SAN GABRIEL HIGH/MARCH 9, 2016/ VOLUME 61 / ISSUE 7WWW.THEMATADORSGHS.US/801 S. RAMONA ST., SAN GABRIEL CA 91776

THE MATADORFOCUS“Stressed Out”p. 6-7

FEATURES“Divorce: Finding the way home”p. 12

OPINIONS“Cheating puts students at future disadvantage”p. 5

AUSD eliminates T.A. course for 2016-17 year

The Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD) will be eliminating Teacher Aides (T.A.) courses in the 2016-17 school year due to a new California law that prohibits school districts from enrolling their students into courses without educational content.

The bill, AB-1012, was signed into law on Oct. 2015, and according to its entry in the American Civil Liberties Union website, was proposed to counteract the large amount of “fake classes” that some districts with large numbers of low-income minority students were offering. Many students were denied academic coursework and placed in instruction-free courses or courses they had already taken. To tackle this issue, the bill aims to provide support for California school districts to allow students to complete required academic coursework necessary to meet graduation requirements and col-lege admission.

According to the AUSD Assistant Superintendent of Educational-Services, Dr. Gary Gonzales, only the T.A. courses--and by extension, the office aides--will be affected. T.A. tutors will remain in place for the 2016-17 school year. “T.A.’s were extremely limited on what types of information they could handle,” Gonzales said. “Students cannot handle any confi-dential materials such as homework, class assignments, student data, gradebooks, attendance rosters or other student records.”

Gonzales added that student aides were “never meant to take on the workload of classified or certificated personnel” and that they “were only meant to be of assistance.”

However, many teachers believe that with the implementation of the new policy, the 2016-17 school year would be difficult for the faculty.

“I think that my T.A. saves me about four to five hours a week of administrative work, so that’s very difficult to come up with the extra hours in my schedule to do the work they were doing for me,” biology teacher Robert Johnson said.

English teacher Scott Myers shares the same sentiment, adding that by eliminating

Chelsea Huynh and Er in Truong

Teachers aide senior Amy Nguyen receives a task from math teacher Sheree Mar.

Photo by Sunny Chen

T.A. courses, the office staff would have to take extra steps to deliver information to the student body and faculty.

“The only way I foresee the counselors being able to summon students is if they have call us on the phone,” Myers said. “That is going to be a huge problem for inter-rupting classes. If that happens, say, twice a period when you are in mid-sentence, or when you are in mid-thought, and when you come back, you are like, ‘Where was I?’”

There are exceptions to the California bill; in order for a school to assign a stu-dent to any course without educational content, the following conditions have to be satisfied: the student’s guardian “has consented in writing to the assignment,” a school official “has determined that the pupil will benefit from being assigned to the course,” and the principal or as-sistant principal has stated in a written document that “no pupils are assigned to those classes” unless the school has met the previous conditions. But as of now, AUSD will not be allowing any students to participate in a teaching aide course, even with parental consent.

Principal Debbie Stone stated that San Gabriel would “have to comply with the law.”

“Students do need to receive educa-tional content, and [San Gabriel] does not have a curriculum in T.A. right now,” Stone said.

Stone acknowledged the possibility of AUSD’s current policy toward the new bill changing in the future, but stated that “it [would] take time.”

“[Changing the policy] would have to be something organized across all three high schools so it takes time,” Stone said. “We need time to develop [educational] content and curriculum as a district because we do not currently have our students in any classroom settings and in T.A. courses. [In] our current processes, students sign up for T.A. and show up in the classroom.”

While later decisions may change the district’s planned policy, as of now, teacher aide courses will be cut from all three AUSD high schools for the 2016-17 year.

WASC results today after school

After a three-day evaluating period of San Gabriel High School, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) team will be presenting their ac-creditation report today at 3:15 p.m. in the library. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting , which will end at approximately 3:45 p.m.

Between March 6-9, WASC members toured the campus, held meetings with staff members, gathered evidence for their accreditation report by assessing classroom activities and objectives, and spoke to teach-ers and counselors as a part of their evaluation process.

WASC members also held meetings with San Gabriel’s WASC Leadership team, which consists of seniors, juniors, and sophomores.

“We work really well together in the team,” senior Eric Thai said. “We were selected back in February of 2015 by counselors and teachers, and we had a couple of meetings to brainstorm the SLOs.”

WASC is a non-profit accrediting organization that determines whether a school (from grades K-12) meets educational standards, and consequently, whether or not a school’s diploma accurately reflects the set core values.

WASC has collaborated with the California De-

Amy Yee

Teachers converse with WASC members.

partment of Education (CDE) and the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), which plays a part in the planning process for California public schools required by state and federal law.

WASC sends a visiting committee to schools to determine if a school’s learning objectives encom-passes critical academic skills and meets academic standards related to schoolwide learning outcomes (SLOs). Depending on whether a school satisfies these criterias, WASC will revisit the school in six years or three years if the school fails to live up to standards.

AUSD holds District Wide Career FairNathan Ta

The Alhambra Unified School District held its first District Career Fair at Alhambra High School on Feb. 23.

Students had the option to view and learn about a variety of occupations, ranging from police officer, graphic designer, comic book artist, engineer, phar-macist, and many more. Large companies such as Fluff Ice, Kaiser Permanente, and Le Cordon Bleu also participated in the fair.

“[The fair] was fun,” freshman Emily Tan said. “There was a lot to see. There was a lot of different careers.”

Principal Debbie Stone said that the since the district already had College Fair, the Career Fair was “to offer a venue for different careers to students as well.”

The fair included mock interviews where students were able to sign up and have a simulated job interview.

“It was helpful, you kind of learn where your strengths and weaknesses are in an interview,” junior Jamie Yang said.

Junior Jennifer Flores was disappointed by the information on medical careers.“For the medical careers they only provided basic information which you

could get off online or ask one of your teachers so it was basically worthless,” Flores said. “I didn’t learn anything new.”

Although there were some varied comments about the fair, Stone sees this as an opportunity to improve how the fair will be run in future events.

“As we are recruiting the speakers for the fair, maybe they can speak with some depth and detail instead of a general overview,” Stone said.

The district plans to hold the Career Fair as a yearly event; however, the loca-tion of the fair is yet to be determined.

Photo by Sunny Chen

2THE MATADORWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016NEWS

Ying Chow

Erin Truong

Tom Cheah

Anime Anonymous members perform a choreographed dance for their customers during the Maid Cafe.

In efforts to fundraise for a field trip to the Downtown Women’s Center, Peer Counseling began a clean-a-thon, asking for donations from sponsors and in return will be cleaning up the school on Saturday afternoon, April 16.

This clean-a-thon and field trip has been an annual tradition for Peer Counseling for nine years. As the first women’s shelter in Los Angeles, the Downtown Women’s Center has been providing safe homes for the thousands of homeless women. Through its annual visits, Peer Counseling has been able to see the shelter grow from a room with “30 beds to larger.” The shelter also has clean homes to offer to women in need.

During the field trip on April 6, students will tour the facilities and attend workshops, which inform people about local and global solutions for homelessness. Participants are also able to share their feelings and experiences on the subject. The visit to the homeless shelter directly correlates to current class lessons about homelessness.

“Students are able to learn about the challenges of working with the homeless population and difficulties of working with government agencies,” Peer Counseling teacher Eric Hendrickson said. “[They are also] able to learn all the good things the center does and the hurdles that it faces.”

Typically, Peer Counseling manages to collect around 12 to 15 bags of trash from around the school and raise $1200 during its clean-a-thons.

“[Picking up trash] is fun and it helps students connect with the school more,” Hendrickson said. “[It is] for a good cause and helps the overworked custodians out.”

