oiceTheI r v i n g t o n H i g h S c h o o l - F r e m o n t , C a l i f o r n i a

As you sit there waiting for your eggplants to finish growing (they’re actually only 52 percent done), you really should ask yourself what you plan to do with those newly made crops. Sell them? Where? Yet you sit there telling your fictional avatar to harvest some more land.

This is the typical scene in the new Facebook game, Farmville. Now categorized with others like Crazy Taxi, Cube Field and Texas Hold’em Poker, Farmville is shooting its way to the top. Although most of us are blinded by a love of social networking, these games are really just a huge waste of time. So how have these games become so popular?

Congratulations to Irvington High’s Gymnastics team. They are undefeated this season! They also are MVAL champions and took the title of JV All-Around, Varsity All-Around, and Varsity Elite All-Around. We stopped to ask them some questions.

1. What challenges did the team face this season? “The biggest challenge this year was that we started really late in the season. We almost didn’t have a team this year because we had lost our coach. We started working out with American High in mid September when we usually start in August, so we had to get in shape fast, and choreograph routines within three weeks before our first meet, against mission, our biggest rival.”

While Facebook is generally known as a social network, another aspect of Facebook is becoming increasingly popular: its games. That’s right. Facebook is home to a variety of games, from Texas Hold’em Poker to Mobsters 2, and they’re increasing in popularity at an exponential rate.

I’ll admit it, I am absolutely obsessed with Facebook games, and it’s nice to know I’m not alone. In fact, 1.7 million people can be found on the five games created by the company Playfish, one of which is the very popular Farmville.

Continued on FACEBOOK GAMES, Page 8

2. Was this unexpected, or did you anticipate it (the challenges)?“We never thought that we would come so close to not having a team, especially because we are the top ranked team in the league.

Continued on GYMNASTICS, Page 7

Gymnastics Leaps HighFacebook Games

Find out more about Irivngton High School’s own adaptation of The Hobbit.

It’s all about shoes! Find out more about your fantastic foot-wear.

See the big debate on whether salary caps in baseball are truly necessary.

HUMORFEATURES ENTERTAINMENTOPINIONS INDEXNews..........................1-3Opinions....................4-5 Features.....................6-7Entertainment............8-9Sports....................10-11Humor.........................12

Sudden Mid-Quarter Schedule Changes Shock Students

OUR NEW WEBSITE IS UP. CHECK IT OUT! WWW.IHSVOICE.COM

Irvington High’s Varsity Gymnastics makes NCSBy Shilpa Sharma

By Neetu Puranikmath

Irvington High School’s vocal music program is a very active, albeit lesser recognized activity that is part of Irvington’s extensive performing arts department.

The vocal music program, which is composed of three choirs and several smaller groups, is separate from Irvington’s drama/musical program; however, there are several students who participate in both.

Mrs. Jennifer Olson, the choir director, runs the entire vocal music program and organizes two major concerts and numerous smaller, community events throughout the school year.

Continued on CHOIR, Page 2

Choir Hits the High

Notes

Around 200 Irvington High school students were notified in mid-October that they would have new teachers, new classes and ultimately new schedules for the remainder of the school year. The class schedule change occurred due to the administration’s decision to cut two teacher’s worth of classes from all of Irvington’s new teachers which is the equivalent of ten individual periods as each teacher has five class periods and one prep. Irvington has ten new teachers and seven

of them were impacted in this decision. The Fremont Unified School

District had overestimated the number of students in many of Fremont’s High Schools. For the 2009-2010 school year, they had estimated 2070 students would be enrolled in Irvington. However, October estimates of the student body -- based in part on Wednesday warm body counts -- identified the school’s student body to be around 2010 to 2020 individuals.

The district told site officials that

this 60-person discrepancy meant that there were too many classrooms open at Irvington. A higher teacher-to-student ratio translates into a loss of money for the district. The re-evaluation gave Irvington very few options: “let go” of two new teachers, cut one teacher and reduce five periods or cut the equivalent of ten periods from the pool of this year’s new teachers as well as last year’s new teachers. With Irvington already two months into the school year, the administrators decided

option three would be best.Most teachers simply had one

class period cut and gained another prep period. The sole exception was Mr. Saltzman, a 9th grade College Prep and 11th grade College Prep teacher. As a part-time teacher with only two class periods, he was let go and no longer teaches at Irvington.

Continued on SCHEDULES, Page 3

By Arjun Panda

Log on to see whats what in Irvington High School. Check out our sports highlights, club overviews, and news updates!

By Sahil Pandya By Katherine WangLove It?Hate It?

An enthusiastic chorale performance in store for Christmas 2009

District overestimation of student body force administrators to cut several classes

See what one reader has to say about the real quality of The Voice.

Photo: Allison Martin-M

cbeePhoto: N

icole Furuta

ihsvoice.com Volume 18.2 November 19th, 2009

N2 | The Voice 18.2

ews

The New Media Arts Academy Damaged rooms are now the site of Irvington’s own New Media Arts Academy

Richmond High Rape Offenders Arrested, Awaiting Charges

By David Lo

On October 24th, a fifteen year old girl was raped at Richmond High’s homecoming dance. The girl reportedly left the school dance early to go drinking with her friends, but was accosted by a group of men who assaulted and raped her. A large group of people was said to have been laughing and taking pictures during the rape. Police say as many as twenty people were connected to the brutal event.

Doctors say that the victim is in a stable condition and is currently recovering from emotional and physical trauma. Due to privacy issues, the hospital is unable to release any solid information on the victim’s condition.

The police have arrested six individuals connected to the rape. Four of them are being tried as adults and if convicted could receive life sentences. Jose Carlos Montano, 18; Manuel Ortega, 19; Ari Abdallah Morales, 16; and Marcelles James Peter, 17 are

expected to appear in court some time this month.

In order to prevent this from happening again, Richmond High plans to increase security by installing new lighting. According to Superintendent Bruce Harter, the school will be receiving security cameras and will begin a fencing project as well. Measures have also been taken to make dances safer.

During the last school year, Room 84 and the art department’s storage room were severely damaged by a fire, and were closed off for the remainder of the school year. Instead of being restored to their pre-fire condition, Room 84 and the storage room have been remodeled into a spacious studio, classroom and computer lab for Irvington’s New Media Arts Academy (NMAA). Photography teacher Ms. Shiloh Burton has been managing the renovation. During the renovation, the wall between the art storage room and Room 84 was knocked down, and a set of large double doors was installed. Ms. Burton asked experts in the field of media arts to plan the new layout of the now joined rooms as per her vision of creating a studio. Today, one of the rooms is being prepared to be a “sound booth” for students to record audio for their media projects. The new studio’s shooting room and classroom complete with

a computer lab will be a place for students to learn how to edit podcasts, movies and animations. The fire occurred soon after Ms. Burton had moved $750 worth of lighting equipment into the art department’s storage room. Ms. Burton says that this was a huge loss, but she would like to recognize Athletic Director Mr. Jeff Fern and President of the Irvington High School Athletic Boosters Club Mrs. Michelle Stone for their generous donation of $750 to the photography department for the purchase of new equipment. Irvington High School has established the NMAA in order to prepare students in grades 10 to 12 for future careers in “New Media”, which centers around digital media, while maintaining a fine arts emphasis. New Media also incorporates broadcasting and the internet.

Ms. Burton says, “The NMAA is a small school model

that emphasizes project-based learning that leverages students’ interest. This means that NMAA students will make podcasts about history, animations for biology and movies for English.”

Opportunities like this are just one way Irvington High’s expanded, extensive Arts program strives to differentiate itself from its peers and its competition.

A branch of CCA, the NMAA has 60 students this year, but hopes to have 90 students by next year. NMAA was set up as part of the California Partnership Academies grant from the Department of Education.

NMAA is part of the Irvington’s new wave of career oriented programs. Students now have a choice between joining CCA, NMAA, SHAPE (a health-related pathway), or a technology pathway. NMAA will open its doors to students beginning second semester in the 2009-2010 school year.

The rape at Richmond has awakened the public to the conditions of their community. In order to take extra precautions, the city of Richmond and the Richmond school district are working to raise enough money to fund the security plans that Richmond High has proposed. If the funding is granted in a timely manner, these plans will go into effect on Saturday, November 7th.

The winter concert, one of the two large choir performances held in Valhalla, is on December 3rd. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free for all audience members. The holiday-themed concert features an array of music from different cultures and time periods. Concert Choir, which is the entry level group, will be singing several songs, one of which is Christmas Kumbaya. Christmas Kumbaya is a smooth blend of the traditional African

folk song “Kumbaya” and a joyful Christmas chorus. The all-women’s chorus, the Treble Ensemble, has a repertoire of diverse holiday music, including pieces in Hebrew, German, and traditional English. The group many students know as the “Birthday-gram Deliverers”, the Chamber Chorale, will be performing an array of songs one of which is a spoken word arrangement simulating a football game. There will be performances by the Viking Jazz Ensemble and the female quartet Fresco Femme as well.

Rape of Richmond High student opens the public’s eyes about safety

With so much scheduled on their big day, it is understandable that members of the vocal music program are currently faced with a lot of stress and anxiousness regarding their performance, “It is a lot of work memorizing the lyrics, notes, dynamics, and all of the little things in the music which make it really special,” says senior Todd Kendrick, who is also the president of Choir Club, the concert organizing committee, “but all the work always pays off

when the songs just fall in place. It seems like magic, but really it’s the hard work we put in.” Choir Club puts on bake sales as fundraisers and also helps decorate Valhalla prior to choir recitals. Many ensemble members are part of the club. In addition to the holiday concert, a couple of the ensembles will also be performing at the annual Warm Springs Tree Lighting on December 5th from 2 to 5pm, contributing to the day’s festivities. The entire choir and ensemble is looking forward to these events.

