October 28, 2005

Prop. 73:
¡Mundo Maya!
Does Your Mother Know?
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Victorious Vikings
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On the Internet:
www.samohi.smmusd.org/thesamohi
Circulation: 3,600
Published Triweekly
Vol. XCVI No. 2 October 28, 2005
News Briefs
Hearn Pleads Guilty
By Molly Strauss
A nurse assists Senior Jesus Contreras while he donates blood in the Red Crossʼs blood drive on
Oct. 26.
Photo by Ashley Osberg
Pupils Ponder Parking Problem
By Cara Safon
Students have been left
without a place to park their cars
close to school due to recently
posted signs prohibiting parking.
These signs, which resrict parking
due to street cleaning, have
been posted along Pico’s side
streets, 5th, 6th, Bay, Pacific, and
Grant. Samo Administration
and Leadership are currently in
the process of communicating
with Santa Monica City to try
and change the times for street
cleaning.
The lack of parking spots has
created a problem for students
who do not have senior parking
lot passes. The signs, changed
this summer, prohibit parking
from 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m and
from 3:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. on
Mondays and Tuesdays, making
it impossible for students to move
their cars before school lets out.
The city changed these signs this
summer from 3:30p.m. to 5:00p.
m., when students could park
their cars on these streets and
move them after school.
According to Andy Agle,
Interim Director of Planning
and Community Development
in Santa Monica, a task force
comprised of representatives
from Samo and the Santa
Monica community compiled
a list of changes for the streets
around Samo in 2004. These
recommendations included
asking residents in the area if
they wanted to change street
cleaning back to the 2002 time
interval, 3:30p.m. to 5:00p.m. The
task force proposed this change
“primarily to facilitate better
relations between the school and
the residents,” Agle said.
Most students are upset
about the new restriction. Senior
Casey Corn received a parking
ticket the second week of school
due to the new signs. “It was
frustrating walking back to my
car after school and finding a
ticket waiting for me,” she said.
“I didn’t expect it because the
signs were changed so suddenly.
Nobody knew about the new
signs.”
On Oct. 11, Leadership
organized a meeting in the
South Gym basement for
students interested in helping
to fix Samo’s parking situation.
Students discussed problems and
suggested alternatives to parking
around school. They commented
that extracurricular activities and
sports practices let out late, and
that taking the bus would be
dangerous if the sun has set. “I’ve
gotten my wallet stolen on the
bus,” said Corn. “I don’t feel safe
taking the bus after dark.”
The first goal students want
to achieve is to attend the School
Board meetings and ask the city
to change the signs back.
Junior Kelly Snyder, who
has an A-period class and wants
to avoid tardiness, said, “I got to
school this morning at 6:40a.m.
and drove around for 25 minutes,
just so I would have enough time
to walk the six blocks to school
and make it on time.”
Other possible solutions
include voting for a reduced
price to park at the Civic Center
and trying to organize a shuttle
system like the one through Santa
Monica College from its Santa
Monica Airport campus, and the
system from parking lots near
the beach. According to CEO/
Principal Ilene Straus, “[The city]
was considering using beach
parking and having a shuttle
running, but kids were concerned
the beach parking would be too
far away.” She added that the
possibility of a parking structure
for students seems unattainable
in the near future due to lack of
state funding.
Leadership is scheduled to
meet with the SMMUSD Board of
Education on Nov. 1 to propose
changing street cleaning back to
a time interval that would still
allow students to park in these
areas without getting ticketed.
receives ISS, if the program has
room at that time, the student
cannot go back to a normal class
schedule until he serves his full
term.
The new ISS program can
hold 24 students at one time,
although only seven students
have been admitted so far.
Last year, Administration
only assigned ISS for individual
periods. Students were pulled
out of their classes and sent to
their House Office. This system
lacked the complete isolation
from the rest of the school that
students in the program now
experience. If they committed
a more serious violation,
Administration assigned out-ofschool suspension. According
to Gatell, this idea of keeping
students in school doing work,
completely disassociated from
other students, is more effective
than sending them home, where
they are not constantly held
accountable for their actions.
So far, the program seems
to be going according to plan.
Gatell wants to emphasize
the mediation process. Upon
arrival, students share the reasons
they were assigned ISS and
Former Samo assistant
football and basketball coach
Michael Hearn pleaded “no
contest” to nine felony charges on
Oct. 5, admitting to sex acts with
three teenage girls, two of whom
attended Samo.
Hearn, 38 years old, coached
at Samo for two years before
his arrest. He “was taken into
custody…on school premises
by Santa Monica Police” (Santa
Monica Mirror) in June 2004.
The charges, which included
“six counts of unlawful sexual
intercourse with three girls under
18, one count of a lewd act on a
child, one count of oral copulation
on a person under 16, and one
count of sending harmful material
to a minor electronically” (Los
Angeles Times), are based on events
that occurred between Dec. 2003
and May 2004. Neither of the girls
was Hearn’s student.
By pleading “no contest”,
Hearnavoidedajurytrial.However,
the DistrictAttorney sentenced him
to two years in prison and required
that he register as a sex offender for
life (NBC News).
Senior Akil Gainer, who
met Hearn through the Boys and
Girls Club at age six, shared his
emotions surrounding the arrest
and conviction, “He was like a
father figure to me--someone I
could depend on. [When I found
out], I was sad and hurt, like I’d
lost a family member.”
Students Cheat the SAT
By Jacquelyn Hoffman
In a Los Angeles Federal
court on Oct. 7, District Judge
Florence- Marie Cooper issued
a temporary restraining order
to the College Board, against
Test Materials, WC Films,
and two alleged affiliates,
Sergio Camacho and
Elizabeth Ulrich, as well as
the Santa Monica-based SAT
preparatory company, Harvard
Advantage.
Nationwide high school
counselors notified the College
Board, a non-profit organization
that administers the SAT, by email to share the news that the
three companies and the two
alleged affiliates encouraged
students to steal and then sell
the SAT test booklets to these
companies and to individuals.
The College Board
copyrights all SAT materials that
nearly 2.3 million students use
who take the SAT annually (Los
Angeles Times). Federal Judge
Cooper gave the defendants
an opportunity to present
evidence to support why a
preliminary injunction should
not be issued. In addition, the
Judge ordered a hearing slated
for Oct. 24; however, the results
from this hearing are currently
unavailable.
Money for the Library
By Nora Casey
The Samo Library, like all
in California, now receives a
total of 71 cents of funding for
each student from the California
legislature. The library funding
has decreased by 97 percent
since 1998, from $158.5 million
to $4.2 million in 2004 (smmpta.
org). Library Media Teacher
Dana Bart-Bell said that the
2004 funding actually “came
in the summer. [The state]
had to fight over whether we
were going to get anything.
The recommended amount [of
funding] is $28 per student.” CoLibrary Media Teacher Meredith
Rugg commented on the effect of
staff cutbacks as a result of the
budget, saying that the number
of staff has been reduced. “[It has]
gone from five positions to three,”
she said. The ratio of librarians
to students in California schools
now ranks fifty-first in the nation,
after Puerto Rico (rand.org).
However, the dramatic decrease
in funding gives Samo students a
unique opportunity; by giving 75
cents to our library, they will have
donated more on their behalf than
the California government.
Administration Alters In-School Suspension
By Analee Abbott
and Jennifer Galamba
Due to the disorganized
nature of Samo’s In-SchoolSuspension (ISS) program
i n p re v i o u s y e a r s , S a m o
Administration and former
Samo Counselor Frank Gatell
re-invented the program in order
to better support the students it
serves. The program’s expansion
includes the addition of mediation
and campus beautification.
Missing Saturday School and
being involved in fights at school
can result in ISS. Once a student
discuss whether they feel these
reasons are valid. They also
discuss what Samo can do to
help these students solve these
problems. Gatell elaborated on
the program’s effects: “It allows
me to get to know the kids on a
more individual basis, so if I see
something that worries me, I can
offer advice and even get them
help if it is necessary. It is a way
of getting students to learn their
lessons and move on,” he said.
Even people who work with
students outside the ISS program
are seeing its success. I-House
Counselor Jessica Garrido is
confident that the success of the
program will continue in future
years: “I think that if it’s done
right, and so far it has been, that
it will be very effective.”
If all goes well, this program
will help students solve the
problems that landed them in
ISS, instead of just removing
them from the school altogether.
CEO/Principal Ilene Straus
also feels that the program will
help improve Samo overall. “It
should help mediate problems,
help students stay on top of their
work, and have an appropriate
consequence,” she said.
Page 2
Opinion
Why Does the Pentagon Have My Cell Phone Number?
By Carl Nunziato
America’s all-volunteer armed
forces are in danger. The danger is
not, as some might fear, the return
of the draft–-a suicidal word in
today’s politics. The real danger
lies in the Pentagon’s obsession
with the amount of new soldiers
and its disregard for their quality.
It seems like every day the military
stoops lower to reach its quotas:
reducing the standards for incoming recruits, exploiting provisions
in the No Child Left Behind Act,
and ignoring the real problem:
that few will risk their lives for
mediocre rewards.
