Home of the Delta Kings
tagg ine S L
Vol. 60 No. 7
04.07.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School 1621 Brookside Rd. Stockton, CA 95207
UNCERTAIN FUTURE Students express overwhelming fear of family members being deported SamanthaBaker
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Record. “The Police Department does not interrogate, detain or stop people because of their immigrant status.” It’s especially frightening when one’s parents are in danger of being stripped away from their children. Gabriel Castillo, a junior, tells how he and his family are carrying on with their lives despite the fear that surrounds them. “I can tell my family is a little scared but not too much. We still try to work through things, like keep getting up for work, and we try to keep those things in mind.” The outcome of the election shocked Castillo’s family and caused them concern since his parents and older brothers are undocumented, yet they are currently working towards becoming legal. According to a USA Today analysis of more than a dozen federal raids in early February, 26 percent of those people seized had no criminal record, compared to a mere 10 percent during President Obama’s administration. Stockton Unified School District passed a similar resolution guaranteeing that students would
have access to education despite whatever their immigration status may be. The resolution also promised that information such as a student’s immigration status wouldn’t be given to federal agencies without the permission of their family. Gerardo Delgado, junior, is another student whose family has been affected by the recent concerns surrounding deportations. His aunt, a sin-
English learners stun with scores, advancement AngelVasquez
PHOTO BY STEPHANIEJIMENEZ Freshman Frankie Briones moves the large knight chess piece in its prescribed path. Lunch time chess will be hosting a tournament after school in April. Sign ups are in the counseling office. Students who place will be awarded trophies and medals. Chess Club will be holding lessons for students interested in competing.
Spirit month
SBAC testing schedule
Prom ticket sales
For the month of April, ASB is hosting a dress up month. Each week has a different theme. April 10-14: Generation week April 17-21: Split week April 24-28: Leftover week
SBAC testing for juniors will take place on April 19, 20, 26 and 27. There are no minimum days. All testing dates will have a block schedule. Juniors will get information from their teachers about where to go.
Tickets for prom will go on sale starting April 10. Tickets are $50 for singles and $90 for couples. Students bringing guests must receive approval from Assistant Principal Linda Roberts. Sales end May 3.
Bottom Line
EL SEASONAL MAP SCORE STANDARDS
If these targets are met, then English learners are able to be reclassified 222 F W S
220 218 216
The process of reclassification is simple. If an English learner is able to score above the reclassification requirements, the student fills out a form, and it gets taken to their counselor. The counselor would then make the decision whether or not the student will be reclassified. Once they are, they get put into regular academic classes. So far this school year, 38 students at Stagg have been reclassified and are no longer considered to be English learners. To be considered an EL, a student must be less than fluent in English, or have low Measures of Academic Progress test scores, or have a non-English language as their first language. In order to be reclassified and no longer considered an EL, students must meet two of the following score requirements: score a 4 or higher on reading, speaking, listening and writing in the California English Language Development Test. They must also meet the required MAP scores for reading. Junior Muhammed Ali was not born in the United States. He came to the country from Pakistan. Ali knew little to no English, with his first language being Urdu. He was put into Kennedy Elementary School; he went through culture shock in the beginning and claimed to feel a little overwhelmed. “It was confusing only knowing some English,” Ali said. “I caught on, though, and I love it here at Stagg.” Compared to his other subjects he takes, Ali said his EL class was no more difficult than his other classes after the language barrier was diminished. Ali passed the MAP scores needed with a score of 228, and scored a 5 on his CELDT test. He’s in the process of reclassification. “Most people have a bad misconception about most EL students,” Josie Lepe, guidance chairperson whose caseload includes the EL students, said. “People just assume that they don’t know anything, or they aren’t smart, but that’s definitely not the case.”
gle mother with one child, is undocumented but is working with a lawyer to become documented. Delgado’s father and cousin have been worried for her, yet his cousin has hope that nothing bad will happen to her. “He does have that fear, but he knows something good will happen,” Delgado said. “He has faith.”
9th grade
10th grade
11th grade
12th grade
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SOURCE: SUSD
“It would be really scary if someone in my family got deported because what would I do without them?” President Trump has signed executive orders to enforce immigration laws more strictly. The results of these include forcing police departments to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, building more detention facilities, discouraging asylum seekers and speeding up deportations. She is the only person in her family who is working to become legalized. She sees the worry creasing her grandfather’s face, and although her grandmother tries to stay calm, she knows her grandmother is nervous for her parents and sister down in Los Angeles. Despite the fear that may have gripped many in Stockton and even here at Stagg, the city has pledged to protect its large immigrant population against President Trump’s heightened immigration enforcement. “In Stockton, we’re a welcoming community,” Mayor Michael Tubbs said in an interview with The
ART BY AMBERLYBUTLER
LL SHE REMEMBERS FROM LIVING IN MEXICO IS RUNNING around the streets and playing with other kids. Then one day she left with her grandmother to the United States to reunite with her mother. “I just knew I was going to move to where my mom was living at the time,” said the junior, who asked to be anonymous. She recalls her grandmother telling her how dangerous the journey would be, how she had to remain quiet, how she had to go through certain modifications, and how she had to cut her hair in order to pass. Now that she and her family are together and living in the United States she is one of many on campus and millions across the state facing a new fear: the possibility of their family being torn apart once again as a result of the recent deportations under the administration of President Donald Trump
People just assume that they don’t know anything, or they aren’t smart, but that’s definitely not the case.” JosieLepe Guidance chair
A majority of EL’s that are not from the United States have already learned or were in the process of learning the subjects that they are being taught here. The struggle, though, comes from the language barrier. More often than not, according to Lepe, EL’s excel in areas such as math and science, but ultimately struggle when it comes to English. Sophomore Aline Arias’s first language is Spanish, but she was able to learn English over time. “It’s like when someone learns Spanish, you start with the basics like, hola, then after a while you’re able to learn more and more,” Arias said. “It was hard at first, but I got it after a while.” She added that because she knows Engish, the EL class wasn’t as hard for her, but she did have trouble with the pronunciation and writing portion of the test. Arias passed the MAP scores with a score of 239, and scored a 4 on her CELDT test. She is now reclassified.
