Stagg Line 2015-16 Issue #1 by Stagg Line Newspaper

Stagg Line

the

09.11.15 Vol. 59 No. 1

Amos Alonzo Stagg High School

Home of the Delta Kings

1621 Brookside Rd. Stockton, CA 95207

On solemn anniversary, students and staff reflect on the attacks that continue to terrorize, dehumanize CelineLopez

When you look at me...

what do you see?

All students entitled to free meals for years JeffersonLeiva “It’s free?” was the initial reaction of senior Christian Alexander. It may have been unexpected to some, if not many. The Stockton Unified School District and Child Nutrition/ Food Services Department will be implementing a program called Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that will allow students at qualifying schools to receive free breakfast and school lunch for no cost. Fifteen elementary schools and two high schools, Merlo and Stagg, are eligible for this program for the next three school years. Each school site has to meet a certain criteria for the program. “It’s a little confusing,” said Director of Child Nutrition/ Food Services Department, Yvonne Migliori, when referring to how the program works. For a school to become eligible for CEP, Migliori and the Nutrition Services look into two categories of the school’s populace. This includes the number of students that are part of the Free and Reduced program and Direct Certification, which are students of need who are automatically enrolled to the Free and Reduced program. Eligible schools will receive free school meals for three years. When the program nears expiration Migliori “can put in a request for an extension for three additional years and if the state accepts it and they see that the

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOANN SAGARAL

numbers are pretty much about the same then they’ll go ahead and accept it.” Yet there have been mixed feelings whether some students will appreciate this opportunity. “Most people are going to appreciate it,” said Alexander. “Because some (students) had to pay for it.” However, students like junior Rahul Singh have noticed the contrary. “I see them around playing with the food and just throwing it around,” he said. “So I would say they are taking an advantage of it a little too much.” This program will benefit students at eligible schools. Other school districts have followed lead and despite not being the first, the SUSD and Nutrition Services are doing all they can to accommodate every student.

PHOTO BY MY’KAYLA MOORE

Free breakfast and lunch is now available for all students.

Bottom Line

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ACT/SAT signups

ACT deadline is Sept. 18 for the Oct. 24 test. The SAT deadline is Sept 22 for the Oct. 3 test. Students eligible for a fee waiver should see their counselor for information.

Club Rush

All the clubs on campus will be out on the quad Sept. 18. They will be selling food and trying to recruit members. See page 4 to see which clubs might be interesting for you.

There’s a certain ring with that date that evokes several reactions. Silence, a sort of solemn respect. Hazy, distant memories that induce tears and trigger distress. Even jokes. On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 militants linked to the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked and crashed airplanes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, killing more than 3,000 people and forever changing American society. On the anniversary of this day, the nation has seen the full effects of the terrorist attack in increased military defense and airport security, but one group experiences something much more personal. Zeshawn Khan was born in America, but his parents emigrated from Pakistan. The 2015 graduate says that although he was too young to remember the 9/11 attacks when they happened, he still sees the effects years later. “The more common jokes I’m kind of used to,” he said, “but when they hit me with something more offensive it kind of hits the heart.” Khan recalls the racist names he’s been called in his life, notably “terrorist.” “I guess that term goes along with (being Pakistani).” His friends commonly joke with him about these stereotypes, which he doesn’t take much offense to, but Khan has even heard these remarks from complete strangers. On the first day of his junior year, he said that once he introduced himself to a classmate and told him he’s Pakistani, the first thing the classmate asked was, “Do you know how to make bombs?” Senior Jaspreet Singh has experienced similar racist remarks, even though he’s Indian, a nationality not typically affiliated with the terrorist group. But because of his complexion, he’s mistaken for Middle Eastern. “(My friends) took it as a joke, like, ‘Oh, you’re a terrorist,’ but they didn’t really mean it.”

Gurvinder Chauhan, an English teacher, is also Indian, and although she says she hasn’t been negatively profiled often she notices how people in her family are. “My dad does tie a turban,” she said. “He has had reactions of people referring to him as an Arab.” Chauhan reflects that the common misconception of people being referred to as Arabs or being affiliated with al-Qaeda is due to ignorance about the Middle East. “You assume the word ‘terrorist’ is someone from Middle Eastern descent,” she said. “You never think someone who’s white from (America) is a terrorist.” AP Government teacher Tara Hayes makes a similar reflection. “If Dylan Roof was a Muslim, (the Charleston church shooting) would be considered a terrorist attack, but the media didn’t call him a terrorist.” Although prejudice can develop into something as severe as a hate crime, young people still find that discrimination can be reduced to humor. Lightly exchanging racist jokes is common among sophomore Dawdy Salah and his friends. In conversation, one of his ftiends may tell him to “stop bombing stuff,” he said. “Even though I don’t get offended, I still don’t like it.” He compares calling Middle Easterners “terrorists” to calling black people “thugs,” another common stereotype turned into a punchline. The after-effects 14 years later don’t stop at schoolyard jokes. Due to xenophobia, the United States has increased defense spending geared towards the Middle East. “9/11 taught us to be suspicious,” Hayes said, “and now we’re so afraid of being caught off guard that we look for what doesn’t fit.” Islamophobia worsened exponentially after the 9/11 attacks, resulting in a “Global War on Terrorism” focused in Middle Eastern countries in order to “fight terrorism” and prevent more attacks. What few realize, as both Chauhan and Hayes said, that terrorism is not synonymous with coming from the Middle East and that it can derive from anywhere.

New assistant principals break the ice and say ‘hello!’ Richard “Rick” Capello was moved here from Cesar Chavez High School because his superiors believed that it would promote diversity. He spent five years as an assistant principal there, but prior to that, he was an English teacher at Edison for five years. Differences he has seen between schools is negligible, and says simply: “Kids will be kids.” Capello deems “professionalism” as a trait that all students be aware of, even during school hours. The assistant principal’s philosophy in the public education field is the belief that: “All students have the ability to learn… all kids can graduate.” When the assistant principal is off-duty, he can be found playing golf and spending time with his family.

GRAPHIC BY JOANN SAGARAL

Felicia O’Shea Bailey-Carr came to Stagg with a willingness to face the challenges of being an assistant principal, a position she has not had experience with directly. Before this position, Carr has worked in various administration jobs at Tyler and Kingston, as well as a position as an educational coach for ninth graders, which she said “was important in aiding with the transition between grade school and high school”. Carr views students as “the most amazing people” and adults should feed into their students’ lives by encouraging them to “owe, fix, and learn what they did wrong”. Pilates is something Carr enjoys on her trips to the gym and when she has time to travel, she takes advantage of it.

