A WHITNEY HIGH STUDENT MEDIA PUBLICATION
THE ROAR
dealing with
DIABETES
VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 2 • NOVEMBER 2015
AROUND the WORLD why learning a foreign language in high school can feel impossible
disease complicates daily routines
on your mark get set
ASSIST
sports internships help students gain career experience
fall
into
trend
change in season, change in lifestyle
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IN THIS ISSUE NOVEMBER 2015
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OLIVIA GRAHL
STAFF
M. GREEN
C. O’BRIEN
WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL 701 WILDCAT BLVD. ROCKLIN, CALIF. 95765
D. SHARRAH
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page 6 FALL FASHION AND
TRENDS This season’s latest in style; No Shave November raises cancer awareness page 15 A SLICE OF OUR LIVES Pizza makes its appearance at every meal
FEATURE
page 8 SAY WHAT? Research
shows the benefits of learning a language at a young age page 12 READY OR NOT, HERE IT COMES El Niño preparation techniques
HEALTH page 10 DIAGNOSED WITH
DIABETES Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes affects students’ lives
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M. CARACUT
LIFESTYLE
HALEY BALLESTIN MISSIE CARACUT RYLEA GILLIS ONA IGBINEDION BELLA JACOBS BENJAMIN KIM LILY JONES RACHEL MARQUARDT SARAH MARTINEZ KRISTEN MCILVAIN KACIE NICHOLSON DANIEL SHARRAH BRENDEN SMITH SIERRA YOUNG
ADVISER SARAH NICHOLS, MJE
NEWS
page 13 SLAM DUNK Kings get new arena in Sacramento page 14 STATE TEST SCORES DIVE SAT scores are the lowest in 10 years
SPORTS page 18 SERVING UP SUCCESS
McKinna Macias ranked top women’s varsity tennis player page 19 WORKING THE FIELD Student interns learn athletic training techniques page 20 FALL SPORTS RECAP
The Roar is a student publication produced by Whitney High Student Media. The newsmagazine is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Columns represent the viewpoints of individual writers and are not representative of the opinions of the student body, faculty or administration of Whitney High School or Rocklin Unified School District. Staff members of The Roar practice ethical student journalism by providing fair and balanced coverage as determined by community standards. Students working to publish each issue strive to achieve accuracy by checking sources, spelling and quotes as well as obtaining a variety of credible sources. The staff regrets any errors or omissions. Visitwhitneyupdate.com for news, sports, opinion, entertainment and more.
EDITORIAL
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
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hildren need to begin learning a second language in elementary school if they want any hope of being fluent later in life. The Rocklin Unified School District should give kids an opportunity to learn a second language at a younger age, setting them up for success in the future. Numerous jobs now either want or require their employees to be bilingual. For example, translators and interpreters are expected to be one of the 15 fastest growing occupations in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. These specialized language jobs are available in high salary fields such as legal, medical, scientific and technical. The ability to hear different phonetic pronunciations is sharpest before age 3, according to Parents magazine, and we lose the capacity to hear and produce certain sounds if we aren’t exposed to them early on. The older we get, the less likely we will be to have a native-like tongue in another language. While teenagers and adults appear to learn morphology (form) and syntax (structure) faster, the likelihood an adult just beginning to learn will speak with the same fluidity as a native speaker is unlikely. Students may spend hours a night practicing a language, using flash cards or watching television shows in Spanish or listening to Spanish radio. It barely helps. Children may take longer to learn the grammar and spelling of another language, they are able to master the phonology (sounds) much faster and with more authenticity. So when it comes to the listening section on a quiz, teenagers are completely unprepared no matter how long they study. Second language acquisition is different than just learning a foreign language. Second language acquisition requires being completely surrounded by the language, while learning a foreign language can take place in the speaker’s native tongue. It’s easier to learn a language submerged in it, learning by environment. Students here don’t have the necessity to speak in Spanish everyday. Therefore, they gain no practical experience to reinforce what they’re learning in the classroom. To learn a new language is to spend hours and hours of outside school time practicing, because as science has proven, high school aged students won’t be able to pick it up naturally, as a younger child might. Foreign language teachers ask their students to spend 10-15 minutes a day completely submerged in their language which is a great idea, but it’s just not realistic. There is no way to prove a student spent 10 minutes speaking French. The teachers we have now are extremely qualified for their jobs, some of them even having lived in foreign countries. So imagine how much more they could teach us if we already had a basic understanding of the language. We wouldn’t need to spend our entire freshman year learning how to have an introductory conversation, because we’d already know the basics.
Being bilingual in our society is immensely powerful. As our world becomes more integrated everyday, the necessity for knowing more than just English increases. If we want our students to be competitive later in life, we need to begin teaching them while they’re still young. Children need to learn a second language beginning in elementary school. In order to begin teaching children these languages in elementary school, teachers should be specifically trained for a foreign language class just as they are for math, or history or science. But what language should they teach? Spanish seems like the obvious answer in a California school district. However, a study by CNN showed that Spanish is not actually the most beneficial language in the workforce because of its commonality in the United States. In fact, Mandarin is the largest growing language in the world. Being the official language of China, Mandarin is spoken by more people than any other language on Earth, and as of 2014, China is the largest economy in the world. This isn’t to say that we should have every 5-year-old in Rocklin learning Mandarin, but giving a variety to the typical French and Spanish required in high school would open the doors to students entering the workforce. For example, if a student wants to go into the medical field, knowing Latin or Greek would be extremely beneficial. Most of the medical terms are rooted out of those languages, and a student going into medicine would have an advantage already knowing certain terms. Rocklin Unified School District should teach foreign language beginning in elementary school. Those teachers should have teaching credentials in foreign languages just like they would any other subject. If we want our next generation of students to emerge competitively in the workforce, we need to change now.
