The highlanderCarlmont High School Newspaper Volume I, Issue vii - April 2010

INSI

DE Dangerous effects of tanning p. 2

Senior activities p. 3Highlander wins awards p. 6Seven period schedules doubtful p. 4

Slow Food garden may not survive constructionBy Laney McGrewSTaff WriTer Beginning in early June, U-Wing will be torn down to make way for a new multimillion dol-lar building to house Carlmont's biotechnology program. Because Carlmont has the best biotech program in the area, it seems reasonable to give the program its own building. Bio-tech teachers Ms. Tina Doss and Mr. Dan Raffa applied for a CTE grant and received $6 mil-lion of the $6.7 million needed to fund the building, which would allow the students more room to perform experiments and research. In addition, the construction would cause some art classrooms to relocate across campus, where a new digital

photography lab is in the works. "The setup of the current class-rooms are cool," stated senior Lara Freeman, who took Bio-tech 1/2 her sophomore year. "You can talk to everyone from where you sit and it's easy to work with people." Junior Chloe Waibel, who is currently enrolled in Biotech 1/2, admits, "the class is fun, but sometimes I feel cramped." However, not everyone is ex-cited for the new building. Carl-mont's Slow Food Club, which advocates healthy, local, organic eating by while protecting the environment, is concerned that the construction of the building could potentially harm, or even destroy, their garden.

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The garden faces destruction when the S and U wings are torn down

Slow Garden may not survive the construction of the new bio-tech building which is scheduled to break ground in early June

National poetry month celebration includes Belmont library poetry slam p. 5

“The promise has been simple: if you work hard and make the grades, we will have a place for you at [UC and CSU campus-es],” said California State As-sembly Majority Leader, Dario Frommer. That promise has blatantly been broken. No state is cutting more deeply than California,

which has more than 3 million students attending college. The state has slashed funding to its 110 community colleges, the 23 California State University campuses and the 10 University of California campuses. In attempt to close its massive budget deficit, UC and CSU will receive 20% less state funding this year than they did two years ago. These schools have re-sponded by turning away record

Carlmont students are facing rejection from their top choice universities.The reason behind the rejectionBy Daniel RubinsteinSTaff WriTer

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Senioritis, from the word senior plus the suffix -itis, is the term for a unique illness that has plagued many here at Carlmont High School. Symptoms? A lack of mo-tivation toward studies, a decline of focus in class, an excessive wearing of sweatpants and, if gone untreated, truancy. Victims? Well, as the name implies - seniors (although many juniors have been feeling its effect due to the heightened uncertainty of getting into the college of your choice these days). So how do you treat it? Unfortunately the only known cure is graduation. In order to hold you off until then,

How to: Survive the epidemic - “Senioritis”By Sarah Biklen enTerTainmenT ediTor

After two weeks of block schedules, some students hope to have it throughout the school year, while some can’t wait to get over the last two weeks. Many schools like Saint Fran-cis, Woodside, and Sequoia have block schedules. A block schedule is a schedule in which students only have three to four classes, but each class is an hour and a half to two hours each, so they have classes every other day. This is opposed to Carl-mont’s schedule consists of hav-ing six to seven classes, only 50 minutes each.

Lexi FriisSTaff WriTer

Mixed feelings about block schedule

numbers of students, boosting fees, eliminating programs, and expanding class sizes. The UC system, which has about 220,000 students, is rais-ing student fees by 9%, reduc-ing freshman enrollment by 6% and cutting at least $300 million from the budgets of its 10 cam-puses. An estimated 127,000 students applied for admission to at least one of the ten UC undergraduate campuses for the fall 2010 term,

however, I have a few tips. For juniors, if you find yourself slipping, a.k.a im-mediately going on Facebook upon getting home after school, remind yourself that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. The scary truth is that it is becoming more and more difficult to get into college and the stress of being a well-rounded student is enough to make someone crack. But if you can find the energy to rise to the challenges that face you, you will ultimately be rewarded. For seniors, it is not as urgent that you treat your ill-ness. My advice to you is to keep your grades at least at a C or above and to not make any serious behavioral errors. In some cases, although it is very rare, colleges can rescind your admittance based on poor performance

in senior year. Nobody wants to have their summer ruined by finding out that they’re college hopes have been dashed by a little too much partying. A general motivational strategy that has worked for me is to provide rewards for myself after I complete a task, such as a cookie or a high five. I also try to do my homework right when I get home, which doesn’t always work out, but it’s a nice thought. In recent years, it appears that no one is safe from se-nioritis. It can attack slowly and painfully or suddenly, leaving you too shocked to fight back. If you feel your-self becoming ill, however, do the opposite of what you would do for the flu-go to school. Just try not to infect others.

