Supreme Court justice pays visit

S
ENIORS, feel like a loser
because you still don’t have
a license? Here’s your chance
to get out of the passenger’s seat
and sit behind the wheel. Bum
a ride from your best friend to
Senior Malibu Night in Redwood
City tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. If
you feel driving a car is a little
too grown-up, spend your milk
money on the driving range or
at the arcade. Remember, it’s all
about baby steps, Tiger!
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■ Mardi Gras celebration in
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LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL, CARDINAL EDITION, VOL. 205 NO. 1, FEBRUARY 17, 2006, www.thelowell.org
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In the news
Party after the storm
Too much?
■ Where should
By Fiona Wozniak and Elisa Zhang
SUPREME COURT justice stopped to visit
the school on Feb. 6 while in town for a
national book tour.
When he realized that he would be in San Francisco for his new book, Active Liberty: Interpreting
our Democratic Constitution, Class of ’55 Lowell
alumnus justice Stephen Breyer set up a visit to his
alma mater. After a short classroom tour, he spoke
at a Mod 6-7 assembly held in his honor in the Carol
Channing Auditorium.
More than 1000 students, teachers and alumni
attended, as well as interim superintendent Gwen
Chan.
After a brief welcome by principal Paul Cheng
and a recap of the justice’s career by Student Body
Council president CJ Mourning and Forensics Society president Jacky Kwong, Breyer took the stage.
“It’s great to be here; it’s really nice to be home, and
it is home,” Breyer said. He also expressed enthusiasm
for the banner welcoming
“My dad would be proud,” he said, referring to the
fact that his dad was also a Lowell graduate. Breyer
immediately gave a brief lesson in government,
stressing the importance of working in local law.
“Ninety-five percent of law in the U.S. is state and local law. Five percent is Washington,” Breyer said. “So
if you want to make a difference to people and where
you live, you’ll worry about the law in San Francisco
…Not everyone has to run off to Washington. I admit
I’m a bad example of what I’m preaching.”
Breyer then described the efficient process with
which he and his colleagues on the Supreme Court
deliberate on cases. The justices go around in a circle
and “nobody speaks twice until everyone speaks
once,” Breyer said. “The key to that conference is that
A
SAM BOWMAN
Associate justice of the Supreme Court Stephen Breyer speaks at an assembly in his honor in the Carol
Channing Theater on Monday Feb. 6. Breyer spoke about the court processes and his time at Lowell.
we say what we really think; nobody’s there to make
an argument. The key to a productive discussion is
to always listen to what the other person’s saying. In
seven years I’ve never heard a voice raised in anger
By Heather Hammel
ADMINISTRATORS are
currently investigating an
incident that occurred during
self-scheduling, in which some students entered the arena early and were
able to get first pick for their classes.
Social studies teacher and Shield
and Scroll advisor James Spellicy
explained how these students came
to have their green sheets early. “A
member of Shield & Scroll chose to
violate his responsibility and gave out
green sheets to his friends to go in
A
early,” Spellicy said.
This individual has been removed
from Shield & Scroll and will not be
recognized as having been a member
of the organization at graduation, according to Spellicy. “Additional punishments are at the discretion of the
deans and the principal,” he said.
The person who pulled the green
sheets early expressed remorse for his
actions. “I abused my position within
Shield & Scroll to help my friends,”
admitted this member, who was suspended from Shield & Scroll on the
day of self-scheduling.
Principal Paul Cheng said that
though the administration agrees with
the punishment, they are continuing
their investigation. “We feel that what
(Spellicy) is doing is fine,” Cheng said.
“He’s following the right procedure.
Maintaining the integrity of Shield &
Scroll is important.”
According to senior Shield & Scroll
member Albert Feng, this was the first
self-scheduling incident involving
Shield & Scroll of which he is aware.
“I’ve never heard of (giving out green
1-8
12-15
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■ Sprinters are under new
management
■ “Battle of the Birds” victories
Columns Pages 17-18
■ New wave of childrens’ TV
shows, a change for the worse?
Opinion
Pages
22-23
■ Iraq war unjustified
■ Commander-in-Chief
should be a woman
sheets early),” he said. “It‘s strictly prohibited, and you’re punished.”
Spellicy agreed that to his knowledge this has never happened before
and added that “the entire fault lies
with the individual who did something
that goes against the principles of the
organization.”
However, Spellicy acknowledges
that more than one student on Shield
& Scroll was likely involved. “We are
aware that there were members of
Shield & Scroll at the door when these
See SELF SCHEDULING on Page 5
By Alexis Kim
FTER A RECENT BARRAGE of blackouts during the past three weeks, school administrators are
considering filing claims for reimbursement from
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, should further blackouts
damage equipment beyond repair.
A blackout on Feb. 8 had school administrators scrambling to get computers back online the next morning. “When
teachers came in the morning (on Thursday), all the servers
were down and the Internet was really slow,” network administrator Alex Hsieh said. “It was really bad.”
The blackout caused a multitude of problems for the
school. “The school was in the dark,” assistant principal
Peter Van Court said. “The timed lights were off. The timers
needed to be reset.”
Blackouts can cause two main problems for computers.
“In a blackout, basically, it’s like pulling the plug,” Hsieh said.
“It’s almost as if the computer was not shut down correctly.”
Although a single blackout poses only a weak threat, frequent
blackouts can cause real problems. If a computer repeatedly
shuts down incorrectly, files can be corrupted.
An abrupt restoration of electricity can be equally problematic. “That power surge could fry computer hardware,”
junior student technology assistant Herman Chan said,
See BLACKOUT on Page 5
A
9-11
Intelligent Design
play in schools?
■ Crossword
number puzzle
rises in world
popularity
Pages
See BREYER on Page 5
Blackout damages
could lead to action
by administration
Fan-tastic
■ What relationship should
Sports
in that room.”
The audience consisted of mainly upperclassmen,
including the entire senior AP Government students
Honor society causes scheduling inequity
bicycling accident
Pages
Page 24
Supreme Court justice pays visit
■ Fire damages ceramics kiln
■ Math teacher injured in
Features
school draw the
line for public
displays of aff
ffection?
LIANNA LEAL
Dancers from the Chinese Cultural Club perform at the Lunar New Year assembly in the
Carol Channing Theater on Thursday Feb. 9 during Mods. 6-7.
2
February 17, 2006
NEWS
NEWSBRIEFS
No more free lunch for student
Student Nutrition Services has changed the lunch
card status of a student named in the Nov. 18 issue of
The Lowell.
Sophomore Michael Lazarus’s lunch card status
changed from free to paid. On the meal application form
distributed to students in the beginning of the school
year, Lazarus had written “not interested” for free lunch
as students who were not interested were instructed
to do, and initially he received a “G” label making him
eligible for free meals.
Secretary for the dean, Maryline Hee received a note
from the Student Nutrition Services dated Dec. 28, stating the change in Lazarus’s status. “I got a letter from
the Student Nutrition Services and told him to come
down,” Hee said.
According to Lazarus, he got free lunch because the
Student Nutrition Services made an error. “They told
me that they made an error in processing, and so I got
free lunch because they thought that my mom was on
welfare,” Lazarus said. “They told me that they realized
this error, and so I had my lunch status changed.”
According to Lazarus, a Student Nutrition Services
representative refused to comment on whether other
students had their status taken away, saying that it was
“privileged information.”
Lazarus said, “If other students didn’t have their
statuses changed, then I believe I had mine changed
because my name was revealed in the story.”
— Jessica Lee
Students write winning plays
Four students are polishing their plays for production
in May, after winning a playwright competition.
The San Francisco Young Playwrights Foundation
directed the first annual Young Playwrights Festival, in
which five winning plays were chosen out of approximately 50 submissions from nearly a dozen schools, according to alumna Class of ‘03 Lauren Yee, who is also
a playwright and the executive director of the foundation. Lowell students wrote three of the five winning
submissions.
The winners are senior Alexander Mount who wrote
Brothers, junior Hallie Scheflin who wrote Good Charlotte, and seniors Chloe Jenkins-Sleczkowski and Jane
Reynolds who wrote Flowers for the Dead together.
Yee said she founded the foundation when she noticed a lack of writing opportunities for teenagers. “The
contest really formed in my mind when I realized that
there were numerous playwriting opportunities out there,
but none aimed specifically at San Francisco students,”
she stated.
Plays could be only 30 minutes long, but contestants
were free to choose their own topics. A committee read
the submissions, narrowing them down to nine semifinalists. Then the final selection committee, including
staff members, theater artists, educators and community
leaders, chose the five winning plays, according to Yee.
Contest winners received $300, along with “the opportunity to work with a mentor to polish (their) play,”
Scheflin stated in an e-mail. The winning entries will be
performed in May, according to Yee. The foundation will
hold auditions on March 11 and 12, for actors to fill roles
in the plays. Students who are interested in auditioning
should visit the Web site (sfyoungplaywrights.org).
— Carmen Sze
New products at Book to Book
Book to Book is adding new products to its shelves,
expanding beyond school supplies to attract more business.
“Our newest items are tote bags,” parent volunteer
Mo Martinez said. The bags, emblazoned with the Lowell
logo, were inspired by the new grocery bag law.
“We also sell ceramics now, donated to us from the
art department,” Martinez said. These multicolored art
pieces are available to buyers for $5 apiece.
The store also has plenty of new school memorabilia
on order including Lowell coffee cups and travel mugs.
The cups will be maroon with white school logos and will
be on sale in about two weeks, according to Martinez.
“Our goal is to sell more ‘fun’ stuff, and we are always
trying to think of new things to sell,” Martinez said, adding that they always welcome suggestions.
The store, which averages about 30 visitors per day,
gives the majority of its profits to the Parent Teacher
Student Association. Ceramic sales benefit the art department.
— Amy Seaman
F O R T H E C O M P L E T E V E R S I O N S OF STORIES, PLEASE VISIT
The Lowell on the Web
www.thelowell.org
The Lowell
Vending machines have new look
By Carmen Sze
HE SCHOOl has a new fruit bar
vending machine and new cages
on the old machines because of
frequent thefts and resulting mechanical
issues.
“Students were shaking and breaking
them,” assistant principal Peter Van Court
said. “The vendors said when they’re
shaken, it triggers a mechanism that makes
it not work anymore.”
The cages will benefit students by preventing these occurrences and keep the
machines functioning smoothly, according
to Van Court. “The whole point of the cage
(is so that) students don’t have access ... to
punch, kick, hit, push, pull the machine,”
he said.
In addition to protecting the vending
machines, the cages are also “a deterrent
for anyone wanting to break into the school
to get the money and food out of the machines,” Van Court said.
Frequent thefts have resulted in a profit
loss for the school and for the vendors,
according to Felix Kwong of Laike Vending, the company that owns the Lowell
machines. The cages protect the profits
for both parties, according to Kwong. “It
benefits us and it also benefits the school,”
he said.
Junior Amy Tom understands why the
cages were installed. “I remember people
shaking the machine and almost tipping
them over because their food was stuck,”
she said.
However, since the installation of the
cages, Tom, once a frequent visitor to the
vending machines, rarely buys the snacks.
“The cages give me the impression of a
prison,” she said.
Van Court agreed about the cages’ appearance. “It’s aesthetically not pleasant,”
he said.
Kwong maintains that the installation of
the cages was a mandatory action, despite
the issue with the machines’ appearance.
“We had no choice,” Kwong said. “We basically didn’t want to put up cages ... the cages
are expensive.”
This is not the first time vendors have
taken action to prevent theft, according
to Van Court. “The first modification was
to just bolt the machines to the floor and
prevent them from tipping over,” he said.
“But that didn’t prevent students from hitting and kicking the machines ... (Cages)
are the second modifications.”
The decision to put cages around vending machines to prevent vandalism and
theft is not an uncommon one, according
T
MICHELLE WILENS
Junior Monica Lam buys herself a treat at the popsicle vending machines which sport
a new look after being reenforced with cages.
to Van Court.
Kwong confirmed. “Other schools have
the same situation,” he said.
In addition to the cages, a new fruit bar
machine has been installed.
Proceeds from the new machine along
with those from other vending machines
near the textbook room on the first floor
support the senior class, according to social
studies teacher and senior class sponsor
Alex Schwarz.
Schwarz believes the machines are a success. “It’s popular,” he said. “I like that.”
Some students welcomed the new addition. Junior Timothy Chuc praised the
product. “It (is) healthy and delicious,”
he said.
Junior Emily Hosea applauded the
variety among other things. “It’s tight; we
actually have ice cream here now,” she said.
“It’s something that’s good for you, that
students love.”
However, senior Jose Molina expressed
concern that the machine was detracting
business from local ice cream sellers.
“The machine is taking jobs away from
hardworking Americans,” Molina said,
adding he doesn’t buy them. “There are
plenty of people who are willing to sell ice
cream at school ... the popsicle machine
isn’t really necessary.”
Senior Mike Novak agreed. “This is
totally unfair to the Mexican community,”
he said. For a couple of weeks, the vendors
outside school were selling their fruit bars
even cheaper than those in the machine,
according to Novak, who bought bars for
$0.25 from sellers.
Students also object to the vending
machine because of the price.
“I also think it’s a rip-off,” junior Angel
Rodriguez said. “$1.25 is a pretty high price
for a popsicle. They should lower the price
to a dollar even.”
District to continue old finals schedule
By Christine Au-Yeung
several weeks after the district announced the new schedule to all
AN FRANCISCO Unified School District administrators schools, neither side could agree to a decision until two days before
plan to maintain the final examination schedule of previ- finals were scheduled to begin, according to Cheng.
ous semesters in the future after controversy erupted from
Cheng believes that teachers should still keep the concept of
a district-mandated schedule change four weeks prior to the fall review sessions in mind, despite the old schedule’s lack of review
semester exams.
time. “Teachers should always be reviewing class material with
The United Educators of the San
their students before finals,” he said.
Francisco and the district reached an
The sudden change affected teachers’
agreement on Jan. 18, that all schools in
lesson plans, according to Chinese teacher
Lowell’s modular
the district would have to return to their
Xiaolin Chang. “It complicated our plans
original finals schedules, according to
what to review and teach during the last
system is a perfect on
principal Paul Cheng.
few days,” she said.
“The agreement was reached at the
Teachers preferred the old finals schedexample that
SFUSD central office, and the decision was
ule, according to social studies teacher
conflicted with
beyond our schools’ control,” Cheng said.
Wade Tam. “As a new teacher, I was un“That is why we received the news about
familiar to both schedules, but the new
the new finals
the change at the very last minute.”
schedule probably would have been more
SFUSD initially created a new finals
hectic,” Tam said. “The old schedule gave
schedule.”
schedule to accommodate two review
me more time to prepare for my next finals
PAUL CHENG,
sessions after two finals each day to ensure
and to correct papers.”
principal
students’ attendance in classes.
Students had mixed feelings about the
“Many schools in the district have
changes.
minimum days during the finals week, so
“Personally, either schedule would have
teachers wanted kids to be in class preparing for their upcoming been fine with me since I didn’t have any pressing finals,” senior
tests instead of going home after they are done with their exams Spencer Wan said. “But I like the old schedule because I am much
for the day,” Cheng said. “The new finals schedule put a structure more comfortable with it.”
to review sessions.”
Junior Denise Lee agreed. “I liked the original schedule because
However, UESF and SFUSD agreed to revert back to the origi- I was already familiar with it, and I also had one more weekend
nal finals schedule because of flexibility issues. “Lowell’s modular to study for my finals,” Lee said.
system is a perfect example that conflicted with the new finals
However, other students preferred the new schedule. “I think I
schedule,” Cheng said. “It was much less flexible and very difficult would’ve done better with the mandatory review sessions since I
for both teachers and students to adjust to the new schedule.”
usually study the night before, and that doesn’t help much,” junior
Although the union and the district discussed the conflict for Jordan Wong said.
S
L
“
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
NEWS
Schools will close to save district money
creates more problems than it solves.
Students and teachers
Brock Estes, vice chairman of United
must relocate to new lo- Transportation Union 1741, which repcations and adapt to new resents school bus drivers, explained the
exodus of principals from under-performsettings
ing schools.
“Ask (a) principal (at a trophy school) if
By Christine Lin and Noey Neumark
they would prefer to exchange their current
AN FRANCISCO PUBLIC school
job for one overseeing 300 kids combined
consolidations, which will take place
from two schools of 150, in classrooms of
next year as a result of district efforts
25-26, (and) they will look at you like you
to save money due to declining enrollment,
are crazy,” he stated in a Jan. 25 e-mail.
will mix different communities and potenAlthough Karen Morgan, the principal
tially cause conflict.
of Luther Burbank Middle School, which
The Board of Education voted to close
was sentenced to close, understands that
three schools, relocate five and merge two
the district used fair criteria and that school
into existing programs at a Jan. 19 meetclosures were a necessary move to save
ing.
money. She added that she would have liked
Although the district followed certo see more community involvement.
tain criteria to determine consolida“The community was never included
tions, including
in the taskforce
schools’ academic
about what to do,”
performance and
she said. “They
They made (the
building capacmade (the deciity, sophomore
sion) so quickly;
decision)
so
Shakema Stoney
there may have
said she feels that
quickly; there may
been better ways
mergers and reloto resolve the east
have been better
cations have not
side getting hit so
worked in the past
hard.”
ways
to
resolve
the
and will not work
Morgan said
in the future.
east side getting hit the district should
Stone y, w ho
have put more atso hard.”
graduated from
tention into the
Enol a Maxwel l
potential of LuMiddle School,
KAREN MORGAN,
ther Burbank to
experienced firstprincipal of Burbank Middle School
improve the east
hand the potenside of the city. “It
tial problems of a
is a gorgeous school site,” she said, noting
merger when the Creative Arts Charter
“the 900 seat auditorium and the library,
School moved into the Maxwell building
all kinds of things that are not being used
in 2003.
right now.”
“Our school didn’t like it,” Stoney said.
Although enrollment has been steadily
“We had (to play in) the lower yard, and
declining for the past 40 years, the district
they had the upper yard and the first floor
has as many active schools as in 1986, ac...We tried to connect our student governcording to a district information packet.
ments, but it didn’t work out because of
The decline is in part due to families,
racial issues.”
many of them low-income, moving from
Maxwell had poor testing and academic
the city due to high living expenses.
performance as well as behavioral prob“I understand that it’s difficult, but looklems, according to Stoney. However, she
ing at it overall, it’s not the board’s fault
said she feels the recent decision to close it
enrollment in particular schools is going
S
T
“
down, and it’s not the board’s fault that
families have to move to Tracy to buy a
house,” said board member Dan Kelly in a
Jan. 20 San Francisco Chronicle report.
Angry parents at community meetings repeatedly argued that the proposed
changes unfairly affected neighborhoods
in the east side of the city, which are predominantly African-American.
Estes advocates preserving smaller
schools. “If we are going to take kids in
under-enrolled schools where they are
succeeding at a higher level than previously,
and tell those kids that they are draining
too much money from the system, then
we are going in the wrong direction,” he
stated. “When left in smaller classes with
a principal overseeing (less students), kids
who might have slipped between the cracks
began to flourish.”
While the board anticipated that the
original proposed mergers and closures
would yield $5 million, the final plan will
save the district only $2.4 million, according to district estimates, since some schools
were allowed to remain open. The district
hoped to acquire an additional $4.7 million by leasing buildings vacated by the
relocations; City College is a potential lessee of the vacant Newcomer site in Pacific
Heights, according to a packet compiled
by the district, outlining the school board’s
decisions on school consolidations.
The board voted to merge John Swett
Elementary into John Muir Elementary,
and the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program West into Rosa Parks Elementary.
