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Vol. 60 No. 2
11.10.16
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School 1621 Brookside Rd. Stockton, CA 95207
Lessons from juvenile hall
It’s cold, dark, lonely.
Three phone calls a day, curfew at 9, and the thought of never getting out is haunting. So many things rush through your mind while trying to comprehend how you got there or why. The sorrowful look in your parents’ eyes, the rumors that spread about what happened, the turning heads when you walk through the hallway, and it’s all because of one thing. For sophomore Elijah Andrade that one thing was juvenile hall. On the morning of Sept. 7, Andrade and friends were out just looking for a quick bite, but things didn’t go as planned. He could not escape the repercussions of the night before when Andrade and his friends were out shooting BB guns at homeless people in the early morning.His plans to go out and eat were interrupted by him being cuffed and thrown into the back of a police car. “I kept thinking to myself, ‘what did I do?’ ‘how could this happen?’” Andrade said. Andrade said he was charged with explosives in the car that he wasn’t aware were there. He said the explosives belonged to his friends’ father who is in the military, and that’s why they would be in there. “They (the police) called the bomb squad and that’s when I realized like ‘this is real,’” Andrade said. Andrade got sentenced six months to a year for committing the crime he did. He says he wasn’t looking at the time, but he was just scared he was never going to get out. According to the Juvenile Justice Program nearly 1 million people under the age of 18 in the United States were arrested in 2014. Many organizations across the counrty, including the #SchoolsNotPrisons movement, have started campaigns in response to the rise in juvenile incarceration.
How two young men were affected by their time BEHIND BARS
STORY BY SARA ABDELTAWAB ART BY AMBERLY BUTLER
Andrade said juvenile hall wasn’t as bad as he expected, but it was more stressful due to the rules he had to follow. Only being given a couple phone calls a day, two blankets, one toilet bowl, and a cell the size of six squares Andrade says, “being in there was like a wakeup call.” Being released after three weeks, things weren’t the same. Having to be on probation, while dealing with failing grades, and relationship problems, he thinks about what would’ve happened if things went differently. Andrade says he had scholarships on the line for soccer, but all that got taken away when he got arrested. Andrade will have to return to finish his sentence. “I messed up,” Andrade said. “I lost the job I was working at to support my mom, and I’m failing all my classes.” Andrade is working on bringing his grades up, but that doesn’t stop students and teachers around campus from turning their heads and referring to him as “the kid who got arrested.” He says his friends are supportive and don’t really bother him as much about it, and teachers are just happy he’s out. Although Andrade found a light at the end of the darkness that came with going to juvie, for sophomore Monterrias Gooch, things afterward were not so simple. “When I got out I tried finding a job and stuff,” he said. “But because of my felony no one really wanted me.” Gooch says, he lost a lot of opportunities when he went in to juvie, things like sports and similar to Andrade his grades slowly started to drop. He says his friends and teachers don’t look at him differently, yet he looks at himself differently. Gooch says not only did he let himself down but he felt he let his team and teachers down as well. “I look at myself differently now,” Gooch said. “I could be out here playing sports but my mistakes took that away from me.”
Freedom Festival speaks to younger generations MatteoDanforth Another hashtag is trending on Twitter within California in response to the rise in the prison population and the decrease in school funding. #SchoolsNotPrisons, a campaign started by Californians for Safety and Justice, has been touring major cities up and down the coast. The campaign has promoted the idea of rehabilitation instead of imprisonment and also serves as a get-out-the-vote campaign. On Oct. 27, the tour hit Stockton with a lineup of informative workshops, a public festival, and a local race to build awareness in the city. Local organizations like Fathers & Families of San Joaquin, billboards on Pacific Avenue, and even Spotify were advertising during the weeks leading up to the event. The next day’s Freedom Fest on Oct. 28 drew a huge crowd to Weber Point and the Civic Auditorium. Attendees could participate in arts and crafts and visit booths
to get information on resources available to families. For junior Kasarrah Hunter, the most memorable part of the festival was walking through a trailer that was fashioned into a jail cell. “I really got a sense of just how small a space they have to live in,” she said. Hunter, who has family members that spent time in prison, said the experience made realize “just how poorly they’re treated. It’s pretty sad, to be honest.” The junior found out about the festival after watching a movie screening at the Bob Hope Theatre that highlights mental health issues among young people. “They really wanted young people to know that straying from education leads to you making bad decisions,” Hunter said. “The event really made me think about my father in prison.” Senior Ray-Nico Galindo was very impressed with the performances that were held in the Civic Auditorium. “They were
Bottom Line
really able to connect to teens,” he said. Peformances ranged from skits to singing groups. The performances at the event weren’t just carried out by younger people but they also kept the emphasis on education and voting. Galindo was also deeply moved by the information provided at the festival. “I know that life,” he said. The senior was on the brink of homelessness for three years as a child. “I know that feeling of abandonment … the feeling that there is no one to help.” The welcoming atmosphere that the event provided “assured me that people are out there trying to fix things.” Almost everyone that attended left with a t-shirt and a free bag, printed with the #vota logo ,along with new perspective on the prison system and the impact young people have on voting. “I believe in second chances,” Galindo said, “and I was happy this event was spreading that idea of acceptance.”
Honor Choir Recognition CSU and UC Applications Herff Jones Orders Congratulations to choir students Gavin Altheide, Joshua Hughes, Alexander Qualls, and Kristina Perra. The four auditioned and earned spots in the 2017 San joaquin County Honor Choir.
Seniors wishing to apply to a four-year public school need to be sure to work on their CSU and UC applications before the due date. Both applications will be due on Nov. 30.
For seniors who did not attend the Grad Fair on Nov. 3, there are other ways to buy the cap and gown. Search “Stagg Sr High Sch” on the Herff Jones website to place the order.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE JIMENEZ One of the prevailing symbols at the event was a fist in the air accompanied by #vota, meaning “vote” in Spanish. Go to staggonline.net to view our coverage of the event and student insight.
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2
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
STAFF EDITORIAL
Opinion
The Stagg Line
11.10.16
Changing cities starts with citizens H ow many times have Stocktonians heard the phrase “we need to clean up our city”? Too many times to count, right? Not only is this phrase constantly thrown around during election time, it can be heard from almost every politician during their terms. Isn’t that why we have elected officials? So they can create laws to benefit the city and in turn, benefit the people? Not exactly. Most significant changes will never start from the top down. The trickle-down method has never been successful in any political arena. The only the way to create meaningful change that has a lasting effect is by starting from the ground up. So in order to change Stockton, we have to change ourselves and our mindsets. In a city like Stockton, many argue that the environment shuts out any positivity that may come. But that simply isn’t true. GRAPHIC BY TRISTEN TUCKER There are many organizations in Stockton and the erates with other local agents for cases that fall outside of San Joaquin County that are dedicated to helping strugtheir services. gling families. Family Resources and Referral Center — as One of the biggest contributing factors to the sucimplied by their name — is a local group that offers pacess and growth of a city is the quality of education. rental guidance and child care services. FRRC also coop-
A ‘rigged’ election is ridiculous W
e may say it’s finally over. That we can now unite as a country and move on with the issues that matter the most. But that’s far from the truth. We are now faced with the aftermath of a devastating campaigns that have called out our country’s values and perspectives in certain issues. We, the people, have become divided. It is sad to say that during this election, some may have called out the authenticity of our democratic process. Negative rhetoric from Donald Trump sparked worries of rogue supporters intimidating voters during the election. And if their effort of pushing Trump to presidency fails, they may in turn be hostile. Especially with Trump calling the election “rigged.” Quite frankly it has been
Struggles of students with ADHD should be realized
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JeffersonLeiva
a shame that it has come down to the point of distrust. It’s hard to fathom the idea that one person, who has no regard of what comes out of his mouth, can pit us against each other. A poll from the Associated Press notes that half of Trump supporters do not trust the integrity of our voting system. The trust in our election has come under fire after Trump stated numerous times that the deceased still show up in the voter registration database. He isn’t wrong. Currently 1.8 million deceased voters are still in the database. But to make an assertion or imply that out of roughly 146 million votes, 1.8 of them are used for fraudulent votes is insane. Humorously, Voter Fraud Facts compares 47,000 UFO sightings to that of 13 credible voter fraud cases between 2000 and 2010. What is more common is voter suppression, or intimidation. Which is what some rogue Trump supporters have suggested should take place. One may recall Trump supporter Steve Webb stating, “I’m going to go right up behind them. I’ll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make them a little bit nervous.” The idea of having a small minority staining the face of the GOP and defaming our democratic process is scary. Fact checkers nationwide have called out Trump and his rhetoric. Especially the allegations that the DNC was behind controversies to “rig” the election. As a country, we must move on and accept the results of this election. The path to the White House has been rough one. One that we have managed as a country to follow for 200-plus years. For some this will be hard. But we have more important issues to resolve. Let’s move beyond the aftermath of the scorched campaign trails and GRAPHIC BY MARK WALDING work on resolving the trust between each other.