So what if Carlmont changed the schedule? This could happen in the 2011-2012 school year when the start time changes. Students have mixed feelings about this possible change. Sophomore Reyna Oritz doesn’t want block schedules because she, “shadowed with block schedules and the classes got boring after an hour.” Sophomore Matt Wood com-mented, “They make you sit and stay with the same people for longer then I would want to. Even though you get more time to do homework, I like our schedules now.” Some students disagree and

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neWS & opinionS Page 2 April 2010

Marijuana debate gets heated

Spring is officially upon us. The weath-er is finally starting to warm up and with warmer weather comes many people’s desire to have a tan. But the weather is still a bit inconsistent for regular outdoor tanning and self tanner is not always the favored option due to possible mess ups. So, this leads teenagers to turn to the seemingly perfect, but possibly danger-ous tanning salon. The tanning bed offers an even, all over tan which is great for days out at the beach or just wearing shorts, but what it also offers is skin cancer, the most dan-gerous form being melanoma. The US FDA completed a series of studies that show the risk of melanoma jumps 75% by people who use tanning beds in their

teens and twen-ties. But that’s not all, there are many other known risks such as im-mune suppres-sion that can leave the body more vulnera-ble to diseases, including skin cancer as well as irreversible eye damage, and allergic re-actions. UV light ex-posure of any kind causes harm by dark-ening the skin as a “self-defense mecha-nism” by producing more melanin, which

leads to p r e m a -t u r e l y a g e d skin, and in some c a s e s , skin can-cer. Katrina W a l d -schmidt said that she has u s e d tann ing beds de-spite her

medical history of skin cancer in her family. She said “It is a way of relaxing and getting a good tan.”

Skin cancer in the U.S has now reached epidemic proportions. According to the American Academy of Dermatology As-sociation, one in five Americans will de-velop skin cancer at some point in their life, and each year more than one million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed. Tanning beds begin to unleash their dangerous effects even after just one 20 minute use. It is always the safest bet to use a self tanner or spray on tan. Junior Julia McQueary said “I only go to tanning salons if there’s a dance and I always keep my face covered.” Tanning device advocates say that the tans from tanning beds are less danger-ous than tanning from the sun because the bulbs have more UVA radiation than UVB (UVA being the so called “safe” one of the two), however this argument is seriously faulted. The International Agency for Research on Cancer con-ducted a study that found UVA, UVB, and UVC all caused cancer in animal models they tested on. The General and Plastic Surgery De-vices Panel of the FDA recommended re-quiring parental consent to use a tanning bed or alternatively, outright banning the use until the age of 18. The Obama Ad-ministration is not too fond of the effects these tanning beds have had on teens and young adults recently either as a 10% tax on indoor tanning was included in the new health care reform bill. The safest bet for everyone is to try to avoid tanning beds and natural outdoor tanning. It is simply not worth the risk of skin cancer. A spray on tan or tanning lo-tion will get the job done just as well, or close to it. So think twice before the next time you are thinking of tanning.

Tanning - a one way ticket to skin cancer?Teenagers everywhere are taking the riskBy Christina BelasconeWS and opinionS ediTor

It is time for the legalization of the growth, sale, and possession of marijua-na for many reasons. If there is one piece of legislation on the upcoming ballot that the average high school student knows of, it is the one that legalizes marijuana. To many people, marijuana makes per-ception better, and it makes movies bet-ter. It reveals one to oneself and often sparks ingenuity, creativity, and joy. However, like everything in the world, it has downsides. For example, its use can result in poor decision-making and wind you up in jail, but worst of all, the illegal trade of it has resulted in much violence and death. Now, it is quite a statement to say that the growth, sale, and possession of Marijuana should be legal, and the in-alienable rights of the people should be respected, but there is a decent explana-tion and it goes something like this: When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to over-turn the political bonds that suppress them under their government and to as-sume among the powers of the earth, the rights to which Nature entitles them, a decent respect for the opinions of man-kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to overturn such laws. These truths are held to be self-evident, that, as an intoxicant, marijuana is far less harmful to the health and safety of the people than alcohol. That, as a smoking substance, marijua-na is far less addictive or harmful to the health of the people than tobacco. That, even though alcohol is harmful to the health and safety of the people, the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 only increased the harms associated with alcohol use: criminals seized control of the alcohol market, crime and violence increased greatly, and poverty, unem-ployment, and corruption flourished, while otherwise lawful alcohol drinkers were treated as “criminals” subject to detention, arrest, and incarceration, even

Student opinion: The Declaration of MarijuanaBy Arik SchoessowSTaff WriTer

Ashley DierolfSTaff WriTer Unable to collect 600,000 signatures by April 12th, a repeal of Proposition 8 will not be voted on in the 2010 ballots in November, but it may show up in the 2012 ballots. Love Honor Cherish, a Los Angeles based organization, fought to have a re-peal of Proposition 8 on the upcoming 2010 ballots. After volunteers gathered signatures during a 150-day period, their effort came out short, regardless of polls showing 50% of Californians supporting marriage for the LGBTQ community. Gay activists are pushing to have Proposition 8 appear on the 2012 ballots; however, a trial may be held in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding whether or not the proposition is constitutional before 2012. Many gay activists are wary when it comes to the trial, for they fear con-servative justices will not support equal rights for marriage. John Henning, the Executive Director for Love Honor Cherish, feels that if vot-ers are able to overturn Proposition 8 in 2012 and qualify it for the 2012 ballots, it will effectively take the issue out of the Court’s hands and could potentially have a better chance at being voted against. “I’d rather repeal Prop 8 than see the Supreme Court review it, given the cur-rent composition of the court,” Henning said.

