November Issue

Laguna Blanca School - 4125 Paloma Drive - Santa Barbara - California - 93110

Volume XVII

Monday, November 28, 2011

www.thefourthestate.net

Issue 2

Bottom 1 Percent Steals the Spotlight Homeless Join “Occupy” Movements

By ANDREW MCCAFFERY

PHOTO: TRISH MCHALE

VETERANS DEPART: Master Sgt. Jon L. Parra, an active-duty soldier, chats with Sgt. Major Robert Forties, a veteran of WWII, following the Veterans Day assembly held in Spaulding Auditorium on Nov. 10.

Tennis Expands into Hope Ranch

By CAITLIN CONNOR On campus, Laguna sports teams make use of the track, football field, soccer fields, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and a baseball diamond.

The tennis teams, however, are subject to a 15minute drive to and from the public tennis courts.

Thanks to an extremely generous donor, Laguna is in the process of building four tennis courts on the athletic fields.

New tennis courts will allow teams to practice on campus as well as hold official matches.

“Having tennis courts at our school will not only make it easier for the tennis team to get to practice after class, but they will also make the sport feel more a part of school.

The separation is always difficult for those who can’t drive yet or don’t have a car, and the bus schedule is always a little unreliable.

With the courts on campus, the players won’t have to worry about last minute rides or being left behind,” said tennis team member junior Monica Watson.

However, the process of building the courts will take time.

There will be many meetings before the plans for the courts are approved and finalized.

“The courts would be much more convenient to the school. They would bring more people to the matches, and we wouldn’t have to practice all the way out at the Municipal Courts,” said senior Alex Louden.

Veterans: Not Just Another Part of History

By JESSIE DUSEBOUT They memorize the names of important battles, dates, and death tolls.

They think they know what happened in the 1940s throughout Europe between the Allies and Axis Powers, and what currently is happening in Iraq.

They even watch movies like “Saving Private Ryan” that attempt to recreate the horrors of real warfare.

But, students’ knowledge about World War II, the Vietnam War, and

Operation Iraqi Freedom from a history class cannot compare to what students learn from a primary source, especially when that source is standing right before them in a school assembly.

It is indeed rare to hear a first-hand account of what it was like to parachute into Normandy on D-Day. The audience was exceptionally quiet as Sgt. Major Robert Forties talked about his experiences on D-Day.

Speaking at the Nov. 10 assembly in honor of Veterans Day were a soldier on active duty and two veterans.

Students embraced the opportunity to hear Sgt. Major Robert Forties, Lt. John Blankenship, and Master Sgt. Jon Parra give their personal accounts of their service.

The assembly was organized through the Santa Barbara Service for Soldiers Club, specifically by the club president senior Kai Gamble.

Continued on Page 3

“Think Globally, Act Locally: Street Medicine from Santa Barbara to Haiti” is the lecture presented by Dr. Mimi Doohan, a family physician with a private practice in Goleta and co-founder of Doctors Without Walls— Santa Barbara Street Medicine, a local nonprofit that provides volunteer, free medical care to the most vulnerable.

She spoke to the students about providing care “without walls.”

This lecture provided a glimpse into the current homeless situation in Santa Barbara.

An emerging situation associated with the “Occupy Movement” is that the homeless, who generally are not politically involved, are joining the protesters.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, already facing criticism for its disorganization, disobeying various public ordinances, and lack of clear objectives, now has to deal with another threat to its image: the homeless.

Protestors in New York City and around the country see a threat in having the homeless population joining the “99 percent.”

Some view this perspective to be somewhat hypocritical, since the Occupiers are protesting similar inequities that are faced by the homeless.

“I think it’s okay for the homeless to join the ranks of the Occupy movement if they share the same goal rather than using it as a place to hang out,” said senior Eva Davis.

However, many homeless have to deal with more than economic hardship: one must factor in the various illnesses, disabilities, disorders and habits that also influence homelessness.

Because of these variables, some protestors fear that if the homeless population joins the movement, Occupy Santa Barbara will risk losing its credibility in regards to its safety and cleanliness.

“To the homeless, the Occupy movements propose a duality in their opportunities,” said Laguna’s Mr. James Tur, a volunteer for Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine.

Continued on Page 4

Community Walks4Water

By JESSIE DUSEBOUT Volunteers were greeted by a large balloon arch, banners, music playing, and enthusiastic H4O leaders ready to make the event they had planned for months a success.

Hands4Other’s hosted their first annual Walk4Water on Oct. 29.

Sporting blue Hands4Others T-shirts, running shoes, and warm sweatshirts to ward off the early morning fog looming low on the horizon, the walkers took off.

Coffee, water bottles, and dogs in tow, parents, teenagers, and elementary school students began the three-mile trek along East Beach.

Hands4Others is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing sustainable access to clean water to those in need around the world.

With over 150 people at East Beach ready to walk,

A Week Full of Spirit

Cowboys, Aliens, Party-Rockers, Patriots and Owls. Page 3.

the event provided an opportunity for H4O to share their goals and get the youth of Santa Barbara involved.

The Walk4Water “got everyone really into it.

PHOTO: JUDSON MORGAN Each participant seemed HELPING HANDS: The Santa Barbara community gathers at East Beach in support of truly intrigued H4O’s mission to establish clean water systems around the world. with our moveeral milestones recently. ment and many young prizes, children watched lecting money for H4O. “Stories like his are They’ve helped to propeople participated [in intently waiting for their the walk], which gave us name to be drawn from what H4O is all about. vide clean water to over We want to get people 100,000 people in nine the opportunity to share the bucket. with them what we are Ten winners were an- excited and involved,” countries. Most recently all about. nounced for specific said sophomore Sammi they have adopted villagIt was awesome to see categories, including Schurmer, a leader of es in Mexico and Belize.

“We look forward to the community come out the most money raised, H4O. Recent donations add- continuing our work in and support a movement largest team, and fastest ed to the proceeds from these countries as well of young people,” said time.

Spencer Dusebout, H4O“A second grade boy the walk provided a vil- as the rest of the third co-founder and Laguna won the raffle. The night lage of 3,000 access to world,” says another alumnus. before he had gone door clean water for the first H4O leader and freshman at Laguna, Bryn With newly designed to door around his neigh- time in their lives.

H4Ohas reached sev- Jewett.

H4O sweatshirts as borhood on his bike col-

The Divas of LBS

An Altered Lens

Taking Down Joseph Kony

“The Liar” Takes the Stage

Understanding Africa’s struggle with child soldiers. Page 6.

The fall play, a French farce, was delightfully deceptive. Page 11.

Every Second Counts

AP Classes Visit Art Museum

Who’s Reading Your App?

The Hipster Phenomenon

Budget cuts cause the disappearance of the traditional application-reader in California. Page 7.

Fall Sports Wrap-up

Power and creativity: stand-out girls on campus.. Page 5.

Society’s evolved emphasis on the here-and-now. Page 7.

Freshmen Harvest Vines

After a lecture on the homelessness, students travel to Gainey Vineyards.

Page 4.

How the media has created the way we look at women. Pages 8 & 9.

Where are they now?

Alumni Owls on the court, on the field, and on the links. Page 15.

A sneak peak at the Picasso and Braque Exhibit. Page 11.

Not a trend: a way of life. Page 13.

Football focuses on the future. Tennis and Volleyball finish strong. Page 15.

Holiday Gift Guide

Present ideas for all: how to buy and wrap the perfect gift. Page 16.

2

November 28, 2011

Staff Editorial

You Can’t Be What You Can’t See

W

e, as consumers, are continually bombarded with images of women that are demeaning, offensive, and unrealistic—images that tell women they need to be thinner, softer, smoother, taller, and bustier.

“In a world of a million channels, people try to do shocking things to break through the clutter,” says Jim Seyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, “they result to violent, sexual, and demeaning images.”

“Miss Representation,” a recently released documentary created by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, explores the prevalence of the objectification of women in the media and the effect it has on young people.

When the Fourth Estate staff watched the trailer for “Miss Representation,” we were shocked by the stories of many young girls who felt pressured to live up to the impossible standard set by the media and the images they broadcast.

“There is no appreciation for women intellectuals. It’s all about the body and not about the brain,” said Ariella, a high school student in the movie.

The consequence of the impossible body standard put forth by the media is dire. “I’ve been worrying about my weight since 5th grade. Now I am in ninth grade and I am still worrying about my weight,” said Urenna, a 15year-old.

In addition to prioritizing appearance, the media continually harass even the most powerful women in the world about their wardrobes and body shapes.

A female Fox News reporter described Hilary Clinton as looking “haggard and like she was 92-years-old” on national television. Throughout the 2008 election, Hilary Clinton was referred to as “The Bitch” and Sarah Palin was labeled “The Ditz.”

Political beliefs aside, the use of terms like these to describe hardworking, educated women should not be tolerated.

Women in the Media and News.

The Fourth Estate staff was inspired to act, wanting to spread the word about “Miss Representation” and to encourage our community to reject the objectification of women in the media.

For our double page in this issue (pages 8 and 9), we researched the effect of negative media on female students and women’s health. We also explored whether men are objectified in the media as frequently as women.

We realized that we, as a news source, can make efforts to change the media harassment of successful women.

We decided to celebrate GRAPHIC: ZOE SERBIN the accomplishments of The media’s targeting of women poli- these women instead of dissecting their ticians is likely correlated to the lack of appearances. females in public office.

The staff highlighted successful Growing up, an equal number of boys young women at Laguna Blanca. We and girls want to be president, but by asked female faculty members to select the time they reach age 15, a large dis- female students who are creative, comparity arises (“Miss Representation”). passionate leaders in the community Although women make up 51 percent and who are not afraid to voice their of the population, they comprise only opinions or break away from accepted 17 percent of Congress (“Miss Repre- trends (page 5). sentation”).

We encourage all members of our “If media is derogatory to the most community to act. Consumers have the powerful women in the country, then ability to challenge negative media and what does that say about media’s abil- to demand the positive representation ity to take any woman seriously?” said of all people in advertisements, the Jennifer Pozner, Executive Director of news, and in our everyday lives.

Editor-in-Chief Jess Davis Managing Editor

Letter from the Editor

Andrew McCaffery Senior Editors Anastasia Antonova Olivia Berci

Dear Readers,

Caitlin Connor

In a recent New York Times editorial, William Deresiewicz labeled my generation (those born between the late ‘70s and mid-90’s) as “Generation Sell.” He described the modern young person as “an entrepreneurial self, a self that’s packaged to be sold.”

Our generation has brought the world everything from Facebook to Mozilla Firefox. More and more young people are relying on their own ingenuity and creativity to make a living and create a name for themselves.

However, what fascinates me is that much of this youthful, entrepreneurial energy has been channeled into philanthropic efforts. Deresiewicz said, “What’s really hip is social entrepreneurship—companies that try to make money responsibly and then give it all away.” The number of nonprofits run by young people is on the rise, and a general appreciation of volunteerism is infused into our generation.

This altruistic trend is apparent in the Laguna Blanca community. This issue features many students who are working to ameliorate some of our society’s most pressing issues: H40, a student-run organization, hosted a community walk and raised over $10,000 to bring clean water to those in need (page 1); Ms. Elliott’s advisory worked to collect over 300 cans of food as part of the Interact Club’s school-wide effort to prevent hunger over the holiday season (page 4); Everybody Dance Now!, a youthrun nonprofit that brings free dance programs to at-risk youth, is planning a community breakdance workshop that will unite hundreds of people (page 11); Two middle school students, Max Mayrock and Brandon Sugarman, are designing and selling T-shirts to benefit charities (look for their feature in our next issue).

While Deresiewicz’s Op-ed is thought-provoking, I believe the label “Generation Sell” is too narrow. A more appropriate label is “Generation Care”—we care about the challenges facing society, and we, as a generation of entrepreneurs, are working to create innovative solutions.

Helena Davila Jessie Dusebout Eva Davis Daria Etezadi Zoe Serbin Photo Editor Eva Davis LAYOUT EDITOR Morgan Raith Artist Zoe Serbin Web masters Elijah Bittleson Edward Conk VIDEO EDITOR Ben Furukawa Staff Jacqueline Berci Brandon Bickett Luisa Cameron Caty Lafitte Clara Madsen

Jess Davis

Aija Mayrock Elise Scheuermann

Editor-in-Chief

Kaylee Strachan Grace Woolf

The Fourth Estate is a public forum for student expression. It is written and produced solely by the journalism students. It represents the voice of the students.

The Fourth Estate welcomes guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and be no longer than 400 words.

Drop letters off in the main office or e-mail to jess@everybodydancenow.org.

Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and/or taste.

Anonymous letters will not be published.

The Fourth Estate publishes seven issues per year, and prints 500 copies of each issue which are distributed to approximately 350 Middle and Upper School students, faculty, staff, and administration.

We mail issues to our subscribers and advertisers, and we exchange papers with high school

journalism classes across the country.

The Fourth Estate accepts both print and online advertising in either black and white or color.

Contact Andrew McCaffery at andrewjmccaffery@aol.com for information about advertising and subscriptions “Follow” us on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook.

Visit our online paper for daily updates: www.thefourthestate. net.

