December 2009Volume 4.3

LOS ANGELES BAPTIST MIDDLEAND HIGH SCHOOL9825 WOODLEY AVENORTH HILLS, CA 91343(818) 894-5742

Table Of Contents2 4 6 - 7 1 0 1 2

Student Life Sports Christmas Middle School

8

Local NewsOpinion

With 1010 shoe boxes , the school has sur-

passed its goal by 160 boxes. Those gifts, plus thousands more, will be distributed to one hundred countries, and over seven million children will get the chance to learn about Christ. For ten years, LAB has been a small part of this ministry and will continue for many years to come.

LAB became in-volved with OCC because of Ms. Noblitt’s mother. She supported Samaritan’s Purse, had heard about a ministry called Opera-tion Christmas Child, and suggested it to her daugh-

ter, Ms. Noblitt. When the school became involved for the fi rst time, the program was enjoyed by many, so it was decided that it should be continued the following year. Now, ten years later, the tradition still holds, and goals are being exceeded.

Ms. Noblitt her-self talked about how more students are “caring about the ‘least of these’” and how “the ultimate goal is to have people accept Je-sus Christ.” The “least of these” she is referring to are the children who are re-ceiving the boxes, the ones who have the least. One of her favorite stories regard-ing OCC is about a young girl who opened her box, took a single item out, and passed the box to another child. She had no idea that the entire box was for her alone. “There are so many stories to choose from,” she said when asked which one was most memorable to her.

Student participa-tion helped LAB surpass its goal of 850 boxes. On

the subject of LAB’s tenth year with OCC, ju-nior Cooper Babbes said, “We’re changing a lot of lives. I support the min-istry because you can see God’s work in something as simple as a shoe box.” Hopefully, next year there will be even more boxes and LAB’s total number of shoe boxes given will in-crease. Cooper hopes that “we’ll have even more sup-porters! We should think of new ways to show how meaningful it is for the kids.” One of his ideas is to get a group together to eat lunch and then buy sup-plies for the boxes at a 99 cent store. His idea is just one of many ways students can get involved with OCC and show their support.

Operation Christ-mas Child is a ministry that helps to change the lives of children in some of the most desecrated areas of the world. One shoe box has the ability to change a life and help a child ac-cept Christ. LAB is a just small part of that ministry.

LAB Packs 1,010 BoxesLAB students take part in OCC by breaking the 2008 record of packed boxes.

Kelly Wilkinson ‘10

During the Christ-mas season, Op-eration Christmas

Child works out of a gi-gantic warehouse in Or-ange County which is fi lled with thousands of volun-teers who come to pack boxes for children who are less fortunate than them.

Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth and is a time that gives ev-eryone an opportunity to share God’s word with oth-ers. Operation Christmas Child allows numerous people with giving hearts to come and pack boxes that are then shipped all over the world to children who do not have nearly as much. With the boxes is included a packet that explains sal-vation and what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ.

Christmas Gifts of JoyMegan Nieman ‘11

Over Thanksgiv-ing break, I went to the huge warehouse with my friends to help pack the boxes. When the volunteer service started, I was greeted by many other volunteers who asked what motivated my friends and me to do this. After signing in, I walked into a different room where I wrote my name on a name tag and sat down to watch an informational video. The video was about the children who receive the boxes and how it affects their lives.

After the video was over, I walked to a different room where two young volunteers explained exactly what we would be doing and that “this process would not get done with-out our help.” They told us that they had changed the procedure from last year in order to make it more ef-fi cient and get more boxes packed. Each person would have a specifi c job that he or she had to effectively complete in order for the process to run smoothly. There were a total of six

jobs that ranged from going through the boxes to pack-aging them for shipment.

My job was to go through the boxes to make sure that there was noth-ing inappropriate in them. I spent the whole day go-ing through these boxes and enjoyed every aspect of it. Knowing I am help-ing children who do not have nearly as much as I do makes me feel so good. I know that the Lord bless-es every box and knows exactly which child will receive which box. Jacob Bjorseth, an eighth grader, stated “The warehouse was fi lled with an overwhelm-ing enthusiasm of giving.”

Volunteering at Samaritans Purse Op-eration Christ-mas Child

“ O p e r a t i o n Christmas Child allows numerous people with giv-ing hearts to come and pack boxes...”

Photos Courtesy of Lauren Phillips ‘11

December 2009 The Knight Writer Student Life Page 2

Students were dis-missed for lunch in the middle of

fifth period and were required to return to class at the normal end of lunch. Mr. Ho-gan, the senior coun-cil, and several parent volunteers barbequed hamburgers and served the senior class. This lunch was different from previous senior lunches because students were encour-aged to help pack Oper-ation Christmas Child boxes during their extra time. This gave them an opportunity to reflect on the blessings that they have and al-lowed them to see the many things they have to be thankful during the holiday season.

The student council set up a sys-tem for the entire se-nior class to bring sup-plies to pack the boxes the week before the Thanksgiving lunch. Students generously donated things such as containers of soap, pencils, toothbrushes,

Seniors Enjoy a Special Lunch

toothpaste, and candy. A separate table was set up in order to allow everyone to have space to pack the boxes. The senior class packed a total of seventeen boxes! Along with the boxes, they collected a total of twenty-six dollars

Seniors enjoy their delicious BBQ treat in preparation for Thanksgiving.

Natalie Smith ‘10

to help pay for the shipping of the boxes. Jaimie Jones stated that it “was a great op-portunity to enjoy time with [her] classmates before the Thanksgiv-ing break!” The senior lunch proved to be a time of fun, thanks-giving, and service.

Winter is here, and LAB students are

determined to find a way to keep warm with the new dress policy. It has been increasingly difficult for students to find a way around the dress code with gradu-al changes taking place over the past years. Girls in particular have trouble keeping warm in their LAB skirts. However, with just a few minor adjustments with accessories and shoes, it is possible to outsmart winter shivers without vio-lating the dress code. Since polos do not have the abil-ity to keep a person warm, it is a smart idea to wear layers. Pair a long-sleeved shirt with

a polo, as long as it is a solid colored shirt that is black, white, or gray. If that does not cut it, wear a vest from Norman’s and put on a LAB sweatshirt. Fin-gers and hands can be insulated from the cold with fleece mittens. Ladies wear-ing skirts can also wear leggings of non-distracting colors to keep their legs from freezing. Keep feet warm and cozy by wearing trendy Ugg boots. If feet are still cold, wear some warm socks, or try leg warm-ers for extra warmth. Do not miss out on the holidays because of the cold; stay warm.

Staying Warm in the UniformRacquel Daza ‘10

Is Christmas the Best Holiday?

Your Guide to the Right CollegeMany students

want to go to college, but

they just do not know where to start. The most common choices for students in Califor-nia are UCs and com-munity colleges. Each choice has its own pros and cons, however in the end, each student must evaluate his or her own interests to decide where to apply. Generally, stu-dents who excel in school and achieve high grades should look at universities because they offer scholarships for exceptional grades. Universities also of-fer a broader list of degrees and programs

because they have more funding than the average community colleges. Universities are best for people who want the ultimate col-lege experience, which include: spor t s , c l u b s , even t s , a n d m e e t -ing new people. T h e m a j o r d o w n -side of a university is that it costs much more than a community college. Junior colleges are best for students who do not have a con-

crete idea of what ca-reer they would like to pursue. At a commu-nity college, students can take the general education courses nec-essary to get a basic

degree, allow-ing them more time to con-sider where their inter-ests lie. Also, once a degree is achieved from a com-munity col-lege, students can transfer

to a university. An-other positive quality about community col-leges is that they offer the same courses that many universities of-

fer for a fraction of the price, saving students thousands of dollars. The one downside of a community college is that it does not of-fer the same college experience that can be found at universities. N o w a d a y s , there are many helpful websites that contain information about the different paths a stu-dent can take when it comes to deciding col-lege preferences. To find out which college is the best fit for you, visit collegebound.net or collegeboard.com. These websites con-tain information about colleges nationwide.