Stagg Line Staff & Policies 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: 5 times ff National Newspaper Pacemaker: 7 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.
According to Niche.com, the best cities in the U.S. (from an economic and social standpoint) are those that have the best public school district, with most of these cities being on the East Coast. Where does that put Stockton? First off, Stockton Unified School District has no national or local rankings with U.S. News & World Report. Second off, SUSD is below average in English and math proficiency. These are both indicators of a weak school system that needs to be reformed to better prepare students for their futures. Along with this, organizations like #SchoolsNotPrisons have recently criticized county and state officials who have pushed more money into correction centers and prisons than public school systems. Not so fun fact: only one University of California campus has been built since 1980 compared to 22 state prisons. What does that say about our state? About our priorities? They aren’t aligned with the demand of society. There is no situation where prison population should be greater than the number of college graduates. Higher education is the salvation for Stockton. Positive change can only be achieved by continuing to improve our schools so that the next generation can improve the city.
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.
aking up every morning to take a pill that helps you focus, behave like the “rest of your peers,” and make you feel like you have to take medication just to be a “normal, functioning teen” is not something to look forward to or cheer about. When most people think of ADHD or ADD, they probably think of someone bouncing off the walls, constantly talking and making jokes during class, and doing very little to no work, essentially the stereotypical “trouble student.” This perception is what causes some ordinary students to use it as an excuse for why they didn’t do their assignment or why they are talking to a classmate while the teacher is attempting to teach the others in the class. In many cases, due to people abusing its title, ADHD is not taken seriously. It almost seems like a joke to many when it’s far from one. However, many people probably don’t even really know what it is, even those who use it as an excuse. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactive disorder, is “a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.” In other words, it causes a person to have trouble focusing or sometimes even sit still while doing daily tasks to the point where it could hold them back from living a completely normal life. It afflicts roughly one in
REPORTERS SamanthaBaker AmberlyButler MariaCastillo LeslieCoronado LouisFuentez KevinGutierrez ErnestoHarwell TristenTucker AlbertoValencia AaronVang AngelVasquez MarkWalding
JuliaRosete
10 children overall, with boys being twice as likely to suffer from it than girls, according to the Center for Disease Control Prevention. The list of medications to treat ADHD is rather long, with Adderall being one of the most popular. While this does treat it, nothing ever completely “cures” it. The medication works, in ways, like a multiplication problem. In math, when you multiply two negative numbers, the product is positive. In the mind of a person with ADHD, the medication, which speeds up the brain of anyone who takes it, with the already hyperactive brain creates a state where the brain behaves at a slower rate, allowing it to focus more and act like a normal brain. The only way to ever really
“cure” ADHD is through a lot of hard work, organization and self-motivation. Those with ADHD often have to stick to tight studying schedules, color code their notes and binders, and make sure to write down everything in a planner. Some people do that already to be extremely organized, but with ADHD, these extra steps can mean a whole world of help. However, none of these extra steps will make any difference if the person is not determined enough or works hard enough to get done what needs to be done. Like anybody else, if you want to get the best grade you can in a class, you have to work for it. As others can easily find the motivation to get their work done ahead of time and do what needs to be done, people with ADHD need to sometimes push themselves even harder. In this instance, the stereotype of “hey look, there’s a squirrel!” actually carries some truth to it. Sitting down to do work is more than just that. It’s making sure there is nothing around you to ensure that you don’t have those moments when you are trying to concentrate. There’s so much more to ADHD than it being used as an excuse for laziness. It’s a complex topic with several layers of information about how it works, what helps those with it, and what ADHD even is. If you want more proof to it, let me be that living proof. I go through this process every day and am tired of being followed around every day with its negative stereotypes and stigma.
EDITORS PhillicityUriarte-Jones editor-in-chief MatteoDanforth news editor StephanieMatsumoto opinion editor EstefanyNunez features editor JuliaRosete entertainment editor SaraAbdeltawab sports editor JeffersonLeiva web editor StephanieJimenez photo editor DonBott adviser Follow us on Facebook (Stagg Line) as well as Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram (@staggonline). Current and older issue PDFs are available at issuu.com/staggline
11.10.16
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Opinion
3
The Stagg Line
First CoverBoy creates new standards for males A
Society promotes sexualized costumes
ART BY STEPHANIE MATSUMOTO AND JULIA ROSETE
T
he phrase “sex sells” usually refers to the way women are presented in the media to see the most demand for their product, which is often times themselves. However, it is also true that sex itself is marketable, and more often than not it is sold to the very same gender encouraged to use it as a marketing technique, as exemplified by the gross objectification most women’s costumes create. To say that no woman, ever, wants to wear a sexy costume on Halloween would be a misrepresentation, as well as a blatant lie, but dressing so scantily should be more of an option. It is commonplace to see the “Sexy Nun” costume, but to have three variations of that revealing costume while the male version of it is either a “Father” or “Rabbi” creates the impression that women are meant to promote themselves in that light, while men are never to even consider the possibility. Yes, there are options other than this glorified lingerie, but often the only reason they cover a bit more skin is because they are the plus-size version and the options otherwise are few and far between. When picking out a costume, it should be an option to not be sexy, and it shouldn’t be because of your weight. If a man wants to dress as a “Cave
PhillicityUriarte-Jones Dweller,” he can easily purchase a costume that accurately reflects the look he is going for, whereas the woman’s sole version is skimpy and tight, titled “Goin’ Clubbin’.” If not for any other reason beside equality, a sexualized version and a more conservative version should be available for both genders. This also applies to fictional characters, such as superheroes, whose costumes suddenly lost a yard of fabric in the process of becoming a woman’s costume, even if it already for a woman in the first place. It is not unreasonable to expect there to be a more equal playing field for the sexes at this point in time, but who’s to blame? Is it the women wearing these costumes? Perhaps the
men reinforcing it? Or is it the costume companies themselves for producing them? In fact, it is the fault of society as a whole. It has become almost an expectation for a certain demographic to dress provocatively, and if they do otherwise, it sticks out. Making more conservative costumes — just a tad higher neckline and a lower hemline, nothing extreme — promotes the idea that it is more of a choice. It would even be less offensive if men’s costumes also contained the underlying, or more often, the blatant, sexualization that women have to deal with. Regardless, wanting to go as a feminine version of something should not require someone showing as much skin as you would at a beach. That is not to say those who do want to dress that way are doing something shameful. If it’s your body, you decide how much skin you want to show. The argument is not that wearing these costumes is insulting to the female gender, or even that the inherent sexualization of women is wrong; it is a matter of accessibility to level a playing field. That that will only come when society creates the demand necessary for the supply.
