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Loma Linda Academy NewzineEstablished 1940s

Volume 83 | Issue 4Jan.-Feb. 2016

The MIRROR Revelation Edition

R EV EA L

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Feburary 82016

Valentine’s Dinner

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CONTACTLOMA LINDA ACADEMY

10656 Anderson StreetLoma Linda, CA 92354

mirror@lla.orgEditor In Chief

Victoria IcoReporters

Aimee BlairEvan Lopez

PhotojournalistsEmily He

Megan Napod

DesignersDaniela MejiaBlake Walker

VideographersBhavisha DesaiElijah Hickman

Elly LeePublisherRobert SkoretzSponsor

Danelle Taylor Johnston

Find us on the Webwww.llamirror.org Instagram

@lla_mirror

04 Free Me by Giselle Njoh-Njoh

05 Meaning Behind the Month06 Different Religion,

Same Uniform08 Testify Your

Testimony10 Under Played11 Sports Standings

12 Outside Looking In14 Faculty Lives

Outside16 Thus, the Road Widens17 Somethings You

Didn’t Know About The Drug

Policy18 Briefs

4 5

FREE ME

by GisELLE Njoh-Njoh

(for Black History Month; told from the point of view of a female slave on the run (she is near the end of her journey))BreatheInhale Exhale

Never stopYour heartbeat thunders,

Your stomach dropsThe ground is black beneath your feet

Your throat goes dryYour fear runs deep

Of beatingsThe lashes ripping skin

Small hands stretched out in innocenceGripping gentle, blistering fingertips.

Empty, hollow, lifeless eyes,Of those who’ve cried a thousand times From horrors of watching, of waiting, Of hearing the wailing, the screaming,

Merciless begging and pleading,The cries of the dying.

Ones from now and ones from then, All the same, time and time again.

You’re taken now, they were taken then,Helpless to be taken, the cycle never –

No Not now

Now you runHope burns like the coming sun,

Brighter than the guiding light aboveDespair is swallowed; fear is witheredYour joyous tears float down the river

The gates have opened, this race is won.But the path beyond has just begun.

ExhaleInhale

BreatheAnd free me.

4 5

meaning BehinD the month“What does Black History Month mean to you?”

A question asked to the population of Loma Linda Academy. In regards to a month that celebrates history, stuggle,

perseverance, and hope, what the African Americans think is crucial in spreading the history that it hopes to preserve.

“It represents a culture that gives me an identity. It gives me pride and a sense of purpose knowing people will look back and recognize what African

Americans have done for America. There are a lot of Civil Rights leaders I look

up to because of their work and part of their work was creating this culture.”

Amalia Goulbourne (12)

“It shows what happened in the past and the struggles we have faced. I like that I get to share our history with others as a positive thing that happened. Without it, there would

have been no civil progress.”

Nadeen McFarlane (12)

“It means a time that my people and I are given a chance to embrace our culture and past.

[It celebrates] Black Power.”

KendaUkiru (10)

“Some people think it is silly because some other people don’t take it seriously. We should be aware of the problems [that are talked about in this month] all year round. People should

really learn what they are ‘celebrating.’”

Michael Lowe (11)

“It represents the history and challenged African Americans

faced. It’s dedicated to leaders of the Civil Movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. I’m really thankful for them because I didn’t have to fight through their challenges and I appreciate that.”

Karyn Clayton (12)

“Although February is called ‘Black History Month,’ it never feels that

way. Even at this school, there is little mention of the events and people that

are supposedly celebrated in this month. This month is not just to appreciate black

people’s accomplishments, although it is a big part of it. It is also to shed

light on the racism and injustices that occur from the past and to today.”

Alexis Townsend (11)

“[It is a] Month to recognize the great people of a revolutionary time.”

Dylan Lafonteant (9)

“Black History Month gives the USA an oppertunity to remember its race history in an attempt to fulfill its constitutional ideals of ‘All men are

created equal...’ This month also allows organizations to focus on positive

contributions of African Americans in an attempt to balance the traditional negative images associated with people of dark skin”

Andy Sandiford,English Teacher

“I think it is important because some people forget their past and leave it behind instead of embracing it. Many

people today say racism is dead and I think that they should remember their

part and see the many parallels in today’s society with yesterday’s. I’m not saying

everyone is a racists, but we should all aim for a future where we can tell our children that there is no racism.