The Army fell over 7,000 recruits short of their quota for 2005,
after they lowered their standards
for incoming recruits, allowing
for 10 percent of new recruits to
be high school dropouts and 4
percent to be “Category IV Recruits,” people who score between
the 16th and 30th percentile on
the military’s aptitude test (msn.
com). Since the dissolution of the
draft, the Army has maintained a
trend towards professionalism, a
quality more important than ever
in the urban warfare environment
of Iraq. But the Army’s current
recruiting policies defy this trend.
Those who can’t focus or have
behavioral issues can endanger
themselves and their fellow soldiers or even, as was the case in
the Abu-Ghraib prisoner abuse
scandal, further damage
our country’s already
negative image.
Luckily, the
Army has devised a brilliant
strategy to turn
their recruitment numbers
around: constant harassment of high
school students.
The No Child Left
Behind Act authorized
by President Bush in January
of 2005, requires that all public
high schools (note the emphasis
on public) give the Pentagon access
to their student directories. These
directories contain the students’
names, addresses, and phone
numbers. You can “opt out” of
the process so long as your par-
ent personally contacts the school
before the information is presented
to the Department of Defense.
However, opting out is pointless,
considering the massive amount
of personal information the Pen-
tagon has already collected. The
Pentagon announced this summer that it has been maintaining
a database with students’ Social
Security numbers, ethnicity, GPA,
email addresses, height, weight,
and even cell phone numbers
without permission. Still worse,
the Pentagon has hired a private
marketing firm, BeNow Inc.,
to analyze, collect, and use this
data to launch a multi-pronged
advertising campaign of “personalized information” towards any
potential recruit. The Pentagon
believes this will boost recruitment numbers.
The Army needs
to stop marketing
itself to teenagers, and it
needs to understand why
Americans
no longer see
the military as
worth the risk.
Americans who
would have joined
the reserves in years past
because of its relatively low
chance of activation (the U.S. first
called the reservists into action on
such a large scale for the Iraq war)
and small time commitment (one
weekend a month and two weeks
a year) are put off by stories of reservists being called to serve their
third tour of duty in Iraq. Worst
of all, Americans have lost faith in
what the military stands for. No
one wants to fight an ill-explained
war with no end in sight.
The military needs to show
Americans that we can trust it
to never endanger us unless
absolutely necessary. It needs to
raise soldier’s benefits and wages
(according to military recruiters I
spoke with, the average pay for a
high school graduate is only 1,400
dollars a month) to show Americans that their sacrifice is not taken
for granted. The cheap recruitment
tricks and plummeting standards
haven’t accomplished this goal. If
anything, they make the military
seem more untrustworthy. When
people enlist, whether for active
duty or for the reserves, they
are asked to place their lives at
the disposal of the Department
of Defense. If we can’t trust the
Department to take only wellqualified soldiers, to fairly and
honestly inform possible recruits
about what their military service
entails, or to even provide accurate
data about a country’s weapons ,
how can we trust them with our
lives?
Letter to the Editor
Miers Not Qualified to Judge
Know What You’re Pledging Yourself Into
By Jacquelyn Hoffman
and Matt Weber
Dear Editor:
In response to the opinion
piece “Stand Up and Pledge” by
Nora Casey in the Oct. 7 issue, I
would like to give a brief history
of the Pledge of Allegiance that explains why Americans, especially
students with young, malleable
minds, should not have to say
it in order to be patriotic and, in
fact, would be more patriotic in
questioning it.
Many people do not realize
the Pledge was created as part of
a capitalistic venture to sell more
flags. As is stated at wikipedia.org,
a credible online encyclopedia,
“The Pledge of Allegiance was
written for the popular children’s
magazine Youth’s Companion
by socialist author and Baptist
minister Francis Bellamy in 1892.
The owners of Youth’s Companion were selling flags to schools,
and approached Bellamy to write
the Pledge for their advertising
campaign.” Bellamy may have
had a deep sense of patriotism
that inspired him to write the
Pledge, but it was not something
he had in his heart for years. The
encyclopedic article highlights
that the magazine approached
Bellamy Oct. 11 and published
the Pledge Oct. 12. Pretty quick
product-to-market turnaround,
if you ask me.
Many students also feel uncomfortable with “under God” in
Do You Have An Opinion?
The Samohi seeks “My Turn”
submissions of up to 800 words
or a “Letter to the Editor” of 500
words or fewer on any topic,
including a reponse to published material. Please include
references for any facts you use.
We reserve the right to edit submissions for length and clarity.
the Pledge, and for good reason.
Wikipedia addresses these words:
“In 1954, after a campaign initiated
by the Roman Catholic Knights
of Columbus, Senator Homer
Ferguson of Michigan sponsored
a bill to include the words ‘under
God’ in our Pledge, to distinguish
the U.S. from the officially atheist
Soviet Union.” Then President
Dwight Eisenhower favored this
bill, stating, “We are reaffirming
the religious faith in America’s
heritage and future; We shall constantly strengthen those spiritual
weapons which forever will be
our country’s most powerful resource.” Whose religious faith are
we reaffirming? Whose spiritual
weapons are we strengthening?
In the end, whether or not a
student decides to sit or stand,
put their hand over their heart or
on their hip, recite the Pledge or
refrain from it, is their own personal choice. It is stated in “Stand
Up and Pledge” repeatedly that
students could just be too lazy
to recite the Pledge. I would like
to assert, having given a history
of the Pledge’s link to capitalism
and a crusade against atheism and
communism, that it is truly lazy
of students to blindly recite the
Pledge without knowing what’s
really behind it.
Kesha Ram, former Opinion
Editor, Class of ‘04
E-MAIL: samohiopinion@gmail.
com
MAIL: Journalism
c/o Santa Monica High School
601 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
SCHOOL: T217
Submissions due by Nov. 7
“Trust me, I know her heart,”
said President Bush, the president
who led us into an unjustified
war, turned a budget surplus into
a record deficit, and ruined our
country’s image abroad. Bush’s
“trust me” trial is far too familiar. We’re supposed to place our
confidence in Bush’s judgment?
Harriet Miers, nominated on Oct.
3 to fill the seat of retiring Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor, isn’t fit to
judge due to her lack of a judicial
record and her intimate friendship
with President Bush.
The Republican Party deserves
a big pat on the back for lifting
focus off Miers’ major flaws, while
placing spotlight on her immaculate personality and achievements.
Harriet Miers has an admirable
legal record that includes being the first female President of
the Dallas Bar Association and
Counsel to the President, among
other feats. However, a critical
component is absent from this list:
a judicial record. Without a paper
trail to judge her by, chance and
faith in character determine the
position. An inexperienced GOP
crony doesn’t belong beside eight
experienced justices. Just because
Miers would not be the first justice without any court experience
(e.g. William Rehnquist) does not
mean we should continue to let
this trend continue.Furthermore,
Miers presents an explicit danger
to the court as a political ally and
personal attorney to our President,
who speaks confidently of her:
“I’ve known her for more than
10 years. I know her character.”
Miers could become a Bush administration puppet by remaining
loyal to her dear Bush. Because
of this, she might not interpret
the Constitution objectively and
independently, and it’s too important a position for allegiance
and bias.
This year, among other issues,
the United States Supreme Court
will address abortion rights.
Throughout her life, Miers has
aligned herself with ultra-conser-
vatives and President Bush, both
strong “pro-life” proponents. A
recent poll of the Supreme Court
whether to uphold Roe v. Wade, a
controversial decision to legalize
abortion in 1973, resulted in a 5-4
split. The LA Times wrote of Miers,
“She also responded that if the Supreme Court gave states the right
to restrict abortions, she would
support legislation to reinstate the
1973 Texas law that prohibited all
abortions except those necessary
to safeguard women.”
According to Planned Parenthood, about 34 percent of American women become pregnant
before the age of 20. If appointed,
Miers’ conservative beliefs could
take away a woman’s freedom to
choose. This has the potential to
shake millions of households from
coast to coast.
This Supreme Court vacancy
is an opportunity for change,
and the position must be given
to an independent-thinking court
veteran, not a former personal
lawyer with blatant bias on several
national issues.
Spirit Week 2005 by JoJo Samuels
Opinion—Page 3 The Samohi October 28, 2005
No Sweat… The Price Tag on Fashion
Los Angeles County officials have been
accused of physically removing homeless
people from surrounding neighborhoods
and dumping them on skid row.
What do you think?
See Submit Box on Pg. 2 to write a “Letter To
the Editor” in response.
By Evan Perkins and Molly
Strauss
Samo students often define themselves through their
clothing. Abercrombie or Urban Outfitters? Vans or Birkenstocks? Choosing a “look” can
take up a lot of time in our
lives. However, there is an
unpleasant layer to the clothes
that we wear. Many shoppers
unconsciously prolong the
suffering of sweatshop workers worldwide every time
they make what seems to be
a “savvy” purchase.
