E-cigs are becoming more and more widespread among teens.

See page 6.

The fine arts classes run a holiday sale before dead week. See page

12.

Students discuss the impacts of the Andy Lopez shooting. See

pages 8-9.

Senior Jaeli Samonte serves the ball against Rancho Cotati on Senior Night. See page 14. Photo by Celine Sargis

Beloved ceramics teacher Lou Sparks has recently announced that she will be retiring at the end of the semester. She teaches two periods of ceramics during first and second period.

Though her students were devastated to hear of her departure, Sparks states that it’s for the best. “Family concerns would have taken me out of the classroom next

semester for extended periods of time, so after much discussion, we decided that it would be best if I resign my position,” she wrote in a letter that she gave to her class.

Sparks was said to be an all-around wonderful ceramics teacher. Her graphic design background gave her the tools she needed to teach a fun, creative class with a productive environment.

“When she’s teaching, it’s very re-laxed. We make sure we get our stuff done on time, but she’ll give us more time if we need it. I felt like I could produce my best work when she’s there,” said Junior Grace Corley.

Senior Karina Banks agreed, saying, “She’d let us have a lot of freedom with

our art.”Though Sparks will be missed by many,

the SRHS art department and its students are fortunate to have had her during the time she was here.

NEWS2

Editors-in-ChiefTrevor GreenanJenifer Moretto Simon

Managing EditorIsabella Froman

Photography Edi-tor Celine Sargis

Marketing EditorBryna Haugen

Editorial BoardAudrey Clark Milena DuarteAlesana Sunia

StaffBritany AndersonAdriana Baez

Jack BradyLindsay BribiescasRaven CipesAlly DalyAaliyah EliasSabrina EliasTracy FernandezEryn FrancavillaSebastian FromanMiranda McCannAlly McCullochDakota McGrana-hanAlaina McIntyreEsteban NunezThomas PastisKylee SchrothJustin ThurmanEthan VickreyOpal White

AdviserCasey Elsa

Note: The views expressed in this newspaper are those of the Santa Rosan staff as approved by the Santa Rosan newspaper staff and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the school, students, faculty or the Santa Rosa City School District. An effort will be made to print all letters to the editor, as long as they are signed. The Santa Rosan reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity, and factual correctness, but will not guarantee their accu-racy. Letters should be delivered to Ms. Elsa, room D101, or put in her mailbox.

Staff of the Santa Rosan

This past year, nearly a bil-lion dollars were invested in building Graton Resort & Casi-no in Rohnert Park. The casino offers many gambling oppor-tunities and thirteen award-winning dining options.

Graton Casino is part of a continuous lawsuit regard-ing increased crime, negative environmental impacts, and a lack of local regulations. Be-cause the casino resides on Native American property, it is not required to follow all Cali-fornia state laws.

Smoking (which has been banned in California since 1995) is allowed in the casino, and while those under 21 are not allowed on the official gambling floor, they are still exposed to the secondhand smoke.

Traffic around Rohnert Park has increased since the arrival of Graton Casino; on opening day, cars were backed up for miles on the 101 freeway.

“I hate the casino. It costs

us a lot of money, and I don’t see the reason for it. We al-ready have two others, don’t we?” said Freshman Fredy Perez.

However, the casino is pro-viding over 2,000 jobs, and is benefitting the local economy. It increases the local tax rev-enues while providing enter-tainment to the locals. The casino offers 13 alternative dining options, ranging from a gourmet steakhouse to a down-to-earth ice cream shop.

“It made us have a lot more traffic, but I appreciate it be-cause it provided a lot of jobs

and cheered up previously un-employed people,” said Fresh-man Catherine Brunet.

Although the casino’s pri-mary audience is adults, there are attractions for all ages. There are sections where ev-eryone is permitted, mainly surrounding the restaurants. The food is well-made and served quickly.

The location includes 3,000 slot machines, 144 table games, and 13 restaurants, cov-ering 254 acres. Graton Casino is owned by 1,300 descendants of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

Miranda McCannStaff Writer

Rohnert Park’s Big GambleNew casino, Graton Resort & Casino, opens up in Rohnert Park

Long-time ceramics teacher Lou Sparks to retire at the semester

Isabella FromanManaging Editor

Sebastian FromanStaff Writer

Providing over 2,000 jobs, the Graton Resort and Casino is already becoming a large part of the local economy. Photo by Miranda McCann

3NEWS

Calendar by Isabella Froman

FEATURES4

Be well-rested, good-humored, and punc-tual

These criteria can only be met outside of the interview. They should be quite self-explanatory. Being late doesn’t make you look good, and it could even change the interviewer’s attitude towards you completely, whereas at first it might have been optimistic.

Interviewers want to say and think good things about you. This is your moment to shine, and simply not being there on time or acting cranky are sure ways to lose that shine. It would be best to arrive at least ten minutes early.

Research Your Col-lege

This might also seem like an obvious point, though it really does show your appreciation for the school. It tells the inter-viewer that you didn’t just choose it for its name or because of friends. Of-tentimes, there are key qualities within your tar-get school that you should mention, some interest-ing program or schedule or part of campus life that is unlike any other.

The interviewers love to hear things like this, because they are on your side and are more likely to write a lengthy report. By referencing your re-search, you give them more to work with in their report to your college.

Ask QuestionsThough this inter-

view has some profes-sional undertones, try and visualize it as a normal conversation. Ask questions. Show in-terviewers that you’re interested in their opinions and in their knowledge.

It would be best to write a few good ones down before your meet-ing. As a rule of thumb, the questions are usu-ally saved for the end.

Make them count. Ask to clarify some-thing or for thier expe-rience with the college.It makes you seem so-ciable, a valued trait in most college students.

