VOLUME 98, ISSUE 3 PHONE: (805) 966-9101 ext. 332 EMAIL: Forge.SBHS@gmail.com November 4, 2011

Are Wristbands Too Restrictive?

What’s Inside?Student Life: Homecoming Princesses

SPORTS: Quidditch in the Quad

Features: iPhone 4s Review

All students at SBHS must brace themselves during this year’s homecom-

ing dance. Those attending the dance will be required to wear wristbands that indi-cate whether or not they are following the school’s new stricter dancing rules which prohibit any kind of sexual behavior. As students arrive a wristband will be placed on them. Teachers/supervisors have been told to remove a student’s wristband if they are under the impression that stu-dent is dancing inappropriately. Under this policy, if a student’s wristband is removed, that counts as one warning, if they are caught breaking the rules again, they will be asked to leave the dance.The school has given much thought to

THE SBHS

FORGEEmma DeardorffStaff Reporter

Dons are one step closer to playoffs

We would like to sincerely thank the Santa Barbara High School Alumni As-sociation for their extreme generosity in funding this issue. In these tough times, much of a newspaper’s valuable time ����������������������������������� �issues. This donation, however, has given The Forge some extra breathing room and has allowed us to spend more time on producing a quality issue. The Alumni Association has awarded nearly $600,000 in scholarships to well-deserving Dons and continues to serve as an engine that drives our school upward and onward. This issue is dedicated to the Alumni Association in recognition of its con-tinued support of Santa Barbara High School.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Whose house? Although the Dons

were on the road at San Marcos for the

52nd annual “Big Game”, it felt like a home game. While the Dons were beat-����������� ����������� �����������������stands and home stands were having a battle of their own.The Dons were up 35-14 when the Royals had a huge kick return for 97 yards, but that would be the only offense generated by San Marcos in the second half. When the play happened the home fans were ecstatic. How did the Dons fans respond? By chanting “SCORE-BOARD!” This would not be the end of the Dons fans. At halftime, male students from Santa Barbara dressed as San Marcos cheerlead-ers and ran around the track in front of the home crowd.

A special thanks...

Aaron MartinCo-editor-in-chief

Fernando Arellano gets pumped up before the “Big Game” at San Marcos.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

whether or not they were going to crack down on inappropriate dancing or continue to turn a blind eye. And although this may seem an impulsive decision by administra-tors, it has been discussed on multiple oc-casions. Yes, it may upset many students, but the pros and cons have been layed out, and the decision to enforce the wristband policy was not taken lightly. Mr. Becchio explains the decision further, “It’s not that you can’t have fun and be close to people dancing, it’s just the very explicit gestures that happen when grinding that we will be looking for.” “We,” as in the numerous chaperons that will be present at the dance with the purpose to watch students care-fully and give out warnings where they see necessary, as well as ask ill-behaved students to leave.

StaffEditors-in-ChiEf

November 4, 20112

Editorials

I do feel that a certain amount of home-work can be constructive and help enforce what I learned that day, but if it is too much I don’t feel that I’m learning any-thing from it anymore. A lot is expected of the average high school student. We’re held to a standard of high grades, sports participation, extracurricular activities, volunteering, responsibility for our health and nutrition, and in all this to still main-tain some sort of social life. I think that it is important for teachers to take these things into account, as well as a student’s class load when assigning homework each night and over the weekend. But how exactly? There are different levels of classes at Santa Barbara High. Is it simply amongst academic policy that the higher the level of class it is, the more homework given? Or is it the reverse of that? It seems as though students’ suc-cess in AP classes rely on class discus-sion and individual analyzation pertinent to the topic rather than worksheets upon worksheets, which appears native to Col-

How much is too much homework? “It’s homework, not my life!” Many students at

Santa Barbara High School are over-whelmed by the amount of homework assigned to them each night. With juggling sports, other extracurricular activities, and even jobs for some, it can be difficult to complete the amount of work given to them. I know from personal experience that after a long day of school and after school activities, the last thing I want to do is go home and plow through math problems, memorize vocabulary, or study the life cycle of a human cell. And after the long hours I spend completing my “tomorrow” homework, I have extra hours to spend on studying for future tests, going over old ones and fixing errors, and reviewing flashcards of information that we “may” need two weeks from this Friday. It seems homework has consumed most students’ lives. So I ask, where should the line be drawn?

Kelley DrechslerPage Layout Editor

Aaron MartinSports Editor

Sophia SpannNews Editor

staff EditorsClare Upton

Arts/Entertainment Editor

staff rEportErs

Adam BettersKate BurrowsKimberly CruzJessica GaffneyJenna Gutierrez

Makala HieshimaYvonne MurilloArline Rangel

Gabi SafranaviciusHailey SestakLibby Sestak

Anthony SpannEden Turner

Stephanie VargasMatthew Wallock

Sky Ulep

BusinEss advisor

Thalia Chavez

photographErs

Savannah MayaChris PerezNico SteeleGigi Bailey First Pep Rally stirs up some serious pride

. The first of two Pep Rallies at Santa Bar-bara High School came

to life last Friday, October 21st in prepara-tion for the rival football game that same night. It seemed a fantastic success! It took no time for the seniors to charge from the parking lots, down to the football field, through the “Seniors ’12!” banner, into their designated seating section as Pep and Rally leader Max St. John, along with his right hand man, Fernando Arellano (filling in for Kelly Cote) grabbed a pair of microphones and emceed the event. The duo cultivated some serious school spirit when they led an all-school wave several times, and belt out a few popular school chants. The Cheer Team was next in line, each cheerleader flipping, tumbling, and bounc-ing to the beat of a customized music mash-up. They stuck a great landing pose, and seemed very improved from last year. Following them was the Donnettes dance team. Everybody seemed to love Pablo Garcia’s smooth moves at front of the pack! The dancing wasn’t over yet, though. Santa Barbara High School had a special treat in store when the “San Marcos Cheer Squad” showed up and performed a flaw-less routine. It was definitely the highlight

