January Le Sabre PDF - Cleveland Charter High School

Volume 74 , Issue 5
January 26, 2011
Cleveland security to amp Students campaign
up random searches
against hate
By Solomon Kim
Staff Writer
By Chloe Brooks
Staff Writer
Cleveland administration is
cracking down hard on drug use
and possession with an increase
in random searches, according to
Priincipal Herman Clay.
This sudden increase is in response to the administration’s belief that drug use and possession
have become extremely pressing
issues on campus.
“One of the major problems
is the perception that drugs are
prevalent on campus,” Clay said.
The school administration
is given the power to conduct as
many random searches as it wishes by state law. It is given this
right in order to find and prevent
the use of weapons or any other
dangerous items.
As a safety measure, certain
staff members designated by the
principal have the authority to ask
students to reveal the contents of
their bags at any time. Classes
may also be momentarily interrupted so that random students in
that class can be searched.
While the main purpose of
the searches is to find weapons,
any illegal items or substances
can also be confiscated, and the
student in possession of any such
In the past month, a group
of Cleveland students has been
working to make an original
campaign video in hopes of getting aired on the Ellen Degeneres
Show. The campaign is called “It
Can Get Better NOW,” and is
meant to be a response to the “It
Gets Better” videos that are on the
video-sharing website, Youtube.
Various students at Cleveland
decided to create the campaign in
an attempt to end the hatred and
intolerance for gay students in all
learning environments.
According to Senior Shalin
Craig, one of the leaders of the
project, the campaign includes the
item can be severely punished up
to and including arrest.
Clay said he wants searches
to be conducted “as much as [the
administration] can.”
While the increase in searches is intended to benefit the school
and students, there are those who
disapprove of the escalation; they
argue that it is a violation of their
rights.
“It’s an invasion of my privacy,” Senior Chapin Long said.
In constrast, some students
do not mind the searches, claim-
photo illustration by Mason Dang
ing that they have nothing to
hide.
“If you don’t have anything,
then it isn’t a problem,” said Junior Damien Castro.
Castro said that if students
refrain from bringing illegal substances onto campus then they
have no need to worry about random searches. Many students disagree, however.
Whether or not people approve random searches, drug
use and possession on campus is
predicted to decrease with the in-
Janitorial cuts hurt campus
By Kelly Sheetz
Staff Writer
INSIDE
The recent cutbacks of Cleveland’s janitorial staff have had a
huge impact, not only on the staff
members themselves, but also on
the entire campus as a whole. The
cutbacks were put into effect on
December 1 of last year and reduced the size of both the day and
night custodians to fewer than
half of what it was two and a half
years ago.
Originally, both custodial
crews had ten members each, but
when the school’s financial cut-
Entertainment
backs became more severe, the
staff size reduced considerably.
Those who have been recently laid off include Maria Serrano
and Griselda Tajimaroa. In the
past few years, Juan Borgas, Erin
Robinson, Xochilt Nolasco, and
Jason LeDesme were also forced
to leave.
“We used to have ten [people
on staff], then they cut it to eight,
and now they’ve cut to four,” said
Victor Ortega, who is a day crew
custodian.
This is the case for both the
day and night crews. With the
work hours becoming less consis-
Female rappers
then and now
Page 6
tent, the night crews have worked
for fewer and fewer hours. Moreover, the janitorial supervisor has
had to take more furlough days,
which in turn has determined how
many janitors would be on staff
to clean up the campus during the
night or if they would even able
to work at all.
“It’s a really bad situation,”
Ortega said. “We used to sweep
every other day [but] now we
can’t even sweep once a week because of the cuts.”
“It’s not even in the schedule
see ‘Janitorial cuts,’
page 5
Features
photo by Michael Barba
written stories and experiences
of students who have dealt with
homophobia on the Cleveland
campus. Through these stories,
these students are hoping to raise
awareness on the intolerance that
occurs today in high school and
how it can affect a student’s life.
“Anyone who wants to take
part in our ‘It Can Get Better
NOW’ campaign can by simply
writing a letter to Ellen telling
her what [you] are doing now to
make Cleveland a safer environment for LGBTQQIAA students
and then giving the letter to us to
send in, or by taking part in our
video,” Craig explained.
Dieting don’ts, what
won’t people do?
Page 8
The main goal, according
to Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
leaders, is to send out the message that a school should be a
safe place for all students, regardless of orientation. These students
have come together to stand up
for the LGBTQQIAA youth and
to end the unfair treatment received in a place that is supposed
to be a safe environment.
“So far, members of GSA,
and teachers too, have contributed to our efforts,” Craig said.
“Anyone who wants to take part
should contact any of the three
GSA presidents or come to our
weekly meetings on Thursdays at
lunch in E8.”
This campaign is an example
of students on campus taking ac-
tion for something they are passionate about. It is not only meant
to raise awareness in adults, but
also in the minds of students, who
are able to make a difference today in the school community.
“We’ve gotten a great response from students at school
who want to take part in the campaign, and we’re hoping that Ellen will see our video and maybe
feature it on one of her shows,”
Craig said.
“This way, it might gain
popularity and inspire other high
school students throughout the
country to stand up against bullying and homophobia,” she added.
Sports
Star baller returns
from injury
Page 10
2
photoshop by Emily Yang
Health policy: a ‘bloody’ mess
By Blessing Jee and Jeila Saidi
Staff Writer and Opinions Editor
So I’m just going to come
out and ask it: why do students
have to pay for tampons while
condoms are for free?
In what world is contraception a more impending problem
than a woman’s period?
Approximately 43 percent
of teens are sexually active. As
far as I can tell almost all high
school girls will get their monthly
menses, disregarding any medical
condition.
This policy is absolutely
atrocious. I cannot tell you how
many times I’ve failed to pack
pads or tampons and have had to
ask around for one.
This problem is demanding,
and it’s not like you can just go
without a pad, unless you’re willing to sport a giant blood spot on
the back of your jeans.
But never mind that, you can
have a free condom instead! After all, feminine hygiene products
are so much more expensive than
condoms, right? Wrong!
A 36-pack of Trojan condoms is priced at around 14 dollars at your local drugstore. A box
of 36 Tampax Pearl tampons sells
for eight dollars. Enraged yet?
Pads and tampons last four to
six hours while condoms can only
be used in the varying time frame
it takes to climax. The faster you
climax, the less time you’re investing in your condoms.
I despise the fact that I’m
constantly pushed to bear the bur-
den of womanhood.
Men, I’m supposed to harvest your spawn in my body for
nine months so cut me some slack
and give me a free tampon!
It’s not only the fact that I
have to pay for pads and tampons,
it’s that I have to pay for anything
to take care of my body while men
are free to explore their sexual desires as they see fit.
Most medical insurance companies cover the cost of Viagra
while access to birth control like
the Pill or Plan B is restricted.
I don’t understand how government and school policies alike
can be so skewed and inhibited
when it comes to women’s health
issues.
As of now, the only hope I
see for the school is math teacher
Carlos Rodriguez who offers free
tampons and pads to any female
student who requests it.
This is a necessity for the female population on campus. Let
me repeat that: NECESSITY. I
mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m
all for sex education and free condoms but I would think a girl’s
monthly is more imminent an issue for most girls at our school
than sex.
And most importantly, why
do I have to pay for my tampon?
Shameful diversity in campus clubs
By Kelly Sheetz
Staff Writer
As far as I can tell, most of
the club presidents on campus
create clubs based off of the interests of the small learning community to which they belong.
As a student in the humanities
magnet, I sporadically attend club
mettings that are held in E Hall. I
must admit that I don’t know about
any other clubs, simply because
they aren’t
magnet-affiliated.
When I asked friends in
other small learning communities about what clubs they attend,
they informed me that they attended clubs that are headed by
students in their own programs.
So why the separation between students when clubs are
meant to bring people together?
Perhaps it’s simply the location of the clubs; all of the
clubs headed by CORE students
are in E Hall, and clubs that are
January 26, 2011
Le Sabre
Opinions
run by students in other small
learning communities are scattered throughout the campus.
Another problem is that some
clubs seem to cater specifically
to a certain group of students
and their interests, even though
every club on campus is open
to anyone who wishes to attend.
Personally, I want to attend clubs run by students in all
the different learning communities, so as to understand what’s
going on around campus apart
from the one, isolated corner of
school that I have been limited to.
However, it should be
noted that some CORE-run
clubs do have a more diverse
group of attendees from other
small learning communities.
“There’s a lot of CORE
kids [attending GSA], but we’re
trying to reach out… this year
especially we’ve got a bunch
of new members that aren’t in
CORE… we hope to reach more
people on Cleveland’s campus
than just the people on this side
of the campus,” said Senior Natalie Landau, president of GSA
Landau is also vice president
of Jewish Student Union, and while
the club’s attendees are predominantly Jewish, the meetings are
not exclusive to Jewish students.
Senior Joy Thomas, president
of the Black Student Union, also
talks about the diversity of her club.
“Anyone who’s interested
can come… yes, it’s predominantly African American, but I
feel like that’s because they can
relate to the topics. But I don’t feel
like other races give it a chance.
If they would come, they could
probably relate to what we were
talking about too,” said Thomas.
“I think one of the cool
things [about BSU] is that one
of my co-presidents is in CORE,
I’m in SAS, our treasurer is in
AVID; we have people from all
different learning communities.”
Education up for grabs
By Kelly Sheetz
Staff Writer
The new Valley Region High
School #4, created to relieve overcrowded schools within the Los
Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD), will be ready for enrollment by the 2011-2012 school
year, but the institution in charge
of the new facility has yet to be
decided.
Valley Region High School
#4 will have all the adornments
of a standard high school, including 42 classrooms, an auditorium,
and a gymnasium.
The school’s educational emphasis has yet to be decided, but
will ultimately be determined by
whatever entity wins the current
bid for the school’s administrative control.
The main administrations
bidding are Local District 1,
which is in charge of Cleveland,
and Granada Hills Charter High
School, which operates as an independently run public school
within LAUSD.
The students enrolled in
these schools will have a choice
of attending Valley Region High
School #4 rather than their respective schools for the 20112012 school year.
I would personally prefer to
see District 1 win the bid, mainly
because I’ve seen the effects of
overpopulation on Cleveland’s
campus.
