographic pictures of oneself to another person via text messaging. In his letter, he explained to parents what sexting was and encouraged them to speak to their children about its consequences.

Though sexting is not considered a crime for consenting adults, it becomes an issue when minors are involved, as it is considered child pornography, a felony, O’Boyle said. In three states, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, there are cases of sexting that have led to legal action. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 20 percent of people age 13 to 19 have participated in sexting.

Counselor Anne Nebolon said students have come into her office with regrets about sexting once they have been caught or the situation has caused problems for them. O’Boyle and Nebolon both said they would not be surprised if sexting was actually more prevalent among teenagers than the survey concluded.

Nebolon is worried as sexually suggestive content makes its way from the internet to cell phones: “I can only guess it’s going to get worse,” she said.

Sexting in numbers This survey, conducted by TRU, a research company specializing in young adults, and released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, includes responses from a total of 1280 teens and young adults. It was conducted between Sept. 25 and Oct. 3.

How many teens say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves?

20% of teens (ages 13-19) overall 22% of teen girls 18% of teen boys 11% of young teen girls (ages 13-16) Who do teens ‘sext’?

71% of girls and 67% of boys said their boyfriend/girlfriend 21% of girls and 39% of boys said it was someone they wanted to date/ hook up with 15% of teens said it was someone they knew online How many teens say they have seen sexting content intended for someone else?

38% of girls and 39% of boys say they have had sexually suggestive content shared with them 25% of girls and 33% of boys say they have had nude or semi-nude images shared with them

page 6

Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones said she sees it as more of a problem among junior highage students, who are struggling to deal with their developing sexuality. However, she noted that at a recent conference, other high school administrators told her they had occasionally seen it at their schools.

Sexting doesn’t occur on campus but can affect school.

Two reported incidents of “sexting,” have occurred in the San Dieguito Union High School District, one at Oak Crest, and one at SDA. In the case at SDA, about two years ago, a girl sent a photo of herself to a boy through the internet.

The girl who sent the picture was harassed at school because, according to Jones, many of her peers saw the picture.

Jones said she does not consider sexting a school issue as it does not occur at school.

However, sexting’s effects can be seen at school when conflicts arise between students who partake in it.

“The trickle-over effect normally happens at school,” O’Boyle said, explaining that sexting can interfere with school activities if students fight over problems sexting has caused when they are on campus.

In both cases, the students who had sent pictures of themselves reported the cases to school officials because they were being harassed at school, O’Boyle said. Each instance was resolved in the same manner: the students involved met with their parents, counselors, deputies, and administrators to discuss the emotional and legal consequences.

Sexting has immediate as well as long term effects.

“Every time I’ve seen this it’s always a huge problem for the student and the family,” Nebolon said. She said that when the pictures end up in the wrong hands, students who have sexted usually feel very regretful, embarrassed, and even scared, she said.

This fear is not without continued on page eight

kaylin greene

SIGNING OUT Students sign up for “Senior Out” at the Senior Java Feb. 27. “Senior Out” is a game in which seniors are given assignments of other students to tag out, ASB director Rod Keillor said. Students cannot be tagged out if they are standing within five feet of another person. The game begins today and ends March 13.

Cops crack down Law enforcement at school increased after near-crashes. ariel chao

S

everal near-accidents have occurred in SDA’s student parking lot and the roads along the school’s perimeter within the past few weeks. SDA’s resource officer, Sheriff’s Deputy Kathy Wayne, and several other police officers have been making efforts to keep students safe on the road by patrolling and issuing parking tickets.

Wayne issued tickets in lower student parking lot.

Thirteen students were issued $30 tickets for illegally parking this week after a near accident with an administrator.

Wayne ticketed four illegally parked cars Tuesday morning in response to an incident that occurred in the lower student parking lot. After 24 hours, a total of 12 cars were issued parking tickets, Don Rizzi, assistant principal, confirmed.

SDA students have illegally parked in the rounded areas at the ends of parking rows from the beginning of the year. However, due to the lack of visibility that drivers have to see around the corner of parked cars, it has created a dangerous situation, Rizzi said.

On Tuesday, the San Dieguito Adult School Principal, Denise Stanley, and an SDA student nearly caused a headon collision, both unaware that the other was coming around a parked car, Rizzi confirmed.

Stanley called SDA’s office, and consequently, Rizzi called Wayne to resolve the issue.

Students with ticketed cars were called into the office later that day by assistant principals’ secretary Leah Ryan-Sonnich to inform them of the reason why they were receiving fines, Rizzi said.

Days later, the school district sent workers to fill the ends of parking rows with red stripes in the spaces to make it more obvious that it is illegal to park there, Rizzi said.

Wayne said that she will be making random checks on the student lot once or twice a week for the rest of the year to ensure safety.

Moreover, students will now receive fines for illegally parking their cars, Rizzi said.

Police officers patrol roads near SDA. Over the past few weeks, Wayne and other police officers have patrolled the roads surrounding SDA’s campus to enforce safe driving, Wayne said.

“We are doing directed enforcement because of reports…regarding violations by students during lunch,” she said.

“I drive slower now…I actually go the speed limit,” Junior Marika Hahnlein said of how she avoids being pulled over before and after school.

“It’s [students’] responsibility to know what the rules of the road are. And that includes parking lots,” Wayne said.

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

SAT II’s dropped

The UC system has kicked its SAT Subject Tests requirements to the curb. danielle gradisher

T

he University of California has made SAT Subject Tests a thing of the past starting in fall 2012, according to a bulliten on UC website.

It says that students applying for admission in fall 2012 (this year’s freshmen) will not be required to take the two standardized tests currently necessary for UC applicants.

The committee that regulates UC admission, the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), has been looking into the total elimination of SAT Subject Tests since early in 2006.

BOARS said that the tests formerly known as SAT II or achievement tests “engender rigidly-enforced criteria which are, individually, arbitrary and difficult to justify educationally.”

The board formed a “Task Force” to study the effect of the SAT Subject Tests requirements on the quality and diversity on

the prospective applicants. It found that calling for those tests lessened the range of possible enrollments while having no effect on their merit.

Only the UC system and select private colleges required any SAT Subject Tests to qualify for eligibility for admission. Because this is a small number of schools, percentage-wise, some students decide against spending the $38 to take two more hours of standardized tests according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

One of the arguments against the “Proposal to Reform UC’s Freshman Eligibility Policy,” as the memos titled it, is that it would mark the decline of requirements to apply to institutes of higher learning. Also, according the College Board website, over 38 percent of Subject Tests are taken in California solely because of the UC requirement.

The UC Board of Regents met Feb. 5 to vote unanimously for not requiring subject tests.

Group needs volunteers

T

he American Diabetes Association (ADA) needs student volunteers to help with an upcoming race that will raise money to fight diabetes. The San Diego Tour de Cure 2009 will take place on Saturday, April 18,

starting and finishing at MiraCosta College.

Students may volunteer for a two-hour or half-day shift and may also participate in the bike ride. Interested students can sign up on the Tour de Cure website.

Continued budget issues from page 3

likely to affect administrative and classified employees such as janitors or secretaries, Grove said. The number of teachers would not be affected as much because it is dependent on the number of students, he said.

With the Federal Stimulus Package recently signed by President Obama, the state of California is expecting to receive one-time funds of $6 billion from the federal government, according to Ma. The state government will then decide how to distribute that money, including specifically which districts receive how much money.

Both Ma and Grove said that the district will have to wait a long time before seeing any of this stimulus money, since the state is not obligated to distribute this money to schools for another two years.

Linda Friedman, vice president

of the SDUHSD Board, said “If anybody in private business did this, they would go to jail.”

According to Ma, a special election has been scheduled for May 19 regarding propositions that would aid the district’s financial situation. Propositions 1A and 1B would provide California schools with more money but require an increase in taxes.

Though the Board supports the passage of these propositions, Noah said, “There’s going to be significant opposition from all anti-tax groups in the state, including, I would think, the Republican Party itself.”

Uncertainty surrounds exactly how much money the district will have for the rest of this year and for next year. Noah summed up the situation at the beginning of the meeting: “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

Alex Matthews contributed reporting to this story.

page 7

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

Lottery returns After its absence last year, the lottery was used to select students for next year; 100 were turned away. taylor chapin

taylor chapin

AND THE WINNER IS Principal Michael Grove picks a student’s name at random during SDA’s lottery on Monday while SDUHSD staff records the official information.

Underclassmen voice their concerns at the Forum SDA’s underclassmen congregated to discuss important issues. kaylin greene

F

reshmen and sophomores filled room 26 during hour lunch, Feb.25, during a Forum meeting aimed at getting the opinions of the underclassmen.

Science teacher George Stimson began the meeting by introducing the students, many of whom had never attended The Forum before, to the basic principles of the discussion. “It’s a way to find out what’s working right, what you guys like, and what we need to work on,” he said.

With facilitators Dana Pede, Benjamin Atlas, and Andrea Reyes, juniors, the discussion started off with concerns about the library’s hours. Some students were upset that the library generally does not stay open after school, which, they said, is the time at which they would like to stay and get homework done.

They discussed alternatives such as moving the textbooks

page 8

to the college and career center, or staggering the hours so that the library supervisors are there every day, in order to keep the library open longer after school.

Since many teachers stay after school anyway, some offered to supervise the library for a few hours as long as students behaved responsibly. English teacher Blaze Newman said, “I’d be happy to be in the library if there is a [student-made] system, and I don’t have to be yelling at kids.”

Many students expressed disappointment about the diminishing amounts of funding for school activities. Many pointed out the need to evaluate school activities and prioritize how much money would be distributed to each group.

Some thought that holding major school-wide events, such as jog-a-thons and sponsorships could help make up for state budget cuts.

An underclassman also brought up the point that senior ditch day costs the school

thousands of dollars, and feels the need to communicate how truancies affect the school as a whole.

Several students were also disappointed with homeroom and said that many do not hold to their themes, as listed on the roster sheet students received at the beginning of the school year to select homerooms. They felt that because of this, homerooms should be listed by teacher, rather than by theme, which seems irrelevant to some students.

Teachers and students alike thought that the underclassmen-only Forum was an overall success.

English teacher Ed Cooper said, “I was interested and impressed that students were asking questions directly linked to education; they weren’t asking questions about lunch or assemblies. They weren’t asking for social reasons, they were asking for academic reasons.” Freshman Rachel Murphey said, “The Forum was very informative. I liked it a lot.”

About 100 freshmen were turned away in the lottery Feb 23. SDA accepted 393 students for the new freshmen class.

At the San Dieguito Union High School District office on Feb 23, the principals of both SDA and CCA drew names for the lottery. It was held in the boardroom with each school situated on either side of the room.

The lottery began at 1:30 pm with seniors and continued until 3:30 with the drawing of the entering freshman class.

For each grade, students were assigned numbers that were then put on note cards and placed in an old supply box. SDA Principal Mike Grove stepped in front of a video camera, and proceeded to vigorously shake the box.

He went on to announce each number and it was recorded into

the system.

The entire proceedings were recorded by video camera to ensure the authenticity of every selection and avoid any possible legal issues in the future.

This year, 503 applying freshmen, 35 sophomores, 38 juniors, and 29 seniors applied for the 2009-2010 school year.

Out of this amount, 393 freshmen with 80 siblings and 313 new selections, 8 sophomores, all 38 juniors due its smaller class size, and 9 seniors were accepted.

Applicants were scheduled to receive this letter yesterday. The student population will remain about the same next school year, staying around 1,500.

Grove believes the lottery system is crucial in maintaining SDA’s unique culture, and in the end, even though it is hard to decline prospective students, it is best for the school and the people who go there.

Concerns over ‘sexting’ in district cont inued from page 6

now in jail for “exploiting” her. reason: O’Boyle and Nebolon She continues to sext because, both pointed out how dangershe said, “It gets better responsous it is to expose oneself in es...I get self-esteem boosts.” cyberspace as students do when sexting.

Awareness of the trend is a O’Boyle also brought up way to reduce its occurrence. that the pictures could not O’Boyle said that he believes only end up in the hands of the most imporsomeone who tant step to take would exploit them, but also “[sexting gets bet- in stopping this ter responses... dangerous trend that pedois education. philes could I get self-esteem This was the also obtain boosts.” purpose of his them. “When

-an SDA graduate letter: to educate [content] is parents about put out there a problem they in cyberspace, were ignorant of, so they can the kids aren’t realizing they’ve discuss it with their kids. “[The no control over it anymore,” he parents have] been great about said. it and appreciative that they’ve Deputy Sheriff Kathy been made aware of someWayne emphasized that when thing in certain cases that they these pictures are sent, they are weren’t aware of,” he said. stored in cyberspace, grantWhile O’Boyle hopes that ing their existence a degree of awareness will reduce the permanence that could hurt amount of sexting that occurs, students down the road, in Nebolon emphasized that stutrying to get hired or get into dents should feel responsibility college, for example. for what they do and what they A former student explains her send into cyberspace: “My hope is that students will the a whole reasons for sexting. lot more thoughtful about A student who has graduated anything—anything they put from SDA said that someone out there.” she sent naked pictures to is

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

Bob Nanninga dies unexpectedly erin donaldson

E

ncinitas residents mourned the unexpected death of local environmentalist, journalist, café owner, actor, teacher, and poet Bob Nanninga on Feb. 14 at the age of 45. Nanninga, an occasional speaker at SDA, was known as a vibrant advocate for environmental protection and the arts. He suffered heart failure, a side-effect of pneumonia.

According to Nanninga’s partner Keith Shillington, the two opened the E Street Café in order to fill a need they saw for a cyber café in Encinitas. It has since become a popular hang out for locals, including students.

“Encinitas will definitely be poorer for not having Bob,” said city councilman Dan Dalager, who had been friends with Nanninga for 15 years. Dalager said that, like many people, he had come to know Nanninga by his column in the Coast News, before meeting him in person.

“It was definitely his vehicle for communicating with the public,” Shillington said.

Nanninga taught theater at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School through Class ACT, said Niels Lund, executive director of Class ACT. He felt that Nanninga was a great teacher because the kids loved his energetic and engaging personality.

Last year, Nanninga made a contact that enabled Class ACT to fund schools in Cambodia and arrange an exchange of art between students, Lund said.

Shillington believes that Nanninga’s longest reaching impact on Encinitas, however, was his work to remove invasive plant species and instead plant native ones.

“He was committed to making an impact on how humans interact with their environment, and he was willing to do anything to make that happen,” Shillington said.

Nanninga had served on the Board of Directors for the Colony and emceed slams for the Full Moon Poets, said Danny Salzhandler, president of the 101 Artists’ Colony. The Full Moon Poets will be holding a memorial poetry slam for Nanninga at the La Paloma Theatre on March 12.

“I’ve known a lot of unique people in my lifetime,” said Dalager, “but I’ve only met one Bob.” “It was an honor and a privilege to be his partner,” Shillington said.

Liz Mills BRAIN POWER Seniors Huaxing Bai, Amanda Reis, Michelle Ferreirae, Jacob Kalichman, and Drew Spiller think hard at a Mustang Minds game.

Name the author of the ‘Aeneid’? They can.

Students test their speed and knowledge of trivia facts at a Mustang Minds competition. thea brown shelby meyers

T

he five key varsity players on Mustang Minds− Ki Sung Kim, Michelle Ferreirae, Drew Spiller, Jacob Kalichman, and Amanda Reis− are anxious. They glance at the score board. The score is close and time is running out. The five players from Carlsbad are sitting across from SDA, dressed in uniform. SDA’s jumble of players, dressed in clothes of their choice, nervously wait for the next question.

It’s a home game against Carlsbad High School on Feb. 12. There is a question about convergent evolution. The players have three seconds to think before they must answer.

Mustang Minds is SDA’s academic team. Its competitions consist of two-hour matches held between different schools in the North County Academic League (NCAL), which are di-

vided into three regions: Inland, Coast, and North.

The match functions fairly simply. A question is read and both teams have an opportunity to buzz in. The first team with a member to buzz in and answer correctly is awarded three points and a bonus question. However, if the team answers incorrectly, one point is docked from their score. After the question is repeated and no one has answered it correctly, the moderator proceeds to the next toss up.

To get the team ready for these stressful moments, Coach Blaze Newman assesses students’ performance in practice. “I try to watch them and see where the brain is hitting, what they are writing, where they are sitting, and how their hands are placed on the buzzer,” she said. During practices the players usually scrimmage against each other and look up trivia. The players prepare for games by attending two 90-minute practices a week.

They also devote personal time to studying. “Maybe an

hour or two a week of studying,” said Spiller. “So, between five and seven hours [devoted to Mustang Minds] a week. It seems like a lot, but practices and matches go by quickly, and you usually break up the studying into smaller 20-30 minute pieces,” he said.

Each team member specializes in a different topic. For example, Kalichman focuses on the art based questions while Ferreirae trains for the math questions. Senior Kim trains for the english and history questions. Kim said that the trivia learned from Mustang Minds helps him in school. “I already know the basic facts about everything, so it really helps with getting a deeper understanding,” he said.

Senior Drew Spiller said, “When I answer a question correctly, I feel a sense of satisfaction and relief that I was able to recall the information.”

