Issue 3 2013-2014

RT

volume XIII issue III March 2014

Round Table

Varsity Basketball wins the league - pg 3

Restaurant reviews, PS4 vs. Xbox plus more inside roundtable.sacredsf.org

Stuart Hall High School | Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco | Volume XIII, Issue III | March 2014

the round table

roundtable.sacredsf.org

a forum for students

Table of Contents School News

Values Day 2014.................................................4 Students in Action............................................15 Costa Rica.........................................................16

Sports

SHHS Hoopsters.................................................3 Wrestling...............................................9

Special Features

Glaze Teriyaki Grill............................................5 Joseph Lam.........................................................6 New Year’s Resolutions......................................7 Winter Break Travels.........................................8 Xbox One or Playstation 4.. ..............................10 Mac and Cheese.................................................11 Around the World in 35 days.............................12 NorCal Surfing.................................................14 Hot Sauce and Panko.......................................17 Steroids........................................................18

Front cover photo by Matt Durell Back cover photos by Sanjay Saxena, Lori Saltveit, Jordon Chin, Laurie Pomeranz

Staff and Publication Information Editor Lucas Chan Copy Editors Austin Woo

Layout and Website Editor Brandon Seltenrich

Staff John Cannell Stephen Everest Zack Hammer Will Paulsen Connor Abbott

stuart hall high school

Faculty Moderator Lori Saltveit Faculty Advisor Amanda Walker

Corrections the round table goes to great lengths to ensure that all material is accurate, timely, and factual. However, errors sometimes occur. If you notice a factual mistake, please send an e-mail to lori.saltveit@sacredsf.org with “Reader Discovers Error!” in the subject line.

member

Online content: Please visit the online round table at: http://roundtable.sacredsf.org/

the round table | Founded 2005 by Nick Dietz, Corey Linehan, Tom Pardini, Joey Plonsker, Ms. Sarah Slonaker

by Lucas Chan ‘14

editors’ corner

We finally made it! It’s feeling like spring and the city has never looked better. Spring marks the start of many new events and activities around the school, as well as the highly anticipated Congé just around the corner. With the Bay Area warming up and summer drawing closer and closer, many students are looking forward to what the last few months of school may hold for them, especially the seniors as they prepare for taking their next steps towards college. In this issue of the round table, many of our talented writers took on a variety of topics such as the use of steroids in sports all the way to the best restaurants around town. Our online issue of the round table also features a behind the scenes look at SHHS and Convent’s production of West Side Story. With so much happening around the four schools, the staff at the round table took it upon themselves to explore and capture the current events that impact everyone. So take a peek into this issue of the round table and let the articles speak for themselves, and bring you into the minds of our writers.

T

Warm Regards, Lucas Chan

sports

SHHS Hoopsters

by Austin Woo ‘15

Led by junior, Armani Collins

Photo by Tawnya Gray || round table

This year, Stuart Hall’s basketball team ended their season with a successful league 10 and 0 streak, never losing a match in the Dungeon, our school gym. Through hard work, perseverance, passion, and the school’s support, the Knights not only made it through NCS, but through two brackets of States.

Leading the team was Armani Collins, a rising basketball player since his freshmen year, who is now a Junior. On average, Armani scores about 20 points per game, 10 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

“I think the season has gone pretty well for me so far,” says Armani.

“It’s gone the way I’ve expected it go.”

During the spring and summer, Armani plays basketball outside of school. “I also play for the Norcal Wildcats. It’s fun to play in a different league.” Although Armani

is a “tank,” according to Zeke Crawford ’16, a sophomore on the varsity basketball team, Armani feels that he could never achieve so much without his team. “Our team competes and works very hard,” says Armani. ”They’re all good and they help each other out. We have fun on the court.” Armani’s excellent skills and sportsmanship have earned himself the BCL West Player of the Year Award. “It’s super exciting for Armani to win player of the year,” says Coach Johnson. “This is big because the other coaches voted for him, which means that people are recognizing his accomplishments.”

While the Knights fell short of winning States this year, the team and the school feel that we can win States next year. “It’s been a great season and we’ve reached a lot of our team goals,” recalls Coach Johnson. “We were in the final eight this year.” the round table | page 3

school news

Values Day 2014

by Brandon Seltenrich ‘16

Exploring technology and connectedness in our community

Photo by Ray O’Connor || round table

Each year in January, Stuart Hall High School puts aside one day in the school year to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year, we gathered as a whole community students and faculty to engage in a topic or theme through a series of workshops that allowed us to explore a particular value relevant to our community.

If you remember last year, the theme of the day was masculinity and perceptions of what “boys will be boys” means.

The faculty led workshops discussing perceptions of masculinity and gender definitions, and we closed out the day with a fun activity in our advisory groups in which we attempted to learn how to juggle.

This year, the theme for Values Day was technology with a focus on how connectedness relates to the new 1:1 program.

The faculty who put together the round table | page 4

this theme realized that, as adults in this community, they have a drastically different relationship with technology than do students, or young people in general. Young people do not “learn” technology. In a sense, young people have grown up with technology and have not known a time when technology was not a part of their daily lives.

On the SHHS Values Day 2014 website, the community had this to say about the different use of technology among generations: “For young people, unlike the adult community, technology is not a tool to be used appropriately, so much as a way of life to be discovered.” This rings true to students and faculty at the Hall, because we are constantly teaching each other different things about the iPad, and because we all see it as a different kind of tool to use for different activities.

