Savant Issue 2 Vol XIII

SAVVolume XIII Issue II

Arts and Communication Magnet Academy11375 SW Center Street Beaverton, Oregon 97005

January 2010

NTA

Contents

I SAVANT VOLUME XIII ISSUE II ACMA

Visit us online! http://my.hsj.org/or/beverton/acma

Submit to Savant!Send your submissions to:

[email protected]

Mission statement Savant is a student-organized, student-written youth zine. We of the Savant staff believe that school journalism belongs to the students and that school news should be reported by the students. We also believe that each art pathway at our school should be represented in the paper as equals to the best of our ability. We, the Savant staff, pledge to work hard, dig deep, and most importantly, to represent our unique, amazing school to its fullest extent.

Luisa Anderson, Managing Editor

Over 600 incompletes—grades that are less than the profi cient C grade—were given to students before winter break, raising questions about what led to the alarming academic slump. Doubts are being drawn as to whether or not students are taking advantage of the academic help being provided by our school. It is one thing for students to misuse access. It is another, though, when failing grades sky rocket to the triple-digits. Access period was specifi cally designed for students to work on assignments, and to ask teachers for help. Teachers, however, are more and more often asking chatty students to leave their classrooms in order to make room for those who actually want help. National Honor Society runs a tutoring program in the Spanish room (A106) every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:05 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We have seen an increased number of students using the extra help compared to last year. That is good news, but junior Chandler Collins, who heads the tutoring committee, said that virtually no students sought help from the program last year. This year, she says that 5-10 students come in each week, and the majority of them are middle school students, or eighth grade and high school students who need help with Spanish. There is little dispute that students need to take more responsibility for their education. Let’s hope that we can make it out of this slump soon, and uphold the level of academic excellence we have been attributed to.

Letter from the editor

31Chocolate Fest

10am-5pmWorld Forestry

Center

1End of First

Semester

No school for Students

2Groundhog Day

Second Semester Begins

3Ariel Gore discusses Bluebird7:30pm

Powell’s on Burnside

4First Thursday Gallery Walk

6pm-9pmGalleries of

Portland area

5Shadow Day

ACMA Talent Show

6-7:15pmACMA F.C.

6ACT Exams at

BHS & SHS

Jack’s Mannequin

7:30pmRoseland Theater

727th Reel Film Festival at thePortland Art

Museum

8Forecasting

Pinwheel Writing Festival

Both lunchesACMA

9Forecasting


Both LunchesACMA

10Pinwheel Writing Festival

After SchoolACMA

11Shadow Day


After schoolACMA

12Shadow Day


Both lunchesACMA

13Pinwheel

Writing Festival11am-3pm

ACMA

OCT Presents:Giggle Giggle Quack -2pm

14Valentines Day

Chinese New Year

15Presidents Day

Schools closed

16Shadow Day

Battle of the Books TBA

17Battle of the Books TBA

18Ben Willmore

Digital Mastery

10am-5pmHenry B. Gonzalez

Convention Center

19Shadow Day

Battle of the Books TBA

Talent Show Assembly

20World Quest Competition

of Global Knowledge

PSU

21Portland Jazz

Festival7pm-12am

Various locations21st-28th

22Magnetic

Fields concert8pm

Aladdin Theater

23Shadow Day

Los Lonely Boys8pm

Aladdin Theater

24Walking with

Dinosaurs7pm

Rose Garden

25Shadow Day

Portland Jazz Festival

presents: Luciana Souza

7:30pmHilton Hotel

26Shadow Day

Jazz Orchestra at Lionel

Hampton Jazz Festival

Moscow, ID

27Jazz Orchestra

at Lionel Hampton Jazz

FestivalMoscow, ID

February1) Contents

CalendarLetter from the editor

Staff listSports corner

2) Up FrontThe college crunch

Progress gone sstagnant?

3 & 4) RootsConsuming America

Old market salesRuts in our roots

Tipping our hats to diversity

5) A & CArt Club Corner

Practicing what he preachesThe importance of assortment

6) SpeakA school divided

Evolution revisitedThe need for diversity

7) DiversionsAvatar

Catching FireThe Lovely Bones

Memento Mori

STAFF LIST

AdviserLeann O’Rourke

Managing EditorsLuisa AndersonHannah Jolley

Online EditorsBennett Kornbrath

Dennis Noack

Design EditorsGeorgia BrownDarion Jones

Photo EditorAlyssa Guzman

Design EditorsMaggie ForslundAlena Wiedrich

IllustratorLaura Millar

Copy EditorsClaire Aubin

Evan Boucher

Section EditorsKaty Elliott

Devonne R. Johnson

PhotographersHaley Freedlund

Maricruz G. Vazquez

Staff ReportersRory Cannon

Brandon FisherKevin McKiernan

Sasha NguyenShawn Rosenthal

Business ManagerJen Johnson

Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Sat.Fri.

