Green & Gold February 2012

Freshmen will have their own section of campus and their own team of teachers under a plan to create a special program for 9th graders when the three small schools return to one high school next year.

It has been referred to as both a freshman “house” and a “small learning community” by school officials.

“What we are doing now is not working for 9th graders,” said Principal Daniel Hurst. “They have untapped potential.”

Hurst told the Green & Gold that freshmen traditionally have the highest number of failed classes and disciplinary referrals and need extra support.

“The benefits of the small learning community are having a team of teachers that know all the 9th grade students and

Ninth grade house to give freshmen added attentionFremont Federation of High Schools has

added a new elective — Manhood Develop-ment — specifically designed to help African American males succeed.

The class is taught by Jason Seals, who also teaches at Merritt College and who ran a pull-out class called "Males in Motion" for African American boys at Fremont last year.

The new class is part of the African Ameri-can Male Achievement (AAMA) program, which was started by Superintendent Tony Smith to

February 16, 2012 Volume 51, Issue 3

iNside

– page 6

more mUsic iN classStaff writer urges teachers to let students turn on MP3 players

New Fremont planincludes 'colleges,'freshman house

the right path Jason Seals teaches Manhood Development on Feb. 13. The class was started as part of the Oakland Unified School District's African American Male Achievement program to raise the graduation rate among black males.

photo by Pearl Joy Balagot

see NINTH page 2

see COLLEGES page 2

Kemish rosales Staff Writer

they would have more consistent classroom practices,” said Hurst.

Students have mixed reac-tions to the proposed changes.

“I think it’s good because sometimes the older classes be messing around and fresh-men look at them, and they’re showing a bad example,” said College Preparatory & Architec-ture Academy junior Markeith Mason.

But Mandela Academy fresh-man D’Shane Kirk disagrees.

“I don't think this is a good idea because in [all freshman] classes it would be immature,” Kirk said.

The proposal was drafted by a committee made up of teachers and staff who have experience with 9th graders. They met a few times, decided a structure, then started to create details, explained Joanna Brownson, a Media Academy teacher who is

Media College Preparatory High School, Oakland, CA

try to help reverse the trend of African American males dropping out of school.

“We believe all African American male stu-dents are extraordinary and deserve a school system that meets their unique and dynamic needs,” said AAMA Director Christopher Chat-mon.

Chatmon also said the program aims to improve attendance, decrease the number of disciplinary incidents and improve the "life outcomes" of participating students. He said he thinks the class will help students Improve their

see MALE page 2

Should there also be a

'Senior House'?

Building a Brotherhood

Manhood Development classaims to support black males

smoKiNg haBits chaNgeMarijuana use by teens increases in America, while their use of alcohol, tobacco drops

– page 4

FaVorite sNeaKersFremont athletes go in-depthon favorite footwear

Jorray hartStaff Writer

Janae rushing Staff Writer

With a new school year, there will be a new Fremont.

There could even be a new principal.

In addition to having a fresh-man house next year, Fremont High will be split up into two different colleges.

College Preparatory & Archi-tecture Academy will become the College of Science. Media Academy and Mandela Acad-emy will merge into the College of Humanities.

Principal Daniel Hurst ex-plained that the colleges will of-fer more electives for students. College of Humanities might offer courses such as creative writing, poetry and sociology. The College of Science could offer marine biology.

“There will be more flex-ibility for students,” said Hurst,

who said students enrolled in one college could take electives in the other college.

“It’ll be good if they create the right system,” said Mandela Academy junior Nixon Callejas. “It’ll be good for students to have more choices.”

Hurst will not necessarily be the principal next year. A principal selection committee, including parents, students, staff and community members, will choose that person next month.

A Passions Activation Course will also be introduced, allow-ing students to explore careers they're truly interested in, Hurst explained.

Meanwhile, some teachers are concerned about the future of the school's three career academies.

“The colleges do not support the academy model,” said Rich-ard Yacco, a Media Academy ra-

that every day, I can be a victim of violence,” said Robinson.

Robinson is only one of many students affected by the 110 homicides that took place in Oakland last year. Those murders marked an increase over the 95 in 2010.

Last year's tragedies included three young children who were shot and killed, attracting national attention. Five-year-old

Kim mejia-cuellar

Homicide spike hits home for many at FremontEditor in Chief

Last year, Media Academy senior Marcus Robinson lost more than 10 relatives and friends, many to violence,

One of the 10 was his close friend, Mandela High School sophomore Lovell Hadnot, who was killed in January of last year.

“His death made me think

Gabriel Martinez, Jr., was killed in December near his father’s taco truck on the 5400 block of International Boulevard. Both 23-month-old Hiram Lawrence Jr. and 3-year-old Carlos Nava were killed during gang-related shootings, the Oakland Police Officers Association reported.