Countries as far away as
Bangladesh and Honduras
supply garment companies in
the United States, and the majority of apparel workers labor
in sub-human conditions for
miniscule pay. Sweatshopwatch.
org states, “Living wage in
China [is] about $0.87/hour.”
However, workers in some
Chinese cities make only
“$0.26/hour.” Yes, Americans
can buy a Forever 21 t-shirt for
seven dollars. Yet, to achieve
such low prices, clothing manufacturers deprive employees
of adequate salaries. In addition, “verbal, physical, and
sexual abuse are common,”
according to globalexchange.
org, an international human
rights organization.
Some critics of the antisweatshop movement argue
that these factories, while deplorable, provide employment
in third world countries where
jobs are scarce. It’s true that
the desperate prefer degrading work to no work at all, but
people should never have to
make that choice.
As consumers, we are
responsible for the effects
of our purchases. And teens
have more clout in the market
than we may think. Accord-
ing to Business Week, we are
“the first generation to come
along that’s big enough to hurt
a…brand simply by giving
it the cold shoulder.” If we
demand clothes made by welltreated workers, large clothing
companies will have no choice
but to listen. Teens can make
their voices heard in a variety
of ways: we can purchase garments from sweatshop-free
brands like American Apparel,
buy second-hand clothing, or
simply spread the word. No
matter your style, you can use
your fashion choices to make
a difference.
Pro-Con: Prop. 73—Is Abortion A Family Matter?
By Chelsea Rinnig
I, a 16-year-old high school girl, cannot vote, drive a car after midnight, buy
cigarettes, or see R-rated movies without
an adult present. So how can I make
the decision to have an abortion without
my parents’ consent? Parents should be
informed if their daughter plans to have
an abortion; as a minor, she is entrusted
to their custody. In addition, parents must
be prepared to support and console their
daughter before and after she makes her
life-changing decision.
Proposition 73 would require doctors
to notify the parents of minors receiving
abortions 48 hours before surgery. This
allows time for a daughter to discuss
the situation with her parents, make an
informed decision, and prepare to handle
the consequences of her actions. If, as a
minor, a girl does not feel responsible
enough to bear a child in the first place,
then she is most certainly not prepared
to deal with the emotional and physical
damage that goes hand in hand with an
abortion, especially one without family
support.
Furthermore, adolescents are still
under their parents’ care and protection. Minors are minors because they
need adults to supervise them and the
decisions they make, as well as take responsibility for their child’s actions. As
teenagers, we often use our parents as a
means of fulfilling superficial needs, and
set rigid boundary lines when it comes
to our personal lives. But how can we
expect our parents to supply us with all
of our requests, and then push them away
at times when we need their guidance
and support the most?
In addition, vulnerable teenage girls
need the help of their parents to ensure
that they choose competent facilities.
The California Official Voter Information Guide for 2005 states, “An informed
parent can also get prompt care for hemorrhage, infections, and other possibly
fatal complications.” If anything goes
wrong during or after surgery, parents
may need to foot the bill to save their
daughter’s life.
In some situations, a girl may fear
Mom and Dad’s reaction to her decision.
In this case, she would have the legal
right to argue her case in court. If a judge
finds that alerting a girl’s parents is not
in her best interest, the court will grant
her a petition. Therefore, confidentiality
is not an issue. Young women need not
resort to secrecy to avoid confronting
their parents, or have unsafe, “back-alley” abortions.
Over half of the nation agrees; 35 states
in the U.S. enforce laws that require
notification of at least one parent if their
daughter is seeking an abortion. Overall,
it is far safer if parents are kept out of the
dark when it comes to their daughters’
health and well-being. Proposition 73
will keep parents in the know.
By Nicola Persky
The Statewide Election is fast approaching. Voters will say “yes” or “no”
to Proposition 73, which puts teenage
girls at great risk. Proposition 73 seeks
to amend the California Constitution,
prohibiting abortion for minors unless a
physician notifies her parents 48 hours
before the procedure. Though in an ideal
world parents would be involved in their
daughters’ lives, issuing mandatory parent notification will only hurt teens.
Many girls feel comfortable discussing life-changing decisions with their
parents. But say a teenage girl is a victim
of rape or abuse by a family member.
Should she have to notify that parent to
get an abortion? Fear of family retribution should not affect her choice.
According to thenation.com, “Each
year at least 78,000 women die around the
world due to complications from unsafe
abortions, and hundreds of thousands
more suffer short-and long-term disability.” If Proposition 73 passes, girls
who fear family punishment will most
likely find other means, which could well
mean dangerous “back-alley” abortions.
These illegal abortions killed thousands
of women when choice was not an option
in the US, and still continue to kill women
worldwide. Proponents of Proposition 73
argue that “a minor girl needs the advice
and support of a parent.” However, if
parental support is not available, a girl’s
safety should not be compromised. Additionally, Planned Parenthood and other
health clinics provide free counseling
if girls need an older person to talk to.
Although parents want to be involved in
their daughters lives, it is impossible for
the government to mandate and control
good family communication.
Proposition 73 also states that “The
pregnant minor could ask a juvenile court
to waive the notification requirements.”
However, a girl who is actually in the
position to request the waiver (has been
abused, raped etc.) won’t likely be in a
position to go through the steps of attaining or preparing a court case—tasks
which would require the very parental
guidance she lacks.
More than anything else, Proposition
73 inhibits women’s right to choose; it is
a conservative attempt to make abortion
more difficult. Since the Supreme Court
Decision on Roe v. Wade in 1973, abortion has been legal in the United States,
and as a result, abortion has become
much safer. Planned Parenthood asserts,
“Today, abortion is 11 times safer than
childbirth…over 1,500 pregnancy-related
deaths were prevented in 1985 [by the
legalization of abortion].” Proposition
73 is a step backwards for California, a
step which limits choice. It may be the
beginning of the end of a woman’s right
to choose. “No” on 73 is the only way
to preserve choice and keep teenage
girls safe.
Yearbook’s Senior Polls Win “Most Likely To Misrepresent”
By Alice Ollstein
Two senior girls hunch over
a seemingly innocent piece of
paper. “I’m going to vote for you
for ‘Most Likely to Be On AIM,’”
giggles one. The other glares at
her friend. “That’s retarded,” she
says. “If you do, I’m so not voting for you for ‘Best Hair.’”
That afternoon, I received
the following mass email from a friend: “I
hate self-promotion
buuuuuuut... VOTE
FOR ME! For whatever fits. Because you
love me. Yay!” With
senior polls, the yearbook has reduced the
class of ’06 to petty
competition and
shameless self-promotion . Though the
yearbook’s purpose
is to unite the seniors
with a retrospective on
our year, the senior polls
only divide us.
I have seen people shout,
whine, beg, and otherwise degrade themselves for a vote. “It’s
pathetic what people do to win,”
said Senior Michelle Shafer. “I’ve
seen so many MySpace bulletins,
e-mails, and even paper flyers. If
you were really Best Whatever,
people would vote for you without [all] that.” Due to this phenomenon of “campaigning,” the
senior polls no longer serve their
intended purpose. They don’t
reflect who actually gets the most
speeding tickets or flirts excessively. They only measure popularity:
how many friends you
can force to vote in
your favor. Between homecoming
court and
student
government,
o u r
school
d o e s
not need
another
popularity con test.
Besides
spreading animosity among students, the polls also
ask us to conform to narrow
definitions. The “Cutest Couple”
is almost always the pair who exchanges the most saliva between
classes. The “Best Dressed” is usually a wealthy trend slave. But the
category that really bothers me is
“Most Likely to Succeed.” Success
can’t be defined as any one thing.
For some it might be riches, fame
and early retirement, but many
have a different concept of a successful life. Looking back over past
yearbooks, I saw that winners in
this “success” category are usually
those with the highest GPAs,
the fullest schedules, and
the longest brag sheets.
Essentially, the category
is synonymous with
“Most Stressed.” Personally, I believe that
success is happiness.
I would rather vote
for the senior who
does what he/she
loves to do without
trying to impress
anyone, least of all an
admissions board. It
saddens me that our
yearbook promotes
the opposite idea.
“Samo is so big that
it’s hard to make the yearbook personal,” said Junior
Nita Contreras, Marketing Editor for the Nautilus. “The senior
polls help students get involved
in their yearbook, instead of a
select few designing the whole
thing.” I agree completely, but
believe that student input can be
less divisive. Let’s celebrate the
diversity of ideas on our campus
with a poll of different opinions
on everything from politics to
pop culture. Instead of counting
how many votes Susie got for
“Most Likely to Own a Coffee
Bean Franchise,” yearbook should
devote their time to promoting
unity (and proper spelling) in their
precious volume.
