VOLUME 50.2 October 15, 201010535 Zelzah Ave, Granada Hills 91344Granada Hills Charter High

Entertainment Cooking shows provide pleasure for both the eyes and stomachs

Sports Junior varsity football team prepares for the upcoming season

ASB proposes parking permit solution

Collegeboard abolishes AP Point PenaltyBy Jane Pyeon

Starting this school year, CollegeBoard will no longer deduct points for wrong answers on Advanced Placement (AP) tests.

CollegeBoard previously took a quarter of a point off for every wrong answer while unanswered questions were not penalized. Students were left to decide for themselves whether or not to take the risk.

“I believe that removing the penalty is really helpful for all students, but as a result of this, the grading of the AP tests is not going to be as light as they were before,” junior Gurpreet Sagoo said.

Most teachers predict positive outcomes for the implement of this policy as well.

“I don’t think [students]

should be penalized for trying,” history teacher Brian Luko said. “[The] AP exam is already a stressful test, and by penalizing [guessing] it makes it even more stressful on the students.”

While some students are very happy with this change, others find it rather unfair.

“It sucks, because now people who actually know the answer are now going to have to compete with people who will probably get it right despite not knowing anything and just guessing,” junior Kevin Kim said.

Moreover, some students believe that AP tests no longer serve their purpose of testing a student’s knowledge on a certain topic.

“AP is about whether you know college material, not whether you’re good at guessing.

It was about testing what you actually learned and knew,” junior Megan Park said.

While most seniors like the policy change, some complain that the decision is rather belated.

“This is my last year taking AP exams. I don’t really care, since it won’t matter to me anymore,” senior Joon Lee said.

Teachers have also made changes of their own in response to the AP policy change. They are now advising students to answer all the questions since wrong answers will not harm their overall score.

“Answer them all. I mean, you have to,” Chemistry teacher Ethan Sullivan said.

This new policy will be implemented for the upcoming May 2011 AP exams.

By Allison OuchiThe Associated Student Body

(ASB) is currently working on a proposal that will guarantee students a parking spot in the student parking lots.

Under this proposal, the student store would sell parking permits according to the number of spaces available for students.

“What ASB is proposing is that the student store only sell the amount of passes that there are spaces. After they sell all the permits for the amount of spaces we have, they have to stop selling them,” ASB senior vice president

Sam Avishay said.Students who pay for a permit

would therefore be able to actually get a parking spot without having to worry about the possibility of losing their space.

The proposal also contains a provision that will lower parking permit prices to $15 a semester, as opposed to the current system of selling permits for $25 a semester or $40 for the year.

“What we’re charging for permits is outrageous. Most other schools don’t have permits for parking, but the ones that do charge students around $15 for

them, so we modeled our pricing after them,” Avishay said.

In addition, the proposal would require that students only be allowed to buy a permit per semester.

This means that if a student has a permit the first semester, they have to renew it the second semester or give up their parking spot.

The ‘permits-to-available-spaces’ proposal was created in response to the difficulty students have with finding a parking space in the student lots before school.

“We [ASB] know through

personal experience and through countless complaints and concerns made to ASB that parking in the morning is a nightmare,” ASB sophomore delegate Brandon Camacho said.

Many students have parking permits, but are unable to get a space as a result of the student store’s sale of more passes than the number of spaces.

“They student store sold 118 parking permits when the school has only about 50 parking spots for students,” Avishay said.

This overselling of permits makes parking limited and only

available on a first-come, first-serve basis, creating grievances among students who paid for a permit without the guarantee of the space.

“I think that the school’s system of issuing parking permits is unfair if a student can’t get a spot even if they paid for a parking pass,” senior Michael Bucher said.

Nevertheless, ASB hopes that all of these problems presented by the current parking permit sale system will be solved if this proposal is enacted into school policy.

Gabrielle Amar/ The Plaid PressOVERCROWDED: Many students have difficulty finding parking spaces in the student lots before school despite having purchased permits.

Feature The Plaid Press explores the grave-yard of obsolete Internet websites

Ten AP Classes of roughly 30 students each were polled.

02news October 15, 2010

Arabic classes inspire cultural diversity

The fight to change cell phone policy continuesBy Ahra Cho

The Associated Student Body (ASB) intends to re-propose the new cell phone policy regarding the student’s usage of personal phones during school hours, in order to foster greater student appreciation for the school.

The policy would allow students to use their cell phones during nutrition and lunch, but not during class time.

Starting off with a one-week trial period, ASB attempts not only to address staff and student concerns regarding rising phone usage, but also to show the possibility of great change. The trial would assess the validity of the policy and its ability to reduce the number of students who text during class.

ASB believes that the new cell phone policy would be a chance to encourage a more “student-friendly” school environ-ment.

“As students, allowing cell phone usage is one way that we can make the school more people-centered and growth-focused,” ASB Vice President Sam Avishay said.

Last March, the proposal failed to

receive approval from the Governing Board. However, due to strong student support, ASB reconsidered the policy again this year.

“[This policy] is simply what the students want,” ASB President Bridget Gosis said.

Many students do not see the harm in using phones and find that it is sometimes even necessary to use their phones during school.

“Using our cell phones can help clear up confusion; you would have no way of knowing about things happening after school (such as someone else’s parents taking you home) until it actually is after-school,” junior Roger Carnow said.

Although many claim that the policy is necessary and beneficial, some teachers and students think otherwise. Opponents of the policy believe that phone usage outside of class will increase in-class usage due to continued conversations.

Also, some believe that texting might perpetuate more fights within the school and discourage face-to-face communica-tion.

“We already have 45 minutes of break

to talk to our friends. Also, [the proposal] won’t stop the trend of cell phone usage in classrooms because there is no incentive for them not to use phones,” senior Fasih Ahsan said.

Despite dissenting opinion, ASB plans to push the proposal forward. It believes that students have proved their capability to

be responsible and mature.“We have shown through our test scores

and behavior that we are trustworthy, honest and competent. In this increasingly techno-logical age, cell phones are our generation’s way of communicating; denying the students the ability to use cell phones is denying the fact that times have changed,” Avishay said.

First college fair is hereBy Shilpa Bhongir

Granada will hold its first ever College Fair on Saturday, October 16th.

