Volume 58, Number 6 801 Ramona St., San Gabriel, CA 91776 Friday, February 22, 2013

Lauren Fukumoto

After the Sandy Hook massacre on Dec. 14 that took the lives of 20 students and six adults, school safety and gun control have become issues of contention in politics and become topics that are discussed daily in America. Although it may seem that San Gabriel High School has little in common with an elementary school in an afflu-ent community on the other side of the country, threats and scares in high schools in our neighborhood prove that we may have more of a connection with Sandy Hook than we think.

Two other schools in our district, Mark Keppel and Alhambra High School have recently faced issues of school safety. Mark Keppel dealt with an incident where two students brought loaded guns to school in 2010 and just last January, Alhambra High School was bombarded with false bomb threats.

Additionally, Schurr High School endured a bomb scare less than five months ago and just last month South Pasadena High School encountered a threat of gun violence. So the question becomes, in a world where school violence is increasing rapidly as a whole and in our own community, how has San Gabriel managed to avoid a major incident for almost 25 years?

Assistant Principal Janett Perales attributes the safety at San Gabriel High School to the communication between students and staff. “Communication is key. Our students are talking and teachers and staff are listening.” Guidance Technician Beda Ramirez seconded Perales’ emphasis on communication and said that students feel safe con-fiding in staff members because “we take care of our kids. We all work as a team.”

Another important aspect of the school’s safety program is the use of video cameras. Perales noted that when janitors report suspicious activity, staff members are able to pinpoint the exact time and location of the reported activity and investigate the issue. Video cameras and an anonymous tip from a student helped lead to the apprehension of the person who set the fire in the boy’s L Building restroom last semester.

In addition to the equipment on campus, staff members attended a safety training preparation course in the summer of 2011 which simulated hostage situations, teach-ing staff members strategies to handle such situations. Furthermore, staff members collaborate on which safety members to implement with the School Safety Committee headed by Director of Student Services Dr. Laurel Bear.

Violence in schools has often been attributed to bullying. However, the emphasis on peer resources at our school helps curb the violence that student on student conflict often causes. First year peer counseling teacher Eric Hendrickson acknowledges, “It is a proven fact that teens would rather talk to other teens about their problems.” He also recognizes that students are more likely to “open up to peer counselors about threats of violence and violent thoughts.” This positive reinforcement creates a co-hesive environment where students can rely on each other instead of be pushed to combat each other.

Mangrum to retire March 1 Kaleen Luu and John Truong Oscar Mol ina and Marvin Luu

Spartan Run shows students’ athleticism

8.8 miles long, 26 obstacles, mud, dirt, and terrain; crawling under barbed wire, swimming across a lake, climbing mountains. What Constant Chi, Oscar Enciso, Alex Lo, Kevin Phung, Eric Sotelo, and Jackson Yee did was unspeakable.

The six-man team started their journey on Sunday, Jan. 27, waking up at 3 in the morning just to prepare for the long commute to Tem-ecula, where the Spartan Run event was set to take place.

They arrived at the location at 6:30 a.m. to

From left to right: Seniors Kevin Phung, Eric Sotelo, Oscar Enciso, Alex Lo, Constant Chi, and Jackson Yee pose with their shirts and medals of completion from the Spartan Run.

After working for 35 years in the Alhambra Unified School District, Assistant Vice Principal Scott Mangrum announced that he plans to retire on March 1. The middle child of three brothers, Mangrum is a graduate of Mark Keppel High School; the same school his mother attended while his father attended Alhambra High School. Mangrum went to California State University Los Angeles and received a bachelor’s degree in an-thropology. He then went to South America to work in archaeology and later on researched for cancer at the University of Southern California.

“As a kid, teaching was a possibility, but it was not definite. Now, I am really content with my current job. Pretty much, one thing led to another,” Mangrum said.

Mangrum decided to pursue his passion for teaching by going back to California State University Los Angeles to obtain a master’s degree in school administration.

Continued on Page 2

Assistant Principal of Business and Activities Scott Mangrum is retiring after 35 years of working for the Alhambra Unified School District. Mangrum graduated from Mark Keppel High School.

Photo by Derek Deng Photo courtesy of sghsmatador.org

“Communication is key. Our stu-dents are talking and teachers and

staff are listening.”- Assistant Principal Janett Perales

Two Studentswith loaded guns

False Bomb Threats

Threat of GunViolence

volunteer manning the obstacles in the first round of the run, in order to avoid paying the costly en-trance fee.

The group was inspired to join because they were fans of the race and decided that they wanted to dig deep and try out the notorious race.

What they didn’t know was that they were getting involved in a race that would be the most extreme, strong, and physically demanding compe-tition that they would ever experience.

“We wanted to do it because we saw it as a fun challenge,” Chi said.

Continued on Page 13

In a world of violence our school stands alone

2 mile distance1.9 mile distance

4 mile distance

San Gabriel High School

Photo courtesy of theweek.cominfographics by Jenny Bui

NEWS 2 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

His teaching career began at his former school, Mark Keppel High School, where he worked as an instructional aide. Afterwards, he became an English and social sciences teacher for 17 years at the same school.

Then, he became an administrator at Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra High School, and the Alhambra Unified School District office.

After his job at the school district office was discontinued, Mangrum was transferred to his current site, San Gabriel High School.

His titles included the Assistant Principal of Business and Activities, Coordinator for Secondary Education, and the Director of Research and Evaluation.

“ E a c h s c h o o l h a s i t s o w n personality,” Mangrum said. “San Gabriel High School is friendly, and everyone is nicely connected.”

In addit ion to his teaching profession, Mangrum also enjoys photography, golf, and hiking. He also owns two poodles and two cats. Overall, staff and students alike will appreciate Mangrum’s work at not only San Gabriel High School, but also in the Alhambra Unified School District.

“It’s been a good experience working with everyone here. It’s my time to retire. When the time hits, the time hits,” Mangrum said.

Mangrum’s years of service on campus

Anime Anonymous hosts Maid CafeMimi Lam

Anime Anonymous hosted their annual Maid Cafe in the Multipurpose Room on Feb. 15.

The Maid Cafe is unique, because it features the members dressed as maids and butlers derived from animes, also known as cosplaying. Student volunteers and Anime Anonymous members dressed up as butlers and maids to serve attendees of the cafe event.

This cafe is not just served by ordinary servants; they also take any requests from the diners as long as they were not inappropriate.

“We had fun, and [we] attracted laughter and excitement,” junior David Zheng said.

For five dollars, diners could obtain a main course of half a sandwich, curry spaghetti with tamagoyaki, and rice. The desert was a choice of brownie, red velvet cupcake, or marshmallow pops.

The food and the atmosphere of Japanese love songs pertained to the theme of Valentine’s Day, except this served as a rebound day.

“[The Maid Cafe] is Anime Anonymous’ biggest fundraiser. This keeps people in touch with anime and Japanese culture,” junior Gibson Loc said.

Attending the Maid Cafe meant entering into the Japanese culture. Traditionally, Maid Cafes only contained maids who would serve their male “masters” or “otaku” (geeks).

However, Anime Anonymous did not exclude any gender from serving, and the crew managed to bring some entertainment into the mix.

“My favorite part about the Maid Cafe was the Gangnam Style performed by the butlers,” junior Billy Huynh said.

Although the event involved a lot of anime related themes, some students who did not have much background knowledge on anime still attended with their friends. The Maid Cafe was an overall success. Anime Anonymous members hope to serve to an even greater amount of people next year.

Top Left: Junior Victor Quinonez, dressed as a butler, serves customers. Top Right: Students dressed as maids prepare to serve the customers with the special menu. Middle Left: A maid serves juniors Shahreare Khan and Alex Zhen. Middle Right: Junior Kevin Chu hands in his ticket at the door to gain entrance for the event. Bottom: All butlers and maids line up to introduce themselves to the customers.

Photos by Derek Deng

With Southern California warmth shining down, vendors lined down Valley Boulevard, boys and girls held giant stuffed animals for their loved ones, and children screamed on carnival rides at the annual San Gabriel Valley Lunar New Year Festival on Feb. 16.

The festivities were hosted by the City of Alhambra and the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce. It was also sponsored by Toyota, Allstate, Wells Fargo, East West Bank, AHCM Healthcare, Cathay Bank, Chase, Macy’s, Ford, and Union Bank.

The school choir performed at the MetLife stage at the fair, performing to a crowd of attendees.

Advanced, mixed, and concert choir performed “That Thing You Do!,” “For Good,” “We Are the World,” and “Don’t Stop Believing” on the Metlife Stage.

“Being able to perform on stage was fun because I never had an experience like that before. It was new to me,” junior Henry Tran said. Tran is a member of the school’s advanced choir.

Choir has been practicing these songs for the past month in preparation for the local festivities.

Every year, the city of Alhambra closes down five blocks on Valley Boulevard, starting from Almansor Street and ending at Garfield Avenue.

This local event celebrates both the turning of a new year on the lunar calendar and Asian-American culture.

Vendors included McDonald’s and Banh Mi Che Cali. Other vendors also sold traditional Chinese medicine, Asian street food, miscellaneous home goods, clothes, and toys.

The God of Fortune also passed out red envelopes to people at the fair, and dancers performed on stages.

The Lunar New Year Festival has increased in attendees in the past few years, now averaging about 40,000 people a year.

Attendees come from all around the San Gabriel Valley, with ages ranging from toddlers to the elderly.

Natal ie Tran

Top: Community attendees sit and watch a traditional “Dragon Dance” as they soak in the sun and colorful performance on Valley Boulevard.Bottom: San Gabriel High School Choir performs to the community attendees to songs like “That Thing You Do!”

Wright becomes AP coordinatorKristy Duong

After Spanish teacher Sharon Ware’s retirement last year, biology teacher Jennifer Wright took up the position of Advanced Placement coordinator.

As Advanced Placement coordinator, Wright will be responsible for putting together all the Advanced Placement tests.

To be more specific, she will be ordering the tests, working with the test proctors, and checking that the testing room is set up correctly.

In addition to that, she will also be in charge of the task of verifying that all the information is correct on necessary paperwork.

Previously, Wright assisted with testing at Marshall Fundamental School in Pasadena; therefore, she was asked to be the Advanced Placement coordinator this year.

With some guidance from the previous Advanced Placement coordinator Sharon Ware, Wright is prepared to take on all the paperwork as it begins to flow in.

“It’s not hard. It’s just a lot of organization,” Wright said.

Unlike previous years, Wright is assisted by history teacher Davina Dominguez.

Though Wright will be ordering the testing material, working with the proctors, and setting up the testing room arrangements, Dominguez will be the actual one present on the test day because Wright will be taking a leave of absence next month.

Though Wright will not be present on the test day, she would like to remind students that absolutely no electronic devices are allowed in the testing room and that people who are taking the afternoon tests must stay for the entire duration of the test even if they finish early.

She would also like to remind students that the deadline to pay for Advanced Placement tests is on March 8 at the Student Bank and that it is vital for students to be in attendance during the pre-administrative dates, which is when students will be able to fill out their information answer sheets.