The school was originally
built for 1,200 students and currently has a population of approximately 4,000 students, not
including all the staff and administration required to maintain
such a large campus and excessive student population.
If District 1 does win the bid,
students who attend Cleveland,
Kennedy and Monroe as well
as Granada will have the choice
Editor in Chief: Sara Grossman
Managing Editor: Amanda Silver
Copy Editor: Stella Oh
News Editor: Jenny Luong
Opinions Editor: Jeila Saidi
Features Editor: Jolena Collás
Entertainment Editor: Summer Mason
Sports Editor: Nora Landes
Photo Editor: Michael Barba
Photoshop Editors: Mason Dang, Emily
Yang
Online Editor: Natalie Knipe
Le Sabre is published by the Advanced Journalism class at: Grover Cleveland
High, Room D-2, 8140 Vanalden Avenue, Reseda, CA 91335. Telephone: (818)
885-2300 ext. 3648; Fax: (818) 727-0964. The newspaper is desktop published
by the students and printed by American Foothill Publishing. Subscriptions
are $20/year. Cleveland is a LEARN school accredited through 2012 and a
California Distinguished School. Letters and guest articles are encouraged.
of attending the high school. If
Granada wins the bid, its administration has the freedom to hire
and enroll whomever it wishes,
as well as the freedom to decide
what the curriculum will be based
on.
Thus, there is no guarantee
that Cleveland students or students within the district will be
accepted.
District 1 teachers may certainly apply for teaching jobs at
the new school but they would
not have the right to a position.
Of course, if the district does
win the bid, students will be able
to decide for themselves whether
they wish to continue attending
Cleveland or transferring over to
#4, but I believe that relieving the
campus of a significant number of
students will benefit nearly every
aspect of the school.
If District 1 wins the bid,
around 200 Cleveland students
would likely be attending the high
school and anywhere between
five and eight teachers would be
let go.
I would not want the Cleveland teachers who would be let go
to end up unemployed as a result
of not getting a teaching job at the
new high school. After all, maintaining a steady teaching job is
difficult enough as it is.
But, as far as I can tell,
Cleveland and every school mentioned above is in desperate need
of downsizing its overall population, and, by attending Valley Region High School #4, there will
be at least some sort of balance
exercised within the district.
LAUSD administrators, students, parents and other members
of the community are encouraged
to participate in this decision by
casting advisory votes to let the
school board know who they want
to see run the new school.
photoshop by Emily Yang
Staff: Tara Atrian, Daniel Bolves Chloe
Brooks, Noah Cho, Argelene Dizon, Jason Drantch, Brenna Fletcher, Justin
Hahn, Maroof Haque, Blessing Jee,
Fred Kim, Mindy Kim, Solomon Kim,
Andrea Levine, Chaise Levy, Cyril
Mabagos, Sergio Perez, Kelly Sheetz,
Martha Tumbokon, and Jemma Yoo
Business Manager: Alex Mercado
Adviser: Coleen Bondy
Le Sabre
January 26, 2011
Opinions
3
Hipsters: Wasted youth or icons of our era?
Ray-Bans and V-necks, but no substance Don’t trip, they’re hip
By Allison Li
Guest Writer
By Tara Atrian
Staff Writer
One day, the human race
will look back to the 2000s and
realize what a waste of time it
had been due to the domineering
youth culture that hijacked sanity: hipsterdom.
Hipsters are everywhere;
they are at your local Starbucks
drinking non-fat lattes while
typing feverishly on their Mac
laptops, they are at nondescript
farmer’s markets somewhere
in the desert trying to save the
world by buying organic mangoes (paradoxically despoiling
10 gallons of gas trying to drive
there), and they are even at your
neighborhood thrift stores buying granny sweaters to match
with their turtle-shell, emptyframed glasses.
Modern day hipsters walk
around with the same snarky and
sarcastic temperament as they ferociously type out their thoughts
regarding mental illness on their
smartphones. Just walk down any
school hallway and you will hear
them trying to have intellectual
discussions about Sartre, Palahniuk, Nietzsche, and Vonnegut
when you know that the extent of
their knowledge comes from the
first link that pops up when these
names are Googled.
They all wear the same things.
The boys wear skinny jeans and
tight graphic V-necks. In all fairness, these shirts accentuate their
0.3% body fat, which is a result
photoshop by Emily Yang
blue pills in their hands all while
their eyes try to relay the idea that
these pills will fix everything terrible in their terible terrible lives.
Afterall it is hard trying to hide
the existence of their trust funds.
The biggest insult to a hipster
is being called a hipster, which
points to their mantra of living
a life without labels and submission to society’s norms. The
problem with their ideals is the
fact that while they try to adhere
to the idea of being different, they
all act the same, dress the same,
and like the same things just to
conform to their self-righteous
belief in non-conformity.
The stagnant period of hipsterdom is the reason for the
slow and painful death of West-
In all fairness, these shirts accentuate their 0.3% body fat, which
is a result of years of starving and
snorting cocaine off of toilet seats.
of years of starving and snorting
cocaine off of toilet seats.
Hipster Saturday nights consist of “parties” in which large
and gawky cameras are the drug
of choice. They take pictures of
themselves toting red cups filled
with cheap vodka and holding out
ern Civilization and the miscarriage of any social, political, and
cultural issues that had been laid
out for youth by previous generations in the hopes of a culture that
wouldn’t turn into scrap.
These petit-bourgeoisie have
not found or even tried to find a
way to aid those in the world who
are in need. .
Unlike other movements,
the hipster generation has not
provided us with any lasting and
artistically important impression on history. Unlike previous
movements like Romanticsm,
Postmodernism, and Dadaism,
hipster subculture has not generated any great literature or writers
unless you consider Tumblr to be
the next Animal Farm and a coffee house blogger to be the next
William Faulkner.
Unlike the Bohemians or the
Surrealists, hipsters have not contributed any art other than Adobe
Illustrator-designed rave posters.
The most unfortunate thing is that
the hipsters have not made any
political impact or change upon
the world.
They are just a mesh of every movement before them; the
hippies, the beatniks, the environmentalists, the anarchists, the
anti-capitalists, and the animal
rights activists without the political drive or passion to implement
real change in the world.
The age of the hipster, in its
element, was supposed to be a
time where people who felt like
they never had a place in mainstream society could fit in and
find a place where they were accepted. Instead it became a cold
exclusive cult of clones.
Hipsters - what are they good
for? Absolutely everything! Without them, America’s future would
be a hopeless world of mainstream mediocrity. Hipsters keep
America young and fresh, somehow managing to do so in literally an elderly fashion. Some call
it a cultural phenomenon, while
many others hate on the trend, but
the irrefutable fact is that hipsters
are, as their label implies, hip.
So what makes them so hip?
What exactly is a hipster? There
are literally 230 in-depth definitions of the term “hipster” in the
Urban Dictionary. The primary
and consensual definition of a
“hipster” lists an array of fashionable attributes, attitudes, and
cultural interests. According to
the Urban Dictionary, a hipster is
a special breed of cool kid, who
exerts only minimal effort to be
cool.
A typical hipster goes about
life holding a nonchalant - borderline indifferent - attitude towards
the world and towards others (the
lesser, insignificant people). But
when they are interested, those
interests include quirky and obscure movies, music, literature,
and art. Think: Sundance films,
Zooey Deschanel (both in movies
and in music), Hunter Thompson,
Kid Cudi, and lots of awesome
sunglasses.
Allow me to illustrate hip-
sterdom in analogous terms of
Fight Club. Although it’s mainstream, hipsters love Palahniuk. It
provides hipsters with a thorough
structure of rules by which to live
their hipster lives.
Contrary to popular belief,
hipsters are not just “talk”, they
are social activists. Those macrobiotic vegan diets, may seem
pretentious but they are selfless manifestations of heroism.
Imagine how many creatures and
resources have been given salvation by these young bohemians
philanthropists. Probably a lot.
If that ain’t philanthropy, I don’t
know what is. The hipster masses
contribute generously to the selfless cycle of thrifting. Buy, Lookbook, donate, repeat.
In addition to their thrifty altruism, hipsters are vastly improving the economy. Say goodbye to
economic deficit because they are
turning the market around! In their
daily consumption of cigarettes
and Starbucks chai tea lattes, hipsters are stimulating and contributing to the mass consumerism
which fuels America’s economy.
So really, hipsters are beneficial
to the environment, pop culture,
and America as a whole
The only detriment that hipsters pose to society is the fact
that they are much too superior
for normal people to handle. But
they ain’t even trying to be anything; they just are. Hipsters are
just awesome, or whatever. No
big deal.
photoshop by Emily Yang
Cleveland’s new bathroom policy: I’m pissed
By Allison Li
Guest Writer
If there’s one thing at the
top of teachers’ pet peeve lists,
it’s students’ frequent pestering
to go to the bathroom. And if
there’s one thing at the very top
of students’ pet peeves lists, it’s
a teacher who will put their dying bladder on hold. Well fellow
students, there is now yet another
obstacle that we must overcome
in order to exercise our right to
pee when need be.
It is our newest enemy: the
bucket. At the end of last semester, both E Hall bathrooms were
put on lockdown. Magnet Coordinator Gabriel Lemmon en-
forced a strict bathroom policy,
which called for both the girls’
and boys’ bathrooms to be locked
during class hours and unlocked
only during nutrition and lunch.
If a student were to attempt to go
to the restroom, he or she would
have to report to the Magnet Office, sign in to a bathroom log,
show proper identification, and a
valid hall pass. The student would
then be handed a gawky bucket,
with the bathroom key attached
to it on a long and clanky chain.
All this for must be done for the
simple necessity of relieving the
bladder of its unholy burden.
And what, you may ask, are
Lemmon’s reasons for this bucket
madness? Ditchers. Since the beginning of time, bathrooms have
always been the ditcher’s safest
refuge. While deans, custodi-
they see this new bucket policy as
a new and innovative solution to
the growing problem of bathroom
refugees. So far, the damage has
ans, teachers, and other school
personnel have been playing an
never-ending game of hide and
seek with bathroom-squatters,
only been done in E Hall, but this
disease of a policy could very easily spread to the rest of the school,
if the administration sees fit.
I’m sure our nation’s forefathers
would agree with me as well. After all, every human being deserves
the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap-pee-ness.