The fair, which will last from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. will provide informative work-shops and opportunities to meet with college representatives for elementary, middle, and high school students in the community.

College representatives from about 35 to 45 colleges such as Stanford, Cornell, University of Chicago, University of Cali-fornia Los Angeles and University of Cali-fornia Berkeley, will attend the event.

In addition to college representatives, the fair will provide various college-prep workshops.

The workshops will teach students about the college admission process, the difference between private and public colleges and the SAT and ACT reasoning tests, as well as include tips for writing college admission essays and information on financial aid.

“From the workshops, I really hope to learn more about the different requirements I need in order to guarantee my accep-tance into the college of my choice,” junior Fernanda Velazco said.

The fair also provides volunteer oppor-tunities for students looking to expand their extracurricular activities, a POWER 106

radio lunch jam, raffles, prizes and give-aways, as well as a chance for one elemen-tary, middle and high school student to win a college scholarship.

The workshops and college information are not only limited to seniors and upper-classman. “On a daily basis, the college office primarily works with seniors in the fall and juniors in the spring. This college fair will provide early outreach to our ninth, tenth grade students and parents as well as younger students,” College and Career Director Dionne Rader said.

“As a sophomore, I am so glad that the college fair is accessible to me because I can already start getting an upper edge on college information,” sophomore Divya Bramharouthu said.

The school decided to hold its own college fair to be more accessible to local community members. The school plans to continue to hold the fair annually so students can gain more college awareness.

“Its one thing for a student to say, ‘I spoke to a college representative about their institution,’” College and Career Director Dionne Raider said, “But it’s another thing to say, ‘Wow, I actually learned about the requirements and how to prepare for college’ – that’s what we want.’”

Gabrielle Amar/ The Plaid Press

ARABIC CLASS: Arabic teacher Hadia Attar helping students learn Farsi.

By Kathy ZerbibWith the creation of a new Arabic class

comes the possibility of an even wider variety of language classes to be offered in the future.

This year marks the first to offer Arabic. Many students already speak some Arabic at home and are drawn to the Arabic language class to learn more about their culture and increase their fluency.

However, not everyone in the class is necessarily Arabic.

Senior Nicole Hsieh, a student in Arabic 1, said she is taking the class because “it’s completely fun learning new languages and [Arabic] is quite unique.”

Regardless of the students’ backgrounds, their interest in learning Arabic has been inspiring to their teacher.

“I like to work with Granada students because they show me their interest in learning Arabic,” new Arabic teacher Hadia Attar said. “And I like the staff who welcomed me very nicely as a new member of Granada’s staff.”

The new Arabic class also boosts a strong feeling of unification among students.

“It’s really nice to see where people actu-ally start to come together, and that they’ve

been able to do it through language,” World Languages and Cultures department chair Brandon Zaslow said.

By mixing groups of various ethnicities and backgrounds, language classes allow students “to be able to know what it would be like to interact with people of different cultures,” Zaslow said.

Other popularly requested languages include Hebrew, Tagalog, and Farsi.

Senior Brandon Katz would have chosen to take Tagalog, the language his family speaks, in order to communicate more effi-ciently with them. “I want to know what they are saying, in case they say something offensive,” he said.

The decision to add a language class depends on the availability of a teacher who is able to instruct multiple subjects, as well as the popularity of the language amongst students.

The issue of language importance, particularly in regards to family, is also deeply considered.

Zaslow said the school tries to pick what he calls “languages of the future, like Mandarin [and] Arabic.” Both have now become a successful part of the school’s course catalog.

Introduction of the new Arabic class opens the door for more foreign language classes in the future

03 spiritOctober 15, 2010

“I Am Granada”Nominations

If you know of anyone who shows school spirit, send their names and a brief explanation to Ms. Mason in A11 or send an email to mmason@

ghchs.com. Everyone is eligible: students, teachers, parents, staff, and

administrators.

Ackermann helps students with their personal issuesBy Austin Kang

Barbara Ackermann has dealt with many difficult and personal issues over her six years as the school’s social worker, most re-cently helping a struggling family meet their basic needs.

“This has been the second time since I’ve worked here that I’ve gone to the Granada community to help a family. Food was the main problem, so I wrote an email to the faculty and staff for donations, especially gift cards for grocery stores,” Ackermann said.

Due to confidentiality reasons, Acker-mann could not further elaborate on the issue, but she has particularly emphasized the generous response of the school com-munity.

“Our school is just so giving, unbeliev-ably so. Less than 24 hours after sending the email, I had to send another one to tell them to stop sending in food, since we al-ready had more than enough for the family,” she said.

Besides helping those who are in need financially, Ackermann addresses any vari-ety of concerns that may arise in the school, ranging from death of a family member to behavioral and drug problems to child abuse.

Resulting from the serious and imme-diate nature of the issues she has to deal with, Ackermann can never fully predict her schedule on a daily basis.

“My work’s very crisis-driven. I can nev-er expect what’s going to come in the door at any time,” she said.

While Ackermann’s job is catered toward helping individuals, her role in the school has become “essential in forming a well-knitted community,” English teacher Bar-bara Kellogg said.

“I nominated Ms. Ackermann for the ‘I Am Granada’ honor because I think she embodies the spirit of our school perfectly.

She constantly approaches her job with eyes toward the whole school; so when she at-tends to individual needs, she’s also thinking more widely on how she can help the en-tire student population. There hasn’t been a time when I let her know about a student in need that she hasn’t immediately respond-ed,” she said.

Before her current position at the school, Ackermann pursued a career in journalism due to her love of writing. However, as time progressed, she began to “distrust the word, and trust the deed.”

“Anyone can say or write any old thing. I realized what you do is most important,” she said.

Ackermann went back to college, gradu-ating from the University of Southern Cali-fornia (USC) School of Social Work and first began working with adults in down-town Los Angeles.

“I worked with people who had severe mental illnesses. Some were homeless or in conflict with the law,” she said.

Ackermann transitioned into working with kids when she learned that “a lot of the problems [her] clients were dealing with had its origins early in life.”

“Working with the adults, I would often wish that I had a time machine to go back and prevent some of the events that would lead to their afflictions. There’s no time ma-chine, but the closest I could come to it was working with young people,” she said.

