Volume XXI Issue 4

Boys Varsity Basketball continued their winning streak and defeated Blair High School (58-50). The

North Gym’s stands were full on Friday, Janu-ary 21st and the Spartans enjoyed the energy of their audience.

Notable scorers included Michael Mc-glashan, Dario Civon, and Matt Faber.

“We played well and our defense was especially strong. It also helped that we had so

much support from the school,” said Civon of the game.

On Saturday, the Spartans played Los Ojos who are ranked a division higher. The Spartans beat them by 27 points. Be sure to sure to support our Spartans on Friday at the North Gym when they play Temple City!

Superintendent Stratton to retire at end of year, Assistant Super-intendent Wendy Sinnette to replace him

On January 11, 2011, La Ca-ñada District Superintendent Jim Stratton announced that

he will retire at the end of this school year. Stratton, who has served as the district’s Superintendent for the last six years, will leave our schools improved. During his tenure, the schools not only expanded the arts and electives, but also initiated the parcel tax for education, and con-tinued with academic success even amidst California’s financial deficit.

In addition to serving as the superintendent, Stratton has worked within the school district for the last 20 years. He operated as La Cañada High School’s principal from 1991 to 1997 leading up to being the district’s Deputy Superintendent until 2005 and then the Superintendent. At the time of publication, Mr. Stratton was unavailable for comment. His departure will mark a fresh age for the schools. The district will be headed by a new superinten-dent amongst many of the schools

relatively new principals. His replace-ment is Wendy Sinnette. Many of us are familiar with Mrs. Sinnette whether it be because she was your Palm Crest Elementary school principal or middle school principal(LCHS 7/8). Next year, she will advance from her current position of assistant superintendent of human resources to replace Jim Stratton as superintendent. Sinnette has been with the La Cañada Unified School District for the last 9 years, working as various positions. When asked about her plans for the future school year, Sinnette answered, “I hope to follow in the footsteps of Jim Stratton by managing the schools’ funds respon-sibly, keeping the budget cuts away from the classroom, building the best instructional environment possible, maintaining the schools’ programs, and expanding the ‘Every Student Succeeds Plan’.” The Spartan happily wel-comes Mrs. Sinnette to her new position.

Volume XXI, Issue 4 Fenraury 3, 2011 lcspartan.com

The Spartan

LC Debate team competes in first debate

The Social Bell Jar: Facebook LC Wrestling Dominates!News 2 Sports 15Opinion 5

Students need only look for UC approval when selecting summer school

courses, at least for now. The La Cañada Governing Board postponed its decision on es-tablishing a standard of 6,960 instructional minutes to receive credit towards graduation at La Cañada High School.

This proposal, if ap-proved, would have severely affected summer school enroll-ments at the Hillside School and Learning Center whose sum-mer classes total only 3,480 instructional minutes, roughly half of the standard set in the proposal. Bob Frank, Hillside’s executive director, argued this discrepancy does not diminish the quality of learning as his school boasts smaller classes sizes and excellent teachers.

The proposal was recommended Su-perintendent Jim Stratton after an administrative review of 11 similarly high performing schools in the area.

Parents at the Governing Board Meeting on January 11 were distraught by the proposal and voiced their opinions for over an hour.

Some parents believe that the reason for this proposal is obvious: this year, the Foundation will be running a summer school and they are wor-ried about enrollment. If the District were to pass a standard instructional time, they would essentially eliminate the competition: Hillside.

Hillside remained the topic of discussion for most of the evening despite La Cañada High School Principal Jacqueline Luzak’s statement that the research was collected without a bias towards a single school.

The Board members agreed that without the necessary research, they could not make a decision. They tabled the proposal until further evidence, perhaps standardized test scores, is gathered to show whether there is a discrepancy between the education a student receives at Hillside

and one at La Cañada. Many students at La Cañada are relieved

to still have this option. Some, such as Senior David Mkrtchian believe that they could not have succeed-ed in La Canada High School without Hillside.

“Hillside allowed me to progress in ways I could not within the high school or even at a commu-nity college but still work with La Canada faculty”

Others, such as Junior Garrett Apel, found that Hillside’s education was not adequate and did not give him the same education as a class at La Cañada.

“We all know that if you go to Hillside, you want to pay for your A. I took World History for an easy A” said Apel.

Junior Eric Cho considered taking classes, such as Spanish 3, at Hillside for an “easy A” but decided against it because he was worried that he “would not be prepared for AP Spanish” at La Cañada the following year.

La Cañada will continue to give credit for classes taken at UC approved schools until the Board issues a final decision.

Governing Board postpones decision: Hillside credit re-mains validBy Terese RutkowskiEditor-In-Chief

By Katherine PropperManaging Editor

Hillside credits are in jeopardy

Spartan basketball scores another win

Charles Kim (25) and Mikey McGlashan (32) go up for a rebound after Riley Moore (3) misses a shot from the freethrow line.

By Terese RutkowskiEditor-In-Chief

Left: Superintendent Jim Stratton, Right: Assistant Superintendent Wendy Sinnette

2 February 3, 2011 La Cañada High School

News

Though the La Cañada Unified School District has weathered the statewide funding crisis better than

most districts, it is still floundering. In early October, parents, governing board members, and members of the commu-nity joined together to form the district task force, dedicated to educating the community on the financial crisis faced by the schools and the consequences of such a deficit.

By making the task force, the La Cañada Unified School Disrict hoped to lessen the district’s financial burden. Inspired by the rising class sizes that they saw, parents were also motivated to take action. Craig Mazin, a Palm Crest parent, sent out a mass email which soon inspired widespread parent concern and action. Mazin then approached the governing board and was met with its support.

At the January governing board meeting, Mazin reported the status of the group. Since this time, the task force has been busy organizing representatives from all of the district’s schools. It was decided that the goal would be to return the school district back to its status dur-ing the 2007-2008 school year.

“We want the raise same fund-ing and return classes to their previous sizes, “ Mazin explained at the January board meeting.

Mazin expects that the neces-sary contribution to achieve their goal will be around $2500 per family. Though a high price for many in economically troubled times, the task force hopes that the community will be willing to contribute and donate.

Board members and co-chairs of the task force, Joel Peterson and Scott Tracy, were enthusiastic about the progress made by the group.

“It is good to see community in-volvement,” said board member Tracy.

To date, the task force has successfully begun to raise funds but as Mazin stated, they have yet to make an “official request” to the community.

Task Force formed to raise funds for LCUSDBy Terese RutkowskiEditor-In-Chief

The price of cotton has hit record highs this season, and many clothing companies are being forced to increase the prices of their products. Attention all shoppers: stuff extra bucks in your wallets on your next visit to the mall.

Though cotton prices have been rising since last year, clothing brands such as Hanes and Levi’s have been able to keep the prices of their cotton products stable. But with the natural-fiber cloth being 80% more expensive this year, many clothing stores are raising prices to offset the high-priced cotton. Some are even starting to blend other substitute materials like polyester.

The cause of all this is simply climate change. China and Pakistan, the major producers of cotton, have been facing unfavorable weather patterns, including heavy rainfalls and floods. With their crops destroyed, these two countries are struggling to fulfill the global demands for cotton. If this continues, companies will relocate to countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh with lower wages and better crop yield.

The higher cotton prices are affecting our own community today.

“Recently, I went to GAP to buy the hoodie my friend bought couple months ago, but I was discouraged when I saw that the sweater was more expensive now. I asked the store manager why [the prices were higher], and he said that it was to preserve the percentage of cotton and the quality of the clothing,” said junior Gregory Chin.

With the cotton prices rising at this rate, polyester might soon become the next most widely used material in clothing.

By Ailin KimSpartan Staff

Cotton prices rise globally

Experiencing the atmosphere of their first official debate competition, La Cañada High school debate team went to California High School. Set on January 21, 2011, LCHS speech and debate debated the resolution: “Plea bargain-ing undermines the criminal justice system”. LCHS speech and debate team won 13 out of the 20 debates that they participated in. It was a great experience for the team and they did much better than they expected. Five teams from La Cañada debated in the Public Forum format and one person

debated in Lincoln Douglas. Public Forum is a debate that consists of two pairs debat-ing each other with construc-tive speeches, evidence, and cross-fires. Lincoln Douglas is between two people who debate a topic using speeches and cross-examinations to win their cases.

Even though LCHS is a novice debate team, they debated with confidence. One team, Michael Coppinger, a sophomore, and Yongsoo Kim, a freshman at La Cañada High school went undefeated in the four debates that they compet-ed in. Freshmen Trevor Kehrer and Alex Bache won three out of the four debates they competed in. Sophomores Bradley Uyemura and Daniel Rhee also went 3-1 in their debates. Sophomores Valerie Roth and Shelby Powell, Jes-sica Son and Howard Kim also participated. “I was very happy when I heard that Michael and

I went undefeated. I hope we can have the same success in our future debates,” stated Yongsoo Kim, a freshman. At California High School, located in Whittier, many schools from the area came to participate in the competition. Some schools that La Cañada debated were from San Marino High School, La Cañada Flintridge Prep, and California High School.

La Cañada will con-tinue to compete and they hope that they can get more people to join because it is a great experience. Mrs. Moore, the advisor for the debate team and the coach, continues to en-courage her team and others to join and keep working hard because debating gives great self-confidence. As a result of their first debate competition being successful, LCHS de-bate team will enter their next debate competition with more confidence and more knowl-edge on how to debate.

Debate team competes in first debate

By Daniel RheeSpartan Staff

LCHS debate team debates the experienced Crescenta Valley team.

For some high school students, AP classes show intelligence and motivation. AP courses are revered because they teach content that requires critical thinking and analysis. But while students diligently cram scientific data into their brains, they slowly start to lose critical thinking and analytical skills. Instead of learning in depth a specific topic, memorization and regurgitation have replaced true education.

As this problem has become exac-erbated by floods of new material pouring into textbooks, many have questioned the AP system as it stands now. Consequently, the College Board is changing the AP exams by cutting the amount of material students need to know for AP Biology and AP US

History exams. In addition, the College Board will provide a curriculum framework for what courses should look like for the first time and will create new tests to match the remodeled standards. These reforms are called the “New AP” and will take effect in the 2012-13 school year.

In AP classes, PowerPoint lectures intended to efficiently convey the most in-formation are ever present and the heavy load of homework weighs down students. Moreover, studies show that most schools do the same canned laboratory exercises, providing little sense of the thrill of scientific discovery. However, the “New AP” will widen students’ minds to focus on bigger concepts and stimulate more analytic thinking—as-sets that are most needed in future college courses.

In response to the new plan, many

students have expressed their satisfaction, arguments for and against it, and concerns as well.

“Hopefully, the College Board will take into account the fact that AP Bio and AP US History are two very different subjects when they decide the amount of information to be slashed,” said Junior Shannon Lee.

