Home of the Delta Kings
tagg ine S L
Vol. 60 No. 8
05.12.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School 1621 Brookside Rd. Stockton, CA 95207
DANGER
Students relying on bus to get to school experience anything but a smooth ride StephanieJimenez
W
ALKING THE STREETS — EMPTY streets, with hardly any light to see. Walking the streets without knowing what awaits. Walking the streets daily simply to get to school. Walking the streets in order to get to a bus stop is part of many students’ lives. Already struggling with waking early enough to catch the bus, qualifying for a bus pass, students especially struggle when the time changes leading it to be extremely dark in the mornings. One of those students is senior Cassandra Watson. This darkness can make it both difficult and dangerous for students to walk to the bus stop alone, Watson said. “It all just really depends on where you live.” To her the central area of Stockton can be one of the most dangerous places for a student. In downtown Stockton, Alexis Brown, a freshman, thought of it as “just another day.” She was walking to the bus stop, when she heard a man yell at her from a distance. Alone and vulnerable, Brown began to run away. “He kept yelling and began to run after me.” As she approached her bus stop, the man disappeared. For Brown this was the most frightening experience she’s encountered ever since she began taking the bus. Starting high school forced her to take the bus, being the only available transportation she can get. Living downtown forces her to wake up at 5 a.m. in order to catch the bus on time, which takes 15 minutes to get to school. Although the distance from her home to the bus stop is short, Brown continues to feel unsafe on her own. Because of that unforgettable incident, Brown is more cautious when it comes to the bus. “After what happened I quickly told my
ART BY AMBERLYBUTLER mom. From now on my mom walks me to the bus stop in the mornings everyday,” she said. Danger doesn’t only follow students outside the bus. It sometimes follows them inside the bus. For junior Moses Richardson riding the bus is something he does daily. He takes the 80 line to get home. On a day he was going home, two men began to fight on the bus. “There was broken glass and there was bleeding,” Richardson said. The bus is promised to be a “Safe Place” as imprinted inside, but situations like this often occur often, unfortunately, students report. “No place in the world is safe, what makes you think the bus is?” he asked. This danger, of course, does not affect all. Like freshman Sebastian Stone. “Taking the bus is repetitive,” Stone said. He lives about two minutes away from the nearest bus stop. “Nothing really happens, nothing really changes.” Not being able to relate to Stone, one group of friends believes otherwise. Junior Antara Bullock, sophomore Elyaysha Williams and sophomore Davon Turner all have one thing in common beyond taking the bus. It’s the similar situations they’ve encountered. Bullock
Overlooked Delta College provides helpful resources
Student march calls for change, jobs
DonavinCollins
AngelVasquez Stockton has hundreds of business, but only a small portion offer employment to people younger than 18. Valentino Silva, a senior at Health Career Academy, took notice of this and he is working to make a change. That change is going to begin tomorrow. Business involvement with students is more important than some may think. Teens might depend on a job for college funds or even to support their household. Most job opportunities open up in the summer for students. Although this is helpful, students still need to find a source of income during the school year. It is not as if students are not interested in workplace jobs, as opposed to cliched teen jobs like babysitting or doing yard work. There are often business skills classes that students take at school, like the one that is provided here. It is just the lack of opportunities that are given that prevents teens from getting a job. It is understandable that people need certain kinds of employees to work, but these jobs can be filled by people younger than 18. Silva was able to set up a student march that is set to take place tomorrow. The march is intended to bring awareness to the lack of buisness involvement with the youth. A majority of the marketing was done through Facebook. According to Silva, Facebook was easy to use because the page he made built up in likes and follows. Silva also reached out to many businesses for
admits she’s lost count how many times she’s been followed while walking to her house after school. “When I get off the bus I’m often followed by car or even a person. By now I’m used to it. I just ignore it,” she said. She lives on Country Club by Safeway, a neighborhood she describes as “ghetto.” Turner leaves home at 6:45 a.m. to catch the bus. This year he witnessed a car wreck while walking to the bus stop. “I felt shocked that I even got to witness that,” he said. His experiences don’t end there. “These two women began to fight on the bus and one of them had a baby beside her.” The other students taking the bus started to laugh and to record what was going on. “It’s Stockton,” he said. Agreeing with Turner, Williams thinks these incidents are unavoidable. She’s been taking the bus for nine years on her own. Her parents aren’t available to give her rides. “Taking the bus shapes you,” she said. “You get to see how the world really is.” Upon hearing these stories, Assistant Principal Linda Roberts expressed concern. “Students tend to be a target,” she said.
this march. Through the businesses and Facebook, he was able to spread the word of the march. “I had been planning this for a few months now,” Silva said. “I’m happy it’s finally going to happen.” This is the first year for the march, so Silva does not expect much of a turn out. “Right now I’m trying to think optimistically,” Silva said. “But, seeing as it’s the first year, anything is the best.” Silva is passionate about fixing the lack of connection with government and youth. To improve it, he plans on bringing awareness to the lack of business and services that Stockton and San Joaquin County have to offer to the youth and their families. “We need to fight for education, fight to learn, and fight for a better tomorrow,” Silva said. Sophomore Alustra Dominguez is planning on attending this event. “I totally agree with the whole march and the idea of it,” she said. “I love doing stuff that’s for a good cause.” This march takes place tomorrow and everyone is welcome to join in. It is free, and many other schools in the area such as Health Careers Academy will be volunteering there.
Bottom Line Cap and gown pick-up
MESA wins again
Cap and gowns are being distributed today at lunch in the library. Seniors must have their senior contract turned into ASB director Ryan Berg before claiming them, otherwise they cannot pick up their goods.
Congratulations to Joel Castillo, Nathaniel Bones, William Uribe, Zaid Gonzalez, Samuel Cornelison, Roberto Torres, De’Lilah Vega and Kevin Phan for getting first place at MESA Day regionals. They are competing today at state.