Ivana Miro ‘11

The majority of Los Angeles Baptist juniors

and seniors agree that Christmas is the best holiday. When asked to explain why, junior Ryan Anderson ex-pressed that “Christ-mas is not just about receiving, it is about God sending his one and only Son into the world, which is the greatest gift of all.” Others have a differ-ent reason for loving Christmas. Junior

Brittney Dilk “love[s] all the smells and the weather of Christmas,” and for Kira A n d e r s o n , “the entire at-mosphere of Christmas is about being able to give gifts and cele-brate the birth of Jesus.” H o w do the students of LAB spend their Christmas

Hannah Devaney ‘11

holidays? Some stu-dents, such as Olivia Choi, stay in the coun-

try and visit Texas, but others, such as Justin Ma, go as far as Korea. LAB students’ favor-ite holiday is a time of good food and fam-ily, no matter where or how celebrated. After survey-ing 260 students, the results were astonish-ing as to how many students loved Christ-mas over all holidays. 195 students out of 260 answered that their favorite holiday is Christmas.

...in the end, each student must evaluate his or her own inter-ests to decide where to apply.

--

December 2009 The Knight Writer Spiritual Life Page 3

Mr. Rowles introduced

the Jazz Band first, and after they had played a few songs, he intro-d u c e d Symphon-ic Revela-tion. The chapel fo-cused on s h o w i n g the stu-dent body how to give glory to God t h r o u g h all their t a l e n t s and gifts. Several band members were given the opportunity to speak about how they worship God through playing in the band. Junior Cooper Bab-bes stated, “I was glad to have had the honor of speaking

in chapel … but there were some things that I wanted to say but real-

ly did not get across. I was definitely nervous in front of the whole school.” Senior Ash-ley Ticas shared, “I re-ally enjoyed listening to other students talk about how they use music to worship God

because I could relate to them. As a worship leader, I know what

it’s like to wor sh ip the one true God in spirit and in truth with just you, God and your in-strument. M u s i c truly is an amaz-ing gift and it’s r e f r e sh -ing to see f e l l o w b e l i e v -ers using their gifts for God’s g l o r y . ” W h e n

the band finished their last song, Mr. Rowles closed in prayer and dismissed the stu-dents. The chapel truly proved to be a joyful noise unto the Lord.

A Joyful Sound to LABNatalie Smith ‘10

Band members practice for their upcoming performances.

Forgotten God is the latest book by national re-

nowned speaker and pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Francis Chan. In the book he discusses the interesting prospect that the church today has forgotten the Holy Spirit. His opinion is that the church has grown lazy in its pur-suit of the Holy Spirit and its sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading in their lives. Since the Holy Spirit is equal-ly God, to forget the Holy Spirit is truly to forget God entirely. In his book, Chan encourages readers to forget their pursuit of comfort and to turn down the volume of distrac-tions. He even de-votes a whole chapter to forgetting about God’s will for your life. Whether you see Chan’s views as too charismatic or non- charismatic, there is no doubt that Chan

recklessly pursues truth in such a way that is based on scripture. For example, Chan tells us that in certain

situations, suffering is something to pursue. Growing up in comfort obsessed America, at first one may see this as an heretical thing to say, but Chan quickly backs his belief up with scripture: Rom. 8:17, 2 Cor. 4:16-18, and Phil. 3:10-11.Francis states in the

first chapter that the “goal of this book is not to completely ex-plain the Spirit… The goal is to learn to live

faithfully today.” The Spirit is fully God. It is im-possible to completely understand Him. For-gotten God is not an e x p l a n a -tion of the Holy Spir-it, nor does Chan claim to fully un-d e r s t a n d Him. For-

gotten God is simply an observa-tion of scriptural de-scriptions of the Holy Spirit, and how that practically applies to our daily lives. If you find yourself lacking in the Spirit, or hungry for spiritual challenge, Forgotten God may be the perfect book for you.

An Unforgettable GodEric Davis ‘10

Lost in Translation: A Version For EveryoneEric Davis ‘10

NIV/TNIV

The NIV (New International Version) is a “thought-for-thought” translation of the Bible. The purpose for this kind of a trans-lation is to make the bible easier to read and understand. “Word-for-word” translations

Many Chris-tians find themselves

questioning the differ-ent English translations of the Bible. Some of those questions in-clude: what are the dif-ferences among them? How do they choose which English words to use? Or more practi-cally, of all the versions which translation will be most beneficial? Here is some informa-tion on today’s popular English translations of the Bible as a helpful guide to a Christian deciding what trans-lation would be most beneficial to them.

tend to be grammati-cally difficult to under-stand, while “thought-for-thought” is a more fluid translation that still gives an accu-rate picture of the au-thor’s original intent. In 1965, it was heavy on the hearts of a group of trans-denominational and international Bible scholars to produce a new English transla-tion of the Bible. With the moral support of many church leaders and the financial sup-port of the New York Bible Society (now Biblica), the task of translating the new version was delegated to a self-governing body of fifteen Bibli-cal scholars, called the Committee on Bible Translation. They used the best Hebrew, Ara-maic, and Greek manu-scripts available. After committees translated a book of the Bible to the best of their ability, the book goes through rigorous reviewing

and revising. Some say that no other transla-tion has been through a more thorough refin-ing process. The com-mittee was devoted to making the translation suitable for both pub-lic and private read-ing, teaching, preach-ing, memorizing, and liturgical use. The first NIV Bible was pub-lished in 1978, and a revised translation was published in 1983. The TNIV (Todays New International Ver-sion) is a revision of the NIV. It upholds all the standards of the NIV but has replaced some words and phras-es with more contem-porary English to make understanding the Bible easier for some-one who only knows contemporary English.

KJV / 21st CENTU-RY KJV

In 1611 King James I of England published what was to be considered one

of the greatest pieces of literature in mod-ern English, The King James Version. The original KJV was quickly accepted by all English-speaking Protestants and con-tained the apocry-pha (books that some churches consider to be useful but are not divinely inspired by God and therefore are not in the Bible). The KJV is not written in contemporary English. The 21st Cen-tury KJV is not a revi-sion but rather an up-date of the KJV. The KJ21 replaces words found in the KJV that are no longer under-stood by people in the 21st century while be-ing careful to never al-tering the structure or the meaning of the KJV.

NASB

The NASB (New American Stan-dard Bible) is an up-date from the 1901 published American

Standard Bible. The NASB, published in 1995, has updated word choice and grammar. It is a “word-for-word” translation making it ideal for the study of words and context, but it may prove difficult for some to understand.

ESV

The ESV is also a “word-for-word” translation and is in some cases easier to read than the NASB. Again, it is a great trans-lation for studying, but it may prove difficult for some to understand.

THE MESSAGE

If the NASB is a “word-for-word” translation, and the NIV is a “thought-for-thought” translation, the The Message would be considered a “feel-ing-for-feeling” trans-lation, or a paraphrase. The Message is a loose translation, with the intentional purpose of

conveying the emotion that the early Christian church felt as they read their letters, but with contemporary English words. The Message was paraphrased with two groups of people in mind: those who are unfamiliar with the Bi-ble and those who are all too familiar with the Bible but cannot feel the raw emotion of the text. The Mes-sage Bible was not de-signed for studying but rather for reading, and that is how it should be used. If it is difficult to understand the Bible or it all just seems so boring, The Message might be a useful tool, but use caution when using The Message for studying purposes. No matter which translation you choose, it is wise to spend time in prayer before you open your Bible and to ask the Holy Spirit to help you de-cipher the meaning.

Forgotten God book cover. Photo cour-tesy of Google Images.

Page 4 Sports The Knight Writer December 2009

An Adjustment PeriodJeffrey Hershey ‘10

A new coach with a new style looks to build up a struggling LA Baptist boys’ basketball pro-gram.