FINAL SAY:
ARTWORK BY R. MARQUARDT
OPINION
YEAR T
S. MARTINEZ
ONE LESS
Senior year proves to be unnecessary, meaningless he majority time spent in senior year goes to waste. Waiting to hear back from colleges, waiting to graduate, waiting to live life after high school, so why is senior year necessary? To be blunt, it simply isn’t. Seniors often complete their required credits, excluding any fourth year classes such as Language Arts IV. Most seniors have TA periods or random, irrelevant classes just to fill their schedule. While off periods are offered, many seniors opt out due to fear it may look bad on their transcripts when applying to colleges, once again filling their schedule with unnecessary classes. They waste time and potential on these pointless classes which could be directed toward working or taking more rigorous classes offered in college. Motivation during senior year drops, also known as senioritis. Senioritis can cause a previously motivated student to slack in his/ her studies or even opt out of coming to school if nothing important is happening that day. Bad habits like those stick, causing the freshman year of college to be harder than it should be. A solution for senioritis is to
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prevent even a chance to creep in. Eliminate any chance of procrastination and laziness to set in and start college after junior year with motivation still intact. One less year of high school does not necessarily mean one less year with friends. In this generation, keeping in touch with others has literally never been easier. Apps such as Skype or Snapchat allow for daily interaction or even a phone call helps people stay connected. A simple text asking “What’s up” can lead to conversations that will surely make up for the ones lost face-to-face. Yes, attending ASB events are fun and graduating with friends gathered throughout the years brings self-satisfaction, but preparing for life outside of school is even more satisfying. Senior year contains no possible value. Starting your life out of high school, whether it be at college, a year abroad or in the work force, would all be more beneficial than wasting another year in high school. SCAN HERE for a video of Sam Raey Gonzales’ slam poem “Give Or Take A Year” on YouTube.
We asked, you answered... “Senior year is very critical when it comes to mastering communication skills with other students. So it really helps you perfect that specific quality.” LEVI ZUMPANO
“There are only two more classes required to graduate and most people take AP Gov and AP Micro their junior year, so it’s pretty redundant.” YASMIN AZAR
“I don’t think senior year is really necessary. I’m only here for the experience, but I kind of regret not graduating earlier.” HENRY TRAN
OPINION BY SARAH MARTINEZ
TECH
“Tell me about ‘Hey Siri’”
Here’s some information:
With technology being involved in virtually every part of daily life, students speculate on updated iOS feature and how far is too far
I
t happened. When no one triggered her, when no one needed her, Siri activated. In famous youtuber Emma Blackery’s video, ironically titled “How To Shut Up,” Siri cut Blackery off mid- sentence, even though she said nothing remotely close to “Hey Siri.” Surprised, she stutters in shock as she shuts Siri down once more. In reality, nothing is being shut down, nothing is being turned off. Siri is just returning to her quiet, lurking, listening state of being. Apple’s Siri is like a personal assistant. She will look up anything that is requested, she will get directions to anywhere, and she is even capable of having short conversations. The iOS 9 update introduced the controversial “Hey Siri” feature. It was introduced in iOS 8, but could only be used when the device was connected to power. With iOS 9, the “Hey Siri” feature can be used anytime, anywhere. Siri now allows users to simply say the phrase, “Hey Siri,” to activate the feature instead of holding the home button. According to Apple, none of the recorded data is saved. The company stated that they delete any audio directly after “Hey Siri” is not detected. Although the statement may serve as a comfort blanket to some, others question Apple’s legitimacy of actually respecting everyone’s privacy. In order for Siri to detect when she is needed,
WHO ELSE IS LISTENING? AMAZON ECHO — a voice
command based personal assistant, that can answer questions, play music and control other devices
SAMSUNG SMART TV— a
television that can access network content, browse the Internet and understand voice commands
XBOX ONE— a game console that can be used with any compatible video game, linked to Skype and controlled using voice commands
STORY BY HALEY BALLESTIN
she is constantly on the look out for her trigger phrase, “Hey Siri.” In order for this to be possible, Siri is always recording and processing audio in an effort to pick up the phrase and respond. Despite having an Android phone, Shane Leone had prior experience with iPhones and was planning on buying one. His plans quickly changed upon hearing of Siri’s incessant recording. Leone recalls an incident where he had to change his email because someone had hacked into his own and began to harass anyone he had talked to. “I figured out how they did it: through my phone. Whenever I type out something I typically talk it out, and I talked out my password. I almost lost access to my whole computer because I happen to use the same password for my computer,” Leone said. Leone has now grown wary of software that records data. Since he has an Android that has the “OK, Google” feature, he has disabled the feature because it acts in the same was as Siri, always recording. “I can get hacked into. Already you’re carrying around a GPS in your pocket; now people know what you’re saying,” Leone said. Leone goes on to mention that it is impossible to have a program without a programmer, so there are people listening regardless. “This is going against almost everything I stand for,” Leone said. Whether users change their behaviors or ignore the new feature entirely, Apple is always hearing, always listening, always there.