Prop 8 update

though they had not harmed the rights of anyone. That, as with alcohol prohibition, the prohibition of marijuana has only in-creased the harms associated with the use of marijuana: criminals control a multi-billion dollar market, crime and violence have increased greatly, and poverty, un-employment, and corruption flourish, while otherwise law-abiding marijuana smokers are treated as “criminals” sub-ject to detention, arrest, and incarcera-tion, even though they have not harmed the rights of anyone. That the history of marijuana prohi-bition is a history of repeated injuries and infringements upon the inalienable rights, powers, and best interests of the people. Despite the harms of marijuana prohi-bition, there exist politicians who persist in imposing and upholding it, because these politicians are not working for the people, but rather the corporate ex-ecutives who financed their campaigns. These are executives in the alcohol indus-try who want to protect their monopoly on intoxication, in the tobacco industry who want to protect their monopoly on smoking, in the pharmaceutical industry who want to protect their monopoly on expensive medicines, and in the many in-dustries threatened by competition with hemp. It is these corporate executives who pull the strings of the government to per-petuate marijuana prohibition despite its harms, because they do not care about the inalienable rights and best interests of the people. Instead, they care about taking as much money as possible from them. These corporate executives also use their control of the mainstream media to make it appear that marijuana prohibition is a failed attempt to serve the interests of the people, censoring the idea that, in reality, marijuana prohibition is a successful at-tempt to serve corporate interests at the expense of the people. For these corporate interests, politi-cians sacrifice the inalienable rights and best interests of the very people they depend on to lift their status in society.

This corruption and corporate influence is worse at the national level, where the people can least afford political influence and the media is most effective at manip-ulating public debate. Because of this corruption, it is fu-tile for the people to turn to the federal government for protection, because the federal government is the source of the harm. The repeated attempts by the peo-ple to reduce the harms of marijuana pro-hibition have been answered only by re-peated injury. The harm from marijuana prohibition is ongoing and the need for relief is urgent. Such is the suffering of many citizens, and such is the necessity that constrains us as citizens to alter our former systems of government. It seems obvious that a government with a char-acter marked by every act that defines a tyranny is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. I, therefore, one concerned citizen of the State of California, appealing to no supreme judge of the world for the rec-titude of my intentions, do, in the name and concern of the people, firmly support an initiative proposed by fellow citizens to legalize marijuana. It is stated in the legislation that “ This initiative will amend the Constitution of California to defend and safeguard the inalienable rights of the people against infringement by governments and corpo-rations, providing for the lawful growth, sale, and possession of marijuana. Mari-juana will be taxed through a system of stamps and licenses--a $5 stamp will be required for the sale of an eighth ounce of marijuana and a $50 annual license will be required for the growth of one marijuana plant. To protect participants and encourage participation in the system, such licenses and stamps will be available anonymous-ly in stores where marijuana is sold.” And for support of this declaration, with no firm reliance on any sort of divine in-tention, I, and the many other supporters of this cause, pledge to each other our good nature, our respect for opposition, and our will.

neWS & opinionS April 2010 Page 3

Faculty AdvisorMr. Justin Raisner

Editor-in-ChiefDylan Coyne

News EditorChristina Belasco

Entertainment EditorSarah Biklen

Staff WritersHannah AbneyJenna ChambersJoseline DiazAshley DierolfLexi FriisHan LiLaney McGrewNoele Pennington Daniel RubinsteinArik SchoessowTheo Yeh

Highlander Staff

News Briefs and AnnouncementsThe Big Bad Bo Film Festival will be held in the student union on April 30th from 6:30 to 9:00pm. It’s free and everyone is welcome.

Farewell and good luck to Instructional Vice Principal Lynn Bailey who will retire on May 1st.

eMotion Dance PerformanceMay 6-8 @ 7pm in the Carlmont Performing Arts Center Email carlmontperformingarts@gmail.comTickets are $12/students and & $15/adults and can be purchased online at carlmont-performingarts.com – Secrist

Carlmont’s Illustration and Graphic Design class will be taking a field trip to Dream-Works Studios on May 17th.

There is a newly-created Hero Wall in Administration. It has 8x10 photos of Carl-mont students who have impacted someone by doing a heroic deed. They are making a difference.

Senior Takeover day changes:Administration and ASB have made the decision to change Senior Takeover Day this year. Following are the new rules: 1) Only teachers may have their jobs taken over...No other staff members. 2) Students may NOT be cleared to miss any classes. In other words, they may only teach the class for the particular period they have that teacher.

Carlmont Choirs Spring Concert May 20 - 21 @ 7 p.m.Tickets: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $2 for elementary and middle school students.

Parent Night - May 24 from 7-9pm, media personality Mike Reira will give a presen-tation on “The Hidden Logic of Teenagers.”

Student Parent Check-in 2010-11Parent Information Night: Tuesday, Aug. 10 Early Bird Pictures: Wednesday, Aug. 11 Student/ Parent Check-In: Thursday, Aug. 12 Freshman Orientation: Tuesday, Aug. 17 First Day of School: Wednesday, Aug. 18

The city of San Carlos will take drastic measures by cutting firemen and police-men’s jobs throughout the year. San Car-los parks are still endangered as well. To save money, San Carlos Avenue Park, Laureola Park, Crestview Park, and Arguello Park are still on the chopping block. On May 23, 2010, the San Carlos City Council held a meeting to discuss the possible termination of many police and fire departments throughout the city. A move that would save San Carlos $5 mil-lion a year will also have a big effect on the city. With less policemen and firemen around, how will the city of San Carlos react? The San Carlos City Council had to de-cide whether they should close the youth center or whether they should lay off the men who are saving lives. Sophomore Reyna Ortiz stated, “It’s bad that policemen and firemen are go-