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Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
STAFF EDITORIAL
Opinion
The Stagg Line
04.07.17
Healthy Start should not see its end
H
ealthy Start is in danger and with the threat of its departure the question arises: what would we do without it? As a resource many people depend on but usually take for granted, Healthy Start provides more than just sports-required physicals. When someone needs legitimate medical attention, it’s there. When people need counseling, it’s there. When someone simply does not feel well, it’s there. It’s a source of protection and birth control for those that can’t get it anywhere else, and now for those people specifically the question persists: what would we do without it? For those that use the clinic as a source for sexual protection, it’s unlikely those same people will be able to get those supplies elsewhere, and that’s worrisome. People without sufficient health care turn to free sources such as this before anything else, and now the permanence of the building that houses Healthy Start does not reflect within the program itself. The memorable white cross on the bright red door serves as a sense of security for many, and
be getting smaller and smaller. Providing for students to ensure they are healthy will potentially only be harder on families, and for many that will be a burden they cannot bare. Stockton Unified School District would like to do what they can to keep Healthy Start a reality for students, but without a clear plan of how they will be doing that is disappointing. Intentions and actions are very different, and until it is evident they have transitioned to the latter, there is very little to no ease in the minds of those that rely on this resource. Without the proper funding, what is to be done? With the retirement of Judy Rauzi, the program’s only coordinator for more than 20 years, and the losses of a PHOTO BY PHILLICITYURIARTE-JONES Delta nurse as well as a clerical staff, prospects seem grim. Additionally, next year is the last year expected to be will hopefully remain intact. covered by the Local Control and Accountability Plan for This is especially important now, as the Affordable funding grants. Care Act is being debated. Considering Stockton is not a All students are left with is hope, and hope isn’t going particularly wealthy area, resources for students seem to to provide for them in the way this center has.
Travel ban is a racist attack on every Muslim
Physical work teaches personal responsibility
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-E-S-P-E-C-T spells respect. It is so hard to come by especially in high school. Respect is not easy to gain, but when you finally do, it can lead to greater confidence, which is a great tool to use when in an interview. With maturity, childish ways and foolish behaviors must be shed. So one of the best ways to learn is getting a job, especially one that involves manual labor. Manual labor can show you what it takes to be an adult: self sufficiency and balance. I have done manual labor since I was 11 years old and it allowed me to take more of a mature perspective on my life and see what adulthood takes.The weekend starts at 3 a.m. when I get up to go to my grandfather's farm. On the ATV ride along the fence line, a broken post means hours in the blazing sunlight. Toward the end of a long two days of work, I would clean and shovel manure from the barn stalls. I started going to the mechanic shop with my father when I was 14. Finally seeing what he does for the first time left me speechless. Before then I
PHOTO COURTESY OF TRISTENTUCKER Most of the time, Tristen Tucker can be found sharpening chainsaw blades in his father’s shop. Aside from this, he also repairs small engines.
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TristenTucker
For those who do have respect, it's more than likely that they are working hard and focusing on the task at hand. ”
had thought it would be easy to go to work from 9 to 5 and still be able to do other things afterward. When he first brought me and opened the gate, I gazed into the abundance of machines that filled the room and my jaw dropped at how many there were. I got lost in the labyrinth that he knew like the back of his hand. It was very easy at first. It gradually became harder with more laborintensive tasks. Now I know the shop and its metallic occupants as well as my father does. In those two years working with my father, my respect for him and what he does has only grown. Now that I am 16 years old and have worked for five years, I see the world from an adult's point of view. I have a better appreciation for how much maturity it takes to get yourself out of bed and go to work everyday, even if it gets repetitive sometimes. Now, however, most young adults don't have jobs and have never experienced the exhaustion of hard labor. When I see students in class distracting others and messing around, it shows that they have no respect for those who are trying to learn and get an education. For those who do have respect, it's more than likely that they are working hard and focusing on the task at hand. I know that many people do not have the opportunities that I have, but for me I can show what I have learned from these experiences. My experiences working have taught me that with hard work comes sweat and determination, to get the job done. Going home with a sore back and neck, calluses that cover your hands and drowsy eyes, that's how you know you had a good day of manual labor.
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.
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.
eing Egyptian, I have a fear of losing family members that keeps me up at night. The fear of going to an airport and being questioned before I could get on the flight keeps me up at night. The fear of not knowing how much worse it could get keeps me up at night. These fears haunt me, when I wake up and when I go to sleep, all because of one thing — the Muslim Ban. From the things our President, Donald Trump has done and said, I saw this coming. From a mile away you could see and hear his hatred for those of certain race and color. Some may ask why I would be so offended and scared of such a thing if Egypt isn’t one of the countries. Well, Iran is. The father of my three little brothers could go and visit his country and not be able to come back because of this. Yet, according to Express, Trump states in an interview that, “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion — this is about
SaraAbdeltawab terror and keeping our country safe.” If it’s not about religion then why do White House officials keep referring to it as a “travel ban,” and why is it targeted on Muslim countries? Trump also went on to say “it’s about keeping our country safe.” I have to ask safe from what? Safe from terrorism? Safe from innocent people? This Muslim Ban feels more personal than just keeping our country safe. If he wants to keep our country safe he should target those actual terror groups like ISIS, not countries with a large majority of Muslims!
It saddens me to have to change the news channel when my mom walks into the room because she feels as if she doesn't belong. It saddens me to hear my brothers ask, “Why is he doing this?” It's racist of a president to do this, it's morally wrong, because there are ways to keep the country safe without having to issue a travel ban on certain Muslim countries. The ban doesn't just ban Muslims from traveling. It prevents families from seeing each other. It keeps children from growing up with the freedom they deserve. It especially bans equality. How could we be a country built on immigration and equality yet we aren't letting certain people in. Now, why do I, someone whom the ban doesn't even affect, complain about it? Well, it affects me emotionally, because I know of people who have been stopped and questioned because of this. This isn't something to keep the country safe. This is something that the president thinks will keep it safe.
COURTESY PHOTO BY SARAABDELTAWAB If the travel ban were to affect Egypt the member of Abdeltawab's family with X's over their faces would not be able to travel from Egypt to America.