Teens are also among the victims. The killer of Castlemont High School senior

see HOMICIDES page 2

– page 7

– page 8

2 News February 16, 2012Green & Gold

NINTH: Reactions mixed on freshman house plan for new schoolfrom page 1

MEELA WEELA COMICS presents "Be MyVaLenRhyme" Jameela rougeau / Art Director

on the committee.“I don't think we’re serving freshmen

how we should,” said Brownson. “I think some things are good, but, overall, the system could be better for our freshmen.”

Under the plan, the freshman schedule in the morning would be English, math, science and humanities. The freshman class would be divided into two groups of 80 students who would share the same teachers. They would not be connected to any of the three academies at Fremont — Media, Mandela or Architecture — or to either of the two new “colleges” that are also planned for next year.

The English, math and science teachers would only teach freshmen. They would have an extra period free from teaching duties so they could plan programs and interventions for freshmen. There would also be a special case man-ager and vice principal for the freshmen.

All freshmen would take physical education and an elective during fifth

and sixth periods. Those classes would include students from other grade levels. Electives could include subjects such as Street Law, foreign languages, music and art.

In addition to freshmen having a chance to interact with upperclassmen in their fifth and sixth periods, there would be one lunch period for all students. The committee had earlier proposed that fresh-men eat at a different time.

Before freshmen start at Fremont, they would have an orientation or retreat.

Teachers learned officially about the plan during their professional develop-ment day on Jan. 27.

Not all teachers are happy.“I've been teaching for eight years

[at Media Academy], and I like the way things are now. That doesn't mean

they’re the best, but it’s been working," said Computer Graphics teacher Howard Ruffner, who does not want to teach in the freshman house next year.

A selection process to place teachers in the freshman house and the two col-leges has not been finalized, explained

Hurst. Another thing

that is undecided is where the freshmen will be placed on campus. Brown-son said the freshman task force has been discussing using

the current Media Academy hallway. This could affect teachers whose classrooms are now located there.

“I really love my classroom, but if I have to move, I’ll move,” said English teacher Sonja Totten-Harris, who is undecided on whether she wants to teach freshmen next year.

"having teachers that work just with freshmen is a good idea for Fremont."

– paul strain,media science teacher

On the other hand, Media Academy science teacher Paul Strain is definitely interested in working with the new small learning community for 9th graders.

“I would love to teach freshmen, espe-cially because students from this school district come from different middle schools, backgrounds and experiences. Having teachers that work just with freshmen is a good idea for Fremont,” said Strain.

At least one student at Fremont has already experienced an all freshman school. David Roberts transferred to Media Academy after attending San Le-andro’s SLC for freshmen only.

“All freshman classes [at San Le-andro] were good because we didn't have to worry about older classmen trying to bully us or intimidate us, which seemed to stop a lot of problems,” said Roberts.

Still, Roberts said he is not convinced Fremont’s plan is good.

“Here it’s very social. Being separated might make them angry,” said Roberts. “I don’t think it would work for Fremont. ”

COLLEGES: principal, bell schedule undecidedfrom page 1

HOMICIDES: pain felt by many

from page 1

MALES: Students react positivelyself esteem.

This is the first time African American males have had a special course for a regular class. The class, held in Mandela Academy during second period, has 17 freshman boys enrolled.

Students “will be learning about what it means to be a man,” said Seals. ”I hope they build a community even after I’m gone for peer support.”

Sirtoine Walker is a freshman from Media Academy who agreed to drop his computer graphics class so that he could take the new course.

“I can learn about my heritage, more about myself as an African American student, and it helps us to be more

respectful to each other and to stay together as a brotherhood,” said Walker.

Another student in the program, Brandon Etter, said he is happy to be in the program “because I don't have any African American teachers, so I have a chance to bond with other African Americans.”

Seals said students will be learning about values and African American history.

“They are learning about legacy [what they want to leave behind] and skills on how to be successful," he explained.

One of Seals' former students agrees that the program is important.

“It influences people to come to school and [do] what they really like and not what

the government expects,” said Anthony Coleman, a Media Academy junior who was in Seals' “Males in Motions” class last year.

“I hope [the program] comes back for years to come,” said Coleman.

The class is funded by the Mitchel Kapor Foundation, Kaiser Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation, Open Society Foundation and Waste Management, according to Chatmon

In response to some criticism that the class helps only boys who are part of one racial group, Media Academy Vice Principal Sarah Mazzotta said, “A lot of different races are in need, but there’s a larger achievement gap in African Americans.”

mappiNg the VioleNce Media Academy senior Marcus Robinson, who was friends with multiple 2011 homicide victims, studies a map of Oakland's 100 most violent blocks.

from page 1

Ditiyan Franklin was sentenced in November, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Many at Fremont believe more needs to be done to stop the violence in the city, especially among youth.

School security officer Darryl Malone Sr. says schools need to be more involved in curbing violence in Oakland.

