OPINION

4 OPINION

apachepowwow.com September 2010

The Game of Life: Making the Right Moves

By MELISSA SONG

Staff Writer Staff Writer

Welcome to High School-opoly, School-opol a nerve-racking strategy game that gy game tha high school students across nts across the nation are playing. playing. The goal? Simply mply staying in front ront of everyone one else—it’s it’s all about keeping the spotlight on yourself. And there’s only one way to distinguish distinguish the winners: whoever manages to get manages to get accepted to the best colleges. It has become . It has become mandatory to dress up college applications as plications as best as possible, which means planning these ing these four years strategically.

It seems as if I, and all the other high gh school students out there, really have no choice but to play this game, because a lot more is at stake here than fake money, and the ones who don’t play it well are kicked to the curb. But are they? Sure, the prospect of ending up at a college that falls short of my overachieving expectations is something that keeps me tossing at night (sarcasm intended), but I take a big step backward and begin to ask myself, “What in the world am I doing?”. This board game of high school is controlling my life, and it’s not even fun.

In this game, AP classes earn me extra points (and A’s earn me even more!), and volunteer service and extracurricular activities are also brownie points that push me forward a couple of steps by adding color to my college applications. Because my schedule can only spare one elective spot, I’ve debated between being in Orchesis and Pow Wow since freshman year. The main question isn’t which one I enjoy more, but rather what looks better on my college application. But no matter which one I fi nally decide to pursue, there’s always a nerve-wracking fear that the decision I made is something I will regret later on, and I’m always forced to take a step back and reconsider. I don’t know what the right move is until I realize that I’ve made the wrong one. The summer before freshman year, otherwise known as the last peaceful days of my childhood, my parents forked over $625 to have me take a college elective during summer school because I thought I would have no opportunity to take an elective during the school year. Not only was the class horrible, it wasn’t until this year that I fi nally realized that the class I took was completely useless, an utter waste of both my time and money. I can curse myself for not planning my four-years better and being able to predict every unpredictable thing that comes across my way, but because it’s impossible to go back in time, there’s nothing I can do about it.

Every since stepping onto AHS (and even before that), I became completely devoted to making my college application look better and completely discarding my interests and talents. But there are times in life when you suddenly get a “Eureka!” moment, or when you suddenly start to see life clearly. I had one of those moments, and I realized that I’m tired of treating my high school years as a game that I am completely obsessed over. By making strategic moves, I created a front that I thought colleges would like to see, but eventually I started to ask, “What’s wrong with the real me?” Instead of simply being a pawn, doing what I am told to do, I should be able to decide what I want to do. So rather than taking every AP class that comes my way just because they give extra points, I’ve decided to slow down and take only the ones that I fi nd interesting. And

instead of poking around on the internet for hours looking for volunteer ideas that would give me an extra push on that cursed board ly, game, I ask myself, “What do I want to do?” at Once I start thinking of my interests, the options are endless, and they’re all things that I would be more than happy to do. My only regret now is that I didn’t realized this sooner, because I could’ve saved myself a lot of migraines. I’m not trying to say that I have completely rebelled against my parents and lost all my determination to get into a good college, but simply that I’m playing the board game with my interests in mind. The prospect of winning this board game and getting into the college of my dreams is still something that pushes me forward, but how I move forward has changed. Instead of me conforming to what the board game demands as the right way to succeed, I’m carving a new direction that screams me, even if it might not necessarily be the most effective way. After all, life isn’t all about winning, sometimes you have to slow down and smell the fl owers.

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msong@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of SQUIDOO.COM and FREEPATENTSONLINE.COM

The Contemporary (XX/XY) Chromosome Chism

By YEJEAN KIM

Staff Writer

I’ve given my younger brother tender advice such as: “If you refer to a girl as a ‘chick’ one more time, I will shave your head while you’re sleeping.”

I was trying to teach my brother respect for girls. It never occurred to me that I was undermining girls myself by acting like the stereotypical angry feminist. So I talked to him like a normal person about respect, and thought this worked best. I was wrong.

