march issue 2010
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Volume 48, Issue 8 March 26, 2010TRANSCRIPT
MIRADATHE
Volume 48, Issue 8 March 26, 2010Rio Americano High School • Sacramento, CA
CENTERSPREADTeen drinking is on the rise
Page 10-11
This IssueRead and comment on this issue of The Mirada and view our photo galleries at www.riomirada.com
Online
See page 5
Students break records at track meet “Jackpudding” entertains school Wrestlers qualify for Masters
Students protest fee hikes, budget cutsStudents at California public
schools and universities, from kin-dergarten through college, found their voices on Thursday, Mar. 4, in a protest at the Capitol and spoke together focusing on one message: "Save California."
The facts speak for themselves, according to California State As-sembly Majority Leader, Alberto Torrico, who spoke at the protest, warning that just two years ago, the University of California ranked first in the world. Today, he says, its posi-tion has plummeted to the mid-30s.
Guest speaker George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley, is concerned not only about the students but also about the future of California itself. Cali-fornia's economy is largely depen-
dent on businesses related to tech-nology. As qualified students are shut out of an education, there will not be enough trained and talented workers to start the new economy.
Next year, 40,000 students will not be able to attend California State University because of budget cuts and fee increases. Fewer students have the funds to attend and fewer freshmen slots are available even for those who can afford to go.
Despite this harsh reality, the overwhelming mood of Thursday’s protest was constructive. The crowd of more than 1,000 repeatedly chanted “¡Si, se puede!”, the Spanish translation of "Yes we can!"
Students, teachers and parents alike rallied around the Capitol steps. Kids, ranging in age from
Photos by SARAH VAIRA/Mirada Staff
Above: A protester holds a handmade sign objecting to UC and CSU fee hikes and budget cuts at the March 4 statewide “Day of Action” protest. Below: A crowd gathers on the north steps of the Capitol, rallying together to fight the public education turmoil in California.
See PROTEST page 5
By ABBIE JENNINGSMirada Staff
See page 17See page 12See page 19
Student wins photo contest
Rio alumnus tapped for U.S. Court of Appeals
By SUMMER PARKERPERRYMirada Staff
Former Rio student Goodwin Liu used to spend his time studying for the next physics test.
Now, he spends his time teach-ing law at University of California, Berkeley and becoming the only ac-tive Asian American judge.
In Feb. 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Liu for the Unit-ed States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In addition to teaching law, Liu is currently an Associate Dean.
According to a press release, Obama said of Liu that he is “not only (a) first-rate legal mind but (a) faithful public servant.”
Liu was not always so well-known, though he was always a hard worker.
P h y s i c s teacher Dean Baird taught Liu his first year teaching the AP Phys-ics class.
“Goodwin was one of my bright-est students from that first year,” Baird wrote in his physics blog.
In high school, Liu was able to serve as a page in the US House of Representatives, after receiving a sponsorship from Congressman Matsui. This was his first exposure to law and politics and led him into his further profession.
Liu later graduated Phi Beta Kap-pa and co-president of the student body at Stanford.
Upon hearing about the nomi-nation, Baird sent a note to Liu, requesting a tour of the Supreme
Goodwin Liu
See ALUMNUS page 2
On Mar. 3 Rio lost a beloved member of the school community. Alexander Mauro suffered fatal surgi-cal complications in a procedure to improve the positioning of his spine.
Mauro was 20 years old and a stu-dent in the Independent Living Sup-port classes on campus. Although the loss is upsetting, it is comforting to know that Mauro never let a day pass without living it to its fullest.
“Alex was one of our non-verbal and blind students, but still had one of the quickest senses of humor,” ILS aid Kacy Grommesh said. “He was al-ways laughing at everyone’s jokes, and was a really happy boy.”
Alex was known to most as a care-free and content-looking student of-ten seen in our hallways surrounded by his peers, but to his classmates and teachers he will be forever remem-bered for much more.
Alex had attended Rio since 2006, and captured the hearts of everyone he has been involved with.
“He loved being around the oth-
er students,” Grommesh adds. “He knew everyone in his class along with the aids by the sound of our voices. There was nothing he loved more than unique and different sounds.” Mauro also loved listening to jazz, classical, and Italian opera music any-time he was given the chance.
“He always knew how to make the most out of what he had, and that is why he was so well-liked,” classmate Adam Felton said. “Even with his condition, he managed to always keep a smile on his face.”
News Friday, March 26, 2010Page 2 • The Mirada
ALEX CHAN/Mirada Staff
Junior Tara Duval and senior Jens Driller prepare their mouse trap car for the Science Olympiad Regional Competition held at Sacramento State University on Saturday, March 20th. The team placed fifth overall in the regional competition. The team placed first in “Write it, Do it,” “Trajectory” and “Forensics.” In all competitions, the scooter theme was incorporated by the team. They scootered to each event, had scooters on the backs of their team shirts and took scooters up to the medal stand when they won.
Science Olympiad “scooters” their way to fifth placeBy JESSIE SHAPIRO
Mirada Staff
Beloved student dies
Court. Much to his surprise, Liu re-
sponded.“What can I say?” Baird wrote,
“He’s a classy guy in addition to being a learned scholar.”
Liu is the son of Taiwanese im-migrants and has also run four mara-thons, and plans to run a fifth.
Overall, he seems to have achieved
much in his life, graduating from first-rate universities, going on to teach at one and now facing the possibility of becoming a Court of Appeals judge.
“I am very humbled by this nomi-nation and grateful to President Obama for this honor,” Liu said in light of his nomination, according to a press release.
Students interested in supporting Liu can add his Facebook fan page, which already has over 1,000 fans.
From ALUMNUS page 1
Alexander Mauro was known for his laugh.
Obituary
Alumnus: ‘Classy guy’
NewsFriday, March 26, 2010 Page 3 • The Mirada
Why did you choose UC Berkeley? I chose Berkeley because it's by far the best education per dollar in the world. There are tons of departments ranked in the top 10 nationwide, and a lot of them are in the top three. The campus is beautiful, and the student population has a lot to offer socially and intel-lectually.
What are the food options like? The dorm food isn’t the best, but it’s definitely not ter-rible either. There are restaurants around Berkeley that are fun to discover and try, and a lot of them are au-thentic, one-of-a-kind places.
How would you describe the school spirit ?There’s a pretty big split among the students in terms of how they express their spirit. Among the fraternities, so-rorities and athletes, school spirit is all about demonstra-tions, cheers, sports and beer. Among everyone else, it’s not as sports-based - these people express their school spirit by doing well in classes and being proud of UC Berkeley for what it’s really around for, which is producing the best minds and mak-ing advances in a breadth of academic disciplines.
UC Berkeley Tyler Sheaffer, Rio grad 2008
What is your major? My major is Political Science Policy, and I am going to mi-nor in Environmental Studies and Urban Planning. I actually went into UCSD with a com-pletely different major but I did not like the 5 year plan (It was engineering) and I realized that I want to enjoy college as well as learn about something that I am passionate about, which is saving the environment from a political perspective instead of science!
What is your favorite thing to do on campus? There are so many things to do on campus. One of the really quirky things about UCSD is the on campus art. There are 17 pieces of modern art spread about campus including a mock Stonehenge and the talk-ing and singing trees. I have not found all of them, but going on a night time adventure to find them all is on my to-do list.
What makes UCSD different than other UCs?UCSD is different from other UCs for many reasons. We don’t have a football team, so you won’t find the type of school spirit that you get at other schools, but we are also right on the beach, so it is nor-mal to see people walking in wet-suits with surfboards...in January.
UC San DiegoMegan Alcalay, Rio grad 2009
Alumni give advice for choosing a UC
UC Santa Barbara Kate Wilkins, Rio grad 2009
What is your major and why is Santa Barbara a good place to pursue this major?My major is environmental stud-ies and I’m going for a B.S. They have a really good environmental program because we have access to tons of cool habitats, like the beach and mountains. And we get lots of amazing professors be-cause they love it here.
What made you want to live in the honors dorms and take honors classes over regular classes?I wanted to live in the honors dorm because I’ve always been around honors kids and I thought it would be a good environment to get involved in. So far, I love it- my floor is super smart and super fun- we definitely have as much fun as anyone else. And by being in the honors system, I have an early pass time to register for classes, which is totally neces-
sary. It is extremely hard to get the classes you need this year, and will be in follow-ing years, due to cutting classes and bud-gets. So with honors, I know I’ll get most of the classes I need.
What makes living in Santa Barbara unique?Living in Santa Barbara is unique because of Isla Vista. It is the area adjacent to campus that most students live in, and its an eclec-tic ghetto, in the greatest way possible. It has cool restaurants, shops, parks, a famous homeless population, and lots of nightlife. The street closest to the ocean, Del Playa, is swamped every Friday.
ELISE MARSH/Mirada Staff
MOLLY INGRAM/Mirada Staff
JARETT HARTMAN/Mirada Staff
JARETT HARTMAN/Mirada Staff
Sophomore Nick Homza catches a few Z’s during his sixth period Algebra II class. Students find mid-day napping beneficial, as power naps have been proven to increase the ability of short term memory.
Catching z’s in class won’t earn AsBy ELISE MARSH
Mirada Staff
A loud alarm sounds in my ear. A few more minutes I want to beg, but then I feel someone shaking me, shouting my name in my ear. I soon become aware of the shuf-fling feel around me and realize I am not at home in bed. I drag my heavy head up off the desk, wipe the drool from the sides of my face and squint my eyes under the flo-rescent lighting.
I fell asleep in class again.While it's frustrating always
fighting my falling eyelids, I can't help but feel revived after the 20 minutes I spent face down on my desk. One little power nap makes all the difference.
In fact, studies have revealed that a 90-minute nap can even make you smarter. Naps after lunch help increase memory and the ability to store new informa-tion, The New York Times reports.
Experiments led by Matthew P. Walker, assistant professor in psy-chology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, support these studies.
Walker found that individu-als who took a 90-minute nap in-creased their original score by 10 percent while the score of those who did not take naps dropped 10 percent.
"Napping during classes that are somewhat pointless or when there is down time helps you stay alert during classes that do mat-ter," junior Ian Boilard said.
Although a quick nap may help students feel well-rested, catching some shut eye during school hours does have its downside.
"I nap everyday," senior Ej Fer-nandes said. "The homework load all the teachers give me keeps me up late so I'm tired during their class. Because I sleep in their class, I stay up later doing my homework because I don't understand it."
Although he makes the distinc-tion between the students who chronically sleep in his class and those who put their head down for a snooze once in a while, math teacher Todd Freund prefers stu-dents to not sleep in his class.
"I am a bit put off and insulted, but probably (even) more than put off and insulted, I am frustrated because I know that student isn't likely to succeed," Freund said.
In response to sleeping kids, Mr. Freund has found a solution.
"If they’re (sleeping) then I'll go to the water bottle," he said.
While teachers don't want you to nap in class, taking naps at other times is a good thing. A quick nap is not only good for the mind, but it is also good for the heart.
Epidemiologist Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos discovered that a half-hour nap at least three times a week can lessen the risk of car-diac related deaths in men by 64 percent.
Trichopoulos also concluded that a five-minute nap a few times a week lessened the chance of heart problems by 12 percent in men and women.
Although sleeping during class may not be the best solution for catching up on those extra Z’s you've missed, a good nap can be a productive and beneficial part of the day.
News Friday, March 26, 2010Page 4 • The Mirada
Analysis
pre-schoolers to college seniors, raised signs like: “Schools, not prisons,” “Protect the Middle Class” and “R.I.P. Public Education.”
UC Berkeley senior Lily Diamond hoped that the Governor would un-derstand that it is shortsighted to “raise (fees) by 32 percent. Educa-tion is supposed to be accessible to the population” and it is supposed to be an equalizer in a democracy. Al-though Governor Schwarzenegger did not attend the rally, he supported the student protests because he said: "the squeaky wheels get the grease."
As the protest continued, the speakers spoke urgently about the two-thirds vote requirement needed to pass a state budget.
“(The) two-thirds rule stands in the way of democracy,” Lakoff said. The crowd echoed him, chanting: "End two-thirds."
Lakoff urged the people to sign a petition to get an initiative on the next ballot to end the two-thirds require-ment by downloading it from C4D.org and mailing it in directly.