As Newman stated, “When an answer is known, it’s like the planets have aligned and you

know everything… it’s like a weird sixth sense.”

Currently, SDA is in first place for the NCAL coastal division. Newman believes the team has potential to win the county championship because of students’ commitment, natural intelligence, and positive values towards each other.

The players quickly search their brains for information on convergent evolution, while tensely reaching for the buzzer.

The room is filled with held breaths. All eyes are focused on the sweating players. Finally, Kim buzzes in. The prompter announces, “Correct” as a chorus of sighs fills the room. SDA managed to make its comeback with a final score of 84-78.

The next home game is on March 19 against El Camino at 6:30 p.m. in the library. The freshman game starts at 6:30 p.m. followed by the JV team at 7 p.m. and then Varsity team at 7:45 p.m.

New registration has students ‘make more of a commitment’ ariel chao

S

DA counselors introduced a new method for course registration this year. Instead of bubbling in scantrons and returning the forms to the counselor’s office, students went online to register.

“Only 69 kids did not regis-

ter online by the deadline…and most of those were because of problems with Aeries,” Counselor Anne Nebolon said.

Nebolon said that this new system for registration was “more accurate” and she feels that “more of a commitment was given” from students choosing classes. She said, “I love it so far… the kids are doing a

fantastic job.” Nebolon said that this new method of registration made students “commit to schedules.”

Since the deadline, SDA counselors have started calling in two second period classes into the conference room at a time.

Nebolon said that classes will proceed with their daily lesson there while she and the other

counselors pull out three students each to discuss student’s future classes. She said it should take about 45 minutes per class.

Students will need to bring their Course Selection Contracts and Registration Worksheets when meeting with their counselors, Nebolon said. All students should have met with their counselors by March 26.

page 9

news

the

mustang 03.06.09

Culture clash

Dancing to their own drumbeat

Author Luis Albert Urrea speaks about the influence of his Mexican-American heritage. paige ely

C

alled Luis by his father and Lewis by his mother, the Mexican-American author, Luis Alberto Urrea, always felt split by his two cultures.

Publishers hammered this home as well. One told Urrea to change his last name, because it was “freakish.” It was then Luis Urrea added Alberto to his name.

Another told Urrea he would never be published. “Nobody cares about starving Mexicans,” the publisher told him. It ened up taking 10 years for Urrea’s first book to be published. But now, he is an acclaimed author with a number of books published such as “By the Lake of the Sleeping Children,” “The Devil’s Highway,” and “The Hummingbird’s Daughter.”

Urrea spoke at Point Loma Nazarene University on Feb. 6 and was interviewed by the Mustang.

Urrea found his passion early on when he went to Claremont High School. “The quarterback got attention, but I got his girlfriend,” he said recalling the old days where he wooed women with words, while the jocks had practice. “I’m a master of BS!” he said.

He was forced to go to college by his parents. He went to UCSD and realized he actually liked school because he could study what he liked. He went onto graduate school in Boulder, Colorado. He taught English,

became a translator and worked as a tour guide at the Tijuana dump.

After this he began to get very frustrated. The fact that Americans didn’t know or didn’t care about anything that happened just south of the border infuriated him.

“And after my dad died we had nothing.” This angered him further, which can be seen in his work. He attacked the reader in every page, he said.

Being a tour guide in Tijuana soon became too harsh so Urrea applied for a janitor position at Harvard. but was talked into sending some of his stories to along with the application. The university liked his stories so much, that he was invited to teach there. In addition to the salary, he was able to receive valuable advice about his work.

An editor told him to stop directly attacking the reader. You can’t tell them, you have to make them feel it, the editor told him.

And it was there he experienced a change. He began to realize that everyone experiences pain and that you can’t compare one person’s to another’s.

“Everyone lives in the Tijuana garbage dump,” he said. “While they may be in the new BMW, they still feel pain like the rest of us.” His writing always reflects something important about his Mexican culture, but his message has gotten gradually more uplifting. “Pain is inevitable.

Suffering is optional,” he said.

“We have to choose to enjoy the goodness we have.”

These books are now available in the school library.

“The Hummingbird’s Daughter” is based on the history of Urrea’s great-aunt, who discovers she has a gift of healing, but later finds there is a large burden with such a power.

page 10

“Devil’s Highway” is a true story about the journey of 26 men from Mexico who illegally cross the border, but get lost in the blistering heat of the Arizona desert.

LIz Mills

SDA*TEENS Junior Jaden Pratt, freshman Stan Austin, and juniors Ana Reyes, Florian Termin, and Dana Pede go inside-out bouncing off the ceiling, winning 1st place in the 2009 SDA Air Bands.

RING RING Seniors Taryn Kenney, Micheal McCutchen, Kaitlynn Floyd, and Anna Hood talk it out on their banana phone.

LIz Mills

‘Invisible Children’ take action Invisible Children club sheds some light on the horrors of Africa. robin sickels

M

ost students have heard of the Invisible Children club around campus trying to make a difference.

It’s a continent half way around the world, it doesn’t make a difference, are common responses about the matter.

Civil war and genocide have been going on for the past 20 years in northern Uganda, and the Invisible Children movement started when three filmmakers from southern California went to Africa looking for a story in spring of 2003. Once in Uganda, they discovered rebel forces were trying to overthrow the government and were abducting children into their army. They used these kids as weapons and victims.

Since “Invisible Children: The

Rough Cut” movie was released in 2003, the kids are no longer forced to hide each night to escape abduction. Peace negotiations are being discussed between the leaders of the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) rebel group and the Ugandan government. The Invisible Children have put pressure on the Ugandan government by getting people educated and involved about the matter.

This movement inspired a club on SDA’s campus to publicize the situation. The club has been around for the past few years and each group of students that runs it tries to enform other students of the situation.

This year, the club has ended its book drive and will be donating more than 400 books to the Invisible Children organization where the books will be sold to raise money for northern

Uganda. The club is going to sponsor a kid in Uganda affected by the war, with basic necessities, and is planning a movie night in March to take place in the Mustang Center.

Kyle Filley, sophomore and president of the Invisible Children club at SDA, said, “Once you see the movie, no matter what, you’ll want to get involved.”

The goal of the club is to “raise awareness and not just talk about it. Students should care because they are people just like us,” Filley said.

Filley is determined to raise awareness by prioritizing meetings, making certain they are effective and ensuring there is a goal in the long run to be accomplished.

The club has 20 people who meet in Kerri Leonard’s room, 120, on Mondays at lunch.

opinions

the

mustang 03.06.09

Don’t burst my bubble The Mustang believes that the recent increase in parking tickets is unfair because students were not warned that rules about parking in the “bubble” would be enforced.

What’s up with...

S

tudents have doubtlessly noticed a recent influx of cop cars and police officers on and around our campus. With their arrival have come the blown-up tales of injustice and corruption, the stories of tickets awarded for air fresheners dangling from rear view mirrors, for packing one too many people in the car at lunch, for parking in the contentious bubbles.

While the purpose of police enforcement is arguably to inspire feelings of safety and security, it appears that there are more students whining and complaining than there are singing the praises of the Encinitas law enforcement and their sudden “cracking down” on our campus (or, more specifically, on our parking lot).

Some students believe they deserved a little warning before being ticketed for doing the very same things they had been doing all year.

The school administration

“...aviators?”

Chase McQuiston, freshman

nina moussavi

NO PARKING HERE Bubble parking is no more or else you risk a $30 fine. Should the cops had issued warnings first?

had clearly turned a blind eye to bubble parking, so when they finally decided to enforce parking regulations, it was at the expense of many students who may have otherwise been following the rules.

Students also feel that police should focus their time and

STAFF EDITORIAL

energy on protecting SDA’s campus rather than issuing tickets for offenses which don’t directly hurt anyone, such as blasting music in a car.

Though 30 dollars may not seem like much, given the current economic climate, students don’t have a lot of extra cash to pay parking tickets. However, if the administration hadn’t

started enforcing these rules so suddenly, students might not be feeling as if they were wronged for their violations of the law.

“...everyone having the same shoes as me?”

Hunter McKay, junior

17 people felt that students shouldn’t be held responsible because they weren’t warned.

6 people that students should take responsibility for knowingly breaking the law.

Webnonsense

“...people starting stories and not finishing them?”

Alex Obenshain, freshman

Websense claims it provides protection from “internal and external threats.” Doesn’t that sound familiar? Like... Bush-era PATRIOT Act familiar?

I

loathing, no fear

were conning their citizens out am only reminded of one of their basic human rights? thing as Websense blocks yet It seems we were meant to another website I was using believe that Websense was for educainstalled for our own safety. tional purposes: Perhaps we are meant to beChina. Surely, lieve that Websense is being Websense used in order to make sure isn’t nearly as that kids are actually doing tyrannical and something productive on the oppressive as Shannon Wright school computers instead of the Chinese just playing games. But being Internet police.

While this is true, the same prin- productive is clearly subjective. I have spent a considerable ciples still apply. The Chinese government clearly has a hidden amount of time on the school computers working on projects agenda and doesn’t want to risk that hardly enhance my learning igniting another riot fueled by experience. Sure, the crossword newly acquired knowledge. Fair puzzles we’re searching for enough, you may say, the Peohave a Carolingian Renaissance ple’s Republic of China doesn’t theme, but what do they tell me want to have to extinguish anabout the actual renaissance, other civil conflagration for the which I had a test on the next sake of their citizens. But if the day? A test which I failed? government was as innocuous Not only that, but I am terrias it pretends to be, why would bly offended that some of my fathey be so concerned about free vorite websites I frequently read speech unless they knew they

from is filed under “tasteless.” I hardly think tasteless is a category so much as a matter of opinion. These websites are blocked just because they use a vulgar word here or there, but solely in the form of satire. Yet, satire is a legitimate literary form, and here, despite my extensive studying of it in AP English Lit, it is being censored. All I wanted was to further my understanding of literature styles, but once again, I was denied.

Then I find a significant number of articles from the Atlantic, a haven for Ivy League “thought leaders” and sharp political commentary, are also being blocked, especially articles

by Andrew Sullivan. Perhaps one could consider him outspoken and a little too libertarian, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If he’s good enough to be a contributing writer for the Atlantic, then he’s good enough

for me, the knowledge hungry student. Yet Websense finds reason, as of yet unexplained to me, to block Andrew Sullivan’s opinions and musings, completely disregarding the fact that I could have learned something or even developed an opinion on my own.

I understand that the school doesn’t want kids downloading hours upon hours of porn onto the school databases, but I feel as if forums and message boards aren’t as big as a deal. In fact, there’s a forum at our own school. Sure, some forums are of questionable intelligence, but that also applies to people, and you don’t censor all people.

Ultimately, Websense is censoring the things it doesn’t want us to know or learn about.

I hardly think censorship is a part of education, so if anything, Websense isn’t enhancing education so much as hindering it.

“...obnoxious teenagers these days?”

Lonnie Safarik, freshman

“...cops giving tickets?”

Juan Huizar, senior

page 11

opinions

the

mustang 03.06.09

Heroes retold A hero’s awesomeness is not always calculated by his baddie-downed count alone.

I

zombie cancer!

n most boys’ childhoods, prominent figures which propelled their imaginations came from comic books and television shows. At alysse rathburn the time, each one seemed to be the most amazing man in the world. But once they grow up and are able to think more deeply into the characters, it becomes apparent that some have qualities and powers which should be emulated, while others are not admirable after all.

Superman, the one who started the hero craze, is “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” but when you’re not an easily awed eight-year-old boy, you realize that Superman isn’t as grand as he’s made out to be. He is incredibly unrealistic in his stupor. He has nearly every power he could possibly need and only a single weakness, which doesn’t even come from where he lives. He is ridiculously amazing and yet he has hundreds of villains out to get him all over the place. That’s bass ackwards.

Aside from Superman, one of the most well-known and loved characters is Batman, who possesses absolutely no powers.

Batman is a genius, and he uses his brilliance to save the world, but he can’t even do it alone. He requires Robin’s help; DC may as well have stuck Einstein and his pet bird in a fancy car and called it heroic. Plus, he alone doesn’t make the inventions that he uses; he thinks of them and then uses his wealth to pay a company to make them for him. That’s laziness, not a trait I would want my child admiring.

On the other hand, once you’re old enough to understand the laws of physics and how realistic and plausible some superheroes are, they’re literally awesome. The Flash is a pretty simple guy; he has just one ability, the power of speed, but that one power allows him to perform some pretty epic deeds.

He can run up buildings and on water, catch bullets by matching their speed, and land 100 punches in five seconds. His mind is

DESPERATE Senior Julie Goligan’s muse for this came from the tragedy of child homelessness.

Making change from dollars Smarter shopping has the potential to improve labor conditions.

W

Thoughtful

e’ve all seen the magic.

He walks onto his court, takes a double-handful of chalk, and hurls it into the air. The powder falls back onto his face, and now he is ready to play. kyle shohfi As awesome as the Nike commercials featuring LeBron James are, I have some bad news. King James is not the one making the shoes.

Instead, your new kicks are probably the product of some overworked, underpaid man in Vietnam who has long ago forgotten what the sun looks like after years of working from before the sun rises to after the sun sets. At least he has plenty of time to see his children.

page 12

They’re in the sweatshop, too.

We as consumers have the ability to either condone or condemn these nefarious business practices. It’s called voting with your dollar. Whenever you purchase something, you are endorsing the manufacturer and all of its practices by giving it your business.

Wal-Mart’s maltreatment of employees has been welldocumented, yet millions upon millions of people find themselves flooding into the store, their hands prepared in a grabbing motion ever since they reached the parking lot.

Why? Because they’re cheap.

It doesn’t matter that their employees are paid minimum wage with minimal benefits, it doesn’t matter that these people will never be able to retire, it doesn’t even matter that most of their products

are made overseas. All that matters is that they’re cheap.

Remember that little Ma and Pop store that sold handmade children’s toys made out of real wood by people living right here in our own community? Neither do I. Giant corporations like Wal-Mart can squash all competition by selling low-quality products at dirt cheap prices.

If you’d rather give your money to more ethical businesses than Wal-Mart, try hitting the 101 next time you go shopping for a present.

Who knows? Maybe while you’re there you just might find a coffee shop that isn’t Starbucks. And although I feel that we owe Vietnam something for all that we subjected them to back in the day, supporting their economy through sweatshops is not the way to do it.

also incredibly fast, allowing him to crack codes by trying every possibility in a short amount of time. These are logical abilities, all derived from one superpower.

He was one of the first superheroes to have only one power, showing children that greed doesn’t always pay off.

A superhero is someone who children aspire to be like, and they succeed through imagination, making the Green Lantern the perfect role model. You don’t have to be inhuman to save people and fight crime, you just have to be a noble, strong person with a good imagination, and you will be handed a ring with which to flex your imagination to the fullest. We are always told that we can do whatever we set our minds to, and if these men set their minds to imagining something, they can do it.

Of every hero out there, the most logical, marvelous, role-modelesque one is Spiderman. He was originally created because the only young heroes were merely sidekicks, so Peter Parker became the first young person to gain the title of a hero.

He is entirely relatable, dealing with school, social, and family problems, just like most of his readers. Then, the intricate qualities of a spider were added to create a logical Marvel character.

In reality, a braided rope of spider’s webbing would be strong enough to support what Spiderman uses it for (binding enemies, swinging from buildings, and reclining on to watch the stars with Mary Jane). Also, the particles that allow Spiderman to be supported up the side of buildings are actually present on spiders. Plus, he has a spidey sense, which, like a sixth sense, is also entirely probable and useful, accompanied by his spider-like agility and speed. Spiderman possesses only realistic powers, making him plausible, as well as relatable as Peter Parker.

The young children who admire each of these heroes, super or not, strive to acquire their powers and personality. Whether they realize it or not, Batman and Superman urge them to be greedy and lazy, while the Flash, the Green Lantern, and Spiderman tell them that a hero’s abilities are not entirely out of their reach.

opinions

the

mustang 03.06.09

It’s called a haircut, sweetie Split ends alone are gross, but playing with them is what bugs me more than anything else.

W

Ew Jack Johnson

henever I’m faced with the most boring of classes, zoning off to my own land is always ideal. But occasionally, I am engrossed in a differmegan bradley ent activity: watching my fellow students pick at their split ends. While I find it gross and purposeless, I cannot help but be amazed by how many students fall victim to such a strange and vile grooming method.

It reminds me of baboons that pick ticks off of each other and eat them. It’s like I’ve suddenly been dropped into the Discovery Channel. After all, the technique is essentially the same, minus the eating, of course.

From class to class, I see different students studying the ends of their hair instead of focusing, or even better, daydreaming about teacups and butterflies. I just don’t see the purpose. It’s a complete paradox.

People sit there and advertise the fact that their hair is unhealthy by messing with it, while simultaneously trying to remove the illegitimate pieces and make it look more presentable. I just hope that they don’t think

they’re fooling anyone.

Day to day I see the same people picking at the same pieces of hair with the same goal in mind as the day before.

But if picking and bending and ripping worked, you wouldn’t be doing it over and over again.

And the mess it leaves behind! Don’t even get me started.