BrentHuggins (12)

“It is a chance to look back on all the accomplishments that African Americans have make. It gives me a

sense of confidence to be black because I see all the achievements blacks have

made and I feel in awe. When you think of amazing people like Martin

Luther King Jr., you can’t help but feel inspired. But most of all, it encourages me to stand up for what I believe in.”

AliviaLespinasse (9)

6 7

Loma Linda Academy (LLA)

is a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA)

school, so normally you’d think

that mostly everyone is SDA,

correct? Well you are right, roughly

59 students out of 437 students

of the high school campus are

non-SDA, that’s 13%. It may be a

small amount, but it is still there.

These 59 students may or

may not feel out of place, I know

Salomon Gallo (10) did. Gallo’s

family is Catholic. Fearing he

might be judged by his group of

friends, Gallo did not tell anyone

he wasn’t SDA until a few years

later. When he finally told a friend

of his true religion and beliefs. He

was surprised by the reply his

friend, which was me, gave

him. “I guess I wasn’t

nervous when I

told you that

I wasn’t

SDA

and

stuff

because I told

it to you and all

you said was “okay”

and it kind of just made me

feel good and also because from

what I know you aren’t SDA either.”

After this he felt comfortable to tell

others his religion and beliefs, “It

felt good to finally tell someone.”

It was the same situation with

Samara Khasru (10). “I felt that if

I told people I was Muslim they

would judge me or discriminate

me based on my religion and based

on what they see on TV. So, I felt

really uncomfortable and felt like

I couldn’t tell anyone till I trusted

people,” said Khasru. What made

her comfortable with telling others

of her religion was the people she

surrounded herself with when she

first came to LLA. Khasru had a

rough time at first but was glad

that her friends’ reactions came

out to be what she hoped for.

Gallo enrolled at LLA his sixth

grade year. His first thoughts about

coming to LLA, an SDA school,

were weird because everyone was

so nice. He thought this because

in his perspective and experiences,

public school was not filled with

nice people. When he first came

he felt as if he “converted” to the

SDA denomination immediately,

for he didn’t seem to care about

Catholicism. “I was brought up to

believe that there was something/

someone there, of higher power.

They told me that there is a God,

but they didn’t go into depth.”

“My parents never really talked

about it [of God or of a god] at

home, so I just started thinking

for myself and what I wanted to

believe,” Zach Byrd Crawley (11)

said. Zach is an atheist but his

parents are unaffiliated with any

religion. Byrd Crawley first came

to LLA his sixth grade year, but

was apart of SDA schools five

years before that. His parents first

enrolled him into an SDA school

because academically the SDA

school system is a lot better than

public schools, as well as safer. They

also felt that the SDA system was

better than other private schools.

There are many criterion when

it comes to being SDA. ”I thought

it was pretty cool and different. I

learned a lot too which helped me

understand why things happened

the way they did in that sort of

community,” said Vanessa Desai,

full disclosure: author’s cousin.,

an alumni of LLA. One specific

example would be keeping the

Sabbath. “At first, I was confused

as to why people would not do

anything on Saturday… Then I

saw a movie of his resurrection,

so I put the pieces together,”

Khasru said. The concept of the

Sabbath goes back to creation.

God made the world in six days

and on the seventh day he rested.

That day being the Sabbath.

DiFFerent religion,

6 7

Being part of an SDA

community, it isn’t hard to be part of

an experience of SDA lifestyle. Gallo

said, “I became comfortable enough

with Seventh-day Adventism to go to

my friend’s SDA church. I thought

that the community would be

accepting just as my religion class had

said they should be, but I was dead

wrong. All I felt in the church, was

the feeling of being judged and not

feeling wanted. I was discouraged.”

His whole experience in the church

felt really uncomfortable and he

wanted to leave as quick as he could.

Although Gallo’s one experience

may have seemed to be bad, Samara

Khasru’s was a different story. She

had more than one experience having

a fair share of both good and bad.

“I used to be cyber-bullied here,

about my religion and people would

always call me names and say really

mean stuff about it. For example this

person told me that I wasn’t going

to go to heaven, but that I was going

to hell and that my god wasn’t real

or anything like that,” said Khasru.

Then after a while, the friend group

she became apart of makes her feel

that they respect her faith and the

people of Islam. They sometimes

even ask Khasru if they can join her

in Islam traditions and holidays.