Summer without water

Dry, unplayable practice field creates challenge for soccer teams StephanieMatsumoto

& JuliaRosete What is causing the boys soccer team to have to walk half a mile east to practice everyday? Well, the answer requires a bit of history. In the spring of 2013, a new field was created for the campus on the corner of McGaw and Rosemarie. Kept safe and playable for teams to practice on, the company that built it, Bothman, took back maintenance of the field in May 2015 and kept it sustainable until early July. They then turned the responsibility back over to Stockton Unified. However, because of some sort of miscommunication, Stagg was not notified of this change. This led to an unusable field for the boys soccer team to practice on. “It was handed over to the district,” said Tony Espinoza, athletic director. “At that point, it wasn’t getting watered, and it wasn’t getting maintained.” Due to the communication error because of the soccer field, the team would have to find an-

other area to practice. With the space behind the baseball field unworkable due to its condition, causing it to be a safety issue, their only option for a sufficient place to practice would be the turf in the football field. Yet, with already three football teams practicing there, adding another two soccer teams was

Homecoming dance

Spirit Week

ASB is holding a homecoming dance on Sept. 25 after the football game (9:30-12) in the big gym. Tickets will be pre-sold during homecoming week for $3 in the library during lunch and after school. Tickets will be $5 at the door.

PHOTO BY ARACELI VALENCIA

Over the summer the field was not watered, causing it to dry out and have potholes. It would be a danger for soccer players to have games and practices there, so their season will be held at Pacific.

The week of Sept. 21-25 is spirit week. Dress-up days are as follows: Monday: black out (girls)/ white out (boys) Tuesday: sports Wednesday: pink-out Thursday: USA Friday: brown and gold

not going to work. The team was without a practice field to use on campus. Luckily, having worked with the University of Pacific in the past, the school was more than willing to lend a helping hand. “We went, we took it upon ourselves to find the soccer team a home because if not, we would’ve had five teams sharing Find us on Facebook Search for “Stagg Line”

the turf,” Espinoza said. Then, there was the coach. One would suspect that this would strike as a troublesome setback for varsity coach James Marrone. Despite the inconvenience of being unable to play on their own field, Marrone didn’t have a problem with the switch at all. Rather than focusing on the field, he was focused on get the boys ready for this season. “We are really resilient and excited in the fact that we have a place to play,” said Marrone. Some players, however, have different views of this switch. “It’s just the different type of playing,” said senior Luis Gomez on the varsity team. “The grass is bigger, and UOP is smaller.” His teammate, senior Avel Chavez, doesn’t mind at all and stands with his coach. “It’s not a problem for me because it’s not far from the school,” said Chavez. “For me, I’m fine with it.” While some players complain about the walk, Marrone said that the shift of fields “was awesome. It worked out perfectly.” Follow us on Instagram @staggonline Keep updated at our website staggonline. net

2 Editorial

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Stagg Line

Opinion

09.11.15

Watering should follow regulations

uge signs all over schools say, “SUSD has saved millions of gallons of water and counting!” Residents in San Joaquin County celebrate this success and appreciate the involvement of the community. The required target was accomplished and water savings were estimated at a 41 percent difference compared to June 2013 according to The Record. However, here on campus we see water being wasted and taken for granted. Students and staff constantly have to avoid the walkway west to the B-wing because of the inefficient sprinklers. It is a problem when our school says we’re saving water, yet our sprinklers continue to waste it. It is always important to repair any damages in public places because it can then become hazardous and dangerous. Someone could slip and fall because of something as simple as mud on their shoe. Schools should always be considered a safe environment. chance or risk of getting hurt.

To this day, there are sprinklers watering sidewalks, sprinklers overflowing creating puddles, and sprinklers that do nothing. The water systems needs maintenance in order to conserve water and meet the school safety regulations. The grass is watered not only inconsistently, but on the no-water days the district set for schools. Stagg recently caught the attention of The Record environmental reporter over the issue of wasting water. “Stagg High watering on wrong day and within 48 hours of measurable rainfall,” Alex Breitler tweeted, along with a picture of our front lawn being watered on the wrong day of the week. Yet the water we use is not being balanced out because we see dried brown lawns in some areas on campus and muddy fields in other spots. The soccer field, which has a long history of maintenance issues, here at Stagg is unuseable and dried up due to the lack of watering over summer, showing the same negligence as the

PHOTO BY ANGEL GONZALEZ

Some of the faulty sprinklers around the E-wing have severely wasted water by creating large puddles.

problem with the broken sprinklers. School maintenance has gotten more serious because of the drought, but that isn’t an excuse for the negligence. This situation has attracted negative criticism on our school’s use of water. The drought should be taken seriously and our priority should be following school regulations. The school and district should be keeping

the school an accessible environment for students, as well as repairing and maintaining water systems. Although Stagg brought this bad criticism upon itself, students shouldn’t be driven away from their home field because of poor maintenance. Stagg should take in the criticism and work on improving our efficency and consequently better our campus.

‘REMEMBER IT’S A SIN...’ R

eaders and writers alike Atticus is a member of the Ku share a common appreKlux Klan, a racist member of ciation for literature, and society who supports segregation, yet while writers are the ones that the same man who defended a control the book, the actions, black man in a time and place the conflicts and consequential where racism was to the point of resolution, they are not the ones normality. But then again, these that control whether that book books seem to reference parallel is bought or sold. They have universes. There is no simple no say in how many copies will solution to this issue, the book be sold, no say if the book will is literally an earlier draft. What immediately be published. It very do you do with first drafts? You well may be that the book will be discard them. The book should denied publication by publishers have been kept from the public. and will have to go through ma One key issue regarding the jor revisions to even see the worn book is also that the quality is not PhillicityUriarte-Jones bookshelf of its beloved reader. amazing. It is clichéd because it was Harper Lee is no stranger written so long ago. The situations to this predicament. She wrote a book about the have become clichéd since then and while it may South, and it was rejected by publishers. She was have been a story no one wanted to publish at the sent back to revise her carefully cultivated novel time, racism has been addressed and addressed and in return we received “To Kill a Mockingbird”, again. The only reason the story was so widely a book many have read and grown to love or retain publicized and bought was because of the name as a distant memory from school. Nonetheless, it attached to it, as if Harper Lee has been reduced to holds a place in many hearts and remains wedged a brand name rather than a person. in many more minds. Therefore, the name Harper Another issue is the motivation of the lawyer Lee stays in our minds as well. in charge of her assets. What was Tonja Carter’s It seems that despite Lee’s age and ailing mind, reasoning for wanting to pull the obscure novel — she has wanted to publish her original story, “Go out of its safe deposit box — without ensuring it Set a Watchman”, or so that is what readers are led was known that it was not actually a sequel? Why to believe. Lee — who is now living in assisted livhas her story regarding the discovery of the novel ing as she is 89 with Alzheimer’s — lost her sister, been changed so many times? Lee could very well who was her primary caretaker, and now her assets be a victim of coercion with little to dispute it are at the disposal of her lawyer. besides the word of her lawyer considering there is Miraculously, under this new authority, this limited access to her. book has been discovered and published; but at On all parts the publication was a bad dewhat cost? It is not a sequel as so many think it cision, much like the way Disney Channel mass to be, and not even a prequel but rather anothproduces low quality plots for shows because they’ll er version. It destroys the image we have from make money as long as their name is attached to reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” because it was it. If Harper Lee honestly agreed to her story being never meant to be associated with the title in the published, why now? She had stated before that she first place. Many of Lee’s fans have abstained from could hope for nothing more than the success “To buying “Go Set a Watchman” because they’d rather Kill a Mockingbird” was, what made her change remember the characters the way they were repreher mind now? The book didn’t do any harm to sented 53 years ago. anyone, who felt the need to kill it?

