The Bolt (September 2014) by Sage Hill School

September 2014 www.lightningboltonline.com

20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657 www.issuu.com/shsbolt @theboltonline

Volume 15, Issue 1 www.facebook.com/sagehillschool

by the numbers

A four-sided school gathering. For the seniors, juniors and sophomores, this is the same opening ceremony: only this year there are over 506 students, a 26 student increase from last year.

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480

Kellen Ochi

506

past five years

Student Enrollment Climbs to New Heights By Kristin Saroyan managing editor

While Sage Hill School opened its doors in its inaugural year of 2000 to only 91 ninth graders and 28 tenth graders, it welcomed 506 students for the 2014-15 school year with the largest freshman class—134 students— ever to grace Wilkins Town Square during the back-to-school convocation. “There’s something to be said about having a high school with a critical number of students,” Elaine Mijalis-Kahn, director of admission and financial aid, said. “You need students to be athletes, students to be in the plays and students to be leaders. You don’t want to just sit in a classroom with two kids.” “I think the more the merrier,” freshman Sarah Takallou said. “The classes are a little bigger, but I feel that when classes are too small, it’s not as easy to make a lot of friends. It’s a very modest size, good for education and I feel very free to express

myself in class.” The larger-than-ever enrollment is not only a testament to the increasing credibility of Sage Hill School as an excellent institution for academic, athletic and artistic students—it is also an intricate model employed to better unify the grade levels. “The largest ninth grade class here in the school was done by design,” Mijalis-Kahn said. “It was a very carefully thought out plan to put an enrollment model in place where the ninth grade class is the largest class on campus, and we allow natural attrition to take place over the years.” Natural attrition is the gradual reduction of a student body as students leave without replacement, and Sage Hill School currently boasts an attrition rate of only 3.3 percent, an impressive feat compared to the national average of 9.3 percent according to the National Association of Independent

Schools (NAIS). “What natural attrition does is it doesn’t put the pressure on the school to fill empty seats in the tenth, eleventh or twelfth grade classes,” MijalisKahn said. “What we’re trying to say is that this is a sequential, four-year program at Sage, and it starts in ninth grade.” With current class sizes of around 15 students and a superb studentto-college counselor ratio of 39 to 1, some community members believe that the burgeoning student body could potentially strain the relationships and resources of the community, though the school is zoned to have 600 students on campus. “It’s going to be harder to get to know people because of the bigger class,” freshman Ellie Klein said. “We definitely don’t want to lose the fact that we know who you are. We don’t want to lose the feel of a community and knowing each other,” Mijalis-

Kahn said. “You want to have the right students; you don’t want to just be filling empty seats. For those who are here, it’s a gift that their parents have given them, and it’s an honor that they themselves qualified.” The qualified students attending Sage Hill this year come from 34 different cities and more than 110 different schools, and 55 percent of the student body self-identify as students of color, constituting over twice the diversity of the national average of 25 percent provided by the NAIS. “I feel that when you’re in high school, you have to have enough people to be friends with in one moment, to know there are other people you can hang out with when you have a fight with somebody and to know there’s another guy around when you break up with your boyfriend,” MijalisKahn said. “So I believe that more is better.”

OPINION/EDITORIAL staff editorial

Our Mission:

Truth and Connection “Our mission is to speak the truth to power,” said the late war correspondent Marie Colvin at a memorial service for 49 journalists killed while reporting. Colvin herself was killed in Syria in 2012. All around the world, writers and photographers memorialized her black eye patch, a battle wound from the Sri Lankan civil war. They reminisced about the time Colvin reported on 1,500 refugees besieged by Indonesian militia as two dozen of her colleagues fled. And they did not write about her PTSD or recurrent alcoholism or the time she stole a knife from her sister’s kitchen and slept with it under her pillow. Maybe it was out of respect for the dead or because she was a hero to so many. Or maybe it was because we don’t like to see the consequences of a pursuit for truth. There is a reason that Sri Lankan militants launched an RPG at Colvin when she screamed journalist, journalist. There is a reason that books are banned, burned and censored. As Marie Colvin knew all too well, knowledge gives people a dangerous power.

