-
A WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL PUBLICATION
FACTS ABOUT YOUR BLOOD & STOP THE BULLYING PAGE 5
BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER PAGE 5
SUMMER FUN SECTION PAGE 6
CLASS OF 2010 & 2009 SECTIONS PAGE 7 & 8
CLASS OF 2008 & 2007 SECTIONS PAGE 9 & 10
ENTERTAINMENT SECTION PAGE 11
STUDENT LIFESTYLE SECTION PAGE 12 & 13
YEAREND REVIEWS PAGE 14 & 15
Check It Out!
HITCHING POST
November 26, 2006
Throughout this year, we’ve already heard about several of our
Wilson faculty members going to Miami, New York, and Florida to
survey schools in their Small Learning Communities (SLCs). On May
7-8, there was another trip to observe school im-provement and this
time it was in Texas, Houston. Those that attended were Jill
Papineau, George Ver-din, Larry Stone, Barry Shanley, Christine
Tran, Roberto Martinez, Williams Bertrand, Ursula Rosin, Barry
Allright, Mario Cantu, Teresa Olague, and Lupe Paramo (Local
District 5 High School Director). Once again their goal was to
observe and learn the ways other schools function as SLCs. The
purpose of going to Houston, like the previous trips, was to learn
how schools successfully transitioned their school into SLCs as
well as blocking scheduling. The school that was observed in
Houston was Lee High School.
Overall the trip was a success in broadening the minds of those
that attended. This experience al-lowed them to gain new
perspectives towards improv-ing Wilson. Many of the activities
observed came from school improvement strategies that were
helped
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
TO HOUSTON AND BACK BY : ALMA AGUILAR
Volume 59, Issue 5 Wednesday, June 13, 2007
SENIOR ELIGIBILITY PAGE 3
STUDENTS SHOULD COME TO SCHOOL PAGE 3
HOW TO GET INTO HARVARD PAGE 3
CAREERS WITH CHILDREN PAGE 4
GRAD NITE & THE 411 ON SENIOR DUES PAGE 4
STEVE MARTINEZ VS . LAUSD PAGE 4
May 12th marked the coming of class of 2007’s Prom Night. Young
men and women alike prepared for this occasion for months in
advance, carefully choosing out their dress or tux. Others
pre-ferred to scurry around in the last
week, or even a few days before, to go dress or tux shopping.
Senior Amanda Corral says “I found the per-fect dress, the style
was incredible, but the store didn’t carry it in burgundy. I was
disappointed and I ended up buying the dress in black.” Others
start preparing a few days before and still manage to look amazing
for Prom, such as Senior Geraldine Figueroa. “I had a late start. I
had my dress made two weeks ago and I’m still not ready. I had an
idea about what I wanted but it just didn’t become my primary
priority until a few days before Prom.” Sure enough this Geraldine
made an
ACCREDITATION BY : BERTHA HERNANDEZ
The school year began and word quickly spread that the school
was to undergo accreditation. Well, accreditation finally came and
all the administrators and faculty feel that eve-rything ran
smoothly. Mr. Martinez says, “Everything went well and they said
Wilson made all of the necessary improve-ments.” Ms. Ultreras also
feels strongly that the school did a good job, “Attendance
throughout those three days was excep-tional.” Attendance wasn’t
the only thing the WASC team noticed, one of the comments they made
was that they felt stu-dents were friendly and that Wilson was a
welcoming place. They also added that the school looked different,
that was due to the flowers and grass in the front.
While visiting the school the WASC team was not only greeted by
administrators they were also greeted by Wil-son’s Leadership
class. “Everyone was a bit nervous about pre-senting for the WASC
team” says Senior Carmina Gomez but Mr. Martinez says that although
everyone was nervous Leader-ship did an outstanding job. Wilson’s
Leadership class was in charge of presenting WASC with the
importance of accredita-tion and the CAHSEE. Overall accreditation
went well says Mr. Martinez and he would like to thank all the
students for their outstanding performance during accreditation. He
says that one of his main fears was that someone would get into a
fight and the WASC team would be witness to this, but grate-fully
nothing occurred and for this he as well as all the adminis-trators
and faculty are thankful.
As the month of May neared Finally Mr. Martinez says “I wanted
to find out what the results of the visit would be.” Mr. Martinez
wasn’t the only one that wanted to find out ad-ministrators such as
Ms. Ultreras and Mr. Cantu were also anx-ious to find out the
result. On May 07, 2007 the wait was over for Mr. Martinez finally
received a letter from WASC. The letter states that the school will
not be revisited for another three years. That means that
adminis-trators, faculty, and students can relax before the next
visit which will come in 2010. As for now everyone is just happy
about the good news, Wilson’s Mighty Mules come out on top once
again and our diplomas are safe!
impressive appearance and not to mention a fashiona-bly late
entrance.
A good Prom always has school spirit and excitement attached to
it and Wilson’s “Casino Royale” was no exception. Everyone had
their own expectations for this grand event. Senior Janelle Marquez
said “I am very excited because I have never been to a school dance
and I hope this event will be one of the most memorable at
Wilson.”As Prom night came closer and closer more and more flyers
could be seen around the school “Buy your ticket now for $90.”
Senior Angelica Cano said, “It’s really expen-sive, but the pricing
makes sense for a night that shall be remembered your whole life.”
Yes, Prom was definitely on everyone’s mind and everyone was
ex-cited for what was in store. As the Mighty Mules pre-pared their
excitement and anxiety filled the air. The much anticipated night
finally arrived and with it came unforgettable memories. Slowly
people began to arrive at the Omni Hotel and slowly more and more
shouts and surprised looks filled the atmosphere. Everyone was
surprised at how others looked so clean cut and well dressed. Upon
arriving people were greeted by Ms. Ultreras, who was won-derfully
dressed for the occasion. After a courteous greeting everyone was
given a $500 gambling chip and was thoroughly searched for any
contraband. Senior Gloria Arco says “It was weird to be searched
specially since everyone had really small purses and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
‘007 CASINO ROYALE BY : PABLO OLVERA
Left to Right: Janelle Marquez, Est-fania Rivera, and Dulce
Angel
Lee H.S. Wilson H.S.
• 2,179 students
• Study body consists of 74% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 17 % African
American
• About 89% of the stu-dent body qualifies for free or reduced
lunch
Source: TX Education Agency
• 3,106 students
• Study body consists of 92% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 2 % African
American
• About 88% of the stu-dent body qualifies for free or reduced
lunch
Source: CA Dept. of Education
QUICK SCHOOL FACTS (2005-2006)
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Date Event
June 15, 2007 Finals/Minimum Day 12:22 PM
June 17, 2007 Father’s Day
June 18-19, 2007 Finals/Minimum Day 12:22 PM
June 20, 2007 Graduation Ceremony/Minimum Day 12:22 PM
June 22, 2007 Last Day of School/Minimum Day 12:22 PM
June 13, 2007 Senior Grand Nite
June 12, 2007 Senior Awards Night
June 19, 2007 Juneteenth
June 21, 2007 First Day of Summer/Last Day of School
JUNE IS…
NATIONAL SAFETY INTERNATIONAL PEOPLES SKILLS
DAIRY ROSE R IVERS
MONTH
ANNOUNCEMENTS ⇒ College Corner Want to go to college? Are you a
graduating senior and need to figure out your college plan? Go to
the College Corner for more in-formation!
⇒ Career Center What’s Available in the Career Center?
The following is a list of information/services that are
available in the Career Center, which is located between the
Library and the Sey-mour Zone. Mrs. Smith is the Career Advisor,
and some of her responsibilities include:
• Assisting students with finding part-time employment.
• Issuing students work permits.
• Assisting students with volunteer pro-grams.
• Referring student to the East Los Angeles Skills Center and
the East Los Angeles Occupational Center in order to earn credits,
or take a vocational class.
WORD OF THE MONTH :
incandescent (adj.): • Emitting light as a result of being
heated Example: "An incandescent bulb lit
up the room with brilliance."
• characterized by ardent emotion or intensity or brilliance
Example: "The actor was cheered for his incandescent
performance."
(From www.onelook.com)
WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL 4500 Multnomah Street
Los Angeles, California 90032
PHONE: (323) 223-1131
FAX:(323) 223-7936
CONTACT MS. TRAN, ADVISER:
[email protected]
www.mstran.com
SSSSTAFFTAFFTAFFTAFF M M M MEMBERSEMBERSEMBERSEMBERS Alma
Aguilar
Maria Arias
Esperanza Arrizon
Edward Gonzalez
Angel Hernandez
Deisy Jara
Lauren Padron
Jennifer Martinez
Gregory Mijares
Chelsea Ricard
Rosemary Reveles
Lidia Rivas
Wendiss Rush
Kevin Vega
Elijah Villena
Cartoonist
Pablo Olvera
Editor-in-Chief
Bertha Hernandez
Adviser
Ms. Christine Tran
School Events
We’re on the Web! See us at:
www.wilsonmules.org
Policy & DisclaimerPolicy & DisclaimerPolicy &
DisclaimerPolicy & Disclaimer The Hitching Post editors and
staff
believe in responsible reporting.
