Stagg Line 2014-15 Issue #7

staggline

the April 17, 2015 Vol. 58 Issue 7

Campus

safety Q&A

Topic: Rule enforcement begins again Featuring Nicholas Stine assistant principal

Q: What is the

purpose of IDs?

A: The IDs in

any organization are used to identify quickly and easily.

Students won’t be allowed on site without them. It’s law.

STRIKE NONE: micheallafoules After months of negotiation, the Stockton Teachers Association and Stockton Unified School District have come to a tentative agreement on a contract. Teachers will vote today whether to accept the agreement, but it is likely to pass, according to staff here.

“We’re very happy because we didn’t want to do a strike,” business teacher Ron Tankersley said.

Some issues decided in the contract include class size, teacher evaluation, wages and health benefits. “Give a little, get a little,” he said. “That’s part of negotiation.”

Satisfied with the results, teachers Susan Diohep and Deborah Berg agree that the settlement was fair.

Rosslyn Halekakis, P.E. teacher and an active member of the teachers association, passionately supports her fellow staff members and students.

“We stand up for what’s right for our students,” she said. “Stagg pride inside, you have to feel it.”

Safe from the threat of a strike, students won’t have to worry about teachers leaving class. “It’s good that they came to an agreement,” senior Andy Hoang said. “I heard that their rights were being abused.”

Hoang is also relieved that a strike has not taken place, because it could have affected graduation. He imagines how significant of an impact it would have been if his MESA advisor, Andrew Walter, would’ve left.

Staff, students relieved contract dispute is over

“I feel like all my hard work in MESA would be nothing.”

Junior Giacomo Abdallah said that he would feel betrayed. “Teachers are supposed to be here for us, and they would be leaving for themselves.”

In the busy month of May, activities like Advanced Placement tests and graduation need teacher support. Junior Selena Rivas, who has an AP Biology class, said that “teachers do deserve a raise.” Had teachers gone out to strike, she would feel “less confident in her schoolwork and stressed out.”

Halekakis explained that teachers were in need of three major changes to their contract. First, the district proposed for a “move at will” policy where teachers, for example, could be transferred to another school by

Transition to Common Core is a struggle

Q: What makes

rule enforcement important?

A: In order to be

substantial you have to be consistent.

Otherwise students will stop valuing education.

Prom Prom is Saturday, May 2.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased from the Student Activities office.

Singles tickets are $65 and couples tickets are $85.

Book bills must be paid off before a student can purchase a ticket. Guest pass applications can be picked up in the main office and are to be returned to Corene Lugo in Student Activities. Ticket sales end next Friday, April 24.

Paint the walk Seniors who didn’t get a chance to paint a square on the Senior Walk will get a second chance tomorrow.

It costs $4 per square.

Clubs can also paint the walk, but prices will vary depending on the size.

Talent show The talent show will be held today in the theater at 6 p.m. There will be a $2 entry fee. Students must bring their ID’s.

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A.A Stagg High 1621 Brookside Stockton, CA 95207

force and without reason, which didn’t get passed.

Second, a hard cap on health insurance was proposed, meaning that teachers’ benefits could have become more costly. And finally, teachers will receive a 12.5 percent increase in wages, beginning next year. They also will receive back pay for raises last year and this year.

Teachers have not had a raise since 2008, and the cost of living has increased.

“We desperately needed it,” Tankersley said. “Every time milk and gas prices go up, we take a loss.”

More details on the tentative agreement between the district and STA are posted on the Teachers Association website at stocktonteachersassociation.org.

devinwickstrom

photo by Michealla Foules

Senior Vincent Grayson portrayed the driver running to the injured passenger in last month’s Every 15 Minutes dramatization. Joseph Young played the injured passenger who had to be flown to the hospital.

Event shakes campus

Last month’s two-day presentation made a powerful impression on both viewers and participants. Now that students have had time to reflect, have the lessons lasted or already faded away? celinelopez

Rosslyn Halekakis has something special hung up in her office. An obituary of a student is posted right above her desk — only he’s not dead.

Her student, senior Joey Cane, participated as one of the “living dead” in last month’s Every 15 Minutes campaign to discourage high school students from driving while intoxicated.

Halekakis was totally “out of the loop,” she says, about the two-day event. Since her physical education classes are primarily freshmen, she wasn’t able to watch either assembly and believed that Cane was actually killed in a car crash as it was read in his obituary.

“When I finally got to see him, I gave him a big hug and I cried.” After the campaign was over, Cane gave her his obituary.

Halekakis’ story is one of the many about how Every 15 Minutes continues to make an impression on and off campus.

Junior Gabby Wallace also felt the reality of the staged student deaths when

a California Highway Patrol officer and a Grim Reaper walked into her English class that morning, announcing that close friend Corrina Rivera, another junior, had been killed in a drunk driving accident.

“I mean, I knew it was fake,” she said, “but it still got to me and I shed a couple tears.” Wallace said that the event succeeded in stressing its message. Wallace’s uncle was a victim of a drunk-driving accident, so she’s always regarded the issue with strong feelings, knowing that every 15 minutes someone dies in a drunk-driving accident, as the presentation taught.

The two-day event was just a simulation of a drunk-driving crash, but the statistics are real. Esther Bautista, a junior, was one of the hundreds of students watching who already knew knows just how serious intoxicated driving is.

Dismayed by the fact that people still drink and drive, Bautista is glad that programs such as this one raise awareness to high school students.

“

When he saw his mother walk up to the podium to read her goodbye letter to him, senior Christian Morgan couldn’t hold in the for video go to tears. More than once, he staggonline.net rode in a car where the driver was under the influence For her, though, it was hard of drugs, and seeing his to watch. “I was trying to mother cry over his staged ignore it,” Bautista said. “I death convinced him to didn’t want to think about not take the chance again. it because I would cry.” Her “If something did happen,” brother died in a car acci- Morgan said, “I’d be pretty dent, so Bautista avoided disappointed in myself and looking at the crash scene. feel bad for what I put my “If the driver hadn’t been mom through.” drinking then that wouldn’t “One time I was in a have happened.” car when the driver was Leslei Lopez also has a drunk and I was honestly family member who died in scared,” senior Vanessa Rios a drunk driving accident. said. Now, Rios stops and The crash scene “trauma- thinks of what she’s doing. tized” her, she said, and now Whenever she goes out with she doesn’t like driving with friends, she said she tries to teenagers any more, “espe- be the one who doesn’t drink cially if they’re drinking.” in order to be in control of Car crashes are the lead- things so a fun outing doesn’t ing cause of death in teens turn into a tragic accident. with more than 3,000 teens Not all were impacted each year getting in a car the same way. Senior Salwith someone intoxicated or vador Ramirez said that a taking the wheel themselves, lot of students don’t listen according to T-Driver.com. to this type of presentation Some are lucky to get out of and the length caused some the car safely, and few realize to stop paying attention. the danger they risked.

“You’re not going to remember the Every 15 Minute thing, you’re going to be partying and having fun.”

Whether teens are making good decisions or choose to take the message seriously, Ramirez says, depends on the person.

“It’s something to be Rosslyn Halekakis taken seriously,” Lopez said. (students) take P.E. teacher “Hopefully it as a lesson.”

It’s a true reality. If it saved one person’s life, then Every 15 Minutes was worth it.”

Current seniors can probably remember the days of trying the new Common Core reform. The computerized testing that was held last year was only a pilot to see how well students would perform with this new movement.

This year, however, is the first year that the program has been implemented into the entire curriculum. For teachers and students alike, there have been struggles with transitioning to this new program.

The Common Core initiative has replaced the No Child Left Behind Act by offering a different way of testing how much students have learned. Andrew Walter, Math Department chair, agrees that in the long run this reform will benefit students because it teaches them to analyze and explain their reasoning. But he added the transition has been difficult for teachers. “The problem is that there was no real support given to the teachers,” he said. “We were just given access to the material one day with no real training.”