BYE SIRI How to turn off ‘Hey Siri’
Students share their opinions on ‘Hey Siri’
“I feel like I don’t have anything to hide, but you never know what [Siri] overhears.” CARLY KEELEY
“It’s like a dystopia, That our phones are always listening to us.” KAILEY JOHNSON
“My biggest concern is Siri going off in class and my teacher taking my phone.” SHANE LEONE
iOS users who want to disable the feature for their own piece of mind can follow these simple steps: 1. Settings 2. General 3. Siri 4. Switch off “Hey Siri”
“Certain conversations are meant for certain people.” JORDAN GOLDMAN
5 NOVEMBER 2015
LIFESTYLE
FALL fashion and trends
POLYVORE the must-have app for fashion lovers
JENNIFER MOY “The color just said ‘fall’ and it was cute. It was nice and flowy.” DRESS — Macy’s, $50 NECKLACE — Target, $5
EM GOULDING “The sweater has sleeves that go over your hands. The tall socks keep it warm while staying trendy.” SOCKS — Forever XI, $4 SHIRT — Ross, $12 SKIRT — Wet Seal, $9
SAM GONZALES “Fall for me is usually orange, red or other dark color and [this outfit] suits that.” SHORTS — Target, $30 SHOES — Vans, $50 SHIRT — Target, $5
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Polyvore is a useful and sleek app that lets users look at the latest trends in fashion as well as other older trends and categorize them to each user’s liking. The app is sleek in style and has a feed that is customized based on the clothes that you have liked much like Twitter or Pinterest. In the app, users can search clothes based on description and type such as outerwear or dresses. Here is where you can like clothes, find out how much they are and where to buy them. The selection includes name brand items and clothes from Etsy shops. The variety of clothing stores, websites and items makes affordable and good looking clothing easy to find and save. Another feature of the app are sets. Sets are a place where users can create outfits with a collage-like style of clothes they search and that they have liked as well as a creative title. Sets can be used for future reference when wanting to buy these clothes and they can also be seen and liked by others. The usability of this feature flows very nicely, letting users click from one piece of clothing to another to save anything they fall in love with immediately. Polyvore is a great fashion app for lovers of fashion and outfit design with their wide selection of clothes and unlimited amounts of clothing collages to save and use when making that perfect outfit for any occasion.
SHARE your photo with the tags #LETITGROW and #WHSM on social media to be included in a No Shave November photo timeline feature on whitneyupdate.com.
No Shave November raises cancer awareness
#LETITGROW
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n 2004 in Australia, 30 men created an event to raise awareness of depression in men and prostate cancer. Unlike most organizations that raise awareness for cancer by donating money or running races, these men grew mustaches for 30 days and called this organization Movember. Today, it is known as No Shave November with only a slight difference. During Movember, only mustaches that are connected to sideburns can be grown. No Shave November, however, means no shaving at all whatsoever. The popular movement raises money through donations for cancer research and prevention, drawing attention to social media for awareness with
STORY BY KACIE NICHOLSON
#LETITGROW. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular uses of the hashtag to spread awareness of No Shave November’s cause and showcase the beards that come as a result. While No Shave November has been around for a while, in 2009 it became an organized foundation by the Hill family in Chicago. The foundation was organized after the father of the family died in 2007 of colon cancer. The project’s goal was to raise money for charities that support the cause for cancer research and treatment and was special to the either children of the Hill family. Their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as well as their website, no-shave.org, feature the hashtag #LETITGROW.
Will Murbach, who participated in No Shave November last year, is participating this year as well. “[Last year] I had the ability to grow a beard and I had always wanted to, but I never had the socially acceptable time to grow it out,” Murbach said, “I needed an excuse to start.“ Tommy Gouveia has taken the pledge again for the fourth time. “It seems like a good cause. I originally participated just for the fun of it. Now I participate for both the fun and the support,” Gouveia said. This month, students will let the hair fly and the beards grow to show support for people who suffer and live through cancer every day.
7 NOVEMBER 2015
FEATURE
SAY W “I learned ASL from just watching my parents growing up. It’s so important to me because it’s a different communication that I was fortunate enough to be involved with.” BEENISH FAROQUI
Research shows learning a language after childhood years is nearly an impossible task
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or culture, college or graduation, these are three reasons students will take a language up to their third or even fourth year in high school. And although languages mainly are taught and required in high school, studies show that students would be much better off learning these languages at ages younger than 10. Students must take two years of foreign language to meet the school’s graduation requirements, and each year added on is 10 credits towards graduation. However other motives for doing more than the requirement are just as relevant, such as getting into a UC or Ivy League school, gaining advanced credit for college or learning a language to be able to communicate with other family members. “Taking four years [of a language] really looks good on college applications. It shows you have the determination to become fluent in another language,” French III/IV student Jessica Britt said. And learning a language also goes beyond college. Having another language will help in the workforce, and help to enhance a student’s cultural view of the world.
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“I learned Tagalog from my school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I went to a school that taught me both Tagalog and English. I learned basic English when I was in first grade.” KENNETH VILLORENTE
“The benefits to learning a language are many: acquisition of additional factual and cultural knowledge, becoming a more globally aware and culturally sensitive citizen, and you also have the ability to travel to different countries and meet new and exciting people,” AP Spanish teacher Mrs. Jennifer Reasner said. However, studies show it can be difficult to learn a new language after the brain has been developed after childhood. After adolescence the brain isn’t making as many neurological connections as it used to, and therefore is not learning and adapting as much as it used to when it was new and sucking in as much information as possible. The brain after age 10 is already less able to create changes in response to different situations according to the Center on Developing Child at Harvard University.