Faculty Advisor Patricia McHale, MJE

The News

November 28, 2011

Hawthorne Inspires Next Generation of Journalists

By CATY LAFITTE

K

nown to former journalism teacher Howard Spanogle as the “guru of modern journalistic writing” and to director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Cheryl Pell as the “godfather of scholastic journalism,” Bobby Hawthorne is redefining journalism for the next generation.

Mr. Hawthorne directed the Texas Scholastic Press Association for 20 years, but now dedicates his time to writing articles and teaching others about the art of writing an article through classes and nation-wide conferences.

He has also published one of the most well-known journalism textbooks The Radical Write.

Mr. Hawthorne came to Santa Barbara on Oct. 27 and spoke to Journalism and Yearbook classes from five different schools, including Laguna Blanca, in the Elings Performing Arts Center at Dos Pueblos High School.

Sophomore Grace Woolf was pleasantly surprised when she heard Hawthorne speak. “I was expecting the conference to be a guy lecturing us, looking at slides, taking notes, and for it to be kind of boring, but I had a great time. I thought he was really funny, and he

really knew how to en- find the most interesting gage a crowd.” things.”

Hawthorne’s message The newspaper indusis that the story is as im- try is starting to die out, portant as the facts and as most news has gone sometimes you have to digital. go with something ranMr. Hawthorne’s misdom, for it to lead to the sion is to teach students most interesting story. about “good” journalism “I had seen Bobby and the way to attract an Hawthorne before, so I audience to their newswas expecting it to be ex- paper by telling a story actly how it was. He’s very that people will care charismatic and funny so about and not just spitI was excited to see him ting out facts. again. I hadn’t heard all “Life is like a war . . . of his stories before, and worry about the 30 secit was a lot more person- onds when everything alized this time because went to hell and back.” he was visiting Santa Barbara in a smaller setting,” s a i d senior Morgan Raith. “ I learned t h a t g o o d journalism isn’t just trying to tell what you’re assigned - it’s going out of the box. By asking the most PHOTO: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA obvious q u e s - LEAD FROM THE HEART: Bobby t i o n s , Hawthorne speaking to student journalyou can ists at Dos Pueblos High School.

PHOTO: TARA BROUCQSAULT

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: Students of Laguna’s Lower School campus play a friendly game of croquet, as inspired by the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland.”

Owls Fly Into Wonderland

In early November, the Lower School put on the second annual Owls and Wonderland event, an out of this world carnival-type event fueled by fantasy, imagination, and creativity.

The day served as a great way to bring together Laguna’s wide age range of students. While most people are familiar with the concept of a traditional carnival, Laguna’s Owls in Wonderland, really takes it up a notch.

Inspired by the famous tale of Alice in Wonderland, the day was loaded with lively costumes worn by students, teachers, and parents alike.

Students enjoyed with Alice, played card games with the Queen of Hearts,

By EVA DAVIS and engaged in playful conversation with the Mad Hatter.

Last year, many Upper School students volunteered at the event, dressing up and acting out their own favorite characters from Alice in Wonderland.

Unfortunately, this year the event landed on the day of the last show of the Upper School’s fall play, limiting the involvement of Upper School students.

But every helping hand made all the difference.

“I had fun because I dressed up as Alice and the little kids enjoyed the event. They decorate well so they get to go into this world and have fun.

It’s good outreach for the school because some

kids weren’t from Laguna,” says freshman Erica Keane.

Owls in Wonderland plays a significant role in welcoming the community onto campus.

In addition to creating a fun environment, especially for the Lower School students, allschool events are essential in keeping our school connected, especially since we are located on two different campuses.

The event will certainly hold a place in the memory of Laguna lifers and long-time students when they think about school traditions.

While it is still new, it is apparent that Owls in Wonderland will be a great long-lasting annual event.

Reliving History with Homecoming Promotes Community the Nation’s

By CLARA MADSEN Veterans Two victories and a Homecoming Dance at Continued from Page 1

Kai founded the club in 2010 and has recently received a Letter of Assurance from the United States Naval Academy, which ensures him a spot in the class of 2016.

The assembly consisted of two parts, beginning with time for the veterans to share their stories and finishing with time for selected students who asked prewritten questions to the veterans.

First to speak was Master Sgt. Parra, a member of the Airborne Infantry Division in the United States Army, who is currently on active leave from the conflicts in the Middle East.

Master Sgt. Parra shared what motivated him to enroll in the military, followed by a description of his time spent in Iraq, and lastly his plans for the future.

Major Sgt. Parra has never regretted his spur of the moment decision to join the United States army 19 years ago, and he continues to think that there is no better place he could be.

Master Sgt. Parra finished with emphasis on how important it is for the soldiers to have support from American citizens back home.

He then passed the microphone to Lt. Blankenship, former aviator of the US Navy in the Vietnam War as well as a former Laguna Blanca student.

Lt John. Blankenship talked about his experience being drafted into war and his time spent in the Navy.

Next up was Sgt. Major Forties, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne in World War II. Sgt. Major Forties was a paratrooper throughout the war. Now 89 years old, Sgt. Major Forties recalled with a sharp memory piece by piece, battle by battle, jump by

jump his experience in World War II. In his introduction of Sgt. Major Forties, Lt. Blankenship shared with the audience that Sgt. Major Forties is the recipient of five purple hearts.

Mr. Forties told the audience about the times he’d been shot.

He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. During his time in the Army he made 70 parachute jumps.

After the speakers finished sharing their service experiences the assembly turned to the students with questions.

One by one students walked onto the stage and asked the speakers a question.

Two questions stood out to the veterans as especially well thought out and meaningful.

Sophomore Mitsi Gamble asked about camaraderie and the role it plays in the lives of soldiers experiencing the crucible of combat together.

Master Sgt. Parra remarked that Mitsi’s question was a very good one.

Each panelist responded with an answer revolving around the concept of being a family in the field and depending on each other for everything.

Another question that the panelists said was a really good question came from sophomore Hughes Williamson.

“For me the point of the assembly was to gain a sense of respect and appreciation for the men and women who have been fighting for our country.

After the assembly I felt that the student body came out with a greater appreciation for what our troops have done and are doing for our country,” said Kai in reflection of the Veterans Day assembly he planned.

night to remember - all in a weekend’s work.

The girls varsity volleyball team swept Dunn in a 3-0 win, as junior Bella Taron, Courtney O’Donnell, and Jessie Dusebout honored the seniors during a touching senior night.

Also on Friday, parents put in hours of work arranging an alumni tribute. “I think the whole thing went really well, we had a larger turn out of current families’ students and returning alumni than I can recall in years passed,” said Mr. Tyler Hodges.

On Saturday, the boy’s football team beat Dunn with a dramatic final score of 60-34.

After two days jampacked with athletics, students flooded into the gym for the “Whiteout”

eight o’clock on Saturday night.

Students in leadership class and student council spent weeks in preparation for homecoming.

They put a lot of work into planning the “perfect” theme, decoration, snacks, and D.J. They stayed late after the volleyball match on Friday and came in early Saturday afternoon in order to arrange the homecoming dance.

“I was really impressed with the leadership of student council in creating a wildly successful dance.

The turnout was great and everyone seemed to be having a great time,” said Mr. Hodges.

“I thought homecoming was really fun: everyone was dancing and the theme was good,” said junior Bella Taron.

PHOTO: TARA BROUCQSAULT

KICKING OFF THE WEEKEND: Laguna Blanca’s varsity football team on its way to victory against Dunn High School.

Digging Into Political Campaigns

By DARIA ETEZADI

“If you’re going to run for [office], you need to prepare to run for [office],” advised Mr. Don Sipple as he paused his collection of videos from past political campaign ads.

Mr. Sipple spoke in Ms. Martha Elliot’s AP US Government class. His son, Fletcher, graduated from Laguna last year.

For prospective governors, the election process consists of two main steps: first, the public has to be presented with a recommendation for the next candidate; next, that candidate has to be accepted as a plausible governor.

This is where Mr. Sipple comes in. As one of the most reputable media consultants for America governors, Mr. Sipple has managed the political campaigns of various candidates, including: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pete Domenici, George W. Bush, Jim Edgar, Pete Wilson, and many more.

By telling stories and

PHOTO: TARA BROUCQSAULT

BEHIND THE SCENES: Mr. Don Sipple explains the “ins and outs” of the election process to AP US Government students. defining the campaign by moral, rather than economical values, Mr. Sipple has distinguished his campaigns from those of other media consultants through innovative advertisements and personal appeal.

In the process, he has even coined phrases such as the “compassionate conservative” and “waf-

fle waffle flip flop,” which refers to indecisive politicians who cannot commit to a viewpoint or a strategy.

Mr. Sipple fell into the occupation of media consultation by accident, but he was always intrigued by the political campaigns that dominated his living room as a child.

“I was quite smitten [with John Kennedy’s campaign]” said Mr. Sipple.

Ever since, he has spent most of his adult life advising some of the country’s most well-known politicians on how to run their campaigns.

“You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”

4

November 28, 2011

News

Student Screenwriter Scores Again in 10-10-10 Competition

Senior Essay Program Launches

By GRACE WOOLF

The Senior Essay Program is a new independent study that is designed to develop writing skills at a college-level.

Through this study, advanced English and History students will have the opportunity to complete in-depth research on a topic of their choice.

The program is still in the trial stages. Seniors Jess Davis and Cameron Platt have been chosen to pioneer it.

Jess and Cameron will research their topics of choice, work closely with their advisors, and develop a 25 to 50-page essay over the next few months.

History teacher Ms. Martha Elliott will supervise Cameron’s project, and English teacher Dr. Charles Donelan will supervise Jess’ project.

“My essay will focus on the American Revolution and American Transcendentalism in order to explore how foundational American political thought and the political breakaway from Europe shaped the intellectual breakaway from Europe and the formation of a national identity [in terms of] the influence of nature – both literal and abstract,” said Cameron.

“I want to explore the different ways people incorporate dance into their lives. As I have started to pursue other passions that I have outside of dance and my academics have grown more challenging, I have struggled to find time to train as a dancer. Without the 15 hours of weekly training I was accustomed to, I could not maintain my advanced level technique… something that was very disheartening to me,” said Jess.

This project will provide an opportunity for students to write at an advanced level. Highachieving students will be invited to participate in next year’s program.

“This is a chance to challenge students on more than a high school level. We are trying to create a more rigorous program beyond high schoolers’ independent studies,” said Ms. Elliott.

Over time, a collection of students’ Senior Essays will be collected and bound. Until then, a ceremony will be held in June and the senior essays will be displayed in the library.

She did it again! Sophomore Aija Mayrock’s is a finalist in the screenwriting portion of the 10-10-10 competition for the second year in a row.

10-10-10 is a student filmmaking competition developed by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2001 which takes place annually.

There is a screenwriting and filmmaking portion in the competition.

To qualify for the filmmaking portion, one must be a student currently enrolled in a Santa Barbara high school or college.

Students submit a five minute sample of their best filmmaking.

After the top five samples are chosen by a school representative, the five finalists’ projects are submitted to the 1010-10 Student Filmmaking Competition Jury for final selection.

Five finalists are chosen from the high school level and five from the college level.

Each filmmaking finalist is then paired with a finalist from the screenplay competition in their corresponding division.

They then must complete and produce a 10minute film during the 10 days of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Aija Mayrock has been selected again as a finalist for this competition.

Aija will be competing against students from Dunn High School, San Marcos High School, and Dos Pueblos High School.

When asked what the competition means to her, Aija said “I love to write and I love to tell stories. This competition is another opportunity to write and develop my work.”

“I learned a lot from last year’s competition.

I learned how to work under pressure and be true to my vision. I got to meet and work with incredible talent in the industry.”

Aija said that “10-1010 is an incredible experience for any young writer or director. All of the finalists are exposed to industry professionals who are very generous with their time and feedback. I am looking forward to this year’s competition.”

By KAYLEE STRACHAN and JESS DAVIS

PHOTO: EVA DAVIS

OCCUPY SANTA BARBARA TAKES TO THE STREETS: Protestors of America’s capitalist system litter downtown Santa Barbara with homemade signs.

Bottom 1 Percent Takes the Stage Continued from Page 1

“On the one hand, the movements are an opportunity to support themselves, since most of the sites have food, shelter, first-aid, counseling, etc.,” said Mr. Tur. “On the other hand, the movements allow the homeless to join the protest against the things that have altered their lives, but with the bonus

power of strength-innumbers.”

Many say that the Occupiers and homeless are on the same team.

Furthermore, one could also say that the Occupiers are getting a taste of the trials and tribulations of homelessness by experiencing similar backlash from police, the non-protesting public,

and the government.

In fighting social and economic injustice, the Occupiers are inadvertently bringing attention to the struggles and needs of the homeless.

Thus, through the financial instability within their own lives, the socalled 99 percent are showing the world what it’s like to live life with-

out knowing when one will have his or her next meal.

At the heart of the Occupy movement is the disparity of wealth distribution in which one percent of the population controls wealth while the middle class is disappearing and opportunities to improve no longer exist.

Interact Club Stocks Empty Shelves

By CLARA MADSEN Despite the designer stores, large houses, beautiful beaches, and the seemingly perfect appearance of Santa Barbara, hardship is hidden, and growing.