As high school journalists our job is certainly less deadly. But we promise you the same regard for truth. We promise to tell unbiased facts and serve as a public forum for discussion in the Sage community. We strive to connect students to their school and to each other. We follow the tenets of Leonard’s Law and California Education Code 48907, revolutionary state student rights laws. California was the first of eight states to protect student journalists in these rights, which are already guaranteed

‘We promise to tell the unbiased truth and serve as a public forum for discussion in the Sage community.’ by the First Amendment and state constitution. Some say print news—even

15millerh.publications@gmail.com

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journalism itself—is dying. In reality, journalism is evolving. With award-winning writers, designers and photographers, we present our three publications. In its second year, The Bolt Online (lightningboltonline.com) brings more news faster. Updated daily, our online news site covers breaking news about sports games, car crashes and fire alarms. It embraces the interactive with Sapphire food reviews, photos and videos. The Bolt, our monthly newspaper, focuses on telling people’s stories through commentary, opinion pieces and features. With longer, more in-depth articles, The Bolt supplements shorter news articles on The Bolt Online. Storm is our yearbook, which set a national record of early due dates two years ago. With our technology, Aurasma, we turn still photos into live video on your smart phones. We stand behind you in the lunch line at Sapphire. We raise our hands next to you in English class. We smile and wave to you in Wilkins Town Square. We are singers and student leaders, track stars

15minm.publications@gmail.com

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and clarinet players, artists and straight A students. We are the 44 students on Publi-

‘With awardwinning writers, designers and photographers, we present our three publications.’ cations Staff, and we are truth seekers. All 44 of us want to represent the Sage Hill community. This is your space - to discuss, to question and to learn. We live in a gray scale world. Sports heroes become criminals, the Facebook generation moves on to Twitter and Miley Cyrus grows up. With black letter on white paper, we present to you the black and white truth.

15hamadanin.publications@gmail.com

publications staff Academics Editor: Claire Goul Alumni Editor: Hannah Hong Executive Editors: Namita Prakash, Kristin Saroyan, Amanda Ong, Arts Editor: Tess Hezlep Lifestyle Editor: Bailey Super Stephanie Min Opinion Editor: Ingrid Dickinson Senior Editors: Liz Farkas, Selin Karaoguz Associate Editors: Claire Dwyer, Celine Wang, Jackie Nam Sports Editors: Maddy Abbot, Brittany Murphy Underclass Editor: Lauren Fishman Social Media Coordinator: Tommy Lee Reporters: Elizabeth Alvarez, Liam Murphy, Claire Lin,Vale Lewis, Eliana RodriguezTheologides, Julia Dupuis, Marina Anderson, Christina Acevedo, Steven Du, Donna Afrasiabi, Farooq Ansari, Jo Farkas Graphic Artists: Lynn Fong, Chance Kuehnel Photographers: Kandis McGee, Genesis Gonzalez, Kate Kim, Sahale Greenwood, Chloe Henson, Maddy Nadelman, Liam Tenney Photo Editor: Kellen Ochi

EICs: Nellie Hamadani, Hawken Miller, Michelle Min

Video Editor: Amelia Tanner

Adviser: Konnie Krislock

NEWS

Kellen Ochi

Sahale Greenwood

Fire up. Science Department chair Kerry Langdale performs a scintillating experiment using fire for his chemistry class in the new Lisa Argyros and Family Science Center.

Kellen Ochi

Breaking New Ground The $8 million Lisa Argyros and Family Science Center broke ground Aug. 25 during convocation. Parents, students, staff and trustees gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony led by Lisa Argyros, whose family foundation donated $2.5 million toward the building. This past month, students have enjoyed a variety of facilities including communal rooms designed for students who wish to collaborate on projects or study in a quiet place. In addition to an increase in the number of labs conducted by teachers in the dedicated wet and dry labs, student-teacher conference attendance has also sharply risen thanks to the proximity of the building to the rest of campus. It seems students are able to attend conference and make it to their next class on time without worry.

