THEMIR

INSIDE

By John Ferrannini | Editor in Chief

Campus holiday spiritinspires mixed reactions

It seemed like a usual day in Mat-thew Valencich’s fourth period English 4 class when, as they were preparing for a poetry recitation assignment at the end of the semester, almost out of nowhere, a group of freshmen began to perform a rap to the seniors.

“Just got here this fall/in senior hall we be knockin’ down walls, Slow down the pace/ seniors can’t keep just like in a race. We’re the wise owls/and you’re the dumb duck you cowardly chickens.”

The freshmen were challenging the seniors to an epic battle of recitation: the annual Poetry Out Loud competi-tion. Freshman Breanna White led the rap.

“I was picked mainly because I wasn’t afraid or shy when confronting the seniors,” she said. “I helped write the rap.”

Freshman English teacher Adam Bearson said that the freshmen needed to avenge the pain and teenage angst they’ve experienced at the hands of the upperclassmen.

“Our freshmen are positioned bet-ter to win the contest than the seniors because the freshmen have a lot of burdens put on them by being under-classmen. They’re going to turn those burdens into triumph. The truth is that poetry really is an art form for younger people,” Bearson said.

“The freshmen were inspired to write a rap that delivered a strong mes-sage to the seniors in verse that they would cower in fear at the force of the freshmen rhyme.”

English teacher Matthew Valencich accepted the challenge with zeal.

“The juniors and seniors gladly ac-cept the challenge and will trump the underclassmen in the poetic field,” Va-lencich said.

More than a dozen classes are par-ticipating in Poetry Out Loud, a poetry recitation contest created by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endow-ment for the Arts.

“Poetry Out Loud is a program of poetic recitation,” Valencich said.

“We put it on so we can have the chance to compete in the county, state, and national competitions and to do something involving oral interpreta-tion because we’re always reading and

www.riomirada.com Rio Americano High School Volume 51, Issue no. 3 Dec. 14, 2012

CHEERLEADING A POPULAR ATTRACTION AT GAMES, CHEERLEADERS CAN FACE SERIOUS INJURIES | PAGE 12

POETRY | PAGE 2

POETRY OUT LOUD

Candy canes, those sweet and seemingly benign holiday candies, have left a sour taste with senior Hunter Hill. At least when cardboard representations of the treats are dis-played in a public school classroom.

Last week Hill told his Eng-lish teacher Christine Harknett that he objected to her display of large candy cane stickers because he sees them as religious symbols that of-fend his belief system.

“Candy canes are based on the blood of Christ,” said Hill, who said he is an atheist.

“She doesn’t believe that candy canes represent Christ but I have re-search to prove that they do.”

Harknett declined to be inter-viewed, but her candy canes re-main as visible as her bright holiday sweaters.

And Hill maintains the display violates the Constitution and makes it harder for him to learn.

“San Juan claims to offer a safe nondenominational learning envi-ronment and it took away my fo-cus,” he said.

“I’m sure kids who were Chris-tians would be mildly uncomfort-able if there were Stars of David all over the room.”

Hill has not brought his concerns to the administration.

“I just wanted Mrs. Harknet to know about my concerns,” he said.

While Harknett may not share Hill’s concerns, his complaint raises issues about what kind of holiday displays can be put up in a public school.

The Supreme Court ruled in the 1989 case of Allegheny County vs. American Civil Liberties Union that a nativity scene on public property for a solely religious purpose was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that the government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of reli-

By John Ferrannini | Editor in Chief

DECORATIONS | PAGE 2

Wally Harmon | Editor in ChiefJolynn Mason and several of AVID students work busily on wrapping presents for the annual Howe Avenue Toy drive, which provides gifts to needy kids.

Competition requires memorization, interpretation

Toy drive by AVID, Civitas brings toys to grade school

Candy cane display prompts complaint from atheist

News 2 Opinion 5Features 7Sports 12

NEWS FEATURES OPINION SPORTS Statistics class learns how numbers can be manipulated. Page 4.

Is there a War on Christ-mas? Page 6.

Every 15 Minutes alerts campus to the dangers of drunk driving. Page 8.

Fall sports go far in post season Page 14.

Happy holidays, from the Mirada

Staff!

DStudentsrehearseto recitesome verse

The AVID and Civitas programs are busily collecting and wrapping presents for the annual Howe Av-enue Toy Drive.

As of Wednesday, AVID teacher Jolynn Mason said she had 500 of the 550 gifts needed and that she ex-pected to reach her goal.

Senior Brendan White explained how the toy drive works.

“We get the toys from students and families that donate them,” he said.

“Then we wrap them as a class and label them boys, girls, and grade. We then put them in bags and deliv-er them to the Howe Avenue School and go into each class and distribute the gifts. Some kids choose to open them right then and some save them until Christmas because that might be the one gift they get for Christ-mas.”

“It is important to help out stu-dents that don’t have as many re-sources as us,” Jolynn Mason ex-

plained said. “If you can give, you should because its a great way to be involved in the community.”

“Its fun to go their and see how many kids are happy and thankful for everything that they are getting.”

Senior Kara Lavenda explained what the participants get out of the project.

“It brings joy to us as a class that we get to bring Christmas gifts to unprivileged kids.”

Senior Emily Collins said she’d want to deliver the gifts even if she didn’t have to.

“It’s fun to take the gifts to the kids and seeing their faces light up.”

- Mirada Staff

Hannah Werling says “A lot of kids won’t be getting toys , so it’s good to help them.”

Wally Harmon | Editor in Chief

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY •DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 2

POETRY | English classes participate in contest

gion or abridging the free exercise thereof.”

The Court ruled that the partic-ular nativity scene was unconstitu-tional because it had the “principal or primary effect” of advancing religion.

In “A Guide for Jewish Par-ents,” the Anti-Defamation League writes, “it is important to note that while Christmas trees, Santas, wreaths, wrapped gifts, and rein-deer are commonly used as Christ-mas decorations or symbols, the courts have decided that they are secular symbols of the season.”

The guide goes on to say that “their inordinate usage is inappro-priate” and suggests alternatives such snowflakes and gingerbread houses.

Vice Principal Chuck Whitaker said that there is no San Juan or Rio policy concerning Christmas decorations that are not overtly re-ligious, such as candy canes.

“The district has sent informa-tion out in previous years to be re-spectful of those who do not share your beliefs,” Whitaker said.

“Lights and candy canes are probably fine. Some schools still have trees up. We just don’t have a hard fast policy.”

Whitaker said that the adminis-tration would deal with a situation like Hill’s on a case by case basis.

“We might have to talk to the in-dividual teacher or staff involved,” he said.

“We’d certainly observe the display the student was distressing over.”

Even displays such as nativity scenes and angels would be okay in certain balanced and educational

circumstances.“You can have religious holiday

celebrations if it’s part of a curricu-lum,” Whitaker said.

“If you’re studying holiday decorations as part of a class and you have nativity scenes or Stars of David, that’s okay. A lot of schools make it part of the curriculum.”

Science teacher A.J. Paulus, who

has decorated his room for Christ-mas, said he is interested in promot-ing school spirit and not a particular religious belief.

“Teachers should be able to dem-onstrate spirit,” he said.

“At the same time, it could of-fend others.”

“A student recently asked if they could bring in a menorah and I said

yes. If I did offend a specific student I’d encourage them to donate or lend me something from their culture. I’ll support all cultures. I suppose that wouldn’t satisfy those who want no decorations. Ultimately, I’ll do what the principal or the district tells me to do.”

As for Hill’s claim that candy canes represent the blood of Christ

and hold other Christian symbolism, snopes.com, the internet urban leg-ends resource, isn’t buying it.

“This is charming folklore at best, and though there’s nothing wrong with finding (and celebrat-ing) symbolism where there wasn’t any before, this story of the candy cane’s origins, is like Santa Claus, a myth and not a ‘true story.’”

Senior Hunter Hill objected to his English teacher’s candy cane holiday decorations, saying that candy canes were a Christian symbol.

DECORATIONS | Religious symbols OK if used to teach, VP says

John Ferrannini | Editor in Chief

FROM Page 1

FROM Page 1

writing. This lets us address speak-ing.”

Poetry Out Loud was the perfect opportunity to pit the seniors, the juniors, the sophomores, and the freshmen against one another.

All four grades have classes competing. The seniors weren’t going to let the freshman intimi-date them without striking back. They composed a rap that, point by point, rebutted the freshmen.

“Call me the dog catcher/ be-cause I just put you down. When we walk through the walls remem-ber to cower in fear/ because we’ll be in college this time next year. Us seniors have the athletes, cute girls, and glory/ you still have your par-ents reading bedtime stories.”

The seniors feel confident that they will ultimately prevail in this Earth shaking battle.

“I thought it was very coura-geous of them to attempt to beat us in a poetry slam,” senior James Vil-lanueva said.

“It was cute to see them try but despite their efforts, the seniors will obviously win because we have more experience and we have Ma-honey. There is no doubt in my mind that we will be victorious.”

“I thought their attempts were feeble,” senior Josh Kleeman said. “Their powers of lyrical rhetoric were embarrassing.”

“I think we have a strong chance of beating them,” freshman Brean-na White said.

“They should feel picked on by us.”

The winner in each class faces the winners in all the other classes. The school winner faces school winners from throughout the county.

The county faces county winners from throughout the state. Finally, the state winner faces state winners from throughout the country at the national competition in Washing-ton, D.C.

The farthest a Rio student has gone is the county tournaments.

For AP senior English teacher Michael Mahoney, Poetry Out Loud is about the value of memo-rizing poetry more than the com-petition.