Because of this, Walter said teachers must also learn to teach this new program. To help them, the school gave all teachers within the Math Department the same preparation period to plan. “It’s nice because now we’re meeting every other week instead of once a month,” Walter said.

English teachers also share a prep period, which they use to their advantage to look at data from classes. Victoria Marinelli, sophomore English teacher, said it’s a little frustrating because, since the focus on teaching analytical skills has increased, the amount of reading literature has decreased. “But I still like the standards because they’re moving more towards skillbased learning rather than knowledge-based learning,” she said.

Because of this new approach to teaching and testing, some students have noticed that it’s harder to receive a higher grade. PerJunior Jose Mejia says la Gonzalez, a sophomore, he notices the changes said she hears quite a few more in his English class students complaining about because of the new self failing their classes because assessments in the class. of Common Core, but she also believes that it will help them. “People make it harder than it really is. It’s time consuming, but you learn to explain things better.” Other students agree. “The questions are a lot harder,” junior Jose Mejia said. “But in the end you learn more. You learn to explain your reasoning.”

It is the problem of failing students, who may normally not fail, that Walter is trying to tackle. “We don’t want to just give them F’s because of Common Core. They’re still getting used to it. But at the same time, we don’t just want to hand out grades.” He said that although students may see a bad grade on the regular A through F scale, they really are learning more because of this new initiative.

Although this transition isn’t easy, many students and faculty agree that it will be beneficial in the long run.

When, exactly, is the question. There are estimates that this program will be normal within four to five years, the reason being because, as previously mentioned, teachers must first be comfortable teaching this new style before they can effectively teach the students.

Departments are currently working on how to affect students primarily at Stagg. Last semester was filled with pure Common Core standards that was provided from the district, but teachers are now aiming to alter it to see what helps students here the most.

“In theory it’s really good,” Walter said. “It’s just learning a different style. It’s like driving a car for 15 years and then tomorrow getting into a hovercraft — same concept but different style. It’s really taking us to the air now.”

2 A.A Stagg High 1621 Brookside Stockton, CA 95207 Editorial Policy 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 a story published or any school issue. We will make every effort to print any letter that is not libelous. Letters longer than 250 words may be edited for length. Letters must be signed to be printed. Letters may be given to a staff member, delivered to A-10 or emailed to dbott@ stocktonusd.net Awards/Recognitions The Stagg Line is a member of National Scholastic Press Association, whose awards and recognitions include the following: ff 20 consecutive All American rankings ff Hall of Fame ff First Place Best of Show five times ff National Newspaper Pacemaker Award seven times Stagg Line journalists over the years have won many awards and scholarships, including California Journalist of the Year, National Story of the Year and National Photo of the Year.

Editors

Jada Johnson Devin Wickstrom co editors in chief Veronica Vargo web editor Marcella Hawkins news editor Michealla Foules opinion editor Alexus Plascencia features editor Baylin Moran entertainment editor Araceli Valencia sports editor Esmeralda Mascorro photo editor Marleene Pheav graphics editor Angel Gonzalez video editor Nuvia Cervantes copy editor

Reporters Matteo Danforth Jenifer Flores Sathina Flores Louis Fuentez Fernando Gonzalez Jonathon Ivy Celine Lopez Miranda Maurino My’Kayla Moore Estefany Nunez Arriana Smith Luci Tomas Phillicity Uriarte-Jones Follow us Facebook: Stagg Line Twitter: @staggonline &

@stagg_sports Web: staggonline.net PDFs: issuu.com/staggline

the

stagg line

Editorial

opinion

April 17, 2015

Smoke shop isn’t acceptable

I

t is absolutely unacceptable to have businesses promoting drug use within a 2 minute walk away from our school.

The image it presents is one leaving leeway for students to believe that using hookah as a 14 year old is okay because it’s right by the school so it must not be that bad.

The orange sign enticing students to enter the artificial fruit-smelling store and proclaiming for students to “Keep It Lit” are obvious examples of advertisement of substance use. The lack of an 18 or older sign outside of the shop, though, takes the cake.

How is this legal?

Next to the candy bars, bringing back memories of childhood when sugar was the only sweet we craved and were innocently addicted to, is a machine game where the prize is money. If a winner were to emerge after spending 50 cents on the game of chance, there is a Lucky 7 slot machine adjacent.

Conjoined like slithering twin snakes looking to bite and inject an infectious addiction venom, the inside of the store parallels two different stages of human life so closely

together that it is almost offensive.

Kool-aid pouches and Hot Cheetos are sold directly across from Hookah. Students under 18 are able to walk in, see the abundance of pipes and bongs, just to buy a cheap lunchtime snack.

Because from 2011 to 2012 the percentage of 6-12 graders who reported using e-cigarettes increased from 1.1 percent to 2.1 percent, it is fairly obvious that hookah and vape pens are rising in popularity.

There’s enough pressure in school for students to “just have a little taste” of vape and let it wisp from their mouths for entertainment and for the fruitful enslavement of the nose. To have another added weight of peer pressure is pushing the limit. Not only does the store feed off of adolescents and their willingness to experiment, it also promotes gambling.

The slot machines are just another way for students to blow their money. It’s also a way to keep them in the shop longer in hopes a higher purchase will be made.

The placement of smoke shops shouldn’t be anywhere within a school zone. Not only does “Keep It Lit” promote smoking but it also promotes gambling. The opening is not grand. The shop should be relocated or just plain shut down.

It’s time for lights out.

RACISM STILL ALIVE

Progress shows how leaders make a difference

G

reat people inspired a and abilities can be attributed movement of equalito people simply on the basis ty. Abraham Lincoln, of their race.

Martin Luther King, John Unfortunately you have F. Kennedy, and his broththose who are just raised that er Robert Kennedy, among way, and they don’t see it as others. wrong but, just as the two And over all those years, fraternity members who reslavery was abolished and alized their wrongdoings and blacks could live freely among changed their perspectives on everyone else. Their moveracism, a change of heart can ments would light the world happen with anyone. sathinaflores but only for a few seconds It begins with us. and then people forget.

Race may be a short word but it The purpose of what they did faded carries a long history in the United States away. Not entirely, but to the point of of America. “unless” — unless someone is willing to Racism is demeaning to a person. stand up and make a change.

We can’t eradicate everyone who’s Now, if we search “racism” and “are racist. Attacking people with racist beliefs things better?” the answer may tell us does not help solve the issue at all. “no.” But the answer is yes.

We’ve all witnessed racism. And many Why “yes?” Yes, because things are fail to believe that race is just race, not better. Better than chattel slavery. Better anything that determines one’s worth or than legal segregation. Yes, because we being. have changed it all.

We’re all the same underneath, we’re We are so used to ethnic slurs, hearing all humans, and that’s our core of comthem every day, that they can lead to monality. some dire and serious consequences. For We have changed and continue to example, violence. Racism serves as an in a positive way, away from racism. We emotional trigger toward fear, which then just need to remember those like Lincoln, expands into a reaction of hate, to jealouKing, and both of the Kennedys who sy, to resentment, to protesting, to antago- inspired and fought for a life of equality. nism, and then to violence.

We can’t control what other people do, but we can control how we react to it.

A video of a racist chant lit up social media by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity home at the University of Oklahoma. The song’s tune took after “If You’re Happy and You Know It” with lyrics like “You can hang them from a tree but he can never sign with me...”

As awful as the frat’s behavior was, the response by others in the community was commendable. The university’s students protested about the racist comments.

Graffiti saying “tear it down” was on the side of the frat house. The university president expelled the two students who were the leaders of the racist chant. The house closed down.

It is rare for those who are being racist toward another to apologize. But the two students expelled for their role in leading the racist chant apologized.

One said, “I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same.”

The other said, “Although I don’t deserve it, I want to ask for your forgiveness.

There are no excuses for my behavior. I never thought of myself as a racist. I never considered it a possibility. But the bottom line is that the words that were said in that chant were mean, hateful and racist.”

Racism is the belief that characteristics

First-hand experience has been terrible

W

hen I heard about disgust in his face. I could feel the video of the the animosity he had towards racist chant sung us for being together, a mother by the fraternity brothers of and child. My mother kept me Sigma Alpha Epsilon, at the behind her as we rushed away.

