The LoyalistLoyalistnews.org

By Matt Stoffers

On Tuesday, October 18, Loyola’s automat-ic fire alarm system alerted the Los Angeles Fire Department to two different fires.

“In the fourteen years I’ve been here, we’ve never had two legitimate fire alarms in one day,” said Senior Director of Facilities Management Mr. Michael McDermott.

The first alarm occurred at about 7:15 A.M. The motor of an air-handling unit on the roof of the Pernecky Weight Room overheated and began to smoke, which triggered a sensor in a duct.

“When one detector goes into alarm, it goes to a master panel, which puts all the buildings into alarm simultaneously,” said Mr. McDermott.

The fire was contained to the roof, and there was no property damage other than the motor, which needed to be replaced.

The second alarm occurred at about 4:15 P.M. As maintenance worker Luis Gomez waited on Smith Field to talk to Athletic Trainer Tim Moscicki, he saw a student and a coach pointing towards the Hannon/Ardolf building.

“They ran towards me and said, ‘There’s smoke coming out of the building!’” said Mr. Gomez.

Moscicki and Gomez alerted Head of Security Abel Galarza, who activated a fire

alarm pull station by the Student Center, thereby evacuating all buildings. Gomez then headed for the roof to assess the situa-tion.

Gomez reported seeing smoke upon open-ing the roof hatch, and quickly found the fire, which had engulfed the motor of a hot-water circulation pump.

“I ran to the first fire extinguisher,” said Gomez. “It was the first time I’ve used an extinguisher, actually. I called my supervisor and told him we needed more extinguishers, because I didn’t think extinguishers were that powerful.”

Gomez was able to control the fire with one extinguisher before the fire department arrived, and he and his colleagues began shutting off electricity to the affected build-ings.

According to Mr. McDermott, firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature of the scorched motor.

“It read 400 degrees, and that was prob-ably five minutes after it was extinguished. That’s just how hot this fire got,” said Mr. McDermott.

“If it weren’t for the student who saw the smoke, the fire could have spread to a differ-ent part of the roof, and we could have a dif-ferent story today,” said Mr. McDermott.

[See Fire, Page 9]

LAFD responds to two fires at Loyola in one day

Cross Country strategy pays offBy Brandon Dempster

Loyola’s Varsity Cross Country Team has finished its regular sea-son meets with great success; specifically, the Cubs placed first at the Mt. Carmel and Cerritos meets, although they fell short at the Mt. Sac Invitational. Cubs took the Mission League title and now aim to capture the CIF Division II Championship at the end of this month.

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to a strategy that senior Jared Jones calls “pack-ing.” The goal of packing is to have as many of a team’s seven runners in front of the other teams’ runners, making it harder for other teams to run in between the gaps of a team’s runners in order to place higher.

“We don’t have many gaps,” said Jones. “Between Charlie [Marquardt] and me, there is often an extremely small gap, if any at all. After that, Andrew Bland and Ned Trim usually follow with a 15- second gap. Andrew Verdin trails with a five-second gap behind them. This leaves little room for other teams to place their runners, making us hard to defeat.”

Another strength for the Cubs is senior leadership. With five of seven starters being seniors, the varsity cross country team is highly motivated and confident going into playoffs.

“We seniors lead the team far more than any other class,” said Jones. “We have the most experi-ence and talent, so others tend to look up to us. We are trying to instill within our underclass-men a sense of leadership and responsibility so that they will be prepared for when we leave.”

Coming off an impressive streak of first-place successes in their previous five meets, the Cubs traveled to Mt. Sac for the

64th annual Mt. Sac invitational on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The Mt. Sac meet attracts over 22,000 runners from all over California to compete for the top spots and bragging rights for a year.

“The Mt. Sac Invitational is, hands down, the most challeng-ing cross country invitational in the nation. Teams from all over the State of California meet for a showdown at what is arguably the most solid course this region

has to offer,” said Jones.Despite high hopes for the

meet, Cubs finished in eleventh place. The Mt. Sac course proved to be difficult for the Cubs, but varsity runners remained hope-ful going into the Mission League Finals.

“Our performance at Mt. Sac was a lot less than what we had hoped, but we were able to iden-tify our weaknesses, and we are working towards strengthening them,” said Jones.

Jones, along with several other teammates, said that their big-gest weakness is what they call “damage control.”

“On a good day, we are a force to be reckoned with,” Jones said. “But if one screw falls loose, a domino effect takes place. Very rarely do the missteps of one teammate go without conse-quence for the rest of the team. If we learn to react to a teammate's mistake in a positive way, we will have a better chance of scoring

despite the setbacks.” The Cubs came out firing on all

cylinders at the Mission League Championship last Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Running against Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame, Alemany, St. Francis and Crespi, four of five seniors in the Cubs’ starting seven broke sixteen minutes on the course, a feat which has never been done.

“We have one of the most com-petitive leagues, but we have a tradition of succeeding. Our guys stuck together and got the league title,” said Head Coach Dr. Lalo Diaz.

The CIF Division II playoffs start tomorrow, and Cubs say that they can continue their tradi-tion of success and become CIF Division II champions.

The Cross Country Cubs are currently ranked second in the state and in their division, behind Golden Valley High School.

“Going in second in the Southern Section, our guys have had a realization of what they need to do in order to take the top spot,” said Dr. Diaz.

While rankings favor the Cubs, the real question is whether the team can take the championship without Elias Gedyon, Class of ‘11, who led the team to two CIF Division II State titles in 2008 and 2010.

“A lot of people wonder if we can do it without Elias. I tell them of a man by the name of Mark Matusak, who, in 2002, was a great runner like Elias, broke records and everything. When he left, people said, ‘Are you ever going to be good again?’ Then Elias came around in 2008. So I think we will be alright,” said Diaz. The Cubs run in the CIF Division II Preliminaries at Mt. Sac tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

Maintenance worker Luis Gomez demonstrates how he extinguished the fire. ALEX ALVARADO

From left: Seniors Ned Trim, Andrew Verdin, Jared Jones and Charlie Marquardt block out the competition. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DAVIES FAMILY

2 News November 11, 2011

In Brief'CUBS' takes on new meaning

Math Club takes on theCalifornia Math LeagueBy Alexander Erickson

Twenty-five Cubs took the first-round test of the California Math League on Thursday, Oct. 20. The Math Club earned 22 out of 30 points.

The California Math League has six rounds each year with a variety of math questions rang-ing from algebra to trigonom-etry.

“The tests have six possible points, and the school sends in the top five scores,” said Kyle Dinsmore, president of the Math Club. The California Math League recognizes the schools that earn the most points. Dinsmore also said that this year he will try to incorporate a preparation for the American Math Competition.

Other than competitions, the Math Club participates in many other activities, such as trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Harvey Mudd College, and UCLA Math Day.

Dinsmore said, “Math Club is a casual club that wants Cubs to have fun, not just do math.”

Frederick Muth, a junior as well as a new addition to the Math Club, said that he joined Math Club because he enjoys math and likes learning from the moderator, Mr. Allen Martin. The Math Club meets on Thursdays at lunch if anyone is interested or curious about a new side of math.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE

Overing, Harris to attendTournament of ChampionsBy David Pollack

Two members of Loyola’s debate team, senior Bob Overing and junior Michael Harris, have qualified for the Tournament of Champions, a national debate tournament to take place in June at the University of Kentucky.

The Tournament of Champions brings in the top 75 debaters from across the nation. Qualifying for the tournament, especially this early on, is no easy task, accord-ing to Mr. James Zucker, assistant coach of the varsity debate team.

“Typically, it takes a little lon-ger. It’s hard to qualify, period, but to qualify this early on is pretty exciting,” said Mr. Zucker.

To qualify for Tournament of Champions, a com-petitor must win two “bids” from national debate tournaments. In order to win these bids, the candidate must advance to a certain level in the tournament, which varies from tournament to tournament.

This year will mark Bob Overing’s second time attending the Tournament of Champions. Overing was the first junior in Loyola history to have qualified for the tournament, with Michael Harris being the second.

“It’s relieving to have quali-

fied, because last season I barely made it” said Overing, “I did go last year, but it took me all the way until the end of March. This year, we already have two people qualified, so it feels pretty good, it’s relieving, and now we can focus on getting the rest of the guys there.”

Both Overing and Harris are on the Lincoln-Douglas team, meaning that the topics they debate are more philosophical in nature.

“We discuss what is called ‘value-based premises,’ so that means that you find a value, such as if you think justice or

freedom or morality is impor-tant, and go from there. So we delve a lot into the philosophical literature rather than the more policy- and politics-related dis-cussions,” said Overing.

The topic that Overing and

Harris will be debating at the Tournament of Champions will not be released until next semes-ter.

The team’s head coach is now Bob Overing’s father, Mr. Michael Overing.

Qualifying does not come without effort, as the debate team practices until 5:30 every day and until eight on Wednesdays, according to Harris.

The team is optimistic regard-ing the tournament. “It’s good to have qualified this year, because it means I have a shot at winning it next year,” said Harris. “Not many juniors qualify. I hope to

get an even record, 4-4; but because of all the practice we’re doing, I might even do better than that.”