Matthew WallockStaff Reporter

My old iPhone was the 3GS and I loved it. It was so conve-

nient to be able to surf the web almost anywhere, play games whenever I got bored, and type on a full keyboard. All of these were attributes that my previous phone, a razor, lacked. But, by and by, the iPhone began to loose it’s edge, and it seemed that most people decided to switch to the Droid, which seemed to be more advanced and more desirable. Even I ex-perienced first hand the dropping wonder of the iPhone, but when the latest version, the iPhone 4S, came out, my dedication to apple was restored! The fire again began to burn as my love for the iPhone was reborn. The iPhone 4S has a range of new fea-tures, the most exciting of which is Siri. She is amazing. In case you’re not in “the know,” Siri is a built-in assistant on the iPhone 4S that you can communicate with. Just by speaking into the phone, the user can add appointments to their calendar, tell her to remind them to do things, ask her to search the web, make her find places near by, get her to play certain songs, text peo-ple, call people and so much more. Plus, Siri knows what to do when she receives

iPhone 4S: getting to know “Siri”

a wide range of commands, even if they aren’t very strait forward. For example, I can say, “I want to get hammered tonight,” and she will compile a list of bars that are nearby.

lege Prep classes. Do teachers have the time to individually assess each student for what their work load is specifically, and distribute homework individually to students? Would that in turn cause students to lie about their working ability and begin to not try in school because they’ve been assessed and they are unable to “handle” any work? It appears that too many students I have talked to are in a constant state of “nerodic overdrive.” It seems that the situation at hand - students complaining about the piles of homework that drive them to skip out on a Saturday night dinner, or a mid-week concert - is merely a lack of commu-nication issue. Maybe if students revealed their honest capacity of workload, and found a source to “chew” off of in order to become motivated to learn, completing homework would be part of their long-term goal, and enabling students to feel empowered rather than hopeless, stuck, slowly suffocating under a pile of gram-mar lessons and math equations.

Libby SestakStaff Reporter

tEaChEr advisorBlake Dorfman

But Siri isn’t only for when you need something done, she is also fun just to talk to. The user can ask her personal questions as if they were in a conversation with a real person. For example, when someone asks Siri what her favorite color is she says, “My favorite color is...well, I don’t know how to say it in your language. It’s sort of greenish, but with more dimen-sions.” Anyone can waste away hours, well maybe only some very long min-utes, talking to her just because it’s fun. At least, I think it is. When I first got the phone, I didn’t care if it could even call or text people, in fact, at first it couldn’t because I was having trouble activating it, but I still had a great time playing with it and making Siri do stuff like call me “master” or tell me good places to hide a dead body, an idea that was given to be by my older brother, who might as well be dating her. Although Siri is the biggest change between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, there are a few others as well. The camera has gone from 5 mega pixels to 8, and the HD video quality had improved. But, in all honesty, I really don’t care about those other little things, Siri is just too much fun!

Emma DeardorffStaff Reporter

of the Pep Rally, senior boys! Lastly, the relay race: it consisted of an intense skateboarding challenge, a grueling three-legged race, a soccerball-field-goal extravaganza, and eventually a pie in the face! As like most events, the seniors domi-nated while the freshman fell short. Meanwhile, the school band performed a booming rendition of Black Sabbath’s, “Iron Man” as students trickled down the bleachers to a Quad-Grab lunch, filled with

the Habit, Madame Lu’s, and more. The fun didn’t end in our stadium though. Later that evening a group of senior boys showed up to the Santa Barbara vs. San Marcos football game in full, San Marcos cheerleader attire. Unfortunately, they were escorted out when they tried to squeeze into the San Marcos student section. Great first Pep Rally Santa Barbara High, can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next one.

Nathan Gibson, Carlos Gonzalez, Tim Cronshaw, Junior Zarrinnaal, Giulio Melley, Rob-bie Gallivan, Russ Glick, Vince Valesco, Sean McGee, Matt Oatis, and Vincent Grafton all dressed up for the pep rally as San Marcos cheerleaders.

Erika TurkDesign Editor

Features

A vast and impres-sive array of methods em-

ployed by teenagers to abuse their bodies exists, but among the worst, and the result of many, is lack of sleep. Occasions of nights of little sleep, or completely sleepless nights, go right along side eating crap food and being a part of less-than-wise actions when the matter of adolescents is brought up. In a strange way, it has become the norm for one to act so unnaturally towards one’s own body during youth. But reasons for this do vary. I don’t sleep well. In fact, I sleep very badly. And in talking to my peers, I quickly discovered that I am amongst a majority. When asked the question, “How many hours of sleep do you get?,” most students seemed proud, and waved an answer over my head like a trophy; “Ha! I don’t sleep, I get like no sleep at all!” Most cited an aver-age of about five hours of sleep per school night. And the reasons that they gave were fairly acceptable; ranging from too much homework, to not having enough time in the day to do whatever. But one answer that was given more than once struck me the most and made me think the most: Insomnia. True, they don’t seem to be getting much sleep; and true, it does seem to be habitual. But to claim to be unable to sleep, well, I don’t buy it too readily. One student, when confronted and asked to describe how

exactly he was an insomniac, said that he would lie in bed and then decide to use the computer, or listen to music, or do this or that or something else. A lack of what I like to call, “trying,” is present. There is no will here; it is sheer bore-dom. Insomnia is serious, and even more so if one suffers from it. I mean, nobody would enjoy lying in bed for hours being unable to sleep. Lack of sleep is liable to make one severely depressed. It decreases a body’s reaction time and weakens the immune system, leaving one looking sickly and

sallow and unhealthy. I spoke to one stu-dent that assured that he was an insomniac, and I believed him. Why? Because he wasn’t exactly the picture of health. The most recommended cure for insom-nia, excluding the most severe cases, is attention to what is called “sleep hygiene.” That is, the keeping of a decent place wherein to sleep. This means no noise, no disturbances, nothing that could bother, nothing that could awake. A peaceful environment is wanted. But if this cannot be had, drugs are what most people get prescribed or buy at a local pharmacy to gain some sleep. But medication of any

