MIRA LAING/ LA VISTA

Recently, students and teachers have ex-pressed confusion over the state of Wi-Fi internet access on the Costa campus. While

-trict’s plan for complete Wi-Fi coverage at Costa is necessary, the large disconnect be-tween the administration, teachers and stu-dents will make the transition of incorpo-

BY TAYLOR ST. GERMAIN

NEWS EDITOR

TAMARA KNELL

STAFF WRITER

-vealed the 2012 Homecoming Court princes and princesses on Oct. 5 during nutrition.

Juniors and seniors elect-ed 12 seniors to the court: Meghan Burns, Lauren Fournell, Marcus Francis,

Ghafouri, Jack Had-ley, Rachel Humphrey, Rachel Oster, Natalie Pratt, Nicole Rosen,

“I am looking forward to having fun with the couples and making it an ex-citing week for the school to enjoy,” Humphrey said. “I was extremely honored to be chosen for Homecoming Court, as there are so many deserving individu-als at Costa .”

The court will dress up in cos-tumes every day of the week leading up to the Oct. 19 football game against Palos Verdes Penin-

Along with dressing up, all members of the court will par-

Band, Colorguard win competition

MARCHING MADNESS: Mira Costa Marching Band members practice for their competition, which

EMMA SALZMAN/ LA VISTA

BY SIERRA WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

Costa Marching Band and Colorguard

of this year’s show, “Electropolis,” at the

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stakes and second place in Percussion.The Mira Costa Colorguard received

meaning Costa was the best of all Col-orguard performances at the competition.

place before but never has received an overall award,” Colorguard captain senior Rachel Azafrani said. “I’m really honored

to do this, and I can’t wait to see what hap-pens next if we’re this successful so early in the Colorguard season.”

Azafrani feels that both the band and Colorguard worked hard to prepare for their competitions, and both came away from it successfully. The band and Col-orguard practice their routines for over 20 hours a week.

“I don’t think people recognize how physically demanding and time-consum-ing Colorguard really is,” Azafrani said. “Every band worked hard to win this In-

vitational Field Tournament and laid their talents out there, but our band managed to come out on top of all the others.”

The band has been practicing for the 2012 season since July 2012. They trained at band camp over the summer, in addi-tion to Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday practices that are being held until the end of November.

“We ran the show a lot of times be-fore the actual performance, and the run-through of the show at the end of this prac-tice was the best show we have ever had,”

“It was an excellent show, and most things that we had practiced really came though in the end.”

Mira Costa Band director Joel Carl-son believes that “Electropolis” will be a highly rewarding project for the Marching Band and that the show has already given them a lot of admiration throughout the en-tire music community.

-tion, I am really proud of the Mira Costa Band members and proud of all that they have been able to accomplish so far this year,” Carlson said.

Associated Student Body announces 2012 Costa Homecoming Court

OCTOBER 12, 20121401 ARTESIA BLVD.

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA90266

VOL. LXIII WWW. LAVISTAMCHS.COM ISSUE 2

ticipate in different games and activities beginning on Mon-day and continuing throughout Homecoming week. Participants will also perform a dance in a pep rally on the day of the Homecom-

Wi-Fi needs clarity

COME HOME WITH ME: ASB honored the 2012 Homecoming court on Oct. 5 with Homecoming sashes. The court includes (from left) seniors Rachel Humphrey, Meghan Burns, Marcus Francis, Nicole Rosen, Adam Gerard, Lauren

See ‘Wi-Fi’ on page A8

-dents that purchased tickets received movie tickets to a Costa-only screening of “Fun

this year’s Homecoming. “I can’t wait for the dance,

and I’ll be on that dance -

missioner of video and performing arts sophomore Ryan Ramey said.

With this year’s theme,

members cannot reveal any

they believe Homecoming will be a night to remember.

“Homecoming this year

commissioner of entertain-

said. “We have surprises up our sleeve, and we are really

excited to show the school a dance they have never seen before.”

The Homecoming court mem-bers look forward to the activities coming next week.

“This is something I looked forward to but never thought I had the chance of getting,” Fran-cis said. “My partner Lauren and I have some crazy ideas and are really hoping to get that crown.”

ing football game, choreographed by the members of the court.

“My partner, Natalie, and I are-excited for the opportunity to ex-perience being on Homecoming Court and are ready to give Mira

Costa students and staff a great show,” Ghafouri said.

-coming dance will be held in Fisher Gym on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets went on sale this

new teacher contractsBY SHAYLYN AUSTIN

NEWS EDITOR

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with the district teachers’ union on Oct. 3.

accepted the negotiations, and the Board -

ees president Ellen Rosenberg said. “Now we are in a 10 day waiting period.”

The agreement provides a 3% raise for next year, with future raises pending the re-sults of Propositions 30 and 38 on Nov. 6.

NEWS A2 La Vista October 12, 2012

Peace, Love and Flower Power

“We want our budget picture to be as accurate a ‘snapshot in time’ as possible given the un-certainty of what’s potentially

coming in November.”

Rick BagleyDeputy Superintendent of Administrative Services

Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs host !rst debate

MIRA LAING / LA VISTA

BY KATE ROBAK

CALENDAR EDITOR

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A NOTE ABOVE: Mira Costa Advanced Women’s Choral members practice in the choir room for upcoming performances

including their concert with Vox Femina and the Redlands Women’s Festival in November.

BY GASSIA ASHIKIAN

STAFF WRITER

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the state.

to be in this position to be pre-

BY BUSTER BAER

STAFF WRITER

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Associated Student Body members (from left) juniors Talia Fragner and Philip Abdoo

and sophomore Lauren Berty take a break from dancing at the Flower Power dance on

Sept. 28 in the cafeteria after the varsity football game against Newport Harbor High.

EMMA SALZMAN / LA VISTA

NEWS A3La VistaOctober 12, 2012

Manhattan Beach chooses to abide by Brown Act despite suspension

MUNAM WASI/ LA VISTA

LAUGHING OUT LOUD: Comedy Sportz team manager Buster Baer (right) practices with team members in room one during Improv Club for their convention at Gamecon, which took place on Oct. 6 at San Marino High School.

MUN competes at Santa Margarita

Comedy Sportz team participates in GameconBY QUINN KROPSCHOT

STAFF WRITER

The Mira Costa Comedy Sportz team attended the an-nual Gamecon conference along with various Southern California Comedy Sportz teams on Oct. 6 to learn new improvisational games and skills at San Marino High School.

Gamecon is an annual conven-tion where various local Comedy Sportz teams get together to meet, share ideas and learn new skills for their Comedy Sportz teams.

“Gamecon showed me how Comedy Sportz gatherings work,” new team member sophomore Elizabeth Hartman said.

All Costa Comedy Sportz team

members were required to attend Gamecon. The teams split up into groups ranging from beginning to advanced experience levels. From there, the groups went into different rooms around the school and were taught new improv tech-niques and games.

“It is tough to improvise with

junior Gabby Wolf said. “But once I got more comfortable I was able to learn a lot.”

From the 70 people that audi-tioned for Costa Comedy Sportz this year, 16 new members were added to the team.

“The Comedy Sportz team this year seems to have a great grasp on improv, and I am sure that captains Molly [Curtis] and Bust-

er [Baer] will teach them new skills,” Comedy Sportz advisor Carol Mathews said. “I am really excited to see how they improve throughout the year.”

Comedy Sportz has had eight practices so far this year to pre-pare for Gamecon and its upcom-ing matches.

“There’s a great kind of energy about this team,” Curtis said. “Ev-erybody is really enthusiastic and committed to the group. That’s pretty much all I could ask for in a team.”

planned for November. Their op-ponent is not yet known.

“We continue to get better each week,” Wolf said. “I’m looking forward to this year’s season.”

MUN ON A RUN: Mira Costa Model UN students prepare for upcoming compe-titions by taking part in practice in-class debates.