Up Front

ACMA VOLUME XIII ISSUE II SAVANT II

Evan Boucher, Copy Editor

Some hate it; some love it; some do not really care and just want the debate to be over. No, I am not talking about public healthcare— I am talking about Capstone.Whatever your opinion on Capstone, there is no question that the class is a signifi cant feature of our school. The end-of-the-year presentation is among the most

memorable experiences students will have, and for good reason— it is a class designed entirely around the exploration of self. But there are some who would rather do without. Senior Noura Kader feels she has already completed the process of self-

discovery, and therefore does not have much to learn from a class like Capstone. “I know what college I’m going to; I know what I’m going to [do] with my life, so I don’t really feel like I have to…explore the depths of my feelings to be able to understand why I chose [the path I have chosen], because I know it chose it, and I know

why I chose [it]… Having to do all these extra assignments and talk about it all the time… [is] really irritating.” As for people who are not quite so sure about their plans for the future, Kader understands and appreciates the purpose, or “core,” of Capstone class, but believes it is not being

implemented effi ciently. “I feel like we waste a lot of time in that class… Mr. Sikking [is] basically starting to make up assignments.” That said, she still sees the value in the class as a whole.

“I think that capstone is important because it helps you explore why you’re passionate about what you’re passionate about… It helps you decide …basically what you’re going

to do with your life.” Kader feels that, if some internal issues such as busywork and time-wasting were

fi xed, Capstone could be a great tool. David Sikking, the teacher of and main force behind the development of the class, also agrees that it might be time for change, although he speaks of a

different kind. Before Capstone, there was something called ITs, which stands for Integrated Thematic. While ultimately the IT system did not fi t what we as a school were looking for, Sikking notes that it had something our modern-day Capstone lacks: support from earlier years. In the days of ITs, students went from a three-to-fi ve minute presentation in their early years, gradually up to a 50-minute presentation senior year. “…I think that was one of the good things that IT did have about its structure, which capstone lacks,” Sikking remarks.

“There’s no support for it. You get to senior year and suddenly, bam, here, do a 50-minute presentation… I think that’s

overwhelming without any support.” In regards to changing the structure of the Capstone class itself, he adds, “I think Ohana would be a great place to embed [Capstone],” stressing that he does not care what form it takes— the important thing is the core experience of self-discovery and exploring the “real world” before you are thrown into it without a choice.

Jen Johnson, Business Manager

With the nation’s economy in recession, and job loss becoming an increasingly prevalent occurrence among the American workforce, how is the availibilty of gaining a secondary education being affected? The answer to this is not a concrete, and there is a defi nite panic resonating among the newest generation of college-bound pupils. “I wanted to go to college in California,” says senior Rebecca Owen “but now I wanna stay at home [because of cost effi ciency].” According to a U.S.A. Today survey conducted last March, 37 percent of both students and parents are concerned that they (or their son or daughter) will be accepted into the college of their choice, yet might not be able to attend due to monetary concerns. The Oregonian reported in November that at the beginning of Oregon’s 2009 academic school year it was noted that a record 91,580 students enrolled at public universities

and with good reason. Portland State University’s in-state tuition costs $4,761, while the tuition at a private school (Lewis and Clark College, for example) will set students and their parents back $43,090 per school year without fi nancial aid. With the United States unemployment rate reaching just above 10 percent, the ability of families to pay for college is drastically diminishing. With the job market facing an

uncertain future, students are also becoming reluctant to take out loans, especially if their future debt could reach in to six-

fi gure-numbers. “I hope you don’t get broke,” senior Rachel Garcia says of her loan-taking peers. “I hope you don’t end up under the Burnside Bridge.” Thankfully, the recession is not deterring students from applying to and enrolling in college. It is simply the colleges that students are choosing to attend that are changing in this era, to accommodate the effects of the economic downturn.

Progress gone stagnant?

The college crunch

“I wanted to go to college in California,” says senior Rebecca Owen “but now I wanna stay at home [because of cost effi ciency].”

Chris Mastenbrook, senior,talks about his mentorship experience with Ben Medler to the Capstone Class.

Photo by Alena Wiedrich

Rebecca Owen, senior, briefl y mentions a few things she has done with her mentor this year in Capstone.


Image by Laura Millar

The weight of college costs can be a terrible burden and not all of us are as strong as the Greek God, Atlas.

