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Pixar Perfect: HomecomingStraight out of Hollywood

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Meet Anna Bryson and

Saam Alikhani

FEATURE

CENTERSPREAD

OPINION

True or False?

On November 2, one candidate will be

elected to represent the area containing Dana Hills on the CUSD

school board.

Chat with each candidate,

6

Admit it: you’ve al-ways wondered if there is actually a time cap-sule under the dolphin

fountain. Discover the truth.

Get your facts straight,10-11

Jack Johnson takes a trip “To the Sea,”

stopping at listeners’ hearts along the way.

Mellow Music Lovers Rejoice

Tune in for the 2011 tour,

15

photos by Quinn Mahony

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!"#$#&$&)3455%)3463)%+3**5

BUY ONE, GET ONEFREE

For Dana Hills High School students only…If you buy one 8 oz. sized yogurt, we’ll

Treat you to one 8 oz. sized yogurt absolutelyFREE!

LOCATED IN OCEAN RANCH VILLAGE IIPresent coupon when ordering. One coupon per person. Not good

with any other offer. Toppings not included. Expires 11/1/10

BOARD OF TRUSTEESAnna Bryson, President

Ken Lopez-Maddox, Vice PresidentJack R. Brick, Clerk

Ellen AddonizioLarry Christensen

Sue PalazzoMike Winsten

Joseph Farley, Superintendent

RECOGNTION OF TRUSTEES, SUPERINTENDENT

AND CONTRIBUTORS:

Polls Reveal Politics in ClassroomBy Salil DudaniCopy Editor

The CUSD school board president believes politically charged statements from Dana Hills teachers have created a climate in which students do not feel comfortable disagreeing. Many students, however, say there’s no problem.

In a poll of over 500 students, 63 percent responded “yes” when asked, “In your time at Dana Hills, has a teach-er ever made statements pro-moting his or her own political views, such as opinions on the school board?”

In general, older stu-dents said “yes” more fre-quently—31 percent of fresh-men (115 polled), 65 percent of sophomores (150 polled), 59 percent of juniors (110 polled) and 91 percent of seniors (135 polled).

Of those who responded “yes,” 79 percent said it’s not a problem when a teacher makes such statements. Sixteen per-cent said it was, and 4 percent were undecided.

The survey was sparked by disagreements between

District (CUSD) school board President Anna Bryson and ex-student adviser to the board Saam Alikhani, who graduated from Dana Hills last year and will run against Bryson for her school board seat on November 2. (See page 6)

“As young adults, we are incredibly susceptible to persuasion from people we look up to. Teachers should realize how much power they have over stu-dents’ opinions.”

- Alex Sloan, 12

biased comments. California education law

of school employees” to be “of

Ed Code 7054 prohibits school district “funds, services, sup-plies [and] equipment” from

tivity” during working hours and on district property. In CUSD, board policy 4119.25 states, “The board believes that district employees have an obligation to prevent the im-proper use of school time, ma-terials or facilities for political campaign purposes.”

CUSD spokesman Mar-cus Walton acknowledged that

the rules in place do not explic-itly bar teachers from making general political statements. He said there are provisions allow-ing “casual” or “spontaneous” comments, offering “Obama is a knucklehead” as an example.

However, when asked if it would be acceptable for a

teacher to say seven sentences to his or her class criticizing the current school board, Wal-ton responded, “That would not be an appropriate role for a teacher to play in a classroom, if they advocated only their political point of view during instructional minutes.”

Superintendent Dr. Jo-seph Farley sent a memo to all

CUSD teachers on September 15 explaining the boundaries set by the district. “Instruc-tional activities regarding cam-paign issues may be conducted as long as both sides of the is-sue are equally represented,” Farley’s memo stated.

Bryson was not swayed

when told that 79 percent said they did not mind.

“[Students don’t see a problem because] they have never been presented with any-thing else. They only learn one point of view. How can they come to a just opinion?” said Bryson.

Physics teacher Nate Ritscher agreed that political

viewpoints should not be pro-jected during class time but disagreed with other aspects of Bryson’s claims. “I think the idea that students are intimi-dated is totally over the top. They could be sitting quietly

less likely to vocally disagree,

not because of fear but out of a desire to not offend,” Ritscher said.

Room was provided on the student surveys to write comments. The majority of the comments expressed that teachers are doing nothing wrong, and most said teach-ers should be allowed to share their views as long as the intent

is not to persuade.Many put the issue in

terms of an individual’s rights. “No one should be forced to keep their opinions private,”

wrote senior Ian Davis.There were few survey

comments criticizing teach-

were from students requesting anonymity, which Bryson in-terpreted as “fear of the teach-er’s power over the student’s grade.” One such survey read, “Even if a teacher offers the

-times it feels like if you oppose the teacher, they will have a negative opinion of you, and so almost no one wants to speak out against teachers’ opinions.”

If the fear Bryson be-lieves exists is real for some, it is not for all. Senior Bryce Haney wrote, “The unemploy-ment rate in California is over 12 percent. Be happy it’s just a pay cut.”

There were also several students who said it is only ap-propriate for teachers to start political discussions if there is an educational objective, captured in essence by senior Danny McAndrew’s response: “Their job is to teach us how to think, not what to think.”

Bryson said she has been concerned that Dana Hills students with opinions oppos-ing the teachers union are in-timidated by teachers preach-ing politics to their classes. Alikhani, however, said poli-tics in the classroom isn’t an issue, claiming that he never heard any of his teachers make

“Those [teachers] that have discussed their po-litical views have been some of my best. There was nothing wrong with their conduct, and there is no reason to fear them.”

- Conner Bidgood, 10

“You can’t disagree, or they won’t like you.”

- Louis Raymond, 9

“These matters should be discussed [in the class-room]. If we don’t learn to engage in politics now, then how will we discuss it later in life?”

- Tyler Wilemon, 11

being used to urge “the support or defeat of any ballot mea-sure or candidate,” singling out “candidate[s] for election to the governing board of the district” as an example.

Ed Code 7055 allows school boards to make their own rules about “political ac-

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In your time at Dana Hills, has a teacher ever made statements promoting his or her own political views, such as opinions on the school board?

you to express your own, possibly different beliefs?

*Based on a survey of approximately 300 students. *Based on a survey of approximately 300 students.

*Based on a survey of approximately 500 students.

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Senate to Decide Winter Formal ThemeBy Jake RosenNews Editor

FINANCE WIZARDS (from front): Seniors Claire Hirashiki, Sachin Medhekar, Nick Nar-dulli, Chris Thompson, Nick Sirianni and Ron Taitz were elected to the Finance Committee, which was created by Resolution FIN-1 at the Student Senate meeting on October 1.

photo by Emma Werderman

On October 13, a Winter Formal Committe was created at the Student Senate meeting in order to advise the Senate on popular Winter Formal theme ideas from the student body.

The Senate will select the theme in December as op-posed to ASU, which previous-ly chose all dance themes.

The chairman will be chosen by ASU Vice President Allie Gersten.

One senator voted against approval of the com-mittee. Senior Devin Valencia-no (Sampson) asserted that its creation was unnecessary and that ASU should be left with the responsibility.

“It’s awesome that we all get this opportunity to re-form the school, but people are just approving every measure without considering what’s be-ing passed,” Valenciano said.

He continued, “It’s not so important now, when the measures are relatively small, but people need to start taking their positions seriously.”

At the meeting, a Fi-nance Committee was also es-tablished in accordance with the Senate’s vote to pass Reso-lution FIN-1 on October 1.

Explained senator senior

meeting, when the student sec-tion was being discussed, all I was thinking about was, ‘How much is the going to cost?’ And

when I asked, nobody really knew.” Taitz was the sponsor of FIN-1.

On the Committee, along with Taitz, are seniors Claire Hirashiki (Gammell), Sachin Medhekar (Degen), Nick Nardulli (Wigglesworth) and Nick Sirianni (Compean).

At the October 13 meet-ing, Gersten reported on the current status of the student section in the football sta-dium. The project is yet to be approved because the district, which owns the stadium, has

Passed at the meeting was Resolution BY-1, an atten-dance bylaw created due to the lack of quorum at the October 7 meeting. The resolution was unanimously passed.

To achieve the majority required for a quorum, at least 42 senators must be in atten-dance.

The bylaw states that a senator’s seat will be removed if the senator misses three meetings in a row and does not send a substitute.

Consequently, if a sena-tor is unable to attend a meet-ing, he/she must send a tempo-rary substitute in order to avoid the lack of class representation that would result.

The idea of electing a substitute in each class was proposed by Nardulli (Wig-glesworth).

-dance on October 7 was some-what surprising to some sena-tors and members of ASU.

“We’re making changes in order to make it more con-

venient for the senators,” com-mented ASU President Jeremy Lin. “We understand that a meeting every week is too much, so we’re going to be smarter about planning. Salil is learning, and we’re making improvements.”

While some have viewed the lack of quorum as a mistake by ASU, who failed to clarify that meetings would sometimes take place during student choice tutorials in ad-dition to the regular second period tutorial meetings, it has also been said it was a result of

senators.“Some of us are there

trying to make a change, while others just go to mess around or to get out of tutorial,” said se-nior Zach Perea (Hudson).

Due to an overwhelming number of informal proposals, Student Senate Leader Salil Dudani passed out a template sheet to expedite the process of proposing agenda items.

Such informal proposals include Live Action Role Play and an Xbox FIFA Tournament as intramurals, a dance-off in the mall, a Turkey Dance and pulling funding for ASU Lead-ership Camp. These are yet to become formal proposals to be voted on.

