March Highlander

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Carlmont HigH SCHool newSpaper Volume ii, iSSue 6, marCH 2011See uS online at Http://SCotSCoop.Com

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Budget cuts to affect Carlmont

Sadie Hawkins dance returns

By Connor MooreStaff Writer

By Steven TsujisakaOnline editOr

This year, Carlmont, along with neighbor schools in the Sequoia Union High School Dis-trict (SUHSD), are being chopped down in size due to some serious bud-geting problems. They have spent over their projected budget by an approximate $3.4 million and are in deep economic waters. Much has been said across the United States on the immense budget cuts and reforms by school systems ev-erywhere as they combat the status of the economy in order to stay afloat in recent times, and the coming of the 2011-12 year may warrant deeper cuts. As attaining a firm foothold on the slippery slopes of our current economy gets more diffi-cult each day, the district seems to have established

an idea of exactly what needs to be done to man-age its problems. Given the current infrastructure, the school board found that around $4.5 million must be cut in order to get by. Cuts of that magnitude would mean reductions in spending of more than just removing a program or two, but rather an im-mense number of layoffs of teachers and a few

adminis-trators. The cuts amount to a reduc-tion of spending

of around $700-$800 per student. Cuts to the amount spent on students every year means removals, reductions or cuts in the classroom or to other school programs. Any thoughts on expansion or establishing new programs may not be a reality for some time. The key to whether or not said cuts, given this current infrastructure, are

“The school board found that around $4.5 million would be cut in order to get by”

The month of February kept male Carlmont students antici-pating an invitation to the first Sadie Hawkins dance in eight years. In contrast to a typical dance, a Sadie Hawkins dance is where the girls ask the boys out. “I think it was cool that the girls had to ask the guys because now they know what it feels

like,” commented Alex Netto. “I think it’s really cute and doesn’t stick to the status-quo,” agreed ASB member Kelsey Morgan. The name of the dance origi-nated from a character named Sadie Hawkins in a comic strip called Li’l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp. In the comic, Sadie Hawkins grew tired of waiting for a man to court her, so her father an-nounced that there would be a

foot race in which the unmarried girls chased after the bachelors of the town and marry the men who they caught. This was known as the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day. In addition to the girls asking the guys, the Sadie Hawkins dance gave students and their dates the chance to dress up in funny costumes. Some of the costumes spotted at the dance

By Erica ValbusaStaff Writer

Loud music...

more than meets the

Students use mp3 players every day, but many don’t realize that listening to music at high volumes may present a risk of premature hearing problems. Teenagers enjoy loud music be-cause if they crank up the volume they can listen to their favorite songs more clearly, hearing every note and beat. Some feel that listening to their music loudly is a form of self-ex-

pression. Playing loud music for others to hear clearly expresses one’s music taste to the world. One brand of headphones that has become popular among teenagers is Monster’s Beats by Dr. Dre. Michael Yih, a junior student who owns a pair of the Beats headphones, believes they’re popular because, “I feel like I can hear the beats. If I play [the music] loud enough, I can block out the outside noise.” In recent years, portable music

players have sparked concern that they contribute to hearing loss, since many people use earphones that project the sound directly into their ears. Studies conducted by Cory Portnuff, an audiologist at Uni-versity of Colorado and Chil-dren’s Hospital in Boston, show that not only teenagers play mu-sic louder than adults, but they are also unaware of how loud they’re playing it. Portnuff’s

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Continued on page 13 Art by Curtis Fan

Photo by Gianna Dimick

Scots go mad for March Madness!See page 15 for details

ADHD/ADD special featureSee pages 4 & 5 for details

52%of students polled ad-mitted to listening to their music at or above 70% volume

Listening to music at 110 to 120 decibels can cause hearing damage in less than an hour and a halfOne in every ten Americans suffer from hearing lossA

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Raging riots against Middle East dictators spread What started as protests over lack of civil rights in Egypt has now spread like wild fire across the Middle East. Egypt, once the center of stability in the Middle East, seems to have started a chain of protests that have sprung up since the original protests in Egypt first began several months ago. The people were not happy with their president Muhammad Mubarak, who had led the government for over 30 years, and took their complaints to the street. Poverty and unemployment had been rising amongst younger Egyptians, and many of them had never even known a time without Mubarak as president. When the protests started Mubarak tried to appease the people by making economic reforms, but he did nothing to change the corrupt government, and even tried to appoint his close followers as president when the people demanded that he step down. The military stepped in to run the country after Mubarak left office, though some do not like that idea. “Hopefully it will get better, but it could be worse

The power of believing - cannot go down on faith By Arik Schoessow

By Jorja Flynn Staff Writer

with the military in charge,” said Kiana Ghazouli, a Carlmont freshman. Though Egypt was the first country to have mass protests, they were not the last. Many other Middle Eastern coun-tries including Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen have followed suit. Protests in Tunisia started in December after a man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set fire to himself because town officials would not allow him to sell vegetables on the street without permission. Bouazizi’s act of defiance set off many other protests in small agriculture-based towns about the lack of jobs. This then spread all the way to Tunisia’s capital, Tunis.

Tunisia’s president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, like Egypt’s former president, had served for over 30 years. People began protesting more heavily because of the lack of civil rights and the brutality used against them by the police during protests. The people’s protests seem to have paid off because Ben Ali fled the country in mid-January and under Tunisia’s con-stitution new elections for government leaders must take place within 60 days. Libya has also seen a large amount of violent protests, such as the people demanding that the dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, step down.

Gaddafi took power of the country in 1969 through a sudden military over-throw. He is also quite well known for having 40 female bodyguards who, despite having to wear makeup, are all trained to kill. Gaddafi has faced numerous accounts of human rights violations and will face charges in the International Criminal Court for some of those violations. Though Libyan’s are protesting and demanding that Gaddafi step down from power, according to abcnews.com he told one of their reporters otherwise. “They love me. All my people with me, they love me,” he said. “They will die to protect me, my people.” The protests in Libya gained some con-trol of the country back from Gaddafi’s rule, but he will probably continue fight-ing until the end. It is even rumored that he will try and place his son in power if he is forced to step down. Other countries in the Middle East have also started protesting and it seems like they should be able to make some head-way because the U.S. tends to support, and has already supported, countries that wish to be democratic.

Staff Writer What is a belief? Is it confidence in the truth or existence of something not immedi-ately susceptible to rigorous proof? Is it simply an opinion? Well, I believe that there must be a distinction between beliefs and opinions. A belief must be totally sincere, therefore it must be something that no evidence can deter. There can be no beliefs that are rooted in answerable questions, questions with wrong answers. Faith is based on belief, and as non-religious as I am, I still respect the power of faith, as everyone should. Anyone can say that placing confidence in something that has no proof to back it up is foolish, but there are many examples in the world of natural reality, not the religious extension of reality, that demonstrate the concept of faith. For instance, do you believe in god? No. Why not? Because you see no reason in believing something that has no proof. Okay. Well, do you love your family? Your friends? Prove that. Love is faith, it is a human condition that compels one to over-look certain boundaries and rules that people have created for themselves. For exam-ple, there are plenty of astrophysicists and neurobiologists who make ground breaking discoveries into the human brain and the reaches of space who still go to congregate every Sunday to worship a lord of the universe who requires our praise and devotion. People go beyond their normal limits for faith, it is what makes up trust and self-

confidence. To trust someone is to believe, with no real evidence, that you can expect hope from them. The power of this part of the human condition is overwhelming and explains why religion is allowed to functionally exist. People, the masses, are so obsessed with faith and live with it so symbiotically that it is no burden to place complete faith in even the most ridiculous things. The problem is this: Faith, which is an ingrained part of the human race, existed before science, and there is a fundamental value that exists; yet, within many of us, that puts belief in a very exclusive place in our minds, above logic even, and takes over the mind. Now, as much as the religious faction of society is slowly shrinking, faith in other misconceptions is rising and will continue to have grand effects on the world, perhaps equivalent to that of religion. The faith of which I speak is that which is placed in the systems of man: capitalism, marriage, wealth, the educational system in the United States...the list goes on. Faith in the things that corrupt us and pit us against each other is just as powerful as faith in a supreme being, because the effects of such sys-tems can be felt by man, they are palpable. Faith is something that humans have clung to and there is no way to prove that we would be better off without it, but perhaps, in time, we will evolve past faith and new emergent laws will come about that, with the influence of new technology and science, shape our future in ways that we cannot fathom. Imagine if there was no religion, it isn’t hard to do. But isn’t it?

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Ph: 650-525-1900 Contact: kirkpatricksdance.com

Kirkpatrick’s School of Dance *Ballet *Tap *Jazz *Hip-Hop *Modern




























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First to fall: Borders closing Why Borders fell and what it means for students

Borders filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 16 when the jumbo book-seller began the Chapter 11 process (a certain bankruptcy in which the business can no longer service its debt). Now the company will focus on its core interests as they reorganize. Over the weeks following the public announcement, the famous business an-nounced plans to close about 200 of its 650 stores. Mary Davis, Borders Group Public Relations Manager, related that most of the stores closing will be the larger superstores. One store that will be shut down is the nearest Borders on El Camino Real in San Mateo. The store is expected to close by the end of April. Other stores near this location will also no longer be available, leaving Palo Alto and Stonestown the closest shops. This poses a limit for students regarding access to books. With Borders being a go-to store for book supply, students will need to find books elsewhere.

