The Mustang Dec. 2014

December 19, 2014

T h e

M u s ta n g

Volume 19 Issue III

the Mustang | December 2014

beHind the Pages Colleen Mcgrath Cover Artist

New York City Ferguson protests.

Photo courtesy of All-Nite Images/ Wikimedia Commons.

“It just started out as a doodle in my one of my notebooks,” said senior Colleen McGrath, referring to the painting on the cover. “When I was drawing it in my notebook, I used people instead of poles and decided I like it.”

McGrath is a veteran AP Art student, whose unique approaches to human anatomy and sole use of acrylic paint makes her art easy to distinguish. She’s been drawing since “the time I had motor functions that could draw more than a smiley face.”

In the recent art show, McGrath’s painting expanded past the borders of her canvas, continuing the power lines using wire up to the ceiling of the art gallery in order to make the art “not just on the wall, but all around.”

Malala pictured above. Photo courtesy of White House/Wikimedia Commons.

Elise and Elise Quick notes from the co-editors-in-chief With our third issue under our belt and 2014 in our past, we want to take a moment to look back on 2014 and get excited for 2015. As we sat down to being our reflection, it slowly occurred to us that this past year has been particularly somber.

Global tensions seemed to escalate to new levels, as ISIS beheadings screened on Youtube and the world watched Ukraine and Russia fight over Crimea. Innocent victims were caught in crises. Ebola spread rapidly throughout parts of West Africa, taking almost 7,000 lives. In Nigeria, some 200 young women trying to receive an education were captured. In Mexico, 43 students went missing as others were shot by corrupted authorities. Just this week, militants from the Taliban attacked a Pakistani school, leaving over 130 children dead. Families are still mourning the lost lives from the missing Malaysian airlines flight MH370. And, in Australia, 17 hostages were held at gun point in a popular café; two of whom were killed also killed this week.

While some voices were silenced, others strove to be heard.

Citizens of Hong Kong fought for their democracy in what became known as the “Umbrella Revolution,” named after the umbrellas the protestors used to shield themselves from police tear gas. The United States experienced its own demonstrations as high-profile cases, like those of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, drew attention to potential discrimination and brutality within the police force.

Even so, this is not to say 2014 did not bring its fair share of triumphs. Last month, the Rosetta spacecraft was the first to land successfully on a comet; scientists hope it will help provide answers about the origins of the solar system. Top world leaders came together to engage in a discussion about global climate change and efforts that can be made to combat it. And 17-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai became the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate for her activism for female education.

2014 has seen a wide array of tragic, paralyzing, and awe-inspiring moments. They have captivated us as both engaged high school students and human beings. As we look towards the future, it is important to take the lessons of this past year with us and remember that we still have many to learn.

Elise Echeverria and Elise Gout

2 | a little insight

Megan Levan Backpage Photographer Megan Levan, the sophomore photographer of our back page, started her love for photography last year when she was in Mrs. Coppick’s ROP photo imaging class.

Her love for photography stemmed from there when she started dabbling in the art of long exposure, macro photography, and experimenting with her dad’s Canon Rebel T5i at home. Her backpage photo was taken at the Del Mar Fair from this summer. “I just wanted to play around with the color exposure of the camera and all the lights coming from the rides, and this was the final result,” says Levan. “I really like playing around with long exposure and stuff, like in the backpage photo and I just have a lot of fun doing photography.”

Who’s who?

The Mustang Staff EDITOR IN CHIEF/NEWS EDITOR Elise Echeverria

BUISNESS MANAGERS Hana Chen Leigh Houck

EDITOR IN CHIEF/FEATURES EDITOR Elise Gout

CAF EDITOR Dylan Hendrickson

ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR Sophie Peeler ARTS EDITORS Julianne Miller Reema Moussa OPINIONS EDITOR Carina Julig SPORTS EDITORS Lindsey King Andrew Naimark Kevin Gallagher

ONLINE EDITOR Caroline Daniel ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR Kate Sequeira STAFF WRITERS Daniel Ballard Gina Checchia Elizabeth Loren Lucas Oldham Becca Von Zweck ADVISOR Tim Roberts

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 98, emailed to sdamustang@gmail.com or mailed to

San Dieguito Academy / Room 98 / 800 Santa Fe Drive / Encinitas, CA 92024

sdamustang.com

Assessing Assault With the recent surge in media reports about sexual assault on college campuses, SDA senior girls consider how this will impact their college choices. College freshmen talk about their experiences at their new schools.

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ationwide, reports of sexual assault on college campuses have been receiving heavy media coverage, and with the final deadlines for applications approaching, senior girls are having to increasingly consider safety when choosing potential schools.

Columbia University in Morningside Heights was one of the first to generate a large discussion on the issue when, in September, senior Emma Sulkowicz pledged to carry her mattress around campus until her rapist was expelled. “The large majority of threats to girls from sexual assault come from people you know,” said Cassidy Mayeda, a former SDA student and present freshman at Columbia’s sister college, Barnard. “It’s the boys at Columbia parties spiking your drink that you have to be afraid of.”

As reported by Newsweek, 27 other mattresses joined Sulkowicz’s in the quad in an Oct. 30 protest.

They represent each of the 28 students who have, to date, filed a federal complaint against the university, which is alleged to have mishandled assault cases.

At the University of Virginia, all fraternities were suspended on Nov. 22 until Jan. 9. This occurred amid an investigation into a published Rolling Stone” article where a student gave her account of being raped by seven men at a fraternity in 2012, according to CNN This incident follows the largely publicized disappeara nce of UVA sophomore Hannah Graham, who was abducted after leaving a bar on September 13. Her remains were later found on October 30. “It was a huge shock to the community,” Goodstein said.

“UVA is in the small city of Charlottesville which is considered to be an extremely safe place.”

Sexual assault in colleges is also a local issue. Some California Schools had to restructure their sexual assault policies after the passage of the “Yes means Yes” law by the state legislature this year and the application of the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a law which prohibits discrimination based on sex, to sexual assault cases.

In the past year, there has been a great deal of negative news coverage regarding sexual assault at San Diego State University. Most recently, all fraternities at the university were required to suspend all social activities. This decision followed an incident in which fraternity members taunted and harassed activists who were attempting to shed a spotlight on the high

number of date-rape incidents at the school, KPBS reported.

SDSU media relations officer Natalia Elko said that sexual assault is a significant issue for them, and they are working to address all aspects of it.

“It is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. As university leaders, our highest priority is student safety, and we are committed to ending sexual violence on our campus. One sexual assault is one too many,” said Elko.

According to Elko SDSU’s policy is already in line with the new California “Yes means yes” law which specifically outlines what constitutes consent to have sex.

High school students’ perspective For the most part, senior girls at SDA seem to be taking safety seriously when considering future colleges When determining a school’s safety level, they look at the surrounding community, drug and alcohol use, and the different college programs to help prevent incidents.

Senior Gabri Posard finds it’s easiest to get a feel for a school’s safety level by directly asking the question when on a campus visit. “I find it reassuring when they say, ‘Oh yeah we have the blue light, the police program, the alert text’ so obviously they are prepared for a situation.”

In addition to these means of gauging safety, some senior girls say that their perception of a school is affected if the school has been in the news.

It raises a red flag for her, Posard said.

“I heard about [USC] under-reporting rape by recording it under the wrong category,” she said. “It made it seem like that school doesn’t care about rape and isn’t making it as big of a priority as it should, and that they are more worried about the impression they are giving off.”

Others feel that it’s situations like this that make coverage and statistics on colleges hard to trust.

“There is a lot that isn’t being covered and more needs to be done on most college campuses,” said senior Romy Beigel.

“Because statistics and testimonies are often times poor representatives of the truth, I rely mostly on the feel of the school, plus the evaluations of people that I might know who went there, to judge a college on

A flyer posted at Cal State San Marcos in attempt to find a rape offender. Photo courtesy of Katie Sweeny, The Cougar Chronicle.

safety,” said senior Alison Sakihara.

Some seniors, like Tara Gildersleeve, feel like sexual assault happens at all schools so it isn’t really something that is weighing into their decision.

For example, despite the recent sexual assault and murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, Gildersleeve says this didn’t affect her decision to apply. “Even though that happened, it’s odd. I’m still going to apply there, I still think it’s a good school.”

College Apps teacher Carolyn Lee acknowledged that how big of a consideration is put on safety is really a personal decision.

“At the end of the day, a student needs to feel safe to be successful in college, but what makes them feel safe could be different,” said Lee. College Student Perspectives In the previous senior classes of SDA, female students varied in their approaches of considering safety when looking at colleges; the majority did not see it as a crucial factor in continued on page 04

students are talking about | 3

the Mustang | December 2014

Columbia students protest how thier school handles sexual assualt on the steps of the library . Photo by Cassidy Maydea.

continued frompage 04 their application process “I mean, I didn’t ignore it,” said Lauren Nelson, a freshman now at UC Davis. “It just wasn’t high on the priority list.”

“I just kind of figured that I would be safe wherever I went,” said Goodstein, “which was probably a big assumption that I shouldn’t have made.”

Stanford freshman Marin Calloway found safety to be “important” when applying, but said, “It’s very hard to determine. It involves personal choices, university policies, and the location of the school.”

In light of this, UC Berkeley freshman Madeleine Karydas recommended visiting campuses as a senior, to personally see what the environment is like. Both she and Cassidy Mayeda, a freshman at Barnard College in New York City, had to accept that there would be some compromises in safety by living in urban surroundings.

“I know people who chose not to attend Berkeley because they were uncomfortable with the area,” said Karydes, “but it’s not an issue for me.”

Mayeda has never felt unsafe on her campus, but acknowledged, “I am just a freshman, and I don’t go out and party as hard as others.”

Meanwhile, at UC Davis, Nelson has found the two most common crimes are bicycle theft and bicycle seat theft. “I feel safe,” she said. “Sometimes I worry about my bike, though.”

Across the board, the college girls spoke highly of the many systems in place to aid in the protection of students. Every school has some form of night shuttle or officer escorts in place to help students get home at night.

Amairani Palacios, a sophomore at UCSB, received many warnings via email from her university,

4 | students are talking about

informing her “usually about off-campus activities” in Isla Vista. Both Nelson and Karydes mentioned the blue light system in place at their schools, a large number of alarms that connect directly to the campus police.

In school orientations, colleges addressed sexual assault to varying degrees, SDA graduates said. It was discussed “very heavily” at UVA, Goodstein said.

Mayeda was in the first class of Barnard students required to participate in a program dedicated to the topic. She said, “It was great in terms of awareness brought to the issue, but the prevailing sentiment was one of sarcasm and annoyance.”

Mayeda continued, referring to the Sulkowicz mattress protests, “I think the real sense of disillusionment with the program is that the college is saying one thing and doing another.”

This issue has led to an increase in student activism on campuses. According to Calloway, the Stanford student government is, “working with school administration closely to develop policies and punishments against sexual assault perpetrators.”