Her work can become very demanding when the most serious cases need to be dealt with. However, Ackermann describes her profession as the “most rewarding job [she] could think of,” despite the stressful times that come along with it.

“Sometimes it’s hard not to take the stories home, and I often have to make a conscious effort to leave it here at school. But I love my work, love it absolutely,” Ack-ermann said.

Retraction: Angela Soto, ASB advisor, was misquoted in “Year starts off with new vision” on September 16, 2010. The quote, “those neglected individuals,” was in the author’s words, not Soto’s. Soto emphasized we would shine the spotlight on all students.

“ I Am Granada”

More clubs are on campusBy Jane Pyeon

16 brand new clubs are ready to bring back the school spirit.Leo Club of Granada Hills

L.E.O. stands for leadership, experience, and opportunity. It is the largest interna-tional community service organization in the world with 1.6 million members in 206 nations. L.E.O is sponsored by the Lions Club International, its parent organization.

“We focus on providing vision to com-munities and third world nations and by training and educating young people from less privileged families or communities. We believe that we are providing a vision for that certain individual, family, and commu-nity,” President junior Rebekah Choi said.

The club plans to organize volunteer projects such as eyeglasses collections as well as fundraisers for humanitarian needs.

Members of L.E.O may be awarded col-lege scholarships for their participation.Table Tennis and Entertainment Association

Table tennis, more commonly known as ping-pong, is directed towards table ten-nis lovers and those interested in trying the sport.

“The purpose of this club is to allevi-ate students from academic stress and raise awareness of the sport,” President junior Steven Bonilla said.

Table tennis is a simple and accessible sport that has recently become very popu-lar. The main goal of the club for this year is to create a team to participate in various competitions throughout the San Fernando Valley. Passion (Power and Strength Spread in Our Neighborhood)

Passion is focused on helping out the community.

“Our purpose is to encourage people to really appreciate their lives by serving their communities while receiving hours of community service and having a fun time,” President junior Agustina Kim said.

Passion helps students realize that help-ing out their community is not a burden, but something that is fun and beneficial to everyone.

They hope to have volunteer projects such as repairing playgrounds, repainting walls, having beach cleanups, planting trees to restore the areas burned by fires and even holding food drives.

thAnniversary Celebration

50 Bring family and friends to enjoy sports, entertainment, games, and shopping on November 5-8, 2010.

Friday: Homecoming parade and game Saturday: 50th anniversary community

festival, Homecoming danceSunday: 50th anniversary community festival with The Al McKay Allstars

Sign up today for the All School Talent Showcase in room B15. Auditions will

be held in Highlander Hall after school at 3:30-5:30 pm on October 18&19.

Unique acts and talents are welcomed. Bands are not allowed.

All School Talent Show

Gabrielle Amar / The Plaid Press

New Treepeople Club aims to help protect the environmentBy Lucy Lee

One way to show school spirit is to par-ticipate in clubs and organizations on cam-pus.

Our school has kept its legacy of provid-ing students with the most trendy and help-ful clubs to build one’s character.

Treepeople Club, one of many new clubs this year, aims to educate the student body about the importance of reforestation in the community, as well as encourage en-vironmental activism.

Treepeople is a non-profit organization that has many branches of events, such as community plantings, tree care workshops, urban renewals, and school restorations.

“We had already been working with Treepeople, and in that time we had been advocating the organization throughout school on a small scale,” Treepeople Club co-president senior Kate Kaplan said. “We thought we could make a bigger impact by reaching the entire student body through making a club.”

The club’s goals include publicizing and setting up carpools for the Treepeople or-ganization’s calendar of events, discussing

simple ways to protect the environment, and fundraising on behalf of the Treepeople or-ganization.

“For the near future, we hope to bring a whole new collection of volunteers to the various Treepeople events around Los An-geles,” Treepeople Club co-president senior Emily Alford said.

“We would also like to work with the organization's values to help make our own campus more sustainable by improving the recycling program and educating students on harmful environmental degradation.”

Treepeople Club will impact the school by supporting and assisting the current re-cycling program.

Their efforts to introduce native plants in the community will be of advantage to both the school as well as the community that surrounds it.

“We will be participating in Granada’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in order to help raise money to buy trees and supplies for the upcoming planting season,” Kaplan said.

Treepeople Club meetings are held dur-ing lunch every Thursday in room G6.

Gabrielle Amar / The Plaid Press

Celebrating 50 years of excellence!

TREE HUGGERS: Co-presidents Emily Alford and Kate Kaplan smile at the thought of improving the community as a whole. They are excited to make better changes.

October 15, 2010

Spencer Wolf: the KNOCKOUTEnglish Teacher

Walking into his classroom, the first things that catch your eyes are the series of vivid butcher paper projects that line the wall.

What you may not notice, however, is the cluster of boxing trophies tucked neatly away in the corner of English teacher Spencer Wolf ’s desk.

It may seem odd that a humanities-oriented individual would take up such a physically taxing sport, but for Wolf it was a matter of survival.

“Growing up, I was a pretty quiet, bookish kid. But it was tough trying to get through The Lord of the Rings having four brothers punching me as I read. So on my twelfth birthday, I asked for my first punching bag,” Wolf said.

While the premise of self-defense seemed appealing enough, the novelty of it grew off, and it was not until his junior year of college that Wolf decided to box competitively.

Perhaps it was the boxing club on campus or the pent up aggression of getting turned down by an Australian girl that sparked a renewed interest in boxing, but there’s been no turning back since.

“Boxing is my favorite sport, and I’ve been doing it officially and competitively for about six years. Even though it’s got simplicity of purpose, it requires a ton of skill. There’s actually a lot of planning, both consciously and reflexively, behind every punch”, Wolf said.

Wolf certainly has skill, but it wasn’t enough to help him

win his first collegiate fight during a study-abroad program in Ireland.

“I was boxing for the University College Dublin against Trinity College Dublin. We were fighting at Trinity that day, with trinity judges. I lost on points because I failed to knock out my opponent, but the consensus was that I had been robbed,” he said.

His second fight in Kildare went much smoother, where he won indisputably.

Probably the most painful, albeit interesting spar he had was against a left-handed competitor who was 3 inches taller than him.

“When you spar against someone who’s left-handed, your guard has to be up the opposite way. I got jabbed in the eye, and scratched my eyeball. For two weeks after, whenever I blew my nose, there was so much pressure in my eye that I felt it would pop out,” he said.

