04.09.12VOL. 55 NO. 7ON THE WEB

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INSIDE THE ISSUEStanding STRONG

Stagg LineNSPA Hall of Fame

newspaperAmos Alonzo Stagg

High School1621 Brookside Rd.

Stockton, Calif. 95207

NEWS IN BRIEF

BaseballThere will be a home baseball game tomorrow against McNair. JV will start at 4 p.m and varsity will play at 6:30 p.m.Stagg FactorThe talent show will be next Thursday from 6-8:00 p.m. in the the-ater. Tickets will be sold for $2 in advance or $4 at the door.Circle of Friends danceThe dance will be on April 21 in the large gym from 4–7 p.m. It is semi-formal so no jeans or t-shirts will be allowed. CST testingCST testing will be held from April 17-20. Each testing day will be a minimum day with school ending at 11:25 a.m. Seniors have the same release time.Trivia BeeCongratulations to An-gelo Robles, Carol Ama-ya, and Emily Cornelison for placing first in high schools at the trivia bee. The team, named Bee-ware the Deatheaters, showed knowledge in sci-fi/fantasy.

home of the DELTA KINGS

Pacific interns encourage opening up through alternative therapy One intern beats the drum. Another begins to play the keyboard. The students start to sing. The sounds send a wave of mu-sic through the P-wing. Walking into this classroom, you are surrounded by laughter and smiling faces. This is a normal Wednes-day in P-1. University of the Pacific interns come every Wednesday to direct a music therapy session. This class offers a release for special-education students who have issues at home or at school. Observing this class there would be no signs of students going through hardships. But as the class progresses they start to talk about their issues. With problems like being teased, breaking a remote control or even a father dying, this music therapy class offers ways for teens to cope. Singing familiar songs and incorporat-ing their own lyrics is part of the therapy session. Talking to a teacher, adult, family member or friend is one of the solutions the interns suggest. “Playing makes me believe in myself, that I can play good,” sophomore Hillary Scott said. Songs such as “Mirror” by Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars have meanings related to the lesson, which can offer therapy in a sty-listic way. This song was broken down to observe and evaluate how the students live their lives.

Singing is not the only form of therapy during this session. The interns also incor-porate dancing as well. One therapy session included dancing to multiple songs with scarves as a form of letting loose and releas-ing their stress. During this exercise, every student was participating fully in every ac-tivity. All students seemed as though this was something they wanted to do. Another form of therapy is writing or drawing. The interns try to make this experience

as effective as possible. They do this by including every student in the class, either by asking for volunteers, greeting everyone, or adding in every student’s thoughts. At the end of the therapy session, the interns ask for any suggestions from the students — what songs to add and what

they liked and disliked about the therapy session. Participating teachers say this session is effective for the students. “It improves peo-ple’s lives in an organized, systematic way, through music,” said Pam Curtin, a special day class teacher. Along with the improvement of the lives of students, participants say it creates an exciting learning environment. As the mu-sic arises, the singing and dancing makes students look forward to the session. “I get excited for music therapy,” junior Jordan Arndt said. “I don’t get to sing a lot.”

ANNAMARIERODRIGUEZ

photos by AnnAmArie rodriguez

Pacific men-tors help students express emotions through the use of music. They also encourage them to write what they’re feeling down.

Childhood is thought of as a time of milestones: starting school, learning to ride a bike, joining a Little League team. This was not Benjamin Otecks’ experi-ence. “We were trained as kids to defend our cows, shoot guns, and walk miles to school,” he said. Otecks is from Uganda and on his recent trip to America he made a stop at Stockton Covenent Church to share his story and what he calls “the truth behind Kony.” Otecks and his wife, whom he met through her missionary work in Uganda, came to the church March 26 at the request of youth director Cori Sinclair. Sinclair met Otecks in his homeland of Uganda while working in the same area where the KONY video was filmed. “They were here visiting from Uganda,” Sinclair said. “It was good timing with all the Kony stuff going on.” Otecks gave an account

of life in Uganda in the hos-tile environment of Kony’s attacks. Two of Otecks’ brothers and his sister were taken in the night by Kony’s forces. Otecks was spared by what he calls “the grace of God.” Otecks and his wife run Favor of God Ministries out of Gulu, Uganda. Their organization rehabilitates Kony’s child soldiers and as-sists their families, both dif-ficult tasks complicated by the after-effects of war. It was not an uncommon thing to have an escaped child wake in the night and kill his parents, a lingering effect of their training.

According to Otecks, Kony is currently hiding in a forest between Congo and Northern Africa. In addi-tion to this theory, Otecks also presented his belief that the now-infamous KONY video is “10 years late” – that is, Otecks says the war and resulting atrocities depicted in the video hap-pened a decade ago. Senior Madison Sadler, however, has qualms with the entire KONY 2012 movement. “It’s more of a status up-date than anything else at this point,” she said. “No one (here) knows what’s ac-tually going on (in Uganda) anyway.” Junior Carol Amaya ap-pears to be of the same mind. “People really don’t know what to believe be-cause there are a lot of con-tradictions.” After attending Otecks’

presentation, senior John Hart was struck by the pos-sibly inaccuracies of the KONY video. “It’s like commercials,” he said. “They want to show you what they want to show you.” Regardless of the video’s legitimacy, there are some who see the overall value of the movement, consider-ing the mass effects in the realms of social media. Sophomore Jannetha Thon noted the value it has had in getting youth in-volved in the world around them. “I’ve seen teenagers at work before,” she said. “Just one teenager can have an idea and everyone else gets into it.” Fellow sophomore John-athon Edmonds seems to agree. “That’s what every-body needs – someone to change the world.”

photo by AnnAmArie rodriguez

Benjamin Otecks, who moved here from Uganda, spoke to a local church group about his experiences in the country.

Ugandan speaker helps localize KONY 2012

MIKEALAAXTON

Students start off their day in the music therapy class by singing good morn-ing songs and playing music on a drum. Afterward they volunteer to share their thoughts and feelings. heAdline grAphic by seymA tAp

“ I’ve seen teenagers at work before. Just one teenager can have an idea and everyone else gets into it.”JANNETHA THON, sophomore

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BONUS VIDEO

EDITORIAL

Opinion2 04.09.12

the Stagg Line

the Stagg LineAmos Alonzo Stagg High School

1621 Brookside Rd.Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 933-7445 ext. 8487

The Stagg Line newspaper is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association and the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Awards and recognitions include the following:

X 18 consecutive NSPA All-American rankings X NSPA Hall of Fame, 2005 X NSPA First-Place Best of Show five times X JEA Impact Award, 2002

Stagg Line student journalists have won many awards and scholarships over the years,

including California Journalist of the Year, National Story of the Year, and

National Photo of the Year.

The Stagg Line newspaper is published monthly and distributed free of charge to students and faculty. Our newspaper is a long-standing open forum for

free student expression. Student editors and reporters make content and style decisions with the adviser

offering guidance. Editorials reflect the view of the entire editorial board and therefore are unsigned.

