What happens next?The SECA Governing Board has been trying to separate from Stockton Unified, but SUSD has rejected their proposal. As the school year drags on, so does the battle between these two governing entities.

Where are we going?According to the SECA Governing Board According to Stockton Unified

INSIDE: MESA, AcaDec and Mock Trial // Black History Month // 2012 Election Candidates

?Photo by Emily Wilburn

Stockton Unified proposed moving SECA to the old elementary school currently being refurbished at 349 E. Vine Street.

The SECA Governing Board disagrees with SUSD’s decision of moving the campus to 349 E. Vine Street, but has not disclosed any information as to where they would prefer the school to move.

In anticipation for the expanding student body at SECA, both Stockton Unified and the SECA Governing Board agree on the need to move to a larger school. It is on the location they cannot agree.

WCVolume 3, Issue 4

hronicleolves’

versusedition

The district has decided that the school will move to the Vine Street Campus.

Vine Street needs some cleaning up and repairs, but is a good venue that will accommodate the growing school, and can be renovated over time to become a thriving modern campus.

The charter was rejected because it was incomplete in several areas and didn’t meet the district’s requirements: special education students, English learners, and providing for staff.

The SECA Governing Board is free to make changes to the charter and submit a new revision to the district, but the school will continue as it is today.

The school needs a counselor to prepare students for college.

If enough students are interested, a P.E. class will be added to the school’s curriculum, and the future facilities will include a full-size gym.

The school will be accredited and will continue just the way it has been running for the past two-and-a-half years and the way it was intended to run.

The school’s relationship with Delta will improve, and Delta is willing to work toward a better solution for all parties.

Leadership for the school is uncertain in the wake of Mr. Hall’s retirement.

It is important for a school district to have many different types of schools, and SECA is just one of many different programs SUSD would like to offer to its students.

Ideally, the current staff should remain; they are doing a great job.

For some reason, there has not been enough communication in the past between SUSD and SECA, and that will change in the near future.

SUSD should have a better relationship with SECA and the two are already working together and moving forward in a positive manner.

The school will move closer to Delta, in a building selected by the Board.

The Vine Street campus is inadequate: it is too small, the repairs and renovations needed would cost much more than the district can spend, and the students deserve a new modern campus, not aging buildings and portables.

The SECA Governing Board has the final say in everything the school does; they are an autonomous governing group.

The charter was rejected based on a technicality: the special education, English learner, and staff sections were all expanded significantly in the revised charter.

It has not been discussed collectively, but many of SECA’s Governing Board members want to submit another revision of the charter. They consider it necessary in order to clarify the essence of how autonomous the Board is and the extent of their authority. It will provide important opportunities for students.

The school needs a counselor to prepare students for college.

A martial arts program will be added to the school’s curriculum, and the future facilities will include a full-size gym.

The school as it is now may only be able to produce one graduating class, but with some changes, it will continue as it was meant to be.

Leadership for the school is uncertain in the wake of Mr. Hall’s retirement.

It is important for a school district to have many different types of schools, and SECA is just one of many different programs SUSD would like to offer to its students.

Ideally, the current staff should remain; they are doing a great job.

SUSD has not communicated with SECA in the past, and they are still not communicating.

The SECA Governing Board is still being ignored by SUSD and wants to have a better relationship, but it is normal for charter schools to have tense relations with their sponsoring district.

News22.24.12

Ever since the release of Roger Phillips’ article regarding SECA’s attempt at

gaining an individual charter, the school has been buzzing with tension and talk.

With the halls filled with very different information regarding similar situations, students are now more than ever anxious about what is going to happen in the following school year.

“I feel neutral about the changes because to be honest, I don’t really know exactly what’s going on. There are too many rumors going around, and I don’t want to believe anything until it’s confirmed,” said Carrie Huang (9). “I think next year will be the same, but we’ll have a different campus. Or, well, I hope things will be the same.”

However not everyone looks at the situation in a neutral and somewhat optimistic light that Huang does.

Based on the information and the current situation the school is in, some students are looking at the school’s future dismally.

“The changes may be good to the district, but from a student’s point of view, we’re spiraling out of control. I fear the SECA I came into this August as a freshman will be very different in the later years,” said Nancy Garcia (9).

Students agree on the need for the school to relocate to a bigger campus. What they are upset at is the announcement of the retirement of Principal Michael Hall and the uncertainty of who will lead the school next year.

“I fear that next year our school will be different, not because it’s changing location, but [because of] the fact that it’s going to be run by someone else,” said Christine

Students react to the newsTran (10).

Given the choice, most students would have preferred if Hall did not retired early.