REPORTERS SamanthaBaker AmberlyButler MariaCastillo LeslieCoronado LouisFuentez KevinGutierrez ErnestoHarwell TristenTucker AlbertoValencia AaronVang AngelVasquez MarkWalding
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
04.07.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Opinion
3
The Stagg Line
Every 15 Minutes involvement opens up mind
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ART BY AMBERLYBUTLER
Our generation and the press
Teens, young adults are too obsessed with celebrities to notice major political changes being made that will affect their future
U
nderstand that a claim like calling any professional press “the enemy of the people.” group the “enemy of the people” made by If our country loses its First Amendment the president of the United States is not right of freedom of the press, everything we something for anyone to ever take lightly. see in news media will be controlled by our In fact, Donald Trump didn’t make this government. The American people would only comment in reference to terrorists or tyrannical be allowed to see articles published by media leaders of foreign countries posing a threat to the outlets the government has approved, creating a United States, but the press who are granted their society of extremely narrow minded and ignorant own freedom by the First Amendment to the citizens. Constitution of the United States. At the same time, however, it doesn’t surprise Our generation is going to be the ones that me the least bit that people my age don’t care. are the CEOs, government officials, and teachers The majority of my generation could seemingly of the future. If we grow up not being exposed to care less. People my age care more about the different ideas and varying opinions, we will live in new Kylie Jenner makeup that is being launched a world where everyone is forced to read the same the next day and making sure they have the news articles and not have the right to view media best lighting possible to take a good selfie. The JuliaRosete that presents the facts no matter what the person’s majority don’t care, let alone know, if a new views are. This doesn’t sound like a country legislative bill that was just passed that could that is supposed to be known for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of change their lives dramatically or if there are terrorist threats against happiness.” the country. At a press briefing on Feb 24, several news outlets were not Most people only care if something like a shooting or bombing allowed to attend the event by the president’s request. That list is trending on Twitter and major celebrities are posting about it or included the New York Times, CNN, and Los Angeles Times, all if there is a story on Snapchat dedicated to the incident. Once it of which Trump often criticizes during his constant Twitter rants. invades everyone’s feeds, that’s when people notice. Once people see However, the commander in chief was gracious enough to allow the pictures of distraught people sitting on the sidewalk wrapped in some press in, which he personally put on a type of VIP list. These a blanket crying after a shooting in another major city, that's when included Breitbart News, the Washington Times, and One American people care. It's too much for teens to rip their eyes away from posts News Network, which are all known for their conservative and very about relationship goals, makeup tutorials, fight videos, and, during Trump-friendly stories. this time of year, promposals to look up and see that the world As someone who is personally affected by this right to freedom around them is changing. of the press, it astonishes me that this is something my generation There is a place for both news and what's already in your social isn’t more concerned about. media feeds. The changes made now could continue to affect our future If this is the world we want to live in, the one we want our and the future of the coming generations. More people, of all ages, future children to live in, then go back to looking at celebrity drama should be up in arms about something as important as calling the and keep your head in the sand.
eeing one of your best friends being handcuffed and another carried away in a helicopter really makes you think about life and the decisions you make. It just shows how something as simple and fun at the time can turn into a disaster. Though it might have been a crash that was set up it still can cause a very big heartache toward the family and friends. When I was asked to participate in the Every 15 Minutes program it was a real privilege because I knew that I would bring a message first hand to my peers about the importance of not drinking and driving. I also knew that it would touch close to home because I did deal with alcohol-related incidents with my father, including him almost dying from it. Because of the way substance abuse has affected me, I would not want anyone to have to deal with it. Taking part in something that caused another student to realize the dangers of drinking and driving has a larger significance for me. The people that were able to participate in the program were opened up to the many other dangers even if it wasn't as personal. But when we sat down to write the letters to our families it was very emotional moment for me and the others. You never prepare for someone to die especially at this young of age, let alone yourself, and it was sad knowing that people never even get the chance to say goodbye. Writing to your family telling them that you loved them and that you were so sorry for what you did and even though I was writing it still felt so real. I believed that picking the people from the different social groups of people at the school unified us and made not only ourselves but the whole school realize the seriousness of this topic. And even afterward it made me happy to hear my friends and fellow classmates talk about how they wanted to take caution when they do decide to have fun. The two days we spent together made everyone apart of the program become a lot closer than ever before. The crash scene showed the
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LouisFuentez
Taking part in something that caused another student to realize the dangers of drinking and driving has a larger significance for me. ”
realization of students going through something like that. And when we reached the police department we did team building exercise and sat through the presenters that were there. The presentations during the retreat were one of the main things that had brought us all together because they gave us a different perspective of everyone. One was from a mother that had lost her daughter caused by someone who was a drunk driver. It was very impactful because you could see how hurt she was talking to us about it, but in a way it made us see the good she was doing for us. Showing that she did not want one of our parents to feel the same heartache she did when losing her one and only daughter. Students from our generation are very prone to peer pressure and can be lured into doing things they are not supposed to. Yet in this case and in these circumstances the Every 15 Minutes program shows that it is our choice and our responsibility whether to get into a car with someone that has been drinking.
Women’s sports deserve more recognition A
s many do, I enjoy taking time out of my day to sit down and watch sports. Whether it be sitting comfortably on my couch while hearing the broadcasters yell over the enthusiastic crowd, or simply watching the athletes working hard and being competitive with each other. As I watch, though, one question usually crosses my mind: Where are all the women athletes at? Women sports and athletes simply do not receive as much coverage as their male counterparts. In fact, I sat down and watched the popular sports coverage outlet ESPN for an hour two different days, and not once were women's sports mentioned. Instead, men’s basketball was mentioned, men’s hockey was mentioned, but not a single thing mentioned about women's sports. It is ridiculous and unfair as to why two exact same sports can’t get covered the same seeing as the only difference is the gender of the players. In a way, media coverage of different events depicts just how
AngelVasquez important an event really is. With that in mind, it is no wonder women sports are not recognized as much as men’s. What also plays into this lack of coverage is the incoming revenue of male sports coverage. Really, this is all just one vicious circle: women’s sports are not popular enough, so they do not bring in as much money as men’s sports, therefore they do not get any coverage, and then the cycle sadly repeats. But what exactly can be done about this? People can not necessarily be forced to attend a softball game, or a
women’s basketball game, or any sporting event for that matter. But through more coverage of these sports from media outlets, perhaps more people will pay more attention to these women sports, and then they will get the recognition that they deserve. In 1999, the FIFA Women’s World Cup held on July 10 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, was the most-attended women's sports event in history with an official attendance of 90,185, and 23.5 million viewers, making it also the most watched soccer game in United States history, according to FIFA. com. This event was covered tremendously, and viewers came to find out just how much heart and character the women on the team had. Another example of women’s sports getting the once in a while coverage is the mixed martial arts fights with Ronda Rousey. When her fights premiered, they were among the fourth most-watched post-fight show in FS1 history, and the eighth most-watched prelims
ever in FS1 history. Although these sporting events got a lot of attendance and views from all over the world, they still do not compare to the average amount of how many views a professional basketball game gets per game. The lack of coverage these women’s sports receive is upsetting; I have participated in many different sports throughout my life, and I have always felt less than my male teammates in terms of performance and dedication. To see them constantly getting praise, recognition, and exposure makes me feel inadequate in comparison to them. Even though I knew I put in just as much work and heart into the sport, maybe even more, the lack of deserved acknowledgement was just discouraging to me. As women’s sports continues to grow, I truly hope it will receive more coverage. Young women who participate in sports should have women athletes to look up to and watch, not just men.
ESPN SPORTSCENTER CENTERS ON MEN
62.5% Men’s basketball 15.6% Women’s basketball 15.6% Men’s wrestling 6.3% Kayaking This graph shows how male and female sports were represented on March 15-16 during the 9 p.m. SportsCenter on ESPN. During these two hours, women’s sports was covered a mere 15.6 percent of the time. GRAPHIC BY ALBERTOVALENCIA
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Features
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
5
04.07.17
The Stagg Line
STUDENTS: Bonding with one another
StephanieMatsumoto
GRAPHIC BY ESTEFANYNUNEZ
Juniors and seniors will remember for the rest of their lives last month’s powerful Every 15 Minutes. They will remember the sickening sight of injured and dead friends — the consequences of drunk driving. But what had to happen beforehand to prepare for the event? What did the participants have to endure? How hard was it to keep secrets from their closest friends?
