Stagg Line 2014-15 Issue #8

staggline

the May 15, 2015 Vol. 58 Issue 8

the

Rubik’s Cube

race

Sophomore Jalend Dinwiddie and junior Noah Sheaffer are the fastest in a group of students who are bringing back the infamous Rubik’s Cube. To test their dexterity and speed, the two raced to see who could unscramble the colors of the cube. Within a mere 37 seconds, one reigned victorious.

To see the winner visit staggonline.net Minimum days Five of the final seven days of school will be minimum days. Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, will have block periods to allow for senior finals with each block period about 90 minutes long. Tuesday, June 2 will have all six periods, and the final two days of school will be minimum days with block periods for finals.

End-of-year activities Many activities will take place over the next several weeks like the volleyball buff puff, student vs. staff and lunch time 3-on-3 basketball games as well as girls flag football and boys cheerleading the powder puff game.

Yearbooks Yearbooks will be sold at lunch in B-2. They will be $70 in cash. Supplies are limited, so first come first served.

Inside Special Senior Edition

GRASPING FOR GOLD MESA prosthetic arm team competes at state tourney tomorrow, hoping to reach nationals once again

photo by Araceli Valencia

To prepare for the competiton tomrrow, junior Kevin Johnson strings a piece of wire through the micro tubing. This will allow for the device to perform at a high level.

angelgonzalez

Junior Kevin Johnson and senior Gabriel Zuniga have a close connection and the same goal. Last year, Zuniga and his team won Nationals for the MESA prosthetic arm competition. This year, they both hope to make it back to Nationals, and the big hurdle is tomorrow’s state competition at University of the Pacific.

“We (the team) really don’t want to let (Zuniga) down this year,” Johnson said.

“We want to bring home another title — not only for him, but for our school.”

Perla Gonzalez, a sophomore, is a firstyear member also competing at the state level tomorrow. She says she’s motivated by the friendly rivalry amongst the teams.

“When we come together, we are all just so funny and competitive,” Gonzalez said. She remembers times when they would lightheartedly tease the other team, saying things like “Oh your team got 20 seconds, well we are going to do 15.” Gonzalez says that they are all really close and share a strong bond.

Even though she’s the only girl in the arm group, she is treated like a little brother.

The competition requires the arm to complete three tasks: the distance and accuracy test, where teams throw beanbags

inside of a pyramid; dexterity, where teams insert three bolts inside of a wooden board and screw nuts on the backs; and finally relocation, where teams put 10 items inside of a basket and then take them out as fast as possible.

Gonzalez watches as her arm testers compete in these tasks. “When you see someone (on your team) mess up, you feel it,” she said. “We could have done better.”

Andy Hoang, a senior from another prosthetic arm team, credits the constant improvement of his technique as motivation.

“We have this notebook that we have to update every day to follow our progress and our goals for that day,” he said. “There is a budget sheet that we have to fill out. When we add something to the arm, we have to add that: find the prices, the receipt.”

Hoang said he believes that “Stagg has the best MESA program in the USA.” He recalls that the MESA team has placed first for the last couple of years. “(Our school) has a name to up hold and I would like to keep it.” He then recalled that he felt really rewarded when he won third place for his prosthetic arm when all of the positions above him were held by other teams. “That’s what keeps me motivated, the name,” said

Hoang.

Zuniga says that MESA adviser Andrew Walter encourages him to do better.

“He pushes us to the next level, to exceed what we can do,” Zuniga said. He was on a team with Brooklyn Omstead, and he remembers how her gaining a second win at Nationals last year was something memorable. This influenced his mindset to achieve the same and that is the course his team set on.

After hearing that other people admired him, he said he’s grateful for their hard work, another reason for their success.

“If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be pushing ourselves as much as we are, and we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

He and Hoang both find motivation in their rivalry. “When they do better, I want to do better. They deserve a competition, ” Hoang said. “They deserve someone who can compete with them because most of the teams can’t.”

Zuniga says that teams from other schools were nothing to worry about, that the big competition was against the other Stagg teams. “Last year we kind of breezed through it,“ Zuniga said.

Tomorrow they hope to do it again.

Teachers step up to cover missing accounts clerk veronicavargo

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A.A Stagg High 1621 Brookside Stockton, CA 95207

ASB tries to pump up the spirit

“When anyone is out for any reason, our kids will suffer,” said Principal Andre Phillips.

Information about absent days is not public information, but in the case of the accounts clerk position, the absence is noticeable and has had a ripple effect on the campus.

“It does make it difficult to make the combinations necessary to pick up the slack as needed,” said the Associated Student Body advisor Ryan Berg, sitting in the seat the account clerk would be sitting on a Friday afternoon. When the position is without its current occupant, Corene Lugo, Berg says that is is “difficult, on top of all the other stuff that we (staff) have to do.”

Senior and Spanish Club president Yannett Avila decided to cancel the end of the year field trip that was to be held May 9 with Key Club and Red Cross Club due to multiple changes of paperwork and the absence of a bus provider. “We can’t take our field trip because of lack of time,” Avila said. “We also don’t have anyone to find our bus.”

Conducting multiple fundraisers and managing club funds, Avila said, “We need money fast, and you expect it, but you don’t know when you are going to get it. So… you just have to hold (plans) off.”

Along with the cancellation of the field trip, Red Cross Club officers say they suffered from the absence during their twoweek pre arranged fundraising time when they were unable to collect a check to pur-

“

Basically a whole week that should have been used for fundraising was spent waiting on a check.”

Allison Ho senior

chase the chips that were to be sold.

“At the start of it, Lugo was gone and we couldn’t purchase any chips at all,” said senior Red Cross Club president Allison Ho. “We didn’t get the check till Wednesday and got the chips out Thursday. So basically a whole week that should have been used for fundraising was spent waiting on a check.”

A day before the fundraising time was to expire, the club received what Ho called an “extremely late e-mail” that required the money to be in by 1 o’clock that day. Senior officer Faith Recio went to turn in what members had time to sell, and there was no one there to collect the large sum of money.

Deborah Berg, French Club advisor, also expressed a similar frustration. “It’s been hard to get some of the paperwork in,” Berg said. “But Mr. Berg has been there.

Our biggest complaint is limiting us to the amount of fundraisers we can do in a year.”

Increasing frustration among faculty and students has left the ASB advisor in a “tough position.”

“I am limited to what I can do,” Berg

said. “If we need to write an emergency check, myself, Roberts, and Espinoza can do that.” Berg said it is “unfortunate that she has been gone a lot, but we just have to work to keep the business going” and that he doesn’t “want that much responsibility.” Berg believes that with Lugo absent he is left with too much power and prefers the “checks and balances” that takes place when she is present.

During the audit by the state of California on May 7, Lugo remained absent due to an “on the job injury,” said Phillips. Assistant Principal Linda Roberts and Berg were excused for three hours in order to work with the state representative.

“Normally an audit is with the account clerk, but since we knew Lugo wasn’t going to be available, Berg and I did it,” Roberts said. “(The accounts) are going to be closed, just she’s not here to close anything,” she said. “So we have to wait ‘til the end of the month and if she’s not back by the end of May, the district will step in.”

After now two extensions and expected return dates, the district will inform Stagg administration if she will be returning or receive another extension on May 18.

Throughout the year, Phillips has borrowed an account clerk from another high school in the district as a “favor to (him.)”

Yet, a replacement account clerk cannot close the books for Lugo.

“She has only till the second week of June to get everything into the district,” Roberts said. Whether she comes back or not, “that is something that the district will decide.”

jonathonivy

From words to actions, the members of the Associated Student Body are sure they have been getting things done this semester.

They’ve been putting posters up, planning new events for the rest of the year, and have even accomplished getting the Senior Walk painted, which hadn’t been painted since 2012. Other accomplishments include more Twitter activity, the student store being moved to the library, and the introduction of royal assemblies to honor academic success.

Another issue that ASB has been trying to address is school spirit and they are doing so by asking the question, “What are you doing to make Stagg a better place?”

“Our goal is to get people to have school spirit,” said Senior Class President Zariah Gonzalez. “We want students to look at themselves and see if they are contributing.”

Gonzalez thinks that ASB has achieved their objective “somewhat.”

“There are always going to be people without spirit, but I just want everybody to see Stagg like I do,” Gonzalez said.

Things started really picking up after the Stagg Line February editorial, according to Senior Class Secretary Andres Andrade.

“It was stuff we needed to hear,” he said.