Enola D. Maxwell Middle School, Luther
Burbank Middle School and Cabrillo Elementary School were closed. Newcomer
High School in Pacific Heights will relocate
to the Edison Charter Academy site in the
Mission, moving Edison Charter Academy
to a site that is yet to be determined. International Studies Academy will relocate to
the current Enola Maxwell site, while the
Downtown High School will occupy the
current ISA site, and Aim High will relocate
to the current Luther Burbank site. The
changes are effective as of next school year
according to Great Schools (greatschools.
net), a non-profit online organization.
Lost master key turns up in student’s home
By Christine Lin
HE ADMINISTRATION averted chaos with
prompt efforts early last week to recover a
very important key — one that opens all the
American locks in the school.
Athletic director Robert Ray reported the problem to dean Ray Cordoba on Jan. 31, a few hours
after discovering the loss, whereupon security staff
led an investigation.
The key was found in the home of a suspected
student, who had already attempted two locker thefts
right after self-scheduling, according to Cordoba.
The student was suspended.
Physical education teacher Michael Prutz, who
had custody of the key, had given it to the student,
according to Cordoba.
Prutz did not comment on the matter.
Cordoba warned teachers against being too
trusting.
“You give someone you think is trustworthy,
a little chore, and then you find out they can’t be
trusted at all,” he said.
If the key had not been recovered, rampant locker
thefts could have ensued, according to Cordoba.
The first week of the semester, sophomore
Takeshi Kaji found his gym locker open, with the
lock inside. Nothing was taken from the locker
because its only contents were a pair of pants, according to Kaji.
“I’m just really glad I didn’t have anything valuable in it at the time,” Kaji said. “I think that if the
school can’t handle it then they should let students
buy their own locks and provide their own security.”
The lesson to be learned by this incident is to
never lose sight of one’s keys, according to assistant
principal Scott Carson.
“You only have to lose your keys once to realize
you have to keep them on a chain or keep them with
you at all times,” said Carson, who found, while
previously teaching at another school district, that a
student had hidden his keys in a lighting fixture.
T
NEWSBRIEFS
UC’s will not raise tuition
California’s public university regents will not raise
tuition this year because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
who is also a University of California regent, vetoed a
tuition fee hike.
Both the CSU and UC systems will receive $130
million to prevent what would have been a $492 fee
hike for in-state students and a $690 fee hike for out of
state students, according to the Daily Nexus, UC Santa
Barbara’s student newspaper (ucsbdailynexus.com).
Currently, tuition is about $6,633 for in-state students while out of state students generally pay $6,897,
not including living expenses, according to the Daily
Nexus.
“Obviously, it’s hard for parents to come up with the
money to pay for their children’s educations,” principal
Paul Cheng said. “It’s in the state’s best interest to
encourage higher education.”
Students agree. “Anything that enables people of
all socioeconomic classes to pursue higher education
is a good thing,” junior Jacky Kwong said. “He’s doing
more to help education.”
“I think it’s great,” assistant principal Peter Van
Court said. “It seems that the state’s finances are
back on track, and that should impact all public
schools.”
— Michelle Lambert
New driving laws passed
A series of driving-related laws took effect on Jan.
1, including a bill that alters the rules for provisional
licenses for drivers under the age of 18.
The law now states that all drivers with provisional
licenses must wait one year before driving anyone under
the age of 20 unless a person over the age of 25 is also
present. The old legislation required only six months of
experience to drive other teenagers.
Junior Betsy Selander, who received her license over
a year ago and will not be affected by the new legislation, said that the mandatory one-year of experience
the law requires is unnecessary. “I don’t think that
after six months there was much of a change in my
driving,” she said.
Physics teacher Timothy Woolgar explained that
England’s 17-year-old driving age helps reduce accidents
because of the extra year of maturity. “A year may only
help in a small percentage of cases, but any lowered
accident rate is always good,” he said.
The law also forbids drivers under the age of 18 from
driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. The old driving
curfew began at midnight instead of 11 p.m.
Junior Hannah Edelsberg, who received her license
on Nov. 28, said the change punishes teenagers without
improving safety. “I don’t think it will affect my driving
at all because the light and driving conditions are not
different between 11 p.m. and midnight,” she said.
“Also, people already break the curfew law.”
— Joey Bien-Kahn
Alumnae receive scholarships
Two alumnae received scholarships originally intended for only one recipient.
The Barbara Ely Scholarship, given to teenagers
who volunteer in their community, was originally intended for one recipient. However, Lowell class of 2005
graduates Flannery Hill and Irina Lypcis each received
the $2,500 scholarship because of their impressive
volunteer records, according to Planned Parenthood
development assistant Elena Gonzales.
Hill started freshman year as an intern at Planned Parenthood and later became one of two teens voted onto
the board of trustees. Lypcis was a member of other
community service organizations and also performed
in plays hosted by Planned Parenthood, according to
Gonzales.
Planned Parenthood, a national network founded in
1922, operates eight clinics in the Bay Area, and strives
to provide services at low affordable costs, according
to Gonzales. “Our mission is to provide educational
programs, advocate public policies, guarantee individual
rights, dignity and privacy, and to promote reproductive care,” Planned Parenthood development assistant
Elena Gonzales said.
To learn more about services and volunteer opportunities of Planned Parenthood, visit the Planned
Parenthood Web site (www.ppgg.com).
— Angela Ngai
F O R T H E C O M P L E T E V E R S I O N S OF STORIES, PLEASE VISIT
BRIAN HO
Many PE lockers in the boys’ lockerroom could have been opened with
the stolen key.
The Lowell on the Web
www.thelowell.org
3
4 NEWS
February 17, 2006
Lowell High School
Basketball T-shirt sales aim to draw fans and spirit
By Noey Neumark
Ray expressed his desire to bring more energy to Lowell
ASSIONATE basketball fans donning cardinal red athletic events. “I have been watching and going to college
sixth man shirts cheer wildly from the sidelines.
basketball games,” Ray said. “The spirit at those games is
In basketball, the sixth
extremely high.”
man refers to an extra player in
Passionate fans, many of whom
It gives the people come from the baseball team, were
addition to the starting five on the
court. The sixth man is usually veralso inspirations for Ray. The shirts
who have them
satile, able to play different positions
are a way to “thank and reward their
and willingly substitutes in for his
another reason to enthusiasm and continuous support,”
teammates.
he said.
come to our games
When it comes to marketing,
For now, Ray is not planning to
however, the sixth man describes a
extend sales to parents and teachers.
and support us.”
loyal fan.
“I want to keep it a student thing,”
Varsity basketball coach Robert
he said.
JORDAN WONG,
Ray marketed the sixth man phrase
Many students have taken advanon T-shirts, a tactic used at many
junior small forward tage of their opportunity to purchase
colleges and universities to draw
the shirts, including freshman Narin
more fans to home varsity basketball
Leininger who bought a shirt because
games.
“it was a good deal, and I wanted to support the basketball
Sixth man shirts are available to students for $5 and teams.”
give free admission to all home basketball games, which
Varsity basketball small forward junior Jordan Wong
normally cost $1 for students.
applauded the shirts. “It gives the people who have them
Inspiration for the shirts stemmed from Ray’s goal as another reason to come to our games and support us,” he
athletic director “to get the student body to participate in said. He added that bigger crowds give games a much more
more athletic events,” he said.
exciting and “rowdy” atmosphere.
P
JACK ZHOU
Sixth men — and women — don the popular T-shirts and other Lowell
clothing at the annual Battle of the Birds game on Feb. 3. The shirts are
available for $5 and give free admission to the home varsity basketball games.
Students translate for pen pals
By Heejin Hwang
TALIAN STUDENTS are acting as translators
for a pen-pal program between fourth graders
in Torino, Italy and nine Bay Area elementary
schools.
The students have already begun to translate some
letters exchanged for Postcards from Torino, NBC’s
pen-pal program during the Torino Winter Olympics
from English into Italian, and vice versa.
“It’s an interesting way of testing our knowledge,”
senior CJ Mourning said. “People might think it’s
easy since (the Torino students) are fourth graders,
but they use really advanced conjugations.”
With dictionaries in front of them, students wearing NBC11 berets and Olympic medals do the work
voluntarily either after school or during Mods.19
and 20.
A challenge that many students voiced is the
problem of translating the thoughts of elementary
students with vocabulary that they haven’t learned yet.
Sophomore Simone Levy said, “Sometimes they write
things that aren’t necessary, but we have to translate
it word-for-word.”
NBC11’s community marketing director Lance
Lew contacted Italian teacher Judy Branzburg last
week and told her about Postcards from Torino. Students from elementary schools from nine Bay Area
counties, including Francis Scott Key Elementary
School, send daily e-mails to fourth graders at Scuola
Primaria Niccolo Tommaseo, the school in Torino.
I
“We wanted to engage the community and give
high school students the opportunity to translate
Italian,” Lew said.
NBC11 started the Postcards from Torino program
as a way for the Olympics to influence students in a
more educational way, according to an NBC11’s press
release. “Postcards from Torino makes the Olympics
a more (educational) experience for Bay Area students, while giving them a unique way to practice
their writing, questioning and geography skills,” the
release stated.
Branzburg thinks it’s a great way of learning about
other cultures. “I think the kids on both sides are
getting tremendous knowledge on both countries,”
she said. “They’re describing their lives the way it is
— information not in the newspaper. Those kids are
living the Olympics.”
Francis Scott Key teacher Karen Tom is in charge of
the program at her school, aided by special education
teacher Liliana Manzone, who speaks Italian fluently
and helps with the translations there. Tom wants her
students to broaden their perspectives. “I want my
children to have a better cultural awareness of other
children, learn more about Italy and be more accepting about cultural differences,” she said.
NBC plans to have a section during the Olympics broadcast featuring this pen-pal program. The
exchanges will continue until the end of the Torino
Olympics, Feb. 26. Postcards and pictures are posted
on the NBC Web site (nbc11.com).
I
“
New ceramics kiln sets off
fire alarm after school
By Steven Houang
TUDENTS are waiting for district
contractors to make changes in the
ceramics room because of safety
concerns.
A newly installed kiln heated up
particles in the air, which set off the fire
alarm around 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 3.
The particles in the room did not
start a fire, but the alarm sensor system
in the room was too sensitive, according
to ceramics teacher Kirsten Janssen.
The San Francisco Fire Department
found that the heat-smoke detector
registered particles and bits of microorganisms in the ceramics room, assistant
principal Peter Van Court said.
“It was the first time they fired up
the kiln for the students’ work, but it is
intended to run unattended,” he said.
Staff members and students were told
to evacuate the building after the alarm
systems went off, according to Lowell
Dance Company member senior Rayna
Lew. “We had a dance mentor, but our
S
session was cut short,” she said.
Simplex, the school’s alarms company, have made “improvements and
several modifications,” so that the alarm
system will not react to the particulates
in the air, Van Court said.
The fire marshal also found that the
ceramics room was not updated to accommodate the new kiln, so the room
itself will need to be updated, according
to Van Court.
According to Janssen, a district carpenter came and removed a cabinet and
a cork wall in the ceramics room next to
the kiln, “and now we’re waiting for sheet
metal work.”
The kiln did not cause a fire, but the
cork wall was also removed to follow
updated safety standards.
Because of the need to upgrade the
room, students “haven’t been able to
fire the pieces from last semester,” senior Amanda Poon said, adding that the
pieces are “just sitting there.”
“It’s kind of depressing,” she added.
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
NEWS
Outages may compromise computers Justice talks
From BLACKOUTS on Page 1
adding that it “rarely happens.”
Network administrators had
to manually check each of the 80
computer switches, which connect
all the computers into networks,
to ensure that all 1,920 active ports
and 350 computers were functioning properly. “It’s like finding a
needle in the haystack,” Van Court
said. “We had to go through the
whole school.”
The Feb. 8 blackout was just one
of the three blackouts the school
experienced for the past three
weeks, according to Hsieh. “We’re
having blackouts after blackouts,”
Van Court said.
The recurrence of blackouts
worry the school’s network administration. “There could be a lot
of ramifications,” Van Court said.
Blackouts could damage the computers which store the attendance
records, counseling information,
teachers’ curricular items and
grades, according to Van Court.
The school’s seven computer classes
and computer labs would also be
severely affected.
“Right now the issues are just
problematic,” Van Court said. As
of now, problems have been minor
and fixable. “If the equipment turns
off, we just have to reset it.”
However, if blackouts continue
to occur, the equipment could be
damaged to the point where it cannot be repaired.
If this should happen — although the school does not have a
“definitive price tag” on the electrical failures — the school will look
to PG&E for reimbursement, ac-
cording to Van Court. “We’ve never
asked before,” Van Court said. “It’s
never been this much of an issue.”
According to Van Cour t,
grades will not be lost in even the
worst-case scenario of a black out.
“There’s a redundancy system,”
Van Court said. “We back up everything. The only things we could
lose are files that people don’t keep
on the server,” like files saved onto
a desktop.
Surge protectors, which divert
extra energy from a power surge
into the outlet’s grounding wire,
can be installed for further protection. All computers plugged into
orange outlets in newer parts of
the school are hooked up to a surge
protector. However, about half of
the school’s computers in the older
parts of the school are plugged
directly into the wall without any
protection, leaving that equipment
vulnerable, according to Chan.
Hsieh agreed that the school’s
power system is less than perfect.
“Ideally, we would want to have an
Uninterruptible Power System for
each computer server,” Hsieh said.
“The UPS is like a battery back-up
system. When the power cuts out,
the UPS will shut down the computer nicely. It won’t keep providing energy to keep the computer
working but it will make sure the
computer is shut down okay.”
A UPS can cost up to $1,750, not
including the additional equipment
required for the system to function
properly. “We don’t have the budget
for it,” Hsieh said. Since electrical
surges are so rare, the UPS would be
unnecessary, according to Hsieh.
Several S & S members violate arena policies
From SELF-SCHEDULING on Page 1
students entered early,” he said. “Actions will be
taken against them, too.”
A member of Shield & Scroll, who requested
anonymity, asked the deans to investigate the
situation after finding a student entering before
his/her designated time, according Spellicy.
“I happened to catch a person who attempted to sneak by the door to self-schedule
earlier than their RAP,” said the Shield & Scroll
member who reported the incident.
Other Shield & Scroll members also reported
to this member that students were sneaking
by the doors holding green sheets before their
RAPs.
Another Shield & Scroll member said that
he noticed some peculiarities at the time, but
was unsure whether anything against the rules
actually happened because he missed the entrance of the first RAP. “There seemed to be a
lot of (peer mentor coaches), and some people
came in a little later so we thought that some
people might not actually be on peer mentoring,” said the member, who also asked to remain
anonymous.
Students entering the arena early told the
people manning the doors that they were peer
mentor coaches, according to the Shield & Scroll
member.
Peer mentor coaches picked their classes during the first rap this semester in order to fit the
required leadership course into their schedules
and because first pick was promised in their
agreement, however, they will not have first pick
in the future, according to peer mentor coach found to have received their green sheets early
Briana Feigon.
will probably be required to do some sort of
Feigon said she does not understand how school or community service rather than being
people got into the arena by saying they were removed from their classes. “The deans and the
peer mentor coaches, as the peer mentor leaders principal are making a concerted effort to find
pulled the green sheets of the real peer mentor the students who entered early to the detriment
coaches. “The people in control were aware that of the students who legitimately entered,” he
there were only 20 of us, and they had a list of said.
the names,” she said.
The violators “hurt
Wellness Center costudents who wait their
ordinator Alicia Rozum
fair turn and don’t get
It took away from
gave administrators a
the classes they want
list of students permitsomeone has
the average Lowell because
ted to pick earlier. “I was
scammed the system,”
surprised when I spoke
Spellicy said. English
student.”
to a Shield & Scroll repteacher Liz Rogers said
resentative saying there
this incident was a “comFORMER SHIELD &
were others,” she said.
pletely dishonorable act,
SCROLL MEMBER,
“Unless the green sheets
no question about it.
removed for improprieties
were pulled, there was no
The student deserved to
reason for other people to
be removed from Shield
get first pick.”
& Scroll.”
The Shield & Scroll member who reported
The ex-Shield & Scroll member said that he
the incident said that “at the time I didn’t know regrets “taking away from the integrity of selfexactly who was pulling the green sheets early scheduling and from other students who didn’t
… but I suspected it might have been a Shield get their classes. It took away from the average
and Scroll worker or someone stationed in the Lowell student.”
auditorium because they had access to green
The member who reported the incident said
sheets.”
that he had a duty to Shield & Scroll and that the
Spellicy said he is worried that this incident members of the society had a duty to the school
will hurt Shield & Scroll’s reputation. “I think to keep self-scheduling as fair as possible. “Acathe majority of the students made every effort demic honesty is very important, and I couldn’t
to abide by the rules,” he said.
go against my conscience by letting this incident
According to Spellicy, the students that are go by,” he said.
“
I
to students at
alma mater
From BREYER on Page 1
and most of the junior AP U.S. history students. Students held a question and answer
session with Breyer after his speech.
Breyer stressed that one of the court’s
main purposes is defining the line between
security and civil liberties. He admitted and
denounced past mistakes the court has made,
citing the internment of Japanese citizens
during World War II. “Excesses are possible,”
he said. “We are there as a sort of balance.”
Breyer’s presence awed many history
teachers. “It was the social studies teacher’s
equivalent of seeing a celebrity on the street,”
U.S. history teacher David Leong said.
U.S. history teacher Alex Schwarz found
the assembly to be entertaining, as well.“I
got so excited when he made a reference to
a court case we studied last semester on Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears.”
After the assembly, Breyer was presented
with gifts from Lowell’s Book-to-Book
center. Breyer reminisced about his days at
Lowell. “My fondest memory is probably the
spring half of my senior year. We didn’t have
that much work, and the weather was beautiful. The teachers were being quite nice at that
point, and my friends were there.”
Breyer took the opportunity to remind
students of the lasting relationships formed
in high school. “The people at Lowell, you
stay friends with. That’s where you meet
your friends, and you remember the teachers.
Luckily what you learn, you remember.”
Breyer later spoke at Herbst Theater as a
part of City Arts and Lecture’s “Conversations with…” program. New Yorker staff
writer and CNN legal analyst, Jefferey Toobin
served as interviewer to Breyer.
“It made my day,” Breyer said of the
Lowell visit. “The students were enthusiastic. There was lots of learning in all medias.
And they are good at sports! They weren’t
in my day.”
During the audience question-and-answer session, Breyer used Lowell to defend
the public school system, which was held up
to scrutiny by a member of the audience who
asked if he had suggestions on improving the
state of education in the country.
“I was very impressed by the education
going on (at Lowell),” Breyer said. “I saw a lot
of learning in a short amount of time.”
5
6 NEWS
February 17, 2006
Lowell High School
Teachers’ union contract renewal negotiation stalled
By Vicki Mac
ONTRACT negotiations
between the teacher’s union
and the district enter a critical
stage following the union’s declaration
of impasse.
On Feb. 2, United Educators of
San Francisco leaders moved to freeze
talks when the district was evidently
not meeting the needs of union, according to union president Dennis
Kelly. In light of the impasse, up to 200
union members met for strike training
at Tenderloin Elementary on Feb. 3.
Two strike leaders at each school site
will organize picket lines and assure
that members get all information in
C
the event of a strike.
Currently, the district offers a 7.5
percent raise at the end of the year,
in July 2007. The union deems the
bid “unacceptable.” Proposing a 10
percent raise, including 3 percent
retroactive — distribution at several
intervals. “One telling point was the
need for retroactivity for some portion of the needed raise,” Kelly said.
“The district has offered a starting
point of a 2 percent raise, retroactive
to last month.”