Editor-in-Chief.................Annie Danis
Managing Editor...Marissa Silverman
News Editor........................Cara Safon
Opinion Editors..............Alice Ollstein
Molly Strauss
Feature Editor....................Eliza Smith
Special Report Editor....Nicola Persky
Campus Life Editor......Analee Abbott
Sports Editors..............Lincoln Boehm
Emily Foshag
Photo Editor......................Max Jordan
Ad Editor......................Chelsea Rinnig
Copy Editor...............William Bromell
Art Editor........................JoJo Samuels
Adviser...........................Kathleen Faas
Our school’s yearbook calls
itself The Nautilus. A nautilus
(depicted on Barnum Hall’s front
doors) is a sea creature who lives in
a spiral shell, and moves outwards
along the spiral as it grows. I know
the senior polls are an age-old
staple of yearbooks everywhere.
However, like a nautilus, the
yearbook staff needs to grow and
adapt to the changing times and
attitudes on our campus.
Subscriptions
$20.00 PER YEAR
Published triweekly during the school
year by the Associated Student Body
of Santa Monica High School, 601
Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA. 90405.
Unsigned editorials reflect the opinions of the staff. Signed editorials
represent the opinions of the writer.
Staff
Zahir Alibhai, Zoey Baldwin, Nick
Barlow, Jackie Berkman, Hannah
Bernstein, Nora Casey, Sam Cotten,
Jennifer Galamba, Daniel Galdjie,
Jaquelyn Hoffman, August Lipp,
Erin Nadel, Carl Nunziato, Ashley
Osberg, Charlie Paris, Evan Perkins,
Andrew Reilly, Erin Schneider,
Jeremy Tramer, Samantha Walters,
Matt Weber, Sophia Young, Zoe
Young
Campus Life
Mr.D Puts the “D” in Defense
By Sam Cotten
and Charlie Paris
simply do not want my name everywhere; especially if it might be
spray-painted all over the place.”
Mr. D. was equally reluctant to give
much information about himself,
though he did reveal that he was
He marches across campus,
constantly on the lookout for
delinquency. He is always on the
move, searching for mischief-makers and ditchers all across campus.
We call him ‘D’, but what do we
actually know about our stealthy
security officer? How does he seem
to know everything that is going
on at Samo, on- and off-campus?
In this exclusive interview, we take
a rare look into the mind of Mr. D.
himself, in an attempt to find out
exactly what makes him tick.
Sporting his ‘D’ cap and his
full security officer uniform, two
Samohi staff writers approached
Mr. D. to request an interview.
After assuring him that they were
not ditching class, Mr. D. readily
agreed to an interview, but refused
to share his real name. “People
cannot pronounce my real name,
for one thing.” He elaborated, “It’s
like people finding out where you
live, and with the things I know... I
born in Newark, NJ, “one of the
worst cities in America.” He came
to California when he was nine
and he is not close to any family
members.
Mr. D.’s bread and butter is how
he gets all of his inside information
on what students are up to. Describ-
ing his sources, Mr.D. responded,
“A lot of great people. Females,
males, kids, adults, they all come
to me wanting to keep the school
safe.” Mr. D. also commented on
the We-Tip system ,an anonymous
hotline run by the police department. “We-Tip is great, but I’m
not informed (by them), I have my
own We-Tip.” This ‘D-Tip’ system
is his primary method of keeping
students in line. Mr. D. seems to be
present throughout the entire campus at all times. He is “constantly
on the move,” he admits. “That’s
my job. Got to stay in shape, got to
be able to run someone down. You
would never see me sitting on my
behind, I’m not even sitting down
right now!”
In his free time, Mr.D. stays
away from Santa Monica, rides his
bike and attends church regularly.
“I like to have fun too. I have been
a diehard Cowboy fan since I was
14 years old. If you want to be on
my good side, bring me something
with Cowboys written on it. That’s
my Achilles’ Heel.”
Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You
By Marissa Silverman
These days, lunchtime at Samo
is comparable to a three ring circus- a vortex of mass chaos. In fact,
last week I headed towards one
of the science quad carts to buy a
cookie, only to be trampled on by
a rowdy Freshmen boy, stepped
on by another, and soda drenched
by another. And all this, just for a
cookie?
M y
struggles
are no
news to
the ladies
of the cafeteria. In
fact, these
h a r d working
women
feel this
stress on a
day to day
basis because Samo’s students are
lacking what Aretha Franklin calls,
RESPECT. “Ask respect, give respect, and you’ll receive respect,”
says Samo cafeteria staff member
of five and a half years, Sharon
Coburn, “it’s that simple.”
Fellow staff member Audrey
Hedge’s experience of working
the lunch carts, like several others,
has been anything but positive.
“I’m not used to being out there,
but it was horrendous. I mean, I’m
tough, but I was almost in tears, I
couldn’t control them.”
And so just six weeks into the
school year, the ladies are looking for answers to their questions:
Why must lunch be so chaotic?
Cafeteria staff member Jennifer
Watkins has one idea: “We’re a
little short right now because
people are out, so we’re doing
double duty and there’s still not
enough help...we’re tired. Some
of us are here at five thirty in the
morning,” said Watkins, who
predicts that because of these cuts
in staff, Samo students may see
fewer carts on campus.
However, Security Officer Mr.
D has another hypothesis: “The
students are totally disrespectful
to a lot of
peoplebut only
if you allow them
to be disrespectful. I walk
around at
lunch all
the time
and there’s
chaos,
but
Photo By Max Jordan
that’s [the
cafeteria
staff’s] fault. They allow that to
happen. You can’t let people walk
all over you and then demand
respect,” said D.
Students at Samo seem to also
be throwing around the blame:
“Students can’t help [pushing].
They’re just trying to get food as
soon as they can without having
to wait in line. The students are
not at fault,” said Senior Annett
Velasquez. Junior Alex Kawano
has a slightly different take: “The
students should take some responsibility, but you still have to fight
for your food. If you just stand in
line, you’ll wait ten minutes- it’s
ridiculous.”
While students recognize that
there is indeed an issue, S House
Principal Mr. Greg Runyon does
not feel the same: “It’s a big
Samo By The #s: Activity Hours
Compiled by Hannah Bernstein
and Sophia Young
Football (during season)- 40 Hours/week
Cast of “Guys and Dolls” - 30 Hours/week
Boys Water Polo (during season)- 25 Hours/week
Marching Band (during season)- 24.6 Hours/week
Cross Country (during season)- 10.8 Hours/week
problem for [the cafeteria staff].
Do I feel it’s a problem for the
campus? No”.
Although every party is quick
to point fingers, not one will accept the responsibility and take
the initiative to solve the ongoing
problem. “We have great kids,
and the kids are crazy, they need
to be, they should be...but be respectful to these girls, they work
really hard,” said Hedge, “Maybe
they’ll read this paper and decide
to change their attitudes.”
Page 4
What’s Up, Samo?
Oct. 28- Halloween Dance in Cafeteria. Come in Costume.
9:00-12:00 p.m.
Oct.2-Nov.4- El Dia De Los Muertos Art Show in Roberts Art
Gallery
Nov. 5- SAT Test
Nov. 8- National Election Day. Samo Freshmen Elections.
Nov. 10- Guys & Dolls Opens. 8:00 pm. Humanities Center.
Varsity last home Football Game.
Nov. 11- No School. Veterans Day.
Nov. 17- Club Day.
The Babes of Samo
By Sophia Young
Between the Language and the
English buildings, in the southeast
corner of the Samo campus, there
is a playground. Granted, you’re
not likely to see any high school’s
students playing on the monkey
bars, but that does not mean that it
goes unused. This area, as well as
three adjacent rooms located in the
Language building, is home to the
Samo Infant/Toddler Center (ITC),
founded in 1988 with the intent of
allowing teen parents to continue
their education while raising a child.
“We provide quality child-care for
the students that are in school so
that they can go to class,” explains
Joanne McGowan, a lead teacher at
the nursery.
This year, the eight person staff
cares for seventeen babies, varying
in age from six weeks to three years.
Teen parents who partake in the
program are required to complete
a parenting class, as well as be enrolled as a student or, as of this year,
a faculty member.
ITC differs from many other
day-care centers in its alternative
approach, exposing children to a
variety of educational activities
such as painting and singing. Kelly
Sanchez, teacher of the parenting
class says, “It’s not like babysitting
or a holding tank until [the parents]
graduate high school, it’s a child
development program.” Leslie Luis,
senior and ITC mom is satisfied
with the program. “They pay attention to the kids, not like some other
nurseries. [My son] likes being here.
He feels safe.”
For many, the distant dream of
graduation in the face of parenthood
has become a reality, thanks in large
part to this nursery. “The majority
of teen parents don’t graduate high
school without a program like this,”
says Sanchez.”We’ve had graduates
that have gone on to graduate from
U.S.C. with a degree in psychology.” One mother at the nursery,
senior Guadalupe Garcia, claims
that without ITC, “I would drop
out and take care of [my child].” Not
surprisingly, Garcia is not alone in
these sentiments.
Although ITC’s success may lie
in its developmental program or its
unique approach to childcare, its truly
irreplaceable asset is the relationship
shared amongst its participants.
Sanchez says: ”This program is so
valuable . . . we’re just like family.”
