12.20.12 by The Westlake Arrow

THE

ARROW

VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 4

\100 N. LAKEVIEW CANYON ROAD, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Jazzy winds to blow through

Windy City

COURTESY PHOTO

TAKE THEM BY STORM: Studio Jazz Band will perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. (See back for more)

Ethan Reul Graphic Designer Studio Jazz Band, one of the most prestigious WHS instrumental music groups at WHS, will visit the Windy City of Chicago next week from Dec. 18-22. Under the direction of Brian Peter, the ensemble will perform at the Midwest Clinic, one of the most highly-regarded music conventions in the country. In anticipation of this honor, the ensemble has been hard at work preparing for departure. The ensemble performs several concerts throughout the year, including performances at the Los Angeles Mission. Recently, Studio performed at The Oaks Mall on Dec. 7, as a preview performance of its Chicago set. Mixing traditional music with Christmas classics to entertain shoppers, the group performed outside of Nordstrom in the center of the mall. The group performed without the guest performers who will join them in Chicago, such as ﬂutist Jim Walker; however, the band was joined by John Cruz, the program’s current student teacher. He performed with the group on the song “These Flutes Are Made For Walking,”playing the titular ﬂute part from this piece commissioned for the Chicago performance. In addition, Studio performed its annual Jazz Holiday Concert

in this issue Page 2 Academic Decathlon

Page 6 Student Jobs

the following Tuesday, Dec. 11. Joined by almost all of the guest performers for the show, the band sounded better than ever in the Carpenter Family Theatre. Studio performed its entire 45-minute set, which includes a variety of pieces that vary both in difficulty and style, each featuring several members of the ensemble or a specific guest performer. They were joined by the Colina Jazz I Band and the WHS Lab Jazz II, both under the direction of Assistant Band Director Mike Gangemi. These recitals have helped Studio to grow confident in its set list, but as Julia Farfan ’13, trombonist and two-year member of the ensemble, explains, the band isn’t just about practice and performance. The ensemble is looking forward to Midwest, not only as an incredible experience, but as a chance to bond as a unit and appreciate the passion that brought them all together in the first place. To Farfan, this means “listening to other bands perform and meeting other high level musicians, which allows us to grow both personally and as an ensemble. It is truly a remarkable opportunity.” “Studio is the best part of the day, because I get to do something I really love with the people I really love,” she describes. “We’re just like one big family. I’m really proud of the group this year; we work really hard and really support each other.” Farfan’s sentiments are representative

Page 8-9 Christmas

of those of other group members; as threeyear member and bass player Andrew Hill ‘13 elaborates, he’s proud to be part of a band with “such incredible young talent,” and believes that they “will continue the great tradition of Westlake Jazz” long after he graduates this fall. In addition, Hill is thankful for the opportunities the ensemble has provided him in the past. At the Fall Concert, Studio actually performed a piece of Hill’s own composition, entitled “How Fast Can You Play It,” which he describes as “an up tempo bob tune, designed to push the band’s rhythmic ability.” The band rose to the challenge, and the piece forced each member’s abilities to new heights. One Studio Jazz Band member, Alex Smith ’16, is especially excited: a ﬁrst-year member and the resident drum set maestro, Smith has actually attended and performed at the Midwest Clinic before, as a member of Los Cerritos Middle School Jazz program. Smith feels this is an “amazing” opportunity for himself and the ensemble as a whole, and remains humble despite his success. “I’m just very honored to be given the chance to come along on this trip,” says Smith, “and I will remember the friends that I’ve made in this ensemble for the rest of my life.” Overall, Midwest provides a remarkable opportunity for Studio to develop as an ensemble, and opens up future opportunities for Studio to be showcased.

Page 15 Water Polo

NEWS

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Aca Deca prepares for competition Harry Chung

Looker named Teacher of the Month

ASG hosts dress-up day ASG will host a holiday and pajama dress-up day on Dec. 21. Students are encouraged to spread their holiday spirit by wearing Christmas or Hanukkah colors to school. Students will also be permitted to wear pajamas on that day.

Drama presents One-Act performances Drama students put on studentdirected One-Acts at the Carpenter Family Theatre on Dec. 14-15. Theatre I, Theatre II, and Tech Theatre collaborated to create exciting works that featured Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Western themes, and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. For $5, the audience witnessed a variety of acts that exhibited the students’ acting techniques and skills.

Final Exam Schedule 7:00-9:00 9:07-9:51 9:58-10:42 10:49-11:33 11:40-12:24 12:24-1:04 1:10-1:54 2:01-2:45

Wednesday, Jan. 23 Period 2 Exam Break/Passing Time Period 3 Exam Dismissal

8:00-10:00 10:00-10:14 10:20-12:20 12:20

Thursday, Jan. 24 Period 4 Exam Break/Passing Time Period 5 Exam Dismissal

8:00-10:00 10:00-10:14 10:20-12:20 12:20

Friday, Jan. 25 Period 6 Exam Break/Passing Time Period 7 Exam Dismissal

8:00-10:00 10:00-10:14 10:20-12:20 12:20

The Theme

Last year’s theme, “The Age of the Empire,” has been replaced with Russia, primarily the Revolution and the Cold War. Seven of the ten events consist of a multiple choice exam. Students preparing for the Language and Literature are focusing on Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago and some selected works from Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin, and Alexander Blok. The math event will test knowledge on anything from probability to trigonometry. Those studying for the economics event will be looking into Russia’s macro and micro economics. The science event will emphasize rocket science and the space race. Social science will have questions on Czars, the Russian Revolution, and the Cold War. The music event will feature

Team A

REI VARDI prepares for the Aca Deca competition by reading out of a dictionary.

Russian music theory, and the art event will feature Russian art theory. In addition to the objective events, Aca Deca students will have to face events that test their quick-thinking skills. In the speech event, the Decathletes will have three and a half to four minutes to give a prepared speech and one and a half to two minutes to give an impromptu speech. The essay event gives team members 50 minutes to write an essay related to literature or science. Finally, there is a seven-minute interview event, where participants share their interests and values by answering questions, such as “Whom do you consider to be the most inﬂuential person in your life?” and “Describe the type of community service activities that you are involved in or would like to be involved in?”

Veteran Caleb Stokols ’13 believes that the larger number of students is an advantage, since last year the team had eight people instead of nine in one team. Furthermore, as Stokols notes, the fresh blood has brought a secret weapon. “We have a real life Russian! [Vladimir Kremenetski ‘14] He speaks Russian and everything,” said Stokols. With such passion and drive, the team has a great chance of “Acadecimating” the other teams again this year, according to Alexander Loh ‘14. But perhaps, it is not the end result, but rather the challenging, yet worthwhile journey that makes Aca Deca alluring to so many. “It would be nice to get ﬁrst place in the county again, but as long as the students are doing their best, I’m happy,” said Nigro.

The Team

When and Where:

The 2013 Academic Decathlon team is missing a few notable stars from last year’s group, including Wyatt Green ’12, the team’s highest individual scorer. In order to combat these great losses, adviser Joe Nigro has brought in several new members.

Honors– Daniel Eaton ‘13, Eric Kuecks Honors–

Team B

Alexander Loh ‘14, Lily Wang

‘13, Lily Chen ‘13

‘13, Paul Kwon ‘13

Guo ‘13, Rei Vardi ‘14

‘14, Gaby Breiter ‘13

Green ‘14, Bryan Gelfound ‘15

‘14, Steven Robinson ‘14

Scholastic– Varsity–

Caleb Stokols ‘13, Jessie

Conor Richards ‘15, Justin

Scholastic– Alex Wolff ‘14, Matt Schmidt Varsity– Hannah Rios ‘13, Maron Pettes

Saturday, Jan. 12: Ventura County Competition Day 1 Saturday, Feb. 2: Ventura County Competition Day 2 Monday, Feb. 4: Ventura County Awards Ceremony Paciﬁca High School

Honors–

Alternates

Kevin

Shi

‘14,

Bharath

Mohan ‘14, Kishan Desai ‘14, Vladimir Kremenetski ‘14, Sabrina Shenker ‘15

Scholastic–

Nathaniel Sylvester ‘14,

Efﬁe Sklavenitis ‘13

Music theory expert– Andrew Hill ‘13

Volunteers donate in Blood Drive Vivian Xu

Feature Editor Students and teachers bled for a cause on Dec. 12. Volunteers participated in the WHS Blood Drive, organized by the United Blood Services and held in the Mezzanine. “We got around 60 people to donate last year,” said ASG member Katherine Sham ‘15, who helped organize the event. This year, about 80 signed up. Blood donation takes four steps: a medical history check, a quick physical, the donation, and snacks. The actual blood donation generally takes less than ten minutes; the entire process takes about 45 minutes. Participants who fulﬁlled the age and weight requirements had a pint of blood drawn, an eighth to a tenth of the body’s blood. Volunteers could also opt to have two pints of blood drawn but only donate their

PHOTO BY VIVIAN HU

Tuesday, Jan. 22 Period 1 Exam Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Lunch Period 6 Period 7

After an award-winning season last year, beating out competition including rivals Oxnard High School and Thousand Oaks High School to win ﬁrst place in the Ventura County Academic Decathlon and win second place at State Finals, the WHS Academic Decathlon Team is preparing for the 2013 Ventura and State Competitions. Aca Deca students spend months delving into ten different events ranging from science to art relating to an overarching theme. The Aca Deca group is split into three groups based on grade point averages: Honors for a 3.750–4.00 GPA, Scholastic for a 3.000–3.749 GPA, and Varsity for 2.999 and below. Teams consist of three students from each group. Each team member studies all ten events. The members practice every day during ﬁrst period and scrimmage from time to time. The team continues to study in hopes of a 2012 repeat performance.

PHOTO BY ETHAN REUL

Dr. Laurie Looker was named Teacher of the Month for November. Working in the educational program for 22 years, Looker is not only School-to-Career coordinator at WHS, but also the adviser and coordinator of the Career Majors Program, the Career Technical Education Program, Future Business Leaders of America, HOSA, the WIT Academy, and the Junior Achievements Program. “I was very surprised. Receiving the award is a humbling experience because there is such a tremendous staff at WHS,” said Looker. Awarded by the Thousand Oaks Chamber of Commerce, the Teacher of the Month award is given out ten times a year to teachers throughout the entire CVUSD. Looker’s favorite part of the job is “helping students find their passion and seeing them excited about it.” She hopes to help students find out “what they want to do when they graduate from WHS.” Along with a plaque, Looker was awarded many gift cards and gift certificates. Her favorite gift, however, was the two Kavli Theatre tickets from the Chamber of Commerce. “I am very honored to be selected as the Teacher of the Month,” said Looker.

Staff Writer

DARIN ERICKSON prepares to donate blood.

red blood cells; the remaining plasma was returned. The United Blood Services also performs a total cholesterol test on blood

donations; results will be available online at UnitedBloodServices.org. There will be another blood drive in May.