Kellen Ochi

LIFESTYLE

A Wealth of Musical Knowledge and Experience from Juilliard brent dodson

thomas smith

By Vale Lewis staff writer

Brent Dodson, the new Instrumental Music teacher, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Sage Hill School’s Art Dept., having studied at both The Juilliard School in New York and at USC. However, he didn’t start out with the dream of becoming an instrumental teacher. As a high school student, Dodson wanted to be a fighter pilot.

Passion for Math and Science

“I wanted to fly airplanes,” Dodson said. “But I was always good at music.” Dodson went to a large high school, where he didn’t know everyone, but he still managed to make friends from all different groups, being on both the baseball and tennis teams as well as on student council. “All those things made me have a diverse population of friends,” Dodson said. “I had a good high school experience. I was, of course, active as a musician. There was a huge social part of it that was fun.” Though he participated in a wide array of activities, with many friends, Dodson was still a victim of bullying, as many high schoolers still are. “I never got hurt, but there were people I was scared to be around,” Dodson said. “That shaped me as a professional. I look out for [bullying] with my own children but in all my students too.” In the summer before his senior

year in high school, Dodson attended an eight-week music camp, which he states is one of the best in the country. “That experience changed my life,” Dodson said. “Immersion in music is what made me want to go into music.” After holding positions at Bard, Luther, Waldorf and Santa Monica colleges, Dodson joined the Art Dept. at Sage Hill School where he is now leading a group of musicians to create a jazz band. “There’s a population here who do music and could be in a group, but aren’t,” Dodson said. “Those are the kinds of people who should have a home in some capacity.” Creating a band of 31 students and finding time to practice is a difficult task for anyone. However, Dodson is optimistic that the band will become a place for rising musicians to express themselves. “We’re gonna try. I’m gonna be optimistic, and probably over ambitious, but we’re gonna try,” Dodson said.

jorge reyes

By Amanda Ong executive editor

By Kristin Saroyan executive editor

In the 2014-15 school year, Jorge Reyes transitioned from substituting to teaching in the Mathematics Dept. where he contributes his background in science and engineering and his passion for academics. “I want to give back to students the same knowledge I gained from my old teachers,” Reyes said. “Because I teach math and not many people like math, my goal is to make it as exciting and meaningful for students as it is to me.” Reyes graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and he describes his high school self as introverted and scholarly. “I was always the quieter kid,” Reyes said. “I was very studious and loved math. I guess I could have been classified as the math nerd. I’ve always been the type who loves school.”

Combined Focus in Humanities

Reyes teaches precalculus, calculus and geometry and has further integrated into the community by serving as the assistant boys’ tennis coach, advising the Future Business Leaders of America club and appreciating the character of the student body.

“My favorite thing about Sage is how all the students are so respectful,” Reyes said. “They always say thank you when they leave class, and I like just the general atmosphere. I mean there’s no other place like it.”

Thomas Smith is not new to Sage Hill School; he joined the World Languages Dept. last year as an addition to growing the Latin classes, working with Lance Novotny teaching the classics. Smith has come back this year as a new type of teacher, a Latin and History teacher. He is the first teacher at Sage Hill to teach both of these subjects, or even work in both departments. This upcoming year, Smith will be teaching Latin I and the freshman history class, Patterns of Civilization. Smith has taught history before at different schools, and says he came to Sage Hill last year hoping to teach history in the future. His favorite part of teaching these subjects, of course, is where they intersect. “I get to bring a really strong background in ancient Greek and Roman history,” he said. “I can look for points of connection that aren’t in the book and bring the material to life.” When Smith was in high school he was involved in many different extracurricular activities, saying he did “practically everything.” He also wanted to be an architect, though after taking a career survey saying he should become a university professor he veered into education. While one day becoming a professor is still a distant goal, he says, “teaching high school is fun in ways that teaching college isn’t, and the kids are a blast.”