Ultimate Frisbee was selected as the next lunchtime intramural on October 1.

Voting on the next in-tramural was split between Quidditch and Ultimate Fris-bee, with arm wrestling, roller

dismissed by Ken Nedler for

safety reasons. There will be voting on at least three more intramurals this year.

At the October 1 meet-ing, Legislative Council was also formally dissolved. ASU’s operational budget was ap-proved at this meeting as well.

Though some senators were wary concerning the bud-

get, approval was necessary because the deadline was the previous day.

CUSD school board members Anna Bryson and Mike Winsten were present at the October 1 meeting.

“I was very proud to see

the Dana Hills Student Sen-

ate,” commented Bryson.“This is how our Republic began, with the gathering of intellects who valued individual free-doms and the precious right to free speech. Salil Dudani as

achievement in government is to be commended along with the seated Senate leadership.”

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All of the 61 newly ap-proved clubs participated in this year’s Club Rush on Tues-day, Oct. 5 and Wednesday, Oct. 6, hawking tri-folds and posters in an attempt to attract new members.

Clubs were unable to of-fer candy and food in exchange for signatures, though it had been a popular and effective option for clubs in past years.

A wide variety of clubs, including community aware-ness groups, service clubs, academic organizations and others, took part in Club Rush this year.

Clubs are divided into three categories: co-curricular, extra-curricular and non-cur-ricular. The diverse range of clubs allows for and encourag-es greater student activity and involvement in the school.

Inter Club Council (ICC) President senior Dilan Shah noted, “I have tried to dis-courage students from starting clubs just as something to put on their college application. Clubs are now thought of in a more serious manner as ve-hicles that can make a positive difference on and off campus.”

He continued, “If a club is started with a clear purpose and is well organized, then it will make a positive difference for the cause it represents and

for the students who participate in that club.”

Established clubs sought to obtain new members, while new clubs tried to gain expo-sure to the rest of the school in order to grow and expand.

“I can honestly say that this year’s Club Rush was the best in a long time. The club presidents and representatives came well-prepared to talk about the causes their clubs served, and they enthusiasti-cally inspired students to get involved,” said Shah.

Club presidents gener-ally echoed this sentiment. Ju-nior Achievement Club presi-dent senior Andrew Sy noted, “There were more people in-terested in clubs this year. Both clubs and students seemed more active this year, what with the tightening of rules.”

Conservatives club pres-ident Nick Altuzarra attributed much of the “huge success” of Club Rush to Dilan Shah.

“He brought a lot of ex-citement to the clubs and their causes,” Altuzarra explained.

Many clubs have already set goals for the year. Success Club president junior Aliza Braunstein plans on sponsor-ing speakers from different professions to offer advice and inspirational success stories to students.

The Be the Change Club, led by senior Kaitlyn Wa-terbury, has placed the school in the running for $250,000 for education technology through the Pepsi Refresh Project.

Clubs Recruit New MembersBy Stephanie ChengNews Editor

IN LOVING MEMORY:!Students and volunteers raise a commemorative banner during the fourth annual Run 4 Megan.

photo by Emma Werderman

Students Run for Megan Myers

On the morning of Satur-day, Oct. 17, Dana Hills hosted

Run/Walk for Megan. The run was held in memory of Megan Myers, a former Dana student who passed away her freshman year from sudden cardiac arrest during a cross country meet.

Over 300 people regis-tered for the event, generating $12,000 in donation funds. A portion of this sum is used for the Megan Myers Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to graduating cross country runners.

The contributions from the memorial run also provide

By Annie BubinskiNews Editor

-lators (AEDs) to schools that request or need them. These machines deliver a shock to restore a patient’s normal heart rhythm in the event of abnor-mality.

The City of Dana Point and the American Youth Soc-cer Organization have already expressed an interest in receiv-ing AEDs funded by this year’s Megan Myers run.

Before the run com-menced, Gail and Jeff Myers, M. Myers’s parents, said a few words and thanked the com-munity for coming together to remember their daughter.

The run simulated the 3.1 mile Dana Hills Cross Country Invitational route. The course began on the softball

loops, ending on the track.

Participants of this year’s run included the soc-cer team of M. Myers’s sister, Madison Myers. Current and past students, various members of the community and many others also attended.

Senior Sydney Lovejoy, who took part in the run, said, “It was great how many people showed up to support the My-ers family.”

G. Myers stated that people were more than will-ing to help, including Dana Hills cross country coaches, who helped set up the course, Pricipal Dr. Robert Nye, who helped with the permits and pa-perwork, and mothers from the community.

G. Myers commented, “Despite the drizzle, we had a lot of people participate.”

This year’s event was

G. Myers noted, “I would love -

ing, so maybe I’ll look for other ways to raise funds in the fu-ture.”

Last year, approximately 500 people attended the run, generating $12,000.

G. Myers exclaimed, “It really felt good to me to be able to provide the scholarships and AEDs in Megan’s name.”

Darren Phelps of the South Orange County Wildcats

-rial run for M. Myers.

G. Myers recalled, “We thought it was such an honor and an amazing way to remem-ber Megan. Not only was it wonderful to see so many fa-miliar and friendly faces, it was a great way to get some exer-cise.”

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COLORFUL COSTUMES:!ASU held its annual Spirit Week during the week of Oc-tober 18-22, planning activities and “dress-up days” throughout the week. In order to incite enthusiasm for Homecoming, the themed dress-up days corresponded to the Homecoming theme, “Pixar Perfect.” Sophomore Ellie Plouf, Deputy Commissioner of Activities, explained, “Each day would coordinate with each class set, beginning with the freshmen on Monday and ending with the seniors on Thursday. Friday is always ‘Go Blue’ day.” On Monday, the theme revolved around the freshman Pixar theme “The Incredibles.” Tuesday’s theme was red, yellow or green day, in honor of the movie “Cars,” the sophomores’ designated theme. Wednesday’s theme encouraged students to wear an ugly Hawaiian shirt, representing the movie “Finding Nemo,” which was the junior class’ theme. On Thursday, when ASU brought the Wild West to

halls. “Spirit Week is the best week,” said freshman Lucy Reidling enthusiastically. “It really allows you to show support for your school while having fun at the same time.” “Go Blue” day included a pep rally in honor of the Homecoming football game on Friday, Oct. 22 and the Homecoming dance on Saturday, Oct. 23.

photos by Emily Cullen

Be the Change Ranked 20 in Pepsi CampaignBy Lauren BlackStaff Writer

The Be the Change club, which entered the Pepsi Refresh Everything Contest in hopes of winning $250,000, is currently ranked number 20 amongst 349 other entries. Through entering the con-test, the the club has given the school an opportunity to replace all the computers on campus.

Be the Change’s goal is to make the supplemen-tary education that technol-ogy offers more accessible and convenient for all students.

In hopes of moving up in the rankings, the club is continuing to press for more votes from participants.

The Pepsi Refresh Ev-erything contest, which of-fers sizable grants to make popular propositions a real-ity, was the ideal opportu-nity for the Be the Change club to accomplish its goal.

“I saw commercials on TV,” said senior Kaitlyn Wa-terbury, president of the club. “Because the basis of my club is to raise money for the school, this contest fell in perfectly.”

When the economy took a turn for the worst a few years

-cant cuts the education budget.

Two and a half years ago, Waterbury noticed the severe effects the cuts had

caused and decided to found the Be the Change club.

As president, she and her peers strive to purchase new technology for the school that district funds cannot provide. They believe by providing such technology for the school, they can enhance students’ educa-tion. The current technology is too outdated to cover student needs, running extremely slow-ly and sometimes not at all.

“Our goal is to raise money for new technology for Dana Hills,” explained Water-bury in a letter to the student body. “Without it, every single student is at a disadvantage. Some of our students do not have a working computer in their homes; therefore, having the ability to utilize a com-puter during school hours be-comes even more precious.”

In addition to supplying everyone with an equal educa-tion, computers will aid students in college and career planning as well as academic research.

Senior Ben Tearle, vice president of the club, added, “Technology is a part of our everyday lives, and incorpo-rating it more into our edu-cation gives the school new ways to interact with students.”

Be the Change applied for the contest back Febru-ary 2010 and only recently received news of the school’s acceptance. Although other en-tries encompass a wide variety

-dent that Be the Change’s edu-

“If everyone keeps vot-ing consistently, we could win. The students would be the

Voting has been open since the beginning of Oc-tober and will close on Oc-tober 31. Ranking so close to the top has put even more pressure on club mem-bers to publicize their cause.

Voting is not limited to the school, so the club and school administration encour-age everyone to get their fami-lies and communities involved.

Tearle explained, “Ev-ery single vote counts, through texts, the website and Face-book. If we managed to get all the way up in the top twenties out of hundreds of submissions,

at making it all the way.”The Cystic Fibrosis

Foundation, the Eicosanoid Re-search Foundation and the hel-loCHANGE project are current-ly leading the standings, ranked

There are also $50,000 $25,000 and $5,000 grants up for grabs.

All entries fall under the categories of health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neigh-borhoods and education.

Voting, which ends Oc-tober 31, has been conducted through texting, the Pepsi website and the Facebook ap-plication. Winners will be anounced on November 1.

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Q:You have indicated that the newly created Stu-dent Senate is something our school needs. Why?