How-to: The College Interview

Everyone knows of colleges that examine student test scores, judge ap-plicants based on their essay content and word count, and even go so far as to decide based on the race or income rating of people wishing to apply. But another sort of test exists, known as the

“applicant interview.” You’ll usually be contacted via phone or email and told that college admissions has set up an appointment for you. The interviewer might contact you themselves. If this is the case, you should verify that the appointment is legitimate with your college’s admissions office. Here are some things to keep in mind before the day of the interview.

Jack BradyStaff Writer

Santa Rosa High finally has a cheer coach; Twenty-five year old Jackie Clare coaches both the junior varsity and varsity cheer teams. SRHS cheerleaders are now able to get back to their normal routine of performing at games, stunting, and learning new halftime routines.

Q&A with new cheer coach Jackie Clare

Stepping UpEryn Francavilla

Staff Writer

How did you hear about the job?I heard about the job from one of the cheer-leader’s moms that I used to work with. Why did you apply?Because cheerlead-ing is something I love doing, and I wanted to continue doing it after high school. I got hurt so I couldn’t do it, so I decided to put my skills into a team that would be willing to work as hard as I did. What past experiences have you had with cheer?I have 15 years of cheer experience, [I was] Pop Warner all through high school, and I was supposed to cheer with the 49’s but I got hurt. I cheered with the Golden State Warriors cheerleaders, and I coached for three years. What changes have you made to the cheer team, and what changes do you plan to make in the future?Well, we’ve made changes to dances, we’re bonding way better, and I’m going to make sure the girls have uni-forms and warm-ups, go to camp, and get the full experi-ence with the four years they need to have. Oh, and I’m not going to walk out. What do you think of the team so far?They have the ability to go so far and to be a competition squad if they wanted to. [Also], they have skills of every level, and its going to be a great season. Are you planning on taking the girls to any com-petitions?Yes. Probably next year, because it’s already mid-season and we can’t do it now. Are you planning on staying on as the Santa Rosa High cheer coach?As long as I feel it’s fun for me and the girls, then yes, I’m not going anywhere.

New cheer coach Jackie Clare used to cheer with the 49ers before an injury that put her on the path to coaching. Photo by Jackie Clare

SRHS 140th Birthday Open House

In celebration of its 140th anniversary, Santa Rosa High School will be hosting an open house on March 30, 2014. As part of the event, the administrators would like to invite groups from across campus to participate. This could range from ArtQuest specialties to FFA groups to de-partments and clubs from around cam-pus. Anyone interested should contact Susan Burch at president@srhsstpo.org.

5FEATURES

As students are noticing, that time of year is getting closer. Those much-needed breaks are always going to have time to spare. Many get bored and don’t know what to do, when really, there is plenty to do. Here is a list of fun activities:

Visiting Snoopy’s Home Ice:

This fun ice arena is located on 1667 W. Steele Lane. The arena offers a café and a full range of skating ac-tivities with both public and private times. Go online to get more details at http://www.snoopyshomeice.com.

The Union Square Ice Rink: Getting away from town is good once in awhile. A day in San Fran-cisco at the Union Square Ice rink is an exciting activity during the Holidays. Located on 333 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108. To visit the website and get details

for times, events and more, go to http://unionsquareicerink.com.

Picking up a good book: The

Fault in Ours Stars, by John Green, is an amazing book to sit down to. This book is about a sixteen year old cancer patient named Hazel who is forced by her parents to at-tend a support group, where she subsequently meets a seventeen year old named Augustus Waters.

Chopping down the tree: In-stead of going somewhere to buy a Christmas tree, grabbing some friends or family and going to chop one down can be a new and memo-rable experience

Getting crafty: Find some cool

arts and craft ideas online or go-ing to your local library and look through how-to books to get ideas on making new items. It’s a great way to switch it up a little and make things interesting.

Santa Rosa Ski and Sport: Go-ing to Tahoe for a winter-like feel-ing can bring family and friends closer with the joys of snow. Santa Rosa Ski and Sport goes to all ski resorts in Tahoe on a bus. It’s about $60 for a ski lift ticket and a four hour drive both ways. The bus drives you up to Tahoe to any ski resort at 5 AM and the comes back down at 4PM, arriving at approxi-mately 8:30 PM in Santa Rosa. It’s a great way to have fun for teens that don’t drive.

Be a cook: Learn some new

recipes over the break and impress people with your new cooking skills! Go online and find new ideas and be the next best cook in your family.

Getting to work: If you’re not

old enough to apply for a job, neigh-bors will appreciate some yard work. Being considerate of others will not only earn you money but help you feel better emotionally.

Be warm and cozy: There is nothing better than sitting around the fire with family or friends with warm hot chocolate, movies, or even just good conversation and laughter.

During the holidays, it’s easy to be consumed in personal interests like what you’re getting for Christmas or what you want to do for the break. But, it’s important to think about those who aren't as lucky. Santa Rosa has the highest number of homeless people in Sonoma County. So while you’re shopping for presents or just laying around during break, think of something you could do to help someone else. If you can't think of anything, here are some ideas.

Look through your cupboards for some canned foods like soup, tuna, peanut butter, or even boxes of macaroni and cheese. The Red-wood Empire Food Bank, located at 320 Indus-trial Drive, Santa Rosa, CA, is a great place to drop off non-perishable food items. If that’s too inconvenient, most grocery stores have a food donation bin. If you're feeling extra helpful you could even sign up to be a volunteer at the loca-tion listed above.

Get a few boxes of cake mix or even brownie mix (you can buy some for 99 cents at Walmart) and devote a day to baking for those less fortu-

nate than you. You can even invite friends over and turn it into a party. There are many shelters that accept baked goods, but there are few in Santa Rosa. The Family Support Center, located at 465 A Street, Santa Rosa, as well as the Red-wood Gospel Mission, located at 101 6th Street, Santa Rosa, are two options.

Take some time to write a letter to deployed troops. It’s good to show gratitude to those who serve our country and can’t be home for the holidays. Letters can be sent to Operation Grati-tude at 17330 Victory Boulevard Van Nuys, CA 91406. You could start your letter with “Dear Hero,” and thank them for their service. Tell them a little about yourself. Avoid talking about politics and death. More information is listed on operationgratitude.com.