According to the Santa Barbara Independent, 73,741 people in the county are living in poverty.

Laguna’s Interact Club recently held its annual food drive for the impoverished population of Santa Barbara.

Students in both the Upper School and the Lower School participated in the drive.

Donations from the food drive benefit locals through the Unity Shoppe, a nonprofit organization that provides for families in need of the bare necessities.

Its mission is to create a self-sufficient society through providing education and vital supplies for people of all backgrounds during their times of hardship.

Although Unity Shoppe is only one of many aid organizations, its volunteers are over-

worked and supplies are dwindling.

As the Unity Shoppe’s resources are at an alltime low this year and the economy is in decline, Laguna’s Interact Club has stepped in to help.

“The goal of the Interact Club is to work for the local community as well as the global community. The food drive is our way of contributing to the local community,” said Interact Club president junior Helena Davila.

Through advisory competitions, students were encouraged to bring in as many canned foods as possible in order to fulfil their responsibility to the local community and to get a chance to win a pizza party for their advisories.

“I think it is a good and affordable way to help the community,” said sophomore Chloe Brown.

“It is awesome that Laguna students can aid those who have been affected by the poor economy,” said freshman Mia Chavez.

PHOTO:TARA BROUCQSAULT

STOCKING UP: Piles and piles of canned food items lay strewn outside Ms. Martha Elliott’s room.

Middle School students are conducting a food drive as well. They are collecting food that will be donated to the Santa Barbara Food Bank.

“We live in a really privileged environment.

It’s important that we remember to reach out to those who are less fortunate than we are because that’s the least we can do,” said junior Interact Club member Daria Etezadi.

Freshman Explore the Roots of Steinbeck

By ELISE SCHEUERMANN

A

fter reading John Steinbeck’s classic novel “Of Mice and Men,” learning about the increasing problem of homelessness, and studying sustainable agriculture, the freshman class participated in an interdisciplinary study and field trip.

Based on the Steinbeck-related themes of the vulnerabilities and freedoms of living a transient life, the search for happiness through the ownership of a small “sustainable” farm, and the tragedy of missed opportunities and of “dreams deferred.”

To begin the day students heard from Dr. Mimi Doohan, local family physician, who spoke about her non-profit, Doctors Without Walls— Santa Barbara Street Medicine.

Her program is run by volunteers and provides free medical care to the

needy population in Santa Barbara. “[Dr. Doohan] was abandoned on the street with her brother, so it was very inspiring to see her take her life into her own hands,” said freshman Bryn Jewett.

Students have been learning about homelessness, world population, and the census process in their civilization classes.

They have discovered that not everyone gets counted due to the problem of homelessness; people without addresses are not included and get overlooked in the censuses.

Following Dr. Doohan’s presentation students traveled to the Gainey Vineyard and Ranch in Santa Ynez home to the iconic barn featured in the film version of the book “Of Mice and Men.” While at the Gainey

PHOTO: TRISH MCHALE

Sifting through the grapes of wrath: Spenser Wyatt and Cole Strachan empty a bin of grapes into a vat and prepare to stomp on the grapes, in order to contribute to the wine-making process at the Gainey Vineyards.

Ranch, students learned the history of ranch from owner Mr. Daniel Gainey who spoke on behalf of the winery and the or-

ganic farming that takes place at the ranch.

He discussed how he and others have purchased adjacent land and

turned it into an Agricultural Preserve.

“This ensures that the farming, habitat, and open space that exist on

the property will continue in perpetuity.”

He invited students to harvest and stomp grapes that eventually would be used in the making of wine.

Following the harvest, students walked along a trail through the ranch and vineyard to the barn where they acted out scenes from the novel.

Lunch followed under the Santa Ynez sun.

The field trip experience allowed students to widen their perspectives on street medicine, sustainable agriculture, and land preservation.

This cross-curricular field trip tied together three courses: English, civilization, and biology and brought enrichment to students’ academic understanding.

“I thought it was really cool how we got to pick grapes and stomp them,” said freshman Annabelle Sorensen.

Profile

November 28, 2011

5

A New Kind of DIVA

T

his issue’s double-page spread examines the objectification of women in the media based on the recent documentary “Miss Representation.” With the help of Laguna’s female faculty, a young lady from each grade who, in their esteemed opinion, represents the qualities of leadership, independence, creativity, and passion was selected. These are a few of the outstanding young women in our community who aren’t afraid to express their opinion.

By Anastasia Antonova

9th Grade Diva

Elia Doussineau

10th Grade Diva 11th Grade Diva

Mica Zimmerman

ZOE SERBIN

12th Grade Diva

cameron platt

“This is very difficult! I would select all of the young ladies in my advisory. I have 10th, 11th, and 12th! I really cannot choose one from each. They are unique in every way, but the most important point, is that they work together and want to help each other, the school, the city, the nation, the world! Really, these girls are a microcosm of all that is wonderful in our community. So, can I vote for all of them?” Ms. Isabela Santos PHOTOS: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

Classroom Repairs Completed at Last

By DARIA ETEZADI It took all summer, and even that wasn’t enough time to repair the damage that resulted from a thoughtless act of vandalism that was compounded by damaging floods.

“It was the most disruptive problem we’ve ever had,” said Mr. Matt Bray, Director of Physical Plant.

Because of all the water that was absorbed into the skeletal structure of the classrooms, the maintenance crew had to remove the bottom half of the walls, the carpets, a significant amount of the electrical wiring, and soon thereafter, rebuild many parts of each classroom.

The floods compelled the staff to work all day for months on end in the summer, to ensure the repairs were made and paperwork was finalized.

Though this situation affected many members of the Laguna community, ranging from the faculty to students, the maintenance crew took the hardest blow.

In light of all the hard work that was put into the reconstruction of the classrooms, Mr. Bray made a point of extending a special thank you to Network Administrator Mr. Ladislav Laza, who assisted the maintenance crew “with some of the networking.”

Between negotiating with a team of contractors and managing many of the demolitions on campus, Mr. Bray and the rest of the crew found themselves working on this project through the summer for about six hours a day–not including the countless hours that were invested in other tasks at hand.

PHOTO: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

REDONE & READY: Ms. Santos stands in front of her class in Shuman Room which now features newly installed electrical wiring, newly plastered walls, new carpeting and new furniture.

As explained by crew member Mr. Gabino Evangelista, many of the members of the maintenance crew stayed at Laguna until 9 p.m. to restore order to the classrooms and courtyards, and to wrap up any ongoing projects.

But the maintenance crew’s hard work gave the classrooms long overdue make overs which include new carpeting, new desks and fresh paint.

The damage required the team to re-install much of the electrical wiring inside the walls.

“It’s stuff you don’t see, but it takes a lot of work as well,” explains Mr. Bray.

After much thought, the administration agreed

that the best preventative measures to insure that a situation like this would not occur again would be to prohibit students from bringing senior pranks inside classrooms.

“I don’t think that there’s any reason students should be in a classroom unsupervised. Unfortunately, it only takes one kid who’s not thinking right to cause a problem, so you kind of have to take a stance somewhere,” said Mr. Bray.

With such a busy year just around the corner, Laguna’s maintenance crew, the administration, and the student body are more than relieved with the completion of this complex project.

Junior Playwright Earns Spot in TEDx Film for Musicals

By ELISE SCHEUERMANN Junior Zoe Serbin was selected to be part of the TEDx event in Santa Barbara called The Spark Within. TEDx is a program that has both online TEDTalks and TEDx conferences around the world that aim to spark discussions through influential speakers. Santa Barbara held its second TEDx American Riviera event on Nov. 11 at Music Academy of the West in Montecito.

This year they focused on creating opportunities, creating happiness, and creating beauty. All these topics were discussed by the 11 speakers; Stefen Bucher, Robert Gupta, Matthew Kenney, Jenna McCa-

rthy, Chris Orwig, Eugene Lee, Peter Matthies, Eric Goodman, Barry Berkus, Tom Snow, and John Boettner. These prominent speakers covered business, finance, community outreach, mental and physical health, vitality, nutrition, lifestyle, and the arts.

Zoe discovered this event through her friend Griffin Saxon. She and Griffin have a partnership in which they write songs and musicals.

Griffin’s dad nominated them for the award and they were interviewed at Santa Barbara Middle School with the codirector of the program.

They were asked a multitude of questions and also asked to sing one of their co-written songs from their own musical, Underdog, about the characters of Mario and Luigi from the Nintendo video game.

“The interview process was pretty intimidating at first, but after I got to know the filmmakers it was really fun. It was the first time Griffin and I had talked about our musical to people outside of our family.

Now that people know about it, we have a greater motivation to finish the play and put it on,” Zoe said.

Out of the 100 applicants, 10 were chosen to be finalists. Zoe and Griffin were part of the top 10.

Originally, two to three applicants were to be chosen as the winners, but after the interviews were completed, the directors couldn’t choose just one. So the top 10 finalists became the 10 winners.

“It was an honor to have been chosen and we learned a lot about ourselves in the process, as well as becoming closer friends,” said Zoe.

6

November 28, 2011

The Opinion

Humanitarian activists around the world have had strong reactions of resentment to those

opposed to or wary of President Obama’s recent decision concerning Joseph Kony and the LRA. Many of these critics are misinformed.

On Oct. 14, President Obama announced that the United States will send 100 military advisors to the war-torn region of central Africa to assist the local governments in stopping Joseph Kony, the merciless leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

The reaction among the general public has been mixed, largely due to a lack of information and miscommunication.

Many news sources published confusing articles, many of which implied that our president was planning to send combat troops to central Africa.

In addition to this, most people know little to nothing about Joseph Kony, his rebel army, and the atrocities they have been committing for a quarter of a century. A prime example of such ignorance would be the response of political commentator, Rush Limbaugh of The Rush Limbaugh Show.

By EVA DAVIS

Armed, Kony and his few followers began to raid villages and abduct children to build up his army.

ART: ZOE SERBIN

On his radio program he stated that by sending military advisors to central Africa, President Obama was seeking to “wipe out Christians” and further went on to say that the LRA is “fighting Muslims” and that the rebel group is “the people Obama has sent troops to help.”

When producers of his show frantically updated the radio show host of the group’s atrocities, he unapologetically responded saying, “well we just found out about this today and of course will do our due diligence research.”

A victim of the LRA’s violence recently sent Limbaugh a video informing him further on the topic of Kony and his rebel army.

To even begin to understand the situation, there are many things to look at. The first would be Joseph Kony’s long history of unpunished violence, In 2009, The Enough Project and Invisible Children came together to get 500,000 signatures on a petition to present a bill to President Obama which he signed in early 2010, pledging to take significant action against the LRA. There are many key factors that most American’s have no idea about. It is essential that people start at the beginning when analyzing this devastating conflict: who is Joseph Kony? What is this Lord’s Resistance Army?

In 1986, Joseph Kony seized the opportunity to be in control.

He borrowed concepts from two preceding rebel groups ironically titled Ugandan Peoples Offence Army and Holy Spirit Movement.

He mimicked the traditional military chain of command displayed by the UPOA and the spiritual practices of the HSM. He then created ten commandments for his Lord’s Resistance Army, the most important being that he must never be questioned or challenged by LRA .

He pledged to overthrow the Ugandan government and rule the entire country by his ten commandments. He then went on to break every single of one of them.

Instantly, Joseph Kony lost all support of local Ugandan people.

Desperate to stay in control, he went on a search for outside resources. He found these resources in Omar AlBashir, the president of Sudan who is also an indicted war criminal for the Darfur Genocide. Al-Bashir supplied Kony and his army with firearms, some of which they still use today.

Armed, Kony and his few followers began to raid villages and abduct children to build up his army.

Over time, it has become apparent that this army wasn’t a way of Kony building himself up politically; it was solely for personal gain.

One of the reasons he has been able to terrorize this region for so long is that there is no negotiating with Joseph Kony. He has everything he wants: money, control, and multiple sex slaves that he calls “wives.”

The general public is also unaware that while Obama recently announced his decision to send advisors into central Africa, he signed a bill in early 2010 pledging to take action against the Lord’s Resistance Army.

This bill was brought to him through the work of two humanitarian organizations, The Enough Project and Invisible Children, and their hundreds of thousands of young supporters.

These hundreds of thousands of activists now have the support of the International Criminal Court in their hope to capture Joseph Kony alive and bring him to the ICC headquarters located in the Netherlands sometime during 2012.

Last year, our school’s chapter of the Invisible Children club raised over $13,000 to support the Keyo Secondary School, an institute responsible for educating 800 boys and girls, many of whom are former child soldiers.

Additionally, the middle school raised over $1,200 last quarter for Invisible Children.

This past summer I traveled to the San Diego to join 700 young minds in an effort to end Africa’s longest running war.

The event was called the Fourth Estate, a tribute to what was considered the lowest class in France during the Revolution. Despite having everything stacked against them, the people that made up the fourth estate were eventually successful in their mission for social change During our short four-day stay, we listened to 12 guest speakers. Among them was the President of the International Justice Mission and Carl Wilkins, the one and only American to stay in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. The speakers touched us, inspired us, and, most importantly, pushed us to keep on keeping on.

“Fourth Estaters” as we’re called, began referring to our experience as being “on the mountain top” after listening to a recording of one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speeches in which he describes the blissful feeling of being part of a force united against injustice.

