“Happy Days” Are Here at KR

F
leet street news
Volume 44, Issue 5
April, 2011
“Happy Days” Are Here at KR
Street BeaT
May 2011
Celebratory Occasions
Concerts
National Hamburger Month
May 1: May Day
May 3: National Teachers’ Day
May 5: Cinco de Mayo
May 8: Mother’s Day
May 9: Lost Sock Memorial Day
May 13: Friday the 13th
May 21: National Armed Forces Day
May 30: Memorial Day, No School
May 1: Papa Roach at Showbox at the Market
May 4: KT Tunstall at the Tractor Tavern
May 5: The Black Angels at
Showbox at the Market
May 6: Michael McDonald (Comedian)
at the Triple Door
May 13: System of a Down at KeyArena
May 20: Jimmy Eat World at Showbox SODO
May 22: Ms. Lauryn Hill at Showbox SODO
May 23: Naughty by Nature
at Showbox at the Market
May 26/27: TECH N9NE at the Showbox SODO
Scholastic Fantastic
April 28-29: Cheerleading Tryouts
May 2-3: Cheerleading Tryouts
May 4-7: Happy Days
May 11-14: Happy Days
This Month in History
May 1: The first United States Postal Card
was issued, 1873
May 1: The Empire State Building opened, 1931
May1: Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu
My 6: Thor
in Las Vegas, 1967
May 6: Something Borrowed
May 2: Artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux,
May 13: Priest
France, 1519
May 13: Bridesmaids
May 3: Washington, D.C. was incorporated
May 20: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strang- as a city, 1802
er Tide
May 5: Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on
May 26: The Hangover 2
Mt. Helena, 1821
May 27: Kung Fu Panda:
May 6: Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a player
The Kaboom of Doom
for the Boston Red Sox, 1915
May 20: Christopher Columbus died in poverty
May 27: The Tree of Life
in Spain, 1506
Reporters:
Fleet Street Newspaper
Movie Releases
Kentridge High School
12430 SE 208th St.
Kent, WA 98031
Phone: 253-373-4386
Fax: 253-373-4422
Email: [email protected]
Superintendent: Dr. Edward Lee Vargas
Principal: Mike Albrecht
Advisor: Hilari Anderson
Cover by Shawnasy Hanifan
and Mackenzie Tucker
Ryan Ardy
Erika Atanassov
Shania Barron
Amanda Beltran
Liz Cho
Rian Edington
Katie Fischbeck
Dakotah Fitzgerald
Shawnasy Hanifan
Jessica Hendricks
Kelly Herzog
Christopher Lapins
Abbey Lincoln
Vincent Lin
Alton Lu
Fekare Mengisteab
Patrick Morgan
Edelmar Navaluna
Chanel Ngo
Maddie Njos
Paige Oliver
Hannah Ostrander
Taressa Patterson
Carly Rhome
Julia Rutledge
Jacob Smith
Mackenzie Tucker
Michael Skuse
Joe Tulloch
Ken Williams
Andrew Zou
Letters
Write us to give us your thoughts, compliments, or criticism. Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Fleet Street
News reserves the right to edit for length, style, and taste. Letters should include a printed name and phone number or e-mail
address for verification.
Editorial Policy
The Editorial pages of Fleet Street News are open for comment and expression by the Kentridge High School community consistent with Kent School Board policy 3220. Fleet Street News is a student publication dedicated to reporting relevant, timely,
and interesting information to the students, staff, parents, and community in and surrounding Kentridge High School. It is the
goal of Fleet Street to inform, entertain, and represent the various views of Kentridge High fairly. The opinions expressed on
these pages do not reflect the opinions of the Kent School District.
Street News
April, 2011 • Page 3
KR gives to Japan
By Kelly Herzog
Veteran Reporter
March 11 will be a day forever remembered by the citizens of
Japan and the world. A devastating earthquake with a 9.1 magnitude shook most of the country
and caused unsurpassed damage.
The death toll in Japan was
up to 11,417 by March’s end,
and over 16,000 people are still
listed as missing.
Wanting to lend a helping
hand, the KR community held
a fundraiser, with a goal of raising $4,000 in four minutes. KR
went above and beyond the set
goal and raised $5,515.81 March
31.
This money was then sent to
the American Red Cross in order
to help Japan.
KR’s Japan Club also did
some fundraising at the Cherry
Blossom Festival March 25 at
Kent Meridian. Seniors How-
ard Lin and Bishal Upadhyaya,
along with Junior Vincent Lin,
organized the silent auction and
“raised up $400, which was donated to World Vision,” said Japanese teacher Phillip Davis.
The Japanese class here at
KR also made paper cranes,
which were strung together in 10
groups of 100, called senbazaru. “We’re making them as a gesture of compassion for their human suffering,” said Davis
Senior Dani Anderson, who
donated to Japan, said it was
important because the Japan disaster was “heartbreaking and
devastating, and any amount of
money can help.”
“If you have the resources and
can spread them, you should,”
said Freshman Elijah Barbee.
Junior Brenna Harrington
said she donated because she
“strongly believes in karma, and
that good things will come back Sophomore Emili Allen and Japanese teacher Philip Davis sit on either side of cranes made as a
Photo by Kelly Herzog
symbolic gesture of compassion to our neighbors in Japan.
to us if we help Japan.”
It’s time again for
spring allergies
By Shania Barron
Veteran Reporter
Spring can mean sneezing,
coughing, and puffy eyes, making
learning difficult.
The biggest spring allergy trigger is pollen -- tiny grains released
into the air by trees, grasses, and
weeds, according to WebMD. To cope without medicine,
take a quick shower to wash off
all of the pollen. Or, try nasal irrigation, or flushing warm saline
solution through the nostrils, according to abclocal.go.com.
Freshman Kyra Pennington
said that she is allergic to cherry
blossom trees, but takes no medicine. She said that having allergies makes her “skip school.” Freshman Christine Tabila
said she is allergic to pollen and
uses eye drops and nose sprays to
help her cope. She added that allergies affect her school life only
sometimes.
Sophomore Raziel Tolentino is
allergic to grass and pollen. She
uses Allegra, which is a prescription medication. It affects her
school performance, and her eyes
water all the time.
Senior Rachel Minato is allergic to pollen and grass; Zyrtec helps her cope.
“If I don’t take something in
the morning, it will be a miserable day,” she said.
Side-effects of allergy medication include upset stomach,
nausea, hives and rashes, sleepiness, nervousness, weakness or
increased anxiety, according to
eHow.com.
Junior Alyssa Brown said her
spring allergies “make me drowsy,
and my head feels stuffy.”
Can a Charger be embarrassed?
embarrassed they will say ‘okay
I’m not going to do that again.’ ”
Powers added it also “has to
Embarrassment may cause do with what kind of person you
confusion and shame, make us are. Some people are more maself-conscious, turn faces red, or ture then others. Some can take it,
make us the butt of the joke.
other can’t.”
How deeply is the KR commu- There are generic ways teens
nity affected by embarrassment?
are embarrassed at school.
Junior Alyssa Brown believes Brown said people “walking
teens are more affected by embar- upstairs and their foot slips, getrassment “because they try to fit
in more, so it’s more of a negative
when they are embarrassed.”
Junior Sawsan Hared said
teens may suffer more than adults
“because they are less mature and
not old enough to not care about
things people say.”
Some, like Freshman Morgan
Powers, might have a more positive view of embarrassment.
It “can make a person stronger
mentally,” he said. “It’s a learning experience, so if a person gets
By Michael Skuse
Veteran Reporter
“One day you’re just
going to figure out
you really don’t care
about what people
think of you.”
Freshman
Morgan Powers
ting their arm bumped and dropping papers” are pretty common.
“Getting caught doing something bad … when a teacher calls
your name when you don’t know
the answer,” are also frequent,
said Hared.
Freshmen Amina Ali believes
kids are more susceptible to embarrassment. “They care about
everything,” she said.
Powers is has words of advice
to those feeling embarrassed.
“One day you’re just going to
figure out you really don’t care
about what people think of you.”
Street News
April, 2011 • Page 4
A year’s preparation:
AP tests loom for many
Jessica Hendricks
Reporter
KR students will be taking AP
exams May 2-13 that they have
been preparing for all year.
According to Counselor Robert Rutherford, AP coordinator
for KR, close to 800 AP tests will
be given to KR students this year.
Students decided to take these
rigorous classes for various reasons.
“I really wanted to challenge myself,” said Junior Melissa Toshi, who is taking four AP
classes: Chemistry, Psychology,
Calculus AB, and Language.
Toshi said she knows that taking such a difficult class load will
help her gain acceptance into a
good college and be more successful in the future.
However, Rutherford believes
that students should stick to taking two or three AP classes at
most because of time constraints
in the afternoons. “Many students could handle
more than three, but they just run
out of time in the afternoons,” he
said.
The AP program at KR has
evolved in recent years, now allowing sophomores to enroll.
“I had a lot more time to focus on my one AP class because
I didn’t have others to worry
about,” said Junior Varun Awasthi, who took AP Psychology as
a sophomore.
“AP classes are an investment,” added Awasthi.
Peggy Taimi, who teaches AP
Calculus AB, agrees with Awasthi.
“Sometimes a little stress is
good,” Taimi said. She added
that because the curriculum is so
“rich,” students should consider
what kind of commitment they
are willing to make, evaluating
time, jobs, activities, and other
Students show support for “3:6teen,” which is intended to “Pack
the PAC” with spirtiual inspiration every Friday morning.
Photo by Paige Oliver
TGIF: Christians
pack the PAC
people to come and to grow.
Pastor Andy Jones at Fairwood
Church encouraged the kids to
Friday mornings in the PAC begin a bible study on site; Marin
have provided an awakening to then redirected it to a campus
the Christian youth of Kentridge. ministry where they could lead a
Members of the Fairwood mission to “vulnerable” students.
Church have been running a pro- The group consists of about 20
gram they call “3:6teen” in hopes students, some of whom include
of “packing the PAC” to distrib- Juniors Angela Perry, Cambre
Lichtenberg, and Reggie Robinute inspirational messages.
It begins at 7:05 a.m., with son; Freshman Sydney Robinson;
DJ Marin delivering a religious Sophomore Vanessa Chukri, and
message ranging from “Breaking many more.
Barriers” to more religious topics “I like the sense of community,
knowing that others are there to
like “Let go, Let God.”
Marin connects everyday high help me through anything,” said
school moments to religious mes- Junior Christel Tucker.
sages from the bible. During “It’s a good way to start the
the meeting, people show ap- morning, both the message, and
preciation and love toward God the doughnut,” said Robinson.
through hand motions and prayer. Free doughnuts are given to
The idea behind the meeting those who help to pack the PAC. is to let the community know the “It gets my day off to a good
church is there, and to encourage start,” said Lichtenberg.