MUNAM WASI/ LA VISTA

BY MORGAN THALER

STAFF WRITER

Both novice and advanced students in Mira Costa’s Model United Nations program traveled to Santa Margarita Catholic High School on Sept. 29 to compete with other local schools at the an-nual South Orange County Model UN Conference.

A majority of the participants in SOCOMUN were freshmen and beginning Model UN stu-dents. SOCOMUN is categorized as a “learning conference” on its website. It is a one day debate that serves to introduce students inter-ested in Model UN to the logistics and format of debates.

“SOCOMUN was a great prac-tice for our delegates and Costa performed very well,” Secretary General senior Taylor Lewis said. “We looked forward to another season of excellence.”

Though SOCOMUN is primar-ily for freshmen, it is not solely limited to them. Sophomores, ju-niors and seniors all attended the debate to compete in advanced and intermediate committees.

students from Mira Costa were very well prepared, so I ended up doing pretty well,” Costa fresh-man Nash Hale said. “SOCO-MUN prepared me for several things, but it especially helped me learn how to interact with stu-dents from different schools.”

Both Hale and freshman Reid Bryan received Best Delegate awards in each of their novice committees. Bryan debated Capi-tal Punishment and Hale discussed

“Mr. Timberlake and all of the teachers’ assistants did a great job preparing us, and all of the stu-dents running SOCOMUN did a good job guiding us,” Bryan said.

BY DANA STERNTHAL

STAFF WRITER

Although the California State legislators voted to suspend aspects of the Brown Act in June, a piece of legislation that ensures the actions of local government are con-

through 2015, Manhattan Beach has decid-ed to follow through with the act.

The Brown Act is a multi-faceted piece of legislation, passed in 1953 by California legislation, which is dedicated to guaran-teeing the public’s right to attend and par-ticipate in meetings of local legislative bodies, as well as other facets that en-sure an open, trans-parent government.

“We truly believe it is imperative to do all of the things the Brown Act entails,” Manhattan Beach Mayor Wayne Pow-ell said.

Mandates of the act that are suspended include the requirement of posting city council agendas, providing descriptions of items to be discussed at regular city coun-cil meetings and posting descriptions of items discussed in closed sessions. By not requiring these actions, the state no longer has to reimburse cities that abide by the Brown Act.

“They suspended the Brown Act because they were trying to balance a $16 billion budget,” Powell said. “The state previously funded mandate powers. Now they are sus-pending the requirement so they will not have to pay, but it is chump change they

are saving.”The state of California expects to save

$96 million by suspending these parts of the Brown Act.

Although the state has suspended the re-quirement to abide by certain aspects of the Brown Act, Manhattan Beach is one of the many California cities that plans to con-tinue to acknowledge the whole legislation without state reimbursement.

“It is one of those things where the state is trying to save money, but being commit-ted to the Brown Act is more than budget-ary,” Councilwoman Amy Howorth said.

“It’s not worth it, sac--

ment just to save a few pennies.”

Manhattan Beach has shown its dedication to open government in other ways as well. Howorth and Mayor Pro Tempore David Lesser established an ad hoc subcommittee

on June 3, 2011 to ensure further transpar-ency in government.

“Manhattan Beach has committed itself to being open and transparent in its ac-tions,” Lesser said. “The ad hoc subcom-mittee develops recommendations with respect to open government.”

The Manhattan Beach City Council met

to the Brown Act. Unless a city council member, staff member or citizen pulls the issue for discussion, it will automatically be approved.

“The Brown Act is critical to good gov-ernment,” Powell said. “We agreed to fol-

“!e state is trying to save money, but being committed to the Brown Act is more than budgetary. It’s not worth it to sacri"ce open govern-

ment just to save a few pennies .”

Amy Howorth Manhattan Beach City

Councilwoman

NEWSA4 La Vista October 12, 2012

Music for Life club begins at Costa

HONORABLE MENTIONS: (from left starting with top row) Seniors Brian Sy-dow, Brett Buckstaff, Alec Lautanen, Brian Zukotynski, Jack Rosenberg, Pre-rana Poddar, Jane Tian, Diane Lee, and Anne Monique Pace are celebrated as

Nine Mustangs move on to !nal round of National Merit Scholarship competition

MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Presidents of the new Music for Life Club, (from left)

BY SABRINA PICKETT

STAFF WRITER

Nine Mira Costa seniors were

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an Zukotynski. Four more stu-

in 2011.

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their junior years. The cut off for

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fornia was a score of 220 on the

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awards is an achievement, and I

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It may seem that Costa’s num-

“I’m happy Costa has nine

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ists, and they’ve worked hard aca-

LISA VALICENTE/ LA VISTA

Costa administration plans !ve freshman four-year plan workshopsBY DANA STERNTHAL

STAFF WRITER

years at Costa. The

to meet freshmen one-

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men every year after

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Costa decided to offer these workshops

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“The workshops are for parents who

sometimes four-year

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Many freshmen

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freshman Gianna Genova said.

Oct. 8.

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cate information to students and parents it

“We’ve done four-year plans with freshmen every year a!er "rst semester grades, but not work-shops. #e students get to go over

their plan for high school.”

Jennifer WoodieGuidance Counselor

COURTESY MIRACOSTAHIGH.ORG

BY SIERRA WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

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nie Munson created one of the

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tance of music.

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from orchestra and created this

Costa’s middle student deserves speci!c attention

Gap year provides little bene!t to graduates

Romney-Ryan campaign needs new focus to have a chance in election

BY JACK ALLEN

OPINION EDITOR

As Mira Costa grows as a strong academically performing high school, it needs to develop a system in which average students, or middle children, can thrive and get the education they deserve.

Students that shine or excel in class are easily noticed by their teachers, as well as those who are clearly struggling and on the verge of failing, whereas the middle students at Costa are over-looked because they do not seem to need immediate attention. Cos-ta needs to provide this type of student with engaging academics that focus on student participation

and motivate more teachers to fo-cus on them.

For students that excel, Costa offers Advanced Placement, ac-c e l e r -ated and h o n o r s cou r se s , while stu-dents who struggle can receive extra help from the learning center and stu-dent academic support. There is no specialized option for all the students that fall in the middle.

child. These are students who re-ceive B’s and C’s on their report cards and score basic in multiple

the future should be too encour-age middle students to take a sin-gle AP course in an area of great-est strength, instead of pressuring them too either take far too many and inevitably fail them or avoid them altogether.

According to MBUSD Execu-tive Director of Educational Ser-vices Carolyn Seaton, students need to have a “true level of un-derstanding” in and out of the classroom. Students can thrive more easily when the objective is clear and students receive feed-back as well as an interactive learning environment.

With students being left unno-ticed in the current educational system at Costa, the district needs

to explore the idea of an inverted learning environment. Online pro-grams like Khan Academy would provide a student with a lecture to learn at home, and class time would then be used to explore the ideas taught in the lecture as well as time for students to ask ques-tions based on individual needs.

-shape an entire education system, Costa could easily create more block periods that combine mul-tiple related subjects like science and math and would utilize the

The faculty’s ability to adapt to the middle child will help prepare them to attend a four-year univer-

10. Someone could be a chick magnet. Just kidding that’s actu-ally the worst costume of all time.

9. Students could be the early application deadline - Nov. 1 is coming, and coming fast.

8. Could there be anything more terrifying than Adam Gerard, Homecoming King?

7. They could be the NFL replacement referees. Those calls were honestly scary-awful.

6. Someone could be Campus Security Lead Ray Lee.

5. Or you could also just be something slutty we guess.

4. Someone could be a student without a letter of recommenda-tion. Oh, the horror!

3. Maybe like, Fauver with fangs and a cape, or something.

2. Despite lacking in believability, a straight-edge PACE kid wouldn’t be bad.

1. A “President Romney” costume. Can’t get scarier than that.JACK ALLEN, ADAM GERARD, ALEX WHITE/ OPINION EDITORS

DANNY KELLEHER/ EDITOR IN CHIEF

BY NIKKI BORDOKAS

STAFF WRITER

The typical path of a high achieving student is customarily a K-12 education, followed imme-diately by four years of college. However, some students have found that a gap year is a poten-tial way to break up their 17 years of consistent K-12 education. In reality, gap years are a dan-gerous option, despite their surface appeal.