CHOIR continued from page 1

By Xialshan Bao

Photo: Allison Marin-M

cbee

Photo: Neetu Puranikm

ath

SNovember 2009

New

By Quess Liu

China, India Smackdown Border disputes cause tension between the two governments

Want a fast, easy way to fundraise for your class? Earn a 25% commission and save your friends 15% off drivers ed. Visit www.DriversEd.com/Associate-Programs. *Discount for online drivers ed class only. © 2009 DriversEd.com

Driving Lessons in Your Area • Practice driving in brand-new MINI Coopers! • Free driving-lesson pick-up and drop-off • Licensed instructors teach you to drive

In September, large Chinese and Indian armies were deployed to a stretch of Himalayan Mountains. Although all-out war has not yet been declared, this border has been the cause of major dispute. China insists that the region is part of Tibet, while India believes that the area should be part of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The current conflict may have been caused by the tensions resulting from a brief 1962 war in which China rapidly captured a large stretch of disputed land.

Throughout the conflict, the United States has had difficulty remaining neutral because of the extensive ties to both countries. China owns a majority of the United States’ multi-trillion dollar debt and many American businesses are tied to its economy. However, the US receives many military contracts from India and has recently signed a nuclear-power agreement.

The world’s two most populous countries have clashed

throughout history. This past year, the conflict has gotten much worse. When India allowed the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader, to journey to Tawang, a Tibetan border town, the Chinese were enraged. In response, they used their economic influence to block a $2.9 billion loan to India intended for a water project in Tawang. India then stopped China from building a multi-billion dollar power plant near their border.

Reminiscent of the Russia-US Cold War of the 1950s, this conflict has been criticized globally. Many believe China, the world’s emerging superpower, is power hungry and eager to exert its dominance in Asia. China’s extensive highways and railroads allow it to transport its armies quickly. India’s government, on the other hand, has been criticized for being chaotic. India, what was once Asia’s dominant power is now being over-shadowed by China, whose economy is more than double of its size and still growing.

This year, ASB received a bill for the bus fares for the senior picnic last year. The bills were not sent until after the seniors graduated. While the tickets for the picnic at Raging Waters were paid for, the bus fares were not.

Normally, each class raises enough money to last them for their four years at high school. Any remaining money would then be split four-ways between the four upcoming classes. ASB tries to keep it so that each class spends only what they have.

“The seniors last year had many fund raisers and thought they had additional money to spend,” ASB advisor Ms. Palos said, “they thought that all bills relating to the picnic had been taken care of and done

Class of 2009Overspent $4,000

Current seniors remember last year’s mistakesBy Shirley Lin

with...So, the remaining money was spent on their senior ball.”

The seniors overspent $4,700. Some things the Class of 2009 spent money on were a rap performance, a tattoo booth, and a photo booth. As a result, the current ASB now has $5,000 less to spend on the student body. Now ASB will have to spend less on rallies, dance decorations and lunch blowouts. The only way for ASB to slowly regain their funds is by selling Viking Vendor clothes, dance tickets and ASB stickers.

This year, the senior class’s picnic fund account is separate from the class account to make sure the overspending will not happen again. Seniors can only hope that this mistake will not be repeated.

Ms. Snell is a new English teacher who teaches English 10 Honors and College Prep English 12. Ms. Snell’s 2nd period class of 12th grade College Prep English was one of the impacted periods. Her classroom of 28 seniors was moved into other college prep English classes taught by Ms. Jiminez, Mr. Rodocker and Mr. Phillips.

Mr. Phillips, after receiving 23 new students, said, “It’s very frustrating for both the students and myself to switch up classes and teachers near the end of the first quarter. Some students will be re-reading books such as Hamlet. All of my new students missed my earlier lessons and will be at a disadvantage for the rest of the semester.”

Senior Sarina Rao said

of the decision, “I didn’t even know about it until a couple of days before I got my schedule.” While the new teachers now have two preps instead of one, most are not rejoicing as their pay also got cut along with their workload. The impacted teachers lost approximately 20 percent of their annual salary. Most seniors had mixed opinions regarding the decision. Many who were used to their classrooms and had friends in their classes were resentful. One student who wished to remain anonymous said, “It doesn’t seem fair that they put us in one class, expect us to sit there, and they just, like [sic] randomly remove us out. Couldn’t they have done it earlier?” Other seniors were

SCHEDULES continued from page 1optimistic that moving classrooms would allow them to get out of a class they disliked or start anew on their grades. Perhaps, they got lucky when switching out of a certain teacher’s class, but there is no such “starting over” regarding their grades. Their grades received for the majority of the first quarter will be averaged with their grades in their new teacher’s classroom. For example, if someone has a 60 percent in Class 1 and got an 80 percent in Class 2, then his average grade would be 70 percent. Class disruption was kept to a minimum. Complete changes from one discipline to another were rare. For example, if students were in a non-Honors English class, they were transferred to a non-Honors English class. Only in the cases of electives such as Art were students sometimes shuffled between two entirely different classes. This is the first time in Irvington High School history that such a widespread schedule change has occurred so late in the school year. Schedule changes usually stop after the third week of September and rarely occur afterwards. It is unclear whether these unprecedented events will be repeated in the future. New teachers at Irvington are just a few of the many people hoping that warm body counts will be more accurate in 2010.

Phot

o: o

pen.

salo

n.co

m

Photo: Selina Mahesri

Cartoon: Shirley Lin

The VOICE is a student-run newspaper with the sole purpose of providing an open forum for student expression. Any-thing printed represents the opinion of the writer, but not neces-sarily that of the VOICE staff, the administration or faculty of Irvington High School, or any person affiliated with the Fremont Unified School District. The VOICE does not discriminate against race, political orientation, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orienta-tion, or disability. Although the VOICE will never refuse to publish student guest submission based on the aforementioned factors, we reserve the right to edit or not publish them.

Advisor MAtthew PhilliPs

Editors-in-ChiEf: Shilpa Sharma* Columnist: Justine Yan staff WritErs:

Sri Ravipati* BusinEss managEr: Quess Liu

nEWs Editors: Selina Mahesri*

Niveditha Puranikmath* Copy Editors: Katherine Wang

fEaturEs Editors: Anisha Babbar* Xiaoshan Bao

Kim Ngo* WEB Editors: Brian Chin

EntErtainmEnt Editors: Karishma Patel* Sahil Pandya

Raji Ramanathan* photographEr: Katherine Wang

sports Editors: Jonathan Horng* Asst. Photographer

Shajee Syed-Quadri* and Cartoonist: Shirley Lin

humor Editor: Arjun Panda*

irvingtonvoice@gmail.comCheck out our new website! http://www.ihsvoice.com (510) 656-5711 ext. 46398

*Deadline Workers

POLICY STATEMENT:

Disagree with the writers? Bring your letters to the editor to room 223 or e-mail them to staff@ihsvoice.com. We welcome all

comments.

VOICE STAFF 2009-2010

Anooj Desai

Divya Gowthaman

Sukhbir Kaur

Ramya Kaushik

David Lo

Alexandra Perlegos

Jennifer Siew

Dion Wu

How to Write a College Application EssayBy Justine Yan H i ,

s e n i o r . First of all, if y o u ’ r e r e a d -ing this, y o u ’ r e doing it all wrong. Y o u probably h a v e n ’ t

started on the you-know-what’s, and you’re probably assum-ing that this column will help you. I am not an advice colum-nist and these 400 words will

not give you the tips you’ll need to get into an Ivy League col-lege. So stop reading right now if it matters to you that much. I’ve about had it with all the “personal statement work-shops” and “essay coaches.” I might blow up (or even throw up) if another person updates me on his or her Stanford supplement topic or Common Application essay theme. I really don’t care. But if you’d like, tell me about your weekend. Tell me about visits to Chinatown or the beach. Tell me about a book you finished on Sunday, when you could have been studying for the

test you bombed Monday morn-ing. Tell me about the epiphany you had about gentrification, glo-balization, music, poetry and the meaning of love. Tell me about anything except college. We all know that is on our minds. But why live right now for next year? You might say, “Why so critical?! Don’t you do it too?” And my answer is: yes, in fact, I do. I’m also guilty of sitting at my desk, spending hours shaping and reshaping my college applica-tion essays like a potter at a wheel with a whole block of clay. Yes, let’s call this clay “inspiration”. By the time it’s been molded and

remolded by your hands, it will be cracked and dry. But maybe you’ll have a good pot by then. I agree that you should not start with statistics and work from there. That is not my advice to you (since when was I an advice columnist?). Your essay would be terrible. But true inspiration – the type that comes privately and makes you feel like something special shouldn’t be immediately transformed or perfectly pack-aged into an essay marketing your strengths and talents before you’ve had a time to soak it all in. That’s robbing yourself, I think. So the advice here: start

by making a painting, draw-ing, poem, or story. Preserve yourself first. Maybe, spend a day just feeling blessed. Smile a little wider, walk a little lighter, and treat yourself a little bit better. Then sit down at your wheel – fine, your desk – and push and pull and manipu-late that chunk of clay until you’ve got a spankin’ essay. But then again, those deadlines are coming up, so maybe you don’t have enough time to go through that whole long process. Oh man, oh man. Lots of luck being sent your way.

