Friday, April 11, 2014

TheLoyalistLoyola High School | Los Angeles | Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 8 | loyalistnews.org

A Look AP CHEMISTRYSTUDENTS SIT FORCHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

VARSITY BASEBALL WINS 12 STRAIGHT

PAGE A3 PAGE A16 INSIDE

SENIOR DANIEL MORA attempts to clear the bar during a track meet at St. Francis. Loyola defeated the Golden Knights on Thursday, March 13, and competes for sole possesion of the Mission League title at Harvard-Westlake on Thursday, May 1. SPORTS, A14

Class of 2018 named by Admissions

PHOTO BY HENRY HAWLEY

By PABLO MUÑOZ

Loyola expects to enroll 320 students for the Class of 2018, according to Admissions Director Heath Utley, adding that theincoming class will be among the most geographically diverse classes the school has hosted.

Students will come from all over the greater Los Angeles region, from cities such as Upland to the east, Newport Beach to the south and Thousand Oaks and Westlake to the northwest.

Eighth graders who are accepted into Loyola are notified each year on a date set by the archdiocese. This year’s date was Thursday, March 6. Decisions from the accepted families were due Thursday, March 27. Transfer students applying to Loyola are generally notified of their acceptance at the end of April and must register by the end of May.

Cameron Chavez, an eighth-grader committed to Loyola next year, said he is excited about coming

[SEE ADMISSIONS, A11]

JCL students place second at convention

By ALEX FLORES

Seventy-six Junior Classical League members, led by three faculty members, participated in the fifty-ninth annual JCL State Convention on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, at University High School in Irvine, Calif.

The two-day event included numerous athletic and academic events embracing Roman culture studied by Latin students across the state. From the Certamen Quizbowl to a 400-meter track race to photography, JCL club members represented Loyola in a multitude of categories at the convention.

Junior Cory Gipson said he was most intrigued by the academic portions of the convention, saying, "My favorite part of the convention was taking the mythology test, which was written by Loyola graduate Joey Barreto [Class of 2013]. He made one of the most difficult yet most entertaining tests I have ever taken."

For others, such as freshman Sebastian D'Ambrosio, the spirit competition was the highlight of the convention. D'Ambrosio said, "Loyola had about 70 people in our

[SEE JCL, A11]

Seniors honored by bishop for serviceBy JOHN BRUNNER

Seventy-seven local seniors, including Loyola’s Cesar Castro, Richard Windisch and Andrew Wallender, from 51 Catholic high schools were honored on Tuesday, March 18, at St. Basil Church for their outstanding acts of community service in their communities.

Mr. Tom Zeko, Director of Community Service, said, “These seniors are leaders in a group of students showing outstanding acts of community service. They have a special mark that they have made in terms of the quality of their leadership.”

Students and teachers received their awards after a mass celebrated by Archbishop José Gomez. Auxiliary Bishops Alexander Salazar and Joseph Sartoris and Sister Angela Hallahan joined the archbishop and honorees at the mass. The event also recognized 10 teachers for their works of service, the largest number since the Christian Service Awards began in 1992.

Each of the seniors has clocked in approximately over 1000 service hours during his time at Loyola. They have all volunteered at numerous locations and taken

on leadership positions at their various volunteer sites.

“I have led retreats for the confirmation class at St. James Parish in Redondo Beach, as well as retreats for Loyola such as the Freshman Retreat and Kairos,” Windisch said. “I have tutored each year for the HSPT and led several groups with Habitat for Humanity. For my senior service project, I clocked in 101 hours at Harbor UCLA Medical Center.”

Castro also summarized his service: “For my senior service project, I volunteered at the

Kino Border Initiative located in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico. The Kino Border Initiative is a hospitality center for migrants who are deported from the United States. During my time there, I helped prepare and serve food to migrants.”

Community service is a significant part of the Loyola’s four-year curriculum. These seniors went beyond the basic yearly requirements in hopes of benefiting their community even more.

“Service and Leadership are two

of the six Grad-at-Grad qualities that our school promotes,” said Mr. Zeko. “Many hundreds of students display these points every day, and this award recognizes these three students as being the top of Loyola.”

“I really enjoyed knowing that I was making a difference in someone’s life through my service,” said Windisch. “I was also very proud to represent Loyola. My sister actually won the award in 2012 and represented Bishop Montgomery High School, so we laughed about how we ended up going to the same award ceremony despite going to different high schools.”

Castro also had a close family connection with the award. He said, “It was an honor to represent Loyola as a Christian Service Award recipient. I was blessed to represent an institution that is known to serve its community year after year. What made this award even better was the fact that my father also received the same award when he was a senior at Our Lady Queen of Angeles High School Seminary.”

These students said they plan to continue their service after they graduate with Windisch attending the University of Southern California, Castro attending Santa Clara University and Wallender attending Georgetown University.

FR. GOETHALS AND MR. KOZAKOWSKI accompany seniors Andrew Wallender, Cesar Castro and Richard Windisch at St. Basil Church, where the three were honored for their service to their communities.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOYOLA COMMUNICATIONS

A2 NEWS APRIL 11, 2014

By PABLO MUÑOZ

Loyola raised over $1.3 mil-lion with the conclusion of its 42nd annual Interchange Auc-tion season, which culminated with the signature event, the 42nd annual Interchange Auc-tion, the school’s only official fun-draiser, on Saturday, March 29.

This year’s Interchange, “Blue, White, and Bubbly Ball,” was chaired by Mrs. Valerie Shore, mother of freshman Cade Shore and senior Ja-cob Shore. This year featured items ranging from five-star vacations to a Tesla Model S to two puppies: a golden retriever and a yellow lab.

Begun 42 years ago by the late Rev. Patrick J. Cahalan, S.J., the auc-tion is the school’s largest fundraiser.

“Fr. Cahalan started this an-nual fundraiser to raise money for scholarships and also to help with the operating expenses of Loyola High School,” Mrs. Shore

said. “It’s always been in Xavier."Auction season lasts from Janu-

ary to March, culminating in the event itself at the end of March. Activities during the auction sea-son are marked by gift-gathering parties that occur before the auc-tion night. The auction committee identifies the largest communi-ties of Loyola families by zip code and organizes these parties to collect items for the auction and build enthusiasm for the event.

“Because Loyola does rep-resent such a large geograph-ic area, it’s our way of bring-ing the auction to different neighborhoods,” said Mrs. Shore.

While the parties are the begin-ning of the auction festivities, the night itself began with a mass in Clougherty Chapel, celebrated by the Rev. Gregory Goethals, S.J. Fol-lowing Mass, attendees moved to the Leavey Gymnasium, site of the silent auction. Amid waiters serv-

ing platters of appetizers, around 500 auction items were available for guests to purchase until 7 p.m., when the silent auction closed.

The silent auction is not a traditional silent auc-tion, explained Mrs. Shore.

“The silent auction is not like the old silent auctions where you have a piece of paper and a pen and you write your number," Mrs. Shore said. "It’s all handheld.”

Using a technology called Bidpal for a third year, attendees are able to participate in the auc-tion remotely and electronically.

“You can see every single item at the auction on your handheld," Mrs. Shore said. "You can actually look at it and bid from your phone.”

Loyola students, faculty and staff were on hand to assist with any technical questions guests had. Loyola staff and faculty members were on hand to meet parents, entertain questions and promote

bidding. “I think it’s neat that the staff works it because it makes it more personal,” said Mrs. Shore.

At 7 p.m., the party moved to Xavier Center, for dinner and the live auction of 16 items. The night was livened up by a perfor-mance from music teacher Mr. Stephen Speciale and an actor from the school’s upcoming per-formance of "Kiss Me Kate," the student jazz band and the pre-sentation of the auction puppies throughout the night. Following the auction, an after party on the stage of Xavier was hosted by DJ Browntown, better known as Eng-lish teacher Mr. Douglas Brown.

Concluding during the late hours of Saturday night, this year’s auction was once again successful in demonstrating the sense of com-munity of Loyola High School. Col-lecting record-breaking amounts, this year’s auction is sure to set a precedent for next year’s gathering.

Interchange 42 'bubbles' over expectations

By MARC ZAFRANCO

After nearly 50 years of provid-ing textbooks to Loyola’s students, the Flannery Company has gone out of business, and ESCO has partnered with the school to pro-vide books next year, according to coordinator Mr. Jerry Frumento.

Mr. Frumento said that this switch is beneficial because ESCO has a greater ability to buy books, resulting in lower costs. Because the company is located in Ari-zona, shipping will essentially be the same as before, and pur-chases will not include sales tax.

Mr. Frumento said, “We are fortunate to have them as our new partners as the transition will be very familiar and smooth.”

Because Loyola is new to ESCO, the company will host a one-time buy-back allowing every student to sell each of his texts at 50 percent of the original price, no matter the book’s condition.

Family-owned businesses like The Flannery Company have been challenged to keep up with the industry’s transition to elec-tronic books. According to Mr. Frumento, publishers are try-ing all types of methods to see what works out with today’s mar-ket, and this transition has made business more difficult for bro-kers like The Flannery Company.

As for the change, Mr. Fru-mento said, “It’s a positive thing. It should be better for the students, and, hopefully, we’ll have a great relationship for another 50 years.”

Bookstore partners with new distributor

THE REV. PRESIDENT GREG GOETHALS, S.J., delivers prayer during Loyola's 42nd annual Interchange Auction.

GUESTS enjoy their dinner prior to the live auction.

PHOTOS BY PABLO MUÑOZ

TWO GUESTS hold a golden retriever, one of the available live auction items.

For more articles see our

website at loyalistnews.org

A3NEWSAPRIL 11, 2014

By MATT MORETTI

One hundred and fifty Latin students and and one hundred ten French students participated in the National Latin and French Exams in Xavier Center and Loyola Hall, on Tuesday, March 11.

Administered by the Univer-sity of Mary Washington in Fred-ericksburg, Virginia, the National Latin exam involves questions on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and some history or mythology, according to Latin and French teacher Mr. Cedric Ebiner. The NLE is a forty-minute, multiple choice test that provides every test-taker the opportunity to experience a sense of personal ac-complishment and success in his or her study of the Latin language and culture, according to the exam’s website, nle.org.

“We always have some good re-sults,” said Mr. Ebiner. Top scorers are recognized at the school’s an-nual awards ceremonies in early June. While Loyola will not receive the exam scores for a number of weeks, Mr. Ebiner said he expects results similar to those of last year’s exam, in which 64 students placed including 26 students earning gold or silver medals. “No doubt I ex-pect some awards to be given out this year as well,” Mr. Ebiner said.

As part of the Latin program, all students are required to take the exam. Although the curricu-lum does not cover everything on the exam, Mr. Ebiner said, “I still tell students if they want to know what's on the national exam, there’s a website that shows them what the expectations are; and if they have

questions, they can come see me.” As for the exam’s difficulty,

Latin student Jack Wayne, a ju-nior, said, “It was difficult; it's not a test you can cram for because it requires a mastery of not only the Latin language but also the back-ground of that time period, includ-ing mythology, geography and his-tory.”

The National French Exam is a vocabulary-based reading and listening comprehension test re-quired of all French students. French teacher Mr. Eric Beuzet characterized the the test as good for the students and as “medium” in its difficulty.

Mr. Ebiner said about the French test, “Sometimes the lis-tening component is quite fast, and sometimes its vocabulary we haven't covered much, but this is okay because students come across these words for the first time, stu-dents get more exposure, and this is great to expose them to the lan-guage and to the culture.”

French student Tyler Tonkal, a junior, stated, “The difficulty of the exam was based on how much you studied beforehand. Some of the material we hadn’t covered yet or was covered at the beginning of the year, so it wasn’t fresh.”

Loyola French students have earned high honors on past Na-tional French exams, including 13 students placing in 2013, and Mr. Ebiner said he is confident stu-dents will place once again this year. He attributes these results in part to the fact that students are not intimidated by the exam. “The stress level is low,” he said.

MATH CLUB MEMBERS enjoy assorted pies during their Pi Day celebration, held on Thursday, March 13. Students not only ate pie but also sang and recited digits of pi during the annual math holiday.

PHOTO BY HUNTER JOHNSON

By BRANDON VARGAS

Math Club celebrated Pi Day one day early, on Thursday, March 13, at its weekly meeting hosted by math teacher Mr. Allen Martin in room L207.

The room was filled with math lovers, joy and, most importantly, pie. Mr. Martin said, “The surpris-ing instances in which variations of pi show up in ran-dom scientific and mathematical equations, such as Buffon's Needle and the normal curve of an equation, are astounding to me.”

Mr Martin also presented a Youtube video of a blind date between e (the base of the natural loga-rithm) and π (the mathematical constant). Since both are irrational, the date did not go as planned.

As the video finished, Mr. Martin distributed dou-ble-sided handouts so that students could sing “Oh Number Pi,” an adaptation to the tune “Oh Christmas Tree,” before eating their pie. On the back of the hand-out, about a thousand digits of pi filled the page.

Junior Jose Salas said, “Pi Day is definitely the best

day for pie.” Students lined up to fill their plates with different kinds of pies: dutch apple, pumpkin and blueberry. As the pie supply dwindled, dismay swept over those students who worried they might not get their fill of pie. Fortunately, senior Ocean Sakr saved the day as he entered the room with a hefty cherry pie.

As students enjoyed their portions of pie, they tried to name as many digits of pi. Sophomore J.P. Hatch asserted his favorite part about Pi Day: “It’s amusing to watch all the students compete to memorize and recite as many digits of pi as they can.” Many students came to realize that pi is a never-ending number because of its irrational nature.

As the lunch hour wound down, members helped clean up, and Mr. Martin offered remaining pie to teachers in Loyola Hall. Junior Jorge DeNeve said he wished more days were like Pi Day: “What isn’t there to like about Pi Day? I love all the pie and the singing about pi. It’s just a good, fun way to show appreciation for math.”

150 students sit forLatin, French exams

By LAURENT PARK

All 22 students in Ms. Faw-zia Qazi’s AP Chemistry class sat through their class period and lunch break on March 19 to take the annual Local Chemistry Olympiad, an examination held in nearly 10,000 high schools across the United States to nominate the highest-scoring students for the National and International Chem-istry Olympiads.

The Local Olympiad was com-prised of 60 multiple-choice ques-tions covering various topics; stu-dents have 110 minutes to complete the test. The student in each school who scores the highest on the test, hosted by the American Chemi-cal Society (ACS), and who places above the national cut-off mark ad-vances to the National Olympiad in late April.

Junior Benjamin Llanes, who earned a class-high 50 out of 60, just missed this year’s qualifying cut-off score of 52 and will not move onto the national level.

Even though no one in the class is advancing, students said they have nonetheless learned a lot from this experience.

According to Ms. Qazi, the main goal in having students take this examination is to show them what

they know and to provide another means of effective preparation for the upcoming AP Chemistry exam along with the SAT Subject Test for chemistry. She said, "The test [Olympiad] is well-written and does a good job on test-i n g t h e

i m -p o r -t a n t content that we've been learn-ing throughout the year. Because the students are getting ready to take the AP and the SAT 2 tests soon, it's a good way to prac-tice for them by taking another standardized test where there are no stakes. They're able to practice well, and the winner of the class will hopefully be able to advance on to higher levels."

To the students, the Local

Olympiad was challenging. Llanes said, “I felt the exam was fairly diffi-cult, especially when the questions asked about material we

had covered months ago during class. Also, there were certain sec-tions of the test that asked about material we hadn't yet covered in class, so I resorted to guessing.”

Because the Olympiad, accord-ing to Ms. Qazi, is focused primar-ily on giving students an AP-test-like experience, students reviewed

information to ready for the Olym-piad.

Junior Ethan McGarrigle said, "I feel like she did a great job in teach-

ing us. I was actually surprised how much we prepared

for this. We took a quiz with

q u e s -t i ons

f r o m past ACS

[ A m e r i c a n Chemistry Soci-

ety] questions every day for two weeks to get the level of

difficulty down."Junior Louis Briones agreed:

“Overall, I'm glad Ms. Qazi is let-ting us take on tests like this along with the mini-AP quizzes we take frequently. In the long run these tests help the class become adjust-ed to the formatting and range of questions we will encounter on the

actual AP Chem exam in May,” he said.