Since Advanced Placement tests are just around the corner, students and teachers have worked hand-in-hand the whole year to prepare for the important exam that will allow students to earn college credit if they receive a passing grade of a three or higher on their test.

Continued from Page 1

Photos courtesy of El Camino Real, Ryan Luong and Alhambra Lunar New Year Festival

Advanced choir performs at local lunar festival The community gathers to celebrate Lunar New Year with festivities and performances.

3 NEWS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Get Lit representatives perform powerful poemsVanessa De La Rosa

Steven Ho

Marching Band to participate in the 69th Temple City Camellia Festival

Players from Get Lit, a youth spoken word poetry troupe, performed in San Gabriel High School’s auditorium on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Poets from various places and ethnic backgrounds sat on stage, patiently waiting to astound the audience with their powerful use of “contemporary Spoken Word performance techniques.”

The Get Lit organization consists of poets, ages 16 – 21, from different parts of the Los Angeles County who visit various schools in order to empower the youth through the use of language and literacy. Their main objective is to encourage and inspire the youth of recent generations to read and write and utilize both the written and spoken word as means of expression.

Joshua Silverstein hosted the event, announcing the poets’ names before allowing them to take the stage. Performances were done by poets including Aishah Allah, Raul (Junior) Herrera Jr., Gordon Ip, Ka’lynn, Adrian Kljucec, Maia Mayor, and Ivy Miller.

Ka’Lynn, Junior, and Aishah were the first to perform, art iculating the power of words by comparing them to physical events that the world had endured due to natural disasters and occurrences. The second performance was by Maia, who spoke about her

mothers’ constant reminders to strive for perfection. She was followed by Adrian, who delivered a poem entitled, “Mirror,” which addressed his life as a transgender male. Following was Aishah and Junior again, who did a duet on father figures. The sixth poet to take the stage was Markeesha, who first recited a powerful poem by Maya Angelou entitled, “Phenomenal Woman,” and followed it by her own response to the poem. Aishah was second to last with his poem called, “Confetti,” followed by the last poem of the night by Ivy called, “Los Angeles.”

Silverstein encouraged and advised the audience to clap, snap their fingers, or say “word” whenever they found a poem moving in order to support the poets on stage and give them confidence in themselves and in their poetry.

“It was incredible and we are so glad we had the chance to experience such powerful enrichment,” French teacher Sally Arscott said. “Their poems, they felt real.”

S i lverste in took to the stage again after the slew of performances in order to inform the audience about Get Lit’s First Classic Poetry Slam, occurring on Saturday, April 28. Silverstein hoped that this event had motivated students to represent San Gabriel in the Poetry Slam and express themselves through spoken word.

Photo 1: (from left to right) Maia Mayor and Ka’lynn perform a poem about the meaning of the word “swag.”Photo 2: Adrian Kljucec performs an emotional piece that describes his troubles as a transsexual teen.Photo 3: Through an ardent poem, Markeesha celebrates her independence and strength after a break-up.Photo 4: (center) MC Joshua Silverstein introduces the Get Lit acts and encourages the crowd to be respectful and enthusiastic during the performances. He frequently joked around with the audience as well.

Decorative floats and crowds of bystanders will greet the San Gabriel Marching Band at the 69th Annual Temple City Camellia Festival on Feb. 23, where the band will march and play “The Black Horse Troop” by John Philip Sousa. The band has performed at the festival for at least 20 years consecutively, and there are high hopes for the band.

The band’s performance will be judged and scored on a scale of 0-100 by the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), and this is the band’s second SCSBOA performance of the year.

“We hope to repeat or beat our previous score,” Band Director Tamara Cognetta said. “This year we are stronger.” Cognetta’s personal goal is to break a score of 90, which has eluded the band for many years. All in all, the success of the band comes down to the work that the students put in and the drive to do better on parade day.

“We always strive to be better,” Cognetta said.

The festival and parade will take place on Las Tunas Boulevard in the

vicinity of Temple City, passing through all of the shops through the heart of the city. Cognetta believes that the Camellia Festival is a fun experience that everyone should participate in by cheering on the sidewalks.

“We always appreciate having an audience,” Cognetta said.

Other band members share their insight on how the parade could turn out.

“Last year we had stronger players, and too many new players need to step up their game [this year],” junior Kristen Ham said. Ham, a trumpet player, understands the difficulty of doing well with the short amount of practice time given and the large amount of people to work with in band.

However, Ham does look forward to the end of the parade, where there are numerous shops, booths, and food vendors to enjoy at the heart of the celebration, Temple City Park.

“My favorite part [of the parade] is hanging out with friends at the end,” Ham said.

The Temple City Camellia Festival will prove to be an entertaining experience for crowds and performers alike, and whole families are encouraged to come.

Have any broken or unusable electronics lying around at home? To dispose of them environmentally, bring them to San Gabriel High School’s South Parking Lot on Saturday, Feb. 23 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

E-Waste is a semi-annual event that raises funds for San Gabriel High School. For every pound of electronics recycled, the school receives one nickel. Last year, about 24,000 pounds of electronics were recycled, raising about $1,200 for the school.

“It’s a good chance for most of the community to responsibly get rid of their toxic waste,” senior and past E-Waste volunteer Tony Le said.

The E-Waste event has been located at San Gabriel High School for the past four years. Although the school does not receive as many electronic devices as it used to, E-Waste still attracts a lot of attention from the San Gabriel community.

“When we first started we would be at around 60,000 pounds,” PTSA Treasurer

and AP Government teacher Raymond Gin said. “We’ll never get the same amount we did when we first started, but I think we’ll always do about 25,000 pounds.”

San Gabriel looks forward to hosting the E-Waste drive and helping the environment.

Jenny Wu

Image courtesy of ci.temple-city.ca.us

The 69th Annual Temple City Camellia Festival will be an exciting experience for performers and bystanders, and San Gabriel’s Marching Band will perform in the parade among other school bands.

TUTORING IN YOUR HOME Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus,

AP Chemistry, SATUC Berkeley Graduate

Roy Wu(626) 818- 2587

E-Waste electronics drive to raise money and recycle

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Photos by Derek Deng

NEWS 4 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Steven Ho and Monica Lam

Lauren Kakazu

Cyber criminals hinder education and face serious consequences

On Feb. 2, more than a thousand participants throughout all of Southern California, including San Gabriel High School’s woodshop class, went head-to-head against each other at the regional SkillsUSA Competition at L.A. Trade Tech. High school and community college students competed in dozens of career-technical skills competitions. Seniors David Chen and Jimmy Peraza and fresh-man Milton Peraza advanced to state competition and will hopefully advance to nationals.

Chen placed gold in Cabinetmaking. Only one gold medal is awarded per category.

Milton scored 100 percent on his written test of woodworking and scored 20 points above all other contestants to place gold in Intro to Woodworking. Milton has a good feeling about moving on to state in San Diego.

“I think I did what I can. I feel good, happy, and proud of myself,” Milton said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll make it to nationals. I just need to work hard.”

Milton’s older brother Jimmy Peraza was just 1.10 points away from placing bronze in Cabinet-making. He placed 4th and also qualified to ad-vance to state competition.

“I’m kind of upset with myself. I could have done better,” said Jimmy Peraza. “I really didn’t spend much time making cabinets, but I think I did well.” Peraza also names some of the things he could do to improve for the next competition in San Diego. “I just need to practice more and prepare for what they are going to have us do there,” Peraza said.

Out of all the schools in California that will be competing at the state competition, only one stu-dent throughout the whole state will have the shot at competing at the nationals competition. Wood-shop teacher John Mason believes that one of his students has a chance at making it to nationals.

“I think they have a shot at it. Only [the competi-tors who competed] in Cabinetmaking go to nation-als,” said Mason. “Only one person in the state gets to go to nationals, but I think we have a good shot at it.”

From April 4 – 7, Chen and the Peraza brothers will be in San Diego for the SkillsUSA 46th Annual State Leadership Conference competition at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. They will compete against other high schools in California. A first place win in San Diego will ad-vance them to nationals in Kansas City, Missouri.

Four years ago, two San Gabriel High School students sent an e-mail impersonating a teacher. These two com-piled disturbing and pornographic content and sent it to every student in the teacher’s class as an assignment. The consequences of this prank, now labeled cyber crime, were not funny at all. Both students were caught and prosecuted after months of thorough investigation by the Alhambra Police Department High Tech Crime Unit. The students both had to hire attorneys, appear before the District Attorney’s Office, pay restitution for damages, and face other serious consequences.

Cyber crimes are occurring today, and instances of this crime have happened at San Gabriel over Internet sites intended to promote learning

Junior Christopher Cam, a student affected by cyber crimes committed on his teacher, feels that they not only scar students, but also hinder education.

“They disable us from posting and commenting after the teacher protects the website from hackers,” Cam said. “It’s cutting us from education.”

Janett Perales, assistant principal of Student Services at San Gabriel, explains that the administration tries to prevent cyber crime from happening and takes action when dealing with such cases.

“We are working diligently and proactively to ensure that our campus is safe from cyber bullying and any kind of bullying behavior.”

Perales states that students signed an electronic com-pact contract that binds the student to respect and abide by proper usage of electronics. Nonetheless, the school hosts workshops and assemblies that inform students, parents, and teachers about the dangers and consequenc-es of cyber crimes.

“Students need to be aware that anything they post

is not private, that anything they wouldn’t say in person they should not put online,” Perales said.

Although state and federal laws are different, both hate crimes and showing minors obscene items can both be considered a felony or misdemeanors.

On the federal level, hate crimes can be considered a felony, but can only protect people if the victim is attend-ing a public school, work, or participating in “federally protected activities.” According to the Penal Code Sec-tion 422.7 and 11411, if the person convicted of the crime did the action with the intent to harm the victim, he or she can be sentenced to prison depending on the case. Hate crimes can vary and are categorized by severity, with Class A felony being the most severe. Consequences of hate crimes are determined by the type of hate crime that was committed.

Showing or sending harmful matter to a minor can also be considered a felony depending on the assailant. According to the California Penal Code 288.2, those con-victed of sending harmful matter to a minor and the case is seen as a misdemeanor, consequences include informal probation, up to six months in a county jail, and/or a maximum $1000 fine. If the case is seen as a felony, con-sequences include formal probation, 16 months, or two or three years in the California State Prison, a maximum $10000 fine and a lifetime duty to register as a sex offend-er pursuant to California Penal Code 290 PC.

Using technology has its vices and virtues, and al-though it is impossible to eradicate the usage of com-puters and the Internet, the school district can work to eliminate the problems of cyber crimes with enough co-operation from the staff and students. Despite the sever-ity of a few cases of cyber crimes at San Gabriel, more efforts have been taken by the administration and staff to keep the students safe in order to create a healthy and enriching learning environment.

2013 AAEDE Scholarship Opportunity Who’s Eligible?

Award Amount:

1) Must be Graduating High School Senior, Class of 2013

2) Demonstrate financial need (to be eligible for financial aid, applicant must have submitted a FAFSA form by the

March 2013 deadline.)

