January 2006 Skyline High School Vol. XLIV, No.4

Upcoming EventsFebruary

Wednesday 02/01-Short Day Dismissal, 11:25 a.m.

Friday 02/03-Men BB vs. Fremont, 3:45 p.m.

Tuesday 02/07-Men BB vs. Oakland, 3:45 p.m.

Thursday 02/09-OUSD Jazz Festival @ Skyline High School, 3:45 p.m.

Friday 02/10-Men BB vs. McClymonds, 3:45 p.m.

Saturday 02/11-ACT Test Date, 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday 02/15-Women BB vs. Oakland Tech, 3:45 p.m.

Friday 02/17-Men BB vs. Castlemont, 3:45 p.m.

Monday 02/20-President’s Day, No School

Wednesday 02/22-Womens BB vs. Fremont, 3:45 p.m.

Jaredt Hunter lifts Sarah Preil in “I Don’t Miss You At All” during the dance production. The Skyline dance production

Staff photo

By Geoff Bantilan

Possible Skyline Strike

Watching the dance “God is God” was

so intense it made my heart pump really fast

-Jackson Sterns

Katie Hauser-StaffJessica He and Madeline Stewart performing the umbrella dance “East Rain.”

By Katie HauserJudy Wong.

Each dance was different in both costume usage and settings. This differentiated each style of dance in the production. The dance shows have a long-standing reputation at Skyline as being very professional. Overall the dance show was a financial success, and the profit will used to put on another show in May.

and portrayed the controlled movements of ballet. There were some culturally representative dances as well. The dance “East Rain” was a cultural addition using colorful umbrellas as props and the traditional Asian dress wear as costumes.

“The umbrellas in the dance “East Rain” were visually beautiful; and made the dance more enjoyable,” said senior

Skyline’s dance production wrapped up its first show of the year on January 14.

The show included a wide variety of dance styles. It started off on a light note with a satire of boy bands. This was a new take for dance production on mixing dance and entertainment.

Later the audience cheered while watching stunning acrobatics performed by Jessica Boatner. Boatner, who choreographed the “God is God” dance used a rendition of god and angels to relate passion and drama to the audience.

“Watching this dance “God is God” was so intense it made my heart pump really fast,” said senior Jackson Stearns. There were other new additions in the repertoire including hip-hop dance styles. As illustrated in dances “Jamrock” and “A Day at the Mall.”

Classical and interpretative dance graced the stage in the production; mesmerized the audience with its traditional take on dance

The umbrellas in the dance “East Rain”

were visually beautiful-Judy Wong

After months of budget cuts and power struggles, the teachers will soon be making a final decision, to strike or not to strike. The fact finding report issued is in favor of the teachers and now state appointee Randolph Ward must decide whether to give the teachers what they want or face a strike.

Two years ago teachers agreed to a four-percent pay cut, a co-pay in the health care benefits, and a decrease in the number of workdays that allowed them to prepare for the opening and closing of classrooms.

This year, elementary teachers’ prep period has been taken away, and substitute teachers wages have decreased.

Claude Ames, the arbitrator of fact-finding, is responsible for evaluating the district’s and the union’s facts concerning the teachers contract. Saturday, he issued a report that recommended saving the elementary prep period, restoring teachers pay cuts, adjusting contributions to teacher’s health care benefits, and increasing substitute’s pay. This report and its recommendations are not binding, and Ward has the power to reject it if he deems it necessary. There is now a ten-day period during which the district and union will negotiate. The union will then vote on Ward’s decision, which could lead to a strike. Negotiations resumed 10 am Saturday, January 28.

“It’s not something we want, but when you are being given all these take-backs and you look at the future of education in Oakland, you have to make a stance for what is right,” said Ben Visnick, union president.

However disruptive cut backs have been, Ward must maintain the district’s budget, and may not agree that the district is able afford the proposed teacher’s contract.

“We have a fiscal recovery that depends on contract logically that we can afford. We have a number of school districts that are in trouble right now in this state because they have agreed to contracts they cannot afford,” said Ward.