Hometown days survives cuts, comes at a cost to public safety

By Nicci BetteofeaTureS ediTor

Senior Activity Schedule

Graduation Name Cards Complete the card used to pronounce Grad’s name as s/he crosses stage. It also provides information to GradFoto photographer to mail photo proof. Also it allows Grads to pick their walking partner/who they will sit with. Cards available in ASB room and due to Mr. Kelly/ASB, May 7

Senior Service Seal Points To get a gold, silver, or bronze service seal on your diploma. Forms available in ASB room and on Carlmont Website. Due to ASB room by lunch on May 7

Baccalaureate Auditions Monday & Tuesday, May 10 & 11 , 5:00 pm - Carlmont theater Sign up with Mr. Kelly or Mrs. Tep

Senior Takeover Day - Friday, May 21 Senior Finals - May 25-28

Cap and Gown Distribution May 27 at lunch and after school in The Quad for all orders before March 1. All late orders will be distributed after graduation practice in the ASB room.

Panoramic Picture Friday, May 28, 11:00 am (minimum day) - In the football bleachers Cost is $30, Checks payable to “Carlmont High School”

Senior Picnic Waterslides, Lake, Beach, Grass, Sand Volleyball, Lunch Provided - Tuesday, June 1. Report to Student Union by 8:00 am. Get permission slip completed by parents. Forms available in ASB and on Carlmont Website. Buy tickets in ASB room May 3 – May 14….$20.00

Baccalaureate And Awards and Recognition ceremony Wednesday, June 2, 7:00-9:00 pm. Carlmont Theater. Seniors wear graduation gowns but not grad caps….arrive at 6:30

Graduation In The Glen Mandatory Practices: Wednesday and Thursday, June 2 & 3, 10:00 am Graduation Day: Friday, June 4, 10:00 am

Scots Scoop EditorSavannah Jack

Features EditorNicci Betteo

Sports EditorDana Bloom

Graphics DesignDaniel Rubinstein

FREE SKATE RENTALFree ice skate rental with your Carlmont ID

815 Old County Road, Belmont650-592-0533 • www.belmonticeland.cominformation@belmonticeland.com

Every Saturday night from 8:30–10:30pm

Slow Food at risk of constructionConTinued from fronT page

ing to be laid off, but the youth center has been around for so long and so many families go there for their kids. I used to go there all the time when I was little, so I don’t want to see that closed down.” Without their own fire and police de-partments, San Carlos will have to rely on neighboring cities to come to the res-cue if needed. Junior Ashley Barker commented, “We need firemen in San Carlos. People can’t wait around for them to come from dif-ferent cities.” Though Barker has a point, according to city employees in San Carlos, the city has been cutting its budget for 11 years, and there is not much else left to cut. Not only is San Carlos going to cut police-men and firemen, but other cities such as Burlingame, San Bruno, and Millbrae are seriously considering doing the same. As of now, San Carlos has only a few more details to set in place, but the plan is set in motion, and the city will soon be left with less policemen and firemen.

Police and Fire will be outsourced

"It would take place in the summer, so we wouldn't be able to grow anything or even access the garden because of the construction," explained senior Slow Food Club President Kevin Bertolli. Even without growing produce during the summer, the soil could be damaged and made unfit for further use. "The construction could fill the garden with contaminants," stated Bertolli, "ru-ining it for the future." "We're thinking about putting a tarp over the garden to protect it from the construction," announced senior Slow

Food Club member Rachel Dallal. Thankfully for the Slow Food Club, the science program means no harm to the garden. "We didn't know that the construction would interfere with the garden," stated Doss. "We're the last to get notified about things like this. Our solar panels were already taken months ago, and we just found out. We're fighting to get them back, and Slow Food should do the same for their garden." "We're not against the construction," Bertolli explained, "we just want to be able to use our garden as well."

SCoT SCoopPage 4 April 2010

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Students given mixed messages about 7 period scedulesBudget cuts interfere with students wanting to take an extra class

School LunchStudents voice opinion on how to improve lunch

Many students were told by their counselors that they cannot have a seventh period class next year; however, the schedule cuts may not be enforced. Due to budget cuts for next year, it is unknown whether or not students will be able to have a seventh period. According to the Sacramento Bee, the Sequoia Union High School District is looking at having over 2 million dollars in budget cuts for next year. In preparation, counselors have been instructed to tell students they will not be able to completely fill their schedule if they wish. “We’re starting there [meetings with the counselors]…just letting the students know that this is a possibility,” replied Mr. Raul Zamora, principal of Carlmont, “It’s good that students know this information ahead of time because it’s something that we’re looking at.” This preparation, however, may make

changes easier for the staff, but in turn may also end up being unbeneficial for the students and their education. It is understandable as to why the staff feels it is necessary to limit the number of students allowed to have a seventh period. It would create more work for the staff to change each student’s schedule who signed up to have a class at that time. Some students may also become angry if they were looking forward to taking a class, but are forced to change. The only problem is that students are being limited on the amount of education they can receive because there is a small possibility that seventh period will be cut, not because it is certain. “The budget for next year and this year have been very tight, so that’s [seventh period class] one of the areas that we may look at to decrease, but that’s not for sure yet,” explained Mr. Zamora. Many students depend on having a seventh period class, and it can make or

break their high school career. Having that extra class could help raise the number of credits earned, or offer an extra support class for students who feel they are struggling in a certain subject. Without a seventh period class, some students may not succeed as well as they could. “Our priority is for the seniors that need to graduate,” said Mr. Zamora. For other students, a seventh period class isn’t necessary, but is preferable. It can allow them to fulfill their credits early and take fewer classes their senior year, or take various electives for enjoyment.