A lot of families don't have the money to buy winter clothes, so you could always go through your closet and find unwanted clothes. Most shelters accept clothing donations. Goodwill has a donation site located at 1116 4th Street, Santa Rosa.

These are just a few ideas of things you could do over the break, because helping others is a great way to spend the holidays. It’s definitely worth it to take time and help other people.

Sabrina EliasStaff Writer

Fun ways to spend your winter break

Enjoying a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate can be a nice way to relax over the winter break. Photo by Sabrina Elias

Alaina McIntyreStaff Writer

A multitude of volunteering options for this holiday season

Several locations for helping out

Redwood Empire Food Bank - 320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa, CA

The Family Support Cen-ter - 465 A Street, Santa Rosa, CA

Redwood Gospel Mission - 101 6th Street, Santa Rosa, CA

Goodwill - 1116 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA

The healthier choice?

When electronic ciga-rettes were released and began to move up the pop-ularity scale, smokers and n o n s m o k e r s alike rejoiced. An electronic cigarette, or e-cig as it’s more c o m m o n l y known, is a casing, usually made of plas-tic, that has a battery. The user then adds a cartridge of a flavor, or for smokers, nicotine, that will mix with the water vapor when the e-cig is turned on.

Many people say that e-cigs are much healthier than a regular cigarette because the user is inhaling water vapor instead of smoke. The problem is, the smoker is still addicted to nicotine, which is a drug. When asked her thoughts, Delaney White, a Sophomore, stated, “I think people are more drawn to

them because of the sup-posed ‘healthier’ choice.”

Another issue is that there is an array of fun fla-vors that can be added into the e-cigs, making them much more appealing to teenagers. The fact that the

e-cigs are much cheaper be-cause they do not have heavy tobacco taxes and instead have only sales taxes (though this will most likely change in the near future) makes them much more ac-cessible.

R a e a n n e Johnson, also

a Sophomore, has a slight-ly different opinion from White. “I think that they are pointless and people use them as a fashion statement, and I don’t think they are any harm,” she said.

The Wall Street Jour-nal website states, “The proportion of middle- and high-school kids who have used e-cigarettes doubled to nearly 7%, or almost 2 million students, between

2011 and 2012, according to a recent report by the CDC.” This poses a problem, be-cause many people believe that the e-cigs will turn into a gateway for nicotine addic-tion in younger kids.

Although studies show that e-cigs are healthier than the traditional option, many people still believe that they are unhealthy. There are not many restrictions because there is no second-hand smoke.

Ms. Correia, an assis-tant principal at Santa Rosa High School, stated that they would treat a student with an e-cig the same way they would treat a student with a traditional cigarette.

The debate is whether or not restrictions should be placed on e-cigs at the state and federal levels. Not many tests have been conducted on e-cigs, causing it to be hard to determine the last-ing effects.

They may be the health-ier choice now, but they will most likely be modified in the future. It is impossible to tell what the real effects will be on this younger genera-tion.

Opal WhiteStaff Writer

Many people believe that

e-cigs are healthier,

but they still can be re-

sponsible for a nicotine addiction.

FEATURES6

Electronic cigarettes are a trending topic among teens’ conversations, and can now be found on 10% of high school stu-dents according to NBC News. E-cigs are battery-powered pens that release water vapor. Cartridges are bought and added to the vapor pens to give them flavor, and, if desired, nicotine can be inserted.

Many teens pick up hookah pens, e-cigs, or vaporizer pens as an alternative to smoking, when in fact the nicotine is just as damaging in an e-cig as it would be in a regular cigarette.

Aside from the assorted flavors, the only non-harmful part of the pen, there are many risks that accompany smoking va-porizer pens. One of these is the nicotine addiction that develops.

Nicotine is commonly thought to relax you and your brain, but in reality this is not the case. It actually speeds up your emo-tions and creates a spike in adrenaline.

A few common side-effects that are as-sociated with this drug can be heartburn, stomach pains, belching, and coughing. Whether the cigarette used for smoking nicotine is electronic or regular, the drug has the same effect on the body and brain.

Other than just being used as an alter-native to smoking, it is a portable and easy way to get high when liquid THC, the chem-ical in marijuana, is inserted. THC mainly affects your brain and can cause serious disorientation, ruin your ability to prob-lem solve, see correctly, comprehend, and can make you very drowsy. Long-term use can damage your lungs and heart and their ability to fight infections, and can cause paranoia and other psychotic emotions.

No ban at the moment has been placed on e-cigs because there is no risk of sec-ond-hand smoke, but THC and nicotine are still drugs that are illegal for minors. Aside from the assorted flavors, the only non-harmful part of the pen, there are many risks that accompany smoking from vapor-izer pens.

New e-cigs trend may have undesirable consequences

Raven CipesStaff Writer

The effects of nicotine in

electronic cigarettes

Smoking e-cigs is becoming more and more popu-lar among teenagers. However, the addic-tive effects of nicotine remain the same as in normal cigarettes, posing a danger to high school students. Photo by Alaina Mc-Intyre

1. The simplest way to get them off your back is prob-ably to tell them that while they’re “great and all” (even if you don’t think so), it’s re-ally distracting to have them around while you’re working. Blaming it on your concen-tration allows you to push them away without ruining your professional relation-ships. What can they say? Tell you to put them before work?

If the pestering persists, you now have an excuse to get your employer involved. Tell him or her that your job performance is being affect-ed by your co-workers. The problem will likely disappear quickly.

If that doesn’t work (though I’m sure it will), you’ll have to straight-out tell them to please leave you alone while you work. Tell them again and again with in-creasing force until they stop. Hopefully your co-workers

aren’t so disrespectful that it will get to this point, but if it does, you at least have justifi-cation for getting very upset.