“I think our team, overall, is stronger this year,” said Overing. “I think we can have a num-ber of guys not only make it to the Tournament of Champions but also do really well there, maybe even finish in the elimina-tion rounds, which take the top sixteen debaters in the country. I think we have a strong shot, and I think I personally have a

strong shot.” With regards to the team

as a whole, Mr. Zucker said, “The great thing about Loyola Speech and Debate guys is that they’re very hardworking, very intelli-gent, and very enthusiastic about it; it’s just a lot of fun working with them.”

By Kenneth An

Cubs United in Brotherhood, or CUBS, was the theme of the Freshman Retreat, Oct. 16 to 17, when freshmen and their Big Brothers embarked on a week-end of bonding and spiritual growth.

Freshmen split up into groups with whom they spent the bulk of the retreat. First, the fresh-men participated in the Olympic Games, where teams competed for first, second, and third place. The winning teams were award-ed plaques currently displayed in the main office. Some of the most popular games were American Gladiators, tricycle races and raft races in Conn Pool.

Freshman Charles Cohen said, “I thought that the activities were a lot of fun and a great way to become close friends with my fellow Big Brother group people, and the dinner was a great expe-rience.”

Instead of serving at indi-vidual service sites, this year’s freshman groups collected canned goods for families from St. Thomas Parish.

Director of Campus Ministry Matthew Schaeffer said that, this

year, the freshmen spent more time at the homes of the Big Brothers. Joined by a faculty member, each freshman group had dinner at the home of a Big Brother, followed by a prayer service. After dinner, freshmen returned to Loyola and attended three different stations: an alum-ni speaker station, a music sta-tion in the chapel with Mr. Derek Brown and a spirit walk.

Freshman Brian Noh said, “We all gathered, sat down, and sang songs of praise and had a religious experience. I found a deeper meaning about myself, and it inspired me about rights and wrongs.”

Senior Jake West said, “I really liked the experience of the Freshman Retreat because it reminded me of when I was a freshman. It was really cool being a Big Brother.”

On Sunday morning the fresh-men had the parent exchange and attended a liturgy led by the Reverend Father Steven Barber, S.J. The Junior Ground Crew acted as the choir for the Mass. Mr. Schaeffer said the participa-tion for singing during the Mass was great.

PThe Junior Ground Crew pumps up the crowd. PHOTO BY PATRICK BLAY

Overing and Harris study in the library PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALVAREZ

Loyola raises funds for the unbornBy Tristan Vanech

The Right to Life Club raised a total of $1,340.99 for donation to the Pregnancy Help Center of San Gabriel Valley in the Baby Bottle Drive that ended Oct. 31.

Hearing Right to Life quotes-of-the-week on the morning announcements, students were encouraged to donate spare change or even more, if they could afford it. Baby bottles were placed in several classrooms; some teachers charged students a donation to the bottle for using the restroom.

Mr. Cedric Ebiner, co-mod-erator of the club, along with Mr. Robert Eleuteri, said that the money will benefit a good place.

“Ms. [Jane] Chavez used to be one of our colleagues, and she’s doing a great job running that center, so it’s a very trustworthy place to give our money to,” said Mr. Ebiner.

Ms. Chavez, former admin-istrative assistant to Athletic Director Chris O’Donnell, returned to Loyola on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to advocate for her preg-nancy help center during the community service fair.

She said that the center strives to promote the choice of life. One way of communicating to par-ents is a 42-inch flat-screen tele-vision on which ultrasounds can be viewed. “We’re still working on counseling with the women clients, but that vision on the screen really speaks to the guys,” she said.

Mr. Ebiner commented on the purpose of the baby bottle drive: “Some women find themselves pregnant and think that they can’t afford it—I mean people

who are really in dire need of our attention and our help.”

What will happen if these women do not receive help? Mr. Ebiner said, “A lot of women choose to have an abortion because they think they can’t afford to have a baby, so if you help them make it more afford-able, they’re more likely to keep the baby.”

Senior Gerry Cervantes, presi-dent of the Right to Life Club, underlined the importance of the fundraiser for mothers in need: “We want to help them and give them financial stability and the support so that they can have the choice to keep their children and raise them in a healthy fam-ily environment instead of being forced to give them up or abort them.”

After the mother gives birth, the center helps provide the baby with this “healthy family envi-ronment.” Cervantes said, “They give them strength to get through their pregnancy, and then after-wards, they supply them with baby supplies like diapers and powders. They can give coun-seling to give their kids up for adoption.”

Ms. Chavez said, “Once they have the baby, they can come back once a month for supplies: diapers; toiletry items like baby wipes, baby lotion, and baby shampoo; and then clothing items.”

The non-profit organization offers parenting classes twice a month, according to Ms. Chavez. An educator from Los Angeles Unified School District teaches the class. “We do this twice a month to just help so they can make smart choices and healthy

choices on how they interact with their children at home and out-side of home,” said Ms. Chavez.

Last year, over $1,200 was raised, and President of Loyola Rev. Fr. Gregory Goethals, S.J., matched the funds earned, according to Mr. Ebiner. Fr. Goethals said he will do the same with the money raised this year.

To promote the cause for one more week and to raise a few extra dollars, the Right to Life club hosted a two-day contest in which students could guess the amount of money raised. Senior Peter Cross won the contest, guessing $1,283.05, the closest to the subtotal of $1,314.19 raised prior to the contest.

Junior Justin Fang realized a new perspective on the impor-tance of life in a Loyola club.

“During sophomore year there was a period of time where I real-ly began to think about life and death. During Curious Catholics meetings, it really struck me that life is something that a lot of us don't appreciate enough or real-ize we're lucky enough to have,” said Fang.

He continued, “Aborting a baby means one life is gone, and I could just as well have been one of those babies. So I feel that if we can save just one more life, it's really a cause worth giving to.”

To Cervantes, donating to this cause aligns with the Loyola motto of “Men for Others.” He said, “We want to be men for those who can’t be strong enough for themselves. We want to help support those that are the weakest, literally—the babies that have no voice.”

November 11, 2011 News 3

By Samuel Guerra

Freshmen elected Connor Niemann their class president and Jack Atzen and Stone Gettings their class representatives, Student Council Moderator Chris Walter announced on Friday, Oct. 21.

On Tuesday of that week, freshmen gath-ered in Xavier Center to hear speeches of six candidates. Throughout the remainder of the week, students cast their ballots online.

“It was awesome, and I was really happy and excited when I heard the big news," said Niemann. "All of us freshmen are ‘new’ at the school, so we are pretty much in the same situa-tion regarding not knowing what to expect from day to day. That translates into how I was feeling during the campaign. I was confident when I ran because I’ve met so many great guys in our class, but, of course, I was also occasionally nervous.”

“Being president means that I can take a more active role, officially, of making sure that our school remains the best school ever," said Niemann. "I won’t make any official promises for specific treats, but I

do promise that I will work extremely hard and be diligent about keeping our class informed, focused and proud of all the great opportunities here. It’s an honor to represent such an amazing class.”

Running for office was not an easy process, according to Mr. Walter: “The students need-ed a minimum 3.0 GPA, and they also had to get twenty-five signatures from freshmen who supported their running for office. They also needed to write a paper about being a leader using the Grad at Grad’s ‘developing as a leader’ motto, and then they had to write their speech.”

“The freshman class president is responsible for bringing the ideas of the freshman class to our weekly meetings and then spreading our deci-sions among them," said Mr. Walter. "They work at events, the first being the dance on Saturday, Oct. 22, and they’ll represent Loyola at different events.”

Mr. Walter said that a class representative’s respon-sibilities are similar to those of a class officer: “They’ll help out the president with jobs and other activities.”

Freshmen elect class representatives

By Daniel McGough

Mr. Thomas Cendejas and his period six Theology 2 class have been involved the past few weeks in a project to promote upcycling, a new way of recycling.

Because of the newness of upcycling, there is no dictionary definition for the word. Mr. Cendejas gave his own definition: “The understanding we are working with is that upcycling takes a hard-to-recycle product and moves it up the chain into another product, and the key is that the new product can be upcycled in perpetuity.”

Theoretically, upcycled products can be upcycled again into something else. If this process can be done efficiently, waste that is upcycled could stay useable for a long time. In fact, once the process behind upcycling is perfected, possi-bly no more waste will be created from upcycled products.

Mr. Cendejas said he began a Halloween candy wrapper drive hoping to spread awareness of this new recycling. Students were asked to bring all of their Halloween candy wrappers. Then, students wrapped and packaged them for shipment to terracycle.net, where they will be upcycled into useable products.

Sophomore Tom Molnar commented on the differenc-es between upcycling and recycling: “With recycling, you send the materials that are going to be processed away, and

then they get turned into something completely different and unrecognizable. Upcycling is different. When waste is upcycled, it is turned into a very productive, tangible object. You can see every piece of trash used in the new product.”

By the end of the drive, Mr. Cendejas’ class had collected about four bags full of candy wrap-pers. TerraCycle will then reward the class by giv-ing them credit towards buying an upcycled product.