fter a nearly 60 year history, CoverGirl decided to launch its first ever “CoverBoy.” CoverGirl decided to sign 17 year old James Charles from Bethlehem, New York as their First CoverBoy. Charles is a senior at Bethlehem Central High School with more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers. On his channel he does beauty tutorials that are outside the box such as a “Chunky Glitter Festival” or “Snapchat Galaxy Filter” makeup tutorial. Not to mention his Instagram account with more than 700,000 followers. Charles started his beauty accounts just one year ago, but when he posted his gorgeous senior portraits, the media couldn’t stop buzzing about him. CoverGirl said, “All of our cover girls are role models and boundary breakers… James Charles is no exception.” When Charles made his appearance on the CoverGirl cover the world went crazy. Twitter and Instagram flooded with people who were filled with excitement on history being made. Myself included, I believe it is a way to show not just girls, but boys that you should be confident in what you like to do. I find it very intriguing that in some sort of way we are living through history being made. There is a possibility of a female president, same-sex marriage is legal, and now boys are largely a part of makeup brands. Many people see it as a leap of progression for
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MariaCastillo
I think it’s great that CoverGirl is breaking the standard that only girls should use makeup especially considering the fact that CoverGirl is a big name brand.”
the world, but other people are upset by this. Since the brand name is CoverGIRL and not CoverBOY people have been questioning why Charles was chosen by CoverGirl to not only be on their front cover, but signed with him to be a CoverGirl ambassador. There are really no other outlets that have the same premise that caters to men. I
SOURCE: COVERGIRL.COM
think it would be great if there was magazines like CoverGirl for men who are interested in makeup products or fashion. It’d be their own magazine where they are free of the stigmas. I think it is great that CoverGirl is breaking the standard of only girls should use makeup especially considering the fact that CoverGirl is a big name brand. I also think it shows boys that if you are into makeup it is most definitely okay. Makeup is an outlet for anyone to use in order to express themselves. Why can’t makeup be unisex? Why is it that females are expected to do and only like feminine stuff and males are expected to do only manly stuff. Makeup is a unique form of art that anyone should be able to do without being afraid of getting criticized. Skills shouldn’t depend on gender, because a man’s makeup skills are not less than a woman’s makeup skills. A man’s makeup skills could possibly be even better than a woman’s and that is okay. No one should be ashamed for expressing femininity, especially men who are encouraged to being masculine, and often times society does want to give them an alternative option. Charles is not the only male makeup artist. There are other YouTubers as well as Instagramers such as Patrickstarr, Manny Mua, Jeffreestar, Bretman Rock, Argenis Pinal, etc. that have found makeup as not only a glamorous lifestyle but a way of self expression. Some of these male makeup artist have their own makeup brands that are popular. Their brands have became popular not only because they are male, but because the quality of their products are very well done. I think their products are popular also because one can see the effort these people put into their products. Their love for what they do is genuine and when can see that. People have gotten used to women being the symbol for femininity. We forget that in creating these gender roles and double standards, they are detrimental to society. CoverGirl is breaking those gender boundaries. It will help us be more accepting in general and it will also help us spread kindness and not negativity.
Artistic careers are valid, should get support
O
ne night over summer break, I was having a conversation with a family member about school. They had asked what my plans were after I graduate high school. Sadly, after I mentioned my desire to major in art, the mood of the conversation completely dropped. They looked startled, and even questioned my sanity. For many young artists this, unfortunately, can be a common occurrence. It seems that no matter who I talk to about my desire of becoming an art major, it always ends the same way. Shocked faces, questioning my assurance, and then the famous quotes “Well, besides that, what do you really want to do?” and “Sure, that would be great as a hobby, but what about a career?” I feel that the doubt I and others like me receive as an aspiring artist could be devastating. It can turn students like myself away from going after our goals and actually finding a career we are passionate about. Nobody wants to turn their calling into a hobby, though sadly there are many that do because of the negative response it can provoke. People can be skeptical about the idea of pursuing such a “risky” career, but the reality is, it is not as risky as it seems. It is very much possible to find a stable job in the art industry. When people think of an art degree, I am sure they imagine an independent artist, creating and selling art from their studio in the Bay Area. This is because “art” is usually associated with fine or commercial arts. Studying art after high school is more than just learning how to paint and sketch. Most art
students go for the “in between” where they can pursue specific job opportunities in history, education, or administration of arts. History students learn about the development of art over time, and can become art historians and gather information about famous works of art. Arts education students learn about the
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different artistic styles and techniques. They can move on to careers like becoming an illustrator or teacher. Finally, art administration students take courses in business and art to focus on careers that organize commercial projects for businesses and art influenced incorporations. As for myself, I am still left undecided about which path I would like to go with, hopefully I will find it soon. With technology changing the way we perceive and create art, it also creates way more job opportunities, and better chances of success with larger audiences through the internet. Students are able to take up careers in graphic design, entertainment, and advertising.
Like any career choice, art still has risks. Yes, you’ll never be out of work, because you create your own work, but the truth is finding a stable job in any field can be risky, even the “sure fire” careers like computer science or medical assistance. The future is never easy, and trying to change your personal goals to make it easier won’t help. No matter what career you pursue after school there is going to be stress and anxiety. Finding a perfect job is unlikely for most, and finding happiness in work is a challenge. If you’re willing to fight for your passion, then you should pursue it.
AmberlyButler
Nobody wants to turn their calling into a hobby, though sadly there are many that do because of the negative response it can provoke.”
PHOTOILLUSTRATION BY AMBERLY BUTLER
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Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Features
11.10.16
The Stagg Line
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE JIMENEZ Now that Ana and Sandra Ozornio work on the same school campus, many students are finding themselves confusing the two sisters because they look alike. Already, many send slips have been confused with each other’s classrooms. “It’s funny,” Sandra said. “At least once a day, a student is telling me they’ve met my sister.”