3) Cumulative high school unweighted GPA (out of a 4.0 scale) must be 3.0 and above.

4) Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to apply. (Please note, affiliates of AAEDE are not eligible to apply.)

Requirements: *1) Complete the AAEDE Scholarship application.

2) Include the required 500-word essay on one of the chosen topics below:

A) Please describe an instance, event, or permanent condition of adversity in which you have overcome (or are still overcoming). What did you learn? B) Name and describe the one person (famous or not famous) who has significantly influenced who you are today. What did you learn from him/her? C) If you could change the world, what would you change? D) What is your dream, vision or hope for your life, career? *3) Provide one Letter of Recommendation. The recommender must fill out the recommendation form and attach a letter and seal/sign over the envelope flap. Applicant’s name must appear on the front of the envelope. 4) Provide an official sealed copy of your high school transcript. 5) Please include a copy of your FAFSA SAR Report. (Please refer to sample report on our website.) *Scholarship application and recommendation form are posted online at www.aaede.org and also distributed to high school administrators/counselors. Please check your high school website or ask your scholarship coordinator for more information.

There will be (3) awards of $500 each and (3) awards of $1000 each.

A total of 6 scholarship awards will be offered.

216 W. Garvey Ave. Ste. #E, Monterey Park, CA 91754-1688 • (626)572-7021 • info@aaede.org • www.aaede.org

In order to be safe using technology, students need to be aware of the di fferent k inds of activities that can be labled as cyber c r imes . Committ ing or a iding in such ac ts l eads to many se r i ous consequences that may include appearing in court and paying fines.

San Gabriel students win woodworking awards at the Skills USA Competition at L.A. Trade Tech. From left to right, Jimmy Peraza, 4th place Cabinetmaking; David Chen, Gold Medal, 1st place Cabinetmaking; and Milton Peraza, Gold Medal, 1st Place, Intro to Woodworking.

San Gabriel wins gold medals in woodworking competition

Photo by John Mason

5 OPINIONS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Staff Stance

Steven Ho

Deprived by languageI can honestly say that my parents have

never argued with me. They never told me that I was forbidden to leave the house. They never forced me to get good grades. Sounds perfect, right?

Not even close.My parents and I don’t even know

each other. We can’t; we are separated by what seems like an indestructible barrier of language—Cantonese on the television and English on my tongue. My parents did not have time to learn how to speak, read, and write in English; they were too busy paying off bills with their sweat and attention.

Meanwhile, my siblings and I grew up uncultured since my parents did not have time to teach their own kids how to speak Cantonese. They assumed that we would learn the language if enough Cantonese dramas were playing in the background.

At first, that worked. I learned a lot of Cantonese when I was young and I told my parents everything. But then, when times got hard and my parents were gone away from home longer, I quickly lost most of my Cantonese.

I never understood how grave my situ-ation was until recently. When I was eight, I never understood why I cried for hours when I accidentally cut my lip with a razor. It wasn’t because the slash hurt like a hot knife. It wasn’t because I was too short to reach the band-aids on the bathroom shelf. It was because when I screamed out, “Mommy, help me, I’m bleeding,” in English, she did not understand me. She did not know why her son was sitting down with a razor in one hand and blood all over the other.

My parents were never able to under-stand why I never learned Cantonese. My mom never asked me how my day was. Relatives made fun of my American accent. I have never told her a joke. Car rides are always silent.

I never told them, “I love you.”I never knew English could ever

wound me so terribly. When my dad took me to see my grandfather in the hospital before he had died from a disease my father couldn’t explain to me, I did not know what to say. I couldn’t say anything. I just looked at the old man I never knew and said, “Thank you” in Cantonese, which was the only thing I knew how to say. What else could I say to a dying man I never knew? “May God bless you in the afterlife” was a mile from my Chinese vocabulary. I still would not know what to say this present day.

This fear of ever speaking to my parents made me never want to upset them, so I push myself to get straight As. One day my mom inadvertently asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I replied, “I want to be a writer.” She did not know what that was, and I tried explaining to her what that meant. When she found out, her eyes lit up and she was amazed.

“I thought you wanted to be an as-tronaut? I thought you wanted to cure cancer?,” she said in Cantonese words I once told her as a young boy.

I simply replied “I changed” in English and as a mother, she knew exactly what I meant and what I was feeling. But I don’t think that she will ever understand that I have forsaken language once in my life-time, and I will never do that ever again.

As our world increases its dependence on technol-ogy, the Internet, and cyber communication, a new form of crime has been rapidly increasing—the cyber crime.

Cyber crimes are clas-sified in three ways. First, activities that cause viruses and attack the computer or hack into a computer to obtain personal information are considered cyber crimes. Second, using the computer as a place to store illegal or stolen information is classi-fied as a cyber crime. Lastly, the crime that concerns stu-dents at our very school is the last third of cyber crime in which people use the computer or the Internet as a weapon to commit a “tra-ditional crime.” This third definition of a cyber crime makes the Internet another zone that is regulated and monitored by policy officers and the FBI.

This year alone, two inci-

dents on an educational site have caused investigations on our very campus, and cy-ber crimes of a similar nature have become daily activities in high schools around the nation.

Last December, North Carolina decided to imple-ment statewide laws that made it a misdemeanor for students to commit online offenses against school em-ployees. These offenses in-clude but were not limited to creating false online profiles and posting private informa-tion and personal images.

Although these actions may seem rash to some, it is the only way to con-vince students that these crimes are serious issues that can quickly lead to legal troubles.

For example, in August of last year, an Alabama teen was prosecuted for “distrib-uting child pornography” on the Internet when he posted

The consequences of cyber crimes and bullyingOh the Ho-rror

images on a website that were meant to be comical. Since the boy was eighteen when he posted the pictures, he was sentenced to five years in jail and is now on Megan’s List, a list with the names of all the sex offend-ers in the nation.

Students often treat posts on the Internet as casual con-versations with their friends. What people rarely think

about is that once a mes-sage is posted, it has been recorded and archived in cyber space forever.

It may seem like the cyber crimes arrests are overreac-tions from adults who “can’t take a joke,” but what stu-dents have to realize is that we live in an adult world, and unfair or not, everyone has to abide by the same rules, legal and otherwise.

The majority is not always the normAs I walk through the halls, expertly

maneuvering through the crowd of ex-cruciatingly slow peanut-crunchers and herds of students trying to get to class or those avoiding it, I cannot help but notice the amount of couples holding hands in the hallways, especially since Valentine’s Day just passed.

Although some couples do tend to take it a bit too far when it comes to high school relationships, that does not necessarily mean that all “teenage” relationships are unhealthy or immature, and they should not all be regarded as such. People constantly tend to make the mistake of judging everything by a majority, completely disregarding the small percent that constitutes a minority because they think the majority is the norm, average, standard, but that is not so.

It is completely irrational for people to make quick judgments about all people from what they have seen from other people, and it angers me to know that some parents look down on their children who do have relationships as teenagers.

Take for example a cousin of mine who attends a high school

Costs of the AP exams may prevent students from taking themAP testing registration has begun

and for many students there is some-thing else to worry about other than the anxiety of the approaching exam.

Receiving the registra-tion paper for AP

testing may be one of the worst experiences of their high school

lives during the school year. Stu-d e n t s w h o

d o n ’ t have f ree or reduced lunch are to pay the full

Vanessa De La Rosa in East Los Angeles, and myself. She has had so many boyfriends I have lost count, and I, I have never even looked a guy straight in

the eyes. She has received straight A’s for as long as I can remember and she is ahead one math level,

when I cannot do math to save my life. She is doing better than I did my freshman year, and she has taken on extracurricular activities as well. Her boyfriend runs in Cross Country with her, and they compete together regularly. Nothing about their relationship seems inap-propriate or unhealthy to me; in fact, having her boyfriend with her motivates her to do well in order to set a good example for him, whom she also helps in school.

“I don’t think [highschool relationships] are bad. I think they’re good. They make high school more bearable,” junior Sarai Millan said.

Despite the responsibility and sense of re-straint my cousin has exhibited, people in my family are always quick to gossip about how my

aunt “failed to raise her daughter properly” and about how “she should be ashamed of herself for having a boyfriend at such a young age.”

Last time I checked a woman was allowed to date whomever she wanted, whenever she wanted, for as long as she wanted and if knowing a person’s relationship

status drastically affects your judgment of someone’s character, then I feel sorry for you.

$89 dollars while those who have free or reduced lunch pay $5 dollars per test, a margin that is largely excessive.

“I understand that students who get the reduction for AP test need it because of the disadvantages they may have financially but a $89 dollars to $5 is quite a wide margin,” sophomore Brian Choy said. Choy is currently taking World History AP and will be one of many students who will come face to face with the exams in May. With prices so high, how are students expected to “challenge” themselves? With yet another aspect of the test to consider, how are students expected to feel encouraged to take the test? Stu-dents taking five AP classes would be forced to face costs up to $400 dollars. Plenty of students have turned their

backs on AP testing because of the cost of the test themselves.

“I don’t understand why the cost might not be reduced to $50 or $60,” sophomore Shannon Hang said. “I think that this price range would be a bit more reasonable.

Students who don’t get free or reduced lunch are unlikely to get any fee waivers for SATs so that just packs on the cost of being a student in high school. I believe that there should be a better margin for the cost of exams in order to help out students who don’t qualify for free or reduced lunch; students that may have to pay the full price because their parents’ income just past the limit that would have given them free lunch otherwise.

-Marvin Luu

Illustration by Jelina Luu

Illustrated by Jenny Bui

Image by <bgmoey.blogspot.com>

OPINIONS 6 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

What do you see in the mirror?

C a r r y i n g my duffel bag as I was

walking to the track field, I was ready to change into my track clothes and prepare

myself. Many guys were changing outside in the open with no shame, but I decided to change in the restroom,

not because I did not like changing outside, but because I was insecure about my body. Insecurity, an issue that haunts both girls

and boys, is when a person is deeply afraid of how other people will view them. This issue is affecting teens, becoming one of the major problems

people face in high school. Trying to overcome high school, I was worried about people judging me

whether it was how I dressed or whether it was how I looked. Most importantly, I was worried about people judging my body.

In a study done by the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in 2001, 13,601 students in the ninth through twelfth grade who perceived themselves as either weight extreme — very fat or really skinny — were more than twice as likely as normal-weight teens to attempt or think about committing suicide.

“I don’t really care that much, but I think people should not mind what others are wearing,” senior Sean Ban said.

Women are constrained by the media and the way they portray women on a day to day basis, expecting them to look a certain way and weigh a certain number. Women are more insecure about their bodies than guys are because women have been bombarded with advertisement of beauty that not all women can live up to.

For example, many beauty portrayals such as from magazines or television advertisement for women’s apparel convince women to buy their products because women believe they will make them look as beautiful as those women

they see in the advertisement; however, some are afraid that they will not appear like those they see on television or in magazines. These women

are affected by this tremendously.“Because people kept calling me skinny, I tried changing my

eating habits, but when I realize I couldn’t get any fatter, I resumed my normal eating habits and didn’t care about

what people said about me,” junior Nina Yu said.