INSIDE: Senior edition
While many local students plan on achieving their dream of attending a four year university, many others decide to go to San Joaquin Delta College first. This may be because students feel like they are not ready to go to a four year university, or they do not have the right grades. When first looked at, many students have doubts about Delta College since it’s not prestigious like a four-year university. However, there are actually many benefits in attending Delta. As of now Delta is offering meetings with school counselors, orientations for high school seniors, placement tests, and much more. These sessions help seniors feel more confident in picking Delta College over more pricey, competitive options. Past sessions happened twice during the month of April. They will continue the last two remaining sessions tomorrow and the following Saturday. Unfortunately, many seniors had not known about these helpful opportunities at Delta. Senior Brooklyn Slaughter said, “I barely found out and was like wow I should probably pay attention to doing this.” Many have also decided going to Delta due to its low cost
compared to a more expensive university. Slaughter added, “It’s better financially for me and it’s not that bad of an option.” Compared to the University of the Pacific, Delta College is approximately $50,000 cheaper. That being said, it’s easier for someone to go to Delta College instead. Some students can even start taking Delta classes while they’re in high school. Many students also don’t know how Delta College offers classes to seniors and juniors, which are available
GRAPHIC BY JULIAROSETE AND NICHOLASROSETE
after the school day ends. Senior Shiloh Brakus decided to take advantage of these after-school classes. She said, “I think it is helpful because you can get a sense of college classes. I also thought they would be helpful to get the credits.” These classes were designed by Delta College to help high school students gain college credits and a chance to see how real college classes work. Along with Brakus, Dylan Grace, a junior, took the psychology class offered. Grace said, “It’s free college credit, which is free money.” Grace also took the criminal justice class. Despite Delta’s usual reputation, Grace believes that it should be an option for high school students aspiring to go to college. He said, “It shouldn’t be a last resort, it should be an option.” For students who decide to attend Delta College, a transfer to any UC is offered. Students are required to take certain courses and maintain a high enough grade point average in order for the transfer to be approved. The only thing students must do is go to their counselor and make the arrangements for these certain classes. Delta also makes it easy for local high school students to sign up for their first semester classes, which eases the transition.
Keep up-dated at our website staggonline.net
Follow us on Twitter @staggonline @stagg_sports
Find us on Facebook Search for “Stagg Line”
Follow us on Instagram @staggonline
Follow us on Snapchat @staggonline
Subscribe for more videos on Youtube at Stagg Line
2
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
STAFF EDITORIAL
Opinion
05.12.17
The Stagg Line
Make summer worth remembering A
t the start of a new school year, people ask each other what they did over the summer. The response by many is “it was boring.” However, students can use this time to be more productive instead. Rather than sitting at home, go out and find jobs ready to be filled, friends waiting for a companion, organizations looking for volunteers, and places waiting to be visited. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, teens spend on average 2.3 hours looking at social media and texting compared to 1.4 hours spent actually socializing with each other. This number can be changed if teens leave the digital world in exchange for the real world. Some students may have never filled out a job application or applied for a work permit, but they have options right within reach. People in the Career Center are there to assist students going through the process of filling out a job application for the first time. Places like St. Mary’s Dining Hall and Mercy Housing at Gleason Park are
constantly looking for people to volunteer. Being involved with the community can help students not only have something else to add to their resume or college applications, but get involved in the community they grew up in. Visiting a beach or city you’ve never seen before can be a standout moment by itself. Jump into a car and take a trip to even Lodi or Manteca and go to a restaurant you’ve never been to before or a little boutique selling clothes different from those at big-name stores in the mall. It’s the responsibility of the students to do this, however. They have to be the ones to find a job they want to apply for, initiate social activities, find places for community service, and discover a place that is unfamiliar. Many of the people who said their summer was boring are the ones sitting and staring at a screen all summer long. Instead of being the epitome of irony, be the one who takes action and does something meaningful. Let the focus of summer be “let’s go do something” rather than “what is there to do?”
ART BY ALBERTOVALENCIA
Women deserve greater respect in our society
Gentrification threatens low income communities
ur generation's lack of respect for women is despicable. Our society now promotes the disrespect of women. It is almost guaranteed for rappers to use degrading and rude lyrics regarding women in their songs. The kids who listen to the music and think it's okay to show that type of disrespect towards women is just plain wrong. Movies also show things such as the “cool kid” who gets all the girls while treating them wrong, which makes no sense at all. Why would they want to show people that type of negativity? All the things I hear in songs seem to be abusive comments or comments that sexualize women. For example, in Tee Grizzley’s “First day out” he says ‘knock your b— down pick her
I
O
MarkWalding up, knock her back down, pull her tracks out, Yes I slap girls’. With Lil Yachty ‘but I can’t have no wife I just want you for the night.' This is the opposite of how I was raised and what I believe. I am the youngest of eight
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Community Awareness Event by AFGE (CC BY 2.0) AFGE young workers and union activists participate in a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes community awareness event. The event was geared toward raising awareness about rape, sexual assault and gender violence.
boys and my mother was the only woman in my life. You learn quickly that everything revolves around her. Whenever something went wrong, she was there to help. If any of us disrespected her, the consequences were pretty harsh. This showed me from a young age to treat women. In the world today, these issues are even larger. Now with our president being highly known for his rude remarks towards women, such as the incident with journalist Megyn Kelly where he insinuated that she was on her menstrual cycle when interviewing him because of the toughness of her questions. Being such a successful person in life he can easily be someone people look up to. If anyone asked Trump if he is a womanizer or anti-feminist he would deny it, who wouldn't? If that was true, then why such a huge amount of women feel that they need to stand up against him? The Women's March that was held the day after his inauguration wouldn’t of happend if they felt equal to men. I'm not saying that either gender is superior to the other, but there is clearly a difference in respect that is shown towards women. In 1848 the first women's rights movement began, ending in 1920 when women were able to vote. This took 72 years just to gain the right to vote. Still today women are fighting for equal pay. How long will this take to achieve complete equality for women?
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 times ff Hall of Fame ff First Place, Best of Show: 6 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.
mproving the standard of living in a struggling area is construed as beneficial on the surface. Bringing up the values of areas or cities benefits those that can afford that increase. But what of those who are already there and cannot? Gentrification displaces low-income communities at the discretion of the financially stable outsiders looking to make an urban area more comfortable for themselves. Those that are barely able to survive in an impoverished and run-down neighborhood can now no longer afford it. Forcing such a drastic change onto families is inconsiderate when the proper attention is not paid to the existing parties. The problem does not lie within the idea of improving a community, but in the disregard people use when handling it. Romanticizing and capitalizing off of an urban area rids that area of the same characteristics it was originally sought after for. Hypothetically, investing in Stockton would be beneficial, but to place a new establishment in a poorer south side community for the urban feel it would provide and without regard to the people that are living in these conditions is detrimental on a societal level. This act consistently happening is one of the primary reasons homelessness is such an issue across the nation. The cost of living in San Francisco seems to imply that roads are paved with financial security and the piers littered with affluent members of society, but it isn’t. So many of the actual city’s inhabitants spend day and night on those same urban wharfs people go to for the novelty, but not because they want to, but because they have nowhere else to go. Living in one of the most expensive cities while not being able to afford it seems counterintuitive, but it is often too expensive to leave it. Seeing as that gentrification has a largely negative impact, those that have good intentions and the money to make a difference are reluctant to play with double-edged sword of investing in low-income neighborhoods. If the same people
who create the problem work to help those that are adversely affected by it to improve their quality of life then the issue would not be as drastic, and all those in the community can reap the benefits of its value rising. But this isn’t what people interested in gentrification want. Helping those people changes the feel and social environment of the surrounding area. They want to experience being in an urban, “shady” part of town without having to step off their comfortable pedestal, leaving the people living their lives this way in the alleys of financial uncertainty.