Additionally, the Hitching Post is an
open forum of expression and does not
necessarily reflect the views of the stu-
dent body, school board, administration,
faculty, or advertisers of Los Angeles
Unified School District’s Woodrow Wil-son High School. All the
bylined articles
and artwork reflect the opinions of the
writer and artist. Letters, opinions, arti-
cle, and creative submissions are wel-
come. All letters must be signed. The
editorial board reserves the right to edit
letters for poor taste, layout space, libel,
and grammar. Please send all correspon-
dences to the above provided contact
information.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
PAGE 2
POEM OF THE MONTH
IT ’S SUMMER ! !
THE SUN IS SHINING TEMPERATURE IS CLIMBING
I HAVE A DAYDREAM WITH COKE AND ICE-CREAM
I WATCH THE CHILDREN PLAYING FROM THE EARLY MORNING TILL THE
EVENING
I SMELL SOME ROASTED MEAT THERE 'S A BARBECUE IN EVERY
STREET
EVERYBODY IS HAVING FUN ENJOYING THE WARMTH OF THE SUN IT 'S
SUMMER FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
PASS THIS PAGE ON , BEFORE THE SUMMER IS GONE
-- UNKNOWN
VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13, 2007
Retraction StatementRetraction StatementRetraction
StatementRetraction Statement In our last publication (April 2007;
Volume 59, Issue 4) we published an article entitled “Shanley
Scholarship.” The Hitch-ing Post would like to give its sin-cerest
apologies for titling the article “Shanley Scholarship.” The
title should have been “Los Angeles Dollars for Schol-ars Alumni
Scholarship”. With our utmost regret we miss titled the article.
Although Mr. Shanley has been a great contributor to the
scholarship, we would like to apologize for not giving credit where
credit was due, which in this case to the whole scholarship
com-mittee: the alumni: Danny Pagen, Jade Medal, and Anthony Wong;
faculty: Mr. Shanley, Mrs. Gutierrez, Mrs. Tong-Lee, Mr. Verdin,
and Mr. Espinoza. It was a group effort between the alumni and
faculty.
Be cool!
Use your Wilson
Planner!
iPod, iPod, iPod, iPod Nano, iPod, iPod, iPod Shuffle, iPod...No
won-der I couldn’t fill these orders. I had to go to Target, and
they even ran out! Why don’t they ever ask for something useful?
They should ask for a WILSON PLANNER!
The summer before Christmas, Santa checks his backorder
list.
-
Editorial PAGE 3
Many students wonder, "Why should I go to school? Is school
really important?" Students of-ten feel that school is a waste of
time, and that getting a job is not. Here's the reality: school is
not a waste of time, school is a job! The only dif-ference is
students receive their paychecks every time they get a report card.
Students do not real-ize their report cards are paychecks. They are
paid well if they do well on their job at school with the promotion
of a high school diploma that can lead to college degrees.
To get an education and to have a successful life, students must
go to school! Sophomore Felix
Reyes Jr. says, "I come to school to try and better my education
and also to see my friends." This young man realizes that if he
extends his education he will probably have a better chance at a
well-paying job in the future. He is also one of many students who
look forward to seeing their buddies at school. I know I do. In the
real world, where people work full-time, you have to make time for
your friends. In high school, lunch and nutrition are built in!
Another reason students come to school is to learn how to be
gregarious with their peers. At school you can learn different
types of subjects and be involved in programs that are beneficial
to your life. Freshmen Maria Pizarro says, “Many people have many
reasons why they come to school. For me there are three major
reasons: One is to join and play sports…Two, to meet new friends
and talk to my old friends…Three, to update my knowl-edge.” As for
Pizarro, she enjoys the sports the school has to offer and of
course the oppor-tunity to enhance her knowledge! Besides, having
fun with friends, it’s clear that school provides an opportune
schedule to fit both social and academic life.
Many students come to school to prepare for college. Sophomore
Carina Aguilar says, “I come to school to study and because I want
to be somebody in life. I do not want my children to suffer because
of money like I’ve suffered.” Aguilar is more focused on her
stud-ies than on friends or on sports. She wants to be the best in
life and won't settle for less. She wants to have a well-paying
career to support her family. Aguilar pretty much knows what she
wants and is achieving it through her education.
All students should be enthusiastic to come to school. Students
who go to school in the United States are given a free education.
While most children in other countries, don’t have this
opportunity. Millions of children around the world face poverty,
racism, and sex-ism—preventing them from even attending school.
Although students here face some of the same issues, our education
is never denied.
So why come to school? Come to school because it’s a privilege.
Come to school to get a better future. Come to school for
yourself.
STUDENTS SHOULD COME TO SCHOOL!
BY : WENDISS RUSH
VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13, 2007
SENIOR ELIGIBILITY
BY : ROSEMARY REVELEZ & LAUREN PADRON
SOPHOMORE CARINA AGUILAR SAYS , “ I COME TO SCHOOL TO STUDY
AND BECAUSE I WANT TO BE SOMEBODY IN LIFE . I DO NOT WANT MY
CHILDREN TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF
MONEY LIKE I’VE SUFFERED . ”
How many times have seniors heard administra-tors and teachers
say prom and participating in the graduation ceremony are a
privilege? Yet, what exactly is a privilege? A privilege is a right
earned by a person. Here at Wil-son, seniors are only al-
lowed to miss eight excused absences in each semester. If
seniors miss more than eight days their “privilege” to attend prom
is taken away as well as their participation in the graduation
ceremony. In order to attend these two major events, seniors must
make up the hours they missed by completing community service.
Prom, the last formal dance of the year, is a must go to event
for seniors. Yet many have been deprived of this privilege due to
their excessive absences. Prom is a given privilege and
participating in the graduation cere-mony are rights we as students
have earned throughout our entire educational career. Prom is not a
mandatory event any school must have for students. Taking away prom
as a punishment due to a sufficient amount of absences is fair.
Yet the same cannot be said about participating in the
graduation ceremony. As young children we are taught
to stay in school, graduate from high school and continue onto
college to reach our career goal. We have set these goals for
ourselves since the day we could imagine the possibilities of our
future. As life goes on and students reach high school, peer
pressure from friends or family issues influence whether which
students will make it to the end of their graduation year or not.
Although hard-ships and responsibilities may prevent students from
graduating, the remaining senior class has worked hard to walk down
Wilson bleachers and across the stage to re-ceive their diploma. Is
it right for administrators to deny a senior their right to walk
across the stage and receive their diploma they worked hard for?
Ms. Ultreas states, “We don’t have to have a graduation ceremony,
but it is a tradition. This is why we have it. Either way, you get
your diploma.”
Seniors are the only students affected by this rule, but is it
fair to punish only seniors and not the rest of the student body.
“I feel as an underclassman I can be absent as many times as I’d
like because there are no con-sequences,” states sophomore David
Hernandez. Punish-ing seniors for their excessive absences gives
underclass-men the incentive to be absent as many times as they can
until they reach their senior year. “Being a junior I feel I do not
have to worry about how many times I am absent, only that next year
I do have to get my act together,” says
junior Lizette Gomez. If the administrators are attempt-ing to
reduce the number of absences at Wilson, all stu-dents should have
the same consequences for having a sufficient amount of
absences.
For a few seniors, eight days is enough. Yet many seniors have
responsibilities which do not allow them to miss only eight or
fewer days. Many seniors hold jobs or have families who depend on
them. These re-sponsibilities should not withhold a senior’s
eligibility to attend their senior prom or participate in the
graduation ceremony. “I think seniors should be allowed to be
ab-sent 13 days, students especially seniors have many things to do
such as, doctor’s appointments, family prob-lems and other things,”
says senior Megan Hinojosa. Al-though some say having a job is a
responsibility seniors chose to take on. Others have no choice in
the matter of being employed due to their family income. “I had no
choice in working, my family needed money and I had to get a job,”
says senior Jose Licerio
To be equitable to students who face special circumstances,
there should be special guidelines for senior eligibility. The
allowable days missed should be increased and there should be some
student input on the absences allowed. Graduation should be a
memorable day that should be experienced by all seniors and not
taken away because of a few absences.
HOW TO GET INTO HARVARD
BY : KEVIN MARTINEZ
To all underclassmen, first and fore-most, you do not have to be
a genius to get into Harvard. I often struggled in school; rarely
did things come to me naturally. However, in order to com-pensate
for not being Albert Einstein, you have to be willing to work hard.
Therefore in order to receive good grades you have to work hard, go
to tutoring, and ask your friends or teach-ers for help. Don’t just
give up! Make sure to take AP and honors classes. It is incredible
to believe but AP classes prepare you for college.
Colleges love to see that you have taken several AP courses and
have done well on AP exams. As for extracurricular activities, you
don’t have to be in every club in school to get into the college of
your dreams. I only joined clubs that inter-ested me, and that I
knew would have fun in. If no clubs in school interest you, start a
club! Colleges love initiative. This takes me to my final point,
colleges love to see that you have accomplished something.
Contribute to your school or your com-munity, do something positive
that makes your community a better place. I per-sonally wrote in my
statements about being a Hispanic president of the Pacific Asian
Club, and what I felt that did for my school. I made myself stand
out, and that’s ultimately what colleges want, someone who stands
out. To all those apply-ing to private schools or universities next
year good luck and remember to work hard and make yourself stand
out!
ATTENTION TEACHERS , STUDENTS ,
ADMINISTRATORS , PARENTS , COMMUNITY MEMBERS !
WOULD LIKE TO PUBLISH NEWSARTICLES, ANNOUNCEMENTS, CREATIVE
WRITING PIECES
(POETRY, SHORT STORIES, LYRICS, ETC.), ARTWORK, OPINION
ARTICLES, OR ANYTHING OF INTEREST?