“We took what you guys (the Stagg Line) said and made it better.”

Despite the positive changes and added events that have been happening, not enough students have school spirit, according to senior Angel Flores.

“Yeah, they’re (ASB) doing a lot better but students need to participate,” Flores said. “The audience at the talent show was great but there weren’t a lot of students there.”

Participation and overall school spirit has been somewhat low at some of ASB planned events. This includes ,but is not limited, to the cancelled Valentines Day dance and a night rally. The only official dance that the school has hosted was prom which was planned in accordance with Prom Committee.

The problems that were brought up in the Issue 5 editorial focused mainly on communication between students and ASB members, and three months later ASB thinks they have improved. “We have the House of Reps, the intercom, a Twitter page, posters, and word of mouth as far as communicating events to the school,” ASB member Paige Compo said. “Students can come to us in K-1, or on Twitter.”

Compo also said that ASB has lots of discussions about how to get more school spirit and have successful events.

“We talk about student input,,” Compo said. “We’re here to satisfy the students.”

photo by Veronica Vargo

Junior Corrina Rivera helps decorate for prom that was on May 2 held at the French 25 rooftop.

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 Celine Lopez editor in chief Marleene Pheav web editor Araceli Valencia news editor Matteo Danforth opinion editor Phillicity Uriarte-Jones features editor Estefany Nunez entertainment editor Sathina Flores sports editor My’Kayla Moore photo editor Angel Gonzalez graphics editor Reporters Sara Abdeltawab Louis Fuentez Rosa Garcia Stephanie Jimenez Matt Kimani Jefferson Leiva Stephanie Matsumoto Julia Rosete Joann Sagaral Arriana Smith Shay Spano Luci Tomas Brennon Turner Senior staff Nuvia Cervantes Jenifer Flores Michealla Foules Fernando Gonzalez Marcella Hawkins Jonathon Ivy Jada Johnson Esmeralda Mascorro Miranda Maurino Baylin Moran Alexus Plascencia Veronica Vargo Devin Wickstrom Follow us Facebook: Stagg Line Twitter: @staggonline &

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

the

stagg line

opinion

May 15, 2015

Editorial

Exposed: exposing accounts

I

t’s just a picture. It’s only up for a few seconds. I won’t get caught. Teens often think that the nude photos they share online or through any type of technology is only shared with one specific intended audience.

In fact, this impression is what sometimes encourages teens to so carelessly upload a photograph. They think there is no real consequence.

However not only are there legal punishments, there are huge emotional tolls. Teens depend on technology whether it’s a computer, smart phone, or tablet.

They may use a device for practical reasons or for foolish reasons. But we have noticed that instead of establishing themselves online, they are exposing themselves ignorantly.

It’s one thing if a person uses sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram for educational and entertainment purposes, but it’s a different story to post inappropriate or nude pictures.

One in five teenagers has sent sexually suggestive, or semi-nude “sext” messages by phone or otherwise, according to the Illinois Bar Journal. So… do they really think they won’t get caught?

While some teens are truly ignorant of the consequences of posting nude pictures or even drug paraphernalia pictures, others know them but press the post button anyway. However, when being reviewed for a

job, the probability of a person who selflessly posts these indecencies is probably not going to even make it into the interview room. Online pre screening is more common in today’s world than ever before, and the risks are hazardous.

What most teens fail to understand is that committing these acts can not only result in a misdemeanor crime, but a felony.

Under the California law, if you are posting illicit nude photographs under the age of 18 then the punishment would be in the form of community service and mandatory counseling which would be paid for by the offender’s parents. But if you are older than 18 and depict a picture of a minor, you can be imprisoned or fined. Recently, a bill has been proposed in California where a student who gets caught sexting at school would get expelled, according to Mobile Media Guard.

After that picture is introduced to the World Wide Web, you are no longer in control. It could go viral, you could be the subject of the next meme, and then what?

While you may not be held to legal consequences since there is more emphasis on terrorism than there is on teen nudity, the amount of embarrassment could be drastic.

The shame would be all your own do-

#SLopinions

World Wide Web photo illustrasio by Angel Gonzalez and Sathina Flores

ing when an adult confronts you about that photo you thought got 100 plus likes for your new bikini, but in reality for your semi naked body.

Don’t assume that you are safe if you delete an inappropriate picture. You actually are not totally safe from danger or shaming.

For example, if you post a nude picture on Twitter and later delete it, a copy of that picture will still be on the server of the account.

Therefore, the company Twitter has access to view your postings. Also, if a person happened to come across your page they could screenshot your picture and keep it without your consent.

So to prevent trouble from occurring, it is best to not even think about posting these unsuitable photos on social media.

It may seem “sexy” or playful for teens to expose themselves through private message or publicly, but the We asked students via Twitter about the dangers of the consequences are grave.

Internet and here’s what they said!

It’s time for a real change amongst teens, where it is not culturally appropriate to expose yourself.

It wasn’t okay then and it isn’t okay now. Avoid learning the hard way. graphic by My’Kayla Moore

Reflecting on Seeing a human, not years of self-harm a homeless person

I

don’t want attention. I the pain I felt and not being don’t want pity. But what able to stop it. It was even I do want is to create harder to have my own little awareness and a better undersister, the one who looks up standing. to me, witness the nights I Awareness of the seriouscried to myself, knock on ness of self harm. Understand the bathroom door when what a person feels when I wouldn’t come out. But they have nothing to resort to because of them I said I’d be other than inflicting pain on better. I accepted the offers themselves. of therapy and group classes.

It was fourth period, alexusplascencia Anything to show my family English 1-2. Still, no one I wouldn’t hurt myself again. was attempting to make friends with the I like comparing the situation of self “weird girl.” Maybe it was my hair. Maybe harm to the way people often resort to it was my choice of wardrobe. Or maybe drugs and alcohol as an outlet. People who the number of bracelets I had on that day are hurting abuse drugs and alcohol to could not fully cover what I had done to release the pain they feel and are trying to myself. feel a bit of happiness in those moments.

I heard their laughs. I witnessed the That’s their way of dealing with it. pointing. And to this day I can remember And because it’s more common, it’s not as that moment, their faces, and their names. looked down upon.

When a person is purposely harming People cut themselves, burn themthemselves as a form of release from all the selves, or even bruise themselves, trying pain and grief they’ve dealt with, or even to find relief and forget how much they’re currently dealing with, it doesn’t mean hurting. And although it seems contradicthey want attention. It’s showing there’s tory because they’re hurting themselves to a serious problem to take into considerbe rid of the hurt, it makes sense in the ation. It’s unhealthy and they need help. moment.

Help that is hard to seek because of Then there are those who are able to the reactions. It’s not a good feeling when deal with their problems in a healthier a person has to ask for help because they way. And those people, they’re lucky. It can’t stop hurting themselves. It’s scary takes a lot of strength to want to be able and takes a whole lot of confidence. to talk about what’s going through their Writing this three years later also takes minds, to choose to write or talk about a lot of confidence. their feelings instead of cutting. But be It’s been seven years in total since I’ve cause those people are able to do somebeen keeping it to myself. But now it’s thing that will benefit them, it doesn’t been nine months that I’ve finally had the mean those who can’t are weaker. confidence to admit I had a problem and Every individual is different. And evlook for help. I witnessed my mom break ery individual has their own way of coping down into tears more than once. The with what is weighing them down. innocence in my 4 year old sister’s voice There are a ton of people who struggle when she would ask, “Sissy, what’s wrong? daily when trying not to hurt themselves.

Did you get an owie?”

It’s been a long eight years, and I’m It was hard to see the hurt in my own still there. Living day to day, trying not to mom’s eyes, for her to blame herself for all drag the metal against my skin.

H

ave you ever seen someone, ragged clothes, mangy haired, dirty faced, and yellow teethed, walk into a fast food restaurant? Maybe walking down the street singing, or talking to themselves, screaming nonsense into the shadows.

What do you think of these people? Do you get irritated and impatient?

Sympathetic and kind?

There are many ways to react, but for me I get sad, lonely even. I think of my mother, wondering when, if ever, I will see her again.

If it will be roaming the streets, mind melted away by narcotics, maybe in a casket, or maybe as good old mom again. Rocking out to Avril Lavigne in her earlier days. Doubtful.

Sometimes I begin to think of the people in front of me, wondering if they have any kids, a family to care about and love, wishing deeply for their son or daughter to come home.

