Along with the coming of the new school year came also a new timetable for early release Mondays and for the starting time of schools. The starting time changes were made due to a new transportation schedule. The early release scheduling changes were partially due to parental complaints regarding the incon-sistent schedule of previous years. The imposition of a new club day schedule was intended to address teachers’ con-cern for loss of instructional time. Sub-mitted by a committee of seven teachers (three IB and four traditional) randomly chosen during the pre-planning period in late August, the new schedule calls for bi-monthly club days every other Thursday instead of monthly club days in which ev-ery club meetings. Every club day has an extended homeroom of 70 minutes, with two 30-minute club meets. CTSO, SGA, Honors Club and NHS meet on the fi rst club day of the month, and service and interest clubs meet on the other. “This schedule is on a trial-basis and will be reevaluated at the end of the se-mester,” said Dennis Donaldson, As-sistant Principal of Administration and Athletic Director. “I have been receiving mixed reactions from the students and teachers.” The teachers’ committee was formed to address the issues regarding the scar-city of instruction time during club days following the old schedule. In past years, teachers have expressed concerns that club days completely take away teaching time due to the large number of students who are involved in club organizations. “The main goal was to maximize class time, since the primary function of a school is to learn and achieve,” said Jeffrey Halle, a member of the teachers’ committee. “It is in the best interest of the students and we formed a collabora-tive effort among the teachers to share our concerns.” Despite the increase in instructional time, some aspects of the new plan pres-ent itself as...CONTINUED PG.3

Last week, students and faculty may have noticed the spray paint on the grassy area in front of the cafeteria. Red and blue curves outline an area that will function as a garden in which students can relax and study, teachers can take their classes on a break from air conditioned rooms, the culinary program can enhance its cooking with herbs, the administration can host memorial ceremonies, and visitors can admire the hard work of a school just over half a century old. “It will give the students something to look forward to,” said Cassie Miles, veterinary assisting teacher and Future Farmers of America sponsor. She and agriculture teacher Alan Boatman have spearheaded this garden project. Togeth-er they have already devised a diagram for the garden, which borrows some inspiration from the Florida Botanical Gardens. Even so, Boatman attributes the initial idea of a central garden to principal Michael Rowan, who arrived at the beginning of the school year with a host of reform proposals, including the successful reintroduction of the Columbian blue on school T-shirts. That same blue is the color of the paint chipping off the benches in front of the cafeteria. The benches were installed when the school fi rst opened, Miles said, and the left bench has been so worn out that it needs metal supports. Face the cafeteria, and stand in the walkway at the midpoint of those Columbia blue benches. That is the entrance to the garden-to-be that Boatman predicts to be complete by next spring. Look up, and one sees the lion mascot, surrounded by plants and maybe even on a platform. With the added benches, teachers can hold classes here in the midst of a green- Eden courtyard. It is a small meadow fi lled with mostly perennials interspersed with fruits and vegetables. Herbs such as oregano, dill and mint provide budding student chefs with ingredients for delectable dishes.

The palm trees to the left remain, but the trees to the right have been replaced by shade trees—likely mango or kumquat. Then one encounters a raised garden, which creates a border. Students are not allowed to go beyond that border because the restricted section is where the delicate ornamental plants are. Be-sides, the landscape tilts upward and would not be conducive to walking. Though separation exists, railings are clearly missing. Miles frowned when she mentioned them. Because of their restrictive quality, the railings are nonexistent in the diagram for a garden that is supposed to promote an open and inviting atmo-sphere.

The majority of the non-walking area teems with eight species of Florida native grasses. A row of pungent but welcoming plants line the edge of the garden touching the walkway that runs by the cafeteria doors. But right now, the garden remains intan-gible and in a few innovators’ minds, still in its early planning stage. Miles likened the project to a baby “still learning to crawl.” After measurements have been taken for designated areas for specifi c plants, Miles and Boatman will enlist the help of all students. Practically, they cannot complete a garden by

themselves and only the students they teach in this school year. “We’re thinking of breaking the area up into sections and get-ting clubs to work on them,” Miles said. “The goal is to have all the clubs, students, any classes to get involved.” As Boatman puts it, the project will be the student body’s “chance to own a piece of the school.” By dedicating time and effort into planting and nourishing herbs, fl owers, grasses and trees, individuals and clubs will have a vested interest in the garden’s success. The project is funded in part by a $500 Florida Agri-culture in the Classroom grant, which will buy both plants and hardscape (which includes the raised garden materials)....CONTINUED PG.3

The goal is to have all the clubs, students, any classes to get involved.

- Cassie Miles, Veterinary Assisting Teacher.

Look Inside ...

Volume Issue51 3 December 2011C. Leon King High School

6815 N. 56th Street Tampa, FL 33610 813-744-8333

Club Day scheduling causes

confl ict

News EditorBY XIAOYI REN

1-5|News 6-7|Opinions 8|Clubs 1b-5b|Features 6b-7b|Sports 8b|Holiday Feature

ScepterThe C. Leon

King High

TheBulletin

School beautifi cation plans take root

PLANTING IDEAS - The colorful map of the future herb garden (above) plans out the locations of various plants, such as the kumquat tree (right), that will be introduced to the school grounds. Cassie Miles and Alan Boatman started the idea of a garden in the area outside the cafeteria in an attempt to help bring students together and beautify the campus.

In a seven-year initiative, the School District of Hillsborough County has en-tered its second year under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching grant. This $335 million endowment has offered Hillsborough County $100 million in aid and has caused the system of evaluation for teachers to become more of a focus. Although the concept of the program has excited several professionals on campus, a question has been raised as to whether or not the tools being implemented to rate

teachers are fully effective. Under the new system, the principal’s written statement of an educator accounts for 30% of a teacher’s evaluation, a peer mentor’s evaluation accounts for 30%, and student achievement gains account for 40%. However, it should be clarifi ed that peer evaluations are not conducted by co-workers, but instead by evaluators trained by the district. According to the St. Petersburg Times, while visiting Tampa last month, donor Bill Gates offered insight on his ventures: “The sense of progress, the sense of im-provement is really phenomenal, and I do

believe this is how it should be done na-tionwide.” Rubrics for evaluation are available for viewing on the district website and range in requirements from use of technology to classroom culture. Some students feel that teachers often conform to these rubrics for evaluators and that when they try to change for the long term, the change is too drastic for some students and teachers to adapt to. “When technology came into our history class last year, the lessons lost their person-ality because the lectures we had before had stories in them that made learning the subject easier....CONTINUED PG.3

New teacher evaluations contribute to merit-pay debateEditor-in-Chief

BY SAHIL SHAH

Content EditorBY AMY CHENG

WATCHFUL EYE - Assistant Principal for Curriculum Yinka Alege observes students in Bonnie Fanelli’s AVID class. Administra-tors have had to increase teacher evalua-tions as part of the new grant.

Scepter2 December 2011

Math department head Virginia Roebuck was declared the school’s Teacher of the Year at the end of November. The current school year is her second back to the school after her previous long-term stay occurring between 1960 and 1964. As an alumnus of the school’s fi rst graduating class, Roebuck deems this recognition special and valu-able at a personal level. “I am exceptionally honored to receive this opportunity to represent King,” Roebuck said, “and I sincerely believe that it is because I love our school, and it shows.” Roebuck’s high school experience was a distinguished one. High school in the 1960s consisted only of grades ten through twelve. Grades seven through nine were included in junior high, and elementary school ranged from grade one to six. Middle school did not exist. However, a unique change was made in 1960, when the school fi rst opened and recruited ninth graders as high school students. Other-wise, the school would only contain two grades, and there would not be a suffi cient number of students. “There were only about 960 students when I was a stu-dent here, a little less than half of what we currently have,” Roebuck said.

Despite the small student population, Roebuck was actively involved in extracurricular activities. Not only was she the co-editor-in-chief of the fi rst Scepter staff, but she also engaged in drama and chorus for four years. Not nearly as large as the current Pride choir, the Choral Mu-sic Program was the fi rst version of the school’s musical group. “Coincidentally, we performed The Diary of Anne Frank during my senior year for drama club, and I played the role of Mrs. Frank,” Roebuck said. “I fi nd it very inter-esting how just recently the thespian troop also performed this play.” Roebuck is distinguished for her optimistic spirit and pride for the school. She feels that it is important to feel happy about where she is and to have passion for job. “I have a positive attitude being here,” Roebuck said. “I truly love teaching, and I truly love the students.” The process of selection is on a nomination basis, in which teachers recommend three colleagues whom they believe best represent the school. Any candidate chosen as the fi rst nominee receives three points, and the second and third candidates receives two points and one point, respec-tively. Every candidate receives a tally of points, and the teacher with the most points receives the award.

Other awards include the Instructional Support Em-ployee of the Year, which is determined by the votes of faculty and support staff. People eligible to receive this award include custodians, cafeteria employees, bus driv-ers, attendance clerks, and any non-teacher employees. The recipient this year is Lourdes Rodriguez, a daytime custodian. “She is so thorough and attentive that we will always see her cleaning the fi eld and working very diligently,” said James Taylor, Assistant Principal of Student Affairs. The Ida S. Baker award recognizes an individual who reaches out to a diverse student population, and the re-cipient this year is guidance department head Sally Holt-Smith. All school winners will be acknowledged formally by the district in February, when each submits an application for the annual district awards. The district winner selection process will be strictly based on the written submissions. One of the most critical factors is the ability of the appli-cant to represent his or her school distinctively. Roebuck’s enthusiasm and her long history with the school make her a unique candidate.

Content EditorBY AMY CHENG

Teacher of the Year demonstrates school spirit, pride

Curtains opening to several rows of musicians on Dec. 6 began the annual Orchestra Winter Concert. Santa hats sat jauntily on several heads scattered throughout the chairs. As the Concert Master, senior Kun Cao, stepped up in front of the full orchestra, strings from all sides of the stage and tones of the staff began to tune, rising into a single, sustained “A”. Although the 75 audience members were outnumbered by the students on stage, the crowd listened to all seven holiday-themed pieces, respectfully applauding after each one. Bows rose in unison to renditions of Feliz Navidad and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, dancing to the harmonies created from each section. One of the pieces, Do You Hear What I Hear, was con-ducted by junior Boya Wang. Students are able to conduct the orchestra as a part of their portfolios for application as a Master Musician, and Wang is the second musician to do so this year. “Overall, [the performance] was all right,” said Wang. “To improve, we need to work on dynamics, articulating, and intonation through practice.” Practice was a prevalent issue leading up to this concert; many students practiced music for only a few hours before performing.