“I know we already have some afterschool programs, but we need more,” said Malone. “It gets a lot of kids off the street.”

Robinson agrees that youth need more places to go

afterschool. “We can stop the violence if

we had more jobs and things for people to do, like free programs and sports," Robinson said.

According to a press release from Mayor Jean Quan, city officials plan to target the most violent 100 blocks in the city. The city will devote more resources and police officers to the area of the city, where they say 90 percent of shootings and homicides occur, Quan said.

Many of the blocks are located within the Fremont attendance boundaries.

Go to www2.oaklandnet.com to see the 100 blocks chosen.

dio/TV teacher. “The academies are funded by the state, which will be jeopardized.”

Yacco explained that the state requires academies to run classes that have only academy students in them. If non-acade-my students enroll, funding will be taken away.

Another concern about the new structure is the current plan to have advisory period four days a week.

Christie Blakely, a history teacher at CPAA, started a peti-tion against the advisory change because of the loss to instruc-tional time. Hurst has since told staff that plan may be changed.

During report card night,

many parents wrote questions about the school on index cards, but the administration did not answer them, leaving some staff and parents confused.

Hurst told the Green & Gold parents would get the answers at the next meeting. He also met with parents at a first-ever coffee in the Den on Tuesday to talk about the school plan.

photo by Kim Mejia-Cuellar

ON THE NEWS Media Academy sophomores Estephani Quintero, Edith Quintero Maravilla, Jimmy Nguyen, Donell Wheat and Carl Sebastien Jean-Felix stand in front of a green screen during their visit to NBC on Dec. 7. The trip was part of the ECCO program.

ECCO program exposesstudents to media outlets

Gay history now requiredin social studies classes

KNTV television studios, the San Francisco Chron-icle newspaper and KPFA radio station.

These are three places Media Academy juniors and sophomores have visited as part of the Exploring College and Career Options (ECCO) pro-gram being piloted this year. The course is taught by broadcast journalism teacher Richard Yacco.

Many students say they enjoy going on these field trips, including sophomore Frank Hartwell, who went to KNTV, the NBC affiliate in San Jose, on Dec. 7.

“It was fun. I liked it. I learned new things like what happens off camera,” said Hartwell.

While Hartwell and other sophomores were in San Jose at NBC, students on the Green & Gold newspaper staff and a few freshmen visited the Chronicle. The stu-dents received background information on the Chronicle and a short tour before watching the editors choose the days’ front page stories in a large conference room. They also spoke to the managing editor after the meeting.

“I think it was fun, but I wish it was longer so that we could see everything that they did during the newspaper and not just the meeting,” said Araceli Ra-mos, a junior who is the Green & Gold’s health editor.

photo by Richard Yacco

Staff Writer

3NewsFebruary 16, 2012Green & Gold

Devonyei Frazier

The ECCO program is aimed at preparing teens for college and career options by giving schools funding to take students on field trips to businesses related to their academies and to colleges.

Students will be visiting colleges this month. Sophomores will go to California State University, East Bay, and juniors will go to San Francisco State University on Feb. 22.

While Media Academy has taken students to colleges for many years as part of its advisory program, this will be the first time in four years the school has money to take them to the colleges on chartered buses.

“I feel good because we don’t need to walk to the BART station and we will just go straight to the field trip,” said Nazario Matias, a junior.

This program teaches students skills in resume planning and writing, how to present themselves in an interview and what to look for in a job.

Several times a month, students are either pulled out of elective classes, such as newspaper, to do ECCO lessons or given instruction in the classes Yacco already teaches.

“I like [ECCO], because it’s interest-ing, and, in the future, I want to be a part of media,” said sophomore Eric Flood.

Diego Garcia, the news editor for the Green & Gold, appreciates the program.

“It’s really helpful for juniors because it helps us plan our resumes, gain new communication skills and plan for a bet-

ter future,” said Garcia, a junior.However, some juniors on the newspa-

per staff do not like missing their elective to participate in the program.

“It cuts into our class time and that’s an important class,” said Opinion Editor Arnice St. Remy. “If it was at a different time, I wouldn’t mind.”

Yacco defended the decision to take

students out of the newspaper class be-cause it is considered a “pathway class” in which students are supposed to learn about related career options.

This is the first year the Oakland Unified School Disctrict is participat-ing in the ECCO project. Besides Media Academy, the program is also offered at Skyline and Far West high schools.

Gay history is now required to be taught in California public schools, thanks to a law that Gov. Jerry Brown signed in July.

The law adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to the groups of people social studies teachers need to include in their history lessons.

Reaction to the new law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, is mixed at Fremont Federation of High Schools.

“I’m excited that the new law has been passed and how [gay history] is now included because it is an important part of history,” said Sonja Totten-Harris, an English teacher at Media Academy and one of the advisers for the Gay Straight

Alliance club at Fremont.New textbooks with required

sections on gay history will not be in the classrooms until 2015, but teachers are still meant to teach the contributions and struggles of gay Americans.

