November 9, 2006

‘07 Chanting Not A Problem
Page 3
Satisfy Your Sweet-Tooth
Page 4
Spotlight: Coach Cady
Page 7
On the Internet:
www.samohi.smmusd.org/thesamohi
Circulation: 3,600
COLUMN ONE:
Blue Crew!
By Nora Casey
Campus Life Editor
In September, a handful of
Samo students were moved by
school spirit to take action and
support their school. Thus, Blue
Crew was born.
Cheerleading coach Amy
Meadors had the initial idea
to form a cheering student
section at football games, based
on college sports fan groups.
History teacher Bryn Boyd
pitched the idea to her students.
“My whole goal was school
spirit,” she explained.
At the first football game,
Blue Crew was only 10 students
strong, but they still counted
the night a success. “We proved
ourselves,” said Blue Crew Vice
President senior Bianca Green.
“People just love to join us.”
Blue Crew now consists of
about 50 members. They hold
meetings every Thursday at
lunch in Boyd’s room, T111.
There they review cheers to use
at upcoming games and discuss
upcoming events and fundraising. Members suggest ideas,
like creating a “BlueSpace” on
MySpace.com.
When the games begin,
Blue Crew brings it. Junior CoPresidents Chris del la Rosa
and Alex Spence lead cheers,
standing in a cornered-off
section at the front of the stands
where only Blue Crew members,
marked by their t-shirts, are
allowed. Blue Crew is intended
as a positive group, so members
refrain from cheering for their
grade or calling out negative
comments. Instead, the group
has taken to yelling “Bluuuuue”
when the feel like booing. The
enthusiasm doesn’t stop until
the last whistle is blown.
“It’s insane,” said Green,
“The number one rule is that
you can’t sit down.” She noted
that the Homecoming football
game against Culver City was
especially successful.
While Blue Crew tries to
a�end home games for every
sport, they have been focusing
primarily on football. However,
Boyd voiced a desire to “carry
[the fan group] into basketball
and soccer and water polo.” Del
la Rosa, a Samo soccer player,
was moved to join Blue Crew
due to the lack of support soccer
players receive: “I do this so
people will support all sports,
[to create] an all around joy for
school sports.”
Blue Crew is open to
everyone. Just buy a shirt for
$10, and you’re in.
Vol. XCVI No. 4 Nov. 9, 2006
Book-Burning Sparks Controversy
By Bennett Rankin
and Chairwoman of the Summer
Reading Committee Meredith
Louria received word of the
video a�er it had been on the
Firoozeh Dumas, author of internet for one month. She was
this year’s school-wide read Funny “quite upset” a�er viewing it, and
In Farsi, has requested a Samo brought the video to the a�ention
student filmmaker to produce of Samo’s administration, who
a film promoting her novel, uncovered the true identities of the
in response to a controversial filmmakers. Louria believes that
video created and posted
the students felt “genuine
by the filmmaker on
remorse” over the pain
YouTube two months
that their video had
“The
ago. The apology
caused.
video was
film is currently in
Before the
post production.
video
could be
nothing more
The original
removed from the
than boredom
video depicted
website, Dumas
two obscured male
learned of its
and juvenile
Samo students
existence while
idiocy”
burning a copy of
giving a presentation
Funny in Farsi. At the end
in Northern California.
of its two-month long run,
She was shocked by the
the video had received over two video’s content and contacted
thousand hits. Many comments Louria to discuss a proper course
on the website branded the video of action. Louria was touched
as racist. The filmmaker denies by Dumas’s response: “What
any racist or offensive intentions impressed me most was that, rather
in making the film: “The video than focusing on punishment, she
was [born of] nothing more than thought the students needed to
boredom and juvenile idiocy.” understand what was hurtful
The filmmaker removed the [about the film].”
video from the website to prevent
The filmmaker proposed
further harm once it was clear that writing a le�er of apology to
its light-hearted intentions had Dumas. She rejected this idea
been lost on the viewing public.
and instead proposed the second
S-House English Teacher film.
Staff Writer
Midterm Election Results
LOCAL:
NATIONAL:
Santa Monicans voted YES to:
—decriminalize marijuana (Y)
—increase school bonds (BB)
—maintain Santa Monica watersheds (V)
Democrats won control of the
House of Representatives, taking over 20 seats with another
11 undecided.
The Senate, however, was a
much closer race. The Democrats have picked up five seats
STATE:
and are holding a slight lead
Californians voted NO on all in Virginia, where incumbent
Republican George Allen is
ballot measures except:
contesting the result.
—bond measures 1A-1E
—sex offender restrictions (83)
Democrats also picked up a
—bonds for clean air/water (84)
majority of governorships.
Courtesy of NBC4
Governor Arnold Schwarzeneg- Courtesy of CNN
ger and Senator Dianne Fein- Compiled by:
stein easily won reelection.
Carl Nunziato, Staff Writer and
Molly Strauss, News Editor
Speakers Face Payment Delays
By Aaron Eslamboly
Staff Writer
In an attempt to keep
guest speakers accountable for
themselves while on campus,
the Santa Monica Malibu-Unified
School District (SMMUSD)
has enforced an Independent
Consulting Contract, increasing
paperwork requirements for
guest speakers to enter Samo and
receive payment.
Previously, Samo pulled
speaker payments from individual
accounts (often clubs), based
on the guest’s reason for being
on campus. Now, SMMUSD
processes payments through
Director of Purchasing Virginia
Hya�, and speakers may receive
delayed checks if they do not fill
out forms correctly and promptly.
Published Biweekly
819 Students Receive
Diplomas Due to CAHSEE
By Jacquelyn Hoffman
Staff Writer
California Superintendent
of Public Education Jack
O’Connell presented former
Samo student Jeffrey Ramirez
with a high school diploma
in Samo’s Mortensen Library
on Oct. 26, announcing that
an additional 819 students
of the 2006 graduating class
successfully passed the
California High School Exit
Exam (CAHSEE) in the July
administration.
Ramirez represented one
of 819 students who struggled
to pass the exam yet who had
completed all high school
requirements. Determined to
succeed, he studied intensely
with the help of supportive
teachers, and passed the exam
over the summer. He urges
students to “stay focused and
believe in yourself.” Ramirez
currently a�ends Santa Monica
Community College and would
like to become a high school
counselor.
Since the 2005-2006 school
year, no student can receive
a public high school diploma
without passing the CAHSEE,
as well as meeting the school
district’s requirements for
graduation (cde.ca.gov). Students
are allowed to take the test once
as a sophomore, twice as a junior
and three times as a senior, a
total of seven chances to pass.
According to a California
Department of Education
News Release, 91.4 percent of
students have met the CAHSEE
requirement by passing both the
mathandEnglish-LanguageArts
(ELA) portion of the test. Yet, the
results reflect an achievement
gap and significantly lower
scores among Latino students,
African American students,
those learning English and
economically disadvantaged
students. “The achievement
gap is real,” O’Connell said.
He continued, “There is a moral
and economic obligation to close
this gap.”
Senior Acting as Interim Producer
By Analee Abbott
Managing Editor
Samo theater producer Bre�
Fisher has taken a job at the
Ventura Playhouse, leaving
a group of parent volunteers
and senior Rachel Robinson to
produce A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, opening
on Dec. 1.
Theater
Director Frank
Ford, though
sad to see the
former producer
go, wishes Fisher
well in his new
position. So far,
Ford feels that
“things have been
going smoothly”
and anticipates a successful
theater season. He chose Robinson
to take a significant role in
production because she is one of
the only people able to use the new
online ticket system, called Seat
Senior Jewish Student Union
President Dor Keyvani thinks
that this “may be a problem for
a while,” but people “will get
used to it.”