“It was obvious in class that they weren’t practicing as much as they should have been,” said Orchestra Director Dr. Dakeyan Graham, “but I didn’t cut any songs just be-cause; if they want to play unprepared, that is their image out there.” However, the lack of preparation did not impede the concert. For freshman Brianna Massaline, mistakes were able to be corrected as the show went on. “At one point, I was completely off, like a whole meas-ure behind,” Massaline said, “but I was able to fi x it and

catch up.” Just one of a plethora of performances the orchestra will perform this year, the Winter Concert marks an end to thematic shows based around holidays, a welcome change for Graham. “I’m ready to get into the nitty-gritty of perfecting a piece instead of just preparing a concert,” Graham said. The next concert will be in the spring, inspiring more practice from the students to create a show as festive as the red holiday hats this winter.

Orchestra Winter Concert plays for holiday cheerProduction Manager

BY KIMBERLY CARLIN

NOTES SO BRIGHT - The orchestra players tune their instruments before beginning the Winter Concert. Although many students admitted that they could have practiced more, the audience still left the show satisfi ed.

For the fi rst time ever, the Student Government Asso-ciation (SGA) is organizing a winter formal. Planned for Jan. 28, 2012, the winter formal will be the second dance hosted this school year. Hoping to be a faciliator of excite-ment for the new semester, the dance is a change that has been received well by students. “This year will be a trial run, and hopefully, if every-thing goes well, then it can become a tradition," said SGA president Emily Kolilias, "That is what we are aiming for."

Kolilias and the other members of the junior class SGA have had a large hand in planning the logistics of the dance, a feat which made SGA sponsor Jessica Kight proud. “I’m just really proud of how the junior class continues to pull together despite all the hardships they have had to face, and still stay strong, stick together, and carry out eve-rything they do with passion,” Kight said. Both Kolilias and Kight say that one of the reasons SGA is planning this dance is to continue bridging the gap be-tween IB and traditional students by sponsoring an event that is open to the entire school population.

SGA hopes that this dance will have more attendees than homecoming, primarily because of its low cost. They believe that a lot of students passed on homecoming be-cause of its expensive price, and therefore hope that the price range will make a difference. Other reasons that SGA expects the dance to attract more attendees include the timing and the holiday spirit of the dance. “It’ll be a nice way for everyone to celebrate and hope-fully feel a little bit of the holiday spirit that’s left after break,” Kolilias said.

Student Government reinstates winter dance traditionMarketing Manager

BY VISRUTI SANKAR

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“Noah was his own unique person who dared to be different,” said junior Abigail Friedman, friend of Noah Kushner. It was a sentiment that echoed both before and after Kushner’s death by many who knew him. Kushner, a junior in the International Baccalaureate pro-gram, was found dead in Tampa on the morning of Nov.15 after the clerk at a nearby gas station called the police to say that he saw someone lying on the basketball court. Kushner was well-known as an exuberant extrovert who, as Friedman put it, “made others see the beauty in mundane things.” Both International Baccalaureate and traditional stu-dents remember Kushner for his daily ritual of holding the door of the 100 hallway for an entire passing period as well as for the creativity and effort he obviously put into his attire during spirit week. “We’ll always be missing his presence because the empty feeling will never go away and we won’t have all the spirit Noah brought, especially with his class colored capes,” said Nandita Kotwani, junior class President. Many regarded Kushner with respect for the way in which he embraced individualism. “Living is doing what you want and not caring what others think. Living is wearing a cape to school because no one can stop you. Living is wearing a pink dress on Dress Day because why not? Living is celebrating every single day, even Flag Day, Panda Day, Guyana Independence Day, etc. Living is being Noah Kushner,” said Salma Ab-

del Mageed, senior. Riding the bus with Kushner during her sophomore and junior years, Abdel Mageed has fond memories of his personality and the laughter his demeanor drew from any situation. “He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, he did his own thing, and I admire him for that,” said Michael Hutchison, IB biology teacher. Kushner’s death has been an even more heartbreaking experience for many of his classmates who went through the mourning of Calyx Schenecker, who if not for her mur-der in January, would also be an IB Junior this year. The school is mourning, but while looking into the past with heavy hearts and bittersweet memories, those who knew and loved Noah Kushner look to the future with the resolve to live life in the way Kushner lived his. “You really have to evaluate what’s important to you and how valuable your friends really are,” said Jeffrey Halle Jr., IB English teacher, in regards to a time of trag-edy. “The biggest ear-marks in the Class of 2013’s high school experience will most likely be the misfortunes they had dealt with at such a young age.” “I know our students cared about him, but they will move forward,” said Matthew Romano, Assistant Princi-pal for Magnet Curriculum. Taking a step forward, friends and family gathered at the Museum of Science and Industry on Wednesday Dec. 14 for a Celebration of Life ceremony in which they com-memorated the life Kushner led.

3December 2011 Scepter

Student death shakes school, community into grief

Beautifi cation con’t... As with any beautifi cation project, the purpose is “to make an area that’s not so good … beautiful,” Boatman said. The garden should be so beautiful that all students will take pride in it. The idea is that even visitors will know in-stantly that the garden is a pristine spot—without the grey railings to tell them.

Teacher Evaluation con’t......This case was unique though because most teachers do not completely change their curriculum for the entire year, but only change it when an evaluator is in the room,” said Senior Emilie Shoffstall. The selection for peer evaluators and teacher mentors affected the faculty last year as Talana Greene, show choir and Orchestra instructor, left the school to join the new district program. Although no administrators formally left campus to become evaluators, they often fi nd themselves taking time out of their schedule to conduct period-long evaluations based on the same rubric. “The district is looking at a way to improve the caliber of teaching that occurs in classrooms. It does take more time for administrators and teachers, but it focuses us on where we should have always been focused on, our pri-mary responsibility, which is to improve student learning,” Assistant Principal for Curriculum Yinka Alege said. In addition to the formal evaluations of teaching meth-ods, student achievement has also become more of an important factor in teacher pay and ratings. In the past, a major concern for teachers was the way that student gains were specifi cally calculated for their students, as well as the movement towards pay based off of test scores. The most controversial of the new terms for teachers is the fact that teacher pay will be partially affected by student achievement beginning next school year. Students fi nd themselves either arguing for the system to bring in-centives for teachers to become more adept educators or arguing against it because of student responsibility to use whatever tools teachers provide to do well on their own student initiative. “My friend [who attends another school] is really smart, so he already knows all of the material for his phys-ics class. His teacher, however, is a notoriously bad teacher who gets by merely because the students teach themselves. Thus, their test scores are not a refl ection of his teaching ability, but his students’ capacity to teach themselves,” Ju-nior Andres Saez said. Teachers are concerned about being evaluated, in part, based on test scores outside of the parameters of their cur-riculum. According to the District, the new value-added calculation produces a score for every teacher that com-pares his or her students’ growth to that of a typical teacher. “Hillsborough is a really exciting project for us because the district is very ambitious with the amount of testing

that it carries out; for another district we would have only looked at Mathematics and Reading scores,” said Nandita Gawade, a researcher for the Value Added Research Cen-ter (VARC) working to improve these past models. “The old model wasn’t a statistical model; it was assigning val-ues to gains in student test scores. We are trying to cal-culate these values based on predictions we make about student performance.” Echoing the program’s ultimate goal of increasing student achievement, more fi nancial opportunities have come to the district as the New York-based Wallace Foun-dation’s recent $12.5 million Principal Pipeline grant for professional training has added to the momentum created by Gates. Students hope that the district will be able to use the donated money to surpass objective goals while learning from recent failed merit pay initiatives, such as New York City’s Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program that was terminated this year. With the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement in mind, the evaluations and rating systems hope to fi nd the perfect balance. “We try to model the relationship between stu-dent performance and teacher input,” Gawade said.

Club Day Confl ict con’t...... challenges to the students. As members of multiple clubs, some students are forced by the new schedule to make a choice between which club meeting to attend. Pre-viously, students faced this dilemma only when they were involved in multiple clubs of the same category. However, with the new club schedule that places different catego-ries in the same period, the demand for decision making increases. “I am a member of both Legacy and American Red Cross,” said junior Brandon Harris, “but I just don’t go to Red Cross anymore because I have to go to Legacy.” In addition to the decision making, Harris also points out the ineffi ciency of time allocation of this new sched-ule. “Then during some periods, I just sit in homeroom for a very long time and do nothing,” Harris said. This confl ict is also very likely to infl uence future stu-dent involvement in clubs. Senior Mitchell Hayward is currently involved in three clubs, two of which, Green Club and Pre-Collegiate, meet during the same period. “I would not have joined both clubs if I knew this schedule earlier,” Hayward said. “It kind of defeats the purpose of joining a club if we don’t even get to meet on club days.” As a reaction to these objections, the Inner-club Council (ICC) has formed a student petition committee of 25 stu-dents in early October. The purpose of this student com-mittee is to formulate a proposal to the administration in attempt to address the confl icts. “It seems that the extended homeroom schedule will remain intact, and the most we can do is to minimize the

amount of ‘damage’,” said Yiming Lin, president of ICC and vice president of Student Government Association (SGA). “We are pushing to extend homeroom for another 30 minutes, meaning each club will then have 45 minutes to meet, and we will try to alter the combination of clubs so that popular clubs do not clash.” Lin notes that one of the main problems is the confl ict between National Honors Society (NHS) and other honors club such as Tri-Am, Beta Honors, Spanish and French Honor Societies. The anticipated change is to replace the current NHS/honors club combination to a CTSO/NHS ar-rangement. Even though some believe that learning to prioritize is a real-life situation, a number of students feel that they are being restricted. “The new club day schedule takes away from kids the opportunity to socialize at school and the chance to interact with people that they will otherwise never meet,” said Jessica Kight, reading teacher and sponsor of ICC and SGA. Kight feels that learning is just one goal of school, and that providing grounds for students to meet people of dif-ferent backgrounds and diversity is another valuable fea-ture of school. The group looks forward to the response from the ad-ministration, hoping that a consensus can be reached. “We will try to give it a good balance and to come to some kind of medium,” said Donaldson. “The schedule is not etched in stone, but we will probably keep everything the same at least for this fi rst semester.” This trial schedule does not have a time limit, but the administrators promise to take a look at any valid reason-ing and proposals.