You have to admit it: lunches at Carl-mont are boring, there is nowhere to sit, nothing to do, food sucks, and the lines are way too long. Every day after fourth period, the bell rings, signaling the beginning of fifty minutes of freedom. However, there are many Carlmont students who have ideas on how we could improve our lunch ex-perience. Sophomore Josh Zarrabi would “make lunch longer because I need more time to finish my homework, talk to my teach-ers, eat lunch, and spend time with my friends.” “Lunch could be better if Carlmont had an open campus,” stated sophomore Ty-ler Norman. Her opinion is corroborated by many of her peers, including sophomore Bailey Lambert, “I think an open campus would be beneficial to our school because it would allow students the opportunity to experience diverse lunch choices, to in-teract with their peers, and to support our local restaurants.” Imagine going down to Carlmont Shop-ping Center and having the choice of ei-ther Lorenzo’s, Subway, Lunardi’s, or Doc’s for sandwiches. Imagine going to Village Host or Avanti’s for some pizza. The advantages of going off campus are

undeniable. Junior Parsa Nozzari states: “I think it would be nice to have a larger variety of meals that we could buy. Also, I’m sure most people would not mind an open-campus lunch... of course, that would make it difficult to ensure the return of all students.” This is probably the main reason that the school will not allow us to go off campus for lunch: a fear that many students will arrive late to fifth period. While many students want the free-dom of going off campus for lunch, they should keep in mind that our campus is already pretty open. Many high schools force kids to stay in a cafeteria without the freedom to go wherever they want. Carlmont students are allowed to walk wherever, sit wherever, and eat wher-ever. Students are allowed to sit outside and enjoy the bright sunshine or go into a classroom to escape the cold rain. One thing that is beyond debate is the quality and variety of our food. “The food needs more variety. I think that the food itself gets boring after awhile and there needs to be a program for switching out foods every week or so,” declared sophomore Shane Callan. The most commonly ordered item is the spicy chicken sandwich, with its mysteri-ously gray meat, soggy shredded lettuce, and three and a half dollar price. Pete Eakin likes to dream of “getting In-n-Out burgers every Wednesday.” While this is probably an impossible dream, there are many other ways to im-prove our lunch.

Quad Shot Of The Month

“Let’s say that the budget cuts are really bad. Then we’ll have to come up with another option for our students,” replied Mr. Zamora, “We’ll take a look at how many students are enrolled in the school and see what classes we can and cannot offer for next year.” Although there is a slight possibility that the amount of students allowed to take a seventh period class next year will decrease, the over preparation the administration is pursing may end up being harmful towards the students and prevent them from taking the classes they want or need.

Many Carlmont High Schools students come from East Palo Alto and some of them can only dream about getting into a good college. Statistics show that only 27% of teens graduate high school on time according to East Palo Alto News Online. With those statistics, how are they going to motivate themselves to push through the struggles of high school? “The statistics do show that people from East Palo Alto don’t get a higher educa-tion,” said freshman Julliette Silva. “We do share some fault that East Palo Alto is viewed as a violent community because of the way we present ourselves.” East Palo Alto a small town; dangerous, violent, and drug related are only some

EPA students work to overcome obstacles to succeed

Ashley DierolfSTaff WriTer

Han LiSTaff WriTer

Joseline DiazSTaff WriTer

Carlmont students celebrate Twin Day

of the adjectives that have been used to describe it. Growing up there, you tend to believe everything you hear which could dis-courage teens not to want to continue with their education. As with the rest of the Carlmont pop-ulation, teenagers deal with personal struggles that prevent them from receiv-ing an education but they have available resources from which to help them per-severe which isn’t always the case with teens living in East Palo Alto. “Most of us are minorities and we don’t have to resources to pay for college. And, most of us don’t know that there are re-sources out there to help us so we just give up,” said senior Esmeralda Reyna. Some past Carlmont alumni from EPA didn’t let anything negative or a personal

struggle get in the way of a good educa-tion. Having an education can get you into different places. It’s possible to leave a toxic-like en-vironment like EPA with a good educa-tion and a good head on your shoulders. Reyna is continuing her education by going to a community college and then transferring to a four year despite her hardships. Everyone has had or will have some sort of struggle in their lifetime and it’s what you do to overcome that struggle that makes you who you are. Doesn’t mat-ter where you come from, it only matters what you do that and that’s defines who you are. Like the 26th president, Theo-dore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

rather have block schedules. “I’d rather have block schedules because you don’t have the same classes everyday and you have more time to do work” said fresh-man Rachel Bellin. Freshman Jackie Marcil commented, “Block schedules allow more time for homework, even though they are boring, I rather have them at Carmont.” Although we do not know the schedule for the 2011-2012 school year, it may be a nice change for it to be a block sched-ule.