By Paige Oliver
Reporter
Junior Reggie Collins applies his AP Chemistry knowledge to
discover how the hand boiler works. Knowing real-world applications for chemistry will help Collins on the AP exam.
Photo by Jessica Hendricks
classes before enrolling.
Every AP class is different,
including the methods used to
prepare for the May exams. In
AP Calculus, students commit to
a five-week review beginning in
late March. This program has had
great success in the past, as nearly
all KR Calculus students take and
pass the exam with an average
score of 4.4 out of 5 over the past
17 years.
For those who are nervous
about AP exams, both teachers and students have reassuring
words for you. Taimi recommends that you keep asking ques-
tions, and says that “once you
understand the main concepts,
you’re ready.”
“The best way to prepare for
an AP test is to be consistent
throughout the year,” said Madonna Brinkmann, who teaches
AP Chemistry. She also advises
students to keep their end goals in
sight and remember that AP classes aren’t just for a grade, they are
also for learning.
Awasthi gives insight to the
actual AP Psychology exam he
took last May, describing it as
“unbelievably easy compared to
Mrs. West’s tests.”
Street News
april, 2011 • Page 5
KR proves outstanding
on international test
Christopher Lapins
Reporter
Students at KR proved above
average on an international test
that compared them to 60 other
countries.
Students took the PISA exam,
also known as the Program for
International Student Assessment, two years ago. The test is
administered every three years to
students in 60 different countries
From left: Freshmen Emily Dean, Tyler Wald, Danny Torlai, Codey Ayres, Christoph Adams, Taylor Poffenroth, Emmitt Medina, Karsen Kendig, Michael Gonzalez, and Anna Adamova. These
students helped to spearhead a supply drive for PICC.
Photo by Carly Rhome
English class helps drug addicted babies
By Carly Rhome
Reporter
Language Arts teacher Roselyn Robison’s 9th grade Honors
English class gave presentations
on the Pediatric Interim Care
Center (PICC) and accepted
donations for the organization
through April 1.
Starting with collecting donations for Pennies for Peace, an
organization that helps to build
schools in the Middle East, students in Robison’s class wrote
persuasive essays arguing a cause
they should collect donations for;
the PICC was chosen by the students.
PICC helps drug addicted
babies go through a safe withdrawal. Babies at PICC have
been prenatally exposed to illegal
substances, and in Washington
State alone, more than 12,000
each year are affected, according
to PICC’s website. Without the
help of PICC, many of these infants will suffer immensely from
the effects. PICC’s funding has been cut
by approximately $300 thousand.
The annual budget for PICC is
$1.2 million.
“Over the past 20 years, we
have saved taxpayers over $81
million by caring for these little
ones at PICC instead of having
them stay in a hospital at a much
higher cost,” said PICC public
relations director Pam Huffman. “Our average cost per baby per
day is approximately $162, as opposed to about $3,000 per day in
a hospital.”
“It just shows how self-centered people can be to ruin someone’s life, especially when that
someone didn’t do anything to
them,” said Freshman Stephanie
Weis of parents who abuse drugs. “Since there’s only one facility in
the entire country that does this,
it would be nice to pitch in some
donations so they can help as
many babies as they can.”
The donations Robison’s class
collected will help provide the
infants with everyday items they
need, such as clothing, food, and
diapers. The donations began
March 11.
“These babies need our help,”
said Freshman Emmitt Medina.
Students 18 and older are eligible to volunteer at the PICC as
“cuddlers.” Holding and comforting the babies in recovery is just
a small part of being a volunteer,
however. The babies are fragile
from the exposure to drugs and
are ultra sensitive to outside stimuli. Other volunteer work, such
as laundry, stacking shelves, or
dusting is also necessary.
PICC reports that “no special
skills are necessary, just a love of
babies!”
Robison has high hopes for her
students and the outcome of the
donations.
“I want my kids to know that
when they care about something.
they can make a change and have
a voice,” she said.
For more information on the
babies, donating or volunteer
work, visit the following site:
http://www.picc.net/index.htm.
“We do have a wish list of
items we can use for the babies in
addition to financial help, and it is
on our web site,” said Huffman.
comparing apples to apples, but
apples to oranges,” said Albrecht,
referring to the error in the idea
that countries earn higher test
scores than schools in U.S.
Test results in some countries,
such as China, are very misleading because “…students tested in
Shanghai are no way representative of the country,” reports the
Washington Post. “It’s like taking the test scores from the students at Stuyvesant High School
“I think that what it does is
teach us that what is said
in the media should not be
generalized to everyone.”
Principal Mike Albrecht
and 165 schools in the United
States, including Kentridge.
The test measures how closely
students come to the compulsory
education age, which in America
is about 15 or 16 years old, and
whether they have gained some
of the knowledge and skills that
are necessary for full participation in life. The categories that the PISA
exam assesses are as follows: reading literacy, mathematics,
and science. KR came out above
average in all three categories.
Principal Mike Albrecht thinks
that the reason that KR was so
successful is because Kentridge
sets high expectations, has good
teachers, and students who know
that academics are important.
KR proved better in the math
category than schools in China
and Japan, despite reports that
students expect other countries
earn higher test scores than
schools in the U.S.
This is “because you’re not
in New York as representing the
whole city.”
In China, about 10 percent of
the population has only a primary
school education, about 15 percent have completed high school,
and about 7 percent have finished
college. What this means is that China
picks which students they want to
take the PISA exam, and the U.S.
measures everyone.
Albrecht thinks that having
the same scores as China is outstanding because in China they
go to school longer than students
in America, and KR does just as
well with fewer hours of school.
“I think that what it does is
teach us that what is said in the
media should not be generalized
to everyone,” said Albrecht.
“I am proud of them,” Albrecht said of KR students. “I
think it is a testament to the hard
work that they have done and to
the teachers and the junior high
teachers.”
Street News
April, 2011 • Page 6
Ten minutes
saves three lives
By Liz Cho
Reporter
Kentridge
High
School
hosted a blood drive March 25
and donated a total of 86 pints
of blood through Puget Sound
Blood Bank (PSBC).
To meet the needs of local patients, The PSBC website states
that 900 people must donate every day. Any excess blood helps
patients all over the world and is
used for research.
“It’s a really easy way to help
people,” said Senior Cam Scotland, a donor since last year.
Students at KR donate for a
variety of reasons.
“I love to help people,” said
Junior Seerat Sangha. “I like to
do whatever I can to help society
in any way possible.”
“I feel a lot of the times it
takes a big event for people to
feel like they should do something,” said Junior Ella Anguiano, next year’s Key Club president. “There are always people
out there that need help, but
people forget about it. It takes
something big for people to take
action.”
KR offers this “big event” for
people to take action and help.
“It’s good that our school is
involved with the blood drive
because it gives kids an opportunity to donate when they may
not have the time or place to donate otherwise,” said Senior Rebecca Paustian, who heads the
blood drive for Key Club.
Many have common misconceptions about donating blood,
such as “I might catch a disease,” or “they’ll take too much
blood and I’ll feel weak.” Others are concerned that “it might
hurt when they draw blood,” according to bloodcenters.org.
“I have no concerns,” said
Sangha. “I know I will be in
professional hands. They are
experienced. I trust them, and I
know I will be safe.”
Donors prepare by following
basic steps, such as eating breakfast and iron rich-foods, drinking plenty of water, and obtaining a good night’s sleep. Sangha
prepares by “drinking water,
mentally preparing myself, and
making sure to meet the require-
Junior Ella Anguiano (left) and Sophomore Uma Trivede check
donors in and send runners out. KR donated a total of 86 pints
of blood.
Photo by Liz Cho
Senior Ed Kuo verifies his information before donating blood. Donors must meet basic requirements in order to be eligible for a donation.
Photo by Liz Cho
ments to donate blood.” To be eligible, you must be
18, or 16-17 with parental consent. Each participant must be at
least 110 lbs in order to decrease
the chance of fainting, and may
not have previously donated in
the past 56 days. Donors must
also be in good health, according
to PSBC.
Donations don’t take long.
The overall process takes about
an hour, but the donation itself
only takes 7-10 minutes. The
PSBC states that one donation
can save up to three lives.
According to the American
Red Cross Minority Blood Donation Fact sheet, there is a need
for minorities to donate blood.
Minorities have the highest percentage of donors with type O
and type B blood, the most requested type of blood.
Scotland encourages others to
participate in blood drives.
“Everyone who can donate
blood should,” said Scotland. Senior Ed Kuo (left), Sophomore Kenneth Lam, and Junior
“It’s super easy, it’s good for Seerat Sangha check in before donating blood. Donations take
approximately 7-10 minutes.
Photo by Liz Cho
you, and it saves people.”
Street News
april, 2011 • Page 7
Facebook causes depression? Study links mental health to social networking
By Jacob Smith
Veteran Reporter
Feelings of isolation and the constant
pressure to socialize may leave some
Facebook users depressed.
sixestate.com
Facebook and other social media sites
may cause or contribute to depression, according to a report released by the American Association of Pediatrics March 28.
The report defines Facebook depression
as “depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time
on social media sites, such as Facebook,
and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms
of depression,” according to the Toronto
Sun.
The Seattle Times reports that seeing
other peoples’ happy pictures and statuses
can make teens feel worse about them-
Students compete for
mathematics title
By Chanel Ngo
Reporter
Kentridge High School hosted the Math
Competition Wednesday, March 9 in the
school cafeteria.
Through a series of competitions
against different teams, our KR Mathletes
were grinding their brains with challenging
math questions.
KR Mathletes competed to be in the top
among five states in a battle against Shoreline, Tahoma, and Thomas Jefferson High
Schools.
In groups of three, teams from KR
worked together to tackle problems, while
three other individuals buzzed through the
Know Down.
The Know Down was an individual
competition in which students from different schools participated. They had 10
seconds to answer the question in a oneon-one battle against each other. If they
answered incorrectly, they had to turn in
their name tags and leave the competition.
Taking first place in the Know Down
was Sophomore Ryan Taylor from Kentridge. Second and third places went to
students from other schools. Junior Brian
Gibbon is one of the three who qualified
in the Know Down, finishing fourth in this
year’s competition.
The pressure was on with only 10 seconds to answer the question, but Gibbon
took it in stride.
“I felt laid back and [was] throwing
kisses to my supporters,” said Gibbon.
In the team competition, one freshman
participant, Alvina Lee, said she was expecting her brain to stretch.
“I felt that some problems were hard
but it was fun solving problems,” she said. “Overall, I thought it was fun.”