Sleeplessness a serious subject for students

November 4, 20113

“Santa Barbara Youth Battle of the Bands” was a sold out show at the Lobero Theatre on October

22. Amongst the musicians preparing to perform were a number of our own Santa Barbara High School students. The night started with the arrival of the participating bands welcomed by a multitude of fans as they walked across the red carpet leading up to the Lobero. The esteemed judges for this event included local leg-ends and music industry titans Seymour Duncan, Bruce Kulick, and J. R. Richards (a Santa Barbara High Alum and lead singer of Dishwalla). It was an epic night filled with musical styles ranging from reggae to rock to pop. Defending champions of the open division, False Pup-pet, made up of Santa Barbara High students Tyler Benko (guitar and lead vocals), Channing Peake (Bass and backup vocals) and Brennan Benko (drums), protected their title and clinched first place once again with their high-energy rock originals. “It feels awesome and almost surprising,” said Tyler. “With so many great bands, it could have gone to any-body. We were just happy to play a good show with our friends.” False Puppet is proving to be one of the most talented bands to ever come out of Santa Barbara. They did not disappoint the legion of fans in attendance at the Lobero, performing an incredible set of original songs including “By Your Side” and “Move Your Body”. In rock rebel spirit, Peake broke house rules with an explosive leap off the Lobero stage. “We were all really stoked [to play] because there was a lot of great competition,” Brennan said. “We just had a great time playing the show.” Coming in second place in the open division was Lily Eakin and Marley Quinn, an indie pop duo featuring

SBHS comes up big at Battle of the BandsSky UlepStaff Reporter

Daniel SolisStaff Reporter

kind doesn’t always help. To many, but especially teenagers, self-medication is not just common, it’s every-where. Many peers of mine don’t have that “High on Life” mentality that I’m assured is a trait of any good citizen. Be it drugs that help one study or sleep, or drugs that help one party, young men and women are not unknown to indulge. And like clockwork, they dose themselves unwaveringly, because it is the norm after all. I’m sure most people can name, if asked to do so, a decent amount of drugs that their peers partake in. But it’s the most widely abused one that goes unnoticed most of the time: Caffeine; that sleep destroyer and dream killer. Even I, your humble narrator, can claim to be a victim. And how can we resist when the dealers of the drug are all over the place. It seems there is a coffee house on every corner now? That devil has penetrated so deep that even the teachers are hooked. Word has it, that it’s even gone far enough to be brewed in places called “staff rooms” at our very school. Sickening. That doesn’t exactly promote good sleeping habits. But I’m sure that those students do exist that don’t succumb to the want of the low-hanging fruit of the temptation tree. And may they sleep blithely on their high horses whilst us addicts sit and try the same on the cold lowly ground. Goodnight. I am not envious.

original songs and amazing vocals and piano. They too are Dons. “I love singing with Lily,” said Marley. “We work re-ally great together.” They attracted many oohs and aahs from the audience during their mesmerizing set. “It’s always exciting!” said Lily. “Getting to do what you love with your best friend is amazing!” Technical Difficulties placed third in the U-14 division despite experiencing actual technical difficulties during their set. Tech Diff has gained a local following with their brand of upbeat, guitar-driven covers and originals. “It was very fun and a great thrill to perform in front of a sold out audience,” said lead guitarist Dolan Ingraham. “All the bands were super supportive and kind to one another.”

Another band with ties to Santa Barbara High is The Kass Bros. Josh Kass is the lead guitarist and singer of this rock trio. He shredded on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”, utilizing the cast on his broken wrist as a slide. Bassist Curtis Wathne, also from Santa Barbara High, joined the band just two weeks before the show but proved to fit right in with the Kass Bros style. “It was my first time playing in the Battle of the Bands and only my second time performing live,” said Curtis. “To play a stage like the Lobero was an awesome experi-ence.” Battle of the Bands 2011 turned out to be quite a show. The artists’ talents were clearly on display and the amazing performance by the Santa Barbara High students made one proud to be a Don.

The Forge continues to receive much-needed donations to offset printing costs. We would like to thank the Hieshima family for their recent donation and, once again, the Alumni Association for its extreme generosity in funding this issue.

False Puppet stole the show at Battle of the Bands by taking first place.

Makala HieshimaStaff Reporter

4

News ContinuationsNovember 4, 2011

Wristbands CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 So, why? What are the administrators trying to accomplish? Mr. Becchio comments that the main reason for the wristband policy is to at-tempt to end to the overly sexual behav-ior that often occurs at dances. It is not meant to ruin students’ fun at the dance, only to create a safe environment for everyone attending. At school dances, some of the sexual actions that take place are without the mutual consent of both the male and the female. Because of this, grinding can make many people feel uncomfortable, taken advantage, or “unsafe.” “We’ve got to draw the line some-where,” Mr. Becchio says. He anticipates some resistance to the new policy, and acknowledges that it will take time and hard work before administrators can fully establish the kind of environment appropriate for a school event. “We have a real responsibility as a public school where parents believe their kids are going somewhere that they are going to provide an appropriate venue, that we really have to take that respon-sibility seriously, and if we don’t have anything in place, what that ends up breeding is a place where kids can do whatever they want.” This same policy will be enforced not only at homecom-ing, but at all school dances that take place this year, including Prom. What does this mean for students in attendance to such events? Less of a turn out? Do students need to be inap-propriate to have fun, or is the definition of “inappropriate behavior” skewed in administrator’s minds? We’ll just have to wait and see.

The tradition of Halloween celebrated Halloween is a

widely known holiday celebrated around the globe.