Roots

III SAVANT VOLUME XIII ISSUE II ACMA

Made in OregThe story behind the sign

Tipping our hats to diversity

Rory Cannon, Staff Reporter

“The question is not can they reason? Nor can they talk? But can they suffer?” States author Jeremy Bentham, in his book an Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, a novel revolving around what exactly human morals are and what they should be. The question of suffering is an interesting one, for it is common knowledge that anything with a brain is likely to have pain receptors. This brings up a better question: why do they suffer? This question includes both humans and animals, for the way animals are treated and what humans get from eating these animals. One possible answer is people do not know where their food comes from. People like to believe that most farm animals come from big open grassy pastures with huge red barn, and a farmer chewing on straw. But unlike the American perception of family and commercial food products, less than one percent of animals are raised for meat, egg, and dairy products live in family farms consisting of barns and open pastures. Can this mean it’s better to eat more ‘green’ and local animal products? According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a ‘family farm’ is a farm that is passed down from generation to generation and a ‘factory farm’ is a Confi ned Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).

Another question you might fi nd yourself asking is how one can tell the difference between factory farm meat and meat from a more natural source. One way is to research. Typically, if they won’t allow you to visit it might a factory. ‘Green’ meat is what people call any organic meat that comes from animals that were raised without antibiotics or other additives that the animals do not need. New Seasons carries all kinds of ‘green’ meats in their deli section, as does Trader Joe’s. There are also websites which you can use to research or attain contact information for the farmers. ‘Locavores’ are people embracing a new eating

lifestyle that emerged recently due to growing knowledge of where the country’s meat comes from. These locavores, only eat fresh, local, in season foods that are grown or raised within a 50 to 200 mile radius of their house. It started two years ago by a group of four women in San Francisco who would challenge people to eat locally. “We get all our beef from my grandpa. He has a farm with horses and cows,” says junior Dominique Alvarez. Some farms don’t use pesticides, additives, or other chemicals on their farms. This makes for a healthier lifestyle, for factory-farmed animals are

given antibiotics from birth till death, some are even fed growth hormones. Animals that have been given antibiotics throughout their life have shown that the medicine that they have been given can kill the helpful bacteria in the human stomach, and create a digestive imbalance. Eighty-Five percent of food is imported into America from other countries, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If anything travels long distances, it is preserved with additives. Which means that anything that comes from out of country is most likely to have additives and preservatives in it. Which is bad for

a person’s health, especially a growing child. A study funded by the FDA has found a link between additives and an increase in temper tantrums and

poor concentration in children. Additives like salt plumping put more volume to the animal, which increases their sodium and fat content; neither of which is good in large amounts. Companies use this strategy to make people pay more for the food then they need to. Yet, according to Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals, Americans choose to eat less than .25 percent of the known edible food on the planet. It shows how little of the world’s food we eat and Foer suggests that we expand our diets and move away from factory farmed meat. A powerful fi rst step could be going local, organic, or to demand the better treatment of animals.

Consuming America

Sharon Flores enjoys Spanish song and story time, like many kids, every Saturday at the Beaverton Public Library. El Flamenco is one of the many Spanish books they read at the library.

Photo by Maricruz G. Vazquez

Katy Elliott, Section Editor

When walking downtown, or down the street from school, one will see pockets of ethnic businesses clustered in strip malls, with staff that speak both English and their native language. On SW 118 Street Animenia rents videos with audio only in Asian languages. On the same street, employees at the Mexican restaurant La Fogata speak fl uent English and Spanish. One might wonder why there are so many businesses catering to minorities in this city. In Beaverton public offi ces and services celebrate diversity. The city is beginning to refl ect Martin Luther King Junior’s 1963 dream. The Beaverton City Library hosted a Native American basket weaving workshops and the authentic Eagle Spirit Native Dancers on November 21. Similar events frequent its calendar, from foreign fi lm week (English subtitles included), to the “Language Exchange Group/Grupo de Intercambio” that meets monthly to let English and Spanish speakers converse and practice each other’s languages. The Beaverton City Government is even seeking nominees for its annual City of Beaverton Diversity Award, with the purpose of “…promoting appreciation for diversity, human rights, and cultural understanding in the City of Beaverton and our local community,” as stated by the city’s offi cial website. Anyone may visit the website to download and fi ll out a nomination form to suggest recipients for the award. Beaverton has not always been able to celebrate its diversity. According to the offi cial city of Beaverton Demographic

Profi le, “Almost no Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, or American Indians lived in the Study Area in 1960, less than 0.3 percent. Most of the increases in minority populations began after 1970 with growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations.” Since the year 2000 more than 10.0 percent of Beaverton’s total population has been Asian, and exceeding 11.1 percent Hispanic. The Beaverton School District (BSD) refl ects these statistics. According to the 2008 demographics report from the BSD, 42.95 percent of its student body belongs to minority ethnicities. That percentage represents one thousand sixty-seven African Americans, six thousand seven hundred Hispanics, fi ve thousand one hundred and twenty-eight Asians and Pacifi c Islanders, one hundred and ninety-nine Native Americans, and two thousand eight hundred and ninety-fi ve “multi-ethnic” students attending Beaverton schools. This city is even more diverse than much of the Portland Metro Area. While Beaverton’s Hispanic population grew by 380 percent from 1960-2000, that of the Portland Metro Area increased by 188 percent, according to the most recent demographics report from the Beaverton city government. Portland’s population is most recently reported to be 13.14 percent Asian and Hispanic, but Beaverton’s is 21.1 percent Asian and Hispanic. Residents, businesses, and city offi cials of Beaverton take pride in its minority ethnic groups. Appreciation of diversity is part of everyday life to many people who live here, and that is the cause for their celebration.