PLEASE CONTACT THE HITCHING POST
BY EMAILING MS. TRAN AT [email protected] OR
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WILSONMULES.ORG
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PAGE 4 News & Features VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE
13, 2007
Grad Nite is nearing! On Wednesday, June 13 the last festiv-ity
for seniors will take place at Disneyland. The cost of this event
is $70 dollars and many seniors are expected to attend. Grad Nite
will not only be an all night event, but it marks the last occasion
for seniors to spend their last time together before graduation.
With many seniors attending from all over the area, there are many
rules and safety issues to be followed. In order to be allowed in
the theme park, the follow-ing are prohibited:
These rules must be followed in order to be permitted in the
theme park. Remember not to miss this great spectacular event which
marks the final school event which could be spent with your close
friends. All seniors attending must be at school by 8:00 pm. The
bus will be leaving at 10 PM and returning around 7:30 AM.
Unfortunately no one will be excused from school on Thursday, June
14 because it is against district policy. Students are required to
come to school because teachers are going to be reviewing for
finals. Addi-tionally, the school will lose money for every senior
absent. Although seniors are going to be tired from having fun they
must still attend school. Despite this, remember to be safe and
have fun!
GRAD N ITE
BY : L IDIA R IVAS
CAREERS W ITH CHILDREN
BY : ALMA AGUILAR
“I like spending time with the preschoolers. Seeing their faces
light up when they experience new things makes me feel proud
because I’m the one teaching them,” says senior Yesenia Go-mez.
Students like Gomez are one in a few who have the oppor-tunity to
take Careers with Children (CWC). Also referred to Child
Development Pathway, it’s a 2-year program held here at Wilson, it
is a class in which students are pre-pared to pursue a career in
child care, and development for young children. Ms. Tong Lee
oversees
and manages the class, with help from Teacher Assistant Susan
Quan. CWC takes place during Period 1 and Period 2. Before even 1st
pe-riod even starts, the students, known as student-teachers, have
to wait by the flag pole area for parents to drop off their
toddlers. You have probably seen the student-teachers, wearing
their creatively decorated blue aprons as they escort their little
tikes into Wilson.
Prior to taking the class, it is required that you take child
psy-chology and child development. Students in this class get to
interact with young children and experience, first-hand, how to
work with them. The individuals who choose this class must enjoy
the company of children and would like to work with them in the
future as a career, hence the name. Senior Xiomara Lara says, “It’s
a great opportunity because you work one on one with the children
and you get to experi-ence what a real teacher goes through.” As
Xiomara’s senior year comes to an end she reflects, “The children
have taught me that you need a lot of love and patience. It has
been one of the best experiences in my life.” From the male
perspective we’ve also received positive feedback. Andrew Macias,
one out of the three males taking this course, says, “The class is
a good experience…it taught me that chil-dren require a lot of
care. While working with the kids, I’ve learned about the
importance of fatherhood.” The program contributed to both his
parental future as well as his professional goal. Macias plans to
pursue a career in law enforcement. This course has given him the
opportunity to work with both the children and their parents. By
in-teracting with the community now, this will help him with his
career later. CWC isn’t just any class, it’s a form of preparing
high school students for the real world.
STEVE MARTINEZ VS. LAUSD
BY : CHELSEA R ICARD
In April 2007, Steve Martinez, a 13 year-old student attending
Sati-coy Elementary (North Hollywood), suffered a seizure that led
to cardiac arrest. On that same day a Marine was visiting that
school and started Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on Martinez.
The school nurse then followed to further CPR treatment. Steve had
fallen on the playground on top of a metal utility plate which was
heated by the sun. This left Martinez with second and third degree
burns. The family sued over these injuries for hospitalization
care. The jury awarded the Martinez family $361,237. After this
incident the mother notified the school of two additional seizures
that oc-curred at home that had required CPR. Since this
occurrence, the
family requested for a one-on-one supervision by someone trained
in CPR at school.
Although the mother’s request for supervision was made,
California law does not require school nurses to be at a school
site full time, so they frequently travel in between schools. In
other words, what the mother had asked was not attainable at most
schools. Since her son had special needs, options were presented to
the family. To accommodate her son’s need, she was offer free
transporta-tion to a school with a full-time nurse. She later
testified that the school facility that was offered was too far
away from their home and had too many students.
Although Saticoy Elementary had intend to protect Steve and who
had also included staff members that had obtained CPR
qualifications to be close at hand, Steve unfortunately faced
another incident. Steve subsequently faced another fall. On April
18, 2005, Steve fell to the ground while playing on the basketball
court. The medical response was stated to be delayed and poor. This
was blamed on to lack of supervision and inadequate communication.
Yet the school has stated that there was someone at this child’s
side in seconds. The first adult that was present on the scene was
not aware of Steve’s health issues and later said that she had
attended an incomplete day of a first aid couse in the late 1960s
and had some knowledge of CPR from watching cable TV. As a result
of this incident, the CPR did not succeed. Steve was not so lucky
this time around. He was diagnosed as being in a persis-tent
vegetative state. Steve remains paralyzed and is unable to speak.
He is incapable of breathing with-out assistance.
Senior Yesenia Gomez and Abel Grande
• no fluids of any type
• no weapons
• no school attire allowed
• no markers
• hats
• purses
• pens/pencils
• lasers
Flashback: Grad Nite in 1976; Courtesy of Disneyland
THE 411 ON SENIOR DUES
BY : MR . GEORGE VERDIN
With graduation upon us, many students’ thoughts turn to senior
dues. Seniors are generally aware they must pay $110.00 for the
privilege of taking part in the graduation ceremony, but some
wonder exactly how their money is spent. Well, wonder no more, here
is the official graduation expense report.
Senior dues pay for all expenses incurred in producing a grand
and memorable commencement ceremony. Students are of course
familiar with the personal and traditional graduation expenditures
for their caps, gowns, tassels, senior videos, and senior class
medallions, but they rarely think about the produc-tion expenses of
the evening. We divide these expenses into three broad catego-ries:
decorations, maintenance, and security.
Decorations are an important aesthetic element of the graduation
ceremony. Senior dues pay for fresh flowers, silk flowers, silk
trees, streamers, balloons, class signs, and safety posters. The
most important and unique decorative expenditure is the dazzling
fireworks display—Wilson High is the only school in Los Angeles
legally authorized by the Fire Department to host a fireworks show
and it has become a student favorite.
Maintenance costs include cleaning the stadium, both before and
after the ceremony, painting, the rental of the stage and chairs
for the graduates, installation of the public address system, stage
lights, outdoor video screen, the cost of operating the stadium
lights, and the salaries of the maintenance crew.
Security expenses are enormous—there will be over 7,000 guests
in the stadium and over 2,000 automobiles on the premises on
graduation night. Costs include the salaries for eight police
offi-cers, five deans, six campus aides, four ticket takers, and
one fire marshal. These expenditures are nec-essary to guarantee
the safety of Wilson students and their guests, and they ensure an
orderly cere-mony.
Other expenses include printing graduation tickets and programs,
and food and drink for graduation guest speakers, dignitaries, and
staff. Fortunately, we are able to keep costs to a minimum by
asking faculty and staff members to volunteer their time without
compensation. These volunteers include the principal, the assistant
principals, counselors, band director, stage crew director, ASB
advi-sor, senior class advisor, video crew advisor, and graphic
arts advisor.
Black Student Union (BSU) Announcement The Black Student Union
will hold its first Juneteenth Celebration. Wednesday, June 13,
2007 at lunchtime in Ms. Quiller’s Room (322). We will have food,
song, po-etry, and reflections of the meaning of Juneteenth for
young African-Americans.
Known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth, is
celebrated on June 19 in commemora-tion of the abolition
announcement of slavery in Texas.
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PAGE 5 News & Features VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE
13, 2007 BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
BY : ALMA AGUILAR
Do you ever wonder who is questioning your looks or your
personality? How many of you even care what peo-ple think? Since
beauty is defined differently in every-
body’s mind, it is a difficult thing to identify. The thoughts,
ideas, beliefs and personality of a person are the things that
should count. Yet there are some that hold their exterior beauty
higher than what is important: their true character. Some things
that influence adolescent minds are media images as well as
self-perception.
The media has a massive impact in destroying the self-esteem of
innumerable teens. Girls strive for slim model-like bodies, while
guys want to emulate the tough-guy look. With the media pervading
youthful minds, it is clear that the modern teen is now more
preoccupied with their looks. Young girls now want be like the
women they see in magazines, television shows, billboards,
com-mercials, and films. Sophomore Shaila Mendoza, states this
about the media, “People use stars and actors as influ-ential
role-models to be someone they’re not.” If one were to see a girl
with makeup and revealing clothes, one
always have to look good for someone. For instance, one might
want to look good for a boyfriend/girlfriend, crush, or even your
boss. There is no reason to change who you are to impress anyone.
It is better to be ac-cepted for who you really are, because it can
give com-fort, self-assurance, confidence and true happiness. As
the famous cliché goes “it is better to be loved for who you are
then to be loved for who you’re not”.