The “New AP” plan came at a for-tunate time, offering a resolution between the kind of learning that is most important today and the kind of learning the AP advo-cates. As the differences of the current AP curriculum and the ideal one balance, true learning will take place in AP classes. In this way, high school students taking AP courses will learn what to do with their knowledge and understanding of the subjects, not only the facts themselves.

By Jennifer KimSpartan Staff

Reforming AP Courses and Tests

The LC debate team competed at LCHS against Crescenta Valley in their first debate of the year. Pictured here from left to right: Michael Coppinger, Bradley Uyemura ,Yongsoo Kim, Joseph Song, Brian Park, Jessica Son, Justin Higa, and Shelby Powell.

3February 3, 2011La Cañada High School

News

On January 3rd, AP Environmental Science (APES) students went on a field trip to the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment plant. The students enjoyed the opportu-nity of first-handedly observing California’s wastewater recovery process from the largest wastewater treatment facility in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

APES students had recently stud-ied the chapters of Unit 7, “Water and Water Pollution,” in which they touched on areas of pollutions, wastewater and its effects, rain, and water quality. Through the fieldtrip, APES students gasped more knowledge on how wastewater is treated.

“We have been going to this plant since eleven years ago,” commented Dr. E, one of the APES teachers. “It’s always successful in giving students a vivid picture

of the process.”The Hyperion Wastewater Treat-

ment plant serves the entire city of Los Angeles and contract cities. Until 1925, raw, untreated sewage from LA was discharged directly into Santa Monica Bay. As the popu-lation increased, the amount of sewage became a major problem to the beaches, so in 1925, LA built a simple screening plant. The quality of water was still unacceptable, so the Hyperion Treatment Plant was built in 1950.

The students took a breathtaking tour of the treatment plant. Wearing sanita-tion covers and helmets on their heads, the students got rode a train and toured around the plants to visualize the filtration process. Getting off and on the train, the curious students took their time to examine how sewage water was treated and purified. As they listened to the speakers and observed the process, they filled out the answers to

the ten prerequisite questions they had prepared.

The students not only furthered their studies, but also had some time to enjoy themselves. The field trip group was divided into three, allowing the other two groups to spend fun time at the Santa Monica Bay beach while one group enjoyed its tour looking at the plants and the filtra-tion process. Munching away their hotdogs and burgers, APES students, many of whom were seniors who had just finished college applications, finally had some time to relax.

“I could now swim in the beach with relief, knowing that the water is perfectly clean,” commented senior Brian Park, who brought his swim suit.

The APES students are now experts of wastewater treatment. If you have questions about wastewater, now you know who to ask!

By Joseph KimNews Editor

APES visits the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant

It is very fortunate that La Cañada High School supports a variety of clubs and programs, allowing interesting clubs

such as the La Cañada Engineering Club to operate. From building efficient robots to constructing solar powered boats for racing in competitions, the LC Engineering Club works with technology, science, and math to create vehicles that one outside these fields can only imagine about. “Cool” is not enough to describe the various accomplishments of the Engi-neering Club. Under the guidance of Mr. Zimmerman, the dedicated club members meet during STEP, after school, and on weekends, clearly indicating the passion they have for engineering. Currently, the team is building a sixteen foot solar powered boat for a competition in spring and is also coaching three elementary and two junior high lego teams. “Our goal is to spread engineering throughout the La Cañada school system. Here, students apply what they learn in sci-ence and math and also exercise teamwork,” said Mr. Zimmerman. Recently, Mr. Zim-merman won the Founder’s Day Award, an annual award given by PTSA to individuals such as staff and teachers who go beyond expectations. Three years ago, when the club was first formed, the LC Engineering team won the Rookie All Star Award in the First Robotics Competition, which led to the team’s participation in the world champion-ship in Atlanta. Now, the LC Engineering Club continues to participate in worldwide competitions, which involve announcing a particular game and building a robot that will play that game. In January, the theme was a soccer-style game and team members built a robot that reenacted a game of soccer. Team member Mackenzie Zimmer-man expressed, “The best part is being able to learn and build in a hands-on environ-ment.” Fortunately, the La Cañada Engineer-ing Club receives funds from JPL, Mall Craft Construction, and Entertainment Partners, supporting the team’s grand, costly projects. In addition, the team helps other organiza-tions by hosting movie nights to support the cause of Breast Cancer Awareness. Ever since its formation three years ago, the La Cañada Engineering Club has been enthusiastically active in their numer-ous projects and the many trophies they have won clearly exhibits the club’s suc-cess. Hopefully, the LC Engineering Club will continue to showcase its talent and skill in future competitions.

Racing Robots and Solar Powered BoatsBy Jennifer KimSpartan Staff

Miss LCF: I love to run. Junior year is super stressful, and when I run it relaxes me!

Five questions with Miss LCF Robin Miketta

The Spartan: What was your re-action to winning Miss LCF?

By Carly MooreSpartan Staff

Miss LCF: It was completing shocking, I had no idea! I mean all of the girls I was with were equally qualified for queen. I am excited to lead this wonder group of ladies for this up-coming year!

The Spartan: What is your role as Queen? Miss LCF: I lead the other princesses, and act as a liaison between the Chamber of Commerce and the court.

The Spartan: How is it going so far? Miss LCF: My year is just beginning. We are getting our schedules soon- I can wait to get started.

The Spartan: What is the legacy you want to leave for Miss LCF? Miss LCF: Looking back at past queens, I hope that I can truly represent the town that I love, just as they did.

The Spartan: Good luck, you’ll be great! Last question, what is one thing that most people don’t know about you?

So what do birds falling out of the sky and dead fish chilling on the shore mean to you? To some, such occurrences symbolize the end times. Around this past New Years Eve, thousands of blackbirds were found dead in Arkansas, forcing people to ponder about the cause. Some conspiracy theorists suggest that the state government had a huge testing error, while others suggest that a UFO was the culprit. Some Arkansas officials propose that the birds were startled midflight because of celebratory fireworks, ultimately causing them to plummet to their deaths. Mean-while, the head of Cornell University’s ornithology lab suggests that severe weather was the cause because birds are very susceptible to freezing to death, especially in the rain.

Locals are still fretting about the sudden death of all these birds, but most claim they have seen such happenings, but on much smaller scales. Meanwhile in the neighboring state of Louisiana, birds have been found dead, but they point out

different reasons. It is believed that one disoriented bird led a massive flock into buildings and other objects that fatally injured them and caused them to fall to their deaths.

But birds weren’t the only ones dying, fish too were found washed up on shore. Only 125 miles away in Arkansas, thousands of dead drum fish were found on the banks of the Arkansas River. Local officials confirmed that poor water quality didn’t cause the deaths as only one spe-cies was affected.

Whether the beginning of the end is near remains uncertain; but what is certain is that the massive number of animal deaths, all of which occurred within a mere week, are extraordinarily rare. The most reasonable explanation seems to be the one offered by Cornell’s John Fitzpatrick as he determined that the severe weather patterns caused the birds to freeze as the rain disrupted their internal body temperature. Although Fitzpatrick’s hypothesis seems to dispel any apoca-lyptic suggestions, eschatologists have a bright future ahead of them as the year 2012 is just around the corner.

Falling birds and dead fish cause hysteria in ArkansasBy Diego NavarroBussiness Manager

The Spartan Staff

ReportersDavid Belcher

Michael Belcher Jack Finnigan

Paulina Galoostian Ailin Kim

Jennifer KimPaul KimJay Lim

Liwon LimCarly MooreDaniel RheeAustin HongAriel Vaisbort

Haley HerkertBack Page Editor

Lizzie FosterSports Editor

Derick AbedianDiego Navarro

Business ManagersErica Moore

Photography Editor

Ben PowersAdvisor

Terese RutkowskiEditor-in-Chief

Katherine PropperManaging Editor

David MkrtchianCopy Editor

Kevork KurdoghlianOnline Editor

Joseph Kim Armen DingzianNews Editors

David RheeOpinion Editor

Ben ChonFeatures Editor

Miss LCf Robin Miketta was crowned during the La Canada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce’s 99th Installation and Awards Dinner. Photo from the La Cañada Valley Sun.

The freshmen class of Congress members enter their term with the promise of listening to the American people.


Opinion

As we continue to complain about our excessive homework loads, our busy schedule of activities, and all our other teenage struggles, we seem to leave room for one thing each day: Facebook. Whether students use Facebook as a channel to complain about their homework or as a means to ‘stalk’ basically anyone, Facebook has incorporated itself in almost all aspects of student life. Its power is exemplified by the fact that it cuts our existence in half: life before Facebook and life after it. As I write this article right now at 10:48PM Monday night, 195 people are online—and that’s only the people who are on FB chat.

On average, a student spends at least 10 hours or more on Facebook in a school week. Its come to dominate our lives. All of our activities, outings, and major events have transformed into photo shoots for picture albums on Facebook. Thinking back on Senior Salute last December, I can remember a good 40 minutes being devoted solely to taking pictures—all which later ended up on Facebook. This event was a perfectly staged Facebook occasion, as are the

beginning of dances, last months APES field trip, and Senior dress up days. I begin to question the purpose of certain ‘traditions’; is every event planned with Facebook in mind at least 50% of the time? After all, it tops most students’ lists of afterschool activities.

In fact, I’ve come to realize that you can get to know someone pretty well, or at least on a shallow level, by stalking their profile. You see what the person wants you to see, what they allow you to see, and maybe even what they didn’t want you to see. An insider’s glimpse on anyone’s social life awaits you on this blue website.

With the rise of Facebook, photography has gained popularity. At our school, I would not call it rare to see a student with a $500-$800 SLR camera. I mean, if we’re go-ing to have pictures documenting our whole life, we might as well have them in the highest quality possible—because we can.

Facebook also serves as a sort of gossip forum. You can hear about who’s in a relationship the day it hap-pens, read about someone’s day, or learn about whom people are friends with. In a way, it shallowly connects you to a virtual world. You ‘Add’ the person you meet on that vacation, you might even befriend a friend of a friend. Those

of us with 1,000 friends and more obviously are more trivially networked than a person without a Facebook. Facebook al-lows you to keep in touch with those people who you most likely wouldn’t have stayed friends with—the people you probably wouldn’t have called up when you got home.

As Facebook keeps growing, becoming one of the largest ‘nations’ in the world, you might even begin to wonder how Facebook will evolve. When will the government begin its entrenchment on Facebook, using it to monitor the public? This public website pretty much permits for the tracking of one billion individuals globally—talk about an epic invasion of privacy. The worst part it is, we happily consent to our loss of privacy so how can we complain?

The creative creator, Mark Zuckerberg, another Harvard/ Exeter alumni with immense power, has even had an Award-winning film made about his world-chang-ing invention. He joined the likes of Oprah Winfrey when he was named Time Magazine’s Most Influential Person of the Year.