Sports Editor/ColumnistBY MARIGNY NEVITT & BRADEN SMITH

...CONTINUATIONS FROM PAGE 1

ILLUSTRATION BY JENA YOUNG

Not a day passes by when students are not fiddling around with their cell phones. The daily “gossip” from Facebook and Twitter is discussed amongst the various students at lunch. Even in the midst of a lecture by a teacher, students have time to sneak a quick text to friends in other classes. At home, social networking sites dominate our everyday lives with interesting statuses, creeping, and games like “Farmville”. What was considered a luxury throughout the world has now sparked into an ever-growing addiction to social networking. Our generation has become the drones for social media and marketing. Nearly twenty years ago, owning a cell phone and MP3 players were nonexistent. These intricate uses of social media did not appeal to the general population. Myspace did not exist. Mark Zuckerburg had not created Facebook. To actu-ally interact with students, it was required to call, mail, or hang out with the friends you wanted to meet. However, by the turn of the century, technological advancements would give birth to texting, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. Of course, these forms of media were not popular at the time of their developments, but it would only take a few years until their popularizations. Soon, many teens could be found us-ing iPods, cell phones, or constantly spending time on their computers. However, as we are about to enter 2012, has our genera-tion reached a point in which we rely on these forms of social media throughout our daily lives? Has the concept of con-necting with others transformed into instant messaging and using emoticons for expressions? “Of course, you can tell when people pull out their cell phones during a face-to-face conversation” junior Rebecca Wang said.

This inconvenient truth has spawned negativity amongst students who have dealt with such incidents. Other students find no harm in their friends using cell phones or com-puters while having discussion. “I wouldn’t mind students us-ing their cell phones because I would probably do the same to them at some point,” said sophomore Jed Rodriguez.

In addition, the use of texting with friends during classes has presented a risk for cheating during quizzes and tests. As a result, teachers have begun to crack down on students using cell phones for receiving answers. Amongst the various forms of social networking, there have been several productive uses for websites such as Fa-cebook. The introduction of groups have resulted in students collaborating for homework assignments or school projects. These sites become hubs for students who may have forgot-ten the page number for a homework assignment or need as-sistance on that one difficult problem. The development of social networking sites has proved to be a double-edged sword, allowing productivity for some students on one hand, but also creating a black hole sucking in other students for hours with games such as “The Sims 3” and “Words with Friends”. As a result, these sites become where teens and adults alike spill out every detail and event of their lives for the world to see. However, as society has observed with clothing, music, and technology, there are inventions that have a short-lived lifespan within our minds. Not all of our generation is sucked into this black hole of texting and status-posting.

Myspace, once a popular social networking site in the early 2000s, has died rapidly, bringing in little members as compared to the ever-growing number of Facebook users. As we enter a new era founded on technology, tools such Google + and Tumblr may eventually dissipate to new forms of net-working. Regardless of what the future may show, one key truth remains amongst the rubble and debris: social media has en-veloped most of our generation. We, as a society, text, tweet, poke, and post constantly throughout the country, and even throughout the world. There are clear signs of an addiction within our midst, and part of our generation is oblivious to this fact. Swiss playwright and novelist Max Frisch once said that technology is “the knack of so arranging the world that we don’t have to experience it.” Man should not forget the abil-ity to naturally connect with others due to technology. Those who do so are at risk of ignorance.

Staff WriterBY ANGEL KENNEDY

Across the world, the computers of everyone from young students to senior citizens are constantly connecting to the same Website. It is characterized by a blue background, many pictures and short random snippets of text that some-times lack any trace of grammar. Everyone knows the name of this website: Facebook. Facebook, Twitter and a slew of other social networking sites are dominating most of the nation, to some extent, the world as well. However, social networking is not the same as actual social interaction; talking vis-a-vis with other people gives a completely different effect. There are so many things social media cannot hope to replicate, such as physically seeing another person, viewing his or her body language and hearing his or her voice. “I prefer talking face-to-face, because you don’t always know what other people mean online,” said senior Quavion

Staff WriterBY HAOQING WANG

Scepter4 December 2011

Salem. Salem introduces an interesting point. Verbal communi-cation is ambiguous, but the communication done through social media is even more unclear. Things like sarcasm are almost impossible to detect in some cases. Is the person who commented on your Facebook status agreeing with you, or is he mocking what you said? Simple confusions such as this one can make a Facebook conversation a nightmare. “I might run out of things to say in an actual conversation, because I already said it online,” said sophomore Raymond Chen. Another concern some have with social media is the volume of communication that occurs. Social media make people communicate too much, discussing everything online and turning real conversations into hollow shells of what a conversation ought to be. Brittany Huber, junior, has a dif-ferent perspective on this same idea. “It makes it easier to talk to people face-to-face because

I talk to more people, more often [on social media],” Huber said. Of course, social media has many advantages as well, and this is certainly one of them. Social media brings local and global connectivity to a level that far surpasses what com-munications would be like without it. Social media allows one to interact with a far more diverse group of people than one would in person. Time is simply too limited to allow us to talk with everyone we know. In the end, we must consider the fact that social media is still developing. Facebook, a website with nearly a billion users, is not even a decade old. Compare this short existence with the time of society and civilization, which is thousands of years old. As time passes, we will see how these new changes affect life in general. Perhaps, in a thousand years, people will only talk to each other through electronic means. Perhaps, social media will simply be a fad that gradually fades away. The truth only comes with time.

– Sometimes finding an in-teresting blog is difficult. Technorati, the first blog search engine, makes that task much simpler. The site organizes blogs by popularity or subject, and one can even find news, entertainment, videos, and info-graphics on a variety of subjects because it has now expanded to become a full service media company.

A search engine can direct a web surfer to websites, but Stumbleupon directs members specifically to those matching their personal interests and preferences. When a member stumbles, quality is ensured by like ratings, and the pages displayed are those that friends and like-minded stumblers have recommended.

This site can provide a random fun fact, an interesting update on world news and/or a good laugh. The most popular stories are displayed first, as voted by members. An amusing “Today I Learned” section and adorable alien mascot can make anyone’s day.

A convenient browser button allows anyone to save web pages with a simple click. That way, one can “never lose a cool webpage again.” The search engine to find saved links is faster than Google’s.

Save, stack and share the web. A bookmarklet allows members to save links, which are or-ganized into stacks of common themes. Sharing links and discovering more on specific subjects becomes easier with this website.

Features EditorBY NISHA PATEL

The newer generations have a knack for technology. It is almost a trend dominated by the Facebook, Google, Twitter and the like. However, as me-dia permeates more and more of daily life, innovative but lesser-known web-sites appear. These five underdogs of social media each offer something unique to the common web surfer.

5December 2011 Scepter

Does the rushed and anxious feeling of trying to get through traffi c and stoplights to get to school as quickly as possible sound familiar? The seconds seem to race by as fast as the buildings pass. Yet, when you fi nally arrive at school, you fi nd yourself fi ve minutes late and locked out. The gates are closed, chained, and shut coldly with no way in. You go into panic mode. Should I park in the front instead? What if I get booted? Should I go to the offi ce and ask them to open one of the back gates? Should I just go home? This was the experience of many students when the administration decided to close every gate at seven forty on the dot. In the past, the outer gate right next to the baseball fi eld would be left open at all times. However, this gate also leads to the driver’s education range, and the traffi c of students arriving late would interrupt the student drivers on the course. Such is the reason that the administration decided to close that outer gate. Instead of choosing a dif-ferent gate to open, the administration deemed it appropri-ate to leave all the remaining gates closed as well. The administration justifi es this decision with school safety concerns, in that such policy would decrease the chance of trespassers wandering onto campus. However, in previous years, the gates have been left open without any

major damages done to the school. Furthermore, if a student driver is signed out early, he or she would need to go to the offi ce, and someone would be sent to open a gate. This system is very time consuming and ineffi cient. Another problem is that the gate closings are incon-sistent. Some mornings they are all closed, and other mornings one would be open, and yet, on another morn-ing, all the gates would still be open at eight o’clock. This inconsistency adds confusion to the already frustrated and anxious students who are on the verge of receiving a tardy. Many students remain puzzled as to what to do when locked out of the parking lot. If the administration was going to make changes to the gates, they need to make an announcement so that students will know what they should do. Also, they need to be consistent with leaving certain gates open or closed. There is no greater frustration than to turn into the school parking lot only to realize that the gate is closed. Students should also realize that it is their responsibil-ity to arrive to school on time. By doing so, you would not have to worry about which gates were open or closed. If students and administrators worked together, this issue can be easily solved. The confusion and frustration would disappear, and the mornings would seem just a little less bleak.

Empowering Effective Teachers. The very title conjures images of mighty teachers in front of captivated students. Win, win, right? Education has seen its fair share of ac-tive involvement on the part of others who may be good-intentioned but who lack expertise in teaching, testing and working with kids. Bill and Melinda Gates are well known for their involvement in and concern about education. The $100 million awarded to Hillsborough County has not gone unappreciated, but how much research did the county examine from local educational programs regarding how students best learn from their teachers? How much input did teachers have before a model was chosen? Teachers come in all packages. Some are funny, some are wacky, some are intense, some are rigid. It’s what makes the day interesting, and the variation of style allows different students to excel in a variety of subjects. Being in a class when a teacher is using technology or a group strategy because that teacher feels they are expected to is awkward for everyone. What about diversity of style? What happened to accepting that people have different ways to accomplish the same task? Teachers seem compelled to be changing their style for the sake of the EET rubric, but is that the right motivation for change? Some obvious positive outcomes have resulted from this new system. Teachers are required to post objectives which allow students to walk in the room and fi nd out what is happening in class. Agendas can be helpful in keeping students focused. On the fl ip side, because several teachers might use a room, the board space is often at a premium. Some of the rooms are plastered with visual overload, and it can be diffi cult to sort out what is applicable or most important. Rubrics are the effi cient way of guaranteeing minimal standards are met and that there is consistency in behav-ior. Standards are applied to students in the forms of the

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, End-of-Course Exams and even graduation requirements. One bar for all to meet. Effi cient, but devoid of any compassion for the nuances and differences that make the human spirit unique. The EET program functions much the same. It relies on accepted best practices based on research and publica-tions from Charlotte Danielson, an educational consultant who possesses degrees in history, philosophy, economics, and educational administration. It provides a rubric which labels what behaviors are considered most effective and labels teachers’ actions on a given day as exemplary, ac-complished, developing or requires action. Maybe the EET program would best serve new and inexperienced teachers or those who were not performing based on their students’ progress. It seems that teachers whose students are successful should not be made to feel that they need to change their method or style of teaching.