We kicked off the day with some quick “ice-breaker”

activities and then gathered in the Columbus Room to watch the film “Disconnect.” The film revolves around three different situations in which the characters have created a dilemma for themselves through the use of technology. The characters use technology as a tool to attempt to communicate with others in a virtual environment, ultimately leading to negative consequences. The film raises some adult-themed problems with technology, and gives a perspective on how technology affects us as humans. After the movie was over, we engaged in workshops with student-leaders, some of which discussed the idea of improving the 1:1 program we have at school. Based on the follow-up posted to the Values Day website, students and faculty reflected that the day was a successful experience.

special features

Glaze Teriyaki Grill

by Austin Woo ‘15

What happened to Johnny Rockets?

Photo by Austin Woo || round table

Last year, Johnny Rockets, one of Stuart Hall’s “go to” lunch spots, closed down. Over the Spring of 2013, Johnny Rockets’ previous building was remodeled for the arrival of a new restaurant, known as Glaze. Glaze opened during the middle of the summer of 2013 and has been going strong ever since.

So what is Glaze exactly?

Glaze is an up and coming restaurant that prides itself in fresh never-frozen produce that comes from local organic farms.

Specifically, Glaze is a restaurant that serves fusion dishes, mixing Japanese and Seattle cultured foods together. After the release of prisoners from Japanese Internment camps following World

from Glaze a couple of times but it’s really good,” says Charlie O’Connell 15, “It’s definitely a healthier option and tasty.”

One of Stuart Hall High School’s initiatives this year is to make our students more aware of what we eat and why it is important to start healthy eating habits early.

Glaze embodies these two new goals and is a great place to eat both healthy palatable food. ”I think eating at Glaze is a great way to exemplify Goal Five, Wise Freedom,” says Michael Kastner, “because we’re still eating healthy at the end of the day.” If you haven’t tried Glaze yet, stop on by! Glaze is open from 11:30am to 10pm and is located at 1946 Fillmore Street.

War II, many survivors moved to Seattle and opened Teriyaki bars. Aside from that, Glaze, unlike many other restaurants, strives to be environmentally friendly with biodegradable plates and forks. Unlike Johnny Rockets, which offered tasty but fattening lunches, Glaze serves an assortment of healthy, delicious meals that don’t leave their customers lethargic. “Johnny Rockets was tasty but don’t get me wrong. It was really oily and probably bad for my health,” says Will Paulsen ’15, “Glaze’s food is really fresh.” Glaze’s menu consists of various combinations featuring organic chicken, salmon, steak, tofu, teriyaki, salads, and gluten free sauces. Every in-house dish offered at Glaze is made from scratch; None of the dishes are precooked. “I’ve only ordered the round table | page 5

special features

Catching up with Joseph Lam His experience leaving The Hall to go to Duke can offer. After finishing his first semester, Joseph still feels that he made the right choice and believes that he couldn’t be any happier.

Like many Stuart Hall alumni, Joseph feels that Stuart Hall has definitely prepared him for the college experience However it is still a big change and a large step up from the high school life. Between balancing homework, fencing, school events, and friends, his college schedule is jam-packed.

The fact that his schedule is so busy is what makes college so exciting, and it is also Photo by Zack Hammer ‘16|| round table what makes it such a big step up from

high school. Homework and class

Many students go through attendance is optional, but not high school just to get to college, doing them definitely hurts your only going through the motions chances of success. Motivating of their day-to-day classes. They himself to do the work for his own work enough to get an ‘A’ and once knowledge and benefit are very they move on to college, they never important to Joseph. look back on their high school

According to Joseph, college years. This, however, is not how sports are a lot different than in men of The Hall act. They strive high school, especially fencing. to do their best, and go above and Fitness is extremely important for beyond what is expected of them.

Each year, another group of seniors college athletes, so on top of the regular fencing training, Joseph move on to the status of Stuart has yoga, plyometrics, and weight Hall alumni. Joseph Lam is one of lifting. Although his training these alumni. Recently, the round is rigorous and his schedule is table caught up with Joseph in an packed, Joseph is still competing email interview. in national tournaments. He

Graduating last year in recently achieved third in Junior the class of 2013 with academic Foil during the November North honors and high achievement in American Cup (NAC) in Cleveland, fencing, Joseph Lam is currently Ohio. In addition to fencing, on a 4-year scholarship at Duke University. He chose Duke because some of Joseph’s extra curricular activities include volunteering at a of the “perfect combination of one local homeless shelter and going on of the country’s best academic and a retreat to North Myrtle Beach. athletic programs” that only Duke the round table | page 6

by Zack Hammer ‘16

We at The Hall are very proud of Joseph and wish for his continued success both on and off the fencing strip.

special features

by Stephen Everest ‘15

New Year’s Resolutions fe

99% of Americans don’t make it (or something) ar

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in

i at

3. Life gets in the way

Sometimes life just gets in the way. It might be impossible to go to the gym because you have too much Latin homework that day (or every Red Day). This is uncontrollable, and not your fault, but it happens anyway.

Pros:

Image created by Stephen Everest ‘15 || round table

Every New Year’s Eve, people across the globe make their New Year’s resolutions, which can be anything from going to the gym three times a week, all the way to learning how to speak a new language. However, as we often find, just because we make something a goal, doesn’t mean that we complete it. Just last year, my resolution was to work out at the local YMCA twice a week.