A newly appointed mediator will
intervene to hear both sides and review facts and figures. The recent action follows months of high tensions,
including the union lending support to
SEIU Local 790 during SEIU’s contract
negotiations. Lowell and other district
teachers demonstrated in a rally designated “Grade in for Justice,” held on
Jan. 21. A raise that meets inflation is
one part of a greater issue of respect for
educators, according to union members. “We are hoping to settle over
the table,” executive board member
of UESF and Lowell union building
representative Kenneth Tray said. “But
given the district’s obstinate refusal
to put out money we believe is available, we are prepared to withhold our
labor.” Tray believes that the situation
is closest to a strike than at any other
point in his 20 years with the district.
“Bonuses have gone to the superintendent and to paying lawyers in court
cases that are no longer relevant.” The
union contends that the concern lies
in district priorities rather than fund
scarcity, according to Tray. They hope
that the district pays a ‘modest recognition’ of Master (MA) and Doctors
of Philosophy degrees (PhD), as well
as professional development activities
and workshops.
In response to a investigation of
former superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s credit card receipts, Dennis said,
“It is not unusual for a superintendent
to hold a district credit card, but the
lack of oversight and the reported hostility to review speak volumes about
the difficulties we have had with the
district and its fiscal credibility.”
Physics teacher and UESF activist
Shapiro stated, “Over the past several
years, the state has given the district
millions of dollars in cost of living
adjustents. However, not one cent
went to giving teachers cost of living
adjustments to their salaries. Instead
the district has engaged in a variety
of pet projects which has resulted in
SFUSD spending the smallest percentage of their total budget on employee
compensation compared with every
other urban district in the state.”
Math teacher recovers
from bicycle accident
Celebrating culture
By Edward Chen
BICYCLE ACROSS the Golden Gate
Bridge, ride a flat road, then up the hill
to the top of the Garin Headlands. At
the top I turn around to go down the hill, over
the flats, and back over the bridge. As I look at
my speedometer, it appears that I go a steady 15
miles per hour on the flats, 6 mph on the ‘up-hill’
and 24 mph on the ‘down-hill.’ Is this enough
information to calculate my average speed?”
After a serious biking accident on Martin
Luther King, Jr. weekend, math teacher Bruce
Cohen can no longer ride his bike, so his next
calculus problem may involve a hospital IV
drip
Cohen was biking home the morning of Sunday, Jan. 15, when the accident occurred. After
getting off the Golden Gate Bridge, Cohen was
riding down a hill when an oncoming bicyclist
came towards him. He said that he was riding
under control and steered out of the way, safely
avoiding the other bicyclist. However, by doing
so, he biked onto a section of gravel, lost control
and fell, breaking his left pelvis and left elbow.
Cohen was wearing a helmet during the
incident and did not suffer any head injuries.
Luckily, two cyclists stopped who were emergency room doctors. They stayed with Cohen
until an ambulance came and took him to the
UCSF hospital, where he received X-Rays and
a CT scan. He was then transferred to San
Francisco General Hospital because it has a
very strong trauma unit. At SF General, he un-
“I
LIANNA LEAL
Senior Martial Arts Club member Marissa Chin performs and promotes cultural pride during
the Lunar New Year celebrations on Feb. 8 Mods 6-8 in the Carol Channing Theatre.
derwent a seven and a half hour operation by
the same surgeon who had operated on social
studies teacher Richard Girling in 2004. Cohen
was then transferred to the California Pacific
Medical Rehabilitation Center East campus on
Jan. 24, where he is now.
Cohen doesn’t know when he will return
to school, but he said that he is doing well. His
arm cast was removed Feb. 2, and he is working
on mobility. However, Cohen must not put any
weight on his left arm or leg for another one and
three months, respectively.
“He’s making good, steady progress,” math
teacher and substitute for Cohen Kevin Sullivan said.
While Sullivan will be teaching Cohen’s
classes, Sullivan’s classes will be taught by substitute teacher Mary Andrews because Sullivan
has more experience. He worked as a teacher’s
assistant for calculus when he was a graduate
student.
Affected classes include Cohen’s AP Calculus
2 classes and his AP Calculus BC class. Sullivan’s
classes are Advanced Algebra 2, Accelerated
Math 2H and Pre-Calculus 2. Cohen, Sullivan,
and math teacher Karl Hoffman are working
together to prepare for the affected calculus
classes.
Cohen has received numerous cards from
students, and has dedicated a wall in his room
in the rehabilitation center to them. Cohen said
that he misses his students and will definitely be
coming back to Lowell.
School board investigates Ackerman’s credit card usage
By Elisa Zhang
HE SCHOOL BOARD is scrutinizing former superintendent
Arlene Ackerman’s districtpaid credit card account.
She has come under fire this month
for what school board member Eric
Mar described as “alarming” expenditures on the card. Ackerman announced her resignation last September, citing irreconcilable differences
T
with the Board of Education. However,
the board and Ackerman have again
become embroiled in conflict, first
over the accessibility of Ackerman’s
school district credit card receipts and
now over the large figures that appear
on the receipts: $45,625 was spent in
2005, “on top of her $250,000 salary,
$2,000 housing allowance and many
other benefits,” Mar said. The receipts
included normal airfare and hotel ex-
penditures for business trips, but also
contained bills for “fancy and expensive restaurants,” according to Mar.
A $500 Washington D.C. restaurant
bill and a receipt from Jardiniere, a
high-end restaurant in San Francisco
were included on Ackerman’s list of
spendings, according to Mar.
“There should be reasonable but
not lavish expenses while we’re closing schools and laying off teachers,”
Mar said.
Other school members, however,
feel that Ackerman’s expenditures are
justified by the cultivation of business
relationships and maintenance of professional reputation. “This is the cost
of doing business and doing it well,”
board member Jill Wynns said in a Feb.
9 San Francisco Chronicle article. Calls
to Wynns were not returned.
On Jan. 24, school board vice presi-
dent Sarah Lipson requested that Ackerman surrender receipts of expenses
she had incurred on a credit card
funded by the district. Lipson acted
on a tip from some of Ackerman’s “top
level employees” that Ackerman had
made some “pretty big purchases” on
the card, Lipson said. Lipson said she
felt it was her responsibility to investigate the issue.
See ACKERMAN on Page 7
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
CAMPUS
7
Students meet to play games and have fun
T
by their popularity in the club due to limited
resources,” according to the club Web site (gc.
firey.net)
Freshman James Selig joined the club to meet
people who share his interest in video games and
to discuss new strategies for gaming.
Other members joined the club to get a chance
to play video games with other students. Junior
Gregory Ostolaza Bravo joined the club to improve his gaming skill level by competing against
other students with varying skill levels. “It was a
pretty good challenge for me,” Ostolaza Bravo
said. “Playing on my own gets boring, and I usually don’t improve from playing on my own.”
The club not only offers a good challenge and
an opportunity to discuss and play video games,
it is also a place for friendly competition.
The club will host an annual Super Smash
Brothers Melee tournament starting on March
School board scrutinizing superintendent’s
use of distrit funds
McCoy’s office were not returned.
Mar said Ackerman submitted a
“binder-full” of receipts to members
of the school board and the press on
Feb. 8.
Ackerman’s contract includes a
“compatibility clause” that allots a
$375,000 severance payment if she
continued in her work with the district
until June 30.
However, on Feb. 1, Gwen Chan,
installed as deputy superintendent in
response to Ackerman’s announced
resignation, officially became acting
superintendent. The validity of this
sudden change has also been in dispute
between Ackerman and the school
board, due to “the highly questionable
context in which it was issued," McCoy
said in the Chronicle article.
However, Lipson asserted that the
transition of power had been agreed
upon in December, before she had
requested to see Ackerman’s credit
card bills.
“The letter was drafted between
(Ackerman and Chan) and it was
agreed that Ackerman would take on
an advisory role,” Lipson said. “Gwen
Chan was deputy superintendent, and
on Feb. 1 we hired her as acting superintendent. We had approved a written
agreement with Ackerman between
Chan for this transition of power so the
decision was made before the request of
her credit card receipts.”
Ackerman is now superintendent
emeritus, a role where she works in an
advisory capacity with the acting superintendent until June 30. Ackerman will
start her job at Columbia University’s
Teacher’s College in September.
must pay $1 with a school ID or $2 without one.
Students can sign up for the tournament any
time before the tournament starts, preferably at
club meetings.
Though most club members are male, most
club officers are female, according to Lau. Lau’s
early interest in video games when she
was young led her to join the club.
Lau became president of the club
as a sophomore and her friends took
over other officer positions because
the club needed organization, and
only the females were willing to help
with that, according to Lau.
Though some of the officers play
during weekly club meetings, only
males have competed in the tournaments so far,
according Lau. Lau hopes that females will begin
to participate in tournaments.
Spitting hot fire
TALIA COOMBES
Sophomore Damaree Miller blows the crowd away with his lyricism at Poetry Night on Feb. 9 in Room 70.
Class sparks students to make original films
By Lucy Taylor
S THE Fall semester came
to an end, students in an
English class created their
own movies as an optional final, expressing both their creativity and the
skills that they learned throughout
the semester.
Students in her class suggested
making their own films in addition
to dissecting films and learning about
literature through them, and English
teacher Sharon Matusek was willing.
“I hadn’t planned for them to make
movies; it was something they decided
to do,” Matusek said. “I didn’t have the
type of equipment they would need so
I made it a sort of optional final.”
A
Students attempted to create their
own idea of an ideal film using whatever materials they could get their
hands on.
They each presented a film proposal before filming the movie. Students
used genres ranging from documentaries to adaptations of books, stories,
dramas and spoofs.
Prior to making the films students
of Matusek’s Film as Literature class
studied and analyzed films as an
alternative way to dig deeper into
literature.
Matusek’s class studied film in
three different ways. “We do one
third-film history, one-third film
genres and one-third analyzing films
as literature,” Matusek said.
In the genres section, “we talk
about the different types
of genres and how they are
developed,” Film as Literature student junior Maggie
Kazmierczak said.
“We discuss how media
effects society and how
society effects media,” Kazmierczak added.
In the analytical section,
the class studied films such
as Citizen Kane, American
Beauty and Run Lola Run.
“I try to incorporate as
many types of films as possible,” Matusek said.
curriculum
From ACKERMAN on page 6
When the press became aware of the
situation, Ackerman labeled it a “leak”
because the request had not been publicly announced. However, most public
agencies’ contracts require government
officials’ expenses to be reviewed anyway, according to Lipson.
“There is a line in her contract that
says, ‘the board or board’s designees
shall review the superintendent’s expenses,’” Lipson said, adding that the
contract does not specify what is an
acceptable or unacceptable amount of
expenditure.
Mar expressed his support of Lipson’s “doing her duty as a school board
member” by inquiring about the expenditures, adding that he too had received
memos from private companies and
organizations Ackerman had traveled
with regarding reimbursement of the
expenses.
Ackerman’s attorney, Waukeen
McCoy, criticized the school board’s
sudden request of Ackerman’s receipts,
which had never been investigated during her tenure.
“We felt it was a harassment tactic
in an effort by some board members to
further ridicule her,” he said in a Feb. 6
San Francisco Chronicle article.
McCoy suggested discrimination as
a possible origin for the request. Calls to
17. In Super Smash Brothers, a fighting game, the
goal is to knock people off the stage to “kill” them,
according to junior club member Long Wei. Approximately 30 people compete to win a gift card
to an electronics store and “the honor of being
the best,” according to junior club president Susan
Lau. Club members believe that the tournaments
are an enjoyable experience. Ostolaza Bravo, who
participated in the tournament last year, plans to
participate again to see where he stands in Super
Smash Brothers Melee in comparison to other
students. However, tournaments can get quite
rowdy, according to Ostolaza Bravo, as onlookers
yell and scream.
Participants include club members and others
who want to participate. Because of escalating
interest in Halo 2, the club is planning to start a
second tournament for this game in the future.
Students who participate in the tournament
clubs
By Jessica Lee
HE GAMING CLUB, which meets after
school on Fridays in Rooms 217A and
217B, is a place for students to unwind
after a stressful week and play video games on the
Nintendo Gamecube, X-box and other gaming
platforms. During club meetings students usually
play the Nintendo Gamecube in one room and
the X-box in the other room, according to junior
club treasurer Denise Chen.
Games range from Halo 2 to Dance Dance
Revolution. Some of these games can be beneficial, according to junior club secretary Judy
Zhao. Dance Dance Revolution “improves hand
eye coordination,” and “tests reflexes,” in addition
to being a good workout for body and mind,
Zhao said.
“The games and gaming systems that will
be played during club meetings are determined
8 NEWS
February 17, 2006
Lowell High School
Winter Dance
Showcase
Members of the Lowell Dance Company,
beginning, intermediate and advanced dance students
performed at the winter dance showcase, Mods. 67 and 11-12 on Dec. 13. For an article and complete
performances visit the news and video sections of The
Lowell on the Web (www.thelowell.org.)
COURTESY OF BRYAN RITTER
MICHELLE WILENS
From above: juniors Patrick Villanueva and Lina Yang perform in
“Bomb the World.” In the forefront, seniors Kyle Limin and Gregory
Gee and junior Amanda Sherman jump to the beat. Left: sophomore
Hilary Fung pirouettes across the stage in “Dance Dance.”
MICHELLE WILENS
MICHELLE WILENS
February, 17 2006
The Lowell
TRENDS
International Obsession
9
Sudoku intrigues puzzle lovers everywhere
By Eliza Hidalgo and Jasmin dom newspaper The Times in early
August 2004.
Libatique
“I was on vacation and I had
RESIDENT George W. Bush
recently referenced America’s nothing to do, so I picked up a
lack of math skills in his State newspaper (USA Today), saw a suof the Union address. This deficiency doku puzzle in there, and I started
may soon change — and not be- to play it,” said junior Carol Wong,
who now does it
cause of any new
weekly.
federal educationSudoku creators
al policy. A newly
It makes
also enjoy the puzpopular puzzle just
me think
zles.
may save the day.
Wayne Gould, a
At home, on
logically, and
retired Hong Kong
buses, in classit’s just a lot
judge came upon
rooms, at work,
11
a sudoku puzzle
on computers and
of fun.
book in a store in
everywhere in beMELISSA HU
Japan in 1997, actween, people of
freshmen
cording to the Web
all ages are testing
site (sudoku.org).
their craniums with
sudoku puzzles. A sudoku puzzle Intrigued with the puzzles, Gould
is a nine-by-nine grid with random spent six years writing a computer
numbers in different squares. In a program that would generate them
completed puzzle, every row, col- automatically. He developed his
umn and three-by-three box must program into a software firm and
contain numbers one through nine, named it Pappocom. Shortly
without repeating a number twice. thereafter, he took sudoku
The game may appear simple, but puzzles to The Times in Lonlevels can range from easy to moder- don, which began publishing them in November
ate to difficult to evil and monster.
Local newsstands and bookstores 2004. Gould’s work
like Borders and Barnes and Nobles radically changed the
now carry sudoku workbooks, cal- puzzle world.
Though he is
endars, hand-held players, and for
players new to the game, the Sudoku widely regarded as
the father of the
for Dummies guidebook.
At Lowell, where challenges arise s u d o k u c r a z e ,
daily, it’s no wonder that sudoku Gould admits in
an online interpuzzles are so popular.
“Sudoku? Those are the greatest view, “I expected
things in the world!” sophomore the puzzle to be
very popular with
Emily Wolfe said.
Rather than listening to teach- people who reers and doing assignments in class, garded themselves
numerous students are obsessively as puzzle fans. What
solving the sudoku puzzles published I didn’t foresee was
in The San Francisco Chronicle’s that even people
Datebook Section. People soon find w h o d o n ’t re g a rd
that, after they have finished their themselves as puzzles
first sudoku puzzle successfully, they fans would have a go,
and really enjoy it.”
are addicted.
Gould’s sudoku puz“One of our friends started, and
we thought she was dorky for do- zles now appear in over 350
ing them,” sophomore Aiden Loeser newspapers and magazines in
said. “But, then we tried them our- 58 countries all over the world.
In bookstores worldwide, sudoku
selves and got hooked!”
Although the puzzle only requires workbooks are being distributed in
common sense and no high math more than 29 different languages.
Michael Mepham, another puzzle
skills, it is challenging in its simplicity.
Many discover an urge to finish and a compiler, has published about 14
feeling of satisfaction that makes the sudoku books since January 2005.
“I create sudoku (and other
game addicting.“It makes me think
logically, and it’s just a lot of fun,” puzzles) because it is my chosen
profession,” Mepham stated in an
freshman Melissa Hu said.
e-mail. “And I must admit that I have
never seen a puzzle create such an
enormous amount of enthusiasm in
Sudoku’s recent publicity began people of all ages.”
In just a matter of months sudoku
after it appeared in a United King-
P
I
11
New popularity
has swept through Japan, Britain and
the United States, gaining the title
The Rubik’s cube of the 21st Century,
according conceptispuzzles.com and
michaelmepham.com.
Sam Griffiths-Jones is the creator
of the British web site (dailysudoku.
co.uk/) which provides daily sudokus that can easily be printed out.
He created the Web site in early
January 2005 before sudoku was
readily available. Now about 400
to 500,000 different visitors log on
everyday, according to Jones.
Sudoku helps with logic and
appeals to both young and old
audiences.
“I think (people of)
all ages enjoy
the puzzles,”
Jones
said. “I
have a kids’ section on the Web
site, and I get a lot of e-mails
from children, parents and teachers. I’ve gotten e-mails from kids as
young as three asking me what to do
and from grandparents who enjoy it
themselves.”
Not just a puzzle
LOGAN WEIR
Who will be number one? Seniors Michelle Gerigk and Kyle Limin compete to see
who will solve a sudoku puzzle first.
Don’t be fooled though
— sudoku is not just an ordinary puzzle. Sudoku can
be used in math classes, and
studies have shown it can
help prevent the progression
of brain problems.
Math teacher Kevin Sullivan assigned sudoku as extra
credit in the beginning of the
2005 Fall semester.
“I had just heard about it
from my cousin and enjoyed
it,” Sullivan said. “I do crosswords a lot and like to do logics. I think it’s relevant to math
and works as a distraction or
as something to do instead
of watching TV or playing
games.”
As Sullivan puts it, his students also enjoy the “seduction of sudoku.”
“I like it; it’s really challenging,
and it wastes time,” said freshman
Susan Sandi, a member of Sullivan’s
accelerated math class, said. “Now
I do it weekly and depending on my
mood I either do the really hard ones
or the easy ones.”
Sudoku has been said to help
slow the progression of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease,
according to in an article in the
U.K. newspaper The Observer. “It is
regarded as the mental equivalent
of going to the gym and having a
workout,” David Smith, the author
of the article, stated in an e-mail.
IAK
OZN
AW
FION
Sudoku is also said to improve
mind clarity, stop memory decline
and increase intelligence, according
to Jacqui O’Brien, the author of an
article about sudoku on increasebrainpower.com.
While sudoku only recently debuted in United Kingdom and United
States newspapers, it has been
popular in Japan since the 1980s.
Origins
Nikoli, a popular Japanese magazine, adopted the puzzle after the
American puzzle magazine, Dell, first
printed it under the name “number
place.” However it didn’t catch on
in the U.S. as it did in Japan. In Japan it caught the attention of many
puzzle creators who then produced
the game originally naming it Suji
wa doku shinsha ni Kagiro (meaning “the numbers must be single”
or “the numbers must only occur
once”). When demand for the puzzle increased, the creators decided to
make changes. They decreased the
clues and changed the long name to
Su (meaning digit or number) doku
(meaning single or unmarried).
Although the name “sudoku”
suggests Japanese origins, the game
does not trace its roots to Japan.
Several theories and ideas about
the origin and evolution of sudoku
exist, each of them ancient and
mysterious.