A:I think Dana Hills needs a variety of viewpoints. I think everyone needs to feel free to have a divergent view and have their own view, what-ever that view may be. I had a conversation this morning with a student at Dana Hills. This young man felt it was dif-

on the campus, which is unfor-tunate. I hope everyone feels they have a right to speak out, whether they agree with me or they don’t agree with me. He felt it was very politicized in the classrooms in the past.

Q:Do you think teach-ers bringing their CUSD-related politics into the classroom is a concern?

A: It has been a con-cern because the feeling was that people could do whatever they wanted to do, perhaps, in the classroom. That’s not say-ing it will be that case under [Superintendent] Dr. Farley going forward, because our emphasis and directive to him is, we want a superior educa-tion process in this district. And in order to make it that way, we have to de-politicize, as according to the Califor-nia Ed Code, the classroom.

Q: If I told you I’d experi-enced teachers explicitly bring-ing their politics into the class-room, would you be surprised?

A: No, because I’ve had a lot of constituents speak to me about it privately. I would like to think that those things would not occur, and I think it’s extremely important that we have the ability to have a different viewpoint. I’m very respectful. I don’t believe, if you read every word I’ve ever said or printed for the

past four years, you would

either to teachers or students.

Q: Can you tell me more about your respect for teachers?

A: I have a daughter who’s a teacher. A lot of people don’t know that. I recently was one of the presiding people at the welcome for the new teachers in CUSD. I was the only trustee present, and I was present both as trustee and an admirer of teachers. [Teach-ers’ union President] Vicki Soderberg was present, and I was there because I believe in the craft, skill and talent of teachers. I’m a very strong ad-vocate for the gift of teaching.

Q:How much credit be-longs to them for our rising API standardized test scores and how much to the board?

A:[Teachers] were in the classroom under prior boards, all of those 15 years when we weren’t there. This happened in the past two years. It happened because the at-mosphere changed to a more open communication between the administrative staff and the teachers. It’s all about educa-tion now, not dictatorial con-trol and vast expenditures that are not going to the classroom, such as the administrative Taj Mahal building, which was built under the prior board.

Q: What do you think of your opponent’s claim that your board is respon-sible for “wasteful and out of control spending?”

A: It’s a provable false-hood. The budget was in the red for six straight years prior to the three conservatives coming on the board, four years ago. We’ve had to cut $90 million out of our budget due to the cut-off of funds from Sacramento. We have cut every extraneous

Q:Do you share your op-ponent’s concern in regard to teachers breaking rules about politics in the classroom?

A:From my experiences as a student, every teacher I’ve had has respected that rule. I even think [during] the days leading up to the strike and the days after the strike, politics was kept out of the classroom. In my opinion, that hasn’t been an issue. And if politics in the class-room is an issue, and I don’t believe that’s the case, it’s a result of the board’s actions.

Q:Your support-ers say they want to “re-store sanity in CUSD.” Can you explain exactly what the current insanity is?

A:The political climate they’ve created may be a long-lasting wound in CUSD. We’re the only district to actu-ally strike, besides Oakland.

Also, wasteful spend-ing, the over $2 million that we’ve spent on attorneys over these past two years. The Orange County De-partment of Education pro-vides free legal counsel, and we’re the only district to not take advantage of that. Some of these attorneys do have ties to the board.

I think students should be aware that they’re the ones being disrespected most. They’re taking mon-ey out of the classroom and spending it on their special interests.

Q:Your opponent’s signs read “stop the union power grab,” and you are endorsed by the teach-ers’ union. Any response?

A:That’s a total red herring. Bryson is a part of two unions. [Board mem-

bers Larry] Christensen and [Ellen] Addonizio were sup-ported by the teachers’ union four years ago when they ran. [Board members Mike] Winsten and [Ken] Lopez-Maddox went to the teamsters and asked for their support.

heard this from the team-sters. And Maddox is going to be pulling multiple pen-sions as an assemblyman

Every incumbent has ties to the union. They’re us-ing the union because they don’t have accomplish-ments to talk about.

Q:The trustees say that we’re the highest-scoring large district in the state and that we’ve gotten there under their leadership. Who deserves the credit for those test scores?

A:The students are over-looked a lot of times. Some-times [scores] are attributed to the teachers, which [they] should be. Teachers play a

-bination of the parents, the students and the teachers.

If we were under cor-rect leadership, I think our scores would have improved much more. And anyway, if these trustees did dam-age to the classroom, the ef-fects wouldn’t be felt at that moment. It would take time.

Q:How much do those scores matter? Are they the scale we should use to judge the quality of education in CUSD?

A:Standardized testing is a facet of education, but it’s not the largest aspect of it. It is an important tool to measure growth, of course, but some-times it gets in the way of the real curriculum, where you re-ally get the knowledge. Maybe a little too much emphasis has been placed on the tests.

dollar, and we’ve done a good job of it, and the proof is that we’re stable and we have not fallen through the cracks.

Q: Does your opponent have the experience necessary

A: When you have a $360 some odd million bud-get, I think it’s very important

and money. I think it’s impor-tant that you’ve had to pay mortgages. That is my world. Working with tax issues, working with the investment. I’m comfortable with bil-lions of dollars and budgets in the hundreds of millions.

Q: Could a recent high school graduate be comfortable with those

A: (speaking to inter-viewer) What would you say? Are you prepared to deal with a $364 million budget and the responsibility legally? And answer to 52,000 stu-dents? Or would you think it would be necessary to have someone whispering in your ear what to do every minute?

Q:Dana Hills students seemed to pay attention to the school board most during last year’s teach-ers’ strike. Can you explain the board’s actions and re-actions from that time?

A:We waited for 10 months for [the teachers’ union] to come to the table, and they never came. We

-cal crisis, and since the 2,200 teachers plus the rest of our employees, which is around 4,200, represent 85 percent of our payroll, we had to lower the impact of those payrolls. So we imposed a 10.2 percent pay cut in order to make sure that our school district survived and did not go in to bankruptcy and a takeover from the state. It

Q:In a poll taken in April of last year, 86 per-cent of students were dis-

How will this change?

A: I think it’s unfortu-nate that I’ve never been able to talk to the students. They have only heard one side of the story, and you cannot come to a sound judgment about any person or policy if you don’t look at both sides. In this case these are

-sues, and the students should look at the dollars. Then they would understand why I voted as I did as a member of a 7-0 vote (to unilaterally impose the teacher pay cut).

- Salil Dudani

Q:What’s your experi-ence been with student in-terest level? You’ve said even you didn’t care before you were student adviser.

A:It varies. You look at Aliso Niguel and Dana Hills High School, and in my opin-ion, they’re probably the most politically active and politically informed in terms of the school board. I think the student that really cares about education does care about this. I’ve seen a correlation in that regard.

Q:How would a change in board leadership affect the lives of the students?

A:Personally, if I’m on

me on the school sites regu-larly, whether it’s in the class-room, sitting with the students and with the teachers or enjoy-ing an event such as Air Guitar.

Q:When you were stu-dent adviser, your job was to be the voice of the students.

If you win, how would student opinion be represented on the board?

A:I believe that student input is really important since they’re the ones that are re-ceiving these services, the ones who have to live through the implementation of all the decisions the board makes.

We kind of saw stu-dent input change after the school board changed the method of selecting the stu-dent adviser, and that’s the most direct way they’re cheating the students.

I’ll bring the students back into the process of pick-ing the student trustee, so that’s one of the ways. Some students have real concerns, like about standardizing test-ing or student costs.

Q:Are you prepared to deal with a $364 million budget and the responsibility legally? And answer to 52,000 students?

A:I don’t see myself, and I think most people don’t see me, as an average 18 year old. I have some qualities that distinguish me from other 18 year olds.

I was the youngest Site

I oversaw the budget and worked with different depart-

trustee to actively voice my dissent against the board, and

didn’t approve hiring [election law attorney] Phillip Greer. I voted against the contract impostion [on the teachers].

Of course it’s a legiti-mate concern for the average 18 year old, but age is only brought up because of experience, and I have years worth of experience.

-Salil Dudani

Sitting Down with Anna Bryson & Saam Alikhani

photo by Emma Werdermanphoto courtesy of Anna Bryson

Saam AlikhaniAnna Bryson

-

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By Savannah TateEntertainment Editor

Student “Monsters” Volunteer in Haunted Trails

By Serene Jneid Feature Editor

Student Bands Rock Porthole Theater

On Saturday, Oct. 9, stu-dent bands displayed their diverse muscial

talents in the Porthole at the “SOCSA Rocks the House” fundraiser, which raised money for the construction of the new theater.

All the bands—Bring

Stompers and Ugly Paint—are comprised of Dana Hills stu-dents, with the exception of Bring All My Friends guitarist Brandon Rulloda, who is an Aliso Niguel alumnus. Senior Michael Paul, the drummer for

only student not involved in SOCSA.

Bring All of My Friends

opened the concert, playing a small set of original songs, such as “Intro,” “Intro Pt. 2,” “Down to The Sky” and “Tried and True.”

“I thought it was a good turnout, and people seemed to be into it,” said junior Sharkey Ihara.

played a set including both covers and original songs. Cov-er songs included “Magic” by B.O.B and “Breakneck Speed” by Tokyo Police Club, and original songs included “Lost” and “Teenage Trends.”

reminded the audience several times that this was a “concert and not a comedy show” as they made fun of each other on stage, garnering laughs from the audience.