By Alex Porter JuniOr editOr

“Usually when I have to get a book for school or something, I’ll go down to Borders in San Mateo,” commented sophomore Emily Heck. The cause for the fall of the mega company was simply the “difficult U.S. economy, coupled with the rapidly changing bookselling environment,” stated Mike Edwards, president and CEO of Borders Inc. Borders failed to adapt quickly enough to the changing book industry over the years leading up to this bankruptcy. Purchasing literature online has become increasingly more popular with the new-est inventions that let you carry numer-ous books in one device. Trying to fit into the movement, Borders adapted different eReaders, or online books, that could be read through computers or tablets. They could not keep up with competi-tors such as Amazon’s Kindle, or Barnes & Noble’s Nook, or the iPad and iPhone. “I have a Kindle and although I prefer actual books better, I do like the concept of an electronic book,” commented Eng-lish teacher Joey Hill. “I would only use the Kindle for certain reading circum-

stances,” he continued. Some of the other appeals of the device are that it is environmentally friendly, convenient in travel, cheaper in the long run, and it is good for people with hand disabilities. Many people are downloading applica-tions or buying gadgets that let them buy and read volumes. Because it is instant, they have the book in minutes. However, some prefer the classic method of holding the physical novel than a new piece of technology. “I definitely prefer the actual physical book,” stated freshmen Kristen Dames, “The electronic version lacks the per-sonal and social appeal to books.” Dames continued by pointing out the how she likes lending books to friends and enjoying the sense of pride of a book being on a shelf for later reading. Many other bookworms would agree that the feeling of flipping from page to page provides a better connection to a story than flicking your finger across a screen. Having the book in your hand is also important for studying and reference. As the popularity in possessing a hard

copy of a book declines, businesses like Borders must struggle to keep up with changing demands. It seems for a book distributing com-pany to find success in this economy and society, one must make books easily accessible both in stores, online, and through other computer applications. Whether you prefer reading the printed copy or online version, books will con-tinually be in demand and large booksell-ing companies will be there to provide them to the public. Borders plans to continue to operate as normal through stores and their online site throughout its changes.

Mastering the art of thinkingBy Matthew Ray Staff Writer The conception of a self, of a you, though seemingly logical and rational, is the doorway for the egotist to control the life experience granted to any human being upon birth. When being asked the question, “Who are you?” a likely response would be to simply provide your name or social in-formation ac-counted for at the hos-pital when you were first born. It is this information that con-tinues to provide for most persons social identity for their entire lives. However, if this information was never accounted for, or never provided, there would be no social identity. That was how it was for a large majority of human evolution. There were no names before language. There-fore, there were no labels. Humans are gifted with the ability to think articulately and communicate those thoughts in all sorts of manners, via art,

language, music, etc. When observing an animal, a lion for instance, you see that the lion lives through it’s ego. Animals still have emotions and thoughts, but the two are hardly separated. They are connected through the ego, the robotic, inherent actions programmed into the mind. A human though, a human can make the choice to go die in a desert because

it would seem glorious or some-thing

ridiculous like that. Of course, it’s all perspective. The human ego is more developed and individualized. It evolves with the human mind, and with experi-ence. The ego has the potential to evolve to a point that it makes decisions for someone without their true knowledge that that decision was made. Nevertheless, the ego comes to help shape the conception of self that nearly every human being develops. The “I am.”

Upon asking several people to forge a sentence about their day without us-ing the word ‘I’ it was unaccomplished. No one could do it. Certainly it could be done but the language, especially English, is such that it has to involve the self. So how could one develop a sense of no self? This can be done, only through truth. It is extremely difficult for someone who has not yet come to realize the self alone without any egotistic qualities mixed in. It requires much focus and meditation. The way I see it, to realize no self, one has to either figuratively or literally look at oneself in the mirror and question ev-erything. You might be asking, “What do I get out of this?” The answer is “noth-ing.” You get nothing out of this, but the mind receives only truth. That’s all there is when you take the time to communi-cate with yourself; truth. It can be put two ways. One, there is no self, there is no you, there is only a mind accustomed to language and communica-tion to such a point that it fools itself into believing there is anything more. Two, everything is self, plants, animals, air,

“Once conscious awareness is achieved, there is no turning back. After it is realized, it cannot be forgotten.”

dirt, fire, ether. All of it is you. Once conscious awareness is achieved, there is no turning back. After it is realized, it cannot be forgotten. It’s a dif-ference of being awake and being asleep and a matter of waking up.

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Exploring conscious awareness

Faculty Adviser:Justin Raisner

Emily BeiersKendall BishopShannon ChangAshley DierolfMary FarmarJoshua FaulknerJorja FlynnNikolas FrazierIvan GarinConnor Moore

Staff Writers:Bridget NewmanReyna OrtizMatthew RayJasmine RishiMiranda SantanaArik SchoessowErica ValbusaAnnie WesolekNoelani Zane

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In recent years, researchers have found a drastic increase in the amount of calls to poison control centers regarding teens overdosing on ADD and ADHD prescrip-tion medication. Adderall and Ritalin are two of the most common drugs prescribed for people who have ADD and ADHD, more formally known as Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperac-tivity Disorder. Both of these drugs are aimed to help people with ADD or ADHD focus where they could not normally do so for long periods of time. When prescribed and used correctly, the medication can be extremely beneficial to a person with ADD or ADHD.

Abuse of ADD and ADHD medication increases among teens By Kendall BishopStaff Writer

How it works is the amphetamines that are in the drugs, stimulate and increase the brain’s production of dopamine and norepinephrine. Both of which are hor-mones that are associated with behavior and attention. Most users of these drugs say they feel more alert, refreshed, able to think faster and concentrate for longer periods of time. “My ADD medication makes me really calm, I feel a big difference if I don’t take it because then I am not able to do classwork or homework without spacing out,” expressed a Carlmont Junior. Not all people that try the drug have the same effect, some users don’t feel a change at all while others feel sleepy or drowsy. On college campuses nowadays, it’s nor-mal to see students take Adderall (also

known as speed) or Ritalin, to help them study before a big exam. One study concluded that 1 in 5 college students had abused the drug at some point to help them cram before a test, write a paper or take an exam. An anonymous college student stated, “During finals week, its normal to see Adderall getting passed around in the library like it’s candy.” A study released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse in 2005, found that the number of teens who admitted to abusing prescription medications had tripled from 1992 to 2003. What these students may not know is that there can be serious risks when abus-ing ADD and ADHD medication. If you do not posses a mental disorder and you are abusing these prescription

drugs, it could ultimately lead to becom-ing addicted. The overuse of the pills can cause the need for a higher and higher dosage to get the same effect as before. Long-term abuse from these drugs can lead to permanent damage in the brain, chronic convulsions and tremors, which may occur from this irregular blood flow to the brain. Overdosing on these amphetamines can also be fatal. In 2005, Canada saw 20 deaths and 12 strokes which were directly linked to Adderall. The country banned it for a period of time but has since made it legal again. Although prescription drugs for ADD and ADHD can be harmful if abused, they are beneficial to many and help people cope in their everyday lives.

Myths and facts about ADD and ADHDMyths: 1. ADD/ADHD is not a real medical condition.2. Having ADD/ADHD means a person is dumb or lazy.3. Medication for ADD/ADHD makes a person appear drugged.4. If a person had ADD/ADHD they can simply be diagnosed in a doctors office.5. Having ADD/ADHD means that something is wrong neurologically.6. ADD/ADHD is over diagnosed.7. Only children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and will eventually grow out of it.8. Poor parenting can cause ADD/ADHD.9. People with ADD/ADHD are not able to pay attention.10. If you are not hyperactive then you cannot have ADHD.11. Everyone has symptoms of ADD/ADHD, but certain people are able to overcome them.

Truths:1. ADD/ADHD is a real medical condition and is not a condition of someone’s will.2. ADD/ADHD had nothing to do with someone’s intellectual ability.3. If properly taken, ADD/ADHD medications sharpen a persons focus and increases their ability to control their behavior.4. Evaluating a person from one sitting may often result in failure to diagnose ADD/ADHD cor-rectly5. ADD/ADHD are classified as behavior disorders, they are not neurological.6. Overall, the United States does not appear to over diagnose ADD/ADHD.7. 70 percent of children with ADD/ADHD show symptoms through their teenage years and 50 percent of them continue to have symptoms as an adult.8. Poor parenting is not a cause of ADD/ADHD, however, it is likely that it exacerbates it.9. People with ADD/ADHD can have harder time paying attention, but can sometimes hyperfocus.10. Not everyone with ADD/ADHD is “bouncing off the walls” it mainly pertains to attentions deficits.11. People with ADD/ADHD cannot manage to respond to certain common aspects of the human conditions in smart ways.Compiled by Bridget Newman

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Attention Deficit Disorder and Atten-tion Deficit Hyperactive Disorder or more commonly known as ADD and ADHD are two of the most common mental disorders that develop in children that also have many misconceptions. ADD and ADHD are easily confused, but are generally the same thing. ADD is a term that is frequently used to the describe individuals that have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, but do not possess the hyperactive or impulse behaviors. These two are a biological brain disor-ders that result in poor attention, distract-ibility, and sometimes hyperactive or impulsive behavior. Although cases can range from very severe to small, ADD and ADHD never have a good reputation.