Peer counselor Angelica Morquecho agrees with Hendrickson’s views and believes that there are many benefits from these activities. Having passed by the Downtown Women’s Center before, she is anticipating in getting a “look behind the scenes into how it works.”

The collection period for donations ran from mid-Feb. to late-Feb. and has officially ended.

Peer Counseling fundraises for homeless shelter field trip

Tri-School showcase displays skill

Maid Cafe brings taste of Japan to campus

Students dressed as maids, butlers, and anime characters scurried to and fro to serve their “masters” and “mistresses.” The annual Maid Cafe—sponsored, organized, and staffed by members of Anime Anonymous, opened on Friday, March 4 at the Multi-Purpose Room, bringing a taste of Japanese culture to San Gabriel.

At the cafe, customers could ask their servers to perform small requests for them, such as dancing, playing instruments, or just chatting. However, to guarantee a safe and fun atmosphere in the cafe, attendees were provided with menus that had rules outlining what activities were not acceptable for waiters and customers to engage in, such as physical contact, come-ons, or anything that the butlers and maids were uncomfortable with.

Meanwhile, at the front of the Multi-Purpose Room, a group of volunteers and Anime Anonymous members prepared and plated the three-course meals that Cafe-goers

had ordered. The attendees had the option of ordering a variety of appetizers (deviled eggs, spring rolls, and fish nuggets), entrees (sesame noodles, curry and rice, and croissant sandwiches), and dessert (strawberry shortcake, anko daifuku—a mochi-like dessert with red bean filling—and vanilla ice cream). Tickets were five dollars during pre-sale and eight dollars at the door.

“I came for the curry,” chemistry teacher Kenneth Ma joked. He expressed admiration for the quality of the Cafe, stating, “In a sense, the kids are trying to organize something very complex. It’s like they’re really running a cafe. A lot of these kids will pick up part-time jobs, and the fact that they’re attempting [the Maid Cafe] is far more valuable than having another fundraiser.”

About an hour into the event, a team of butlers and maids performed a choreographed dance with songs from anime such as Free! and Tokyo Ghoul. Afterwards, customers were encouraged to “grab a maid or butler for a waltz,” as Anime Anonymous president junior Jennifer Flores announced over the intercom.

“The events were cute and I liked the food,” sophomore Sandy Phan said. “[The dancers] were very in sync and I was surprised they could pull [the performance] together since they’re a club and not an actual team.”

Anime Anonymous adviser and history teacher Davina Dominguez expressed similar feelings about the Maid Cafe.

“I‘m very proud of the work the cabinet, maids and butlers, and kitchen staff did,” Dominguez said. “I’m very pleased with the way [the cafe] turned out. It’s a big event for Anime Anonymous [as] it gives [the members] a chance to share the thing they love with San Gabriel.”

Overall, many attendees expressed satisfaction with their Maid Cafe experience.

“It was a social experience,” Junior Christian Campa said. “[The Maid Cafe] brings more livelihood [to San Gabriel] and it makes Anime Anonymous stand out more [rather than] hiding in a classroom.”

Anime Anonymous holds its meetings in E211 every Wednesday.

The Matador Arena was filled with cheers and applauses as the commencement of the Tri School Showcase on March 4 was announced. Students and parents from both San Gabriel high school and Alhambra high school came to support the performers.

The showcase consisted of performances by San Gabriel Cheer, Colorguard, and All Male. Alhambra’s cheer team also participated, along with a group called CA Pride All-Stars.

The showcase began with the San Gabriel Choreo team performing the hip hop routine called “Work Hard, Play Hard”. Choreo performed twice in the showcase; once in the beginning and another time towards the end.

After Choreo’s initial performance, it was Colorguard’s turn to display their routine. Despite a minor mishap with the sound quality of the music, they still managed to execute the routine effortlessly till the end.

“We used the same routine we’ll be using for spring rally but we cut it in half so the we don’t reveal everything to the people who will attend both the showcase and the rally,” senior Laura Huynh, captain of Colorguard, said. “I think we did pretty well, so it was a great warm up for the rally.”

Publications wins regionals, to compete at state competition

Varsity cheer team entertains audience members with a series of stunts and routines.

Subsequently following Colorguard’s performance was a 30 minute break in which students and families can walk around to converse with the performers or buy snacks from the vendors outside the Arena. Some performance groups also utilized the time to warm up and practice some of their routines.

“The breaks allowed people to go purchase food, go to the restroom, or socialize with their friends,” senior Jennifer Truong said. “It also gave groups who were going to perform multiple times a chance to catch their breaths.”

The most ecstatic of the performances was by the CA Pride All-Stars, which is an organization of competitive cheerleading teams, separated into teams of several skill levels called Fire, Wildfire, Lightning, Aftershock, and Riptide, respectively. Their complicated stunts, backflips, and somersaults elicited wild applause and even standing ovations from the audience.

“[CA Pride All-Stars] was amazing. I cried real tears,” Huynh said. “I did a standing ovation after every performance. It was so out of this world.”

Up next was San Gabriel Cheer who did various formations and stunts. Cheer performed three different routines, one of which was used in the winter rally. Both San Gabriel and Alhambra Cheer received positive responses from the audience. The showcase ended with All Male’s performance.

Anthony Yang

The Matador and El Camino Real Staff with their awards and trophies.

Winning first place Newspaper Sweepstakes, and second and third place Yearbook Sweepstakes, the Matador Newspaper and the El Camino Real Yearbook brought back these awards and more from the East Los Angeles Journalism Education Association (ELAJEA) write-offs hosted at Bell Gardens High School on Feb. 27.

Competing members of the Matador Newspaper and the El Camino Real Yearbook participated in various categories, such as News, Novice News, Editorial, Editorial Cartooning, Sports, Critical Review, Yearbook Copy, Yearbook Layout, News Photography, and Feature Photography.

The Matador newspaper won first place in Newspaper Sweepstakes, tying with Schurr High School, and third place in Novice News Sweepstakes. The El Camino Real yearbook won second place and third place in Yearbook Sweepstakes. Both Matador Newspaper and El Camino Real took home third place Super Sweepstakes, which are scores from both sides of publications added together.

Individual Matador Newspaper and El Camino Yearbook competitors took home numerous accolades. From the Matador Newspaper, Senior Amy Yee placed first in Features, junior Uyen Sy placed second and senior Frank Lieu got third in Sports, and senior Katherine Hoong placed second in Editorial Cartooning. From the El Camino Real Yearbook, junior Victoria Vu and sophomore Patricia Lipana placed first as a team in Yearbook Copy, seniors Amy Pham and Helay Liang placed third as a team in Yearbook Layout, junior Kimberly Wong placed second in Feature Photography, and junior Chi Hoang placed second in News Photography.

The competitors who placed in the ELAJEA write-offs qualify for the Southern California Journalism Education Association (SCJEA) write-offs, where they will compete on a state-level on March 12.

Photo by Ying Chow

Photo courtesy of Bryan Kim

Photo courtesy of El Camino Real

3 THE MATADOR NEWSWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Shir ley Dinh

Susan Lam

UCR, ELAC field trip, orientation gives glimpse of college life to students

M a t a d o r B a n d , C o l o r g u a r d march at annual Camellia Parade

San Gabriel High School’s Marching Band and Colorguard persevered through the hot weather at the annual Camellia Parade on Feb. 27, marching in full force through the parade route in Temple City, Calif. The parade, which was first established in 1944, attracts over 20,000 visitors yearly.

The band and Colorguard participates in the parade yearly in hopes of winning awards that will make up for the strenuous practice they have endured since the summer before school started. As a result, the students played their way to a numerous amount of accolades, with the band placing third in the Class A Division Band category and fourth in the Drum Major category, and Colorguard claiming third place in the Auxiliary category.