Mr. Cendejas said he organized the drive to help teach his students social justice values. “Stewardship of the environment is one of the Jesuit themes for the Western Province. Many of our fellow Jesuit high schools and colleges are doing all kinds of creative things to capture student and staff attention,” said Mr. Cendejas. “One school made a 'plastic water bottle graveyard' on the school field. Other schools have started gardens.”

Sophomore Chris Recaido said that the event was a good experience. “Collecting trash and upcy-cling is for the good of the community. We clean the environment, while also creating inexpen-sive products for less fortunate families,” he said.

According to Recaido, upcycled products are perfect solutions for families who cannot afford basic neces-sities like backpacks and school supplies. They are able to buy the products for cheap and also earn credit

towards products by sending in their own garbage.Mr. Cendejas said, “The exercise was a suc-

cess in that it raised some awareness, and we are going to send in the wrappers we collected to be upcycled into messenger and grocery bags.”

Mr. Cendejas also said that awareness must be further spread. “The fact that we didn't collect from many people this year is a teachable moment, because it leads us to empathize with how difficult it is to be an environmental-ist in today's world.” He said that imagination is required to awaken people to the needs of their environment.

Mr. Cendejas said he plans on making the Halloween candy wrapper drive an annual event for all aspects of the community. “I think these types of attention-getting ideas are worthwhile to get discussion going, and I hope our Halloween candy wrapper collection is even bigger next year.”

Mr. Cendejas said his primary goal was to teach his students about their responsibilities to the environment. He gave his class a fun and innovative new way to save the planet. “I hope they learned taking care of the cre-ation God gave us is something they can incorporate into every aspect of their lives--even trick or treating!”

Students 'upcycle' trash to treasure

Cubs head off to EuropeMr. Annarelli to take group to Italy over the summerBy Nicholas Froelich

Approximately twenty students from the Class of 2013 will be visiting Italy to enrich themselves in Italian culture from June 29 to July 10, according to Mr. Dan Annarelli, Social Science Department chair.

During this trip students will learn about Italy’s distinct history and engage its deep culture. Aside from museums and historical lectures, students will be diving into the Mediterranean, swimming in the Blue Grotto of Capri, riding bikes around small towns, hiking the hillsides of the Amalfi Coast, exploring exquisite Italian cuisine and visiting Italy’s most famous cities.

“We try to create the perfect bal-ance between learning and fun,” said Mr. Annarelli. “When students leave Italy after their time with me, they have a genu-ine sense of the country, and most of them fall in love with the place. I think this trip will be our best one yet!”

Mr. Annarelli led students to Italy in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and students are looking forward to being a part of his fourth trip in four years.

“I'm really excited to be going on this

trip,” junior Justin Flores said. “I have never really been out of this country, so I expect this to be a very great experience. I'm excited to learn about the culture of Italy and its unique history.”

“I am very excited for the trip,” junior Diego Duran said. “It is going to be a great reward for the end of a long junior year.”

“As I have never been out of the coun-try, I am obviously ecstatic about such a trip, especially a trip of such caliber as Italy,” junior Nicholas Brown said.

With a handful of spots available for this summer's trip, any interested junior should see Mr. Annarelli.

Mr. Goepel to take seniors to Spain and France

By Domenic Olmeda

Although the trip is scheduled for late January, seniors are already preparing for their upcoming trip to Europe with Social Science teachers Mr. Tom Goepel and Mr. Michael Bodensteiner.

Taking place during the inter-semes-ter break, this trip will take seniors to European cities where they will be able to experience the unique cultures first-hand. “We’re going to Madrid, Barcelona, Montserrat, and Paris,” said Mr. Goepel, coordinator of the trip.

As the AP Art History teacher, Mr. Goepel has shepherded six trips to Europe over the past several years. Mr. Goepel said, “In the previous trip we went to England, the trip before that we were in Italy, and the trip before that we were in France. I try to switch around the locations and go to various places rather than just one. We’re going to visit a lot of cultural and tourist sites while we’re there, and I think the guys will have a great experi-ence.”

The group intends to visit many famous buildings, plazas and museums such as the Prado in Spain and the Louvre in Paris. Other locations include the Barcelona

Cathedral Museum, the Puerto Del Sol plaza, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tower.

Mr. Goepel said that a portion of the seniors attending the trip are also students in AP Art History. “Hopefully, some of the things we study in class they’ll be able to see live and in person.”

Senior Matthew Friedman, who is in AP Art History, said, “It’s an art history trip, so I’m really looking forward to going to some of the museums like the Louvre.”

Mr. Goepel emphasized, though, that being enrolled in AP Art History is not a requirement for making the trip.

Senior Michael Mazza said he is look-ing forward to seeing some familiar places on the trip. “I went when I was younger and would really like to go back again. We’re going to Madrid and Barcelona, and I’m really excited to see that,” he said.

Mr. Goepel said he is confident that the trip will be a success and urges any student interested in visiting Europe to sign up. “In every one of these trips the students have had a fantastic experience. I really recommend this kind of travel to any seniors who would want to get into something like this. It’s a real eye-opening experience.”Photo Courtesy of google

Connor Niemann, freshman class president, stands ready for practice. Photo by Will Riedel

4 Opinion November 11, 2011

To shave or not to shave? Do.By Justin Abello

Men growing out their facial hair during November is becoming more common as more men support “No Shave November,” but do not expect Loyola Cubs to be growing out beards or moustaches, unless they want JUG.

“No Shave November,” also known as “Novembeard” and “Movember” (a combination of the words “moustache” and “November”), is the annual month-long event in which men are called to grow out their facial hair to support men’s health issues, prostate cancer in particular.

So why is it that students cannot grow out their facial hair for this worthy cause? Well, Loyola’s grooming policy is well known, just ask anyone

who has received JUG for not being clean-shaven.

However, the rule has not stopped some students from asking Dean Michael Wood to be exempt from it for the month of November; but they are met with the same answer: there are no exceptions. This response, though, does not mean Loyola--or Dean Wood--is against the cause itself.

“This particular way of rais-ing awareness, while we sup-port the cause and even sup-port our faculty for doing it, is against the grooming policy,” said Mr. Wood. “We do encour-age students to participate in other ways, wherever they can to support this cause.”

Many students have coun-tered that since Loyola allows

the wearing of pink shirts and jeans, allowances which go against the dress code, in support of breast cancer, the administration should also allow students to participate in “No Shave November,” even though it goes against groom-ing policy.

This point seems to be a legitimate argument, but there is one major flaw. The wearing of pink for breast cancer aware-ness cannot be equated to the growing of facial hair for pros-tate cancer awareness because, while everyone can wear a pink shirt without much hassle, not every Cub on campus can eas-ily grow out a moustache.

“If we are going to have a cause that the students partici-pate in, in that particular way, I

would like them all to be able to participate,” Mr. Wood said.

Many guys at school have not even begun to get facial hair, let alone grow out a mous-tache or a beard.

If those students who are adamant in growing out their facial hair really want to show their support and not use the month of November to be lazy and not shave, then they should think up other ways to partici-pate, ones that perhaps do not break the rules and allow eve-ryone to join in.

Students could design shirts for “No Shave November;” inform the student body about the issue with facts about pros-tate cancer over the announce-ments, as is done during Breast Cancer Awareness Week or a

number of other things to get Loyola to participate in the event.

“Of course, none of the poli-cies that we have are set in stone,” Mr. Wood said when asked if he would ever consid-er changing the rule prevent-ing students from growing out their facial hair for “No Shave November.”

He then said, “I recommend that someone who wants to support this cause come to me with an alternative proposal for how we can have the entire stu-dent body raise awareness for this [cause]. I have not heard one yet, but I’m always open to suggestions and ideas.”

Remembering our Veterans

What do you think of Veteran's Day?

"Veteran's Day is a great day to commemorate because we really see how our veterans in all our wars have fought to create a country that has just about the greatest identity from any other country because our troops have really fought for our country."

-- Junior Kurt Brown

"It’s a good day because our troops aren’t recognized often and our troops aren’t mentioned often, so that day allows us to give them enough importance to show we care a lot about them."

-- Freshman Rubin Ivanez

"I think it’s a wonderful celebration for those who have served our country."

-- Mrs. Diane Peck "I think holidays are good to keep things fresh and present in our minds. Veteran's Day is a day to remember the men and women who serve our country. For me personally, it's significant because both my parents are war veterans, and the uncle I’m named after, my dad's youngest brother, died on the island of Palau in September 1944.We need oppor-tunities to stop and pause to remember."

-- Principal Frank Kozakowski

Today is Veteran's Day.

PHOTO BY ALEX ALVARADO PHOTO BY ALEX ALVARADO

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS KNOLL

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS KNOLL

PHOTO BY JUSTIN ABELLO

"1918: An American soldier lying wounded in a trench somewhere in France--my grandfather Stan Vavra.

"1944: B-17 pilot and prisoner of war in Germany--my father Robert Vavra.

"1975: An American airman aid-ing American citizens in the evacua-tion of Saigon--my brother Mark Vavra.

"These are the 3 reasons why Veteran's Day is so important. The veteran answers the call. Let us honor and pray for our young men and women."