Regardless of the injuries

he’s received, Wolf has been training harder than ever.

Lately hedhas been training with Chris Sande, a bronze medalist in the 1988 Olympics.

“Boxing forces you to be in phenomenal shape. The same isn’t necessarily true for baseball or football.”

And indeed, Wolf ’s trophies are testimony to his enduring dedication to the art of boxing.

“The dynamics of the sport [boxing] present an infinite number of

possibilities.”

On October 29, 1929 the United States stock market lost $14 billion in an event known as Black Tuesday. The Great Depression brought the rise of shanty towns, the board game Monopoly and the fall of President Herbert Hoover’s popularity.

To the typical student these are just useless trivia, but to an Academic Decathlon member they are only a few of the many crucial facts they have to know.

Academic Decathlon (Acadeca) is a team of students from all different achievement levels who study for ten thematically-linked events in local, regional, and state competitions.

“The events are art, music, literature, math, economics, history, speech, interview, essay, and super quiz,” senior Harsimar Dhanoa said. “Super quiz alternates between science and history and this year’s science.”

The theme that links all of this year’s events, with the exception of mathematics, is the Great Depression.

“I actually find the information I have learned really interesting plus or minus a few subjects,” senior Shagun Goyal said. “I’m not a big fan of science, but all in all the information is interesting and very in depth.”

The information is so in depth that Acadeca members study during sixth and seventh period and regularly stay after school until six o’clock.

“We’re putting in as much time as we can so that we can do well at State,” Dhanoa said.

And as the date of this competition gets closer, the members will be staying later as well as working on the

weekends.During their time studying

together, they work in pairs or groups of three designated by the team coaches. These groups will go into separate classrooms and work together, breaking up the material into chunks and quizzing each other afterwards.

“Acadeca promotes group study over individual study because it is more effective and we learn more by quizzing each other on the material than when we read,” Goyal said.

Still, the sheer amount of information and time spent preparing can be overwhelming.

“The workload does sometimes make me think that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew,” Dhanoa said. “But the entire team is very supportive and is always there to help out if they’re better at something than I am.”

The team has become extremely close from their time together, almost like a family according to Dhanoa.

“At first it was a bit weird to be surrounded by the same twelve kids every day, but all of us bonded really quickly,” Goyal said.

All friends aside, being a member of Academic Decathlon also makes for a different student mindset.

“I am less afraid to take up challenges and now I am more optimistic and more confident when I approach something new,” Goyal said.

“Acadeca shows you that you’re capable of accomplishing anything you want if you put your mind to it,” Dhanoa said. “Every day I can’t wait to be back with the team, highlighter and study packet in hand.”

Personal blogging coupled

with social networking—

Xanga had it all. With its

successful launch in 1999,

Xanga became popular among

students in their early

teens. However, due to its

limited appeal, Xanga even-

tually lost its subscribers

to MySpace and Facebook,

which attracted both the

young and older generations.

When you had a question, who would always ask? It was, of course, the most informative butler you’d ever known—Jeeves. The once popular “Ask Jeeves” website was a search engine that allowed students to type in actual questions instead of phrases. But Jeeves was replced by Google, go-to website today.

Known for its personal and music profile pages, MySpace enjoyed record

online traffic in 2006 and became one of the most

popular social networking sites in America. In 2009,

MySpace put increased em-phasis on entertainment and

music, turning those who sought opportunities for

social vitality into the hands of Facebook.

The students in culinary arts’ teacher Karen Brooks’ cooking class got a special treat when former Iron Chef competitor and current president of the Culinary Institute of California (CIC) visited them and demonstrated on how to make Korean cuisine.

Brooks met Chef Lee four years ago at the Korean Cultural Center at Wilshire. They kept in touch and Lee’s staff from the CIC called Brooks to ask if she’d be interested in having Lee teach her students about Korean cuisine.

Brooks instantly said yes. “I saw this as a rare opportunity and was excited to share it with my kids,” she said.

Chef Lee came into Brooks ad-vanced two hour class as well as her fifth and sixth periods on Tuesday September 28 th.

Chef Lee demonstrated how to make kimchi (fermented cabbage) in front of the class with the aid of translators provided by Korean teacher Heather Yoo.

In addition to making kimchi, Chef Lee brought various pre-pre-pared Korean dishes for the students to sample. The dishes included galbi (braised short ribs), a cellophane

noodle dish, kimbap (the Korean equivalent of Japanese sushi), spicy pork and cabbage, spicy tofu seafood soup, and citron punch with raspber-ries.

The food was completely free of charge and provided by the Korea Agro-Trade Center, a government agency that promotes agricultural products traded between Korean and the United States.

“The kids were very receptive,” Brooks said. “They thought it was really cool for Chef Lee to come all this way to show us how to cook the food.”

The students definitely seemed sat-isfied with the food. “Overall it was pretty fun to try exotic food,” junior Jenifer Benga said. “It all tasted really good.”

Some students saw Chef Lee’s visit as an amazing experience because they were exposed to something that they had never seen before.

“I’ve never eaten Korean food be-fore so it was cool. I like trying new stuff so I liked the chance to get to try the food,” junior Luis Nunez said of Chef Lee and her cuisine.

In short, it was definitely a one of a kind experience for the students and their teacher.

It seems as though the days

of instant messaging on MSN

have finally come to an end.

Before, we’d all rush to our

computers and spend hours

chatting with friends. Today,

more instant messengers find

themselves on Aol Instant

Messaging (AIM) because of

the larger membership and

perks, like the ability to use

chat on cell phones.

Ahh, the days of Neopets…They were times of fluffy fun. But today, no one would admit to the hours spent finding food for his or her pets or exploring the virtual Neopet world. We teenag-ers have left our odd pets behind, in pursuit of new

social encounters.

While most students lounge around on Facebook, senior Kirsten Epstein is volunteering for the elderly.

In her short time volunteering, Epstein has had a positive experience at Brighton Gardens of Northridge.

“I enjoy that I am doing something for other people and not

just myself and it makes me feel proud that I have done something to make people happy,” Epstein said.

Epstein has started helping at Brighton Gardens of Northridge by calling Bingo numbers and playing Wii bowling with the residents. She began volunteering because of her interest in the medical field and has learned much in the short time there.