Opinions4 | The Voice 18.2

I work under the light of energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. I drive a car running on biodiesel. I recycle and com-post what I can. Then, why does it still feel like I’m not doing enough? The Green Movement has reached a point where consumers have acknowledged the need to lead different lives, but will buying “eco-friendly” products re-ally avert global warming? The original rea-son our earth has entered a state of “crisis” is due to the effects of dangerously high rates of consumerism. The Green Movement has turned into a different brand of consumerism, defeating its initial purpose altogether. Spending bucket-loads of money on a new car or on a pair of jeans made from organic cotton won’t re-lieve us of carbon emissions or excessive oil drilling. Tell-ing people to consume more

Green-FailBy Selina Mahesri

“Going Green” starts better habits, but doesn’t necessarily give us a better world

Nudity is a very contro-versial topic in today’s society, es-pecially in the case of parenting. Many parents feel that children and teenagers should not be ex-posed to any nudity at any cost. Scientists argued that in order to give an accurate les-son on how to perform breast cancer self-examinations, they needed to broadcast a live, nude woman. There was much debate over whether the TV station should’ve been allowed to broadcast this. W h a t do I say? I think that it is perfect ly fine for nudity to be broad-casted on television as long as it has a good, scien-t i f i c

pur-p o s e behind it. Broadcasting to people to help raise breast cancer awareness, for example, would be a legiti-mate reason to broadcast nudity.

Science Over Nudity?Should TV stations be allowed to broadcast nudity to alert the public of breast cancer self-examsBy Albert Chin

Many parents argue that exposing children and teenag-ers to nudity will influence them badly, but do the cons really out-weigh the pros? Would you rather have your daughter subject to a higher risk of breast cancer, or would you rather have her see a little bit of nudity on television to be aware of it? Clearly, the better decision would be to let her learn about breast cancer by watch-i n g the nude woman.

These days with use the internet, it is extremely

easy for teenag-ers to be ex-posed to nu-d i t y either b y acci-

dent or by searching online. Do you really believe that restricting television is going to stop your child from seeing nudity? And chances are they wouldn’t care

about seeing it in the first place. The bot- tom line is that teen -a g -e r s w i l l f i n d s o m e way to see n u -dity if they want to, but they most likely won’t be s e a rc h -ing up

breast can-c e r self-exams on t h e i r own time. Still, there a r e people who will ar- g u e that while they be- l i e ve teenagers are mature enough to see nudity, young children should not be exposed to it. However, if a television sta-tion is broadcast-ing a breast cancer

awareness program with a nude woman show-ing how to do breast c a n c e r s e l f -e x a m s , their audi-ence is direct- e d a t teenagers. If a young boy or girl happens to see, chances are they either do

not care about or do not un-derstand nudity yet. Evident-

ly, the pros easily outweigh the cons of broadcasting nudity on television, and I don’t see why it should be so heavily restricted.

It’s that time of year when college applications are the only things on our minds

as a method to reduce their impact on the environment is not only ridiculous, but contra-dictory to the entire meaning of preserving our planet. The purpose of the movement has been misconstrued as a profit-making tactic for companies to sell their “green” products. No doubt, our change in life-style toward the greener side is excellent, but our efforts are heading down the same route as bell-bottom pants and mullets. At the individual level, the principle we should live by is to use less and not buy more expensive eco-friendly things. There is no action, small or big, that won’t make a difference. Instead of spending more to do less to the environment, vote for policies you believe in and polit-ically shut down the plants and factories that function under less than satisfactory conditions for our planet. In the end, the biggest decisions are left to our world leaders and politicians.

Photo: Justine Yan

Cartoon: Shirley LinPhoto: Selina Mahesri

November 2009 | 5

opinions We all know America’s favorite past-time to be the sport where stealing isn’t illegal and numerous stadium songs bring people from all over the country together for three min-utes, after which they go back to fighting over the beers and

garlic fries. However, something most people aren’t aware of is the real controversy in baseball. In almost every major league sport, including football and soccer, salary caps and team payrolls put restrictions on the amount of money teams can use to pay for players’ contracts. De-spite this, baseball seems to by-pass the rules, not imposing any such restrictions on its teams. When teams like the New York Yankees have over 200 million dollars to spend on players’ contracts, where do you think that money comes from? From our pockets. Most of the money spent on acquir-ing players comes from the rev-enues that a team makes from ticket sales. That means that the more they spend on players for you to watch, the more you spend on tickets to watch them. However, with a sal-ary cap that changes. Ticket prices wouldn’t fluctuate as much because of the fact that

teams only have a certain amount of money to expend on contracts. After that, the money goes into things like building a new stadium, a burden that the already rich Yankees have placed on taxpayers, charging over 25 million dollars in taxes to pay for their new playing grounds. In addition to the eco-nomic detriments, the lack of a salary cap system reduces the quality of the game. The less money a team has, the less likely they are to spend on shaping up new players in the minor league know-ing that each minor league player will only have a couple years with the franchise before being bought out by another team. Salary caps motivate teams to de-velop sustainable ability, to make players better over the years, and to develop a team that will maintain superiority for a longer period of time. Do you think that it is fair that teams like the New York Yankees—who have participated in 40 of the 105 total World Series Championships—and the Philadelphia Phil-lies—both of which were the World Series contenders in 2009—have over 200 million dollars in player con-tracts while other teams don’t even have 50 million? Of course not! If we want “America’s fa-vorite past-time” to stay that way and not turn into “Pros vs. Joes: the Yankees vs. the MLB,” it is important that a salary cap be placed in the league. After all, we all want cheaper tickets, right?

Extra revenues made that should have been spent on quality players would probably end up being pocketed by the owner; however, the uncapped system encourages owners to spend money on their team rather than keep it for them-selves. And when you can freely increase the salary of players without having to worry about the repercussions, teams will in-crease the risks they take, thus creating more excitement for the game. The fact of the mat-ter is that a salary cap would reduce financial incentives to improve, innovate, and succeed. Capping the league will cause teams to shy away from taking those big risks or mak-ing that big splash in the free agent market, making the league more sedate. Players will feel less motivated to put in the time and effort to im-prove their batting or pitch-ing when they know that their salary will be fixed, and this could cause a steep drop in the quality of baseball games. So with the suc-cess of having an uncapped league, why change what doesn’t need to be fixed?

Major League Baseball has always been an advocate for strong capitalism. The act of add-ing a salary cap to baseball would kill this idea of emphasis on free markets where talent can price itself to its highest potential. The frequently used argument that the addition of a salary cap would cause a more even distribution of talent across the league is absurd. Despite the fact that the MLB has no salary cap, there is no one dominant team. In the last seven seasons, seven different teams have won the World Series. Since 1995, 26 of the 30 major league teams have reached the playoffs. Just look at the NBA and the NFL. They are leagues that have salary caps, where teams are only allowed to spend a fixed amount of money. Yet they have “dominant” teams like the Los Angeles Lakers,

the Boston Celtics, and the New England Patriots. Obviously, there are other factors in play, namely team culture, strong management and coaching that help teams win against all odds. Therefore, it is clear that suc- c e s s isn’t guaranteed on money alone. Leagues with salary caps have not necessarily been doing any better than the uncapped MLB. The NBA and NFL haven’t been as suc-cessful as the MLB in terms of draw-ing viewers. Game five of this year’s World Series between the Yankees and Phillies almost set a record for most viewers in Fox channel his-tory. This is even with the Yankees being heavily favored to win. With the expectation of the Yankees to be the champions, you would expect fewer viewers to tune in, yet viewing records were set despite this bad economy.

A Shot of DisasterWill the government really take it that far?By Xiaoshan Bao

Hemagglutinin 1 and neur- aminidase 1 (H1N1), m o r e commonly known a s swine flu, is cur-r e n t l y a major global epi-d e m i c since its outbreak in late April of this year. The number of deaths has jumped from 636 to 4,175, accord-ing to the World Health O r g a n i z a - tion on No-vember 3rd. Flu activity is now wide- spread in 48 states, and s w i n e flu has claimed t h e lives of 95 chil- d r e n in the US alone as of October 23rd. Y o u have probably heard of t h e new vaccine that has been produced by the government, but what you probably don’t know is that with it are unpleasant side ef-fects. The US govern-ment could force stu-dents in schools to receive the vaccine. Workers at some individual and state hospitals and private health chains in New York have already been given an ultimatum: get the vaccine or lose their job. Is it really fair for the government to give us no choice?Well, of course not. It’s defi-nitely not right for the gov-ernment to take away our freedom; this is America. A forced vaccine is go-ing against what the government is supposed to be doing. Instead

of spending money to get us out of this economic depres-sion, the government is spend-ing money on a “vaccine” that could potentially cause more sickness, all while taking away our right to freedom of choice. I’m definitely not getting a vaccine either way. There are way too many risks and uncertain possibilities that the vaccine could cause. According to the Cen-ter for Disease Control and Pre-vention, the vaccine shouldn’t be given to people who have allergies to eggs or chicken protein. The vaccines may also have cancer-causing agents. Apparently the vaccine should be given to children six months and older, but parents are not supposed to feed their baby any eggs until the baby is one year or older. Therefore, it would be disastrous if an eight-month-old child received the vac- cine and became severe-

ly sick because she/he is allergic to eggs.

However, I can un-derstand why the govern-ment advises us all to receive a vaccination. Still, I don’t think that is enough incentive to take away our choice of wheth-er to take the vaccine or not. It’s a free country,

and it’s important to make sure the govern-ment doesn’t forget it.

Should there be salary caps in baseball?

Pro

By Sahil Pandya By Shajee-Syed Quadri

Absence of salary caps in baseball makes America’s favorite game unfair and expensive

Photo: Xiaoshan Bao

Hats should be the only caps in baseball

Co

n

Cartoon: Shirley Lin

eaturesF6 | The Voice 18.2

In Shoe Biz _______How shoes are more profitable than you think Youmightnotrealize,butshoesareactuallyaveryprofitablebusiness.Infact,thegrossmargin(theprofit)oftheaverageshoeretailstoreisover40%,severaltimeshigherthanotherbusinessessuchasgasstationsandsupermarkets.Thatmeansforeveryshoeyoumake,youmake40%moremoneythanthatofwhichyouspenttomakeit.Notbad. Justtakealookatpopularbrands.Nikeearnedover18billiondollarslastyearwithanetprofitofoverabillion,andAdidasalsopullsinaround10billiondollarsyearly.Andit’snotjustthesportsbrandsthatarethrivinginthebusiness.ECCO,whichmanufacturesawiderangeofmen’s,women’s,andchildren’sshoes,includingmoreformalfootwear,alsoearnsaround5milliondollarsperyear,andVans,apopularbrandamongteens,hasayearlyrevenueofover

800million.causeshoesarepartofourdailylives.It’ssomething

justabouteveryonewearsandtakesforgranted.Theyhavealsobecomeacorepartoffashion,

and certain brands are rising above others, Converse,Nike,andVansamongthem,to

bethemostpopularandfashionable. Whether you care about shoes

ornot,onething’sforsure.Shoesarenolittlethings.

