NATE BROWNStaff Writer

The fi rst annual Poway Unifi ed School District Special Olympics took place this year at the Poway High football stadium on Dec 14.

Over 250 athletes, staff members, spectators and volunteers were in at-tendance.

All athletes who competed in the events are PUSD high school students, with the exception of Mira Mesa High School who was invited as a special guest. The sports lasted from 10 a.m. to noon with the awards ceremony concluding the event at around 1p.m. Critical Skills teacher Erin Nixon was excited that all students were able to participate in some way.

Most students played in the soccer games, but for those who were un-able to play due to physical restrictions, engaged in other “individualized skills competitions,” like wheelchair races and a modifi ed form of tennis according to Nixon.

Since it took place during a regular school day, the general public was not allowed to attend for safety reasons with the school. Despite that, there was still a good turnout for the day’s activities and everyone had fun.

Senior Callie Gilbert created a music video to Justin Bieber’s “All Around the World” for her senior project with the Critical Skills students from Po-way High. In the video they ask Bieber to come to their Special Olympics

and play soccer with them.Senior Karen Gonzales when asked beforehand said she was “excited to

maybe see Justin Bieber [in association with Callie Gilbert’s senior project]. I am also excited to play soccer and sing.”

While mostly anticipating the possibility of seeing Bieber, the students were also equally excited to compete in the various sports. “Soccer was really fun,” sophomore Sean Condon said.

Special Olympics have already, and will continue to enrich the students’ lives in the years to come. It gives them the opportunity to become more involved in their school and community.

“The Olympics really gives them [the students] the opportunity to par-ticipate in district and school-wide events that they don’t normally get to. They don’t go to Prom or the other dances. They aren’t on the sports teams,” Nixon said.

Poway High took second place in the soccer tournament, with Westview winning.

Many of Poway’s students placed in the other activities as well. The awards ceremony concluded the day with all students receiving rib-

bons for their efforts. Hamburger Factory catered the event and provided food for all athletes and volunteers for free.

The volunteers, teachers and atheletes were all pleased with the results of the fi rst PUSD special olympics.

Occupy San Occupy San Diego

By Ethan Decker

Thousands of protesters have been protesters have been marching the streets of downtown San Diego since Oct 7 in a movement known as “Occupy San Diego.”

The movement was e movement was e movementinspired by “Occupy Wall Street,” a march in New York City that is mostly protesting the fact that the protesting the fact that the wealthiest taxpayers in the United States (the top one percent) own forty percent percent) own forty percent of the nation’s wealth. Meanwhile, the other ninety-nine percent only own the remaining sixty percent of the nation’s percent of the nation’s wealth.

However, protesters such as Poway protesters such as Poway High senior Megan Peranteau are fi ghting for other causes. Peranteau said that she has applied for numerous jobs in many fi elds, and has never even been granted an interview. “It’s become more about who you know rather than how well you can do the job,” said Peranteau.

A photographer and participant in Occupy San Diego, Robert Martin, said that he did not think that “anyone was expecting the Occupy movement to be immediately successful,” and that it “took weeks for mainstream media to even begin minimal coverage begin minimal coverage of the Wall Street protest.”

The movement has spread, and is being carried on in dozens of cities worldwide, some even in Europe and Asia.

Jacob Basinger, a Poway High sophomore, said that he mostly agrees with the protesters, but not the protest. “It may be wrong, but the top be wrong, but the top one percent has to split that forty percent of the nation’s wealth, leaving them with not as much

Varsity Boys’ Soccer

ILIADTHE POWAY HIGH SCHOOL

Dec. 21, 2012 Volume LIIFriday No. 5

Q:ninety-nine percent only

Q:ninety-nine percent only own the remaining sixty Q:own the remaining sixty percent of the nation’s Q:percent of the nation’s wealth.Q:wealth.

All the lights are going to turn off and we’re going to dissapear.”

How do you think the

world is going to end?

Kaeley Matz, 9

People going insane from thinking the world’s going to end.”

Joey Moreno, 11

It’s not our time to go, it’s not going to end just yet.”

Nhu Trang, 12

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Late startjan 7

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Chaos people, looting stores and then a big natural disaster.”

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Poway hosts special olympics

Shooting in Connecticut does not cause excessive worry in PUSD

olympians: (Top Left) Zack Wadase plays against another school in the soccer tournament. (Bottom Left) From left to right: Jesse Smith, Daniel Kim, Sean Condon, Karen Gonzalez, Sergio Barbosa, Celsa Garcia, Josue Cassique, Andrea Esparza walking onto the fi eld at the opening ceremony. (Above) Left to right Celsa Garcia, Andrea Esparza, Jon Sanchez during the events. NATE BROWN & JAWAN AQIL // The Iliad

MARWA SAFISALEM SAMSON

Feature.......................8

Jan 18No School

After the news broke of the shooting that occurred in Newton, Con-necticut, many community members were left with concerns regarding campus security across Poway Unifi ed Schools.

In a meeting held by the superintendent, which was attended by all PUSD principals, vulnerabilities in the schools’ security system were dis-cussed.

These weaknesses include our campus’s open location. Unlike Midwest and East coast schools, most California schools are outdoors and seem-ingly more susceptible to intruders. Assistant Principal Peter McKee, how-ever, refuted this belief; “I think if somebody is determined, I don’t know what we could do to stop them,” referencing the Newton shooter’s tactic of breaking a window to enter the school.

Preparation for the unlikely event of a campus threat includes drills which administration has implemented twice this year. With every drill, administration attempts to achieve quick response times from the students and staff. The response time is defi ned as the time it takes for every class-room on campus to be locked, or the time it takes for all students to be out

of the school gates and in a safe area. So far this year, the response times were 12 minutes and 14 minutes, respectively.

“A real attainable goal would be for students to be in a room within ten seconds of the announcement,” McKee said

In the case of an emergency occurring during lunch time, students are expected to fi nd a safe spot in less than 45 seconds. With the concern that many teachers keep their classrooms unoccupied during this time, staff should quarter as many students as possible in F-50 or library.

While senior Grace Nelson does not necessary feel unsafe on Poway High’s campus, the Newton shooting has altered the caution she takes with strangers on campus.

“While I do feel safe here, I am more suspicious of random people in the hallways,” she said.

Student safety is a great concern to PUSD personnel who will continue to ensure their protection. “Although you can never feel 100 percent safe, schools are some of the safest locations to be,” Principal Scott Fisher said in response to questions about Poway’s safety.

protesters have been marching the streets of downtown San Diego since Oct 7 in a movement known as movement known as movement known as “Occupy San Diego.”