Misconceptions of ADD and ADHDBy Bridget NewmanStaff Writer

One in twenty-five students posses one of these disorders, which means there is at least one student in every class here at Carlmont struggling with it everyday. When Evan Brummer was asked what he thought someone with ADD or ADHD acted like, his response was, “They have no concentration at all and they don’t think about what they do. They are prob-ably so hyper that they never sleep.” The stereotypical image of a person with ADHD is bouncing off the walls, out of control, and disruptive. This is not always the case, as some people with ADHD simply sit quietly with their attention miles away and spacing out. There are many different cases and forms of this disorder. Some symptoms of ADHD include difficulties with concentration, short at-

Millions of children, teenagers, adults and families are affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder also known as ADHD, a mental condition causing inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impul-sivity. ADHD is one of the most common childhood disorders that can continue through adolescence and into adulthood. The American Psychiatric Association reports that between three percent and seven percent of school aged children have ADHD though in recent years, stud-ies have found that the rates of ADHD diagnosis has increased. With 5.4 million children between the ages of four and 17 years old being di-agnosed with ADHD as of 2007, reports show that not only are boys more likely than girls to be diagnosed but that the rates of diagnosis have increased more

Effects of ADHD in adolescentsBy Jenna Chambers featureS editOr

rapidly among older teens compared to younger children. While poor concentration, hyperactivity and impulsivity remain the core symp-toms of ADHD, during adolescent years with various hormonal changes occur-ring, the symptoms may intensify and also include insomnia and irritability. Due to the ADHD symptoms, especially inattentiveness and distractibility, teenag-ers with the attention deficit hyperactiv-ity disorder can find school to be more difficult. Poor grades as a result of poor con-centration, easily being distracted and be-coming bored during class and forgotten assignments are not uncommon for teens with ADHD. For people with ADHD, often times it is hard to focus on one thing resulting in a wandering mind leaving teens with ADHD to busy focusing on other things that they can forget about the task at

hand. Especially, in high school when stu-dents need to be able to sit still and con-centrate for longer periods of time, the proper dosage of medication can control the ADHD in order to maximize success in school. When teachers are aware that a student has ADHD, which most are, it helps them to better understand how that students might learn compared to other students. Certain students with ADHD may be eligible to receive special education ser-vices under the Individuals with Disabili-ties Education Act (IDEA). IDEA, which was passed in 1990 and reauthorized in 1997 and improved in 2004, regulates how states provide special education, re-lated services to children with disabilities and a free appropriate public education regardless of ability. The Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services (OSEP) reports that the Individuals with Disabilities Ed-ucation Improvement Act of 2004 serves approximately 6.8 million children and adolescence with disabilities. There are many options when treating ADHD symptoms in teens. Some experts believe that by the time a child with ADHD becomes a teenager, behavioral therapy without medication could help symptoms. However, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 80 percent of those who needed ADHD medication as children still needed medication in their teenage years. The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry all recommend behavioral therapy to improve that aspect of ADHD for those in which it is neces-sary though typically, a combination of medication and therapy best treats teens.

tention span, careless mistakes in work, difficulty in school or homework, talking out of turn, fidgetiness, and many more. Since many people posses these symp-toms there is a large misconception that ADD and ADHD are not a real medical conditions. Some doctors and teachers believe that a diagnoses of these disor-ders is simply used to justify poor grades or constant misbehavior. They believe that everyone has the same difficulties, but certain people are just able to over-come them. This misconception could be argued forever, but ADD and ADHD are real medical conditions that may cause someone to do things that are against their will. Another assumption is that someone with ADD or ADHD can not listen and is stupid or lazy. Although listening may

be more difficult for some, people with ADHD sometimes have the ability to hyperfocus. This means that they are capable of listening to something while performing a task that does not take much thought or concentration like playing with a stress ball. ADD and ADHD have nothing to do with a persons intellectual ability and that point cannot be stressed enough. It can just make tasks like reading for long periods of time or long homework as-signments more challenging. These disorders can affect people in many ways and are too often thought of as a bad quality. ADD and ADHD also have positive side effects. They can make a person be more creative, flexible in tough situations, enthusiastic, spontane-ous and full of energy.

I should probably start that English essay tonight

I have to go shopping for that party on

SaturdayWhat should I eat

for dinner?

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AP classes the best choice? By Noelani ZaneStaff Writer Over the past decade, students have found it increasingly difficult to make their college applications stand out among the other thousands of applicants. Whether it’s doing community service or adding AP classes to their schedule, students are constantly trying to better their chances of getting into the college of their choice. AP classes, or advanced placement classes, are courses offered to students who express a strong interest in the subject. However, a lot of students find themselves taking these in-depth courses for all of the wrong reasons. The purpose of AP courses is to give students the opportunity to further ex-plore a subject that they find interesting and want to learn more about. “I loved AP biology. It was really fun because science is my favorite subject and Ms. Doss makes the class interest-ing,” said senior Nikki Kenyon. A lot of students take AP courses to further enhance their college applications by flourishing their transcript with mul-tiple five-point classes. On the contrary, earning poor grades in an AP class pretty much cancels out the benefit of taking the ambitious course in the first place. “Colleges do like to see students chal-lenge themselves, but not at the expense of being able to keep up and excel at the coursework,” said an expert from Seven-teen magazine. When asked why she is going to take AP classes next year, sophomore Mindy

Yang stated, “Because it’s a challenge and you learn more. Plus, it [AP classes] helps you in college.” There are multiple benefits of tak-ing on these advanced courses. All AP classes offer five point in grade point average comparing to the average four point classes. Taking AP classes makes it possible to earn a GPA higher than a 4.0, which colleges find appealing. By taking AP classes, students have the opportunity to earn college credit. In May, AP students have the option of taking AP tests. These tests are graded on a five point scale. If a student receives a passing score, they may be eligible to earn college credit. Some courses even warn students not to take advanced class-es if they have no interest in the subject and are just interested in adding another five-point class to their transcript. On a flier issued by the AP psychology department at Carlmont’s course faire, students were forewarned to reconsider taking the course if they are only inter-ested in having a five-point class. A frequently asked question by stu-dents is: “Is it better to get an ‘A’ in a regular course, or is it better to have a mediocre grade in an advanced course?” When asked this question, Carlmont counselor Connie Dominguez stated, “It is better to earn an ‘A’ in an AP course.” AP classes are a great way to enhance a student’s transcript. The important thing to do when choosing classes for next year is to make sure you’re choosing the right classes for you.

Photo by Noelani Zane

The world’s appreciation of poetry is an ongoing thing; however, there is a specific month dedicated to just the celebration of poetry. That month, National Poetry Month, takes place every April. National Poetry Month was intro-duced in 1966, and since then, it has been celebrated in the United States and Canada every April, as well as Great Britain in October. National Poetry Month was estab-lished by the Academy of American Poets, which is a nonprofit organiza-tion that aims to support American poets at all stages of experience and raise appreciation for poetry. Within Carlmont, National Po-etry Month is celebrated with great enthusiasm. Probably the best known example of contribution from Carl-mont students and teachers is the door decorating contest. Students receive a large piece of paper and decorate it with a poetry theme. It brings great artwork and poetic spirit to the school. The Creative reWriters Club have also found their own ways to support National Poetry Month. Carolyn Wal-lace, the advisor of the club, shared that the club has wanted “to celebrate National Poetry Month by encouraging students, administrators, and teachers to read poetry selections during Carl-mont’s daily bulletin announcements.” The club would also like to do poetry readings in April, and this has become seemingly more able due to the new video announcements. Wallace, as an English teacher, does not only save the poetry for her club. She also allots time during her English classes for National Poetry Month to do poetry related activies. “Each April, I teach a poetry unit during which stu-dents read and study published poetry and compose original poems,” she said. Her students write poetry and read them aloud to the class to receive constructive criticism. Another English teacher, Jenny Bonjardim has a similar approach to poetry. “We do a poetry unit, which covers types of poetry, as well as elements and rhyme.”

Although English teachers may have different ways of getting their students into poetry, they are very enthusiastic about it. “I love poetry because it’s a combination of lan-guages, images, sounds, and emotions.” The history of National Poetry Month begins with Marie Bullock. Bullock founded the Academy of American Poets in 1934 after she returned from Paris to America and saw the admiration and awareness the country lacked for poetry. The Academy today supports poets at all skill levels, from aspiring poets to accomplished and published poets. They host many events, such as poetry forum reading, poetry dis-cussions, and much more. However, the Academy’s most well-known event is Na-tional Poetry Month, which, as stated previously, has been celebrated in every state in the United States since 1966, as well as Canada in 1999. Great Britain has also taken part by declaring October their National Poetry Month since 2000. Each year brings new ways to celebrate. For example, the Academy has celebrated National Poetry month by distribut-ing books, issuing posters, and having people vote for a poet that they wanted to have on a postage stamp. The Academy also offers several ways for people to get in-volved. Booksellers, libraries, schools and just about anyone can check out the Academy’s official website, www.poets.org, to see what they can do to promote the appreciation of poetry. On a list of ways to celebrate National Poetry Month provided by the Academy, the Academy encourages people to read a poetry book, memorize a poem, add verse to email signatures, sign up for a poetry class, and much more. Overall, National Poetry Month is a great way to get in touch with the magic and artwork that is poetry.