According to the rally organizers,
it would cost less than $32 from the median California taxpayer to restore state funding for UC, CSU and CCC to 2000-2001 levels and roll back stu-dent fees to 2000-2001 levels.
Not surprisingly, many Rio seniors strongly support the message that the college students have expressed because, as public school students, a quality public education is a right that they believe should be available to all.
Senior Breezy Ezray agrees with
the protests because she thinks that "more money should be given for edu-cational purposes."
Ezray applied to UCs, CSUs and private schools because with the tu-ition hikes at the UCs, she wanted to keep all of her options open and find the college that would be financially accessible for her family. Ezray would like to attend a UC because the edu-cation is one of the best around the world, but with the increase in fees,
she is not sure if this would be the best choice.
Rio graduate and now UC San Di-ego freshman Megan Alcalay is just as upset with the budget cuts and tuition hikes as Ezray. She can see the effects that these cuts have on her education in one major way.
"I (am) upset about the (cuts to the) Cal Grant program. It is very un-fortunate for my family."
Inspired by pictures and fashion covering the pages of Vogue at a young age, junior Jacqueline Grossbard has garnered a passion for photography. Aspiring to continue to excel in pho-tography in the future and college, she is working to build up her portfolio in high school.
This past month, Grossbard won a national photography contest for her shallow depth-of-field photo.
"About six months ago, I started reading The Pioneer Woman's person-al and photography posts and when I saw she was holding a contest for shal-low depth of field, I knew I had the perfect picture to enter," Grossbard said. "I won a $250 gift card to B&H which is seriously the best place to buy any photo, film, audio equipment. I'm going to save up a little bit more money and invest in a good case and maybe a new fixed lens."
Grossbard isn't an amateur when it comes to photography.
"When I was about seven years old, my mom got a subscription to Vogue and I had a lot of free time so I would spend hours looking through the pages, and found myself drawn to the photo spreads," Grossbard said. "A couple years ago, I picked up a point and shoot camera and started experi-menting with my own ideas and pho-
toshop, following fashion blogs for inspiration, and fell in love with pho-tography."
When she won the contest, she couldn't believe that out of more than 6,000 people, she was the first place winner. This win only led to her build in drive for improvement and success.
"I aspire to be like Kalie Garret who can create an evocative photo without excessive props or back-grounds," Grossbard said.
At the moment, she is taking time out of her week, to go to classes for photography.
"Right now I'm taking two classes a week at American River college and hopefully will take some film process-ing classes over the summer and the next school year," said.
Looking towards her future after high school, she plans on attending a university rather than an arts school.
"I really would like to go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo," Grossbard said. "They have a fantastic art program where I could focus on photography and still be able to attend a university rather than a strictly arts school."
Capturing life in photos, she in-tends on pursuing a career in fashion photography for the future. But, in the meantime, Grossbard is continuing to work on her photography portfolio, hoping to progress and improve in the process.
"I'm trying to create a diverse port-folio to send off next year with my college applications. I'm hoping to take some Senior Portraits over the summer and this next school year, so if anyone is interested contact me!"
It’s a wrap for Grossbard: future fashion photographerNewsFriday, March 26, 2010 Page 5 • The Mirada
By JESSICA OBERTMirada Staff
Junior Jackie Grossbard sits down with Mirada writer Jessica Obert to talk about photography & contest win
From PROTEST page 1
PROTEST: Students oppose education budget cuts
Courtesy of JACKIE GROSSBARD
Top: Junior Jacqueline Grossbard took this photo for her 365 project. Left: Grossbard won first place in a national photography contest for this shallow depth-of-field photo of junior Jessica Obert.
SARAH VAIRA/Mirada Staff
A protester rallies for the state to protect the teachers in the public schools. In certain districts, some teachers have been let go to cut down on costs because of California’s financial problems. Teachers rallied to protect education.
For our generation growing up in California, it has always been ingrained in our minds that after high school will come our UC
education.We have spent seventeen years of our lives
waiting for the day we will finally graduate high school and explore a new part of California.
Like the rest of the us, you’ve been dreaming of studying on the beach at UC Santa Barbara, bike riding with your friends around the UC Da-vis campus or spending your lunch break at the Boardwalk while attending UC Santa Cruz. Over-all, UC schools have always had an extraordinary amount of appeal.
But with the recent budget cuts, UCs have lost the charm that once enthralled us as children. For some, admission now seems unattainable, and for others, the UCs no longer appear to be the dream schools that we once imagined.
The University of California reported that the 2009 admissions were the lowest in the decade, accepting 2,000 fewer students than in previous years.
All of a sudden, not only does being qualified
have a new definition but also in some cases, be-ing qualified simply isn’t enough to guarantee a spot in a UC school.
In addition to this exclusivity, budget cuts are also bringing a decrease in quality. Horror stories have surfaced about UC students not being able to get their desired classes, having no chance of graduating in four years, and in extreme cases not even having enough chairs for all the students in a classroom. Because of the drastic changes to UC admissions and policies, students are looking elsewhere. They’re realizing that the UCs aren’t our only options, and that out-of-state and private schools may offer better experiences.
Private schools are often stereotyped to be overpriced, however, many of their admissions of-ficers have recognized the effects of budget cuts on students and have stepped up their financial aid offerings.
For example, in the past year, Occidental Col-
lege has become one of the leading sources of fi-nancial aid. They promise to meet 100 percent of a student’s projected need in the form of grants, loans, and work programs. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the private schools follow suit.
Private schools also appear to be more appeal-ing due to their smaller class sizes, something that you definitely cannot find on a UC campus. An-other option for students that may have seemed out of their price range is out-of-state schools. The Western Undergraduate Exchange is growing in popularity, a program that allows students to pay only 150 percent of the resident rate, when a typi-cal out-of-state rate could cost up to 400 percent.
While the budget cuts are out of the hands of the UC schools, students may find more comfort in schools that have control over their desired pro-grams. Overall, since the UCs are no longer the only option for college, they need to step up their game, or generations to come will start fantasizing about new dream schools, ones that are not suffer-ing from financial crises.
OUR VIEW
OpinionPage 6 • The Mirada
The MiradaRIO AMERICANO
HIGH SCHOOL4540 American River Dr.Sacramento, CA 95864(916) 971-8921 ext. 80
Editors-in-ChiefAlex ReinnoldtMolly IngramAlex McFallAlexis Shen
News EditorsSarah Vaira
Abigail Jennings
Opinion EditorsJessie Shapiro
Alex Chan
Sports EditorsAlex Kleemann
Jessica Obert
Features EditorsChristian Oldham
Tate Rountree
Photo EditorAlex McFall
Staff WritersSuzanna AkinsDanielle Arbios
Riva BallisJesse Bartels
Dylan CartierGina GaribaldiJarett Hartman
Thomas HemingtonAlli Henderson
Dayna IsaacsEugene Kwon
Scott MacDonaldElise Marsh
Tandena NelsonSummer ParkerPerry
Rohith SachdevaRebecca SanfordAndrew Spittler
Rachel Tochterman
Business ManagerMolly Ingram
AdviserMichael Mahoney
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“The budget cuts haven’t really affected my choices, but they’re still upsetting and I’m going to have to work hard to
pay for the cost.”
“Classes are so full at the UCs these days, and I’d much rather go to a private
school where I know I can get my degree in four years.”
“I always thought I would go to a UC, but now it is impossible for me to feel comfortable not applying anywhere
else. I’m forced to consider other options.”
WyattBrown,
11
Seychelle Steiner,
12
KendallChidlaw,
11
ZacGunter,
12
What students see in the UCs...
Budget cuts are budgeting our dreams
Friday, March 26, 2010
“It made me reconsider the privates. I applied to because they are financially
feasible.”
Protesters rally in Sacramento in front of the Capital on Mon., March 22. This was the second protest in March against budget cuts in UC, CSU and community college campuses.
Health care reform was a noble goal. I use the word “was” because the process deteriorated into one of the dirtiest political schemes that has happened in Washington in the past decade.
The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is not a plan to fix the health care system. In fact, the only reason this bill passed at all was to ensure that the Demo-cratic party could claim to have passed a reform bill.
First of all, the recent polls on the subject of health care reform have shown a clear picture. Ameri-cans did not want this bill to pass, and they do not believe the demo-crats know what is best for them. Congress is entrusted with repre-senting the people and yet, in this instance they did exactly what the people did not want.
The cost of health care will in no way diminish based on the pro-visions of this new “reform”. The bill continues to allow insurance companies to dominate the mar-ket and in no way limits their prof-its. In addition, the requirement that each American have health insurance will simply force more people to pay exorbitant amounts for insurance so that insurance companies can have expensive retreats and pay their executives huge bonuses.
Based on budget projections, the proposal is billed as budget neutral. However, the bill still ties up more governmental funds in Medicaid, a system that continu-ally provides low-quality service. With the huge influx of new pa-tients, Medicaid will be stretched even thinner, and when budget
needs cannot be met, doctor reim-bursement rates will be cut, lead-ing to less and less of the nation’s doctors actually accepting Medic-aid patients.
The bill also claims to prevent insurance companies from deny-ing people based on pre-existing conditions. Yet, this provision is completely unenforceable. In-surance companies have found loopholes in all prior legislation that seeks to regulate their busi-ness practices, and there is no way to ensure that they will not do the same again. Outlawing “De-nial Based on Pre-Existing Condi-tions” is a fine goal, but impractical in a world where insurance com-panies number one goal is not to keep you healthy, but to make as much money as possible.
One of the other major prob-lems with this bill is how it will af-fect doctors. The nation is not do-ing enough to encourage students to become doctors. Everyday we hear about doctor’s pay being cut for government health care and doctors who treat people with private insurance charging huge amounts of money to compensate. This not only discourages people from becoming doctors, but also forces the doctors we have now to decide who they treat based on who can pay, not who needs it the most.
Rather than passing this mud-dled, messy, and expensive bill, we need to consider how to change our medical system from one based on making money for insur-ance companies to one that actu-ally focuses on improving people’s health. Unfortunately, this bill simply exacerbates the problem rather than fixing it and we were better off without it.
Thirty-two million. How much is that? Who knows what 32 million looks like? You ever seen it? Thirty-two million paperclips maybe?
How about people? Let me try and put it in perspective for you. Let’s say that there are 300 people per class in Rio, and four classes, which makes 1200 people at school.
Imagine Rio, but 26,666.667 times bigger.
Think about it. A week ago, if any one of those students had gotten ill, they couldn’t have done anything without health insurance.
Could they go to a hospital? Yes, the hospital would help a
person in need. But who is to pay the medical bills if the person doesn’t pos-sess health insurance?
We put more of a strain on the money of the hospital and force the hospital to raise the price for other patients.
Let’s say that the person weren’t aware that they could go to a hospital without health insurance. If they don’t go and don’t receive treatment, the likelihood of them recovering dimin-ishes greatly. The probability of them dying skyrockets.
No one wants anyone to die. So why do so many people hate a
bill that can save someone’s life? Is it because of the economy? Is it a hatred for the Democratic Party?
More importantly, do you even know what this health care bill entails?
I’ll start with the cost: 940 billion over ten years. Yes, that’s a lot, but compared to the rest of the budget, it is miniscule.
First, the bill will reduce the deficit by $143 billion in the first ten years. Yes, reduce the deficit.
Furthermore it will cut it by $1.2 trillion in its second 10 years. Again reduce. This is all according to the CBO, not my personal guesstimation.
This is a bill that will reduce the deficit in the long term, something we need to start looking at. We insure 32 million, in essence, save 32 million lives and in 20 years reduce the deficit by 1.2 trillion dollars.
Also, for all the students out there, it’s a good thing.
Ready to pay for your own health care as soon as you finish college? I am just going to take a stab in the dark and say no.
The bill says that we have the right to stay on our parents’ health insur-ance plan until age 26. This gives you time to go out into the real world and be sure you’re financially ready to sup-port yourself.
Also, this bill makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny anyone insurance because of pre-existing con-
ditions. Think of all the people you know who have ever been incredibly sick, cancer maybe. Well now they can get insurance- it’s their right.
Yes, the money has to come from somewhere, but not from where you might expect.
The first way, my personal favorite, is a tanning tax. Sorry, for all of you who like to see walking oranges right before homecoming, they will be nor-mal colored from now on, unless they pay 10 percent more when they go to a tanning salon.