Nonetheless, Facebook only seems to be growing in its many functions. Who knows what it will do next? All I know is that a world without Facebook is almost unimagi-nable.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ceded political power in a ceremonial gesture on January 5, 2011. “I now pass this gavel, which is larger than most gavels here, but the gavel of choice of Speaker Boehner.” Pelosi’s quip, although eliciting laughter from Representatives gathered in the Chamber, could not hide the bitter truth that she was relinquishing her position and control of the House of Repre-sentatives to Republicans led by John Boehner(R–OH).

The House of Repre-sentatives passed the repeal of “The Job-Killing Health Care Law Act” Jan-uary 19, 2011, un-der the leadership of now Speaker John Boehner(R- OH). No. I am not kidding. 253 Rep-resentatives, men and women voted to some of the high-est offices in the legislative branch for their supposed competence and high-mindedness, united voices in one chaotic, child-ish rant. Led by C o n g r e s s w o m -en l ike Michelle Bachmann(R- MN), Republicans and Blue Dogs Demo-crats with unfurled p o l i t i c a l s a i l s shamed the “Rug Rats” and more importantly the country they swore to rep-resent. The first problem with this bill is its name. Although Republicans, in a conces-sion to Obama’s conciliatory speech, are now referring to it as “Job- Destroying” instead of “Job- Killing” both names are 1) bombastic and 2) untrue. The first assertion is proved by the willingness of Republicans to change the name so quickly. According to the Pulitzer-prizing fact-checking website Politifact, the Healthcare Bill will have a small but noticeable effect reducing unemployment. Also,

despite Republican claims that the bill will expand the deficit, the Congressional Budget Of-fice estimates that Healthcare Reform will save $1.3 trillion over ten years. Some Demo-crats were less measured in voicing the same concerns. Letting the New York in him come out once more, An-thony Weiner(D- NY) delivered a scathing retort to GOP state-ments defending the Health Care Reform repeal. “You know, I want to just advise people watching at home playing that now popular drinking game of “you take a shot whenever Republicans say something that is not true,” please assign

a designated driver, this is going to be a long afternoon!” He then pointed out the GOP’s peculiar promise to replace the health-care reform bill with the same healthcare reform bill: “They’re gonna have coverage for pre-existing conditions. They’re gonna have help for the donut hole. They’re gonna have mak-ing sure there are incentives to small businesses to offer insur-ance. You know what they call that, my colleagues? They call that the bill they’re repealing. It sounds very strange, but they want to repeal the bill but they still want to give it a big hug and embrace it as if they support the

things.”The words chosen to

represent this bill by the GOP leadership belie its intent, sym-bolic rather than substantive, pandering to the vocal extreme right wing. Some Democrats, those with more gumption, at-tacked these lies and mounted a defense of the reform. Senator Charles Schumer(D- NY) called it “a second chance to make a first impression.” The first time to make an impression was after the passage of Healthcare Re-form. Overconfident Democrats lost the spin game, but it seems that as more information about the bill is coming out, public opinion polls seem to be sway-

ing as well. Accord-ing to a recent NBC poll, only 19% of the country is in favor of complete repeal of Obamacare. When Speak-er Boehner entered office, he claimed “We will dispense with the conventional wis-dom that bigger bills are always better; that fast legislating is good legislating; that allowing additional amendments and open debate makes the legislative pro-cess ‘less efficient’ than our forefathers in tended. These misconceptions have been the basis for the rituals of modern Washington. The American people have not been well

served by them.” And almost as soon as he made these remarks, the House pro-ceeded to ram Health Care re-peal. A pointless repeal that the Senate will not pass, and even if it did, would be pointless due to Obama’s promise to veto.

Boehner’s gavel, by his own admission, is ceremo-nial and was given to him by one of his Ohio constituents. He does not plan on using it throughout the House’s day-to-day proceedings. The big gavel is symbolic of Boehner’s im-pending ceremonial leadership, rhetoric, and basically the same partisan politics he decried in his inaugural speech. Hooah!

Boehner’s Big Gavel


By David MkrtchianCopy Editor

The Social Bell Jar: Facebook

On January 5, 2011, after what Presi-dent Obama famously referred to as a “shel-lacking” for the Demo-crats in the November Midterm Elections, the 112th Congress of the United States was finally sworn in to power on Capitol Hill in Washing-ton, D.C. The Republi-cans now hold a gener-ous 242–193 majority in the House of Representa-tives and made considerable ga ins in the Senate with a smaller Demo-cratic majority of 51-47 and two Indepen-d e n t s ( w h o usually caucus with the Demo-crats).

J o h n Boehner, cur-rently the most ta lked about po l i t i c i an i n Congress, and possibly Washington D.C., takes over Nancy Pelosi’s pre-vious position as Speak-er of the House with a clear plan for the future. When Boehner was offi-cially introduced and the gavel was handed over to him, he gave a brief speech that emphasized his gratitude and the new approach he and his Republican majority will bring to Washington. Boehner emphatically stated, “The American people have humbled us, they have refreshed our memories to just how temporary the privi-

lege of serving is. They have reminded us ev-erything here, is on loan from them.” His remarks are reassuring to the American citizenry who voted the Republicans into the majority that they are indeed pre-pared to listen to the input of the American people and make tough decisions that will cut spending, create jobs, and get the economy back on track. Many are confident that Boehner

will successfully lead the Republicans in the House, including the Tea Party newcomers, and be able to respond to the message that the American voters sent in November by halting the Obama agenda.

Another inter-esting aspect of the new Republican House is the large number of Tea Party candidates who were elected into power, many who are entering the political arena for the first time. The Tea Party members elected are for the most part more Conservative than the

returning Republican members, and thus will serve as an excellent way to keep the Re-publican members in check and in tune with the message that the American voters sent in November. The new Tea Party members will need to find ways to work together with the returning Republican members of the House, and visa versa, in order to compromise on the important issues of cut-

ting spend-ing, reducing the deficit, creating jobs, and shrink-ing the over-al l s ize of the Federal government. The Ameri-can people sent a clear message in November: They want the govern-ment out of their lives, a renewal of

limited government and free enterprise.

T h e n e w House of Representa-tives has already suc-ceeded in passing leg-islation that would allow for a complete repeal of the Obamacare law. They are now waiting on the Senate to pass the bill and send it to Presi-dent Obama’s desk. Once the healthcare issue is resolved, the new congress will begin to focus on the issues of our national debt, the deficit, and reining in our out of control govern-ment spending.

New Congress Sworn Into Power

By Lizzie FosterSports Editor

Political Talk:

Google

Google

Every new year is like a reincarnation. It’s the rebirth of an improved version of ourselves, and our ultimate goal is to reach harmony: Nirvana.

On New Year’s Day, many people like to make a list of resolutions to achieve over the course of the year. They bask in the notion of tabula rasa, a fresh start on a clean slate. It’s as if on New Year’s Day, everyone looks through the lens of Mr. Bright Side, and that contagious optimism encourages them to believe that they can accomplish this year’s resolutions. Will they follow through with them? After a few weeks into the year, the realistic answer usually becomes a “no”.

There seem to be only two solutions to this problem: make resolutions that can actually be fulfilled, or don’t make them at all.

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions to start with? The answer is simply that we identify flaws within ourselves and long to change them throughout the year. The resolutions that are most often made by average American citizens are “get fit”, “stop smoking”, and “enjoy life more”. These are all laudatory goals—that is, if they are kept. Losing weight, breaking bad habits, and changing one’s outlook on life are all dramatic changes to a person that take more than twelve months to achieve.

The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that we overestimate our ability to radically change within a year. I’m not trying to discourage everyone from making them; they are great goals to pursue. However, to really accomplish them, we need to understand that these goals take much more time and patience than we expect.

Losing weight, for instance, is one of the top goals for women. In the first few weeks of the year, many frequently exercise at the local gym, determined that this year is the year they will finally jump down in pant sizes. But after one or two months, the number of those newcomers in the gym starts to dwindle. Many of them become discouraged when they don’t see immediate results, so they stop going to the gym altogether.

There is actually a scientific reason to why it is so hard to change ourselves within a short period of time. There is a part of the brain called the striatum, which is a region rich with dopamine that converts ugly habits into reflex. For example, if one day a person eats his favorite snack while watching TV and does the same thing the next day, the environment eventually triggers a chemical called dopamine to make him seek that pleasure again. And soon, it comes to a point where he cannot sit still in front of the TV without munching on something.

But we cannot blame the

striatum for our bad habits. If we had the will to make the first wrong choice, we have the power to fight against it.

So this year, we shouldn’t be afraid of wanting to start changing ourselves. Just as bad behaviors are turned into reflex, we can use our striatum to make corrected behaviors into new habits. All it takes is constant repetition of improved daily routines. Exercise just 30 minutes every day. Don’t eat while watching TV. Reduce the time spent in front of the computer. Whatever it is, we must remember that easy baby steps can lead to leaps of change that initially seemed impossible. It will undoubtedly be difficult, but all the effort put into improving ourselves will only get us a step closer to perfection, to happiness, to Nirvana.


OpinionFailing New Year’s

ResolutionsBy Ailin KimSpartan Staff

“You know what 2:30 in the afternoon feels like, right? Sleepy? Groggy? Dying for a nap? What do you do? Run for the coffee? Grab a soda?” Or, how about a 5-Hour En-ergy?” Bad choice. Energy drinks do more than just provide energy. They could cause many physical and mental problems for the consumer.

Although people drink energy supplements to replenish physical and mental endurance, enhance driving ability when tired, decrease mental fatigue after long periods of concentration, or simply

enjoy the taste, there is limited evidence to support these effects. In fact, energy drinks are not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the United States Department of Agricul-ture (USDA).

Energy drinks, such as 5-Hour Energy and Mon-ster, contain large doses of guarana, tuarine, B vitamins, ginseng, and caffeine. These stimulants act together to provide extra “energy” for the consumer. While one serving of Classic Coca-Cola contains 32 milligrams of caffeine and Mountain Dew 55 milligrams, one serving of Red Bull tops

them all with 80 milligrams of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in one serving of an energy drink usually ranges from 72-150 milligrams, which seems like plenty already.

But since they are sold in 2-3 servings, they seem to be even more plentiful, causing some people to drink 2-3 cans per day. But wait, there’s more: the other energy stimulants in the drinks act like caffeine and make its effects stronger.

Studies have shown that in adults, 100 or more milligrams of caffeine per day can lead to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Consumptions of

400 or more milligrams per day can lead to

nervousness, irritability, insomnia, increased urination, abnormal heart rhythms, upset stomach, and dehydration. Energy drinks should not be consumed while exercis-ing because fluid loss from sweating and caffeine’s diuretic quality can lead to severe dehydration. Despite all of the stated risks, 42.3% of adolescents (ages 11-18) still con-sume energy drinks in a routinely manner. However, teenagers should only drink less than 2.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Still want to get more artificial en-ergy by drinking Monster to study for Friday’s test? Is it worth the risk?