2. First, make sure that when you tell your friends to lay off, you say it with a straight face and an earnest tone. If you say it with a light tone, it won’t be taken seri-ously, even if you mean it.

If you have tried to be serious, you may need to sit them down and tell them why it bothers you and that they need to stop.

If even that doesn’t work, you may need to evaluate your friendships with these people. Friends who won’t lis-ten to and respect your needs are not friends worth having. Even though it sounds harsh to drop your friends like that, it may be warranted -- es-pecially if the teasing turns malicious and you suspect the “jokes” are really passive-aggressive insults.

Really, you need to think about the importance of these friendships. Is it worth having friends who inces-santly tease you? How much work should it take to make them cut it out? If the answer to the first question is no, and you think you’ve exceeded the answer to the second, you know it’s time to make a change.

7OPINION

1. If it were me, I would tell them that straight; just a quick ‘I hate you’ can solve the prob-lem. But, of course, you’re not me, so you probably want something less abrasive.

Okay, so obviously, stick to your guns. Passive-aggres-sion, such as writing to the lo-cal paper about your co-work-ers rather than just talking to them, is often a good solution. There are many different types of passive-aggression, but my favorite has always been borderline aggression.

For example, if your co-worker has a cup of coffee or whatever in his hand, conspic-uously get up and knock the coffee out of his hand, with an insincere, ‘Oops, sorry.’ Then, just to drive your point home, make sure to ‘accidentally’ step on their toes, and maybe scratch their car with your keys on the way out- acciden-tally, of course. They will get the message, and, respecting your candor, they will leave

you alone without incident. If this doesn’t work,

deal with the problem your-self. Steal some money out of the register, making sure that no one sees you, of course. Pocket the money and blame it on your chatty co-worker.

Then, during his shift, go into whatever store you work in, and steal some more money. Then, your co-worker gets fired for stealing, and you get money! You can sit back afterwards, relax, and count your money during a co-work-er-free shift.

2. First, if you want a quick, direct solution, a right hook is always effective. Aim an uppercut for the chin, because that’s an instant K.O, but again, this might be too effective a solution for you.

If this strategy isn’t for you, there are other ways of getting out of this delicate situation. Often, delicate situ-ations require a quick display of thoughtless force, so when your friend starts to tease you, yell ‘shut up’ as loudly and as shrilly as you can.

Your friend will immedi-ately recognize that he was out of bounds and cease an-noying you. If the problem persists, you can always result to the Muhammad Ali method of conflict resolution (right hook to the jaw).

1. I hate my coworkers, I don’t like talking to them, but they insist on stay-ing on my shift to talk to me. How do I tell them nicely that I don’t like them?

2. My friends won’t stop teasing me. But it’s getting more and more annoying. I know it’s a joke but I can’t stand it anymore. I tell them to stop but they never take me seriously. What do I do?

an Advice ColumnHelpful/Hurtful:This month’s

Questions:

Need advice on an issue? Don’t mind being brutally insulted? Then feel free to write to the Santa Rosan! Questions can be submitted to Ms. Elsa

in Room D101 or through email to santarosan@gmail.com.

Isabella FromanManaging Editor

Thomas PastisStaff Writer

The after-effects of the Andy Lopez shooting

On October 22, a 13 year old boy was shot in Santa Rosa by deputy Erick Gelhaus after his Airsoft gun was mistaken for a real weap-on. Shot seven times, he was dead within sec-onds. In the aftermath of this shooting, pro-tests have been held across the state, the story has reached national attention, and questions have been raised concerning the actions of

“A child or teen is shot

every 30 minutes,” ac-cording to the

Children’s Defense Fund,

a non-profit child advocacy organization.

Insert your face

here

Homicide is the second leading cause of death for youth, ages 12-19, according to the John Hopkins School of Public Health.

How students on campus feel

Do you feel safe in the Santa Rosa community?

Yes: 190No: 10

Do you feel protected by the police?Yes: 120No: 40

Have you ever witnessed gun violence among your friends?Yes: 24No: 176

A random sample of 200 students was asked several ques-tions concerning gun violence and their own personal safety. The following are their responses.

Individuals in the U.S. must be 18 years of

age or older to purchase an Airsoft gun.

An “imitation firearm” is any BB device or

gun replica that could be perceived as a weap-

on.

Any person who changes, alters, or removes

any markings that make the device look more

like a firearm is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Any person who gives a BB device to a minor,

without the permission his or her parent or le-

gal guardian, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

According to socalairsoft.com:

Toy AK-47 Real AK-47

Content contributed by Trevor Greenan, Jenifer Moretto Simon, Milena Duarte, Celine Sargis, Alaina McIntyre, and Audrey ClarkGun photos courtesy of Creative Commons

Milena DuarteEditorial Board

We can’t forget the devastating event that occurred within the past month, the death of Andy Lopez. His death sparked a controversy across the country and turned the heads of many people. Questions were asked, accusations were made, and people continue to fight for justice. Because of all the twists and turns in the story, we are still in the process of learning the exact details of this tragic event.

A comparable incident, the Trayvon Martin shooting, happened on February 26, 2012. He was a young African American teenager killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Michael Zimmerman in Stanford, Florida. The main similar-ity between Andy Lopez’s and Trayvon Martin’s cases is that the shooters believed they were in the right, one protect-ing himself and the other protecting his community. The two incidents are factu-ally different, but in the end, two innocent boys were killed.

Both events caused an uproar in the community and the nation. We can’t help but ask, “Have guns made us safer as a so-ciety, or are they now the problem?” More innocent people are being killed accident-ly and purposely by guns. The question is, “Who is to blame?”

Gun advocates such as the NRA, the National Rifle Association, say, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” However, according to the Geneva-based Small Arms survey, “…the U.S has the best-armed civilian population in the world, with an estimated 270 million total guns.” In addition, washingtonpost.com states that, “… there is an average of nine guns for every ten Americans.” Because there are so many guns, it’s impossible to pre-

vent innocent people from being killed by accidental or unjustified shootings. Even the most trained and experienced firearm experts, such as the deputy sheriff who shot Andy Lopez, made the mistake that Andy Lopez was carrying a real firearm and, arguably, overreacted, shooting him seven times.