STORY BY LILY JONES AND RACHEL MARQUARDT
WHAT? “Learning a language is so hard because have to be able to learn whole new grammar concepts and remember all of them. That’s why I use flashcards; they are helpful for memorizing quickly.” ASHELY MARVIN
“The early years are the most active period for establishing neural connections,” the Harvard students who are studying the brain architecture of children stated on their new website. So as students enroll in one of the three advanced language classes such as French III/IV, Honors Spanish III and AP Spanish, it has come to light how difficult trying to become fluent in a new language can be. Britt has noticed how difficult it can be to learn a completely different language when fluency has been already reached in another language years prior. This can take a toll on students because they are trying to understand a language when they are not making as many neurological connections as they used to as a child. Their brain has already developed a lot of its pathways and is 85 percent filled, so it becomes difficult to retrace and relearn what other words mean. “You can never actually say what you want to say because there are so many conjugations and so many rules that we don’t have in English. There are so many things to pay attention to; the order you have to put stuff in, masculine
“One of the hardest parts about switching a language is confusing certain words or conjugations. Sometimes my Spanish will get in the way of my French.” JOCELYN HANKS
and feminine, possessive; it just gets so confusing sometimes [that] I have no clue what to do,” Britt said. However, this doesn’t impact students who have known two languages their whole lives. When someone has been taught two languages from early adolescence it becomes a lot easier to understand the languages. In Europe, students learn both English and their native language, which for Mar Eroles, is Catalan. “I started learning English when I was 6. It was kind of difficult at the beginning, but I started to learn more and more until I was fluent,” Eroles said. At a later age, Reasner argues that although it is proven to be difficult it is not impossible. She said, “I do really think students can become fluent in a language without being immersed in it, but it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and years and years of practice.”
9 NOVEMBER 2015
FEATURE
IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME (ACTUALLY, IT’S SPANISH)
S
ign the sheet, sign up to hearing absolute gibberish the whole year. That is what the contract in Spanish IV is basically stating. Although not being able to speak in English the whole year might force a student to look up and learn a couple words, not being able to know the other side of the translation makes learning Spanish much more difficult than it would be. “Contract” puts students in Spanish IV classes in this tough position, only being able to speak Spanish during the class period. This contract that all students must sign has them promise to not speak any English for the whole year when you step into the Spanish IV classroom. And the teacher even signs this contract as well; although there are times where the teacher will speak in English. This contract could have been all fun if it was just a harmless signature and was only put into effect when necessary; but this contract that cuts out our native language is effective alright; effective 24/7 and effective on our grades. This is what really makes it difficult. Learning a different language in high school can be an extremely difficult task, and that’s not opinion. Research proves that after the age of 10 the brain changes and makes it impossibly hard to become fluent in a language. Of course, there have been people who have beat the odds, and I’m sure they have put hours and hours of practice into perfecting the language of their choice. But in whatever methods they have developed to become fluent, a connection is needed between the language known and the
language wanted to know. This connection is impossible if all a student is hearing in Spanish class is Spanish. So why are we being forced to speak only Spanish in Spanish classes? In Spanish II and III students could use their native language of English to compare with the Spanish being learned, but now this connection that is absolutely necessary in order to understand the language is being prohibited. And because students don’t want to lose participation points for speaking in English, they are being forced to speak their questions and comments in Spanish. Language teachers claim their reasoning for the contract is in order to envelop students in a 100 percent Spanish environment, therefore they will be forced to use their brains to figure out the translation and become more used to the language. I can see how language teachers could see this as effective, because when someone is surrounded by a language it becomes more recognizable. The problem lies in the connection. Now that students are hearing all of these words, how will they know what they mean or when to use them? Hmm… maybe if they hear it in a language they understand. This contract prohibits this from happening. If anything the contract gives a good message; to surround yourself with the language you are trying to learn. But prohibiting English to be a part of this mix is ineffective and will only make the learning process more difficult than it already is. OPINION BY RACHEL MARQUARDT
HOW DO YOU STUDY? “I look over our vocabulary packet or grammar notes.” HANNAH MCCULLOGH
“I just look over all of our vocab lists.” COLE FINCH
“I usually quiz myself with my friends and use our cat notes.” NICOLE BARNES
“Señor Snow gives oout extra credit and makes you a cake if you reach a certain level on duolingo.” DRAKE SPEED
around the WORLD
in the CLASSROOM
How many people speak each language?
foreign language stats
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1. Mandarin: 21.197 million 2. Spanish: 414 million 3. English: 335 million 4. Hindi: 260 million 5. Arabic: 237 million
Spanish I: 353 Spanish II: 301 Spanish III: 101/99 Honors AP Spanish: 46 French I: 74 French II: 82 French III: 7/42 Honors French IV Honors: 4/ AP: 1
SOURCE: infoplease.com
SOURCE: Counselor Mr. Pat Floyd
STORY BY LILY JONES & RACHEL MARQUARDT
THE SCIENTIFIC SIDE Psychology teacher shares the science behind the brain
Preschoolers have been found to be better able than their monolingual peers at focusing on a task while tuning out distractions.
Bilingualism may delay the onset of age-related dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, by up to four years.