The mess it leaves is just as bad as the act itself. Generally, as soon as hair is detached from a person’s head, it becomes something to gag and complain about. If we are going to whine about that, the same should be said for short, split pieces.

In one of my classes, I would watch the same girl stare down her hair in an attempt to achieve a microscopic view, as if her laser vision would fix it. Then one day I sat next to her and realized that all the ends she had worked so hard to rip out, were all over her shirt. She needed a giant lint roller for her body because of the mess she left. Those split ends were better off attached, or cut off completely, than as an accessory to her outfit. She was like a shag carpet that left little pieces for everyone to share. A walking culprit that left a cookie trail, and I say that because no one can possibly be proud of picking at their hair. Dear college, my in-

lawrence murray

3 CHEERS FOR GROOMING 101 Here, baboons show their method of cleaning, a technique students have become very aquainted with.

terests include: jousting, archery, and split-end picking.

Through this experience, I realized how convenient it is that humans aren’t allergic to each other’s hair. I also discovered that students are not actually conscious of their actions, or in her case, the mess. I have to think that they’re just doing it as

a mindless activity to waste time.

But a different activity would truly be appreciated. It isn’t fun to look at, just like it isn’t fun to watch someone floss their teeth or clip their toenails, let alone have the clippings and plaque left over for others to enjoy.

To all of the students who have turned into baboons, if

you’re going to continue, consider doing it in the privacy of your own home. If you want a long-term solution beyond that, try getting a haircut. To improve your hair and help me keep my lunch down, stop messing with the ends and just get out the hedge clippers already. It’s the only way out, I swear.

Sticks and stones: a monthly narrative Words will never hurt you-at least not physically. A first in a series of short stories.

T

slimy eels

he emergency room at St. Francis’ Hospital was typically empty.

There was an air of wellness that seemed to corrupt my town. jack rushall Old people didn’t die, at least not of natural causes. Young people kept their drinking and pill-popping to a minimum. It really was truly fascinating.

Yet, there was one girl who always landed the short end of the stick, physically and emotionally. This girl, Jady Halibran, a freckled wreck, would like to describe herself as somebody who paraded herself with glitter one day in a lowly attempt on her self-esteem. On the next, however, she would prance

out of class in a violent rage to double the teacher’s “secret supply” of Kleenex for maxi pads in the girls restroom. She thought she was funny, but ultimately she was just bi-polar.

Jady was fairly prominent among the knitting club, although it did get a tad depressing when she began sewing voodoo dolls based on our schizophrenic school administrator, Adelle. I once appealed to her that black magic was not going to be a circled option on her college applications. The best thing yet, however, was that Jady really believed in some of the outlandish things she heard: “I know she has evil spirits in her,” Jady said.

“No, she doesn’t; she just takes six different types of depressants,” I assumed.

“She gave my dog epilepsy,”

she continued.

In light of these accusations, you might not be surprised that it was Jady’s father, Chuck, who was the only permanent resident at St. Francis.

“Does he have evil spirits in him too?” I asked, standing over his crib one night.

“No, you piece of crap; he has a heart condition.”

One night, I went to visit Jady and her wayward father, bringing with me a white bag of raspberry doughnuts. I would always stop by the secretary’s desk and give Joan one, in return for a cup of Joe. Joe, interestingly, was the name of her husband, whom she also described as “dark and foamy.”

I lunged towards the elevator, barely skidding in before some woman wearing a chained collar filed in after me. The mental

institution no longer existed in town; there was now only a dark alley on E street. Sometimes I felt that it had re-located to my homeroom, seeing as one of my blind class-mates would sometimes appeal to my inner-dementia with the whistling sounds he made through his bagels.

After tripping her accidentally, I managed to find room 41, where Chuck was kept, outfitted with white wristbands and little cups of water.

He happened to be asleep.

Jady was kicking her feet off the windowsill, blowing some bubblegum.

“Practicing?” I suggested, setting down the doughnuts.

She didn’t look up at me.

Her boring brown eyes stuck on her resting father.

“They say if his feces turns brown, he’ll be all right.”

I stood next to her, folding my hands.

“He looks peaceful,” I hinted.

“He’s probably going to die.”

“No, he really does look better.”

“No, really, they say he’s going to die.”

“Really?”

“Not sure. But he probably will. It’s all in our genes. Every third generation gets Alzheimer’s, every second gets a heart condition, just like my old man, and every first gets shot.”

I looked up at her, eventually convincing her to face me in return. She fingered the remaining gum and wedged it to the bottom of her acid-wash jeans.

“You got a handgun?” I said, regarding her unfortunate genetic fate.

She flinched. “I probably won’t remember you said that.”

page 13

opinions

the

mustang 03.06.09

Put on a happy face Spice up your sentences with me =P

T

<*(((-{

here is a battle raging right now. For so long, we, the rational, have held absolute control over the English language.

We’ve dwelt in peace among its well-constructed lines, its rhythm, symbolism, ben johnson its majesty (and other stuff too). Times were civil and easy to understand.

Then they came, the hordes of “lol”-ers, overflowing from the text messages, wielding their trademark broken syntax, making mockeries of the noble written word. Punctuation? A farce.

Capitalization, shmapitalization.

The Bible? Converted to lolcat speech. No one was safe.

I am a knight of grammar, still meticulously reviewing all of my texts for mistakes. It’s a preference to deliver cleanly composed communiqués, and I like to think the receivers of my

little gifts enjoy them more than some of the poor slop circulating these days. It’s an idealistic personal crusade I share with a few others against lingual indiscipline.

But I’m cracking. My grammar knight armor has been chipping lately. My ultimate assimilation among my enemies seems surer every day as “Haha!”s become “rofl”s and “wtf!!!” takes the place of other words. It’s with a great amount of cringing and gritting of teeth that I offer this advice: start ending your sentences with emoticons.

I can’t help but wonder if in sifting through my messaging sins I’ve discovered English’s Holy Grail. A simple colon parenthesis can psychically communicate around six exclamation points worth of energy without the obnoxious spasms, with four characters less (a vital consideration with text-character limits). A “=P” is wry yet congratulatory, a “=O” says “I’m shocked!” much better than the

Shock

*_*

=0

O.O

:@

=[

:’(

=(

Anguish

:…( Rage

>:(

>=I >_<

>=[

XP

XD

Delight

=D

^.^

Perplexity

x.X

o.O :-\

FACES IN STASIS How many of these do you find more interesting than the period?

phrase itself. I’m not calling for a complete recall of our current punctuation, because for all my quarrels with the period, I wouldn’t end this sentence without it.

It’s unclear whether I’ve lost it completely, trying to show emotion beyond words. Were my old ways noble or dogmatic? Are these new punctuations taboos or treasures?

I don’t think I’m betraying punctuation, only the old, entrenched wardens who meant to keep it cold and stale. A properly applied emoticon complements a sentence just as it can destroy, like the often slandered exclamation point. Good emoticons empower both the writer and reader. It’s not valid to hold the atrocities of text culture and its heavy slang against the emoti-

>.<

con, because it’s just a tool, like a hammer. Hammers can be used for good or evil, as can my feeling-inducing friends.

This essay nears the end of my career as a grammar-soldier.

I’ve spent long enough fighting what I perceived to be horribleness to almost miss the significance of these literary gems.

Who knows what others I may find with an open mind? =)

Dogs drive me crazy Some things don’t go together: pickles and strawberries, socks and flip flops, and, of course, dogs and driving.

M

dogs rule!

ost drivers are distracted by putting on make-up, shaving, or even talking on their cell phones (even though it is now illegal in California). However, these preoccupations are useless.

If one is going to be sidemckenna taylor tracked, the distraction should at least be one of worthiness. Take me, for instance. I become distracted with dogs.

As I begin my morning drives to school, something keeps me from driving the speed limit.

It’s not the patrol officer who usually hangs out in Village Park, or the five junior high boys who are all on the same corner

page 14

waiting for their carpool to arrive. And it’s not the tailgater who I always see in my rear view mirror, or even the pedestrian who continues to cross the street and make me wait a whole two minutes longer for the light to turn green. No, it’s the dogs near Flora Vista Elementary School.

Before the sun’s rays have penetrated through the early clouds of grey, I watch six dogs and their owners interact. An Irish setter first catches my eye as it runs alongside of a man in his seventies with crazy white hair. I call the pair “Einstein and Einsteinette.”

Next, a German Shepard in a dog wheelchair and a man in a navy blue sweatshirt appear out of the neighborhood and amble across the crosswalk in front of my car. They go slowly, for “Buddy” needs assistance from

his fellow pair of wheels trailing behind him.

Moving on to the next stop sign, a father pushes a stroller with a toddler inside. Beside the man is a yellow Labrador on a red leash whose tail is but a blur of happiness.

After “Marley and me” have passed, I spot a boy around twelve years old who is walking his two dogs. As of a month ago, these are newcomers to my morning routine. Every morning since then, though, I see him walking the small dogs, too small to tell what breed each is.

All I know is, one is cute while the other is no more than a rat.

“Pinky and the Brain” will be their new name.

Then, as I make another turn, near the park’s exit, an old lady in a red beret with a trench coat walks far behind her spot-

ted dog, conveniently named “Spot-o.” The dog has no leash but turns back every so often to make sure his beloved owner is following behind him.

When I finally arrive at the intersection, I turn left onto El Camino Real. I’m always stopped at this light, probably because I drive twenty in a twenty-five mile per hour zone. I look into my side mirrors hoping to see my favorite dog, slowly making his way towards the Lights Unlimited store. The traffic light is about to turn green any second now. I wait, keeping my concentration on the light, but still looking at my left side mirror out of the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, I see a giant puff of white fur emerge from another neighborhood. “Eskimo” has come to say a quick “good morning” before I leave, and I

am forced to continue my journey to school.

So you see? Dogs are a perfectly well-excused distraction that anyone can get away with. A police officer is far more likely to let one off the hook for driving too slowly because they were innocently observing sweet dogs rather than trying to text their friend about the latest gossip.

Would you say no to a precious puppy?

Oh, and sorry to those behind me. Yes, you know who you are. Those who continue to tailgate me and wonder why in the world I won’t drive any faster.

Now you know. The answer lies in the adorable animals in the park that seem to go for their morning strolls just for me. So don’t blame me, blame the fact that dogs and driving don’t go together.

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

The n ne

Despite San Diego being an upper-class town, poor people are still present here. A couple of dollars means next to nothing to most, but that same dollar or two could improve the life of someone less fortunate. Essay by Emily Bartram.

S

an Diego. 324.3 square miles, 1,336,865 people. And there I was, one little person in a very large city, sitting at the corner of 5th and Broadway. Within 43 minutes, over 312 people had walked past me. I had seen the young, old, happy, sad, rich, and poor; I had seen them all. However, one man in particular stood out.

According to the torn piece of cardboard he was holding, his name was George. He couldn’t have been a day over fifty. He had a grim face, with intense lines that covered his wrinkled, darkened skin. His hefty green coat was a surprise, considering the refreshing seventy-five degree weather outside.

George was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk on an old rugged blanket with the “Padres” logo written across it. It was worn down, just like him. The sign he was holding read: “Flying monkeys stole my beer money. Can you help me out?”

The people who passed by him had almost robotic reactions.

Slow their pace, glare, look him up and down, and keep walking past him like there had been nothing to slow them down in the first place.

George’s facial expression seldom changed. It was and remained an anticipatory, almost eager gaze. His eyes, however, were conspicuous. When the street signal turned, hope gathered in his eyes. Each new light turn allowed a fresh stampede of people to fill his change jar.

For the 23 minutes George was sitting on the cement, nine people threw change in his jar. Nine out of a little over 100 people. Each person to graciously throw a dime or a quarter into the jar gave him a quaint smile and kept walking.

One woman, mid-fifties, dark brown hair, clean cut clothing, gave him a five dollar bill. Usually George would give a simple smile, with his lips pressed together, but when this woman gave him the bill, his face lit up. He flashed a smile that could have lit up the town at night. The words “Thank you, ma’am,” managed to spill through his gleaming smile, exposing his brown, crooked teeth. She smiled back, and walked on. A few minutes later George got his jar, his blanket, and picked himself off the sidewalk and walked down the street, in search of another successful corner.

A few minutes had passed since George left his spot when a woman and her two preteen daughters walked out of the Urban Outfitters I was sitting near. “Good, that dirty old man has left.”

This woman wore two hundred dollar jeans and a Juicy sweater.

As for her daughters, they were head to toe in Abercrombie and Fitch, and wearing matching Coach tennis shoes.

They saw me sitting, almost glaring at them. The mother eyed me and told her daughters to “hurry up.” I watched them strut their stuff down 5th Avenue like they owned the cement their overpriced shoes were walking on.

page 15

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

LOCALS ONLY Flats of Californian fruits and veggies lined up at the Encinitas Farmers’ Market. All the produce is grown in California.

ariel vieweg

An apple shouldn’t fall far...

Food miles are driving us toward an environmental disaster. It’s up to us to reduce the travel time of our veggies.

Essay by Ariel Vieweg.

M

ost US History students have heard of the zero-sum perspective; in order for someone to be better off or “win,” someone else has to be worse off or “lose.”

As environmental journalist Michael Pollan points out, our relationship with the earth has become zero-sum. We drive around in our pimped-out SUV while coal mines emit tons of carbon into the air. We hit up Carl’s Jr. on hour lunch while the feedlots that that beef came from produce pounds upon pounds of methane.

The really scary part? As we chow down on that fatty burger then toss the wrapper, fries container, extra ketchups, half-used napkins, cup and bag in the trash, most of us don’t even think about it.

According to the San Diego County Farm Bureau, our food, on average, travels 1500-2500 miles from the farm to our table.

The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that in 2005, fruit, nut, and veggie imports into California by plane released more than 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equal to 12,000 cars on the road. That, my friends, is ridiculous considering that agricultural commodities are one of California’s top exports. So why are we importing so much if we have it all here?

The answer is us. With a lack of agricultural education in many parts of the US, a huge portion of the population doesn’t know what season certain things grow in. So, with this lack of knowledge, we are eating strawberries in the winter, corn all year long, and broccoli in the summer time. These plants do not naturally grow in these seasons, yet here we are, using greenhouses to grow them, shipping them across states by truck and seas by plane, using energy-intensive storage, like freezers and emitting all kinds of nasty stuff into the air. What is up? We have all this

page 16

food here when the season is right!

Now, let’s get one thing straight before we start delving into solutions. I am not a hippie. Nope. Not a tree-hugger either. I don’t sit in trees, sport organic hemp clothing or wear loads of sandalwood perfume. I’m a “locavore.”

Locavores are people who seek out locally grown food usually within a radius of 150 miles. Let’s see, where does that get us to from Encinitas?

That gets us to 31 different farmers’ markets in San Diego.

Vendors at farmers’ markets are certified by the state to ensure that the food you buy there is sold by the grower and grown in California.

That also leads us to eight different San Diego County CSA’s, or Community Supported Agriculture, that your family can subscribe to. CSA’s are family-owned farms that practice organic farming. Subscribers pay a fixed price to have a crate of locally grown food delivered right to their doorstep (or at least close to it) on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This saves you gas, puts your food money right back into the local economy, and avoids trucking your food across states.

But better yet, you can walk over to the San Dieguito Academy Garden by room 27 and enjoy some sun-sweetened peas, fresh broccoli, and crisp, crunchy lettuce. The SDA Produce Garden is new this year and is working to educate students about how to grow your own organic food.

Planting a garden is completely doable, especially when it is at your school. You can grow virtually anything you want, in any plot of space you want, and any amount you want.

This way, you are getting what you want without leaving a huge dent in the environment.

Eat well.

Check out the Encinitas Farmers’ Market, held on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Paul Ecke Central.

All produce meets state quality standards.

Eat local.

Visit sdfarmbureau. org and click on “Buy Local” to check out different CSA’s.

Feed your mind.

Check out Michael Pollan’s books “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” or “The Botany of Desire.”

These book will make you think about what you eat.

Garden, SDA. Join us on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month in room 105. Email us at sdagarden@ yahoo.com.

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

Dani’s going on a God hunt

Staff writer Danielle Gradisher is on a mission, a look-see, a quest. Which religion will spark her devotion?

E

very Saturday for as long as I can remember, my mom dragged me off to the local church to be indoctrinated with Jesus, love, and “My Way or the Highway” sermons. Too bad for them, the light I saw wasn’t God on high coming down to carry me home with his heavenly escort of a thousand angel choir, but the sun, fresh air, and sleeping in on Sundays.

I “dropped out” at the age of 12. By 13, I fell in with a bad crowd, the <gasp> atheists. I took my first steps onto SDA as a self-proclaimed pagan. Now, I’m thinking agnostic.

Obviously, I’m a bit confused.

Most of this mixed-up, Chinese fire drill-type religion changing comes from my general lack of information about religion in general.

To fix this, I decided to visit a different religious service each month. This month’s drawing was the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito. It bills itself as “a liberal religious

tradition, and encourages us to keep open minds.”

I had heard about it years ago from a rather nutty family friend. At the time, I had filed her impassioned ramblings under “Interesting Yet Unreliable.”