Many theorize that sudoku originated from the Chinese puzzle Magic Squares, which spread to Arabia
in the eighth century. These Magic
Squares consisted of nine cells with
the numbers 1 to 9 arranged with
5 in the center so that the contents
of each row, column and the two
diagonals added up to 15.
The Magic Square is closely related to the Lo Shu square, the
origin of which is found in ancient
Chinese legend. According to
the legend, around 4,000
years ago, Hsia Yu, who
tamed the floods of
the Yellow River,
saw some
very interesting
markings
o n
the
shell of a
giant tortoise
that emerged
f ro m t h e R i v e r
Lo in Central China.
These markings became
Lo Shu. Like the “Magic
Squares,” the Lo Shu has a five
in the middle, and its diagonals add
up to 15.
The worlds’ obsession with this
simple logic puzzle would not have
been as successful if it were not for
its early Japanese craze.
From the United States to Japan
to the United Kingdom and all the
way back to the United States,
sudoku has made the front page
of many newspapers and has even
sparked heated debates, but no one
can deny its popularity.
“Sudoku is here to stay,” according to Mepham.
Now you solve one!!!
The globe above contains an
actual sudoku puzzle for you to
solve! Just follow the guidlines
from the article to enjoy a fun
challenge. For the solution visit
www.thelowell.org.
if you enjoyed...
this sudoku you can try more
everyday in The Chronicle’s
Datebook section. Or you can
try similar puzzles like Kakuro,
and The Challenger, located
every day in The Chronicle’s
“Classifieds” section.
10 POLITICS
February 17, 2006
School boards and educators
across the country question
role of religion in classrooms
the
P
By Heather Hammel
FEDERAL JUDGE recently ruled that
Intelligent Design is not, in fact, science. Following a directive from the
school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, teachers were
to introduce this theory in biology classes that all development is guided by a supreme being as an alternative to
evolution. The Kansas State School Board is now considering offering a biology curriculum that questions evolution. Just over a year ago, a fifth grade Cupertino teacher
unsuccessfully sued his school district, which prohibited
him from teaching the importance of Christianity in the
founding of America by citing excerpts from historical
documents, including the Declaration of Independence.
This year, a group of Christian schools is suing the
University of California system, which decided that
certain of their classes did not meet academic admission requirements.
Across the country, conflicts between church
and state are erupting, as questions arise over the
place of religion in public education and its role
in American culture.
“The United States is culturally and historically, but not legally, Christian,” said Rob Boston, assistant director of communications at
Americans United, an organization defending
the separation of church and state. “Thus,
most of our church-state conflicts play out
of this context.”
The Constitution prohibits the government from establishing a state religion.
This idea has been extended to include
the separation of church and state, a
phrase first used by Thomas Jefferson in
1802 in a letter to the Danbury Baptist
Association, a religious minority in
Connecticut. He and several other
founding fathers, including the second U.S. president, John Adams,
wrote statements questioning
Christianity.
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Private schools and
religion
This separation of church
and state continues today as
public schools are prohibited from teaching religion.
However, some people, like
Michael Duenes, a Bible teacher
at Redwood Christian High
School, feel that religious instruction is the most important part of
education.
“Ultimately, if Jesus is not the
center and sum of a person’s
education, then such a person
has missed the most important
part of education,” Duenes said.
“So, I would say that a biblical,
Christ-centered education benefits a
student most.”
Duenes said that he feels public education hides the truth
from students, who are simply being indoctrinated into
secular humanism. “The best
thing about teaching at a
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Christian school is that there is always room for dissent on
any and every subject, and thus, we are open to considering
all the evidence, not just some of it, as in public schools,”
he said.
Many private schools teach from a religious perspective.
Anna Kegluski, a freshman at Saint Ignatius Preparatory,
attends mandatory mass and is required to take seven semesters of religious studies, including subjects like values,
morals and sexuality. “They don’t tell us that religion is going
to give us a better education, but that it’s going to make us
a better person,” said Kegluski, who is Jewish attending the
Catholic school.
Maggie Johnson, a freshman at Convent of the Sacred
Heart, takes a four-year theology program, which covers different religions, and attends school masses. “We say prayers,”
she said. “But a lot of it is open to any religion.”
According to social studies teacher Stephen Granucci,
who attended Catholic school, family life has more control
than religious instruction over determining morality and
beliefs. “Just because you get religious instruction doesn’t
mean you are going to be a good person,” he said.
Public schools and religion
While public schools teachers cannot instruct from a religious perspective, many public schools offer classes teaching
about religion, such as AP European History, which covers
the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation.
The Bible can be taught in the classroom, according to
Mike Johnson, senior legal council at the Alliance Defense
Fund. “As long as it is taught objectively, it is perfectly lawful,” Johnson said.
Some believe that teaching about religion is not only
possible, but necessary in public education because it has
played an intricate part of American culture. Ken Miller,
professor of biology at Brown University and a Catholic,
said that “religion is very important in our society and it
was extremely important in the founding of our country.
So, courses in history, comparative religion, and literature
should, and do, include religion.”
Teachers find ways to teach about religion from an objective point of view. Granucci said that history has to be
looked at critically. “I don’t think it’s possible to teach about
the Catholic Church during the Reformation and say the
church was good,” he said.
Intelligent Design
While Intelligent Design appears remarkably similar to
creationism, both theories share a belief that a higher being
is in charge of development, Intelligent Design advocates say
they are not the same. Intelligent Design is “very different
from creationism,” Johnson said. “Creationism would be in
reference to Genesis, a biblical view.”
However, many people feel that Intelligent Design is
simply creationism in disguise. “Intelligent Design does
reject some of the more outlandish claims of traditional
creationism,” Boston said. However, “at its core, Intelligent
Design shares with traditional creationism the insistence
that supernatural forces operate in the world. This non-testable claim lies outside the realm of science.”
Judge John E. Johns, a United States District Judge, ruled
that on the Intelligent Design case in Dover, Pennsylvania.
According to his statement, the concept
of Intelligent Design, in its current form, came into existence after the Edwards
case was decided
in 1987, which
prohibited the
ncouple itself
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teaching of creation science — religious beliefs disguised
in scientific language — nationwide, as it violated the First
Amendment.
“We have concluded that it (ID) is not (a science), and
moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist,
and thus religious, antecedents,” he stated.
Miller and Boston both said that Intelligent Design has
no place in a science classroom. “Intelligent Design is a
religious concept,” Boston said. “It has been rejected by the
majority of the scientific community.”
Promoters of Intelligent Design “have been unable to
find any positive evidence for design,” according to Miller.
Johnson offers as proof that the gaps in evolution are so
big that the process of development must have been driven
by a higher being. He said that the human eye has yet to be
explained by evolution, although O’Brien said that plenty
has been discovered about it.
“Nothing that perfect can happen by accident, therefore
I believe there is a higher power that brought it all together,”
said Miryam Kadkhodayan, Ph.D and associate director of
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
She said she supports the teaching of Intelligent Design
because “general education systems should allow people to
hear any and all ideas and let the individual decide what
they do and don’t believe.”
Johnson said that Intelligent Design should be offered as
an opposing theory to evolution, which he said has many
flaws. “Evolutionists can’t explain some gaps which makes
it pretty hard to believe,” he said. “Belief in evolution is kind
of a religious belief.”
Counterargument
Boston disagrees. “The basis of religion is faith — that is,
believing in that which cannot be proven to be true,” he said.
“The major doctrines of Christianity — the virgin birth, the
miracles of Jesus, the resurrection — cannot be proven.”
“Evolution, by contrast, does not rest on faith,” he said.
“Its major tenets have been proven. It has even been observed working in the natural world.”
Boston acknowledges that there are some gaps in scientists’ understanding of evolution, but said that that is
no reason to seriously doubt the theory. “Certain things
about the evolution of specific species remain unknown,”
he said.
Many aspects of evolution have been explained since
Darwin’s first discoveries. “Now that we are able to really
look at DNA on a molecular level, we are able to trace mutations within the history of the species,” head of science
department Dacotah Swett said. “We can now tell you at
what point in history species depart from each other.”
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11
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
ARTS AND IDEAS
Recent alumni pursue their creative goals
By Alana Kivowitz
T THE CANVAS, an art
gallery and café, Class of
’05 alumni Matt Cabuloy,
and his band Not Your Average
Superheroes has been performing
on stage, and after only a few performances, the former Chamber Choir
and Birthday Gram singer hopes to
produce a record deal soon.
His band is composed of five
members, including Stephanie
Chang, another Class of ’05 alumna,
along with junior Ryan Frias. The
band has an R&B feel to it, and
Cabuloy provides the vocals, as well
as playing the keyboard. “(I devote)
any spare second I can get away from
school, family, and friends to the
band,” Cabuloy said.
“Another project (we are working on) is SpilledInc., a production
company we formed that has worked
with many local artists,” Cabuloy
said. “We are in the process of recording our album in the studio to
A
be released within the next year.”
The band is also looking forward to
a sampler CD, which is expected to
come out in March.
Currently enrolled as a freshman
at the University of San Francisco,
Cabuloy is studying music and business entrepeneurship. He can also be
found working on production and
audio engineering with local bands
similar to his own.
Cabuloy feels that as a member of
advanced and chamber choir, Lowell
gave him a grand opportunity as a
musician. The school trained him
for the business and working aspects
of the world, and he emphasized the
school’s impact on his work ethic.
“My involvement in choir helped
me to be a better musician,” Cabuloy
added.
Not Your Average Superheroes
will perform in the upcoming Lowell
Talent Show at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb.
24. More information can be found
at myspace.com/spilledinc
Nina Rosenberg
After her AP studio art was admired in a small framing store in
San Francisco, Class of ’05 alumna
Nina Rosenberg and her mother put
together an art show.
“I had a bunch of pieces from
that class and my mom took them to
get framed at a framing shop on Valencia St., which is also a small gallery that showcases Latin American
artists in particular,” Rosenberg said.
“The owner said that he thought the
pieces were good, and asked if we
wanted to set up an exhibition.”
She did, and some of her pieces
have been sold for hundreds of
dollars.
“I price my pieces at anywhere
from $50 to $600, completely
based on the sentimental value I
have for them,” Rosenberg said.
Currently majoring in film at New
York University, Rosenberg plans to
work in film, and continue painting
as a hobby.
“A painting is very singular, and
affects people on an individual level,”
Rosenberg stated. “While film is also
a very subjective medium, I think it
is much more potent in terms of affecting social and political change.”
Rosenberg thought that Lowell
presented artistic obstacles, rather
than inspiration. While the people
she met during her high-school
experience motivated her, she said
that a lack of encouragement in the
arts program left her displeased with
the school.
“It’s sad that Lowell doesn’t put
the same kind of resources and enthusiasm into the arts as it does into
academics,” Rosenberg said.
She was an active member of the
photography club.
However, “the school even demolished our darkroom when they
remodeled the second floor, so we
had to board up the windows in the
classrooms for a year,” she said.
COURTESY OF NINA ROSENBERG
‘05 alumna Nina Rosenberg has showcased
her artwork and now studies film at NYU.
’93 alumnus performs at
Lunar New Year assembly
Dennis Yang, Class of 1993 and Chinese
teacher substitute in 2000, sang Chinese pop, including the song “Hopelessly Devoted,” at the Lunar New Year
assembly on Thursday, Feb. 9.
LIANNA LEAL
TO SEE T H E VIDEO OF THIS
PERFORMANCE, PLEASE VISIT
COURTESY OF RYAN FRIAS
Not Your Average Superheroes are releasing a sampler CD sometime in March 2006. Their group includes (from left): Class of ‘05 alumna
Stephanie Chang and ‘05 alumnus Matt Cabuloy, San Jose State freshman Rich Dimaano, SOTA junior Mark Abuan and Lowell junior Ryan Frias.
The Lowell on the Web
www.thelowell.org
Two ’94 graduates progress toward Hollywood success
By Noey Neumark
taking drama, and he told me I would never become
N ALUMNUS IS APPEARING in the current successful as an actor,” Wigdor said.
movie Munich.
Despite his teacher’s pessimistic comments, WigClass of ’94 graduate Haguy Wigdor dor has aspired to be an actor ever since his eighth
portrayed Ze’ev Friedman, one
grade graduation, during which
of 11 Israeli athletes who were
he got a “positive response” to
taken hostage and murdered by a
an improvised piece that he perPalestinian terrorist group at the
formed. “That solidified the fact
1976 Munich Olympic games in
that I needed to go into acting.”
the movie, which is directed by
Wigdor showed a passion for
Steven Spielberg.
acting throughout high school,
Munich is the story of what
and founded both the Drama and
occurs after the kidnapping and
Improv clubs as well as acted in
killing of these 11 Israelis.
a couple of musicals. He was inSpielberg took the cast to
volved in various other activities
Budapest, Hungary, to film for
at Lowell, including rowing for
three weeks, according to Wigthe Pacific Rowing Club and voldor. Although Wigdor appeared
unteering at animal hospitals.
in a fair amount of footage, most
Wigdor graduated from Uniof his performance was cut from
versity of California at Davis
the movie. “One of the guys gets
with a degree in Mechanical
killed right in my arms,” Wigdor
Engineering.
said. “But you don’t see that.”
“I hated engineering … I was
COURTESY OF HAGUY WIGDOR
Wigdor praised Spielberg Class of ‘94 alumnus Haguy
making way too much money,”
as an amazing director to work Wigdor recently appeared in Munich
he said. Thus he decided to emwith. “He is one of the best direc- as an Israeli athlete.
bark on his long desired career
tors in the world,” Wigdor said.
path, returning to San Francisco
“He let us be comfortable with the roles,” adding that to pursue acting.
Spielberg always gave clear directions to the cast, no
His first appearances on screen included work as an
matter how challenging the task.
extra in The Princess Diaries, as well as the TV drama
In addition to Munich, Wigdor has appeared in Nash Bridges. He joined Screen Actors Guild while in
many other productions. He lists a recurring stint on San Francisco. After his stay in San Francisco, Wigdor
General Hospital, in which he had “an almost-make decided that if he wanted to become a “serious actor,”
out scene with Vanessa Marcil,” on his resume.
he had to “go down to Los Angeles, to Hollywood.”
Wigdor also appeared in a short film called West It was there that he was able to further develop his
Bank Story, about an Israeli man and a Palestinian acting career.
woman who fall in love despite animosity between
English and drama teacher Thomas Drain taught
their families. The film was featured in the 2005 Sun- Wigdor when he was a student, and was “pleased
dance Film Festival.
and surprised to hear that (Wigdor) is moving in
Wigdor recalled a conversation with a teacher he that direction,” Drain said. “I guess I’ll have to go see
had as a student at Lowell. “He asked me why I was Munich now.”
A
By Glenn Mercado
movie Jihad, Talai played one of two terrorHOUGH MILLIONS dream of ists planning to blow up the Los Angeles
making it big in Hollywood, only Airport, until he realizes that they have won
a handful actually achieve glory in the lottery. Although it is a short movie, it
Tinseltown. One alumnus, however, hopes has done well in film festivals.
to beat these odds and is on his way to the
Talai said he started performing in
top of the A-list.
middle school, and got involved with drama
Class of ’94 Amir Talai is a star in the his freshman year. At Lowell he performed
Oxygen Network’s improvised comedy in the musicals, The Bells Are Ringing, Guys
show, Campus Ladies, playing on Sundays and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, and Evita. He was
at 10 p.m. on the Oxygen Network. The also a member of current musical director
show is about two middle-aged women Diane Price’s teen musical theater company.
who decide to go back to college. All of the He became a professional actor after college,
scenes are improvised, organized only by and moved to Los Angeles in 2002.
an outline. Talai plays Abdul, an Iranian
Talai uses his Web site, amirtalai.com, to
immigrant who is always trying to make a blog about his life as an actor.
quick buck.
Talai has played roles in other
television shows, including a guest
appearance on Family Guy. In the
episode titled, “The Father, The Son,
and the Holy Fonz,” he played Peter’s
Hindu advisor and also a priest.
“It was one of the highlights of my
career, because that’s one of my alltime favorite shows,” Talai said.
Talai is no stranger to the big
screen either. He has appeared
in several movies including the
independent film Jihad and the
upcoming Pursuit of Happyness, where he plays a clerk in a
store that star Will Smith enters.
In an effort to make him appear as
tall as Smith, Talai was placed on a
platform. “That was a really fun project because they actually shot that in
San Francisco,” he said. “Working
COURTESY OF AMIR TALAI
with Will Smith was awesome; he is ‘94 alumnus Amir Talai made a guest
definitely someone I admire.”
appearance on Family Guy and appears in the
In the lower budget, independent upcoming film, Pursuit of Happyness.
T
Bringing back
Mardi Gras
By Mellina Stoney
LAU
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ON
G
“I
T IS JUST AMAZING; you look around
and realize that you are no longer in a
regular city, you’re in New Orleans,”
junior Mariele Miller said as she described her
birthplace. “I wish people could see and feel it
for themselves, but now they can’t.”
Although Miller moved to San Francisco
years ago, she still recalls the atmosphere of one
of the world’s most famous cities.
Senior Matthew Day had a chance to visit his
family in New Orleans this past summer, two
months before the hurricane.
“It’s just timeless,” he said. “The history is so
rich and the city is amazing.”
On August 28, 2005, the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico hammered New Orleans as Hurricane
Katrina ruined homes and lives. Many across
the nation wondered whether New Orleans
could rise again and continue the traditions
that have made it famous, including the Mardi
Gras celebration.
Mardi Gras 2006
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin calmed some
critics and angered others when he stared into
news cameras and declared: “There will be a
Mardi Gras.”
On Feb. 28, gold, green and purple decorations will conceal some of the damage that
Hurricane Katrina has done and bring back a
sense of regularity to New Orleans, according
to Nagin.
“In order for New Orleans to be rebuilt, we need
to have Mardi Gras,” he said in an interview with
CNBC. “Tourists don’t want to see torn buildings;
they want to be able to celebrate as usual.”
Day agreed.
“It’s a tradition,” he said. “It’s why the city’s
so famous. To not celebrate is to basically admit
defeat.”
Although New Orleans residents fled the city
during the storm, many are flocking back for the
celebration.
Officials are expecting an estimated 300,000
celebrators in New Orleans as opposed to the
regular turnout of 500,000, according to an article on CNN’s Web site (cnnnews.com).
Residents still without homes
Although many agree that Mardi Gras is
good for the city, some residents question the
mayor’s priorities.
“I don’t have a home,” New Orleans resident
Thelma Goodman said. “(The mayor) wants to
have a party, and I don’t have a place to stay.”
Goodman, along with her adult son and two
children, is currently residing in San Francisco
with family members.
Seventy-five percent of the people in New
Orleans left the city after the hurricane and are
scattered throughout the country because of the
extensive damage. Day said his family experienced the damage first-hand.
“My grandparents’ house was destroyed,” he
said. “So I definitely feel for the victims. There’s
really nothing else to do but to rebuild.”
The French Quarter, the central business
district, the Garden District and Uptown are
the only parts of the city still running. While the
roads and buildings there are still damaged, they
are close enough to their original state for people
to spend time devising new post-disaster routes
for the upcoming Mardi Gras parades.
Tourists skeptical to visit
Before Katrina, tourism was the number one
New Orleans industry, bringing in $5.5 billion
a year.
The city estimates it’s now losing more than
$15 million a day as tourists take their business
elsewhere.
“I went last year, but don’t want to go until
the city’s back and running like normal,” said
Steven Mayers, a 24-year-old youth mentor who
has been to the last two Mardi Gras’.
Miller agrees.
“No one wants to see New Orleans that way,”
she said. “It’s depressing.”
New Orleans has only 18,000 hotel rooms
available now, half of what it had prior to Katrina,
and most are occupied by Federal Emergency
Management Agency personnel and relief workers, according to a Dec. 27 CBSNEWS article
(cbsnews.com.)