JuliaRosete
PHOTOS BY ESTEFANY NUNEZ AND PHILLICITY URIARTEJONES
The event was an overall good experience for Krietz. He not only had fun moments with paramedics tapping him and telling him to fall asleep, but he learned a valuable lesson that he’ll never forget. “I tell my family, ‘If you need a ride anywhere, call me,’ and if I know they’re out there drinking I’ll get them,” Krietz said. “It’s taken a big effect on my family just coming and watching.”
AmberlyButler
SaraAbdeltawab
It was a secretive three months, an anxious five-day week and a long 24 hours — that all came down to 20 minutes. For seniors Jefferson Leiva, Matteo Danforth, Ernesto Harwell and Aaron Vang, it felt like a neverending dream. What people don’t know is a 20 minute video took three months in advance to film and put together. From gathering certain clips, to keeping it a secret from most of their friend, a lot went on beforehand. But the work really began the day of requiring them to stay up for 24 hours, they could barely stay awake to talk about how they felt the next day. Vang said trying to get good shots while people were in their way half the time, and finding the best angles to shoot for certain scenes was harder than they expected. During the crash scene they had multiple cameras out, if one camera missed a shot hopefully another one got it. “Everything was a one-time thing,” Harwell said. “They told us we were going to do a mock run on everything, but there was no mock run.” The team was set back. Not knowing when or how things were going to happen, they managed to get through it — until the day of putting it all together. Clips getting deleted, tying chairs together to make a bed, and the servers shutting off, how
The impact of seeing him lying there, presumably breathless, that had a bigger impact on me than the accident itself.” GrangerDinwiddie (Above) parent of Jalend
that night. “When you get out of that pattern or routine, as a parent, that little inner voice is saying ‘something is not right.’” During the second day, at the assembly, seeing her sister walking down and placing a black rose on the coffin made it even more real for McGinnis. “I almost started crying because she could have really been dead,” she said. The mother of Joel Castillo said she felt terrible watching her son sit in an orange jumpsuit bound in handcuffs and ankle shackles. “I cried,” she said in Spanish. “All I could think about was ‘I never want to see my kids in this situation.’” In the letters they wrote to their children, Castillo said she felt very emotional. “I don’t even remember because I was crying so much,” she said. “Just to imagine if he would’ve died.” Dinwiddie had a difficult
Being cut off from society, the group of students had to quickly learn how to work together to complete team-building activities. The two days spent together helped them open up to each other.
VIDEO TEAM: ADULTS: Ensuring success of program Recording emotions
FAMILY: Experiencing worst fears “ In the middle of the night, Granger Dinwiddie looked out through the blinds of the front window to the driveway to make sure his son Jalend’s car was parked there. The idea of what was depicted earlier that day during the Every 15 Minutes assembly becoming a reality is what makes him so on edge. “Even though I knew what was going on, it just seemed so quiet,” he said. Questions began to run through his mind that night his son didn’t come home, wondering where he was and why his car wasn’t parked in the driveway. Dinwiddie then had to remember that his son was “dead” and “wouldn’t be coming home ever again”. This reality that the families of the participants had to face was one that made many of them step back and realize the magnitude of the situation at that would be their reality for the next two days. When junior Patricia McGinnis went home that night, she said she felt like something was wrong when she didn’t hear her twin sister Kelley’s, one of the living dead, voice before they fell asleep, something that has become commonplace for her every night. “It was kind of like a piece of my heart was missing,” she said. “Something wasn’t there, and she wasn’t there.” Dinwiddie couldn’t shake the feeling of something wrong
From the moment the tarp was thrown off to reveal two crashed cars, it finally became time for the handful of juniors and seniors chosen to participate in the event to take action. Students bleeding and bruised began to yell for help and scream over the bodies of friends. Their “golden hour” had started and would leave a lasting impact. Joel Castillo, a senior, had known he would be participating in Every 15 Minutes since early February. He had to prepare for the event by informing his parents that he would have to pretend to be in a car accident and write a post mortem letter. Even though he and other students also were told ahead of time that they would have to act, a lot of what they had to do on the day of the event was improvised. “The people in charge told us to be really serious and not to laugh but that’s all they told us to do and just do the best we can,” Castillo said. With help from some makeup to fake bruises and other marks, Castillo had to become a drunk driver not in his right mind after a crash. Though most of what he did and said was unrehearsed, the situation caused him to bring out his emotions and treat it as if it was real. “Honestly, I put myself in that situation where I just killed two of my best friends and I have to face people who will look at me differently now because of what I did.” Castillo wasn’t the only one who felt that way on that day. Jalend Dinwiddie, a senior, had to lie motionless for the entirety of the event as he played the corpse. While Dinwiddie was worried at first he wouldn’t be able to stay still or that his friends would make him laugh, he got through the event without making any noticeable movements. “For some reason when I was actually in the moment it all felt so real and it was just like something possessed me that I had to really reenact this.” The experience of participating in Every 15 Minutes also gave Dinwiddie a better perspective of how drunk driving can affect others. “I never had anyone really close to me be seriously injured or killed in a drunk driving accident so just listening to everyone else’s stories and the consequences or potential dangers was crazy,” Dinwiddie said. “I never realized what it could really do to somebody.” After the first part of the event, Isaac Krietz, a senior, and other students had to go and sleep over at the district police station until the memorial the next day. There, they were informed about what a real crash would be like and went even deeper into the topic with personal experiences. Hearing stories from other people and what they had to go through was heartbreaking yet eye-opening to Krietz. “That’s the main thing I liked,” Krietz said. “We got to know about all this stuff we didn’t know about and it taught me a lot just going there and listening.”
much worse could it have gotten? Video editing takes a long time. This particular video took 24 hours. Gathering clips from the cameras used, inserting music and voiceovers, the team had to spend the night at school in hopes of finishing the video on time. They thought they would be done with the video by 8 a.m., but when the server shut off at 2:00 a.m. they realized it would be delayed. Leiva said at that point they didn’t know what to do, except wait. “We were awoken by the sound of a phone going off at five a.m.,” Leiva said. “If we didn’t get that call we wouldn’t have finished the video.” Leiva said the day they had to play the video he was confident it would work because they had put so much time and effort into it. All hard work has its glitches. The video stopped, the laptop died, and nervous laughter throughout the packed gym was heard. “I could see he almost felt defeated that the video wouldn’t play,” Danforth said, describing the look on Leiva’s face. Danforth added that if the team had left without the video playing, they would have all been devastated because of the hard work and time that they put into this video. “It seems like everything that could go wrong went wrong, but they overcame adversity,” said John Gilgert, who watched over them all night.