“My first reaction when I found [out] about the information I know [now] made me somewhat want to transfer,” said Tran. “I honestly don’t want to go to a school with this many issues.”

Garcia agrees with Tran and emphasizes Hall’s leaving as a cause for many changes to the school.

“It made me upset to hear about Mr.Hall’s departing, to hear the school name may change,” said Garcia (9). “I feel confused at times, since most of the stuff was kept from us. The changes will affect the school, and whether they may be positive or not makes me fear them.”

Some even believe that Hall’s retirement will cause the school to lose its original essence and identity as SECA.

“When I found out what was going on, I was so shocked. I found it to be heart-clenching, reading [about how] Mr. Hall is going to retire. He has stood behind all of us as a whole and knows everything about us inside and out,” said Xavier Lucero (11). “Because of the situation, I felt like I would lose a lot of the support that has pushed me this far just like everybody else.”

Many agree with Lucero and feel that Hall’s departure will have an impact on the school.

“With Mr.Hall’s departure, the school atmosphere definitely won’t be the same. Without him leading the ‘road less traveled’, I fear we may get lost along the path,” said Garcia.

Timeline of Events

Meziah Cristobalstaff member

No longer kept in the dark about the issues regarding their school in the upcoming school year. . .

A letter from SUSD Superintendent Carl Toliver invited parents and students to attend the informational meeting at Franklin High School to discuss the future of SECA.

A letter from SECA Principal, Michael Hall, states his retirement on June 30, 2012; he also expresses his sentiments.

OctoberTeachers were notified that a material revision for separation from SUSD was being considered. Meeting called with lawyers for teacher’s to ask questions.

NovemberMaterial revision sent to school board for approval.(27) Roger Phillips’ “Early College Academy has intentions of leaving SUSD” is published and triggers parent and student involvement.

DecemberSUSD board announces that no matter what happens with material revision process, they are committed to maintaining an Early College Model school, namely SECA.

January(24) SUSD board rejects material revision, citing flaws and lack of completion.(26) Governing board calls “Town Hall Meeting” at school cafeteria. SUSD officials were present.

February(3) SUSD sends home letter announcing info meeting at Franklin.(7) Mark Hagemann comes to SECA and has press conference with Wolves’ Chronicle staff.(9) Michael Hall sends out resignation announcement to staff and students during the school day.(9) Meeting takes place with SUSD officials at Franklin High.(13) Laurie Crawford submits her letter of resignation as the president of the SECA Governing Board.

editorial 2.24.12 3Since we attend an early college, people cannot help but have

very high expectations of us. We are expected to be the smartest and the best in what we do. This puts pressure on each student and gives us the drive to strive for excellence. We become motivated.

Since our school’s establishment, there has been a lot of competitions. Students have competed at various events many times. It’s almost like we were born to compete and represent our school. We are the very essence of competition. It’s in our nature. Ev-eryone has the competitive nature in them. They might not participate in any activities, but they still have that personality one way or another.

Our school has competed with oth-er schools, and even within our own school, little activities like the Penny Wars got us all excited and interested in participating. We believe competi-tion brings us all together to bring out the best in us. Competition is not just about fun, it is also about im-

proving and succeeding. We believe everyone needs at least a little competition to push us to show our inner capability.

It is safe to say competitiveness can be one of a person’s best attributes. Winning just feels so good, but losing pushes us even more and gives us more determination to prove to others that we are good.

Sportsmanship is an important fac-tor of competition. It is very important to be able to accept we cannot always win, and sometimes we just need to learn how to swallow our pride.

Win or lose, our school comes to-gether. Even when competition is amongst us, we still find ways to unite. This is one of the benefits of being a small school. Everyone is there for each other, to support, to encourage and to help. For those who are members of Mock Trial, Speech and Debate, MESA, and ACADEC, know the SECA family will always be there for you. We’ll always

be proud.

Everyday competition in students’ lives

Congratulations, Andrea Diaz (11), for finding the word “measly” in the last issue (V3, I3)!

How to take part in the word hunt: Pick up the latest issue of the Wolves’ Chronicle and seek out the word of the issue. The word is in every single article! Highlight, underline, circle, etc. when you believe you have found the word. Submit it to Ms. West and claim your prize. Good luck word hunters!