Inviting non-members to

Stompers were then joined by

senior Emma Werderman, who sang “God Bless America” at the September 24 pep rally, and sophomore Jacob Sloan, lead guitarist from Ugly Paint. The band and guests performed “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” by Against Me!. For their cover of B.O.B’s “Mag-ic,” the musicians were joined by senior Zach Perea, who played the tambourine.

“We like to make sure that our audience is having as much fun as we are,” said se-

Stomper keyboardist, who also raps under his alter ego, “Rap Geoff.”

Ugly Paint performed next, opening with an original piece, “Test.” The band of

“Rain” and “Addicted to You,” along with covers such as “The Middle,” “Jumper” and “All the Small Things.” Their inspi-

ration comes from bands such as Blink 182 and Green Day.

At the beginning of Ugly Paint’s set, there were only a few small groups of students gathered near the front of the Porthole. However, halfway through the show, most mem-bers of the crowd had left their

the Porthole to dance and inter-act with the band.

song, the entire audience was invited to join the band on the

the audience chanted until Ugly Paint played an encore.

“Best concert, thanks to the energy of the crowd!” said Sloan.

As the audience mem-bers were dancing around, jumping, sweating and interact-ing with the bands, it seemed as if every one who went had enjoyed themselves.

UGLY PAINT: Lead singer Adam Cease entertains an en-thusiastic crowd at “SOCSA Rocks the House.”

While it is certainly en-joyable to be on the receiving end of a

good scare, some students pre-fer to “incite the fright.”

“Haunted Trails is a great way to explore a differ-ent side of you that you didn’t think existed,” junior Lanie Richards explained. “You get

a certain pleasure from scaring people.”

On October 28-30, Rich-ards and several other students will participate as “monsters” during Haunted Trails at the Laguna Niguel Parks and Rec-reation Center. The event will take place from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28 and from 6:30-10:30 p.m. on October 29-30. The attraction is a 15-min-ute walk through mazes, pop-out areas and themed tents.

After two consecutive years of pirate-centric mazes,

Haunted Trails introduced “2050: Niguel-o-Tropilis” as its new theme. The trail begins in the dangerous alleyways of New York City and goes through a subway maze into a post-apocalyptic Central Park. It continues into the alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown and the zombie-ridden streets of New Orleans, ending in an eerie swamp graveyard.

Sophomore Marga Es-quivel said, “[The theme] has a little bit of everything: magic, urban city themes and just

plain disgusting, gory stuff. I never would’ve thought that all of these things could be [com-bined] and actually work.”

Senior Marina Arruda,

years, was not as pleased with this year’s theme: “It seems like the people who are in charge of the event stuffed all

years into one.”Regardless of the theme,

students aged 14-18 have been using Haunted Trails as an op-portunity to earn community

service hours while also cel-ebrating Halloween. A diverse group of students volunteer each year to portray “monsters” that scare visitors brave enough to enter the spooky attraction.

“If you were to take one person from each group at Dana, that’s the mix of people you get at Haunted Trails,” Ar-ruda commented.

“Monsters” must go through intense training on scaring techniques, safety, cos-tume development and mental and physical preparation for

this event. Volunteers must commit to all trainings in addi-tion to the nights of the event.

Arruda explained, “They usually put the newbies in the big tents so that there’s backup if one of the monsters slacks off, and the more-seasoned monsters have free-reign as to where they can scare.”

Sophomore Layne Co-cuzzo added, “Haunted Trails is a fun place for a scare; there is a lot of work put into it that most people don’t know about.”

photo by Emily Cullen

photos by Quinn Mahony, Emma Werderman and Emily Cullen

Random Kid Spotlight:Mason Raasch isn’t your typical high school athlete.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

SURVEY: If you could make the

perfect sandwich, what would it

contain?

By Shannon McNultyNews Editor

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Today, he walks the halls of Dana Hills as a fresh-man, but it was not too

long ago that 14 year old Spen-cer Martin was hard at work

“Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” in Los Angeles.

I told my parents I wanted to quit acting because I thought I did really bad and acting just was not my thing,” Martin said, “but my manager called that night telling me I got a call-back!”

From there, Martin au-ditioned nine times and was grouped with other kids for casting directors, studio ex-ecutives and directors before

Edward the Confessor Parish School in Dana Point, Martin was asked to provide grades and test scores when he audi-

attended school on set for the

season. “We would arrive at 8

--

sode, have two hours of school,

Martin, recalling a typical day lasting from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Martin remembers the whole school congratulating and approaching him in the halls, including people he did not know, but said his close friends were not star-struck.

“I was actually very tim-

who has since become more comfortable with the attention. Martin was living an exciting

-ing autographs, meeting ce-lebrities, attending award and fashion shows, appearing in local press, landing radio spots and receiving fan mail from all over the world.

While Martin enjoyed the ride, he also realized that he was very different from other kids his age.

“I was the only 11 year old I knew being taxed on my income and getting a stimulus check from George W. Bush,” Martin said. “But I recently found out that, typically, you only get one out of every 200 auditions, and the show was

ever auditioning, so I was re-ally lucky!”

Martin appeared in one full season of 23 episodes of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” With the show’s suc-

cess, there was talk of the pos-sibility of “Are You Smarter Than a 6th Grader?,” but the studio decided instead to cast a

Today, Martin spends his time with his friends and

family and still acts both inside and outside of school.

“I’m still auditioning for

continue acting,” the freckled freshman said with a smile. “I just really love it!”

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For many students, any chance away from school and school-related activi-

ties is used for spending time with friends, going to the beach or getting in a few extra hours of sleep that seem so unattain-able during the hectic school week.

Junior Mason Raasch, however, has a set of priorities few others have: hacky sacking

Rather than spending his free time exploring new hob-bies, Raasch uses it to hone his already highly developed hacky sacking skills as a satis-fying form of entertainment.

Hacky sacking is not his only hobby, but Raasch says it

because it “feels like you actu-ally get something done.”

Having started about two years ago, Raasch has familiar-ized himself with the many dy-namics of hacky sacking, such as the rules, the equipment and the different techniques.

While not crucial to the enjoyment of the sport, these basics are necessary for anyone seeking a more competitive form of hacky sack, such as in Raasch’s case.

In short, hacky sacking is a sport in which a group of people kicks a hacky sack, or foot bag, back and forth with-out letting it hit the ground. The main objective is to get as

if possible), whether the hacky sacker is in a group or practic-ing alone.

Although Raasch enjoys playing with friends, he claims to practice on his own for about 95 percent of the time. To him, this provides a more personal form of achievement, as he

friends that have the same level

of motivation.Such a sport requires ex-

ceptional patience and strong determination, as Raasch can attest to. Although he has been playing for about two years,

lapses in his motivation. “I took some time off

as a junior to continue hack-ing sack,” said Raasch. Despite previous obstacles, Raasch said he is more motivated than ever and practices “erryday, no ex-

cuse” during lunch, passing pe-riods and after school.

Raasch explained, “The world record for most succes-sive kicks today is 63, 326 in just less than nine hours. I basi-cally want to get 63, 327, and then I can die peacefully.”

As for short-term goals, he says he wants to master a trick known to experienced hacky sackers as the “Impos-sible Jester,” where the hacky sack is “stalled,” or balanced, on the foot, immediately fol-

about eye level. At this point, the hacky sacker must quickly raise his leg up over the sack in

the action with the other leg.However, Raasch real-

izes that practicing so much overshadows other aspects of his life, especially his social life.

“I don’t do it for the women; I do it for the love of the sport,” said Raasch. He as-serted that hacky sacking, like any other worthwhile activity, cannot be seen as just a hobby if any serious goals are to be reached.

Raasch also added that hacky sacking is a legitimate form of exercise, when done properly and for extended in-crements of time. He recom-mends wearing athletic shorts and wide shoes (so that the foot has more surface area).

Despite the frustrating phase of having to learn how to hacky sack, Raasch encour-ages newcomers to the sport to maintain a strong work ethic and not lose hope.

-cause you will eventually get the hang of it,” Raasch ex-plained.

According to Raasch, the sense of accomplishment obtained from reaching a new goal is “just too addicting.”

reach the next one,” Raasch said.

Hacky sacking, while not as popular as other hobbies, is certainly a very interesting and unique form of expression, leaving those such as Mason Raasch with a profound feeling of satisfaction.

!"#$%&' !(($"$)%!*)+ Freshman Spencer Martin auditioned nine times before landing a spot on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

HACKY SACK LEGEND: Junior Mason Raasch hones his hacky sacking skills during passing periods, at lunch and after school.

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Beginnings for Musical Man of Michigan By Gillian SleeNews Editor

I n the beginning, kin-dergarteners learn the “ABC Song.” Now,

as students enter high school, they belt the words to iTunes’s “Top Charts” songs. Yet, what if singing went be-yond the shower or the car? What if it inspired an album?

Junior Malaika “Zuri” Raphael has done just that.

A recent transfer from a small high school in Michi-gan, Raphael self-published

-esis,” in August of this year.

was just the start to a bright future,” said Raphael, who, inspired by new begin-

From a young age, Ra-phael loved to play music.

He explained, “I re-ally believe that a lot of stories and lessons can be taught through music.”

Recalling fond memo-ries of his father’s piano play-ing, he reminisced, “[I tried] to sit down and play, thinking that I was just as good as him. I have always loved playing mu-sic. When I write my own mu-sic, I can express my thoughts and feelings through it.”

Writing music, how-ever, is not Raphael’s only goal. In the future, he hopes to create and manage his own record label. By developing an

album at this stage in his life, Raphael hopes that he will gain valuable experience for the fu-

is just one more step towards achieving his career goal.