Block Schedule -love and hatefrom fronT page

SCoT SCoopApril 2010 Page 5

By Lexi FriisSTaff WriTer

* In 1980, Detroit presented Sadaam Hussein with a key to the city. * Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza everyday. * The pupils in a goats eyes are rectangular. * Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. * In Bromide, Oklahoma, it is illegal for children to use towels as capes and jump from houses, pretending to be Superman. * Chinese is the most spoken language around the world. * If you doubled one penny for 30 days, you would have $5,368,709. * A flea can jump 30,000 times without stopping. * The deepest place in the ocean is 7 miles. * Panda bears eat up to 16 hours a day. * There are 118 ridges on a United States dime. * You are more likely to get attacked by a polar bear and a black bear on the same day than to win the lottery.

Did you know..?Talk Back

What Is Your Definition

Of A Spring Fling ?

“It’s the charity that they do for the elementary school in San Carlos.” Haley Brown, 11th grade

“A little love interest between two people when the sun comes up.” Nicole Caddow, 11th Grade

“When every High School kid goes party-ing and stuff.” Penoa Mauia, 10th grade

“A brief ro-mance.” Rosie Linares, 12th grade

“I guess partying and having fun.” Jason Wong, 10th Grade

“. . .”Alex Smith, 11th Grade

“Stevie B., Spring love.” Siale Vete, 12th Grade

“A short term romance that’s fun and involves flowers.” Michael Taeh-rian, 12th Grade

“I guess it’s having a relationship with someone just for the season.” Lauren Saldana, 12th grade

“Like at Ralston we had bouncy houses then had a dance during the night, that’s a spring fling.” Devon Fernan-dez, 12th grade

National Poetry Month celebrated by Carlmont community

April 16 marked the Day of Silence, and Carlmont students spoke up by saying nothing. The purpose was to bring atten-tion to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment and effective responses. The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, re-gardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. In a Harris Interac-tive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are ha-rassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expres-sion. Additionally, nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at school. Students across the country participate

Carlmont observes Day of Silence

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Spring flings: short-term love

By Hannah AbneySTaff WriTer

Spring is finally here and love is in the air. Why people pair up and behave like two lovebirds, or bunny rabbits, one may never know. Despite the fun that Spring and its flings bring, one must be cautious to not fall down the rabbit hole or get flung like a frisbee. Like most activities, Spring Flings have rules. First of all they must only occur in Spring. A sort of pre-Spring agreement is set, noting that the relationship may only last throughout the course of Spring. After which, ladies and gents radars are reset to search for that perfect Summer love. Let’s explain in terms one can re-late to... Ladies, it’s a bit like fashion - a change for each season. Fall may bring a boy in plaid or a sweater vest, (popular back to school clothes), while Winter may bring a boy in a beanie and sweatshirt. Spring may bring a boy in shorts and a plain white-t, so keep an eye out; that’s how

you’ll spot your spring guy. Try and make sure that he goes with your ensemble; ask yourselves, “Do his board shorts go with my paisley skirt?” Although seasonal relationships may be related to fashion, they may also be explained in terms men can relate to - sports. For football season, or Fall, a girl who either enjoys sports or is low key and won’t interrupt guy’s sports night, would be best. For the Winter, a girl who doesn’t mind wearing sweats and bulky snow clothes would be most desirable. For Spring, look for girls in baseball caps; it’s difficult, but if one squints and looks long enough, a girl in a sports hat might walk by. Something easier to look for would just be a girl in a floral-print summer dress. Spring flings are fun, but they may also be hurtful to some. When starting a fling, the ultimate must-have on the pre-fling agreement is an expiration date, or the understanding that things will be fun, not serious.

Change partners like you change clothes

Sophomores Meghana Ravikomar, Kristi Tom, and Naomi Gottfried earned the grand prize for their National Poetry Month door decoration, which graced the door of D-26. These young ladies, who were named winners by a panel of distin-guished Carlmont alumni, presented the poetry of the British Romantics. There were eighteen doors judged for the competition. There was original composition, poetry representing the tra-ditions of several dif-ferent languages and cultures, math poetry, and some astonishing artwork. More than 100 stu-dents, alumni, faculty and Carlmont com-munity members at the Belmont Library last Friday for the first open mic/poetry slam

in the Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem,in order to let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone and to ask schools to take action to address the problem.

hosted by the Belmont Library. There was music, stand-up, juggling, reading from the work of Emma Goldman, and, of course, poetry. Friday April 30th at lunch in the Per-forming Arts Center is the final official event for National Poetry Month, an all out spoken word poetry slam.

feaTureSPage 6 April 2010

Being a parent is a challenge, however, life as a teenage parent brings a whole new set of hardships and challenges for teenage mothers and fathers to endure. Most teenagers tend to believe that they will never live the life of a teen parent, nevertheless, according to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Un-planned Pregnancy, about 750,000 teen-agers get pregnant every year. These teen moms can no longer live t h e i r lives how they

want, be-cause they are now re-s p o n s i b l e for another

human be-ing.