Though gap years can of-fer new experiences and provide a break after an exhausting se-nior year, the costs outweigh the

Education found in a recent 2005 survey that those who took gap years were less likely than their college counterparts to pursue a postsecondary degree.

Although some students choose to take a year off in order to work to pay for college, many instead choose to participate in popular but expensive gap year programs that can drain families’ funds even before they have to pay college tuition. For example, a popular gap year program, Gap 360, of-

fers trips around the world, but at

America for four months would cost upwards of $5,000, not in-cluding travel or food prices. That $5,000 only lasts four months; one must consider the frivolous spending that would occur for leisure activities during the other eight months. Though this seems

in comparison to the absolutely huge $250,000 four-year tuition of most private colleges many students attend, these are still sig-

Much of a student’s high school experience is building up the work habits necessary for col-lege. With a gap year, these habits can be compromised. Unlike the two months without schoolwork during summer, 14 months free of academic responsibilities will inevitably lead to a loss of crucial work habits that students need when entering college. Without

college rigor much too great and drop out.

Many still choose to take gap years despite the risk because they hope to gain worldly knowl-edge or are unsure of which aca-demic paths they want to follow and are, therefore, hesitant to start their college experience.

With colleges now offering many study abroad op-tions and beginning to embrace an open-curric-ulum approach, where students can explore dif-

get the best of both worlds: the outside experience that they are looking for, as well as the educa-tion they need.

Despite the attractive possibili-ties a gap year offers, in the long run, gap years will only put more stress on a student. Though most students would love the opportu-nity to skip school for a year, it is important for them to continue on to their freshman year in college in order to effectively gain the ed-ucation they need in an economi-cally sound and academically ef-

an investment in their future.

BY ALEC LAUTANEN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

With less than a month left until the presidential election, the Rom-ney campaign has much ground to make up. So far, the Romney-Ryan campaign has been a lack-luster one, and the ticket must step up efforts in key swing states if it wants any chance of victory in November.

A recent ABC poll found a large majority, 61%, of registered vot-ers rated Romney’s campaign as “negative.” The two main faults of the campaign so far have been an obvious failure to relate to the middle class and a lack of cam-paign substance.

One recent gaffe for the Rom-ney campaign came when a video was released that quoted Romney as saying 47% of Americans de-

and don’t pay any taxes at all, a 47% he said it wasn’t his job to worry about.

It is blunders such as this one that have been setting the Rom-ney campaign back, but other is-sues plague it as well. Namely, a lack of real campaign promises outside of vague “job creation” speeches and a huge lack of support compared to Obama in key contested swing states.

Another key weakness for Romney’s campaign is the nature of political solu-tions discussed. While Rom-ney rallies for fairer marginal tax rates and other nebulous

lies in his ability to communicate social solutions that are relatable to the average America.

Romney’s strongest campaign

of economics and job creation, but he could still do a better job selling them to voters. Romney’s

-viously strong opposition to the bailout of the automobile indus-

try, but convincing voters how his potential presidency would ben-

-erable to his current

method of sim-ply criticizing the Obama

a d m i n i s -tration.

A l -t h o u g h critics de-cry Barack Obama for an overuse of rhetoric and idealis-

tic campaign promises, his

strategies seem to be work-

ing. The m o s t r e c e n t

Gallup poll f o u n d Obama leading Romney by 6%.

Romney has done an excellent job catering to the wealthy class

of Americans, but he’s losing valuable support from the mid-dle class. According to the Fed-eral Election Commission, the Obama campaign has both raised and spent more than the Romney campaign. However, the majority of Obama’s individual campaign donations are in the $200 or less range, while Romney’s largest segment of donors gives the max-imum $2,500.

As far as Romney’s lackluster performance in swing states like Ohio goes, the GOP candidate must align himself more closely with working class, blue col-lar Republicans in the state if he wishes to succeed.

Just recently, a huge disconnect was witnessed in the policy and opinions of Romney and Ohio Governor, Republican John Ka-sich. Kasich recently spoke out praising Ohio’s low employment rate, and rightly so – the largest metropolitan area in the state, Co-lumbus, has a jobless rate almost

2.5% below the national average.However, this was a sharp

contrast with the Romney cam-paign’s attitude of scorn toward seemingly high national unem-ployment. Instead of bashing the national rate under a Demo-cratic president, Romney should promote low state rates such as Ohio’s under the current Repub-lican leadership.

Despite his strong showing in

spike in national polls, the funda-mental problems in his campaign still exist. If Romney doesn’t ad-dress these pertienent issues, his debate bump will soon be a thing of the past.

Depending on how the remain-ing debates go, the Romney cam-paign could see a jump in polling

The campaign could lessen a like-ly negative blow by focusing on more relatable, social matters and promoting Republican success in-stead of Democratic failure.

Top 10 potentially scariest costumes students could

wear on Halloween:

A5OPINIONOctober 12, 2012 La Vista

In reality, gap years are a danger-ous option, despite their surface ap-peal.

JACKSON CASADY/ LA VISTA

areas on STAR tests.According to Manhattan Beach

-tendent Dr. Michael Matthews,

students w h o take an AP class are more likely to

succeed in college. Taking just one AP class can supply a middle student with a “sense of rigor” without giving him or her more than he or she can handle. Last year, 53% of Costa’s seniors who graduated had earned a three on at least one AP exam, but 69% of Costa’s seniors went to four-year institutions. Costa’s objective for

!e middle student at Costa is overlooked because they do not seem to need immediate attention.

HOMECOMING COURT 2012 Couple Nickname:

Dr. Dale’s Dream Team

Couple Motto: “Call us Maybe?”

Nominated by:Adam - Food Critics ClubMeghan - Interact Club

Extracurriculars:Adam - President of National Hon-or Society, La Vista Opinion Editor,

Model UN Under-Secretary-GeneralMeghan - Co-President of Interact

Club and Yearbook Editor

Couple Nickname:Mr. & Mrs. Pecs

Couple Motto:“Save the whales!”

Nominated by:Jeremy - Lend-A-Hand Club

Rachel - Blood Club

Extracurriculars:Jeremy - Captain of Varsity

Lacrosse TeamRachel - ASB Co-commissioner of

Campus Morale

Couple Nickname:Lemonheads

Couple Motto:“Teamwork makes the dream

work”

Nominated by:Dillon - ASB

Nicole - Friendship Circle

Extracurriculars:Dillon- ASB President and Cross

Country athleteNicole- Co-President of Friendship

Circle

Couple Nickname:Hump & Hads

Couple Motto:“There is no substitute...”

