issue 6 2011-2012

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Issue 6 Volume XXXIX

www.trojantimes.org

March 8, 2012

ORDER IN THE COURTFor the first time ever, the Hawaii Supreme Court convened at a high school

President Malina Reyes, 11 President Britney Ann Corrales, 12 President Lauren Dias, 12 President Brianna Daranciang, 12

Photo courtesy of assistant coach Chad Diamond

ONE TROJAN, FOUR SPORTSMarch Trojan of the Monthis awarded to Sophomore Dayton Furuta

By Reagan [email protected]

By Ramil Lorenzo [email protected]

By Jenny [email protected]

HOSABy Jessica [email protected]

FCCLA

MHS’ Future Farmers of Amer-ica (FFA) let their green thumbs show by taking multiple top three spots in the 2012 FFA State Com-petition which was held from Feb. 21 to 23 at the Hawaii Convention Center. All of MHS’ FFA members that participated placed either first, second or third.

MHS students made an impres-sion at the SkillsUSA State Con-ference held from Feb. 22 to 23 at the Hawaii Convention Center. Five teams won gold in their categories: Internetworking, Promotional Bul-letin Board, Television and Video Production, Related Technical Math and Mobile Robotics.

Exceeding the number of high placing students from previous years, five students from MHS’ Family Career Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) club brought home gold medals at the annual Hawaii State Career and Techni-cal Student Organization (CTSO) convention.

On Feb. 22 and 23, the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) represented MHS at the statewide HOSA competition at the Hawaii Con-vention Center. Forty-one MHS students participated in the com-petition and 25 students placed in the top three of their categories.

The Varsity boys wrestling team takes OIA championship title, first time in school history

First HHSAA title for Varsity boys soccer since 2004

OFF TO NATIONALS

Wrestling OIA

Soccer HHSAA

CTSO competitors battle their way to the top, bring home several gold medals

FFASkillsUSA

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News Trojan LifeFourteen projects go to NHD state competition

Three students advance to International Science and Engineering Fair

Feature SportsBlast from the Past: fashion reappearances

Several new coaches join MHS sports teams

EditorialLaws alone won’t stopcyberbullying

InteractiveCoin of Fate: where will you land?

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

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“They always amaze me (by) how much they can ac-complish without me since I’m so busy helping run the overall conference pro-gram with the state officers,” said HOSA adviser Candace Chun. The competition which consisted of 24 different events, competitive and rec-ognition, included the partici-pation of hundreds of stu-dents from around the state as more schools are getting involved in the nationally recognized program. “It’s get-ting harder because every-one is working harder in all chapters and there are more people competing each year … it’s amazing that every-one always pulls it off,” said Chun. However, these results did not happen overnight. Each MHS HOSA member had been recruited at the beginning of the year. “Some students started studying from this summer after the national conference (and) I also started the school year recruiting and asking them what event they wanted to compete in,” said Chun. With time manage-ment and practice, members

prepared for their events throughout the school year, however, the most important practice was the night before their events when alumni were brought back to coach the present HOSA members. “This year, Brittney Acoba, Joleen-Taylor Baxa, Nikki Kawahara and Allen Orense called me to ask if they could come to help coach. Ruel Reyes used to come and help me critique their speeches and help polish them up before they face the judges. So, they are now giving back because they know it helped them win at nationals,” explained Chun. After a long night of critiquing one another, the HOSA members awaited the results and found that more than half of the team would move on to nationals. “I was

so nervous. As each event before mine was called, the tension built up. (But) after my event had been called and I had placed, I felt so much relief because I did not need to worry about how I performed. I felt a sense of happiness and joy because I realized I had been given the opportunity to compete at a national level,” expressed second year HOSA member Junior Teri Kawasaki. The students who placed in the top three of each category will go to Orlando, Fla. this summer to compete in the HOSA National Lead-ership Conference planned for June 20 to 23, only three months away. The members are preparing for a challenge as well as an opportunity to meet those with the same interests in medicine.

HOSA Winners

As the results were announced after a long wait, HOSA members cheered their fellow teammates on when relief replaced anxiety.

AGRICULTURE DEMONSTRATION:First Place: Kira Hamamura and Harley RamosSecond Place: Samantha Larita and Jaimelyn Buenaventura

FFA

“I’m super happy that all their hard work paid off, (it) gets them excited, and hopefully it carries on to the next year,” said FFA adviser Jeffrey Yamaguchi. “I’m super proud, we did amazing, we have like the biggest group, and every-one won something at least, so I was happy for all of them,” added Sophomore Jaimelyn Buenaventura, who placed second in Agricul-ture Demonstration. In addition to the Agri-culture Demonstration, FFA also participated in Corsage Making, Creed Recitation, Educational Display, Job Interview, Ornamental Plant Identification and Prepared Public Speaking categories. Students were placed in a category based on their individual strengths. “Part of it is their choosing, but also part of it is me kind of telling them what they should enter, and what they would be good at,” said

Yamaguchi. Since FFA is also a class, they use the class time to practice for their competitions. “We don’t have to come in after school, and weekends. So it makes it a lot easier for practicing,” explained Yama-guchi. However, members like Buenaventura felt that class time wasn’t enough. “I would stress out because I had to memorize this, remember the questions, and stuff like that. It was just a lot to think about,” she said. The members feel that there were several aspects to attribute their success to. “We have a lot of return-ing FFA members, and they’re more experienced in competition, but we’re (also) a really close club and we’re all like family,” said Junior Nolan Cabal-lero, who placed first in the Ornamental Plant Identifica-tion category and second in Prepared Public Speaking. Members like Cabal-lero feel that their personal enjoyment of agriculture also contributed to their

success. “(The Plant Iden-tification) was something I really enjoyed studying ... I have a passion for agricul-tural things, especially, like, plants,” he said. Despite placing in all of their categories, only FFA President Senior Lauren Dias, who placed first in the Job Interview category, will compete at the National level. “Hawaii FFA was organized after the National

FFA Winners

Junior Nolan Caballero (right) placed first along with Junior Courtney Wilson in the Ornamental Plant Identification category, where they had to identify 100 different plants.

Continued from Page 1

HOSA

FFA, so we made our own contest. Only about three of our competitions line up with nationals. So, we only send (some of them),” explained Yamaguchi. The National FFA Convention will be held in Indianapolis, Ind. from Oct. 24 to 26. Members will continually strive to im-prove their skills while also looking for new members.

Mason MatsuoFirst Place:

PHARMACOLOGY:Kailee YogiFirst Place:

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY:Tyler WilsonSecond Place:

CLINICAL SPECIALTY:First Place: Teri Kawasaki

CONCEPTS IN HEALTH CARE:

MEDICAL READING: First Place (tie):Brianna Daranciang, Kerri Niino and Rachel Sakuma

GROUP EVENTS

First Place (tie):Princess Lynne De Dios, Myla Pereira and Tricie Steen

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: First Place:Amanda Bejerana, Fejieriech Luz Lopez, Mart Joshua Lopez and Alvin Norman Orense

CAREER HEALTH DISPLAY: Second Place:Kari Ikeda and Alohilani NoniesFourth Place:Melanie Pacpaco and Jacqueline Fry

HEALTH EDUCATION:First Place:Jae Yun Lee and Lyanne Lu

FORENSIC MEDICINE:Second Place:Enoki and Toni Mitsumoto

COMMUNITY AWARENESS: Third Place:Nguyen, Jessica Pontes and Alyssa Nicole Vallesteros

RECOGNITION EVENTSBARBARA JAMES SERVICE/PRESIDENTIAL SERVICE AWARD: 250+ Hours:Enoki, Jacqueline Fry and Melanie Pacpaco100+ Hours:Rachel Sakuma and Lauren Young

Ashley Aczon,

Kylee Ann

Lehua I, Valerie

Kylee Ann

Alohilani Nonies,

50+ Hours: Danica Quevedoand Tricie Steen

NATIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAM PORTFOLIO: Kylee Ann Enoki

NATIONAL SERVICE PROJECT:Layne Kishi

OUTSTANDING STATE LEADER AWARD:Brianna Daranciang

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

CORSAGE MAKING:Third Place:Thomas Roach and Stephen DewaldCREED RECITATION:Third Place: Clarissa Jean PonceEDUCATIONAL DISPLAY:First Place: Alysia Maddison, Blayze Badiny and Dayton FurutaJOB INTERVIEW:First Place: Lauren DiasORNAMENTAL PLANT IDENTIFICATION:First Place: NolanCaballero and Courtney Wilson

PREPARED PUBLIC SPEAKING: Second Place: Nolan Caballero

Photo courtesy of HOSA adviser Candace Chun

Photo courtesy of FFA adviser Jeffrey Yamaguchi

Third Place: Joshua Carter and Clarissa Jean Ponce


SkillsUSAContinued from Page 1

SkillsUSA Winners

INTERNETWORKINGFirst Place:

Second Place:James Lim

Anthony KuloloiaThird Place:

Brayton Acoba

JOB INTERVIEWSecond Place:

Gabrielle Reznik

JOB SKILLS DEMOSecond Place:

Taryn Kimura

PROMOTIONALBULLETIN BOARDFirst Place:

Britney Ann Corrales

RELATED TECHNICAL MATHFirst Place:

Stephen MauSecond Place:

Shawn Tanaka

VIDEO PRODUCTIONFirst Place:

Elizabeth GustafsonErin Hisamoto

Third Place:Justin CalpitoJason Schaake

MOBILE ROBOTICSFirst Place:

Clayton DaileyGlenn Galvizo Jr.