Doesn’t sound too hard, does it?

Well if you knew me, you would know that I have worked out approximately five times in my life, so I didn’t quite reach that goal.

With that, here are the pros and cons of New Year’s resolutions.

Cons: 1. Most people give up early

Have you ever seen a gym at the beginning of January?

Well, I haven’t, but apparently it is packed. However, by the end of the month, membership is right where it was in December, if not marginally higher. This is

because most people give up on New Year’s resolutions prematurely since they are just too hard (among other things).

2. Some people are too optimistic

A 120 pound sophomore is not going to be 200 pounds by the end of the year. Not without a large frame, a large growth spurt, or some other natural occurrence (unless he lives in Texas and takes steroids). A lot of the time, short term goals are the easiest to complete, so try to stick to those.

If you want to be 200 pounds, you should first try to get to 125 pounds, and work your way up.

Our current society is very result oriented, and we ignore the actual process that it takes to get our results. In this case the process would include a restructured diet, meeting with a trainer, and pushing yourself to get to the gym.

Don’t ignore the process, and do the math before looking to the equal sign before looking for the final product.

1. Helps you identify your own weaknesses

Often, we don’t take a lot of time in our lives to judge ourselves. Humans are very judgemental of others, but usually look at themselves as near-perfect individuals for whom every action is justified. However, around the end of the year is when most people do their soul-searching, as they review how the past year has gone.

This is very important, and one of the positives of starting a new year.

2. Some people actually complete them

If you are like me, then this does not apply to you. However, if you are one of those determined few individuals who can actually complete their New Year’s resolutions, the New Year is a great day to look back on how your previous year’s goal has gone. Also, the habits that have been built up over the past year usually don’t go away, so the New Year is actually just a way to start a lifetime of fulfilling a goal.

3. Can help you get the New Year off to a good start

New Year’s resolutions, even if not completed, help us all to get the New Year off to a good start. Maybe they will evolve into something else, and maybe they will just help get us out of the house over Christmas break. Either way, they are a good thing to have going into the New Year. the round table | page 7

special features

Winter Break Travels Such Rome, very Italy, wow

Photo by Lucas Chan || round table

In the first few weeks of December, nothing crossed my mind other than finals and Winter Break.

When that fateful Friday came, not only was I thrilled that I was done with all my school work, but I looked forward to the coming New Year and my trip to Italy. It would be my first time in Europe, and I was excited about what I would experience while simply hanging out with a few friends without our parents.

Over the course of a few months, my friends and I planned our trip to make sure nothing could spoil our time away from home. Although we were somewhat supervised by a couple of adult friends from our old middle school of St. Cecilia, who also sponsored a portion of the trip’s expenses, we were essentially free to explore and visit the many sites and basilicas around Rome and Assisi. After the grueling 14 hour plane ride from SFO to Rome, most of us were left groggy on our first day in Italy.

What surprised us most about the round table | page 8

arriving in a new country was the food. Although we all expected the cuisine to be fantastic and mindblowing, we really did not expect second courses to be common. After filling up on our first course, most of us were left speechless as our waiters brought another full plate for us to enjoy. We ended our first day by heading to our hotel located conveniently next to St. Peter’s Basilica, where we all agreed that we needed a good night’s rest to help us cope with the ungodly amount of food and walking we had just experienced.

My trip flew by. My favorite part was the simple train ride across the Italian countryside from Rome to Assisi, a town that has barely been changed since St. Francis’s time. After spending a few days experiencing the many large and majestic basilicas and churches around Rome, and even seeing the Pope at the New Years Day Mass, our trip to Assisi was a welcomed refresh to our pilgrimage. Instead of rushing from site to site like we had done over the past few days, the

by Lucas Chan ‘14 steady and quiet two hour train ride along the Italian countryside gave me peace of mind, from the hectic atmosphere of the city. What moved me most about arriving in Assisi, was how much the community and town contrasted with the busy and noisy streets of Rome, a change I warmly welcomed. We arrived in Lower Assisi to visit the porziuncola where St. Francis lived and where he was inspired to begin his ministry. There is a replication of this building here in San Francisco in North Beach as well.

The trip was an amazing experience and the culture shock opened me up to a new world view.

Italy was such a unique country to visit, because of all its history and beautiful sights and I hope to eventually return there. Despite having such a good time over the break, its time to return back to San Francisco and have a strong finish to my senior year.

sports

Wrestling

by Will Paulsen ‘15

Olympians at the Hall

The Stuart Hall High School Swett High School and Stuart Hall wrestling team was started in won, 58 to 6. The whole team went 2011 by Alex Asdourian ‘12. Coach to this meet and all the freshman Woodard has been with the team won their matches, a great success from the start, helping Alex and for new people on the team. “The a group of students get the team team is growing and doing well. off the ground. “A couple of guys The newer members of the team wanted to start a club and I always are working very hard and are wanted to start a program for the really trying to get better,” said rest of the students who didn’t team captain, Charlie O’Connell. play basketball during the winter

On Wednesday, January season,” said Coach Woodard. It 15, Stuart Hall went to the mat is now a well developed team that with the California School for the is moving up the ranks. In the Deaf. It was a very close dual meet past year eight guys went to NCS ending in a loss with a score of 38 and the team received third in the to 34. On Saturday, January 18, league. One of the eight wrestlers The Hall went to a tournament who went to NCS last year was at Drake High School, where a Austin Woo ‘15, who said, “It was few of the Stuart Hall wrestlers very difficult and there were many placed. It’s great to see how far wrestlers there.” Last year’s team the team has come, since Coach was filled with seniors who were Woodard said, “The first year I had experienced wrestlers and left the no experienced wrestlers and now team in great shape. This year’s I have returning upperclassmen, team captains were Austin Woo ‘15 who are more experienced. Our and Charlie O’Connell ‘15 who led team at tournaments was not the new members of the team in considered a threat to other teams, the moves and strategies they need but now our team is recognized to succeed as strong wrestlers. by other teams as a tough team.”

