october issue 2010
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Volume 49, Issue 3TRANSCRIPT
A weedy issueThoughts on Prop 19:Pot or Not? See page 10
MIR
ADA
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Volume 49, Issue 3Rio Americano H.S.Sacramento, CAOctober 22, 2010
Who did you choose? Mock election results are in. See page 5
Homecoming magic brews up school spirit
School’s Finest Horror
StoryMemory burns on 10 years after devastat-ing theater fire. See page 7
This Issue
“The Student Voice”
Senior Tanner Bond and junior Hunter Akins duel on the stage during ‘Wizard Wednes-day’. The magical spirit day fit very well with this year’s homecoming theme: Fantasy Land. See inside for more Homecoming coverage
photo by madison zimmerman/photo editor
Save your brain: Protect your head from concussions.
See page 19
Congress was designed to repre-sent the composition of America as a nation. But, who really makes up this exclusive group of 535 individuals?
There are 225 lawyers. Hey, if we ever get sued, at least we stand a good chance of winning the court case.
Out of the entire body, 214 mem-bers consider themselves professional politicians. They must use the term professional loosely. As our economy and country spiral downward, these “profes-sionals” have failed miser-ably.
So the best in the coun-try can’t get it right…some-thing must be wrong. Why not try something different? Why not try electing people who have done something productive with their lives, besides a résumé that includes recession and indecision?
Nov. 2, is the people’s chance to restore this country. To bring it back to a government ruled by the people. It’s time to elect representatives who care about America more than pub-licity and re-election.
These “professionals” whose only job is to govern this country, are crippling the American system with their narcissism and narrow-minded policies.
The problem is, voters are too stubborn about political party to look towards the best option for the country. Democrats and Republi-
cans would never vote for the other party’s legislation. And while prin-cipled stands are important, they can also be a hindrance.
We’re all Americans, and both the Republicans and Democrats in Congress aren’t doing their job. Let’s
stop caring about the party, and more about the nation’s welfare and current pile of debt and despair.
These life-long politi-cians have punched their last ticket. They observe the country’s status, com-plain about how bad things are, yet go home to their mil-lion dollar
summer homes on Cape Cod. These people don’t know the true composi-tion of the country. The American people do.
So what do we suggest? Gee, how about hardworking people who care about fixing problems who are not loyal to party? Instead of lawyers and professional politicians who have never balanced a budget in their life, why don’t we try electing business-men and businesswomen? All we are saying is that we don’t want a coach that’s never actually played in a game his whole life.
We need a drastic change in who is in charge. A drastic change in the way we vote. America is angry. The people need an actual voice.
Picking the politicians
Kenny Moulton and Zach Smith
News October 22, 2010Page 2• The Mirada
History teacher Gary Blenner is running for reelection for School Board of the Center Joint Unified School District.
Blenner became involved in this school district by a mishap in the 2005. The board fired a popular football coach and in re-sponse voters mounted a recall.
“I ran but only came in sec-ond place,” he said.
Offering his expertise to the district, Blenner ran again in 2006 and was elected. He decid-ed to run in this district because they were simply falling apart.
“I got involved with this school district because it was the laughing stock of Sacramento,” said Blenner. “The district was a mess with low teacher salaries and low test scores.”
In order to fix the school dis-trict, it requires a lot of work by those on the school board.
“We create budgets, make policies, cut teachers, create dis-
trict standards, and oversee the school district,” Blenner said.
Throughout his current term, Mr. Blenner has started many new programs at Center.
“We are teaching students to think out side the box and not just regurgitate information onto a test,” Blenner said. “ We are making workshops to show teachers new ways of instruct-ing. We are also trying to make schools more green and energy efficient.”
“I want to continue with the things that were done in the last
four years,” Blenner said.In this next election Blenner
is running against five people, two of whom are also up for re-election.
“I would say my chances are 60 percent, 2/3,” he said.
Though if Blenner does not win, he confessed that “it would not hurt too badly”.
“I will be a little disappointed but it would not be the end of the world,” Blenner said.
By Mariah MaxwellMirada Staff
photo by sarah vaira/editor in chiefSocial studies teacher Gary Blenner sits at his desk in his classroom. Blenner is running for reelection of the Center Joint Unified School District.
Teacher runs for school boardBlenner seeksreelection inCenter district
Precautions urged in response toincrease in locker room break-ins
There has been an increased amount of locker room theft over the last two years, Principal Bri-an Ginter said.
“Whether somebody is breaking locks or breaking lockers to steal the contents, theft has been becoming a bigger problem,” he said.
Because cameras are not allowed in locker rooms due to privacy issues, Ginter said, there is a “vulnerable space” between and during classes, and also after school.
Simple precautions, like keeping your valu-ables with you and reporting robberies as soon as possible, can greatly help prevent future locker room theft.
With the combined efforts of the student body and the administration, Ginter is confident that future robberies can prevented and stopped.
• Always keep your valuables near you or leave them at home
• Make sure you have a lock on your locker
• If you have been stolen from, be sure to make a report to the ad-ministration immediately
• Be sure to check the office for any lost or stolen items
• If you play a sport, remind your coaches to make arrangements with the custodians to lock and reopen locker rooms
Tips to prevent theft
By Jarett HartmanNews Editor
“Nov. 2, is the people’s chance to restore this country. To bring it back to a government ruled by the people. It’s time to elect rep-resentatives who care about America more than publicity and re-election.”
Oct. 23 Homecoming Football GameJV 11 am and Var 1 pm
Oct. 25-29 Red Ribbon Week
Nov. 4-5 Playathon Music Festival
Nov. 9-10 CAHSEE Testing
Nov. 11 Veteran’s Day
Nov. 19 Senior Class Picture
Nov. 20-28 Thanksgiving Break
Upcoming Events:
October 22, 2010 Page 3• The Mirada
Documentary exposes student stress
Movie expresses need to prevent student failureThe documentary “Wait-
ing for Superman” by Davis Guggenheim opened Octo-ber 7th in Sacramento. I got a chance to see the premiere before it opened in theaters and what i saw brought me to tears. I was outraged by the film.
The film profiles five students all trying to get into charter schools because their local public schools, or “home” schools are dropout factories. The film focuses mostly on urban public schools like those in Man-hattan, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C, but the problems exist everywhere.
Even in suburban areas, like Arden-Arcade, kids are being failed by the “system.” Rio’s test scores may appear high, but in reality only 50 percent of Rio students are proficient in math and reading.
There is no easy way to solve the problem. Many of the habits and expectations students have are formed at
a very young age. Across the nation, less
than 30 percent of eighth-graders are proficient ( at grade-level) in math and reading and don’t think its
just the deep south states bringing the rest of us down.
California’s average is even lower: only 24 percent of eighth-graders here are at grade-level in math and
reading. If a child is already
behind when he or he enters a public high school, it be-comes incredibly difficult for them to catch up. For many kids, they start ninth grade a mindset that they cannot succeed or school just isn’t for them.
Those are the kids that need the “Superman” de-picted in the film. He could come in the form of a bril-liant and dedicated teacher like Grant High School’s Mr. Rajagopal.
But Rajagopal is the ex-ception, not the rule, when it comes to teachers.
“Bad teachers are simply
not held accountable,” Raja-gopal said.
Because of tenure, a process by which public school teachers become virtually unfirable, the bad teachers aren’t weeded out and the good teachers aren’t rewarded for doing their job well.
In fact, it takes a year-long evaluation process to even put a teacher on the fir-ing line. Essentially, the only way a teacher can be fired is if they sexually harass or beat a student on camera. That is exactly what hap-pened my freshamn year, but in my four years I have never heard of a teacher fired for poor performnce.
Teachers, like anyone else, need motivation. Imagine knowing you would get an A just by showing up to class, you wouldn’t work very hard.
That very thought has to cross the minds of all of our teachers.
And who really gets hurt by this system? We do.
The fact is that private or
public charter schools can pay better and offer a more challenging enviorment than public schools. They can also fire a teacher who is failing to teach his or her students.
So here at Rio there are some fantastic, inspirational, thought-provoking teachers. We all know who they are. But there are also some ter-rible ones who have clearly lost their passsion for educa-tiong and changing lives.
That’s not to say the blame lies completely with teachers. Students have a responsibilty to want to learn as well.
What can a teacher really do if all of his/her students don’t take their education seriously?
The only way to pre-vent the cycle of failure is to motivate both teachers and students. There is no external motivator for both parties.
We all have to take it upon ourselves to change ourselves and change the world.
The movie everybody should see these days is not “Inception” or the latest “Iron Man.” In fact, this film doesn’t even have any special effects or crazy car chases.
“Race to Nowhere” is a docu-mentary directed by Vicki Abeles, a normal, American mother of three, who saw the toll stress about school and the pressures to perform took on her children and decided to get to the bottom of it.
This movie, which may seem se-rious and even boring, could not be further from that. It’s emotional and heart breaking, hearing the stories of teens who have suffered from the extreme pressures of school.
Sophomore Michael Johnson, who attended the showing at Rio on Oct. 4, enjoyed the film. He felt it was very applicable to his and other students’ lives and finally explained to others the experience of an American child in school these days.
“They touched on what every day teens go through,” Johnson said. “I also thought it was an eye-opener for adults who don’t get it.”
The main focus of the film was to talk about the unnecessary pres-sures that have come to develop from the American school system that lead to depression, other ill-nesses, and even suicide, along with cheating and unpreparedness for college.
The causes of the pressure, the reason students feel they need to perform at such high levels, come from a variety of sources.
Some of the pressures are self in-duced. Students at Rio feel that they should succeed because they them-selves feel that it’s very important.
“I put pressure on myself be-cause I know I can achieve things that I put my mind to,” senior Blake Bender said. “It’s important because the world and schools are highly competitive and I want the best education I can get.”
Other causes are due to teach-ers and parents. Most students say that their parents put enormous amounts of pressure on them to get good grades, play sports, volunteer, and do other extracurricular activi-ties.
“My parents check my home-work every night and only let me watch TV and go online on the weekends,” senior Chika Eke said. “They pretty much control every-
thing i do as soon as i get home from school.”
Yet the ultimate cause of all the stress and pressure may be because of only one reason: college. College is the motive behind kids that push themselves to the brink, because good is never good enough.
Why is it so important these days to get into the “best” school, and what even defines the “best” school?
“I think that college applicants get more competitive each year and just doing well in school is no longer good enough to get into the top level schools,” senior Lauren Kohatsu said.
Yet, “Race to Nowhere” does not aim to place blame on anyone or anything in particular; instead, it tries to piece together the prob-lem as being caused by society as a whole and to motivate America to change the way it educates its students today.
The new goal is to redefine success and to produce students as happy, motivated, creative human beings once more.
“Race to Nowhere” is only the beginning of a great change coming.
By Danielle ArbiosMirada Staff “I put pres-
sure on myself because I know I can achieve things that I put my mind to. It’s impor-tant because
the world and schools are
highly competi-tive and I want the best educa-tion I can get.”
By Peter HammonMirada Staff
photo coutesy of waiting for wuperman
“Waiting for Superman,” a feature length film, exposes the students who are being failed by the education system in America. It is one of the two documentaries available for parents and students to see discussing the failure of schools to properly teach students the skills and materials they need to know in order to be successful in higher education and after graduat-ing from school.