PHOTOS BY ESTEFANYNUNEZ Parents met the night before the memorial for a presentation by Every 15 Minutes. There, they were able to ask questions about their children whom they had not seen since the crash scene. time writing his goodbye letter because the memories he made with his son began to surface. In his letter, he said, “You still made a poor choice by going along with the peer pressure.” He was disappointed to see his son, in his character, make this bad choice. In a real scenario, Dinwiddie remembered when his son and some friends asked to spend the night in San Francisco after spending time at the beach. As soon as they got back to town, Dinwiddie said his son called him and expressed his own disap-
pointment in one of his friends. “The car that he was in, that kid, when they were at the beach, drank,” he said. “My son would not let him drive. He said, ‘give me the keys, I’m driving.’” While Jalend showed good judgement in this real life situation, the role he portrayed did not have that same mindset. In Dinwiddie’s letter, he expressed how it disappointed and saddened him that in one case his son made the right choice PHOTO BY PHILLICITYURIARTE-JONES but the character he portrayed did the exact opposite, and that Stagg Line web editor Jefferson Leiva took charge as production leader capturing the event on video. The team of four had to remain on campus more than 30 straight hours to complete the job. decision cost him his life.
Months of planning led to the two-day Every 15 Minutes program, and preparing for such an event can be stressful and demanding. The event required work from many, especially Assistant Principal Linda Roberts, ASB director Ryan Berg and coach John Gilgert, who pulled it all together. Roberts was in charge of managing and making the event happen. She started organizing it at the beginning of the school year, securing a date with California Highway Patrol and courts. From there she formed committees, assigning groups different tasks needed in order to prepare for the action. Berg and Gilgert were the legs of the organization. They gave support and assurance whenever Roberts or anybody on the committee
PHOTO BY ESTEFANYNUNEZ Along with campus security monitor John Gilgert, Assistant Principal Linda Roberts and ASB coordinator Ryan Berg spent the entire night running errands and checking on the videographers. If they got any sleep, it was from napping in their offices. needed it. Keeping the event a secret was, to Roberts, “a key role in the experience.”
Carefully selecting the members of the committee to ensure confidentiality was critical. After that, she said, “We just had
to trust people and the students we chose, though we can’t control some of the ‘leaks.’” If word were to have gotten to too many
or too early it would have jeopardized the program. The closer the date for the program got, the more stressful and demanding the preparation was. It was the week prior to the event that, to Roberts, was the most stressful. Because of the schedule change and then involvement of more students the risk of mistakes and the news leaking was higher. The schedule change created a great challenge, she said, as “students were curious about what was going on.” The second day of the program, when the pressure of everybody involved was through the roof, there was a technical difficulty with the video that was going to be shown. Gilgert was able to save the day, with his ideas. He literally ran to get the equipment needed, a different projector and HDMI cord, and to ensure that the event would go just as planned.
OFFICIALS: Serving a larger purpose PhillicityUriarte-Jones
He won’t leave his house. The possibility of something terrible happening to him or his family haunts his every thought. His heart and mental wellbeing were broken the day his daughter was taken from him. The night his daughter was taken from him by a drunk driving accident, he lost trust in the world around him. Barbie Little’s husband is agoraphobic because of the reckless drinking and driving of the person who hit her car and took her daughter’s life. Barbie Little is a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and her daughter, a former Stagg student, suffered a gruesome death at the drunken hands of the father in the car that collided with hers. Though Little has suffered immense emotional and mental turmoil, she uses that pain to level with those that are going through the same thing and to promote the message that prevention is far easier than dealing with the repercussions. She works with Every 15 Minutes to teach people at one of the most impressionable ages that drinking and driving is not only not worth it but could mean life or death for an unsuspecting party as well as severe consequences for the driver. As she says, “I may never have grandchildren, and may have lost my best friend but I have her story.” Little does acknowledge that “everyone has the right to be represented,” and attorney Gilbert Somera is there to serve that purpose.
In Every 15 Minutes demonstrations, he represents the student that practiced such recklessness and disregard. To make the case, he brings up the perpetrator’s aspirations, accomplishments, and naivete. He humanizes those whom others may forget have a life as well, despite their irresponsible actions. This does not guarantee they do not go to prison, regardless of how touching their story is and how much potential they have. It comes down to the decision of the judge, Richard Vlavianos, to determine whether the life of the perpetrator is meant to be spent behind bars or out in the same world in which they killed someone. He knows the tough decision well and while there are cases where he wishes he did not have to make a choice and change people’s lives so drastically, he can recall a time where “giving someone a break” hurt them more than serving time. A young woman had been in an accident where going home was more painful than having to be away. She spent every day reliving the fact that she was the reason her friend died, and everyone knew that. Instead of feeling any penance she felt more grief looking at the tear-streaked faces of friends and family. These three people come together to spread awareness. Their Every 15 Minutes demonstrations make students think about the consequences they will face and how drastic a seemly small decision is. They make the people they touch feel the same frustrations they do.
PHOTO BY PHILLICITYURIARTE-JONES Judge Richard Vlavianos places his robe on senior Cutrell Haywood before making him judge how long a drunk driver’s sentence should be.
6
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
cartoon
Entertainment
CONTROVERSY
StephanieMatsumoto
As she sits down and turns on the television, a little girl no older than 7 years old decides to watch her favorite TV shows. On the screen, she watches princesses meet their princes, heroic men save the damsel in distress, and couples finding their happily-ever-afters. At her age, exposed only to relationships depicted in children’s shows, she doesn’t know that maybe there is more than the typical boy loves girl, girl loves boy type of love. There have been a numerous amount of romantic moments between a man and woman throughout the time of television and theaters. Classic examples include popular movies such as “The Notebook,” and even movies not focused on love like “The Hunger Games,” make sure to include romance between the two different gendered lead characters. While the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are shown in most films and occasionally one focuses on them, the idea is almost taboo in shows meant for kids. Yet, exposing a younger audience to the LGBT community has become more and more apparent lately, with special thanks to Disney. “Star vs. the Forces of Evil” is a series on Disney XD about a girl named Star Butterfly who fights evil throughout different dimensions. On Feb. 23, the episode “Just Friends” featured the main characters attending a concert of a band called “Love Sentence,”
Children’s television shows featuring LGBT couples brings concerns from public, establishes importance of exposure to same-sex relationships
‘13 Reasons Why’ puts suicide into perspective SaraAbdeltawab & JuliaRosete
MatteoDanforth
“
04.07.17
characters. The biggest and most controversial example right now is Le Fou, Gaston’s manservant, who has been granted the title of “Disney’s first homosexual character.” Other than announcing the fact that Le Fou would be homosexual, Disney leaves the fact rather ambiguous in the movie. His sexual orientation is implied in subtle ways through his actions with Gaston, but it’s never explicitly brought up. While this could make some fans cry out in anger about how Disney is only announcing a homosexual character for the publicity, their decision was a reasonable one. Rather than making the character overly flamboyant and open about his sexuality, he is made no different from the original movie. He acts like the same clumsy yet loyal manservant many have known before he was made to be gay. The ART BY AMBERLYBUTLER AND ALBERTOVALENCIA way he looks up to and follows whose music causes people to kiss their significant other. In one Gaston around could be taken scene, the characters are running through a crowd of couples kissing as him idolizing or crushing on the brute male. and same-sex couples are seen in the background as well. This not only allows the audience to make their own decision Though the scene is brief and could be easily missed, the fact about the character’s feelings but sends the strong message that boys that it’s an LGBT moment with two men kissing is obvious. Kids who like boys or girls who like girls are the same as everyone else. and tweens as the main audience are being exposed, even just slight- What young children see on screen influences what they believe ly, to the fact that couples like that are normal to see. and has an impact on who they grow up to be. By showing LGBT Disney takes it one step further in live action version of their in a TV series and movies that they would watch, a future where old movie, “Beauty and the Beast.” In the new version, the directors people are free to be who they are without fear of judgement or make a few changes to the story and give their own take on certain ridicule seems so much so much closer.