“I really wanted to try and create an album by my-self,” Raphael explained. “I

of the challanges that young art-ists face in the music industry.”

Despite his indepen-dence in creating, compos-ing, designing and record-ing the album, Raphael is appreciative of the help he has received along the way.

“I simply could not have done it [created the album] without my par-ents,” he said candidly.

-ing of a blend of rock and

his muse, the song discusses emotional subjects––pain and hope––for the budding artist.

“I told her [the girl] that I would wait however long it took for her to be ready for a relationship,” Raphael said softly. “I wanted her to know

that I would always be there for her and treat her how all girls should be treated.”

For Raphael, patience is key. As a solo artist, Ra-phael does not have a band or supporting musicians.

When asked if he has

plans for future concerts or events, Raphael sheepishly admitted, “Sadly, no. One of the hardest things about hav-ing a self-produced album is the lack of other musicians.”

He continued, “As much as I would like to play

all the instruments at the same time, I’m just not that good!”

However, Raphael expressed an interest in col-laborating with others.

“My next step is to

Band or no band, Ra-phael has already begun work-ing on his second album, which he expects to be released in approximately one year.

In the mean time, he

ONLY THE BEGINNING: A recent transfer from a small town in Michigan, Malaika

Christian contemporary mu-sic, is comprised of 10 tracks.

Raphael’s favorite song on the album is “Just Say Yes” because it is “really catchy.” Written for his girl-friend, who also doubles as

photo by Quinn Mahony

“gained a sense of the challenges that

”

“One of the hardest

hopes to focus on accli-mating to the West Coast.

taking me some time to get used to Dana, but I am used to moving a lot. I am hoping that it will just take a little bit of time to get adjusted.”

Still, he admitted that he misses one thing about Michigan above all else—his girlfriend.

-

this last weekend to take her to Homecoming just to come back the next day. They say people do crazy things for love!”

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Website: www.dhhspaper.com

Editor-in-Chief Lexi CotcampNews Editors Gillian Slee

Annie BubinskiJake Rosen

Alfonso OrdazStephanie Cheng

Tyler HartungShannon McNultyEmma Werderman

Serene JneidGina Scott

Feature Editors Sam LeporeEmily Cullen

Devin ValencianoOlivia O’Brien

Centerspread Editor Kailey CoxOpinion Editors Marilyn La Jeunesse

Jimmy FallonEntertainment Editor Taylor Steinbeck

Savannah TateSports Editors Sara Gold

Claudia VarneySara Vandegrift

Madeline DiamondAnnie BubinskiNatalie Benrubi

Gina ScottGillian Slee

Copy Editors Salil Dudani Sara Gold

Advertising Sales Gillian SleeFinance Manager Stephanie ChengSubscriptions Tyler Hartung

Jake Rosen Computer Technician Max WolotskyWebsite Manager Devin ValencianoAdviser Tim Sampson

Writers: Natalie Benrubi, Lauren Black, Annie Bubinski, Stepha-nie Cheng, Lexi Cotcamp, Madeline Diamond, Salil Dudani, Jim-my Fallon, Sara Gold, Tyler Hartung, Serene Jneid, Marilyn La Jeunesse, Sam Lepore, Shannon McNulty, Olivia O’Brien, Alfon-so Ordaz, Jake Rosen, Gina Scott, Gillian Slee, Taylor Steinbeck, Savannah Tate, Devin Valenciano, Sara VandegriftLifesavers: Brent Melbon, Paige Prescott, Gloria WatsonPhotographers: Emily Cullen, Quinn Mahony, Emma Werderman

The Paper is published tri-weekly throughout the year by Dana Hills High School newspaper students. Com-ments and editorial opinions expressed in The Paper are those of the staff and do not represent the position of Dana Hills High School, its administration, student government

endorsed by The Paper.

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Pixar Truly PerfectThe Truth Debunked, Debated: To Veggie or Not To Veggie?

By Sam LeporeFeature Editor

By Sara VandegriftSports Editor

Pro Con

Your body. It’s on almost every-one’s mind. In the past few years, ev-erything from chapters in text books to

seminars for teens have led people to believe that nit-picking at what you eat is widely considered normal.

One of the latest dieting fads is none other than the hippie-promoted vegetarianism. But this blast-from-the-past tool for “improving” your body is not

Some people do follow vegetarianism because of certain dietary needs or legitimate ethical views, but this article concerns students who use vegetarianism as an unhealthy way to clear their consciences and waistlines.

Eating veggies—it seems simple enough, easy enough. It could possibly even be worth it. However, the resulting overdose of cellulose has negative side

First, as humans, our bodies were never meant to ingest only fruits and vegetables; our saliva contains

-teins. Especially during the teenage years, a lack of protein and other vitamins in meat can easily cause stunted growth as well as osteoporosis and anemia.

Some students may say that they have reached the age where they are ready to make their own deci-sions. Nonetheless, abstaining from eating meat can lead to complications later in life, such as B-12, zinc,

There are still some students who insist that they refuse to eat meat out of respect for the animals. How-ever, the animals that are raised for consumption have one purpose in life: to be eaten. Regardless of your choice in food, animal products or not, livestock will still be raised to supply the demands of consumers. Don’t let a life go to waste.

If you still feel that you need to display your love for animals, support farmers that allow their animals to live a more natural and healthy life.

Buy products like organic beef and free range chicken; your money will be going towards a farm that cares about its livestock, and your conscience can go carefree.

When I say healthy, you say protein. Healthy! Protein! Go meat!

Health concerns regarding veg-etarianism, while understandable, are hardly legitimate. When followed

properly, a vegetarian diet is essentially the same as, if not better than, a diet containing meat.

As a vegetarian, I’m frequently asked, “How are you even getting protein?” It’s true that humans need protein in their diets and that protein is most easily available in meat. However, it’s often forgotten that protein is present in a number of other foods, such as beans, nuts, grains, soy products and in the case of non-vegans, dairy products and eggs. Most studies show that vegetarianism is actually healthier for us in the long run. Nutrition researcher Dr. T. Colin Campbell goes as far as saying, “The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet.”

Because vegetables have cancer-preventive chemicals and processed meats have cancer-causing chemicals, vegetarians have on average a 40 percent lower cancer rate than their carnivorous counterparts. In addition, eliminating meat from our diets drastically decreases the amount of “bad” fats we consume, low-ering our chances of both heart disease and obesity.

Another reason to go veggie is to go green. The

but the increasing demand for meat worldwide is actu-ally a main contributor to problems such as famine and global warming.

Thirty percent of all land on earth not covered in ice is used to raise livestock—an astounding number considering the small percentage that meat makes up in the average person’s diet. If the land were used to grow crops rather than to raise livestock, a much greater number of people could be fed. For instance, 250 pounds of beef can be produced on one acre of land. In comparison, 40,000 pounds of potatoes can be produced on the same amount of land.

With so many people around the world on the brink of starvation, can we afford to use so much land for a food product that feeds so few people?

Overall, vegetarianism isn’t that different from eating meat; it’s just healthier and much better for ev-eryone in the long run.

By Tyler HartungNews Editor

Policed Parking at its Finest

Fact: the spots in the senior lot are small. Very small. If you don’t drive a small sedan or a Prius, odds are you’re

miniscule spots. All seniors (and a few select juniors) who park in the senior lot know this.

But this is something with which I’m pre-pared to deal. Driving a beastmaster ’98 Dodge Ram, I know that almost every single place I’ve ever parked has been far too small for my truck. Guess what? I make it work.

I pride myself on my parking skills, so one can only imagine my displeasure and hurt pride upon see-ing a small piece of paper on my windshield reading: “You are taking up two spots! You’ve been warned! Do this again and receive a two hour detention!” Along with this, someone had written on the bottom, “You’re also parked in a compact spot.”

After reading this with dismay, I took a quick look at my park job and saw that my car was most

Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining this, I went

ahead and asked a few passersby for their honest opin-ion. Every single person agreed with me and said that I was not in the wrong.

I don’t have a problem with the rule itself. Suf-fering from a mild case of road rage, I am plenty happy to see poor drivers/parkers punished for their wrong-doings.

So when I looked around and saw a handful of cars parked far worse than mine, and noticed there were no citations on their windshield, I was pretty an-gry. I was wrongfully given a black mark on my re-cord, while looking at people who actually deserved it continue to violate the rules of the parking lot.

In regard to taking up a compact spot, the white paint that deemed this spot “compact” was almost too faded to be discernable. I know the school is old, but a touch-up on the paint job would keep large truck driv-ers like myself from parking in these spots reserved for smaller, compact cars.

To whoever polices the senior lot for those terrible parkers: make sure you’re punishing the right people. In a parking lot seemingly built for SmartCars, there are far more of those Sebring drivers who can’t seem to stay between the lines.

Nonetheless, I would like to thank the mystery -

ing skills are superior.

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LETTERS POLICYPlease submit legibly written, signed letters to room 708 during second

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College Stress Leads to Senior Insanity By Shannon McNultyNews Editor

!RE: “Stay Classy, Underclassmen”

girls are dressing is em-

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two days to try and write

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!"#!$#%&"'!"#By Lexi CotcampEditor-in-Chief

MELLOW MELODIES: Johnson croons to a crowd of over 15,000 at the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

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photo by Lexi Cotcamp

Sun Sets for New Kings of Leon

Plug into Sweet, Indie-Pop LoveBy Savannah TateEntertainment Editor

Scottish band Belle and Sebastian has been in the music business for almost 14 years, accumulating a considerable transcript of eight full-length records, several of which have achieved gold-selling status.