SENIOR STAFF
EDITORS
MatteoDanforth LouisFuentez
SaraAbdeltawab & StephanieJimenez editors-in-chief
ErnestoHarwell JeffersonLeiva EstefanyNunez PhillicityUriarte-Jones AaronVang REPORTERS AmberlyButler DonavinCollins AidanDanforth
SolomonJuarez
OleediaPemble Harris BriannaRodriguez NicholasRosete SerinaSieng AlbertoValencia MarkWalding HannahWorkman
“
PhillicityUriarte-Jones
If the same people who create the problem work to help those that are adversely affected by it to improve their quality of life then the issue would not be as drastic, and those in the community can reap the benefits of its value rising. ”
AngelVasquez news editor SamanthaBaker opinion editor StephanieMatsumoto features editor LeslieCoronado entertainment editor MariaCastillo sports editor JuliaRosete web editor KevinGutierrez photo editor TristenTucker graphic 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
05.12.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Debt free college a good idea
Opinion
3
The Stagg Line
A
s a student from a lowincome family with plans to go to college, I am scared by the cost. Sure, scholarships are out there, but unless you’re a genius, chances are a full ride isn’t something to count on, and anything less than that is made up with a part time job or a student loan that you’ll be stuck paying years later. It’s not the best thing to look forward to. Assembly Bill 1356 proposes a 1 percent tax on Californians who earn an annual LeslieCoronado income of $1 million or more, generating about $2.2 billion per year to pay for the cost of tuition for in-state students letting tuition affect their choices. at University of California, California State Of course this proposed bill is not without its University, and California community colleges. downsides and issues. Should this bill be passed it This proposition comes at a time when the would add on another 1 percent tax to those who cost of a higher education has been rising over the earn $1 million or more. past decades. From 1969 to 2015 tuition costs at The richest 1.5 percent of Californians are UC has risen 530 percent and CSU has increased already responsible for about half the state’s by 685 percent. A year of full time enrollment and income tax revenue, and Proposition 55 was campus fees cost on average $13,500 for a UC, approved to continue taxing those people at $6,850 for a CSU, and $1,400 at a community a higher rate until 2030 in order to provide college, not including living costs. education and health care funding. So tuition free college sounds great. This Last year another 1 percent tax on the $1 would solve so many problems that students have million or more group to fund mental health been facing and would allow them to choose a programs was approved. college without having to worry about cost or
Graphic scenes should be shown, not ignored H ow much is too much? When it comes to graphic content, that’s often the question many producers ask when working on their projects. Some choose to stick to the status quo, not wanting to rock the boat and cause a public outcry. Others are trailblazers who aren’t afraid to push boundaries. In recent weeks, Netflix’s hit series “Thirteen Reasons Why” has sparked online debate over how it handled its heavier themes. Two scenes in particular that have garnered attention are the sexual assault of protagonist Hannah Baker and her suicide. Fearing backlash, executives at Netflix initially wanted Hannah’s suicide to be offscreen and the circumstances of her death to be left up to the imagination of viewers, but creator Brian Yorkey and writer Nic Sheff fought for it to be filmed. It would have been irresponsible to avoid depicting
HannahWorkman suicide in a horrific manner rather than showing viewers every grisly detail. Making such a grievous act seem anything less would have been upsetting. However, not everybody agrees. Some have criticized the series’ content as being unnecessarily graphic and voyeuristic. Twitter users called the show’s creative team “disgusting” for including explicit scenes. Must we pretend we live in a perfect world where
ART BY TRISTENTUCKER AND ALBERTOVALENCIA
these issues don’t exist? They’re real, present, and not going away unless awareness is spread. To truly have an impact on the audience watching, important topics like sexual assault and suicide can’t be sugar-coated. Not only would doing so take away from the gravity of such issues but would also give younger viewers the wrong impression of the effect sexual assault has on those who have experienced it and lessen the significance of suicide. There’s no age too young to be exposed to events like these. It’s better for people to learn the severity of the situation and its harsh reality than have their eyes shielded from the truth. If the events were mentioned but never shown, viewers may not resonate with the character’s pain as intensely. When you witness an incident occur instead of merely hearing about it, you are better able to comprehend why somebody is reacting the way they are and realize the consequences of those actions. You may feel outright disgusted while watching traumatic events play out on screen, but that’s the point. You’re supposed to feel disgusted. You’re supposed to be uncomfortable and have a knot in the pit of your stomach. That discomfort is often what motivates people to take action and begin a dialogue. Communication is how progress is made. That discomfort is what opens the door to conversation. Characters and viewers alike are going to have to grapple with the realities of such situations. These issues can’t be glossed over, they must be faced headon. It’s important for writers to show what victims go through pragmatically and unflinchingly. No matter how ugly it may be, the truth must be shown. After all, there are no censors in the real world. Why should there be in entertainment?
ART BY AMBERLYBUTLER AND SERINASIENG The point being that this tax would add on to the large amount of taxes that the wealthy already pay. However there is a reason that they pay heavier taxes than those who earn middle or working class wages. This bill would generate $2.2 billion, and allows everyone to go to college for free, then the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. If the overall result is a higher education available to anyone regardless of income, then the answer is simple. Free college should be a requirement of the state and furthermore it should be a requirement of the country. After all, New York already has it. Only 49 states left to go, so why not make it 48.
Considering that more and more jobs are requiring college degrees, making it difficult for a student to rely on just a high school degree. Afterall every American has a right to equal education, so why not include college into that group of free education. It’s not exactly equal education if some people are able to receive a higher education than others just because they can afford it. Equal opportunities is the basis of this country and if we can't even have equal opportunities in education then how can we expect it anywhere else.
DaddyOFive pranks are abusive and inexcusable
C
hild abuse should be something everyone wants to stop. But what if it was shown right in front of you and you didn’t think anything of it? That’s the situation thousands and thousands of viewers on YouTube are in, all because of Mike and Heather Martin. Known as DaddyOFive and MommyOFive on YouTube, the Martin family live in Maryland with their five kids, Jake, Ryan, Emma, Cody, and Alex who range in age from 9 to 14. On their channel, they would post normal family videos such as daily vlogs or videos of them playing pranks on each other. While the word “prank” may seem innocent enough like a hiding a stuffed toy or drawing on someone’s face, the kind of pranks these parents play on their kids are far from funny and should constitute child abuse. Mike, with the help of his wife or oldest son, has created numerous videos physically and/or verbally abusing the rest of the kids. A few examples include encouraging his sons to kick, punch, and tackle Cody, the youngest in the family, as well as shoving the boy into a bookshelf. The parents also had them abuse each other by having his children slap each other for fun. Not only was there physical abuse, the mental abuse that Cody and the others had to go through was just as bad. The way their parents yelled at them was horrifying, especially so to anyone who's had to go through it. There was another video of the parents breaking Cody’s Xbox with a hammer right in front of him, just to further torment the young boy as he sat there and cried. However, the video that brought his actions to light to the Child Protective Services was one where he and his wife spilled invisible ink on Cody’s floor and began to scream, blame, and curse at him until the boy was in tears, wailing that he didn’t do it. After a fair amount of time traumatizing their kid, Heather begins to laugh as Mike yells that it was all a prank to Cody, who looked far from finding it funny. Because of all the hate the parents received from their actions, they ended up deleting all of their videos and posted one named “Family Destroyed Over False Acquisitions,” on Apr. 19. In it, they attempted to defend their actions by saying all of the pranks were fake and that their children willingly were a part of it. Anyone with eyes watching their videos can tell that their kids are either extremely convincing actors who should win awards or the parents
“
StephanieMatsumoto
Attempting to play the victim by calling out concerned people for “destroying your family” is pitiful for anyone watching.”