According to Hya�,
By Carl Nunziato, Staff Writer
the new system
and Matt Weber, Outreach Editor
will be in effect
Advisor Box Office (SABO).
Fisher continues to visit the
theater department two to three
times per month to help in any
way necessary.
Robinson has participated in
the theater department at Samo
since she was a freshman, serving
as both an actress and a backstage
crew member.
She performed
as a nun in last
summer’s Santa
Monica Civic
Light Opera
production of The
Sound of Music.
As
coproducers,
Robinson and
the parent group
will oversee the
box office, publicity, marketing,
accounting and fund-raising. So
far, Robinson feels people have
been supportive and accepting
of her new position. “I really like
being in charge and pu�ing things
together,” she explained.
World News Top Five
indefinitely.
F
Pictured: Robinson
uses SABO on her
computer in the
Production/
Box Office.
• ormer Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by
hanging for crimes against humanity on Nov. 5. His lawyers have filed for
appeal (CNN).
A
•
study on the world’s fisheries has shown that, unless fishing habits are improved,
all seafood populations will collapse by 2048 (msnbc.com).
T
• he Democratic Republic of the Congo successfully held its first democratic election in 40
years (CNN).
P
• eace talks between the US-backed Somalian government and the Islamic guerrilla movement
currently in control of the capital have broken down, bringing Somalia closer to a civil war (AP).
S
• ecretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stepped down from office yesterday due to criticism of his
handling of the Iraq War. President George W. Bush has nominated former CIA chief Robert Gates as
his replacement (CNN).
OPINION
Page 2
Trash-Talking, Ugly Dresses, and Lies, Oh My
By Michael Bromberg
Staff Writer
Over the years, whenever a girl
does something annoying, I always
keep my mouth shut in the hopes
of finding a girlfriend. Obviously,
that doesn’t work. So screw it,
here’s my list of annoying things
girls do. Watch out, ladies.
1. At dances, girls have the
tendency to be just plain mean.
Whenever an una�ractive guy tries
to dance with a remotely a�ractive
girl,her friends need to talk to her
at precisely that moment to warn
her of the oncoming apocalypse.
Basically the guy is le� standing
alone, looking like a major loser,
while the girl pretends to be pulled
away against her will. At least
have the decency to come up with
a semi-believable excuse. And,
for all the girls who just refuse
to dance with anyone, what are
you even doing there? Aren’t you
missing the season finale of One
Tree Hill?
2. Girls always have to go to
the bathroom at exactly the
same time. We all know you’re
gossiping about some completely
insignificant triviality, so don’t
pretend otherwise. Just say the
gossip openly, like guys do. This
ultimately leads to fist fights,
which, we all know, are the best
way to solve problems.
3. A new clothing fad has infected
many teenage girls. All the girls
who listen to “indie” or alternative
music have started wearing really
ugly dresses that look like they’re
from the 18th century. General rule
of thumb: the more cleavage, the
be�er.
And to all the healthy looking
girls who constantly fish for
compliments and state loudly
that they are fat, please stop. In
20 years, when you’re having
your fourth kid from your third
marriage, you’re going to wish
you had the figure you do now.
Not that I care, all of the girls
I compliment who say they
are fat never dance with me at
Homecoming anyway, so what’s
the point of being nice?
Habeas Corpus Suspended:
Sorry is Only a Five Letter Word
Why is America So Apathetic? By Kristina Naderi
By Carl Nunziato, Staff Writer and
Chelsea Rinnig, Opinion Editor
President George W. Bush’s suspension of Habeas Corpus, the law
that prevents the government from
imprisoning citizens indefinitely and
without trial, proves the true character of our national government:
inconsiderate, self-serving, and absolutely appalling. We as a nation are
in desperate need of a massive voter
revolt, and the media’s refusal to cover
the Bush’administration’s latest act of
tyranny has proven its irresponsibility
and neglect in a great time of need.
Bush signed the Military Commissions
Act of 2006 on Oct. 17, defying the Bill
of Rights and contradicting the morals
upon which this nation was built. How
can our country remain passive in such
critical condition, watching President
Bush sign our rights away?
The Military Commissions Act
suspends the writ of Habeas Corpus for
any citizen declared by the government
to be an “unlawful enemy combatant.”
In other words, any American can now
be accused of terrorism or defiance,
without pretrial evidence, and denied
their right to a speedy trial or protection
under the Geneva Conventions. Essentially, under the new law, one is allowed
to be tortured until self-incrimination,
without any solid evidence of even
comitting a crime, and imprisoned
until the government deems the case
worthy of a trial at all. The only thing
more anti-American than the law was
the Press’ silent reaction. There was no
public outcry, no protests, no news coverage--written, televised, or otherwise.
Commentator Keith Olbermann was one
of the few news anchors who actually
recognized the story with the contempt
it deserves. In a special comment titled
“the Beginning of the End of America”
Olbermann attacked Congress and the
complacent American Public for handing George W. Bush “A blank check,
drawn against our freedom” (msnbc.
com). Even with Olbermann’s scathing report, in which he even goes so
far as to compare Bush to the terrorists
he claims to be protecting us against,
generated very little controversy.
Bush justified the Bill as a way to
protect ourselves from the terrorists. It
is despicable to watch a nation as proud
and as strong as America surrender their
liberties to a man desperate to make
the history books as a martyr alongside
great presidents of the past. So long as
the American public continues to deny
and ignore the urgency of our current
situation, the U.S. government will
continue to erase our liberties under the
appeal to fear and a false sense of protection. In the words of founding father
Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would
give up essential liberty to purchase a
little temporary safety, deserve neither
liberty nor safety.” As Americans, it is
not only our right but our responsibility
to challenge our government in times
of great threat.
Staff Writer
We were always taught in elementary school to only say good things
about others and to apologize if we
said bad things. What Barney forgot to
specify, however, was that we should
only say sincere apologies.
There is a trend of
empty, meaningless apologizes
in not only
mainstream
media, but
also in our
everyday
lives, and
that needs to
stop now.
We t e n d
to say sorry for
things that we really
don’t regret. Whether it
is not doing our assignments
or taking our parent’s car out without
permission, it has become our instinct
to automatically say “I’m sorry,”
with no regret whatsoever. Everyone
always feels obliged to apologize or
else they think they will be looked
down upon.
In mainstream media we see a very
entertaining tango between the apologizer and the people demanding the
apology. Recently, Rush Limbaugh,
who is known for his Conservative
talk radio show, accused Michael J. Fox
of not taking his Parkinson’s disease
medication in order to dramatize an ad
endorsing a democratic candidate running
for senate. Just a day after Limbaugh made
this statement, the media attacked him
and and Limbaugh issued an obligatory
apology. Limbaugh said: “I was wrong
because I speculated either he didn’t take
his medication or he was acting. I never
said the word faking.”
This isn’t an apology;
this is a cover up
to smooth things
over demanded by his PR
(Public Relations). If it
wasn’t for
the pressure
to
“apologize”
to Fox, it is
doubtful that
a character like
Limbaugh would
ever say sorry, considering his blunt and unapologetic
nature. What is the point of even saying
your sorry if there is no authenticity to it,
and no desire to change ones ways? Furthermore, if people repeatedly apologize
for things they don’t believe in, they lose
credibility and become hypocrites.