University of Oklahoma, I This whole event took nothing was disgusted. more than a couple seconds, I couldn’t believe that but it felt so much longer. people would chant some When we got home, my thing so negative and offenmom explained to me that sive and find it funny. Being some people still frown upon a child of multiple races, preinterracial children. I rememmarcellahawkins ber being confused by that dominantly black and white, it hit home. It reminded me because I felt being a child of of the times that I was faced with racism. multiple races made me unique, not possi I’ve gotten the stares from people bly a target for someone’s distaste. before. I’ve received them when I was Sadly, though, I was. When I was at alone with my white mother and my white the zoo with my grandmother, I received grandmother. The confused looks I could the looks again. I got some of the confused kind of understand because there are cerones, to determine whether she was my tain expectations of what seems logical. mother or indeed my grandmother. Then Still, in a world that is constantly the disapproving look came into my view evolving, it’s sad to see that something and a feeling of sadness entered my being. as simple as the color of someone’s skin It wasn’t because they were successful in automatically makes them an object of making me feel bad for who I am; it was someone’s hatred. for them. It was for the fact that some The disapproving looks filled with people still can’t see past color. As I walked hatred were the worst. past the person I smiled at them as their I was about 6 when I saw my first pair eyes watched me walk away. of dark eyes glaring at me. My mother There was one time when it went and I were walking through the mall and beyond eye contact and became verbal. I the man immediately halted in our path. was about 12 when I was with my grandHe looked us both up and down and as I mother at the mall. We had stopped in the cowered behind my mother I could see the food court to get a bite to eat and when we sat down, we were next to a family where the father and the mother kept staring. I felt very awkward and just tried to ignore their unwavering, watchful eyes.

I heard as he whispered to his wife how it was so unnatural for a black girl to be with a white woman and how we should not be together. I was in a state of shock.

I didn’t want to believe what I just heard, but I had to. It happened, but I wasn’t going to let that decide my view of all the people in the world.

It’s only a select few, but I know people are capable of change because in my family I’ve witnessed it happen. My cousin’s grandfather actually used to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

He changed suddenly after his son had a child with a multiracial woman. Now he loves that little girl more than anything, even building on a room for her for when she stayed at his house.

I remember when I first went to his house I was a bit nervous, but he was the most hospitable person. He would check in on me and see if I needed anything and if I did to just ask.

My experiences don’t make me believe that everyone is prejudiced because in my life I have met amazing people who don’t see color, but character. It may have been a joke to the members of SAE, but intolerance is not a joke. I have hope that they will change their mindset and think about art by Marleene Pheav what they say before they say it.

opinion staggline 3 Social media causes division Religion isn’t defined in between parents, children church T It’s the struggle of one April 17, 2015

eenagers naturally look for ways to escape the control of their parents.

They are at the point where they are so close to the taste of freedom that lies just beyond their grasp after high school.

They don’t want adults, especially family members, constantly checking up on them and reviewing every status they post or every picture they share on social media websites.

It’s the social divide between the next generation of young adults and older adults — the struggle of one group desperately trying to hang onto the control while the other lunges out to break off a piece of it for themselves. This control of their lives has taken up much of the way that people use social media websites.

To adults it may seem like an unruliness or restlessness growing in the pit of every teen, but it should instead be looked at as a way for teenagers to begin claiming their independence and taking out their stake in life, to begin carving something out for themselves.

Because of this, it seemed like social networking was especially populated by teenagers since they quickly pick up on how to use sites like Facebook and Twitter. But in recent studies conducted by the Pew Research Center, more and more adults have been making their mark on such social media websites.

According to these studies, as of September 2014, nearly three-quarters of online adults

nuviacervantes use social networking sites, with 71 percent of online adult users active on Facebook.

Social media is now even a tool for employers to use and check up on anyone they are looking to hire to get an idea of the kind of person the employee is, determining whether that person is “adequate” enough for the job.

In this sense it isn’t just adults who are increasing their presence on social networking sites, but companies and businesses, as well. This benefits such companies in many aspects since their name will be present where it will surely be seen by millions who use the Internet.

With the younger adults becoming more independent, they have been dropping from certain websites like Facebook and migrating to more visually appealing ones, such as Instagram.

Some stores have trailed along, determined to capture the attention of as many age groups as possible by appealing to them.

Social media websites also have their own apps available

Are teens still on

the

“

infographic by Jenifer Flores

at me. What more reason do I need to be able to say, “I don’t want to go to church from now on?”

It’s even more funny that as I write this and as you read it, there is no convincing. You believe in what you want and that will not change, but establishing peace between people like you and I is vital.

When writing this I am not scared you will call me an atheist and demand that I be hanged.

Instead of thinking about my religious status, take a minute to reflect on how the need to identify the validity and dedication of one’s religion has altered the world.

Men, women, and children across the world are killed because of their “incorrect” beliefs.

We religiously profile to identify a terrorist group. We start wars for land because it was “promised.” We deny religious freedom to some because of sexual orientation.

So much anger and hate apparently spawns from the book that tells us what to accept and what not to serve as the divider of people and the bringer of chaos.

Yet I do acknowledge that I stand as a hypocrite. What will I do with my children?

My family will probably ask when my child will receive the first sacrament. They will plan a day, pick the church, learn the requirements, even shop for the infant’s outfit, and I will probably let them without clearly expressing my frustration with the labeling of my child before it can even eat on its own.

But at the same time aren’t we all hypocrites in some way or another? Do you pray every day?

Do you never commit a selfish act? When you woke up this morning did you think about how God has blessed you with another day, or today’s agenda?

Banish me and I guarantee that in the afterlife, we will meet again inside the gates we both believe in.

I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that I was least likely to achieve anything due to the circumstances I was in— that my demographic would define who I’d grow up to be. And of course, being the stubborn child I was, I took this negative expectation and made it my own personal mission to contradict what many thought me to be.

Choosing not to follow that path brought a great motivation that allowed me to achieve great things.

I have contradicted all of those stereotypes and performed exceptionally well in academics.

I made sure to be a good person and always be kind so not only was I happy with myself, but so my parents did not

have to worry about me.

Now that both my mother and father have solved their issues to look out for the best of my twin brother and I, “It gets better” became “It got better.”

Overcoming the things that were supposed to hold me back only made me work harder, while gaining patience, determination and perseverance.

group desperately trying to hang onto the control while the other lunges out to break off a piece of it for themselves.”

to download onto phones.This makes it easier to become glued to a phone because the apps are there, but people shouldn’t automatically jump to the conclusion that always using a phone means a person is always wasting time on the Internet.

That person may be conducting business-related activities or even using their phones for research purposes related to school work.

I admit that since I have purchased a smartphone, I have been spending a lot of my time using it. But I use it to contact people, more often than not through the Internet, and read a lot of articles regarding events happening in the world.

Because teenagers and young adults are constantly using social websites and their apps, older adults may assume that the only thing these age groups do while on the sites is gossip among their friends and dig around for drama to get in on.

However, the sites also allow

a means of communication that can be easier to use than with just a cellular device. That is my main reason for using social websites. I can easily find people I need to talk to when I can’t find them in person.

Yes, I am in constant contact with sites like Twitter and Facebook, but that is mainly for the purpose of obtaining all kinds of information from different people and news crews to help me keep myself informed of what is happening in the world.

I also stay connected to important sources this way, like adult figures I can get help from when I need it.

So of course there is a rift between teens and adults on social media because one exists between the two age groups in society.

It shouldn’t be automatically presumed that this means teenagers are being sneaky and mischievous; they can be just trying to pull themselves forward in the world on their own.

acebook?

At the beginning of the new year, statistics showed that teens were leaving Facebook for other social networks. Out of three classes, and 53 students polled, 48 of them said they used to use Facebook in the past.