Second, an excise tax will be on the “Cadillac” of insurances. But it won’t even be on the families. It is a 40 percent increase on the insurance companies. Insurance companies will pay a 40 percent excise tax on high end insurance plans that are worth over $27,500 for families and $10,200 for individuals.
Finally, it will touch average peo-ple. Starting in 2012, the Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to in-clude unearned income. That will be a 3.8 percent tax on investment in-come for families making more than $250,000 per year and $200,000 for individuals. So if you’re a family that makes $250,000, I hope that 3.8 per-cent isn’t too much to ask.
You never know when you might need someone else’s help. Like my good friend Tito from “Rocket Pow-er” says, “When a brotha needs a shirt to dress, give him one, because you never know when you’re gonna need a shirt from him.”
No one is talking about socialism, and no one is saying we need to re-name the USA to the USSA, United States of Socialist America.
When America was first created, it was marketed as streets paved with gold, as the land of opportunity, as a place to get a second chance.
When the people came here ex-pecting that, they were surprised with what they saw. They did not see streets of gold, they saw people dying in the streets. I think it’s about time we stopped letting people die in the streets. We need to give everyone the chance to a healthy lifestyle.
Yes, there are problems in the bill, but nothing is perfect. For instance, the system we had been using is a sys-tem of ignorance and inefficiency that would have collapsed in the next ten years. We ignore the problem saying that it will work itself out.
This bill, while flawed, is the first step in the right direction to saving lit-erally millions of lives.
We are responsible for the future. We need to start thinking about the place we want to live in when we grow up. You want it to be full of sick people who can’t see a doctor? The choice is ours.
opinion Friday, March 26, 2010 Page 7 • The Mirada
Health care overhaul bill passes amid contention
By AARON SOSKINGuest Writer
“I’ve noticed that when discussing the health care bill, there is a com-
mon problem. Many people are for or against it merely because of their party lines; however, this bill is an important moment in history and people should
fully understand the ramifications before exerting an opinion. Personally,
I think as a leader of the free world, the US needs to send a message to the
world that it is the government’s duty to promote “LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness.”
“I am personally not a fan of the health care bill. I feel that it is not in the inter-
est of the people, but more of a move to gain power for the President and his party. First off, the passing of the bill
was unconstitutional. It was passed on a majority vote instead of a 2/3 vote. This bill will cost us $940 billion over the next 10 years. People who are al-
ready happy with their health care plan should not have to pay for the health care of others. In trying to switch so
many more people onto the same plan, longer waits for medical services are
inevitable.”
“The new health care bill is simply an-other expansion of government under the guise of helping the common man.
The bill takes away power from the consumer and places it in the hands of
bureaucrats in Washington.”
Zachary Smith,
11
Heaven Edwards,
11
Josh Naftulin,
11
AlexYankauer,
11
“I think it’s obviously better politically for the Democrats. I think it’s good
because ever since the ’40s, they have been working hard to create a successful health care program for the people. It’s
definitely a step in the right direction to make it a basic right as opposed to a privilege. It’s good in the sense that it limits the power of the health insur-ance companies by making sure that
they can’t deny people for pre-existing conditions. However, it’s unfortunate
that there is no public option.”
PRO CON
By JOHN BUTTERFIELDGuest Writer
Bill is not perfect, but necessary Shortcomings of bill make it worse than nothing at all
MCT Campus
OpinionFriday, March 26, 2010
Only 76 days until graduation. But who’s really counting?
The anticipation that seniors generally experience as graduation approaches makes it increasingly difficult to concentrate on schoolwork. Because of the im-mense amount of anticipation seniors generally experience as graduation approaches, many find it hard to con-centrate on schoolwork . And that’s when senioritis kicks in.
College applications have already been submitted. Acceptance letters have already been received. Pretty soon, we’ll all know where we’re go-ing to end up next year. So what’s the point of doing well in high school if we’re guaranteed a spot at a univer-sity?
According to Sue Wilbur, the Di-rector of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of California, about 50 admission offers may be with-drawn at each of the nine campuses this year, and possibly even more. Therefore, we can’t afford to suffer from senioritis.
For the past four years, we’ve been working hard in many differ-ent aspects of our lives, spending hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on schoolwork and other activities. So why would we want to ruin our futures by risking a rescindment?
Besides, we owe it to our teachers, and to ourselves, to treat this year with the utmost respect. Seniori-tis isn’t just for seniors, anyway. Everyone experiences it, each time we question why we’re getting out of bed each morning, or why we have to trade TV time for hours of studying each night.
Our hard work for the past three years shouldn’t be cast aside simply because we’re anxious to move on to college, or whatever else there is after graduation.
School should be regarded with the same importance as before, if not more, because this is our last chance to have fun with all of our friends before we go our separate ways.
Rather than biding time until col-lege arrives this fall, don’t treat second semester as a waiting period. Con-centrate on the present, and focus on enjoying what’s happening right now. Because pretty soon, it’ll all be over.
And really, we only have 76 days to make it last.
Spare yourself from Senioritis
MOLLY INGRAM
School spirit is sufferingThe most school spirit I had ever
seen at Rio was at the boys varsity bas-ketball game in Stockton.
Not only did our school have a lot of spirit, but we also had a lot of peo-ple in attendance. The Rowdy Raider section was at least as big, if not big-ger, than Stockton’s St. Mary’s Ram’s section--and we live an hour away.
Being a Raider that night was amazing, and the energy flowing from the crowd made it such a fun game. The team connected with the fans like I had never seen before, and it was in-credible to witness.
If every game was like that game, there’s no doubt in my mind that Rio would gain even more support from a variety of students.
However, since I’ve been attend-ing Rio in the fall of 2007, overall the students have had a minimal amount of school spirit.
Even though there was a lot of sup-port for the boy’s basketball team be-
cause of their good season, that seems like virtually the only area where Rio students have some interest in sup-porting their school.
Wouldn’t students have a better time and more fun with their friends if they got involved and went to school events?
I know the Rowdy Raiders send out messages on Facebook and dress up at school, trying to get everyone to attend games; though this has been successful, I think this needs to con-tinue for sports other than basketball as well. The Rowdy Raiders do their part, but other students need to step up and do theirs, too.
Why don’t we support all sports? Aren’t there other games that people want to attend?
I know there’s always excuses: I don’t have time, I have other things to do, I don’t care. But you should care. This is your school.
Is the problem that we are too afraid to go crazy at games and have some pride for Rio? It shouldn’t be.
Other schools have kids going to their sporting events all the time, spreading their spirit throughout the school. However, I feel Rio lacks much of this enthusiasm and motiva-tion.
This lacking spirit hurts our school, too, whether you think so or not. It’s obvious when someone walks into our gym during a game with no one there that our students have no pride in their school or sports teams.
But school spirit doesn’t only pertain to just sporting events; what about spirit days?
I know my friends and I always try and dress up to the themed days during Homecoming and Gala spirit weeks. Yet, every time we are only some of the maybe 200 people that decide to participate--and it’s usually the same people who participate ev-ery time.
As I walked into school Mon-day morning the week of Gala, I saw very little of the student population dressed up in their space cowboy gear.
My plaid shirt and pink cowboy hat looked a little out of place, and I was extremely disappointed with the stu-dent body’s participation.
However, involvement did im-prove somewhat throughout the week. I had never seen so many one-sies in my life or such a large amount of people crowded around the stage to watch the “Battle of the Exes”.
There should be participation like that from a mass amount of students all the time.
Student government puts a lot of effort into making these weeks hap-pen by planning the days, selling food, and creating games to play at lunch. When students can’t even put in the minimal effort to dress up or partake in activities, it almost puts all of their hard work to waste.
There’s no excuse not to dress up and go to games. Participate. Have fun. This would not only improve the school’s atmosphere, but it would im-prove everyone else’s high school ex-perience as well.
Facebook doesn’t have to be a family reunionBy DAYNA ISAACS
Mirada Staff
By DANIELLE ARBIOSMirada Staff
Page 9 • The Mirada
BARBARA KALUSTIAN/Guest Artist
It’s 11 p.m. I hop on my computer after a long day of school and home-work, ready to catch up with the Face-book world.
Immediately, I see that I have a new friend request. It’s from... my dad?
Now parents, relatives, teachers, and other adults joining Facebook is becoming much more common.
Before, we, as teenagers, were the ones teaching our technologically-challenged parents how to send an e-mail.
Now, however, it seems that adults are learning the ways of the virtual world. This is not always to our advan-tage.
Receiving a friend request from my dad left me in an awkward situa-tion.
If I added him, then he’d have the ability to stalk me. He could read all my daily statuses, look at my pictures , and intervene on conversations with my friends.
Or worse, he could start adding all my friends, as some parents are known to do.
I would then have to think twice before posting something, knowing my dad could be reading.
On the contrary, if I denied his re-quest, he’d notice. It would be pretty rude to accept someone I just met at that party, but then refuse a friend re-quest from my parent, who has been raising me for the past 16 years .
But I still chose the second option. Rejecting the request does sound harsh, but I realized that Facebook is a freedom for teenagers.
I have nothing to hide from my parents on Facebook, but I’d rather not have them updated on every sin-
gle aspect of my life.My parents can already monitor
my life enough as is; I do not want to add accessing Facebook on top of that.
Also, once you add one family member, you are basically forced to add them all.
If you add your dad, your mom will likely want to be friends with you.
Then, your aunts and uncles might expect you to accept them.
And the chain continues, until your entire extended family is taking over your virtual life.
I have chosen to reject the requests of my sister, my dad, my aunt, my un-cle and my grandpa, though I am sure they will continue to try to add me.
Many of us find it strange to see adults on Facebook, although I guess it’s understandable to an extent.
They want to be easily connected to all of their friends by the click of a button, just like us.
They want to know what’s exciting in their friend’s lives, many of whom might live far away.
However, adults, including family members and teachers, should not ex-pect us to accept their friend requests. Some adults, like parents, should not even bother trying to add us as their friend.
If you want to be friends with your mom, go ahead and add her, but she should not assume that she will be granted instant access to your private page.
If you want to be friends with your laid-back history teacher on Face-book, then go for it. I am.
Nevertheless, I will continue to re-ject the awkward friend requests from my family.
As insulting as it may seem, I’d like to keep my Facebook page my own.
11
“We’re not ready to take on the consequences that come with it. So we shouldn’t even consider drinking.” - Kara Langan, 12
“The teenagers in Europe are allowed to drink at 16 and they are responsible about it, so why can’t we?” - Hannah Milstein, 11
“I’m totally against it because it’s dangerous and can stunt your mental growth.” - Tyler Reeves, 9
Teen drinking
on the ris
e
Let’s face it. Teens will do just about anything an adult tells them not to. Drink-ing is just one of those things. It’s no surprise that according to recent studies teen drinking is on the rise. According to Dwight B. Heath, Ph.D., research shows that more than half of high school seniors in the United States drink on more than one occasion each month.
In addition, www.momlogic.com re-ports that 39 percent of teens ranging from grades 9-12 have claimed to have had alco-hol sometime in the last month.
Students are not surprised by the statis-tics.
“I’m not surprised that 39% of teen drink, it seems that teen drinking has be-come part of the high school experience and is not looked down upon as much as it use to be,” sophomore Whitney Hollister said.
“It actually seems a little low,” junior Aaron Goldwyn said.
For most teens this is hardly
news; h o w e v e r ,
for those observing teen culture, the recent spike
in teen drinking--a study by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America
found teen drinking was up to 6.5 million from last years 5.8 million--is definitely something worth noting.
So why is it that teen drinking has be-come so much more popular or at least more out in the open. Some think today’s media could be contributing to the influx in teen drinkers.
“Sure, songs make alcohol cool,” said freshman Paris Montgomery, “I mean with songs like ‘Shots’, how could it not sound like fun.”
Teen drinking is already illegal and or-ganizations such as the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) and MADD (Moth-ers against drunk driving) have striven to bring down the numbers, but with no avail.
Junior Madison Lisle argues that rath-er than emphasizing no drinking, adults should emphasize smart drinking.
“In my opinion, teen drinking is not a terrible thing,” Lisle said. “Yes, some teen-agers take it too far and endanger them-selves and others, but on every alcohol ad it always says drink responsibly and I think that is
The number of teens in grades 9-12 that used alco-hol in the past month has grown by percent
How do you feel about underage drinking?
