BLUE & WHITE

by Heidy PinedaStaff Writer

This semester, Los An-geles High School is getting its own Teen Court. The school is working and aiming to get the court to begin to try cases by this May. The program is lead by Ms.Taylor, in room 208, and Ms. Sauter, in room 153.

Ms. Taylor, Legal As-sistant instructor and advocate for the program, said “I think that the teen court will be a good thing for L.A. High.”

“It will give our students a chance to see and play a part in our justice system,” she said.

The Teen Court will allow certain cases to be decided by a jury made up of Los Angeles Senior High School students. Probation officers will select cases involving minors who are charged with first time misde-meanors.

Then, the parents of the minor will sign an agreement to have the case heard in Teen Court. Twelve students from L.A. High will then be chosen

as the jury, and they will weigh in their thoughts on whether the minor is guilty or innocent.

The jury will make a recommendation of punishment, if applicable, to the presiding judge.

The students on trial will come from other schools. The court will not take a case if the

minor attends L.A. High because students from the jury might know the defendant.

Also, as part of this program, students will be able to volunteer at the court and com-plete their service learning credit requirement. Some schools, such as Dorsey, Venice, and Fairfax, already have highly effective

teen courts in place.

If you are inter-ested in participating in our Teen Court, please see Ms.Taylor, in room 208.

photo credit: Ms.Wald

Teen Court Comes to Los Angeles High this Semester

TEEN COURT

by Laura StrongStaff Writer

The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) has a well-kept secret - online tutoring for any-one with a library card. To access tutoring, students should visit lapl.org and click ‘Teens,’ then the blue ‘Homework Help Sites’ tab. There will be a sidebar full of links.

One of the most useful links is the Live Homework Help program. It offers 1,300 “certi-fied teachers, college professors, and professional tutors” (LAPL.org). The tutors are online, from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., to answer questions. All communication is

done through chat and two-way whiteboards.

To get a library card, a student needs California resi-dence, a completed form, and, if under 18, a parent signature. There is an e-card option for L. A. residents.

Most links require stu-dents to enter their library card number and PIN (the last 4 digits of your phone number).

The program also operates in Spanish for help in science, math, and history. For more information, visit lapl.org or your local library. Romans can also take advantage of the resources at Memorial Branch Library, located directly across the street.

A new editionGet help for homework from the comfort of your home

Once again, Shakespearean class open! by Dalia Calvillo

Staff Writer

The Shakespeare class is back this semester!

“It’s like a new world for kids,” says, Mr. Glynn, instruc-tor. He wants kids to become interested in Shakespeare and Shakespeare’s works of art. Last

year, professional Hollywood actors helped students with the production of Twelfth Night. This year, the play in store is The Taming Of The Shrew. Accord-ing to Mr. Glynn, it’s a great play to do because his class consists mostly of girls, and the play is about girls being chased around by guys.

The goal is to give the

students basic tools and exposure to the theater, as well as to show them the possibilities available for a career in performing arts.

After school classes, dur-ing which professional actors coach students, began on Febru-ary 17th and will continue, every Tuesday and Thursday, from 3:30-5:00. For more informa-tion, stop by room 504.

The LIBRARY,

phot

o cr

edit:

tum

blr.c

om

Credits &

Credit Recovery

by Calvin ParkStaff Writer

This year, all California schools shifted to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which have also been adopted by 44 other states and Washington DC. CCSS testing will move beyond multiple choice ques-tions, requiring more explanatory written responses. The reason-ing behind this is to encourage development of students’ reading and writing skills and to empha-size critical thinking. Dr. Yoon, our school principal, said, CCSS “raise[s] the standard.”

As good as the CCSS sound, on paper, some believe that there is too much change in too little time.

Mr. Glynn said, “We’re always trying new things, but sometimes we try too many new things.”

Generally, people have mixed reactions to the CCSS. From a national viewpoint, CCSS make absolute sense, increasing productiveness in a society that has recently fallen short of other countries.

Time fora change?

by Claudia & PriscillaStaff Writer

Many people believe that once you’ve lost credits, it seems like a lost cause. That is a myth; losing credits is a huge deal. Never fear, there are some ways to get your credits restored, as long as you put in the effort.