Here, we dress up in frightening, funny, and even scandalous costumes, presum-ably for our own amusement and fun. But what really started as Halloween's celebra-tion is much different from today's candy rage. Halloween was originally a day to dress up and scare away the sprits that lurked on the night before All Hallows' Day or All Souls Day. Although there are many different beliefs about the origins of Halloween, it is generally agreed that it came indirectly from the Irish holiday of Samhain, also known as Samuin, and pronounced sow-an or sow-in. It was first meant to signify the ending of the year, and the start of a new year. This implies the transition from an old year to a new one occurred at the end of summer and harvest season. The beginning of the new year was the long, harsh winter, when many would die. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor the dead. This was called “All Saints Day” and was later known as “All Hallows Day.” “All Hallows Even (Evening)” was the night before All Hallows Day, and was a very spiritual and religious night. Some people believed the barrier between the living and the dead was open on this night, so the spirits were able to mingle with the living. Sometimes the “evil spirits” would possess someone, cause crops to go bad, or search for a hidden passage to the afterlife. During the festival of Samhain, people would light fires and

wear scary costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. On All Hallows Eve, it was common for people to practice “divination” and fortune telling. A common reason for divination was to find one’s future spouse; it was said that if a young woman went into a dark room on All Hallows Eve and looked into a mirror, the face of her future husband might appear. If no face appeared, but a skull did, then the young woman was fore-told to die before marriage. Another way to discover something about your future spouse was to peel an apple into one long strip and toss it over your shoulder. The apple peel was said to land in the shape of the first letter of your future spouse’s name. Another activity that was attributed to All Hallows Eve, was fortune telling. One way to tell your fortune was to write mes-sages with milk on small scraps of paper and put them in walnut shells. Then, you

would pick a walnut shell and heat it up, and the heat would turn the milk brown so that you could read the message. And what about trick-or-treating? It originated from when the Ancient Celts would dress up as their worst fear to scare demons and wandering souls away. Many people feared death, which is why we see many Grim Reapers walking around on All Hallows Eve. The actual trick-or-treating part came from the night before All-Saints-Day. The church convinced its followers that if not enough people prayed for their deceased family and friends, they would not be permitted into heaven. Therefore, poor people would go from door to door and would pray for others’ deceased in exchange for soul cakes. Later, children adopted this tradition to collect money, food, and sweets. They would say “trick or treat” because if they were not given a treat, they would play a trick on the people in the house. In other cases, the children

would perform a trick, such as singing and dancing, in order to earn a treat. Jack-o-lanterns took their name from the tale of “Stringy Jack,” a swindler and a drunkard who asked the devil to have a drink with him. Jack tricked the devil into turning into a coin to pay for his drinkk and put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross, rendering the devil unable to change back. The devil agreed not to bother Jack for a year in exchange for freedom. The next year, Jack tricked the devil into climbing up a tree to fetch a piece of fruit. While he was in the tree, Jack etched a cross into the trunk so that the devil could not come back down. Once again, Jack made a deal with the devil that the devil could not seek his soul for the rest of his life so that the devil could come down. How-ever, when Jack died, he could not enter Heaven because of his drunken ways, but he couldn’t enter Hell because the devil kept his word. The devil, taking pity on a kindred soul, gave him a hollowed out turnip with an ember inside to light his way as he wandered around the Earth endlessly. Thus the Celts began to carve turnip lanterns for Samhain to scare away Stringy Overtime, the turnip has been substituted out for the pumpkin. Halloween is celebrated all over the world, in Scotland, Ireland, North America, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, and parts of Eastern Asia. Each culture has its own way of putting forth worship for the dead, or in our case scaring each other and trading Milky Ways for M&Ms.

Spraypaint strikes the quad The Aerosol Competition in the Quad last week allowed artistic

students to show their spray-painting skills in front of the rest of the student body. Some amaz-ing pieces were created, and the grand prize was awarded to Tor-

rie Cutbirth and Endy Rangel for their tribute to “Grease,” this

year’s Homecoming theme.Congratulations Torrie and

Endy!

Matthew WallockStaff Reporter

5

NewsNovember 4, 2011

Dons show Royals whose house it is On Friday,

October 21st, the

Santa Barbara

Dons had an epic face-off with their noto-

rious rivals, the San Marcos Royals. This

time around, the showdown took place at

San Marcos.

Perhaps even more important than the

famous rivalry football game itself is

the execution of ingenious, edgy pranks

by zealous Santa Barbara High School

students, year after year. Let the ‘games’

begin!

On the day of the biggest sporting event

in all the Tri-Counties, a group of anony-

mous Santa Barbara High School students

paid San Marcos an early morning visit to

make our rival’s campus a bit more homey.

Within no time, San Marcos’ administra-

tive office was extensively decorated with green and gold streamers that ran across

the room in every possible direction. Over

fifty green and gold balloons coated the ceiling, and the windows were adorned

with green paint reading, “SB DONS!”

over, and over, and over again.

The icing on the cake, literally, was green

and gold. That’s right, a Dons-inspired, green

and gold cake was left sitting smack-dab

in the middle of the office, accompanied by a green stack of napkins, a gold stack

of plates... San Marcos had officially been served.

This was not the first time Santa Barbara High School has pulled off a prank of such

great magnitude, though.

At last year’s rivalry basketball game at

San Marcos, a clever Don achieved the

unthinkable after secretly stealing the Roy-

als’ lion mascot suit the night before. He re-

moved it at midcourt, exposing a green-and-

gold-clad Don. Silence came over the crowd,

followed by a boisterous fit of laughter and shouting from the satisfied Santa Barbara section.

That prank followed the infamous and fan-

tastic “Don’s Market” prank, in which a big

“D” was placed over the “V” at the Turnpike

VONS.

That brings the official prank tally to zero for San Marcos and three for Santa Barbara.

After all, this is DONS’ H-H-H-H-HOUSE!

Faces in the Crowd“What were you for Halloween?”

Ebony Young - 11th Grade:

"Myself."

Graham Collector - 9th Grade:

"A pumpkin."

Marc Conliffe - 11th Grade:

"A skeleton."