Out of the 48 people who used Facebook, 35 of them left because of these reasons:

14% privacy 14% family joining 14% too much drama 58% left to join

other networks

G

od may banish you from this “Holy Land” if you eat red meat on the Friday after you get a symbolic black smudge on your forehead the day after confetti and colors make the skyline.

Some stale bread and watered down wine is served as the body and blood of Christ. The worshiping place is filled with hymns about love, repenting sins, and forgiveness.

Water from the sink, maybe boiled, who knows, means… well it means something because the ordained priest has “blessed it.”

Did I mention I’m technically a Catholic? That “I believe in one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church?”

This third party is serving as a barrier between me and God. Whether God be female, male, black, white, have eight limbs, whatever, I don’t need to be part of an organization to have a relationship with the divine figure.

The aroma of my hot meal in front of me makes my mouth salivate like crazy, but I can’t eat.

Everyone at the table bows their heads and closes their eyes and recites words like poetry, but my eyes are open, sneaking bites.

Drowned in holy water only a few days after birth declares me a member of this faith. I had no choice of whether I wanted to be a Catholic, it was passed on to me like an extra finger. I was denied the option to be a Muslim, to practice Judaism, to think like a Mormon, to study Hinduism from infancy.

Now that I can, I make it a habit to not offend my family while I dabble into the beliefs of other theologies.

“Be aware of your surroundings,” my mother said because my nina was in the room, my godmother, as I groaned about going to church.

The same day I was scolded for expressing my opinion, I was forced to go to confession.

Entering the room with a man who claims to tell no one of my sins, to act as a psychiatrist whose only prescription is to read the Bible or pray a few times, I was scared.

“It has been over 10 years since my last confession” was my first confession, and fear is not the feeling I should have sitting across from the “closest man to God” I will encounter.

What followed terrified me.

The priest yelled at me. I told him of my doubts, and he yelled

Networks that students left Facebook for: Other

17% 28% Twitter 13% 42%

Tumblr

Instagram

veronicavargo

Parents should prevent home pressure T ears. Screaming. Tension.

Distress. I remember it all too well. My parents were discussing bill payments while my twin brother and I were five feet away, watching television.

Their voices raised one minute after another and soon enough as they began to scream at each other, we were told to retreat back to our bedrooms.

We were 7 years old.

Unfortunately, this has happened more than it should have.

It got to a point where it became a very familiar, stressful routine.

Have you ever heard the cliche, “What doesn’t kill you make you stronger?” Many have said my past experiences will help me with the obstacles I’ll face in the future. But still, this was an obstacle I would not have chosen for myself.

Why wasn’t my family as stable as we were supposed to be? As a child, I couldn’t answer this question.

Believe it or not, children are well aware of what is occurring around them. Whether it be their parents arguing, financial problems or even the prospect of a divorce.

It’s an act of maturity that

estefanynunez children are forced to deal with, one that many will not understand.

These years were traumatic for me and still impact me to this day.

I was frustrated and miserable. I didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

Yet, even back then I knew that blaming and taking my anger out on my mother and father would not be the solution.

Meltdowns. Constant bewilderment. So much crying.

It was not easy but I eventually was able to overcome this hardship.

I resented the supposedly comforting phrase “it gets better,” because it created this false sense of hope for me.

How could someone be so sure? What if it doesn’t get better? What happens then?

I learned that some things were not worth the tears, especially when they were things I could not control. Finally, I learned to accept that.

What I found that really consoled me was acceptance.

Accepting the fact that I did not have a stable, happy family. Accepting that I could do nothing to instantly make the situation better.

Acceptance became important when copious amounts of statistics basically painted out my future. It especially didn’t help me cope when it said my only options would be to grow up to be violent or unable to achieve.

According to the Polytechnic Institute and State University, scientists discovered that children who have been exposed to household chaos usually have lower IQ scores and various behavioral issues.

Rather than letting those dismal statistics define my future, I made the decision to refuse to become one of those stereotypes.

graphic by Baylin Moran

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April 17, 2015

Military inheritance

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER

Parents who served in war influence students’ decisions after high school

phillicityuriarte-jones

Parents, without a doubt, are mostly responsible for their children’s character development.

From the way they speak to their child to the way they act themselves, it all leaves an impression.

Parents who have been in the military in the past or are currently in the military usually have a different mindset than most parents, and that changes the way their children act and how they handle situations.

So Her, a senior, is a citizen of the United States because of his father’s service on the American side during Vietnam. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

His mother was also living in Vietnam during the time and has told Her stories of intense hardships she faced as a mother during that time. From traveling between Northern and Southern Vietnam with her two sons and two daughters during wartime to seeing starving and/or wounded children abandoned and dying because they could not keep up with their families, she suffered no less than his father did.

Because of the intense stories from war, though heroic, Her has never considered enlisting. “I don’t think I’m tough enough.”

Unlike Her, for senior Zariah Gonzales, the military has always been a part of her life. Her father served three combat tours in Vietnam with the Air Force.

Upon coming home, he

photo by Esmeralda Mascorro

Senior Zariah Gonzales and her father, Manuel Gonzales, share a close bond. He keeps a watchful eye over her but still lets her experience her teenage years. Her father has supported her all throughout high school with football, wrestling, and also maintaining grades.

resumed his civilian life and got a job working for civil services.

Years later, however, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Gonzales recalled the day he told her. They had been driving to Sacramento and he had lost his sense of awareness, consequently driving them to a completely different city.

More often than not he wakes up with nightmares and has intense flashbacks, forever reminding him of the horrors he faced so many years ago.

To Gonzales’s dismay, his PTSD translates to him forever being a soldier in his mind. “He’ll be doing something like washing dishes then he’ll think he was in the jungle or something.” Often, his mind changes his surroundings and can alter the appearance of a living room so extensively that it resembles a war zone.

Refreshing those memories are the countless photos he keeps in albums, depicting the gruesome scenes he faced, commemorating the lives lost.

Gonzales, much like Her, has

Military provides angelgonzalez

graphic by Fernando Gonzalez

From the “Greatest Generation” to the “Baby Boomers,” each generation is

labeled to describe specific times in history. We have been

labeled “Millennials” as well as Generation Y. But neither describes the fact that, for much of our lives, we’ve seen boots on the ground in several countries. Too young to remember witnessing 9/11 but just the right age to understand ISIS, we have emerged as

The college route isn’t always for everyone. Some students are moving to a different route, one that allows them to fight and defend their country.

The Army, Marines and Navy are very different from each other, but they have a common goal: to protect the United States of America from all threats foreign and domestic.

Celeste Barajas, a senior, wants to march to the beat of the Army where she will be a mechanic.

“I have little brothers that look up to me and I have to set a good example for them.”

She said that in the beginning that her parents didn’t support her decision because she is the only girl that they had. “They would hate to see me get hurt,” she said. But now they just want her to be happy.

She said that she thought of the Army because it was the branch that she liked the most that caught her attention.

“I was thinking of the Air Force before because that was where all the smart people went and I am smart. I also was interested in the new drones that they have,” she said. “The Army is like my family.

They are always encouraging me to continue with my

a group that lives in the midst of conflict with other countries and even with our own. We have become...

photo by My’Kayla Moore

Senior Randy Brigance (right) attends physical training at the Marine Corps office twice a week. He is soon to be shipped off to basic training in South Carolina in August.

education.” She said that you get to learn a lot of cool stuff and have different experiences that you don’t get to live through as a civilian.

She wants to go to college as she is in the service.

“Then I am taking some time off to find myself and see what I want to do,” Barajas said. “For all I know I might do 20 years or I might get out after just my contract is up which is six years.” She was just thinking that to serve her country is an honor. “I feel that it will keep me out of trouble and improve my integrity.”

“I want to see war,” said Randy Brigance, a senior. “I want to see some of the stuff that other people would be scared of.”

He was raised with people that he called uncles, about 20 of them. They would ride motorcycles with his stepfather, but this was not the only brotherhood that bonded them.

They were also all U.S. Marine Corps veterans.

This experience had a strong influence on Brigance. His stepfather was an anti-tank artillery man and Brigance is hoping to follow the same path.