It’s not an easy life being homeless. Especially when your mind is disintegrating in a fire pit of methamphetamines.

These people are looked down on everyday. Some people seem to have little patience for the homeless community. It’s not as bad as “Take Back Santa Cruz,” which runs around trying to force the homeless out of town, by threats, taking picture to post, calling the cops, or

jordanspano other scare tactics.

There might not be a “Take Back Stockton” (Thank God), but, as a community, we could be a little more patient and accepting.

Now a lot of people would argue that the homeless community is downright uncontrollable, a community of suspicion and revolt against society.

A riot of “backstabbing twerkers,” as my father would say. But isn’t that just stereotyping and labeling a group of people who could just be down on their luck? It’s unfair to judge all of those who don’t have a permanent address, as defiant.

Just because someone doesn’t have a place to live doesn’t make them drug addicts or anarchists. My mother, although a drug addict, is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She never says no to a favor. She loves kids, and is very sociable..

Being homeless is hard enough without knowing that you’re judged every

single second you’re out in public. Believe me, I’ve experienced homelessness a few times. You don’t know where your next meal or shower is coming from. You don’t know where you’re going to sleep. You roam around endlessly everyday because you have nothing better to do. You don’t belong. You don’t belong in a family, in a home or in a city. You don’t belong to the community. That can cut deep.

I’m not saying that just because someone is homeless, you should offer them a meal and a place to stay.

I won’t advise you run up arms open and hug them, telling them you love them.

I’m not telling you to give them a dime, although, it would be kind.

I am just asking, that mentally, you don’t even have to make eye contact, but in your own mind, accept them. Don’t judge them.

You don’t have to love them, but see yourself as equal. It shows. It can make a horrific day tolerable, and that may not seem like much but even a simple smile can change the world.

It all depends on your attitude and mindset. You have the power to change a person’s whole day. Maybe they’ll even pass it on.

It takes a thought, a mental note, a simple view of humanity, that you are equal, that can make this place a better world to live in.

opinion

May 15, 2015

the

staggline

Is it appropriate to appropriate?

Don’t steal from a culture but appreciate its uniqueness

I

have always been proud to be Mexican. When I was younger, I was amazed that there was a whole holiday dedicated to the country my family comes from. The fifth of May was always a day of pride for me and other Mexicans as we banded together at parades and celebrated all night long.

In school, my teachers always reserved one day in May for a lesson on Cinco de Mayo. I had always assumed it was Mexican Independence Day since that’s how many made it to be, but I soon learned that it was actually the day the Pueblan army defeated the French; Sept. 16 brought independence.

Still, I revered May 5 with pride and also looked forward to Sept. 16. But, growing older I noticed that at parades and celebrations fewer Mexicans stayed for partying and drinking beer.

There remained other people wearing ponchos and sombreros, drinking Tecate and Corona, and shaking maracas to and fro in more of a party and less in celebration for my people.

Did they know what Cinco de Mayo commemorated? Did they even care?

This is one example of cultural appropriation.

Mexico as a whole does not celebrate Cinco de Mayo; it is mainly celebrated where the battle took place, in the state of Puebla. Mexican-Americans still find the holiday as a source of pride, but I feel it isn’t appreciated for what it truly is.

American society has taken this festival to honor a great feat in war as a day to dress as “typical Mexicans” and have another excuse to get drunk. It is absolutely mocking that the one day reserved for Mexican culture has been turned into a drunken mass of appropriation.

And on May 6 America returns to protesting for greater immigration laws against the “illegals” working hard to earn their way into that cherished American Dream this land claims to offer.

But my culture is not alone.

Cultural appropriation happens all the time, everywhere. Many don’t understand that the fashion trends they’re adopting may be appropriated garments that are sacred to the culture from which they originate.

Cultures own what they create: their food, their art, their clothing, their language, their customs. These all were developed within a culture to serve a purpose for the people. Some are sacred to tradition; others, a twist on something universal.

For example, in Native American cultures, headdresses or feathered war bonnets signify a warrior’s

bravery and was considered the highest honor to receive, not a decoration for a sports helmet or the finishing touch of your Coachella look.

Something universal, however, such as food and forms of art are aspects of life that are modified by the different cultures that make up our diverse world. For the reason that these things are enjoyed by everyone — not just one group of people — it cannot be confined to just one culture.

So, in efforts to enrich oneself in experiencing a taste of other societies, people are free to enjoy arts, food, or language of a culture because they are secular; they, for the most part, do not hold any religious or customary significance.

A result of taking part in other cultures this way is that we learn about the culture. We’re able to live it within our own society and learn to appreciate the diversity of the world. When people take the time to learn, inadvertent appropriation occurs less often as the understanding that some things should not be touched becomes evident.

Preserving sacred customs would not cause discrimination. It would not cause a divide between races and it would not foster racism. Conversely, mocking a culture for what one tries to take for a reason beyond its significance would. We must respect the customs of others and learn about them to keep their value sacred to the culture it comes celinelopez from.

Why Iran should matter to teenagers

T

he great distance of Iran can groups may be the organic products of make the immense amount their societal milieus, they ultimately of effort that the American owe their allegiance to Iran. It was foreign policy establishment spends on these groups that played the leading thinking up ways to counter or subdue role in the Iraqi resistance and that Iran seem banal or counterproductive, are now sweeping across Yemen in particularly when the domestic situadefiance of the Saudi bombardment. tion is nowhere near perfect.

If Ansar Allah, also known as the In order to convince the AmeriHouthis, manages to bring all or most can public that government policies of Yemen under their control, and if towards Iran are justified, nightmarish the allegations of Iranian involvement caricatures of its leaders and their aspi- matthewkimani are true, then the Strait of Bab al-Manrations are often drawn in the media. dib, the area linking the Gulf of Aden Iran and its leaders have often been characterised as to the Red Sea and, by extension, the Mediterrashadowy, malevolent figures who are hell-bent on nean, could fall under the influence of Iran and destroying the United States. They are also, much potentially lead to the result discussed in the last like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, portrayed as bloodparagraph. thirsty, anti-Semitic beasts that pose an imminent Alternatively, and most importantly, the existential threat to all peoples and nations around mounting existential threat of Iran and its allies in it. the Middle East to Israel could lead either Israel or This article concerns itself not with such nonthe United States to attempt an invasion of Iran, an sensical cartoons, but with the concrete reasons for undertaking that would waste countless lives and the obsession of the State Department and so many accomplish nothing. public figures with the Islamic Republic.

The resulting tension between political factions The Islamic Republic of Iran straddles the in countries that are not parties to the conflict Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through would become explosive and result in massive which about 20 percent of the world’s supply of oil outbreaks of violence in countries such as Lebais transported. Iran itself possesses 10 percent and non, where the differences in worldview that led to 15 percent of the world’s reserves of oil and gas, re- the Lebanese Civil War have not been reconciled. spectively. If Iran were able to develop its military, Moreover, such a war would necessitate, according including its supposed nuclear capabilities, to the to the authors of “Which Path to Persia?” a paper point where it could challenge American dominapublished by the Brookings Institute in 2009, tion of the Persian Gulf, then American economic anywhere from 700,000 to 1,400,000 troops interests could be seriously threatened. during the occupation of Iran, which would further Iran would be able to use its power to force necessitate an enormous expansion of the military portions of the world community into agreeing apparatus of the United States. with, or at the very least keeping silent about, its This kind of enormous expansion in military policies and actions. Iranian domination of the capability would and could only draw on those oil trade could adversely impact the prices of not in our age group. In fact, according to the report, just gas, but also every single other product that such an undertaking may result in the re-institudepends on oil for its production – essentially, tion of the draft, something that I am sure none of everything necessary for modern life. us would like to see.

The closest allies of the United States in the The foregoing should, I hope, make the great Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia being the importance of Iran and relations between Iran and principal ones, have great concerns about the threat the United States clear. of an Iranian attack on their territory.

Now that the United States is entangled in Iran has openly and repeatedly declared its negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear intention to destroy Israel and has allegedly funded program (for more on that, see my article in the and armed anti-Zionist and anti-American militias online edition) and the threat of war looms ever all over the Middle East. Many of these groups, in- closer, it is crucial that the youth of this nation cluding Hizbullah, espouse the Khomeinist ideolo- come to understand exactly what is at stake with gy of Velayat-e-Faqih. According to Velayat-e-Faqih regard to Iran and what the possible consequences and its adherents, the commands of a Supreme of the intransigence of their leadership are, because, Leader are absolute. in the end, it is we, the youth, who will have to pay The upshot of this is that, even though these the price.