The Fourth Estate was our mountaintop: there we were, 700 strong, and there was no one there to doubt us, no one there to judge us, and no one there to put us down.

In a culture where kids and teenagers are often treated as burdens, this change was shocking and so refreshing. We were constantly being told that we are making a difference and we will continue to make a difference. On the first day we were told the 700 of us had raised an estimated 3.8 million dollars for Invisible Children in the past two years. Cheers erupted and tears were shed. Our goal was to end the war in Africa, and stop Joseph Kony. We are closer to reaching that goal than ever before.

Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of what is the morally correct thing to do. While the President’s decision has been questioned by many, hundreds of thousands of activists applaud his decision and hope that the goal of delivering Joseph Kony alive to the International Criminal Court in 2012 will become a reality. With the support of American military advisors and the European Union, this is an extremely realistic goal that will hopefully be achieved.

The Opinion

November 28, 2011

7

Every Second Counts and Time Is Short

J

By DARIA ETEZADI

ust six more degrees, and pencils collapse onto the floor, feet scurry through the doorway, trembling hands turn in apologetic tardy slips, frantic fingers attack the send button, and a traffic light fades into red.

The second hand on a clock can turn one’s world upside down.

The Beatles might have been onto something by suggesting that seven days a week doesn’t give people much time to work with.

In fact, time seems to be on short supply, yet the demand for it has been increasing at a constant rate.

Somehow, we have managed to create a society that cares more about what a person does in the “here and now” than what he or she has accomplished over the past several months.

Why? Because if we can’t get what we want the second we demand it, let’s just say we aren’t happy campers.

Consider the Internet. I don’t know about you, but there have been many moments when I’ve been tempted to chuck my laptop out the window out of frustration for my sporadically slow Internet connection.

My problem is not that I have

anger management issues— I hope— but that I simply don’t have the time to sit and wait around for a piece of information to reach me. There are too many commitments to fulfill, expectations to meet, responsibilities to carry out, and dreams to pursue.

To top it all off, we are

the pressure students face in school today.

We’ve reached a point where the only way to distinguish one equally remarkable success story from the next is to look for the person who could make an effective executive decision under time pressure.

We can’t possibly keep up

wrong.

Some days, my life seems to get so out of control that I find myself bargaining with my alarm clock— yes, that inanimate object that beeps incessantly every morning indicating that the few hours of sleep I’ve managed to acquire will have to suffice for the rest of the day— and

...we have managed to create a society that cares more about what a person does in the “here and now” than what he or she has accomplished over the past several months. not only expected to lead the typical, fast-paced life of the modern-day, but alongside this pursuit, we are expected to seek perfection.

And here lies the source of most, or maybe even all of

GRAPHIC: MORGAN RAITH

with these standards.

The day you find yourself chasing after your own life as it rolls off into the distance, something has gone terribly

fumbling for the “Snooze” button in the hopes that those extra three minutes will make the increasingly difficult task of getting out of bed slightly more tolerable.

But what happens when there is no “Snooze” button? We, the allegedly reckless teenagers,

go so far as to jeopardize our own safety to wrestle with time and to do everything possible to make it work in our favor.

Without a doubt, driving recklessly has to be the most obvious example of how far we’re willing to go to ease the stress and pressure of all of our time-sensitive responsibilities.

Some of my peers won’t hesitate before putting their own lives at stake by speeding and weaving through morning traffic on the highway.

And authority figures in our lives wonder where the disconnect is between teenagers’ common sense and their quickness to ignore it.

There are just too many places to be, and not enough time to get there.

So, we compensate by creating more time, even if that means tainting our credibility as “tomorrow’s leaders.”

The need for slower-paced days and extended deadlines is understandable, as is society’s inability to create such an environment.

However, a few, quick motions on a clock shouldn’t dictate the degree to which we are successful or levelheaded.

We are worth more than society gives us credit for; this is our time to stake our claim to success— not as subjects to ticking clocks, but as people with beating hearts.

Caught Red Handed: Neglecting the Modern-Day Teenager Politicians turn a blind eye to the most impressionable portion of the population: Teens

T

By DARIA ETEZADI

hey should be ashamed or how hard it is to accept and secure one’s identity, or, at of themselves.

Call me biased, but least for some, how difficult of all the criticism pinpointed it is to cope with the loss of a at teenagers, critics of today’s loved one.

So, naturally, this population youth should really rethink the finds itself formulating basis of their arguments.

People wonder why opinions about issues that hit members of my age group close to home.

This is where America’s are not inspired by political political structure debates and news runs into a reports. pothole – the The answer is ...it’s just not inability to simple: political make an issue debates and news fair to place relatable to reports have not the blame a different been made to demographic. inspire youth. of political makes When was inactivity on myWhat jaw drop is the last time society’s ability teenagers a significant to dress up number of highalone. and popularize schoolers tuned the iPhone, into CBS News, “Twilight,” and NPR, or, my personal favorite, C-SPAN to Facebook in a matter of months follow current events across to the point where these items have turned into clichés, and the globe?

However, it’s not fair to place then simultaneously have the blame of political inactivity difficulty making politics accessible to youth after on teenagers alone.

Legislators don’t speak “our over 230 years of debates, language.” Not to say that campaigns, and elections.

In other words, America’s their campaigns should be riddled with acronyms such as leaders are, knowingly or G2G, NBD, or TISNF, but let’s unknowingly, taking the easy face it – politicians typically way out, that being winning use muddled language to the favor of over 50 percent of discuss issues targeted their audience.

Now, what kind of impression towards an older population, simply because they’re the does that leave on the modern most politically responsive teenager?

Haven’t adults made a demographic in the United point of emphasizing that States.

The average teenager short-handed tasks can be doesn’t have any reason to be misinterpreted for, dare I say concerned with trade relations, it, delinquency?

Politicians owe teenagers health care, taxes, or social this much: acknowledgment. security.

At least enough to give But, I remember sitting in my ninth grade history class today’s youth a reason to as discussions of President engage in the community and Obama’s proposal to lengthen care about the factors that school days and shorten affect this country.

The 18-25 year olds of the summers in public schools, the questioned constitutionality of United States may not have Proposition 8, and the ongoing the best track record from wars in the Middle East legal and political standpoints, triggered waves of outrage but last I checked, they haven’t and disbelief from the student fallen off the face of the earth.

We are more capable population. understanding and These issues are more likely of in political to spark teenagers’ interest participating because they are much easier issues, but we have yet to be presented with an opportunity to understand.

Teens don’t have any trouble to do so.

All we need is a chance – a wrapping their minds around what it takes to devote one’s chance to care, and a chance to time to a quality education, matter.

PHOTO: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

FACED WITH NUMBERS: Gathered on the steps leading from the senior quad, students replace their identities with numbers.

I am Not Just a Number

Budget cuts force California State Universities to cut readers of applications.

By MORGAN RAITH When visiting the California Polytechnic University, I fell in love with the campus, the programs, and the people. In an on campus information session, we were told that the university no longer required an essay or any other writing portion in its application.

My aspirations were immediately halted when I discovered that one of my dream schools was going to evaluate my acceptance eligibility solely based on my GPA, standardized test scores, class schedule, and my answers to a few multiple choice questions.

I went to the admissions office to confirm what I had been told. I became even more discouraged when the woman at the front desk assured me that these were the facts.

What I didn’t know was that the university didn’t choose to eliminate their chance to get to know me in an essay or other writing section before admittance.

Cal Poly is one of the many California State Universities, which share the same application.

Due to state budget cuts, that

application could no longer be reviewed by readers.

The only solution was to accept applicants based on numbers. She told me that the California State Universities had to choose between cutting classes, or eliminating readers for applications.

I suppose they all agreed that cutting classes would damage the school’s integrity, but what about the integrity of the students?

Sure they could choose the students with the best test scores and GPAs, but I didn’t understand how they would fill the personality gap. I thought that part of college admittance was building a community of students who could interact side by side successfully both in and out of the classroom.

I was upset because I consider myself to be one of the candidates who gets “alright” test scores, but writes a killer essay or excels in an interview.

I was particularly excited to include supplemental information about my experience with a local landscape architect who was a graduate of one of Cal Poly’s most celebrated five-year

undergraduate programs.

After going to the admissions office and feeling defeated, I marched over to the Landscape Architecture department in hopes that I would leave an impression on at least one human being before I left campus.

Sure enough, a very welcoming woman took time to unlock classrooms and studios while she talked to me about the department.

I thought I had finally made a breakthrough, but then I remembered she would never get the chance to see the application with my name on it and argue that I was a good candidate, given my experience, for one of the school’s programs.

My chances of getting into the school were almost entirely up to a computer. I walked away wishing I could change the facts, but I knew I couldn’t be upset with the university.

They don’t really have a choice.

I would have done the same thing. If they had cut the curriculum instead of application readers, maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to go there in the first place.

Double

8 Objectification of...

The Unattai

Women: Who’s to Blame?

By ZOE SERBIN

M

edia surrounds us.

It engulfs almost every aspect of our lives. Television, internet, billboards, even at school we are bombarded by the heavy hand of advertising, television, music and movies.

Something is intrinsically wrong when we look at the basic way our society is structured, especially in respect to the role that women play.

Physical beauty ranks first, intelligence comes last. Isn’t that the opposite of what we should be striving for?

When we think about why our society is set up this way, and who is to blame for it, it’s easy to point fingers.

It’s easy to push the responsibility on “power-hungry” men who view women as sexual objects or the government that even allows these images to meet the eyes of the public.

It’s also easy to turn a blind eye and pretend the problem doesn’t exist. But it does exist, and no matter which way you look at it, women are objectified in the media.

Whether they are portrayed as ‘dumb blonde’ or ‘the girl next door,’ women are stuck in these stereotypes time and time again.

The main problem starts and ends with us women, though.

I’m sure somewhere far along the road that led us to where we are now, everything started out as trying to live up to men’s standards of beauty.

And yes, many men objectify women. But that’s not where the core of the problem lies.

The problem lies with us: normal, everyday women as well as those with a hand in the media.

“Not only are girls seen as

objects by other people, they learn to see themselves as objects” (Miss Representation).

Women target women.

Women attack women. Women objectify women. And women target, attack, and objectify themselves more than they do to anyone else.

I do not have a single friend who doesn’t complain about her hair, her skin, her weight— I’ll admit, I’m not excluded from this.

The movie Mean Girls is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Its sole point is to critique the entire system in which women view each other.

“If girls call each other sluts and whores it just makes it okay for guys to call us that,” Tina Fey’s character said.

Gossip magazines that are run by women, criticize women who we look up to as beautiful, smart, and successful.

If those women whose lives we desire to have can’t live up to the standards raised by the media, how can we?

“The more women and girls self-objectify, the more likely they are to be depressed, have eating disorders, lower confidence, lower ambition, and lower GPAs” (Miss Representation).

We, as women, are the only ones who can make a change because no one else will do it for us.

We need to stop focusing on the sizes of our waist bands and turn our energy away from discouraging self-deprecation and gossip.

Otherwise, instead of making a difference, we’ll just be stuck in a rut, wondering how we can cut corners to lose weight.

Men: Objectified too?

By HELENA DAVILA

F

lip through the glossy pages of any perfumed fashion magazine to be visually accosted by images of Barbie-like idealized women flaunting mile-long legs, flawless skin and perfectly preened manes of flowing blonde hair.

The social pressures imposed on American women have become nearly unbearable.

Media portrays the image of an idealistic woman, perfect from every angle. In turn, young women throughout the nation expect themselves to mirror such an image.

Recently, the issue of visual and physical idealism has been brought to light by media giants such as OWN, Oprah Winfrey’s Oprah Winfrey Network, which aired the documentary, “Miss Representation” at public venues such as the 2011 Sundance Film Festival to help bring awareness to the social pressures imposed on women by the media.

The documentary, like many others of its genre, critique the social consequences of such idealism and imagery as portrayed by the media.

However, contrary to the focus on women, men are hardly mentioned as being objectified in the media.

Is it true? Are men just as objectified in the media as women are?

Why does the media seemingly turn a blind eye on the objectification of men, while focusing their resources on bringing awareness to the objectification of women?

The truth? The media objectifies men just as much as they do women.

Tanned skin, perfect hair,

defined muscles, it’s all there, yet overlooked by thousands for the long legged flowing haired female at his side.

Men and teenage boys throughout the nation are just as pressured as women are to live up to the impossible standards of beauty and perfection.

Turn on the television during any sports game to find endless ads directing male viewers to buy cars, energy drinks, alcohol and electronics.

The men in each ad appear flawlessly airbrushed, almost plastic. Yet, for centuries men have been expected to take the dominant role in society.

Why is it that the media has suddenly brought to light the objectification of women, yet managed to keep that of the opposite gender shrouded in the dark?

This social pressure of masculinity has only grown as technology and advertising has expanded.

Once part of a mere societal hierarchy, the media has created a social monster demanding Barbie and Ken, the perfect power couple: beautiful and physically flawless in every way, witty, successful, smart, and wealthy, the image has become so highly engineered it’s nearly impossible to achieve.