A four-year interlude followed the release of 2006’s The Life Pursuit, and fans ached for another taste of Belle and Sebastian’s distinctive indie-pop sound.

When the band announced that it was back in the studio developing a new album, cleverly titled Write about Love, many asked the classic question: “Will it measure up?”

The album’s opening track, “I Didn’t See It Coming,” was a savvy choice; its infectious opening line (“Make me dance/I want to surrender/Your familiar arms I remember”) rang true for every listener as a promising beginning to this highly anticipated album.

Fans savored the friendly embrace of Belle and Sebastian’s charming sound, surrendering to the cheerful harmonies for which the band is known.

“Come on Sister,” with its sunny, synthesized riff, is a standout track that epitomizes the optimistic tone of the album. It’s a song that anyone would enjoy listening to while walking down the street, semi-dancing to its peppy beat.

The ironic ballad “Calculating Bimbo” noticeably slows the pace, as the narrator pensively recounts

what must have been a painful break-up. Is it better to have loved and lost or harder still?

on the past before concluding (perhaps to himself), “I wish you’d let the past go.”“Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John,” another bittersweet track, features the unmistakable voice of Norah Jones.

Her breathy vocals and lead-singer Stuart Murdoch’s voice blend perfectly with bluesy undertones in this narrative about lost love. “I’m Not Living in the Real World” is a stark contrast to the mood of the previous songs, though its lyrics may be subtly ironic.

The track’s heavy ’70s

of a few classic School House Rock songs, using several different voices and a light-hearted melody.

“Well I made it to the real world, but I’m not living in the real world,” the song proclaims in the spirit of denial.

The album continues to impress as it concludes with four more agreeable tracks, “The Ghost of Rockschool,” “Read the Blessed Pages,” “I Can See Your Future” and “Sunday’s Pretty Icons.” Quite obviously, Belle and Sebastian’s album follows a personal love story, as the title “Write About Love” suggests.

With a winning combination of wistful harmonies and perceptive lyrics, Belle and Sebastian continue to create music that listeners of all ages enjoy.

The band’s status in the music industry today is proof in itself that this music will stand the test of time because it innovatively adjusts to the ongoing change in trends.

Disclaimer: For those of you old-school Kings of Leon fans that absolutely hated the 2008 double-platinum album Only By the Night, expect more of the same from their most re-cent effort.

Continuing with the tra--

tles, Come Around Sundown is full of huge, arena-sized sing- alongs, as the Kings of Leon

their sound for years to come. As for myself, I consider

myself one of those old-school fans of Kings of Leon who

were fantastic. However, I’m also not one who completely

By Tyler HartungNews Editor

turned my back on them for writing a few songs that actu-ally made it onto the radio.

But even I, who have stuck with the Followhill boys,

Come Around Sundown as anything but me-diocre.

single, “Radioactive,” is with-out a doubt one of the best songs on the album.

A fun, gospel feel pre-sides over the song as a large choir joins the band on the last chorus. In this song, frontman Caleb Followhill seemingly sings about the musicians’ desire to stick to their roots despite their newfound main-stream success (“It’s in the wa-ter/It’s where you came from/Never sold yourself away”).

Other than this, strong tracks on the album are few and far between, with the punky

riff to “Mary” and the speed-picking guitar of “No Money” sticking out from the list of mostly slow jams.

A surprisingly awesome song is “Pony Up.” Fusing the band’s older southern rock style with super-sized, new-wave guitar riffs over a trash-can drum beat from drummer Nathan Followhill, “Pony Up” sticks out as an upbeat rock song, contrasting strongly with most of the other material on Come Around Sundown.

The rest of the album seems to be the Kings of Leon going for that U2-esque sound: guitars that swirl up into a wall of sound, uplifting choruses and mostly slower ballad-sounding anthems of epic proportions.

It still strikes me as iron-ic that the band members said they were setting out to make an album with a “grungier” and

“darker” sound that was “more connected to their southern roots.”

They got the southern part of it right (see song titles such as “Back Down South,” “Pony Up” and “Pickup Truck”), but the “grungier” and “darker” sound they so desired is nowhere to be found.

A band moving forward to a more mature sound isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it makes for a more bland-sounding album.

Caleb Followhill’s southern drawl is as intoxicat-ing as ever and the musical tal-ent is there in all aspects, but you can’t help but miss the old-er songs about life in the south.

The Kings seem destined to complete their ascent to the biggest band in the world, but their latest effort is not exactly worthy of the title.

FOLLOW UP: The three Followill brothers, Nathan, Caleb and Jared, with cousin Matthew Followill, pose on the sand photo courtesy of Google Images

I walked out of the Irvine Verizon Wireless Am-phitheater on October 12 with my brow furrowed, lost in thought. I put myself in the shoes of what one would call a “mel-low music hater” and made a steadfast effort to be objective. I pretended that I was some famous, grumbling, squinty-eyed and scruffy-faced music critic who could

-cal creation. (I may have even stroked my non-existent beard a few times, hoping that clar-ity would be induced by facial hair.) My attempts were un-successful: I still could not fathom how anybody could have disliked the two hours of pure nirvana that was the Jack Johnson “To the Sea” concert. The music was mellow in ev-ery way possible, but that was, of course, to be expected. Nobody was complain-ing. From new tracks such as

“At or With Me” to old favor-ites like “Bubble Toes,” John-son used a perfect combination of catchy melodies, simple lyr-ics and catchy guitar riffs. Johnson began his set with the popular single “You and Your Heart” from his lat-est album, To the Sea, which quickly had the entire crowd anticipating the 28 songs to come. On the surface, the song’s lyrics were no more complicated than a children’s book, but they were lovable for exactly that reason. If the track’s title wasn’t enough to convince you that the song was “heart-warming,” the approxi-mated 15,000 people in atten-dance would have been happy to attest to the strength of this single. Halfway through the show, Johnson was joined by special guest Paula Fuga. Fuga, whose vocals and uku-lele backing were among the night’s highlights, sang two du-ets with Johnson, one of which was a special performance of “Country Road.” Reminiscent of both performers’ island roots, the song was made particularly no-table by Fuga’s vocal strength.

Still not impressed? A perfectly in-tune Fuga, accompanied by Johnson, then whistled the entire chorus of the song. After the last song of his set, “Do You Remember?” was met with a relentless round of applause, Johnson retook the stage for a three-song en-core, which included the short ballad “My Little Girl,” the sweet love song “Angel” and of course, the crowd favorite, “Better Together.” Inviting all band mem-bers back to the stage for the

“Better Together” with a sur-prisingly new, upbeat rhythm. With tambourines, vocals and piano in perfect

-doubtedly Johnson’s best per-formance of the night. Before leaving for the night, Johnson, ever equipped with a humble smile, thanked the au-dience for supporting the “All at Once” community, an as-

that he had invited to the con-cert. Speaking passionately of his commitment to raising en-vironmental awareness, John-son revealed that 100 percent

concert tour would be donated to charity. That’s right—every single cent.

Forgive me, but not even a non-existent beard can con-vince me that Jack Johnson’s

performance at the “To the Sea” concert was anything short of amazing.

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photo courtesy of Google Images

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“Life” Better than Expected

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New Direction for “Glee”

It’s Really Kind of a Mediocre Movie

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UNDERCOVER: Keir Gilchrist of “The United States of Tara” plays Craig, a clinically depressed teen who checks him-

photo courtesy of Google Images

BABY STEPS: Katherine Heigl (“The Ugly Truth”) and Josh Duhamel (“Transformers”) become caretakers for orphan

Every now and then, I drive to one of those small movie theaters—you know, the ones with a serious health risk packaged with each ticket—to

don’t encourage using the word “indie” under most circum-stances, but if these movies

Anyhow, here’s what I’ve come to expect from my

70 percent of the time, you’re

budget, so introspective, so queer in nature that you leave the theater just plain confused; about 20 percent of the time,

in all ways, it might as well be

The last 10 percent is reserved for the execs of the

your very soul and make shady -

so highlighted by their unique qualities that they will haunt your thoughts for weeks, preying on your mind like the

ruthless lions of the African

insightful, thought provok-ing—these movies are the nectar of life in motion picture

“It’s Kind of a Funny

movie, in fact, falls into the most boring category, the 20

every way, and its mediocrity is the only quality keeping it from

The movie follows Craig (Keir Gilchrist), an ang-sty teenager who is clinically

causes him to commit suicide until he takes the initiative to check himself into the mental ward of Argenon hospital in

He meets an equally messed-up girl named Noelle (Emma Roberts) and Bobby

-phrenic guy; Craig’s new friends teach him to love and laugh and live and every other

Ultimately, he deems himself worthy of handling the burden of everyday life and vows to stress less and enjoy

This movie is a stan-dard rom-com in every aspect

besides the slightly off-putting

at times, moderately heart-warming at times and terribly

the pain you might get from

going to an “indie” theater, nor is it worth the food poisoning you’ll get from the concession

are two identical movies in the regular theaters right now, a fact that destroys the novelty of

In the end, if you’ve seen every movie average or above, this movie might not be a ter-

the movie resenting the fact that you spent $10 on a mid-

Nevertheless, I’d wait until its DVD release and watch

the movie entirely and watch

The new hit movie “Life as We Know It,” star-ring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, left me with

was worlds different from

I entered the theater with an unbiased opinion, simply because I had heard numerous mixed reviews from others, most of who