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANGEL GONZALEZ

Staff & Policies the

Stagg Line

Amos Alonzo Stagg High School 1621 Brookside Rd. Stockton, CA 95207 The Stagg Line is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, whose awards include the following: ff All-American: 21 years ff Hall of Fame ff First Place, Best of Show: five times ff National Newspaper Pacemaker: seven times Stagg Line journalists over the years have won many awards and scholarships, including California Journalist of the Year, National Story of the Year and National Photo of the Year.

The Stagg Line newspaper is published monthly and distributed free to students and staff members. Our website staggonline.net is updated regularly with online exclusives. The Stagg Line is a long-standing open forum for free student expression. That means, student editors and reporters make content and style decisions with the adviser offering guidance. The staff editorial, which appears at the top of this page, reflects the opinion of the entire staff and therefore is not signed. A personal column is signed and reflects the writer’s point of view. Readers are welcome to submit letters for publication regarding any story published or any school issue. We will make every effort to publish any letter that is not libelous, obscene or inflammatory. Letters longer than 250 words may be edited for length. Letters may be given to any staff member, delivered to A8 or emailed to dbott@stocktonusd.net.

REPORTERS SaraAbdeltawab GamelaBrice LouisFuentez RosaGarcia StephanieJimenez MatthewKimani JeffersonLeiva StephanieMatsumoto JuliaRosete JoAnnSagaral ArrianaSmith LuciTomas BrennonTurner

EDITORS CelineLopez, editor-in-chief AraceliValencia, news editor MatteoDanforth, opinion editor PhillicityUriarte-Jones, features editor EstefanyNunez, entertainment editor SathinaFlores, sports editor MarleenePheav, web editor My’KaylaMoore, photo editor AngelGonzalez, graphics editor DonBott, adviser Follow us on Facebook (Stagg Line) as well as Twitter and Instagram (@staggonline). Current and older issue PDFs are available at issuu.com/staggline

09.11.15

Opinion

the

Stagg Line

Work needed to eliminate racist slur

acial discrimination against African Americans is one of the most controversial issues today, so much so that President Barack Obama addressed the issue during a podcast interview with comedian Marc Maron on June 22. “It’s not the matter of it not being polite to say ‘nigger’ in public,” Obama said. “It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t overnight completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.” With Obama being the first African American president, his use of this inflammatory term in the interview shocked many people. However, that is what made the issue that more appealing to the public eye; demonstrating to society the intenseness of the issue. With this issue being a risky subject,this act of courage not only set the stage, but broke a barrier.

GamelaBrice Although the world has evolved from a racial standpoint, racism still exists and continues to affect society in a tremendous way. Today the word “nigger” is still used as a slur when referencing an individual of African American descent. However, today’s youth fail to take into consideration that this term was used by individuals of Caucasian

descent as an implication of ignorance towards the African American “race”. A normal walk through the halls of high schools and even elementary schools consists of the term being thrown around carelessly. Instead of recognizing the derogatory meaning that this term entails and unifying to eliminate the usage, too many individuals have decided to use and abuse the term after changing the verbiage. Some African American individuals continue to associate the term with its original meaning; feeling that because this term is specified for their race, they deserve the right to have ownership of it. This meaning that only they should be afforded the right to use the term freely. But this doesn’t downplay the severity of the term. The purpose of reclaiming the term is to remove the oppressor’s power. Seeing that the term still holds

the same meaning, no matter who, where, or when an individual decides to say the term out loud, it will continue to be offensive, because of it’s content. “I believe that it’s up to the people of all ethnicities to put a stop to the use of these unnecessary words. This is more of a cultural issue; only we can change and improve our world,” said Annie McDonald,” staff member. Additionally, society is failing to recognize that many other ethnicities are experiencing racial discrimination as well. Similar to African Americans, other ethnicities are taunted with tons of derogatory terms. Although President Obama has contributed to the progress that has been made on race relations, he is not blind to this fact that it is still occurring. “Racism, we are not cured of it,” Obama said. I couldn’t agree more.

FERGUSON PROTEST BY THE ALL-NITE IMAGES (CC BY-SA)

Family name Why does the school’s can present tardy policy change yearly? M obstacles

egacies and reputations left by family leaves major shoes to fill, or avoid. In today’s world the Clintons and Bushs are very well known for their political history. Their names follow them and no matter the achievement, it is always overshadowed by previous mistakes. Last names are marked by reputation, some bad and some good. The most difficult one to follow though is a negative reputation because it could seriously restrict someone from making a name for themselves. Thus prohibiting them of ever being someone who flies under the radar or ever making their own history, because whatever they do will forever be overshadowed by their relatives. Being sucked into making mistakes can be a very dangerous result of following a mistake riddled reputation, because it shows that yet another person failed to right a wrong left by a family member, sports team or even a school. People who find themselves in a situation where they are tempted to do something they shouldn’t are faced with a difficult decision. This is where they decide on if they want to put in the work to create their own legacy, or take the easier way out and continue making mistakes. In the case of a sports team or school, the mistakes directly influence the opinion of the team or school in the minds of outsiders and doubters. In my case I am choosing to overcome a reputation set by my parents and is filled with broken laws and jail time. The crimes they have committed vary between drugs and fraud. The decision to rise above my family name had two paths: take the time to change history or take the path that sets my destiny up to be riddled with regrets and

BrennonTurner pleads for forgiveness. Even after choosing to live my life my family still thinks that me becoming involved with drugs and having run ins with the law is inevitable. I have made mistakes and yes I have done stupid things, but I have done something they never did: correct those mistakes and choose my own path, allowing me the opportunity to escape the “inevitable”. This particular misconception is very challenging to overcome, because of people’s opinion of what they believe is the truth. Altering someone’s perspective of another person is very difficult and isn’t done overnight or with little effort being put in. Having a last name with bad history is like having a house with bad plumbing. At first it stinks and is a pain to deal with, but through hard work and determination it can be repaired and you can begin using it proudly again. Also our interior (feelings) is comparable to that of a house with a remodeled interior, but a damaged and hideous exterior. So if someone decides that they want to make a name for themselves, then the goal needs not to be to change their appearance, but to express their true selves through their actions.