In addition to feeling generally prepared, students said they are generally positive despite the dif-ficulty of the test. Llanes said, “I believe that taking this examina-tion was a good experience that helped reinforce my understanding in chemistry and allowed us chem-istry students to compete on a na-tional level. Also, we got free pizza and juice at the end of the test, so who can argue with that?”

Even though students overall found the Olympiad acceptable because of their frequent assess-ments, Ms. Qazi said there is still room for improvement. “I think students found the exam manage-able. The test pointed out some ar-eas of strength and some areas that they might need to work on, but I don't think anyone felt discouraged or sad about taking it. I think they were hopeful. They might realize that they know a lot of content, but we still have a little bit more to study before the AP exam, which is fine because we have about a month left for preparation."

Now that the local Chemistry Olympiads are over, the AP Chem-istry class continues to study for the upcoming AP exam and the SAT 2.

AP Chemistry students take Olympiad test

Pi Day festivities draw math lovers

PHOTO BY JUSTIN WAN

G

A4 OPINION APRIL 11, 2014

BY NICOLAUS JAKOWEC

Before iPhones radiated colorful games, before jets hummed across the night sky, before freedom of thought was recognized by any government, Giordano Bruno was just a Dominican friar, mathematician, phi-losopher, poet, and astrologer who asked too many questions. Over 400 years later, we no longer burn people at the stake for sup-porting heliocentrism, at least not in the lit-eral sense. On February 4 Bill Nye and Ken Ham practiced what Bruno was executed for: speaking their minds; Nye-- “The Science Guy” and prolific science promoter--debated against Ham--a prominent creationist and founder of a newly opened creationist mu-seum--about the viability of creationism as a scientific model in education. 530,000 live feed viewers agreed that Nye, who criticized the falsity of Ham’s creation model, had won. Regardless of who won, Americans need to practice more critical thinking to be intel-lectually active in a world in which science and technology are as important as the air we breathe.

In May of 2007, Australian Ken Ham—who moved to America in 1987 and is the president and founder of Answers in Genesis-U.S.—opened the state-of-the-art $27 mil-lion Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ken-tucky. So far, the 70,000 square foot museum that features 160 exhibits has welcomed over 2 million visitors. Each day, families from all across the country are enlightened with the story of Creationism: we humans emerged 6,000 years ago and walked the Earth along-side every species that has existed, and Noah saved a plethora of animals from the Great Flood with his biblical Ark. Families can plan their visit online; visitors can ride zip lines, have fun at the petting zoo, walk in the botanical garden, observe the Created Cos-mos in the Stargazers Planetarium, and even “travel 6,000 years into the past to view the dawn of history” in the museum theater.

Seven years since the museum opened, Bill Nye took a visit to debate the following question: Is Cre-ationism a viable model of origins in today’s mod-ern scientific era? 530,000 viewers of the Youtube live feed heard his answer, “No.”

Since Charles Darwin theorized natural selec-tion with Alfred Russel Wallace, numerous strides have been made to substan-tiate the Darwinian theory of evolution. The advent of modern biology has helped scientists prove that we share a genetic linkage with other organisms, most importantly chimpanzees. Unbeknownst to Darwin we share 98 percent of our genome with chimpanzees. Furthermore, radiologi-cal dating applied to the fields of geology and paleontology has allowed us to establish an accurate timeline of Earth’s geological and biological past.

In short, advances in science and technol-ogy have allowed us to provide solid evidence supporting evolution, accurately illustrate Earth’s geological progress, and even prove that the earth is a little over 4.5 billion years old. Yet people choose to believe that the Earth is 6,000 years old, all creatures and hu-mans were created between 2-3 days, and an enormous flood occurred about 4,000 years ago. With 46 pr of the population believing in Creationism according to a 2012 Gallup poll, it is no wonder Hollywood released Noah to be computer-graphic blockbuster.

Clearly, there is this daunting question looming over our minds: how does one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world have such a high percentage of the population believing in something that shatters the basis of scientific inquiry? The greatest reason is our collective vulnerability

to the ethos of big-headed politicians in such a disconcerting time of human history. With grandiose conflicts abundant, health-care problems skyrocketing, and international tensions escalating, it is only natural to seek consolement in suit-wearing loud-mouths waving the stars and stripes and bellowing the greatness of America.

Like mimes with blow horns, politicians such as these, who are staggeringly drawn from the right, boast loud, empty promises and flamboyant agendas while their brains are silently droning hackneyed phrases of pa-triotic allure. People say they are practicing their freedom of speech when they express right-wing ideologies of hyper-patriotism and creationism; in reality, they are the just the mental victims of egocentric politicians who used people’s emotional vulnerability as a way to promote their agenda and get the vote.

Who is to blame for our asynchrony with the rest of the scientific world? Us for be-ing so naive as to intellectually rely on these charlatans? Or the politicians themselves who were selfish enough to take advantage of our ignorance? Unfortunately, that question will have to be left to future generations as they look back on us and wonder, “how did they ever get their heads out of the trees.”

As we Americans sit on our couches and let the well-trained and well-educated gen-erations of scientists pour in from foreign countries seeking the intellectual capital of ours, we can lazily accept the mind-numb-ing words of the reigning political party and surrender to the blinding statistics of FOX and CNN that ultimately prove meaningless in the life of anyone who is not Count von Count. The contrary is to live what Giordano Bruno died for. The contrary is to start think-ing, start questioning, start exploring. There is no better time to start than as high school students; here, asking questions and making mistakes everyday is what gives school a pur-pose.

Evidence mounts every day. Theories are shifted and criticized. Ideas soar beyond what we are even capable of conceiving. Like the universe itself, our collective knowledge as human beings is forever expanding; it breaches the fabric of our imagination, and the exciting search for the answer will never end. Why would one ever want to avoid such an adventure or even deprive their children of the breathtaking astonishment that awaits them in the form of scientific discovery? As Bill Nye says, “The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.”

Creationism and its tenets do not compute

BILL NYE AND KEN HAM engage in a televised debate over the accuracy of creationism versus evolution on Feb. 2.PHOTO FROM NBC NEWS

BY SAM JANKOWSKI

Ultimately, if the Grand Old Party, the GOP, wishes to remain afloat as a mainstream political party, it must change its policies to be more inclusive of an increas-ingly diverse America.

According to a recent Gallup poll, Republicans make up 38 per-cent of the national population, and Democrats make up 48 per-

cent. This gap continues to widen over time as more people side with the democrats. Members of the GOP need to understand problems plague their party’s membership, before determining how to change or if the party should change at all.

When it comes to whether or not the GOP will remain a politi-cal party, most people agree that internal divisions are tearing the party apart, though the degree to

which the party is fragmenting leaves Loyola students disagreeing. Juniors Brennen Barker and Nicho-las Rogers said they believe that the GOP will only slightly need to alter its position to stay above the water, while English teacher Mr. Thomas Marsh and junior Tommy Mazza see a dissolving party looming on the horizon. Mazza said he believes “that the GOP will split into at least two different factions, most likely into libertarians and middle right” in order to cope with internal dis-sonance.

When attempting to under-stand the longevity, or potential lack thereof, of the GOP, three main puzzle pieces require a proper analysis.

Of course, the first piece in this marvelous political puzzle is the GOP. Although the future may present troublesome challenges for the sub-party, the roots of the prob-lems are clear. A continued support for old-school social issues on the part of the Republican Party alien-ates many young people socially, allowing them to be economically convinced by the left-wing par-ties later. In other words, if young

people hear that Republicans and members of the GOP behave in-considerately towards homosexu-als, these same young people be-come more receptive to the idea that these inconsiderate Republi-cans are also fiscally boorish, re-sulting in lessened support for the party.

The second piece of the puzzle is the Tea Party, commonly known as the more radical portion of the movement. In general, the Tea Par-ty takes more conservative social and economic stances. For exam-ple, Pew surveys from 2012 show the Tea Party, when compared to its Republican cousins, taking a more old line stance when it comes to social issues such as same-sex mar-riage, abortion and border control. In other words, this portion of the Republican Party pulls the entire party further right, which harms the GOP by association. Working with the Tea Party requires the GOP ei-ther to jettison the socially progres-sive stances they have, which would alienate young people further, or to jettison the Tea Party itself. Cutting ties to the Tea Party is probably the more productive move in the long

run, as it will allow the GOP to gain supporters from more traditionally left-leaning people.

The third piece is the Libertar-ians, who take a hard left on so-cial issues and swerve to the right whenever the economy comes into play and who essentially serve as the social opposite to the Tea Party. Interestingly, the Loyola communi-ty seems evenly split as to whether or not the libertarians are the way to go. Mr. Marsh said he believes that the GOP needs to move more towards the Tea Party to avoid breaking the Republican Party into three hopelessly weak little ones, while Barker and Rogers both think taking the more socially liberal ap-proach will benefit the party.

Ultimately, strategies that put together the Republican Party’s jig-saw must employ longevity as a key factor. While gasping for air amid a political climate no longer suited to the GOP, the party essentially scoops water out of a leaking boat; its political ship has some issues, and solutions provide fixes as more and more young people turn left.

[SEE GOP, A5]

Without action, Republican party's future looks bleak

CARTOON BY DUVIT KAKUNEGODA

A5OPINIONAPRIL 11, 2014

By MARC CASTILLO

On Wednesday, March 5, 2014, in an event in Austin, Texas, Col-lege Board President and CEO David Coleman announced that the SAT Reasoning Test, or more simply the SAT, would undergo drastic changes that will take ef-fect in the spring of 2016. Coleman stated that the SAT has become “far too disconnected from the work of our high schools,” so an overhaul of the test was necessary for it to overcome the stigma that the SAT merely measures one’s aptitude for taking aptitude tests, not for scho-lastic achievement.

The “redesigned SAT,” as the College Board has dubbed it on its website, aims, first, to fulfill the standardized test’s function as a universal and accurate gauge of college readiness by more closely reflecting current high school cur-ricula and, second, to stray from the overbearing test-prep indus-try, which breeds the sentiment that higher scoring can come only from thousands of dollars of invest-ment in the best resources from in-stitutions such as Kaplan and The Princeton Review or from private coaches.

While the redesigned SAT will better apply skills that students learn every day throughout their high school careers instead of re-warding the employment of mere tricks or strategies, the notion that the new test will decrease the scor-ing gaps between those affluent enough to afford test preparation and those who are not is unrealistic and groundless.

In terms of structure, the re-designed SAT, around three hours long, is split into two subsections—a new category called “Evidence-Based Reading and Writing” and

Math—both of which are scored out of 800 for a total composite score of 1600. The essay of the cur-rent format will be converted to a 50-minute supplementary section scored separately. In addition, the guessing penalty for wrong answers is to be removed.

The first subsection most re-sembles the current Critical Read-ing subsection in that it will consist of passages followed by compre-hension questions; however, the new section is actually useful for test takers. It takes the compre-hension a step further, calling students not only to pick the best answer for a question but also to justify that answer in the follow-ing question by choos-ing the best quote from the source passage as support. Moreover, the sources will cover “texts in the humanities, science, history, and social studies” according to the official website, including even America’s found-ing documents, meaning that the source readings will be more inter-esting and will actually matter.

Conversely, the source texts of the current Critical Reading sec-tion not only cover dull topics like how musical Gen the language in-terpreter’s voice is, the biggest chal-lenge of which is managing to read through them without losing focus, but also provide no room for scien-tific readings that call for an under-standing and analysis of given data. Evidence-Based Reading and Writ-ing is, thus, without question more useful than its forerunner.

Some may argue that the new subsection’s more advanced read-ings and analysis are offset by the exclusion of the current SAT’s in-

tegration of high-level vocabulary. Such contenders might think that the new exam is “dumbed down.” But how does knowing that the word “quagmire” is not just the name of a television character make one prepared for college? The new test’s “relevant words in context” approach is more suitable for students as it exposes test takers to the language of scholarly works that they very well may end up de-constructing in college.

The new math section will also be more beneficial to future SAT test takers because instead of the simpler current math subsection that rarely visits concepts above ge-ometry, the redesigned section will provide a “passport to advanced math,” dealing with more “complex equations and the manipulation they require,” all the while framing the questions in real-world scenar-ios, according to the College Board website. Also, the lack of calcula-tors on certain portions of the test mirrors classroom environments that students deal with and will continue to deal with in college.

Also true, however, is that the new exam, which will turn the cur-rent required 25-minute essay into an optional 50-minute one, does send the message that writing is not an important skill to learn for col-lege. Leading universities from the UCs to the Ivy League, however,

will most likely require the supple-mental section regardless, just as they already do with the optional essay of the ACT, a rival admissions exam to the SAT. And for schools like Boston College that even now do not consider the present 2400 SAT’s writing score in admissions, this change is largely a non-issue.

Moreover, 25 minutes is hardly enough time for anyone to produce anything noteworthy that colleges could use to weigh between appli-

cants. The redesigned essay will require stu-dents to analyze the arguments, evidence and rhetorical and stylistic choices of a piece of text as op-posed to forming an undercooked argu-ment around a vague prompt using pre-readied examples and

formulaic development. Someone’s siding against the longer but op-tional essay in favor of the contem-poraneous format for the sake of preserving the importance of writ-ing is, thus, ridiculous.

Consequently, the content changes of all three of the sections make the redesigned SAT a more accurate indicator of college readi-ness, but they also transform this tool for admissions into a tool for students because the new exam is a precursor to real-life work in col-lege and beyond.

On the other hand, Mr. Coleman and the College Board fall short in their endeavor to even a playing field that has become lopsided be-cause of economic disparity. The redesigned exam itself does under-cut the “test preparation providers [that] intimidate parents at levels of income into the belief that the only way they can secure their child’s

success is to pay,” as Mr. Coleman said in his Wednesday announce-ment, because the new SAT con-tains fewer tips and tricks that need to be sold. Moreover, Mr. Cole-man also announced the College Board’s new partnership with Khan Academy, a non-profit educational website, that will provide “free test preparation for the world.”

But the new test will still be a fruitless attempt to minimize scor-ing imbalances caused by differing financial backgrounds. Mr. Cole-man himself stated that the key to success on the new test lies in the learning students do each day in the course of their high school careers, not in unlocking the test’s secrets. If his statement is true, then those who will score better are those who have been receiving a more rigor-ous education; and while money does not always buy value, as our good friends at Harvard-Westlake embody, an indubitable correlation exists between the economic status of an area and the academic prolifi-cacy of the area’s schools.

In addition, if the new exam truly is grounded in high school curricula so as to be a valid evalu-ation of college preparedness, then extra resources like Khan Academy cannot possibly be that instrumen-tal in scoring, no matter how acces-sible they are.

The redesigned SAT of 2016 is merely the next installment in a long line of updates to the exam. The changes are necessary and fulfill the exam’s purpose as a stan-dardized test used for admissions. Nevertheless, the College Board is naïve to think that a single test change can completely revolution-ize the economic dynamic in col-lege success.

{ [T]he content changes of all three of the sections make the redesigned SAT a more accurate in-dicator of college readi-ness.

}SAT changes made for the better of students

A gentleman's guide to festive elegancy

By JAKE SHORE

Prom: it’s that magical time of year when teenage boys every-where rent tuxedos, wear too much of their dad’s cologne, cram into limos with their friends, and “turn up.” With Loyola prom tomorrow, here are some do’s and don’t's for attending juniors and seniors alike.

If you are not personally driv-ing your date or are having your mom drive you to the prom (I’ve done that; no shame at all), you will probably meet at a friend’s house before the event where you will meet your date, take pictures and then depart in a limousine.

Now for the studious Cubs out there who hope to get some pre-calculus homework done on the way to prom, remember not to ignore your date. Let her help you answer some questions and do computations on the calculator; it’s called being a gentleman.

The limo will most likely fea-ture some music to get all partici-pants pumped up for prom. If you are the DJ, here are some tracks to

get people hyped: Greatest Hits of 1492, “Eleanor Rigby” by the Bea-tles, “How to Learn German in 21 Steps!” CD Box Set, etc.

Then, the limo will drop you off in the front circle of Loyola for prom. You walk in, talk to and in-troduce your date to Dean Wood and Mr. Kozakowski, and then rev-el in the festivity that is prom.

When shaking hands with the dean and the principal, try to im-press them with fancy handshakes. Maybe go for the pull-in hug, the high-five, or the handshake fake (just as you’re about to shake their hand, pull yours away and graze it off the top of your head). All of these are surefire ways to impress both the dean and your date early on.