Editorial Policy The Scepter is published seven times per academic year by students in the journalism program at C. Leon King High School. Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily refl ect the opinions or policies of King High School’s faculty, administration, adviser, or student body. Students are permitted freedom of the press as granted by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This right is ac-knowledged in the Hillsborough County Student Handbook. Signed editorials and columns refl ect the views of the writer. Un-signed editorials represent the opinion of the Scepter editorial board. Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and should be signed. The editorial board reviews letters to the editor, advertising and guest commentaries and reserves the right to edit and refuse material. Rea-sons can include length, clarity, libel, obscenities, violation of copy-right laws,or the potential to disrupt the educational process at King High School.

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Publisher Florida Sun PrintingAdviser Christine Muñoz Principal Michael Rowan

“They want us dead,” said Bond calmly. “So we have to stay alive.” Fate landed under the bright lights in the form of a quarter and announced its choice with a voice almost as critical as that of a battle call. Tails. The opposing team had the advantage and picked their position. I saw my partner smile and automatically knew to choose to be the last speakers in the round. Although the tension grew with the increasing number of faces fi ling into the room, I reminded myself that in the charades of life, sometimes a smile can get you quite far. The class, sophistication and ease that we wished to show in that room reminded me of only one person from my past. Surprisingly, I never met this person but instead lived through him as I feverishly fl ipped through his story un-der the warmth of my fl ashlight. His name, you may ask? Bond, James Bond. Looking back through my experiences in high school, I have realized that one thing I was forced to give up to my escalating hopes for suc-cess was my time to read for leisure. Under the constant alternating masks of being a student, leader, friend, teammate, and go-getter, I forgot the love that is found in a simple tale of fi ction. Author Ian Fleming taught me a lot about the character that I would want to build for myself. Creating an alter ego in the James Bond charac-ter, Fleming stripped all the vices from his body and placed them into something which he left behind for us to continue on today. As I narrowed in on what I wanted my focus to be on, I realized that the concealed motive for what we do is a quest for truth. Losing, whether in debate or anything else, did not matter. I fi nally understood how it applied to us in that room: the basic factor of all human relations, is comfort. In debate, the success that I had only went as far as my partner’s abilities to comple-ment me. Even though the judges would have the fi nal say, the story would be the same as any other trial or tribulation, with just the details slightly different. Instead of the Bond Aston Martin sports car, our silver-tongued voices acted as an escape mechanism from defeat in this story. Instead of a harpoon gun, our words acted as the best way to retaliate. Just as Bond had fought for the truth, I vowed to do the same. Everything was interrelated, but what stood out to me was the fact that I had been infl uenced more by those childhood adventures than I had from 10 years of schooling. I want to live like Fleming did and in the end, “die of living too much.” Like fl ies caught in amber, the words that are inked onto the pages of his novels represent my past, present, and hopeful future. “Besides”- there was an edge of bitterness in her voice - “I would always be able to beat you. You want to stay alive.”

OpinionsScepter6 December 2011

The C. Leon

King High

Sahil Shah

Editor-in-Chief Sahil ShahProduction Manager Kimberly CarlinBusiness Manager Rachita DasCopy Editor Keerthi VengatesanContent Editor Amy ChengNews Editor Xiaoyi RenAssistant News EditorLolade Bakade

Features Editor Nisha PatelFeatures Assistant Eric Chao Editorials Editor Sheena Jain Photography Editor Sy-woei HaoGraphics EditorJena YoungSports Editor Marigny NevittSports Assistant Kunaal Murthy

Marketing Manager Visruti Sankar Columnist Braden SmithAdministrative AssistantSucheta Roy Web Specialist Haoqing Wang Staff WritersShivam Bharadwaj Neha PatilSerena KotwalRishi BolluNathan LoganAngel Kennedy

Staff WriterBY NATHAN LOGANNew parking policy requires consistency

Staff Viewpoint Empowering effective teachers, or the opposite?

Viewpoint 7

You walk through the door of the restroom to a line waiting for that one stall that actually locks and fl ushes. You walk in to see water splashed across the counter and fl oor, no soap or paper towels to properly wash hands with and a non-existent mirror. Yes indeed, it is a sanitary nightmare. You hear students converse over the need for a new vending machine or new sports equipment, but it seems rather out of the ordinary to hear students converse about the need for sanitary restrooms. A facility that is consistently tolerable, if not pleasantly clean with a fragrance of fresh citrus or fresh cut fl owers, has come to be one necessity that is valuable to students. Living in one of the cleanest countries across the world, it is the common belief that restrooms of all sorts, in the mall, in amusement parks, in movie theaters, business offi ces, and schools would not only meet cleanly standards, but also exceed those standards. School restroom facilities are no less different than those restrooms of third world countries. Nations that cannot produce enough revenue to support their econo-mies are expected to have lower standard restrooms, but unsanitary restrooms are defi nitely not expected in the most wealthy nations of the world. Students argue that the problem in the lack of sanita-tion in school restrooms is not due to the abuse of privi-leges by students, but rather the lack of maintenance by

the janitorial staff. Students across campus have come to value the restroom when it is in full working condi-tion. When the restrooms are in full service, students are not forced to hold in their urine due to the fear of unsanitary facilities. If students are forced to hold in their urine for the seven-hour school day, fi ve days a week, serious medical situations may prevail. While students do have a valid argument, adminis-tration argues that many of the conditions of the rest-rooms are needed in order to ensure academic success. They believe that mirrors in the restrooms prevent stu-dents from arriving to class in a timely manner as they spend too much time in the restroom during passing pe-riods adoring themselves in the mirrors. Having lavish facilities encourage students to use the restroom which also takes out time from the learning environment. Re-strooms are meant for the sole purpose of necessity, not to kill time or to skip class. Administrators and teachers both agree that the use of the restroom is becoming and abused privilege that students have. School is a place of academic achievement, not a fashion show. Restroom stalls that do not fl ush or are clogged, counters and the fl oor covered by water, and lack of toi-let paper and paper towels are an ongoing issue across campus that’s cause is s discrepancy among students and administration. Students need to understand the purpose of the restroom and not abuse the given privi-leges but at the same time administration should further enforce sanitary facilities.

Scepter

ColumnistBY BRADEN SMITH

The Times

Production ManagerBY KIMBERLY CARLIN

The holidays are upon us and the stress of making them perfect has snuck in the door, too. I must make the best holiday cookies and it is vital that I get my Secret Santa the most wonderful gift. We worry a lot about the holidays even though they are oftentimes our only time to relax. Whenever I fi nd myself stressed out over presents or baking or decorating, I simply remember a few of my favorite things about this time of year. Rain drops on roses are not very popular around the holidays but warm woolen mittens are. Big sweaters, fi re places and caroling make me smile just thinking about them. And yet my favorite thing about the holidays is much simpler than those. We go to an incredibly diverse school with a plethora of traditions and values bursting through the halls. The holidays are about all of us celebrating. Period. What we celebrate can range from getting the best sales at the mall to spending time with family that only appears annually. But people all over the world take the time to celebrate something. We need more celebration in this serious and deso-late world. The burdens of life wear us down every day, and even the best optimist can only take so much before relapsing into melancholy. The month of December is so jolly and festive that even my more grinchy friends enjoy things a bit more. Can we transplant the joy of the holidays around the calendar? It is very unlikely, but even if possible, we probably should not. The holidays are so amazing because they stand against the background of a year full of work, eleven months devoid of goodwill towards men, and week after week of menial events. This time of year hits us in the face with happiness, sits us down and forces warmth into our lives. Our diversity is transcended by our celebration. Celebration defi nes this season. How could it not be my favorite thing?

Rose Coloured Lenses

Sanitary issues continue in campus bathroomsEditorials EditorBY SHEENA JAIN

December 2011

The perfect, ideal club sponsor Many clubs and organizations pride themselves on being self-suffi cient – that is, completely run by stu-dents. Though this sense of independence is a good one to have in any club, many students tend to forget the one entity that holds a club together – its sponsor. Club sponsors, after all, are necessary for clubs to get approved. Through their experiences, they help guide the club in the decisions they make and know what is and isn’t possible for them. However, some sponsors are more competent than others at their job. Ideal club sponsors, in my opinion, should possess a few qualities. The most important quality that a club sponsor needs is to be approachable and open-minded. Offi cers and members of clubs interact with each other on a dai-ly basis and often need sponsor approval for the ideas they come up with for their respective clubs. However, if the sponsor is not approachable and open to the stu-dents’ ideas, the club will never fl ourish because of the tension held within. An approachable and open-minded club sponsor will provide a sense of comfort between both the sponsor and the students that will, in turn, boost the productivity and ideas in the clubs. Sponsors should also be supportive, encouraging, and respectful towards their students. Students will feel incompetent if their sponsor constantly shoots down

their ideas and opinions and will not want to contribute ideas as much as if they knew they would not get some support. In order for a healthy relationship to ensue between the sponsor and the offi cers and members, which is vital, a sponsor needs to be supportive of his/her students and realize that though they might be only students with less experience, they still have valid ideas that always need to be considered. However, one important factor to note is that the re-spect ideally shown by club sponsors towards students should be reciprocated by the students. Club offi cers and members need to keep in mind the fact that their sponsors are not being paid for their jobs and thus are volunteering their own time, and often times money, to help out the club. Sponsors have more experience than students do and are there to guide the students along on what they decide to pursue. They should be treated with the utmost respect at all times. In a poll of 45 club presidents, 28 hoped for a spon-sor who would be in the category of “hands-on and interactive.” 12 hoped for a sponsor who would be “on the side-line and observant.” 5 hoped for a sponsor who would “not interact with the club.” These fi ndings support the idea that majority of students want to work together. Though there is no set standard for the “perfect” club sponsor, there are certainly qualities that an ideal club sponsor should possess.