Despite Ward’s opinion, Ames has labeled the district’s financial data presented at the fact finding hearing as “incomplete, inaccurate, and unverifiable.” The San Francisco

Chronicle and other local newspapers are now displaying ads calling for “emergency temporary teachers for $300 per day to work during a strike or other job action.” Currently substitutes earn $111 per day. “The school district has borrowed money from teachers that must be paid. It has also received additional money from its Measure E funds and the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) that are sufficient enough to give teachers a modest raise,” said Michael Zack, a Skyline teacher and union building representative. Going on strike will cause serious problems for both teachers and students, who will go without proper education for an indefinite length of time. This could be devastating to students, especially seniors who are planing to graduate this year or make up credits through summer school.

“Teachers are in fact not pushing for a strike,” said Mr. Zack, “nevertheless, if our needs continue to be ignored and if Ward refuses to negotiate the proposals presented, then we will have no choice but to stand up for our rights and demand our needs be met.”

A strike would cause difficulties, but both district and union are prepared. Whether or not it will take place is still undecided.

By Elise Rath

Have cell phonesbecome the enemy?

Opinions

Do you need anger management?

Entertainment

Skyline Idolrocks again

Features

2 News January 2006Natural disasters take their toll on the Skyline campus

Katie Hauser- StaffA tree falls in the Skyline student parking lot as a result of the storms that passed through over the break.

The Bird Flu virus is evolving and could soon kill millions

The storm was such a pain. How am I sup-posed to be a good

student if I can’t do my homework?

-Paul Li

By Daniel Ha

www.cbsnews.comA lab worker in the UK carries out a turkey suspected of having the Avian FLu.

I’ve heard about the bird flu, but I don’t

know anything about it-Liz Cotroneo

The Spanish Flu killed millions of people worldwide and I’m

scared this flu could do the same

-Howard Lo

Rainstorms plagued the entirety of California in the last weeks of December, forcing many thousands of Northern Californians to greet the new year+ in darkness incurred by power outages. The storms started off what is sure to be many rainstorms to come.

Unfortunately, the huge rainstorm affected many Skyline students. Students were stuck in heavy traffic while trying to get to school when the rain made it almost unbearable to drive, and some had the misfortune of walking up Skyline hill drench in rain when they forgot their umbrella. In addition, the power outages caused by the storm frustrated many students as they tried to to do their homework in

the dark.“The storm was such a

pain. How am I suppose to be a good student if I can’t do my homework?” said senior Paul Li.

California State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven different counties, Alameda as one of those. Initial estimates put the damage throughout Northern California at more than $100 million. The flooding resulted in damage to over 600 homes and 150 businesses in the city of Napa alone.

“The rain was irritating. I couldn’t go out often.” said senior Amber Waterford.

In addition to flood damages, the continuous rainfall led to high ground saturation. This in turn resulted in numerous

mudslides and allowed for trees to be up rooted from the high winds. One such incident was a tree falling onto the skyline parking lot, luckily while the campus was vacant for Winter Break.

After the brutal weather

that Californians experienced during the month of December, many people are beginning to question whether California is prepared to handle whatever natural disasters are sure to come. California was lucky to escape

I hope this bad weather will end. I need sun-

shine-Daniel Kingsbook

Although many students at Skyline are aware of the bird flu, most don’t know of the extreme danger it poses and the potential for a global pandemic. In a

survey conducted among Skyline students, seventy five percent of students knew what the bird flu was, but knew nothing about it. “I’ve heard about

the bird flu, but I don’t know anything about it,” said senior Liz Cotroneo.

A deadly flu that has killed tens of millions of birds in the last decade has shown up in Asia in the last month, alerting many global health officials to fear a potential human flu pandemic. In the past few weeks, the bird flu has already been reported in ten Asian countries, and millions of birds have been killed by the virus or intentionally to prevent further spreading.

While the virus is extremely lethal among birds, it has not yet evolved the ability to be transmitted directly to people. All the cases in the past month have involved people who have come in direct contact with bird blood or feces.

Even though the flu is still mainly an animal virus, 39 people have been killed within the past year. According to the World Health Organization, 19 people have died in Vietnam, 11 people have died in Indonesia, and 3 people have died in China. When the virus evolves and is able to transmit directly between humans, there is a dangerous possibility for a devastating global flu outbreak.