How do we stop gun violence in our nation? How do you protect a citizen’s second amendment right to bear arms and protect a society from unjustified killings?

People are beginning to realize that the violence has gone too far. There are now proposed laws that require all guns to be registered nationally and to keep them safely guarded and out of reach from chil-dren. Also, background checks would be mandatory for those who want to purchase

guns. One of the solutions

to prevent another Andy Lopez incident from occurring, sug-gested by Efren Carrillo, is that officers should wear cameras to record their actions as well as their contact with the public. County Super-visers ended up voting unanimously to spend $250,000 on lapel cam-

eras for police officers. Another is making toy guns look less

realistic, such as by making fake guns transparent or more colorful. Noreen Evans and Kevin de Leon have introduced the “Imitation Firearms Safety Act,” which would place all BB guns in the toy cat-egory, requiring that they be painted with bright colors. The question is, “Will it be enough?”

The answer is no, we will never be able to reduce gun violence to zero, because we are imperfect human beings who make mistakes when motivated by fear, greed, jealousy, and hatred. What we can do is show our communities that violence is not the answer and address people’s individual motives to act out violently.

The dangers caused by gun ownership

“... the US has the best-armed civilian

population in the world, with an esti-mated 270 million

total guns.”-Small Arms Survey

The after-effects of the Andy Lopez shooting

the police in this situation. The topics of racism, police brutality, and

gun ownership laws have all been brought into the spotlight, making this a weighty is-sue for discussion. However, although there is some debate as to the specific issues that need to be taken into account, there is a widespread mindset that something has to change.

“Between 1979 and 2010, 119,079 chil-

dren and teens died from guns,” accord-ing to the Children’s Defense Fund, a non-profit child advocacy

organization. “This is more deaths in 32 years than US soldier killed in the

Vietnam, Korean, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars

combined.”

Insert your face

here

Homicide is the second leading cause of death for youth, ages 12-19, according to the John Hopkins School of Public Health.

OPINION10

Interview with Ms. CorreiaNew Assistant Principal Andrea Correia discusses the Santa Rosa High School dress code.

What are some of the things you look for when you’re going to grab someone because of a dress code violation?

Boys are a bit easier than girls in the sense of what they wear to school. A lot of times boys will wear more than one piece of a certain color that the district has designat-ed as a color that is affiliated with inappro-priate behavior. So we will ask them to not have more than two articles of that color of clothing.

Boys are not allowed to wear certain col-or belts and certain color belt buckles; that will bring my attention to them. So we’ll ask them to take those off. Anything that is af-filiated with alcohol, drugs, weaponry, in any way [is a problem]. And also, their booties sagging out. If it’s pretty low, and I can see their underwear, I’m gonna ask them to pull their pants up.

There are a lot more areas for girls to step over that dress code line, I guess. And I think it really depends on the administrator. I know in the past some administrators have felt maybe uncomfortable going up to girls.

I do not feel uncomfortable, I have two daughters. I’m a mom, and I will tell any of

you the same things I would tell my girls or my son.

If you went to the Homecoming dance, I may have asked, “Do you have shorts on un-derneath that dress?” If you don’t, I’m going to ask you to put some on. Anything that’s like cut out and I can see your undergar-ments, I’m gonna ask you to cover up.

Any article of clothing that doesn’t have bands or sleeves or tube tops[is a problem]. It’s not that I think those are inappropriate, I just think they’re inappropriate for school ,and there’s a couple reasons why.

So number one, because it’s a safety is-sue. If you were to fall, you could hurt your-self, you could bruise yourself and not have clothing on to protect you. Someone could come up behind and “Shoop!” and then it’s like, “Hi, nice to meet you.” And then you’ll be “tube girl” and that might be embarrass-ing, so we don’t want that to happen.

Also, I think that it’s distracting for some people. You know, I think that you have a school with thirteen or fourteen year old kids and eighteen, nineteen, twenty year old kids. And there’s a huge growth difference between thirteen and nineteen, right?

So a thirteen year old who’s in high school for the first time, [with] these senior ladies that are wearing practically bikinis to school, it could be distracting. [School] should be a comfortable, safe place for them to come and learn, and that’s what we want.

If a male student came to school in a tube top, how would that be handled?

Oh yeah, he’d have to cover that up too.

Are strapless dresses okay at dances like Prom and Home-coming?

Yeah, of course you can wear strapless dresses to Prom, we’ve let that go at Home-coming and Back to School Night. That’s an appropriate time for something like that.And in most cases, we’re talking about very expensive, beautiful dresses, they’re cov-ered up and it’s a gown.

What are the consequences for students who refuse to ad-dress breaking the dress code?

I have never run into that. I mean most kids are really great if we ask them to cov-er something up. I’ve never had a kid give me attitude, I’ve never had anyone be dis-respectful, I mean they’re great, you know they’re like “Oh yeah, sorry about that, I’ll cover it up.”

If we have a student who is dressing in-appropriately for school and has been asked several times, we’re gonna document that.We’re gonna bring them into the office, sit down and talk to them, probably call home, tell the parents what the situation is and re-ally get everybody on the same page.

If it continues to happen, we’ll have a conference, like any other form of defi-ance, we’d have the parents come in, we’d sit down, we’d talk about it, probably put them on a contract, tell them this is inappropriate, this is distracting, whatever the case may be. And if they continue, at that point it’s not the dress code, it’s defiance and it’s behavior. They will be held accountable for that, not for wearing the clothes they’re wearing.

Do you think the dress code is something positive, or a policy that most students will rebel against?

I think it’s really positive and I don’t think kids are gonna want to rebel against it. For as many people as I have had say, “Well we didn’t do that last year,” I‘ve had people come up to me and say, “Thank you, you asked that person to cover up.” I think a lot of kids are relieved that it’s going to be taken care of, that they don’t have to see it.