“The job requires you to be mature, because someone could have a serous medical problem and may need assistance,” Epstein said.

While many people may not consider it the most exciting task, she enjoys her time assisting the elderly in games and brightening their moods.

Epstein encourages others to help out in their communities, because she finds the experience very rewarding.

Most people have heard of volunteering at a hospital, but senior Kelcy Dungo is not your average volunteer.

Following in her brother’s footsteps, Dungo has been an active volunteer since her freshman year of high school.

The Civil Air Patrol assists in crowd control at public events such

as air shows and parades, while teaching teamwork and discipline in a militaristic style.

“My favorite aspect of volunteering is the fact that myself and the people I volunteer with aren’t forced into it, we do it because we want to. That makes the feeling of helping others all the more rewarding,” Dungo said.

Dungo commits about 35 hours of service to the Civil Air Patrol monthly, while maintaining her grades and a personal life.

Dungo encourages others to volunteer as well.“You should definitely volunteer [at the Civil Air Patrol] if you’re interested in joining the military or if you like hands on volunteering with other people… it’s nice to help people because no one can do it alone,” Dungo said.

Since the age of nine, math teacher Joseph Chipps spent his Sundays volunteering by shipping canned food to less privileged families. Chipps volunteered through SOVA, a program founded by the Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. “Sova,” in Hebrew, means “eat and be satisfied.”

SOVA’s main goal is to feed the less fortunate. They distribute free groceries for more than 8,000 people each month. SOVA serves all ages, ethnicities, and religions.

Each SOVA site has a Resource Center that also provides referrals to other community programs for shelter, free medical services, free vision care, clothing, and child care.

They also have a Children’s Corner to entertain children while they wait for their families to obtain services.

Although Chipps may not have as much time to volunteer as he used to, he strongly believes that it is everybody’s duty to help if they have time.

“Jump right into volunteering; do something that’s meaningful. If you don’t have time to volunteer, donate to different charities,” Chipps said.

October is a month of some very odd observances—don’t forget to

celebrate them! 1st—Magic Circle Day2nd—National Frugal Fun Day (1st Saturday)3rd—Country Inn, Bed and Breakfast Day4th—Improve Your Office Day5th—National Storytelling Festival6th—Come and Take It Day7th—Bald and Free Day8th—American Tag Day9th—Moldy Cheese Day10th—National Angel Food Cake Day11th—Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day12th—Moment of Frustration Scream Day13th—World Egg Day14th—National Dessert Day15th—White Cane Safety Day16th—Dictionary Day17th—Gaudy Day18th—No Beard Day19th—Evaluate your Life Day20th—National Brandied fruit day21st—Count your buttons day22nd—National Color Day23rd—Mole Day24th—National Bologna Day25th—Sourest Day26th—Worldwide Howl at the Moon Day 27th—Navy Day28th—National Chocolate Day29th—National Frankenstein Day30th—Haunted Refrigerator Night

31st—Halloween

And remember, October is Squirrel

Awareness Month!

SQUIRREL!!

Granada Gives Back

32% of Granada students take time to volunteerand give back to the community.

Good job and keep up the great work!

feature 05

IRON CHEF GRANADA

Xanga

MSN

Ask Jeeves

Neopets

Myspace

By: Nicole Martinez & Steven Ruiz

By: Sindhura Seeni

By: Dani Sink

By: Madushi Wanniarachchige

Gabrielle Amar/ The Plaid Press

Gabrielle Amar/ The Plaid Press

Photos Courtesy of Gabrielle Amar, Kelcy Dungo, & Kirsten Epstein

06entertainment October 15, 2010

Ketchup with your favorite food shows

By Bridget MorenoHave you ever wondered how your

favorite treats were created or where they originated? Then Food Network’s hit tele-vision show “Unwrapped” will definitely answer all your questions.

“Unwrapped” has been on air for over 22 consecutive seasons (with an aston-ishing 332 episodes) and still finds new and exciting foods to discover. It never ceases to keep its audience wanting more due to the diversity of the all the episodes.

The opening of the show itself grabs your eyes, ears, and more importantly your taste buds!

It parades sandwiches, burgers, ice creams, candies, and any other type of food

you could possibly fathom across your tele-vision screen.

Marc Summers begins every show stationed at an old-fashioned 50’s-style diner, but takes you on a journey from meat factories to county fairs.

The show covers a diverse range of information, whether it be a showcase on beloved condiments, such as a mustard museum, to an outer space episode dedi-cated to “galactic goodies.”

No matter what your ultimate indulgence is, “Unwrapped” has got you covered.

Not only can you find the origin of your favorite candy bar, but you may also end up discovering a new delectable treat!

Many, if not all viewers agree that one

of the most interesting aspects of the show is discovering not only how the food or candy is made but also the ancestry of of the product.

When “Unwrapped” reveals where vintage candies like Necco Wafers and Nik l Lip originated from, it can bring the most mature adults rushing to the sweets shop looking for their favorite childhood treats.

Although some may consider the show’s premise childlike due to the foods that are paraded across the screen in the theme song like icy popsicles, rich chocolates, and sugary sweets, youngsters are not the only ones addicted to the show’s enthusiasm towards candy and a medley of different foods.

With the episode “Oldies but Goodies,” adults get a minute to close their eyes and think back to the first time they tried a root beer barrel candy or a Charms lollipop. The episode goes in depth to the origin of the famous root beer barrel candy and also the Charms candy company.

This show exemplifies the idea that you’re never too old to have a piece of candy and reminisce about your favorite summer delights.

No matter what kind of mood you may be in or what kind of craving you have in mind, “Unwrapped” will open doors of desserts, snacks, and unforgettable foods you have never heard of and will surely leave you wanting more.

Unwrap the secrets of all your favorite foods

mini documentary illustrating the massive pressure of molding cake batter into awe-inspiring creatures and architecture.

Duff Goldman is the head honcho at Charm City Cakes

where you can’t just walk in and simply place an order. The extraordinary spectacle of actual smoke rising from a volcano cake is just one example of the confectionary masterpieces designed at Goldman’s bakery.

Goldman comes across as the Mario Batali of sweets, yet unlike Batali’s insistency

towards taste, he and his crew strive for perfect visual appeal.