Nominated by:Jack - New Life Club

Rachel - ASB

Extracurriculars:Jack- Varsity Baseball and Football

Player, New Life ClubRachel- Varsity Basketball and Vice

President of ASB

Couple Nickname:Salt & Peppa

Couple Motto: “Work hard, play harder”

Nominated by:Marcus- Heart of Art

Lauren- Yearbook

Extracurriculars:Marcus - Varsity Lacrosse

Lauren - Yearbook Photo Editor

Couple Nickname:Shnatalie

Couple Motto: “#YOLO”

Nominated by:Shayan - Growing GreatNatalie - Growing Great

Extrcurriculars:Shayan - Varsity Lacrosse

Natalie - ASB Senior Class VicePresident

With Homecoming just around the corner and the 2012 Court set, it is important that the selection process for court nominees be reviewed.

some changes need to be made to ensure that all nominees to be on the Court represent Mira Costa as well. Homecoming’s purpose is to bring the school together to vote for two students who it thinks has contributed the most to Costa throughout their high school careers. It is one of the most respected and highly antici-pated events on campus annually, and it continues to live up to expectations. Although the event itself is acclaimed, the procedure used to determine the initial nominees is inadequate in determining those

Under the current selection process, the quali-

seniors for the Homecoming Court are lenient and substandard. According to Associated Student Body Advisor Lisa Claypoole, a club must have been established for at least one previous year and have met all “quarterly club requirements.” The lack of further requirements allows for manipulations and bypass-ings of the process, resulting in a lengthy ballot with a number of under-

This year, the initial Homecoming ballot included just under 100 nomi-nees with only the club that nominated each student listed next to his or her name. Due to this current selection process, name recognition plays

more of a factor in most of the voting decisions than the actual work the candidates have done for the school.

select nominees needs to be amended. In order to prove that a club is le-gitimate and dedicated to its cause, it should be required to have been an established club for at least two years at Costa, as well as have the current requirements of participation in Club Day. In addition, whether or not clubs consistently meet and are active con-

tributors to the community is loosely supervised. With so many clubs, it is

if clubs are regularly meeting and par-ticipating in community services. However, one way to successfully monitor this would be to require the club’s teacher advisor to sign off every day that the club meets and also sign

off on its number of community service hours each quarter. This way there is no discrepancy and documenting so every club’s record can become part of the club council meeting process. The community service aspect is

for his or her club is vital. Lastly, the school must ensure that the court is made up of student role models who value the importance of academics and ethics. All nominees should display academic rigor and have an overall weighted 3.0 GPA. In

addition, nominees should be required to have no demerits under the Mira Costa Discipline Matrix. With this implemented, strong academics and

the nomination less. Contrary to the initial nomination process, the rest of the selection for Homecoming King and Queen complies with the ultimate goal of pro-ducing accomplished winners. The resume of each court member that is

contributed the most to Costa, which is what Homecoming ultimately should reward. In addition, the way that the nominees evoke school spirit increases school pride. Likewise, Spirit Week enables students to participate in spirit events and show off their Costa apparel. Along with this, the presen-tation of the announcement of King and Queen during the Homecoming football game has proven consistently impressive. With the majority of Homecoming held under a standard of high qual-ity, the nomination process simply needs to be changed so the right can-didates are selected in order to live up to the standards of the rest of the anticipated event. The large number of students on the initial ballot, which comes from a lack of necessary requirements for clubs to nominate, directly opposes Homecoming’s primary purpose of recognizing select individuals that

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the great school of Mira Costa.

Adam Gerard & Meghan Burns

Jeremy Silva & Rachel Oster

Dillon Shambaugh & Nicole Rosen

Jack Hadley & Rachel Humphrey

Marcus Francis & Lauren Fournell

Shayan Ghafouri & Natalie Pratt

COMPILED BY AMANDA NEWELL, ARIANA GEVOV AND RISHA ROHERA/ THEME EDITORS

AND MIRA LANG/ PHOTOGRAPHER

Homecoming brings the school together, but the selection process needs to be reviewedSta! Editorial

Homecoming’s purpose is to bring the school together to vote for two students who it thinks has contrib-uted the most to Costa throughout

their high school career.

Homecoming has more aspects to it at Mira Costa than just the widely known football game.

Week, the school supports the nominees by dressing up according to dy-namic themes that Associated Student Body presents. Beginning on Oct. 15, the spirit days for the week will be “Flannel FunDay Monday,” “LA Team Tuesday,” “USA Wednesday,” “PJ Thursday” and “Stampede Fri-day.” “I had a blast with [Rachel] this weekend when we went to City Walk to pick out costumes and props [for Spirit Week],” Homecoming Court nominee Jack Hadley said. On Oct. 19, the day of the Homecoming football game against Penin-sula High school, the Homecoming Pep Rally occurs before lunch. Court members perform their dances, students of all grades participate in relays and the spirit squads perform as well. “I’m a little nervous to be performing in front of the whole school,” Homecoming Court nominee Adam Gerard said. “But Meghan has prom-ised to accommodate my lack of dancing ability at the pep rally.” Later that day, before the Homecoming game at night, the nominees and their families are invited to a formal dinner. After the dinner, the nominees and their families will arrive at Waller Stadium for the Homecoming foot-

and a themed video produced by the Mustang Morning News starring the

Homecoming court will be played. The King and Queen will be revealed at the end of the video. “I’m really looking forward to the video we all put together,” Court nominee Rachel Humphrey said. “It’s a great way to show everyone our personalities on screen and gives us a chance to be a little funny.” Every year, ASB holds the Homecoming Dance in the Fisher Gym. The event includes music from a live DJ, lots of dancing, food and perfor-mances from the Homecoming Court. The theme of this year’s dance is “Sweet Escape.” It is promoted by Paramount Pictures’ new movie, “Fun Size,” which is about a girl named Wren whose plan to attend a Hallow-een party gets disrupted when she loses her brother on the same night of the party.

preview ‘Fun Size’ that will be shown at Beach Cities Arclight,” Clay-poole said. “They are also giving us posters, character cut-outs, iPhone skins, candy and towels to shoot out of the t-shirt machine.” This year’s 12 members of the Homecoming Court are very thrilled to be part of the process and are excited to share this special experience in years to come. “It’s a dream come true [to be on the Court],” nominee Marcus Francis

something to look back on years from now and a great story for your kids.”

Homecoming is more than Fun-Sized

ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMANDA NEWELL

HOMECOMING COURT 2012 Couple Nickname:

Dr. Dale’s Dream Team

Couple Motto: “Call us Maybe?”

Nominated by:Adam - Food Critics ClubMeghan - Interact Club

Extracurriculars:Adam - President of National Hon-or Society, La Vista Opinion Editor,

Model UN Under-Secretary-GeneralMeghan - Co-President of Interact

Club and Yearbook Editor

Couple Nickname:Mr. & Mrs. Pecs

Couple Motto:“Save the whales!”

Nominated by:Jeremy - Lend-A-Hand Club

Rachel - Blood Club

Extracurriculars:Jeremy - Captain of Varsity

Lacrosse TeamRachel - ASB Co-commissioner of

Campus Morale

Couple Nickname:Lemonheads

Couple Motto:“Teamwork makes the dream

work”

Nominated by:Dillon - ASB

Nicole - Friendship Circle

Extracurriculars:Dillon- ASB President and Cross

Country athleteNicole- Co-President of Friendship

Circle

Couple Nickname:Hump & Hads

Couple Motto:“There is no substitute...”

Nominated by:Jack - New Life Club

Rachel - ASB

Extracurriculars:Jack- Varsity Baseball and Football

Player, New Life ClubRachel- Varsity Basketball and Vice

President of ASB

Couple Nickname:Salt & Peppa

Couple Motto: “Work hard, play harder”

Nominated by:Marcus- Heart of Art

Lauren- Yearbook

Extracurriculars:Marcus - Varsity Lacrosse

Lauren - Yearbook Photo Editor

Couple Nickname:Shnatalie

Couple Motto: “#YOLO”

Nominated by:Shayan - Growing GreatNatalie - Growing Great

Extrcurriculars:Shayan - Varsity Lacrosse

Natalie - ASB Senior Class VicePresident

With Homecoming just around the corner and the 2012 Court set, it is important that the selection process for court nominees be reviewed.

some changes need to be made to ensure that all nominees to be on the Court represent Mira Costa as well. Homecoming’s purpose is to bring the school together to vote for two students who it thinks has contributed the most to Costa throughout their high school careers. It is one of the most respected and highly antici-pated events on campus annually, and it continues to live up to expectations. Although the event itself is acclaimed, the procedure used to determine the initial nominees is inadequate in determining those

Under the current selection process, the quali-

seniors for the Homecoming Court are lenient and substandard. According to Associated Student Body Advisor Lisa Claypoole, a club must have been established for at least one previous year and have met all “quarterly club requirements.” The lack of further requirements allows for manipulations and bypass-ings of the process, resulting in a lengthy ballot with a number of under-