Wolves’ Chronicle Staff

Editors: Sucharita Yellapragada Josephine Espinoza Desiree Alcocer

Graphics Editors: Jonathan Kwan Angelynn Jose

Web Editor: Christopher Crawford

Business Advisor: Richard Huynh

Staff Members: Jorelyn Calam, Meziah Cristobal, Katelyn Gan, Cindy Munoz, Aman Paneser, Faviola Paz, Emily Wilburn

Adviser: Rachel West

Editorial Policies

The Wolves’ Chronicle newspaper is published quarterly and distributed free of charge. Our newspaper is an 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 let-ters to the editor. We will make every effort to print any letters as long as it is not libelous. Letters longer than 250 words will 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, room 9, or emailed to wolveschronicle@gmail.com.

About us

Stockton Early College Academy (SECA) is in its third year as a dependent charter school in the Stockton Unified School District in Stockton, CA. We currently have fresh-man, sophomore, and junior classes, with a population of 363 students. We are located at 640 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton, CA 95202.

Our newspaper is published by Herburger Publications in Galt, CA and distributed for free to all students.

Go Timberwolves!

• AimstorepealObama’shealthcareplanandallowhealthcaretobepurchasedacrossstatelines,aswellasensur-ingcompensationforthosewhoareharmedduringmedicaltreatment.Hewantstolethealthcarebeafreechoiceandnotaforcefulprogram.

NewtGingrichRickSantorum• Willissueexecutiveorderthatwillissue

waiverstoallstatesagainstObama’shealthcareplanwhilesimultaneouslycallingCongresstorepealthehealthcareplan.Inturnlettingthestatesgovernhowhealthcareshouldadministered.

• PromotingAffordableHealthcareActthatwouldmakehealthcareaffordabletoninety-fivepercentofAmericansandbringnewservicestowomen

2.24.124 ElEctions 2.24.125ElEctionsThe Reds and the Blue

Elections today, our lives tomorrow

Compiled by Richard Huynh

RonPaul

• Believesthateducationshouldhaveachoicebetweenhomeschoolingandtradi-tionalschoolsputparentsinchargeofeducation.

• Increasenumberofcharterschools.

• Freechoiceofschoollaws,allowingstu-dentstotransfertoanyschoolwithintheirdistrict.

• Voucherprogramsthatallowsthetaxmoneyforastudentinthepublicschooltoessentiallybetakenoutsothatitcanbeusedasavoucherforprivateschools.

MittRomney

• Aimstoeventuallytransformhealthcareintoafullblownmarketratherthanagovernmentprogram.

• Retrainworkersandrewardthosewithahigherlevelofeducationandtraining.

• Increasenumberofcharterschools

• Freechoiceofschoollaws,allowingstudentstotransfertoanyschoolwithintheirdistrict

• Voucherprogramsthatallowsthetaxmoneyforastudentinthepublicschooltoessentiallytakenoutsothatitcanbeusedasavoucherforprivateschools.

BarackObama

• ReinforceAmericanhistorycoursesthroughoutschoolsystemsinordertoeducatethepopulus.

• Increasenumberofcharterschools

• Freechoiceofschoollaws,allowingstu-dentstotransfertoanyschoolwithintheirdistrict

• ReformtheFDAtogetmedicalbreak-throughstopatientsasquicklyaspos-sible.

• Increasenumberofcharterschools

• Freechoiceofschoollaws,allowingstudentstotransfertoanyschoolwithintheirdistrict

• UnderObamaadministrationthegovern-mentsavedorcreated300,000education-aljobsandhaveinvestedovertwobilliondollarsandhaveopenednewprogramsandgrantssuchasTheRacetotheTop

• RelievingstatesfromtheNoChildLeftBe-hindActtoletthestatesreformeducation

• RepealObama’shealthcareplanandreplaceitwithapatientdrivenhealth-careplan.Theplanwillallowpatientstocontroltheirhealthcareandhowtheyobtainit.

• Voucherprogramsthatallowsthetaxmoneyforastudentinthepublicschooltoessentiallybetakenoutsothatitcanbeusedasavoucherforprivateschools

• Voucherprogramsthatallowsthetaxmoneyforastudentinthepublicschooltoessentiallytakenoutsothatitcanbeusedasavoucherforprivateschools

• EliminateObama’shealthcareplanandreplaceitwithamultitudeofchoicesofhealthcareandintroducereformsthatwillrewardbythequalityofcare.

• UnderObamaadministration,U.S.troopswerebroughthomefromthewarinIraq

PhotoCredit:GageSkidmorePhotoCredit:GageSkidmore PhotoCredit:GageSkidmore PhotoCredit:GageSkidmorePhotoCredit:parachutegurl

PrimaryElections,whattheyareandhowtheyaredoing

Primaryelectionsareasortofpre-presidentialelections,thatprecedethepresidentialelections.Theseelec-tionsoccurwithinpartiesanddecidewhichcanidatewillrunagainstthecurrentpresidentforre-election.Thevotesarebasedonwhichcanidatecar-riestheparties’essencethebest.