3

We should unite cultures and share their ideas

M

y skin tells many stories. The scar on my right arm is an emblem of remembrance to the day a rusty nail tore my flesh. The freckles on my face are traits I inherited from my mother. But my skin tone is the most deceptive.

Often, people will assume I am of Mexican descent. When the question, “¿Hablas español?” used to come, my answer would always be no, in Spanish. But as years rolled along, I became more comfortable with the language. “No, no hablo espanol. Lo siento.” This was unknowingly my first lesson in cultural appropriation.

I am mixed. My mother, Caucasian, is who I’ve been raised by yet I am still largely in touch with my family on my dad’s side, which is African American. According to Tumblr, the origin of cultural appropriation discussions, as a black girl, I should own cornrows and no one who is not African-American should because cornrows are a “black” thing.

Should I wear my hair straight on one side and the other be braided back to properly show the races I represent? Or would wearing cornrows make me seem like an appropriator because, after all, my skin says I’m Latina?

Just because I don’t fluently know a language it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try. More importantly, what it does mean is that I should try without being labeled jadajohnson an appropriator.

I

When I say “porque” instead of “because” and “no se” instead of “I don’t know”, I am not mocking the Spanish language. I am trying to learn it.

Basing culture off of looks is the true detriment to freedom of expression. How would anyone know if I was non-Mexican just because I don’t speak Spanish if I look Mexican? Of course, a white man in a sombrero would stand out out more than me if I were wearing the same thing but why is that seen as mocking rather than a person enjoying their time? More important, if a man of Mexican descent who unknowingly doesn’t speak Spanish is wearing a sombrero and a false mustache is he labeled an appropriator as well? Or is there just some merging of two terms denouncing ethnicities?

Cultural appropriation is commonly confused as racism. A person yelling slurs at someone isn’t classified as appropriation, that’s just racism. Appropriation is the theft of one culture’s beliefs and practices with the intent of changing it.

Seventy years ago, the entertainment business was a cesspool of appropriation. Black songs would be recorded but never played on the radio, at least not in their original form. Whites would take them, sing the same lyrics to a different beat and call it their own. Theft of another culture was happening behind closed doors and blasted through millions of speakers, unknowingly perpetuating the real definition of what I’ve been accused of for believing drawing Henna tattoos on non-Egyptians and the wearing of head dresses on non-Native Americans and sombreros on non-Mexicans is embracing a culture, not mocking it.

So when a white man puts on a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo, he isn’t trying to change Mexican culture. Maybe he doesn’t understand the significance of the holiday. Perhaps he, along with nine out of 10 of the Latino students in my Spanish 5-6 class, thought it was Mexican Independence Day. But that’s not cultural appropriation. It’s just ignorance shared even with the culture itself.

If we label fashion statements as sacred belongings of one culture, making it taboo to others, we show that immersement into another world shouldn’t exist. This freezes the melting pot. After all, the best way to understand someone is to step into their shoes, isn’t it?

Plus-size models are the new normal

t’s the true meaning of beauty, it is a wakeup plus-size models to advertise the latest clothes. call to the world. The world is becoming a Dove, one of the biggest companies, to find place where skinny is not the norm. the meaning of true beauty, started their “Real And skinny shouldn’t be.

Beauty” campaign, which was like a domino effect.

At different times in the past, skinny was Other companies began to join the movebeyond beautiful. The smaller the waist, the more ment, Lane Bryant began their “I’m No Angel” people noticed you. But that mentalicampaign that challenged Victoria’s ty has changed for the best.

Secret models, known as “angels,” If you look at the definition of because of their “perfect body.” plus-size it says, a size larger than the The #ImNoAngel campaign normal range. But what is this “norbegan to trend. Celebrities and people mal range”? around the world posted and tweeted When finding out how you fit in, using this hashtag, propelling the you would think it’d be the number momentum of the movement. the scale says. “I’m 110 lbs, am I nor Brands like Barbie are creating a mal?” But reality hits, when it comes “normal doll” that changes the way down to pants size that determines the the doll looks. No longer will a doll category. Plus-size begins at the size 12 aracelivalencia with a small waist, perfect abs, and and goes on. This category, the plusthe beautiful face be the toy children size, determines how the world sees you. prefer to play with.

In November 2014, Calvin Klein Currently, I’m 5’2” and I wear a size used a plus-size model to show and to start their 8. I’ve always liked my clothes to fit loose. I’m not “Perfectly Fit” campaign. This set off a controversy plus-size, neither fat nor skinny. because the model, Myla Dalbesio, is a size 10.

So what category do I fit in?

As mentioned above, plus-size begins at the size Growing up, my mother would constantly 12. People began to criticize the brand and social tell me, “Take a picture of you now, because in 15 media began to explode with negative comments years you’ll wish you were that size.” Meaning to towards the use of a size 10 model. love yourself now before it’s too late. That saying The definition of beauty is changing; all the was always playing in my head. I would constantly imperfections we have that makes us different will think: Will I one day become plus-size? “It’s genetdefine it. Companies began to play a role in show- ics, baby,” she would say. As a result, I’ve come to ing these imperfections. peace with it, because I know...

Places like Macy’s and JCPenney used ads with A revolution has begun.

art by Araceli Valencia

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May 15, 2015

Behind the curtains

Student dancers work their hardest to end with their yearly showcase sathinaflores There is something about listening to the hum of the audience making their way to their seats. There is something magical about those few seconds of silence before the music starts as the stage lights go up and the main lights go down. It’s enough to make the hair on the back of any dancer’s neck stand on end.

“Being backstage, I shake my nerves out,” said junior Destiny Guzman, “before I go out and dance.”

Every year a showcase is put on by dance instructor Deborah Spector, her family, her Dance 1-2 and 3-4 classes, and the help from other teachers and students around campus.

Parents and students are welcomed into the theater as Spector opens with a brief welcoming and set of rules. Then they begin to dance.

The audience sees students who may seem like natural performers. They know how to “work a crowd,” you could say. They dance with energy, and move with joy.

“It’s exciting and overwhelming,” said Guzman. She also said that she doesn’t dance to impress but to express.

Certainly, experience as a performer plays a big part in this. Like anything else, practice in performance allows you to learn what works and what doesn’t.

What the audience doesn’t know is the process behind it all— the behind the scenes.

“I get to see it all come together,” said junior Valentina Valencia, Spector’s one and only teacher’s assistant.

Valencia has been a part of dance for three years. She has got to see Spector influence the students throughout life, even in her own.

Valencia gets to watch them dance and see all their hard work pay off.

Even in the midst of intense dance routines and practices after school they are always having fun. Guzman mentioned how during practice there is always good energy flowing. “It makes you feel good about yourself,” she said.

But sometimes accidents happen. “During rehearsal someone stepped on my foot and it messed me up,” Guzman said.

Sophomore Alexis Reyes said, “We learn all different kinds of genre. It’s not all the same.” But dancing for Reyes comes naturally.

Each dance they learn comes with a lot of steps and translations.

Guzman said that sometimes the routines are hard, especially having to remember all those moves.

Valencia said that what they dance in class is sometimes what they dance on stage. She also said that most of the girls are usually running more than two routines and that it also could make it hard on them— having to change from one costume to another and from one routine to something completely different. “(Dancing) makes me feel invincible,” Guzman said. But there are times when she hopes she doesn’t mess up.

“I feel self-conscious,” Guzman said. “If I see someone mess up so will I.” She said that when she does mess up, though, that she plays it off.

“You don’t show it in your face when you mess up.”

At the end of their performance they all come together grouped at the center of the stage and they all say their goodbyes. As the stage lights go down and the main lights go back up, parents and students exit the building. The show is over.

“In the end it’s a big performance where they are able to come together and show all that they’ve worked for,” Valencia said.

(Clockwise from top left) Senior Luis Mariscal prepares to lift his partner, senior Andranae Johnson.

Jeremiah Knott, next year’s head cheerleading coach, gives a guest performance on a modern dance style.

Genesis Williams, Johnson, and other Dance 3-4 students perform one of two tap routines. photos by Phillicity Uriarte-Jones

REVELATION

Truth of dark past helps motivate celinelopez He was 7 when he found out. He was 7 when the life he thought he had turned out to be much more complicated. He was 7 when he found out he was adopted.