-- Mr. Tom VavraCOURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

November 11, 2011 Opinion 5

The LoyalistEditors-in-Chief

Joseph Scudiero & Matthew Stoffers

News Editors

Kenneth An & David Pollack

Opinion Editors

Justin Abello & Cyrus Jabbari & Nicholas Knoll

Feature Editors

Michael Barreto & Joseph Montoya

Arts & Entertainment Editors

Casey Olson & Tristan Vanech

Sports Editors

Brandon Dempster & Patrick Finnegan& Chris Franco & Jonathon Heinen

Layout Editor

Chris Kymn

Photography Editor

Alex Alvarado

Website Editor

Jason Cruz

Contributors: Nicholas Brown, Rohan Chawla, Griffin Cohen, Alexander Erickson, Nicholas Froelich, Samuel Guerra, Nevin James, Zach Josheph, Brandon Kim, Daniel McGough, Osmar Molina, Dominic Olmeda, Christian Paz, Jack Ridder, Stephen Reilly, Julian Silerio, Patrick Trujillo, Andrew WallenderPhotogaphers: Justin Abello, Michael Alvarez, Patrick Blay, Eric Contreras, Nicholas Knoll, Andres Manzano, JR McCorkle, Phillip Melendez, William Riedel, Ryder Schiefele, Andrew VillablancaBusiness Manager: Patrick TrujilloModerator: Mrs. Mary Arney

THE LOYALIST Editorial PolicyThe Loyalist is the official student newspaper of Loyola High

School. Its goal is to provide a forum to serve the entire community--students, faculty and administration.

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Contributions to The Loyalist in the form of suggestions and written submissions are encouraged by the staff. Submissions must be signed, and The Loyalist reserves the right to edit contributed mate-rial to follow professional journalism standards.

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Subscription requests should be sent to Loyola High School, care of the Business Manager.

L.A. Dodgers dodge doom

Eleven days ago, after a long, tumultuous season and to the cheers of many Angelenos, Frank McCourt finally agreed to sell the Dodgers. Through a bitter divorce battle, controver-sial decisions, and questionable finances, Mr. McCourt turned one of the greatest franchises in baseball into a sideshow. Now that Mr. McCourt has agreed to sell the Dodgers, they can return to their former glory.

McCourt’s at best medio-cre finances should not have allowed him to become the owner of the team in the first place. After bidding for sev-eral teams, he won the bid in 2004 to become the owner of the Dodgers for $430 million from News Corp. Because Mr. McCourt did not even have enough money to pay for the team, he secured a loan to finance the team through other

properties that he owned. Mr. McCourt also significantly raised ticket and food prices.

The team took a steep downturn starting in 2009 with the McCourt divorce dis-integrating the Dodger organization. Shortly fol-lowing a deep playoff run in 2009, the McCourt’s announced their divorce. The divorce was the cost-liest in California history, took two years to settle and cost the Dodgers mil-lions. Mr. McCourt took over $100 million from the Dodgers for “personal use” to pay his well over $200 million attorney fees, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In the beginning of the 2011 season, the Los Angeles Times reported that Mr. McCourt took a loan from Fox so that he could barely make the pay-roll. He negotiated a ludicrous 17-year, three-billion-dollar deal

between the Dodgers and Fox Sports for television rights with hundreds of millions to be paid upfront just so Mr. McCourt could make payroll. Citing “deep concerns over operations

and finances,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig took control of the team after rejecting the TV deal.

With the Dodger front office in shambles, the team took a turn for the worst. After arguing with MLB over con-trol of the team, Mr. McCourt filed for bankruptcy hoping the courts would side in his favor

to continue ownership of the team. Even with continual pres-sure from many executives in MLB, Mr. McCourt stubbornly refused to sell the team.

Mr. McCourt’s distrac-tions infuriated many fans. According to Major League Baseball, the Dodgers led teams in attendance during the 2009 season. During the 2011 season, attendance dropped a whopping 8,000 a game from the previous season, result-ing in the Dodgers los-

ing an estimated $27 million in revenue. Many fans were tired of Mr. McCourt’s egregious errors and stopped attending games.

Perhaps thousands more would have stopped watching the Dodgers if it weren’t for the best announcer in all of sports, Vin Scully. Mr. McCourt obvi-ously doesn’t agree because he

sent out a survey to season tick-et holders asking them to rate Mr. Scully on a scale of 1 to 5. Questioning Vin Scully makes a Dodger fan wonder: What is Frank McCourt doing?

The Dodgers had one of the best lineups in baseball during the 2011 season, including three Gold Glove winners, a front runner National League Most Valuable Player in Matt Kemp, and a front runner Cy Young in Clayton Kershaw. Even with amazing talent, the Dodgers finished with a meager 82 wins and 79 losses.

Mr. McCourt’s head-turn-ing decisions and backdoor deals turned the Dodgers into the laughing stock of the MLB. Fortunately, with a new owner and the return of many players alongside legendary announc-er Vin Scully, the future looks bright.

On Monday, Oct. 24, US naturalized citizens of Iranian origin pled not guilty in a federal court in New York. He is one of two men impli-cated in an alleged plot by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States by blowing up a popular Georgetown restaurant that the ambassador frequented.

The alleged plot, which US Justice Department officials, as well as the White House, the State Department, and various leaders of both the Senate and the House of Representatives insist is backed by incontrovertible evidence after months of investigation through a sting operation, can be regarded as an act of war by many international law and diplomacy experts.

The question, however, remains: Why would the current Iranian regime, which is already under heavy US and interna-tional sanctions and is considered a pariah regime by the majority of the free world, try to kill the Saudi ambassador on US soil?

One answer could be that Iran, facing considerable international alienation from abroad and growing open dissent at home, is trying to spread further instability in the Middle East and increase its own influence in the region against Western and Israeli interests. In addition, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locking horns for over 30 years regarding which country represents the domi-nant religious power in the Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia is home to Mecca and Medina,

the two holiest of Islamic cities, comparable to the Vatican and Bethlehem in the Christian world. Iran’s rulers, on the other hand, rep-resent the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which catapulted Shiite-dominated Iran as the revolutionary leader of the Islamic world.

The Shiites represent the Islamic world’s great schism from the Arab world and the majority of Muslims, who are Sunnis. This enmity is similar to the Protestant and Catholic rivalries that plagued much of the Christian world for almost four centuries.

The issues today, however, are more about power politics than the interpretation of any given faith-based sect. Iranian rulers know that they can stay in power only through terror.

Whether the plot in Washington was a miscalculation or just an idiotic scheme, the reality is that the regime behind the plot has a track record of many flagrant violations of international law, the most infamous, of course, being the taking of US embassy dip-lomats as hostages for over a year in 1979.

Many believe that ignoring this act of aggres-sion and simply treating it as a criminal conspir-acy, rather than an act of war, would be regard-ed as appeasement by the Iranian regime and would bolster further acts of terrorism on US soil.

Other experts, however, believe that an over-reaction by Washington is exactly what the current rulers of Iran want, in order to fur-ther their regional goals in Iraq, Afghanistan and the greater Middle East. In short, not every act of war should be answered with war.

By Nicholas Knoll

Arab assassination:what it meansBy Cyrus Jabbari

return of many players alongsidelegendary announcer Vin Scully,

the future looks bright.

With a new owner and the

Fans watch a daytime Dodger game in an empty stadium Photo Cortesy of Goggle Images

6 Feature November 11, 2011

Cubs Show Pride at Spirit Week

By Osmar Molina

A clever soul once said, “At some point, the pride has to be a part of the whole

Similarly, Loyola’s pride was

tailed the week’s events and a sweet

“because this week demonstrates the

the falls of teachers as their fellow

Director of Student Activities Chris same time, students lined up for Zili

who said, “Zilicious barbeque was pret

Fans for Friday’s varsity football

went on the spirit bus, and that was a

themed school dance on Saturday

from the new student council, and it is

be

Student puts sledgehammer to car door in the annual Spirit Week Car Smash.

Cubs line up near loading docks for Kermit's Ice Cream. Loyola's own Mighty Roar entertains student body at the Wednesday pep rally.

Cub swings sledgehammer into roof of damaged automobile. Student enjoys ice cream from Kermit's Ice Cream Express. Faculty team prepares for dodgeball game against seniors while Mr. Line juggles dodgeballs.

PHOTOS BY: PATRICK BLAY, PHILIP MELENDEZ, J.R. MCCORKLE, RYDER SCHEIFELE, AND ANDREW VILLABLANCA

PAGE DESIGNED BY: MICHAEL BARRETO.

For the past four years,

Loyola alumnus Joseph Leo Bwarie, class of 1995, has been cast to “Walk like a man” and “talk like a man” as Frankie Valli in Broadway’s production of Jersey Boys.

From Immaculate Heart to Emerson and back again, Bwarie's career in sing-ing has taken him from the Academy Awards to Dodger Stadium. This is his story.

After graduating Loyola High School in 1995, Bwarie attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, majoring in acting.

“Emerson was a great place for me to solidify that, yes, I wasn’t just on a whim at Loyola thinking that I want-ed to be an actor and singer. I went to Emerson knowing that I had one goal, and that was to really understand the craft of acting--to really know the ins and outs of charac-ter development, how to approach a script, the stamina required of an actor who per-forms eight shows a week in front of a live audience and to understand all the obsta-cles that are thrown at you.”