But as hard as math can be, why would
someone like Alvina participate in the
competition?
It “exposes you to different experience,
therefore, you can learn more,” said Alvina.
Tackling numbers is a challenge if they
don’t add up right. But after a little bit of
work, it pays off.
“Keep practicing those problem solving
skills, read the questions, and keep doing
these problems,” said Math teacher Anton
Kramer, who advises the group.
selves.
Kentridge Sophomore Tarin Bond says
that using Facebook makes her feel like
she is wasting her time, but does not make
her feel depressed.
Still, she says, “I feel like I won’t be
connected to people if I don’t [use Facebook].”
Freshman Eli Wills said that Facebook
can cause him sadness or depression.
“I feel like I could be doing something
way more productive,” he said.
Christie Tolonen, junior, said using
Facebook can make her feel depressed.
When “nobody writes anything on my
wall, I get depressed because I feel like I
don’t have any friends.”
Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, lead author of the
American Association of Pediatrics’ new
social media guidelines, says that social
media takes context out of the situation.
Without the context that is provided by
face-to-face interactions, “Facebook provides a skewed view of what’s really going
on,” she said in The Seattle Times.
“You could be looking at pictures of really gorgeous skinny people and you could
want to be like them,” said Tolonen of how
social media could cause depression.
Some researchers disagree with the report, saying that Facebook depression is
“simply an extension of depression some
kids feel in other circumstances,” according to the Seattle Times.
Street scene
april, 2011 • Page 8
Rookie Robotics starts strong
Ken Williams
Veteran Reporter
KR sent its first ever Robotics team to
the FIRST Robotics Competition March
15th.
“This year, we ranked 19th for our score,
but we didn’t make the finals,” said Club
Advisor, Engineering teacher Gregory
Watson.
Watson thought this was a good rank.
“This was our rookie year,” he said. “We were competing against schools that
had 20 or more years of robotics clubs.”
FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” is an annual robotics competition
that takes place at venues all around the
world.
Watson said that the competition KR
participated in “had teams from neighboring states, such as Oregon and Idaho, teams
from Canada, some from New Jersey, one
from Connecticut, and even a couple teams
from Turkey.”
Robotics students spent many long,
yet fun-filled, hours working hard for this
competition.
Sophomore Steven Johnson was a
builder.
“Next year, I would hope to see us get
into the elimination round,” Johnson said.
Johnson will be in the club next year, “because it’s exciting. The best part of it is
working on the robot.”
“We worked eight to 10 hours every
Saturday and three to four hours every day
after school during build season,” Watson
said.
Build season is one of three stages of
the robotics program, the others being prebuild season, and post-build season.
Pre-build season lasts from October to
early January.
“During pre-build season, we learn
about robots, learn how to build robots,
and how they work,” said Watson. “This
year was a learning year for us. We learned
how to operate it” for future years.
“Next year, we will learn how to operate
the robots during pre-build season,” Watson added.
Build season comes next, starting
as soon as the game is announced to the
world in early January via satellite. Only
Cherry
Blossom
festival
blossoms
By Ryan Ardy
Veteran Reporter
Love Japanese culture? Love its food,
its people, its music?
The 14th annual Kent Area Cherry Blossom festival was the place to be March 25.
The purpose of the Cherry Blossom
Festival is to recognize and keep the connection between Japan and Kent.
On stage were Japanese teachers from
KR Robotics club gathers for a group shot at the FIRST Competition in March.
Courtesy Photo
This is the club’s first year of competition.
six weeks are allowed for build season.
To maximize time, individuals in the
club are assigned specific roles.
“We have a whole bunch of things not
related to robots you can get involved in,”
said Watson.
After six short, action-packed weeks
come to an end, robots are sealed and postbuild season begins. This season is mainly
dedicated to debriefing the competition.
“This is not only for this year,” explained Watson, “but for next year.”
During this time, the club also continues
to tinker with robots and plans “to be active
and busy the rest of the year,” according to
Watson.
Part way into post-build season, the robots are taken to competition and play in a
game for the year against other schools.
Robotics at KR began because of several students asking Watson about a possible
club.
“The director thought it was a great
idea, so we started pursuing it,” said Watson. “We tried to get grants, and raise
enough money to operate.”
Soon afterwards, KR Robotics Club
was in full swing, with a bright future.
“We have the ability to, as a team, work
together and build better robots, and be
competitive in the years to come,” said
Watson.
“It has been very
good. I have made
many friends since
my arrival.”
Shiori from Ichyoka
High School in Osaka
Steven Johnson (left), Morgan Johnson, Ian Bruce, Max Meaker, and Colin
Batemen make final adjustments on
the robot. This was KR’s first year at
FIRST.
Courtesy Photo
the four Kent comprehensive high schools,
with Japanese exchange student Advisor
Akira Takeda and the visiting students
from Japan.
The festival’s many attractions included
a vast array of Japanese cuisine, ranging
from sushi to mochi, and a Judo demonstration with judo students sparring at different skill levels.
The main attraction was the talent show
located inside the auditorium, where students from all four schools performed a
variety of songs and dances. “It has been very good,” said Shiori
from Ichyoka High School in Osaka. “I
have made many friends since my arrival.” “It was all good,” she added. “But the
festival is great. It’s so nice to see everyone.”
“It was amazing,” Shiori said. “I have had
a wonderful time. Everyone here has made
me feel so at home. I just can’t believe it.” During the festival, Takeda acknowledged the disaster in Japan and thanked
everyone in the audience for their prayers
and donations.
Street scene
april, 2011 • Page 10
Emerald City Comic Con is on
comedy web show, and another with
Youtube Machinima star Brandon Dennis. Across a sky bridge stood people in cos“There are few cons where money is not tumes, from Batman to Moonknight.
the main idea, but here in Seattle the fans The main attraction was filled by booth
rule, all geeks and nerds can run free, so after booth of geeky greatness. Nerd culI say to you my people LET YOUR GEEK ture, comic, video games, and all sorts of
FLAG FLY HIGH.”
geeky books and memorabilia were present there. One booth had shelves stocked
Wil Wheaton at “Wil Wheaton’s awesome 6-8 feet high with comics, and I quickly
hour at Emerald City Comic Con.
found that these massive comic booths
were everywhere. Some 343 studios had
Located in the Washington State Con- booths set up with eight TVs and Xboxes,
vention Center, the 9th Annual Emerald where tired Con goers could sit on comfy
City Comic Convention brought together chairs and play Halo Reach. One vendor
lovers of comic books and the media spi- was hocking a hand-drawn Iron Man postnoffs that they have inspired, whether vid- er for $800.
eo games, music, movies, or television.
Meeting with comic writers such as
The convention featured a wide array Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Steve Liber
of activities and programming, including (Marvel Civil War Chronicles) were memindustry guests, various discussion panels, orable moments, as was meeting with a
celebrity signings, photo opportunities, group of 10-15 men and women in various
prize drawings, and costume contests, in- versions of Star Wars Boba Fett costumes.
cluding a lively exhibitors’ hall with comic Staying true to its name, I spent more
retailers from across the Pacific Northwest. hours then I would like to admit at Comic
RPG and tabletop gaming were supported Con browsing row after row of endless
in specific areas of the convention center as comics, finding classic prints from the
well.
golden age of comics (costing as much as
Several tables housed the “internet” a down payment on a house) to new age
stars, including a Dungeons and Dragons comics printed less than a week ago. It’s
By Ryan Ardy
Veteran Reporter
The banner at the exit of the ECCC thanks visitors for attending. ComicCon let
everyone get their “geek” on.
Photo by Ryan Ardy
amazing to see that Emerald City Comic
Con went from under 2,000 visitors the
first year to over 20,000 this year, which is
a massive jump from the 13,000 last year.
At ECCC, you can let that inner geek
you repress during school for fear of not
being “cool” go crazy. I was able to talk
about whether Deadpool could win in a
fight against Moonknight without worrying about getting strange looks or being
called a loser. And that’s what these comic
cons are about: You can be yourself. takes her to the mental asylum to “get rid
of her.” In five days, Baby Doll will receive a lobotomy, precipitating escape.
Faced with insurmountable odds, Baby
Doll moves to fantasy, where she plans her
exodus. She recruits four other inmates: Sweet Pea, Rocket, Blondie, and Amber,
who hope to leave the brothel led by a Sir
named Blue Jones and created inside Baby
Doll’s mind. For Baby Doll and the girls
to escape, they must acquire five items: a
map, fire, knife, key and something unknown. To do so, they must “distract”
their targets with Baby Doll’s skills, which
captivate targets and take them into Baby
Doll’s dream world.
There, the lines between reality and fantasy blur. While the girls’ targets are captivated by her moves, the audience is taken
to individual dreamscape action sequences
in feudal Japan, World War II, and the fu-
ture. Each sequence begins with a wise
man explaining the objective for obtaining
each item. While the scenarios may be different, the action is guaranteed.
The film takes the concept of dreams
as a means of escape into one’s fantasy
and questions what a person considers to
be paradise. For some, it is metaphorical,
while others see it as literal paradise.
Sucker Punch is simply amazing under
the direction of director and writer Zack
Snyder, who was the director of two other
masterpieces: 300 and Watchmen. Snyder makes Sucker Punch intelligent and
moving, integrated with sex appeal and
violence. While some perceive it as a high
budget fan-boy fantasy, it is Snyder’s heart,
body and soul on the Big Screen. The originality of the story and the cinematography
are amazing.
Don’t miss this movie.
Sucker Punch: Simply a knock-out
Edelmar Navaluna
Veteran Reporter
Cast:
Emily Browning – Baby Doll
Abbie Cornish – Sweet Pea
Jena Malone – Rocket
Vanessa Hudgens – Blondie
Jamie Chung – Amber
Carla Gugino – Dr. Vera Gorski
Oscar Isaac – Blue Jones
Jon Hamm – High Roller/Doctor
Scott Glenn – Wise Man
Director & Writer:
Zack Snyder
Run Time: 109 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Take one part anime, one part steam
punk, one part zombies, one part guns, one
part pin-up, and five parts of hot girls and
you have a Sucker Punch cocktail.
Sucker Punch begins with a young girl
named Baby Doll who is sent to a mental
asylum after a series of events, starting
with the deaths of her mother and sister
by her own hands. Her abusive stepfather
Street scene
april 2011 • Page 11
Metal Club
sweeps the Internet
By Patrick Morgan
Reporter
Metal Club has become famous, or infamous, as the case may be.
The television program Attack of the
Show (AOTS) got hold of Metal Club’s
video performance at Fairwood Elementary and aired it March 21.
That night, the club’s video on Youtube.
com received more than 100 thousand hits.