William (not his real name) had been adopted by his aunt and uncle when he was 3 since both his parents were alcoholics and drug addicts. When he was taken away from his biological parents, William’s father was infuriated by the adoption and made threats to kill him unless he was brought back to live with him.

In order to keep him safe from his biological father, William was relocated to Stockton and moved into a group home. He was only supposed to live here for a few months, but he decided to stay for his whole senior year since he didn’t want to leave his newly-made friends.

William said that living in a group home was something he had to adjust to since a rule at the home is that he must always check in whenever he goes somewhere and often needs to get prior approval. “It’s kind of hard, but it’s what you need to do,” he said. “It’s an added responsibility.”

Despite having to constantly communicate, William still decided to play a sport each season and be involved in other after-school programs. “I knew it was going to be difficult but inside I knew I wanted to do it,” he said. “I wasn’t going to inhibit myself because of what my dad put me through.”

Since he always needs to know how long events will be and inform his group home whenever there’s a change in plans or he’ll be late, all of William’s teachers and coaches know his story. But for the most part, those who see him everyday don’t know about the past he carries. He says he doesn’t bother to tell most people about it because he doesn’t want to explain his life that he calls confusing. He only chooses a few close friends to disclose his past with, when he feels like he can trust someone and that they won’t take his secret as a big shock. “I don’t want to tell someone and have them treat me different,” he said. “I want to be treated for who I am and

not where I come from.”

William said living in a group home is hard since he can’t do most of the things that most teenagers are able to do like hang out with friends often.

However, he looks at his lack of freedom positively since he can stay out of trouble.

He knows he is far from being normal, which isn’t a bad thing, but still wishes for a “normal life.”

“When I come (to school),” he said, “that’s when I feel normal.” At school, he has the chance to get away from his home life and talk with friends. To achieve his desire for normality, he participates in extracurricular activities, instead of sit around and not do much at his group home. Participating in after-school activities gives him the sense that he’s just like any regular high school student.

“It’s the one piece of normal life I have that no one can take away.”

William said that although the change was challenging, he embraces it because it influenced who he is. “There’s always a part of someone you won’t know. Always,” he said. “I’m not gonna judge you. I know my past.” William views other with the compassion he wishes others will have for him when he shares his story.

Like any high school senior, William has plans after graduation. His adoptive dad — who he simply calls “dad” — was in the Navy, and William now pursues a path down the same road with the prospect of going to college afterward. William doesn’t think of his parents as adoptive even though they aren’t biologically his mother and father. He calls them his family because, for him, that’s what they’ve always been. “I’ve been growing up thinking my uncle was my dad,” he said. However, when William found out the truth, he said there was no reason to feel any different. “(My adoptive parents) wanted me to know that I was adopted and they still loved me.”

Despite living away from his family right now, after high school he’ll again be on his own. William is certain that he’ll always have his family’s support.

“They are my family. They’re not my adoptive family,” he says. “I’ll always have a family there.”

Careers in criminal justice still pursued matteodanforth

“

It’s been a year since he joined the Stockton Police Department Cadet program and nothing has changed his mind of becoming a police officer. “It doesn’t matter what they say. It’s what I want to do in life.”

PLA junior Luis Perez has known he wants to become an officer since he was in the second grade.

He explains an incident where the police were helping a family in distress. “I saw the way they were helping those people ,” he said, “and that’s when I decided that that’s what I wanted to do.”

When a friend of his came up to him his sophomore year, asking if he wanted to join the SPD Cadet program, he saw it as his best chance to get into the police academy.

“That day I turned in my application changed my life,” Perez said. He thinks back to a time when it was all new to him and he didn’t consider the other cadets a part of his family.

“We do a lot,” Perez says. He explains the difficulty of memorizing codes, learning how to deal with different situations and scenarios, and taking in all the do’s and don’ts of the police force. “It’s been a lot but it’s all going to pay off when I join.”

However, not all of his peers took so kindly to his life decision. Perez explains how there were times where his peers would say he’d turn into a “crooked cop,” a “bad cop,” a “corrupt pig,” or a “dirty rat.”

He goes on to say how worse it got once all the news about Ferguson, Baltimore and the other

cases of police brutality began to surface around the country. “It felt like everyone hated me for wanting to become a cop,” he says.

Despite comments made by others, the support of his family and superiors, and his own dedication got him through the opposition. “It didn’t really affect me,” Perez said. “I would just say, ‘You know, I’m joining, and I’m going to make a difference.’”

Perez says he’s confident the cadet program will give him an extra edge, but he’s doing more to make his application even stronger. “Right now I do wrestling and football for the physical part, and I’m going to get my degree before I join,” he says.

Perez says he’s planning on majoring in criminal junior justice at Fresno State, for their reputation of having a good criminology program.

The junior thinks he has a good chance of getting in but he has fears. “I always wonder what’ll happen if something goes wrong,” he says. “I want to return everyday with my life but if I die doing my duty, I’ll be at peace knowing I did it for the community.”

Even though there will be those who label all cops as corrupt, stereotyping, heartless individuals who will shoot at anyone given the opportunity, Perez hopes that the work he’ll do will change the mentality that has swept the nation. “There is always going to be cops out there who are corrupt and quick to shoot, but I’m going to change that,” he said. “My wrestling coach calls me ‘Officer Lu’ for a reason.”

I want to return every day with my life but if I die doing my duty, I’ll be at peace knowing I did it for the community”

Luis Perez

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art by Marlene Pheav

Teens react differently to vape trend phillicityuriarte-jones Deep breath in, exhale slow and concentrate on what you want the “smoke,” which is actually vapor, to look like. There is no high, only satisfaction when you see what you’ve made for the few minutes it floats in the air before disappearing.

Junior Robert Ramirez has been experiencing this satisfaction for three years now. He was originally attracted to vape pens because of seeing various smoke tricks on Instagram and Vine, and he decided to try it out on his own. As a long-term user he has mastered more than a few of those tricks he saw on social media, including, but not limited to, the classic “O”, tornadoes, french inhale, ghosts and various “air bending” tricks.

Ramirez sees nothing wrong with his ownership or use, both of which are legal, and in some cases making his own “mods” of the popular e-cigarette variation. Over his approximate three years of use he has been through about five pens, including the mods he has made.

He is certainly not alone in his consumption.

“

CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that use of these smoking products has increased from 4.5 percent to 13.4 percent between 2013 and 2014 alone.

According to California Health and Safety Code section 119405, it is illegal for any smoking product to be sold to a minor; but the code never addresses the ownership or use of said product.

In actuality, using an e-cigarette is called vaping; so what is the point of a vape pen?

A vape pen is simply a branch of the wide variations of e-cigarettes out there that have been popularized by teens everywhere. However, while e-cigarettes are classified as a tool for therapeutic use, vape pens are not. Unlike

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those who use e-cigarettes to get off of the real deal, Ramirez uses it for its visual stimulation. “Most people use it to stop smoking, to get off nicotine,” he said. “Others use it for fun.”

Ramirez knows there is much left unsaid about vaping products: what the “juice” or flavoring contains for instance, as it is not required to be disclosed by law — his favorite of which is “tortoise blood,” a green liquid with a “soda-like” taste — or of the long-term effects it may have on him. sophomore Despite this, he remains confident that his health is not being compromised.

Marcus Sherman, biology teacher, sees them as a nuisance rather than something to be used “for

If I don’t know what’s in them, why would I risk putting that in me?”

Isaha Jimenez

ABLE

stephaniematsumoto

Rett Syndrome, Pervasive Development Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome. These are all different types of autism.

While this disorder makes the lives of many students around campus difficult, a certain student uses it to his advantage.

Robert Tuckwood, a junior, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in third grade. Ever since then, he’s had to deal with his syndrome impacting his social connections with other students.

Other than that, however, Tuckwood doesn’t believe it changes much of who he is.

“It’s just something that’s there,” Tuckwood said. “If in any way, it helps.”

According to WebMD, while some symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome are problems with social skills, limited range of interests, and coordination problems, it also causes the affected to be exceptionally talented in a particular area.

For Tuckwood, he excels in building and creating projects for MESA. Andrew Walter, MESA teacher, has known Tuckwood since his freshman year. Despite that, Walter didn’t know about his autism until later on his sophmore year.

On a field trip to a tech museum, he asked Tuckwood why he didn’t want to fill out the answer packet, and the puzzle pieces started to fit together for Walter. It was surprising at first that Tuckwood never told him, but Walter soon understood.