ResultsStateME

CO

MN

MO

NV

FL

SC

NH

IA

Gingrich6.2%

12.8%

10.8%

12.2%

21.1%

31.9%

40.4%

9.4%

13.3%

Paul35.7%

11.8%

27.1%

25.3%

18.8%

7.0%

13.0%

22.9%

21.4%

Romney39.2%

34.9%

16.9%

55.2%

50.1%

46.4%

27.8%

39.3%

24.5%

Santorum17.7%

40.3%

44.9%

10.0%

13.3%

17.0%

9.4%

24.6%

2.24.127Competition2.24.126Mock Trial isn’t as

easy as it seems to ev-eryone. From practic-ing and memorizing

lines to getting into their characters, it is a long process for the students to go through to com-pete against other schools. Not only do they get the opportunity to compete, but it also gives them the chance to be informed about the law and how it’s carried out.

Mock Trial is a program which allows stu-dents to address situations many young adults face. Every team has a coach and a teacher to prepare their students and look at the positive and negative sides of a case, whether it’s from the defense’s or prosecution’s perspective. The students are then allowed to choose what posi-tions they will play such as attorneys, witness-es, clerks, or bailiffs. From there, they begin to practice and memorize their lines so when com-petition arrives, they have them all down.

“[At the competition,] I feel nervous and get butterflies,” said Pablo Hernandez (10).

Many students have been in Mock Trial from the mo-ment it was available to them. However, some joined the

class simply to experience the fun of it or because they had an interest in the law field.

“I joined Mock trial because I thought portraying an attorney would be an amazing experience,” said Melissa Jimenez (11).

Pamela Scott has been the adviser for Mock Trial for more than two years now and she is experienced on how the competition works. She gives her students tips on how to improve their case and how to fit into their characters.

“Mrs. Scott helps a lot every year. She covers everything from learning your parts and getting them memorized, to portraying your character the way [it] should be,” said Adriel Escalera (11).

After all the hard work they have put into preparation, they head off to their competi-tion. The competition takes place at a real courthouse. The essence of being in this courtroom full of judges can bring anxiety. The trial begins once the bailiff calls the judge into the courtroom. Once each side makes their argument on the case, it ends with the judge making his/her decision. As soon as the case closes, teams nervously

wait to hear the results.“I have really high expectations for my team, but it’s okay

if we don’t win. I think it’s the experience that counts,” said Priya Patel (11).

The AcaDec team gets ready for what is in store for them in the future“The court is now in session!” The school’s Mock Trial team ventures into its second year of competition

Aman Paneserstaff member Faviola Paz & Angelynn Jose

staff members

Photo Credit: Meziah Cristobal

Top: (left to right) Rafael Zabala, Alex Yee, Aldo Guzman, Vanessa Palomares, and Daymian Vil-lapudua walked together to the building across the Wendell Phillips Center to support each other in their next events.

Photo Credit: Meziah Cristobal

Bottom: The entire AcaDec team walked together with their coaches to the Scottish Rite Center to prepare themselves for the Super Quiz Oral Relay and plenty of cheering.

Photo Credit: Aman Paneser

As competition gets closer, the team practices their lines. Students go through pre-trials to get everything down and ready for competition.

As the Mathematics, Engi-neering, Science Achievement (MESA) day school competition approached, the participants

busily prepared for their events.“We had to research and get everything ready,” explained

Arianne Felisarta (9).Felisarta is one of the very few students venturing into

this competition with a group, which consists of Meimei Woo (9) and Mina Yang (9). Her group proved their works in the Speak Out category by presenting the topic “Cryo-sphere” to their judge, Kari Jones.

“The difficult part was time for us, not in a sense that we were short of it, but we had to make sure the speech fit into the little amount of time,” said Felisarta.

Speak Out is a part of the MESA competition where groups choose a prompt to present on, both visually and ver-bally. The most prominent topic amongst the competitors for the the school’s MESA day has been the “Cryosphere.”

“We chose what we wanted to do right away, and we did

research,” said FelisartaThe school competition took place on Jan. 27 on campus

where all the events were spread out to be judged by teacher

volunteers and the adviser of MESA, Obed Galang.Although Felisarta’s group felt they fell a little short on

time, they made it through the next level of competition, which was held at the University of the Pacific (UOP).

“I expect nervousness,” said Felisarta.Besides Speak Out, Students also competed in the catego-

ry of the Brain, the Eye, Speak Easy, Egg-Drop, Mouse Trap, Manila Mechanics and many more.