As a student with a normalsized bladder, I take a trip to the
bathroom on average twice a day.
Just the thought of my bladder
being challenged by a ridiculous amount of security makes
me shudder. What’s next? Extra
precautionary blood tests? Urine
tests? Oh wait no, that wouldn’t
work because we would never get
the chance to pee in a cup because
of the darn bucket. The way I see
it, all human beings have the right
to pee at free will. I’m sure our
nation’s forefathers would agree
with me as well. After all, every
human being deserves the inalienable right to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of hap-pee-ness.
4
Le Sabre
News
January 26, 2011
‘I Heart Boobies’ bracelets raise
concern for dress code violation
By Amanda Silver
Managing Editor
Although over $300,000
have been raised by the California-based “Boobies Make Me
Smile” campaign, school administrations across the United States
have deemed the popular “I Heart
Boobies” bracelets inappropriate,
often banning them from school
dress code.
While Cleveland policy does
not ban the bracelets, only a few
blocks away, the Granada Hills
Charter High School administration has expressed views that ban
the bracelet. Its administration
only allows students to wear them
if they are turned inside-out.
“I haven’t heard anything
about [the rule], but I think I can
see where the school is com-
the school’s dress code rule,
which outlaws jewelry with
“sexually suggestive language
or images.”
Meanwhile,
Cleveland
students seem to firmly believe
in their right to wear the bracelets.
“[Administration] should
not choose what students wear
on their wrist,” Freshman Darah
Levine said while sporting an
“I Heart Boobies” bracelet.
The bracelets are sold for
four dollars each by the Keep a
Breast Foundation, a non-profit
organization whose mission is
“to help eradicate breast cancer
by exposing young people to
methods of prevention, early
photo by Michael Barbie detection, and support.” Specifically, the Foundation uses
ing from,” Granada Hills Senior artistic expression to reach out to
Joshua Wong said.
young people; for example, the
“There are a million ways bracelets.
to support breast cancer aware“I think that [students] should
ness and research without wear- voice their own opinions for what
ing bracelets that suggest pro- they believe in,” Sophomore
fanity,” he added. Meanwhile, Joshua Vanbuskirk said.
keep-a-breast.org posted, “It
As stated on keep-a-breast.
takes a uniquely strong and well- org, breast cancer accounts for
informed person to participate in one in every four cancers diagthe ‘I Heart Boobies’ campaign, nosed in United States women,
someone eager and able to engage and one in every eight women
in conversation.”
will get breast cancer in her lifeAccording to USA Today, time.
other schools that are also rigidly
The foundation not only creagainst the bracelets include those ates controversial art, but also
in Wyoming, Oregon, Colorado, provides numerous volunteer
South Dakota, Florida, Idaho, Ne- programs and information about
vada, New Jersey, and California. breast cancer, including how to
In Fresno, California, the Clovis
lower one’s risk and how to comUnified School District banned
plete a breast self exam.
the bracelets because the district
claims that the bracelets violate
Governor’s education plan unveiled
By Maroof Haque
Staff Writer
California’s new governor,
Jerry Brown, who entered office
on January 3, unveiled his plans
for the California Board of Education.
On January 5, Brown, appointed seven new people to the
Board of Education, since the
state Senate did not confirm the
five people former Governor
plained the complex process of
the appointments.
“People [who] are appointed
are those nominated by various
state officers and interest groups.
Nominees are then reviewed by a
committee which then goes into
a recommendation process,” he
said.
Brown’s appointments include two people who served on
the board of education during his
first term as governor. Brown’s
“It would be no surprise if there is some corruption behind the appointments for political advancement.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger had appointed.
The newly appointed board
members help set Brown’s policy
for the state’s public schools.
“Brown also took $1 billion away from higher education.
No one is spared, not even students,” Senior Derek Ayala said.
“It seems we’re getting the same
deal with any governor but with a
different name.”
Principal Herman Clay ex-
seven nominees are Michael
Kirst, Aida Molina, Carl Anthony
Cohn, James Ramos, Patricia Ann
Rucker, Trish Boyd Williams, and
Louis “Bill” Honig.
Honig, however, was a very
controversial appointment; his
nomination was withdrawn only
a week after his appointment.
Louis “Bill” Honig of Marin,
who previously served on the
Board under Brown from 1975
to 1983, was the Superintendent
of Public Instruction until he was
forced to resign in 1993. He was
convicted of felony conflict-ofinterest charges, which later were
reduced to misdemeanors.
“How many strings does
Brown have attached to his reforms really?” Senior Wajod Lodin questioned.
“It would be no surprise if
there is some corruption behind
the appointments for political advancement,” Lodin added.
It should also be noted that
all appointees are Democrats, the
same political party affiliation as
Brown.
“Board members are not always the most effective body due
to the issue that people come in
to power to advance a political
agenda,” Clay said.
Another issue presented is
that prior Board members, who
are no longer serving as part of
the committee, were strong reform supporters. They notably
supported the “parent trigger”
law that allows parents to overhaul low-performing schools.
The removal of these members and their replacement are
foreseen as a critical move to exercise Brown’s plans without further obstacles.
photo illustration by Mason Dang
UC fees soar again
By Maroof Haque
Staff Writer
After a vote on November
18, 2010, the University of California (UC) System will increase
its fees by eight percent for Fall
2011, dramatically raising the
price some students pay for higher education.
According to the UC Board
of Regents the total cost of attending a UC school will actually increase by fifteen percent
when taking into account living
expenses and books. The Los Angeles Times and San Francisco
Chronicle reported that the cost
of living and books will jump to
$16,000.
With the fee increases of recent years, the Los Angeles Times
charted the cost of attending a UC
school more than tripling from
the amount in the Fall of 2000.
Despite this alarming trend
in the last decade, students still
continue to swarm into the public
school system.
“[Students] can’t just assume
the tuition is going to be fixed.
That’s the risk you take with state
schools, especially UCs,” said
Joanna Ngo, who is a Cleveland
alumnus and current UCLA student.
Cleveland Senior Nicole
Acevedo also recognized the
risks. “It’s going to take forever
to pay back [the student loans],”
she said.
Acevedo pointed out a strong
aspect of the new financial package provided by the schools. The
UC Board of Regents indicates
that it will expand its financial
aid, which would allow families
earning less than $80,000 to attend with no loans under the Blue
and Gold Opportunity Program.
The remaining costs are traditionally covered by grants and scholarships.
As California distributes less
money to its state schools, the
likelihood of receiving grants and
scholarships decreases substantially. The proposed expanded financial aid is likely to consist of
several loans.
Along with this, California’s
new governor, Jerry Brown, un-
veiled his budget plan as of January 11 in which higher education
would be trimmed by $1 billion.
“The government is not prioritizing how to handle its budget
well. Our state is broke. There is
nothing else for the Regents to
do. Otherwise they would have
to let go of some non-tenured
professors,” Cleveland’s College
Counselor Sharon Drell said.
“It’s unfair that students, who
need higher education to succeed
in their chosen field, have to be
dragged into this,” she added.
UC student reactions have
varied widely. Some reluctantly
accept the new costs while others have attempted to retaliate
through protests and other demonstrations.
Yet students continue to go
to UCs even after learning of the
price that goes along with attending.
“I was more focused on public schools because that’s what
I believed would cost less even
with all the rising costs,” said
Frances Chua, another Cleveland
alumnus who is currently attending UC Irvine.
“Other colleges with equal
or better education weren’t as
well publicized so many of my
peers and myself didn’t think to
look anywhere else,” she added
“Many of our students’ college decisions are based on finance alone now. The idea of
‘best fit’ gets lost in their desperate search for money. They don’t
look anywhere else or at anything
else,” Drell said.
Drell suggested other alternatives to the UC system and said
that students should look into
small liberal arts colleges.
“Many private schools may
cost more, but have a lot more
money than state schools to give
to students,” Drell said.
“The teacher-student interaction is very personal. The school
is nowhere near as crowded and
education is fantastic,” she explained.
Many students are finding
that choosing the right school is
not the most challenging aspect
in the college admissions process;
paying for it is.
Le Sabre
January 26, 2011
News
5
New LAUSD superintendent Janitorial cuts
faces difficult job ahead
continued from front page
By Solomon Kim
Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Unified
School District Board of Education has recently named John
Deasy as the incoming new superintendent of schools to replace
Ramon Cortines.
The superintendent is in
charge of the entire school district
and is responsible for maintaining
and improving schools and their
performance.
It can be said that Deasy has
a difficult job ahead of him, as
the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) is the second
largest school district in the nation. Also, the district expects the
budget deficit to climb to $288
million by next year.
Deasy is the former Deputy
Superintendent and has had experience as the superintendent of
schools for the Santa Monica and
Malibu School District. He also
has experience as an educator.
The seven-member LAUSD
Board voted to promote Deasy in
a 6-0 vote according to LA Weekly. One member, Steve Zimmer,
chose to refrain from voting because he believed that the board
failed to consider multiple candidates for the job.
There are many city officials
who believe Deasy is the right
man to take over the low-income
and low-performing LAUSD
schools according to LA Weekly.
“He’s a very accomplished
educator and administrator,” Principal Herman Clay said. “I liked
his honesty and candor.”
association with the Gates Foundation and his proposed reforms
that made Deasy an attractive
candidate in the first place.
The Gates Foundation suggested that larger class sizes and
more detailed teacher evaluations
would help make the LAUSD education system more efficient and
more successful.
“Test scores will not be the
only measure of teachers’ performance,” Clay said.
According to the Los Angeles
Times, Deasy had recently advocated for filming teachers while
they instruct their students as a
way of evaluating the educators.
“I don’t know much about
the superintendent,” Junior Rachel Leeper said, “but aren’t the
classes big enough already?”
It is clear that Deasy has an
abundance of ideas about how to
photo illustration by Mason Dang improve the school district, and
they will most likely come to pass
in the years to come.
However, Deasy has struck
“Well, I’m only here for one
some controversy even though more year, so it probably won’t
his new job as the superintendent affect me much,” Junior Jason
has just begun.
Rivera said.
As he is associated with the
Whether or not the new suGates Foundation, it is expected perintendent makes a substantial
that Deasy will advocate some difference in the Los Angeles Unireforms proposed by the Founda- fied School District, any changes
tion.
he brings about will affect CleveAccording to various sourc- land’s administrators, teachers,
es, it is suggested that it is his and students.