Prayer and the differences of

religions can cause many conflicts

to arise. Students either not pay

attention to the prayer, make their

own prayer, or go with the flow

and pray the prayer being recited.

“I do my own prayers, so I don’t

have to pray to the Christian

belief of a God, but yeah I just

recite some things that mean a lot

to my religion,” said Khasru.

Having your own viewpoints,

and then hearing of others can

really expand one’s experiences and

perspectives. “Ever since I’ve been

here, I’ve felt like I’ve become more

broadminded about Christianity

and expanded my viewpoints,” said

Khasru. There are many stereotypes

when it comes to any religion.

Stereotypes of being SDA include

door to door evangelism. Because of

these stereotypes it is generally hard

for one to voluntarily listen and learn

about what being an SDA is all about.

“Coming to LLA really expanded

my viewpoints, not everyone

was SDA, so I learned differently

because some were Christian,

Catholic, or whatever they were

and it was pretty different knowing

about other people,” said Desai.

Everyone has their own opinions

and experiences of life, many see

the world differently than another

person and that’s okay. What makes

LLA so great, is it’s diversity of not

only consistent of race and ethnicity

but also of religion. There are

Catholics, Buddhists,

Atheists, Muslims,

Hindus, Seventh-day

Adventists and

so many

more,

and it’s

honestly amazing

on how many there

can be. Even though

there is a small minority

of non-SDA’s at LLA, there is

a majority of people filled with

love. That love is what can get us

all through high school and life.

same uniForm

“I became comfortable enough with Seventh-day Adventism to go to my friend’s SDA church.”

-Salomon Gallo (10)By: Bhavisha Desai

8 9

t e s t i F Y Y o u rtestimonY

Finding and developing a

relationship with Christ can be

challenging. Though, Rachel Barlow

(12), David Siahaan (12), and

Izabel Rengifo (10), have discovered

and developed a relationship with

Christ that has brought peace

and harmony into their lives.

Barlow said her relationship

with God is a growing process and

there will always be “bumps in the

road.” However to her, having a

relationship with God has been

life changing and it has definitely

been a learning experience.

Rengifo said her relationship

with God is strong. She believes

in a loving being that wants to be

there for us even though we do

not ask for Him all the time. She

believes that we can be better and

kinder people in general because

we trust in a God who has the same

character, but we need to have a

personal relationship with God.

Siahaan said his relationship

with God and life in general has

been really great. He believes

that one could never reach full

“relational capacity” with God, but by

continuing and committing to serve

Christ “repeatedly and habitually” he

continues to see the many blessings

received and can say that God has

been very real and apparent lately.

However, it hasn’t always been

easy. There are always going to be

bumps in the road as Barlow said

and things are not always going to

be smooth. Some relationships with

be easier and some will be harder

for others but all in all, this is your

walk with God, something that

cannot be shared or duplicated.

Rengifo said that having a

relationship with God isn’t about

influential people telling you what

you should believe, but it is about

finding out things for yourself so that

this special connection with God

and this relationship that you have

started to develop will be something

genuinely personal. But, as you grow

and think about the development of

your relationship with God you will

start to question the involvement

of God in your life and how he

has affected your life thus far.

Barlow mentions that when

she began bible studies, she didn’t

necessarily agree with everything

being taught, so she had left. It is

also difficult to fit a relationship with

God in your life especially when it

comes to being a teenager in this

day and age as Rengifo says, “many

teens start to drift from their faith

because as a teen, you don’t really

spent as much time thinking about

God, you think about your friends,

who you like, and so on and thinking

about those things kind of puts you

off track.” There are many obstacles

and challenges involved into the

developing of your own personal

relationship with God, although there

is light at the end of the tunnel.

For Barlow there were many

friends that God had brought in her

life that did affect her in a positive

8 9

way, people that have influenced her

to do such things like acts of service

that have made a difference not

just in her life but others as well.

Rengifo also talked about how

her friends have been a great influence

in her life. She mentions that when

she does something wrong or “messes

up” they are there to tell her “Izabel,

W.W.J.D (What Would Jesus Do).”

Siahaan points out one specific

and special person in his life that

has kept his relationship with God

going for this long: his girlfriend,

Jonielle Belonio (12). He says that

he “sees God in her through every

glance, moment, and experience

and there is no doubt in his mind

that she has immensely helped

him in his walk with God.”