“It was always something that I wanted to do: to protect and serve,” Brigance said.

He wants to make it his career and then retire and become a mechanic. After a few years of that he wants to retire from that, too, and live off of his two retirements.

“I wouldn’t have to worry about money too much,” he said. “If we didn’t have the military we wouldn’t be how we are today.”

Breanna Joyner, a senior, is looking forward to the military, but in another branch. She is looking forward to the Navy, a choice that arose after her mother passed away two years ago.

“It just sparked something in me to see someone really close to me pass away. Not to be able to fight for herself anymore,” she said.

“It sparked in me that I want to be able to fight for my country. I want to give back. The Navy seemed to be the best option for me because when it came to benefits, they had more educational benefits whereas others were more physical based.” She wants to make a career out of it. “I just felt that that is where I belonged. I love the water. I love being a part of something bigger than just myself.” She wants to pass down her college tuition to her children using the GI Bill. This bill pays for her college if she decides to do it or pass it down if not.

“This is where not only I decided that I belong, but my family as well. They support me with it.”

heard of the stories of countless children being left behind because they were too slow or too dependent to stay safe during wartime. In a photo album her father keeps, there are pictures of babies and children stacked on top of each other along heavilytrafficked jungle pathways.

The military plays such a huge role in her life despite her father serving so many years ago.

To this day her father explicitly remembers his life in the military and some of the behaviors have not left him.

For instance, he still tucks his bed in uniformly almost as soon as he wakes up. His stern behavior and disciplined disposition greatly affected Gonzales, who claims that the behaviors she inherited from her father got her through football conditioning.

However, even though she is encouraged by her father to be proud of what she does and own up to her action, he warns her that there is a difference between bravery and foolishness. She remembers him saying, “It’s okay to be a brave soldier, just don’t be a foolish one.”

Despite the gruesome scenes she knew she would be exposed to, she wanted to join the Air Force like her father. However, she halted her plans due to sudden heart complications. Now that she is off of her prescribed heart medication, she might consider it later on.

Because of her deep respect and appreciation for those in the military, Gonzales finds it insulting when she hears students try to use the military as a second option. “Anything you do, you should do with passion; if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, why go?”

Gonzales also acknowledged students going to the military to pay for their schooling later, and while she supports it, she wants people to be fully aware of the extremity of the situation. “This is not just another job. You have to realize you are no longer a citizen, you are now a soldier.”

The Center for Military Health Policy Research collected data for this survey from April 2007 to January 2008. They focused on 1.64 million service members and veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq. This survey concludes that more than half of the veterans suffer from one of these conditions.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, an estimation of 49,933 veterans are

homeless at some point.

6.6% suffer from all three 24% were diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder or major depression

25.6% brain injury 43.8% condition

suffer from traumatic

There were about 573,000

unemployed veterans at some point in 2014, according to bls. gov.

suffer from at least one graphic by Jenifer Flores

relive Vietnam veteran trauma from war shares esmeraldamascorro

the civilians that were in the middle of their war zone. However, in a war everything is the worst part.

To be called a veteran in the 1960’s or even the “I held my friend in my arms the day he died, a 1970’s was a disturbing title in the eyes of mainstream 19 year old kid calling for his mother,” Dimas said. society.

Though the battle was over in the jungles of Viet The homecoming that veterans of the Vietnam nam, a greater battle was occurring in the hearts and War received was nasty minds of these men. and unjust, according to Post-traumatic stress former infantrymen Rick disorder was the problem Dimas. for many.

“They spit on me War memories never and called me a baby fade. killer,” he said. The bur Good or bad, war den of safeguarding freeshapes an individual and dom existed in the heart becomes part of who he of many, but for some it is for the rest of his life. was an everyday reality.

Unfortunately, the It was impossible to transition to civilian life avoid the topic of war. was very hard for some It was everywhere; of these veterans. on the radio, in the news, Witnessing deaths and on the streets. Everyone traumatic experiencformer infantryman es first-hand at a very knew that a battle was taking place in Vietnam, young age caused paralybut not everyone truly sis in the way they would understood what came with that battle. think and live.

“You didn’t know if you were going to get your Dimas struggled with an alcohol and drug addiclegs blown off or walk into an ambush,” former in- tion that held him back for a few years. His motivation fantry squad leader Joseph Amaes said. at the time was to keep his mind going. For if his mind “Dealing with 120-degree weather during the was busy or sidetracked on drugs or alcohol he would day and 50 degrees at night, a soldier could find him- not be forced to deal with the memories of Vietnam. self always suffering in elements.” Amaes recollects Forgetting the unforgettable was his purpose. the still nights where a single movement could give Veterans like Amaes felt like respect was lost in away his location. society because of the discrimination he faced.

He entered the war effort because of the draft. He struggled to find work because of his identifiLike many other soldiers he was scared and was cation with the military so the only job he could find forced to leave a life of comfort behind. was working in the fields. He was also dealing with The life he had grown to love and embrace was depression and PTSD upon his homecoming. over.

“I wasn’t innocent no more,” he said. “I couldn’t No more new car, and the everyday civilian job be around people that were happy. All the sadness, he had worked so hard for was irrelevant now. Next trauma, and death got to me. It’s a lot different going stop was Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, where to a funeral and mourning than picking up human he would be trained to be a point man and be sta- pieces here and there.” tioned in Vietnam.

Amaes was eventually notified of the GI Bill and “Kill or be killed” was the mindset in the war the benefits he had because of his service. With the zone several veterans shared.

GI Bill he was able to attend Delta Community Col There was a 90 percent guarantee, they said, that lege and earned an Associate of Arts degree. you would either be wounded or killed before you When asked if he would change anything about reached your end of service. his time served in the military, Amaes smiled and The worst thing about war for Amaes was losing said, “I wouldn’t change anything. I made it, thank his comrades. In two months he witnessed 31 deaths. God. I accomplished it. I’ve done the ultimate sacriFor other veterans the worst part was having to see fice.”

“

I wasn’t innocent no more. I couldn’t be around people that were happy.”

Rick Dimas

devinwickstrom

He shook his head sternly while recalling a moment that would change his life forever.

“I could never believe that I alone deserved it.”

For Richard Pittman, it was the men who died that day who deserved it.

The Stockton native and Franklin graduate joined the Marine Corps Reserve after being denied by the other military branches because of his blind right eye. When he was at camp, the officers asked everyone if they wanted to be a regular, so Pittman raised his hand and went to infantry training. He was preparing for Vietnam.

He wasn’t drafted right out of high school like many others during this war. He enlisted himself in the corps when he was 20 because his younger brother, who at the time was 17, was in combat in Vietnam.

“I was raised in a family where I took care of my little brother,” he said. “I thought that if I went there then he would get to come home.”

Pittman probably saved his brother. While he was shipped overseas, his brother came home.

One day after returning stateside, Pittman received a phone call that would change the way American citizens would treat him. It would also be the event that would give Pittman Elementary its name.

He was getting the Medal of Honor.

“When I got the call, I didn’t know which battle I was receiving it for because I was in so many,” Pittman said. “Then I remembered the firefight. One hundred thirty people died that day. Those are the ones that deserve it,” he said, referring to Operation Hastings in 1966.

Word got to his hometown, Stockton, about the award. About 2,400 people came to the airport to greet him; his high school band, reporters, councilmen, and every other supporter cheered him on for his actions.

“But it’s important to remember that I had a very different homecoming than most soldiers in that war. Most of them were avoided in public, called baby-killers and even spat on.”

To current students, this reaction to soldiers may sound disgraceful or even unbelievable. This generation of students has grown up in a time of war, where most of them learned to respect and thank soldiers for their service. Politicians, whether Republican or Democrat, make sure to speak highly of veterans.

Even today’s songs support patriotism.

But it was a different time then. Soldiers didn’t receive the same social treatment like they do today.

Pittman recalls one anti-war protest that occurred when he was a recruiter in Sacramento. Protesters

photo by Devin Wickstrom

Richard Pittman, who received the Medal of Honor for his efforts in the Vietnam War, spoke to John Tyler Elementary students March 19 about his experiences after the war.

marched around his building, carrying caskets that had each military branch insignia on it. Some of them even had the recruiters’ names carved into them.