The most common way that students make up some credits is through taking Adult School classes.

“We have access to room 166 for Adult School (where students can go and sign up), also for Apex (online classes that allow students to take certain courses).

Community college is a way that many students can use to their advantage to take classes that Adult School and Apex do not provide,” says Ms.Morales, the College Counselor.

The Adult School program allows for students to stay after school for about 4 hours, depend-ing on the course. These courses are provided in a classroom, with a teacher ready to teach and other students ready to learn, five days a week. the classes are four hours a day, for 6 weeks. However, not all classes are offered through the program.

Unlike Adult School, Apex offers online courses, where students complete all of the work online. Many people believe that this must be the easi-est way to get credits. But, let us reassure you that you are dead wrong. It is just like a regular class: you learn the lesson, do some classwork and take a quiz or test. A counselor must pre-approve enrollment in an Apex class and must be sure that it is the best way for the student to make up the class.

Apex students must report to Mr.Knepper’s room twice a week, otherwise they may not receive credit.

The last option commu-nity college. When neither Apex or Adult school offer the course that a student needs, taking it at a community college is also a pos-sibility. Not only will you gain back your lost credits, but you will also gain college credit for the course.

So when you finally get to go to college, you won’t need to take that course. If you’re all caught up with credits and feel like you want to get started on college credits, and are up for the challenge, you should look into getting ahead and taking a com-munity college course.

Why not get ahead of the game? That’s awesome, right?

NOTGUILTY

GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?...That is the question

Free Online Tutoring through LAPL

February/March 2014 25 cents Issue 2

School Library Developments

Univision At

Yearbook

Phot

o C

redi

t: La

ura

Stro

ng

Photo Credit: Andy Suh

Focus on the PrincipalCatching up with our princi-pal!

L.A. High

Get to know our new librarian, Ms. Harris and see what she has been doing to get the library ready to open!

By: Calvin ParkAdvertisement Manager

Dr. Yoon-Fontamillas, our principal, says that her job is “demanding in numerous ways.”

No two days are alike. She constantly considers ways to help the L.A. High commu-nity. Being a mother inspires her to do her very best to be a good role model for both the school and her child. She says that, as a mother, she has more “compassion and understanding for the students and parents.”

Ultimately, Dr. Yoon-Fontamillas wants to build up the prestige and reputation of L.A. High. She intends to do so by “build[ing] on what’s working right,” including the Band and Color Guard, JROTC, the sports teams, MESA, and others.

She intends to use these groups as a base model to im-prove the rest of the school by, ultimately, creating a dynamic, professional community.

Emphasizing profes-sionality, Dr. Yoon-Fontamil-las reminds us of her personal message: “We’re all in this together, creating a better school. Ultimately, we all need to bring our ‘A’ game.”

By: Micheal Cartoonist

The yearbook class is hard at work, creating the book, that takes on a new format this year. It is now being digitally made, unlike past years, where pages were handmade. Overall, we can expect a more modern book. “We had to move into the 21st century. We were probably the only school in the country that still was us-ing paper,” said Ms. Chliyeh, Yearbook Advisor. The yearbook will be a great way to remember the different faces and moments of the school year. “I think that, this year, students can expect a yearbook unlike anything they’ve seen before,” says senior, Francisco Cruz, one of two Editors-in-Chief. If students want to buy a yearbook, it will cost $75 before March 7th. But, after March 7th, the yearbook will increase, in price, to $85. So act fast and order yours today, in room 211.

It’s out with the old, in with the new. The yearbook makes its way to the 21st century.

Students wide awake while Univision visits the home of the Romans!

By: Mayra CarrilloLayout Designer

It’s about time that we have a librarian at school. On June 2013, our old librarian retired. It took a long time to find a new librarian, but we have one now - Ms. Harris. Ms. Harris was originally a teacher at Gompers Middle School in East Los Angeles. After working at Gompers, she went to teach at United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. There, she taught in the city of Abu Dhabi at SAS Al Nakhl

Boy School. “I was looking online for a friend because they told me about this program. When I was looking, it sounded interesting. So, I put in a job application online and got the job,” said Harris. She taught at SAS Al Nakhl Boy School for two years. The first year, she taught fourth grade, and the second year, she taught second grade. While she was in the city of Abu Dhabi, she also took online classes at San Jose Uni-versity to become a librarian.