Now after you’ve officially en-tered the prom, there are a few things you can do during the eve-ning: head over to the normally long line for pictures with your date, tear up the dancefloor with those sweet moves you learned from Youtube, win real tuition money at the casino games or just

socialize with your friends off to the side.

And after all the selfies have been taken and all the hors d’oeuvres have been eaten, there will be a time at the end of the night when the DJ will play the cliched slow song for Cubs and their dates. The DJ will most likely play classics like “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce, or the soundtrack to Apocalypse Now.

And then, by that part of the night, it will be twelve o’clock and time to go back home or to an after-party. Make sure to be safe, have a good time, use these tips and have a successful prom night.

ON THE SHORE

[FROM Rep. Party, A4]Accepting new social issues is

akin to using some new wood to repair the boat; the fix takes more time but in the long run can keep the ship afloat.

In addition to helping the GOP maintain a statistical advantage, adopting more progressive social policies helps the GOP gain a con-sistency advantage. Many liberals criticize Republicans for claiming to uphold freedom but not letting people have social freedom; in oth-er words, these liberals argue that Republicans believe in freedom for themselves. By adopting socially free issues, the GOP can come out as the Republican sub-party in fa-vor of social change and equality, thus avoiding criticism and open-ing the party up to liberals.

Even if the GOP can save the Republican Party on the social front, it still needs to find a way to articulate its usual free-market economic position. In doing so, Republicans need to appeal to left-wingers and centrists by showing they have the same goals. For ex-ample, many proponents of welfare and government regulations argue that these policies help the poor. In response, instead of complaining that regulations are annoying and

that welfare benefits lazy people, Republicans need to point out that, according to the US census bureau, poverty levels declined most rapid-ly in the early 20th century and be-tween 1959 and 1964, times when the US economy was arguably the most free from government inter-vention and control. They could also explain that this rapid decline of poverty slowed and ended with the introduction of the Great So-ciety programs, programs which were designed to use government intervention to end poverty. In other words, leftist policies de-signed to help the poor resulted in just the opposite.

The GOP needs to adopt more socially liberal and economically free positions if it wants to leave the sinking boat and build a new, better one. After adopting these policies, it needs to articulate them properly to the American public to stem the tide of young people crossing over to the Democrats. In other words, the GOP needs to explain, in the words of the econo-mist Thomas Sowell, that “the lib-erals want to help the poor while they’re poor, but really the biggest benefit is to stop them from being poor,” and that the GOP can do just that.

GOP falters socially

A6 OPINION APRIL 11, 2014

By JAMES SABOL

Prom has been a high school tradition since the late 1800s. Though its implications have changed throughout the years as the dances themselves have changed, prom night serves as an opportunity for high school ju-niors and seniors to dress up for a night, pre-tend they are impeccably fancy and enjoy a night with their dates and friends.

This year, weekend one of the Coachella Music Festival coincides with the Loyola Prom. While Coachella does deliver good times and good music, prom is a cheaper, more consistent and limited opportunity that

is an integral part of the high school experi-ence.

In the twilight of a high school career, a senior realizes money becomes increasingly important. Spending money grows scarcer. The looming pile of student debt awaiting college graduation becomes a more concrete concept by the day. Saving money, either for just getting some food with friends or for paying college tuition, begins to assert itself as a mandate instead of a suggestion. In the vein of saving money, prom offers a cheaper alternative to Coachella.

Coachella tickets were sold for $400 when ticket offices first began selling, and that is just for the ticket. Buying bus passes, rent-ing hotel rooms or even staying with friends provides for additional costly expenses, to-taling possibly one or two thousand dollars. Prom, on the other hand, costs only around $120 for the ticket and about 200 dollars for the other expenses for the tux and limo or party bus rental. That possibly 1500 dollar difference, while seemingly inconsequential

to the massive sum of college tuition, is still substantial savings that can be put towards college funds or just spending money.

Prom also provides a more consistent ex-perience than Coachella does. Prom, while the theme changes every year, largely re-mains the same. The general music, location, festivities and atmosphere remain, because they have been proven to work year after year.

Coachella, on the other hand, changes its musical lineup, the defining aspect of the fes-tival, every year. Granted, Coachella normal-ly hits the nail on the head when it comes to band selection, personal distaste for a band

or genre can significantly sour an otherwise pleasant experience.

Unfortunate sleeping arrangements or a num-ber of other circumstanc-es, moreover, can also damper what would have been an enjoyable festival because, since Coachella is a weekend trip, it requires more minute and finicky planning.

Prom is also a limited time engagement. Loyola students have only two op-portunities to go to their

own prom, their junior and senior years. Coachella, on

the other hand, occurs annually in the same place at roughly the same time during the year. Every year, year after year, tens of thou-sands of people flock to Coachella, while only a select number of people can attend Loyola’s prom, and its comparative exclusiv-ity only improves its appeal.

Beyond its exclusivity, prom is an essential part of a full high school experience. People across the country often claim prom as one of the best nights of their high school careers, if not their lives. Classmates and friends forge and strengthen bonds, make stories during nighttime escapades and ingrain personal memories permanently. Coachella, while providing its own unique and enjoyable ex-perience, cannot approach the emotional and developmental scope of prom.

Prom is a high school institution, tested by time. Students make the choice of going to prom annually, and the rising popularity of a music festival that happens to conflict with prom will prove to have no adverse effect on the legacy of the Loyola prom.

By ETHAN BLACK

Coachella, the annual two-weekend mu-sic festival, will draw more than 80,000 peo-ple each day and provide fans with over 180 acts to enjoy. With prom coinciding with the first weekend of Coachella, many Loyola students face a tough decision.

Although the obvious option is to go to Coachella weekend two, the choice comes down to whether prom or Coachella is a more al-luring option. Easter is April 20, the last day of the event. As most Loyola students celebrate the im-portant Catholic holiday with family, many parents are unwilling to let Coach-ella take precedence over Easter.

Loyola charges $150 for each couple, and general admission for Coachella is $349. From a financial standpoint, the price for Coachella may seem stag-gering in comparison to prom; however, a breakdown of the num-bers provides a more accurate comparison favoring Coachella in terms of value.

The hidden costs that prom attendees typically pay include renting a party bus, renting a tuxedo and buying a corsage. Av-erage rates for party buses range anywhere from $90 per hour to $130 per hour, tuxedo rentals range from $30 to $80, and a corsage costs about $20. The combined costs push the price to upwards of $300 for dinner, dec-orations and about four hours of music.

Loyola prom is on campus in Xavier Center, whereas the majority of schools host prom in elaborate, decorative ballrooms in fancy hotels. Although it may be tradition-al for Loyola to hold the prom in Xavier, a weekend in Indio, California, seems much more attractive than school where students spend five days of the week.

On the other hand, general admission for Coachella is $349, and the addition of a car camping pass pushes the price to $434. Peo-ple should expect to pay between $30 and $70 for food as well. With about a $500 bud-get, Coachella offers an eventful three days of ecstatic and electrifying music, dancing and meeting new people.

The Coachella lineup possesses a range of performances including an act by Lorde, the 17-year-old craze, and a revival of the Afghan Whigs, a band originally active from

1986 to 2001. Outkast, Arcade Fire and Muse headline the event, further strength-ening the lineup as possibly the best Coach-ella so far.

Coachella attendees have the opportu-nity to go with family, friends or love in-terests. Prom confines Juniors and Seniors to strengthen an interpersonal relationship with a single person; however, Coachella gives students the freedom to choose their

social surroundings. Whether a student de-sires to go with a group of friends or to bond with a girlfriend, Coachella allows for a great combination of private bonding and exten-sive social interaction.

Junior Tyler Wootton said, “I would rath-er be at Coachella because I love listening to music, and I’m excited to see the Queens of the Stone Age, who I grew up listening to. Although prom will be a fun event, it is in-comparable to Coachella. On top of that, I get to spend Coachella with my girlfriend.”

Loyola Prom is not the only prom, allow-ing students to have opportunities attending other high school’s prom on different dates. Coachella is a rare opportunity, especially since Loyola students disperse across the nation for college and potentially lose the opportunity to attend Coachella because of its occurrence during the school year. With Coachella easily accessible from the Los An-geles area, students possess the perfect loca-tion to attend the impressive event.

Despite the mindset that prom is one of the most memorable social events of high school and is a necessary tradition, Coachel-la provides a weekend that will resonate even more so than prom. The 2014 lineup is jam-packed with performances from extremely talented artists, and it would take years to see as many performances as Coachella of-fers.

PromStudents choose between Coachella, promJuniors and seniors must make the tough choice between attending their high school prom or attending the annual music and arts festival Coachella at Indio, Calif., both of which fall on this upcoming weekend.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLES COHEN

FESTIVAL GOERS walk through tents at Coachella last year.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLES COHEN PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. CHRIS WALTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF CYRUS JABBARI

CYRUS JABBARI, CLASS OF 2013, poses with his date Katie Vincent at last year's prom.

MR. MICHAEL LEW deals blackjack cards to seniors at last year's prom.COACHELLA hosts the likes of Outkast, Muse, Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel this year.

A7OPINIONAPRIL 11, 2014

As the school year winds down and exhausted students struggle to maintain or to im-prove their grades, they can be tempted to cut corners; some would say to cheat. However, what actually constitutes cheat-ing seems to be up for discus-sion.

To “cheat,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is to “act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.” Under this definition the is-sue of searching for answers to homework assignments is clearly an example of academ-ic dishonesty, yet in the age of high-speed Internet access, more students are tempted to search for answers, even if such searching constitutes cheating.

Indeed, teachers have no true mechanism for determining if students searched for home-work answers on the online. Even though educators may not be able to enforce honor code rules, cheating on homework is one of several unjustifiable acts of cheating. Not only are stu-dents cheating themselves out of learning about certain sub-ject matter, but they also are de-veloping ineffective, lazy study habits.

Cubs should overcome this temptation and instead com-plete their homework assign-

ments to the best of their abili-ties, regardless of the potential lack of a punishment.

In addition to homework cheating, a large focus of cheat-ing occurs in the classroom, specifically on quizzes and ex-ams. In these circumstances, the academic misconduct through “cheat sheets,” small pieces of

paper with information, is al-most always premeditated as students have prepared these sheets ahead of time. In this instance, the offense is most se-vere as the student made an ac-tive choice to prepare ahead of time, and teachers have an obli-gation to report the violation to Assistant Principal for Curricu-lum and Scheduling Andrey Aristov.

However, in less severe cases of cheating, teachers should be able to approach discipline in a different manner. For example, if a teacher notices a freshman

glancing over at another stu-dent’s paper on the first quiz of the year, then the teacher could pursue a less severe punish-ment that could involve a par-ent teacher conference and a serious conversation with the student. In this case, students could learn about the nega-tive consequences of cheating before they could develop un-ethical work habits that would adversely affect them in their future studies.

However, if the same student is caught cheating on a test in his junior or senior year, then the teacher should report his conduct to Mr. Aristov as the student did not learn from his mistakes.

This scenario in no way jus-tifies cheating on quizzes or exams, as acting dishonestly to “gain an advantage” is an im-moral practice that harms the legitimacy of education: the act of cheating necessarily rewards laziness and negligence while students who put in time and effort lose in the short term. At the end of the day, cheating is never justified regardless of whether or not cheaters will be punished for their actions, and students who work rigorously in their studies will mature both intellectually and morally as “men for others.”

Loyola Cubs, not 'cheetahs'STAFF EDITORIAL

By ANDREW WALLENDER

Letter grades have turned the American education system into a belittling game, pitting students against one another in a frivolous competition to have the highest GPA. Walk into almost any prestigious high school in America and odds are that most of the students are more interested in being the top of the class than in hearing what their teachers have to say. It seems that the letter grade has turned learning for the sake of learning into a ves-tige of another era.

Most people would accept that grades are supposed to serve as a measure of profi-ciency, motivating students to achieve higher. But the reality is quite the opposite. The current education system is suffering at the hands of the letter grade.

Not only do letter grades make students more concerned about points than about sub-ject matter, but they also bring

about fierce competition, en-courage cheating and distort perceptions of proficiency.

And then there is the prob-lem of grade inflation. An “A” in today’s high schools is much easier to obtain than it was a few decades ago. Since the 1960s the number of A’s U.S. students have earned has increased by

nearly 30 percent, according to a 2008 New York Times article. There is an enormous amount of ambiguity to letter grades. At high school graduations, it is not uncommon to have more than 20 valedictorians, an honor once saved for the top student in a class. Now many schools are beginning to award the distinction to students who simply have straight A’s in all four years of high school.

Students consumed by the

grades they are earning rather than the knowledge they are learning rely too heavily on Q, as well. As soon as a grade is posted on Q, a student can email his teacher about the grade. The ensuing discussion, then, is not about course content but about grades. To borrow from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, rath-

er than keeping Q in perspective, students let Q control them; it drives their thoughts about classes.

Teachers are sup-posed to be pres-ent to help a student through his academic hardships, but letter

grades cause shallow relation-ships to form in which students are more interested in getting their teachers to give them higher grades.

The education system in the United States needs an over-haul. It is time to start making students motivated and impas-sioned by the sheer wonder of education. Students should be evaluated not by letter grades but by their proficiency.

Indecency of letter grades shifts focus in wrong direction

{ At high school gradua-tions, it is not uncommon to have more than 20 vale-dictorians, an honor once saved for the top student in a class.

}PHOTOGRAPHYHUNTER JOHNSONRYDER SCHEIFELE

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The Loyalist is the official student newspaper of Loyola High School. Its goal is to provide a forum that serves the entire community--students, faculty, staff and administration. Any editorial that appears with a by-line is the writer’s opinion and not necessarily that of the news-paper’s editors or of the school’s administration. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editors and do not necessarily represent the positions of Loyola High School. Letters-to-the-editor are encouraged. Submissions must be signed, and the editors reserve the right to edit any letter to conform to the standards of journalism. Letters may be dropped off in the journalism office in Loyola Hall, Room 204; mailed to 1901 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006; or emailed to contact@loyalistnews.org. Inquiries regarding advertising should be sent to Ryan MacDonald at 310-278-5221. Any advertisement in the newspaper is not necessarily an endorsement either from the editors or from Loyola High School. The editors-in-chief bear prime responsibility for the contents of each issue, including editing, design and production.

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syrabite

NEWSA8

By BROGAN FEELEYThe proctor says “Begin” and a nervous Loyola student opens up his booklet to the first sec-

tion of the nearly four-hour long SAT Reasoning Test. First up is the essay, which is about is-sues such as the pros and cons of TV viewing. The student must write in a span of only twenty-five minutes; close to half the amount of time a student would have to write each essay on the AP English Language and Composition exam.

The student then turns to the second section, Critical Reading, and he works through vocabulary questions. However, by the time the student works his way through the first few questions, he is puzzled by obscure words such as “garrulous” and “ebullient.” Next up is the math section, which initially goes fine for the Cub, but soon he’s confused three fourths of the way through by confusing shapes and strange question phrasing. As a result of his confusion, the student leaves the last two math questions blank out of fear of the guessing penalty which detracts one-fourth of a point per each incorrect answer.

Once the nearly four-hour ordeal is over, the student asks a fellow Cub about some of the tough math problems, expecting that the other student had trouble as well; yet the Cub says, “Dude, that was easy. My private tutor taught me this trick to do those types of problems.”

This hypothetical scenario is what the College Board, the organization in charge of admin-istering the SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement exams, hopes to avoid by implementing changes to the SAT. The proposed changes will be the first major change to the test since 2005, the year in which a mandatory essay was added.

According to David Coleman, president of the College Board, the SAT has “become dis-connected from the work of our high schools,” and as a result, Coleman identified seven key changes that will affect the high school class of 2017.

First, obscure vocabulary words will be removed in favor of more widely used college terms such as “synthesis.” Second, the currently mandatory essay will become an optional one that requires test-takers to evaluate documents and arguments in a manner similar to essay ques-tions on the AP English Language and Composition exam. Third, the guessing penalty which currently deducts one fourth of a point will be removed.

Fourth, the writing section in its current form will no longer exist and the test will revert back to a 1600-point scale based on a math and reading section of 800 points each. Fifth, the math section is being revised to focus more on Algebra 2 and geometry concepts in an attempt to relate the test more to current high school curricula. However, the test will also place an in-

creased emphasis on more complex math problems with multiple steps. In addition, calculators will be prohibited for use on some parts of the exam.