“A few years ago, I read a novel by Ian McEwan that included a scene in which a young woman saves her family from a deranged thug by reciting Matthew Arnold’s poem ‘Dover Beach,’” Mahoney said.

“I think that pretty well shows the importance of memorizing po-etry. Of course, she was also naked at the time so that might have had something to do with distracting the guy. Also it was fiction, so may-be it’s not the best example.”

Even if you can’t stop a crime with a poem, Mahoney supports memorization.

“If you want to understand a poem, you have to carry it around in your head for a while. Memoriz-ing a poem means you get to carry that poem around in your head with you,” he said. “You’ll always have it, no matter what technology breaks down.”

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY •DECEMBER 14, 2012 Page 3

For 10 points, what is the newest competitive team on campus?

Rio Americano not only competed in the Quiz Bowl for the first time this year, they also hosted the Sacramento Regional Tournament on Nov. 10 and teams A and B came in second and third place respectively.

“The first tournament was a good introduc-tion to what Quiz Bowl is like,” senior Noah Lightman said.

The Quiz Bowl is based on knowledge of various trivia relating to topics learned either through high school or popular culture. The quiz topics include literature, history, geogra-phy, science, music, art, psychology, sociology,

economics, and religion. “It’s important to be fast,” Quiz Bowl coach

and Government teacher Gary Blenner said. “Speed counts.”

In a Quiz Bowl game, there are eight rounds consisting of 20 questions and one bonus ques-tion.

If a team answers a question correctly, they get ten points. If they get a wrong answer be-fore the question is finished, they’re penalized five points. However, if the question was fin-ished, there is no penalty.

A team can also earn three bonus questions if they answer a question correctly, all in the same category that are each worth ten points.

Rio’s Quiz Bowl club has eight members, including President Tyler Reeves.

“My favorite part of Quiz Bowl are the com-petitions,” he said. “They’re fun and laid back and its fun to test trivia knowledge on random topics.”

“The club is filled with a lot of smart and funny people who are interested in academics. It’s fun to hang out with them and compete.”

Noah Lightman joined the team because he wanted to be involved in another extracurricu-lar activity, but once he joined he found he en-joyed being with people of different interests.

“I wanted to have another extracurricular and I wanted it to be academic,” he said. “It’s

interesting because we all have different inter-est areas. Some are good at science and math. History and current events are my strong suit. But when we come together, we use our differ-ent specialties.”

“It’s good to be in an environment with oth-er people who can challenge you and broaden your horizons.”

Quiz Bowl participated at a competition in Berkeley on December 8, the first of four tour-naments called the California Cup. The A team took fifth place with a 4-4 record.

The club meets Mondays at lunch in B-10 for ‘Jeopardy’ like questions that help them prepare for coming tournaments. Anyone in-terested can join.

Infographic by David Egan

Election Day saw the passing of two ballot proposals which have a direct impact on the school.

The first was the statewide Proposition 30, a tax increase pro-moted by Gov. Brown which pre-vented nearly $6 billion in educa-tion cuts.

Because of Proposition 30’s passage, the 2012-2013 school year will not be cut by 11 further furlough days.

“We just received a communi-cation from the district office that there will be no more furlough days added to the school calendar,” Principal Brian Ginter said. “June 5 will be the last day of school for underclassmen and juniors.”

The following day, June 6, which was originally scheduled to be a teacher work day, will be a furlough day due to negotia-tions between the district and the unions.

“June 6 is a furlough day that was already in place. Last year, when the district went through ne-gotiations with the unions what was decided was that all the unions ex-cept the administration would have two known furlough days,” Ginter said.

One day, Aug. 31, impacted students. They didn’t want to impact any others unless they had to.”

As was originally planned, se-niors are already graduating early on May 20 because the administration hedged their bets on the proposi-

tions passage. The price on California’s citizens

is hefty: an increase in personal in-come tax for seven years on Califor-nians earning more than $250,000 taking effect on January 1, 2013 and a sales tax increase on all Califor-nians from 7.25 to 7.5 percent.

The California Teachers Associa-tion lauded the passage of the propo-sition.

Teachers themselves were also enthusiastic.

“I am very thrilled the proposi-

tion passed,” said science teacher Joyce Dibble. “We won’t have to wor-ry about other teachers losing their jobs.”

“I like the fact that there is money going towards the schools,” Ameri-can Government and U.S. History teacher Gary Blenner said. “How-ever, I dislike the sales tax.”

The second proposal that passed was Measure N, which will provide the San Juan Unified School District $350 million in bonds to pay for the modernization of classrooms,

upgraded heating, air condition-ing, and water systems to improve efficiency, and replace deteriorat-ing portables with permanent class-rooms.

Measure N can only be used to improve or construct facilities.

It cannot be used for classroom programs or employee raises. The tax rate at any time will vary depend-ing on how much of the $350 million authorized has been issued. At no time will the rate exceed 60 cents per $1,000 in assessed valuation.

Principal Ginter said that Rio will directly benefit from the passage of the bond measure, but that he as yet doesn’t know how the money will be spent.

“At the start of the next semester, the district will ask us to put together a group of students, parents, and teachers to come up with priorities for projects on campus,” Ginter said.

“The district will decide which projects they can fund and how they can go about doing that.”

STUDY FINDS PASSENGERS PUT YOUNG DRIVERS AT RISK

New research suggests that mixing young drivers with teen passengers may be a recipe for disaster.

Studies by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found during Teen Driver Safety Week that risky behavior among teen drivers grew for sixteen and seventeen year old drivers as the number of teen passengers increased.

The study was based on an examination of government data on teen crashes from 2007 to 2010.

Among sixteen and seventeen year old

drivers involved in fatal crashes, speeding in-creased from thirty percent with no passengers to forty four percent with two passengers and forty eight percent with three or more passen-gers.

Conversely, the risk of a teen driver dying in an accident, when a passenger aged thirty five or older is in the vehicle decreased sixty two percent.

Researchers have known for a long time that teen passengers are distracting to teen drivers, but recent studies on the issue don’t reflect new state driving laws that began in the mid-1990s.

Since then, most states have adopted a grad-uated licensing law that puts some restrictions

on teen drivers.The laws limit teen passengers during the

intermediate phase. Although graduated licensing laws in ad-

dition to greater seat belt use, better safety equipment in cars, and anti-drunk-driving campaigns caused the number of sixteen and seventeen year old drivers involved in fatal crashes to be cut it half, after only fifty hours of driving teens can carry a carload of their friends.

Out of all the risk factors including speed-ing, late night driving, and drinking, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed all the data on fatal crashes that occurred in the Unit-

ed States from 2005 through 2010 and found that 9,578 drivers ages 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes and about forty percent of those had teen passengers in the car at the time.

“Mixing young drivers with teen passengers remains a dominant fatal crash scenario so we urge parents to set and consistently enforce family rules that limit newly licensed teens from driving with young passengers,” said a spokesperson at AAA.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s research clearly shows how young passengers substantially increase a novice driver’s risk of being in a fatal car crash.

QUIZ BOWL

DRIVING

By Hanna Despard | Mirada Staff

By Alyssa Campbell | Mirada Staff

A MESSAGE FROM SITE COUNCIL

We are gauging interest in adding a typing/keyboard-ing class for next semester.

Typing skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office applica-tions can be critical to suc-cess as students progress through high school, pre-pare for college and for the business world. This class, among other things, would

help you improve your typing speed and accuracy, while also helping you learn more about Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. Please express interest in this class by sending an email to egan1233@gmail.com.

Prop 30, Measure N will have major impact on schoolBy Whitney Tyler | Mirada Staff

Don’t be a humbug!Recycle your Mirada.

INTERESTED IN A KEYBOARDING CLASS?

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY •DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 4

CLASS LEARNS HOW DATA CAN BE MANIPULATEDBy Cian O’Neill and Victor Lam | Mirada Staff

John Ferrannini | Mirada Staff

STATISTICS

Social Science teacher Justin Mason finds kids ‘more fun and more creative’

Non-instructional work day (no school for students)

First Day of the Second Semester

Alumni Day 8:00am-3:00pm

Library

Fashion Show Meeting 7:00pm-8:00pm

Library

Small Ensemble Night 7:00pm-8:30pm

Band Rooms

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no school)

Winter White Out Dance 8:00pm-11:00pm

Cafeteria

167 8 15 2118

What kind of student were you in high school?I was average, like a B student.

Where did you go to college/what did you major in?

I went to Chico State and I was a political science major. Then I got a masters degree in education, and finally a doctorate in education.

Why did you want to become a teacher?To work with kids, they’re more fun and more cre-

ative than adults.

Before you became a teacher, did you have an-other plan?

I was going to work in the legislature, or become a firefighter.

How do you engage the class in the lesson?I try to make the material apply to them and their

lives.

What’s your favorite teaching technique?Do something, analyze what you did, and learn

from it.

What made you so interested in Psychology?Finding out why people act the way they do be-

cause people are crazy.

What’s your favorite part about teaching Psy-chology?

We can get out of our seats and do experiments and fun stuff.

What’s your favorite part about teaching Ameri-can Government?

It’s fun because it’s constantly changing.

- RaeAnna Reynolds

Four out of three statistics are made up on the spot. Four out of three students also agree that statistics in D-06 is the most enjoyable class on campus.

Unlike most course teachers, Darren Miller advocates against the dangers which his class, statistics, can present in the wrong hands. Miller preaches that much of the population can fall prey to misinformation by the manipulation of numbers and graphs.

The common consensus of students finds that Miller is similar to a “defense against the dark arts professor”. Though this “Snape’s” teaching methods may be controversial, general agree-ment is the “stats” teacher’s unique approach provides a stark contrast to the mode and forces students to question material before accepting it.