trying to convince viewers that everything was staged is a pathetic, unconvincing excuse. What kind of kid wants to be pushed around and treated like nothing more than a prop for more views and likes by their own parents and siblings? Attempting to play the victim by calling out concerned people for “destroying your family” is pitiful for anyone watching. While this video has since been taken down and replaced with another, more apologetic one explaining that the whole family plans on taking counseling, the consequences of their actions remain. Mike and Heather don’t deserve to get off easy after the physical, emotional, and mental damage they inflicted their kids. All five of them have to grow up knowing that hundreds of thousands of people watched and possibly even laugh at them be human punching bags to their parents. Luckily, the parents lost custody of Cody and Emma, two main contenders of abuse in the videos, to their biological mother, Rose Hall. With her, they’ll be away from their abusers and finally have a home. Though the damage has been done, the two kids will hopefully have a better life with their new guardian and I pray that the remaining kids will find a way out or their home life will improve.
SOURCE: DADDYOFIVE
4
Features
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
“
I love attending tournaments and I want to try and win first again.”
05.12.17
The Stagg Line
“
When I play, I know I’m surrounded by other smart individuals such as myself.”
DylanGrace Junior
JacobStillwell Sophomore
Chess tournament unifies students
PHOTO BY KEVINGUTIERREZ
Club allows those with an interest to learn and compete against each other
KevinGutierrez and AngelVasquez
From a few students trickling into B-2 during lunch to play chess to those few students turning into a group, the school will soon have an official Chess Club. Since about two years ago, playing chess has become more and more popular at Stagg. When Guidance Chairperson Josie Lepe came to Stagg, she knew she wanted to bring the game of chess with her. Lepe was involved in chess programs at previous schools she worked at and grew to love the game herself. She heard about how students playing chess in English teacher Martin Bagnasco’s room, but there were only a small number of students. She wanted more people to come and play or learn how to from staff members and other students. She noticed that that Bagnasco’s room was far from where everyone seems to gather, so she decided to have chess players play right in front of the Career Center in an attempt to gain more exposure and popularity. She also noticed that teachers walked by, and some of them didn’t even know how to play and wanted to learn how. Once it started to rain, they moved to the library. After a while, both students
and Lepe wanted to make that the designated chess spot due to the nice quiet environment. The chess players and Lepe planned for the tournament to be held in the library in early to mid April, but SBAC testing caused it to be postponed several times. Eventually, they were able to figure out a date that would fit well around everyone’s schedule. They came to a conclusion to hold it on May 9, since it was a minimum day and there was no testing Junior Dylan Grace is self-taught when it comes to the game of chess. He has won the first chess tournament held at Stagg last semester. “I can’t wait until the tournament starts,” Grace said. “I love attending tournaments and I want to try and win first again.” Grace considers himself to be a good chess player, and he took first place at his first tournament. He tries his best to attend different tournaments outside of the ones that the school provides. He finds chess to be really fun and is really excited for the chess club to start next year. Grace wants to pursue his passion for the game and become the president of Chess Club next year. “I used to be a president for a club at my old school,” Grace said,
What are you doing during summer? Sophomore Alustra Dominguez-Meyer plans to travel all summer. From Alaska to Oregon. Then to Arizona to Yosemite. Freshman Evianna Glass plans to work her entire summer. She obtained a job at the Teen Center as a baby sitter. Junior Demone Reaves starts his career early in the summer by entering an entrepreneur training program. This will be his second year. Junior Jason Wilson anticipates his summer. Yearly, Wilson visits Raging Waters in Sacramento with his family. Freshman Josh Petalio plans his summer by traveling with family. Petalio will visit Santa Cruz and stay there his entire summer. Freshman Natalie De La Fuente turns 15 years old this summer. She plans her quinceañera that will take place on Aug. 15. Senior Jay Sandoval plans to get ahead of credits during the summer. By taking summer courses at San Joaquin Delta College.
GRAPHIC BY STEPHANIEJIMENEZ AND TRISTENTUCKER
“I like being in a leadership position and having the opportunity to help my fellow members.” Sophomore Jacob Stillwell finds himself enjoying himself everytime he plays chess. He has been playing since last year, when the activity was held in Bagnasco’s room. “Chess is a game of the mind,” Stillwell said. “When I play, I know I’m surrounded by other smart individuals such as myself.” He glad for the chess club to become official next year, and plans on playing chess for the rest of his time at high school. Almost all of Lepe’s “regulars” participated in this tournament and the final two contestants were going to play on the large chess board with the large pieces, but there were too little who showed up. Sophomore Stephen Muthart won first place and Jacob Stillwell took second. Next year the soon to be Chess Club will be established. Lepe hopes to have a large group of Stagg students participate in it, and eventually hold multiple tournaments a year. Lepe and other chess players find every opportunity they can to promote chess. But for now, Lepe is happy that she was able to hold one this year and get students to participate.