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love Katherine Heigl! It’ll probably be good!” to “Yeah,

I did not know what to expect, aside from the fact that this movie could be an-other quirky comedy that of-fered a few laughs and, in the end, left the audience

though, when my friends and

I left the movie, each one of us pleasantly surprised by

Though “Life as We Know It” is a romantic com-edy with a predictable ending, it doesn’t follow the typical

Holly Berenson (Kath-erine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) are thrown into the parenting world after their two mutual friends, Alison (Christina Hendricks) and Peter Novack (Hayes MacArthur),

Holly and Eric are forced to care for the Novack’s infant,

Eric have despised each other ever since their horrible date arranged by Alison and Peter

to endure one another, as their juxtaposing personalities must be combined under one roof

Heigl, previously seen in many hit movies such as “27 Dresses” and “The Ugly Truth,”

Though sticking to the same

type of character that she’s played before, this role gave her some freedom to explore different roles, such as those of a mother, a business owner

Katie Varela, said, “I feel like her performance in this was even better than hers in ‘27

was playing a similar role as a sort of controlling perfec-tionist, she still entertained me, and even more so than

Duhamel, known for his performances in the “Trans-formers” movies and in “When in Rome,” did a fantastic job depicting his young-money, slack-off, bad boy role, but

Heigl and Duhamel’s shifting chemistry within the movie is completely believ-able as the couple moves from

see the different facets of each

them so well that you forget the fact that Eric is a complete

jerk and you begin to hope that Holly and her new boy-

Know It” is a great date mov-

what movie to take her to, I’d

Then again, it is kind of a chick

my girl friends made quite an

was the perfect guy for Holly and that Eric was, at times, a

This is a movie that will take you on a journey that is both unique and en-

you are plunged through dra-matic twists and turns, won-

However, you’re sure to en-joy this insane ride of emo-

Family”—“Glee” is back for its second season, and its comedic and musical mo-

It’s a new school year at McKinley High, and new fac-

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to “Vocal Adrenaline” in the season’s opening episode, evi-dently adding to the tension be-

a talent like Pempengco, the “Glee” writers should have kept

episode or two before uproot-

The additional drama of this season sets it apart from

Kurt Hummel’s (Chris Colfer)

heart attack, thus setting the stage for a melodramatic epi-sode revolving around spiri-

dispute amongst fans with re-

Throughout the season Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

girlfriend” and continues to force her cringe-worthy, over-the-top personality on view-

-trolling antics will proceed to annoy viewers, as they will eventually tire (if we haven’t already) of the unncessary dra-

dashing dentist, is introduced -

tunately, his character seems to have been created solely for the viewing pleasure of

Emma and Carl do not pos-

Along with the esca-lated drama of season two, episodes focused on either particular characters or spe-

The music of this season

more emotional but just as relevant as the previous sea-

Mercedes consoles Kurt in the third episode with her unique

-kel’s classic, contemporary hit

Additionally, popu-lar hits, such as “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy and “Em-

pleased the younger audiences, who are accustomed to singing along with these chart-toppers

Cheerleader Quinn Fab-ray (Dianna Agron) accom-

“Lucky,” originally sung by

which struck me as too squeaky clean and contradictory to

Rocky Horror fans are undoubtedly an-ticipating tonight’s cult

Hopefully, season two

-cratic, “out there,” and degrad-ing comments, often made to-

Personally, I favor the humor of season one because “Glee” was a breath of fresh

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Luckily, season two has succeeded in preserv-ing the audience’s attention without compromising the enthusiasm for music that has

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By Madeline DiamondSports Editor

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IN THE ZONE: Perfecting her stance, sophomore Catherine Sammon prepares to tee off at the El Niguel Country Club.

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By Sara GoldCopy Editor

Serving Competitors, Breaking Records

On Monday, Oct. 26, the Dolphins competed against Capo Valley; results were not available at press time. The girls also defeated Mater Dei, 16-2, on Monday, Oct. 25, which was the team’s annual “Senior Day.” Three matches scheduled for October 19-21 could not take place due to rain.

The matches against Tesoro and Laguna Hills, origi-nally planned for October 19 and October 21, respectively, have both been postponed to Monday, Nov. 1. The cancelled match against University (Oc-tober 20) will not be resched-uled.

Dana Hills’ annual Coastal Classic Tournament took place on Friday, Oct. 15 and Saturday, Oct. 16. The Dolphins’ number 1 squad won the entire competition.

The Dolphins defeated

Torrey Pines in a tiebreaker -

petition. According to coach Mark Spearman, “Torrey Pines’s athletic director and girls’ varsity tennis coach con-gratulated us for winning. It

from her that Torrey Pines hon-estly lost to a better team with great sportsmanship.”

On Thursday, Oct. 14, the girls triumphed against San

of 11-7.“San Clemente’s singles

have good depth. Even though we started out down, our girls were able to come back and win.”

“Since me and Jessica are best friends off the court, we have really high energy and keep each other’s spirits up during our matches,” said junior Jacqueline Stewart, who

REACH: Sophomore Alyssa Smith follows through on an offensive forehand stroke.

photo by Quinn Mahony

won one doubles match with junior Jessica Wilcox.

Freshman Margo Pletcher commented, “Corona del Mar was a pretty tough school, but our players were able to perform well and pull it through.” She and sophomore Cassidy Spearman won all three of their doubles matches.

TEAM OF TWO: Senior Rebecca Winkle and freshman A.J. Gomer dominate in their doubles match against San Clemente.

photo by Quinn Mahony

were tough, especially their number 1 player,” commented team captain Rebecca Winkle. “However, our doubles stepped up, and we dominated.”

The Dolphins’ scheduled match against Laguna Hills on Tuesday, Oct. 5 was postponed to Wednesday, Oct. 13 due to rain. On October 13, the girls defeated Laguna Hills, 16-2.

On Thursday, Oct. 7, the girls dominated Capo Valley, achieving a 15-3 victory.

“Our team played really well that day,” said sophomore Jessica Perez, who played sin-gles. “The energy was really high; we were all cheering each other on and helping each other out.”

However, during a dou-bles match, team captain Jo-anna Smith suffered a fall, re-sulting in a fractured left wrist. Despite the fact that she must wear a cast on her left arm for a few weeks, Smith was able to return to tennis within a few days.

cast, I was afraid I would be out for the whole season,” ex-plained Smith. “It’s been hard to master new strokes in just a

-ured out a way to toss the ball for serving, and I’m working on my one-handed top-spin backhand and my splice back-hand.”

The Dolphins competed against Corona del Mar on Wednesday, Oct. 6 and won, 12-6.

“Corona del Mar is al-

coach Justin Green. “Their team is really strong, but we

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Polo Closes Season with 3-2 League Record

In almost every sport, your coaches preach the same thing: “follow through.” Fol-low through with your throws. Follow through with your swings. The boys’ water polo

-lowed through with its suc-cesses.

On Saturday, Oct. 23, the day of the Homecoming dance, the boys faced Los Osos and acheived a 11-10 win.

The Dolphins competed

against Mission Viejo on Fri-day, Oct. 22. The game was originally scheduled for Tues-day, Oct. 19 but was postponed because of last week’s sudden thunderstorm. On October 22, the game came to a close with an 8-7 win.

The Dolphins clashed against San Clemente on Thursday, Oct. 21 in a vicious

12. In the end, despite the loss, the boys walked away with a feeling of what challenges are

the season.“We need to bring the ef-

fort we show in games into the pool when we practice,” admit-

ted senior Larson Pfeil.On Thursday, Oct. 14,

the boys played Canyon on their home turf. After an inten-sive 28 minutes, the game came to a close with a 20-5 win. The team really showed off its their skills with an aggressive of-fense and solid defense.

During the past two weeks, the boys have competed against El Toro and Laguna Beach. Both games ended in losses, 5-11 and 7-12, respec-tively.

“The games were well-played, but they were tough teams,” said senior Danny He-redia.

Despite these losses, the

By Sara VandegriftSports Editor

STRUGGLE: Reaching for the ball, senior Sam Fitzmaurice competes with his opponent as sophomore Sam Pfeil joins the effort.

photo by Emma Werderman photo by Emma Werderman

RACING: Senior Larson Pfeil attempts to gain an offensive advantage by beating his El Toro opponent to the other side.

boys have shown success in tournaments.

On September 30 through October 1, the Dol-phins competed in the Villa Park Tournament. The week-end began on a positive note with a win against J. Serra, 16-12, and another against Ca-thedral, 10-8. However, after two triumphs, the boys began to struggle.

The next three games, against El Toro, Huntington Beach and La Serna, ended in losses with scores of 4-12, 8-13 and 16-20, respectively.

“We technically didn’t do poorly in the tournament because we were in the upper

bracket of a very high-level tournament, so we just played some really good teams,” said senior Sam Fitzmaurice. At the end of the weekend, Dana placed eighth.

“We played hard as a team, but they were strong opponents and put up a good

said. The boys also played

against Laguna Hills and com-peted in the South Coast Tour-nament, both huge successes in the boys’ season so far. The La-guna Hills game was played in the Hawks’ pool, but the Dol-phins still overcame the chal-lenge, 13-7.

In the South Coast Tour-nament, the team started out with a 5-12 loss against La-guna Beach, but the boys came back strong, earning a 10-8 win against University. The boys maintained the intensity with two wins, one against Santa Barbara, 11-6, and one against Mission Viejo, 11-9. The day concluded with a close game against La Canada with a 13-12 win.