We need to start relearning the true
meaning of this “sorry” word and when
to properly use it before it’s lost under
a pile of sex scandals and wrong word
choices. We may have been trained to think
“If you have something nice to say, don’t
say anything at all.” We should apply this
same logic to apologies. I promise, you
won’t be sorry.
It’s A Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Mr. D! By Jessica Gerhardt
Let’s Do Lunch Longer Than 35 Minutes
By Analee Abbott
Managing Editor
Lunch time at Samo is hilarious. People elbow each other to
get to the food carts in the science
quad and vending machine lines
clog the breezeway by the Greek.
A 35 minute lunch period is simply too short.
I’m a senior and I’ve been doing this Samo thing for a long time.
It takes me at least eight minutes to
pack up my bags, get rid of whoever sits next to me in fourth period, go to my locker and head out
to lunch. Heaven forbid I brave
the lines of the bathroom and I’ve
spent 15 minutes. By the time I
start eating my lunch, I only have
20 minutes to relax and do so. On
days where club meetings, teacher
conferences and make-up quizzes clu�er my lunch time, I shove
sandwiches into my mouth while
I run to my next class. I’m certain
you can all relate.
The classic argument might
be that all those activities are our
choice. We could theoretically
not go to clubs, bring our lunch
and eat under the tree directly in
between 4th and 5th period. However, schools don’t deal with theoretical models. Schools deal with
reality. Students are never going
to stop having friends. They are
never going to stop needing essays
revised or grades re-done. The administration knows the plethora of
activities taken on by the average
student during lunch time and yet
the time slot remains the same.
If you’re a standard student
with 6 periods, you spend 336
minutes a day in class, 42 minutes
trying to get to your next class and
only 35 minutes relaxing, eating
and trying to fill in the gaps. It’s
time that we as a school looked at
those 35 minutes and saw the need
for change. If it doesn’t, tired, hard
working students everywhere will
suffer.
MyTurn: Russ Weller
By Nicky Borenstein
Junior
Unlike others’ fathers mine
doesn’t deal with “clean up in aisle
four,” rather he faces “death sentence to four.” Mark Borenstein, my
father, is a courtroom lawyer hoping
to seek justice for Russ Weller, who,
on Oct. 20 was found guilty on ten
counts of vehicular manslaughter
with gross negligence.
On July 16, 2003, an accident
occurred that remains implanted
in all of our minds. That day, Russ
Weller drove his car through a
crowded Santa Monica Farmers’
Market. Ten people died and nearly
70 more were injured. As my father
noted in his Opening Statement
in the courtoom, “there might be
a ‘Law and Order’ moment where
you will be shown a gut-wrenching,
absolutely tearful picture of a victim,
but that’s theatre.” I agree with my
father, not because of false evidence,
but because of the facts.
The jury had to decide what a
“reasonable” person would do in
four seconds, the time it took for
Mr. Weller’s car to travel from 4th
Street and Arizona to the entrance
of the farmers’ market. That is less
than the time it took to read the last
sentance. Mr. Weller was seen by
witnesses as desperately trying to
stop. Would a reasonable person
steer into parked cars, or would he
try to stop the car in the way he had
stopped his car 100 thousand times
before, by pressing on the brakes?
He tried to avoid all other obstacles
and did what he knew best—press
on what he thought was the brake,
over and over again.
While I certainly disagree with
the jury’s decision, it doesn’t ma�er
whether we disagree or agree on the
verdict. We should all agree there
is absolutely no societal purpose
in sending Russ Weller to jail. This
was undoubtedly a horrendous
accident, but we must recognize
that Mr. Weller had no intention of
hi�ing or hurting anyone.
We have to ask ourselves what
threat does an 89 year-old man
who, at this point, cannot walk, has
extremely poor health, rarely leaves
his house and is under constant care
of doctors pose to our community?
Mr. Weller lives everyday knowing
what he did and the lives he damaged and apologized many times.
He shouldn’t be put in jail for an
accident no ma�er how horrible,
because it was just that--an accident.
It could have happened to anybody.
It was no more predictable than a
heart a�ack in a person without
symptoms. It was an accident and
not a crime.
Opinion—Page 3 The Samohi November 9, 2006
SAT Prep: Paying the Way to Success
By Jackie Berkman
Opinion Editor
In this world of conflicting
opinions, we are all united in
one sense: our hatred of the
SAT. Yet, as much as we all
want this dreaded test to go
away, it continues to play an
increasingly large role in our
lives. Not only has the length
of the test increased in recent
years, so has the talk of its
alleged importance in college admissions. And with
all of this anxiety, stress, and
hardship over one four hour
scantron sheet nightmare,
a new business enterprise
has been born: the SAT tutor/entrepreneur. Usually
fresh out of college and with
smiles that are too wide to
be trusted, these tutors find
ways to take advantage of
our anxiety and wallets with
the ever enticing notion of a
raised score—“guaranteed.”
Yet as our society gets further
and further steeped in the
abyss of prep classes, tutoring
packages, and vocabularey words
of the day, we tend to forget what
the big picture is. In fact, we cannot
see the big picture at all because
we are too submerged in lies and
oh-so -friendly manipulations.
Campus Life Editor
At this year’s Homecoming
Pep Rally I noticed a lot of condescending glances from
teachers, almost saying
“I’ll endure your stupidity, but I still think you’re
acting stupid.” And why?
Because we as a student
body have the audacity
to yell out our graduating
years. I’ve heard the arguments; yelling is divisive,
hurts school unity and puts
others down.
What about Houses?
Ever since Redesign, teachers and administrators
have been trying to build school
unity through houses. There are
S-house banquets, H-House dodge
ball games—all of which exclude
the rest of the school in hopes of
uniting within Houses.
So why don’t teachers and
administrators see that yelling our
years is like having house competitions and actually builds unity
too? When we call out our years,
we create this same idea of unity
through the smaller groups that
they want. In fact, four grade levels is less divided than six houses,
creating more unity than they seek
through houses. And unlike an
Latino voters into thinking they
had no right to vote and intentionally mislead them with false
information.
Of course undocumented
immigrants cannot vote in U.S.
elections. However, Nguyen’s
audience was immigrants who
have become naturalized citizens
and they absolutely have the right
to vote. Nguyen, a Vietnamese
immigrant, knows this fact well,
since he is a naturalized citizen
of this country. It’s ironic that his
letter tried to dissuade Latino
citizens from participating in the
political process when he himself
is an immigrant running for public
office. This wasn’t just some pe�y
campaign tactic; this was a serious
a�empt to rob Latino citizens of
their constitutional right to vote.
However, some good may
come from this despicable political
trick. Many long-time immigrant
residents refrain from ge�ing their
citizenship because they think it’s
unnecessary. Sometimes it takes
racist, bigoted proposals (like the
immigration bills of last year) to
unite and motivate people to fight
for their rights. If this trend continues, we may be able to expect
another jump in citizenship and
voter registration.
These letters contradict the
ideals upon which we base our
government. It’s one thing to try
to win an election on the merits
of your argument, and another
to try to threaten those who may
vote against you. I thought that
a�er years and years of fighting
for equality in the U.S. that we
were above such racially driven
politics.
We Can’t Discriminate AgainstVoters
By Gabrielle Hernandez
Staff Writer
You know it’s election time
when a big scandal surfaces, and
this year it came courtesy of Tan
Nguyen, a Republican candidate
running for the 47th Congressional
District seat. Nguyen’s campaign
sent le�ers to 14 thousand Latino
registered voters just weeks before
the election warning them that illegal aliens or immigrants who vote
in U.S. elections risk prosecution
and deportation. The le�er, wri�en
in Spanish, was sent on the le�erhead of an immigrant reform group
without its permission, and signed
by a fictitious Sergio Ramirez in an
a�empt to be�er relate to a Spanish-speaking audience.