Beauty is often found in the flaws, so I would recommend that
you just have to count on the fact that someone is looking for
someone just like you. It’s ridicu-lous for every guy or girl to
look the same as those at-tractive people in the media. Everyone
has something other than looks to offer. It can be a talent,
intelligence, love, friendship, loyalty, a kind heart, compassion,
hon-esty, or support that anybody can be looking for. Become a well
rounded person that expresses who you are. Ac-cept who you are and
be happy about it. “Inner and outer beauty are important but inner
beauty is the most impor-tant because that’s how you know the true
person,” rec-ommends Senior Moises Castro. It is also better to be
around people who like you for who you are. Learn about the true
meaning of beauty by accepting yourself.
would assume that that she must be older and more ma-ture. At
many high schools, the more girls try to look like the magazine
covers, end up becoming more insecure about their bodies and who
they are. The media has trans-formed smart, naturally beautiful
adolescents into shallow teens who feel pressured to fit in.
Not only are young females influenced by the media, but young
men are as well. The media has pres-sured many guys to be “cool”.
For example, advertise-ments sway males to consider a product,
because of the proposed benefits. We have all seen “Spray more get
more” right? Sex appeal is used to attract males to buy the
product. In the Axe product series, young men are encour-aged to
use body spray, shower gel, and deodorant to get the girl. With a
simple mist from the stylish new travel-size Axe spray, a guy will
turn into a chick-magnet.
Everyone goes through insecurities especially as a teen. It’s
important to not let these insecurities take over you. So the
questions that adults, doctors, teachers, and parents are asking
now are: to what measures will teens let their insecurities take
them, and why do teens care so much about the thoughts of others?
For teenagers, they
As most people know the blood is the life-maintaining fluid that
circulates in our bod-ies. The blood circulates the heart,
arter-ies, veins, and capillaries in order to carry nourishment,
electrolytes, hormones, vita-mins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to
the body. In the body, blood gets rid of waste matter and carbon
dioxide. The most com-mon blood diseases are Anemia, Blood
Cholesterol, Hemophilia, High Blood Pressure, Hemochromatosis,
HIV/AIDS,
Leukemia, Polycythemia Vera, Sickle Cell Disease, Filariasis,
Sepsis, Thalassemia, and Thrombosis.Well here are some interesting
facts about the blood that we don’t usually hear about:
• Two million red blood cells die every second. • Laughter
improves blood pressure • Seven percent of a human’s body weight is
made up of blood. • In the early nineteenth century some
advertisements claimed that riding the carousel
was good for the circulation of blood. • By donating just one
pint of blood, four lives can be saved. • Blood is such a good
stain that Native Americans used it for paint. • The kidneys filter
over 400 gallons of blood each day. • The average life span of a
single red blood cell is 120 days. • A woman has approximately 4.5
liters of blood in her body, while men have 5.6 li-
ters. • Half your body’s red blood cells are replaced every
seven days. • If all the blood vessels in your body were laid end
to end, they would reach about
60,000 miles. • If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture
a blood vessel in your head or neck
and die. • The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as
substitute for blood plasma. • The first known transfusion of blood
was performed as early as 1667. Jean Batiste
transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man
FACTS ABOUT YOUR BLOOD
BY : ESPERANZA ARRIZON
STOP THE BULLYING
BY : WENDISS RUSH Let's stop the bullying. Stop the vio-lence.
Put away the humiliation. Toss out the hurt. Let’s gradually ease
out of being demeaned. Stand up for what is right. Grab your
dignity and run with it. No more walking around with your head
down. For-get about crying, it's useless. Stop the bul-lying.
On April 25, 2007, Wilson coun-selors, students, and other
members of the school community put together an Anti-Bullying
campaign. Two significant con-tributors of the event were Mr.
Zelaya and Ms. Boghosian. The point of the anti-
bullying is for students to take a pledge not to be bullies and
to help other people who are being misused. To help with this
message, Power 106 came out and gave away Starbucks gift cards with
the message “Take stand lend a hand stop the bullying” writ-ten on
the envelopes. On that day, some Wilson students realized that they
were not alone. On that day, some Wilson students made up their
mind to stop overlooking their peers’ pain. What will you do to
stop the bullying?
“Choose your words wisely when talking about others,” says Mr.
Ze-laya. Mentors like Mr. Zelaya and Ms. Boghosian care about the
students at Wilson High. During the campaign, they created useful
resources and put them in teacher's boxes. They informed teachers
how to report bullying and where to direct students if they want to
report anything. Spreading information is just the beginning of
making a difference.
Senior Sebastian Ventura’s younger brother Alex Ventura was once
a victim of being bullied, humiliated, and hurt. This changed when
Sebastian helped him with words of encouragement. Even though Alex
is not a fighter, his brother’s words helped him realized he had to
stand up if he ever wanted to get his peers' respect. With this, he
was able to say no more to being bullied. Believe it or not, Alex
now does not get bullied anymore. “Don't judge a book by its
cover,” says Ventura, “Get to know the person before you judge them
because they could be just like you.”
When you see someone being bullied say this pledge to them:
“I PLEDGE TO THINK MORE ABOUT THE WORDS I USE , TO TRY TO SEE
HOW GOSSIP HURTS PEOPLE , INCLUDING MYSELF , AND WORK TO ELIMINATE
GOSSIP FROM MY
LIFE . I WILL TRY TO REPLACE WORDS THAT HURT WITH WORDS THAT
ENCOURAGE , ENGAGE , AND ENRICH . I
WILL NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED WHEN I AM UNABLE TO CHOOSE WORDS
PERFECTLY , BECAUSE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE IS HARD WORK .
AND I AM PLEDGING TO DO THAT , ONE WORD AT A TIME . ”
1. Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
2. More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
3. One out of every 10 people admitted in a hospital needs
blood.
4. The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type
O.
5. The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves
before the event occurs.
6. Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the
U.S., 98% of whom are African American. Sickle cell patients can
require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
7. More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each
year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their
chemotherapy treatment.
8. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units
of blood.
MORE BLOOD FACTS FROM THE RED CROSS:
-
PAGE 6 Summer Fun VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007
SUMMER HOT SPOTS BY : MARIA ARIAS
Planning on going to the beach to get a tan? Are you stuck going
to summer school to make up some classes? Or are you one of those
who have no clue on where to go, when to go, and with whom you are
going? Would you like to know where all of your friends are going
during the
summer? Well you’re in luck, by going around the school and
surveying freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors about where
they want go during the summer the majority had many things to
say.
There are many places you can go this summer just to hang out
and have fun, but where you go is impor-tant. Outdoor activities
include camping with friends for the weekend for a nice and
memorable escape. Freshmen Amanda Castro says, “I’m planning on
going camping for two days every month this summer.” Another place
to keep in mind is the beach. Sophomore Mayra Reyes says, “For fun,
I’m most likely going to be at the beach to play volleyball with my
friends and family,” but beach volleyball isn’t the only thing you
can do at the beach. If you just
want to get a tan, everyone knows the beach is the best place to
go, but be careful you don’t want to get too much sun. Going
camping, making some smores, playing beach volleyball, or just
laying on a bath towel is a great way to spend your summer but hold
on there is more!
There are other places that will entertain you. One place would
be the mall. New clothes and new ac-cessories would be a great
distraction, especially if you love to go shopping. “I think my
favorite place is the mall because I love to go shopping,” says
junior Lenzy Vidal, “I’m going to be there a lot this summer!”
Another thing you might find at the mall, such as the Santa Anita
mall, is a movie theatre. A trip to the movies will keep you
enter-tained as well as nice and cool because of the air
condi-tioning. The movies can also be a good place to go with your
summer sweetheart. With so many movies this summer, there will be a
lot to choose from! Whether it’s action, comedy, romantic, or
horror—there is definitely a lot to choose from!
Sports are another activity that students will be doing.
Sophomore Jonathon Rojas and Freshmen Cole Martinez say, “I’m
definitely going to be at school playing football this summer.”
Another sport which many will be practicing is Drill team. Junior
Jennifer Cobarubias says, “Besides going to the beach, parties, and
summer school
I’m going to be practicing drill with my teammates.”
One other popular place students will definitely be this summer
is summer school. You’ll find it interest-ing to know that most
students are going to summer school just to get ahead in credits or
maybe to make up credits. Freshmen Amanda Castro says, “For this
summer I’m planning to take a computer class to get ahead.” While
other students will be going to summer school to make up some
classes. Sophomore Mayra Reyes says, “I’m going to take English 9A
and biology 9A to make up my credits.”
There you have it! The two most common hot spots for this summer
are the beach and playing sports, but parties didn’t stay that far
behind. Whether it is on the beach getting a tan, catching some
waves or playing football on the field, students will definitely
have fun this summer. As for the students who are going to summer
school, don’t worry when school starts everyone will let you know
what you missed! Have fun.
SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS
BY : GREGORY MIJARES
This summer is going to be one of the best…that is if you are a
movie freak. If you thought last year was good with the re-leases
of Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest, Superman II, Cars,
and other great films. Compare this to what’s come this summer! So
far audiences have had a taste of summer blockbusters like Pirates
of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End, Spider Man 3, Shrek the Third,
and Ocean’s 13…and these are just the beginning! Expect more big
names to come out this summer. Many are saying that without a doubt
this summer is going to be hot in and out-doors!