ART BY MARLEENE PHEAV

ore so than in previous years, administrative staff are cracking down on students for being late. Recently they’ve developed a new tardy policy. If students are to be tardy, they are to receive a tardy slip or report to M-3 in order to enter class. The first offense is a warning, second is detention, and lastly is a in school suspension. The tardy policy was different last year, students had to have three tardies before receiving a detention. The RosaGarcia policy was confusing for many students because it changed a lot throughout the year. It wasn’t clear, consistent, or effective for students. This year teachers were told to send tardy kids out of the classroom. Previously the campus security monitors would have to hunt the students down, but now students are to find the CSM’s, making their job at a lot easier and having the students face their own consequences. So what does this mean for students? Well students would be receiving more detention slips and in school suspensions that would only wastes productive class time. Students could be learning instead of serving time they should’ve served after school.

Unfortunately some students use in school suspension as an excuse to get out of class, a new issue that the administration should consider to resolve. The new policy especially affects the students who ride the bus everyday, live far, or who get stuck in heavy traffic, as well as other factors students can’t control, like parents driving slow or not leaving on time. Making it more difficult for the ones who have these disadvantages coming to school on time. Although the principal, Andre Phillips, says he’s seen progress with students coming to school on time. Students follow the policy efficiently even after lunch. Seeing students rush to their classrooms makes other students more aware of how important it is to be on time. He said, “I like it. We’re consistent with handing out detentions and seeing progress.” The rule is simple, be on time. Every policy has pros and cons, but intentions are positive in providing a well rounded education for student’s benefit. Re Enforcing a stricter policy helps students with bad habits. Being on time is taking responsibility within yourself to be proactive. For students who live far and the ones who ride the bus, it’s a problem less to be fixed. Its more challenging to handle and difficult to resolve. The only alternative would be riding an earlier bus and waking up earlier to come on time. Simple things like going to sleep earlier will make you more refreshed and prepared. No one wants to be sluggish and tired coming to school. Coming late will only waste class time, and take a negative effect on your education. You wouldn’t want to be stuck in detention sitting with random students after school for a whole hour. How boring would that be?

Football players continue to tackle harmful stereotypes I “I look in the mirror and what I look in the mirror and what I see is a hard working and intelligent guy, but when I put on my jersey everyone else sees a football player that will cause trouble and won’t try in class. Other people look at me and say that all I have to do is show up and I’ll pass the class because all I need is a 2.0 gradepoint average. It’s a little annoying when some of my teachers say “You’re a football player” because they’re reinforcing the stereotype I’m trying to escape. LouisFuentez Even if I had a choice to “kick back”, there would be no chance of me doing that because when it really comes down to it, I really want to succeed. But what does it mean for a football player to have success? Well, for me and many of my teammates it’s about getting the best grades and hoping to go to college because for many of the players, grades can be their only way of getting out of this town. For some of the players on the team they have above a 3.5 GPA. Now I understand that many young football players want to play in college, but we also know the odds on becoming that college sensation. And for the past three years that I have been here we have gotten so many complaints. Having to “pay” with conditioning drills has been a recurring theme among our practices. It’s irritating knowing that a fight or if anything like that just so happened to be where the football players were so it had to be our fault. I do understand that when someone is about to fight that we want to see who it is because it is in most people’s nature. Though this year we learned from past occurrences that being even a little

see is a hard working and intelligent guy but when I put on my jersey, everyone else sees a football player that will cause trouble.” close to a scene put us under suspicion, that our coach would get a call from an assistant principal or campus security monitor. And then at practice we get an earful and have to suffer the consequences. Last year, about two weeks before our game against Lincoln, some of our varsity players went to their campus and had an airsoft gun but some players and staff thought it was real and the cops were involved and at the end of it two were kicked off the team for good and the other four were suspended for five games. Of course, they learned their lesson and they didn’t feel they got special treatment because they knew in their heads it was the right decision from the athletic director. The punishment that the individuals undergo are understandable because they are to be held responsible for their actions. I believe the consequences were reasonable even though they were severe. A five game suspension is a whole lot, literally half the season. Coming into high school, I thought that in football I had so much clearance from getting in trouble. Now that I’m a junior I see that we are one of the many sports that is under the most pressure when it comes to having good behavior.

Features Which CLUB is for you? Start here   the

Stagg Line

09.11.15

Do you like to serve and help others?

Would you like to try an unsual sport?

Are you interested in animation/ cartoons?

Snowboarding Club

Do you have school spirit?



You might be interested in this club! Chess Club

You might be interested in this club! Royal Rumblers Club

Do you think you’re a creative person?

Interact or Red Cross or Key Club or NHS

You might be interested in this club!

Spanish Club or French Club

If nothing has caught your attention yet, check staggonline.net for an updated list of clubs and more information.

 Drama and video break boundaries MESA Club

GRAPHIC BY STEPHANIE JIMENEZ AND ANGEL GONZALEZ

MarleenePheav

PHOTO BY ANGEL GONZALEZ

Senior Alejandro Figueroa sets up his camera as he waits to interview music teacher Joseph Updegraff.