Despite the range of needs for literary buffs, artists, and the mathematically-challenged, any of these students can find haven in Miller’s class.

Senior Chris Carlson, a published poet, finds few banalities in this course of higher-math. “[Miller] engages a class, with students like me who aren’t as interested in math,” said Carlson. “He provides an open, hands-on learning en-vironment, in which we’re not simply lectured to, but instead are given the chance to learn the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’.“

“Even though I don’t agree with his political views, [we] get along very well” said senior Bro-die Mills. “His teaching method of keeping stats fun and interesting, is one that works for me!”

Senior Paul Slater is thankful for such a wise teacher. Slater said “Society cannot insure to ev-ery child a good home, a devoted and intelligent mother, and a wise and provident father; but so-ciety can insure to every child a good school and a competent teacher.”

“It has real-life applications” senior Matt Hartnett said. “Mr. Miller truly enjoys teaching, which makes the class more enjoyable.”

“Mr. Miller is a fair opportunity soul-crusher[critic],” said senior Shira Darf. “There is no discrimination. Miller spares none and forces kids to hear different points of view. It’s healthy and it builds true critical thinking skills.”

This educator deviates from the norm. Whereas many teachers play favorites, Miller presents an energetic, dynamic, and practical teaching style of unbiased criticism for all stu-dents. Thereby, effectively providing an equal opportunity for success to every student. You don’t need pie charts or histograms to tell you

that statistics is not your average math class.That statistics are often used to deceive is a

fact made painfully clear by the survey circulat-ed by Darren Miller’s sections of statistics.

“We wanted to be able to show how syntax and loaded language can elicit two different re-sponses to a very similar question” said senior Bethany Bayer.

Armed with two versions of the same survey, Bayer and her fellow classmates infiltrated the student body in order to examine their response patterns.

“It takes more than just one or two patterns to prove a point. We need to see a general trend in order to draw valid conclusions” said Slater.

While Paul Slater and his colleagues pursued overall trends, other groups analyzed more min-ute ideas.

“How can I get you to answer a question the way I want you to answer, and still maintain the illusion of free will?” asked Mills.

They wanted to demonstrate that, although statistics are mathematical and based in fact, they are malleable in the hands of those who un-derstand their workings. More importantly, they are often used to mislead.

“Just look at the presidential election if you want an example of how detrimental that incor-rect or altered data can be,” junior Katherine Yamahata said.

“Romney’s campaign managers were con-vinced that he held a five point lead that never actually existed, a fact unknown until his loss.”

So what topics interested our statistics stu-dents this year? Well, aside from the usual bat-tery of homework and school related questions, our 12th graders generated a few gems. Such urgent questions as, “Do you support civil-unions?” and “Should we kill all of the seagulls on campus?” graced the pages of the survey.

These controversial subjects can make statis-tics more interesting.

“It’s always good to have a few hot-button questions to get people interested,” senior An-thony Broderick said.

TEACHER OF THE ISSUE

Derek Popple | Mirada Staff

Statistics student senior Beau Dibble administers Darren Miller’s statistics survey to senior Megan Frei.

J A N UA R Y C A L E N D A R

THE RIO AMERICANO MIRADA

5OPINION

The Mirada www.riomirada.com

riomirada2013@gmail.com

Rio Americano High School4540 American River Dr.Sacramento, CA 95864www.rioamericano.com

Editors-in-ChiefJohn FerranniniWallace Harmon

News Editors Victor Lam

Connor Jang

Opinion EditorsCian O’Neill

Grant Webster

Features EditorsTheadore Buffington

Derek Popple

Sports EditorsRyan Burns

Zachary SampoBriana Smith

Photo EditorBrad Conidaris

Web EditorDavid Egan

Staff WritersAlexis Bates

Alyssa CampbellHanna DespardMaleah GrannesMadeline JangDaniel Kisel

John LambertAnn Alyce Lohse

John MacrissRachel MoseleyAshton Nazeri

Jaden PerezRaeAnna Reynolds

Hannah Thompson-DavisWhitney Tyler

AdviserMr. Michael Mahoney

mmahoney@sanjuan.edu(916) 971-8921 ext. 80

Published monthly dur-ing the school year by stu-dents in Rio Americano’s newspaper class, the Mirada is the independent voice of the students and the campus.

The Mirada welcomes story ideas, comics, letters to the editor and opinion pieces from all members of the school community. Submit articles to the box in A3 or the main office.

Contact the business manager (by visiting room A3, writing to the above ad-dress or calling the adviser’s voice mail) for information on advertising. We welcome advertising, but reserve the right to refuse any ad.

RIO EMOTICONOPlayathon Everyone loves the musical festivities of Rio’s Playathon. You’d have to be deaf not to! And even if you were deaf, you’d probably still have a good time just being around all the energy of Rio’s band pro-gram.

Semester Ending in DecemberThe positive is that we won’t forget all the material over Winter Break. The negative is that we don’t have all of Winter Break to study.

College Apps‘Nuff said. Extra essays and paper-work? For seniors?! Come on now, I thought we got to take this year off or something. And why were they due right after Thanksgiving? If anyone is going to procrastinate, it’s going to be a high school senior.

Every 15 Minutes raises awareness but drivers face other risks as well

Recently we had the privilege of experi-encing something

that only happens at Rio every four years: the Every 15 Min-utes program.

As we all know by now, this was a two day event put on with the help of the PTSA and the CHP that attempted to bring attention to the dangers and horrible aftermath of driv-ing while under the influence of alcohol.

The program had a mixed reaction, ranging from strong emotions from the friends and families of those who “died” to skepticism of the program’s effectiveness and methods.

There were, however, mo-ments that surely touched the hearts and minds of everyone.

Chief among these was the story of the man who, weeks after his high school gradua-tion, inadvertently killed his best friend while he was driv-ing drunk.

And who didn’t gasp when Mr. Marrongelli suddenly “died”?

On the other hand, as en-lightening as the program was for many students, the criti-cism and jokes should not be considered just the ramblings of disgruntled, apathetic, and

immature teenagers. It is never wise to shut out a large group of people who complain with-out investigating why and what can be done about it. The goal of Every 15 Minutes, after all, is to convince students not to drink and drive.

Several improvements could be made in future presentations of the program.

First, Chris K. of 107.9 pro-moting his radio station was at least a little out of place.

The look and feel the pro-gram was going for the second day, with the music and the coffin and the eulogies, was that of a funeral. Surely, there aren’t that many funerals where DJ’s are out to promote them-selves.

Nevertheless, the personal anecdotes and stories shared on the second day were far more touching and effective (and probably promoted more thought on the consequences of drinking and driving) than the Hollywood spectacle of the first day. Violence is everywhere in our society and we are all desensitized to it. The car crash simulation, while it may have shocked people for a time, was not as emotionally and even intellectually complex as the personal stories of those who’d

been affected by drunk driving.In six months from now, a

car crash simulation would be less likely then the pain and emotion felt in a real human voice and in a real human heart to stop somebody from making the fateful decision to drive under the influence.

It may be helpful to expand the programs focus to any driv-ing under the influence, not just driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a 2007 NHT-SA study, more than 16 percent of nighttime drivers on the weekend have tested positive for illegal, prescription, or over the counter drugs. Accord-ing to a 2009 NSDUH study, roughly 10.5 million people drove under the influence of an illegal drug in the previous year.

Driving under the influ-ence of marijuana is especially harmful. An Australian study of 3,000 fatally injured drivers showed that when THC was present in driver’s blood, he was more likely to have been the cause of the accident. The higher the THC concentration, the more likely it was that the driver was at fault.

There are also large increas-es in risk when marijuana is

combined with alcohol con-sumption.

The happy music in the video shown during the second day assembly, and the presence of the grim reaper, were also a little superfluous.

Finally, it shouldn’t go without mentioning that there’s a major flaw in the concept that on an average of every 15 minutes somebody dies due to an alcohol related car crash.

The truth of the matter is that while that was true at the programs inception in 1995, the rate of car accident deaths due to alcohol intoxication has since declined and on average, in 2008 someone died of an al-cohol related car accident once every 45 minutes.

Therefore, we shouldn’t have had multiple interruptions in each class period.

Alcohol related car accidents are not the only kind which can be harmful.

These suggestions for im-provement shouldn’t diminish the positive effect the program had on many students, but they should be heeded by those who want the most effective and honest program to help teenag-ers avoid drinking and driving. It is a worthy goal and should be met in the best way possible.

Grant Webster| Graphic Artist

| FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012

A Christmas non-controversy

I love Christmas traditions. I love the tree, the food, the presents, the music, the decora-tions, the stockings. But there is one Christmas tradition I think we all could do without - the annual wall to wall coverage of the supposed ‘War on Christ-mas.’ Every Christmas season, conservative groups and the Fox News Channel spend copious amounts of time discussing what they term the ‘War on Christmas’ being waged by secular, atheist, and civil liber-tarian groups. The front lines of this ‘war’ are cities and towns all over the country where these groups are challenging the constitutionality of nativ-ity scenes and other religious displays on public property or where corporations exhort their employees to wish customers a ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of a ‘Merry Christmas.’ This ‘war’ is apparently so severe that last year, between December 1 and 21, conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly spent a total of 41 minutes of his program discuss-ing it while only 13 minutes were spent discussing actual wars such as that which our soldiers are currently fighting in Afghanistan.