“I was very confident with the way we performed because we have been practicing since the summer,” junior and tenor saxophone player Kylie Tran said. “All the hard work we put in exemplified that.”

Colorguard captain and senior Laura Huynh helped the team practice hard throughout the year. With the parade and their success, all of their hard work has paid off.

“We were very prepared and excited for the parade,” Huynh said. “The team doesn’t need to win awards, but the most important thing is to have fun.”

With the accomplishments they have earned and the end of the parade, band members and Colorguard will now prepare for future performances at upcoming festivals or school events.

Emmanuel Maresca

Whitman fundraises for better water

Students explored University of Riverside (UCR) on March 2, getting a glimpse of what college life is like.

Students who attended went through an orientation, including information about the admission process. They later toured the whole campus, led by UCR students.

“I think it’s important for [the students] to get a feel of the campus and the services they offer,” Assistant Principal of Special Projects Edgar Alas said. “I think the orientation was a roadmap [to teach] the students how to be successful in college.”

Senior Vicki Wu enjoyed learning about the campus, and the different programs and services that UCR had to offer.

“The campus was really nice, and I like that they have a good business program because that’s what I’m going to major in as of right now,” Wu said.

The students anticipated the college lifestyle as they observed the UCR students.

“The most interesting thing about UCR was the diversity [of the students] compared to our high school,” senior Scott Lam said. “ There’s also more freedom, and the students can just sit around and chill.

While walking around the campus, the students also noticed differences between high school and college.

“UCR is much more diverse, spacious and has a lot more activities you can participate in,” senior Emily Nguyen said. “It seems more lively in a way, especially in the center where a bunch of students would gather around and hang [out] with their friends in the stores and food places.”

Located in Inland Southern California, UCR is one of the 10 universities within the University of California system and is recognized as one of the most ethnically diverse universities in the nation. Students enrolled in UCR will start school on Sept. 19.

In order to drastically reduce the amount of waste on campus, environmental science teacher David Whitman plans to raise money to implement two water bottle filling stations for San Gabriel High School.

“I’m tired of seeing students carrying around bottles of overpriced filtered tap water,” Whitman said. According to Whitman, about 40 percent of bottled water is tap water.

Whitman has dedicated his lunch hours to grabbing the attention of students and faculty to contribute to his bottle filling station fund.

“My goal is to have all students personally invest in the bottle filling station so everybody has a sense of ownership,” Whitman said.

Students and staff members are welcome to contribute any amount of donation to Whitman at the quad during lunch.

Bottle filling stations are already implemented in several universities such as USC, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State L.A. Having these stations on campus can reduce the amount of plastic built up in the trash cans on campus and save students a lot of money.

The station is touchless and sensor-activated, filling up an entire bottle only takes eight seconds. If Whitman receives enough money, the stations are set to be installed in the courtyard of the cafeteria.

Photo by Sunny Chen

Vivian Wong

As seniors prepare to go their separate ways, some were able to visit different schools such as East Los Angeles College (ELAC) on Feb. 24. Located in the suburb of Monterey Park, the community college is in close proximity to many residents, making it a popular option and alternate college to study at.

Students who attended the field trip took their math and English assessments and received their results instantly to place them into appropriate classes. They were also given an orientation and were informed about the different courses they can take, financial aid and more. Afterwards, they met with a counselor to pick some of their classes for their fall semester.

“It was helpful because we learned what college is gonna be like,” senior Maggie Kwan said.

ELAC offers numerous courses, including their widely known nursing and business programs.

“My favorite thing about ELAC is that they have a variety of stuff that I can learn,” senior Carlos Ramirez said. “I applied there for business and that assured me to go to ELAC.”

Career Technical Education Adviser, Elizabeth An expresses why it is a good idea for students to visit their potential school.

“I believe it is important for students to visit the campuses of their possible future schools because it gives students an opportunity to see what the campus is like and talk to current students,” An said. “In addition, sometimes students hear about a college and think they want to go there, but after visiting, they might feel differently and vice versa.”

Those who visited ELAC are both excited and nervous to embark on a new experience after high school.

The orientation certainly helped alleviate the students’ stress from their transition to college.

Photo courtesy of Zachary Puentes

The Matador band marches through the streets of Temple City.

Senior Lawrence Chen donates money in order to contribute to Whitman’s cause.

OPINIONS 4THE MATADORWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Edward Rivera

“Ed”itor of my world

“My Legacy”The name scrawled above the

epitaph reads “Edward St. John Rivera.” Nevertheless, the young boy who tripped on the tombstone, as he held his mother’s hand on the way to visit the woman he only knew as “grandma,” paid no attention to it. Or him.

When I was about seven, my mind was filled with one particular concept—death.

Being an atheist child and a pessimist mixed with some realist ideals, I could not quite grasp the inevitable end that death proposed. The afterlife for me was going to be a fresh pile of manure. Dirt if I was lucky. Therefore, I developed this longing for immortality, and every birthday I would blow out the candles hoping for eternity. Although a fruitless endeavor, my father ironically, despite his own suicidal thoughts, helped me to alleviate my fear by grasping true immortality.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get by people who have seen or worked with me is: What motivates you to do what you do? While different variations exist, all end up asking me the same thing: With everything that has happened in my life on top of the fact that I am the diligent student that I am, how do I not jump off a cliff? Secondly, I keep in mind the precarious future. I struggle and torture myself not because I am a masochist, but because I fight for a greater cause other than myself. Wait what?

Astonishment at the aforesaid comment is practically a given if one is acquainted with a machiavellian person such as myself. Or at least that is how I am viewed. Cold. Heartless. Alexithymiac. I do, however, care about certain people. Even some who I do not even know.

When I first expressed my death idiosyncrasies to my father, I expected either an explanation of the abstract idea that somehow eluded my comprehension or a speech regarding “universal intelligence” in understanding all facets of life or perhaps the classic “grow up” as implemented by the masses. To my surprise I found that, for once, he was empathetic and understanding.

He explained that even though we all would end up in the ground some day, you can live forever through your legacy. More specifically, your kids. At first, reproduction and progeny seemed cacophonic, but I soon reached the epiphany. Kids are an extension of yourself and like an idea, through them you cannot be killed. And even though I do not know my son or daughter, I know that every decision I make affects them; thus I do my best to succeed not only for myself, but for them. If an entire bloodline can reign with only one predecessor ever suffering, I would fill those worn shoes without hesitating.

“My life.” Wrong. It was always theirs. But it will be MY legacy, and I would be the first of many. However, it all starts with a name.

An ominous, grandiose stone stands tall enclosed in a memorial as its looming shadow darkens the face of a young boy who passes by perplexed, filled with curiosity, and no longer seems to have any recollection of his dead grandma a few yards away.

“Hey honey, do you know who this is? Mr. Rivera?” the mother says softly, as if she was tentative not to wake ‘him’, but just loud enough for the boy to hear. The boy responds, “No mommy.” The mother smiles and takes a deep breath and begins, ”Well you see, he was…”

Teacher aides learn real world skillsA disappointed look appeared on

the faces of underclassmen when they were told that there would not be T.A. positions in the upcoming school year. The elective to be a teacher’s assistant (T.A.) is always a popular pick among incoming seniors. However, the school district has decided to remove it as an elective option because it is not an educational course.

Although T.A.s do not sit in a classroom and learn a specific subject, the work they do throughout the school year helps them learn valuable skills other courses cannot offer. Many believe a T.A.s only job is to make copies and check the teacher’s mailbox. It is true that T.A.s usually do these tasks on a regular basis, but they also have other duties. Depending on the teacher, a T.A. may be asked to organize papers, file work, put work up around the classroom, deliver materials to other teachers, and the list goes on. It may seem that these tasks have no effect on the student, but they actually do.