Former Cleveland officer shot
By Sara Grossman
Editor in Chief
A Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) police
officer who previously worked at
Cleveland was shot last Wednesday while confronting an individual outside of El Camino Real
High School.
Jeffrey Stenroos was reportedly performing normal police
duties when he stopped a man in
the midst of a suspicious activity,
possibly breaking into cars. The
suspect pulled out a gun and shot
Stenroos directly in the chest.
Luckily, Stenroos was wearing a
bulletproof vest, which absorbed
most of the bullet’s impact and
allowed the officer to leave the
scene largely unharmed, aside for
some bruising and other injuries
he obtained when falling backwards.
The suspect is described as
a 40-year-old white male with a
long brown ponytail.
The shooting instigated a
massive search by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD),
as police cordoned off a large
seven-mile wide dragnet meant to
catch the suspect. A total of nine
LAUSD schools were on lockdown, with 8,000 students not allowed to leave their classrooms,
even to go to the bathroom. Some
schools did not release students
until after 6 p.m.
Stenroos worked at the Land
until the end of the last school
year, when he was moved to Taft
High School as a replacement for
an officer out on leave for medi-
cal reasons. He was most recently
assigned to cover El Camino in
Woodland Hills.
Saba Sadeghi, a sophomore
at El Camino who was in school
during the lockdown, said that for
the most part students remained
calm.
“A couple of people were
crying but the rest of the people
were wondering what was going
on,” she said. Sadeghi said that
none of the roughly 40 students
in her class were allowed to leave
the classroom during the six-hour
lockdown.
Students were forced to urinate in trashcans placed in the
closet, or simply pee in the classroom sink. The students had no
access to food or water and “were
really cranky and tired” by the
end of the lockdown, according
to Sadeghi.
Sadeghi said that about
300 cops swarmed the area and
blocked the entrance to the surrounding streets. She added that
police entered the classroom
and checked under desks while
students remained stuck in the
room.
“It was so ridiculous,” she
said of the extensive measures
taken by LAPD. “One cop got
shot. Why did we have to be
locked down?”
“They were making it out to
be bigger than it had to be,” she
added.
Principal Herman Clay said
that Stenroos had worked at
Cleveland since before Clay had
arrived two years ago.
“He was extremely nice, extremely personable,” Clay said.
According to Rakauskas,
to mop the hallways like we used who is also in charge of overseeto,” he said.
ing Plant Management and MainThe only custodians on the tenance, Cleveland is a huge camcurrent day crew are Ortega, Ma- pus and there is a lot of ground to
ria Mesia, Chuck Cawley and An- cover.
gie Carlin.
“It makes it practically imAccording to Assistant Prin- possible for [the custodians] to
cipal Robert Rakauskas, Cleve- really do the service to the school
land currently has four janitors that people expect,” he said. “I
working
think peoduring the
ple have
day.
The
always
student-tobeen aware
custodian
of
this,
ratio is now
but people
approxialways
mately
a
counted on
thousand
the custoto one, as
dians to do
opposed to
for them
a hundred
the things
to one as it
they should
was in 2008.
be doing
Now every
for themjanitor has
selves, like
to
clean
throwing
up at least
out their
three times
trash.”
as much ac“Now
photo by Alex Mercado
cumulated
people
g a r b a g e Chuck Cawley is one of the hard- have
to
than before. working day crew custodians.
become
One person
aware of
now has to
all these istake on tasks meant for at least sues and step up on their own.”
three people.
The effects of the cutbacks
“Some days I have to clean are visible school-wide. Unfortuall the bathrooms, [and] some nately, the custodial staff will not
days [another custodian] gets to be gaining any new members if
do all of them,” Mesia said.
the financial cutbacks persist.
Faculty suffers from continuous cuts
By Justin Hahn
Staff Writer
With the arrival of the new
year, Cleveland has had to bid
farewell to staff and faculty members who fell victim to the Los
Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD)’s enormous and continuous budget cuts.
On December 1 of last year,
LAUSD cut twenty percent of
clerical staff members in an attempt to save money. Those included any LAUSD staff who is
not a teacher or a counselor.
Valley Occupational Center, and
two from yet another school,”
Smith said.
With all the people Cleveland has recently lost, the school
is slowly replenishing its losses.
Cleveland receives federal
funding because it falls under
the category of Title I schools.
Title I is a fund normally given to
schools that have a large percentage of students who come from
low-income families. Yet the budgets have decreased so much that
now Title I funds are used to pay
for the bare necessities.
“It’s the worst it has ever been for the past ten
years. Soon enough, we won’t even have enough
money for toilet paper.”
According to Title 1 Coordinator Bill Smith, Cleveland
lost “one staff member from the
counseling offices, one from the
main office, another from the
ISIS office, two more from the
attendance office, one from the
ESL office, one from the Dean’s
office, and yet another from the
health office.”
Eight members of the administration, not including other support staff members, were cut on
December 1.
While Cleveland’s faculty suffered extensive cuts, the
school will be receiving other
faculty members from other high
schools.
“We are getting one from Bell
High School, another from North
The situation is becoming so
desperate that even Magnet coordinator Gabriel Lemmon has
requested the help of others, be it
parents or students.
“It’s the worst it has ever
been for the past ten years. Soon
enough, we won’t even have
enough money for toilet paper,”
he said.
In an attempt to raise awareness and protest the staff cuts,
Spanish teacher Leslie Broyles
helped organize a teacher protest.
According
to
Broyles,
LAUSD has been cutting support staff gradually over the past
few years in that same attempt
to “save money.” The recent cuts
were simply an addition to the
cluster of cuts that have been oc-
curring over the years.
“The district was given
$100 million by Congress to
aid LAUSD’s struggle to preserve the quality of education in
its schools,” Broyles said. “But
they’re not using it for the purpose it was given - to save jobs!”
It is no easy task to spend
such a large sum of money effectively and sparingly enough
to better the quality of LAUSD’s
schools, but it is “as if the district
is pulling the rug out from under
us,” Broyles said.
The district is expected to
have a debt of $288 million by
next year, while California, which
gives the district funding, has an
even heftier debt of $25 billion.
“Of the general monies that
the district receives, all of it comes
from the state. Because the state
is in such enormous debt, general
funds have been cut every year,”
Principal Herman Clay said.
“I don’t believe that Congress is likely to allocate more
money. We can see that from the
recent [Congressional] elections,”
he said.
With that in mind, Clay also
stated that using the money the
district has received from Congress now would stabilize the
horrendous situation for a few
years.
“Without that money, there is
no end in sight,” he said. “It’ll be
at least another two years of this
before we begin a slow recovery.”
6
Le Sabre
Entertainment
2010 Album Reviews
Kanye West
Entertainment
What type of music do you listen to
and how does it influence your style?
Daniel Ramos
left
Senior- Music Genre: Indie/Experimental/Folk
“Music influences my fashion a lot. I think the music I listen to is a lot more folk and old school.
Music like the ‘40s and ‘50s, and that really influences my style.”
By Allison Li
Guest Writer
Kanye West is back from his self-imposed musical hiatus and let me
be the first to throw a “welcome home” banner over his regal head. With
photo illustration by Emily Yang
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the controversial king of hip-hop has
returned and this time he’s brought a few friends with him. Among the host
of superstars featured in the album are Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, Bon Iver, Pusha T, Beyonce, Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Swizz Beatz, and RZA. With such legendary names on his lineup of guest stars,
West brings a wide assortment of different musical flavors into one conglomerate masterpiece of an album.
In the grandiose premiere of Fantasy, West released an elaborate 35-minute super music video. Directed
by none other than West himself, the short film is a cluster flock of slow-motion action, beautiful dance art,
and overall spectacular imagery. From the moment the video opens with an English-accented Nicki Minaj
narrative to the climax of the bittersweet ending, the cinematic music video proves to be yet another area of
artistic expression where West succeeds effortlessly.
Like the super music video illustrates, Fantasy is a melting pot of lyrical themes such as self-doubt, introspection, escapism, romance, sex, fame (no surprise there, Kanye), and ego. Overall, Fantasy is a balanced
combination of many of West’s earlier albums like 2004’s The College Dropout and 2007’s Graduation. Every
so often, however, an electro-synth reminiscent of 2008’s “808’s Heartbreak” is audible. A masterful culmination of West’s journey as a hip-hop artist, this phoenix has emerged as a true artist with his My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy.
Jennifer Herrarte
below
Senior- Music Genre: Rock/Alternative
“[Music] kind of doesn’t influence my style. Well, because music and fashion are two different forms of expression for me.”
photo by Michael Barba
Ke$ha
Rating:
photo by Michael Barba
*
Vanessa Mangin
above
Junior- Music Genre: Alternative Rock
“[My music] has an effect on what I wear, like
if there’s a person in the band that I want to dress
like. Or, I’ll show my support of my favorite bands
by wearing their merchandise, like their t-shirts.”
By Tara Atrian
Staff Writer
Ke$ha has a serious identity problem: sometimes she feels like a large
man with six children; frequently she imagines that she is a walking garbage
can; on other days, she thinks she can pass for actual currency due to the dol- photo illustration by Emily Yang
lar sign in her name; on Tuesdays she claims she is an animal; most recently,
she has possessed a strong lingering feeling that she is a cannibal.
Even with the personality problems of Sybil, Ke$ha has done well in the music industry. Her debut album,
Animal, topped the charts, and her EP Cannibal is making some waves in the little pond of Top 40 hits. However, her success doesn’t seem rightly earned when her musical credibility is critically assessed.
Ke$ha’s fame and musical career has some truly inspiring roots. Her first appearance on television occurred when she was on the life changing and tender television wonder, The Simple Life, and her first taste
of real music came from singing background vocals on the heartbreaking smash hit song “Nothing in This
World” by the ever classy Paris Hilton.
Her hit “Tik Tok” is surprisingly applaudable because it is a great example of the defunct music industry
and the appalling generation of hypnotizing pop. Its brash style and nagging lyrics attempt to attract fun young
adults, but with music too juvenile for anybody with a developed and fully functioning cerebellum, her songs
seem to cater to nine year olds wired on gummy bears. Her hits like “Blah Blah Blah,” are desperate automated cries for a smothered booty call, and the song “Take It Off,” which is R2-D2’s idea of going to a rave,
makes Ke$ha seem like she gets around. However, in truth, the only men who are ever inside of her are Jim
Beam, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo.