Marketing ManagerBY VISRUTI SANKAR

Occupy Wall Street (OWS); a movement, a rebel-lion, a farce. What some have called a left-leaning coun-terpoint to the Tea Party is only slightly less obnoxious and infi nitely more confusing. At fi rst, I was interested in the protest, but now I’m just annoyed. OWS isn’t an offi cial group and doesn’t have a published platform, but there are central premises on which they seem to agree: fi rst, the gap between the 1% and the 99% when it comes to the country’s wealth is excessive; second, the government has not done enough to restrict large fi nancial and economic institutions; and third, that rent… err student debt is too high. To begin, I’ll address the largest and most morally challenging idea behind OWS, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. While I acknowl-edge that injustice, and the rich are indeed getting richer, so are the poor. Even adjusted for infl ation, the average income of the American 99% has grown over the last few decades. Economic growth can’t be simpli-fi ed, but when the economy is booming, those who are betting on it with stocks, prosper. When the market booms, the economy follows. No one occupied anything in the 90s when the economy grew due to speculation on the .com bubble, so the real issue isn’t the rich-poor gap, but the fact that the richest Americans are better able to weather the storm of the economic ruin they helped create. As far as fi nancial regulation goes, after every bust more laws go into effect prohibiting the practices that caused the problem. Today there are no more irrespon-sibly-bundled, adjustable rate mortgages, and in the 30s there was no more trading on margin. Regulators can’t foresee every mistake, so combating this would limit the market to the point of much deeper recession. Lastly, regarding student loans, my question is, “In what universe does a degree in English from a tiny lib-eral arts college in a time of recession lead to anything but crippling debt?” The American promise of college leading to success was meant to say “major in a profes-sion at a state school that good students can attend for free, and you will lead a comfortable, middle-class life.” I can’t argue with anyone’s choices in education, but for God’s sake, if you go to a school you can’t pay for and get a useless degree, don’t blame it on investment bankers.

Hazing. A seemingly vague term that is actually a lot more prevalent in modern society than we realize. From athletic associations to college fraternities and sororities, hazing can be a problem found anywhere if looked for hard enough. Hazing is defi ned as an initia-tion process into a group that involves harassment, abuse, and humiliation. Though the whole process may seem all-in-good-fun, this phenomenon has recently contributed to some tragic events. A Florida A&M University student was killed due to violent hazing methods. As a result, Governor Rick Scott has requested all university presidents to reevaluate their current hazing policies and to “remind students, faculty and staff of these current procedures and how potentially detrimental hazing can be.” Scott acknowledges the consequences of hazing and implies that the costs outweigh the supposed ben-efi ts. His views seem logical: how is it benefi cial for anyone to go so far as to injure and even kill people, all for the sake of following a tradition that gives the ego a heightened sense of power? The only supposed “benefi t” of hazing is for a

person to know that they are “good enough,” to have sur-vived what the hazing entailed and be a part of the group that they so crave. It also grants a feeling of superiority to the group leaders, and fosters a sense of exclusiveness among groups, seeing that the hazing promotes the idea that not every why do we indulge in these activities that promote the exact opposite values? Why must satisfying our egos come before looking out for students’ health and safety? Hazing is completely useless, and by ban-ning it in Florida universities, Scott is taking the fi rst step towards building a more equal and opportunist modern society. Although hazing is more predominant in university settings, hazing is still seen in high school when students are accepted into different extracurricular clubs, most often in sports. In our school, all explicit forms of haz-ing, such as head shaving, have been ended by adminis-tration. However, some remnants still remain as although hazing was not condoned on campus, many clubs have continued their traditions elsewhere. Although hazing has been curbed to a great extent, these traditions still pose a threat to the mental health of future inductees.

Staff Viewpoint Hazing spins state into student safety concerns

Scepter8 December 2011

Jester December. Such a small word

but with vast meaning. The month is characterized by holiday after

holiday and, in American culture, spending money. Have the holidays

become lost in the hustle and bustle of the busy lives people lead or do they

remain the focus of the average Ameri-can’s fi nal month of the year?

Black Friday has now carried over to Thanksgiving Day with the offi cial open-

ing of Wal-Mart stores at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. People surge through crowds simply to buy

as many material goods as they can possibly fi t in their shopping carts. Are they so desper-

ate to fi nd the perfect Christmas gift that they must push others out of the way or is it simply

the adrenaline and the crowds that shoppers fi nd enthralling about this materialistic day? Some

argue that the emergence of Black Friday reveals the materialistic side of Christmas and other winter

holidays, which has become the forefront, while oth-ers fi rmly believe that these holidays are still rooted

in their religious beginnings. For example, as our country becomes increas-

ingly diverse, the number of Americans who celebrate Christmas for religious reasons decreases, although some

remain grounded in the original meaning. “It’s the birth of Jesus ... but at the same time, it’s

something more,” said junior Andres Saez. “It’s a time to be happy, to share, because the Lord is come. Just as all the animals gathered in the barn around Jesus, so do we gather around the table.” While Saez celebrates the holiday in accordance with religious tradition, others have come to commemorate it simply for the giving spirit of the season and the way which families come together. “I live in America and it’s part of American culture...it’s a time that makes you feel like giving back to others,” said junior James Zhang “I do celebrate Christmas because of family time and the idea of exchanging gifts with family and friends,” said senior Brandon Symoens, concurring with Zhang. One reason is no more “correct” than another for observing a certain holiday, no matter what reli-gion or culture with which it is associated. However, it remains vital that we all keep in mind the meaning which we associate personally with a holiday may not be identical to those of the person sitting beside us. During the holidays, instead of fi nding value through retail promotions, think about what you love the most.

Sports EditorBY MARIGNY NEVITT

What do the winter holidays

mean

to...

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The gloomy atmosphere at the start of Breaking Dawn lacked creativity but was quite appropriate. Unfortu-nately, Kristen Stewart, the actress that plays Bella (just in case you had absolutely no idea and no interest in fi nding out, but you feel the necessity to read this review just for the purpose of mocking Twilight) had to open her mouth to talk. Honestly, her voice was very unattrac-tive. Nonetheless, the beginning was ultimately saved by probably one of the only things that screaming fan girls came to see: Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob, rips off his shirt, reveals his eye-candy muscles and starts to run so extremely hot just because he is spiteful of Bella and Edward’s wedding.

It is every girl’s dream to have the most beautiful dress at her once-in-a-lifetime wedding. Bella’s high heels looked good; in fact, she looked good. The white that everyone was wearing developed a majestic feeling, but then the front of her dress appeared on the screen and it gave thoughts along the line of “what in the world happened to her dress.” The good thing is that we fi nd out that it was only just a dream concluding with Edward and herself, both bloody and standing on top of a big pile of also bloody bodies. A normal girl would simply scream, but in Bella’s case, it seemed that the thought go-ing through her head was “oh, this is not how my perfect wedding was supposed to go.” Now, at her real wedding, the design of the back of the dress was amazing, but nothing in Twilight is perfect, so I guess the costume designers felt a need to accommodate. Therefore, in regards to Bella’s dress, the front was just bland and unappealing. In addition, the designers were most likely blind too, because the color decisions of all the other dresses worn at the wedding were just repulsive. “I, Edward Cullen, take you, Bella Swan, to have and hold…no measure of time with you will be enough…let’s start with forever.” Then the two lovebirds kiss, but not just kiss, they kiss like “no measure of time” ever existed. Seriously, the length of the kiss was at fi rst “so cute”, but then it became “geez, get a room.” So, instead of getting a room, they get themselves a whole house on a secluded island off of Brazil. Bella ultimately fi nds out she is pregnant with Ed-ward’s “demon baby”, ends her honeymoon retuning to

the Cullen’s house, becomes all nasty-looking; Jacob fi nds out, opens his big dog-mouth to tell the rest of his pack, which starts a war between the werewolves and vampires; then the baby decides to come out during the fi ght, everyone is happy and bloody, Bella dies, both Edward and Jacob freak out, Jacob imprints on Bella’s baby and the war ends. Oh, I forgot the most important part, Bella creepily opens her eyes, and so, I guess she is not dead. As you can see, I simply summed up approximately 100 minutes of this 133 minute movie in fewer than 100 words. I think I can righteously say that spending ten dollars to go watch this movie will earn you nothing but an increase level of criticism for the Twilight series in entirety. There was no climax in the movie, everything was predictable, and the moments where it was supposed to be romantic or exciting was either not elaborative enough, or on the opposite spectrum and over-drama-tized. In my opinion, the one thing that was done well was the selection of music. Music can tell a story by itself, so thankfully the music was used effectively and pushed the storyline to the next level. However, do not be fooled with the credits that start rolling. I mean, who would want to end a movie with an image of Kristen Stewart’s bloodshot eyes? Apparently there was another scene at the end, and the Volturi get a letter telling them about the Cullen’s new addition, and then they proceed to kill the messenger because of her poor English. “First it’s the spelling, then the grammar.”

The next hotspot was The Yogurt Spot in

Temple Terrace. The yogurt and topping options were not as extensive

as Green Island, but they did have a great selection of fruits that I found was great with the yogurt. The Yogurt Spot prob-

ably had the best environment of the three because it was really spacious and was a

great place to chill with friends. This compensated for the reduced food quality, although the yogurt was

defi nitely not bad.

When it comes to frozen

yogurt, I am very much a huge fan. As a person who likes to

have options, I was highly excited to make my own completely random combina-tion of yogurt and toppings.

Green Island in Brandon, The Yo-gurt Spot in Temple Terrace, and You Say When in New Tampa all more or

less satisfi ed the basic expectations that I had going in, but they each exceeded

them to various degrees.