Ozornio + competition = ∞ love 2
Sister joins older sibling in same occupation of teaching high school math StephanieJimenez
Same last name. Different birthdays. Same interest. Different paths. This represents Sandra and Ana’s Orzonio relationship as sisters and teachers. Out of four siblings, only these two decided to pursue math. “Math runs in the family,” Sandra said. “I remember my mom teaching me how to multiply in the first grade.” Both parents excel in mathematics, which is remarkable since the highest grade level reached for either was the seventh grade. Their parents migrated to Stockton from Guanajuato, Mexico when they were children. As credentialed math teachers, Sandra and Ana share the same campus. Ironically, both admit they aren’t as close as before. “When we were younger, it was different,” said Sandra who has been teaching
here five years. It was the exact opposite in high school. Both attending Cesar Chavez was what conjoined them. It’s where they spent most of their time together when attending the same high school for two years. “I was a junior and she was a freshman in Algebra II,” Sandra said. “We literally sat next to each other in class.” “I even remember copying her work,” Ana admits. As everybody knew they were sisters, there was never signs of competition between each other. After high school, Sandra committed to University of Pacific meanwhile Ana continued to obtain her high school diploma. “Our relationship completely changed after that,” Sandra said. Living under the same rooftop, Sandra and Ana wouldn’t see each other for days
because of their different school schedules. “Now we spend our lunch together every day.” Ana committed to Sacramento State and said that Sandra was a great influence on her. “I followed her steps.” Ana was just hired this year. But Sandra made sure to warn Ana before making her final decision. “I told her to do it because she wants to do it, not because I’m doing it.” She didn’t want Ana to regret her choice. “All along, though, I knew she was capable of teaching math,” Sandra said. Responsible, mature, patient and serious is how Ana would describe Sandra as a person. “I get mad easily, unlike her,” Ana said. She added that she speaks her mind, and that is something Sandra does not do. “I need to speak up and say what I’m thinking.” Typically siblings are pointed out for the dif-
ferent interests but Sandra and Ana even share the same sense of fashion. “Sometimes we even have the matching clothes and boots,” both said. Even when it comes to makeup. “I do her eyebrows! And I help her with her eyeshadow sometimes,” Sandra said. Despite their busy schedules, Sandra and Ana love to eat together, often doing something they’ve done for years in their family called “Pizza Sunday”. After Sandra recommending Ana to Principal Andre Phillips, the doors of Stagg were open to her. “Working with my sister has been beneficial, but this wouldn’t be my first choice,” Ana said. “I don’t want people comparing us or saying who is better. Sandra has set up a high standard, but with her experience and support I think I’m going to learn a lot.”
Heroic grandfather makes impact on grandson, friends PhillicityUriarte-Jones
Losing someone close to you is always traumatic. However, when sophomore Jason Carr lost his grandfather, a greater community felt the impact of that death as well. Carr looked up to his grandfather, Richard Pittman, not for his status as a military hero, or his consequential awards, but for the role he played in his life. Many could only see Pittman’s Medal of Honor, or the K-8 school named after him. Those that met him thought he was funny. Carr, however, saw his grandfather as someone who cared little for titles and was extremely family oriented. “He was always nice to us, he would put family over everything,” he said. His strong values kept Carr close to this grandfather, and he stayed true by visiting him nearly every weekend. The sophomore’s friends were no exception to Pittman’s rule and were treated the same as he was, as a grandson. Coming home from the war made him truly realize how important family was to him. He saw that those that cared for him and his family were treated just as well by him. He had love for those that needed it. Even when the wounds of war became almost too much for his grandfather to bear, Carr saw the good in him. He struggled with minor Post Traumatic Stress Disorder almost immediately after coming back from Vietnam. At the time he was an officer living in Camp Pendleton. “He couldn’t handle loud noises, or a lot of things going on
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Saying you’ll never quit something is one thing, and you don’t have to believe me, but everytime I struggle with something I think of those words, and suddenly my struggle doesn’t seem as bad.” JasonCarr Sophomore
at once. It would stress him out.” While the more severe effects eventually wore off, Pittman found vices to relieve stress that stayed with him. “He was an alcoholic, but it became easy to overlook when he cared about me so much,” he said. A month before Pittman’s passing, Carr remembers a time when he had contemplated leaving the football team and so his mother took him to his grandfather’s house. Carr saw Pittman as someone who he could not only trust, but level with. His mother knew he would listen and be able to relate to his grandfather, and not because of his status, but because he had a
PHOTO COURTESY BY JASON CARR Carr often recalls memories of his grandfather in his “mancave,” always ready to listen and to have a conversation with him.
deeper respect for him. They had always had a special bond. At the house, Pittman told him that it was not an option to just quit, and that he should never give up on anything. “He asked me what I thought would have happened if he had just quit in Vietnam. I didn’t know, so I shrugged my shoulders, and he told me he probably wouldn’t be sitting here, with me.” With those words Carr vowed to rectify his ways, and with his grandfather’s death he saw it as his own personal duty, the same way his grandfather saw his service in Vietnam. “Saying you’ll never quit something is one thing, and you don’t have to believe me, but everytime I struggle with something I think of those words, and suddenly my struggle doesn’t seem as bad,” he said. Carr faces the common struggles of a teenager, and while they may seem difficult at the time, the perspective of not only an authoritative family figure but of a friend has helped him look past himself and at the grander scope of things. Pittman’s death seemed unreal to Carr until the service. “I didn’t really have a reaction, until I really started thinking about it. I’ll never be able to see him again, and even now it still feels unreal.” While losing someone so significant to him was devastating, he is extremely grateful for the time he was able to spend with him. He knows many people will never have someone who cared as much, or who loved as much as Pittman.
SOURCE: ADALMIRA TORRES
YouTube appeals as fun hobby
StephanieMatsumoto
Adalmira Torres, a senior, wanted to be a YouTuber for years but was scared of people tearing her for it. She was finally able to break that insecurity this summer after being bored and coming up with an idea for a video to do. Her videos are influenced by YouTubers such as Kian Lawley, JC Caylen, and Carli Bybel. When she’s in the mood to make a video, she first decides what kind to make such as morning routines, “go to school looks,” and her own personal D.I.Y.s (Do It Yourself ). She starts off many of her routines by finding good lighting and getting the area clear so the viewers can see what’s going on. Before she starts recording, Torres makes sure she has an idea of what to say and has whatever items she needs for the video. After the camera starts rolling, Torres can’t stop in the middle of it. This can be difficult for her due to struggles with sounding confident and making it through in a single run. Torres has to think thoroughly about what to say to avoid making mistakes. “It’s happened to me multiple times and it’s depressing to have to start the video all over again.” At the same time, Torres also likes making videos because it allows her to be herself. While she films, she says and acts however she wants so people can realize who she through a video. “YouTube makes me feel like I can just be myself and say whatever I want,” Torres said. “I’m just talking to the camera and the camera doesn’t speak back so it won’t judge me.” Her main goal is like most other YouTubers, to have more people subscribe to her channel. Though she only has 34 subscribers at the moment, she looks forward to the future of her channel and will continue to be happy making videos. “It makes me happy because I feel like I can get people inspired and if I can that’s what will make me happy.”