Sixth, the reading comprehension portion of the exam will focus on more analysis as stu-dents will have to cite specific lines in passages to support their answers. Seventh, the reading sections will include historically significant documents such as portions of the Declaration of Independence.

Public opinion within and outside the Loyola community has been mixed, but a large num-ber of educators said that the changes are occurring in order to combat the rise of the SAT’s chief competitor: the ACT.

Counselor Mr. Kelly Farland said, “The SAT is losing market share to the ACT. Last year, more test takers in California took the ACT than took the SAT, and trends in other geographic areas such as the Midwest suggest that the ACT might soon overtake the SAT in other regions.”

Ms. Lisa Liberati, a standardized testing tutor who has worked for the Princeton Review since 1987 and who won the company’s Tutor-of-the-Year award in 2005, shares a similar opin-ion to that of Mr. Farland’s.

“The changes to the SAT aren’t driven by a love for curriculum or by a concern for students: it’s business pure and simple. The College Board is losing market share to the ACT, so they are changing the format to resemble their top competitor,” said Ms. Liberati.

Indeed, the new test bears several similarities to the ACT. For example, the ACT also has an optional essay and no guessing penalties.

Counselor Ms. Dele Varga said supports the abolishing of the writing section. “The change for making the essay optional is also beneficial because a lot of schools do not take the writ-ing portion of the SAT. For example, Notre Dame does not consider the writing portion of the exam in its admissions process,” said Ms. Varga.

Even with the changes, Loyola’s counselors agreed that students need to decide for them-selves which test is best for them. “The department tries to encourage students to determine which test is best for you. My advice to students is to take practice tests for both and find out which score works best for you,” said Mr. Farland.

Both students and faculty have mixed reactions to the changes. The most popular change among students is that there will be no more guessing penalties, and the most unpopular change is the abolishing of the writing section.

Junior Brennen Barker, who took the SAT this year, said, “As far as the end of the guessing

For better or worse: the new SAT

Obscure vobaculary words will be replaced with more widely

used college terms

The essay will become optional and require evaluation of

documents as on the AP English Language exam

The guessing penalty will be removed

The writing section will be eliminated

1 2 3 4

THE SEVEN MAJOR CHANGES TO THE SAT

In early March of 2014, the College Board announced a major overhaul of the SAT. The test is

considered by many to be a rite of passage and is taken each year by millions of students from

around the world. The changes, however, have elicited mixed reactions, some saying they are

improvements and others considering them a step in the wrong direction.

quixotic

pulchritudinous

pariah

wanton

pejorative

A

A

A

A

B

B

B

B

D

D

D

D

E

E

E

E

"I like that the material on the [new] test is closer to what is taught in school. I am glad because I don't see the point if it is going to test on things that aren't even taught."

—Freshman Ryan Olson

NEWS A9

penalty, I’m in favor of the new changes. I don’t think getting rid of the writing section is good because the writing section shows colleges your writing abilities; it’s very spontaneous.”

Senior Ocean Sakr expressed a similar opinion: “The removal of the guessing penalty allows students to answer these questions without being worried. I would be left with two answers, but I wouldn't bother to answer the question because I was worried about the penalty. The slight chance that I was incorrect prevented me from answering the question,” said Sakr.

Mr. Farland said, “Students can guess to their hearts’ content. They can guess all they want; it’s going to add a whole new dynamic to the test prep programs. I think this is more important than changing the vocabulary.”

There is not a clear consensus of the benefits of removing the guessing penalty, however. Mr. Jason Schmidt, English Department chair and SAT tutor who specializes in the Writing and Critical Reading sections of the SAT, said he does not think the lack of a guessing penalty is particularly beneficial. “The lack of the guessing penalty really does nothing to help the students; there are still five options that test takers will have to guess on, and the odds are not in the students’ favor,” said Mr. Schmidt.

The changes to the SAT are first going to affect the Class of 2017. However, some freshmen who are aware of the current tests expressed mostly positive reactions to the changes.

Freshman Ryan Olson said, “Regarding the changes, I like that the material on the test is closer to what is taught in school. I am glad because I don't see the point if it is going to test on things that aren't even taught. I am exuberant that the essay is optional as I dislike writing large portions. I am happy with the changes.”

Freshman John Conor Shalloe said, “I personally think it's great. I know in the past from older students taking the test that it has been very difficult for many. So for the new test, I think it is better because it will be testing us on information we will more likely know.”

Another factor in the changes, according to Mr. Coleman, is the prevalence of private coaches employed by predominantly wealthy families who hope to ensure a high score for their children. “It is time for the College Board to say in a clearer voice that the culture and practice of costly test preparation that has arisen around admissions exams drives the perception of inequality and injustice in our country,” said Mr. Coleman.

Citing score “inequality,” the College Board announced a plan to work with the online tutor-ing service Khan Academy to help low-income students prep for the test. In addition, many of the changes are designed to reduce the necessity of expensive programs, according to Coleman.

Mr. Schmidt said he is skeptical that the changes will level the playing field. “The whole reason for the change is that the College Board is motivated by a sense of justice and inequality because of the score gaps between wealthy and low-income students. The College Board says its uncoachable, but if you give me a standardized test, I’ll crack it and be able to give students a how-to on how to work through it and do better,” said Mr. Schmidt.

SAT test prep, while not offered on an individual level, is currently offered at Loyola at a cost significantly lower than comparable services offered by for-profit prep companies such as the Princeton Review. Loyola’s program is currently led by Mr. Terry Caldwell who teaches the Writing and Reading sections and Mr. Kelly Nicholson who teaches the math section.

Mr. Nicholson said about the math section of the exam, “I think the test does a good job of addressing geometry and Algebra 2 skills, especially regarding right triangles and circles; it does address skills that are taught and challenges students to logically work through problems.”

Senior George Valverde, Jr., said he also supports the changes to the math section of the SAT. “With the new calculator policy, I think it should be fine that a calculator can be used when there are problems whose arithmetic isn’t necessarily a test of math skills more than it is an exercise in tedium. However, I do support the removal of a calculator in sections where more complicated problems can be solved by the use of a program,” said Valverde.

Mr. Nicholson’s math prep program is currently offered either before school or after school, but proposed new schedule changes involve a seventh period in which juniors would receive assistance and prep for the SAT.

Despite the changes to the SAT, Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Scheduling Mr. Andrey Aristov said that the plans for the prep period are still on track. “I think the changes fall right in line with the new schedules in order to make sure that the students are prepared,” said Mr. Aristov.

Mr. Aristov also expressed an opinion of many Loyola faculty, that Loyola students usu-ally excel as writers and that the writing section is a good medium to show colleges a student’s writing abilities. “I’m a little stymied by the optional essay. I don’t understand what that really means right now and whether it’s going to hurt a kid for skipping the essay or whether it’s hurt a kid for doing the essay. I need some more clarity about that. Considering how strong most Loyola students are as writers, I hope everyone does the writing portion,” said Mr. Aristov.

Changes will not be implemented until the spring of 2016, so students still have time to determine their own personal standardized prep program and choose the test that works best.

For better or worse: the new SAT

The writing section will be eliminated

The math section will focus more on Algebra II and Geometry as well as include more math problems with multiple steps

Reading comprehension will focus more on analysis and require specific line citation

The reading section will include historically significant documents

5 6 7

In early March of 2014, the College Board announced a major overhaul of the SAT. The test is

considered by many to be a rite of passage and is taken each year by millions of students from

around the world. The changes, however, have elicited mixed reactions, some saying they are

improvements and others considering them a step in the wrong direction.

History

"The changes to the SAT aren’t driven by a love for curriculum or by a concern for students: it’s business, pure and simple."

—Ms. Lisa Liberatti

GRAPHIC BY ANDREW WALLENDER

A10 NEWS APRIL 11, 2014

Who says you can’t? Entering my freshman year of college, I had this mindset, as set forth by the uni-versity, to take a year to do all my general education requirements (liberal arts core) and really get acquainted with my surroundings, campus and other freshmen.

Freshman year is the chance to take a foothold in any activity you might want to try. The best part is that no one can tell you what to and what not to do--you’re your own man. If you want to row crew at six in the morning in the win-ter, by all means, do it. The rest of us will probably be hibernating, queued into Netflix.

However, our dean specifically made it a point not to go and try and get an internship. Shocking, perhaps, because wouldn’t students want to get ahead? Well, typically, it is very difficult for freshmen to get internships based upon the lack of major-related courses, skill sets and connections. Challenge ac-cepted.

We’re Cubs at heart; we don’t back down from anything. So I took it upon myself to gain some resume experience this year by get-ting involved on campus as a driver for a shuttle service and by joining

a few clubs and societies. Come the spring, I sent out the resume with my name in bold, not really ex-pecting much.

With a chicken parm hero in one hand and a remote in the other, my phone rang violently across the room, and I wondered who could be calling me in the middle of me trying to enter a food coma. Turns out, it was my now current boss. “Brandon, we’d like to have you in for an interview next Tuesday. How does three o’clock sound?”

I couldn’t believe it. Someone had actually picked up my resume and given me the time of day. Con-nection made. Foot in the door.

I got the internship, and I now am a proud intern of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, which is number thirty-seven on the Fortune 500 list, and I’m getting paid to do it--which is unheard of for freshmen.

If you want to be somebody, you have do something, and you have to be the best at it. Sleep is optional. Get your priorities in check: school always comes first, but network-ing and making connections to get your name out there in the real world is what matters.

DISPATCH FROM THE COLLEGE FRONT FORDHAM

BRANDON DEMPSTER CLASS OF 2013

By WYNN HARROW

After six weeks of intense preparation and planning, Loyola’s Robotics Team placed 44th of 66 teams in the Los Angeles Regional Competition at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach on Friday, March 21.

The team is moderated by Mr. Galen Szeto, who has been with the team for seven months. About his first competition, Mr. Szeto said, “My favorite part of the competition is actually sitting down and watch-ing the robot perform because it’s all those weeks of work coming down to one day--all the hard work that the mechanical guys, electric guys and the programming guys, even the driver doing his part.”

Members spent three to four hours after school every day and also time on Saturdays to build the robot, which the team named “Rocky”. The team received infor-mation about robot specifications on Sunday, Jan. 5, and they had to complete the robot by Wednes-day, Feb. 12. Rules allowed them

to practice with the robot until the competition.

Thirty-seven Cubs comprise the team’s roster, and 27 of them went to Long Beach to compete.

Among those students is junior James Weitzel, mechanical leader and team co-captain. To prepare for the competition, he worked with underclassmen to build a sec-ond robot, which the team referred to as “banana-box-bot,” as a back-up. Banana-box-bot was also used in practice to keep the main robot safe.

Rocky was supposed to pick up a giant yoga ball. The robot started well and was among the top 20 for much of the competition, but then coding issues plagued Rocky. Stu-dents were able to make repairs, but they finished just outside the top 40 but still ahead of such notable com-petitors as Harvard Westlake and Mater Dei High School.

According to Weitzel, “We had broken coding, but other than that, the robot worked out pretty well.” Weitzel also said that if he could change anything next year he

would “have the right equipment to build specialized and customized parts because right now, we don’t have any heavy-duty machinery.”

Up next for the robotics team, among other projects, is designing a robot that can fire burritos or t-shirts.

Sophomore Justin Wang, a me-chanic on the robotics team, said he encourages anyone to join the team. He said, “Definitely come and try it out. Talk to Mr. Szeto, and he will introduce you to the team. This is my first year doing it, and I have definitely learned a lot and was able to do a lot with the robot.”

safe.Rocky was supposed to pick up

a giant yoga ball. The robot started well and was among the top 20 for much of the competition, but then coding issues plagued Rocky. Stu-dents were able to make repairs, but they finished just outside the top 40 but still ahead of such notable com-petitors as Harvard Westlake and Mater Dei High School.

According to Weitzel, “We had broken coding, but other than that, the robot worked out pretty well.” Weitzel also said that if he could change anything next year he would “have the right equipment to build specialized and customized

parts because right now, we don’t have any heavy-duty machinery.”

Up next for the robotics team, among other projects, is designing a robot that can fire burritos or t-shirts.

Sophomore Justin Wang, a me-chanic on the robotics team, said he encourages anyone to join the team. He said, “Definitely come and try it out. Talk to Mr. Szeto, and he will introduce you to the team. This is my first year doing it, and I have definitely learned a lot and was able to do a lot with the robot.”

Cubs compete, place in regional competition

SENIOR DAVID WILLIAMS AND JUNIOR MICHAEL ADIA prepare the team's robot for its next round of com-petition. Loyola placed 44th out of 66 teams at the Los Angeles Regional Competition on Friday, March 21.

ROBOTICS

PHOTO BY DANIEL LYTLE

Pie competition honors math holiday

TOP CHEF LOYOLA

Seniors Brian Young and An-drew Wallender and Mrs. Patricia Randazzo took the top three spots at Top Chef Loyola’s first annual Pie Competition, held on Pi Day, Thursday, March 13, at lunch in Malloy Commons.

Young came in first place with his banana foster cream pie, fol-lowed by Wallender in second with his Reese’s peanut butter marsh-mallow cookie pie, and Mrs. Ran-dazzo took third with her spinach and bacon quiche. There were 8 different pies entered into the com-petition by both students and fac-ulty.

Five judges rated the eight pies entered in the competition. Crite-ria for evaluation were creativity, taste, appearance and overall im-

pression, according to Top Chef president who happens to be Wal-lender. Judges added and averaged points for each entry to determine the winner.

Senior Eduardo Salgado, once he had tasted the pies, stated, “ I think Gregory Massimino’s pie is the best because it’s a pretty hot day, and it’s nice and cold.”

Massimino, a senior, said, “It was supposed to be a frozen pome-granate blueberry cocktail mar-garita pie, but it kind of melted, so now it’s just like a slush.”

Young said about his creation, “I made a bananas foster cream pie. It took about an hour-and-a-half to two hours.” He said he started cooking at 4 or 5 p.m. “It was pretty involved, but it was a ton of fun,”

he said. Sophomore Max Neblina, a

judge, predicted before winners were announced, “I don’t know. I’m thinking it’s going to be Andrew. It’s like a Reese's pie. I haven’t tast-ed it yet, but so far it looks the best.”

English teacher Mr. Matthew Pentecost, a faculty judge, said, “I am actually a pie enthusiast. The pies are really good, a lot of kind of out-of-the-box thinking on the pies. I like them. There’s some cre-ativity going on, and there are fla-vors mixed together, combinations that I wouldn’t have thought of.”

As for his favorite, Mr. Pente-cost said, “I’ve always been partial to apple pie, but I haven’t tried them all yet, so I can’t comment of that just yet. They’re good, though.”

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW YU

JUNIOR CHARLES COHEN,left, and Mrs. Patricia Randazzo, right, dish out pie to students during Top Chef Loyola's Pi Day event on Thursday, March 13, in Malloy Commons.

A11NEWSAPRIL 11, 2014

[FROM JCL, A1]

group, but you could easily hear us amongst the enormous crowd of competitors." He added that the Loyola enthusiasm radiated throughout the competition: "Our competitive spirit and desire to win was amazing, and they carried us throughout the whole weekend"

Latin teacher and JCL moderator Mrs. Teresa Kawamata, who was joined by Mr. Jerry Frumento and Mr. Cedric Ebiner, said, “The moments in which we were all together as a team were my favorite. We came up in different buses, so we were seldom together during the competition, but when we did gather together, the energy was amazing.”

Meeting every Thursday, the JCL team spent an immense amount of time preparing for the convention, which paid dividends as the team placed second overall out of the 41 schools. The convention concluded with a banquet at Knotts Berry Farm, and all the participants received admission

tickets for the theme park so that they could enjoy themselves after a long weekend of competing.

The JCL convention was a bittersweet moment for the seniors on the team. They were able to savor the second-place finish, but at the same time, they realized this convention would be their last. Reminiscing about his experiences as a member of JCL, senior Brandon Kim emphasized the monumental impact JCL has had on his high school career. "I think five or ten years down the line, you don’t remember the times you spent studying or getting good grades but more just the stories you have to share,” he said. “JCL conventions are where I have some of my favorite stories."

Kim added that the bonds formed through JCL are the most memorable part of the four-year experience for him: "I joined JCL back in freshman year because Mrs. Kawamata promised there would be girls; I stayed for the Certamen and the friends I’ve made."