This realization came when my brother asked me, “Hey, how do you say ‘woman’ backward?” After pondering this for a shamefully long time (I thought he was literally asking), I gave in and said I didn’t know. He gave a great guffaw and said, “Kitchen! Ha ha ha!”

I was silent. Being too busy pondering whether or not to throttle him, I neglected to laugh. He looked puzzled and then seemed to realize something. “Oh, yeah,” he said, “I forgot, you don’t laugh at those jokes because you think they’re sexist.” Rolling his eyes, he walked away.

I wasn’t really mad about the joke; it was more like a wake-up call to how sexism is embedded into our lives. My brother got this joke from an app on his iPod Touch dedicated to sexist jokes. That’s how common it has become to treat and take sexism lightly, which should never happen even if it’s everywhere.

I believe sexism, especially in high school, goes both ways. One of the biggest examples, and something I could never quite wrap my head around, is what I call the cheating phenomenon.

When a guy cheats on a girl, the girlfriend tends to go after or get angry at the other party. That is, she goes after the other girl. There’s a lot of, “Oh, she defi nitely seduced him! [Insert boyfriend’s name here] would never have cheated on me otherwise.”

I don’t believe a word of it. Putting all of the blame on the other girl is of course sexist in a very obvious way, but it is sexist to the guy, too. I’m aware that we are all under the infl uence of hormones, but no guy I’ve ever met is dumb enough to succumb to a one sided temptation. The argument that a guy can’t help himself is invalid because boys presumably have as much self control as any human being. It takes two to tango, so I don’t understand all these assumptions that guys can’t help cheating.

Another thing that got me was something that happened freshman year when the issue of sexist songs hit AHS. I was sitting in English when my teacher mentioned a comment she had read on an article post about the issue. It said something along the lines of, “Those girls who are getting mad about the songs are the ugly ones who would never get asked o out to dances anyway.” I was like, huh? What? WHAT?! There was similar outrage from both the girls and the boys in my class. Whether it was a boy or a girl who wrote that comment, it was demeaning to both sexes. If she were a girl, then she was basically saying that only “ugly girls” are unhappy. If he were a boy, then he implied that a girl’s looks are what’s important. Nobody wins with sexist assumptions. Sexism has worked itself into our beliefs, such as: Girls

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tend to be worse in math than boys. I believed this for a long time because a misinformed individual told me that boys’ brains are hardwired to specifi cally be able to do math better than girls. I eventually realized I was horrible at math because my brain wasn’t hardwired to think in numbers (and derivatives, and constants, and blah, blah, blah).

Another common sexist assumption is boys can’t write, which funnels out into the monster sexist assumption that boys aren’t as emotional as girls. That is bogus. Boys are emotional; it’s the sexism in society that says, “be a man” and “what are you, a girl?” that keeps them from expressing their feelings. It’s the sayings like these that keep sexism alive.

I think, as we get older, sexism becomes less obvious, and thankfully, less accepted. Some people’s beliefs will never change, but common sexist assumptions can. When I sit in AP English and read papers, a lot of the best ones are by boys. Many girls excel at math, and everyone becomes equally emotional during fi nals. Mannerisms, ability, or personality have nothing to do with gender, only character. I have a healthy respect for both genders, and hopefully, with a little helpful (not mean, angry, hysterical, or emotional) encouragement, my little brother will too.

September 2010

apachepowwow.com

OPINION

The AHS Academic Black Market

By YEJEAN KIM

Staff Writer

GIRL NO. 1: He was like, you can get a new phone if you get all A’s, and I was like, that’s never gonna happen, and he was all, fi ne, a new phone and new clothes, and I was like, Yay! GIRL NO. 2: You’re so lucky! All I get when I get A’s is ten dollars for each A! GIRL NO.1: Ugh, that sucks. (fl ush) GIRL NO. 2: Yeah… (fl ush)

If two such stereotypical girls existed, we would have an even bigger problem, but thankfully, the above conversation is an imaginary composite of many conversations I’ve begun to hear in the halls and my classes with alarming frequency. I speak, of course, about the disturbing trend of bribing kids to bring home good grades in exchange for money or material possessions.