Two second year English teachers are expanding their ways of teaching. Maraclan “Marc” Glassberg has been involved in the acting/theater industry for what he describes as a “long time,” from Los Angeles to New York. During the summer, he spent two weeks in London with 12 other teachers. This being his second year teaching drama at Stagg, he uses his experience and knowledge to teach his classes what they need to know in order to succeed in the field of theater. “We’ve got some tricks,” he said. “You gotta do it right.” And in two months, some of them will be in the spotlight. This will be held at the Mondavi Center, and they’ll be going on Nov. 18. Glassberg is taking several students to UC Davis with him to perform in plays, interact with other students and people that come from different places, and to overall have that theater experience. Senior Rolando Dayrit is one of those students. He’s acted in three plays that were done last year in practical theater, a class taught by Mark Swope. Along with learning the art of theater, he said “a great way for shy people to open up is to join an acting class.” Sophomore Christina Castillo agrees. Being involved in drama programs since the second grade, she enjoys attending the class, as she also did last

year. “I get to interact a lot,” Castillo said. “It gets me out of my comfort zone, and I get to meet new people.” Glassberg wants his students to become friendly with not just people, but with the camera; this opened an opportunity for Lowell Tuckerman’s students to team up and get some action on film. As teacher of the new video production class, Tuckerman looks forward to the progression of his students’ skills. They’re naturally eager to be involved in the video process and understand information easily, allowing Tuckerman to move along the basics and making the course hands-on as soon as possible. “I don’t want them to wait three months to touch a camera,” he said. “That’s ridiculous.” Mondays and Tuesdays will be their filming days, and block schedules are for editing. On Fridays, they’ll get pick-up shots, editing, and think about future projects. Over the summer, Tuckerman trained in a two-day workshop on Adobe Premiere, the main video editing program he and his students use. He also used to work with Channel 2, and is familiar with the program Avid. Through this experience, he was able to adapt to Adobe Premier quickly and smoothly. Next year, an advanced video production class will be available for the eligible students.

09.11.15

New school year, new teachers

Features

the

Stagg Line

VALARIE PUGH English “In essence, the reason why I love the kids is because they challenge me to the point of ‘Who are you Mrs. Pugh?’ because that’s the first thing that I ask them. Who are you, and where do you see yourself so many years down the road? And where do you see your writing? So in essence it causes me to perfect who I am as a teacher.”

THOMAS GILBERT science

“The labs should reinforce the concepts taught in class. This is my 31st year teaching science. I am used to my students doing very well. ... It’s partly due to me but it’s partly due to them working hard.”

SHAWN McLAUGHLIN science

“My own two kids both went to Stagg. My son graduated two years ago, my daughter graduated four years ago and my husband is vice president of the Booster Club — and all of his family went to Stagg. So I have a lot of ties to Stagg and that’s what kind of brought me to Stagg.”

CHRISTOPHER WILEY English

“Things are starting to slow down for me in this fourth week. The first three weeks are rocky and now things are settling into place; people know what their routines are. People are getting on point as soon as the period starts. I’m enjoying myself. I walk away and it’s like, ‘Today was a good day.’ My hope and my aspiration for all of my classes is to promote literacy. I really, really think it’s important for students to read and they don’t.”

JAMES HANNON special education

“I like working with the students, just take them as far as they can go academically, behaviorally, and everything else in life. You guys (able-bodied people) probably take it for granted. You don’t think too much about basic stuff like putting on your shoes. It could be a big chore. So if we can get a lot of that information to them, hopefully they can retain it and use it in life.”

GENE AMEZCUA math

“It has to be a desire from within for each student. For math it’s finding that eye-opening moment, that one aha! moment and if you find that moment then everything else opens up and you can breeze through any kind of math subject. And for me as a teacher I live for that moment.” GRAPHIC BY ANGEL GONZALEZ

PHOTO COURTESY QINLIANG ZHAO

Former student Sereena Nand presents her end project on her research in front of SEED professors, sponsors and other participants.

PLANTING THE SEED Science internship influences career decisions

CelineLopez It isn’t uncommon for a high school senior to still be unsure of what they want to major in college. Often, undergrads will change their major once they discover a new passion or figure out what they want to do. After completing two summers of Project Seed, a paid program where students study under University of the Pacific professors and conduct their own experiments, Sereena Nand didn’t even have to glance at the “Undeclared Major” box when filing her application to the University of California at Los Angeles. Nand decided on biochemistry as her major after Project SEED helped her change her mind from majoring in biology. “I wasn’t really sure if that was something I wanted to spend four years of college doing,” Nand said. “I was always interested in science, but (Project SEED) kind of confirmed my interest.” Over the years, Stagg has provided the most participants

to Project SEED, where students spend the summer studying a branch of science and performing their own research in a paid internship. According to science teacher Bill Lorentz, who distributes applications for the program and also encourages student to apply, students who participate in one summer of Project SEED will earn $2500, tax free, and second-year participants receive $3000. The summer program is geared towards students who would be considered economically disadvantaged and presents an opportunity for students who are interested in STEM fields to get a “hands-on, comprehensive (and) higher experience” in doing lab work and research, as senior Sierra Turrieta describes it. “I got to do a lot of lab work,” she said about her experience in the program the past summer. “I got to work with a lot of instruments that we don’t get to use everyday in labs (at Stagg).” In fact, Turrieta says that the lab

experience she gained during her summer with Project SEED was the most significant as she now will have the experience in doing more advanced labs while in college. Although the program has influenced her to major in biochemistry, Turrieta is still undecided. “(After participating in SEED,) you have background so when you do get (to college) it’s not so overwhelming,” she said. Justin Ha, a senior, calls himself a “science guy.” He says he developed his passion while taking Lorentz’s chemistry class. “I wasn’t really good at (chemistry), but I really loved it and loved learning it,” Ha said. “So, I wanted to expand more with Project SEED.” The payment was “partially” an influence in Ha’s decision to participate in SEED, but the experience was the biggest benefit. “I gained a lot more knowledge in the field of chemistry and it got me ready for the AP class,” he said. Ha is considering majoring in chemistry, and more

specifically on forensic chemistry. “It gave me more confidence that I’m going to major in chemistry,” he said. “It’s definitely a major I’m looking into.” Ha gave some of the money he earned to his family. Turrieta, however, says the payment was a nice benefit. “Especially with senior year coming up,” she said, “there’s a lot of things you have to buy.” Nand, who will start her freshman year at UCLA soon, says the money will go toward her tuition. “This is one of the best things I’ve seen for the sciences,” Lorentz said. The proximity of the program, hosted at UOP, gives Stagg students the advantage of not having to commute, Lorentz said, and the advanced lab work that extends beyond a normal classroom provides a unique experience. “That’s the whole point of the program from the beginning,” Lorentz said, “to get high school students that are economically disadvantaged doing real science experiments.”