After making my vow I remembered Auntie Jenny’s words and went to the ‘net. A quick Google search uncovered the national website, www.uua.org, and a list of local congregations.

After I found a parking spot big enough for my behemoth F250, I followed a group of three little old ladies around the backside of one of the tan stuccoed buildings I thought to be the location of the church.

I had expected to be lead through a doorway into a fluorescent lit room with the smell of age and stale coffee hovering over the Lord’s Own Chosen like the spirit of God himself. Instead, I was lead by way of a sand-dusted ramp into the bluffs over looking the I-5 freeway. Their sandy cliffs contrasted with the dark greens and

browns of the chaparral and the bright blues of the morning sky.

At the top of the wooden walkway, I was met by a group of “greeters” handing out pamphlets for that Sunday’s service and upcoming events.

Again I followed the three old ladies in their pastel hats and nylons, who I was now calling My Mad Hatters, to an outdoor amphitheater floored with bricks and lined with brown painted wooden benches.

Cut directly into the bluff, the outdoor “church” just what you would expect of what my uncle calls “them bleeding-heart tree-hugging liberals.” He’s just so much fun at reunions, believe me.

The minister and choir stood in what would be the orchestra pit in a theater. I seated myself on a squishy blue butt saver and, as if the guest of honor had arrived, the service started.

The choir started with “Oh Freedom” then filled off in an orderly and obviously choreographed move. The symbolic

chalice-held candle was lit and a “Fellowship Hymn” sung and a “Fellowship Covenant” read.

Then the time came for “Joys and Sorrows” to be shared. This was a personal look into the congregation, with wedding and death anniversaries spoken of, and personal connections to Rosa Parks, the main theme of this service, told with bright shining eyes and choked voices.

The cutest little church kids were called up to hand in their food collections, their heads covered in floppy hemp caps, their cans held in hand woven, eco-friendly bags.

One of the pint-sized social activists was asked why the next president was so important in U.S. history. He responded with a most politically correct response of “he’s the first African American ever to be elected president.”

The lil’ kiddies were ushered off to their own areas to paint pinecones and make Happy Inauguration Day cards. The minister, Tom Owen-Towle, then

embarked on a long rambling sermon about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. and equality. The man spoke not at all of God, Allah, or any other specific deity. In fact, it read more like a history lesson than any religious service I’ve ever gone to.

As last chords of “We Shall Overcome” drifted into the brush and open air, the minister thanked us for coming and invited us to, of course,“come back soon.”

Feelings of community seemed to settle on the shoulders of the church-goers like snow or dandruff, the security they felt almost tangible. The smiles and hugs, being greeted by name, they enticed me, to say the least. Almost enough to want to end the quest and “settle down.”

But the place within me that speaks of love at first sight, instant connections, and devotion remained quiet even in the face of all that love and open mindedness. And so, the quest goes on.

Talent

March 19 & 20 During Lunch

Show

Attention WRITERS:

The Literary Archetype Magazine

will publish your work!

Submit to: sda.archetype@gmail.com page 17

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

Feasting on the dead

It was just your average day at the local Trader Joe’s with Megan Gaffney.

T

he faded yellow Post-It was stuck on a price tag for Spicy Jalapeno Sausage on aisle five in Trader Joe’s. On the Post-It words were scribbled in black marker making it stand out from the professional propaganda. It was like a toddler’s tantrum for attention. But to the shopping elite who walked past it, it was an insignificant distraction in their esteemed lives.

One distinguished lady pondered the eighteen flavors of chicken sausage. “I need one that’s not all dried out,” she whined to the two-year-old in the cart. Her resolve made it appear as if packaged meat could fulfill her life’s aspirations. It couldn’t. The moistest sausage wouldn’t stop her whining any more then another pair of Juicy sweat pants would. Then again, perhaps it was the frozen fajita chicken spilling over her cart’s edge that would finally fill the empty abyss of her life. Maybe not. As it was she rolled away her child and her eyes, in disgust that the store could provide such inadequate resources.

Less urgent shoppers lengthily examined the products on death row. The contents of the packages were identical spirals of ground flesh, but the packaging was a wide array of exciting colors. However, the presentation of the product was wasted on the next oblivious shopper. He walked through the aisle trapped in his own reality, which made him immune to both the happy colors and nauseating butchery. The only thing he was not shielded from was his own desire to feast on the dead.

To ensure his desire was fulfilled in the most satisfying way, he examined each ingredient, brand name and price tag. His inspection covered more than 20 labels, complete with percentages and calories. In all of his attentiveness he must have seen it.

The Post-It was stuck to a price tag inches from his face. But he never paused in his search for the perfect hunk of meat.

He finally selected the Sweet Basil Pesto package and crammed it into his cart, like an apple in a boar’s mouth. He then meandered into the stacks of fermented grapes in search of a compliment to the Pesto Basil.

As if on cue upon his departure, a herd of middle-aged housewives wheeled their shopping carts into the aisle. Their classy denim pants and dyed hair somehow validated their entrance into the butcher’s lair. True, it is out of place for a woman to be exposed to such horrific sights… but how else will they have dinner on the table for their dear CEO? Men like steak, women cook for men; hence it is a necessity for the women to buy a supply of dead cow. But don’t fret about their tragic shopping woes; afterwards they will get to treat themselves to another pair of high heel sandals.

One lady certainly deserved a pedicure to go with those new sandals; she dove in and snatched the tastiest turkey cutlet without hesitation. Upon her retreat she glimpsed the black scrawl and gave the Post-It a distasteful glance. However during this act she was caught off guard and her heels caught on the cart.

She quickly straightened herself on a shelf overflowing with baking supplies. Embarrassed, she absconded with her cutlets as brownie boxes tumbled to the floor.

Plain black Converse squeaked onto the aisle as two employees arrived to restock the shelves. They were young and vibrant in comparison to the frozen bodies around them. Despite the chilling effect of the corpses, the man in Converse chuckles and asks, “Did you see this?”

The other man in a blue Hawaiian shirt glances at the Post-It, stifles a laugh, and shakes his head. Their good humor is strange yet pleasant amidst the pasture of compliant shoppers; as they leave they take the miniature sign with them. The downside to their humor is a sense of duty to uphold the store’s reputation. But as they walk out of sight a girl steps forward and confidently places an identical Post-It amid the lamb shanks and pork chops. She then disappears behind a stack of vegetarian chili cans.

In the canned chili aisle shoppers spoke more freely, there were more children, there was more variety. A dear old spinster walked by, deep in discussion with herself: “I really need to lose 20 pounds… it’s for my health.” Her cart was full of chips, dips and cookies; without a leafy green or tender breast in sight. But at least she was compassionate about her method of weight gain.

A chubby man walked up to the aforementioned death row.

His health was both bad and uncompassionate. He was mundanely sane; he talked to no imaginary friend and took no nonsensical advice from the Post-It. He tore it off the wall, crumpled it, and threw it on the ground. The blonde girl bounced forward one more time, politely muttered “excuse me,” and stuck a third Post-It under his fingers. He stared in disbelief.

She bounded away and grabbed a bright green backpack stocked with yellow Post-Its and Sharpies. She was almost to the end of aisle three when a man with a white goatee and blue Hawaiian shirt called out to her. His “excuse me” was less polite. She turned to face him with a sense of glee out of place in Trader Joe’s. His annoyed tone fit perfectly into the surroundings: “Young lady, this is a business establishment; keep this up and you won’t be allowed to shop here.” What a wonderful threat. He continued to glare at the youth. She smiled.

She was asked to leave because she had “disturbed the peace.” But it didn’t matter. Hundreds of things were stocked on the shelves, hundreds of people walk through the aisles every day, and a hundred things go unsaid every second in that store.

Anyone can buy the products, anyone can walk the aisles, but it takes a very special level of immaturity to disturb the peace and say what needs to be said. So she smiled, because she reached the maturity of a two-year-old throwing a tantrum at the checkout counter.

It wasn’t a violent riot or a peaceful protest, it was simply a distraction. She smiled because in some small way her distraction affected the chubby man’s life, the housewives’ lives, the employees’ lives, the old man’s life, and the whiner’s life. She smiled because she managed to shatter their little realities with Post-It notes, three words, and one fact.

Editor’s Note: Megan Gaffney is young, blonde, and unfailingly polite.

page 18

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

Panic in the streets of suburbia As illustrated by the supposed ‘sexting’ fad, suburban America proves they are the trembling hyprochondriacs of the world. Essay and art by Shannon Wright.

A

ccording to a number of news sources, you, the virginic and pure-minded teenager, engage in frequent “sexting” as a form of flirtation on a weekly basis.

While this might apply to the severely socially confused, I think it’s safe to say the overwhelming majority of you have yet to send nudie pictures of yourself to your unsuspecting love interest. But the emotionally distant fear mongerers that are our television news anchors would enthusiastically disagree while throwing out some false statistics. They continue to foam at the mouth and insist that your parents have a talk with you, their chaste offspring, about the dangers of “sexting.”

Apparently, the generation raised on the internet knows less about the consequences than their antiquated parents.

Happy Valentine’s From My Pants ut doesn’t this sound somewhat blown out of proportion? Or am I just the only one who hasn’t gotten pictures of some girl’s developing breasts in my text message inbox? Whether or not the latter is true, the idea that this whole “sexting” thing is the newest form of flirtation suggests that the real problem isn’t the improper use of cell phone cameras and the internet. It suggests that there are one too many socially retarded adolescents. But why blame the awkwardness that comes with blooming sexuality when you can ascribe it to the one thing that scares most middle-aged people the most?

B

Moral Panics & Folk Devils his widespread think-about-thechildren type appeal to emotion is perpetuated by a power hungry media that strongly advises you to tune in at 11 or you’ll risk not finding out what household detergents can kill you. The problem is that of course household detergents can kill you if you consume enough of them, and so can lamps if they’re thrown

T

hard enough.

I’m beginning to get a little irritated with the neurotic paranoids that populate our suburbs. It really doesn’t take much to make them piss themselves.

Somewhere Under the Rainbow emember “rainbow parties?” You don’t? That’s because they never existed until Oprah Winfrey told all the bloodthirsty suburbanite mothers that their children were most likely participating in these rampant oral sex parties. In fact, Paul Ruditis wrote a teen-fiction type book about these rainbow parties ostensibly to scare kids. However, if anything, teens were reading it because it was an erotic journey into the fantasies of a sexually ambitious 15-year-old.

As it turns out, no one really knew what rainbow parties were, which is probably because they were an urban legend.

R

Porn Everywhere, All the Time ven before rainbow parties, there was the Rimm report that basically led everyone to believe that whenever their child went online, they would be bombarded with hardcore pornography, whether they liked it or not.

However, it turns out that the author of the report, Martin Rimm, researched his theory by watching porn online for a week straight and making up numbers at random he then called statistics. That’s what constituted the Rimm report.

It would be laughable to call it faulty evidence, when it’s clearly the paranoid ravings of a delusional college undergrad studying electrical engineering.

However, the hysteria-prone gullibles of suburbia had another freak out, resulting in the failed Communications Decency Act that managed to be declared unconstitutional while wasting a considerable amount of taxpayer’s money.

Am I asking too much when I beg people to stop being so irrational? I don’t know how much longer I can take it.

E

page 19

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09 His face rolled off his hand and into his lap. He jolted upward.

A scrolling LED light panel above him read, “numbers 4, 12, 13, 9 - Please report to window 7.” A quick glance down at his watch (after picking up his very berry Starbucks Frappuccino™, of course), and he was walking briskly towards the window. One man stepped up to window 7. Another walked up behind him.

A rather large lady with a silly green hat stood behind him.

Then a tall fat man, a bald skinny one, a woman with a mustache, a teenaged girl chatting on her cell, and three or four people behind her. At the end of the line of ten or so, stood number Thirteen. It was nearly 3 o’clock. His appointment was at 3 o’clock. He stared forward.

Number Thirteen sat in the plastic DMV chair, eyes closed, mouth open. He needed to renew his registration. Unlike Thirteen, time was moving. He needed to wake up. Essay by Casey Dayan.

“N

ow calling numbers.” Pause. “ 4, 12, 13, 9.” Pause. “At window.” Pause. “7.”

The monotonic voice echoed across the room. It bounced off each wall; the sound from each speaker-box reverberating slightly off from the next. It created a constant displeasure similar to that of stripes on plaid. Each consonant could be heard twice. Numbers 4, 12, and 9 stood up to begin making their way to the “carousel” that was window 7. Their crystals had turned black and it was time for renewal.

The air was stale. Frozen. Like the air inside old Tupperware, only this air had never known the smell of half-day-old apple sauce or green beans. It was plastic-ey. Everything in the Department of Motor Vehicles was, even the walls. In fact, the team of scientists who developed the walls was actually given an award for creating “the most boring color in the world.” It’s really quite extraordinary. It can’t quite be placed as grey, because it’s lighter and muddier and phonier. Sort of like the underarm of a dingy old dress shirt. Whatever it is, it’s extremely uncomfortable. Fake. Hollow. Institutional.

OH HELL Hieronymus Bosch’s version.

page 20

What little light there was seeped in through the blinds of the windows like the drool from the mouth of number Thirteen, who was murmuring nonsense in deep, delta-wave sleep.

His hand, which propped up his face, slowly began slipping. It slid from his brow to his cheek, then from his cheek to his lip.

The woman at the front desk was the abrasive type, the kind of woman who must act completely differently at work than she does at home because imagining her with friends is nearly impossible otherwise. She was large, loud, and livid looking. Sour.

As if she had always just smelled something bad.

Number Thirteen watched her face flap around as she talked at the person in the front of the line. He was nodding. If he had had X-ray vision, Thirteen would have peered in through the man’s cheek, through his teeth, and noticed that he was actually biting his tongue so hard that it was beginning to bleed. Speckles of red.

Number Thirteen looked down at what used to be a white shirt. He muttered profanities and attempted to wipe off the bright red smoothie spots that dripped from his collar to just below his nipple. They would not come out. The stain wouldn’t have been too noticeable in any other environment, but unfortunately, juxtaposed against the drab accommodations that were the DMV, the shirt was like a freeway accident—everybody stopped to look.

Thirteen looked around the room to keep his mind busy.

He stared at the clock directly across from him on the wall. He followed the wall all the way around until his eyes met a poster that displayed the fancy DMV crest as if it were a place worth being. He took a step forward. His eyes wandered from the clock on the side wall to the salt and pepper floor to the back of the room. There were two cubicles there, each unpersonalized and un-individual. Inside lay stacks of paper: some appointmentrelated, but most tax-related. If not here, then where was this money going? Must be to the employees.

The brightest color found on the interior of each cubicle was “manila.” Pictures of family and friends were not allowed. The worker inside was told to wear a grey suit, which was funny because she was almost completely camouflaged with the cubicle.

From far away it looked as if she was nothing but a floating head, a pair of calves and some hands. She looked just about as miserable as any of the “customers.”

Thirteen pondered for a little, of course, the meaning of life and why he chose to waste what little time he had on earth in the first ring of Lucifer’s domain. It’s not as if he had done something wrong.

He went on to think about how if this were a store it would get no business, and how it would be very hard to make this place any worse. The Air Conditioning broke. By the time he made it to the front of the room, beads of sweat were dripping off his face like insects doused with DDT. His hair was out of place, and his shirt was stained, but he made it.

The woman asked for his forms. “Where’s the W9B-7?” Bullets of spit shot from her mouth. “I-I...The website said it was optional.” The woman stood up straight. She looked around and pointed flashily at number Thirteen. ”Attention everyone!

THIS is the reason my job is so difficult. Everyone notice!” She pointed to DMV-colored sign on the far end of the DMV-colored counter. It read “All TR7 applicants must have the W9B-7 form ready” She began a long diatribe about the importance of responsibility and how she would give no slack to anybody without the proper forms. Thirteen squinted and read the size 8 font.

The woman leaned forward, her nose no more than two inches from his ear. She whispered. “Maybe if you were dressed a little more appropriately, I would have helped you out.”

Fun facts about Hell -Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife.

-The DMV is open from 8:00 to 5:00.

-Jewish teachings say that the gates of Hell are always open.

-The DMV is open Monday through Friday, although the DMV is also open one Saturday per month at select offices.

-Hell is a place of fire and brimstone.

-The air conditioning at the DMV is unreliable at best.

-Hell doesn’t have an easy-to-navigate website.