In her experience, Calloway has found there to be a large emphasis on consent. “At a frat party, almost all guys asked me if I wanted to dance instead of just starting to grind on me,” she said. “Better than high school.”

Goodstein has also had a positive experience with students looking out for each other. “A few weeks ago, I was walking home on a Saturday night after being out with my friend. Her dorm was closer than mine, so once we passed it, she asked if I would be able to get home okay. Immediately, a group of guys walking by offered to walk me back to my dorm,” she said. “I think recent events have made the UVA community stronger.”

“In general, colleges and universities want their students to be safe,” said Karydes. However, she has found that much of this is determined by the effectiveness of whatever policies are in practice.

“The nature Sexual Assault In High School of the college environment, where Though the recent news hype a lot of young surrounding sexual assault focuses adults are living specifically of issues and instances on together away from college campuses, that is not to say direct supervision it is the only environment in which it for the first time, takes place. is in and of itself SDA Counselor Ann Nebolon said conducive to a lot that sexual assault is something that goes on at SDA, however it is not of unfortunate common. and unacceptable Posard agrees that in high school behavior.” sexual assault occurs, but on a Concerns and smaller scale. “It’d be wrong to say Advice that it doesn’t exist, but it is not as Parents and apparent because we are not in the students alike have same environment, we are not as concerns about away from our parents as we are in safety in college. college. But those tendencies and As mothers and those behavioral habits, they are fathers filed out definitely still present here. I don’t think from the monthly you could talk to any girl here at SDA that hasn’t had any incident of sexual breakfast with the assault or sexual harassment. They principal in the aren’t the same thing but they are conference room, they discussed their definitely correlated” Others haven’t heard about or perspective on the experienced any instances of sexual issue. One woman assault at SDA. said that she talks “I have never heard of assault at to her daughter SDA but that doesn’t mean it never frequently about happens. I just try to keep myself out being aware of her of the kinds of situations that feel surroundings. “I get unsafe, “ said Sakihara. a lot of eye-rolling,” Though some seniors seem to have an awareness about sexual assault she said, “but there to a certain extent, Nebolon believes is a lot of listening that the majority of teenagers are not as well.” aware enough.

“The biggest Teenagers in general have such thing for me and an “I’m invincible, it’s not going to with my son,” said happen to me,” or “I’m not going another mother, “is to get drunk” attitudes where they that for him, now, think they can handle it. Then all of home is safety. Once a sudden, they find themselves in a he goes to college, situation they can’t handle, or they he will have a new wake up and think that something home, [and] I want may have happened,” said Nebolon. his new home to be as safe as the home he has now.”

This kind of apprehension was also expressed by Beigel. “I’m trying to be smart about not putting myself in [this kind of] situation,” the senior said, “but I am kind of worried that I’ll be around people who are using drugs and alcohol, and they’ll try to pressure me to do the same.”

“It mostly stems from me being a totally chicken,” said Sakihara, “but I really just don’t want to attend a

sdamustang.com college where I don’t feel safe and comfortable.”

In light of this, some SDA graduates offered their advice.

For Calloway, communication has been an important way of ensuring safety. She has made a habit of telling people where she is running when going out alone, What Colleges are doing and “always has With so many incidents and so a plan” before much coverage, colleges must face attending parties. the task of how to respond to such a “Stick together! complex and controversial situation.

Look out for your San Diego State University has been in friends,” she said. the forefront of the controversy hav“If some random ing had numerous sexual assault reguy is all over one ports and student protests in the last of them, go make few months. sure she’s ok with “This is a significant issue for all of us. it.”

Sexual violence harms individuals in “Don’t drink so our community and destroys the safe much you can’t environment necessary for learning say no,” stressed and research,” said SDSU’s media reMayeda. “Know, lations officer Natalia Elko. before you go out, SDSU has engaged in various efforts how far you are to combat this issue including forming willing to go with a Sexual Violence Task Force, opensomeone you meet. ing a Women’s Center, and expandKnow your limits ing awareness through workshops with alcohol and and trainings Elko said other substances.”

The new prevention trainings are Both Goodstein designed for students, faculty, and and Mayeda spoke parents. Some of the programs ofagainst letting fered throughout the year include a reputations of 30 minute video presentation and reschools greatly quired online training within the New influence students’ Student and Parent Orientation. college choices.

There are also a variety of addition“Scary events can al workshops and trainings throughout happen in the the year like the Bystander Intervensafest of places,” tion Training, a FratManners workshop, said Goodstein. a Behind Closed Doors workshop, and “The most various others that help to spread important part isn’t awareness and prevent sexual assault where you go, but incidents, Eliko said. how you choose to Though SDSU has made changes to be safe once you combat sexual assault, their policy on get there.” the matter remained consistent, as it “Leaving the already aligns with California’s “Yes safety of SDA and means Yes” law said Elko.

Encinitas, which The “Yes means Yes” law is a stateI understand for new law that re-defines the consent many of you has and how it pertains to sexual activity. not been so safe as To see how the state defines consent, it was for me, will see sidebar “A California definition for be a shock,” said Consent” Mayeda. “You’ll be fine if you keep your wits about you.”

“I mean, I didn’t ignore it,” said Lauren Nelson, a freshman now at UC Davis. “It just wasn’t high on the priority list.”

“I just kind of figured that I would be safe wherever I went,” said Goodstein, “which was probably a big assumption that I shouldn’t have made.”

Stanford freshman Marin Calloway found safety to be “important” when applying, but said, “It’s is very hard to determine. It involves personal choices, university policies, and the location of the school.”

In light of this, UC Berkeley freshman Madeleine Karydas recommended visiting campuses as a senior, to personally see what the environment is like. Both she and Cassidy Mayeda, a freshman at Barnard College in New York City, had to accept that there would be some compromises in safety by living in urban surroundings.

“I know people who chose not to attend Berkeley because they were uncomfortable with the area,” said Karydes, “but it›s not an issue for me.”

Mayeda has never felt unsafe on her campus, but admitted, “I am just a freshman, and I don’t go out and party as hard as others.”

Meanwhile, at UC Davis, Nelson has found the two most common crimes are bicycle theft and bicycle seat theft. “I feel safe,” she said. “Sometimes I worry about my bike, though.”

Across the board, the college girls spoke highly of the many systems in place to aid in the protection of students. Every school has some form of night shuttle or officer escorts in place to help students get home at night.

Amairani Palacios, a sophomore at UCSB, received many warnings via email from her university, informing her “usually about off-campus activities” in Isla Vista. Both Nelson and Karydes mentioned the blue light system in place at their schools, a large number of alarms that connect directly to the campus police.

In school orientations, colleges addressed sexual assault to varying degrees, SDA graduates said. It was discussed “very heavily” at UVA, Goodstein said.

Mayeda was in the first class of Barnard students required to participate in a program dedicated to the topic. She said, “It was great in terms of awareness brought to the issue, but the prevailing sentiment was one of sarcasm and annoyance.” In partial reference to the Emma Sulkowicz mattress protests, she said, “I think the real sense of disillusionment with the program is that the college is saying one thing and doing another.”

Student activism regarding sexual assault is also present at Stanford, where the student government is, according to Calloway, “working with school administration closely to develop policies and punishments against sexual assault perpetrators.”

In her experience, Calloway has found there to be a large emphasis on consent within the Stanford student body. “At a frat party, almost all guys asked me if I wanted to dance instead of just starting to grind on me,” she said. “Better than high school.”

Goodstein has also had a positive experience with members of her student body looking out for

each other. “A few weeks ago, I was walking home on a Saturday night after being out with my friend.

Her dorm was closer than mine, so once we passed it, she asked if I would be able to get home okay.

Immediately, a group of guys walking by offered to walk me back to my dorm,” she said. “I think recent events have made the UVA community stronger.”

“In general, colleges and universities want their students to be safe,” said Karydes. However, she has found that much of this is determined by the effectiveness of whatever policies are in practice.

“The nature of the college environment, where a lot of young adults are living together away from direct supervision for the first time, is in and of itself conducive to a lot of unfortunate and unacceptable behavior.”

-story by Elise Echeverria and Elise Gout A California Definition of Consent Here is an excerpt from a statement given by San Diego State University’s media relation officer, Natalia Elko. about how consent is defined at CSUs. • Consent must be voluntary, and given without coercion, force, threats, or intimidation. Consent requires positive cooperation in a particular sexual act, or expression of intent to engage in that sexual act through the exercise of free will.

•Consent can be withdrawn or revoked. Consent to one form of sexual activity (or one sexual act) does not constitute consent to other forms of sexual activity (or other sexual acts). Consent to sexual activity given on one occasion does not constitute consent to sexual activity on another occasion. The fact that two people are or were in a dating or sexual relationship does not constitute consent to engage in sexual activity. There must always be mutual and affirmative consent to engage in sexual activity. Consent to a sexual act may be withdrawn or revoked at any time, including after penetration. The victim’s request for the perpetrator to use a condom or birth control does not, in and of itself, constitute consent. Once consent is withdrawn or revoked, the sexual activity must stop immediately.

• Consent cannot be given by a person who is incapacitated. A person is incapacitated if s/he lacks the physical and/or mental ability to make informed, rational judgments.

Examples of incapacitation include unconsciousness, sleep and blackouts. Whether an intoxicated person (as a result of using alcohol or other drugs) is incapacitated depends on the extent to which the alcohol or other drugs impact the person’s decision-making capacity, awareness of consequences, and ability to make fully informed judgments. A person with a medical or mental disability may also lack the capacity to give consent.

• Being intoxicated by drugs or alcohol does not diminish a person’s responsibility to obtain consent from the other party before engaging in sexual activity. Factors to be considered include whether the person knew, or whether a reasonable person in the accused’s position should have known, that the victim did not give, or revoked, consent; was incapacitated; or was otherwise incapable of giving consent.

students are talking about | 5

the Mustang | December 2014

Up Front

A quick look at the events around the SDA campus. Nov. 15 - Dec. 19.

Browsing at the Bazaar

Tuition Turmoil

Students spent lunch walking from table to table, looking at the various items being sold in Senior Court.

The UC system has proposed a new plan to receive more funds for the universities.

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T

enior Court was flooded with SDA students attending the annual Bazaar today at lunch. The Bazaar gave students an opportunity to share their creative ideas and creations, as well as make a little money. The booths sold a variety of things, such as succulents, jewelry, photos, and rose grams.

The Bazaar also gave clubs a chance to collect donations and get publicity. The clubs that participated included the ASL Club, the Fashion Club, and the Gay Straight Alliance Club.

In the center of Senior Court, ASB set up a game of musical chairs. Enthusiastic and competitive students participated, attracting an eager crowd on onlookers.

Photo by Kate Sequeira

As shoppers went from booth to booth, they were coated in fake snow, courtesy of ASB’s snow machine on the roof.