After two years, Ms. Harris came back to the United States because her two year con-tract expired. She wanted to return to Los Angeles and try something new, so she became a librarian. Some of Ms. Har-ris’s hobbies include reading, traveling, and enjoying water activities, like swimming. She likes the outdoors. While liv-ing in Abu Dhabi, Ms. Harris found out about some interest-ing facts. For example, she could go to an ATM and get actual gold. People can just deposit money or their credit cards and select the amount of gold they want. Another aspect that she found out interesting in Abu Dhabi was the segrega-tion in schools. Boys and girls, in grades 1 through 12, do not attend the same school. There are boys’ schools and girls’ schools. Ms. Harris also noted that the malls are really huge. To get across, she explained, you could get a taxi to take you. She also was not expect-ing the city to be so western-ized. Now that we have a librarian, there should not be a reason for the library to be closed. Ms. Harris is working really hard to get it opened as soon as possible. “I have reorganized the books on the shelves, gone through every single book that we have, and also deleted 14,000 books that were irrelevant, damaged, and outdated,” said Ms. Harris. She hopes to bring the library

up to the 21st century, creating a more attractive place. She also hopes to spark an interest in kids to read. Mr. Weintraub has also helped with getting the library ready. Before Ms. Harris was hired, he began going dur-ing third period to work on organizing the books and, even now, continues to help her.

“I am re-organizing the whole refer-ence section right now,” said Mr. Wein-traub.

Currently, students are able to go to the library to use the computers, but only if their teachers go with them. If teachers need reference books, he or Ms. Harris pull the books out and send them to teachers. They will continue to do so until the library is back to full working condition.

By: Laura Strong Features & Sports Editor

On February 14th, the television station, Univision, visited Los Angeles High School. The Spanish-speaking station featured our school as one of the most-improved schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The preparations for the event started long before the

taping began. Dr. Yoon and Ms. Altin wanted the bleach-ers packed for the visit. The only challenge was the time that the Univision crew would be filming. The actual show broadcasted at 5:00 a.m., but students were expected to show up by 4:30 in the morn-ing. Leadership students had to show up even earlier - 3:30.

“It was a struggle to wake up at three in the morn-ing,” said Victor Perez, a ninth

grader who attended the event.In order to encourage

students to attend, there were boxes of Krispy Kreme do-nuts, bags of bagels, a gallon or two of coffee, and plenty of fruit for students. The school offered the attendance make-up or detention clearance for all grade levels. For seniors, there was an opportunity for earning service learning hours with a one page reflection. Many teachers offered extra

credit for those who picked up an the orange ticket.

As students arrived, they signed their name and the time on a banner. Then, students had to wait in line to check in for a free t-shirt and pom-pom. By 4:30 a.m., both bleachers were full of blue and white. Despite the unaccept-able hours, many students were grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I was proud of the amount of school spirit that was demonstrated that day,” said Mr. Perla, the MESA and FRC Robotics sponsor.

Senior Pearl Moro said, “It was a great experience. To see so much Roman spirit? It gives me a sense of belonging and school pride.”

During the event, Univision highlighted the best of Los Angeles High. The city-winning Band and Color Guard played, “L.A. Will Shine” and “Land of a Thousand.” The MESA and Robotics Team showed off their first-ever robot. Several students were highlighted for the Roman Athletics segment.

Antonio Aguilar, repre-senting Robotics, said, “It felt great to represent the MESA and the Robotics team.”

All in all, the event ran smoothly. Students cheered at the right moments, and the school was very well repre-sented. It was a job well done.

Early Morning School Pride!