At a recent meet on January The season ended well with the 9, Stuart Hall went against John team only two points short of

going to NCS duals. Five from the team, Xa Conrad ‘14, Austin Woo ‘15, Charlie O’Connell ‘15, Arjun Saxena ‘16, Alex McDonald ‘17 represented The Hall at the NCS finals.

Photo by Sanjay Saxena|| round table

the round table | page 9

special features

Xbox One or Playstation 4 Well there goes my $500 savings

Image created by Austin Woo|| round table

For the last six years, gamers have bickered over whether the Xbox 360, owned by Microsoft, or the PlayStation 3, owned by Sony, was better. It’s now 2014 and these two tech giants have released newer gaming platforms that have refueled the console war over which console is better. Each component within the consoles is reviewed below with a verdict on which outperforms the other.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

In general, RAM allows information and data to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations on a memory module (it’s like short term memory). RAM allows the console to run smoothly, without lag or hiccups. Microsoft’s newest console, the Xbox One, features 8gbs of DDR3 (Double Data Rate).

On the other hand, the PlayStation 4, PS4 for short, owned by Sony, has GDDR5 (Graphics Double Data Rate). GDDR5 is more advanced than Microsoft’s DDR3, in that it specializes more on graphics.

Although the PS4 has GDDR5, its performance is only equal to that of the Xbox one’s DDR3. This is so because Sony’s OS uses one more GB of RAM than Microsoft’s OS, which ultimately makes it only as powerful

as the Xbox One’s RAM. Verdict: Draw CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The CPU is the brain of the console. Its job is to interpret instructions in the form of data and then execute its commands. The CPU of the Xbox One features an octa-core processor based on AMD Jaguar Architecture with a frequency of 1.75 gigahertz. Quite similarly, the PS4 also has an octa-core AMD processor. However, it has a frequency of 1.6 gigahertz. Because the Xbox One features a stronger CPU, it processes data faster and ultimately runs smoother than the PS4.

Verdict: Xbox One GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

This component functions to “predict” upcoming frames. It’s responsible for the graphics produced in games and on your TV; it’s what makes your game look so realistic.

The Xbox One features a GPU that processes graphics at 1.18 teraflops, whereas the Playstation 4 features a GPU that processes at a rate of 1.84 teraflops. The Playstation 4’s GPU also has 384 more shaders, 12 more texture units, 8 more ROPS, and 6 more Ace Ques. What does all this mumbo jumbo mean? It means that the PlayStation 4’s GPU is stronger in every way. While the graphics of each console look about the same as of the moment, the Play Station’s

by Austin Woo ‘15

superiority will make games look even nicer when game developers eventually learn to take advantage of the the PS4’s architecture.

Verdict: PS4 Poll Results

After creating a poll for the Stuart Hall High School community, it revealed that 62% among the students and staff preferred the PlayStation 4, leaving 38% to prefer the Xbox One. Go to PowToon (http://goo.gl/InaHRV) to view the full poll results.

The Road Ahead

If you ask anyone who has played on both the older generation consoles and the new generation consoles (Xbox One and/ or PlayStation 4), they would say without a doubt that the graphics and gaming have improved by leaps and bounds. This improvement is rooted in the console’s new architecture, which emulates a gaming PC’s architecture. The last generation of consoles used APUs (Accelerated Processing Units), which processed data and created graphics at the same time. While this did the job in the past, they weren’t all that great. The new consoles have individual parts to handle processing (CPU) and graphics (GPU), replicated after the PC’s design. When the newer consoles come out in another six years, their architecture will further emulate a gaming PC’s, maybe even completely. Heck, a gaming PC and console may even merge at one point or another.

Choosing A Console

At the end of the day, both consoles bring a different experience to the table and your personal preference to a console may often exceed that of some hardware analysis. Choosing a console can be quite difficult. My only advice is to try both of them out first and put into consideration which console your friends prefer! the round table | page 10

special features

Mac and Cheese

by Will Paulsen ‘15

Fried Gold

Photo by Will Paulsen|| round table

Mac and cheese is a simple and very easy-to-make meal.

Many things could be added to it to please oneself. Everyone knows of a generic brand for mac and cheese, namely Kraft, but making it from scratch tastes ten times better. There are many types of ways you could cook mac and cheese; you could cook, boil it or bake it.

The best way to make it is to boil the pasta, and then add cheese, different meats, or diffrent foods into it. The preferred meat I

would use is bacon or pancetta.

My recipe of choice is in the sidebar.

There you have it, a perfectly baked mac and cheese. This creamy, smooth mac and cheese fills your mouth with bacon joy. The creamy cheese compliments the salty bacon and blends perfectly for a delicious taste.

I recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to have a tasty meal.

1. Start off by cooking 6 slices of bacon or as much as you may want.

2. Boil 1/2 lb of dried elbow pasta for 5 min and put it to the side for later.

3. Melt 3 tbsp of butter in a large pot.

Then set it to simmer.

4. Add 3 tbsp of flour and whisk it to get all of the lumps out.

5. Add 1 cup of the 3 cups of half & half and whisk it.

6. Add the remaining 2 cups of half & half when the sauce is thick. Also, add 1 tsp of rosemary, 1 tsp of thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper, 4 cloves of minced garlic and a generous pinch of nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

7. Whisk and increase the heat to medium-high until it thickens for about 5 minutes.

8. Remove the pot from the heat and add 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of finely grated parmigianoreggiano cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted.

9. Combine the pasta with the cheese sauce, add 2 tbsp of fresh chopped basil and add 1 1/2 tbsp of chopped green onion.

10. Mix it all together and put half of it in a baking dish. Cover the pasta with 1/2 of the 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.

11. Pour the rest of the pasta on it as well as the rest of the mozzarella, and put the chopped bacon on top.

12. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs on top of the pasta.

13. Set the oven to 400 degrees and place the mac and cheese on the middle rack for 25 to 35 minutes.

the round table | page 11

special features

by Zack Hammer ‘16

Around the World in 35 Days Costa Rica, France, and Guatemala

Photo by Cherie Hammer|| round table

How many high school students can say they’ve been to three different countries in their lives? And how many of them can say that they’ve done that all in less than 35 days? Because of my interest and success in the field of fencing, I am one such student, privileged enough to be able to go to multiple countries in a very short period of time.

The first country I visited was Costa Rica for our sophomore class trip. It was for service and community building, and I believe that it was very successful in both respects. We got to do everything from horseback riding to zip lining to helping out at a school. But out of everything that we did on the trip, the thing that I found most valuable was the community building aspect.

I made so many new friends, and became even better friends with

people I did know.

Team building experiences such as water rafting really made the trip fun and really brought our class closer together. Another great component of the trip was helping out at a school, which was actually very enjoyable. We got to play with the kids, doing everything from soccer to making paper airplanes.

While some of us engaged with the kids, others began painting the inside of one of the buildings of the school. We finished that day with giving each of the children school supplies. The look on their faces as they received the supplies was so happy that it practically made my whole trip!

My second trip was to Paris, France for a fencing World Cup. With a nine hour time change less than a week after Costa Rica, the jet lag that I experienced was horrible. Not to mention the fact that I went from 85 plus degrees and close to 100% humidity during my first trip to the dry, almost freezing temperatures of Paris.

Despite the temperature and time difference, I had an amazing time in Paris. It is impossible to say no to French cuisine, and the food on this trip was probably the best I had eaten in months (not to say that I had been eating poorly, it was just that French food far outclasses anything I had eaten). Of course space in Paris is tight, so our hotel rooms were quite small with barely

enough room for two beds. We had to practically pile our suitcases on top of each other to make room to move.

The bathroom was incredibly tiny as well. When you opened the shower door you couldn’t use the toilet, and you could literally rest your chin on the sink as you relieved yourself.

At least the provided breakfast was decent, as French pastries are to die for. The tournament venue was only a short walk from the hotel, which was a blessing as dragging your equipment everywhere is definitely not fun. I will never forget the sight of walking into the tournament venue, seeing all of the flags of every country hanging from the ceiling, the dozens of strips bustling with 500+ fencers warming up for the day, and the bleachers filled with parents and onlookers. It was an incredible sight, and it really got me pumped up for the day of competing.

After two days of competing, I finished 43rd out of 300+ fencers in my event.

The final trip I took was to Guatemala for the Pan-American Games. These consisted of the four best qualifying fencers from each country in North and South America. Guatemala is a developing country, and it was quite evident from the moment that we stepped out of the airport. We had been warned earlier by the USFA (United States Fencing Association) to not wear our American clothing outside the airport as it would make us prime targets for mugging. With that in the back of our minds, we stood outside the front of the airport for over 20 minutes, waiting for our shuttle. We had taken the same connecting flight as the Canadian team, and we planned to take the shuttle together as we were staying at the same hotel. When the shuttle did show up, it was a small, eightperson van with hardly any luggage the round table | page 12

room. Now, each fencer (eight of us total), had his fencing bag full of equipment. Each was bigger than a golf bag and weighed easily 30-40 pounds. Parents and coaches also had luggage of their own. It became quickly evident that we would not all fit into the van, so another 20 minutes of waiting commenced.

Finally, two unmarked white vans rolled up in front of us. We knew it seemed sketchy, but they insisted that we put our luggage into the unmarked vans and the rest of us were to get into this small, eightperson van. Oh, did I mention that none of us spoke Spanish? We all crammed into the van, some people had to sit on other peoples laps because it was so small, and off we went for the 45 minute drive through Guatemala City to the hotel, which happened to be in one of the worst parts of town. But at least we made it there with all our stuff, and then our parents began the unnecessarily long check in process, which lasted about 45 mintes. Once we finally checked in and got to our less-than-impressive rooms, our coach decided that we should do weapons check. Weapons check is required for pretty much every major tournament, and its basically just a check done to make sure all of your equipment works and that no one is trying to cheat. Usually it is done at the venue, but for some reason weapons check was in our hotel, which for any other event would seem sketchy, but this was a unique location, so we just went with it. When we got to the weapons check room, half an hour after it was supposed to open, the room was dark and we had to wait again. Then we had to wait in line for 30 minutes to get everything checked. Once we finally finished, it was time for dinner. The dinner was provided for us, and it was a sort of “you get what you get and you don’t make a fuss.”