“It’s not a label for him,” Walter said. “He’ll never say, ‘It’s because I have this’ as an excuse.”

While Walter adjusted to Tuckwood’s condition, scoring him differently and having him be with a partner to help with

fun.” “They can be used to get high — by smoking hash oil — just without the smell.”

Sophomore Isaha Jimenez also doesn’t see the point in using a vape pen, considering as they are an e-cigarette.

“I don’t like how it’s becoming the next cigarette, the next big thing.” Jimenez knows nothing from personal use but rather what he sees in his everyday life.

“It can contain what a cigarette contains, and just look different,” he said. “What’s the point?”

As someone against cigarettes in general, seeing his peers use vape pens is more irritating that intriguing for Jimenez. “I don’t think they even know what could be in them. It can mess up your lungs, mess up your life.”

Limited knowledge on the subject is not for lack of exposure but rather an extreme opposition in that situation. As it is not required by law for the ingredients in these liquids to be publicized, one may be at risk when using these products.

“If I don’t know what’s in them, why would I risk putting that in me?.”

Tuckwood refuses to let ‘disability’ define him

the writing for most MESA projects, he still pushed him at some points by making him do the writing.

Slowly trying to make him write, Walter describes his reluctance to work on the skill as his biggest downfall.

Yet Walter knows that even though making him write is a struggle, building is where Tuckwood presents his skill.

“Lots of kids can write about the MESA projects but won’t do it,” Walter said.

Tuckwood, on the other hand, is ready for anything. Described as being a hands-on person, he has a tendency to build just for fun.

For Physics Day at Great

America one year, he earned a third place award, the only one in MESA to compete in that event. Not only that, Tuckwood also built a boat without Walter asking him to. Once asked why, he responds with that he was just bored.

“He does something that’s interesting to him,” Walter said.

“You don’t just build a boat because you’re bored.”

Walter believes that Tuckwood has a passion for building.

By watching the gears turn in Tuckwood’s head, he is inspired that he focuses on his strength rather than the weakness of his condition.

“It makes you think, you might be working with someone

with autism and you wouldn’t know, which is inspiring for others with it.”

At first sight, nothing makes Tuckwood seem different from other students around school.

He’s just an average looking guy who enjoys activities like building boats or participating in the annual MESA Quizbowl.

That’s where some students and staff are wrong.

He has Asperger’s Syndrome, and though he has it, it’s not going to stop him from fitting in or joking about it.

“It shows that I can function in a normal society and when I pull it out that I have it, I have fun with it.”

photo by Devin Wickstrom

Robert Tuckwood sprays epoxy on the bottom of the boat to patch a hole during the Solar Boat Regatta Slalom competition on May 8. Tuckwood is the lead builder for the boat team.

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May 15, 2015

Fans remain after predictable fight louisfuentez For many boxing fans, it has been a long six years. “When is Floyd Mayweather going to finally put on the gloves and fight Manny Pacquiao to make it the fight of the decade?”

Many people including myself asked this question for years and finally May 2 came, the date that would be marked down in the boxing history books. The two boxers that, in the last 10 years have been considered the best, would finally be going toe to toe.

Much debate spread around the world on who would win.

Some thought that it was going to be a first round knockout, others thought it would come down to the judges deciding the winner. Though I knew who would win, I still had faith in the underdog. And that to me was Pacquiao. While it may seem to be an extreme assumption, in my eyes I knew the clear winner.

Rounds 1 and 2 were nerve-racking, especially for those waiting for a knockout. When that did not happen, rounds 3 to 6 were basically not worth the money because no big punches were landed and there were no knock downs— just a lot of dodging and ducking

“

from both competitors.

For Rounds 7 to 9, Pacquiao dominated the number of punches thrown, but connected only one good left hook. That caused me to get worried about Mayweather. However, Mayweather took control and never let up against him and for that, he won those three rounds.

Mayweather connected punches in rounds 10 and 11 that would get the fight more and more interesting. Then Round 12 came along and all Mayweather had to do was dodge Pacquiao to win.

It was basically his fight; so as Pacquiao put much effore trying to connect, all Mayweather had to do was toy with him and it was his fight to win.

As the bell had rung for the last time both fighters raised their hands in triumph because both men felt that they were still the best no matter what.

Then as the announcer read aloud the scores and said that the champ was still the champ I knew that my pick had won.

Now, many people say that Mayweather ran from Pacquiao. A quick and very good defender, such as Mayweather, should be able to dodge the heavy power of Pacquiao.

Don’t get me wrong. I think that this fight is one for the history books. Two great fighters at their prime finally clashed and one was going to have to be crowned winner. And with that the winner was unanimous. It was going to be a good night for the undefeated fighter because he knew he was still perfect.

Although I knew who would win, I still had faith in the underdog.”

Source: Mayweather Promotions

graphic by Rosa Garcia

‘Paper Towns’ maps teen lives

arrianasmith

John Green is most wellknown for his novel “The Fault in Our Stars,” which was later adapted into a major film, viewed on the big screen around the world.

“The Fault in Our Stars” stole the hearts of readers with Green’s writing style, which sounded like it came straight from the teenage characters themselves.

John Green is also known for collaborating with other authors such as the time he was a contributing author to k “Let It Snow,” which he worked on with two other well known authors.

His book “Grayson Grayson” was also co-written.

However, where the circumstances in “The Fault in Our Stars” lacked believability, Green’s novel “Paper Towns” does not.

Readers can easily relate to the characters and story. It is also expected to be a big hit with

viewers like “The Fault in Our Stars” was, since it is coming to theaters this summer.

The story is told from the perspective of Quentin Jacobsen (who will be played by Nat Wolff.) and his love interest Margo Roth Spiegelman (who will be played by Cara Delevingne.)

Quentin’s two best friends, Radar and Ben are also frequent characters throughout the novel.

While in some cases characters may seem unnecessary, this is not the case for “Paper Towns,” where all the characters help to tell the story effectively.

Quentin and Margo’s friendship goes back to their adolescents, along with Q’s (as Quentin is referred to most of the novel) admiration for the adventurous, daring Margo. After years of ignoring his existence, Margo climbs into Q’s window one night with a list.

What is written on this list will take the reader on an adventure to better understanding

Margo’s mysterious character.

Margo talks a leary Q and the readers into going on this journey with her.

This part of the novel triggers all the emotions, from laughter to smiles and even some really deep moments between Margo and Q. By this time in the novel the reader already senses a special connection between Margo and Q. When Q returns home in the early morning it only leaves the reader in suspense for where the previous night leaves the characters’ friendship.

The next morning, Q wakes to find Margo has vanished, her belongings untouched.

Due to Green taking this particular plot twist it keeps the reader in suspense till the end of the novel.

Margo’s disappearance takes Q and his friend on a journey of their own to find Margo.

All of these events are happening in the midst of prom,

graduation, and the start of adulthood, making this novel even more bittersweet to those in the same age group.

There are many labels one could put on this book.

One thing’s for sure: it is not your average fairy tale romance, nor a crazy mystery.

The fact that it has a mixture of genres makes it more enticing to a variety of readers.

“Paper Towns” may seem like an odd or even boring title for a book at first.

However, it ultimately ties the story together.

Although at first sight the title is ambiguous, readers find out the deeper meaning Margo gives to the phrase when talking about her hatred for insincere people who pretend they live a perfect life.

“Everything is so much uglier up close,” says Margo. But this isn’t the case for this book.

Even when the novel is analyzed in pieces, it is still just as captivating.

Young adults can relate to this Green novel.

Reading the book before watching the movie is recommended.

Overall, the book is thought provoking and takes its reader on a roller coaster of emotions.

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photo by Araceli Valencia

Junior Matthew Reichel practices on his freestyle with fins after school to prepare for his last swim meet of the year.

IN THE FAST LANE

Matthew Reichel is known for his fast freestyle in swimming stephaniejimenez

For being “skinny and tiny,” as Matthew Reichel describes himself, now a junior, he is one of the fastest freestyle swimmers this year.

As a freshman he was talked into trying out for football which developed a fear of full contact sports.

“Football is not for me, I’m too small,” he said. “I used to be a vegetarian because of that, I think that’s why I was small. I was afraid that somebody would tackle me if I played football.”

Reichel’s first time swimming was in the second grade. It was his freshman year when he decided to join the swim team.

Throughout his high school years, he has encountered a few difficulties.