Second Place:Tayler Fernandez-Dizon

Ryan Taketa

Photo courtesy of Sophomore Kimi Knitter

Of the SkillsUSA members that competed in the state conference, 16 placed in the top three in their respective categories, with seven placing first and advancing to the national competition.

“I can’t even explain it, but when they called my name, dear goodness, I was shocked,” expressed Promo-tional Bulletin Board win-ner and SkillsUSA President Senior Britney Ann Cor-rales, who won gold in her division, “I was so excited that I screamed just a tad bit. As I was walking to get my award, I was shak-ing a lot. I felt like crying,” she continued. SkillsUSA is an organi-zation consisting of students involved in a career or technical education program, and annual conferences are held that test the students’ proficiency in their corre-sponding divisions. Out of the 29 students that compet-ed in nine events this year, 16 placed in the top three in each category. “I am hap-py the students represented (MHS) in a positive way,” said SkillsUSA adviser Tom Falenofoa, “Everyone gained skills beyond their peers and I think they enjoyed themselves.” Corrales was tasked with designing a board that advertised SkillsUSA and presenting it to a panel of judges, this year’s theme being “Skilled and Mo-tivated.” “I’ve done this

competition before last year, and it was an amazing experience,” she said, “I got second place in the division, and I really didn’t expect much out of (it) honestly. Knowing that I’d enter the competition again this year … I was sort of confident in my competition.” In the Internetworking category, all of the top three spots were filled by MHS students, including first place winner Senior James Lim. “The instructor would give us a few problems and we had to troubleshoot it and make it work,” he explained, “(I felt) tranquil. I calmed myself down and

the test was incredibly easy,” he added. A similar as-suredness was exhibited by Related Technical Math first place winner Junior Stephen Mau, who commented, “the concepts aren’t too difficult. Once you find the concept you should be able to cal-culate it easily.” This quick thinking and preparedness paid off, with seven students advancing to the national competi-tion in Kansas City, Miss., to be held from June 23 to 27. “(I’ll just) study a little bit and go into nation-als with high hopes,” Mau said. “There’s a lot to do, but it won’t be as stressful

as before, hopefully,” Cor-rales added, “But overall, I enjoyed just being at com-petition with my friends and advisers, meeting new faces, seeing old friends and just experiencing being at the conference.” Falenofoa commented, “I hope we win at the nation-als, of course, but the fact that our students are com-peting against the best in the country is enough for me.” Both the advisers and the students are looking forward to a successful performance at the national SkillsUSA conference this summer.

FCCLAContinued from Page 1

FCCLA Winners

CULINARYGold:

Malina Reyes

Silver:Alison Bowne Ikeda

Lindsey Hisamoto

FOCUS ON CHILDRENGold:

Michelle Tsuda

Jaycie Ige

JOB INTERVIEWGold:

Rachael Ryan

LIFE EVENT PLANNINGGold:

Shelby Nakamura

CAREER INVESTIGATION

Silver:Alana Bonsilao

&

&

“That’s the highest that I’ve ever had … last year (there were) four students,” said MHS FCCLA adviser Karla Deguchi. On Feb. 23, the day of the event, every student that competed earned either a gold, silver, or bronze medal based on the score they received on their project. Those who got top scores went to nationals. Categories included Culi-nary, Focus on Children, Job Interview, Life Event Plan-ning and Career Investiga-tion. Each section is associ-ated with a core class held at MHS, including Culinary I and II, Public and Human Services Career Pathway Core, Explorations in Edu-cation and Early Childhood Education. All categories required practice and preparation, which were essential for success. “(It’s) just being familiar with their whole

projects, that way when they do get asked any questions they know exactly what to answer,” said MHS’ sec-ond adviser Jamie Ludwig. For students with presenta-tion projects, the practice of speech and content was important, while those in the culinary category practiced skills they would need at the competition. Three menus were given to culinary students by the national FCCLA associa-tion in December for them to practice. At the competi-tion, the team’s chef chose one menu for the students to cook, the tasks of which were split among them. “I didn’t know what to expect (this year) at all … I was very surprised and extremely ecstatic … because I won gold,” said gold winner and MHS FCCLA President Malina Reyes. All three of the menus consisted of three separate components that re-quired skills that were taught in their culinary class. These menus included the main dish with its side dish and

the third part of the menu, which was either a salad or a dessert. Judging on the five cat-egories differed depending on the projects that the students were presenting. Senior Ra-chael Ryan, who won a gold medal for her Job Interview project, was judged on a job application she had to com-plete in ten minutes, then on a mock interview she had to perform with her judges. “I was super excited that I won gold this year because I get another opportunity to go to

nationals,” said Ryan, who won a gold medal last year with her career investigation project. Unlike last year, instead of going with her team, Reyes will go to nationals with two other students, one from Lahainaluna, who she tied top scores with, and the other from Leilehua. This team, along with those who took gold with their individ-ual projects, will be going to Orlando, Fla. in the summer to compete at nationals.

Photo courtesy of FCCLA adviser Karla Deguchi

Students with presentation projects had the option of using a PowerPoint, binder, or scrapbook to showcase their topics.


MHS advances through history, sends 14 NHD projects to state level

On Feb. 25, the Cen-tral District National His-tory Day (NHD) Fair was held at MHS, and displayed projects from Aiea High School, MHS, Moanalua High School and Waialua High School. In the end, 15 projects were chosen to advance to the state level competition, 14 of which were from MHS. Along with the projects from MHS, 15 elementary school projects also advanced to the state level, from Mililani Ike and Mililani Waena. “I’m really proud of the students from (MHS) and I think that it’s wonderful because this year … a lot of the teachers have students moving on and in different categories, so I think that this will be an interesting state competition,” comment-ed Social Studies teacher Amy Perruso. Judges from MHS’ school level NHD fair, held in December, chose the proj-ects that were displayed at

the district competition. Ten projects were chosen from the research paper, documen-tary and performance catego-ries while 20 projects were chosen from each of the website and exhibit catego-ries. A total of 70 projects from MHS competed at the district level. Of those, only three projects in each category advanced to the state level. “I’m still a little shocked but I’m definitely happy about it,” said Sopho-more Adriene Unpingco, whose website was chosen for the state competition. Students feel that this year’s theme, “Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History,” helped them choose a wide variety of topics for their project. “I thought it was a good theme, because it was broad enough to al-low a lot of different ideas from history,” explained Sophomore Myla Pereira, whose performance advanced to states. Unlike previous years, elementary school students participated in the event this year. In addition to the

Junior and Senior divisions, there was also a youth divi-sion. “It was really nice to see the kids up on the stage and so proud of their work and so excited about be-ing recognized,” said Per-ruso, continuing, “I knew the hours that had gone into those projects, so it’s nice to see them feel like that.” The elementary school students that competed were associated with the His-tory Heroes, who are MHS students that helped elemen-tary school students work on their history projects. The children’s projects will move on to states with the Junior and Senior divisions. Students who advanced to states must make neces-sary changes to their proj-ects. “I plan on spending a lot of my time doing more research, finding more pri-mary sources and documen-taries to put on my web-site,” explained Unpingco. Although NHD may seem like a school project, students feel it is much more. “(NHD) allows us to pick something that we feel

is interesting from the past and focus on it ... also it al-lows us to learn other stuff by watching other people’s projects ... so it’s more of an interactive way to learn history,” said Pereira. The state competition will be held at Leeward Community College some-time in April.


Caring about character: Mililani Town Association hosts seventh annual Character Counts fair

Freshmen Lindsey Cambra (above), Cami Shiroma and Alex Noveloso did a performance on the Evolution of Hula. Their project was one of the 14 that advanced to the state competiton.