By ALEX KLEEMANN and EUGENE KWON Mirada Staff
w h a t teens need
to do. They need to drink responsibly in a safe en-
vironment with people they know and trust and they should never drive drunk.”
Others believe that there is an age limit for a reason.
“I don’t really think people should. There is an age limit for a reason. Some can handle it, but I think we need the rule so people don’t go crazy,”
junior Kendall Chidlaw. “Some people are going to break it but the age limit is 21 because that is when the government thinks people are mature enough not to get wasted. Most teens just aren’t mature enough to know their limits”
The main problem with under age drinking is damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, which is not completely developed until age 21 hence the reason for the age limit. This damage can cause loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, mem-ory lapses and even b l ac k-
outs.S t i l l
most teens agree that people should be able to
do what they want as long its not hurt-ing others.
“Let them do what they want as long as they don’t harm anyone,” junior Zach Smith said.
The most surprising part is that though the number of teens drinking has risen dramatically, many still understand the effects of going too far.
“I don’t think teen drinking is a good idea be-cause excessive drinking can really mess up their life and the lives of others,” junior Chris Grellas said.
Teens understand the implications of drunk driving.
A DUI, which is when a teen is caught driv-ing with a BAC(Blood Alcohol Concentration) of .01% or higher, can lead to anything from a restricted license to drunk-driving programs or even jail time.
“If you go out and drink and drive that is just wrong” junior Jasmina Girigan said.
Alcohol affects your brain. Drink-ing alcohol leads to a loss of coordi-nation, poor judg-ment, slowed reflex-es, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts.
Alcohol affects your body. Alcohol can damage every or-gan in your body. It is absorbed directly into your bloodstream and can increase your risk for a variety of life-threatening diseases, in-cluding cancer.
Alcohol affects your self-control. Alcohol depresses
your central nervous system, lowers your inhibitions, and impairs
your judgment. Drinking can lead to risky behaviors, such as driving when you
shouldn’t, or having unprotected sex.
Alcohol can kill you. Drinking large amounts of alcohol at one time or very rapidly can cause alcohol poisoning, which can lead to coma or even death. Driving and drinking also can be deadly. In 2003, 31 percent of drivers age 15 to 20 who died in traffic accidents had been drinking alco-hol.
Alcohol can hurt you--even if you’re not the one drinking. If you’re around people who are drinking, you have an increased risk of being seriously injured, involved in car crashes, or affected by violence. At the very least, you may have to deal with peo-ple who are sick, out of control, or unable to take care of themselves.
Teens’ brains and bodies are still de-veloping. Alcohol use can cause learning problems or lead to adult alcoholism. Peo-ple who begin drinking by age 15 are five times more likely to abuse or become de-pendent on alcohol than those who begin drinking after age 20.
Information from http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/ph323/
Teen drinking
on the ris
e
Effec
ts of
Drinki
ng
Photos courtesy of MCT Campus
I’m not surprised that 39% of teen drink, it seems that teen drinking has become part of the high school experience and is not looked down upon as much as it used to be.
“” — Sophomore Whitney Hollister
FeaturesPage 12 • The Mirada Friday, March 26, 2010
The many faces of ‘Jackpudding’ made Miller’s original play a treat
Usually, the drama department opts for more well-known shows, like “Mou-lin Rouge” and “Edward Scissorhands.” But this year, the play performed was...”Jackpudding”?
The play, written and directed by drama and Reader’s Theater teacher Jesse Miller, had everyone wondering what it was about. It kept the audience guessing, and had a re-freshing sense of originality.
The two-hour show opened with a dance number that included all of the cast members, and then, the story was under-way.
Monty ( Jake Hastie), Butch (Tanner Bond) and Cletus (Brendan Cabe) are three brothers living in Oklahoma. They all admire a gorgeous girl named Lulu, played by sophomore Jenna Scoggins. Lulu, how-ever, chooses Cletus, because he had been leaving her letters in her mailbox every day for 15 years.
Sophomore Greg Lopez played Hector, an optimistic, gleeful orphan who always wanted to be included in the group of boys. He constantly annoys Monty, Butch and Cletus, but still considered himself part of the group, and was easily one of the most humorous characters in the play.
After robbing a bank, and killing the banker (Sheldon Freeman), these five char-acters are forced to flee town because the sheriff (Kelly Rodgers) and Deputy (Ran-dy Broshar) have begun a search for them.
So, they end up joining the jackpud-
dings at the circus, but not all of them find it very enjoyable, Cletus especially.
He feels trapped, and even though he has a brief affair with the Baroness (Su-zanna Akins), he is devastated when Lulu starts to get involved with Henry the Bird (Robert Dobre).
Throughout the play, the cast focuses on dramatic elements that typically aren’t all included in one show: humorous char-acters, dark scenes and entertaining songs and dances, all contained within a bitingly tragic comedy.
All 20 of the cast members were com-pletely dedicated, no matter how strange or dramatic their characters were. The cast was fantastic not only its acting, but also in its songs and dances.
As always, parodies of modern-hit songs were included, which brought a lot of laughs from the audience. The dances, which were directed by junior Kelly Rodg-ers, were all entertaining and well choreo-graphed.
While the story-line was confusing at times, everything came together perfectly in the end. The ending, though, was one that not many people saw coming.
For such an amusing, fun play, such a somber ending was shocking. Sadly, Cletus meets his ends at the hands of the Birdy.
The unexpected turn of events helped give the play a unique feel, and classified the work as, above all else, a tragic comedy.
“Jackpudding” was definitely out-of-the-box, and, while a bit confusing, it was unlike any other play in Rio’s history.
By ALLI HENDERSONMirada Staff
Clockwise from top: Sophomore Jenna Scoggins holds senior Sheldon Freeman at gunpoint, while robbing the local bank. Senior Jorden Litchfield and Halie Crom played mysterious monkeys, ap-pearing surprisingly throughout the play. The police, played by senior Randy Broshar and junior Kelly Rodgers, acted as comedic relief. Senior Brendan Cabe took on the lead role as conflicted Jack Pudding. Cabe has been involved in Reader’s Theater for all four years. Photos by Austin Hicks.
FeaturesFriday, March 26, 2010 Page 13 • The Mirada
‘Wolf Man’ goes for the gold but falls flat towards the endFor a while now, I’ve hoped that
werewolf films would stop being ste-reotyped as second-rate low budget monster movies.
Vampires have always been in the mainstream, with many intelligent and artistic films such as “Near Dark” and the original “Dracula”. But what about werewolves?
The best we’ve gotten are usually black comedies, with either humor or special effects to carry them through. Very rarely have I seen a werewolf film with both a well-written story and good special effects.
It’s easy to understand then, why I was so excited about “The Wolfman.” The original is one of the few werewolf classics, and putting a new spin on it in a big-budget remake sounded like a great idea.
Unfortunately, the remake disap-points.
The film details the story of Law-rence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), an actor who has left his home in Black-
moor, England after spending a year in an asylum due to the psychological trauma of witnessing his mother com-mit suicide.
However, when news of his broth-er’s death reaches him, he returns to his hometown to investigate.
His father (Anthony Hopkins) is cold and distant, and Talbot isn’t liked by any of the locals.
One night while investigating his brother’s murder, he is attacked by a strange creature and manages to sur-vive with nothing but a gash in his shoulder. However, strange changes start to overcome him…
The remake is very different from the original. It has the same basic plot, but it plays out in a completely new way.
The new story isn’t told very well, and ends up becoming ridiculous.
The main problem with the film is that it tries to have it both ways.
It wants to be psychological and creepy, but it also wants to be violent, action packed horror flick. These con-trasting elements make the film feel disjointed and sloppy.
The first 45 minutes are the most enjoyable part; scenes are ripe with fog-drenched streets and wet, grimy woods, which evokes a wonderful, un-settling atmosphere as Talbot investi-gates his brother’s death.
Unfortunately, once Talbot actu-ally becomes the werewolf, the film
devolves into scenes of senseless vio-lence, and the once creepy atmosphere becomes nothing but a series of cheap jump scares in a desperate attempt to frighten the audience.
While I understand that werewolf films are often gory and violent, I don’t think this one needed it.
The filmmakers were doing fine trying to make a cerebral and scary story, but during these fast-paced action scenes the mood and tone changes so fast that it almost feels like a completely different movie, as if the screenwriters had no idea where to go.
The film tries to make up for it by including scenes of Talbot’s psycho-logical torment in order to develop him as a character, but these scenes are so short and inconsequential that they have no effect on the plot whatsoever.
We don’t care about Talbot be-cause we have no reason to; his char-acter is a hollow shell.
Sure, they give him a significant backstory, but this has almost no effect on him in the long run, so why should we care?
Many other things in the film feel
tacked on as well. For example, Tal-bot’s love interest, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) has little importance to the story and has almost no developed character, but the writers attempt to shoehorn her into the plot in order to give Talbot someone to play up an awkward “Beauty and the Beast” angle with.
It was really hard to take the film seriously. The problem with portray-ing werewolves in live-action is that if you don’t have a good design the sub-sequent makeup and costume looks absolutely ridiculous on camera. “The Wolfman” suffers from this terribly.
While it’s nice that they tried to keep certain fidelity towards the original werewolf makeup from 1941, when the werewolf actually shows up on camera and moves around, it’s obvious that it’s just a guy with hair and rubber on his face and it’s difficult to believe that this thing could tear a man’s head off.
By JESSE BARTELSMirada Staff
MOVIE REVIEW
An ancient Chinese proverb says, “Women hold up half the sky.” In other words, if we exploit and abuse women, then one-half of the world falls apart.
Most of the world lives in pov-erty, but poor women have tradition-ally been devalued, not just because of their poverty, but because of their gender. They are the people to whom anything can be done, and there are no laws to stop it. But the time to take action is now. Pulitzer Prize winning authors of “Half the Sky,” Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, assert that in this century, the struggle of women to be recognized as valuable human beings is of paramount im-portance. In the 21st century, gender inequality is just as important a moral challenge as slavery was to the 19th, or totalitarianism in the 20th.
“Half the Sky” is different from many books about human rights be-cause it not only contains the statisti-cal evidence of injustice, it tells the
human and true stories of real people. Kristof and WuDunn bring some of the poorest countries, like Ethiopia, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan out of the shadows, and put the spotlight on their struggles. Kristof and Wu-Dunn explain why women are suf-fering. They are mistreated because their cultures do not respect them. It is not only their governments who dehumanize them, but it is also their fathers, brothers, sons and even moth-ers.
Each chapter of “Half the Sky” features a different story of a woman who has unimaginably suffered, yet survived in spite of overwhelming abuse. In some societies, a man who secretly wishes to marry a woman, first kidnaps and rapes her.
The young woman, now ruined and worthless, then has no choice but to marry the abductor. In most Third World countries, food is first given to the sons; the daughters will eat only if there is anything left. The same is true for medical care. Families will take a boy to the doctor, but they will just take a “wait-and-see” approach to the
illness of a girl. Young girls are rou-tinely sold into prostitution and kept as prisoners, working 15 hours a day, seven days a week.
One of the best stories that tells how solidarity can change society is the story about Usha Narayane, from India. Although she had been to col-lege, she was from the Untouchable
class, and she and her family lived in a filthy slum. For years, all of the fami-lies had been the victims of a gang of terrorizing thugs who raped and tor-tured young girls. The police would never do anything.
But one day, Usha risked her life when she defied the gang after they had raped a 13-year-old girl. As they broke into her shack, she protested in the only way she could, by threatening to burn the shack down, which would have killed them as well.
The gang was intimidated and ran away, but they vowed vicious revenge. Then, all of the women, taking cour-age from Usha’s courage, joined to-gether and marched to the city. They forced the court and the police to pay attention to them. Eventually, they succeeded, and made the slum city a livable place.
Because of Usha’s example, the women rose up against oppression and eliminated it. The society was dra-matically changed when the women demanded justice.
But the book’s message goes deep-er. The authors argue that freeing
women from “slavery” not only helps them, but also benefits their society, their economy and ultimately the en-tire world.
If women are given a fair oppor-tunity to be equal participants in the world, they can become an asset not only to themselves, but also to the economy.
A Cambodian woman named Srey Rath has a small business selling T-shirts, hats, etc., which she started with a $400 micro-credit loan. She has a life now, but for years she was lit-erally thrown away, drugged, beaten, and forced to work 15 hours a day in a brothel. Now she is a part of the local economy.