- Derrick Chi

Media distorts the image of beauty

Insecurities of outside images

If you look in the mirror and stare at yourself, what do you see? Now look closer. Does it make a difference?

A c c o rd i n g t o t h e N a t i o n a l Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States.

Most people who are usually self-conscious about their body image think that they are not worthy enough to fit in with everyone else. They think that they have to be skinny like models in magazines, or fit like male celebrities.

Although many people may blame society for taking a huge part in the prevalence of negative body image, the way you see and feel about the way you look can also affect your thoughts and beliefs you have about your body. The way you think about your body is your cognitive body image.

However, society has a huge impact on the way we view ourselves; it has set up nearly impossible and unrealistic body standards that everyone wants to have, resulting in the negative way people view their own bodies because they do not compare to the image plastered all over the media.

“People don’t want to be the odd one out, so they do everything they can to fit in whether it be by wearing nice clothes or altering their body image,” freshman Alex Tse said.

The media has even advertised pills

and weight loss programs that are designed to help lose weight, whereas a healthy diet and exercise plan is just as effective and can not only make you feel good about yourself, but also make your mind feel healthy and refreshed in general. Society promotes ways that are both physically and mentally unhealthy.

“The present glut of self-loathing, shame and pointless misery of trying and failing to be the ideal creature of our society’s desire needs re-thinking,” author Louise Foxcroft says in her book on dieting, Calories and Corsets. Foxcroft concedes that society happens to play a big role in the way we view our bodies.

Junior Terra Pham agrees that society puts too much pressure on body image. “I think that it’s horrible. They put too much pressure on us when we’re good enough already.”

Pham believes that too much emphasis is put on physical appearances like being tall or skinny.

“Just be who you are,” Pham adds.As generations evolve, both men

and women are not only encouraged to be thin, but have to deal with the fact that publicity has a part in encouraging people to look a certain way. Instead of promoting eating disorders, Julie Parker, the General Manager of the Butterfly Foundation says that “the best thing the media can do to promote self esteem and body confidence in people is to show a greater diversity of body shapes, sizes, and culturally diverse people.”

Crystal Wong

I f p e o p l e could see the patients

who suffer from eating disorders then I would never have

to hear: “You’re so anorexic” with a twinges of jealousy.

“I know they meant it in a good way, but they don’t understand that anorexia is really horrible,” senior Natalie Hour said.

Eating disorders like anorexia, binge and bulimia are all potentially life-

threatening diseases that strongly affect victims emotionally and

physically. However, in the height of all of these eye-raising statistics, there are still many girls who regard

eating disorders as “ways of dieting.”

When I see girls who are at a healthy body weight and look perfectly beautiful refuse to eat a chocolate bar because they need to “get skinny,” I feel like a crime has been committed

against our generation and the next. I think about the girls who self-starve themselves and the girls who spend hours in front of a toilet bowl, and my mind travels back the numerous occasions when my own friends have used eating disorders as a way to compliment someone’s beauty.

Such a skewered perspective on beauty has caused all genders alike to suffer from these diseases that stem from the pressures of body images, family trouble and other emotional issues. This mind set on eating disorders

needs to be changed so people realize that it doesn’t only come from

“wanting to be skinny,” but from a variety of other reasons that may

have affected their eating habits. Cultural and family pressures, social pressures, psychological disorders…the list goes on.

To even suggest that anorexia is beautiful or bulimia is normal is to accept the fact that we have people in hospital beds who face hardships such as withdrawal from family and friends, dysfunctional organs, and emotional damage, but

at what cost? To look like that model from Vogue?

To fit into your prom dress? So more people accept you?

Please think about the people who truly suffer from eating disorders and try not to

be so insensitive with your words. Having an eating disorder is already emotionally

draining, and I would hate to think that we, as a society, are feeding this plague as opposed to stopping it.

-Debbie Dinh

Eating disorders have become a dangerous beauty issue

Effects of anorexia:-Hair Loss-Cold/blue hands and feet-Hormone levels drop-Testosterone levels remain low-Permanent bone loss: osteoporosis-Mood changes-Low heart rate/ blood pressure-Insomnia

Effects of bulimia:-Lung irritation-Spasms-Weakness-Kidney disease-Irritation of stomach/esophagus

Effects of binge eating:-Stress-Anxiety-Depression -Heart disease-Personality disorders

Information provided by Boston College Eating Awareness Team

Illustration by Annie Huang

The Matador is a public forum for student expression and highly encourages responses in reaction to issues discussed in the paper. Submit comments as a letter to the editor, signed (anonymity is guaranteed if requested), to H-2, or Ms. Kim’s mailbox.

The Matador is published monthly by the journalism staff of San Gabriel High School. 1,600 copies per issue are published at JEJ Print Inc. The opinions and views expressed in The Matador do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the school or the Alhambra School District. The Matador and the Alhambra Unified School District do not endorse the vendors advertised in this paper.

Editor in ChiefNews Editors

Opinions Editors

Focus EditorLife and Art Editors

Sports Editors

Features Editors

Copy Editors

Photo EditorArtists

Business Managers

Website Editors

Blogs ManagerPhotographers

Adviser

Lauren FukumotoJenny Bui

Steven HoMaggie Cheng

Monica LamNatalie TranDerrick Chi

Debbie DinhMarvin Luu

Oscar MolinaSandy Peng

Julianne TengChristopher Lan

Priscilla LiangJenny Wu

Hana NgoAnnie Huang

Jelina LuuJohn TruongIrene Hong

Chelsey TranCeline DangYadanar Oo

Karen RiveraNana Akahoshi

Derek DengSonny Hy

Jennifer Kim

Reporters: Kaleen Luu, Brian Rios, Crystal Wong

7 OPINIONS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Assistant Editors: Vanessa De La Rosa, Kristy Duong, Annie Huang, Lauren Kakazu, Mimi Lam, Tran Lam, Rebecca Lei, Jelina Luu, Kather-ing Montelon

Knowledge is power

Hana Ngo

‘Ngo’ hard feelings

Aside from saying “rabbit, rabbit” when the month began for good luck, people around the world took to Twitter to express their outrage due to the fact that it’s Black History Month. Count-less tweets were along the lines of “I’m not racist, but where’s White History Month?”

Well, if you start a line with “I’m not something…” then the chances are that you probably are exactly that something, or when you say “no offense” it means “yes offense.” Just because you make an excuse for your actions, doesn’t mean we accept it.

It was horrifying to see how ignorant people are these days – the phrase “ig-norance is bliss” isn’t always true. While the issue on hand isn’t about racism, it’s about the power of knowledge and the importance of being educated in order to be a decent human being.

All over social media and in conver-sations, the “N” word is thrown around by other ethnicities, as if it’s okay to use that term now. Hispanics are often called beaners, wetbacks, and any other name in the book, and all Asians – whether you’re Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, etc. – are mocked by “ching chong.” Yes, we do joke about ourselves, but what does that say about society?

We are becoming too lenient on issues. You may think that I’m uptight about these issues, issues that may seem like no big deal to you, but trust me, it is a big deal. We take everything that is horrible in the world and joke about it, as if we were trying to bury the truth from society of what they really mean.

Jokes are made left and right and most of us intend for them to be just that. But the reality of the situation is that words will always have an effect, and people will see it differently. Racism is nothing compared to rape jokes – and all other crimes are indeed heinous, but rape is a unique issue on its own.

Although I am not a victim myself, as a feminist, I care about the well-being of humans around the world who struggle to cope with it. We are currently living with a rape culture; we belittle the severity of the issue, which in turn lowers the rates of women turning up to report them. By joking about rape, we as a society are pointing out to others that rape is not a serious issue. But it is. Why do we al-low it to happen? It’s because ignorance plagues society.

Information is within our reach, and yet we choose to ignore it because what we know now is currently making us hap-py. We choose not to educate ourselves. Instead, we are taking the education given to us for granted, choosing to live for the moment, without a care for the world.

I know that I’m not a superhero and I’m not going to change the world dras-tically, but I do know for sure that I will do my best to be a better person, to make society a better place, and in order to do that, I need to no longer be ignorant about important issues in life.

At one point in our lives, it’s true that it was better to be ignorant. But now that we’re growing up and ready to take on the “real” world, we’re mature enough to understand issues and learn about them.

Knowledge is empowerment, and no matter what happens, you will continue to learn lessons throughout your life, but only if you’re open to it.Photos by Nana Akahoshi

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The Matador BullringWhat makes you confident in yourself?

“I feel like going natural without makeup because it makes me feel like I’m looking the best I can be.”

“Look[ing] presentable at school.”- Austin Lam, 12th grade

- Jennifer Meza, 9th grade

“Being comfortable is more important than looking nice.”

- Vicki Liu, 11th grade

“Being at peace with my looks makes me feel confident in myself.”

- Erick Reyes, 10th grade

“Ugh, I have to get 100 percent on this next test. What if UCLA digs through these records and finds out I didn’t get a perfect [score]? Then I won’t get in!”

Wait, what? I was picking up my brother from school the other day when I overheard these two middle-schoolers discussing their next math test. It was weird, because I recalled that when I was in middle school, what I worried about was whether my parents would let me go and hang out with my friends, not whether a few percentages would cost me a college acceptance.

“I think that it’s a good thing to focus on academics, but they should be able to spend time on other things too, like family, friends, clubs, and hobbies,” freshman Kenny Yeung said.

But the younger generation does not only obsess over academics. Young girls are increasingly being influenced by pop culture to dress more and more maturely and give off an older aura than they really have, and young boys are working out more and more to get Taylor Lautner’s perfect abs.

Many of these tweens surround themselves with TV shows, games, and people inspire the rush to grow up quickly in order to take a more active part in conversation, or to understand a scene more properly. Similarly, these easily-influenced adolescents are also very prone to follow along with the trends, believing that wearing clothes identical to the ones that celebrities wear or looking like a celebrity looks will automatically render them popular and accepted.

“Honestly, I think it’s kind of sad to see these children grow up so fast compared to the children you see in movies and books. It’s like they don’t get to experience a true childhood,” sophomore Elim Li said. Li also suggested that the reason might be because of the media’s influence on today’s youth.

Even though the youth of today is increasingly being influenced by things they see on the television, hear on the radio, or

even r e a d o n the Internet, studies suggest that these factors alone may not be the only aspects of a daily routine that causes children to mature at an increased rate.

According to a post made by journalist Petra Dvorak in The Washington Post, pop culture is not the only factor in the abnormal growth of these children. “Parents are pushing their kids toward adulthood at ever younger and increasingly crazy ways,” Dvorak said. “They send 7-year-olds to technique-intense sports camps, hire academic tutors for their kindergartners, sign 4-year-olds up for violin lessons and contract with writing coaches to help compose their kids’ preschool applications.”

When was the last game of handball you have had? The last street hockey match? Or the last time you have simply just gone into the backyard to enjoy a game of catch? I am sure I can speak for more than myself when I say that oftentimes I am too engrossed with work and the future to just kick back and relax.