Photo by Ma

“...less than one percent of animals raised... live in family farms consisting of barns and open pastures.”

View from Burnside Bridg

1941The Made in Ore“White Satin Sugar” as an advertisment for a brand of sugar.

1959The sign was changadvertise the appearal manufacturer, “White StagThe owners decided to start adding a red bulbof the stag during Christmas seasons.

1966The White Stag babandoned by its ownerWarnaco Group. Tdeserted, Warnaco still othe building and paid felectric.

1972White Stag was purchased by H. Naito Companybill still payed by W

1978The Made in Orerecognized as an imporsymbol of Portland and designated a City of PHistoric Landmar

1989Warnaco fi nally stopped paying the electric bill athe sign went dark ffew months until H. Naito decided to start pabill.

1997After a few more rethe sign fi nally reached the form that we see in Ptoday.

October 2009The electricity to the sign was turned off because of the expense of kOne of the options considered was to dismantle the sign altogether.

November 20, 2009It was illuminated again for the Christmas season.

Roots

ACMA VOLUME XIII ISSUE II SAVANT IV

Local homeless man rumaging through garbage in Old Town, Portland. The Portland Rescue mission, one of the many ways to assist the homeless, is located just up the street.

A shopper browses a Saturday Market booth featuring ceramic animal fi gures.

Made in Oregon

story behind the

Ruts in our roots

Old market sales

Photo by Evan Boucher

Photo by Maggie Forslundnside Bridge.

Made in Oregon sign read tin Sugar” as an

ertisment for a brand of

sign was changed to ertise the appearal

manufacturer, “White Stag.” s decided to start

adding a red bulb to the nose of the stag during Christmas

White Stag building was y its owners,

naco Group. Though arnaco still owned

the building and paid for the

te Stag was purchased by H. Naito Company. Electic

ed by Warnaco.

Made in Oregon sign was recognized as an important

ortland and City of Portand

Historic Landmark.

nally stopped paying the electric bill and the sign went dark for a few months until H. Naito decided to start paying the

After a few more revisions, nally reached the

m that we see in Portland

electricity to the sign was turned off because of

xpense of keeping it on. One of the options considered was to dismantle the sign

ember 20, 2009It was illuminated again for the Christmas season.

Photo by Darion Jones

Haley Freedlund, Staff Reporter / Photographer

Portland, Oregon is known for many of its different characteristics. Portland has been referred to as the most environmentally-friendly city in North America, and has had some of the highest turnout rates to national events like breast cancer’s Race For The Cure or Obama’s campaign visitation in 2008. Yet, at the same time, Portland is ranked in the Top-three nationally for hunger, unemployment, and homelessness. In fact as of July 2009, we have the highest rate of homelessness per capita in the United States: a whopping .54 percent, which translates to 1 in every 200 residents. At the beginning of 2009, we were in rated 14. To some, this might not come as a surprise. The average person navigating through Downtown Portland will see an average of fi ve homeless residents in a two-block radius, and because of this we can directly relate this part of the city to poverty. It is also likely that the average person has always related these two together. Downtown Portland, and particularly the Old Town/Chinatown District, has been riddled with men, women, and children “sleeping rough” since its founding. Rooted right along side the history of homelessness in Portland is one three-letter word: why. Why is Portland such an impoverished epicenter? Why has it always been this way, and why doesn’t it seem to change? As mentioned before, unemployment is equally as strong a force in our Northwestern territory. This and Oregon’s

dropping economy have been playing along with the time-old ‘chicken or the egg’ concept for extended amounts of time, slowly spiraling downward to a state of devastation. Joshua Chambers, newly homeless when data was being collected for the capita statistics, explained in an interview with CBS outside of the Union Gospel Mission, that this strong force is the reason that Oregon skyrocketed to its new statistics. “We have a lot of the people who have had jobs, are very talented and have versatile skills, but because the economy is the way it is, we just end up on the streets, I guess.” Union Gospel Mission is just one among dozens of homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and support centers within the Old Town area. While this shows the utmost strength of the city’s weak spot, it also shows the dedication that Portland has made to addressing the issue and gradually reversing it. Public services are the fi rst half, even a crutch to temporarily lean on. The remaining half is Portland’s ten-year plan to end homelessness that started in December 2004 and will reach completion in 2015. The major goals of the plan are to fi rst move people into part-time housing, then improve existing outreach programs and emphasize permanent solutions. Now halfway through, the 10-year plan has met its goals up to 63 percent. Some could consider it crazy to hope for an end to homelessness over the course of ten years. It might not seem kosher anyways, considering the history of homelessness not just citywide, but nationwide. However, hoping and helping are the only two things a person can do.