Women are the solution to global crises. There is a correlation between education of women and terrorism. The more education and empower-ment women in the Third World have the less violence and terrorism in the society. Right now, the world’s prob-lems, and the reason it is falling apart, is that half the sky is not being held up. The world will not be whole until women are allowed to be equal.
BOOK REVIEW
‘Sky’ promotes equality for women all over the worldBy ABBIE JENNINGS
Mirada Staff
See WOLFMAN page 17
For two more nights, students and parents alike have the opportunity to be enchanted by the River City Theatre Company’s rendition of the popular musical, “The Wiz.”
Inspired by L. Frank Baum’s classic story “The Wizard of Oz”, the original Broadway production made its debut in 1975, earning seven Tony Awards.
However, since the show is over 35 years old, the River City Theatre Co. plans to renew “The Wiz”, providing the audience with a show full of unexpected twists, fun music and talented actors, including seniors Alison Burns, Meghan Cohan and junior Blake Thomas.
Burns, who has been acting with the River City Theatre Co. since the beginning of her junior year, will be playing the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.
“Evillene is a dream character because she is over the top and I get to be someone completely different from myself,” Burns said. “I’ve been working very hard to live up to the expectation of the ‘Wicked ‘ol Witch’ persona.”
Burns has not only performed with the River City The-atre Co., but she has also performed in Rio performances, such as “Edward Scissorhands” in 2008. While she enjoyed performing in a school production, Burns prefers acting with the River City Theatre Co.
“The competition level is much higher in terms of get-ting roles, but I think that the competition pushes the actors to improve and challenge themselves,” Burns said. “Overall, I think that RCTC has been a better experience because it is a much larger production and has allowed me to develop as a singer, actor and dancer.”
After having such unforgettable experiences with the River City Theatre Co., Burns is going to continue to pur-sue musical theater in college because she enjoys to sing and perform.
“I’m not planning to pursue it as a career, though,” Burns said. “Acting and singing is more of a hobby and a creative outlet than a potential job.”
Thomas, like Burns, has not only performed for the Riv-er City Theatre Co. for seven years but has also been active
in the Betty Miller Theater for Reader’s Theater Productions like “Grease”.
“An RCTC production is done on a much bigger scale, where Rio’s are personal and small,” Thomas said. “They both have their goods and their bads.”
Thomas, who has always liked “The Wiz”, had hopes of getting the role of the Tin Man. However, he is happy with his role as the Scarecrow.
“I love performing my song and falling on stage,” Thom-as said.
After rehearsing for the past two months, all of the hard work has paid off and the first performance was a success for the River City Theatre Co.
“It was thoroughly entertaining,” senior Aaron Goodrich said. “I loved Alison’s costume; it was a stunning, giant, red hot mess!”
After hearing about the show, senior Andrea Ott has decided to attend tonight’s performance and support her friends.
“Alison’s got mad pipes and I want to hear her sing,” Ott said. “Plus, Blake is always fun to watch perform, and Meghan’s just a doll.”
“The Wiz” will be playing tonight at 7:30 PM at Hiram Johnson High School Auditorium, and closing night is to-morrow.
General admission tickets can be purchased online for $15 at www.rivercitytheatre.org, or by calling (916)-457-RCTC.
The Raider Quiz1. How will YOU protect YOURSELF from the killer whale menace?a. Wedge their gaping maws open with a bone, just like
Luke Skywalker and the Rancor.b. Get yo’ fitties, we goin’ whale huntin’!c. As a representative from OPETH (Orca Pods for the
Ethical Treatment of Humans) I would like to conveymy sincerest apologies and promise that we will takeimmediate action to remedy this problem. Unfortu-nately, humans are considered a delicacy, and illegal trafficking is high.
d. I own a submarine. Torpedoes away. That is all.
2. What “slappin’ new beatz” are playing on your iPod?a. Ice Cream Paint Job by Dorrough...I can now confirm
that my Chevy’s rims are indeed big, and they do ride quite well. And it is, in fact, tuned up like a NASCAR pit stop.
b. “Telephono”, the Señor Gaga song that is NOT a rip-off of that other dude’s song.
c. That new whatever by that city of them nocturnal birds what eat rodents. Somethin’ about ice cream sunsets or somethin’, and insects on fire. Kids these days, I’ll swoon!
d. “Tie Me Down” by New Boyz feat. Ray J. Because I’m 17 too, and I OBVIOUSLY have so many women that I can complain about an especially needy one. You know what, those New Boyz are jerks, and I bet they know, too.
3. What is your favorite Olympic event?a. Barrel Jumping. It actually used to be an event, who
knew?b. Any event involving the long-awaited return of Eddie
“The Eagle” Edwards.c. The 500-meter arrow-dodging dance-fight.d. Figure Skating. The only event no one wins. Especially
not the spectators.-Alex McFall & Scott MacDonald
Providence based artist strays from the pack
Christopher Forgues is one hell of a “creator” to be not-so-specific. Forgues has long been an active par-ticipant in the art and music world.
Forgues’ first venture into art was a zine he made himself that went under the name “Low Tide.”
Forgues never actually signs his full name on any of the comics he draws, only signing them “C.F.” Forgues says, “Mostly I wanted to divorce my name from the everyday world so that when I was done drawing I wouldn’t have to connect it with banks, schools, all the places that only keep your name around in case they want to use or control you. Initials are connected with something more inscrutable, un-usable. Like a library catalog call num-ber: unimportant in itself, but also powerful. I didn’t want to disrespect my family, so I simply shortened my legal name, deleting my middle initial, to keep it simple. I also like the play
on words of “initials” as “beginnings.” Initials are still new and untouchable even if you print them over and over, the name is protected in a strange way. More noticeable and less noticeable at the same time.”
In 2008 Forgues released the first issue of his comic “Powr Mastrs.” Each issue is 104 pages and The story follows several oddly named char-acters and doesn’t focus so much on story but more the relationships be-tween the characters and how they act and think.
Forgues’ stories lean towards events that happen in daily life and feature characters that are introverted. This style seems to be inherently inter-esting because so many comics don’t do this.
While many focus on action and a driven plot, Forgues likes to linger on topics that may or may not be impor-tant to the storyline, giving his stories a very relaxed feel to them.
Forgues’ artwork is also another high point to his comics due to his endless imagination and hyper-bizarre style that seems to effortless yet ex-tremely detailed and intricate.
Aside from comics, Forgues also has multiple music projects. In 1999, Forgues started his noise project called Kites.
Kites featured many sounds not of-ten heard before because Forgues cre-ated many of the electronics that made their way into his songs, something he prides himself in.
Many would classify Kites as a noise project although Forgues incor-porated many elements of folk as seen in his critically lauded album, “Peace Trials.”
Forgues released three wide re-lease albums from 2004 to 2007 and countless underground and extremely limited pieces starting from 1999 go-
ing all the way until 2009, the year Forgues ended Kites.
Although Kites ended, it was not the end of Forgues’ venture into ex-perimental music.
Kites’ demise brought about two new projects from Forgues, his slow, droning casio-pop group Daily Life, and his avant-garde electronic music project, Mark Lord.
Daily Life seems to be a quasi-audio representation of Powr Mastrs in that the whole sound of the group seems to drift and make time seem in-
consequential and nonexistent. The name of the group, which
consists of Forgues and somewhat frequent collaborator Sakiko Mori, influences the lyrics heavily.
Most songs, if they have lyrics at all, are like a trip through the sub-conscious of Forgues as he talk/sings about conversations and simple ac-tions that people do every day and may not think about.
Mark Lord on the other hand is more similar to Kites in that it features many of the broken and destroyed sounds of Forgues’ handmade ma-chines but also incorporates simple beats that give the music a driving feeling.
As in Kites, Forgues incorporates abstract, surrealistic prose that give the songs a dark and heavy feeling of a dystopian world where everything is completely obliterated and utterly an-nihilated with no hope.
Forgues’ whole aesthetic seems to be that of making the best art he can for the fewest amount of people, re-leasing hyper-limited tapes and CDs, but his output is purely insane.
With his art and music both being equally unique and entertaining, any-thing and everything he does is any-thing but short of great.
CHRISTIAN OLDHAM
ON EDGE
Christopher Forgues’ work is often extremely detailed, so much so that it can be incredibly overwhelming, as seen in this print he made featuring characters from his six part comic, Powr Mastrs.
Features Friday, March 26, 2010Page 14 • The Mirada
‘The Wiz’ to perform two more nights in OzBy MOLLY INGRAM
Editor-in- Chief
REMAINING SHOW DATES:
Tonight: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Hiram Johnson H.S.
6879 14th Avenue at 65th St.
Recent Records
She & Him“Volume II”
Popular actress returns to music
Great lyrics, inspiring thoughts, however a more menacing beat than usual for Rocket Summer.
The guitar driven indie rock style of music is shown through another CD, “Of Men and Angels.”
The new CD “Of Men and Angels”, doesn’t disappoint fans with the traditional indie-rock beat, but it does stray from the uplifting beat that other albums contained.
“Of Men and Angels” is one of five other albums, all written, recorded, and produced by Byrce Avary.
It all started in Texas as a solo project, play-ing all the instruments in his own band and singing Avary began to become famous.
Although each of Rocket Summers CDs’
has their own little twing of life; for example in their last album, all the songs are upbeat with an indie twist, this CD fails to produce that same uplifting tempo that the band is so well know for, with a more mainstream hard rock sound instead of their normal light tempo rock.
It almost overpowers Avary, and drowns out the lyrics that were so thoughtfully written.
The lyrics have a lot of passion flowing through them, but unfortunately, due to the more drastic sounds, the tracks take on a mel-ancholy feel.
Creating a depressing tone, instead of the inspiring moments Avary meant to create. Es-pecially the new song “Tara, I’m Terrible”; he really was terrible.
In all the other albums, including “You Gotta Believe”, Avary was able to vary his voice each song, this was not the case in “Of Men and Angels”.
His voice was edgy and wavering, leaving a heavy, scratching imprint on each word.
Furthermore in all of his other albums he makes sure that each song has their own mean-ing, but in “Of Angels and Men”, there are many repeating songs with the same message.
It gets a little repetitive and annoying after a while.
All in all it was an okay album, without any-thing special to distinguish it from the rest of the music industry.
The album didn’t fit the expectations fans had hoped for, let alone want.
-Gina Garibaldi
She & Him is a relatively unknown band comprised of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Deschanel is a multi-talented, unique artist who excels in acting and singing, while M. Ward is a recently discovered singer-songwrit-er from Portland, Oregon. Due to the similar-ity of their folk indie styles, a collaboration was not unexpected.
Their first album, Volume One, was re-leased in 2008 and debuted at #81 on the Bill-board Charts. It was also voted the number one album of 2008 in Paste Magazine. While they’re somewhat unknown, Volume Two was expected to be a great album as well.
While this album is different than most re-leased recently in that it doesn’t consist purely
of beats, it will not necessarily be the most memorable.
The album starts off slow with a few songs that stick to Deschanel’s typical old-time style that is reminiscent of the 1950s.
These first few songs are all uplifting and cutesy, good songs for lying on the beach in summer. “Me and You” is the first song which differs greatly in that it has a slower rhythm. This song starts to dig into the deeper feelings and is simple and beautiful.
The album then progresses to be simi-lar but still separate from the first part of the album as well as Volume One. The last song in this album, “If You Can’t Sleep,” separated vastly from the rest of the album. It has a more organic feel in that the instruments are toned down and voices are layered in something similar to the style of Imogen Heap or Emmy Rossum.
Overall, the songs in this album are very creative. The melodies are comforting and cheerful, with unique keys and rhythms. The album is mostly dominated by Deschanel, with undertones of Ward.
While her unique voice differentiates this album, it is somewhat akin to a combination of Taylor Swift’s lyrics with Ingrid Michael-son’s melodies and feel, and a hint of Michelle Branch.
This semi-unknown album was worth lis-tening to, and is very relaxing, though it won’t be the most listened to album on my iPod.
-Summer ParkerPerry
The Rocket Summer“Of Men and Angels”
Rocket Summer’s ‘Angels’ is ‘heavenly’
Forest Swords channels the UK vibe
Hanna Terese Nilsson and Rasmus Emanuel Svensson are two extremely talented visual and music artists based in Sweden. The two form a group called Smycken, which in English trans-lates to “necklace.” Smycken releases their music in very limited editions and usually very quietly, informing their fans through their Flickr page ac-count instead of their Myspace or main site.
