hon. mention

The
Highlander
Answers to questions you won’t ask, pgs.10 & 11
www.scotscoop.com
Heritage fair
February 2013, Vol IV, Issue V
Standing out in a crowd
Carlmont’s ASB hopes to
put on best Heritage Fair
assembly yet. Pg.8
Black History
Month
Photo illustration by Gianna Dimick
By Rachel Schuster
Senior Editor
Everything from Obama to
MLK. Pg.6
Athlete of the month:
Michel Gonzalez
Read about his success on the
soccer field. Pg. 19
Online shopping
Is shopping online better than
going to a store? Pg.9
Sam walks into his first period class and sits
down. All around the room, heads begin to
turn.
Many turn away, embarrassed for him.
Others look down, busying themselves to
avoid eye contact. Some students even stop to
stare and gawk.
Why do his peers act like this?
The answer is simple.
It’s because he’s different.
According to a study conducted by Dr.
Gregory Berns, an associate professor of
psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Atlanta’s
Emory University, humans generally feel a
need to conform.
The majority of people shy away from
creating a uniqueness for themselves, afraid of
being rejected by others.
Berns reported in his study that, “even if
one has their own opinion on something,
they choose to ignore it, and go along with
the group to belong to the group. There is a
fear of standing alone.”
However, some Carlmont students, like
Sam, have strayed away from this path.
“[Trends] would be interesting to follow,”
said Lily Zheng. “But for me there are plenty
of other things to be interested in that take
my attention away from needing and wanting
to follow a trend. I’d much rather spend my
time writing, reading, and blogging.”
Priscilla Chan voiced a similar opinion,
telling how she doesn’t follow trends because
they tend to be overpriced and unnecessary.
“By putting your own personal touch on
the clothes you wear or the ways in which you
can style your body, you can put a lot more of
your identity into it,” Chan said.
Everywhere on campus, girls can be seen
sporting trends like Uggs, Northface jackets,
and leggings. Boys can be seen wearing skinny
jeans and talking about the latest bandwagon
sports game. All of them usually stand in the
hallways holding their iPhones or Camelback
water bottles.
Many of these people are often categorized
as “trend followers,” however, this does not
necessarily mean they have lost their identity
as individuals.
“I own a pair of Uggs,” said Jessie Real, “so
I guess I have followed the trend. But mine
are hot pink, so they’re not technically like
the ones that everyone else has.”
Real continued by explaining how even
though she owns a pair of Uggs, which
she also pairs with leggings, she is still an
individual.
“I didn’t lose who I am because I own a
pair. It’s not like I joined a cult,” she said.
Identity can generally be described as the
distinguishing character or personality of an
individual. Students like Real believe that
trends such as clothes and other material
items do not affect this individuality, and
feel as though they should not be judged for
choosing to or not to follow them.
“I don’t feel a need to obsess about what
I wear and whether it complies with current
fashion,” said Adam Cobb, “So I don’t follow trends. This doesn’t mean I’m weird or
should be treated differently, though.”
On the other hand, Courtney Heatherington doesn’t have a problem with following trends at all.
“It’s true, I do follow trends. Not religiously, of course, but I pick and choose
which ones I like and they help me find my
Continued on pg. 16
Carlmont’s GPA exceeds the national average
By Daniel Wang
Staff Writer
3.15
Many people still consider getting
all C’s to be average. If you received all
C’s in one semester, your unweighted
GPA would be a 2.00, which would
be the minimum required to graduate.
However, high school students across
the country are exceeding the C average.
According to The Nation’s Report Card,
an organization that keeps track of academic
achievement in the United States, high school
students nationwide earned an average 3.09
GPA in 2009.
Carlmont students are also exceeding the
2.00 GPA average significantly. According
to Administrative Vice Principal Robert
Fishtrom, the average unweighted GPA for all
students at Carlmont High School is a 3.15.
What’s especially impressive is that an
unweighted GPA, which is what Fishtrom
shared, is usually lower than a weighted GPA.
The highest unweighted GPA someone can
get is a 4.0, even with advanced placement
classes.
On the other hand, the weighted GPA
makes certain advanced classes out of five
points. So if a student were to take three fourpoint classes and three five-point classes and
receive all A’s, that student’s weighted GPA would be a 4.5. However,
that student’s unweighted GPA is
still at a 4.0.
So what accounts for all the high
GPAs Carlmont students have?
According to sophomore Brandon
Monteiro, the reason why Carlmont students are above the national average
is that, “Carlmont has a strong academic
program and the teachers push the students
to do well, which is why students are getting
higher grades.”
One way that the state measures how
academically strong California public schools
are is through the Academic Performance
Index (API). The API ranks all schools on a
Continued on pg. 16