DECEMBER 20, 2012

THE ARROW

Step down, America

hold your breath and count to ten

Victoria Wang Opinion Editor

America has been at the top of the world for a while now. We’ve gotten used to it. After all, we have always been the great beacon of freedom that keeps the dark shutters of Communism at bay. But now, we may be starting to slip. When Palestine wanted to upgrade its status in the United Nations, America discovered an astonishing thing: we couldn’t bend other countries to our will anymore. America, Israel, and seven other UN member states opposed the motion; 138 states voted for it. It’s the dawn of a new era, one with new technologies and a new kind of world dynamic, and we may not hold the same position as we did in the Cold War. To some of us, America losing power is the equivalent of the world ending. Terrorism will triumph. Children will starve. China, and therefore Communism, will swallow the world. This cannot be allowed to happen—America must remain at the top. We must send out the armies, the drones, the guns. We must show everyone that we mean business. But wait a moment. Let’s calm down for a moment and rethink our tendency to see things from on top of a shining pedestal. We’re not the sole upholder of justice on planet Earth. Other countries can usually take care of themselves. And oftentimes, our attempts at peace only inﬂame regional tensions and cause new points of conﬂict. Besides, foreign countries don’t always like being helpless minions of some great cause named democracy—what right do we have to push them into that position? From this angle, America appears more like a tyrannical hypocrite than a pillar of freedom. So perhaps it’s not the end of the world, after all, if our stranglehold on the planet loosens.

Harry Chung Staﬀ Writer

The world is going to end on Dec. 21, 2012. There have been many false alarms throughout the years. We’ve had the Y2K incident and Jupiter effect. But this 2012 Apocalypse is different—it’s real. The experts at 2012apocalypse.net claim a range of possibilities for how the world will end, from a comet disaster bringing the wrath of the Antichrist to an environmental meltdown due to a shift in the Earth’s magnetic poles. News of the apocalypse comes from the Mayans, an ancient and very credible source. According to the Mayan Long Count calendar, Dec. 2012 marks the end of the 13th b’ak’tun, a period of 144,000 days. The 13th b’ak’tun signifies the completion of the Great Cycle. Yet despite this sound science, there are many who choose to live in ignorance, denying even a remote possibility of doomsday occurring. The quacks at NASA have created an FAQ called Beyond 2012: Why the World Won’t End, insisting that “Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.” Furthermore, scientists have the nerve to compare the sophisticated Mayan calendar to the primitive Gregorian calendar we use today; they claim that just as the Gregorian calendar begins again on Jan. 1, the Mayan calendar will begin another long-count period. The U.S. government has also chosen to hide from the truth by posting on their website, us.gov, that “The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012.” Of course, there are some sensible

How do YOU think the world will end?

Nuclear explosion

Zombie attack

Asteroid strike

Correct answers garner a $10 million PRIZE! Collect it once the answer is revealed. people out there taking action to prepare for the certainty of the end of the world. On Oct. 12, 2012, prophet Luis Pereira dos Santos prepared to lead a group of 100 people, including 19 children, in departing this world by drinking soup laced with poison. Unfortunately, the Brazilian police force swooped in 10 minutes before the act to arrest Santos. All in all, the WHS Arrow has had a good run. Readers, see you Apocalater.

Freed from jail, barred from vote

ARROW

Editor-in-Chief

Brian Chang

Managing Editor Vivian Hu

Graphic Designer Ethan Reul

News Editor Frances Ling

Yangzong Guo Staﬀ Writer

Opinion Editor Victoria Wang

Entertainment Editor Hanyi Huang

Feature Editors Woody Chung, Samantha Doctrow, Orly Greenberg, David Huang, Stacey Kane, Shayna Kudler, Liz Mossessian, Kelsey Murphy, Melanie Rosen, Julia Shi, Vivian Xu

Sports Editors Christian Coates, Michelle Noyes, Tara Spencer

Advertising Managers COURTESY PHOTO

The United States has barred ex-felons from voting since the Civil War. It seems that we as a nation prefer to let convicts retain their scarlet letters than to rejoin our society with equal rights. Is this what justice demands? In a nation built upon democracy, Americans take pride in being able to have a say in decisions that affect their lives. However, in this year’s election, about 5.85 million people who were returning from incarceration were denied the right to vote. Nearly all states, except Maine and Vermont, adhere to this stringent policy. Today, however, 60% of the incarcerated in America are ethnic or racial minorities, with African Americans making up a big chunk of that percentage. A democracy such as ours, with vast racial and ethnic diversity, cannot function without enfranchisement across the board. “I think there’s clearly a racial bias, and we know that there is a disproportionate racial impact,” said Laughlin McDonald, director of the American Civil Liberty Union’s Voting Rights Project. “When you marginalize all of these people, you make it much more difficult to rehabilitate them. It doesn’t serve anybody’s interests.” When former drug addicts leave the rehabilitation center, they return to society as citizens with all their rights; when students return to school after recovering from the flu, they are no longer a walking germ threatening to infect others. But when ex-felons return to society after serving their sentences, they are denied the most basic right of an American citizen. This is not a matter of defending felons, but of defending justice. Where

DECEMBER 20, 2012

THE

OPINION

THE ARROW This is the end...

GIVE ME A VOICE: Should ex-felons be allowed to have a say in society?

would justice be if people were stripped of their voices? How can felons be expected to move on to more productive lives if, every four years, they are reminded that they are not allowed to voice their own opinions, that they are no longer able to participate in the political process? Opponents of ex-felon voting rights certainly have their arguments against loosening voting restrictions. “It’s really an abomination that felons are allowed to vote,” said Rob Roper, the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party. “Who are they going to vote for? The people who are going to spend more money on prisons and who are going to let them out early so they can commit more crimes?” This line of thought is one of irrational and presumptive. If we don’t agree with

another person’s position on an issue, then should we restrict his or her rights? It is no one’s job to determine who should vote and what he or she should be voting for. People make mistakes and move on. Like the rest of us, ex-felons are required to pay taxes, wait for red lights, and abide by other laws. It is not justiﬁable that they are stripped of one of their most important civic assets while they still have to perform their civic duties. Once they have served their time, felons should be given the opportunity to become productive citizens. At the end of the day, people are a country’s greatest resource, and they shouldn’t be turned away for life just because of one mistake. “If you do the crime, you do the time,” goes the famous saying. Denying felons the right to vote is unfairly extending that time.

Nicolette Blatt, Lauren Chin, Kelli DaRin

Staff Writers Shane Bogan, Ryan Cheng, Heidi Chiu, Michelle Choi, Harry Chung, Yangzong Guo, Vallia Yu

Adviser Caron Battaglia The Arrow is written, designed and run by the students of the Advanced Journalism and Journalism 1CP classes at Westlake High School and is published monthly. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Westlake High School administration, faculty, or student body. We welcome feedback. Letters must be signed by the writer. Please send submissions to Mrs. Battaglia’s box in the main office or to Room 42E.

100 N. Lakeview Canyon Road Westlake Village, CA 91362 (805) 497-6711 ext. 4225

OPINION DECEMBER 20, 2012

THE ARROW

Newsweek no more

The Amazing Race Oh, RealLY? Why I miss freshman year Orly Greenberg Feature Editor

As a junior, I’ve never felt more like an underclassman. I strolled onto campus the first day of school, eyeing the nervous freshmen with the cool superiority that I hoped to master throughout the year. “Look at you,” I thought. “You’re a star. You’re an upperclassman. You command authority. Look at how nice your hair looks today. You can take on anything you want, because you are a junior.” On that very same day, I was unable to find two of my classes, misplaced four of my binders, hit several confused students with my bag, and nearly caused a chain reaction of tripping students in the stairwell. I was, in other words, a freshman. It’s like that terrible, terrible movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Except instead of aging backwards into a Brad Pitt demigod, I’ve regressed back to a quivering, anxiety-ridden freshman. My junior confidence has deteriorated into a neurosis that so often plagues far younger students. However, in retrospect, freshman Orly was far more put together than junior Orly. I envy my freshman self. She would look down on the bumbling mess that stumbles around in hallways with an overstuffed bag, binders and papers streaming behind her. She would scorn the mid-afternoon naps, the diet consisting entirely of ice cream, leftover Halloween candy, and tears. She would mock the complete cluelessness that I’ve embraced in virtually all of my classes (but really guys. Does anyone actually know what a radian is?) Freshman Orly, in a word, had it all figured out. But then again, maybe it’s only the circumstances that make the first two years of high school so much easier. Two years ago, college was a far off destination where only very old, very tall people went. Standardized tests meant STAR exams, and a heavy workload was usually completed by eight. Now, college is that thing that I have to get A’s for, standardized tests mean a bombardment of PSATs, SATs, ACTs, and APs, and a heavy workload is me falling asleep at my desk at one with ink on my face and flashcards in my hair. What’s worse is the utter composure of this year’s freshmen. They know exactly where to go, traversing campus with perfectly coiffed hair and not a Brandy Melville accessory out of place. They eye me anxiously as I roam through the hallways, shirk when I sharply glance over upon hearing voices raised above a whisper. Rather than perfecting my junior aloofness, I’ve mastered the “avoid me at all costs or risk verbal abuse for the next several minutes followed by excessive crying” look that all juniors seem to permanently wear. Sure, junior year is hard. Sure, it makes me slightly nervous that I’m complaining this much and it’s only December. Sure, the number of times I’ve slipped into third person in this column is getting more than a little worrying. But that’s part of the experience. Starting now, life gets messier, crazier, harder. But what’s the fun in remaining unchallenged? Life isn’t like your freshman year of high school. And thank goodness for that.

RACE TO READERSHIP: As a result of the digital turnover, print journalism is struggling to stay in business. (Cartoon by Harry Bachrach)

Brian Chang

Editor-in-chief Starting next year, Newsweek (founded in 1933) will no longer print paper magazines. Everything the company publishes will be online and online only. The periodical is following a trend that maximizes proﬁt in a technologically skyrocketing world; less paper, more money. But newspapers do have a niche in the fast-paced information society in which we live. Today, one Google search (which, according to their website, took 0.14 seconds) can retrieve more information than there are people in the world (20 billion). A trip to bbc.com can get as much information as someone could get by reading an entire almanac. In a developed world, the only beneﬁts printed material provide is that a paperback never runs out of battery and an iPad will never have the ‘old book’ smell. So in this world of instantaneous gratitude of information, where does print jour-

nalism stand? Print journalism, to some, is the only way to attain information. It’s quite easy for someone to assume that the internet along with a device to access the internet is something widespread throughout the world. But not everyone has this luxury. Miniwatts Marketing Group reports that, as of June 30, 2012, roughly a third (34 percent) of the world had access to the internet. 34 percent is incredible. In 2000 the number was at 6 percent; that’s a 566 percent growth in ten years. There will, however, be a large portion of individuals who still rely on paper and ink to receive their news. And often, it’s those people that need the news most. The low-income and often under-resourced individuals in thirdworld countries are the ones who need the information. Whether that information is used to prepare for an upcoming natural disaster, to look for an opportunity to gain a job or collect resources, information is a

vital necessity in leaving the cycle of poverty. There’s always a lingering reason why these companies haven’t taken the initiative already to create opportunities for the poor: profit. I’ll be the first to admit that distributing low-cost, low-tech information is not profitable. But I’ll also be the first to say that profit should not determine someone’s right to information. Locally, nationally, or globally, the right to information that may directly affect you should not be compromised. So what’s the solution? Companies who have the resources to continue print won’t do it. But that shouldn’t stop developed nations who are already giving resources to the third world countries from re-shifting these resources to a different cause. Giving people food and water from overseas is a great start. But for people to progress, they need information.