This letter was obviously a
political tactic used to frighten
A Proud Shout Out to “‘07!”
By Nora Casey
our entire life” is put on the line.
Instead, we call up tutors and prep
classes in a frenzied panic. “There,
there,” the companies assure us in
a deceptively soothing tone, “we
can raise your score by 250 points. If
you simply pay $1 thousand dollar
package deal, we’ll set you up with
a fine tutor.” They also manage to
slickly mention that should you
choose to pay $2 thousand more,
you will receive a “premium, top quality tutor.”
This blatant manipulation
is obviously wrong, yet I
can’t help but marvel at the
cleverness of it. Here we are,
a nation so consumed with
panic that we are willing to
work out “packaged deals”
over a multiple choice test,
as if it were some sort of
Mafia transaction, and they
are dangling the option of a
superior tutor in your face,
should you choose to cough
up the money. It almost reminds me of the elementary
school days when the popular kid said he’d be your best
friend if you gave him your
Fruit Roll Up.
I suppose the path to
success is a tricky one, and
manipulations may o�en
get in our way, but it’s up
to us to discern right from
wrong. But I’ll conclude with the
distant dream that perhaps, one
day, the youth of America won’t
have to deal with the SAT at all.
The world would then be a better place.
Essentially, the SAT is supposed
to measure our natural ability to
reason, but no one wants to walk
in cold when college, and “everything we’ve ever worked for in
assigned le�er, our grade actually
ma�ers to us.
I heard a few suggestions that
instead of yelling our graduating classes, which divides the
school, we should all yell
“Samo.” At a pep rally
yelling “Samo” would be
completely pointless. Yelling for your school only
works at places like sports
games, when you aren’t
completely surrounded by
people from your school.
But yelling your graduating year sets you apart, so
it’s worth saying.
Shouting years achieves
the goals of House contests
or lunches; bringing together some Samo students through
a common interest. That seems like
a good thing to me. I think it’s what
most Samo administrators and
teachers want too, they just don’t
realize what they’ve got.
Have an Opinion? Submit a MyTurn or Letter to the
Editor via e-mail to [email protected]
Submissions Due: November 13th
and December 5th
Editor-in-Chief..................Emily Foshag
Managing Editor..............Analee Abbott
News Editor........................Molly Strauss
Opinion Editors............Jackie Berkman
Chelsea Rinnig
Feature Editor...........Marissa Silverman
Special Report Editor.....Jeremy Tramer
Campus Life Editor..............Nora Casey
Sports Editors........................Erin Nadel
Charlie Paris
Photo Editor...............Samantha Walters
Ad Editor....................Jennifer Galamba
Copy Editors.....Saba Boradeh-Hamedy
Sophia Young
Art Editor.......................Sarah DeRemer
Outreach Coordinator.........Matt Weber
Editor-at-Large...................Nick Barlow
Adviser...............................Kathleen Faas
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Published biweekly during the school
year by the Associated Student Body
of Santa Monica High School, 601
Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA.
90405. Unsigned editorials reflect the
opinions of the staff. Signed editorials
represent the opinions of the writer.
Staff
Zoey Baldwin, Hannah Bernstein,
Maisy Bragg, Michael Bromberg,
Sam Cotten, Aaron Eslamboly, Henry
Garf, Jessica Gerhardt, Owen Gorman,
Gabrielle Hernandez, Jacquelyn Hoffman, Jesse Grebler-Hull, Kevin Katz,
Jade Kedrick, Vincent Lai, Tina Naderi,
Carl Nunziato, Evan Perkins, Bennett Rankin, Anthony Ramirez, Leah
Robinson, Danielle Worthy, Natalie
Yadegar, Zoe Young
FEATURE
Page 4
Being Bad Never Felt So Good Los Angeles’ Top 5:
By Sophia Young
Copy Editor
Art by Henry Garf
Eat your vegetables,
just say “No” to drugs,
keep your legs closed these are admonitions
we hear on a daily
basis, but do they really hold any validity?
A slew of studies are
telling us that some of
these supposedly sinful indulgences may
not be as bad for us
as we think, and may
in some cases even be
beneficial to our health.
the Journal of Epidemiology
and Community Health, men
who had sex at least twice a
week were less likely to suffer
Orgasms
For years it was
thought that the only
people who should
enjoy sexual pleasure
were men and prostitutes. However, in light
of new research sex
may not be the sinfully
tempting activity it has
so long been made out to
be. Not only can sex be a good
means of relieving stress, it
is also a decent aerobic exercise. In a study published in
risk for prostate cancer is reduced by frequent ejaculation.
Chocolate
Anything as delightful
as
chocolate must be bad for
youright?
Wrong.
Cocoa happens to be rich
in flavonoids, an antioxidant that can reduce
one’s risk for heart disease by promoting blood
flow and reducing blood
clots. The less the chocolate has been processed,
the more flavonol-rich it
is, meaning you should
stick to dark chocolate
for the healthier option.
Alcohol
heart attacks. Unfortunately, if
you’re under 18 you still may
be unable to legally appreciate
sex’s benefits. In addition the
Although we may be a
little young to appreciate
its benefits, alcohol has
many of the same health
benefits as chocolate. By
consuming one or two
drinks a day you can reduce your risk of heart
disease, heart attack,
stroke, and diabetes. A drink
constitutes 12 ounces (oz.) of
wine, 5 oz. of beer, or 1.5 oz.
of 80-proof distilled spirits.
(1920’s) Slang of the Issue:
1. Goofy: to be in love
2. Heebie Jeebies: the jitters
3. Rag-a-muffin: a dirty or disheveled individual
Santa Monica Big Blue: The Wheels
on the Bus Go Round and Round
By Aaron Eslamboly
Staff Writer
You’re si�ing there looking
through the window, watching
the scenery pass by when you
hear a playful “ding” followed
by a computerized voice dictating “Stop Requested.” The bus
pulls over to let its passenger off.
You then hear the voice again.
“Next Stop . . .” But it trails off
as you shi� your focus to the
driver. You begin to wonder
what it’s like to be that person:
driving all day in traffic while
the wheels go round and round.
Many drivers say driving a
Big Blue Bus is a very hard and
stressful job to have. Freshman
Rose Kleiman-Weiner said “[The
drivers] have a tough job because
they need to fight the traffic all
over Los Angeles.” Based on seniority, drivers pick which lines
they want to drive that day in a
bidding process. According to
many Bus Drivers, they must always be weary about their time
schedules. In a system of Demerit
Points, the slightest tardy adds
to a driver’s accumulated point
total. When a limit is reached
that driver is relieved of duty.
Talk about stressful. One driver
stated that the reason for all the
stress is the schedule that they
must keep up with. “If you don’t
make it to your stop on time, your
points add up and you’re gone.”
When asked about their
daily routine many drivers were
more than willing to share. Drivers wake up according to their
schedule, drive down to Big Blue
Bus Headquarters and choose the
line that they want to drive. From
there the rest of the day is all driving and “ge�ing cut-off by other
vehicles, “ said another driver.
Despite the stress, some put
up with it, saying, “It is our job
to get these people, who have no
other form of transportation, to
their destination safely.” Junior
Alec Richker thinks highly of the
bus drivers: “I think that a lot of
the drivers do their job because
they want to get passengers to
where they need to get to.” It is
true; a lot of drivers don’t simply put up with the tension; they
actually enjoy their jobs. Experienced Bus Driver Latanya Bridgewalter says, “I don’t mind it one
bit.” The bus drivers not only
do it for their job but also for the
people, who have no other way
to get home. Bridgewalter added,
“They have got to get home somehow and as long as they have
their li�le blue cards, I’m okay.”