Latin Cubs place second at State

JCL STUDENTS perform their spirit cheer during a rally at state convention, hosted on April 4-5 by University High School. Loyola placed second at the annual competition.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATHENA SCHELERETH

[FROM ADMISSIONS, A1]

to the school. “In seventh grade, I knew that this was the place I wanted to be,” he said.

He said he appreciates the current admissions process, among other things about the school: “It was a lot of work, but I like how Loyola made me write three essays, because I felt like they were trying to get a sense of the type of person I was, not just the type of student I was.”

In addition to the admissions essays, the admissions committee also looks at a wide range of other factors in choosing students, according to Mr. Utley. “Academics--all grades and standardized test scores--core academic classes in seventh and eighth grades, recommendations, entrance exam, faith, involvement in activities” are all factors the committee examines before making a decision whether to admit a student or not, he said, noting that academic performance is weighed most heavily in considering a student.

However, even while academics is

emphasized most heavily, other factors remain important. “All are very important to our mission,” said Mr. Utley.

While true that the Loyola admissions process involves a decent amount of essay writing, the practice prepares students for the Loyola experience. Even so, a large number of incoming freshmen already have experience at Loyola, either through family ties to the school or attendance at Loyola events.

Class of 2018 member Pablo Burgos said that he was partially motivated to come to the school because of family ties. “I decided to attend Loyola because I had really liked what I had seen of the school and felt that my dad and I could now have a special father-son bond,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Chavez said he feels that his current participation at the school helped influence his decision. “I’ve been to a few football games, and I went to the Latino Alumni Society welcome reception,” he shared. “I’ve begun to take part in some things.”

Future Cubs reflect on admission process

{ “It was a lot of work, but I like how Loyola made me write three essays because I felt like they were

trying to get a sense of the type of person I was, not just the type of student I was."

—Cameron Chavez, Class of 2018

} By JUSTIN VERBIEST

Six Cubs participated in the annual Math Day at the Beach at Cal-State Long Beach on Saturday, March 15. Juniors David Karamardian and Ethan McGarrigle, along with seniors Michael Karamardian, Chris Kim, Ocean Sakr and George Valverde, completed various questions regarding prob-lem solving.

Competitors solved irregular math problems for the all-day competi-tion. McGarrigle said, “We each took multiple-choice tests that were 15 questions and had four free-response questions individually. Then, we had eight team questions that we all submit-ted answers to. After, we had lunch and did a quote relay game in our teams.”

McGarrigle also said that the overall event was a fun opportunity for students to

test their problem-solving abilities. “The highest level of math that we were tested on was calculus,” he said, “but the majority of the problems involved problem solving which anyone can do. You don’t need a certain level of math to do this, but you have to figure out a clear method in order to solve a given problem.”

Valverde said, “The ques-tions were very difficult, but I really enjoyed the difficul-ty. The fact that you needed a sophisticated understand-ing of the problems was very interesting.”

Competition is strong because many schools pre-pare for this event. Math teacher Mr. Allen Martin said, “Many schools exten-sively prepare for this com-petition, so there is a way for students to practice the type of problem solving that is done in this contest. Some kids have been practicing

for years, so they are serious problem solvers. Our team practices questions from previous years to sharpen our skills.”

This year was Loyola’s fourth in competing, and the Cubs were only one point away from placing in the competition. According to Mr. Martin, competitors did their best and are getting better each year.

Students can try out for next year’s team that will rep-resent Loyola. This year,nine students tried out, and six were named to the team. Mr. Martin said, “Trying out for this contest is a great oppor-tunity for Loyola students to get involved in problem solving to see if they like it and build up their skills.”

Math Day at the Beach is not only for Math Club members; any student can try out to participate in the competition.

Math students compete at local competition

For articles on the Latino Youth Summit and Physics Bowl Competition, visit loyalistnews.org.

A12 SPORTS APRIL 11, 2014

Early success leads to hopes for upcoming matches

By DREW SLIPE

Led by Head Coach Robb Gorr, Loyola’s Varsity Golf team is poised to have another successful season. The Cubs are coming off back-to-back CIF and Mission League championships and are striving for another prosperous season.

On paper this year’s squad appears to be vastly different from last year’s CIF champions, with nearly half of the team being first-year varsity golfers. New

members include sophomores Quinn McGinley and Brandon Bueno and freshman Stephen Brown.

With the new faces, the Cubs have not missed a beat. Senior Daniel Lopez, a third-year Varsity golfer, explained, “The team came together really well. We’re a pretty close group of guys, and the new additions felt comfortable and fit in with the rest of us really quickly.”

The team began its season on Tuesday, March 4, by beating

rival Harvard Westlake with a score of 181-187. The Cubs launched into a scorching start with a record of 11-2 through April 6, a record that includes an eight-game winning streak.

In addition to the victory over Harvard-Westlake, some highlights for the Cubs so far include a third-place finish in the Sacramento Jesuit Invitational and a victory over St. Francis.

As for the team’s goals this season, Coach Gorr stressed work ethic: “Our goal as a team

is to create a good, positive environment in which we work hard and challenge each other to strive for excellence and to get better each and every day. We are all about the team.”

While coming together as a team, players said they also hope to earn some hardware as well. “We would love to win not only Mission League but also CIF,” said McGinley.

Lopez added, “Our main goal for the season is to make it to the State championship round since

we’ve fallen short the last two years.”

Of all the team’s great strengths, Coach Gorr said the greatest is its chemistry. “Chemistry is our biggest strength. We love competing with and against each other. The boys are forging strong relationships with each other and are always rooting for one another.”

McGinley added, “I think our team’s strength is our depth. The whole team from top to bottom can put together a solid number.”

By BRANDON POSIVAK

With an 9-3 overall record and a 5-2 record in the Mission League, the Cubs look to keep their positive momentum and remove the flaws of the team. Early success and tough losses this season have driven the Cubs to work harder in practice, with the game against San Marino coming up on April 14, and be successful in the Ojai Invitational over spring break.

The Cubs have powered through their games with their physical endurance, mental stability, and close-knit team chemistry; but they struggle in games where they are down early and need to comeback to salvage a win.

Sophomore Derek Vincent said, “The team has grown closer through our practices, and this unity has contributed to our success so far. We are one big group of friends and know how each other plays. Everyone on the team is hungry to win, and we all share the same goal of winning a CIF title.”

Junior Kris Harris commented on the team’s potential and preparation for games in practice. He said, “We have realized our potential, which has shown in

our intensity in practices. As we get more competitive towards our opponents, we grow closer as a team. We are a talented team, and we prepare for every game, mentally and physically. I am excited to see this team continue progressing and for us to grow closer as teammates and friends.”

Harris continued to specify the details of their practices by saying, “ In practice we focus on getting better as a team everyday. Singles and doubles are both crucial to our success this season, and we stress the communication in doubles and mental focus in singles. Every drill we do, we act like we are playing in a game to prepare for the actual game. A combination of mental and physical preparations are a key part of our team’s focus and presence on the court.”

After winning their first three games, including a win over Mira Costa, the Cubs lost their first match to Palisades Charter High School by a score of 4-3 on March 11. They bounced back their next two matches and defeated Santa Monica on March 15 and league rival Chaminade on March 18 by a decisive score of 12-6. Next the Cubs battled Harvard-Westlake on March 20 and were defeated 13-5. This loss did not phase

the Cubs, and they beat Saint Francis on March 25 and Crespi on March 27 by scores of 14-4 and 18-0, respectively, in their following two games. The Cubs have played seven of their eleven games thus far on the road. They played their four home games on the UCLA Sycamore courts.

Coach Held said, “We practice on singles and doubles. Especially in doubles it is important to have good team chemistry, and in practice we try to emphasize communication between teammates. Preparation for both singles and doubles is essential. In our first meeting senior Anthony Bonvino really stepped up and played with a lot of intensity and passion.

He inspired his teammates and showed them that you can rise above and achieve success through intensity and toughness. I’m most excited to see the team continue to increase their already strong bond with each other. This is a special group of guys, and I look forward to the time we have left together while continuing to win games.”

The Cubs have a difficult road ahead of them, and they say they are ready to challenge anyone on their journey to winning a CIF title.

JV BASEBALL

VARSITY GOLF

By ALEJANDRO SALINAS

The national pastime, baseball, is back, and the JV Baseball Cubs were nothing short of prepared for the season. Led by Head Coach Eric Romin, Assistant Coach Jelenic Mojorovich and Assistant Coach Nick Koontz and with a record of 11-0-2, the Cubs look forward to a successful season.

Coach Romin explained the ties: “We have two ties because we ran out of daylight in one and hit the league game time limit in another.”

Coach Romin has been coaching this group of Cubs for two years now. He was assistant coach for the freshman team last year and is now a head coach for the JV team. “They are so enjoyable to coach, because they love to play baseball and they know that in the end baseball should be fun,” said Coach Romin.

Not only does Coach Romin enjoy coaching; but the players enjoy being coached by him. Second baseman and

pitcher Brandon Posivak said, “Many of the members of this year’s JV team, including me, have built a relationship with him throughout the past two years. He is very knowledgeable about baseball, and he conducts his practices with patience and strategy.”

Outfielder Hunter Tiedemann said, “Coach Romin is an optimistic coach. Whenever he addresses your play, he begins with what you did correctly but lets you know how it can be improved.”

Coach Romin has two goals for the season: first, to help each player develop and improve his skills on the field so each can be successful next year on Varsity; and second, to help each player develop as a young man for and with others, a man who can be an example of Christ’s love.

Coach Mojorovich also has a tight bond with the Cubs, as he barbequed for the team after their win against Redondo last Friday, April 5. With such a strong bond between the coaches and players, it’s no wonder the JV baseball team is undefeated.

Not only is it important to have a strong relationships between coaches and players, but it is also key to build a sense of unification between the players. The JV baseball team is no less than brothers.

Tiedemann said, “The team has an incredible amount of chemistry. We spend time with each other outside of baseball, going to other Loyola athletic events, movies, and fantasy baseball.”

The team has been at hard work throughout the summer, fall, and winter and has become “a very tight-knit group,” as Posivak describes it. He added, “We are a group of friends that share the same love for baseball and the desire to have fun and win.”

When the Cubs played against Agoura on Thursday, March 13, they showed a great amount of perseverance, suffering from an 8-1 deficit early in the game. Posivak said, “We were having trouble manufacturing runs.” The Cubs later forced extra innings and were able to come back to end the game in a tie, 8-8. “The

team never gave up, and we persevered through adversity,” Posivak said.

The undefeated Cubs continued to show perseverance as they played Redondo Union last Friday, April 5. Posivak describes the game as “one of, if not the, most intense game we have played all year.” The Cubs were down 6-0 and didn’t score until the fifth inning.

Tiedemann said, “[Throughout] the whole game it seemed as though Redondo would hold on to the lead.” In fact, just the opposite happened. Redondo was scoreless as the Cubs bounced back by scoring four runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh to win the game. With this game, the Cubs add to their seven consecutive wins streak, after beating Crespi 4-3. The Cubs look forward to playing rival Harvard-Westlake at home on Monday, April 14, then again on Thursday, April 17, at O’Malley Field in Encino. Coach Romin said, “We would love to see as many students as possible pack the stands for our games!”

Team starts undefeated, nears Harvard-Westlake game

Team begins season, continues past seasons' success

VARSITY TENNIS

TENNIS CUBS PLAY SAN MARINO AT

SAN MARINO ON MONDAY, APRIL 14.

JUNIOR LACKSON LEIPZEIG hits a backhand into the opponent's half of the court during a recent game. The team has a current overall record of 9-2.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKSON LEIPZEIG

A13SPORTSAPRIL 11, 2014

Basketball season ends with lossto Corona Centennial in CIF playoffs By BRADLEY HUBSCH

The 2013-2014 basketball season came to an end when Loyola lost to Corona Centennial on Tuesday, March 18, ending the team’s hopes for victory in the CIF tournament. The Cubs finished the season with a record of 27-4.

The Cubs won the first round of the CIF state championship in their game against Palisades Charter High School. The Cubs outplayed the Dolphins, ending the game with a final score of 86-55. Every member of the starting five scored points in the double-digits, and the team overall shot 60 percent from the field.

Loyola’s next game in the tournament was against Mission Viejo, who led for the majority of the game. However, as the final minutes of the fourth quarter passed, the Cubs caught up to the Diablos. Loyola and Mission Viejo were neck-and-neck as the game drew to a close. In the final seconds of the game, junior Max Hazzard made two free throws to put the

Cubs up by one. The game ended with a final score of 60-59, and the Cubs advanced to the next round.

When the Cubs came out against Corona Centennial, they managed to keep up with the Huskies who were ahead,19-18, at the end of the first quarter. However, the Cubs fell behind in the second quarter with the Huskies going up by as much as a ten-point lead at one point, and the first half ended with a score of 43-37 Huskies.

In the second half, the Cubs were able to push a streak and catch up to the Huskies, bringing the game into overtime. The Huskies began overtime with a streak, scoring seven points to Loyola’s zero in the first minutes of overtime. Loyola attempted to catch up, scoring seven points in total, but they could not pull it off: the Huskies won and moved on, while Loyola left with the loss.

“I am very proud of the camaraderie that we created this year,” Head Coach Jamal Adams said. “One of my goals every year is to create

lifelong relationships for my players. From what I can tell, there is evidence that this happened.“

Senior Tom Welsh felt similar: “Although we weren’t able to accomplish our main goals of winning CIF and state championship, I still enjoyed every minute with these guys and I really miss playing with them every day.”

Seniors contributed heavily to the team’s success. Welsh is one such senior. He was elected to the McDonalds All American team, a national game where the top high school players across the country come together to play against each other. “I am extremely honored to be named an All American, although I never would have been able to accomplish that without the help of my coaches and teammates the past four years,” said Welsh.

Welsh played eight minutes in the game, with two rebounds, two blocks and two assists. “I had a lot of fun playing in the game. It was great to have a chance to play with and against the

some of the best players in the nation,” he said. Welsh competed on the West team, which beat the East 105-102.

Four seniors have been recruited by colleges: Khalil Bedart-Ghani by the University of San Diego, Austin Hatch by the University of Michigan, Thomas Lapham by Tufts University and Welsh by the University of California Los Angeles.

Despite the team’s loss of important players, confidence remains high that the Cubs will be able to perform next year on the same level that they did this year. Coach Adams said, “Our biggest issue is if we can create the same camaraderie and work ethic, and I think we will. I am very excited for next year.”

The team next year will be led by returning starters Hazzard and Stone Gettings, along with juniors Nick Skoro and Christian Rector and sophomores Henry Welsh, Joshua Curls and Joshua Lavergne.

VARSITY SOCCER

Cubs go undefeated, win CIF, become State champions

By ANDREW FINNEGAN

The Varsity Soccer Cubs finished a perfect 30-0-6 season with both CIF Southern Section and CIF Regional Section Championships.

Loyola defeated San Clemente, 3-1, on Thursday, March 8, to capture the Southern Section title and Carlsbad, 2-1, on Saturday, March 15, to win the Southern California Championship for Division 1.

Having defeated Laguna Hills, West Torrance, Santa Margarita and Servite in the first four rounds of the Southern Section playoffs, the Cubs were ready to take on a fellow soccer powerhouse, San Clemente.

In the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final, in front of a roaring Loyola student section, the Cubs defeated San Clemente with goals from seniors Jesus Fugon, Ryan Savitt and Lucas Hodges. Down 1-0 at the 55-minute mark, Fugon scored a goal that was deflected off of the goalie’s hands and went into the net.

One minute later, Savitt scored to make the score 2-1, Loyola. The final goal of the game came from Hodges, a Villanova commit, at the 17-minute mark.

Following the victory over San Clemente, Hodges stated, “This is the best feeling ever. We worked so hard throughout the season, and to win CIF is incredible.”

The hard work of the Cubs translated into success in the Southern California playoffs as well.

After the Cubs beat Bell High School, 2-0, in the quarterfinals and Corona, 4-2, in the semi-finals, they faced a fellow CIF champion, Carlsbad.

Following an early goal at the nine-minute mark from senior Sean Pleskow, Carlsbad struck back at the 25-minute mark. Pleskow, a University of California, San Diego, commit, scored later in the game as well and solidified a State Championship for the Cubs, who won 2-1.