How long will it be until the breaking point? Where the images in the glossy pages of fashion magazines no longer resemble real people, but idealized portraits of them, at what point will society finally reject such blatant marketing?

Perhaps that point has already arrived, yet we’re too close to see it clearly.

1.6 MILLION PLASTIC SURGERY PROCEDURES IN 2010 ● 52 PROCEDURES TO GET “BA OF PATIENTS ARE WOMEN ● 66.9 PERCENT OF WOMEN PATIENTS HAVE A COLLEG

AN RO

ART: ZOE SERBIN

S

ex symbol, ca mother, career wom and loving wife— can one person fill all of th roles?

For much of Amer history, a wom proper sphere thought to be within her home.

This restrictive cult of mesticity emphasized submissiveness, obedie and piety were key trait a woman to exude aro her husband.

Women were considered delicate and too weak to gage in activities other t caretaking and nurturing Today, however, the of domesticity has panded. Instead of ing limited to her home, the modern successful woman expected to be cap in the office, kitc and bedroom.

Many females pressured to not live-up to the out ed 1950s image perfect mother wife who fulfills family’s every n but also to e in a high-p er career.

A l t h o u women are still primary care ers in most Amer homes, many are

e Page

November 28, 2011

inable Goal

9

“Miss Representation” Up Close

By Olivia Berci

When I was younger, my see themselves as objects. mom and I would read about American Psychological Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Association calls selfand Elizabeth Blackwell objectification a national before I went to sleep at night. epidemic.

I thought these books were Women and girls who selfboring, and I really didn’t objectify are more likely to understand why it was so be depressed, have lower important that we read them. confidence, lower ambition, I did know that there was no and lower GPAs. getting out of it. My mom was According to the film, 65 adamant that I was going to percent of women and girls learn about who these women have an eating disorder and were. “Girl power” was a term rates of depression among often used in my household. girls and women have doubled My mom ingrained in between 2000 and 2010. my sister and me that to be US Advertisers are not only independent and to maintain supporting this objectification, the opportunities that I wanted but they are driving it. to explore, as a woman, I had As the documentary dug to be able to support myself. deeper, what it revealed I think I could regurgitate became increasing repugnant. this idea before I really valued Advertisers spent 236 its meaning, and by the time I billion dollars in 2009. The was old enough exploitation to understand of women in The pervasive what my mom the media meant by this, nature of the media is all about it all seemed capital. is convincing too obvious to It makes me. marketers young girls to I didn’t often n d see themselves as aadvertisers feel restricted objects... or victimized m o n e y . because of my This twisted gender, and an capitalemphasis on d r i v e n female empowerment seemed representation of women somewhat unnecessary to is sending a message about me. That is what is most the capacity of women and is frightening. affecting how people respond While my knowing that, as a to women in positions of woman, it was important that leadership.

I be able to support myself On national television, a became muscle memory, FOX News broadcaster asked, my views of how women are “You get a woman in the Oval treated became a jaded product Office—the most powerful of a hyper-media consumer. position in the world, what’s Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s the downside?” film “Miss Representation” The man being interviewed presented me with an responded, “You mean besides unblurred context. the PMS and the mood The film jerked me back to swings.” the root of what my mom had “Little boys and little girls always tried to teach me, but when they are seven years old it followed the representation in equal number want to be the of women deeper and farther president of the United States than I thought this issue ever when they grow up, but you ran. ask the same question when The documentary opens they are fifteen and you see with a quote by Alice Walker this massive gap emerging,” ARBIE BODY” ● AVERAGE PLASTIC SURGERY PROCEDURE: $4,000 ● 95.6 PERCENT typed across a blank screen said Heldman. that reads, “The most common Women make up 51 percent GE DEGREE ● LIPOSUCTION IS NATION’S TOP COSMETIC SURGICAL PROCEDURE way people give up their power of the U.S. population, but only is by thinking they don’t have 17 percent of Congress.

ART: ZOE SERBIN any.”

According to the information The documentary goes presented in “Miss on to present chilling Representation,” at this rate, statistics about the media’s women won’t achieve parity portrayal of women and its for 500 years. impact on young girls and Sixty-seven countries in boys. the world have had female According to the film presidents or prime ministers.

American teenagers spend The United States is not one more than 10 hours a day of them. Cuba, China, Iraq consuming media, most of and Afghanistan have more

By JESS DAVIS it filled with content that women in government than objectifies women and the U.S. does. time-consuming, dramatically over the last aring pursuing distorts their bodies.

The United States is 90th in man, stressful careers. two decades. According to There is a level of access the world in terms of women As the expectations of wom- the Center for Disease Con—how that never existed before, in legislature. Our country is hese en have expanded and our trol and Prevention, “from and we are overwhelmed shortchanging the voices of opportunities have increased 1988-1994 through 2005by advertising. over half our population. rican immensely, the role that many 2008, the rate of antide“In a world of a million Dr. Condoleezza Rice, PhD, man’s women feel obligated to play pressant use in the United channels, people try and Former US Secretary of State, was as wives and mothers has States among white women do more shocking and says in the documentary, “As own changed very little in compari- has increased by 400 pershocking things to break the most powerful country in son. cent”. through the clutter. They the world if you’re not standing “A lot of women I see don’t doWhile sleeping aid and resort to violent images or for the right values and the that prioritize,” said Shelby Har- anxiety pill use by men has sexually offensive images right principles, that’s a loss ence ris, director of the Behavioral also increased, it has been or demeaning images,” for the world.” ts for Sleep Medicine Program at far less significant. said Jim Steyer, CEO of Katie Curic, Anchor for CBS, ound Montefiore Medical Center.

Three out of four insomCommon Sense Media and says, “The media can be an “Is it important to have din- niacs are female (National Lawyer and Professor of instrument of change. It can d too ner on the table at night? Yes. Sleep Foundation). So why Civil Rights. awaken people and change o en- Must it be a five-course meal? does this disparity between The pervasive nature of minds. It depends on who is than Absolutely not” (New York prescription drug use by the media is convincing piloting the plane.”

Times). g. women and men exist? young girls to see Marie Wilson says in the The effect of the perfectioncult Perhaps this is due to the themselves as objects film, “You can’t be what you ex- ist tendencies of many work- impossible standards the and is convincing young can’t see.” If the media isn’t f be- ing mothers is detrimental to media and the general pubboys that their value is portraying a clear view of own their own health. lic have set for women. fundamentally defined who a woman is and what “Women are really paying n-day “Most of the time I get by the power they have. women have the capacity to n is their price in sleep for their stuck mulling over the loThe consequences of the accomplish, how do we expect pable current role in society,” said gistics of how everything’s media’s fabrication of there to be a shift in how chen, Dr. Meir Kryger, director of going to get done perfectly,” this power disparity are women are treated? sleep medicine research and said Ms. Cheryl Downs Mcimmediate and harrowing.

“Miss Representation” calls s feel education at Gaylord Hospital Coy, a working mother of One in four women, for women to start telling their only in Wallingford, Connecticut three. according to the film, will own stories—stories in which tdat- (New York Times).

The media are critical of be abused by a partner in women are not objects for a The anxiety that accompa- the most successful women. e of a their lifetime, and one in man’s adoration, sex drive or and nies excessive multi-tasking If a woman succeeds in one six women is a survivor of exploitation. s her and over-commitment has led area of her life, she is atrape or attempted rape.

Jennifer Newsom’s action need many women to turn to anti- tacked for not performing What I found to be the was to spread the word. “Miss excel depressants and sleep aids. equivalently in another. most sickening is that not Representation” is infiltrating In a study conducted in powWhether a careerist, a stay only is the media teaching the media with a positive image 2007, the National Sleep at home mom, or someone our boys to objectify for women, one desperately u g h Foundation found that three who finds room for both women, but the media is necessitated. l the in every ten women use some work and motherhood, we teaching girls to objectify Our action can be to help etak- kind of sleeping aid. should celebrate the suc- *93 students participated in this themselves. her. To join the movement, poll through advisory The rate of sleeping pill in- cesses of women rican instead Girls are learning to text REPRESENT to 313131. also take by women has increased of dissecting their flaws.

IMPOSSIBLE OLE TO PLAY

What the Students Said...

10

November 28, 2011

Middle School

By Jacqueline Berci

Graphics: Luisa Cameron

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Spencer Rycroft Snowflake Sweeties

I

magine this: you have been growing your hair out for about 13 These festive cookies are fun months, now you are in the hair salon, to make, easy to decorate, and and you have just watched 12 inches taste great! of your hair fall into the hand of the hair stylist-- how would you feel? Bare, Yield: 2 1/2 Dozen cookies regretful-- how about proud?

Ingredients: Well, proud is certainly how Laguna 1 cup butter (softened) Blanca sixth-grader, Spencer Rycroft, 1 cup sugar felt after cutting off 12 inches of his 2 large eggs hair to donate to Locks of Love, a non2 teaspoons vanilla extract profit organization devoted to return1 teaspoon almond extract ing self-confidence to financially dis3 1/4 cups all purpose flour advantaged children with hair loss “by 2 teaspoons baking powder utilizing donated ponytails to provide 1/2 teaspoon salt the highest quality hair prosthetics.” edible paint icing (homemade (Locks of Love’s mission statement). or store bought) Spencer decided to make a Directions: change in his life -In a large bowl, with an electric after he travmixer beat sugar and butter at eled to Afmedium speed until light and rica with his fluffy. grandmother.

-In a medium bowl, combine He left as salt, baking powder, and flour. a carefree kid, but Continue to gradually add sugar returned with a new to the mixture, beating until insight. While on the smooth. trip, his grandmoth-Wrap the dough in plastic wrap er told him about a and leave it in the refrigerator charity called Locks for 1 hour. of Love and that was when the -Preheat you oven to 350 sparks began to fly. degrees Fahrenheit . Line two Even though it does grow baking sheets with parchment back, deciding to cut paper. off your hair is a big -On a floured surface, roll out decision. But, the dough until it is about 1/4Spencer was inch thick not focused -Cut the dough with your choice on his apof winter cookie cutters and pearance, he place on baking sheets. was thinking -Chill the dough 15 minutes. about helpThen bake the dough for ten ing others. minutes, or until edges are “My grandma golden brown really inspired -Paint the cookies with edible me because paint icing, and decorate them she had to with silver balls, sugar pearls, or go through sparkling sugar. chemotherapy Don’t forget to leave some cook- and she lost ies out for Santa or Hanukkah all of her Harry! hair.”

Spencer grew his hair out for a little more than a year before he cut it all off.

Although Spencer considers his donation to Locks of Love his greatest achievement with his philanthropy work, it has certainly not been his only involvement with volunteering.

Spencer also supports Clouds of Hope, a non-profit organization that helps families with kids who have life-altering illnesses.

Spencer says, “I have helped Clouds of Hope out three times.” he brought Clouds of Hope soccer jerseys, assorted other garments, and raised money for them.

When asked, he seemed to genuinely think for a few moments if he were to start his own charity what would it be called, and who or what would it help?

It is quite easy to see what makes Spencer’s humble personality so unique. “If I were to start a charity it would be called Hand in Hand and it would help children who had disadvantages in their life such as losing their parents or going through chemotherapy.”

Watching kids such as Spencer helping other kids is heartwarming.

Spencer truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

By LUISA CAMERON

I

n today’s world, the “green” student plays an important part in our eco-friendly environment. Here are some tips for staying green at school: 1. Take the bus. Taking the bus is a great way to limit gasoline use; if you live close enough, try riding a bike or walking.

2. Have a reusable water canteen. These reduce plasticwaste and are so much easier than buying bottle upon bottle of H2O. 3. Buy used textbooks. Not only will you save trees, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.

4. Recycle. If you see trash around campus, pick it up and put it in the recycle bin.

5. Cut flashcards in half. As simple as it may sound, this can reduce the amount of paper you use for studying. Or try your computer for note-taking.

6. Buy vintage clothes. This means that no manufacturing machines that cause pollution are used on new clothes.

7. Take shorter showers.

Yes, we all like to be clean, but cutting your time in the shower by a few minutes can reduce water usage.

8. Tell your teachers. Try asking teachers if instead of printing and photocopying paper they can go electronic.

(recipe from Food Network’s Paula Deen)

Siri-ously

By JACQUELINE BERCI

By LUISA CAMERON

The unthinkable is now thinkable. A past generation’s dreams are now this generation’s reality. We can now talk to our phones and our phones will respond. Siri is here.

Confused? Here’s a little background for you: Siri was founded in 2007 by three technical geniuses that were part of a large company.

After much research, Apple bought Siri in 2010 and adapted it into the iOS system.

In October, Apple let the new baby out as part of the iPhone 4S, and millions of people around the world have experienced Siri for the first time. But what is Siri?

It acts a personal assistant, offering conversational interaction with many applications, including reminders, weather, stocks, messaging, e-mail, calendar, notes . . .

The list goes on and on. You speak into the mic on the phone and an electronic, female voice answers with a practical answer. It has been trained to answer millions of questions, from serious ones to stupid ones.

You can say anything, from “Tell me how many quarts in a pint,” to “How much wood can a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?” and it will reply.

Yet however amazing Siri can be, she’s not regarded very highly in some people’s minds.