11.10.16
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Features
5
The Stagg Line
Rodeo rider finds passion Senior’s love for unusual sport motivates her to break down boundaries presented by gender AngelVasquez and AlbertoValencia
The rocky feeling of the horse galloping, the wind hitting your face, and the feeling of being too tense during a competition. These are sensations senior Tatianna Jones feels on a daily basis. As she mounts her horse she clears her mind, and focuses on the sound of the hooves beating against the floor. As a young child, at the age of 3, Jones’ parents introduced her into rodeo riding. Immediately, she was captivated by the sport. “The moment I saw the horse my family had gotten me,” Jones said, “I fell in love.” Seeing as this was her first horse, Jones grew attached to it. It wasn’t until years later that she started to not only tend to her horse, but also started to train it for competitions. She enjoys training her horse, but unfortunately she’s only able to see it every other weekend in Madera at a ranch that her family owns. Although Jones has other extracurricular activities, such as band, that occupy her time, she still makes sure she has time to train with her horse. Everyday after school Jones visits a friend’s ranch to train her horse. In order to train her horse, Jones goes out of town to Madera every other weekend. “I feel that because I am able to show people how to ride horses, it makes me even better at it,” Jones said. Jones says much of her time is taken up riding horses, but she still manages to keep her grades up, since she can’t compete without the grades. Because of this, she has learned how to balance her hobbies and her school work efficiently. Jones takes part in a event called barrel racing where the rider navigates their horse through an obstacle course. This was one of the first competitions that she was introduced to, and one that she immediately clicked with. This is her favorite event out all of the ones that she takes part in. Jones was able to complete this event in 16 seconds, just three seconds shy of the national record of 13 seconds (for women). It wasn’t until recently that the girls participating in rodeo were given more events. In the past, many events excluded girls, restricting them to only the less intense events. “I feel that I would be able to do most of the events that we girls can’t do and still do better then the guys,” Jones said. Though more events for women have opened up, there are still many restrictions that apply. Jones hopes that these restrictions will loosen up This year Jones has a new competition horse, but she only uses it for competitions that involve catching cattle. She uses her old horse as an “all around” horse, using it in most of her competitions that she takes part in. “Now that I have a new horse this year, I think I will do much better and actually win some competitions,” Jones said. She plans to train her new horse to compete in more than just catching cattle. Along with winning some competitions, Jones hopes to lower her time in completing a barrel racing event, and maybe even beat the national record for women. Although Jones hasn’t won any competitions yet, she looks forward to entering more and seeing what they are going to bring her. “I look forward competing to this year,” Jones said. “I feel as if it’s going to be good for me”
Jones goes to her close friend’s ranch every day after school to go to work. There, she does a variety of jobs including washing the horses, training them and tending to the horses’ stalls. She doesn’t mind the work due to her fondness of the animals. PHOTOS BY TRISTEN TUCKER
Repairing the sole: student hobby LouisFuentez
Many people care about the state of their shoes and whether they are clean or have the paint still looking as if they first bought it. And once that scuff gets onto the shoe then they look to get it fixed to its original state. But how? That’s where junior Andre Patrick comes in handy with his skills. Patrick helps students repair their shoes, and make them look as if they were new. “They give me their shoes and I help them with whatever they need, mostly sole repairs and paint jobs,” he said. Now Patrick didn’t just pick up this skill, he really had to practice. He
had to look up on YouTube to see what tools and brushes to use for it. Patrick started off fixing up his own shoes, and when he felt comfortable with his skill he branched out to other students. It was not easy for him starting off and getting the into the ease of it, but after enough practice and watching videos and tutorials, it became almost effortless for him. He mostly paints the name brands such as Jordans and Nike. He also learned how to customize these shoes as well, and has his own collection of them. Patrick likes to keep his price range cheap as well, because he understands that students don’t
have a lot of money. “I really enjoy it because money is money, and it is something that I love.” He has mostly done kids’ shoes from other schools, such as McNair and Franklyn, but he has had a couple from Stagg and says that they are reliable and loyal customers. “I only charge about $40-50 it’s not as much as people in shops charge.” Patrick has really made a name for himself with students, and in the near future with his football teammates too. He already knows how to do backplates on the shoulder pads, and will soon learn new things that can help expand his business, “I just paint the backplates
for now but I will learn how to do cleats hopefully.” Patrick is committed to his line of work, and looks on and sees himself with his own store after college. Patrick is hoping to go into retail fashion and carry on his business into the future. He wants to make people and their shoes look clean. It shows how much he has really dedicated his time into this particular type of hobby. The fact of the matter is people really care about their shoes whether they are $20 shoes from a regular store, or a $200 pair of sneakers from online. They will try their best to keep them as clean as possible.
PHOTO BY LOUIS FUENTEZ Patrick uses the money he earns from his customizations to buy better tools for his business.
Conspiracies influence views SaraAbdeltawab
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KEVIN GUTIERREZ
They’re known to be real life events, when they happened, how they happened, or even if they happened. Sept.11, 2001, the day that changed the lives of many, but left some wondering how, why and who? Did George W. Bush do 9/11? July 20, 1969, first ever moon landing, but was it really? Or is Neil Armstrong actually an alien? Then there is May 1, 1776, a date that is not as significant. The reason behind why so many people are considered famous and have so much wealth. Does the Illuminati actually exist? Nov. 22, 1963, an assassination that’s still hard for some to swallow, but maybe they aren’t swallowing the truth. Who really assassinated John F. Kennedy? Living your whole life knowing one thing, but then reading a
bunch of articles that say another, some people start to second guess if the things they’ve been knowing is true or not. Maybe that’s why they call them conspiracy theories. For senior DaLano Belle he just reads the conspiracy theories for a good laugh. “I just think it’s funny to see what people come up with,” Belle said. “It makes you wonder if something is fake or true.” Belle says his favorite once to read about are the fake moon landing, and the illuminati. Although he enjoys reading them, Belle says he could never really believe that the Neil Armstrong landing was staged. As for the illuminati he says all signs add up for it to be true. “The conclusions these people come up with for certain things, it just amazes me.” Belle
said. Unlike Belle who finds himself reading deep into conspiracy theories for the fun of it, senior Stephon Favela actually finds himself believing the things he sees. “I don’t think we could be the only intelligent race alive,” Favela said. “Aliens, yeah they’re real.” As for the illuminati, Favela just enjoys reading about it for a good laugh. Favela says he finds it crazy on how the things we grow up believing may not be real. Although many of the theories are old, the newer generation of young people have taken a big interest in it. For example, sophomore Steven Rivera says he has taken an interest in the 9/11 hoax conspiracy, because he grew up around his dad who was very much into
it. Although Rivera was not alive when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, he says after once reading about it the started to believe the whole thing was staged. “During the time he walked on the moon we were fighting to be No. 1 against other countries,” Rivera said. “So why not be the first country to have a man on the moon.” Rivera’s explanation for why he believes in these theories tends to be a lot more different than why sophomore Nadia Dutra finds herself living for them. Dutra says conspiracy theories have made her a stronger person, because it makes her aware of things that can and can’t be true. “All theories are unexplainable, but I find that a good thing,” Dutra said. “It gets me to ask more questions and think, Why?”
Entertainment Has rock ‘n’ roll
6
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
SPLIT?
MatteoDanforth
“We will… we will… rock you!” Sound familiar? Maybe your parents played it once or you heard it in a movie or at a sporting event or maybe you actually listen to this band. For those that don’t know, the song is Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” The point that I was trying to make with this little experiment is that we have lost our connection with the rock legends with these infinitesimal little sub-genres. Just look at history. The spirit of rock and roll has deep ties in country and blues, going all the way back to Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley in the 50s who took the existing formula for blues and added a new spin on it. But even then, this new sound was still an extension of blues and wasn’t recognized as a new genre until the next decade. The popularity of rock can be attested to the rebellious feeling of the 60s. The Rolling Stones emulated this feeling in their songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Sympathy For The Devil” that spoke to a generation that felt wronged by society and challenged the norms of the time. As the The Beatles became popular in America, all these circumstances solidified rock as its own genre. In the 70s, Led Zeppelin approached rock music with a darker, heavier tone, giving birth to the original metal and hard rock sub-genres. Bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden would follow suit. Along with Queen, these bands would revolutionize the idea of the rock anthem that would be played at parties and sports events for generations to come (here’s another anthem for you: “We are the Champions” also by Queen). At the same time, bands like Sex Pistols and The Clash created a separate sub-genre to contrast the “hippie” movement in America that Pink Floyd spoke to. These artists simplified rock to its core components — loud guitars and rude attitude — creating the original punk rock sound.
Pop
metal
The Stagg Line
Since pop music became a genre and the constant creation of sub-genres, rock has broken into pieces.