Overall, any of these three places is recommended if you

are new to the concept of frozen yogurt. However,

if you are a more avid fan, you would probably want to check out Green Island

and The Yogurt Spot before You Say When.

The fi rst hotspot was

Green Island in Brandon. The moment I walked in the fi rst time,

the surroundings impressed me. The over-all room had a, you guessed it, green tint to it,

and it looked sophisticated as well as aesthetically pleasing. The possibilities were also highly numerous. From over 10 different types of yogurt and probably at

least 30 different toppings, I did not even know where to begin. So I combined everything. The unique factor that placed Green Island above the others was that the yogurt

tasted great even with all the toppings in it. The other two hotspots, I could not quite say the same. The only setback that I found with Green Island was

that it seemed to cater more to female cus-tomers, because all of the magazines

in the sitting area were fashion magazines.

The last hotspot was You

Say When in New Tampa. The environment here was probably the

opposite of the other two. The space was cramped, and I genuinely thought that go-

ing outside to eat was a better option to actually staying in the shop. The yogurt was not as great as I expected it to be either, even for a highly tolerant customer like me (when it comes to frozen yogurt at least). Although there were a lot of possibilities, there were only few ways of making a combina-

tion that I truly found appealing. You Say When was not bad, but it was average when

compared to the Green Island and The Yogurt Spot.

GRAPHICS BY NISHA PATEL

Features 3bjesterDecember 2011

#1

#2

#3

#4#5

Features4b jester December 2011

1. Reuse the packing paper, bows, ribbons, or gift bags.

2. Recycle your old electronics.

3. Turn off your holiday lights before you head to sleep.

4. Buy a fake tree or use a live tree! Live trees can be re-

planted in your backyard after the holidays.

5. Eat organically grown food.

6. Donate your old clothes

7. Even though it may be cold, don’t take ex-

tremely long showers.

8. Reuse your old decorations or make new

ones using simple objects around the house.

9. Limit the use of plastic eating uten-

sils or paper plates. Use real silverware and

plates to cut down on extra waste.

10. Send out personalized E-cards in-

stead of sending out paper

cards.

Green Club PresidentBY JELENA RUNJAIC

News EditorBY XIAOYI REN

Breakfast smells waft through the cafeteria. Every

third student unwraps a sausage or chicken biscuit on a

day that item is served.

But few of those meat eaters would go so far as

to call themselves carnivores. Senior Natalie Hamilton

does. “I eat a lot of meat,” Hamilton said. “Every meal is

meat. My family eats meat.”

Though Hamilton is a meat and junk food eater, she

recognizes the importance of fruits and vegetables. And

just as green fuel sources make for a cleaner planet that

can sustain more inhabitants, green ingredients result in

a person with lower toxicity and higher energy.

“I eat a lot of chips, cupcakes, cakes,” Hamilton

said. “When I eat dinner, my mom talks to me about

eating less junk food and more vegetables. Veg-

etables help with parts of your body, like car-

rots help your eyes.”

Habits and culture thus affect the choice to practice

green eating.

Senior Marshanna Williams was a vegetarian for 1.5

years while in middle school. She stopped because her

mother “got tired of cooking separate food” for her.

Religion, allergies and animal rights were complete-

ly unrelated to her decision to not eat meat. In fact Wil-

liams said she decided to try vegetarianism to get on her

mother’s nerves.

Hamilton, a self-proclaimed carnivore, views veg-

etarianism as a choice for the individual as well.

Williams likes fruits and a salad made of lettuce, cheese,

ranch dressing and croutons.

But no meat in her salad does not mean that she

does not enjoy some fried chicken that, according to

her, contains “more flavor, more crunch.”

So diets vary. So what? If cleanliness is tantamount

to godliness, then what of cleanliness of the food we put

into our bodies?

Clean Eating magazine defines its name: “The soul

of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural

state, or as close to it as possible. It is not a diet; it’s

a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation,

leading to an improved life—one meal at a

time.”

5bFeaturesDecember 2011 jester

When I am on the road, I feel like I have to con-stantly prove myself. Every time a light turns green, my reaction time must be fast. Otherwise, my weakness in horsepower may be exposed. I have to prove that I belong on the road, and my car can maneuver the traffic like any other. I do not speed as much as my peers surveyed in the last issue. However, I have floored my accelerator. Not many can claim they can do that in front of a cop and still dodge a ticket. I am unique. I drive a Toyota Prius. I am not embarrassed; I love my car to death. The screens of interesting technology and whirring noises make it a mystery machine. It is spacious, and it feels like a spaceship. I have a sunroof that allows me to en-

joy the sounds and sun from the environment within an environmentally-friendly car. Driving time is a blissful time for me, as it is for almost all teenagers out there with a car. I enjoy the cool breeze, the freedom, and possibly the only time I have to forget everything and listen to music. Nevertheless, the trance-like state can still

be broken. “Save the environment!”

I often hear this shouted from open windows of cars around me. It is followed by a fit of laughter, mocking the stereotype that all Prius drivers are tree-huggers. Generally, the right things to do are not in accord-ance with the cool things to do. I will admit that there are some problems with the manufacture of hybrids that make its purpose hypocritical. The nickel battery, how-ever, is not the prevalent reason for the taunts I receive for driving a Prius. Mainly, it is the idea that such a car is not “big and bad” like all cool cars should be. Change can only occur in this world if it is accepted by society. As long as we ridicule the ideas that are trying to make the world a better place, no amount of legislation can significantly improve our standard of living. We must embrace the ideas that at least make an attempt to progress, advance, and modernize and discard those that are harmful. Do not hate on my Prius. Do not hate on anyone else’s hybrid. They are out there saving the world, and the least you can do is greet such innovative ideas enthusiastically.

Features EditorBY NISHA PATEL

Breakfast smells waft through the cafeteria. Every

third student unwraps a sausage or chicken biscuit on a

day that item is served.

But few of those meat eaters would go so far as

to call themselves carnivores. Senior Natalie Hamilton

does. “I eat a lot of meat,” Hamilton said. “Every meal is

meat. My family eats meat.”

Though Hamilton is a meat and junk food eater, she

recognizes the importance of fruits and vegetables. And

just as green fuel sources make for a cleaner planet that

can sustain more inhabitants, green ingredients result in

a person with lower toxicity and higher energy.

“I eat a lot of chips, cupcakes, cakes,” Hamilton

said. “When I eat dinner, my mom talks to me about

eating less junk food and more vegetables. Veg-

etables help with parts of your body, like car-

rots help your eyes.”

Habits and culture thus affect the choice to practice

green eating.

Senior Marshanna Williams was a vegetarian for 1.5

years while in middle school. She stopped because her

mother “got tired of cooking separate food” for her.

Religion, allergies and animal rights were complete-

ly unrelated to her decision to not eat meat. In fact Wil-

liams said she decided to try vegetarianism to get on her

mother’s nerves.

Hamilton, a self-proclaimed carnivore, views veg-

etarianism as a choice for the individual as well.

Williams likes fruits and a salad made of lettuce, cheese,

ranch dressing and croutons.

But no meat in her salad does not mean that she

does not enjoy some fried chicken that, according to

her, contains “more flavor, more crunch.”

So diets vary. So what? If cleanliness is tantamount

to godliness, then what of cleanliness of the food we put

into our bodies?

Clean Eating magazine defines its name: “The soul

of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural

state, or as close to it as possible. It is not a diet; it’s

a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation,

leading to an improved life—one meal at a

time.”

In Christian’s list of foods she regularly eats, black-

eyed peas are in their “most natural state, or as close

to it as possible” even though they are not green in

color. And while green apple-flavored Starbursts and

artificially colored Skittles might be green, they are

not clean fuel for the human system.

Considering that the purpose of alternative fuel

research is to transition the world into a cleaner at-

mosphere, as opposed to lengthening the ultimate de-

mise of the planet, some argue that dietary lifestyle

choices—whether carnivorous, vegetarian or junk

food-filled—are made not for longevity but rather a

more sustainable, more enjoyable life.

Assistant Sports EditorBY KUNAAL MURTHY

It seems that in today’s society there are countless

efforts from outlets ranging from national legislation to

local communities encouraging citizens to be “green”

and to engage in activities such as recycling more often.

Specifically, in the past few years, people have taken a

more focused initiative to be more “green” by recycling

and not throwing away food blindly. On the other hand,

there are those people who simply do not care about the

lifestyle choice and do not intend on straying from this

idea anytime soon.

“It is a waste of my time and it is not as important as

other things,” said freshman Gabrielle Atkins.

People’s fear that they will lose precious time by tak-

ing a few seconds out of their lives to recycle a piece

of paper, to pick up food or trash off the ground or to

be charitable by helping others recycle material in class-

rooms. People who have this different mindset are often

seen as outcasts. Simply put, those who are not “green”

are tagged as being so lazy and careless that they are lit-

tering and trashing Earth’s environment.

Some other people who are on the “dark side” have a

nonchalant point of view on being “green.”

“I don’t see the point, and my friends don’t recycle

either,” said sophomore Daryel Kelly.

From that point onwards, it almost becomes a domino

effect. People will listen to what their friends are doing

and thus not engage in recycling or being green.

It is inevitable; if you do not recy-

cle, you are looked

down upon and can possibly be isolated for doing some-

thing so “blasphemous” and “outrageous.”

“The people [who are not green] should change be-

cause it is for the better. Why not change for the better?”

said senior Amir Mustafa.

The majority who do in fact recycle and engage in be-

ing “green” whenever they can are very logical in their

reasons as to why they decide to do such a good deed.

“Being green is a good thing because we can use the

things that we recycle to create and make new things,”

said junior Adrienne Smith.

This is true because businesses and companies

can use the recycled material to make something use-

ful out of something discarded. Smith also said that

some of her friends who do not practice being green

are ignorant and do not realize that it is hurting the

environment and wasting our money.

As we continue to allow people to simply get

away with what they are doing, we are also hurt-

ing our economy. By now, if somebody is not

socially “green,” they are “outcasts” who show

that they do not care about their environment.

“I like conservation, so I think that peo-

ple should recycle and do things for the envi-

ronment rather than purposely doing things

against it,” said junior Tatiana Henry.