“They would throw mock blood on us, some schools never allowed us to enter campus. Some kids would even call us to come to their home for an interview because they were interested in enlisting but when we would get there, the parents wouldn’t let us on the property and would yell obscenities at us.”

While recalling what the war was like, Pittman said it wasn’t anything like anyone would see on television. Bullets wouldn’t ricochet. They hit people. He was in a lot of firefights, which are battles using mainly guns instead of bombs, and they are usually disorienting because of the bullets flying everywhere. Still, it wasn’t hard for Pittman to stay focused on fighting.

“War is about staying alive by taking care of each other,” he said. “In a firefight, you’re fighting for the guy on your left and the guy on your right. It’s not about apple pie and the good ol’ USA.” Although the war and social reaction to soldiers was tough, Pittman said he had a great career. “I’m not trying to persuade anybody to join, but being a Marine is an honorable profession.”

He currently lives in Stockton with his wife, but the horrors of Vietnam still affect him today. “Loud noises make me jump. I can hear everything in the middle of the night. But I’ve learned you can’t defeat your demons. You just have to learn to live with them.”

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entertainment

April 17, 2015

Virtual reality: door to new worlds

mattdanforth For years, gamers have been dreaming of the day when they can step into a video game and be a part of its digital world and interact with their beloved characters.

Although the machine from Willy Wonka that teleports people into TVs doesn’t exist yet, we are now even closer to achieving that goal with creations like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Morpheus.

Actually, virtual reality has been around since the 1950s and 60s. Although the technology back then was extremely inferior to that of today, the idea of sitting down and virtually being transported instantly to somewhere else was in the hearts and minds of many early developers.

The armed forces were the first to actually tap into virtual reality with flying simulators and other war strategy simulators, designed to test the ability of trainees without the possibility of death. NASA would also use this simulation technology to test astronauts and observe their reactions to certain critical situations that could lead to the failure of the mission.

A few decades later, Nintendo came out with the Virtual Boy in 1995, a portable headset paired with a controller that would allow for full immersion of the player in a virtual world.

Despite the hype set around it, the Virtual Boy is considered to be the gaming industry’s biggest failure in history, with only 770,000 units sold worldwide. It wasn’t as portable as developers believed and games didn’t take full advantage of the 3D capabilities.

art by My’Kayla Moore and Marleene Pheav

Several virtual reality headsets and consoles have been developed and used in arcades and in university labs, but the takeover of the virtual reality “headset” didn’t occur until the company Oculus VR came out with their Oculus Rift Devel-

opment Kit 1, or DK1, in late 2012. The headset was unlike anyone had ever seen and gained the attention of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook when they later bought the company in March of 2014.

Other head mounted

YouTubers gain viewers differently marleenepheav

If you’re a gamer, you’ve probably watched a walkthrough or gameplay from time to time.

Walkthroughs are straightforward guides, while gameplays can be entertaining, along with the commentary of the gamer. This is how the gaming community connects on YouTube.

Popular gaming YouTubers share one common style in their videos: humor. A gamer’s commentary/gameplay is usually comedic to attract and keep the audience watching. For example, YouTuber “dashiegames” plays a variety of video games, from “MarioKart” to “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

“Dashie” acknowledges that he is terrible at video games compared to most gaming YouTubers who are popular for being experienced or knowledgeable at them. His genuine reactions and hilarious banter make him one of YouTube’s favorites.

One of my personal favorite YouTubers is “videogamedunkey.” He puts a voiceover in his edited videos, showing comical, non-serious gameplay. He plays several games, such as “League of Legends,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and more. What separates “Dunkey” from other comedic gamers is that he relies on gut reactions and spontaneous dim-witted humor, rather than video game knowledge or advice.

Another comedic YouTube gamer who also streams is “SivHD.” One of my favorite videos is when he played out of the “meta” in “League of Legends,” meaning he played a different strategy and tactic that isn’t popular among other players.

He played a character named “Soraka,” who usually plays a supportive role, as a jungler, a position where the player is not designated to a certain lane, but is supposed to gain experience through the jungle minions (while assisting the team when needed.) Along with the hilarious editing and his successful new meta, he succeeds in creating that good kind of funny vibe. Both “Dunkey” and “Siv” are popular for their “League of Legends” videos.

“Markiplier,” known for his “Five Nights At Freddy’s” videos and humorous facial reactions, makes his presence known with an almost booming voice and energetic tone when playing the game. Some may, however, find his humor to be overbearing and forced, making his commentary seem almost staged.

“VanossGaming” and his friends upload videos of them recklessly messing around on “Grand Theft Auto,” creating an open and hysterical

mood. Usually, they continue their videos into the others, kind of making them an unofficial mini series.

Many gaming YouTubers also have Twitch accounts, where they live-stream their gameplay.

Viewers are able to pay a subscription and donate to the gamer. A streamer who uses Twitch to her advantage goes by “Kaceytron.” What makes “Kaceytron” so unique is that her popularity skyrocketed by being a satirical streamer. She acts as a character who often uses her gender to stimulate hate, thus gaining viewers. She is well aware that the attention she attracts is negative and consists of hateful remarks and comments, but she uses that to her advantage to those who haven’t yet caught on to her playing dumb.

“Rooster Teeth,” also known as “Achievement Hunter,” which consists of a large group of people, is one of the most creative channels in the community. Their content consists of hour long podcasts, weekly shows and series, along with some gameplay. What makes RoosterTeeth so enjoyable to watch is their lively and lovable, diverse cast of gamer personalities.

One of the more known YouTubers, “PewDiePie,” goes overboard with his funny reactions. Although he does bring some good humor, his jokes can be childish at times. He seems too overrated for what he produces. “iJustine” originally made a YouTube account that consists of vlogs, baking, etc. She has a separate account named “iJustineGaming.” Watching one of her “Call of Duty” gameplays made me laugh, and not in a good way. She was not as skilled as I had hoped and was basically raging at the screen. I mean, if that was an intentional way to gain viewers... good job?

“Game Grumps,” a gaming YouTube channel that consists of two guys, usually plays older games with the concept of a continuous series. Not only does this duo provide great and entertaining ingame commentary that pulls in viewers for laughs, they are knowledgeable in their gaming skills and will often have discussions while doing the playthroughs together.

There are so many more amazing YouTube gamers out in the vast world of the Internet.

Gamers play different video games, show different perspectives, and have their own stylistic ways of playing.

Each gaming YouTuber has an influence on the gaming sphere, every day it expands and flourishes into a more diverse community.

displays like the Oculus Rift include Sony’s Morpheus and the HTC Vive, the product of Valve and HTC’s partnership to create a virtual reality headset.

Despite the fact that virtual reality is mainly a computer dominated industry, many other

developers have created HMDs for mobile phones. Freefly VR has developed a headset that allows the user to place their phone in the display and play games that are being released in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Wearality has created Wearality SKY, a type of HMD that has specially designed lens on a rig that you can mount your mobile device to. Nothing fancy.

It’s pretty much just glasses on a rig that your phone is mounted to that you hold to your face and the screen looks like the world around you.

For the release of the movie “Insurgent” in IMAX theaters, the producers gave out similar HMDs to that of Wearlity’s.

Senior Allison Ho was one of the few that received the limited edition promotional. “You download this app that has certain clips from the movie,” she said. “Then you slip your phone into the headset and it feels like you’re in the movie.”

Although it doesn’t react to moving around a room, it does react to turning your head, she said. Ho isn’t a big game enthusiast but said, “I was very intrigued by the idea. I just wish it was more interactive.” She explains that even though the app shows clips from the movie, she felt like she was a part of it. “I think it’s interesting how virtual reality can do that and I wonder what its other capabilities might be.”

The only thing really holding the industry back right now from releasal to the general public is working out all the bugs and and finalizing their products, a point that could be closer to the end of this year or early next year.