Reagan Paz | Trojan Times

2012 - 2013 ASMHS ELECTION WINNERS

By Jessica [email protected]

At Mililani’s annual Character Counts fair, ad-ministrators from the com-plex schools tried to expose students to the values of the Six Pillars of Character. The theme this year was Car-ing, so the schools tried to showcase what it means to be caring through booths, performances and poster contests. “It’s usually up to the vice principals who kind of coordinate and put every-thing together,” said MHS Vice Principal Robin Miller. The vice principals from the complex schools: Waena, Uka, Mauka, Ike, Kipapa, Mililani Middle and MHS, not only worked together to promote Character Counts values at the fair, but also individually at each of their respective schools. Char-acteristics from the pillars evaluate the idea that hav-ing trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship in a student’s personality helps further their education.

Out of all the vice principals from the seven Mililani schools, one is cho-sen every two to three years to be in charge of making arrangements for the event. Mililani Ike Vice Principal Chad Matsuda was cho-sen as coordinator for both this year and last year. “In collaboration with (Mililani Town Center) and their mar-keting company here, we’re able to set up services as to asking permission to using the gazebo … (and) asking permission to advertise to … put this event on,” explained Matsuda. Having contributed to the event for four years, Matsuda has seen the type of effect the fair has had on the community. To prepare students for the fair, a poster con-test was held between each school and their principals announce the winners during the event. The winners from MHS’ poster contest for this year were Senior Tori Kaya, who took first place, Sophomore Tiffany Wright, who won second and Junior Chelsea Medrano, who took third place.

Senior Lauren Martini, who helped the MHS Leo Club booth, has been attend-ing the fair since elementary school and knows that each school’s booth has a way of encouraging good character. “(It’s) not just only giving free stuff away,” said Mar-tini, “It’s … like the fishing game that (MHS has), every time (someone) gets a fish, they have to answer a ques-tion about caring.” The Character Counts fair will be held again in February of next year, where families and schools will continue the tradition of par-ticipating in the celebration. It is these types of events that show students from el-ementary to high school just why character counts.

PresidentEvan Wilson

Vice PresidentKaycee Oyama

Corresponding SecretaryCassandra Stetser

Recording SecretaryKa ena Maeda

TreasurerTyler Atiburcio

“I’m very much look-ing forward to assuming the position of ASMHS president next year. This is my opportunity to have a meaningful impact on the school, and I plan to

take advantage of it.”

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Character Counts Fair video story

By Caitlin [email protected]

Courts in the Community: MHS and Farrington witness Supreme Court hearing

Thursday, March 8, 2012 5

Court was in session at Farrington High School on Feb. 16 as a part of the newly established Courts in the Community program. Students from Farrington as well as MHS were given the unique opportunity to listen to oral arguments as they watched the Hawaii Supreme Court convene for the first time at a high school. “We think the future of our democracy depends on our citizens’ understanding of the constitution and the protection as it applies to how the court system works. So we wanted to get out in the community and in particular reach out to this generation of students,” said Chief Justice Mark Reckten-wald. Farrington High School was chosen as the site of the event because of their experience hosting similar events and their informal relationship with the Univer-sity of Hawaii William S.

said Social Studies teacher Jason Duncan. Members of the Ha-waii Supreme Court hoped to teach the students about the role of the court in a democracy and help them realize that a career in law is attainable. “We hope that the students see that we’re just regular people who do these kinds of jobs and the

Richardson School of Law. MHS was also invited to at-tend because of their interest in civic education. “I’m very happy about it, I’m glad the chief justice decided to have the event at Farrington. I think it’s a good place to start and I think it’s a good thing for people who have graduated from Farrington and became lawyers,” ex-plained Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, a graduate of Farrington High School. In the hearing, students were given the opportunity to witness attorneys arguing a case regarding the reli-ability of eyewitness identi-fication. “Now I know how court proceedings actually go on, especially in history we do mock trials all the time,” said MHS Sophomore Carson Turner. They have been prepar-ing throughout the year by analyzing the case in class. “We went through and did a whole analysis of the case itself and the rationale for the public court ruling. And also, we went through and did a moot court procedure,”

future is theirs,” said Asso-ciate Justice Sabrina McK-enna. Since this is the first time that the public got the chance to watch the Hawaii Supreme Court convene at a high school, attendees felt that they had gained invaluable knowledge. “It was really cool to see the actual Supreme Court be-

cause we’ve been learning so much about it in class so it makes it more relatable and more interesting,” said MHS Freshman Kalli Marie Hirasa. The justices hope to continue this event at least once each school year and plan on eventually expand-ing it to include the neigh-bor islands.

Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, along with four other justices, took part in a question and answer session exclusively for students after the hearing of oral arguments.

Caitlin Kelly | Trojan Times

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After months of prepa-ration the MHS Science Club sent nine students to the Science Olympiad Regional Tournament at Leeward Community College on Feb. 4. The group dominated in the architecture and construct-ing areas of the competi-tion, earning them third place and a spot in the state championships which were at Leeward Commu-nity College on March 3. “We work really hard ... and from what I notice we excel in the building events,” said Senior Chad Uyehara, a competitor in the bridge building cat-egory. Once a week the students met with their adviser Dr. Namthip Si-tachitta to receive guid-ance on their area of the competition. The regional competi-tion consisted of eight

events ranging from chemis-try to bridge building. For each event a team of two students is chosen to repre-sent MHS. “The students are assigned to their specialty, what they’re comfortable in. Some kids are really good in chemistry, so I have them work on the chemistry lab,” said Sitachitta, who tries to pair up students based on their interests, personality and study habits. “It’s such a team, all I do is organize them and assign the stu-dent according to interest ... I check up on them every now and then ... I just kind of help them prepare. Other than that it’s not microman-aged at all. The students are pretty independent and disci-plined,” explained Sitachitta. For the building events the students may practice exactly what they will be building on the day of the competition, however for the other events only a “cheat sheet” can be made based on the topic and what the student can guess will be

By Kimberly [email protected]

Science Olympiad places third at regionals, nine students advance to state competition

Random acts of kindness:

asked. “The most challenging part is probably the study events because we dominate the building events. For the study events you don’t know what’s going to be (asked),” stated Science Club President Senior Tru Dang. Though MHS has nar-rowly missed first place, coming in just behind the two Iolani teams, they are confident in their abili-ties. “I guess for regional (third place is) fine, but for states we need to get to first place,” said Dang. Sitachitta has also noticed an improve-ment in their determination since the regional competi-tion. “This time I have to be a little more micromanag-ing because I want to win at the state level. I really want to beat the other schools. Iolani said they’re the sci-ence powerhouse. I think we’re better,” added Sitachitta. The participants are now striving to place even higher at states and earn a spot at the national competition.

Seniors help community with new English project

MHS seniors have been garnering attention with their new wristbands and good deeds following their study of the book “What I Wish I knew when I was 20” writ-ten by Stanford professor Tina Seelig. “What we really want to do, ultimately is make a habit for people … to think about others and how we can help others,” explained English Depart-ment Head Lisa-Anne Tsuruda. Seniors are sporting wristbands reading “MHS S.H.OUT” which stands for Mililani High School seniors helping out. In chapter 2 of the book Seelig talks about “can do” bands (simple rubber bands) that the students had worn and passed on as they performed good deeds. “It’s very dif-ficult to track something like that,” said Tsuruda continuing, “So what my team decided to do is ‘let’s do something simi-lar’ … so let’s take it to

the next level and so we have our wristbands.” Each senior has until March 8 to do their good deed for class, but this does not mark the end of the altruistic project. “We’ve already had some kids who have already done some random acts of kindness … but mostly the kids say they just want to keep (the wristbands), so they stay committed to doing good acts,” explained Tsuruda. The good deeds done by the seniors are be-ing kept track of through the use of Facebook. Any student may “like” the Facebook page and as the seniors do an act of kind-ness they post it on the page with the color of their wristband, which is different for every teacher. “Yes I do have my plan … I don’t know for sure what I’m going to do but it’s going to be really random and

By Kara [email protected]

that’s when I’ll give (my wristband) out,” said Senior Daniel Reis. This activity, one of many from the book was coordinated by Tsuruda who was assigned chapter 2. Each of the other 12th grade English teachers were also assigned a chapter to create activities for. The book was originally written for Seelig’s son and addresses ideas like view-ing problems as opportuni-ties and other important life skills. “So far a lot of the students … enjoy (the book) one it’s easy to read and the second thing they like is it’s very relatable,” explained English teacher Stephanie Grande-Misaki. Though this project was considered a success, it will not be continued next year due to the senior English department’s choice to study another non-fiction book.