Opinion columns reflect the view of the writer. Readers are welcomed to write letters to the editor. We will make every effort to print any letter as long

as it is not libelous. Letters longer than 250 words may be edited. Unsigned letters will be printed only in unusual circumstances, and only when we know who the writer is. Letters may be brought to the newspaper

room, A-8, or emailed to dbott@stockton.k12.ca.us

Mikeala AxtonEditor-in-Chief

Taylor HurlesEditor-in-Chief

Don BottAdviser

Gabriella MillerNews Editor

Nicole LawrenceOpinion Editor

Kristin AcevedoFeatures Editor

Annamarie CunninghamEntertainment Editor

Reanna RodriguezSports EditorSeyma Tap

Graphics EditorHarmony Evangelisti

Photo Editor Faith Harris

Web/Multimedia EditorDamon Heine

Blog/Social Media EditorEmily Cornelison

Copy Editor

Sophia Davidson

Shelby Hightower

Jessica Mangili

Kentaley McCurdy

Adrianna Owens

Viena Palacio

Annamarie Rodriguez

Mia Torres

Fe Valencia

Brian Walker

Chao Xiong

Lunch time has come. The almighty feeling of hunger falls over

students as the lunch bell rings. For many students the typical fast food restaurant is the first place in mind. Why? Because it’s quick and cheap, and you can get back to school without being disciplined by the teacher. But for every ideal meal, there are unintended conse-quences. This issue we take a look at the habit of fast food eat-ing and the harmful effects it brings. We all know that fast food is unhealthy and over time can do serious damage to a healthy lifestyle. However, students still go to fast food restaurants regularly. Why is this the case when the message of fast food being so terrible has been pushed into our heads from a young age? Sometimes it lies beyond the

veil of self-control. In a 2003 study by Dr. John Hoebel at Princeton University, the chemicals in fast food were tested on rats who were given a diet of 25 percent sugar. Then they took the sugar out of the food supply. The way the rats reacted after the sugar was removed was similar to the way a person reacts when nicotine or tobacco are withdrawn from them. This included symptoms of chattering teeth and shakes. Dr. Hoebel believed that the fast food stimulated opioids, or “pleasure chemi-cals” in the brain, similar to the ones that are released during tobacco, drug and alcohol use. “The implication is that some animals — and by extension some people — can become overly depen-dent on sweet food,” Hoebel said. These reports were later

supported by a study at the University of Wisconsin Medical School by neurolo-gist Ann Kelly, who found

a link between the brain’s pleasure chemicals and a craving for this type of food. To some, the addiction

traits that fast food suppos-edly cause, may seem exag-gerated. And maybe this kind of addiction isn’t as dangerous as that of drugs and alcohol, but it can do damage over time. For this reason, stu-dents must know that eating fast food almost every day is not healthy and self disci-pline must come into play. With more recent events in mind, the “pink slime” problem has brought a lot of attention to the kind of products that go into the beef at fast food restaurants. But for many, films like “Su-per Size Me” and books like “Fast Food Nation,” have already brought attention to cases identical to this. Why was this time so dif-ferent? The main shocking factor was the amount of pink slime in the meat itself, over 70 percent across all of America’s supermarkets.

The news had the ability to fall heavily into the public sector, and many fast food chains said they would no longer be purchasing the product. In this case the public outcry was strong and that made the difference. It was the knowledge of what they were eating that kept people from stuffing the near fully processed burger into their mouths. And that is the defin-ing aspect of fast food as a choice and fast food as a need. Know what you are eating, and know that fast food won’t be the most healthy choice, even though it will likely always be around in some form or another. But with the right will-power, one can purchase it in moderation and learn to live with it properly. Re-member, think with your heads, not your stomachs.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE EATING?

Art by VienA PAlAcio

Working with special needs students helps bring new perspective and friendships

Before joining Jennifer Swanson’s class, I thought of A-4 as the room with the rabbit. And that positive feeling of a rabbit carried out into the

classroom the first time I walked in. It overwhelmed me with how welcoming and accept-ing the students were. I had never experienced a class that seemed as though they were happy I was there without knowing me in any way. This was a moment of impact. I knew I was going to love this class. Within the first week I had a conversation with a freshman in this special-education classroom and asked her how her transition went from being in middle school to high school. She mentioned that she didn’t like being teased. Before this conversation, I didn’t pay much attention to students teasing others. This moment made me more aware of what happens on

campus, especially with bullying. Later that week I was asked by one of my friends what class I had next. I then mentioned T.A. for Swanson’s special-education class. That’s when I noticed the awkward “Don’t those kids annoy you?” comments. These remarks, to me, didn’t deserve a response back. Despite some of the weird looks I get, some of my friends are open to join me in the classroom. My best friend didn’t really think much about hanging out

with the students, but after some of the funny memories she wanted to visit the classroom. This is when she shared my same love for their sense of humor and their welcoming presence. These students have seriously been my superheroes. It may sound cheesy, but it’s true because even on my bad days this group of friends always greet me with a smile and a bunch of hugs. Many funny, crazy days happen in this classroom. Fernando makes me laugh on a regular day basis. One of the funniest days I had with him was when he grabbed a box out of the trash can and tried to sit in it. Unfortunately it was a fail because the box split on all sides and he fell straight on his behind. Days like these make my days so much bet-ter. This is just one of the “normal” days we have in our classroom. But as the year ends and summer break approaches, I know that working with special-ed students is one of my passions. Being in this classroom has taught me life lessons such as being patient, accepting that everyone is different, and knowing that one person or one group can change one’s day or impact one’s life. When I started high school, I looked forward meeting new people and hopefully developing new friendships. I have met many new faces in high school but my relationship with my special-ed students is stronger than any of my other friendships. This is because they love me despite of my flaws and insecurities. They don’t pay attention to the superficial necessities that are a “must have” in high school. One of the best things about high school is finding treasures in unexpected places. I found my treasure being a T.A. for a class where I didn’t expect to fall in love with all the students. But this newfound friendship is one that I’m privileged to have found.

‘They’re my super heroes’

Junior Annamarie Rodriguez always stops to say hello to her fellow classmates from Jennifer Swanson’s class. She ran into freshman Yazmina Contrera at a recent track meet.

Photos by reAnnA rodriguez

ANNAMARIERODRIGUEZ

Photos by nicole lAwrence

While working as a teacher’s assistant Rodriguez also helps out with Physical Education. Here she is teaching freshman Vernice Figeroa how to hit a ball with a tennis racket.

staggonline.net

BONUS VIDEO

3Opinionthe Stagg Line04.09.12

“Good morning, Cunningham!” is the peppy greeting my piano teacher, Andrea Senderov,

calls out to me from her kitchen. It’s just after 6 in the morning and it’s all I can do to mumble back some incomprehensible response and a half smile. “Let me just get my coffee, and I’ll be right in,” she says. I slowly start to set out my music, delicately placing the books on the piano. It’s a Steinway grand, and even after eight years of playing this same piano nearly

every week, I refuse to treat it with any less reverence than I did my first lesson. Well, I think. I’m here now. Might as well wake up.