EducationNews
Analysis
Analysis
OnCampusNews October 22, 2010Page 4• The Mirada
Next time you walk in front of the office take a minute to look at the Hope Tree.
Sisters senior Maddy Peterson and junior Macey planted the Tupelo tree last Sunday during tree planting day.
“It’s an awareness tree for cancer, child disabilities, and many other illnesses,” Maddy Peterson said.
The tree is hard to miss. The different colored rib-bons on the branches set it apart.
Below the tree a plexi-glass box with ribbons and a key will tell people which
color ribbon represents which disease.
The girls initially got the idea when they went to the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2009.
“They have the same tree out in front of the bookstore,” Maddy Peter-son said. “You see all the ribbons, and it has a special way of drawing you in.”
They hoped that plant-ing a Hope Tree on campus would allow students, staff and visitors to put a ribbon on the tree and realize that everyone is going through the same things.
“Hopefully it will be a
great addition to the school and something that unites us all to show our support
for a common cause,” Mac-ey Peterson said.
By Dannielle Arbios
By Danielle ArbiosMirada Staff
photo by sarah vaira/editor in chiefSisters Macey (11) and Maddy (12) Peterson plant a Tupelo tree.
Rio’s latest addition on campus? The student store.
The store opened on Sept. 27 in room C11.
Student government, as well as many students, teachers and other staff, are excited about the store, said student government teacher Christy Thomas.
Thomas and other came up with the idea for the store during work on the school’s vision last spring.
Student government sees the store as a way to raise spirit and money.
“We encourage people to come and buy more Raider gear so we can be even more spirited at school and games,” senior Elizabeth Eggert said.
The store includes food and snacks like chex mix, corn nuts, ice cream bars and popsicles in addition to bot-tlled water and iced tea.
The store sells all raider gear including everything from a raider beanie to a li-
cense plate holder to a sweat-shirt too.
School supplies are also on sale. This includes bind-ers, flashcards, paper, pencils and pens.
The store is open every day at lunch.
By Danielle ArbiosTree planting beautifies campus
Sisters plant Hope Tree to raise awareness of illnesses, disability
Student store open at lunch
The beautification day was sponsored by the Sac-ramento Tree Foundation and San Juan Unified School District.
“We had 112 volunteers that came out in the rain and planted 46 trees around the Rio campus,” said Jean-nine Powell, co-chair for the Landscape Committee. “We were very pleased with the turn out, and the fact that so many people showed up even in the rain it was great.”
Powell helped to organize the event by coordinating
volunteers and talking to people from the Sacramento Tree foundation about where Rio needed trees and what kinds.
Yet the beautification of Rio does not stop here.
“There will definitely be another landscape day be-fore open house that will be more cleaning, weeding, and maybe planting flowers,” Powell said.
You can see the success of the tree planting day and all the hard work that went into the day in the multitude of new trees planted around campus.
Dennis White and two students do their part by planting a tree in front the B-wing photo by sarah vaira/editor in chief
Elizabeth Eggert(12) stocks the shelves dur-ing the grand opening of the student store
photo by madison zimmerman/photo editor
Student Store Gear List and PricesRaider Jersey $18 Car Decal $3Raider Sweatshirt $40 Sanitizer $1.5Earth Week T-Shirt $15 Pennet $3Raider Shorts $10 Umbrella $15Flannel Shorts $10 Lanyard $4Flannel Pants $15 Snacks $0.50-$3Beanie $10 License Plate $3Water Bottle $7 Chapstick $2Travel Mug $5 Pom Poms $2
Open Everyday at Lunch
Seniors Katie Asara and Alix Powell, along with Katie’s mother Nanci Asaro, plant an evergreen along the fence behind the bleachers. photo by sarah vaira/editor in chief
ElectionNewsOctober 22, 2010 Page 5• The Mirada
CIVITAS puts on mock election Mock Election Results
Voter turnout among 18-29 is the lowest of any age group, but CIVITAS aims to change that.
The civic learning academy sponsored a mock election on Tuesday in which students were able to vote with real ballots in real voting booths, in an effort to create lifelong habits.
“The main goal of the voting is to engage students in the political process and to gauge how students feel on various issues that many will be voting on,” senior Zach Smith said.
He co-organized the event with seniors Alex Yankauer and Mi-chael Ofek.
KCRA 3 interviewed Smith about the election process and how he set up the mock election.
This election is a way for stu-dents to voice their opinions about current political issues, Smith said.
“CIVITAS is doing the com-munity a service by not only pro-viding a place for students to voice their opinions, but also by encour-aging political debate among the future voters and more important-ly, future leaders.” senior Heaven Edwards said.
Not only does the mock elec-tion provide a voice, but also gives
students the opportunity to experi-ence a real voting situation.
“I plan to vote in the future be-cause it makes a difference in the world, one person at a time.” ju-nior Jamie Dixon said.
According to election officials 654 students voted on candidates and issues, including, US Sena-tor, Governor, Lt.Governor, and
County Sheriff. They also voted on propositions 19, 21, 23, 25 and Measure C.
GovernorJerry Brown (D) -47.53%
Meg Whitman (R)-36.01%
Lt. GovernorGavin Newsom (D)-36.81%
Abel Maldonado (R)-31.50%
US SenatorBarbara Boxer (D)-44.63%Carly Fiorina (R)-34.44%
State Senator District 6Darrell Steinberg (D)-47.00%Marcel Weiland (R)-33.08%
Prop 19-Legalize and Tax MarijuanaYes-54.70%No-43.50%
Prop 21-Vehicle fee for state parksYes-56.87%No-43.62%
Prop 23-Eliminate Greenhouse Gas RestrictionsNo-53.87%Yes-46.13%
Prop 25-Simple majority to pass state budgetYes-50.47%No 49.53%
By Caitlyn TempleMirada Staff
Above: Senior Zach Smith is interviewed by KCRA 3. Smith was one of the students who helped run the mock election. Right: Students are lined up at the polls voting on the various candidates for office and on the propositions.
photo by caitlyn temple/mirada staff
News October 22, 2010Page 6• The Mirada
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a sweet treatCast members
Kelly Rodgers, 12 Charlie BucketJacob Hastie, 11 Willy WonkaSuzanna Akins, 12 Veruca SaltJenna Scoggins, 11 Violet Beaure-gardeDaniel Gribanovsky, 11 Mike TeaveeOlivia Pazdernik, 10 Augusta GloopKatherine Casey, 12 Violets MomDillon O’Dea, 12 Veruca’s DadDonald Boyett, 11 Mike’s DadJeanine Durkee, 12 Agusta’s MomBlake Thomas, 12 GrandpaBrooke Dreyer,12 Grandma/ TeacherTaylor Cottingim, 11 NarratorLeslie Damaeron, 12 Oompa LoompaKevin Whitall, 11 Oompa LoompaMarina Vela, 12 Oompa Loompa
Congratulations to all Reader’s Theater cast
members for a successful show!
I walked out of the Read-ers Theater production singing, smiling and definitely craving a Wonka Bar.
I have always enjoyed the dra-matization of all Readers Theater productions, but I can easily say that Ms. Miller and the cast put on one of their best productions this Tuesday and Wednesday.
Senior Kelly Rodgers took on the role of Charlie, who we all know to be the “ordinary” poor girl living with her eccentric mother and senial Grandpar-ents. The actress was a delight to watch, and her talent was very apparent in the way she carried her high British accent through-out the performance.
However, Rodgers did not carry the first act alone.
We are also introduced to the four other “lucky winners” and their aberrant parents.
Senior Suzanna Akins as Veruca Salt was, in a word, hys-terical. And once again, Junior Jenna Scoggins shows us all that she cannot only sing her heart out, but also carry a fantastic co-medic character as the competi-tive Violet Beauregarde.
And junior Daniel Grib-anovsky? He had me at “DIE!
DIE! DIE!”. As the perfect Mike Teavee, he had me in stitches with his gelled hair and conceited demeanor.
And of course we can’t forget the lovable Olivia Pazdernik as Agusta Gloop. During a question and answer, Pazdernik told the audience she had to put a lot of work into her Swedish accent,
and it definitely paid off. However, the true joy came
when we arrived at the choco-late factory and met the all too lovable Willy Wonka played by junior Jake Hastie. This was one of the best casting decisions as Hastie played the perfect Willie Wonka that we all know and love, while throwing in his own
twists to the character.As a loyal Wonka fan I have
seen both movies and read the book. But seeing my peers put so much love and work into this performance has made it my fa-vorite version of this classic story.
-Madi Zimmerman
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” cast members pose as their characters while taking a break in the stands. The cast rehearsed for eight weeks before performing eight shows in two days.
photo by madi zimmerman/photo editor
Review
Nov. 2, 2000, started off as any other Thursday for the theater de-partment. Drama teacher Betty Miller and her fourth period Read-ers Theater students were busy rehearsing for the upcoming per-formance of “Grease” when the un-expected happened.
Miller and junior Keith Pasko, walked into the green room, a place where costumes and props are kept, only to discover a box in flames on top of a cabinet.
Immediately Miller and Pasko raced to the office looking for a fire extinguisher but by the time they made it back to the dressing room the flames were out of control and billowing out the door.
“You could see the smoke run-ning to the ceiling and everything was burning,” Pasko said in a 2000 interview with the Tesoro, “There was no way a fire extinguisher would do the job.”
After attempting to put the fire out, Miller ran into the theater and evacuated her students.
The fire alarm sounded minutes before the lunch bell and most stu-dents, confused by the nearness to lunch, began heading to the food carts instead of the parking lot or sports fields. Despite the confusion all students were evacuated safely.
The alarm alerted Principal Rob Hollingsworth, but there was noth-ing he could do.
“By the time I got there the flames were shooting out of the doorway,” Hollingsworth, who re-tired in 2009, said in an interview Tuesday.
Firefighters responded quickly but by the time the flames were put out was too late for the theater, green room, counseling office and some CD wing classrooms. The fire left the buildings charred, severely smoke and water damaged.
“It was the most heart wrench-ing thing that ever happened to me in my 38 year career, all of us stand-ing out there just watching it burn down,” Miller, who has also retired, said.
The next Monday, a sophomore student admitted he had started the fire.
According to police reports, the 15-year-old said he was setting strips of paper on fire in the green room, but when he heard some-one nearby, he threw the lit papers
into a box on top of a cabinet and left the room.
Deputy District Attorney Rick Yenovkian said the boy set the fire to set off an alarm so he would be able to get out of class 10 minutes early to smoke marijuana.
The box caught the cabinet on fire and spread to the rest of the room and theater.
“He was always the type of kid you had to keep your eye on,” Miller said.
The student was expelled, placed on house arrest, and in August 2001 sentenced to county Boys Ranch by a Sacramento Superior Court judge who called him “a spoiled little golden boy.” He served four months, and a year later we was or-dered by a Juvenile Court judge to pay $2 million in restitution.
The estimated $2.5 million fire remains the most expensive act of vandalism in the history of San Juan Unified School District.
The fire also caused emotional harm and disrupted classes. “Being in the classroom is so different [for students] than being in the theater,” Miller said. “This was their home.”
At the time of the fire, the open-ing night of the Readers Theater production of “Grease” was only one week away. It appeared the show was going to be cancelled un-til the Dante Club volunteered the
use of their facilities.The best was made of a bad situ-
ation and the show was turned into a dinner fundraiser for the theater. Over 500 people attended the per-formance and showed their support for the drama program.