Matt Oatis - 12th Grade:

"Prince Naveen."

Geneva French

has been fasci-

nated by art and

the world around her since an early age.

“I was always a visual learner and could

not stay focused without doodling on home-

work,” French said.

Growing up, she spent most of her free

time drawing and creating, but it wasn’t until

later that she realized she wanted art to be

incorporated with her schooling.

“After taking an art class, I realized I really

enjoyed art and wanted it to be part of my

education and so I joined VADA,” French

said.

Geneva enjoys being a part of VADA be-

cause her classes incorporate art projects in

addition to the regular assignments required

to follow the curriculum. She appreciates that

VADA classes are designed to help students

who have a creative mind; this allows her to

work with other students who think like her.

“VADA is one big family and it is wonder-

ful to have a lot of people around you who

share your passion,” French said.

As an artist, Geneva understands that

inspiration can come from anything at any

time throughout the day, so she is always

prepared and encourages aspiring artists to

do the same.

“If someone wants to be an artist, just carry

a sketchbook or camera with you at all times

so that whenever you see something that

sparks your imagination you can capture it,”

French said.

Geneva has taken many art classes and ob-

serves her peers’ work, in hopes of continu-

ing to grow as an artist. She loves expanding

her portfolio by working with new materials

and applying new art techniques.

“When I line up all of the work I've done I

can see how much I have advanced,” French

said.

As for the future, Geneva plans to attend

SBCC for at least two years and then pursue

a career as a Nurse Practitioner.

Hailey SestakStaff Reporter

Geneva French:November Artist of the Month

6November 4, 2011

Homecoming Princesses 2011What has been your favorite high school memory so far?My happiest memories have been in ASB

Name one personality trait that you believe makes you stand out.My school spirit.

Let’s suppose the very sexy “Kelly Cote” asked you to homecoming, what would your response be?OMG, yes! He would be the best date ever.

What are you looking forward to in the next few months?Finally finishing applications and all the senior events that we will get to do.

Who is your secret sidekick?Steph Vargas :)

Kristina Rodriguez

What was your immediate reaction?I was really shocked and super awkward, but I’m flattered and really excited to be a homecoming princess!

Name one of the most embarrassing moments you’ve ever had.Sometimes I snort when I laugh hard and that’s pretty much embarrassing every time it happens.

If your friends were asked to describe you in one word, what would it be?Silly.

How did Vince ask you to homecoming?He put sticky notes on the back of my car that said “Homecoming” and then he popped out with flowers.

What is your idea of a fun and relaxing weekend?Going to the beach with my friends and then probably making muddy buddies.

Sully Contreras

What is something that can always make you smile?Spongebob, a good burrito, and being outdoors.

Who would be your perfect date?Emile Hirsch

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?Infinite knowledge.

Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate..but it really depends on what we’re talking about.

What are you most excited about from this whole experience?I’m just flattered that people nominated me. Also the assembly should be interesting.

Haley Fuller

Grease, tiaras, a DJ. Homecoming at Santa Barbara High School in 2011 is part tradtion and part innovation. With a new class of seniors this year, here comes to the Home of the Dons a new pageant of princesses. The senior boys nominated these ladies as princess-es, and the entire senior class votes on who becomes the Queen. Find out who will wear the shining crown tonight at half-time during the football game be-tween us and Dos Pueblos! Go Dons!

Who will be Homecoming Queen 2011?

The Homecoming Princesses are (left to right) Haley Fuller, Sully Contreras, Steph-anie Nicole Medina, Kristina Rodriguez, Elizabeth Gonzalez, and Dena Slaff. Con-gratulations, ladies!

7November 4, 2011

Homecoming Princesses 2011What do you look for in a guy?Tall, dark, and handsome.

At homecoming, what must the DJ play to get you on the dance floor?“We Found Love” by Rihanna.

Describe your dream wedding.Like Kim Kardashian’s, but better!

What has been the best part of your senior year so far?Winning homecoming princess.

Who are you going to the dance with?Just my girls... Girls’ Night!

Elizabeth Gonzalez

What are your plans for after high school?To go to the nursing program at CCI in Ventura.

If you could have one wish come true, what would it be?For people to live in the moment, and enjoy what they have now.

Who do you believe will win Queen and why?The girl that everyone enjoys being around.

Name one person you can always count on.My dad.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?I enjoy playing sports, especially basketball, and spending time with family.

Stephanie Nicole Medina

What is something that can always make you smile?“Hey Baby” by deadmau5

Who would be your perfect date?Nick Marks

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?Omniscience

What are you wearing to the Homecoming dance?Yeaa I still need to get a dress...

How do you feel about the theme for the dance?T-birds are nice

Dena Slaff

Grease, tiaras, a DJ. Homecoming at Santa Barbara High School in 2011 is part tradtion and part innovation. With a new class of seniors this year, here comes to the Home of the Dons a new pageant of princesses. The senior boys nominated these ladies as princess-es, and the entire senior class votes on who becomes the Queen. Find out who will wear the shining crown tonight at half-time during the football game be-tween us and Dos Pueblos! Go Dons!

Who will be Homecoming Queen 2011?

The Homecoming Princesses are (left to right) Haley Fuller, Sully Contreras, Steph-anie Nicole Medina, Kristina Rodriguez, Elizabeth Gonzalez, and Dena Slaff. Con-gratulations, ladies!