Club Corner
Here Comes The Sun... It’s Alright
By Jackie Berkman
The sun. We know it’s there to
keep us warm and give us that nice
tan when we go to the beach, but
who knew that its energy could
be used to create a solar paneled
Santa Monica High School? This is
the goal of Samohi Solar Alliance
(SSA), a club founded in Oct. 2004
by Juniors Isabel Polon and Molly
Strauss. “Molly and I decided to
start SSA in order to create a hands
on humanitarian project based on
both social and environmental
ideals from which students could
actually have a specific goal with
visible results”, Polon said.
While the club enjoyed a huge
student turnout last year with
meetings with about fifty students,
this year they are focusing on a core
group of around twenty dedicated
members. They also have applied
for several grants that make their
$250,000 dollar goal not only possible, but likely by 2007.
Potential funding include
$50,000 from the Global Green
USA, $8,000 from the environmental clothing company Patagonia,
and possibly a sizable loan from
the state.
What’s more, the scope of SSA
goes beyond the boundaries of
Santa Monica High School. While
the campus is planning to create
a clean energy zone in the Science
building and Drake Pool by 2007,
SSA is also actively involved in
the city plan to do the same in
50 buildings city-wide each year.
“We want to raise awareness in the
community about the benefits of
solar energy,” Polon said.
With monumental ambitions
that go beyond the school campus, SSA is one club that truly
has the potential to make a difference. And Polon adds: “Student
response and involvement is
essential, [because] this is about
our school, our community, and
our world.”
Girls Get Ready to Run, With Speakers
By Alice Ollstein
Running With Speakers (RWS),
Samo’s audio and visual (AV) task
force, has recently become co-ed.
The club, that takes care of everything technical on campus from a
loose lightbulb in Barnum to fully
wiring the Greek for a pep rally, welcomes three new, female members
to their ranks: sophomores Alexandra Pang, Shaina Hodgkinson, and
Erica Nagai.
The club, formerly “dominated
and corrupted by scruffy, male
types” according to former member
Will Scheussler, class of ‘05, now
even boasts a female president,
Alexandra Pang. “She’s our backbone,” said faculty advisor Bill
Wishart. “She gets things done. The
rest of them smack themselves in the
face with projectors.” The males of
the club, most of whom believe it
best to dress like the speakers they
run with (baggy black t-shirts and
pants), nodded sadly at this statement. “It’ll be interesting to see
how she does,” said Junior Daniel
Kromovet. Many people have less
experience than previous years,
but I’m sure everything will turn
out fine.”
Pang first became interested
in the club when she attended last
year’s Samohi Film Festival, organized by RWS. “I saw the importance
of RWS and how significant they are
to the Samo community,” said Pang.
“I wanted to be a part of that.” She
convinced her two friends to join,
and the three endured a rigorous
training session to learn the ropes
of audio-visual work. Hodgkinson
described her experience so far:
“They were so appreciative to
have new members, and willing to
teach us everything. It’s not exactly
organized, but I feel comfortable
here.” When asked how the boys
of the club were adapting to their
new female co-workers, Wishart
replied: “Their manhood is trembling like a leaf.” Wishart outlined
the club’s goals: “This year we
want to strengthen our political
structure and communicate better
with other groups on campus and
with the Administration. That’s
why we want Alexandra as our
President. It’s not about setting
up a sound system fast, it’s about
being a leader.”
Feature
Page 5
Life on 850 Calories or Less
By Hannah Bernstein
My already-slim friend
(henceforth known as “Ana” for
the sake of anonymity) came back
from summer camp at least 15
pounds lighter. At first most of us
just joked about it. “Did you see
her? I mean, her chin is pointy
now. She’s like a bobblehead,”
said a friend, almost admiringly.
After all, teen girls generally
admire and even envy those who
best fall into the “ideal” tall-andthin body type that American
media perpetuates. But after
watching even more pounds
drop off Ana’s already-slight
frame, I really wanted to know:
does she have an eating disorder?
Psychologically, she fits the bill, as
her dancing background makes
her self-conscious about her
weight.
“Eating disorders seem to
be something of an epidemic
these days,” said Santa Monica
Nutritionist Tobi Levine. In fact,
3.7 percent of American women
will have anorexia in their
lifetimes, 86 percent of which
develop the disorder before they
turn 20 (womensissues.com).
In order to quiet any
suspicions I might have had, Ana
was willing to let me document
her food intake for several days.
After all, she told me, “I’m not
really embarrassed by what I
eat… I have no problem with
people knowing.”
Day 1:
For breakfast, Ana ate a halfcup of puffed Kashi cereal and
eight ounces of nonfat, Splendasweetened apricot yogurt. For
lunch she had two plums, a
chocolate cookie, and a turkey
sandwich, “sans the turkey, and
I wiped off the mayo.” She had
a meatless taco salad for dinner.
I was a bit shocked by the caloric
calculations I made using Fitday.
com’s food database, especially
because the 787 calories she
consumed were in the “starvation
diet” zone of less than 1,000
calories a day (weightlossresources.
co.uk). I asked Ana how many
calories she thought she had
consumed. “1400?” she guessed,
“But today was a larger amount
of food than I usually eat.”
Day 2:
“Today was rather unusual
because I skipped breakfast,” Ana
told me. “Usually I try not to skip
meals.” For lunch she ate half a
lemon zest Luna bar and three
pieces of a 12 inch cheese pizza.
For dinner she had only an apple,
bringing her caloric total for the
day to a mere 592 calories.
Day 3:
After consuming her usual
breakfast of Light and Fit Yoplait
yogurt, Ana found herself
surrounded with people and
food. First there were the three
pieces of raisin challah and a
miniature Kit Kat bar she felt
obliged to eat with the students
at Hebrew school. Then Ana went
to a family gathering, where there
was an abundance of desserts and
kvetching Jewish matriarchs who
would complain when she failed
to eat. She ate the filling out of a
slice of banana cream pie, three
more pieces of challah, a cup of
Caesar salad, a half-cup of mashed
potatoes and a half-cup of green
beans. Still, her caloric total of 1589
was a bit below the normal 18002400 caloric range recommended
for a girl of her age.
Day 4:
“I just don’t eat that much on
school days because I feel better
when I don’t,” Ana told me. She
had her standby breakfast, a cup
of Caesar salad wrapped in a
tortilla for lunch, then a small
pear and a half-slice of challah
after school. When I checked in
with her at around 9:30 p.m. she
claimed that her Dad was on his
way home with her dinner, but
the next day the truth came out:
“He just brought ice cream, so I
didn’t eat that.” Despite taking
in only 481 calories Ana claimed
never to have felt tired or hungry.
“There’re days when I eat more
than others. It’s not like it’s good
or bad, it’s just different.”
Day 5:
Ana added a half-cup of
Smart Start cereal to her cup of
yogurt, and then had a piece of
challah, a pear and an orange
for lunch. After school, she split
a small container of penne pasta
and meat sauce with a friend. Ana
often eats more when she’s with
friends. “When my close friends
tell me I look like a concentration
camp victim, it hurts… so I find
that I eat more to please them.”
When Ana allowed me to
record her food intake, she let
me see a side of her that she
usually hides. I had hoped that
she’d be eating more than 850
calories a day, but at least now she
recognizes that I’m worried about
her, and is willing to talk with
me about her issues. Nutritionist
Levine recommends that Ana see
a dietician specializing in eating
disorders, but warns “treatment
for an eating disorder won’t be
effective unless the person admits
they have a problem and is willing
to get treatment.” Hopefully, Ana
eventually will. “When you’re
happy with yourself, no one
else is,” she lamented. “It’s a
big downer I don’t want to deal
with.”
Doom Meets Danger: Cartoon Jams
By Will Bromell
It was a truly disappointing
moment for me when I realized
that Doom plus Danger doesn’t
necessarily equal a good time. I
arrived at this conclusion about
halfway through listening to
The Mouse and the Mask, the
newest album from emcee MF
Doom, of Madvillainy fame.
From the start, it’s clear the
entire record is greatly indebted
to Adult Swim (a block of latenight cartoons on the Cartoon
Network). There are myriad
samples pulled from “Harvey
Birdman” and “Aqua Teen
Hunger Force,” among others;
every beat, in fact, is just bright
and goofy enough to be a
fitting soundtrack to any
animated romp.
Speaking of beats, it
should also be noted that
the record was produced by
DJ Danger Mouse, who was
thrust into the public eye when
he was accused of copyright
infringement for mashing The
Beatles’ White Album with JayZ’s Black Album. The result?
The Grey Album, which, while
an ingenious idea, failed to
live up to the controversy it
generated. Still, it was clear
that Danger Mouse had an
ear for combining seemingly
incongruous elements to
make perfectly accessible pop
music.
And that’s just what this
album is: perfectly accessible
pop music. Unfortunately,
perfectly accessible in my
mind translates into perfectly
boring. It feels strange to call an
album so full of life and color
“boring,” but there really isn’t
much going on here to support
all that life and color. The
beats snap and crackle beneath
MF
Doom’s
nonsensical
rhymes, but they fade from
memory as soon each song
ends. Ultimately, the record is
merely an ode to something
that was insubstantial to begin
with: cartoons. Which, granted,
I’m a big fan of watching. But
listening? It gets old.