Similarly, some of these tweens are so preoccupied with ‘Glee’ and ‘American Idol’, dressing like the older kids, or even succumbing to the pressure to be the perfect student given to them by parents with high expectations that they lose sight of their age and identity.

Adolescence is a fleeting concept

-Rebecca Lei

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FOCUS 8 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

*Out of 60 studentsSurvey compiled by Rebecca Lei, Kristy Duong, and Priscilla Liang

9 FOCUS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013 THE MATADOR

Gun violence prevalence has been seen throughout the nation with the recent mas-sacres of Sandy Hook Elementary School and Columbine High School, the school shooting at Virginia Polytechnic University and State University, the manhunt of Chris-topher Dorner, and, the most recent incident of gun violence cases, the killing of three bystanders by Ali Syed.

Arming our teachersIn the aftermath of the recent school

violence incidents that have left nothing but tragedy and sorrow in their wake, teachers and administrators have begun to contem-plate whether teachers themselves should be armed in order to offer a sense of security and confidence in teachers.

According to an article by Chet Brokaw in the Insurance Journal, the South Dakota House approved a bill on Jan. 29 that would

allow teachers and school staff to be armed with guns as a preventative measure to intimidate potential attackers who pose threats to the school and students’ safety. The school board reasoned that this measure was necessary for schools in rural areas where no law enforcers are stationed nearby and are unable to arrive at the scene in the limited amount of time given if the situation was dire enough to call for their assistance.

Right or wrong? By having guns at their disposal, within

their reach but away from students, teachers would be prepared for violent situations, reducing the likelihood of lost lives and preventing massacres from occurring. When in a deathly situation with people’s lives at stake, the time allowed for a reaction de-creases considerably, and the accessibility of a weapon is vital in determining the fates of the students, teachers, and other personnel.

Paul Fennewald, a retired agent who worked with the FBI for 23 years, sought to inform everyone involved about the detri-mental effects and risks that armed teachers may pose in an article by Dale Singer in the St. Louis Beacon. Guns would not be handed out carelessly to all staff members, but only to those who have received special training and have gone through the neces-sary preparations in order to be qualified enough to handle a weapon that could end a person’s life.

“If school boards make the decision to do that...they need to make sure that personnel are as well-trained and get the same continu-ing training as local law enforcement,” Fen-newald said in the interview. “You would be giving them the same authority to make life-and-death decisions in a fraction of a second as law enforcement officers, and they have strict requirements.”

People may argue that the arming of

teachers would present an opportunity for students to get a hold of a gun without physically having to bring it onto campus themselves, but the students do not neces-sarily have to know about the gun policy being installed in the school. Most teachers establish rules in their classrooms about re-specting a teacher’s desk and materials, and knowing that there would be an extremely lethal object near, a teacher would not be away from their desk long enough for a student to look through and find the gun.

Liabilities with having armed teachers

Many have protested against these

proposals, claiming that allowing teachers to have guns as a safety measure in school would only further encourage violence on campus grounds.

Having weapons at their disposal puts teachers under liability, and some teachers would rather not be put under such respon-sibility. Kenneth S. Trump, President of Na-tional School Safety and Security Services, supports the counter argument for arming teachers with guns in order to protect them-selves and their students against people who intend to inflict harm.

“School districts considering arming teachers and school staff with guns would take on significant responsibility and poten-tial liabilities that I firmly believe are beyond the expertise, knowledge-base, experience, and professional capabilities of most school boards and administrators,” Trump said in an article in School Security.

Behind the crimes There are several reasons as to why

acts of violence in schools are committed. Many of these reasons are based off of the

problems students could be facing in their personal lives. The environment in the households that these young people live in has influenced them to act out in school be-cause of what they learn at home. Whether it is listening to verbal abuse from parents or siblings, the habit is picked up and taken to school where they mimic those aggressive acts of violence and anger.

Turning the tables around: retaliation and revenge

According to an article by the Bureau of

Justice Statistics, it was found that 61% of students have said that students retaliate in shooting other students because of the abuse they had received at home.

Stress levels have also been discovered to contribute to acts of violence against stu-dents on campus grounds. The stress level that some of these students are facing is at an all-time high, most of it dealing with the bullying they face.

The National Institutes of Technology reported that victims of bullying are likely to retaliate in an act of violence, whether it is fighting or taking weapons to school. It was reported that 87 percent of students said shootings by students have been an act of revenge “to get back at those who have hurt them.”

The stress and anxiety of being victim-ized has led these students to the edge of their limits, to their breaking points where they could no longer endure the emotional strain their peers’ words put them under, so they sought revenge.

Although measures to prevent further school massacres are still being disputed, the desire to keep students and personnel safe from gun violence binds teachers, students, and administration under that commonality.

With the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, school violence has been a bigger issue on the American agenda than ever before.Story by Karen Rivera and Vanessa De La Rosa. Illustrations by Annie Huang, Jelina Luu, and Natalie Tran.

NEWSLIFE & ART 10 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

‘The Most Popular Girls in School’ rule the InternetVanessa De La Rosa

“The Most Popular Girls in School” is a popular stop-motion animation YouTube series that has seized the Inter-net and bombarded social networking sites with inspired GIFs and photosets of the eminent Barbies featured in the show. Created by Mark Cope and Carlos Moss, the first episode was published on YouTube on May 1 and has ac-cumulated over three million viewers.

The series revolves around two main popular groups of girls: the cheerleaders, including Mackenzie Zales, Brittnay Matthews, and Trisha Cappelletti, and the Van Buurens, Shay Van Buuren , Cameron Van Buuren and Mi-kayla Van Buuren, a new girl named Deandra who is stuck in between the two because of deals she struck with them, and a Gossip Girl-obsessed outsider named Rachel Tice who, throughout the season, devises an “ultimate plan” to become prom queen in an attempt to overcome the popu-lar girls that have demoralized her for so long. The story line is set in a fictional high school in Overland Park, Kan-sas.

According to an interview with Label Bianco, the idea for “The Most Popular Girls in School” first arose when Cope saw Moss perform with a sketch comedy group in Hollywood entitled “Bathroom Hierarchy.” Cope had al-ready originally thought of working on an animated show, but was completely at a loss of what equipment to use or what scenes to enact due to his lack of artistic and creative

abilities. After seeing the sketch, Cope thought the sketch would be hilarious if it were Barbie dolls acting out the sketch rather than people, and asked the group if he could record their voices for the idea.

“After the show, Mark told me about how he wanted to try stop-motion and asked me if he could use the script…He went and worked on it for a while… A couple months later, he showed me the finished product, and I absolutely loved it,” Moss stated in the interview.

The comical web series went viral when a viewer post-ed the first episode on a social networking site in early Jan-uary of this year, instantaneously gaining popularity and amassing a huge fan-base over the course of two months.

“I found out about it through Tumblr, and I wondered what these pictures of Barbies were about, and when I fi-nally found out the name of the show I went to search it up,” junior Judy Linh said. “I thought it was really funny; a little weird at first, but funny. I liked the voices a lot; that’s why I kept watching. I wanted to listen to more of their voices, and the stop motion animation was done well.”

Due to the popular reception of season one of “The Most Popular Girls in School,” the creators have decided on continuing with a second season, raising funds on Kick-starter for new sets, recording equipment, new characters, and animation software. The first episode of the second season is set to premiere on March 5.

From the first episode of ‘TMPGiS”, we see (from left to right) Mackenzie Zales, Trisha Cappalletti and Deandra “The New Girl.” This scene takes place in the girls’ restroom where Deandra intrudes in the cheerleader’s hierarchy.

Photo courtesy of 2.bp.blogspot.com

San Gabriel High School Memes and Compliments on Facebook bring students and alumni together

Prisci l la Liang

Facebook has been almost vital in commu-nicating with clubs, organizations, and with classmates. Two new pages, SGHS Compli-ments, and SGHS Memes, have enhanced the communication between students by bring-ing a larger pool of San Gabriel High School classmates to come together.

San Gabriel High School Memes, which has various pictures with captions relating to the school’s various ways, has become highly popular, with 725 likes and counting. Accord-ing to the page, it was founded last year, and has become a wide-known destination on the social networking site since.

San Gabriel High School Compliments is the newer of the two, having only been started on Feb. 11. According to the page, it was “inspired by Mark Keppel High School Compliments.” The page aims to help the shy express their gratitude toward San Gabriel High School’s teachers, faculty, staff, and fellow students. “It is a great way to create a more positive environment for our peers,” senior Susan Lei said. The page has picked up 41 likes so far, and is increasing in momen-tum, even though the page lacks material, most likely due to the short time it has been available.

‘Harlem Shake’ shakes the worldBrian Rios

Move over Gangnam Style, here comes the Harlem Shake. The latest phe-nomenon has already been hailed as the heir to the Gangnam Style mania. The Harlem Shake has generated countless witty, and not witty, renditions.

The newest dance craze is a 30-second dance that begins with one dancer moving to “The Harlem Shake” by Baauer. Halfway through, the rest of the group joins in by frantically dancing. The Harlem Shake has gone viral on the Internet and currently is one of the more popular trends on YouTube. The meme first started garnering attention when a vlogger named “Filthy Frank” upload-ed a silly video with his friends. The Harlem Shake has appealed to many be-cause it is relatively simpler and shorter than its predecessors.

The Harlem Shake inspires novice cinematographers to produce their own clips with a far simpler formula. It is easier to orchestrate. The fact that it is only 30-seconds makes it easier for enthusiasts to watch and anthologize their favorites into video compilations.

The Harlem Shake is unique, catchy, and appealing to the majority of Inter-net users-not to mention everyone is now doing their own versions of it. It is a new Internet “fad” and a refreshment from the Gangnam Style hype.

Unlike previous viral hits “Gangnam Style” and “Call Me, Maybe,” the Harlem Shake originated from an existing entity, a dance that has been around since the early 1980s. Although the video dance meme has already accumulated over 170 million views across 40,000 different YouTube uploads from across the world, many folks are disturbed by the videos, deeming them absurd and that they are making a mockery of the true Harlem Shake.

The real Harlem Shake originated in Harlem, New York in 1981 by resident Al-B and spread quickly throughout surrounding urban areas. In 2001, the Har-lem Shake made its first comeback, the dance was featured in G. Dep’s music video for his track “Let’s Get It,” thus propelling the dance into mainstream.

The latest dance craze has no doubt took the world by storm resulting in countless meme videos and some outraged fans of the real Harlem Shake; how-ever, the Harlem Shake is here to stay - at least until the next fad.

These two Facebook pages pose for new student connections, and demonstrate the amount of influence social networking can have on opinions of many topics, this one fo-cusing on more public views and opinions of San Gabriel High School.

Photo courtesy of SGHS Memes

A group of students in a cafe participating in the Internet phenomenon called the ‘Harlem Shake.’ It often involves people dancing crazily in a variety of places and outfits.

Photo courtesy of forbes.com

A meme generated from the SGHS Memes page on Facebook which plays on a teacher on campus known for taking away student’s on cellphones. For more, ‘Like’ the page on Facebook.