Teachers are arguing that students could abuse Siri and use it as a way to get easy answers to tests and homework. Furthermore, we might lose important social skills after becoming so dependent on our phones as the years progress and technology rises.

Siri is not 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time, and so far she only speaks three languages.

On top of that, Siri can only navigate U.S. maps and businesses for now. So if you live in Ireland and you’re lost in Belfast and you just bought the iPhone 4S, tough luck, laddie.

Regardless of the negatives, some think Siri it is a life-saver. Efficient, fast, organized, Siri is helping people out. Not just with personal organization, but Siri is revolutionary for the blind and visually impaired.

People can now use their voice to communicate with phones and not have to rely on techniques like braille.

Siri could also hold the key to transforming the health and emergency system.

For example, if an 85 year-old man suddenly feels pain, he could speak directly into his phone and say, “Help! Call 911.” Siri would immediately act. To add to that, if a person is in the hospital, Siri sends alerts to family members and friends reporting the accident. Wow, right?

Gypsies had crystal balls. Aladdin had his lamp. Luke Skywalker had R2D2. Now we have Siri.

Fifth Grade Focus

By JACQUELINE BERCI

We all remember “story time,” but fifthgraders are getting a little bit of a twist to their story time.

Librarian, Ms. Susan Burke, no longer has her assistants in the library to read to the fifth-graders, but there’s a new voice in the library! Ms. Dana Martin Middle and Upper School assistant and Middle School advisor has stepped in.

Every Tuesday morning, Ms. Martin picks up the fifth graders from their classroom, walks them to the library, assists them with checking in and out books, and reads to them from a book chosen by Ms. Burke. “Ms. Martin acts out the characters,” said Sophie Henderson.

“Ms. Martin is the best,” said Milo Hensley.

...Or Not

Barbie Goes Bad...

PHOTO: EVA DAVIS The fifth-graders are reading “10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of 5th Grade” by Ken Derby and it sure seems like they are enjoying it! It seems like Ms. Martin is enjoying it too.

“What is most special about my time with the fifth-graders is I get to establish a relationship with them at the beginning of their middle school years--plus they are so darn cute!” Ms. Martin said.

Well, keep it up Ms. Martin because the whole fifth-grade class is exclaiming “We love Ms. Martin!”

I

n today’s world, almost everyone seems to agree that tattoos are certainly not for kids.

Well, everyone except the creators of the new Tokidoki Barbie Doll.

Mattel (producer of Barbie) describes their new doll as a “funky fashionista [who] features trendy tattoos and a pink bob” and don’t forget her punky “pink miniskirt, logo leggings and black top with signature skull heart and bones.”

Could the classic American sweetheart be leading young girls in the wrong direction?

Well, there are many contrasting views on the subject.

“I don’t think it is good; I think it is definitely a bad influence for young girls. At young ages, a lot of girls say I want to be like Barbie--and it is not going to end well” says Laguna Blanca eighth grader, Julieanna Bartling.

Although Julieanna was once a young girl who played with her own Barbies, Ms. Lindsey Woodard, mother of two daughters and history and English teacher, says “If it were my daughters playing with this doll, I would want her to be much less adult looking or, at the very least, much sweeter looking.

It is just weird to put tattoos on a doll when the girls themselves are not even legally old enough to get tattoos.

But I don’t mind the new hair cut!”

Hasn’t Barbie always been a little on the precarious side?

However, in a BBC News article it was stated that the University of South Australia said “the likelihood of a woman having Barbie’s body shape is one in 100,000.”

Inappropriate, or chic, the new Tokidoki Barbie Doll is strutting her way into America’s homes and it seems that Barbie is going “bad.”

By LUISA CAMERON

A

lthough America’s classic sweetheart has changed dramatically, many people have more positive views on the new Barbie.

“Just because someone has tattoos doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bad person,” says Kendall Conrad, a wellknown accessories designer.

“You could be blonde and wear pink and be a bad person.”

“There is this whole movement of individualism and expressing yourself going on, so I don’t understand why people were so quick to judge Barbie,” says commercial director David Cameron.

“But sadly, there are moms that look like that and have tattoos in the real world. I’d say that’s a worse influence for a little girl than a toy.” Yes, some parents do have pink hair, tiger tattoos, and wear leopard tights. Those parents may be thinking, “Finally!

A doll that looks like me!”

“Many of Barbie’s most pop culture couture outfits have been designed for the adult doll collector. The Tokidoki Barbie is a perfect example of a limited-edition doll sold through select retail locations...” (Mattel Statement.) But maybe, as said

by Mike Santoro, “...girls do want something that’s a little more mature.”

Today, girls are wearing more revealing and sheer clothes as compared to the 50s when tights and kneelength dresses were the proper uniform.

Perhaps buying the edgy Barbie will make modern girls seem more mature and cool around their peers.

So, has Barbie gone bad? Or is she merely experimenting?

Regardless of the angry mothers bombarding blogs and the grateful girls who are eager to grow up, we all saw this coming: Barbie was bound to rebel.

A&E

November 28, 2011

11

“The Liar” Takes Audience to 1960s Paris

By ANDREW McCAFFERY

Confusion begins to fester, as a mistaken encounLaguna Blanca Theater’s fall production of “The ter with Lucrese’s maid Isabelle, played by freshman Liar,” directed by Mr. Joseph Beck, took audiences Emma Klein, leads Dorante and Cliton into mixing on a comical tour of 1960s Paris, complete with sassy up the two women. Nothing is made simpler by the French girls, bumbling young men seeking love, and fact that Clarice’s maid Sabine, played by sophomore a classic rendition of Laguna’s own, Mr. Peter An- Hannah Nagy, is Isabelle’s twin sister. geloff.

“The play is so confusing because of all of the difThe play, adapted by David Ives ferent situations, even the charfrom the original French version acters themselves are confused,” “Even the characters

by Pierre Corneille, opens with an said sophomore Kaylee Strachan. themselves are introductory monologue from the Kaylee played Philliste, the friend confused.” manservant Cliton, played by freshof Alcippe, who is played by Se-Kaylee Strachan man Connor Curran. We immedinior Ari Rodriguez. ately discover that the performance After meeting this pair, we will be in verse—iambic pentameter come across Dorante’s father, the to be exact—a tactic that compliments the show’s vibrant Geronte, played by junior Zoe Serbin. comic elements.

For the production, Geronte’s character was modNext, we meet the cunning Dorante, a young man eled after physics and astronomy teacher Mr. Peter just arrived in Paris, played by senior Cameron Platt. Angeloff, better known as Ace. It is quickly established that Dorante is a chronic liar, On channeling Ace, Zoe said, “I observed him using his quick tongue and wit to make his way in closely during class, and every performance I would life. In contrast, Cliton can only tell the truth. just try to think of his beautiful face and glowing perPHOTO: Tara Broucqsault We soon meet Clarice and Lucrese: a female-duo sonality, and try to embody that glory.” played by freshmen Allie Towbes and Mia Chavez, On being channeled, all Ace had to say was, “Serbin IN THE SCENE: Dorante (Cameron Platt) kneels before Clarice (Allie Towbes) while manservant Cliton (Connor respectively. Dorante tries to woo Clarice, with some does Angeloff better than Angeloff.”

Curran) listens in. avail, but fails to learn her name. runs until Jan. 8.

The exhibit, Picasso and Braque: The Cubist Experiment, is a combination

By Olivia Berci of 15 paintings and 25 prints which came to be defined by Analytic CubSomething that is lacking in our importance of a supportive, accepting, community is a sense of unity amongst and unified environment in which our ism, an experimental modernist art young and old and between those of community’s young people can engage form which involves picking apart the different backgrounds. Young people in healthy self-expression. human figure and every day objects, have the capacity to change this.

By building connection amongst then rearranging them in pieces that On Dec. 10 from 3-5pm, Every- community members of diverse ages depict various different perspectives of body Dance Now! will hold its second and backgrounds, BPSB is introducing the same subject.

Breakdance Project Santa Barbara positive outlets and encouraging role Many of the two artists’ paintings deWorkshop. Last year, the Breakdance models into the lives of Santa Barbara pict stark vertical black lines contrasted Project workshop was held at Hard- youth. by softer toned horizontal brush strokes ing Elementary School on the west side Breakdance Project Santa Barbara in the background, which were meant of town. This year, Everybody Dance is rooted in the power of music, moveBy MORGAN RAITH to keep the eye from automatically folNow!’s is holding the workshop on the ment, and mentorship. east side of town at Franklin ElemenBreakdance Project Santa Barbara lowing the black lines, and drifting to tary School to further their message of is unique in that it is providing to our For the purpose of getting their stu- the bottom on the piece. This theme unification. local Santa Barbara community in a dents to better understand what was of experimentation stemmed from the Breakdance Project Uganda is a pro- way that no other foundation is. BPSB going on inside the heads of modernist post WWI social and physical turmoil, gram that shares the same fundamen- is engaging not only young people, but writers and artists of which sparked questal vision as Everybody Dance Now! the program is captivating the attenthe post WWI era, tions about existence but seeks to achieve it through a differ- tion of an entire community.

Dr. Ashley Tidey and values in society. ent model.

EDN! serves a young population that In turn, writers and Like Everybody Dance Now!, Break- is often on the receiving end of commu- and Dr. Charles artists began to redance Project Uganda uses dance for nity support, but what sets Everybody Donelan took their examine commonly positive social change and demon- Dance Now! students apart is that they AP students to the accepted aspects of strates how dance can be a powerful are given the opportunity to give back Santa Barbara Muuniversal force for enriching people’s to their community themselves. seum of Art. daily life, expressing lives and unifying communities.

Everybody Dance Now! student Pab“It was interestand preserving their But Breakdance Project Uganda dif- lo said, “Dance makes me feel like I am ing to not only exfindings on paper fers from EDN! in that it brings hun- doing something that matters.” Break- amine the works and canvas. dreds of students together at one loca- dance Project Santa Barbara goes far- of Picasso and A quote from Pition at one time. ther with this idea by eliminating the Braque, but also casso is displayed Emphasizing that everyone is a stu- separation between the “receiving” on the wall in the dent, everyone is a teacher, and every- and the “giving”—between student and to see how their works related to exhibit, “In the early one has the capacity to make a positive teacher. days of cubism, we difference in another’s life, Last year, Over 200 participants each other and from BPU draws on the various elements moved to the beat of the music and developed PHOTO: MORGAN RAITH made experiments… to make pictures was of breakdance culture to develop social the cheers of a gathering crowd. Baba- their partnership,” responsibility in Ugandan youth. tunde Folayemi, former Santa Barbara said senior Cameron less important than In January, The EDN! Team part- City councilman and now international Platt. to discover things all the time.” nered with Breakdance Project Uganda youth advocate, gave the keynote adThe purpose of the field trip was to Works were produced in the two in establishing a similar program in dress saying that “This is what we work immerse students in an art form that years that Picasso and Braque spent in our own local community. for. This is the future.” would most closely parallel the ab- each other’s studios, closely watching Breakdance Project Santa Barbara This year, the Everybody Dance stract subject matter being covered in over each other’s processes. provides a place where families, stu- Now! team hopes to draw an even largThe museum borrowed many of the dents, youth, and community members er crowd. Using dance as a platform for their modernist writing units.

The exhibit of works by Pablo Pica- pieces from the Kimbell Art Museum can learn and teach. social change, the EDN! team hopes BPSB strives merge the various sec- that BPSB will become a community sso and Georges Braque, created exclu- in Fort Worth, TX and others from prisively between the years 1910 to 1912 vate collectors in Santa Barbara. tors of our community, advocating the tradition of unification and support.

Breakdance Unites SB

AP Classes Get Private Viewing of SBMA Exhibit

What New Shows are You Watching?

We polled. You voted.

Here are the top five new TV shows Laguna students are following.

Spotify Breaks into the Music Sharing Industry

By CATY LAFITTE iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, and Pandora have been industry leaders but now there is Spotify.

Spotify is an online music streaming service where you can search any song title, artist, or album, and it will appear and begin playing with just a click.

Most peer-to-peer mp3 file sharing is illegal, but Spotify is a new music application where file sharing is legal due to visible advertisements on the sidebars, and audible 30-second advertisements every 20 minutes in between songs.

Spotify has been available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the UK since 2008, but it has only been available in U.S. markets since July 2011.

Spotify had nearly 10 million users across the world by September 2010.

Spotify can be downloaded from Spotify’s official website and it goes right into personal computer applications.

Even though this application is relatively new, a growing number of students have already put it to use.

Senior Allie Lafitte started using Spotify this summer, a month after it was released.

“I’ve always used iTunes for all my music, but I like how on Spotify it connects to Facebook so you can see what other people are listening to,” Allie said.

Another student who uses Spotify is sophomore Chloe Richman.

“I first heard about Spotify through one of my friends in London who started using it when it first came out.”

I love how you can listen to any song without spending $1.99 which iTunes charges, and there are very few commercials. I would definitely recommend Spotify. I love it! It’s my favorite app,” Chloe said.

GRAPHIC: www.droid-life.com

“New Girl” “Pan Am” “Revenge” “X-Factor” “Up All Night”

= 10 Students

= 2 Students

* 92 Laguna Upper School students participated in this poll in advisory.