Punk
Screamo Classic Rap Rock PostHardcore
e Grunge v i at
n r e lt
A
ART BY ALBERTO VALENCIA Once the 80s came around, the established rock artists were slowly being buried under all the one-hit-wonders and pop artists of the time. Songs like “Whip It” by Devo and “I Ran” by Flock of Seagulls topped charts and then slowly faded away with the passing of the decade. It was here that pop music stopped being just
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that — popular music that was topping charts — and turned into an actual genre with its own distinct sound. From this point, pop singers started integrating rock sounds into their music, taking away from the art form of the original genre. As mainstream rock began to lose steam,
alternative rock began to push toward the top. This sub-genre was a combination of college rock bands that thrived on campus radio stations across the U.S. as well as indie rock popularized by small, lesser known artists. In the early 90s, bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam dominated the alternative genre. At the time, artists began springing up with a hard rock and punk mix that would later be characterized as grunge. As the decade progressed, other bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters incorporated the alternative sound into their mainstream rock. At the turn of the century, bands like Linkin Park begin to fuse hip hop and rap with rock, creating the rap rock sub-genre, alongs with bands like 3 Doors Down that revamped the hard rock sound. Ok...now we’re in the present day. In the last 50 years, many sub-genres that have been created that are so loved by older and younger listeners. Minus the hipsters, there are still many people that sport Metallica, Beatles, and Pink Floyd shirts. However, there are more recent outliers that stray far from the roots of rock. These include the new “punk” bands, emo, screamo, post-hardcore, and grunge bands. It seems to me that artists are trying to create new genres with small followings instead of further growing existing sub-genres. An easy way to explain this is by asking a simple question: name me one of the most notable rock bands of all time? Now, if you’re someone that listens to a wide range of rock music, you’re going to list bands like Queen, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC. What do they all have in common? They’re so iconic because their music is still loved and listened to to this day. I’m not saying that the new sub-genres of rock aren’t great or anything. My Spotify is a jumble of just about everything. What I am saying is that I’d like to see a reemergence of the classic sounds. I’d like to see more anthems. I’d like to see new classics.
‘The Walking Dead’ new YA books break barriers season leaves fans shocked with diverse characters KevinGutierrez “The Walking Dead” fans were recently left with one of the greatest cliffhangers to the show and possibly all of TV. Before the end of season six, Negan, the psychopathic new antagonist, was deciding on who to murder from Rick’s group. Viewers saw Negan play “eenie meenie miney mo” as a malicious joke, his choice landing on someone unknown. Since then, fans have had to wait eight months until the big reveal. During the summer, AMC released a Season 7 trailer to tease fans even more. The trailer showed characters that were away from Rick’s group at the time, but are associated with him, but this offered no answers. The trailer goes through the eeny meeny miney moe sequence while showing flashbacks of each character as Negan lands on them. It showed the best and happiest memories of each character, which will make viewers miss any
SOURCE: IMDB
one of them. In cruel contrast, it also shows Negan bash someone with Lucille, but still does not show who. Relief from the unknown finally came on Oct. 23 when season seven aired. Fans were at the edge of their seats, filled with the anticipation that had built over the months. The episode began with Negan speaking to the group. It doesn’t directly pick off the previous season, keeping fans in horrendous suspense.The camera is zoomed at Rick’s face and as soon as Negan comes face to face with him, Rick quietly says, “I’m going to kill you, not today, not tomorrow, but someday.” Rick is then dragged by his jacket across the gravel, and into the group’s RV. The camera zooms out and pans to the remains of an anonymous corpse. The beginning of the episode was phenomenal. Suspense works well even in the seventh season, and even after eight months. Definitely a strong start to a season that will take the show into a
new direction. The bittersweet relief of finally knowing who dies is met with absolute despair when Negan slays yet another character to “teach a lesson.” Fans were heartbroken by the deaths of Abraham and Glenn. Abraham’s death was tragic and gruesome. He got his head smashed in repeatedly by a baseball bat. Still, Glenn’s death was the most devastating scene because it was unexpected. Negan pounds Glenn with “Lucille,” Negan’s wire wrapped baseball bat, causing Glenn’s eye to pop out. They did an excellent job of recreating how Glenn’s death looked like in the comic into the show. Since viewers were under the impression that there was only going to be one death, Abraham’s death was sad but Glenn’s death was shocking. Rick hasn’t shown fear since Season 2. The creators do a good job of showing what it would take to break Rick. He’s had to go through so many emotionally draining experiences in one night just to break him. Negan takes and does whatever he wants. They show that when Negan throws Daryl into a van and says that he is his property now. Negan also says that Rick’s group and all their stuff now belongs to him. Negan appointed them as they were just mere property, which shows he is ruthless and truly does not care. This episode was packed with gut wrenching scenes: the way they showed Glenn’s and Maggie’s love, the death of the characters, how ruthless Negan is, and finally the breaking of Rick Grimes. I can’t wait to see what the creators will have in store for the rest of the season especially when there is such a ruthless villain.
Young adult books have seen a resurgence in their diversity, exploring controversial subjects through books featuring themes such as LGBTQ+, culture, race, identity, and the experiences of those not often heard of. These are some of those books.
Lakshmi, a 12-year-old girl, lives in a poverty-stricken village in Nepal with her mother, baby brother, and stepfather. After all the rice is washed away in her village, Lakshmi’s step-father decides that she will go to the city and work as a maid; when she arrives at a place called the Happiness House, she soon realizes that she has been sold into prostitution. Despite her bleak situation, Lakshmi begins to form friendships with some of the other girls there. Yet as some of the girls begin to leave the brothel, Lakshmi begins to grow depressed and lonesome once again. After Shilpa, the brothel owner’s aide, reveals that the money she makes isn’t being sent to her family, she becomes enraged and manages to reach out to an American who helps her escape. What’s interesting about the book: The book highlights the causes and horrors of human trafficking and how it affects everyone who is involved.
Aristotle, a lonely teenager Samir, an Italian-Pakistani with a brother in prison and an transgender boy who harbors a estranged family, and Dante, a mysterious past, paints moons and hangs them from the boughs know-it-all with a unique and open view of the world, meet of trees all over town in his free at a pool and soon become time, and Miel, a Latina who grows roses from a wound on one best friends. They start to grow of her wrists, are best friends who closer as they spend more time with one another and Dante share a deep love and close relaeventually confesses that he has tionship. Though most believe developed feelings for Aristotle. Sam and Miel are an odd pair, Aristotle claims that he doesn’t everyone knows to stay clear of return Dante’s feelings, and they the Bonner girls, four sisters that manage to remain only friends. are suspected of being witches. As a result of Dante dating one When the Bonner sisters learn about the magical roses that grow of his coworkers for a short time, though, an incident occurs that from Miel’s wrist, their interest bring Aristotle and Dante to in them grows. Believing that realize their true feelings for each their scent will make anyone fall other and to accept one another in love, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they with the support of their families. truly desire. What’s interesting about What’s interesting about the book: The book explores the book: The book features a the themes of Mexican-Amertransgender character, LGBTQ+ ican identity, sexuality, LGBT themes, multicultural elements, themes, and family through the and the addition of magic realstruggle of two boys attempting ism, making the story one of a to figure out who they are. kind. GRAPHIC BY SAMANTHA BAKER AND MARK WALDING
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Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Sports
7
The Stagg Line
Swinging for recognition
Williams achieves spike in passion Girls golf strives to make people understand that the sport is more than just hitting a ball into a hole through volleyball EstefanyNunez
StephanieMatsumoto With most sports, there’s a certain intensity that tends to draw people in. The way a football player runs with the ball tucked underneath his arm as the opposing team closes in or how the cracking sound of a bat after it makes contact with the baseball signals the player to run as fast as he can to first base causes crowds to go wild. Then, there are other sports that don’t focus much on action. When a player must con-
centrate on getting a ball the size of an egg into a similarly small hole sometimes as much as 500 yards away, it’s not be an easy task. And yet, that’s not what everyone believes when watching a game of golf. Heather Dougherty, a sophomore, once thought that way too. When she first joined the golf team, she didn’t believe it would be too hard. By the end of the season, she knew what a golfer deals with underneath the
surface. The intensity of golf was no game. “When people watch golf they’re like, ‘That’s easy, you just gotta hit it,’ but it’s more than that,” Dougherty said. “It’s all the technique and the way you hit it also.” To Sarah Mendoza, a senior, golf can be easy or hard depending on how a player adapts to the physical and mental challenges. Mendoza remembers struggling at the beginning of the sea-
“
It’s hard and easy, but it just depends on the day and how you let the game affect you.” AshleyBuffo Junior
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TRISTEN TUCKER Junior Ashley Buffo demonstrates a golf swing in full effect. Golfers have to deal with positioning their shots as well as making sure they choose the right club to use, depending on the terrain.