Poetry Month returnsThe origins and different ways to celebrate National Poetry Month

By Anna WheelerJuniOr editOr

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Page 7featureSBreakups: How to deal with the end of a relationshipEven if it seems like the end, it might just be a new beginning uncovering itselfBy Mary Farmar

Dating is great, but breaking up can make it seem like it was never worth it. At first, dating may seem like all fun and games- that is, until someone gets hurt. All those Taylor Swift songs add to your emotions and you feel like you can’t concentrate on schoolwork or friends. Although breakups may be tem-porary, when experiencing them, it could feel like a lifetime. Grief moves in stages: it has a begin-ning, middle, and an end phase. In the beginning, you may be in shock, denial, or numb. It may be hard for you to believe what has happened and hard to make sense of it all. While feeling grief, many people operate as if the rela-tionship is still happening, even as they grieve the loss. Even though you could be upset, you may not fully accept that the relationship is over. Deep down you may feel that he or she could come back. Sometimes, the thought of reviving the lost relationship may pop into your mind even when you know it’s over. Some dealing with grief start talking to those about what they think led to the break up. This is the “if only” stage - “if only I had...”or, “if only I hadn’t...we might still be together.” In the “if only” stage, some feel that they are trying to

make sense of what happened or trying to understand and take it in. When asked what is the best way to deal with grief after a break-up, sopho-more Ashley (name withheld) said, “The best way is to surround yourself with people that care about you and want to spend time with you.” Having family and friends to talk to is a big help while you are trying to get over grief. Talk to friends and family members as much as you can because in the end, they will always be there for you no matter what.

Other possible emotions that you may experience are fear, anger and depression. These emotions usually last the longest and can be filled with feelings of insecuri-

ty, panic, worry, and crying. In the begin-ning, you may think that you will always feel this way, but as time passes you start to realize that there is more to life than crying over an ex. In a lot of break-ups, we think that we should only be upset for a few weeks when the truth is it usually takes longer to stop being upset. While going through depression, you should keep yourself busy with activities that would help and not hurt you. Some of the top priorities on your to do list should be to take care of yourself. Some examples would be; taking a class you always wanted to take but didn’t have

time for or surrounding yourself with friends for as long as you need to. When going through a rough break-up, sometimes we do things we regret. When asked what is one thing you should not do during a breakup, Jen Lotfy sug-gested, “You should not act desperate. Always try to be strong in public and keep your head up high.” Some other aspects that add to what you should not do during a break-up are: calling or texting exes 24/7, trying to re-main as “friends,” venting to any person that says hello to you, stop taking care of yourself, and resorting to drugs and/or drinking. After going through fear or depression you may start to feel acceptance. You realize that you haven’t thought about your ex in awhile, and that without real-

izing it you are moving on. While going through acceptance you’ve thought about the relationship and the break-up and you realize things that you hadn’t before. You may feel that you understand yourself better, and you aren’t as angry or hurt. Sometimes you find yourself laughing more, and feeling hopeful. “I start to think about the future and that it’s not so bad. I mean, there will al-ways be more girls,” said Thomas Parker. After the feelings of anger and betrayal have subsided, you may start to realize that a break-up is anything but the end. It can be seen as a chance for someone new to walk into your life and be a much bet-ter partner than your ex ever was. Even if you are not at your strongest, know that there are always more fish in the sea.

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“...you may start to realize that a break-up is any-thing but the end.”

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Staff Writer

Page 8 ScOt ScOOp

Carlmont's Heritage Fair is one of the most popular assemblies of the year in which different cultures are expressed through acts performed by students. Most heritage groups choose to portray their backgrounds through different dance styles. With all performers dancing, plus choir singing, it can cause redundancy. Even Carlmont's Drumline incorporated dancing into their routine by “jerking” for a bit. "It gets boring when every group dances," replied Nick Daskalakis, "it would be better if we could see different ways each culture acts, like food or skits. The dancing is interesting, though." The Heritage Fair opens oppor-tunities for students to become part of a culture they are inter-ested in, regardless of whether or not they are ethnically a part of it. "I'm white, but I performed with the Latinas Latinos Unidos club," said Daskalakis, "it's just a way to have fun with friends,

but show culture at the same time." When dancing, not many groups decided to keep their routines and dance styles strictly modern. The Asian Ameri-can Club, however, portrayed their culture through energetic techno-like Asian songs and various break dance moves. The Urban Beat Club was perhaps the only performance that didn't show any particular culture references. Instead, they danced, did tricks, and added humor to chart topping songs such as “Down,” “Bad Ro-mance,” and “DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love.” The Pacific Islander Club is one of the few clubs that stayed true to their culture by ac-curately representing not only the typical dance style, but the traditional clothing that is worn as well. Heritages as close as Hawaii and as far as New Zea-land were represented simply by their clothing. Not all acts in the Heritage Fair have to show foreign culture. Carlmont's Swing Club shows one of the most popular dance styles in America during

the 20th century through various tricks, 50's style clothing, and Elvis. “It's cool that we get to show what American heritage was like during the 1940's through the 1950's,” replied Derek Gunther, a member of the Swing Club. A new addition to the Heritage Fair this year was the Urban Expressions Club. Wanting to stray from just representing a culture like every other act, they performed popular songs “Why Can't We Be Friends?” and “Where is the Love?” Matt Ray and Lio Vaitai integrated their own parts into the songs as well. “The heritage fair was a chance for the club to break the boundaries of what was expect-ed at the assembly," replied Jeff Haslam, member of the Urban Expressions Club and drummer during the performance, "the club provides a safe place for people to express themselves and also send the message of understanding.” With Heritage Fair just finish-ing up, students are already looking forward to watching next year's performance.

Heritage fairWhat is it all about?By Ashley DierolfStaff Writer

By Gloria Cruz

This year the Heritage Fair assembly featured twelve dif-ferent performances that show-cased the talents and culture of many students. As usual, Carlmont had two assemblies due to the large population of the school and the performers, who were lucky enough to watch both, com-mented on which they thought was better. One of the performers in Choir, Joleen Corner stated, “The second assembly was bet-ter; the announcer was on the skateboard with the U.S. flag and that made the audience was more enthusiastic.” The announcer coming out on a skateboard with the American

flag was just one of the notable differences between the first and second assembly. For the performers, the second assembly might have been bet-ter for them because they would then be able to fix mistakes from the first assembly. When asked which assembly was better, Briana Wong, a per-former from the Asian American Club and the Urban Beat club, commented, “The second one because we know what do and we also improve and fix our past mistake.” Another difference noted was during the Heritage Fair rehearsal, Drumline was prac-ticing their performance and the bass drummer poured water in their drums as they were on the stand. They then proceeded to beat the drums making the water

bounce up creating a cool visual effect. Unfortunately, Drumline did not use this effect during the actual performance. Although the reason is unknown, it might have been because the water spilling on the floor could have been dangerous for the next dance performances. Some other differences included the Urban Beat Club using different moves and posi-tions in the second assembly, as well as using a butterfly during the second assembly that they hadn’t used in the first. Also a big difference was that in the first assembly, choir sang the song “Under the Sea” before the Latino Club started, and another song to close the assem-bly. In the second assembly, the song was cut.

Staff Writer

Performances changed in second assembly

The Heritage Fair opens opportunities for students to become part of a culture they are interested in, regardless of whether or not they are ethnically a part of it.

Page 9ScOt ScOOp

The gender-bending Sadie Hawkins dance encourages girls to ask their man on a date, instead of the other way around. While the dance went very well, it also inadvertently put a whole bunch of pressure on the girls at Carlmont. Now, instead of having the guy buy our ticket (unless he’s cheap), pick us up, and take us out, we were expected to do all that ourselves! Crazy, right? Wrong. The way I see it, girls should have been asking guys out a long time ago. This was the perfect opportunity to finally get a date with your crush! Why should the fun stop during the other eleven months of the year? The Sadie Hawkins dance is over, but I have taken the liberty of putting together some suggestions for the next time you decide to proposition the man of your dreams. However, if these don’t work, don’t blame me. I don’t want a bunch of heartbroken Highlander-readers bursting down my door. First, you have to build a relationship with your man. If you’ve already known him for a while, it’s even easier. But, if you guys haven’t spoken more than three words to each other at any given time, this may take a while. Try (gasp!) talking to him once in a while. Ask him how his weekend went. Ask him about the homework (but don’t

How to: ask a guy on a dateplay dumb. This won’t make him think you’re hot. It will make him think you’re dumb). Ask him about ANYTHING, and if he’s not a self-centered jerk, chance are he’ll ask you about yourself in return. Before long, lo and behold, you two have an actual conversation go-ing. A few conversations down the road, you might actually become friends. Now it’s time to move in for the kill (figura-tively, of course. Chances are, murdering him won’t get you a date). The actual asking part may be a little tricky. An important

thing to remem-ber is guys don’t think the same way we do. So, while the idea of a guy serenad-ing you in front of your lunch group may make you swoon, do-ing that to him will probably just creep him out.