Bilingual adults have denser gray matter especially in the brain’s left hemisphere, where most language and communication skills are controlled.
SOURCE: BrainFacts.org ARTWORK BY L. JONES
“You have all the parts of the brain that you’re even going to need when you’re born, but the size of it expands as the human body expands. An area called the prefrontal cortex in the frontal part of the brain continues to develop until you’re 25 years old. When you’re a child, everything is new to you and anytime you learn something new your neurons grow and connect with other neurons. A child’s brain has a lot more plasticity meaning they haven’t had a lot of exposure to a lot of biased thinking, so they’re open to new things. Some people may think ‘I’m too old to learn a new language,’ but children are in the process of learning everything. So the time to teach a second language is when they’re learning their first because their brains are already primed built for learning language. Physiologically the brain is built to learn another language, but because children don’t have preconceived notions about what their abilities and disabilities are, they’re more open to that process.”
JASON KNOWLES
HOW TWO TEACHERS LEARNED TO ‘HABLA ESPAÑOL’ “I’ve been fluent pretty much my entire life. I learned Spanish first because both my parents are from Mexico. [I] grew up in a small town in Madison, California, which was pretty much 100 percent Latino and my parents would only speak Spanish around the house. My older brother and sister went to school first, and they learned English. Then they would come home and speak it, so that’s how I got into it.” SEÑOR JESUS ARMAS
“I lived in Peru, and the wonderful part of living in another country is experiencing the culture and realizing that people are generally the same wherever you go. Becoming fluent happens when you live it 24/7. That is what I did for a year. I lived their life and their culture and it is the only way to truly understand culture and language. Living there I had a 100 percent total improvement in all aspects of language development.” SEÑOR MARK SNOW
11 NOVEMBER 2015
FEATURE
ready or not here it comes
D. SHARRAH
El Niño is coming to California and there will be unforseen consquences
E Folsom Lake
l Niño has affected California since 1982 and it is more prevalent than ever. El Niño is an irregular occurring series of climate changes that affect the equatorial Pacific region. However in past years, this abnormaly occured in late December. This phenomenon, if large enough, can help California in the massive drought situation. Right now there is a predicted drastic change in the climate of the Pacific region, and this year’s El Niño is expected to be one of the strongest ever recorded. “The forecast models are becoming more and more robust, shifting from the weak category to the strong — some even pointing to a very strong El Niño season,” meteorologist Jan Null told CNBC. According to Los Angeles Times, there are many things people can do to prepare for the El Niño. To name a few, fix leaks, store emergency materials and replace all old or nonfunctional parts in cars. There are many negative signs to the El Niño despite the one big positive, the drought getting better.
“We’re going to have to expect a lot of rain, as well as colder weather, and if we are not equipped to handle this, it could become problematic,” KCRA 3 weatherman Mark Finan said. Problems are already starting to show up as there has been mudslides in Southern California, traffic problems, and one death due to a person being trapped in a car. With the storms predicted, students will have to change what they wear or do during this period. “I’m going to have to stop wearing shorts and start wearing pants more often, but I like to go up to the mountains to snowboard, so I’m looking forward to all of the extra snow,” Hunter Andersen said. With this cold weather, how will sports be affected? When conditions are not ideal for outdoor sports, a more challenging element is added to the game. Brady Russ said, “The rain makes the [soccer] field slippery, the ball more moist, and the game is harder to play.”
Keep updated on El Niño with these social media accounds
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@CA_DWR (California Department of Water Resources) @NWSSacramento (National Weather Service Sacramento)
WHITNEYUPDATE.COM
@CaWaterBoards (California Water Resources Board) @Groundwateract (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act)
HASHTAGS
#CAFloodPrep #ElNino #CAwx #CADrought
EL NIÑO FACTS Global warming did — not cause El Nino. It is a natural climate change that occurs as semiregular intervals. — El Niño is Spanish for Christ Child, and it was named this because El Niño usually begins to appear around the Christmas season. — When El Niño occurs, there is a lot of disruption of sea life. This has negative effects for the livelihood of many fishermen. — Mark Cane and Steve Zebiak were the first to successfully predict El Niño. They were using an intermediate ocean atmoshere coupled model they developed. SOURCE: softschools.com
STORY BY BRENDEN SMITH & DANIEL SHARRAH
NEWS
SLAM DUNK
pening in September 2016, the new Golden 1 Center, otherwise known as the new Kings arena, is not just the future home to Sacramento’s NBA team. In late May of 2014, the financing and details were approved, and construction started Oct. 29, 2014. The surrounding area, Downtown Commons, DoCo for short, will include a Kimpton hotel and multiple restaurants. Building the arena will take $477 million, with $255 million being paid by the city. The Sacramento Kings launched efforts on social media to get the name DoCo trending. Sacramento Kings President Chris Granger said the area will host community events and hopes to make the site “a gathering place.” The whole company is putting a lot into it, demolishing buildings in the Downtown Plaza. The new mall includes Thai, pizza and bratwurst restaurants provide diversity to their customers. There is a focus on bringing some of the city’s popular cuisine to make it feel unique. Instead of just being a basketball arena, they are hoping to make it an all inclusive experience for people to go for fun. Outside the Sacramento Kings franchise, others hope the whole downtown area will be revitalized with the arena in the center of town. Business owner Sam Nikrabi of the Subway across the street has high hopes. “The new arena might create a lot of traffic, but it will be good because more people will stop by. It will be fantastic as a result of people coming. I heard that inside the hotel there is going
STORY BY BENJAMIN KIM
C. O’BRIEN
O. GRAHL
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TO BE CONTINUED: After one year of construction, here’s what the new downtown arena looks like as of Oct. 14.