-Neither does the DMV.

features

the

mustang 02.09.09

S m o e ’ c k c k’ Ro e local h t n i s e pet ogram

bot comseason approachaeins.tParining high o r ’s x o ild em r Parad es (whil f the bu Anothe

FIRS

T re

gion

em

ing FIR per yea it c ST Ro r. It co h o . s ost s d u t sts r r n a e p m the ry r ys bot tea rows as s as the build e final, necessa e robot in. Eve n- manu betw ics Co $4,00 g n io s and factu een mpe 0 ju Ten n Mo laptop ufacture som ate to ship th mo re a $20- titio st to p time o r nd over n re. nd 30,0 n, a ent mers be ndards) to ma ble a wooden c Ex’s final picku T asse 00 e n d ta tici- the he ro r a p safety s mbles to assemnd ready by Fe d mb per d Gol r the r n ba Cit bot lu a r a C l c y ls s d s e e o e ic k n o m t y c is par ar t man e obot tea eve sch pa obo in ts, m o p r en of Enc fund st as to be had a R . In FRC, high mplete h s a g h w in A h t ant oug init ed t ake urcha imate the t SD o co ition t . a t 7 e h 1 le t p . . b r y h e m b a a r a e h o e t a adv se s s tha ano d [th to s, an rou bo dy sC nu day, F gh erti upp t the thir IRST Robotic a functional ro d season, in Ja t g t i is d h o s is h e s T sem lies r $1 year arou eve gran to pu h buil early F ete to create c y y a r e e t T r h l ] f ent , t o 0 t o o t a n . r s, pated in e world comp the beginning d the object is to stay in cont . raisi he clu ,000 w If we d. “W l othe s from n b m t n h r e g ld t a a of c g in is co hich ake didn s. Ev Qua across sks assigned ed “Lunacy,” hile managin tion game fie l a e w w ll ic ta Par offee b dditionsider e donit to n ’t get n so, tcomm certain 009 game is ca onent ’s trailer, els on a low-fr of three robots a a r i , e h n e ’ o n 2 t s p s t h a e e p i w c t h o g o m o t n n T t whe -Ox ia er y an s. N o th alte have nals uch ere is s” into h special slipp o opposing all competition is ll , T n e a r ” , o b r n a i it w g o G u b t e ven s a r tw wit “or f th dor r if SD ffles”; , they ants. tive m olman will co we ot built rpose o s work in are Las h A e o of a rob d, competitor oints. The pu essionalism.” Robotics kids s t o n a h w w t P c i st p n f x wel arent campuill be ever, onsid year, ods of d.

In a rou score the most “gracious pro e SDA Parado structure. l t t l s e u h . d h f m s th to tr y to e teamwork an ore than ever, functional tea echanically-in e mea All cluare a c again cky en ere is ring se ey sol und, m g h l n d m a r t e . l e o r , s b h r r l u u t iz e a o : i o v u e n n d ba wee per me cia enc gh an orga d take o the club s. This y to hfinal w g “Par gs It work riving towards ain aspects of gically-incline advertise and ch k buil familymbers l supp ave ord ado ild or ’p d cert f nolo et to en st ir a ch on x have be eople focus on team, the tech tic members g designed the ,” that once seasonor any arent t syste oco d is s r p d o t e m a n il r v a . t in a u e , m n a r late inv ime day It m e w Cert ust for p the b and the more last categor y ts. It took fo u e k o o p f a a lved erio or 4 kes rkin con the hir the -s T in c clined mming aspects, ir is c a e t 0 h le s lu g tion and d. S ri e d Nob ll of t bers s an hel ome ays, t nse—i after-s bute a b as program . Senior Julian ure. “I made a lub memity.

C n s h p bo c ic T e t d t p s is ic e o h a h t t a y ob bil x” p fundr rigid. R on need and a ech- and c e Paragrant he clu rents feed ead of ool pe ut two arrot-O ly P e t x o le d p t w 2 a b w ch rs om do fe 0 r com a b is, ding “Par s depen , “My jo up famil forta x Robiting. ith a oose t kids t eding ixure isn’t d like y. F ble o he said. ver, this struct een these team t Golman, said t I always end w o m inis be m ice o their it. T resh , and tics C Howe uctuate betw t, senior Mat the team, bu u trat uch ver l m s h u s u b e to fl iden hout ive er week bec ally ju re are an me ome st atmo p are able otics Club pres ation throug s commore r u o m h s u ic a 6 l s b n 1 t i t o u u p t d s b t s R mu o m a a t h s e m e m le , l b o t The e s n c r a e e r niput in .”

Kid it ’s al out ge scrim Anni ts fee re is s to help membe A nically, ot design, too is required to ntly 25 active y Fox of the l e s l u t m i l t s T p l t e i t i t ’ a b a n p e e x k s u s m r o doing r one on the tea . There are cur at. Senior Kels r 200 hours” ju m clu Dent e it so dent- g thin ges an rabini almo ortive ba ,N ru gs d d st said st li m ove an th ctive g tea Ever y ke one uff , emain a h more time th t in “definitely e Programmin rs on help s men ick F uch, n.” r o t r o o u i . [R but “I real out tor ote n fa hou mp muc of th of lab a 2 e g in 1 t n t s e o o s t . t u ly n h , c p h 8 C bot tio this and t, t d T hat ics] ey’re of whom g/Public Rela d senior Br yan on average, an Die his ye y A e n in n a y go is n r so dre 200 each Advertis build season, a ever y weekda Spoar ’s Sa ice tha w Ha 8 SD t to build undrs s u n r d a o e p t h ir t A is e u s l D v h q t l f t e fi r f e A h o g s i in r t s t e r u ren ey c t re rad “pu of dolla f net ho a ongo Reg oul turn uate said he s.” sands o of thousands u d co ed o i s d h o T t n e e k n s h h t n e o a t wee t u ntin to t s n l d r e io e w it s n d b d i lu l u a M C In ad l a s rc y e to he h 5-7, sta tic thr be h rting a he Robo t o e , t l o u b d o gh r t 8 a.m Sat at the . urd Admiss i n s io it et f p ree. ion to the com ay, San There

will be

s from

m 37 tea

ory

by A le

xis C

ook

Leon

.

seve

ral U S

stat e

s, as well as

one team from Ar acaju, B razi l, participating in t he

and the San Diego Regionals

d

il

b u

Bu

in

a

Qualkcomm

rk

o w

Team 2102TPRNASA

ilsd A

bu

Lo

s

nit a

te

rd

mu

m

a

h

Team

x

NationwideCompetition

ci pubm f En a ylico r e Ctiet latio les ns nge

sy

d

n

a

Pr

A

in 200 8. s r u pa id otics up Rombaonytshoore rt r o f eff quireerRobotics ro Parattad-hoxnomeyFisaiaIR scoSt TsRt loobvebuildtitnegrcrobots m SD A

tr

les

ar.

v e

SDA Robotics placed third in both the Los Ange

this ye

ri

Regional

d

San Diego

to

Team

al. St

page 21

features

the

mustang 03.06.09

LOUNGING One library go-er decides to soak up the sun while enjoying the panoramic view of downtown Encinitas and a good book on the popular patio that is built on the west side of the library.

Your local library: laze and learn

Build me up, Buttercup FINAL CHECK Senior Asa Puckette, sophomore Willie Saake and junior Kevin Brice make some final adjustments to the tension in the belts before sending the robot, named Buttercup, off to competition. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first competition started Thursday March 5 at the San Diego Sports Arena, and will continue until Saturday afternoon. Story on page 21.

page 22

The new Encinitas library has proven itself to be a very diverse place to enjoy an afternoon.You could spend time on the internet, read the latest Twilight book, flip through this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seventeen Magazine, or simply relax on the patio. Stories on pages 24 and 25. Photos by Nina Moussavi.

HIGH-TECH Among many ways of recieving information available at the local Encinitas library, two people at left decide that surfing the web is their best option.

LOW-TECH If you choose to go the old-fashioned way, the library also has a variety of different books to help their members find the answers to their many burning questions. liz mills

page 23

essays

the

mustang 02.09.09

Look here

Sure the library has books, but it also has computers, movies, and a killer view. How can a few dusty tomes compete? Essay by Alex Haddad, art by Rieko Michelle Whitfield.

A

s I walk into the Encinitas Public Library, a greasy, overweight man wearing headphones and a black windbreaker holds the all-glass door open for me. I give him a courtesy “thank you,” and he grumbles a “hmm” back. I set my stuff down in a spot near the wall-scaling windows and the bite-sized seats, and make my way to the bathroom where, coincidentally, I encounter the same man who held the door for me.

I soon realize he could be homeless. He is carrying an oversized backpack and, more revealingly, he is washing his hair in the totally inefficient, yet stylish and modern, trough-like sinks.

As I walk out and head to my seat I wonder why he chose the library of all places to freshen up.

I find my seat and settle in. The gum-chewing, pony-tailed girls next to me are fresh from 6th period at Diegueno and already have cell phones in hand texting as I pull out my paper to take notes. Why is the companionship of their phone more enjoyable than that of the friend sitting across from them or God-forbid…a book?

The comrade, however, of the man sitting next to them is a machine as well (a book does not qualify as a machine). Instead, this mid-twenties hipster is sporting a fresh Macbook© as well as a trendy half-beard— a perfect combo for a young bachelor.

After a few minutes, a third party walks over and sits down in my domain. This incoming foreigner is also fashioned with a crisp, yet clean and cool half-beard, and as he passes by HalfBeard #1, they make eye contact and give each other a headnod—most likely not because they know each other, but for the

page 24

fact that they are both members of the Incomplete Facial Hair Guild ™. In addition to Half-beard #1, the Dieguenans, and now Half-beard #2, no one in sight has checked out, is reading, or has even looked at any books while in the Library.

Over by the computers (the ones intended for looking up book titles, research, etc.) a grocery-store bought, ready-to-eat sushi pack of different people can be seen. Stereotypes work best to sort out the different types of people at the Computer Station. They vary from old white people to young Latinos to shoe-torn skaters and even the occasional bachelorette (who is purposely not using her station correctly in hopes that one of the half-beards will help her/ask her out).

It seems as though they’re each different, yet every one of their interests is wrapped tighter than seaweed around the subject of their screen. Each one has dipped his or herself into something different. None of these subjects are book-related; instead they consist of one of four things—eBay, youtube, online games, or email. So far, not one person is actually using the library for reading and/or checking out books.

The books (the reason libraries were invented in the first place), are designated to a minimal space: their total area(a)<1/2 of the library. The majority of this prime Encinitas property: (m)= movies+cds+newspapers/magazines+à la mode seating arrangements and furniture+a computer station that’s not education oriented.

But enough math, this is an essay. Essays are intended for spreading information by showcasing language, not for algebra and formulas. In an English class it’s expected that a student will utilize the English language by, for example, writing essays; in math class, study formulas; and in the Library, look at books, check out books, read books, even skim through pages looking for pictures in books…right?

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

Read this With its many available books, study rooms, and test guides galore, the Encinitas Library holds between its concrete walls the transportation to as many worlds as can be read in three lifetimes. Essay by Leslie Nesser, art by Rieko Michelle Whitfield.

E

scape. Everyone wants to escape their humdrum life and delve into a magical, mystical, marvelous world away from their realities. Some may overlook this portal to never-never land but the library is one of the easiest places to leave all your troubles behind. Reading is perhaps the easiest way to be transported into an alternate world. With the most popular section being fiction, members of the library look for that one book that will fill their hungry literary appetite.

One girl strides to a couch, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell privately tucked underneath her arm. Her manicured hand swiftly opens to a page and begins to read. The scent of a fruity perfume suddenly hung in the air, and she is instantly engulfed in Susan Clark’s novel of a magician’s adventure.

Each shelf is delicately organized. People meticulously look for books that may peak their interest. The occasional sound of shuffling interrupts the quiet environment of the library. Eye contact is forbidden. Everyone hurriedly shuffles to find a book and then quickly finds a chair, preferably in one of the dark corners of the library. Privacy is something everyone looks for, and few places can offer it in the library. Coming from the dark corners of the library, lurks a certain species of library dwellers that enjoy the privacy behind their armor of their laptop screens.

Hopes of success surround some people like auras. A woman wearing a deep red sweater with bright white letters spelling HARVARD reads her GMAT test prep book dutifully. One of the most sought-after places in the library is the study rooms

in the back. A long list awaits those who attempt to use one. It is the ultimate haven for those who want a quiet space to travel to an alternate universe. A group of high school students, iPods in ear, take a practice SAT test while occasionally taking sips of their 1.5 liter water bottles. The girl’s hair is carefully clipped and pulled back into a tight ponytail or bun. The guys’ gelled hair is strategically placed to keep it from getting in the way of their concentrated studies. Some fix their glasses that were slipping down their nose. College sweaters keep them warm on this chilly evening, as well as a secret motivation to keep on studying so that they can attend such a school.

Entire shelves are dedicated to this subject matter, how to gain acceptance to Ivy League schools, B+ schools, and what to do if you don’t get into any of them. Advice from past admission officers fill the pages of counseling books: what to include in your application and reminding you that grade are important. A young girl in a deep green Torrey Pines sweater hides in the college section of the library reading “What it takes to get into an Ivy League.” A young man, library card in one hand and “How to Write a Stellar Essay” in the other confidently walks toward the computers.

At the stroke of 4:50 people start shuffling out of the library.

Children proudly take their library card out of their Hello Kitty wallets and check out their books independently on the do-ityourself machines. Adults patiently wait in line for their turn at the circulation desk. The library becomes quieter and quieter as people leave and are slowly being transitioned into reality as they walk out into the quiet dusk. Knowing that tomorrow they could time travel, become best friends with vampires and attend the school of witchcraft and wizardry the next day promptly at 8:00 am.

page 25

features

the

mustang 03.06.09

Cooking up fun Students are enjoying the new semesterlong Culinary Arts class. Story by Paige Ely.

T

kendall daasnes

One day in fourth period, ¾ cup flour, molasses, yogurt, and sugar stand on the front line facing the students eager to combine them after a week of prep work. “If it isn’t perfect, it will still be a muffin,” Huntley says. The instructor is just as eager. “I’m really excited. It isn’t just a job, it’s my passion.”

A small commotion breaks out. Drawers open and slam closed. Muffin tins and whisks

DON’T BE BLUE Senior Cameron Dalton and junior Chantal Watanabe stir blueberries in with their dry ingredients.

A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR Juniors Hannah Fortini, Chantal Watanabe, and Yvette Cervantes spoon their bran batter into a muffin pan, preparing to pop their creations into the preheated oven.

page 26

he oven light dings on. The muffins are ready. The test taster takes a bite. He spits it right out.

“I didn’t even swallow it, but I can still taste it,” he says, running his hands over his tongue.

The recipe called for ¾ teaspoon salt. The group misread and added ¾ cup, for a lessthan-edible bran muffin.

Luckily for this group, students are graded on their textbook work, preparation, organization, team work, and reflections.

This week, beige batter was turned into golden bran and blueberry muffins. For now, the level of difficulty is low. But, with time, they will work their way up to baking the more complex pie dough and yeast breads. Cooking teacher Scott Huntley said that the formerly quarter-long class used to be just a taste. But now, as a semesterlong class, students will have the chance to build up their cooking knowledge and skills.

On the agenda for future foods: pies, pizza, sushi, soups and sauces, among many others.

Eventually, they will make whole meals leading into an Iron Cheflike competition at the end of the semester.

“I’m really excited,” Kaylee Watkins said. “I’ve never made pizza before.”

kendall daasnes

are slammed on the table in a whirlwind of silver. Blueberries are rinsed. Flour is sifted. Yogurt is plopped into measuring cups.

One girl shakes her head as she stirs the dry ingredients. “I should not have worn a black shirt today,” she says.

These students are right in the middle of a baking unit.

They practice their precision of measurement.

Two little yellow unborn babies are whisked into one mess of yoke. This is dumped into a bed of white, dry ingredients.

Huntley then combines the two in a quick demonstration of the electric blender.

A can of Pam is given a shake and steadily sprayed in the shape of a circle. Another two quick sprays are squirted to ensure the tins are evenly greased. A slightly lumpy batter is spooned into the tins.

Half the class works on blueberry, half on bran, the whole works on muffins. Pans are plopped into the oven, which is preheated to 390 degrees.

Students are anxious. They open up the ovens and turn on the oven light every minute or so. The progress must be checked, even if they are nowhere near finished.

Finally, after 15 minutes of chit-chat, the door is opened, and the muffins are ready! The students enjoy their blueberry creations as they shine in the spotlight. High-fives are given.

Muffins pop right out of the pan. “Good job with your Pamness!”

On the other hand, the bran muffins… Some implode, looking like bullseyes, while others are just burnt crisps. One oven is opened to a puff of smoke.

“See what happens when you don’t cook with me,” is said to a student with a cold, unable to participate.

essays

the

mustang 03.06.09

Inside Beacons

Taking a step back to observe the inner workings of Beacons, one of the city’s classic beaches. By Maddie Lyon

S

urrounded by the cracked curb and rutted black tar, the assorted group of bros and beach bums alike congregated atop the sandy bluff at Beacons beach parking lot. A rusted guardrail, scribbled with many names and proclamations of love, was the only thing holding onlookers back from what would be a nasty fall of nearly 60 feet.

A narrow path snaked down the face of the bluff lined with thick rods of bamboo protruding out at odd angles like nasty teeth. Multiple signs warned, “Unstable cliff, stay back!” and depicted the severity of their warning with a stick figure man about to get crushed by oncoming boulders. It was the middle of winter, but the sun blazed steamily in the cloudless sky -must be global warming.

Five surfers bobbed aimlessly in the murky turquoise ocean below, trying desperately to catch the two-foot ripples that floated by. As the small waves broke a white trail of foam followed behind. An identical map of where the wave had just been.