For more information visitwww.bigbluebus.com or call (310) 451-5444
The Best Desserts
By Zoey Baldwin
Staff Writer
A�er dinner, only one thing
can logically follow: dessert.
But there are times when a pint
of grocery store ice cream just
won’t do it. Here are five dessert
places in the Los Angeles area to
hit if you’re looking for a change.
Pinkberry ($$)
868 Huntley Drive, between
Santa Monica Blvd. and Sherwood Dr., West Hollywood
This teeny frozen yogurt
shop is definitely different.
They only serve two flavors,
“plain” and green tea, and they
pride themselves in one thing:
healthy dessert. As for toppings,
Pinkberry flaunts a variety of
fresh fruit and cereal, including Cap’n Crunch and Fruity
Pebbles. The prices may seem
a li�le steep for yogurt, but the
portions are huge, and the frozen yogurt is unlike any other.
It takes a while to figure out...
but it’s unusual because it actually tastes like yogurt. They also
serve smoothies and shaved ice.
Diddy Riese ($)
926 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles
(in Westwood near UCLA)
If you go to Diddy Riese on a
Saturday night, there is usually a
line down the block. Everyone just
seems to want their create-yourown ice cream sandwiches. You
can pick two different cookies, and
they will sandwich the ice cream
flavor of your choice between
them. The best part about Diddy
Riese is that their signature ice
cream sandwiches are one dollar,
including tax. The dessert is amazing, but the prices are even be�er.
Jin Patisserie ($$$)
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
Driving by, it is almost impossible to spot Jin Patisserie. This
rather upscale café serves a quaint
a�ernoon tea, but it particularly
prides itself in its bakery. Their tiny,
decorated homemade chocolates
are not too rich, and they melt in
your mouth. They also serve small
mousses and soufflés. Besides
having delicious desserts, Jin Patisserie’s presentation is impeccable,
and the environment is charming.
Angelato Café ($$)
301 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica
(just off the promenade)
This conveniently close café is
a great place to hit for gelato. The
portions are pre�y small, and the
prices are less-than-amazing, but
they carry over 100 flavors of gelato, tofu�i, and sorbet. It’s an ice
cream wonderland. The titles of
their ice cream get pre�y creative,
too. They have a flavor called
“Lemon Death” that looks remotely like a vat of lemonade mixed
with blood, but my personal favorite is “Hedge Hog,” which is a
swirl of chocolate and hazelnut. I
suggest picking up a scoop of that.
Sprinkles Cupcakes ($$)
9635 Li�le Santa Monica Blvd.
between Bedford and Camden in
Beverly Hills
Cupcakes are usually a pre�y
overlooked dessert, but Sprinkles
is making them a trend. Not only
do these small desserts look delicious, but the cake is rich and
smooth, and the icing decadent
and creamy. With over twenty
flavors, including peanut butter chip, coconut, and red velvet,
you can’t go wrong at Sprinkles.
Just be prepared to wait in line.
The Real Barbershop
By Anthony Ramirez
Staff Writer
Lincoln Barbers
2208 Lincoln Blvd.
(310) 314-1719
Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sat. 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Sundays
If you want a quality haircut at a decent price, head over
to Lincoln Barbers. Established
in 1999, this barbershop has
been run by the same person,
a man simply known as Chino.
Chino has been cu�ing hair
for 16 years. Sixty percent of
his customers have been there
since the grand opening in 1999.
“About 50 percent of my
customers are from Samo,”
said Chino. Located on Lincoln
blvd., this shop is rather popular
among Samo students because of
the convenient location. “They
always take their time and get
to every detail to make it look
nice,” said freshman Pablo Trejo.
At the moment, there are
six barbers on staff, all of which
are needed due to their heavy
business. On a regular Saturday, with out an appointment,
there might be as much as a
two-hour wait for a haircut.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the shop opens early in
the morning to help people.
and closes at seven to eight
o’clock. “I am confident that
we are the hardest working
shop around,” said Chino.
At the moment, Chino has
no plans to expand the shop
into a franchise. But, everything
depends on the way it works
out, notes Chino. Over the
years, the prices have gone up
but compared to other shops,
it’s cheap. A�er starting off for
about $8 dollars, a cut is now
$12 dollars. “It’s a decent price,
and it’s an adventure every time
you go. You never know what’s
going to happen,” said senior
Antonio “Megatron” Peraza
If you ever need a haircut before school, head over
to Lincoln Barbers. They will
fix you up quickly. Just ask for
Chino, and you will be fine.
Special Report: Lunchtime
Lunch: Off Campus
How Samo Does Lunch
By Saba Boradeh-Hamedy
Compiled by Kevin Katz
Copy Editor
Staff Writer
The Samohi surveyed over 200 Samo students from all grades regarding
their lunchtime preferences:
When lunch rolls around and you have a big appetite, check out
these off campus spots:
---- 4 percent of the students surveyed do not eat lunch on school
days
Shang Hai Asian Kitchen -- 1909 Lincoln Blvd. When you’re in the
mood for Chinese food, try the wide range of selections including a
menu full of noodles, rice, and different kinds of meat. In comparison
to other off-campus venues, Shang Hai is somewhat expensive.Prices
vary depending on dish or combo, but never rise above $6 per meal.
Students enjoying lunch with
Circle of Friends, one of
Samo’s many clubs at lunch
---- 64 percent of the students surveyed bring a lunch from home
---- 14 percent of the students surveyed usually eat lunch at El Pollo
Loco, making it the most popular off campus destination
Donut King -- 1912 Lincoln Blvd. Ever since Homer Simpson came up
with his famous phrase “Mmmm, donuts,” we can’t help but share
his obsession. Donut King, located right around the corner from
Samo, is one of the most convenient and cheap locations to grab a
pastry and a drink for lunch. It may not be the healthiest choice, but it
is extremely inexpensive.Anyone who has eaten a donut there will
agree that “Donut King” is an appropriate name for this eatery.
----- 2 students surveyed eat fruit at lunch
----- 44 students surveyed eat burgers at lunch
----- 18 percent of the students surveyed typically have only a soda
at
lunch
----- 31 percent of the students surveyed eat pizza on campus at
lunch, which would make pizza the most popular lunchtime
food for Samo students
Samo students enjoy lunch
outside of Barnum Hall
L&L Hawaiian BBQ -- 1916 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica. Known for
its extremely fast service and famous barbecued cuisine, L&L offers
deliciously tantalizing food, in an upbeat and accomodating atmosphere. Be bold and grab something different to eat for lunch.The
average price here is $3-$5.
Communists, Tigers, and Metalheads: The Various Lunching Groups at Samo
1
Brown Communist Party
“We are all equal. We all share our
food.”
Metalheads for
Metallica
2
3
“Eric owns 10 Metallica T-shirts.”
Ceiba (Nacho Men)
“We will sit under this shaded tree until it is cut down.”
4
The Chilling Area
“We Chill.”
5
Miss Morgan Malice the
Legend and Company
9
“We are against shaving eyebrows.”
10
6
5
1
2
4
6
7
8
3
Compiled by Nick Barlow, Editor-At-Large
10
The Weekenders
“Willing to accept each other, and eat
pizza.”
9
9th Grade Footballers
and Cheerleaders
The Sack Is Ours
(Hacky Sackers)
“We have the superior sack.”