Having to organize and file papers can help the student become more organized with their school work. Also, delivering to other staff on campus and walking daily to the copy room can help the student improve his or her socialization skills. These skills T.A.’s gain may seem so simple, but there really is only one or two other courses on campus that students can take to learn these skills.

Additionally, T.A.s are actually a huge help for teachers. Although T.A.’s are not allowed to grade the work of other students or input the scores into the gradebook, the tasks they are allowed to complete can help a teacher tremendously.

With the help of T.A.s, teachers can focus their attention on teaching the class and grading the students’ work, which results in grades being updated faster. Also, T.A.s can help turn the classroom into an environment students feel comfortable learning in by putting up work or simply organizing the

classroom.Being an aide immerses students

in a unique school culture that teaches them to value integrity and behave respectfully and thoughtfully in their interactions with others.

The law that the district is attempting to follow by cutting T.A. courses has its roots in very real problems. Some districts were offering “fake courses” that lacked educational content to their students. However, does that problem exist in our award-winning school district? Rather than cutting a course that teaches students how to be healthy, self-aware individuals, why not modify the course so that students wishing to be T.A.s also “formally” learn educational content?

In the end, encouraging students to take an educational course instead of the T.A. elective is sensible, but eradicating all T.A. positions will be counterproductive because without T.A.’s, the school would run as smoothly as it does now.

Street racing, texting threaten innocents

Voters should choose character over genderAmy Yee

If you are a female of eligible voting age, Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and sociopolitical activist Gloria Steinem have one simple message for you: vote for Hillary Clinton, or else you will be undoing all the progress feminists have done over the years.

In a New Hampshire primary campaign for Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton on Feb. 6 right before the Democratic caucus, Al-bright gave an impassioned speech about the importance of women supporting other women, explaining that the the fight for gender equality would be far easier with a first female president. While that statement was said with good intentions, Albright added that there was “a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.”

I understand the point that Albright is trying to make—in an already socially, politically, and economically divided America, people who have common ground with each other need to stick together—but pulling the gender card out and guilt-tripping women of all ages in order to gain support is not the right direction to go; as if a tiny detail such as gender suddenly makes Clinton a better candidate than anyone else.

As if someone’s gender is the sole reason to vote for somebody.In my eyes, it sounds like Albright is trying to disregard the

experience, the political and economical stances, and the character of a single candidate in favor of voting for one thing that would advance the feminist movement by having the first female president in the White House.

Albright was not alone in guilt-tripping women into voting and supporting one of their own. On Feb. 5, the day right before the rally, Steinem appeared on the popular HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher and proceeded to shame young women who were

supporting opposing Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in re-sponse to the voter turnout demographics, which showed Sander’s stronger support among young women as opposed to Clinton’s. Steinem suggested that those young women were only supporting Sanders in order to “meet boys.”

“When you’re young, you’re thinking, ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie,’” Steinem said.

Gee, thanks. So in addition to apparently setting the feminist movement back some twenty or so years back, young women also do not have their priorities straight—choosing boys over an election that might make history. If anything, this sounds like Steinem is quite out of touch with the younger generation of women, imply-ing that all women were boy-crazy, and that male voters should all rally with Bernie just because they’re the same gender. If anything, people should vote for people that represent their views and reflect their social values—not because of a pair of chromosomes.

Stacy Chau

UPS driver Scott Treadway was driving along the 5 Freeway, doing his job to transport goods. On that day, he did not return home.

He was involved in a tragic accident that had occurred due to reckless street racing. Street racing, or the practice of racing in public roads, has also become a problem and has risked the safety of many.

Driving is a privilege which you earn; having the privilege to drive should not be taken advantage of for the safety of the driver and others. Being able to obtain your driver’s license means that you have been deemed a safe driver, and that you are being entrusted to consistently drive safely for as long as you are on the road. For many people, this is not the case.

On Feb. 27, a street race on the 5 Freeway left three innocent victims dead. Police reports suspect that the racers went as fast as 100 miles per hour on a freeway with a speed limit of 65 to 70 miles per hour.

Treadway, who was also an alumnus of San Gabriel, was one of the victims killed during this tragedy. Vic Palacio, a friend of Treadway, believes that street racing will never have a positive outcome.

“My first loss [to street racing] was my brother-in-law’s dad,” Palacio said. “ [My second loss] was Scott. He was a great guy, played football, baseball, and excelled in both sports. My driv-ing has changed since these accidents. I find myself constantly looking in the rear view mirror more than normally for people street racing.”

Texting and driving has also become an issue that has jeopar-dized the safety of people. According to Texting and Distracted Driving Safety, 52 percent of Americans have confessed to talking on a cell phone while driving, while 34 percent have texted while driving. While some feel confident about texting while driving, an alarming amount of accidents occur involving texting and driving. The Huffington Post was able to gather statistics on Americans who text and drive, and found that at least nine Americans are killed every day. In addition, driving and using a cellphone increases the chances of an accident by four times.

Driving irresponsibly has an impact on not only the drivers, but others who may be unsus-pecting or abide to the rules of the road. Innocent lives are lost and people are hurt by the reck-less and harmful activity. Drivers should have at least the courtesy to have regards for not only their lives, but also others’ lives for the chance that not paying attention to the road, texting and driving, and street racing could poten-tially kill innocent people.

Editorial

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The Matador BullringWhat do you get out of being teacher/office aide?

It’s rewarding to see how other students learn. I took the same class two years ago and it’s nice to see

students going through the same learning process as I did back then. “

-Mason Tran, 12th grade

I learned how to have patience and how to be respectful towards other people.” -Leslie Mota, 12th grade

I get to learn more about the faculty and actually interact with them rather than just visit them once for something I need in my entire school year.”-Jose Espana, 12th grade

I get a lot of college advice from Mr. Wong. I chose to TA for chemistry so I can review it be-fore college.” -Margaret Loc, 12th grade

Photos by Sunny Chen

5 THE MATADOR OPINIONSWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

The Matador is published monthly by the journalism class of San Gabriel High School. 1,600 copies per issue are published at J. E. J Print Inc. The Matador is a public forum for student expression and highly encourages responses in reaction to issues discussed in the paper. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, not the faculty or administration. Articles without bylines are the opinion of the staff. Submit comments as a letter to the editor, signed (anonymity is guaranteed if requested), to H-2, or Ms. Kim’s mailbox.

Editors-in-Chief

Managing Editors

News Editors

Opinions Editors

Focus Editors

Life and Art Editors

Sports Editors

Features Editors

Copy Editors

Photo EditorArtists

Business Managers

Website Editors

Multimedia Editors

Blogs ManagerAdviser

Cassandra ChenErin Truong

Carolina GarciaAmy Yee

Nathan TaAmy Yee

Carolina GarciaAmanda Molina

Christy DengEmmanuel Maresca

Ileana PerezKim PhamFrank Lieu

Carolina LoaisigaKelly Ho

Sydney TrieuYing Chow

Eva FongChelsea Huynh

Sunny ChenEva Fong

Kim TaLu Yue Wang

Katherine HoongJessica TranStacy Chau

Thomas WangTom Cheah

Anthony YangKatherine Hoong

Jennifer Kim

Reporters: Hellgert Almontes, Shirley Dinh, Manny Ibarra, Susan Lam, Mario Mandujano, Edward Rivera, Uyen Sy, Britney Ting, Vivian Wong

MATADOR

“

Kim Ta

Part of me

“Ta”lk to ya later

“What is the meaning of life?”, “What is one’s purpose in life?”, and “Why are we here on Earth this time period?” are several unanswered questions. However, I believe that everything happens for a reason.

When high school started, I was afraid for people to get to find out one detail about me: that I had a liver transplant at the age of one.