February/March 2014Features 2

Words to

LEAVE in

2013! by Camille Jackson

Co-Editor In-chief

Ratchet

Spring Break Do you want fun ideas for Spring break? Well, here are some.

by Osmany FelipeStaff Writer

April is almost here and Spring Break is just around the corner. Here are some ideas of what you can do this break. Six Flags is one of the best places to go during vacation. It can be pricey, but it has many fun roller coasters. Disneyland, “the happiest place on earth,” is another place you can go. Again, it’s a little expensive; but, it’s worth the fun.

You don’t need to spend a lot to have fun. For example,

you can go to the beach with friends or go to the movie the-aters. Captain America fans: the movie releases on Friday, April 4th. Another great place to go is Hollywood, one of L.A.’s most thrilling areas. With so much to offer, it remains a hot spot for ev-eryone in the Los Angeles area.

If you don’t want to get up and change, then it’s okay. You can stay home, relax, and watch movies or shows on Netflix or television.

All the studying that has been put forth these few months can get your brain tired, so you can use a little break.

Pretty Little Liars finally returns. Fans are raving about the new season. For those who are new or unfamiliar with the se-ries, Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama, mystery-thriller, based on the popular series of novels by Sara Shepard. Set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four friends are the main characters. Their clique falls apart after the disappear-ance of their “Queen Bee,” Alison DiLaurentis. A year later,

they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure, using the name, “A”, who threatens to expose all

their pretty little secrets. Tune in and find out what will happen next, every Tuesday at

8 p.m., on channel 311.

The Oxygen reality t.v. series, Bad Girls Club All Star Battle, is the place to the tune in. A record of 1.73 million viewers during it’s first premier, in 2013, makes it the highest-rated series debut to date. In the most talked about show on social media, 14 girls from past seasons compete for

$100,000 and the ultimate title of the “Baddest Bad Girl of All Time.” Two teams are tested, every

week, in an endless array of physical and mental challenges. At the end of each

week, one girl goes home.

Whats Valentine’s all about ?

R E V I E W S

by Arely Soriano and Adilene AlvillarStaff Writers

To some, it’s a day to share with their family and friends, to others it is a day they share with their significant other. It is a day of love, but should it be celebrated with chocolates and roses?

St. Valentine’s Day began as a celebration of one or more early Christian saints, named Valentinus.

A popular legend from old Catholic stories says that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Legend says

that, while he was imprisoned, he cured the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An addition to this story says that before Valen-tine was executed, he wrote her a goodbye letter, signed, “Your Valentine.”

The day was first associ-ated with romantic love during the 18th-century, in England. It evolved into one on which lovers expressed their feelings for each other by presenting flowers, of-fering gifts, and sending greeting cards.

Valentine’s day is a day of love, where we can show love to-wards everyone, not just the ones we are in a relationship with. We can show compassion towards one another, and let it flourish throughout out our souls.

by Camille JacksonCo-Editor In-Chief

phot

o cr

edit:

FoodRecipe

by Priscilla & CamilleStaff Writers

Chocolate Spice Cake:1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour1 1/4 Cups Sugar1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa2 teaspoons baking Soda1 tablespoon Cinnamon1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice1/8 teaspoon Salt1 1/2 cups of Applesauce 1/2 Cup milk1/2 Cup butter, melted1 teaspoon vanilla1/2 cup chopped walnuts1 cup chocolate chips (they don’t melt)

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda,cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt in a

large mixer bowl. Stir in apple-sauce, milk, butter and vanilla and blend well. Add nuts and chips.

Pour into a greased and floured 9-cup bundt pan, a 12x9 inch pan, or a 9x9 square pan with 1/2 cup of batter taken out. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes for a bundt pan, 40 to 45 minutes for an oblong pan, or 35 minutes for a square pan or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Chocolate Spice Cake recipe for all occasions.

Gucci

Yolo

Swag

Thank You Based God Twerk

Thug Life

Bop/”Bopper”

Fake

“Yeah Foo”Thot

Thirst

Turn Up

RoastSqu

abble

selfie

mayne

Firebasic

Turn down for what?