LIFESTYLE christopher hathaway

catie chase

Bringing New Energy with Her Increased Responsibility

A Love of Learning Takes Off By Claire Lin staff writer

Christopher Hathaway brings a new sense of energy not only to the English Dept. but also to the community. A history major from Princeton and with a master’s degree in English, Hathaway is skilled in the humanities and is currently teaching English I and Advanced Composition in the English Dept. In his sophomore year of high school he began to truly dedicate himself to academics. “That was when [my love for learning] really took off. I have been reading ever since,” Hathaway said. His love for learning also translated into other aspects of his life in high school. “I think if I was going to be typecast, first and foremost I was an athlete,” he said. While he was engaged in multiple sports, Hathaway valued staying well rounded and branching out. In high school, Hathaway would be out playing water polo or tennis one moment and singing in an acapella group the next while also maintaining his role in student government. Hathaway hopes to expand his literary passions beyond the classroom. When he taught on the East Coast, Hathaway “worked with the literary magazine at the Hun School” to gain the magazine national recognition. “That was probably my favorite thing I did,” he said. Hathaway would love to take part in something similar at Sage.

By Elizabeth Alvarez and Christina Acevedo staff writers

Having started her career at Sage in 2010 as a J.V. soccer coach, Catie Chase began this 2014-2015 school year with a new position as assistant athletic director. Though excited for her new role this year, Chase also revealed it’s a lot more work. “This is my fifth year at Sage. I started off as a soccer coach, then a varsity coach, worked with J.R. Tolver (former varsity football coach), then worked in the school library and helped put on the new athletic awards celebration,” she said.

Chase assists Megan Cid, athletic director, in many areas. “I help with all the details, arranging transportation to away games, getting referees and scheduling games. It’s more responsibility,” Chase said. Chase’s interest in sports can be traced back to her high school years where Chase described herself as being “pretty involved.” “During high school I played varsity soccer. I was part of the school government all four years as well, and I was in a lot of clubs,” she said. In addition to her current posi-

noelle menard By Liz Farkas senior editor

Noelle Menard’s extensive dance training and performance repertoire (including Cirque du Soleil!) found her teaching from the age of 18. She joined the faculty replacing former dance instructor Mekki Blackwell and is her close friend. Menard has taught at a prestigious dance school in Salt Lake City and has performed with Odyssey Dance Theater. Here, she has translated all of her past training and passion into the ever-expanding dance program. She brings an extra spark of ballet and modern technique to campus

tion, Chase also has her own advisory, a group of freshmen girls that she is eager to learn more about. Besides this, she is looking forward to several things this school year. “I’m excited to get to know students that I haven’t met in the past, watch games, get to know my advisory and all that jazz,” Chase said. Regarding her impact on Sage, Chase likes to think she brings a bright atmosphere. “I think I add a nice little energy, a positive vibe.”

Spark of Ballet and Modern Technique that has already started to strengthen the core of the program. Menard was drawn to teaching because she loves to see her students become inspired by their ability to improve, as well as expand their artistic creativity. Taking students outside the box and trying out different characterizations is her favorite thing to see when choreographing and putting on shows. She shares her experiences and recounts, “I lived and breathed dance in high school.” Menard will soon be “Mrs. Robinson” as she will be married within the next few weeks!

ARTS

Perfection in Pliés McCall Sheetz Dances Her Way to the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow By Bailey Super lifestyle editor