The cake design and beauty rests in the eye of the beholder, and Goldman and his crew are willing to go the extra thousand miles to make sure their designs come to life.

Lately cakes have been a medium for modern art rather than just a sweet treat.

Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” is a

Here’s the icing

on the cake

By Danielle Sink“Hell’s Kitchen’s” eighth season kicked off with

sixteen new contestants all vying for the executive chef position of the multi-million dollar restaurant LA Market.

But while the producers of other culinary shows seek out the most artful chefs to compete, it would appear that Gordon Ramsay only wants the lowliest.

These sixteen are just as incompetent as in prior seasons; within the first fifteen minutes of the premiere a contestant’s signature gumbo had Ramsay heaving.

And in the first dinner service they did no better.It is this constant chaos combined with Chef

Ramsay’s too-offensive-for-cable remarks that sets “Hell’s Kitchen” apart from other cooking competi-tions.

The chefs compete, typically men versus women, to have the more successful dinner service that night. A

member of the losing team is stripped of their chef jacket and dismissed.

At least, a member of the losing team is typically dismissed. On occasion Chef Ramsay has disregarded the rules and said goodbye to whomever he pleases.

Their safety so unsure, it is no wonder that more often than not the contestants break out into fights in the middle of the kitchen or back at the house.

And this season is sure to be more explosive than ever with more brash contestants challenging each other’s skill and even Chef Ramsay’s authority. The only real drawback to this season is the replacement of maître d’ Jean-Phillipe with James, a less handsome and less authentic-sounding Frenchman.

Still, the promise of more hostile feuds, challenging new menus, and Chef Ramsay’s characteristic bad atti-tude remains.

And viewers will eat it up, no pun intended.

Fox’s eighth season of “Hell’s Kitchen” is a devilish good time

Student Poll: What is your favorite show among the following?

A. Ace of CakesB. Hell’s KitchenC. UnwrappedD. I don’t watch any of these shows

26.5 % (A)

22.5 % (B)

Gabrielle Amar/ Plaid Press

By Laura Nunez

38 % (D)

13 % (C)

07 opinionOctober 15, 2010

L-Building lockout leaves students aggravatedBy Jane Ha

Which building is always crowded, has stairs, and locks students out at various times of the day?

Everyone knows the answer to this rid-dle: the notorious L-Building.

All lockers are hectic and crowded, re-gardless of where they are.

But the L-building is a different problem altogether.

Because it is the only fully-enclosed, two-story building on campus, it is often locked early before or late after school for security.

This generates problems for quite a number of seniors whose lockers are in the L-building—most of whom have been us-ing it for two years in a row.

“In the beginning of junior year I went to get some books from my locker after cross country practice, and the guy who was locking it up said they close at 4:30,” senior David Nusbaum said. “He let me go since it was the beginning of the year, but since then I’ve had to take all my stuff to 6th pe-riod with me.”

This lockout problem does not apply to Nusbaum alone.

Many students involved in orchestra, band, and sports are required to come to school very early or stay at school very late.

However, by the time their activities are over most find the building locked and their lockers inaccessible.

The problem is not that we do not un-derstand why the building has to be locked; it is for security purposes, and custodians cannot wait around for students all day. All of that is true and completely reasonable.

But the problem is that there are way too many juniors and seniors in extracurricular activities who need to access their lockers after the building closes.

However, it is not just those in extracur-ricular who need their lockers.

Other students who simply need to use their lockers later after school find it incon-venient and frustrating to be locked out.

An anecdote from senior Julian Park puts things into perspective: “One time I was in the L-Building to use my locker when I found out that I was locked in,” Park said.

Perhaps it is time to develop a more ef-fective way to run the L-Building so it is convenient for both students and custodi-ans.

Set a new closing time, taking the band practice and sports activities into account. Make official announcements of the closing time so the students can plan ahead.

Or why not set the closing time to an hour later?

There are numerous alternatives out there, and hopefully the days of “No stu-dent left outside” will come soon.

By Madushi WanniarachchigeSenior year is supposed to be one of

the best times of a student’s life. Activities such as Senior Day are meant to bring the seniors together to have a good time and make memories they would not have been able to make at any other time.

However, this is only the ideal senior year. In reality, many seniors are lacking the so-called “senior spirit” by refusing to par-ticipate in activities.

This year only about 400 out of 980 se-niors attended Senior Day. When those who didn’t attend were asked why they decided to skip out, the general response seemed to be: “It probably sucked.”

It’s ridiculous for seniors to judge how Senior Day was without actually going. “I think it’s lame for kids to just not attend Se-nior Day because they say it’s going to be bad. I don’t think they should say things like that,” senior Bianca Alexiou said.

Secondly it’s Senior Day. It is one of those events that are meant to be part of the whole experience of senior year.

“Even if Senior Day was a bit expensive, all my friends went and I knew I’d have a good time,” senior Katie Mrgudic said. “Se-nior Day only happens once, so we might as well enjoy it.”

Those who claimed Senior Day was like-ly to be a failure simply have a bad attitude. In fact, their whining just blew up in their face because the seniors that did go came back with happy faces.

“It definitely exceeded my expectations,” senior Bianca Valenica said. “I had loads of fun!”

I hope that the seniors that did not go to Senior Day had a nice time watching daytime television, but I hope even more that the positive response from Senior Day makes them a little bit more willing to par-ticipate in the other senior activities. They have been already been proved wrong once, so why be fooled again?

‘Boobie’ bracelets cause controversy on campusBy Eidah Hilo

According to the American Cancer So-ciety’s recent estimates for 2010, approxi-mately 39,840 American women will lose their lives to breast cancer…not boobie cancer.

Because of the staggering number, sev-eral organizations have put their best foot forward in trying to raise funds for breast cancer research, the most popular being the Keep-A-Breast Foundation through their “I Love Boobies” bracelets.

These bold multi-colored bracelets can be found on the wrists of students almost everywhere you go and lately have been more of a conforming fashion trend than a move to help breast cancer patients for teenage wearers.

For that reason, the bracelets lose their purpose.

Tons of people are buying these brace-lets just because they are the latest “cool” fashion accessory.

One boy told me that he bought the bracelet and didn’t even know the profits

funded breast cancer research. In other words, he blindly bought it without know-ing the intention of why the bracelets were created in the first place.