While we didn’t like what we got, we ate it anyway. We finished off the day by relaxing by the pool, saving our energy for the event the next day. Of course since the tournament was supposed to start at 8:00 AM, we had to get up around 6:00 for

an early breakfast and the shuttle caught the bullet-ridden bus back. that would take us to the venue.

While it was exciting to be in The “shuttles” in question were three different countries in little actually two old, beat up, yellow over a month, I did miss out on school busses. These busses actually a little school and a lot of sleep. had bullet holes in the windows.

However the timing worked out Trying to ignore that fact, we all great for my schedule, minimizing piled on and rode to the venue. days absent and travel time, and if Once we got there, we immediately given the chance I would certainly noticed the substantial number of do it again. guards armed with sub-machine guns. I wasn’t really sure if I should feel safe with them watching or if I should be fearing for my life. The venue itself was a circular “stadium” with bleachers surrounding about five strips. In Guatemala, the sense of punctuality isn’t as important as it is in America, so the event didn’t actually start until 10:00 AM. It was simpler than the World Cup in Paris, lasting only one day.

I began the day fencing below the actual venue, in a sub-basement storage area. The ceiling was maybe seven or eight feet high, with bunk beds and boxes piled along the walls, and at times while fencing, my foil would scrape the top of the ceiling. I made it through the direct elimination round (now in the actual venue), to the top four. After that, they had opening ceremonies.

Ironically, the opening ceremonies began at 6:00 PM, after 8 hours of competing.

These ceremonies consisted of about three 20-minute speeches in Spanish (I guess I should have brushed up on my spanish), a parade with representatives from all the countries, and the Guatemalan national anthem. After all of that had finished, and I had cooled off and lost all my energy, the top four rounds started. I had a pretty tough bout, but I was able to win by a hair to make it into the final, which I ended up losing to a Canadian, earning the silver medal. After the medal ceremonies and half an hour of pictures, we packed up and barely Photo by Cherie Hammer|| round table

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special features

NorCal Surfing Winter’s final gift

Photo by Eli Horowitz ‘17|| round table

Imagine jumping out of a two story building and having it chase you down the street. Every winter in Northern California, something spectacular begins to glimmer along the coast. Growing up close to the ocean has really shaped my life and the way in which I have developed into who I am, sometimes I almost feel like an actual part of the ocean. For about twelve weeks in the winter, storms from the Northwest and the Gulf of Alaska are carried down and hit the California coast like a wrecking ball of heavy, cold water. As these swells get pulled over reefs, sand bars, and miscellaneous NorCal topography, they create waves that are like no other around the world.

Towering, freezing water hills roar through the sea and head straight for the coastline.

Northern California holds a variety of great surf spots. Some of the best breaks are at Ocean Beach, where Morgan Law ‘15 and Elijah Horwitz ‘17 like to spend their free time, even when the round table | page 14

by John Cannell ‘16

These few risk-takers are known as big wave surfers. Their entire lives revolve around chasing swells in many locations. Big wave surfers are able to hold their breath for minutes at a time, while being thrown in every direction and dragged along the bottom of the ocean. They are also known for incredible arm and core strength.

For example, in 1994, 16 year old Jay Moriarty trained with mentor Richard “Frosty” Hesson to surf Mavericks by paddling from Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz to Monterey. That was an astounding 36 miles!

I hope that one day I am lucky enough to ride these waves or at least experience them, but until then, I have a lot to work on. it gets unimaginably big. Ocean Beach is an underestimated surf location and with the right conditions, can turn into a winter wonderland for NorCal surfers.

Ocean Beach is about 3.5 miles long, so it holds a variety of waves of all shapes and sizes due to underwater sand bars. Located just 25 miles south of San Francisco in Half Moon Bay is the infamous Mavericks. This big wave break is unique and houses one of the largest, most spectacular waves in the world. It sits in the backyard of many skilled big wave riders and is the home of an annual big wave contest called the Mavericks Invitational. Mavericks only breaks on a large Northwest swell and due to the unusual underwater topography, can generate waves from 25 to 80 feet.

For about a century, from Hawaii to California and all the way down to Mexico, people who are willing to risk their lives in order to harness the power and energy from these magnificent waves attempt to take that leap.

school news

Students in Action

by Stephen Everest ‘15

Leaders among the student body

Photo by Ray O’Connor || round table

Students in Action, a group of students across the Stuart Hall community, is a chapter of a larger organization that was launched in 2006 by The Jefferson Awards for Public Service. The youth leadership program, according to their website, is a program that, “encourages high school students to get engaged and be the change that they wish to see in their communities.” Along with this, the organization’s goals are to work toward helping members become leaders, to be engaged in the community, and to make a lasting impact.

According to their website, Students in Action strives toward: (1) Building life long habits around Service, Leadership and Ethics-the core values of the initiative; (2) Doubling the current level of youth volunteerism and community service on a national level; (3) Passing the tradition of Community Service on to young Americans.