Despite the decline in attendance, people
are hopeful.
“I really want Mardi Gras to come back,”
Miller said. “I think it will be really good for the
people and the city in general.”
Officials say a Mardi Gras parade is worth
more than two Super Bowls, since it brings in
well over $1 billion and employs 75,000 people.
The history of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras is a part of New Orleans’ heritage.
Early French settlers in New Orleans brought
this tradition with them. In the mid-1700’s,
New Orleans Creoles celebrated Carnival with
masked balls. One hundred years later, the first
organized carnival krewes, which host private
Mardi Gras parties, began parading on the streets
of New Orleans.
That tradition has been going strong for more
than 150 years.
Carnival season begins on the Feast of the
wO
rle
a
ns
C r e at i n g h o p
h
e for t
ep
f
o
e
l
e op
c an e - tor n N
i
r
r
e
hu
Epiphany, Jan. 6.
and celebrates the arrival
of the three kings at Jesus’
birthplace, ending the Christmas season and in New Orleans,
simultaneously starting Carnival,
which ends with Mardi Gras on the
day before Ash Wednesday, the first
day of Lent.
Krewes host invitation-only coronation balls and dances to kick off the
Carnival season.
The general public becomes involved a couple of weeks before Mardi
Gras when the krewes hit the streets,
staging more than 70 parades in metropolitan New Orleans.
Love for New Orleans lives on
This year the traditional celebration will
include fundraising for Hurricane Katrina’s
victims, according to MardiGrasDay.com,
a Web site dedicated to updating people on
current Mardi Gras events.
New Orleans-based businesses are not the
only ones vowing to help Hurricane Katrina
victims, according to Day.
“My parents just got back from New Orleans,”
he said. “They were down there helping out, and
I plan on going there myself.”
Although the Hurricane has damaged New
Orleans, it was not enough to change people’s
minds about the great city.
“I absolutely love the place,” Miller said.
Day also expressed his love for the Gulf
Coast. “I’d visit again any time,” he said.
“In fact, I’m applying to Louisiana State
University.”
Spotlight
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
REALNOLA.COM
■ Freshman fencer takes gold
at Junior World Cup
■ Sprinters training under new
coach, prepare for new season
Lowell High School
February 17, 2006
Page 13
BATTLE
OF
THE
BIRDS
By Glenn Mercado
ndersized, underestimated, but most importantly, undefeated, the boys’ varsity
basketball team is 12-0 in the AAA.
While most students would hate to see a zero
on paper, the Cardinals don’t mind a goose egg in
the loss column. Their undefeated season record
and their nearly perfect pre-season has earned
them third place ranking in the San Francisco
Chronicle’s top 10 boys’ basketball teams. “ We
attribute our record to the hard work we put
in and the unselfish nature of the team,” senior
center Darryl Cook said.
Against a field of giants, the Cardinals
have been undersized in every game
they’ve played; yet with speed and
skill they have managed to
win each one. The Cardinals
are averaging 12.4 steals a
game with a season high
22 steals against Burton.
“This year’s team has
had more steals than
any other team I’ve
coached before,”
coach Robert Ray
said.
The statistics also
show that the team loves
to share. Every game has
had several players in
double digits, and five
different players have
led the team in scoring.
“One characteristic of
the team is that they love
to pass as much as they love to
score,” Ray said.
Coach Ray scouts out the
teams to find their
weaknesses and
their style of
play. “After he
finds the superstar he makes
an elaborate
scheme to
clamp down
on him and
ALL PHOTOS BY JACK ZHOU
force the other
U
Boys’ varsity basketball
defeats Washington
55-39 — undefeated
season keeps rolling
players to beat us,” senior point guard Ryan
Chan said.
However, the Cardinals are not invincible.
One of the few weaknesses of their game lies
at the free throw line where they only shoot
57 percent.
Even with poor free throws the Cardinals
have an advantage every game.
While both teams send five
players onto the court at
the same time, coach Ray
has found a way to put in
a sixth man. The stands
are filled with devoted
fans wearing the infamous
sixth man T-shirts. “This
season has had the biggest
turn out for basketball
games since I’ve been
here,” Coach Ray said,
“The sixth man has
been a tremendous support,” he added.
The sixth man psyches
out the other team with
controversial chants.
The most
commonly used ones are
“It’s all over,” and “Undefeated”
which come at the end of each game.
When the star player of an opposing
team receives the ball, the sixth man
chants “overrated,” and when the
momentum begins to shift the sixth
man will begin a tomahawk chop.
The Eagles and Mustangs receive
special chants when they visit:
“Lowell rejects.”
Top: Senior Spencer Wan looks to pass against a
Washington defender while other Washington players look
on from the bench.
Above: Senior Alex Gong approaching the Eagles’ basket
late in the game.
Lowell’s varsity boys’ basketball is undefeated in the league,
losing in tournaments to non-league schools Bellarmine, Corona
del Mar, Sacred Heart Cathedral and Sequoia.
Battle of the Birds
The sixth man and
the rest of the
crowd were
fully equipped
for the Battle
of the Birds at
Ke z a r S t a d i u m
on Feb. 3. The sea
of cardinal red was
ready with their arsenal of cheers, tomahawk meeting. “The coach of ISA said that the only
chops and a drum brought in by senior Maxim way they would lose the championship was if
they didn’t make grades,” Cook said. “I took
Massenkoff.
The intensity of the fans fueled the players. that very personally. We were going to prove
“We were all psyched, but we tried to keep our him wrong.”
ISA’s senior point guard Demetrius Dews
composure and approach the game the same
missed both games
way,” Chan said.
against Lowell. A broSophomore guard
ken wrist in the middle
Travis Hom set the tone
They love to pass as of the season has taken
scoring the first eight
out of action.
points of the game. The
much as they love to himThe
game plan was
Cardinals won 55-39,
simple: Keep McCalabut the Eagles kept it
score.”
han out of the key and
close for three quarters.
keep Sandoval from
Washington did take
ROBERT RAY,
driving into the lane.
a brief lead after the
boys’ varsity basketball coach
ISA put up a good
Eagle’s senior guard
fight and had an 11-8
Jahrail Taylor shot a
three pointer early in the third quarter. He made lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Caranother three-point shot later on in the quarter, dinals had the 23-18 lead at the half. “We didn’t
and then proceeded to celebrate in front of the come out with enough intensity in the first half
sixth man. Unfortunately, his celebration was so we came out with more in the third quarter,”
senior guard Alex Gong said.
cut short as he tripped himself and fell.
ISA fought back in the second half and took
The Cardinals started to pull away when
Chan hit a key three-point shot followed by a a 28-27 lead in the third quarter.
But, the third quarter ultimately belonged to
lay up. Their defense kept the Eagle’s scoring
under double digits in both quarters of the the Cardinals with several key plays on both ends
of the court. Chan and Wong forced Sandoval
second half.
The team executed their game plan perfectly; to commit two offensive fouls, and Cook forced
Cook dominated the paint and Chan’s imper- McCalahan into his fourth offensive foul which
turbableness kept the Cardinals calm, cool, and kept him on the bench for the rest of the quarter.
When Wong received a pass from the opposite
collected.
wing, hn drove in to score a double clutch, reverse lay up and a foul.
ISA
The Cardinals took the momentum into the
The biggest competition for Lowell this year
came in their two games against ISA. The first fourth quarter where they went on an 18-2 run
game was the season opener on Jan. 4 in which to seal the 66-46 victory.
Lowell took the overtime victory 60-57. Junior
forward Arthur Jones led the team with 18 Wallenberg
Following a win against ISA the Cardinals
points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. The Cardinals
found themselves down 31-21 at the half, but beat the Bulldogs 38-34 on Jan. 6 in a close dewent on an 11-2 run in the third quarter, capped fensive match up. Hom had 11 points and Cook
off by a last second finger roll by Jones. Before added 8 points of his own. Just as in their first
overtime approached ISA’s senior point guard game, the Cardinals found themselves down at
Isaiah Sandoval fouled out of the game. Senior the half. Chan made 10 points, including two
center John McCalahan had 16 points before free throws in the final seconds of the game to
fouling out with 44 seconds left in overtime. clinch the victory.
Game two of this series took place on Feb. 10.
Just when it looked like double overtime would
approach Chan hit a crucial three-point shot Cook controlled the jump ball and started the
which helped the Cardinals pull away with the game with two free throws. Jones scored 8 of his
10 points in the first half including and inbound
victory.
Game two, at Potrero Hill Recreation Gym play where Cook threw a behind the back pass
on Feb. 8, was the biggest game of the season so to Jones who cut backdoor and finished the layfar. Since their last meeting the Cobras had won up with a slap. The Cardinals’ defense held the
nine games in a row and posed a major threat. To Bulldogs to 1 point in the second quarter.
Jones starts the second half with a block that
make sure the big game was officiated properly
thrilled the audience but the Cardinals only
the league brought in an extra referee.
See BOYS’ BASKETBALL on Page 18
The Cardinals were fired up for their second
“
T
14 SPORTS
February 17, 2006
Head coach alumnus joins
boys’ varsity volleyball
By Helene Servillon
FIREBALL SERVE from senior setter
Gregory Gee shoots over the net, with
almost no hope to be dug. But, junior
defensive specialist Frank Yang sneaks in and
bumps a perfect pass to a setter, who then sends
an awesome set to junior middle Darryl Wong
for a kill! During practice, the boys’ volleyball
players bring on the heat as they prepare for
their season.
With last year’s playoff upset loss to Washington, the team is now working to improve with
four new additions, sophomores Joshua Jhung
and Daniel Lam and freshmen Chris Leung and
Alex Kent.
Class of ’99 alumnus Derek Tjoe is also joining the Cardinals as the new head coach. “Derek
is a great coach. He is very approachable, calm
and not intimidating to talk to,” Wong said.
With nine returning players, team members
expect their experience to carry them forward,
according to junior rightside Christopher
Shinn.
Tjoe agreed. “There is a good mix of returnees
A
and rookies,” he said. “I’m very excited about
coaching them. They have great potential to be
champions.”
Limited practices, due to sharing the gym
with other teams, allow the team to build a strong
foundation for the season, according to Wong.
“We haven’t got much practicing on the court
yet, but we are conditioning to stay in shape,” he
said. “When we are together as a team, we mesh
really well.”
The main contenders this year include Washington, Lincoln, Galileo and Balboa, the same as
last season, according to Gee.
The team still fully expects to rise to the
challenge of this year’s opponents. Hard work
and persistent defense will help overcome their
relatively low average size. Freshman middle
blocker Chris Leung at 6’2” is the only standout
in terms of height.
Fans can get their cheer on as the boys play
their first pre-season game at 5.30 p.m. on Feb.
24 against Saint Ignatius at Saint Ignatius. The
season opener will be 4 p.m. on March 13 against
O’Connell at Lowell.
Lowell High School
Swimming makes progress
By Jessica Lee
SWIMMER EXTENDS his arms
reaching for the wall; less than a split
second later a Washington swimmer
in the next lane reaches out and touches it.
The swimming team’s first meet of the season on Feb. 10, against the rival Eagles at Sava
Pool heated the water. Though the final score
was uneven, the Cardinals and Eagles had a
few close matches. Despite several close races,
the Cardinals swept the Eagles, with the girls’
team dominating 95-52, and the boys’ team
winning 90-68.
The Cardinals excelled in defeating their
rivals in their first meet, considering that
Lowell has many new members. Despite the
large margin of victory, junior Gabriel Yip
said that Washington “kept up with us and
gave us a hard time.” The victory showed the
good chance the team has of winning its 10th
consecutive AAA title.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams showed
perseverance in winning the 400-yard freestyle
relay, as well as many other individual and
team races.
The JV team also showed great potential,
with freshmen Maya Sussman and Jose Lazo
dominating in the 50-yard and 100-yard
freestyle.
A
The Cardinals also showed potential at a
practice meet earlier this month, taking first
place in several events.
A week earlier, the Cardinals scrimmaged
against Balboa, Lincoln, Washington and Wallenberg at Sava Pool on Feb. 3.
Though this meet was not scored, it was a
good indicator of how the Cardinals stack up
against league opponents, according to senior
co-captain Lisa Flynn. “Washington will be
our biggest competition,” Flynn predicted.
Junior Jonathan Tsang believes that the Cardinals had a strong start to the season. “I think
we did pretty well, considering that this is only
the first meet,” Tsang said of the Feb. 3 practice
meet. “We have a few pretty strong swimmers
this season, so I think that we will have a good
season and hopefully win the title.”
According to Flynn, the team is still not
yet fully prepared, but is confident that by the
time of the championships the team will be
very competitive.
With last year’s senior captains Rex Chien
and Lorraine Albert as well as other seniors
gone, returning team members need to step it
up and help the new members in preparation
for this year’s season.
The Cardinals next meet is at 4 p.m. today
at Rossi Pool against Wallenberg.
JV boys’ basketball swipes 3rd straight title
By Michael Lazarus
FTER STRUGGLING throughout the season for their third
consequtive city champsionship
title, the JV boys’ basketball team defeated the top seeded Lincoln Mustangs
on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Kezar Pavilion.
The boys entertained a crowd of over
500 excited fans to defeat the Mustangs
at an amazing 52-45.
This unbelievable victory showed
that the JV boys have the simple ability
to learn from its mistakes made on their
journey.
In the Feb. 3 “Battle of the Birds”
game, Lowell was up by four points
with two minutes left. Though they
found themselves in practically the
same situation as they were versus Lincoln on the Jan. 20 game, the Cardinals
refused to let history repeat itself. Led
by sophomore guards Jerrick Wu and
Alex McNabb, who combined for 31
points, Lowell won 67-53 by ending the
game with impressive 10-0 streak.
Although Lowell deserves credit for
winning the game, the Eagles deserve
A
JACK ZHOU
Sophomore Jerrick Wu pulls up for a jump shot above the idle
Mustang defense at city championships on Feb. 14 at Kezar Pavilion.
just as much for helping Lowell win.
The unanswered point streak was only
possible because of a sudden lapse of
Eagle defense.
Regardless, the game was a big
momentum builder as the Cardinals
prepared for the post-season against
their major rivals.
The worst thing in sports is watching a game slip out of your hands.
That was exactly what Lowell had to
endure in its game against Lincoln on
Jan. 20. The 50-48 final only tells part
of the heart-wrenching saga, which
the team used to gain valuable experience from.
For all intents and purposes, Lowell
had the game secured with four minutes to go. Leading by more than two
possessions, the Cardinals were in the
driver’s seat, and the Mustangs barely
holding onto the tailgate. All they had
to do was play smart and run out the
clock, to take the game. But something
went wrong. Lowell slammed on the
brakes and handed Lincoln the keys
to the ignition. The wheels were in
motion, setting up for a steady drive
home.
The calamitous meltdown started
with missed free throws that would
have definitely put the game out of
reach. Lowell was still in command
when an in-bound penalty gave Lincoln the ball on the Cardinal side of
the court and an easy basket. Mental
collapse completed the unfortunate
cycle of events, as Lowell was not able
to hold off a Mustang down-low attack led by sophomore forward David
Henderson.
Sophomore Mustang guard Andrew
Bologna hit the game-winning three
pointer. The shock put a standstill to
Lowell’s powerful engine, disabling the
Cardinals’ drive back down court for
a potential game-tying lay-up.
With the heartbreak came valuable
experience that this young JV team
needed for the champsionship game
on Tuesday.
“We learned we need to play all
32 minutes,” sophomore guard Alex
McNabb said. “Never get lazy.”
The Lowell
February 17, 2006
Varsity leads division but falls short versus Eagles
By Gaston Guibert
HE VARSITY GIRLS’ basketball team
has stormed to the top of the Neff Division with a 9-1 record through Feb. 8.
The Cardinals have been nearly unstoppable
so far this season, blowing their opponents
out by an astounding average of 32 points per
game.
Led by returning All-Leaguers junior Angelina Clay and seniors Jazmin Holmes and
Beverly Gagujas, the team looks primed for a
championship run.
The only blemish on the Cardinals’ near
perfect record came courtesy of Washington
on Feb. 3.
In front of a packed house at Kezar Pavillion, Lowell dropped its first league game of
the season 67-51.
Hyped as the premier game of the regular
season, both teams bolted out of the gates with
great competitive fire, refusing to allow an inch
of hardwood on defense.
Holmes took over the game in the first
quarter, scoring six points, more than half of
her team’s total.
Riding the coattails of their senior captain,
the Cardinals took an 11-8 lead going into the
second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Eagles proved
to the Cardinals and the crowd why they are
Lowell’s stiffest competition.
Washington displayed flawless perimeter
passing and hard-nosed post play on offense,
and forced the Cardinal offense to settle for
low-percentage three point shots.
Going into the half, the Eagles led 26-20.
Looking energized after its halftime break,
the Lowell Cardinals came out clawing in the
third quarter.
T
Sophomore Anna Bukareva renewed the
post play that had been abandoned in the second quarter.
Pounding the ball at the basket and drawing
fouls, she scored six points in the quarter, pulling Lowell within four points before the start of
the fourth quarter.
Though the game appeared within reach going into the fourth quarter, that period proved
to be the Cardinals’ undoing.
Washington’s posts proved to be unstoppable down the stretch, with center Alley Jones
scoring 10 points in the final eight minutes of
the game.
Holmes battled valiantly to keep her team
within reach, but she had little help for most of
the final period.
When all was said and done, the Eagles had
pulled away to win the game with a score of
67-51.
Though the loss didn’t go over well with the
team, a playoff rematch with the Eagles seems
imminent, which could allow the Cardinals to
exact revenge.
“We’ll have to change up our defense and be
more careful with the ball,” Clay said.
Despite loss, many positives were drawn
from the contest.
The game saw the emergence of senior guard
Kimberly Lau, who scored 15 points, including
four three pointers, as well as the phenomenal
play of Holmes, who scored 20 points to lead
all scorers.
“We should continue to attack the basket and
take good shots,” said sophomore guard Kelly
Chow of a potential rematch.
Though the match-ups haven’t been determined yet, the playoffs begin Friday, Feb. 24, so
mark your calendars.
15
SPORTS
ANNA FRYJOFF-HUNG
Junior guard Kimberly Wong shoots a three-pointer past an Eagles guard at the Feb. 3 “Battle of
the Birds” showdown. The Cardinals lost 67-51 after a tough fight.
Fresh faces, new routines spell success for gymnastics team
By Lucy Taylor
S THE NEW GYMNASTICS season
begins, a growing group of girls are
spending one day a week conditioning
and learning new routines for the upcoming
competitions.
While the gym is not yet available for the
team’s use, they spend their weekly meetings
learning new routines for this season, according
to junior Miya Libes.
“Currently we’re just conditioning and
working on recruiting new people,” senior
Diana Lin said.
The team is losing several members this year
A
because seniors are graduating, according to
Lin, who hopes that the team will maintain its
the 30-member team size this season.
Another exciting addition to this season
is that some of the gymnasts are going to be
making up their own routines, according to
Lin, a third year team member who is creating
her own floor routine.
“We have new routines for the floor and
balance beam. Everyone is starting on the
same page, and no one has an advantage or
disadvantage,” Libes said.
Junior Avia Ben-Simon, who’s only gymnastics experience was lessons as a young child and
recently joined the team, said that she is happy
that everybody is learning the routines together
for the first time.
“It’s new for everybody, so I don’t feel as lost,”
Ben-Simon said.
This year a lot of new lowerclassmen joined
the team because of the successful recruitment
that was done in the PE classes by gymnastics
team members recently, according to Libes.
With all of the new girls on the team, everybody “seems enthusiastic and willing to learn
… everyone who is here wants to be here,”
Libes said.
As for upcoming competitions, Libes ex-
pects no surprises or differences from prior
years.