“We never had masking tape, which was the only thing we could use as an adhesive [for the mouse trap],” said Veronica Hall.

Many of the students who went through the school com-petition also made it through the official stage of competi-tion.

“We’re working on constructing our second egg box to get it ready for MESA day,” said Hall.

The essence of competition for many of the competitors isn’t just about winning.

“It’s not really about winning, it’s just kinda having fun and making an adventure out of it,” said Hall.

MESA competition keeps students busyPreparation for the competitors proved nerve-wracking, but fun

Photo Credit: Desiree Alcocer

Obed Galang judges the Manila Mechanics competition to see whose bridge could hold more water.

Jorelyn Calamstaff member

Alternate’s Divison:Java Villano - Music 3rd place

Division 1:Vanisha Patel- Essay 3rd place, Music 2nd placeVal Ivan - Math 2nd placeAlejandro Maya - Economics 2nd place, Inter-view 2nd placePriya Patel - Economics 1st placeSarah Palmer - Music 3rd place, Interview 2nd place, Speech 1st place

Division 2 (only those who won 1st place were given a medal): Sucharita Yellapragada - Language and Litera-

ture, MusicGabriel Ortiz - ArtRafael Zabala - Science, Economics, Math, and overall Varsity scoring Decathalete of teams with a second divisionVeronica Hall - ArtDelia Davila - Art, MusicTommy Trang - Economics

Division 2, as a whole, won the overall medal for second division team, as well as the top scoring Super Quiz team.As an entire team, they won 2nd for overall small school.

And the winners are...

Get ready for another year of wins

On day one of

the Academic Decathlon (AcaDec) compe-tition, starters met up at the Wendell Phil-lips Center at the University of the Pacific (UOP) to compete in interview, speech, and essay.

On the second day, a week later on Feb. 4, the entire AcaDec team went to take the written portion of the competition. After hours of taking tests, the team walked to-gether to the Scottish Rite Center for the Super Quiz Oral Relay and the awards cer-emony.

It will not be the last time the AcaDec team will compete. Many members are ex-cited to come back and get ready for another wonderful year.

The coaches of the team for each grade level were very proud of their students’ ac-complishments. Although the team has been competing in the competition for three years now since it has first started, there are still more things to learn.

“We had some challenges this year and we are still learning what works best for us,” said Shannon Kelly, AcaDec 11 coach. “We didn’t have enough juniors to fill two teams of starters so we had many first-time sopho-more starters - and one freshman starter. I think this will help us next year as well.”

With the new members and new coach,

they managed to come home with medals. For them, the experience was worthwhile.

“It was definitely a great experience,” said Andrea Bear, AcaDec 9 coach. “Not only did my students learn something, but so did I.”

The freshmen alternates want to join again for next year to be able to win med-als like they had seen their upperclassmen teammates get.

“Now that my freshmen have seen the competition they want to take it more seri-ously. They are driven by competition,” said Bear. In addition, others want to join again to redeem themselves, “I didn’t try this year. I need to work harder. I’m disappointed in myself,” said Carrie Huang (9).

The essence of team spirit and the moti-vation the team has for competing against other schools will keep the team focused and thriving to win. This will help bring the school gold.

“Definitely [joining again] because I like the team environment. [It’s] like a little family. I want to win,” Isabelle Tham (10).

For next year, the coaches want to bring the team all together so that it would be eas-ier to assist them all.

“We would like all three classes to meet at the same time,” said Kelly, “That way the coaches can address any of the classes ac-cording to their strengths - Mrs. Bear, in history, Mr. Eayrs, in science, and me, with language and literature.”

- The most desirable blood pressure reading is lower than 120/90.

- The main cause of high blood pressure isn’t stress, obesity, or aging. It’s actually unknown, which is why it’s called “the silent killer.”

- African-Americans have a higher risk of high blood pressure than other racial groups.

-High blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart disease, and kid-ney failure.

-Some cold and flu medicines can actually increase high blood pressure, if they contain decongestants.

Facts gathered and extracted from the American Heart Association (www.heart.org).

On Feb. 16, the Anatomy and Physiology class had the op-portunity to take the blood pressure of their classmates using a kit consisting of a stethoscope, pressure cuff, pressure gauge, and bulb.

“Blood pressure is supposed to tell you how healthy you are,” said Maicy Her (11). Blood pressure is, in fact, a measure of the force of blood pushing against artery walls.

Before taking blood pressure, the class began with a hands-on activity feeling each other’s pulse in order to determine the number of heartbeats per minute.

“The hardest part of the procedure was finding my pulse. It was hard to locate it at first,” said Jaikeydreo Cano (11).