With only t h r e e r e t u r n -

ing varsity players, Coach Smith looks to rejuvenate the boys’ basketball program with rising talent. In-cluding the three re-turning players, there are seven seniors on this year’s roster. With that said, get-ting solid contribu-tions from the under-classmen is pivotal. The team will still rely on outstand-ing plays from All-League player Ryan “the Beast” Dennis and rising phenom-enon Jeff Uyekawa,

as well as the scoring talents of Spencer Tor-torici. Jeff is excited for the season, say-ing, “This year looks promising with a new coach and new play-ers. Everyone has been working hard over the offseason, trying to improve.” After a disappointing season last year, the Knights should be very mo-tivated this year. The Knights are still undersized, however, which pos-

es a severe problem against teams like Pacific Hills, which

boasted nearly a full roster of over six-foot players last year. Point guard Justin Yap is not worried about this disadvantage, saying, “Coach knows his stuff.” Coach Smith will try to instill play-ing fast and getting easy buckets in transi-tion to neutralize his team’s height deficien-cies. The Knights hope that all the new faces will bring new results this year, specifically a trip to the playoffs.

Girls’ Basketball SeasonStacey Krzych ‘11

New plays, aggressive defense, and challenging opponents are what this up-coming season is filled with.

The start of the season began in late October

when the players prac-ticed outside on the blacktop. Right off the bat, varsity coach Ara V e n e y let the re-t u r n i n g p l a y e r s as well as let the fresh faces of the team k n o w that this year was going to be more i n t e n s e than past y e a r s . E v e n w i t h the new p l a y e r s , the team is still confident in their abil-ities and are confident that they can go all the way this season. Senior Mariah Dyson believes that “intensity, discipline, passion, and sense of commitment” are all

major factors of the new season and that “learning from one an-other, with the mindset of positive begetting positive” will help the team more than ever. Senior Kristin Begakis says she is “really ex-cited for this year. We have a lot of returning varsity players as well as a couple new mem-bers to the team. I feel as though we’re stron-ger than ever, and I am definitely hoping to go all the way this year. I have a lot a confidence in our team. With

just a little hard work and perseverance, I know we can do it!” The new assis-tant varsity coach, Shel-don Sheehy, is intro-ducing a new defense that is going to be a big contribu-

tion to the game. Although the team has always had sufficient defense, they have not always had an aggressive one. Also, with many new plays, the team is sure to have a big va-riety on offense and many chances to score on opposing teams. And do not

f o r g e t a b o u t J V ! W i t h o n l y four re-turning players, the team has a lot to work on. The n e w g i r l s are still gett ing u s e d to the a t m o -

sphere and c h e m i s -

try of the returning players, but they are working with great precision and passion. This upcom-ing 2009-2010 sea-son is sure to be a challenge, but it is also going to be a team building year.

From left to right: Kathleen Shoga ‘11, Carley Tarantino ‘10, Delphine Khalil ‘10, Coach Veney, Mariah Dyson ‘10, Kristin Begakis ‘10, Kristen Saikali ‘10

Team Gold Goes Unde-feated Once AgainMatt Ranieri ‘11

“I have a lot a confidence in our team. ” -Kristin Bega-kis ‘10

the gold team consists of athletes more expe-rienced players. This year was no excep-tion. The gold team did not lose a single game all season. The championship game was played at LAB on November 11 against Laurel Hall, a team who routinely goes the distance. LAB defeated Laurel Hall in the championship game 18-6 earning the LAB Valley Christian

The Middle School gold flag football team goes un-defeated for the second consecutive season.

With a record of 7-0, the M i d d l e

School gold flag football team had a superb season going unde-feated for the second con-secutive year. For the past several years, middle school teams (6th - 8th grades) have been divid-ed into two teams; the gold and pur-ple. Typically,

Athletic League Di-vision 1 Boys Foot-ball League title. All throughout the sea-son Jesse Leach, Hunt-er DeLaGarza, and Alex Alcala contribut-ed greatly. Hunter pro-claimed, “At the be-ginning of the year we were a little rough, but throughout the year we came together and con-quered every team we played.” Coach Leach announced that he was very proud of his boys.

New Season, New GoalsThe girls’ soc-cer team began their season with a new goal: to have a winning sea-son and to be-come united as a team.

The new coach, Laura G. Muril-lo, along with

the team captains, Stephanie Glassick and Kjersten Washack, have worked hard to create a bond with the girls this season. Kjer-

sten says, “Our atti-tude off the field helps bring us closer on the field. We all bonded during the Operation C h r i s t -mas Child p a c k i n g event last week.” Prac-tice start-ed during the sum-mer and has continued every day, five days a week. The girls’ hard work paid off when they defeated Holy Family in a pre-season game. They lost to Viewpoint and

Archer but fought hard making, to make it a close game. The JV team, consisting of sev-enteen girls, is build-

ing under the direction of Coach Murillio. So far, they have played one scrimmage against Alemany and lost a hard fought game.

Members of the boys’ basketball team strike a pose.

Girls’ soccer team after a tournament.

Staff Writer

Middle School students pose for their team picture. Photo courtesy of O’Connor Brothers.

December 2009 The Knight Writer Contest Page 5

A Rising Artist Justin Choi, winner of the high school drawing con-test, has been draw-ing since the age of six. He was first in-spired to create art-work when he saw an artistic paint job on a stylish sports car. His winning art-work (shown right) is an abstract piece that was drawn in Mr. Hogan’s art class. He came to LAB last year as a foreign ex-change student from Korea and thinks that the art classes are better here than in Korea. Justin is cur-rently a tenth grader, in his second year at LAB. Justin has plans to go to the Pasadena Art Center after he

Art contest winner, Justin Choi ‘12

Nolan Scott ‘10

I got into bed on Christmas Eve, anxious for the next day. This Christmas would be the best one yet. I was cooking din-ner this year, and I was totally psyched for it. My whole family was going to be there, so I wanted to impress them with the greatest Christmas dinner they ever had. There would be mashed potatoes and ham and cran-berry sauce and, of course, dessert. I was making homemade gingerbread cookies. I lay in bed thinking about it, and before I knew it, I was asleep. Then sudden-ly it was Christmas! Wow, I thought, that was fast. I brushed away the thought and

got dressed. I rushed downstairs to start cooking. I put the ham in the oven and boiled the potatoes and made the gravy. Soon enough everything was ready. I set the table using my best dishes and a pret-ty tablecloth. I made sure that the house was looking as good as it could. I dusted everything and fixed the tree. I arranged the presents under the tree and put on some Christmas music. I had just finished lighting some candles when the doorbell rang. Per-fect timing, I thought. I smiled as I greeted my guests and got a bunch of hugs. We all went into the living room to admire the tree when suddenly

it got up and started throwing ornaments at us! My family freaked out and everybody was running and scream-ing, trying to get away from the psycho killer tree. There were bro-ken ornaments ev-erywhere. Then the presents ripped free of their wrappings and attacked us! It was total mayhem. Even the food came to life and chased us. We all ran up-stairs, hoping to escape from the things that were chasing us. We ran into my huge walk-in closet and locked the door. I listened at the door, but there was no need. There was the unmistakable sound of killer Christ-mas objects coming

up the story. Thump. Thump. Thump. We all stayed completely still and silent. No one so much as breathed. As the tree walked by the door I could hear its needles scrap-ing against the door.

My family and I watched in horror as the doorknob slowly turned and the door opened to reveal the tree monster looming over us. I opened my mouth… and woke up screaming. I checked the clock; it was 5 a.m. I was still in my paja-

mas. Everything was ok. I ran downstairs and peeked at the tree, just in case. It was still where it was supposed to be, and definitely not a freaky tree monster. I took a deep breath and went back upstairs to change. Great job, Katelyn. What a great

way to start off Christ-mas Day, I thought to myself. I smiled at my silly dream and started cooking.

A Creative Christmas Story by Katelyn Hong

Contest Corner

graduates, where he would like to be an art major and focus on painting and drawing. His dream is to work with cars in both the design and painting process. Artistic tal-ent runs in the Choi family as his father is also an artist. Justin has a great passion for art and hopes to continue pursuing his dreams far into the future.