Welcome to my Wednesdays.It’s hard to be a classical musician. Espe-

cially when your lessons start and 6 in the morning. Every week. For eight years. And, the best and worst part of my love for clas-sical music, especially the piano, is that it’s threaten-ing to take over my life. Not that I really mind. It has lured me into an idealistic dream of be-coming a music major. Except for the part where it’s

not idealistic. Despite what I tell myself sometimes, I haven’t known what I wanted to do with my life since I was little. I went through the phases just like everyone else: ar-chaeologist, vet, superhero. Eventually though, I had to figure out something to spend the rest of my life doing. I’ve been on sports teams, joined sum-mer art classes, and completely destroyed many desserts in my attempts at being a pastry chef. My drawing skills are rivaled by those of a toddler, and knitting only results in a rather large tangle of yarn instead of a scarf or something. I don’t know quite how it happened, but somehow I was inspired to start taking piano lessons. However, not all begin-nings are the happiest beginnings. When I first started my lessons, I had some pretty terrible teachers. They paid little attention to detail and refused to correct my mistakes. They didn’t instill a love of music in me. Eventually though, I fell into the hands of Mrs. Senderov, one of the most amazing women I have ever met. Mrs. Senderov has been a constant presence in my life for these past eight years. She is someone I know I can trust. Someone who pushes me to do my best even when I don’t feel like I can.

I don’t know when exactly I decided to have a ca-reer in music, but I do know that she is a huge part of that decision. And I know it’s no overstatement to say that she has helped give my life meaning. Even fellow musicians regard music majors as something that could very well be a loss of money and time. And for a long time I was on the fence as to whether I should attempt it after all. But there is something alluring about music. About the way it feels to place my fingers on the keys and play. There’s something about playing a piece that was written by a dead guy hundreds of years ago. Some-thing about finishing a piece and hearing the word “perfect” spring from my teacher’s mouth. Beyond that, maybe it’s in spite of the danger. In today’s tough times going, after a job that makes you not want to die seems risky as hell. Mu-sic has never been looked upon as a stable career, although it helps that I don’t aspire to be the world’s next GaGa. In a way, it’s almost humble, wanting to get a doctorate in music for not only myself, but as a bit of a homage to Mrs. Senderov, getting to teach oth-ers what she so lovingly taught me.

graphic by Nicole lawreNce aNd aNNamarie cuNNiNgham

graphic by aNNamarie cuNNiNgham aNd mikeala axtoN

My whole body went numb. It felt like I was stuck in a horror movie

and someone had hit pause. Not only was I unable to move, but my mind was blank. I couldn’t believe what just came out of her mouth. Not today, not yet. It couldn’t have happened yet. My mother wrapped me in a hug as she told me that my cousin passed away from leukemia. As you grow up you have people who shape who you are. In a very short period of time I lost my cousin, but my great grandmother as well. Each played a large role in shaping the person I am today. Having to deal with losing them made me reevaluate my outlook on life. Recently the Leadership class has placed Happy Meal boxes in classrooms, for a program known as “Pennies for Patients,” in hopes of raising money for families with leukemia that can’t afford treat-ment. I want to encourage you to donate, even if you just donate

a quarter or a couple of pennies you found in the bottom of your bag. The money that is being raised goes to the Leukemia and Lym-phoma Society where it then is distributed towards research to finding a cure for all blood can-cers and helping families afford medical treatment. Most people think that a quar-ter can’t really make that much of an impact. And a few years ago

I thought the same way. I would go to the grocery store and see multiple stands outside asking for money for different charities. On top of thinking that it wasn’t really going to change anything, I would wonder if that charity was even real. But the quarter is really going to make a difference. According to the Pennies for Pa-tients website, millions of dollars have been raised by elementary, middle and high school students across the country since the orga-nization was created in 1994. I’d do anything to be able to have my cousin back for one more day. To be able to see his smile and to hear his laugh. And most of all to be able to hug him once more. And that’s exactly what you’re giving when you donate that quarter. You’re giving that patient’s family a chance to spend one more day together. One more day filled with memories and laughs. One more day they have to say their goodbyes, an opportunity I wish I could have had.

As I walk around campus I hear a distant voice calling out my sister’s name. I look around to find her, but she is nowhere in sight.

I keep on walking, listening to the conversation behind me. “That’s not her, it’s her sister.” Are we that similar? Do people just see that we’re a similar height, and have similar pony-tails? Do they see the fact that we play the same sports and have good grades and simply assume we’re the same person? People didn’t notice that we were related until we said it out loud. Then they started to notice the similar qualities we have and began to remember me as “her sister.” And when they do, it sticks in their minds and becomes how they address me. There are people – some I’ve met once, some I’ve known my whole life – that can only remember me as “her sister.” Even my teachers, classmates, team-mates, and friends who knew my sister, call out her name when looking for me. Being called my sister’s name angers me. It was okay when it was just a few times, but when it be-came more and more frequent by the same people, it started to irritate me more every time. Each time I hear people say it, I get the urge to scream back, “I’m not my sister so stop saying her name.” But I’d control the urge and pretend that it never happened. When they look at me they can only see my sister, like I’m invisible to their eyes. It’s as though I’m there but at the same time I‘m not. Being known as “her sister” makes me feel like an incomplete replacement of her because no matter how similar we are I don’t have her straightforward personality or her ability to befriend everyone she sees.

She is irreplaceable and I know that better than anyone else, but people should learn to see the person who’s in front of them, not who has come before them. I don’t like to be ignored or mistaken for some-one else. No matter how similar we are, I am not my sister and I will never become my sister. But I do look up to my sister. She is smart, dependable, responsible, and easy to get along with. She aims for the best to help improve herself and helps to encourage me to aim for the harder classes to become better. I love my sister, but I still don’t like being com-pared to her. Her standards are too high for me to reach so being compared with her is just outrageous. Jealousy is probably the best way to describe this feeling. I envy my sister for having so many people remember her even after she’s not there. It makes me want people to remember me. For who I am, and who I will be.

JESSICAMANGILI

Losing loved

one gets students involved

“ I’d do anything to be able to have my cousin back for one more day. To be able to see his smile and to hear his laugh. And most of all to be able to hug him once more.”

Sister overshadowed by sibling’s legacy

ANNAMARIECUNNINGHAM

photo courtesy of Jessica maNgili “ I envy my sister for having so many people remember her even after she’s not there. It makes me want people to remember me.”

Jessica Mangili enjoys a Christmas with her cousins Drew Mangili (middle) and Michael Mangili (right) five years before he passed.

CHAOXIONG

photos by mikeala axtoN

Junior Annamarie Cunningham watches atten-tively as her piano instructor Andrea Senderov goes over the beat of a new piece of music.

Teen hopes love for music will continue to college and beyond

Features4 04.09.12

the Stagg Line

504.09.12

To mosT of Their peers, They are simply overachieving. Very few know the details of their journey. Few understand that their daily routine is overcoming one obstacle after another. Their success is a silent retaliation against everything in life that tells them they simply can’t. Despite their struggles, these students refuse to be kept down. These students remain ...