Teenage mom sixteen year-old

Carlmont ju-nior, Zakeya

Porter,who never thought she would be playing the role of mom in high school, shares the changes and sacrifices she made in her life as well as the joys and hardships she endures as she encounters parenthood. “I never thought I would get pregnant. I mean, even though I like kids, I didn’t want any of my own, so when I found out I was having a baby, I was happy but also scared. I didn’t know how I was going to take care of a baby.” “Despite my fears of having a baby,” adds Porter, “I just had to face reality and deal with the fact that I was having a baby.” Most teenage parents who chose to keep their baby have had to face this real-ity that they will be bringing a child into the world; a child who will need to be cared for around the clock and who will naturally need and seek the attention of their parents. For Porter, mother of eight month old Aniyah, putting all of her time and en-ergy into caring for her beloved daughter was just one of the many sacrifices she had to make. When asked what other sacrifices she had to make upon giving birth to her daughter, Porter stated, “I can’t just go and hang out with my friends anymore. I always have to be with her and watch her

and I can never just leave her, especially when she’s sick. Porter also added, “Whenever I go shopping, it’s to buy what she needs.” Among other things, teen parents such as Porter who decide to stay in school must also concen-trate on finishing high school and finding people to watch their children while they work to-wards graduating. But unfortunately, according to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, fewer than four in ten students who have children be-fore they turn eighteen receive their high school diploma; making parenthood a leading cause of school drop out among teen girls. Nowadays there are movies such as ‘Juno’ and shows like MTV’s ‘16 and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom’ which show-case teenage mothers struggling to bal-ance school, work, being a teenager and taking care of their babies. “I don’t really like the show [‘16 and Pregnant’]” replied Porter when asked what she thought of shows like MTV’s ‘16 and Pregnant’, “they only show the negative parts of being a mother and how the dads aren’t there for the moms.

Raising kids while going to school tooSome Carlmont students are parentsBy Jenna ChambersSTaff WriTer

Sadly, the reality is that many teen moms receive little to no help from the fathers of the baby. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, eight in ten teen fathers do go on to marry the mother of their children and these absent fathers pay only the bare minimum in child support.

However some moms such as Porter, are fortu-nate to have the fathers happily and willingly involved in helping take care of the baby. “When I told him [my partner], that I was preg-

nant, he was so happy that he was going to be a daddy,” said Porter, “he helps me by taking her [daughter] on the week-end.” While being a parent in high school is highly unexpected among the majority of teenagers, the reality is that it can happen to anyone. Therefore it is important to understand the amount of responsibility and sacri-fices (such as giving up your free time, certain high school events, and possibly even graduation) it will take to raise a child. “My baby makes my day, and she does make me happy,” commented Porter, “but I am a teenager and it’s hard being a parent too.”

“My baby makes my day, and she does make me happy, but I am a teenager and it’s hard being a parent too.”

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College Rejection concerns studentsfrom fronT pageup from 121,005 last year. This 5 percent increase in applications makes 2010 the most competitive year in admissions. CSU, the largest U.S. four-year univer-sity system with 450,000 students, plans to cut enrollment by 40,000 over the next two years. CSU officials say the fees were are relatively low and that the in-crease will be offset by expanded finan-cial aid. California’s community colleges will receive almost 6% less state funding than last year. Senior Brenda Landa said, “I was pretty adamant on attending San Diego State and I feel like I had the grades to do it. It seems like nobody got into their first choice school and it sucks.” As if all of this isn’t bad enough, high school students applying to UC and CSU campuses, including those with GPAs over 4.0, are being randomly deferred to community colleges. These students

have received letters saying that though they were admitted to the four-year col-lege they applied to, they must first go to a community college [for free] for the first two years of their college education. Senior Monica Munevar said, “I’ll be at CSM next year. Though I had good grades, I didn’t even apply to any four years as community college would be way cheaper. I don’t want to be buried in loans upon graduating.” When those lucky enough to have got-ten into college return to campus this fall, they’ll find crowded classrooms, less ac-cess to faculty and counselors, fewer campus services and more difficulty get-ting the classes they need to graduate — all while paying higher fees. Pick up those books and earn yourself a competitive edge. What sets you apart from the other students competing for the limited space at your first choice school?

Highlander staff awarded

Highlander staff members were honored for their work this year by the Peninsula Press Club. Chris-tina Belasco won for writing the best news story with her report on Mr. Dylan Shelley’s resignation as football coach. Laney McGrew was recognized for her Drumline photo (published in last month’s issue), and Dana Bloom was honored for her story on Friday Night Lights. Thirty-eight awards for excellence in high school journalism were awarded

Students honored by Peninsula Press Club

last Wednesday at a reception for the winners of the annual San Francisco Pen-insula Press Club High School Journal-ism Competition. A total of 167 students submitted 329 entries which were judged by profession-al journalists of the Press Club.

feaTureSApril 2010 Page 7

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The social revolution that is Facebook is good for many things. It is good for staying in touch with old friends, rekindling past relationships, sharing too much information with hordes of people who do not care, and keeping the few people that do care up to date on the happenings of life. More than anything, Facebook seems to be most useful for joining various groups. There are several categories of Facebook groups. People seem to love to break records. According to Inside Facebook, “Two of the largest groups on Facebook, including the largest at over 5.8 million members, are simply about forming the largest Facebook Group, and nothing more.” Other groups really do have a meaningful purpose and an honorable cause to support, such as “Light a Candle for Haiti” and “If 100,000 people join then my dad will quit smoking.” Most groups do not have such noble intentions. Above all, groups exist to A) Make fun of a mutual friend B) Laugh out loud at a shared experience and C) Get phone numbers when you lost your phone. The best groups are the ones that say what everyone else is thinking such as, “Why does Miley Cyrus sound like