A man on a lime green long board caught a wave, and struggled to get to his feet, rocking the board side to side, until he face planted into the chilly water with a splash. Slowly, more surfers made the trek down the long path, swelling the number in the water to almost 20.

The usual crew of locals, surfer bros, wanna-be surfer bros, onlookers, and fitness buffs were gathered in the parking lot. A pair of hardcore locals were straddling their bikes overlooking the waves. Both had dark lined faces that were wrinkled from years of sun exposure and impressive handle bar mustaches.

The typical group of runners and joggers were out. One lady in a flamboyant skintight spandex outfit was abruptly stopped from her brisk walk by the two little Jack Russell Terriers that accompanied her. The little mongrels were trying with all their might to break free from their leashes, as they barked ferociously at a beady-eyed squirrel perched on the side of the bluff.

The next crew of usual Beacons frequenters was the gang of older, scruffier looking guys congregated in a tight group at the end of the sidewalk. They were gossiping like the teenage boys they weren’t, about their “rough night” that included copious amounts of alcohol, illegal substances, and of course, women.

All of a sudden the very balance of the Beacons world was knocked out of order when an unknown species of Beacons people pulled into the lot. The regulars glanced around in shock as an old beat up Camry that looked like it had suffered a few too many fender benders in its day screeched into a parking spot.

Cigarette fumes spilled from the car as a fat, graying, middleaged man stepped out from the driver’s seat, chugging chocolate milk straight out of a gallon jug. From the passenger seat stepped a sizable woman with a horrendous highlight streaked mullet. The couple proceeded to waddle over to the edge of the cliff and peer out over the ocean for a few minutes.

After what seemed like decades, they finally began to walk back to their car. But for one last hurrah, the woman suddenly exclaimed, “These are just my most favorite shoes ever!” referring to her pink fuzzy boots.

When at last the duo entered their car and sped off with a faint splutter and puff of black smoke, you could almost feel the sigh of relief emanating from the Beacons regulars.

nina moussavi

CLIFFSIDE ENTERTAINMENT A man stands on the cliff overlooking Beacons Beach to check the surf.

page 27

features

the

mustang 03.06.09

Pluto

T

Sign my [insert memorobilia] Students share their experiences receiving autographs from their favorite celebrities.

Mark McGwire

B

eing able to witness a practice or game when your favorite athlete is playing, and being able to get their autograph is a fantasy for many people. But for freshman Eric Nieman this was a reality when he got the autograph of Mark McGwire, the former major league baseball player. Nieman, who was six at the time, had been a fan of McGwire since he started playing baseball at the age of four.

While visiting his grandma in Florida, Nieman and his family went to the training field to see McGwire at batting practice. After the practice McGwire started to walk off the field. Hundreds of admiring fans crowded to the side of the field leaning over the fence to get his autograph before he went into the dugout.

Nieman and his brother reached over the fence as far as they could. McGwire only stopped a few times to sign the fans’ baseballs and caps. Then Nieman’s dad reached over the fence, asking if he could get an autograph for the kids. McGwire walked over and signed the baseball, smiling, before he left the field.

“I looked up to him because he had the record for the most homeruns,” Nieman said. McGwire hit 583 homeruns in his career and had the highest batsper-homerun ratio in the history of baseball. Looking back on that day Nieman said, “It was like the happiest day of my life.

I’ll remember it forever.”

Domenica Berman

page 28

Alec Medlock

E

ven though Alec Medlock plays a nerd in “Drake & Josh”, he is a very cool guy, according to freshman Angela Zhang. Medlock plays Craig, one of Josh’s geeky best friends on the show.

Zhang met Medlock while taking a class at Chinese school, and they soon became friends.

“I didn’t even know he was an actor for a couple of weeks,” said Zhang, “When he told us, I said ‘Oh, you’re lying’ and I didn’t believe him until we checked online.”

Medlock has also acted in “Finding Nemo,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Star Wars,” and many other movies and shows.

After she found out he was an actor, Zhang got a signed headshot from him. The two continue to be friends. “He’s just like a normal guy,” Zhang said.

Lindsey Agnew

Nancy Reagan

H

aving chocolate chip cookies and engaging in a personal conversation with the First Lady of the United States, isn’t exactly an everyday experience.

However, for Lauren Fidel, freshman, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Four years ago, Lauren and her family received a letter in the mail from Nancy Reagan, inviting their family over for cookies and a tour of her house.

Fidel’s dad was a Secret Service agent when the Reagan’s were in the white house. As it turns out, he was Reagan’s favorite agent and she wanted to meet his two daughters.

The two-hour journey from San Diego to Reagan’s house in Los Angeles was “full of excitement and nerves,” Fidel said.

When her family arrived at her house they were greeted by guards and welcomed with open arms.

“It was like walking into a palace; there was art hanging on every wall,” Fidel said. Warm chocolate chip cookies awaited them as Reagan herself greeted them. While they enjoyed the presidential cookies, she talked about her experiences in the White House and the joy she had being beside her husband.

Once they’d finished, they were taken on a journey through Reagan’s house. They saw many pictures of her and her husband in the White House. “It was an amazing experience to hear so many real stories from a former First Lady herself,” Fidel said.

After the tour Fidel and her sister took pictures with Reagan and received her autograph.

Fidel recalled driving home after a wonderful day thinking, “This is one of the most amazing experiences I will ever have in my entire life.”

Tatiana Skomski

he streets were busy and full of wide eyed children looking at their first glimpse of the world famous Disneyland.

Among them was five-year-old Ben Johnson. Johnson, freshman, was glued to his mother’s side in awe of all the ruckus surrounding him, but he wouldn’t let the sights distract him: he was on a mission. He had come to Disneyland for one sole purpose: to meet Pluto, his favorite cartoon character since he could remember.

After several hours of distractions, they finally made it to Toon Town. Johnson was so close to achieving his goal.

After walking under the welcoming arch and turning a corner, their Pluto was. He stood in the middle of the road, as if he had been waiting for the minute Johnson arrived.

As soon as Johnson saw his childhood idol, his eyes lit up and nothing could stop him from breaking into a sprint across the courtyard. He could hardly contain his excitement as he cleared the last few feet between him and Pluto.

Pluto was just as he had imagined him: the kindest, best dog he had ever known. Johnson even got to get Pluto’s paw print on a piece of paper. The entire drive home he talked non-stop about the ten minutes he spent with Pluto, and how amazing he had been.

As soon as they got home, Johnson ran into his room and pinned the paw print in the middle of his wall just to remind him that he had finally met his childhood hero.

Sadly, the paw print was lost in the family’s recent move.

Teal Coppock

Diamondbacks

A

n injury at the ballgame resulted in an interesting conversation piece for Cassandra McCulley, junior.

When she was four years old, McCulley and her family went to a Diamondbacks spring training game. She left the stadium with a dirty game ball signed by all of the Arizona Diamondbacks after one unfortunate event.

McCulley had her back to the field and when she turned around, Bam! A foul ball hit her straight in the eye! Blood splattered from her face onto her brother who promptly ran to find their mother and sister who were getting food.

After a brief “vacation” in an Arizona hospital, McCulley came back home to Encinitas where she loafed around on the couch and enjoyed a strict liquid diet. “��������������������������� My face was black and blue and I had to drink from a straw for a while because I couldn’t open my mouth for a couple of weeks.“ The Arizona Diamondbacks sent McCulley home with the ball signed by the team, along with other Diamondbacks memorabilia. Unfortunately, McCulley has lost the baseball in the depths of moving boxes in a dark storage warehouse.

Ariel Vieweg

features

the

mustang 03.06.09

STARSTRUCK In the frenzy of encountering celebrities, freshmen Lauren Fidel and Angela Zhang managed to walk away with these as proof. Zhang got this headshot signed by “Drake & Josh” actor Alec Medlock,top, when she met him at Chinese school, and Fidel snapped a photo with former First Lady Nancy Reagan, bottom, when she visited her home.

“

This is one of the most amazing experiences I will ever have in my entire life.

”

page 29

the

mustang 03.06.09

page 30

arts

the

mustang 03.06.09 photo courtesy of amanda walker

photos courtesy of amanda walker

MERMALIEN Walker’s paintings demonstrate abstract subjects and designs like this creature here.

Through the artist’s eyes Whatever their talents, different students are able to bring something special to SDA. Amanda Walker is one artist who fills that role. Story by McKenna Taylor.

I

n preschool, art was practically all a three-year-old was capable of doing. Finger painting was a big-time hit. Then in kindergarten, one upgraded to the more difficult task of cutting and pasting. After elementary school, though, many people drifted away from art and into other fields. Whether it’s being an amazing athlete, an extraordinary mathematician, or even a motivational speaker, everyone has a passion. For Amanda Walker, it’s art.

While the high school senior—in her gray sweater, brown cowgirl boots, and leopard-print earrings—talked of her art experiences, she immediately came off as a girl filled with creativity.

“I was always drawing before but was never really artsy,” she said, speaking of how she got into art. Then she had her first painting class at SDA. Neal Glasgow, one of SDA’s art teachers, encouraged her to take art seriously. “My primary

goal with all art students is to help them explore their own abilities and expressive potential,” Glasgow said.

Walker uses vibrant colors and intricate shapes as a main feature in her work. One painting had rich shades of greens while another had blood red flowing from behind a face.

Some photos were of her wax sculptures, which portrayed her “cartoony realistic abstract” style. She also had some nudes from when she took an art class at MiraCosta.

“I kind of just paint. There’s no real thought behind my paintings at first and then they develop into a point where I start relating them to myself. I kind of feel like my paintings are all self-portraits in some abstract way. The people reflect my emotions, the colors reflect my personality, and the shapes affect my situation. It’s all complex,” Walker said. Where would she be if she had never been involved in

1000 WORDS Walker uses organic shapes and curved lines, showing her unique abstract style.

art? “I probably would have gotten into theatre or something… maybe band. I wouldn’t have met and become friends with so many people,” she said.

Even though art can be rewarding, it can also be frustrating. Not having traditional training earlier has both its advantages and disadvantages. “On one side it’s good because I never had any instruction and restrictions put on how I did art, but on the other hand I didn’t know how to do a lot of things or how to approach certain things, like drawing people from direct observation, or color mixing,” she said.

Walker has taken painting, sculpture, and AP studio art classes at SDA, and she liked the open-endedness of the classes.

“One can figure out their own style, unlike [at] CCA and LCC, which are more structured,” she said.

Walker’s art experiences haven’t ended with only in-

school activities. She has also participated in Art Wars. “I painted at the beach with Elle [Breidenthal, senior]. People don’t realize a lot of preparation goes into the spontaneity of the whole thing,” she said.

Breidenthal, president of the Art Wars committee, said, “I admire the energetic flow of [Walker’s] work.”

Although Walker’s senior year is coming to a close, she wants to continue her passion in college. “I might double major in painting and jazz vocals,” she said.

Walker is just one of the many talented art students who add to SDA’s artistic atmosphere. It is a breathing thing at this high school.

“We have gallery art, public mural art, and performance art that all add to the overall feel of SDA,” Glasgow said. “SDA would not be the same special place without the visual and performing arts.”

page 31

arts

the

mustang 03.06.09

The laughingstock of indie rock

Dark Was the Night Various Artists No No Alternative

8.2/10

A recent benefit compilation album by the Red Hot Organization reveals the current state of the music. Story by Zach Garcia.

A

message to all you sad, sad little children out there with your artificially-faded ironic t-shirts and too-large sunglasses: “indie” has broken through the final barrier to the mainstream—an indie rock benefit album has now been released, to slowly osmose into the public consciousness.

The compilation was set up by the Red Hot Organization, an AIDS charity group primarily known for their many other benefit compilations, most of them collections of bad jazz covers (although they are entitled to a portion of respect for releasing “No Alternative” back in 1993).

Now that your precious little wall of obscurism has been broken down, perhaps you’ll seek out a new cave to hide in, and we won’t have to listen to you bitch anymore about how only people who bought the original Warner import of “Pop Tatari” can call themselves true music aficionados.

Any self-described “indie” project like this seems like a joke in some ways. Everyone knows that term is meaningless. At least unlike most projects and

groupings in a similar vein, these bands are actually on independent labels, but at the same time, that hardly means much in matters of musical taxonomy these days. After all, there are thousands upon thousands of godawful punk bands across America on independent labels, but no one would ever classify these as “indie.” That’s not what that term means anymore.

Of course, like other useless words like “postmodern,” “intertextuality,” and “anti-folk,” no one actually has a definition of indie other than a vague sense of what it should be like. Thus a band on a major label like Lloyd Cole & the Commotions can be (wrongly) considered “kinda indie sounding,” while a band on a useless record label no one knows, like scary-metal Genghis Tron, would never be classified as such.

We can’t even go with the old standby, that indie was anything that sounded like NME C86.

Little of it does nowadays. That brand of jangly, slightly fey, catchy pop has long ago been replaced by an explosion of disparate, barely-related styles.

Hold Time M. Ward

The “M” is for Mediocre

6.7/10

K

nown for his mellow guitar melodies and raspy, comforting voice, Portland resident M. Ward again delivers a perfectly imperfect acoustic sound on his new release “Hold Time.”

Ward’s last project, “Volume One,” was that of a collaboration with actress Zooey Deschanel under the band name She & Him. With a preference for old instruments prone to detuning themselves and recording devices which function inconsistently, M. Ward is able to create a fuller and more vintage sound which

page 32

flows from track to track almost without interruption.

On “Never Had Nobody Like You,” a track featuring Deschanel, Ward sings, “And the times before that, well, I was crazy/I saw the dark side of the moon,” over a background of thumping drums, revealing his knack for churning out upbeat love songs with some substance to them.

A cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” works well in its simplicity and “throwback to the good ol’ days” quality, appropriate for his leaning toward all forms of classic Americana.

“D

ark Was the Night” is an interesting experiment, as an album. The two discs have a sort of thematic variation, as described in the liner notes. One of them (entitled “This Disc”) has a darker, folkier sound, more in line with the Blind Willie Johnson song (and Kronos Quartet cover included therein) that gives the album its name. The other (“That Disc”) is a smorgasbord of relatively big-name indie rockers playing in their usual style.

The list of contributors is impressive: groups like the Arcade Fire, Yo La Tengo, the New Pornographers, the Decemberists.

Various other figures pop up like Andrew Bird, along with middleschool-girl-sex-Jesus and BrightEyes-boy Conor Oberst. Even aging weirdo David Byrne makes an appearance on the opening track, a collaboration with Dirty Projectors. These contributors are not slight; nor are their contributions. Although This Disc is a little given to beigey instrumental folk noodling and That Disc is somewhat less than adventurous, the album as a whole is worth a listen. (Besides, if you don’t buy this CD, it means you support people dying. You don’t support people dying, do you?)

Indie, after years of threatening, broke into the mainstream and broke into pieces in the process.

And now even the word doesn’t matter. Indies were supposed to make the majors not matter; the pathetic adventures of Sub Pop proved that false.

The internet is what broke the majors. “Indie” is nothing on the disturbing, swill-and-madnessfilled tubes that are the internet.

Any five-second search can come up with music like that of Jeffrey Lewis, a singer-songwriter -Zach Garcia who does soft acoustic covers of Crass songs with female backing vocalists; you come to realize how silly the idea of “indie” is these days. This is not “No Alternative,” this will not define an era. “Dark Was the Night” has been created when what Noble Beast it supposedly represented has Andrew Bird disappeared.

Clipped Wings There’s something to be said 7.0/10 for the vitality of a genre that has exploded its bounds, like when punk broke into hardcore, ver the course of his five good. It is too focused on being new wave, and post-punk. The solo albums and band Bowl catchy rather than on incorpomodern music, whether you call of Fire, Andrew Bird has introrating the intricacy of albums it indie or whatever, is worthduced to the world the imporpast. while, as the bands and albums tance of whimsical whistling, “The new album sounds covered here show. melodic violin, and an immense more mainstream than his vocabulary. The latest installother stuff. It’s too upbeat,” said ment to his repertoire is the CD sophomore Natalie O’Brien.

“Noble Beast.”

However, fans were far from It seems as though Bird has disappointed with the concert, created a new genre exclusively despite any reservations towards for himself. It is hard to imagine the new album. lyrics like that in “AnonaniBird used many different mal”—”Underneath the stalacinstruments along with his pertites, the troglobites lost their fectly pitched whistling throughsight/The seemingly innocuous out the songs. Several pedals at plecostomus though posthuhis feet looped certain riffs to While those familiar with mous”—would be positively relayer them on top of each other Ward’s music will be satisfied ceived by fans of any other artist. to create the familiar complexity with, if unsurprised by, “Hold San Diegans got an opportu- of his songs.

Time,” new listeners should nity to experience Bird in person The concert went rather start off by buying a copy of on Feb. 15 at Soma. smoothly until the end of the “Post-War” before taking in his The set list was created to ap- song “Plasticities” when someCoachella performance. “Hold peal to all. There was a balance thing went wrong with the Time” lacks both the intensity of old favorites with new songs amp for Bird’s violin. While it and hooky quality of the songs from “Noble Beast.” was being repaired, Bird played found on “Post-War.” “I was worried that he would some rare tracks from old EPs Though Ward didn’t take play songs from the new album. and even a song from a guest any risks here, his soothing I like the older stuff better appearance on the Noggin show, crooning and sorrow-tinged because I am more familiar with “Jack’s Big Music Show.” Finally lyrics are nevertheless ideal for it,” said sophomore Caitlin the amp was fixed and the show winding down and encouraging Hicks. “I just don’t really know continued. a calm state of mind. the new songs yet.”