These three great people do not

claim to have the ultimate and perfect

relationship with God, but through

what they have learned from those

experiences, they suggest the following

for others who want to begin a

relationship or want to strengthen

their relationship with God.

Barlow said that the reason why

anyone may not want to initiate a

relationship with God is because they

still need to get questions answered.

Get them answered, so that you can

start to develop that faith in God

and his love for you. Find out about

God’s character and although it may

sound cliche, you can also learn about

God through studying the Bible.

Rengifo said that in order to

begin a personal relationship with

God you need to have a personal

experience. She said, “there is no one

who can throw a Bible at your face

or read a certain verse to make you

want to be a Christian.” She said

if anyone is struggling with their

relationship with God that although

it sounds cliche, to just simply pray

to God, “he has everything in his

hands.” When you think God is not

there, he is there to listen and to

help you out. “You can only hope

and depend on luck so much.”

Siahaan gives a great explanation

as to why you should have a

relationship with God: “A life full

of love and contentment can only

be true and pure with God. You’ll

be so much happier with God, and

that itself can better your character

and inspire other people around you

who may be seeking a tangible and

personal image of the Divine.”

So for all of you seeking to start

building a relationship with God

or wanting to develop a stronger

foundation for your connection

with God, you just have to do what

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us: “Trust in the

Lord with all your heart and lean

not in your own understanding, in

all your ways acknowledge Him,

and he will direct your paths.”

By: Megan Napod

10 11

Here at LLA, there are many

opportunities for sports teams. There

is basketball, volleyball, flagball,

and many others. In these, both

boys and girls have their respective

teams, and within most of those,

there is a Varsity Team and a Junior

Varsity team. Sports here at LLA have

been quite successful. Both Varsity

Basketball teams made playoffs

and won games in the playoffs this

last season. In flagball, LLA went

undefeated in both boys and girls

this last season. Needless to say, there

is a lot of support that goes into the

athletics program from the Loma

Linda community, or is there?

When asked if he thought soccer

was underappreciated, Varsity Soccer

player Carlos Reyes (11) said, “Yes

soccer is very underappreciated and

undervalued. Most people view

soccer as a way to get out of PE but

soccer is much more than that…

you feel as though you are apart of

something bigger because no one

player can carry the whole team.” We

can see here one point of view of the

athletics program and how players

feel about the support level. However,

this is just one of the many opinions

about underappreciated sports.

With baseball not having a

season last year, support might be

lacking and players have spoken out

about this. “All the other sports have

teachers helping like swimming and

soccer, but baseball doesn’t have that

staff support,” says Kenny Dockham

(10). We can see here that there is

not only one sport that feels this way.

A lot of sports players feel as if there

should be more support from the

Loma Linda community as well.

“I think the community should

get involved and support soccer

because it’s a great team sport

that teaches you perseverance,”

says Reyes. This is something that

is very profound. Today in the

world we see so much strife among

communities. However, sometimes

it is assumed that within the Loma

Linda community, we fully support

one another, when in reality, support

sometimes can seem nonexistent.

But when the support is there, bonds

form. Bonds between community

and school. And as Reyes pointed

out, it teaches people values such

as perseverance. So, how do we

go about receiving that support?

“I think a way to get more

support for athletics is to reach out to

the students and faculty, and tell them

when games are and to encourage

them to come out and watch,” says

Dockham. This would help in many

ways. Staff support and student

support can tremendously improve

pride in not only our school but in

our community. In addition, when

students feel support from faculty in

sports, it shows that the teachers and

staff of LLA really do care about the

student’s individual success whether

in academics or in other areas.

Support is needed in many

sports and these are just two of the

many sports here at LLA. Sometimes

it seems that only varsity teams or

playoff teams get the most support.

From these personal experiences, we

can see how the players themselves

feel about the support they receive

from not just the school but from

the community. Sports aren’t just

an alternative PE option or a way

to show off, but a way to bond

with one another. Whether that

bond would be between different

schools, between players and

community, or even between fellow

students. It is something that

will benefit students long-term,

and not just for the present.By: Evan Lopez

u n D e r P l a Y e D

10 11

s P o r t s stanDings

Sport win

loSS tieGirlS VarSity Soccer 0 13 1GirlS JV Soccer 1 12 0GirlS JV

BaSketBall 9 6 0GirlS VarSity BaSketBall 13 2 0

5 games unaccounted for Boys JV Soccer

By: Evan Lopez

12 13

the outsiDe looking inIf you haven’t noticed, students

at Loma Linda Academy (LLA) can be mean. Students at Loma Linda Academy are rich, snobby, and think they are superior to

everyone else. “Some of them seem stuck up like

they’re better than you,” says Kailyn

Brillantes (10) of La Sierra

Academy.These are

the stereotypes and perceptions that

LLA receives, but why is that so? Why does LLA have

the reputation of being a school of cliques and bullies? Gene Oswald, a religion teacher at LLA who previously worked at Orangewood Academy says

LLA Students “always acted like they were above the other schools, like they were superior.”