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Everyone has heard the scary stories of landfills, slowly filling up with non bio-degradable resources such as plastic or Styrofoam until piles of indistin-

guishable rubbish consume our country whole. Water bottles, plastic grocery bags, and used Tupperware gra-ciously donated in tons by families all across the nation, just lying there. Thankfully, literally everyone and anyone is able to help out in this regard by carrying out one small task - recycling. Recycling, the panacea movement that gained national approval has been going strong for as long as we can remember. Auditorium assemblies, awareness programs, and countless brochures have drilled pretty well into even the youngest of our country’s minds that recycling is a national duty. But does recycling really end at the friendly green receptacles accompanying every trash can around campus? No, recycling, contrary to its commercial image, has a shady background indeed. Recycling, like many other tasks, requires man power. After all, someone somewhere has to sort out the myriads of misplaced bottles and work the machines that supposedly save our world. The majority of these people are not our friends, our family, or even our neighbors. In fact, most of the recycling that goes on today is centralized in China – not because the unemployed do not want jobs, but because outsourcing is a habit today that companies have found to be profitable, simple, and completely free from, as some would say, “limiting” boundaries of mor-als. Chinese recycling factories do not function under American standards. Safety standards are nonexistent, the machines are dangerous, and the fumes present in the atmosphere are harmful to the body. According to Jim Puckett, coordinator of the Basel Action Network, a non-profit international awareness organization, testified, “I’ve been in a Chinese factory and I can smell it. The fumes can give you a headache almost instantly, and the workers are hovering over this melting stuff all day.” The workers, who are paid on average $1.50 a day, work under these detrimental conditions so that we in America can have our fun little brochures with the cool smiling globe sporting sunglasses giving us a thumbs up. A solution is hard to come by – a catch 22, as one can see. Do we stop recycling for the sake of the victimized factory workers or do we subject our earth to harm instead? Both options are heavily detrimental and are equally tolling

to the conscience; there is no easy plug. In fact, the only good that one can hope to achieve is awareness. Aware-ness that while we in America can give each other a pat on the back for remembering to recycle, there is a worker half-way across the world earning his dollar fifty amidst the thick fumes of plastic residue.

The Stage Behind

Recycling

Whether it is on the public bus or in a restaurant, the odor of cigarettes clings to seats, furniture, and the air. While it is a comfortable smell to some, it is a nasty stench to others. Smokers are everywhere and the countless cigarette butts on sidewalks are evidence.

It has been difficult to decide whether or not to pass laws banning smoking in public places because it is a personal choice of smokers on one hand and a danger to victims of sec-ondhand smoking on the other.

Recently, several coun-tries such as Spain, UK, France, and Italy have been leading the movement to prevent smoking in public areas by passing laws. To start off the New Year, Spain introduced a renovated smoking ban, which went into effect on January 2nd. Specifically, Spain’s new law is a stronger version of the country’s 2006 anti-smoking law. Along with barring smoking in shops, restaurants, school campuses,

hospital grounds, public transports, and in the workplace, this law denies venues the right to decide between allowing smoking on their grounds or not.

According to Jose Luis Guerra, vice president of the Spanish Hotel and Catering As-sociation, the ban can lead to a 5% drop in sales in restaurants, 10% in bars, and 15% in night clubs in Spain. This may be a regrettable result, but this measure is necessary as lives are on the line. Each year in Spain, around 50,000 people die as a result of smoking-related illness, with around 1,200 of those being nonsmokers who inevitably inhaled secondhand smoke. Hopefully, the new law will make a significant dif-ference in decreasing the number of innocent bystanders who die as a result of inhaling smoke. Smokers and their supporters claim that smoking is a personal choice and a right. However, smok-

ers do not have the right to harm others. The new European measures that will prevent smoking in public areas are much needed policies in the US.

Smoking Prevention Policies Take Effect


Energy drinks are not the solutionBy Austin Hong

By David RheeOpinion Editor

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Picture by Erica Moore

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Features

Almost every LCHS student has made the trek from school, up Michigan Hill, and under the 210-freeway overpass, to get something to eat after school. When the landscape is surveyed students see “McDonald’s” on the left and looking over Foothill Boulevard they could see “Dolce Mango”, “Los Gringos Locos”, “Taco Deli”, the liquor store, and“Juice It Up”.

Now, since most LCHS students drive, they don’t find the time to take a closer look at what’s new around town. Upon closer examination students will be stunned to see the transformation at 442 Foothill Boulevard.

Instead of the orange Juice It Up sign, La Cañada Flintridge residents are welcomed by a Malfi’s sign in a blue color similar to the waters of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Malfi’s was named after the Amalfi Coast in Italy, owner Mary Geyer’s “happy place”.

Mary Geyer was looking for a change and she said, “Change is always good. Juice It Up needed a ‘face-lift’ – new paint, new furniture, some new menu items and I thought why not make some ‘big’ changes while‘Juice It Up’ gets a face-lift.”

As a franchise Geyer’s La Cañada “Juice It Up”franchise asked the Juice It Up Corporation to assist her in integrating a salad bar, but the corporation declined. Mary took matters into her own hands. “I had to disenfranchise from Juice It Up Corporation in order to add salads... so I did!!!” she said enthusiastically via email.

Mary Geyer has owned Juice It Up since 2001 and after nine years of the smoothie business she’s decided to start serving salads. When Geyer was asked why she made the switch to salads she responded, “I like eating salads. I like the dressings. More importantly I want to establish a

‘healthy’ fast food eatery in La Cañada.” Geyer describes Malfi’s as “a place where you can

come during your lunch break and get a great salad, made exactly how you want it (a couple tomatoes, more chicken, hold the jicama, etc.). It’s the same thing with the baked potatoes. Potatoes are an excellent source of carbohydrates and when topped with the right stuff (veggies, meat, cheese) it’s a satisfying meal, especially on a cold day.”

Though Malfi’s has integrated salads, ithasn’t left its famous smoothies behind. “Malfi’s still has most of the smoothies that I carried when it was a Juice It Up. The only difference is that the smoothies are now made with more REAL fruit and REAL fruit juice...no ‘wanna-be’ juice flavors.”

Geyer’s children were the source of the idea to open up a smoothie shop in La Cañada ten years ago. Com-menting on her children’s idea she said, “I listened and Juice It Up was a huge success. Last year my son told me to add the salad bar because that’s what high school kids should get used to eating so when they go to college they’ll be more inclined to choose healthier food options. Eating at college can be a challenge. There’s a place near the USC campus called ‘Salad Farm’. John eats there all the time with his friends and they feel good about themselves because they filled up on good healthy food that didn’t cost a lot. I want the LCF kids to have the same experience.”

Geyer already has plans for expanding and shared the idea of “adding a ‘cereal bar’ in the morning. Cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit...what do you think?”

Malfi’s will be introducing their new infused drinks on the day of their grand opening that is set for January 25th at 11 AM.

Malfi’s Out with the old, In with the freshLa Cañada’s first salad bar has arrivedBy Kevork KurdoghlianOnline Editor

New tactics against underage drinkingBy Derick AbedianBusiness Manager The Department of Motor Vehicles announced big changes this year, involving a new license design for California. The new plan will make licenses harder to counterfeit and forge, and will help businesses easily I.D. those who cannot drink alcohol. The new licenses and state I.D.s debuted earlier this year with changes that include a vertical layout for people under 21 years old, images that can only be seen under ultraviolet lights and a 2D bar code on the back that acts like the current magnetic stripe on cards. When the card is swiped, it reads the information on the front of the card. “The new security features, coupled with advanced technology, make California driver licenses and identification cards one of the most secure identification documents in the country,” said DMV Director George Valverde. “We are confident that they will be well-received by residents, businesses and law enforcement officials.” The DMV emphasized that cardholders do not need to worry and replace their license or ID. Cardholders just have to wait until their renewal period to acquire the new vertical licenses. Additional features include the cardholder’s date of birth and signature that can be felt by touch and a laser perforation outline of the California Brown Bear, which can be seen from the front of the card when a flashlight is pressed against the back of the card.

In the mere blink of an eye, 2010 has flown by and we now find ourselves in the year 2011. Aside from the obvious fact that La Cañada’s most amazing class ever is on the verge of graduating, there are other events worth noting. The Juniors will be taking their SAT’s and will be working on their college apps, the Sophomores will be enter-ing what they think is the hardest year of their life, and the Freshmen will continue to do nothing and float right along. You get the point; 2011 belongs to the Seniors. Viva is a top priority, but what else is on the Seniors’ busy agenda? Scott Blaisdell admitted that he is prepared to not care about school any more. Maanika Keesara said that she’s excited about “spending one last semester with people I’ve known for years, some since kindergarten!” She continued, “We’ll never be in this situation knowing almost everyone around us ever again. Also, being the best class to ever graduate from LCHS,”

Undoubtedly Maanika’s appreciation for knowing everyone is universal among the senior class, but many are looking forward to the college life, which promises to not be as comfortable as LC. When Cayley Coren was asked what she was looking forward to in 2011 she offered one word and word only: college. Tatijana Vasilij firmly agrees and even admits that the prospect of meeting “extremely attractive males” excites her like no other. David Mednikov, similarly, is excited about meeting “beau-tiful women” and exploring the freedoms of going away for school. Leaving the proverbial “bubble” that is La Cañada is a prospect that excites most of the Senior class because it gives us the chance to mature into adults, free from the pressures and expectations of our parents. Nathan Eisenberg said that he is looking forward to his first day of college. Angel Espinal is excited not only about graduating and starting school in the fall, but to continue working at the Balloon Emporium where he has been working for several years already. But the typical senior’s sentiment was captured perfectly by Nathan Chen when he said “I want to live the dream and leave La Cañada”. So why are Seniors so desperate to leave LC? It’s difficult to summarize, but clearly the Se-niors have had enough of the “bubble” and want to get out and viva.

By Diego NavarroBusiness Manager

Seniors prepare to do more than just ‘viva’

The salad bar at Mafi’s

Artistic decorations at Mafi’s The counter at Mafi’s

La Cañada High School 7February 3, 2011La Cañada High School

FeaturesMalfi’s Out with the old, In with the freshLa Cañada’s first salad bar has arrived

Racing Robots and Solar Powered Boats

California is in need of education reform

It’s no longer news to say that America is slipping in the global education rankings. American students consistently rank around 15th place in the categories of English, Mathematics, and Science, appalling results for a global superpower. There are many positive attributes to the American education system, such as giving all children and teens (including immigrants) an education and focusing more on well-roundedness rather than menial test scores. However, excuses are excuses, and America needs to improve its curriculum. A key reason America’s test scores suffer is in the roots of its educa-tion system. Be-cause of Amer-i c a ’ s u n i q u e history of fed-eralism and the diverse way of life within each state, there is no national cur-riculum. Instead, each state is giv-en the freedom to design its own curriculum, and wi thout much federal enforce-ment, the edu-cation content s t anda rds i n many states are minimal. U n -f o r t u n a t e l y , evidence of the s u b s t a n d a r d state curriculums is clearly mani-fested by the state of California. For a state that would have the eighth largest economy in the world if it were a coun-try, California continues to be carefree the educational standards its Board of Education sets. The lack of revision in its content standards for grades K-12 is truly startling and baffling. Here are some facts:

• History-Social Science and Science content standards haven’t been updated since October 1998.• Visual and Performing Arts content standards haven’t been updated since January 2001.• Mathematics and English Language Arts content standards have been up-dated recently (August 2010) but until that time, there was no revision since December 1997.