Omnishambles: The year of blunders, blame, and bloopers

Ryan Cheng Staﬀ Writer

The word that best exemplifies the past year, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is 'omnishambles.' The word, which first appeared in the political comedy "The Thick of It," is defined as "a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged." With everything that happened this year, 2012 can only be described as a series of chaotic events. Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to the East Coast, displacing families and killing over 100 people. The torrents have decimated houses, displacing a multitude of citizens and eliminating power throughout the city. In New York, flooding reached the now crippled subway system, driving many homeless people from their "homes." The rails critical to propulsion of trains were damaged by corrosive salt water and the various tunnels were all flooded. In addition, large amounts of gasoline and other fluids that leaked from cars have contaminated the flooded areas of the city. The maelstrom of destruction can only be described as omnishambles. Omnishambles also spawned multiple puns, the most popular of which was "Romneyshambles," a reference to the 2012 election that was marred by innumerable hilarious moments. In particular, the presidential debates were full of interesting comments. In the first debate, Romney claimed that, if elected, he would cut funding for PBS, despite his love for Big Bird. The internet exploded with pictures of Big Bird searching for a job and other memes, also spawning the Million Muppet March. A similarly hapless moderator monitored the candidates with minimal success. Other moments during the debates include Romney’s “binder of women.” At the Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood asked an empty chair that was meant to represent Obama why

he had not kept his promises to the people. Obama parodied this event during his Al Smith dinner speech, asking attendees to take their seats lest Eastwood decide to lecture them. Perhaps the most confusing event, however, was when Romney, after getting oﬀ a plane, jokingly asked why airplane companies did not allow passengers to open windows during the ﬂight. Complete-

ly misinterpreted as a serious comment, Romney was mocked as an inept candidate for days before he ﬁnally clariﬁed his joke. As the prophesied year of destruction comes to a close, people hope that the era of "omnishambles" does so as well. Despite the chaos that has engulfed America, optimists continue to look forward to December 22, 2012 and the next word of the year in 2013.

Past word of the years: 2009 to now

OPINION

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Teen$ making green Hanyi Huang

Entertainment Editor

31% 69%

TAKEN FROM A POOL OF 75 JUNIORS

JUNIORS Percent of Juniors without jobs Percent of Juniors with jobs

Once again, WHS students prove their abilities to succeed by starting their careers early. The Arrow surveyed 50 seniors and 75 juniors from WHS about whether they have a job. 52% of seniors have a job while only 31% of juniors do. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.2% of American jobs go to teenage workers. Aside from the categories of food, retail, business, and babysitting, the majority of WHS juniors and seniors who have jobs chose to work in other categories. Of those workers, 44% of juniors and 50% of seniors work as tutors. The survey also shows that over half of the working juniors and seniors like getting paid the most, but a handful of them also enjoy working with people. With the heavy workload that comes with taking multiple AP classes and the stress of taking the SAT as a junior, students

rarely have enough time to sleep, let alone have enough energy to work. According to the survey, about 77% of juniors who do not have jobs name their reason as “not having enough time.” 7.69% say they are too lazy to get a job, 9.62% do not care or do not need the money, and 5.77% reported having other reasons. Similarly, most seniors who do not have jobs say they do not have time. Despite WHS’s relatively high rate of working students, the amount of high school students with jobs has dropped signiﬁcantly. According to the Washington Post, 32% of high school students acquired a job in 1990, but only 16% have a job now. Both the rising unemployment rate in America and the increase in the amount of schoolwork students have to indulge in every night may play in factor in the decrease of teenage workers, but based on the survey, WHS students seem to be ahead of the game. Compiled by Stacey Kane and Shayna Kudler

52%

TAKEN FROM A POOL OF 50 SENIORS

SENIORS Percent of Seniors without jobs Percent of Seniors with jobs

Where do you work? - Seniors

PERCENT OF STUDENTS WITH JOBS

Where do you work? - Juniors

48%

Working-class Warriors Name (First and Last): Owen Neary Grade: 12 Place of Employment: Chick-Fil-A How long have you been working at Chick-Fil-A? I have been working there since they opened August 30, 2012. The ﬁrst few weeks I was the cow, dancing my heart out on the street. What motivated you to get a job? I was motivated to get a job by my mom and because I needed money. What do you enjoy most about your job? I love the people I work with and the managers because they are young. What do you do at your job? On Mondays I am in the kitchen 6-10 p.m. if you want some good food. I make the sandwiches, but I cannot touch the fries because I am not eighteen. Most of the time I am taking orders in the drive-thru and having conversations with mothers that are good looking. Have you had any crazy experiences working? Yes, the ﬁrst few weeks I was the cow and I danced my heart out on the street. It was really fun and many cars honked at me.

Name (First and Last): Hanna Bluth Grade: 11 Place of Employment: Foreign Exchange, Dentist Office, and Nanny How to balance all 3 jobs? With very little sleep. At first, I wanted one job, but I wasn’t getting enough hours and I kept receiving job offers. I took on way too much, but it is worth it. What job do you enjoy the most? I love Foreign Exchange the best. At first, I didn’t like working in retail, but I grew to love it and my co-workers as well. What motivated you to get a job? I didn’t want to ask my parents for money and I wanted to buy whatever I wanted. What is your favorite aspect of your jobs? Everyone I work with is really nice. I am able to meet a ton of people and I like getting paid. Since I actually did something to earn money I realized how fast money goes. What do you do at your jobs? At Foreign Exchange, I fold and organize clothes as well as help customers. At the dentist I scan and file papers. I also have to answer phones.

Name (First and Last): Samantha Riley Grade: 11 Place of Employment: Brandy Melville How long have you been working there? Since the beginning of October. Have you had any crazy experiences working? I worked Black Friday and it was really chaotic. There were so many girls in the store and it was really messy. How often do you work and how is traveling to Topanga for work? I work three to four days a week. Usually more if I cover peoples’ shifts. Driving there isn’t too bad. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get there, but it wastes about two gallons of gas. What motivated you to get a job? I saw on Instagram they were opening and I went for fun without any intention of landing a job. What do you enjoy most about your job? It’s fun because you’re being independent and making your own money. I also have made a lot of new friends and I am able to meet people that do not live around here.

FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Students face mounting pressure at universities

social students’ behavior because now they do not have to directly interact with others by seeing them face to face,” said Efﬁe Sklavenitis ’13.

Woody Chung Feature Editor

For seniors, stress is the last thing on their minds when they think about college. In fact, college almost seems like an escape from stress, the gateway out of APs and SATs. But the data shows otherwise. The percentage of college students that have severe psychological problems brought on by stress has increased from 16% to a stunning 37.4%. But why now? Why the recent upswing? There is a variety of reasons.

CARTOON

Pressure

Economy

What once was a near-golden guarantee to ﬁnancial security has lost its luster. Students are beginning to lose faith in the value of a college degree. “These days, students worry that even with a college degree they won’t ﬁnd a job that pays more than minimum wage, so even at 15 or 16 they’re thinking they’ll need to get into an M.B.A. program or Ph.D. program,” said Jason Ebbeling, director of residential education at Southern Oregon University. The burden students place on themselves usually decreases their abilities to concentrate. Students then perform poorly, and this poor performance leads to increased pressure. It’s a bitter, stressful cycle, and it is no wonder that in a study at the University of Minnesota, 18.5% of surveyed students reported being diagnosed with depression while 13.3% were diagnosed with anxiety.

SECRET STRESS: Many students are overwhelmed by the unexpected pressures that come with college life.

College-bound Kevin Yu ’13 summed it up best: “I think that our economy will have to heal more efﬁciently soon before we students can lighten up.”

Technology

For some of us, technology is gradually overtaking our lives. Think about it. Google Maps? A loophole to never have to ask for directions again. Skype? A substitute to speaking face to face. Facebook? A reason to never leave the house.

In his book The Shallows, Nicholas Carr argues that technology has been linked to social disconnect and anxiety. “We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reﬂection,” said Carr. Because of the omnipresence of technology in the lives of students, this rapid-ﬁre mentality leaks into other aspects of our lives. “Technology enhances already anti-

WHS alumni share college health tips

Katie Kaugers, a student at The College of William and Mary, fell into a deep depression after a good friend and fellow student committed suicide. “Asking for help made me feel completely vulnerable—suddenly all of my private thoughts and feelings were on display as symptoms of an illness,” Katie wrote on her student blog. “It felt like publicly admitting that I was weak and couldn’t take care of myself.” It may be because of the way we were raised, or because certain college environments make it hard to ask for help. Regardless of the reason, people are not eager to seek out others for help. “There’s a lot of pressure to put on a perfect face, and people often think they’re the only ones having trouble,” said Dr. Mark Reed, the director of Dartmouth College’s counseling ofﬁce. There are also some practical reasons to abstain from lessening the pressure. “Sometimes [students] may need to take a leave of absence, reduce their course load or switch to part time student status— but for some, these actions [have] negative consequences on their academic careers,” said Dana Markey, a program manager at the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Asking for help may be the ﬁrst step to becoming more successful than ever before.

5 ways to stay healthy in college Yangzong Guo

Staff Writer

While studying for exams, playing sports, working part-time jobs, and socializing, college students can easily neglect their health. Though some may not think they need to worry about their health, developing good habits in school will help students stay healthy later on.

CSU Chico Gabriella Scudieri ‘12

Princeton University Maegan Richards ‘12

UC Davis Bethany Maddison ‘12

1. Eat Right: A healthy diet is important to students’ immune systems and helps them maintain a healthy weight. Always eat breakfast, even if that means grabbing a banana or granola bar, and never skip meals. Snacking is a great way to put some fuel into your body throughout the day.

Do you have any health tips for incoming freshmen? I would say just make sure you get your homework done beforehand...because you need your beauty sleep. Just manage your time better.

What is the biggest health related difference between college and high school? It’s really hard to handle being sick or mentally not great while in college. It’s much harder to catch up on work if you miss a class. You have to be responsible for making up and learning what you missed. You also have to rely on yourself to know what to do; your parents aren’t there to give you medicine.

Do you have any health tips for incoming freshmen? Actually stay physically active. Going for the occasional run is an excellent way to explore your new environment and get well acquainted with campus and surroundings. Intramural sports are a fun way to get to know people in your dorm. Exercise will keep you motivated!

2. Campus Cardio: According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, people should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. If time is scarce, it is still beneﬁcial to have 15-minutes sessions of walking, running, or swimming. Most colleges also offer ﬁtness classes and intramural sports programs.

Would you say colleges make sufﬁcient health care resources available to students? Yes, very much so. From my experience at Davis, mental and physical health facilities are welcome and well-equipped to serving its students. Students are actually given ﬁve free psychology sessions…and 30-minute massage chairs are available for walk-ins.

3. Get your Zzz’s: Students might be tempted to pull all-nighters, but making a habit of this will lead to sleep deprivation, which can cause fatigue and reduced brain function.