The band is part of a new wave movement happening throughout Sweden with such bands as Pistol Disko, who Smycken collaborates with. Their music is very hard to pin down because they have so many sounds that they work with. From the songs I have heard they mix regular instruments such as keyboards and bass guitar with heavily edited vocals which either have heavy amounts of delay on them or are blown
out. Their songs have many different styles as well as different sounds. While some songs may be straightforward, others may have intricate rhythms featuring flutes and other “natural” sounding instruments, making them sound simi-lar to Lucky Dragons.
Also the fact that they blend together almost every song, no matter the style, keeps the music interesting and an heavily varied. In their new-est release “Waater/Marble Arches,” the group starts off the first of two 10 minute tracks with a recording of a flute with heavy reverb and cuts off into the sound of someone running across what sounds like a large room.
The first “song,” so to speak, is a bright and washed out pop song with barely-there drums and guitar that is put through so many pedals it sounds like the sun hitting perfectly clear water on a beautiful day, staying true to the title of the track, “Waater.” The track fades over to a plunky sounding keyboard with droning flute and a shaker keeping a strange rhythm. For how odd this sounds it doesn’t actually stray away from the overall feel of Smycken.
The second track, “Marble Arches,” starts off with the plucking of a Russian harp that transi-tions into a quiet loop and soon forms the sec-ond “song.” Another metamorphosis leads the listener into a controlled chaos of keyboard loops and a random assortment of vocal delays. The release is very satisfying, for within the 20 minutes of material, there is a perfect amount of music of varying styles to show just what Smyck-en is capable of.
-Christian Oldham
“Waater/Marble Arches”Smycken
Smycken shows off sounds with limited release
“Dagger Paths”Forest Swords
Straight out of Liverpool, England comes Forest Swords. Forest Swords is a pseudonym for an unknown artist living life out in the United Kingdom, and creating a very unique style of music demonstrated in their new al-bum, “Dagger Paths.”
The whole entire album is indeed only seven songs long. And I know what you’re thinking, “that’s so short.” But trust me if you take the time to listen to each song, you will hear different and discreet soothing sounds through out the whole album.
The best description for “Dagger Paths,” is beat-based music for a high-noon showdown.
“Dagger Paths,” starts out the album with a six minute and 23 second song, called “Mi-
arches.” This song begins with an eerie, intense sound, almost sounding as if it was coming straight from a horror movie.
That beat stays strong through the entire song, but as you listen closer you hear can chopped R&B samples giving some variety to the song.
The second song titled, “Hoylake Mist,” starts with a very intriguing sound, blending together with other various sounds to create this seven and a half minute song. Half way through the song you begin to hear an eerie voice that drives the song.
This seven track album gives us a good sense through music as to what Liverpool is like. Each song reflects the distinct landscape in which surrounds Liverpool. The coastland, the river, and the woodland. Each different song depicts a vivid image in my head of the different landscapes.
All of the songs give off the impression that they are all relating to the woodland in which lays near Liverpool. It paints a crystal clear picture in my head of a damp dark forest, with little light.
“Dagger Paths,” ties up the album with the final song, “Erroa.” It begins with a whistling noise, and changes quickly into a beat full of power and life that leave a good feeling in you as the song ends.
The very different sounds that are let loose on this album create an echoing sound that stays in your head all day long.
-Tate Rountree
FeaturesFriday, March 26, 2010 Page 15 • The Mirada
The ridiculousness reaches a head during the final act of the film. Without giving anything away, there’s a huge action scene that feels com-pletely out of place, with the wolf man jumping off of the walls, Matrix-style.
I went to see the film with a friend and we were both laughing out loud. Quite the opposite of the filmmaker’s intentions, I imagine.
The story wasn’t the only disap-pointment in the film. For example, the musical score by Danny Elfman quotes entire phrases and instrumen-tation from Wojciech Kilar’s score for “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” a major disappointment, as the soundtrack was the last thing in the film I held out hope for.
However, one thing that was not disappointing was the acting (mostly). Specifically, I loved Hugo Weaving as Francis Aberline, an inspector from Scotland Yard who is investigating Talbot’s murders.
Weaving is very dry and sarcastic in his delivery; we know that he sus-pects Talbot and he just barely hides his suspicion from him. It’s great.
Anthony Hopkins is also good as Lawrence’s father, Sir John Talbot. He is cold and unemotional, and yet strangely poetic, often offering some sort of cheesy, eye-rolling philo-sophical diatribe about the moon, or the beast within. However, Hopkins
makes this hokey, pretentious dia-logue work.
However, I simply don’t under-stand why, of all people, Benicio Del Toro got the part of Lawrence Talbot. He’s a fine actor, but he doesn’t fit with the rest of the cast.
He looks completely different from his father, and his Hispanic ac-cent bleeds through, despite his best attempts to keep an American accent.
Apart from that, he’s just unappeal-ing. He slogs through the film with a constant blank, waxy expression on
his face and tries his best to emote when the time comes, but he just comes off as bored.
Overall, while the film has some good ideas, decent acting, and great visuals, it feels disjointed and bland. I suppose that’s what happens when you edit a film beyond comprehen-sion.
If you’re a werewolf fan and you absolutely must see “The Wolf man”, then go ahead, but I recommend find-ing another moon to howl at.
Features Friday, March 26, 2010Page 16 • The Mirada
Heather Loewe, 11What is the first thing you notice about a guy?Big, giant muscles.
What’s the nicest thing a guy has ever done for you?A guy wrote me a beautiful rap song.
What celebrity would you like to date?Lil’ Wayne, that’s not even a question.
Describe your perfect guy in three words.Tall, Dark, Tattoos.
What’s your ideal date?Go to Chicken and Waffles, then head over to a rap battle with my man.
-Tate Rountree
Damont Nelson, 11Describe your perfect date. My perfect date would be an old fashioned dinner and a movie.
What’s your best pick up line? How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice...Hi my name is Damont.
Describe your dream girl. Very attractive eyes, around 5’10, and she has to be very outgoing.
What celebrity would you date? My celebrity date would have to be Meghan Fox.
What is the first thing you notice about a girl? Her eyes.
-Tate Rountree
Bachelor and Bachelorette
How did you get your car and where did you get it from?I was lucky enough to get this car from my parents for my sixteenth birthday from a used-car dealership. How long have you had it?About eight months.
How long have you had your li-cense?Since August, about six months. What’s your craziest driving expe-rience? I was driving and all of a sudden my friend popped out of the backseat and freaked me out.
Any songs you sing to yourself while you drive?
Whatever is on the radio, or on the CD I’m listening to. What do you like most about your car? I love how it is the perfect size. It also has a V8 engine so it picks up speed really quickly.
Describe you car in three words.Comfortable, roomy and mine!
JARETT HARTMAN/Mirada Staff
Car of the Issue
Kelly Rodgers, 112007 Volvo XC90
-Tate Rountree
Upcoming EventsOn CampusBlood DriveToday
Santa Cruz Jazz Festival (Off Campus)Friday-Saturday, Mar. 26-27
Spring BreakMonday-Friday, Mar. 29-Apr. 2
Open House BBQWednesday, Apr. 75:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.
Open HouseWednesday, Apr. 7
Monterrey Next Genera-tion Jazz FestivalFriday-Sunday, Apr. 9-11
2nd Annual Shakespeare Film Festival Thursday, Apr. 156 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
STAR Rally Friday, Apr. 16
Junior PromSaturday, Apr. 178 P.M. - 11 P.M.
Special Spring PromFriday, Apr. 23
Music & ArtsGun Outfit, TBASaturday, Mar. 27, The Hub, $5, 8:30 P.M.
Titus Andronicus, Let’s Wrestle, TBASaturday, Mar. 27, Luigi’s Fungarden, $5, 9:00 P.M.
Wizzard Sleeve, Static Static, Boron and the GrebesSunday, Mar. 28, The Hub, $5, 8:00 P.M.
White Mice, TBATuesday, Mar. 30, The Hub, $5, 8:00 P.M.
Repressive Proteins, Buk Buk Big Ups, MOM, TBASunday, Apr. 4, The Villa-nova House, $5, 7:00 P.M.
Yoshitake Expe, TBAThursday, Apr. 15, Funcastle, Donations, 8:00 P.M.
Ganglians, Psychedelic Horse****, Strange BoysFriday, Apr. 16, TBA, $5, 8:30 P.M.
Jooklo Duo, Cotton Mu-seum, DMPHFriday, Apr. 23, DAM House, Donations, 7:00 P.M.
The Wolf Man howls at the moon. A comatose Benicio Del Toro plays main character Lawrence Talbot, in a boring and uninspired performance. Unfortunately for this Academy-Award winning actor, his performance cannot save this movie from being a stinker.
WOLF MAN: Too much too quicklyContinued from WOLFMAN page 16
Adrenaline pumping, black war paint, cute hand-designed T-shirts and a big group of excited high school girls can mean only one thing: powder puff football.
On March 11 the junior girls took on the senior girls in the annual pow-der puff game on the football field, and for the first time in powder puff histo-ry, the juniors tied the seniors 28-28.
"Playing the seniors was really fun," junior Sarah Lam said. "And it was even better that we tied!"
The game started with the juniors on the offensive and the seniors on the defensive. Nerves running high, the juniors hiked the ball to quarterback Emma Severson, who then handed it off to junior Candace Edwards. Ed-wards ran the ball the full 50 yards of the powder puff sized field to the end zone, scoring a touchdown for the ju-niors on the first play of the game.
"I didn't really think about it, I just told myself to keep running," Edwards said. "When I ended up scoring I was surprised."
However, the seniors did not let this get them down, and they came back soon enough with another two touchdowns to put them in the lead.
"We were disappointed that the ju-niors scored at the very beginning," se-nior Ashley Taylor said. "But we knew we had to get back out there and start scoring."
The game tossed back and forth between both sides, with numerous touchdowns by both teams. During the fourth quarter, junior Shannon Louther scored one last touchdown for the juniors, leaving them down by only one point. Then Edwards kicked an extra point to tie the game.
"Before this game all I had ever heard was "the seniors always win", so tieing the game up so close to the end was really exciting," junior Laila
Rashid said.The pressure was on for the seniors,
who tried to run the ball as far up the field as possible to score one last time before the game was over. However, they only made it to about 30 yards out. There, senior Sherene Thompson
tried score a field goal, but unfortu-nately missed. "I will admit that I was a little disappointed that I missed that last field goal, but with my knee being injured and playing the whole game, I'm just glad that I was able to do what I could," she said.
The juniors excitedly cheered, real-izing they had tied, while the seniors tried to be positive about the outcome.
"As long as we got to hit some peo-ple and wear cute shirts, the tie is okay with me," senior Haley Val said.
Already prepping for next year, the
junior girls can't wait to take on the sophomores next spring.
"Next year's juniors won't know what hit them," Severson said. "The class of 2011 is definitely the class to beat."
Sports Page 17 • The Mirada
Powder Puff: Juniors make historyBy DANIELLE ARBIOS
Mirada Staff
Sophomore Gabe Fuentes and junior Angelo Trevino have re-cently qualified for and competed in Masters for wrestling.
This year, Fuentes and Trevino were the only two wrestlers from Rio that qualified. Masters is a qualifying tournament for the state tournament, which was held in Stockton this year.
Rio typically has two to four wrestlers qualify, though some schools have a majority of their varsity line-up qualify.
This was Trevino’s first year of qualifying, and he lost two matches and won three. He was only one match away from medal-ing and two matches away from qualifying for the state champion-ships.
Fuentes won two matches and lost two. He was only one match away from qualifying for the second day of Masters, mean-ing he was two matches away from medaling and three from quali-fying for State. Fuentes also qualified last year, winning one match and losing two.
Both said there was a good crowd of spectators at Masters.
However, at typical matches for Rio’s team, Fuentes says the wres-tlers “get hardly any spectators at all.” Trevino believes they “de-serve a lot more.”
Fuentes and Trevino have been training hard and have focused on wrestling from a young age. Fuentes has been wrestling for sev-en years, while Trevino for six. Trevino began wrestling because he enjoys the one-on-one competition. Wrestling is one of these
sports, consisting of three, two-minute rounds, the winner having the most points at the end of the third round.