Media History teacher Elizabeth Siarny supports the new requirement.

“LGBT is a legitimate demographic group, [just] like Black Americans, Mexican Americans and Asian Americans. I think it is a valid history that should be heard,” said Siarny.

But not everyone thinks the new law is a good move.

“Gay history shouldn't be taught because not a lot of people want to learn about it,” said College Preparatory & Architecture Academy senior Latrail

Tardy sweep rules modified

Tiffany sanders& Pearl Joy Balagot

Photo Editors

Instead of being swept out the front gate, students roaming campus without a pass are now being swept to class.

This is a change from a tardy policy that started in October.

On random days, staff members go from one end of the school to the other. They take the names of every student they see without a pass and send them to class.

Once a student is sent back, staff members call the student's parents to report the truancy.

Anyone who does not give a name is sent off campus and not allowed back until they bring their parents into school.

Vice Principal Sarah Mazzotta of Media Academy said the change was made because the school wanted students to be in class instead of waiting at the gate.

Martin Ortiz & Jose Rodriguez

"LGBT is a legitimate demographic group [just] like Black and Mexican Americans."

— elizabeth siarny History teacher, Media

White.Roy Christopher, a CPAA senior,

thinks differently. “It will help homosexuals feel more comfortable at school and also have someone to look up to, ” he said. “They won't feel alienated.”

Media senior Demetria Slay thinks the law could have both positive and negative effects.

“It could make conflicts with some parents because they may not be comfortable talking about LGBT,” said Slay. “But it is good in a way. LGBT [students] won’t get bullied.”

4 HealtH February 16, 2012Green & Gold

Freshmen examine diets with food journals

Michelle Dominguez & Bryanna Saechao

Journalism

Teens' tobacco, alcohol use down, but marijuana use up

Students generate ideasto improve school wellness

Do you know what you ate for a whole week?

Freshmen at Media Academy do.

They were assigned to record what they ate every day in a food journal from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15 as part of a collaborative project in Journalism, English 1 and Computer Graphics.

“Doing the food journal made me real-ize how I ate too much unhealthy foods,” said Natiyah Cowan.

After finishing the food journal, Cowan came up the idea to have a salad party in her 6th period class. She says she wanted her classmates “to experience more healthy foods.”

“It was hecka fun,” she said. “Better than a pizza party.”

The food journal was a paper booklet in which students had to write down what they ate and drank and what they did for physical activities. They also had to fill in circles each day to show each serving of water, oils, milk/dairy and fruits/veg-etables that they consumed.

Students recorded this information so they could observe everything they ate in order to stop eating on impulse.

“We are doing the food journals

because we want freshmen to think about what they eat,” said Journalism teacher Lisa Shafer. “Hopefully, it will lead them to make better choices.”

Most students were positive about the experience.

“I am interested in the food journal because I want to be healthy,” said fresh-man Darianna Figueroa.

But not all freshmen liked the food journals.

“Writing down what I eat every day and night is such a waste of time,” said Damon Randle. “It’s not going to change the impulse of what I eat.”

Tiger Clinic health educator Katie Riemer introduced freshmen to the food journals during visits to the Journalism classes. She, along with Shafer and Eng-lish 1 teacher Sonja Totten-Harris, came up with the food journal idea last year because they wanted freshmen to do a project about nutrition in several classes.

After the food journals ended, Riemer came back to the classes for a press

American teens might not be smoking ciga-rettes or drinking al-cohol as much as they used to, but they are

using marijuana more than ever before.That is according to a national study

of 50,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and released in December.

“I’m happy that tobacco use has gone down because of the long-term effects and because it’s expensive,” said Katie Riemer, health educator for the Tiger Clinic. “But [as] for alcohol and mari-juana, I’m more concerned about the short-term effects.”

Riemer said she especially worries about the effects alcohol and marijuana have on students and their ability to pass classes and graduate.

“Substance abuse may keep them from escaping poverty. That’s the real message I hope teenagers take to heart,” said Riemer.

Media Academy senior Ysaira Torres is one student who feels encouraged by at least part of the results.

“It’s good that teens smoke [tobacco] less be-cause it decreases chances of lung cancer. Teens need to be more aware of what they put in their bodies,” said Torres.

One third of seniors in the NIDA study reported using marijuana in the last year. This is slightly higher than the 29 percent of Media Academy seniors who told the Green & Gold they'd used marijuana in the last year.

Mandela Academy senior Ricardo

After finishing her food journal, freshman Natiyah Cowan came up with an idea for a class salad party.

alondra alvaradoStaff Writer

Photo by Amahnii Foster

conference as part of the Journalism final exam. She also analyzed a day's food and exercise for two anonymous students.

The idea of thinking more about what you eat instead of eating it automati-cally was a big theme in Eric Schlosser’s “Chew on This,” a book freshmen read before doing the food journal assignment. The book made students more aware of what dangers are associated with fast food and junk food.