How many times have you seen some-body walk into your classroom and been like “Good lord have mercy?” I know I’ve said it about a million times, and I know you have too.

So it’s actually a little bit of relief to not have to worry about. And I think it is positive because we’re not asking them to wear tur-tlenecks and long skirts, you know, this isn’t 1917, Utah.

Andrea Correia is a new addition to the SRHS administrative staff this year, and has taken a leading role in cracking down on the dress code. Photo by Dakota McGranahan, interview transcribed by Jack Brady

11OPINION

A commonly discussed prob-lem in communities is the pres-sure on women to look a certain way, act a certain way, think a cer-tain way. But what about the other half of the population? Don’t men feel similar pressure?

Ten years ago, a study in Flor-ida found that the average male desires more than fifteen pounds of added muscle and a reduction

in body fat. Since then, it has only gotten worse.

Movies, ads, and other forms of media display muscle-bound men daily, emphasizing the idea of an “ideal” male. But such a standard is nearly impossible to reach, not only because most people don’t have 3-4 hours a day to dedicate to exercise, but also because the im-ages on display are often edited to seem more impressive.

“I know some girls may think that society pressures only them to look a certain way, dress a cer-tain way and act a certain way, but that happens to guys too. Every-where we look we see guys with six-pack abs on advertisements, we see guys on tv who are tall, white, European, who get all the girls,” said one Junior, who would prefer

to remain anonymous.An estimated 4 out of 5 men

have body image issues, but few admit it, which is where society’s expectations come into play again.

Men aren’t expected to have “feminine” emotions, or to put it in a more politically correct way, strong emotions that could be considered weak or vulnerable. In-stead, they’re expected to be more than human, able to be in control of themselves at all times and able to take care of others.

“I suppose there’s always the stereotypes and gender roles. I see that kind of thing every day, on a personal and impersonal level. Since I was little, whenever my dad was gone, I was the ‘man of the house’. And then there’s things like men being expected to be

the breadwinners and strong and never cry and on and on. So yeah, I see it and feel it. But I can’t say it really bothers me. It’s just a part of life. Of course, I can only speak for myself,” said Justin Dante, a Junior.

Until adolescence, both sexes have been shown to cry approxi-mately equal amounts and with similar intensities. But after pu-berty, the statistics drastically fall for men in comparison to women. And such a change is not without harm; over time, emotional re-pression can trigger physiological changes, such as high blood pres-sure.

So maybe it’s best to step back and reconsider what is “standard” in our society, and how it affects those who try to meet those stan-dards.

Get some glasses - the detriments of stereotyping

Lindsay BribiescasStaff Writer

Failing the Students: Student loan debt crippling college graduates in the U.S.

With finals fast approaching and winter break just around the corner, students are looking at the last push of schoolwork before first semester finals.

However, for many Seniors on campus, the focus of the next few weeks will be on the looming college application deadlines. And with these deadlines comes

the added stress of figuring out how to finance the next few years in college. For many, this will mean the acquisition of stu-dent loans.

Although these loans can create beneficial opportunities for students with lower incomes who would otherwise not be able to afford a college education, they all carry with them the key detriment of student loan debt.

Within six months of gradu-ation, students are expected to begin making payments on their debts, which averaged about $29,400 in total for the class of 2012, according to the Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access and Success, in an annual report.

But the main issue with these student loan debts is the fact that they cannot be dismissed by bankruptcy. In fact, the only way to discharge these debts is

by proving “undue hardship,” a condition which is highly vari-able and notoriously difficult to meet.

Students graduating from college, or even dropping out in many cases, face immense amounts of debt that they must begin pay-ing off al-most imme-diately and can most likely never discharge.

In 2010, student loan debt nationwide rose above credit card debt. According to the Consumer Financial Protec-tion Bureau, college debt rose to above $1.2 trillion in 2013, making it about 6 percent of the national debt.

And yet, as students face in-creasing amounts of debt every year and college prices continue to rise, student loan debt re-mains undismissable.

At the same time, the bor-rowing limit for federal student loans has fallen below the cost

of attending a four year university, forc-ing many individuals to take out private loans with greater interest rates, worsening the issue.

In recent years there has been increas-ing pressure to deal with this topic, even leading to a lowering of

federal interest rates in August. However, until a more compre-hensive solution can be created, this year’s college applicants are likely to face an even sharper increase in future debt.

Trevor GreenanEditor-in-Chief

Social stereotyping affects not just women, but men as well

Total student loan debt for the class of 2012 av-eraged approxi-mately $29,400

per student

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT12

Catching Fire the second film in the Hunger Games trilogy, came out in theaters on Novem-ber 22. Fans of the books will not be disappointed. The 20 months waiting to see the second movie were well worth it.

The movie was nearly two and a half hours long, and the full time was needed to cover all 391 pages of the book. The special effects were done very well and give the same aura in the arena that was portrayed in the book. The cliffhanger at the end cre-ates even more suspense for the third in the series, Mockingjay.

The movie doesn’t fail to have action, adventure, drama, sci-fi, romance, thrills and more. Every main and key event that occurs

during the games is very evident. However, there are a few mi-

nor changes that, fortunately, do not modify the plot much.

The time spent at District 12 waiting for the Quarter Quell doesn’t seem as long as in the movie.

The existence of District 13 isn’t revealed to Katniss by Bon-nie and Twill, two characters unknown to someone who did not read the book.

Also, Peeta’s character is made more manly. For example, he is able to swim in the movie. This does not in any way change his relationship with Katniss; it only adds to his character.

All in all, this is an extraordi-nary film made for all ages that is worth the eight or so dollars spent on it.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

A comparison of the book and the new movie

Kylee SchrothStaff Writer

Fine arts classes hold holiday sale

With holidays rapidly approach-ing, the fine arts classes saw an op-portunity to fundraise. Their annual winter art show was supplemented with National Art Honor Society’s

contribution of student-designed pins.