Kevin McKiernan, Staff Reporter

Lights, sounds, feelings and smells engulf the location of the Saturday and Skidmore market. There is an almost palpable sense of connection. Everyone is here for the same purpose. To see what the artisans have to offer, and possibly to buy something that catches the eye. It creates a sense of community within portland, this connecton. That, and the food. For when the interest of the art, or tolerance of the crowds wears thin; there are the food booths: from Chinese to barbeque to Italian delicacies, the atmosphere is topped off by the aroma of numerous cultures. There are no fast food vendors here because the food is given the same rules as the art. Everything must be personally made, no reheating meals or serving a brand name. That’s the way it’s been for thirty six years. both were formerly located under the Burnside bridge, spanning a little more than a city block in length, but were eventually moved outside

while the bridge underwent modifi cations. Since then perminant structures have been built and the markets are to remain in the open air. All artisans work together as a “Mutual Benefi t Corporation”. It is a system in which all members pay equally for their booths and maintanance of the area, while keeping the money made by the individual members. This means that while everyone helps with the upkeep of the area, the higher selling members don’t have to give money to the lower selling members. The layout of the area is set up as a series of booths set in 8 by 8 foot coloums in orderly rows. Each row is set up reverse the one directly behind it, for easy access and travel for customers. This pattern is broken up by larger tents with multiple booths in the undercovered space, along with several large open tents fi lled with tables, for hungry patrons to dine at. Created as an artisan friendly environment, the markets’ website states that “ [Our mission] is to provide an

environment that encourages the economic and artistic growth of emerging and accomplished artisans.” Remaining true to this fact, the handmade products, be they t-shirts or sculptures or paintings, are all sold by the artists that created them. The fl ourish of one-of-a-kind works of art and delicious food has created one of the more popular attractions in the Portland area. Attracting roughly between 500 and 750 thousand visitors a year. That is compounded by the fact that the market is only open from the march to december. It is closed the rest of the year. With the current recession having its affect on the art industry, as it has all industry, the throng of customers, and of artists, has slowed. These people, probably more than most other industries, has taken a major hit. People just aren’t willing to part with their hard earned money in such a period. But the market is still there, and that speaks innumerable measures on the staying power of these people.

A & C

V SAVANT VOLUME XIII ISSUE II ACMA

Devonne R. Johnson, Section Editor

School is not just a place for students to express artistic ability and mastery. Among the ranks are also many teachers who are art professionals in their own right. Jon Gottshall, a teacher of many subjects, is also a photographer. Gottshall began taking photography classes in high school, even becoming a teacher’s assistant, “but it wasn’t an art class,” he reflects, “not even close.” His true introduction to artistry came during his sophomore year at the University of Oregon (U of O), where a friend suggested he take a class taught by Robert Kostka, the man that would later become his mentor. This teacher forced him to see images in a new light: considering the emotional responses that go into evaluating what is seen. After learning about Jungian archetypes, and identifying his own desire to learn more, Gottshall was pointed in the direction of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where a summer art school held Jungian workshops within their art classes. Although he went for Jung, what Gottshall really fell in

love with was photography. He sometimes spent ten hours at a time teaching himself how to print photographs. After his enlightening experience, Gottshall returned to U of O and declared his major in “Fine and Applied Arts.” He had already studied political science, psychology, and sociology, but found that photography combines elements of all of these. “I realized that art is not so much a God-given talent as it is a conversation between people. It is a conversation across time and across cultures, between individuals who know one another, and individuals who could never possibly meet,” said Gottshall. Gottshall finds joy in teaching photography and speaking with students who are just as passionate about it as himself. The photo teacher currently belongs to Gallery 114 in downtown Portland. Gottshall was also included in a show at Cameraworks Gallery this last September, and at Gallery 114 in December. “Teaching photo has given me a steady motivation to keep my own work moving along,” said Gottshall. His students agree that his influence keeps them equally motivated.

Practicing what he preaches

Teacher, Jon Gottshall, displays some of his work featured in a previous gallery showing at Gallery 114.