Bringing Students in Action to Stuart Hall High School was planned

by Service Learning Director, Raymond O’Connor. Starting at the beginning of this school year, he recruited 11 students involved in many different areas of service to start this new chapter. Meetings are held once a week during lunch, as well and occasionally outside of school during leadership training days. One training day was held at Mills High School, where SIA participated in leadership building exercises and had the opportunity to build relationships with other high school leaders from the Bay Area.

Conversely, on-campus meeting are used to plan future service projects at the school. The chapter planned part of the March 14 Service Day, a core event at Stuart Hall, where the school was split into groups for a day to give back to the community.

“SIA is meant to promote service in the community. In doing so, we hope to grow closer with our fellow classmates and the world around us,” said SIA member GianCarlo

Gratz’ 17.

Along with this, Students in Action recognizes one member of the Stuart Hall community every month for their individual service.

Past winners of the award have been Xa Conrad for his work at Pets Unlimited; Beto Wetter for his work at Samaritan House along side other service activities; and Drew Xandrine-Anderson for his work with KEEN. This award is used to recognize those people in the community who are going above and beyond their mandatory hours requirement. “SIA is doing a great job honoring people for their service and allowing members of the school to recognize people who are doing outstanding service,” said freshman Giggy Andrew.

Students in Action has also been working with other schools, as it is a new program, to share ideas on how to best help the community.

So far, Stuart Hall has partnered with Wallenberg High School, located in San Francisco’s Western Addition, and the two chapters have met after school to discuss the best ways to promote service in the community. Wallenberg, a veteran chapter, had many incredible ideas to share, some of which will be implemented in our school over the coming months.

Students in Action is a new organization, but one that is striving to make a long lasting difference.

Keep a look out for announcements from the group, and remember to answer the online questionnaire to be nominated for the monthly service award!

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Fall Highlights

sophomore news

Costa Rica

by John Cannell ‘16

Pura Vida

Photo by Tracy Sena || round table

Since the end of my freshman year, during CORE periods, we have been preparing with Convent class of 2016 to go on a co-ed service immersion trip to Costa Rica. Traveling down to Costa Rica was quite an adventure.

It involved two flights connecting through Houston and a long, scenic bus ride from San Jose to Playa Dominical, in south Costa Rica.

By the time we got to the villas in the little beach town that we were staying in, we were all pretty beat, but it was definitely worth it.

I personally had one of the best weeks of my entire life.

We were so lucky to be able to experience so much of Costa Rica.

We got to do several activities

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everyday like horseback riding to the famous waterfall, Nayuca where we could jump off of a 40 foot ledge. We got to go ziplining in the rainforests where we were also able to see a lot of wildlife. One of my favorite activities was visiting a local school for a day and working with the children, playing sports like soccer with them, and doing some maintenance on the school.

We were able to give the kids school supplies which felt really good because they were stoked to receive notebooks and other gear and to spend time with us. Just as exciting, was that we were able to spend time with them.

Even though the opportunities to get to know the

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local Costa Ricans was great, the most valuable experiences among Convent and the Hall was the community activities we were able to experience with one another that we wouldn’t typically be able to do in a normal CORE period.

We got to learn how to salsa dance with each other in a comfortable environment. We played games like cards and pool with one another and enjoyed the local swimming pool together. In a word, we spent a lot of quality time with one another and that made this trip truly special.

special features

Hot Sauce and Panko

by Will Paulsen ‘15

The Best of the Best

Photo by Will Paulsen || round table

Hot Sauce and Panko is a small restaurant located on 17th Avenue and Clement Street. It is a tiny place that deals mostly with takeout orders and has a small variety of food. The menu includes different types of sandwiches and wings. Also, someone can order a side of fries or a waffle. They have five tables in total, two out side and two inside with a standing table. With this small restaurant they have over three hundred different types of hot sauces displayed on the wall. Their store hours vary from week to week and it is recommended that you look on their website for an update on their store hours.

They are usually open on

Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 12:00 p.m to 6:30 p.m. Then on Friday they are open an hour more and on Sunday they are open and hour less. Even though their menu is small. They are very good at what they do.

They have many delicious choices to choose from, I personally love the chicken and waffle sandwich. This sandwich is known as the Ultra Goliath sandwich. It has three strips of beautifully crafted fried chicken, which is perfectly cooked and juicy.

The chicken is laid on top of a bed of karaage cabbage, which is a Japanese style cabbage. They drizzle a sriracha caramel sauce that gives the sandwich the right

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amount of heat while also putting mayonnaise on it.

All of this is put between two perfectly cooked waffles. At a reasonable price of $6.99, it provides a filling and great tasting meal. There is a wide variety of wings that can fit anyone’s taste palette. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves waffles or wings.

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Fall Highlights

special features

by Stephen Everest ‘15

The Trickle-Down Effect of Professional Steroid Use Steroids and HGH aren’t just in the pros

Image created by Duncan McDonnell ‘16||

Athletes are always looking for ways to gain an edge over their competition. For the last few decades the answer to this search for many has been steroids and human-growth hormones, otherwise known as doping.

Famous athletes and “role models” have been caught cheating in all different sports, including such big names as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, and Marion Jones.