When one takes out the soapboxes and inflated rhetoric, it is clear what is going on here. It is certainly true that there are groups of people in society who, for whatever reason, want to see references to Christian-ity, God, or religion eliminated from public life and discourse. To these people, religion is more of a hobby that one indulges themselves in during their spare time than something one would actually live out their daily life by. As a believer myself, I would disagree that public expression of religion should be eliminated. However, the role of religion in public life is something that two people can legitimately and in good faith disagree on. There is no ‘war’ here. But saying that groups in society disagree on the role of religion in public life is far less attention grabbing than proclaiming that there is a “War on Christmas.”

It is also worth noting that if there was a War on Christ-mas, Christmas would be winning the war big time. Last year alone, according to the research company IBIS World, Americans spend $3.4 Billion on Christmas trees. Accord-ing to Business Insider, the average shopper spent $704.18 on Christmas gifts and other seasonal items in 2011. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, it is almost impossible to go anywhere without being bombarded by Christmas. Any casual surveyor of a suburban neighborhood this time of year will see a Christmas tree in a majority of homes. If there is a threat to Christmas in our society, it is not coming from a small but vocal minority of atheists or civil libertarians. Rather, it would be coming from the over commercialization and over exposure of the holiday that at times can obscure the values that Christmas is all about.

Senior John Ferrannini is editor-in-chief of the Mirada

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 6

John Ferrannini

Apocalypse rumors: the end is not near

Senior Ted Buffington is a features editor for the Mirada.

The Mayas foretold that the world will abruptly end. According to research, the

Mayas predicted the world would end on December 21, 2012.

Harold Camping predicted it would end in 1994. When the world didn’t end, he once again predicted that the world would end on May 21, 2011. When that didn’t come to pass, he changed the date to Octo-ber 21, 2011 saying that he made a mistake in his calculations. As we all know once more the false prophet, Harold Camping failed to predict the Rapture and the world being consumed into a ball of fire.

The Mayan calendar, however, is different from our modern day cal-endar. There are different views and opinions on the actual ending of the Mayan calendar, and historians recently discovered another Mayan calendar, ending the world in 2015.

So when will the real ‘end of the world,’ happen?

There have been dozens of end of the world events that have happened throughout history, and none of them have been proven right.

So why should 2012 be any dif-ferent?

In recent times, Hollywood, news, and religious cults have exag-

gerated and modified events that would lead to the end of the world. The Rapture, the Mayan Calendar, Zombie Apocalypse, alien invasion, scientific reasoning such as massive meteors, large scale earthquakes, mega tsunamis and plenty more. As Americans search for new ways to entertain and be entertained, Hollywood always has another idea to exaggerate logic, and strike

fear or adventure into the hearts of the audience. The likeliness of the world ending on a predicted day is as far-fetched as witnessing an alien abducting a cow on a Sunday afternoon in the Bermuda Triangle. Meanwhile the monopoly man wins the lottery in Rhode Island while riding a T-rex.

Essentially, it’s highly unlikely for the world to end on 2012.

In fact, it’s impossible for the world to end - as it is always orbit-ing the sun.

Therefore, there is absolutely no need to panic, the world will not come to an end for a while, unless somehow we manage to throw our-selves into a WWIII.

By Ted Buffington | Mirada Staff

Ted Buffington | Mirada Staff

‘Merry Christmas’ not an insult

Junior Sam Calvert is a guest writer for the Mirada.

Dear Rio,Merry Christmas.That’s right, Merry Christmas.While I’m at it, Happy New Year

too. Now why is it that political cor-

rectness will let me, or a teacher, or a club president wish you a Happy New Year and yet not a Merry Christmas?

What happened to freedom of speech?

I’m not say saying I wish you to burn in hell. I’m saying have a great and happy time on one day of the year.

What does it matter if I see it as Christmas and you see it as Decem-ber 25?

Oh I see…Christmas.CHRISTmas, it’s a religious

thing isn’t it…separation of church and state and all that. You don’t

want teachers to say Merry Christ-mas because then the school might be seen as supporting Christmas.

Now can anyone tell me what Christmas is a celebration of? Gift giving, sure. Family, sure. But wait, it is also a celebration of Jesus’s birth right? Darn… if only the three largest monotheistic religions in the world all recognized Jesus’s birth. If only scientists generally agreed that Jesus was a real person of that time period.

Oh wait, they do. So no one can object to celebrat-

ing the day he was born on the basis that he is just some made up religious figure.

Does that mean people object to others celebrating him because they do not believe he is worth celebrat-ing? Now I am not a religious person but I celebrate Christmas as an event to come together with family and exchange gifts. It needn’t have a religious connotation. I also,

as I found out while researching this piece, was right in not celebrating Christmas as the day of Jesus’ birth. As it turns out most scholars agree that he was not born on December 25 and the original celebration of Christ’s birth was on January 6.

The roots of Christmas itself are in the pagan Winter Solstice.

With 60 percent of Americans not weekly churchgoers, why is Christmas such a big deal in this country anyway?

It’s called capitalism baby and business is a boomin’.

When you break it down, in this country Christmas has more to do with turning a profit then it has to do with Christ.

Today it has more to do with a fat man who lives at the top of the world with his flying reindeer and gives us free stuff.

Yep, Merry Christmas. I am not trying to put down

Christmas at all.

It is a wonderful time of year and does a lot of good as well as creates a lot of fond memories.

However, it no longer has a pure-ly Christian meaning and might not have one to begin with. Christmas is celebrated by a lot of non-Chris-tians. The fact is Christmas, the way we celebrate and view it in America, is for better or for worse, no longer only a solely Christian holiday.

People should be able to say “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Hanukkah,” or whatever they want. Do not force anyone to celebrate a holiday they do not want to, but certainly make it OK to wish someone a good day. So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and to all a goodnight.

Sincerely,A fed-up studentP.S. Merry Christmas

By Sam Calvert | Guest Writer

Grant Webster | Graphic Artist

| FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012

By Nate Sher | Guest Writer

Local students are stoked on skimboarding

With the winter weather finally here, summer activities seem a mode of the past. During the summer, however, with a simple walk down to one of the many American River beaches, a rela-tively unknown sport will manifest itself. Sometimes called water skateboarding, inland skimboarding has rapidly developed since its Sacramento founding about 20 years ago. Due it increasing prevalence, many here in Sacramento have heard of the sport, but have not seen it in action, let alone know much about it.

With a board about three times as wide as a skateboard and twice as long, the sport consists of three steps: beginning with a run, the rider throws the board parallel to the water as it glides in front of them, then the rider jumps on the board, using his or her momentum to propel the board even further; lastly, once on the board, the rider can perform a number of flatland tricks or ride onto a rail, usually constructed with wood and PVC pipe. Lon Porteous, a Sacramento resident and skimboard legend, was

arguably the first person to ever take the shallow water gliding of ocean skimboards to a rail on our very own American River.

Now a teaming, underground culture worldwide, avid riders continue to push the sport further and further. Mike Finneran, a Rio senior and sponsored DB Skimboards rider, says “I skim-board to get girls.” For most, however, the allure of the sport is in the beautiful American River, the exercise, and the unlimited progression.

Annually, around the beginning of September, Sacramento hosts the world’s longest running inland skimboarding competi-tion called Skimfest. After 14 years of intense progression, the competition has evolved from a few local riders and basic rails to riders from as far as Canada and gnarly set-ups. Skimlife rider and videographer Derek Popple says, “it seems that every year Skimfest’s rails and turnout get bigger and bigger.” Keep an eye out for the next skim season’s intense progression, but until then skimboarders all over wait impatiently for the heat and favorable water level to return.

Room A3 was filled with de-lectable smells last Friday as six judges deliberated between the entrants of the annual Mirada cookie contest.

The top three entrants, seniors Julia Butterfield and Christy Rogers and junior Ilana Weisburg, worked hard to refine their recipes before the big day.

Senior Julia Butterfield tried many different cookies before deciding to make peppermint sandwiches.

After deciding on a recipe, she worked hard to refine and perfect the process.

“I just really like trying new recipes. Some of them work and some are total failures, but it is always lots of fun,” said But-terfield.

The three cookies were

snickerdoodles, chocolate peppermint sandwiches and pumpkin caramel cookies.

Each of the Mirada judges were given a sample of each of them and were forced to decide based on taste, texture, appear-ance and something extra.

Although they were all deli-cious, Christy Rogers’ cookies were the favorite of the judges

Even though they were not as visually impressive as the oth-ers, the pumpkin caramel cook-ies were mouth watering and took her to an almost unanimous decision in her favor.

For Rogers, baking is not only fun, but also a way to spread love to anyone who eats her baked treats.

“I like the joy people get when they eat the treats I make,” said Rogers.

“It’s a way to spread hap-

piness and give back to the community that has helped me so much.”

Christy, a member of the girl’s varsity tennis team, finds time between sports and school to make treats for her friends.

She helped lead the girl’s varsity tennis team to second in sections this year.

When she isn’t baking she spends her time playing tennis, running, and catching up with her friends and family.

Family is very important to Christy and she shows her love by baking any one of her deli-cious recipes.

“My favorite thing to make is probably chocolate chip cook-ies. I just love the simplicity,” said Rogers.

Rogers won the rights to a free edition of the 2012-2013 Tesoro.

By Derek Popple |Features Editor

7FEATURES

THE RIO AMERICANO MIRADA

Photo by Derek Popple | Features Editor

Rio students bake cookies for annual contest

Photo courtesy Christy Rogers

IngredientsCookies1 cup butter, softened1/2 cup white sugar1/2 cup brown sugar1 cup canned pumpkin1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon baking soda1 tablespoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon cloves1/2 teaspoon nutmeg1/2 teaspoon ginger1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups all-purpose flourFrosting3 tablespoons butter1/4 cup heavy cream1 cup confectioners' sugar1 teaspoon vanilla1/2 cup packed brown sugarPinch of saltDirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream to-gether butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in pumpkin. In a medium bowl, sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

To make frosting: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, and brown sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool then stir in confectioner's sugar. Spread frosting over cooled cookies.