“or nah”

EntertainmentFebruary/March 2014

swerve#Team”____”

The

OLYMPICS

1

432

Overall Medal Standings as of 2/25/14

Canada

Norway

United States

RussiaGold Silver Bronze

13

11

10

9

5

11

7

10

9

10

5

12

Things to do, places to go during...

3

Celebrating

BLACKHISTORY

MONTH

2014

Martin Luther King Jr.

He was the most important voice of the civil rights movement, which worked for equal rights for all. He used nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice, and he never got tired of trying to end segregation laws.“Peace is nearly a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal”

January 15, 1929- April 4,1968Atlanta, Georgia

1955Civil Rights Movement

Begins

1968

Movement ends, equality for all!

Banned discrimination, based on “race, color, reli-gion, or national origin,” in employment practices and public accommodations.

1964

Civil Rights Act of

On December 1,1955 she refused to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama to make room for a white passenger.“!e only tired I was, was TIRED OF GIVING IN”

February 4,1913- October 24, 2005Tuskegee, Alabama

Rosa Parks

On June 29, 1963 Malcolm lead the Unity Rally in Harlem. It was one of the nation’s largest civil rights events.“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

1963

Malcolm XMay 19,1925-February 21, 1965 North Omaha, NE

The Art in HistoryThe Art in History Students from Mr. William’s AP Art class show their artistic talent for

Black History Month...

Maya Angeleou

by Cristal Torres

Bob Marley

by Bairon VanegasJackie Robinson

by Denise VillafanaFrederick Douglas

by Jonathan Lemus

4 February/March 2014 5Culture

1st place winner of the “Annual Black History Art Contest”

“Rosa Parks on the bus”

Dahye Rim

6 Sports

Los Angeles Varsity Basketball

photo credit: Andy Suh The basketball team receiving feedback from Coach Hunter.

A basket takes it all.

by Adilene AlvillarStaff Writer

This year’s basketball team had a long way to go. As they progressed, they learned how to communicate better and have a bet-ter teamwork.

“It takes practice, [being] mentally and physically there, hard work, and dedication,” said Varsity Captain, Ebube Ozoemena.

They practiced non-stop during the week to improve their individual and team skills.

In the beginning of the

season, Coach Hunter said, “We have a long way to go, and we’re just beginning to understand what hard work is.”

Although they were just starting, they knew exactly what they wanted and set to it in their minds. They had challenges and did not want to let their crowd down.

“The hardest thing when we played was when you didn’t want to let down the crowd. But, sometimes, it doesn’t come out the way you want it,” said Varsity player, Ryan Campbell.

The boys worked extreme-ly hard to accomplish their goals as a team.

“[They have] outstanding effort, [and are] getting better ev-eryday. [It is a ] very young team this year and they have potential,” said Coach Hunter.

On February 14, 2014, the boy’s varsity basketball team won their last game against Elizabeth Learning Center (ELC). The score was 75-60, putting them into the playoffs for the Southern League.

-1/13 59-32 (W) Los Angeles @ Legacy

-1/15 49-36 (W)Los Angeles vs. Maywood

-1/17 63-58 (W) Los Angeles @ Bravo

-1/24 51-29 (W) Los Angeles @ Santee

-1/27 46-45 (W) - Los Angeles vs. Jefferson

-1/29 65-41 (W) - Los Angeles vs. Elizabeth

-1/31 55-10 (W) - Los Angeles vs. Legacy

-2/5 39-37 (W) - Los Angeles vs. Bravo

Dribble, Dribble, Score!

by Laura StrongStaff Writer

The Lady Roman’s Varsity Basketball team got off to a great start this year! As they finished their season on Valentine’s Day, the team’s record was an excel-lent 10-4.

Their successes must be attributed to the team’s hard work and determination. What were they working toward? The girl’s team was confident that they’d make it to League.

Team Captain, Joanna Cato, said, “I think we [could] do it because everyone on our team

is working hard to reach that goal.”

Reach that goal, they did. The girl’s basketball team made it to league, and played their first game on Thursday, February 20th.

The team should be satis-fied with the amount of work that they put into their season, especially since they made it to league. The girl’s basketball team practiced almost every day after school. Coach Sergio pushed his team to challenge themselves. Earlier in season, Coach Sergio talked about how the girls needed to work on their defense.