Isn’t that a good thing though? That these bracelets have become so widespread that even people who are unaware are get-ting their hands on them and thus, profits have skyrocketed for such a good cause?

Most definitely not. Why wear a brace-let if you’re only wearing it because every-one else is? People should want to help out breast cancer patients and research, yet I highly doubt the majority of them helped the cause before these bracelets became so popular.

With that said, if many didn’t help the cause before, will the majority help the cause in the future?

I’m only waiting to see how much the funds for cancer research will drop once these bracelets become outdated.

In addition, the term “boobie” itself has sparked some controversy.

While some giggle at the childish term,

others find themselves offended at the word choice.

Boobie is a fun elementary schoolyard term. It’s a word that makes the situation seem like a light matter.

However, that’s not the direction you want to turn people towards when raising awareness for a serious matter.

This is where many people butt heads. Some argue that the word choice is clever. It takes such a serious issue and makes it almost easier to talk about because it makes it less of a hands-off topic.

Nevertheless, the truth of the matter is cancer will always be a very grave topic to discuss and having little “boobie” bracelets will not and should not change that.

All in all, the bracelets do have their pros and cons. I’m all for helping out good causes but this one just doesn’t appeal to me.

People should take a standpoint them-selves and choose not to wear them while still supporting breast cancer research in other ways if they still want to make a dif-ference.

Today’s marijuana situation closely resembles alcohol prohibitionBy Gabrielle Amar

Today’s situation involving marijuana us-age runs parallel to alcohol consumption in American history.

The Roaring Twenties was an era of economic and cultural progression. Drink-ing was considered a natural part of social-izing.

But in 1919, the Eighteenth Amend-ment of the Constitution outlawed the sale and transportation of alcohol. Due to the amount of crime, drunk driving, domestic abuse, and accidents within the workforce, alcohol was sourced as the prime cause of societal corruption.

Marijuana, too, has been considered il-legal in America under former President Richard Nixon’s Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classified marijuana as hav-ing high potential for abuse and no medical use. Many were unhappy with the restric-tion to getting high.

Like the reaction to illegal marijuana, many in the 1920s responded to alcohol prohibition with an uproar.

People felt that they sacrificed enough for World War I, and alcohol was not going to be added to the list. Many found a way around the law by making their own alco-holic beverages at home. Saloons known as

speakeasies, became illegal bars that served alcohol with password use.

Similarly today, individuals battle the law by attempting to grow marijuana bushes in their backyards, as well as privately gather-ing to do their illegal smoking.

So if the production, importation, and distribution is all illegal, then how are peo-ple getting a hold of their substances?

The common factor is bootlegging.In the 1920’s people were able to get their

hands on a drink through those who smug-gled it in from countries such as Canada and Mexico. The Prohibition Bureau rose as an agency that enforced laws by patrolling the borders.

Today, airport security and the police force track down people who smuggle drugs from those same countries, as well as other sources in Latin American and East Asia.

As the markets continue illegally, so does organized crime.

The 1920’s mafia gangster Al Capone be-came the prime bootlegger within Chicago. He operated numerous illegal breweries and ran a network of over 10,000 speakeasies. In the effort to keep his alcohol empire a success, his competition was eliminated by violence.

Many local gangs today become territo-

rial within the streets and strive to be the top dealer of drugs. If any demands are not satisfied, a dangerous drug war ignites.

There are still other ways in which illegal substances are obtained as well.

Both in the the 1920s as well as today, when alcohol and marijuana were passed as illegal, a peculiar number of new medical prescriptions were written.

The issue of Prohibition became highly controversial among medical professionals because alcohol was widely prescribed by physicians for therapeutic purposes. Doc-tors secretly filled up bottles for “patients” who were in desperate need of “medica-tion.”

Commonly today, they have drug dis-pensaries serving “patients” the therapeu-tics they “need.”

So, despite the law America has tried to enforce, people still managed to find a way around it.

Almost 15 years passed until President Franklin Roosevelt repealed the alcohol pro-hibition with the the Twenty-First Amend-ment of the Constitution.

If marijuana has followed almost the same track as alcohol in American history, how much longer is it going to take Con-gress to legalize it?

Staff reporters: John Cho, Nicole Martinez, Bridget Moreno, Laura Nunez, Steve Ruiz, Kathy Zerbib

Adviser Melissa Mason

The Plaid PressThe Plaid Press is published by

the Advanced Journalism class at

Granada Hills Charter High School. 10535 Zelzah Ave.

Granada Hills, CA 91344 Phone: (818) 360-2361

The Plaid Press welcomes all letters and com-mentaries on all matters and reserves the right to edit as required. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Opinions expressed are those of the au-thor, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Plaid Press, its adviser, Granada Hills Charter High School faculty or student body.

Editors-in-Chief Eidah HiloDanielle Sink

Madushi WanniarachchigeNews Editors Jane Ha

Austin KangEntertainment Editor Sindhura Seeni Opinion Editor Allison OuchiFeature Editors Shilpa Bhongir

Ahra ChoSports Editors Matthew Seeman Matthew KahnSpirit Editor Lucy LeePhoto Editor Gabrielle AmarBusiness Managers Austin Kang Jane Pyeon

The Plaid Press is a proud member of National Scho-lastic Press Association.

Skeptics of Senior Day proved wrong

BenjaminVivas

Many find the early closing of L-Building to be an inconvenience

08sports October 15, 2010

By Gabrielle Amar The junior varsity football season is un-

derway and the team is off to a strong start with three wins and two losses.

“We may be a group of underclassman,” captain, freshman Jerrick Little said, “but we want to show everyone and ourselves what we can do.”

Training in the summer took place on campus and the heat was not the only chal-lenge the team had to overcome. The team also had to deal with meeting a large group of fresh faces.

“None of us knew each other before that,” Little said. “but that training allowed us to get to know each other and build a

bond.”An early start prepared the group for the

season ahead, and practice definitely did not end there.

The team currently meets on weekday afternoons from 2:30 to 6:30 to do running drills and to improve upon their individual positions.

“I like to make sure every player keeps focused, and that the only thing on their mind when they step on that field is foot-ball,” Little said.

Players strive to develop their skills as athletes off the field as well by going on long jogs and lifting weights.