The only “timely” content standards were on those subjects that aren’t even part of the basic core curriculum of all schools:

• Career Technical Education content standards were adopted on May 2005.• Physical Education content standards were adopted on January 2005.• Health Education content standards were adopted on March 2008.• World Language content standards were adopted on January 2009.

*This information was found on the Cali-fornia State of Board Education website. For more information, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss

Quite embarrassing, isn’t it?

The students of the La Cañada Unified School District may not have felt the effects of such a shoddy state curriculum, but the results of these lackadaisical efforts is clear in the scores achieved by students across California. It would be surprising if Cali-fornia K-12 teachers were still adhering to the standards of this outdated state curriculum. Presumably, most teachers probably have other, more recent ones that they follow. However, the fact that the California State of Board Education only publicizes these outdated statewide content standards is an indication that the board needs to do a better job. Even if the board is working on creating new standards at this very moment, that does not excuse the twelve (and counting) year drought of minimal educational revi-sion efforts on core subject classes.

By Ben Chon Features Editor

Mr. Powers “grading a paper an ‘F’’”

They aren't beginners anymore

It is very fortunate that La Cañada High School supports a variety of clubs and programs, allowing inter-esting clubs such as the La Cañada Engineering Club to operate. From building efficient robots to constructing solar powered boats for racing in competitions, the LC Engineering Club works with technology, science, and math to create vehicles that one outside these fields can only imagine about. “Cool” is not enough to describe the various accomplishments of the Engineering Club. Under the guidance of Mr. Zimmerman, the dedicated club mem-bers meet during STEP, after school, and on weekends, clearly indicating the passion they have for engineering. Currently, the team is building a sixteen foot solar pow-ered boat for a competition in spring and is also coaching three elementary and two junior high lego teams.

“Our goal is to spread engineering throughout the La Cañada school system. Here, students apply what they learn in science and math and also exercise team-work,” said Mr. Zimmerman. Recently, Mr. Zimmerman won the Founder’s Day Award, an annual award given by PTSA to individuals such as staff and teachers who go beyond expectations. Three years ago, when the club was first formed, the LC Engineering team won the Rookie All Star Award in the First Robotics Competition, which led to the team’s participation in the world championship in Atlanta. Now, the LC Engineering Club continues to participate in worldwide competitions, which involve announcing a particular game and building a robot that will play that game. In January, the theme was a soccer-style game and team members built a robot that reenacted a game

of soccer. Team member Mackenzie Zimmerman ex-pressed, “The best part is being able to learn and build in a hands-on environment.” F o r t u n a t e l y, t h e L a C a ñ a d a E n g i -neering Club receives funds from JPL, Mall Craft Construction, and Entertainment Partners, supporting the team’s grand, costly projects. In addition, the team helps other organizations by hosting movie nights to support the cause of Breast Cancer Awareness. Ever since its formation three years ago, the La Cañada Engineering Club has been enthusiastically active in their numerous projects and the many trophies they have won clearly exhibits the club’s success. Hope-fully, the LC Engineering Club will continue to showcase its talent and skill in future competitions.


Joseph KimNews Editor

The course title “Beginning Ceramics” is misleading; the students in the class are no longer beginners. Under Mr. Lee’s guidance, students have been work-ing diligently to sharpen their skills to become articulate ceramists. After working on a wide range of projects including pinch pots, whistles, and animal sculptures throughout the semester, the students were assigned to craft masks of their choice for the final project.

The ceramists chose various types of masks that have cultural and historical significance. After deciding on a mask, whether an Indonesian Fish Mask or a Spider-man mask, students grabbed their clays and set out to execute their plans and ideas to make the best imitations possible.

“The process is much more difficult than it seems,” opened up Daniel Ko, working on his Carnival Mask. “But it’s very rewarding to transform a chunk of clay into an elegant, articulate mask.”

Not only were the students required to make masks, but they were also assigned to write a report about the history and origin of the masks of their choice. In this way, the students could expand their skills as ceramists and at the same time become more educated, and aware artists.

In the second semester, the students of “Beginning Ceramics” will finally put their hands on the spinning wheel, taking another step forward.

“Students tend to enjoy the spinning wheel a lot,” said Mr. Lee. “I’m sure they will have an enriching experience.”

Ceramics student displays her stylistic mask

Two ceramist students showcase their excellent skills


Student Life

Sofia Eckene, Amy Young, and Christina Vavoulis are ready for class!

Brian Watson and Jonathan Stroud work on computer programming in AP

Computer Science. Stroud has a independent project in which he creates

computer games.

Ryan Bohannon says “Hi” to his fans!

Forrest Burke can’t believe the news about Russia.

Nathan Arboleda laughs at a friend’s joke.

Students take a break during class.

Matt Fung has got his tunes.Alex Alequin and his friend study in the IRC.

Sam Whitefield and Martin Wolfenburger discuss the current state of the nation. They both found Obama’s State of Union speech to be very stimulating.

Lisa Lim and Theodore Wu model the latest trend: headbands.

Compiled by David Belcher, Jay Lim, Katherine Propper, and Terese Rutkowski

Photo by Katherine Propper


Photo by Katherine PropperPhoto by Katherine Propper


Photo by David Belcher

Photo by Terese Rutkowski



Joe Kim and Ben Chon are disgusted by this year’s STEP program.

They have resorted to studying during other classes.




Student Life

Shareen Karam, Wendy Ortiz, Maryam Al-Attassi, Talia Saleh enjoy their lunch!

Jessica Ogden, Aubri Thompson, Anthony Mizrahi, and Matt Jones can’t wait for finals!

Tyler Horsewell eyes Cameron Aenlle Rocha...

Derick Abedian, Erica Moore, and Katherine

Propper play games to learn!

Karl Bucar thinks that school is like jail.

Clara Johnson and Rosa Kim switched personas!

Haley Herkert and Ariel Vaisport are all in

this together!








Annette Persson and Casey Rohan tutor one another!


Photo by Jay LimKenzie Herron, Kasia Zdarzyl, and Ingrid Medina taking a break during Finals.


Arts

1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Frank Capra’s political classic follows the journey of idealist Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) to his junior Senate seat in D.C. Smith, an American patriot, goes to Washington only to realize that corruption rules the political scene. In his efforts to promote a lost cause, Smith shows himself to be the true hero. “Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books,” Mr. Smith says. This film will remind you of the foundations this country was built upon—some of what lacks in our government today.

2. Rebecca (1940)

“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” the unnamed heroine (Joan Fontaine) remarks as she introduces the story. This Alfred Hitchcock mystery has one of the most original twists of Hollywood history. Revolving around the troubling marriage of a naïve young woman to a widowed aristocratic man (Laurence Olivier), this movie will keep you wondering who the heck ‘Rebecca’ was.

3. Casablanca (1942)

This iconic film portrays the star-crossed rekindled romance of an American expatriate in Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart) and the wife (Ingrid Bergman) of a Czech resistance leader. Set during World War II, this film depicts anti-Nazi defiance and ultimately ends with the thrilling escape of Bergman and her husband. “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Bogart famously comments at the film’s closing.

4. All About Eve (1950)

In Bette Davis’ greatest acting performance, she stars with Anne Baxter in this Zanuck-made film that depicts the nature of show business and New York’s Broadway Scene. Central to the film is the rivalry between Margo Channing (Davis), an aging theatre star, and Eve Harrington (Baxter), an upcoming star who desires to supplant Margo in fame and success. By the end of the film, you’ll feel more acquainted with the realities of competition, jealousy, and fame.

5. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

This dark film noir by Billy Wilder follows the life of a struggling screenwriter, Joe (William Holden), as he meets a faded silent movie actress, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Promising to help write her a script, Joe begins writing while also residing as a guest in Desmond’s home, serving as a bit of a boy toy. Norma’s self-obsession dominates the story as she

regularly relives her glory days and halts Joe from living his life. Eventu-ally, Norma’s vanity leads to her insanity as the film ends with a tragic death. “Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close”, Norma says, exemplifying her lacking sense of reality.

6. Sabrina (1954)

Audrey Hepburn stars in her lead role as Sabrina Fairchild with her typical charm and grace. Playing an innocent girl who returns home from Paris a beautiful lady, Sabrina’s rich playboy and next-door neighbor David Larrabee (William Holden) romantically pursues her. Although Sabrina pined for David in her youth, as a woman she instead finds affection for David’s older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart). While watching Sabrina for David, Linus falls for her too. At the end of the film, Linus decides between love and work with Sabrina’s leave for Paris.

7. On the Waterfront (1954)

In this Elia Kazan’s classic, you will witness the heroism of a man strug-gling to testify the truth. Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), a fighter turned longshoremen, has always been a victim of crime and circumstances. With a tragic murder and the fraudulent mob as his opposition, Terry

must decide whether or not to stand up to the corruption of the waterfront. Although Terry may have ostensibly lost the final fight, in the eyes of most viewers, he is the real winner at the movie’s end. “I coulda been a contender,” Terry wretchedly apprehends and says.

8. Some Like it Hot (1959)

This Marilyn Monroe classic is sure to make you laugh. Considered scandalous in its time for displaying cross-dressing and reverse gender roles, this comedy is noth-ing like director Billy Wilder’s darker films. In the movie, two male unemployed jazz musicians find work with a women’s dance group. During one of their excursions dressed as women dancers, the men witness a gang crime and find themselves in a comedic chase the remainder of the film.

9. Psycho (1960) This famous Hitchcock thriller transformed Hollywood’s traditional cinematic style, making film techniques more obvious. The suspense of the plot deals with lead character Marion (Janet Leigh), her ironic murder, and her taxidermist murderer, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). With the excessive presence of mirrors and reflections, the movie spotlights the issue of multiple personalities—something central to the film’s twist. The movie will end at a surprising climax, leaving no room for a resolution.

10. Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Bomb (1963)

This black comedy directed by Stanley Kubrick satirizes nuclear war in a time when the Cold War was at its climax. The plot revolves around the countries of the Soviet Union and the US in their absurd arms race that could potentially destroy the whole world with the push of a button. Peter Sellers plays three characters in this film (Dr. Strangelove, President Muffley, and Captain Mandrake)—all which contribute to the humor of the movie. At the film’s conclusion, an accident leads to an epic catastrophe.