“They should have won by six,” he said after the first game against Legacy.

After that faltering start, the Lady Roman team moved to conquer. The team has been dominant the rest of the season, winning games by large leads. The most memorable aspect of the team this year was the chem-istry between teammates.

“We just love passing the ball,”

said shooting guard, Lidia Michaels.

We congratulate the team on its great season, which ended last week after playoffs.

Go Hardor Go Home

The girl’s soccer team confidently get back up after a trip and fall!

by Andy SuhStaff Writer

The Girl’s Varsity soccer team is in season and working really hard. They put in all their effort to their games by always looking for a victory during their match ups. So far, the team faced 9 games in their season and looks determined to continue fighting for the ball! Af-ter a loss game against Jefferson High School, and a loss against Elizabeth Learning Center with the score of 0 to 7, the girls kept their head held high. The team showed a sense of pride by en-during and trying their best.

“Everyone in the team is working really hard,” said Laura Strong, the Varsity captain.

The girls practice nearly every day until 6:00 p.m., to de-velop individual and team skills.

“I expect we will improve a lot during this season as the

team gets to know each other better,” said Strong.

The girls work very hard during practice to accomplish their goals together. Play-ers need communication and teamwork because they are an important key for victory. Having great teamwork means that each individual recognizes that all members have different strengths and skills.

“The varsity team has lack of experience because of many new freshmen,” said Coach Vasquez. “The team lost 12 seniors last year.”

Even though they lack experience, Coach Vasquez believes the team will develop well over the season. In order to keep moving forward, a team must never quit or put their heads down. The Los Angeles High Soccer team is doing just that.

-2/10 31-24 (L) - Los Angeles vs. Santee The team ended their

season by completing in the City Division III playoffs, last week, representing L.A.H.S. proudly.

February/March 2014

photo credit: Osmany Felipe

Phot

o C

redi

t: M

iche

al A

nton

io

A Challenge to

Are Romans ready to bid farewell to graffiti?

By: Ryan BaluyutStaff Writer

Los Angeles High School is the “second home” for most students and school personnel. As students, we have a responsibility in maintaining school order and cleanliness.

On the most recent district administered student survey, only forty-six percent of the 1,200 respondents said that they felt the school was clean. Last year, teachers, staff, students and community members took part in several Campus Beautification efforts. They picked up trash, planted new flowers, repaired broken facilities, rehabilitated the northwest area of the campus,

and painted over tagging and graffiti. Whether this condi-tion will last throughout the years, depends almost solely on us, the students.

Practice of vandalism is really common in schools. Students take liberty to write on walls, chairs, doors, and any other possible canvas, pouring down thoughts and emotions, or other seemingly senseless writings that don’t belong on school property. Graffiti and scratched walls can be seen almost anywhere around campus. Trash talking, profanity, random scribbling, and even threats may be seen on school hallways, corridors and even inside the bathrooms. Though some may consider graffiti as a way of artistic

expression, we must consider that there are many other ways to convey a message or ex-press emotions.

Although school poli-cies and rules regarding van-dalism have been implement-ed, it is necessary that these rules are enforced. Students, parents and staff must work hand-in-hand to make this so-called tradition of vandalism in our school banish. This is the challenge for us Romans.

Will we see spotless walls by the end of the semes-ter?

College & Money Tips and tricks to avoid student debt

By: Laura StrongSports & Features Editor

Due to student loans and living costs, students all over the U.S. are struggling with debt. According to the American Student Assistance (ASA) website, out of the 20 million people attending col-lege this year, 12 million have to get loans in order to attend college. There is over a trillion dollars of outstanding student debt.

There are four types of financial aid - federal aid, work study, scholarships and grants, and loans.

Federal aid comes from filling out forms, such as the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), if you have a Social Security Number or are a U.S. Citizen, and through the Dream Act, if you do not. Colleges and many scholarships require a federal aid form from U.S. citizens, usually the FAFSA, in order to

apply. Many privates also re-quire CSS PROFILE (College Scholarship Service Profile) applications to be filled out. PROFILE, a program run by College Board, charges a fee to submit its application for students who don’t qualify for lunch tickets.