Thanks to funds secured 24 hours prior to the competition, three overall winners from MHS and one from Moanalua High School received an all-expense paid trip to compete in ISEF.

Jessica Fontenot | Trojan Times

Districts to Internationals: Three students advance to International Science and Engineering Fair

By Shan [email protected]

For the first time at the 2012 Central Oahu District Science and Engineering Fair hosted at Leeward Commu-nity College (LCC) on Feb. 13, two MHS projects were selected to advance straight to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), while five others received category awards. “I was shocked and sur-prised. I would have never imagined that our project would have advanced all the way to ISEF, so I was in utter disbelief,” stated Ju-nior Marc Siler, one of the students selected to advance to ISEF, and whose group placed second overall. In addition to Siler, his partner, Junior Danielle Terukina and Sophomore Viola Mocz were also cho-sen to advance to ISEF. Originally it had been decided that only the first place overall winner would advance to ISEF, however it was announced in the award ceremony that all three proj-ects would move on thanks to funds secured that day. “This is actually our first year that our district fair will be sponsoring stu-dents to move on to ISEF directly and we are fortunate that we are sending three projects, (in all),” explained Science Fair coordinator Nel Venzon. Winners are already planning to improve their projects to meet international standards. “We’re definitely going to fix up our board and talk to our mentor about other things we could improve on,” explained Terukina.

Since this is the first instance where MHS stu-dents will be advancing to ISEF directly, students will be exposed to projects of an entirely different caliber. “I think that I’m most nervous about the competitiveness of ISEF. I know there will be numerous great projects, and it might be nerve-wracking to compete against such amazing projects while try-ing our best to compete at a high level and to represent Hawaii and (MHS),” ex-pressed Siler. Contestants hope that ISEF will give them new opportunities to pursue their interest in science. “I hope to gain more knowledge and possibly new opportunities that can open up my future to the world of science,” stated Terukina. In addition to those go-ing to ISEF, MHS was also able to secure five overall awards as well as numerous agency and category awards. “There were some amaz-ing projects, most of them were from (MHS) and they did a great job,” stated LCC Chemistry professor and Head Judge Michael Reese. The state Science Fair will take place from April 2 to 4 at the Hawaii Conven-tion Center, while ISEF will take place May 13 to 18 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

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‘The Way You Look Tonight’ Class of 2012 prepares for Senior Prom

After much planning and collaboration from the com-mittee, Senior Prom will take place on March 17 at the JW Mariott Ihilani Resort and Spa. The initial planning of Senior Prom took place at the end of last school year and over the summer, when the committee decided on the theme, “The Way You Look Tonight.” “It started last school year ... we started thinking about things and trying to figure out what we wanted to do, and actually the theme was set at the ending of last school year. Then, during the summer we were try-ing to find the venues (and) find the companies we were going to coordinate with,” stated Senior Prom adviser Gerlynn-Lei Silva. This is the first MHS senior class to use the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa as their venue and also the first to coordinate with the Flipbooks Hawaii Com-pany for a prom activity. “A flip book machine is where there are props and people can do any action for about seven seconds or so, the

photographers will record the actions and make it into a flip book that you can take home and enjoy,” explained Senior Prom Committee chairperson Kellie Tomita. To encourage the class of 2012 to get their bids completed on time, the committee emphasized the advertising of bid sales by using prizes as incentives. “Through flyers, our class assembly and Facebook, it really helped to draw a large crowd on only the first day of bid sales,” explained Se-nior Prom Committee Head Chairperson Marci Nakamura. On the first day of bid sales, 80 seniors successfully com-pleted their bids, which was a much better outcome than the committee expected. The committee did face a few challenges with the planning of this event, how-ever with help from several other advisers they managed to execute these complex tasks. “When it comes to planning prom, ‘a couple of challenges’ (is) an understate-ment. In the process, many things came up such as the cost of the hotel, the favors (and) communications with the organizations who we’re going with for favors; things

planning and it will be nice to see that all of our hard effort has created a success-ful event,” said Tomita. Na-kamura added, “I hope that we accomplish completing the centerpieces, running a smooth program and having an awesome court dance.” With a few minor details that still need to be planned, the committee is looking forward to the event coming together.

really get stressful because things literally come out of the blue,” explained Senior Prom Committee chairperson Shayna Hokama. “Working together and persevering to get through all adversities really kept us going,” she continued. With the Senior Prom not far off, the committee hopes that it will be a suc-cess. “I’m looking forward to seeing the final event come together. It took a lot of

‘Inspired in Hawaii’ themed contest: Clarence T.C. Ching brings change in Hawaii

On Nov. 11, several hundreds of students en-tered creative pieces to the Clarence T.C. Ching Poster, Essay and Video contest pieces following this year’s theme, “Inspired in Hawaii.” Although this was the first year MHS participated in the contest, five MHS students placed in the poster category of the contest while two other MHS students placed in the video portion. “(T.C. Ching) did a lot of things for the community in Hawaii as far as giving back, and so he wanted stu-dents to learn about his life and also think about how they could give back to the community too,” explained Fine Arts teacher Ruth Ravina-Koethe. This contest was inspired by one man and his vision to “dream big

and make Hawaii a better place,” according to www.clarencetcchingfoundation.org. Clarence T.C. Ching was a businessman and philan-thropist who founded a char-itable, private organization in 1967 called The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation. Upon his passing, Ching donated all of his money to char-ity through the foundation, in hopes that they would educate students to help im-prove Hawaii’s communities. The Clarence T.C. Ch-ing Foundation required all entrants to connect their projects to Ching’s life and problems in Hawaii. Each student did research on Ch-ing and the problems that he had helped with in order to come up with ideas for their works. “We came up for the idea in class after discussing an incident where our friend was wasting a bunch of water. We decided to make

a video, demonstrating all the ways people waste water in Hawaii, and how they can avoid doing so. We also chocked it up with statistics and a few creative angles and effects,” said Senior Jason Schaake, whose group placed fourth in the video category. In the grade 11 poster category, Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez took first while also taking second for Judge’s Choice, while Jody Nakasone came in second and Joelle Takayama took third. In grade 12 poster contest, Rylee Gaspar placed second while Masey Jones placed third. In the video category, Schaake and Senior Justin Calpito took fourth. “I felt happy because this was the first poster contest that I placed in and I worked really hard on my project. It also was fun to take part in,” said Nakasone.

From paintings to public service announcements, each individual’s projects and art pieces were unique due to a variety of mediums. “We had colored pencils, colored markers and paint. They could mix mediums if they wanted to,” said Ravina-Ko-ethe. The participants were also required to write state-ments about how their proj-ects depicted a local issue. “One of the hardest things about the poster contest was that after you made your poster, you had to relate your poster to his life through a one-page essay,” commented Ravina-Koethe. The winners were pre-sented with their awards on Jan. 18 at Ala Moana Mall Center Stage, while their posters were displayed at the Honolulu Museum of Art School until Feb. 19.

Hello Trojans! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. As the quarter winds down, let’s look back to all the events we had in February. On Feb. 4, we held a Campus Beau-tification at our school from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thank you to all who came out to help make our school look good. Your efforts are evident throughout the campus. Feb. 10 was the date of our an-nual Olaloa Valentine’s dance. Student coun-cil members of MHS, Mililani Middle School, and Mililani elemen-tary schools spent the day with the retirees of Olaloa. Along with the entertainment provided by MHS’ jazz band, it was a fun experience for the students to be able to hang out with the elderly in our com-munity. On Feb. 29, 40 exchange students from Kaiyo Miyazaki High School came to MHS for the day. It was a great opportunity for us to share our culture and have them share theirs. Thank you to the students who helped as campus tour guides as well as choir and hula performers. We also held our elections for the upcom-ing ASMHS council. Thank you to all who voted and supported our candidates. Your ASMHS student council will consist of: Presi-dent Evan Wilson, Vice President Kaycee Oya-ma, Secretaries Ka ena Maeda and Cassandra Stetser, Treasurer Tyler Atiburcio, along with the rest of the board. They are all excited to serve their school next year.

ASMHS PresidentJohn Delos Reyes

By Jenny [email protected]

By Amanda [email protected]


“

Senior> Masey Jones scored this '90s top from savers

80s

I think it’s really neat

how (fashion) does that so it like

never dies, in a sense.