However, that does not mean it will be an
easy season.
“We have stiff competition,” Libes said.
“Learning and perfecting the new routines will
be a challenge, but I think that we can succeed
and stay undefeated.”
Like Libes, Lin is “hoping that we’re all
pumped up and ready to kick butt” when the
season gets started.
Although the newcomers do not know what
to expect, Ben-Simon is “really excited to compete and see what it’s all about.”
16 SPORTS
February 17, 2006
Wrestler
contracts
ringworm
By Laura Napoliello
RESHMAN WRESTLER James Tse, recently
diagnosed with ringworm, may be out for the
rest of the season.
Ringworm is a fungus infection that can affect the
scalp, body and feet.
Tse initially thought that the mark on his scalp
was a pimple. “I didn’t even know it was ringworm,”
he said. “Then it started itching, and the pimple grew,
turned into a rash and began pussing.”
Ringworm of the scalp begins as a small pimple
that becomes larger, leaving scaly patches of temporary baldness, according to the Association of
State Territorial Directors of Health Promotion and
Education.
“I shouldn’t wrestle until it heals, so I’m out for the
next two weeks or the rest of the season,” he said.
Ringworm is spread by contact with an infected
person and is very difficult to prevent. The fungus is
very common and is contagious even before symptoms appear.
Tse does not know the source of his infection,
but the contraction of the ringworm parasite can be
caused by bacteria from unclean wrestling mats or
wrestlers.
Head coach Denise Lee does not believe the mats
were the source.
“We wash our mats every day,” Lee said. “The
wrestlers even have to wipe their feet on mops before
stepping onto them.”
F
Lowell High School
Softball gearing up for Washington
By Gaston Guibert
HE GIRLS’ SOFTBALL TEAM
has some lofty goals for the coming
season. The ’05 team went 19-1 in
league, blasting opponents with an average
score of 13-2. They boasted three first-team
All-Leaguers, defeated eventual champion
Washington in the regular season, and advanced to the championship game.
Clearly, the team can be proud of the ’05
season. Still, this year’s squad believes the
best has yet to come. “We’re a better team
right now than we were at this point last
year,” senior third baseman Sandy Huang
said.
The Cardinals three returning All-League
selections, senior shortstop Marissa Chin
(first team), junior catcher Sati Houston
(second team) and Huang (honorable mention) look to lead the team this season.
Defending champion Washington, 12-2
winner over Lowell in last year’s title game,
MICHELLE WILENS
has to be considered the early favorite to Sophomore second baseman Sylvia Tam surveys the field during a practice.
take the title. Though they lost the reigning
Inexperienced sophomore pitcher Samia Sylvia Tam, among others, will fill out the
league MVP, catcher Liz Wagner, they return
with the front-runner for this year’s MVP Zuber will have to step up big if Lowell ex- rest of the lineup. The defense appears to
title, senior pitcher Michelle McMahon. As pects to contend for the title. Zuber appears be the hallmark of this year’s squad. Chin,
a junior last year, McMahon shut down the ready, as she could be seen throughout the Houston and senior centerfielder Erika Tran
Cardinals in the title game, limiting them to off-seaon honing her mechanics on the soc- all possess rockets for arms, and will in all
cer field. With that kind of dedication, it likelihood keep opponents from advancing
two runs in her complete game victory.
very far on the base-paths. Chin’s glove work
The Eagles have boasted a powerful lineup looks like the ace title is in good hands.
If tryouts were any indication, it appears up the middle will also make life difficult for
for the last few years, and it looks as if they
will continue that trend. They return four All- that the Lowell lineup will be a force to be opposing batters.
The Cardinals opened their season versus
League selections from last year in McMahon reckoned with. Powerful hitters Chin and
(first team), senior shortstop Sharon Cheng Houston, both legitimate league MVP can- Mission on Feb. 14, and cruised to a 31-1
(first team), senior second baseman Minna didates, will anchor the middle of the lineup, victory. Their next game will be played on at
Huang (second team), and junior outfielder while Huang, junior leftfielder Courtney 3:30 p.m. on March 1, at Crocker Amazon,
Dair, and sophomore second baseman versus the Burton Pumas.
Marissa McElenney (honorable mention).
T
Song and Cheer’s future clear, Urban Step faces uncertainty
By Kimberly Chua and Heather
Hammel
OM-POMS? Check. Stunts?
Ready. Boomboxes? Set. Performers? Wait, the sidelines
look a little empty.
While the Song squads have not
been able to make it to as many games
as they would like, varisty is busy
practicing a competition routine for
Nationals in Anaheim.
“It’s pretty intense,” coach Wendy
Nguyen said. “They are working really
hard right now.”
In December, both squads competed at the Regionals in Tracy, where
P
varsity and JV placed second and
fourth in their respective categories.
Regionals brought to light several
key aspects of the team’s performance
that need improving, according to
Nguyen. “They definitely need to work
on execution,” she said. “That’s part of
what is lacking on the scoring sheet.”
According to senior co-captain
Christina Diep, the judges said that
they needed to work on technique and
keeping their energy up.
However, the most important goal
is to work on engaging the audience,
according to Nguyen. “They don’t have
that experience performing in front of
an audience because it’s such a young
team,” she said.
Cheer also has high hopes for the
season, despite minor differences
with new coaches Atzimba Sierra and
Jennifer Conley, according to Cheer
senior co-captain Francis Lucero. “The
coaches had different expectations
from what we expected we’d be doing
this year,” Lucero said. “Our comeback routine is our Battle of the Birds
routine because this is what shows all
of the things that we and our coaches
wanted to do. It was just a matter of
getting all of our views in together.”
According to freshman Cheer mem-
ber Belinda Hu, the squad planned to
have a routine set before winter break.
“We were practicing about four or five
new stunts that we had never done,
and we didn’t really get them as quickly
as our coaches wanted us to.”
However, the team no longer has to
worry about not performing at games
next year, according to Lucero. “Now
that everyone has the technique that
the coaches want, and they have the
stunts that they want, it’s just a matter
of coming up with a simple routine and
pulling it off.”
Urban Step, on the other hand, is
not so certain about its own future. A
big concern is whether there will be an
squad next year because many of the
members are seniors. “It’s a question of
dedication and who would be leading
it,” senior Michelle Emelife said.
Current members who help choreograph routines could step up to lead
the team, such as junior co-captain
Amanda Sherman or sophomores
Clara Baldwin and Latasha Allston.
Allston, who is more optimistic
about the situation, said, “I think we’ll
keep Urban Step because next year
it will be smaller, it will be easier to
teach a dance, and it will be easier to
perform.”
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
17
SPORTS
Frosh wins Junior World Cup fencing in Canada
By Logan Weir
FTER TAKING GOLD in
her first out-of-country fencing competition, a freshmen
is preparing for more international
tournaments.
Hannah Safford, a junior women’s
epee fencer, took first place in the Carl
Schwende Junior World Cup on Jan.
21-22, in Montreal. Her victory boosted her ranking to 29th in the world and
A
made her the California champion in
her class. “I found out about a week
after the competition and thought it
was really cool,” Safford said.
During the competition, Safford
said she was confident about her skill
but “even though it wasn’t that big of a
cup, I wasn’t expecting to win.”
Safford was also drug tested for the
first time in her fencing career, something she said was ‘quite an experience.’
“Right after I got the medal they just
whisked me away to a little room,” she
said. “But at least I got a T-shirt.”
Safford first fenced three years ago,
during a Renaissance Faire. “It was
basic, but still really fun,” Safford said.
She then went to a summer program
and eventually joined the Golden Gate
Fencing Center. She started to compete a year and a half later. Now she
practices 10 hours a week. “It’s totally
worth it, and all my best friends do it
as well,” Safford said.
Maureen Griffin, her coach, said
Safford’s improvement since then has
been phenomenal. “Hannah started
out as a kid who was adaptable and
devoted, and now she’s someone who
could become a world class fencer,”
Griffin said.
Though Safford plans to continue
fencing, Safford said she will remain
on her current team instead of joining
Lowell’s. “The practice time conflicts
with my schedule, and they use different weapons,” Safford said, referring to
the fact that the Lowell team uses the
more flexible foil swords while she uses
stiffer epee swords.
This week Safford will compete in
the Junior Olympics in Connecticut.
Her dream, however her dream is to
go to the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
New coaches lead the way
By Heejin Hwang
Tenderloin, and Basiliio teaches
RE HAVING only two badminton at the Embarcadero
exp er ienced star t- YMCA. Both coaches expressed
ers, new coaches, and that having a turnout of 70 girls
starting their later than other at tryouts was a good sign. “We
schools a disadvantage? No. The have a lot of people to pick
girls’ badminton team is confi- from,” MacFarland said. “Sevdent about defending their city eral of our players are serious
championship title this year.
and very motivated.”
The two returning starters
Many of the players are
are none other than last year’s looking forward to a fun seatop two singles players seniors son playing and learning unJoann Wu and Ruby Hsu. “We der MacFarland and Basiliio’s
lost all our doubles (players) coaching. “I like our new coachbecause our seniors (last year) es,” sophomore singles player
were doubles,”
Joanne Poon
Hsu said.
said. “They’re
Our
“However, our
really nice and
numb er one
at teachplayers are good
singles player
ing and helping,
has started for
serious and and they have a
three years.”
good coaching
motivated.” style.”
This places
L o w e l l at a
Nine of the
great advanDAVID MACFARLAND, 17 team memtage, considernew badminton coach bers are returning that their
ing players. The
main r iva ls,
n e w p l aye r s
Washington, Lincoln, and Bal- also show impressive talent
boa, have lost key players, too. and hopefully will fill up the
According to Wu, “we have two open doubles and singles spots.
returning starters, Lincoln has Together, the team plans to win
none returning, and Washing- its fourth consecutive AAA
ton has one returning.”
championship title.
The new coaches, David
Although the team already
MacFarland and Derrick Basi- faces challenges, such as the
liio, replaced ex-coach and Low- delayed start of the season and
ell alumnus Chrissie Hosada, the shared gym time with the
who left to go back to college. basketball teams and the boys’
MacFarland teaches badminton volleyball team, everyone is
at the Central YMCA in the willing to compensate with
A
O
“
more weekend and late practices, according to Poon.
In fact, instead of a usual
downtrodden attitude to lack of
time during practices, the players saw the opportunity of team
bonding. It turned out to be a
good idea. “We’re all really getting along together, and it has
only been our second practice,”
Wu said. “Last year, we didn’t
even know names.”
MacFarland and Basiliio
want to focus on drilling and
building a stronger defensive
play, rather than the conditioning that Hosada preferred. “I
want them to be able to defend
against any kind of smashes or
drop shot,” MacFarland said.
“Then we’ll work on footwork
and offense afterwards.”
Basiliio wants to also work
on building-up stamina. “Even
if they already have stamina, the
players will work on improving
it,” Basiliio said. “So many girls
have so much potential, so I
expect every girl to step up and
take the lead.”
Individual players plan to
do their best and meet their
own goals for this season, goals
that range from working and
conditioning harder to winning the individual and team
championships. “I want to try
harder.” Hsu said.
The first season game will
be on Tuesday, March 7, against
Lincoln at Lincoln.
TALIA COOMBES
Junior Jacob Berry tries to finish a double leg move on a Balboa wrestler on Feb. 7.
Wrestlers defeat Eagles
By Michael Lazarus
T TOOK A female coach to beat
them,” wrestling head coach
Denise Lee bragged about Lowell’s first victory over Washington in 10
years. The next question is: What in the
heck will it take to beat Galileo?
Despite impressive performances by
seniors Joe Cutler and Phil Stern, the
Cardinals could not get by perennial
powerhouse Galileo on Jan. 24 at Neff
Gymnasium. The Lions, displaying a will
to win unmatched by Cardinal wrestlers,
proved why they are the team to beat.
This loss came only days after Lowell
enjoyed its best win of the season in
defeating Washington, a feat not accomplished since the 1995-96 season.
“It was a great feeling,” captain Cutler
“I
said. “I wanted to make sure I would
get to enjoy beating Washington at least
once while I’m at Lowell.”
Stern and senior William Mock supplied the two most heated matches.
Once again, Stern led the Cardinals’
attack by defeating Washington’s best
wrestler. Senior co-captain William
Mock also led by example by easily defeating his Eagle counterpart.
Though both Stern and Mock and
wrestled injured, both won their meet.
Lowell now stands at 5-1, second
place only to Galileo and in good a place
to make a run for All-City.
The next match will be at 4 p.m. on
Wednesday at Lowell versus O’Connell.
All-City will be 10 a.m. on Feb. 25 at
Washington.
18 SPORTS
February 17, 2006
Lowell High School
Boys’ basketball Track and field team blasts off
dominates
W
AAA league
From BOYS BASKETBALL on Page 13
scored nine points. The Bulldogs kept their composure and
went on a 10-2 run and ended the quarter down 10.
The Bulldogs kept Jones to two points in the second half
but Travis Hom and Chan picked up the offense for the
Cardinals. In the fourth quarter with a minute left junior
guard Ronney Freeman took the ball coast-to-coast for a
lay up and made the foul shot. The crowd held their breath
as the 16-point lead had dwindled down to 2.
The Bulldogs took a timeout to draw up a play. During
the timeout Ray told his team to settle down because they
were in a better position. The Bulldogs offensive play fell
apart, and Freeman tried to take the winning shot, but
Cook played perfect defense and forced a bad shot that
ended the game. “ I watched Ronney the whole game so
I knew he wouldn’t drive. I gave him a cushion and then
clamped down on him,” Cook said.
In the locker room, Chan, who led the team with
13, chanted “Undefeated.” He said, “I was confident we
had the game in the fourth quarter. We just kept it close
to give them false hope then slam down our defensive
hammer.”
Lincoln
On Jan. 20, after defeating the defending champions,
the Cardinals faced Lincoln, a highly rated team. The
Cardinals stepped up, both offensively and defensively,
scoring the first 20 points of the game. Wong led the team
with 15 points and Cook had his first double-double of
the regular season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “We
came out strong and put them away in the first quarter,”
Wong said. Lowell won the game 69-42.
Galileo
The highly anticipated rematch of last year’s championship game against Galileo proved to be a disappointment.
The Cardinals showed themselves to be the kings of the
AAA jungle, beating the Lions 60-44 on Jan 18. A lackluster first quarter found both teams struggling offensively
until the third quarter, which saw both when teams scored
a combined 22 points in the first four minutes of the
period. Chan had a game-high 21 points, with 18 points
from the three-point line and a perfect 3 for 3 at the free
throw line. Jones had 11 points and Cook contributed 9
points of his own along with 7 rebounds.
By May Chen
ITH LAST YEAR’S impressive
show at the All-City meet, the
track team has a lot to live up
to. As the new season approaches, the Cardinals are revving up, in hopes of claiming
the championship title once again.
The runners are currently concentrating
their efforts on getting everyone caught up,
according to coach Andy Leong. “At this
stage, we’re working on getting the team
in shape and learning proper running
technique,” Leong said. “Track is always a
work in progress.”
Leong said he felt confident that the
girls’ team would thrive this season. “We
have some strong returning champions
from last year. But most of them are seniors,
so we need to find some new girls, or else
the team goes downhill.”
This season the team’s greatest competition will come from Lincoln and Washington, according to Class of ’98 volunteer
coach Ritchie Jong. “Washington has a
high standing, and Lincoln defeated our
boys’ team during cross-country season,”
Jong said. Leong added that Lincoln has as
many runners as Lowell, increasing their
chances of winning. Lowell’s track team has
approximately 200 members every year.
However, some team members believe
that the team will easily recapture the AllCity championship title. “Not one team in
the city will be able to defeat us,” senior
runner Michael Novak said. “This season,
Andy brought back some of his most prized
runners as coaches, and it has definitely
renewed our team spirit. We’re redoubling
our efforts and giving everything we’ve
got.”
Novak speculated that their greatest
competition this season would most likely
be a school outside San Francisco, in places
such as Westmoor or San Mateo.
While still too early to tell, several returning members, sophomore Walker Weir,
senior Phillip Yee, and senior Anna Lee are
expected to do well this season, according
to Class of ’01 alum Jin Daikoku, a new
volunteer long distance coach.
Other runners to look for are freshmen
Karyn Smoot and Carlin Lee, and sophomores Geraldine Chan, Kevin Xu, and
ANNA FRYJOFF-HUNG
Senior pole vaulter Levi Gadye practices his plant in the sand pit near the football
field as the offical track season gets underway. The first meet will take place on March 4.
Bismark Navarro, according to senior runner Susanna Liu.
Although team members feel confident about this season, some feel
worried about the unity of the team.
“Many of the runners are continuing
from cross-country, some are newbies,
and others are returning from
track last season,” Li said. “Because the team
members come from different places, a lot
of them are strangers. Hopefully, there will
be some team bonding over this season.”
Lowell’s first track meet is scheduled for
March 4 at Santa Rosa High.
20 COLUMNS
Black history
is not just
for February
By Sabina Hatipovic
EBRUARY COMES and suddenly you start seeing
MTV commercials where well-known black artists comment on the civil rights movement in an
attempt to raise awareness. You start hearing excerpts of
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and
discussions by black leaders on the radio. Passing by the
library, you may even notice a glass case with posters
and books written by black authors — a display that
vanishes before the end of this very, short month.
But where was this recognition in December or
January, or any other month for that matter? We need
a year-round celebration, recognition of and education
about black people, their history and the current state of
blacks in both America and in the rest of the world.
Perhaps it was a step forward when American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson began this celebration in
1926, originally naming the second week of February
“Negro History Week,” at a time when absolutely no
national recognition existed. But many people — myself included — believe it is time (that it has been time)
to highlight on a regular basis the achievements and
impact of black Americans, who were for so long and
still are neglected. A blurb, even a chapter in a history
textbook, or a commercial that is aired for just one short
month does not cut it.
As my high school experience is approaching an end,
I’ve begun thinking about what I will be studying in the
future, and I have obsessed and reflected on the kind of
education that I have received at Lowell.
S u r e l y, I
have learned a
lot; however, I
cannot help but
feel that I have
been deprived
of different perspectives and
outlooks, written and spoken
by blacks, Chicanos, women
— minorities.
open your eyes
Reading works
written from new perspectives is instrumental in our
understanding of all sides and opinions on various
ideas and issues. So I have begun reading books on my
own by minority authors such as Richard Wright, June
Jordan and Malcolm X.
An understanding of black history is essential to
both understanding the history of the Americas and
also being capable of making new advancements for minorities. But when classes are focused on preparing for
standardized tests, the incentive for students to discuss
significant societal and racial issues does not exist. And
when discussions do occur, they generally center only
around figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa
Parks. These individuals certainly played a tremendous
part in fighting for advancements in equality for blacks
and other minorities.
But too often we neglect to distinguish other prominent leaders and revolutionists like crusader for black
nationalism Marcus Garvey and social activist Harry
Belafonte. Discussions about Malcolm X’s philosophy
and ideas hardly ever occur because many people
are only willing to focus in on his violent and radical
persona.
In my AP English class, for instance, we have read
works from an endless list of authors who have appeared
on the exam in May — most of whom are old or dead
white males. Although we are familiarizing ourselves
with the authors that we may see on the exam, the variety of opinions is limited. We can develop analytical
skills reading minority authors just as well, and then
use those acquired skills with any other author, and at
the same time, become enriched with new connections
and thoughts.
We all know that information is a powerful weapon,
one of the most powerful weapons out there. If there
is hope for any sort of gains for blacks — and for other
minorities — people need to be educated about the past
and the issues of today. We need more discussions in
schools. More speakers. More awareness throughout the
year, awareness that reaches people not just at Lowell
but everywhere.