A liver transplant is a surgical procedure to remove a diseased or injured liver and replace it with a healthy liver. In my case, I found out I needed a liver transplant when one day, my parents took little me to get a check up around three to four months from birth, and the doctors noticed something wrong with my skin color and body internally. The doctors first did surgery on my bowel ducts due to the results from that check up. A few weeks later, my skin was still yellow and so, the doctors determined that my liver wasn’t working properly and in tune with my body.

It took two tries from two different donors for the doctors to find a healthy liver. The first time, my body rejected the liver. Thankfully, the second time, my body found its match. I always imagine my liver donor as the most generous person in the world. To this day, I don’t have a clue what the donor’s name is; however, I hope to find out the name the deceased donor is who saved my life to thank him or her at their grave wherever the or she is.

Because of the liver transplant surgery, I was transferred from Torrance Medical Hospital, where I was born, to a children’s hospital in Los Angeles. When I was between the age of one and five years old, my parents and I moved from Torrance to Westminster to El Monte. Then in the summer of 2006, we moved into a house in Rosemead. I had never questioned the move because I was young and I just followed them. Now, I reflect back and reminisce on the events in my life that led up to me attending San Gabriel High School.

I made it into a big deal to keep my secret from a lot of people because I was unsure how people would react. I was afraid of telling people this because I was fearful of the reaction and if their perception of me changed because of this one detail. Also, I was never an expert on my condition, so I was afraid of getting a lot of questions and not being able to answer them.

I would always wonder what would happen if I never had a liver transplant. Would I even know anything about the schools I attended? Would I have ever crossed paths with such amazing and awesome people I met from my years going to school? Most likely not, because I can’t picture a life where I do not have a liver transplant. Having a liver transplant and moving around a lot made me the person I am: a very inquisitive, hardworking, and anxious person. “This all happened for a reason,” I thought to myself.

I may not know the meaning of life, my purpose, or why we are here now in this time period. But with all the moves during my childhood years and my liver transplant surgery, they will always be a part of me, especially the liver because it has kept me going for 15 years now.

Cheating puts students at future disavantage

When students begin to feel that passing tests are the key to passing courses, they start finding ways to guarantee getting passing grades. Studying is unfortunately often not one of those methods. May it be on a relationship or a test, cheating is never encouraged and it is definitely never the appropriate thing to do.

Whether one is simply lazy, generally unknowing, or desperate for getting a passing grade, cheating has prevailed and has advanced in creative complexity throughout the years. There could be a number of factors that motivate a person to cheat. People know that dire consequences can follow after being caught cheating.

Yet, cheating is practiced frequently. The very fact that one has not gotten caught in the act has sufficed as a justification. According to the Academic Cheating Fact Sheet authored by the Educational Testing Service, ‘‘about 20 percent of college students admitted to cheating in high school during the 1940’s, today between 75 percent and 98 percent of college students surveyed each year report having cheated in high school.’’

That cost of cheating in order to get a passing grade is expensive when the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. Students who continually cheat only prove that the desire to pass a class overpowers that of actually learning. It is a failure to oneself to not fulfill the role of a student to achieve objectives accordingly.

“Students complain that if they study, they’ll forget the material after the test anyway. They feel like cheating will do no difference but guarantee an A,” senior Daniel Morales said.

There is a saying that a hard earned 70 percent is worth more than a 90 percent received from cheating. That may be true when speaking of ethics, but from a logistic perspective, a 90 percent will always be greater and more impressive than a 70 percent regardless of how it was obtained.

Testing is the most effective method of judging whether one knows a subject or not but when passing a test becomes so emphasized and is given much importance, learning loses its purpose. From experience I know that passing Advanced Placement (AP) exams are vital. They grant you a headstart in credits for college. I also have noticed that the whole AP curriculum revolves around passing the test all year round, which makes total sense.

It is assumed that those who get a five on the exam have learned the most and have studied the most to earn that grade, in comparison to those who get a three. The students who received a three could have studied harder and paid more attention in class to improve performance on the test. Nevertheless, if one were to ask both students a couple months later some questions regarding the subject they tested on, they will both most likely not be able to answer

accurately because their focus was not on learning but on passing the test.

Though AP students do not cheat, the same effects of it applies due to how programmed

they are to pass tests. If all loopholes that

allow the possibility of cheating were closed, students would be given no other option but to actually work for a desired grade or to just quit. Both options speak volumes of a person’s character

which is vital when deciding what career

paths to take. Cheaters will never live a complete prosperous life; they will not survive in real world environments.

Mario Mandujano

Illustration by Lu Yue Wang

Illustration by Katherine Hoong

LIFE & ART 8THE MATADORWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Ly’s enthusiasm helps launch clothing brand

Inspired by various clothing lines such as Stussy and Crooks and Castles, senior Johnny Ly decided to pursue his dream and created his own clothing company, “Exclusive Quality,” in the summer of his senior year.

Ly developed the idea of starting his own company in the beginning of his junior year; however, he got motivated to set the gears in mo-tion when he went on a field trip to a women’s shelter, where he saw homeless people sleeping on the curbs.

“There were people on the streets who didn’t even have clothes on their backs,” Ly said. “I wanted to have enough money and enough resources to help them.”

Ly had to face many challenges when it came to financial issues and time management, especially during senior year.

“One of my greatest hardships was getting [enough money] to start [the company],” Ly said. “I had to save up all my spare change at first.”

The clothing designs that Ly has produced at the moment showcase floral patterns and innovated print.

Ly’s designs have captured the atten-tion of several San Gabriel students, who can be seen sporting his shirts around the school. To advertise, Ly uses some of

these students to pose for his company’s Instagram account.

“Sometimes I felt like [some] designs weren’t that good and no one [would] like it,” Ly said. “But then I [would] get really positive reactions from my friends around school and that’s a great feeling.”

Despite starting small, Ly hopes to ex-pand by the time he goes to college.

“I plan on hiring people fit for the job when I attend college,” Ly said. “I look forward for the future; I want to see my designs in retail and see people actu-

ally choosing to buy them.”Ly is grateful for the support

that he gets from his friends and his family. He enjoys learning from his failures and uses them to improve his compa-ny. His positivity has pushed him to keep working hard

despite the challenges that he has faced.

“I’ve made a lot of simple mistakes and faced thousands of failures,” Ly said. “ I keep mov-

ing forward because I know that I’ll eventually get the experience and opportunity that I need to succeed.”

“Exclusive Quality” is the first step towards an entrepreneur career for Ly. Being one of a

few students who have started pursuing their dreams, Ly’s early start will certainly give him a boost in developing a success-ful business.

When Key Club was first established in the early 20th century, never would its founders have imagined that it would flour-ish to the extent that it has today. Now, there are groups of students all over the world aiming to better the world, and one of them is at San Gabriel High School.

One of the most interesting characteristics of Key Club lies in its origin. Founded in 1925, the club is now the largest and oldest student-led organization in the world. There are also many smaller organizations branch-ing from the main Key Club, such as Circle K and Kiwanis, which members collectively call the “K family.”

Senior Terri Tang, the president of Key Club, stated that she enjoyed being in Key Club because of the welcoming and encour-aging environment that members of Key Club create.

“Through the years, Key Club has in-troduced me to the most genuine and kind people out there,” Tang said. “They’re quirky and friendly in their own unique ways.”

Another thing that Tang believes sets Key Club apart from others is its members’ genuine desire to help others.

Qi creates, shares abstract art

A pair of eyes and lips sliding off a glass- like container of milk on a blue background; this is one of the many paintings junior Kyle Qi has painted that has his peers rais-ing their eyebrows in confusion. “I tend to focus more on the way I see things rather than how they actually are,” is Qi’s response to his different take on art.