GRAPHIC: MORGAN RAITH

12

November 28, 2011

Sambo’s, a MouthWatering Experience

Lifestyle

By HELENA DAVILA

By JESSIE DUSEBOUT According to the locals, Sambo’s Restaurant has been known as the place to go for “the best pancakes in the city.”

Located on the beach front with a view of Santa Barbara’s Harbor and pier, Sambo’s has occupied the same small brick and tile building since 1957.

Upon arrival, we put our name in at the glass desk lined with mugs, Tshirts, stuffed animals, and matchboxes all bearing the name Sambo’s.

We headed outside to wait for our name to be called. The brisk ocean breeze blew through the palm trees surrounding the exterior of the restaurant; and the customers enjoyed their food on the patio, bundled up in jackets to fight off the cool, salty morning air.

Moments later we were lead inside to a circular booth in the back. Immediately a warm basket of mini chocolate chip and blueberry muffins appeared in the center of our table and drink orders were taken.

The muffins were fresh out of the oven, leaving the chocolate chips still gooey. Creamy hot chocolate and fragrant tea was served.

The hot chocolate warmed me from the inside out and the chocolate melted in my mouth. The whipped cream was creamy and obviously made from scratch.

We skimmed the menu while enjoying our drinks: chocolate chip pancakes, banana caramel pecan pancakes, roasted Fuji apple pancakes, blueberry pancakes.

Deciding on a cheese and bacon omelet and chocolate chip pancakes, I sat back and took in the atmosphere. It was loud and lively, but the energy was warming.

Waiters and waitresses rushed around the tables, providing excellent customer service; elderly couples sat at the counter sharing a plate of buttermilk pancakes and coffee; a large group of teenagers squeezed around a table laughing and sipping on hot chocolate;

AP English Class Gets Cooking

and families piled into booths, kids drawing with crayons on paper place mats and begging for quarters to use in the gum ball machine by the door.

Sports games played on the flat screen televisions mounted to the corners of the sunny yellow walls and customers cheered for their teams throughout their meals.

A short while later our omelets, fresh fruit, and pancakes arrived- also sporting yellow, blue, and salmon colored dishes.

I began with my omelet, saving the famous pancakes for last. Thin and well cooked; they were excellent. It was a perfect serving size, and didn’t force me to rationalize my intake to leave room for my pancakes.

After enjoying the omelet, I prepared

to eat my pancakes. I spread the butter and drizzled the warm maple syrup on top.

My first thought was: I have never tasted anything like these before. They were the fluffiest pancakes I have ever seen or tasted, melting the second the entered my mouth.

I continued eating until the last drop of syrup was soaked up by the pancakes and my plate was clean.

When all of the plates were cleared, I looked out the windows lining the front wall, spotting the waves crashing roughly on the shore, took a last whiff of the coffee and maple syrup, and smiled at the sound of the children squealing over their gum ball.

Sambo’s will see us again that’s for sure.

Dr. Charles Donelan’s AP English class has been very busy lately; in the kitchen.

Inspired by ’07 alumna Sarah Barbour’s successful food blog, girlfarmkitchen.blogspot.com, Dr. Donelan assigned his English students to write a short blog-style entry describing ‘the best thing you’ve ever eaten.’

Given free reign with the assignment, students turned in recipes for everything from crepes and homemade ice cream to frozen bananas and pizza.

“I really enjoyed the food blog assignment because it gave me a chance to reflect on how cooking affects the rest of my life,” junior Clarissa Coburn said.

Students were encouraged to be creative and write with a colloquial flair rarely seen in canonical English language course work.

The final essays are now waiting in the wings for their debut as blog entries on Dr. Donelan’s food blog, apfoodblog.wordpress.com.

The first to be featured, a personal essay by junior Daria Etezadi that paints a homely picture of growing up through recipes and family.

“As everybody probably already knows, I am a foodie. I really enjoyed this assignment, because in my family a lot of our activities around the home revolve around food, because that’s just what Persians do.

We eat, we talk, we eat more, and then we crash on the couch. This assignment allowed me to draw from my memories from my childhood as well as realize what a large role food plays in my life. ” Daria said.

For many, the assignment was a trip down memory lane; for others, it was a trip to the stack of worn cook books in the kitchen, and for others, it was a memory of the perfect meal at the perfect restaurant.

Each student contributed to the blog by writing a unique entry that helped to create an end product brimming with personal stories, favorite foods, and memories of favorite meals from all over the world.

60 ounces of water.

In the evening to ensure all toxins are removed by drinking an herbal laxative tea. This process should be repeated every day for the entire length of the cleanse.

The weight lost and body detoxification achieved during this cleanse is usually gained back within the next few weeks.

Depriving your body of the daily nutrients necessary for your body to function properly can severely damage your kidneys and other vital organs.

A healthier option to the Master Cleanse is a juice cleanse, for instance, the ginger and lemon cleanse.

This cleanse can last anywhere from 3-10 days and contains much more nu-

trition than the master cleanse.

The ingredients in the ginger and lemon cleanse include, ginger root, lemons, carrots, apples, and water.

It is important during the cleanse to only consume fresh fruits and vegetables, which are full of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and enzymes that boost the immune system and restore or detoxify the body.

Some recommend a slow introduction to a juice diet, weaning oneself off of solid foods and onto vegetables and fruit.

Eventually, you end up consuming just fruit and vegetables juices, in addition to water.

Every morning one should juice a slice of ginger root, six carrots, a lemon,

and an apple, drinking a total of at least 32 to 64 ounces of this juice a day.

Throughout the day one should drink around eight glasses of water to help flush out the lingering toxins in the body.

To further purge the body of toxins in the evening one should drink an herbal laxative tea to relax the colon.

The most important part of a juice cleanse is the finish.

Do not go straight back to normal eating habits. For a juice cleanse to be successful one must ease back into solid foods, starting off with salads, fruit, and vegetables.

The body has just cleared itself of all toxins, so stay away from junk food in order to maintain a healthy state.

Photo Jessie Dusebout

BREAKFAST BY THE SEA: Diners enjoy the ocean view while eating at Sambo’s on Cabrillo Boulevard hasn’t changed since it first opened in 1957.

Truth About Cleanses Photos: Helena Davila

Cleanses are a healthy way to kick off the holiday season.

The holidays are coming and, for some, that means an overindulgence in eating and an overconsumption of calories.

Post-holiday cures vary from an exercise regime to a fast to a cleanse. A cleanse is a detoxification process lasting between 3-15 days.

One of the more popular cleanses is called the Master Cleanse, in which you only consume maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and water for 10-15 days.

Nutritionist Joy Bauer estimated that on a fast one consumes only 650 calories a day opposed to the normal 1,600 or more calories per day.

The Master Cleanse requires a strict daily routine. Every morning there is a salt water flush that cleans out the digestive system of toxins by drinking 32 ounces of water mixed with two teaspoons of non-iodized salt.

Throughout the day, you drink a mixture of 12 tablespoons of lemon juice, 12 tablespoons of grade B maple syrup, ½ tsp. of cayenne pepper, and

Spotted: Cheetah Prints on Skirts, Scarves, and Dresses

By GRACE WOOLF

A new trend has taken over campus: Cheetah print. It’s the pattern that goes perfectly with every pant, shirt, shoe, or accessory.

Cheetah has been showing up in dresses, shirts, skirts, shoes and mostly scarves.

Though not all the cheetah prints today look like actual cheetah fur, the quality of the design is what counts.

Junior Courtney O’Donnell says, “I think it’s very cute. I am definitely going to do little accent this season.”

Cheetah scarves are a great way to have style, warmth, and comfort.

They can be used as a shawl, hood, or just a fun add-on to any outfit.

Sophomore Margaret Hartmann said, “Yes, I will definitely

Photos Grace Woolf and chloe richman

By ELISE SCHEUERMANN

SPORTING THEIR SPOTS: Chloe Richman, Grace Woolf and Margaret Hartmann flaunt their take on this season’s cheetah print.

Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects Nail wear cheetah print this season. I people painting their nails with a cheethink cheetah is a fun print that tah-esque design. Yet, it can get even Polish Strips are available in the print can make a simple outfit more in- trendier and easier: cheetah print nail Kitty Kitty, a cheetah pattern. Cheetah stickers. It’s a simple and quick way to print seems to be one of the trends that teresting.”

Another trend in the fashion world is get fashionable nails. is here to stay.

Feature

Theatre Ghost Haunts Spaulding Auditorium

What is a Hipster?

13

By ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

Y

ou know one when you see one. In their attempt to be original, hipsters have created their own stereotype: a vintage-wearing, Spork music-listening, and facial-hair loving stereotype. They gawk at society for being too vain when they themselves spent three hours searching for that perfect thermos to hold their vanilla soy, which they get daily from their favorite local coffee spot, of course. “I practically know the owner,” they say to you.

“Awesome,” you reply, yet you’re thinking, “Who does this guy think he is?” Well, definitely not a hipster because hipsters don’t believe in labels, but we all know one when we see one. So here is the how to of hipster, a guide for the wannabe-original.

By ZOE SERBIN The theater is dark as students shuffle in for assembly.

Overhead the house lights hang, casting a low light on the student body.

Suddenly, they begin to flicker violently. The ghost of Spaulding Auditorium has arrived.

She is known as “Dangling Deb.” She lives in the theater’s tech booth, where she is rumored to have hung herself during the closing night of a show when she didn’t get into the college of her choice in the 80s.

“During the closing matinee of “The Liar,” both Maya and I heard footsteps run across the platform at the front of the theatre and when we went out to check, no one was there.

She also flickers the lights constantly,” said sophomore Margaret Lazarovits stage manager for the fall production.

“Dangling Deb’s” terrible fate is used as a cautionary tale to students in theatre productions.

Her “curse” is cast upon anyone who forgets their lines on stage, and is said to jinx them from getting into the college of their choice.

Whether or not Deb is just a cautionary tale, she’s been sure to cast fear into those who participate in student productions.

“I did get a little spooked once after I heard the story the first time and was scared to cross backstage,” said “Liar” cast member freshman Mia Chavez.

In an effort to add protection to the cast and to prevent Deb’s curse, the tradition for each show is to offer Deb a sacrifice of orange soda to ensure the show goes on without a hitch.

Senior Cameron Platt dedicated her performance to Deb. “Deb is both terrifying and strangely endearing. She used to petrify me, but I’ve come to love her quite dearly over the course of my high school career. She’s a part of this theatre. We have to honor her.”

November 28, 2011

Style your hair for hours to obtain that I-Don’t-Care look.

Put on zero prescription frames, but tell people you’re as near-sighted as your grandfather.

Since being social is considered “normal,” avoid, at all costs, any human interaction.

Buy all the patterned ties, bow ties, and scarves Urban Outfitters has to offer.

Get annoyed when people ask you why you’re “all dressed up.”

Carry around your 2,000 Martin complete with Indie-folk song on vinyl that you plan to learn soon.

Wear that same cardigan for 90 and 50 degree weather.

Constantly state that it’s “super versatile.”

Don’t exercise.

Ever.

Wear jeans that are as skinny and uncomfortable as possible.

GRAPHIC: ZOE SERBIN

The Psychology of Writing an Essay

By EVA DAVIS

As high school students, we’ve all experienced writer’s block.

Many students hate writing essays and papers all together.

Part of the problem here may be the approach we have all become accustomed to taking when we are given a writing assignment.

Recently, in his American Literature Seminar, English teacher Dr. Charles Donelan had his students write a list of all of the things that they find difficult about writing an essay.

Immediately, nearly everyone in the room agreed on a

first item for the list: starting the essay.

Popular followers were: coming up with a thesis, writing a conclusion, staying on task, and making your paper flow and work together as one piece of writing.

Everyone agreed on one other thing: the best part of writing a paper is finishing it.

Dr. Donelan went on to tell the class about a conversation he’d had with a professor while he was an undergraduate student.

His former professor explained that students must build a relationship with their essays.

In that relationship, there

will be ups and downs, moments of extreme frustrations, but there can be some peaceful and happy moments as well.

Writing an introduction that lays out your main ideas and sets an overall tone for the paper can feel like a major victory, but many students get stuck after this point and then start to feel discouraged about the entire assignment.

It is important to remember that there is no rule that says that your paper must be written in any particular order.

Many students find that jumping around and writing about what comes to mind first can be the easiest way to avoid that dreaded writer’s block.

ART: ZOE SERBIN The truth is, essay assignments don’t have to be as terrible as students have come to see them.

Staying off of Facebook,

taking occasional breaks, and writing in an order that works best for you will greatly improve your writing process and relationship with essays.

Books to Read Over Winter Break

By KAYLEE STRACHAN

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins love brings her courage. courage brings her a chance to change the world.

About to become a major motion picture, The Hunger Games, is a novel filled with hope, desperation, a love triangle, and the questioning of humanity’s civility. Set in the futuristic and cruel world of Panem, Katniss Everdeen is thrown into the Hunger Games: a death match. Katniss and her friend Peeta are subject to manipulation, torture, and violence. Rebellion challenges the oppressing government influenced by the lengths Katniss and Peeta go to keep their love alive and be together, surviving the Games.