This year, the initial Homecoming ballot included just under 100 nomi-nees with only the club that nominated each student listed next to his or her name. Due to this current selection process, name recognition plays

more of a factor in most of the voting decisions than the actual work the candidates have done for the school.

select nominees needs to be amended. In order to prove that a club is le-gitimate and dedicated to its cause, it should be required to have been an established club for at least two years at Costa, as well as have the current requirements of participation in Club Day. In addition, whether or not clubs consistently meet and are active con-

tributors to the community is loosely supervised. With so many clubs, it is

if clubs are regularly meeting and par-ticipating in community services. However, one way to successfully monitor this would be to require the club’s teacher advisor to sign off every day that the club meets and also sign

off on its number of community service hours each quarter. This way there is no discrepancy and documenting so every club’s record can become part of the club council meeting process. The community service aspect is

for his or her club is vital. Lastly, the school must ensure that the court is made up of student role models who value the importance of academics and ethics. All nominees should display academic rigor and have an overall weighted 3.0 GPA. In

addition, nominees should be required to have no demerits under the Mira Costa Discipline Matrix. With this implemented, strong academics and

the nomination less. Contrary to the initial nomination process, the rest of the selection for Homecoming King and Queen complies with the ultimate goal of pro-ducing accomplished winners. The resume of each court member that is

contributed the most to Costa, which is what Homecoming ultimately should reward. In addition, the way that the nominees evoke school spirit increases school pride. Likewise, Spirit Week enables students to participate in spirit events and show off their Costa apparel. Along with this, the presen-tation of the announcement of King and Queen during the Homecoming football game has proven consistently impressive. With the majority of Homecoming held under a standard of high qual-ity, the nomination process simply needs to be changed so the right can-didates are selected in order to live up to the standards of the rest of the anticipated event. The large number of students on the initial ballot, which comes from a lack of necessary requirements for clubs to nominate, directly opposes Homecoming’s primary purpose of recognizing select individuals that

-

the great school of Mira Costa.

Adam Gerard & Meghan Burns

Jeremy Silva & Rachel Oster

Dillon Shambaugh & Nicole Rosen

Jack Hadley & Rachel Humphrey

Marcus Francis & Lauren Fournell

Shayan Ghafouri & Natalie Pratt

COMPILED BY AMANDA NEWELL, ARIANA GEVOV AND RISHA ROHERA/ THEME EDITORS

AND MIRA LANG/ PHOTOGRAPHER

Homecoming brings the school together, but the selection process needs to be reviewedSta! Editorial

Homecoming’s purpose is to bring the school together to vote for two students who it thinks has contrib-uted the most to Costa throughout

their high school career.

Homecoming has more aspects to it at Mira Costa than just the widely known football game.

Week, the school supports the nominees by dressing up according to dy-namic themes that Associated Student Body presents. Beginning on Oct. 15, the spirit days for the week will be “Flannel FunDay Monday,” “LA Team Tuesday,” “USA Wednesday,” “PJ Thursday” and “Stampede Fri-day.” “I had a blast with [Rachel] this weekend when we went to City Walk to pick out costumes and props [for Spirit Week],” Homecoming Court nominee Jack Hadley said. On Oct. 19, the day of the Homecoming football game against Penin-sula High school, the Homecoming Pep Rally occurs before lunch. Court members perform their dances, students of all grades participate in relays and the spirit squads perform as well. “I’m a little nervous to be performing in front of the whole school,” Homecoming Court nominee Adam Gerard said. “But Meghan has prom-ised to accommodate my lack of dancing ability at the pep rally.” Later that day, before the Homecoming game at night, the nominees and their families are invited to a formal dinner. After the dinner, the nominees and their families will arrive at Waller Stadium for the Homecoming foot-

and a themed video produced by the Mustang Morning News starring the

Homecoming court will be played. The King and Queen will be revealed at the end of the video. “I’m really looking forward to the video we all put together,” Court nominee Rachel Humphrey said. “It’s a great way to show everyone our personalities on screen and gives us a chance to be a little funny.” Every year, ASB holds the Homecoming Dance in the Fisher Gym. The event includes music from a live DJ, lots of dancing, food and perfor-mances from the Homecoming Court. The theme of this year’s dance is “Sweet Escape.” It is promoted by Paramount Pictures’ new movie, “Fun Size,” which is about a girl named Wren whose plan to attend a Hallow-een party gets disrupted when she loses her brother on the same night of the party.

preview ‘Fun Size’ that will be shown at Beach Cities Arclight,” Clay-poole said. “They are also giving us posters, character cut-outs, iPhone skins, candy and towels to shoot out of the t-shirt machine.” This year’s 12 members of the Homecoming Court are very thrilled to be part of the process and are excited to share this special experience in years to come. “It’s a dream come true [to be on the Court],” nominee Marcus Francis

something to look back on years from now and a great story for your kids.”

Homecoming is more than Fun-Sized

ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMANDA NEWELL

on their feet for their pride in their school. Another aspect of the program’s suc-

cess was that it demonstrated to students the impact they could have on history as Mira Costa graduates. Economist and cur-rent Harvard University Kennedy School

Professor Richard Parker told students that often, history is made at Costa. His brush with history while a Costa student came when he debated Richard M. Nixon on the very stage he stood during the assembly. His speech and the stories told by others

EDITOR’S NOTE

STAFF EDITORIAL

BY ALEC LAUTANEN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As I was casting my votes for Homecom-

me how dynamic and involved my senior class is. I’ve always been somewhat aware of the strength of the Class of 2013, but after starting the process of college appli-cations and seeing where my friends are

event of the year that’s strictly a senior af-fair, it also made me aware of how right now is truly “the beginning of the end.” So far, I’ve spent over 10 years getting to know this group of individuals, and a sud-den departure is a scary thought. But to be completely honest, there is no other group

of high school with.As most are already aware of, La Vista

always rounds out the year with a page mapping out where the graduating class is attending college. I never thought I’d be looking at my friends’ names on that page, but once I realized how palpably close that

was, I couldn’t help but smile. If this class keeps up with its same stan-

dards, we’ll end up with 39 valedictorians in June. Ever since I started going to school in Manhattan Beach my kindergarten year, I’ve been consistently impressed by my peers. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I’m

else will go to college as I am to know my future school.

Taking that a step further, the prospect of seeing my friends and classmates in future Mira Costa Alumni Hall of Fame ceremo-nies was also a scarily realistic thought. The idea that those 17 initial inductees ac-complished so much using Mira Costa as a springboard gave me hopeful thoughts about current students and where we’ll be in the coming years. I wish to see my class-mates on that stage in the years to come and witness the success that had.

The cliché question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?” has always seemed like a nebulous and irrelevant in-quiry, but now it’s more real than ever. In any case, I’m positive both the immediate and distant future will be successful for the class of 2013.

Senior class !lled with bright minds, strong bonds

Mira Costa recently inducted 17 dis-tinguished graduates into its Alumni Hall of Fame. The individuals inducted, along with the assembly honoring them, promot-ed school spirit, gave Costa students pride in their school and was a success for all those involved.

During the two assemblies held on Sept. 28, students were given an excellent op-portunity to see the impact that previous Costa graduates have had on the Costa community and on the world, which gave students inspiration for the future.

The greatest impact the assembly made to the students was that their future ac-complishments would be rooted at Costa. This idea was most notably expressed when Grammy-nominated composer Da-vid Benoit told Costa that his interaction with faculty on campus “changed his life” and set him on the path toward success with something he loved.