Allotting just one month to black history leads us to
believe that the history of these people is only a small
part of American history, but that could not be more
false. Black history is American history, and teaching it
needs to be fully incorporated in all aspects and institutions of this country, certainly not just for one month.
F
Febuary 17, 2006
Lowell High School
What is the meaning of success?
By Daniel Chin
OMETIMES I’M SO CAUGHT UP in the college craze that
I forget about my own life. Is that possible? Is life more than
applying to schools and taking tests and doing homework? If
you had asked me four years ago, I wouldn’t know. But taking a year
off of school gave me something of an answer.
The best part about traveling is the people.
I spent 18 months in Mexico, the South Pacific, Indonesia and
Australia, and met people I could only imagine;
Peter, an Indi-Fijian taxi driver who, for five
pounds, would take you throughout Suva and
tell you all about the ethnic and political strife in
Fiji. And Martin, who leased his family’s land in
the Marquesas Islands for a Survivor series, and
is still waiting to be paid.
Then there was Andre. I met him in a bar in
La Cruz, Mexico, a small coastal farming village
near Puerto Vallarta. The cobblestone roads often
had more goats than cars, but the real irony was
that Andre decided this was the place to meet
interesting people. He had fled across the iron
double
curtain on a motorbike when he was 10 years old,
spent four years as an undercover agent for the West German police
until, after a would-be assassination attempt, he moved to Canada
and worked as a painter, a carpenter and a farmer before sailing down
to Mexico. He graduated from college when he was 36. His children
were all grown. And somehow, I caught his interest.
One day, he asked me, “Daniel, what do you want to do with
S
your life?”
I told him I don’t know. Even today, I don’t know.
And he said, “That’s okay. I like that. It would be a shame if you
had planned your life already.”
That sounded odd. Why would that be a shame?
He must have seen it in my face because he said, “Once a person
decides what they want to do with their life, they usually forget all
about living.”
This guy had lost it.
In fact, the exact opposite was true. Andre
found a way of life that brought him more
enjoyment than any high-paying job. He chose
that lifestyle so that he could meet people like
me and drop little hints about life. I can’t see
myself sitting in bars in Mexico as a way of life,
but meeting people like Andre gave me a new
perspective.
Success for him doesn’t mean pulling a sixdigit salary, or owning a Mercedes. Andre was
successful without either because he lived that
lifestyle that he enjoys the most.
senior
I’m not suggesting that he is the solution for
the equation of life. But taking a year off of school gave me an opportunity to consider my own life and where I was going. It certainly
made me question why I was applying to college if success isn’t based
on income.
Maybe someday I’ll find my niche in the world — a place to meet
interesting people, and success.
Schedulerite shares cult secrets and advice
By Elan Lavie
F THERE IS ONE THING worth fighting for in this world, it is self-scheduling.
I know a bad pick can be a pain in the patootie, but the ability to determine one’s own
classes is one of Lowell’s most enjoyable and
unique experiences. Wait, let me rephrase:
One of Lowell’s most enjoyable and unique
experiences for athletic upperclassmen who
have first pick and no sense of civility.
Most freshmen, I am certain, would not
describe their recently completed self-scheduling experience as “enjoyable.” Many bewildered ninth graders unwittingly become road
kill at the mercy of brooding upperclassmen,
who love nothing more than trampling a
day’s worth of “fresh meat” on the way from
the auditorium to the gym.
This special group of students is known as
the Schedulerites, the oldest group of schedulers this side of the Mississippi. Schedulerites are a dying breed, and they must attract
new students to their cause.
So listen closely:
It all begins with the announcer. A
Schedulerite knows the precise night when
the announcer will be published online and
begins to prepare weeks in advance, determining which and how
I
SUSAN LAU
many snacks to eat (the most common is two
packets of maple and brown sugar flavored
instant oatmeal microwaved for one minute),
sharpening at least two backup pencils with
sufficiently sized erasers, and bringing a
laminated copy of the Lowell Hymn to the
computer side.
When the big night arrives, a devout
Schedulerite checks Lowell’s Web site every
half hour on the half hour in a sacred ritual
known as “Announcer Anticipation.” When
the announcer is posted, a small chant is
customarily sung:
Announcer! Announcer! Announcer!
We’ve waited all year long,
to sing this special song!
Announcer! Announcer! Announcer!
I may not be on the honor roll,
but let me join Shield and Scroll!
Announcer! Announcer! Announcer!
Get me some wicked cool classes,
and I’ll be best amongst the masses!
Announcer! Announcer! Announcer!
Then the fun begins.
The most zealous can spend upwards of
five hours planning the their programs the
night the announcer comes out, though the
average follower spends closer to three. This
time is spent cycling through a number of re-
high roller
sources including the essential Web site,
RateMyTeachers (ratemyteachers.com).
Other more traditional methods include
phoning friends and speaking with older
siblings who attended Lowell.
Quite simply, the goal of the Schedulerite is to create a schedule that will produce
the highest quality of life and/or the most
challenging courses, depending on the
Schedulerite’s preference.
Personally, I go for a mix. I like a fair
share of difficult courses, but for the sake of
my well-being, there is no compromising an
8:45 a.m. start. Second most important are
the teachers.
I once made the mistake of mixing up
these two priorities, opting for the “best”
teachers and a 7:35 a.m.
start. It wasn’t pretty, and
neither was I.
Anyway, the point I’ve
been trying to make is
self-scheduling is important. It’s very important. It
determines what the next
18 weeks of a student’s life
will be like, and that doesn’t
just mean which teacher
one has to listen to. Crazy
as it may sound, teachers
may actually be one of
the less important results
self-scheduling has on a
student’s life.
Though no one realizes
it during the mad scramble
in the gymnasium, the long
rectangular sheet of paper
bearing 30-or-so names of
students in a class says an
unbelievable amount about
each student’s future. It
represents where he will be
in the upcoming months,
what memories he will
have looking back on high
school, who will become
his partners for the next
semester, and who knows,
maybe even for life. So,
upper or underclassmen,
Schedulerite or not, I hope
you’ll agree that self-scheduling is worth the fight.
Febuary 17. 2006
The Lowell
Columns
21
Horrible shows replace educational classics
By Erica Edwards
ARLY SATURDAY MORNING I lazily
open my eyes, and grab the remote control
next to my bed. Color fills the screen, and
suddenly, my weekend begins with a devastating
line-up of horrible shows.
I remember growing up with TV shows that
inspired brain activity; shows that were intellectually stimulating. I remember animated series
where the mouths of characters opened when
they spoke! I remember Mr. Rogers, Bill Nye the
Science Guy, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock. But,
now, in the days of Teletubbies and Bratz, I just
gag. In my old age I’ve become extremely frustrated
with the cheap, non-creative
children’s shows on TV.
First on my list: Teletubbies. This show wins the
prize as the most dumb,
and weird show on television today. Four brightly
colored blobs jump around,
spin and clap, along with
videos of strange kids doing strange activities on
kid at
their bellies. And if Po, Lala,
Tinky-Winky and Dipsy
are not strange enough, the creator of this show
has introduced a sun with a baby’s face inside
that smiles creepily as the Teletubbies do their
daily dance. I cannot understand how these
non-speaking, life-size puppets have gained the
respect of thousands of googling babies — and
their parents?
The United Kingdom has spawned a similar
series with even less sense and excitement named
Boohbahs. These oddly shaped characters, resem-
E
bling globs of mucus, flop up and down, speaking
even fewer words than the Teletubbies. They
dance and then the producer of the show fools
children by playing the same segment four times
in a row. You can check these weird hypnotizing
giggly goos at (www.boohbah.com) It will be one
of the weirdest experiences of your life.
Why do I know so much about this show? I’ve
watched it … in awe. How could something so
purposeless and so uneventful be so successful?
If you have the answer, please enlighten me.
Children should be exposed to shows that
involve interaction, learning and language.
Boohbahs is so far from reality that children are being
deprived of actual human
and life experiences.
Next on my list: Bratz,
the TV show. These Barbie
wannabes prance around
with heavy lip-liner and
the latest “ghetto-fabulous”
outfits, arguing about when
to have their next concert.
Now, I’m not saying that
Barbie is the best role model,
heart
but at least she kept the
make-up to a minimum.
Though I agree that the Bratz characters — an
ethnic mix of five pre-teen girls — encourage
diversity and the blending of different cultures,
these girls are horrible role models. Most of the
show involves phrases like, “Hey girl!” and “Hold
on girl, it takes time to look this good!” Worst
of all, the Bratz Web site endorses merchandise,
such as “Bratz Babyz,” infants with “style,” aka
sleezy tops and small skanky “booty” diapers.
And, these baby dolls have knee-length hair.
Creative insults
improve SAT
scores and life
By Michelle Lambert
ANGUAGE MATTERS: Depending on what you say you
could sound like a dopamine addict or a Mr. Drain.
For example: If you went to the store, you could say,
“I walked to the store,” or you could say, “I gleefully skipped to
Albertsons, singing all the while.” One sounds bland: The other
sounds like you’re on Prozac.
People talk all the time, echoing derogatory words without
thinking about their historical background. However, oft-used
curses, such as “f---ing” and “sh-t,” can easily be replaced if we
start looking in our dusty, five-inch-thick dictionaries for more
interesting insults. If we replace these crude insults with something far more disturbing, our vocabularies (and SAT scores) will
improve, we will outwit everyone within earshot and our emotions
will be far more eloquently expressed.
Swear words limit us: We are forced to accuse each other of
having sexual relations
with someone’s mother
and practicing promiscuous behavior. We call
each other pieces of
solid excrement, refer
to various parts of our
anatomy, and imply that
our irritating friends are
not human but pregnant
dogs.
One word, the nword, shouldn’t have
coffee coffee
a place in our society
at all. This word proves nothing except that the user lacks any
knowledge of history. It’s even worse when white or Asian kids
call each other the n-word. It shows that they are either blind or
insensitive.
When you’re pissed off at someone, it is generally at what they
have done, not their physical appearance. You want to rip their
head off, not prove that you can see, unless they’ve accused you
of being blind. Even then, there are better ways to prove your
observational skills.
If you really feel the need to use an n-word, pick up that dusty
dictionary I talked about earlier and look in the “n” section.
Among the many nouns you could call someone are necrophiliac
(a person who gets turned on by dead people), newt (especially
nature-lovers), or narwhal (a small Arctic whale.)
Please, unless you really want to prove your stupidity, get more
creative with your insults. Unearth the dusty dictionary from the
depths of your pile of unused books and look something up; your
SAT score will go up, and your opponent will look stupid. Stretch
your mind, not just your body, you nugatory nubbin.
L
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ZACH CLARK
While Ren and Stimpy was crude and graphic,
and Doug was odd, these shows had creativity,
humor and likable characters. Even the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles taught kids the names of
famous Italian artists. Mr. Rogers’s taught hospitality as he allowed new visitors in his home
every episode. Nickelodeon’s All That encouraged
skit-writing and improvisation. Unfortunately
today, writers don’t invent clever shows.
Recently, in physiology, I watched Bill Nye the
Science Guy, and I realized how clever and educational this show actually was. We learned about
gravity, about the body and about everything
“science.” Through weird noises and his catchy
opening jingle, Bill Nye captured his younger
audience and inspired thought and intelligence.
Today, shows are just plain horrible.
Although Sesame Street has been — and
hopefully always will be — pretty constant and
educational, sadly, the level of intelligent TV
gradually gets worse every year. Instead of shows
that teach or encourage creativity and kindness,
kids are exposed to shows for the pure purpose
of entertainment, shows that babysitters just turn
on to keep a kid glued to a TV.
These young children are not learning about
the importance of humor, wit, and life. Instead,
they have been condemned to shows in “LaLa
Land,” far away from reality, and even farther
away from the necessary intelligence in order
to become well-rounded, competent and fun
adults.
It may seem far-fetched, but if society collapses, I am going to blame these television
shows. How will today’s generation of young
children deal with a dilemma? Will they jump
up and down like the Teletubbies, or say, “Whatever, girl!”
Student demands more pride
from despondent Lowellites
By Gaston Guibert
OU’VE SEEN the scenario unfold many a time: You’re sitting
in class, with a timid shadow
named Timothy perched two seats in
front of you.
The teacher asks your classmates, “Do
you have any words of wisdom for little
Timmy?” The class immediately shrieks;
“Don’t come here!” “You’ll regret this for
the rest of your life!” “Consider moving
to a third-world country!”
Students at Lowell spend too much
Y
kermit — a leper
time complaining about the school’s perceived shortcomings and ignore all of the
fantastic opportunities that are only available to us. Students are constantly saying
they made the wrong high school choice,
that Lowell is too competitive, and that
they’ll almost definitely be transferring
to some other school next year.
Where is our school pride? Our
school is nationally recognized as one
of the highest achieving high schools in
the nation.
I consider myself privileged to be in
the presence of intellectual kids my age
five days a week. Sure, we have to work
hard to get good grades, but that’s called
preparation for life. If you expect to succeed without working hard, you’re living
in a dream. Lowell is clearly the premier
academic high school in San Francisco,
yet somehow, students seemed either
embarrassed or frustrated with the school
atmosphere.
“I don’t like all the pressure and
demands that Lowell inflicts on you,”
sophomore Misu Minhas complained.
Yet a competitive environment encourages us to grow. Good teachers flock
to Lowell, looking to hone our academic
talents, as well as their teaching skills. We
certainly have to work harder than the
average high school student, but we also
turn out better prepared for life.
Many students say that college is a
breeze after four years of the rigorous
academic load at Lowell.
“Once you get to college, you’ll realize
how hard you had to work at Lowell,” said
Class of ’05 Eric Bucholz, now at San Jose
State University. “I’m flyin’ through all my
classes; it’s cake.”
Lowell’s athletic program is equally
impressive.
Our cross-country, track, girls’
soccer, golf, tennis, baseball and
volleyball teams are perennial league
powerhouses that also compete well
outside of the league. However, though
Lowell athletes are proud to wear
the school colors, very few fans are
willing to come out and support the
school at athletic events.
In addition to academic and
athletic prowess, Lowell’s extra
curricular programs are also
among the best in the city. Lowell Dance Company performs
year round throughout the state
and the music program travels
throughout the world.
Lowell also offers more clubs
that one could ever imagine joining, and if for some reason students
want a new club, they are perfectly
entitled to start it themselves.
Lowell offers the most impressive blend of academics, athletics
and extra-curriculars of any school
in the city. While no school is without its flaws, I can’t imagine enjoying
any other school more than Lowell.
Instead of grumbling about how
much you wish you had gone to LickWilmerding, University, Sacred
Heart or St. Igantius, which
would cost your parents
roughly a yacht for four
years of high school, think
about what those schools really have to
offer when compared to Lowell.
Our school is without a doubt the
finest in the city.
We are incredibly
fortunate to be
able to attend a
school like Lowell; embrace it.
22 OPINION
February 17, 2006
Lowell High School
EDITORIALS
Time for a female president
S
ince the United States first became
a nation, a white male has always
occupied the position of commanderin-chief. Can a female president-elect be
next?
Certain countries have beaten us to the
punch and elected female leaders. German
citizens elected Angela Merkel to office
in March 2005, removing the incumbent
chancellor Gerhard Shröder from office.
Merkel has stalled Germany’s eradication
of nuclear power and endorsed a transatlantic alliance between Germany and the
United States. With an 80 percent approval
rating, she has become the most popular
leader in Germany’s history. Chilean voters
also exhibited their acceptance of female
leadership during a recent presidential
election, which with a victory for Michelle
Bachelet.
Two centuries worth of white male presidents proves that America has not been
practicing what it has been preaching.
However, the upcoming 2008 presidential election could include not just one
female nominee, but two. After performing
the duties of the nation’s first lady for eight
years, Democrat Hillary Clinton joined the
United States Senate on Nov. 7, 2000, representing the state of New York. Although
some consider Clinton unqualified for the
position of commander-in-chief, she has
an impressive record. She received her
undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and a graduate degree from the Yale
University School of Law. She is certainly as
competent as our president, who achieved
his current position largely thanks to his
father’s merits.
A truly revolutionary election would
take place if the Republican Party were to
nominate secretary of state Condoleezza
Rice as Clinton’s opponent. Rice, too,
is highly qualified for the position. She
graduated from the University of Denver’s
Graduate School of International Studies
and served as a political science professor
and provost at Stanford University. Both
Clinton and Rice’s credentials equal those
of many previous male presidents, They
therefore deserve the nomination in the
2008 presidential election.
War in Iraq unjustified
T
he United States initiated the war on
Iraq on March 19, 2003, as a result of
a continued suspicion that the country harbored secret nuclear and biological
weapons programs that strained relations
with the United States and United Nations.
Now, almost three years later, it is time to
examine the original goals of the war. On
Feb. 26, 2003, President Bush said that
Saddam Hussein was “building and hiding
weapons that could enable him to dominate
the Middle East and intimidate the civilized
world.” Although Hussein may have been
planning to build such powerful weapons,
no evidence exists to prove that Hussein’s
desire for weapons posed an immediate
threat to national security or that Hussein
even possessed weapons of mass destruction at the start of the Iraq war. Therefore,
Congress’s declaration of war under the
pretense of protecting national security was
largely invalid. The deposition of Saddam
Hussein was a success. Hussein’s capture
was a morale boost to the Iraqi people
and was one of Bush’s greatest moments
as president.
The Bush administration hoped to weaken the capability of terrorist organizations
by emerging victorious in Iraq. However, on
Oct. 15, 2003, the International Institute
for Strategic Studies said, “War in Iraq has
probably inflamed radical passions among
Muslims and thus increased al Qaeda’s
recruiting power and morale and, at least
marginally, its operating capability.” Because the Iraq Survey Group has not found
a significant amount of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq and because the United
States declared war apart from the United
Nations, the war may have also damaged
the United States’ credibility in the eyes of
objecting United Nations countries.
President Bush’s administration also
aimed to establish democracy in Iraq, to
keep the entire region whole and to establish democracy and stability. Iraq is now in
a state of “transition,” so the success of
its sovereignty and democracy cannot yet
be determined. However, the concept of
“spreading democracy” may be a veneer
covering the true intentions of the Iraq war,
intentions to benefit a small, wealthy portion of the American population.
The Bush administration also hoped
to intimidate rogue nations — potentially
hostile nations such as Iran and North Korea
— and curb proliferation of nuclear arms.
Although Libya gave up its nuclear program
in December after the start of the Iraq war,
Central Intelligence Agency director George
Tenet told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the chances of Iran and North
Korea following such an example are low,
according to USA Today on March 17, 2004.
The administration also hoped to preserve
and expand U.S. influence in the Middle
East, enhance Israel’s security and facilitate
the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict,
according to the USA Today article. Recently
Hamas, a radical Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group that condones terrorism
against Israel and the United States, won a
large majority in the Jan. 26 parliamentary
election, which may further set back the
War on Terror. The Dec. 15 Iraqi elections
were an accomplishment for the Iraqi government and its allies. But democracy in
Iraq has been forced on the Iraqi people.
The Iraq war has been unjustifiable, and
with little gain.
Police actions shameful
R
ecently 20 members of the San
Francisco Police Department created a video mocking members of
the African American, Asian, and female
community. They were suspended and then
reinstated one week later.
Officer Andrew Cohen said that he made
the video, Inside the SFPD: The Bayview, as a
tribute to former Bayview precinct Captain
Rick Bruce and had hoped to show it at
the station’s Christmas party, according to
an article in The San Francisco Chronicle.
Although the videos were supposed to have
been made in good fun, Cohen missed the
comedy mark and went straight for derogatory and offensive.
Though Dave Chappelle and Saturday
Night Live produce flawless satirical and
hilarious skits making fun of society and
people from different walks of life, when
city police officers do the same, the effect
is different.