Instead, it’s best to ask him when you guys have some time to yourselves. Then, casually ask him if he has any plans for (insert day here), and if he’s free, ask him if he’d like to hang out. It also might be a good idea to get him a gift, but again, remember that he won’t like the same things you do. A bouquet of roses or a giant teddy bear won’t appeal to a guy. Get something he’s interested in, like the new CD of that band he loves, or the latest issue of that magazine he always reads (but not the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Don’t give him any ideas). When you pick the date, choose something low-pressure

and fun. A candlelight dinner with violins is out. A good idea is dinner at a good, non-fancy restaurant, followed by a movie. Don’t pick a romantic drama (no matter how much he tells you he liked it, he’ll be bored out of his skull). Don’t go to the opposite end of the spectrum and pick a blood-and-guts action movie (no matter how much you tell him you liked it, YOU’LL be bored out of your skull). Go for middle ground and choose a comedy or a thriller. One lets you laugh and have fun, the other lets you cuddle during the scary parts. A win-win either way. After this, I can’t offer any more advice. If the date goes well, who knows? You might even be ready for round two.Good Luck!

By Sarah LevinJuniOr editOr

Video announcementsBy Niko FrazierStaff Writer

ASB launched their first video across campus in late February. The video announcements are aired every Thursday and feature Alyson Lazzarotti, ASB Vice President, and Gino Fer-rario, ASB President. Along with the usual humor, they also feature more in depth bulletin announcements, that

offer yet another way to get school happenings to every day students. In a recent poll, fifty-two Carlmont students shared their opinions of the video announce-ments which revealed that an overwhelming percentage enjoy them. With the advancement of tech-

Talk Back: if you could trade places with anybody, who would it be and why?

Brandi Veley, Sophomore“Oprah because she’s the richest person ever.”

Brittney Phillips, Junior“Mila Kunis cause she’s super sexy and awesome”

Jessica Smith, Sophomore“A judge on Ameri-can Idol so I can tell them they all suck.” Jake Solomon, Senior

“My dog because he has the most comfortable life.”

Christian Reyes, Junior“Fernando Torres be-cause he’s good looking and a soccer player, but mostly because he’s good looking.”

Taja Jordan, Senior“Peter Griffin because he’s so cool and has no responsi-bilities. He’s a G.”

Lauren Jung, Senior“A super hero. I want super powers.” Tyler Humphrey, Junior

“Travis Rice, he’s one of the best snowboarders there is and he gets to snowboard for a living and gets paid bank.”

Carolyn Donohoe, Freshman“Aly Riley, she went to Stanford and was a soccer player.”

Heidi Ortega, Sophomore“Nobody but myself.

Carlmont students welcome a change

“Ask him about ANYTHING, and if he’s not a self-centered jerk, chance are he’ll ask you about yourself in return.”

The Monthly Quad Snapshot

Photo by Gianna DimickCarlmont students crowd the tables in order to vote for their class officers elected for the 2011-2012 school year. The elections took place on March 2 and 3 during lunch.

nology, Carlmont has shown how they are going to keep up with the times. The announcements are recorded during the day and emailed to teachers for display on the Smartboards. The announcements are now running twice a week and many enhancements are planned for the future.

Do you like the video announcements?

Page 10 entertainmentThe switch to soundEvolution of movies: transition to talkiesBy Annie WesolekStaff Writer

The term “movies” was originally used to describe a moving picture, and how the people onscreen could move and pantomime the story. Today, movies are recognized as having both movement and sound. At the time of their conception, these films were referred to as “talkies.” Before the use of sound synchronization was implemented, the average movie fea-tured lots of action scenes, like in “The Great Train Robbery” made in 1903. In these scenes, actors tended to over emote in order to get their point across. The two challenges that stalled the creation of talk-ing pictures were synchronization and space. At the time, the only way to add sound to film was to play the sound on a separate de-vice. This dichotomy of the two devices which needed be maintained in tandem created difficulties for the operator. As movies gained more popular-ity, theaters did the logical thing and expanded to fit more people. Current sound-projecting technology couldn’t fill large theaters, so they continued to show silent films. In 1913, having overcome both of these challenges, inventor Thomas Edison created a machine that connected his previous invention, the Kinetophone to a film projection through a system of pulleys. The Kinetophone was a sound projection device; Once connected to a film projection and under the right condi-tions, it could produce sound and film synchronization. “Singing in the Rain,” a musical made for film in 1952, humorously depicted

the switch from silent films to films that used sound. In the film, Millard Mitchell, who played the studio producer exempli-fies the common mentality of the time. When asked his opinion of synchronized sound Mitchell’s character predicted, “ It will never amount to a thing.” Despite the doubts of many industry in-siders, the success of Warner Bros “The Jazz Singer,” made in 1927 proved that this new technology wasn’t just a passing fad. Soon after, there was a rush to equip every studio with the technology to cre-ate talking pictures. However, this technology also had some negative effects. During the silent

film era, the United States had dominat-ed the field of film-making across the world. The lack of a language bar-

rier led American-made movies to gain popularity in foreign countries as well as among immigrants in the States. The new ability to expand story plots through sound alienated foreign custom-ers and allowed different countries to catch up to the success of the U.S. film industry. Because of talking pictures, story plots have evolved to become more intricate and characters have become three-dimensional. Carlmont student Hailey Miller believes that these changes may have proved damaging to today’s films, “Adding sound has made movies less in-volved. Where before you could interpret what was happening, now you are told exactly what is happening.” Whether sound has changed cinema for the better or for the worse, this technol-ogy has completely changed the modern movie market.

Simon vs StevenThe 2011 American Idol seasonBy Miranda SantanaStaff Writer

The 2011 season of American Idol gives us the question, without Simon, is this season worth watching? This time, you be the judge. American Idol debuted in June of 2002 and has been the number one show on TV for its last 6 seasons. The show has given us Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clark-son, Adam Lambert, and Carrie Under-wood, just to name a few big stars. The show started out with the nice judge, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson (dawg), and the lovable/not very lik-able Simon Cowell. Many felt that the show was mainly entertaining and only watched it for Simon’s meanness. It’s hard not to love the hilarious audi-tion rounds. After the judges are through with their job of selecting the main con-testants and sorting through the talented and mediocre solo singers, the show’s audience votes by telephone to ultimately choose a winner in the end. This season seems to be a twist in chemistry of the show due to Steven Ty-ler and Jennifer Lopez. Some may think it’s great, and others just cannot let go of Simon Cowell. “I think the show kind of died ever since Simon left, and the contestants are boring,” said Sameen Shahid, who has been a fan of the show for years. “It’s losing what people liked about it in the first place and Simon made it interest-ing because he was honest while being funny.” Season ten has definitely been different this year with new judges the beautiful and too nice Jennifer Lopez and rock legend Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. The singer/actress Jennifer Lopez has been a nice addition to the judging panel but can be overly nice at times. As for Steven Tyler, now the Idol net-

work has to add a five second filter due to Tyler’s very colorful vocabulary. “I think that they’re too nice to the contestants,” said Ross Goffigon. This year, twice as many contestants got ac-cepted in the audition round than previ-ous years. During the show, it seemed as though J-Lo just couldn’t manage to say no to anyone. The show may have lost the meanness factor that people loved. “Randy is supposed to be the mean judge but he doesn’t act mean at all,” added Goffigon. However, popularity in the ratings still remain high without Simon Cowell. The show may have lost viewers due to their loyalties to the past judges, but it also gained new viewers that are fans of J-Lo and Aerosmith. However, record producer and music manager Jackson is still on the show along with presenter Ryan Seacrest. They have stuck with American Idol for ten years now. So far, there have been some hilarious moments like Tyler and Jackson show-ing off their abs. Or when someone crazy auditions. When real talent is recognized and you watch dreams come true, that’s what the show is truly about. The judges make and impact for sure, but so far the entertainment from this new season and panel seems promising in amusing America for another year. Watch it for yourself on Fox, Wednes-days and Thursdays at eight o’clock.

Best and worst iPhone appsWith two networks, new apps come out on topBy Nikos Frazier

Staff Writer

As our world is changed by the ongoing advance-ment of technology, we rely on new applications to get us through the day. Ralph Crame, Administra-tive Vice Principal, is al-ways seen around the cam-pus holding his new iPad. Crame commented that his favorite applications were: Real Soccer, ABC News, Cut the Rope, Words with Friends and Pandora. He also said the applications that he disliked were; Email and iCalendar.

Because of talking pictures, story plots have evolved to become more intricate and characters have become three-dimensional.