Program participants discover gene

MatthewKimani The search for an efficient form of renewable energy has preoccupied the international scientific community for decades now, and two students, senior Martha Valencia and junior Sam Cornelison, gained an opportunity to make their own contribution to it over the summer as part of Rutgers University’s Waksman Student Scholars Program. “I was really happy to have that experience that I wouldn’t be able to get at Stagg,” Cornelison said. The Waksman Student Scholars Program is a year-long research program for high school students and teachers. The program aims to promote an understanding of and appreciation for science and the scientific method among high school students through participation in a genuine research project culminating in the publication of a journal article. “I’m a girl. I’m Hispanic,” Valencia said. “To see the different types of people, it really inspired me (and showed me that) that’s not an excuse. I never made it an excuse, but some people do.” As part of the program, Valencia, Cornelison, and a select group of students attended university-level lectures on biotechnology, cloning, and related subjects at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory over the summer. These lectures were followed by independent laboratory experiments focused on gathering data on duckweed. “Well, I didn’t really know what duckweed was,” Cornelison said. “I had seen it before, but I didn’t really understand what it was. They gave kind of the background information about how it could be used as a biofuel, and I thought it was kind of interesting.” Duckweed is, at the moment, a subject of intense interest on the part of researchers. The U.S. Department of Energy, the primary source of funding for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has made it a priority to promote the sequencing of the duckweed genome. Duckweed’s main properties — carbon neutrality, a rapid rate of growth, and an excellent capacity to store energy — make it a strong potential biofuel. Any contribution to the general scientific knowledge of duckweed is, therefore, of potential, if not guaranteed, importance. In the course of her experiments, Valencia discovered an amino acid sequence similar but not identical to sequences found in the National Institutes of Health protein database. Toward the end of the summer program, she and Cornelison came together and prepared a poster presentation on this sequence, which can be found at the back of the front office on the left side. Their findings are in the process of being synthesized with the findings of others for publication in an international scientific journal. “It’s scientific research with a purpose,” Cornelison said.

Senior Martha Valencia (left) and junior Samuel Cornelison (below) collaborated in duckweed research project, and ultimately discovered a new gene. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCUS SHERMAN

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Entertainment

TV show review

‘Camp’ not so hot SathinaFlores

“The end” no longer has meaning because it does not mean what it used to. TV shows nowadays are prequels to movies. And here is one thing that “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” the new outrageous prequel to the hilarious 2001 cult classic movie, has what its predecessor didn’t — anticipation. The original “Wet Hot American Summer” came with a loaded cast, many of whom went on to become even more famous than they already were. One of the gateway jokes for this prequel is that everyone (in real life) is much older. In the Netflix series, they’re acting out as the younger versions of the characters that they had portrayed in the original movie. It was even a stretch back then that they were playing teenagers. In fact, this “old teenager” gag was part of the original’s charm as well. In a way it follows the pattern of “Grown Ups.” But here, the joke isn’t as much of a joke as you’d think. Noticeably older, sure, but not hilariously so. Except when Chris Pine’s character gets on top of the roof, acts like he’s a rock star and started singing “Higher and Higher” that broke Overall not a bad TV show but I’d prefer another movie. up the camp fight that was over nothing. But other than that, also having girl troubles of his own. So the plot the only time it feels like a goof is whenever Michael Showalter shows up as Coop, gets a bit crowded. as he’s really the one who’s, let’s say, a much differ- To watch this you definitely need to be a fan of the original WHAS movie to enjoy everything ent shape than he used to be. First Day of Camp has to offer. The entire thing’s The only downside to the “First Day of Camp,” is that the first two episodes spend a lot of a love letter to itself and it’s great to see everyone time focusing on the young camper named Kevin, back along with new faces. This was a project none of us ever entertained as an option. who is played by David Bloom, and his crush on For fans of WHAS, the funny comes fast his fellow camper Amy, played by Hailey Sole. and often and the callbacks and Easter eggs only His love life does not need to take over two full deepen the experience. Since it is basically just a episodes. collection of loosely connected stories smushed The storyline continues on throughout the together, there is no reason for this to be episodic series, but in a much more manageable fashion. I get that Kevin is meant to be sort of going through rather than just a four hour movie. The movie was what Coop went through in the movie, but Coop’s the movie, and the Netflix series is just a series.

Music review

09.11.15

GRAPHIC BY MARLEENE PHEAV AND ROSA GARCIA

BABYMETAL rocks its own new genre JuliaRosete

for a few seconds before what sounds like a man screaming in a gravely voice. Soon after this transition, it returns to the electronic dance music sound that was heard in the beginning. “line!” hits so many genres in a single song that it doesn’t feel like it is one song. The meaning behind the rapid genre changes is unclear, but what is clear is that this could easily give anyone a headache. The same concept is heard in another song, “Doki Doki Morning.” In the beginning, it could be mistaken for a kids’ television show theme song. Yet, in a matter of seconds, loud guitar chords ring through your ears. When the chorus comes around, it takes you back to the very beginning, sounding like a typical J-Pop song. BABYMETAL is seemingly unstoppable right now. They are only getting more and more popular. There is only one thing someone could really say about this group: you either love them or hate them. But even then, they are definitely worth listening to.

When most people think of metal music, it is usually associated with the sounds of screeching guitars and voices screaming in low raspy tones. The bands also have a stereotypical look featuring long hair and almost all black outfits, sometimes even dark makeup or masks covering their faces. Times have changed, however, and while those types of metal groups are still popular, Japan has created a new genre of metal altogether in the form of BABYMETAL. Established in 2010, BABYMETAL has recently become extremely popular on a global scale and are currently in the middle of a world tour. They consist of three teenage girls in black and red ensembles and pigtails. Two of the members, Yuimetal and Moametal, are 16 years old while the other girl, Su-metal, is 17. They started their careers at just 11 and 12 years old. With their own strange fusion of metal and pop, they have been able to gain success in countries all over the globe. Even though they are singing in Japanese, it doesn’t stop people from listening to the bewildering new genre. Though this is not what my usual playlist consists of, their look and sound from the first time I heard them pulled me in. The inability to understand what they were saying just made me more and more curious. I wanted to learn more about BABYMETAL. One song from their self-titled album released in February of 2014, “line!”, features several types of music all packed into four minutes of somewhat organized chaos. The song starts with a techno sound which continues for another minute before it slows Many words could be used to describe this band, but essendown and the girls start to rap. Shortly after, a pause occurs tially, BABYMETAL is an abnormally awesome J-Pop group.

09.11.15

Fall preview Players to watch We present to you this year’s fall season athletes to be on the lookout for when attending their games, meets, and matches. They are believed to be the standout players for this years fall season and to take their team to league.