Until then, gamers will have to save up and continue to dream of the day when they adorn the Oculus Rift headset and be transported into the world of virtual reality.

Games PC Need a Chance Look into this list of Oculus Rift and PC games to try for excitement and thrills.

Dreadhalls Oculus Rift game that has you

peer through randomly generated halls with ghouls and creatures until finding the exit.

Five Night at Freddy’s 1, 2, and 3

Regular PC series of jump scare games that follow a twisted storyline and terrifying animatronics. This game doesn’t end until the fifth or sometimes sixth night.

Don’t Let Go An Oculus Rift game that

challenges the player to hold down keys on the keyboard no matter what, or they lose.

One Chance Regular PC game that has

the player make daily decisions that can either result in saving or destroying the entire world.

Affected An Oculus Rift series that con-

tains jump scares and different strange scenarios and doesn’t end unless the player is killed or finds an exit. graphic by Baylin Moran

sports

April 17, 2015

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‘BIG COUNTRY BASEBALL’

Pitcher James Newman adjusts to new school, team arrianasmith

photo by My’Kayla Moore

Senior James Newman finds comfort in pitching while adapting to the new environment.

Just before the game is scheduled to start, he walks out of the dugout and onto the field. He walks past home plate until his dusty cleats are at the base of the pitcher’s mound. He reaches down and places a cross in the dirt. His parents are anxiously waiting on the bleachers, ready to cheer him on like they always do.

Senior James Newman calls this his “pregame ritual,” something he does before every single game.

Newman does believe in God, but he wouldn’t call himself a really religious person. He puts the cross on the mound to feel closer to God while he’s on the field.

Another way he prepares for a game is by listening to country music. “I don’t have a go-to song,” he said. “I’ll just listen to whatever is streaming on Pandora.” He also spends his warm-up time thinking about the advice his coaches gave him. Hit the ball hard and pound the zone.

He transferred from Lincoln High School right after the end of the first quarter. He already knew he wanted to play baseball for whatever school he attended next. He describes balancing baseball and school work as much easier than expected. Despite it being the first year he has played with this team, he already speaks highly of his teammates and coaches.

“The team and I are really close,” he said. “My coaches are great.

They’re always there for me when I need extra help with something.”

A towering figure, he begins to tell the story of his nickname “big country baseball.” The nickname that he wears with pride was given to him three years ago. He said that it just stuck with him. The baseball part has been added on since attending Stagg ,where there is

already a football player with the same nickname.

He recalls the feelings he felt while playing his first game as a Delta King.

“I was really nervous being out there under the lights,” Newman said. “I remember I just kept thinking about striking (each batter) out.”

Although he lost that game, “I didn’t leave the game really upset,” he said. “Instead I was thinking about how much fun I just had.”

Newman has also played with a travel ball team and recreationally with his family.

“My dad taught me when I was really young,” he said. Even when he had just started playing, Newman knew he wanted to play with a real team someday. He also hopes to continue playing for Los Medanos Junior College, the college he plans to attend next year.

He has never been seriously injured due to playing baseball. He did, however, roll his ankle five years ago during a game of travel ball.

This mild injury didn’t change his opinion of baseball.

“Always listen to your coaches,” he said. “They’re there to help you and give you good tips.” That is the advice he would offer to someone new to baseball.

Newman has been close with teammate Matthew Castillo, a senior, since they played tee-ball together in sixth grade.

“He’s one of the best players I know,” Castillo said. “He puts a lot of dedication into everything he does.”

Ultimately Newman always hopes to feel nervous when he’s out on the field.

“I once heard that if you’re not nervous out on the field, it’s just a job. Having nerves makes it more than that.”

Softball passed on Players before family through generations Rodriguez brothers run soccer lucitomas

She vividly remembers this day, last year, on her home softball field. Strike one! Strike two!

Strike three! Excitement fills her voice as she describes her team’s victory over St. Mary’s High School. “It was so exciting to beat a great team like this,” Mia Macias, now a senior, said.

Softball is the sport her family has been playing for generations. Macias’s interest in softball was passed on by her mother.

At the age of 6, her mother wanted her to play softball so she signed her up to play for the recreational league here in Stockton. At first, Macias was nervous about joining the rec league, with

fears of being hit by the ball.

Over the years of her participation in this sport, she has developed a strong mentality that helped her overcome her nerves.

Since her stepdad is a college softball coach, she has the chance to attend higher level softball games. Not only does she have a stepdad who coaches, she also has an older sister who plays at the college level. These people are her role models in softball, including her mother who also played.

Attending college softball games is a great opportunity for her because she feels like it helps her advance with pitching and first base. “Pitching is challenging, but there is always room for improvement,” Macias said.

photo by Araceli Valencia

To follow tradition, senior Mia Macias pitches during a game against Edison High School.

Her teammate, junior, Corrina Rivera said, “She’s a good pitcher, amazing base runner, and an outstanding player as a whole.”

Her earned run average so far this year is 3.87, and she has won four games with her team.

When asked about the level of competition between high school and college softball, she responded, “It’s very different.

College softball is fast paced while high school softball is not as fast,” Macias said. “College softball athletes are inspirational.”

Sharing the same interest in sports connects families together. Macias attends her stepdad’s games at San Jose State, and in turn Macias’s parents and older siblings unite to support her at games. She feels thankful that she has much support from her family, best friend who announces at games, and her father who coaches her on the side.

All the support she receives is what makes her maintain a strong mentality on the field.

“When my parents watch me at my games I want to do better and I feel confident,” Macias said. Knowing that her parents are in the stands cheering her on, Macias approaches games positively, driven to make her parents proud.

“If I have a daughter I will let her play softball like I did,” Macias said. The passion of softball in her family will live through generations to come.

program while remaining ‘fair’ louisfuentez

Those who play a sport often see a parent in the stands cheering them on. But for a few, the parent is much closer.

Junior Christina Rodriguez only has to look over to the sideline to see not only her father but her soccer coach as well.

“When I look over and I see him I honestly see my coach and not my dad.”

Christina also knows that when it comes down to it her father will judge a player by her ability, not the fact that they know one another. “I’ve told them many times that I’m not your dad on the field,” varsity head coach Hector Rodriguez said. “I’m your coach.”

“We have always bumped heads when I thought I was right, but at the end of the day we always seem to just talk it over,” Christina said.

Hector has been coaching his children for about 14 years and has played the game since he was a kid.

He has now coached three of his daughters here, and one more still on junior varsity will play for him as well. His brother Alfredo has coached for 14 years as well, not always with Hector, and has coached all of Hector’s daughters, whether it was for a youth team or for Stagg.

“I treat them as a regular player and not my nieces,” Alfredo said.

“I’ve never really had any help from him because he never just sticks on one person, he helps everyone equally,” said his daughter Jennifer, a freshman.

Jennifer and Christina have been around soccer for practically their whole life and watched as their older sisters played here.

When they were little they would watch their older sisters and see how much the game really meant to them and how it would change their lives.

“I was never forced by them to go and join soccer because it was my choice, and my dad knew

photo by My’Kayla Moore

Junior Christina Rodriguez runs for the ball, as the defender tries to take it away.

that it was my best decision,” Christina said.

Even when they did not play for their father they had their uncle there on the sidelines as he is the junior varsity head coach. “There was no favoritism towards us,’’ Christina said. “If we did bad then we would sit out and the better player would step up.”

As they look on, Christina does not want to continue as far as college. Christina wants to continue on her soccer career by coaching some younger teams and to be able to inspire them to continue.

“Everyone in my family plays soccer— and that’s nine kids— so we really never get away from the sport,” Christina said.

She doesn’t just play for her father, but for her coach.

Positive mindset brings confidence to win

alexusplascencia

person must improve physical tasks such as running, throwing, It starts with a mindset. and hitting, but golf is a mental Unlike other sports where it’s challenge. typical to “go into the game with “If you can’t focus or a positive attitude and win,” for concentrate, you’re not going to golf, the mindset is everything. do good.”