San Francisco experienced over 60
homicides last year — most of them in
the Bayview Hunter’s Point district. It is
completely unprofessional for the officers
— who were filmed in uniform using SFPD
patrol cars — to mock the very people they
are supposed to protect. To release Inside
the SFPD: The Bayview in the wake of so
much crime only heightens a perception
that police are heartless and insensitive.
The 20 officers who were involved are
paid to “serve and protect,” not to play
around and waste tax dollars. Mayor Gavin
Newsom was correct in calling the video
“racist and unacceptable” in an interview
with KTVU news. Police officers should
not be busy filmmaking on company time.
They should be on the streets dealing with
real dilemmas and real crime. Police should
leave comedy to the professionals.
CLO
SED
ZACK CLARK
“What? Wayne Gretsky got caught? Who’s gonna take my bet for the Sharks?”
LETTERS
TO THE
EDITORS
Shield & Scroll
sponsor condemns
recent arena conduct
I would take this opportunity to apologize to the entire
Lowell Student Body for the
actions of a member of the
Lowell Shield & Scroll Honor
and Service Society. During
self-scheduling, a member of
the organization took it upon
himself to distribute approximately 10 “green” sheets to
his friends. These sheets were
taken out of the folders held in
the auditorium. The students
receiving the sheets then tried
to enter the gym earlier than
scheduled. In some cases it
appears they succeeded and
enrolled in classes. In one case,
a student was denied entry into
the gym on two separate occasions, which raised suspicions.
A resulting inquiry discovered
to violation, and the offending
S&S member was removed
from his assigned post and
sent home. The individual is
no longer a member of the
organization, and his name
has been removed from the
society’s rolls.
As the current sponsor of
the organization, I sincerely
regret what occurred. To all
of those who waited patiently
to get into the arena, please
accept my apology. What happened was a violation of the
ethical rules by which the
organization stands. Please
believe me when I tell you
that the vast majority of Shield
and Scroll members are ethical
individuals.
To those members of S&S
who aided and abetted the
former member, I will do everything I can to discover who
you are and have you removed
from the S&S rolls as well. As
school leaders, your actions
jeopardize the integrity of the
entire Lowell community. In
consultation with principal
Cheng, dean Cordoba and
others, further actions may be
taken. My preference would be
to notify colleges of the ethics
violation.
Whatever the result of the
investigation, the organization
must repair the damage done
and be exemplary in future
undertakings.
— James Spellicy,
social studies teacher
Fruit bar machine sales
harm street vendors
It has come to our attention that recently a machine
for the distribution of frozen
fruit bars has been installed
next to the Lowell High School
bookroom. Basically, we are
appalled and outraged. Per-
Lowell
The
Cardinal Staff
Editors-in-chief
Connie Chung • Laura Fong
Mellina Stoney • Fiona Wozniak
News Courtney Ball, Connie Chung, Tony Dear,
Sabine Scherer, Larry Yee
Sports Beatriz Datangel, Andrew Lee, Michelle
Lee, Mayra Lopez, Mike Lazarus
Politics Sabina Hatipovic,
Trends Fiona Wozniak
Spotlight, Arts and Ideas Laura
Fong
Backpage Willy Zhang
Columns Avi Baskin, Alanna Wong
Opinion Mellina Stoney, Marianna Tishchenko
Reporters Christine Au-Yeung, Phoebe AuYeung, Joey Bien-Kahn, Cynthia Chau, Edward Chen,
May Chen, Daniel Chin, Megan Dickey, Heather
Hammel, Eliza Hidalgo, Heejin Hwang, Steven
Houang, Brandon Iljus, Alexis Kim, Alana Kivowitz,
Michelle Lambert, Elan Lavie, Jen Lee, Jessica Lee,
Christine Lin, Vicki Mac, Glenn Mercado, Laura
Nepoliello, Noey Neumark, Angela Ngai, Richard
Rodrin, Amy Seaman, Helene Servillon, Carmen Sze,
Lucy Taylor, Griffin Tyree, Logan Weir, T. Riley York,
Ashley Yu, Weina Zhao, Elisa Zhang
Photographers Talia Coombes, Sam
Bowman, Anna Fryjoff-Hung, Lianna Leal,
Michelle Wilens (editor), Jack Zhou
haps, the people who installed
this machine didn’t even realize
what they were doing. The beloved frozen fruit bar vendors,
paleteros, who tour the city with
their signature carts as they
chime their bells bringing joy
and happiness to the youth of
this great city, are threatened by
the prospect of losing their jobs
to this machine.
Regardless, we are boycotting this cursed machine and
ask that the rest of the student
body join us in our crusade, lest
the families of these fine gentlemen, known as paleteros, starve
from hunger.
P.S. Either get rid of the machine of lower the price to $1
because $1.25 is a rip off.
— Jose Molina (0614)
Javier Padilla (0603)
Angel Rodriguez (0704)
Responce to column on
gang violence
I would like to comment on
Mellina Stoney’s article, Poetry,
journals ease pains of gang violence. I feel people are so often
quick to judge those who live in
neighborhoods that are plagued
with violence. They label people
like Mellina “ghetto” without
caring about the potential hurt
the word carries.
I would like to applaud Mellina on her courage. It is not easy
to stand up and put a face on the
projects.
— Danielle Smith (0613)
Illustrators Zack Clark, Laura Kung,
Susan Lau, Christina Limcaco, Lawdan
Pahlavan
Accounting Carmen Sze
The Lowell on the Web
Web Editors-in-chief
Anthony Batiste • Sam Bowman
Web Editors F. Brady Gillerlain, Brian
Ho, Michelle Lambert, Jennifer Lee, Helene
Servillon, Natyssa Tossany, Jonah Varon, Logan
Weir, Victoria Wu
Advisers
Katharine Swan & Jennifer Moffitt
Published every four weeks by the journalism classes of
Lowell High School, Room S108, 1101 Eucalyptus Drive, San
Francisco, CA 94132 Phone: (415) 759-2730 Ext. 3426 Internet: [email protected]; http://www.thelowell.org.
All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes.
All rights reserved.
The Lowell and The Lowell on the Web strive to inform the
public and to use their opinion sections as open forums for
debate. All unsigned editorials are the opinions of the staff.
The Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues
from students, faculty and community members. Names will
be withheld upon request. We reserve the right to edit letters
before publication.
2005 CSPA Gold Crown
2004 CSPA Silver Crown
2003 CSPA Gold Crown
2003 NSPA Pacemaker
2002 CSPA Gold Crown
2002 NSPA Pacemaker
2001 NSPA Pacemaker
2001 NSPA Hall of Fame
2000 CSPA Gold Crown
1999 CSPA Gold Crown
1998 CSPA Silver Crown
1997 CSPA Silver Crown
1996 CSPA Gold Crown
1996 NSPA Pacemaker
February 17, 2006
The Lowell
OPINION
School is too reliant on AP’s Politicians must
By May Chen
N 2005, Lowell dodged a close
bullet. Faced with severe state
budget cuts, the San Francisco
Unified School District proposed
eliminating or reducing funding for
Advanced Placement prep periods
that AP teachers use to plan classes
and grade papers.
Had the district put this proposal
into effect, the school would have
lost a devastating 20 percent of its
annual funding. AP coordinator
Bob Jow reported that Lowell administered exactly 2,726 AP exams
last year. Through an AP funding
formula, the district calculates the
cost of prep periods for educators
who teach AP courses.
“For every 20 administered AP
exams, Lowell receives enough
money from the district to fund .2
full-time equivalent teachers, the
cost of one AP prep period,” Tom
Chambers, head of the math department and chairman of the School
Site Council said. At Lowell, AP
class sizes normally exceed 20
students, and many AP teachers
receive only one prep period but
teach multiple AP classes.
Since the AP funding formula
is calculated on the number of
tests administered rather than the
number of AP teachers, the district
allocates approximately $1.8 million
to Lowell annually for AP prep periods, creating a surplus fund of $ 1.2
million per year, according to Terrence Abad, director of Alumni Relations and Development for Lowell
Alumni Association, member of the
School Site Council and Class of ’76
alum. However, the word “surplus”
is a serious misnomer. AP funding
is critical for maintaining academic
programs because it constitutes a
huge portion of Lowell’s annual
income.
AP funding “keeps Lowell going,”
visual and performing arts department head Michele Winter said. The
elimination of AP funding would
drastically reduce Lowell’s budget,
producing disastrous results.The
school district uses the Weighted
Student Formula to determine the
basic funding for each school site,
according to principal Paul Cheng.
I
This system provides each school
with funding for each student. Students with special circumstances
such as socio-economic need, or
limited English language proficiency
then receive additional funding.
Because Lowell admits students
based on academic achievement,
only a small portion of the school’s
budget comes from this additional
funding. The only additional funding Lowell receives from the school
district comes from AP prep periods.
Abad put together a report last year,
which illustrated how the elimination of AP prep funding would affect
Lowell. He speculated that in order
to maintain a class size of
30 students without AP
the money is to fund AP prep periods, and not to increase WSF allocations, the threat of the loss of nearly
a fifth of its annual budget continues
to linger.A year has passed since the
district discussed eliminating AP
funds, and Lowell has still not found
an alternate financial resource to
replace AP prep funding.
Because changes in the WSF
system seem unlikely, Lowell must
continue to explore other possible
sources of funding, and eliminate
its overdependence on AP funding.
funding.
Lowellwould
need to
eliminate
all nonclassroom personnel currently funded with
WSF money.
Although
the dist r i c t
chose not
to make any
changes to AP
funding last spring, we
must face the inevitable:
Lowell may not have this
“surplus” fund forever.
Because the purpose of
Administrators breach a crucial
trust between school & students
By T. Riley York
OWELL STUDENTS are not like other students for
the exact same reason that Lowell is not like other
schools. The administration gives us the freedom
to pick our own classes, to schedule our own lunches, to
have illegal schedules where we don’t get lunches and to
leave campus on our off Mods.
All of these differences represent something we hold
dear: the trust between the administration and the student
body that defines us as a school. This implicit agreement
between the students and administration allows us to
make many of our own decisions provided we respect the
rules and do not take advantage of these freedoms.
However, the administration recently violated this
trust. On the first day of finals, the administration distributed a notice stating that teachers were not allowed
to dismiss students early until the end of the exam period
even if they were finished early.
The notice even included a script for teachers that
the administration suggested they read to their students:
“Students, you may not leave the room until the end of the
exam period. Use this time to study for your other exams
or read quietly. Please be respectful of other students still
taking the exam.”
Rather than let teachers release their students when
they wish, the administration attempted to mandate
dismissal. Rather than give students the opportunity to
study in the library quietly, or the courtyard, or wherever
they saw fit, the administration decided how students
should spend their time.
L
Not only
did this new
policy violate
trust between
the administrators and the
students, but
it also violated
trust between the administrators and the
teachers. Is there really a teacher
at Lowell who doesn’t
know how to
keep their students
quiet and respectful after taking a
final? Apparently, the administration
thinks so.
To enforce this
new policy, administrators also reprimanded the teachers for
letting their students out before the end
of the exam period.
What the administration aimed to accomplish with the notice
is unclear: While the new
policy might reduce
the number of students
in the hallways towards the end of the finals
sessions, the effort
spent on keeping students in
classes could be better spent sweeping students out of
the hallways.
Whether or not the administrators had hallway
congestion in mind, one thing is clear: trust has been
violated. For years, Lowell’s administration has given the
student body privileges that, in the end, has made that
same student body more responsible.
Teach Lowellites that there are no privileges for behavior worthy of a true Lowellite and they’ll never behave
like true Lowellites.
22
recognize the need
for the Patriot Act
By Marianna Tishchenko
OLLOWING WEEKS OF Democrat-led delaying tactics, the U.S. Senate
failed to muster the 60-vote majority required to pass the White House’s
USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill, which would extend the legislation’s
efficacy for another six months. Therefore, Bush signed a one-month renewal
of the entire legislation at his ranch in Texas on Dec. 30, 2005, giving himself
four weeks to gather
support for the act in Congress. On Feb. 2 a second
Congress approved second a five-week extension
of the act and Bush signed it into law. This extension will expire on March 10. The Senate’s
irresponsible and dangerous delaying
tactics could result in abated homeland
security and a resurgence of terrorist
threats.The absence of the USA
Patriot Act will debilitate the
United States and return it
to a vulnerable pre-Sept.
11, 2001, state. The act
expands the U.S. law
enforcement’s authority to fight terrorism
in the United States
and abroad. Congress
approved the legislation on Oct. 23, 2001,
following the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. The act’s
main provisions include
authority to share criminal
investigative information and
a mandate for delaying notice
of the execution of a warrant and
single-jurisdiction search warrants
for terrorism. The act also authorizes
immunity against prosecution for the
providers of wiretaps in agreement
U
LA
BY SUSAN
with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which sanctioned electronic
surveillance, physical searches, pen registers — electronic implements
that record all dialed numbers from a particular telephone line — trap and
trace devices, and government access to business records, according to the
Cato Institute Web site, (www.cato.org). The two most controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act authorize government wiretapping and access
to library records. The USA Patriot Act has received criticism from the
American Civil Liberties Union, which continues to believe that the
act is unnecessary and a blatant infringement on privacy and on basic
civil rights like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, human rights
and the right to privacy, as well. This is an erroneous assertion. In reality, the
act will preserve American civil liberties in the long term. In times of peace, its
provisions could be deemed unjust and unnecessary, but today we live with the
constant threat of terrorism.
In a 2004 statement entitled “The
Department of Justice: Working to
Keep America Safer,”
former Attorney
The absence of
General John Ashcroft
announced that
since the war began,
386 individuals
the act could
had been criminally
charged in terrordebilitate the
ism investigations; he
later stated that of
those 386, 194 persons
plead guilty
U.S. and return either
or were convicted.
Access to library
records and intercepit to a vulnerable tion of suspicious
international communication allows
pre-Sept 11,
the FBI to check such
criminal activity at
its source and prevent
its p er me at ion
2001 state”
across U.S. borders.
Although the act
has effectively increased homeland
security, opponents to
the act must recognize that a terrorist threat still looms, and repealing the act altogether may cause
terrorism to resurface, for these extremists will have more freedom in developing
attacks, setting back the war on terror and endangering innocent Americans.
The ACLU has made numerous attempts to override the legislation and has
assumed a leading role in the fight to repeal the controversial legislation.On
April 30, 2004, it launched a $1.5 million ad campaign against the act. The Bush
Administration’s policies, coupled with invasive new technologies, could eliminate
your right to privacy completely,” according to the ACLU Web site (www.aclu.
org). Also, on July 30, 2003, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the USA Patriot
Act claiming its provisions are unconstitutional. The organization specifically
targeted Section 215 of the act, which permits the Federal bureau of Investigation
to access records of unsuspected criminals, according to the CNN News Network
Web site (www.cnn.com). On Dec. 12, 2005, the ACLU also began to protest the
latest version of the USA Patriot Act bill, which the organization suggested would
allow the Secret Service more power to charge protesters accused of disrupting
major national events, according to a Dec. 13 Washington Post article. Americans
who have no ties to terrorist organizations and do not engage in criminal activity
should not feel threatened by the legislation.
Ironically, public opinion Gallup polls show that most citizens do not believe
the USA Patriot ACT “goes too far” — a June 9, 2005 poll confirms that 59 percent
of Americans approve the legislation while 39 percent disapprove, according to
the ABC News Web site (www.abcnews.com) . Congress is not effectively representing the public’s opinion. While critics argue that the legislation is illegal, it
enables federal government investigators to pursue international terrorists using
F
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The Lowell • Backpage • February 17, 2006
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blatantly and excessively show affection
could face a call home or even suspension
for willful defiance, according to dean Ray
Cordoba. “Common sense dictates what is
appropriate and what is not,” Cordoba said.
“When someone has got his/her shirt or
blouse off, or they have got their hands all
over each other — that is pretty blatant.”
Public displays of affection cross the
boundary when “he’s on top of her or she’s
on top of him, and if the boy’s touching her
in the private area or vice versa,” security
guard Greg Simmons said.
“If you’re hugging or kissing for more
than 10 seconds, I can see how that is inappropriate,” he said.
The deans and the security guards judge
what is appropriate and what is not because
parents, faculty and students rely on them
to maintain a safe environment on campus,
according to Cordoba.
This can create a conflict when the deans’
and the couples’ thoughts differ as to what is
right. If people are to be guided by their own
innate common sense, it is clear that different persons will have different perceptions
of what is appropriate. People have different
comfort levels with what they both do and
see in public.
Most people would not be comfortable
French kissing in public, according to senior
Eileen Wong. “Holding hands, arm around
shoulder, one-second kisses, hugging — are
all acceptable,” Wong said. “In public, it’s
about puppy love, the simple stuff. (My
boyfriend and I) save the rest for the
bedroom.”
People have different expectations regarding what
couples can and cannot do in public.
Some people, like
Wong, believe “grossing out” those around
them is unacceptable. Others believe that
they should be allowed to express themselves
in any fashion they want.
“As long as the people who are doing it
are okay with it, I think most everything they
choose to do is fine,” junior Betsy Selander
said. “If couples displaying the affection
seem uncomfortable, it makes the whole
situation sticky. I mean, it should also be
tasteful — couples shouldn’t be licking each
other’s faces.”
Peer Resource coordinator Luis Maschek agreed, saying public displays become
problematic when they begin to make other
people uncomfortable. “Students all have different levels of comfort,” Maschek said.
If both comfort and common sense
govern people, why do they choose to hold
hands, sit on each other’s laps in the middle
of the hallway, or roll around wrestling on
the soccer field?
“Public displays of affection are meant to
show that a couple is going together, to show
off,” sophomore Angeli Wirattigowit said.
“Maybe they like each other, too.”
Although it may seem that they are
completely unaware of their surroundings,
couples may want to draw other people’s attention to them. “PDA can be for both affection and attention,” nurse Maryann Rainey
said. “PDA can be about being cool, feeling
vulnerable, it can even be about marketing
a relationship.”
Some people choose to “go overboard” with their affection in public
settings such as school “because
they can’t do it at home,”
psychotherapist Tom
Pat e r s on s a i d .
“A l s o, t h e y
want the
at-
6...7...8.....
tention.”
American society’s view
on appropriate levels of public
display of affection has clearly
changed over the years. Shows such
as Sex in the City and the O.C. teach
teenagers, by example, how to go about
displaying the love they feel. Compared to
old TV series like Happy Days, I Love Lucy
and All in the Family, which extol the virtues
of family and chastity, these newer shows
demonstrate that it is acceptable to
be wanton in public.
“Society’s gotten less
prudish; the shame’s not
there, nor the secrecy,”
Paterson said. “The
(stuff on TV)
is a validation of the
audience’s
desires.”
LAU
AN
SUS
“S
TANDING outside my class,
I saw a couple holding on to
each other for dear life as if they
weren’t going to see each other for a year.
In fact it was only two Mods. They’d been
going out for less than a week.”
Senior Mia Bennett is not the only student who has witnessed couples physically
demonstrating their love. Public displays of
affection appear in many places on campus,
and the appropriateness is entirely dependent on the eye of the beholder.
How can one tastefully go about telling
couples that they are making other students
feel uncomfortable? Does Lowell have a rule
for these issues? Whose place it is to call a
halt to these displays?
Unlike other high schools such as
Los Alamos in New Mexico, where
sitting on another person’s lap is
grounds for suspension, no official rule in the San Francisco
Unified School District specifically addresses public
displays of affection.
Although no official school rule
regulates these
displays,
students
who
guiding affection?
Y
NS B
ATIO
STR
ILLU
Common sense
I
“
In public it’s about
puppy love, the
simple stuff. (My
boyfriend and I)
save the rest for the
bedroom.”
EILEEN WONG,
senior
Love on a limit
limit?