80s

BLAST

PASTfrom the

Similar to how history repeats itself, today’s fash-ion is a fusion of past eras with 21st century modern styles. By taking a look around campus, it’s easy to see how vintage fashions are making re-appearances.

By April-Joy McCann and Jacquelyn [email protected], [email protected]

Jean jackets like the one Senior Allison Grubbs is wearing were everywhere in the ‘80s rock scene. Her floral printed top is straight from the ‘70s.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FASHION REPEATING ITSELF?

I think a lot of people take old stuff (from) back in the day that our parents used to wear and make it relevant again. Like you see all the Cosby sweat-ers and the cardigans and stuff like that. And I think like past trends (are) influencing soci-ety and our younger generation a lot.

Christian Pinera, 10

“

”

Sophomore Kimi Knitter’s oval-shaped glasses, tribal print cardigan and bead bracelets are reminiscent of the‘70s hippie look.

These are her mom's old knee high stockings >

<polka dots like the ones

on senior sierra

Kee's top were

popular in the '60s

JuniorJaycob

Agbayani'sboombox

chain is totally

< '80s hip hop

knee-high socks paired with converse shoes were a staple in the '80s hipster look>

Senior Dylan Taira (above) and Freshman Jamie Yuki (below) are both sporting jean vests, which were essential to the ‘80s rocker look.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FASHION ERA?

The ‘80s because

it was really colorful and they

had a lot of dif-ferent styles and

they broke the normal fashion

styles and made their own.

Melissa Suan, 10

“

”

Girls are going rugged

these days with ever-

popular combat boots. “I like wearing them

because they’re really comfortable and stylish and they’re in style ... they pretty much

go with anything,” said

Freshman Dasia

Sepulveda (above). This

clunky footwear was a hot commodity for the ‘90s grunge look.

COMBATBOOTS

COMBATBOOTS

'90s

'70s

Tyler Scott,9 0

'60s

'70s

'70s

'80sMalia Moscatello, 10 '80s

'80s

'80s

”

Sense for your cents

Day after day of look-ing at the same closet with the same clothes can drive a lot of us to boredom. An easy solution can be found in three simple words: (no, not ‘buy new wardrobe’ but) mix and match. Instead of always wearing this skirt with that top, think outside of the drawer and try new pairings. Now that winter has come and gone, it’s time to spruce up those sweaters that you won’t be wearing for at least another eight months. Get into the do-it-yourself spirit and take a pair of shears to them. There’s a plethora of pat-terns you can create: skulls, braids, triangles, etc. An easy tutorial for a skully tee can be found at http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/proj-ects/diy-cutout-skully-tee. Simple Google searches of whatever design you have

in mind can bring up a ton of easy tutorials. Roll the sleeves up into neat cuffs to prevent your arms from baking in the sweater. The same thing goes for jeans. Take an old pair and cut them into shorts. If you want a clean-cut look, then cut the jeans so that they’re a little above your knees and roll them up into cuffs. If you prefer the shredded fabric look, then cut them to whatever length you’re comfortable with. The extra fabric can even be braided into a headband or tied into a bracelet. Frilly skirts have been everywhere lately. Instead of wearing them under a top, try wearing them over a long tunic for the effect of a layered dress. For a similar look, wear it in re-verse with a patterned skirt under a plain frilly top. Both looks will help your body appear shapely. Don’t limit yourself to just these suggestions. If you think of another way to liven up your wardrobe then go for it! Feel free to make the most of what you already have.

By Jacquelyn [email protected]

Every week the Trojan Times editorial staff posts a column piece on the staff Tumblr, mhstrojantimes.tumblr.com.

Editor-In-Chief Caitlin Kelly’s column,

Oishisou, focuses on good food at reasonable prices. Assistant Editor Shan Yonamine’s column,

Smarts and crafts, focuses on do-it-yourself projects. Design Editor Jacquelyn

Perreira’s column, Sense for your cents, focuses on fashion tips.

One evening I stum-bled across a surprisingly good Mexican restaurant by accident, and it was one of my better finds. It hap-pened when my family and I were wandering around for a new place to eat. Our search led us to the fairly low-key Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in the Waipio Shopping Center. Acapulco is very easy to overlook, since it’s not as visible from the parking lot as its popular neighbor, Nancy’s Kitchen. When we walked up to the restaurant to check it out, I imme-diately noticed that there were awkwardly placed seats for customers to dine outdoors and a humble- looking building for those who wished to stay inside.

The interior struck me as simple but inviting with the authentic Mexican decor and wooden tables, so we decided to give it a try. The menu featured some foods that are standard at Mexican restaurants, like burritos, tacos, chimichan-gas, in addition to a few other things that I wasn’t so accustomed to, like oys-ters and shrimp. As we were looking at the menu, I was happy to see that they brought out a compli-mentary bowl of chips and salsa; the chips were crisp, the salsa was full of herbs and I was satisfied. I usu-ally get the same thing ev-ery time I go to a Mexi-can restaurant, your classic cheese quesadilla with beans and rice, and that was no different this time. The tor-tilla and the cheese inside of it were cooked perfectly,

with a slight crisp creating a sharp contrast to the soft and melted cheese. Even though it was great, espe-cially for only costing me $10.90, I still had a lot left over when I was fin-ished and could have eas-ily shared it with someone else. I didn’t get the chance to try a dessert this time around, but the restaurant does feature fried ice cream, fried banana split and flan, each one under the price of $5.00. I’m glad that things worked out the way they did because Acapulco Mexican Restaurant has some great food at a location close to home. I would enthusiasti-cally recommend this place to anyone living in the Mililani area that is looking for a change in their normal routine.


Oishisou Smarts and crafts

If you have a cute blouse that doesn’t quite fit anymore or a once-worn dress with a stain on it, don’t toss them in the trash just yet. These unwearable articles of clothing can be transformed into chic new headbands without even having to bust out a needle and thread. To get started, cut a strip of material from your ensemble; it should be at least 2 inches wide and 8 inches long. Then, on a solid, heatproof surface lay the fabric face down. Place a generous glob of hot glue in the center of the fabric. Use the glue to attach the strip of fabric to the inside of the headband; this is the part that would normally touch your head. Tie the loose ends of the fabric into a bow, around the headband in a similar way to tying a shoelace. Bows can vary in size and ribbon length depending on personal preference. At this point you should have a simple headband with a bow; you can choose to

stop here if you wish. To achieve the look in the photo above, take the loose ends of the bow and coil them around the headband, secure with glue. Then, simply glue the loops of the bow down over the coils of ribbon to hide them. The loops should then lay flat on the headband covering the coils. This will give it a cleaner and more sophisti-cated look. To add a personal flair, you can hot glue beads or buttons to the undecorated portions of the headband or attach additional fabric us-ing the hot glue, as seen in the photo above. After doing this, you should let the glue dry for at least an hour before use to avoid loosening and misplacing decorations. This method can be used for various accesso-ries. If headbands don’t suit you, make a bow hair clip or ring by simply adjust-ing the fabric size accord-ingly. Be innovative; use this idea to inspire other projects and craft on.

You will need:-plasticheadband-ruler

1 2

3


-hot glue gun-fabric scissors-old piece of clothing

COMBATBOOTS

COMBATBOOTS

4

Or, wear a patterned skirt under a frilly top for the same effect.

wear a frilly skirt overa

long tunic for the

effect of a layered

dress.

Illustrations by Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez

'70s


MHS’ Varsity boys soc-cer was at it again, after gaining the Oahu Interscho-lastic Association (OIA) Red Division Championship title against Kapolei High School, they also secured the Ha-waii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) State Championship title on Feb. 18. It was through a combi-nation of the team’s support for their fellow players, con-trolled mindset and unrelent-ing determination to succeed that made the 3-0 win at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex against Kalani High School possible. “I can’t remember the last time we won so it felt like the first time,” said Head Coach Jeffery Yama-moto. In the semifinal game against Iolani High School, only one goal was made by MHS, and a block from defender Senior Andrew Momohara prevented Iolani from ending the game in a tie. This block allowed the team to continue on to the State Championship, their first chance to do so since the 2004 competition against Iolani. It was then on Feb. 11 that the Trojans triumphed

over the Hurricanes in the last game of OIAs with a final score of 2-1, which had earned them both the OIA Red Division title and their place in the State Champion-ship. Yamamoto stressed the importance of defense by teaching players to support their teammates. This instruc-tion proved vital when key players from Kalani put up a fight against MHS. “We were expecting them to come out hard,” said defender Senior Douglas Curren. “(We were) just trying to stay organized on defense and then con-trol them,” he added. As the game started, Curren was able to make two goals for MHS, giving them the lead for that half of the game. This momentum continued into the second half of the game as Kalani struggled to close the gap from the first half. However, Kalani was unable to make a goal and the game ended with a score from MHS midfielder Senior Ryan Tokunaga. Since this was MHS’ first State Championship win in eight years, many play-ers were elated with the outcome of the game. “(On) the bus ride home … a lot of people lost their voices (from screaming) by the time

we got back,” said midfielder Senior Ameen Mujitabaa, continuing, “I feel that the team got what they de-served.” To make sure that they were composed before a game, players took time to relax during the bus rides to each competition. “(It’s) just before the game, get-ting mentally prepared and taking warm-ups seriously,”

explained Curren. Mujita-baa agreed, saying, “When you’re worried about other things, you’re not going to get much done on the field.” The result of the game proved that in keeping their cool, players were able to concentrate on the game. Many students from the team have been playing soc-cer since elementary school, so each of those players

were passionate about the sport. “They all give their hundred percent. They give everything to the team if it’s required,” said Mujitabaa. The boys soccer team win this year marks MHS’ fifth State Championship title, which they hope to uphold as they did their four-peat back from 2000 to 2004.