Obviously, good grades are important to those at AHS (biggest understatement ever). However, the motivation to get good grades isn’t always pure. While some (maybe two people in each of your classes) want to get good grades because of their hard efforts and to prove that they’re actually learning, others (everyone else) strive to get good grades due to the force of nature otherwise known as parental pressure, or the newest form of it: bribes.

Wait, some may protest, ‘bribe’ is just too strong of a word. I too, pondered this, but I don’t think ‘bribe’ is too harsh a word. The defi nition of bribe: Anything given or serving to persuade or induce (thanks, dictionary. com) is exactly what this new practice is. Even the example they give fi ts perfectly: The children were given candy as a bribe to be good. Yeah… those children are us, and the candy has been upgraded into an iPod Touch.

Of course not everyone is bribed into getting good grades, but don’t think this practice doesn’t affect everyone negatively one way or another. Students happy with a B in a subject they love are happy with that B until the kid who got an A because it guaranteed them an easy $20 says in disbelief, “You only got a B? I thought you actually liked math/history/English/science!”

This can make the B student feel like a loser, especially when everyone else has gotten A’s and says something similar. I am frequently the B student in this situation, and when someone says that to me, I always feel like they’re mocking me—probably thinking, “Ha, she probably gets nothing for a B!” Um, I get a raised eyebrow from my dad, thank you very much. When I get that rare A and someone says, “Lucky! What are you going to get?” I always feel shame in replying, “Uh… nothing?” They always stare at me, like I’m a quaint girl stuck in the past. This makes me feel even worse, and I start thinking, well, I do need new jeans.

When people get better grades for cash or possessions, the rare students who love learning become discouraged, or even worse, they start to think the same way. One thing leads to another and the corrupted students infect others with their greed. Eventually everyone will be infected and we’ll just be a school of gradecrazy, materialistic zombies. Or, let’s be honest, crazier about grades than we are now.

This instant reward system is fatal to our generation’s work ethic. Getting good grades should be indicators that you’re actually learning, not signs that you’re working hard because you’ll get something in return. In the real world, there’s no such thing as an instant reward. If you asked your boss at work for a raise or promotion because you were doing exactly what you should be doing, they would probably laugh you out of their offi ce. Getting good grades shouldn’t be rewarded with material goods or cash, nor should these rewards be motivation to excel. Call me old-fashioned, but when my mom sees that I worked my tail off to get an A, not because she promised me anything in return but because I wanted to learn, she looks me in the eye and tells me she’s proud of me. In my opinion that’s the best reward I, or anyone else, can get.

ykim@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of AUSD.NET

First the Playground, Then the Whole World

By UTTHARA RAMESHBABU

Staff Writer

When I was fi ve, I wanted to be a doctor. In fact, fi ve-year-old me was indeed a very straight shooter. I had my eyes set on a goal, and I would not waver. And anyone or anything that would get in the way of achieving that goal would pay (I was a violent little one, too). Every night before I went to bed, I would set out my clothes and every morning, I would brush my teeth before and after breakfast. At school I’d voluntarily overachieve, because I actually felt the need within myself to crush others under my academic prowess (again, I was very passionate about everything I did). Every moment was an opportunity to shine, so there was never a time not to show off a talent or try something new, and believe me, I took each and every one with enough confi dence to blow even Rachel Berry off the stage. Ever since entering the high-stress realm of “adulthood”, however, I have looked back at this almost foreign persona condescendingly, with the mind-set that with age comes a new level of wisdom and practicality.

Children, after all, are the quintessential example of irresponsibility and play. They run around in the fresh air, get muddy, and don’t care how they are perceived by the world around them. We teenagers, on the other hand, are much more refi ned. For the most part, we tirelessly work, obsess over our non-existent reputations, and breathe as little fresh air as possible—so as not to waste any of our precious and fl eeting time. My personality as a child— whimsical, carefree, and adventurous—seems to be a more effective approach to life than my fl ustered attitude toward it today.