The assembly excited the student body about Mira Costa and energized school spirit. Inductee John Featherstone, one of the most accomplished college football coaches in the area, inserted new energy into the assembly by getting all attendees

Alumni Hall of Fame brings honor, tradition to Costa

MIRA COSTA HIGH SCHOOL

1401 ARTESIA BOULEVARD

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA

(310) 318-7330

OCTOBER 12, 2012VOLUME LXIII, ISSUE 2WWW.LAVISTAMCHS.COM

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

DANNY KELLEHER

ALEC LAUTANEN

MANAGING EDITOR

HANNA MCGUIRE

COPY EDITORS

ZACK GILL

MAGGIE ROBAK

NEWS EDITORS

JOANI GILLAM, EXECUTIVE

SHAYLYN AUSTIN

TAYLOR ST. GERMAIN

OPINION EDITORS

ALEX WHITE, EXECUTIVE

JACK ALLEN

ADAM GERARD

ARTS EDITORS

DYLAN FAIR, EXECUTIVE

ARI HOWORTH

JAKE MAHR

LIFE EDITORS

AVA KLEIN, EXECUTIVE

ELIZABETH KNEISLEY

EMILY LOCKWOOD

THEME EDITORS

AMANDA NEWELL, EXECUTIVE

ARI GEVOV

RISHA ROHERA

SPORTS EDITORS

REGAN ESTES, EXECUTIVE

HANNAH PROCTOR

CASEY SUBLETTE

CALENDAR EDITOR

KATE ROBAK

PHOTO EDITORS

NICOLE FISCHER

EMMA SALZMAN

CIRCULATION EDITORS

ANGELINA VOLLUCCI

JESSICA BEELI, ASSISTANT

ARTIST

JACKSON CASADY

ADVISER

MICHAEL MCAVIN

STAFF WRITERS

GASSIA ASHIKIAN, BUSTER BAER, NIKKI BORDOKAS, MADDIE COATE, NIKKI FOURNELL,

REBECCA HEXT, COURTNEY HUGHEY, CAMILLE JUTON, TAMARA KNELL, QUINN KROPSCHOT,

MADDY NERAD, CHRISTOPH NEUMANN KARA PATMAN, EMILY PETILLON, SABRINA PICKETT,

IAN RAPOPORT, MEGAN RIORDAN, PIPER RODOLF CATE SCHIFF, ISAAC SIEGEMUND-BROKA, DANA STERNTHAL,

MORGAN THALER, KATIE VON BEHREN, SIERRA WILLIAMS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

HANNAH DAGIAU, MADDEN LAING, MIRA LAING, JACK LEE, NICK MATSON, VAUGHN MICHAUD, GEOFFREY ST. JOHN,

LISA VALICENTE, MUNAM WASI

EDITORIAL BOARD

JACK ALLEN, SHAYLYN AUSTIN, ADAM GERARD, TAYLOR ST. GERMAIN, ZACK GILL, JOANI GILLAM,

DANNY KELLEHER, ALEC LAUTANEN, HANNA MCGUIRE, MAGGIE ROBAK, ALEX WHITE

DISCLAIMER: LA VISTA IS THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MIRA COSTA HIGH SCHOOL, SERVING 2,700 STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12. CONTENT, WHICH IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LA VIS-TA STAFF, IS NOT SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL. UN-SIGNED EDITORIALS REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER, WHILE OPINION COLUMNS REPRESENT ONLY THE WRITER’S VIEWS. ADVERTISEMENTS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF LA VISTA. LA VISTA PUBLISHES 10 ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR ON A TRI-WEEKLY BASIS AND DISTRIBUTES 3,000 COPIES TO BOTH MIRA COSTA CLASSROOMS AND SUBSCRIBERS. LA VISTA IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLUMBIA SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION AND WELCOMES SIGNED LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ON TOPICAL ISSUES FROM THE MCHS COMMUNITY. THEY MAY BE MAILED TO MICHAEL MCAVIN IN THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING MAILBOX OR SENT TO LAVISTAOPINION@GMAIL.COM. LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR LENGTH AND CLARITY. PLEASE CONTACT LAVISTA-

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left students incredibly inspired and proud to be Mustangs.

The short length and conciseness played a large role in the assembly’s success be-cause it was able to keep the students’ at-tention and provided Costa with a short break, but allowed it to happen in coordina-

tion with a regular school day. According to Master of Ceremonies Larry Hum-phrey students who attended the as-

sembly were “attentive” and remained respectful throughout the ceremonies. Along with inspiration, students re-

ceived tips and life lessons from the induct-ees as they talked about their involvements in the world. Inductee Mark Sundeen is a notable author who told the students to question authority and try to develop their own opinions. This important element of the assembly educationally provided stu-dents with guidance for their upcoming academic future.

According to ASB Vice President Rachel Humphrey, the assembly connected past Costa students to present students. This bridge between them left both the alumni and the students hopeful about the future of Mira Costa and their pride in it.

OPINION October 12, 2012A8 La Vista

I think that the computers around the school should be upgraded. The computers now breakdown and are outdated. I know the library is getting iMacs, and I think that the rest of the school should receive them too. Alex Burr, Freshman

There needs to be A/C in the classrooms. Some classrooms are getting so hot that it is actually disrupting the learning envi-ronment, and it is getting out of hand very quickly. Tanner Warner, Junior

There is no other group of stu-

JACKSON CASADY/ LA VISTA

STAFF EDITORIAL

“Wi-Fi” continued from page A1Efforts began over the summer to make

wireless internet available around campus, and the district is now in the third phase of installation. According to Principal Dr. Ben Dale, about a third of all Costa classrooms currently have Wi-Fi, with priority given to the classrooms that utilize iPads.The current divide of information between

students, teachers and administrators is im-

access any Wi-Fi on campus, despite being told that they should be able to. Currently, the only student-approved Wi-Fi use, other than in classes on iPad pilot programs, is with the library’s wireless hotspot. According to Dale, the district is wait-ing until January 2013 to enable complete Wi-Fi for high school students. As iPad us-age continues to increase at Mira Costa, the district will be forced to increase the

school’s bandwith to prevent crashes due to the high volume of devices.Technology Service Coordinator Eric San-

galang believes that 300 megabits will be enough bandwidth to complete phase three of the installation, although he is willing to “monitor the usage on the bandwidth and increase the speed as necessary” as more students use Wi-Fi enabled devices. Sanga-lang says the total estimated cost for com-plete Wi-Fi coverage is $115,000.While it is understandable that the district

has been focusing on the middle school wireless connection because of the newly implemented one-to-one iPad program, ac-cess for the high school needs to be made a priority as a majority of incoming fresh-men are to have iPads next year. According to Dale, the administration is encouraging teachers to allow all wireless

devices. This is a necessary step for Mira

from wireless internet. But because it isn’t available, many think it never will be, fur-thering the communication gap. Many teachers push for distraction-free environments, and some maintain the phi-losophy that technology will give student opportunities for distraction. As proof of a disconnect between students, staff and administration, many teachers aren’t even on the same page with the goals of the iPad program and Wi-Fi that they implement.

-tives with Wi-Fi. There will be distractions, but there will also be more information for students to use and learn from.Our world is rapidly digitizing, and Costa

students and staff need to be on the same page for this program to succeed.

Letters to the Editor: I feel that school should start a little later. Most students have to stay up late because of homework and after-school activities and having to be at school at seven or eight in the morning is hard work. Just 15 or 30 minutes would make a huge difference. Annie Gense, Freshman

BY DANNY KELLEHER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Although technological advancements will clearly be a main component in deter-mining the success of schools and school districts in the future, the Manhattan Beach

-gram is poorly planned and executed.

The pilot program, which began in June

term technology plan, lacks clear strategic objectives for the implementation and use

-tion of grants, general district funding and private purchases. Although it is an excel-

lent sign for the future that various parts of our community are contributing

toward the prospect of progressive education, their efforts are in vain due to the ineffective

implementation of the current program.

-guided and

impulsive to spend money on

other forms of technology,

for the d i s t r i c t .

priced online at a minimum of

$500, the cost of the program ran

in the hundreds of thousands

of dollars despite educator discounts and

the fact that families paid for around 70% of them.

For the same price, the district could have

-puters, on which students could adequate-ly take notes, one of the supposed main

better than laptops; laptops would have a larger hard drive and a more diverse range of capabilities.

the problem. The main issue with the new

OPINIONOctober 12, 2012 A9La Vista

PRO/CON

Are iPads at Costa worth the large investment?