What would you say is the most signiﬁcant health-related challenge freshmen face? Why is this such a big challenge? [The biggest] challenge is getting enough sleep and rest. For me [it is because] there are so many people you are living with in your dorm…so you just get distracted by your friends around you who aren’t going to sleep either. Would you say colleges make sufﬁcient health care resources available to students? Sort of. I wouldn’t really say my dining hall food is very healthy and they don’t have too many healthy options. Compared to high school, how stressful is college? Depending on the load you have in college it could either be more or less stressful. For me it is much more stressful. Compiled by Hanyi Huang

Would you say colleges make sufficient health care resources available to students? Yes, definitely. You just have to be willing to seek them out. It can be kind of intimidating walking into the health center for the first time to make an appointment, but that shouldn’t deter you. Compared to high school, how stressful is college? To me, college stress comes more in waves than high school stress did. Everything will be fine and dandy, then BAM: you have a ton of reading to do, a physics test, and a math problem set, and your roommate is sick and even more stressed out than you are. Compiled by Julia Shi

In comparison to high school, how stressful is college? [It is] on par thus far. It is deﬁnitely a whole new ball game. At college most professors don’t assign homework, which you would think is a plus, but it means you have to be much more vigilant at self-studying and asking for help when you don’t understand something. Compiled by Michelle Noyes

4. Get immunized: Many colleges offer flu shots in October, though you can benefit from a vaccination as late as early December, when there are several months left in the flu season. Getting a vaccination is especially important for students who live in close quarters with other students. 5. Chill out: Students are busy with classes and studying, but taking time to relax is essential. Stress can lead to a problems like headaches, upset stomachs, and high blood pressure.

FEAT

T O L

DECEMBER 2

It’s beginning to look a

A commercialized holiday season to all, and to all, a large bill Orly Greenberg Feature Editor It was a dark windy night, and the three wise men hurried across the desert, bearing gifts of an iPad, Macbook Pro, and---what? Wrong presents? Oh. America has developed a love aﬀair with the bigger, the better, the more impressive. This obsession has transcended culture and seeped into religious holidays, notably Christmas. The holiday has become increasingly commercialized, with an emphasis on gifts rather than its nonsecular history. Children may struggle to retell the Biblical story of Christmas, but can recite a list 45 presents long by heart. On 2008, Black

Friday (the traditional start of Christmas shopping) resulted in a Toys R Us shoot out, culminating in the death of both gunmen, whose conﬂict began with ﬁghting over presents for their children. Recent interpretations of Santa Claus also help establish Christmas as a secular, commercial holiday over a religious one. Saint Nicholas, from who Santa Claus evolved, was a famously generous Christian. It is his gift giving that inspired the exchange of presents on Christmas Day. Today, Santa is most often associated with middle aged men adorned in snow white beards and red robes, holding small children on their laps and smiling for mall photographers.

As the inspiration of dozens of ﬁlms, television programs, and advertisements, Santa has been stripped of his original giving intent and instead packaged with a consumer friendly sheen. However, I see no problem with the evolution of Christmas. Sure, some take the material aspect a little too far (who shops at Toys R Us equipped with a loaded gun? To each his own I suppose). On the whole, though, I admire the holiday’s ability to keep up with each generation’s diﬀerent demands. Earlier generations sought heavy religious involvement. The 21st century wants the biggest and best presents, but also seeks the comfort of miracles, of

togetherness, of the warmth inherent to the holidays. And Christmas delivers. Christmas, it seems, has transformed from a highly religious holiday into a cultural day of unity. Some may seek out the religious associations with Christmas. And that’s ﬁne. But using the holiday to indulge in a new iPhone, too much food and time with family is an equally valid interpretation of the holiday. However, religion still plays a signiﬁcant role in the holiday. Christian News Wire reports that church attendance triples during Christmas and the holiday season. But the religious aspect of Christmas has certainly evolved. Those who do

not choose to attend church may ﬁnd themselves part of the 3,400,000 individuals who volunteer for the Salvation Army and its various Christmas programs. Although the associations with traditional Christmas have changed, the attitude of giving and charity has remained. The holiday may have become slightly more materialistic, but this new found love of gifts does not supersede the original attitude and spirit of Christmas.

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OT like Christmas... again The Evergreen blues Lauren Chin Advertising Manager Christmas trees should not be banned from Christmas. While this statement may seem obvious – the evergreens we decorate are all under the class of CHRISTMAS trees after all – some believe we should not continue to allow Christmas trees to be brutalized for the sake of a twisted holiday tradition. Critics claim that, for a holiday that hinges on benevolence and the spirit of giving, it seems like a tragic irony that we have to go out and lay waste to trees like some kind of barbaric lumber demon. To them, our ritualistic slaughtering of millions of innocent perennials serves no purpose but to harm the environment and abuse the trees themselves. However, they have nothing to worry about at all. While it may be true that we “massacred” as many as 30.8 million live trees last year, according to illinois.edu, there are several ways to make your Christmas greener so that even the planet has a “Merry Christmas!” One such method of repairing the “damage” is participating in Christmas tree recycling. In fact, your family may already participate in this environmentally friendly activity. Simply placing your Christmas tree on the curb next to the green bin on collection day automatically enters your lucky tree into the LA County Sanitation District’s recycling program, where your glorious evergreen may be used for the noble cause of creating sand soil erosion barriers or sent to its retirement in the Puente Hills, Scholl Canyon, and Calabasas Landﬁlls, according to the LA County Sanitation District’s website. Aside from recycling your trees after Christmas, growing the trees themselves are

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extremely beneficial for the environment as well. According to bellschristmastrees.com, it only takes an average of 7-10 years to grow one Christmas tree from a seedling to a size of approximately 8 feet (Fun fact: if you lived to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s reported average life expectancy of 78.5 years, and decided to grow one tree at a time, you could grow 8 to 11 trees per life time!). In addition, growing an acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people; according to illinois.edu, meaning that for every acre of Christmas trees grown 18 people have enough oxygen to survive for around 7-10 years. The cultivation of Christmas trees for their noble sacrifice of holding our lights and ornaments not only benefits people, but animals as well. In fact, growing Christmas trees can also benefit the local environment and its wildlife by recycling the air, purifying groundwater, stabilizing the soil, and providing homes for birds, mammals, and insects, according to nationalgeographic.com. “They [Christmas trees] can be used for all kinds of things,” National Christmas Tree Association’s spokesperson Rick Dungey said. “People use them as fish habitats, as heron nesting grounds, to prevent beach erosion, and to preserve freshwater marshes.” Wise words, Mr. Dungey, wise words. Only a representative of the National Christmas Tree Association would be able to truly express the importance of Christmas trees on Christmas.

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A 2400 on my SAT.

Jason Chuang ‘14

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FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Google raises a Glass

Wii, U and Mii Harry Chung Staff Writer

News Editor

COURTESY PHOTO

Just when we thought that technology had reached its peak with the intuitive Apple gadgets, a new Google project has taken the stage. Project Glass, run by Google Inc., is in the early stages of making the Google Glass, eyewear designed to act as a smartphone while freeing hands from the actual phone device. Unlike a regular pair of glasses, however, the Google Glass does not have any lenses. According to the Wall Street Journal, the glasses are like “a wearable smartphone” that allows users to take pictures, send messages, listen to music, and even perform voiceactivated commands. Users can also control the device with head tilts. The hardware inside Project Glass is similar to that of a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but is still in the process of being tested and ﬁne-tuned. The device uses a “heads-up BRILLIANT BRIN: Google co-founder Sergey Brin reveals the revolutionary Google Glass display” which projects data into Google plans to release prototypes the wearer’s line of vision on a small “The notion of seamlessly having to developers by 2013, and to the public screen above the right eye. access to your digital world without “The biggest triumph...is that the disrupting the real world is very by 2014. “This is really new technology, tiny screen is completely invisible when important,” said Sergey Brin, co-founder of and we want you to help shape it. That’s why we want to get it out into the hands you’re talking or driving or reading. You Google Inc. forget about it completely,” said New York Members of the Project Glass team of passionate people as soon as possible,” Times reporter David Pogue who had have stated that the Google Glass weighs said Brin. “We deﬁnitely like to make things the opportunity to try the Google Glass. open but right now we are working hard “There’s nothing at all between your he biggest triumph... and fast to make something reliable we can eyes and whatever, or whomever, you’re is that the tiny screen get in the hands of users and developers,” looking at.” is completely invisible said Brin. “I expect lots and lots of people Inside the right earpiece, Google has when you’re talking or drivwill be using technology like this in years packed in a processor, a speaker, a camera, ing or reading. You forget to come.” a microphone, a compass, a battery, and about it completely. Students, naturally, are ecstatic. “I Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antennae. really like the idea. It sounds awesome,” According to Pogue, the Google Glass said Sabrina Shenker ‘15. “What’s -David Pogue, New York Times will eventually have “a cellular radio, so next? Larynx-free [cellphones] operated it can get online, but at this point, it [can only] hook up wirelessly with your phone about the same as an average pair of telepathically?” With the (hopeful) success of the Google Glass, maybe. for an online connection.” sunglasses.

Jasmine

Last September, the update to iPhone 5 came at a cost. Although most apps now fit the stretched screen, one major app remained untouched: Youtube. Where most saw an inconvenience, Morrissey Exchange saw an opportunity with Jasmine. No strangers to innovative and simple design, the designers took the absence of a true iPhone 5 Youtube client as a chance to make their own. Jasmine comes enriched with new innovative features. The uninterrupted background audio, for example, allows the user to stream music videos without wasting battery by keeping the screen on. Another bonus is resumed video playback. With a clean, grey-red design optimized for the iPhone 5, it fills the much needed gap left by the lack of a true Youtube client. In fact, the app, which has almost all of the standard features of the traditional Youtube app and a faster speed to boot, is arguably better than its rival. Jasmine is definitely worth a download if you’ve felt the lack of a true Youtube app.

Tilt to Live A great game gets the heart pounding after a miraculous escape against all odds. A great game gets the gamer drooling as he gains points for the next power up. Tilt to Live is a great game. The player controls a lone cursor-like avatar that attempts to survive as long as it can against the unending hordes of red dot enemies. Using the iPhone’s accelerometer, the player can weave and bob through the unceasing patterns of malicious dots to win power ups like multi-rockets, lightning, and ﬁre burnicade, a wall of ﬂames that shoot out from behind the cursor. There are multiple game play modes. In addition to classic mode, Code Red mode inserts the player in the heat of the action, where the dots are frenzied from the start. A lite version without the six unlockable powerups is available for free. The full version is available for $0.99.

It’s a game controller! It’s a console! It’s the Wii U! The successor of the widely popular Wii, the Wii U provides what may be the next step in console gaming: two-screens. The Wii U features the GamePad, a touch screen and analog tablet controller that interacts with the television to provide a unique gaming experience. Some games even support off-TV play where gamers can play on the controller’s screen, while others use the TV screen for their own programs. The Wii U introduces exciting games made exclusively for the Wii U. Whereas the Wii’s launch title was Wii Sports, the Wii U’s standard game is Nintendo Land, a brilliantly vivid party game with minigames that feature classic Nintendo characters and the Nintendo avatars, Miis. The Wii U brings back old school classics, such as New Super Mario Bros. U, Rayman Legends, and Pikmin 3. This new console also hopes to attract an older, grittier crowd of players with games like ZombiU, and Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition. In addition to the myriad of new games, players are ﬁnally able to experience it all with HD. “Graphically speaking, Wii U games are just about on par with current-generation Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 visuals,” said Cnet.com One of the biggest uses of the Wii U is the integration of other forms of entertainment. Along with apps like Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and Youtube, the Wii U plans to debut TVii, an app which will allow the users to watch TV on the Wii. The Wii U comes in the Basic Wii U, which comes with 8 GB of storage and a GamePad controller ($299.99) and the Deluxe Set with 32 GB ($349.99).