“I was living my dream,” proclaims ballerina McCall Sheetz, musing wistfully about the three transformative weeks she spent in a leotard practicing her art on national scholarship awarded to only 15 out of hundreds of dancing hopefuls, in Russia. “It’s like a little kid who’s playing football at school who gets the chance to play in the Super Bowl stadium,” the senior spouts, struggling to emphasize the magnitude of her euphoria at such an honor to those of us unfamiliar with the esoteric politics of ballet. Sheetz had not arbitrarily planned to study in a foreign-based dance intensive program. She had to saut de chat through several U.S.-based hoops to land in a plié in Russia. A dance intensive is a ballerina’s answer to an adolescent’s coming-ofage. A right of passage in the world of dance, a ballerina only auditions for an intensive study if she has nearly mastered the art. Sheetz had conservatively planned for a six-week intensive study in New York at the prestigious Bolshoi Academy—but once the Russian American Foundation awarded Sheetz with a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship to study ballet in Russia, she opportunistically cut her planned time in the United States in half, awarding three weeks to Moscow. “In order to get into the Moscow program, you had to write two essays and have an interview; it was a long process,” Sheetz explains, nimbly tying up the pointe shoestrings of the complexities of a ballerina’s world. The Bolshoi ballet academy hosted auditions all across the country for pre-professional dancers in January. They then narrowed that pool of dancers down to the most qualified for their summer intensive program in New York. Sheetz anxiously anticipated the arrival of a document stating her denial or acceptance to an extremely exclusive scholarship to study ballet in Russia. Finally, in March, she received the confirmation that she and 14 others had been accepted. “New York-based Russian American Foundation announces that one of your local Sage Hill School students, McCall Sheetz, received an NSLI-Y program scholarship to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow,” states the press release. Intensives are not restricted only to glitzy, bustling, archetypical American cities like New York, or elephantin-the-room countries that people know by mouth but not by experience, like Russia. Several domestic locations make up in the key combination of rigor and fun characteristic of intensives for what they lack in international scholarship opportunities. “My sister and I did our intensive

at the University of Utah,” says freshman Jo Farkas, a young and talented ballet dancer at Maple Conservatory of Dance. “An intensive is essentially a college for dance over the summer,” clarifies older sister senior Liz Farkas, a gifted ballerina who also contributes her graceful talent to Maple Conservatory. Farkas references examples of her fellow ballerina friends qualifying for intensives around the country in places like the school at Oregon Ballet Theatre and The Rock School in Pennsylvania. These girls bunked in college dorms with roommates for three to six weeks and studied the physical act of dancing ballet while making friends from all over the country and developing their sense of self through the art of ballet. “From the time that I stepped off the plane, I knew I was not in America anymore,” reminisces Sheetz, who had to traverse the Atlantic Ocean to reach her intensive destination, unlike the conveniently located Farkas sisters and friends. Neither she nor her homestay families knew a word of the other’s language, which presented a challenge for Sheetz initially. However, after a week or so of daily four-hour doses of Russian language courses and another four-hour period of dancing ballet, engaging in casual conversation and interpreting the rune-like Cyrillic alphabet made verbal navigation easier. “I began to realize how blessed I am and how many things I take for granted in America, like a hot shower,” Sheetz reasons after experiencing one week of cold ones. Russians widely nixed air conditioning because of their violently cold winters, which makes for sweltering summers to their temperately zoned American counterparts. Transatlantic complications reduced Sheetz’s contact with her family to 10 minutes a week. She even came to profoundly appreciate the seemingly natural right to “just be able to understand everything.” Sheetz’s transformative journey as a ballerina mirrored her transformative journey as a human being and an American girl in Russia. She realized her function as an ambassador to the United States when she met Russian teenagers who had never met an American. Towards the end of her final host family weekend, she even held conversations with her host mom about things like healthcare and what life in America is like. Hearing people from another country talk about the United States and their fantastically varying worldviews about global-scale events fascinated Sheetz. “By the end of the trip, I felt more Russian than American,” Sheetz said. “I was so adjusted to the culture that I did not want to leave.” Although

Photo Courtesy of McCall Sheetz

Posing between pillars. McCall Sheetz demonstrates an elegant pose in her leotard and ballet slippers. As a very pretigious institution, the Bolshoi Academy only accepted her and 14 other girls into the program in Moscow. McCall has dedicated her life to dancing through self-discipline and hard work and as a senior in high school, she has already received many accalades as a true ballerina and artist. returning to California meant the guarantee of warm showers, air conditioning and ease with communication, it also meant returning to the land of the familiar, a lifestyle devoid of the stimulating daily challenge of navigating life in a place worlds apart from

home. However, an extended happy ending is in store: Sheetz’s Russian dream is not yet complete. “I am thinking of going back very soon for ballet or for the university in Russia,” projects Sheetz.