“I love the snow machine,” one student said. “They’ve never had it before, so it’s really unique. And also we don’t really get snow in California here, so…”

Senior musician Jack Van

Cleaf also provided the Bazaar with live music. He played original songs and covers such as “I’ll Follow You into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie.

“We’ve been planning [the Bazaar] for a long time,” said sophomore Katherine Tarangelo, a member of ASB. “A couple of months, at least.” story by Sophie Peeler

Festive Fanfare The SDA band marched on Dec. 6 in the Encinitas Holiday Parade.

Photo by Elizabeth Loren

Community Day Delayed Community Day has been moved back to February.

6 | students are talking about

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“The parade has always been, more than anything, a bonding experience for the band.

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band seldom get to play together, so getting the two groups together is always fun–it’s sort of like bringing together the whole extended family.” – Junior Max Opferkuch

ommunity Day, originally scheduled for Dec. 16, will now take place in February to give the organizers more time to prepare.

Senior Kate Shapiro, one of the leads in planning the event, said the primary cause of the schedule change was simple logistics. “The club is more student-run this year,

making coordination a little more difficult,” she said, “but also more rewarding.”

February seemed an appropriate alternative, given that students will have just transitioned into their new classes for second semester.

At this time, both Shapiro and senior Jackie Urenda, another head organizer, said they are no longer seeking

he future of paying for college looks uncertain for SDA students in the wake of a new of new proposals passes by the University of California system.

The proposal was made by the president of the University of California system, Janet Napolitano. Although the plan was widely protested on UC campuses and condemned by Governor Jerry Brown, the UC regents approved the proposal by a vote of 7-2 in mid-November.

UC President Napolitano aimed to address the lack of much needed funding for the UC system by increasing tuition for California residents by 18 percent over the next five years, from roughly $12,000 to around $15,000. Tuition for out-of-state residents would also significantly increase. The plan is said to address both the lack of funding

for the UC’s amidst their rising costs and the lack of a regular plan for students.

Under a proposed bill which has been supported by Brown, the newly instated middle class scholarship, which is said to have not been used to its full potential because of the lack of knowledge surrounding it, would be eliminated.

Additionally, UC’s would be encouraged to help promote programs which allow students to graduate in three years, increase the amount of students enrolled at each campus; offer more classes online; and make it so some campuses have specific focus which others do not. Brown has also threatened to withhold the four percent increase of the UC budget that was voted for this year should tuition actually raise. story by Kevin Gallagher

ASB Elections Students running for ASB office gave small speeches inside the gym on Dec. 12 in order to persuade the student-body and gain their vote.

Photo by Kate Sequeira

additional facilitators.

Initially, they had a difficult time in gathering enough self-nominated student volunteers.

The facilitator training date will be announced after the organizers have received confirmation on one of the suggested dates for the event itself.

In regards to its structure,

Community Day will relatively parallel that of last year, with a series of in-class activity sessions and two assemblies featuring studentfocused videos. Shapiro did, however, allude to an “awesome, new theme” that will set the tone for 2015. For now, she said, it will remain secret. story by Elise Gout

sdamustang.com

STAFF EDITORIAL

IS IT WORTH THE COST?

The Mustang staff prefers a hike in UC school tuition over other potentially detrimental alternatives.

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uition for the UC schools has hovered at $12,000 annually for the past few years, much lower than the cost of many other colleges, especially private universities. However, an increase in tuition is being proposed in order to obtain more money for the UC system, which is currently not receiving enough funding from the state. The increase would raise tuition by 18% percent over five years, for as much as 5% per year. Tuition would eventually end up at $15,000 by 2020 or before.

In opposition to this plan, California Governor Jerry Brown has proposed an alternative that would keep the tuition at its current price and entail attempting to enroll more students. It would also potentially involve increasing the number of three-year degrees and getting rid of the Middle Class Scholarship. It may mean

that more out-of-state students would get spots at the UCs, because their increased tuition price brings more money to the school system.

The SDA Mustang believes that neither of these solutions are very desirable, and they are not the ideal solutions to fix the problems in the California education system. The root problem is that the state is severely underfunding the schools, and it is frustrating that this issue goes all the way up to the colleges.

In having to pick one of the two options, the Mustang prefers the tuition hike to Brown’s plan. Though nobody was in full support of either plan, it would be better to pay slightly more if it meant that the schools wouldn’t become more crowded, and the staff thought that, if the scholarship remained, it could help offset the increase in tuition for the families who couldn’t

afford it. There is a lot of scholarship money available, and in the grand scheme of things, $3,000 isn’t all that bad, especially compared to other tuition hikes of greater magnitude. For instance, tuition in the United Kingdom more than doubled from 2010 to 2012.

Yikes.

If tuition increases, fewer kids might see the UC system as an option, which is worrisome. It might also make students see the UC system as caring more about politics than education, a disappointing prospect. And finally, it’s a concern that tuition might continue to be increased past the $15,000 mark.

Despite these concerns, UC tuition would still be very reasonable even with an increase, especially considering that many private or out-of-state universities cost four times that amount. It might also mean that more California students would have a shot at attending a UC school if the system didn’t feel pressured to get money by attracting more out-of-state students. If the hike offered more security in that regard, it could well be worth it.

The Mustang acknowledges that an increase in tuition is hardly favorable, and could make it more difficult for some students to attend. However, they believe that the situation is still manageable, and for now it is the better solution for the school system’s financial woes.

opinions | 7

the Mustang | December 2014

ENGLISH ADVENTURES Your English books, explained in brief. By Carina Julig.

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h, English class. You either love it or you hate it, but regardless, you’ll end up reading a lot of literature during your high school career.

Feelings towards assigned reading range from the guy who just takes everything off of Sparknotes instead of actually opening his book to that annoying kid who’s already read everything and talks too much during class discussions (guilty). Here are some of my profound insights into our school curriculum.

“The Great Gastby”: A vivid portrait of the glamour of the roaring 20s, highlighting the hypocrisy of the jazz age and the looming specter of class inequality and economic instability. Actually, that’s not very glamorous. Well, at least there are always parties.

“Frankenstein”: An important lesson on ethics in the field of science. Practices such as grave robbing and reanimating the dead are frowned upon, and should be avoided unless you want to end up chained to a rock while vultures eat your liver, like Prometheus.

“The Catcher in the Rye”: Even if you have no real problems in your life, you can still have ennui. Adolescence is terrible. Everyone is phony. It’s a pity that this isn’t read in middle school instead of high school, as kids going through their pop-punk phase would probably appreciate this book a lot more than jaded sophomores.

“Crime and Punishment”: The heartwarming story of a troubled young axe-murderer and the prostitute with a heart of gold who awakens him to the error of his ways. Good to know that no matter what you do, you can always achieve redemption. Except you’re still a murderer. And in jail.

“Romeo and Juliet”: The greatest love story of all time. No matter that the protagonists barely know each other and (spoiler) everyone dies. This is clearly a love story, not a commentary on the effects of feuding or the intensity of teenage emotion.

“The Odyssey”: You know how sometimes you say you’ll do something, and it’ll be really easy and won’t take that long? Except then it takes a little longer, and you keep getting sidetracked and going off-course and it ends up taking 20 years and everyone’s trying to steal your ancestral home? Man, I hate when that happens. Don’t make the gods angry, kids.

“Hamlet”: Murdered father? Adulterous mother?

Unstable kingdom? Obviously, the thing to do is...talk about your personal problems and deliberate over what to do until you get killed. Not to take action or anything. That would be ridiculous.

I hope you found that educational, and will approach reading with a deeper understanding. Disclaimer: The Mustang is not authorized to provide you with more literary knowledge. All further questions must be taken up with your English teacher.

8 | perspectives

www. sdamustang.com

TEACHERS TO BE The SDA graduates who came back for more.

I

f you’re ever in room 22, you might see a physics class, students sitting with their attention focused up front. Two teachers catch their eyes, and one is not much older than the kids themselves.

Ryan Cardenas, a student teacher, conducts the room alongside Trish Hovey, asking for a song from his audience. Artists and bands are thrown out until the Bee Gees’s roar from tinny computer speakers.

Cardenas smiles as the clever activity leads the class through a disco-themed dance routine, taking the concept of motion to a 1970’s dance floor.

The intersting part about this isn’t the scientific disco but rather the man leading it all. A former SDA graduate, Cardenas has returned after four years to hopefully spend many more among the teaching staff. And he isn’t alone. Drew Spiller, a 2009 SDA graduate, joins him on this process to become a full fledged teacher at the Academy.

These two men seem to raise the question: why would they come back, especially as teachers? Were four years not enough? Why would they want to become a teacher? It’s simple: these guys just really love this school.

Cardenas graduated from SDA in 2010, calling it the “best four years of [his] life, before college.” He admits to a passion for learning, saying, “I was definitely a nerd. I loved physics for example, I absolutely loved it.”

Spiller works with U.S. History teacher Kerry Koda during her first period class. He explains what high school meant to him: “…getting to come from Diegueno and go here, it was so much more laid back and everyone could just be a little weird and do whatever, and I really liked it.” During his years at San Dieguito, Spiller describes himself as a “huge nerd” who joined Mustang Minds and kept clear of mischief with honors and AP classes.

But the question still stands: why did they come back? Cardenas and Spiller both express their admiration towards the teachers and staff that inspired them, yet something a bit deeper left them begging

for more. For Cardenas, it was the acceptance. “One of my favorite things about SDA is that you can disagree with people and still respect them, and love them and accept them, which is not something you find at actually most anywhere else in the world,” he said.

Spiller, on the other hand, came back for the memories. “I loved it when I went here… and this was kind of a dream job,” he said.

Both Cardenas and Spiller are undergoing the yearlong process to earn their teaching credentials. In between team teaching at SDA, the two are required to attend courses at Cal State San Marcos as Blaze Newman, the Academy’s contact with the college, explained. Her role is to pick which candidates join San Dieguito while she monitors their work.

And according to Newman, an SDA graduate would have some advantages the second time around campus. They tend to have a better understanding of the culture, know how the school functions, and feel more comfortable in a familiar environment. This very familiarity is what led Newman to choose the two, knowing that “we’d help them here at SDA,” she said.

Newman also clarified how professionalism can be hard for student teachers to achieve when returning to their former schools. Teachers and students alike could see them as a kid, still not quite old or experienced enough for the role.

During his brief time on the campus, Cardenas has already taken well to the role. He emphasizes how natural it feels, working as a student teacher. He says, “It feels awesome, I absolutely love it. It’s not weird at all.”

Spiller seems to agree, saying “I love to be here, I really love the way this campus feels, the students here are great and I really love all the teachers here.”

High school does change the second time around.

Besides just feeling “older” as Cardenas put it, one’s views can completely change.

“My perspective is so much different… I was

“I loved it when I went here.”

- Drew Spiller, student teacher

Student Teacher Ryan Cardenas reviewing a lesson for his physics class with Trish Hovey. Photo by Juli Miller.