STRONGs t a n d i n g

He told them they weren’t allowed to leave. He gathered all of the phones in the house so they couldn’t call for help. And then he stood in the door-way, blocking their exit. This was the moment sophomore Dellanira Al-cauter said she knew she had to take care of her fam-ily. 10 years old at the time, Alcauter, her mother, and her younger sister had come home to find her father had returned after several days of unexplained absence. He launched into angry accusations that her mother was cheating on him. “He kept getting angrier,” Alcauter said. “My mom was just crying on the bed; she wouldn’t do anything.” Seeing that no one else was going to, Alcauter said she “had to be the one to take control of the situa-tion.” With bravery beyond her years, Alcauter went up to her intoxicated father and took a phone from him, demanding he let them leave. Though she was afraid “that he was going to hit me,” Alcauter’s actions sim-ply made sense to her. “In that moment, I saw that I had to be the one to protect us.” Carrying such heavy responsibility seemed nor-mal to Alcauter, as she was born into expectations fostered by her mother’s missteps. Alcauter’s mother dropped out of school in Mexico as a sophomore. She was neglected by her mother and alcoholic fa-ther. At 14, she eloped and came to America, soon pregnant with Alcauter’s older sister. Alcauter’s mother warned against her making the same mistakes she had in youth, being strict and pro-tective without being supportive of her daughter. But Alcauter was motivated nonetheless. “Seeing all the problems (my mom) faced I knew I couldn’t make those bad decisions.” Regardless of Alcauter’s deci-sions, an element of her mother’s family recurred in Alcauter’s life: her alcoholic, absentee father. Currently, her mother is remar-ried, and Alcauter’s biological fa-ther resides in Mexico. She has not seen him in two years. “I think maybe sooner or later my dad would have realized ‘I’m not being a father,’” Alcauter said. “But he’s still my dad and I’ll love him no matter what.” Despite a less-than-stable home life, Alcauter has flourished in school. She has a challenging array of advanced classes, transitioning from regular courses to honors is a transition her teachers have called “seamless.” Academically, Alcauter has been entirely self-motivated. “(My parents) don’t care if I take honors or not,” Alcauter said. Her logic behind the decision to take a more challenging route through high school is sim-

ple: “I’m trying to take advantage of the free educa-tion.” She understands the importance of education to her future. “I want to be able to pick any career I want,” she said. “And not have to struggle to support

myself or my family.” Alcauter has witnessed this fi-nancial struggle first-hand. “(My mom) has always really struggled with maintaining a stable house,” she said. Before she remarried, her mother “was always at work,” leav-ing the responsibilities of cooking and cleaning on Alcauter and her older sister. “It was a part of our life,” she said. “We didn’t see it as extra weight on our shoulders.”

Nevertheless, Alcauter has always been a strong student, regardless of her struggles at home. Her Sophomore Honors English teacher Sam Pope has noticed her pursuit of academic excellence. “As a stu-dent, she works really hard and asks good questions,” Pope said. “She’s really insightful.” Despite her self-motivated effort to do well, Al-cauter’s stepfather has had his issues with her aca-demic performance, doubting her when she says she’s doing well. Alcauter doesn’t really mind. “I think ‘Okay, that’s fine, just let my report card prove it.’” And with A’s in nearly every class, and a set of unique struggles behind her, she certainly has.

MIKEALAAXTON

Sophomore Dellanira Alcauter comes home from school to spend time helping her siblings out with their homework every day.

photo by harmony EvangElisti

Sami Nand is sitting at the back of a science classroom at lunch with his nose stuffed into one of the old biology books. He holds the binding that is falling off the side as he reads, no one can break his concentration. This is how he spent most of last year’s lunch periods, his mind far off in the wondrous world of cell division and homeostasis. The sophomore aspires to be a pharmacist. Nearly everyone who knows Nand knows of his future career plans. They know that he takes rigorous science and health classes to become a pharmacist, like he has always dreamed of. They know that he has the brains and mindset to become anything he wishes. What they don’t know is why he wants to be a pharmacist or why he is so dedicated to learning, while most could care less. They don’t know that his moth-er passed away when he was 8 years old. With a nervous smile on his face he pushes out, “She’s my inspiration.” His mother was studying to be a pharmacist when she passed away. He decided from that day on that he would pick up where she left off and finish her dream. He would take the path that she started to take, to finish her jour-ney.

History teacher Audrey Weir-Graham has made sure that Nand was included in a University of the Pacific mentorship program be-cause she knows of his aspirations. “He has an inquisitive mind,” Weir-Graham said. She then notes that he is the kind of student who doesn’t need “external motivation.” She said that Nand loves to learn, inside and out of the classroom. From the obvious trauma of his mother’s death, Nand found that it brought his family a little bit closer. They all learned to work together, despite the difficulties. “Growing up in a single-parent household is hard,” Nand said. “But because of that, me and my sisters get along very well.” The loss of his mother also created a barrier when asking for help. “She was really smart and now I can’t ask for her help on anything,” he said. However, he finds that he can help his two sisters and brother with their schoolwork. As well as the hardship of living in a single-parent household, Nand faces eco-nomic trouble. “We don’t live in a rich house-hold,” he said, gesturing to his clothes, “I shop at the thrift store.” Fellow sophomore Miguel Gai-tan said that he would have “never guessed” that Nand had been through as much as he had.

“Everyone gravitates towards him when we study in the Home-work Center,” he said. “Sami’s hecka smart.” In classrooms, he is known for his intelligence and strangely, this brings even more conflict to his life. “I have to work so much harder because I understand how hard it actually is in the world,” he said.

Nand understands how cruel the world can be. He knows that life isn’t a walk in the park. That’s what makes him work that much harder. Though he has been through more than most people have, he doesn’t share his story often. He doesn’t like to be pitied so he keeps it all to himself. He doesn’t want people to re-

move their focus from what mat-ters. “I want people to look at what I’ve accomplished, not what I’ve been through,” he said. With a sincere tone, he talks about his future. He said that he’s not like most kids. He’s not like the ones who don’t care. “I don’t want to be ‘could have been,’” he said. “I want to be.”

photo by mikEala axton

Every week students such as sophomores Miguel Gaitan, Thuy Tran, and Anthony Nevarez seek assistance from Sami Nand at the Homework Center.

DEDICATED INDEPENDENTSami Nand hopes to be a pharmacist to finish the journey his mother started

Lynzie Vang uses school to escape pressures

ADRIANNAOWENS

Along with basketball and tennis, sophomore Lynzie Vang uses badminton as a way to take herself to “another world.”