84 de Noviembre, 2011

La Forja

Yvonne MurilloReportero

¿Qué mejor que caminar a nuestro destino mientras

hacemos lo que nos gusta: escuchar música, y qué mejor que poder estar en contacto con nuestros conocidos por medio de una computadora? A pesar de que no es algo nuevo, los adolescentes parecen tener mucho interés por ello. La tecnología ha llegado a formar parte de nuestra vida diaria; el poder resolver problemas por medio de mensajes de texto con la ayuda de un pequeño aparato portátil. Y claro, el poder platicar con nuestros seres queridos (quienes no se nos es posible ver con facilidad) por me-dio de una cámara. ¿Qué más queremos? Pero, todo esto, ¿nos ayuda, o afecta? La tecnología nos provee muchas ven-tajas, pero nos afecta más que ayudarnos. Estoy segura de que muchos de nosotros hemos pasado por ese momento en el que nuestros padres nos ven con una mirada diabólica y nos piden que nos quitemos “nuestro ruidito de los oídos” (audífonos). También hemos asistido a �������������������������������������divirtiéndose, y en la cual no falta alguien que esté con sus audífonos puestos, y el celular en la mano. Ya no podemos cami-nar a nuestra siguiente clase en la escuela sin escuchar música, porque sentimos que nos hace falta algo. No escuchamos cuando nos hablan nuestros papás porque estamos embobecidos en FaceBook, con el celular al lado, que no para de vibrar,

y con nuestro ipod a todo el volumen que contiene. Y eso, es algo de ¡todos los días! Y, ¿qué hacemos en nuestro tiempo ����������������� ��������������������que esperamos después de haber estado en un lugar al que se nos obliga asistir cinco días por semana y ocho horas en cada uno de ellos… Vamos a ver que dijeron dos de nuestros estudiantes en SBHS. Amanda Hensley es una de los miembros del equipo de Cross Country, y dice “Cuando llego a casa después de cada práctica, sólo pienso en descansar, así que decido ir a dormir temprano y despertar a las 4:00 a.m. para terminar con mi tarea. Lo primero que hago al despertar es revisar mi FaceBook.” Ella también dice que �������������������������������� �����en FaceBook, manda mensajes de texto con amigos, y pasa algo de tiempo en los juegos que contiene su celular. Claro, no es todo lo que hace, a pesar de pasar mucho de su tiempo con electrónicos, también va a correr por las tardes y lee un poco. Ethan Cvitanic, también un miem-bro de este equipo, cuenta que durante sus ���������������������������������������escucha música de dos a siete horas por día, y también pasa algún tiempo cor-riendo y estudiando. ¿Viste como los electrónicos nunca quedan fuera? Hay la historia de una madre de familia quien decidió “desconectar a sus hijos” ¿Qué quiere decir con eso? Ella les quitó sus celulares, computadoras, videojuegos y ipods por seis meses. Esta madre de

familia cuenta como el estar alejados de todo tipo de electrónicos los unió más como familia. Ella cuenta que ahora pasa-ban más tiempo juntos jugando juegos de mesa, cenando como familia y platicando sobre lo ocurrido en cada uno de sus días. También tenían más comunicación y los días eran más alegres en su casa a pesar de que las primeras semanas fueron algo difíciles, incluyéndola a ella. ¿Alguna vez hemos pensado en hacer algo así en nuestras casas? ¡Qué locura, claro que no! Pero si lo vemos por el lado bueno, es cierto que si nos mantenemos un poco más alejados de estos electrónicos tendremos más tiempo para nuestros amigos y familiares. Hay momentos en los que aunque estemos con nuestros amigos, seguimos con el celular en mano, y mandando mensajitos. Es bueno que ahora contamos con tecnología y que nos facilita muchas cosas, pero hemos llegado al punto en que hacer ciertas cosas nos da pereza, incluso sólo pensar en hacerlo. ����������������������������������dejan descansar a nuestros padres por las noches, e incluso en el día, los están cansando. Recuerdo que mi papá cuatro años atrás me preguntaba: ‘¿Tu para que quieres teléfono?”, si yo no era una per-sona importante y no lo necesitaba. Pero creo que era interesante tener un celular en Junior High. ¿No? Bueno, vamos dedicando más tiempo para nosotros, co-�������������������������������������a superarnos como personas, vamos

¿Alguien dijo electrónicos?dejando a un lado esos aparatitos que nos hacen chocar con estudiantes en el pasillo, porque no vamos prestando atención. No voy a decir que yo soy el tipo de per-sona que puede dejar de usar electrónicos en cualquier momento y que soy menos dependiente de ellos, porque no es así. Yo, al igual que otros adolescentes, tengo problemas concentrándome mientras trato de hacer mi tarea porque: “son mis amigos” los que no me paran de mandar mensajes, “son mis amigos” los que me mandan demasiadas cosas en FaceBook y los que suben demasiadas cosas in-teresantes, “mi mama es la anticuada y quiere que todo sea como en sus tiempos”. Dejemos de buscar excusas y tratemos de mejorar. Guardemos nuestros celulares en nuestra mochila en vez de tenerlos en nuestras piernas debajo de la mesa. Hay cosas que podemos disfrutar más que nos dan más gusto que un celular y que una computadora portátil.

Si tiene usted una idea para La Forja, contacte nosotros:

forge.sbhs@gmail.com

9EntertainmentNovember 4, 2011

Ashlen Weddington & Sandy CampbellStaff Reporters

Hello there, Santa Barbara High. My name is Nya Burke and I am the new advice columnist for The Forge. If you don’t know me, feel free to introduce

yourself so we can become close friends!

Dear Nya, What should I do if I go to school and I see my teacher wearing the same blouse as me? - Fashionistafoelyfe

Dear Fashionistafoelyfe, You must act quickly! You’ve got two options: rip your teachers blouse off, or put on a sweater.

Dear Nya, Halloween is coming up and I really don’t like to party, how do I say no to the party invites without being mean? - Mister straight-edge

Dear Mister straight-edge, Honestly, peoples’ feelings are too fragile to try and safeguard, and they will probably end up being hurt anyway. You

are better off telling them straight up how you feel and letting the cards fall where they will.

Dear Nya, I cheat a lot in class and on tests and I manage decent grades, but all this cheating is catching up with me and I feel guilty. Should I continue to cheat or should I just drop it? - Guilty cheater

Dear Guilty cheater, Always remember the number one rule of deception is never getting caught. Cheating is a completely valid albeit mor-ally corrupt way of going through life.