After the activity, in groups of three members, the class took turns positioning the pres-sure cuff over each other’s left arms. They then placed the stethoscope over the pulse, and closed the air flow valve on the bulb, slowly squeezing the bulb and opening the air flow valve to realease pressure. By doing so, they found the two typ blood pressures.

“My favorite part of the procedure was using the air flow valve to find the systolic pres-sure and diastolic pressure,” said Aubrey McKinney (11).

The systolic blood pressure is the first reading on the pressure gauge and can be heard through the first pulse beat in the stethoscope, when the heart is contracting. It is the upper blood pressure, where as the lower is the diastolic blood pressure. When no more sound can be heard, the reading at which the gauge shows, is the diastolic pressure.

“Now, I know how to figure out the blood flow and pressure in my body,” said Her (11). By the end of the period, the students learned the very essence of taking blood pressure.

They also learned how their pulse in a stethoscope sounds, which according to the Anatomy and Physiology teacher, Obed Galang, sounds like “love, love, love, love, because it’s from the heart.”

Students take pulses and pressures, and even hear their heartbeats Sucharita Yellapragada

staff member

2.24.128 NewsEveryone has pressure: blood pressure, that is

Photo Credit: Sucharita Yellapragada

Cerina Gaoat (11) places the stethoscope over Andrew Ngai’s (11) arm. She listened to the pulse through the stethoscope, as the rest of the class made minimal noise.

Photo Credit: Sucharita Yellapragada

Teacher Obed Galang (far left) gets his blood pressure taken by his students, Jose Contreres (11), Cristian Alcala (11), and Fernando Hernandez (11). Galang also participated in the class lab.

TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE CLASS LAB, GO TO: WWW.WOLVESCHRONICLE.COM Did You Know?

Celebrating Black HistoryFebruary honors black history, hardships, and successes

Didyou know?The First African-American(s) to become:

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient: Sgt. William H. Carney was honored in 1900 for his superb valor during the Civil War.

U.S. senators: Hiram Revels of Mississippi, Carol Mosely Braun of Illinois, Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi and our current president, Barack Obama of Illinois.

Millionaire: Madame C. J. Walker was the first self-made American woman millionaire.

Inventor: Dr. Charles Drew originated the blood bank in 1940.

Nobel Peace Prize winner: Ralph J. Bunche was honored in 1950 for facilitating the armistice between Saudi Arabia and Israel. In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. became the second to receive this award.

Pulitzer Prize winner: Gwendolyn Brooks attained the Pulitzer for poetry in 1950.

Female Grammy Award winner: Ella Fitzgerald was honored in 1958.

U.S. Stamp: Booker T. Washington was the first African American to be depicted in 1940.

NFL quarterback: Willie Thrower became the first in 1953.

Astronaut to travel to space: Guion Bluford was the first African-American in 1983.

Women television host: Oprah Winfrey hosted the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1986.

Golf Champion: Tiger Woods triumphed in the Mas-ter Gold Tournament in 1997.

Billionaire: Robert Johnson became such in 2001 by owning Black Entertainment Television (BET); Oprah too became such in 2003.

U.S. President: Sen. Barack Obama was inaugurated in 2009 becoming the 44th president. He was also the first to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party.

2.24.129Features

Why they chose February?P W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Febru-ary of 1868.

P Black suffrage was the product of the 15th Amendment which passed in February of 1870.

P The renowned National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established in February of 1909.

Black History Month is celebrated every year since 1926. It was initially “Negro History Week.” Not until the institution began did black achievements begin to be recorded. It has been attributed to Harvard graduate, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who (during his education) was distressed to find the African-American population was hardly present, if at all, in history books. To address this problem he did the following: in 1915, he launched the Association for the study of Negro Life and History, created the Journal of Negro History, and then gave life to Negro History Week. Black History Month (then Negro History Week) was chosen to fall on the second week of February. In essence, this was done to venerate the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, both of whom greatly impacted the lives of many people.

Information of Black History Month has been extracted and paraphrased from Factmonster.com and Mosaic Magazine’s Feb. Edition.

Photo credit: aoyan on FlickrPhoto credit: Barry Bonds

Photo credit: Monika Flueckiger

Photo credit: Pete Souza

Photo credit: Dan Perry

Photo credit: Ryan Sonm

a

Photo credit: Dan Perry

02.24.1210 Food For

It is easy to resort to food when stressed. There is a satis-faction of being able to drown your feelings out with food to

make you happy.We sometimes tend to lean

towards those unhealthy foods for our bodies. Even I resort to those crunchy chips on the table or the pack of Oreo’s left on the counter. They’re sometimes too good to resist.