The Top 10 Favorite Black & White Films

Boom. Boom. Boom. The beat rever-berates in your ear. We all have one of those songs- the type of song that you crank up the volume and gets you ready to do whatever you need to do- with vigor. You might listen to this song before a sports match, a dance, or maybe while going off campus to lunch. My ‘get pumped’ song is “Rockstar 101” by Rihanna. I can listen to this song while doing homework at 11:30pm dead tired, and suddenly feel ready to run a mile. My point is there are songs, artists, out there pouring emotions into their work, wanting the listener (aka you) to feel the way they did. Well kids, this week I picked two dif-ferent artists and two different emotions- so here are your two ‘Off The Charts’ bands of the week. We all have that one person that ticks us off. Let’s be honest here, you either avoid them in the halls at school (at all costs) or you glare at them when they walk by. Just picture their face, their voice, and why you dis-like them. Well, this singer had no inhibitions when it came to writing out her hate into lyrics. There was only one thing that the band, The Pretty Reckless, wanted to portray when it came to their music. It turned out to be sweet revenge.

With Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen on vocals, she not only proves that she can act but that she can sing as well. Meant to have a darker and heavy tone, the band is needless to say, post grunge/alternative rock. Their first single “Makes Me Wanna Die” came out in May 2010, followed by their album Light Me Up, in August. Since then the band has played in a number of concerts, has had their songs played on Gossip Girl. My personal choice of their best work are “My Medicine”, and “Makes Me Wanna Die”. Trust me, if you are feeling irritated, these songs are the type of music to listen to. There are a hand full of songs in the world that when played take your mind else where. You can hear a song that sparks memories, events in your life that remind you of the tone of the music, or really just make you escape for the period of time that it is being played. I like to call these ‘transport’ melodies, transport because they pull your thoughts out of the present, and just let your mind wander. These songs leave you with a ‘feel-good’ mood when they end. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, is one of these bands that, no matter the situation they, leave you feeling good by the end.

Bringing back indie folk, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros released their first recording “Up From Below” went public back in July, 2009. Since then they have been gaining popularity with their hit song “Home”. Contrary to popular belief ,there is no actual ‘Edward Sharpe’ in the group. The name came from a story that the lead singer, Alex Ebert, created. In the story, the fictional character Edward Sharpe is a man that was sent to earth to ‘heal and save mankind.’ However Sharpe kept getting distracted by pretty girls. The talented assemble of hippies manages to take the listener to another world, one that is filled with happiness and dreams. Hands down my favorite songs are “Home” and “40 Day Dream.”

Off the ChartsBy Carly MooreSpartan Staff

Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes

A scene from Psycho

Some Like It Hot

A scene from Casablanca

Modern Family is the best comedy of year. That’s not just an opinion anymore. For its fantastic first season full of wit and ridicu-lously hilarious situations, the 20th Century Fox sitcom and mockumentary Modern Family won the 2010 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Comedy Series.” Bringing back the family comedy genre, the show revolves around three families, each outlandish in their own way: Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) is a wealthy, elderly, and sweat-suited father who has sometime ago divorced. Jay clearly had a history of not being the best father to his two children and is trying to find redemption. Only this time, his wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) is a gorgeous young Colombian who is adapting to the customs of the United States. She comes with a marvelous young son, Manny (Rico Rodri-guez), who clearly believes that age is merely a number and is already trying to find true love as an elementary school student. The remaining two core families are the previously mentioned children of Jay, Claire (Julie Bowen) and Mitchell

(Jesse Tyler Fergu-son). Claire is the mother of a mod-ernly dysfunction-al family of five. She s t resses, overworks, and struggles to raise her three chi l-dren without the help of her goofy husband Phil (Ty Burrell). Claire over-schedules her time, trying to prevent her eldest teenage daughter Hailey from following in her promiscuous footsteps while also managing an academically overly-ambitious daughter Alex. The family’s son, Luke, is almost an exact replica of his inane father Phil, only with a tinge more innocence. The last family is the most modernly radical of all: Mitchell is married to his life-partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet). The pair is involved in amusing situations as they raise their ridiculously cute Vietnamese daughter Lily. In addition, the two continually fight the stereotypes and judgmental views of society. The three modern families are unique in their

own way, but each of their performances is terrific. Though the characteristics of each family are different in numerous ways, the portrayal of recognizable family life is entirely relat-able, and the situations that emerge are prepos-terously hysterical. For instance, in one episode, Mitchell is stuck in his company’s bathroom stall in a Spiderman costume. In another, a perfect family portrait instead becomes a much more memorable, muddy affair. Each episode leaves v iewers cons is tent ly satisfied. Senior Shan-non O’Hara remarked, “Modern Family gets me through the week.” E i r e n e K i m a l s o agreed, comment ing

“Modern Family has got to be the funniest show ever!” When asked who her favorite character was, Eirene stated, “I love Gloria…but Phil is also so hilarious…but Manny is so funny too!...I just love everyone on that show!” Modern Family airs every Wednesday on ABC7 at 8:00PM, but if you have never watched the show, buying the first season DVD or watching it online is highly encouraged. I can assure you that once you start watching Modern Family, you’ll never look back.


Arts

You’ve seen good movies. Mov-ies that made you stare blankly into space once they were over because you didn’t know how to get back to the bores of re-ality. Movies that gave you that inspiring little sensation that made you think: I need to change. Movies that made you text or tell all your friends that not watching this movie would be depriving themselves of joy. Black Swan is one of those movies. Black Swan revolves around ballerina Nina Sayers, portrayed by Natalie Portman who recently won the Golden Globe for best actress for the role. Obsessed with perfection, Nina wants her every move and technique to be flawless. And they are. But perfect techniques and perfect performances are drastically different. As Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel, puts it: “[Nina] could be brilliant, but [she’s] a coward.” Nina’s obsession for flawless technique is achieved, but her performance lacks the key component of feeling, a factor that a competing ballerina Lily, played by Mila Kunis, manifests with every move. Nina is selected for the role of Swan Queen for a ballet simulation of the classic Swan Lake, in which a pure, white swan queen descends into darkness due to the complications of love. Leroy

thinks Nina is an ideal selection for the performance, except, ironically enough, that she’s too perfect. Her moves flaw-lessly embody the white swan, but not the black. This problem is intensified by Nina’s dark counterpart Lily, who appears to be weaving her way into the mind of Leroy as perhaps the proper pick for the role of Swan Queen. As perfection is an ideal and not a reality, Nina fittingly goes through a series of hallucinations (or is it reality?) that make her lose her grip on what’s real. As she strives to become flawless, the world around her begins to crumble and an inner psychological battle tor-ments her attempts to impress Leroy. A myriad of questions arise as the film’s plot progresses, and the psychological thriller keeps viewers on edge. There are points in the movie in which the protagonist’s whole world crashes down as the grand performance looms closer, and during the actual performance, Nina finds herself in a situation that seems impossible to escape. Fittingly enough, Nina’s grand finale performance answers all the inqui-ries that arise, but that feeling of having all questions satisfied can only be felt by watching the movie. Let’s just say that the ending is…perfect.

Black Swan SoarsBy Ben Chon Features Editor

Natalie Portman stars as the lead ballerina.

In my fantatic obsession with reading, I pre-ordered a book. I don’t normally buy books, so I demanded this one be great. Fallout, by Ellen Hopkins, is the third book in the Crank trilogy. Written entirely in verse, this sequel highlights a young woman’s (Kristina Snow) addiction to crystal methamphet-amine: the Monster. While the first two books, Crank and Glass, are written from the perspective of Kristina, detailing her experiences, Fallout is written in the point of view of her three eldest children. Hunter is the oldest child. His main mo-tivation throughout the story is ultimately to keep those around him content. Autumn, Kristina’s second child, finds herself unsure and often doubting her origins. A fifteen year old girl, Summer has been shipped between foster homes for her entire life. While these three books are all based on the very true story of Hopkins’ daughter and her dance with the Monster, Hop-kins’ other books for young readers also touch very personal teenage topics. For example, the book Tricks features five teens as they try to survive, and how they all separately turn to prostitution in order to help. Impulse, the story of three teens equally traumatic (but completely different) suicide attempts. Identical, a description of twin sisters, and a father who only abuses one of them.

While it’s true that these books are entirely taboo, they’re amazing. I know, it’s a book: how could it be amazing? Hopkins describes teenage life with perfection...she hits on subjects that really could happen, to you or your best friend or anyone. And while things such as teenage prostitution are not common in the Bubble that we live in, they DO happen in the real world. While each of these books has its own main theme, the underlying theme is always love, and how it ebbs and flows between the characters.

The poetical aspects of the writing only enhance the reader’s experience, using such spectacular, raw imagery so that one feels as though they are in the book, as each character or as their cheerleader. Hopkins also plays with the format of her words, teasing them in such a way that they become part of her art form. And of course, Hopkins’ surprises will make you gasp at the end

“Fountain of Smart” ReviewBy Ariel VaisbortSpartan Staff

By Erica MoorePhoto Editor

A great story is not always told through words in literature, a newspaper, art or science. It can be told through the musical diction of a band from Queens, New York. Freelance Whales, a band formed in 2008, is one of the few bands that is beginning to form its own index for indie music. Those who generalize indie music as a hipster’s excuse for an underground connection will most likely jump to conclusions after listening to just a couple songs. The soft male voice compared against a bevy of obscure instruments prove to ride atop the typical indie-pop bandwagon. Though, behind the facade of an alternative fad lies a characteristic looked over by most modern artists; Freelance Whales have created an album of songs that tells a story. The band ’s f i rs t a lbum Weathervanes was initially heard at an abandoned geriatric ward in a farm colony located somewhere on Staten Island. The abandoned ward housed the perfect situation for their haunted songs about a ghost. This album tells the story of a boy who meets the ghost of a young girl named Hannah haunting his childhood house. The young boy falls in love with her and becomes eager to learn more about her only to find she is intangible. His keen perception of her grows as he wonders if they’ll be together or if he’ll take her place when he passes on. Throughout the album, the songs follow the boy’s emotions and portray his feelings and thoughts of Hannah. From the upbeat tempo in “Starring”, where the boy describes the time he gets to spend with her in his nightmares, to the soft and calm rhythm in “Broken Horse”, a nostalgic song that reveals their experiences together. The instruments used to manifest his emotions range from banjos to synthesizers. After their first album was released, Freelance Whales took to the streets of New York telling the stories from they’ve heard of the past through their songs. They are now touring the United States and Canada in hopes of inspiring new artists and contributing further to folk and indie-pop music. Their upcoming concerts in Los Angeles take place in Costa Mesa on November 16th, and West Hollywood on November 18th.

Freelance Whales

By Ben Chon Features Editor

A Modern Family for modern times

The three modern families


News Briefs

In January 2011, a sudden wave of street protests ousted the authoritarian president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled with an iron fist for 23 years. On January 14, Mr. Ben Ali left the country, after unsuccessful attempts at calming the demonstrators with promises of elections. The prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, ini-tially was supposed to take over the presidential powers but had to forget about that thought the very next day. He created a government of unity, bringing in members of the opposition to serve as an interim government until elections could be held.Source: New York Times

Obama hosted two dinners for the Chinese President Hu Jintao this month, the first an inti-mate dinner at the White House and another was a Grand State affair. Over the course the Jintao’s visit, Obama agreed to let China have more ac-cess to American high-tech products and trade. In return, China will open its domestic market for American products. Also, China brought up that the dollar should not be the currency of the global economy. On another note, the debate of human rights was discussed. “Nations are more successful when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people are upheld, including the universal rights of every human being.” Obama said in his welcome speech.