This book is an enthralling adventure that pulls you into a brilliantly written story.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes

a story of a girl whose romance goes bitterly wrong.

a friendship ended before it could even begin but martha has an opportunity to fix it

In a compelling novel about love, Rogerson Biscoe is Caitlin’s wake-up call to her dull life. Her sister, Cass, is missing and her mom is completely withdrawn. Rogerson becomes her way to escape pain, but soon he shows an abusive side. She loves her family and Rogerson more than anything, but loving them hurts her: emotionally and physically.

Caitlin’s problem-filled life is a thought-provoking and emotionally riveting story that will leave one’s eyes filled with tears. Most things in life are not fair and are unexpected, Caitlin’s problems are both.

Sad, but moving, her story is one you do not want to miss.

What if Martha and Olive had been friends before Olive Barstow was hit by the car? She could have been Martha Boyle’s best friend.

Olive’s biggest aspiration was to see the ocean and Martha’s vacation to the ocean was a few weeks after Olive’s tragedy. This was an adventure in which Martha simultaneously fell in love, made Olive’s dream come true, and discovered some things about herself, as well as Olive, along the way. Olive’s Ocean is a tale of selfdiscovery and a friendship that extends beyond life that is inspirational.

PHOTO: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

14

November 28, 2011

Sports

Lady Owls Take on Tough Competition

By CLARA MADSEN & GRACE WOOLF After tough victories over Bishop and Thatcher, on Oct. 29 the girls varsity volleyball team came through with a win against Cate, clenching the title of Condor League Champions for the tenth year in a row.

After a successful season with a 11-3 record, 6-0 in league, the girls geared up for the tough CIF circuit, hoping to take home the trophy.

The addition of two freshmen players, Hannah White and Olivia McGovern strengthened the team.

Hannah says the transition to the varsity level “has been really, really fun and it’s really helped me improve a lot because it makes me step up my game. I really work for every game, and it has been really good.”

Olivia fills the position of middle blocker. She says her transition from playing peers to playing potential college athletes has been “really good because I’ve been working with people who are more experienced than I am, and I have been able to learn from them.”

The team felt the loss of senior captain Lauren Alef who was unable to finish out the season due to illness.

Four-year varsity player and senior cocaptain, Amanda Harvey, had hopes to finish out her season with a successful post-season experience. Her hopes were dashed after a five game match in game one of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 AA playoffs against St. Paul with a final score of 15-11.

Amanda lead the team with a total of 15 kills, 11 digs, and 26 assists.

“It’s so disappointing to lose, but playing with the seniors and the rest of the team has been the best experience,” Harvey said. “I love these girls.”

Senior co-captain Fiona Jessup added, “I’m really proud of our team playing volleyball at a school where the sport is big, having teammates and coaches like we have has made this the best experience.

It shows through the games, and shows through our playing that we love being out there together.”

PHOTOS: JAMIE ROSENBERG VOLLEYBALL GIRLS: Top left and right seniors Amanda Harvey and McKenzie Scarborough go in for the kill. Bottom the team gathers for a pep talk before the game.

Alumni Athletes Playing on College Teams

By GRACE WOOLF

Kelsey Douglas Soccer at Penn

Erin Stone Soccer at Tufts

Fletcher Sipple Lacrosse at Lafayette

Jackie Harvey Volleyball at Puget Sound

Jack Stegall Football at Macalester College

Jessie Ditmore Volleyball at Vassar College

Niall Platt Golf at Notre Dame

Heidi Van den Oever Volleyball at SBCC

Kevin Lunn Cross Country at Yale

Liza Fletcher Tennis at Wesleyan

Luther Tarver Burks Basketball at Edgewood College Bryson Alef Swimming at Amherst Tommy Mullaney Squash at Harvard Carly Shevitz Sailing at College of Charleston

Winter Sports Schedule

Sports

November 28, 2011

15

Fall Sports Season Comes to an End PHOTOS: JAMIE ROSENBERG AND TARA BROUCQSAULT

By KAYLEE STRACHAN

DATE OPPONENT

LOCATION

TIME

BOY’S VARSITY BASKETBALL 11/29

Coast Union

Home

5:00 p.m.

12/1

Channel Islands Home

6:00 p.m.

12/2

Dunn School

Dunn

4:30 p.m.

12/5

Midland

Midland

5:00 p.m.

12/12

Hueneme

Home

7:00 p.m.

12/14

Thacher

Home

5:00 p.m.

1/7

Cate

Home

4:30 p.m.

1/14

Besant Hill

Besant Hill 3:00 p.m.

1/21

Oakwood

Home

12:00 p.m.

1/25

Cate

Cate

4:30 p.m.

1/28

Providence Hall Providence 3:30 p.m.

GIRL’S VARSITY BASKETBALL 12/5

Orcutt Academy Home

6:00 p.m.

12/7

Ojai Valley

Home

3:30 p.m.

12/8

Hueneme

Home

5:30 p.m.

1/3

Santa Paula

Home

5:30 p.m.

1/11

Cate School

Cate

3:30 p.m.

1/24

San Marcos

San Marcos

1/28

Providence Hall Providence 2:00 p.m.

TBA

BOY’S JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL 12/3

Dunn School

Dunn

3:00 p.m.

12/7

Ojai Valley

Home

3:30 p.m.

12/12

Hueneme

Home

5:30 p.m.

12/13

Providence Hall Home

3:45 p.m.

12/14

Thacher School Home

3:30 p.m.

1/5

St. Raphael

Home

3:45 p.m.

1/7

Cate School

Home

3:00 p.m.

1/25

Cate School

Cate

3:00 p.m.

1/28

Ojai Valley

Ojai

3:00 p.m.

GIRL’S VARSITY SOCCER 11/30

Carpinteria

Carp

4:00 p.m.

12/12

Bishop Diego

Home

3:30 p.m.

1/5

Villanova Prep

Home

3:15 p.m.

1/7

Orcutt Academy Orcutt

1:00 p.m.

1/14

Cate

2:00 p.m.

1/25

Thacher School Home

Cate

3:15 p.m.

BOY’S VARSITY SOCCER 12/3

Dunn School

Home

12/7

Orcutt Academy Home

3:15 p.m.

12/14

Midland

Midland

3:00 p.m.

1/7

Cate

Home

3:00 p.m.

1/14

Thacher School

1/19

San Marcos

SMHS

3:00 p.m.

1/25

Ojai Valley

Ojai

3:15 p.m.

1/28

Midland

Home

3:00 p.m.

2/1

Thacher School Home

3:15 p.m.

Thacher

3:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

Game Time: Senior Allie Lafitte hits a return.

POWER PLAY: Joey Eckert runs his way to the end zone for a touchdown.

Tennis Girls Take Out Cate

Football Focuses on the Future

By CAITLIN CONNOR

By ANDREW McCAFFERY

“We are like the Average Joe’s from the movie Dodgeball. We’re playing Cate in a couple of matches this week, and I hear they’re the Globo Gym of the league,” said Girl’s Tennis Coach Jonny Sapp at a Round Table meeting.

With a 3-4 record, the team was ready to take on the challenge and usher in a new tennis era.

The girls varsity tennis team overcame their number one obstacle, clinching a 10-8 win. The game was on their home turf, and the girls feeling the pressure, as well as the thick heat.

During the lineup, nerves were like static in the air.

It was finally the last match of the last round. Laguna was winning 9-8. But if Cate pulled out and won their doubles, Laguna would lose in games.

Senior Lauren Conk and freshman Juliana Ozur, however, played like heroes.

Each girl on each team stood shivering in the crisp night air clutching onto the hope that her doubles team would win.

Despite being down 1-4 with all eyes on them, Conk and Ozur got their heads in the game and ground out to tie the score 6-6.

Coach Sapp sat on the sidelines nervously ticking his feet. The Laguna girls sat on the sidelines yelling out any helpful string of support they could. The doubles team won the tie break 10-8.

The doubles team kept their calm, while showing the Cate team no mercy.

For the first time in 30 years, the Laguna Blanca tennis team beat Cate’s. They took out the Globo Gym. “It was amazing! I had no idea that 30 years ago was the last time we beat them! It was a great that this win was during my last year on the team,” said senior Allie Lafitte.

Later that week, the team went on to then beat the Dunn varsity tennis team and onto play Cate again.

The game was close. The end score was 9-9. When the coaches went to count games, apprehension was tight and players were nervous, but hope was not lost. Laguna won the match 65-64 again proving that they could.

When the season started for the Owls (4-3, 1-2) the Condor League Title and a CIF berth was in the minds of most everyone.

However, the early loss of senior co-captain Andrew McCaffery (ACL/MCL tear), and later the loss of senior center Alex Louden (oblique fracture, wrist) forced a reconsideration of this year’s goals.

Despite having to re-orchestrate the offensive and defensive strategies, the Owls were able to win the majority of their games, and, more importantly, establish the foundation of a dominating 2012 team.

“At the beginning of the year, we were focused on making the playoffs. After losing two senior leaders, we really switched into a preparatory mode for next year,” said freshman Stephen McCaffery.

“We have a good number of underclassmen, which will really help us next year: I think we’ll have a strong team, and be able to win the Condor League,” Stephen added.

The team’s future success will be in the hands of the six returning freshmen players -- Ryan Bickett, Christian Kahmann, Ethan Katnic, Stephen McCaffery, Parker Rusack, and Thomas Sloan -- all of whom had significant contributions on the season.

In their closing JV game versus Dunn, the freshmen showed that they really do have the heart and soul of a great team, beating out the plentiful Dunn JV 36-14 with only ten players.

Freshman quarterback Stephen McCaffery led the Owls in this victory, most memorably through his 70yard fumble recovery turned touchdown on the second play of the game.

Young McCaffery also made quarterback appearances in every varsity game.

Both Quentin Tedesco and Andrew Vignolo had killer sophomore seasons.

Tedesco was helpful all-around the field, catching touchdowns, playing cornerback, and even filling in at center every-now-and-then.

Vignolo took up the slack on both the offensive and defensive lines filling in for injured players.

Senior Brandon Bickett was another standout player this year, playing not only quarterback, but also some running-back towards the end of the season.

Cross Country Runs Its Way into CIF

By CAITLIN CONNOR After running mile after mile in race after race in preparation, the boys cross country team took third place in the Condor League and qualified for the CIF preliminary round at Mountain San Antonio College in Pomona.

On what is said to be one of the hardest courses, senior Patrick Gainey ran an 18 minute 55 second race time in order to qualify for CIF. Patrick returned to the cross country team this year after being out due to WARM UP: The boys cross country team begins to warm up before a back injury last season.

Similarly, junior Marla Bonser was a race. the only girl cross country runner to The boys team, however, was not as successful. Afqualify for CIF preliminaries, having ter the race, the boys did not qualify for the finals. earned second place in the Condor League.

“It was really fun. This year was really hard but it The team then traveled to Mt. San Antonio College, where they competed. Marla ran first, and with a per- was worth it. I particularly enjoyed Friday fun day as sonal record time of 18 minutes and 3 seconds. She well as the meets and the long runs with the team. I will definitely be doing it next year,” said junior Alex was able to move on to the finals.

“I’ve been training for a while, so it feels really Hawker of the season.

Marla goes on to run in the finals on Saturday, Nov. good,” said Marla when asked about how she feels on 19. Her race starts at 12:40 p.m. the outcome.

16

November 28, 2011

Back Page

Season Giving

By ZOE SERBIN PHOTOS: ANASTASIA ANTONOVA

Where to go to get those special people great gifts.

1. For the ARTIST: Art Essentials - 32 East Victoria Street 2. For the CHEF: Sur La Table - 821 State Street 3. For the JOCK: Foot Locker - 10 W De La Guerra Pl. 4. For the BOOK LOVER: Lost Horizon Bookstore - 703 Anacapa Street 5. For the GAMER: Gamestop - 803 Paseo Nuevo 6. For the MUSICIAN: Just Play Music - 619 State Street 7. For the FASHIONISTA: Lovebird Boutique & Jewelry - 535 State Street

ral gar

like rosemary or an orchid.

These give an added soft natural look.

This is a great way to spruce up brown paper, plus it’s biodegradable.

My family collects ribbons from old gifts and saves them to be used again.

Use an iron on low heat to make an old wrinkled ribbon look like new. No one will know the difference.

If buying new ribbon can’t be avoided, natural Raffia ribbon is an inexpensive alternative that can be used with most other wrapping materials. When tying, double up the stings to add texture.

Any size old box can be decorated with a torn out magazine spread, or wrapped in any of the other paper materials mentioned above.

These are great ways to be green while saving some green for all of those presents!

a

fi a r e ensiv

p x e n I

Natu

D

uring these hard economic times, the holidays can be a big burden on our wallets.

This time of year there’s no escape from spending money on food, gifts, and decorations. Here are some creative gift wrapping tips that won’t cost a dime.

For small gifts, some great alternatives to store bought wrapping paper are recycled brown paper bags, old maps, newsprint, full page magazine spreads and colored construction paper.

These common household items make great substitutes to generic, and sometimes expensive, wrapping paper They also add a personal touch that any recipient would appreciate, without looking reused or recycled.

For garnishing packages use plant material that won’t deteriorate quickly

nishes

By MORGAN RAITH

ns

Refurbished ribbo

s

xe o b d e l ecyc

R

PHOTOS: MORGAN RAITH