Christy’s Winning Recipe

Christy’s pumpkin cookies swept the judges at the Mirada Cookie Contest.

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 8

Every 15 Minutes, a two day program meant to increase teen awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, brought the campus to a standstill on Nov. 14 and 15.

Selected students were taken out of their classes at 15 minute intervals. At that time the sound of a heartbeat was played over the speaker system to signify a death from an alcohol related car accident.

The students who were initiated into the ranks of the “liv-ing dead” knew beforehand about their participation in the program.

“The counselors picked me a month in advance and there was a meeting,” senior Josh Abernathy said. “My parents wrote my obituary. On the actual day, the grim reaper came to my classroom, read my obituary, and escorted me out of class. They left a rose on my desk.”

Half way through the first day of the program, the entire student body witnessed a simulation of a drunk driving ac-cident involving students that was put on with the help of the fire and police departments.

Mark Lyon was among four seniors chosen to be part of the simulation.

“They chose kids for the reenactment that would repre-sent every clique or friend group at the school,” Lyon said. “They intermixed football and drama kids.”

Lyon, who “died” in the simulation, was taken to the morgue in a body bag.

“It was definitely a real experience because you’re lying in the body bag in the back of a hearse. It’s a weird atmosphere being locked in the freezer and having the examiners talk about how they get two or three a day put in. It puts it in perspective that this does happen.”

The parents of those who “died” were informed about their child’s passing by a police officer and a chaplain.

“My parents said they wouldn’t get upset because they knew it wasn’t real,” he said. “But when the cops and the chaplain came to their door their hearts dropped and my Mom teared up a bit.”

After the car crash simulation, the “living dead” were taken to a hotel for the night where they could not have contact with family, friends, or the outside world.

“We went on a party bus to the hotel and came up with nicknames for everybody on the bus,” Abernathy said. “At the hotel, we did some trust building activities. They put us in groups of six and we had to figure out a way to get across the room with only three body parts touching at a time. We had no electronics and the police searched us thoroughly.”

The second day of the program was a funereal style service including music, personal stories, and the reading of some of the obituaries.

The program elicited strong reactions from students.“I liked Every 15 Minutes,” freshman Breanna White said.

“I thought it scares people and even though I can’t drive it made me look at my life. I made the decision that I will never drink and drive. I wish more people took it seriously. I feel like a lot of people made a joke out of it and I think they should take it seriously because they could be affected.”

“I thought it was a very powerful and emotional experi-ence,” senior Jill Henderson said. “It made me never want to drink and drive.”

“It really affected me because so many people I knew died,” senior Samantha Kimber said.

Those who had a deeper participation in the program agreed.

Josh Abernathy said that Every 15 Minutes “was a very positive experience and it deeply affected me.”

Also involved in the program was Principal Brian Ginter, who played the grim reaper.

“When the planning got down to the last stages, I went to meet the emergency response team and the parents to make sure things would work out with the schedule,” he said.

“It’s the first time I have been involved to the full extent of the program. For me, I think its an eye opening experience for kids to be pulled out of class.”

Despite the deep short term impact felt by many students, the long term efficacy of the program has been called into question.

One of the only studies conducted regarding the pro-gram was five years after its 1995 inception. The study, titled “Measuring the Effectiveness of a Community-Sponsored DWI Intervention for Teens,” and published in the American Journal of Health Studies, found that the Every 15 Minutes program did change attitudes towards drunk driving but failed to significantly change long term risky behaviors.

“Analysis of the data does demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in attitudes towards drinking and driving,” the study said. “The data does not show a measur-able improvement in self-reported behavior toward drinking and driving.”

Principal Ginter supports the program in spite of draw-backs.

“Obviously it doesn’t have the same effect on everyone when it comes to the long term impact,” he said. “But as long as we have an effect on a couple of kids, it’s a good thing to do.”

Alcohol-fueled driving deaths brought to life

1. The Grim Reaper, portrayed by Principal Ginter, walks with a CHP officer discussing the program. 2. The helicopter pilots prepare to lift senior Frankie Maclaughlin in the simulation.3. Death leads the “living dead” across the football field.4. Senior Dana Lites had to act as though she was paralysed for a day after the simulation wherein she was “injured.”5. The emotional reunion between junior Brooke Watson and her family when the Every 15 Minutes simulation finally ended.6. Senior Josh Abernathy looks on as the Every 15 minutes car accident is simulated before him. Abernathy was one of the many students who participated in the Every 15 Minutes program by becoming part of the “living dead.” 7. Senior Zack Suarez is arrested by a CHP of-ficer during the simulation.

“It was very intense and it opened my eyes.”

“It gave me a lot to think about.”

“I thought it was touching and emotion-al, but I don’t see how it will have an effect on people who drink and drive anyway.”

“Every 15 Minutes was more moving and closer to home then I thought it would be.”

Lawrence Rochelle, 11

John Stockert, 11

Kyle Bell, 11Colin Savage, 12

Student voice: What did you think about Every 15 Minutes?

By John Ferrannini | Editor-in-Chief

1

3

57

6

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012 Page 9

“”

■ California is ranked 21 of the 50 states in the nation for DUI related deaths.■ 1, 265,000 people aged 12 through 20 have used alcohol.■ 16 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were caused by alcohol. 31 percent of fatal crashes on the weekends were caused by alcohol.■ Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens. One third of these are alco-hol related.■ If the 17 million people who admitted to driving drunk in 2010 had their own state, it would be the fifth largest state.■ Every day, another 27 people die in America as a result of alcohol related car accidents. Over 1.41 million drivers were arrested in 2010 for driving under the influ-ence of alcohol or narcotics.

For More information on our source and nationwide drunk driving statistics visit http://

www.madd.org/statistics

By the Numbers

2

4

My mom loved it, but my dad hated it. He never wants to see me in that situation.Senior Frankie

MacLaughlin - Victim

Every man wants to be James Bond. The hero travels to exotic locations with beautiful women and kills the bad guys.

The newest Bond adventure is certainly one of the best. It is big on graphics and explosions, but more importantly it has a compelling plot, compelling characters, and a reasonable prem-ise.

In this film, 007 (Daniel Craig) is sent to re-trieve a list of almost all NATO agents, with his field partner, Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), in Turkey.

But when 007 is close enough to get the list back, Eve shoots him in the shoulder by acci-dent, letting the villain get away with the list.

Now, 007 has to stop Raoul Silva (Javier Bar-dem) from destroying MI6 and save M (Judi Dench) from an old MI6 agent.

This is Daniel Craig’s third movie in the James Bond series, and his first movie with the famous Moneypenny and Q (Ben Whishaw), Bond is be-ing introduced to a new way to work and new help to take down Silva.

“Skyfall” touches on the classic Bond theme of gadgets with a gun that works only with his fingerprint.

The film also features exotic locales such as China and Turkey. One stunning scene is an abandoned island off the coast of Japan, which serves as the eerie headquarters for Raoul Silva.

“Skyfall” uses a ton of explosions and graph-ics, making this movie more amazing than the trailer shows.

However, the two most mind blowing parts

are the opening credits with the song “Skyfall,” sung by Adele and added drama to the graph-ics, and the battle at Bond’s old house with the help of M and Bond’s old gamekeeper, Kincade (Albert Finney).

Seeing the movie was amazing and seeing it in Imax was even better. With the addition of Imax technology, the images in “Skyfall” were crystal clear, the sound was crisp, and the two elements together made Bond look unstopable.

This movie deserves four out of four stars. It seamlessly mixes the exciting action scenes

of the more recent movies with the soul and heart of the earlier films.

It reboots the old franchise in a fresh and exciting way. Daniel Craig’s Bond is not Roger Moore’s; he’s a serious and thoughtful character who means business and the toll of his work is visible in the expressions on his face.

That isn’t to say, however, that there aren’t any funny one liners especially between Bond and M.

Q’s rebooted character has gone under some changes. He is less of a technical and more of an electronic wizard.

For all of you James Bond and Daniel Craig fanboys out there, Bond is far from retiring.

He still has a whole life in front of him, even after all that has happened on this mission of his.

Craig will return as Bond for two films in 2014 and 2016.

In the box office, “Skyfall” has already earned almost $1 billion worldwide, making it the high-est grossing Bond film of all time thus far. In ad-dition, it has set all time box office records for Great Britain by making 94 million pounds in just 40 days.

‘Skyfall’ mixes action with soul of early Bond movies

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 10

By John Macriss | Mirada Staff

MOVIE REVIEW

With an indie rock style, She’s A Genius combines ele-ments of many different genres. Led by seniors Henry Lunetta, Nate Sher and Paul Slater, the group consists of talented musi-cians coming together to write their own music.

“We’ve tried to get the band together every year of high school, but it never worked out until senior year,” said Lunetta. “It was a month or two before the school year that we really started playing.”

She’s A Genius embodies a wide range of sounds with acoustic songs like “All You Can Wait For Pancakes” as well as a more edgy sound that is evident in their song “Walls.”

Although every member in the group sings, a rare excep-tion for bands, Sher is the lead vocalist and plays guitar as well. Henry Lunetta also plays guitar and sings alongside Sher. The group’s rhythm section consists of Paul Slater who plays drums.

Lunetta tries to incorporate the edgier style of rock that he enjoys listening to into his music. “I like to play a little heavier rock, but if you had to put a label on our band it is hard pop punk,” said Lunetta.

Their latest show was on Nov. 29 at Shine Coffee down-town. They played an eight song set following other local groups and performed for a packed coffee house.