First, you must decide what your morals are, and then you may realize that have a promising future as a politician.

Dear Nya, So I like a girl who happens to be my good friend, and I am pretty sure she already knows and has not showed any sign of liking me back I’m worried I might ruin our friendship by continu-ing, what should do? - Friend zoned

Dear Friend zoned, Have you made it clear to this girl that you like her? Or maybe it is time for you to get a hint?

. Halloween is right around the corner, making this the perfect

time to scare yourself senseless. SBHS has voted, and has chosen these five hor-ror movies as their favorites. These horror flicks are guaranteed to make you scream, hide under your covers, and pee yourself.

1. Paranormal Activity

When young couple Katie and Micah move into their suburban San Diego home, they expect to lead a happy and normal life. Soon, Katie begins to suspect paranormal activity in their new home, and their expectations are shattered. The couple buys a video camera to tape these paranormal happenings with the hopes of resolving their problems, but when Katie reveals that she has been haunted by the paranormal since she was eight, the activ-ity only gets worse.

2. Insidious

A young boy named Dalton mysteriously falls into a coma one morning, and doctors are unable to find the cause. Three months later, his mother starts to see strange ap-paritions of the supernatural in the house. When the family moves and continues to

Santa Barbara High School’s Top 5 Scary Moviesencounter the supernatural, they invite a team of ghost hunters into their home to investigate. The family is then told that their son Dalton's soul is lost in a place called the Further, and that the only way to bring it back is to venture out into the Further themselves.

3. The Exorcist

Regan, the twelve-year-old daughter of an actress who is visiting Washington D.C., suddenly acquires violent, unex-plainable, and paranormal behaviors. Her worried mother takes her to see a priest, who announces that Regan is possessed. The priest then proceeds to request that the young girl be exorcised.

4. The Ring

Teenagers Katie Embry and Becca Kotler watch a cursed videotape which contains a seemingly random series of disturbing and graphic images. Seven days later, Katie dies horrifically, while Becca is institutionalized, scarred after witness-ing Katie's death. After watching the cursed tape, the viewer receives a phone call in which a young girl's chilling voice announces that the viewer will die in seven days. In the next seven days, night-mares, nosebleeds, and surreal situations occur until the viewer's death.

5. Human Centipede

Jenny and Lindsay, two American tour-ists visiting Germany, get kidnapped by insane surgeon Dr. Heiter after their car breaks down in the countryside. They are

held captive in Heiter's house when he takes Katsuro, a Japanese tourist, as his new captive. Dr. Heiter explains that his dream is to create a human centipede and proceeds to surgically connect the three victims mouth-to-anus.

Ten things you should never say to your homecoming date

1. “A picture of us together would look great on my shrine, to you of course.” 2. “Mary had a little lamb, let me touch your boobies.”

Boys, please save yourself and do not, under any circumstances say this to

your sweetheart at homecoming!

And for the girls - if you want to impress your dude, DO NOT say any

of the following phrases:

Sophia SpannEditor-in-Chief

3. “I hope you have your shots, be-cause my last date got rabies.”

4. In a sing-song voice say: “I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas!” Then in a more serious tone: “What fruits do you like?”

5. “We have to walk my pet llama before we go to the dance. Grab some carrots and lets boogie.”

1. Before you leave the house, say to your man in a sexy voice: “Do you have a razor I can borrow? I forgot to shave my toe hair.”

2. “I have a list of things stashed in a carved out pocket in my high heel of talking points we can go over. Just in case we run out of things to talk about.”

3. “My dad bought a new taser today, the old one died prematurely from so much use. Anyways, he’s excited to meet you.”

4. Bring him a tin Barbie lunch box and report, “My mom packed us gra-nola bars, sausage links, and even some dried raisins! It’s going to be a party!”

5. Tell him you like a feminine man, then proceed to try and put make-up on him, just to, “cover those little ugly boy spots!”

10november 4, 2011

Quidditch in the QuadSandy Campbell andAshlen WeddingtonStaff Writers

sports

Cheroke Cunningham scored four touchdowns and was named MVP of the game (PresidioSports.com photo).

Last Wednesday, hardcore Har-

ry Potter fans gathered in Santa

Barbara High’s quad to play a

magical game of Quidditch.

Quidditch originated from Europe, and is a semi-contact

sport that is played with seven witches and wizards on each

team. Traditionally there are four balls; one golden snitch,

one quaffle, and two bludgers. On each side of the field there are three elevated hoop goals. The purpose of the game is to score as many goals

with the quaffle and catch the golden snitch. Bludgers are used to throw at the players who are trying to score with

the quaffle. In the United States, there are over 200 col-leges with teams in the International Quidditch Association. As for Santa Barbara High, the unofficial Quidditch match

attracted many students as they surrounded the

quad, witness to the intense match. Gryffindors stood on one side, sporting their scarlet and

gold colors, with Slytherins on the other, most

wearing muggle attire.

Players mounted their Nimbus 2000 brooms, cloaks flut-tering in the wind, and took flight at the start of the game. With the Harry Potter theme song playing in the back-

ground, the witches and wizards fought fiercely to throw the quaffle through the goal post. Even though bludgers weren’t present, players still tackled and fumbled to the floor. Bloody hell! After dominating the match, Gryffindor seekers caught the Golden Snitch that was hidden in the school. Andrea Solis, wearing all gold, was cleverly disguised as the

Golden Snitch. The game continued, and players soared

through the field scoring more goals with the quaffle. Beads of sweat were starting to appear on the player’s

foreheads.

“The shirts are coming off!” observed Cassidy Stein, when a couple of the overheated male players shed their

shirts.

“Gryffindor wins, 143 to 17!” announced Kelly Cote, drumstick in hand (makeshift wand), as the crowd erupted in an earsplitting roar.

“Quidditch is a wonderful sport that brings young

witches and wizards together in dark times,” said Profes-

sor Wooster (Sydney Iverson) head of Gryffindors House. “I hope Gryffindors will continue to triumph over those sniveling Slytherins.”