The show concluded with -Michelle Cancellier It is hard to pinpoint the “Fake Palindromes,” the most main difference between “Noble popular out of his songs.

Beast” and the albums preceding The crowd sang, danced, and it. However, most people agree whistled along.

-Thea Brown that the newer album is not as

Birdwatching

O

arts

the

mustang 03.06.09

A collective experience Adventures of an uncancelled Animal Collective show. Story by Kate Murphy.

A

s the I stepped into the Music Box, equipped with nothing but high expectations and two cameras, it finally became real that I was here, I had made it through the doors. This time, I was actually going to see Animal Collective. This was mysecond attempt—the show had been cancelled exactly a month earlier despite the desperation of people coming from San Diego all the way to Arizona. The opening band started at nine, and as the minutes drew on, the anticipation from everyone became obvious.

If there was a definition of hipster, this concert scene would be it. The instant I entered the hall a wave of flannels and Doc Martins became apparent.

People in headbands and tight pants feverishly skanked while the DJ impressed us with his collection of unrecognizable bands.

Girls with tutus and DIY jewelry snapped Polaroids of deniably candid moments. The room was full in an instant and the lights dimmed promptly at nine o’clock—only to test the crowd with two more hours of local L.A. musical fare. With an aura

of rainbow lights and fog, the stage finally opened for the third time to reveal the experimental trio of Animal Collective.

It was everything expected and more, most likely because we had been waiting for so long.

The crowd clamored as the band approached the stage, but was instantly droned out by the blaring lyrics of “In the Flowers.” They continued on to play “My Girls,” “Fireworks,” several others from the new album, and didn’t forget to throw in the familiar “Grass” during the encore.

Although Animal Collective is often termed as “indie”, I think that label fails to describe them fully. Their music is probably “weird” by general standards, but the DJ mixing the sounds, melodic harmonies of voices, and keyboard all came together to form an experience I think most anyone would enjoy. It wasn’t the fact that the band looked great or that the music never stopped once that impressed me the most, but that their repetitive tones and upbeat rhythms left everyone in a trance throughout the whole show.

JOHN RATAJKOWSKI for teacher of the year

scratch and sniff

Merriweather Post Pavilion Animal Collective Kings of the Forest

8.9/10

A

nimal Collective released their widely anticipated album, “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” on Jan. 20. The three masked artists added a new twist for their ninth album. The upbeat feel of the unusual harmonies and unexpected rhythms creates a certain excitement throughout each song.

Although there is a continuation of the “eerie” approach and the constant repetition from their previous albums, the music has an added pop tone that attracts listeners, whether or not they are fans of the psychedelic sound.

The lyrics range from a few words about unnecessary material objects—“Is it much I feel I need/A solid soul and the blood I bleed”—to deep expressions of

an abstract love—“It makes me so crazy, though I can’t say why/ Some kind of magic in the way you’re lying there.”

The beats create the urge to dance and make it almost impossible for the listener not to escape into another world.

Although most of the songs can easily be caught in one’s mind for hours after listening, two of the most impressive are “My Girls” and “Summertime Clothes.” These two tracks engross the listener with their unique melodic rhythms and upbeat catchy phrases.

Overall, Animal Collective appropriately integrates their past tactics with brilliant new ideas to produce a masterfully crafted album.

-Shelby Myers

page 33

circus animal fun

the

mustang 03.06.09

Tap H20? Not a chance Born into a family of water connoisseurs, Dimitri Fautsch was blessed with a discerning palette. He has brought his best work to you and intrusts to you a gift that keeps on giving, knowledge.

Fiji Water: Fiji water is more then just water, it’s a lifestyle choice. By buying Fiji water, you are signaling to the rest of the world, that you are better then just plain tap water.

The reason you pay more for the water is not for its soft feel or the way it caresses your mouth as if it were a long lost lover. The reason you buy it is for the feeling it gives you when you carry it around, subtly showing it off to all. Its a status symbol, much like a Prada handbag or a Rolex watch.

Other people may not like you for drinking this water, but who cares about them when you can drown your problems out with a chilled glass of supple Fiji water. I’d christen it 5.0 out of 10.

Trader Joe’s Electrolyte Enhanced Water: An underappreciated underdog in the water business, T Joe’s electrolyte enhanced water provides a much needed energy boost while also maintaining everything that makes water great.

You can feel and calculate the potential energy coursing through the water; taste it on your tongue. The water is perfect for any diet, 0 calories and no sodium.

One would think that adding the electrolytes would add a sort of shocky flavour to the water, but you can only detect a tingle of static shock (not the T.V. show). Its firm taste left something to be desired, but the electrolyte enhancement carried T.J. (not Tijuana) to the finish line. I give it 5.0 out of 10.

Blú Italy Sparkling Mineral Water: The Italian style in the water is unmistakable; you can taste the marble of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you can savor the sweat of a toiling Venetian gondolier.

It captures the true flavors of Italy, from Naples all the way north to Turin. The water is both rigid and flavorful; the carbonation both sparkles and shines.

Drinking this takes me back to a late Friday night, playing Mario Kart until sunrise, using every character imaginable, even Wario. It reminds me of banana peels, and red shells.

It’s not pretentious, but it’s just polished enough for the average Giuseppe. For bringing back the memories this sparkling kart deserves 5.0 out of 10.

kendall daasnes WATER WORLD There’s nothing like paying for something you could get for free.

Invisible Children’s Club Movie Night: Invisible Children: The Rough Cut March 31st at 6 o’clock in the Mustang Center

Senior Keep a sharp eye page 34

OUT

circus animal fun

the

mustang 03.06.09

I see a soulless moose. You? Psychologist Ben Johnson administers mandatory and official Rorschach tests, a.k.a. “whizzo brain noodlings,” to some of SDA’s finest crazies. All results sent to the College Board. That will be $60 per test, thank you very much.

INK TO THINK ABOUT “Rorschach” refers to the psychologist who invented the test, not the badass Watchmen character.

What Daniel saw: “It looks like a plant, like vines, big clumps of leaves…. Two things in the left and right corners that look like turkeys. These look like these old cartoon characters; I don’t know what they’re from. The picture as a whole looks like one of those balls you pull out, like a hand opening one of those.”

-Daniel Alguire, freshman Analysis: Adventurer What do you have in common with Henry the Navigator, Vasco de Gama, Francis Bacon, and Hernán de Cortez? All of you wish you had discovered the New World!

Both the images of unfamiliar foliage and the turkeys, indigenous to the forests of North America indicate an appreciation for our founding fathers’ forefathers, those who first set foot on new lands for the expansion (like that toy ball!) of mankind’s knowledge.

Your veneration of the ancient explorers would suggest an aptitude for the past, but since our AP History classes got cut to semesters (also, there’s a sort of “been there, done that” feeling that would drive your adventurous soul bonkers), I’d recommend keeping your eyes on the future instead. Talk to NASA. Explore space, the final frontier, or a full DVD library ofthe original Star Trek. You should be free to spread your wings and soar through the universe, naming things after yourself.

What Camille saw: “There’s a fountain in the center, gargoyles looking over a walkway into a forest. There are fairies sitting along there… tree branches… [there] are birds… [there] are fairies but they’re tiny. It’s kind of mythical but reality. Little flowers are coming out… [this is a] nymph.”

Camille Torres, junior Analysis: Illusioned Realist This picture has revealed a lot about your personality, and your response has given me insight beyond your regular unconscious: I have been given a portal with which to view your super-unconscious. Your response shows that you have an intriguing relationship with fantasy that allows you to cope with life.

You can’t deal with fantasy, so you must retreat to reality to feel secure. You project extreme realism into your imagination so it becomes a safer, more familiar place.

Nymphs, the antithesis of real, you describe as tangible beings. How do you justify the existent of the nonexistent? Probably psychology.

But you can’t hide from aliens and unicorns forever—it’s unhealthy to try and slink away from unreality for long periods of time. I prescribe reality TV, several extended sessions daily. MTV has helped scores of kids overcome their imaginophobias with their strings of shows with real people in real situations.

These intensively scripted situations range from moderately fanciful at best to full blown Tolkien. You should be reading Eragon without crying after only a few months of this torture.

What Mieu saw: “I see a bunch of snakes. There are these two birds trying to get to the center of the snake, and the snakes are fighting it. It also looks like a graveyard… The graveyard gate [is one of the] scary haunted ones with spider webs and two birds looking up, or bats. I see a bunch of parrots.

“I see two babies holding big cups of ice cream at the sides. There’s also a turtle in the middle. Two people are facing the opposite side of the paper, looking sad.”

Mieu Bry, junior Analysis: Heroic You see the vegan hero’s journey. The birds represent travel, but they’re being hampered by snakey temptation on their way to rid posterity of their bad diets.

You are the turtle, a sturdy vegetarian who gets defensive very easily. Your path leads you through the graveyard gates of a land sown with sorrow and lots of death. (Normally, bad things come in threes, but the two people facing away were one man short. Maybe he died?)

Dark stuff, mostly. Anyone passing through your subconscious would probably get mugged.

The silver lining is that what most people role-play in their basements with cardboard broadswords, you can do the same in real life! The road you follow in your own inner epic is yours to choose.

page 35

circus animal fun

the

mustang 03.06.09

When nobody’s watching...

Everyone has his or her little guilty pleasures.Your fellow SDA classmates confess. Story by Anna Sheridan

“Binging on candy and chocolate.”

“Watching repeats of ‘Full House.’”

Kristina Oswald, junior

Jackie Villela, freshman

“I like ranch dressing on my potatoes.”

“Watching ‘I Love Lucy’ and trying to sing Babaloo even though I can’t hit the notes.”

Amanda Killebrew, junior

“Smelling detergent!”

Tanya Koralton, freshman

“I love singing in my room in front of the mirror.”

Rachel Huddleston, freshman

Kayla Frost, senior

“Doing my math homework while listening to the ‘High School Musical’ soundtracks.”

“Making Chewbacca noises in class.”

Brenton Scher, freshman

Amanda Gill, freshman

“Eating a lot of sugar, like I eat out of a candy drawer in my grandmother’s room.”

Rachel Weinfield, freshman

“I like walking around my house in only my boxers when nobody is home.”

Evan Eichenburg, freshman

Tales from a barista A doughnut is good for you...do the math. By Paige Ely. “I’ll have a Grande Chai, no water,” ordered a guy in his late 20’s, dressed in shorts and scruff.

I rang him up for his drink and my coworker started to steam the milk.

The guy lingered around the counter, half wanting to make conversation.

“Hey do you know how healthy one of those is? I’m trying to loose some weight,” “I can check the calorie count for you…” I said.

“Yeah, okay.” He shrugged with an empty smile.

I continued to thumb through the Book of Nutrition, the one that’s in every Starbucks location, until I finally found what I was looking for.

“Here we are. A Grande Chai Tea Latte has 260 calories with 7 grams of fat. But without the water, and the addition of the extra milk it would be a bit higher.

“Oh yeah, how much?”

I bobbed my head side to side calculating. I’ve never been that good at mental math, especially with a someone watching me

page 36

think.

“It would be around… 320 calories.”

“Ok, that’s my fourth one today, how many calories is that?”

“Let me see…” Okay, whew, four times three is 12 plus the extra…“That’s around 1300 calories.”

“Is that good?”

Hmm, is that good? How do I answer this?

“Well, on average a person eats, or should around 2,000 calories a day.”

“Okay,” he looked satisfied.

“How many calories are in a hamburger?”

I wasn’t ready for this, but I know most values of food due to Weight Watchers. A point in Weight Watcher world is about 50 calories. And there are about 5 points in a bun.

“About 250 calories for the bun…”

And about 6 points for the patty.

“About 300 calories for the patty, and probably an extra 50 Calories in the oil, so that equals…” Oh man, 5 plus 5, carry the one… “That’s around

600 Calories, and you don’t have anything else on there.” I dreaded that he’d ask for the calories of cheese, bacon, or even the ketcup.

“All right.” He shrugged. I sighed.

“How many calories are in a steak?”

I tensed. Lucky me he chose today to be health conscious.

“Ahh, well it really depends on your type of steak, the size of the steak…”

“How about a T-bone about this size.” He held up his hands to about twice the size of his heart.

“That looks like about nine ounces so you’re looking at around…700 calories.”

“All right, all right,” he nodded.

Good thing he looked like he was starting to get it because this was starting to wear me out.

I knew steak pretty well, but still.

Do you have any other questions for me, maybe Starbucks related?

I tried to ask him telepathically.

Or maybe better no more questions at all.

“Okay, how many calories are

liz mills MMM TASTY and don’t forget healthy? At least they are according to this fool.

in a doughnut?”

I refrained from rolling my eyes and grimacing. Instead I smiled.

“A doughnut is around 250 Calories.”

His eyes lit up. “So a doughnut is good?” he asked happily.

Oh man, this wasn’t going anywhere. He thought a doughnut was good for him.

I still treated him with respect though because he was my elder, and, more importantly, a

customer.

“Not really. Those are Calories and not including fat, and, for example, compared to an apple which is around 60 calories.”

“Oh man.” His face fell. He was honestly bummed out that a doughnut had more calories than an apple. Really, a doughnut.

My coworker came over with his drink in hand, “Grande No Water Chai.”

circus animal fun

the

mustang 03.06.09

Capitalist soup for the soul

Here’s a quick quiz for you, SDA. The Chicken Soup for the Soul books have in recent years become much more prolific, but have spawned quite a few bad eggs in the process. Below are fourteen of their books, but only seven are real. Good luck figuring out which is which! Check your answers below when you think you’ve got it!

Soup for the Immaculate Soul. the Fashion Lover’s Soul, Chicken ogy Addicted Soul, Chicken Soup for Soul, Chicken Soup for the Technolic’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Raver’s Chicken Soup for the Star Wars FanatChicken Soup for the Nihilist Soul, Chicken Soup for the Neo-nazi Soul, The falsities are as follows:

Chicken Soup for the Neo-nazi Soul Chicken Soup for the Nihilist Soul Chicken Soup for the Latter-day Saint Soul Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul Chicken Soup for the Star Wars Fanatic’s Soul Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause Chicken Soup for the Raver’s Soul Chicken Soup for the Technology Addicted Soul Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul Chicken Soup for the Fashion Lover’s Soul Chicken Soup for the Immaculate Soul

page 37

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

sean znachko

BREATHE, BEND, NOW HOLD Senior Sonia Chu demonstrates a stretch familiar to athletes and exercisers. As a ballerina, Chu makes sure she stretches often during her ballet practices to keep her muscles from getting sore. According to Smithey, stretches should be held for a minimum of 30 seconds. In order to reap the most benefits from the stretch, the stretch should be held for a minute.

Achy, breaky muscles A tough workout can fill muscles with lactic acid and leave a person feeling achy and sore the next day. Stretching before and after exercise and icing can help to prevent and treat muscle soreness. Story by Sean Znachko.

M

uscle soreness is not a foreign feeling to athletes and exercise fanatics. Some enjoy feeling sore, while others dread it and feel it inhibits their ability to exercise the following day.

The technical term for soreness is DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness. DOMS is the term used to describe intense soreness that a person experiences from 48 to 72 hours after exercise, according to Aubrey Smithey, head athletic trainer at SDA. For some, muscle soreness is a sign that the hard work has paid off. “It feels good because it feels like I accomplished something,” said junior wrestler Zac Ackad.

Muscle soreness occurs when muscles are pushed beyond their normal level of exertion.

“Increased intensity, increased weight, and increased duration can all cause damaged muscle

page 38

fibers,” said Smithey. Overexertion damages the muscle fibers, which in turn causes them to feel achy or sore.

For most people, feeling sore is usually a product of a particularly challenging workout or practice.

“I only get sore when I push my body to the next level and it’s a difficult work out,” said junior Julia Pederson, who runs cross country at SDA. When muscles perform strenuous exercise, the body sometimes tries to slow it down by sending lactic acid to the muscles to slow its ability to do more difficult work. This buildup of lactic acid is another cause of muscle soreness.

To repair the damaged muscle fibers, the body sends blood and waste to re-form the muscle fibers, which will make them stronger than before, said Smithey.

Stretching can be used to prevent and relieve muscle soreness. Icing muscles can lower the level of soreness felt after a difficult practice or workout, Smithey said.

Smithey recommends stretching before and after exercise, and that a light warm-up should always take place before stretching. “Warming up gives muscles more elasticity, which decreases the athlete’s risk of injury,” said Smithey.

Physical Education and yoga teacher Robin Etheridge cites stretching as one of the most important things a person can do to decrease muscle soreness.

“Stretching activates the muscles, flushing the muscle tissue of lactic acid,” said Etheridge.

Stretching properly is very important to protecting muscles from injury, Smithey said. Each stretch should be held for at

least 30 seconds and should take place multiple times. Etheridge emphasized that a person should hold the stretch and be still in order to receive all of the benefits from stretching.