Infact,theyareahugeindustry in them-

selves.Whoknew?

By Katherine Wang

ForgetyourNikesandVansandstartsportingthenewestlineof“green”shoes.(Andyes,theycomeineverycolor.)Astherestoftheworldmovestocreategreenertechnologybyfindingmeanstosaveresources,theshoeindustryisfollowingsuit. WellknownshoeretailerssuchasTimberlandandBirkenstockarecomingoutwithnewlinesof“green”shoes–shoesthataremadefromrecycledgoods.Suchmaterialsincludewool,whichprovidesthewarmthforyourfeet;bamboo,whichactuallywardsoffsmellyodors;andcartires,whichgivetheshoeflexibility.Othermaterialsincludeplasticbottles,recycledinnertubes,corks, and even coconut! Withtheabundanceofmaterialsavailable,thequestionstillbegs:Whatkindofshoescanyouactuallymakewiththesematerials?Surprisingly,thereisawiderangeofgreenfoot-wear,fromopentoedshoestohikingboots,casualweartoformalattire.GreenshoecompaniessuchasSimpleShoesandRocketDogreportthattheirrangeofshoesrivalmosttopnamecom-panies. Greenshoesarecurrentlynewintheindustry,andthusareabitmorecostlythanyourregularfootwear.Pricesrangefrom$50to$300,dependingonthetypeofshoeyoupur-chase.Theyaredefinitelyaffordable,albeitsubstantiallymoreexpensivethanwhatyou’reusedto.However,youwillfindthatamajorityoftheshoes,especiallytheonesmadefromwool,areverycomfortable.Youcanorderonlinefrommanufacturingcompanies,suchasSimpleShoes,orbrowseonlineatpopulargreenshoeforumssuchasearthfriendlygoods.com. Notonlycanthisnewindustrygeneratemoney,butitalsodoesitspartinshapingourworldforthebetter.Cartiresthatwouldnormallybelefttorotinlandfillsarenowbeingusedinmaterialsthatwouldotherwisebemadefromnon-recyclablegoods.Hopefully,thegreenshoeindustrycanuseitsprosperityasaprecedentforotherindustriesinacollaborativeefforttoslowlymoveourworldintherightdirection–thegreenerdirection.

Kickin’ It Green_____A Greener World Brings Greener...Shoes?

By Dion Wu

shoes and jamz_____________Shoe trends reflect how the music culture shows us how to be cool

Did You Know: There wasn’t a left or right shoe before the 19th century, forcing people to wear identical shoes on both feet

Fakesaren’tfresh,butsomeshoemakersdon’tseemtorealizethat.Therearetwotypesoffakes:thetypethatclaimstheyaretherealthing(whichisillegal)andthetypethatjustcopiesadesignorstyle.Countlesswebsitesclaimtosellauthenticshoeswheninreality,theysellillegallymadereplicasoftheoriginal.However,storeslikeWal-MartandPaylessoftenlegallycopythegeneraldesignorshapeofashoeandsellthemforless.ShoemoldsareoftenstolenfromcompanieslikeNikeandusedinillegalfactoriesfoundinChina,Turkey,andothercountriestoproducefakeshoes.Theyflyundertheradarbyusingnameslike“factoryvariant”toconfusethegeneralpublicbetweenwhatisrealandwhatisfake.Theseshoesarealmostalwayssoldonlinesoit’shardtodistin-guishbetweenlegitimateandillegitimatewebsites,butthereareafewwaystotellwhetherornotyou’rebeingrippedoffforyourkicks.Tipsonhowtoavoidbuyingfakeshoes:1.Alargemajorityofshoecolorschemesfoundinfakesarenotprovidedbytherealcompanies,sowatchoutforcolorsthatlooktoosuspicious.2.Thematerialqualityforfakeshoesisalwaysworsethantherealthing,socheaplookingfabricsareagoodindicator.3.Fakeshoecompaniesoftenlooselybasetheirownshoemodelusingthedesignofthe original as a template, so make sure the design your buying matches the ones alreadyinexistence.4.Youcantellalotaboutashoefromtheboxitisin.Iftheboxdoesn’tlookliketheoriginal,theshoeprobablyisn’teither.5.Adealthatistoogoodtobetrueisjustthat!Don’tconvinceyourselfthatyoustumbled onto some secret online sale…becauseyoudidn’t.

Howtoidentifyshoere-makes(andwhetherornotyourshouldbuythem):1.No,Wal-MartdoesnotsellrealVansshoes,sostoptellingyourfriendsitdoes.2.Remakesarenotfakes,theyarejustcopiesofanothercompaniesdesigns.Therefore,avoidfakes,butitmightbeworthinvested.Eventhoughtheymaynot be the real deal, they can save you anywherefromtentothirtydollarsofftheoriginalshoeprice.3.However,remakestendtobealotcheaperintheoverallquality,sotheytendtobreakdownalotfasterandoftenprovetobeuncomfortable4.Consideryourpurposesbeforedecid-ingbetweenaremakeandtheoriginaldeal.Remakesarecheaperbuttherealshoeshavealongerlifespan.

Coming across fake shoes is inevitable, especially when buying from online vendors. Even though the low prices might be attractive, you may not be getting your

money’s worth. Be especially careful when buying shoes from popular brands such as Nike, Air Jordan, Vans, and Converse because

they tend to come up the most frequently on illegiti-mate websites. If you consider buying shoes from websites you have not heard of, make sure you research it before hand. For more popular shoes, people often post “legit checks” that show differ-ences between the real and fake shoe through pictures. Follow these tips and you can avoid a faux shoe faux pas.

How to avoid being laughed at for buying whack kicksThe Legit Check____By Anooj Desai

IHS Shoe Poll:Atotalof221studentsweresurveyedaskingtochoosewhattypeofshoetheywearthemostoften.

Boots 11% Basketball Shoes 15%

Flip-flops 16%

Skateboarding Shoes 28%

Running Shoes 30%

JamesDean,therebelwithoutacause,thestormyhunk,stoodagainstastarkbrickwallwithameanscowlonhisface.Shirthalfoff,heconsciously(andsuccessfully)rocksthelookthatenthralledsomanyyoungladiesofthe1950’s.Lookfurther,pasttheoldschooldenimjeans,you’llseesomethingveryfamiliar:Conversesneakers.Untilthen,thenowclassic“ChuckTaylor”styleconverseshoesweregenerallyconfinedtothesportingworld.Inthe1920’s,thesparselysoledsneakersweretopofthelinebasketballshoes,namedafterplayerChuckTaylor.Butinthe1950’s,allsortsofmusicandsubculturegroupswereembracingthehightoppedChucks,mostnotablythegreasers(JamesDean-esquecharacters)androckabillybands.Eversince,we’veassociatedthemwithpunkbands,skaters,andrebels,andwillcontinuetodoso.ButtoBaykids,VansandChuckswillalwayshintatalittlejerkhereandalittlehyphythere.Goestoshowhowmuchinfluencemusichasonstyle,especiallyonourbelovedfootwear. Hiphopartistsinparticularbragabouttheirkicks,sneaks,timmies,freshhi-tops,ayejays,snickerdoodles;thelistgoeson.Andyes,Imadeupthatlastonewhilewritingthis,butifSnoopDoghappenstodropalinewithreferenceto“snickerdoodles”inoneofhissuper“G”songs,itmayjustcatchon.Considerthenickname“icecreams,”donnedbyPharellinreferencetowhiteshoes.Itdoesn’tmaketoomuchsense,buthe’sarapper,andthegeneralconsensusisthatwe’renotascoolashim.Thus,weembracedit,andoccasionallyuseitwhenthemomentisright.Butsometimesit’shardnottowonderifwe(orthey)justtakeittoofar,asportrayedbytheflamboyanthightopssplayedwithastrocolorsandexplosiveswaggggg. ButwaybeforeKanyewasrockin’theNikeAirYeezys,thecowboybootwastheO.G.ofhightops.Designedtoshieldtheanklesfromthorns,snakes,brush,andhaters,thecowboybootisstilltheepitomeofcooltolotsofpeople;butwhenthenon-countrymusiclistener’sexposuretotheculturereachesonlyasfarasJessicaSimpson’sversionof“TheseBootsWereMadeforWalkin’,”it’snowonderwhysomanycountrymusicenthusiastsfeelmisunderstood.Thecowboyboots,however,aremorecommontomostthansomeofthefootwearofsmallersubcultures.Lacedup,studded,armed-forceslookingshoesmightreflectthemusicofahardcoregroupofpeopleakintocharactersfromMetalocalypse(orspunkyanimecharacters,ifyouhappentogotoIrvington,)andmoccasinswiththestylishhipsterelite. Butintheend,askingamemberofanyculture,whetheritbepunkrock,country,orhiphop,youwillhearacommonvoicing:theshoesdon’tmakethecharacterormusic;thecharactermakestheshoes.Yeah,yeah,everyoneknowsitsallaboutwhatsontheinside,butapairoffreshkicksandabomberjacketdoesgoalongwayinmakinguslooksupercool,whichofcourseisallthatmattersinhighschool,right?