Injuries, ailments force students to make changes LeslieCoronado Stuck in a cold hospital, waiting for the anesthesia to take effect, Robin Brand, a junior, was awaiting surgery to get her tonsils removed. Since seventh grade she was plagued with repeated throat infections and illness that only worsened and increased in frequency, to the point where she would get sick every week. It was only after a consultation during her junior year with an otolaryngologist, a neck and throat doctor, that she was told she had to get her tonsils removed. The doctor told her that she was getting very sick too often, and her tonsils were too inflamed for someone her age. As a result she ended up missing three weeks of school. “My grades went down and I had a lot of work that I had to get done at home and it was just a lot of work. It was too stressful for me, there were points where I was just frustrated, and my throat was still killing me when I was at school,” Brand said. It took her a couple of weeks to bring her grades back up, but her teachers were fairly understanding about the situation she was in and allowed her to make up missed work as well as creating make-up assignments for her. Over time her throat healed, and with her tonsils gone she no longer has to deal with getting sick every week. Although student athletes have to make-up work as well when dealing with health issues, they also have to deal with missing practice and having to stop what they enjoy the most. Even a simple mistake can lead to a serious injury. While doing a dive, Amanda
GRAPHIC BY TRISTENTUCKER AND KEVINGUTIERREZ Munoz, a junior on the water polo team, locked her hip and then unlocked it when she hit the water. Later on, during a meet with McNair, she had to go to the hospital due to the pain in her hip. Although the doctor diagnosed it as a muscle strain, Munoz wasn’t convinced. “I know my body and it’s saying this isn’t a muscle strain. I had to stop every activity I was doing, I stopped going to school for a week and several days just to get off it it hurt so much to even bear walking for the first week.” She had to miss the rest of swim season and couldn’t go to any of her water polo practices outside of school. “It’s hell because it was during season, so I had to stop doing what I love,” Munoz said. She also ended up falling far behind her school work, but due to SBAC testing the week she was gone, she didn’t miss out on as much classwork as she could have if there wasn’t. Most of her teachers have been understanding and have been working with her to get her back
on track. Duane Gouveia, freshman, also had to miss school for a few days due to his appendix imploding. He was sitting at home when he got severe pains in his stomach. He waited for it to go away but it didn’t. “I thought it was just the stomach flu and it wasn’t,” Gouveia said. After a couple days passed, he ended up going to the doctors who told him that his appendix ruptured and he had to get surgery that same day. “I had to stay in the hospital for two days. It sucked. The nasty food and the stinky hospital and just sitting there not doing anything,” Gouveia said. He didn’t miss much school work, as he didn’t stay home after getting cleared from the hospital. However, he still couldn’t play golf and had to skip out on practices. Instead, Gouveia would watch videos on golf swinging techniques. After a couple of weeks, however, he was able to return to golf practice.
05.12.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Helping students is part of her life SolomonJuarez More than 20 years ago, Judith Rauzi first became acquainted with Stagg when her kids began high school. She found out about a position as a Healthy Start coordinator and pursued it. From then on, she’s been helping students. Now, the first and only coordinator the program has had since its start is retiring at the end of this year. Rauzi’s past has influenced her to take on this job. “My struggles in my younger years prepared me for this position,” she said. As a child, Rauzi was kicked out of school and even dropped out. It wasn’t until she met her future husband that was she was encouraged to get back into school. She has a personal understanding of how difficult school is and therefore able to connect with students. “When kids fall far behind, and they come to me, (I know) there is no excuse,” she said. “I did it. I know they can do it too.” When she first joined the staff, Healthy Start was just beginning. Her early years consisted of a lot of meetings to get services and agencies on board with the program. Counseling services were the first and only services available. “It’s been kind of an evolution,” she said. A large part of Rauzi’s job is figuring out students’ needs. This requires working with a lot
of students and trying to provide them with the resources they need. “There has been hundreds of moments where you go ‘God, what would happen to these kids if we weren’t here?’” Rauzi said. Because of Healthy Start, students are able to find a safe area where they discuss problems that are affecting them and how they do in school. “There are a lot of students on campus who are grieving over losses,” she said. “We made a grief and loss group to be able to support these students.” Not only has she aided students in getting the physical attention they need, she’s also helped with their own relationships. Former student Luis Alvarez is one of the students that she has influenced. “She took a chance on me not knowing who I was,” Alvarez said. He is just one example of a student who actually worked with Rauzi. He was a conflict mediator, working with students who needed a peer guidance to get through their issues. “He turned out to be the best conflict mediator we have ever had in history that I was here,” Rauzi said. “It’s bittersweet because I’m going to miss it ” she said with tears brimming her eyes. She’s excited for the free time and the time she will spend her family. “I have a grandbaby on the way so I’m happy to help with day care when I’m done.”
PHOTO BY AIDANDANFORTH Rauzi explains the crucial significance of confidentiality and why she hopes the next person in line for her job will try to maintain it as well as she did.
Features
5
The Stagg Line
PHOTO BY AIDANDANFORTH Weir-Graham points out what section they should be reading in their Reciprocal Reading groups. Reciprocal Reading is when one student becomes the “teacher” and asks the other students to predict, read, clarify, and ask questions, while the teacher summarizes.
Leaving with a smile
After exposing her students to the history of the world, teacher now plans on traveling around it It’s hard to leave a passion, but most notably, it’s hard to leave a job that gives back. This year, three employees will retire, leaving holes in the heart of the school. Social Studies Department Chair Audrey Weir-Graham is a teacher who will leave this campus with a smile on her face, knowing that her time spent was an unforgettable experience. Weir-Graham surpassed her 25 year teaching goal. Before Stagg she taught for four years at private schools in Indiana and Michigan. “Without teaching full-time, I now have more flexibility,” she said. The history teacher now looks forward to “traveling with (her) husband,” and seeing the places depicted in the textbooks she taught from. As a world history teacher, Weir-Graham’s passion for learning enlarges the appetite of her hungry mind. Weir-Graham famously opens her classroom with “Good morning, scholars.” Sophomore honor student Aziz Akhtar sits and waits to write his notes. “It’s different,” he said. “She implements different (activities) into the classroom. Her notebook adds our knowledge into the subject of what we are learning, I’m going to miss her class, it was a great experience.” From the start of the class, Weir-Graham keeps the “scholars” on their toes with quotes from prominent people in the textbook. To make things more interesting she asks for a student perspective on the quote. The energized teacher isn’t afraid to showcase her students’ excellence. She acknowledges students’ accomplishments by giving butterscotch to encourage initiative. Butterscotches are just one of her small teaching strategies to keep the students motivated, an iconic symbol for any of her previous students. Weir-Graham uses several teaching methods. “It taught me a lot… not just world history wise but organizing myself for the future as well,” senior Paola Rico said. Rico is grateful to have taken Weir-Graham’s class. “I feel like (students will) miss out in a lot of learning that they could have gotten from her. Not just academically but personally.” Many students as well as Akhtar and Rico are saddened to see Weir-Graham retire. She requires her students to give back to the community, and
AidanDanforth
PHOTO BY AIDANDANFORTH Weir-Graham explains the lesson on the Soviet Union and explains why Joseph Stalin did what he did and what he plans on doing next. retirement won’t be the end of her service hours. “Service is a very important part of my life.” Weir-Graham will be joining a hunger program. Community service is just one of the small extra curricular activities that Weir-Graham involves and encourages her students to participate in. Retirement won’t be the complete end of her teaching career. She hopes to bring the same enthusiasm to a literary program in Stockton to adults who want to read. Though retirement won’t be the cruise ship life that most people think of, Weir-Graham plans to make the most of it. She plans on joining a walking club that takes treks to local places and around California. Weir-Graham’s passion broadened the minds of her students, and her influence brought inspiration to many previous students. “I’m going to miss the kids,” Weir-Graham said “I can say that teaching has been a very emotional, rewarding experience for me.”