Fuentes began playing the sport because his dad used to wres-tle and encouraged him to start. Now, Fuentes and the rest of the team are coached by his dad.
Trevino and Fuentes are great additions to the sixteen-member team, with coaches Kelly Lanthier, Max Fuentes, Greg Elie, Garret and Alman Kerstie.
“My coaches are really supportive,” Trevino said. “They’re not just there showing us new moves, but making sure we eat a big breakfast after weigh-ins or even giving us a big hug after a big win.”
Fuentes agrees, saying the “coaches are great” and he aspires “to be as good as some of them.”
Trevino and Fuentes enjoy the sport and are considering wres-tling in college. Fuentes has already begun talking to the UC Davis coach about possibly joining a college wrestling team. But for now, the sophomores are training hard for next year’s Masters.
“I train every day, even over the summer,” Fuentes said. “I want to be ready to do even better next season.”
ELENA TOWNSEND/Tesoro Staff
Junior Angelo Trevino takes down his opponent during a wrestling match versus Mira Loma.
ALEX REINNOLDT/Mirada Staff
Junior Morgan Newman aggressively pulls down Senior Haley Val as she reaches for her flag during the powder puff game on March 11. Newman got injured later in the game after rolling her ankle in another aggressive play.
Wrestlers Fuentes and Trevino qualify for mastersBy DAYNA ISAACS
Mirada Staff
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sports Friday, March 26, 2010Page 18 • The Mirada
Rio cowgirl sets rodeo recordAlthough the frontier era has passed, the
cowgirl spirit lives in rodeo champion Mikkiaela Elam.
Elam, a petite blond-haired freshman who goes by the nickname of Mikki, was thrust into the world of horse riding when she was a tod-dler. Or maybe it was in her blood as her family has been in rodeos since the 1930s and her great uncle was a professional bronc rider in the ’60s. Today, Elam holds the California record for pole bending in her age group and is a top junior com-petitor in barrel racing.
Her ride to success began at age 2 when a family friend helped her onto her first pony.
“His name was Spankey,” Mikkiaela said. “I took care of him, groomed him, did everything for him all the time, 24/7. He was my pony.”
With the continued support of her mom’s best friend Shelby Joanette, Mikkiaela would soon ride into the world of Rodeo.
“My mom’s friend [Shelby] who just recently died, she was really big into rodeo,” Elam said. “And when my mom had me she said it was go-ing to be perfect, you know. She put me up on a horse and she pretty much said I was a natural.”
Kimberly Elam, Mikki’s mom, said her friend was a great mentor.
“Shelby had an incredible personality, was an excellent equestrian,” she said. “She taught Mikki how to handle a horse from the ground up.”
Shelby also gave Elam her first big horse, Angel. She discovered the joy of riding, despite “terrifying“ her mom.
“When I was three, I was riding up in the mountains near a small creek once. I fell into it and it smashed my head right open because the horse rolled over on me and my mom,” Elam said. “My mom only had a few bruises, but it smashed a hole right into my head. She thought it was dangerous, but I wouldn’t let my mom take him away from me. I loved him.”
This wouldn’t be the last time Elam was in-jured, and that fall may have been good training for a rodeo career.
It wasn’t until Elam was about 8 that she started riding in the rodeo. As soon as she started competing, she was roped in for good.
“Rodeo basically takes all of my time,” Elam said. “I’d definitely want to make a career out of it.”
Mikkiaela, who is ranked No. 4 in the Top 10 Elite in California, is the Junior Pro California Champion in two separate Rodeo events: Pole
Bending and Barrel Racing.Elam has been riding her horse Kona, who
also goes by the competition name Princess Cowgirl, for the past four years.
The first event Mikkiaela and Kona partici-pate in is the barrel race.
“In Barrel Racing, you have three barrels and you go around them in a cloverleaf fashion,” Elam said. “There’s short courses and long cours-es. Usually if you’re good, you want to get below 17 seconds on the short courses. It’s easy for me to get between a 16 and 17 second time, and on the long courses I can get an 18 second course.”
The second event, Pole Bending, is much like a slalom course in which racers go in and out of six poles twice around and run back to the start. As opposed to the speed oriented Barrel Races, Pole Bending is considered a skill event.
“My pony can run eights and nines. She’s ac-tually got the record time in Poles 1 for the CGA (California Gymkhana Association).”
Elam and Kona first broke the CGA record in 2008 at Clements Buckaroo Arena, and their record still stands today.
However, records don’t come without hours of practice and persistence. Mikkiaela spends a majority of her free time riding her horses in Elk Grove or near the American River, and tries to compete in any small event she can, no matter the circumstances.
“When I was 11 years old, I had a friend over and she was riding my horse around and I was walking her. And the horse reared up because its nose hit the shock fins on accident and my friend dropped,” Elam said. “I lunged in front of her and pushed her out of the way. She hit the fence and had a couple of bruises, but the horse landed right on my foot. But I rode that night in a show.”
Despite her body being in agony, she still found the ability to ride.
“My ankle split wide open and I needed stitches, but I never got them,” Elma said. “I just taped it up. I rode in a little Rio Linda competi-tion and I just tried to get my barrel time. I ended up knocking over all of the barrels during my run, but I needed to ride. I wanted to ride.”
When Mikkiaela’s not spending time with her horses and setting CGA records, she’s an or-dinary freshman who is trying to adjust to high school life. Elam, who was home schooled in middle school so she could train more, says she really enjoys Rio.
“I definitely like high school (after home schooling),” Elam said. “It’s good having a lot of friends now.”
Friends at Rio say Elam’s intensity eases up away from the arena. She’s better known for her smile than for competing with injuries that need-ed medical attention.
“She just hangs out with friends and she’s laid back,” said her friend freshman Rebecca Sanford. “She knows how to cheer people up.”
But Elam still has intense hopes for a future in rodeo.
“Hopefully I’ll get into the WPR. Since Shel-by died, I just really want to keep riding for her.”
By JARETT HARTMANMirada Staff
Varsity basketball falls to St. Mary’s in sectionsAs the boys varsity basketball team filed out of
the St. Mary’s locker room, silence filled the gym-nasium.
When they slowly reached the floor, heads were turned down and eyes filled with tears. Rowdy Raiders waited for their team with welcoming, open arms.
Emotion surged throughout the crowd as the re-alization of what had happened hit both them and the team. Rio had lost a close game on the road, 56-61.
The second playoff game was even more intense than the first playoff game; both teams were neck in neck throughout the entire game.
Raiders beat Livingston in the first playoff game, 80-52. Rio had the lead, with an enormous support-ing crowd that left no space to breathe (in a good way) in the stands.
“The Rowdy Raiders were amazing. I don’t think the season would have been the same without them,” senior Masson Prowse said.
The starting line up was introduced with a spot-light, each team member getting their five seconds of appreciation and fame.
With an easy win the team headed to their next venture, the second playoff game against St. Marys High School.
The Rowdy Raiders organized two school buses for fans so they could accompany the team as they made their way to Stockton.
The game was exciting throughout with a close score. The team was led by seniors Zach Nathanson, the regular season scoring leader; Masson Prowse, who led the team in rebounds; and Abe Leibovitz, the regular season leader in assists and steals.
Rio lost but they ended the game breathing hard and knowing they tried their hardest.
Although the varsity basketball team didn’t win playoffs, they did win the Capital Athletic League for the first time in over nine years; which accord-ing to senior Prowse was great.
“It was awesome. Now we get our picture in the spot that was blank for nine years and a nice banner to post.”
By GINA GARIBALDIMirada Staff
Courtesy of Mikkiaela Elam
Top: Freshman Mikki Elam navigates around a barrel in one of her many rodeo com-petitions. Bottom: Elam cares for her horse Kona at the State Finals in 2009.
MOLLY INGRAM/Mirada Staff
Junior Nolan Adams jumps for the ball as teammates, senior Abe Leibo-vitz and junior Andrew Haugen, wait for the pass.
MOLLY INGRAM/Mirada Staff
Senior Zach Nathanson takes a shot dur-ing a game against Mira Loma.
Varsity Girls SoftballMar. 8 @ Vanden L 0-10Mar. 11 vs. Linden W 4-3Mar. 11 vs. Escalon L 0-14Mar. 13 vs. Vista del Lago L 0-5Mar. 13 vs. Placer L 1-3Mar. 16 @ Folsom L 2-4Mar. 18 vs. Highlands W 28-0Mar. 22 vs. Argonaut L 2-13Mar. 25 vs. Florin 4:00Apr. 10 vs. TBA TBAApr. 13 @ Bella Vista 4:00Apr. 15 @ El Camino 4:00Apr. 20 vs. Casa Roble 4:00Apr. 22 vs. Del Campo 4:00Apr. 27 @ Mira Loma 4:00Apr. 29 vs. Bella Vista 4:00May 4 vs. El Camino 4:00May 6 @ Casa Roble 4:00May 13 vs. Mira Loma 4:00
Varsity Boys GolfMar. 16 vs. Casa Roble 3:00 @ MatherMar. 18 vs. Mira Loma L 227-218 @ Ancil HoffmanMar. 23 vs. Bella Vista 3:00 @ Ancil HoffmanMar. 25 vs. Del Campo 3:00 @MatherApr. 6 vs. El Camino 3:00 @Ancil HoffmanApr. 8 vs. Casa Roble 3:00 @Ancil HoffmanApr. 13 vs. Mira Loma 3:00 @Haggin OaksApr. 15 vs. Bella Vista 3:00 @Haggin OaksApr. 20 vs. Del Campo 3:00 @Ancil HoffmanApr. 22 vs. El Camino 3:00 @Ancil HoffmanApr. 26 vs. League Tourn. 12:30May 3 vs. League Tourn. 12:30May 10 vs. Section Tourn. 8:00 amMay 17 vs. Sac-Joaquin Masters 8:00 amMay 24 vs. NorCal Tourn. 8:00 am
Schedules and ResultsDate Opponent TimeDate Opponent Time
Varsity Boys BaseballMar. 2 vs. Vista L 2-3Mar. 5 @ Jesuit L 0-10Mar. 8 vs. Folsom W 22-5Mar. 10 vs. Union Mine W 2-1Mar. 16 @ McClatchy W 12-0Mar. 18 vs. River City W 10-2Mar. 19 @ Del Oro L 3-13Mar. 24 vs. Atwater W 8-0Mar. 29 @ Parker** 3:00Mar. 30 vs. San Pedro** 12:00Mar. 31 vs. Clairemont** 12:00Apr. 9 vs. Bella Vista* 6:30Apr. 12 vs. El Camino* 4:30Apr. 14 @ Mira Loma* 4:30Apr. 16 @ Del Campo* 4:30Apr. 19 @ Casa Roble* 4:30Apr. 21 @ Bella Vista* 4:30Apr. 23 vs. Bella Vista* 4:30Apr. 26 @ El Camino* 4:30Apr. 28 vs. El Camino* 4:30Apr. 30 vs. Mira Loma*` 4:30May 3 @ Mira Loma* 4:30May 5 vs. Del Campo* 4:30May 7 @ Del Campo* 4:30May 10 vs. Casa Roble* 4:30May 12 @ Casa Roble* 4:30*conference game **tournament game
Track and FieldMar. 6 CAL invite @ B.V. B:16th G:10thMar. 10 Center Meet 1 B:5th G:4thMar. 20 Lefebvre Relays 9:00 amMar. 24 Center Meet 2 @ B.V. B:5th G:4thMar. 26 @ El Dorado HS 3:00Apr. 10 Bronco Invite @ B.V. 9:00 amApr. 16 *#Woody Wilson TBA @ UC Davis Apr. 16 Del Oro Invite 1:00 Apr. 21 Center Meet 3 @ B.V. 3:30Apr. 23 Distance Carnival 5:30Apr. 30 Twilight Meet @ El Dorado HSMay 1 *Meet of Champions 11:00 @ Hughes Stadium May 7 #Nevada Union Invite TBAMay 13 CAL Finals @ B.V. 3:30May 19/21 *#SJS Div. 2 Trials 3:30/4May 27/28 *#SJS Masters Meet 3:00 @ Hughes StadiumJune 4/5 *#C.I.F. State Meet 2:00 @ Buchanan HS* Must qualify for Meet # Varsity only
Varsity Swim and Dive
Varsity Boys VolleyballMar. 4 @Jesuit L 0-3Mar. 11 vs. Del Campo W 3-0Mar. 16 @ Ponderosa L 0-3Mar. 18 @ Vista del Lago W 3-0Mar. 23 vs. El Camino W 3-2Mar. 25 vs. Christian Brothers 5:00Apr. 6 vs. Union Mine 5:00Apr. 8 @ El Dorado 5:00Apr. 10 @TBA 8:00 amApr. 13 vs. Oak Ridge 5:00Apr. 15 vs. Ponderosa 5:00Apr. 17 @ TBA 8:00 amApr. 20 vs. Vista del Lago 5:00Apr. 22 @ El Camino 5:00Apr. 27 @ Christian Brothers 5:00Apr. 29 @ Union Mine 5:00May 1 @ TBA 8:00 amMay 4 vs. El Dorado 5:00May 6 @ Oak Ridge 5:00
Varsity Girls SoccerMar. 3 vs. Oakmont T 1-1Mar. 8 vs. Elk Grove T 1-1Mar. 17 @ Franklin W 3-2Apr. 5 @ Bella Vista 4:00Apr. 7 @ El Camino 4:00Apr. 14 vs. Del Campo 4:00Apr. 19 @ Mira Loma 4:00Apr. 21 vs. Bella Vista 4:00Apr. 26 vs. El Camino 4:00May 3 @ Del Campo 6:30 May 5 vs. Mira Loma 4:00
Varsity Boys TennisMar. 6 vs. Fresno Tourn. W DIIMar. 9 vs. Del Oro L 4-5Mar. 18 vs. Mira Loma W 9-0Mar. 23 vs. Bella Vista W 7-2Mar. 25 vs. Del Campo 3:30Apr. 6 vs. El Camino 3:30Apr. 8 vs. Casa Roble 3:30 @ Arden Hills RCApr. 13 vs. Mira Loma 3:30 @Arden Hills RCApr. 15 vs. Bella Vista 3:30 @Rollingwood RCApr. 20 vs. Del Campo 3:30Apr. 22 vs. El Camino 3:30 @ Arden Hills RCApr. 27 vs. Casa Roble 3:30May 11 vs. Team Sectionals TBAMay 12 vs. Team Sectionals TBAMay 13 vs. Individual Sectionals TBA @Johnson RanchMay 14 vs. Individual Sectionals TBA @Johnson Ranch
PREPS of the issue
Korey GeistVarsity
Volleyball
Vicky Gyorffy
Varsity Swim
How long have you been swimming?12 years.