In addition, many students own apple products such as the iPad, iPhone, and iTouch. Students can even be spotted using their iPads in class. Although the appli-cations available on these products can be used for business, most teens prefer to use them for pleasure. According to a survey of 63 Carlmont students the top 5 iPhone applications are games or social net-working shortcuts. Teens seem to dislike mindless applications and, of course, stocks.

Page 11entertainment

CinderellaBy Shannon ChangStaff Writer

During the weekend of March 10, tal-ented Carlmont students performed in the spring musical, Cinderella. Seniors Ashley Browning and Connor Sines played the two main roles, Cinder-ella and the Prince. The story of Cinderella can be tracked back to the first century BC beginning with the story of a Greco-Russian girl Rhodopi, which contains a similar story line. This folk tale was told throughout many generations and eventually became the story of Cinderella we know and love today. Walt Disney Picture Production made it into a very well known movie in 1950 and just 15 years later it was transformed into a musical by Rodgers and Hammer-stein. Bernedette Fife directed Carlmont’s version of Cinderella. This musical is based on the 1965 movie by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Although the same company produced

both films, the 1965 Cinderella shows a new take on the classic movie and folk tale. In this version, the king announces that their son, the prince, will be having a ball to find his wife. Cinderella is a young lady who lives with her evil step-mother and her three step-sisters. Her whole family treats her like a slave. While her sisters and her mother are at the ball, Cinderella wishes for a new life, at which point her fairy godmother appears and grants her wish. She goes to the ball and dances with the uninterested prince. During that one dance, they fall in love. The prince announces his love for her and they get married. Along with the other differences men-tioned above, the mice also do not speak. In the Carlmont production, the cast of Cinderella received help from the pit orchestra and the stage crew. These two groups contribute a lot towards the over-all success of the play. The stage crew made sure all the light-ing and props were in the right place

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at the right time while the pit orchestra provided dramatic music. When asked what her favorite part about the play was Browning answered, “[The best part is] being able to say I am a princess and wearing the big blue dress.” Sines commented, “I like the communal aspect of it and singing solos.” Sophomore Lauren Bruguera, ensemble member, commented, “I was really im-pressed with [the leads’] acting skills. I think they were really well suited to their roles and the whole musical went really well.” Sophomore Carol Painter said, “I really look up to some of the leads, like the step-sisters and the prince. And I enjoy being around the people and the director, Ms. Fife.” When asked how much the production practiced, Browning said, “It takes about three hours five days a week.” Their hard work and talent really paid off when the musical premiered and many students and families came to see it.

Ah, childhood. Back when a one-sided worksheet counted as a ton of home-work. Back when “shut up” and “stupid” were swear words. And, most impor-tantly, back when there were still decent cartoons on TV. Cartoons have been around since 1949, when “Crusader Rabbit” first graced the screen. It followed the adventures of a white rabbit and his tiger friend, Ragland T. Rags. This lead to the creation of other classic TV shows, such as the “Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.” Since then, a multitude of animated shows have ap-peared on television. The question is, has the quality of animated programs gotten better, or worse? Animation technology has evolved past simple drawings into much more complicated techniques. Therefore, the animation of kids shows has definitely improved. However, this may be the only good thing about animated programs these days. In the past few years, children’s TV has slowly gone from bad to worse. As the years have gone by, the plots have become increasingly cliche. Sophomore Daria Perkova believes the “plots of cartoons these days really suck. They are all the same, and it’s really easy to figure out what’s going to happen.” The overall tone of the humor has drastically changed. Children’s programs used to subtly include adult jokes and innuendos to entertain the parents along with their children. The same was true with many classic children’s movies-especially Disney. This use of subliminal messaging is especially prevalent in Beauty and the Beast. Though the kids watching don’t realize it, this movie is filled with adult jokes and innuendos. For example, dur-ing the song “Gaston,” the title character sings the line, “...and every last inch of me is covered in hair.” He then aims a big wink at the camera. Another example is when a character is

recommending good gifts to give girls, and notes there are the common things - “Flowers, chocolates, and promises you don’t intend to keep.” Unfortunately, cartoons these days make no effort to entertain both children and their parents. Sophomore Zach Allen has taken notice and stated, “The type of humor in cartoons has gotten really bad. It used to be more classic humor, and actually smart jokes. Now, it’s really dumbed down for the little kids.” Shows also no longer use slapstick, or physical humor to make kids laugh. After the FCC determined this to be too “violent” for young children, kid’s shows aimed at babies and toddlers are no longer allowed to include any visuals of fighting, or even violence in general. This is a shame, because watching cartoon characters fight has always been a family favorite. Perkova remembers, “I used to love watch-ing ‘Tom and Jerry’, because it was so much fun to watch them beat each other up.” One of the worst changes to kid’s shows has been the lack of a “mes-sage.” In the past, each episode would usually have an underlying moral, or lesson for the audience to learn. Old episodes of “Spongebob Squarepants” used to include musical numbers to teach kids important skills, like how to tie their shoes. Other episodes used to have a broader message, like “be yourself” or “forgive and forget.” Now, shows use their screen time to teach kids more “useful” lessons. A good example of this is the show “Dora the Explorer,” which teaches young children one or two Spanish words an episode. However, which one is going to be more useful to a three year-old - learning how to tie your shoes, or learning how to say “tree” in Spanish? TV networks need to get the message, and return to what they used to show - those classic, funny, violent cartoons we all know and love.

Photos by Dana Bloom and Shannon Chang

Page 12 fun Stuff

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1. At Centralia High School in Illinois, the boys sports teams are called Orphans and the girls are called An-nies.2. There are at least 2,376,206 people in the United States with the last name - Smith.3. The dots on dice and dominoes are called pips. 4. Just like people are known to talk in their sleep, sign language speakers are known to sign in their sleep.5. Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles.6. Mark Twain never graduated from elementary school.7. A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot child inside.8. It’s against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland.9. The average American will eat 35,000 cookies in their lifetime.10. 450 men die of breast cancer every year in America.11. The collar bone is the most broken bone in the body.

Aries (March 21 - April 19)Days are looking up, try reconnecting with old friends or searching for a new soul mate. Taurus (April 20 - May 20)You are forgetting who you used to be, stay true your-self.Gemini (May 21- June 20)Lately you’ve been on the prowl, but if the cougar lies still eventually the prey will come wondering by.Cancer (June 21 - July 22)Be spontaneous! Buy a purple panda. Leo (July23- August 22)Get some hot chocolate and cuddle up under a warm blanket, it’s going to be a restless night.Virgo (August23- September 22)People have been driving you up the wall. Forget the drama and have some fun!Libra (September 23 - October 22)Are you regretting walking away from those fresh pair of kicks? Next time don’t be afraid to spend a few dol-lars on your heart’s true desires.Scorpio (October 23- November 21)Try something new. Join a yoga class, learn a new lan-guage, or join journalism.Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)Pay attention to your surroundings this month. There may be someone worth talking to closer than you think. Capricorn (December 22 - January 19) When you’re felling down, smile. Someone in the world loves you. Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) The British are coming! Be ready for the unexpected.Pisces (February 19 - March 20)The prophecy must be fulfilled sometime and word is Voldemort is back in town. Wands at the ready!

DiD you know...

Spot the Difference(See scotscoop.com for answers)

Horoscopes

Page 13extraS

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studies also show that teens who are un-der pressure from others to turn down the volume of their iPods ignore the warning and instead turn them up higher. Portnuff theorizes that teens who worry about hearing loss still listen to their mp3 device at high volumes. Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB). According to Abelard.org, exposure to noise at or above 85 dB can cause gradual hearing loss. In Portnuff’s report, about 7% to 24% of users listen at a risky level. Because there are more teenagers listening to music with headphones, more people are at risk for hearing loss. Some studies show that music can be calming and can be used to reduce the amount of stress they may have. People often use music to help them cancel out the surrounding sounds and drift off into their own world away from their prob-lems. CBS Health reports that listening to

loud music with earphones for more than 90 minutes a day puts you at a risky level, but a person can safely listen to an iPod for 4.6 hours per day at 70% volume. “I’m talking about someone who’s exceeding 80% for 90 minutes day after day, month after month, for years,” said Brian Fligor, the study’s co-author and an audiologist at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School told Reuters. “I don’t play my music very loud unless there is deep, deep bass,” stated Takeshi Wadama, a junior student. Drew Thompson, another junior stu-dent, agrees with Wadama, “I don’t blast [my music] because I like my hearing.” Monitor your use. Hearing loss is a function of loudness versus time. The louder it is, the less time you can be ex-posed to it. The softer it is, the more time you can listen to it.

Loud music and the earsContinued from front

to be the SUHSD’s final decision lies within whether or not this economic situ-ation actually stays the same. Newly elected governor Jerry Brown proposed a tax increase that would re-duce the economic burdens faced by the SUSHD and schools across the rest of California, and is to be voted on this June by California voters. His plan is simple: extend the higher taxes, and California schools should receive an estimated $12 billion. If the bill were to pass this summer, cuts would still need to be made to the dis-trict, as well as Carlmont, but the deficit would drop by around $3 million. That would mean an average far less per-student spending would be cut, as opposed to the currently projected values of $800. In addition, reconsideration of layoffs and the status of school programs and activities could take place. It is a common misconception for many that the need for budget cuts means that Carlmont is completely out of money. Though the 2010-11 budget has been over-spent, Carlmont and the SUSHD still have a lump sum of $16 million in reserve to work with in the upcoming years. Unfortunately, that reserve fund will quickly run dry if the cuts are not made. The budget cuts are merely intended to preserve the money that they have, because given the current economic cli-mate, it’s hard to tell when and if money like that will present itself again.