SPORTS

On the Watch

Kellen Ochi

Keeping watch. Trainer Meaghan Beaudoin stands watch on the field along with the team doctor. With Beaudoin on the sidelines, players believe they are in good hands if they should have an injury.

Tackling Concussions By Liam Murphy staff writer

The long-lasting impact of concussions has come increasingly into the spotlight in recent years. So when nine concussions occurred during last year’s football season, the most of any sport in the school’s history, many people grew understandably worried about the health and safety of the school’s players, and what measures were being taken to help diagnose and prevent concussions. Meaghan Beaudoin, the school’s athletic trainer, is well aware of the increased awareness, and feels confident about the measures that are in place presently. The school has recieved a generous donation for this season to supply custom-fitted mouthguards to lessen the amount of force upon hits. For evaluation, the school currently uses SCAT2 (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2) to assess concussions and ImPACT (Immediate PostConcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) along with a gradual activity based return to play protocol to determine whether a player is ready to take the field again. “Concussions are such a vague diagnosis; even if players are only displaying one or two signs we have to consider it [a concussion],” Beaudoin said. “We definitely use a ‘better safe than sorry’ kind of approach.” Beaudoin mentioned some of these signs as slurred speech, memory loss, blurry vision and—of course—headaches. This year, there have fortunately been no concussions on the football team—or any sport—so far. That distinction is an important one to make, Beaudoin noted, as she has seen con-

cussions in a multitude of non-sports related activities, such as dance, theater and choir. “The awareness needs to be pushed away from just football, specifically, because concussions are such a random occurrence. They can happen anywhere,” Beaudoin said. Lynn Oliva would know. Her son David, now a junior, incurred a concussion in a non-athletics related incident. She was very impressed with the system the school had in place, both from a medical and academic perspective. “Trainer Meaghan and Ms. [Bethany] Pitassi, the school’s learning specialist, got in touch, and they were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They had a whole series of steps before [David] got back in school and in sports. They talked to all his teachers and helped him stay on top of his assignments,” Oliva said. She called the system a “team effort,” and praised the communication between departments. Senior Kieran Mital, who suffered from two separate concussions last year, has a somewhat different perspective. He praised the Athletic Dept., saying they did a good job of diagnosing his concussions and explaining his symptoms to his teachers. However, he had a different experience regarding his transition back into the academic rigors of Sage Hill. “[My teachers] didn’t understand enough about my concussions, nor did they, with a couple of exceptions, have the time or patience to accommodate me. I would say that the school needs to adopt a better system for accommodating concussed players in

classes,” Mital said. Evidently, the school noticed similar things. This year, Beaudoin gave out a teacher-specific directive during a teachers’ meetings in August, telling them what signs and symptoms to look out for. Each teacher of a concussed student is now given an evaluation sheet called the Symptom Score Sheet, which they are directed to use for assessment. “This form helps the instructors and Ms. Pitassi have a better understanding as to how they are doing and if their symptoms are exacerbated at different times of the day,” Beaudoin said. “The goal of the symptom score sheet is to help the student re-adjust to their workload as they go through the healing process.” As awareness grows about concussions and their long-term impacts, Beaudoin speculates that concerns about academics may threaten the future of contact sports such as football and lacrosse. “I think there’s definitely going to be less involvement and parents who don’t want their kids involved. When making such an investment in your child’s education, many people don’t want to take such risks for simply playing a contact sport,” said Beaudoin. Oliva disagreed. “As a parent, I don’t think participation will go down at all. I think increased understanding will help. With all the tests and preventative measures in place, we’re not running kids out there who clearly shouldn’t be playing,” she said. “It’s definitely a much safer environment now.”