Non-art classes were brought into the teacher lounge to look at and possibly purchase the hand-made pieces for the benefit of the arts program. Sales of pins went to-wards NAHS. All in all, the show was a win-win for gift-buyers and the artists of SRHS.

At right, poten-tial custom-

ers look over the 3-D Design table’s pieces. The merchan-

dise was sold to raise money for the art classes,

while also providing easy

and inexpensive gifts for the buy-

ers. At far right,

Junior Mario Balitbit sells National Art

Honor Soci-ety pins while

Mr. Broussard supervises.

The pins were designed by

students during two after-school workshops. “We were able to use

our own individ-ual styles, and it

was cool to see them finished,”

said Balitbit.Photos by Lind-say Bribiescas

Lindsay BribiescasStaff Writer

13ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Alternative band Fall Out Boy quietly followed the release of their ground-breaking comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, with the thirteen-minute, eight-song extended play, PAX AM Days.

The EP strives for an old-school punk rock vibe with its short, fast-paced songs. Each song is approximately a minute and a half and adds an edge to Fall Out Boy’s alternative-pop portfolio.

PAX AM Days was a

refreshing change for fans who were not pleased by the pop-centric approach broad-casted in Save Rock and Roll. “It’s what Save Rock and Roll should have been,” said Freshman Kendall Simpson.

Fall Out Boy still doesn’t reach the levels of clas-sic apocalyptic punk with lead vocalist Patrick Stump. His familiar melodic tunes are still apparent in songs “Hot To the Touch, Cold on the Inside” and “We Were Doomed From the Start (The King Is Dead).”

However, the lack of a traditional punk edge can be forgiven when compared to Fall Out Boy’s latest work. The harder vocals and instru-ments are borderline shock-ing.

The album has been

controversially described as “so tone-deaf and try-hard that it’s impossible for the listener to detach from the novelty of the whole thing,” in a review by punknews.org. The article continues, “But then again, maybe novelty is the whole point.”

In an interview with MTV, bassist and frontman Pete Wentz said, “The truth is, both lyrically and musically, I think we threw some things in there that we probably would consider outside-the-box of a standard Fall Out Boy full-length. . . there are some gems in all that grime on there. . . I’m proud of it.”

The extended play may not be a first choice as a punk album, but it is a great ex-pansion from Fall Out Boy’s general alternative outlook.

Miranda’s Musical Musings

Miranda McCannStaff Writer

PAX AM Days by Fall Out Boy

If you enjoyed this EP, you may be interested in Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink-182 and From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy.

Girls Generation, an all-girl K-pop group from South Korea, has gained immense popularity over the years, earning them the titles “The Nation’s Singers” and “The Nation’s Girl’s Group” in South Korea. Now awarded with “Video of the Year” in the first Youtube Music Awards for their hit single “I Got a Boy,” a congratulation seems to be in order, but is not received.

Disheartened fans of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and One Direction unleashed their rage on Twitter, bashing the K-pop group with racial slurs. A sampling of the tweets have said, “How did they win if nobody knows who they are?” “Open your eyes,” and “Why is Girls Genera-tion in America if they can’t speak a word of English?”

The inaccuracy laced within each Tweet has succeeded in con-firming the ignorance of fans who took the effort to write out blasphe-mous statements before pausing to consider how their behaviors would reflect upon themselves.

This includes the “professional” YouTubers of Awesomeness TV, consisting of three girls who made inappropriate remarks during a re-cap video, streamed live during the YouTube Music Awards.

An offensive statement regard-

ing “chinese food” was made and reported, causing the video to be permanently removed. Awesome-ness TV later uploaded a new video, apologizing to the fans of Girls Gen-eration and the group themselves for the negative comments made.

Fans have been known to go to extremes, but when a fan must resort to racism to prove a point, dedication is no longer a word used to describe such a person.

Instead of reasonably approach-ing the situation, fans based their judgements off of biased emotions, questioning their credibility. The inability of fans to acknowledge both sides of the argument weakens their point, demonstrating their own ignorance.

“I don’t think they deserved the backlash. If other fandoms really wanted to win, they should’ve cam-paigned harder.” said Junior Yajaira Cardona.

The backlash encountered by Girls Generation was meant to undermine their victory of “Video of the Year.” Caught up in defending their idols, fans forgot to consider why Girls Generation had won the award.

Could it be because their name had, not mistakenly, made #1 on the Top Female Singer’s list for four consecutive years on the Leespiar Popularity Survey in Korea?

“The losing fandoms were hurt, and the more ignorant fans will create racism. It’s how the world works,” said Junior Kathy Pham.

In a flawed society, racism is tangled within one’s everyday activities; in the jokes we partici-pate in, the news we see and hear, and within the TV shows we watch. Racism exists everywhere, though it does not imply that all must ad-here to it; as with most things, it’s a choice.

Youtube Music Awards falls prey to racist comments

Tracy FernandezStaff Writer

Insight from a quiet observer

SPORTS14

1. Sophomore Sophie Samonte and Senior Amanda Miller jump in celebra-tion after scoring a point against Rancho Cotate in their final home game.2. Seniors Molly Bartlett, Claire Bartlett, and Mi-chelle Simonds watch as teammate Tori Garzoli, Senior, jumps to spike the ball and score against Rancho Cotate.3. The varsity team joins together for a pep talk from their coach before their final home game on Senior Night.

4. Seniors and sisters Molly

and Claire Bartlett wait

with team-mate Natalie

Kennedy for the serve

from Rancho Cotate.

5. Junior Janelle Diang-

son and Senior Claire Bartlett

cheer from the bleach-

ers as the team scores

a point in the final minutes

of their last home game.

Photos by Ce-line Sargis

The SRHS varsity girls volleyball family

Despite finishing 4-10 in the league, the womens varsity volleyball team end-ed the season fighting strong and togeth-er in their final home game against Ran-

cho Cotate. The girls played a hard going into the fifth game tied with Rancho, just falling short in the end.