Relax Melodies

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Or do you just need a calm setting to accompany your meditation or Yoga? Relax Melodies is an ambiance app for the iPhone that includes 46 sounds, white noises, and Music. There is a myriad of different melodies including different sounds, like Waterfall, Wind Chimes, and Frogs. With just a push of a button, you can be at a beach, cavern, or the woods. You can mix and match any sound and slip into a relaxed state or a deep, rejuvenating sleep. The sounds are clear and bright, unlike lower quality artiﬁcial sounds generated by computer software. In addition, the app includes two binaural beats that promote concentration by generating two tones, one in the right ear and one in the left ear. Relax Melodies includes an alarm and timer in case you fall asleep with your headphones on. Compiled by Yangzong Guo and Ethan Reul

ENTERTAINMENT

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Evolving for the times: A

Victoria Wang Opinion Editor

It’s Dec. 28, 1895. Thirty-three people are sitting in the basement of a Parisian cafe, staring at dull gray pictures ﬂashing in the darkness. For about 46 seconds, they watch a couple of workers walk jerkily out of a factory. That was the ﬁrst ever publicly projected movie. We’ve come a long way since 1895. The average modern movie is over 200 times longer than Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory. Almost all of them are in color and have sound. (Last year’s Oscar winning The Artist is an anomaly.) Films in 3D are

Stacey Kane

CLOSER LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF CINEMATOGRAPHY

the current fad. However, it took a while for movies to become a feasible form of entertainment. Most of the ﬁrst stumbling attempts, like the “wheel of life” patented in America in 1867 and the riﬂe-shaped camera made in 1882 could only project the movie to one person at a time. In 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumiere of France invented the cinematograph,

the device that led to the true birth of cinema.

At the outset, movies were not as glamorous as those of modern Hollywood; they were only carnival attractions. In fact, Louis Lumiere himself expected people

to lose interest after the novelty of the invention faded. He famously remarked, “The cinema is an invention without a future.” But something magical happened: the arrival of A Train at La Ciotat (1896), which featured a train approaching the camera at full speed. Viewers jumped over chairs, trying to get away from the train’s path before it jumped out of the screen. Of course, it never did. And people loved it. Movies have fascinated people ever since. Movies with color, music, and dialogue soon developed. By the early 1900s, Hollywood was on its way to becoming the glittering capital of the cinema it is today.

ANNIE is reborn

and production, this movie became an instant hit. When comparing the Every few years, ’99 Annie to the ’82 Annie, Hollywood likes to recreate the audience witness a and update past movies. Meet change in acting skills. The Me in St. Louis, King Kong, and ’99 version has a cleaner Freaky Friday have all had two quality, while in the ’82 movies made. Next spring, Annie, the lip-syncing is off, Hollywood will remake the and the dance steps look movie Annie for the third time. sloppy. Contrary to the 1982 and In the upcoming 1999 versions, this new movie remake, Willow completely will be a little more original changes the appearance of with Willow Smith starring Annie. Jay-Z’s production as Annie. Two-time Academy of the music promises a Award nominee Will Smith, modern twist to the old Jay-Z, and Ken Stovitz are the melodies. Classic songs, producers. The script has been such as “It’s a Hard-Knock an ongoing project for the past Life” and “Tomorrow,” three years. will be remade to fit pop The first movie, released culture. in 1982, was based on the With advancements 1977 stage musical of the same in technology, the name. The play originated videography will be clearer from a comic strip and was and staging will be much nominated for an Academy more detailed. Award. Aileen Quinn It’s easy to see why played the role of Annie and this comic, turned musical, encompassed the perfect “TOMORROW, TOMORROW”: The Broadway production once featured Sarah Jessica Parker (left) as Annie. A remake of the turned movie is so popular. freckled, red-haired girl. It is film musical will star Willow Smith in the lead. After watching the first truly a classic. two, I am only more excited In the 1999 remake, to see how the updated Alicia Morton took on the role of Annie. character without changing the basic look. attention than the first and outshined it, version will differ and spice up this classic, Her auburn hair slightly modernized the This Disney-produced film received more as well. With better costumes, scenery, coming-of-age adventure. Feature Editor

COURTESY PHOTOS

A favorite musical returns Samantha Doctrow Feature Editor

Since the renowned duo Rodgers and Hammerstein created the Broadway play 52 years ago, The Sound of Music has remained a lasting phenomenon. In 1965, the most popular play of its time was transformed into one of the most popular films ever made. A riveting drama and musical, The Sound of Music stars Julie Andrews as the free-spirited ex-nun Maria. Set in the 1930s, the film follows Maria’s journey with the solemn Von Trapp family at the peak of the Nazi conquest of Austria . At the beginning of the film, Maria is failing miserably in her attempts to become a nun. When Naval Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven rambunctious children, Maria takes the job. A widower, the Captain runs his household as strictly as he does his ships. His unhappy children are resentful of the dull governesses that their father keeps hiring and have managed to cause each one to quit. When Maria arrives, she is initially met with the same hostility given to the others, but her kindness, understanding,

and sense of fun bring some much-needed joy and song into all their lives—including the Captain’s. Maria and Von Trapp fall in love and are soon married, but Nazi Germany takes control of the country and demands Von Trapp assume a position in the German navy. Maria and the entire Von Trapp family narrowly escape the Nazis and happily flee to Switzerland. The Sound of Music received five Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture. In 2007, the film was ranked fourth on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 best musicals and ranked tenth on the list of most memorable movie songs for title track “The Sound of Music.” Every year since 2005, the Hollywood Bowl holds an annual “Sound of Music” sing-a-long in September, where the film is played with lyrics underneath the screen. In addition, last week, NBC announced that American Idol alum Carrie Underwood will star as Maria in a live Broadway broadcast of the iconic movie next December. Now, 47 years after its initial release, The Sound of Music continues to remain a global blockbuster. With the film’s spot-on casting, memorable songs, and everlasting message of maintaining hope through adversity, modern fans prove that The Sound of Music still plays on.

Dorothy’s journey continues Vivian Xu

Feature Editor Since August of 1939, The Wizard of Oz has enchanted millions across America. The film features Technicolor effects, which at the time, was an amazing innovation. The movie continues to excite feelings of nostalgia and is firmly established as an American film icon. Notable quotes, musical scores, and outfits, perpetuated by picture books and elementary school plays, are instantly recognizable. Although many are well acquainted with the movie, few are aware of its origins. The Frank L. Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published at the turn of the twentieth century. It was the first of a series of over 40 books chronicling the adventures not only of the familiar heroine Dorothy but also of Tip, Ozma of Oz, and numerous other characters exploring Oz and its surrounding lands and kingdoms. Frank L. Baum wrote the first 14 books of the series but passed away before he could draw Dorothy’s adventures to a close. Although Ruth Plumly Thompson and other authors completed the series, only the first 14 books are considered the

original “true” story line. Interspersed with illustrations by W. W. Denslow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the ﬁrst of Baum’s series, inspired the iconic ﬁlm 40 years later. At the 1940 Academy Awards, the movie won two Oscars for Best Music and Original Score and was nominated for Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Color, Effects, and Special Effects. IMDb lists The Wizard of Oz as #148 of its top 250 movies. The Wizard of Oz inspired the popular Broadway musical Wicked, the untold tale of the unfortunate Wicked Witch of the West. The witch seeks revenge for Dorothy’s accidental murder of the witch’s sister and the subsequent acquisition of her ruby slippers in both Baum’s novel and the 1939 movie. An homage to the beloved movie, Wicked also alludes to the popular book series, including many of the peculiar and creative creatures and characters from Baum’s books. A new movie, titled Oz: The Great and Powerful, is set to come out March 2013, starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weiss, and Michelle Williams. Much like Wicked, it acts as a prequel to the events of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

FEATURE

THE ARROW

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW Hello, Warriors, The Arrow here, your one and only source for all news at WHS. The music and movies this year all had an overall indie feel, from Frank Ocean’s atmospheric R&B to Taylor Swift’s new hip aesthetic, and movies like Moonrise Kingdom. There were obsessive intervals on the internet, especially with the proliferation of viral Youtube videos and Tumblr memes. In February, YOLO, you only live once, became a new phrase used among the teenage generation after Drake’s song, The Motto. The colloquialism “swag” parallels this annoying acronym. There were many media scandals this year as well, including Trayvon Martin and the Penn State coach. Then there was Rudy Eugene who devoured a homeless man’s face, causing everyone to believe there would be an imminent Zombie Apocalypse. If 2012 is truly the last year of the world, it was at least an eventful year. From the Olympics to the presidential election, 2012 was ﬁlled with events that will be talked about for years to come. Compiled by David Huang, Michelle Noyes, and Ryan Cheng

DECEMBER 20, 2012

THE

IN THE MEDIA

INTERNETS Internet shenanigans that became more than shenanigans 1. PSY/ Gangnam Style Music Video. 2. Hashtags/Instagram 3. Memes (bad luck Brian, awkward penguin, philosoraptor) 4. Rage Comics (i.e. “trollface”) 5. Tumblr 6. KPop 7. #SWAG 8. YOLO-the Motto 9. “Call Me Maybe”/Carly Rae Jepsen 10. “Hot Problems”

BOOKS

Suggestions from all facets of ﬁction and nonﬁction 1. Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity/ANDREW SOLOMON- Solomon talks to schizophrenics and deaf children alike, exploring “horizontal relationships”—relationships within communities of people.

2. This Is How You Lose Her/ JUNOT DIAZ- His much anticipated short story collection is from the perspective of Yunior, last seen in Drown (2002).

Media sensations of this year 1. Obama’s victory in the presidential election 2. U.S. ambassadors killed in Benghazi, Libya 3. Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast in October, causing $100 billion in damages. 4. Trayvon Martin murdered by George Zimmerman because of his hoodie. 5. Sandy Hook Elementary shooting (27 dead) shocks America—2nd worst only to Virginia Tech shooting. 6. Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, was found guilty of sexual assault 7. Rudy Eugene attacked and ate chunks off the face of homeless Ronald Poppo 8. Olympic 2012 in London. 9. Kim Jung-un inherited North Korea after death of Kim Jong-il 10. Kony’s child army becomes global phenomenon.

3. Killing Lincoln/BILL O’REILLY- Fast paced read ex-

MOVIES

plaining the events leading up to and surrounding Lincoln’s assassination.

4. The First Four Notes/MATTHEW GUIERRERI. Fascinat-

Movies to add to your Netﬂix queue 1. MOONRISE KINGDOM- Charm-

ing book that explores the captivating first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

5. Building Stories/CHRIS WARE-This unconventional set of wordless comic strips comes in a box with fourteen pieces-including a tabloid, pamphlets, and a hard-bound book.