As part of a Do Now done during the food journaling, freshmen came up with several ways they thought the cafeteria could change to improve the wellness of the campus. Their ideas included limiting the sale of hot chips to once a week and serving fruit cups every day.

Riemer said she was impressed with both the suggestions and the food jour-nals because "students had an opportunity to honestly assess their diets."

SAlAd dAyS Media Academy freshman Brandon Etter (left) and Marco Martinez eat salads during a Feb. 3 party that followed a unit on food journals.

Mendoza said he believes the rise in marijuana use is due to students being under pressure. “Teens smoke to relieve their stress and pain,” he said.

Mendoza said he believes teen alco-hol abuse is due to its easy access.

Experts say people are using marijuana more often because it is seen as less harmful than tobacco.

“We've seen a signifi-cant decline in the per-ception that marijuana is risky. Fewer kids see

smoking marijuana as having bad health effects,” NIDA director Nora Volkow told ABC News.

But marijuana has the possibility of affecting the growth of the brain, reports About.com. Marijuana’s effects include loss of coordination, increased heart rate, lowered blood pressure and difficulties with thinking and solving problems.

While cigarette and alcohol use amongst teenagers is on the decline, the effects these substances have on teens are still significant.

According to NIDA, cigarettes have more than 4,000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous. Cigarettes also have tar that can cause lung cancer and carbon monoxide, which can cause heart disease.

According to abovetheinfluence.com, about 5,000 people under the age of 21 die every year as a result of alcohol. Al-cohol leads to drunk driving, and it also poisons the liver.

“Cigarette [usage] went down because there’s no [stimulating] effect weed has, and people want to feel happy,” said Me-dia Academy senior Ricardo Vargas.

No matter what the substances are, teenagers often use them to “escape problems in their lives,” said Riemer. She encourages those teens to instead see a counselor "so they can learn healthy cop-ing skills."

of american high school seniors reported using

marijuana in the last year

33%

5Features February 16, 2012Green & Gold

Students 'like' Facebook-type classroom tools

Vanessa Chavarria & Jafeth santos

Staff Writers

edmodo, Connected offer educational blogs, messaging

Teachers are finding new ways to stay connected with their students outside the class-room.

One way is through Edmodo, a free educational social networking website. Edmodo is similar to Facebook. Students can create their own profiles, access assignments and homework, keep track of their grades and message teachers for help.

Mandela Academy Graphic Design teacher Anita Smiley began using Ed-modo and says it has made her job as a teacher a lot easier. Smiley started recom-mending Edmodo, and that's when more teachers started using it.

Media Academy English teacher Candice Valenzuela began using Edmodo with her senior classes in November to

help them with their senior projects.“I don’t know if it has helped the rela-

tionship [between students and teachers], but I think it has put more responsibility on the student, so that way, if I make an announcement in class, I don't have to keep repeating it because I put it up on Edmodo,” said Valenzuela.

Many seniors like using Edmodo. “It has been helpful for me because if I

need to see what’s the assignment for the day, I can go there and I won’t get stuck on the work,” said Media Academy senior Sabrina Lee. “It’s educational for students to use it to get their school work done instead of using Facebook.”

ConnectEd Studios is another educa-tional version of social media that Media Academy teachers Howard Ruffner, Sonja Totten-Harris and Lisa Shafer are using.

As pilots of the program, the teachers are trying to help the developers figure out what works and what doesn’t before Con-nectEd expands the site to others.

The teachers are using ConnectEd Stu-dios for a unit on wellness. Students have created their own blogs to write reactions

to class assignments and guest speakers and to post graphic design and journal-ism work.

ConnectEd also can help connect stu-dents to the real world. Industry partners

Most students surveyed want one yearbook when the three acad-emies combine into one school next year.

Administrators say they have not made plans of what to do with classes such as yearbook, which currently is a class the individual schools must decide whether to offer.

In a Green & Gold survey of 50 students from the Media, Mandela and College Preparatory & Architecture academies, 76 percent said they want one yearbook next year.

“I prefer one yearbook for the whole school because it is going to [be] less work,” said Mandela Academy freshman Jesus Zarate.

Students were also asked if they would like to join yearbook next year. About one third said they would join the class.

One student who did not provide a name, would join yearbook if it were one class for all three academies “because people will get to know each other even if they aren’t from the same school.”

Howard Ruffner, who teaches yearbook as an after-school class at Media Academy, does not know how the changes will affect his class or his teaching position.

Martin Ortiz & Yuliana estradaStaff Writers

“The school is in a transition. I can't decide [now] whether I would teach yearbook or not,” he said.

The last time a yearbook at Media Academy was published was 2009. Although yearbook was a class for the last two years, students did not get their work finished, Ruffner explained.