“It made the kids feel a little bet-ter that people felt sorry for the fact that we had lost the theater,” Miller said.
The following weeks after the fire, CD wing classes met in the gym, outside and in portables due to asbestos risks and smoke and wa-ter damage.
Two weeks later the asbestos was cleared and classes were able to move back. As for the drama and counseling departments, it took two years to return the buildings to working order and they were forced
to continue meeting in the por-tables. Readers Theater and drama productions were performed in the cafeteria.
“It was so hard to cope with the loss and for two years without it,” Miller said.
After the investigation and as-sessment everything in the build-ing was dragged out and placed in storage containers. Then the entire building was stripped down to the frame and the rebuilding process began.
At the time of the rebuild, the campus was undergoing “modern-ization.” Because the school was already being renovated, the theater was not only rebuilt, but also up-
dated.New lighting and sound systems
were added along with soundproof-ing in the walls, audience seating and a front lobby. Miller was also given the chance to dictate much of the design of the theater, even drawing out cabinets herself.
“I was very grateful because Rob Hollingsworth involved me in ev-erything with the rebuild,” Miller said. “He was very, very supportive.”
However, she added, “I never would have traded new things for the fire. It was just too devastating.”
Not only does this fire remain the most expensive act of vandal-ism in the district, Hollingsworth said it was also one of the only school fires that has occurred while students were present.
Also, the real evacuation experi-ence helped shape current evacua-tion policies. Now we know “Don’t march students through smoke,” Hollingsworth said.
The new theater that stands today is named the Betty Miller Theater and her daughter, current drama teacher Jessie Miller, direct-ed a Readers Theater performance of “Charlie and the Chocolate Fac-tory” that was performed this week.
Although the physical remnants of this tragedy are gone, the memo-ry continues to burn.
Smoke clears after 10 yearsOn Nov. 2, 2010 a decade will have passed since the fire that destroyed the Little Theater, a chilling event that haunts the campus and remains the school’s finest horror story
By Sarah Vairaand Peter Hammon
After the flames were put out, fireman section off of the C wing for later investigation. Fireman survey the damage from above former teacher Mr. St. John’s room. While significant damage was done to the theater, classrooms in the CD wing were burnt as well.
photos by ben kelton, 2000-2001 tesoro
What Happened
The Cause
The Impact
The Rebuild
The Legacy
News Page 7• The MiradaOctober 22, 2010
TravelNews October 22, 2010Page 8• The Mirada
World Cup fever emanated as I boarded my flight to Atlan-ta , complete with live soccer. As the plane reverberated with an explosive ambiance a mile above American soil, I could not imagine what the atmosphere would be like in South Africa.
Upon landing, I met with my trip leader Dan and fellow Travel for Teens companions.
Our exploration together would reach far beyond the up-coming seventeen-hour flight. We were flying into a complex nation. Over the past sixteen years, the Republic of South Africa (RSA) had been uplifted by the personas of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, the installation of democratic government, and the cultural phenomenon known as the FIFA World Cup. But over that time span, the RSA felt the social issues stemming from the days of Apartheid.
After landing in the famous seaside city of Capetown, the monstrosity of Cup was immediately apparent.
Large signs plastered with “It’s Ayoba Time!” adorned the walls. Ayoba means a celebration and as I would soon find out, it signified much more for the culture of South Africa.
In Capetown, we met with our local guide Roger. Having grown up in South Africa, Roger spoke three of the eleven of-ficial languages: English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa.
That night, we set out to experience city life and watch the USA/Ghana match. Africans tend to root for fellow African nations, and the streets were wild following Chana;s win.
The next morning, we undertook the arduous climb up scenic Table Mountain.
Known for its “table cloth” cloud which rests on top, Table Mountain towers 3000 feet over the north end of the city. Once on top, the terrain immediately flattens out, providing unrivaled views of the city.
The next part of the day had a somber mood as we arrived at Robben Island. Though only known to most of the Ameri-can male population because of a Sportscenter special on the prisoner soccer league which once existed there, Robben Is-land is the most important historical site in South Africa.
Here the ANC and other revolutionaries, notably Man-dela, spent their prison days. Although Robben Island took these inspirational men from the public, it allowed them to create the building blocks for a new nation.
A former prisoner led us through the barracks where se-cret messages were passed to the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to work daily. He wore the scars of Robben Island, his coming in the form of a facial skin disease from work in the quarry.
Despite the pock marks he still wore as a reminder, he looked upon the quarry with tears of joy, saying, “Take a pic-
ture South Africans; this is where your nation was built.”It had not occurred to me before that 75 percent of the
nation grew up under Apartheid, treated worse than the dirt upon which they tread.
The next morning, we departed Capetown for East Lon-don. In stark contrast to the rich, whiteness of Capetown, East London was a giant township, with poverty unimagi-nable in the U.S.
Children ran barefoot through dirty streets. A dozen men stood in the back of a pick-up truck, combing the streets for a day job. Women sat on street corners to nurse their babies.
On one side of a river lay beautiful sprawling mansions while a shantytown gazed across the water, overcrowded and filthy, with houses made from scrap metal.
For the next week, my group and I worked on a commu-nity service project in a rural area of the Wild Coast. Our project was in a Xhosa village called Xinxingolo (the x’s pro-nounced as clicks).
We constructed a playground for elementary students who lived in a village with no running water or literate adults. Only a dirt road ran through the barren landscape of high grass and termite hills.
The path was overrun by women balancing water jugs on their heads and children wandering aimlessly. Few of the adults cared for their children and many wandered the streets of East London in a drunken daze.
In spite of all of the intrinsic disadvantages the children faced, they found happiness in the simplest of things. They would run around after soccer balls or play tag, giggling the whole time.
After watching one of our group members perform a drib
bling trick, a student pointed and said “Donovan?”. None of the villagers knew who Obama was, but they all knew Diedier Drogba and the entire squad of Bafana Bafana (South Africa’s team).
Such celebrity for these football stars does not go to waste; just consider that Drogba singlehandedly stopped a civil war in his native Ivory Coast.
Reminders of the students’s dire situation surrounded us. A five-year-old girl carried home her crying one-year-old sib-ling because she had no parents.
On the final day, we departed the school, and as we left, the students ran from the playground singing Xhosa songs and yelling thank you.
For the last few days we went on a safari, and even though I saw lions and elephants, it did not match up to the experience in Xingxingolo.
After spending two weeks in South Africa, I learned that I hate vuvuzelas.
But my experience went much deeper than that, as I was exposed to the social problems of the country.
Sadly, the rich in South Africa hide behind electric fences and the poor wander the townships. Though a new represen-tative government retains power, much of the economic and social aspects from Apartheid remain in place.
Whites only make up nine percent of the population but they control nearly ninety percent of the nation’s wealth. No short term solution exists for the problems of a nation and a continent. Working on the large scale to fix the decades of social injustice is futile. But through small projects, the na-tion and world can be fixed. Though it may not happen in our lifetime, South Africa will eventually come out from its walls and only then will it truly be Ayoba Time.
‘It’s Ayoba Time!’South Africa trip gives perspective beyond the World Cup
By Kyle MoralesSports Editor
Giraffees in South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park lean over for a quick munch. The park is on of the largest in all of Africa and contains all the “Big Five” game animals: Lions, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo, and Leopards.
Kyle Morales (center in white) and his group celebrate the completion of the playground with the young Xhosa students.
Senior Kyle Morales tests out the 80 miles per hour winds at Cape Point, where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.photo courtesy of kyle morales
The Mirada Rio Americano High School4540 American River Drive
Sacramento, CA 95864(916)-971-8921 ext. 80www.riomirada.com
Editors-in-ChiefAlex KleemannJessie ShapiroSarah Vaira
News EditorsJarett HartmanTate Rountree
Opinion EditorsJessica Obert
Alli Henderson
Features EditorsAlex Chan
Danielle Arbios
Sports EditorsKyle Morales
Peter HammonShauna Milesi
Staff WritersJohn Ferrannini
Austin HicksBrie Hutton
Keldon IrwinMariah MaxwellMichaela MilesiTandena NelsonEmma SpittlerCaitlin Temple
Carly TylerMadi Zimmerman
AdviserMichael Mahoney
Number of people who attended the Senior Class Float Parties ac-cording to Facebook? 65.
Number of people who have actually at-tended? A whole lot less than that.
It’s a tradition at our school for the fresh-man, sophomore, junior, and senior classes to participate in an annual float competi-tion. And with this year’s theme of “Fantasy Lands,” it is no different.
The seniors were assigned Alice in Wonderland, the juniors Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the sophomores Wizard of Oz and the freshmen Disneyland.
During the varsity football game this Saturday against Mira Loma, all four floats will be paraded around the track during half-time. Whichever class builds the best float will win bragging rights, and a great start to their Homecoming weekend.
Each class can decide for themselves how much time, energy and effort they would like to put into making their float. The more people who participate the better, as every pair of hands is helpful in some way.
However, very few students actually at-tend the float parties. Some people say they don’t have enough time. Some people say they don’t have a ride to or from the party. And others say they simply don’t want to go, usually because none of their friends are going.
To put it simply, most students have ab-solutely no school spirit. This is a problem our school has been struggling with for quite some time now.
Float parties, however, are meant to be fun events for us students to go to and have a good time while supporting our class. The parties also offer an opportunity to meet people in our grade who we may have oth-erwise not known.
Our school dynamics need to change. We complain if our class doesn’t win, but who really helped the process to get to the finished product?
Student government usually ends up doing most of the work, which is not fair to them at all. They plan these float parties so that everyone has an opportunity to get
involved, but when no one shows up, they are left to build the floats by themselves.
Those who aren’t friends with the people at the float parties don’t want to be the only one of their “group” of friends to show up, leaving them in an awkward situation where they aren’t with people they feel comfortable with.
High school, though, is all about trying new things and meeting new people. So next year, show some school spirit and make an effort to go to a float party or two. If you don’t have a good time, then there’s no need to go again.
But there’s never any harm in trying something new. You never know, you might enjoy it.
Thinking you’re too cool for school spirit
The Mirada is the independent voice of the students and a forum for diverse ideas published by Rio Americano’s newspaper class. The Mirada welcomes story ideas, comics, letters to the editor and opinion pieces. Submit articles and letters to the box in A3 or the main office. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Mi-rada editorial board. Opinion articles and letters to the editor are the views of the individual writer and not necessarily the views of the Mirada or Rio Americano High School. We welcome advertising, but reserve the right to refuse any ad.
Pick a sideDressing up for spirit week
Dancing with the girl you wish you asked
HOMECOMING: Hot or not?Sticking with your date
Taking advan-tage of Spirit Week foodHot
Not
A sack lunch when there’s Chipotle on
campus!
Lack of Spirit, Sinking Floats
Opinion Page 9 • The MiradaOctober 22, 2010
Please
Recycle
This Newspaper
Have an opinion? Let us know! Contact us at [email protected]
or submit a letter to room A3
Our View
Opinion October 22, 2010Page 10 • The Mirada
Campus Talk
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Marijuana is a fact of life in our generation. The current legislation banning recreational use of mari-juana is ineffective.
Not only has the prohibition of cannabis failed from keeping more than 50% of registered voters from using the drug at least once, it also allows for easy access by teens, wastes precious police resources, funds violent drug cartels, and prevents the state from cashing in on a precious source of revenue.