son with getting used to a certain club or having the right grip before slowly fixing it. The sport’s level of difficulty went back and forth depending on the kind troubles she faced while on the course. “Just like anyone else, sometimes I had my days when I wasn’t in the mood to play and that would mess me up and then there were those really good shots that would make me forget about the other bad ones.” Golf isn’t a very strenuous sport to Mendoza after learning to deal with recurring mistakes though. Rather than letting one bad shot bring her down, she would focus on making the next one better by fixing whatever messed her up the first time and improve this way. “Personally I don’t think it’s that hard, but to others, it can be and it can be easy to get discouraged if you’re doing bad.” The sport isn’t all mental game, however. Jessica Kunz, a freshman, says golf is underrated physically as well. Swinging a metal or wooden club at a fast enough speed to make it go anywhere over 100 yards involves more strength and accuracy than what one may think. She says that physcial game is required more than mental game out on the course. Making sure that your hands are in the right position, adjusting your grip to the type of swing you want to do, and keeping a good posture are some key factors that Kunz pays attention to during a game. “With the wrong posture you could possibly pull something and hurt yourself.” Kunz also dislikes hearing stereotypes that people make about golf. People have told her that players don’t have to move around too much, it’s simple because there isn’t that many rules, and that it’s a masculine sport. She disagrees with those statements, saying that golfers have to walk miles on courses, learn many complex rules to avoid penalties, and that there are plenty good female players. “When people think of golf they automatically associate it with elderly men,” Kunz said. “They say it’s easy and doesn’t require much exercise.” Despite what others may say against the sport, Kunz enjoys playing golf and wants more people to understand it in the future. “I think the game is really fun but you have to learn to play before you say it’s easy.”
She pushes her hair back into a sleek ponytail, making sure no small obstacles can hinder her ability to play. At the buzz of the loud scoreboard, her face tenses in concentration with sweat dripping down her temple. Although she’s played volleyball for five years, no game is less important than the one about to be played. Malerie Williams not only plays for the love of the sport but for the adrenaline she gets during a game. She was first introduced to this sport in middle school and she fell in love ever since. “My PE teacher at the time was the one who encouraged me to come out and do it in high school.” The senior couldn’t imagine going through a year of high school without playing volleyball. Taking a brief hiatus in junior year in order to pursue cheerleading, her performance was slightly hindered when returning to the sport senior year. This motivated her to work even harder to play well for her team. Even though Williams believes that volleyball is a fun sport, she will not be pursuing it in college. “It being my senior year, I’ve thought so much of how it’s been my last year of volleyball,” Williams said. “It’s bittersweet, I’m probably going to continue playing after high school.”
Sports have become an outlet for Williams. They’ve provided an instant family and refueling of her love for the sport. Because of her participation in volleyball, she has been able to keep her priorities aligned and grades on track. She’s learned how to balance her social life, school work and sports. She says because she’s learned how to work in a team environment, she feels as if she will be able to take those learned skills with her in post-high school life. “I’ve had a good time. Just being around my teammates was fun, even in the games that we lost, we know that we have each other’s backs.” Playing in the back row, it’s her job to keep any ball coming their way off the court. A good eye and reflexes are needed for this role. “I stay deep, and get all the balls over everyone else’s heads,” Williams said. Luck isn’t the one thing that plays into a good game, someone doesn’t make varsity with mediocre skills. Although under bad leadership, Williams has learned how to improve in the sport independently. Given it’s her final year, the team has adapted to relying on one another for support. “I’ve enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s been a good run and I’m glad it ended on a nice finish.”
PHOTO BY MARIA CASTILLO
Senior Malerie Williams warms up before her last game against Chavez High School. After four years of playing volleyball, it’s time for Williams to put away her knee pads, and hang up her jersey.
Rebuilding water polo teams is an upstream swim AngelVasquez
Along with losing comes a learning experience. This season, both water polo teams, boys and girls, learned this lesson directly, with boys 3-7, and girls 4-6. Both teams took in a lot of new players this season. Unfortunately for them, they had few returning players, which led to them having to really work hard to become strong this season. But rather than working to solely improve themselves, they had to instead work to teach new players the game and how to play. Many of the experienced players had to take on a leadership role to aid their new teammates. “I felt like I had to really step up and help my teammates,” senior Samuel Cornelison, captain of the boys team said. “A lot of it was communicating with my teammates and making sure they understood how things worked.” Although Cornelison worked hard to better his teammates, the team still faced a lot of obstacles that they had to get through. But it was not all in vain, though, be-
cause through it they also learned to work to better themselves as they went through those hardships. “Although we lost a lot of games we always looked forward to our next one,” junior Leonardo Leon said. “We always hoped to do better and improve.” Besides working hard in games and in practice, they also did their best to become closer as not only a team, but as friends. “I felt that I grew closer to my teammates this season,” junior Blaine Beckwith said. “Whether when it was in a game or just hanging out waiting for practice to start, the team grew closer.” Out of both teams, the girls had the most new players, many of them having no experience whatsoever in playing water polo before. This obviously presented many difficulties, seeing as there were only two returning players on their team, one of them being a senior who will be lost next season, and one of them being a
PHOTO BY AMBERLY BUTLER Head water polo coach Marcus Sherman gives freshman Penelope Bowden and senior Gina Mangili a quick pep talk during their last home water polo game of the 2016-2017 season.
junior who has only one year left with the team. “Becoming captain this year was challenging,” junior Amanda Munoz, captain of the girls team, said. “I would always have to look to Sherman for guidance when I needed it. At times when I felt myself being frustrated with my team, I had to remind myself that they were new and just learning.” For new players, such as freshman Penelope Bowden, joining a team that was dominated by new players was reassuring to her. She wanted to make a good impression on her other teammates even though she was new to the team and had never played before. “I was a bit nervous, but knowing that there were other new members was comforting,” she said. “I felt that because the majority of us were new, we grew closer as we grew stronger together.”
z Last year, both teams were dominated by returning players. These valuable assets to the team helped them win many games, the boys team almost making second in the league, and finish their season well off. Unfortunately, these beneficial players were lost, and the team had to seek players to replace them. “They still have a long way to go before they can be considered replacements,” coach Marcus Sherman said. “If they work hard, though, I believe they can be strong replacements next year.” The potential for next year’s teams seems to look good, considering this one was a sort of rebuilding season for them. Mistakes were made this year, but they provided a learning experience to both of the teams. Their losses have not set them back, rather, they have perhaps paved a road for a better upcoming season.