photo by harmony EvangElisti

The routine of her life is a cycle that never ends. The busy schedule of sophomore Lynzie Vang is filled to the brink with things to do. She is a student maintaining a strong grade-point average, playing basketball and badminton, and serving as the president of the Hmong Club. Not only does this busy schedule keep her active but it keeps her away from one thing: home. Her bubbly personality and pleasant attitude are what you notice at first glance, but she, like many other students, deals with the hardships of her life at home.“I’m never home,” Vang said. Although her ideal place to be is school, she insists that family is very important to her. “My parents didn’t grow up with the best education,” she said. “I want to help my family out.” Vang’s independent attitude allows her to accomplish everything she wants but it also involves a lot of stress. After a long day in school, she heads to the Homework Center to try and get as much work done as possible. She then treks her way to prac-tice which lasts for about four hours. “If I don’t play sports I feel like I have too much free time and I’ll keep away from homework,” Vang said. Then she goes to the place she avoids the most. When she does get home, she usually starts her homework at 9:00 p.m. “I take a break, then I wake myself up again at 3:00 a.m.” One al-tercation that she remembers is when her mother questioned why she was still up doing work. “It was a big argument,” she said. “She got mad because I stayed up and did my homework.” Screaming, Vang told her mother that, “‘You don’t under-stand. I have so many subjects that I can’t focus on one!’” Even-tually her mother came to the conclusion that Vang can do it on her own. “Even though she can’t do much because she’s busy, she still is supportive,” Vang said. While Vang wants to be a role model for her little brothers, her older brother is her inspiration. “I’m glad he is my older brother because he makes mistakes that I see. He is a big part of my life,” she said. While she struggled with some issues at home she still developed the independence to be successful in school.“It’s obvious the key to life is education, so I don’t know why people are so lazy.” By occupying herself at school Vang forgets about her struggles at home. “At home there is so much pressure on me. I take care of my brothers and do a lot of chores,” she said. Even though she deals with a lot of pressure and stress, she makes no excuses when it comes to her education. She said, “It’s challenging, but it’s a good challenge.” The dedication that she has is noticed by others. Math teacher An-drew Walter gives his opinion about Vang. “Lynzie is a very outgoing student. She acts goofy, but when she is in an academic situation she is an achiever.” He added, “She is dedicated and hardworking about proj-ects. She is the well rounded type of student that colleges are looking for.” Even though Vang deals with the difficulties of concentrating in school and the stress from her home life, her friends encourage her. Vang explains the importance of her friends: “I break down, but I even-tually pick myself back up. If I do need help they will always be there, and if I can’t do it by myself, they will.”

KENTALEYMCCURDY

RESILIENTDellanira Alcauter supported

her family when her mother couldn’t

When she walks into the house upon returning from school, junior Shai Lashley goes straight to her room. She passes by her sister and her sister’s father, keeping to herself and finishing homework and extra credit work. While falling asleep she thinks of the family that she feels excluded from. She pictures the relationship she had with her mother and wishes for it back. “I want to go back with my mom, but I can’t,” she said. She had to leave her mother at the beginning of sophomore year when her sister’s father was granted full custody of her. “I was with her a lot; we did everything together” Lashley said. “We’re best friends.” The connection she had with her mother was lost when she moved from Fresno to Stockton to live with her younger sister and her sister’s father. The move was hard on her because she had to adjust to a family she hardly knew. “It was hard to go from somebody I can relate to, to someone I hardly talk to.” Despite the drastic transition, Lashley hasn’t let it affect her performance in school. School is a getaway from her uncomfortable situation at home. “I use school as an escape because I don’t like be-ing around them,” she said. “They have that father-daughter thing and I’m alone.”

Even though Lashley doesn’t rely on her family at home for support, she still manages to keep her grades up because of her motivation. She wants to succeed in life by graduating high school and getting accepted into college. To prepare for the rigorous college schedule Lashley is in Honors U.S. History this year, and her teacher Stewart Jacoby took note of her quiet determination. “She knows she’s going somewhere,” he said. “She’s not wasting time hanging out or being a kid.” Jacoby noticed that she was “on-task and serious” about her work which led him to recommend her for Girls State, a program where one girl from each school is chosen to spend a week working with girls from different parts of the state to create their own self-governed city. Even though Lashley wasn’t cho-sen to participate in the program she was still hon-ored to be nominated. Although she accepts the distant relationship she has with her sister and sister’s father, sometimes she wishes she was comfortable around them. “Some days when I see them together, I wish I had that with him,” she said. “But it’s just easy to be by myself because we always argue.” Lashley doesn’t bring her home problems to school with her, and according to Jacoby, she takes care of business with pride. “She’s focused and capable and is an example of a outstanding Stagg student,” he said.

FOCUSED

Every day he wakes up at 6 a.m. He catches the bus and arrives at school. Three days a week he works and those days are a little longer. One bus to school in the morning, two buses to work and one bus home. He comes home most of the time to an empty house, almost as if he lives alone. He is senior Mi-chael Nuci. His dad is rarely home, he explains. The absence of his father is due to work. “When I get home I have to always make my own food because right when my dad gets home he goes to sleep,” Nuci said. “It’s like he avoids us or some-thing.” In addition to the absence of his father, Nuci has other obstacles to overcome. On top of hold-ing a part-time job, having little transportation, and basically taking care of himself he works diligently in school to get sufficient grades. However, success hasn’t come easy to Nuci. During his sophomore year his mother died of cirrhosis of the liver. She was rarely in Nuci and his brother’s life, he explains, because of her drug and alcohol addiction.

“I remember I visited her one time sophomore year,” he said. “When I first saw her, she said we were going to spend time together in the summer and then shortly after she just died.” Although his mother’s death was a difficult time in his life he continued to excel in school and pursue his goals. “I plan to go to the army, so (my father) doesn’t have to pro-vide for me,” he said. “And when I’m out I’ll go to school.” When talking about education, Nuci says English teacher Erica Dei Rossi has been instrumental to his success. “Every time I turn in good work she tells me I can do better and she wants to push me to my full-est potential.” Some days are harder than others, Nuci said. Dur-ing his college application process he could barely get the information he needed to fill out financial aid forms.

The difficulties he experienced were a result of the lack of communication between him and his father because he works so much. But although it’s difficult for him at home he doesn’t allow anything to disrupt his path to success even on his most difficult and exhausting days. “I look at my life and I always ask myself one question: ‘Do I want better?’”

DILIGENTMichael Nuci routinely manages

work schedule, academics TAYLORHURLES

Shai Lashley remains isolated, motivated

GABRIELLAMILLER

Anna Touch refuses to let opposing forcesstop her from pushing forward

She walks through the hall with a smile on her face and books in her hand. She looks like any other, happy, bright-eyed student. She looks like a student with a bright future ahead of her.

Nobody would ever guess what she hides behind her smile.

“You can never let them see you weak,” Anna Touch, junior, said. From the time she was a little girl she has been taught by her grandmother that the only way to succeed in life is to remain strong and not to make any excuses.

Touch has lived by her grandmother’s words her entire life, but she didn’t always accept them the way she does now.

“When I was little I used to think she didn’t love me,” Touch said regarding her grandmother. But now she sees that her grandmother is only trying to pro-tect her. She says that her grandmother wants her to be strong and for that she sees her as the father she never had.

Touch’s father has never been a part of her life, having left her and her mother before she was born. She says that sometimes she feels like a piece of her is missing, but then she remembers that he left. That he made a choice, not thinking about how it would affect her.

“You’re entitled to be a father, but you have to try to be a dad,” Touch said.

As a result of her father’s absence, she has always been close to her mother. Not only because her father is out of the picture, but also because her mother is deaf and mute.

“It’s like we have our own language,” Touch said. She’s able to understand her mom through certain facial expressions.

Her mother is her backbone, the one person for whom she would do anything to make her smile. Despite certain situations in the past, Touch and her family continue to move forward.

“My goal in life is to be able to support my mom and grandma and give back to them what they gave to me,” Touch said. Her family is what drives her to do so well in school.