However, current members are optimistic that Media Academy will put out a book this year.

“The progress of the yearbook for this

year ... would be like a 40 percent,” said yearbook member Pearl Joy Balagot.

When Fremont was one big high school, it had a strong yearbook tradition. For example, in 1985, the yearbook, known as “Flame,” had 208 pages. In 1979, the school produced a 205-page book.

One big difference between the old Fremont and the new school is that freshmen will be separated and the school will have two “colleges” — a

science college and a humanities college.Among other decisions that are left

to be made, the Fremont staff has not yet decided how many yearbooks or yearbook classes there will be or if freshmen would have their own book.

No matter what happens with the classes, Ruffner hopes students in the new school keep creating yearbooks.

“It gives students a reflection to look back as they get older and share it with family, children and friends,” he said.

OLD fLameS When Fremont was one large high school, it put out yearbooks called “Flame,” some of which are at the bottom of the stack above. Small schools have been less consistent in their yearbook production. Media Academy hasn't published a yearbook since 2009.

"I like blogging because you can freely express what you feel."

"When we blogged about our food journals,

that was cool."

photo by Gloria 'Jack' Mejia-Cuellar

Will Fremont High school return to its old 'Flame' yearbook?

can be invited to look at student work and help students with projects.

“We’re using ConnectEd as our way of coordinating all of our classes and ef-forts with students,” said Ruffner.

— George Toamedia academy senior

— Lisa Lowemedia academy freshman

FEATURESMusic should be allowed in class for many reasons

SHERRY MUNGUIA

February 16, 2012Green & Gold6

W hen students enter Michael Jackson’s history class, he tells them to remove their ear pieces. To Jackson,

it is a sign of disrespect to wear them."I look into [the students'] eyes,

and they weep and say, ‘I’m sorry Mr. Jackson, never again," said Jackson, who also teaches drama.

Patricia Segura, an algebra teacher at College Preparatory & Architecture Academy, doesn’t allow her students to listen to their music in class either.

“Turn it off,” Segura says. “Put it away.”

Segura and Jackson aren’t alone. Most teachers at Fremont ban music during class, but it shouldn’t be that way. Music can help students concentrate.

Music helps in even more ways.“Music therapy can be helpful for your

health, reducing stress and providing

other positive outcomes,” states the website The Practical Nurse. “Music can actually help regulate physical functions in your body, such as heart rate and breathing.”

In a 2007 study, Stanford University researchers found that people who listened to music tend to have a better memory.

Well, I’m not sure if it helps my memory, but music motivates me to do things I could care less to do, such as chores and homework. Why not classwork, too?

Music encourages me to be a better person, especially when I listen to the gospel my mother often plays because it often talks about the world ending and

that makes me want to live my “last” day the right way. I also listen to some R&B, rock, metal and Spanish music. My favorite band is Quiet Riot.

If people say that music helps them in school, then they should be allowed to listen to it during class.

Dominique White, a CPAA sophomore, is one of

those people. She listens to hip-hop and R&B every opportunity she gets during and after school, even when she does homework.

“[Music] influences me to be in my zone,” said White. “I don’t like the rule [of no music in class] because people need to concentrate."

White says that without music to listen to, people talk more and the class gets out of hand.

White believes that music is a big help

for people who have built-up anger.Anthony Harris is another student who

says music helps him. The CPAA senior sees music almost as a First Amendment right.

“Music is just a form of expression,” said Harris.

At least there are some teachers who allow their students to listen to music.

Beth Suddreth, who teaches resource algebra, English and study hall at Mandela High School, allows her students to listen to music quietly by themselves. but only after they have finished their work. She believes music is very important.

“[Music is] a great thing,” said Suddreth. “If you’re depressed, it cheers you up, [or] if you’re too wired, it calms you down.”

More teachers should be like Suddreth and let students listen to music during class.

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"In JROTC, you'll get practical experience in the organization and in leadership development. You will learn what teamwork is all about. Rising through the JROTC ranks, I've experienced success firsthand in goal setting, winning habits and problem solving."

Daryl McDaniel, 4th year JROTC, Command Sergeant Major

"You will learn to think quickly, to be sure of yourself, to get your ideas across and to be self-reliant. JROTC builds the discipline, confidence and belief that you can do whatever you set your mind to do."

Adriana Moreno, 3rd year JROTC, Cadet Captain

7SportSPumped up kicks

Juan AguilarStaff WriterGloria "Jack" Mejia-Cuellar

Multimedia Editor

Cheer squad gets big boost

A fter a difficult year for Fremont’s spirit squad, there is finally something to cheer about.

That’s because Fremont is going to have a new cheerleading coordina-

tor — a spirited former Raiderette — after a semester without a solid cheerleading team.

The coordinator, Roxanne Pringle, visited Fremont Federation advisories on Feb. 10 to recruit students to the squad.

After a semester of frustrations, Pringle was wel-comed warmly by students.