It’s no secret that other’s schools have opinions about LLA. Many people do not perceive our school as a place they would want to be. When asked what she had heard about LLA prior to attending LLA, Marshay Horne (Freshman at Pacific Union College) said, “To be blunt, I heard that everyone wasn’t very nice there. “I heard that it was just a rich school full of mean people and cliques. I heard that most

people would be obnoxious and rude to you and that most of them were

fake.” This is not something that is uncommon however.

In LLAs Week of Prayer from February 16-19 covering the topic “UNAFRAID” the final speaker for the week on friday was none other than Kaitlyn Mamora (9). In her powerful sermon, she talked about how LLA can get stereotypes from different schools based on the way the students behave and act. She talked about how it is so easy to judge others and how it becomes instinct and how we don’t even realize when we are judging people.

We can see how people see

our school from the outside looking in. But, how does that translate to new students? “Everyone here is really nice,” says Mason Perryman. “They just go up to you even if they don’t know you and talk to you which I think is pretty cool.” Is this the Loma Linda Academy we’ve heard about? Does this support the stereotypes and perceptions others say are true? Horne talked about how it’s different than you would expect saying, “I think the students at Loma Linda Academy are way nicer than you would think at first glance.” She added, “Once you give off a friendly and outgoing energy towards them, you really begin to see how nice each of them can be!”

These statements show something. Maybe Loma Linda Academy isn’t what it’s painted out to be. However, if Loma Linda Academy isn’t as mean as people say it is, then why do we receive this stereotype?

One reason Loma Linda Academy can get a bad reputation is from the athletics program. Something you may not know is that Oswald used to work at Orangewood Academy. Here he tells about his experience with Loma Linda Academy,

12 13

the outsiDe looking inwhenever his son played sports in intramurals. “After every game we’d always have dinner with the opposing team. However, every time we played against Loma Linda, they never stayed and were always gone right after the game. It’s like they refused to break bread with us,” Oswald said. “I heard that it was just a rich school full of mean people and cliques. He believed the culture from then to now had changed drastically. “Even through badminton I can see how some of the players talk to other players from different

teams, and it’s not because they go to church together or anything, it’s just from playing together.”

Another example of this is from a student at Arrowhead Christian Academy, Nick Manuel (11). He said, “The sports teams at LLA, I believe reflect a positive outlook on the school.” This is something new. So often we

see different stereotypes, and whether they are true or not, there are reasons as to why they exist. Nonetheless, we see a new perspective here. As Manuel said, LLAs athletics program can, in fact, reflect our student body in a positive light. “The kids always show (good) sportsmanship and never talk bad to the other team,” Manuel adds. “I’ve been playing against LLA my past three years in highschool and LLA is one of the best schools sportsmanship wise I would say.”

So now we can see both opinions/stereotype and experiences about Loma Linda Academy. We can see that LLA gets perceived a certain way even if that way is not accurate. While others might form opinions about LLA from the outside

looking in, we can see, as shown in the interviews, that those with first hand experiences with students here at LLA think positively about LLA’s students. So now we are left with one question: How do we change the stereotypes? When asked this question, Mr Oswald says, “I think we just need to be intentional about showing others

what we’re about. I think we need to go out of our way to show kindness to others.” This is what we need to do, and once we do it, others will begin to see

LLA for who we truly are: A place where God dwells and a place of safety and security.

By: Evan Lopez

“I heard that it was just a rich school full of mean people and cliques. I heard that most people would be obnoxious and rude to you and that most of them were fake.”- Marshay Horne (Class of 15)

14 15

There are a lot of things out

there that we do not know about

teachers. What they do outside of

school, who they hang out with, and

just some of their favorite things

are things we can learn about them.

