Tiger Newspaper May 16, 2013

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Oneonta scholarship winners receive awards By David Yang Staff Writer

Rachael Garner

Freshmen Maya Crain and Ashley Jiminez, who are running for sophomore vice president and sophomore secretary, respectively, put up campaign posters. Senior secretary hopeful Katie Donovan passes out buttons.

Class officer elections underway, speeches scheduled for tomorrow By Jason Wang Business Manager Class office candidates kicked off elections on May 13 at 6:00 A.M. when they arrived at school to plaster the campus with vibrant posters. During brunch and lunch, candidates passed out a wide array of handouts ranging from traditional backpack tags and T-shirts to stuffed animals and hand-written, personalized cards. Election speeches will take place in grade-specific assemblies tomorrow. With a total of 39 potential officers, candidates have worked tirelessly to separate themselves from the crowd. Freshmen Jung Su Park is vy-

in this issue:

5

Opinion:

The community college stigma; why saying “no” can avoid potential confusion; teachers should cut students some slack during AP testing.

10 Feature:

A preview of tonight’s dance concert; Gatsby is visually appealing but untrue to the novel; Tiger visits Echo Park.

16 Sports:

Volleyball advances to CIF finals; the baseball coach resigns; Jessica Ng uses her gymnastics skills to excel in the triple jump.

See “Math policy” on Page 2

ing for the position of sophomore class president against six other candidates. “I committed a little time toward making materials such as posters and shirts,” Park said. “But I spent most of my time on the speech, which I believe is the most effective weapon — it’s what voters remember.” Many candidates have already set their sights on what they hope to change or improve if elected next year. “I was motivated to run so that I could make our class and community more close-knit,” said sophomore Julian Lopez, a candidate for junior president. “I want to make school events exciting and open to all types of people.”

Students will cast their votes via an online voting system similar to the one introduced during commissioner elections. Votes can be cast on the ASB website from any internet-capable device. Elections in the future will likely follow this precedent of exclusively online polls established by the leadership class this year. “The candidates have utilized online campaigning more than the traditional face-to-face campaigning,” Commissioner of Internal Affairs Peter Seo said. “It’s about time the twenty-first century came through.” The preliminary round of voting will take place tomorrow following the speeches and last until 3:30 P.M.

The three recipients of the Oneonta Scholarship, seniors Nick O’ Brien, Natalie McLain, and Sofi Goode, were honored at a reception in which they received their scholarships. The honorees were presented with their awards before their families, winners of the Oneonta Teacher of the Year award, and the members of the Oneonta Club on May 13. “I had a great night at the Oneonta foundation dinner,” O’ Brien said. “I’m very appreciative to live in a community with such respectful and giving individuals.” The club honored South Pasadena Middle School teacher Mr. Andrew Adanto and Marengo Elementary School teacher Ms Holly Lang as Oneonta Teachers of the Year. The teachers’ respective principals, Mr. Dave Kubela and Ms Kim Sinclair, presented them with the awards. The head of the Oneonta Club Scholarship Committee then presented the scholarship recipients with plaques and awards. “It was such an honor to be in the presence of so many distinguished figures,” McLain said. “I particularly enjoyed the pleasant surprise of seeing some of my own neighbors and parents of friends outside of the context of everyday life.” Following the awards, South Pasadena High School principal Ms Janet Anderson made a speech about incorporating technology into the SPHS curriculum. The Taylor Plenn Quartet, headed by 2010 Oneonta Scholarship recipient Taylor Plenn, performed several jazz numbers. The Oneonta scholarship is an annual one-time award of $10,000 presented to three college-bound se-

Masquerade Prom: An Evening in Venice By Remeny White News Editor Despite initial complaints about the location, more than 460 upperclassmen congregated at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles for a night of dancing, dining, and taking photos. The masquerade-themed prom ran from 8:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M. “It was definitely a stressful process putting together the puzzle pieces of prom, but it truly paid off once we actually saw how people enjoyed the event. I spent all of my lunches at the Student Bank selling prom tickets for four weeks straight, and I’m glad the turnout was good de-

spite a rough start,” said junior treasurer Patricia San Pedro, who was in charge of planning the event. Students began the “Evening in Venice” with a buffet-style dinner. Attendees then had the option to migrate outside to dance, pose for a professional caricature drawing, or utilize the various photo booths. “I was skeptical of the whole prom concept at first, but it was actually super swell,” junior prom prince Spenser Atlas said. “I had a great time eating the glazed chicken and infiltrating dancing circles. Prom 2013, no regrets.” See pages 8 and 9 for additional prom coverage.

Rachael Garner

Seniors Bryan Bednarski and Madeline Chin exchange sentiments after Chin was crowned senior prom queen during the 2013 prom.

niors who have demonstrated excellence in academics and extracurricular activities. In the fall, O’ Brien, McLain, and Goode will be attending the University of Southern California, University of California, San Diego, and Wesleyan University, respectively. The scholarships will be sent directly to the students’ universities. The scholarships will be sent to the recipients’ colleges at the beginning of next year after final confirmation from the students.

Anastasia Velicescu

The Oneonta Scholarship recipients were honored on May 13.

Botball team places first in competition By Shyam Senthilkumar Copy Editor The South Pasadena Botball team, consisting of freshmen Helena Roberts-Mataric, Nastasja Carusetta, and Karen Zhu, took first place in the Los Angeles Regional Botball Competition on May 4. Forty three teams from all across California competed at the tournament in the Shrine Auditorium. Botball engages high school and middle school students in team-based robotics competitions. The SPHS team worked for two months straight on the robotics design prior to the competition and the students stayed up until 3:00 A.M. the night before the competition to perfect the final product. “I have the pleasure of teaching these girls in my math class. They are really ambitious and voracious volunteers. If I let them, they would do every single problem for us,” math teacher Mr. Shane Mills said. “They’re really sharp and just great to have in class because they love to participate.” The South Pasadena team claimed first place in all three See “Botball” on Page 2


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