There were more than two dozen girls who started out the year practicing chants, cheers and dances, many of them enthusiastic freshmen. But the team fell through when cheerleaders had difficulty getting uniforms or a cheerleading coordinator without too many other responsibilities.

During the beginning of the year, the cheerleading team was overseen by Athletic Director Darlene Miller, who was also the coach of the girls volleyball team.

“She had too much going on already,” said former cheerleader Briajanae James, a College Preparatory & Architecture Academy sophomore.

Miller said she did not want to comment for this article.

James said lack of uniforms also contributed to people quitting the team.

Cheerleaders were also told to either pay for their own $200 uniform or fundraise by selling popcorn and Lady Tiger shirts. But, according to James, the fund-raising effort was unsuccessful.

Former cheerleader Tilinda Martin, a Media Academy fresh-man, agrees that the lack of uniforms was a problem.

“Every other school had uniforms but we didn’t have uniforms. They wanted us to wear hand-me-downs for games,” said Martin. “That’s when hecka people started quitting.”

Without clear leadership and no uniforms, James saw the team falling apart.

“I was one of the only people left,” said James. “We didn’t have uniforms and it was basically us kids making up dances.”

Just a few weeks ago, however, after-school coordi-nator Roxanne Isaguirre hired Pringle to help the team this semester get ready for next year.

“She is originally from the Bay and has worked with

"If we had cheerleaders, people would be more excited to go to the games."

— Nidya BaezLeadership Coordinator

other schools in Oakland,” said Isaguirre about the new instructor. “We have the potential to bring a really strong program.”

Isaguirre says the new coordinator was a competitive cheerleader in high school and throughout college. Pringle will be recruiting stu-dents still interested in being part of the cheerleading team and will start holding practices in March.

“They will have a brand new routine, new choreography,” said Isaguirre.

According to Isaguirre, the girls who join the team will be practicing during the spring and possibly sent to cheerleading camp during the summer. They would also cheer at school events but the empha-sis would be on training for next year.

Having a cheeleading team may boost school spirit, says Leadership coordinator Nidya Baez.

“If we had cheerleaders, people would be more excited to go to the games,” Baez said. “Students would feel more included and proud of the school.”

Baez said she hopes the cheerleaders will raise money and "really be a team, to be united and work with Leadership to organize events."

Meanwhile, James is looking forward to being able to cheer, dance and compete against other schools.

She also believes getting a good start this year for next year is important to having a successful cheerlead-ing squad.

“We need to start practicing early and really fund-raise,” said James.

RAH-CRUITING Freshmen Keke Moore (left) and Isabella Saeturn listen as cheer coach and former Raiderette Roxanne Pringle explains a summer camp the new cheer squad will attend.

photo by Davarea McKinley

For every athlete there is a shoe. Most athletes have a personal preference

of one brand over others because of how the shoes feel and how they believe the shoes im-prove their performance. Below are a few Tiger favorites.

Fremont soccer player and Mandela High senior Joel Lopez purchased one of the newest soccer shoes of 2011, the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superflys, online at soccer.com. Lopez spent around $400 on the pair because they are made with carbon fiber which makes the shoes light and helps players run faster. It also helps their feet stay cool.

“I like my shoes because they are really com-fortable and light. It helps me feel better in the field,” said Lopez.

NIKE MERcuRIal VaPoR SuPERFlyS

Soccer player Karina Flores purchased the 2011 Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly III Rose Black. Flores spent $85 at the store Sports Authority. Flores said that the shoes make her feet more flexible. She likes the pair because they are pink, and it makes her think of the fight against breast cancer.

Varsity basketball player and Media Academy junior Dejanay Wayne has the Nike Hyperdunks of 2011. Nike.com claims the shoe gives a sup-portive fit and is made for lightening quick cuts and fast-paced play on the court.

“It makes me run faster and jump higher,” said Wayne.

After seeing the shoes in East Bay magazine, she ordered them from eastbay.com and the Nike Hyperdunks were shipped to the school.

Wayne purchased her shoes for $80.

NIKE HyPERDuNKS

NIKE MERcuRIal VaPoR SuPERFly IIIWinter sports seasons to wrap up soonThere's still time to watch the Tigers who play winter

sports as the teams finish up league games and possibly head into post-season play.

The girls basketball team will play on Friday at Sky-line and Wednesday at home against McClymonds.

The boys basketball team plays at home on Friday against Skyline and at McClymonds on Wednesday.

Oakland Section Playoffs for both the girls and boys basketball begin Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, the girls soccer team plays Friday at Sky-line and Wednesday at home against Mack, and the boys soccer team plays Thursday at Oakland High, Tuesday at home against Skyline and Feb. 23 at Oakland Technical High School.

February 16, 2012Green & Gold

OpiniOn

"Yeah, i would say, every-thing is OK. There haven't been any major mistakes."