Despite the fact that he was small, Reichel could care less if he was smaller or bigger than anyone else on the team because swim was more speed.

“When we wear fins, it makes my feet really uncomfortable, which bothers me when I swim,” said Reichel. Because of his “pale complexion” as Reichel puts it, he constantly gets sunburnt, but it doesn’t affect him while swimming.

“I always get labeled for putting on too much sunscreen. Just the usual stuff.”

“I never really had any complications, since swim isn’t a full contact sport,” Reichel said. “I’ve always enjoyed swimming. It makes me keep up with fitness.”

For being one of the fastest freestyle swimmers, he has improved ever since his freshman year.

Marcus Sherman, the coach of the swim team, has seen Reichel evolve since the start.

“The first time I saw him swim I noticed he had trouble doing strokes because he didn’t know the right technique,” Sherman said.

“Now he is probably one of the hardest working guys on the swim team.”

Although he was the most improved in freestyle, Reichel still thinks he can progress throughout his senior year.

“I’m planning to go to the gym over the summer,” he said, “so I can get stronger for water polo and swim.”

One of the best things he says he’s experienced is receiving compliments after his meets.

Reichel says the teams are very nice, and that it’s a great experience for him to associate with other swim teams.

When he first started swim, he thought he didn’t fit in with the team.

Going on his third year of doing aquatics in highschool, he has created a solid bond with the team. “I never had a dilemma with anybody on the team,” he says.

Because of this Reichel has enjoyed swim ever since the start.

“Swim makes me feel like I am part of a team.”

Reichel considers swim a passion. He has been swimming for eight years, and until his junior year he had tried out for water polo.

“I decided to play water polo my junior year because I felt it would be very different from swim,” he says. He plans to play water polo next year, as well. “Hopefully I improve a lot next year, so it can benefit me when I apply to colleges.” Reichel also plans to try wrestling his senior year.

He plans to continue his passion when he goes into college. “It’s something I want to keep on doing.” At this moment, Reichel has a grade point average of a 3.71. For all the effort he puts into his academics and sports, he hopes it’ll soon pay off.

Recently, he received an award for male swimmer of the year.

“When I heard my name I was so surprised I received that award. I never expected it.”

“Mathew may be a quiet guy, but his teammates look up to him and (he) -performs well in the water.” Sherman said.

Badminton helps Gymnast tumbles upon new sport Riego with speaking out my’kaylamoore

“

I don’t play badminton for myself. I do it for my team .”

Gabby Riego

senior

ilar element. She says the only thing that she would really consider still being even remotely interested in when she’s older is the pole vault.

“Quitting gymnastics ended

up being kind of a good thing, because it let me try out different sports and new things; so I guess you could say everything really does happens for a reason.”

photo by Alberto Valencia

During the meet against Franklin High, sophomore Janelle Javier competes in the pole vault event. Javier attempts to clear the pole but ends up hitting it.

Brothers compete for spotlight estefanynunez

Since they were young children, Gabriel Castillo has always seemed to live in the shadow of his older brother. This has caused him to grow a resentment to the idea of being like his brother, who is only a year older than him.

Growing up, Gabriel avoided participating in the same sports and hobbies as his brother. This habit has followed him all his life.

Now at the age of 14, this mindset truly is affecting the way he lives. The freshman now has this perspective of what he could do that would not get him accused of copying his brother.

From the moment he entered high school, he immediately faced rigorous expectations. Younger siblings often deal with this pressure when their older siblings have done so well. It’s common.

Gabriel tries his best to avoid this stereotype but it’s pretty difficult to him when they’re interested in some of the same sports.

Joel sees himself as a bit more mature than Gabriel due to experience and the simple fact that he’s a sophomore.

Joel plays football, Gabriel also plays football. Joel plays tennis, Gabriel also plays tennis.

“One thing we don’t have in common is that he doesn’t play basketball,”

Joel said. When Gabriel first brought it up to his brother that he was thinking of joining tennis, Joel told him not to go through with it.

Gabriel argued that he was joining because a few of his friends were involved in the sport.

At one point, when Gabriel joined the freshmen football team, the coaches wanted Gabriel to join the JV football team thinking that they would be a great asset to the team since they are related.

Gabriel tends to get a bit irritated when people expect him to follow the exact same footsteps of his brother. “I just know I can be better than him in other ways,” Gabriel said.

The reason why Gabriel is so competitive is because his goal is to do better than his older brother. He learns from Joel’s mistakes and works to improve. This doesn’t bother Joel. He likes that Gabriel has that motivation.

“I feel like the younger brother is always going to be better than the older brother,” Joel said.

“He should be better than me. If he’s going to learn from my mistakes then he’s going to know what not to do. He’s going to do the right thing.”

In the end, the Castillo brothers are still there for one another with or without the year difference. Joel may have more life experience, be it only a year, but he’s more than willing to share what he knows with his younger brother.

“I’m my own person and that’s how I want to be seen as,” the freshman said. “I do what I love.” yla Moore

Although she started playing sports just to get out of her physical education class, senior Gabrielle Riego soon found a love for badminton.

Finding her passion in badminton, she also found a way to break out of her shell.

She said her friends convinced her quite a few times to play before, but she wasn’t really sure if she wanted to be part of a sports team.

Being timid, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to commit herself to a sport where there would be a lot of communication involved.

But with all her friends persuading her to join badminton, she decided to give it a try her junior year.

Senior year finally came for Riego and when badminton season hit, she was already in her Yonex shoes and ready to hit that birdy with her racquet.

Go i n g from junior varsity doubles her first year to varsity her second year, Riego began playing singles. Everyone knows Riego as shy and quiet, but on the court she breaks out of her comfort zone and communicates with others as much as she can.

Practic. ing for three hours, five days a week, Riego admits

it does get overwhelming. But she isn’t the only one who feels that way. She said it also gets hard for the team when they have games, because there is one van that doesn’t fit all of them.

“It’s not hard for me to keep my grades up or to get rides, because my family is really supportive.”

Speaking of her family, Riego has had a rocky year, dealing with some personal issues.

She lost two of her grandparents, one from her mom’s side just one week ago and one from her dad’s side five days before school started.

With the losses in her family, Riego tries to stay strong and stay cheerful during games and practices. “I just keep on going no matter what,” Riego says. Even though she is known to be very quiet, she always gives advice to her team if they need it to keep them motivated and positive.

“I don’t play badminton for myself.

I do it for my team.”

Riego admits she has trouble communicating with others, but since she has been on the team she has learned to communicate more with others as well as her family members.

“Communication has helped me a lot, not just on the team but as well as at home with my family.”

When asked to talk through the whole process of pole vaulting, and how exactly you go about doing it, Janelle’s face lit up with excitement. “It’s really cool, actually.” she began. “It’s extremely scary at first, and you don’t really want to do it at all the very first time you try, but with time and courage, it can be done.” She explains it is sort of like flying. “The scariest part of it all isn’t even when you’re in the air. It’s when you first take off and start running, because you know in your mind exactly what you’re about to do.”

She recently had a cast on her arm due to pulling a muscle in her shoulder. She said she was really disappointed that the accident had happened because she had a meet the next day, and knew she wouldn’t be able to participate, killing her spirit. “I was really upset that I couldn’t participate in the meet. I never want to miss even one.”

Javier is a multi-sport athlete, all revolving around a sim-

photo by My’Ka

saraabdeltawab

Janelle Javier started gymnastics when she was only 7 years old, and says it was the most enjoyable time. Sadly, she quit at the age of 14. “It just got really hard for me, and also really expensive, so I stopped.” Javier said. She then decided to make the transition into track when she started high school.

She now participates in the pole vault, saying it was basically the closest thing she could get to gymnastics, so it was automatically her first choice when she went into high school just last year.

Javier says it can be difficult to get used to doing the pole vault when you’ve been a gymnast pretty much your whole life, but you get used to it pretty quickly. She also said that, compared to other types of track and field events done at school, she finds pole vaulting to be one of the most difficult, but not as hard for her as it would be for other people.

8

the

news

stagg line

May 15, 2015

Think before sending

Inappropriate pictures get spread on the Web phillicityuriarte-jones

One picture can’t be so bad.

One picture is all they want.

One picture is all it takes.

Sometimes, one picture isn’t even needed.

“I just want to know who it is, I’m kind of nosy,” said sophomore Joseph Rodriguez, an avid follower of “exposing” accounts, more specifically the social media accounts where he can see someone he knows nude.