However, we’re always ca-pable of finding those foods healthy enough to keep our bodies strong. You’re probably thinking, but vegetables are dis-gusting or they’re not as satisfy-ing as the chips left on the table. But you must see the pairings of the fruits and vegetables to cre-ate good snacks, so you can have a strong body to keep you alive and well.

When we’re going through a strenuous time, whether at home or from a lot of homework, we tend not to worry about what food to be consumed.

The snack closest to you may not be the most healthy. When you eat bad foods, like processed foods from your fa-vorite fast-food restaurants, they build up in your body and can lead to difficult problems in the future if you keep eating

unhealthily.Staying fit and well may seem hard and difficult to transi-

tion into as you want to eat more and more of the sugary foods seen in the grocery store or even your own home.

Even when we do try to eat healthy, there is almost always a food throwing the meal or snack off track.

“I’m fine with carrots. That’s the only [vegetable] I’d prefer eating, only with ranch though,” said Christine Tran, sophomore (10).

What we don’t realize is when we do consume these bad foods too often, they will build up in our bodies.

“I eat McDonald’s and fried chicken a lot. It gives me the feeling of wanting more after I take a bite. I never seem to have that feeling when I eat veggies,” said Tran.

Yes, the essence of these foods may seem to be delicious, but in the end, you are not get-

ting the nutrition needed to keep a healthy body. Your body requires a certain amount of nutritious foods to keep it ac-tive and healthy. Now it’s easy to refer to that pyramid of foods to eat, but that would not be something easy to always follow.

Eating healthy to keep your body fit

• Ifyouareamale,multiplyyourcurrentweightinpoundsby15ifyouareactiveandby13ifyouareinactive.

• Ifyouarefemale,multiplyyourweightby12ifyouareac-tiveandby10ifyouarelessso.

CaloriecounterUse this in order to count the amount of calories you take in each day

Desiree Alcocer staff member

Indulging in the wrong foods can lead to bad consequences later in life

02.24.12 11ThoughT

Part of being a student at this school always includes stress and lack of sleep. Many of us sit in our homes, papers

and books surrounding the room, bubbling with frustration at midnight, or even 2 a.m. At one point, we can stand it no longer, so we automatically stop what we’re doing. Without thinking, we walk over to the kitchen and eat something in an attempt to calm our nerves, even if it is just for a mo-ment.

Sometimes it’s a bowl of ice cream, its creamy texture dissolves in your mouth with every spoonful, or sometimes it’s the sweet lingering taste of a chocolate bar after you eat it. We’ve all got a certain comfort food we reach for when we’re stressed. So why should we worry about being healthy when we’re too busy to think about anything else in the dead of night?

You’re tired. You’re surrounded by these angry emotions; you’re not going to last much longer if you don’t grab a bite. There’s nothing wrong with indulging yourself with your favorite food, as long as it doesn’t become too excessive. Know your limits. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

Although many worry about health risks when eat-ing such foods, if you exercise and maintain a healthy diet throughout the day, you shouldn’t have to worry. You’re the

one who’s ultimately in control of your diet. If you want a couple of chips, why not. Most of us should be involved in Physical Education (P.E.) or doing some sort of exercise throughout the day.

You also shouldn’t care too much about the impact of “junk food” on your body. Don’t try to overexercise to get rid of the extra calories just because you ate a bag of chips the night before. You don’t have to be perfect; it’s the es-sence of humanity. It’s very impressive when someone can go through their whole life eating only healthy foods, but the truth is, most of us don’t.

Comfort foods that we reach for are accessible and attainable. “Junk food”, some call it. But is it really junk? Junk gives off the impression of something that has no use. These so-called junk foods obviously have use, oth-erwise no one would buy them. Ice cream, pie, cookies, chocolate, chips, and other foods of this category calm us and comfort us when we’re on the edge of insanity with homework and projects.

The reason we have foods like this on the market, is because we, as consumers, and as teenagers, should be ma-ture enough to eat junk food while maintaining a balanced diet. We’ve had our parents tell us “no” when we were younger, now they don’t have to. At the moment, we’re more concerned about finishing whatever we need to do. That’s called prioritizing.

Just eat the foods you loveHealth should not be a concern when relieving stress

If you choose dark choco-late, you’ll be loading up on flavo-noids,

the heart-healthy compounds also found in green tea. A 1.5 ounce dark chocolate bar (the size of a KitKat Bar—all four pieces) will run you about 200 calories; it provides 2 grams of protein, too.

Popcorn is low in calories and is full of fiber. Having high levels of poly-phenols, antioxi-dants that

can protect against heart disease and cer-tain cancer. Research shows that popcorn has the highest level of all snack foods.