‘Riverdale’ sets new standard for teen dramas At the beginning of the year, the CW network strayed from their supernatural and superhero norms to release “Riverdale.” Roughly based on the characters from the “Archie” comics, the show takes place in the small town of (you guessed it) Riverdale, after the death of one of the Blossom twins, Jason. Along with an ongoing investigation, the plot revolves around the high school lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica and Cheryl. Unlike most teen dramas, “Riverdale” strays from typical superficial characters and generic plot and tries to convey a message. These messages aren’t the redundant “stay in school” and “bullying is bad” bumper stickers that teenagers are constantly bombarded with; instead, “Riverdale” focuses on more pertinent, unexplored issues. Besides showing gingers some love, Riverdale High also has its fair-share of gay students. While one student, Kevin Keller, has come out, football player Moose Mason and Southside Serpents gang leader Joaquin are “in the closet.” Kevin’s relationships with these two guys sheds some light on society’s stereotypes of homosexuality. Among other teen-related issues, pregnancy is another thing that “Riverdale” brings up. (SPOILER ALERT) Before Jason’s death, he dated Betty’s sister, Polly, and eventually got her pregnant. In order to cover up their shame, Polly’s parents sent her to a mental institution. How should teen pregnancy be dealt with? Should it be pushed aside and forgotten or be made open? In the episode “Body Double,” the show’s creators also take time to point out the privilege of star athletes. Veronica and Betty try to obtain evidence of a “shame book” the football team uses to humiliate girls they have been with. When this is brought up to the principal, the status of the athletes protects them and the principal is quick to dismiss the claims to protect the players. But when substantial evidence topples entitlement, the girls receive justice. The subplot is so powerful because this issue has sadly become commonplace. It has a clear parallel with the recent case of Stan-
The Stagg Line
SOURCE: IMDB
Unlike most teen dramas, ‘Riverdale’ strays from typical superficial characters and generic plot and tries to convey a message.”
ford swimmer Brock Turner. The swimmer was sentenced to a mere six months for the rape of an intoxicated/unconscious girl. Like the football players, Turner’s status as an athlete excused his crime. The writers were not only bold to call out the American justice system but right. Justice cannot yield to privilege and the episode makes that message clear. This motif of justice and truth continues when Betty, along with the show’s narrator, Jughead, revive the high school newspaper. Not only is Jughead a fan-favorite for his complexity but the iconic Cole Sprouse has returned to TV to play him after his long run with “The Suite Life.” The two work together to uncover evidence in the murder investigation as well as tackle problems that arise in Riverdale High. Their paper, The Blue & Gold, directly parallels with the paper Betty’s mother runs, The Register. Like some news outlets today, The Register creates sensational news stories that stray from the facts. The ties to today’s political climate with “fake news” is uncanny. The thoughts and questions that “Riverdale” poses is unlike anything else on TV. These topics are all within the first few episodes and the entire season hasn’t been aired yet. The relatable characters, gripping plot and the timely issues masterly interweaved into each episode are enough to hold anyone’s attention. “Riverdale” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on the CW.
Her name was Hannah Baker, and this is her story. From a book, to rumors of it being a movie, and now a 13-episode Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why” puts the audience on a rollercoaster through the life, death, and aftermath of the main character Hannah Baker. She was the new girl in town, with no friends and no idea what high school would bring her. The friends she went on to make, however, became the 13 reasons why she committed suicide. Each of the tapes describes a person, or reason, who did exactly that. The acts those classmates did range from spreading rumors and pictures to rape and causing a student’s death. The show series jumps right into the other main character, Clay Jensen, receiving a package that he would soon find out to be a set of tapes from Hannah. These tapes go into detail, explaining the situation that caused each person to end up on those tapes. The set of tapes, which she recorded before her death, have two rules for the listener: listen and pass them on. Once the person has listened to all 13 tapes, they have to pass it to the next person mentioned in them. Immediately, the audience is introduced to Clay as well as several other characters that will become very important as the storyline continues. These characters give more depth to the story, creating more drama between people at the school that otherwise didn’t associate themselves with each other. Places that carry the story forward, like the playground with the rocket slide and Rosie’s Diner, are present as well as the coffee shop she and a couple friends called their “office.”
However, while the setting stays true to the original plot, it never deters the viewer from the underlying message about the real effects of suicide. In the aftermath of Hannah’s death, posters are taped up along the walls of the hallway saying that suicide is a mistake. The school administration gave a presentation to the parents talking about the warning signs to look for in their children. However, students as well as Hannah’s parents questioned why these were not put in place before her death. During the flashbacks, she shows fairly clear signs of distress and depression, but no one did anything to help her. If anything, more negativity came her way. The show brings up valid points about mental health in general. While a lot of it focuses on Hannah, the audience sees the emotional stress of the aftermath, especially for the students on the tapes. Some characters experience
heavy amounts of grief and resort to drugs and alcohol while others lash out at their family and friends. People begin to turn against each other, wanting to make sure the tapes don’t go on to the next person because they are afraid of it affecting their chances at colleges and scholarships. Some of the boys take Clay out on a car ride where they go almost 100 miles per hour to scare him into getting rid of the tapes. However, Hannah warns in the first tape that there is a second set of these same tapes that were left with a “trusted individual” who will release this set to the public if the rules are broken. The series takes a close and in-depth look at the various levels of how people handle tragedy differently. From students to school administration to her family, the show depicts how this small town dealt with the sudden loss of the new girl Hannah.