What big movies will come out this summer? A couple titles that
moviemakers have been marketing are The Simpsons Movie (July 27)
and Rush Hour 3 (August 10). Since their sequel to Rush Hour back
in 2002, the third is finally hitting the big screen! This project
was talked about as early as 2004, but things were de-layed since
the two sides couldn’t come to a payroll agreement. Chris Tucker
was the hardest to negotiate in a contract. Things were settled
late 2006. It took a while, but it’s official—Jackie Chan and Chris
Tucker are going to take you through another crazy and wild
adventure in the streets of Paris. Other movies to look for this
summer are Transformers (July 4), Live Free and Die Hard (June 29),
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13), and Fantastic
Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15).
Movies that made history this year are 300, which in the first
two weeks of its opening, made the most money for any other movie
released in March. Shrek 3 which was release on May 18 also made
some history collecting over $120,000,000 in its opening weekend,
making it the best for an animated film and third overall.
Spider-Man 3 set a record $59.8 million on its opening day in the
U.S. also setting records in 29 countries and being #1 in all 107
countries that opened. The end of the Pirates of the Caribbean
trilogy also made big noise on its May 25 release. Although some
theaters opened the film on May 24, it made an estimated $58
million world-wide and a new Memorial Day weekend record of
$142,000,000—topping X-Men: The Last Stand. It has been an exciting
ride with all sequels coming out! Let’s see how the rest of the
summer runs as the screens lights up.
Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
DIRECTIONS: Unscramble each of the clue words. Take the letters
that appear in
boxes and unscramble them for the final message in the box on
the right-hand side.
WORD SCRAMBLE
Y G I E W S H M P N
Z P S G N I T A O B
N E O P I C N I C W
F D L C S H T G L V
B A S E B A L L A I
Y N T V E Z O C F A
V O I R U Y A I E N
V M C E E T S R O T
N E E N I H S N U S
R L S O I G F O T U
B B N N G U K G D G
B S G S T O P K O U
Q H T W O R G A O A
P S I C M D A P R F
V E T K E K X V H K
E H I R I S M U E L
A A L Y O N N E A L
T V D C U P G I T M
R G C I E C S N M E
U E R R W W D K F I
R N M V I J A K R G
F U N M Z K M R O F
L J G J U L Y Y M B
A J F S U S A M L H
R E M D Q I I T D V
WORD SEARCH DIRECTIONS: Use the Word Scramble list to search for
words.
-
PAGE 7 Class of 2010 VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007
GGGGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTING TOTOTOTO K K K
KNOWNOWNOWNOW...M...M...M...MSSSS. TK & M. TK & M. TK &
M. TK & MRRRR. S. S. S. SUNDUNDUNDUND
Ms.Thlick-Khatchadorian
teaches Health
• Education: UC San Diego, Bachelor of Arts in Science
• Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
• Hobbies: Hockey, Basketball, Reading
• Favorites: �Color: Dodger Blue �Music: New Orleans Blue � Film
& TV: Apocalypto
• A message from Ms. TK to all students: “Do not be so open
minded that your brain falls out .”
Mr. Sund teaches Biology and Forensics.
• Education: Schurr High School, UCLA, BS in Psychology Science,
Master in Education
• Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
• Hobbies: Beating students at street fighter and taking care of
exotic animals.
• Favorites: �Color: Blue �Music: Spanish Rock � Film & TV:
Silence of the Lambs
• A message from Mr. Sund to all students: “Never take family,
friends, and people who care for you for granted because when you
die they will be the only ones who care for you .”
END OF THE YEAR
STUDENT THOUGHTS
NO LONGER FRESH MEAT!
BY : ANGEL HERNANDEZ
The beginning of high school, we’ve all have been there. Where’s
BG-7? How about B-0, the 100 building, the 200 building? From
learning where your classes are to where your middle school friends
are, Freshmen year is very confusing. On top of the confusion,
there was also fear of name calling and freshmen rituals. Am I
going to be called a scrub? Please don’t call me fresh meat! It’s
obvious that freshmen are not at the top of the high school system.
Ah, the woes of a newbie!
These hardships even have schools planning a different structure
for schools. “I feel that the first year of high should begin in
the 10th grade. If 9th grade is offered in mid-dle school, they can
use that as a transition towards being more mature in high school,”
says Ms. Quiller. Many school planners have agreed with this
theory, but so far 9th grade and high school are like peas and
carrots.
Beyond all of the social drama, high school is about getting
prepared for life. In middle school, you fool around and you get
away with it. Yet in high school you can’t do that. In high school,
you have to face new problems like more pressures of drugs,
alcohol, teen pregnancy, etc. High school is just a different world
to a freshman. The truth is, the problem can get hard to manage but
if we let the problem control our lives we’ll end up in a lot of
trouble or even leaving school. In reality, what happens each year
is that so many freshmen come to this school, then eventually only
a fraction will graduate Wilson. This is a very sad reality—not
everyone will graduate. Yet nonetheless, many freshmen are
optimistic about their future and are ready for a challenge.
Freshman Joanna Gomez says, “I expect sophomore year to be cool and
more fun, but I know it will be harder.”
At one point or another, everyone at Wilson has been a freshman.
This is a very important thing to remember. From seniors to even
teachers, they have all been there. It is very important to listen
and learn from those who have already gone through it. Remember
this and don’t be afraid to ask an upper classmen and even teachers
for help. They all possess first-hand knowledge of the “freshman
experience”. From freshman Ana Hernandez’s experiences she hopes to
improve. “I’m going to be a better student and will try harder next
year,” says Hernandez.
So as the year is coming to and end for many freshmen, you will
realize that you’ve probably lost friends. On the other hand, you
have also met new people. You’ll also see that you’ve matured some
(maybe). Nonetheless, remember that you are growing up and
preparing for life as an adult. You may say, “Man I can’t wait to
be a senior…or at least a sophomore!” What you might not realize is
that everything takes time. Eventually you grow and mature with
age. Don’t try to delay this by messing up. It’s easy to forget and
be caught with the crowd. Many great things take time to develop.
Look at the construction of a new skyscraper. Every beam is
carefully placed and fastened. Eventually, you’ll see the form of a
great building take place. So word to the wise, learn to be patient
and you’ll grow just a little each day. With time, you’ll become a
successful member of society.
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 9TH GRADER?
BY : ELIJAIH V ILLENA
English: Who is Juliet’s cousin that hates Romeo?
A. The Nurse B. Mercutio C. Tybalt D. Peter
What is Romeo’s last name?
A. Chow B. Capulet C. Sanchez D. Montague
ICS: What charge does a neutron have?
A. Positive charge B. Neutral charge C. Negative charge D.
Strong charge
Bio: What makes plants green?
A. Chlorophyll B. Water C. Green dye D. Oxygen
How many different blood types exist in humans?
A. 98 B. 4 C. 8 D. 49
“I’m nervous, but I hope to feel special next year.”
—Freshmen Jasmine Garcia
“I look forward to being part of the UCLA EAOP program.”
—Freshmen Kimberly Vidal
“I hope the school has better food next year.”
—Freshmen Aaron Ramos
“Next year when I’m not a fresh-men anymore I hope to be farther
in my classes than other people.”
—Freshmen Janet Garcia
“I hope I have good grades throughout the rest of my years here
at Wilson and that I graduate.”
— Freshmen Bianca Escandon
“I think block schedule will be good if it does happen. I think
we’ll learn more that way.”
—Freshmen Juan Lozano
“I want the basketball team to win all of their game next
year!”
—Freshmen Alfred Valerio
Attention Freshman! MEET WITH YOUR COUNSELOR TO DISCUSS
YOUR COLLEGE PLANS . REVIEW YOUR SCHEDULE WITH HIM OR HER TO
MAKE SURE YOU 'RE
ENROLLED IN CHALLENGING CLASSES THAT WILL HELP YOU PREPARE FOR
COLLEGE . COLLEGES PREFER FOUR YEARS OF ENGLISH , HISTORY , MATH ,
SCIENCE , AND A FOREIGN LANGUAGE .
A tip for incoming sophomores from www.collegeboard.com
Visit the College Corner!
-
PAGE 8 Class of 2009 VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007 THE NEW UPPERCLASS BY : BERTHA HERNANDEZ & WENDISS
RUSH
As every year passes on, every student takes another step
towards success. This year Wilson’s sophomore class will be taking
another step towards becoming seniors and finally graduating.
People may say that becoming a junior is nothing big but in reality
it is big. In actuality junior year may be seen as one of the
hardest years in high school. Cynthia Carbajal says, “I’m worried
about the classes I’m going to take next year, I don’t know how
many AP classes I should take and I want to pass my AP tests.”
Although you may not know it colleges and universities take
sophomore and junior year into consideration when it comes to
acceptance. Therefore juniors must maintain a good GPA as well as
taking challenging courses. Sophomore Yamila Perez says “I think
junior year is going to be important when it comes to time
man-agement.” If you’re playing sports, taking AP courses, doing
extracurricular activities, and maybe working, be ready to take
part in time management because it isn’t easy to balance time and
school work. Just be aware you will have a lot on your plate and
you want to make sure you are able to eat and enjoy all your
food.
Even though you are taking the next step in becoming a junior
remember to check and make sure you are up to date with all you’re
A-G requirements. If you are not up to date and are missing classes
that you need to graduate just go and talk to your coun-sel. That
shows you are doing your job has a student. Always remember that
counselors make mistakes and may not realize the mistake until it
is time for you to graduate! So make sure you are taking care of
your responsibilities and stop relying on your parents, counselor
and friends. September will be here soon with a new school year. So
make sure all you sophomores that are transforming over to a
juniors is well prepared.
GGGGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTING TOTOTOTO K K K
KNOWNOWNOWNOW...M...M...M...MSSSS. A. A. A.
ALCANTARLCANTARLCANTARLCANTAR & M & M & M & MRRRR.
C. C. C. CERVANTESERVANTESERVANTESERVANTES
Ms. Alcantar teaches Spanish
• Education: Cal State Los Angeles, BA in Latin America,
currently attending Point Loma College
• Hometown: Aguas Calientes, Mexico
• Hobbies: Yoga and going to the gym.
• Favorites: �Color: Red �Music: Pop � Film & TV: Brave
Heart
• A message from Ms.Alcantar to all stu-dents: “You are the
future of this country, so you must take responsibility for your
education.”
Mr. Cervantes teaches Mathematics.
• Education: Schurr High School, UCLA, BS in Mathematics
• Hometowns: East Los Angeles, CA
• Hobbies: Wood working and restoring old cars.
• Favorites: �Color: Blue �Music: Anything really � Film &
TV: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• A message from Mr. Cervantes to all stu-dents: “This school
has the potential to be a model school. We have a lot of serious
students but we need to make sure that everyone else is serious
about school work .”
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 10TH GRADER?
BY : ELIJAIH V ILLENA Julius Caesar: What does the Soothsayer
say to Caesar?
A. “Beware the Ides of March” B. “Never trust Cassius” C.
“Pursue the kingship” D. “Your toupee is on backward”
Algebra 2: A restaurant manager bought 20 packages of bagels.
Some packages contained 6 bagels each, and the rest contained 12
bagels each. There were 168 bagels in all. How many packages of 12
bagels did the manager buy?
A. 6 B.8 C. 9 D. 12
Chemistry: What is the pH level of pure water?
A.6 B. 7 C. 9 D. 100
World History: When the Portuguese sailed around the Cape of
Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean in the late fifteenth
century, they found
A. numerous ports under the control of merchants from Genoa.
B. colonial domination of ports and sea lanes by the navy of the
Ottoman Empire.
C. a region where sea trade had not yet developed.
D. a region defended and patrolled by fleets of the Chinese
navy.
END OF THE YEAR
STUDENT THOUGHTS
“My Junior year will be harder because I have more AP classes.
At the same time it’s going to be fun.”
—Sophomore Alexandria Trejo
“I want to pass all my AP test because its important for
college.”
—Sophomore Bao Le
“I want to get more involved in school activities like
clubs.”
—Sophomore Denise Villa
“I want to catch up on all my classes, get a good G.P.A. so I
can go to a good university. I want to reach all my goals.”
—Sophomore Jeremy Gonzales
“There will be lots of work to do for my classes and
responsibilities between sports, school, and family.”
— Sophomore Joey De Alba
“I hope the classes I take don't make me struggle as much as I
did this year.”
—Sophomore Karla Acevedo
“I want to work harder in order to succeed and graduate.”
—Sophomore Mathew Cantu
FROM
S=How SMART you all are!
O=How OUTSTANDING you all are!
P=How you all think y’all are PERFECT!
H=How HONEST you all can be when you are in trouble!
O=We are OUTGOING!
M=Are we MATURING the way we should?
O=the many OPPORTUNITIES that you all are offered!
R=how RESPECTABLE you can be!
E= ENTHUSIASTIC is what you are!
TO
J=Start JUDGING your future!
U= UNITE yourself with positive influences!
N=Make this the most NOTABLE year in high school
I=Realize you are IMPERFECT.
O=Be OPTIMISIC when you feel the world is against you.
R=REALIZE how far you can go with determination.
—Wendiss Rush
Attention Sophomore! PREPARE FOR THE SAT. TOWARDS THE END
OF YOUR JUNIOR YEAR , YOU CAN TAKE EITHER THE SAT REASONING TEST
OR UP TO THREE SAT SUBJECT TESTS ON ONE TEST DAY . PLAN YOUR
TESTING SCHEDULE CAREFULLY IF YOU WANT TO TAKE BOTH TYPES OF SAT.
SEE THE
SAT SCHEDULE OF TEST DATES .
A tip for incoming juniors from www.collegeboard.com
Visit the College Corner!
-
PAGE 9 Class of 2008 VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007 ‘08 IS NEXT IN LINE
BY : MARIA ARIAS
The school year is almost over! Students are getting close to
completing another year, another grade, and entering into new
classes with new teachers. Seniors are close to graduating (next
week!) and the juniors are anxiously waiting to become seniors.
Everyone knows that junior year is one of the hardest years in high
school. Many have al-most finished their Advance Placement (AP)
classes and are just grateful that AP Tests are over, until next
year that is. Others have struggled to maintain their grades and
are hanging in there. Regardless to how the year went by, it went
by nonetheless. As for how fast it went by, junior Lenzy Vidal
says, “This year went by really fast!” While Junior Reyna Aguilar
disagrees and says, “I think this year went by pretty slow because
I thought it was boring.” As the saying goes, time flies when you
are having fun. Boring or not, both Aguilar and Vidal are facing
their last year at Wilson.
Along with time passing, many students have created good
memories about their junior year. “Junior Eve-ning and football
season are this year’s highlights for me,” reflects Lenzy, “I got
to be the water girl!” As juniors faced their ups and downs—many
agree it was a good year nonetheless. Ultimately, there are many
things that juniors learned this year and will be taken into
consideration when senior year comes around. With this, there are a
number of students who are really excited to enter their senior
year. “I’m so happy to be a senior and have new classes with new
teachers,” says Junior Dalma Diaz, “I am grateful to finally be
almost done with my high school career.” While other students are
not as excited to be back at school for another year, an anonymous
junior says, “ugh…another year, great!” Some juniors are
practically done with their requirements, and the only classes they
will have to take next year are electives. On the other hand, there
are many others who are just taking extra steps towards college and
are taking AP classes. Junior Leisha Romero is one and says, “Next
year, I’m probably taking at least 5 AP classes.” Many like Romero
in mind are applying to college later this year. As most college
applications are due this November, many are anxious to impress
admission boards.
Overall, these anxious juniors are really excited to become
seniors. Some are excited to have new classes and new challenges.
Others are just waiting to complete their senior year and leave
high school in pursuit of other goals, while some are just figuring
out what their goals are. With great, embarrassing, sad, and angry
moments of the year, the juniors are leaving with three years of
high school to their name. Now all that’s left is to do their walk
down their hallways one more time, for one last year. Look out,
2008 is next!
GGGGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTING TOTOTOTO K K K
KNOWNOWNOWNOW...M...M...M...MRRRR. S. S. S. SHOCKHOCKHOCKHOCK &
M & M & M & MSSSS. M. M. M. MANTELANTELANTELANTEL
Mr. Shock teaches Drama and Literature
• Education: John H. Glen H.S., Cal State Long Beach, Cornell
University, BA in Theatre and Masters of Fine Arts
• Hometown: Born in Long Beach, lived in Den-ver, Memphis,
Arkansas, Ithaca, N.Y.
• Hobbies: Coaching basketball, martial arts
• Favorites: �Color: Blue Green �Music: Blues � Film: One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• A message from Mr. Shock to all students: “The future is here,
you are it… you are on your own.”
Ms. Mantel teaches Mathematics.
• Education: Tel-Avid in Israel, Cal State North-ridge, Cal
State LA, M.A. in Math Education, and M.A. in Administration
• Hometowns: Born in Romania, then moved to Israel.
• Hobbies: Embroidering and reading.
• Favorites: �Color: Blue � Film: My Fair Lady
• A message from Ms. Mantel to all students: “Take care of your
studies first prior to anything.”
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN 11TH GRADER?
BY : ELIJAIH V ILLENA Language: ____________ describes an
object, animal, or idea as if it had human characteristics.
A. Metaphor B. Personification C. Simile D. Allusion
The Crucible: What was the play The Crucible an allegory of?
A. The Second Red Scare B. McCarthyism C. Both of the Above D.
None of the Above
US History: When did the United States Civil War begin?
A. April 12, 1861 B. February 7, 1863 C. August 3, 1890 D.
October 14, 1979
Which conclusion can be drawn from the occurrence of the Red
Scare and the decision of the Supreme Court in Schenck v. United
States?
A. Immigrants to the United States are consistently denied equal
protection under the law.
B. A person’s best protection from persecution rests with the
Supreme Court.
C. Civil rights are sometimes compromised by the public’s fear
of radical political groups
D. Violent protests in the United States are usually met with a
violent response from the government.
The Fourteen Points and the Atlantic Charter were both
A. agreements between nations to eliminate further development
of weapons
B. plans of victorious nations to divide conquered
territories
C. military strategies for defeating enemy nations
D. statements of post-war goals for establishing world peace
END OF THE YEAR
STUDENT THOUGHTS
“I want to make sure I get into all the schools I want to apply
for.”
—Junior Paula Vargas
“I look forward to an exciting year full of friends and good
time.”
—Junior Diana Amezcua
“I look forward to new friends and having fun.”
—Junior Jesse Ramirez
“I just want to graduate—with my classes.”
—Junior Kimberly Garcia
“For my senior year I look forward to all the senior activities,
dances, and prom.”
— Junior Stephanie Morales
“I know it’s going to be work, work, and more work but I wan to
do a little bit of work and hafe lots of fun.”
—Junior Tenesha Hickson
“I’m going to have a part-time job and I’m going to go to every
event.”