Photo by Haley Freedlund

Hannah Jolley, Mannaging Editor

Fifteen years ago, no option schools existed in the Beaverton School District. However, it occurred to a very prominent history teacher at Sunset High School that there should be a school for those who did not fi t in, whether they were especially talented, felt awkward, or were just struggling. After much planning, Tom Marsh saw his idea culminate into an actual school. “He wanted to get away from the cookie-cutter school.” Deborah Teeter, a former teacher at ACMA remembers. The original option school was called Community School and it was made for the struggling students in the Beaverton School district in 1991. Tom Marsh was a teacher at the school, and when the suggestion for an arts school came up, he jumped to the opportunity. Deborah Sommer, the head of the Options Department, was put up to the task by Jim Hager, the Beaverton School District superintendent, to bring together educational consultants and esteemed teachers from across the district. One of these planners was the former Vice Principal Orestes Yambouranis. Others were Tom Marsh and Deborah Teeter who now teaches art at Beaverton High School. They began to plan the arts school from nothing to all that it is now. While Marsh taught Social Studies at ACMA he was described as a passionate teacher. Marsh taught at ACMA for fi ve years and was particularly liked. He was remembered as a teacher that used experimental teaching methods that are now standard, like having discussions and debates in class. He was a teacher that was liked among staff and students for his great sense of humor. “He was… very popular and successful,” remembers former Vice Principal Yambouranis. “He was an excellent teacher.” After the school was established we had three offi ces. The Main Offi ce and Counseling Offi ce, and one where the gallery is. It was called the Attendance Offi ce. When he retired in 1997, the staff decided to name the offi ce after him, and turn it into a gallery. He now lives in Salem with his wife. It is important he is not forgotten, for he contributed to the school’s creation. The impact he has left within the community and beyond is one that can only be measured by the lives he has infl uenced. He recognized that the school system does not cater to students who had interests and passions outside of their curriculum, and he decided to make a change.

Laura Millar, Illustrator

Drawing, writing, acting, singing, dancing, crafting, constructing, programming, sculpting, and drafting, Arts and Communication Magnet Academy has a lot of art classes. With so many classes available why does our school need an Art Club? It is a common misconception that Art Club is simply a time to come and make art after school, however that is not the case: Art Club is an organization geared towards bettering our school’s art resources, such as our improving our gallery and updating our Art Club board of events. One of Art Club’s main objectives is to host workshops for our school in order to introduce new types of media that may not be offered in the curriculum of our regular classes. The fi rst such workshop took place November 2009, and focused on recycled materials. Katy Elliot and Laura Millar taught those who attended how to make wallets out of wrappers and tea packets. Students also had the opportunity to sell their handmade and recycled crafts from the workshop at Art Club’s Holiday Bazaar fundraiser, which raised more than four hundred dollars for Art Club’s scholarship fund. Though they are not fi nalized, there are plans for future workshops in January and March. Art Club hopes to have an after school screen printing class where students will learn how to print images onto cards, t-shirts, and almost any other product imaginable. They are also considering a plushie-making workshop to give students an insight into the art of sewing. In addition to workshops, Art Club is also discussing ways to improve the Tom Marsh Gallery. Art Club is eager to hear the ideas of other students and encourage anyone who is interested to attend their meetings on the fi rst and third Thursdays of each month. Remember, there may be Swedish Fish.

Art Club corner

The importance of assortment

Mark Brandau, Art Club advisor, forces a smile while having his picture taken.

Photo by Laura Millar

Top The Tom Marsh Gallery is currently displaying board games created by Mr. Brandau’s Advanced art class. Recall, by Katie PeBenito (left) and Concentration, by Rachel Garcia (right).

Bottom The gallery also features work by Suzie Stone (Left), Dominique Alvarez (Top Right) and Angelica Elias-Magadan (Bottom Right).

Photos by Alena Wiedrich

Speak

ACMA VOLUME XIII ISSUE II SAVANT VI


When I entered ACMA in 6th grade, it presented opportunities that no normal middle school would have allowed. However, there is one aspect that has remained constant throughout my Beaverton educational experience, and this school is much the same. When I look around, the majority of students are Caucasian. This truth shows a lack of respect for diversity’s necessity in education today. Around 84 percent of students are white. In comparison, the next highest percentage is a mere 10 percent Hispanic students. The proportion of Caucasians to any other race is notably unbalanced. This is not to say that other Beaverton School District middle and high schools are doing much better, with the entire district’s caucasian

students amounting to around 65-70 percent, and all of Washington County’s numbering an almost identical percentage. My point is that an art school should be special; it has the potential to be a breeding ground for not only separate artistic focuses, but also differing ethnicities and cultures. We should have an accurate view of the big picture, but the lack of students of different race hinders this school from seeing that image. Diversity is essential to every learning experience, and no child should go through school being labeled as an outcast because the color of their skin is not the same as the majority’s. We, as a student body, should be showing exceptional acceptance to those from every background, although a few students continue to make racial slurs, not knowing the gravity of their words.