Ke$ha is unapologetically electro-trashy in Animal, and her EP Cannibal is an identical extension of the
first album. If you hated her as an animal, then you will hate her as a cannibal.
The Dead Weather
Sea of Cowards
Rating: * * * *
By Jeila Saidi Opinions Editor
Jack White hits the cymbals of his drums for four counts, then suddenly Jack Lawrence begins to play his bass in a mesmerizing sequence
using a distorted pedal to suck listeners into the garage-rock vibe. After
four counts of eight, Jack White’s soft and raspy voice can be heard singphoto illustration by Emily Yang
ing, “Yeah I love you so much, I don’t need to resist. I don’t need to exist, dripping blue blood from my wrists,” which are lyrics from the first
track, “Blue Blood Blues,” on The Dead Weather’s second album, Sea of Cowards.
It’s hard to disagree with those who say Jack White is one of the greatest musicians of the modern era.
Whether you’re reviewing his lucrative garage rock career and creative past with The White Stripes or admiring the dramatic blues-rock group known as The Raconteurs, Jack White has been nothing short of an innovator. Now his third band, The Dead Weather, has gifted 2010 with a follow-up to the album Horehound.
How can The Dead Weather even go wrong with the resources available to them? With an all-star cast including rock legend Jack White on drums and backup vocals, Alison “VV” Mosshart of The Kills on the mic
and rhythm guitar, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes on bass, Dean Fertita of Queens of
the Stone Age on lead guitar, and Third Man Records, they are bound to be explosive.
The band’s collaborative efforts and versatility really shine through with Sea of Cowards. The Dead Weather is known for having multi-talented artists. White is not shy to step up to the mic and grab a guitar when he’s
not behind his drums, and Mosshart doesn’t just sing; she plays guitar too. So who takes over the drums when
Jack is up front? Jack Lawrence of course. They never fail to impress; every song on the album is unique and
captivating. My personal favorite track is “I Can’t Hear You” because it has a slow and sultry intro.
Fashionyourseatbelt
with Summer Mason
A look back on the top artists’ fashion of 2010
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fanatasy
Rating: * * * * *
Animal
7
photo by Michael Barba
Zack Johns
left
Senior- Music Genre: Alternative
“[Music] doesn’t, because I don’t connect the
two.”
Female rappers: then and now
By Fred Kim
Staff Writer
It seems as though female rapping has made a tremendous comeback since the 1980s and 1990s.
Back then, Queen Latifah,
Missy Elliot, MC Lyte, Lauryn
Hill, Salt N’ Pepa, and many other
female rappers held their titles as
female MCs; currently there seems
to be a lack of female rappers in the
hip hop and rap industry.
However, between 2008 and
2010, we began to see the rise of
female MC Nicki Minaj, who has
released an album in recent years
and is planning to release another
this year. Nicki Minaj, for example, has opened the doors for other
female rappers to get back into the
mainstream media. Though some
see this as good thing, others do
not.
The prime difference between
female rappers back then and now
is the substance of their lyrics.
Back then, female rappers used lyrics as an opportunity to voice their
opinions; it was true poetry. Their
messages did not denounce women, but rather uplifted them.
Songs like “Ladies First” by
Queen Latifah and Monie Love dis-
cuss the independence of woman.
Nicki Minaj, sometimes seems
to focus only on image and not
substance. Her colorful wigs, and
highly extreme outfits, are only distractions to her lyrics.
“Female rapping has made a
comeback recently with Nicki Minaj, but it seems as though female
rapping is no longer the same,” said
Senior Rebekah Park. “It’s [female
rapping] not as real as it used to be
because of the mainstream and I feel
as though it’s lacking now.”
Since the 1980s and the 1990s,
there has not been much media attention on any female MCs. Slowly
but surely, though, people are starting to pay attention.
“I mean it’s not that I don’t like
artists in the media right now, I
just think that rapping has changed
since the ‘80s and ‘90s in a huge
way,” said Senior Ben Yook. “Female rapping is cool because it
creates a whole new sound. It introduces a new perspective and it
allows people to experience music
in a unique way.”
photo by Michael Barba
Top 10 most
profitable
concerts of 2010
By Brenna Fletcher
Staff Writer
10.) The Superhighway Tour
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
9.) Tour of the Universe
- Depeche Mode
8.) The Black Ice World Tour
- AC/DC
7.) The Sonic Boom World Tour
- Kiss
6.) The Circle World Tour - Bon
Jovi
5.) This Is Us Tour - Backstreet
Boys
4.) Leona Lewis - Leona Lewis
3.) The 21st Century Breakdown
World Tour - Green Day
2.) The E.N.D. World Tour
- Black Eyed Peas
photo illustration by Mason Dang
1.) 2 360° Tour - U2
Most of the time, music and
fashion go hand in hand, but if you
are a musician, then your music
and talent should overshadow your
fashion choices.
So why is it that in 2010, the
majority of artists received more
attention for the clothes that they
wore off-stage than the music tnat
they performed?
Last year artists like Ke$ha and
Lady Gaga emphasized performance over music, creating distinct
and sometimes controversial images for themselves. While some
viewed these images as ultramodern and daring, others considered
them distracting and over the top.
Apologies to all who admire
Ke$ha, but both her apparel and
music can be compared to trash.
Individuality is something that
is usually idolized, but does wearing plastic trash bags really make
you different? Ke$ha’s explosion
of body glitter, matted hair, and autotuned voice are mere cover-ups
for her lack of talent.
Although extreme amounts of
glitter and tight, suffocating fabrics sometimes can be an attention
grabber, they should never grab
more attention than the artist’s true
purpose: making music.
Artists like Madonna and David Bowie are great examples of
musician who balance their dazzling make up and costumes with
great music.
Bowie, also known as Ziggy
Stardust, is the only one who can
pull off the glitter-starred makeup that surrounds the eye (sorry
Ke$ha).
This past year, between Lady
Gaga and Ke$ha, the media put
extensive attention on the artists’
fashion choices. It seems as if Lady
Gaga is more famous for her meat
and Kermit the Frog dresses than
her hits, “Poker Face” and “Bad
Romance.”
Despite her questionable outfits, some of her costumes actually
complement her music. She currently wears many pieces designed
by high fashion designers, such as
the late Alexander McQueen.
Compared to Ke$ha, however,
Gaga’s futuristic-shock style actually corresponds to her music.
Fortunately, 2010 wasn’t completely filled with performing artists and their questionable styles.
There were many other artists
whose styles did not overpower
their talent.
For example Kanye West,
whether you follow his lyrics or
his beats, displays talent from his
tracks to his shoes.
His style has evolved this past
year from haughty, bright neon colors to a more refined urban look.
He puts a twist on the classic European suits by pairing them with a
pair of high top sneakers.
Another artist who is not only
praised for her innovative funk music but also for her style is Janelle
Monae.
As feminine as she may sound
with her soprano vocals, this petite
singer struts around the stage in androgynous attire.
She wears men’s suits with
a bow tie and patent leather oxfords. She also wears high-waisted
straight leg trousers, tucked in with
a white or black button down.
To show off her dainty frame,
the suits are form-fitting, but not
too tight. There is still room to
dance the “Tight Rope” in.
It’s a new year, with new music
and new clothes; let’s just hope that
the artists this year stay away from
the runway shows and focus more
of their attention in their studios,
recording music.
photo illustrations by Mason Dang
Grammy nominations: and the winner is...
By Alex Mercado
Business Manager
Music’s biggest night is coming up! The 53rd Grammy Awards,
which will be held Sunday, February 13, promises to be a spectacular night.
The man to watch out for is
Eminem. His ten nominations are
a testament to his trailblazing musical career. He is a songwriter of
true grit, with songs that are always
personal, despite a style that may
come off a bit too full of angst or
controversy.
Aside from that, his honest musical artistry is commendable, and,
as a result, he received various
nominations such as Album of the
Year, Song of the Year, and Record
of the Year.
Right behind Eminem is Bruno Mars with seven nominations.
Personal bouts aside, Bruno Mars
has had a fantastic year. His single
“Just the Way You Are” was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
For Mars, solo success has been
long awaited. A Hawaii native, he
came to Los Angeles with a guitar
in hand, seeking a record deal. He
was discovered by Atlantic Records, only to be hired as a songwriter and producer.
Under the name “The Smeezingtons,” he and partner Philip
Lawrence have written and produced songs for artists such as Flo
Rida, Travie McCoy, and K’naan.
This year, their work on Cee Lo
Green’s “Forget You” and B.o.B’s
“Nothing on You” earned each
song a nomination for Record of
the Year.
Other top nominees include
Lady Antebellum, Jay Z, and Lady
Gaga, who each earned six nominations. The queen of the little
monsters took home two Grammys
last year.
Gaga’s second album, Fame
Monster, has done exceptionally
well. It sold more than 1 million
copies within weeks of its release. I
predict that she’ll snag at least two
awards, and she’ll probably do it
without pants.
Personally, I’m tuning in Sunday for The Black Keys and Arcade
Fire. Arcade Fire’s album, The Suburbs, was nominated for Album of
the Year, while The Black Key’s
hit song, “Tighten Up,” was nominated for Best Rock Song. Fingers
crossed!
Lastly, Susan Boyle’s album,
I Dream a Dream, was nominated
for Best Pop Vocal Album. If anyone’s the dark horse, it’s definitely
her.
January 26th, 2010
Features
Le Sabre
8
Dieting gone wild: what won’t people do?
By Mindy Kim
Staff Writer
With the great American
Gorgefest (aka, the holidays) now
past us, ‘tis the season for desperate souls to fall for the latest
gimmicks in the dieting world.