Although Bwarie did not land any leading roles in Emerson’s Theater pro-ductions, he said he cred-its that rejection with pre-paring him for Jersey Boys.

“It made me more of a fighter and more determined to figure out what roles I really could get and then to really lock into them and get those roles, so years later, that was how I really knew that I could get the Frankie Valle

role in Jersey Boys. I had every criteria required for the role. Before the audition I liter-ally said to myself, ‘Just go get it because it’s yours.’”

He added, “When you’re young, you think if you’re good you should just get the part, and that’s not always the case. You’ve got to be right for it. It’s got to be a perfect fit. I’ve been doing this pro-fessionally since I was eight years old, but I’ve figured it out now. I’m learning now that life isn’t really about if you deserve it. It’s about working your butt off and being relentless and knowing that if you want something you have to make it happen. It doesn’t just get handed to you as so many people think.”

Bwarie returned to Los Angeles in 1999 after gradu-ating from Emerson with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting. At that point his career was simultaneously going in a number of differ-ent directions. He returned to Immaculate Heart High School to rebuild its after-school drama program and to direct their theater productions.

At the same time he began working with Gary Marshall at Marshall’s Falcon Theatre in Burbank. With Marshall’s daughters, Bwarie developed and produced Falcon Theatre’s acclaimed children’s pro-

gramming, while at the same time he acted at the award-winning Troubadour Theater. In 2005 Marshall cast Bwarie as Chachi Arcola, the charac-ter originated by Scoitt Baio, in the world premier musi-cal production of Happy Days.

“Those things were all happening at the same time. I never waited tables, but I didn’t rest a lot. It’s a lot of work; a lot of hours have to be put in. There’s a great expres-sion that ‘work begets work,’ and it’s true. The more I was working, the more job oppor-tunities came my way, and

they would get better, and there would be more money involved. Everything was just going to the next level.”

One night in 2006 after a Happy Days' performance, famed singer and songwrit-er Carole King approached Bwarie and told him about a new show being created in La Jolla. The show, called Jersey Boys, tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Producers hoped eventually to take the show to Broadway in New York. Ms. King told Bwarie that he should be playing the lead role.

Fast forward to the follow-ing year, May 2007. Bwarie auditioned for four days at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, meeting with each of the art departments--danc-ing, acting, and music--to put a musical together. He was then called back to audition in New York. Making this second cut, Bwarie returned to New York two more times and on his last audi-tion worked for a week with another production group.

Home in Los Angeles for four days, Bwarie got the call. He had landed the part of falsetto Frankie Valli in the upcoming Las Vegas Company of Jersey Boys. Not long after the Las Vegas opening, Bwarie went to San Francisco to open with the Jersey Boys

National Touring Company.Since then Bwarie’s life has

been playing the lead role in Jersey Boys, “four years later and six shows a week for me,” he said. “The rest of the com-pany has eight shows. The amount that I sing during the show requires that I have two shows off to rest my voice. The shortest that the show has stayed in one city is three to five weeks which shows you the quality and popularity of the show. It’s been amazing for me to see the country and to work in the theaters that some of the greatest actors

have played in. It’s an honor to be part of that lineage.”

The last week of October is the first week Bwarie was not working in 17 months. However, during that year and five months, he had also recorded and released a debut

album, Nothin’But Love. It was a complicated time-manage-ment project to execute con-sidering that Jersey Boys moves to a different city every three to four weeks. Teaming with Billboard hit-man, arranger/producer Charles Calello (a renowned arranger for Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond, among oth-ers), they selected songs and arrangements that they felt would complement a total album experience with a begin-

ning, a middle and an end. Thirteen songs made the final cut with a reason for each one.

“It was a really interest-ing process of choosing what songs were still poignant and relevant and that would connect with the listeners of 2011 and beyond. I wanted something that was going to be really who I am and not me trying to be Frankie Valli. The day I finished record-ing the album was the day my dream was realized.”

Bwarie said he attributes

his strong work ethic to the discipline and structure demanded at Loyola. “A lot of the work ethic, the time management, those Loyola Jesuit college prep focuses really helped and still do help in a lot of what I do as

far as being a performer at the professional level. That Jesuit education--I swear--it’s like nothing else. I don’t think anyone really realizes until you leave what you learned scholastically and what you learned as their slogan 'Men for Others.' You know, what we learn there is huge. The challenges are totally worth it. The payoff is truly, truly met in the real world. So I think anyone who is lucky enough to go to Loyola will

have a very bright future.”With a leading role in the

national touring company of a major Broadway hit and a solo debut album, Bwarie said, “I feel that everything does sort of lead you where you are going. I don’t know where it is that I’m going, but it’s been a really cool journey so far.”

November 11, 2011 Feature 7

"I feel that everything does sort of lead where you are going. I dont know where it is that I'm going, but it's been a really

cool journey so far"

"I'm learning now that life isn't really about if you deserve it. It's about work-ing your butt off and being relentless and knowing that if you want something

you have to make it happen."

Photo courtesy of Ms. Girard

Loyola alumnus Joseph Bwarie 'walks like a man'

Come see the Hannon Theatre Production "The Matchmaker" tonight.

By Casey Olson

8 Arts & Entertainment November 11, 2011

In a group of 50 girls, each girl is either blonde or brunette, and each has either blue or brown eyes. Find the number of brown-eyed blondes if 14 girls are blue-eyed blondes, 31 are brunettes, and 18 have brown eyes.

Math Challenge

The answer to the Oct. 14 edition's Math Challenge is 920.

Brought to you by the Math Club

By Jack Ritter

Mr. Steven Speciale’s Music Appreciation II class is creating musical pieces inspired by displays at the Long Beach Aquarium. With the permission of the aquar-ium, students are designing soundscapes using ambient sounds from each exhibit and from their own compositions.

“This is the Soundwalk times four. It’s much more involved,” said Mr. Speciale. According to him, the goal of this project is to create an iPhone application that plays music corresponding to each display.

Junior Alex Kim will be composing a piece inspired by the tiger shark exhibit. “My song is going to com-

pare the shark to the rep-tiles of the land,” he said.

The music is meant to be abstract. Junior Paul McNicoll said, “We are studying elec-tronic music. We’re taking abstract sounds that you wouldn’t think of as music and putting them together as a song.” Similar projects have been done in the past, such as the Soundwalks.

Multiple groups through-out the Loyola campus will take part in the making, docu-menting and studying of the projects. Mr. Craig Bouma’s Physics class built the instru-ments used in the composi-tion of the music. The Music Appreciation class is com-piling and composing the sounds, and the Film Club will

document the displays and their songs. Finally, the videos made by the Film Club will be turned over to Mrs. Ramon’s Biology class for study of the fish and other aquatic life.

The finished application will show the user an aug-mented reality, which is any-thing digitally manipulated to change the way a person perceives the real world. Mr. Speciale explained, “The idea is that you’ll be look-ing at a display and listen-ing to music inspired by it.”

An iPad demonstration of Mr. Speciale's app, which plays different music depending on the type of marine life. Casey Olson

Cubs 'Under the Sea' at the Long Beach Aquarium

By Christian Paz

“Please all, and you’ll end up pleasing none.” These iconic words are echoed throughout Loyola, in the fables written last week by seniors in Mr. Mason’s

AP English IV class.This project, which took place

over a timespan of two weeks, can be seen all over Loyola. Mr. Michael Mason, director of the project, said, “As James Joyce used Daedalus (from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man) as

a fable to teach readers about a great truth, AP Lit Seniors have created an Aesop fable, rewritten to fit many contemporary audi-ences.” He added, “It’s a project that uses the 18th Century English & French ‘Broadside’ design of a ‘broadsided document’ posted in public places as a publishing device. It’s literature in the most unexpected public places.”

Broadside printing was com-monly used in the 18th Century as a way of getting common peo-ple to stop and read stories and publications by laying out text in a horizontal format on a wall, fence, tree, or pole. “The purpose of it was to create a ‘boom’ or inspire a ‘wow’ from the audi-ence, as stories would pop out from nowhere,” said Mr. Mason. “And that is exactly what we are trying to accomplish with this project. We want students to stop what they’re doing and read a

story.” Senior Aloysius Makalinao

said, “It was awesome to see people read my story. In fact, one guy bumped into a wall because he was distracted by my story.”

This project took time to com-pile. First, students had to read an Aesop fable. Then they had to brainstorm ideas on how to con-vey the message of the story to all audiences. “Students had to take the template, and make it appeal-ing for modern audiences,” said Mr. Mason. The new story could not be exactly the same as the original, but it had to contain the major points of the fable.

Makalinao said, “There was a lot to work with. Although we all based our stories after the same Aesop fable, every single story was different and had its own flavor.”

The final step in the process was the publishing. “When we

approached Mr. Wood with the idea, he was immediately cap-tivated. He was excited,” said Mr. Mason. “The stories were posted up in the broadside, hori-zontal format all around Loyola High. Most of them were put up indoors, but we did post some near the lockers and on the walls of various buildings.”