They’re the two people who gave her a foundation in life. The ones who pick her up when she needs it the most, despite the problems in their own lives. The people who taught her that education is the key to a successful future.

“My grandma always tells me that education is the one thing people can’t take away from you,” Touch said.

Knowing how important education is, Touch sees herself 10 years from now in graduate school work-ing to become a bio engineer. She’ll be stable in life and working towards another big goal. She’s going to find a cure for cancer and rid the world of disease.

In those days she’ll look back on her life, and smile at the people and the circumstances that gave her the strength to follow her dreams. And she’ll realize that the strength her mother and grandmother gave to her was the one thing that kept her going. The one thing that helped her succeed all her life.

POSITIVEREANNARODRIGUEZ

Part of senior Michael Nuci’s job at Lord’s Gym is to help gym member Kenny Starks, a paraplegic, with his workout.

photos by kristin acEvEdo

photo by JEssica mangili

Junior Shai Lashley and her lab partner do an Acidic-Base lab in chemistry class.

“ My goal in life is to be able to support my mom and grandma and give back to them what they gave to me.”ANNA TOUCHjunior

“ At home there is so much pressure on me; I take care of my brothers and I do a lot of chores.”LYNZIE VANGsophomore

“ In that moment, I saw that I had to be the one to protect us.” DELLANIRA ALCAUTERsophomore

photo by annamariE rodriguEz

Anna Touch, junior, works on rhetorical analy-sis during group work in Advanced Placement Language and Composition.

Entertainment6 04.09.12

the Stagg Line

Movies making historyMarch 15, 2012. The 40th anniversary of the original “Godfather.”

We thought it was an unspeakable crime that we could find students who had not seen the pinnacle of American filmaking. So we put together movies spanning the genres that either are,

or should be, classics. Enjoy!

Good:Supporting cast was strong and in some cases outpeformed main actors. Bad:For those who haven’t read the book, the plot may seem confusing and jumpy. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fullofviolenceandtwists,thisfilmcanappealtoavarietyofaudiences.Fromthesoundtracktotheactors’impassionedperformances,thisisonemoviethatispackedfullofemotion.Throwinastrongfemaleleadandtheexperienceiscomplete. ExpecttoshedatearortwoasyoufollowKatnissEverdeen(JenniferLawrence)fromherhomeinDistrict12tothecapitalofPanem,whereshemustbattleagainst23otherteens,twofromeachofthe12districts.Forsomecharactersthegamesareanoverwhelmingexperience,exceptforaselectfew,knownascareers,whotraintheirwholelivestobringhonortotheirdistricts. ThefilmshowsadystopianfutureinabrokenformerAmerica,Panem. Thegamesarethegovernment’swayofcontrol-lingthemasseswhohadoncerevolted.Theymustkeepthepeopleincheckbycontainingwhateverhopeofrevolutionisstillleft,tolittlemorethanaspark.Thegamesareawayofmakingsurethatthedisloyaltyisneverforgotten. Ifyou’renotafanofwatchingchildrenkilleachotherthenyoumaythinkthatthisfilmisnotforyou.Butwhilethefilmcentersaroundtheviolentcompetitionitalsoconveysmuchlargerthemes. Themagneticqualityofthefilmmaybeat-tributedtoitsportrayalofthefrustrationsofthisdecade.Thedesolateeconomydepictedinthefilm,

withconditionsreminiscentoftheGreatDepres-sion,isonethataudiencescanrelateto.ThepeopleofDistrict12liveinrundownhouseswithdustev-erywherecastingagloomoverthepeople’sexistence. FoodisscarceandKatnissandherfriendGalebothstruggletofeedtheirfamilies.Theybarelymakeendsmeetbyhuntingillegallyoutsidetheboundariesoftheirdistrictandsellingthemeatontheblackmarket. TheirsituationcontrastswiththebrightwealthoftheCapitol.Onecanseetheparallelstotoday’scurrenteconomicstatewiththe99percentlivinginthe12districtsandthe1percentinthecapitol.AndallthewhilethemusicinthebackgroundreflectsthedisparityoftheeconomicsituationswithmorerusticthemesforthedistrictsandgrandmarchesfortheCapitol.

Thescore’sfolksyqualitythroughallthefightingisasoothinglullabythathelpstoamplifytheemo-tionsofthefilm. Itmakesthepointthatthecompetitorsarejustkids,scaredandtryingtosurvive;theyjusthap-penedtobethrownintothemiddleofabloodbath. Whileitmaybehardtowatchthisaspectofthegames,themessagethatthemovieconveysisagainstviolenceascharactersdemonstratehumanityevenamongstthekilling. Whatmakesthisparticularlyapparentistheacting.ThoughthefilmfeatureswellknownactorssuchasWoodyHarrelson(“Zombieland”)andElizabethBanks(“30Rock”),itistheyoungercastmembersthatreallymakeanimpression. LiamHemsworth,whoplaysGale,isespeciallyexpressive.Despitehavinglittlescreentime,hecon-veyspowerfulemotionsthroughhiseyesandfacialexpressionsinaveryeffectivemanner. AlexanderLudwigalsogivesagreatperformancecausingtheaudiencetofeelempatheticforhisvil-lainouscharacter,acareernamedCato.Inthiswaythecharactersallseemrealistic,morethree-dimen-sional. Theactingandscorehelptieeverythingtogetherandmakethismovieaboutmorethanjustaviolentcompetition. “TheHungerGames”isafilmworthseeing.

‘Hunger Games’ satisfies audiencesEMILYCORNELISON “ The magnetic quality

of the film may be attributed to its portrayal of the frustrations of this decade.”

1) “Casablanca”Humphrey Bogart, who plays Rick Blaine, makes you want to watch his to-die-for facial expressions and handsome face. The passion and action packed twists and turns of the plot will have you saying “Here’s to looking at you kid” by the end of the movie.2) “On the Waterfront”3) “Ed Wood”4) “City Lights” (Silent film)5) “Lost Boundaries”

1) “The Royal Tenenbaums”Dysfunctional family? Check. Former child prodigies? Check. Messenger hawk? Check. The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by Wes Anderson and filled with actors like the Wilson brothers, Ben Stiller, and Gwyneth Paltrow, is the story of a family whose lackluster lives are turned upside down when their estranged father makes a surprise appearance in their lives. 2) “SLC Punk”3) “Ghost World”4) “Donnie Darko”5) “Garden State”

1) “Raiders of the Lost Ark”It’s No. 1 not because it’s a quintessential 80’s film, but because it embodies the blockbuster qualities that made the 80’s what they were in terms of film history. It also harkens back to the 40’s serial genre which gives the film a nostalgic feel. The climax, the opening of the ark, is still one of the best ever, not just for the “Indiana Jones” series, but for movies in general. It’s complete with cool special effects and the equally iconic face melting make-ups. 2) “Raging Bull”3) “Blade Runner”4) “Amadeus”5) “A Nightmare on Elm Street”

1) “We Bought A Zoo”When Ben (Matt Damon) and his two children move into their new home, they find out that it is just not a home, but a zoo in need of renovation. The family and the zoo staff soon learn that you have to work as a team to gain success, and you should always keep an open mind about everything. 2) “The Lion King”3) “The Goonies”4) “Up”5) “Despicable Me”