“We’ve played at Shine Coffee twice and also at Second

Saturday. We were also one of the three bands that headlined during last month’s Playathon,” Sher said.

The band has already recorded an EP which was released on Dec.. 5, among other songs available on their bandcamp (shesagenius.bandcamp.com).

The band has plans for more recordings which they will send off to see if record companies are interested.

“We’re going to do some recordings and send them off, and if people like it we will defer for a year in order to pursue music before going to college,” said Lunetta.

The members of She’s A Genius are excited at their recent success at shows. “Today we play at Shine Coffee, tomorrow, at Arco Arena,” Sher said.

She’s A Genius ‘Shines’ in debut performanceBy Derek Popple |Mirada Staff

Photo by Derek Popple | Features EditorSeniors Henry Lunetta, Nate Sher and Paul Slater play their single “Walls” at Shine Coffee. They have played gigs around town including Playathon and an appearance at Second Saturday.

-Jaden Perez -Whitney Tyler

Briana Smith | Mirada Staff Whitney Tyler | Mirada Staff

Briana Smith | Mirada Staff

COUPLE OF THE ISSUEHow did you meet?Sophomore year in math class.

How long have you been together?One year and two months.

Favorite thing about him/her?Patrick- Her dimplesTessa- His laugh

Nicest thing he/she has done for you?Tessa- When I was in the hospital for the past few months he was there every day.Patrick- On my birthday she made me a mustache cake.

What was the best date you have been on?Tessa- On out one year we went to Chi-cago Fire because he had never been.Patrick- Our first date ever when we watched a movie at my house.

Do you have any nicknames for each other?Patrick- WomanTessa- Dude

What is your best memory?Patrick- When we got to watch each other wipe out multiple times when snowboarding.Tessa- When we went to a San Jose Sharks game.

CAR OF THE ISSUEBACHELOR & BACHELORETTE

DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

What kind of car is it?2007 white mini cooper convert-ible sports edition.

How long have you had your car?One and a half years.

What’s your favorite part of your car?My dashboard at night time when all the lights are lit up.

What music do you listen to in your car?Rap and 94.7.

Have you ever got pulled over or hit a car?Yes, a hit and run.

What is your worst memory with your car?When I was with my friends go-ing out, a car cut me off I had to slam on my brakes and swerve.

How many miles does your car have?7,450.

Where is your favorite place to drive?On open roads, because its more relaxing.

Have you gone on any fun trips?To San Francisco to see G-eazy perform.

What’s the fastest you have gone in your car?90 mph

What is your dream car?A black Range Rover.

Describe your dream girlSomeone like Sydney Selix

What is your favorite pickup line?I’m not trying to impress you but, I’m batman.

What is your biggest turn on?A girl that isn’t afraid to rip one.

What is your biggest turn off?“Pity me” tweets

How do you get a girls atten-tion?I’m just always the center of at-tention. Sorry ‘bout it.

How does a girl win you over?Huge bank account.

What is your worst memory with a girl?I don’t have memories, I’ve never dated.

Describe your dream guyA nice Jewish boy, preferably from back east who likes to ski and is taller than me.

What is your favorite pickup line?Shalom.

What is your biggest turn on?When a guy can read Torah.

What is your biggest turn off?When guys wear jean shorts.

How do you get a guys atten-tion?Make some kind of loud noise.

How does a guy win you over?Invite me over for Shabbat din-ner.

What is your worst memory with a guy?When Hunter Hill dated in the second grade.

-Briana Smith

Darci Naftulin, 12, and Michael Johnson, 12

Patrick Patterson and Tessa Stangl, 12

Wally Harmon - Imagine its a

cold, rainy, miserable day you are hungry and you want something warm and delicious. A Ramen house is the place to go. Sadly at the Shoki Ramen House you will have to wait at least 15 minutes to be seated. But is it worth the wait? The ramen they serve is cheap (between $7-$12), filling, and most importantly it is very tasty. Like most ramen houses it has wonder-ful atmosphere similar to the actual ramen houses in Japan the staff is also very friendly and enthusiastic. So the food is good, the place is nice, and it doesn’t cost too much but does the crazy wait ruin all that? In my opinion no. I love the Shoki ramen house the ramen is good and out of the ordinary, it’s a wonderful place to go on Friday or Saturday night just before a night out, and in addition to all that its a pretty good place to take a date to. So if you are willing to wait a little bit for a delicious, authentic ramen in a great atmosphere the Shoki Ra-men House is a decent choice. Also Pro-tip: if you want something spicy order the tan tan men.

I give the Shoki Ramen House three Wally Heads out of five.

Connor Jang- Being of Asian descent, I know some good noodles when I see them. But unfortu-nately, I lack the patience to wait outside in the cold rain for my food for 40 minutes. Instead I left to go to a friend’s house, and made some Cup ‘O’ Noodles. However, every-thing in the restaurant looked fan-tastic. Just by glancing at the menu I could tell that the Ramen House prided itself on its authenticity. Almost everything on the menu was organic, and the atmosphere was similar to a small, busy, family owned restaurant.

I give the Shoki Ramen House one and a half Connor Heads out of five.

CONNOR &WALLY’S BITE OF SACRAMENTO

-Wally Harmon and Connor Jang

-Grant Webster

Evelyn Rojas, 11

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012 Page 11

Behind the pom-poms and smiles of every cheerleader is the underlying threat of serious and even fatal injuries.

Thrilling but high-risk stunts involving flips and twists make cheerleading the most dangerous activity for high school girls, as backed by studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics. To prevent injuries doctors recommended changes to cheer, including des-ignating the activity a sport in all states.

“Although the overall injury rate remains relatively low, cheerleading has accounted for approximately 66 percent of all catastrophic injuries in high school female athletes over the past 25 years,” according to the study.

As reported by the study published in this fall’s journal Pediatrics, the most commonly seen injuries are simple sprains, followed by concussions and other head injuries.

It is not the sideline cheering that causes injuries. Rather, it is the flips, tosses and stunts where women are raised above one an-other’s heads that pose danger.

But cheerleaders say the high flying routines are worth the risk.

“We stunt because it adds something to a performance and is sort of the defining difference between cheerleading and dance,” said junior cheerleader Chloe Kuske. “Even with the possibility of injuries, it’s worth it to continue stunting because unlike other schools who don’t have safe and legal stunts, ours are safe and our coach has us work them over and over again.”

The risks involved with stunting cannot completely be eliminated, although they can be minimized.

In the past few years, Rio cheerleaders have suffered injuries ranging from a broken nose to mild concussions. One of the worst injuries occurred during a practice earlier this season.

JV cheerleader Shasta Bowen suffered a compound fracture to her arm while warming up to per-form a roundoff backhandspring during practice.

“Getting injured was really scary and kind of embarrassing,” Bowen said.

However scared she was, she did not shed a tear when breaking

her arm. She was forced to endure reconstructive bone surgery the following day.

At other local high schools, like Mira Loma, cheerleaders are not exempt from injuries either.

“There have been a few serious injuries this year alone,” said Nadia Bijaksana, a Mira Loma senior cheerleader. “When we were doing a stunt my flyers chin came down and hit me in the head and cracked her chin open. Another girl fractured her ankle falling from a liberty.”

Year after year, cheerleaders re-

ceive injuries. This, however, does not stop them from wholeheartedly participating in the activity.

“I don’t think that fear of get-ting an injury should stop anyone from participating in a sport,” said senior cheerleader Laura Eiselman. “There are enough rules and guide-lines we follow to make sure we are all safe and taken care of.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement there are particular risk factors that increase a cheerleader’s chance of becoming injured. Such risk factors include, “higher body

mass index, previous injury, cheer-ing on harder surfaces, performing stunts, and supervision by a coach with low level of training and experience.”

Cheerleading coach of 25 years Demeris Athey said she is well aware of the risk factors and works hard to ensure that cheerleaders at the freshman, JV and varsity levels are all equally safe.

“Most of the injuries at the high school level are a result of teams trying to perform stunts that

THE RIO AMERICANO MIRADA

12 SPORTS

With flashy campaign Nike takes over world

Around the world, Nike is the brand to wear. Its trademark swoosh can be found every-

where: on shoes, socks, shorts, shirts, sweatshirts and more. Our world has been transformed by the Nike Takeover.

Rio is affected more than most schools, though, because of its primar-ily wealthy demographic. Last year the fad was Nike FreeRuns, and this year, more and more people can be seen sporting Oregon attire.

This takeover is due to all the big-name athletes who wear Nike clothes. Lebron James, the Sports Illustrated sportsman of the year, wears his en-dorser’s gear at all times, both on and off the court.

Another example from a differ-ent sport is Cristiano Ronaldo, the international icon and world class soccer player for Real Madrid. He has his own collection of cleats: the CR7s. They are the flashiest cleats on the market with their neon colors and leopard print designs.

Nike has a face player in nearly every sport. Others include women tennis sensation Maria Sharapova, all-time golfer Tiger Woods and revolu-tionary bike rider Lance Armstrong.

Flashy is the word that Nike wants everybody to think of when they see the Nike swoosh.

Teams that wear flashy the brand’s “flashy” gear includes the Oregon Ducks. These jerseys are known throughout the United States because of the shiny helmets and the chrome wings covering star players’ shoulder pads..

The international attire company became the official jersey provider of the NFL, a move that cost over a billion dollars over a span of five years, but will set Nike in stone as the strongest sports brand in the world. That billion dollars may seem like pay-ing for dinner for the owner and CEO of the company, Phil Knight, the man who is worth over fourteen billion dol-lars (Forbes).