Girls Water Polo Senior Gabby Beutel

Sports Cheerleading Junior Jordyn Garcia

Girls Tennis Senior Guadalupe Barbosa

Cross Country PLA senior James Garcia

Boys Soccer Senior Louis Gomez

WATER POLO MELTING POT

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Football Junior Cutrell Haywood

Girls Golf Senior Destynee McCullum Boys Water Polo Senior Parker Spurlin

Sophomore enjoys challenge of playing varsity EstefanyNunez

PHOTO BY SATHINA FLORES

One sport brings three students together from three countries LuciTomas

America’s melting pot is making a great impact on campus, and especially in our sports programs. This year there are two international students on this campus and one from Pacific Law Academy. Water polo is the sport that they are all willing to participate in this year. Junior Tim Tegtmeier, a native of Germany who attends PLA, adds “I am very excited to play this season.” As a child he learned how to swim with a professional trainer which encouraged him to improve his swimming techniques. Tegtmeier either swam the 100 meter or 500 meter freestyle and was able to to win the seahorse, silver, and bronze medals back in Germany. He has also played tennis and handball in his country, but is new to water polo. When he described the differences between the two countries, he said, “In Germany you must pay about 20 euros (around $22 in the United States) to play tennis and over here it’s free and part of a team.” Coming from different sports and taking on water polo shows his enthusiasm for the game. His teammate Giacomo Abdullah, a senior, said, “You can just see the spirit in his eyes and the motivation to give his 100 percent. It’s cool to meet a foreign exchange student like Tim because it broadens your circle of friends.” This enthusiasm, shown in Tim is also reflected upon other foreign exchange students. Senior Michael Silva from Brazil lives with teammate Smith Tripornkanokrat who is from Thailand. While living in the same household they have built a strong relationship and they attend football games regularly. Silva also points out that in Brazil it costs about $70 per month just to play a sport. He feels that there are more opportunities here than in Brazil because here there is no fee to play a sport. Despite this, Silva looks forward to getting better and having stronger endurance. “I want to get to know the sport whether I’m good or not,” he said.

Silva started swimming at age 12, but stopped for four years because it was not only conflicting with his schedule but taking up his personal time. The cost of playing a sport is not the only factor that contributes to the transition of water polo. Silva describes the education in his country and mentions that in Brazil his school schedule was occupied with nine classes and on some days eight. Having only six periods here was a dramatic change for him. For this reason, he has adjusted to the school schedule here along with taking the responsibility of water polo. He explains that it feels good to come back after fours years of not swimming. “Back in Brazil I would just swim for myself,” he said, “but here it’s different. It’s a team sport and I don’t just (want to) swim for myself.” Tripornkanokrat, a junior, is very excited for what is to come in water polo. “My favorite thing in water polo is shooting and defending Water Polo Coach in the game and I can’t wait to play,” he said. Before coming to America he played various sports. “At home I played badminton, soccer, basketball, swimming, and I have ran,” he said. Since he would run a lot in Thailand to stay fit, it was difficult for him to decide between water polo and cross country. Soon he finally came to the conclusion of joining water polo because it was something new to him. “Running, I can train on my own,” he said, “and water polo I (can) train with my coach and teammates and that’s why I wanted to play this sport.” Having been exposed to a team environment, it helped him adapt to this new sport. “I like to swim and to have an (opportunity) to try something new that I never done before is great,” he said. Tripornkanokrat also is looking forward to winning games, making friends, and having a strong bond with his teammates. With their positive attitudes and strong skill set, this season they are looking forward to making a huge impact in the SJAA league. “They’re no different than the other players and I see potential in them,” said water polo coach Marcus Sherman.

“They’re no different than the other players and I see potential in them.”

Marcus Sherman

Volleyball Senior Jasmine Farms

GRAPHIC BY SATHINA FLORES AND ARACELI VALENCIA

Sophomore Alexis Miranda often gets raised eyebrows when they find out that she’s on the varsity volleyball team. Although she’s been playing volleyball since she was young, it’s her first year playing volleyball for Stagg. Her love for the sport goes back to when her family would

Here on the left we have Smith Tripornkanokrat, in the middle we have Michael Silva, and on the right we have Tim Tegtmeirer.

Stagg Line

PHOTO BY ARACELI VALENCIA

Sophomore Alexis Miranda serves for the varsity team against Grace Davis.

play volleyball during their trips to Santa Cruz. She continued to play in middle school when she did city league. It wasn’t until she was encouraged by a friend that she sought out information about volleyball and attended the summer conditioning. When tryouts came along, the sophomore found herself nervous and doubting her eligibility as a player. The coach turned out to want to the sophomore on the varsity team. “I was excited, I felt really proud of myself,” Miranda said. She takes her position as left back on the varsity team very seriously. She accepts the coach’s instructions to mind willingly every time to benefit her. “When I do (well) in a game, my team tells me and I feel confident,” she said. Confidence means a lot to the sophomore. Miranda hopes to work harder to help her team be the best that they can be. Teammate Kendra Carter said, “She’s a good sport. Very supportive, even when she’s on the bench she’s the loudest one cheering.”

Exhibitions give players a chance My’KaylaMoore

Mirian Mejia has never played a sport in her life, but the sophomore is quick to say she is “having so much fun!.” She first got into the sport “not for any specific reason, but just because I thought it was something interesting and new to try.” She is currently playing on the exhibition tennis team, which is a separate team of girls who either haven’t played the sport before or are just not as advanced. Their coach says it is a good way for girls who haven’t really played sports before to be able to have their own separate team from the veteran girls who have been playing for years and still be able to play at their own level. She also mentions that she feels as though it is important for them to be able to play because it’s not really fair for them to have to be cut, just because “obviously, no one’s a professional here.” Mejia says she’s happy that she chose tennis to be the first sport she ever tried out for because it gets her really active. Tennis has really helped her get into shape, and her coaches always motivate her to do better. She also says that with tennis, there is always something new to learn, and that she definitely plans on continuing to play the

sport for the rest of her high school years. Junior Maya Rodriguez is on the same exhibition team, with the only difference being that she did cheer her freshman year at another school. When asked why she decided to join the team, she simply said, “It just looked like a cool sport to try, and I don’t really know a ton of people who do it, so I wanted to try it out for myself. I didn’t really know anything about it, but I just wanted to try it for fun.” Rodriguez says the thing she likes the most about playing tennis is the fact that there are doubles and singles, which is where you either play by yourself or with one other person. She says she likes it because she doesn’t “want to have to worry about what 10 other people are doing and where they are; I can just communicate with my one partner, and that way it makes it more personal and intimate anyways.” She says the coaches are really funny as well, which makes practice fun because she hates being in situations where you have to be serious all the time. “I definitely plan on continuing to play, it’s such a fun sport, and more than anything, I get to be myself on the court.”

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News

WeeklyGallery

09.11.15

CROWDED Overfilled classes create academic challenges

Check our website for galleries spotlighting the football team, senior sunrise, and little aspects of nature.