MORE BOOKS TO PERUSE: 6. Object Lessons/PARIS REVIEW 7. 100 Diagrams That Changed the World/SCOTT CHRISTIANSON 8. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking/SUSAN CAIN 9. The Fault in Our Stars/ JOHN GREEN 10. 2312/KIM STANLEY ROBINSON

ing film about two young lovers who elope from a New England Town, and the resultant search for them. LIFE OF PI-A religious allegory weaved into an adventure story with amazing animation.

3. THE HUNGER GAMES-In a

dystopian society, Katniss Everdeen must survive a disturbing battle that pits children against each other in a battle royale. LINCOLN-Explores Lincoln’s multi-faceted personality and follows the events between his re-election and death. 21 JUMP STREET-Based on the TV show, two lackluster cops try to bust a drug ring by going back to high school.

FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Battle of the Burgers I

n the past year, there has been an explosion in the number of burger restaurants opening near WHS. Smashburger, Village Burger, and Umami Burger are three that have attracted plenty of clientele and offer healthier alternatives to fast food when cravings for a good, juicy burger are unconquerable.

SMASHBURGER This Denver-based burger chain is dedicated to creating specialty-made burgers that reflect the style and taste of each individual customer. The Thousand Oaks Smashburger opened up at the beginning of the summer and is the 163rd restaurant in the chain. In 2011, Forbes Magazine named Smashburger the most promising company in the country, over many tech firms, health care firms, and other successful companies. Smashburger is unique due to the techniques used to create the burger. The meat originates from meatballs that are flattened onto a buttered grill, allowing the burgers to be made juicy and tasty in only three minutes. Smashburger also allows customers to create their own meal according to their personal taste.

VILLAGE BURGER In what was previously the location of Yozen Frogurt, just next to the famous Harold’s House of Omelettes, Village Burger is yet another new burger restaurant. Offering a better alternative to the common fast food burger chain, Village Burger has the atmosphere of an In-N-Out, but the taste of a homemade backyard-barbecued burger. Each individual Village Burger patty is made fresh and grilled before your eyes, creating an extremely ﬂavorful and juicy meal. From their most popular Chili Cheese Burger to the monstrous Avocado Burger, there is an endless variety of burgers prepared for all tastes. More than the burgers, the restaurant is known for its crispy handcut french fries and decadent milkshakes made from fresh custard and blended with popular candies or fruits.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

The popular Japanese-influenced burger restaurant is considered to be the first fine-dining fast food. The burger chain is based in Los Angeles and has restaurants opened all across southern California. The Thousand Oaks location is the tenth Umami Burger restaurant and the first location to offer a kids menu. Its specialty dish is the “Trattoria Burger 13,” loaded with spicy capicola, crispy speck (ham), arugula, asiago frico, and melted fontina cheese. Umami is a Japanese word that describes the enjoyable, savory taste created by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides that are naturally present in food. For vegetarian customers, the “Earth Burger” is a great option, with a mushroom, edamame patty replacing the typical beef patty.

Favorite Burger Chains

UMAMI BURGER

5 Students =

15 10

IN-N-OUT

MCDONALD THE COUNTER HABIT

P&L

4 WENDYʼS

RESTAURANTS According to a poll of 100 WHS students, In-N-Out is clearly the favorite of all the local, popular fast food burger chains. Many students polled justiﬁed their top choice with the restaurant’s famous secret sauce and classic milkshakes. Kevin Yu ‘13 said, “I don’t even consider In-N-Out fast food--In-NOut is a lifestyle.” The second and third most popular burger restaurants are McDonald’s and Habit, respectively, while The Counter, P&L, and Wendy’s follow. Compiled by Liz Mossessian and Samantha Doctrow

Food Passport Take your taste buds on a trip to Germany

Liz Mossessian Feature Editor

COURTESY PHOTO

While some families choose to travel or keep the holiday dinner small, others feel the need to prepare extravagant and overly complicated meals. Every year, individuals witness the matriarch of their family scrambling through various recipe books to ﬁnd the perfect holiday meal that will impress visiting family. For those who are eager to change tradition and try something new, take a chance with the Germans and cook like they do. As a result of the harsh, snowy winters and primarily rural countryside landscapes, German culture has emerged as one rich in stodgy and fatty foods, as well as cozy gatherings (gemuetlichkeits) of abundance and plenty. Although the topography of the country greatly varies, resulting in numerous regional specialties and cooking styles, a typical German meal consists of potatoes and spicy sausages. Considered by Germans to be the most important time of the year, the Christmas season, or Weihnachten, begins a little before that of the American’s, commencing at the start of the Advent calendar. The Germans created the Advent calendar, or adventskalender, in order to augment children involvement and entertainment during the holiday season. Each calendar is

made of cardboard and has 24 small ﬂaps, each one opened on each day leading up to Christmas. Behind each ﬂap hides a small German chocolate or toy. The infamous Stollen fruitcake is an extremely popular German dessert and exudes a strong aroma in most Christmas markets, which have been around since at least the 14th century. Symbolizing the Baby Jesus wrapped in cloth, as newborns customarily were, the cake is shaped with tapered ends and a ridge is formed down the center. The most famous Christmas market, the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt, has been around for 375 years and is known for selling special gold foil angels. When the weather would not permit butchering, geese would often be served, becoming a major food source for the Germans. Nowadays, a typical German Christmas meal would be a roasted goose, or gaensebraten, stuffed with apples, chestnuts, onions, and prunes. Red cabbage with onions and apples often accompanies the dish and potatoes are, without doubt served as either dumplings or mashed. If Americans had the chance to adopt a single attribute of the German Christmas it would surely be the idea of extending the holiday an extra day. Germans recognize both the 25th and 26th of December as legal holidays, closing most businesses and spending extra time with family.

Stollen Fruitcake Ingredients • 3/4 cup raisins • 1/2 cup chopped mixed candied fruit • 1/4 cup dried currants • 3/4 cup apple juice • 4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose ﬂour • 2 packages of active dry yeast • 1/4 cup granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 cup milk • 1/2 cup butter, cubed • 2 eggs • 2 tablespoons grated orange peel • 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract • 1/2 cup chopped almonds • Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions 1. In a large bowl, soak raisins, fruit and currants in apple juice for 1 hour; drain and set aside. 2. In another large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. 3. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add the eggs, grated peels and extract; beat until smooth. 4. Stir in the almond, fruit mixture and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. 5. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. 6. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. 7. Punch dough down; divide in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 12-in. x 8-in. oval. Fold one of the long sides over to within 1 in. of the opposite side; press edges lightly to seal. Place on greased baking sheets. 8. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. OPTIONAL: Dust with confectioners' sugar for an extra sweet taste. ***Yields 24 servings

THE ARROW PHOTO BY LIZ MOSSESSIAN

THROWING IT DOWN: Andrew Cooper takes down an opponent in a Newbury Park match.

Challenge system sparks competitive wrestling

Woody Chung Feature Editor

Sports are driven by competition. But, is it possible for competition to go too far? Consider Westlake wrestling, for example. In a conversation with varsity captain Glenn Castro ‘13, Castro casually remarked on something that immediately

piqued my interest: the challenge system. “The day before a wrestling meet, the varsity player can be challenged by a teammate of the same weight category and wrestle a full match,” said Castro. “Whoever wins receives the privilege of wrestling on the varsity level, and the cycle continues every Wednesday for the whole season.”

More mixup for Marmonte League Tara Spencer Sports Editor

Ever since the Marmonte league split, WHS has been battling against a much diﬀerent ﬁeld of competitors. Many may think that the traditionally dominant WHS varsity football team was a huge disappointment compared to last year’s success, the team was actually successful within the league. The recent split of the Marmonte League left the WHS football team without games against rivals Thousand Oaks High

School and Oaks Christian High School. Also, further changes to the league’s structure include rivals St. Bonaventure High School and Oaks Christian High School being placed in the Catholic Athletic Association. Assistant Principal of Athletics, Bennett Wutkee stated, “They’re really good schools, especially for football. They raise the proﬁle of the league by being there.” Because these two teams are now placed in the CAA, they now may be moved to a Parochial League. This will lead to a much diﬀerent sports environment for

SPORTS

DECEMBER 20, 2012

It’s easy to romanticize this exciting system as an ongoing king-of-the-hill grudge match. But, critics of the challenge system cannot help but to question: is it good for the players? More importantly, is it good for the sport? The truth to the issue lies in science. In 2008, two psychology professors, Stephen Garcia and Avishalom Tor, published a study on the “n-effect.” Defining n as the number of competitors, Garcia and Tor studied whether the n-effect altered competitors’ drive to compete and better themselves in the process. In one study, the psychologists issued the same test to two different groups. Both groups were told that the competitors in the top 20% would win a cash prize. But there was a twist. In the first group, a competitor only competed against 9 other people while in the second, a competitor competed against 99. The results were interesting. The participants who competed against 9 others (and faced less competition) finished more easily and quickly. Those who went against the 99 (and faced considerably more competition) took significantly longer, even though the same proportion of winners would have been selected. The study explored this effect in testing situations as well. “What we found was that the more [competitors] who showed up on average at a particular venue in a state, the lower

the average SAT score became— even when controlling for other relevant factors such as parental income, ethnic identity, population density” said Garcia The same results were supported by competition in ACT scores as well. “As N goes up, motivation and effort — which often affect performance — go down,” said Tor. At first glance then, it seems that critics of the challenge system are right. By increasing the number of competitors the challenge system increases the n-effect, worsening the performance and decreasing the drive of wrestlers to improve themselves. Surely, then, shouldn’t the challenge system be abolished? Not necessarily. Despite the results, Tor admits that “if an individual is really trying to be motivated to try harder and perform as well as they can, then small Ns are beneficial.” Thus, the challenge system can be a gift or a curse. As long as the number of challengers is low enough to act as a stimulus for competition, individual players (and the team by proxy) can improve. But at the same time, if the competition of the challenge system becomes too fierce, the players may lose the drive to compete. Castro held a similar view. “In the end, the challenge system is what makes a team good. You have competition that allows the hardest worker in the room to represent the team.”

the two schools. Wutkee also commented on their value in the Marmonte League. “It’s been nice having them there but the whole league struggles to compete against them, but I understand why the league wants them out. Two of the possible new destinations for Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure are the Mission and Serra leagues. The Mission League features powerhouses Chaminade and Junipero Serra (Gardena). Along with St. Francis, HarvardWestlake, Cathedral, and St. Paul. Ending up in the rigorous Serra League would be tough for both football programs,

as every week they would be going up against traditionally dominant programs in Alemany, Notre Dame, Bishop Amat, Crespi, and Loyola. On a wider perspective, the departure of the two private schools in the Marmonte league will open things up for the WHS football program. Private schools have an unfair advantage, as they have greater funds that can be directed to their sports. Overall, Wutkee concluded, “If those two schools end up leaving, it’ll end up knocking down the prestige of the league. It’ll still be the best league in Ventura Country and one of the best in Southern California. It’s a very well rounded league.”