Quotes taken from The New York Times

After two days of delays because of adverse weather conditions, an unmanned Japanese rocket was launched Saturday on a mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket is carrying more than five tons of cargo, which includes food for astronauts. Docking at the Space Station is planned for Thursday.

Source: CNN

NASA announced plans on Thursday Janu-ary 20, 2011 to send the space shuttle Atlantis on its final mission on June 28. After this trip, the fleet plans to retire. NASA intends to fly the mission with orbiter Atlantis carrying a module to deliver supplies, logistics, and spare parts to the International Space Station. President Obama signed a bill authorizing the mission, but the agency’s budget for 2011 remains to be approved. As a result, the shuttle flight remains dependent on congressional authorization of additional funds.

Source: Yahoo News

On Wednesday January 19th, 2011, the 112th Congress made its first big move when the House of Representatives repealed Obama’s healthcare law which was passed last March by the 111th Congress. The House, led by new Speaker Republican John Boehner, voted 245-189 to repeal the Bill, sending it to the Senate, where its future is highly uncertain as the Demo-crats still hold a strong majority in the chamber, 51-47.

Source: Fox News

For years, Aussies have been fighting drought across their dry continent. This summer, however, they’ve had to combat horrifying floods which have all but submerged the prosperous northeast state of Queensland. Think Texas under water. At last count, 25 are dead and many more remain missing. The central business district in Brisbane, the state capital and Australia’s third-largest city, was sinking a few days ago. More than 15,000 homes there have been inundated. The Great Barrier Reef could face environmental disaster as the muddy brown plume has smothered vast areas of coral and fish. Thousands of deadly snakes and crocodiles and even some sharks have, as a result of the flooding, been washed into the streets of some coastal towns. Authorities estimate a damage bill of around $15 billion dollars.Source: Fox News

An apparent terrorist bombing Monday at Domodedovo International Airport near Moscow killed at least 31 people and left more than 130 injured. This suicide bombing incident may be one of many repeated attacks made by Islamic militants based in the Caucasus region. Flights from Germany and Britain were among those arriving about the time of the explosion and two British citizens were killed while one Italian, one French, and one Slovakian citizen was injured. In response to the tragic event, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered special security measures at Russian airports and other transportation centers. As of now, law enforcement agencies are looking for three suspects who caused the terror attack.

Source:

Nicolas Sarkozy’s supporters were surprised to learn that the French President would be stepping down next year. The fake announcement was reportedly the work of a hacker, who went on to reference another page, “Farewell To Nicolas Sarkozy,” which invited people to meet for end of term drinks at Le Fouquet’s restaurant, the same place that Sarkozy celebrated his election. Sarkozy’s Facebook page was reclaimed this morning, with a message stating that, “”My Facebook account was hacked into this evening, perhaps to remind me that no system is infallible,” according the AFP. He also stressed that he was, in fact, planning on running for president next year.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Since the devastating earthquake in Haiti last year, the American government has ac-cepted the majority of the 53,000 applications from Haitians seeking temporary legal status in the United States. A program called Temporary Protected Status was created in order to handle the large mass of immigrants. The program al-lowed Haitians who were in the United States on the day of the earthquake the right to stay and work legally for 18 months while Haiti tries to recover. Although the program will come to an end this July, the success has led the United States to want to create a program that would allow more immigrants into the country.

News reported by The New York Times

President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China visited Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago on Friday, January 21st. To improve China’s global image, Mr. Hu sought to visit one of the 60 American high schools that features a Chinese cultural-outreach program called the Confucius Institute. He will also attend an exhibition in Woodbridge, a Chicago suburb, by some of the local Chinese companies before returning to Beijing.

News reported by The New York Times.

Throughout our life we have always been told to never do drugs or steal. We have also been repetitively told to never touch what does not belong to us. Waldo Soroa, Matrix Andaluz, and a group of teenagers burglarized a woman’s home in Florida late December. They stole a variety of valuable items including an urn encompassing the remains of the resident’s father and two of her dogs. The suspects as-sumed the ashes were illegal drugs and told sheriffs they had snorted the remains, believing “they were snorting cocaine”. They got rid of the urn by tossing it into a river. The details of the burglary did not appear until the gang members were arrested for another robbery attempt. These teens learned to listen the hard way.

Source : www.NYDailsyNews.com

Australian Floods

House repeals Health Care Reform Bill

Terrorist Bombing In Moscow’s Busiest Airport

French President’s Facebook Gets Hacked

US Approves Haitian Immigrants

Chinese President Visits School in Chicago

Tunisian People over-throw Dictator

Obama hosts Chinese President

NASA Launces Space Shuttle

Japan Launches Unmanned Rocket

Burglars Learn the Hard Way

The death toll from the severe storms and mudslides in the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro has reached 803. About 400 residents are still unaccounted for some believed to be buried. Rescuers have been struggling to reach some isolated areas since the country’s worst natural disaster in decades hit the state on January 11. According to official figures, the disaster has affected some 70,000 people and 20,000 of them have been evacu-ated from their homes. Despite the poor state of the roads in the region, most areas can now be reached by vehicles. The cities of Nova Fri-burgo and Teresopolis were hardest hit by the disaster. President Dilma Rousseff on Friday released $239 million to Nova Friburgo. The total aid released by the federal government to the damaged state of Rio de Janeiro reached $658 million.

Source: New York Times

Severe Storms in Brazil


Features

By Jay LimSpartan Staff

The La Canada High School Boys Varsity soccer team has kicked through this season undefeated. Though there are many remarkable players on the team, two brothers truly help the team achieve their wins. Senior Aram Bagramyan and Sophomore Armand Ba-gramyan have been playing soccer ever since they can

remember. They learned to kick before they could walk. While Armand scores against every goalie in their league, no forward can pass Aram to attempt a shot. Both brothers are very committed to the sport of soccer and have traveled around the world to train and compete. Soccer is not just a sport, but a lifestyle which they have adopted.

Q: How would you explain the chemistry of the team?

Aram: Very strong, a lot of my teammates and I have been playing together since we were 11 years old. For seniors,we are playing to-gether in highschool for the last time, which gives us an edge. Armand: The chemistry of the team is great. Since so many of the teammates have been playing together for so long we have an ad-vantage.

Q: Goals for the season?

Aram and Armand: WIN CIF!

Q: Are you planning on play-ing soccer in college? Aram: Yes, I recently com-mitted to Long Island Uni-versity. I am excited to play for a Division I school! Armand: Yes, but I’m not sure where yet since I’m only a sophomore.

Q: Who inspires you to play soccer? Aram and Armand: Our dad

has inspired us. He has motivated the sport since day one and wehave loved it ever since.

Q: How do you and your brother help each other in soccer? Aram: We have been play-ing together since he started playing soccer. We prac-tice together one on one which helps improve our game. Armand and I play opposite positions which helps strengthen each of our skills.Armand: We train together when we’re bored at home and he pushes me to be the best because he believes I have the potential to be the best one out there on the field.

Q: What are your views of your brother playing soc-cer?Aram: He is the best player in the world for his age. Armand is already beating up on all the seniors in the league. He is better than any forward out there, in-cluding the seniors in our team.Armand: He is one of the best defenders out there. He will never stop running and works the hardest out of all the players. I love playing

with him.

Q: What other teams have you played for? Aram: WCFC, LAFC, Barce-lona FC, Stars and Stripes USAArmand: Currently I play for the pateadores academy U-16. I have also played for: WCFC, LAFC, FC Bar-celona

Q: Do you like playing on the same team as your brother? Aram: Yes, the most enjoy-able thing I’ve ever done. Armand: Yes, because he knows me the best and this will be the only opportunity in our high school years to play on the same team.

Q: Has he changed the way you play?Aram: Big time, I have more to play for! Armand: Yes, because he pushes me the hardest to become the best. His pres-sure enables me to do well on the field.

Q: How do you feel the rest of the season will proceed? Aram and Armand: Our team will go undefeated in season. We are very posi-tive about CIF and winning the championship.


Sports

An oil spill for the Spartans, 57-64

By Derick AbedianBusiness Manager

A conversation with the Bagramyan Brothers

By Paulina GaloostianSpartan Staff

Drum line widely known for its intricate mu-sic and melodic playing is a special part of the music department. Now senior and captain Ryan Leeka, and his team are trying their best to spread the music one beat at a time. Ryan has idolized former drum captain Mindy Lee since his freshman year, who was one of his main influential figures, as he himself strived to be a drum captain. Drum line is practicing hard every week to represent our music department on the national stage. Last year, our drum line team had a great run through numerous competitions across South-ern California and now this year they are gearing up to compete in higher level competitions. In April, they will compete in WGI Cham-pionship in Dayton, Ohio.

Q: How is drum line looking this year?A: Drum line’s looking good this year. We have a well written show and the group is really motivated to throw down this year.Q: How does the competition look?A: Competition this year is going to be pretty challeng-

ing. We will be traveling to Dayton, Ohio for the WGI Championship which fea-tures competition of around 60 schools from around the country. The best of the best go to Dayton.Q: What are some individual achievements?A: Well drum line is a team effort. We won 1st place in the Open Division Cham-pionships of the American Drum Line Association last year. Q: Are going to play the drums in college?A: I don’t plan to play in college bands, however, I might join Drum Corps which is an independently

funded program that takes guard, brass, or percussion players after high school. Q: What are the changes from last year?A: Our show will be pro-fessionally written by Ti Jackson who is one of the best writers out there.

Ryan Leeka marches to success in drumline

The Auburn Tigers faced off against the Oregon Ducks for the prestigious BCS championship title on January 10, 2011, in front of the largest crowd ever in history at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Both teams had phenomenal undefeated sea-sons. But in the end, one team fell short and the other team triumphed. Monday night’s BCS Championship Game wasn’t the shootout that everyone predicted, but it was the nail-biter that everyone wanted. Cam Newton and La Michael James, arguably the two best players in

ollege football, squared off for another great game. The first quarter was a huge surprise to many fans that expected a large scoring game, as it was a very slow start. The Auburn defense throughout the game stopped the explosive tailback La Michael James who rushed for a season low of 49 yards. The Auburn defense had many great stops in the red zone, which was led by Nick Fairley, a hard hitting defensive tackle, and in the end the defense was a key part to the Auburn victory. It was not a surprise when the Heisman winner, Newton, completed 20 of his 34 pass attempts finishing with 265 yards and 2 touchdowns, also running the ball for 65 yards which was more than the Heisman finalist James. What was surprising

was how the explosive James couldn’t find any holes in the Auburn defense throughout the game. By the fourth quarter, the Ducks were obviously off their game, throughout the season the Ducks led the NCAA with the highest scoring fourth quarters. The Ducks outplayed their opponents 115-24 all season long in the fourth quarter, but in the championship game they failed to score until the last touchdown in the fourth quarter. I guess in the end that last two point con-version wasn’t as important for the Ducks, who needed one more stop to the Auburn offense. But freshman running back Michael Dyer went off with two game winning runs for Auburn. With one controversial play, which

looked like he was down but his knees never touched the ground so he ran further into the Auburn territory. In the end it seemed a little anti-climatic because it was only a 19 yard field goal, and with two seconds left, kicker Wes Byrum wasn’t going to pull a Boise State last second mishap instead he nailed the little chip shot in, which gave the Tigers their first National title since 1957 and the SEC won the BCS championship five years in a row. Although I would have preferred a forty yard field goal for the win, but a fourteen yard chip shot was still a good way to finish off the college football season. Auburn’s de-fense out matched the Oregon offense and it was an exciting dual all night between the top two teams with Auburn winning 22-19.

