Opinions “Prom culture excludes LGBTQ+ couples” pg. 4
THE
Sports “Equestrian Club takes leap forward” pg. 8
Matador
Volume 60, NUMBER 8
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
Features
“Ramirez leaves a stamp on history” pg. 12
S a n G a b r i e l H i gh S c h o o l
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Schofield promoted, Stone to become new principal Principal Jim Schofield handles administrative duties in his office. Schofield has been principal at San Gabriel for eight years, and expresses appreciation for the dedication of the student body. K ri st y Duong
them grow and to see some of the achievements that they have made is incredible [in addition]to seeing the dedication and hard work that is put in by our staff here on campus and all of those who support our students. It’s very humbling to see that.” Meanwhile, upon her return to San Gabriel, Stone hopes to create “an inclusive community that embraces everyone’s talents.” “Sometimes what we find is that [we get] so competitive that we feel like we have to beat out other students instead of being a team and bringing others along,” Stone said. “Everyone has a place, something to contribute.” Because Stone has worked at San Gabriel before, she believes that she is familiar with the culture of the school as well as many of the teachers and staff members. With a similar educational philosophy as Schofield, she thinks “it’s going to be a really smooth transition.” “I’m really excited to be back at San Gabriel, because I feel that I can continue the work that Mr. Schofield has been doing,” Stone said. Stone will continue to visit San Gabriel in the coming months to make observations, learn the ropes of her new position, and gain insight from students, teachers, and staff members, while Schofield prepares to take on his new position at the district office.
Principal Jim Schofield will be promoted to the Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD) as Director of English Language Development in July, where he will be working to help students attain English proficiency. In turn, Debbie Stone will be returning to San Gabriel High School as its new principal after spending one year at AUSD as Coordinator of English Language Development (ELD). Previously, Stone was San Gabriel’s Assistant Principal of Instruction from 2009 to 2013. After working for eight years at San Gabriel High School, Schofield hopes that he made a positive difference for the school and the students. “I hope this is a place that people in the community will look at and feel proud to send their students here and a place where I hope when our students leave, they’re prepared for life after high school in both career and college,” Schofield said. He describes his time at San Gabriel as “a transformative [and] wonderful experience.” “Our kids come from such a wide range of backgrounds,” Schofield said. “To see
Hillary Clinton announces candidacy for 2016 election
Photo courtesy of Hillary Clinton Campaign
Hillary Clinton’s Facebook cover photo, encouraging citizens to support her campaign. Ki m P h a m Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has become the third officially declared candidate for president, launching her campaign on Sunday in a two-minute announcement video that portrayed her as the champion of everyday Americans. In a striking contrast to her 2008 presidential bid, Clinton’s campaign took great efforts to take the focus off of her. Instead, the video captured messages centered on her campaign by featuring a diverse group of Americans starting new phases of life: a mother going back to work after years spent raising her kids, a
young woman applying for her first job after college, two Spanish-speaking brothers starting their own business together, a couple preparing for the birth of their baby boy, and two men getting married. “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top,” Clinton said in the video that was posted on her website, <hillaryclinton. com>. “Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by, so you can get ahead and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong.” Clinton will enter the race as a frontrunner for the Democratic party, with 81 percent of Democrats saying that they would consider voting for her, according to a CBS News poll conducted in February. That support dwarfs that of her potential rivals for the nomination, including former Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Sen. Jim Webb, and Sen. Bernard Sanders. This approach is part of a different strategy Clinton is taking from her 2008 campaign, which will focus on convincing voters through small-group settings that she has ideas for helping the middle class and having the skills to govern. “I don’t foresee anyone challenging [Hillary] from the Democratic party which puts her at a big advantage. She made her announcement electronically before she did it in person, which is going to be interesting [because] you have old school versus new school,” said AP Government teacher Raymond Gin. “It’s going to be fun to watch.” Clinton will begin her campaign trail with a road trip from New York to small communities in Iowa for roundtable discussions with students and educators in Monticello and small business owners in Norwalk.
Former Assistant Principal of Instruction Debbie Stone will return to San Gabriel as Principal in July in place of Jim Schofield. Stone looks forward to taking up the duties that the role of her upcoming position demands. Photos by Sydney Trieu
San Gabriel students selected for National Merit Scholarship Program Hanfrey Deng Two students have recently been selected as finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Seniors Angela Fong and Eric Hong were selected from a pool of 1.5 million other students for their high scores on the preliminary-SAT (PSAT) scores during their junior year. The National Merit Scholarship Program, funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, determines a Selection Index qualifying score during test-takers’ junior year. The score is designed to net the top 50,000 PSAT scores of the nation. However, each state’s qualifying score may vary, depending on how competitive student scores are within the state. From these 50,000 students, 16,000 eventually move on to become semi-finalists. Semi-finalists must then also score well on the SAT and fill out an application to become a finalist. The application consists of high school grades, extracurricular activities, a counselor recommendation letter, and an essay about him or herself. 15,000 finalists are then selected, of which around 8,000 will receive Merit Scholarship awards. “College is ridiculously expensive these days,” Fong said, “and I’m glad to have any financial help I can get.” The seniors can receive three types of awards, a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, a college-sponsored National Merit scholarship, and a corporate-sponsored National Merit scholarship. The finalists await their results, which will be sent by May 6; however, no matter what the outcome, the two stress that scores do not make the student. “In the end, test scores and National Merit hardly matter,” Hong said. “What matters are grades, what you do when you’re not doing homework, and what those activities mean to you.”
*The Matador staff is investigating the issue surrounding the mandatory purchase of caps and gowns for seniors to participate in the graduation ceremony; when further information is available, the article will be posted online at <thematadorsghs.com>.