As the new year unfolds, the holiday-induced diet mania shows us
just what some people are willing to do in the name of weight
loss. With the insane rush to lose
pounds as fast as humanly possible, regardless of the inherent
risks involved, here’s the latest
news in the world of wacky slimming diets:
1) The Twinkie Diet
The Twinkie Diet sounds
like a dream for most high school
kids. The claim is that you can eat
all the Twinkies you want and,
“you’ll lose weight!” said Mark
Haub, a Kansas State University
professor. He lost 27 pounds after a month of eating nothing but
Twinkies, Doritos, candy bars,
and anything else he had access to
in a convenience store. Here’s the
catch: you’ve got to keep daily total calories under 1800 in order to
induce weight loss. Basically, this
is operating under the “take in
less calories than you burn” rule,
and, theoretically, you should lose
weight.
2) The Vision Diet
Proponents of the Vision Diet
advise dieters to wear speciallymanufactured blue-tinted glasses
during meals, believing that the
color imbalance will throw off
one’s appetite, making food look
universally unappealing. If your
cottage cheese looks Smurf-blue,
you might be better off leaving it
on the plate.
5) The Baby Food Diet
The Baby Food Diet operates
on the principle of portion-control. The idea is to replace fullsized adult meals with baby food
meals in an effort to cut down
on heftier portions. Good if you
crave flavors like Gerber chicken
and apple mush, or pureed ham
and bean soup... and to think,
those helpless gagging infants
didn’t clue us in.
6) The Tapeworm Diet
Would you purposefully ingest a cyst full of roundworms
in an attempt to slim down? This
diet conception requires the swallowed tapeworm to mature in the
body as it settles down and attaches itself to your intestinal tract. It
then works to absorb nutrients
from the food you eat, preventing you from gaining weight as
well as depriving you of essential
nutrients in the process. Because
it is illegal to import tapeworms
into the U.S., there are established
“tapeworm farms” in Africa and
Mexico where tourists can visit to
get infected “safely.”
The Land is no stranger to
the holiday-induced diet mania.
Several students and faculty share
the latest ridiculous diet schemes
they’ve encountered.
Senior Delilah Rose swore by
“the chocolate milk diet,” which
she attributed to creating a leaner,
flatter belly.
Bill Diebold is a veteran of
the Atkins Diet. Diebold revealed
that, “I’ve been on high-protein,
low-carb diet for a while now...
and on Atkins, tomatoes are absolutely the worst thing for you to
eat.”
Bilingual coordinator Tom
Carrola mentioned the “TJ Diet,
[in which] you alternate days of
all fruits one day, all veggies the
next.”
Senior Board Leader Danielle Aucoin remembered hearing of an “all green food Detox
plan. It’s a veggie pureed soup of
kale and leafy greens, made in a
photo illustration by Emily Yang
blender. I actually tried it once;
it’s absolutely nasty.”
“I’m what you call a yo-yo
dieter, unfortunately,” said Career
Counselor Stephanie Slaughter
with a joking smile on her face.
She explained that she’s been on
Nutri-system, Jenny Craig, and
Weight Watchers, “which all work
until you stop doing them.”
The general consensus? Skip
these diets. “The best thing to do
is not to diet, but just to eat well
and exercise,” said Slaughter.
Away with Acne
By Jeila Saidi
Opinions Editor
Guest Illustrator, Erika Chang
AcaDeca team aims high
By Jason Drantch
Guest Writer
Academic Decathlon (Aca
Deca) is a scholastic Olympics
where students study a wide variety of academic subjects. This
includes: music, art, science, literature, math, social studies, economics, and the notorious Super
Quiz.
Each year there is a twoday competition where the students compete against Academic
Decathalon students from other
schools. In addition, each year has
a different theme as the main topic
of the event. The yearly theme determines what the students learn
about. For instance, since this
year’s theme is the Great Depression, participants are currently
studying the geology and music
of the 1930s and are reading the
novel, The Grapes of Wrath.
The first day of competition
consists of a multiple choice test
and the Super Quiz. The Super
Quiz is where students have seven
seconds to select an answer after
the question and answer choices
are provided by the judge. The
second day includes speech, essay, interview, and impromptu
events.
Each November, Coach Damian Goodman takes the class to
an annual city scrimmage to help
determine which students will be
on the team. There are three different teams with three people on
each team. Based on their GPA,
students are placed into either the
Honors, Scholastic, or Varsity
team.
Though only nine of the seventeen students actually compete
on the team, all seventeen participate in the class. The students
not only contribute academically
but also bond and support one
another. “Academic Decathlon is
not just about learning, it’s about
fellowship with your teammates
and encouraging them to get better,” said Senior SeYoung Kim.
AcaDeca students put a lot of
time into studying. Not only do
they study in class during sixth
period, but they also commit
weekends to either studying as a
group or attending workshops at
the Bravo Medical Magnet.
“Practice, practice, practice,”
is the key to success this year
said Goodman. In the past few
years, Cleveland’s ranking in the
competition has bounced up and
down. Last year, because materials were not received until November, there was a big setback
for the team. However, the team
has performed better in previous
years, placing as high as 15th
place.
Junior Leann Law said that
the team spends its daily class
time studying certain subjects,
working on speeches, writing essays, and taking practice tests.
This is Goodman’s first year
as head coach. He was last year’s
assisstant coach. “My role is to
facilitate their studying,” said
Goodman. “They are all good
students, so my job is to make
sure they have the materials they
need to be competitive and to
keep them motivated.”
As her reason for joining
AcaDeca, Law stated, “I wanted
to learn things that I normally
would not in school.” Law added
that her favorite part of Academic
Decathlon is being able to learn
a lot about music. “I get to listen
to music, learn its history, and see
how it has transformed over the
years.”
With proper preparation by
the students and the guidance of
Coach Goodman, the team should
do well in this year’s competition.
If you are interested in being a part of Academic Decathlon, take the class next year and
maybe you, too, can be in the
Olympics.
Although every teen has
unique problems, from dealing
with peers to overcoming stress,
there is one thing that binds us all:
acne. Statistics show that between
80-85 percent of teens will suffer
from acne between the ages of 12
to 17.
With harmful factors like UV
damage, oil prone skin, stress,
bacterial environments, among
other things, it is hard to avoid
this irritating skin condition.
Acne is the result of a buildup
of dead skin and oil secreted by
the skin called sebum. The excess
of these compounds gets clogged
in pores and hair follicles, resulting in skin irritation.
In order to successfully fight
these facial mountain ranges, it is
important to take numerous precautions.
Ever heard of exfoliating face
washes?
These facial scrubs help to
rid your pores of sebum, dead
skin, and other free radicals.
If you want to battle acne,
start out by investing in a good,
oil-free, exfoliating acne wash
and wash once a day. If you have
sensitive skin wash three times a
week. Oil-prone skin should be
washed more frequently.
Too much exfoliation can
dry out the skin, which is why it
is important to have an oil-free
moisturizer specific to acne-prone
skin.
Although exfoliating, cleansing, and moisturizing seem like
they may do the trick, fighting
acne requires a lot more.
Free radicals
Free radicals prevent the skin
from being properly oxidized and
cleansed. The best way to eliminate free radicals from collecting
on the skin is to hydrate by drinking water throughout the day.
Antioxidants
It is also really important
that people with acne-prone skin
eat foods rich with antioxidants,
a key component in fighting free
radicals. Some antioxidant rich
foods include: tomatoes, berries,
green tea, cabbage, artichoke,
lemon, and soybeans.
Stay away from sugars
Although many commonly
believe that fatty foods and sugar
result in acne, this is false. Yes,
these foods can worsen your acne
if you’re not properly hydrating
and taking care of your skin, but
don’t deprive yourself of enjoying fulfilling meals.
Studies have shown that acne
can be provoked not just by sugary foods, but by carbohydrates
in general. Before you go cutting
carbs out of your diet, remember
that they are your body’s main energy source.
Invest in acne serum
If you suffer from severe
acne, look into buying a serum or
daily treatment to medicate your
skin.
With hopes for healthy skin,
a healthy body, and confidence,
we wish you good luck!
Le Sabre
What happened in 2010?
Del Pino sticker sticks around
By Martha Tumbokon
Staff Writer
begins in South Africa.
12- The death toll in ArkansasCan’t believe 2010 is finished floods reaches 18.
already? Reminisce on the good, 29- Same-sex marriage is legalthe bad, and the just plain ridicu- ized in Iceland.
30- Benigo Aquino III is elected
lous with our annual timeline.
the 15th president of the Philippines.
January:
8- Paul “Double Rainbow Guy”
July:
Vasquez records his reaction.
after spotting a double rainbow. 6- Lindsay Lohan is sentenced to
12- Haiti is struck by a 7.0-mag- 90 days in prison for violating her
nitude earthquake, destroying its probation.
31- The “Bed-intruder” song feacapital city Port-au-Prince.
27- American writer and histo- turing Antoine Dodson’s reaction
to an intruder’s attempt to rape
rian Howard Zinn dies.
his sister is posted on Youtube.
February:
12-28- The 21st Winter Olym- August:
2- Lindsay Lohan is released
pics is held in Canada.
27-An 8.8-magnitude earth- from jail.
quake strikes Chile, one of the 4- 10,000 attend the 2010 Gay
largest earthquakes in recorded Games in Cologne, Germany.
history.
September:
11- “Barefoot Bandit” Colton
March:
1- At least 100 people die in a Harris-Moore is captured in the
Bahamas after running away from
landslide in Uganda.
26- China surpasses U.S.’s 2009 authorities for two years.
12- Lady Gaga attends the MTV
spending on clean energy.
29- Obama signs the historic Af- Video Music Awards wearing
a dress made of meat and wins
fordable Care Act.
eight awards.
26- CEO of the Segway company,
April:
4- A 7.2-magnitude earthquake Jimi Heselden, dies after falling
off a cliff while riding his Seghits Baja California.
23- Governor Jan Brewer of way.
Arizona signs S.B. 107 into law,
requiring Arizona officers to ask October:
the immigration status of anyone 13- Chilean miners are rescued
they reasonably suspect to be after being trapped underground
an illegal immigrant and arrest for a total of 69 days.
anyone who is unable to provide
November:
proof of his or her status.
28-Greyson Chance posts his 1- Demi Lovato enters rehab for
rendition of “Paparazzi” by “physical and emotional issues.”
16- Prince William and Kate
Lady Gaga on Youtube.
Middleton announce their longawaited engagement.
May:
1- Time Square bomb scare
December:
5- 2010 Greek Riots
26- Lee DeWyze becomes the 8- The world honors the 30th
anniversary of John Lennon’s
9th winner of American idol.