“His dream is to work with cars in both the design and painting pro-cess.”

“Then the pres-ents ripped free of their wrap-pings and at-tacked us!”

“Then sud-denly it was Christmas!”

13-year-old Katelyn Hong is a gifted writer and speller. Not only did she win the LAB spelling bee two years in a row, she was the winner of the 8th grade Christmas Writ-ing Contest. Her short story is featured here.

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Page 6 Christmas December 2009 The Knight Writer

Christmas Food Traditions Worldwide During the Christmas holidays, people from around the world have their own food traditions. Food is af-fected by geography, culture, and climate. Some people might not be aware that Christmas is not always cold for ev-eryone. People living in Africa and Australia enjoy the hot weather and summer time foods during Christmas time.

Naomi Ogaldez ‘10

In New Zealand, people enjoy a picnic on the beach and eat foods such as sausages, ham, tur-key, strawberries, Christ-mas pudding, Christmas mince pies, wine, choco-lates, trifle, brandy snaps, and potato salad. One of

their specialties is Pavlova, a meringue-based dessert named after the Rus-sian ballet dancer Ánna Pávlova. Pavlova is a meringue with a soft crispy crust. It is traditionally decorated with whipped cream and fruit on top.

Guatemalans in this special Christmas time of fes-tivity eat fish, tamales, turkey, chicken with rice, beans, and ponches, a hot fruit punch with fruits. A specialty is Chuchitos, which are small, meat-stuffed tamales topped off with to-mato sauce. There are other variations of making them; one is to make it with a fruit in Guatamala called Cambray.

In the Philippines, people enjoy a buffet style holiday meal. They eat ham, lechon (roasted pig), pancit, barbecue, rice, adobo, edam cheese, lumpia, cakes, and bibingkas; a traditional dessert made with sugar, rice flour, and coconut milk. A specialty is puto, which is shown on the left. Puto is a rice cake that varies in taste depending on the type of rice used and the method of preparation.

In the Czech Republic, Christmas din-ner is an important part of Christmas. The meal usu-ally consists of fish or pea soup and is served with potato salad. Each fam-ily has their own varia-tion of potato salad, which

is shown on the left. Potato salad is a Czech specialty. During the Christmas season, Czech natives make Christmas cookies and small ginger bread cookies to exchange with neighbors and family.

Finding the perfect Christmas gift is not easy, but know-

ing where to shop can make it much simpler. Although many people, like freshman Re-bekah Johnson, would say “shop at the mall because there are so many places to look,” the advantages of the mall are also the disadvantages of Christ-mas shopping. The abun-dance of store varieties can be overwhelming while looking for a special gift. Shopping some-where such as Target, how-ever, makes more sense when it comes to gifts for the holidays. Target is a store that carries a variety of quality items for rea-sonable prices. It is easy to find something for people of all ages. Sophomore S a m a n -tha Hahn agrees. She “shops at Target be-cause it has everything for great p r i c e s . ” While there are many stores that claim to be the best

place to shop for the holi-days, the place with real convenience is the com-puter nearest you. Internet shopping is often over-looked. Sophomore Sean Smith said, “I use the in-ternet! You don’t have to leave your house, and you can find literally every-thing.” This is true! One can virtually go to every store they would like and ultimately find more on the website than in the store. Also, during the Christmas season, shipping is often free. All that is needed is a computer with Internet access and a credit card. While shopping for friends and loved ones, remember that convenience can come with quality; one just has to know the right places to look. Holiday shopping just got easier.

Ashley Miner ‘11

Shopping Tips

New Zealand

Philippines

Guatemala

Czech Republic

Believe it or not, St. Nicholas was a real person. He lived

in Asia Minor sometime around 300 A.D. in a city called Myra, a province of Lycia, which is today known as Turkey. How-ever, some legends date to 500 years after his d e a t h . His bones were ru-m o r e d to give fragrant h e a l -ing oil and his miracles s t e a d i -ly in-creased. His re-m a i n s were re-m o v e d f r o m M y r a to Bari, Italy by a group of Italian merchants and Christian Monks. That is how the cult of St. Nicholas spread throughout the West. Nicholas was born to noble parents, Epiphanus and Johanna. They were devout Chris-tians and for many years

prayed for a child. When they were elderly, Nicho-las was born. According to some sources his parents died when he was young, while other sources say they died when he was twelve or thirteen. His parent’s estate provided him with substan-tial inheritance. Through-

out his lifetime he used his wealth to help people. Once he gave gold to help a family who could no longer provide for them-selves. If he had not, the man’s daughters would be sold into slavery. He did this by tossing a bag of gold

through the open window during the night. When the Bishop died, Nicholas was picked as a successor. Legend has it that once in an inn, that the the Lord instructed him to go to, he also restored three boys to life. He also blessed ships and fishing nets. In Constanti-

n o p l e , a basil-ica was built in St Nich-o l a s ’ h o n o r a n d m a n y church-es have b e e n d e d i cated to him. The church-es can be found by the

s e a , con -

structed as landmarks for ships and seafarers. Even today he is a patron saint to sailors and children. His symbols are the bish-op’s crosier, three money bags, and a ship’s anchor.

The Story of St. NickAaron Hartz ‘10

A modern St. Nick. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

December 2009 The Knight Writer Christmas Page 7

Santa photos in the gym have been an LAB tradition

for years. Started by Ms. Noblitt, the photos have become a time to cre-ate memories with friends and celebrate the holiday season. At one dollar for a photo and fifty cents for a frame, the event is an inexpen-sive gift to give or mem-ory to keep. T h e new Santa this year is senior Michael Chit-gian. When he got the part, he said, “I’ve always wanted to be Santa, and this is my chance! I’m the world’s first Armenian Santa!” Over the years, there have been several Santas. When asked which Michael’s

Kelly Wilkinson ‘10LAB Smiles for Santa

personal favorite was, he responded, “Well, I must say taking a picture with Andrew Amman was defi-

nitely something special.” Several students have played the part of Santa, but faculty have as well. The list includes Mr. Erath, Mr. Richmond, and Mr. Tooley. “He prob-

ably loved it the most; he did it for years,” says Ms. Noblitt of Mr. Erath. She explained that there are no

true qualifications to become the Santa; the personality should just fit the profile. Preparation for the event includes the chair, background, camera, tripod, pho-tographer, and Santa’s wardrobe. “There’s a big production to get everything together,” said Ms. Noblitt of the groundwork. The members of ASB work together each year to help with the Santa photos and supervise all that goes on in between. The tradition car-ries on another year with a new Santa and an ASB to set

the stage. “It’s fun to see how people change over the years, and it’s just fun to do with friends,” said Ms. Noblitt. Santa pho-tos are a custom LAB will carry out for years to come.

Massive sales, crowds galore, and ravenous

shoppers gather on one day of the year, Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiv-ing, stores open at early hours and start selling! Not only is this a cheap way to buy Christmas presents; some people do it for the challenge to buy things other people are trying to purchase. Most stores are open for Black Friday

around 5am, although it has been reported that some big retail stores such as Sears, Macy’s, and Wal-Mart start the day as early as midnight. Black Friday is known to be the busiest retail shopping day of the year. Some peo-ple start lining up outside of the store before the open-ing. Once the store doors open, customers rush in and grab the things they want.

Black FridayPaige Niemi ‘11 Last year, Black

Friday was a devastating day for a Wal-Mart em-ployee. In Valley Stream, an impatient crowd broke down the store doors and trampled Jdimytai Damour, a seasonal em-ployee at Wal-Mart, to death. One lady who was in line and entered the store on Black Friday said, “It was chaos,” and anoth-er customer said, “They were rushing in the store, rushing, rushing, rushing.”

Instead of going at the last minute on Black Friday, do research. Some stores only give discounts with a coupon, and others have certain rules for specific items. Make a list and go searching for those certain things instead of grabbing anything. Be organized and ready to buy. By fol-lowing all these rules, Black Friday can be a fun day full of good deals!