ArrianaSmith

To see more visit staggonline.net

R stands for renovation

Half of R-wing rooms emptied, preparing for new school MatteoDanforth

The doors are locked and hallways are sealed off. For the remainder of the school year, the left side of the R-wing will be closed off to students and teachers alike. Yet this plan has been in action since school let out last year. As of last summer, teachers have been shifted over to make room for the new Public Safety Academy. Designed to gear students more toward careers in law enforcement related fields, the academy will start with grades five through eight and add a year every fall until seniors can apply. “This sort of thing has worked out well with other schools like Franklin,” said principal Andre Phillips who is setting the groundwork for the new addition. “I believe that using the R-wing for this will be awesome.” For now, teachers like Julio Lopez have the benefit of being moved into much larger classrooms that can accommodate for more students. “I have a lot more space to hold more students,” the Spanish teacher said. This has become especially convenient for classes that have more than 30 students. This seems to be the only benefit for teachers that has come out of the move, though. Problems with air-conditioning in this side of the building have become a hot topic. “The heat is so irritating,” says sophomore Jennifer Rodriguez. “It becomes so hard to get work done.” Even the teachers agree that the lack of air-conditioning makes it almost impossible to get work done. “After the first couple days of school, the air went out,” said Spanish teacher Carlos Morales. In an effort to get the problem fixed and get the air-conditioning back online, the occupants of the R-wing have put in requests for the air-conditioning to be fixed. “I’ve already put in three,” Lopez said. “If it was only that simple,” said head custodian Mike Hernandez. He explains how the district is limited in the amount of people

AVID: SaraAbdeltawab

AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, has been a way for students to experience college life while still in high school. This program also helps students plan their career ahead of time to live a well organized lifestyle. Recently the district has brought back the AVID program once and for all. It reaches a wide audience, it benefits the student body as a whole. It gives students the opportunity to understand the importance of a college education. As the former dance teacher last year, Deborah Spector used to use every block day to talk about different colleges and the a-g requirements to graduate high school. This year is different due to the fact that Tiffany Banks, who recently was the AVID teacher left to Texas and has yet to return. Spector, who is now the teacher for juniors and seniors who take the class, has the opportunity to take her students on college trips that were not avail-

they can send to fix certain systems across its 55 schools. Elementary schools are always of higher priority, leaving high schools at the bottom of the list. “This has also been one of the worst years as far as AC units (breaking down) go,” he added. Since air conditioning is turned off during the summer months, when they are turned back on, some die out. Until fixes are made, the R-wing classes are being supplied with fans that teacher have brought from their homes. “Students will just have to deal with it until things get fixed,” Lopez said. As far as next fall goes, a new assistant principal will be hired later this year to oversee Public Safety Academy’s creation that could soon take over the entire R-wing.

PHOTO BY LOUIS FUNTEZ

The left side of the R-wing is vacant and sealed off. All teachers have been moved into the right side that is currently dealing with no air conditioning.

Program is back to inspire students to get on path for college education able to them last year. In class, students not only talk about college and their a-g requirements, but they get to experience it. Students are able to get hands on experience through groups projects. They research about the colleges they want to attend. Students see what requirements they need to get accepted and succeed in the college of their choice. “I am really passionate about watching students make it into

college,” Spector said. This year is different from last year due to the fact that Banks, who recently was the AVID teacher, but left to another state. Three year AVID student, Hazel Waiters, saw Banks as a second mother who helped her learn more about career and college choices. Hazel says because of how long she has been taking the class, she is inspired to go to college. She will be the first to grad-

PHOTO BY MY’KAYLA MOORE

AVID site coordinator Deborah Spector helps junior Hazel Waiters. The program is helping students succeed and inspires them to excel.

uate out of her siblings. District coordinator Kyle Dei Rossi said that his love for AVID started in 2003 when he taught it here. He also taught government and economics. Teaching AVID for seven years, this summer Dei Rossi was promoted to a new position in the district as one of the coordinators. When asked what a typical day is like for Dei Rossi he replied, “I don’t have any typical days.” Dei Rossi is planning to visit, observe and support the students as well as the teachers at various schools. AVID students have a higher rate of acceptance to college and completion in the a-g requirements than others. Across 15 other countries, 44 states, according to their website, 800,000 students are involved in the program. In California, 78 percent of AVID students get accepted to a college and 92 percent complete the a-g requirements. “AVID really does set you up for success down the road,” Dei Rossi said.

There seems to be a pattern at the beginning of every new school year. Aside from the normal excitement and anticipation, there always seems to be overfilled classes. The most common reason for this is when, for example, a student wants to take two classes that are only offered once like show choir and Leadership. The student is left to hope that they are not scheduled the same period, or else the student is forced to choose one or the other. “In this case a student has to choose which class they want to take more,” said Samantha Wirzberger, guidance counselor. “It’s not always an easy decision for them to make.” This is also common among students who want to take many Advanced Placement classes. The student can only hope the class is offered multiple times and does not conflict with another class they wish to take. Wirzberger spoke for all the counselors when she said they highly advise against taking more than three AP classes. Not only does that make the chances of a student to feel more overwhelmed and fail, but it could also cause more schedule conflicts. What seems like the most obvious solution to this recurring problem would be to hire more teachers, but this is unlikely to fix the problem. Different factors such as the budget and the amount of time it would take to hire a new teacher, are the main reasons why the counselors must work their hardest to please the majority of students. “We can only please 85 percent of the student body,” said Chan Sam, guidance chair counselor. “The other 15 percent is stuck having to settle.” Sam said that this is why within the first two weeks the administrators try to evaluate students and see if they could recommend placing them into an honors or Advanced Placement class. “AP classes have to make a

“In these cases a student has to choose which class they want to take more, it’s not always an easy decision for them to make” Samantha Wirzberger Counselor quota of students enrolled into them or they would consider taking away that class altogether,” said Sam. He knows the students who are in honors and AP classes continue to work really hard and doesn’t believe it is fair to take away those classes. Schedule mistakes could also be something as simple as a student being put into a class they already passed a previous year. This was the case for sophomore Anicia Rosales. She was put into Algebra 1-2 support after already passing Algebra her eighth grade year and Geometry as a freshman. “I thought it was a typo,” said Rosales. “I was the only sophomore in that class.” Rosales said she immediately spoke with her counselor whose advice was to simply stay in that class. After speaking with another counselor, a compromise was made and she is now pleased with her schedule. There will always be overfilled classrooms and schedules that need a little adjusting. “It takes the counselors usually about two weeks into the school year for the class schedules to all be situated,” said Wirzberger. “We work really hard to put our students in the classes they want.”

PHOTO BY MY’KAYLA MOORE

Many science classes, particularly this Earth Science class taught by Frank Shaw, are overfilled. Students are left standing around tables designed for only two lab partners.