By Arjun Panda

Did You Know: *Queen Marie Antoinette had 500 pairs of shoes. One of her servants was especially hired to cata-log her shoes by color, date, and style.*Imelda R. Marcos, a public figure in the Philippines, won a Guiness World Record for owning the most pairs of shoes. She owned exactly 2,700 pairs of shoes. *The average American woman owns 27 pairs of shoes, while the average American man owns 17 pairs.

Did You

Know: The world’s

largest shoe was created in 2002 by

Ernesto Leano in Marikina City, Philippines, widely known

for its massive shoe industry. It was measured to be 18 feet long and 9

feet wide. About thirty people could step into the shoe at the same time. The shoe was

created to break the previous world record.

Imagine walking around barefoot, feeling the broken glass crunching under your feet. This is reality for millions of children around the world who can’t afford a pair of shoes. Here are two companies who do their part to make a difference. TOMS, a brand representing “The Shoes for Tomorrow Project,” was created by Blake Mycoskie for one simple reason: to help children without shoes. To achieve Mycoskie’s goal of helping children in need of shoes, his company has pledged to donate a pair of TOMS to a child in need for every pair purchased. So far, over 150,000 children have been blessed with a pair of shoes from this organization. These shoes may be bought online at tomsshoes.com. To get involved with this non-profit organization, you can purchase a pair of shoes (or two), or even work as a summer intern in Santa Monica, California. For more information on the summer intern visit their website at www.tomsshoes.com. Nike also did its part in giving back. It created a one-of-a-kind pair of shoes known as the Nike SB “Charity Dunk.” The shoe modeled the colors of eBay and used eBay font the Nike label. This pair of shoes was up for auction on eBay to help raise money for the Tim Brauch Foundation and Skaters for Portland Skateparks. An anonymous buyer purchased this pair for $30,000. All the proceeds from the sale of the shoe went to help create safer skate parks in Portland, Oregon. Whether or not you’re an established shoe company, there are many different ways you can use shoes to give back. One way is to organize a shoe drive and collect outgrown or outdated shoes for underprivelaged children. You can also donate your time and effort into promoting special programs such as Soles 4 Souls, a charity to help provide shoes for those in need. Just be creative and you can use something so taken for granted, like shoes, to help others out one step at a time.

Wear Shoes that Save Soles_____By Karishma Patel

How to help others by buying shoes

eatures featureNovember 2009 | 7

s

Netherlands: Clogsaretraditional-lyassociatedwiththeScandi-naviancountriesof theNeth-erlands, Belgium, Denmark,andSweden.Theyarepredom-inantlymadeofwoodandmayhave steel reinforcements.Thesepropertiescontributetothe signature “clack” againstthe ground when walking.Modernclogsaremadeofplas-tic,leather,orclothandwerepartofafashiontrendinthe70sand80s.

Native Ameri-cans: Moccasins areshoesmadeofdeerskinorsome other soft, flexibleleather stitched together at the top. This designprotects the footwhileal-lowingthewearerto“feelthe ground.” The shoe isoften decorated with em-broidery or beading. Tra-ditionally, they are associ-atedwithNativeAmericantribesinNorthAmerica.Boot

Japan: The geta is a tra-ditional Japanese shoe, characterized by a cloth thongand two “teeth” un-derneath the wooden clog.It was originally designedtokeep feetdrydueto theelevationabovetheground.It isoftenwornwithtradi-tional Japanese kimono and makesadistinct“clacking”sound when the wearerwalks.

Northern Africa: Theseshoesaretypi-cally worn by the ImazighenpeopleofsoutheasternMoroc-co in the Sahara. These san-dals are handmade from tra-ditionally processed genuine leather, handcut soles fromcar tire for long durabilityand resistance of the harshand dry Saharan landscapes.These shoes can be strappedto the feet and are airy forcomfortablewear.

Meditarra-nean: Caligae areheavy-soled military sandals worn by legion-ary soldiers throughout thehistoryoftheRomanRepublic.Theyaremodi-fied from traditionalGreek sandals and aremade of leather lacedup on top of the ankle.Iron hobnails are alsohammered into the sole to provide durability and

Asia: O r i g i n a l l ydeveloped as soft spashoes, crocs are nowa global phenomenon.They are made of foamresin, which naturallyadjusts to cushion the wearer’s feet. Comfort-able and cheap, crocs areextremelypopularintheUnitedStatesaswellasAsia.

Shoes Around the World____________A glimpse of what the world wears on their feet

By Quess Liu

Photos: quickblogcast.com, flickr.com, wikimedia.org, shirret.com, lymy.win.mofcom.gov.cn, freefoto.com

Did You Know: The most expensive pair of shoes was designed by Stuart Weitzman, who charged 3 million dollars for his satin open toe stilettos.

Did You Know Shoes FactsBy Divya Gowthaman

SHOW YOU

R KICKS

SHOW YOUR

ntertainmente 8 | The Voice 18.2

In Crazy Taxi, we all find ourselves mesmerized by the fact that such a heavy car can jump almost naturally over every car in its path solely with the push of the space button. There are even sound effects! And so we all sit there for hours trying to beat our best friend’s high score. This same story applies to almost ev-ery other Facebook game there is. None of us have ever been so thrilled to see an abundance of notifications come up telling us that “Your friend Joe Schmo has just harvested tomatoes! Join him in Farmville today!” Is this where we want our society to go? Is this what we want the next pio-neer generation of America to be rooted in? Online time-wasters? According to businessin-side.com, the average time spent on Facebook in June of 2009 by 12-18 year olds was four hours. In a world where studies prove that children need 6-8 hours of sleep a

How to Shop Smart on Black Friday

By Ramya Kaushik

Pick it up and goYou don’t have time to think about what you buy. That’s why I advise you to buy it. You can always return it later.

Memorize the map of the mallIt’s important to know the mall you are going to and the stores inside it. If you are being adventurous and try-ing a new mall, print out a map of the mall ahead of time and high-light the shops you want to go to.

Long lines are not worth itIf there is a line exit-ing out the door or has more than 40 people, move on.

Avoid dressing roomsMake a mental note of your general sizes in pants, shirts and skirts. This will save you time from having to try things on.

Keep a self timer in your head, so you can stay on schedule and not miss a store.

Collect CouponsUpon the arrival of Black Friday, stores will be sending you coupons. Don’t throw them away at first glance; keep them even if you think you won’t go to the store.

Just five games can attract a number of people equivalent to twice the number of people living in San Fran-cisco every day! Even more shocking? Playfish has 22 mil-lion players who spend 2 bil-lion minutes or approximately 555 or 556 hours on Playfish games every month. And that’s not even counting the people on the hundreds of other games found on the site. Facebook games definitely hold a place in people’s hearts – and their time. Those who haven’t been swept away by the Face-book game craze might wonder why they’re so popular. The answer is really quite simple. They’re addicting – really ad-dicting. Anyone who has spent countless hours collecting in-gredients on Restaurant City or training fish on Fish Bowl can testify to it. No matter how simple the games sound,

Make a schedule

4

3

2

1

6

5

An Adventure through Middle EarthIrvington conservatory theatre presents its fall production: The Hobbit By Divya Gowthaman

The Hobbit started off with a bang on its opening night as many Irvington students and parents came to watch the play, a version of the acclaimed novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. As an ardent reader of the Tolkien books, I was excited to see the IHS Conservatory Theatre’s in-terpretation, and I am glad to say that I was not disappointed. The play explores the story of Bilbo Baggins, a conven-tional hobbit who is called upon by the great wizard, Gandalf, to assist a company of dwarves . On his quest to recover treasure from a ferocious dragon called Smaug, Bilbo transforms from a conserva-tive hobbit to an unexpected hero and triumphs in the face of evil. Senior Allison D’Ambrosio played the lead role as Bilbo Bag-gins and stayed true to the charac-ter. With her prominent face ex-pressions, especially her reactions to the dwarves as they entered Bilbo’s home, Allison essayed the role of Bilbo perfectly. Gandalf, with his colorful, lit-up staff, was

played by senior Nicole Mitch-ell, who added her own unique twist to the timeless character. The dwarves were an-other commendable aspect of the play altogether. The audi-ence laughed along with the dwarves’ hilarious antics, es-pecially Bombur, played by ju-nior Natalie Edelman, whose sole concern was to attain food and fill his hungry stomach. In fact, the Hob-bit was a debut performance for many of the actors. I was dismayed to see that a considerable amount of the novel that I had looked for-ward to seeing was cut out of the second half of the play. Bil-bo and the dwarves’ encounter with the Wargs and the Lord of the Eagles was edited out along with the character of Beorn, the shape shifter. Even without these events, the second half dragged on. However, the audience was too preoccupied because they received a startling surprise. Smaug had been recre-

ated with special effects of a fog machine, fire and much more. I was excited to see the immense dragon that must have required many strenuous hours by the crew to build. The makeup and cos-tumes for the actors, especially Gollum, played by Mission San Jose sophomore Ian Kreeger, were also elaborate and impressive. I have to conclude that this is one of the more noteworthy plays by the Irvington Conserva-tory Theatre that I have attended. The cast displayed a laudable and praiseworthy performance. Even though Allison wasn’t able to pull off the drapes cover-ing the dragon in one scene, she moved on and continued with her part, ignoring the minor setback. “We were extremely nervous, but also confident,” said Allison, “As a result, we had a great performance by the cast.” Make sure to catch a show of The Hobbit, as its cast and crew adequately portray Bil-bo and the dwarves’ remarkable journey through Middle Earth.