Budget CutsContinued from front

were a couple dressed as ketchup and mustard, another couple dressed as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and a group of friends dressed as Ghostbusters. The last time Carlmont had a Sadie Hawkins dance was in 2003. Carlmont stopped offering this dance because of the lack of interest from the students. “We used to have about seven dances a year,” stated ASB teacher Jim Kelly. “Students would always say that they wanted more dances, but when we sold the tickets, very few would buy any,” commented Kelly. This year, dance commissioners Shannon Garrett, Lauren Meier, Kelsey Morgan, and Syna Zali-Raisi promised Kelly that they would make this dance happen. “ASB has been trying to have more than three dances, and we finally decided that this year, we would make it happen,” commented Morgan. There was some speculation that the Sadie Hawkins dance would not happen as a result of lack of interest from the students. However, enough tickets were sold in time and the dance continued as planned. The funds for the dance came from the ticket sales. “It costs around $1500-$2000 to have this dance, so we’re not going too crazy with the decorations. In the past, we did a lot of fun and goofy things. One year, we had a wagon with hay and a wedding chapel where you could marry your date,” laughed Kelly. “We are trying to keep it really simple,” added ASB member Lauren Meier. The dance was indeed simple, with the only decorations being a fog machine, colored lights, and a backdrop for the couples to take pictures by. There were significantly less people at the Sadie Hawkins dance than at the Home-coming dance, but there was still a good number of attendees.

Sadie Hawkins dance returnsContinued from front

Class/ASB election results announcedSenior president: Jack KaraskySenior Vice President: Cindy BayasgalanSenior Secretary: Nathan GaliciaJunior President: Luke LiJunior Vice President: Monica ChinJunior Secretary: Kayla TabariSophomore President: Reggie ChatmanSophomore Vice President: Claire PorterASB President: Kelly RobinsonASB Vice President: Kristi Tom

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Lacrosse catches on By Reyna OrtizStaff Writer

Spring season at Carlmont is beginning with the whole school buzzing about the school’s new sport, lacrosse. Lacrosse has been a very popular sport among other schools around the Bay Area, but this is the first year Carlmont will be experiencing it. Lacrosse has everyone excited with a varsity team of 30 players including stu-dent from all grade levels. The Scots will be playing Woodside, Woodside Priory, Los Gatos, Sacred Heart Preparatory, Gunn, and Leland High School during their first season. Their toughest competition will be Gunn High School who won the champi-onship last year. Sophomore team captain Connor Swanson stated, “They are the best team, but St. Ignacius High School in San Francisco is probably the best team in the bay area.”

The team is expected to be stiff com-petition despite this being their first year playing. The other team captain, senior Kalvin Tousant, stated, “We should do pretty well. Most of our starters have played before.” Swanson (with the help of his father and a couple of other parents) was one of the main reasons Carlmont was allowed to create a lacrosse team. He believes, “It could be a rough season because this is a lot of the players’ first year playing, and there is only a varsity team. It will still be a good season though.” Tousant has played lacrosse for four years with a club team, the Burlingame Coyotes. Swanson began playing when he was in the fifth grade for two years with the Burlingame Coyotes. He continued play-ing with the San Carlos Firehawks in 7th grade when that new club team started. Because lacrosse is a school sport at

Carlmont, the players cannot be obligated to pay in order to be on the team. To solve any money issues with the players, the team came up with a “Fair-Share Agreement” allowing everyone on the team to pay around $300. However, this did not cover the entire budget. Donations were given to the Scots from club teams: the Burlingame Coyotes, San Carlos Firehawks, and the Palo Alto Tomahawks. The Scots practice Tuesday through Sat-urday on the football field at 6:15am, and 7:00am on Wednesdays due to late start. Their head coach, Jon Black, is the admissions officer at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. Black played lacrosse all through high school and college at NDNU.

The team does have the opportunity to make it to CCS this season, but Swanson added, “We will probably not make it to CCS this year because we are a brand new team, but hopefully we will get there within the next couple of years.” Next year, the Scots will have a Junior Varsity lacrosse team because there are so many incoming freshman eager to play. The Scots will be battling it out against Gunn High School for their first game at Carlmont on March 16, 2011 at 5:30 PM.

Hidden in a holeBy Emily BeiersStaff Writer Golf is an exciting sport which takes a lot of talent and focus, however, it lacks the publicity and advertisement to draw in fans to watch. We have a golf team at Carlmont? Carlmont High School sports are not just about football, baseball, basketball and soccer. There are many other sport teams that contain talented, committed, and competitive athletes. Take golf for example. Golf is both an individual and team sport that requires athleticism, mental toughness, and extreme concentration and discipline. Golf is about hitting a two inch ball into 18 holes over 6,000 yards. It requires nerves of steel, attention to detail, and wise strategic decisions about club selec-tion, reading greens, and how aggressive to be on a particular hole. It is unfortunate that there is not as much attention to golf matches as there is to the main stream sports.

According to golfer Ryan Tierney, “Nobody goes to golf matches. I have not seen many fans besides a few parents.” Carlmont High School has a talented golf team with a great historical record of success. After grueling try outs, only 12 kids with the lowest scores make the team. There are currently no girls on the team, but all girls are welcome to try out. It is not uncom-mon for girls to make a high school golf team in the Bay Area. “We are a consistent team and we have made CCS many years,” stated Tierney. Then why aren’t Carlmont students and families coming to watch the matches? One obvious reason is that the matches are off campus at various golf courses. It’s harder for students and families to travel the distance to watch. Second, as Tierney says, “Golf is not a sport where you can cheer, you have to be quiet for most of the match. You can

Overcoming hurdles and sprinting toward the finish

The 2011 Carlmont track and field season is shaping up to be a lot different than last year. Although the season has just begun, many of the track runners are already feeling more upbeat and happy with this season than last. “Last year, a lot of the players had problems with the coaching and we weren’t that connected,” said sopho-more, Priscilla Chan. “This year, we have new coaches and they’re really focused on making sure we mesh together and bond; it’s given us the chance to get to know each other.” Track runner Ryan Hutson also commented about the new, closer knit track team. “The coaches are making sure that we all connect and spend time together every prac-tice,” said Hutson. “They have us warm up and stretch together as a team for about 30 minutes, while last year the track team was usually split up for the entire practice.” Hutson also commented on the new coaching technique; “The coaches are a lot more strict than last year,” Hutson said. “Last year, the coaches didn’t really react when runners missed practice, but the coaches are really strict about every runner and field

player showing up this year. They’re also a lot more up close and personal, and try to evaluate and help every runner.” This season has also been rumored be a bit more challenging than last. “We’ve lost a lot of talented seniors who were experienced and really amazing runners,” said junior, Avi Brennan. “But we’ve also had a ton of freshmen join this year, and if everyone continues to work hard I think we’ll be able to do really well this season.” The track and field team is also making sure to welcome new runners with open arms. “During my first year in track, I felt like the team was sort of closed and no one cared about getting to know one another,” said Brennan. “This year, everyone is making the effort to have a more open team and be one big fam-

ily. It’s great to have a chance to bond with one another.” Track and field key dates and meets are on the new Carlmont track and field website, https://sites.google.com/site/carlmont-trackfield/home.

By Jasmine RishiStaff Writer

The Carlmont golf team hopes for more support

only cheer after a shot.” Sports such as football and soccer are on site and are more designed for cheer-ing fans. Tierney also stated that, “Golf is not a very exciting sport to watch if you don’t know a lot about it.” At Carlmont High School, Golf does not get a lot of publicity. Other sports are talked about more than golf. “I don’t know anything about golf, so it wouldn’t be very fun to watch,” said sophomore Quinn Haaga. According to junior Ashley Duba, “I don’t go to golf matches because I don’t enjoy watching golf and don’t have any friends to support on the golf team.” The one advan-tage that high school golf-ers have

compared to other high school sports players is that golf is a life time sport and high school golfers learn how to play well at an early age, which benefits them for the rest of their life, well into their old age. Carlmont golf should no lon-ger be the best kept secret. It is encouraged to follow our very successful golf team.