“The main purpose of this project is to get a ‘wow,” said Mr. Mason. “We want these stories to jump out, to grab your atten-tion, and to make you stop. Our next goal is to get this all online. These stories will appear ran-domly on a Loyola website link to complete the Old School/New School approach to publishing creative works by Loyola stu-dents on campus.”

The writing on the walls of Loyola

Loyola students, under the guidance of Mr. Speciale, listen to music inspired by marine life

Following months of rehears-als and crew sessions, the Hannon Theatre Company is set to premier its newest play, The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, tonight at 8 p.m.

A comedic farce set in Yonkers, New York, the play fol-lows Dolly Gallagher Levi as she graces the stage, working her magic by bringing characters together and bringing her special touch to numerous situations.

Junior Sophia Crisafulli from Marlborough School takes on the role of Dolly Levi. “It’s such a fun part, and I’m really loving it,” she said.

Senior Christopher Daroca, who plays the lead role of Horace Vandergelder, said, “I think this show is by far one of the funni-est shows that I’ve ever partici-pated in. I’m so happy that I am involved in it. It’s really coming together. I think that we are going to really do this show well; we’re

going to do justice to Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker.”

Under the direction of Mr. Walter Wolfe, both cast and crew have worked since September to bring this play to life. This past week alone, the entire company stayed until 11 p.m. every night rehearsing, while last night seniors in the company stayed until after midnight to put finishing touches of paint on the set. Junior Ruben Cuellar, properties manager, said, “The crew has worked very

diligently in building the set.”This opening night not

only marks the addition of The Matchmaker to Hannon Theatre Company’s repertoire of shows, but it also sees the inauguration of some upgrades to the theatre. The first upgrade is the renova-tion of the theatre lobby where hardwood floors and new glass doors have been put installed. The second addition is a pro-fessional-grade sound system made possible by a generous gift

from the Ahmanson Foundation.Mr. Wolfe said, “It is unlike

any sound system that any high school theatre I would venture to say west of the Mississippi has.”

At the culmination of hours of collective dedication, The Matchmaker is ready for audiences. Performances are next Thursday and next Friday at 8 p.m.; tomor-row and next Saturday at 5 p.m.; and next Sunday at 2 p.m.

Broadsides like these are read by students and teachers alike everyday. Alex Alvarado

Hannon opens 'The Matchmaker' tonightBy Andrew Wallender

9 News November 11, 2011

Fire on roof contained to equipment

[Continued from LAFD, Page 1]

Loyola is considering installing a security camera to monitor equipment on the roof, as it is easy for the twelve-foot parapet walls to conceal smoke.

After responding to the tripped duct sensor in the morning and the equipment fire in the afternoon, the fire department was impressed with Loyola’s preparedness.

In particular, “the fire department was really impressed with our fire system in that we can immediately zero in on where the fire is,” said Mr. McDermott.

The system was upgraded about five years ago, and is sensitive, yet effective.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, the system is doing what it’s designed to do. It’s detecting smoke, so we have to always take it as the real thing,” said Mr. McDermott. “It’s a sensitive system, but it’s a good system, and I’d rather have a false alarm and be safe than have a system not pick up something and not have a chance to get students out of the buildings.”

With 250,000 square feet of in-door space and 1,200 students on campus every day, fire protection is not something Loyola takes lightly. When the fire alarm goes off, security and maintenance workers act as first responders while students, faculty and staff evacuate.

“We will not put ourselves in jeopardy if the fire is too large, but we will try to contain it and communicate with emergency response teams and keep the school administration updated,” said Mr. McDermott.

Mr. McDermott cited a close relationship with LAFD Station 13, located at Pico and Westmoreland, as part of the fire protection plan. His staff created an emergency response booklet that includes a map of the campus and locations for things like utility shut-offs and fire alarm panels. A copy is kept on Engine 13, helping the crew to respond quickly and precisely to on-campus emergencies.

"The fire department was really im-pressed with our system in that we can im-mediately zero in on where the fire is."

--Mr. McDermott

By Patrick W. Trujillo

On Tuesday, November 8, Mr. Andrew Ammon was elected by a respectable margin to the school board for the City of San Gabriel, becoming the youngest member to sit on the board.

Mr. Ammon and his supporters suspected that he would do well because of what the absentee ballets suggested: “We knew we were leading in the absentee ballets, and usually whoever wins those votes will win the entire campaign.”

After all the votes had been counted, Richie claimed 693 votes, Eccleston 839, and Mr. Ammon had about fifty percent of the overall votes with 1472.

Mr. Ammon said that he is excited about winning and having a solid grounds for election: “I’m proud of that fact that we ran a positive campaign about ideas with the students at the center of our focus, and that we won with this kind of mindset.”

IT'S AMMON!

Photo by Will Riedel

10 Sports November 11, 2011

For most of us one day is a short period of time. Sure, some days seem endless and tiresome, as I can attest when I have days where I leave my house for school at 4:30 in the morning and don’t get home till 7:30 at night. So yes, at times a single day can seem long, but in a typical set-ting one day really doesn’t add up to much.

On the other end of the spec-trum, one year seems like an unfortunately long amount of time. Despite a year being quan-tified as a mere 365 days, its effect on something is much more obvious than a single day’s effect. This statement especially holds true in the sporting world.

As is typical in the business that is professional sports, every year massive changes take place, whether they are player person-nel changes, front office firings and hirings, or any other major franchise move; hardly ever does any sporting year pass where nothing really changes. Every year drastic changes occur, and with those changes come expec-tations and “expert” opinions and predictions on what will happen in the upcoming season.

Ironically enough, what we, the sporting fans of the world, enjoy most about sports is the unpre-dictability each year. From the National Basketball Association, to Major League Baseball, to the National Football League, all the way to Loyola High School, a new year means new changes and new predictions and, thus, unpredictable results.

Around this very time last year, the NBA’s season was just under way with most teams around the league having already completed the first 10 or so of their 82-game season. The two Los Angeles-based teams, to whom a signifi-cant number of students pledge their basketball allegiance, were playing with records on the opposite ends of the spectrum, with the Los Angeles Clippers beginning their season with an atrocious 1-9 record, while the defending World Champion Los Angeles Lakers had begun their defense of the title by winning eight of their first ten games.

The Lakers at the time were eager to chase their franchise’s second “three-peat” of the 21st century and end their Head Coach Phil Jackson’s final season on a high note. The Clippers, on the other hand, were coming off of yet another horrendous sea-son but really had few realistic playoff aspirations heading into the season. After Blake Griffin ended his rookie season to a knee injury the year prior, the former number-one overall draft selection was essentially the only ray of hope for the Clipper faith-ful.

In the world of America’s most watched sport 12 months ago, the NFL had already completed 10 weeks of its 17-week season of 16 games and had a completely different look. Some perspec-tive: Brett Favre was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, Carson Palmer was still a Bengal, Vince Young had not yet trashed his future with the Tennessee Titans and Peyton

Calling the shots... with Patrick FinneganBy Packy Finnegan

For Loyola students, winter does not take them over the river and through the woods to grand-mother’s house, but over the expressways and through the city to dribble, pass, shoot, and score.

Basketball and soccer, Loyola’s two winter sports, have shown great success in the past couple of years, which has put a lot of pres-sure on these teams to continue succeeding.

In basketball, the Cubs are diving right into the season with the Redondo Tournament in late November and the Santa Monica Tournament in early December.

Head Varsity Coach Jamal Adams said he is not too worried,

but rather, excited: “We have a tougher schedule this year and are probably up another division in the playoffs, but our team’s size, skill and enthusiasm can allow us to be more successful than last year. We have seventeen guys on the team, ten returning from last year; all seventeen of these guys can play, so I am really excited.”

Being up another division refers to the team’s competition level. In higher divisions, competi-tion is tougher, faster and stronger than lower division opponents.

“We have a lot more weapons this year, that can contribute in a big way,” said sophomore Parker Cartwright.

Given the team’s schedule this

year, many may think that the Cubs will not be able to repeat their success like last year. Coach Adams thinks differently: “If we work at the level we are capable of, and we do all the dirty work we need to like rebounding and defending, I really expect to see this team be successful even in the tough league that we are in.”

Loyola’s soccer team, after winning three consecutive Mission League titles, faces another chal-lenging Mission League season. Varsity Head Coach Chris Walter is optimistic: “We have five return-ing starters from last year’s team. This year, we are not as fast, but I believe we are more skilled.”

Furthermore, Coach Walter said, “We have been working hard on a zone defense which is a change from our man-to-man system we were in last year. We believe that we have the person-nel to make this change and hope that it will help us in the always competitive Mission League.”

Coach Walter said he expects success from this year’s soccer team despite a rough Mission League ahead, facing opponents such as Chaminade, St.Francis, and Harvard-Westlake, but he said the team has a long way to go before taking the CIF title.

Senior Michael Sandoval said, “We are always a team of defense; and we believe that if we have a tough defense, then the offense will come together, and we will become successful.”

Manning was playing like, well, Peyton Manning. As the regu-lar season ended, the Green Bay Packers were able to sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team. Behind the stellar play of quarter-back Aaron Rodgers, the Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. After such a successful season, the NFL was riding high.