Qi has been drawing since he was seven years old; his mother soon noticed his tal-ent for art and enrolled him in art classes. He began with b a s i c t r a i n -ing where he learned how to draw properly with shapes, shading, and shadows. By middle school, Qi moved on to drawing comic strips and super heroes. Once he entered high school, his style had changed to a more emotional and feeling-based theme, where he would paint and draw what he saw. Now, Qi focuses on a more creative side of himself and calls his art a combination of abstract and surrealism.

Qi is currently working on selling his art online. So far, he has set up a website where people can go and purchase the art they like.

There are no set prices yet, but Qi has been working to get his online store up and run-ning so everyone can have access to his art and be able to purchase it.

“I am fairly new to this independent artist [job],” Qi said. “It has been really slow but I am working on it.”

Qi plans to attend a university out of state where he can major in fine arts

or art educa-tion. Qi hopes to teach art in the future, and he would also like to see his art displayed in dif-ferent museums and exhibits. Additionally, Qi is also extremely grateful to have his parents’ full support in his career choice.

“I am surprised [my parents support me] because usually Asian families would want [their kids] to go into something like engineering,” Qi said. “Although my dad wanted me to go into dentistry, he supports me now, and my mom definitely supports me. I always ask her for her opinions on [my art] and she tells me how to improve it.”

Qi hopes he can continue showing his family and peers the unique way he sees the world through his art.

Carol ina Garcia I leana Perez

“They don’t do this for a resumé,” Tang said. “I always see expressions of sincere joy whenever I attend a service event with Key Club [members].”

Rallies and conventions are an inte-gral part of the club’s culture as well. There is the annual Fall Rally held at Six Flags as well as two large conventions, one district and one international. The annual rallies are one of the most popular events, and they present an opportunity for members to make new connections and celebrate the hours of service they have dedicated to the club, some of which are part of decade-long projects that span across the entire globe, such as Project Eliminate.

Key Club has made a great impact on many of its members by spreading a message that one can give back to society regardless of age, ethnicity or disabilities. “Key Club is something truly amazing in my eyes and [those] of its members,” Tang said, “because it unites people who all strive to do one thing: better our com-munities through service. It’s definitely an organization to marvel at and its in-dividual members are KEY components in this effort, [pun intended].”

The Association of Latin American Stu-dents, known as ALAS, has been a major club in San Gabriel High School since the ‘70s. Incredibly, this club has adapted to many changes for over 40 years and has contin-ued its legacy. ALAS was founded to bring awareness about college and to help Latinos become part of the community. Now, the club is making a comeback with over 100 members participating.

A major discontinued ALAS tradition is a coronation ball that united San Gabriel High School, Mark Keppel High School, and other schools to achieve the same goal. The fund-raiser was meant to raise enough money to give scholarships to low-income Latinos and help prepare them for college.

“Our main focus is to always encourage students to have post secondary goals, to contribute their time to their community,“ ALAS adviser Beatriz Macias said.

What ALAS has not stopped is their mo-tivation to help out the community by pro-moting any upcoming events to volunteers. ALAS provides volunteering opportunities representing the Latino group, such as the Dia De Los Muertos festival celebrated at

San Gabriel. “This year we [helped out with] kids’

corner, helped parents take care of their kids. We played games and interacted with them,” Vice President junior Brandon Gallardo said.

ALAS members are encouraged to help out with any event. ALAS also offers field trips for Latinos to the Latino conference.

Every year, there is the Chicano Con-ference and the Chicana Conference hosted by Pasadena Community College to allow the students to experience what it is like to attend college after graduation. These conferences include many Latino key speakers who encourage and motivate Latinos with their stories about success.

One of the main field trips is the Latino conference for both Latinos and Latinas at University of California, Riverside, coming up this April. The main purpose is to educate the students about college through the many workshops offered. There are workshops about various types of majors as well as many representatives from different campuses. ALAS does anything possible to support its members which is why they invite any Latino to become part of the ALAS family.

Association of Latin American Students

Key Club

Photo courtesy of El Camino Real

Eva Fong

Manny Ibarra

Club origins establish present-day traditions

Photo by Sunny Chen

Photo by Sunny Chen

Photo courtesy of Key Club

9 THE MATADOR LIFE & ARTWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Pokestuf offers quality poke at fair price Christy Deng

Behold: the poke bowl and all of its mysterious and delicious glory. It is almost like a culinary riddle; the special skill and technique put into a poke bowl needs to be precise in or-der to make your taste buds react well with the raw, chewy goodness.

The poke bowl is filled with your choice of r ice or noodles, and com-bined with sliced pieces of raw fish and toppings such as avocado, sesame seeds, or seaweed.

Poke first origi-nated in Hawaii , a n d s i n c e t h e n , many locations serv-ing these succulent conundrums have opened in Califor-nia, especially in the San Gabriel Valley.

Pokestuf, located on the corner of Main Street and Fourth Street in Alhambra, is one of the many places that serve poke. Ordering poke is like ordering a bowl at Chipotle; choose your base, your meat, and your toppings. Pokestuf offers a decent amount of selections at good prices.

As I walked into Pokestuf, I noticed the cleanliness of the interior and the warm, welcoming atmosphere. A large menu

The Matador Muse

You mottled my skin. You left me for dead for one, two, three, four

years. Still I crave you and the absence you placed within my mind. From you, I learned col-

lapse. Actively inactive, broken skin as my supposed savior, I learned to lose myself. Your assistance in

helping me die has taught me, out of necessity, to bring myself back

to life. I cannot have my skin back. But I will take back my mind. My dreams of blood will cease with time. Scars, I love you, but I will

not turn to you again.

-Annmarie Aros, senior

“To My Scars”

presenting their various selections and prices was hung on the wall, and my eyes quickly skimmed over to the prices: a regular-sized bowl is $9.50 while a large is $12.75, which is not bad for poke. They offer four bases, which is a plus since other poke restaurants only offer the typical two: white or brown rice.

I ordered a poke bowl with white r i c e , a h i t u n a , salmon, albacore, sesame shoyu fla-vor, and an end-less amount of my favorite toppings, avocado and green onions. Once I or-dered, the worker w a s e x t r e m e l y kind and complet-ed my bowl in a short amount of time. They serve the food in a rect-angular container, unlike the usual r o u n d - s h a p e d bowl.

The combination of different flavors and fish practically exploded in my mouth; it was delicious and succulent, and almost reached my expectations of a perfect poke bowl.

The only downside is that Pokestuf does not offer many selections in raw fish, such as my favorite, hamachi, also known as yellowtail. Aside from that, Pokestuf is very impressive.If you are looking for a poke restaurant with reasonable prices, spend your hard-earned money at Pokestuf.

Photo by Christy Deng

SUBMIT TO THE MATADOR MUSE: Email attachment of poem or drawing to kimpham.sghs@gmail.com. Include name, grade, and title of work.

10SPORTS THE MATADORWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

VARSITY2/9 vs. Bell Gardens2/12 @ Montebello2/18 vs. Canyon

JV2/9 @ Bell Gardens2/12 vs. Montebello

G I R L S B A S K E T B A L L G I R L S S O C C E RVARSITY2/9 @ Montebello2/12 @ Alhambra

JV 2/9 @ Montebello2/12 @ Alhambra

B O Y S S O C C E RVARSITY2/9 vs. Montebello2/12 vs. Alhambra

JV2/9 vs. Montebello2/12 vs. Alhambra

B O Y S B A S K E T B A L LVARSITY2/9 vs. Bell Gardens2/12 @ Montebello

JV2/9 @ Bell Gardens2/12 vs. Montebello

2015-16 Winter Sports Scoreboard

61-44 W57-53 L

N/AN/A

39-16 W58-42 W38-23 L

NANA

9-0 L3-1 L

N/A1-0 W

3-0 L0-0 T

NA1-0 L

In addition to being a passionate World History and AP Human Geography teacher, Sophia Suñe also shares her experience and interest in jumps as the new Track and Field jumps coach starting this spring season.