Sports6b jester December 2011

The fall sports season has offi cially passed. With volleyball, swimming and football over, atheletes pack up their cleats and volleyballs. As the winter season begins to set in, the time for winter sports has begun. Amongst the various winter sports starting, varsity basketball seems to excite many of the students. Coach Sam Lanier takes command of the boys varsity team, while Coach Jubie Robinson takes helm of the girls varsity team. Both teams are determined to have a winning season, though both teams have been plagued with losses. Having faced countless opponents such as Sickles and Freedom High Schools, the boys team lost their fi rst fi ve games of the season. However, on Dec. 12, the team got its fi rst win against Jefferson High School. “We’ve had a bit of a hard time,” said Coach Lanier. However, with the exception of losing to Sickles 19-54, the boys team has lost by small margins. With this in mind, Coach Lanier has taken steps to improve the team. “We are making some changes within the offense as the season progresses,” Lanier said. “Scoring is our biggest problem within the past few games, so we’re going to be

changing the lineup.” The team is still optimistic. Having only completed six games, the boys’ varsity team has 19 games left in the season, including the “City of Tampa” and “Alonso Classic” winter tournaments in late December. “Many of our players are committed and are looking to play their all,” Lanier said. The team’s next two games are against teams in its conference, including Armwood. The boys’ team has a chance to regain the lead within the conference. “Our biggest goal is to win a district title, regardless of how we have started,” Lanier said. On the other hand is the girls varsity team. The team has started with a 3-5 record, having won their fi rst game against East Bay before losing four of their last six. “Even though I congratulate the girls for their wins, we still have to continue to work,” Coach Robinson said. Though the girls’ team currently has a 3-5 record, their fi rst win against East Bay proved to be a jolt of encouragement for the rest of the season. “We’ve already passed our last year’s win record,” Robinson said, referring to the 2-18 record the team received last year. Both sophomore captain Jehnae Lester

and freshmen captain Arielle Allen have optimism for the rest of the season. “My personal goal is just to win more games and get to the playoffs,” Lester said. With eight games completed, and nearly two months’ worth of games left, the team looks to bounce back with a winning season. Even though both teams are currently below the 0.500 win-loss percentile, both Lanier and Robinson hope to establish their teams and earn district titles. Lanier, now coaching in his ninth year, has had mixed seasons within his past years, having an 11-11 season last year and making it into the Final Four of the district titles in the 08-09 season. Robinson enters his second year, having succeeded past Coach Nia Campbell and looks into the long term outlook of the girls varsity team. “My short term goal is mainly to have a winning season and make it into districts,” Robinson said. “However, my long time goal is to establish the Lady Lions’ team and make it a successful program.” Regardless of the results at the end of the season, the teams hope that their members have tried the best they possibly could.

Staff ReporterBY ANGEL KENNEDY

Basketball team stays determined despite rough start

The cheerleading squad has pulled off an impressive sea-son this year at numerous football and basketball games. Under the leadership of Captain Brian “BJ” Bronson and Coach Kaitlyn Foster, the team has gone through vigor-ous routines in order to prepare for the football season, the basketball season and the competition season. “I like to be very fi rm when I say something. Without fi rmness or authority, no one listens,” Bronson said. The team practices every day after school for at least three hours, which is required due to the various moves and techniques they have to learn. On Mondays, they prac-tice from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and on all other days, they prac-tice from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The lineup and size of the team change for each season. The squad has 17 people during football season, 11 people during basketball season, and 12 people during competi-tion season. According to Bronson, no one is guaranteed a spot in any squad. The girls who try out for competition and are already on football squad, varsity or junior varsity, can ei-ther make the competition squad or the basketball squad. However, the girls that are more skilled usually only par-ticipate in the competitions, while the others cheer during the football and basketball season. “Being loud is the main thing you need to be on the football squad,” Bronson said. “For the competition squad, which is the most important one, the selection is based on who can actually perform the best.” The team practices a variety of moves and techniques that they use constantly. From basic cheers, motions and jumps to much more complex moves like pyramids, tum-ble, execution, dance, stunts, and fl ips, the team has to make sure that they remain in top shape when competition season rolls around. Divisional competitions are held every Wednesday un-til winter break. At each of these competitions, the squad competes with another high school in the county that they have not competed with previously. It consists of a two

Copy Editor/Staff ReporterBY KEERTHI VENGAT & SHIVAM BHARADWAJ

Cheerleading squad hopeful as competition season begins

2, 4, 6, 8! - Seniors Brian “BJ” Bronson and Alecia Hills lead the crowd in a spirited cheer during the Homecoming game. Every Wednesday, the team was able to prepare for their upcoming district tournament by attending local competitions.

minute and thirty second routine, which is meant to serve as a repertoire of all a team’s best moves. Each team is judged based on the diffi culty of technique and tumbling, the quality of dancing and stunting, and the overall appear-ance. Teams receive a score sheet with comments from the judges that will help improve the team’s technique. “I feel that the team can achieve great things only if they give it their all in practice and at competitions,” said senior Alecia Hills, a longtime member of the cheerlead-ing squad. Coach Foster also has her own methods of helping the team improve. “I usually videotape each competition, and we watch it later and we try to see where we can improve,” Foster said. To her, it seems to be an invaluable tool to help the

team if members actually see their relative areas of weak-ness, so that they know exactly what to work on. This past Saturday, the cheerleaders, along with some of the school football players, participated in the All-Star game between the East and the West. 5 cheerleaders were picked by the coach to cheer for the West side in the game. Western Conference usually follows the weekly di-visional competitions. However, here, many squads from Hillsborough County face each other all at once instead of one at a time. Scoring is the same, and the top fi ve teams get to advance to the regional competition against schools from other counties, which will be held later in the year. With quite a bit of hard work under its belt, the cheerlead-ing squad looks to succeed.

Assistant Sports EditorBY KUNAAL MURTHY

MURTHY’SMINUTE

Tebowing: the practice of kneeling down on one knee and praying. By now, if you are a football fan you have heard that term before. This peculiar term was coined after the popular practice of “planking”. How does all of this fi t together in the big picture? It is the legend of Tim Tebow. The highly criticized quarterback out of the University of Florida has seemingly caught national attention for turning around his Denver Broncos into a winning team. At the beginning of the season, the Broncos had Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback, and there were rumors that Tebow was as low as 4th on the depth chart. Tebow had not performed particularly well in the off-season, and it cost him in a big way. However, after multiple weeks of poor performances by Kyle Orton, Broncos Owner John Elway and Head Coach John Fox decided to give it a shot and promote Tebow to starting quarter-back. It was more than just Orton’s poor performance that led to Tebow’s rise to the top though. Tebow was a huge favorite with the fans who continually chanted “Te-bow! Te-Bow” at many of the Broncos home games. They wanted to see the Heisman trophy winner play in the NFL, and it seemed as though everybody wanted him to succeed. There was a clear change in the attitude of the Bron-cos once Tebow got the starting job. His wide receivers trusted him, and they gradually adapted to a different style of offense that was more similar to what Tebow was used to at UF. With Tebow holding the reigns, the Broncos own a re-cord of 7-1 thus far. However, the numbers haven’t been pretty at all. Tebow’s completion rate has been extremely low, and he has not been passing well overall. This could be because of his unique left-handed throwing motion that many analysts have criticized from the very start. In one game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tebow com-pleted only two passes the whole game, but the Broncos still won with a score of 17-10. Which brings up another question: Do any of the statistics actually really matter if he is still winning football games? I believe that Tebow has proven that he is a winner and that he CAN be a starting quarterback in the NFL, despite what all the analysts think. He has brought the Broncos back into games multiple times this season as he has led them to 4th quarter comebacks and “W’s” on the schedule. Additionally, Tebow has been a hot Fanta-sy Football pickup in many leagues with his dual ability to run the ball as well as throw. Even though he has still not gained the trust of John Elway, Tebow will certainly be regarded as one of the most intriguing players to ever have played in the NFL because he has been under a microscope from millions of people watching his every move. People now almost want him to make a mistake, to fi nd a fl aw within him, to fi nally start losing games so they can jump off the band-wagon. It’s simply not working though. What is there not to like about the man? He is hugely religious and prays constantly, he is a leader, and he is a winner.

Hidden behind the gymnasium is a room where the boys wrestling team trains after school. For fi ve days a week, the boys wrestling team practices in preparation for tournaments they have on Saturdays and Sundays, in which they compete individually according to their rank against different schools. During every three to four hour practice, the boys run at least three miles along with over 200 pushups and lots of calisthenics (workouts that use a person’s body as a weight), and they fi nish the day with a lesson on different techniques from Coach Boss, who has been coaching the boys for two years, and Coach Yo who has just joined the team this year. The team started the season strong with twelve new members at the Valrico Duals, a tournament with ten other high schools, hosted by Bloomingdale High School. The team fi nished the tournament overall at seventh place. Juniors Joseph Affronti, Jacob Wasserman, and Angel Hernandez went undefeated with a 4-0 record, and Damon

Wilson held 3 -1. Both Jacob Wasserman and Angel Hernandez won the Most Outstanding Wrestler awards for lightweight and heavy weight wrestling. «I feel honored that the coaches picked me and Angel to be the two Most Outstanding Wrestlers out of the over 100 wrestlers there. It shows that the hard work we are putting in at practice is paying off and our team has a shot to achieve a lot this year,» said Wasserman. For the season, the team holds a strong determination. “We want to break backs and impose our will,” said senior Cory Weckerie. Individually, each wrestler on the team wants to compete well and win at as many tournaments as he can, so that each has a chance to compete at the state level. «We feel this year is going to be a great year, the best we›ve had so far. We are a young team still, with a majority of new guys, but there›s potential for us to take a lot of them to Regionals and hopefully states too. We are optimistic that this year will be a successful one and [we›ll] hopefully bring home some gold for King,» said

Affronti. One phrase the team would attribute to its coaches is “hard work.” “On Thanksgiving break, we still had to come to practice,” said Weckerie.»Though they go to rigorous practices fi ve days a week, coaches still urge the team to run and workout every day, but also remind the boys that rest and recovery are also very important.» On Saturday, Dec. 3, the team fi nished in fi fth place in a tournament at Riverview High School, where it competed against fi ve other high schools including Jefferson, East Bay, Bloomingdale, Riverview, and Wharton. Wrestlers Affronti and Wasserman once again fi nished the tournament undefeated at 5-0, and they both hold a perfect overall 11-0 record. Juniors Angel Hernandez and Joe Nakamura also fi nished well with a 4-1 record. The boys have a two day National Division Tournament on Friday, Dec. 16 at Wharton High School. They are all eyeing success at the tournament and for the rest of the season.