Massive numbers of people waiting for store doors to open. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Christmas EconomyRacquel Daza ‘10 ent types of situations peo-

ple are dealing with, it may seem as though Christmas will be difficult this year. However, some people have found different solutions to

their probems. Some are considering the risk of go-ing in debt to get Christmas wish lists completed. Oth-ers have made the decision to just buy useful items or create a Christmas budget. On top of the

many other difficulties people are experiencing, high gas prices are also keeping families apart from each other. The holi-days are supposed to be a time spent with fam-ily. For many, the qual-ity time is much more important than gifts. Many spend Christmas with family, and for those of the Christian faith, Christmas is an important holiday because it signi-fies the birth of Christ. Despite this tumul-tuous economic time, many are trying to enjoy the holiday season. With all eyes on the economy, the American public is doing its best to enjoy the holiday season de-spite the dismal economy.

Michael Chitgian posing with the OCC Tree.

Graph of unemployment rates. Photo Courtesy of Google.

A great gift for chil-dren is the Crayola Crayon Maker. It

is one of the most sold-out gifts in stores. Anyone who has kids or knows someone who does has seen the cray-on bucket that is chock full of broken crayons. Break-ing crayons is like a rite of passage - everyone has done it. With the Crayola Crayon Maker, the broken crayon bucket becomes a resource for new, custom crayons. The machine uses a light bulb to melt down the old broken crayons and mold

Sean Panomchai ‘11

What is Hot for Christmas?

them into brand-new, one of a kind creations. Kids will have a blast and learn a lesson about recycling.

Many of the hot Christ-mas gifts are the same hot gifts people have sought the entire year. Popular elec-tronics include the Apple iPods. The iPod nano 8 and the ipod touch are favorite gifts for most anyone over the age of ten. The Apple iPod nano 8 includes a camera and the Apple iPod touch holds 1750 songs.

Crayola Maker shown above. Photo courtesy of Google.

Christmas time is here, and there is plenty of Christ-

mas shopping and vaca-tioning. However, because of the lackluster economy, people are striving to find good deals. Additionally, trips are becoming even more difficult to plan due to gas prices and expensive plane tickets. Has the eco-nomic downturn targeted a select few, or has there been a broader impact? Many people will be forced to downsize their Christmas spending. Others will have to cut back on the holidy spend-ing altogether. Though there are others who get to spend Christmas in a nice home with their families, the number of homeless in Los Angeles is still es-timated to be in the one hundreds of thousands. Some people volunteer in order to give their time to help the homeless. While some people are rushing to buy presents, others are searching for jobs. The unemployment rate has peaked at 9.5%.The unem-ployed are unable to make the purchases they want to because of their current financial status. Also, the unemployed do not pay any income tax and are un-able to help the economy. With the differ-

Many people will be forced to downsize their Christ-mas spending.

Page 8 Middle School The Knight Writer December 2009

When people heard the name “Herd-mans,” they

knew trouble was happening in their town. They were the worst of the worst type of kids in the world: they stole, lied, cussed, hit people, and loved to smoke cigars. This Christmas, they were go-ing to have a great surprise for the church community. It all started out when the director of the pageant, Mrs. Armstrong, played by Alyssa Morales, broke her leg, and Rachel Ranieri as Grace Bradley was suddenly put in charge of directing the Christmas pageant. She wanted her en-tire family to be involved by helping out or acting. Her son, Charlie Bradley, played by Peter Johns, accidentally let it slip to Leroy Herdman, played by Nathan Eprem, that the church gave out free food in Sunday school. This became Charlie’s worst, yet best, mistake in his life. As a result, the six Herd-man children joined the annual Christmas pageant. The whole com-munity thought that the play was going to be a great disaster, especially since the lead role players were the Herdmans. Imo-gene Herdman, played by Emily Polanco, was Mary in the pageant. This was a

great shock because Al-ice Wendleken, played by Summer Chevalier, had a tradition of always being Mary. Nina Goode as Gald-ys Herdman was hilarious as the angel sent by God.

It Really Was The Best Christmas Pageant EverNaomi Ogaldez ‘10

The pageant gave the Herdmans a better un-derstanding of the nativ-ity story. Their hearts were moved, as were the hearts of the audience. Many of the judgmental people that

thought it would be a disas-ter took back their words and thought of it as the best production ever made. Overall, the play gave the LAB audience an impressively different per-

spective on the story of Jesus. There were many hours of preparation and dedication in the making of this play. Brenna Ri-vera commented, “Tech week was very fun hav-

ing hair and make-up done except the homework wait-ing at home to get done after the long rehearsals.” Their work really paid off because they put together a spectacular production.

Turkey Bowl

Characters of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever sit in awe in a dramatic scene.

As part of the T h a n k s g i v i n g tradition, middle

school students gathered together during their lunch hour to take part in a unique Thanksgiv-ing festivity. Throwing tur-keys down a bowling lane may sound goofy and for-eign to students from other schools, but to LAB stu-dents it is a yearly event. Anxious middle school students waited in line for their chance to toss the frozen turkeys down a wooden lane into a group of soda bottles that were placed in a diamond for-mation. Upon knocking

Jackie Urenda ‘11

The spelling bee opened up with a prayer by Mr.

Richmond, who also ex-plained the rules. The event began with a prac-tice round led by Mrs. Ranieri. The contestants had to say the word, spell it, and repeat the word. The last four stu-dents remaining would move on to the ACSI Regional Spelling Bee. Before the real game began, eight stu-dents out of 19 predict-ed that Shane Takehara would take the win. Five said Katelyn Hong would

win for the second year in a row. The fight for the crown lasted for five rounds of com-petitive spelling. Thirteen contestants competed, four could move on, but only one could have the true title of best bee in the eighth grade class. The students made it through the first round with confidence and only one misspelled word. The second round had more dif-ficult, words which led to two students, Jacob Bjorseth and Nathan Ephram, leaving the stage. The crowd responded in awe as one of their favor-ite classmates, Jacob, stepped down. Alex Caputo said, “I really wanted him to keep

going.” The third round was no joke and certainly broke many students’ chances of winning. The words became much more chal-lenging and took out Chris-tian Cleveland, Caroline Kim, Robert Mata, Jackie Stone, and Travis Koskela. The fourth round determined the top four students moving on to Re-gionals. Sina Khaksar and Shane Takehara battled it out in a spell off for the fi-nal remaining position. Sina and Shane went off on their spell off, which finally came to its end when Shane mis-spelled “plebian.” The fight was not over, however, until

the last contestant, Sina, spelled his next word cor-rectly. Sina received the word “politically,” and even with the crowd’s stare and the suspense, Sina nailed the letters and moved on as the fourth winner of the spelling bee. As the fifth round approached for the last three contestants, Kelly Pedroza, Enot Rubio and Katelyn Hong, their class-mates started whispering to each other, and eight out of ten said that Katelyn would win. The round began, and Enot was taken out for misspelling “fiasco.” Kelly Pedroza and Kate-lyn Hong were the last two standing. These two good friends battled it out for the number one spot. Kelly Pedroza walked toward the microphone to spell “face-tious” and misspelled it by one letter. Finally, Katelyn Hong closed the game by correctly spelling “flam-boyant,” sustaining her title as the true number one Queen Bee. Katelyn Hong commented, “I was really nervous, but I hope I do better at Regionals than last year.” Katelyn Hong, Kelly Pedroza, Enot Rubio, and Sina Khaksar move on, lead-ing LAB’s name to victory.

E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A

Sina Khaskar, Kelly Pedroza, Katelyn Hong, and Enot Rubio.

Lindsay Payne ‘10

down all the soda bottles, students got to choose from an assortment of different candies. Middle school teachers, Mr. Tooley and Mr. Richmond also took part in the festivities as they displayed their strength in throwing the turkeys. Along with throwing turkeys, middle school students also got the opportunity to spin a wheel that earned them the chance to win a spe-cial Thanksgiving treat. After a lunch hour full of Thanksgiving fun, Joseph Kim said, “The Thanks-giving bowl was the best!”