Wrestling their way to victory:

The Varsity boys wres-tling team body slammed their competition, secur-ing MHS’ first ever Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Championship title on Feb. 26 at Leilehua High School’s Paul T. Kobayashi Gymnasium. “It felt good. We all went crazy. We all held hands in a circle, then when they announced the score we cheered,” expressed Se-nior Chase Tantog, continu-ing, “It feels good to know that I helped make history for (MHS).” The achievement of earning an OIA title had been anticipated by the team throughout the entire season. “(We felt) of course elation

and jubilation; it’s been a long time coming,” stated Head Coach Sam Lee. The competition was broken up into individual matches in which players were placed based on their seed, or level of skill. “De-pending on your season like you get higher seeded if you win more and if you’re undefeated, you have like top seed … If you’re lower seeded then you have more matches to get to the cham-pionship,” explained Junior Landon Nagatori. Based on whether the match was won or lost, points were added to the school’s overall score. MHS finished with the win-ning score of 192 points, qualifying them to compete in the state competition, while Campbell High School came in with a close second

of 189 points and Moanalua High School in third with a total of 170 points. What set this year’s team apart from others had much to do with bonds created amongst play-ers throughout the season. “We believed in each other, in winning our matches. We pushed each other at practices and made each other better wrestlers,” stated Tantog. Lee agreed saying, “We had students that were athletes, who were com-mitted to the training that they were going to need to do. They were committed to helping one another to do what had to be done so they’re very supportive of each other.” This history-making win was not only a testament to the team’s bond, but

also their skill and level of preparation. “(We had) a lot of mental preparation and we did a lot of running, a lot of drilling,” explained Nagatori. Sophomore Bray-don Akeo added, “We’re in good condition and pretty good technically because we were able to beat the other teams.” Another factor that may have attributed to the team’s success was an increase in numbers from previous years. “We had a lot of the guys, we filled up more than half of the weight classes and every-body trained real hard and they wanted it this year,” stated Akeo. MHS was able to fill nine out of the 14 weight classes in the com-petition; however, they did not rely on this advantage

alone. “We didn’t have as (many) guys as … the big-ger schools but we had a lot of good wrestlers this year and worked hard for it,” explained Akeo. Though nine is already a significant number, the team continu-ally strives to fill out more weight classes to increase their point-earning potential. In addition to the goal of expanding the team, win-ning the OIA Championship title left future teams with big shoes to fill. “I think this will set the standard, set the bar for other ath-letes that come through our program,” stated Lee. Players hope that this first OIA title won’t be their last and that skills learned in this season translate into upcoming years.


Varsity boys team wins first ever OIA Championship title

In the OIA season, the MHS Varsity boys soccer team only had one tie, which was in their game against Kapolei High School on Jan. 3 at the Central Oahu Regional Park soccer field, score 1-1.

Photo courtesy of Carly Cooper

MHS Varsity boys soccer takes down FalconsFirst State Championship title since 2004

By Jessica [email protected]

Multiple sports have been a part of Sophomore Dayton Furuta’s life since age four. He strives to maintain his school work while balancing Varsity football, heading straight into JV basketball, then wrestling and judo soon after. “We finish school at 2 p.m., wrestling starts at 3:00 p.m. and ends around 5:30 p.m., then I do homework between (practices), basketball starts at 6:30 p.m. and ends around 8 p.m.,” stated Furuta. Although this is Furuta’s first year competing in wrestling, he has proven to be an instrumental tool to the team’s success. “He practices with intensity, which is a good example for others to follow, and sometimes he’s helping his teammates learn how to (correctly) execute a move,” explained wrestling Head Coach Sam Lee. Furuta picks up on tactics swiftly and implements them in competitions. “He’s very coachable, he’s quick to learn so he has the ability to grasp the ideas (which) makes him very easy to work with,” said Lee. “We expect the wrestlers to win and that’s what he does, he wins,” added wrestling teammate Senior Jeffrey Sanchez Jr. Throughout his athletic career, Furuta has always had support from his family. “My family is there to push me to my limits and to help me to put in the extra work,” said Furuta. With hard work, diligence and dedication, Furuta strives to perform his best in all his sports.

Alissa Kelly | Na Mana o Poina Ole


By Amanda [email protected]

Rugby, as most people know, is a national sport in other countries like New Zealand and Fiji, but is not yet widely known to the youth here in Hawaii. However, it has recently been recognized as a local recreational sport. Senior Titus Strickland and his father Sean Strickland hope to help rugby gain local popularity by teaming up MHS with Waipahu High

School and creating the Central Oahu Rugby Team. “I originally came from New Zealand with my family, and rugby’s really big there ... and when I heard that rugby was building up in Hawaii ... of course I got really excited,” Titus Strickland expressed. With the introduction of any new high school sport, the first task was to gain participation. “We want to first get real big interest and get a lot of people committed and willing to

play, because the system’s all set up so all we need is the numbers,” explained Titus Strickland. Though MHS and Waipahu combined have enough players, they are not able to split off into individual teams because they only have a total of 12 players. “Eventually, we hope that (MHS) and Waipahu would be a strong rugby high school (team) by itself,” explained coach Sean Strickland. Despite having only recently started, the Central Oahu team plans on participating in the Adult Friends for Youth (AFY) International Aloha Youth Rugby 7-a-Side Tournament, which will be held on March 12 and 13. Marist Hawaii Rugby Club, an adult rugby team, has sponsored the Central Oahu team and paid the registration fees for three slots in the tournament, two spots for boys teams and one spot for a girls team. “(Marist) basically said, ‘Hey look, we’re going to sponsor

and pay for a couple of youth teams, we want to support them and we want girls and boys teams.’ ... We need to fill those three slots, so we need more ... players,” said Sean Strickland. Since the tournament is quickly approaching, the team must quickly gather a sufficient amount of people and begin their preparation. “We’re trying to practice three times a week to prepare for it. We really need more committed people to join in order to be better prepared,” said Senior Ryan Barsatan. With the buildup of rugby in Hawaii, Titus Strickland hopes to eventually establish a state rugby team. “Rugby is pretty much a national sport for all the Polynesian islands ... except Hawaii ... but what we’re doing is trying to get ... our own team,” he said. Having coached a rugby team of about 30 people last year, Sean Strickland hopes to attract similar numbers to the Central District team.

For Seniors Kristen Fujinaga, Lauren Uehara and Renato Torquato, soccer isn’t just a sport, it’s a passion that led them to sign letters of intent. A signing ceremony was held at the Sheraton Wakiki Hotel on Feb. 1. Fujinaga and Uehara will be attending California Baptist University, Torquato the University of California Irvine. “You have to not only want it, but you have to do what it takes to get there,” said Fujinaga’s 10-year and Uehara’s seven-year club soccer coach Eric Tamashiro, who has also coached Torquato in the past. Uehara was the only one to attend the ceremony; Fujinaga could not attend. Torquato was unable to go to this event as well and had a small private ceremony at MHS. Signing these letters of intent signified their commitment to the college. With each offer, the

students also received scholarship money. Fujinaga will be attending college with an academic scholarship due to the unavailability of sports scholarships, Uehara received a $10,000 scholarship along with the possibility of an academic one, while Torquato’s scholarship will pay 50 percent of his school’s cost. “I wanted to play college soccer to help my parents pay for my tuition and plus I know if I were to ever stop playing soccer I’d miss it,” Fujinaga expressed. Inspiration to play at the college level started early. All three players had

been playing soccer from a very young age. “(I’ve been playing) like on an actual team since I was five. But since I was one or two I’ve been kicking the ball,” Torquato shared. Since then, each player improved their skills to reach the point they’re at now. “It was my motivation and my persistence because I could’ve just gave up and just stayed (in Hawaii) but I always kept trying to (con-tact) a bunch of colleges and I always made sure I would get to my main goal and that I would never settle for less,” Torquato stated. “The competitiveness

and the understanding of what it takes to be success-ful is kind of what separates them,” Tamashiro added. Each of them had dif-ferent goals. “If I can get drafted I would definitely take that ... I would still want to continue sports even if it’s broadcasting,” said Torquato. “I want to pur-sue being a veterinarian ... it’d be nice to play every once in a while but you have your career,” Fujinaga explained. Uehara is unsure of her career path. Fujinaga, Torquato and Uehara hope to enjoy their college experience both with and without soccer.