Teaching special needs leaves good memories NicholasRosete
Living your life in order to help others live theirs is not an easy thing for someone to do. After 31 years of waking up at 5:00 every morning and devoting her life to helping special needs students, specialeducation teacher Pam Curtin is stepping down from teaching. When she was still in college, Curtin’s original goal was to become a physical therapist. To help her in her pursuit of this goal, she volunteered at the Walton Special Center between her junior and senior years, a school for multiple handicapped and severely disabled students. “At that time, there was a two year waiting list to get into any physical therapy school, and I could be a teacher with development center students without a credential,” Curtin said. Reflecting back on her time volunteering at the Walton Special Center, she thought that it would be a good idea to change her major. “I liked working with the
PHOTO BY KEVINGUTIERREZ Curtin told one of her students about her beautiful purple colored hair. She then smiles because she made her student smile as well.
kids real well, so I went back to college and changed my major from psychology to science.” Curtin insists that special needs education differs greatly from normal education. The teachers need to adapt to what each student needs and go at their own pace. “If you’re taking U.S. History, there is a set curriculum, and you are supposed to teach them this during the third month of the school year. With these special needs students, we assess their individual needs and teach them exactly that,” she said. Most of what the students are taught, Curtin said, is not necessarily to help them with a core class like math or English but to help them in ways that will be beneficial to them later on in their life. “I’m going to miss the students and the staff,” she said. “I will not miss the paperwork.” Raché White, her assistant, said she has worked with Curtin for 12 years and is worried about who will fill her shoes. Not only is white losing a valued partner, but a friend as well. “I’ll miss her friendship
“
I’ll miss her friendship—the laughs and everything we had on a daily basis .” RachéWhite Assistant
— we are friends outside of school so I’ll still see her — but the laughs and everything that we had on a daily basis and the interaction with the kids will be unforgettable.” From their time spent working alongside one another, White said that one of the things she will miss most of all is Curtin’s organizational skills. “We know where things are. She has binders for everything, and she has files for everything.” Curtin also played a part as the Interact Club advisor on campus. She was able to find different community service opportunities for those who were part of the club due to her connections to the Rotary Club.
Her favorite part of working however, was being part of teaching the kids as a special education teacher. “Just interacting with them, teaching them, and having fun with them. They’re a wonderful population and very nice students.” She added, “One of the nice things, well sometimes not so nice things, is that you not only work with the student, but with the entire family and you really form relationships.” Leaving this job is only beginning a new chapter of her life. The memories will never leave, and she will always feel an emotional pull for helping others.
6
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Entertainment
The Stagg Line
05.12.17
‘Guardians of Harry Styles creates his own the Galaxy Vol.2’ style after One Direction splits has humor and stunning effects JuliaRosete
StephanieMatsumoto The gang’s all back. In the recently released sequel, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” directed by James Dunn, Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and baby Groot are on screen once again to take us on another adventure filled with danger, jokes, and a sweet soundtrack. The ragtag team we knew and loved from the first movie come back to, once again, protect the galaxy. This time, the story focuses on the enigmatic past of our mixtape loving hero, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), better known as “Star Lord.” After taking on a job and then stealing from an elite group of gold-skinned aliens called the “Sovereigns,” the plot of the story takes off as the guardians try to escape the enemy fleets in the depths of space. By chance, because of that event, Quill gets reunited with his long lost dad, Ego (Kurt Russell), and his empathy-reading companion Mantis. Yet, with the leader of the Sovereigns, “Ayesha,” seeking revenge as well as familiar enemies such as Gamora’s sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) or Yondu (Michael Rooker) and his Ravager team coming back for round two, nothing is made easy for the team. Who to trust? Is everything as it seems? Not only do we get to learn more about the feelings and past of fan favorites from the last movie, but the new characters that we get to know are quite a treat. Pom Klementieff, who plays the somewhat strange yet innocent alien Mantis sells the role quite convincingly. Raised by Ego, she’s introduced to us as a irrelevant side character, yet becomes more likeable and key to the plot as time goes on. Though Gamora and Nebula are living embodiments of tough female characters that can easily hold their own, Mantis is a breath of fresh air that shows the audience that strong female characters don’t always need to kick and punch their way through everything. While all is fun and games until, well, it’s not, the film has an awkward way of setting the mood and then not staying in it. One second they could be fighting in a life or death situation and then the next, there’s petty bickering between characters or Drax starts to do his loud unsettling laugh that sounds like it was forced out of him. Even moments that are meant to be heartwarming are interrupted by funny, yet unnecessary jokes. Though witty one liners and sarcasm is expected and even usually welcomed in this movie, there are times when it would just be nice to take serious moments serious without knowing it’s going to get ruined one way or another. Other than the fact that it might be too funny, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” is a pleasure to watch with its amusing scenes, interesting characters, and eye-catching effects that really shows every whimsical corner of the universe. This sequel brings up many questions that intrigue the audience and excite them for the next installment.
Millions of fans around the world have been waiting in suspense, and their hopes and dreams have finally come true only to be crushed. Since their last show in Sheffield, England in October 2015, the various members of the extremely popular British boyband One Direction have taken steps to expand their own solo careers. Recently, member Harry Styles has released his first hit single, “Sign of the Times,” from his new self-titled album. “Sign of the Times” starts with a quiet, softer feeling, with only him and the piano, and builds up eventually to add drums, guitar, and bass. The song goes between piano, drums, and Styles to the more upbeat sections that give it a more rock and roll sound. Styles hyped up the excitement leading up into its release by uploading a music video for the single, which featured him singing on different cliffsides and “flying” through the air. Going for a more dramatic feel, the earlier release of pictures by media outlets of the production company using a stunt double dummy that was flown around by a helicopter became a meme among friends. The doll was later made realistic with CGI effects, but Styles was also strapped in and lifted by the helicopter. However, fans became so obsessed with the creepy dummy resembling the artist that they went on to make memes about just how creepy it was. The real photos and screenshots from the music video itself also were photoshopped to make him fly on a broom, become Mary Poppins, and many other variations including a comparison to Spongebob Squarepants from his movie when he was hanging from the Krusty Krab ceiling in the purple cape and high heeled boots. “Sign of the Times” almost
ART BY AMBERLY BUTLER resembles “Space Oddity,” by David Bowie, in some ways, most of all with the famous guitar that makes it transition into the next section. While they are from two completely different eras and have very different messages overall, the transitioning from each section of the song is very similar, and several others agree. While some see it as a tribute to the late rock icon, others see this as Styles ripping Bowie off to launch his solo career. To add on to the controversy, fans are being kept from seeing Styles live for not being an official member of his sort of “fan club.” His venues,
compared to large stadiums from his One Direction days, are much smaller in hopes to make the relationship between him and the fans more personal and intimate than before. He’s going from playing in places like Madison Square Garden in New York City to The Masonic in San Francisco. Many did not know that they had to sign up and are even more upset to discover that by the time they found out about this, it was too late to become a member. However, despite signing up and getting their ticket access code, fans were being blocked out of the Ticketmaster website and told by the company that all
of his shows around the world were sold out at the same time they were released. Millions everywhere have responded on social media, outraged at the ticket selling site but also at the artist. Some comments have been worse than others, mostly more memes about the timing of sales and when they were supposedly sold out, but they all to some extent have been ripping apart the artist. Styles took to Twitter on May 5, the same day tickets were released for purchase, saying that he is overwhelmed. To the fans who couldn’t obtain tickets, he stated “I’ll come back around next year if you’ll have me.”