Students pose before bowling turkeys.

December 2009 The Knight Writer Opinion/Entertainment Page 9

Miranda Jarrett ‘11

Ever since June 11, 2009, swine flu has been known to all

as an official global pan-demic. The most talked about subjects were the small outbreaks in different countries, such as Mexico and China, but since the United States never prominently showed up, most people did not wor-ry. However, only four months later, on October 24, 2009, P r e s i d e n t Obama de-clared swine flu a national emergency. Now many people are afraid of the disease, but their anxiety is completely unnecessary.

Swine flu has been blown way out of proportion. Every year, flu season comes around and infects more than 200,000 people in the United States.

From this group, about 36,000 people die from it, but no one seems to make a big deal when that hap-pens. Suddenly, a flu with a new name and a few dif-ferent symptoms becomes a “national emergency.” Since when is a fever and

cough a major cause for panic? By following stan-dard health and hygiene precautions, such as wash-ing your hands frequently and not sharing drinks, it is

easy to stay safe. Instead of getting caught up in a national scare, the country should be focused on re-membering how it has de-feated flu season in the past.

Of course, the dan-gers of H1N1 are still seri-

ous and should be looked at carefully. While the aver-age flu mainly targets the elderly, swine flu affects the youth. Anyone from toddler age to late twenties

H1N1: Blown Out of Proportionare more prone to catch-ing the flu. Perhaps this is part of the cause for all the commotion. Thankfully, a vaccine has been manufac-tured and is available for all those anxious citizens. In this case, priority rules on who gets first serve. Those

ages six to nineteen are number one on the list, f o l l o w e d by pregnant women and those already ill. Accord-ing to these numbers, al-most every student at LAB is eligi-ble to receive a vaccination and help stop the spread of another flu.

W h i l e swine flu is not some-thing to be taken lightly, calling it a national emergency

seems a bit extreme. The only thing to do is watch as it either becomes a full-blown pandemic or slowly passes like any other flu.

The Last SongThe novel is based

on the summer that Veronica

“Ronnie” Miller moves to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Ronnie and her brother, Jonah, are forced to live with their father, Steve, for the whole summer. Still an-gry with her parents for divorcing, Ronnie quits p l a y i n g p i a n o , separates h e r s e l f from her f a m i l y , and choos-e s t h e w r o n g f r i e n d s . R o n n i e e v e n t u -ally meets a boy n a m e d Will who c h a n g e s Ronnie’s summer by helping her rekindle her relationship with her fa-ther. She begins to let her guard down and finds herself in love with Will. She eventually trans-forms into the loving per-son she was meant to be and finds happiness in her world. Soon, though, her summer gets turned up-

side down and ends in a way she never expected. The Last Song has been made into a major Disney motion picture and is said to be released in late January of 2010. Starring in the movie is Miley Cyrus as Ronnie Miller and Liam Hemsworth as Will. The movie follows the book pretty well but definitely

l e a v e s out and changes m a n y o c c u r -r e n c e s in the b o o k . A l -t h o u g h t h e m o v i e is great and cap-t u r e s the tone of the

book, it does not go into great detail about the re-lationships in the novel. The movie is definitely in the romance genre and is more likely to be a chick flick than anything else, but it is still appropriate for most and is a movie the whole family can enjoy.

Tessa Barber ‘11

People guard their faces in hopes that they won’t catch the virus. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

One night when my brother and I were looking

for something to eat, we came across L&L Hawai-ian Barbecue, a traditional H a w a i i a n d r i v e - i n . Upon enter-ing, I no-ticed that the dining spaces were c a s u a l l y d e c o r a t e d with surf-boards and pictures of b e a c h e s . Soft music h u m m e d , and the bus-tling kitchen could be heard in the background. When I looked at the menu, I was pleased to see that a full meal cost only 6-10 dollars. I or-dered the hamburger steak and a Portuguese sausage Musubi, and my brother ordered the Loco Moco.After a short ten minutes of waiting time, the food was cooked and ready. The hamburger steak meal came with three hamburg-er patties smothered in gravy, three large scoops of rice, and a scoop of their

homemade macaroni salad. The Musubi was rice and a thick slice of Portuguese sausage wrapped in sea-soned seaweed. My broth-er’s Loco Moco, an island favorite, consisted of two

hamburger steaks topped by two fried eggs, covered in gravy, and served on rice. To complement their delicious food, L&L has an assortment of sauces available. They have soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and hot chili sauce along with their house barbecue and Tabasco sauces. To wash it all down, L&L offers American soda as well

A Taste of Hawaiias Hawaiian beverages.Full of flavor, the meal was delicious. With large portions and cheap pric-es, the restaurant serves meals that are both fill-ing and affordable.

Located on De-vonshire and Re-seda (next to LA Fit-ness), its closeness is an ad-d i t i o n a l p e r k . Next time you are hun-gry and l o o k i n g for some-thing new to eat, visit L&L Hawaiian B a r b e -cue for a taste of Hawaii! L&L

Hawaiian Barbecue has a myriad of restaurants nationwide. Locally, they can be found not only in Northridge but also in Simi Valley and Glendale. The Northridge loca-tion is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am - 10 pm and Sun-days from 10 am - 9 pm.

When it comes to good Hawaiian Barbeques, L & L is the place to be. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Jonathan Chae ‘10

Los Toros is an au-thentic Mexican restaurant that

has been around since 1967. It is located in Chatsworth and offers whatever Mexican food that your palette may crave. It has an entertaining atmosphere with fun and lively music that all pa-trons are sure to enjoy. The restaurant has everything from enchiladas to tacos to delicious desserts. It even offers a list of foods that ap-peal to the weight conscious consumer. Their Mexi-

Los Toros es Sabroso Ivana Miro ‘11 can style Ceasar sal-

ad offers a choice of chicken, carne asada, or shrimp. They also of-fer homemade tortilla chips with homemade salsa and bean dip. Once you are done with the chips, the friendly servers continue to bring more, so make sure to leave room for the upcoming entrée. The colors in-side of the restaurant are welcoming and bright with different hues of green, red, and yellow. While enjoying a delicious Mexican dinner, there are

musicians that come around and play tradi-tional Mexican songs on the guitar. Los Toros is a great restaurant with delicious food and enter-tainment where custom-ers can have a fun din-ing experience out with family and friends. Operating hours for Los Toros are Sunday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the restaurant is open from 10:30 a.m. to midnight.

Authentic Mexican food can be found at Los Toros. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Page 10 Opinion/Entertainment The Knight Writer December 2009Is the SAT Really Accurate in Determining IQ?Sarah Bryer ‘10

The SAT has long been considered an extremely im-portant test, but is it really accurate?

According to Col-lege Board, more than two million

students take the SAT, or Scholastic Aptitude Test, every single year. For many of them, SAT day is the most nerve-wracking day of the year. They know that their results on the test will have an immense impact on where they will spend the next four years of their lives. “I’m not looking for-ward to it,” said junior Da-vid Chinchilla. Senior Ma-rie Becknell agreed, adding, “It is too overwhelming.” Many colleges, including Stanford, UCLA, and the Ivy Leagues, still require SAT scores as a part of the application, but many oth-ers are making the decision

to make scores optional. This group of over 800 col-leges and universities was begun by Bates College and includes such prestigious institutions as Smith and Juilliard. A representative from Smith said that the school decided to make the switch because of “increas-ing concern about the role of standardized tests as well as the strong and widely demonstrated correlations between race and household income and test scores.” The school is not alone in its beliefs. Bates Col-lege, which pioneered the move toward optional scores, conducted a twenty-year study which looked at the differences between students who submitted scores and those that did not. The results were stag-gering: When considering graduation rate and GPA, the differences were next to nothing. In addition, ac-cording to Bates’ website, the school has “almost doubled its applicant pool” since making the change. It certainly seems as if remov-ing the SAT requirement appeals to many students. Clive Paul, an agent

from College Board, stated that “combined with a stu-dent's academic record, [the SAT] is a proven, reliable indicator of college suc-cess.” Its true accuracy is questionable, though. Nick Collins, currently tied for second in the senior class, has grades that would gain

him acceptance to any Ivy League, but his SAT scores fall in the lower 40%. When asked how he felt about this, he said, “I think it’s better to place more emphasis on your grades because that’s four years of your life.” A 2006 article in the Wall Street Journal told

the story of Lien Le, who “scored just 400 -- putting her just in the 15th percen-tile -- on the critical verbal component of her SAT, a score that normally would have denied her admission to a top college.” Instead, she was accepted to a col-lege that does not look at

