Aydin Salek, one year later
Virtual Business wins big in Bakersfield
By Ande Withers Copy Editor
By Max White Staff Writer
More than 100 people gathered at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills on Dec. 11 to celebrate the 19th birthday of Aydin Salek, as well as to mourn the one-year anniversary of his untimely death. Salek, then a senior at South Pasadena High School, lost consciousness while attending a party in Altadena and never awoke. It was determined that Salek died of alcohol poisoning on the evening of December 12, 2009—one day before his 18th birthday. Salek’s cousin, Pedram, began Saturday’s ceremony by reminding the group of mourners of why they were there that day. Friends and family of Salek and his family congregated at Salek’s grave site not only to pay their respects to his family, but to remember and celebrate Aydin’s life and vast contributions to his family, friends, peers, and community. Following an emotional speech by Pedram, Salek’s father, Hamid, read a poem to the audience in Farsi, which was later translated to English. The poem—which was read with immense emotion—evoked great feelSee “Memorial” on pg. 2
Members of South Pasadena High School’s three Virtual Business teams woke up at 4 a.m. on December 2 to compete in the 12th Annual California Trade Fair in Bakersfield. During the two-day event, 150 virtual enterprise programs from across California were evaluated in 13 different categories. The varsity team entered the competition selling high-tech bicycles through its company, Coast. It emerged from the competition with “Top Ten” finishes in ten different categories. Junior Varsity businesses Canopy and Scenic featured animal- inspired headwear and stylish wall decals, respectively. The Business Plan component of the fair was especially important, as the top five teams in this category qualified for the International Virtual Enterprise Competition in New York City. Maintaining the high standard that Atlantis set with its third place finish in
Laura Parada
Senior Himal Suthar consults fellow Canopy team members in Bakersfield.
Smith resigns as head coach District to explore selling assets By Michael Abelev Staff Writer Varsity football head coach Edward Smith resigned his position on December 9. Smith, a mathematics teacher at SPHS for 31 years, was head coach for 16 years. Smith informed the football team of his resignation on the home bleachers. The players expressed shock upon hearing the news. Junior Dominic Frescura said that Smith told the players that the administration asked him to step down, but that he was proud of their season and had planned on retiring in a few years anyway. “The administration wanted to go in a different direction. I can see that. I’ve been the head coach here for 16 years. They probably
Sam Gurley
Smith has coached the varsity football team for 16 years.
wanted a new voice and I’m okay with that,” said Smith in an interview on December 10. Smith met with the administration last week, where they discussed his future with the team. According to Smith, “they wanted somebody else to lead the program.” Athletic Director Ralph Punaro said, “Coach Smith made the decision to retire, and that’s all there is to it.” “There were discussions and we came to a mutual conclusion to the direction of the program as we’d like to see it,” said Punaro. He added that the Booster Club was not involved in this decision. Punaro said that the head coach position remains vacant for the time being and added that the application process will be handled through the personnel office. Smith will remain as the weight room coach for the remainder of the school year and will continue to teach mathematics. “It’s a shame that Coach Smith won’t be leading us to our true potential, but I feel his career ended on a high note,” said Frescura. The personnel office advertised the coaching position on December 16. Applications will be accepted by district employees until January 10, 2011 and by the general public until January 28.
By Luka Douridas Assoc. Opinion Editor The South Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is taking further steps concerning the possibility of selling or leasing all or part of their District Office buildings as a response to California’s continuing budget crisis. Eric Hall, of Eric Hall & Associates, spoke to the Board during its meeting last Tuesday, requesting a proposal for the District Office’s possible sale or lease plans. As part of his presentation,
he shared a timeline detailing the various stages in the confirmation process. He estimated that September would be the final date of sale or lease, if such an arrangement is to be reached. Previously, the Board held a special study session on August 19 to review the contents of a report put together by the RPAC, or the Real Property Advisory Committee, in January 2009. The report reviewed various District properties for designation as surplus; the main properties in question were the
District Office property and the Oneonta Elementary School. When evaluated, the District Office property was divided into three distinct sections: the office buildings, the Boardroom, and the parking lot. The RPAC recommended that the parking lot be declared as surplus, but that the Boardroom, office buildings and Oneonta property not be declared as surplus. At this meeting, the Board decided to take steps toward creating a request for proposal, or RFP, for the See “District” on pg. 2
Jennifer Kim
The RPAC recommended the SPUSD parking lot be declared surplus.
2009, Coast’s Business Plan team placed fifth and Canopy’s placed second. “The Coast Business Plan team gave the best presentation we possibly could have, and even though we’re a little disappointed that our placement didn’t reflect the high caliber of performance we thought we had, we are still grateful to be going to New York,” said Coast COO senior Gabriel Khan. The six students in charge of each company’s Business Plan will take the weeklong trip to the New York trade fair in early April. “We are going to do what we do best and let our enthusiasm show,” said Canopy CEO senior Sean Wang regarding the team’s strategy. Coast’s Catalog Sales team, consisting of junior Siddhartha Vyas and senior Clement Chang, was judged to be the top in the state. Coast also earned the second spot in both Newsletter and Catalog Sales, and secured third place in Website and Professional Booth. Junior Jessie Yen of Scenic and senior Kevin Yin of Coast teamed up with students from other schools to win the Apprentice competition. Scenic’s junior Matthew Wong earned first place and was “hired” in the Job Interview. The Virtual Business teams exhibited respect and composure even in the midst of their success. “The level of professionalism we displayed was extraordinary and clearly superior to that of the other schools,” wrote Scenic CEO junior Calvin Chan in a letter to his company.
in this issue:
5
Opinion:
10
Feature:
14
Sports:
Thoughts on college apps, work over break, and reforming the MPAA rating system Read about the origin of the holiday hero Santa and upcoming trends Check out how all the winter sports are stacking up and preparing for league