11 LIFE & ART FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Vo’s passion for fashion earns a trip to NYC to compete in ‘Project Runway’

The fashion industry, a global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes, might seem intimidating to enter, but San Gabriel alumnus Tony Vo’s audacity enabled him to aspire to become a fashion designer. As a child he was always interested in fashion and art, so he thought that he could fuse the two together and make a career out of it.

On Jan. 8, Vo entered a contest spon-sored by Aquafina called “Pure Challenge.” Contestants submitted a sketch, drawing or photograph of an original fashion design on Aquafina’s Facebook page. According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Aquafina received more than 100 submissions, which they narrowed down to 10 designs. Then Aquafina’s Facebook fans voted for their favorites. The four finalists would win a free trip to New York City to compete in a live one-hour competition called “Project Runway” on Feb. 6.

“I entered the contest because [fashion] is something I enjoy doing, and it was an opportunity to show the world my talent and what I have to offer,” Vo said.

Luckily for Vo, many Facebook fans of Aquafina and his friends were fond of his design of a mermaid dress with sequins and beading; therefore, he was one of the four finalists voted to compete in New York City. Held at the Empire Hotel Rooftop, the Pure Challenge competition was hosted by Karina Smirnoff and began with each contestant receiving a box containing a sewing machine and a simple T-shirt dress, which they were challenged with to create

into their own original design. Many dif-ferent types of materials and fabrics were provided as well.

“What makes designing so interesting to me is that you’re able to break free and let your creative mind do all the talking. A hu-man mind is the most interesting thing on this planet,” Vo said. “Being able to express yourself through your creative mind is such a great way of communication.”

Vo, who is 18-year-old and graduated high school last year, is interested in design-ing menswear, explaining that men’s op-tions of clothing are limited while women have a surfeit of possibilities in clothing. His inspirations include Alexander Mc-Queen. Hoping to aid his fashion designer dreams, Vo enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (F.I.D.M.) A place where creativity and careers merge, F.I.D.M. is a specialized, private college dedicated to educating students for the Fashion, Graphics, Interior Design, and Entertainment Industries.

“I’ve recently started F.I.D.M. a couple of months ago. I am still on the verge of developing the skills and learning all the fundamentals that will help me in becom-ing a successful designer. With this in mind, I have not encountered any major design experience besides this one,” Vo said.

Although he did not ultimately win the Aquafina competition, Vo was glad to be part of the experience. “As of now, I can see myself as a strong candidate in the fashion industry because of my determination to-wards succeeding in life,” Vo said.

San Gabriel alumnus Tony Vo works on his fashion design for the “Aquafina Pure Challenge” held in New York City. Aquafina paid for Vo’s trip and accommodations.

Tran Lam

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl directs movie about the human element of music

‘Psych’ psyches fans out with new season

“My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner, Hollaback Atcha, but you can call him Gus,” James Ro-day said, playing his hilarious role as a fake psychic-detective on the USA comedy show, “Psych.” Fans of the popular television series have long awaited the return of the seventh sea-son, which will premiere on USA on Feb. 27 to thousands of anticipating viewers.

Season seven will premiere with 16 new episodes. The 100th episode of “Psych” is inspired by the television series “Clue,” and another episode will be inspired by “The Blair Witch Project.”

“I am really anticipating the show,“ sophomore Lily Ornelas said. A long-time Psych fan, Ornelas has watched the show every Saturday ever since Season 1.

Describing the show would require the words “hilarious,” “thrilling,” and “versatile.” The show revolves around Shawn Spencer, a suave, cun-ning, and resourceful detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and Burton Guster, Spencer’s responsible and loyal sidekick. Spencer pretends to have psychic abilities when in real-ity, he sees clues and uses inductive reasoning to solve the cases. He also relies on the support of his best friend Burton Guster to sneak through man-sions or dress up as vampires with him as reconnaissance.

“I want to know more about Gus because it’s always about Shawn. I want to know how [Gus] came into the show,” Ornelas said.

The show hosted a promotional “Sleepover Party“ on Feb. 15, where fans could watch episodes of “Psych” from midnight to 6 o’clock the next morning. The cast of “Psych” would also have prank-call viewers who submitted their phone number to the official “Psych” website.

It has been confirmed that season nine will be the very last season of “Psych,” which will only have eight episodes. The show will end primarily because Maggie Lawson, the actress who plays Detective Juliet O’Hara and Shawn’s love interest, is moving on and filming for a show on ABC.

“I feel really bad that ‘Psych’ is end-ing,” Ornelas said. “It’s the best show ever. I could always relate to it.“

Although many fans will be dis-heartened to see Psych end, the show will have had a successful run on nighttime television. As Shawn Spen-cer once said, “Color me impressed...and purple with a streak of magenta.”

Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl makes his directorial debut with a documentary about a recording studio in the San Fernando Valley titled “Sound City.”

The movie follows the story of Sound City Studios from its start in 1970 to the studio’s closing in 2011. Over its 41 years in operation, Sound City produced over 100 albums, including Nirvana’s “Nevermind” in 1991 and Fleetwood Mac’s debut self titled album in 1975. Infamous artists who recorded at the studio include Pat Benatar, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, Rage Against the Machine, Santana, Metallica, Cheap Trick, Elton John, and Rick Springfield.

The draw the studio had can be traced back to one piece of equipment—the Neve 8028 analog mixing console, which was one of only three sound boards special ordered and handcrafted by engineering legend

Rupert Neve. In the docu-m e n t a r y , Neve cred-its the 8028 as his finest achievement, noting that, since it was built in the 1970s, it is completely analog with sounds that transfer di-rec t ly onto tape, with no digital resto-ration.

After the studio’s closing, Grohl purchased the console and used it to create the Sound City record “Sound City: Real to Reel.” The album is the official soundtrack to the documentary

and fea-tures mu-sical leg-ends Ste-vie Nicks, T r e n t R e z n o r , R i c k S p r i n g -field, and Paul Mc-C a r t n e y. In an inter-

view after the show-ing of the film at the Laemmle

Theater in North Hollywood, Grohl called working with Paul McCartney “one of the best experiences of my life,” because as a child the Beatles inspired him to pursue music as a career. “It brought everything

full circle for me, and I the gravity of that moment certainly wasn’t wasted on me,” Grohl said.

Grohl’s documentary focuses on the human element” of music. When asked exactly what this meant, Grohl elaborat-ed by noting, “If you’re Stevie Nicks and you walk into Sound City, you sound…awesome. If you’re Johnny Cash and you walk into Sound City, you sound…awesome. If you’re One Direction and you walk into sound city, maybe not so awesome. In music today, you have to have something to say and not hide behind digital tricks to make a buck. If people want music, give them music, don’t rip them off.”

“Sound City” was chosen to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 18 and began opening in select theaters on Feb. 1. It is also available online and the soundtrack “Sound City: Real to Reel” will be available on iTunes on March 12.

The Sound City soundtrack “Sound City: Real to Reel” features famous rock icons that recorded at sound city. “From Can to Can’t” features Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor.

Steven Ho

Lauren Fukumoto

San Gabriel Reacts to The Most Popular

Girls in School

Photo courtesy of Tony Vo

Photo courtesy of plus.google.com

We asked students to watch episodes of MPGiS and got their reactions.

“I don’t understand. What is this? I don’t even - what’s going on?”

- Fanny Huang (Senior)

“Honestly, I thought it was dumb, but I enjoyed the last line and it was pretty creative.”

- Kelsey Ko (Sophomore)

“I like how Deandra didn’t even bother to wash her hands.”

- Shahreare Khan (Junior)

“I feel as though this is an inaccurate depiction of our generation because no one drops that many f-bombs in 3 minutes, nor are we that dense and insensitive to others.”

- Xuan Tong (Junior)

“What the heck? I thought girls didn’t poop. Well, thank god our school isn’t like that - at least I hope not.”

- Kevin Phung (Senior)

“I guess it’s funny because I haven’t actually witnessed anyone in real life talk that way.”

- Megan Ma (Freshman)

“I see Barbie girls and then I hear their voices and I’m thinking this is going to be either hilarious or sad. I do like their portrayal of the stereotypical girls in high school, and I find it hilarious.”

- Brian Choy (Sophomore) To see a photo gallery of the competi-tion, visit <www.facebook.com/aquafina>

SPORTS 12 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

VARSITY5-5 3rdJV1-9 6thFRESHMAN5-5 3rd

G I R L S B A S K E T B A L L B O Y S S O C C E RB O Y S B A S K E T B A L LVARSITY2-8 5thJV3-6-1 4th

G I R L S S O C C E R C O - E D W R E S T L I N GVARSITY1-4 5thJV2-3 5th

VARSITY0-10 6thJV1-6-3 5th

VARSITY2-8 5thJV1-9 5thFRESHMAN0-10 6th

2012-2013 Winter Sports Season Records

BaseballSpring sports leap into a new season with confidence and training

Mimi Lam

SoftballKather ing Montelon

Boys TennisNana Akahoshi

Boys VolleyballBrian Rios

Co-Ed Badminton

SwimMaggie Cheng

Track and Field

Record last season: The track and field team sent multiple runners in sprinting and mid-distance events to CIF prelims last year.

Goals/Expectations: This year the team welcomes coaches: Matt Lopez (sprint), Daniel Bernard (throwing), Steve Morales (distance), Richard Valenzuela (assistant), and Timothy Ng (jumps).

Key Players: Kenneth Ng (long jump and triple jump), Marcos Solis (distance), Bang Huang (hurdles), Diana Nguyen (sprints)

Comment: “I hope the athletes stay healthy, and become students of the sport,” Head Coach Jason Carson said.

Record last season: 11-1 (overall), qualified for CIF. The Matadors ex-ecuted well last season, only losing to the Montebello Oilers in the regular season. However, the team lost in the quarterfinals to the Windward Wild-cats due to the lack of a healthy setter and communication.

Goals/Expectations: This year’s Matador team contains a similar iden-tity. The Matadors’ boast a starting line-up consisting of veteran seniors, except for Junior Charlie Diep who plays middle back. The boys’ vol-leyball team has ameliorated their positions in setter and middle hitter. Intense practicing and conditioning the team could gain the edge back. Coach Kwan emphasizes teamwork and communication because those very two aspects contribute to a team’s overall success. The Matadors are eyeing another deep run into CIF’s and with dedication and strong work-

Record Last Season: The Matador Swim Team had one key swimmer who qualified for CIF and competed in the breaststroke race. “We had a senior last year who didn’t know how to swim but became the number one JV swimmer,” captain Dawn Au said. However, the team did not fulfill their goals for the 2011-2012 year.

Goals/Expectations: The Matador Swim

Record last season: 5:17:1 (overall)Goals/Expectations: They want to beat

a 500 and win League. Their defense needs some work and the seniors need to improve their leadership. The players need to start paying attention to detail in the whole spectrum of the game.