Facebook Games Either love it or hate it

night, where academic levels are constantly increasing, and where nutrition habits have become incessantly more important, we spend hours a day on one web-site. Not only does this affect our academic careers and the way we perform in school, but it contrib-utes to the change in lifestyle that America has seen since the intro-duction of these games. Instead of working on that homework that was due yesterday, the com-mon teenager will be seen mes-saging their new found friend, “It’s your turn to bet, idiot.” The moral of the story is, if you have a problem with the hours of sleep you get in the day, if you have a prob-lem with the time it takes you to do your homework, if you have a problem with your nu-tritional habits, don’t blame others—save yourself some time in the day and stop play-ing mindless Facebook games.

they can quickly get interest-ing – and extremely hard to quit.Another reason is the great vari-ety. Whether you’re more interest-ed in gambling, answering trivia, or roleplaying as a Harry Potter character, there’s a game for each and every one of you on Face-book. Want to learn new words? Play Word Challenge. Like ar-cade games? There’s an app for that. The variety of games allows people with all different interests to find the right game for them. Why play Facebook games? They are fun, addicting and the perfect way to kill time on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Some-times, you might even gain some skills out of it! But, consider this your warning. You might start out playing it only on the week-ends but quickly find that you’re playing even when you have a major test the following morn-ing. After all, you just can’t get enough of those Facebook games.

Love it?

Hate it?

Say What?Many surprising things our teachers did before they became a teacherBy Raji Ramanathan

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT:Ms. Cohen

Mr. Breiger

Ms. O’Connor

Mr. Rodocker

bartender, real estate agent

cannery worker, U.S. Post of-fice, Little League umpire

a d v e r t i s i n g a g e n -c y, s t a y - a t - h o m e d a d

See’s Candy, cashier in a movie theater, actor in plays/T.V. shows

Mr. Wu

f i r e m a r s h a l l

b a r t e n d e r, h o u s e w i f e

Ms. Rothfussh o u s e - w i f e

Mr. Leinweber

Ms. Bragg

D i s n e y a c t o r, t o u r g u i d e f o r D i s n e y Wo r l d

MATH DEPTARTMENT:SCIENCE DEPTARTMENT:

camp counselor, veteri-nary assistant, receptionist

Mr. Leesold hot dogs (high school)Mr. PierceBurger King, Taco Bell, Longs Drugs (high school)Dr. Zimmerman

Mr. Kumarbiophysisics scientist (inventor)

OTHERS TEACHERS: Mr. Lewisradio disc jockeyMr. Willerswimming teacher (high school) Ms. Holmbergdesigner of The San Fran-cisco Chronicle, design-er of the Daily VarietyMs. Parkerwaitress/chef at The Blue Mango Restaurant (college)

Mr. Gomezarcade worker, bartender

Mr. Chanb i o t e c h n o l o g i s t

Ms. McAuley

Ms. Vilacomputer programmer for Mermox, gift shop busi-ness in Taiwan, house-wife

Photos: Ramya Kaushik, Raji Ramanathan

Photos: Raji Ramanathan

Continued from Page 1

Photo: metrodchomes.com

By Katherine Wang By Sahil Pandya

Stanford staff research associate, assistant professor at Clarkson

entertainmenNovember 2009 | 9T

Question Man: What is the kindest act you have ever done?Interview and photos by Alexandra Perlegos

-Freshman Paula McCormick

“I volunteered at my aunt’s house and spent a week clean-ing her attic and going to the grocery store for her.”

-Sophomore Fahad Manzur

“I helped a lost five your old at the mall find his parents.”

-Junior Alexandra Fremont

“After witnessing a car crash, my mom and I pulled over to make sure everyone was all right and stayed until the police came.”

-Senior Michael Rogers

“I found an envelope full of money in a casino before and turned it in.”

- Te a c h e r M r. B a l l a d o

“I served a mission in the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-ter Day Saint for two years.”

Exquisite Thai cuisineBy Neetu Puranikmath Fellow Vikings, we are lucky enough to live in Fremont, California, a city with diverse cultural cuisines. For those of you who wish to venture out of your normal restaurant bub-ble, there are many undiscov-ered restaurants with creative cuisines waiting to be found. This month’s featured restaurant is Sala Thai. It has a wide variety of delectable dishes with every taste and meat imaginable. From Po Piah Tod to Yum Talay and everything in between, you can be sure to taste the savory sauces. This res-taurant may be spicy for some, but it gives you the true feeling as to how the Thai really eat. There are two “Sala Thai” restaurants in Fremont. The locations are: 39170 State St. and 44800 S. Grimmer Blvd. Next time you and your friends are questioning where to eat, try Sala Thai for a delectable Thai cuisine.

Photos: salathai-restaurant.com

Dear Chris Brown, Recently, you conducted an interview with a MTV correspondent about the assault you committed against Rihan-na in February 2009. You gave us your side of the story and told us why you committed the atrocities that you did. After you were asked what the catalyst was in triggering your regret-table actions, you replied, “Just anger.....Yeah, anger, young people do before they think.” This might be true Mr. Brown, but that does not ex-cuse your indespicable behavior. Striking a woman is an act of cowardice no matter what the situation is. Instead of leading by example, you have taken the fame that society has given to you and abused the power that comes with it. Breaking the morality of civil discourse is something that cannot be com-promised under any cost, especially when millions of young teens are looking up to you. Your recent interview does not validate your behavior at all. With so many people watching and emulating you, it is incumbent for you to take more care for your actions and not falter in crucial situations. My advice to you, Mr.Brown, would be to think be-fore you do, keeping in mind that millions of young teens as-pire to be just like you.

A very disappointed, Ex-Fan

By Shajee Syed-Quadri

HoroscopesWhat’s in store for your future? By Kim Ngo

Taurus Apr. 20 - May 20Your bright character and intelli-gence will spark an interest in your future career this month. Try new things and you will discover the path to your future. Avoid drugs or any other illegal substances.

Sagittarius Nov. 22 - Dec. 21Your love aura is floating around the school. Expect someone to catch it before the tenth of Decem-ber. Be prepared to buy a couple’s ticket to Winterball this season.

Gemini May 21 - June 21Being depressed this month will only bring tragedy in your academics. The key to suc-cess is in your high spirits, and your wallet. If tutoring assis-tance is needed due to extreme sadness, call (634)739-0129.

Aries Mar. 21 - Apr. 19Friendships may fall apart this month. Show great amount of love and care to your friends this month before they disap-pear out of your lives, and into the lives of your enemies.

Cancer June 22 - July 22Don’t be too crabby this month. The stars have aligned and your window of opportunity has finally opened. Too keep up this luck, read The Voice, as often as possible.Leo July 23 - Aug. 22You find yourself to be the leader of the pack. Be care-ful not to take advantage of these powers and find ways to use them wisely. The more you take the more others will rebel.

Virgo Aug. 23 - Sept. 22You like to be strong and indepen-dent. So your best friend got a new loved one. Don’t be devastated. Take it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself…and your best friend’s new boo. EWWW.Libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 22Challenges make you want to quit, but success comes to those who persevere. Even though times seem rough, pushing your-self the whole way through will soon be an advantage for you.

Scorpio Oct. 23 - Nov. 21Your teachers have been noticing your hard work lately. Continue this trend of determination and recognition will be awarded to you.

Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19It’s been prevalent that you’ve been interested in that special someone for a while. Clean your-self up and find the confidence in yourself to make a move. Rejec-tion is not a sign of defeat, but a learning lesson for next time.

Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18Drink a lot of water this month. Something will take your breath away. What that something is, is for you to soon find out.

Pisces Feb. 19 - Mar. 20Karma is in the air, and your moons are caught within its grasp. Be sure to be your best this month, or else it might just come back and pinch you.

Some of the D e l e c t a b l e s :

estauranteviewR R : Sala Thai

Decoding Paramore

By Sri Ravipati

The most recent Para-more concert was held at the Warfield in San Francisco on November 10. Opening for the band was The Swollen and Paper Route, who blended digital-age pop and rock with ambient elec-tronics. If I were to point out what the event was lacking, I’d start with the odd crowd. I entered the theater only to bump into the back of a sweaty, forty-year-old man. My friends and I went fur-ther into the mob of people and saw people who looked like they belonged to the gentleman’s club next door. I thought it was strange how people we’re drinking marti-nis before the show, but maybe that’s because I’ve never been to a rock concert before. But none of that mat-tered when Paramore came on

Brand New Eyes is bet-ter live

stage. I’ll admit that this concert has turned me into a bit of a fan girl for Paramore, so if you’re looking for an objective review of the concert, this might not be the best source of criticism. The bass resonating from Jeremy Davis’s guitar touched the hearts of every person in the au-dience—literally. I held my hand to my heart at one point and felt the vibrations so deeply that I was out of breath. The concert was a workout because every song had you out of your seat and belting the lyrics. It was impossible to watch Haley Williams, the lead vocalist, and not dance. The confused collection of creepers and punk rock girls at the concert will not prevent me from standing tall and declaring: I love Paramore. Don’t judge. Rating:

Photos: mrsmaxey.com, Raji Ramanathan

Photos: yourastrologyfree.info

Photos: Ilyssa Padrid

What challenges did the team face this season?

The biggest challenge this year was that we started really late in the season. We almost didn’t have a team this year because we had lost our coach.

In which meet did you face the toughest competition?

Our first meet against Mission was the toughest competition. Both schools have really strong athletes on their team, but this season, our hard work and dedication prevailed. We beat them by 12 full points!

What is your best memory of the season?

At the end of MVALs during awards, when we found out t h a t we had taken the

MVAL title in all three levels of individual All-Around, as well as the overall MVAL Championships; it really felt like we had accomplished our goals and what we have wanted for so long.

What was the team’s overall record? Are

you guys happy with this?

We were UNDEFEATED!

We beat Mission, Washington, American, Kennedy, Las Lomas, and Logan. At MVALS, we took the Individual All Around title for all three levels as well. We are extremely happy with this record.

How do you feel about the team making it to NCS?

I am extremely proud of our boys. Since the beginning of the season it has always been our goal to reach to NCS. It is also a great way for the graduating seniors to finish.

Do you plan on continuing to play water polo at the collegiate

level?

Since I realized my potential in the sport, reaching the college level has always been my goal.

What was your team’s record this year?

14 wins and 9 losses

What was the most memorable event of the season?