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News
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
11.10.16
The Stagg Line
Program offers insights on sexual education EstefanyNunez When are you supposed to give your consent? What is the best form of birth control? How can unprotected sex affect you? The fact of the matter is that most teenagers are uncomfortable asking themselves these questions even though they’re essentially inevitable. The “Be Proud! Be Responsible!” day-long class is offered to any student with parental permission. Its purpose is to speak about the dangers of unprotected sex, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and prevention of teen pregnancy. Healthy Start, located on campus, offers many resources across the Stockton Unified School District. Family planning services are indeed offered in the E-2 from birth control to pregnancy tests for STDs. Delta Health Care recognized the importance of safe-sex education targeted toward young adults and decided to launch their all-day classes. Hosted by one facilitator, attendees watch educational videos, learn about the misconceptions of safe sex and participate in handson lessons in what can diseases and infections such as STDs and HIV. Not only is this offered at Stagg, but as well at Edison and is hoping to expand to more schools. The facilitator, Katrina Alvarez, comes to Stagg every Tuesday when a class is to be taught. Typically comprised of 10 attendees, students are put in same sex classes. With a bigger demand for attending would come the need to expand the class to accommodate a larger turnout and the opportunity of hosting co-ed classes. Some students who have attended more than once believe the class has information that everyone should know. A student who
vaguely learned about reproductive health her freshman was grateful for the refresher in her senior year. “I like how it was just the girls in one classroom because it made talking about sex much better. Guys are kind of childish,” the student who preferred to stay anonymous said. Judy Masterson, from Delta Health Care, is their reproductive health nurse who is available every Wednesday to anyone who wishes to be tested for potential pregnancies and STDs or receive birth control. “I think it’s a great program,” Masterson said. “I benefit from the ‘Be Proud’ program because students come to me not knowing that we offer things like birth control here in the health office.” She wishes this program would be offered at every high school in SUSD. A priority of theirs is to teach teenagers to be safe. “I also think that it’s really good, especially when talking to young women, to let them know by using birth control that that puts them on charge.” Be Proud! Be Responsible! is a six hour course about safe-sex education that occurs during the school day. “It brings an awareness to Stagg about sex, reproductive health and positive, correct information in an environment where we want people to feel comfortable,” Alvarez said. She thinks that one of the biggest obstacles they face is recruiting students and overcoming the stigma of teenagers believing they know enough therefore in no need to attend the class. As an incentive, Be Proud! Be Responsible! Offers a free movie ticket at the end of the class to all who attend. “We know at the end of the day they’re going to learn a lot and that’s the benefit,” Alvarez said.
Visit staggonline. net to watch our interview with Judy Masterson, health reproductive nurse who has been hosting the sexual responsibility talks.
Female students enlightened after workshop on non-traditional employment PhillicityUriarte-Jones Why would someone want to work with their hands? In a time where STEM careers are so sought after and technology is at an all-time high it seems foolish to want to revert back to simpler times. If a man wanted to work in electricity one would assume they are settling but it would not be shocking. A woman doing the same thing would cause raised eyebrows and confused stares. The Non-Traditional Employment for Women movement is catering to those females that have a passion for a career in a drastically different path than the STEM option typically presented, or for those that want to truly see what their options are. For girls such as Kira Jasper, senior, it was a step in the direction she had been looking toward for a while. “I got to talk to people who already were in the field, and I got to talk about their
experiences,” she said. She met a female artist who was practicing pinstriping, a profession she had not thought of. She saw this as a different but very welcome kind of empowerment. This one day gave her actual hands-on experience that she will keep with her in her pursuit of one of these non-traditional jobs. “As girls, we are told that we can do so many things, but hands-on work is hardly ever one of them.” She described the whole event as invigorating, and it completely reaffirmed her previous thought that she wanted to go into that field. She also hopes that events such as these make someone consider a manual labor job without feeling like they are settling. “It’s cool and it’s fun, people shouldn’t be ashamed of choosing a career like this, and girls should be able to look at it as a real and socially acceptable
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COURTESY PHOTO FROM REBECCA HERNANDEZ The Non-traditional Employment for Women fair included events such as welding, auto body, land surveying, and construction. option.” Even those that did not see the event as personally beneficial thought it was an insightful and helpful experience. Junior Nabikkie Thoeun is not particularly interested in the fields covered, but thought the event “taught a lot about alternative education options,” something that would be helpful later in life. “It showed that not only are girls more than capable, but that there are more successful careers than what are highlighted.” She used this event as more of a learning experience, and would recommend it to those who do not know what they want to do in life. She experienced things, such as welding, that she doubts she would have ever under other circumstances. Thoeun had fun, felt empowered, and felt accept-
ed in a place not even she could expect to see herself. For senior Ariel Cervantes it was more about seeing her options, even though she was not initially interested in the jobs it pertained to. “We learned a lot about jobs that men usually have, but women don’t normally do because they don’t see it as feminine,” Cervantes said. Her group focused on construction and automotive work. While she may not be pursuing a career in this field, she saw it more as a learning experience for life in general. Thle auto shop class was especially helpful for her purposes. “It showed that you don’t always need a man to do something… it showed that you don’t always need someone to fix something, even if you are a woman.”
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I benefit... because students come to me not knowing that we offer things like birth control.” JudyMasterson Nurse
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It was a good experience. It should’ve been advertised more. People should take advantage. BrookeMoles Senior
College course goes on despite small class size LeslieCoronado Although there has been a significant decrease in students still enrolled , juniors and seniors enjoy having the opportunity to take a free college course for college credits. Some in addition to the free class, have found themselves being interested in psychology and have taken a liking to it. The original number of students enrolled in psychology was 20, but many decided to drop out after being offered to the opportunity to do so. Some dropped out for lack of interest, and others because the time of the class, 2:30 to 4:15, didn’t work out for them. ”It went from, a group of 20 students to 12,” said Joseph Rodriguez, a senior. The class takes place every Tuesday and Thursday, and is taught by Professor Youngblood from Delta College. “He actually gets to interact with us,” said Bryanna Rodriguez, a junior. “We all feel comfortable talking with each other.” However, the differences between a high school teacher and a college professor are evident. The professor doesn’t tell them to turn in their work when it’s due, nor does he tell them to do the small things like putting their name and date on assignments. “We’re supposed to keep ourselves on track,” senior Diana Lemus said. “ We’re supposed to be responsible of ourselves and keep doing our work. He treats us like adults.” Another large difference between the college class compared to a high school course is that
all of the work done in class is online, including the textbooks. The students do everything from assignments to exams on Chromebooks. Rather than spending time on the little things, the professor teaches about the various functions of the human mind. He also has them analyze the brain, from studying the conscious and unconscious mind to doing various experiments and working on projects. On a typical day, they watch videos, go over PowerPoints and discuss what they learned. “I like it because it’s free college which means free money,” said junior Dylan Grace. The experiments usually relate back to their most recent lessons. For example, one had to do with the fact that when people are focused on one thing, they miss other small details and changes around them. Much to the dismay of others, there are a lot of students who don’t come to class on a daily basis. “People aren’t taking it seriously, and they should,” Rodriguez said. “If they want to get somewhere then they have to work hard for it.” As a result, many of the experiments that would have normally been done are avoided due to lack of participants available. “I remember that on a minimum day, only four people showed up,” Rodriguez said. Delta, depending on how many people sign up, will continue to offer college courses like psychology, ASL, criminal law and justice.
Check out our website for galleries spotlighting Spirit Week, Edu-Concert, the blood drive, and water polo. To see more visit staggonline.net