R.H. Sin poetry leaves emotional impact on readers through personal connection SaraAbdeltawab They move with you — his words move across your skin like an ocean tide on the sand. His emotions bleed through every word, it’s like you’re the one who’s been through his pain. As you flip through the pages, one lesson after another, after another, after another, but then the book ends, and you’re either left with wanting more or being an emotional wreck. I, for one, am left with both. I’ve come to the conclusion that I get too into books. Now, some may ask if that’s a bad thing. It’s not. Books, no matter what kind of book, have this way of attaching the reader to the storyline making them want more, and making them feel everything the author feels. This is the feeling I get after reading R.H. Sin poetry books. He’s mysterious, you want to know his actual name but you
SOURCE: IMDB
Hilarious moments plus an amazing adventure keeps audiences in their seats.
PHOTO BY SARA ABDELTAWAB
can’t find it anywhere, you want to see a face behind his poems but a face doesn’t exist. Yet, his words speak for him, and as a reader of all his books that’s what lures me in. When he talks about heartbreak, he doesn’t just say “she broke my heart and that was the end.” Sin drags out his words and his feelings throughout every page. Instead of being vague and saying one thing about having his heart broken, the says things like “and when I look at you now I don’t feel anything except one thing, and that one thing is pain.” Although I make his writing sound depressing it usually isn’t always that sad. Sin does write from a positive insight at times and when he does it changes your whole mood, it makes you look at pain with a brighter perspective. He makes it seem as if all is right in the world: he makes you want to believe it is. R.H. Sin book series “Whisky Words and a Shovel” wraps itself around intimacy, insight, and infatuation. Throughout each page he takes you through a love story, through heartbreak and through pain. Whether it’s his own personal experience or not, he makes you feel that way, as if you’ve been through it too. I was pretty skeptical when I first started reading his books, because the way the projected certain things was kind of confusing. Yet, that didn’t stop me from indulging into the series, because it’s things like that make me want to understand what’s going on in an author’s mind. And you won’t know unless you open the book. Not a lot of people are fond of poetry because most of the time the first thing they think about is Shakespeare. They don’t take a chance to open up their mind to other types of poetry writers like Rupi Kaur, author of “Milk and Honey,” or Michael Faudet, author of “Dirty Pretty Things.” Poetry isn’t fiction, poetry is real life experiences that these authors go through and they take it and put it into words, and R.H Sin does an amazing job of that. His books leave me empty, but not the type of empty where you feel nothing, more like the type of empty where you’ve expressed everything you’ve felt. His words inspire my poetry writing. I believe through the words of R.H Sin I’ve not only become a better poet, but I understand that in life things happen that you don’t want to happen, but instead of being sad about it, write about it.
05.12.17
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
Sports
7
The Stagg Line
Teammates take the lead in track
Sprinter Liliana Rodriguez and distance runner Veronica Flores thrive
MariaCastillo
When the gun goes off, the pre-race butterflies are gone and suddenly nothing else matters except crossing the finish line in first place. Although they may not run the same events, for freshman Veronica Flores and Pacific Law Academy junior Liliana Rodriguez, getting first is becoming commonplace.
Rodriguez is a sprinter, so she runs the 400 meter, 4x1, and 4x4 relay. She used to participate in the Kennedy Games, so running was something she already had an affinity for. Rodriguez started running varsity her sophomore year when she felt like getting more involved in school activities. After her dad heard about this, he showed her all the different events track had
to offer. “(Track) helped me get out of my shell,” she said. “I became more social because of all the friends I met in it.” In league, Rodriguez is No. 1 in the 400 meter race. On the other hand, Flores got into track just this year after first competing in cross country. She decided to join cross country when her father encouraged her to.
Flores was a natural, for she ran varsity, became No. 1 in league, and dominated girls that were older than her without any previous experience. Once track season was around the corner, her cross country coach suggested that Flores should join track. From there on Flores became a long distance runner, this consists of her races being the 800, 1600, and 3200. Flores
ran varsity and soon enough became one of the top runners in league, a large feat for not only a freshman, but as someone who has not done anything like in the past. The adrenaline is something Rodriguez and Flores both enjoy. “I always get nervous before my events, but once I start running and hear everyone yelling ‘Go Lily!’… it’s an amazing experience.” Rodriguez said, “When
“
I win, it makes me feel like I achieved my goal.” For Flores, her butterflies start kicking in when she gets on the starting line, but as soon as the gun goes off, she is set on defeating her opponents. One of Flores’ motivation is bringing home a banner for Stagg. She said, “I’m always bringing medals home, but if I bring a banner for Stagg, it’ll be around forever.”
“
When I win, it makes me feel like I achieved my goal.”
If I bring a banner for Stagg, it’ll be around forever.”
LilianaRodriguez Junior
VeronicaFlores Freshman
PHOTOS BY KEVINGUTIERREZ
(Left) Pacific Law Academy junior Liliana Rodriguez kicks off the 4x4 relay as first leg. She finished with a time of 1:02 and her team took first place. (Right) Freshman Veronica Flores runs the 1600 meter race. Flores pushed hard toward the finish line, with her opponent right behind her, winning her race with a time of 6:03.
When life throws you
A CURVE
SaraAbdeltawab
First base, your mind is racing while trying to run as fast as you can. Second base, you’re trying to avoid getting out. Third base, everything starts to hit at once and you’re one goal is to get home. Yet, what happens when you get home? Did all that running pay off? Did everything you felt while running all of a sudden go away, or do you suddenly remember why you continue to do the sport you love everyday? For juniors Geoffrey Allen, Michael Herrera, and James Berdeja reaching home is more than just a goal for them. In the spring of last year Allen got into an incident in which
Although some players go through hardships in life, they still find a way to make it through the game
he ended up injuring his right knuckle. Being that his right hand was his dominant hand when it came to holding a bat it set him back quite a bit. Yet, he didn’t let it affect him as much as people thought it would. “Yeah, it was pretty detrimental,” Allen said. “But it taught me not to make excuses, because an excuse is really easy to just make up to get through things.” Allen said this year his injury affected him in not being able to do as much as his other teammates, and not being able to throw as strong as he used to. He went onto say that going through that made him appreciate the game more, and that it makes you want it more when you’re not on the field playing.
PHOTO BY ALBERTOVALENCIA Despite the hard times, the baseball team still finds time for a prayer before every game, making it a tradition. Stagg won its last game against Chavez, 8-1, ending the season 9-6.