Drew Spiller, 2009 SDA graduate teaching U.S. History alongside Kerry Koda. Photo by Juli Miller.

just really focused on what I was doing and kind of didn’t really pay attention to anything else. And now that I’m here I’m seeing so much more of what the students are able to do and the opportunities here,” said Spiller.

They both are enjoying the other side of the classroom, including their new coworkers. “These are the same people who made me want to become a teacher, so now I get to teach alongside them… I’m going to get to practice what I learned from them, with them,” said Cardenas.

“It’s been neat to see kind of the work that goes into teaching and hearing people’s uncertainties and things they’re actively working on,” Spiller said.

Overall their experience here has been a “pretty good one so far,” as Spiller put it. Let’s just hope we don’t scare them off.

story by Juli Miller

something different | 9

the Mustang | December 2014

It’s Snow Big Deal Senior Calvin Zikakis.

Mustang skiers and snowboarders share their favorite places to go and most memorable experiences. Story by Hana Chen and Lindsey King.

1. What’s you’re favorite part about skiing/ snowboarding?

“There’s something that’s just so exhilarating about carving through the snow as you’re going down the mountain, hearing the sounds of the cold wind and crunching ice all around you. It can leave you breathless (sometimes literally, if you catch an edge and faceplant).” - Maggie Lombard, junior “You go down a mountain, its nice and cold, snow is fluffy and you can fall and it doesnt hurt.” - Calvin Zikakis, senior Sophomore Morea West.

Junior Maggie Lombard.

“Snowboarding’s more like skating and surfing, and in skiing, you can actually do more stuff, or at least I can do more stuff, because skiing’s easier.” - Trevor Anderberg, sophomore 2. Where is you’re favorite place to go?

“Big Bear’s my second home, but Mammoth’s slopes win if they aren’t crowded and if the snow is good.”- Lombard “Snowbird, Utah, it always has the most snow. Its all about the powder.” - Zikakis

Freshman Patrick Rahilly.

“For snow, my family and I go to Colorado; we used to go to Breckenridge a lot. That was fun. Mammoth is also fun; lots of people though. Same with Big Bear. We also went to Brian Head once, and that was really cool.” - Anderberg 3. What is a funny moment you experienced?

“One time, the “Rollercoaster” ski lift at Mammoth broke down for about 20 minutes. I was riding with a college-age dude, and he ended up giving me a crash course on how to survive in case I’m buried in an avalanche.” - Lombard “The chair lift got stuck at Big Bear and we were over a patch like 10 ft and there was a snowbank beneath and my friends and I were sitting there for the like 15 minutes and so we just jumped off.” - Zikakis

Sophomore Alicia Greek

10 | something different

Sophomore Trevor Anderberg

“The most memorable experience I’ve had snowboarding was when my dad told me that we were going left at a fork in the trail and then at the last minute telling me to go to the right. I tried to turn fast, but I slid out and got stuck in one foot deep of powder in between going left and right and it took 10 minutes to get out of it.” - Patrick Rahilly, freshman

www. sdamustang.com

Skier vs. Snowboarder Junior skier Maggie Lombard derogatizes like it’s 1859, while senior snowboarder Jared Holguin convincingly acts like a five-year-old. By Dylan Hendrickson.

What happens if you’re “scared half to death” twice?

Skier: You probably become half ghost and half human.

Snowboarder: You die half the time.

Skier, first of all, let me just say right off the bat that your answer is the premise of the show, “Danny Phantom,” so I can’t give any points for originality (but maybe 10 points for nostalgia value). Secondly, isn’t a ghost already like a half human? I mean, if it looks like a human and sounds like human and tells you to avenge your murder like one (look who’s reading Hamlet!), then it must be a human (if duck identification rules apply here).

Then subtract by half because it’s dead . But then again, I’m hesitant to use “half a person” because...you know...there’s not a

lot of politically correct usages of that term. You left me in a pretty big pickle and instead of getting myself out of it, I’ll take it out on you: Minus 13+14+15 for the amendments you should read up on before you call someone a half human.

Snowboarder, first of all, let me just say right off the bat that your answer is the premise of Schrodinger’s Cat, so I can’t give any points for originality. [Ed. note: Minus 12 points to writer for unoriginality.] Also, avoiding the nonsensical answer that implies that you die half the time 100% of the time, who decides what happens when that magical two scares occurs? Is it a situation like that one “Twilight Zone” episode where a random person pushes a button and it kills one random frightened person in the world and then it’s super morally

ambiguous? Because moral ambiguity is scary. Like one time I had to decide whether to get a burrito at 5 when I knew that I was having pizza later. Gives me chills at night. So as with my food doubts I’ll do to you; ignore the confounding question and pay $6.35 to the snowboarder.

Why isn’t “phonetic” spelled phonetically?

Skier: Why is abbreviation a long word? We’ll never know.

Snowboarder: Why is the sky blue?

Skier, are you suggesting that “abbreviation” needs to conform to your standard of word length?

“Abbreviation” actually used to be “abrvation” when it was younger, but when it grew up and went to Berkeley, it realized that character doesn’t only come

Maggie Lombard and Jared Holguin try to look like normal people. Photo by Caroline Daniel.

from the letters in the name but also the spaces inbetween. It put on some letters, sure, but the end result was a more beautiful and complex being. On behalf of “abbreviation”, I will donate 6 points to you, because as it once said to me, “violence begets...”

Snowboarder, the sky is not blue by itself. As you may have noticed, the world does not look like a Transformers movie poster. Instead, the majority of the sun’s light consists of light from the blue-violet spectrum,

so when we look up to the sky, the light scattered off of atoms is of a blue color. Since only a very small percentage of light is ever scattered (about .005%), the light we do see is of the most predominant color. You don’t get points, but you gained +100 knowledge!

Skier: -26 points Snowboarder: $6.35 and 100 knowledge Yours truly: -12 points Congrats Snowboarder! You win money?

something different | 11

the Mustang | December 2014

12 | something different

www. sdamustang.com

Lise MacPhee, Senior “This was me dancing in the plaza in Cuetzalan Mexico with Blancita from the indigenous community I volunteered in!”

Abigail Finch, Sophomore “My greatest memory of 2014 would have to be getting back on a horse after I’d fallen and broken a bone.

I was so proud of myself for being able to conquer that fear. It may not seem like much to you guys but it allowed me to get back into my passion.”

Gregory Mears, Junior “We were at the circus, and it was the first time I really felt like my brother thought I was one of his friends.”

Moe Gonzalez, Senior “I went to my very first football game in September. The Chargers were playing the Arizona Cardinals.

This moment meant so much to me because my dad and I share a love for sports and I don’t get to see him very often because my parents are divorced. I’m happy I got to go because we finally got to see a game live!”

Best of 2014

A

s 2014 winds to an end, we here at the Mustang have compiled the annual “Best Of Issue,” in which we celebrate the best-of-the-best of this year’s culture. For this issue we surveyed over 500 SDA students on their favorite parts of the year, on everything from “Favorite Guilty Pleasure Song” to “Best Burrito in Encinitas.” Also, in line with the “best of theme,” this issue’s centerspread features some snapshots of the best moments of 2014 from a number of SDA students.

2014 was huge. It was the year when people started to “Turn Down For What” or to just “Let It Go.” The year that we saw the world come together in a show of sportsmanship and peace during the Olympics, and the year that all that sportsmanship and peace was ignored because of how ridiculously ill-prepared Russia was for the Olympics (Remember the bobsledder that got locked in his room and had to break the door down? Or the thousands of stray dogs?). It was the year that Americans across the country came together for a couple of weeks near the beginning of summer and decided, “Hey, soccer’s pretty interesting to watch, GO USA!” (That is, of course, until the US team was eliminated and everyone realiz+ed they could stop caring about soccer until the next World Cup.) It was the year that two of our cinema heroes were a raccoon and a tree and we gained a new appreciation of ‘80s music through “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The year that a nation came together on social media to dump buckets of ice water on their heads to raise awareness for ALS. 2014 was the year that millions of people simultaneously developed a guilty pleasure for Taylor Swift songs, the year that anacondas became huge, first because of a music video on YouTube, then because of the man who promised to get eaten alive (the big liar). It was the year that we said goodbye to some of our most beloved comedians, the year that everyone developed a phobia of some disease that most had never even heard of before.

2014 had its share of ups and downs, bringing laughter and tears to many, and if nothing else, remember that this was the year in which we found “Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos,” which is arguably the most adorable video in the history of mankind.

So take a moment to look back and see what SDA students thought the best parts of this crazy year were.

Kevin Gallagher Sports (and self-proclaimed) Honorary Arts Editor

best of 2014 | 13

the Mustang | December 2014

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1. Alex Dewart, Junior “I went to Amakusa, Japan this summer as an Encinitas Delegate through city hall! Luke Kryger and Nate Neumman also came with me. We stayed with host families and got to tour the little beach town and the surrounding cities for about 10 days. Definitely unforgettable.”

4. Claire Magnuson, Junior “This summer my family and I took a cruise to Alaska and we got to see and experience amazing things. The nature was so beautiful, I couldn’t believe it. And my siblings and I had so much fun! My favorite part was visiting Mendenhal Glacier because I’ve never been in a place like this before and one of the coolest parts is that we got to see bald eagles soaring right by us.”

2. Brittany Serbin, Sophomore “My favorite moment was when I was in Greece and I was with my family walking to the Parthenon. I had always wanted to go there and always wanted to see the Parthenon. It was the perfect day out and people were singing and laughing and I was just really happy.”

5. Alexandra Spooner, Junior “ I Went to Perth Australia which is a lot like San Diego.

We went to the beach and walked around the town that was similar to downtown minus the tall buildings. It was cold so we went to a lot of cafés and drank coffee. We went to the outback and lit sparklers. Pet kangaroos and koalas and star gazed bring able to see the Milky Way.”

3. Carly Belin, Senior “My favorite moment of the year by far (and I know people will cringe upon reading this but oh well) was going to the One Direction and 5SOS concert because they’re two of my favorite bands and I basically died when I went.”

14 | the middle

6. Kyra Benowitz, Sophomore “I went to Las Vegas with my family and got to ride the High Roller a couple days after it opened. It’s this huge Ferris Wheel that opened last April, and the view from it was insane. I think it might be the world’s biggest; they intentionally built it so that it was just barely bigger than the London eye.”

7. Sophie Henry, Junior “This was such a good moment because we went to one of my favorite local places to hike and with Austrians and bomb burritos. It was quite a successful adventure.”

10. Andrew Kenney, Junior “This picture was taken on exhibition day 2014 and I absolutely love it for so many reasons! One I finally got to wear the cow suit in the costume room, two it’s ironic because the cow is drinking out of the bottle and everyone else is eating grass! Finally it’s also some of my closest friends on the coolest day of the year!”