“It’s not a sport where you Andrade describes his progress,” senior Eric Andrade bad shots as a “slippery slope” said. because it all goes downhill after “You’ll have good days and doing poorly. But he gets rid bad days because of what’s going of his negative vibes that have through your head.” developed and continues to During his junior year, practice.

Andrade and his friends tried out The boys golf team is now for the sport as something they currently undefeated in league, thought would be “easy,” and also where last year they had a losing to get extra credits. record.

But now, his second year “We, as a team, have easily playing, Andrade has realized mastered having a positive that concentration is key when mindset.” putting the ball.

Coach Offield says the van With every other sport, a that transports the team to the

photo by Esmeralda Mascorro

During practice, senior Eric Andrade lines up a putt, trying to determine whether the ball will break.

Elk Horn Golf Course creates a close bond between each other.

“We’re packing the kids, we get to talk to each other,” Offield said. “Their sense of enthusiasm they bring as a team is infectious, led by Eric.”

Offield teaches the team to go about playing as if they were 2 year olds.

“If you took a two year old to a golf course, they swing the club, they’re probably not going to get too upset. As you get older, it’s easy to let the game get you frustrated.”

Because of the team following Offield’s advice and working on their game in the off season, the core group has made a difference in this year’s record.

Thanks to the extra practices over the summer with a few friends, Andrade feels as if that

has greatly improved their team.

Junior Diego Luera thinks these practices over the summer helped a lot with how he bonded with the rest of the team.

“We spent a lot of time outside of school during summer,” Luera said.

Luera has a competitive attitude when it come to golfing and that’s what makes it exciting for him.

With everyone contributing an enthusiastic attitude, the team can then perform well.

Although Andrade joined golf to finish credits, he has came to enjoy it. It’s “all (he) thinks about.”

“Golf is something you can be doing even when you’re 80,” Andrade said. “And I see myself (keeping) it as a hobby when I’m older.”

8

the

news

stagg line

April17, 2015

In memory of

Smoke shops inhabit school zone jonathonivy and veronicavargo On an average day after school students head north to grab inexpensive food items at Dollar Tree, lunch and after school meals at De Vinci’s or L&L, and in some small cases Swishers and cigarettes at Keep it Lit and TJ Cigarettes.

“When I go in there I get what I need and get out,” said senior Devin Burnett, an 18 year old.

“When I was younger I used to get it from other people but now I just get it for myself.”

The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement requires that companies do not “take any action, directly or indirectly, to target youth within any state in the advertising, promotion or marketing of tobacco products.”

“It is up to the smoke shops to regulate what smoking apparatus they sell,” said Assistant Principal Nicholas Stine. “As far as the school’s role in this, there is no role on school regulation.”

Keep It Lit, a recently opened smoke shop located on Rosemarie, has no clear indicating sign that minors are not allowed to enter or purchase.

T.J. Cigarettes have a sign but students claim that the salesman doesn’t deny the underaged students to make purchases tobacco or non tobacco related.

“Sometimes they ask (for I.D.) but not all the time,” said a junior who asked that she not be named.

“If they think you’re older then there’s a chance they will sell to whoever without asking for an I.D.”

This student said that she also sees other underaged students going inside and purchasing items without any problem.

There have also been other reports in which

photo by Jada Johnson

Only people who are 18 and over are allowed to go into this smokeshop, but younger students have gotten in before.

Malik Foster underaged students have been seen hanging around in the hookah shop and entering the three smoke shops within 0.3 mile radius of the campus.

A cashier from TJ Cigarettes said, “When younger guys do come in here it is usually outside of school (hours), and it is not very often.”

“It’s too sketchy (the area around the car wash),” said junior Kimberly Hills. “There are people that look like they would pop off at any moment.”

Stagg, along with a few other schools in Stockton, seems to have areas that students would consider dangerous. Although smoke shops are not the immediate danger, they add to what some students consider a negative environment.

Aylin Murillo also feels that the area around Stagg is dangerous. “As I walk past the car wash I feel threatened,” she says. “People see them and don’t say anything. It honestly makes school feel unsafe.”

Upon several occasions students have been seen smoking weed, cigarettes, and cigars by the 7-11 on Rosemarie and Pershing. There was also a shooting that took place Jan. 13 around the apartments on Rosemarie.

Callie Johnson, a senior, feels strongly about having smoke shops near our school. “I think that having smoke shops around our school shows that our school doesn’t care about what students do and that there won’t be any disciplinary action,” Johnson said. “It also shows that we have a very weak government and that the police department doesn’t care because they’re busy. We should focus more on smaller crimes than focus more on bigger crimes.”

Sophomore Malik Foster was walking across Hammer Lane last Friday night when a drunk driver struck him and killed him.

According to an article from The Record, paramedics performed CPR, but Foster was pronounced dead at the scene. Rosslyn Halekakis, P.E. teacher, said, “I will always remember Malik for his love of basketball and the ability he had to touch everyone’s hearts.” The driver was held without bail and was due to appear in court on Tuesday.

An increase in conflict mediation has coincided with a reduced amount of suspensions reflected in statistics from this academic year and the previous. Conflict mediation will move to M-1 next school year in order to mediate before admin confrontation.

“It gives the participants the opportunity to be heard and valued.

It helps lighten the load for admin.”

“If we can mediate it first we will do that to keep the student in their academic setting, that way they’re not behind.”

Judy Rauzi Healthy Start Coordinator

Andre Phillips Principal graphic by Veronica Vargo

With Common Core, teachers connect learning with living my’kaylamoore

Sometimes You’re Sometimes You’ve Hit A Low. On Top. Stay Hopeful.

Stay Humble.

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“When am I ever going to use this in life?”

It’s a question that many students ask, and the answer isn’t always clear. It’s normally something that would slip from a student’s mouth in their least favorite class. It may seem as though that class is the most meaningless thing in the world, and some teachers, being aware of this, are trying to bring school to the outside world.

With Common Core being implemented this year, it is meant to show students that what they’re learning will apply to their everyday lives.

What students use outside of school after they graduate is based mostly on personal preference. For example, students who want to be a lawyer or teacher when they grow up might pay the most attention in their English classes, debate team, and history class.

Whereas, if they wanted to be a mechanic or construction worker, they might take an auto tech or physics class. Whether a subject is useful or not may depend on what’s most interesting to the student.

The French Club is doing just that. They will be going on a cultural trip to the Legion Muse-

photo by Alexus Plascencia

Junior Daniel Diep works on a mouse trap car in MESA. This is just one of the classes where students implement the skills they learn and use them outside of clasroom environments.

um in San Francisco on April 30.

Deborah Berg, the advisor, says she thinks it’s important to be exposed to culture and see it up close when learning about new languages. She takes her students on this trip every year.

Berg says she really hopes students benefit from going to the museum; not in the way that they’ll have a lot of fun on a field trip, but in the way that they actually learn something they’ll use

in the future.

“I hope after we come back from the trip, they’ll continue going to more museums in their lives because you really do learn a lot from them.” But even without field trips, classes like math and science don’t seem to be as popular with students because many of them may feel as though they won’t need these subjects.

Julie Backster has been a math teacher for many years, and

she believes math and science classes aren’t as popular with the students because it can be hard to take kids on a trip to a museum, because they may not care or be interested. Backster also says it could possibly make the students more eager to learn if there was something fun about it. “Just like if you use puppets to teach a small child their ABC’s, there has to be something there the kids can grasp onto.” She says math is one of the most common things you use in your everyday life.

Senior So Her says math is a really big part of the MESA class.

“You have to make sure all of the measurements are pretty much perfect, and if you do one single thing wrong, you could get disqualified.” Her is in charge of his team and says it can put a lot of pressure on him sometimes. “If me or one of my teammates mess up on one measurement or put the wrong number on a sheet, everything could easily fall apart.”

Bill Lorentz is a chemistry and physics teacher, and says he can relate to not having a “fun” class, but tries to spice things up by having the students participate in weekly labs. Lorentz says it shows that students are doing things that are hands on, but also fun. “Students are learning what they’re learning for a reason, and whether they think so or not, it’s important.”