According to Metal Club drummer, Senior
Matt Carter, that performance was a toneddown version of the group’s usual display,
so as not to scare the children with excessive screaming.
Metal Club will be showing up on
Tosh.0, another popular TV show, for a
“web redemption” in late April or early
May.
According to Senior Naomi Clayton,
vocalist for the club, the producers of
Tosh.0 are 100 percent sure they want the
metal club’s band on the show.
The band has confirmed that they are
able to go, and will be leaving April 28. The air date for the episode has not been
determined.
“I think it’s cool,” said Sophomore Zach
Dickerson, a “mosher” from metal club.
Many of the people who viewed the
Metal Club’s video on YouTube were critical, according to Carter.
“I was amazed with the creativity of the
trolling,” said Carter.
“This is MCC,” he added. “There
should be respect.”
For most of the Metal Club members,
showing up on national television came as
a surprise, seeing as it wasn’t their intention for the performance.
The band members of the club all stated
that they wouldn’t change a thing if they
had the chance to do the video over again.
Clayton said that she was thankful for
the moshers and that the show wouldn’t
have happened at all if they hadn’t been a
part of it all.
“It just happened that one show where
everything that could have gone wrong did
go wrong,” said Carter. “It was the worst
possible scenario captured on camera.”
“One thing about metal, don’t give up,”
said Dickerson.
Music hits the halls of KR
By Patrick Morgan
Reporter
The halls of KR were filled with the
sounds of young musicians from band and
orchestra Feb. 5, all competing for high
scores with difficult pieces of music.
Twelve students from the KR orchestra
went to the Solo Ensemble contest at KR,
and 50-60 went from KR’s band.
Five schools were represented, four of
which came from the Kent School District;
the other was from Auburn.
The choir also had its Solo Ensemble;
with 37 out of the 50-60 groups represented belonging to KR. The choir competed
March 5.
Some of those groups are competing
in State in April. One comprises a group
of trio boys: two freshmen, Eli Wills and
Joshua Curtis, and Sophomore Nick Luna,
are the first runners up for the “small ensemble-male” category. The trio performed
“Homeward Bound.”
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Wills.
The scores a student can obtain in Solo
Ensemble for band, orchestra, and choir
range from 1 to 5, with 1 being “superior,”
2 being “excellent,” 3 being “good,” and 4
and 5 being “poor.”
According to Orchestra Director David
Couch, all of the 12 scored a 1 or 2.
“I got a score of 1,” said Senior Kelcie
Hollingsworth, who played the first movement of Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto. “I’m
really proud of how I did. I’m really proud
of all the people who went.”
Scoring isn’t everything, according to
Choir Director Ted Chamberlain. “Most of them met or exceeded my expectations,” he said.
“I’m really proud of them,” he added. English teacher
Kira Kennedy
“Awake My Soul,” Mumford & Sons
“Always,” Switchfoot
“Clocks, ”Coldplay
“Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum
“Hey Jude,” The Beatles
“Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls
“Chasing Pavements,” Adele
“To Make You Feel My Love,” Garth Brooks
“Unchained Melody,” The Righteous Brothers
“Jolene,” Dolly Parton
Charger Top
10 Songs
Senior Jordan Cole
“Who Knows Who Cares,” Local Natives
“Freaks & Geeks,” Childish Gambino
“Townships,” The Cave Singers
“Love is All,” The Tallest Man on Earth
“Moth’s Wings,” Passion Pit
“Mt. Constitution,” The Lonely Forest
“Crazy for You,” Best Coast
“Take it Easy,” Surfer Blood
“The Horse,” Beach Fossils
“Friday,” Rebecca Black
Members of the Leopard Lodge perform the
ritual that begins their meetings.
These
are
Seniors Marques Weekly as Chachi, Robert Poole as Richie, Junior Reggie
Collins as Ralph, and Senior Nick Johnson as Potsie.
F
ootsteps echo in the silence of the dim theatre, the odors of dust,
heat from the lights, and something more suffuse the senses. Maybe
it’s memory, the excitement of past shows, or the echo of the songs
rolling back over the years.
Director Jenny Grajweski pulls up a chair. She is surrounded by
props: a jukebox, a gas pump, and various other items from this From left: Potsie, Ralph, the Fonz, and Richie
from the original TV series.
spring’s musical, Happy Days.
Ask your parents if they remember
The main character is Richie Cunningham, played by Senior Robpopular
50’s-themed
television
show
of
the
same name, which aired from 1974
ert Poole. The story takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1959 – on the
cusp of the 60’s. Richie and his friends must team together to save their 1984. They’ll probably have happy memories of Richie and the gang, along with T
Fonz’s memorable “Heeeyy!”
favorite hangout, Arnold’s Drive-In, from demolition.
“I’m hoping they come away from this show with memories,” said Grajewski. People grew up with Happy Days.”
“It’s just kind of a feel good show,” said Poole in a later interview with the fi
principal male actors.
“For those of our generation who haven’t seen the TV show, I hope people will
it as a sort of reflection on your childhood,” said Senior Aaron Johnson, who pl
Arthur Fonzarelli, better known as the Fonz.
The musical, however, is different from the original TV show, aside from the ob
ous musical aspect of it.
“The five teen boys – Ralph [Junior Reggie Collins], Potsie [Senior Nick Johnso
Chachi [Senior Marcus Weekly], Richie, and Fonzie – are black. There were few
no black characters in the original show.” Says Grajweski.
Though the five main characters being of African-American descent brings a n
twist, the show still will have the same fun 50’s feel. Grajewski said that she’s
ing to incorporate 1960’s Motown, a record company that helped to racially integr
American music.
The casting decisions were not made because Grajewski was going for an eth
Senior Aaron Johnson as the Fonz and Senior Rene Malacon as Count Mala- cally diverse cast; the best parts simply went to the best singers. Grajewski said t
Senior Marques Weekly as Chachi.
chi, the show’s villain.
they were being “color blind” about casting. There is a deeper purpose, however.
e “Happy Days”
yours and mine
the
4 to
The
“…
five
see
lays
bvi-
on],
w to
new
tryrate
hnithat
Story By Julia Rutledge
Photos by Shawnasy Hanifan and Mackenzie Tucker
“I’m trying to incorporate the fact that the school is diverse and unique,”
she said.
How do five African Americans from 2011 relate to the nostalgia of a
homogeneous 1950’s world?
“We both had a lot in common,” said Poole of his character Richie.
“He’s more athletic-oriented, though.”
“We’re both dorks, but I’m less dorky,” said Nick Johnson (yes, the twin
of Aaron), who plays Potsie.
“I can’t relate to him [the Fonz] because he’s the ‘King of Cool,’ ” said
Aaron Johnson. “I personally can connect more to Chachi because he tries
to be cool.”
There are several main through-lines, or themes, for the show:
“One is that none of us ever stops dreaming or hoping we’re going to do
something with our lives,” said Grajweski. Another is that “you shouldn’t
judge a book by its cover.” And a third is about “moving on with life.”
With a cast of 53, this show is a big one, although not as large as High
From left: Seniors Natalie Lawrence and Robert Poole, along with
School Musical.
Junior Savannah Linders and Senior Marques Weekly rock around
“We have kids in every single sport and activity in the school, so trying the clock.
to schedule [rehearsals] is difficult,” said Grajewski. “I write down everyone’s conflicts and work around them.”
All rehearsals are different. Some focus on character development, some
blocking the scenes, some choreographing the dancing, and some working
on the songs.
“I really enjoy working with the Dial Tones – the singing group of the
teen boys [Robert, Marcus, Reggie, and Nick],” she said. “They’re really
good and fun to work with.”
“Some of the songs have really intricate harmonies,” Poole said about
the music. “But others are easy, so it all evens out.”
“My favorite song is ‘The Thing About Girls,’ where we sing about how
girls seem different,” laughed Collins.
Will the cast be ready when May rolls around?
“In theatre, when you set a date to do your show, you can’t change it,”
added Grajewski. “We’re a little behind because of schedules, but we’ll be
ready. We have to be.”
Happy Days runs May 4-7 and May 11-14, 7 p.m. in the KR PAC, with
Girls in the ensemble cast mob the Fonz in Arnold’s Drive-In.
matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
Street scene
april, 2011 • Page 14
VisFest – Graphics arts contest
coming up for tech savvy kids
Fekare Mengisteab
Reporter
Legislation may keep minors from tanning in beds like these.
Courtesy of Coconutz Tanning
Teen tan ban proposed to stop
increased instances of skin cancer
By Maddie Njos
Reporter
The American Academy of
Pediatrics has proposed that indoor tanning beds become illegal
for use by minors because of increased threats of skin cancer.
The proposal has surfaced in
order to protect young people
against the rise of melanoma,
one of the deadliest types of skin
cancer. Its risks are enhanced
through ultraviolet ray exposure
in sunless tanning beds, according to the National Conference of
State Legislatures.
“Since I don’t tan all the time,
I don’t think it will happen to me
even though it might; I’m optimistic,” said Junior Sam Holler,
who tans usually for special occasions only because she doesn’t
“like to be pasty white.”
“More than 30 states already
regulate indoor tanning by minors,” reported the Chicago SunTimes. This includes Washington,
where most tanning salons require a parental or guardian signature before bed use by minors.
A 10 percent federal tax was
imposed on tanning last July to
support the $940 billion health
care bill, according to CNN. So,
banning minors from tanning
could potentially dissuade business in salons.
Larissa Mirante, employee at
Sunsational Tan in Kent, says that
the tax didn’t really have an effect
on business.
“People are willing to pay the
extra 10 percent for their sun,”
she said.
“If minors couldn’t tan, business would struggle,” she added,
saying that most of their customers are under the age of 18.
Minors “can have plastic surgery with consent of a parent, so
why should they not be able to tan
with consent of a parent?” said
Mirante.
The tan ban was successful in
Lower Vancouver Island in Canada Jan. 12 in an 18-1 vote in favor of passing. Officials are hoping for the ban to spread across
Canada and eventually reach the
United States.
Junior Kayla Andrus says that
being pale would make her feel
less confident and lower her selfesteem.
“Tanning doesn’t cause trouble,” she said. “If you know the
risks you should be able to choose
to do it.” The Skin Cancer Foundation
reports roughly 30 million people
tan indoors annually; 2.3 million
of them are teens.
These tanners are reportedly
74 percent more likely to develop
melanoma than those who do not
tan indoors.
English teacher Brynne Garman lost two friends to the disease in the past 18 months.
“When it comes to tanning,
teenagers think about short-term
gratification and not the longterm impact,” she said.
Garman, who has gone tanning in the past, said her views
have changed and that teenagers
are blinded by the media telling
teens that “in order to be beautiful, they need to be tan.”