Currently, marijuana is easier for kids to access than alcohol. Illegal drug dealers do not care whether their customers are under-aged or not, as long as they pay.
We cannot prevent marijuana use through prohibition. Only through legalizing and regulating the sale and purchase of recreational marijuana can we prevent under-aged users from getting access to the drug.
Marijuana is commonly referred to as a gateway drug, meaning it leads users to try harder and more serious substances.
By legalizing cannabis, we can stop this. Purchasers will no longer come in contact with illicit dealers who deal in much more serious sub-stances than marijuana and pressure customers to try harder drugs.
Not only will legalization and regulation of recreational cannabis help prevent the use of the drugs by kids, but it will also keep users away from dangerous dealers. There is no protection for marijuana consumers.
Prop 19 will also keep marijuana users away from criminal dealers, and divert California money from the Mexican drug wars. American marijuana users fund 60% of the brutal drug wars in Mexico. Not only will legalization put local crimi-nals out of business, it will also take away income from the violent drug cartels.
In 2008, police arrested 61,000
Californians for misdemeanor marijuana possession, while 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved.
By making recreational mari-juana use a crime, we divert precious police resources from tougher cases. Arrests of peaceful marijuana users crowd the court system, distract from more serious crimes, and waste taxpayer dollars.
If we legalize recreational marijua-na, we will save precious tax dollars, and we will increase tax revenue by allowing local and state governments to tax production, sale, and purchase of the drug.
“Prop 19 will increase the legal use of marijuana and some people think that is a bad thing; but Prop 19 also should help California balance its massive budget deficit, which I think everyone can agree is a good thing.”
Whether or not you are in favor of legalized recreational marijuana, you should not support proposition 19. The passage of this bill could lead to devastating effects on our state, liveli-hood and especially we the students of California’s public education system.
The legalization of marijuana walks the line between money and educa-tion issues. While proponent
argue prop 19 could potentially create millions of dollars in tax rev-enue, the passage of this bill could consequently take away billions of federal funds from California’s already financially burdened public school
system. Public school superintendent
John Snavely, warns that prop 19 could cost K-12 education as much as 9.4 billion in federal funds and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants for state colleges and universities.
Our public education system has already been severely hindered by the state budget crisis and we the students would once again be the victims of more cut funding.
“How could this happen?” you may ask, “Education and marijuana are two completely different issues, how could a change in the legisla-tion of one effect the other?” Logi-cally these two items are seemingly unrelated, however the common denominator is found in the federal government.
While the states are free to pass legislation as they wish, the federal government grants funds to states who comply with federal laws.
Thanks to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 and the 1964 Convention on Narcotics, the recreational use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, and will remain illegal despite passage of prop 19 in California.
Therefore, by not adhering to federal law, a pool of mon-ey for our school system could potentially disappear. Evaluat-
ing the current economic crisis of our state, this is not the time to jeopardize these precious endowments.
While Marijuana is both an aspect of California’s culture and a revenue outlet for state and local governments, this is not the time for legalization. Let California get back on its financial feet and fix our education system before endangering invaluable funds.
MorganLambert,
11
“I’m against legalization. I worry that if it passes, more people would be willing to try marijuana and the general use would increase.”
RachelIsaacs,
9
“I say legalize it. Not for my own enjoy-ment, but because we could put big taxes on it and its now worse than cigarettes.”
Briana Smith,
10
“I believe that if prop 19 passes, the gov-ernment will be able to tax something that is already prevalent in the state. However, the conflict between the state and federal laws may cause a problem if it passes.”
AnselMills,
12
By Alex KleemannEditor-in-Chief
By Sarah VairaEditor-in-Chief
Should Calif legalize marijuana?YES NO
OpinionOctober 22, 2010 Page 11 • The Mirada
This year, California is electing a new governor, and experience is always a top consideration in a job interview. Jerry Brown, former California Governor, Secretary of State, mayor of Oakland, and our current Attorney General, has the experi-ence in public office needed to lead California through these difficult times.
Currently, California has a $19.9 billion budget deficit. When Jerry Brown was Governor from 1975 to 1983, he created a $5 billion surplus. In fact, Brown cut government spending more than his predecessor, future President Ronald Reagan. Brown also focused on environmental issues, establishing our state as a leader in alternative en-ergy and adopting over tough anti-smog laws. He has promised, if re-elected as governor, to support
high European style high speed rail as an alterna-tive to carbon emitting airplanes and cars for trips across state and has a plan on the table to create over 500,000 green jobs. Brown also shirked many of the privileges of the Governorship, taking his own car instead of a limousine and abandoning the Governor’s Mansion.
When Brown was governor, he also increased investment in our states education system, in-creased local control and created K-12 minimum standards. His proposals if he is re-elected include more localization and plans to increase our state’s high school graduation rate.
-John Ferrannini
ConsMeg Whitman has no elected experience and
offers the same Republican snake oil that has caused the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
An open letter to the people of California by 20 leading economists, including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, states that her “policy proposals will deepen California’s budget crisis
and are likely to reduce employment and econom-ic growth.” Whitman has even advocated for more unemployment in our state, saying she would fire 40,000 state workers. Meg Whitman wants to become the CEO of California, but what we need is a governor.
-John Ferrannini
If elected, Meg Whitman would bring a new approach to California’s leadership that includes more efficiency, less spending, better services, and lower taxes.
Ms. Whitman is committed to reinvigorating the state’s economy through helping the private sector to create two million jobs that will make California a better state to start and grow a busi-ness. When businesses come back to the state,
it will ultimately help get us out of the financial crisis.
She is also focused on renewing education; for example, she will grade schools “A-F” and remove the spending cap on charter schools. Meg Whitman’s trademark optimism and fiscal constraint are what California needs to be rebuilt.
-Elizabeth Eggert
After over forty years in politics, Jerry Brown has made idealistic promises to Californians and delivered very little.
He has supported tax increases at least fifteen times during his career, though he has claimed credit for supposedly cutting taxes after opposing those tax cuts. As Governor, he increased spend-ing by 120 percent, and mismanaged the state budget to turn a surplus into a deficit.
As Mayor of Oakland, his budget increased by sixty percent. Furthermore, Jerry Brown tries
to “reinvent” himself about every two years. This leads to contradictions in his campaign promises and past statements, causing skepticism in his actual views.
Due to his massive increase in government spending, support of tax increases, and altering political views, among other things, it is evident that California cannot afford to have Jerry Brown as Governor again.
-Elizabeth Eggert
Pros
Pros
Cons
Republican Meg WhitmanThe race for governor:
Democrat Jerry Brown
Homecoming October 22, 2010
RaidersOUR OFFENSEThe Skinny: The Raiders explosive triple-option offense averages 30 points per game. Though at times the passing attack is nonexistent, the running is always capable of big play production. Andy Munter and Basil Okoroike led the ground game, accounting for 13 of the team’s 21 touchdowns.X-Factors: Mira Loma will look to shut down Munter and Okoroike, so some of the workload will fall to junior backs Hunter Akins and Matt Saria.
OUR DEFENSEThe Skinny: The Rio defense al-lows over 30 points a game, assur-ing a shoot out. Though corner-backs Okoroike and Spencer Harris have shut down the pass attack of opponents, Mira Loma will look to run the ball. The defensive line has to pressure the Matadors and stop their elusive backs behind the line of scrimmage.X-Factor: The Matadors have big play potential, so sophomore safety Zach Suarez will need to hold strong as the last line of defense.
OUR SPECIAL TEAMS
The Skinny: Rio’s return game is explosive to say the least. Okoroike and Suarez will return kicks, and the former averages over 36 yards per kickoff return. Grant Silvester takes care of the place kicking duties, with nine touchbacks already to his name. Silvester has recently caught fre on offense as well, hitting his last two feld goals and accounting for nearly fve points a game.X-Factors: Mira Loma has quick return men, so punter Jack Maldo-nado needs to be careful.
OUR COACHINGThe Skinny: Though it is Christian Mchaffey’s frst year as head coach, he has seen Mira Loma many time during his years under Coach Smith and this experience will pay off.
OUR MOTIVATIONThe Skinny: Rio lost by 43 points at home last week to a very good Whitney team. When a team loses by that much, they’re looking to take out their frustration on the next opponent. And, of course, it’s Homecoming so the team knows they will be playing in front of the biggest crowd of the season. Coming in at 0-2 in league, the Raiders should know a loss spells doom for their playoff hopes and any chance of a winning season.
OUR CROWDThe Skinny: It’s homecoming, so the Raider faithfuls will be out in full force (and you should join them). Come out and see Rio earn their frst CAL victory since the realignment.
OUR BENCHThe Skinny: Though Rio is not the largest team, the Raiders have strength of the bench with Akins, Saria, and junior Zach Simas.
Watch the face-off unfoldTime: JV- 11am Varsity- 1pm. Don’t forget: Homecoming is the most attended game of the season. Parking is hard to come by unless you arrive early!Place: Rio fieldWhat to wear: Raider gear!
Football takes on Mira Loma So far this year: 3-4 overall; (0-2 League) Last week: Loss 60-17 Vs. Whitney
Page 12• The Mirada
October 22, 2010 Homecoming
Matadors So far this year: 2-5 overall; ( 0-2 League)Last Week: L 41-6 Vs. Antelope
THEIR OFFENSEThe Skinny: The Matador offense averages 17.5 points a game. Many of their plays center around running back Davontae Robinson, who has rushed the ball 89 times for 612 yards. Though not know from their aerial attack, quarterback Artem Marchuk throws about 14 times per game.X-Factor: The Matadors have has trouble putting points on board this year and wide receiver Kenna McCord will look to connect with Robinson in the endzone.
THEIR DEFENSEThe Skinny: Mira Loma defense allows 24.5 points per game. Their run defense has been susceptible, allowing over 400 yards rushing to Liberty Ranch. The entire team plays both ways, so a tired defense may be in for a long day against the Raider backs.X-Factor: Quarterback Marchuk also captains the defense and will need to be vocal if the Matadors are to stay orga-nized against a Rio system flled with fakes.
THEIR BENCHThe Skinny: The Matadors play most of their team on offense and defense, so their bench does not have much game experience, which will hurt them in case of an injury.
THEIR COACHINGThe Skinny: Head coach Matt Costa has only run the Matador team for two years. His lack of expe-rience may come into play in the event of a close game. Costa did lead the team to a playoff berth in his frst season, however.
THEIR CROWDThe Skinny: Don’t expect Mira Loma students to come out in their “Beat Rio” t-shirts like last year. The Matador crowd will likely be a nonfactor.
THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS
The Skinny: McCord poses problems to opposing teams as the dangerous kick returner averages nearly 50 yards per return. He has already brought back a kick 95 yards for a touchdown this year. On the kicking end, Mira Loma is rather lowly. The Matadors average only 25 yards per kickoff, 20 yard per punt, and have not attempted a feld goal.X-Factor: Kicker Bernard Hicks needs to keep the ball away from Okoroike if the Matadors are to have any shot.
THEIR MOTIVATIONThe Skinny: Mira Loma got boatraced by Ante-lope in their own homecoming game last week. If the Matadors can’t fnd a way to score more than 6 points with almost their whole student body in attendance, their desire has to come into question.