It is Simon Cowell’s last night death.
30- “Bend it Like Beckham” beas judge.
comes the first Western movie
broadcast by North Korea’s stateJune:
11- The 2010 FIFA World Cup run television station.
By Nora Landes
Sports Editor
After teaching ninth and eleventh grade Core during the fall
semester, long-term substitute
teacher Marisa Del Pino will no
longer be at Cleveland for the
spring semester; or will she? A
closer look at the Cleveland campus reveals that a little piece of
Ms. Del Pino seems to have stuck
– literally.
Del Pino, who attended Cleveland and graduated from the Magnet program in 2002, campaigned
for Student Body President during her senior year by distributing
campaign stickers, a popular form
of campaigning and advertising,
around the school.
“We used them for everything:
campaigns, homecoming court,
prom court, and advertising various
Features
9
January 26th, 2010
photo by Michael Barba
events. They were an easy way to
get the word out quick. However,
they did end up stuck in places
that they shouldn’t have been,”
Del Pino said.
One such location where Del
Pino’s stickers inevitably ended
up was inside of the lockers, like
that in Junior Julia Kramer’s.
Kramer, who was one of Del Pi-
“It took me a few days of having her as our teacher, but then I
looked in my locker and I realized
[the sticker] was [hers],” Kramer
said.
Adding to the coincidental nature of a student having a piece of
paraphernalia from her teacher’s
Student Body Election campaign
stuck to the inside of her locker is
the fact that stickers are no longer
allowed to be distributed on campus as a means of campaigning or
advertising.
Leadership Adviser Stephanie Slaughter, who presides over
election campaigns, said that
the stickers were ending up in
all sorts of inappropriate places
around school, such as windows,
lockers, and hallway floors.
“It wasn’t worth the damage it
was doing,” she said, referring to
the extra effort the custodial staff
had to put in to remove the pesky
stickers.
“After hearing that one of
“It took me a few days of having her
as our teacher, but then I looked in my
locker and I realized [the sticker]
was [hers].”
no’s students last semester, was
surprised to discover the small,
rectangular sticker on the door of
her F-Hall locker.
my stickers is still in a locker,
it doesn’t surprise me that they
aren’t allowed anymore!” Del
Pino said.
Suffering from severe senioritis
By Noah Cho
Staff Writer
Cleveland High School is
once again plagued by its annual
epidemic: senioritis. Every year,
this disease returns to the Land
with its effects being felt by many
seniors in some way or another.
U r b a n d i c t i o n a r y. c o m
defines senioritis as: “A crippling disease that strikes high
school seniors. Symptoms include laziness and an over-excessive wearing of track pants,
old athletic shirts, sweatpants,
athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Senioritis also features
a lack of studying, repeated
absences, and a generally dismissive attitude.”
Many wonder why this
disease hits Cleveland so frequently every year without fail
at about the same time, and
there are several reasons to
explain this. For those seniors
who plan on going to college,
most college applications are due
before second semester begins.
Moreover, all University of California (UC) applications are due
by the end of November.
Even for students who do not
plan on going to college, a large
number of seniors have their high
school graduation credits by the
time second semester of senior
year arrives, allowing seniors to
take fewer classes and considerably easier classes. This leads to
a very lax nature in a large number of seniors, with some thinking
that there is not even any point in
being in school anymore.
“Yeah, senioritis hit me pret-
nioritis, there’s no way I’m going
to be cured of it,” said Chun.
There are a few seniors who
are, miraculously, unaffected
by this disease. One anonymous
senior claims that senioritis has
not gotten to her, and will most
likely not affect her. “I think that
my grades are still important, so
of course I’m going to still
study.”
While there are some
students who choose to continue to study in high school,
most seniors are not as dedicated. Out of 10 unnamed
seniors, nine of them admitted catching this addicting
disease, aside from the unnamed student mentioned in
the previous quote.
Though many people
look down on this disease,
some seniors choose to instead embrace it. “Personally, I don’t think senioritis is
as bad as everyone says it is.
photo illustration by Mason Dang
‘Senioritis’ doesn’t mean we
can’t graduate; I just think
her freshman year and has taken it’s a time where we can enjoy
the most difficult Honors and our last year of high school. Some
AP courses, even admits to fall- of us have been working hard, so
ing to senioritis. “Senioritis is the we deserve a reward,” said Senior
biggest addiction; it’s the closest Chris Cain.
Many seniors share this sentithing I’ve had to a drug,” said
ment, and the number one reason
Chun.
As demonstrated by Chun, for having senioritis comes from
many students who have been the idea of working hard for many
working hard for their entire years in high school. “If there is
school careers admit to falling ever a time for us to relax in high
victim to senioritis simply from school, it’s right now,” said Cain.
For those who are wonderthe fatigue of being in high school
ing if there is a cure, the only
for such a long time.
“I’ve always tried hard in cure known to exist is something
school, but now that I have se- known as “graduation.”
ty hard. I really just can’t wait for
graduation, even though I’m going to miss my friends,” said Senior Kevin Pineda.
“Even the most hardworking students can be affected by
this disease,” said Senior Ashley
Chun. Chun, who has worked
hard every single semester since
10 Sports
Le Sabre
January 26, 2011
Basketball
JV Basketball wins winter tournament
By Jemma Yoo
Staff Writer
Cleveland’s JV boys basketball team won the championship
game in a tournament during winter break against Bishop Alemany
High School with a final score of
55 to 42.
This was the team’s second
time winning the tournament,
having won last year as well.
“People thought JV was going to suck compared to last year
and I’m still trying to prove them
wrong,” said co-captain Sophomore Andre Almond.
During Winter Break, the
players participated in multiple
practices from the 27th to the 30th
of December with two-hour practices on weekdays and three-hour
ones on Saturday. It is through
this dedication that the team was
able to succeed in taking home
the win.
The practice included “a
lot of running. We lifted a lot of
weights. We just practiced really
hard. The guys did a really good
job coming over vacation and
showing up,” said Dean Rolando
Young, the team’s coach.
The players seemed to know
exactly who they were up against
and how they were going to win.
“I knew from the beginning
we needed to come out with lots
of intensity so we could have a
shots,” said Young.
Through defense, the team
“Playing good defense and [carrying
out] plays allowed us to win, and it felt
good.”
chance at winning. As captain, I
knew I had to play hard for the
team,” Almond said.
It was the players’ first game
of the season. The other teams had
played several games, but “we
really wanted to spend the extra
time doing practice to get the kids
ready for the tournament,” said
Young.
Surely, this strategy worked
and it paid off. There wasn’t one
single person shining in the spotlight; everyone was.
Because the players looked
out for eachother and because
they communicated effectively,
the team was able to function as
a whole to win the game.
Focusing on defense during
the game helped the team win the
game.
“It got us a lot of steals, a lot
of rebounds. We always focus on
defense first and then offensive
execution. Defense creates easier
was able to create more opportunities to score.
“Playing good defense and
[carrying out] plays allowed us
to win, and it felt good. It also
showed us and others that we are
a good basketball team,” saidAlmond.
With no further hardships,
harmony within the team, through
the mutual understanding between
the players and the coach, created
strong roots that stemmed out
with strength during the game.
“This is a really good team.
They seem to really work well
together...They don’t give me any
troubles. They work hard,” complimented Young.
With already a successful
tournament championwhip game
in hand, future achievements for
this team seem viable.
“We are a good team, hopefully we finish the season strong,”
said Almond.
Cleveland receives new fitness equipment
By Martha Tumbokon
Staff Writer
Students and administrators
alike worked together for Cleveland High School to win the grand
prize of the 2010 Governor’s Fitness Challenge.
The Governor’s Fitness Challenge awarded Cleveland and
seven other schools throughout
the state, with a Live Positively
fitness center.
P.E. teacher Carisa Silva is
largely credited by the administrators for Cleveland’s victory
in the challenge. With only one
month left until the competition
was over, Silva promoted the
event by talking to fellow teachers and posting posters that were
provided by the challenge.
Silva also wrote three essays
for the challenge which required
her to write, in 300 words or less,
how Cleveland promotes healthy
eating and physical activity and
why Cleveland deserves the fitness center.
“I wanted it because we do
not have an adequate fitness center for the number of students we
have in physical education. We
have about fourteen pieces of
equipment maybe suitable for 30
photo by Michael Barba
students and we have about fifty
[or] more students in the classroom. When I saw that we would
have brand new facility, I saw
something that was needed here
and [that] the students deserved,”
Silva said. “I think our students
are outstanding academically, and
I wanted a balance between academic and physical fitness.”
As winners, Cleveland’s
Physical Education (P.E.) Department received 38 pieces of
equipment, which includes a machine for every part of the body.
In addition, three Play Station
2 consoles to play Dance Dance
Revolution and a game controller
in the form of a bicycle to play
race car games were also awarded
to Cleveland.
Right now only P.E. students
are allowed to use the equipment but the P.E. Department is
working on ways for the rest of
the student body to use it under
the guidance of a supervisor.
In order to promote physical fitness, Silva is currently
organizing a Walk/Jog-athon
that will hopefully take place in
February. The event would be
for both teachers and students
and would serve as a donation
for breast cancer research and
a fundraiser for the P.E Department. The goal is to raise enough
money for the P.E. department
to buy better equipment and
include new sports such as lacrosse, rugby, and handball in
the curriculum. The event would
also be a part of the new Fitness
Challenge Cleveland would be
entering this year. The prize
this year would be $10,000 for
equipment.
photo by Nora Landes
Star baller returns from
injury for Senior season
By Nora Landes
Sports Editor
Senior Jade Denson is truly
one of Cavalier basketball’s star
players. As a point guard, she
sees through her opponents, finding the open lanes for a drive to
the hoop or her teammates for a
solid pass. As a leader, she motivates her teammates to perform
and calms them down under pressure. Yet as Denson dribbles the
ball down the court today, no
one would ever know that a life
half off the court. Denson began
preparing to play again as soon as
her doctor cleared her injury and
allowed her to return to the court.
To strengthen her knee, Denson attended ACL therapy sessions, did knee-specific exercises,
and took up running, yet it was
practicing with her teammates
that really got her back into shape.
Always competitive, she never
wanted to be last, so she pushed
herself even harder to keep up
with the rest of her team.