“People need to embrace pale
skin and realize that they are
beautiful just the way they are,”
she added.
For those who decide not to
bask in UV rays, there are many
alternatives to get that tan skin
that do not pose hazardous UV
radiation exposure.
Tanning lotions and towels,
bronzing make-ups, and airbrush
spray tans are available to the
pale who want to add a glow to
their skin.
Junior Lauren Chapman goes
spray tanning instead of lying in
beds because “my dad doesn’t
want me to get skin cancer.”
The annual graphic arts video
contest VisFest is right around the
corner, and students in the Kent
School District (KSD) are preparing their videos to submit for the
contest.
VisFest is a KSD film festival
and video game expo held every
year for students to show creative
videos and their original games.
The submitted videos are based
from a theme. The theme for this
year is: “Once upon a time.”
“The creativity is so high because the prompt is so open,” she
added.
Senior and ASB President Eddie Imm said VisFest “allows students to utilize all their skills.”
A rubric is used to judge the
different videos, which are assessed by a panel of students,
administrators, and community
members.
Senior Emi Jensen said VisFest is a “great event for young
film makers to shape cinema for
the future,” and it “inspires students to achieve the best videos
Students in Graphic Arts teacher Jaimi Weinbrecht’s class create videos. Students may enter their work in VisFest by April 29.
Photo by Fekare Mengsteab
The due date for students to
submit their videos is April 29,
and the contest will take place
at Kent-Meridian High School’s
Performing Arts Center May 19.
Graphic Arts teacher Jaimi
Weinbrecht said VisFest “gives
students an opportunity to show
their work in a professional manner.”
they can.”
According to the VisFest website, the purpose is “to celebrate
the learning students are exposed
to while using 21st century media
technology.”
Weinbrecht’s advice for those
joining VisFest is “they just have
to be creative, do good, and work
as a team.”
Street scene
april, 2011 • Page 15
Fleet Street Fashion!
Make Spring
stylish for girls
By Amanda Beltran
Veteran Reporter
Spring is sunshine, warm weather, and
the peeling away of layers and layers of
clothes. Springtime brings fun, flirty outfits that are a little more revealing than our
winter attire.
Around KR, everyone is dressed in
jeans, jackets, and the notorious Ugg
Boots, but when the sun comes out, it’s
like day and night. Sundresses, skirts, and
sandals abound.
The fashion industry sees spring fashion
as maxi dresses,
braided wedges,
medium-length
shorts, and wideflared pants, and
tucked in shirts
with platformed
heels.
Sophomore Keri
Tetlow believes
that, “short dresses, lots of cute
tanks tops and
flowy tops, and the
cute shorts with
the giant bows
from Forever 21
are so cute.”
Senior
Urmika
Tejpaul said that
she sees spring
fashion as “a lot of
skirts, cute flowy
dresses.” “Everyone is excited because the
gloominess is over,
and the sunshine is out” added Tejpaul.
Senior Marina Pedersen added “bright
colors and floral” to spring style.
Tetlow thinks the maxi dress trend is a
Girls like it: Spring
fashion for KR men
by Alton Lu
Veteran Reporter
no go.
“They’re ugly,” she said.
“TOMS shoes will continue to be a
trend, even though they are the ugliest
things in the world,” she said.
Tejpaul said she loves to wear shorts,
flowy shirts with patterns and wedges.
Pedersen likes to wear “cardigans with
shorts and a tank top.”
Girls will all agree that bright colors,
cute shorts, and flowy tops are the main
spring trends for 2011.
Does everyone follow the dress code?
“They do to a point, but girls like to
stretch it,” said Tejpaul.
“No way,” said Pedersen. “You see
girls walking down the hallways and you
see butt cheeks with their short shorts.”
Oh, Seattle. This just happens to be the
only place where we have rain, snow, sun,
thunderstorms and windstorms all within
two hours of each other.
What this means for the quintessential
man at Kentridge is that through the fall,
winter, and half of spring, we are required
to wear pants, shirts, and warm jackets.
Usually.
With the other half of spring quickly approaching, the average male can look forward to finally switching up his wardrobe
for the warm sun that should show its face
from time to time.
Switching up to what, exactly?
Typically, when the weather reaches upward of around 70 degrees, the male population will wear cargo shorts and T-shirts.
These usually will be paired with a pair of
Nikes or Vans. It’s a given fact of life that
no man should try changing. Sometimes,
however, the female population might dislike our god-given style of the same shorts
everyday.
“It’s not that we dislike it,” Junior
Emma Hoang said regarding the classic
male sense of style. “Sometimes, we’d like
to see a little effort. It really impresses me
when a guy goes out of the norm to put a
tiny effort in.”
Cargo shorts and T-shirts are universal
in the KR community, and probably won’t
ever leave. But if one wishes to skip the
mundane and try something a little different, there are ways of doing so without
completely forsaking your personality.
There isn’t much change involving areas of footwear. The classic Nikes, whether
Jordans, SBs, Air Maxes, or whatever else
Nike has dreamed up, will always be a favorite among the masses.
However, something different may be
on the horizon. The Vans with every color
possibly conceived by man may finally be
meeting the end of their run -- they, along
with the Converse Chuck Taylors. The
three shoe brands that have dominated the
footwear collections of high school life
may be shifting a bit.
There is a curious little designer who
blew up in the last three months, thanks to
women. For every three girls you see in the
hall, chances are at least one will be donning TOMS. Yes, this shoe is just canvas
glued to a piece of rubber. Yes, it was inspired by farmers in Argentina. Yes, it may
be a pretty unappealing shoe. Yet, this tiny
pair will be worn by a small segment of
guys. Similar to Vans, these shoes will be
worn by both sexes.
“People just need to get over the fact
that girls are wearing it.” Hoang says.
“Girls would all love a guy who is confident enough to dress nicely, even if their
friends won’t approve.”
Coming right behind TOMS this spring
are Sperry Topsiders. This brand is known
for creating boat shoes (shoes you would
wear while sailing). You may already notice a few people around school with Sperrys on their feet.
Aside from the various footwear that
guys will be having, typically from the ankles up, what was worn five years ago will
still be worn now.
Cargo shorts, flat shorts, possibly longer
length shorts. The lesser known saying, but
no doubt true as well is “When in doubt,
plaid it out,” which is indeed what many
will still be bringing along.
When thinking about men’s fashion,
there isn’t much that changes. Trends are
accepted extremely slowly into the culture
of Kentridge Men. So you can expect almost nothing to be different this year, aside
from a couple of farm shoes.
street scene
January
, 2011
Page
april, 2011
••
Page
1617
Memes around the web …
over 9,000 and counting
Movie theaters
fight PPACA
ever, has calories ranging from
1,200 to 1,600 or more calories,
depending on how much butter
A trip to McDonalds means and salt are poured atop it, and
contact with many high-calorie has 126 grams of fat, according
foods, including a 32 fl. Oz. to citygirlbites.com.
triple-chocolate milkshake with That’s more than that milk1,160 calories.
shake at McDonalds.
How do we know? McDon- According to teengrowth.
alds, by law, must publish its com, the average teenager recalorie contents.
quires about 2,200 calories. Hav A May, 2010 law requires all ing a large bucket of popcorn at
chain restaurants that have at a movie theater would deliver
least 20 locations in the U.S. to more than half of a teen’s daily
post nutritional facts about the calorie requirements. A large
food that they serve. nacho with cheese from a movie
Some chains, such as movie theater has around 1,100 calotheaters, claim that they are ex- ries, according to fitsugar.com. empt from this law.
There are only five items from
Movie theaters argue that the McDonalds menu that have
since the new law, the Patient calories anywhere near that: their
Protection and Affordable Care three milkshakes, a big breakfast
Act (PPACA), doesn’t specifi- with hotcakes and a regular biscally mention movie theaters cuit (1,090 calories), and a big
as chain restaurants, they aren’t breakfast with a large biscuit
required to make known the nu- (1,150 calories).
tritional facts of the food they “It’s a little frustrating beserve, according to fuerstlaw. cause I’m someone who likes to
com.
be aware of what they’re eating,”
“They serve their own food,” said Midkiff. “I like to know
Senior Katherine Midkiff said. what I’m putting in my body.”
“I wouldn’t think that they are Movie theaters make an 85
exempt from it because they are percent profit off of the concesserving food to people.”
sions that they sell.
A large bucket of popcorn “If they focused on the movie
without butter has around 1,100 and let you bring your own food,
calories and 77 grams of fat. A then that would be okay,” said
large buttered popcorn, how- Midkiff. Joseph A.Tulloch
Veteran Reporter
Dragon Ball Z
Edelmar Navaluna
Veteran Reporter
Since its creation in 2005,
YouTube has been releasing user-created content to the masses.
With billions of videos being
viewed each and every day, people are bound to find a few gems
that impact culture.
These are called “memes.”
According to dictionary.com,
a “meme” is an element of social behavior passed on through
generations. The word is derived
from the Greek word “mimena,”
which means “to imitate.”
Memes have changed our culture, from what Star Wars has
done with “May the force be with
you,” to “I’ll be back” from the
Terminator movies.
One meme is from the cartoon
Dragon Ball Z. The original line,
which is “It’s over 9,000” was
recited when a character named
Vegeta was analyzing another
fighter’s power level. While the
line is only 17 seconds long, it
boomed on YouTube, with over
three million views, and became
an internet meme for geeks.
“They are hilarious,
and that’s what
people want to
watch these days.
All for laughs.”
Junior Brent
Hoekman
In the past two years, there has
been an influx of memorable videos that have gone viral and became internet memes overnight.
The newest meme to enter
our lives is “Friday,” by Rebecca
Black. Merited to be one of the
“worst songs ever,” Black has
been seen as a laughing stock by
the internet. Despite the ridicule, Black’s
song has become a meme. There
have already been numerous parodies on YouTube, and her song
is easily quotable and has become
a staple to hear by the end of the
week. Comedian Stephen Colbert even sang a cover with the
Roots during “Late Night with
Jimmy Fallon” after Colbert lost
a bet with Fallon, who matched
the $26,000 donation to DonorsChoose made by Colbert.
Junior Brent Hoekman may
have the reason why we become
so addicted to these memes.
“They are hilarious, and that’s
what people want to watch these
days,” he said. “All for laughs.”
Senior Marina Pedersen offers
a different opinion.
“I think they get big because
they are creative and people like
them,” she said. “On the other
had, there are those that are the
product of talentless people and
are infamous because they are
hated.”
“My favorite meme is Over
9000!” said Hoekman “When
people ask me how many times I
did something, I always have to
say it.”
Is the impact of these memes
longlasting, or are they trends that
quickly are forgotten?