8
Photos by Owen Gorman
Honestly, We’re Nerds
“We don’t do anything at lunch.”
“Make sure that our names go in the
paper.”
7
The White Tigers
“We are the exact opposite of white supremacy.”
CAMPUS LIFE
Page 6
LifeAfter Samo... WhereAre They Now?
Adams “Frick’n Awesome”
By Molly Strauss
Staff Writer
News Editor
’58 Ted Armbrister: Football Captain, Student Body President
’43 Byron Maynes: Winter President
Following high school,
Maynes entered the navy. He
graduated from the University
of California at Berkeley, and
married as soon as he received
his naval commission.
Maynes started his own
construction company. He later
worked for Bentall Construction
oversees. Maynes joined Bentall
National when he returned to
the U.S., and worked on the
storage of highly radioactive
materials. He then became a
senior manager.
Maynes has three children,
nine grandchildren and one
great-grandchild. he now lives
in a retirement community in
California.
Armbrister a�ended Pomona
College, where he played four
years of football and rugby. A�er
serving in the Army as a Second
Lieutenant, he entered UCLA Law
School and was admi�ed to the
California Bar. Armbrister raised
three children with his wife in
Mandeville Canyon, and now has
a grandson. He continues his trial
law practice and regularly visits
the Bahamas with his family.
’65 Donna (Brisbin) Arledge:
Homecoming Queen
Fix
Up,
Look
Sharp
By Zoe Young
Arledge earned a bachelor’s
In the garage below the
Technology building hides one
of the most practical classes at
Samo: Automotive Technology,
or Auto Shop.
Taught by Dan Cox, the twoyear program is designed for students to a�ain entry level skill in
automotive repair. A�er students
complete the courses they are prepared for a mechanic apprenticeship or advanced training.
Auto students can learn the
skills needed to enter colleges
such as Denver Diesel or U.T.I.,
where they will be paid to work
as they learn to be professional
mechanics. This is one of the
only programs on campus that
guarantees a job that pays at least
$15 – 20 an hour.
The money doesn’t stop there.
A�er three years a mechanic can
make up to $8 thousand a year,
almost twice the salary of a full
time teacher.
Cox teaches three periods a
day, and each class is filled with
students with a variety of experience levels.
In a nutshell, not only will
Auto Shop teach you how to fix a
car, it will teach you how to buy one
and not kill yourself driving it.
This class isn’t only for future
mechanics; it’s for people who
don’t want to find themselves
standing on the shoulder of the
I-10, waiting for AAA and wondering why smoke is rising from
their hood.
The main problem Auto Shop
has experienced over the years is a
lack of girls. Cox welcomes girls to
join the class because car trouble
does not distinguish between genders. The classes are now about 20
percent female, which makes Cox
very proud.
By Kristina Naderi, Staff Writer
and Sarah DeRemer, Art Edi-
11 years. McGee suspects that they
probably came from one of the
houses on 7th and Michigan.
When all the students leave
and the seagulls fly away, another group moves on the
Samo campus; the cats.
The stray cats that reside on campus can usually be seen before A.M. or
a�er sixth period running around the openings in the History and
the Business buildings.
According to M-House Administrative Assistant Leslie
McGee,
the cats
h a v e
been
coming
o
n
campus
for about
The Humane Society used to
collect the cats, but they no longer
come to help with the growing
population. “All of a sudden [the
cat population] just blossomed,”
Staff Writer
degree from the University of California at San Diego, a Master’s of
Social Work from San Diego State
University, and became a clinical
social worker. She has been married for 25 years. Arledge has three
sons, ages 32, 30 and 24, and travels
with her family throughout North
America in their motor home. She
enjoys quilting, fishing, reading
and playing piano.
’69 Mike Martinez: Editor-InChief of The Samohi
Martinez worked as a professional sports journalist for 27
years at various United States
newspapers, among them the
New York Times, where he covered
the New York Yankees, the Mets,
pro-basketball and boxing. He
later became a newspaper travel
writer. He is Married to the San
Francisco Chronicle’s national
football writer.Martinez has one
son and four dogs.
By Anthony Ramirez
Laura Adams has taught math
at Samo for nearly seven years and
“she’s frick’n awesome,” according to senior Brenda Godenez.
Adams was born and raised in
the Mar Vista housing projects in
Culver City. Growing up with six
people in the house, she says she
was “rich with family love.” She
grew up listening to soulful music
such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie
Wonder and The Temptations.
Adams says, “I used to play Temptations. My cousin and I would be
the back up singers, and the boys
would be the lead singers.”
Adams started her college
career at UC Santa Barbara and
earned her B.A. in Business and
Economics. Continuing her business interests, she a�ended the
University of San Francisco for a
M.B.A. in Business and Finance.
While working for the U.S.
Treasury Department as a bank
inspector, she became interested
in teaching and taught Business
classes at night at West Los Angeles College.
The Samohi polled 226 Samo
seniors, since they have had
the most teachers, about their
choices for each category.
Here are the winners:
Funniest:
Kelly Okla
Carmen Paul
Nicest:
Donald Hedrick
Maria Stevens
Coolest:
Josh Arnold
Amy Bisson
Adams applied for a job in
the Math Department at Samo
in 1999. She was hired by former
Samo Principle Sylvia Russou.
“[Roussou] was a role model
and an inspiration to me,” said
Adams. With that inspiration,
Adams takes pride into her work.
“It’s fun and exciting and every
day is different,” Adams said.
“I like being a role model for
[students.]”
During her time at Samo, she
has experienced three administration changes, and Redesign. “At
first [Redesign] took a while to get
used to, but now I like it because
I’ve built a lot of strong relationships,” said Adams.
In her spare time, Adams likes
to travel. She is also passionate
about real estate. “I try to use
that [real estate] in my teaching
to inspire students to become
home owners.”
She is married to Dr. Robert
Adams, the Vice President of
Santa Monica College. Adams
also says she has “120 kids here
at Samo.”
“She’s a nice sweet lady,” said
Sophomore Liz Gutierrez.
Strictest:
John Harris
Alicia Gonzalez
Quirkiest:
Charles Thun
Beverly Gleason
Most Down to Earth:
Josh Arnold
Maria Stevens
Best Sub:
Ragsdale
Compiled by Anthony Ramirez,
Staff Writer
Feral Felines Frequent Our Fields
tor
McGee said.
Since there’s not a lot of
cat friendly food at this school,
they tend to be underweight and
unhealthy.
“It’s too bad that they don’t
have nicer homes than a huge
high school with a lot of loud
teenagers,” said senior Emily
Van Ness.
Over the summer, a
group of students led
by Mathematics Teacher
Ari Marken and Administrative Assistant Ane�e
Bolan helped capture three of
the ki�ens so that they could
be nursed back to health. The
three ki�ens were rehabilitated,
vaccinated and adopted into new
homes.
While it may be tempting to
pet, catch, or generally harrass
the cats, try to minimize your
activity with them and let them
be.
Renee “Chaci” Rosa’s painting, which was part of the Day of the
Dead Art Show in the Roberts Art Gallery.
Photo by Owen Gorman
Greenies Win Wild Card; Head to CIF Round One
By Erin Nadel
Sports Editor
On Nov.3 the Greenies played
Milken for the third spot in
league, and therefore earned
the wild card position in the
CIF championships. The squad
easily pulled off a 9-5 blowout,
despite the physical play. The
two teams had 11 penalty ejections combined, and one Samo
player received a red card for a
brutality call. Starting whole set
player, junior Adrian Stepien, led
the team with five goals. Junior
Shane Keckin followed with two,
and captain Senior Emmet Bloom
and junior Sam Einstein each
scored one.