In the ensuing days after the game, players and coaches expressed accomplishment and joy. Head Coach Chris Walter commented, “It feels incredible. We accomplished everything we could’ve dreamed of, and it was an awesome season”

Junior Tommy Fraher said, “It’s the best feeling ever--to not only win CIF but also State is an unbelievable feeling.”

The Cubs finished the season ranked the number one team in California and the number three team in the nation.

JV VOLLEYBALL

Team starts undefeated

By ARMEN DEIRMENJIAN

The Loyola Junior Varsity Volleyball team has had an undefeated season thus far, with a record of 16-0.

Under the direction of Coach Roger Yano, the team consists of mostly the same players as last year’s freshman team, with many of them playing in club volleyball year-round.

Coach Yano said that the team is “working on improving everyone’s individual skill, as well as playing as a team.”

The strategy appears to be paying off, as the Cubs came in first place in the Redondo Tournament on Saturday, March 15, defeating teams from Bishop Montgomery (25-12, 25-15), Redondo Union Team 1 (25-19), Redondo Union Team 2 (25-5, 25-13), San Pedro (25-11, 25-9), and Long Beach Poly (25-8).

Players echo Coach Yano’s goals and continue to work hard in practices and in games.

Charlie Moore, a sophomore, said, “In practice we continue to improve on all aspects of our game and to grow as individuals and as a team.”

Sophomore Patrick Coughlin reported that that their goals are “to match last year’s JV team and go undefeated.”

The key to the JV Volleyball team’s success lies in experience and team chemistry. Sophomore Davis Boehle remarked, “Our team chemistry is great, and we all get along together.”

Coach Yano is also pleased with the team’s growth. He said, “They are living up to their expectations for volleyball, and they are doing very well. We are working on improving every aspect of our game.”

The players, in turn, respect Coach Yano’s leadership and strive to improve.

Boehle said, “Coach Yano pushes us hard and makes us work hard in our wash drills which are really competitive and fun. Coach Yano has the right drill for us to work on for every practice.”

Coughlin added, “In practice we work to keep our fundamentals sharp and then challenge each other in scrimmages.”

With experienced players and strong team camaraderie, Loyola’s JV Volleyball team continues to strive for excellence, not settling for merely winning.

While their hard work is paying off, they are driven by both their individual strengths and their team unity.

Boehle reinforced this idea in his statement of the team’s goals: “Our goals for the season are to win the next tournament and to become closer as a team.” The Cubs play in the Redondo Tournament beginning Saturday, May 10.

SENIOR THOMAS LAPHAM takes a three pointer against Corona Centenial. Corona knocked out of the CIF State playoffs on March 18.

THE VARSITY SOCCER TEAM celebrates its CIF championship on the field at Warren High School in Downey. The team finished a historic, unbeaten season with its final victory against Carlsbad.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEROD ADAMS

A14 SPORTS APRIL 11, 2014

By RYAN TAHMASSEBI

On Tuesday, April 8, the team competed against Notre Dame in a competitive meet, and won 82-45, making certain that the Cubs re-ceive the Mission League Title. If the Cubs are not victorious in their upcoming meet against Harvard-Westlake, the team will share the title with Notre Dame; if the Cubs win, they will be the sole champi-ons. The Cubs have won Mission League for 25 of the past 27 years.

The Varsity Track and Field sea-son began for the Cubs on Thurs-day, March 13, at St. Francis High School, where the Cubs pulled out the opening day victory, beating St. Francis, 74-44.

The team has also competed at Crespi, winning 82-40, and at Ale-many, winning 71-56.

The Cubs have been preparing for the season for a long time. Pole vaulter Robert O’Brien, a junior, said, “We started working out real-ly early, and we stay late after every

three-hour practice. Our coaches do a great job of motivating us to work our hardest.”

Shot Put Coach Mathew Pen-tecost added, “We really are a blue collar team. We come together dur-ing practices and work hard day by day and grind it out. We have a ton of overachieving athletes.”

The team has high expectations for the rest of the season. O’Brien said, “I hope we win the CIF divi-sion title. We are in division one this year so it’s an extra challenge. Personally, I would like to compete in the state meet and challenge the best in the state.”

Shot putter Kevin Quisumbing, a sophomore, said, “I would like to see the whole team push ourselves and accomplish all our individual goals. Personally, I would like to see all of our sophomore shot put-ters hit above 37 feet by the end of the year.”

Loyola has been widely seen as the top track and field team in the CIF Southern section. When asked

what makes Loyola the best, sprint-er Tristan Wilkerson, a senior, said, “Honestly, no one works harder than the Cubs. From top to bottom, our coaches and athletes never give up and always give 110 percent ef-fort. To me, this is what makes us the best team in our division.”

Coach Pentecost agreed: “Our work ethic really sets us apart. Practice translates into success on the field and in the classroom and beyond.”

The Cubs’ season will be deter-mined by the success of the team as a whole. Although individual performances are recognized, the path to victory will be determined by team cohesiveness. Quisumbing said, “Even though you are throw-ing by yourself, you still feel part of a team because we all cheer for and push each other to our limits.”

Players say they hope to contin-ue to dominate division play until the beginning of the CIF champi-onship, starting with preliminary rounds Saturday, May 17.

Track and Field edges Notre Dame, captures league title

By ALFONSO GAMBOA

Members of the Loyola Surf Club have competed in five contests in the Scholastic Surf Series and finished the season with four wins in the men’s category.

Surf season, which lasts from October through mid-March, saw the Cubs com-peting roughly every five weeks on beaches from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, accord-ing to team captain and club founder Hutton Baker, a senior. Competitions took place on Sunday mornings and consisted of team-ver-sus-team series of heats--shortboard, long-board, bodyboard and girls’ heats--with each team putting up three surfers per heat and points being awarded for first, second and third places in each heat, according to Baker.

“We had a solid group of eight guys who would come to every competition, and then another six or seven who came to most,” Bak-er said. “In the men’s category, we ended up going 4-1, but we struggled to get girls on the team, and the girls counted for a lot of points, which was kind of frustrating.”

Counselor Geoff Joy, who moderates the club and serves as assistant coach, said, “Our future plan is either joining with an-other school or trying to get girls to compete on our team from other schools, which we would work out with Mr. Walter.”

The team’s head coach is Mr. William Mudd, a family friend of Baker who volun-teers his time to coach members of the team at competitions.

Baker said he created the club and team to pursue what he loves and to give Cubs inter-ested in surfing an opportunity to compete officially as members of a team. “As a surfer, you want to surf as much as you can, but the problem is, it’s not validated as an activity, per say, for colleges,” Baker said.

“About a year ago, Hutton came to me, and he knew that I enjoyed surfing,” Mr. Joy said. “He approached me with this idea of starting this team at Loyola.”

Joy continued: “When I was a student here, there were some half-hearted attempts to get a club or team together, but there wasn’t the structure that there is now in the CIF, with all of these teams. Sometimes a student gets cut from sports here at Loyola--not because

he isn’t good, but because our sports here are very, very competitive--and the student goes surfing on his free time; but if he could do that for Loyola, that’d be really nice.”

After proposing the idea to Director of Student Activities Chris Walter, Baker and Mr. Joy agreed that the best way to proceed was by starting the Loyola Surf Club, where members could participate together on an outside surf team. The team joined the Scho-lastic Surf Series with the help of Mrs. Sue Lister, head of the organization, who assisted in registration and the logistics of signing up to compete, according to Baker.

The league has various schools and teams participating along the California coast from San Diego to Santa Barbara, including teams from Santa Monica High School, Malibu High School, and Westlake. “We had contests

at five different spots from LA up to Santa Barbara,” said Mr. Joy. Each contest had be-tween 20 and 25 schools competing, boys and girls, according to Mr. Joy. “Each contest was like a surf festival,” he added.

Baker said, “We had a lot of fun. At our last contest in Malibu, we had a table set up with moms making pancakes; we had bacon, and everyone was very enthusiastic about it.”

Mr. Joy said he is grateful to the parents for showing up and being supportive. “The thing that I really enjoyed was that the par-ents came and made a day of it, and I really enjoyed talking with them. Some of the par-ents are old surfers like me, and their sons are coming along in the surfing world, so we shared a bond,” Mr. Joy said. “The students get to compete for their school; that’s the best thing.”

Members of the club said they are opti-mistic for the club’s future. Junior Dayton Policella will take over as team captain next year. He, as well as Baker and Mr. Joy, have high hopes for next year. “For next year I’m pretty excited because I know that all the guys are going to be practicing through the whole summer, and I’m sure we’ll get some new kids in the coming freshman class,” Po-licella said.

“Next year we’d surf the same amount of contests, hopefully add a practice or two. We’re looking forward to having the same amount of interest, if not more, next year,” said Mr. Joy.

The club will be be taking new members starting in September, so students interested in joining should see Mr. Joy and watch out for announcements early next school year.

Surfers a club and a team for competition

SENIORS HUTTON BAKER, GRANT DUNCAN AND SOPHOMORE NICO FEOLO prepare for the first heat of the morning on Mandalay Beach, Oxnard, in October. They are coached by Coach Mudd, shown above, and Loyola Counselor Geoff Joy.

VARSITY TRACK AND FIELD

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUTTON BAKER

PHOTO BY HENRY HAWLEY

SENIOR JOHN McANDREWS runs the 4x100 at Blue-White meet on Smith Field. McAndrews was recruited by Dartmouth because of his skill.

A15SPORTSAPRIL 11, 2014

After suffering early losses, team rallies for streak

Swimmers and divers undefeated, hopeful

VARSITY LACROSSE

VARSITY SWIM AND DIVE

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

By WILL MINCK

With the Varsity Lacrosse season in full swing, the Cubs have earned a 8-3 record at press time, beating teams such as Palos Verdes and Peninsula.

The team lost to Harvard-Westlake in its first big game of the season at home on Thursday, March 20. Max Neblina, a sophomore defenseman, said, “We played really well in the first half and lost it in the third quarter. Our shooting was poor, and our defense wasn’t doing its job on the opposite side of the ball.”

Seeking redemption after this loss, the team pulled a close victory over Palos Verdes, at home on Saturday, March 22, winning 12-10. This win was huge for the team because the Cubs avenged a loss last year against Palos Verdes in which they lost by one goal.

Thomas Steinke, a senior starting defenseman and team

captain, said, “The intensity during the Palos Verdes game was through the roof, and we ended up burying them in the fourth quarter. I believe this win will set the tone for the rest of the season, pushing us into the playoffs.”

The new and experienced varsity players have been able to grow as a team. Johnny Brady, a starting senior attackman and team captain, said, “Our defense is young, and our offense has a lot of star players. We’re finally starting to learn how to play with each other on both sides of the ball.”

Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Seth Cohen said, “The team is starting to gel. We have eleven seniors on the team and lots of young talent. The trick is to get everyone on the same page. We're improving every game and starting to really play well together. If we can play together as a team, there is no stopping us.”

By HENRY HAWLEY

Varsity swim and dive has dived into this season fast and successfully, posting a 4-0 record as of Wednesday, with big wins against Alemany and Crespu and strong results at the Mission League relays on Saturday, March 1.

With this strong start, the team already has high hopes moving further into the season.

Sophomore breaststroker Zach Profozich said, “It’s been a pretty good year so far. We have a solid team of very strong, talented swimmers that can take us all the way to CIF.”

This year could be no different from past years. Loyola is looking for its eighth straight Mission League title, a quest in which they will have to face teams like Alemany, Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake.

That Loyola is the favorite heading into league meets is evident from the scores of previous meets. With four league meets so far, Loyola has dominated its opponents, including a 146-34 win over Alemany at

home on Tuesday, April 1, and a 120-49 win over Crespi on March 25 at Pierce College.

While the swim team blows its opponents out of the water, the main focus is each swimmer’s times and performances.

“Beating our previous times and personal records will be our biggest challenge,” Profozich said. “We know we are capable of more, so we want to keep pushing ourselves and become better swimmers and a more accomplished team overall. Luckily, we have each other, and our sense of competition is fantastic. Our big focuses are beating the guy to our left and right, and this mentality helps us beat out old times.”

This competition helps swimmers break more than personal records. This year Sean Lee broke Loyola’s 100 butterfly pool record, and the boys are getting close to the overall records as well.

Lee, a standout freshman, swam the 100 butterfly in 52.00 seconds, breaking Fred Abramyan’s pool record. But he wasn’t the only freshman to make an impression this year.

On Thursday, March 27, Loyola sent

freshman and sophomore relay teams to Capistrano Valley High School for the Milikan Relays, and the boys broke six CIF frosh/soph records. Some significant margins of victory came in the 6x50 freestyle, where Loyola beat the record by six seconds with a time of 2:12.28, and the 4x50 backstroke, where Loyola shattered the previous record by seven seconds with a 1:36:07.

The Varsity Diving team has made huge leaps from last year, developing from a team that was primarily novice divers into strong, competitive divers looking to qualify for CIF.

Sophomore Charles LaBonge said, “We’ve all developed a lot. All of us came in with no diving experience whatsoever, but now we have really put in the extra time and effort to become more developed divers. We started diving earlier this year, and two of us did club diving over the summer. This has really helped us improve our technique and come into this year with more knowledge of the sport.”

This work has paid off, as Loyola divers are consistently finishing in the top three during dual meets. LaBonge placed first against

both Harvard-Westlake and Alemany, junior Luca Raspi finished third against Alemany, and sophomore Jack Neumann finish third against Harvard-Westlake.

LaBonge said there could possibly be three or four divers representing Loyola in CIF and consistency and confidence will be the challenges for the group.

“Consistency is a tough characteristic of diving, whether it be learning a new dive or practicing well the day before a meet,” LaBonge said. “All divers need to become comfortable with their different dives to find a rhythm. And this takes time. As it relates to confidence, diving is really a mindset. A diver has to believe they will complete each of their dives, and this builds the consistency.”

The Cubs have finished league play and will be taking a small break from competition for Easter break, but they come back with Mission League Prelims the first two days after classes resume. Prelims will be Monday and Tuesday, April 28-29, at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.

SENIOR COLBY SMITH shoots on the Crespi on Friday, April 4. The game ended in a Loyola victory ,15-10.

By JACK DIXON

Loyola Volleyball has been successful in the past, with CIF championships in 2005, 2009, and 2010, and a state championship in 2009, 2010, and 2012; the expectations are as high as ever for the Cubs. Currently undefeated in league (8-0) at press time and in fourth place in the Southern Section, the Cubs faced upsetting losses to Buchanan (in the semi-finals of the Best in the West Tournament) and Redondo before they rallied to beat long-time rival Mira Costa in a sweep on Friday, March 28, at LMU.

The Best of the West Tournament is a Southern California annual tournament with the best teams from across the country in Southern California. The Cubs went to San Diego and took third place in the highest division, but they were disappointed with the results of the tournament.

Middle Blocker Cade Kelly, a junior, said, “We played well as a team and had some fun, but I think we overlooked our opponents the second day, especially

Buchanan. We beat them the week before the tournament, and we should have beaten them again.”

Middle Blocker Chase Corbett, a senior, also commented: “Well, for Best of the West we came in and accomplished what our coach wanted to, which was to finish among the top four teams. Going in to the semi-finals, we seemed to underestimate our opponent, Buchanan, whom we had beaten the previous Thursday. We started off slow, and against a good team it can be difficult to close that gap in points. Aside from that game, our team as a whole played very well during the tournament, and our offense was running very smoothly.”

The loss was not all bad. Outside hitter Matt Reilly, a junior, said, “We played well against some good teams. It was a good taste of what we are going to see in the later rounds of CIF because the teams at Best Of the West were significantly better than the weekly matchups we have in the Mission League.”

Redondo Union gave the Cubs their only regular season loss on Friday, March

22, but after an easy win over Alemany, the Cubs were set to play Mira Costa. The game, as senior setter Kieran Coughlin calls it, is “the Super Bowl of high school volleyball,” one of the most anticipated events of spring semester. Students from schools all over Southern California trek to LMU to attend the match.

Freshman John Conor Shalloe said he was amazed by his first visit to LMU and excited to watch the competition. “My first Loyola versus Mira Costa game was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was great to see how many people came to support the two teams and how much enthusiasm we had from our Cubs. It was awesome to see how competitive our volleyball program really is. Coach Boehle, the varsity coach, Coach Yano, the JV coach, and Coach Rojas, the freshman coach, really prepared our players well both physically and mentally.”