Dons are more than ‘Big Game’ ChampsCONTINUED FROM 1 The Dons took a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter. The first score was a 6-yard run by Cheroke Cunningham, and the other was a 61-yard interception return by se-

nior Matt Gonzales. Being a rivalry game, no lead was safe and the Royals proved that by tying the game up by halftime.

Going into the locker room the score was 14-14. Something sparked the offensive line at half time, because when they came out

on the field they changed the momentum of the game. The big guys cleared the

way for Cunningham to get another three touchdowns. He would end the game with

four touchdowns and 160-yards on the ground while earning the Gary Blades

Memorial MVP Trophy for his efforts. “The offensive line, that was the key to it,” said tight end Emilio Gonzalez. “They just came out and worked hard.” The Dons had three unanswered touch-

downs giving them a 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter. This sealed the Royals fate, and crowned the Dons as rivalry champions.

This was more than a game, it was a

statement: The Dons are back. The past two seasons have been forget-

table, but not this season. Despite their recent loss to Ventura, Santa Barbara can still make a run at CIF. The Dons have an overall record of 4-4 and a Channel League record of 1-1 heading into to-

night’s home game against Dos Pueblos. They have a chance to go to the CIF playoffs and be City Champs for the first time in three years and need to beat the

Chargers and Buena to clinch a playoff berth.

Dos Pueblos comes into tonight’s game with a record of just 1-7 after beating Buena 9-6 last week, but it’s another crosstown rivalry, and anything can hap-

pen.

11november 4, 2011

Jessica Gaffney Staff Reporter

Dons win one for cancer

Jessica GaffneyStaff Reporter

Dons dominate Royals, 14-5

The Dons girls’ volleyball team beat San Marcos in a game

where they were fighting for more than just victory but also breast cancer. The cross-town rival match was held on Senior Night and each senior proved themselves on the court by stepping up

their game. However, one senior in particular shined not only through her playing but through her spirit and effort. Kira Shleich was the leader of the breast cancer awareness aspect of the match. Her inspiration was her grand-mother, who was diagnosed with breast

The Santa Barbara High School boys’ water polo team crushed San

Marcos in a 14-9 victory at home last Tuesday. The game was a good freshener for the Dons and coach Mark Walsh was able to empty the bench in the third quarter. Many of the younger varsity members, including sophomores Tyler Heffernan and Skyler Matthews, stepped up to the chal-lenge and both contributed assists through-out the game.

Juniors Tyler Benko and Christian Bridley scored five and four goals, respec-tively. This was another one of the Dons’ Chan-nel League triumphs, as they have only lost one Channel League game so far, a tough two-goal loss to rivals Dos Pueblos. Two short days after the Dons’ easy win over the Royals, they were faced with tougher opponents — the Righetti High Warriors. Both teams are ranked in CIF and the non-league battle was lesson for Santa

Barbara after they fell to the Warriors 8-7 in the last 22 seconds of the game. Righetti is ranked second in CIF Divi-sion 4 and the Dons are currently ninth in Division 1. Junior Evan Robertson scored three goals in the game and senior Nick John-son added two goals while earning two ejections. Matthews had three steals and an assist. The team is now 17-8 heading into the home stretch of the season, with the playoffs on the horizon.

cancer earlier this year. In an effort to show her love and affection, Kira brought up the idea to Coach Gannon to have a local game sur-rounded by pink to support all of those who are affected by breast cancer. Pink balloons, signs, shirts, and even cupcakes surrounded the match, bring-ing a much deeper meaning to the spirit of the game. Although the rival Royals were leading by a score of 10-8 in the first set, the Dons heated up their game and won the first set 25-15. In the second set, Santa Barbara kept their intensity and had a lead of 14-1 before San Marcos made a small run. However, that was not enough to stop the Dons’ powerhouse offense as they won the 25-14. The “Scream Team” in the Santa Bar-bara stands was at its peak throughout the game and provided the team with extra cheering and support. The group of about fifteen male stu-dents was pumped and ready for the big win with their stomachs painted green and yellow. The Royals rallied in the third set of the match, however their efforts fell short as the Dons were able to win the game with a score of 25-21. Throughout the game, Holland Cren-shaw paced the Dons with 10 kills, Dani Rottman added six more kills and Remi Pulice and Haley Fuller contributed four kills apiece to help the Dons in their victory.

photo credit:Presidiosports.com

photo credit:Presidiosports.com

Standing tall at 6-foot-4, eighteen-year-old Andy Busch is the starting center for Santa Barbara High School’s varsity basket-ball team. Andy started his basketball career in fifth grade. “I love the teamwork aspect and athleti-cism involved,” he said. He has proved his potential by passing, shooting, and dunking. “I dunked for the first time sophomore year, it was weak!” He said. Graduating to Santa Barbara High from Marymount in 2008 was a profound mile-stone in his high school basketball career. Andy’s athleticism and stature allows him to reach an outstanding running vertical jump of 43 inches. He describes his personality, on and off the court, as “tenacious.” He hopes that with this years team will be “much more solid than the previous two.” Andy is stepping up to the plate as one of the new leaders of the team. He anticipates that not only will the Dons win Channel League but they will go on to become a well-rounded team and win playoff games. Andy’s favorite player is Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash. “He is an incredible player who makes plays and drains shots,” he said. Nash and Andy share many attributes on the court, although they play very different positions. They are both athletic, team lead-ers, and both try to win not only on a level of individuality, but as a team and together. In Andy’s career, basketball has lead to many greater opportunities that have further influenced his life in a positive way. “I’m more than happy with what basket-ball has given and done for me,” he said. In the future Andy does not plan on further pursuing a career in basketball.Although he will not play in college and beyond, he will always be remembered as a standout player for the Dons.

Andy Busch

November 4, 201112

Correction: In our previous issue, Adam Betters’ article “Is ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Discriminatory?” was wrongly credited. We apologize for the error.