Wrap-up: BCS National Championship Game ends as expectedBy Jay LimSpartan Staff

Photo by Erica Moore

Photo by Paulina Galoostian

The Spartans have one of the best basketball teams in the Rio Hondo league. This season, the Spartan basketball team has a record of 12 wins and only 2 losses. They have participated in numerous tournaments in the San Gabriel Valley, including one at La Cañada High School. They have also played games against Marshall, Crescenta Valley, Montebello, and St. Francis. Unfortunately, they lost their most recent game, 57 to 64, to Montebello, who they had lost to once before.

Joe Zarefsky, a guard on the team remarked, “We came out strong in the beginning, but we lost it in the fourth quarter.”

Though there were many good plays executed by both teams, Matteo Guarnaccia said, “We did not play as a team.”

Key players Sean Mintie and Mikey McGlashan really kept the team going. Mintie skillfully at-tacked the hoop from below with powerful post moves. McGlashan kept the other team on their toes

with his three pointers. The team started out well, but began to show weakness as times passed. CiVon, a guard for the Spartans, was not playing as well as he usually does. He did not shoot as well as he usually does, missing many open outside shots.

Surprisingly, Coach Hoff-man only stuck to one specific playing type, risking the success of the Spartan team. There was little to no variation in the plays that the team used throughout the game. Vaughnt Yetenekian, an important bench player for the Spartans, did not play as much as he had in previ-ous games:

“We could have won if more players played,” Vaughnt remarked, “I am not surprised that we lost.”

There is still an entire sea-son for the Spartans in the next couple of months. Their next game is Wednesday, January 19th against Monrovia. There is no doubt that the Spartans will remain strong for the remainder of the season.

On January 6th, La Canada wrestling took

on Monrovia in their first league match of the season. The highly anticipated competition went back and forth, however the Spartans prevailed 34-33. Thursday’s victory against Monrovia, which is the first since 2008, has made La Canada the team to beat in the Rio Hondo League. “It’s always a tough match against Monrovia,” explain Head Coach Williams “It was a close victory but one we cherish.” Junior Marty Vardanian got the Spar-tans off to an aggressive start by wrestling through all 3-rounds. Perhaps the most inspir-ing moment of the night came when Senior Austin Devine pinned his opponent in the first round. Austin went undefeated in league last year and continues to be one of the most dominant heavyweights in school history. Senior Josh Dong fought his op-ponent Kimoni Pollard, a CIF runner-up, to a standstill but lost on points. Dong gave the star a fight he won’t soon forget. Junior Brian Streeter reignited the crowd with a 21 second pin. The hapless Monrovia freshman was powerless to stop the advance of the third-year varsity player.

“From the time we lined up, I could tell he wasn’t as prepared as I was, so I just took him down,” stated Streeter after the match.

However the Wild Cats stormed back and the Spartans found themselves down 24-30 with four matches to go.

Team Captain Chris Bache domi-nated his match by a score of 15-3 The Senior controlled his opponent by keeping him on the mat for nearly five minutes straight. The “major

victory,” which gave the team 4-points instead of 3, was crucial to La Canada’s win.

“I just wrestle and winning takes care of itself,” explained the CIF favorite Bache.

Next up was LC’s other Team Cap-tain, Chris Soohoo. The resilient senior wres-tled against Monrovia despite a knee injury. Although Soohoo led most of his match, a last second throw by the Monrovia player sent it into overtime. With the crowd on its feet, the La Canada’s “chosen one” took his opponent down a minute into the sudden death period, allowing the Spartans to take a 31-30 lead.

“He’s my captain for a reason,” stated Coach Williams.

Senior Patrick Kim came next. The 171-pound senior controlled his opponent for 3 full rounds. Kim clinched La Canada’s victory as the referee signaled a pin at the buzzer. But wait. After much Monrovia protest, the referees conferred at the scoring table and concluded the pin came after time had expired. The frenzied crowd and the team would have to endure one last match.

“I thought we had it,” stated Coach Williams, “I thought we had [the pin] for 20 seconds”

With the Spartans up 34-30, a pin was Monrovia’s last chance for a win. The en-tire match, perhaps even the league title, now rested on Senior Luke Sanborn’s shoulders. Monrovia wrestler aggressively jumped out to an early lead; however a victory on points would not be enough. The evening reached a dramatic climax when the La Canada star flipped onto his back and had to fight his way out of a pin. With the crowd counting down on its feet, the clock expired and La Canada survived 34-33.

The Spartans continue their run at a league title against South Pasadena on January 28th.


Sports

Despite busy schoolwork and lives, the LC Girls Varsity Water Polo team members have been giving it their all. The Spartans commit immense time and effort six days a week for two hours, undoubtedly earning them the title of a dedicated team.

The Varsity Water Polo team headed by Coach Mozer is part of the Rio Hondo League which consists of San Marino, Temple City, Monrovia, Burbank, and South Pasadena. The team plays an average of two games each week, and once, they played seven games in one week. So far, the team has been doing well this season as they recently beat Monrovia High School on January 11. The LC victory was close with a score

of 12-11 and Captain Rita Neat helped her team achieve the feat.

“It is the most fun after we win a game and head home in the bus. We really have strong teamwork and have a great time together,” said sophomore Masha Karelina.

Currently, the Water Polo team must place 3rd in regionals in order to qualify for CIF in March. Consequently, the girls are in the water, rain or shine.

Sophomore Louis McNicoll ex-pressed, “After practice or games, I’m so tired that I sleep as soon as I get home. But its worth sticking with the team and not letting it down.”

Although the sport may be physically and mentally draining, the LC Water Polo team continues to enthusias-tically swim and play in competitions for its pure love of Water Polo. With intense commitment, teamwork, and passion, the LC Spartans are well on their way to great accomplishments.

Update: La Cañada Girls’ Varsity Water Polo


LC Wrestling pins Monrovia 34-33By Michael BelcherSpartan Staff

3 on 3: Basketball Tournament

Seniors Jay Kolina, Mason Holle, and Kath-erine Ring triumphed as The Lakers in the “3 on 3” basketball tournament and scored free tickets to Backwards 2011. Sponsored by the senior class, the tournament took place on Thursday, December 13.

At 3pm, the 10 participating teams were on the courts, warming up and posing for team portraits. In an effort to raise money for the Backwards and the senior gift, each team was required to pay $15. Each team could have no

more than one varsity basketball player. As an added caveat, each team required at least one female team member.

Other teams included Ethnic (com-prised of Patrick Moore, Maanika Keesara, and Andrea Chin) and Pretty in Pink (Cami Lopez, Matteo Guarnica, and Daleep Sandhu).

“The three on three [tournament] was such a success! We made a hefty amount and I had so much fun with team Pretty in Pink who got 2nd place,” said Senior class president.

The organizer and emcee of the event, Derick Abedian, said, “The event was extremely successful since we raised over $200!”

By Terese RutkowskiEditor-In-Chief

It is not uncommon for a student at LCHS to be athletic. It is also not uncommon for an LCHS student to be strong academically. It is however extraordinary for a student to be a national-caliber athlete and it is amazing for someone at LCHS to be an Ivy-League level student. It takes a special kid to be both national caliber athlete, and an Ivy Leaguer. LCHS senior Christian Renfro is a special kid. Renfro is a swimmer, and although he has only been competitive in the sport for four years, he has already created a legacy for himself as

one of the greatest swimmers ever to grace La Canada High School. “This kid is really special” said swim coach Art Lopez “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a swimmer with so much talent.” Renfro began swimming in 9th grade, and immediately showed immense aptitude for the sport. “I had been around swimming my entire life” Renfro explained “I saw my brother compete for years before me, so when I finally got into the water, I already knew what I was doing.” Indeed he did know what he was doing. In his rookie swim season, Renfro qualified for CIF championships, and led Spartans to victory. The following year he qualified again, and led the team to a second consecutive championship. In addition to having to two

CIF rings under his belt, Renfro has a slew of other accomplishments in swimming. Last year he qualified for sectional championships and attended junior nationals. In 2008 he placed second in all of CIF in the 200 freestyle. His proudest accomplishment though was racing on a relay with US Olympic athletes over the summer. “It was amazing swimming with the best swimmers in the world. They set a bar for me.” said Renfro of the experience. Renfro is not sure how far swimming will take him, but he could go as far as the Olympics. “Right now I am close to making Olympic trials.” Renfro said. “I just have to decide whether or not I want to dedicate myself to this sport to make it to London.”

In addition to being an amazing athlete, Renfro is also a very strong student. Throughout high school, he maintained a very high GPA, and participated in several extra-curricular act iv i t ies. Because of h is s t rong academics and swimming, he will attend Brown University in the fall. “I’m really excited to go to college, I think it will be an amazing experience.” said Renfro. Renfro is not sure what he wants to do when he is older, but he is sure he wants to help people. “I would like to pursue a psychological degree, and then go into educational reform. I think that is how I can help people out the most.” said Renfro What ever Renfro decides to do, I’m sure he’ll succeed at it. He truly is an exceptional student and athlete.

Renfro’s on his way to Brown University

By David BelcherSpartan Staff

Photo By Erica Moore

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Enter a world of light and color by visiting the Museum of Neon Art in Down-town Los Angeles. This off-beat museum features art in a different form—not the paint, canvas, or sculpture you’d be expecting. Instead, this place exhibits vibrant lights in unusual ways. See Keith Herring-like people combined synergiscally in motley illuminations. Flowers, geometric shapes, and almost any figure combine together for an awesome light show of luminosity. The museum provides for an enlightening sphere of thought as the dark lighting and neon outlines contrast to create an ambiance for good vibes.

In the future, the museum will be moving its location to Glendale across the Americana at Brand. Kinetic and light art will be just ten minutes away from our town. For now though, MONA in Los Angeles is still the place to visit. The museum is located on 136 West 4th Street, Los Angeles, in between Spring St. and Main St. The cost of admission with a student I.D. is $5. The price is well worth this unique experience.

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Volume XXI Issue 4

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