1) “Night of the Living Dead”Black and white. Old. No special effects and a lack of gore. Also? Totally awesome. With an edge of social commentary and a chilling realism, “Night” is a must for classic movie fans period, and something of a holy grail for horror movie mavens, rightfully so. 2) “Ginger Snaps”3) “Teeth”4) “The Descent”5) “Cabin Fever”

TAYLORHURLESMIKEALAAXTON DAMONHEINE MIATORRES

ANNAMARIECUNNINGHAM

Art by MikeAlA Axton

1) “The Godfather” (Parts 1 & 2)The first two parts of “The Godfather” are notable because they not only have some of the best acting, but they also show the complexity of an immigrant family trying to make it in an American society.2) “Angels with Dirty Faces”3) “A Bronx Tale”4) “Casino”5) “Scarface” (Original 1932 version)

Sports 704.09.12

the Stagg Line

Swimming misfits form unique team Like any sport, swimming has a whole handbook of rules. But the golden rule of Stagg swimming won’t be found in any manual: “Don’t embarrass the coach.” A violation of this rule can come in many forms, like wearing a nose plug, bringing pajamas to a meet, or heaven forbid, using a Pokemon towel. But among all of the possible infringements, being a slow swim-mer isn’t one of them. “The stuff we have to work on is stuff you (usually) learn when you’re 6 or 7,” said coach Marcus Sher-man. But the students on the team don’t have that training, he added. “If we did it by experience, we’d have two people on the team.” Although the team is largely made up of people new to the sport, there is a small group of swimmers who have been on the team before. One veteran is senior Samantha Wang, who has been on the team since her sophomore year.

Wang is busy year-round with sports, playing also for the basketball and volleyball teams, as well as an off-season swim team. Her experience with other teams, however, has been different from the focus swimming puts on individual improvement. “You can’t always rely on your team,” Wang said. “You have to really rely on yourself sometimes.” Senior Angelo Robles, a newcomer to the team, agrees. “You have to perfect yourself because your teammates can’t pick up your dead weight.” The team is larger than recent years, but unlike other coaches who look to cut players, Sherman opt-ed not to regardless of skill levels. “It’s not a fault, it’s just a reality,” Sherman said. “The experience level has gone down, and that just adds to the challenge.” The result is a team with a mix of members from Stagg, Stockton Early College Academy, Pacific Law Academy and Weber Institute. He also kept some of the less experienced swim-mers for the sheer amount of determination they showed. In the end, Sherman emphasized, the value

of swimming was each player’s progress. “Individu-ally they always improve,” he said. “Always.” Among those most improved thus far is PLA ju-nior Erin Clark. Her determination with swimming has improved not only her time, but also her health. But she jokes that she just wants “to not die.” One of the challenges for newcomers is the unique skill set swimming demands. Camille Zapata, a ju-nior from Weber, noted the inherent lack of air as a radical difference from other sports. “It’s not like any other sport because with any other sport you can actually breathe,” she said. She also added that you have to learn to coordinate “every part of your body” to really do well. But perhaps the most radical difference with swimming is the disturbing amount of bodily fluids. “We pee in the pool!” said a senior who, upon re-flection, asked not to be named. When interviewed, she said she had already urinated once and would probably do so “three more times,” a fact she an-nounced proudly.

Many freshmen and sophomore soccer players dream of playing on the varsity team. They dream of possibly being among the experi-enced juniors and seniors. But this year, those hopes of being among those more experi-enced soccer players, may seem like nothing more but a pipe dream. Because last year’s varsity team consisted of seniors and not as many juniors, the team had to bring in freshmen and junior var-sity players to play on the team. “There’s not as much of a con-sistency,” says junior Jazmin Car-rillo. “There’s always one or two players that don’t show up to prac-tice.” For a slightly more experienced player, it can be frustrating to have to wait for the younger players to get a grasp of the plays and rules. And it can be hard at times for

those who are ready to play, when team captain, Vanessa Garcia, has to pull some team members aside to work with them individually. Garcia is especially familiar with the challenges of working with the newer players. “It’s difficult at times,” Garcia said. “The JV players just don’t understand the game yet.” To make matters worse, Garcia has had to sit out on the majority of the season due to an ankle in-jury. And it’s been hard for her to work with her players when she’s been sitting out on the bench. Garcia just got back on the field and played her first game three weeks ago. “It’s hard not to be as involved in the practices,” she said. “I show better leadership on the field.” Despite the challenges of work-ing with younger players, Garcia still says they all work well togeth-er as a team. They all do the best they can

with what they have, and Garcia works with every freshman and sophomore that needs the help and advisement. One sophomore that she works with to improve her performances on the soccer field is Stephanie Silva. Silva had to be bumped up from the JV team this year to fill up one of the spaces left by one of the seniors from last year. “It’s more intimidating,” Silva said. “There’s more pressure to do well on the varsity team.” Silva says on the JV team, the games were slower than those on varsity. There’s more work in-volved in and out of practice to live up to the expectations. Even though there are strug-gles in working with the younger teammates, the varsity team is still sticking together, working through the problems they have.Coach Chris Viri sees his players’ efforts paying off. “It’s taken them a while to ad-

just,” he said. “But they’re play-ing much better now.” Viri said this year has been a struggle, but they’ve been working hard and want to build upon their success. This year they want to improve the league record and host a play-off game instead of travel to one. Although they have not been winning as many games as they would like, the players are stay-ing positive and working towards their goal.

Having big cleats to fill

MIKEALAAXTON

SHELBYHIGHTOWER

BRINGon the

photo by Nicole lawreNce

Jazmin Carillo, junior, steals the ball from a Chavez player dur-ing a pre-season game. Stagg went on to lose 4-2.

Dewitt Bullock, senior, works on his freestyle during a practice swim meet.

photo by harmoNy evaNgelisti

SPRINGphoto by aNNamarie rodriguez photo by aNNamarie rodriguez photo by Jessica maNgili

Girls soccer works to be successful with a young team

Dedicated to keeping the winning badminton tradi-tion going, junior Bao Hoang (far left) refuses to lose. With the mindset that losing will let the team down, failure is not an option. Hoang gives her best effort in every match, which is why she succeeds.

With good weather on the horizon, spring sports are in full swing.

theSECRET

WEAPONthe

ROOKIE

theSTUDS

So Her is the only freshman on the varsity squad and he has right-fully earned his place. He goes about the game with a seri-ous outlook. With hard work and determination he has definitely made a name for himself.

Quiet in the classroom, sophomore Diane Doan’s shy appearance often fools her competitors. Doan is not one to be under-estimated. She is motivated to outwork and out-hustle everybody she faces.

graphic by briaN walker aNd others

putting the

BADin badminton

The always success-ful badminton team is made up of players with unique charac-teristics. All of them contribute to making the team victorious. Here are just a few players who are ...

“My goal is to do my best and win. Once the match starts all I’m fo-cused on is my opponent and the birdie.”

– So Her

“ There’s more pressure to do well on the varsity team.”STEPHANIESILVA sophomore

“I’m more tranquil until I am aggravat-ed by somebody slacking. I always put in more effort than everybody else.”