Mark SneedMandela Academy teacher

Tiger Talk!

All students need attention at new Fremont Highgreen & goldthe

The Green & Gold is a vehicle of student freedom of expression and a public forum for the Fremont Federation of High Schools community.

We welcome feedback about our content and would also like to hear ideas you have for future coverage.

Our staff reserves the right to edit for language and space.

Letters or guest opinion col-umns may be dropped off to B-3 or to Lisa Shafer's mailbox in the main office.

please let us know what you think about our paper or give us suggestions on what we can do better.

EDiTOR-in-CHiEFKim Mejia-Cuellar

nEWS EDiTORSDiego GarciaKatelyn Bauzon, assistant

FEATURES EDiTORSAleanna SantosFernanda Lopez, assistant

HEALTH EDiTORSAraceli RamosShantel Berry, assistant

OpiniOn EDiTORSArnice St. RemyRuliver Santos

SpORTS EDiTORSLaura LemAlejandro Vasquez

pHOTO EDiTORSTiffany Sanderspearl Joy Balagot

MULTiMEDiA EDiTOR Gloria 'Jack' Mejia-Cuellar

ART DiRECTORJameela Rougeau

WRiTERSJuan AguilarAlondra AlvaradoKenay AndersonVanessa ChavarriaYuliana EstradaDevonyei FrazierJorray HartSherry MunguiaAdrian nelsonMartin OrtizJose RodriguezKemish Q. RosalesJanae RushingJafeth SantosAlex Toris

ADViSERLisa Shafer

Dejanay WayneMedia Academy junior

Dennis JaveloCPAA teacher

Ruben TenorioCPAA senior

8

EDiTORiAL

Fremont will transition next year from a federation of three small schools based around career academies to a single high school broken into

two "colleges" and a separate freshman program.

That's the plan that Principal Daniel Hurst and his Central Planning Team released to teachers on Friday, Jan. 27, and later to parents and students at the Feb. 2 report card night.

Many of the big decisions are already made, but many details are unclear. We like some parts of the plan, but are concerned about other parts.

One of the major decisions we do know about and like is that freshmen will have their own small learning community, or “house,” to which the school will devote many resources. A team of teachers will get an extra planning period to work together just on freshman achievement and lessons. Three of the teachers will only teach freshmen, and there will be a vice principal and case manager solely in charge of the 9th grade.

It is good for freshmen to be granted more help and to have a chance to know one another and gain a connection with their teachers.

Next year, Fremont freshmen will have their own section on campus away from the other grade levels.

Hurst says freshmen need the most support because traditionally they have the highest rate of failing classes and the most discipline problems.

"Next year, freshmen will only take classes with other freshmen during [first] to fourth periods, and during fifth and sixth period, [they] will partake in mixed elective classes,” explained Hurst.

We think this would create a better learning environment for the students.

"Yes, I am satisfied and he should be re-elected because he has done a lot for African Americans."

"Yes, because he killed Osama bin Laden and he made history being the first black president."

Tony TranMedia Academy senior

"There was a lot of expectation. A lot of people think he's doing good, but he promised us a lot more."

However, why stop with freshmen?We find it unfair that other grade levels

— especially the senior class — do not have their own small learning communities.

Seniors deserve additional support from the school, including getting help with college applications and the senior project.

Seniors also need help registering for financial aid and other important tasks.

After all, seniors are transitioning from high school to

the real world. It is the most important year of high school, and that's why they should be treated with just as much care as 9th graders transitioning into a new phase of their lives.

As it stands, the most uncertain part of the plan is what the school will do for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

They are supposed to be broken into two "colleges" that Hurst says will give students a chance to take more electives.

We are in favor of having new electives next year. Electives engage students — they might actually want to come to school

to take the classes they choose. According to Hurst, electives would

give students a chance to explore different careers. For example, the College of Humanities may offer psychology and sociology electives.

The Green & Gold also would like to see electives focused on music, art and dance.

Other issues that are not decided include whether there will be a new bell schedule, if advisory will be expanded to four days a week and who will be the new principal.

As these decisions are being made, students should have more of a say because they are the ones who are will be the most affected by this transition. Currently, it feels like only adults are making all of the decisions.

Hurst said that the Leadership class has held focus groups to find out what students want and that students have been invited to come to monthly School Site Council meetings to help plan the school.

But these efforts haven't engaged enough students. It is time for more students to get involved.

You can let your voice be heard by going to the Den to talk to the Leadership members; you can ask to be on the principal selection committee; you can even send letters to the editor of the Green & Gold about what you want for the new Fremont High School.

Are you satisfied with what President Obama has done in office? Should he be re-elected?

"Yes, i am happy with Obama, and he should be re-elected."

We believe students should have more of a say in the decisions

for the new school because they are the ones who are will be the most affected by

this transition. Currently, it feels like only adults are making the big

decisions.

February 16, 2012Green & Gold