“It does affect us in a way, because of YouTube and the various
social networks, people are going
to pick it up and use it,” said Marina. “The next day, you could
hear it in the halls, as I pass by.”
Street scene
april, 2011 • Page 17
KR’s finest shows talent
Junior Vu Nguyen celebrates
his win in style.
Photos and story
By Andrew Zou
Reporter
L
ights! Camera! Action!
This year’s KR’s Got Talent
show had a fantastic display of
new and creative performances,
ranging from interpretive dance
and a heavy metal band, to a
Spanish fiesta and fashion show.
This year’s winner was Junior
Vu Nguyen, who displayed his
creativity with a fashion show of
clothes he designed and made.
All the talents displayed during the show were worthy of
mention, but Nguyen’s fashion
show took the gold. The classy
models strutted across the stage
with extravagant clothes made
entirely of paper and plastic bags.
“It was just awesome,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t think I would
win; I just wanted to show my
things and passion for fashion.” Musical feats and various
talents included an interpretive
dance by Sophomore Christine
Nguyen, accompanied by the
singing of Sophomore Charlene
Tolentino; an orchestral piece
with Junior Jiem Thungc on the
piano and Juniors Rebecca Park
and Jon Oh on violin and viola,
respectively.
Thungc wrote his orchestral
piece for his girlfriend.
“I had a song that I just wanted to share with everybody,” he
said.
Music abounded with a creative combination of guitar playing with one hand and a rhyme
tic beat with the other by Sophomore Karan Singh. There was a nuclear performance by the heavy metal band
“Chernobyl’s Child,” as well as a
heartwarming piano performance
of “Hallelujah” by Keith Jensen.
Senior Jake Odegard delivered a satisfying and soothing
performance with his guitar and
voice, Sophomore Nattiel Tompson wowed with his electric Michael Jackson dance routine, and
Seniors Dre Farinas and Steve
Johnson engaged in a drumming
and beatboxing battle with an after-show of dancing with the Cwalk by Johnson and dougie by
Farinas.
Senior Andrew Barta expand-
Sophomore
Karan
Singh
smiles after playing guitar for a
happy crowd.
ed his stomach with a bike pump
and trigger-happy co-hosts, Seniors Jeremy Santos and Eddie
Imm.
It all ended with a fiesta from
Senior Rene Malacon, which included a piñata, salsa dancing,
Sophomore Christine Nguyen performs a lovely dance number.
Nguyen was accompanied by Sophomore Charlene Tolentino.
From left: Junior Ha Nguyen and Sophomore Elise Stewart model two of winner Vu Nguyen’s creations.
sombreros, bass, all contestants,
and exuberant singing.
The show was judged in a
comedic atmosphere by English
teacher Hilari Anderson, English
teacher Rick Pettibone, and Social Studies teacher May Wong,
who all were good natured.
“The best moment was Keith
Jensen’s heavy metal playing,”
Anderson joked. “That, or froing my hair up during the Chernobyl’s Child performance. I
am pretty sure I have permanent
hearing damage as well.”
Was anything missing?
“I would have liked to see a
mime performance,” Anderson
said.
“The applause was amazing.”
said Sophomore Karan Singh. “The gathering of people and
seeing what everybody could do
was a fun experience.”
Why did Singh decide to do
KR’s got talent?
“I was in a talent show three
years before this,” he said. “I
didn’t really care about winning;
I just wanted to show my talent.”
From left: Seniors Jake Odegard, Rene Malacon, and Joey
Buslon create a festive atmosphere with their musical piece.
The fake mustaches weren’t bad, either.
Street sports
Special Chargers medal
in the Special Olympics
Mackenzie Tucker
Reporter
Special Chargers, Freshman
Shelby Chase and Senior Ashley
Sabe, medaled in basketball at the
state Special Olympics tournament held in Wenatchee March 5.
Sabe, 17, received a gold
medal in the 16 to 21-year-old
bracket. Chase, 15, received a
bronze medal in the 8 to 15-yearold bracket.
Sabe said it was really fun, and
she was surprised when she won.
“I was really excited,” Paraeducator Karen Pain said.
Seeing the students medal,
with assistance from Gym teacher Cathy Brasher-Hwang, was inspiring, Pain added.
Sabe also went to the Special
Dance all dressed up. She made a
new friend Robin, and they had a
fun time.
Chase thought the whole experience was cool, but one of his
favorite activities was running
through the tunnel at the school
pep assembly.
“It’s a challenge working with
the students sometimes, but when
they accomplish something, it’s a
big pay off,” said Pain.
april, 2011 • Page 18
From left: Jenny Slater (Cedar Heights) , Senior Ashley Sabe (KR), Jared Mead (Cedar Heights),
Samatha Pierson-Taylor (KW), and Freshman Shelby Chase (KR) celebrate their medals in basketball at the Special Olympics tournament March 5.
Courtesy Photo
KR’s finest freshman Is KR Judo’s era over, Kentwood? Not so fast
gymnasts attack state
By Ken Williams
Veteran Reporter
By Abbey Lincoln
Reporter
KR sent some of its finest
gymnasts to State Feb. 18-19.
Freshmen Ellie Hoekman and
Amy Hiraki qualified for State in
floor and uneven bars competitions, respectively.
Judges score on whether the
entire floor is used, the difficulty
of the music, and the timing of the
routine. An average score is mid
8.
Hoekman scored a 9.225 out
of 10 on her floor routine.
“I felt my score was low,”
Hoekman said modestly.
Hiraki, who was sick with
the stomach flu, scored a 7.25.
She thought she had “an average
meet.”
This was their first State competition for both. Hoekman described the experience as “nerve racking, exciting. There were a lot of really
good people.”
“I felt a little less nervous
knowing my other teammates
“I would love to go
to state again. ...
When you fall down,
get back up again.”
Freshman
Ellie Hoekman
were also there supporting me, ”
said Hoekman.
State competitions and club
competitions were very different.
“They judged differently, and
the competitions are harder,” said
Hiraki. “The levels range more,
and there are a lot more girls with
experience.”
“State was a lot less emotional
because club parents and people
are more into it, and it’s more of a
team effort,” Hoekman added. Both hope to return to the State
competition in future years.
“I would love to go to state
again,” Hoekman said. “When
you fall down, get back up again,”
she added.
The KR Judo team chalked up
two more consecutive victories to
pull even with Kentwood in the
league standings.
As of April 24, KR and KW
were both 6-1.
At the beginning of the season,
the KW coach had confidently
stated that “KR’s era is over,”
rememberd Captain, Senior Jeremy Cooper. “We proved them
wrong.”
The judoists have defeated
Kentlake 110-30, and defeated
host school Enumclaw by a margin of 77-60.
How has the season been so far?
“So far, so good,” said Senior,
Captain Kathleen Schuster. “Our
only loss was against KW.”
A loss for a team accustomed
to winning?
“Our new people didn’t have
enough experience,” said Senior
Edward Kuo.
“We used this loss as motivation for the team,” said Cooper.
After working hard in the
hardest practices in the league,
“KR has been
the number
one team in
judo, and it’s
not stopping
now.”
Senior
Jeremy Cooper
the team was able to defeat Kentwood in a comeback-from-behind
fashion.
“At one point, we were behind
35-70, but we ended up beating
them 75-70,” said Coach Philip
Davis.
This win shows the development of KR Judo.
“Every meet, we have areas of
improvement,” said Cooper. “For
example, our girls had a not very
good match, but the next match
they dominated.”
The strengths of this team
come from “good condition and a
very good work ethic,” according
to Davis.
Both teams have two matches
left to determine who will end up
at the top of the 7-team division. KR and KW face off in the final
league match April 30, playing
for the championship.
“Kentwood has always been
our number-one competitor,” said
Cooper.
“We still have to beat them at
the Wilson Cup,” said Schuster.
Although the regular season
is nearing a conclusion, there are
still tournaments and State to look
forward to.
KR has been state champions
in 10 of the last 12 years, and
Cooper believes KR will dominate in Judo for years to come.
“KR has been the number one
team in judo, and it’s not stopping
now,” he said.
Along the way, there have
been many happy moments.
“My best memory in Judo is
that the KW Judo captain and
I both cut seven pounds in two
days to make weight for nationals
last year,” said Kuo.
Street sports
April, 2011 • Page 19
Track team off
to a good start
Erika Atanassov
Reporter
KR’s 2011 track team is
working hard this season. Current standings have boys at 1-3
and girls at 2-2.
“We already have a few meets
under our belts, and athletes
have been setting personal records left and right,” said Girls’
Coach Lisa Robin. “That’s a
good sign. It is always exciting
to see athletes grow and become
stronger.”
Freshman Lexi Klinkenberg,
who runs hurdles, has earned
first place twice in a row, and
Junior Hayley Bertelson, returning track superstar, expects to do
even better this year than she has
in past years.
“I should do well this year,”
Bertelson says. “It’s my goal to
get better.”
Bertelson is participating in
seven events this year, including
100, 200, 4x1, 4x2, long jump,
high jump, and javelin. However, according to Bertelson and
Freshman Stephen Bishop, who
placed third in shot put, track
isn’t just about the physical activity. Many join because it’s a
good social experience, and they
have fun with their friends.
Many of the track members
are there for the love of the sport,
like Freshman Brad Foster, who
participates in pole vault.
“The best part about track is
going out there and doing my
best in the event I love participating in.”
Disappointing start
for Boys’ Soccer
like to take [the losses] out on the
goalie.”
Cole said that being a keeper
As the varsity Boys’ Soccer is “definitely different – it’s hard
team starts out 0-2-2, prospects sometimes,” but that he’s “still
seem bleak, but the team has high part of the team, regardless.”
hopes for the remainder of the This year is “kinda frustrating,
but we’re definitely getting the
year.
“We haven’t really been play- hang of it now that we’re starting to our full potential,” said ing to all work together,” said SeCaptain, Senior Billy Johnson. nior Ryan Walsh, another keeper. “We’re kind of a young team, and “We’re starting to figure out how
once all of our players get up to each other play.”
Mark Janes, assistant coach,
speed, we will dominate.”
There are five seniors on the said that it’s “frustrating for the
team, three of whom play keeper, coaches as well as the players,”
but that “the guys have been imleaving only two on the field.
One of the other two captains, proving every game.”
Senior Wes Concepcion, calls this Along that line of hope, Janes
added that he’s “just looking fora “rebuilding year.”
Senior Jordan Cole offered a ward to the guys picking up the
keeper’s perspective on the poor intensity and making it to play
beginning, calling it “tough be- offs, and we should be able to do
cause usually the field players that.”