What’s better, swimming or water polo?I don’t know. It’s hard to choose; they’re really dif-ferent. They complement each other well, and since swimming can get boring, it’s nice to have water polo as a break.
What is your greatest accomplishment as a swim-mer?When I was a 6 and under, I was on a relay with Blake Bender, Sutter McLoughlin, and Brendan Vogel. We won a league record that’s still standing. We were all six and each swam a whole lap without breathing.
Do you enjoy club swim or high school swim more?I don’t do high school swim as much, so I’d have to say club swim. It’s more of a commitment, and you make a lot more friends. The meets are really chill, and everyone has a good time.
-Rohith Sachdeva -Alex Chan
How long have you played?This is my second year playing volleyball.
What made you want to play this sport?My brother played his senior year and it looked like a lot of fun. Plus, anything’s better than swimming.
What’s your favorite thing about volley-ball?Pancakes.
What’s your position on the court and how do you play it?Outside hitter. I always play on the left side and I basically have to do everything, dig, block and hit.
Do you plan to play after high school? I would like to. I still have a lot to learn though.
ALEX REINNOLDT/Mirada StaffJunior Chika Eke hurdles at the CAL invite at Bella Vista on Mar. 6. The girls placed 10th at the meet, and the boys placed 16th. Eke beat the school hurdling record for varsity girls.
SportsFriday, March 26, 2010 Page 19 • The Mirada
Chika Eke breaks hurdle record
Mar. 18 vs. Mira Loma G:134-36 B:115-55Mar. 25 vs. El Camino 3:45Apr. 8 vs. Bella Vista 3:45Apr. 8 vs. Casa Roble 3:45Apr. 20 vs. Davis 3:45Apr. 22 vs. Del Campo 3:45 @ RioApr. 24 vs. Harbor High TBA @ RioApr. 27 vs. Jesuit/St. Francis 3:30 @ RioApr. 28 vs. CAL Diving Champs Apr. 30 vs. CAL Swim Champs May 1 vs. CAL Swim ChampsMay 6 vs. Diving Sec. GirlsMay 7 vs. Diving Sec. BoysMay 8 vs. Diving Finals- G&BMay 13 vs. Swim Sec. GirlsMay 14 vs. Swim Sec. BoysMay 15 vs. Swim Sec. Finals
Sports Friday, March 26, 2010Page 20 • The Mirada
After nearly six months of near complete silence, Tiger Woods finally addressed the American people. In a five minute interview, Woods released new yet unexciting informa-tion on the events that have been taking place the last few months.
It all started on Nov. 27: the day when Woods was involved in a seem-ingly strange but not uncommon car accident outside of his Isleworth home in Florida. Soon accusations of extramarital affairs surfaced which seemed to be the cause of the ac-cident late that night. Woods refused to release any details about the night of the accident as well as the affairs attributed to him.
One by one sponsors such as Accenture began to drop him, afraid of the ramifications that his problems would cause the company publicly. When asked in the interview what happened that fateful night, Woods replied that “it’s all in the police report. Beyond that, everything’s between Elin and myself and that’s private.”
In essence his answer was what all of us expected but feared at the same time. No doubt about it, we want to know what happened that night of the accident. It most likely will never be revealed, and it shouldn’t be.
Like Woods said, it’s his and his wife’s business only. The accusations of the affairs were nearly proven confirmed by Woods himself.
While not revealing why he was in rehab, he mentioned more than once that he “didn’t know the extent of the problem” and it was simply “tough” to look at himself the same again.
He hurt thousands- if not mil-lions- of people worldwide and damaged his reputation perhaps for the rest of his life. Instead of Tiger Woods the golfer, we see Tiger Woods the sex addict.
Tiger Woods has a chance to revive his hurt reputation and the only way to do so is to win. Yes, to win golf tournaments. There, he will be expected to improve on the golf etiquette that he has tarnished in years past with his spurts of swear-ing and club throwing. Saying “I’m sorry” through dozens of interviews will do nothing to solve the problem. I do believe Woods can put this all behind him and regain his title as the undisputed king of golf as well as an idol to millions.
PGA golf tourney gives Tiger a chance for redemption
DylanCartier
My memory takes me back to the day I was first told about my family’s intentions to go to the Olympics. I was 8 years old, playing basketball on the driveway. I was waiting to welcome my mom home from one of her frequent trips to Canada, as she grew up there and enjoys visiting her friends and family back home.
On this particular trip she had visited her friend Denise in Vancouver right after an announcement was made that the 2010 Winter Olympics were go-ing to be held in that c i t y . Denise
and
h e r h u s -band Rick invited my mom and our family to stay with them if we de-cide to come to the Olympics.
It was settled then; we were going to the Olym-pics. On the driveway my mom greeted me with a big hug and then pulled out from behind her a large white sweatshirt. Printed across the jacket for me were the words “Vancouver 2010” She held the jacket up to my body and it was clear that the sweatshirt was about three sizes too large. My mom explained to me that by the time I grew into the jacket, it would be the year 2010 and we would be-ing going to the Olympics.
Sure enough, eight years later, the jacket fits and we are on our way to the Winter Games.
It's Friday, February 19, 2010 or 'day one' of my family's Olympic trip. We have tickets for the 12:00 p.m. Belarus vs. Sweden men's hockey game.
We arrive at the game about fifteen minutes be-fore face off and the stadium is alive and buzzing with something I like to call "Olympic Spirit." You would never have guessed the host nation wasn't playing by the way the mostly Canadian crowd is cheering and applauding. Everyone is enthusiastic and ready for a great game of hockey.
Although I had never watched hockey before in my life, I’m immediately absorbed the by the fast paced game, enthusiastic crowd, and stimulated at-mosphere. The arena thunders as players slam each other into the boards in pursuit of the puck racing across the ice.
As the three periods ticked away, the game grew even more exciting. In the last minutes of the game, Sweden is winning 3-2 but Belarus is on the offen-sive, looking to tie the score and go into overtime. As time is running out the Belarus team opted to pull their goalie and have an open net in order to have an extra offensive man on the ice. They had several shots on goal, but Sweden counter attacks
and scores on the open net in the remaining sec-onds, winning 4-2. After that dramatic finish, I be-came hooked on hockey.
My family and I spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the city of Vancouver. Like the hockey game, the streets are filled with spirited crowds. Among mass amounts of people, we make our way to see the Olympic torch.
The flame is surrounded by people and it is diffi-cult to see the Olympic symbol or take a satisfactory picture, so we decide to wait in line to go up to the viewing platform built next to the torch. We waited in line for over an hour, but it was well worth
t h e
wait! L o o k -
ing upon the Olympic torch, rich in
symbolism and beauty, is an unfor-gettable and indescribable moment.
Back at Rick and Denise's home later that eve-ning I’m in awe of what I had seen and experienced on that first day. That night I crawl into bed excited for what lay ahead.
Out of the entire trip, I am particularly excited for our event on day two, women's aerial skiing at Cypress Mountain. The gravity defying event in it-self is cool, but as an athlete myself I am stoked to support women Olympiads.
After taking a bus up to the top of the mountain and waiting in the security line with thousands of other people, disaster strikes. My mom pulls out our tickets and realizes after that she had brought our hockey tickets for the next day and not our ski-ing tickets! The four of us immediately go into panic mode, there is no way this could be happening! I am devastated!
We plead to the ticket taker and explain our unfortunate situation, only to be left outside the venue. My mom calls Denise who quickly finds our tickets and hops in her car to drive them up to us.
Denise shows up in about forty minutes and hands the tickets to us. Denise truly saved the day and my entire family and I will always be eternally thankful.
We end up missing over half the event, but if it wasn't for our good friends Denise and Rick, we wouldn't have seen anything at all. The aerial skiing we do see is incredible, but difficult to enjoy after that traumatizing experience.
Later that evening, after the shock of bringing
the wrong tickets wore off, we are able to laugh about the mistake and it became the joke of the rest of the trip.
The next day we go to our third and final sport-ing event, thankfully with the right tickets. We are back at the hockey arena for the Russia vs. Czech Republic game. Unlike the last game where the crowd cheers simply for a good game not for a par-ticular team, this match up is a little more heated.
This is a rivalry game between the two coun-tries as the Czechs hold a bitter resentment to the Russians for occupying their country. The hockey that is played definite-l y represents
t h e s e a t -
t i -
tudes as the hits are
harder and more penalties are called.
But like the last game, it is again down to
the wire but the Russians pulled away with 4-2 win.
At the end of the game, the teams celebrates the healthy
competition and the "Olympic Spirit."
The expression "save the best for last" defi-nitely applies to this occasion. By far the best part of my entire Olympic experience is our final activ-ity, attending a medal ceremony.
The evening after the Russia and Czech Repub-lic hockey game, my family and I along with thou-sands of other people pile into a huge arena. The lights are dim and the Olympic rings glow.
We sit facing the podium, and watch the win-ning athletes for mens and womens speed skating receive their medals. Out of all the famous athletes we see that evening, the highlight of the night is seeing the American Olympic icon Apolo Ohno being awarded his record breaking third place medal. I am so excited I leave my seat and run up as close as possible to get some good pictures of him.
The awards ceremony is followed a Trooper and Loverboy concert, two Canadians bands that were famous during my parents youth. Despite their age, those old guys could rock!
The entire three days my family and I spent in Vancouver went by in a flash. On the flight home, I can't believe that after waiting eight years, my Olympic trip is over.
There's no way to sum up my experience with-out cliches or cheesiness, but I'll do my best: my time in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games will forever be embedded as one of my fondest memo-ries, and taught me an important lesson, always make sure you have the right tickets!
No matter what happens to the jacket, the memories from my Vancouver experience will be with me forever.
By SARAH VAIRAMirada Staff
Vancouver games fulfill Olympic dreams—for fan