I would have to say the Newark Tournament against Livermore. We had recently played them (Livermore) and got whooped 15-7. There were fifteen seconds left and we were down by one. Kekoa Wu had the ball and passed it cross cage to teammate Andrew C l a r k w h o m a d e t h e game-t y ing s h o t a s t i m e

expired. Although the game

was lost in overtime, our team showed resilience and true heart.

Interviewed by Sri Ravipati

PORTS

Looking back on the season, what do you think was your

greatest achievement?

Juan: My greatest achievements were that I loved the sport and tried to make NCS and all-league. M i s s i n g state by two spots didn’t m e a n a n y t h i n g compared to my love for the sport.

Victoria: My greatest achievements this season were getting seventh place at MVAL’s and being the first freshman varsity girl.Why did you choose cross country over all the other sports?

What’s your best personal record?

Juan: 16:08 for the 5K at NCS last year. This year, the best I ran was an 18:24 at Coyote Hills after returning from an injury.Victoria: 21:43 for the 5K at Coyote Hills.

What is your best memory from Irvington Cross Country?

Juan: I have a lot of good memories from XC, from the hot gas station girl, to being a top runner, but my best one would be rating people at the Mt. Sac Invitation with Meena.Victoria: The best part of running with my brother was that he always gave me the best advice, but the worst part was how much he made me run.

What was your team’s record this year?

Our team record this year for season was 7-3. We came in third only losing to Washington and Mission. But we plan on getting revenge in NCS!

What are some struggles that your team has had to face this

season?

Our team has so much talent and so much potential, but sometimes we

didn’t quite realize it. Another more technical

struggle, was that this year, we lacked experienced setters. A few of our players such as Junior Ali Fremont and Freshman Daniel Cruthers had to step up from other positions. They exceeded expectations though!

What are you going to miss the most

about being on IHS Volleyball?

I ’ m going to m i s s the most about IHS volleyball is the pure spirit of our team and supporters. It’s always so exciting to have other classmates cheering and screaming for us, waving handmade posters, and yelling out “I love you #19!” or Way Chen yelling “muscle drink!” Anyway, I’ll always remember the fun times, and handshakes, we created together.

Girls’ volleyball gave Liberty High School quite a challenge

during last Wednesday’s NCS game. Though, Irvington didn’t

take home the win, the game gave their opponents proof that Irvington Girls’ Volleyball was not just any ordinary team.The game starts off fast, as Junior Alexandra Fremont makes the first serve. Liberty scores the first point, but the Vikings come close to tying up the set as Junior Katie Lopez spikes the ball across the net, making the score (2,3). Katie and Senior Morgan Aspelund spike the ball several times, but were unable to catch up to the Lions. The score was (10,15), and the Vikings were determined to keep scoring. The Lions defense was too strong, blocking every shot that the Vikings made. As the game continues, Katie and Junior Lisa Doherty block Liberty’s spikes, but the score still remained (12,19). Sophomore Jinny Yan scores the last point for the

Vikings, ending the first set (16,25). The game continues with long rallies between the teams, both determined to score the point. Katie spikes several times, but each was counteracted by the Lion’s strong defense. After a serve by Junior Teasara Thompson, Lisa sets up the ball for Morgan as she comes in and spikes it across the net. Though the Lions continued to score, the Vikings were behind by six points with a score of (12,18). The last shot was made by Teasara, and the set ended with the score (18,25). The next set continued to be close between the teams. Katie’s serve throws their opponents off, allowing the Vikings to catch up. Katie and Jinny’s spikes allow Irvington to take the lead with a score of (22,20). The Vikings brought themselves

back into the game, ending the set with a score of (25,20). The fourth set began with three leading points for Liberty, leaving the Vikings behind. Teasara and Morgan score for the Vikings, making the score (4,8), but it seemed that Liberty was ganging up on them. Lisa and Katie worked together and brought the score close with (6,9),but Liberty’s strong offense soon dominated the scoreboard. The Vikings played the best they could, but the Lions were too strong for them to catch up. The set ended with (10,25), Liberty High School taking the win. Though the lost seemed devastating at first, the team came out of the game with their heads high.

Lions Tame VikingsVikings valiant effort comes up shortBy Kim Ngo

How did the Girls’ Tennis Team do this season?

We placed f o u r t h a f t e r Miss ion , America, and L o g a n (respectively.)

What were some of the

challenges you had to overcome

this season?

We had a new coach, Dan. E v e r y t h i n g changed from practice schedules and other schools, such as Mission, recruited tough players. Having a new coach this season was a bit hard. It took time to find the right rhythm, but we were able to push through and get used to it and it turns out he had a lot of things to teach us.

Who were the top players this season?

The singles varsity line up was as follows (in order): senior Neetu Puranikmath, senior

Annie Lou, senior Lucia Wang, and sophomore

Aparna Dhinakaran. We did pretty well. I was recognized as All-League Second Team and the other three girls were given Honorable Mention. The Varsity number one doubles team consisted of junior Shilpa Sharma and

senior Sri Ravipati, followed by junior Serena Bui and freshman Vida Bao as number two, and sophomore Hanna Choi and senior Jessica Park played Varsity three doubles.

Viking Girls Tennis Finish Strong

Senior Annie Lou Serves Out information on her last season

Interviewed by Anisha Babbar

Water Polo Dives into Stardom

Junior Kieran Hassett looks back on an exceptional season

It Runs in the Family

Siblings make their mark on the XC team as one leaves, and one begins

Interviewed by Jon Horng

Volleyball Finishes With a Smash

Senior Morgan Aspelund tells about a successful season

Gymnasts Vault to the Top

Senior Priyanka Shah gives recap of memorable season

Interviewed by Shilpa Sharma Interviewed by Jen Siew

Autumn Athletics at a Glance

Photo: Justine Yan

Photo: Nicole Furuta Photo: Kieran Hassett Photo: Jennifer Siew Photo: Kim Ngo Photo: Anisha Babbar

10 | Voice 18.2

Athlete interviews to highlight the fall season

S

11 | November2009

Stay Fit and Enjoy the HolidayStay Fit While Enjoying the Holiday SpiritBy: Karishma Patel

Muscles: abs, legs, and lungsStep 1: Get into push-up posiionStep 2: Bring right leg forward to your chest, while keeping the left leg stretched back.Step 3: Switch right leg with left. Step 4: Repeat with 2 sets of 5 reps.

Muscles: quadriceps and lower backStep 1: Stand straight and hold onto something for stability. Step 2: Lift right knee to hip, while keeping a straight back.Step 3: Contract the leg by extending it out so it is parallel with the floor. Step 4: Switch right leg with left.Step 5: Repeat for 2 sets with 10 reps each.

Muscles: hips and thighsStep 1: Lie on your right side with your right elbow bent.Step 2: Balance yourself with your left hand.Step 3: Keeping knees straight, slowly lift your leg up.Step 4: Slowly lower your leg, but don’t let it touch the floor. Step 5: Repeat for 10 reps and then switch to left side and repeat.TMI About BMI

A guide to body mass indexBy Anooj Desai BMI, or body mass index, is the number that correlates to the percentage of your body weight that consists of fat. The BMI does not include extra weight attained from your muscle, bone, or organs. A higher BMI means that a person contains a higher percentage of body fat weight as opposed to weight from muscle, bones, or organs. Because muscle is much denser than actual fat, a person that is in good shape may end up weighing more than a person of the same size who is simply overweight. For this case, calculating the actual amount of fat each person has might be harder than usual. Immersion tanks, where the people’s BMI is measured depending on how they float in water, are often used in order to calculate body fat. A person with more fat would be more buoyant than a person with a high percentage of muscle

Energize Your DayWhich Energy Bar is right for you? By Sukhbir Kaur

Soccer Season Kicks OffWatch out, the soccer ball is rolling and soccer season is well on it’s way.By Ramya Kaushik

A Deliciously Sinful Tango of MangoTreat your wwTongue to Decadence this Thanksgiving

By Neetu Puranikmath

Protein shakes are the new craze among both athletes and non-athletes alike. Gatorade has calories, is too sugary, and is so last year. A protein shake has no such negative qualities. It is believed to increase athletic performance by helping to increase stamina. In addition, it provides much needed nutrients and vitamins but has considerably low calories or fat. Many people choose to make their own protein shakes instead of buying ready-made ones. According to Medline Health and Sports Illustrated, protein shakes taken in moderation can enhance strength and provide the body with much needed nutrients.

One example of a healthy protein powder is “Pure Why Protein Powder” which can be found in several convenience stores such as Safeway. Make Your Own Protein Shake: this creamy mango shake tastes so good you won’t even realize it’s a protein shake. It’s perfect for a healthy breakfast on-the-go or a mid-afternoon snack. This low-sodium smoothie is also a wonderful source of vitamin C and potassium. To prepare this

mass. The more conventional way of calculating BMI is through the equation:

If you are not too keen on doing the math, websites like www.webmd.com have programs that will do it for you. Naturally, women tend to carry more fat in certain parts of their bodies, but their BMI should not be affected by this as long as they utilize the proper methods to calculate it. For average people, a BMI between 20 and 25 is healthy while a BMI over 25 is generally overweight. Having a BMI under 20 can be dangerous depending on your build because the body will consume muscle mass in order to make up for the lack of fat.