The SAT Test. Courtesy of Google Images

Marié Digby

Marié Digby, a singer-songwrit-er based in Los

Angeles, was an online hit on the popular video view-ing site YouTube. This tal-ented young artist would take popular songs like “Umbrella” by Rihanna and change them into acoustic

songs. In 2004, she won the Pantene Pro-Voice compe-tition with her song "Miss Invisible.” The grand prize was to work with a profes-sional producer on an album. Soon after her in-ternet fame, her first album came out. Many people believed that this was a marketing ploy by Holly-wood Records to promote her because she was signed before her talents were dis-covered on YouTube. How-ever, Digby fought back,

saying that she wanted to promote herself because her label was not doing their job of promoting her. Despite her whirl-wind fame, she keeps true to herself by producing covers of different songs on her YouTube channel. Most of the songs that were on her first album, Unfold, have been featured in pop-ular shows like Smallville and The Hills. Since she is half Irish and half Japa-nese, her fame took Asia by storm. She released her first Japanese album, Sec-ond Home, on March 4,

2009, and her album out now, Breathing Underwa-ter, was released in Japan before the USA. Many of her fans are complaining that she is changing her songs to a more pop commercial sound, but she is still going strong. Now she is making a movie based on her new album.

She can be found at you-tube.com/user/mariedigby and twitter @MarieDigby.

YouTube sen-sation Marié Digby has a second album out.

Mary Tamura ‘10

Marie’ Digby. Photo Courtesy Google Images

SAT scores. She gradu-ated magna cum laude and is now a doctor. Clearly, the SAT is not very pre-cise in determining stu-dents’ success in college.

Should colleges continue to require the SAT? It does not seem to be as good at predicting the future as College Board claims. Colleges need to take notice of the changes that schools like Bates are making and follow. Only removing the requirement for SAT scores will create a fair environment in the college application process.

“I think it’s better to place more empha-sis on your grades be-cause that’s four years of your life.”-Nick Collins ‘10

On average, a high school student in the United States

gets less than seven hours of sleep a night, but the amount of sleep recom-mended for teens by doc-tors is nine hours or more. This is a serious problem. Let’s face it, af-ter waking up early, sit-ting through almost seven hours of class, and hours of homework, there is not enough time in the day. This leaves many teenag-ers with only one option: stay up late. Most times they do not think about how harmful sleep depri-vation can be. The most common side effects are extreme drowsiness and ir-ritability, but there is much more to it than that. Los-ing critical hours of rest is dangerous to one’s health and immune system. Re-cent studies have shown that teens getting less than the necessary amount of sleep are two and a half times more likely to get diabetes, compared with those who receive eight or more hours a night. On top of that, getting less than seven hours of sleep a night creates a 30% risk of obesity. When one is tired, one’s body starts to create irregular hunger

cravings, causing the con-sumption of more high-fat, high-calorie foods for en-ergy. The most dangerous side effect is heart disease. Lack of sleep increases inflammation, which can create a higher risk of heart disease or stroke. The more immedi-ate risks of sleep deprivation relating to teens are those affecting life at school. Sleepy students show signs of impaired concentration, poor work performance, slow reaction times, and crankiness. Junior Lauren Thurston said, “I can’t even focus in class because of how tired I am.” A few stu-

The Effects of Sleep DeprivationStudies reveal most American teens fail to get adequate sleep

dents even resort to sleep-ing during class to make up for lost hours in the night. In a nationwide poll done by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), the average amount of sleep for a teenager was found to be six hours. In a poll of about fifty students at LAB, the average is about seven hours of sleep. While most fall above the national average, it does not mean it is enough. According to the NSF, a minimum of ten hours of sleep a night is required to feel alert for an entire day. Being able to come

home after a day at school and relax is vitally impor-tant. Not only do one’s work habits and grades depend on it, one’s health does too.

Senior Karen Herr falls asleep during class. Photo courtesy of Brandon Takehara.

“I can’t even focus in class because of how tired I am.”-Lauren Thur-ston ‘11

Miranda Jarrett ‘11

December 2009 The Knight Writer Opinion/Entertainment Page 11Read It or Watch It?Stephenie Mey-

er’s Twilight Saga hit the big

screen for the second November in a row, turning New Moon, the second book in the series, into movie number two. Like the majority of the books that go Hollywood, many changes were made in the produc-tion of New Moon the movie. The details in-cluded in the book are essential to compre-hending the story, but when removed from the plot in the creation of the movie, the book is found to be more intense and addictive. Those who did not read the books are left somewhat in the dark while watch-ing the movie. Un-derstandably, when producing a movie from such a long book, things must be cut from the story to avoid lengthiness. Some things, howev-er, are key-points in

the plot and are need-ed to keep the viewer tuned in. For example, the explanations be-hind the wolf transfor-

mations provided by Stephenie Meyer in the books are missing from the movie. It is never made clear exactly how or why the young Native Americans are called to kill vampires. On a brighter note, the movie was enjoyable. There was a nice balance of action and romance. In the book, Bella continues to partake in restless

activity in attempts to hear Edward’s voice. In the movie, rather than just a voice, a shadowy image of Edward ap-

pears before her. This was a creative and ef-fective transformation for the viewer that worked for the movie. Although the movie was not as pow-erful as the novel, it is safe to say that a Twi-light fan will appre-ciate the book being brought to life, wheth-er or not it lives up to peoples’ expectations.

Ashley Miner ‘11

Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas

Carol started out as a play, later turned into a movie, and is now an animated 3-D film for families to enjoy. The ghosts’ a n i m a -t i o n g i v e s the allu-sion of coming t o w a r d the au-d ience . T h i s gives a f r i g h t but still r ema ins PG entertainment. The script is close to the original piece that Dickens wrote, with such lines as “Bah, humbug” and “God bless us, everyone.” The movie takes place in London, where a self-ish old man, Scrooge, loses his partner Mar-ley to death. The self-absorbed character has trouble parting

with two coins for his burial. Scrooge is vis-ited by three ghosts that are “not playful spooks but rather sym-bols of the deep terror at the heart,” accord-ing to Scott from The

New York Times. They will teach him the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to be a good person. The movie shows people’s fear of death by showing Scrooge’s emotions in detail. This is a scary, yet appropriate, movie to watch with the fam-ily. Scott from The New York Times said

that it was “a branded piece of shiny sea-sonal entertainment.” Jim Carey plays Scrooge, and the 3-D effect makes the movie more intense and realistic. The

movie comes with heartwarming mor-als that still apply to people today. It re-lates lessons about true friendship, greediness, and be-ing conceited. Rather than a boring lecture, the movie has action that will have people on the edge of their seats and moments that will teach people.

A Classic Tale RevisitedJackie Urenda ‘11

As seen from the Christmas Carol. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Characters from the Twilight Saga. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Page 12 Local News The Knight Writer December 2009

My journey started out on Black Friday. I began

walking down Ventura Boulevard with a simple mission: to find out exactly what the homeless do while the rest of us are cozying up to hot chocolate and ginger-bread men and fidgeting with whatever pres-ents we have received.