“The Spanish flu killed millions of people worldwide and I’m scared this flu could do the same,” said senior Howard Lo.

Humans have little natural immunity against the H5N1 strain of the avian flu and the virus already contains half of the ten mutations that made the 1918 Spanish flu so contagious. The 1918 Spanish flu bug was a severe and deadly strain of avian

I’m actually kind of scarred of the bird flu

because it might spread as quickly as SARS.

This could be the next black death-Lily Wong

influenza that killed close to 50 million people worldwide. It was caused by the H1N1 type of flu virus, a close relative to the H5N1 virus.

A global outbreak of the bird flu could bring widespread death and illness, bring the whole world to a stop by destroying populations and societies, and cripple the global economy much like the events of September 11th.

“I’m actually kind of scared of the bird flu because it might spread as quickly as SARS. This could be the next Black Death that spreads across the world and kills half of our population and the worst part is that we have yet to find a vaccination for it,” said senior Lily Wong.

By Ho-Hin Choy

these past storms with only fairly mild consequences, but if another natural disaster were to hit, would California be ready?

“I hope this bad weather will end. I need the sunshine.” said senior Daniel Kingsbook.

Lunar New YearBy Nga Chan Lunar New Year oc-curred on January 29, marking an important holiday for many Asian students. Skyline students cel-ebrated the holiday on Friday the 27 by wearing red, the Chinese color of the New Year and good luck. This is the year 4704 for the Chinese calendar and the year of the dog for the zodiac. The holiday has tradi-tions that must be followed in or-der to get rid of the old year and keep the luck of the new year. One must make sure to cut their hair and clean their house before the holiday, because after, these things are thought to send away good luck.

OPINIONSSKYLINE ORACLE

3 January 2006

This month we depart from the world of mainstream political parties to look in on yet another intriguing aspect of government: third party platforms. Always amusing and hardly ever effective, these parties continue to surface after countless of their brethren crash and burn. 1) Family Values Party (FVP)- Founded by one Tom Wells, the FVP is dedicated to stopping abortion, and with a very good reason. Although Wells believes that God told him to encourage people to stop paying their taxes until abortions were made illegal, the FVP is actually not a Christian right-wing party. They are actually Jewish! And these religious pro-lifers are very exclusive about who can help the party’s goals or even give money to the party. Due to the way the FVP interprets the Torah, only males over the age of twenty can help out by donating money and by refusing to pay their taxes. The FVP presidential ticket currently under development is the “Tom Wells, Loving and Obedient Child of God” campaign. 2) Pot Party- One goal, and one goal alone keeps these highly motivated individuals moving: make pot legal. Sadly they have not taken a single step toward that goal beyond making a flag and a very intellectual tagline which calls the Pot Party, “a movement to pretty much legalize marijuana…” They do get a lot of practice running a government, though. The Pot Party actively participates in

a fantasy online government called the U.S. Parliament, and take for themselves titles like “Prime Minister of California”. It is very nice to know that people like this could someday lead our national government. 3) American Party (AP)-This commonly named

political party is as conservative as they come. Openly anti-gay, the AP thinks that the Bush administration is too soft for their own good. Sadly the last two AP presidential ticket’s failed to qualify for the ballot in any state whatsoever, something even the Nazi Party was able to accomplish while they were in the habit of running candidates.

4) Libertarians- Essentially just freedom loving citizens, the Libertarians are the hippies of the political world. They are more or less pro-everything; pro-choice, pro-drugs, pro-gay marriage. In fact, the only things the Libertarians are not proponents of are gun

control, taxes, and social security. They hate social security. According to the Libertarians, if more drugs were legalized, there would be more room in prison for real criminals to receive harsher punishments. This seems a likely excuse for the Pot Party to use to meet their goals. 5) Radical Women/ Freedom Socialist Party

Top 5 Most Useless Political Parties in the USBy Loyola Landry

Key Club Sponsors a Porn Site By Spencer Fang

(RWFSP)- Being both a feminist and a socialist seems to be somewhat redundant. Socialists seek a classless society where everyone is equal, and feminists seek equal treatment for women, so by these definitions if someone is a socialist then they are inherently a feminist. Redundant

or not, the RWFSP is a very typical super-left party, and has all the typical left-wing ideas. “Down with capitalism,” and, “revolution is essential,” are very common phrases to be heard in such political parties, and the RWFSP is no exception. So in the end these feminist socialists are run of the mill Marxists, with a very peculiar name.