“That extra work will show in our games,”

captain, freshman Coah Farmer said. Not only do they work long practices

and dedicate to self improvement, the team gathers for two hours on Saturdays to review films of their past games.

“Watching our own plays helps us learn from our mistakes and we can focus on where we struggle,” Farmer said.

One struggle the team does face is com-bining their skills to progress as a whole.

“The talent is definitely there,” Little said. “The coaches know what we’re capable of, so they try to bring it out with lots of motivation.”

Support does go a long way, but it’s work-ing the team hard for the right reasons that

really reveals their potentiality.Intense practice is what will build confi-

dence for beating their number one oppo-nent, Taft High School.

“Even though a majority of [their play-ers] are physically bigger then ours, we won’t let that intimidate us,” Farmer said.

The team does not go head to head with Taft until the last game of the season.

“We have time to build ourselves, but we aren’t going to waste a minute of training,” Farmer said.

With a simple positive attitude, the ju-nior varsity team is convinced they will con-tinue their season with success to the very end.

JV Football prepares for challenges aheadPlayers know they have difficult match ups as the season progresses

By Kathy ZerbibThe boys’ junior varsity basketball team

looks towards a promising and victorious pre-season as they practice hard to bring success to the school.

Coach Jonathan Bent kicks off his fourth year coaching at the school with strong faith in his players and high expectations for his team’s achievements.

“If they can learn everything we teach them, they will be successful,” Coach Bent said.

The team practices during zero period and after school to hone their abilities. Pre-paring for upcoming games requires con-stant efforts and training. Suicides, shoot-arounds, and free-throw practice have all complemented their already strong talent and aided their pursuit for excellence on the court.

Their efforts and dedication contributed to a strong victory on October 2nd, when the team defeated Calabasas High School.

From this triumph, They have been able to maintain their undefeated record, win-ning all four games they have participated in so far.

The boys, proud of their triumphs and

ready to accomplish even more, feel op-timistic about each other and the team’s bright future.

“The JV squad is looking pretty good this year, and the coaching staff is great,” junior Dinusha Wanniarachchige said.

As the boys press on, their basketball skills are improving in anticipation for their ultimate goal this year. Their goal is to win the West Valley League championship and bring home another trophy for the school.

Bent believes the boys have a great chance at winning the championship this season.

“The guys have a lot of potential to im-prove,” he commented.

The morale is also high amongst the play-ers, who continue to train diligently every day in order to play their finest on the court. As they continue to play, practice, and refine their skills, the team grows in strength and ability.

“This year, I hope to do the best I can during the season,” Wanniarachchige said.

The boys of the JV squad aim to main-tain their unconquerable record by prac-ticing hard and staying strong. With their strong efforts and focus, a championship is in their sights.

By Matthew SeemanThe future is now for Boy’s Water Polo.The new program is already making

headway in the varsity team, and every great team has its roots somewhere.

For the Boy’s Water Polo, its future is in the junior varsity team. And nobody cap-tures that potential quite like co-captain ju-nior Connor Kaplan.

“Our goal is to become successful varsity players,” Kaplan said. “We want to make sure our players reach their expectations and become great.”

The learning environment of JV helps those players surpass their expectations.

“The games are less painful,” Kaplan said. “In varsity, it’s very easy to get hurt since the teams are so strong.”

Coach Marc Munkres agrees. “JV is like minor league baseball. It prepares them for varsity, where the kids can play at a highly competitive level,” Munkres said.

With all the preparation that junior var-sity has provided, Kaplan is prepared to lead this inexperienced group of kids who are new to water polo.

“These freshmen have little knowledge of the sport,” coach Munkres said. “Connor has the experience necessary to lead them. Being a captain takes commitment, knowl-

edge of the sport, and leadership skills.”Kaplan already knows what the expec-

tations are for a leader. The team needs a strong captain to act as a guide towards the future.

“To be a captain,” Kaplan explains, “you have to be organized, you have to be able to control your teammates, and you have to set a good example.”

Winning is only the beginning for the JV team. The boy’s varsity team has set the bar high with its impressive play. But that just inspires Kaplan and the team to continue preparing, practicing, and playing for the future.

Boy’s Basketball maintains a hot streak

Kaplan ready to lead water polo squad for the future

HIKE: Junior Varsity football captain Jerrick Little shows off his perfected form as he looks to lead the offense in the hopes for a successful season.

Captain Connor Kaplan has sights set for the varsity water polo team

Gabrielle Amar / The Plaid Press

Gabrielle Amar / The Plaid Press

Girl’s JV volleyball has high expectationsBy Matthew Kahn

Bump. Set. Spike! Girls volleyball has be-come a tradition for success.

Last year, the girls varsity team won the city championship and this season they have high hopes for a repeated victory. But it is not just raw talent that has ingrained the program to such success. It is the experience playing on junior varsity that has prepared a bright future for our girl’s varsity team.

Junior varsity girls volleyball coach, Lee Bradford has spent years coaching his team. His main job is to get them ready for the next level. A simple mind set of staying posi-tive and working hard has not only created a successful JV team, but an even better var-sity team for the future.

“Having the experience and being ex-posed to the different levels of volleyball has greatly helped the girls prepare for their fu-ture on the varsity team,” Bradford said.

Coaching the team to an undefeated sea-son last year was just a bonus for Bradford. He expects hard work, determination, and a positive attitude, especially from his cap-tains, sophomore, Emma Levanen and ju-nior, Alice Kang.

“As long as the girls understand that it’s

okay to make mistakes, never be disappoint-ed, and try your hardest, then they will find the success they need not only for this year, but for years to come,” Bradford said.

Just like any other successful team, it is the captain’s job to pick up the team and make sure they give it their all. However, Levanen and Kang take on an even more important role.

As JV captains, they help their team-mates play better for the current season and try to make them better in order to be pre-pared for varsity.

“It’s our job to keep the team motivated and to cheer them on. We have to improve our skills, We know that the way we practice now will affect the way we play for varsity,” Kang said.

The JV program does not only nurture raw talent. The overall experience of the training shapes the girls into experienced players.

Having that JV experience has truly shaped the program into one of most re-spected and feared teams in the city. The varsity team looks to retain their title and Bradford looks to continue to prepare his JV girls to keep the team’s dynasty alive.