SOURCE: IMDB
04.07.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Sports
7
The Stagg Line
COMPETITIVE
Thanh Le adjusts to new American lifestyle where there is greater athletic pressure StephanieJimenez
“It isn’t really that competitive over there, but Stepping onto badminton is not the only thing here is different,” he said. Le is more a competitive new to senior Thanh Le, also known as Eric. He is player as he describes himself. That’s one of the reaalso new to this country. son why he came out to play. Le is a foreign exchange student from Vietnam As his season started Le has had nothing but and admits he was terrified to come to America. victories. His first two matches against St. Mary’s “I felt scared during the flight. It was terrible,” Le led him to believe badminton might be the ideal said. The flight lasted about 24 hours, which was sport for him. But it isn’t just Le. Junior Marco the longest he’s spent on a plane. Luna, his partner, assists him when in need of help. Le initially was supposed to stay with a family “The way we practice together really shows in our here, but complications forced a change prevent- matches,” Luna said. ing him from staying with his designated Ameri- Initially Luna assumed that communication can family. One of the family members became ill, was something both needed to work on, but Le making it difficult to take Le into showed him otherwise. “We’re their home. better than I expected,” Luna Luckily for him, Hung said. Nguyen, athletic director and Having hardly any exposure badminton coach, offered to take to badminton, Le has proven to him in. “He heard about my sithis partner and his team that he uation and chose me to stay with and Luna can be the No. 1 douhim,” he said. bles team. “I honestly thought he Nguyen genuinely wanted to was a returning player!” he said. take care of Le, but he was aware Understanding the game at an that it wasn’t going to be easy. equal level has led them to be Supporting a student obviously successful in matches. “If I move comes with many responsibiliforward, he knows he has to covties, but to Nguyen it was worth er the back,” Luna said. Watch Le talk it. “He’s just a normal teenager. I badminton, Le tried about how America outBefore wanted to guide him.” for basketball earlier in the brought out his Having Nguyen as a guardyear, but he decided to become ian and a coach, badminton was team manager instead. “I competitive spirit. the easily introduced to him. Le saw wanted to be part of a team,” he it is as a fun hobby, but soon he said. began to realize badminton was something he want- As the year comes to an end, one of Le’s worries ed to take seriously. “I asked coach Nguyen person- is his chance of graduating in America. ally to give me a chance on the team and he did. It still hasn’t been decided if Le will be gradu Having little experience with a birdie and rack- ating here. “I’ve talked to my counselor, but I don’t et, Le doesn’t hesitate to ask for help during prac- know for sure,” he said. His father has even mailed tices. “I had no skill. I didn’t know how to drop, the district but hasn’t gotten a response back yet. “I smash or clear, but asking others to help me has hope to graduate here, that’s why I came.” Le anticmade me improve.” ipates his graduation day here. In Vietnam, schools have clubs instead of teams Nguyen agrees. “One of the many reasons I took when it comes to sports, according to Le. him in was for him to finish school in America.”
Senior Eric Smith concentrates not only on hitting the birdy but on adapting to his new home on and off the court. PHOTO BY ALBERTO VALENCIA
Similar interest in tennis awakens rivalry in brothers
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StephanieMatsumoto Born from the same womb and now playing on the same field, student athlete siblings tend to have a certain bond stronger than other teammates. They go from tossing a baseball back and forth in the space between their beds to throwing it across a baseball diamond at high speeds to win the game for their team. Those kind of brothers and sisters tend to practice together or at least play in a similar way for their sport. However, for Gerritt and Gavinn Bod, they couldn’t be more different out on the tennis court. The two boys started playing tennis three years ago when their mother thought that Little League baseball was getting too rough. She wanted them to play a less aggressive sport and found tennis to be the perfect match. Now in his second year on the school team, Gerritt, a sophomore at Pacific Law Academy, is the No. 5 singles player. While tennis has always been an interesting sport to him, he especially enjoys being on the team because of his teammates. The support his teammates give him powers his confidence to get through a tough game. “At practice I get to be with people who like
With singles you don’t have anyone to rely on if you can’t get the ball but in doubles someone has your back.”
GavinnBod PLA Freshman the same thing and have fun doing it.” However, the sport doesn’t always strengthen the bonds with his brother. Gavinn is a freshman at PLA and is part of the No. 1 doubles team along with his partner Ricardo Cazares.
Sophomores step up to the plate
Friends in, out of the water MariaCastillo
KevinGutierrez
Losing players could sometimes affect the performance of a team. Yet, the vasrity girls softball team has managed to cope with losing some of their key players. To fix this issue they decided to pick up some promising sophomore players. Their season started rough, but as it progressed things started to improve. The team has learned to work with and not against each other. “Our team’s chemistry was poor at first,” senior Alexandria Prado said. Through communication, the team was able to grow closer and improve their relationships with each other. Returning players don’t look down upon the sophomores. Senior Jordyn Garcia said, “they are really good and are critical players to our team.” From the beginning the upperclassmen had faith in the new players, and they recognize their hard work. Brianna Rodriguez and Carly Ruiz are two promoted sophomores. Rodriguez transferred to Stagg from SECA at the start of the second semester. “I was intimidated at first and just wanted to fit in,” Rodriguez said. “Now I feel comfortable with my teammates and the students.” Filling in the shoes of a team leader can be difficult, but Ruiz has stepped to the plate. “I will do whatever they need me to do,” she said. Returning players give the younger players tips such as stand-
Gavinn feels confident playing doubles because he has adapted to playing that way. “I like to play in the front so I can get the ball and smash it on my opponent.” Playing tennis as a singles or a doubles player can change how a person needs to react or hit a ball. To Gavinn, playing doubles requires good communication with his partner but is rewarding as well. “With singles you don’t have anyone to rely on if you can’t get the ball but in doubles someone has your back.” The brothers have played doubles together before with less than desirable results. Gerritt feels that not only is he a stronger singles player, but having to be with his brother causes discord in the way they play. “We start out good, but we end up fighting in the end because once we mess up we start disagreeing,” Gerritt said. Though he doesn’t believe he and his brother are a good match together, Gerritt admits his brother is a good player that can move up even higher next year as a singles player. “Being separate gives us our own spots and makes us independent from each other,” Gerrit said. “We don’t have to play together just because we’re family.”
PHOTO BY KEVINGUTIERREZ Juniors Angeliah Smith, Ryenn Agbulos, and other teammates come together for a team handshake before taking defense in the second inning against Amador Valley High School. ing square with their feet while batting and cautioning them to not let losses get to your head. “I taught them a lot,” Garcia said. “But I also learned just as much from them as well.” The girls suffered a loss streak, but is now going on a steady roll with wins. “I noticed once our coach chewed us out, more players started to actually try and work better than before,” Rodriguez said. Many players see winning league as a strong possibility.