– Diane Doan

“During a match it is just me and my opponent. I must win, no matter what”

– Bao Hoang

Blazing up the court, senior Kao Vang describes his play as fire. Driven to win every match for the team, he goes into every match as if it were life and death.

“It’s just a competition to me. What really gets me pumped up, is a challenge.”

– Kao Vang

staggonline.net

BONUS VIDEO

News8 04.09.12

the Stagg Line

EXCELLENCEMarcus Sherman earns award for motivating students inside and

outside of the classroom

Science teacher Marcus Sherman paces around his classroom while observing different pairs of stu-dents who are testing each other’s gag reflex. Many of them are reluctant to have their partner hit the

“punching bag” in their mouths with a stirring rod. Sherman goes around laughing and joking with certain students telling them that they are “bro-ken” because their patellar reflex doesn’t work as it should. The students become defensive at first but then catch on to his jokes and laugh along.

“He’s an amazing teacher,” sophomore Antonio Ledezma said. “He helps me understand stuff that I thought I never would, while making me laugh at the same time.” Sherman was awarded last month with the Cor-topassi Family Foundation Excellence in Math-ematics and Science Teaching Awards award, which recognizes two “outstanding” science and math teachers in the county. “I was surprised when I was nomi-nated, and even more so when I was contacted as a finalist,” Sherman said. The award in-cludes $5,000 for the department the teachers work and another $5,000 for the teacher. “I’m going to do some home repairs, pay some bills, and plan for a trip,” he said. Principal Bill Parks nominated Sherman and math teacher Andrew Walter for the award. While both teachers were finalists, Sherman was award-ed with the title. The teachers are widely known throughout school in the minds of students. Senior Aaron Vega said that Sherman isn’t like most teachers. He said that a lot of teachers don’t take any interest in their students, or what’s going on in their lives. “As opposed to most teachers, Sherman actually cares,” he said. Vega also said that Sherman has a great teach-ing method that can really pull in the student and “keep them interested.” John Steiner, chemistry teacher and head of the science department said that he is happy that Sher-man won. “He’s a real advocate for the honors program and he was a driving force in starting the Homework

Center,” Steiner said. Former student Claire Scheffer wrote Sherman a letter of recommendation to help him win the award. “I think it’s nice for anyone to be recognized for the work they’ve done,” Sherman said. Despite being recognized, he still searches for ways in which he can improve his students’ learn-ing environment, and his own teaching. “I always hope that I can be better,” he said. “If I don’t improve, how can you guys?” Walking around his classroom and making funny side comments about people’s reflexes, one can tell that he is comfortable interacting with his students and developing a different type of student-teacher relationship. He and his students can joke around with one another and have conversations that not only involve learning but their personal life. Sophomore Monique Maynard said, “He really knows how to make his students feel comfortable around him.”

After a 10 minute walk, they arrived. Past a levee that smells of sewage and the busy streets full of noise, students made a drastic transition to a peace-ful campus full of opportunity. For many students the University of the Pacific is a school that hasn’t really piqued their interest because it’s located in Stockton. This realization by Pacific enabled them to make many efforts to try and interest students from the Stockton community. One effort is the Pacific Outreach for Youth Services and Education, Mentorship Day. Pacific reached out to Stagg to participate in its first mentorship day held March 7. Biology teacher Elizabeth Lewis made sure that students would par-ticipate in this event. “We wanted our students to see the college around them and the opportunities that exist. We also wanted them to experience the college environment and the benefits of mentors.” Freshmen, sophomores, and many others were able to go and experience what Pacific is really like through their mentor, a current Pacific student. Af-ter registration, students found their mentors and welcomed their guest speakers. Van Duong, co-founder of POYSE and mentorship coordinator, talked about why they started this program. “We saw a big gap between the Stockton community and the people from UOP.” Katerina Venderova, an assistant professor at Pa-cific, briefly spoke about the importance of an edu-

cation. “Education gives you power, and it opens the door for the rest of the world.” Likewise, Dean Phillip R. Oppenheimer, be-lieves that education is a tool that allows students to build a foundation for their life. “There is no reason why a qualified student can’t come to Pacific. No matter what your financial situation is, we have programs for that,”he said. The mentor/mentee conversations soon followed with questions. Sophomore Alejandro Cruz said, “It was very inspirational and informational, learn-ing how college is from people who go to college.” After getting to know their mentors, the stu-dents then broke off into three separate workshops. In the How to Succeed in College workshop, Kin Lam and Adaeze Oken talked about how to become a good student and prosper in a busy environment. Kin Lam gave advice and warnings he said, “The easiest thing to do in college: get behind.” Students realized how challenging college is. Freshman Veronica Vargo said, “It made you realize how difficult college is compared to high school.” The mentors shaped their ideas on what to expect from college and the benefits of going. Overall, the students walked away with a different understanding of higher education. “I like the fact that the mentors were really nice-they helped us understand more on how to do good in college,” said freshman Monica Kunz. “They helped us understand what college is really about.”

ADRIANNAOWENS

“He has a good teach-ing method and can keep students inter-ested.”AARON VEGAsenior

photo by Mia torresMarcus Sherman tests sophomore Antonio Ledezma’s gag reflex during a lab. Students also tested other reflexes such as the knee and the achilles.

KENTALEYMCCURDY

Sophomore Andrea Carreno was among the many students who met with a mentor during the workshop. Anup Patel, a Pacific student, helps with understanding the importance of college.

photo by Kentaley Mccurdy

S C I E N C E

Pacific mentors stress college to students

“Though it’s not okay to eat unhealthy fast food all the time, I think sometimes

it’s good to treat yourself.” — Smith

“Parents say it all the time: Healthy foods taste nasty, but they’re good for you.” — Ivy

What’s in your food?

BreakdownS n a c k

BreakdownL u n c h

Senior Saudia Smith is well aware of the consequences of unhealthy eating. But when it comes to her own nutritional habits, she calls herself rather inattentive. Simply grab-bing a Double Double cheeseburger and a Sprite from In-N-Out was more of a health issue than she thought. Combining the burg-er and soda, she consumed 913 calories, 41 grams of fat, 1,495 millegrams of sodium, and 75 grams of sugar. That’s over half of her daily recommended intake.

Freshman Jonn Ivy jokingly scolds his friends for their unhealthy eating but is of-ten seen with a bag of spicy chips. On this occasion, he had a 2 oz. bag of Flamin’ Hot Munchies. This contained 290 calories, 12 grams of fat, 419 milligrams of sodium, and 2 grams of sugar. Though it doesn’t seem like much, it’s recommended that a typical meal have between 650 and 700 calories. This small snack being already over half of that, could turn into a bigger health problem than Ivy thought.

In 2007, the Department of Health and Human Services worked with the Ad Council and the National Football League to launch a campaign called “Get up and play an hour a day.” Even First Lady Michelle Obama launched her own campaign called “Let’s move!” in 2010. These and other movements were created to encourage physi-cal activity and better nutrition. The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common in U.S. kids and teens, especially in those who are overweight. So, when it comes to exercise and nutrition, are teens making the right decisions?

graphic by Faith harris and adrianna owens