There is, however, one
track that does stand out and
break the mold a bit, and that’s
“The Mask.” Musically, it’s the
same cinematic production
I would expect; lyrically,
it’s a song that actually has
something to say. The mask
in the title refers to the mask
MF Doom wears whenever he
performs, and the track hints
that there is more behind the
mask than meets the ear. If only
Doom was able to look inward
for lyrical inspiration more
often, instead of outwards at
his TV set. As it is, he’s made
an entertaining record that,
upon close inspection, is just as
two-dimensional as the cartoon
characters it embraces.
Exene Cervenka – best known as the lead singer of L.A.
80s punk band X – has a gallery of her collages, journal
entries, and cultural art on display at Santa Monica Museum
of Art, Bergamot Station. The show, America the Beautiful,
features items ranging from used plastic bags, smurf stickers
and typewriter keys to private letters and photographs from
Cervenkaʼs own life. The show runs until Nov. 26.
Photo by Erin Schneider
Homecoming 2005
Losing’s Not an Option For 6-1 Vikings
By Lincoln Boehm
At halftime of the 2005
Homecoming game against
the
winless
Morningside
Monarchs,
the
Samo
administrators were running
around, trying desperately to
stop the chants erupting from
the crowd. While this friendly
“feud” between classes was
going on, Coach Michael
Burnett was in the locker
room, encouraging his players
not to let up.
In the first half, Junior
Louis Adeyemi dodged the
Morningside defense with
poise and ease. He led the
Vikings to an early seven
points, and forced the defense
to focus on Samo’s rungame. When Samo went to
the air, receivers were open
left and right, making things
pretty easy for sophomore
quarterback Ryan Katz. “[The
success of our running game]
makes it tremendously easier.
Once they know we are going
to run the ball, they put more
people in the box, which opens
up the pass,” he said.
Katz was able to find
Junior Cameron Collins wide
open towards the end of the
first half, which set up yet
another touchdown for the
Vikings offense. Going into
halftime, the Vikings held a
14-3 lead over the Monarchs.
In the locker room Burnett
told the team “not to let up.”
“He thought we could’ve put
more points on the board,”
said Senior Chapin Herman.
“This was a team that if we
left in the game, would have
a shot at beating us,” Herman
continued.
(con’t. on page 8)
“Krump” Dancing and “Mundo Maya,”
Samo’s Homecoming Dance
By Nora Casey
I know I’ve arrived once I
see the dresses: shining, shimmering, sequined, sexy dresses,
sparkling outside of the Los Angeles Sports Club. Inside, hazy
smoke from a fog machine
drifts upwards. Before me
is a large pyramid of painted cardboard boxes. Rap
music pounds through
the air. Mundo Maya, the
Homecoming Dance, has
begun.
I note many types of
dancing: the typical freak
dancing, group dancing,
and occasionally the dance
of the highly disinterested
male, too lazy to bother
moving while his girlfriend
dances wholeheartedly around
him. I see the mystified male
dancer who stares at his partner
in awe, wondering, “How did I
end up dancing with her?” I see
the bored female dancer, rolling
her eyes and sighing while moving her butt at about 90 mph.
Other girls are dancing equally
provocatively: with each other.
Everyone seems to be having a
good time.
I make my way through the
crowd to catch sight of the DJ,
Vicious Lee. He knows how to
work the energy of the crowd
and occasionally shouts out,
“Where my Latinos at?” and
“’06,” which gets the yelling
started. At some unknown signal boys begin to congregate,
jumping and shouting in the
middle of the floor. Some boy in
a Volcom shirt thinks it is a pit,
and more guys jump into the
crowd. The girls, momentarily
dateless, begin the cries of “’06!
’07!” again.
The girl dancing next to me
suddenly wilts to the floor, to
be carried away by a concerned
adult and her date. I see “Krump
Dancing” erupt spontaneously,
to the satisfaction of Vicious Lee
and the crowd.
I get to watch everyone
from a new perspective: there’s
the boy I lost track of in seventh grade, dancing with that
girl from biology class, and the
girl who sits up front in English
and doesn’t talk much, violently
making out with her boyfriend.
It doesn’t matter who
you are; if you have
the courage and friends
to dance with, you too
can enjoy this oddly
unifying
experience.
This is Samo at its best,
the actual benefit of
our infamous “diversity.” It’s not people
from all different backgrounds hugging and
talking about respect.
It’s people from all different backgrounds happily coexisting, dancing, and enjoying
themselves together.
Midnight approaches and
it is time to go. We shout en
masse a few more times and depart, dripping with sweat, for
whatever the night holds next.
I pick up my bag to find my
wallet, camera, tape-recorder,
and cell phone stolen. Ambulance lights and police cars sit
outside. I turn the corner, leaving the night behind me, and
head into darkness.
Senior“Greenies” Jack Jacobs and Adam Cline gallop
through the Greek at the Pep Ralley Fri. Samohi Pep Squad
shows Viking pride to pump up Samohi for the match against
Morningside.
Photos by Ashley Osberg and Sam Walters
Pep Rally Extravaganza Rocks the Greek
By Erin Nadel
and Jeremy Tramer
Imagine students cheering,
music playing, and green kids
running around. This was ASB’s
Homecoming Rally, one of the
best rallies Samo has seen in
recent years.
While students and teachers
were filing into the Greek the
marching band pumped up
the crowd, bringing cheering
students to their feet. The
Chamber Singers led the school
in the National Anthem, and the
male cheer squad exhibited their
gymnastic talents with a series
of back-flips. A few members of
each fall sport then ran on stage,
competing in a rousing dance
contest which featured Kasey
Perkins of the Cross Country
team, dancing to James Brown.
Songs and Boys and Girls Cheer
faced off in a “You Got Served”esque dance battle, filling the
stage with energy and attitude.
The slightly British voice
of Vicky Viking boomed across
the Greek, introducing the
Homecoming Court and the
Homecoming King nominees.
To the suprise of the crowd,
a limousine rolled onto the
stage, carrying the glamorous
Homecoming Queen contenders.
The King and Queen candidates
coupled up, and Rafael Guzman
was crowned Homecoming
King.
The Rally closed with
Madrigal’s performance of the
Hymn of Praise. “I thought
it was really extravagant,”
said Senior Molly Fishman.
“Everyone seemed to be
working together. Our school
as a whole had a lot more spirit
than in previous years.”
Meet Your Homecoming Court 2005
Senior Court: King and Queen
Homecoming King:
Rafael Guzman
Best quality:
good dancer
One thing he wishes
he could change about
himself: shyness
Homecoming Queen:
Vianney Moran
Why she wanted to be
Queen: itʼs a cool experience,
part of living life to the fullest
since senior year is going by
so fast
Best quality: outgoing, bright,
makes people laugh
Sophomore Court: Baron and Baroness
Homecoming Baron:
Alex Spence
One thing heʼd change
about himself: bigger hands
Best quality: good sense of humor
What he plans to do with his newfound
power: control things
Homecoming Baroness:
Natalie Coriaty
Goals for after high
school: Wants to become
a graphic designer or a ballerina
Junior Court: Duke and Duchess
Homecoming Duke:
Louis Adeyemi
Best quality: high
expectations for
himself
After high school: he wants to
go to a Division I college to play
football
Homecoming Duchess:
Natalie Meza
Plans for after high school:
wants to go to college and
become a lawyer
What sheʼs wearing: Guess
One thing she would change about herself:
tendency to procrastinate
Freshmen Court: Lord and Lady
Homecoming Lord:
Johnny Marin
Best quality: friendliness
Plans for the future: says
heʼs not sure because, after all,
heʼs just a freshman
Homecoming Lady:
Taylor Graham
Best characteristic:
dedication to everything
she does
One thing she wishes she could
What she plans to do with her newfound
change about herself: wants to be happy
power: wants to make the school a more
and positive as much as possible
wonderful and peaceful place to be
Compiled by Daniel Gadjie, Max Jordan, Ashley Osberg, Nicola Persky, Eliza Smith, and Sam Walters
Sports— Page 7 The Samohi October 28, 2005
Boys Cross Country Picks Up the Pace Volleyball Expects Second
By Jackie Berkman
“Got em!” yelled sophomore
Daman Coffman as he crossed
the finish line at the Huntington
Beach Invitational on Oct. 8 in
first place. Coffman’s win and the
sophomore boys’ second place
trophy marked a major comeback in the boys cross country
season.
Next up was the second league
meet on Oct. 11 at the notoriously
difficult Kenneth Hahn Park,
infamous for its “suicide hill”
in the third mile. Despite the
difficult terrain, the Samo boys
rose to the challenge and won
in the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and
Freshman divisions. Samo’s top
runner, junior Julio Alba, came in
with an impressive time of 17:08,
only eight seconds behind the
winner. “The course was tough,
but we raced with our hearts and
Junior Max Benjamin pushes hard for a strong finish at
Kenneth Hahn Park on Oct. 11.