—Senior Ricardo Ayala
Attention Junior! MAKE A MASTER CALENDAR AND NOTE :
• Test dates, fees, and deadlines • College application due
dates • Required financial aid applications and their deadlines •
Recommendations, transcripts, and other necessary
materials • Your high school's deadlines for application
requests,
such as your transcript REMEMBER THAT YOU START APPLYING TO
COL-
LEGES IN NOVEMBER (5 MONTHS) !
A tip for incoming seniors from www.collegeboard.com
Visit the College Corner!
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PAGE 10 Class of ‘07 VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007
GGGGETTINGETTINGETTINGETTING TOTOTOTO K K K
KNOWNOWNOWNOW...M...M...M...MSSSS. G & M. G & M. G & M.
G & MRRRR. E. E. E. ESPINOZASPINOZASPINOZASPINOZA
Ms.Gutierrez-Aviles College Advisor
• Education: Wilson High School, Cal State L.A., Cal
Lutheran
• Hometown: East Los Angeles (City Terrace), CA
• Hobbies: Favorites: Spending time with her children and having
time to herself, reading
• �Color: Purple �Music: Soft Jazz � Film: The Godfather, Rain
Man, Rudy
• A message from Ms. G to all students: “Dream big and go after
your dreams. Every student has the potential of doing it.”
Mr. Espinoza teaches Film, Government & Economics.
• Education: Wilson High School, Cal State L.A., BA Social
Science
• Hometowns: Los Angeles (El Sereno), CA
• Hobbies: Videography, camping, and road trips
• Favorites: �Color: Red �Music: The Police, U2� Film & TV:
Heroes & Rebels Without a Cause
• A message from Mr. Espinoza to all students: “There is such
thing as a stupid question and question authority.”
LIFE AFTER WILSON
BY : JENNIFER MARTINEZ
Imagine waking up tomorrow—no more first period, nutrition, or
hanging out in the quad area, behind the three hundred building, or
in the P.E area . If you really think about it, what are you going
to do that morn-ing after graduation? You’re going to wake up and
think, “What now? I don’t have school today what do I do?” Now that
you have graduated from elementary, junior high, and finally high
school, the only way to look is
ahead. There is no need to look back into the past because this
is the beginning of something new. You’re basically on your own out
there. There won’t be any deans to set you straight when you’re
misbehaving, getting into fights and not going to class. There
won’t be anyone telling you from right and wrong because you’re old
enough to know that by now. You should be able to be your own boss
because your mamma’s not going to be there following you around
get-ting on your case about doing homework or waking up. You’re
going to have to set your own priorities. You’ve waited your entire
life to be independent and now you have it!
What are seniors planning to do after Wilson? Many people don’t
know what they’re going to do. Seniors start the beginning of the
year excited and looking forward to graduation, but as the end
nears, they are starting to question, “Wait! I’m so excited to be
leaving, but what am I going to do after?” Senior Geraldine
Figuerora says “I want to get started on my career as soon as I
can.” Some of our graduates are going to college, while others go
straight to CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
SO I GRADUATED H IGH SCHOOL
BY : ESPERANZA ARRIZON
Have you ever thought about what is expected from a young adult
who just graduated from high school? I guess most parents and
teachers will say that after graduating high school, students
should go to college. Not all stu-dents have college in mind and
many students may not have a clear idea of what to do after
graduation. Whatever your plans are, life after high school is just
the beginning of the great adventure to come. Whether you are going
to college, joining the military, working or you are just
undecided, here are some suggestions on what to do after
graduation:
1. Go to a biker’s convention
2. Tell your life story to a complete stranger
3. Find your soul mate
4. Take a cooking class
5. Get a tattoo (temporary)
6. Take the 10 Freeway east and hit Florida
7. Get a cartoon published in the New Yorker
8. Learn to ballroom dance
9. Share your philosophical ideas to an enemy
10. Paint a self-portrait
11. Pay your own bills
12. Plant a tree
END OF THE YEAR
STUDENT THOUGHTS
“ I want to work, go to college, and have fun. That’s the adult
life.”
—Senior Takethia Smith
“Yeah, go Bruins!!! I’m looking for-ward to starting
college.”
—Senior Mei Mak
“I just want to survive next year.”
—Senior Frank Valdovinos
“I’m going to CSUN and I want to major in music .”
—Senior Estefania Rivera
“I’m going to go to college and be-come a politician and
eventually buy a big house.”
— Senior Bryan Medina
“I expect to overcome all obstacles I encounter.”
—Senior Cynthia Leyva
“I’m going to spend time with my wife and baby.”
—Senior Luis Reynoso
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 12TH GRADER?
COMPILED BY : ELIJAIH V ILLENA Government: What is the job of
the Judicial Branch of Government?
A. To interpret laws B. To enforce law C. To protect laws D. To
punish people
How many branches of government are in there in the United
States?
A. 9 B.4 C.5 D.3
Economics: Who is in charge of the production and distribution
of money in America?
A. FDA B. FED C. FCC D. NBA
English: What is the name of the monster who Beowulf
defeats?
A. Jafar B. Mufasa C. Cruella D. Grendel
Attention Senior!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU ! REMEMBER THAT SCHOOL DOESN ’T END HERE
. WITH
DETERMINATION AND DEDICATION , ANYTHING CAN BE ACHIEVED . IF YOU
DIDN ’T APPLY TO COLLEGE THIS YEAR , CONSIDER IT FOR LATER . MAKE
EVERY MOMENT UNFORGETTABLE ! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR EDUCATION AND
MAKE
THE BEST OF LIFE !
Visit the College Corner & Career Center before you
leave!
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PAGE 11 Entertainment VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007 FACTS FROM THE ‘NET BY : EDWARD GONZALEZ
The Real Rocky
Sylvester Stallone grew up just as his movie character—tough,
stubborn, and almost always in trouble. By age 15 Stallone was
ex-pelled from 14 dif-ferent schools. Since he could not fall
back
on academics he followed his father’s work in beauty school, but
failed at that as well. He then enrolled in an American College in
Switzerland which led him to pursue a career as an actor in
Hollywood. He was not suc-cessful at first so he started working as
a lion cage cleaner at the zoo. He also sold fish, demonstrated how
to make pizza, and was a movie usher. Stallone also fought with
Mo-hammed Ali who at that time was not well known. By the time the
fight was over, he came up with the movie “Rocky”. It took 3 days
to write. Many film companies were interested, but none would take
to the idea of him starring in it. When he did find financial
backing, the film was made in a month with a thin budget. As we all
know, it made huge success in 1976. Reference:
www.amusingfacts.com
Birth Control Goes Public
Margaret Sanger was one of the first to lead in abortion rights
movement. She was born in 1879 in New York. Sanger became a leading
advocate for women’s right to choose. In 1916, she and her sister
(a nurse), opened the first birth control clinic in Amer-ica. She
modeled the clinic from ones she had seen in Holland. After only 9
days the clinic was shut down and the sisters were arrested. Her
clinic door was closed, but because of the controversy the birth
control issue turned into a public issue. She ultimately helped
open the door to birth control.
Reference: www.amusingfacts.com
In a Jiff
The word “jiffy” is used to describe a measurement of time. So
how fast is a “jiffy”? The word was first used with the computer
age as it defined the space it took the computer’s system clock to
tick once. It’s not like a
watch marking in minutes, seconds, or hours. A “jiffy” in North
America is equal to 1/60th of a second. It seems that with modern
measurements, “jiffy” becomes quicker. Re-cently it’s been also
measured as 1/100th of a second. Some people even think that it
should be defined as a millisecond of regular time, but in the end
became 1/1000th of a real second. Maybe that’s why you can make a
“jiffy” snack with peanut butter.
Reference: www.amusingfacts.com
T.V. SHOW REVIEW: HEROES
BY : ELIJAH V ILLENA
Grade: A
“Save the cheerleader…Save the world.” Have you heard this
before? It’s a quote made famous by the popular T.V. show Heroes
during its first season. If you love to watch shows filled with
action, suspense, and drama, then you should watch Heroes on NBC
Monday nights at 9 p.m. Heroes is perfect for all sci-fi and comic
book fans. The show focuses on a random group of individuals with
supernatural powers. The show is well-written and embodies the
essence of all great superhero comics. They do this by focusing on
the development of the characters instead of their powers. For
instance, Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is
a Japanese business man that can stop and transport himself
through time. In the show the character evolves from an awk-ward
tourist to a strong resistance leader. The way each character’s
story and background unfolds is what keeps fans waiting for the
next episode.
Not only is Heroes a well-written show, but it is also
critically acclaimed and one of the highest rated shows this
sea-son. Every Tuesday, you can hear students talk about Monday
night’s episode. As fans wait for the next episodes, many peo-ple
are beginning to make predictions about what is yet to come. “I
can’t wait for the next season of Heroes. Now that we know who the
human bomb was, I just want to know what’s going to happen next,”
says Senior Efren Jauregui. However, there are also teachers who
watch Heroes and are just as interested in the show as their
students. Mr. Espinoza, for example, is an avid watcher of the
popular TV show. “I have a lot of predictions for next season.
First of all, I don’t think the Petrelli brothers are dead. Somehow
they’ll be alive for the next season. I don’t think Sylar is dead
either. Every time he “dies” there are always cockroaches, and I
believe they are going to play a role in the story next season. My
last prediction is about Hiro. I think Kensei is Hiro’s father, who
is going to reveal that he also can transport through time.”