13. Ciara Reiter, Junior “One of the most memorable moments of 2014 for me was Comedy Sportz Camp. Most of the SDA team went to CSUN for 5 days to study improv from professional improvisors. We met so many amazing people from other schools and got to see and even participate in professional shows!”

8. Maggie Lombard, Junior “My best moment was when I spent a weekend camping in Laguna with my cousin Andrew. We brought Lord Of The Rings monopoly with us and played a four-and-a-half hour long game.

When we finished (I won), we looked up and saw a momma bobcat and her kitten just chilling out by our tent.”

11. Maia Nelson, Sophomore “Over the summer my club soccer team went to Sweden for the Gothia Cup, which is basically a youth world cup that lasts a little over a week. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life because I was able meet so many people from around the world while playing one of my favorite sports.”

14. Emily Erisman, Senior “This is a picture of my sister, her friends, and I at high tea. I have been going to high tea since I was little and I remember when my mom used to make little sandwiches for us. It was a lot of fun; my sister and I are very close and it was to great to share this moment with her.”

9. Emily Kimball, Junior “Well we were all prepared for a super hard workout for volleyball but we ended up going in the water and swimming around and relaxing. Then just out of nowhere we saw this huge freaking seal and I mean how many seals have you seen at Swamis?

It was pretty cool.”

12. Lily Clune, Senior “Basically me, Steve, June, Remy and Johnny were mobbing the town and disrupting the lives of several traffic officers with our dancing to Beyoncé songs as we snacked on about 20 packs of gum.”

15. Katie Watson, Senior “Over the summer, I traveled with the non-profit organization Amigos de las Americas to Paraguarí, Paraguay. I spent the seven weeks of my full Spanish immersion living with a host family, working with the community kids, and chasing cows!”

16. Nate Neumann, Junior “I went to Japan this summer, and this is a photo of me and one of my host brothers in a Japanese pub. I just remember that this night was really fun especially my host brother’s friend’s house, and afterwards we headed into town with a bunch of his friends. We hung out a pub that had a bunch of really interesting foods that were super delicious, but they wouldn’t tell me what they were until after I ate them.”

17. Robert Miller, Senior “This is a picture from the Flag Football tournament this year which we fortunately placed second in, giving the 1st place team a much needed self esteem boost.”

18. Hailey Reeves, Junior “My favorite moment of 2014 was Monumentour because I got to meet Paramore which is obviously important to me if you know me and I also got to see Fall out Boy for the second time which was lovely. I love concerts because I feel extremely hopeful for what I want to do in the future.”

the middle | 15

the Mustang |December 2014

BEST OF FILM I

nterstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, was easily one of the most confusing movies since Inception, but it was also one of the best of the year, taking the viewer on an incredibly perplexing journey through space and time and gravity and wormholes and black holes and the fifth dimension.

Sitting through this three hour film was probably more mentally intense than an entire week of theoretical physics. The plot follows Cooper (Mathew McConaughey) as he leaves behind his resentful family to embark “If I Stay” ....28% on an epic journey to save humanity.

“The Judge”.... 12% Winning the SDA title for Best “Dawn of the Planet of the Drama, Interstellar showcases an Apes”.... 12% Oscar-worthy performance from McConaughey, who makes his fake emotions felt by the the viewer and renders them helpless to the onslaught of feelings and sentiments. After leaving the theatre, you will find yourself still trying to figure out the movie in the passing days.

The mixture of reality and the unknown blend together perfectly to leave the viewer baffled at the sheer might of this epic Hollywood blockbuster. Just watch it, then you’ll know…

Luke Oldham

36% Best Drama

“Interstellar”:

G

iven the increasing convenience of Redbox, On Demand, and Netflix our Lord and savior, it takes a lot more to get us teenagers into the movie theatre.

Coughing up that $12.50 is almost physically painful (I could go to Rico’s twice for that much…) and Edwards Cinema isn’t exactly a brief bike-ride down the street. Somehow, though, a respectably large number of films seemed to manage the feat this year.

Maybe it has something to do with how a refreshing kind of protagonist finally joined the onslaught of deceptively-alwaysattractive rom com couples.

There were more stand out, feel-good movies, like “Chef” and “Million Dollar Arm,” that let us watch realistic underdogs

The drama and suspense in “Interstellar” kept SDA students on the edge of their seats. Photo courtesy of interstellarmovie.com

triumph. When it comes down to it, it’s a bit more of an encouragement seeing relatable characters make something out of their equally relatable struggles.

As mind-blowing as a good intergalactic fight scene is, it’s, unfortunately, not a situation that I (or most teenagers for that matter) can reasonably see myself in.

Of course, 2014 films brought us more than just personable characters. They also brought pretty much every possible plot adaptation known to our generation, from Godzilla to Gone Girl. Comic books became cinema hits. Fairy tales became sagas in motion. Even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their own movie.

Our childhoods were brought back. And, desperate to feed

our nostalgia, so many of us went to spend two hours falling back in love with the stories we’ve already “out grown.” Heaven forbid we leave behind the kindness that the Muppets raised us with. Or the integrity that Captain America taught us to always uphold.

Beyond Encinitas, the world is an intimidating and unknown place. We’re staring down the barrel of adulthood, and losing what grownups like to call our “childhood idealism” is pretty much one of the scariest things to consider – let alone accept. If paying $12.50 means stalling that reality just a little while longer, it’s a $12.50 I will be more than happy to give up.

Elise Gout

O

ne of the funniest police duos returned to the big screen this year in “22 Jump Street.” After the Jump Street program moved across the street from 21 to 22, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) took their careers to the next level in this hilarious sequel.

In “21 Jump Street,” the two partners in crime were undercover agents in a high school; now, in “22 Jump Street,” they were faced with a bigger challenge: going in as “Neighbors” ....21% undercover college students.

“The Other Woman”.... 7% Sent in to find the supplier of a new, il“Tammy”.... 5% legal drug circulating around the college

58% “22 Jump Street”:

16 | best of 2014

Best Comedy

The sequel to the popular film “21 Jump Street” was as fun as a spring break in Mexico. Photo courtesy of www.sonypictures.com

campus, Schmidt and Jenko encounter several obstacles during their mission. Schmidt falls in love with a girl who turns out to be his boss’s daughter, Jenko meets a new friend who makes Schmidt jealous, and the often comedic relationship between the two partners becomes strained.

With comedic situations and hilarious lines every minute of the movie, there’s no doubt as to how “22 Jump Street” won as the Mustang’s best comedy movie at SDA. Who knows, maybe with the success of “22 Jump Street,” theaters will soon be showing “23 Jump Street.”

Sophie Peeler

sdamustang.com

BEST OF FILM “A

nnabelle” won this year’s award for Best Horror Movie and takes place in 1968, three years before the events of “The Conjuring” (which won Best Horror Movie last year). Newlywed couple Mia and John are about to start a new life in Santa Monica with a baby on the way. After the couple set up shop, we learn that Mia has... wait for it... a doll collection. Her husband, recognizing and in support of this healthy habit, gives Mia a new doll for the collection.

“The Purge: Anarchy” ....22% She’s been looking for that one doll for a long “Ouija”.... 18% time and spoiler alert, it looks REALLY creepy. And “Paranormal Activity: The don’t try to explain to me that dolls didn’t used Marked Ones”.... 18% to have the sinister connotation they do now (like with clowns), because you don’t have to live in the present to know what doesn’t look like cannibal serial killer. The plot is pretty self-explanatory from there. Satanists try to kill the couple, the doll provides a path for demons to enter the earth, really bad stuff happens to everyone they come into contact with, etc. It’s basically the plot of the “Chucky” series but with more demons and a (rather disappointing) lack of deaths/pints of blood spilled.

Despite all of these unnerving plot details, I was left asking at the end, “Was that it? And maybe I’m just that kind of person who can’t suspend their disbelief during horror movies, or maybe I was distracted by the Chinese subtitles of my definitely legal copy of the movie, but I was either falling asleep in the periods between the scary parts or poking fun at scenes that were supposed to be scary.

My suggestion? You probably shouldn’t bring me to watch a horror movie.

Dylan Hendrickson

34%

“Annabelle”:

Best Horror/Thriller

A frightening doll named Annabelle terrorizes a family in classic “Chucky” fashion. Photo courtesy of annabellemovie.com

“G

uardians of the Galaxy,” the box office hit of August that as of now has grossed $771.5 million has been recognized as the Mustang’s Best Action/Adventure film of the year. The movie features the adrenaline--filled journey of a ragtag band of criminals that join together to save, as the title implies, the galaxy. The film features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley “Captain America: The Winter Cooper, and Lee Pace. In the film, an interSoldier” ....32% galactic thief named Peter Quill joins a group of “X-men: Days of Future Past”.... extraterrestrial outlaws on the run after stealing 11% a mysterious orb that everyone seems to want.

“The Equalizer”.... 4% This high octane story follows the group as they go from criminals who can barely stand each other to heroes, who can sort of stand each other. Nevertheless, the film is an amazing ride from start to finish.

Daniel Ballard

50% Best Action

“Guardians of the Galaxy”:

Starlord (Chris Pratt) is a charming vagabond at the forefront of the film. Photo courtesy of marvel.com/guardians

I

33%

“The LEGO Movie”:

Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) lives an ordinary life until he learns he’s the “Special.” Photo courtesy of thelegomovie.com

Best Animated

f you want all of your childhood rolled into one ball of nostalgic goodness mixed with action packed, hilarious adventure, the winner of this year’s Best Animated Film, “The Lego Movie” is the film for you. “The Lego Movie” is the ultimate movie going experience for the smallest of kids to teenagers trying not to think about moving off to college. Not only is the whole movie (save a few scenes) done in Lego, but “Big Hero 6” ....31% the amount of celebrity and movie and TV “How to Train Your Dragon 2”.... character cameos that pop up in the movie 26% help to make this a childhood joyride. It’s easy “Rio 2”.... 8% to go back and pick out all the references, and miss a ton at the same time. “The Lego Movie” caters to the nerdiest of Lego lovers, and the child in all of us.

Caroline Daniel

best of 2014| 17

the Mustang | December 2014

BEST OF FILM Best Sequel/ Reboot

T

he story of Sleeping Beauty is a classic: an evil fairy places a curse on a princess to fall into an eternal sleep, which can only be reversed by true love’s kiss.

Stemming from the original Brothers Grimm storytellers, it’s been passed down and retold throughout the ages, often with alterations. The fable became a worldwide cult favorite after Disney released the animated movie, “Sleeping Beauty,” in 1959.

This year, Disney presented a take on the fairytale with the movie, “Maleficent,” offer“Captain America: The Winter ing a fresh perspective of the fairy that landSoldier” ....25% ed it SDA’s award for Best Sequel/Reboot.

“The Amazing Spiderman”....