Evan Boucher, Copy Editor

As an organism advances in its growth, it grows ever farther away from where it started, its survival dependant on how its environment reacts to it. It has to cut away its ties to the past to advance; if it does not advance, it dies. This is the rule of our world, in effect since our universe began and most popularized in 1859 by Charles Darwin’s work, On the Origin of Species. It is what we have come to know as natural selection. This rule dictates our development, or “evolution.” That said, I believe humans may have reached a point where we no longer develop by rule of natural selection. The advancement of a being requires cutting the roots from which it has grown, but lately we have become comfortable with our position in our development and no longer see it necessary to adapt, physically nor mentally. Humans have intentionality, and a process of thought. Technological leaps and bounds have increased our quality life on a surface level, and medical breakthroughs ensure that on the contrary to growing extinct, we are far overpopulated. Surely the modern man is better off than primitive aboriginals. But something is missing. Perhaps we cut too much of our past out of our modern culture. Nature is no longer full of

metaphysical entities; no longer are dreams a window into the spirit world. For the fi rst time, starting with the Enlightenment and moving in waves ever since, some of us feel we can do without a “god,” and now logic, rather than instincts, guides us. We have lost— or, more accurately, cut away— an entire half of our being; what some might call the “spiritual” or unconscious half. Yet at the same time, at least for now, we are the rulers here. We keep animals as pets, “training” them like they are performers and giving them names like they are ours to name. Is this what evolution comes to? In order to physically– or “consciously,” as psychology has come to call it— dominate, you must “evolve out” your entire unconscious half? This loss is obviously affecting us in some way— just look at all the “mental disorders” we have come up with. Yet we are the most comfortable and secure species on the planet. On the surface we are the masters, but does this mean that in order to be the masters we must, under the surface, lose touch with half of our entire identity? What happened to coexistence, and why are humans the only ones who have decided they are better than nature in its entirety? I don’t have the answers, but I do know this: we are not simply another animal anymore.

Sasha Nguyen, Staff Writer

Trouble lurks in the hallways. It is invisible and unnoticed, but this problem has a tendency to be ignored. The trouble lies in the communicative distance between the high school students and the middle school students. There is a distinct absence of association, of which results in a community lacking communication. Both groups have strengths and weaknesses of their own, and unless they recognize this, the distance between the two will remain the same. “There is a big difference between a thirteen year old and a fi fteen year old,” says counselor Angie Simons. “They have different needs.” The middle school students are in sixth to eighth grade and range in age from eleven to thirteen. The high school students are in ninth to twelveth grade and range from

fourteen and eighteen years of age. The distance from the youngest and the oldest is a difference of seven years. One might suspect this to be an aspect for the separation of the two groups, as well as the maturity level. “Some [high school students] are nice and can help you out,” says eighth grader Emma Byres. “Some are intimidating when they look at you when you walk by and laugh at you.” To a middle school student, those older students than them are the ones who are experiencing what they will have to experience later on. The high school students are the role models that the middle school students look up to, especially the sixth graders who do not know what to expect of the school. Just as the high school students have a sort of aloof distance with the other group; many of the middle school

students do not seem to respect the feelings of those around them. That is not to say that all of them are like this, but relationships between the two groups can be improved if a compromise is made. “Some [middle school students] don’t have good manners,” says senior Sarah Hercher. “They have a tendency to run in the halls, and standing around to clog the hallways.” The high school students should help the middle school students because they are the ones to set the example, and the middle school students should keep in mind and be careful of what they do. It is hard to change what has become habit or natural reaction, but these changes have to be made for better things to come. “When you have a small magnet academy, it has to work somehow,” says Simons.

Evolution revisited

A school divided

Searching for diversity

The question has arisen, does fate still hold the world in it’s hands? Or have humans taken its place?


Some highschool students are mortifi ed at the thought of sharing their space with middle school students.


One must crane their neck to spot a non-Caucasian ethnicity among the ACMA students gathered during a fi re drill.

Photo by Maricruz G. Vazquez

Diversions

VII SAVANT VOLUME XIII ISSUE II ACMA

Maricruz G. Vazquez, Staff Reporter

Can you imagine a world where birds and bees are mutated to exterminate people? That is the sad truth in Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The fi rst book in the series, The Hunger Games, introduces the stubborn, good-willed Katniss and her partner Peeta. They live in a world made up of twelve districts or “towns” that work for the Capitol, where the wealthy and the harsh President live. Every year, the Districts have to sacrifi ce two of their youth to the Games. The Games is a punishment for a previous revolution and a way to keep everyone in line. The main goal of the Games is to be the last person standing. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta have to go back and fi ght to pay for the revolution they started. The

scenery in the Games is spectacular. Collins paints a world where everything is natural, but morphed for evil purposes. Collins once again fascinates her audience with fast and shocking violence. She paints an amazing world full of advanced technology and the need of people to be free. The book leaves you in a place of suspense and an aching desire to keep on reading.