We all know that teachers have

lives outside of school but what do

they do with the time they have

when they are not grading papers?

Brandon Herrmann, History

& Economics teacher, enjoys role

playing video games, listening

to books on tape and watching

NASCAR in his free time. But

something students may not know is

that he has two side businesses selling

sound equipment and flipping houses

with his brother. Herrmann stated in

an interview, “The sound equipment

business was because I was buying a

lot of equipment for churches and

the SECC (Southeastern California

Conference) didn’t like that such big

checks [were] being written to an

individual. So I started a business.”

Jessica Williams, Religion

teacher, prefers to spend time with

friends in her spare time. During

the winter she loves to ski.F a c u l t Y l i V e s

o u t s i D e

14 15

She learned to ski when she

was just three years old and ever

since she has spent time each winter

skiing. Her family goes to West

Virginia each Christmas to ski.

More locally she loves to ski in Utah

because it is not too crowded.

Kate Lewis, Biology teacher,

spends her free time running, which

she started in 2010. Lewis has

also traveled to places like Kenya,

Uganda, Greece and Turkey. During

this past Thanksgiving break Lewis

rented a Volkswagen bus and went

up the California Coast. She has

also lived in Costa Rica for a year,

Hawaii for eight years, and Australia

for 10 years. Lewis loves going to

the beach, hiking & camping, and

hanging out with her family.

Heidi Elssmann, Math &

Physics teacher, loves to travel also

and a couple of years ago she finally

achieved a life-long dream of hers

by going to Switzerland. Elssmann

also enjoys reading. Elssmann

stated, “I have always loved reading

because it is such a great way to

experience the world on a budget.”

Diane Bradley, Math teacher,

likes to collect stamps, do crossword

puzzles and work on word games in

her spare time. She also loves to read

like Elssmann, That’s mainly what

I like to do I like to read a lot.”

Teachers are full of surprises,

these are some interesting facts that

some people may not know. For

example, Williams has done CrossFit

for three years and loves the challenge

it gives her. When Lewis was in high

school she was in the symphonic

band, played the flute and went

to France on tour. Lewis has also

killed a mouse in her sleep when

she lived in Costa Rica. Elssmann

has an amazing garden in which

she likes to relax in and enjoy the

wildlife that comes through there.

Not only do teachers do things

outside of school on their own, they

also hang out with other teachers.

Williams sometimes hangs out

with Ms.Taylor Johnston, Ms.

Lewis, and Pastor J. They will go

out to dinner, have BBQ’s at one

of their homes, run half marathons

or even have game nights.

Elssmann goes to Mrs.

Hattendorf ’s house almost every

year for Halloween because their

kids have been friends since birth

and always went together. Elssmann

stated, “It’s still fun to go even

though my kids are in college!”

Have you ever seen your math

teacher at Costco? Your science

teacher in the makeup aisle at Target?

It can be weird seeing teachers outside

of school but how weird is it for

teachers to see students outside of

class? When asked what she did when

she saw students Williams replied

that she lets the student make the

first move. If they avert their eyes and

pretend they do not see her she will

not go up and say hi but if they start

walking towards her she will say hello

and chat for a bit. Williams stated, “I

can tell a lot about a student based

on what they do when they see me

out in public”. Bradley stated that

she will at least try to say hello.

When Lewis sees a student

outside of class she replied

with that she usually makes

them take a selfie with her.

By: Aimee Blair

16 17

thus, the

roaD WiDens17 years ago, before many of

the class of 2018 and 2019 were born, the Inland Empire realized that the incoming population of Loma Linda needed a bigger street than two lanes for the inefficient and poorly designed road we called Anderson Street. Now in the summer of 2016, the improvement of Anderson Street should be completed and with that, much stress of attempting to get to both work and school on time should also be resolved.

Down about a half mile from the parking lot outside our metal gate doors, the city of Loma Linda is expanding the heart of Loma Linda, Anderson Street. The expansion goes from Harriman Street where in-n-out and Sam’s Club are located, to the other side by Redlands Avenue. Because of this traffic on Anderson before the expansion, many students as well as faculty and workers in our community arrive late daily trying to come from the homes all around Loma Linda. Reasons for congestion are shift changes at the University and how they correspond with school schedule, as well as poorly synced and

poorly placed traffic lights on Anderson Street. Giselle Njoh-Njoh (12) attempts to get to school on time all the way from Fontana, for many times she travels on Waterman Avenue, this adds 2 more minutes as well as 2.4 miles to the route, but overall less stress than to use Anderson. She is not alone, Jadyn Antonio-Valdez (9) and many others are also late because of Anderson Street insanity. Jadyn believes that the new expansion will help with him getting to the his first period class. The City of Loma Linda thinks this new street adaptation will bring everyone back their precious time to the community.