Hannah Ostrander
Veteran Reporter
The rugby team huddles up during a recent practice. Rugby often leaves players bruised and
bleeding, but the intensity of the game keeps players going.
Photo by Rian Edington
Rugby players have
grit, determination
By Rian Edington
Veteran reporter
A group of young men meet
to practice a unique sport every
Tuesday and Thursday, one that
has left them bruised, bleeding,
and bonded.
The Kent Valley Joeys are 3-3
with upcoming games against
Skagit and Chuckanut.
Coach of the Joeys, Social
Studies teacher Kyle Patrick said
the team is “in the hunt for one of
the top spots.”
The Kent Valley Joeys is a
club for young men who love
rugby but are too young to play
for the Kent Valley Kangaroos,
which is the men’s club.
Rugby, often called “football without pads,” is an intense,
physical, and violent sport that
not many venture to play.
Rugby started out as a European sport, where it is still
played in the place of American
Football. Rugby however, is not
just a European sport anymore. It has spread world wide, and at
Kentridge, students have adopted
the rugged sport as a new favorite
pastime.
Captain, Senior Rene Malacon describes the intensity of the
game.
“The vast majority of the time
playing rugby we are on a battlefield -- no armor, no pads -- fighting for the recognition and honor
of calling ourselves the greats,”
he said.
The passion these players feel
toward their sport is clearly unrivaled by any other. At one practice alone, they work for about
three hours running rigorous
drills. Working on their speed,
stamina and teamwork, these
men are in a league of their own
among athletes.
“In the pitch, 15 men enter,
many get wounded, but at the end
of the battle, hopes for success
are all we aim for,” continued
Malacon.
Rugby is not a school sanctioned sport, and the students
only use the KR weight room before practice.
Patrick also said that the seniors who play have “brought the
team up” and do an incredible
job, as well as the juniors.
Patrick encourages students
to participate during their sophomore and junior years instead of
waiting until their senior years
because it is a good sport to play.
The Joeys have their practices
at Petrovisky Park from 3:15 to
5:30 in the evening.
street views
You
april, 2011 • Page 20
should take the
AP
test
By Vincent Lin
With the coming of spring,
the annual AP tests approach;
unfortunately, not all students
taking AP classes will be present
for the test.
Many students who take AP
classes choose not to take the AP
tests because they believe that
they will not be able to pass and
receive college credit, or they do
not want to spend the money to
take the test, or a combination of
the two.
Students considering not taking the AP tests should think
seriously about changing their
decision.
The point of an AP class is to
take the year-end test; besides,
the benefits of AP far outweigh
the disadvantages.
First of all, AP courses can
give high school students college credits, which in turn save
the students both money and
time at college. Secondly, payment for AP tests is not unreasonable and often is negotiable. Lastly, earning credits for the
AP course does not require students to do exceedingly well on
the AP tests.
AP tests offer opportunities for college credit at a very
Stay
classy,
KR
By Alton Lu
Just weeks ago, our Boys’
Basketball team took to state and
battled the ferocious Gonzaga
Prep, attempting to earn the illustrious State title.
Mere hours before, Vice Principal Eric Anderson gave a rousing speech about how darn good
our basketball team, cheerleaders, and band are.
He then spoke about the
400-strong student body bringing the cheer squad. He spoke
about how “DANG good” the
students were going to be. Let’s
not kid ourselves here; he wanted
to use a better word.
There are very few people
who did not feel the intensity
and togetherness we experienced
that day. Even someone like I,
who disapproves of mainstream
sports, “believed that we would
win.”
On that day, KR students
cheered on our basketball team
until throats were raw, and the
bleachers would have fallen
apart. Even though we lost, we
had class. The men of the basketball team shook hands and
departed disappointed, but with
pride. Our dejected student body
left the same way.
We of Kentridge were classy
that day. The KR Way, no matter
how little awe-inspiring it might
be, was displayed by every single student at the Tacoma Dome.
But this raises a very strange
question: Why is it that the elegance and class Kentridge exhib-
reasonable price. According to
College Board, the average cost
per credit at the University of
Washington is $331. With AP,
students can claim anywhere
from 5-15 credits for $87 a
test. Earning 15 credits through
AP is almost 400 percent more
costs-efficient than taking UW
courses. Receiving five credits
is about 130 percent more costefficient than taking UW courses.
The cost of AP tests should
not pose a significant problem;
waived and reduced test fees are
offered to students on a need-
based basis.
Apart from reducing tuition
costs, students save time, as AP
credits can waive basic prerequisite classes at colleges such
as UW. These classes include
basic history, science, math, and
language classes.
AP tests grade on a scale of
1-5. Students must pass the AP
test with a score of 3 or higher,
with a 3 being roughly fifty percent. UW offers credit for test
scores of 3 and above. The average test score in Washington is
2.92, so attaining college credit
from AP courses is not a lofty
goal for many of the students
thinking about avoiding the
year-end test.
In fact, according to the Seattle Times, 75 percent of all
Kentridge students who take the
AP test pass; a number far exceeding the state average.
Students undecided as to
whether to take the AP tests
should take the less risky route
and sign up. With such high
odds for passing and receiving
credit, students not taking the
AP tests are passing up a big opportunity to gain college credit,
and in turn, save money.
ited that day is no longer present
within our very own halls?
It’s high school. People do
things without thinking. I admit
that I don’t always follow rules
and may commit an occasional
flamboyant act of rebellion while
at school.
Yet, even though I do stupid
things, I respect the school. I respect the people I’m around. The
majority of the Charger population is the same way. We all do
stupid things, but at the same
time, we still know how to show
respect; we still know who deserves respect. To the majority of
the Charger population, we still
have class.
Anderson would call us dang
good.
Sadly, however, there are
people around school to whom
Anderson would probably say
“What the heck is wrong with
you?”
On March 25, a student lit a
trash can on fire. I may be ignorant of the situation; I may not
understand exactly what went
down. But from my point of
view, and the point of view of everyone with a brain, we wonder
what could bring a person to do
such a thing.
This isn’t something like
playing with a tech deck in class
to show your distaste for school.
Burning things is actually one of
the least intelligent, crass things
that someone could do.
Junior Tia Porcincula expressed her distaste for what a
Charger did to KR.
“I think it’s embarrassing to
the school and our entire student
body. We’re 15 to 18 years old,
yet someone lit a trashcan on
fire. It’s like something from an
Adam Sandler movie, without
crowds of people laughing.”
There are pranks for fun, and
enjoyment ensues. This wasn’t
one of those times.
“Obviously, they wouldn’t
be expecting to burn the school
down,” Porcincula said. “Grabbing attention -- that’s all it’s
about. But it’s all in the wrong
ways.”
For April Fool’s Day, there
was a TP-ing of the courtyard.
Someone had nothing better to
do on a Thursday night than to go
throw rolls of toilet paper over
trees.
April Fool’s joke? Possibly,
but who’s laughing? Only those
very same people who threw the
toilet paper over the trees.
“These people had humorous
intentions in mind, but that’s not
how it worked,” Porcincula said.
“The people who did it don’t realize that the janitors are forced to
clean up their mess. That’s such
a wonderful reward for throwing
toilet paper over a tree; having a
janitor clean up after you.”
These few people don’t understand how to act properly in
a school. Burning trash cans,
wasting our Earth’s resources,
toilet paper throwing, and being
insensitive toward others isn’t
how or what we do.
Kentridge, let’s be civil. Let’s
think before we act, and bring
back what we had at the Tacoma
Dome. Stay classy, Kentridge.
street views
Where
april, 2011 • Page 21
did
What’s
in a word?
the simple
Respect
has elusive
field trip
meaning
go?
By Ryan Ardy
By Joseph A.
Tulloch
Senior Rianna Mize took this picture of a Peruvian
home on a trip to Peru with AP Human Geography
teacher Mike Papritz. While some students benefit from international field trips like these, common field trips to local places are less common
in high school than in elementary school. Or, at
least, they seem to be.
Joseph A. Tulloch
Reporter
When you think about elementary school, what do you
remember most fondly? Is it the
long, arduous hours spent in the
classroom tensely waiting for
recess on a sunny day, or when
your class went to the Museum of
Flight for the whole day?
What happened to field trips?
Where did they go?
Looking back on my four
years at KR, I can clearly see a
steady decline in field trips. During freshman year, I remember
going to see the play about Anne
Frank and then visiting a museum
full of various Asian art. During
sophomore year, all I remember
is a three-period POD party on
school grounds at the end of the
year. In my junior year, I never
left the classroom; we were too
busy writing our junior research
papers. I am nearly through senior
year, and I haven’t had a single
fun day to break the monotonous
routine that I go through every
single day.
It seems like the only field
trips that are taken anymore dur-
“I respect five out of six of my
teachers because that one teacher doesn’t always get the point
You’re in your first period. across and is not very helpful
You look to the left; a girl is tex- to students who need it,” Junior
ting her BFF. You look back to Kenji Benjamin said.
the teacher. To the right, some- “I respect about five out of
one is sleeping. Back to your six of my teachers,” said Junior
teacher, back to the girl texting, Malka Abdullahi. “The only reason I don’t respect my teacher is
back to your teacher.
How do you think the teacher because he doesn’t always understand what he is teaching.”
feels?
When we are in class, and ev- “It’s really hard to respect a
eryone is talking while the teach- teacher or anyone that doesn’t reer is trying to, well, teach, it’s spect me back,” Freshman Amanpretty hard to focus, making work da Charles said.
What else can teachers do to
harder for us and the teacher.
Do the teachers get enough re- earn their students’ respect?
“Not treating me like an idiot is
spect? “Some teachers do, but not a major thing to get my respect,”
enough,” said Sophomore Timo- said Freshman Nathan Deutsch.
“When teachers are really sarthy Ie. “Most disrespecting students castic, it kind of kills my respect
are just distracted with friends or for them,” said Abdullahi.
other things,” said English teach- But to earn respect, students
need to also demonstrate it. er Barbara Segal.
According to Newteacher- Does it mean being quiet and paysuniversity.com, a teacher must ing attention, or actually interactearn the respect of students by ing with teachers and telling them
humanizing themselves, telling that you appreciate how hard they
funny stories or showing family work?
pictures. All these are necessary After many ums and “uh, can
to make yourself more approach- we skip that question?” from
able, like a normal person, instead several students, Junior Chase
Kingsford offered his opinion.
of being the big, scary teacher. Segal agreed that being a good “Respect is more than being
communicator can play a key role quiet while the teacher talks,”
in earning respect from her stu- he said. “It’s saying ‘thank you’
when a paper is handed back. It’s
dents.
Some students cite an inabil- making eye contact and being poity to communicate as the reason lite, saying ‘hello’ when you walk
into the class and realizing that
they don’t respect their teachers.