Photo by Lincoln Boehm
left Beverly Hills in our tracks,”
Alba said. Added boys cross
country coach Tania Fischer, “The
boys did really well.”
After their victory, the varsity
team and top runners on JV went
to the Cal Poly Invitational in San
Luis Obispo on Sat. Oct. 15th,
where the varsity team came in
first once again and the junior
varsity team came in second
place. Coffman came in first from
Samo with a time of 17:13.
The Mt. SAC Invitational,
which is recognized as the
world’s largest cross country
invitational, was held on Sat.
Oct 21. Varsity runners senior
Casey Perkins and Alba came
in first and second from Samo
with times of 16:04 and 16:36,
respectively.
The final league meet is
scheduled for Nov. 3, and will be
held once again at Kenneth Hahn
Park, where Samo will face off
against rival Beverly Hills for the
title of League Champions.
As evident by their continued
dedication and strong performances, the boys cross country
team has taken significant strides
towards winning the Ocean
League Championship.
Girls Tennis Finishing Strong
By Emily Foshag
Despite their difficult
schedule, which has twice
thus far forced the girls to play
three times in a span of three
days, the Lady Vikings held
a 9-3 Ocean League record as
of Oct. 26. After losing to perennial power house Beverly
Hills 4-14 on Oct. 19, the girls
bounced back to beat Palos
Verdes the following day in an
extremely close contest. Both
teams won nine matches, but
Samo ended up winning by the
narrow margin of two games.
Against Culver City on Oct.
27, the girls once again pulled
off a victory, despite playing
without junior Savannah Yeh
who sat out due to illness.
Of course, winning is always nice, but according to
juniors Alisa Olinova, Abbie
Zaretsky and Yeh, the accomplishments of the girls tennis
program are often forgotten
amidst those of the other
Samo athletic programs. “We
won league in 2003, and have
at least been in the top three of
our league for a long time, but
we still don’t get any recognition,” said Zaretsky. Indeed,
few people can be found along
the sidelines of the tennis courts
during the home games, and the
girls were also partially left out
of the plans for the Homecoming
Pep Rally. “People will cut the
grass for football games, but no
one cleans our tennis courts,”
added Olinova.
Still, the lack of support has
not kept the Lady Vikings from
being successful on the court. The
girls, whose only league losses
have come at the hands of Beverly Hills and Palos Verdes, are
pleased with their performance
as a team. However, most sense
that next year will be the true test
of the team’s talent. “Everyone
knows we are training for next
year,” said Zaretsky. The team
will graduate only one senior,
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doubles player Ramona Vafa,
after this season.
Even with the prospect of
an exciting future for their
program, looking ahead to
next season seems premature
considering the amount of
success the girls have experienced of late. Said freshman
Jennie Harding, “We’ve gotten a lot better over the course
of the season, mostly by
working on our endurance.
It’s definitely been paying
off in our matches lately.”
Team Manager Justo Vasquez
expressed his confidence in
the team going into the final
week of the regular season:
“We’re going to finish the
season strong so we can go
into the postseason with
momentum,” said Vasquez.
As the regular season winds
down, the Lady Vikings look
to earn not only a CIF playoff
victory, but also the respect of
the Samo population.
2004-2005 Girls Golf Results
Overall Record: 2-9
9/20 Samo def. St. Monica’s 297-354 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
56 - Foley; 58 - Page, Walters; 62 - Rose; 63 - Bon
9/22 Samo def. St. Monica’s 268-348 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
50 - Page; 52 - Walters; 53 - Rose; 54 - Foley; 59 - Bon
9/25 North Torrance def. Samo 256-281 (at The Links at Victoria; Par 36)
52 - Walters; 54 - Rose; 55 - Bon; 58 - Page; 59 - Foley
9/27 North Torrance def. Samo 241-258 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
49 - Foley; 51 - Page, Walters; 53 - Rose; 54 - Peters
10/4 Palos Verdes def. Samo 239-265 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
48 - Rose, Walters; 49 - Page; 60 - Foley, Peters
10/5 Palos Verdes def. Samo 250-279 (at Palos Verdes Country Club; Par 35)
50 - Walters; 55 - Page; 57 - Bon, Foley, Rose
10/11 Torrance def. Samo 201-288 (at Los Verdes Country Club; Par 36)
48 - Walters; 57 - Page; 60 - Bon, Foley; 63 - Rose
10/13 Torrance def. Samo 278-201 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
48 - Walters; 55 - Bon; 56 - Foley; 59 - Chen; 60 - Plumridge, Rose
10/18 Beverly Hills def. Samo 256-280 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
50 - Page; 53 - Walters; 57 - Foley; 59 - Peters; 61 - Plumridge
10/20 Beverly Hills def. Samo 263-277 (at Big Rancho Park; Par 36)
53 - Page, Walters; 56 - Rose; 57 - Peters; 58 - Chen, Foley
Season Bests:
Samantha Walters - 48 (3 times)
Zoe Rose - 48 (10/4 vs. Palos Verdes at Big Rancho Park)
Christine Foley - 49 (9/27 vs. North Torrance at Big Rancho Park)
Gabrielle Page - 49 (10/4 vs. Palos Verdes at Big Rancho Park)
Hannah-Rose Peters - 54 (9/27 vs. North Torrance at Big Rancho Park)
Emily Bon - 55 (3 times)
Lina Chen - 58 (10/20 vs. Beverly Hills at Big Rancho Park)
Carrie Plumridge - 61 (10/4 vs. Palos Verdes at Big Rancho Park)
Place Finish in League
By Zahir Alibhai
The girls volleyball team held a
5-2 Ocean League record as of Oct.
26. With senior captain Roxanne
White on the bench for two of the
team’s league matches due to a
stressed Achilles tendon, others
were forced to contribute more in
order to guide the Lady Vikings
to victory. “I really wanted to play
while I was on the bench, but
Coach [Sato] did it in my best interest,” said White while sitting out.
Senior Daryl Fairweather stepped
up to the plate in lieu of White and
performed well, averaging six to
seven hits in White’s absence.
The team began league play
on Oct. 6 against Culver City and
the Lady Vikings prevailed in
four games. A highly anticipated
match-up against Beverly Hills
on Oct. 7 ended in the disappointment of the Lady Vikings, who
dropped three straight games to
the Normans. After commanding
wins over inexperienced Morningside, Inglewood and Hawthorne squads, the girls prepared
to host Beverly Hills on Oct. 21. A
win would have kept the Lady Vikings’ hopes of sharing the league
title alive, but despite strong efforts, Samo lost in four games.
However, Samo performed much
better than they did in their first
rendezvous with Beverly Hills, a
poor performance in which the
team had a total of only 21 kills.
In the second match-up between
the two teams, the Lady Vikings
improved their numbers to 35 kills
and 27 digs as a team. Freshman
Jeana Schkud contributed 30
assists and White had 9 kills, an
impressive number in her first
game back from injury. After the
loss, Schkud explained, “It’s hard
for us to really take control because
we are going through changes in
our line up, but soon we will get
it under control and dominate.”
Added junior Sultana Megalos,
“It is difficult to see our team
struggle after all of our hard work.
We need to be more consistent and
fire it up.”
After defeating Culver City for
the second time this season in three
games on Oct. 25, Samo moved
one step closer to a second place
finish in the Ocean League.
Following their Oct. 27 match
hosted by Morningside, the Lady
Vikings have two remaining
league matches, all of which are
against teams they have previously beaten by large margins.
Senior Lizzie Jacobs sends the ball over the net against league
rival Beverly Hills on Oct. 21.
Photo by Samantha Walters
Samo Sends Golfer
to CIF Tournament
By Emily Foshag
For the first time in three
years, Samo sent a girls golfer
on to CIF postseason play. Junior Samantha Walters, in her
third season on the varsity
squad, shot a season low 48
three times and did not shoot
higher than a 60 on any occasion, thus meeting CIF’s requirements to advance to the
postseason. The CIF tournament was held yesterday, Oct.
27 at Griffith Park on the Harding Golf Course.
Walters, who began golfing in eighth grade so that she
could play with her grandfather, competed in the Junior
PGA tour this summer in order
to improve her game. Playing
on the tour has given Walters
experience competing in 18hole tournaments, so despite
playing just 9 holes in each
match this season, the 18-hole
event CIF holds was not entirely new territory for Walters.
Head Coach Ramon Veral
praised Walters’ consistency
this season, saying, “Anyone
can go out and hit a great shot,
but the real golfers are the ones
who can play well consistently.” Her score led the team in
six out of the eleven matches
the girls played this year.
Walters has also been able
to keep her composure on the
course despite difficult situations this season, such as when
her ball was mistakingly picked
up in the middle of the course
by an opposing coach during
the team’s final match on Oct.
20. Walters was able to gather
herself and finish the match despite the interuption.