In retrospect, the philosophies of childhood, perseverance, risk-taking, and courage seem overwhelmingly more progressive than those standards we hold to ourselves now: get straight A’s, go off to a prestigious university, and eventually raise a new generation of drones that will do it all over again. The biggest conundrum to me is why we pursue this mundane, lackluster routine if it doesn’t make us happy? Furthermore, what about growing up and putting someone else’s goals for us before our own?

For example, if my fi ve-year-old self were asked why she tried so hard to impress (and suppress) others in school, her answer would probably be so that she could go to a good college and become a world-famous doctor. In that respect, not much has changed. But if asked about her motivations behind wanting to be a doctor, fi ve-year-old-me would probably answer, “So I can save lives and have fun doing it!” If asked the same question about a year ago, my answer would most likely have been: to get rich and buy a yacht—so much more superfi cial, don’t you think? The ambition and sheer goodness in the fi ve-year-old’s answer that teenagers so self-righteously refer to as naïve is more mature, even wiser, than passionate about everything I did). the teenager’s reply. The pressures we feel as oment teenagers are directly refl ected in this reply. We p- only do things to fulfi ll the aspirations and live to up to the expectations of our parents, teachers, there and peers, rather than make ourselves proud. a time not The freshness and uninfl uenced attitude off a tal- of my fi ve-year-old self motivated the acsomething tions that went into everything I did as a child. believe m me, Those traits, in fact, were what kept all of us h and every one constantly intrigued and motivated to solve gh confi dence to the puzzles in the world around us. Having a

Rachel Berry off heart-to-heart with my inner child has shown

Ever since enter- me that the best way to keep progressing is to gh-stress realm of lose the superiority complex that often comes ” , h however, I have with growing up, and to not be afraid to take k at this almost for- some risks and occasionally fall because the na condescendingly, end result will be so much more satisfying. mind-set that with a new level of d practicality. ren, after all, are sential example straight As, go off to a prestigious universit and eventual raise a ne generation of dron that will do it all ov again. The bigge conundrum to me why we pursue th mundane, lacklust routine if it doesn make us happy? Furthe more, what about growin up and putting someon else’s goals for us befo our own? urameshbabu@apachepowwow.com

The Question Mark Crisis

By JOSIE YANG

Staff Writer

“Life is a mystery / Everyone must stand alone.” Powerful words sung by a powerful woman—and true at that. We are each on our own mysterious life journeys, and they seem to get more and more diffi cult as we go along. Will things ever become clear? Well, the truth of the matter is that life is one big fat question mark. It is a curious bit of punctuation, the question mark, for it represents our lives and outlines a path that we can only meekly follow. The beauty of life is in the struggle, and we need to enjoy life despite what troubles it may bring.

People start out at the top of the question mark and go through the majority of their lives in a slight curve. Winding down the path of the question mark, nobody can see what is ahead, so every encounter seems to be the biggest dilemma of a lifetime. The situations vary—when we are little it is getting a toy taken away, later it is failing a math quiz. We make mountains of molehills because this gentle turn is all we know, and it seems treacherous to us. We think, “Why does life have to be so diffi cult?” However, most of these confl icts are only the fi rst part of the question mark, generally an easy and gradual turn. We lament about problems that are trivial, never realizing that we haven’t experienced anything serious yet.

Nothing is as bad as we make it out to be, and life has even greater challenges in store after the initial rounded portion of the question mark. For at the end of that gently bending path is a sharp turn, in which things veer off in a completely different direction. Just when we think that we have it all fi gured out, life changes yet again and throws something at us that we never even saw coming. That fi nal confl ict, that right angle in the question mark of life, leads to a (depending on one’s penmanship) short but sweet stretch of straight line. After overcoming the major obstacles in life, things become clearer and all the tedious turning stops. We fi nally get to follow the easy part of the question mark, the only bit of smooth sailing in sight. The problems we face now and the worse ones to come will pay off when we reach that point in our lives.