Learning from their early losses, the Cubs swept Mira Costa in three games, winning 25-18, 25-21 and 25-19.

[SEE TEAM SWEEPS, A16]

Cubs begin undefeated in league, place third in Best of the West

PHOTO BY WILL MARCUSSEN

SPORTSTheLoyalist

A16APRIL 11, 2014

Cubs win 12 straight, look to CIFVARSITY BASEBALL

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

By STEPHEN REILLY

The Varsity Baseball team is off to a strong start in Mission League play, ranked in the top 25 in the country and undefeated in its first five games, with an overall record of 13-1 heading into yesterday’s home contest against Crespi.

This past Tuesday, April 8, the Cubs topped Crespi 5-1 in an away game in which Senior pitch-er Quinn Brodey notched eight strike-outs in five innings, ceding just one earned run.

The Cubs’ success midway through league play is largely at-

tributable to strong pitching. Se-nior Nathan Hadley pitched a no-hitter, including 12 strikeouts and one walk, to lead his team to a 15-0 victory at St. Francis last Friday, April 4.

Commenting on his perfor-mance, Hadley said, “Personally, I have never thrown a no-hitter, and my friends are really proud of me. That’s a big thing on our team; we are all best friends.” He added, “This is the closest team I have ever been on, and we are always ‘for the boys’.”

Loyola boasts an impressive ar-senal of pitchers, who to date have

a collective 1.44 earned run aver-age. Assistant Coach Roger Stewart pointed to the team’s pitching as its lead advantage.

“I mean, I have coached high school baseball for close to 15 years now, and I have never seen four Pac-12 or division one pitch-ers on one team,” he said. “We have four right now--Hadley, Brodey, and seniors Kyle Beadles and Jack Poulsen.”

The Varsity Cubs’ batting has been equally impressive, with a team batting average of .367. In six games the Cubs have scored over 10 runs.

Head Coach Michael Cordero commented on the team’s perfor-mance at the plate.

“I think our offensive attack has been pretty strong, as a lot of our guys have begun to really mas-ter their approach at the plate and understand what a quality at-bat is,” he said. “They have thrown out their batting average and their on-ly-goal-to-get-a-hit mentality. Now they are focused on accumulating quality at bats; a lot of that has to do with a new mindset and a new understanding of their approach at the plate.”

The Varsity Cubs face a key test in their next league game against Harvard-Westlake slated for Mon-day (away) and Thursday (home). Assistant Coach Stewart remarked, “I think from a pure athletic stand-point, we are every bit the athletes Harvard-Westlake are. It is just go-ing to be who is better prepared to

play mentally on a given day. To-wards that end, we are preparing ourselves mentally and physically each and every day as best we can.”

The players note how impor-tant a role the team’s practices have played. Second baseman senior Stephen Dubb commented, “We have been practicing a lot; we prac-tice around three-and-a-half hours a day. Half of that is working on hit-ting, and we also practice hitting on our own at home on the weekends.”

The Cubs understand the chal-lenges they face in achieving their initial goal of winning league. Se-nior shortstop Angelo Armenta highlighted the team’s focus on playing consistently.

“We need to work on perform-ing better in the earlier innings rather than always trying to come from behind,” said Armenta. “In a game against Chaminade, we had to come back from behind, so I think we can definitely improve on our early inning play.”

Brodey summarized the ulti-mate ambition for this year’s team: “We are excited about Mission League because we got to semifi-nals last year and lost a tough one, so we are hungry to get back to CIF.”

He added, “We know that we can make a good run even though there are a lot of good teams this year—we are one of those teams. We are going to take it a game at a time because we want to win league first and have the momentum roll-ing into the playoffs.”

Team sweeps Mira Costa, sets goal for CIF title [FROM CUBS BEGIN, A15]Coach Boehle said of the match,

“It was great when these two teams played each other. It’s fireworks—it’s great volleyball. You get the at-mosphere, and you get the crowd; it’s the best volleyball in South-ern California. You got these two teams going at it with a lot of his-tory, this rivalry goes back 35 or 40 years, and it doesn’t get any better, so to beat them and to beat them in three is huge.”

The Cubs want to take the mo-mentum they gained from winning such a crucial match into the later part of the season.

Coughlin said, “This is huge. Last week against Redondo we didn’t play our best match, so we really wanted to come in and make an exclamation point against Costa and make this the turning point of our season.”

Middle blocker Cole Paullin, a senior, said, “I think this is defi-nitely a turning point for us; we got out to a slower start early in the season, but I think this shows that our team can play at the very top, and I hope we come back and

practice Monday as hard as we can, so we will be ready for our next big test, Corona Del Mar.”

With lots of success and big expectations, the Cubs’ aspira-tions are nothing less than the CIF championship.

Coach Boehle said, “There are five teams in the CIF race: it’s Loyola, Mira Costa, Corona Del Mar, Redondo and Huntington Beach—and we’re going to have to battle—but if they continue to do what they’re doing and progress, we’re going to be just fine.”

Corbett said, “My goal for the rest of the season is, of course, to finally win a CIF ring. I, along with Cole and Hayden, have been to the CIF finals two times now and have come up short both times. I feel like I can speak for the three of us when I say this drives us to work that much harder; and if we per-form the way I know our team can, I'm confident we will come out on top.”

After Corona Del Mar on Wednesday, April 30, the Cubs have two more league games be-fore the playoffs begin.

PHOTO BY RYDER SCHEIFELE

PHOTO BY TROY DIXONSENIOR COLE PAULLIN jumps for a ball set by senior Ian Schwan. The team played against the Notre Dame Knights on Tuesday, April 1, and won the match in three games: 25-13, 25-15, 25-19.

SENIOR NICK SABLOCK bats in the game against Chaminade on Hernandez Field. The team won the game with a final score of 4-2.

CIF RANKINGS

VARSITY BASEBALL

Courtesy of CIf

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

1. Huntington Beach 2. Loyola 3. Harvard-Westlake 4. JSerra 5. West Ranch 6. Hart 7. Edison 8. Trabuco Hills 9. Alemany 10. Norco

1. Huntington Beach 2. Corona del Mar 3. Redondo Union 4. Loyola 5. Mira Costa 6. Newbury Park 7. Westlake 8. San Clemente 9. Valencia 10. Orange Lutheran

1. University 2. Harvard-Westlake 3. Corona del Mar 4. Dos Pueblos 5. Northwood 6. Loyola 7. Viewpoint 8. Santa Barbara 9. Mira Costa 10. N/A

VARSITY TENNIS

FEATURETheLoyalist

Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 8 |April 11, 2014 | loyalistnews.org

A Look ADDRESSING LOYOLA'S ADDICTION TOFACEBOOK

KLEIN'S CULINARY CRITIQUE RETURNS

PAGE B4 PAGE B7 INSIDE

Cheating at Loyola?Though numerous lectures have provided students with a sense of the

dangers of cheating and plagiarism, cheating remains in Loyola's reputably honest halls.

SEE "CHEATING," B2

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HUNTER JOHNSON

B2 FEATURE APRIL 11, 2014

BY SPENCER REED Pencils furiously bubble in the circles

of the scantron during a vocabulary test in English. Sophomore John Doe, tired after his evening practice, did not have time to study with all the other home-work he had the night before. The teach-er, eyes glued to the computer screen, has not gazed around the classroom dur-ing the whole test. And one question has John lost and dumbfounded. Striving to get a better grade, the student wearily searches for the answer on the desk on his right. It’s only one answer; it’s only one test; it’s only one time.

The scenario above is not fictional. Sophomore John Doe, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is a student at Loyola High School. At nearly every school, including Loyola, cheat-ing is more than a common occurrence, especially on exams, quizzes and home-work.

The Loyalist conducted a poll on Facebook, and 179 students responded. This poll is a self-selected response, and, therefore, the results may not accurately represent the view of those who did not respond. Of the respondents, 54 percent admitted to cheating; moreover, ten percent said they cheat on a daily basis. Comments cited the many pressures---AP classes, college admissions, grades, strict parents---that lead to cheating. Moreover, among the current student body, 70 incidents of cheating are on record, according to Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Scheduling Andrey Aristov.

Loyola follows a three-strike system in regards to its cheating policy. Upon the first incident of cheating, the student receives a zero on the assignment and serves two days of JUG. In addition, his parents receive a letter informing them of the cheating incident and future consequences if the cheating continues. Upon the second offense, the student receives a zero on the assignment and a two-day suspension. The student is also placed on Disciplinary Probation with the Dean of Men. With the third offense, the student receives a zero on the as-signment and must face the disciplinary board for possible dismissal from school. The board meets only once or twice a decade regarding academic integrity cases, according to Mr. Aristov.

A February Los Angeles Times article about the withdrawal of a Loyola sen-ior called attention to the three-strike policy. In the article, reporter Eric Sond-

heimer referenced the school’s policy articulated in the Loyola High School Student Handbook.

Since the article appeared, some have questioned the policy. Being such a top-rated institution, Loyola implements a too lenient and forgiving cheating policy, some have observed, and a one-and-done system would better serve as punishment for cheating incidents.

Mr. Aristov, however, supports Loyola’s policy. “Three strikes is actu-ally very intentional and useful, because we do everything here at Loyola as a learning process,” he said. “If a kid were to be expelled after the first incident, what does he learn? There is no growth allowed. Everyone screws up at some point, and everyone has to have the chance after they fall to rise again.”

Honors and AP Chemistry teacher Ms. Fawzia Qazi agrees with this policy. She said, “I’ve dealt with instances of cheating, and I know it happens. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. Often times, those experiences end up being learning experiences. I’ve had students who have cheated on a test or a quiz, and they’ll get a zero on it. It will impact their grade, but it’s a learning experience. It’s better to learn the lessons now where we have three-strikes, rather than when you get caught in college and that’s it.”

According to students interviewed for this article on terms of anonym-ity, one of the main motives to cheat is simply pressure and stress from college, classes and extracurriculars. A junior said, “You can’t point to one factor as to why a person would cheat. Cheating is a combination of trying to hold up your peers’ expectations, to hold up your family’s expectations and to beat out that other guy in terms of competing for college. I think the primary reason why I’ve cheated is because I feel like I need to be the better competitor against my peers and from the viewpoint of college admissions officers.”

A freshman who has not cheated said, “I think being surrounded by such intellectually distinguished stu-dents increases a student's desire to do well. Sometimes, these desires exceed our abilities so we give in to cheating. Also, when someone is a lazy student, it is much easier to look over at the star student’s test than to pay attention in class or study; however, it is the obvious immoral decision.”

English Department Chair Jason Schmidt said, “With the way in which

universities have become more com-petitive with applications and the entire standardized test industrial complex, I do think that the pressures for cheating have increased.”

But pressure is not the only motive to cheat. In the Loyalist poll, 68 percent of students admitted to cheating on homework. With school work, sports, extracurriculars and many more activi-ties, many students said they feel time for schoolwork and studying is limited. After arriving home late at night, some students, feeling tired and hungry, strug-gle to make the time to get work done.

History teacher Mr. Roger Stewart said, “I think it boils down to how well they [the students] manage their time, how mature they are, and if they are strong enough to resist the pressure. As a teacher, I have a lot of AP kids and a lot of athletes, and I am really understand-ing of the demands of a student’s time. I’d rather have the student learn the ma-terial than finish the assignment on time and rush through it.”

Mr. Aristov said, “When I talk to kids, I always ask ‘Why did this happen?’ And the answers are fairly universal: the kid didn’t have time in his mind to do a proper job. Cheating is a way of deal-ing with time, and kids sometimes take short cuts. They see cheating as a way of saving time to do an assignment.”

No doubt students feel the pressure of time breathing down their necks, too. Cheating on homework tends to be a shortcut for saving time and energy.

Coming from St. Paul the Apostle School, a freshman said he has noticed an increase in cheating and understands the pressures motivating students to cheat, especially with regards to home-work. “Homework is something that prepares you for the test. However, by cheating on homework, you are only increasing the odds of cheating on a test, because you have not taken the time to learn on your own. In middle school, the material was far easier, so cheat-ing was never even a thought. In high school, people ask to ‘see your paper’ a lot more.”

Ms. Qazi said, “Cheating is cheating, and it’s wrong either way. As teachers, some of us consider cheating on home-work a little different. Once a student takes a test, we know that he received a hundred percent on the homework, but he had no clue how to do something on the test or quiz. So in that respect, cheat-ing on homework is different than on

tests. But either way, cheating is wrong. Ultimately, you’re cheating yourself; you won’t know how to do whatever you’re supposed to do.”

Some methods for cheating preven-tion include teachers actively watching during tests and instituting harsher punishments. Among members of the Loyola community, opinions vary on the best approach for prevention.

“There will always be cheating at Loyola, but how severe the punishment is will reduce the cheating factors,” said a senior. “If they put it down to one strike, cheating will most likely almost come to a halt. People don’t want to risk getting caught for cheating and being kicked out of Loyola.”

Math teacher Mr. Allen Martin has his own methods for preventing cheat-ing. With regards to cheating on tests, Martin said, “I take certain precau-tions: I go to the trouble of making two, sometimes three versions of every test. I randomize where people sit on every test, so you don’t know if you’ll be sitting next to your buddy. The person in the next row has an entirely different test, so it’s hard to just look over. In many of my exams, work has to be shown, so it is re-ally difficult for someone to simply copy an answer.”

Members of the community, both students and faculty, argue that preven-tion begins from within the classroom through a safe, less stressful learning environment.

A junior said, “I think the best way to prevent cheating is to decrease the stress and emphasis that is put on these tests. Honestly, I think that if the test catego-ries were weighted less, I think students would feel a lot less pressure to get that better grade or the perfect score.”

Mr. Stewart added, “I start by trying to make students comfortable enough to come talk to me. There are numerous instances where a student has come and said he couldn’t do it. If a kid is sincere and really interested in studying and learning, I will go way out of my way to help him. And hopefully, that will deter them from cheating.”

Undoubtedly, eliminating all cheating is impossible, even though over half of the Loyola students who participated in the non-scientific Loyalist poll said that cheating is never justified for any reason. And stopping cheating will be no easy task, but steps towards the prevention of cheating can be taken and introduced into the classroom.

Cheating: the Loyola community reacts

95% of high schools students admitted to cheating in some form at least once.

59% of high school students admitted to cheating on a test at least once.

INFOGRAPHIC BY BROGAN FEELEYINFORMATION FROM JOSEPHSON INSTITUTE CENTER FOR YOUTH ETHICS SURVEY

B3ADVERTISEMENTAPRIL 11, 2014

FEATUREB4

FACEBOOK: the world's favorite classmate

A Daily RoutineWidespread use of social media networks

such as Facebook has provided students the op-portunity to advance their academic studies and connect with other classmates on a daily basis. However, social networking sites also have the potential to distract students from their school-

Mixed EmotionsMany students say that social media sites are

beneficial since they can provide an escape from the stresses of school, but emotions are mixed about the productivity and usefulness of these sites.

Senior Carter Neuman said, “I do not use Face-book as often as I have in the past. But it does help in some cases. For example, I can contact classmates

DistractionsMore and more students across the country say that

they feel aggravated by Facebook and the distraction it presents. In 2011, a female college student named April H. from Peoria, Arizona, working for TeenInk, a site that is predominantly filled with articles and col-umns written by teens, published an article about her experience with how much of a distraction Facebook is to students. She refers to the “euphoric high” that a person feels when a new notification appears on his or her home page such as a friend request popping on the screen or getting a like on his or her latest status update.

Whenever April sat in the back of her psychology class of more than 200 students, she noticed that at least 50 of the 200 computers were on Facebook. She goes on to state that social media is dangerous for students because the sites are an “unfulfilling time waster” and causes many more sleepless nights which result in poorer grades.

Junior Cole Geryak is aware of the dangers. He said, “When trying to focus, Facebook serves as a dis-traction. I lose my academic focus because of all the constant updates and messages that I receive that are irrelevant to my studies.” Instead of using Facebook to communicate with classmates, Geryak said he uses his phone to text or call others.