All of these tactics are centered around the people in the media spotlight wearing the corporation’s attire. Then when people see their heroes on television with the swoosh everywhere, it becomes cool to wear the same.

Unless other companies like Adidas and Under Armor make some significant changes in business tactics, the giant that is Nike will be smooth sailing at the top of one of the most profitable industries in the world and has no plans of backing down.

Doctors root for new rules

The varsity cheer team performs a hitched pyramid. Although risk, it is highly rehearsed to avoid mistakes and injuries.

| FRIDAY • December 14, 2012

History teacher hired as soccer coachpage 15

Basketballscouting reportpage 15

Rio vs. Jesuit: Preview of the Big Gamepage 14

Ryan Burns | Sports Editor

CHEERLEADING

Guidelines could prevent injuries in what pediatricians call a most dangerous activity for girls.

By Briana Smith | Mirada Staff

By Ryan Burns |Sports Editor

CHEER | Page 13

they are not physically capable of performing,” said Athey. “Poorly trained coaches are also a factor. When a coach does not know how to instruct properly, the girls are more prone to getting hurt.”

Rio squads condition all sum-mer using stunting progressions, spotting techniques and mats when stunting. All of the coaches renew their safety certification annually.

“I keep coaching because I

enjoy coaching,” said Athey. “I stay abreast of current safety regula-tions for high school cheerleading and I make sure the Rio Cheerlead-ers follow those regulations.”

With properly trained coaches and safety measures, cheerleaders can perform free of fear of in-jury. Even after breaking her arm, Bowen remains positive.

“I am still looking forward to cheer and tumble again. Even though cheerleading is dangerous it is well worth the risk.”

Both the women’s and men’s wa-ter polo teams reached a successful end to their season, gaining more than just friendships and experi-ence, but also section titles.

The girl’s junior varsity water polo team had an exceptional season.

Taking first place at the Crusher Classic tournament and winning most of their league games, they ended their season with high rank-ings.

The boy’s junior varsity water polo team was a force to be reck-oned with.

The team pulled all their strengths together to receive a first place trophy at the Christian Brothers Tournament. Captains freshmen Sam Hastie and sopho-more Chris Perry led the team to a 13-6 season.

The women’s varsity team ended with a final record of 20-7, with the starting line-up of Avery Dotterer, Emily Perry, Emmy Savidge, Ce-leste Brown, Rya Minow, Maigrie McDougle, and Hayley Baker lead-ing the team to success.

The women’s varsity team won their section championship for the tenth time in eleven seasons. The team came out fierce and hungry for the taste of victory once again. The final score against Oakdale was 7-2 in the championship game.

Senior goalkeeper Avery Dot-terer received MVP of the cham-pionship game with 203 saves throughout the season.

“I think we played better than last season, as a team. Our team was amazing and we played to our full potential,” says Dotterer.

The team worked hard for the section title.

Throughout the four month sea-son, both teams pushed to where they’d never been before.

“Some traditions we have as a team before a game, is to go out to my car and blast pump up music and visualize how we would play in the game,” says Dotterer.

“The very first day of practice, our coach held a meeting to lay

down the goals and expectations for our team,” says junior Erin Cherovsky, “and we achieved that goal.”

The men’s varsity team won their section championship, for the third time in a row led by seniors John Price and Jack DuBois.

“What went well this season is the camaraderie that arose not from necessity but of our own ac-cord,” says Price.

Playing under cold conditions, the men’s varsity team played with complete composure and dominat-ed the game with a nail biting 6-3 victory over rival El Camino.

Senior John Price was awarded player-of-the-game with 2 goals and multiple assists in the section championship game.

“I was pretty emotional at the championship game knowing that

it was my last,” says Price, “But I am still going to school and playing club polo with most of the same guys, so I got over it.”

Every one of the starting 7 players for the boys received All-League and All-Section honors.

The starting players included, John Price, Jack DuBois, Wally Harmon, Connor Jang, Luke Has-tie, Miles Brady, and Ian Brady.

The team was complemented mostly on their defensive play and movement with the ball.

Seniors John Price, Jack DuBois, Miles Brady, Wally Harmon, Austin Morse, Pano Roditis and Danny Shields ended their Raider water polo career perfectly, with a Raider three-peat.

The Rio Americano water polo teams are well known throughout the northern and southern Califor-

nia area. The women’s varsity team held

their own and received third place at the Western State Tournament.

The men’s varsity teams played many weekend tournaments, in both Northern and Southern California.

The men’s varsity team won the Schmitt Championship to kick off the season, combining many hard fought victories against Bay Area water polo powerhouses.

The Raider water polo teams will return to the pool next August, to begin to train for the 2013 season.

“We came, we conquered, now we have to do it again,” says head coach Tyson Frenn.

Many of the water polo play-ers now begin their swim season, staying in shape for another blue

banner next November.“Even though we are all los-

ing some starters next year, I am confidant that next season we will come out just as strong and ready for any competition,” says junior Rya Minow.

They supported each other not only at the championship game but throughout the season.

The men’s team showed up with their confident voices and positive attitude.

The women’s teams made ap-pearances at all the boy’s games, like against Jesuit at Jesuit, with painted stomachs and loud voices. Just as the boys showed up at the girls games with lawn chairs and Rio Americano colors.

With a “Brother-Sister” relation-ship, these two teams were unstop-pable.

The women’s varsity team splashes and screams with their coach in the pool after their section championship. The Raiders defeated Oakdale 7-3 in the title game.

Both polo teams win sections

Q: What sports do you play? A: Soccer & Basketball Q: Which sport do you like more? A: Basketball Q: How long have you played? A: Since I was 4 Q: How often do you practice? A: Every day Q: What do you do at practice? A: I work my petuttie off

Q: What has been your most memorable moment? A: Starting at the 2012 Jack Scott Tournament

Q: Do you want to continue to play Basketball in college?A: Yes

Q: For what college? A: Any college Q: What is your goal for the season? A: Win the league and section title

- Zach Sampo

Athlete of the Issue: Josh Parkinson

Briana Smith | Sports Editor

Sophomore Josh Parkinson takes a free throw against Center during the Jack Scott Tournament.

Ryan Burns | Sports Editor

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 13WATER POLO

By Madeline Jang | Mirada Staff

The AAP makes key recommendations for preventing inju-ries, including:

-Cheerleading should be designated as a sport in all states, al-lowing for benefits such as qualified coaches, better access to medical care and injury surveillance.-Cheerleaders should be trained in all spotting techniques and only attempt stunts after demonstrating appropriate skill pro-gression.-Pyramid and partner stunts should be performed only on a spring/foam floor or grass/turf. ... Pyramids should not be more than 2 people high.

FROM Page 12

CHEER | Squad trains all summer

The common misconception that Rio sports teams are not very good was ever so present, even after all of the section playoff games that were played by the Raider fall teams.

Every fall team made the play-offs except for football, a team that struggled through the coaching dilemma and still finished only one league win away from making playoffs themselves.

Rio has had a team advance to states, two section titles, a semi-finalist in playoffs, and a quarter-finalist.

CROSS COUNTRYFirst up is the women’s cross

country team. They placed third in sections to move onto the state meet for the first time in over twenty years.

The team is led by senior Ma-caulay Porter and junior Elizabeth Hutchison. They placed fourth and tenth in the section race.

Porter finished fourth on the course that she got a stress fracture on one year earlier.

The team’s fourth fastest runner, sophomore Paige Gowan, said, “It was a ‘I just want to hug everything and my cheeks hurt from smiling kind of day.’”

In the state meet, Porter finished in 24 place.

WATER POLOBoth of the water polo teams

felt the same way after their section final matches.

Both have been utterly domi-nant all season long, with zero losses for either team throughout league and sections.

The men won their third straight championship and the women won their tenth section title in eleven years.

The two teams were thrilled to bring home the section pennants.

“We were crazy excited!” said an exuberant junior Erin Cherovsky. The boys went a bit further in their celebrations, though.

“We were so excited that we threw our coaches in the pool,” stated junior Stuart Samoville.

Some of the other teams who reached playoffs include women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, and women’s golf.

VOLLEYBALLVolleyball finished their season

with a crushing loss in the quar-terfinal match after winning the CAL with only one loss against El Camino. The Raiders avenged the loss in the second round of league games by beating their rivals on the road.

The season of a 32-9 record brought the team to a 17 ranking in the San Joaquin Section rankings. Although the team did not advance very far into the playoffs, the team of three sophomores, five juniors, and four seniors worked hard and it paid off.

Beating El Camino, Rio’s biggest rival, on El Camino’s home court, in a 3-1 game brought excitement to the team and high hopes for the rest of the season and playoffs.

“My favorite part of the season was winning against El Camino at their home court.” Said sophomore Maddison Hunziker “It was a big accomplishment beating them considering it was their first loss in two years.”

After beating visiting team An-telope 3-0 on October 30, Rio’s spot in playoffs was secured.

With two highly recruited play-ers, outside hitter Maddie Cannon, and setter Maddie Merlino, leading the team through the season and now into playoffs, the Raiders were ready for anything.

After working long and hard this season, it had all paid off. On November 6 Rio defeated visiting team, Pacheo, in a 3-0 match up in the first game of playoffs.

Going into the next game against El Dorado, the girls were amped and ready. Unfortunately, after three close games Rio had been defeated. Despite the loss, the team fought and played hard.

Although they did not advance further into the playoffs, the team and Grix were happy about their experience and chance in the playoffs.

SOCCERMen’s soccer lost in the semifi-

nal match against River Valley in penalty kicks, the team that would move on three days later to win the section title.