Featuring Academy Award winning ac16% tress Angelina Jolie as the evil fairy, this “Transformers: Age of Extincfilm unveiled the secret history of one of tion”.... 14% Disney’s most hated villains. In the words of Maleficent: “Evil queens are the princesses that were never saved.”

Hana Chen

30%

“Maleficent”:

“Maleficient” is the origin story of a favorite Disney baddie. Photo courtesy of movies. disney.com/maleficient

“G

24% “Godzilla”:

Best Book Adaptation

The Godzilla remake wasn’t great enough to win over the hearts of SDA students. Photo courtesy of godzillamovie.com

J

ennifer Lawrence returned to her role as the ever-rebellious Katniss Everdeen in “Mockingjay: Part 1” this November. Based on the first half of Suzanne Collin’s third book in the Hunger Games series, “Mockingjay” gave film producers a tough challenge in bringing to life what most readers thought was the most boring part of the series. However, director Francis Lawrence was able to do that and more, bringing action, emotion, and depth to the film.

So it’s no wonder that “Mockingjay: Part 1” won the SDA title as the best book adaptation film. Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Clafin, and Josh Hutcherson were key to the movie’s success, so deeply involved with their characters that it was hard to remember that they were just actors.

“The Fault in our Stars” ....19% Centering around the beginning of District 13’s rebellion, the “The Maze Runner”.... 19% film follows Katniss Everdeen as she tries to adjust into a life as “The Giver”.... 13% part of the rebellion. Faced with difficult decisions in the film, Katniss struggles for her sanity between deciding to become the face of the rebellion and keeping her sister safe, while dealing with the emotional strains of her district partner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) being trapped in the Capitol. With surprising plot twists, emotional revelations, and well-placed humor, “Mockingjay: Part 1” satisfied both book and movie fans.

Sophie Peeler

28%

“Mockingjay: Part 1”:

18 | best of 2014

“The Hunger Games” has been popular with SDA students since it’s beginnings. Courtesy of thehungergamesmovie.com

Biggest Movie Flop

odzilla!” The highly anticipated thriller about an Asian guy that looks seductively into the distance and then slowly yet emphatically pronounces words for dramatic effect. Oh yeah and that monster thing that shows up for a couple scenes at the end of this pathetic movie.

The star studded cast that drew everyone to this so called “movie” features the “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston who in “Godzilla” plays Walter White… wait no that’s not it. Well, anyways who cares because he dies in the first 30 minutes of the movie after sneaking around quarantined radioactive areas in Japan looking for answers “A Million Ways to Die in about the day of his wife’s death. However, after being caught on the West” ....23% multiple occasions he has to be watched over by his son, Ford (Aar“I, Frankenstein”.... 15% on Taylor-Johnson), who is convinced that his father is crazy.

“Jersey Boys”.... 13% Realistically, the movie could have been cut by an hour and the rating likely would have boosted. Particularly, because people wouldn’t feel like they just wasted two hours of their life on a movie that barely featured the infamous monster that is the title of the movie. All considered “Godzilla” is a perfect fit for the biggest movie flop of 2014.

Andrew Naimark

sdamustang.com

BEST OF MUSIC W

ith her sassy, satirical song, “Blank Space,” artist Taylor Swift snags the spot for number one pop song of 2014.

She doesn’t hold herself back from playing along as the clingy, boy-crazy, over-obsessive man crusher that the media paints her to be, laughing out loud at anyone who dares to take a stab at her dating life.

Carrying an air of amusement and nonchalance towards the fictional character that the critics created, she has taken their rumors and spun them into a catchy, upbeat anthem woven with witty lines in “All About That Bass” by which she jokingly claims that Meghan Trainor ....19% she can “make the bad guys “My Sweet Summer” by Dirty good for a weekend.” With an Heads.... 16% eye roll and a shrug of her “Problem” by Ariana Grande shoulders, Swift expresses just .... 9% how ridiculous she thinks it is for people to assume that she dates men simply so that she’ll have material for song inspiration later on. After all, she can’t possibly have any real romantic feelings towards them, and boys must “only want love if it’s torture,” right?

Becca Von Zweck

Best Pop Song

27%

A

“Blank Space” by Taylor Swift:

s 2014 wraps to a close, so does another interesting year in the world of music. As old favorites and new faces stole the spotlight, we saw an interesting transition into this new age type of sound and ideas.

In the last few years, the feminist movement has swept over teenagers through social media sites like Tumblr and Twitter. With new easy access to education about these topics, the passion for obtaining human rights for all people has almost become a new trend. Women, and feminism, absolutely dominated the music world this year, with new faces like Meghan Trainor, singer of “All About That Bass” and Ariana Grande, singer of “Problem” and featured on the

Taylor Swift makes you want to tap your foot to the beat even if you don’t realize it. Photo courtesy of taylorswift.com

song “Bang Bang,” establishing themselves over the radio and online.

Perhaps the most prevalent face this year was Taylor Swift, winner of best pop song for “Blank Space.” With her new album, a sudden adoption of feminism and public dispute with the owners of Spotify over her music, she seemed to constantly be on the front page of magazines.

Nicki Minaj rode on the success of the winner of guilty pleasure song “Anaconda” for a large part of this year, and fan favorite feminist Beyoncé, toured with husband and rapper Jay-Z all around the world on the “On the Run” tour, and won multiple awards such as the Michael Jackson Video

Vanguard Award from MTV. But beyond the mainstream, SDA has been a hub of the indie music revolution, and teenagers far and wide have started to dip their toes in the unconventional. Indie music had a great year with artists like Sam Smith, Milky Chance, Hozier, and Alt-J. Sam Smith and Hozier gained popularity from their amazingly unique vocals that won fans over quickly, and secured spots for them on the radio for months to come. With all these changes in the music scene, it’ll be interesting to see where 2015 takes us, but for now, we can enjoy all the great hits that came out of 2014.

Caroline Daniel

“T

21% “Take Me to Church” by Hozier:

Hozier jumped onto the scene from nowhere, going from an unknown Irish artist to a worldwide sensation. Photo courtesy of hozier.com

best of 2014 | 19

Best Indie Song

ake Me to Church” became an instant success after it was unveiled by Irish musician Hozier and has now been chosen by SDA as the best song of the year in the indie/alternative category. It’s as strong as it is haunting, beautifully combining Hozier’s impressive vocals with piano, guitar, and drums that have a more rustic feel than much of the autotuned fare on the market.

There’s enough reverb thrown in to make it sound organic without being overblown, and overall it’s a pleasure to listen to. The vocals are even better, and Hozier’s combination of the sacred and profane to deliver his message of the sanctity of love is more romantic than whatever’s currently being hailed as a love story.

His comparison to love as a religion is an evocative metaphor that challenges definitions of what it “Stolen Dance” by Milky really means to be pure or faithful. His music video Chance.... 19% makes no bones about its message against power struc“Riptide” by Vance tures attempting to define morality, either. Set in soJoy....16% bering black and white, it depicts the struggles of a gay “Left Hand Free” by alt-J.... couple under a cruel regime – a blatant criticism of 9% Russia’s current harsh regulations, but also a broader criticism of all who enable oppression. A musical success and a meditation on the perceptions of love, “Take Me to Church” is a song that rises above its era.

Carina Julig

the Mustang | December 2014

BEST OF MUSIC Best Hip Hop Song

E

veryone knows Beyoncé is the true queen of the universe.

She’s everyone’s favorite powerhouse feminist singer.

“Flawless” has become the new anthem for not just Beyoncé’s feminist fans, but for people everywhere. I mean, if you wake up in the morning singing that you woke up flawless, you’re bound to have a pretty good day... just saying.

“Flawless” It’s become not only one of

by Beyonce: the most popular songs of this “i” by Kendrick Lamar year, but probably the best self....20% confidence boosting song out of “IDFWY” by Big Sean... the feminist movement in music 16% that is currently dominating the “Hot Body” by Bobby music world. Beyoncé is becomShmurda.... 7% ing the most powerful (and one of the richest) women in music, and deserved to win for best Rap/Hiphop/R&B because she is, in fact, flawless.

Caroline Daniel

39%

Beyonce, #61 in this picture, but #1 in our hearts (and in SDA’s hip hop artist choice).

Photo courtesy of beyonce.com

T

Best New Artist

21%

Reema Moussa

I

s that an angel, or is that just Sam Smith? This year, America fell in love with soulful British singer Sam Smith, who charmed millions with his smooth voice and dreamy, lovesick lyrics. Smith first rose to public attention after his feature on Disclosure’s “Latch.” In May of this year, Smith released his debut studio album, “In the Lonely Hour,” containing hit songs such as “Stay with Me” and “I’m Not the Only One.” Sam Smith: The album launched to the top of the charts, and Iggy Azalea ....28% Smith has since won many awards including SDA’s own Hozier.... 14% award for Best Emerging Artist. Smith has also gained Vance Joy.... 14% respect for being openly gay and writing all of his songs gender neutral. All eyes are on the Grammys now; Smith has been nominated for six.

Hana Chen

32%

20 | best of 2014

Sam Smith looks just dreamy enough to make it past Iggy Azalea as “Best New Artist”. Photo courtesy of Sam Smith’s official Facebook.

Best EDM Song

Flume, with debatably-fashionable fingerless gloves.

Photo courtesy of Flume’s official Facebook.

he anthems of little raver boys and girls alike have ravaged the top 40’s charts for years now, but this year’s repertoire of hits has been especially exceptional. Electronic Dance Music has evolved from high pitched squeaks, the wubwub-wub’s of dubstep, and girls screaming in far eastern tongues to a collection of real music which effectively gets an audience pumped.

Flume, one of the biggest emerging artists this year, stands at the top of the pack with his song “On Top,” featuring T-shirt (what “On Top” by kind of a rapper name is that, please figure out your life path beFlume cause naming yourself after a basic item of clothing isn’t working). “Rather Be” by Clean Not gonna lie, a bit frustrating for me, considering the fact that I Bandit ....20% discovered Flume when I was just a wee freshman and listened to “Blame” by Calvin Harhis music before he got big. I can’t help but cringe every time I ris.... 19% hear a two foot tall 6th grader scream, “Like I mean, I love Flume “Heroes” by Alesso.... so much, like oh my godddd holdin’ on is totally my favorite song.”

15% Although my sanity would probably be a lot more stable if Flume hadn’t been discovered by the masses of teeny-bopper-so-called “rave chicks,” (who in reality are just girls who listen to One Direction and pretend to be chickens with their fuzzy rave boots and whatnot). I’m happy for him. May peace, love, unity and respect reign through the lives and livers of you crazy, raving hooligans.

sdamustang.com

BEST OF MUSIC A

lmost a year after its release, Pharrell Williams’s popular, positive attitude anthem no longer gets excited response from radio listeners, but rather an exasperated groan as they quickly change the station before having to listen to it for the umpteenth time. “ Happy” first became prominent in the music scene after being featured in the soundtrack for the Pixar flick, “ Despicable Me 2. “It quickly topped the charts and sold over 10 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.