On Nov. 3 the Vikes traveled
to Malibu High School for a nonleague game. With outside shots
from Stepien and Bloom, and a
five meter penalty drawn by Einstein the scoreboard read 3-2 as
the first quarter closed. However,
the game turned the other way in
of three kickout
ejections). Senior
Zac Carriere and
Bloom also had
two kickouts,
leaving them to
margin of error.
Malibu continued to dominate
in the second half
and the game
closed 14-7.
Tuesday, Nov.
7 the Greenies
beat Lakeside
High School at
Junior Adrian Stepien (left) prepares to shoot home 18-4. The
against Milken in a six on five advantage.
highest scorers
were Stepien
(four goals) and
Photo By Jesse Grebler-Hull Einstein (three
goals). The Vikes
will now conthe second quarter. At hal�ime,
tinue
to
Round
I
of
the CIF Chamthe score was 7-5 in Malibu’s
favor, and starting driver Keckin pionships. Today they will travel
was majored (unable to play for to Ontario High School. Wish
the rest of the game as a result them luck!
Frosh/Soph Water
Polo Finishes 20-3
The frosh/soph Greenie team
won league and finished their
season 20-3. They also won the
Mira Coasta Tournament and
Bell Gardens Tournament.
Top Le�: The team and trophy a�er
winning the Bell Gardens Tournament.
Top Right: Starting goalie sophomore Ven Matskin blocks a ball
in the Bell Garden’s Tournament
Championship game.
Bo�om Le�: Starting player sophomore Max Zakzook scores against
Culver City.
Bo�om Right: Captain sophomore
Zack White looks for a pass.
Sports— Page 7 The Samohi October 13, 2006
Athletes of the Issue
Selected by their coaches for their hard work and dedication,
these athletes, among others, can be seen in the Breezeway.
TV Show:
I don’t have one
Funniest Movie:
Shaun of the Dead
Cartoon Character:
The Li�le Mermaid
Nickname
Ana
By Michael Bromberg
Staff Writer
Pat Cady, or as I like to call
him, the nicest, warmest, coolest guy ever, has been running
Samo’s track department
since 1993. In his time
here, he has built
the track team
from a team of
35 to a team of
180, as well as
put a smile on
all of his students’
faces.
The first to set
up before a race,
and the last to go
home when one is
done, Cady’s energy,
which comes along
with a certified air of affability, is completely endless.
And, as anyone who knows
him can tell you, he plays the
welcoming grandfather role to
every Samo runner, girls and
boys alike, from the fastest to
the slowest.
A�er growing up in Washington D.C., Cady went to UC
Berkeley as an undergraduate,
where he majored in U.S. History. He then went on to receive
his masters at UCLA, where he
started working on his doctorate.
His supervisor suggested he get
his teaching credential,
and a few years later,
he had one from
USC.
It is then that
Cady started
teaching
at
SMASH, where
he worked for
eight years. In
1982 though,
Cady
started
teaching
at
Samo. In 1993,
he took over the
track and cross country departments, leading
the track team to a Bay League
championship in 1999 and 2003,
and cross country to an Ocean
League championship in 2002.
Having done this now for a
number of years, Cady would es-
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timate that he has met at least
10,000 Samo students or family members. But, the fun and
excitement of each race has not
worn off. Cady acknowledges
that he still “can’t sleep the
night before a race,” and, “you
can never be sure your going
to win. And that keeps me constantly worried.”
But, no ma�er how tense
he may be, Cady radiates nothing but warmth for all the students, all the time. Said Tania
Fischer, Cady’s cross country
and track co-coach, “Mr. Cady
showed me that coaches don’t
have to scream and yell to lead
well. He brings a compassion
to his athletic program that
many coaches lack. If it weren’t
for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
Cady, when asked why
he still coaches a�er all these
years, sums it up simply with “I
love this place. I bleed blue and
gold.” I think it’s clear that if
there were more teachers with
the dedication of Mr. Cady, this
school, and this world, would
be a much be�er place.
Tennis, Junior
My coach is Poon
Sophie Stocking
TV Show:
Lost
Funniest Movie:
Super Troopers
Cartoon Character:
Jasmine
Nickname
Sexy beast
Cross Country, Senior
My coach is sweet
Skylar Nathanson
TV Show:
Entourage
Funniest Movie:
Young Frankenstein
Cartoon Character:
Peter Griffen
Nickname
Sky
Water Polo, Senior
My coach is awful at Xbox
Allison Silvia
TV Show:
The Simpsons and Family Guy
Funniest Movie:
Jackass 2
Cartoon Character:
Goofy
Photos Courtesy of Molly White
Coach Cady: The Track Master
Anastasia Sonkina
Nickname
Sylvs
Volleyball, Senior
My coach is a lunatic
Compiled by Charlie Paris and Erin Nadel; Photos by Samantha Walters and Jesse Grebler-Hull
Volleyball Loses Tough CIF Opener
By Gabrielle Hernandez
Staff Writer
A�er a season of many exciting victories and crushing losses,
the Lady Vikings finished out
the season with a second place
ranking in Ocean League.
“Overall, this season has had
its ups and downs,” noted coach
Liane Sato. “Now is the time for
our senior girls to step up their
leadership.”
Beverly Hills defeated Culver City Nov. 2, leaving our
girls tied with both of them for
the league title. The three-waytie was broken with a coin toss,
awarding the Lady Vikings 2nd
place in Ocean League.
In the last home game of the
season, the Lady Vikings clobbered an inexperienced Inglewood team in a clean three game
sweep. With a strong start right
off the bat, the squad dominat-
ed game one, winning 25-8. By
game two, there was no hope le�
for Inglewood, who managed
only one point in game two, and
lost game three 25-13.
The Hawthorne team suffered the same fate, as the girls
breezed through their last
league-play match, cruising to a
3-0 victory.
The Redondo Power Classic
Tournament on Oct. 27, however, was a rude awakening for the
girls. The squad suffered some
rough losses, making a quick exit
in pool play.
“We played some of the
toughest competition we’d seen
all year,” commented senior Leah
Buchsbaum. “[This tournament]
showed us that we really need to
pull it together before CIF.”
The Lady Vikings hosted
Quartz Hill in the first round of
CIF on Nov. 7, losing a tough
match 3-0, (18-25, 22-25, 26-28).
Golf Finishes 7th, 14th, and 19th in CIF
Upcoming Athletic Events
Varsity Football
vs.
Hawthorne
Nov. 10 @ 7:00
at SMC
By Erin Nadel
Sports Editor
Sophomore Zoe Rose,
junior Gabi Page, and captain senior Samantha Walters went to CIF on Oct. 26.
Rose finished seventh place
in CIF with a score of 89,
qualifying as first alternate.
If one of the six players
moving to the next round
drops out, Rose will take
her place. Rose also qualified for the all-league team.
Walters placed fourteenth
with a score of 99, and Page
placed nineteenth with a
score of 103.
SPORTS
Page 8
Fall Sports
Regular Season Records
Varsity
Football: 5-4
Girls Volleyball: 8-5
Boys Cross Country: 3-0
Girls Cross Country: 2-1
Boys Water Polo: 14-14
Girls Golf: 1-7
Girls Tennis: 7-6
Junior Varsity
Football: 7-1
Girls Volleyball: 8-3
Boys Cross Country: 3-0
Girls Cross Country: 3-0
Girls Tennis: 7-4
Freshman/Sophomore
Football: 6-1
Girls Volleyball: 6-0
Boys Cross Country : 3-0
Boys Water Polo: 20-3
Girls Varsity Basketball
vs.