SPORTS

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Top 5 BCS Bowl moments of the 21st Century

THE ARROW 15 Water polo treads into season

Christian Coates Sports Editor

2. 2007 Fiesta Bowl- Boise State Broncos vs. Oklahoma Sooners Spurned by BCS voters because they were from the small WAC conference, Boise State was eager to prove that it belonged in the national picture. The team had run the table in the regular season to earn a BCS bowl bid. Traditional powerhouse Oklahoma featured superstar running back Adrian Peterson. Faced with a fourth down and losing by a touchdown, the Broncos executed one of the gutsiest calls of all time. Quarterback Jared Zabransky dropped back and fired a bullet to receiver Drisan James who flipped it to Jerard Rabb who flew down the field and dove into the end zone with seven seconds to play. In overtime, Boise State used a Statue of Liberty to convert a twopoint conversion, sealing a programchanging victory.

4. 2010 Fiesta Bowl- Auburn vs. Oregon Oregon came into the game with the most vaunted offense in recent memory. Auburn boasted an electric offense of their own led by Cam Newton. Tiger defensive tackle Nick Fairley had a night, blasting through the Duck’s offensive line to make plays in the backfield. Runningback LaMichael James had a rough night for Oregon, only rushing for 49 yards. Auburn sealed the victory when Michael Dyer appeared to be down on the ground, but apparently kept his balance and took off before being dragged down by safety Eddie Pleasant late in the fourth quarter. 5. 2012 Fiesta Bowl- Stanford vs. Oklahoma State Stanford superstar Andrew Luck, who was later drafted by the Indianapolis Colts to replace Peyton Manning, was widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect since, well, Peyton Manning. Luck and Cowboy quarterback Brandon Weeden played a game of “Beat this” the entire night, combining for over 700 yards and six touchdowns. Stanford had a chance to win the game with no time remaining, but a botched field goal sent the game into overtime, where the Cardinal offense stalled, and lost to Oklahoma State.

READY, AIM, FIRE!: Girls water polo varsity goalie, Carsen Horvatich, blocks a shot.

Harry Chung Staﬀ Writer

Girls water polo started oﬀ the season with a strong splash after placing third in the Mistletoe Classic. The results of the Mistletoe Classic, the team’s ﬁrst tournament, were a testament

to how well the players interact in the water. After placing second in the Marmonte League last year, the team, led by captains Emily Kerchner ’13 and Scarlett Lund-Sidi ’13, returns, hopeful for an even stronger season. Only four seniors graduated last year,

New-look Warriors lead girls basketball Michelle Noyes Sports Editor

Girls basketball has had a rocky start to their season. Varsity’s ﬁrst Marmonte game was on Dec. 11 against Agoura High School at home. Agoura won with 48-23. All levels have new coaches this season. Chuck Aplin took over the position as Head Coach, his Assistant Varsity Coach is Bob Deamer, and Jessica Broyles is also new to coaching JV and Frosh/Soph for WHS. WHS hosted the Winter Invitational from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 for the Junior Varsity and Frosh/Soph divisions. NPHS beat WHS taking ﬁrst for JV and Frosh/Soph at the tournament. “We are young and rebuilding,” said coach Aplin. Varsity Guards, Morgan Sobotka ‘13 and Brooke Steaman ‘13, and Forwards, Sarah Raymond ‘13 and Jordan Wood ‘13, are ready for their last season on the WHS

team. Valerie Sarkis ‘14 is the only guard who is not graduating after this season. Ashley Jung ‘14, Siena Heintz ‘14, and Maddy Aplin ‘15 also play Forward. Newcomers to the WHS team are Forwards Abby Christie ‘16 and Cayley Corridori ‘16. “No current player has played varsity before this year. We lost seven of eight varsity kids from last year to graduation,” com- STEAMAN BY: Brooke Steaman looks to get the ball upcourt. mented Aplin. Aplin has a positive outlook for this a very big goal.” The next game is on Thurs. season “Our team goal is 16 wins, which is Dec. 20 at home against Moorpark. PHOTO BY HANYI HUANG

3. 2010 Rose Bowl- TCU Horned Frogs vs. Wisconsin Badgers The Horned Frogs was one of the top football programs from a non-AQ conference. Andy Dalton led TCU into a ﬁrst Rose Bowl against the mighty trio of Scott Tolizen, Nick Toon, and Montee Ball for Wisconsin. The Horned Frogs took an early lead and held oﬀ the Badgers’ late comeback to secure a 21-19 victory.

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA DOCTROW

1. 2005 Rose Bowl- USC Trojans vs. Texas Longhorns Pete Carroll took his undefeated Trojans into the Rose Bowl for their third consecutive National Championship game. The match-up featured two Heisman Trophy winners, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart for USC, against one of the most exciting players in the country in Texas quarterback Vince Young. Young had the game of his life that night. The Longhorns came back from a halftime deﬁcit to a situation every quarterback dreams about. Fourth down. Down by 4. Twenty seconds left. Young looked down ﬁeld, looking for a receiver. Then he decided to sprint down the sideline to score the gamewinning touchdown, ending USC’s 34 game-winning streak.

leaving the team filled with many strong and mature water polo veterans. Returning varsity players are Kerchner, Lund-Sidi, Whitney Alderman ‘13, Canelle Irmas ‘13, Maddie Lyon ’13, Amanda Meyer ’13, Veronika Weiss ‘13, Lacey Anderson ‘14, Katie Lang ‘14, and Annie Kutt ‘15. Newcomers include goalie Carsen Horvatich ’16, known for her raw talent, and field player Maddie Carmola ’16, who is known for her speedy swimming skills. “The best players on our team are the girls who are unselfish and put all their efforts into making the other girls and the team better,” said Kerchner. Under the direction of new head coach Ricky Mulcahey, the team has been conditioning to get in better shape. The polo players have morning practice at 5:15 a.m. at least two times a week. The team goal is to win the Marmonte League and get as far as it can in CIF.

Experienced players have talent to earn League title Orly Greenberg Feature Editor

The basketball season is only halfway through, but boys varsity has already managed to win the Simi Valley Tournament, a feat achieved with four wins and no losses. The team also landed third place in the Crescenta Valley Tournament, with a 68-70 loss to Hart. However, victories such as those against Sun Valley—a game that culminated with a 59-point advantage for WHS—have gained the team an 8-1 record thus far. Head Varsity coach Rob Bloom notes that the team’s most satisfying win came from “beating Valencia to win the Simi Valley Tournament championship.” And although the team’s 67 points to Valencia’s 43 resulted in a decisive defeat, Bloom maintains “it’s still early in the season so we hope to have more signiﬁcant wins down the line.” Both Bloom and the players acknowledge that it is early in the season, yet they have high hopes for future wins. Marcos Soto ’14 said, “We [the team] have a solid shot at winning league this year and hopefully [we] go deep into CIF.” Bloom echoes Soto’s sentiments, stating the team’s goal “is to win a Marmonte League

title and make a deep run into the playoﬀs. I’m really looking forward to making that happen.” Varsity already shows promise in the Marmonte League; a game on the 11th against Agoura resulted in a win for WHS and a continuation of their journey in the League. Bloom is indeed convinced that his team has the talent to make considerable progress in Marmonte League. “This season is more experienced,” the coach said. “With eight players returning from

last year’s varsity, we are not making the same mistakes over and over. Plus, we have some good, talented players.” Soto agrees, saying “we have good players, run a lot, have good defense. We’re a good team this year.” Soto’s and Bloom’s messages resonate with varsity player Alex Egurbide ’14, who notes that “we have a great group of guys this year, and I think we have a good chance of making a deep playoﬀ run. Everyone needs to come together as a team and we can do big things.”

FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Plants provide common remedies Prop. 37 sheds

light on antibiotics

Melanie Rosen Feature Editor

Note: It is not wise to use plants you are unfamiliar with. Do not attempt to use these remedies unless you are 100% sure which plant is which. Have you ever been hiking through the woods when you could barely see past the huge cloud of mosquitoes? Maybe you’ve scraped your knee on a rock and there’s not a nifty ﬁrst-aid kit growing out of the nearest tree. Dr. Weils, a well-respected web M.D. stated that “the best thing about herbs is their complexity.” Here are several natural resources you can use to alleviate those little dings and bumps:

1. Juniper

Juniper is quite common in many parts of the world. This plant can easily be identiﬁed by its evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing close to the ground in dry, rocky

soils. Its needle-like leaves grow in groups of three and they have blue-black berries when fully ripened. A strong tea made of the berries makes a good antiseptic wash.

2. Oak Tree

The city of Thousand Oaks was named after this magniﬁcently useful tree. The tree produces acorn-like fruits and its leaves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, though all the leaves have four to six curves called lobes. Boiling the acorns creates a bitter wash that helps relieve itchy skin and stops bleeding.

3. Coltsfoot

Ever wondered what makes cough syrup taste so bad? Coltsfoot is a low-growing herb with stems that look like asparagus. Its leaves are heart-shaped, and its ﬂowers can be mistaken for those of a dandelion. Coltsfoot can be found in waste-like areas; sugar added to a strong tea made of coltsfoot is used to make commercial cough

COURTESY PHOTOS

medicines.

4. Pineapple Weed

Ever wondered what those pesky little weeds that smelled like fruit are called? True to its smell, this interesting little weed is known as pineapple weed. Its leaves are fern-like and its yellow button-like ﬂowers smell like the fruit that it is named after. This plant is found in dry soils and waste areas. Rubbing its leaves on irritated skin relieves itching and even repels bugs.

5. Prickly Pear Cactus

Though not a native herb to the United States, the prickly pear cactus has thrived in this country for hundreds of years. It grows in thick clusters and can be spotted by its large yellow ﬂowers in the early summer months. Like most cacti, this plant grows in extremely dry environments. Though it may seem unusable, a poultice of the peeled pads is good for makeshift bandages.

Rainforest Alliance spreads “green” habits In 1986, the world’s rain forests were sounding an S.O.S. to help their disappearing populations. Daniel Katz, the original founder of the Rainforest Alliance, discovered that many rain forests were disappearing at an alarming rate of 50 acres per minute. He and a group of volunteers worked tree by tree to save the destroyed forests and their wildlife; thus, the Rainforest Alliance was born. Since then, the company has had plenty of noteworthy achievements:

community development by creating social and environmental standards,” according to its website.

1989

Board member Tensie Whelan takes Daniel Katz’s place as the executive director. Meanwhile 15% of all bananas in the international market become Rain Forest Alliance Certiﬁed, and EcoIndex.org is invented to help conservation professionals share eco- friendly information.

The Rain Forest Alliance launches a program to conserve wildlife.

1990

The Alliance certiﬁes their ﬁrst forest in Indonesia and sets new standards for banana farming.

1991

The Rain Forest Alliance certiﬁes its ﬁrst forests in Honduras, Mexico, and Belize.

1992

The group establishes the “Adopt-ARainforest” program which channels funds to conserve forests in Latin America. Their ﬁrst agriculture certiﬁcation goes to two banana farms in Costa Rica and Hawaii.

1993

The Rain Forest Alliance creates a sustainable tourism in Costa Rica and helps establish the Forest Stewardship Council, or the FSC, which is the “most rigorous forest accreditation body,” according to its website.