Watch the face-off unfoldTime: JV- 11am Varsity- 1pm. Don’t forget: Homecoming is the most attended game of the season. Parking is hard to come by unless you arrive early!Place: Rio fieldWhat to wear: Raider gear!
Football takes on Mira Loma Page 13• The Mirada
October 22, 2010Page 14• The Mirada HomecomingFeaturesKeys to your happily ever afterThe Mirada takes an inside look into the dress favorites of Rio students for the Homecoming of 2010.
How much money do you spend on a dress?Under $100: 52%$100-$200: 34%Over $200: 9%Borrowed: 5% What color is your dress?
Black: 24%Purple: 11%Gray: 11%Red: 11%Pink: 11%Blue: 8%Gold: 6%Black & White: 5%Sequin: 5%White: 2%
Yellow: 2%Teal: 2%Animal Print: 2%
Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly
-Epictetus“ ”
Where did you get your dress?Macys: 11%Forever 21: 9%Bebe: 24%Nordstrom:14.5%Jessicca McClintock: 9%Fashion Gal: 3%Windsor: 3%Ordered Online: 14.5%BCBG: 9%Madame Butterfly: 3%
Hairstyle tips and tricks
• Don’t be afraid to keep your hairstyle simple. Doing so gives more room to show off your gor-geous dress!
• Placing hair in a half-ponytail shows off a one-shoulder dress in addition to accentuating your arms. Time to show everyone how working out at the gym pays off!
• Sideswept bangs are never out of style! They add a sense of mystery to your look while still allowing you to share your smile with the world.
Sophomore Haley Ayres models her dress, which she found at Forever 21 for $20. “I chose it because it was a one shoulder, which is now the new style,” she said. “I love the sparkles and most importantly it is comfy!”
Clutch checklistWhat you put in your purse just might make or break your night. Here are some items that are absolute musts for your bag.
cell phonemoneystudent IDgum or mints
chapstick or lip glossbobby pinshair tiescamera
How to take great pictures (and look like a Sports Illustrated model in the process!)
• Number one rule: Never slouch. Pre-tend there is an invisible string that keeps your spine straight as it pulls you towards the ceiling. Even if you are tall, stand proudly! Tonight is the one night that everyone gets to feel like a princess.
• Don’t smile until the photographer begins to count down “3, 2, 1.” Otherwise, your mouth grows tired, and by the time your picture is taken, you’ll be caught off guard.
• Look natural. Don’t force a cheesy smile. Add a natural giggle to a few of your pictures. Your favorite photos will be t he ones where you look like your natural self!
Don’t forget to check your bag into the office once you arrive at the dance to prevent theft!
ATTENTION BOYS:
Do not forget the corsage!
Although you aren’t personally fond of the moment your mother snaps millions of pictures as your date pins a boutineer to your chest, a corsage is important to your date whether she admits it or not. Where to find one:• Corsages come in a variety of
shapes, sizes, colors, and prices. You can find one at any florist and most places give discounts during dance seasons. Make sure you order one atleast a day in advance!
• If you’re feeling creative, handmade corsages are also an option. Visit: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/cormakbas.html for a how-to on making your own
• Florists in the area:
Arden Park Florist564 La Sierra Drive
(916) 483-8511Carmichael Flowers6100 Fair Oaks Blvd
(916) 483-8511
Shoes, shoes, shoes!• Don’t be afraid to
go all out with your footwear tomorrow night!
• Comfort is mildly important, but most girls take off their shoes at the dance, so this is the time to wear your wildest heels for pictures!
• However, if your prone to foot blisters and you don’t like dancing barefoot, it wouldn’t hurt to include a bandaid or two in your purse!
photo by madison zimmerman/photo editor
AroundTownFeaturesOctober 22, 2010 Page 15• The Mirada
What is your favorite part of your room?I love the fact that there is always music playing in my room. But I’d have to say my favorite thing on my wall is my Smokey the Bear poisonous mushrooms poster.
What made you come up with this idea?I used to just collect pictures of magazines I liked, but one day I decided to start putting it up on my wall. It has just spread every-where, and now there is no more room. It is ever-evolving. I have to change the pictures around all the time.
Why did you style your room this way?I styled my room this way
because my childhood room was covered in ballerinas, and I couldn’t do anything with it. I decided to take down the wallpa-per and have no fancy anything. I just put anything that inspired me up on the walls.
Why are there so many pictures on your walls?Every single one of them has a connection to something in my life. All of it is a piece of art that I find inspiring. It reminds me of something that I have made or somewhere I have been on vacation.
If you could describe your room in one word, what would it be?Explosion. Everything is me but exploded into objects.
How does your room relate to you?When I enter my room, it is a sacred place to me. Nobody understands how special it is because it relates directly to my life. I collect memories or cli-ches, and I also collect a variety of inspirational things.
What is the most special thing in your room?The preserved toast hanging from my ceiling. In freshman year on the last day of school, my art teacher, Mr. Ewing, gave it to me since he was retiring. He taught me basically everything I know about art and painting, and he also inspired me to con-tinue with my passion.
-Jessica Obert
Raider Cribz: Student’s room an explosion of inspiration and art
Above, Janine’s wall and desk are filled with pictures, candles, art and other trinkets. Right, Janine’s Victorian style bedspread and other pieces of art make her room relaxing. Far right, Janine poses in front of her wall. photos by jessica obert/mirada staff
Jani
ne T
erra
, 12
1st place: NationwidePPPPPThe Burger: This old-time joint keeps it’s title for the best burger in town. It’s the meat that really makes this burger. They pride themselves on their completely fresh ingredients--fresh ground beef on every burger. A good burger does not mean good nutrition facts though, the chef warned us not to eat burgers if your on a diet, because a good burger requires a good amount of fat. We recommend the classic french ground steak burger with cheese, and a side of fresh cut fries.The Location: Located on the corner of 19th and H, Nationwide is plenty shady. But inside there is a mural of happy burger eaters and old-time knickknacks and novelties cover the wall. It’s a cute place, and a great stop on Second Saturday. 1930 H St., Sac, CA 95864
Editors’ pick: ‘The Best Burger’
3rd: Flaming GrillPPPThe Burgers: These burgers really roar. We went for the all original beef burger with avocado, bacon, and swiss cheese, but the variety of exotic meat options definitely caught our attention. Along with a variety of delicious fixings, diners can choose from Kobe beef, buffalo, antelope, elk, llama, ostrich, yak, boar, alligator, and even lion! The Location: On El Camino and Bell, Flaming Grill, sits across the street from the old Loretto High School. It’s a sit down style restaurant in a tent covered patio. While the atmosphere is comfort-able enough, you need to be ready for a long wait. It took at least 1/2 hour to get our food. But it was definitely a good burger and worth the long wait. 2319 El Camino Ave, Sac, CA 95821
2nd: Squeeze InnPPPPThe Burger: CHEESE! While it’s a good burger, it wouldn’t be much without the “skirt” of fried ched-dar cheese flowing over the sides. A definite heart attack on a bun, the 1/3 lb. burger plus cheese is delicious but quite a feat to finish. The joint was shown in Guy Fierini’s Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives, and is a must have Sacramento experience. The Location: Just down Power Inn Road, Squeeze Inn is not the rickety little shack I expected. On the corner of a fairly modern strip mall, the building is plenty roomy. But the real plus is the service. Though we ordered at the counter, we had at least three different waiters come up and ask us if we need anything. It’s a great joint to try with friends.5301 Power Inn Rd., Sac, CA 95820
1) First place: Nationwide’s delicious french ground steak burger . 2) Second place: Squeeze Inn’s famous “Squeeze with Cheese” burger with the massive cheese skirt around the edge. 3) Third place: Flaming Grill’s avocado and cheese burger with a side of super spicy hoser sauce.
1
2
3photo by alex kleemann and sarah vaira/editor in chief
Music&MoviesFeatures October 22, 2010Page 16• The Mirada
Avenged Sevenfold’s sixth album “Nightmare” is plagued with the overdose of their long-standing drummer and brother.
Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan was the core of the band dating all the way back to their high school days. Unfortunately, the band suffered a tragic loss following The Rev’s fatal drug overdose.
The album was nearly chosen to remain unreleased but was instead published as a tribute to Jimmy’s life and legend.
His favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy, of Dream Theater was selected to record the tracks in loving memory of The Rev.
The album has an 11-song track list of melancholy pianos, strings, and orchestral sounds blended with Avenged’s trade-marked new metal sound.
Although this is not their best album, it is their most diverse and wise yet. It well portrays Jimmy’s intrinsic fear of living for nothing and dying alone.
The album has a song called “Fiction,” which was written solely by The Rev. His vocal track was recorded months prior to his pass-ing for practicing purposes and was used on the final production.
The most widely acclaimed song on the album is called “God Hates Us” and it contains their first screamed vocals since their ‘02 record, “Waking The Fallen.”
Many suspect this to be not only their last album, but also their last tour.
As a die-hard A7X fan, I strongly urge all who love their music to buy this piece of musical history and those who are not fa-miliar with this genre to meander out of their comfort zone to ex-perience today’s premier rockers’ final composition.
-Keldon Irwin
A7X albummemorializes drummer
Music Review
“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” kind of has an important message
Movie Review
Life can make a teenager’s head explode: school, home-work, friends, extracurricular activities, and family (mostly parents).
Have you ever thought of going to a psychiatric ward? Probably not, but after seeing this movie, “It’s Kind of a Fun-ny Story,” it sounds like a good cure for a stressed teenage soul.
After Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist) experiences sui-cidal thoughts spurred by his stressful teenage life, he checks himself into a mental hospital. Upon his arrival, he meets his roommate, Muqtada, who has not left his room in weeks, and realizes that the psychiatric hospital is not for him.
His psychiatrist, Dr. Mi-nerva, forces him to stay for the minimum of five days, form-
ing the foundation on which the movie grows. Craig takes a breath of calming (or not so calming) psychiatric air and finds the answers to his prob-lems... well, most of them.
His problems: stress-vom-iting, depression, suicidal thoughts, and oh yeah! He is in love with his best friend’s girl-friend, Nia.
Throughout his admitted stay, he takes calls from Nia. She talks about the everyday teenage problems she has too, making him realize that he is not the only one. Everyone has their ups and downs.
Helping each other get back on the right track are the pa-tients and soon-to-be friends, Bobby (Zach Galifianakis, aka Alan from “The Hangover”) and Noelle (Emma Roberts).
Bobby faces the feat of try-ing to pull himself together. He hopes to pass his interview so
he can leave the ward and live at home again. And Noelle tries to sustain from cutting herself.
Together, they embrace the insane psychiatric days, while enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Their staged ward-breaks consist of dressing-up as a doc-tors to escape, breathing fresh air, and playing basketball.
In arts and crafts, Craig re-alizes he has a gift for drawing city landscapes and maps. Dur-ing music exploration, he faces his fear and sings for patients.
With a bond no other than psychiatric patients share, Noelle and Craig’s friendship grows more meaningful with the helpful coaching from Bobby. Toward the end of his admittance, Craig has touched on many patients lives.
Although the movie is slow in some parts, Galifianakis adds a touch of humor to the film. I recommend all teens to
see “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.” It spreads a universal message that all teens need to remember to enjoy their life: “Sometimes what’s in your head... isn’t as crazy as you think.”