So there’s life: a diffi cult and seemingly pointless series of curves, followed by a sharp turn that proves to be the greatest struggle yet, and then a straight path the rest of the way. It is, in other words, a “?”. Most of us need to be reminded that we are only meandering along the beginning of the question mark, and that the latest “crisis” we are dealing with is just another little arc on our way to happiness. And what is the point to all the random wandering? Well, put it this way: when we reach it, the end of the question mark plays out like an exclamation point. Clear, concise, and an altogether amazing ending. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride, even with all the bumps in the road.

6 OPINION

apachepowwow.com September 2010

Spotlight’s on Me and My Egotistical Self

By HANNAH REDBERG

Staff Writer

What is the purpose of embarrassment? After millions of years of human evolution, there is a reason behind its lasting existence: our need for public approval.

I didn’t know that I was doing something wrong. I didn’t know that running behind the cashier-side of the cash register was such a terrible crime. I just wanted to play with the gigantic Mickey Mouse at the amazing Disney Store in Disneyland. Eyes locked on the prize, I dashed toward it, until someone stepped in front of me and grabbed my arms, pinning them at my sides. “STOP RIGHT THERE! Don’t you know any better than to run behind a cash register?! Have some sense, and act your age.” It would have been the perfect moment for an alien invasion. Or a tsunami. Anything to distract the spectators from what had just happened to me. I felt the blood rushing to my face and my heart pounding like a drum. No otherworldly interference or natural disaster came. I looked up to see faces peering down at me from all around the store, and I felt humiliated and alone. My trio of friends that was with me could see that I was on the verge of tears, and they wordlessly pulled me out of the store. To make matters worse, I called my mom, crying, and begged her to pick me up, but to no avail. Instead of getting over myself and moving on, I ended up making my friends

miserable with my hysterical sobbing and selfpity, which only added to my shame. I thought Disneyland was supposed to be the happiest p place on Earth. ion, I was in eighth grade when this nce: happened, and it still haunts me to this day. Such an intense feelhing ing of shame makes me wonthe der what made me so embarh a rassed by the ney ize, this d in particuning lar occurRE! rence. What be- n makes a person and embarrassed in fect general? It all boils ami. down to social accepwhat tance. I was ashamed to ush- look socially inept at ke a a time when I just ural wanted to fi t in, ring because embarfelt rassment is the that feeling that follows erge an action considered inapprot of priate, or a social blunder. I’m the kind my of person who will blush at anything. It used to up, be so bad that I would pray self that the teacher wouldn’t nds call on me. I hated the feel-

Iwasineighthgradewhenthis I was in eighth grade when this doesn’tgoforeveryonebecausesomepeople someonewh happened, and it still haunts me to th t is day. Such an intense feeling of shame makes me wonde d r r what made me so embar-

this particular occurrence. What makes a person embarrassed general? It all b down to social tance. I was as look socially a time when I wanted to fi t because emb rassment is feeling that fol an action consid priate, or a soci of person who w be so bad that I would pray that the teacher wouldn’t call on me. I hated the feeldoesnt go for everyone, because some people crave any kind of attention they can get. But I think it’s safe to assume that everyone has been embarrassed some time or another. someone wh tween the in

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ing of everyone staring at me, ready to judge the jumble of words rolling off my tongue. I blush at compliments. I blush at insults. I blush when I think I might be blushing. The same doesn’t go for everyone, because some people crave any kind of attention they can get. But I think it’s safe to assume that everyone has been embarrassed some time or another. g Embarrassing blunders can happen anytime, or so it would seem to a clumsy person like me. I’ve been through it all— fl y down, sauce on chin, shirt inside-out, boogers hanging out of nose—you name it. I would agonize over the trauma, replaying