There was even a website made in reference to the song entitled “ 24hoursofhappy.

“Rude” -MAGIC! ....22% com” which featured 4 minute-repeats of “All About That Bass” -Meghan the song paired with various people all over Trainor.... 16% Los Angles miming the lyrics. But perhaps “Shake It Off” -Taylor Swift.... 15% 24 hours of anything is just too much.

The hype over the song and its positive message caused it to be found playing on at least one top 40 station at any time of day and helped it earn a deserved spot for “Most Overplayed Song of 2014” among SDA students.

It’s safe to say nowadays that when the song comes on the radio, not everyone is happy.

Elise Echeverria

Most Overplayed

34%

“Happy” By Pharrell Williams:

Most listeners think that the radio likes Pharrell Williams’s song “Happy” a little too much. Photo Courtesy of http://tumblr.pharrellwilliams.com/

M

Y ANACONDA DON’T. MY ANACONDA DON’T. MY ANACONDA DON’T WANT TO ADMIT I LIKE THIS SONG ‘CAUSE I FEEL AWKWARD SINGING THE LYRICS OF IT, HUN. “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj was voted by SDA students as the best “guilty pleasure” song and I can only whole-heartedly agree.

It is the perfect “guilty pleasure” song because it fits both parts of the description perfectly. I’ll explain the “guilty” part first.

See, I’m a skinny, quiet, white dude. One who can, sure, maybe sing along to the lyrics “Yeah. I got “Let It Go” -Frozen ....23% “Fancy” -Iggy Azalea.... 17% a big fat ass. Come on!” in private, but in public?

“Shake It Off” -Taylor Swift....

In public there’s no way in hell that I’m going to 14% screech along to that.

The same with the chorus of the song: “My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, hun.” It’s just not going to happen. The sheer thought of doing that is enough to raise a nervous lump in my throat. It’s just an inherently awkward song.

One time, I saw two 6-year-old girls put this song on the jukebox at a restaurant and begin to dance along. All I could think about was the video to this song – which was enough to make the idea of 6-years-olds dancing to it mortifying. It’s just wrong.

However, putting aside my false persona of good taste, I’ve got to tell you, that song is so damn catchy. Just the absurdity of the mix of 1990’s Sir Mix-a-lot and contemporary Nicki Minaj makes such an interesting and, at the same time, uncomfortable song that you can’t help but fall in love with it. I’d just never admit to it to anyone.

Kevin Gallagher

36%

“Anaconda”

By Nicki Minaj:

Guilty Pleasure Song

Nicki Minaj’s song “Anaconda” was an instant hit. Photo courtesy of http://mypinkfriday.com/

best of 2014 | 21

the Mustang | December 2014

BEST OF T.V. I

officially have an insane fear of clowns. Let that be known.

Rightfully voted as the Best Drama on TV by Mustangs, American Horror Story has been one of the ongoing frontrunners in the new genre of frightening television. But the scare factor was taken to a new level this season with the introduction of Twisty the Clown, the creepiest clown you’ll probably ever see.

Despite the creepy factor, Twisty, as well as all of the other characters in the expansive ensemble cast, have extremely well written arcs, “The Walking Dead” ....30% which keep getting better “Game of Thrones”.... 11% and better. Even Dandy, the “Doctor Who”.... 9% psychotic man-child murderer played by newcomer Finn Wittrock has some of the most amazingly written lines that have ever existed on AHS. This season being the last for Jessica Lange, her acting has never been more on point, solidifying her chances of getting her third Emmy from her portrayal of Elsa Mars in season 4. Overall, I’ve never been more afraid to turn off the lights before I go to bed, afraid that an unwelcome presence is lurking around the corner…

Reema Moussa

31% Best of Drama

“American Horror Story”:

T

here were dozens of shows that made an impact on the zeitgeist of 2014, and as always, the teen population played a major role in influencing what became popular. TV these days is far too multiform for there to be a unifying theme in all of shows that crossed our screens this year, but judging from what teenagers chose as their favorites, it is clear that they enjoy shows that are complex, challenging as well as simply entertaining, and contain humor regardless of their general subject matter.

The shows that are most popular these days are often very complex, with a variety of well-written but very different characters, labyrinthine plots, and psychological intrigue.

While uncomplicated amusement is certainly fun some-

We’re all freaks here. SDA students love to get their pants scared off all year round by “American Horror Story”. Photo courtesy of www.fxnetworks.com

times, it is clear that teenagers aren’t turning to TV just for that. Popular shows such as “Game of Thrones”, “Orange is the New Black”, and many crime and drama shows feature a variety of unique main characters and subplots that join together to create an interesting narrative.

Darker themes are present in many contemporary shows, a sign people are not turning to TV just to relax, but to be challenged. The now ended “Breaking Bad,” as well as shows such as “Homeland” and “Sherlock” contain plenty of moral ambiguity and dark themes. Still, people still place a premium on humor, and while there are many expectedlyfunny sitcoms, even the darkest shows these days have instances of biting humor as well.

T

TV this year is doing slightly better this year in terms of diversity, but there is still a long way to go before equal representation is seen across the board. Still, “Orange is the New Black” and the new show “How to Get Away With Murder” have been applauded for their inclusion of female characters, people of color, and LGBT characters, and teenagers have consistently proven to support shows that offer more realistic portraits of life.

The variety of TV that students enjoy is evidence to the individualism of our student body. It is clear that students here are looking to be intrigued, not just passively amused, and are ready for anything new and exciting that TV can supply.

Carina Julig

25%

“Orange is the New Black”:

The experience of being in prison was more than Piper Chapman ever expected. Photo courtesy of Netflix.com

22 | best of 2014

Best of Comedy

he Netflix originals have really stepped up their game this year, especially with the prison series “Orange is the New Black.” Although it might have won Best TV Comedy in the hearts of SDA, (disclaimer) it is not a show suited for all eyes. Taylor Schillings takes the lead as the sheltered Piper Chapman, trapped inside “The Big Bang Theory” ....20% a blood thirsty penitentiary for “New Girl”.... 16% a mistake she committed in the “How I Met Your Mother”.... 15% height of her life.

To make things all the more interesting, a new villain takes shape this season known as the infamous ‘Vee’. Loraine Toussaint plays the part of this manipulative tyrant whose talent lies in her ability turn inmates against each other.

Disregarding the incessant prison romance, nothing beats watching a misplaced white girl search for herself on the dark, dirty inside.

Juli Miller

sdamustang.com

BEST OF T.V. BestCrime TV Show

A

fter a long wait, the third season (series, if you’re British) of BBC’s Sherlock came out in America on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater this spring. Always a fan favorite, season three won best of crime TV for 2014 among SDA students.

As last season ended with Sherlock Holmes taking a literal fall, plunging off a roof to save his friends, fans were desperate to see how he would be resurrected. After a reunion, the detective and his assistant John Watson return for three more episodes (a criminally low number after a two-year wait), to take down the villains of London. They go up against underground terrorists, a vengeful murderer, and a corrupt “Criminal Minds” ....20% media mogul, falling back into their routine.

“Law & Order SVU”.... 16% This time, though, there is a new player in “Supernatural”.... 16% the game, as Watson had become involved with Mary Morstan. Sherlock must contend with the new person in Watson’s life, and his interpersonal skills are forced to improve. The season finale came to a head with two dramatic reveals and enough loose ends to keep everyone talking until the next season finally comes around.

Carina Julig

22% “Sherlock”:

he winning result of “Most Binge-watch Worthy” isn’t exactly a shocker. Leave it to the high school kids to vote the show about crystal meth as the most addicting. Of course, “Breaking Bad” isn’t just about drugs. It also covers money laundering, gang violence, and pretty much the most impossible-to-describe-on-your college-apps family dynamic. All petty jabs aside, though, there is a quality to this AMC drama that manages to simultaneously enthrall and still relate to its audience.

When high school chemistry teacher Walter White is informed of his terminal cancer, he uses his expertise to make high quality crys- “Orange is the New Black” ....32% tal meth, and secretly paying for his treatment and providing for his “Sherlock”.... 13% family. In its five-season span that concluded this year, Breaking Bad “House of Cards”.... 8% culminated a total of 49 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations–16 “Doctor Who” .... 8% of which it won – and a fan base staggeringly large enough to fill a

33% “Breaking Bad”:

Time to turn on Netflix, grab a blanket and some hot coco, and snuggle up with your favorite drug dealers. Photo courtesy of amctv.com

small country.

This show is one to be idolized for years to come, with its outstanding writers and cast members, from Bryan Cranston (Walter White) to Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman). You can only hope there will come another series just as transfixing as “Breaking Bad” was… before the withdrawal starts really kicking in.

Elise Gout

Most Binge-Watch Worthy

T

This modern day adaptation stays true to its roots while still providing updated intrigue for the 21st century. Photo courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Needs to End

B

ecause “American Idol” has been on air since 2002, you’d expect to see frequent changes in the format of the television show to keep viewers watching. Except there haven’t been many changes. The show has remained almost exactly the same for 13 seasons, and it’s a safe bet to say that it will continue to follow that format for season 14, which debuts in January. Season 13 featured a panel of three celebrity judges: Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick, Jr., all of whom decided that appearing on a failing reality show would somehow benefit their careers.

Though the show has created successful musicians, such as “Glee” ....21% Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Phillip Phillips, the win“Pretty Little Liars”.... 19% ners of the past two seasons, Candice Glover and Caleb Johnson, “Vampire Diaries”.... 11% aren’t nearly as well-known. If “American Idol” no longer makes its contestants American idols, then there is simply no point.

The show has become increasingly monotonous. Contestants of debatable talent sing the same songs again and again for audience approval. Attempts at spicing up the show, such as the obviously faked Mariah Carey-Nicki Minaj feud, fall flat. It’s no wonder that the show was voted “Needs to End.” Elizabeth Loren

29%

“American Idol”:

It’s time for “American Idol” to take its money and run as the show slowly declines in popularity. Photo courtesy of americanidol.com

best of 2014 | 23

the Mustang | December 2014

Most Missed Celebrity

BEST OF CULTURE I

t is no surprise that out of the several actors who have passed away this year, Robin Williams is the one most missed by SDA students. Since the 1970s he has been making people laugh with his impressions and unique sense of humor.

Having been part of many movies over the past few decades, Williams has had a great impact in the world of entertainment.

He’s had the ability to play both silly and more important roles in his movies and will forever be remembered for his witty and comical performances in movies like “Aladdin” and “Mrs. Doubtfire,” as well as his more serious contributions like “Dead Poets Society” and “Good Morning Robin Williams: Vietnam.”

Joan Rivers ....10% From the time of his first appearance on Philip Seymour Hoffman.... 7% television in 1978, in the television series Shirley Temple.... 5% “Mork and Mindy,” Williams has captured the respect of many individuals old and young. Now that his acting career has come to an end, his fans are patiently waiting for his final movie to appear in theaters: “Absolutely Anything,” coming out in 2015.