Suñe was an athlete when she was still in school and continues to be sur-rounded by what she loves to do.

“I started in middle school and participated in jumps all throughout high school. Then I continued in college for three years,” Suñe said.

While coaching the jumps team for her first time, Suñe said that she saw a lot of potential in her athletes and looked forward to working with them.

“They’re great kids, and they work hard. I think that’s the reason why we’re doing so well at practice,” Suñe said. “I know we’re going to be a strong team.”

To prepare for the upcoming season, Suñe came up with a strategic routine to strengthen her team.

“We do jumping drills three days a week, conditioning, and biometrics,” Suñe said.

Suñe feels grateful for the opportunity to become a coach, which allows her to meet students that she has never encountered before.

“The head coach found out that I had done jumps so he asked me to help out,” Suñe said. “I’m really glad that he asked me because being a new teacher, maybe someone else or another teacher that has been here longer wanted to [take the position] over me. It’s just really nice.”

As a seasoned jumper, Suñe shares her advice and experience with students. Like most students, she has been discouraged before, but her hard work and efforts have led her to her accomplishments.

“Don’t listen to people who say you can’t do it. I’ve had a high school coach who said that I sucked and then I still went onto college and did jumps. You can’t listen to the mean things,” Suñe said.

Suñe was a four year letterman at Fountain Valley High School, who placed on the all-time record list as number six in triple jump. She competed at Golden West College, where she placed first in both long and triple jumps at her league finals.

New jump coach joins track team

Uyen Sy

Bojorquez qualifies for CIF

S k y e B o j o rq u e z w i l l c o m p e t e i n C I F W r e s t l i n g P l a y o f f s .

After having vigorously practiced wrestling techniques for nearly a year, junior Skye Bojorquez’s efforts paid off when she qualified for the California Interscholastic Federa-tion (CIF).

“[I felt] proud of myself [for hav-ing made it to CIF],” Bojorquez said. “[To prepare for the competition], I went to practice and worked on the things I needed working on.”

During her rounds, Bojorquez used what she learned during prac-tice, including entries, shots, and takedowns, to defeat and take down her opponents.

“I felt nervous at first,” she said, “but then I began doing things [more naturally].”

Bojorquez made it past the quali-fying round to the championship tournament. Although she did not manage to make it to state, which is one level above the championship tournament, she did qualify as an alternate.

“I had a very strong and confident feeling she would make it through to CIF,” wrestling coach Alex Cabral said. “I wasn’t surprised, just happy she made it through. She put in a lot of hard work, and it showed in the end.”

Bojorquez, who is currently in her first year of wrestling, plans to continue wrestling next year and hopes to qualify for CIF once again and progress to state.

Britney Ting

Photo by Sunny Chen

Photo by Sunny Chen

Sophia Suñe jumps from teaching in a classroom and advising Academic Decathalon to coaching Track and Field.

11 THE MATADOR SPORTSWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9. 2016

Captains and Coaches of 2016 Spring Sports

Name: Jeff WatSport: Swim (A Team Medley, B Team

400m Freestyle Relay, 100m Breaststroke )Q: What are your expectations and

goals for this year? A: I would like more CIF qualifica-

tions in our team, from considerations times to automatic times. I think we need to have an improvement of team pride and spirit.

Q: What is the legacy you hope to leave behind to the younger athletes in swim?

A: I want everybody to remember Captain Wat and I’ll leave it up to the youngsters to decide.

Name: Ryan WongSport: BadmintonQ: Why did you decide to coach?A: I was asked by my athletic director to help out back

in 2011 when badminton lost their coach, even though I had no experience in the sport whatsoever. It’s astonish-ing now that my team back then accepted me as one of their own, and I’m grateful to them for the opportunity to build the program to what we have now.

Q: What do you like about badminton?A: I like that badminton is one of the few sports that

has a co-ed event. I also like that badminton requires being able to out-think your opponent, where hitting the hardest isn’t always the way to win.

Captains

Name: Terri TangSport: Swim (B Team Medley, 100m

Breaststroke and Freestyle)Q: What are your expectations and

goals for this year?A: I hope to place within our league

because we’ve been stripped of any win-ning title for too long.

Q: What is the legacy you hope to leave behind?

A: I would want the underclassmen to remember me as the captain who cared for swim in the pool, and outside of school. There’s so much more to being a captain than a title on a resume and I want to be the person to exemplify that.

Name: May LoSport: Swim (A Team 200m Freestyle

Relay, 200m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly)Q: What are your expectations and

goals for this year? A: I want everybody to do better now

than when they started [in swim]. It’s all about doing better than yourself rather than the person next to you. I would like to beat my own time.

Q: What is the legacy you hope to leave behind to the younger athletes in swim?

A: I want everybody to try their hardest and to put a lot of effort in the upcoming season.

Name: Kelvin HuangSport: Swim (B Team Medley, B

Team 200m Freestyle Relay, 100m Backstroke)

Q: What are your expectations and goals for this year?

A: I would like to be a good captain, and drop time to qualify for CIF.

Q: What is the atmosphere like?A: It’s chaotic, but in a good way.

It gets crazy, but when we want to get things done, it will be done.

Q: What is the legacy you hope to leave behind?

A: I hope to leave swim in a good note in terms of reputation.

Name: Tommy LiungSport: VolleyballQ: What are your expectations and

goals this season?A: My expectations for us is to go 10-0

(win all games) league and hopefully get to CIF finals this year.

Q: What is the atmosphere like?A: We’re working so hard to become a

better team and become better individual players.

Q: What legacy do you hope to leave behind?

A: I hope that the underclassmen re-alize that they have to work their butts off and focus on their skill work if they want to win, become better players, and become a better team.

Name: Gene XiangSport: TrackQ: what are your expectations and

goals for this year?A: I want to make track more enjoy-

able and bring the team closer. Q: What was one of the reasons you

joined track?A: One of the reasons why I joined

track was because my 7th grade teacher said I run fast. I wanted to do hurdles because I want to learn parkour. And I’m in jumps because I play basketball.

Q: What do you plan on doing after track season ends?

A: I plan to attend Humboldt State University, escape Rosemead, and ex-plore the world.

Name: Kylie Tran Sport: Track Q: What are your expectations and

goals for this year? A: I want to unite the team as much as

possible because we’re so big. It’s hard to know all your fellow teammates. I’m do-ing so by holding more socials and getting the team together as much as possible.

Q: What do you like about track?A: Competing is exciting and I love

the rush that I get when we have [track] meets.

Q: What do you plan on doing after track season?

A: I plan to attent college after high school and study kinesiology to become a physical therapist.

Name: Leo LiuSport: TennisQ: What are your expectations and

goals for this season?A: We’re just trying to make the play-

offs this season because we have a really young team. Everyone has a lot of poten-tial to grow but we’re not quite there yet.

Q: What is the atmosphere like?A: We have a very loose atmosphere;

we’re very close to each other and joke around. During the game, we support each other. We just try to build each other up.

Q: What legacy would you like to leave behind?

A: Personally, I want to be the number one singles player in the league.

Coaches

Name: Jose QuezadaSport: SoftballQ: What are your expectations and goals for this

season?A: Our expectations and goals is to establish a win-

ning program. We are setting the standards high right out of the gate and expect to be in the top three in our league as well as making CIF playoffs.

Q: What legacy do you wish to leave behind?A: We wish to leave a strong winning tradition

behind, but most importantly a sense of importance and value to each and every young lady that dons our softball uniform. We want to set the examples on and off the field.