For freshmen Penelope Bowden and Brooklyn Sigle, their friendship feels as if it has been forever, although they just met this year in water polo. The only class they share is orchestra. With Bowden playing the cello on one side of the room and Sigle playing violin on the other, they both think that if it weren’t for these aquatic sports, they would have missed up on a friendship. Sigle knew about her love for swim and because of this it may seem surprising she never thought about doing water polo. “I have always enjoyed being in the water, but staying above the water for a certain amount of time, I always found that so interesting. So my dad suggested joining the water polo team since that’s mainly what you have to do.” Bowden initially joined the water polo team just to see how she would like it, since she has done swim for about six years for the Brookside Breakers in the summer. Bowden said, “It sounds cliche, but I really did become fond of the sport.”
“Since me and Brooklyn are both freshman, (we are) both kind of on the same level, we would often pair up together in water polo,” Bowden said. “After we got to know each other, we just really hit it off.” Not only would Bowden and Sigle warm up together and throw the ball to each other, but they also motivate each other. Now in swim Bowden and Sigle have become each other’s backbones. Bowden said, “In water polo, we would do the pair-up activities together, but
now in swim we try to beat each other’s time, only to make us both better.” They not only have both impacted each other’s performance in swim, but in life too. Sigle said, “When I think about Penelope what comes to mind is a quote from the movie ‘Sing’: ‘No matter how hard it gets, once you’ve hit rock bottom you could really only go up.’ She’s been able to show me that there are always opportunities to push through when I’ve felt like giving up.”
PHOTO BY STEPHANIEMATSUMOTO Best friends Penelope Bowden and Brooklyn Sigle find that their friendship is not only strong in the water, but also they have an unbreakable bond outside of the pool.
8
News
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
The Stagg Line
04.07.17
Science classes test new equipment
LeslieCoronado
Outdated equipment has led to limited experiments, overused labs with inaccurate data leading to a vague understanding of the topic. Last year science teachers had their students write letters to the Local Control and Accountability Plan committee asking for money to be spent on updating the science labs across the district. In response to those letters, the committee gave over $1 million. Of that, about $900,000 has been spent. Large high schools in the district are receiving the same equipment, and smaller schools are receiving one set that they can check out throughout the year because of their smaller populations. The equipment updated versions of what many schools already had, ranging from stir stations to completely new devices like the smart pulley, a device used to measure the motion of an object as it’s being accelerated. As a result, students will be able to get more accurate data and have a better understanding of the topic along with faster labs, as equipment won’t take as long as it used to. New equipment will also lead to a wider variety of what can be done, as it provides more possibilities. “We got a lot of fancy digital probeware, which means the computer is going to be making the measurements for us, a
lot faster and lot more accurate than a human can,” Bill Lorentz, a science teacher, said. “It also provides a lot of experiment things that we couldn’t do before because we just couldn’t do the measurements.” However, one of the concerns is that the machines will do their job too well and students will forget how to measure on their own. “If the equipment already does so much for you then you won’t be able to learn as much,” Karen Cervantes, a junior, said. “We’ll get more accurate data but that’ll be the only benefit.” Therefore, some of the old equipment will be kept for that purpose. “It provides a lot of experiment things that we just couldn’t do before because we just couldn’t make the measurements,” Lorentz said. Students in AP Biology were able to use some of this new equipment in a lab where they discovered their genotype. They used a micropipete to accurately measure amounts of DNA, and different types of solutions, along with other updated machines that cut the time of the labs. The science equipment has many benefits for students, especially for freshman who will have more experience of using the new equipment more often and hopefully gaining an interest in the science field.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIEJIMENEZ Seniors Samuel Cornelison and Jalend Dinwiddie test a new digital drop counter. The device aids students in accurately measuring during experiments like a titration lab. The Science Department is receiving its “largest equipment overhaul in the 25 years I have been here,” said teacher Bill Lorentz. The shipment is also allowing the department to reuse older equipment in smaller classes.
Change in leadership creates uncertainty with Healthy Start
Women past, present continue to influence teachers, students “Who is the most inspirational woman in your life?” The typical responses are Beyonce, Hilary Clinton or “my mom.” These same women are praised every time Women’s History Month comes along. But there is a multitude of other women that deserve recognition, women forgotten in today’s pop culture frenzy. Here, two students and a teacher draw inspiration from historical figures not usually referenced in the world today.
“
wis Hannah Le re Sophomo
Janis Joplin was a strong, independent and wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions.”
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Sor Juana Inés De la Cruz was brave and stood for what was right.”
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Gloria Steinem stood for what she believed in and fought for women.”
GRAPHIC BY KEVINGUTIERREZ AND MARKWALDING
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She couldn’t breathe. “I was scared, I didn’t know what was going on,” said sophomore Jasmine Khan. Her lung had to be deflated for a surgery a few years back and now, sitting in band class, that lung was acting up. She was sent to Healthy Start. Doctors had her do stretches as they diagnosed her difficulty breathing was caused by a muscle cramp surrounding her lung. One may primarily know Healthy Start as a convenient way to get a physical. But the clinic that has been around for 20 years oversees cases like Khan’s on a daily basis. Healthy Start has been praised by local school districts as a model for comprehensive health care access for students. However, the poster child for student health services in San Joaquin County is facing the shadow of an uncertain future. Healthy Start coordinator Judy Rauzi will be retiring this year. The center will also lose a Delta Health Care nurse as well a clerical staff. Rauzi worries next year Stagg will not have access to Planned Parenthood services. Rauzi has followed the journey and growth of the center since its conception in 1996. “This is my second home,” Rauzi said. The last few years have not been easy for Healthy Start. The center has not had a budget for the past three years. Rauzi estimates
the yearly cost for Healthy Start to operate is close to $100,000. The center has had to rely on the Local Control and Accountability Plan for grants. In the past Rauzi was able to extend a threeyear budget to five years as well as find different sources for funding. Healthy Start has been desperate to stay afloat. With no funds, Rauzi worries Healthy Start may have to resort to tapping into the school’s general fund, a budget that is highly allocated to specific needs and barely has room to fund beyond basic school supply needs. Health Services administrator at Stockton Unified School District, Mary Jo Cowan, is aware of these concerns. The district wants to reaffirm that “Healthy Start is a priority,” Cowan said. “I don’t think anyone can replace Judy, but we are working to find the most qualified person for the job.” Cowan couldn’t give specifics regarding a suitable replacement for Rauzi, nor how Healthy Start would sustain itself in years to come, especially since LCAP funds are expected to run out after next school year. Khan can’t imagine Healthy Start changing. Healthy Start “was there for me,” she said. “I can’t see it really changing. (Rauzi) is always there, she’s always nice.” The district is trying to bring as much light into the issue and continue to keep Healthy Start’s lights on.
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIEJIMENEZ Healthy Start coordinator Judy Rauzi uses a thermal thermometer to take junior Arron Potts Collier’s temperature.