-Carly Tyer
Karlophone makes sound track for “the movie in your head”
Karl Koch describes himself as the man who makes music to listen to late at night while driving alone. For a little over a decade, Koch has gone by the alias of Karlophone.
“I realized I was making music that I would like to try and release around 2000 or so,” Koch said. “Before that, I was recording music, but did not have a solid understanding of a direction or sound that I felt sure about.”
The music is written, played, and recorded solely by Koch, with sampled pieces layered seamlessly with his own re-cordings.
“I gather tons of samples and then I start adding other instruments once I have a structure I like.”
Finding records that peak Koch’s interest is instrumental in the creation of Karlophone’s sound and overall feel.
Koch, who “buys and listens to old albums constantly,” plays a large part in the creative pro-cess for writing and sculpting his songs.
“I listen for moments and sounds I can use. I have no rules, but generally older re-cords have the sounds I like.”
Koch, who has released two
records as Karlophone, has a third to be released in spring of next year. He saw his debut with 2002’s “Press Any Key To Begin.”
“Some of [“Press Any Key”] dates to about 1998, but as I said it wasn’t till about 2000 that I realized I had something coming together as an album. So it was really like two to three years of on and off work.”
Work on Karlophone’s sec-ond album, “I Must Find This Karlophone…,” began im-mediately after the debut was released. Work progressed through 2003 and 2004, but due to obligations with rock-band Weezer, work came to a halt in 2005. Work on the al-bum was finished in 2006 and released in 2007.
Koch considers the album more refined from his debut with less moments of self-pro-claimed “embarrassment and musical clumsiness.”
Similar to the “I Must Find...” beginnings, work began on Karlophone’s third album in early 2007, shortly after Karlo-phone’s sophomore release.
With his third release, Koch hopes to deliver an album full of new ideas with a familiar feel.
“I’m hoping for surprises that don’t break from my over-all style and vibe, but also more of some of the ‘usual’ type of stuff on ‘I Must Find…’”
Keep an eye out for a new Karlophone release next year.
On Edge
Jarett Hartman
Left: Karl Koch lays down a drum tack for one of his pieces of music. Above: Koch adds layers of synth to his work. Koch plays all instruments on his albums.
photos courtesy of karl koch
For more onKarlophone...• Samples of Karlo-
phone’s music are available on his MySpace page at myspace.com/karlo-phone
• You can purchase “Press Any Key to Begin” and “I Must Find This Karlophone...” at cdbaby.com, on iTunes, and through www.karlophone.com.
• Keep an eye out for more Karlophone re-leases Spring 2011.
PeopleFeaturesOctober 22, 2010 Page 17• The Mirada
How long have you been together?Alec: One year and...Both: One month
How did you meet?Julia: Our brothers are best friends.Alec: They are room-mates in college.
What is your favor-ite thing about each other?Alec: Her eyes.Julia: Everything!
What is the best thing about your relation-ship?Julia: That we are best friends.
Do you have a nick-name for each other?Alec: I call her “Missy”.Julia: I call him “Tiger”.
Do you have a song?Julia: “Come on Get Higher” by Matt Na-thanson.
What activities do you enjoy doing together?Julia: Cuddling.
What movie do you enjoy watching to-gether?Julia: “Forrest Gump”.Alec: Best movie ever. And we did watch “A Walk to Remember”.
What is the sweetest thing the other has done for you?Alec: Whenever I am sick, she brings me ice cream.Julia: He bought me an expensive necklace for our six month anniver-sary.
What is the craziest thing you two have done together?Alec: Are we crazy?Julia: No!
What have you done for any anniversaries?Alec: For our one year, I took her horse-back riding, and then we went to Scandia, and then to Zinfandel Grille.Julia: I made him an elaborate scrapbook with a page for each month we have been dating.
Where do you see yourself as seniors?Julia: Together.Alec: Yes, definitely together.
-Carly Tyer
True Romance
photos by madi zimmerman/photo editor
How long have your car?Two years.
How did you get it?It was a gift from my dad for my birthday and Christmas.
How did your dad surprise you with the car?We went to the dealer and picked it out together with my step-mom.
What is the most unique thing about your car?It has a panoramic sun roof.
What is the best feature of the car?The BMW brand name.
What is your favorite thing about your car?I got to pick it out on my half birth-day.
What can you do with this car that you couldn’t do with any other car?It can turn heads!
How long are you planning on keeping the car?Until it dies out on me.
Would you consider this your “dream car”?Yes!
-Caitlin Temple
October’s bachelor and bacheloretteSW
EET
RID
ES
Bills, bills, billsA Georgia electric com-pany acciden-tally billed one of its custom-ers over $1 billion for a month’s worth of electricity.
Party gains prominence in New YorkJimmy McMil-lian represents a fast-growing political party called “The rent is too damn high.” McMillian is running for NY governor un-der the party’s ridiculous name and un-conventional views.
MinersRescue work-ers completed extricating Chilean min-ers, who were trapped 2,040 feet under-ground for 69 days.
Space raceLuke Geiss-buhler and his 7-year-old son Max sent an iPhone and HD camera into space on a weather balloon. They caught about 100 minutes of footage and their equip-ment landed back on Earth 30 miles from where it was launched.
2006 BMW X3
Brittany Murphy, 12
Say what?
Julia Hildebrand, 9 & Alec Kazanjian, 10
What is the fist thing you notice about a guy?I look at his smile and sexy arms. I also like vans. I also like a bronze, dark man.
What is your ideal fist date?Somewhere casual, like a carnival.
What is the nicest thing a guy has ever done for you?When Aaron Goldwyn asked me to prom. He decorated my bed with candy and a poster.
What is your biggest turn off?An emotional, sensitive, non-athletic guy with pasty skin.
What is your favorite pick up line?I don’t like pick up lines.
-Brie Hutton
What is the first thing you notice about a girl?Her eyes.
How do you get a girl’s attention?Well, in my player’s guide, it says to smile a lot.
What is your ideal fist date?A long walk on the beach at sunset.
What is the most romantic thing you have ever done for a girl?One time I took my jacket off and put it over a puddle so she could walk over it.
What’s your favorite pick up line?Me without you is like a nerd without braces, a shoe without laces and a “sentencewithoutspaces.”
-Brie Hutton
Randy Vincente, 11 Bryce D’Arelli, 12
Maze instructions: Find your way through the maze to help Rohith get
to his car. You don’t want him to be late to homecoming!
Fun&GamesFeatures October 22, 2010Page 18• The Mirada
Scorpio(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
This coming month is go-ing to be your month. Homecoming is the first night of your zodiac sign. Make it unforgettable and show everyone how Scor-pios celebrate!
Sagittarius(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Love will surround you this weekend, and today you will spend your day in a dream-like haze. Is that your teacher talking, or is that the sound of home-coming in your future?
Capricorn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Are you too absorbed in homecoming? Take a step back and see the bigger picture. Important things may be happening right under your nose!
Aquarius(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Even though homecom-ing happens tomorrow, you still consider if you are even going or not. Or what your wearing... Homecom-ing has snuck up on you.
Pisces(Feb. 19-Mar. 20)
You feel composed today, and ready for whatever comes your way. Be pre-pared though, a surprise is waiting for you tomor-row at homecoming!
Aries(Mar. 21-Apr. 20)
You’re a free spirit and take life as it comes. Nothing will stop you from having the night of your life at homecom-ing... nothing!
Taurus(Apr. 21-May 21)
You are the supreme co-ordinator of events and have planned an awesome night with your friends for homecoming. It all starts with clothing color coordi-nation first, and with your planning skills, you are al-ready match today!
Gemini(May 22-June 21)
Cheerful will definitely be your mood this Saturday because it’s homecoming! You are more than ready for that night and can’t wait because your date is hot!
Cancer(June 22-July 22)
Your friends are your rocks in life, but sometimes the gossip and drama can be overwhelming. Home-coming will be your night to get away, let loose, and be the person you hide deep down- your wild and crazy self!
Leo(July 23-Aug. 22)
It is Friday and something important will happen to-day. Be sure to raise your hand at the Homecoming Rally and get ready to do something embarrassing!
Virgo(Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Slow down today and relax. Your energy level has to be off-the-charts for your awesome dance moves tomorrow night. Save your energy!
Libra(Sep. 23-Oct. 22)
Your emotions are differ-ent today - fun and flirty for homecoming. So get out there and stir some-thing up. Seize the day!
-Carly Tyer
Homecoming puzzles to tease your brain before the dance
V
MNMOIHOCGE
BAOFOLLT
RESSD
NETROEBUI
ROSGAEC
DETA
CAEND
DERNIN
RIDSENF
RATPY
PICURTES
LSTOAF
CSSERINP
QEUNE
H
Hidden message instructions: Unscramble the words at the right and use the letters found in the circles to unscramble a hidden message!
Homecoming 2010: Are you ready?
photo by madison zimmerman/photo editor
Horoscopes: Homecoming
SportsOctober 22, 2010 Page 19• The Mirada
You have to be a little bit crazy to play football. It is a sport fueled by raw emotion and heart.
It is a reaction sport, with little time to think, no time for self-doubt. Football also involves a high frequency of head-to-head collisions.
Defensive players are always looking for that one bone-jarring hit. On the other side of those hits, though, are often defenseless offensive players.
Any given Sunday, NFL wide receivers are knocked out cold by one of those hits. It is hard to watch, but as the announcers put it, “that’s just an unavoidable part of the game.”
In high school, the players don’t move as fast or hit as hard, but they cannot withstand the same impacts as a developed NFL player.
That is why the California In-terscholastic Federation (CIF) ex-panded its rules on football head injuries this fall.
The new rules give the ultimate power to the referees. If they see a player who shows, “signs, symp-toms or behaviors associated with a concussion,” then that player must be removed from the game.
Previous rules only allowed referees to remove a player from the field if he was unconscious. In other words, a player could be dizzy, throwing up and walking around like he was hammered drunk but remain in the game.
The problem with concussions is that they are very difficult to di-agnose. When people think con-
cussion, they think blackouts and memory loss, but the majority of concussions result in neither.
Oftentimes, a player will ex-perience a headache or maybe nausea but he can still perform at the same level after a head injury. Many competitors will put them-selves back on the field unless they are in fact unconscious.
That is why the power to decide who plays and who doesn’t needs to and should be in the hands of the referees, who are in theory, completely objective and focused on player safety above all else.
The rule has not come into play yet for any Rio athletes, but the Sacramento Bee documented a Rocklin game in which the new rule did come into effect.
Star Rocklin Quarterback Jimmy Laughrea took a hit late in a game and was seen vomiting on the sidelines as well as calling one play in the huddle while running a different one on the field.
The referees put a stop to Laughrea’s night, realizing he had a concussion. Rocklin lost the game by a touchdown but the new rule may have saved their quarter-back from further brain damage and even death.
Had he stayed in the game, Laughrea would have been in dan-ger of Second-Impact Syndrome (SIS). SIS is any major swelling in the brain that occurs when the symptoms of a first concussion have not been treated.
Football can never remove
head injuries from the game, but the new rule greatly decreases the likelihood of a second, fatal con-cussion for players.
This is why the rule should be expanded to other high school sports like soccer, baseball ,and basketball where head injuries are less common but just as danger-ous.
Recently, concussions in other high school sports have been on the rise. Soccer players have been known to sustain injury when go-ing up for headers.