Sports with the most use of these banned substances are baseball, swimming, and cycling. However, steroids are a problem in almost all sports, and have been since the early 1970s. The impact of steroid use in professional sports wouldn’t be as big an issue if the athletes using them were not looked up to by millions of people around the globe.

So what are steroids?

Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced hormones that, when injected into the body, act as natural hormones. They are beneficial to athletes because they increase muscle mass and increase the rate of healing and growth in

muscle tissue, allowing for faster healing and quicker muscle gain. They can be taken orally in a pill form or be injected into muscles in the body using syringes. This gives the user a distinct advantage during training, so they are illegal in sports. While gaining muscle mass is a positive side effect of taking steroids, there are many negative side effects that can be life-altering. These include the potential for the body to stop producing these hormones on its own. Other serious side effects, as noted by WebMd, include damage to the kidneys, prostate, and reproductive organs, as well as cancer, aggressive behavior, acne, baldness, and heart disease. Out of these, “roid rage” is a very famous side effect of steroid use. During a study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2008, it was concluded that, “young men who use anabolic steroids are twice as likely to engage in violence than those who do not use the musclebuilding drugs.” However, even with these horrifying side effects, athletes continue to use steroids to gain an advantage. Not only are steroids damaging the integrity of

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sports, but also the human body.

There was a myth over the past few years that the “Steroid Era” in sports was over. However, in just the past year, a Miami rejuvenation clinic named Biogenesis of America was discovered to have been giving performance enhancing drugs to some of the biggest players in baseball. The names on the list read like an All-Star Team, and you may recognize names such as Alex Rodriguez (MVP), Ryan Braun (MVP), Nelson Cruz (All-Star), Everth Cabrera (All-Star), and Jhonny Peralta (All-Star). Also, players who were not suspended due to having already served their suspensions were All-Stars Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon. An issue thought to be fading away was suddenly brought back to the forefront of the sport, and Major League Baseball acted quickly to suppress the problem.

There is no doubt that steroids have become more accepted and possibly even “socially acceptable” among some professional athletes, as seen in the sport of cycling. In 2012, former 7-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was banned for life from professional cycling for doping. Not only was Armstrong the face of cycling around the world, he was also seen as an upstanding citizen and tremendous role model for aspiring athletes. He was a fixture of hope for citizens living with cancer, as he survived it himself, and even ran one of the most famous charities for cancer, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. As good a man as he may have seemed on the outside, Armstrong did whatever it took to win, including cheating.

However, he was far from the only one. Armstrong’s former personal

assistant, Mike Anderson, gave an interview in which he stated that Armstrong had no problem with other cyclists doping, and even stated that, “everyone does it.” This mindset within the sport of cycling made doping ethically accepted and forced most people to do it to survive.

Cycling became a breeding-ground for cheating and also caused many fans to be deceived about their favorite cyclists and role models.

Lance Armstrong, along with many of his contemporaries, set a standard for cheating within cycling, and by doing so they tricked the fans and may have influenced a generation of younger athletes looking to succeed in the sport.

How exactly does this impact America’s youth? According to a study conducted by Yale University, “Children learn by imitating adults-so much so that they will rethink how an object works if they observe an adult taking unnecessary steps when using that object.” Adults have a large effect upon younger children, and whether they realize it or not, they are setting an example. Young children look up to professional players for inspiration, and the players who use steroids and HGH may be unintentionally setting a bad example for millions of aspiring athletes around the country and world.

If professional athletes are using illegal drugs to have an advantage over their competition, young high-schoolers around America may do the same. In fact, “may” is a generous word. Many already are. According to a USA Today article titled “Fight against steroids gaining muscle in high school athletics,” in 2005 two parents went before Congress saying that their children had lost their lives, “not only seeking to bulk up, but do it in a way that emulated successful professional athletes.” During that same hearing before Congress, it was discovered that the “use of performance-enhancing substances takes place openly in the locker rooms, weight rooms and cafeterias

of public and private high schools.”

While this behavior may not be familiar to athletes in San Francisco high schools (personally, I have never heard of this happening), the truth of the matter is that there are places in the US where this behavior is acceptable for adults to partake in and may even be encouraged.

Shockingly, a recent study reported by reuters.com has concluded that about 5% of high schoolers in Minnesota have used steroids. Even more depressing is that all we have is the data of those who admitted to taking them. This is a small sample size, but other studies have found anywhere between 3% and 7% of high schoolers have at least tried steroids. This disturbing trend is damaging the health of youth across the country, and there is no doubt in my mind where this trend started: the free advertisements for the illegal drugs every time you watch Ryan Braun or any other steroidusing player take an at-bat.

With college getting so expensive and colleges recruiting top athletes at an intense pace, it has created the need for high school athletes to truly stand out and excel. Playing college sports can open the door for student-athletes to potentially have college paid for them. This may be another reason

for the increased use of steroids among teenage athletes. I am not a proponent of drug testing among high school athletes, but schools and coaches need to be aware that there are students who are putting illegal foreign substances into their bodies to improve performance. To counter this trend, I believe high schools should educate students on the harmful effects of these drugs.

Also, on the professional level, I believe that there should be a harsher penalty for steroid and HGH use in sports, which hopefully baseball is beginning to adopt following the Biogenesis scandal. If steroids were not used by professional athletes and were harshly dealt with at the pro-level, than high school students would not use them, as once again it would become socially unacceptable to do so.

Image compiled with memegenerator.net || round table

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the best of winter

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