By:Blake Walker

16 17

“We just Want stuDents to knoW We care”somethings You DiDnt koW aBout the Drug PolicY

We sat down with Pastr Mark Holm

to take more about the Drug Policy and

some of it’s misconceptions.

D: Just for those who

may not know, can you briefly

describe the drug policy?

H: The context of it was during

my time, we have done a variety of

approaches and we found students

taking advantage of the policy. It got

to be a chronic issue. We decided that

we needed to be more protective and

give students a reason to say “no”,

so we came up with a zero tolerance

policy. It basically is if you are

observed taking a [non prescription]

substance, you will be asked to

withdraw from Loma Linda Academy.

D: The Substance Abuse

policy can be found in the school’s

agenda but many students don’t

read it. What is some information

you think students miss?

H: There is nothing on the

[school] transcript that says “kicked

out for drugs”. No. We let the

student withdraw. And the policy

basically states that you have to go

to another school for six months or

a semester, whichever is longer. Then

if you would like, you can reapply as

long as you have done four things.

You would have to progress in your

education, you have to get three

months of counseling, you have

to have a couple of drug tests that

show that you’re clean, and then

you have to sign a lifestyle contract

that basically states “this is it.” Any

contact with any other substance

and you will be asked to withdraw.

D: Can you tell me about some

misconceptions many people have?

Such as if you are caught and you

enter the intervention program

then you don’t get expelled-

H: You don’t! I think that’s the

problem, that [the students] don’t

know what their options are. If they

don’t test positive we don’t just kick

them out. And a lot of this comes from

my own personal experience as well.

I had a few of friends in high school

who would smoke pot on Sabbath

afternoons and I knew that and I didn’t

do anything about it. And I had one

friend who just didn’t stop there and

I still didn’t do anything about it. I

just want students to know that we

kick kids out because we don’t want

them here. We want to help. And

we want them to use [Loma Linda

Academy] as a reason to say no.

D: What about the voluntary

intervention program? Can you

tell me more about that?

H: This really an opportunity to

get students clean and rehabilitate

themselves. Firstly, the student has

the contact us and say “hey we need

help.” And then there are a few steps

that come after that. We bring in their

parents and have a small conference

which is hard because they’re just

sitting there heartbroken. Then the

student is allowed to pick two faculty

members that they trust, to report

on later on. And all of this is done

in secret, nothing leaves the office.

D: Are there any more steps

you are willing to take to make

the Substance Abuse policy more

prominent to the student body?

H: Yeah, I’m open to anything. I

don’t think what we have is perfect, but

anything less than this zero tolerance

policy, at some point we used to have

older students coach younger students

how to get away from smoking pot,

that we won’t go back to. That’s just

not going to work, it’s simple.

D: Anything else?

H: We just want the students

to know we will always care about

them regardless, but we want to

make sure that they understand

that a healthy life is important.By: Dani Mejia

18 19

BrieFs

instruction:Figure out the riDDle anD ask mrs. taYlor johnston For the next clue to Win a Prize.

On February 29, leap DaY, sa haD their annual talent shoW. the Winners- “Final maniFesto” corrine atiga & BranDon shin

auDience choice Winner- “a million Years”giselle njoh-njoh, alYssa cosejo, anD joni Belonio

national merit

Finalist: BranDon shin

semi-Finalist: jake tsai

commenDeD: Ben Ballou, amalia goulBourne, Preston kim, nathan ortiz, sarah Pan, Yasmine siagian, cherYl Wang

national hisPanic recognition Program scholar: tYler corrales, nathan ortiz

the oscars haPPeneD February 28 and leonarDo DicaPrio Won his First oscar!

stuDent Week oF PraYer Was a success February 16-19 with all girl sPeakers!

class Points

seniOrs 750juniOrs 540sOphOmOres 460Freshmen 440

18 19

sPanish t r i P s e n i o r n i g h t

20 PB

L O M A L I N D A A C A D E M Y ’ S

R RT H E M I R R O R