Kate Sequiera

77%

I

magine life before Spotify and Flappy Bird, when Yik Yak was just a weird phrase used generations before, and the nation’s favorite Diva still patrolled the red carpet as a fashion police. Robin Williams stood as a faint emblem of your childhood, FIFA had one less video game, and the youth spoke only with the utmost elegance, untainted by such horrific and unusually creative slang.

This might have been the cultural scene a year before, however when you stop to look at how far we’ve come, you can’t help but feel just a little proud. These trends and moments may seem casual to you, yet they are everything but. These are the milestones of an era that will define our

Robin Williams will be missed by SDA students, whose lives were touched by his movies. Photo courtesy of robinwilliams.com

quality of life.

One person might look at Candy Crush years from now and say it’s nothing but a glorified game of Bejeweled, but in your heart, you know it’s so much more than that. You secretly feel proud of your high score and think about all the time you’ve wasted- no given- to that score. Those plastic jellies are a classic representation of your time here at SDA, marking a generation of flowy pants and bucket shaped hats.

We embrace the trends that set us apart, even if they are just revivals of the past, they are our revivals, bringing back those times that we can never remember because we were all about -20 years old. But the originality we may lack

in fashion we make up for in modern English. What other generation could have coined such terms as “Lope” and “On point”. Are they over used, or are they “a thing”.

The new life we have brought to traditional phrases gives words like “always” a fresher appeal, then again if you’re like most of us you probably still don’t know what people mean half the time. “Always” has always stayed the same. But who cares if we don’t know what we’re saying or doing, were trying our best and were doing a darn fine job at it. 2014 marked some good times, and some bad times, but it was fer sure 2014.

Julie Miller

T

31%

Mario dukes it out in the new “Super Smash Bros.” for the Wii U and 3DS. Photo courtesy of supersmashbros.com

24 | best of 2014

Best of Video Games

his past November, Nintendo’s all-stars returned better than ever in “Super Smash Bros.” for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The franchise bolstered its newest edition in either stereoscopic 3D or stunning high definition, each video game platform offering its own exclusive content and modes. Super Smash Bros. has won critical acclaim across the globe, including the Mustang’s Best Video Game of 2014.

The video game hosts a myriad of fight“Super Smash ers, a whopping 51 (compared to the original 12 from the 1999 release). Each characBros.”: ter offers his or her own unique fighting “FIFA 15” ....26% styles and moves, not to mention the new “Call of Duty: Advanced custom fighter feature allowing players to Warfare”.... 18% alter character’s moves and equipment to “Destiny”.... 12% provide a virtually endless array of battles with (in the Wii U version) up to 8 different players at once. Combined with the 75 different stages across the two games and the countless collectable trophies, music pieces and power ups, Super Smash Bros. makes for hours of fun for everyone.

Daniel Ballard

sdamustang.com

BEST OF CULTURE

Most Annoying Slang Phrase

K

eep it lope: the word lope has been named Most Annoying Slang Phrase of SDA. The words “low” and “profile” have been combined to create this word that has most definitely been said too much. Used ironically by most, or seriously by some, lope has become a craze. Be it intentional or a slip of the tongue, you are bound to hear someone say it when walking “Fer suuure” ....24% around school.

“Always”.... 15% Whatever action “It’s a thing”.... 14% it may pertain to, people need to keep it lope if they don’t want to get caught.

To the surfers, keep it lope when you take off on someone else’s wave. To the skaters, keep it lope when you fall when landing that trick. To the jocks, keep it lope when you miss a shot, kick, or hit for the win.To the nerds, keep it lope when you don’t get that A.To the hipsters, keep it lope when you discover a new song. To the stoners, just keep it lope.

Lindsey King

33% “Lope”:

T

here are always new apps coming out, getting big, gaining hype, and then getting left behind a week later for the next big thing. Apps that can stand the test of technology time for more than three months are instantly good candidates.

An example of this is Spotify, which wins as the best iPhone app at SDA. Spotify is the bigger and better Pandora because not only can you listen to radio Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mixes, but you ....23% can make your 2048.... 15% own playlist Candy Crush.... 11% of songs and artists and listen to premade playlists.

Without Spotify Premium, which is $10 a month, you can still listen to radio mixes, member-created playlists and your own playlists but only on shuffle mode with six skips allowed per hour with ads included. In reality, Spotify wins because it’s free music all the time.

Students of SDA can share their favorite tracks with their friends through social media. If you’re a public profile, you can follow your friends and get to see what their listening to at the exact moment they’re listening to it, as creepy as that sounds.

Nonetheless, Spotify will rank as #1 app at SDA for the numerous student-made “Turn Up” playlists and secret music sessions in math class.

Gina Checchia

31%

Best iPhone App

Spotify:

best of 2014 | 25

the Mustang |December 2014

BESTBEST OF ENCINITAS OF T.V. L

iving in Southern California, the Mexican food is almost all incredibly good. I could go on at length about how amazing it is, but as I am continually reminded by non-Southern Californians, it should be good since we are literally (figuratively) zero miles from the border.

Anyway, up here in Encinitas we have a wide variety of options to choose from and according to SDA students, the best burrito of all, trumping all other burritos in the area in this burrito on burrito grudge match for supremacy is...Jorge’s.

To SDA students Jorge’s is a love story.

Older students remember getting to walk Rico’s ....30% off campus for lunch for the first time as El Pueblo.... 14% freshmen, deciding to walk all the way El Napolito.... 13% down to the Vons shopping center rather than be lame and only go to 7-Eleven.

They got to taste the deliciousness that is a Jorge’s California Burrito or Texcoco style chicken soup.

Then as students grew older and got their freedom to drive, they were able to feel the freedom of the open road and still get the burritos they had grown to love, without the long lines endured as underclassmen: going to Jorge’s crosstown location. As students grew up, Jorge’s was able to grow up with them, letting them branch out and get more freedom without ever getting rid of the safety net that is their tasty burrito.

Kevin Gallagher

32% Best Burrito

Jorge’s:

I

t’s been a pretty great year for our little beach-yogi village that we call home. Whether we’ve been surfing at Boneyards or chowing on the (arguably) best California burritos at Jorge’s, it’s never been a better time to live here.

Having spent way too much money at Flashbacks, and way too much time debating whether or not the Pannikan is for posers or authentic Leucadia-born surfers, I don’t think I could get the small-town-yoga-town-beach-town vibes I get here from anywhere else. Where else is the Mexican food to skyscraper ratio 150 to 0? Where else can I meditate mostly naked without a second glance but Swamis? In what other

Jorge’s burritos are the equivalent of portable food for the soul. Photo couresty of Kevin Gallagher.

town do slackliners get as much respect as the Secretary of State? It even rains here, like, once a year! It’s the perfect equation!

However, we do have probably the largest grom population on the West Coast, and as much of a bummer that is (just kidding groms, you’re all hot) at least we get to brag about how great our surfers are. And though this town may have gained international recognition from ranking #4 on National Geographic’s top surf towns, there’s a lot more to this town than a ranking on some gimmicky report. And as much as I truly wish sometimes I lived in some urban city full of

neurotic beanie wearing punk-rockers, I’m pretty happy that I get to live for now in this beachy paradise.

I dearly hope you are too, reader, ‘cause you could live in Detroit and eat dry, fake tacos and be sad, but you get to live here instead. I can name about 1,000 places I would really rather not be at any point ever (Afghanistan, Syria, Delaware), but Encinitas has never been one, and that means a lot. We’re all different, but we share the common ground of being able to call this gorgeous city home. So stay grateful, and stay funky SDA. Reema Moussa

T

41%

Any Beach in the Area:

Locals enjoy one of the 360 days of non-rain that Encinitas gets at Moonlight Beach. Photo couresty of Leah MacManus.

26 | best of 2014

Best Hangout Place

o be honest, I’m a little surprised that so many people actually spend time at the beach to make it the most popular hangout spot. I’ve always treated it as one of those places you have to show your relatives because it’s Southern California, and you just have to go to the seaside because there aren’t any stray hypodermic needles in the sand like in Atlantic City [citation needed]. You go down to the beach and go, “Oh look at the little sea stars in the tide pools! And if you poke that, it swallows your finger!” and they’re either faking excitement or completely nonplussed, and you wonder why you show any enthusiasm or love towards them at all.

And objectively, the beach just makes you hurt after spending too long there. The sand gets stuck in The Forum .... 27% your shoes and it somehow, always, makes it in your Moonlight Yogurt mouth. The seawater stings your eyes and you have and Ice....13% to be told by your family to say “gosh dang it” instead The Pannikin.... 12% of what you just yelled. The sun burns your skin no matter how many cows you sacrifice to Ra, and at the end of the day, you have to clean yourself off and shower in a sort of loose, post-biohazard lab procedure.

But hey, at least it’s less painful than going to SeaWorld.

Dylan Hendrickson

sdamustang.com

BEST OF ENCINITAS S

DA surfers and beaches go together like parents and children: although they’ll never admit it, everyone has a favorite. For Mustangs, Swamis wins best surf spot, located on a prime stretch of the 101 and Santa Fe Drive only minutes away from school. The stairs leading down to the beach are steep Pipes....31% and numerous enough to deter the flabby-thighed Beacon’s.... 17% tourists, leaving the best Grandview.... 12% waves at this internationally renowned spot for only the serious surfers. Usually sheltered from the wind by the bluff, the waves are almost always clean. The point break picks up a west and a northwest swell, which ensures you can certainly find sets rolling through. If not, Boneyards, its’ sister break, is just a paddle away. Overall, Swamis boasts awesome surf where you won’t find many kooks; for everyone knows the number one rule: locals only.

Leigh Houck and Lindsey King

40% “Swami’s”:

Best Surf Spot

Swami’s Beach is renowned not only for its impeccable surf, but also its beautiful scenery. Photo by Leigh Houck.

Best Thrift Shop

W

ith its unique array of both modern and retro clothing styles and its bright, inviting environment, Flashbacks is the place to go if you want to find flowy dresses and funky patterns for reasonable prices. Browsing the racks, you’ll find everything from multi-colored leggings to vintage shirts and pants, cutoff shorts and strappy sandals. People can donate clothes they no longer want, and a lucky individual may find that there’s truth to the saying that someone else’s definition of Spin Again ....22% ‘trash’ can be equivalent to anThrifty Threads.... 21% other person’s version of ‘treaHome.... 15% sure.’ No matter the season, you Hospice Resale....7% can count on finding the cutest, comfiest and most affordable outfits in this colorful little one of a kind thrift store, which is probably what makes it the most popular among SDA students.

Becca Von Zweck

35%

“Flashbacks”:

Flashbacks on the 101, voted best trift shop, clothes SDA students on the daily. Photo by Gina Checchia.

best of 2014 | 27

the Mustang | December 2014

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