I decided to walk north on Ventura Boulevard in search of someone else to talk to. Within a few minutes I had found my man, or so I thought. On the oppo-site side of the street I spotted a short, hunch-backed man toting a metal cart that held his few meager posses-sions. He walked at a brisk pace but stopped to rummage through trash cans in hopes of finding something of redeemable value to recycle. My spirits lifted as I quickened my pace to the nearest crosswalk and repeatedly jammed my finger into the crosswalk button. After im-patiently waiting, I crossed the street and began to fol-low the hunchbacked man. Keeping a safe distance back, I began to wonder who would be deemed san-er, the hunchbacked home-less man who eked out a living sifting through trash-cans or the person stalking

What Do the Homeless Do on Christmas?him. I took a deep breath and approached the hunch-backed man. I attempted to start the conversation with a friendly “hello,” to which the hunchback man responding by looking at me, yelling, “Chavez! Chavez!” and then walking away. I still wondered who

would be deemed saner.

Just across the street I no-ticed a homeless man sit-ting by his shopping cart that was filled with bags of various sorts. I walked across the street, and right on cue, the homeless man got up and began pushing his cart down the street. Thankfully, he stopped for a rest in front of a pharma-cy just a few yards away. I

approached him, explained what I was doing, and asked if he would be will-ing to answer some ques-tions. He was rather large in size, wore a long-sleeved shirt and a faded baseball cap, and had mucus run-ning out of his nose, but did not seem to notice or care.

Thankfully, he agreed to answer my questions. He spoke in a low mumble, and I often repeated back to him what he had just said for ac-curacy’s sake. When asked what he did for Christmas he responded with a matter of fact “nothing” but then remembered that he “drank beer.” His main gripe about the holiday was that it caused the recycling center to temporarily close, forc-

ing him to remember to get there before it did. When asked if he had ever had a more traditional Christmas, he said that he had spent Christmas “with [his] dad,” which was “real nice.” I asked him if he missed spending Christmas with his dad, and he gruffly re-

plied that he did not. When I asked if he would let me take a photo of him, he ner-vously said that he “didn’t want none of that” and resumed pushing his cart down the street. I thanked him for his time as he walked away, but he neither responded nor looked back.

I then decided that it was time for a change of scen-ery, so I got in my car and

drove several blocks down Van Nuys Boulevard, while my friends continued to push their carts up Ventura. I had prior knowledge that the courtyard of the govern-ment center was a popular hangout for the homeless, so I slung my backpack over my shoulders and be-gan walking towards it.

The government center was a building that spanned the entire length and width of a block. It houses civil servic-es such as the courthouse, the police station, and of-fices for permits, taxes, and elected representatives. I quickly spotted two home-less men sitting on a patch of grass in the desolate courtyard. I approached the two men and ended up talk-ing to Steve, who was des-perately trying to draw the last bit of nicotine out of a cigarette butt. Steve was older and wore a baseball cap which kept his unkempt hair somewhat in order. He had a long, scraggly beard and wore sunglasses that covered his sunken eyes.

I asked Steve what he did on Christmas, and he gave a slight shrug and said, “not much.” He said he had grandkids in San Diego that he “missed like crazy” and would love to see during the holidays. He let out a sigh and lamented that his grand-son just had a birthday that he missed. This Christmas will be Steve’s second on

the streets, and when asked how he feels when he sees the well-to-do shopping and enjoying the holiday season he bluntly replied, “Like *expletive*.” He said that at another time in his life he was able to spend the holidays with family, which was “incredible.” I asked him if he missed that, and he nodded, “Oh yeah.” Finally, I asked if he had any other thoughts about being homeless and the holiday season, and he said that he had great friends but “hate[d] being out here.”

I said goodbye, he wished me good luck, and I wished him the same. I got back in the car and headed home. I ended up getting stuck behind a middle aged man driving a Toyota Yaris, complete with a Superman decal on the back window. He had the windows down and was singing along at the top of his lungs to a female-sung pop-rock ballad on the radio. I wondered again, between he and I, who would be considered saner.

Steve, shown here, sits on the grass in the government center courtyard.

...by looking at me, yell-ing, “Chavez! Chavez!” and then walking away.

Mike Yepremyan: An Alumnus Never ForgottenAlumnus Mike

Yepremyan was shot and killed on

November 20, 2009. After having a disagreement via his cell phone with an ac-quaintance, Mike met the man in a Sears’ parking lot. According to the Los Angeles Police Depart-ment, both parties agreed to meet in order to settle their argument. Unexpect-edly, the suspect pulled out a weapon, shot Mike in the neck, and fled the scene. As the news of the pass-ing reached the LAB cam-pus the next morning, both students and teachers grieved. Mike was a well-loved student and great friend who will be sorely missed. Below are a few tributes and last good-byes to Mike Yepremyan.

A R T H U R :Brother, I miss you. Your face hasn’t left my mind since I found out about your death, and all the memories, - good, bad, and unforgetta-ble, keep going through my head. This isn’t right, and it’s not understandable; the things I’ve heard blow my mind and leave me speech-less, but it happened, and it’s got to be the worst feel-ing I’ve ever experienced.

Z U C K E R M A N :When I met Mike Yepre-myan, my first thoughts were that he was too old to be an LAB student. Mike was big, well-built, and strongly opinionated. I later learned that he was only 16 when he began the 12th grade at LAB. He was, however, a black belt in Karate at the age of 12, and he was also an accomplished soccer play-er. Mike had no trouble standing up for himself, his friends, or his opinions. Mike was tenacious. Al-though not required to take a government class, he “sat

in” on my classes---be-cause he liked government, politics, and our discus-sions. He enjoyed argu-ing about current issues, he asked great questions, and he arrived at his own strongly-held conclusions. Mike was caring. Hidden under layers of manliness, Mike had a very caring heart. On Valentine’s Day, Mike did not want any se-nior girl to be without a rose, so he bought and sent a rose to every senior girl. He signed the card “Mr. X.” Never did he take credit (or want credit) for the dozens of roses that he had sent on that day.I talked with Mike about two weeks before his death. He came to school at lunch with his friend, Ohan. As

L I T T L E F I E L D : Mike spent his early years in Armenia before mov-ing to Southern California. Later, I was Mike’s English

teacher the first year that he transferred to L. A. Baptist, and he was my T. A. for one semester when he was a senior. Mike adapted very well to his new surround-ings at L.A.B., forming close connections with Ohan Barsamian, Ali Hosseini, Patrick Ya-goobi and others, friend-ships that continued long after he graduated.Anyone who knew Mike

at all knew that he was highly intelligent and A copy of Mike’s senior portrait in the yearbook.

we talked about their fu-ture plans in college, Mike said that he wanted to have

a comfortable life with a family of his own. When 6th period started, I said good-bye and gave him a hug—he was strong and alive. He was my friend.

an independent thinker. He probably knew inter-national geography better than any student I’ve ever had. Intensely opinion-ated on a wide variety of topics, he may have been happiest when he was argu-ing about politics, religion, basketball, entertainment, food, or almost any subject.

Mike had a great sense of humor and a heart of gold. Often he would say to me, “I love you, Littlefield!” when we finished talking, and it always surprised me, coming from this tough Ar-menian guy! Now I think of him saying that and smil-ing as he turned away, and it brings tears to my eyes. I can’t believe he’s gone. He will be greatly missed.

“Often he would say to me, ‘I love you, Littlefield! ...now I think of him saying that and smiling...it brings tears to my eyes.”

“...the amount of tears that have been shed don’t come any-where to how much we love and miss you.”

Our prayers won’t stop for your family and loved ones, and the amount of tears that have been shed don’t come close to how much we love and miss you. This wasn’t fair; it was cruel and un-deserved, but you are in a better place now. You lived

“I said good-bye and gave him a hug—he was strong and alive.”

a good life; I wish it didn’t end. You were a good son to your parents, a good brother to your sister, and an amazing brother to us. You will never leave our hearts, and you will always be re-membered as the amazing person that you were. This night was a nightmare- by far the worst; unfor-tunately it’s real-ity which breaks my heart, but we

know you are in a bet-ter place now watching us brother. I love you. We love you. And we miss you. You will always be in our hearts.

Natalie Smith ‘10

Cory Minderhout ‘10