In one of the sporting world’s longest seasons, MLB had finally capped its 2010 season on a high note. After a season that included plenty of high profile trades and shocking twists, the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers snuck their ways into the World Series, and much to the chagrin of many southern-California Los Angeles Dodger fans, the Giants won in five games.

Fast-forward one year and the NBA looks nothing like it did a mere 365 days ago. After the Lakers fell to the eventual cham-pion Dallas Mavericks and the Clippers shocked no one by miss-ing the playoffs, NBA players and NBA owners have been unable to agree to the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Owners were forced to “lock out” the players and essentially put the NBA season on hold. At this point, the NBA has cancelled all games through November. No matter how quickly a deal gets done between NBA owners and players, this season will bear lit-tle to no resemblance to the last year.

After such a successful 2010

NFL season, putting a damper on this organization seemed unlike-ly. Turns out the player lockout did just that. Similar to the NBA’s situation, the NFL and its play-ers went through a period that at one point made even the most optimistic NFL fans doubt the likelihood of a season.

After months of struggle, play-ers and owners finally came to an agreement. There was a football season again, and, boy, what a season it has been. Of the eight divisions in the NFL, six have different leaders in the standings than at the end of the 2010 regu-lar season, including consistent cellar-dwellers of the 21st cen-tury, the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. The Green Bay Packers have yet to miss a beat; through the first nine weeks, they are a sterling 8-0. Despite the tumultuous off-season, the NFL looks to have yet another fantas-tic season ahead.

The only league of the “Big 3” in America without a labor dispute, MLB saw a 2011 season as intriguing as ever. Defending World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants, missed the playoffs, a miss which might have eased the pain of not hav-ing a Los Angeles team in the postseason. But the playoffs were as tantalizing as ever. The World Series, featuring the returning American League Champion Texas Rangers and the wild-card St. Louis Cardinals, was a wild match-up of two teams that combined timely hitting, great

starting pitching and inconsis-tent bullpen play. Eventually, the Cardinals emerged victorious but not after taking the series to its seven-game limit.

So change--sometimes radical--from one year to the next is signature in the sporting world, even at Loyola. Nothing fits this bill more so than our very own varsity football team. Merely one year ago, our Cub football team was standing at a 3-6 record, including a 0-3 record in league, with really no shot at the play-offs. The 2010 Cubs went on to lose to Crespi in their final game and finish a disappointing 3-7 and 0-4 in league.

This year the tides have turned quite dramatically with the var-sity squad going into the fina-le against rival school Crespi Carmelite. Cubs have a 7-2 record, a 2-1 record in league and a playoff berth guaranteed. With a win tonight, we could set our-selves up for a nice seeding in the CIF Playoffs and a title run. What a difference a measly 12 months makes!

From one year to the next, sports change. Whether because of injuries, transactions, coaching changes or whatever, sports are as unpredictable as anything. In our case here at Loyola, we have “Example 1a” right before our eyes! Only one year ago people were questioning the validity of Loyola as a football program. And now? We’re playoff-bound. Only in the world of sports…

Mr. Chris Walter: Director of Student Activities, Head Coach of Varsity Soccer, algebra teacher. Photo by Andres Manzano

Cubs gear up for winter Loyola soccer and basketball prepare for their upcoming seasonsBy Rohan Chawla

November 11, 2011 Sports 11

By Julian Silerio

This year entailed more chal-lenges for the junior varsity water polo team as they practiced and worked out with the varsity team.

Mr. Erik Healy, head coach for varsity, combined the JV and Varsity teams so that the JV team could get experience playing at the varsity level.

“It’s an interesting process for those guys because they’re train-ing with the varsity team, but they’re playing the JV games,” said Coach Healy. “It’s a tough time, but I think it’s very benefi-cial for their future. Being able to do this stuff as freshmen and sophomores will help them in their later years of the program.”

The JV team has played well this year, with an impressive overall record of 15-8. They also managed to take second place in the Nike Invitational Tournament, suffering an 8-6 loss to Laguna Beach in the finals.

Improvement is obvious in players who are not used to training at the varsity level.

“I think the younger guys are doing great,” said Coach Healy. “I am very excited with the way they are putting their heads down and doing the training and doing what their coaches are asking them to do, because I think they know, in the end, it’s going to help them as players.”

He continued, “It’s a different level of dedication compared to eighth grade or freshman athlet-ics. Just being able to manage your time and get done with homework and get all the respon-sibilities done as well as poten-tially being in the pool three or four hours a day is challenging.”

With an increased level of training, the JV players could have the potential to take the CIF title next year and, if the varsity work-outs continue, for years to come.

JV water polo

By Brandon Kim

Loyola’s new Freshman-Sophomore water polo team, coached by Mr. Matthew Schaeffer, has achieved its goals of winning league and holding a high position in one of their tournaments.

Earlier in the season, the Frosh-Soph team competed well, taking first place in the Friar Fling Tournament in mid-September. Despite recent losses against El Toro, 10-4; Mira Costa, 10-6; and Huntington Beach, 15-7, the team squeezed out a record of 15-10.

“Our goals were to win league and a tournament, which we more or less did,” stated Coach Schaeffer. Coach Shaeffer also said that some of the high-lights of the season included beating Harvard Westlake, 15-6, and Mater Dei, 9-2.

“Those were our best and biggest games of the season,” Sophomore co-captain Patrick Placido.

Coach Schaeffer said that play-

ers who have stepped up in the season are sophomores Connor Turley and co-captain Parker Meek, as well as freshmen Duncan Rowland and goalie Matt Reilly.

Through a long season and difficult practices, the frosh/soph team has experienced some essential team bonding, which also prepared the play-ers themselves for the varsity level. “I felt that we all really matured, improved, and grew together as a team by the end of the season,” said Placido. “It was a fun and great season.”

The team practiced Monday through Friday either in the morning or evening, as well as Saturdays from 8 to 10 a.m.

“This experience prepares you for a higher level of water polo at one of the top high schools for water polo, with all of the swim sets and drills we do,” said sophomore Alex Garcia. “It helps with understanding the game more. One of the harder things was waking up in the morning for early practices.”

Freshman/sophomore

water polo meets goalsDespite a sluggish early season

and the absence of Head Coach P.J. Pascale, the Loyola Junior Varsity Football Team hoped to cap its five-game winning streak by keepng its first-place Mission League ranking that the team held before yesterday’s final game.

Coach PJ Pascale, who had been injured in a car accident, was physically unable to oversee the team for the first few weeks of the season, leaving the sophomores to endure losses against their first two opponents. Moreover, Coach Pascale said that during his absence the team did not have the ability “to estab-lish a strict sense of discipline early on within team. I let certain things go because I started the season late, and I still feel like I am somewhat new to them.”

Starting running back Nico Evans said he agreed that Coach Pascale’s absence contributed to the team’s slow start, describing it in the first few weeks of the season as “sloppy and dysfunc-tional.”

With the return of Coach Pascale, the Cubs saw the end to their early season struggle,

defeating the Newport Harbor Sailors and achieving their first win of the season. Coach Pascale’s return significantly impacted the Cubs who blew out their opposi-tion in a final score of 28 to 0.

The Cubs’ progress and devel-opment over the next few weeks was met by great overall success on game day. Coach Pascale said

he is pleased with the team’s success, attributing impressive game play to “the fact that there are no ‘superstars’ on the team.” He added, “Every player has to meet his obligation and do the best he can for the success of the team --there is no relying on any certain individual.”

With a 28-7 win over Upland in week five of the season, the JV football team managed to main-tain a winning streak up through league play, though success did not come easily. In fact, the Cubs executed an electrifying, last-sec-ond play against Notre Dame in the league opener to defeat the Irish in a nail-biting 22-21 win.

With a 21-10 win over

Bishop Amat and a 21-7 win over Alemany, the sophomore Cubs asserted themselves with an undisputed first-place ranking in league, remaining the only JV team to hold a perfect 3-0-league record until yesterday’s game, when the Cubs attempted to hold on to their position with a final game against Crespi Carmelite.

Besides the goal of securing a league title, Coach Pascale said he intends to empha-size discipline with his sophomore players, stressing

the importance of upholding the Loyola motto of “men for oth-ers” and what it means to dem-onstrate a good work ethic and respectable demeanor on and off the field.

Evans said, “Coach Pascale is a positive influence on the team because he expects us to not only play as football players, but to act as men for others. He is very strict about this and will condi-tion us until we learn our lesson, but our team is glad to be under his leadership.”

JV football paces league

by Nevin James

Baseball field renovations, which began Oct. 17, should be complet-ed in early December, according to Varsity Baseball Coach Brian Felten.

The three main changes to the field are a new bullpen for the third-base line, a hitting station adja-cent to the home bullpen and the right-field batting cage and flood lighting atop dugout rooftops so that practices can take place after sundown. The new bullpen and hitting station will also allow practice during inclement weather, and the area behind home plate to be increased to six to eight feet.