a man, and Justin Beiber a woman?” and “Did anyone else think that ‘Hey Arnold’s’ untucked shirt was a kilt?” But Facebook groups serve several other purposes that have never really been considered before. The first is to solve global issues. Recently, a Facebook group has offered a solution to the Armageddon expected in 2012. “If 2012 does actually happen, we’ll just get Kanye West to interrupt it.” Next, we need a Facebook group to solve world hunger. The possibilities include, “Help solve world hunger; stop feeding people from Texas and West Virginia.” The second unlikely purpose that Facebook groups serve is to make sure that history is never forgotten. One such group is, “When I was your age, we solved Blues Clues with Steve, not Joe.” Our posterity will always know who the real Sherlock Holmes of Playhouse Disney is. Lastly, Facebook groups are surprisingly handy for raising pertinent questions such as, “I wonder if P. Diddy wakes up feeling like Ke$ha?” Has not everyone asked themselves the same question at one time or another? So thank you Facebook for keeping us on our toes. The world really couldn’t function without you. How else would we solve our global issues and discuss the important things in life?

Facebook DegeneratesFacebook groups get dumbBy Dylan CoyneediTor-in-Chief

HoroscopesTaurus (April 20 -May 20)Looks like there’s a spring love in the air.This may be the start of a summer ro-mance.

Gemini (May 21 -June 20)It’s natural to stress about finals and col-lege entrance exams but there is a point where too much stress is just TOO much. Take a breather and enjoy the air outside.

Cancer (June 21 -July 22)Stop and smell the roses... Lit-erally, they smell AWE-SOME.

Leo (July 23 -Au-gust 22)Senioritis is real and it is now even affect-ing lower class men. Beware of this disease it just might get you next.

Virgo (August 23 -Sep-tember 22)Being upset about something in-significant is not worth your time. Build a bridge and get over it.

Libra (September 23 -October 22)Think before you speak or do something risky. Doing what you are doing may not only harm yourself.

Scorpio (October 23 -November 21)Prom was awesome (Yeah it was) but something even better is in store for you, and it’s happening this month.

Sagittarius (November 22 -December 21)Taking a walk outside is an easy way to unravel your problems and enjoy the world, try it!

Capricorn (December 22- January 19)Your parents are the ones who

are always there for you so talk to them about your

issues. They may have some helpful advice.

Aquarius (Janu-ary 20 -Febru-ary 18)Seeing a person

affected by harsh words will make

you think of some of the words you say.

Pisces (February 19 -March 20)Spring cleaning is starting at your house and you are not happy about it. Try and enjoy it you may feel relieved to find your home clutter free.

Aries (March 21 -April 19)Be the bigger person and let go of some-thing rather than hold a pointless grudge.

SportsPage 8 April 2010

The NBA Playoffs have begun and the competition is tough this year. One of the Carlmont staff, Mr. Patrick Smith, predicted who will win the NBA Championship this year, “I think the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team are going to rise to the occasion and LeBron James is going to carry the Cavs to the championship.” The NBA Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tour-nament between sixteen teams in the Eastern and West-ern Conference, ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals. Each round is a best of seven series. Series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6. The NBA Finals are played in a 2-3-2 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 6 and 7, and their opponent hosts games 3, 4 and 5. The home-court ad-vantage is determined in both rounds by record regard-less of seed. The teams from the Western Conference that are in the playoffs are the Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Jazz, Blazers, Spurs, and the Thunder. The teams from

Road to the Finals - Analysis of NBA PlayoffsWill the Cavaliers go all the way, or can the Mavs take it all?

the Eastern Conference are the Cavaliers, Magic, Celt-ics, Hawks, Bucks, Heat, Bobcats, and the Bulls. When junior Nick Umemoto was asked who he fa-vored, he replied, “I don’t really have a favorite but I think the Lakers or Cavaliers are going to win because of their good offensive and defensive strengths.” The favorites of nkk the Western Conference are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. The Los Angeles Lakers were last year’s NBA champions. The biggest change for the Lakers is that they lost Trevor Ariza who did most of the dirty work for the Lakers, but they also signed Ron Artest who can contribute the same amount of work. The Dallas Mavericks made huge improvements to their team this season, by adding two all-star players, Caron Butler and Shawn Marion to their roster. Junior Ronnie Freiermuth predicts the Mavs are going to win and says, “Mavs are going to win because they have Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.” The favorites in the Eastern Conference are the Cleve-land Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. Many of our Carlmont students think the Cavaliers are going to take

it all the way. A freshman, Mduduzi Hlastshwayo, com-mented, “I want the Cavs to win because I’m from Ohio and they have the best players in the league. LeBron James is a beast and no one can stop him.” Although the Orlando Magic lost one of their key players, Hedo Turkoglu, they did gain two playoff ex-perienced players, Vince Carter and Brandon Bass. Although some teams have advantages over other teams, anything can happen. It is the NBA and every team has a chance.

By Theo YehSTaff WriTer

Josi Flynn leaps over a hurdle in the San Mateo High School track meet.

Jackie Li steals second base and later scores helping the scots 15-3 victory over Mills.

Varsity pitcher Aurora Stottler begins her windup in a pivotal moment.

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Elodie Stephan participates in the free style and approaches the finish.

Connor Fennech achieves a personal record in the discus competition at the San Mateo High School meet.

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Spencer Hawley swims the breast stroke and makes a tough competition among all the swim-mers.

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Carlmont fires a pitch toward home plate early in the game. Carlmont hit the ball between the pitcher and first baseman and tries to leg out a single