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press.

Released date: September 1, 2009

Genre: Young adult, fi ction

Stars: 4 / 5

Website: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

Artist: Flyleaf

Date released: November 10, 2009

Producer: Howard Benson

Genre: Rock, Christian Rock

Stars: 4.5 / 5

Website: http://www.fl yleafmusic.com/

Alena Wiedrich, Designer

Her name was Susie Salmon. She was a 14-year-old girl who was raped and murdered. She was sent to her own personal heaven, where throughout the book, she watches the investigation of her murder; waiting for her family to fi gure out who it was that took Susie from their lives. Alice Sebold’s narration absorbs you into this story from the beginning, by letting Salmon explain what happened to her when she was taking a shortcut home. Salmon continues to speak about her heaven, where all her simplest dreams are created. She is looking down on earth watching her Dad, Mom, sister Lindsey, and brother Buckley, and rewinding through all their lives on her cosmic VCR. As the story unwinds, you see Salmon’s family and friends slowly be torn apart due to their loss. Their new realities appear fast while their expectations continue to fall. The Lovely Bones is a book about the healing process and how it can sometimes be a long and impossible road to travel. Sebold’s strong narration, as well as the plot line, touch on some of the importance of life and death through the lives of her characters, and takes you deep into the healing process. The movie adaptation of Sebold’s book was released January 15, 2010. The

adaptation was a great attempt to bring strong narration to movie format- but was not successful. With the way Sebold switches back and forth from two different perspectives (Susie and those on earth), one perspective is captured insanely well, while the other is left out to pasture. The human story thread that Sebold carefully wove through her pages was completely lost, leaving random pieces roaming loose and free throughout the movie. I highly recommend reading the book before going and sitting in the movie. It is a much more breath-taking experience then paying $8.50 to sit in the theater.

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Mark Wahlberg (Max Payne), Saoirse Ronan (City of Ember),

Amanda Michalka (Super Sweet 16: The Movie)

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror, Suspense

Running Time: 2 hrs. 15 min.

Stars: 3.5 / 5

Website: http://www.lovelybones.com

The Lovely Bones

Catching Fire

Memento Mori

Shawn Rosenthal, Staff Reporter

Back in 2009, I was surfi ng the world wide web when I happened upon a trailer for the movie Avatar. I read the synopsis and list for the cast and crew to fi nd that the brilliant James Cameron was the director behind the fi lm. Cameron had been working on Avatar since 1997, so my expectations for the fi lm quickly shot up. However, when I watched the trailer, things changed a bit. Judging from the trailer, Avatar looked like the most unneeded fi lm ever made. The special effects looked horrid, the acting seemed forgettable, and I couldn’t

even understand what in the world the seemingly mindless movie was supposed to be about. Needless to say, this fi lm was put on my “do not see” list. Until I saw it. Avatar is groundbreaking: the special effects are blazingly beautiful, something I wasn’t expecting. The acting is surprisingly not half-bad, and the story is smooth to the point where I felt like I was part of the movie. I never thought anyone could come up with a science-fi ctional wartime love story, though James Cameron and his crew pulled it off, and they did it in such a fresh and stylish way. While I’m just one of the billions of people who has

seen it in the last few weeks, I feel rather special that something this exceedingly brilliant has been put on this earth just for my entertainment. And for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, be warned: You’re missing out on something truly innovative and downright awesome. But don’t let me tell you, fi nd out for yourself. Make sure you see it in 3-D, though. That’s the only way to go.

Avatar

AVTR-228 Neytiri (Zo‘ Saldana) and Jake (Sam Worthington) make fi nal preparations for an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world.

The Mocking Jay, featured on the the cover of Catching Fire, represents the theme of rebellion in the book.

Photo by WETA/MCT



Urgent harmonies and regimented chords riddle the introduction of Memento Mori, the highly anticipated follow up to Flyleaf’s self-titled debut album. As with the first, this album gracefully combines lilting vocals with a strong

musical framing. The undeniably heavy sound is interestingly juxtaposed with equally prominent Christian lyrics. No worries to those with different beliefs; Memento Mori is a well composed piece of work no matter what your views happen to be. However it must be said that, though lead singer Lacey’s

feminine vocals compliment songs like This Close and In the Dark, Flyleaf’s music would be much better supported by the addition of a male vocalist. Overall, Memento Mori gets 4 out of 5 stars, and I recommend it to all hard rock lovers who aren’t offended by religious overtones. This album is available at Music Millennium, as well as Target.

Director: James CameronMPAA Rating: PG-13Running Time: 2 hrs, 42 min.Stars: 4.3 / 5 Genre: Sci-FiWebsite: http://www.avatarmovie.com/

Documents

Savant Issue 2 Vol XIII