When asked if they could change anything about the season, the Dolphins all agreed that this season, wins, losses and fouls included, was one of the best yet, and they wouldn’t change a thing.

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By Taylor SteinbeckEntertainment Editor

Volleyball Girls Trump Rival Teams

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The lady Dolphins had a home game against Trabuco Hills on Monday, Oct.25; re-sults were not available at press time.

The team remains solid with a record of 3-1 against ri-val schools San Clemente, Tra-buco Hills, El Toro and Capo Valley.

Beginning round two of league competition, the girls played against San Clemente on Thursday, Oct. 21, which

two months. Although they lost by

four games, the girls succeeded -

tal games against the Tritons, which has not been accom-plished by any of the other teams in the league.

The Dolphins also tri-umphed in shutting out a key player on San Clemente’s team, Alexa Strange. Freshman Nik-ki Matheis contributed to this strategy by achieving a block that allowed the girls to win one game.

Senior Taylor Arizobal was victorious in shutting out San Clemente’s outside hitters.

Commented senior Shellsy Ashen, “With a team as good as San Clemente, you need people that can put up a solid block everytime, and [Ar-

Senior Sarah Dean played an effective defensive game, completing an impres-

sive 24 digs. Despite the loss, the

team performed solidly, with players including Carys Greer, Hannah Brozek and Kelsey Werner completing consistent plays with little to no errors.

A rare feat in the sport of volleyball was accomplished during the week of October 11-15. The lady Dolphins de-feated both El Toro and Capo Valley without allowing their opposition to win any games.

Ashen commended her team’s performance: “The games were pretty close, but we were able to handle the tight situations and do what we

On Thursday, Oct. 14, the lady Dolphins effectively triumphed over Capo Valley in just three games as a result of focus, strong sets and unswerv-ing passes.

Despite the confusion of an unexpected change in posi-tions between freshman Tia Scambray and Ashen, the girls still managed to squash their league rivals.

Standouts included Ar-izobal, who achieved 18 kills and three blocks. Working to-gether, Dean and Greer made multiple saves from the back row.

Continuing their new-found success, the lady Dol-phins were the victors once again in their match versus El Toro on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

This match was won in merely three games due to the players’ unanimous determina-tion.

Standout players includ-ed Greer with 12 kills, Dean

with 18 digs and Werner, who

helped the team build up mo-mentum.

Greer said, “In both matches, everyone played great. I really think we’re start-

On Thursday, Oct. 7, the lady Dolphins clenched their

-buco Hills. Winning in four games, the girls executed cru-cial plays that contributed to their victory.

Although the Dolphins

games, the Mustangs came from behind to win the next game. Down to the wire, the Dolphins risked losing the up-per hand if their opponents were to win the next game.

score was tied at 23 when Dean

in volleyball jargon, she made

She then passed to Greer, who tipped the ball over the net for the win.

“We were very consis--

mented Arizobal, who achieved 12 kills and four blocks in the match. “Carys Greer passed really well, Shellsy Ashen was setting amazing and Han-nah Brozek had two amazing

of the season was away at San Clemente on Tuesday, Oct. 5.

Far from easy competi-tion, San Clemente’s team has conquered league for the past four consecutive years. The lady Dolpins were defeated in three games.

REACH FOR THE SKY: Senior Kelsey Werner and freshman Tia Scambray work to-gether to ward off Fountain Valley’s offense.

“It was really hard to

Brozek admitted. “We didn’t play much like ourselves that night, and it was a really tough

The Dolphins struggled

to maintain their typcial com-posure. Many serves were missed, and the team was un-able to ward off the Tritons’ sharp and accurate offense.

“Our goal for the begin-ning of this season was to go

we lost to San Clemente, our

explained Dean. “As long as we stay consistent, we should have a good chance at competing with San Clemente for league

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By Jimmy FallonOpinion Editor

Locked in Tight Race to Finish Line

Momentum Lost After Halftime Tie

By Natalie BenrubiSports Editor

SPRINT: Senior Trent Mason leads the pack towards a photo by Quinn Mahony photo by Quinn Mahony

Mt. Sac On Saturday, Oct. 23,

the team competed at Mt. San Antonio College for the world’s largest (and one of the country’s oldest) invitationals.

“Be on the podium, or don’t go at all,” said Head Coach Rex Hall regarding the girls’ goal to compensate at Mt. Sac for their “off-day” at the Orange County Champs. In other words, the girls went for top three.

“We went into Mt. Sac with something to prove: [our] varsity team was the fourth fastest in the school’s history. [Junior] Sheridan Gomez was the fourth to ever break 18 min-utes on the course,” Hall com-mended.

Overall, the team placed

placed 16; therefore, the Dol-

league.The boys placed second

in the sweepstakes race and were beat out solely by Arca-dia. Fortunately, their 87 points defeated Trabuco Hills’ 91.

Orange County Champs

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams were defeated by Trabu-

co Hills on Saturday, Oct. 16.The girls placed ninth

overall, much lower than the team had hoped for, but they will return for a second chance

With a score of 62, the

San Clemente

The Dolphins started out strong, with a 21-7 lead

However, a breakdown by the defense allowed the Tritons to climb back. Triton player Ter-rell Johnson’s kickoff return of 70 yards was advantageous for San Clemente.

At halftime, both teams were tied, 28-28. Only one

-ond half: which team wanted to win the most? The Tritons’ defense delivered a remarkable

the Tritons impeded the Dol-phins offensive attempts and forced them to punt from the 43 yard line.

During the second half, -

terback Trent Mason three times. San Clemente also pre-vented the Dolphins from earn-ing a single point in the second half. San Clemente secured a 42-28 victory.

Mason had 112 yards and three touchdowns. The rushing game was impressive with a total of 247 yards. San Clemente’s defense strength-ened in the second half and held

Mission Viejo

Mission Viejo struck early with a 77-yard pass from sophomore Alex Bridgford to senior Bryan Keller. The Dol-phins responded to the Diablos’

touchdown run, which tied the score. Bridgford then passed to

Keller once again, bringing the Diablos’ lead to 14-7 at the end

The Dolphins fought

with a picture-perfect 51-yard

Beckley that cut the score to 14-10. Senior Chris Kearney intercepted one of Bridgford’s passes, setting the stage for more aggressive game play.

At the 8:57 mark of the

an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kearney, opening a lead over the Diablos. However, Mission

Viejo’s all-star running back lit up the crowd with an 80-yard

drive, regaining the lead for the Diablos. The half ended with the score 31-20 in favor of Mis-sion Viejo.

After halftime, the Diab-los scored twice, grabbing a 45-20 lead by the end of the third

Throughout the game, Mason carried the ball 56 yards and was 14 for 21 passing for 213 yards and a touchdown.

At the conclusion of the

won 52-26, leaving the boys 3-4, 0-1 in league play. Mission Viejo remains undefeated.

Capistrano Valley

with an interception and ended with a 7-7 tie. By halftime, the Dolphins had distinguished themselves with a 16-7 lead.

the boys in blue, running up an impressive 23-7 lead.

added three points, and Kear-ney added six more with a two-

yard touchdown. Kearney then lit up the scoreboard with a 33-yard touchdown reception.

Capo fought back with Aurello Fajardo’s three-yard touchdown, followed by a 33-yard pass from Mason Dossey to Cole Winninghoff; this cut the gap to 23-20 late in the

-ter, the Dolphins’ defense pre-vented the Cougars from fur-ther scoring.

Junior Colton Freedman recovered a fumble 25 yards from the Cougars’ touchdown

three more points to the score-board, giving Dana Hills a 33-20 lead. Kearney then snagged an interception that set the stage for the Dolphin offense.

With 5:20 remaining, se-nior Tyler Shirozono motored 36 yards for another touch-down, securing the Dolphins’ commanding 40-20 lead. He also led the ground attack with an impressive 113 yards. A des-perate scoring attempt by Capo closed a hard-fought game, which concluded with a blue and white 40-27 victory.

HEAD-ON COLLISION: Junior Will McKinley and senior Tanner Denso crush Tritons

boys fell just short of Trabuco’s 58 points, placing Trabuco at second in the county.

South Coast League Cluster

“That’s what we’re all

about – training for each other, working for each other and giv-ing our all for each other,” said senior Connor Kaddatz.

On Thursday, Oct. 7, the boys out-maneuvered both Trabuco Hills and and San Cle-

mente. “The kids really came to

race and did exactly what they had to do to win,” Head Coach Tim Butler praised.

Butler added, “Not ev-eryone performed their best,

meant a lot.”With a 4 and 1 record,

the boys’ 1-5 gap was 20 sec-onds.

“Kaddatz and Lynn were the key factors that made the difference,” said Butler. Kad-

14:53. With four runners under

18 minutes, the girls nabbed second, beating San Clemente, a threat the previous season.

“[The girls] did every-thing a coach could ask for,” said Hall.

“We just ran up against a superior team on that particular day,” said Hall, referring to the

Hills. He continued, “We’re

encouraged because Trabuco is ranked second in the state, and our team times were within 10 seconds of each other.”

Six of the seven girls achieved personal records, and the race served as three girls’

The gap between the

runners was 44 seconds, from junior Sheridan Gomez’s time of 17:23 to sophomore Brooke Dorsey’s 18:07.

“We are laughingly call-ing ourselves ‘the Phoenix team’ like the bird rising from the ashes,” said Hall about the girls’ prospects of physical re-covery by the season’s end.

WHITE KNIGHTS:

photo by Emily Cullen