1995

The Alliance gives Guatemala its ﬁrst coffee farm certiﬁcation.

1997

All Chiquita owned farms and citrus groves in Costa Rica become Rain Forest Alliance certified. The organization also launches their first cocoa program in partnership with the group Conservación y Desarrollo from Ecuador and they certify their first citrus groves.

1998

The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) is launched. The organization “promotes efﬁcient and productive agriculture, biodiversity conservation and sustainable

1999

The Rainforest Alliance certifies the first non-timber forest products operation as well as the first underwater logging recovery operation. They create the Coffee and Biodiversity Project which uses shade-grown coffee farms to protect ecologically sensitive land in El Salvador.

2000

2001

The Rain Forest Alliance certifies multiple products from rain forests such as maple syrup, pencils, and snowboards as eco-friendly and safe to use. They also certify their first flower and fern farms in Costa Rica.

2002

Many companies adopt eco-friendly practices, and two banana farms in Asia are certiﬁed.

2003

Kraft Foods purchases Rain Forest Alliance Certiﬁed coffee.

2004

The “Cupping for Quality” event begins— the ﬁrst formal coffee competition to evaluate the quality of Rainforest Alliance Certiﬁed sustainable coffee.

2006

Ethiopian coffee farms become Rain Forest Alliance certiﬁed. Global sales of Rainforest Alliance Certiﬁed coffee, chocolate and bananas pass $1 billion.

2007

Scholastic publishes 65% of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book in FSC certified paper. Over 250 cocoa farms in Africa are certified. Furthermore, Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is available in McDonald’s, Holiday Inn and Whole Foods Market.

2008

Development begins for responsible biofuels. Also, Costa Coffee becomes the ﬁrst large coffee chain to source all of its beans from certiﬁed farms.

2009

Nestle Nespresso makes 80% of its farmers grow its coffee in the company’s AAA program which is Rain Forest Alliance certiﬁed.

2010

Tetly brand tea becomes Rainforest Alliance certified, the first carbon project in Africa is created, and American Airlines coffee becomes Rainforest Alliance certified.

2011

El Platanillo in Guatemala becomes the world’s first Rainforest Alliance certified coffee farm with climate friendly criteria. The Rainforest Alliance was built on eight main standards: purity of water, biodiversity, environmental degradation, threatened and endangered species, treatment of workers, community health, competitiveness of community-based operations, and overall costs and benefits of certification or adoption of sustainable practices. Farms are often responsible for soil erosion, water pollution, and wildlife habitat destruction. The Rainforest Alliance encourages farms to work on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental protection, social equity and economic viability. This criteria can help improve the agriculture and habitat on all farms. Certified farms are located all over the world including in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, and Tanzania. Now in 2012, the Rainforest Alliance is celebrating 25 years of eco-friendly, forest saving goodness. With certified products marked with a frog, the Rainforest Alliance hopes that eventually everyone will start using ecofriendly products and employ “green” habits. Compiled by Kelsey Murphy

Shane Bogan Staff Writer

Proposition 37 would have forced companies distributing farmed products to label the ingredients if the aforementioned organisms were genetically modified. It lost by a 53 to 47 ratio on Nov. 6, Election Day. However, it opened up a national conversation about whether or not we have the right to know what is in our food. Tyson Foods doesn't think so. Tyson Foods is the world's largest meat processor, and the second largest chicken producer in the United States. It labels its products as raised without antibiotics, but the company has admitted to injecting the chickens with antibiotics before they hatch. Perhaps that is a little unethical, but why should we care? After all, most farmers give their animals antibiotics. However, chicken and other poultry are singled out. They are regularly given antibiotics to prevent development of gastric intestinal infections that may reduce their weight, affecting the profit the birds bring in. A recent Pacific Standard magazine interview with poultry manufacturer Murray Opsteen sheds light on the issue of why the birds are at such a risk for infections. He said that as many as 18,000 chickens can be packed into a small poultry house. When these chickens "do their business," their waste doesn't go anywhere for a long time. The chickens step in it, smell it, and sometimes even eat it. Undoubtedly, these are not ideal conditions. But the farms cannot expand land to give each chicken more room; that would bite into a huge chunk of their profit. So, farmers inject the chickens with antibiotics. They apply this logic to other animals too, including cattle. The problem is that the purpose of these antibiotics is not to keep animals healthy: the injections of saltwater are given to make them plumper and the growth hormones cause the body to grow at such a rapid rate that the structural system eventually collapses, leaving the bird big and juicy, but dead. The animals are not healthy for the people eating them either. A large number of cows contains a drug called dexamethasone. It can cause side effects including problems with vision, shortness of breath, depression, coughing blood, seizures, and insomnia. “If [farmers] manage [their] animals properly, then they shouldn’t need to use antibiotics,“ said Biology teacher Lisa Moxley. It’s not just eating the antibioticfilled substances that harms human health. According to the New York Times, factory farms are major contributors to the selection and transfer of drugresistant genes, which threaten human health. Sludge and downstream waterways from these farms create an environment where drug-resistance can transfer to human pathogens. As antibiotics kill off weaker bacteria in humans, fighting stronger bugs becomes more and more difficult. Robert Moellering of Harvard Medical School warns that “thanks to misuse of the antibiotics we are perilously close to not having drugs to treat tough-to-beat infections such as gonorrhea.” For anyone still craving a spicy chicken burger from Chick-fil-A, I recommend viewing a documentary called Food Inc. It elaborates on the serious situation of animal treatment and adds a visual element too. So, do we have the right to know what’s in our food? The result of the last election suggests that we may not want to know.

FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

WINTER ART SHOW

FOR THE STUDENT

LIGHTS UP WESTLAKE

ARTIST...

Most high school students can’t afford the pricey programs prevalent in the professional world of art; even at student and teacher edition prices, Photoshop is a pricey $250, and Illustrator is an even pricier $350. Those unwilling to turn to not-so-legal resorts to fulﬁll their thirst for professional-quality drawing programs need not search any further; a multitude of student-friendly art programs exist scattered throughout the web, available at little or no cost to the masses. Senior Lily Wang recommends these free sites and programs ideal for the blossoming student artist.

Vivian Xu Feature Editor

The National Art Honors Society will display student submissions during it ﬁrst art showcase of the year. The upcoming Winter Art Show will feature illustrations, paintings, and other ﬁne arts, all to be showcased in the WHS library. Monica Shi ‘14, Secretary of NAHS, said,”This is a good chance for artists to showcase their abilities.” The pieces will be hung in the library starting from Dec. 21. Although the winter art show does not offer prizes, Shi recommends students to submit their works to 32B to “enrich” the student body. A spring art show will be held later in the year. Since the spring showcase will offer prizes to the creators of the pieces deemed best, Shi LILY WANG, president of NAHS, holds up her expects a large turnup.

PAINT TOOL SAI: “I highly recommend SAI. It’s the best for drawing,” said Wang. This Japanese program has built-in textures and a variety of blending options, all organized neatly on the default interface. Wang suggests trying SAI for the offered 31 day free trial: “It’s pretty much the goddess of art programs for illustrators—you can quote me on that.” Visit systemax.jp/en/sai/ to try the month-long trial. ONLINE SITES: For casual drawing, Paintchat sites such as Niko’s Paintchat feature an environment where amateur artists can draw and chat with friends. Fellow artists can collaborate on pieces, creating either elegant masterpieces showcasing an eclectic variety of styles and techniques or a casual and fun mass of scribbles and strokes understood only by those in attendance. Many offer a variety of tools; Wang likes the watercolor brush in particular for painting, as it blends colors together well. Some added bonuses: “You can choose any color on the RGB scale. It also has layers.” Wang also recommends Drawr.net as a casual art site. The offered opacity options are ideal for rough rendering and blending, and the site is excellent for “just doodling around.” It also has a playback feature, so users can see other artists’ drawing and painting process. Despite the language barrier (most users are Japanese),the clean layout and natural shortcuts make Drawr extremely simple to use.

painting, which will be hung in the library.

GIMP:

PHOTO BY VIVIAN XU

“It’s pretty much a free version of Photoshop,” said Wang. “Unfortunately, it’s a bit user-unfriendly, so you need to use tutorials.” GIMP, short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, can be customized and is a good tool for photo retouching and editing. Its features are extremely similar to Photoshop’s, but come free of charge. However, it has a steep learning curve; the cluttered workspace and random ﬂoating windows aren’t ideal for the artist searching for an economic and elegant program. Despite its shortcomings, “it’s a good starting block to learn Photoshop.” Download it for Mac or Windows at gimp.org. Wang also recommends tegaki E for experimentation and socializing with fellow artists; sign up at tewi.us. Compiled by Vivian Xu

ARTISTIC EVOLUTION:

AP ART HISTORY MAPS ART THROUGH THE TIMES Alex Shi Staff Writer

COURTESY OF NGA.GOV.AU

WHS better make room for the newly reintroduced AP Art History class. After several years, AP Art History has ﬁnally returned to Room 31M. It is taught by none other than Roger Biersborn. In order to graduate, two semesters of art are required. This class was reintroduced because it could ﬁll that empty gap, and also help students become more cultured in art. This class also opens the eyes of students searching to maintain an AP GPA. After all, it is an AP class. This class is an advanced placement class because it goes with the content of a college level course, meaning students must take in a lot of information in a short amount of time. Some may question what Art History is. It is the study of evolution of art styles and art techniques, as well as the practice of connecting art within the historical content. It is an integral part of social development and plays a massive role in shaping society. The class teaches a variety of different topics. A few of them include Romanesque, Fourteenth Century, and Asian art, as well as sculpture, paintings, and architecture. It begins in prehistory and covers the growth of art all the way to present-day.

Despite the intimidating name of AP Art History, this class seems fairly easy through the eyes of a student taking the class. “It’s a low work load and the tests aren’t hard. So no, it’s not a hard class,” said Aidan Fluxman ‘15. Biersborn’s point of view of the class is similar to the students’. He believes that it isn’t necessarily difﬁcult, but requires a certain level of dedication. He adds that the topic of Art History is relevant to humanity and is not tough to get interested in. “The only difﬁcult parts are the physical challenges I subject the students to. On Tuesdays, students must battle wolves,” joked Biersborn. A small taste of what’s to be learned in this class is as follows: Which of the following help to articulate the three-dimensional modules of the nave? (a) Pendentives and squinches (b) Colonnades and architraves (c) Posts and lintels (d) Compound piers and transverse arches. When questioned whether Art History is a recommended subject, Biersborn said, “I legitimately think it’s a worthwhile subject. Unless you’re not brave enough for Wolf Battle Tuesdays. Art History is not for the faint of heart.”

FEATURE

THE ARROW

DECEMBER 20, 2012

STUDIO STEALS CHICAGO

tudio has made my musical experience here at WHS even more memorable. Going to Chicago, performing at the LA Mission, and just everything else we’ve done as a group has been an incredible experience. -Matthew Bevan ‘13

t is such a privilege to be able to be a part of a jazz ensemble like Studio Jazz. The music we play and the people we have simply show how advanced the ensemble really is. I cannot wait to go to Chicago with such an amazing and talented group of people. -Bennett Ryle ‘13

PHOTOS BY ETHAN REUL AND BENNETT RYLE