Key Players: Antonio Ruiz played var-sity all four years as shortstop or pitcher. Since his relatives played baseball or soft-ball, he is trying to meet their expectations. Ruiz made second in CIF last year. Matt Ruiz got his experience from the PONY League. His grandfather played profes-sional baseball and his father played high school baseball.

Comments: “I hope to see everyone play during their off time,” Coach Jesus Peinado said.

Record last season: They made their way to consolation finals, winning the match in the end. After, they advanced to CIF with a score of 6:0:2, landing the badminton team second place in the league.

Goals/Expectations: Even though the bad-minton team has graduated many skills seniors, the team is currently trying to improve their techniques compared to the beginning of the school year. There are a couple of players hurt, but they will hopefully recover in time. The team hopes to have some players step up to the game and play some good positions so that they can win their league and beat Mark Keppel.

Key players: Yaomin Zheng is the captain of the badminton team and a veteram member. Jennie Yu is a mixed player who has a lot of potential with power. She has been in the bad-minton team for 4 years and is currently on the varsity team. Tim Van is a three-year member of the badminton team and plays singles as well as doubles.

Comments: “We have a month before we start playing matches and we are hoping we do a good job in our preseason [so] that it gives us some momentum before we play our actual league games.” Coach Ryan Wong said.

Scores are for Almont League games (San Gabriel competes against five other schools)

Record last season: “ There were 10 league games. We went 1-9,” Nolan Peralta, varsity softball coach said.

Goals/Expectations: “I am excited and looking forward to season,” senior Edit Maldonado said. “My goal is making CIF,”

Key players: “ Sophomore Jessica Regaldo is look-ing to be one of the best hitters I have ever coached. Junior Jennifer Hoang has worked hard all of the season, and is looking to have a breakout year. We are returning 9 starters from last year!” said Peralta.

Comment: “ I am more excited than I had ever been because, of the hard work, and talent of the girls that have put in to get where they’re at. We are stronger than ever because, we have new players playing for season,” Peralta said.

Record last season: 8-9 (overall)Goals/Expectations: The varsity boys this

year are aiming to achieve better. Welcoming new team members and having a smaller team of 10 boys, Coach Steve Akiyama hopes to make it to team playoffs. This year, the boys are hoping to improve on skills that were not the strongest in last year’s team. The team has a strong doubles team that will help the team get closer to the playoffs. This year, varsity boys hope to add gain more experience by adding Edgewood High School, a newly built school in West Covina, to their preseason schedule.

Key players: singles-Aron Hayes, doubles-Peter Lau and Patrick Dam

Comment: “This is a rebuilding year for the tennis team, and with a smaller team, managing the team will probably be easier. We will need to set a good foundation for next year, and in order to do so, the boys will need to improve rapidly for the season.”

“We have to improve on our volleys the most,” Peter Lau said.

ethic, the Matadors are experienced and talented enough to thwart any team.

Key Players: Captain Richard Zheng (outside hitter), Tyler Bui (setter), Justin Tan (middle hit-ter), Oscar Enciso (outside hitter), and Charlie Diep (middle back) are some vital competitors in this Matador team.

Comment:“As captain, I have to keep the team organized and lead by example. I want the team to be consistent. We play as a true team; we cover each other’s weaknesses,” Zheng said.

Derek Deng

Oscar Mol ina

All photos by Derek Deng

Team holds high hopes that some of the varsity swimmers will qualify for the CIF relay race. With dedication and daily practice, the team hopes for a successful season.

Key players: Amber Stern, Brian Tru-ong, Eric Hoang, Jeffrey Yuan, Phong Quach, Mandy Huang

Comment: “Swim is the hardest sport. We don’t get substitutions. We don’t have time to catch our breath or time-outs,” Jeffrey Yuan said.

13 SPORTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Workout of the Month:Push-up Plank

Step 1: Get down into a plank position and extend your body to its full length so that your toes are at one end and your forearms at the other. Your back should be fairly straight.

Step 2: Moving one arm at a time lift yourself up onto the standard push-up position.

Step 3: Once you reach the push-up position, move one arm at a time back into the starting plank position.

Starting as Matadors and finishing as Spartans

Seniors Kevin Phung, Eric Sotelo, Oscar Enciso, Alex Lo, Constant Chi, and Jackson Yee completed the Spartan Run on Jan. 27 in Temecula Valley, California. Having no extensive prior training, they all earned medals on this 8.8 mile long course full of 26 challenging and demanding obstacles.

The five seniors began their 8.8 mile obstacle course in a heat of about 30 runners. The course took them through muddy mountainous terrain on a cold winter morning. Most of the 26 obstacles they faced involved upper-body strength. The running portion of the race traveled over extremely steep hills upon which the runners often slipped. If any par-ticipant failed an obstacle they would

have to do 30 burpees. “The thought of food and eating after the race kept us going,” Yee said.

The two most difficult obsta-cles included: the 100-yard swim across a f r e e z i n g pond of water a n d a 30-foot rope climb. Phung was

only able to make it four miles before cramping, but Chi and Yee remained

to assist him in completing the race. In refer-e n c e t o t h e group, Enciso f in ished the

race first, Sotelo second, Lo third, and Phung, Yee and Chi finished together.

Athletes and spectators both struggle to understand each other’s views

Football team welcomes new Head Coach J.D. ThompsonBrian Rios physical condition and will be played at a much faster pace.

“I’m more of an offensive guy, but I know defense wins championships,” Thompson said.

San Gabriel missed the playoffs last season, going 3-7 and 2-3 in Almont League. Despite the Matadors having a tough season, Thompson is confident that the football program is still strong. He will be picking up right where Oliva left off and is looking to improve the program. “His resume looks really good. I think he is going to do a good job - I wish him good luck. We have a talented group of athletes and with a new perspective, I think they will be successful,” Oliva said.

The AudienceMimi Lam

The PlayerNana Akahoshi

“Oh, come on! Are you blind? What the &*() are you doing? BOOO!”

During any sports game or match, there is always that one person who is sitting on the couch yelling at the screen as if the players could hear them, telling the player what to do. Why do they do that? Could their grandma really do any better? How-ever, being that crazy sports fanatic in the bleachers might not be as bad as described. Honestly, these people are just showing their passion in their favorite sport they admired as a child. They see their favorite sports player as their idol and an athletic figure in their lives.

“I went to a [San Francisco] 49ers game and it was amazing. Everyone was hug-ging. I was excited and thrilled to see them very close,” junior Mercedes Gonzalez said.

What difference is this from those crazed fans cheering on their Korean pop star icon or the Beliebers applauding their hero and superstar, Justin Bieber? Without these fanatics, professional athletes would have no one to play for but themselves. Sure, it’s nice to have some competition against other teams, but it is just not the same without the screaming fans.

“I get emotional during sports games. I am upset when they lose. I feel like I am playing with them,” senior Manuel Her-nandez said.

Babe Ruth was known as a baseball hero during the 1920s. He popularized the sport that spread throughout an entire nation, and Yankee Stadium soon became “the house that Ruth built.” But what is Babe Ruth without his fans? Without them, baseball would probably not be played as widely as it is today. But now, it is practi-cally every baseball player’s dream to catch a foul ball.

“For baseball I am on the edge of my seat. I don’t know how they are go-ing to hit. It’s a guess-ing game,” Gonzalez said.

Certain sports fans love a sport so much they would put their money on the line. Some scream as loudly as they could that the next day they would have a sore throat, but it was such a good game that it was worth it.

There is 30 seconds left in the quarter. You are in a situation where you have two options: either shoot the ball or pass the ball to your teammates. All of a sudden, the audience yells, “Just shoot the ball! It’s not that hard to just shoot!” Pushed by the audience, you decide to shoot the ball, but missed and caused the team to lose the game. This is exactly what happened

to freshman Peter Ma. During any kind of game, a player must not only compete against the oppo-nent, but also the

audience. The oppo-nent is both on and off

the court. “As a player, we

cannot listen to the audience during the game. Like what

my coach always say, ‘talking is cheap’,” Ma said. It is evident that

during any kind of game, either a tennis match or track meet, there is a conflict between the player and

audience. It seems that the audience always has no idea what they are talking about. Sometimes, what the audience think is the best tactic during a game is not so much for the players. “For a basketball game, shoot-ing all the time is not the key to winning. Teamwork and passing of balls can be a more effective way of winning than just simply shooting for a point,” basketball player Julie Tran said.

The audience often acts like they know how the game or match is, when in reality, they do not. “From the stand, the game seems easy, but when it comes to actually playing, it is totally different. The game goes by much rapidly and requires quick think-ing,” soccer player Christina Cabrera said.

A similar perspective is also seen in a cross country meet when friends cheer on each other. It is common hearing cheering like, “Come on run faster,” or “You have to pick it up!” However, like what is always said, many things are easier said than done. “Whenever my friends tell me to go faster, it is actually hard because I already ran about 2 miles and I am really exhausted. Of course I try to go faster, but it is not that easy,” sophomore runner Brandon Huynh said.

People who are sitting down on the bleachers can never understand situations each player is facing d. Sometimes, it is best that the audience just cheers, and not be-come the second opponent for the players.

Continued from page 1 Step 1

Step 2

The Matador’s football program had a question mark at head coach when Jude Oliva resigned last De-cember; however, J.D. Thompson has been appointed as San Gabriel’s new coach. Thompson has been coach-ing for 16 years and previously served as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Long Beach Wilson High School.

Although it will be Thompson’s first stint as head coach, he brings in a different perspective of coaching. Thompson’s offense averaged 311.1 total yards per game last season in a tough Moore League.

Thompson has had experience as an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, which will be crucial to a successful Matador season. Thompson is no stranger to the gridiron; he played running back and wide receiver for Corona Centennial in 1994. Immedi-ately after graduating, Thompson began his coaching career in Centtennial’s program, which spanned 10 years. He also coached at Norte Vista in Riverside, Bellflower and Sage Hill in Newport Beach.

Thompson will be bringing the spread, no-huddle offense from Centennial to San Gabriel. The new of-fensive philosophy relies on its’ athletes being in peak

Photos by Derek Deng

Photo by Derek Deng

Illustration by John Truong

FEATURES 14 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Music. It is something that can soothe a hard day of work, relax the brain, and comfort the body when stressed, but for Ellice Tellez, music is much more than just listening to the radio. She was born with the vocals of a future artist.

At the young age of two, Tellez began to form a bond with her passion of music. Her first cover of a song from Shania Twain, a country singer, began her onward hobby of singing. Then on, Tellez has set her mind into making a career as an artist.

“Since I was five, I said I wanted to be a singer. I have always known but started to become serious about it when I was in sixth grade,” she said.

By the time she was in sixth grade, she started learning the guitar and accompanying it with her vocals. Along with the guitar, Tellez also has learned to play the piano, recorder, and ukulele. However, it was not until eighth grade when Tellez started to perform. Now, she is open to perform anywhere, whether

Tell Mewhat’s theWORD.

Famous Hallway quotes,Volume Thirty-four

All quotes overheard by The Matador

staff.

“The D tastes better than the B.”