In addition to flushing the muscles of chemicals, stretching also helps the muscles to heal.

“Stretching increases blood flow to the area that you are stretching, which in turn helps to heal the damaged muscle fibers and decrease swelling and soreness,” Smithey said.

After stretching, applying ice to the sore muscles can help prevent excessive blood flow to the muscles, which can cause swelling. Smithey recommends standing in an ice bath, preferably 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, if a person’s legs are particularly sore. Doing so allows the ice to reach every muscle in the leg, therefore keeping the entire leg from being flooded with blood,

said Smithey.

She also suggests waiting at least two hours after icing before exercising again.

A hot shower is not the best way to solve muscle soreness.

“Never get into a hot tub within 48 to 72 hours after strenuous exercise. It will increase blood flow so much that a few hours after you will feel even sorer than you did before,” Smithey said.

Sometimes, muscle soreness can cause a person to think that they may have injured themselves.

According to Smithey, one way to tell whether you are sore or injured is if one side or muscle hurts more than the other.“If you have bilateral pain, then it’s probably just soreness,” said Smithey.

Another way to tell is that if the muscle pain does not decrease with warm-up, then an injury may have occurred.

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

Boys are done after shoot-out Even though the team made it to the playoffs and won their league, their season ended with a one-point loss. nicole fisher

A

fter becoming the North Costal League Champions, the boys continued into CIF playoffs. Their first game, on Feb. 24, against Misson Bay ended their season. The game according to coach Craig Dean ended with a tie, but the boys lost a shootout for the win, 5-4.

Boys team played well agianst Mission Bay. “The boys played one of their best games and dispayed a termendous amount of heart,” said Dean. “They battled through a tough game with intensity and composure.”

The team, going into the playoffs, was on a 8 game winning streak Dean said the “weather and field conditions” only allowed the team to practice twice before their playoff game against Mission Bay. “We were forced to practice behind the bleachers in the gym or on the blacktop, which is less than desireable for playoff preparation,” said Dean.

According to Dean, there were

liz mills

LEVITATION Junior Eric Holakiewicz goes after the ball against Santa Fe Christian on Feb. 20. The boys won 6-1, allowing them to advance into the playoffs.

many players that helped “prove that this year was anything but a rebuilding year.” Captains and seniors Juan Huizar and Andrew Wienfield

“were leaders on and off the field.” Junior Alan Gallardo was “extremely talented, balanced, and creative player.” Junior Eric Holakiewicz “really came into

his own this season.” Holakiewicz led the team with 10 assists.

Sophomore Geoff Brown “gave opposing defenders something to think about.” He lead the

team with 36 points, 17 goals, and 8 assists. Freshman Pablo Gomez immediately impacted the team and is someone to watch out for next season.

Girls season suddenly comes to an end The girls team lost a heated battle against Clairemont in the first round of playoffs, going down in penalty kicks. nicole fisher

T

he girls ended their season with a five-game winning streak, making them the Coastal North League Champion. The team’s league record was an undefeated 8-0; overall, they had a record of 12-6-1.

The team was very happy to win league.“We accomplished what we set out to do as a team, and better yet enjoyed it all the way,” junior Sandra Morales said.

The girls were elimated after their first playoff game on Feb. 25 against Clairemont. The game was a tie and then lost in penalty kicks. The final score was 2-3.

“Our goal [was] to go out there and give it our best shot,” said Morales. kendall daasnes

LINE UP The girls create a perfectly diagonal line during their playoff game against Clairemont, which they lost 2-1.

Hardest games were against rival Santa Fe Christian. The game on Feb. 4 was won 5-

1. “The win against Santa Fe Christian felt great,” said Varsity Coach Evan Camperell.

Morales felt that the game against Santa Fe Christian was easier for the team then it had been in the past.

“The match against Santa Fe was not the match we expected,” said Morales. “They had a strong team last year so we anticipated a difficult game, but I think that this year the team wasn’t at the level it was the past year.”

According to Camperell, the second game against Santa Fe Christian on Feb. 20 was cancelled after Santa Fe forfeited.

Some players who stood out during the duration of the season were seniors Emily Mecke, Meghan Warner, and sophomores Madison Scarlett and Madison Roberts.

Warner had 19 goals. Mecke had nine goals and five assists.

Scarlet had a total of 48 saves, according to northcountytimes. com.

page 39

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

Mustang basketball takes a bow Boys finish the season with a 6-21 record while the girls end after first round of playoffs. Stories by Sean Znachko.

nina moussavi

PICK Senior Maggie Barry runs around a pick set by senior Paige Crickmore.

Girls make it to CIF T

he girls lost 40-51 against Montgomery on Feb. 24 in the first round of CIF playoffs.

The team finished with a 10-15 record.

The team will be losing four seniors: Michelle Lara, Maggie Barry, Paige Crickmore, and Christy Laubach. Each of these seniors has been in the basketball program for four years.

“Losing seniors means losing leadership and examples for our

younger players. All four will be really missed,” Segovia said.

Segovia hopes that the team’s younger players, freshmen Megan Hatfield and Crickmore sisters Blair and Harper will use their varsity experience to bring the team a successful season next year. “As a senior this year I just hope they do their best next year and continue to work together,” said senior Paige Crickmore.

Boys end fourth in league T he boys basketball team ended the season ranked fourth in the North Coastal Conference. The team did not make CIF playoffs.

On Senior Night, the team honored seven graduating seniors: Kevin Barth, Eric Peck, Eric Finley, Rory Anderson, Rudy Hergesheimer, Mike Lauth, and Cody Abramson. “We will

page 40

lose a lot of our scoring so we will have to find guys this summer who have the ability to put the ball in the basket like our seniors could this year,” Varsity Coach Luke Stuckey said.

The team scored their season high of 83 points in their game against Escondido Charter on Jan 24. “It was a great team win for us,” said Stuckey.

nina moussavi

JUMP AROUND Senior Cody Abramson reaches high for the ball during the tip-off for the game against Santa Fe Christian on Senior Night on Feb. 13. The game was the last home game of the season, which the team lost 36-70.

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

Timeout with: Kat Wildermuth pauline disch

S

ports are more than just an after-school activity. They create fun memories and help people develop skills in athletics.

Freshman Kat Wildermuth plays softball and has a collection of memories from past seasons.

The freshman has been playing for almost four years. She has never played with any private teams, but prefers to stay local with recreational leagues and sometimes All-Stars.

She began playing when her other sports became boring to her.

Wildermuth said that softball was, “the only sport available at the time and the only one I hadn’t tried yet.” The Mustang pulled Wildermuth aside to ask about her life of softball.

Mustang: What’s your favorite position? Why? Kat Wildermuth: Catcher because it is guaranteed that you will get the ball every play.

M: What was the most memorable play you ever made during a game?

KW: One time I was the catcher and this girl was about to slide into home plate. I had the ball and was ready to tag her out, when out of nowhere she flipped over my glove. I don’t know why she didn’t just slide; it was really random. I just kind of sat there like, “okay…” but she ended up out anyway.

M: Have you ever had an opposing player or team do something crazy?

KW: There was one girl playing shortstop on the team I was against, and she decided to start barking like a dog. She was literally making barking sounds.

She was really good, but it was so random.

M: Do you have a funny experience that happened during practice or a game?

KW: I was at the school batting cages up by the student parking lot and was practicing my swing. I was feeding softballs into the machine for this other girl who was hitting really well. She hit one so hard that it bounced off the net near the ceiling and skimmed the net I was sitting behind and nailed me in the eye. The ball made my eye swollen and black, so I had to run to the school trainer to get some ice. It was really weird

how the whole thing happened.

M: Have you ever been seriously injured while playing?

KW: At one game there was a ball hit really hard to center field by this huge girl. She was rounding the bases and the player in center field threw the ball to me to get her out at home. I had to throw off my mask, and after I got the ball the girl slid into home plate head first. She rolled on top of me and I felt like I was dead.

The huge girl nailed me in the head and gave me a tumor-sized bump. It hurt like no tomorrow, but I had to keep playing because there were no other catchers on our team that day.

M: Anything else you’d like to add?

KW: Catchers are the most vital player in the game.

pauline disch

DOWN THE LINE Freshman Kat Wildermuth concentrates to make a perfect bunt down the third base line to prepare for the upcoming season. She practiced at the school batting cages after school.

Pop culture throwdown

How do SDA athletes fit into the pop culture scene? The Mustang finds out.

Interviews by Eric Peck. Photos by Pauline Disch and Liz Mills. current song on my iPod...

Tom Tumosa baba o’reilly junior -the who basketball

Erik Ray by my side senior -soldiers soccer of jah army

I lost my Sam Caras ipod; I just sophomore listen to anything marika wrestling puts on in the car.

Kim-Ashleigh Mostert right round -flo rida junior basketball

I can’t believe Reality show I people still want to be on: care about:

One show I have to Tivo:

___ and ____ should sing a duet:

osama bin laden

survivor

entourage

saddam hussein and mahmoud ahmadinejad

george bush

survivor

fringe

will ferrell and ben stiller

wearing pajamas in public

I don’t watch any law and order marika reality shows, hahnlein and svu so the real dane pede world I guess

who was the “fat” in amazing race elementary school

the mentalist

maddie bailey and jeff hicks

page 41

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

The workout you’ve been waiting for If you’re tired of workouts not working out, read along. This routine is easy, fun, and might even get you in shape. eric peck

I

’m sure that by now you’ve most likely heard of the “twominute workout” or the “couch workout” – that is, exercises designed for you to do while watching TV. These “exercises” are meant to be done during commercials, but let’s be honest: big name shows like “Lost” or “Heroes” have so many damn commercials that you’ll be drenched in sweat and gasping for air before you know it. What the people need is something new, something fresh: something low impact that still burns calories and gets your body in top tube-watching shape. Not to worry, I’ve heard your cries and am here to help.

Upper Body I’ve designed a complete workout with a few simple exercises that are easy to pick up and hard to forget. This regimen will tone you from head to toe, and it has my unofficial guarantee of excellence.

To work the upper arms,

we’ll do the basic curl. I know what you’re thinking: “Eric, this sounds like a normal workout.”

That’s where you’re wrong. You will be curling food. Before we start, let me say that I suggest buying some ankle weights and wearing them as stylish bracelets to add some resistance. This will greatly improve the efficiency of your actions. For beginners, a lighter food is acceptable. A good idea is a rotisserie chicken.

Simply insert your hand in the cavity and you’ve got yourself a first class weight/foodstuff.

For the experts among you, try to find something heavy. If you’re not concerned with eating what you’re curling, a small dog can work well, as can a heavy book. For those of you that are skilled multi-taskers, Guittard Chocolate Co. makes a 10pound chocolate bar that can be ordered online. That combined with the ankle weights should provide a favorable amount of resistance for you to handle. If you have the time to prepare a suckling pig, that is also beneficial and tasty.

So now hopefully your biceps

are the only thing burning – if not, you may need to let your cooked foodweights come to room temperature before holding them for long periods of time. You may also get sore, but it’s important to eat through the pain.

There’s a very easy and fun, albeit unproven way to exercise your abs. All you have to do is laugh really hard at whatever you’re watching. This may be difficult if you’re watching the CW network. Not to worry – the Lifetime channel offers guaranteed giggles every time. Warm up by doing three sets of fifteen “HA HA HA’s” with about two seconds in between each laugh.

Now that you’re feeling it, simply exaggerate your laugh every time you see something funny.

Depending on the show you’re watching, this can be a great exercise or a terrible one, if you know what I mean.

Lower Body It’s time to give the upper body a break. We have here some world-class lower-body exercises that are certain to give you

the thighs of steel that you’ve been sweating for in the gym.

(Editor’s note: These exercises assume that you have a coffee table in the proximity of your couch.) For starters, determine a random word in your head.

This is the word that will cue you to exercise. If you’re a beginner, you can pick a little used word – pumpkin, for example.

Now, whenever you hear your word, push said coffee table out with your feet. When you hear it again, pull it back in. More advanced fitness freaks will want to pick a more oft-used word, and can even increase the difficulty by adding multiple pushes and pulls every time the word is spoken.

Another exercise for the lower body is the calf raise, my version of which will give you calves capable of scaling a fish.

My method involves a simple but effective system, and I’m only giving you these secrets because I trust you. Here it is: choose your favorite food, secure it to a string however you want, and hang it from the ceiling just high enough so you have to

stand on your tip toes to bite it.

Starting flat on your feet, keep your arms at your sides and slowly raise yourself up on your tip toes, taking a bite with each rep. Foods with holes in them, like donuts and bagels, work well for this.

My last exercise is a little controversial. Certainly you are familiar with the squat, and some of the more insightful readers among you may have figured out where this is going already.

All I suggest is not actually sitting when you use the facilities.

Plant your feet a little wider than shoulder length, keep your back straight, and take care of business. It helps to imagine that there is a large cactus sticking out of the toilet, or that there has been some mixture of dangerous chemicals spilled onto the seat. For the first few times, it’s acceptable to take breaks.

You can lower yourself on to the seat if the pain becomes unbearable.

Follow these steps and you’ll be able to impersonate Michelangelo’s David in no time – except with pants.

Wrestling team finishes season with victories The wrestling team finished their season strong, and came away from it all with more than just bumps and bruises. eric peck

T

he wrestling team ended their season on a high note, with a strong showing in their league tournament on Feb. 11.

Junior Zac Ackad placed third in the 119 pound weight class, and freshman DJ Swan placed second in the 103 pound weight

page 42

class.

Ackad said that the team improved most on the fundamentals, as “most of the people had very little experience in wrestling. We also improved on our friendships.”

Ackad said that his biggest win was his placement in the league tournament, “because it shows just how far I’ve come

since the beginning.” The wrestlers improved not only their strength and endurance, but their camaraderie as well. “The biggest challenge our team faced was probably conditioning,” said Ackad.

All work and no play:The team’s work ethic payed off The team’s rigorous practice

schedule included work-outs on the track and in the weight room as well as the gym.

The team started at the top, taking part in two tournaments held at LCC and Carlsbad to kick off the season. The difficult matches against Division I opponents helped to prepare them for the stiff competition they would eventually face through-

out the rest of the season. Ackad plans to work on his wrestling over summer, as he plays tennis in the spring.

“The most important thing the team learned is that it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks as long as you’re diligent and persistent,” said Ackad. He also said the team has big plans for next year.

sports

the

mustang 03.06.09

Surfer vs. Skater

In the special issue of Surfer vs Skater, we get a blast from the past as teachers Marco Martinez, skater, and Martin Chaker, surfer, go head to head in a battle of the ages, literally. By Nina Moussavi and Kate Murphy.

1)Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

Surfer: Dude that’s just wrong.

I don’t believe that! You two are liars. This isn’t fair you guys are smarter than us.

Skater: Man, surfers are always trying to question authority.

So the “bro bras” can get to the waves dude.

Us: Come on now surfer, why would we ever lie to you two?

Though it is accurate that we are smarter, you are making some very bold accusations. You get minus 19 points for insulting us. And skater, “bro bras”? Really? You should start focusing on yourself more and leave the insults to us. Minus 15 points for not showing good sportsmanship.

2)What’s the difference between normal ketchup and fancy ketchup?

Surfer: Fancy ketchup is just a marketing tool. It’s just “the man” trying to get your money.

Skater: Normal ketchup is in packages and fancy ketchup is served in those ramekin things, like at Jake’s.

Us: We realize that all you “surfer bros” are trying to “stick it to the man,” but sometimes “the man” isn’t always trying to get you down. Maybe after we take away 4 points, you will start to have more faith in “the man.”

Skater, we are very impressed by the fact that you know what a ramekin is, but the name dropping was a little chancy. Still, we don’t mind giving you 15 points for showing us your wide range in vocabulary.

3)Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?

Surfer: To concentrate. Psh, that’s easy, easy one. Next question please.

Skater: Uh, actually I turn the volume up. I want to make sure my brain is fully functioning.

Us: Surfer, sorry our questions are too obvious for you, Mr. Smarty-pants. But looking at your score so far; we wouldn’t be so quick to answer the question if we were you. We aren’t even going to bother with your points. Skater, we appreciate you going against the grain. We are going to have to give you 16 points for “sticking it to the man.”

4)Do you wake up or open your eyes first?

Surfer: I usually open my eyes first, but I don’t actually wake up until like noon.

Skater: That’s a personal question, but since we’re such good friends now, I guess I can answer that. I usually wake up first.

Us: Surfer, maybe if you had been awake during this, then you would not be getting crushed by skater. We will give you 9 points of encouragement.

Our advice: don’t wait so long to wake up, or your score will

nina moussavi

DUDES Surfer Martin Chaker throws up a “shaka” as skater Marco Martinez plays with a tech deck, most likely confiscated from one of his students.

continue to spiral downward at a constant rate. Skater, it may have seemed like you were becoming “good friends” with us, but this is strictly business. We have no more room for new friends, and

certainly no time for foolish behaviors. Minus 4 points for being unprofessional.

Totals Surfer: -14 Skater: 12

page 43

the

backpage

page 44

03.06.09