Another study done in the fall of 2011 by Lock Haven University Professor Reynol Junco supports the idea that more time on Facebook means bad grades will occur. Mr. Junco studied the activities of 2,000 college students on Facebook and Twitter for one year. Mr. Junco found that the students who spend more

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The 2:15 p.m. bell signals the end of another school day. Sophomore Lane Krai walks out of his last class and out into Malloy Commons. He immediately pulls out his phone and checks for any text messages or updates on Facebook. “I have to stay connected,” Krai said. "Without my phone, I would not know what is going on around me."

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Ignatius Loyola Edit Profile

Charlie Cooper's birthday is today.

Average Facebook Use63 percent of Facebook users go on Facebook at least once a day.

40 percent of Facebook users visit Facebook multiple times in a day.

Academic EffectsOut of 2, 000 college students, 20 percent who used Facebook experienced a drop in their G. P. A.s.

Social Media UsageStudents may spend up to twelve hours a day on so-cial media sites, predominantly Facebook.

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By FABRIZIO ROBALINO AND DAVIS TSE

FEATURE B5

FACEBOOK: the world's favorite classmate

work and can cause grades to drop if the sites are used as a form of entertainment and pleasure, rather than for academic purposes.

The connection that many students have to social media is unlike that of any other genera-tion. The instant gratification students get from posting a status or liking a picture pleases many students in ways previous generations can not

even begin to comprehend. As a result, hour upon hour is spent on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

The Internet and American Life Project of The Pew Research Center completed a study on the usage of social media sites in December 2013. After gathering data from 1,801 phone calls in August and September, 63% of Facebook users

visit and socialize on Facebook at least once a day and 40% of Facebook users visit the site multiple times throughout the course of a day. That means that over 700 million people log on to Facebook every day. That amount of people taken together is enough to form the world’s third most popu-lous country.

to buy school textbooks at a reasonable price in-stead of finding those same books at a higher price on other online sites.”

Senior Kurt Weber, “Facebook can be used for people who miss class and who need to catch up. Also, if people need extra help outside of class, then they can use Facebook to contact classmates and get the help they need.”

Freshman Andres Salgado also found Facebook

useful for academic purposes. Salgado said, “If I am stuck on a problem and need help for a certain class, I go to that class’s page on Facebook and post the question that I need to solve. I like to do this because I usually get instant responses from my classmates.”

Even though Facebook can help students strengthen their academic work habits, Facebook can hinder and disturb a student’s focus on school.

Sophomore Nico Gonzalez called Facebook a “huge distraction.” Gonzalez said, “It distracts me from doing what I need to do to excel in my class-es.”Sophomore Spencer Cavanaugh shared a similar opinion. "Facebook has been a major distraction because of the constant e-mails I receive daily. This is probably why I deactivated my account."

than three hours a day on Facebook experience at least a 20% drop in their G.P.A.’s.

A few Loyola teachers have implemented social media networking sites. Algebra teacher Mr. Galen Szeto said that Cubview and Google Plus are quite useful and helpful for teaching. "Not only can I use Cubview to connect with my students, I can use Google Plus for various homework assignments and to have group chats with my students if they need any help,” said Mr. Szeto.

"The layout of Google Plus is very simple and easy to use,” he said. Google Plus can be used for sharing documents, sharing pictures of problems from class, posting online lessons and more.

Another teacher who uses social media sites to post assignments and interact with students is AP World History teacher Roger Stewart. Mr. Stewart said he uses Cubview to post assignments and upcoming proj-ects for his history classes.

In addition, Mr. Stewart said he is currently experi-menting with Today's Meet and Remind 101. Remind 101 allows Mr. Stewart to remind students through text message about any upcoming projects, tests or quizzes. Today's Meet is a site on which students can post questions or comments about a topic to a live stream, and other students in the class can respond to the posted questions.

Mr. Stewart said, "I use Today's Meet to gives stu-dents a chance to participate in a more comfortable way, and by doing well there, they will most likely be more comfortable participating in a verbal fashion later."

As for other uses of social media, Mr. Stewart said, "I do have plans for the future. One of my ideas is

to have students in my AP World History classes do video presentations and video essays by using Google Plus or Google Hangout."

These new ways of integrating social media into the classroom stretch to students creating groups on Face-book in order to share information about homework, upcoming tests or projects and any other activity.

Cavanaugh said that the Facebook class group for the Sophomore Class was somewhat beneficial. "If I was absent one day, I would go the group class page and ask what homework I missed or any projects," Cavanaugh said. Group sites have become a common convenience for many Loyola students who want to be updated with any information for classes.

Sophomore Tommy McAndrews, creator of the Loyola sophomore page, said, "The purpose of creat-ing the page was for students to connect and ask any questions about school, homework and tests. It would be easy for everyone to keep in touch and know what is happening around Loyola."

One key issue for Loyola students in regards to Facebook use is the amount of time that is spent on the site. Sophomore Laurent Park, who has a Face-book page, said, “It wastes time and is probably the reason for my GPA dropping.” He said using Facebook is time-consuming but also convenient for contacting peers if not by cell phone.

“One annoyance on Facebook is that too many people ask for solutions to homework problems with-out giving effort first. They just lazily assume some-one will help them," said Park. "Students abuse the generosity of other students helping them. People just assume that smarter students will be able use all their time helping others in their classes.”

The Loyola Student-Parent Handbook was updat-ed last school year to define “any posting or viewing any part of any assignment on a social media site such as Facebook” as cheating.

The change was implemented to help avoid cases of cheating such as one which happened among 12 ninth graders in May 2013, in Long Island, New York. An article published by Newsday, a local newspaper in Long Island, released information regarding a dozen ninth graders who were caught sharing information about a biology test on Facebook. They posted pic-tures of the answer sheet using their cell phones. Long Island District Superintendent Richard Simon said, “It started out as kids just trying to help each other, and it went beyond that.” Simon also said that the students were punished according to the district’s code of con-duct.

Facebook has had a profound impact on Loyola students. Students have more access to different friends, classmates and places and can communicate faster than ever before. With this freedom to experi-ence the realms of social media, a person must be aware of the repercussions that this freedom can have. In addition, the inclination to cheat on Facebook and other social media sites can have severe academic con-sequences. Yet the connections that we can make with other people over social media serves as a reminder that the realms of networking are just a click away.

As Lane Krai finishes packing up his books and gets ready to go home, he said, “I like to think of Face-book as my friend or my enemy. It ultimately depends on how I use Facebook and what I want to do on it.”

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The 2:15 p.m. bell signals the end of another school day. Sophomore Lane Krai walks out of his last class and out into Malloy Commons. He immediately pulls out his phone and checks for any text messages or updates on Facebook. “I have to stay connected,” Krai said. "Without my phone, I would not know what is going on around me."

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By FABRIZIO ROBALINO AND DAVIS TSE

APRIL 11, 2014ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTB6

By LUKE McKENNA

Freshman Ryan Wallace, has been doing magic with cards and coins since the age of nine. He cur-rently owns and operates a small business performing magic at par-ties, but he can often be found do-ing tricks on campus and at Loyola games. Freshman Chris Hart said, “Ryan Wallace will drop some mad magic that will blow your mind. If you are feeling down, find Ryan Wallace and he will cheer you up in no time.”

Wallace first became interested in performing magic after seeing famed illusionist Criss Angel on television. “I was impressed by his performance,” he said, “and it struck me as something I would like to do myself; coincidentally, my aunt sent me a magic kit sev-eral weeks later. I continue to fol-low Criss Angel, David Blaine and other magicians and draw from their legendary work.”

Wallace did not, however, learn his magic instantly. He said, “I learned from a variety of sources, including videos, shops, books, kits and other magicians. I also apply the principles taught by these sources to formulate my own material.”

Wallace began performing

professionally earlier this year. “I was performing at a party this past summer. One of the guests asked if he could hire me to perform, and one thing led to another. I don’t look at magic as a job, though. The fact that people will pay me for it does not detract from what magic really is, an art,” he said.

Wallace currently performs mainly for other high schoolers, but he said he also enjoys perform-ing for adults and seniors. Wallace said performing the illusions is not the difficult part.

“For magicians the moves are a matter of dedication and, once mastered, are of little concern during the performance,” he said. “The difficulty of shows and per-formances depends on the audi-ence. The magician must deter-mine if the audience is receptive, as this will help him or her deter-mine how to present the trick. If a magician can manage his audience well, he can be fluid, and his magic will be captivating.”

Wallace said he hopes to continue to enjoy magic as both a hobby and a business. “I enjoy performing magic, especially when my spectators enjoy it. Magic has been a great way for me to meet people,” he said. RYAN WALLACE first began practicing magic at the age of nine and has since moved into professional performances.

Wallace hopes to continue performing as an illusionist and to remain interested in magic as both a hobby and a profession.

By SAMUEL PRATT

For the first time in its 149 year history, Loyola High School will be home to a nationwide student film festival celebrating the talents of youth in cinema. The 1st Annual Loyola Film Festival is set to take place on Saturday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Hannon Theatre, allowing high-school students from across the country to present their abili-ties in a way that has never before been showcased on campus.

Junior Adam Faze, a member of the Film Club, organized this opportunity along with the help of Mr. Lance Ochsner, moderator of the Short Film Club. “Adam has been given the reins to run this event.” said Mr. Ochsner.

Faze explained his motivation. “There hasn’t been a serious film program,” he said, “so I wanted to motivate people to express them-selves through a different art form that is not frequently expressed at this school.”

Students say they are excited to be able to showcase their talents to their peers, including junior Matt Moretti, who is planning to make a narrative short. He said, “I think that the film festival is a great opportunity for me to express my ideas, which I don’t usually get to do, while at the same time enjoy-ing the experience of making a movie with my friends.”

By contacting the film depart-ment chairs of other schools, Faze has flyers posted at high schools throughout California to promote

the event to outside students. With submissions due April 28, Faze said he hopes to receive submis-sions from students across the na-tion, including several prominent East Coast schools, while he has

already received submissions from top prep schools across California including Marymount, Los An-geles County High School for the Arts, Orange County School for the Arts, and Crossroads.

The submitted films will then be judged by a group of industry professionals including Jordan Roberts, a writer/director, and Michael O’Neill, a prominent film and television actor, according to

Faze. The judges will select win-ners for the four categories: narra-tive, documentary, action sports, and experimental, depending on the number of submissions. Each of these categories being short films, the narrative and docu-mentaries are limited to 10 min-utes, while the action sports and experimental films are limited to 5 minutes. Along with the aforemen-tioned guests, David O. Russell, director of several Academy Award winning films including Silver Linings Playbook, will be making a Q&A appearance.

A senior member at Sony Creative Software said he was delighted to sponsor the event by donating Vegas Pro, an elite edit-ing software, which will be given to the winner. Additional prizes worth $1500, including several copies of Final Draft 9, a screen-writing program, have currently been donated with more coming in. Additional sponsors include the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The event will feature a show-ing of the winning films along with a Q&A with an industry profes-sional. Faze said this year will be a preliminary run to see if there is interest in such an event. If the in-terest is strong, a larger scale film festival will take place next year during the year-round celebration of Loyola’s 150th anniversary.

For more information, please visit www.loyolafilmfest.com.

THE FIRST ANNUAL LOYOLA FILM FESTIVAL will feature student-made films in four categories: narrative, documentary, action sports, and experimental, with prizes offered for the winners of each category. The festival will also offer celebrity guest appearences, including Academy Award-winning director David O. Russell.

Loyola prepares to host first annual film festivalAmatuer and aspriring student filmmakers from across the nation will showcase their original works on Saturday, May 17, at the Hannon Theatre.

PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN WEED

POSTER BY ADAM FAZE

Freshman magician Ryan Wallace shares personal experience as illusionist, entertainerRyan Wallace has been performing magic since the age of nine, after drawing inspiration from famous illusionists including David Blaine and Criss Angel.

B7ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTAPRIL 11, 2014

Klein's Culinary Critique

Hello again, Cubs! I’m senior Niko Klein and I’m back to give you the best res-taurant food reviews from around Los Angeles. As with last month, I ranked three different restaurants and gave them rankings on their food, ser-

vice, and decor. I then write a blurb about the eatery and give my personal suggested

order. Again, anyone with suggestions or who

just loves to have a good food talk, I’m always around.

Happy eating guys!

Mastro's SteakhouseNot your backyard barbeque steak

dinner, and that’s a fact! Mastro’s, since 1999, has been serving up what some call the best steaks in Los Angeles. Ranging on the highly pricey side, Mastro's is a good choice for a birthday or graduation (I'm looking at you, seniors) celebration dinner.

Now for the food. With a progression of bread, salad, soup, sides and steak, food seems to keep flowing once you sit down. As far as soup and salad go, I recommend a beautiful warm spinach salad with bacon bits, bacon vinaigrette dressing and blue cheese. If you are more into soup, the lobster bisque is exquisite.

Other meats on the menu don't matter; you're there for the steak. My personal favorite is the 24 oz porterhouse, a bone-in cut. It's actually two steaks in one, as one side of the bone is a full filet mignon, and the other side is a full New York. The dessert to get is their famous butter cake. It's truly divine.

The dining experience is second-to-none. Everything is etiquette-perfection, and, consequently, diners should look presentable. Be prepared as there are servers in the restrooms to dry your hands and offer you an assortment of mints and colognes. All I can say is that you get what you pay for. A night at Mastro's is an unforgettable one.

NIKO'S RATINGS:PIE N' BURGERFood:Service:Price: $$Location: 913 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106

MASTRO'SFood:Service:Price: $$$$$Location: 246 N. Cañon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

This quaint Pasadena spot has been dishing

out its famous grub since fall 1963. The name perfectly embodies everything they’re

good for: pie and burgers. A simple assortment of sandwiches, sides and drinks fills the ancient pages.

The burgers come double or single patties with the classic burger fillings and fries on the side. You can get your onions grilled or normal, and every burger comes with a special sauce.

After a fantastic meal, it’s time for a slice of one of Pie ‘n Burger’s assorted fresh-baked pies. Home-baked on site, these pies are as delicious as they are fresh. Personally, I’m

a boysenberry fan, but they have whatever kind of pie you could wish for. If you’re in the Pasadena area

and are craving a good meal at a fair price, Pie n’ Burger is a wonderful choice.

Pie n' Burger

Prom? Or Nah?Using methods ranging from skydiving to the old-fashioned phone call, hundreds of

students asked girls to prom in the weeks leading up to the April 12 event. Prom proposals, or “promposals” as they are now known, are becoming an evermore

ostentatious display of feeling for a friend, an acquaintance or a girlfriend. Here are some of the more creative Cub promposals.

“My girlfriend really likes pecan pie, so I got a pecan pie and put a ques-tion mark on it with whipped cream. Then I got a bunch of my friends to hold up cards that said ‘PROM,' and then at rehearsal when she came around the corner, we were standing in the hallway with the letters, and I had the pie at the very end. She ate the pie, and it was very good pie.

“She apparently knew it was happening, so she put make-up on in the bathroom before, which was really awkward be-cause we were just standing in the hallway like, ‘We know she’s somewhere. We know she’s here.’ She changed in the bath-room into her friend’s outfit, and she put on makeup so she looked better. I mean she looked fine anyway, so it’s whatever.”

–Fletcher Wolfe, junior

“I went to her school, Notre Dame Academy, and asked her over the PA (loudspeaker). I came up with the idea by thinking and talking to some friends about out-of-the-ordinary ideas. She was very surprised to see me at her school because I had done my best to give nothing away. It went exactly as planned with the help of a few friends.”

–Paul Legler, senior

“I took her to Disneyland and I made signs that said, ‘Brian-na!’ and ‘PROM?’ As we went over the drop at Splash Moun-tain, I raised up the signs and as soon as she walked off the ride and saw the pictures she saw the signs. In the picture you could see half of her name and the smiley face is cut off a little bit, but the ‘PROM’ in big letters did come out pretty perfect.”

–Matt Vasquez, senior

“I ended up asking her by writing ‘P-R-O-M’ on my hands with a sharpie and then showing it to the camera when I went skydiv-ing. I got the idea when I was given a certificate for a skydive for Christmas from my mum. I decided to do something unusual, and this was the result. Yeah, she was pretty surprised. I texted her the URL for the video the next morning, and then she texted me back five minutes later in shock. She didn't see it coming at all.”

–Tom Heaney, senior

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM HEANEY

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL LEGLER

PHOTO BY ANDREW WALLENDER

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT VASQUEZ

By TRISTAN VANECH

FEATUREB8 APRIL 11, 2014