Cindy Munoz staff member

Informationgatheredfromshape.com

Blue food dye found on M&Ms (and Gatorade) could be helpful to reduce spine injuries, ac-cording to re-search published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.”

Ibetyoudidn’tknow...

Traditional Breakfast FoodsItisbesttoeatdifferentfoodseverymorn-

ing.Oatmeal,whole-graincereal,low-fatyogurt,skimmilkandfreshfruitareallgoodtraditionalchoices.Anomeletpreparedwithvegetables,suchasmushrooms,peppers,on-ions,spinachortomatoes,helpsmeetproteinandvegetableneeds.Asliceofwhole-graintoastwithalmondbutterhelpsmeetgrainandproteinneeds.

Nontraditional Breakfast FoodsThereisalsothechoiceofvegetarianchili,

arye-breadgrilledcheesesandwichorasliceofveggiepizzaforbreakfast.Soundsyummyright?Abowloffreshfruitsaladwithpecansisalsoachoice.Ifyourrunninglate,givehimabagofhomemadetrailmix,avegetablewraporacupoftomatosoupfortheroad.

Coconut is a topping for multiple possibilities. 50 percent of its saturated-fat content is lauric acid boost-ing good cholesterol levels. So indulge in this healthy and sweet treat.

Informationprovidedbylivestrong.comandmcdonalds.com

Beef jerky is actually filled with protein, and it doesn’t raise

your level of insulin, a hormone that trig-gers fat storage. Just be sure to choose low-sodium jerky and opt for brands with all-natural ingredients.

BigMac 7.5oz 540 260 29

Hamburger 3.5oz 250 80 9

QuarterPounderw/cheese

7oz 510 230 26

McChicken 5oz 360 150 16

Mediumfries 4.1oz 380 170 19

SmallSprite 16fl.oz 150 0 0

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Photosprovidedbycreativecommons.org

Caloriesarethetotalamountofcaloriesinafood.Caloriesfromfataretheamountofcaloriesthatcomefromthegramsoffatcontainedinthefood

Caloriesvs.Caloriesfromfat

Photo Credit: Desiree AlcocerAdding up all the calories within products someone may order at McDonald’s can be more than they should have for a meal.

The endTailLeap Day keeps the world turningThe only one of these rare days during our SECA years

The definition of a states that every an is added to the end of thus making it rather than the normal 365. Its purpose is to out and keep the calendars in line with the Although calendars say it takes 365 days to revolve around the sun once, it actually takes to do so. Therefore, having a keeps us in sync with time. If there were no leap days, we would be off, every

leap year four years, extra dayFebruary, 366 days in a year, balance

astronomical year.

365.2422 days leap day28 days 100 years.

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ir with his cupcake to show his celebration. Leap Day isn’t a national holiday. Its essence is one of functionality, not jum

ping. Photo credit: John-Matthew

Sinco

Leap Days are important to keep the world spinning at the right speed, yet they aren’t

considered holidays. They pass unnoticed by many people, despite how rare they are. Current Timberwolves have seen only four or five Leap Days during their entire lives.

“It’s an uncommon event that happens every four years, so it’s unique,” said Roberto Torrefran-ca (9).

This year’s Leap Day falls on a Wednesday—the perfect day to take a break from school and work to celebrate the accuracy of the calendar.

Torrefranca, for example, would celebrate Leap Day by jumping around.

“Because it’s a ‘leap year.’ Get it?” he said.On the other hand, Omar Carranza (9),and

many others think Leap Day is nothing special.“It’s just a regular day,” Carranza said.

Katelyn Gan & Emily Wilburnstaff members However, if Leap Day was actually declared a na-

tional holiday, Carranza would join the festivities.“I would do something special, like Chinese New

Year, and maybe hand out money. Because I like money,” he said.

Torrefranca would add food to the fun.“It would be like a regular day, but with more eat-

ing,” he said.Leap Day already has some traditions behind it.

In Europe, it’s common to see women asking men out on dates or proposing marriages, rather than the other way around—but only on the 29th of Febru-ary. However, if the women get rejected, the men of-ten buy presents or provide them with some kind of compensation.

Shannon Lor (9), for example, would want twenty dollars.

“It’s enough to buy me something,” Lor said.Regardless of whether or not you have plans for

Leap Day, the world will keep turning at the right rate.

SECA’s GOt talentMarch 16th, 2012.6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

If you aren’t singing, dancing, acting, telling jokes, burping the alphabet, playing the kazoo, or doing something cool in the show, just sit back and watch.

Admission: $2 EntranCe Fee: $1