The show is so unpredictable that predictions like Efren’s and
Mr. Espinoza’s are possible. In addition, for those of you who have
missed episodes you can watch full episodes at NBC.com. And if you
have never even seen any of the episodes
Grade: C+
Minutes to Midnight is Linkin Park’s third studio album, the
title being named after the Doomsday Clock. The album was released
on May 15, 2007 with the first single What I’ve Done being released
on April 4th and being ranked #1 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart. The
album was delayed a number of times, it was first set to be
released on Summer 2006, then it was pulled back to Fall 2006, and
then early 2007. A reason why it kept being de-layed was because
there were over a hundred songs to choose from and it was hard to
see which songs were going to make the cut. The album is out now
and it contains 12 songs including two great tracks Bleed It Out
and No More Sorrow.
Linkin Park is a band from Agoura Hills, California. Their big
success came in 2000 with their first album “Hybrid Theory” which
has sold over 15 million copies and
took almost half a decade of hard work to make the album. They
followed with their sophomore album in 2003 “Meteora” continuing
from where they finished off with “Hybrid Theory” which also came
with great success having sold over 800,000 copies in its first
week. Their third album “Minutes to Midnight” was expected to sell
over 600,000 copies in its debut week.
If you are expecting for “Minutes to Midnight” to be the same or
close to the same to either one of the previous albums, it is not.
This album has a much different vibe to it and it is not the same
Linkin Park you were expecting as it has a handful of slow songs
and not that much metal in it. It was a little disappointing
because now I have to actually skip some tracks and that never
happened with the previous albums. It was still a good CD but it
didn’t reach its expectations and it could’ve been a bit better.
One reason might be the addition of Rick Rubin who was named
producer for the album making Mike Shinoda co-producer of Linkin
Park for the first time.
MUSIC REVIEW: LINKIN PARK M INUTES TO M IDNIGHT BY : GREGORY M
IJARES
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
Courtesy of NBC
V IDEOGAME OVERVIEW BY : GREGORY M IJARES Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
(Release Date: 7-31-07; PSP): Crazy Taxi is back after a four year
absents in their last project (Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride) which was
released for the Game Boy Advance and it is back to the Playstaion
since 2001, the first for the PSP. Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is the
sequel to the Crazy Taxi that was released for the Sega Dreamcast.
It has also been informed that a multiplayer aspect was being
added. Lair (Release Date: 7-31-07; PS3): Lair is a action, flight,
and combat game in which players battle in both air and land. You
will be a character named Rohn and is part of a society “The
Burners” all of whom fly dragons. You get to fly the drag-ons using
the six-axis PS3 controller. Lair has been one of the most talked
about games for the PS3 and some say that this is one of the
biggest games for the console. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
(Release Date: 6-19-07; Wii): Resident Evil 4 will be different for
the Wii as it include the Wii’s Remote compatibilities for a number
of gameplay features like aiming, shhoting, reloading, etc. The Wii
will have amateur and easy difficulty settings by default’
something different to the Playstation 2 and PC version. The game
was released on May 31 in Japan for 5.040 yen (equals about $42 in
the US). The games are listed at $29.99 in the US. Stranglehold
(Release Date: 8-6-07; XBOX 360): The game will be out for the XBOX
360, PS3 and PC. The game is a third person shooter and it takes
place in Hong Kong and Chicago. It has similar slow motion effects
used as in Max Payne. Stranglehold won for best PC Action Game
category in the Gamespot’s Best of E3 awards. Tequila, who is an
inspector is played by actor Chow Yun Fat, may be best known as
captain Sao Fenfg in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
Madden 08 (Release Date: 8-14-0; Most Platforms): The famous and
best selling football game is back again and better than ever with
new animation systems that will allow a dynamic gameplay for the
first time. It also has a newly re energized hit stick where now
gamers could choose with the analog stick whether they want to hit
high or low. There will also be a new fatigue system where players
if you have them running for so long. Chicago Bears kick returner
Devin Hester will have an attribute speed of 100, making him the
fastest player in the Madden franchise.
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PAGE 12 Student Life VOLUME 59, ISSUE 5 WEDNESDAY , JUNE 13,
2007 EXPRESS YOURSELF BY : WENDISS RUSH
Express yourself! Be who you are. Students are so scared of what
people might think of them they have problems expressing who they
really are by showing their true colors. The time has come for
students to come out of their dark shells and to shine like the
sun. Here are just some ways to be proud and express who you
are!
Drawing is a great way of expressing one's inner feelings about
oneself. With some
creativity, anything can be transformed from the most
commonplace into splendor and beauty. Someone can draw their life
story in a picture. It's all about how the artist feels comfortable
making herself or himself known. Understanding the artist is the
answer everyone seeks. Art is the language that everyone wishes
they could speak. To all the wonderful artists: do me a favor and
create until cows fly!
The power of the pen is a good power to have. Sometimes people
do not hear what someone else is trying to convey to them in
conversation. Yet when you take your time and write something, you
are heard in a way that is unspeakable. Whether it is in a poem or
a letter, writing is a beautiful way of expressing oneself. So make
yourself known through your own style of writing. To all the great
writ-ers: write until your hands ache!
Many people get stuck up over their hair and what other people
think of it. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what another person
thinks about your hair-style. Are you content with your hair-do?
That is what really counts! Stop getting caught up over what other
people think about you. If you want to wear your hair straight then
wear it straight. Maybe you would prefer to have your hair up! How
about a weave? You might like how some braids fit your face.
Whatever floats your boat go along with it. To all stylists: Find
the hairstyle that fits you and please by all means proudly wear
that do!
If expressing yourself is drawing, then draw. If expressing
yourself is the written word, then write. If expressing yourself is
changing your hairstyle, then by all means change your hair-do! Do
not be afraid to show people who you really are. Judy Garland once
said, “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a
second rate-version of somebody else." Express yourself by any
means necessary.
SERIOUSNESS OF H.S. RELATIONSHIPS
BY : JENNIFER MARTINEZ & LAUREN PADRON
High School Relationships are taken very seriously by teen-agers
who are in relationships. If teenagers mention their relationship
to their parents they would probably say to wait until after high
school to be in a serious relationship. If parents don’t understand
their child might actually be in love, they will say, “It’s just
puppy love.”
Most parents just try to protect their daughters and sons from
ever experiencing heartache, yet parents cannot protect their
children their whole lives. Teenagers are bound to fall in love at
least once in high school and experience heartache, tears, and
sadness, and there is nothing parents can do to keep them from
experiencing such overwhelming feelings. To avoid this, parents set
no dating rules and curfews. They always want to know every little
detail of where they will be and at what time they will be home.
Yet parents have always encouraged their children to experience new
things and learn from their own mis-takes. Yet when it comes to
being in a relationship, that’s just one experience parents try to
keep teenagers from. When teenagers do fall in love there is
nothing their parents or anyone else can say to separate their
child from being with the person they love. Which brings up an
interesting topic, is it really love or just a crush? How serious
should teens take them?
Being in a relationship can be a good experience teenagers go
through. Being with another person in high school can help
teenagers be successful in their future relationships, but maturity
and responsibility are the main ingredients in any relationship.
Without these two characteristics any relationship will eventually
fail and fall to pieces. High school is a life changing experience
for young adoles-cents. This is a time where teenagers try to fit
in and find themselves. High school is a time to find out who you
truly are, find out which career path you will choose, and
experience new beginnings. It is a state of independence, which
brings out a “stage” as some parents call it, in which teenagers go
through. Identifying this is quite easy: teens are easily stressed
out, go through constant mood swings, and experience the
transformation from being a child to an adult.
Usually teenagers make the decision of being in a relationship
because they feel obligated to have a social status. Teens are
trying to identify themselves with other teens. In doing this,
sometimes teens give into peer pressure or social demands from
their fellow peers. Another reason students choose to be in a
rela-tionship is to feel secure and self assured about themselves.
The person they choose can simple be a person who listens and
understands them, or shares the same interests and puts a smile
upon their face. Whichever the reason, do students really believe
they are in love? An anonymous senior says, “Sometimes I believe
in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 high school sweethearts, but it depends on
who you’re with and how well the rela-
Do you know what an abusive relationship is? It’s defined as an
interpersonal relationship where one partner exercises threats of
physical or psychologi-cal abuse. In general, people think the
boyfriend abuses the girlfriend, but in reality it can go both
ways. Sophomore Walter Aguilar, agrees and states, “Abuse in
relationships is when one person delegates by hurting the other
person in anyway, physically or emotionally.”
Then there is the physical abuse that a boyfriend can bring to
his girlfriend. There is the obvious hitting, but before harming
you physically, he can act violently toward ani-mals and take out
his frustration on objects. An example of physical abuse is when he
treats the girlfriend like a child, treating her as if she were
inferior. He starts out taking up most of the girlfriends’ time and
continuously asks the girlfriend for her everyday schedule, making
it soon mandatory for the girl to always inform him of her
whereabouts. Another example is the threats.
Girls abuse the boyfriend as well. Just, because the girl may
not be physically stronger than the boyfriend doesn’t mean she
can’t still hurt him. Jealousy is obviously an issue with girls,
and they express their true jealousy to their boyfriend. In the way
they do it is wrong. For instance, it can be abuse when the
girlfriend tells the boyfriend that he can’t look at or talk to
other girls, by screaming, yelling, making them feel inferior, and
mouthing off at them. It affects the boys ju