- Student eating alphabet gummy candy

“We’re a speck of dust. That’s another reason why aliens can’t find us.”

- Teacher talking about Earth in the universe.

“It was cutted.”

- Student talking about a ripped book.

“That’s a funny noise your stomach is making.”

- Teacher talking to a student about a cell phone ringing in class.

“Do you watch ‘House’ at her house?”

- Student talking about a television show.

“The only way to get around here is to attach a book to your body.”

- Teacher giving advice.

“I don’t care if their butts get wet.”

- Teacher talking about the postponed panoramic picture

“I’m going to poke this boy in the face.”

- Student poking straw into boba drink.

Comedy Club established from hobby to reality

Future singer in the making: Ellice Tellez

From left to right: Plant Foreman Steve Ballesteros handles school matters by contacting other fellow staff members. Probation officer, John Lopez, has a discussion about a student with Ballesteros.

What started out as a hobby for four San Ga-briel High School students: Ricardo Fernandez, Christian Bueno, Johnny Moualen, and Brian Rios, quickly turned into a club. The Comedy Club, advised by Michael Ramsay, was founded to let the humorous “be themselves,” said IC rep-resentative, and one of the founders, Julio Huerta.

The Comedy Club meets on Wednesdays dur-ing lunch to “discuss what [they] find funny.” Future possibilities for the club include going to comedy clubs. Anyone interested in taking part of the club is invited to join. Meeting activities include stand-up comedy and humorous dis-cussions.

Although the club is new, “[We] want to keep it running throughout the years,” Huerta said. The Comedy Club is one of the few interest clubs at San Gabriel High School eager to expand its number of members.

FavoriteBiking around the school cam-

pus while students learn in class, Plant Foreman Steve Ballesteros has dedicated 20 years at this school to make sure the school facilities are working for the students to use.

Constant technical problems arise every day, and Ballesteros puts in his best effort to try to settle and repair them as fast as possible.

His job is to oversee custodial grounds, maintenance, and school, including athletic, events. In charge of overseeing the entire campus, Ballesteros deals with a wide vari-ety of issues on a daily basis.

“Every day is different with different problems, [such as] when there is a fire alarm, or when a student is too cold or hot, or when something breaks,” Ballesteros said.

“I like how it’s not the same; it keeps the job interesting.”

On the other hand, not every-thing can be repaired or dealt with perfectly in the course of a day. Sometimes, the job can demand a substantial amount of effort.

“Sometimes when things are not being fixed, it’s a little stressful. [But I] keep going with the right people, and that makes it easier,” Ballesteros said.

Bicycles are not just Ballesteros’ means of transportation around the school, but are also one of his favorite hobbies.

Ballesteros’s contributions to the school affect all students in various ways, whether they are in class enjoying the air conditioner or eat-ing lunch in the cafeteria. “Given how big the campus is, being able to manage it alone is already amaz-

ing,” junior Kristy Wang said.“I let the [other technicians]

use the electronic carts. [Biking] is my hobby; I ride every day. I [enjoy doing] distance biking,” Ballesteros said.

Another favorite hobby of his is reading. Although he some-times reads intellectual books, his literary taste favors young-adult literature and fantasy.

“One of my favorite books is Artemis Fowl. I like kids’ stuff like Harry Potter as well.”

As a 1976 graduate and alum-nus of San Gabriel High School, Ballesteros is committed to the maintenance and improvement of his alma mater.

“I applied... [and] the school found me. But... overall it’s a great place... and my job is to take care of it.”

Christopher Lan

Comedy Club members enjoy a joke told during their lunch time meeting in A210.

Book: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Artist: John Muir

Food: Enchiladas

Hobby: Bike riding

Color: Burgundy

Quote: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” - Phiilippians

it is during collaboration with a few friends at the pancake, at a wedding of a friend or family member, or even being the opening act for a band.

“My friend, Tyler Dominguez, has a band named Perfect Situation. I would usually sing Katy Perry’s ’The One That Got Away,’” she said.

Tellez has even started to make a name for herself in San Gabriel. She sang in the last talent show, giving her the opportunity to show everyone her voice. With the talent show, she was able to catch the attention of administration and even was asked to perform at several school assemblies.

She has also passed the auditions for the talent show this year and will be singing alongside history teacher Nicole Manalang for the teacher talent show. Before performances, Tellez has her usual routine to stay calm. “I breathe, close my eyes, drink water, and focis on the performance,“ she said.

Every day, Tellez practices her vocals at home. “I have five guitars at home and a mic[rophone], computer, and a recorder. Other days I practice with my friend’s band,” she said. When covering songs, Tellez adds her own twist to the song. “I like to add my own vocals or things where I am strong at. I like putting flare to the song, an Ellice touch,” she said. Along with practicing every day, she even has started writing her own music when she was in seventh grade.

More than just making a name for herself in San Gabriel, Tellez has even tried to make an impact nationally. “I auditioned for American Idol when I was in Florida. I did get through, but since I did not live in Florida, they did not give me the ticket,” she said. Even though she did not get a chance to move forward, she still plans to do similar activities to broaden out.

“I would like to audition for the X-Factor. Maybe when I graduate or the next season,” she said. But before that happens, she will continue to practice and improve her vocals to slowly build her fame in school, and maybe even the world.

Besides the guitar, Ellice Tellez can also play the piano, recorder, and ukulele.

Compiled by Derek Deng

Photos by Derek Deng

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Photo by Derek Deng

Prisci l la Liang

Monica Lam

15 FEATURES FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

They also aim to make sure that the trag-edies that hit Newtown never happen again. Most of all, the residents aims to look positive in the future and make the people know that the residents of Newtown does not end with grief but with hope.

This organization did not stop only in Newtown, but all over the world. People recognized such organizations through the Internet, Facebook, and much more. Seeing the positive attitude of the residents, people all over the world started joining the promise to support.

The strong bonds of the Newton residents allow hope to spread all over the world.

“After knowing that such organization existed, I thought the way the residents of New-town saw the tragedy was actu-ally good. I believe their positive thinking will bring change and make things better,” senior Ash-ley Cortez said.

Tragic events always happen, and can happen anywhere at any time.

After such tragic, we realize how frag-ile life is, and that this event will always be remembered.

However, not all victims have to feel sor-rowful and regretful of the event. What to do

Mark your calenders for upcoming events

Tragic events happen almost every year, sometimes inevitable, and mostly unpredictable.

After such events most people feel hopeless.

However, not all feel that way, or at least not the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.

After the tragic event, victims gath-ered and formed a non-profit organiza-tion called the “San-dy Hook Promise.”

The pledge states: “I Promise to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elemen-tary School. I promise to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community safer from similar acts of violence.”

Here, the victims are hoping to look to a brighter future, even after experiencing such tragedy.

On Dec. 14, students and faculty faced an unpredictable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

A young man, Adam Lanza, snuck into

Sandy Hook Promise acknowledges the lives lost in Newtown, ConnecticutNana Akahoshi

Crossword puzzle for the soul: Staff Edition Clues:Across: 3. Which social studies teacher did not have a cellphone for 13 years?7. Which social studies teacher joined both yearbook and newspaper staffs in high school? 8. Which social studies teacher plays the electric bass in the band, Djam Karet? 9. Which social studies teacher had Stephen Slagle as an English teacher?

Down:1. Which visual and performing arts teacher set a swim record at her high school? 2. Which math teacher is the girls’ swim coach at Citrus College? 4. Which math teacher worked with Mark Juarez at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) when he was in high school?5. Which social studies teacher has a younger brother who is about seven feet tall? 6. Which English teacher is a freelance photographer?10. Which English teacher manicures nails for prom?

Word Bank:Tammy Cognetta Keith Jones Harmonie Bassette Robert Huynh

Joan Lee Mark Juarez Nicole Manalang

Raymond Gin Henry Osborne Eric Hendrickson

Feb25-26

Feb28

Mar8

Mar18-22

Mar29

Minimum Day:Periods 0,1,3,and 5

Minimum Day: Periods 0,2,4, and 6

Talent Show @ 6 pm

Los Renombrados Assembly @ 10:47 am

Minimum Day: Periods 0-6

For answers, visit <www.thematadorsghs.com>

Compiled by Sandy Peng and Julianne Teng

“I Promise to do everything I can to

encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community

safer from similar acts of violence.”

Spring break

school and killed 20 children, four faculty, and two administrators. Families of the victims had to face tragedy during the jolliest time of the year.

Unlike most people who cannot get over the sadness and regret, people in Newtown, Connecticut looked toward their future.

Because they do not want to face the same sorrow again , they decided to co-operate with e a c h o t h e r and form the Sandy Hook Promise that helps people move on from the tragedy.

S a n d y Hook Promise

is an organization helps support not only the family, but also the whole community of Newtown, Connecticut.

They provide financial support and mental support to those who need help healing.

Through the promise, the residents in Newtown aims to form a strong com-munity that can support each other when others need one.

Illustration by Annie Huang

next is up to the victims. The victims of the Sandy Hook

shooting choose to move forward and make a change.

“Let Newtown go down in his-tory as the place where real change began.”

FEATURES 16 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013THE MATADOR

Photo by Crystal Wong

Picture yourself making your way downtown while wearing a trendy spring outfit. One of the most exciting things about spring is how many pieces that you have worn in past seasons can suddenly make up a new trendy outfit.

Good news for those of you who have already stashed and locked up your winter pieces in the back of your closet.

A great spring outfit does not necessarily have to be new from the store. Staple pieces for girls include skater skirts, tights, button-ups, boots, and even sweaters for those chillier occasions.

Senior Georgia Luong wears all the perfect pieces for spring season. “I like wearing scarves and sweaters. I also like wearing a lot of arm candy such as bracelets and watches. Sometimes I like to dress casual or girly,” said Luong.

Spring essentials for guys are anoraks, colored V-neck tees, light-washed straight jeans, and sweaters with a preppy collar. Classic boat shoes and desert boots are hot styles for this season.

Spring is bringing back those tights that you wore during winter season. Pairing a skater skirt, of any color, over a pair of tights with a light sweater on top is a perfect option for 70 degree weather. Boots with button-ups give off a preppy spring vibe, if that is more of your style.

For guys, wearing a sweater with a preppy collar and a pair of light-washed jeans is a trendy spring style. Anoraks are a great option for when those April showers. V-neck tees, when paired with desert boots or classic boat shoes, are great as long as that “V” isn’t too deep.

Senior Joshua Oropeza is an example of a fashionable guy. He is wearing all the staple spring essentials from his closet.

“I do not like spending a lot of money on clothes, so I go thrift shopping a lot, and sometimes I make my own clothes at home. I just pick out whatever I feel like wearing. I try to dress comfortably and my style is more casual fancy than just casual. I enjoy wearing clothes with a vintage feel to it,” Oropeza said.

A trendy spring outfit can easily be compiled through various pieces from previous seasons. Just be creative in picking them out and you will have yourself a new outfit.

From trendy to casual: staple pieces fitted for the upcoming season

Springing fashion forward for the new year

Maggie Cheng

Photo courtesy of Laura Lam, El Camino Real