Does using iPads at Costa enhance the learning environment?ROVING REPORTER

PRO: CON:

in general, lies in the ambiguity regarding how or why these technological advances

productive student and staff purpose for the introduction of this new technology, rather than just continue to push to upgrade

begun to utilize new technology have ad--

ing environment, having students watch lectures on subjects at home then use class time to practice with what would normally

subject material from the previous night and receiving one-on-one instruction from

purchase more effective.

a program similar to this at the school in the future, but the general lack of commit-

-tuates the large possibility that the district and its parents could, with time, come to look with regret upon the gigantic mon-etary investment.

that school Wi-Fi is in weakens the case

of the wireless internet connection began long ago, but frequent problems make us-

a whole less convincing.-

rent state of use is the distraction they pose -

tains that a distracted student will remain so regardless, but in reality, the potential future freedom of students to download meaningless applications and have them at their disposal during class could cause

a problem. -

ment that -

gaging is true, but sometimes for the worse.

good, reasonable goal for the district and

such large quantities of money and effort -

ministration should have ensured more cohesion and feasibility prior to imple-

under-utilized and poorly managed.

BY ALEX WHITE

EXECUTIVE OPINION EDITOR

-

Technological changes taking place in the

will enable a more productive learning en-vironment for students and faculty.

is important to stay ahead of the curve in -

gram, introduced last year to the district,

integrate technology in a way that the vast

correctly, the program will allow students to learn ef-fectively and become more technologically adept.

-

to the district and has been an ardent sup-porter of updated technology since the be-

that while greater technology use may not have a direct link to higher test scores, the

-ers alike are surely well worth the invest-

program has the ability to get students

students that are generally overlooked in the classroom, as well as give more inter-active means of learning material.

has been effective but has not yet reached --

a pioneer in this scale of implementation

nation to do this.This kind of cutting-edge technology

makes students more capable for the fu--

vices are implemented in the correct way,

iPads are bene!cial now, in future iPads do not address Costa’s needs well

“Yes, because you get to use

Haley BrooksFreshman

has value, and for certain cur-riculums and certain age groups

Glenn Marx Social Science Teacher

“Yes, because students can look up answers quickly, and if

-

Bryce HolmesJunior

MIRA LAING/ LA VISTA

have the resources they need to

Riley DodsonSenior

Taylor KleinSophomore

“Yes, because that way you can accomplish more things at school and have more free time

and that starts with the teachers. There are

devices were implemented at the middle

smaller groups and were given more time to use them, often making projects from

program lies with their accessibility and usefulness, both of which will be reliant on teachers. Various training sessions and experts have already been made available

-lieves that the versatility and adaptability

-ads to be used to full

goal is to h a v e e v e r y

few years, taking notes and using the inter-active textbooks.

The future only holds more with the

more time comes a wider variety of ap-plications available for use.

power is with the

-ads simply as a dif-ferent means of hand-ing out a worksheet, the program will surely fail.

staff chooses to use this adaptable tool to make the learning environment ef-

Additionally, the choice of using the

best choices for the school learning envi-

can last for years running at high speeds, compared to similarly priced laptops that would be susceptible to a wide variety of viruses and malware.

Because of the success thus far and the potential for a more effective education

-ly worth the money and time.

!e intangible bene"ts for stu-dents and teachers alike are surely well worth the investment.

For the same price, the district could have purchased fully function-ing PC laptop computers.

BY IAN RAPOPORT

STAFF WRITER

It isn’t often that a high school team gets

the opportunity to play alongside a nation-

ally-ranked player. Freshman Andrea Lee

brought her many years of talent and expe-

rience to the Costa’s girls golf team.

Lee’s outstanding performances are a

result of years of training. She started play-

father, and by age eight, she had already

begun competing in tournaments.

-

-

enth nationally.

Like many young athletes, Lee admires

Tiger Woods because of his immense tal-

are her parents because of the constant mo-

-

-

age of 10 tournaments a year. She has had

I don’t think of it as a bad thing, though,

compete against people from around the

country, but also to foreign countries, such

as the United Kingdom.

-

Competing as a Mustang has helped Lee

-

ally hard and helps her teammates to do the

Lee’s ambitions extend from college to

the professional league. She hopes that one

-

sional golfer.

Lee said. “Maybe go to Stanford, UCLA

BY ALYSSA ZUCKER

STAFF WRITER

As the Mira Costa football season hits

-

-

each other.

Athletic Director and football coach Don

McClain started the season as a safety

accepting the responsibility, but I already

joining the Costa football team until his

BY CAMILLE JUTON

STAFF WRITER

skateboarding has gone from a hobby to a

lifestyle for senior Jared Cleland.

-

pher since 2006.

“What I enjoy most about skating is the

Since the age of 13, Cleland has been

This past summer, he had the opportuni-

sophomore season, he suffered from a

concussion, causing him to miss summer

practices going into his junior year season.

Because of his absence, he spent his junior

year on JV as a safety.

“Missing the summer going into junior

their talent and dedication.

running back Brandon Mills said. “They

-

a game.

Senior Cleland skates around the world

Freshman Andrea Lee brings nation-ally-ranked talent to Costa golf team

Seniors McClain, Lawson-Gayle are dynamic duo on Costa’s o!ense

EMMA SALZMAN/ LA VISTA

JACK LEE / LA VISTA

COURTESY ANDREW FREEMAN

THE TERRIFIC TWO : Seniors Khalil McClain (left) and Raphael Lawson-Gayle have rejuvenated Costa’s offense this season as a quarterback and running back duo.

skate competitions.

-

-

-

the Copenhagen AM, an amateur skate-

boarding competition in Denmark. Cleland

-

tions, such as the Volcom Contest and Wild

in the Parks.

“My dream in skating is to, of course,

many people through skating across the

LEEDING THE WAY: Freshman Andrea Lee helps lead the Mira Costa girls varsity golf team to an undefeated season.

LATER SKATER: Senior Jared Cleland competes internationaly in hopes of becoming a pro.

A10 October 12, 2012SPORTSLa Vista

Freshman Andrea Lee Kari and Raquel Gordonjunior Megan Kim

The boys and girls competed against Palos Verdes High School yesterday, but due to

The Mustangs play Los Alamitos on Monday at home at 3 p.m.

BY REBECCA HEXT AND IAN RAPOPORT/STAFF WRITERS

skating by doing independent study

“I am planning on going to college next

for many years to come.

October 12, 2012 SPORTS A11La Vista

TEAM RECORDS

Carly McGuire (Senior)Girls Tennis

McGuire won two of her three matches in the win against Re-dondo Union on Oct. 4.

Megan Kim (Junior)Girls Golf

Kim shot a 36 in Costa’s win against Chadwick High School on Oct. 2.

Dillon Shambaugh (Senior)Boys Cross Country

Shambaugh allowed himself to

Carley Muller (Senior)Girls Volleyball

Muller had 32 digs and 2 assists in Costa’s victory against Peninsula High School Tuesday.

Cody Kelley (Senior)Boys Water Polo

Kelley had two assists and two goals in the win against Palos Verdes High School on Oct. 2

Football

the win against West on Oct. 5. He ran for four touchdowns.

Senior Nikki Gialketsis and sophomore Ulufa Leilua prepare to play college so!ball

TOP PERFORMERS

UNDERHAND HEROES: Sophomore Ulufa Leilua (left) and senior Nikki Gi-

alketsis earned scholarships to play softball at the University of Washington

and Sacramento State University, respectively.

LISA VALICENTE/ LA VISTA

BY COURTNEY HUGHEY

STAFF WRITER

When Mira Costa softball

softball, they never imagined that

the college level.

-grams, such as the University of Florida, University of California Berkeley and the University of

-versity of Washington.

my teammates, since only three

committed to colleges yet.”