Basketball has also felt the wrath of concussions. Two years ago, starting guard Zach Nathan-son suffered a concussion just be-fore Christmas, knocking him out of a tournament.
At last year’s Jack Scott tourna-ment, a Galt player fell hard and his head whiplashed against the wood floor. The player tried to get up, but was only able to stubble around briefly and fall back onto the floor.
Concussions are scary. Players can black out, act foolishly, and lose consciousness.
The new CIF football rules are a good start to improving play-er safety, but there is still more work to be done. Similiar rules must take effect for all sports, and stricter testing must be done be-fore players can return.
The days of toughing it out are over, especially with head inju-ries. Everyone wants to play, but at what cost?
Use your head.
Get yo’ head out of the game!New concussion rules give refs more power and aim to protect players
• Junior forward Johnny Lanthier scored three goals in soccer’s 6-0 win over Mira Loma
• Senior running back Andy Munter had 320 all-purpose yards, four touchdowns, and recovered a fumble in football’s 48-33 victory over Bella Vista
• Junior Erika Tabor had 14 kills in volleyball’s 3-0 triumph over Cordova
• Junior setter Ariana Gar-ner had 16 aces in a 3-0 league victory over Mira Loma
• Junior running back Basil Okoroike rushed for 148 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns in a 35-52 loss to Casa Roble
• Junior midfielder Logan Cone scored a last-minute goal to lift soccer over Whitney 2-1
• Senior Trevor Lanthier had one goal and two as-sists in soccer’s 4-2 victory over Antelope
• Junior Matt Saria had three receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown in football’s 28-34 loss to Cordova
• Junior Lauren Kirschke recorded ten kills and ten digs en route to volleyball’s 3-0 defeat of Antelope
• Sophomore Zach Suarez had two interceptions and a punt return for a touch-down in a 17-60 loss to Whitney
• Junior Kendall Kulper socred three goals in water polo’s 8-6 win against Mc-Clatchy
• Sophomore Ian Kinn connected for his first varsity goal in the first half of soccer’s 5-0 win versus Mira Loma
• Sophomore Maddie Can-non had 11 kills and seven blocks in a 3-2 victory at El Camino
• Sophomore Jack Dubois had four goals in water polo’s 9-12 loss to Jesuit
Raider Stars
By Peter HammonSports Editor
Girls water polo shoots for sections
While the girls’ water polo league play is coming to a close soon, their season is still far from over.
The notoriously successful girls water polo team has had an outstanding season thus far.
“Even though the league has changed, we’re still undefeated, and we don’t plan to lose any games in league,” senior Maddie Brown said.
The versatile team has still done well, even with the new competition.
“It’s a little bit tougher than the old league, but not by much,” se-nior Vicky Gyorffy said.
The girls have even done well in tournament play, coming in eight in both the Mountain view Tournament and the Woodcreek
Tournament held at AR.One aspect the team has been
focusing on a lot in practice is de-fense.
“I think that’s the most im-portant and it’s one of the things we’re really excelling on right now because we’re working so hard on it,” Brown said.
Behind this defensive change is the team’s newest addition: head coach Alli Pierce.
“She’s a good coach and she’s played at a collegiate level, so she knows what she’s talking about,” Brown said.
The girls believe that with Pierce’s coaching they can win their way to sections for the ninth year in a row.
“We will most likely play Granite Bay for the section title,” Brown said.
“They’ll be looking for a good game and we will too.”
By Danielle ArbiosStaff Writer
photo courtesy of tesoro 2011Girls water polo in the middle of a fierce game.
photo courtesy of kenny moultonRio and Jesuit football players collide in a tough tackle. Even with helmets they are subject to life-long head injuries.
Sports October 22, 2010Page 20• The Mirada
Emily Chernich hangs 30 feet above the ground, with only a rock wall supporting her.
With a few swift movements, she makes her way to the top.
Chernich has been rock climb-ing since the age of nine.
“I was first introduced to it when I went to friend’s birthday parties,” Chernich said.
A former soccer player, Cher-nich knew she wanted to venture out. Trying a different sport seemed like the perfect thing to do.
“I didn’t really fit in playing soccer,” she said. “I realized I just wasn’t that into it.” Chernich said
One summer she attended a camp at Pipe Works, a rock climb-ing gym located in downtown Sacramento. She has been apart of their competitive team “The Sum-
mit Party” ever since.“I practice two nights a week:
One night with my whole team and the second night I have a private lesson with my coach,” Chernich said.
Her coach supports and en-courages her love for the sport.
“She is very inspirational and makes me climb hard every time I go in,” Chernich said.
Chernich loves her twelve person team, the sport and the accepting environment rock climb-ing provides.
“They’ll bring anyone on to the team if they want to put out the effort,” Chernich said.
Chernich competes in “top-roping,” where the scoring is based on the difficulty of the climb and the height the climber reaches. Each competitor has four hours to climb as many times as he or
she wants, and their top five scores will go towards their team’s points.
“It’s a lot of fun and really laid back,” said Chernich.
Although she does not want to pursue rock climb-ing professionally, Chernich hopes to keep climbing as long as she’s physically able.
“Rock climbing is a fun sport to do on the side and it keeps me in shape,” Cher-nich said. “I’ve also made a ton of friends though the sport.”
Chernich encourages everyone to try it at least once in their life. It’s a great experience that it thrill-ing and beneficial to your health. Chernich promises you willl leave loving the sport, just like she did!
Grad off the fence on sabre careerWhen James Williams started fencing
at age nine, he had no idea that 14 years later, he would be standing on the Olympic podium.
“I wanted to be Bruce Lee very badly as a little kid and was taking all the neces-sary steps to accomplish my goal,” Williams said. “But sometimes things don’t work out the way you intend them too.”
In Williams’ case, that was a good thing.The 2003 Rio Americano graduate began
fencing at Sacramento Fencing Club in elementary school.
Williams soon made a name for himself in the fencing world.
At 15, Williams began competing in Junior World Cups, events he continued in until his sophomore year of college. “I never had good enough results to qualify for the World Championships, but the events helped me learn that I loved competing and quite disliked losing,” Williams said.
Williams’ fondest junior fencing memory is bringing home his first international tro-phy form a seventh place finish in a World Cup event in Logrono, Spain.
“I brought it to school (not very classy) and showed it off in Mrs. De Ville’s class,” Williams said.
Despite the rigor of his fencing sched-ule, Williams still found time to enjoy high school, even playing volleyball his senior year. “Volleyball was great,” Williams said. “But [teammate] Jared Williams and I got food poisoning at one tournament. That was not fun.”
Williams also has fond memories of his classroom days at Rio with some of his favorite teachers, including Ms. Seibel, Sr. Losada, Mr. Mason, among others.
“I performed a rap once about Huck-leberry Finn in Ms. Seibel’s class; that was great,” Williams said.
As his gradu-ation loomed, Williams knew he wanted to go to New York.
He chose to attend Columbia where he majored in U.S. History and minored in Russian Studies, later adding on a Master’s in Slavic Studies.
While at school, Williams had to balance a rigorous academic plate, fencing, and a social life.
“In college, you can only do three things, and most people pick sleep as one of them,” Williams said. “I had a great time but would sleep 4-5 hours most nights.”
Despite his lack of sleep, Williams loved the team environment of NCAA fencing.
“The team was great - we would rap about how great our school was and what we were going to do to our opponents before our match,” Williams said.
While competing with Columbia, Wil-liams took part in the NCAA champion-ships in his junior and senior year, although he was never able to win the grueling competition.
Williams looks back on his college career as a four year period of constant improve-ment. He went from warming the bench freshman year, to being an All-American his
junior and senior year and qualifying for the Senior National team.
In 2007, Williams broke onto the senior international stage. He competed in the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing second in the individual competi-tion and first in team.
But Williams did not have much time to bask in the glory of his Pan-Am success as he was quickly back to the grueling qualifi-cation for the Beijing Olympic team.
For Williams, this two year journey all came down to his last match, where he qualified.
“Once I knew that I was qualified, I was overcome by a feeling a relief, more than anything,” Williams said. “I thought that I had failed to qualify earlier on in the day so it was just an emotional roller coaster at the end of an emotional roller coaster.”
Williams’ Olympic team consisted of Keeth Smart, Tim Morehouse, and Jason Rogers.
“I had looked up to all those guys for many years growing up, so it was an honor to be on a team with them, representing our country at the Olympics,” he said.
The Olympics were nothing short of incredible for Williams. He recalls hap-pily the free clothes, excellent food, and welcoming atmosphere of China.
Williams made his first appearance for the U.S. fencing in the gold medal match, where the U.S. ended up taking silver.
Shortly afterwards, Williams and his teammates stood on the podium, accept-ing their silver medals.
“[On the podium] I wanted to cry, shout, and stomp my feet; I was so happy,” he said.
Williams rounded out his Olympic experience by attending the Closing Cer-emonies in the Bird’s Nest.“I remember making sure that I had the right outfit on (as ordained by the gods at Polo/Nike), making sure I had my camera, and danc-ing.”
So now that Williams is back from Bei-jing, where is his medal?
“It’s in a safety deposit box in Sacramento with some silver my dad bought in the 80s,” Williams said.
“I imagined wearing it for two weeks straight and sitting in a bath tub with it on, but that never really happened,” he said.
In 2010, Williams entered a five month retirement. “My head was elsewhere and I wasn’t enjoying [fencing],” he said.
But time away only rejuvenated Williams and made him realize how much he loves fencing.
Williams has his sights set on London 2012 and will start the qualification in six months. Till then, he will travel to Paris for the World Championships in November, aiming for a gold medal.
After fencing, Williams hopes to attend Business School.
“I want to be successful, though I am still trying to create metrics by which to judge that very arbitrary concept.”
A silver medal seems like a pretty good start.
By Kyle MoralesSports Editor
Emily Chernich reaches for the summitBy Brie Hutton
Staff Writer
Where are they now?
Freshman Emily Chernich climbing the walls at Pipe Works. photo courtesy of annie chernich
photo courtesy of james williams
Jason Rogers, Tim Morehouse, and James Williams share a moment on the podium following their Silver medal in team sabre fencing. The team’s medal was the first for U.S. fencing for nearly 100 years.
Between the abundance of talent that is shown through our athletics program, it must be dif-ficult for college scouts to nar-row down their recruit choices. The results have been revealed as seniors that show extraordinary achievements in their sports have begun to receive letters from schools seeking out talent like theirs.
Many of the students have been working and waiting for these letters since the beginning of their high school athletic ca-reer, seeing as a most are being
offered positions at highly recog-nized schools with a great deal to offer in athletics.
Although not all are choosing to accept their offers, there are advantages in these letters for all who have received them.
For senior Bryce D’Arelli, who received an offer from Webster University in Missouri for tennis, the acknowledgment alone was enough to boost her spirits
"It raised my confidence for walking onto a team in college, even if its not a scholarship. I’m looking into the school, but I would rather stay in state".
Senior Tanner Bond has dif-ferent reasons for declining the
offers,"I’m just so burnt out from
swimming and water polo that it doesn’t appeal to me anymore, especially as something to do in college,"
Bond said on his letters from New York University and Uni-versity of San Diego for swim-ming.
For those students who are choosing to accept their offers, they are receiving the oppor-tunity they’ve been waiting for. College scholarships have given these athletes the chance to excel during the next for years, and the opportunity to take on sports in the future.