Photo by Dana Bloom

Photos by Ryan Dimick

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The term March Madness has de-scribed basketball tournaments since 1939. However, it originally described the Illinois State High School tourna-ment, not the NCAA tournament. Nowa-days the term overshadows its original origin. In 1908, it was a small invitational with only eight teams. By the 1930s, it evolved into a national series with over 900 schools competing. Today, the term describes the NCAA Division I Basket-ball Championship. Every March, thousands of people fill out brackets to predict the winners of their favorite part of college basketball, the NCAA basketball championships. In the entire history of March Mad-ness, the team that has won the most championships is the UCLA bruins with 11 championships. Of these 11, 10 have been won under the legendary coach, John Wooden. Second most goes to the University of Kentucky with seven championships. Coverage of March Madness has mostly been covered by NBC and most recently CBS. Outside of the U.S. viewership isn’t as popular, but most games are broadcast in Australia and Canada. Rituals of March Madness include the cutting of the net after the champion-ship game by the winning team. Usually every player on the team cuts a strand of

the net to keep as a memento until the coach cuts the last strand and usually treasures it as a trophy. Champions also receive golden championship rings and a gold plated NCAA trophy. One of the most important parts of March Madness are brackets. Hundreds of thousands of brackets are filled in ev-ery year by fans hoping to have a perfect bracket in order to win a prize. The real chances of filling out a bracket perfectly are 9.2 quintillion to one, so normally people compete for who can get the most wins. Basketball fan Bryce Dennis stated “Ev-ery year I probably fill out ten different brackets. I do it because I love college ball and my favorite part is March Mad-ness. My favorite team to watch is North Carolina because I like their colors.” While there are many fans of March Madness, some people don’t understand the obsession. “I don’t see why people love college basketball so much. It’s like the NBA, only weaker. I would rather just watch Kobe dunk,” stated Daniel Johnson. Every year towards the end of winter, the NCAA championships give unpaid teenagers the opportunity to shine in front of the entire country. Along with the millions of fans watching them will be scouts and coaches of professional teams. Often times these players will go to play overseas or in the NBA, but March Madness is where it all begins.

2011 marks the first year that the NCAA Division I basketball tournament expands to a 68 team field, which will give more teams the chance to compete for a National Championship. This year’s tournament will be very unique from others in the past not only due to the recent expansion, but also the parity among the top teams in the nation. This will bring many upsets and more excitement to every contest. Here’s a look at this year’s tournament championship contenders, pretenders, and potential Cinderella teams.

Contenders: Duke - Seniors, Forward Kyle Singler and Guard Nolan Smith, lead the Blue Devils into this year’s tournament and look to go back to back for the second time in school history. Although the Blue Devils lost their starting Point Guard, Freshman Kyrie Irving, to a toe injury early in the season, they have a deep bench and all play-ers are contributing to make up for this loss. The key to Duke reclaiming this year’s title, is the play of their big men. The Plumlee brothers, Junior Miles and Sophomore Mason, as well as Sophomore Ryan Kelly, look to give the Blue Devils an inside presence and control the paint on the defense and offense ends of the court.

Ohio State - Forward, freshman Jared Sullinger led the Buckeyes this year to their Big Ten regular season confer-ence title. The Buck-eyes have four players averaging more than ten points a game, giving them a balanced offen-sive attack with many unselfish players. A key to the success of Ohio State’s tournament run is with back up Point Guard, freshman Aaron Craft. He may not be a starter for the Buckeyes, put he is what makes this team go and gives them some great play-making ability and a tough on ball defender. If Aaron Craft keeps giving the Buckeyes this spark, you will see Ohio State in the Final Four.

Kansas - The Big 12 conference champion Jayhawks have one of the deepest teams in the country and will be a tough team to beat this March. The Morris twins, juniors Marcus and Markieff, lead this team down low combining to lead the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. These two twins will carry their load in the tournament, but the team will only go as far as the back court players take them. They need their guards to stretch the floor with good three point shooting, and take care of the ball to make a deep run in this year’s tournament.

Pretenders: Georgetown - The Hoyas were looking like a force to be reckoned with a couple weeks ago, but that was when they had their starting senior Guard, Chris Wright healthy. With his absence, the Hoyas look like a totally different team without his leadership on the floor and will hurt them in late game situations. Kentucky - This talented, young team has an undefeated home record and a sub par road record this season. The Wildcats definitely do not lack talent and great coaching, it is just that they have not proven that they can win away from home. They play an up and down playground style of game and play defense when they choose, which is not a winning formula in March.

Villanova - The Wildcats started off this season with a very strong record and inside the top ten for most of the year. When February came around, they hit a bump in the road and ended the season with five straight losses. This late season collapse occurred last season as well, resulting in an early upset loss versus Saint Mary’s.

Cinderellas: San Diego State - The Aztecs have came out of no where this year, and have one of the best records in Division I. With most of the players having tournament experi-ence, they will be ready for the environment and this will benefit them when the game gets into crunch time. Look for this Mountain West conference powerhouse to make school history with a deep post season run.

St. Johns - The Red Storm are one of the most interesting and exciting teams to watch in college basketball. They play 40 minutes of full court pressure defense, lead-ing to lots of easy baskets and momentum in most of their games. With lots of seniors on the roster, they will have lots of experience and hunger for success in every game. This could be a very dangerous combination for opposing teams to face.

George Mason - Yes, this is the same school the made that magical run in the tourna-ment in 2006, reaching the Final Four as a 11 seed for only the second time in tourna-ment history. The Patriots are Colonial Conference champions, and could definitely make another memorable tournament run.

The inaugural NCAA Tournament took place in 1939, and involved just eight teams. Since then, the tournament has evolved into one of America’s greatest sporting events, drawing more than 48 million television viewers for the 2010 National Cham-pionship game. The first NCAA Tournament expansion took place in 1951, changing from an 8-team tournament to a 16-team tournament. Between 1951-1974, the tournament field varied from 16 to 25 teams. The field con-tinued to expand, with changes in 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, and finally, in 1985. The field expanded to 65 in 2001, with the introduction of a “play-in game.” This year, the tournament will make its first significant expansion since 1985, jumping from 65 to 68 teams. Take a look at ten interesting facts from the “modern-era” NCAA Tournaments (be-tween the years of 1985 and 2010).

1. Number one seeds are a perfect 104-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

2. Louisiana State (1986) and George Mason (2006), are the only two double digit seeds to reach the Final Four.

3. Rick Pitino is the only coach to reach the Final Four with three different teams (Providence in 1987, Kentucky in 1996 and 1997, and Louisville in 2005).

4. Fifteen seeds have knocked off two seeds just four times since 1985.

5. Five seeds have been first round upset victims in 23 of the past 26 NCAA Tourna-ments.

6. Teams from the big six conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, and SEC) account for twenty-four of the twenty-six modern era champions.

7. Seven National Championships have been decided by three points or less.

8. The Atlantic Coast Conference has been the most successful conference in the NCAA Tournament, producing eight championships (four for Duke, three for North Carolina, and one for Maryland).

9. North Carolina has reached the Final Four nine different times, more than any other team besides Duke.

10. Ten seeds have reached the Elite Eight seven different times, but have yet to reach the Final Four.

By Ivan GarinStaff Writer

By Josh FaulknerStaff Writer

By Jacob CoxJuniOr editOr

March MadnessWhy so mad? Tournament preview

March Madness by the numbers

Photos on this page used with permission from AP/MCT

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

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Support your Scots March and April Calendar

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Key: L-Lacrosse B-Badminton VS-Varsity Softball FSS-Frosh-Soph Softball VBa-Varsity Baseball FSBa- Frosh-Soph Baseball G-Golf Sw-Swimming TF-Track and Field T-Boy’s Tennis

L @ Carlmont 5:30VBa @ Carlmont 3:15FSBa @ El Camino 3:15G @ San Mateo 3:00

L @ Los Altos 4:00VBa @ El Camino 3:15FSBa @ Carlmont 3:15

L @ Carlmont 5:30VBa @ Aragon 3:15FSBa @ Carlmont 3:15

L @Woodside Priory 4:00VBa @ Carlmont 3:15FSBa @ Aragon 3:15

L @ Carlmont 5:30VBa @ Terra Nova 3:15FSBa @ Carlmont 3:15

L @ Sacred Heart 4:00FSS @ Capuchino 4:00VBa @ Carlmont 3:15FSBa @ Terra Nova 3:15

L @ Gunn 7:00VBa @ Carlmont 3:15FBa @ MA 3:15

B @ Carlmont 3:15FSS @ Carlmont 4:00Sw @ Carlmont 3:00TF @ Carlmont 3:00T @ El Camino 4:00

B @ Aragon 3:15VS @ Carlmont 4:00FSS @ Hillsdale 4:00T @ Carlmont 4:00

B @ Carlmont 3:15VS @ Burlingame 4:00FSS @ Carlmont 4:00Sw @ Carlmont 3:00G @ Burlingame 3:00TF @ Carlmont 3:00T @ Carlmont 4:00

B @ Jefferson 3:15VS @ Carlmont 4:00FSS @ Aragon 4:00G @ Carlmont 3:00T @ Carlmont 4:00

B @ MA 3:15VS @ Half Moon Bay 4:00T @ Carlmont 4:00

B @ Carlmont 3:15 (vs. Sequoia) Sw @ Woodside 3:00TF @ Sequoia 3:00T @ Carlmont 4:00

VS @ Mills 4:00Sw @ Sequoia 3:00TF @ Aragon 3:00T @ Woodside 4:00

VBa @ MA 3:15FBa @ Carlmont 3:15

G @ Carlmont 3:00

G @ MA 3:00

T @ Palo Alto 4:00

Photos by Curtis Fan

Scots dive into the spring season

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March Highlander