O. GRAHL
DoCo arena construction ‘on track’ to host Sacramento Kings
to be a lot of businesses, and a Kaiser clinic coming here. I’m hoping for the best. Right now, it’s not so good because offices are empty, buildings are empty,” Nikrabi said. Nikrabi feels as if the benefits of the arena will outweigh the drawbacks. Even though construction noises are notorious for being extremely annoying throughout the day, he says it doesn’t bother the workers much, and he doesn’t mind the crowding and closed roads. Being near the construction, Nikrabi said he hears many people talking about it and discussing the pros and cons, but he doesn’t know much about the actual construction itself. Turner Construction, which has been in Sacramento since 1982, heads the development of the arena and is known locally for projects such as the Terminal B renovation at Sacramento International Airport. The company has been ranked “#1 General Contractor” by the Sacramento Business Journal six years in a row. While their employees on site help conduct official tours for groups studying the construction project or those connected to the team franchise, their biggest job right now is maintaining safety and security procedures. A guard on site, who cannot release his name as part of his contract, said he has to stay around the entrances and stop lots of people who try to come in, take pictures and ask questions. He said, “I feel as if the construction is going well and will finish on time during September. That’s all I can say but I hope you stay tuned to what’s happening and when it’s finished.”
13 NOVEMBER 2015
NEWS Students perform low on Common Core testing, earn lowest SAT scores in 10 years
state test scores
DIVE S
tudents all around California recently took their first SBAC [SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium] or Common Core, test of the year. . . and failed. The SBAC test was designed to test how well students know the material and how effectively they can use it. However, only 44 percent of students met the requirements for English and only 33 percent met the math requirements. “It was what is to be expected with a new style of teaching and the new style of testing,” counselor Mrs. Roisin LeRoy said. Teachers and administrators were expected such a fall. “It was our first time ever doing anything like that. When they take [the SBAC] ideally, they will have three years of Common Core before they ever take that as a junior, so I was not surprised or worried,” math teacher Mrs. Jennifer Pethel said. Since Common Core was implemented in 2010, it has been a change for students and teachers. “Common Core is a lot more focused on inquiry rather than getting in groups, so students can discover the math. The idea is that if they discover it, they will remember those concepts for life,” Pethel said. Rocklin Unified School District got the fourth best percentages of all the districts in California at 70 percent of students passing English standards and 57 percent passing math standards. However, the school has not officially gotten its official SBAC scores. On the SATs students here had an average score in reading of 517, 524 in math and 503 in writing, all of which are above the state average. “Typically our students SAT scores are in the high average range. I think our students are definitely prepared for college. We get
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SBAC SCORES BY COUNTY below state standards above state standards at state standards SOURCE: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress
a lot of alumni come back and say what they learned her prepared them for college, so I think that’s a good reflection on how well they do on their SAT test,” LeRoy said. Although students have scored above the California average in the SATs, the College Board announced last month that scores have dropped over the past 10 years, and with the recent removal of the California Exit Exam, it may be harder for students to be ready to make a clean transition into college. Governor Jerry Brown passed a bill, effective in Jan. to remove the California Exit Exam and is allowing former high school students who have failed the exam to receive their diplomas up from 2004. The new bill suspends the exam as a graduation requirement for current freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The author of the bill, Carol Liu, believes the bill doesn’t test any curriculum and sets such a low bar for graduation requirements that it either needed to be changed or removed. However, oponents to the bill do not agree.
“Removing the exit exam not only impairs our ability to ensure we have taught our kids, but impairs our ability to hold our education system accountable for that responsibility,” Assemblywoman Catharine Baker said. With students here scoring well, counselors are not worried. Leroy said, “I think there is always a growing period for every change. It’s not just for students to change, but the teachers and their styles, so it is expected to be a little rough at first. I think in the long run it will be good.”
STORY BY ONA IGBINEDION
LIFESTYLE
a
SLICE
of our
LIVES
Relationships with pizza may be considered extreme
T
he average American consumes 46 slices of pizza per year, according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, but there are people whose diet consists of far more — around 63 times more. Thirty-nine-year-old Maryland citizen Dan Janssen has eaten nothing but cheese pizza every day for over 25 years. The habit started when Janssen decided to become a vegetarian as a teen, but stuck just to plain pizza as his meat alternate. Soon he found himself eating one 14-incher a day—14-inch pizzas are typically eight slices, which makes for 56 slices a week, 240 a month, 2,920 a year and 73,000 so far in his lifetime. Whether it’s homemade, frozen or take-out, Janssen claims that he doesn’t get sick of pizza. But does the same tolerance apply in his body? Janssen says every doctor he’s seen has told him his cholesterol levels are healthy and his diet is safe to maintain. The only issue that has arisen because of his addiction is Type 2 diabetes.* Although Janssen’s case is the only well-known one, the resources are out there for more people to develop similar eating habits. According to Food Industry News, the United States is home to over 70,000 pizzerias, making up 17 percent of all restaurants. For those who couldn’t manage eating a typical pie every day, BuzzFeed published an online guide to eating pizza for every meal. The article consists of 50 different pizzaderived foods that can be eaten either for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or as a snack. Scan the QR code below to check out some of these foods and their recipes.