When asked about the environ-ment of the team this year, Senior Molly Bartlett said, “Since last year’s team had no Seniors, we had almost the exact same team two years in a row, which is really rare but a great opportunity to bond! We

are all really close and this was the best team I’ve ever played on. Having been together for two years made us really strong on and off the court. We are all like best friends, and being able to trust each other had a really positive impact on our game and we improved so much from last year.”

Celine SargisPhotography Editor

15SPORTS

In “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” the place where “all men are cre-ated equal,” and where racism is such a debated and controversial topic, our nation’s capital has been host to a symbol of racism for almost a century and count-ing.

Since 1932, Washington, D.C. has been host to the ever-popular, three-time Super Bowl Champion, Washington Red-skins. This team has been loved by many fans all across the coun-try since its origin, and in a study done by Forbes Magazine was recently named the eighth most

popular sporting franchise in the Nation.

However, underlying all the popularity and fame associated with the franchise, the name “Redskins” has plagued the fran-chise and caused controversy for many decades.

Dating back to the 19th cen-tury, the name “Redskin” is a derogatory term that has been used by whites to identify Na-tive Americans. Its meaning is similar to that of the “N” word, but directed towards the Native American population.

This name was adopted by the team when it was founded in 1932, and through the years Na-tive Americans have repeatedly protested it. However, their peti-tions were rejected by the Wash-ington Redskins organization.

For just over 80 years, this franchise has been the host of a symbol of racism and has done nothing to change it. In a recent letter, Washington Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder expressed his feelings on their name.

“I've listened carefully to the commentary and perspectives on all sides, and I respect the feelings of those who are offend-ed by the team name. But I hope such individuals also try to re-spect what the name means, not only for all of us in the extended Washington Redskins family, but among Native Americans too."

Snyder’s comments do not justify him keeping the name. His comments suggest that people who do not agree with the name respect what the name means. How is it possible to

respect what the name means? By dictionary definition the term Redskin is, “An offensive term for a Native American.”

It is simply impossible for someone to respect the mean-ing of such a disrespectful and flat-out racist name. Tradition and pride should not override the context of racism inside of the name “Redskins.” It is under-standable that the Washington Redskins are a historic and ever-popular franchise, but that does not make it justifiable to keep the name.

If this name is intended to offend Native Americans ev-ery time it is said, why is it not changed? Tradition, history, and pride should not be excuses to offend thousands of people in the United States.

Alesana SuniaEditorial Board

Washington Redskins refuse to change offensive team name

Freshman Kalei Aukai joins the varsity mens basketball team

This basketball season, Kalei Aukai was placed on the varsity team as a Fresh-man, the only one this year. “I am excited for the season because I love basketball, but I am nervous because I will be playing against much older players,” said Aukai.

Aukai started his basket-ball career when he was only 4 years old. “It was fun [playing basketball as a child], with no worries, but it was still com-petitive.” Starting at an early age has benefited Aukai’s bas-ketball career greatly.

“I knew I was going to be on varsity because I was de-termined,” he said. Now, Au-kai gets to play with the older players, and he fits in just fine. “I think the team chemistry is

getting better day by day, and we are working much better as a team.”

Aukai has his hopes set high and wants to play pro-fessional basketball. And he will be one step closer to his dream after his four years of basketball to come.

“Playing for Santa Rosa High School will teach me to be a good sport and make good choices,” said Aukai.

Sebastian FromanStaff Writer

Kalei Aukai has already proven him-self a valuable member of the Varsity team in the Alumni Game. Photo by Ally Daly

Varsity boys soccer season wrap-up

The Santa Rosa High School varsity boys soccer team had an amazing season this year. They made it to the playoffs and lost to Montgomery 4-2. Their record was 8-4-2, meaning they only lost four games in the entire season.

The first playoff game was against Sonoma Valley High School, and they won with a score of 5-4 Sonoma Valley. After that win, they played Montgomery, where they lost with a score of 4-2.

“The season was not the ideal season, but I think that we could have gone further in the playoffs,” said Bryan Juarez.

As a Senior, Juarez was one of their best players, scoring nine goals during the season and also the playoffs. He plays center-mid, a position that he has become very adept at.

“It was [a successful] year, the goals we scored were meant, and overall we had a good year.” “

Overall, the Boys Varsity soccer team had an amazing year by mak-ing it to the playoffs,” said Edwin Martinez.

Esteban NunezStaff Writer

NewmanRanchoWindsorCasaUkiahCarilloMontgomeryNewmanRanchoWindsorCasaUkiahCarilloMontgomery

WinWinWinLossWinTieLossTieLossWinWinWinWinLoss

The team’s win-loss record

PANTHER LIFE16

Dance Show Tech WeekArtQuest Dance Company prepares for their winter performance, Moving Images.

1. Junior Brooke Bierling kicks her leg up high, exemplifying excellent form while running through a dance.2. Senior Taylor Tarantino cracks a smile during a run through of one of the many student-choreohraphed dances Dance Co will perform at their winter show.3. Senior Hayley Murphy goes into a lunge in the middle of prac-ticing a dance. The students have to go through the dances day after day in preparation for the show. 4. Junior Brooke Bierling leans into River McKelvey as they prac-tice for the upcoming dance show. The dancers have to get very comfortable with each other in order to excel in their perfor-mances. 5. Junior Mira Craig-Morse watches her classmates run through a dance. Preparing for the performance is a tiring task that often keeps the students after school for two to three hours every day during tech week. Photos by Celine Sargis

ArtQuest Dance Company, the advanced dance group on campus, prepares for its Winter Concert on Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14.

Well known for their out-standing performances, the dancers, led by teacher Nzinga Woods, choreograph their own dances in preparation for the show.

The show starts at 7:00 PM both nights, with tickets selling for $5 presale to students and $7 at the door.

Celine SargisPhotography Editor