Wanting to know if the nude person depicted is genuinely someone he goes to school with pushes him to the point of directly asking, privately. It is not uncommon for a photo to be edited to look like a nude photo of someone people know.

Putting these revealing photos online has greater impact than many realize or would like to realize. Girls especially are criticized for being sexually exposed or having their nude photos leaked.

If the person being exposed is uncomfortable being seen in that light this can alter their lives extremely. Refusal to speak about the subject of their exposure because the betrayal was too great, or because the social alienphoto illustration ation is more inby Veronica timidating than Vargo the actual shar-

FEELING D E S O

P X E

“

It’s just mean. Why would you want to hurt someone like that?”

ing of one’s nude pictures is quite common.

The majority of people who had their naked body shown to their peers without their permission would not want to be reminded of what happened.

No one really wants to talk about their friend or someone they know being put on a website for having their nude photos leaked. Then again no one really wants to have their sexually provocative photos leaked in the first place, but more than one person out there wants to see them.

Even if someone did not originally want to see pictures of someone they know, having it online with such easy access can be tempting.

“I don’t follow the accounts but people show me.” Sophomore Bertha Raygoza has seen more than her share of nude pictures, despite her not directly looking for them. Refusing to acknowledge something when it’s right in front of you is much harder than it looks, and Raygoza finds she can be sucked in rather easily.

For exposing Instagram pages, the most common, they are normally kept on private and re-

Seniors and their Google Drive What to do before it’s too late

Every student across the district now has a Google Apps for Education account. This account will be used throughout high school to turn in essays, see homework and share and save images. However, seniors will eventually graduate, and then the accounts will be deleted. Memories erased forever.

Here are some steps to save work from those accounts.

Step 1:

Create a personal Google account (if you haven’t already.) Be sure to make it something that will be remembered.

Share the desired items with the personal account.

WARNING: juliarosete

Students across campus seem to be having a similar problem.

When opening their report cards or progress reports, they open it to find good grades with a comment suggesting the exact opposite.

In danger of failing.

This message is meant to warn students and parents with lower grades that they are close to a failing grade in the class. But what does it mean when the message appears for a class that someone is passing with a B or even an A? Freshman Serena Kunz has faced this for multiple classes.

“I was super upset,” she said. “I thought that one slight mistake could change my grade.”

She went to her teacher, who instructed her to check her grades online. When she logged in, Kunz tried to look at her test scores but found that she couldn’t find much. “I tried to see if I could check which tests I did bad on but didn’t really find anything that made sense.”

Step 3:

Step 2:

Find the icon below in the top right corner and choose “Add to My Drive.” This makes you the new owner.

‘In Danger of Failing’ leads to frustration with students “It’s part of the legislation,” said Linda Roberts, assistant principal. “It’s also like a safety net for teachers.”

She, as well as other administration, advises the teachers to put the comment. “That way, the student has already been warned.”

If a student is not notified that they are failing or in danger of failing the class, the teacher is not allowed to fail that student.

“I only give it to students with Cs or lower,” said Mary Martin, biology teacher. “It also

Sophomore

quire someone to shout the page out to be accepted as a follower.

Rodriguez does not go through with this, for fear of family members seeing what he is doing and being disapproving or judging.

He simply requests to follow the pages and they accept him.

He says he hardly sticks out when dealing with all the other follower requests.

The nude pictures posted can be kept by anyone who has access to them. It only takes a second to take a screenshot.

Rodriguez admits to taking a few screenshots, wanting to keep the photos after the page is inevitably deleted for inappropriate content.

He has seen around six people he knows on Instagram pages alone.

The people who are responsible for one of these posts can be a vengeful ex or simply someone spreading a rumor because they don’t like the person in question.

What’s classified as “exposure” ranges from a simple rumor to a full on nude visual.

While this mass platform is commonly used, showing explicit pictures personally is not uncommon.

Awards speaker returns to her alma mater mirandamaurino

graphic by Araceli Valencia

When her aunt saw the comment, she didn’t get too worried.

“She knows I wouldn’t let my grades go down,” Kunz said. “But my grandma said something like that the teacher shouldn’t say I’m in danger of failing if I turn in all my work and do the class work.”

After trying several times to get the grades justified, she eventually gave up and just ignored it.

For junior Chelsea Rojas, her parents didn’t really take this so lightly. Her mom started to question what she was doing in there.

“She was mad,” Rojas said.

“When she saw that, she was asking ‘Why are you in danger of failing when you have an A? Why? What are you doing?’ I tried to tell her that I was doing everything, but it was like she didn’t want to believe me.”

When she went to her teachers, Rojas was told that they put that for everyone. “It wasn’t fair because if I got a good grade on it, then I shouldn’t have ‘in danger of failing.’ Some parents don’t like that.”

However, students still have one big question: why?

Brenda Paleyo

depends on the student. Students who aren’t as consistent as others, I might give them the comment, too.”

She thinks putting the comment for students who don’t need it places unneeded pressure, especially for the hard workers.

Even knowing this information, some wonder what the point of it is. Rojas doesn’t feel like she is the type of student that should be receiving this comment.

“Why should I have that if I know I’m not going to fail?”

photo by Araceli Valencia

The issue is shown above; the “in danger of failing” comment also impacts students that perform at a high academic level.

Even without the page, Rodriguez would have access to these pictures by his friends showing them to him.

Rodriguez has seen explicit images of girls his friends have received pictures from, committed sexual acts with, sometimes even videos of that actual act. “Guys want to show off what they got.”

He finds it is more commonly guys who are willing to share that sort of thing, girls a much more rare occurrence. “I don’t know what it is, girls just don’t seem to want to expose people as much.”

His willingness to keep such photos is partially due to him finding it more the fault of the person who initially sent the photo.

“As soon as you send nudes, you should know you’ll be exposed or shown to that person’s friends,” he said.

Sophomore Brenda Paleyo’s view is nearly the exact opposite.

She feels sending a revealing picture requires extreme trust and that trust should not be violated.

“It just seems mean. Why would you want to hurt someone like that?” Paleyo has never felt comfortable or trusting enough to send such pictures and does not plan on it for fear of being betrayed so extremely.

Paleyo finds the pages in question moronic as the only point of them is to make someone feel bad or hurt them.

“Think about how what you’re doing is going to affect someone. Think about how it’s going to hurt them.”

Reflecting back on her high school days, one thing that Cas It’s been 17 years since she tillo wishes she would have done walked these hallways and sat in differently is plan everything out these classrooms. But in those 17 better. “I wish I would’ve had years, Stagg graduate and now a better post-high school plan. trial lawyer And I wish Erin Guy Casthat I would’ve tillo has made known that quite the name challenges in for herself. life are oppor She gradutunities. I had ated from Calno appreciaifornia State tion for that in U n i v e r s i t y, high school.”

Fullerton, in One piece 2003 with a of advice that Sociology deCastillo has gree, and then for seniors as went on to they make the graduate from transition into the University college is that of San Francisthey persevere photo courtesy of and never give co, School of Erin Guy Castillo Law, in 2007. up.

Today Castillo is an experi- “Just because somebody tells enced lawyer who handles trials you no doesn’t mean you have to in matters such as business dis- quit,” she said. “You have to learn putes, real estate, and trust litiga- from your mistakes and always tion. have integrity.”

Tonight, she is returning to Castillo’s perseverance and speak to the next generation of can-do attitude have certainly Stagg seniors. She will be listened proved to be a reward the past to with the utmost attention as a few years. She has received the high achieving alumna.

Rising Star, Northern California However, becoming a suc- Super Lawyers Award in 2013 cessful lawyer wasn’t something and 2014 and the Outstanding Castillo had her mind set on Young Lawyer Award from the accomplishing when she was in San Joaquin County Bar Associahigh school. tion in 2014.

“I thought I wanted to be ¨I was really honored to rea high school counselor, but it ceive these awards because I was didn’t fit my personality,” she nominated by my peers and said. “I can’t sit back and not take judges. The Rising Star Award is action. I’m more of a doer. I want for the top 2.5 percent of lawyers to get stuff done.” in northern California.¨ It wasn’t until her senior year Although it may not be as at CSU Fullerton that Castillo big an achievement as receiving realized that she wanted to be a the Rising Star Award, Castillo is lawyer. “I attended a college fair happy to be given the opportunimy senior year and that’s where ty to speak to selected seniors at I found out about the University the 2015 Senior Awards. of San Francisco.”