Although Allen knew he had injured his hand, Berdeja injured his foot unexpectedly before a game. Berdeja says he was goofing around just before a game this season and hurt his foot. Thinking it was not anything major he tried playing it off. Little did he know his foot injury would put him out for the season. “I thought I would just be a couple weeks out,” Berdeja said. “When I realized I wouldn’t be playing the whole season, it hurt a lot.” Berdeja said that not being able to play hurt him more than his injury. Yet, he didn’t let his injury affect him. He still went out to support his team as much as he could, every game and every practice. “It’s not even the sport itself, it’s the team,” Berdeja said. Unlike Allen and Berdeja, for junior Michael Herrera his injury hit closer to home. A couple days before his first game of the baseball season Herrera’s grandpa passed away. “I was actually thinking about not playing this year,” Herrera said. “But, then that happened and I saw things differently, I wanted to play for him.” Herrera remembers the time his grandpa would ride his bike all the way from Country Club to McNair just to watch him play. “You can definitely tell we worked way harder this year,” Allen said. This season they went 9-6, compared to last year in which they finished 6-9. “We could never really put anyone down,” Allen said. “You have to stay together because there is eight other guys on the field with you.”
What you don’t know about golf • Unlike other sports, when it comes to golf, cheering is prohibited when a player is going through his swing. If a spectator cheers they get kicked off the course, because it is distracting and rude. • Certain equipment is used depending on the weather. For example, if there is rain they have rain gear for their clubs as well as themselves • When playing golf there is a lot of golf vocabulary you need to know such as “birdie” and “par.” A par is the average amount of hits it takes to sink the ball in the hole, which can range from 4 to 5. A birdie is one under par, so if par is a 4, birdie is a 3. • Although there are refs and officials in sports such as football, basketball and baseball, when it comes to golf the players have to call out their own mistakes. • Different clubs are used for different types of hits. For example, irons are used for short distance hits, drivers are used to hit the farthest, and wedges are used for really short hits.
GRAPHIC BY SERINASIENG AND BRIANNARODRIGUEZ
8
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
News
05.12.17
The Stagg Line
Vaccines: the unknown importance
Receiving all vaccines is more crucial to personal health than some believe With prom right around the corner, senior Karen Sanchez went to Los Angeles to buy a dress. She never thought she would become infected with impetigo. Impetigo is a highly contagious skin infection that causes blisters or sores on your face or on your whole body. Sanchez woke up the day after returning from Los Angeles with a bump on her face, thinking it was just a pimple. “I thought everything was fine, but then a week later I woke up with bumps all over my face.” She said, “I went to the hospital and that’s were they told me I was infected.” Sanchez has all her vaccines, but she believes she could have contracted the disease from people who did not get vaccinated. In 1998, Andrew Wakefield, a former gastroenterologist and medical researcher, said that the Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine caused autism. Wakefield published his theory in one of the world’s best known medical journals, The Lancet. There was no scientific proof to back up what he had claimed. Once this data was proven to be made up, it was already too late. Wakefield’s false statements had already been read by many parents, and his ideas infected the minds of those that only want to protect their children. These parents, under false pretenses, are now
SURVEY OF 61 STUDENTS
MariaCastillo
refusing for their children to get vaccinated. Alana Grisby, a freshman, makes sure to get all of her vaccines. “It’s kind of scary to think that some kids don’t get all their vaccines,” she said. “Not only do they put themselves in danger, but others around them too.” Carole Caton, the school nurse, believes that parents that are against vaccines should better informed. She said, “It’s their (the parents’) decision. But each disease has its own consequence, so they have to know what each disease can do and that their child is not protected against them.”
Regular check-ups to your doctor are crucial to know that you are caught up with your vaccinations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is where the latest information about vaccines can be found. There are vaccines that are required for one to go to college such as the Tdap, HPV, meningitis, and many others. “If one is staying in a dorm, colleges want to make sure that you’ve had your meningitis, Tdap, HPV, chicken pox, measles, mumps, polio, and rubella.” Caton said. In April of this year, two students at University
In order to provide San Joaquin’s LGBT+ youth with resources and support, the San Joaquin Pride Center is starting a new program, Cultivating Acceptance. San Joaquin Pride Center Executive Director, Nick Hatten, says the program is part of the California Reducing Disparities Project and is being funded by the Mental Health Services Act through a five-year grant worth $1.18 million. Cultivating Acceptance offers many resources for San Joaquin youth such as counseling, mental health services, outreach to parents and educators. The grant enables the program “to provide these resources and opportunities on a larger scale,” Hatten said. Cultivating Acceptance works through Gay Straight Alliance clubs on high school campuses. The program is able to outreach to
San Joaquin County’s youth and works through the GSA clubs. Through these clubs the Pride Center is able to have direct contact with the local LGBT+ youth. Hatten says that not only does the program want to outreach to the youth but also parents and educators, who with proper training and experience, can help with troubled LGBT+ youth and create safe spaces on campus and provide a safe staff to go to. This is intended to create an accepting and secure environment in high school campuses all over San Joaquin county. The program visits schools throughout the county, so it becomes imperative that high schools form GSA clubs. Without the support of GSA clubs and programs such as Cultivating Acceptance, youth may be susceptible to mental health illnesses and suffer from feeling excluded without peers to relate to, or discrimination in their community.
RaquelPrado Spanish teacher
of the Pacific were confirmed for having mumps. An outbreak then occurred on the campus when seven other students started having symptoms of the disease. The university and public health officials are working to have students get the MMR vaccine even if they already have it, for more protection and prevention. When it comes to vaccines, Spanish teacher Raquel Prado believes that they should be absolutely mandatory before going to college. Prado said, “I want my child to go get an education and come back safe.”
Grant provides program for LGBTQ+ youth SamanthaBaker
“
I want my child to go get an education and come back safe.”
Surrounded by students from all over the county, PRIDE Center Executive Director Nick Hatten, holding the shoulder of SUSD Board member Lange Luntao talks to the attentive crowd about LGBTQ+ issues during a field trip to San Francisco earlier this year. PHOTO BY JEFFERSO LEIVA The goal is “to have less individuals depressed or contemplating suicide,” Hatten said. Some money from the grant is going towards creating an app for schools without a safe place for LGBT+ youth. The app will offer resources, connections and
socialization with peers, and to locate safe places for youth in need. It’s planned to be released sometime next year. “Providing them with different outlets, rather that be a place to anonymously report issues, will benefit the youth and our com-
munity,” Marco Luna, a junior, said. He is an active member of Stagg’s GSA club and recognizes the benefits that will be provided to the San Joaquin county and the LGBT+ community. “Support in anything is always nice, especially for teens that
are going through such hard and confusing stages.” Through GSA clubs around San Joaquin county, Cultivating Acceptance will be able to offer youth across the county the resources and support they need in order to feel safe and accepted.
WeeklyGallery Check out our website for weekly galleries featuring track meets at Edison, social events, art projects, and science experiments
To see more visit staggonline.net
PHOTO BY ALBERTOVALENCIA Senior Samuel Cornelison and junior De’Lilah Vega listen to MESA advisor Andrew Walter discuss the budget sheet for the state MESA tournament. That tournament is taking place today.