Last week, girls and guys both ran their hearts out hoping to make it onto either the Irvington girls or boys soccer team. The coaches were all looking for players that could compete on the filed, work hard, and help the team keep possession. The girl’s JV team is led by Lynette Cooper while the girls Varsity team is led by Ms. Mangiardi. Both of the coaches are looking forward to the upcoming season. “This season we are going to bring it all,” says former soccer player sophomore Sachi Patel. The girl’s team expects to have each student athlete make a commitment to their team and plays to the best of their ability at all practices and games. Compared to last year, the team hopes to improve the win-lose ratio and to work harder on conditioning. The coaches love

to see the girl’s improvements throughout the season, and they are looking foreword to it. “Our biggest competition is every game we play,” says Lynette Cooper. The boy’s JV team is led by Scott Hamilton, while the Varsity team is led by Joe Peixoto. This year, the coaches for the boys hope to make it to NCS and to earn the title of being top in the league. They also plan to make

Kashi The Kashi bars are designed with the health-conscious athlete in mind. They are generally high in fiber, low in cholesterol, and whole grain. They come in 3 different types: Crunchy, Original, and Roll. With many sub-flavors, including chocolate and oatmeal raisin, the bar ranks high in taste and in value. Generally, they are priced quite reasonably, ranging from $5 to $20 per a box of 12 depending on the flavor and seller.

PowerBar If you’re looking for a quality energy boost, look no further. Power Bar is one of the most popular energy bars out there and is known for its hardcore energy boost. It’s packed with protein and essential nutrients that will help you perform better during practice and on the court. As far as taste, it sits relatively average when compared to other leading bars. It has several different flavors including Wild berry, Banana, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. Because of its high quality, PowerBars are priced between $15-$23 per box of 12. The company also sells PowerBar bites, which are bite-size energy bar snacks for those who need a mini-energy boost. This is helpful for people who are just looking for that quick burst of energy.

ClifBar These bars definitely get the blue ribbon for taste. With flavors like chocolate brownie, cookies n cream, and peanut butter, this bar makes playing hard easy. ClifBars are made with all organic ingredients, which make them a relatively healthy alternative to other sugary energy bars. However, if you are looking to lose weight, these bars are not for you. The excess carbohydrates in the ingredients will add several inches to your waste line. Priced at $10-$20 per box of 12 bars, ClifBars are a relatively good deal. ClifBar also will not melt in your backpack like many other leading bars do. Therefore, its considered a huge convenience for the athlete on the go who wants his or her bag clean.

it to the playoffs similarly to last year. But, this year, they plan to work harder on offensive plays. The team’s toughest competition is Newark and Logan. “I’m most excited for the season in general--and the crab feed,” said Coach Joe Peixoto. As the new season starts, former and new players are excited for it to begin.

Photo: www.coloradocyclist.com Photo: www.thisnext.com Photo:www.sporttiedje.co.uk

SPORT

Workout: “Mountain Climber”

Workout: “Leg Extensions” Work out: “Side-Lying Leg Lifts”

I n g r e d i e n t s :-1 cup frozen or fresh mango cubes -1/2 banana -1/2 cup vanilla yogurt -1/2 cup fruit juice of your choice*-1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder**-1 tablespoon wheat germ

*When making the drink I used peach which seemed to work well.**Can be purchased in most large stores (i.e. Safeway)

D i r e c t i o n s :Add ingredients to blender or food processor and pulse until you reach a desired consistency. This will usually take 2-4 minutes. For a thicker smoothie add a couple ice cubes.Photo: recipezaar.com

Autumn Athletics at a Glance

Photo: Anooj Desai

Photo: Ramya Kaushik

S

umorH12 | The Voice 18.2

I have tried to pretend like it doesn’t matter. I have smiled and told myself that your newspaper is as awesome as all my friends say it is. I have even gone so far as to avoid possible confrontation with The Voice staff by steering clear of the main hallways and switching out of my honors classes. You think I’m just another face in the crowd, another mindless reader of words. But you’re wrong. I am subversive and my ideas will tear – you – down. The last issue made my face explode, so I had to write this letter to you. Why do I hate The Voice so much? First of all, there should be way more colors in your is-sues. If I don’t taste the rainbow, you have failed. Second, sports are a waste of time. Replace that section with something worthwhile. Third, no one cares about news; I especially hated that you got all hippy-dippy and environmental by including an article on some green faire thing. The humor section is never funny. Every time I see it, I start to cry. Maybe I am subconsciously trying to make your newspaper a better read be-cause when it is all soaked in tears and the colors blend together, everything is actually funnier. I laugh and cry myself to insanity. Also, next time, do the school a service and fill your newspaper completely with advertisements. It is obvious that more people need to go to driving school (I almost got hit by an idiot adolescent this morning). And you say ihsvoice.com is up now? Stop lying. I hate you enough already.

Love, Angry Reader

Have questions or comments? Would you like to tell us about how much you love the newspa-per, especially the humor section? We would love to hear from you at ihsvoice.com. And yes, it exists.

Letter to the EditorBy Justine Yan

It’s that time of the season again. Everyone’s always telling me to give thanks for this, give thanks for that. Fine. Thanks for giving me another day to spend with my ridiculous family. You think I’m kid-ding? Well, let me tell you a little story. Last turkey day, my whole fam-ily came over to celebrate. And you know how everybody has that drunk grandpa that comes over just to mess things up. Wait, everyone doesn’t have one of those? Oh, well I do. And he throws up. Well, my grandpa came over last year and barfed all over the livin’ room floor. Of course, out of all the people in the house, my mom just had to call me to clean it up. And we don’t have mops or none of that carpet-cleaner stuff, so I had to use a rag and a bottle of Windex. Trust me, Windex works better on windows. Then came my aunt and her two-year old daughter. Now let me tell you, my Aunt Stella is a great lady, but terribly clueless. On the way to my house, she sud-denly realized that this dinner was a pot-luck and everyone was required to bring something. So she goes out to King’s Egg-rolls and brings an order of 12 spring rolls to a Thanksgiving feast for twenty people; okay, a couple less side dishes, things could be worse. Oh, but I almost forgot about the two-year old. She named

Giving Thanks? For What?Why I’vew lost hope in the holidayBy Dion Wu

her Kim. Sounds perfectly fine. But her last name is Chi. Funny, right? Okay, if you’re not into Korean food, you probably didn’t get that. Finally, my Uncle Richard showed up; late, of course. Everyone calls him Rich for short, and he has got to be the stingiest man I have ever met. He once asked me, on the day of Chinese New Years, if I could return the red enve-lope he just gave me. Anyways, the worst part was that I caught him wrapping some of the twelve spring rolls and putting it in his pockets before the meal even started. THERE’S ONLY TWELVE DAMMIT. If you’re going to steal something, at least steal the cornbread. Enough said. Thanksgiving was a joke.

-The host company called. We were disqualified because it’s America’s favorite school, not Ameri-ca’s favorite prison.-Someone actually came to give us the award, but they fell through one of our gi-normous potholes while walking through the parking lot. Investigations are still underway.

-America likes Mission better. Not likely, but Fail.

-90% of students had their headphones in during the advisory announcements asking us to vote

-Your mom’s face.

...things to do with the $20,000 we (might) win

-Buy everyone orange jump suits; to com-plete the look, of course.

-Buy Mission. Anyone need good SAT scores?

-Give it to ASB. They can buy more bal-loons and poster paper, because we really need that s***.

-Build walls between the boys’ urinals. That’s PERSONAL business, guys!

-Pay Mr. Musto more, then maybe he would sound like he cares about what he’s saying. And also because he’s such a great sport ;)

TOP FIVE

Cool Cloze!

1) Bracelets for Men

It happened in 1890, and it’s happen-ing again. Plaid is everywhere. The same plaid that people in lumberyard wear, and the same plaid that you can find on shirts, headbands, shoes, dresses, and even pants. Maybe because Wol-verine was a lumberjack. Who knows.

3) Boots When I Like!

Note from the editor to Ms. Palos: Please don’t hate us. Journalism loves ASB, its just that when we’re around our friends, we say things we don’t mean. We appreciate the cake too. And the banner.

I feel lame.

2) Lumberjack? BACK.

Car

toon

: Shi

rley

Lin

and

Joh

nny

Hor

ng

They Are Watching UsTips ‘n tricks to make it seem like your teaching under surveilanceShajee Syed-Quadri

Attention teachers! Your jobs are on the line! Adminitsration is scru-tinizing your every move! But don’t worry, Journalism has got your backs!

1.)Get Jolly Ranchers. Ev-eryone loves jolly ranchers.

1.5)And tootsie pops for Moran

2.)Prepare your questions. Tell them to the students early. Ex-ecute the illusion of learning.

3.)Tell your kids to put their phones away. Unless they’re finding out an-swers that will help them participate.

4.)Have a spare pair of sun-glasses for sleepers, stoners, etc…

5.)Don’t hit on Mrs.Parker. This one is extremely crucial.

6.)Ask your kids to participate a lot so that you look good. You can pay them later. Cash or check; both are ac-ceptable; cash is more acceptable.

7.)Put down your TV meals and take out the clipboard. A pen-cil on the ear wouldn’t hurt either.

8.)Math teachers: Stick a random ques-tion on the board and tell your kids to start playing calculator games.

By Ramya Kaushik...or maybe not. We don’t judge.

By Jen Siew

There was only one thing that

men couldwearon their wrists, and

hat was watches. High fashion to day

does not want to ex-clude the male gender in anything, including

jewelry. Strands, beads, hemp, WHATEVER, its all cool now, and I don’t

mind. Its cute seeing couples match bracelets; sometimes creepy, but generally cute.

News Alert to Californians: it doesn’t snow here (mostly). When it is seventy-eight de-grees outside, people still find the urge to put on their Fuggs, or pull up their boots. Ironi-cally, the person next to them may decide it’s hot enough to wear flip flops. Maybe weed shouldn’t be legalized, we’re confused enough already.

Photos: Ramya Kaushik

...reasons why we (might) lose America’s Fa-vorite School contest

Photo: Anooj Desai

Scrubbin that puke (above).

9.)Show a little……just kid-ding. That’s inappropriate.

10.)B r e a k out in song and dance to express the joy teach-ing gives you. I mean, re-gardless of the substitute status, huge classes, and minimal prep time, at least you have a group of bright, enthusiastic students, right? Right?

Photo: Dion Wu