While Walters was the most
successful of the Samo girls
golfers this season, the often
comparable scores of underclassmen sophomores Emily Bon and Gabrielle Page and
freshman Zoe Rose suggest
that at this time next year, Walter’s may not be the only one
advancing to the postseason.
Sports
Greenies Running Away With Season
By Erin Nadel
The Greenies, who now
hold a 16-4 record, continue
to win as the boys’ water
polo season approaches the
CIF playoffs. On Oct. 10, the
Greenies traveled to Culver
City. Despite physical play,
and numerous penalties which
left Samo playing with three
players to Culver ’s six at one
point, the boys earned an 18-10
victory. Seniors Jack Jacobs,
Adam Cline, Ivan Pinto-Rodriguez, and Sam Devorris
were all majored (kicked out
for the rest of the game) by
the end of the third quarter.
Although Devorris felt that
the refereeing left something
to be desired, he praised the
ability of juniors Zac Carrier,
Pedro Caldas, and Skylar Nathanson to step up their play
in the absence of the seniors
who were majored: “They
played with great poise and
won the game for everyone,”
Devorris said.
On Oct. 13, Samo played
at Beverly Hills. With strong
offense, and solid defense, the
Greenies won 13-8 without
difficulty. “We beat Beverly
Hills because we are playing
like a team now, and are com-
mitting fewer errors,” stated
senior Adam Cline. The boys
were on the road again on Oct.
19, when they traveled to play
El Segundo, the Greenies’ rival.
To help counter the large fan
base of the El Segundo water
polo team, Head Coach Matthew Flanders brought along a
cheering section that consisted
of ten members of the Samo
wrestling squad. The wrestlers
cheered so loudly that they were
forced to leave to pool area in
the fourth quarter of the game
when El Segundo players began
complaining that they couldn’t
hear their coach. The Greenies
pulled off the victory easily,
winning 16-9 behind six goals
from Cline.
Despite a weak start Samo
gained a 5-1 lead at the end of
the first quarter. Senior captain
Ivan Pinto-Rodriguez believes
a few small errors let Beverly
Hills back into the game as
the first half came to a close.
However, with a strong finish
the game ended with a final
score of 18-11. Pinto-Rodriguez
said, “we went into the game
prepared to play, even though
it wasn’t our best game.”
If the team can win two
more games, they will clinch
their first league title since 1998.
As the postseason quickly approaches, the team is looking
forward to CIF and expects to
do well.
As the homecoming football game drew near the water
polo varsity girls’ and boys’
teams prepared for the annual
Greenie Run, an event in which
the varsity water polo teams
paint their bodies bright green,
and then run down the football
field at halftime in their swimsuits. The seniors also run at
the pep rally every year.
The players themselves
were unsure how this tradition
began, however, the old Samo
water polo coach, Niall Skehan,
knew the whole story. In a heavy
Irish accent, Skehan relayed,
“Truthfully it started as a joke.
A player of mine named Luis
Chao asked me what I liked to
do for fun. I told him that I liked
to paint myself Irish green and
run around naked. I had no
idea that at the next homecoming they would do it, except
they wore their Speedos.” This
tradition fi rst began in 1983
(when current Head Coach
Flanders was a freshman), and
has carried on for years. This
once practical joke has now
bloomed into a very significant
Samo tradition.
Losing’s Not an Option for 6-1 Vikings
(conʼt. from page 6)
Since the very disappointing
Venice loss, the Vikings have
played almost perfectly. Winning
their last four games by an average of 28.5 points, they have been
blowing out opponents from left
Vikings success. He has run
for over 500 rushing yards on
As the second half began,
the season, and is the team’s
the Vikings showed no signs
leading scorer with 42 points.
of letting up. Katz came out
The Vikings defense has done
strong throwing the ball to
an amazing job shutting teams
sophomore E.J. Woods,
down. In five of the
and then completing
seven games they’ve
a touchdown pass to
played, the defense has
team captain, senior
held their opponents
Christoff Neuman, all
to 20 or fewer points.
in less than 2 minutes.
Senior Robert Garcia
The defense dominated
leads the team with
in the third quarter
79 tackles, and seniors
completely shutting
Trevor Obiekea and
down the Morningside
Freddy Cruz lead the
offense.
team with three sacks
As the fourth quarapiece.
ter got underway, the
Tonight Samo has a
Monarchs caught the
very important league
Viking defense on their
matchup against the
h e e l s a n d m a rc h e d
Culver City Centaurs at
down to score a touchSMC at 7:00 p.m. Culver
down. Then on the
City also has a 6-1 renext Viking possession
cord, 2-0 in league. The
the Monarchs found a
Centaurs are undefeatway to force a fumble, Sophomore E.J. Woods (22) runs the ball behind ed on the road, and have
which was run back for lead blocker junior Damon Middleton (60) against one of the best quarteryet another touchdown. Morningside on Oct.21.
backs in the city. SophoIt became a four-point
more Darius Banks has
game, and the Santa
thrown for 1700+ yards
Photo By Samantha Walters and has already broken
Monica proud started
to get nervous. “When
the Culver City record
Morningside cut that lead to four and right. Much of their success for touchdowns thrown in a
points, I got nervous.” Said senior can be accredited to quarterback season. Katz’s response: “I like
Eric White. “Morningside came Katz. “My coaches worked with the competitiveness. I like playback a bit and almost made this me over the summer, and im- ing against the best players out
one a thriller.”
proved my tequniques quite a there. But to me this is going to
The Vikings were able to hold bit, but I still have a lot of room be just another game.”This is gothe lead, and won the game 35- to improve . This offseason we’re ing to be a showdown between
25. The offense looked confident going to work on a lot of different two teams fighting hard for the
on the field, but they continued things to make me a better quar- CIF Championship, but the fact
to have trouble holding onto the terback next year.” Said Katz. that both Samo and Culver have
ball. “It’s something that hasn’t Katz recently set the Samo school sophomore quarterbacks means
been stressed in a while, so it is record for touchdowns thrown in that this is only the beginning
definitely something we are go- a game, with six. Katz has thrown of a huge rivalry. “It could turn
ing to have to work on this week, only one interception and has 826 into a rivalry,” said Katz. “But
because if we keep turning the passing yards on the season.
that’s not something I’m thinkball over it’s going to be a long
Adeyemi has also been a ing about. We are just concerned
season.”
major contributor towards the with winning.”
Page 8
Girls X-Country:
Struggling, But Still Fighting
And to win by so much, especially
after our last defeat was such a great
Following a defeat in their feeling.”
On Oct. 14, several of Samo’s
previous league meet, the girls cross
country team has shown much im- fastest runners made the four-hour
driveuptoSanLuis
provement.
Obispo for the Cal
After perPoly Invitational.
formingstrongly
After encounterin large invitaing some difficulty
tional meets,
while on the road
Samo’s JV runto the meet (sevners dominated
eral rocks rolled off
rival Beverly
the cliff adjacent to
Hills at the KenPCH and smashed
neth Hahn Park
into the van carryleague meet on
ing the girls, causOct. 11. Unfortuing some damage
nately,thevarsity
to the windshield)
team was not
the girls ran well
able to defeat the
and had an overformidable Bevall good time on
erly Hills runtheir trip. Senior
ners,andlostbya
Misty Goldenberg
narrow margin.
expressed her
The JV victory,
thoughts concernhowever, was
ing the Cal Poly
important in
lifting the spir- Sophomore Maki Nakamura reaches race, saying, “Alits of the Samo the top of Kenneth Hahnʼs dreaded though the race
team in the “Suicide Hill” at the second Ocean doesn’t count for
leaguestandings,
wake of their League meet on Oct.11.
it was a fun bondloss at Rancho
ing experience.”
Park.
Photo By Lincoln Boehm
The girls’
Thecourse
last invitational
at Kenneth
Hahn Park is infamous for being meet took place on Oct. 22 at Mt. SAC.
extremely strenuous. Senior Leah Senior Allison Brown had a standout
Stecher, who had a fourth place fin- performance; her time of 21:09 made
ish in the JV race with a time of 24:17, her the ninth fastest Samo runner ever
describedthecourseatKennethHahn to race at Mt. SAC. Team co-captain
as being “one of the hardest we run all Danielle Meyer expressed the general
year. All the girls tried as hard as they sentiment of the team, saying; “We’ve
possibly could, and it showed in our been training really hard and improvtimes. The hill at the end is absolutely ing and I hope we can come together
awful, but when you finish, you feel for the league championship at Kenlike you just accomplished so much. neth Hahn on Nov. 3.”
By Daniel Galdjie
Sophomore Ryan Katz (2) threw for 180 yards against the Morningside Monarchs on Oct.21.
Photo By Ashley Osberg
Junior Louis Adeyemi (8)
rushed for 154 yards against
Morningside on Oct.21.
Vicky Viking faces off in a
dance contest against Morningsideʼs Monarch at the Oct.
21 homecoming game.
Photo By Samantha Walters
Photo By Ashley Osberg