2007 november

Page 1

The World Is Our Campus Volume 56, Issue 2

Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA

November 2007

Raging Wildfires Devastate California

In this issue:

Photo by GLORIA LIOU

CENTER SPREAD pg.12-13 Advanced Drama: Have You Heard? Rumors by Neil Simon

Photo by EMILIO FLORES

SMOKE INHALATION Students at the University of California, San Diego are forced to cover their faces when venturing outdoors due to the poor air quality caused by the raging wildfires. By POONAM MANTHA & CHRISTINE XU Photo Courtesy of THE ARCADIAN

STUDENT LIFE pg.15 Band Steps to the Beat: A summary of Band’s success this season

Photo by ROYA F.

SPORTS pg.18 Boys Waterpolo Wins League: Varsity wins first title in school history

Staff Writers

With over a dozen wildfires raging in Southern California from San Diego to Los Angeles, nearly one million citizens have been forced to evacuate their homes and seek shelter from the greatest natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A deadly combination of scorching heat, barren land, and the Santa Ana winds made “the perfect storm for fire,” according to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. So far, there have been approximately 24 different fires across Southern California, blackening nearly 516,000 acres of land, killing seven people, injuring 90, and displacing millions. This evacuation, the largest in California history, has prompted most citizens to seek refuge in schools, shelters, and stadiums such as the 60,000-seat Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, and the Victorville Fairgrounds in Victorville. In an effort to thwart reports of governmental inadequacy similar to those re-

ceived after Hurricane Katrina, President George Bush has officially declared the fires as a federal emergency in several local counties. He has also traveled to Southern California to survey the damage and offer his condolences to the newly homeless. The disaster relief funds provided by the national government will eventually help the entire area recuperate from the damage, which has budgeted at about $1 billion. Additionally, other states in the West are aiding California by providing firefighters and equipment to understaffed crews to help extinguish the fires. In addition, the fires have greatly affected the students here at Arcadia High. All athletics were cancelled in order to protect the participants from smoke inhalation. Senior Giselle Sorial on Girls Cross Country was upset when her asthma prevented her from participating in the Apache Invitational. “The smoke ruined my senior year by hindering my ability to race. It would have been my final chance to run our course and break my record.” Katherine Lee, an AHS alumni and current student at UCSD, was forced to come home when all classes at the university were cancelled due to the spread of the wildfires. “The air quality was so poor that there were

times when I would step outside and be unable to breathe. I was forced to walk around with a scarf wrapped around my face to keep from coughing.” Many are speculating on the reasons why these flames have ravaged Southern California. Far-fetched and unsubstantiated theories, such as the Fox News report that an Al-Queda terrorist started the fire as the next attack on the United States, are easy to ignore. A more accurate report on October 31st, 2007 showed that a 10-year-old boy with matches was responsible for starting one of the larger fires, the Buckweed fire in Agua Dulce. However, this devastating tragedy causes us to shift out attention towards potentially larger problems. The ominous effects of global warming on our planet have become increasingly evident over the last several years. With the severe lack of rainfall and record-breaking heat, California is experiencing one of the greatest droughts of all time, making it more vulnerable to firestorms. Scientist James Lovelock predicts that by the year 2020, similar natural disasters and droughts will be extremely commonplace due to the growing hole in the ozone layer and that, by the year 2040, the world’s population will have dramatically decreased in size.


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2007 november by The Arcadia Quill - Issuu