SportsOctober 22, 2010 Page 21• The Mirada
On the ball with...
Students considered for college sports
Where does your allegiance lie?
As the playoffs approach, school spirit should be soaring. Most of Rio’s teams are compet-ing for league titles and looking to win the section.
Yet somehow, the mystical rooting for other schools phe-nomenon always materializes during this time.
Take September 24 as an example. Rio played Casa in football for KCRA 3’s Game of the Week. Not only was it a mar-quee match-up, but cameramen and news crews were also there to capture the game and school spirit.
Apparently we can beat Jesuit in football, but not keep our own fans.
But attendance wasn’t as high as it could’ve been. Maybe it was because some people decided that the Jesuit/Laguna Creek game meant more to them. But I don’t know; I’m not a doctor.
To look back even further, why not examine Holy Bowl. How many Rio girls made Jesuit tank tops and dressed up in white and red to support the Maraud-ers? And how many of those girls can’t even find the energy to bring themselves to one, single Rio game?
I went to my first Holy Bowl this year. I wore a Rio sweatshirt and sat down on the Christian Brothers side to just watch the game.
It was revolting to see hun-dreds of Rio girls in the Galley Crew section, especially went we can’t even get 100 people to come to a Rio game.
Quite frankly, it’s embarrass-ing. We get enough crap from other schools without having to hear about our students support-ing them.
So as the playoffs roll around, maybe it’s time to take a good look in the mirror and ask, “Do I bleed green and gold or red and gold?” Hopefully, yes.
Prep of the Issue
Jonathon “Doug” Parkinson
By Madison ZimmermanPhoto Editor
• Tanner Bond: Water polo: NYU
• Bryce D’Arelli: Tennis: Web-ster University
• Basil Okoroike: Football: UCLA, TCU, Boise State
• Peter Hammon: Soccer: UC San Diego, University of British Columbia
• Grant Silvester: Soccer: Uni-versity of Virginia (verbal commitment)
• Kenny Moulton: Baseball: Notre Dame, Santa Clara, St. Marys, Occidental, USD
• Tate Rountree: Rugby: St. Marys, CSU Long Beach
• Andrew Haugen: Basketball: Eastern Washington, Sac State, San Francisco State
Senior Tanner Bond participates in his fourth year on the team
“Doug” shows off his soccer skills at practice. photo courtesy of madison zimmerman
photo courtesy of tesoro 2011
Kyle Morales
-Kyle Morales
Who’s looking where?
Q: When did you start playing soccer?A: At five years young because my dad forced me toQ: What was your first team?A: The Arden Park Lightsabers, we beat everyone
Q: What position do you play?A: I play fullback/stopper because I love to hit people
Q: What is the best goal you’ve scored?A: I booted one in from half field against Bella Vista freshman year.
Q: Have you ever gotten a red card?A: No, I stop after the yellow.
Q: What’s your most embar-rassing moment?A: I went to kick the ball and just missed the whole thing.
Q: Why are you called Doug?A: David Ashton decided that it would be funny to call me that because I act like a charac-ter named Doug on a TV show called Weeds.
Q: What has been your funniest varsity soccer moment?A: Co-po (head coach Alan Pos-ner) headed the ball in the middle practice.
SportsOctober 22, 2010 Page 23• The Mirada
Soccer:Men’s soccer is currently first in league at 6-2-0. After a 2-1 loss to El Camino, the team rebounded for three straight victories: defeating Cordova 3-1, Whitney 2-1, and Mira Loma 5-0. With two more wins, the team will secure the league title and a home playoff game. The game on October 26 versus El Camino will likely be for the CAL championship.
Cross Country:The cross country team is in the middle of their sea-son with high hopes for the second half. “The team is looking great, with a very fast team this year,” said junior Conor Henka.The cross country varsity women team has already won league while varsity men are looking to place second behind El Camino.
Tennis:The girls varsity team just beat their biggest rival, Mira Loma, six to three. Rio lost their first match against the Matadors and the victory puts them in the hunt for a league title.
Golf:The golf team just played in the Cal two tournament on Monday at Woodcreek and placed second. They go to divisions next Monday.
Men’s Water polo:Despite losing to Jesuit 9-12 last Friday, the Raiders are still first place in league and have not lost a CAL game. They will look to make a deep run in playoffs, likely running into rival Granite Bay.
Women’s Water polo:The Raiders are undefeated in league, having beaten each of their opponents by healthy margins. The team will take their momentum into play-offs, looking to add an eight straight section title.
Football:The football team is looking to rebound from an 0-2 league start with a victory over Mira Loma at home-coming. With traditional powerhouses Del Campo and Casa Roble out of the Capital Athletic League and a convincing non-league win over Bella Vista, the Raiders still feel they have a good shot to squeak into the playoffs.
Volleyball:After a thrilling five-game win at El Camino, the Raiders are tied for first in league at 9-1 with the Eagles. The team has blown out every other team in league, not allowing a game to Mira Loma, Whitney, Antelope, or Cordova. A top five-ranked team in the city, the Raiders will take on El Camino one last time to close out the season and head into playoffs.
Games to WatchFootball: Home vs. El Camino 11/06 1:00 The Raiders take on the Eagles in the final league game of the year. The team could be playing for a Sac-Joaquin playoff berth.Soccer:Away vs. Jesuit 10/22 3:30Rio looks to dethrone the number three nationally ranked Marauders for the first time since their 0-0 draw in 2007.Volleyball:Home vs. El Camino 11/03 6:15After splitting their first two matches against the Eagles, the Raiders take on El Camino at home in a game which will likely decide the league champion.Men’s Water Polo:Home vs. Davis 10/29 3:45The nationally renowned Blue Devils visit Arden-Arcade for a powerhouse, non-league match-up.Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs:Location: TBA. 11/05-11/21Here, the cheese stands alone. All of the Rio fall teams will likely be participating in playoffs, a feat unrivaled by our area opponents. Be sure to come and support the Raiders as they look to add section title banners.
ScheduleFootball10/23/10 1:00 PM vs. Mira Loma Home10/29/10 7:30 PM vs. Antelope at Antelope11/06/10 1:00 PM vs. El Camino Home
Men’s Soccer10/26/10 3:30 PM vs. El Camino Home
Men’s Water Polo10/27/10 4:45PM vs. Whitney at Whitney10/29/10 T.B.A. Finnis Cup at San Jose
Women’s Water Polo
Cross Country
Women’s Volleyball10/25/10 6:15PM vs. Whitney Home10/27/10 6:15PM vs. Mira Loma Home11/01/10 6:15PM vs. Antelope at Antelope11/03/10 6:15PM vs. El Camino Home
10/26/10 6:30PM vs. St. Francis Home10/27/10 6:45PM vs. Whitney at Whitney10/29/10 TBA NorCal Invite TBA10/30/10 TBA NorCal Invite TBA11/06/10 TBA Divission II Playoffs TBA11/9/10 TBA Divisions II Playoffs TBA11/14/10 TBA Section Championships TBA
10/22/10 3:30PM Eagle Invitational at Lodi Lake10/29/10 3:00PM Cal Championships at Willow Hills11/06/10 TBA Sub Sections at Angels Camp11/33/10 TBA Sections at Woodwork Park
Sports Briefs
-Kyle Morales
Universities are cutting more than just sports, they’re cutting opportunities.
Many universities have been cutting their school sports to save money. Among these schools is the University of California, Berkeley which has cut baseball, gymnastics, and women’s lacrosse. Rugby at Cal will now be a varsity club sport, meaning less financial support and privileges for student athletes.
Although these cuts will save the university $7,000,000 a year, athletes and potential students will pay the price.
Rugby at Cal has been a pres-tigious and successful program, winning 25 national champion-ships since 1980.
Cal’s rugby prowess attracts many great high school rugby players the university. But that may stop due to the changes.
Now without university fund-ing, rugby will now fund itself. And some alumni are worried the team’s success might suffer from the cuts.
As a club sport, rugby is less attractive for high school athletes looking to play rugby in college, causing Cal to lose many great players.
Junior Timmy Dallosta is a
rugby player that has been greatly affected by the recent cuts.
Dallosta had been considering Cal as a potential college to play rugby at before the cuts; Dallosta’s rugby coach had spoken to one of
the Cal coaches and Dallosta at-tended one of Cal’s summer rugby camps.
With rugby being changed to a varsity club sport Cal may not be an option for Dallosta.
“I was considering Cal as a college to play rugby at, but Cal is such a prestigious school I can’t go without a scholarship,” Dallosta said.
Dallosta also thinks it will have an effect on the quality of the team.
“I think it will effect the team because they wont have funding for nice facilities and coaches,” Dallosta said.
Dallosta is not the only student upset by Cal’s sports cuts.
Senior Kenny Moulton plays second base on the varsity baseball team, and feels it’s a great loss for Cal to be cutting baseball.
“It is a huge disappointment since Cal baseball has existed for a long time with a lot of tradition and success,” Moulton said.
Baseball, like rugby, will be los-ing future athletes.
“A lot of the good area talent goes to Cal on baseball scholar-ships, turning down being drafted in the MLB. Cutting baseball really takes away part of Cal because many kids sought to go to school there to play baseball but will now look somewhere else,” Moulton said.
Not only do the cuts hurt perspective athletes, but they also affect the college as a whole.
“They are cutting a big tradi-tional sport and its a shame for some of those players who went there on scholarships to not be able to play at their dream school,” Moulton said.
Colleges and sports cut• UC Davis: Women’s rowing and men’s wrestling, swimming/
diving and indoor track.• UC Irvine: Sailing, men’s and women’s swimming and men’s
and women’s rowing.• UC Santa Cruz: Men’s and women’s water polo in 2009.• Cal State Bakersfield: Wrestling, men’s and women’s golf, and
women’s tennis.• Cal State Fullerton: Wrestling and Gymnastics.• Cal State Northridge: Men’s and women’s swimming/diving• Cal Poly Pomona: Men’s and women’s tennis.
SportsPage 24• The Mirada October 22, 2010
Say good night, the sports are overBudget cuts force Berkeley, local schools to close storied programs
Behind the lens with Madison Zimmerman
By Tate Rountree and Shauna Milesi Staff Writers
Photo of the Issue
photo courtesy of timmy dallostaJunior Timmy Dallosta, playing for the U-17 Norcal All-star team, returns a kick on a breakway.
The ball is frozen center crossbar
Stopper Peter Hammon is airborne to challenge a possible Whitney header but instead receives a shot to the chops from a Whitney striker.
Whitneys captain cringes upon seeing his teammates karate skills
Sweeper David Ashton looks on, ready to clean up a loose ball.
Goal keeper Kyle Mo-rales readies himself for a potential shot.
Why I like it:I chose this photo because I love how busy it is! There is something going on throughout the entire frame, which adds to the effect of any interesting sports shot. And because I couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to show Peter getting slapped in the face.
Midfielder Trevor Lanthier checks back to provide outlet options for the Rio defenders
How it was taken:The lighting was perfect for sports that day be cause it was easy to have a high shutter speed without worrying about the photo turning out too dark. The camera was on shutter priority so I didn’t have to worry about the aperture setting.
Whitney makes a desperate run at the Rio goal in the closing minutes of the game. Despite Whitney’s last minute goal, Rio won 2-1.madison zimmerman/photo editor