Senior Renato TorquatoUniversity of California Irvine

Senior Lauren UeharaCalifornia Baptist University

Senior Kristen FujinagaCalifornia Baptist University

Reaching their goal: Fujinaga, Torquato, Uehara sign letters of intent to play college soccer

Reagan Paz | Trojan Times

Trojans join forces with Marauders, create Central Oahu Rugby Team

By April-Joy [email protected]


(L-R): Coach S. Strickland, R. Barsatan, C. Oneha, C. Rojas, T. Strickland, J. China, G. Cepeda, L. Bueno, R. A. Jugueta.


The MHS track team has welcomed new assistant coaches Don Classey and Colby Takeda. Both have come with patience and en-thusiasm. “I really like it so far. We are finding different ways to practice and it’s very moti-vating,” said Takeda. Prior to becoming a track coach, Takeda helped coach pole-vaulting at the Ren-egades Track Club, which is a statewide youth track team that participates in a variety of track and field activities. “I’ve been coaching these guys, theoretically, for the past three years. They really showed that they wanted me there and that they wanted to learn and I really enjoyed working with them,” ex-plained Takeda. After seeing the motiva-tion of the athletes, Takeda was inspired to start coach-ing at MHS. “It convinced me that this is where I want to work, these are the kids that are self motivated. They know their stuff and they got their fundamentals down but they are also willing to work hard,” he explained. “(Takeda) brings a lot

of knowledge because he coaches the pole vault, which is an event that not many people know how to teach, and that makes our coaching staff better,” said Head Coach Dan Natsunaga. Takeda also brings pa-tience and compassion for the athletes. “He knows what we are going through and he’s very understanding,” commented track team mem-ber Cheyne Shiroma. Classey also came with track experience from sprint-ing and jumping on her high school track team. After moving to Hawaii from California, she sought to give back to the community. “(Classey) brings a lot of enthusiasm. She is some-what new to coaching but she loves to be around kids and loves to help,” explained Natsunaga. Though Classey would like to continue to stay with the track team, she will be moving away from Hawaii in a few months. The two assistant coaches are given specific areas and events that they work with the athletes on. Since pole-vaulting is naturally danger-ous, Takeda has focused on teaching the basics and safety precautions of the sport. Classey has helped with coaching the sprinting and jumping athletes. The two new coaches’ goals are to prepare for the season safely. They hope to help the newcomers learn the basics of track and give returnees a chance to be leaders of the team.

Hawai‘i Pacific University admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status and disability.

Though he may be the new head coach for the Var-sity boys’ and girls’ tennis team, Jason Agsalda is not new to the job itself. After two years of instructing the girls’ golf team, Agsalda’s love for coaching has led him to his current position. “(I like) being able to pass on my experiences and knowledge of tennis to the players to help them im-prove their games, while teaching them the life les-sons that go along with the sport,” said Agsalda. Agsalda has previously coached tennis at Leile-hua High School, and was

approached by MHS Ath-letic Director Glenn Nitta to coach this year’s boys’ and girls’ tennis team. “I have a love and passion for both (golf and tennis), so when the opportunity came up to coach for tennis, I jumped on it,” said Agsalda, con-tinuing, “The previous coach and staff did a good job in creating a winning program. I’m hoping to continue that tradition.” To help continue that legacy, Agsalda is imple-menting some changes dur-ing practices. “(I’m trying to) develop team chemistry (by) making sure everyone knows their role on the team and making every-one comfortable and feel

Track team welcomes new assistant coaches Takeda and Classey

Serving up something new:Agsalda becomes head tennis coach

By Nathan [email protected]

By Cyanne [email protected]

that they can contribute no matter where they are in the team rankings,” Agsalda explained. His experience in the field of tennis is evident in the way he coaches. “(Agsalda’s) structured, he’s organized. Every day has a purpose that he works on. He not only looks at the strengths and weaknesses, (but) the overall game,” said assistant coach Jason Tamu-ra, who had worked with Agsalda for the duration of the JV season. “I actu-ally really enjoy (Agsalda’s) coaching style ... The drills that he allows us to take part in are both beneficial and fun. I can see how we would apply the drills to an actual match,” said Senior Kelsey Kennell. The team has welcomed their new coach with open minds, and are looking for-ward to a successful season. “(Agsalda’s) very spirited and he’s very supportive of us. He seems like he’s really there for us, not just for the money or for the competition,” Kennell com-mented. In addition to a common goal of winning the Oahu Interscholastic Association Championship, Agsalda also has goals to improve each player’s individual skills as well as their ability to work together as a team.

Jason Agsalda has been coaching tennis for the duration of the JV season and will continue to coach the Varsity season.

Cyanne Ito | Trojan Times

To the pointNew Golf Coach: With the beginning of a new season, the girls’ golf team is looking for-ward to not only new team members, but a new coach as well. Coach Abe Kealoha has 10 years of coach-ing experience and has taken the place of coach Jason Agsalda. As practices began in mid-February, the play-ers are looking for-ward to a season filled with new experiences as well as a differ-ent coaching method that Kealoha is sure to bring.


Editor-in-ChiefCaitlin Kelly

Assistant EditorShan Yonamine

Design EditorJacquelyn Perreira

Business ManagerJessica Antonio

Copy ManagersRamil Lorenzo Gonzalez

Cyanne ItoApril-Joy McCann

AdviserMr. Christopher Sato

PrincipalDr. John Brummel

StaffJessica Fontenot

Kara NittaJenny Park

Nathan ParkReagan Paz

Amanda ThomasKimberly Yamaguchi

The mission of the Trojan Times is to pub-

licize events, share in the successes of students, promote the hard work of the faculty and capture the dedication of organizations.

The Trojan Times is a monthly production of the Newswriting staff

of Mililani High School95-1200 Meheula

Pkwy., Mililani, HI 96789

To voice an opinion or any concerns, feel free to submit a letter to L205 or to [email protected]. The Trojan Times reserves the right to edit letters as they see fit. Please type your letter and clearly state your name, grade level and period one class.

When one takes a look at the virtual world where nyan-cats demolish the Twin Towers and “memes,” parasitic manipulated photos, that constantly poke fun at unsuspecting people, it is no surprise that those from the technological generation don’t always take cyberbul-lying seriously. The problem does not lie entirely in the act of cyberbullying, but more so in the fact that many Internet users don’t even realize they’re doing it. Even if laws are made to combat this trend, popular culture among today’s younger people is not going to change; progress can only be made when we realize much of the behavior online that is supposedly in good fun is fueling the fire of cyberbul-lying. “Yes, (cyberbullying) is a problem. It’s something that I think with technology, our young people have the ability to go ahead, and instead of saying something face-to-face or behind someone’s back, person-to-person. A lot of that can go viral very quickly,” said Branch Chief of the Community and Crime Prevention Branch at the Department of the Attorney General Valerie Mariano. Bullying over online com-munication is perhaps even more relentless than classic schoolyard bullying cases because it has the ability to reach so many people in so little time. Combine that with the fact that those words will remain on record forever and it’s a recipe for disaster. Senior Bradley Dell agreed, saying, “It is so easy to use the phone or computer anonymously. People also find it easier to be bold when using such mediums.” One of the tragic effects

of cyberbullying was thrust into the public eye when Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, committed suicide in 2010 after two classmates allegedly posted an unflat-tering video of him on the Internet. Several other cases similar to this one have attracted national attention, and the Keiki Caucus, a bipartisan group of House and Senate members addressing issues involving the youth, is making an effort to protect victims in Hawaii from a similar outcome by drafting several bills for acts regarding bullying. While taking action is a step in the right direction, it’s unrealistic to think that the creation of a bill will bring an end to it all. “I don’t think laws alone will help the problem. I think laws do help, but I think everyone needs to take that responsible action, be responsible, be accountable with any form of technology or even when you’re just acting as a person,” said Mariano. Even if jokes that circulate on the Internet are not meant to be seriously harmful, they are creating a culture where blatantly insulting others is considered good humor. “Take Rebecca Black, for example. Everyone is always talking about how she dropped out of her school because of bullying. We can’t pretend the Internet and the countless rude things said about her didn’t affect her situation,” said Dell. The same goes for innocent photos that are posted by normal, unsus-pecting people that suddenly get turned into “memes.” A prime example is an image macro picturing a young boy with Down Syndrome, captioned, “I’m high off chromosomes.”