Samo Faculty
Game
November 18, 2006
5 p.m. in the North Gym
Come and support your Lady
Vikings as they take on your
favorite teachers!
Football Playoff Race
Goes Down to the Wire
By Emily Foshag
Editor-in-Chief
the first quarter. Before the end of
the quarter, Katz broke a tackle in
the backfield and connected with
senior Geo Allen in the end zone for
A�er a commanding win over
Inglewood last Friday, the
Vikings find themselves in
a playoff race that comes
down to the outcomes of
tomorrow night’s Ocean
League games.
The Vikings will
take the field against
Hawthorne tomorrow
night with a playoff berth
Playoff possibilities:
on the line, but the feeling
If Samo beats Hawof urgency won’t be new
thorne tomorrow night, the
to them. Once Samo’s
following must occur for the
football team opened
Vikings to make playoffs:
Ocean League play with
• If Inglewood beats
a 0-2 record, the Vikings
Morningside and Beverly
became aware of the fact
Hills beats Culver City tothat they must continue
morrow night, the Vikings
Junior quarterback Ryan Katz consults with head
winning in order to keep
coach Zach Cuda during last Friday’s win over will finish second in the
their playoff hopes alive. Inglewood.
Ocean League and will
After responding
earn an automatic playoff
with a 63-35 win over
Photo by Samantha Walters berth.
Culver City on Oct. 27,
• If either Culver or
the Vikings entered
Morningside wins, Samo
Coleman Stadium last Friday a 14-0 lead. Katz continued to find will fall into a three-way tie for
with a similar amount of pressure Allen throughout the remainder of second place and a coin flip will
to perform. And perform they the first half. “I found open spots, determine which two of those
did. Quarterback junior Ryan Katz and Ryan did a good job ge�ing teams will earn the remaining
found senior Cameron Collins for me the ball,” said Allen.
playoff berths.
Up 27-0 at hal�ime, the Via 56-year reception on the opening
• Should the Vikings lose the
drive of the game. Following a pair kings didn’t score for the remainder coin flip, they will still have an
of successful runs by senior Louis of the contest. “Going back to the opportunity to make the playoffs
Adeyemi, Katz’s touchdown put game against Culver City, we had as an At-Large entry.
the Vikings on the board with played six quarters of intense,
Playoff pairings will be anless then two minutes gone by in must-win football, and that’s a lot nounced Sunday.
Girls Tennis Serves Up Competition
By Vincent Lai
Staff Writer
Two members of the
girls tennis team made
it past Round one in the
Ocean League individual
championships on Nov. 1.
Sophomore singles player
Leora Welles advanced to the
quarterfinals a�er receiving a bye
due to the other player’s absence
and sophomore Jennie Harding
dominated in the first round with
a score of 8-2. Both Welles and
Harding however suffered losses
in the next round.
In doubles, the girls made it
to the semifinals when #1 doubles
team Harding and Welles received
a bye in the first round and
defeated a much weaker team in
the quarters. Unfortunately, the
girls went up against a stronger
Beverly Hills squad and lost a
tough game by the score of 6-7,
0-6. “We played very well,” said
Cross Country:
By Charlie Paris
Sports Editor
of energy and emotion to expend,”
explained Cuda. “We just ran out
of gas in the second half.” Fortunately, the Vikings were able to rely
on a solid defensive effort
to keep Inglewood out of
the game.
When the Vikings take
on Hawthorne tomorrow,
Samo’s seniors will be honored in a ceremony before
the game.
Harding. “Unfortunately, a�er
losing the first set in a tiebreaker
we got tired out and they took
advantage of that.”
The other two doubles teams
made it to the second round
before succumbing to injuries
and superior players. “We could
have beaten the teams we were
up against,” admi�ed #2 doubles
player Anastasia Sonkina, “but
we made too many unforced
Samo Alumnus
Takes Job With
Dodgers
By Emily Foshag
Editor-in-Chief
After a successful season
put the Los Angeles Dodgers
back on the map, the organization is already at work to ensure
that the 2007 debut lives up to
the hype. Samo alumnus De
Jon Watson became a part of
the organization’s future plans
when the Dodgers named him
director of player development
on Oct. 24.
At the age of 40, Watson
joins the Dodger organization
after working in the Cleveland
Indians organization as the
professional director of scouting for the past three years. “ I
am really excited about coming
home,” said Watson in a press
release on Oct. 24. “Growing up
in Los Angeles and knowing the
history of one of the most storied franchises in all of sports,
I’m truly looking forward to the
chance to contribute and help
the progression of the Dodger
organization.”
Watson played outfield/
first base at West Los Angeles Community College after
graduating from Samo. He
replaces the Dodgers’ Terry
Collins who recently accepted
the manager position with the
Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese
Pacific League.
errors and they were good
enough to take advantage of
that.” Although none of the
girls made it to the finals, Poon
remains proud of the team.
“They gave it all they got and
the fact we made it this far says
a lot about our team.” The girls
finally wrapped up their season
in a team CIF championship
loss of 8-10 against Glendale
round one.
Boys win eighth straight Ocean League title while
girls team earns second place; both prepare for CIF.
Fischer continued to say
that “it was a really exciting race,
and everyone did
what they needed
to do. They all executed their race
plan, and it was
nice to go out on
a good note.”
BOYS
The boys cross country team ran away with the
Ocean League title with
an impressive win at the
League Finals on a sunny
day on Nov. 2 at Kenneth
Hahn Park, defeating secGIRLS
ond place Beverly Hills by
It was a beau17 points. Junior Daman
Coffman nearly stole the
tiful at Kenneth
The boys cross country team celebrates its Ocean Lague
show himself, crossing
Hahn Park: sunny
championship
on Nov. 2.
the finish line a mere four
and clear in the
Photo by Jesse Grebler-Hull mid 70’s- everytenths of a second behind
the Normans’ first place
thing was fine unfinisher Jon Simmons, who before Einstein (17:38), his junior brother til the last girl crossed the finish
had li�le competition during the Simon (17:43), and sophomore Jor- line. The points were tallied, and
season. Coffman led the way for the dan Keslow (17:51) finished 5-6-7 Beverly Hills was declared the winVikes with a time of 16:47. Senior respectively, as the squad ran “an ner, handing the Samo girls cross
Julio Alba (17:14) followed, finish- all around great race,” according to country team their first league loss
of the season, and dropping them
ing third over all, and senior Max head coach Tania Fischer.
into second place in the Ocean
League.
The team, riddled by injuries and sickness, was led by
sophomore Gabi Cruz (22:04) who
finished fi�h overall. Freshman
Stevy Stovall (22:18) finished seventh, and junior Karissa Gonzalez
(22:57) finished tenth, as the only
Lady Vikings to finish in the top
ten. Sophomore Beth Morrison
(23:03) and junior Maki Nakamura
( 23:12) rounded out the Samo five,
finishing eleventh and twelfth
respectively.
“We weren’t at 100 percent
healthwise, and we got beat. It
hurts,” commented head coach
Patrick Cady. “It was just the wrong
day for us.”
Both teams will race in the CIF
Division I Pre-lims on Saturday.,
Nov. 11 at Mt. Sac. According to
Fischer, “This could be the year.”
Daman Coffman is pictured en
route to his second place finish
in the league final on Nov. 2 at
Kenneth Hahn Park.
Photo by Jesse Grebler-Hull