‘It’s definitely a much safer environment now.’ Lynn Oliva

‘The awareness needs to be pushed away from just football.’ Meaghan Beaudoin

‘I would say that the school needs to adopt a better system for accommodating concussed players in classes.’ Kieran Mital

‘We definitely use a ‘better safe than sorry’ kind of approach.’ Meaghan Beaudoin

BACKPAGE

Pot Farm Busted in August Police Raid

THE SCRUB

Cryptocurrency Conspiracy

About two weeks before school started, an O.C. parks personnel discovered a marijuana garden growing just a few hundred feet south of Sage Hill School, a surprising juxtaposition. The plants were worth a total of around $5 million. “The plants were discovered by park workers a few weeks prior to them being seized,” a park statement said. Deputies surveyed the area by helicopter while investigators went to examine the actual scene. Police officials say that it is believed that the school was aware of the removal, but it is unclear if an “official” notice was given to administrators. After sheriff officials physically pulled out the plants, they found that between 2,500 to 4,000 marijuana plants had been grown in the area. Typically, after plants in these types of cases are unearthed, they are destroyed fairly quickly after a sample of the plants is taken and kept for evidence in case a suspect

Steven Du

Such wow. Junior Ethan Ackerman, showcasing his questionable cryptocurrnecy investments, wonders if he should have invested in Alibaba instead. Back in Jan. 3, 2009, the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created “Bitcoin,” a type of virtual currency designed to be untrackable, only to be regulated by its own code. Soon, the “cryptocurrency” became an accomplice in a number of criminal activities ranging from money laundering to the distribution of illegal substances. Because of its widespread use within the underground realms of the deep web, Bitcoin skyrocketed in value, topping the charts in 2013 with a value of about $1,000 USD for 1 BTC. Unfortunately, this sudden spike misled many amatuer economists to believe there was actual and legitimate economic activity revolving around the coin. Following the downfall of the “Silk Road,” the main marketplace for all luxuries hard to obtain, and embargoes from Communist countries such as China and Russia, the value of Bitcoin plummeted, opening the eyes of many of its misled investors. Those smart enough left with what little money they still had, while those foolish enough to still believe the Bitcoin had any value kept their investments. One such investor is junior Ethan Ackerman, a self-described cryptocurrency economics expert. “Bitcoin has the potential to replace the current form of currency,” Ackerman said. “Investing in Bitcoin is like investing in stocks. If you are hopeful in the future of Bitcoin, you are smart to invest now.” Bitcoin is just one of the many types of virtual cur-

rencies Ackerman has taken interest in. Currently, he is investing in Dogecoin as well. “Dogecoin arguably has the largest support community compared to other currencies, second only to Bitcoin,” said Ackerman. “It is also one of the first cryptocurrencies so it definitely has a lot of potential despite how silly [Dogecoin] sounds.” Not only does Dogecoin have an unlimited capacity to create new coins (which is a great way to devalue a currency); but Dogecoin itself was based on an internet meme. Peter Anderson, AP Economics teacher, also commented on the matter. “There is definitely a demand and desire for some type of alternate currency,” said Anderson. “I am just not sure if Bitcoin is doing it right. Dogecoin looks good on paper but I am not sure if that will transfer well in action.” Other critics of Ackerman are more harsh. Junior Jacob Diaz claims “Dogecoin is a waste of time and money. It is not even worth enough to think about. It is an internet scam. I think that the fact that it is named after a bad meme tells you what it is about.” “The U.S. dollar is issued without a limit too; ever heard of the Rothschild conspiracy?” Ackerman said. “On the other hand, Dogecoin’s unlimited cap limit was designed to replace coins that are lost in the deep web. Plus, Dogecoin just went up 300 percent this week!”

is identified at a later time. While the 4,000 marijuana plants may be seen as a very substantial number, there have been times where more plants were discovered. A similar case back in 2007 found more than 6,000 marijuana plants in the Aliso and Wood Canyon Wilderness Park. The largest marijuana bust in Orange County was in 2006 when authorities found 60,000 marijuana plants, valuing approximately $12.5 million near the residential communities of Mission Viejo. Officials discovered that the marijuana growers tapped into the nearby homeowner’s irrigation system to succor the entire pot garden. Like the 2007 marijuana case, investigators have been examining the irrigation systems and source of water used in growing these marijuana plants in the Laguna Wilderness Park. From this research, they may be able to find a link between the plants and the culprit(s).