It’s disappointing that one would choose to create something so offensive and that nothing was done to stop it from being posted. Not too mention as the definition of memes suggests, these manipulated photos get passed on from person to person, whether reblogged or liked over and over again in social media sites such as Tumblr or Facebook. How can one say they are against cyberbully-ing, when they themselves don’t realize they are perpetuating a culture of teasing by reblogging or liking these “jokes?” Granted, posting a joke or adding commentary to a photo or onto a photo is a freedom of speech. But people, whether it be here or in other countries still fight, risking their lives, for it today, and it is therefore a freedom that should not be abused. We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to post what we want on the Internet now, but if this trend continues, then there is no doubt that there will be a fight over whether or not it should be policed. Though it may sound ridiculous to be able to filter what goes up on the Internet, we would not have had to even consider it if we used our rights responsibly initially. Acting like our freedom is of no value by using it for an action as trivial and unproductive as bullying is selfish when there are so many other ways it can be utilized. “Our generation is very hurtful to others, while also being a bit more open about issues such as being gay or of a different race than previous generations. Hopefully that second part shines through more, and people realize cyberbully-ing is just as harmful as homophobia or racism,” said Dell.


Maintaining good character in a wired world Because our generation is already so far into this trend, cyberbullying is not going to be stopped by harsh punishments. Even if that was a possibility, cyberbullying should not be put to an end because of the fear instilled by implemented rules, it should stop because people realize that it happens even more than we know, and it has twisting peoples’ morals and values. It is not only the responsibility of those on the Internet, but also that of their parents and teachers to stay informed on how the culture is transform-ing. “Students and adults need to be accountable and I think that if we all take that accountability and act upon it, I think we would be fine with cyberbully-ing or any other problem behaviors that may arise,” said Mariano. We all have the ability to take action by utilizing the simple lesson that we’ve had drilled into our heads from the time we were in elementary school: treat others the way you want to be treated. Putting others down in person is already severe enough, and doing it over the Internet or through text messages does not make its magnitude any less. “It’s just knowing what can hurt others and how if you don’t want it said about you, don’t say it yourself,” said Mariano. Electronic devices are now considered a tool essential for communication to many, but we must be conscious of the way we utilize this power. Words are still words no matter how they are conveyed and it is the people’s responsibility alone to make sure that the effort put into ensuring we have the freedom to use them doesn’t go in vain.

Trojan Times

ASACSThe Company You Keep, Why Should You Care?

Tell me who your best friends are, and I will tell you who you are. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. “A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.” The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associ-ate— for the good and the bad. The less you associ-ate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attri-bute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your asso-ciates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.

Consider this:

Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed-ed themselves are always the first to tell you how.

Don’t follow anyone who’s not going any-where.

Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.

Compiled by ASACS counselor Mary Schwing

Adolescent Substance Abuse Conseling Service (ASACS) provides preven-tion education, identifi-cation and referral, and outpatient substance abuse treatment services. For more information contact ASACS counselor Mary Schwing at 375-6665.

C&CCC&CC will be closed for Spring Break. If you need to drop off applications or scholarships, please plan ac-cordingly. Have a fun, safe Spring Break and see you in fourth quarter!

Senior Announcements:

Seniors! Graduation is right around the corner! Here are a few end-of-year reminders.

May 1 - Reply to Colleges: May 1 is the universal deadline to let schools know whether you are accepting their offer of admission or not. This is not a post-marked deadline.

Submit Scholarship/Award Letters to C&CC:If you have received a scholarship or financial award from a school or organization, forward a copy of it to C&CC whether you are accepting it or not. We will add the information to our year end report, and you will be recognized in the graduation program.

Scholarship Athletes:If you are a scholarship ath-lete, you need to send your final grades to the NCAA Clearinghouse. You can do this now and the registrar’s office will hold your request until your final grades are posted.

Selective Service, all males 18 years of age must regis-ter:In order to qualify for federal student loans and grants, job training and em-ployment. Males 18 years of age must register with Se-lective Service. Go to www.sss.gov for more information.

Clearance Forms:Be sure to turn in your health clearance informa-tion (TB test and MMR shot record) to the school you will be attending. You will not be able to register for your classes until this is complete.

Don’t Forget Thank Yous:Do not forget to thank the teachers and counselors who

helped you with your col-lege and scholarship recom-mendations and mid-year reports.

UH Manoa Acceptance:If you got accepted to UH Manoa, attend an informa-tional session on Friday, March 23 during period two. Sign up outside of C&CC.

Still undecided about what to do after graduation? See Mrs. Yamamoto ASAP!

Junior Announcements:

Juniors should be getting ready for senior year.

Reminders: Distribute/collect student evaluation sheets, update your resume, take at least one SAT or ACT test, make an appointment with your counselor, request for let-ters of recommendation (if applicable) and research your schools. Make an appoint-ment with Mrs. Yamamoto if you need help with your college search.

Fee Waivers Available:Students on free or reduced lunch are available for SAT, ACT and NCAA Clearing-house fee waivers. See Mrs. Yamamoto and pick up your fee waiver today.

SAT Prep Class:Spring Break 2012 SAT Prep Classes will be held at MHS from March 12 to 16. Cost is $120. Applications have been mailed home, or are available at the at-tendance office or C&CC. Visit www.test-prepHI.com to register online.

College Fair:The National College Fair will be held on Thursday, April 12 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Hawaii Convention Center. Take advantage of this opportuni-ty to meet with representa-tives from visiting schools. Free registration at www.gotomyncf.com

Compiled by College and Career counselor Denise Yamamoto

BOOK CLUB What seemed to be an exciting field trip for the 1997 class of Shiroiwa Junior High School students quickly became a fight for their lives as they woke up in a classroom on a desert-ed island. Greeted only by violence and bloodshed, they were introduced to the game they had no option but to participate in, called Battle Royale. The simple rule to this game consisted only of this: kill or be killed. Shuya Nanahara (Male Student No. 15) and Noriko Nakagawa (Female Student No. 15), team up in an attempt to find a way to survive as their classmates turn against one another and commit murder out of fear, entertainment, or just plain insanity. Takami allows the reader to become close to each of these characters, only to slaughter their lives as soon as a connection with them is created. This may tug at the reader’s emotions, but it feeds on to the reader’s hope that some will survive. Similar to the idea of The Hunger Games by Su-zanne Collins, Battle Royale consists of many tragic deaths of youthful characters but on a highly visual scale,

creating this image, not only of killing, but of every detail down to the last drop of blood. Teens and adults alike are able to put them-selves into this survival situation causing them to think about what they would really do out of fear or just to live. This idea gives the reader an adrenaline rush as they start to feel what the characters feel and put themselves in the characters’ shoes. This novel will take its reader on a seemingly endless thrill ride start-ing from chapter one and continuously running through the end of the book, keep-ing the reader hungry for more. With every page be-ing turned, another life is introduced and another death takes place, yet the reader longs for a sense of justice and hopes for a happy end-ing for the class of Shi-roiwa Junior High School students. Koushun Takami plays with this idea of survival and hope, revealing what a human being is truly capable of and causes read-ers to wonder: “Who will survive?”

Compiled by Senior Kelsey Kennell

14 Thursday, March 8, 2012


Dividing By ZeroBy Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez

Life According to the InternetBy Cyanne Ito

A CHANCE ADVENTUREEmbark on a quest of fate and fortune

Instructions: 1) If you wish, build a border around the map with hands/books/planks/etc. 2) Starting off of the map, flip/spin/blindly-point/catapault a coin/finger/miniature-rabbit/etc. towards the map. 3) Wherever you land determines your monthly fortune. Try again if unsatisfied or if on an edge.

SUDOKUFill in the missing numbers, making sure each row, column and box has every number from 1 to 9.

By Kara Nitta

issue 6 2011-2012

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