Each college has its own deadline for its financial aid requirements to be turned in. Using these applications, colleges determine what sort of financial aid package they can provide for their students. These packages include grants and work study programs; each package is unique to the student and the college.

Scholarships and grants are, essentially, free money. However, finding scholarships can be rather difficult. Using websites such as Fastweb and Cappex can help students find scholarships and contests that are specific to each student. Scholarships can also be found in local organizations. L.A.

High has its own scholarships, which you can find more about through Ms. Nadia Morales, in the Counseling Office. Re-member that the more unique the scholarship, the fewer number of people apply.

Unlike scholarships, students must pay back their loans. Loans are divided into two categories - subsidized and unsubsidized - and recipi-ents, eventually, have to pay both back. With subsidized loans, supported by the gov-ernment, students don’t have to pay interest on the loans they take out until they gradu-ate school. Unsubsidized loans start building interest from the moment that a student takes out the loan.

Put a Stop to Bullying

Photo Credit: Claudia Mendez

By: Lupe HernandezStaff Writer

Even if you, person-ally, haven’t been bullied, you probably know somebody who has - your best friend, your brother, your sister, or, perhaps, just somebody you’ve passed by in the hallways. In this society, media constantly portrays bullying. But, it is im-portant to realize that bullying does exist outside the media as well.

Even if we are unaware, bullying is everywhere. What ever happened to friendship?

“Bullying is not cool;

you hurt peoples feelings,” said Maidely Barrios, fresh-man.

It seems that as soon as each of us steps in the school gates, others judge us, either by our ethnicity, what we wear, or the way we look.

“I’ve experienced bul-lying. Each time I walk into school gates, they [other stu-dents] would always call me names and would always want to fight me,” said Genesis Alvarado, senior.

“Bullying is dumb, there’s no point to it,” said Emil-ia Martinez, freshman.

School should be a place for students to learn and make new friends, not a place for bullying. Why can’t it end already? We already have enough problems with our economy, why do we have to cause more?

Bullying comes in many forms. Verbal abuse is also a form of bullying. Words can hurt. Words, alone, can damage one’s self-esteem, which can lead a person to want to hurt themselves or someone else.

“Bullying is messed up and it shouldn’t be going on,” said Diego Acuvado.

End the hate of diversity.

Home School VS.

Public School

By: David SolorioStaff Writer

On September 3, 2013, the U.S. Department of Educa-tion’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report on the num-ber of home school students in the United States. Since 2007, the amount of students home schooled in the U.S. has grown by almost 300,000. Approxi-mately 1,770,000 students are home schooled in America, a number which includes 3.4% of the school-age population.

Through my experi-ence of being home schooled, before recently returning to public school, I realized that some students choose to be homeschooled because it is difficult to get individual attention in public school. When I went to public school, there were usually, at least, 20-30 students per class. With many students in a class, it was often difficult to have the teacher individually help students. However, when I was home schooled, it was just the

teacher and me. The teacher was able to help me more on things I couldn’t understand.

Although home school has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. One major disadvantage of being home schooled is not being able to attain certain skills. As a student, currently in public school, I have the opportuni-ties to participate in group projects and presentations. All these activities help improve my confidence and to develop public speaking skills.

Overall, being home schooled is a good idea if a student does not mind work-ing independently. However, going to a public school isn’t a bad idea, if the student wants to be in a social environment and wants to participate in many activities. Teachers in public school settings, sometimes still manage to provide individual attention to students.

Home School or Publis School, which do you prefer?

Romans

Phot

o C

redi

t: M

iche

al A

nton

io

February/March 2014 Opinions 7

Valentine’s Day

Diana Soto and her valentine getting married by Mr. Glynn on Valentine’s Day.

One of the many Valentines recived

this year at La High!

Cindy Aguilar setting up for the mock wedding.

February/March 2014In Focus 8

The mock wedding took place on the black top at lunch; couples were married by Mr. Glynn.