Name: Chuy Peinado Sport: BaseballQ: What are your expectations and goals for this

season?A: I want to have a better season than last year and

to win conference.Q: What is the atmosphere of the team?A: Our atmosphere is very high. We have a fully

packed stadium every game we had and we only had two games [so far].

Q: How is your training routine?A: Constructive, hard, no fear, go hard or go home.Q: What legacy do you want to leave behind?A: A legacy of champions.

The following sports do not have a captain so their coaches were interviewed instead.

Interviews by Cassandra Chen, Ying Chow, Frank Lieu, Mario Mandujano, Nathan Ta, Britney Ting, and Lu Yue Wang

Photos by Stacy Chau and Sunny Chen

Photo of the coach is currently unavailable at this time.

FEATURES 12THE MATADORWEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

For more articles, visit The Matador’s

website atthematadorsghs.us

Revilla recounts experience with divorce, shares advice

Uyen Sy

As a life-long commitment, marriage is beyond moving into a nice house and raising a family. In order to maintain a healthy, lov-ing relationship, it is crucial for one to take their time and find the right person; however, today, one in two marriages end in divorce. Cecilia Revilla, the Associated Student Body and choir teacher, has experienced one before and knows best in dealing with the fearful and dreadful idea of divorce.

Revilla came from a generation of baby boomer parents who she claims had a “perfect little life.” Her mother stayed home while her father worked, returning home at a reasonable hour. Together, her parents maintained a strong relationship, influencing Revilla’s perspective on how marriage would be like.

“When I got married, I never thought I was going to get divorced, especially coming from a family where my mom and dad were al-ways together. I just expected everything to be normal,” Revilla said.

After being married for five years, Revilla divorced her husband and felt like a failure not only to herself, but to her two sons. However, she believes that it was the best thing she could have done for herself.

“My sons were little at the time of the divorce, only three and five years old. I think in the long run, it was best for me to get divorced then,” Revilla said. “But what I really wish I could have done was give them two parents who really loved and respected each other.”

Before her divorce, Revilla was confused and conflicted over the choice that would greatly impact her and her family. However, with advice and support, she eventually got through the hard process.

“I had a friend who was 20 years older than me. She was both divorced and widowed. She told me that it was easier to lose some-body to death than to go through divorce,” Revilla said. “I’m very lucky that I’m really close to my family: my mom, my dad, and my sisters. They didn’t want me to get a divorce but when things hap-pened, they supported me all the way.”

As an adult who has experienced divorce, Revilla shares her advice with students about committing to a relationship.

“I think an important thing to realize, especially for young kids, is that if anybody ever treats you badly, then just walk away no matter what you feel,” Revilla said. “Another thing is that you’re never going to change anybody. You can’t change a person or save them from being awful.”

Although divorces are not easily forgotten, Revilla learned to cope and eventually became an independent person.

“The best way to prevent divorce is to really find out who you are first and not create these little fantasies in your head about what marriage is,” Revilla said. “Don’t ever let anybody put pressure on you. You really need to know yourself first.”

Rivera reflects on parents’ divorce

Senior Emma Rivera was only four years old when her parents filed for divorce.

“It was definitely really difficult because the main thing that changed was the custody and living arrangements,” Rivera said.

Rivera had to learn to live life split between her parents, keeping her commitments to school activities, friends, and sports at a minimal to maintain relationships with both parents. She carried her books and schoolwork back and forth between two houses every other day, ex-pecting completely different environments and parenting upon entering each house.

“In the end I think it was the right decision for my [mother] to divorce my father, but I do not think the custody should’ve been [settled] that way,” Rivera said.

Drawing from her own experience, Rivera wrote a research paper for her English class regarding the harmful effects a parents’ divorce could impose on their children. Her research mentioned the occurence of psychological trauma, including depression, anxiety, and dif-ficulty functioning in social aspects.

“[The paper] talks about how children who come from divorced families sometimes don’t know what a healthy, good relationship looks like, and they don’t know what to look for in a spouse,” Rivera said. “Oftentimes they’ll end up finding someone who might not be a good person to be with. It also talks about what it’s

like living after your parents’ divorce, because they do treat you a little bit differently.”

Rivera believes the divorce brought her closer to

her mother. Her father, on the other hand, was a different story.

“My mom is my best friend, pretty much. She was very supportive throughout the whole thing, but my dad was really strict and intimi-dating. He was a Marine [so] he kind of ran the household that way,” Rivera said. “I didn’t re-ally know who he was, except for the fact that he was my father.”

Living in separate houses would oftentimes be tough for Rivera and her younger brother, since going to their father’s house meant brac-ing themselves for however bad his temper was going to be. However, returning to their mother’s house provided a sanctuary.

“I don’t blame myself for the divorce at all, but I know a lot of people have this issue when their parents get divorced. They have to feel like it’s their fault, but I don’t think people should feel [that way],” Rivera said. “Of course it’s dif-ferent for [everybody], but in my situation I know it was because...my mother did not want us [to grow] up seeing arguments all the time. She did not want us to see marriages like that and think it was healthy.”

Despite the adversity, Rivera still attributes the whole experience to making her a stronger person, as well as giving her the ability to iden-tify negative personality traits and unhealthy relationships. She is free to live her own life now, rather than the balancing act that she dealt with all those years before.

“I don’t do anything to alleviate the memo-ries. They’re there, and they’ve made me who I am today. The only thing I can do is look back and think, ‘I survived it, I’m here today, and I’m doing better than I was [before].’”

Le redefines personal sense of family Edward Rivera

Choir and ASB teacher Cecilia Revilla with her two sons.

Photo courtesy of Cecilia Revilla

Senior Andy Le used to see his mom every morning when he woke up—until she moved to another state, divorcing his dad and leaving behind two sons.

“Right after my mom left, I guess for a couple of weeks I couldn’t really concentrate on academ-ics because I was so emotionally hurt by the fact that I was left behind by my mom,” Le said. He was in the sixth grade at the time. “The cause of the divorce, I believe, was a lack of communication and compromise. I don’t blame myself but I know that my brother and I were the main reasons why my parents didn’t divorce earlier, [which] I am kind of grateful for [but] I do wish I had a parental figure who is much more emotionally expressive and sympathetic.”

In the aftermath of the divorce, Andy’s role and responsibility grew as a brother as he strove to become a role model to his younger brother Ricky “in terms of maturity and grades.” His father, on the other hand, although becoming more “of the ideal father compared to before the divorce,” withdrew from his sons’ lives, Andy felt.

Shortly after the divorce, Andy along with Ricky and his dad moved into his aunt and uncle’s house. In order to fill the void left by his parents,

his aunt became his “mom, dad, every-

thing, and more.”

“Sometimes I wish I had more of a conven-tional family. My family runs with an authori-tarian, traditional, and conservative style that really stresses me out. So I really don’t mind who is in the family but rather how it is run. But in the future... I don’t want kids to grow up knowing that relationships and love don’t last or that their parents can’t get along,” he said. “I don’t regret where I am today because of these events. The divorce and every wrong turn shaped my ideals to form who I am today.”

Ultimately, Andy feels he made the right deci-sion by staying in California with his dad and brother. Instead of defining his life by regrets or fixating on the past, he uses his unfortunate situ-ation as motivation to carve out a better future. And he shares his experience hoping to inspire and help others.

“For any person going through a divorce problem, I would say just live your life

to its fullest potential. Don’t live in the past and don’t stress out on an un-

known future too far away to see,” Le said. “Your life most likely is

going to drastically change and everything probably won’t make sense. It’s okay. Don’t bottle in these thoughts and emotions [and] talk it out to friends or teachers or counselors.”

Le wants others to know that it’s okay, if in the future, you still feel pain when you think of your family.

Kim Pham

Photo courtesy of Andy LeLe (left) with his aunt and brother.