“I show respect for about four the teachers are people, too. out of six of my teachers,” Senior “They go through five to six
Vadzim Zinkevich said. “I don’t periods a day dealing with sturespect the other two because dents,” he added. “The least you
they don’t show their students can do is show a little respect toward them.”
enough respect.”
By Ryan Ardy
Reporter
ing high school are the ones for
after school clubs and sports. If
you don’t participate in these extracurricular activities, then you
won’t get to experience a high
school field trip very often. I
can barely remember my middle
school experience because we
never did anything mildly entertaining during school. Learning
was just straightforward out-ofthe-books. I don’t want my high
school memories to be as blurred
as my middle school ones.
A study done by Brian Gerber
found that informal field trips and
learning environments had a positive impact on student’s scientific
thinking abilities. An article by
the Nevada Natural Resource
Education Council says that welldesigned field trips result in higher student academic performance
in all areas and students are more
motivated for classroom learning
by seeing real world applications
of what they are learning.
History and AP Human Geography teacher Mike Papritz
said that he has “taken students
for more than 20 years on field
studies, from Mt. St. Helen to
downtown Seattle.” He believes
that field studies are important
because they “offer opportunities,
because the interactions of studying a landscape are much more
dynamic; the reading of a textbook is sometimes static.”
Papritz thinks that the reason
why some teachers don’t take students on field trips is because “it’s
hard to manage students in informal environments,” he said. “It’s
just not comfortable sometimes.”
Field trips offer such a broad
range of educational opportunities. It’s sad that as we get to
higher grades, the importance
and value of field trips get pushed
aside for things like the culminating project, SAT, and college essays. While the future does loom
closer every year, it’s also vitally
important to have as much fun in
school while there is still time to
do it.
The point of a field trip is to let
students experience learning in a
fun and different way. Instead of
listening to and reading Romeo
and Juliet, you can actually go
see the play in action. The impact
of this would be far more memorable than the bumbling mumbled
lines read by your classmates.
street views
A
april, 2011 • Page 22
girl should be two things:
Classy
and
Fabulous
By Dakotah Fitzgerald
The other day I overheard a fellow reporter voicing her opinion about her personal standards regarding being a “lady.” If she had things her way, girls would
speak more openly about sex and not be
shy about bodily functions, such as belching and farting.
This is plain wrong; I feel embarrassed
just writing about it.
In my opinion, your sex life should stay
between you and the person you’re having
it with. I don’t think it’s wrong to speak
privately with your friends about these
types of things, but to openly tell a group
of people all your dirty little secrets shows
little self-respect, not to mention stupidity. We all have to remember this is high
school. Rumors are spread, stories get
twisted, and there’s really no such thing as
a secret when more than two people know. Like they say: “Two can keep a secret if
one of them is dead.”
And as far as bodily functions are concerned, save it for the bathroom! Not only
is that unnecessary, it’s rude. A girl should
just act like a lady; there’s nothing wrong
with keeping up a good image. Where’s the class these days? Girls are
lowering their standards more and more;
we get in physical fights to “solve” prob-
What
lems, we have even resulted to boyfriend
stealing and saying anything we can to hurt
each other, no matter how personal it may
be. On top of that, some girls now accept
expelling gas in public. C’mon. If this
gets any worse, it’s going to be difficult to
differentiate between genders. I think most guys would probably agree
with me. Do they really want to see all of
us girls burping and farting? As far as I’m
concerned, all males should just continue
to think we don’t do that. I don’t care how
“natural” it is, it’s gross.
We should be looking up to women who
Be
a
really set the standard in their day, like
Audrey Hepburn, Marylin Monroe, Coco
Chanel, Julie Andrews, Beyonce, and Diana Ross.
Nowadays we admire girls from “the
Bad Girls Club” and “Jersey Shore.” These
girls don’t exactly exemplify the way a
woman should be. These girls, although
interesting to watch, are not model characters we should be looking up to. Not only
are they loud and obnoxious, they have no
respect for other people.
Girls: Set the standard. Be the classy,
put together, mature generation that we
should be.
Lady?
about being yourself?
By Taressa Patterson
Ever since we girls were little, we have
been told, “Be polite, be a lady.”
No one ever really elaborated on what
that meant.
Society looks down upon women
who burp or discuss any bodily function. These types of actions are reserved for men
and men only. Because women aren’t supposed to have them, we simply exude rainbows and smiles when needed.
Now, I’m not saying there aren’t inappropriate times to do these things, like at
church or family gatherings. But when
you’re with your friends, or just hanging
out at home, what stops you from letting
it out? Some men even find it attractive
that a woman can be that comfortable to act
how she normally does.
Hmm ... acting normal: Crazy thought
isn’t it?
Let’s take a stroll back to before the
20th century, where oppression, covering
up, and superiority of men was simply allowed. Can you imagine if a woman were
to burp while walking down the street during those times? She’d be shunned similarly to those looks that you’d get in the
hallway if you do the same.
How is it that we can be so advanced in
society, yet still have the same unrealistic
standards for women?
On to men. Most men like three things: food, women, video games. That’s their
trifecta. And when it comes to being completely comfortable letting out every single
bodily function, they have that down pat. Honestly, when was the last time you witnessed a man burping as loudly as human- Now, we women aren’t exactly innoly possible without a gaggle of high fives cent either. Some of us succumb to socifrom bystanders immediately following?
etal standards, therefore criticizing others
But if we as
women can’t even
come together and
realize that we are
allowed to act as we
wish, how can we
expect men to treat
us any differently?
who don’t. You’ve all seen those girls that
immediately, after hearing a burp, respond
with “EWWWWW! Oh my gosh she’s
disgusting!”, making whomever feel absolutely embarrassed because of a normal
function. Sometimes, the women can be
worse in forcing “keep sweet” upon us. But if we as women can’t even come together and realize that we are allowed to
act as we wish, how can we expect men to
treat us any differently?
I get that men want their women to behave as they wish. But really, once the relationship gets to the six month or one-year
point, both people have to be absolutely
comfortable with each other in order for it
to work. And, I am pretty sure if we women can accept the antics of the male species
in general, men should let us take a break
from striving for perfection.
street views
april, 2011 • Page 23
The Last Word
If you could have any miniaturized
version of an animal, what would it be?
Freshman Victoria Wong
Sophomore Ayuannna Green
Junior Brittany Johnson
Senior Trae Luborn
Vice Principal Eric Anderson
“A mini-dog so I can hold it in
my hand, and it can grow to
be big like Clifford!”
“A monkey ‘cause monkeys
are my favorite animal, and
they fascinate me.”
“A platypus because it’s
semi-aquatic and the coolest
animal alive.”
“I’d want a mini whale-shark
because I like whale-sharks,
but I could never have them
‘cause they’re too big.”
“Mr. Albrecht ‘cause I like
to kick him around.”
OMG
in the
OED
By Julia Rutledge
The acronym “OMG” (short
for “Oh My God”) has been accepted into the Oxford English
Dictionary (OED), along with
BFF, LOL and others. The OED
is the primary dictionary of the
English language and the largest
in the world, containing approximately 600,000 words.
Nine hundred words were
added to the OED this year alone,
including the abbreviations for
Best Friends Forever, Laugh Out
Loud, Wives and Girlfriends, and
the word “heart” as a verb (as in
“I Heart KR”).
I get why abbreviations would
be practical for texting -- you only
have so much space. But does it
really have to be in the Dictionary of dictionaries? Next thing we
know, we’ll be using those words
in everyday speech.
Oh, wait … we already do.
Am I flying off the handle
about this, here? Or is there really
something wrong with the way
we talk? True, other slang words such
as “ain’t,” “cool,” and “diss” are
in the OED, but abbreviations go
too far. It just goes to show how much
our world is affected by texting
and technology. We’re in the
digital age, whether we like it or
not. The people who use technology greatly outnumber those who
don’t.
Our world is not only affected
by texting, but by the internet
as well. According to a poll on
NPR.com, more than 68 percent
of Americans use a computer at
work, 87 percent of Americans
say that computers have made
their lives better, and 85 percent
of children say that they can keep
up with computers. In contrast, 20 percent say that
they feel overloaded with information on the internet, and 58
percent say that they feel technology has given them less time with
their friends and families. This debate is not new. Since
the 1500’s, there have been
movements to simplify the English language. Why should this
be any different? Technically, it
isn’t. The dictionary can’t stay
the same; it has to change with
the changing environment of the
world.
You could say that this is just
another instance of our language
adapting to fit the times. You
could say that this is a good thing,
that teens are visibly changing the
world, or at least the language the
world speaks. Or, you could say that the English language is being fouled up.
I’ve heard the now-words
“LOL” and “OMG” used in con-
versation around KR, but usually
they have been used as a joke.
Some, however, are used as an
honest expression of surprise.
Although we’re a long way off
from speaking in binary or complete text-talk, these words being
accepted into the OED signify
just another point on the timeline
of technology and how it has affected our day-to-day lives.
I have never, on the other hand,
heard any adults use these words
in day-to-day speech. My mom
texts me, and she doesn’t even
use the abbreviations that much. Just like slang, which is also in
the dictionary, these abbreviated
words are not used by intelligent
people.
So will you use these words in
everyday speech and sound like a
teenager, or not use them and try
to sound like an educated adult?
Take your pick.
Corrections:
In an article last month
entitled “Kentridge bus drivers: Bringing the students
to school,” we incorrectly
listed one of the guidelines
to remember. We wrote,
“do not cross in front of
the bus” when we should
have written: remember to
always cross in front of the
bus.
In an article entitled
“Kentridge hosts Poetry
Out Loud,” we wrote, “In
spite of this year’s dearth
of talent, one winner was
permitted to proceed to
regionals ...” We should
have written, “In spite of
this year’s wealth of talent
...”
Thanks to those of you
who brought these to our
attention. It is our hope
to be transparent about
our mistakes, apologize
for them, and continue to
serve you responsibly.
The Back Page
the best of the month
By Jacob Smith
Band
Where’s Albrecht?
Urban Dictionary
Can you spot Gnome Albrecht in the picture below?
Straight Like: when
someone goes straight
down your Facebook
page and likes everything, including wallposts, comments, statuses, etc.
Ghost Taste: the familiar
taste that accompanies a
post-meal burp. It’s like
deja-vu in your mouth.
KR Artist Sanity Scarred
Word Search
Love: nature’s way of
tricking people into reproducing.
Phobias
TV Show
Ecclesiophobia: The fear
of church and going to
church.
Xerophobia: The fear of
dryness.
Eosophobia: The fear of
daylight.
Fleet Street Newspaper
Kentridge High School
12430 SE 208th Street Kent, WA 98031
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