ILLIS
R. G
Ingredients: - 4 egg whites, whisked - 1/3 cup pizza sauce - 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese - mini pepperonis
Pizza for Breakfast Egg White Pizza
DIRECTIONS: Add the egg white to a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Let it cook until there is no liquid remaining. Flip the egg white and add the pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni and any additional toppings. Continue cooking until cheese is melted, then serve.
“My parents left me behind once when we were in a pizza place up in Colfax, and now I won’t step foot in one.”
GE PAI
EY
ABL
“The best I’ve ever had was in Downtown Disney. I loved their pepperoni so much I ate a whole medium family-sized pizza in ES one sitting.” HRI
N ARO
MP
HU
A
“I absolutely hate cheese but I still like pizza, so I just get it with light sauce, no cheese and extra pepperoni.”
X
ALE
LD
NA
O AD
*READ MORE about diabetes on pages 16-17.
STORY BY RYLEA GILLIS
15 NOVEMBER 2015
HEALTH
dealing with
DIABETES Diabetes in youth continues to rise, forcing teens to adjust daily routines
A
s Hannah Carroll heads to the locker room to change for her P.E. class, the routine involves more than changing into athletic clothes. She also must take off the insulin pump she wears for Type 1 Diabetes. Type 1 diabetes or “juvenile diabetes” is a problem that occurs mostly in young people when their body cannot make insulin. Carroll was diagnosed when she was six years old in June 2005. “[Before I was diagnosed] I went to the bathroom a lot, I was hungry all the time and I drank a lot of water. [These symptoms] were lasting a few weeks so my family and I went to the hospital to test my blood sugar and it was near 1000,” Carroll said. A normal blood sugar is between 70 and 99 mg/ dL. Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes include increased thirst, frequent urination, and unintended weight loss. Carroll experienced all three symptoms before she was finally diagnosed. Carroll stayed in the hospital for five days where she was given insulin through needles four to five times a day to keep her glucose regulated. “It was a life-changing experience since no one in my family was considering [diabetes], not even me,” Carroll said. Now in Carroll’s everyday life she uses a diabetic pump.
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Instead of getting needles five times a day, she has one needle put in every few days. “I have to put in the amount of carbs I’m eating [into the pump] and it figures out the amount of insulin I need,” Carroll said. Although Carroll was diagnosed and started treatment when she was young, a recent study done by the American Diabetes Association reported that almost 210,000 people younger than 20 have diabetes. About one in 400 of the American youth population have diabetes, and the number of diagnosed diabetes in youth continues to rise. “The habits that teens are forming now will determine their eating habits they have as an adult and also what they’re doing to their bodies now will still have consequences later on into adulthood such as diabetes,” Mrs. Penny Shelton said. Shelton, who is both an anatomy and AP Biology teacher, is concerned about teens’ diets, noting that it’s fully carbohydrate and sugar-based. She explains that teens should be worried about what they put into their body especially because it can affect their bodies almost immediately. “We have a lot of kids at the end of the school day who, based on their lunch, come into class spazzy, then hit carb coma, and they can’t keep their head up and can’t focus because of what they have eaten,” Shelton said.
STORY BY MISSIE CARACUT
M. CARACUT
Hannah Carroll shows what it’s like to wear an insulin pump
Teens who eat an unhealthy meal will start feeling negative effects four to six hours after the meal, experiencing feelings such as sadness, fatigue or hunger. A documentary shown in the AP Biology, “FED UP”, explains the role the American industry has on the unhealthy American diet. The official website of the documentary “FED UP” states that, “everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see.” This documentary explains how the food industry has continued to supply Americans endless amounts of unhealthy processed foods being completely aware of the rising statistics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. As the numbers of diabetes in youth continue to SCAN HERE for a video of Sarah Henschel taking her blood sugar.
rise, experts and others diagnosed with diabetes are worried of the health of others. “When I was a sophomore I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and I had to quit basketball because I was too tired to go to practice every day,” Sarah Henschel said. Henschel was diagnosed in April 2014. After experiencing symptoms for four months, she went to her doctor due to severe cramping in her legs for a potassium check, in return, her tests were critical and she was sent to the emergency room right away where her blood sugar was checked and she was diagnosed. “For the next couple of weeks after I was diagnosed, my eyesight became blurry and I had to wear my mom’s glasses because the sugar in my body was leaving my eyes,” Henschel said. Teenagers have to be more aware of the negative effects they’re doing to their bodies now to prevent further complications later.
differences in diabetes TYPE 1
• Develops mostly in young people. • When your body stops creating insulin due to the immune system attacking insulin making cells. • Treatments include taking shots of insulin.