it over and over again in my head, trying to guess how long my fl y had been down before I noticed. I would think to myself that surely no one on Earth would want to be friends with someone who did not know the difference between the inside and the outside of her shirt. Mark Twain once said, “Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.” Now, you could interpret it in many ways, but I personally take it as “man is such an egotist that he can’t bear to be taken down a peg.” In other words, we constantly worry about how other people perceive us, and we don’t want to appear to be less than perfect. But we shouldn’t have to look perfect when we’re not. We are always so preoccupied with standing in the golden beam of social perfection that have forgotten that no one is perfect, and no is expected to be. Perhaps if we just did not care about the way other people saw us, they would stop caring too. Then, there would be nothing stopping us from being our own embarrassing selves—in an ideal world. However, that’s not the world we live in. Everyone’s always watching, and opinions are formed in an instant. So for now, I’m going to keep on concerning myself with—that’s right— my egotistical self. hredberg@apachepowwow.com HOW EMBARRASSING The next time you are Graphic by CHRISTOPHER CHO and caught in an embarrassing situation, blame your ego. courtesy of WPCLIPART.COM

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pp y time, or so it would seem to a clumsy person like me. I’ve been through it all— fly down, sauce on chin, shirt inside-out, boogers hanging out of nose—you name it. I would agonize over the trauma, replaying ally ta can’t words peopl pear t have alway golde forgo pec wa ca sto ras tha alw in on my e

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

By UTTHARA RAMESHBABU

Staff Writer

As but a tiny clown fi sh in the vast ocean that is AHS, I constantly fi nd myself feeling insignifi cant—always racing and struggling to compete with the big fi sh. Sometimes it feels like the all-nighters and the incessant coffeeruns spent trying to keep up with the rest of the group are just not worth my time or money if I’m always going to get left in the dust, or, should I say, the bubbles. All of us here at AHS are great at academics, and if sleep deprivation were a sport, we would win CIF. And it is this faith in our school which gives me faith that, in the future, I have the potential to succeed. But competition, academic and otherwise, is fi erce, and rejection has become somewhat routine. So I ask the question: What is the use of potential if that’s as far as I’ll get? I have pondered about this word— “potential”. And for the longest time, I have thought of it as patronizing and unpromising, because, after all, second-best just meant fi rst-loser to me. But recently I’ve discovered that potential carries more merit than what meets the eye, and is truly the fi rst cataract into the gfl owing rivers of success.

Last year I felt as though I had plateaued in all aspects of life—I had achieved all that I could, and that was the end of the road. A disappointing quiz grade or two, coupled with the burning sensation in my legs after miserably failing at grand battements was enough to tell me that I wasn’t going to get as far as I had hoped. And after said streak of minor, but still frustrating, defeats, I essentially gave up on trying. I know many people can relate to such feelings of inadequacy. Whether it was missing a desired grade by a hundredth of a

percent or barely losing a basketball game by two points, the sting of just barely not making the cut burns far more than missing it altogether. Always in envy of those to whom everything just comes easily—those who don’t even have to try to get a perfect 4.0 GPA or have great hair—many of us subconsciously hold ourselves back from achieving success. A clear example of this was my mentality all of last year. Very early on, I had pretty much decided my fate in some of my classes (and they weren’t very pleasant), and from then on, I simply lived up to nd rejection has be- my low expectations. I had let the word “pomewhat routine. So I tential” get to me, as I believed that I was cauestion: What is pable of nothing more than that initial glint of of intelligence that disappeared after the second al week of school. At that point, I left everything to fate; I had the mindset that success was not really a product of hard work, just simply a matter of luck. That’s when everything was rendered pointless, because it seemed as if d nothing was under my control anymore. But his ultimately, I found that dooming myself to — failure in my mind was the biggest contributor l”. And for the to my tangible failure. me, I have thought The critical mistake I made is common atronizing and un- among AHS students who feel too caught up g, because, after in everyone else’s success: I was too cynind-best just meant cal to see the intended meaning of the word to me. But recently I’ve dis- “potential”—the positive meaning. The posiTCID:

taract into the fl owing f s s h a t p r o e ns e se success. t year I felt as I had plateaued pects of life—I ieved all that I nd that was the he road. A ointing ade or upled burnsation gs aferably failing at