“It was bittersweet because we got so far, [but] to lose in penal-ties was devastating,” said junior

forward Ahmadu Barrie.The team posted a 7-0-3 league

season, with Mark Ledbetter and Ian Kinn leading the team. In 22 games the team scored 42 goals. Barrie led scorers with 10 goals. Richard Newens and Ricardo Vega led in assists.

They won their first playoff game against Cosumnes Oaks on 2-0, before losing to River Valley.

The loss was in penalty kicks. The Raiders managed to make four of their five penalties, but River Valley finished on top after they hit all five penalties.

GOLFThe women’s golf team was

satisfied with their season because they were able to see the two senior captains, Haley Ayres and Sydney Selix, off with a playoff birth.

They two were the only two

seniors on the team, so the Raiders have a young team that could grow over the next few years.

FOOTBALLBeating teams such as Mira

Loma and Golden Sierra, the team was led by many of its starting senior players. On average, about seven of the eleven starters were seniors.

Although the men did not make it to playoffs, they went 2-3 in league. “My highlight of the league play was probably slaughtering Mira Loma in our homecoming game,” junior Cole Davey said.

The season was not an easy ride, as their former coach Chris-tian Mahaffey was fired halfway through their season. The switch in leadership left the men with the responsibility to learn entirely new offensive and defensive plays.

Despite the changes, six players were named all league players at the end of the season.

New head coach Max Miller plans to return next year to coach. With many championships under his belt he hopes to take Rio to a new level on the football field.

With fifteen graduating seniors on the team, the remaining twenty one juniors and sophomores plan to take over the team next season. Many of the offensive and defensive line being juniors gives them the upper hand next season’s play.

Junior Wes Plumley said, “Next year I hope that more students show up to the games and have the band play at all of the home games.” Hopefully for the Raider football team, their season will be a touchdown.

Fall teams go far in post season

Senior Macaulay Porter fights her way up a hill at the Mt. Sac meet near Disneyland Porter finished fourth in sections and 24 in the state meet.

Wally Harmon | Editor-in-chief

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012 Page 14

By Ryan Burns, Hanna Thomp-son, and Alexis Bates | Mirada Staff

CAL Most Valuable Players: Mark Ledbetter (Soccer), Avery Dotterer (Water Polo), John Price (Water Polo)

Men’s Soccer

David Behrmann

Erik Hubbard

Ian Kinn

Mark Ledbetter

Blake Reed

Alex Rizzo

Randall Rude

Zach Sampo

Women’s Golf

Maddie Miller

Sydney Selix

Haley Ayres

Women’s Tennis

Julia Butterfield

Olivia Carrion

Jessica Crockett

Sydney Komlenic

Water Polo

John PriceWally Harmon

Ian BradyMiles BradyJack DuboisLuke HastieConnor Jang

Celeste BrownMaigre MacDougal

Rya MinowEmily Perry

Avery DottererEmmy SavidgeHayley Baker

Women’s Volleyball

Caitlyn O’Niell

Brooke Watson

Maddie Merlino

Madison Hunzinker

Cross Country

Kenji Anzai George Halvorson

Evan CrossAriel Young

Macaulay Porter Elizabeth Hutchinson

CAL All League Players: Fall SportsFootball

Ryan Burns

Robbie Crandall

Rhys Hershey

Matt Laffey

Connor Shatz

Jordan Vinson

Zack Suarez

Varsity basketball scouting reportKyler Joaquin 24:Kyler Joaquin (right) has clearly been the consistent offensive threat for the Raiders thus far. He primarily starts possessions outside the arc and prefers to get his points on isola-tions and one-on-one plays. He boosted his PPG average up to 14 with a red-hot per-formance against River Valley last Monday with 25 points. He is also the first Raider guard out in front on fast breaks and transition plays. Joaquin has the ability to absolutely take over games with his scoring ability. Being able to lead by example on both ends of the court has allowed him to become a co-captain.

Nick Tatar 3: Nick Tatar has earned his playing time so far this year after hardly stepping on the court in his first game of the season, a loss against Christian Brothers. In the next game, against Center, Tatar nailed five 3-pointers on 5-6 shooting, and hasn’t cooled off since, evident with his 12.6 PPG. The spark he brings off the bench is a great weapon for coach Jones because it allows the starters to rest while the backups build an even bigger lead. The junior guard stays on the perimeter and runs around screens to get open shots.

Zack Suarez 2: Although his young season has been set back by an ankle injury, Zack Suarez has averaged 15 PPG in the games he has played. The co-captain went down with his sprained ankle at the end of the Raiders’ opening home game in the Jack Scott Memorial Tournament in Rio’s 66-48 win against Center. His ability to beat players off the dribble has proven tricky to deal with for the opposing defenses. Suarez’s athleticism has given the Raiders an extra man on the fast break and a lock down perimeter defender. The main problem with his season so far is that he has missed 3 games so early in the year.

Matt Lyon 11: Freshman Matt Lyon has started out his high school career extremely well. His 5.2 PPG are the fourth highest on the team. The backup point guard has shown a knack for commanding the offense, a rare trait for a freshman. Lyon has also been able to drive to the basket against bigger defenders with great success. He makes up for his lack of size by out hustling his match up.

Basketball season is finally here

Rio history teacher William Taylor was announced the men’s varsity soccer coach. This was after a two week span of the school executives searching for the right person for the job.

The Raiders will be rebounding off of a semi-final loss to River Val-ley in the section playoffs next year.

Taylor will have big shoes to fill though. Former coach Alan Posner’s teams reached the playoffs for all of the past five years.

Coach Taylor hopes that the

returning players will adapt to the change in leadership. “A lot of play-ers were comfortable with the old coach and thought he was success-ful,” said Taylor.

He has experience in coaching championship teams. He has led the women’s varsity soccer team to back-to-back section titles with high hopes for a three-peat this spring.

“We have had fantastic athletes on both genders but there are ex-pectations for the girls to dominate and they have to play hard every single game,” Taylor stated.

If that attitude carries over to the men’s team, the Raiders could

see themselves atop the section after a three year span of losing in the semi-finals.

Taylor is focused on more than just short-term results. “I want to see improvements with the play-ers and the team throughout the season. I want all players on all levels, even freshman and JV, to buy into a system that will work for more than one year,” said the newly appointed coach.

As one of the few on-campus coaches, Taylor will be able to easily hold his roster more aca-demically accountable. He teaches Honors World History and US History.

“The players have expectations on the field but more so in the classroom. I am a teacher first and a coach second,” he said.

Returning players are already elated with the appointment of the beloved history teacher, although many are saying that the atmo-sphere will be a lot different from the feeling of obligation that Alan Posner brought to the table.

“I am excited for a new experi-ence with a new coach, but I will miss coach Posner because he taught me how to work hard,” stated junior Ahmadu Barrie.

William Taylor is hoping to quickly gain the respect as a coach

from returning players such as Barrie.

“I hope they see me as dedicat-ed, knowledgeable, and hardwork-ing,” said the coach.

The Raiders have an excit-ing year ahead of them with an open-minded coach like Taylor and returning players including sophomore Hunter Brown and goalkeeper Randall Rude leading the way. The dynasty that has been Rio soccer will be looking to be crowned champions once again next year.

“When I got this offer, I just couldn’t pass it up,” stated coach Taylor.

Taylor hired as men’s varsity soccer coach

Senior Kyler Joaquin hesitates during the Raider’s first-round win against Center in the Jack Scott Tourney. Rio won 66-48 behind

junior Nick Tatar’s five 3s.

Ryan Burns | Sports Editor

I think this team isn’t too hard to play on. We are all one big family and get along very well. I love all my teammates.”

- Matt Lyon on the difficul-ties of being a freshman on a varsity sports team

“

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012Page 15

Date and place: Dec.. 21 at RioTime: Freshman-4, Junior Varsity-5:30, Varsity-7

The rivalry: The rivalry between the Rio Raiders and the Jesuit Maraud-

ers is one of the fiercest in all of California. No matter where the game is held, every seat is sold out. One of the best parts of these games is how rabid the fans are. Despite all of the students growing up with each other, the hostility between the two schools is off the charts.

Keys to the game: The Raiders need to contain Jesuit’s standout forward Lake

Lutes. Although the 6’6” Lutes has size that could allow him to dominate in the paint, he prefers to use his mobility on the wings.

Jesuit will need to focus on stopping the Raiders’ guard play starring the three captains: Kyler Joaquin, Darrin Nishi, and Zack Suarez. These three players account for the majority of the team’s scoring.

THE RIO-JESUIT MATCH UP

By Ryan Burns | Mirada Staff

By Ryan Burns | Mirada Staff

MENS BASKETBALL

MENS SOCCER

Playathon isout of this worldFreshman Shane Parrot plays the saxo-phone at the 32nd annual playathon. The science fiction themed band concert was hosted in the cafeteria and presented to the students and parents.

A Good StartSenior Elizabeth Moulton shoots from downtown in a home game. Women’s basketball started the season with a bang by get-ting first in a tournament in Galt.

Junior Jordan Cloud attacks the rim against Monterey Trail, the team that would move on to defeat Jesuit in the championship game. This semi-final match up was the Raiders’ only loss of the tournament.

Rain returns to Rio Senior Raven Balafoutis walks to class during a down-pour that was part of a series of tropical storms that dumped about five inches of rain of rain in five days

Coach Smith’sMud runCoach Smith hosted his annual Mud Run, a muddy obstacle course where students navigate through the tough ter-rain. This year’s event was aided by record rainfalls on Nov. 30.

A LOOK AT THE MONTH

Jack ScottTournament

Got a photo you want included in next issue’s “A Look at the Month”? Send it to riomirada2013@gmail.com.

THE MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2012 Page 16