TYPE 2
• Can be genetically passed down • Can develop in all age ranges • Usually begins with insulin resistance — when the pancreas cannot create enough insulin to keep up with the bodies needs. • Treatments include using diabetes medicine. SOURCE: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
17 NOVEMBER 2015
SPORTS
Serving up success
Mckinna Macias balances top spot on women’s varsity tennis team with adjusting to high school
I
18 WHITNEYUPDATE.COM
B. JACOBS
MACIAS IN MOTION: a breakdown of the perfect shot
B. JACOBS
B. JACOBS
B. JACOBS
t was McKinna Macias’s first USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournament in the 12s. Her dad kept telling her, “Remember all the technique I taught you.” She ended up playing the fourth seed and losing, but it was one of her favorite matches because she felt a competitive drive for the first time. That drive made her want to play another tournament, and another. Mckinna Macias has been playing tennis for nearly four years and is on the varsity team as a freshman. “It’s not difficult being the youngest on the team because the seniors are nice and they support you all the way through,” Macias said. Mckinna is also the top player in the league and plays Academy tennis outside of school, which means balancing out all her honors classes in school and tennis can be hard. “In school you can't just pull an all nighter and do great on the test, yet in competitive tennis you have to play many hours daily to do well in the tournament, In other words, tennis isn't a light switch; daily practice is required,” Macias said. Even with being a freshman on the varsity team Macias influences the upperclassmen. “She really is a form of motivation to everyone because she takes our form of play to another level,”Hanan Begic said. Her ability to play isn't the only thing she brings to the team. “Her personality is amazing. She's really competitive, and passionate for what she loves. Tennis is a really big part of her life,” Begic said. With her whole family playing tennis Macias learned a lot from them. “My brother Konner was really good on the boys tennis team for the past four years, so I just learned a lot from him,” Macias said. Academy tennis is way different than high school tennis. “It's nice to have a team because I haven't had one, because in a competitive world it's only you that’s playing the whole time,” Macias said. Exchange student Noemi Colusi played against her in her first practice match on the states. “The first day I came here [from Italy] I had to play her and she was the number one and I was the number two. It was like we were opponents but after the match was over we got along with each other just fine,” Noemi Colussi said. To achieve her goal, it takes daily commitment. Macias said, “I practice about seven days a week for one hour and a half.”
STORY BY ISABELLA JACOBS
WORKING
SPORTS
the
FIELD
Student interns learn athletic training techniques in preparation for careers
I
t’s the final two mintues of the game. The ball is in play, and the running back takes off, but ten yards later he stumbles, rolls his ankle and drops to the ground. Whistles blow, his coaches come running and an athletic trainer or student intern assists him off the field for further inspection. The sports medicine internship is in its third year as part of the athletic program. Mr. Matt Laux, head of the program, teaches student interns the basics of athletic training and physical therapy. “I help tape [athletes] to prevent injuries, provide water and ice, help out when players get hurt, and most importantly, learn about sport related injuries and how to treat them,” Robbie Vigo said. The internship prepares students for a possible career pathway in sports medicine. To apply for the internship, students can pick up an application form from Laux in the training room or from Mr. Jason Feuerbach in the athletic
STORY BY SIERRA YOUNG
office. To be eligible, students must be upperclassmen or sophomores in the spring sports season, submit an application, and have their academic and discipline records checked. “Most high schoolers do not know what they want to major in going into college, so this internship allows them to start learning the basics of the sports medicine field. They can also use myself as a resource if they have any questions or need a free tutor in anatomy and physiology,” Laux said. To become a certified physical therapist, one must complete an undergraduate program, earn a graduate degree, obtain a license and attend a residency program. Participating in an athletic training internship in high school further prepares prospective physical therapists for the education in sports medicine. “I want to study physical therapy to help athletes. I’ve always had an interest in [sports medicine]. The most exciting part of being an intern for sports medicine is being on the field during games,” Taylor Choisser said.
Laux and the interns meet after school in the training room to discuss scheduling. Interns volunteer to assist Laux at sporting events at their convenience. When Laux cannot attend a game or practice that needs an athletic trainer, students are expected to step up. “The schedule is very laid back and I do not require them to show up every day. Football season is usually the busiest and I ask them to come by and help out whenever they get a chance,” Laux said. Aside from running the internship, Laux works as a physical therapy aide at Rebound Rehab Physical Therapy and attends Sacramento State University to earn his Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology. Laux said, “[The interns] contribute a lot by being an extra set of eyes and hands not just on the field, but also in the training room. I cannot be at every game and practice all the time due to my schedule, so if they are willing and available, they help out at other games and practices.”
19
M. GREEN
Athletic trainer Mr. Matt Laux stretches out Jared Wilson during a home game
NOVEMBER 2015
SPORTS SEAN SULLIVAN TEAM varsity baseball [fall ball] YEARS PLAYING 10 POSITION pitcher HIGHLIGHT having fun with friends
JARED WILSON TEAM varsity football YEARS PLAYING 11 POSITION
while playing a sport he loves
running back
HIGHLIGHT beating
E. HO CHING
Rocklin in the Quarry Bowl game because the victory helped to leave his mark on Whitney for his senior year
FAVORITE ASPECT
the student section and seeing the excitement and spirit of fans watching
athletes IN ACTION
Paul Doherty’s jokes at each Saturday morning practice
D. PAYAN
E. WHITE
M. WYNNE
FUNNIEST MEMORY hearing Coach
20 WHITNEYUPDATE.COM
CHARLIZE GOLDEN
MALIYAH LEWIS
TEAM women’s golf YEARS PLAYING 1 HIGHLIGHT competing with
TEAM varsity cheer YEARS CHEERING 6 POSITION flyer HIGHLIGHT the athleticism it
the JV team at Catta Verdera because it isn’t as serious as the varsity team, and she has a lot more fun during each round
takes and all the different aspects of stunts, tumbling, dance, jumps and pyramid
PHOTOS BY ELLA HO CHING, DEANNA PAYAN, ELIZABETH WHITE, MELLANY WYNNE