grand battementswas enough to tell me that t ll th t I wasn’t going to get as far as I had hoped. str still frus I essentially ing. I know relate to such equacy. Wheth a desired grade by ing the cut burns ys in envy together. Alway everything ust comes eju don’t even have to try GPA or have4.0 G of us subcons selves back s success. A cle was my m year. Very pretty much p n some of in y weren’t vthey en on, I sifrom th ions. I had my low expectati tential” g e, as I belieet to me pable of nothing more than m intelligence that disappeare At that week of school. A poin to fate; I had the mindset th really a product of hard wo ll d t matter of luck. That’s whe rendered pointless, because nothing was under my cont tive connotations of the word “potential” are often overlooked in that the word isn’t necessarily a euphemism for second-best. “Potential” carries a certain weight, that, when taken constructively, can do wonders for your confi dence and actually boost your spirits and your ability to accomplish your goals. Many people think of it as a boundary, which, once reached, is the cap for your ability. However, having potential simply means that you have a good starting place—a wealth of knowledge and skill—which, when accessed, can lead to amazing achievements. Ultimately, I’ve found that everyone has the potential to be great, but it is what one does with that potential that dictates whether he or she is successful.

This year I’ve resolved to pick up those blocks and rebuild my tower higher than ever before. I’m going to convert every ounce of potential energy in each of those blocks into the kinetic energy needed to mount them high and strong. Potential is no longer a term of condescension to me, as much as it is one of encouragement; to think otherwise is simply counterproductive. In other words, it’s time to break out those lucky fi ns and kick off the school year with some optimism; otherwise, we’ll never make it to P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney, or even just get some well-deserved, satisfying rest.

BOC Members Make Up Their Very Own Camp Rock

By KARINA LAIGO & STACEY NG

Staff Writers

While the average high school student spends his/her precious last days of summer sleeping in, others use it to fuel their passions. The latter are the many members of Band, Orchestra, Colorguard, and Percussion (BOC). From Aug. 20 to 25, these talented students retreated to the mountains of Idyllwild Pines and Camp Maranatha to bond and perfect their musical and physical ability.

At 7:00 a.m. each day, students congregated in the cafeteria for breakfast and practiced until noon. After lunch, they participated in group performances in which they displayed their talents. When the performances ended, the students were given time to explore and socialize, relax, or work on unfi nished homework. Dinner came next at 5:00 p.m., which was then followed by nightly activities, ending at the 10:00 p.m. curfew. Campers bonded further with each other through nighttime activities. On the fi rst night, the seniors in each cabin arranged a set of games to play with both their campers and a partner cabin. But “Game Night” was not the only bonding experience offered. Every evening was different, with “Skit Night”, “Unity Night”, and a dance. “Skit Night” gave students the opportunity to collaborate with members of different groups and perform short pieces for all of BOC. At “Theme Night”, everyone dressed up according to a theme and voted on costumes. Finally, it was “Unity Night”, and it truly put the bonding experience in context. On that night, each member met every person that was in the camp, fortifying all the new friendships that had been made while at camp. According to sophomore Band member Ryan Tsao, “Unity Night [is] when everyone forgets about which performing arts group they’re in and creates a bond with one another.”

To achieve responsibility, campers were required to carry around a wooden block all day. The higher the grade level, the smaller the block. Blocks ranged from the size of a brick to a box no larger than the average Rubik’s Cube. Campers caught without their blocks (which were usually stolen by seniors) were subjected to punishment.

With seniority came special privileges. Seniors were given priority during mealtimes and a smaller block to carry around, but with these privileges, seniors also realized that it would be their fi nal week of camp at AHS. Senior Carpus Tin, Vice President of Orchestra Council, said, “There’s really something different when we know that we are doing something for the last time. Everything becomes more precious.” Carpus elaborated, “Orchestra drill downs are taken more seriously [and] ‘Theme Night’ becomes more interactive.” Camp was “where I made so many memories and some of my greatest friends,” Orchestra Council President senior Joseph An remembered, “I will forever hold the memories of music camp with me.”