-lete and began recruiting her in the beginning of her freshman year. Her defensive skills are con-

-man, and her inherent ability as a hitter equals that of most colle-giate softball athletes.

“Ulufa has a natural skill to hit a ball,” Mira Costa coach Richard

strength and ability to hit the ball. She exhibited a high slugging

“Washington is betting on the future, and they’re betting on her

-berik said. “She still has a lot to

she hits a ball it never seems to come down.”

her success to her father.

role to the softball team. Gialket-sis has been contacting coaches

in college.

hard everyday.”

softball since she was six and -

thinking seriously of her future as a collegiate athlete.

“This has been my dream ever

-

during her freshman year by con-tacting various schools, which

East Coast. Gialketsis decided to

her an offer at the start of her ju-nior year, Sacramento State Uni-versity. She will join the team in the fall as a catcher.

-

team,” Gialketsis said. “They have a really good chance at win-ning their division next year, and

West Coast.” Even though Gialketsis didn’t

get recruited as early as some of

with coaches, her continued dedi--

college softball.-

-

Sport Overall Bay LeagueWin Loss Tie LossWin Tie

Football Boys Water Polo

Girls TennisCross Country

Girls GolfGirls Volleyball

We’re making every single thing you can think of a League

Rank

- - - - - - -

COMPILED BY REGAN ESTES, HANNAH PROCTOR, AND CASEY SUBLETTE/SPORTS EDITORS

PHOTOS BY EMMA SALZMAN AND JACK LEE/LA VISTA

number of matches the girls tennis has won out of a total of

13 matches for the 2012 season. The team has won matches

against Palos Verdes and Santa Monica, both teams it had

struggled against in previous years.

105

12

69

3

Being a bunch of disgruntled, failed athletes, we’re really into

going on in a bunch of different leagues that makes us excited.

-

They were making calls worse -

ics. Seriously, they were making the art of giant sweaty men run-ning into each other a mere game.

now resolved, Costa is thankfully no longer at risk of having a simi-

miracle we don’t have to have any

imagine a class where every aca-demic call is as sketchy as a Kurz

league we’re stoked about. That’s right, we’re talkin’ about

With such an insanely stacked ros-ter for this coming season, there’s almost going to be more chauvin-

our thing.Seriously, though, we’ve al-

-

trash can that comes with a low-voiced, enthusiastic “Dwight!” to

“Kobe!” shots. There might even be a new form of trash-throw-

to someone else, who will then throw the trash away as we both

around, too.

Homecoming is more or less a -

ning around and dancing, wear-ing uniforms, and trying to win the crown. Sure does sound like a league, which means there needs to be some chauvinism emerging

-ing. We’ll be shouting “Sham-

“Gerard!” when we awkwardly bob our heads out of sync with our bodies, and “Meghan!” every

Fantasy Mira Costa (see last issue) is already under way, and soon, we’ll have every single one

-

will have made every interaction a league.

Oh, and we don’t really care

-

Digitsnumber of games it took girls volleyball to sweep in a Bay

League match against West Torrance on Oct. 4. The score of

the number of yards of one of senior running back Raphael

Lawson-Gayle’s touchdowns in the game against West Tor-

rance. The team won against West, 62-42, and Lawson-Gayle

had four touchdowns.

-

ish in the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 29. They placed 10th

out of a total of 32 teams in the invitational, with sophomore

Kara Jeong coming in second overall with a time of 20:05.

SPORTSA12 La Vista October 12, 2012

Football scores 42 unanswered points in comeback against West Torrance

SNAP BACK: Junior quarterback Greg Briskin lines up for the play on Sept. 28 in the Mustangs’ 26-14 win over Newport Harbor High School. The varsity football team beat West Torrance on Oct. 5 by a score of 62-42 and is looking to continue its win streak today against Palos Verdes at PV.

EMMA SALZMAN/ LA VISTA

BY ALYSSA ZUCKER

STAFF WRITER

Costa football team started Bay League competition off well on Oct. 5 with a 62-42 win over West Torrance High School.

points to come back from an early West Ra-

phael Lawson-Gayle scoring four touch-

overall and 1-0 in Bay League.“There was a lot of pressure to keep up

quarterback Khalil McClain said. “The coaches kept telling me to stay calm and

for four touchdowns. He had 114 yards on

the ball across the plane on a fourth and

backs who were able to pick me up when I

West had a powerful offense that scored -

was 21-21.“I did not expect West to score two touch-

Brandon Millsdid not expect our offense to turn over the

“You cannot win any game without put-

“The best part about our team is that we

--

nior safety Dylan Chen. “The two interceptions were big in the

a score by our offense. With such a fast-

Senior wide receiver Zach Primm was

yards receiving and an athletic touchdown catch. Junior running back Sebastian Frank-Love also came up big with a rush-ing touchdown to help add to the score.

“I am very proud of how the team

there for the win. We were kind of skittish

Costa plays Palos Verdes High School today away for its second Bay League game. Both teams are coming off of a win.

captain linebacker Josh Qerbash said. “It is not going to be an easy game. They

MAI OH MAI: Sophomore Mai Nojima returns a serve in the Mustangs’ 10-8 victory over Palisades High School on Wednesday at home. Nojima won both of the matches she played against Pali-sades’ number-one and number-three singles players to help contribute to the Costa win.

LISA VALICENTE/ LA VISTA

Girls tennis defeats Palisades, 10-8,in close match, maintains win-streakBY CASEY SUBLETTE

SPORTS EDITOR

Costa girls tennis defeated Palisades

-more Brooke Swallow and senior Carly McGuire

the round. Junior Paula Cenusa defeated

6-0. Sophomores Taylor Klein and Mai Nojima

“This was a really exciting win for our team because last year when we played the

The second round fared well for the team. Senior doubles pair Alex Waller and Juliana Hoft defeated the number-two

Junior Sidney Ascher and senior Sulli-beth Ortiz-Torres straight games to the number-one Palisades

but we remained focused and played really

improving in every match. We have learned that being relaxed makes a big difference

Kayla Tarlton re-placed Cenusa and lost to the number-one

Hannah Proc-tor Claudia Fellows beat the

6-1. Senior Ava Klein lost to the number-

they played hard and did enough to win the

coach Joe Ciasulli said.The team currently has a record of 12-1

overall and 5-1 in Bay League. The team will play its next game at home on Tuesday

will be its second match against West Tor-rance this season.

if we keep up how we have been playing

Waller said. “We all need to focus on each match one at a time and not tense up in any

CLIFF JUMPER: Seniors (from left) Grayce Campbell, Kylie Taylor and Corie Bain spike and block shots in their Tuesday win against Peninsula High School at home.

MIRA LAING/ LA VISTA

BY COURTNEY HUGHEY

STAFF WRITER

In a match that was much more intense

volleyball took down Peninsula High

Costa maintained a lead over Peninsula

won with the help of senior outside hitter Grayce Campbelland senior setter Corie Bain

“We slipped back a little bit in the begin-

great kills that helped us turn the tide of

second game with defensive mistakes that gave away easy points. Costa tried to hold

by senior middle blocker Kylie Taylor and senior outside hitter Lexi Millington.

“Peninsula was rallying more and mak-ing key kills that hurt us in the beginning of

Costa battled back as the second game -

er Kelsey McIntire recording multiple

-

“I think at the beginning of the second -

nior libero Carly Muller said. “We had a

Girls volleyball wins four-game bat-tle against Peninsula High School

-creased offensive intensity. Peninsula hung

-

“We realized during the middle of the match that it was not okay to lose that [sec-

established an offensive dominance that

Effective blocks and multiple point-scoring assists from Bain helped Costa pull away.

“[The girls] made a lot of great kills that helped us come back during the last

-

-

led by Campbell and Bain propelled the

a Peninsula outside hitter hit the ball into the net. Costa took the fourth game with a

Pines Varsity tournament today and tomor-

“This game showed us what we really have to work on and which lineups will work best to help us be successful in our