Now that the season is well
“Watching the game from the sideline made me promise myself I’d hold
nothing back the next chance I got to
play again.”
changing injury nearly ended her
basketball career.
In the spring of 2009, Denson
tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a spring league
game. While coming down from
a layup, she landed awkwardly,
tearing one of the knee’s four major ligaments.
Because of the severity of her
injury, Denson was unable to play
for a year and a half, sitting out
the 2009 - 2010 season.
“It was hard to watch all my
friends and teammates play the
game I love,” she said. “Watching
the game from the sideline made
me promise myself I’d hold nothing back the next chance I got to
play again.”
This year Denson is back for
her much anticipated senior season. A Varsity player since her ]
freshman year, Denson has been
a highlight of the girls basketball
team ever since.
It hasn’t been easy returning to the game after a year and a
underway, Denson is already displaying her physical and mental
improvement since last playing
during her sophomore year. Because of her time spent off the
court rehabilitating, Denson no
longer takes for granted her natural athletic ability.
Varsity Girls basketball
Coach Cara Blumfield also notes
that in addition to her skills, her
attitude as a player has improved
as well.
“The more she plays... the
more excited and focused she
gets. She has worked hard and
has proven herself to be a true
captain of this team. She knows
this is her Senior season and she
will do whatever it takes to help
to the team win,” Blumfield said.
As for Denson, she has her
own plans for this season.
“My goal for the season [is]
to leave everything on the floor.
By the time my last game comes
along, I want to know I gave my
all until there was nothing left.”
Le Sabre
January 26, 2011
Sports 11
Edition
Jaylen Bland: Superstar
By Natalie Knipe
Online Editor
It takes a truly driven person
to excel at sports. One must be
dedicated, disciplined, and have
true team spirit. Senior Varsity
basketball player Jaylen Bland is
an athlete who has all of this and
more.
Bland, described by Athletic
Director Jason Meskis as a “basketball superstar,” has recently
caught the attention of the high
school sports community. His
fame follows not only because of
his incredible skills as a basketball player, but also because of his
position as a strong team leader.
From an early age, Bland was
immersed in sports. “I’ve been
playing basketball, baseball, and
football since I was 6 years old.
My dad started me off really early,” he said.
His long term dedication to
sports has influenced his future
career goals as well; he said his
“number one goal is to play in the
NBA.”
What truly distinguishes
Sport
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Girls Water Polo
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Wrestling
Bland on the Varsity basketball
team are his leadership skills. “I
lead by example both on and off
the court... I am very vocal on the
teammates how to improve,” Varsity basketball player Myles Nelson said. “He’s someone you can
depend on.”
But no one is perfect, and
there are still “certain aspects that
Bland needs to have to be a team
leader.” To improve in his leadership capabilities, he “needs to be
more of an effective communicator,” said Coach Nalls.
Bland shows true dedication
to his future goal, and welcomes
all critique that may further his
chances of reaching the NBA,
and eventually further what Bland
will bring to his future teams.
With the amount of dedication that Bland gives to his basketball team, and his willingness
to work hard and adapt to constructive criticism, there is no
doubt that Bland is headed for a
bright future. He has already received a scholarship to the four
Player Bio
photo by Michael Barba
Name - Whitney Lam
His fame follows not only because
of his incredible skills as a basketball Sport - Water Polo
player, but also because of his position
Favorite teacher - Ms. Curi
as a strong team leader.
court... even when I’m not in the
game,” Bland said.
Varsity basketball coach
Osiris Nalls reinforced that Bland
has “certain aspects that allow
him to be a team leader.”
From yelling directions to his
teammates while on the court, to
having perfect attendance at basketball practices, Bland is the true
vision of a dedicated leader. He
is “the best example he can be
for his teammates,” said Coach
Nalls.
Bland is always “telling his
year university Marry State. And
as a true team leader, Bland does
not take all of the credit.
“I owe a lot of my success
to my father, coach, and teammates,” he said.
Bland did not become a
well-acclaimed athlete because
he practiced once a month. He
worked hard at every single practice of the week, and has reaped
the benefits of this dedication.
He is truly a Cleveland student,
turned basketball superstar.
Date
Jan. 26
Jan 28
Feb 2
Jan 26
Jan 28
Feb 2
Jan 28
Jan 31
Feb 2
Jan 26
Jan 28
Feb 2
Jan 26
Jan 28
Feb 2
Jan 27
Feb 3
Feb 10
Opponent
ElCo (H)
Granada Hills (H)
Birmingham (A)
ElCo (A)
Granada Hills (A)
Birmingham (H)
Verdugo Hills (H)
Taft (A) @Birmingham
ElCo (A) @Birmingham
ElCo @ElCo (A)
Granada Hills (H)
Birmingham (A)
ElCo @ElCo (A)
Granada (A)
Birmingham (H)
Vaughn LC (A)
Birmingham (A)
Canoga Park (H)
Height - 5’7”
Celebrity crush - Olivia Wilde
Favorite food - Tortas
Favorite pick up line - “Did you fart?
Because you just blew me away!”
Wants to attend college at - Mount
Saint Mary’s
Favorite class - Swim
Favorite color - Blue
Role model - Coach Frias
Favorite athlete - Kobe Bryant
Best part of water polo - “That it’s a
contact sport and you can take out aggression on other girls.”
Back Page
12
Spotlight on...
Student Body President
January 26, 2011
What is your New Year’s Resolution?
By Natalie Landau
Staff Writer
Ryan Yoo
Jonathan Sharaf
“Let’s just say my resolution is
to do better in school.”
photo by Alex Mercado
What do you do exactly?
As the student body president, my major duties are presiding over
daily Leadership meetings and attending meetings with the School
Leadership Council. Occasionally, there are district-wide meetings
that take place in downtown LA as well.
Marcos Ramos
“To have a better year than
2010, because 2010 sucked!”
Diego Lozano
“To get a job and to finally get
my picture in the newspaper.”
How can students contact you if they have concerns?
I’m in H-1 with Leadership every day during 4th period, or you
can send me an email at [email protected].
What are some of the major issues that you’d like to fix at
Cleveland?
One issue that has been getting worse lately is on-campus pollution. Pick up your trash! There aren’t enough custodians to pick up
after all of us anymore.
What is your favorite thing about Cleveland?
Cleveland has a certain honesty about it. Our school has a uniquely safe environment; people can express themselves however they
choose. I’ve visited several other schools and haven’t seen anything like the diversity we have.
Who is your favorite teacher at Cleveland?
I don’t have favorites. Right, Mr. Rodriguez? Yeah, I love you
too.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I go to Hollywood whenever I can to eat at Roscoe’s House of
Chicken and Waffles. Scoe’s #2 with gravy on the side? You can’t
go wrong.
What is your advice for freshmen at the Land?
Get involved. Join your class council, clubs, sports, and the like. It
will pay off on your college applications and give you experience
with students organizations. Also, when you have to write that essay for the SAT 1, you’ll have something to write about.
What do you wish you had done differently while in high
school?
I don’t have any regrets, but I wish I could have discovered the
joy of chicken and waffles before 11th grade. All those wasted
years...
What quote do you live by?
“I’d rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery.”
Grover: Year 8
Undercover Cav,
Dear Undercover Cav,
I am an alcoholic. I have a
chronic problem with drinking
and I don’t know how to stop.
And, my parents have no idea
either.
Yosselyn Velasquez
“Make my mom proud by
graduating and walking across
stage.”
Why did you decide to run for SBP?
I ran because the office of student body president is one which
holds a certain weight to it; as a representative of the entire student
body, the president has the privilege of voicing common concerns
and questions. Some perks for future candidates: you’ll get your
picture hung in the main hall and your own page in the yearbook.
Dear
-Thirsty
Dear Thirsty,
First of all, I am very proud of
you for not only admitting that
you have a problem, but also
for being willing to seek help.
My first suggestion would be
to speak to a trusted adult you
are comfortable with. A teacher, counselor, or even a family
member, will all be able to guide
you in the right direction. If you
don’t feel comfortable speaking
to anyone in person, try calling
Teen Line 1 (800) 443-8336, a
confidential hotline run by teens
who are trained to help fellow
teenagers through tough times.
By talking through your problem, you will be able to find the
reason you have picked up this
bad habit, and hopefully be able
to put an end to it.
With Love,
Undercover Cav
Adam Olives
“To get a girlfriend.”
Robert Vergara
“To make more money; to
make a million.
Hey Cavs!
Have You Heard?
Students and parents can vote on proposed school
plans for the high school opening in Granada Hills 2011!
The advistory votes could decide whether the school will
be handed over to either Granada Charter High School
or LAUSD.
While LAUSD hopes to establish a “Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences,” where students would take a
series of 8 courses throughout a block schedule, Granada High envisions establishing a school that focuses on
leadership.
Advisory Vote
Orientation and
Executive Summary
Information
Monroe High School
January 25 Tuesday 6-9 pm
Advisory Vote
sponsered by League of
Women Voters
Monroe High School
January 29 Saturday 9-3 pm
Dear Undercover Cav,
Valentine’s Day is only one
month away and I am already
worried that I will disappoint
my girlfriend. Do you have any
ideas for a romantic and inexpensive gift I can give her?
-Inexpensive Lover
Dear Inexpensive Lover,
Don’t worry! You still have
time to plan something special.
I would suggest planning a romantic date, rather than trying
to buy her an expensive gift.
For example, you could set up
a romantic picnic on the beach
or at the park. She will love the
creativity and will appreciate
that you want to be with her on
this special day.
With Love,
Undercover Cav
Any questions, comments, or
concerns? Ask away at
[email protected]
with “Undercover Cav” as the
subject line. Submissions may
be anonymous, and subject to
edits.
All “Dear Undercover Cav”
submissions are 100% authentic and submitted by Cleveland
students.
Monroe High School 9229
Haskell Ave. North Hills, 91343
By Daylen Chiang
Guest Illustrator
The Le Sabre Staff
adopted a baby!
Watch baby Grover
grow every issue!
Dear Cavs,
We are dedicating this year’s
Back Page to YOU. Please contribute any orginal pieces of artwork or writing you would like
to see published to [email protected], with
your name and grade in the subject line.
With Love,
Your Le Sabre Staff