Freshmen, who were fi rst-timers at camp, noticed the camp’s benefi cial aspects right from the start. Freshman Colorguard member Catherine Huang admitted, “I’m so glad to be starting off this school year right after music camp because you can see people at school that you just [spent time with].” Fellow freshman Orchestra member Deedee Chuang agreed, “I met a lot of new people which prepared me to be more outgoing…it [also] taught me to be responsible because we had to carry [the] blocks around.” All the members had their own specifi c lists of the pros and cons of camp. Junior Lawrence Bai relished free time but admitted that it was a pain to “wait in line to shower,” while Colorguard Co-captain senior Nicole Benipayo thought the dust in the mountains and sock tans were the worst parts of camp. Junior Leila Chee replied that it was “so amazing when it comes to the last day [and] you hear and see what you’ve been working towards [with] Band, Colorguard, and Orchestra.” We can expect that our BOC members will provide us with an amazing season. Orchestra Director Ms. Pin Chen noted that “the ensembles have strong talent in all, and the students have positive attitudes, ready to learn, improve, and make music together.” In addition to their usual performances, BOC will be touring in Florida during spring break, competing in the Heritage Festival, and also making an appearance at Disney World. Its fi rst concert will be the Fall String Concert on Oct. 28 at Pasadena High School at 7:00 p.m. Also, during the week of Apr. 7 to 9, Colorguard will be in Dayton, Ohio for World Championships, and a week later Percussion will be performing as well. BOC has such a promising year, all guaranteed by a one week retreat in the mountains of Idyllwild Pines and Camp Maranatha.

OUTDOOR FUN Diligent BOC members practice in the warm sunshine.

Photos courtesy of RONALD LEE and graphic courtesy of GASLOGSFIREPLACESANDMORE.COM klaigo@apahcepowwow.com stng@apachepowwow.com

A Chance to Dance: Orchesis Dominates TV Screens Worldwide

By CARRIE QIU

Staff Writer

Although it has only been a month since school started, Orchesis Dance Company (ODC) already showcased its skills at its fi rst performance of the year. On Saturday, Sept. 25, at Club Nokia, select ODC members had the privilege of performing live at a worldwide TV broadcasting program called Top Idol on ETTV, a Chinese/Taiwanese news channel airing in America and China. Top Idol is a talent search for singers and dancers, much like America’s Got Talent. Ever since ODC’s fi rst appearance on the television program, it has been invited back annually as a guest performer. Each year, ODC performs an opening piece for the show and members said that they were “honored to be able to represent AHS in an event that has fl ourished over the years.”

An audition process was required to perform at this event. This year, ODC’s new director, Ms. Jia Huang, choreographed the dance and responded to numerous challenges in the process, including working with the style of hip-hop, an approach that was not as familiar to ODC as other forms of dance. Members who wished to participate had to learn and perform a portion of the choreographed routine at the audition. From there, Ms. Huang chose qualifi ed members who would be a part of the dance. The style that Ms. Huang worked with this year was jazz funk, a combination of classical jazz techniques with funky street-style hip-hop movements. The music number was an upbeat song entitled “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado. Ms.

Photos by ELLIOTT LEE and graphic courtesy of VIVAX.COM

Huang referred to this song as “fun and sassy with a hip-hop sound” and a “girl empowerment” feel to it. For the past few years, the style of the routine had been upbeat and energetic to “fi t the ambiance of the show and [was] always a crowd pleaser,” said senior Heidy Lam. To make sure that the routine would be perfect, selected members rehearsed every week during the month of September.

The performers were all thrilled to dance at this event. ODC President senior Wendy Wu said, “Everyone in the dance [was] excited to have such a great opportunity to… really see what it [was] like to dance on camera....[and] the dance [was] amazing. Jia really [knows] what she’s doing and everyone is super excited to work with her this year.” Ms. Huang saw this opportunity as a chance to prepare the dancers for their future careers. Heidy expressed that “this performance opportunity [truly enriched] our dance experience, as we [were] being exposed to a whole new form of entertainment.” She said that through this performance, ODC was able “to experience the excitement of performing for a live TV audience while learning the logistics of the television industry.”