Coach Felten also spoke about minor renovations to the field: “The old backstop is being removed. We are also adding a press box and a storage facility. The press box will be adjacent to the home dug-out on the home plate side, and the storage facility will be on the outfield side of the home dugout.”

Baseball field renovated

By Zach Joseph

The newest members of the football program, the freshman football team had a rocky season with an overall 5-4 record and 0-3 record in Mission League play. With some big wins, like a 52-12 win over Mira Costa in the season opener, and tough loss-es, like the 36-14 loss to Notre Dame at the start of league play, this season had ups and downs.

In the Serra League opener against Notre Dame Oct. 21st, the Cubs struggled to defend the Knights' passing game. “We didn’t play physically enough in the first half. We turned the ball over a few times and were domi-nated by their passing game,” said safety Francisco Durazo.

“League is a different beast,” said Head Coach Levi Line. “That’s what matters on all lev-els--how you do in league.We were used to opponents of less caliber, so that’s what happened when we played Notre Dame. Every team in our league is as good or even better than Notre Dame.You can never overlook an opponent, especially in league.”

Charles Cohen said, “The loss to Notre Dame was a wake-up call that we needed to practice harder and go out there and get a win.”

Despite high hopes, the Cubs suffered two losses to both Bishop Amat and Alemany. Yesterday afternoon, the Cubs played the Crespi Celts.

Freshman football struggles in league

gains experience

PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALVAREZ

By Nicholas Brown

"There is no relying on any certain individual."

-Coach Pascale

By Stephen Reilly

The Loyola Freshman Water Polo team has had a challenging season. With a 3-10 record, the team members said they hoped to have a strong showing in their final games. With wins against Servite and Yorba Linda High School, the freshman team had to face other tough opponents like Mira Costa and El Toro. They also competed in a tournament at Chadwick where the Cubs had one victory and three losses.

"Our goal was to go undefeat-

ed in the Chadwick Tournament," stated freshman Malcolm Miles.

"We trained hard for our tournament. We were really practicing harder, focusing and believing in ourselves," said freshman Nicholas Vaughn.

The AquaCubs did improve their game over the course of the season. The team had prac-tices every weekday except Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., with scrimmages often on Saturdays. Practices focused on passing and shooting.

"The team players worked

very hard every day to improve their skills and ultimately become better players," said Assistant Coach James Miller. "As the season progressed, all of the players on the team improved drastically and will continue to do so as they gain experience. We have had tough competition this season, and we have bat-tled against many teams with greater experience, but this expe-rience will prove invaluable."

The season ended last Saturday at the Chadwick Tournament.

Freshman water polo comes to an end

Sports12 November 11, 2011

By Chris Franco

The Varsity Football Team has come a long way since last season. Only one year removed from a 3-7 season and 0-4 record in Mission League, the varsity Cubs have rebounded and are heading into tonight’s match-up versus Crespi with a 7-2 overall record, 2-1 league record and a guaranteed playoff berth.

In a sharp shift from last year, the Cubs sailed through non-league play, suf-fering only one setback in a tough game against Upland. The past three league losses, moreover, were more of a challenge.

On Friday, Oct. 21, the Cubs got off to a good start in league with a com-mendable 27-14 win against Notre Dame; and two weeks ago, on Friday, Oct. 28, the Cubs fought for a 14-3 win over Bishop Amat. These two victories ensured Loyola’s spot in CIF playoffs.

“We are concentrating every day at practice and working hard,” said junior running back Wyatt Bradford. “We are just taking this league day by day.”

The Cubs came up short last week in their game against Alemany, resulting in a 28-14 loss. “We have been successful in previous games because of our stick-ing to fundamentals,” said senior right tackle Travis Harvey. “We let the impor-tance of this game get to our heads.”

Senior quarterback Nic Cotton said, “We let the weather hold us down and used it as an excuse to not adjust and not play our game.”

The Cubs had been doing some good things that got them through the first two league games with little resistance.

“We got a lot of long drives and fin-ished them well. We were able to keep good control of the ball and limit turn-overs. Our defense had also been play-

ing well by stopping runs,” stated senior safety and wide receiver Eamon McOsker.

Consistency was lack-ing in the game against Alemany.

“Until last week several parts had been improving all season,” said Head Varsity Coach Mike Christensen. “Our defensive backs had played well, our offensive line has been effective, and our QB play was solid. That all changed last week, and they must regroup for us to be successful.”

Despite having an overall record of 7-2, the Cubs still have plenty of things to work on. Coach Christensen explained, “We need to have some players make plays in critical situations. In both of our losses [Upland and Alemany], we allowed the other team to make more crucial plays than we did, and the results speak for themselves. We must do a better job defensively on third down as well as establish a more effective run game. Also, our special teams have been very erratic all season, and at some point they will need to become consistent. If we do these things, we will be fine.”

The varsity team has one more hurdle to overcome before playoffs: Crespi. Playing the Carmelite Celts, also 7-2, will not be a walk in the park.

Coach Christensen said, “Being able to run the football on offense and not committing turnovers is always impor-tant. Defensively we must make the key plays to get off the field. We were very poor in that regard in both of our losses. And, in all league games, special teams are key since the games are so close and hard-fought. I have to believe that our special teams will be called upon to make a play in the near future.”

“We are going to have to come out knowing that they are going to give 110%,” said Cotton.

In the eyes of the head coach,

this season has been successful for the Cubs and for the community.

Coach Christensen said, “I am very proud of our efforts all season. We have a terrific group of seniors that have done their best; we just haven’t made some key plays when we have needed them. It is a process, so we will continue to work to improve and finish off strong. We have the ability to compete against any team in the PAC-5 playoffs, but we

will have to maximize our opportuni-ties to have success. It is a testament to this year’s team that they have already qualified for the playoffs and will be one of 16 teams with a chance at the title.”

With the playoffs in sight, the Cubs are looking to defeat Crespi and take on the teams of the PAC-5. Cubs play their final league game when they take on Crespi tonight at 7 p.m. at LA Valley College.

Cubs secure spot in playoffs

Senior safety and wide receiver Eamon McOsker hauls in a pass in Loyola's game against Valencia High School on Oct. 8. Photo by Eric Contreras

AquaCubs advance to CIF quarterfinals By Griffin Cohen

In the first round of the CIF playoffs, Loyola beat Santa Margarita, 13-8, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s John C. Argue Swim Stadium Wednesday night.

Loyola (18-9, 4-0) was led by junior Chancellor Ramirez, who scored a game-high seven goals, and seniors Jamie Kuprenas and

Trenton Ross, who added three and two goals, respectively. Junior Xander Swain led the strong defensive effort with four steals.

“The boys were just antici-pating the big CIF match,” said Head Coach Erik Healy after the game. “We had a plan to jump out early.” The Cubs did gain an early lead by scoring in their first three possessions and had a 5-0 lead after the first quarter.

Loyola’s offense attacked

Santa Margarita, ranked third in the Trinity League, with a bal-anced, spread-out approach from the start. The Cubs’ effort was fueled by aggressive defense, which seemed to frustrate the Eagles and their coaches. “We wanted to focus on defense and let the offensive come naturally,” said senior goalie Troy Nadel.

The Eagles made a run in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 7-3, but that was the closest they

would get. After the teams traded turnovers to start the third quar-ter, Loyola extended its advan-tage to 9-3 and kept a steady lead throughout the second half before the Eagles tacked on a couple of late goals in the fourth quarter.

With the win on Wednesday night, the currently fourth-ranked Cubs advanced to the second round of the CIF playoffs and will play currently fifth-ranked Huntington Beach, ranked sec-

ond in the Sunset League, tomorrow. “We will be fired up,” said Ramirez. “We’ll have to come out, play hard and limit mistakes.”

Huntington Beach, with whom Loyola split two previous match-es, is one of the Cubs’ many tough opponents this season. After win-ning the first seven of eight games, Loyola lost four straight, including a 20-8 defeat to top-ranked Mater Dei, who beat the Cubs in all three of this sea-son’s matches. If the Cubs beat Huntington Beach, they will most likely get another shot at Mater Dei in the CIF semifinals.

Other than the three losses to Mater

Dei, Loyola’s list of tough defeats includes one-point loss-es to currently second-ranked Newport Harbor and current-ly sixth-ranked Los Alamitos.

The team, battling injuries this season, turned to a number of underclassmen to pick up the slack After the four-game losing streak, Loyola rebounded by winning five of six matches, including a 12-9 victory over currently ninth-ranked rival Harvard-Westlake, a win that helped lead the Cubs to their fourth consecutive Mission League championship.

In an interview last month, Coach Healy was complimen-tary of the young talent on this year's squad: “We’ve had two freshmen doing a great job.” Those freshmen, Ryan Wilson and Sean Thomas, have com-plemented the core group of upperclassmen leading the team.

Across the board, the Cubs have seen much improvement, largely attributed to the intense practice schedule the team under-goes with four to five hours in the pool daily. This improve-ment has once again put the Cubs in the envied position of vying for a CIF championship.

“Obviously the goal is to win CIF, but even getting to the finals would be a milestone for Loyola water polo—a feat that has yet to be accomplished by the program,” said Swain.Senior Trenton Ross gets ready to score a goal.

Photo By Alex Alvarado