Staff ReporterBY LOLADE BAKARE

Boys wrestling team members hope discipline will create success

Interested in sports but too intimidated to try out for a team? Or, do you not have the time commitment to go to every practice but you still would like to play? Over the past four years, several sports related clubs have been created in order to help people get active and enjoy athletics without the time commitment or high level of competition within the school sports teams. “Some high school sports, you have to have participated in before you get here,” said senior Daniel Ayala, president of the Ping-Pong Club. “Clubs are less physically demand-ing and easy to begin, but the learning curve is steep and it takes a long time to master.” These clubs also help to bring new, less popular sports to students. Ping-pong is not as popular as football or bas-ketball throughout the student body, nor the county, but having a club gives students the opportunity to participate and learn about it. “It’s just diffi cult to compete with other schools because ping-pong is not as prevalent,” said Ayala. Other clubs, such as Handball, wish they could gain the status of many sports clubs and compete on the same level as school sanctioned teams. “The only difference is that we don’t get a varsity letter,” said senior Nevin Alummoottil, president of Handball. A new sports club this year, the King High Sports Ath-letic Association (KHSAA), was formed to help students enjoy all types of sports, instead of focusing on only one. “We try to create a club environment where sports en-thusiasts can come together and play,” said senior Apoorv Kaushal, president of KHSAA. “We promote different

sports and we revive old middle school sports, like dodge-ball, which induces a sense of nostalgia.” These clubs are not attempting to compete with teams in order to gain members or popularity; in fact, they work alongside already existing athletics on campus. “We work with the King Sports Boosters and encourage our members to join sports teams or go to the games and watch,” said Kaushal. “We chose our offi cers trying use to a large spectrum of sports they already participate in. We know the coaches, and so we help the students get to talk with them, and we have several coaches on hand to speak with interested students.” Whether students are extremely athletic and looking for another outlet for their interest or merely trying to partici-pate without the magnitude of involvement from a sports team, new sports clubs have helped to diversify the level of competition. Through these clubs, students have more opportunities to just get active.

Clubs provide alternate ways to get active without formalities

TAKING THE SHOT - Students play dodge ball at dodge ball “Fatakwa,” an event organized by the King High School Athletic Association and Key Club. Events like these have helped the athletics club spread the message of being ac-tive to students in the school and community.

PHOTO BY ALISON CHOI

Production ManagerBY KIMBERLY CARLIN

Yes

No

Student Poll: Are you active throughclub sports or team sports?

*150 students interviewed

Team Sport: 110

Sports Club: 16

Sports Club: 134

Team Sport: 40

New trend on campus expands athletic opportunities

Sports 7bjesterDecember 2011

Features 8bjesterDecember 2011

It is that wonderful time of the year. School is fi nally out for winter break, and you feel amazing, deciding to rush home and embrace the comforting bed that you have been forced to spend so limited time with. You wake up at 1 p.m. the next Saturday and fi nd yourself straining to sit on your bed, rubbing your eyes and then thinking, “I’m for-getting about something.” Guess what, you are absolutely correct. Your best friend’s holiday party is in fi ve hours, and you totally forgot to buy her a present. We all enjoy the excitement of clawing open a new present, but fi nding a gift for someone else? Not as enjoyable. From the instant the calendar fl ips to the month of De-cember, madness breaks out when you try to fi nd all the gifts you need to give to your friends, your family, your distant relatives, your dog, your cat, your lizard, your un-born cousin. You are often given breath-taking gifts from relatives or friends you hardly know, and when it comes to send a present up their way, you are stuck. When you begin to look for a present for your friend and just cannot fi nd the one that will suit his or her personality, or when you do not know the recipient too well, yet you still have to give them a present, it becomes frustrating. However,

this feeling is natural. “My grandma always gets me something stylish, and I don’t ever know what to get for her,” said senior Jordyn Berglund. Usually before going shopping for presents, you should think about the people you will be getting presents for. If possible, spend a little time snooping around next to them and hope that they drop little hints about what they really want. However, if that fails, simply ask yourself what their personality is like. Usually, that will do the trick. This is the most critical questions that ‘professional’ gift shoppers think about before heading out to the stores. Being im-aginative with your presents adds a fl are of creativity and personalizes it to make it the perfect heart-warming gift. “For my friend’s birthday, I didn’t know what she want-ed, but I knew that she liked glitter a lot,” said sophomore Steffi Yo. ”So I got her glitter nail polish.” Making a gift personal does not take too much effort. For instance, it could be a joke that has been carried on be-tween the two of you for a while, and as a reminder of how it began, you could make a little joke out of your present. “One time it was a cloud pillow,” says junior Disha

Joshi. “I made it myself.” It is now 4 p.m. and you have two hours left to fi nd the perfect gift! Crunch time means taking an easy way out, and only one idea pops into your mind: gift cards. “Just get gift cards” said sophomore Brian Jolly. “They can get their own gifts.” The greatest benefi t gift cards provide is that you never have the fear of getting your friend that wrong gift. “I always give my friends gift cards during the holiday season, so I never have a problem of what to get people” said freshman Abby Wong. So do not fear holiday shopping due to the amount of stress on your shoulders; instead, embrace it as a time to understand the relationships between you and your friends or family and create more lasting memories this holiday season. “If she likes it,” said freshman Lysandra Ramos. “Then I like it too.”

Photography Editor/Staff WriterBY SY-WOEI HAO & NEHA PATIL

Staff Writer/Assistant Features EditorBY SERENA KOTWAL & ERIC CHAO

Holiday season is here, and you have absolutely no idea what to give to that “special someone” of yours. You ask him what he would like, and he responds with the cliché “Nothing.” Don’t freak out, this is a common problem with girls. Guys send mixed responses, confuse us, and often lead us into thinking they want nothing at all. Christmas is the time to show how much you care for your guy. Follow these tips to fi nd the perfect gift this holiday season: 1. Ask him. Easy, right? He’ll probably say that he doesn’t want anything. Give it a try anyways because it is a good start. 2. Be creative with your gift: Think of random memo-ries and inside jokes to incorporate that will surely bring a smile on his face as soon as he opens the present. Anything that involves you in it will surely warm his heart. 3. Think of something you guys can do together: concert or amusement park tickets will give you guys the chance. It will be a present he shall never forget!

4. Think about little details that would help you in choosing a gift: favorite color, favorite movie, food, etc. Knowing his likes and dislikes will defi nitely be helpful. 5. Pay attention to his friends; a guy’s friends are usu-ally a refl ection of what he is like. Therefore, his friends are your biggest clue to his interests. 6. Pay attention to brands: What kind of brands does he wear? Logos catch people’s attention. Brands can’t go wrong; just make sure it’s the one he likes. 7. Guys love food: You can never go wrong with gift cards! Gift cards to food stops, Starbucks, and other places would be appreciated and used to the fullest. 8. Your gift doesn’t have to be expensive. A Christmas gift is just a thoughtful present and doesn’t have to be big. The smallest thing can do the trick as long as it is special in someway or the other. After all, it’s the thought that counts. 9. Present your gift creatively: use appealing wrapping paper to present your gift. Add a cute card as a touchup. Presentation can make or break a gift, so

make sure you put a little effort into it. 10. Your gift is ready: It is time to give your gift. Present your gift in an interesting matter. Ponder the best way to hand over your hard work. Should it be a surprise? Should you hide it somewhere? Delve into his character and fi nd the perfect way. Regardless, he shall show great appreciation for your efforts. Christmas is all about spreading love amongst

your close ones. After following these tips, you should be able to fi nd that special gift

for that special someone this holi-day season.

Girls are delicate creatures. Delicate creatures with attitudes, that is. Being the big strong man that you are, you have to choose the perfect gift for them this holiday season, and I repeat, it has to be perfect. If it is not, you are in big trouble, young man! Here is how to pick out the perfect gift: 1. Know what kinds of things your girl likes. Many girls like edible things such as cheese or low-fat chocolate and little collectible items such as gorgeous plush ponies. However, every girl has her own unique interest. Remem-ber that! 2. Make sure she wants a gift. This means go up to her and ask her what she wants. Even if she says she does not want anything, you will still end up buying something for her. This is just to show that you care. 3. No matter what else you buy for her, get her a card! Put some thought into it and make it very sentimental and sweet. Sometimes you do not really mean it, but that is okay; it is the thought that counts, and she will never know your TRUE feelings. 4. Never get too expensive. Let us be honest. No girl is worth TOO much. You have to buy gifts for other peo-ple after all, and you do not want to seem overly commit-ted. On the other hand, you do not want to come off as a “cheapo.” Make it a decently priced gift. 5. One thing I always like to buy that is an instant fa-vorite is a CD. For example, if your girl likes to jam out to some Weezy [Lil’ Wayne], make sure you satisfy her crav-

ing with the newest album from this artist. 6. Jewelry is always a popular gift. However, be very careful. You have to buy her straight cut dia-monds, at least 100 karats, so that she knows you are a real man with the cash fl ow to back it up! 7. Sometimes, a gift does not have to be a tan-gible item. This is a very unique gift! Take her on a memorable dinner, or maybe bring her to a place like the swimming pool, where you can show off your hard work in the gym up until now. 8. One very cheap but very effective gift is tak-ing your girl to the gym. She can watch you lift some heavy iron and stare in awe. If she asks if she can try it out, say “NO!” 9. Some ladies just enjoy the simple things in life, though. Hold her hand. Kiss her on the cheek. Tell her she is the most beautiful thing in the world. She is probably not, though. But no money spent, and no harm done. 10. As a fi nal word of advice: at the end of the day, it is not about the gift; it is about the girl herself and the way you treat her. Women deserve to be respected, and no gift can take the place of a nice, warm hug! Just remember this tip and you will be successful in any of your endeavors: Life is swift, just give a girl a gift.

FOR HER

FOR HIM