There is a definite break between math, science and the humanities. It is considered acceptable to avoid math and science, to hate it, and to make jokes that would never be made about the humanities. This year I have heard more comments than I can count from two different English teachers insulting math such as “you don’t need calculus, why are you taking it anyway?” After I finished my government final, I was studying for physics when my teacher came over to see what I was doing. When he saw my list of equations, he shuddered and said “Ehh”.

All these comments were intended to be humorous, and did not offend me, yet when I think back, none of my math or science teachers have ever made even humorously demeaning comments towards learning English or government. The problem is not these isolated incidents, it is the overall attitude that it is alright to hate and ignore math and science.

Think about this scenario: If you heard a person say, “Oh I hate Algebra. After I graduate I

am never going to solve anymore equations,” it sounds reasonable. This person does not like math, so has no need to continue using it. However, exchange the statement with English, “I hate books. After I graduate, I am never going to read again,” and the person sounds uneducated. With a country unwilling to dig into infinite series and ionization trends, we will start to suffer. Less people interested in math and science means less people employed in those fields. In addition, less science means less technology developed and produced in the U.S., which is bad for everyone. On a more accessible level, within four years, everyone at Skyline will be an adult. We will be (hopefully) paying our taxes and voting. If more than a third of us think that dinosaurs and humans were around at the same time, how can we make educated decisions on topics which involve science such as global warming and stem cell research? How do we create an interest in math and science? What can be done to make people want to start careers in

these fields? Are we teaching it incorrectly? Perhaps one reason people become discouraged is because to move onto a new level in math, unlike English, one must completely understand the last.

By Robin Higgins

Will ignorance of math and science kill us all?

Whatever is going to be done needs to be done quickly because if the earth does stop going around the sun as one out of five Skyline students believes, that scientists will be the ones to save us all.

What does the Skyline Key Club do with its web site ht tp: / /www.skylinekeyclub.org? Is it for posting club news, or is its purpose much more sinister? The Internet monitoring software, Bess, will tell you that it is no ordinary club web site. Anyone trying to access the page from school will be slammed with a warning that the site is pornographic and is blocked.

But as the Key Club’s Vice-President I can safely say that the club is not involved in the production or distribution of pornography. In fact the web site’s only multimedia are photos of community service projects and school events none of which I find particularly risqué. But apparently Secure Computing, the manufacturer of Bess, disagrees by categorizing the web address as porn. Incidentally, Secure Computing claims that Bess features the “industry’s best URL database.”

To add to the frustration, I am sent to an error page when I tried to report the mistake. So without a way to report the mistaken identity, the Skyline Key Club will continue to be identified as porn traffickers.

This is not my only grudge with Bess. Sometimes it seems like Bess has a split personality when it comes to evaluating web sites. Clicking on “Images” from the Google home page will lead to a blocked page, but typing in http://images.google.com will successfully load Google Image Search. So is the page supposed to be blocked or not?

Such simple workarounds expose the filter’s vulnerabilities. A widely known hole in the system is the ability to use a web proxy, like http://unipeak.com, to launder data coming from a blocked site, such as http://myspace.com. With such a problematic filter I wonder what purpose it even fulfills. Granted, having Internet safety measures in its schools qualifies the Oakland Unified School District for equipment discounts under the Children’s Internet Protection Act’s E-Rate program. But my point is this: if we must have an Internet filter, we need a system that does not block legitimate traffic, and is not so full of holes that even a computer novice can bypass.

Our much beloved filters logo

Compilation of minor parties, from top clockwise: The Revolution, American Party, World Workers Party, US Pacifist Party, Free-dom Socialist party, Pot Party, Libertarian Party, Socialist Workers Party; American Nazi Party

http://fmp.esu7.org/filter/

Skyline results obtained from a poll sampling 200 studentsAmerican results obtained from poll appearing in article by Nicholas Kristof

Science IQAmerica vs. Skyline

Area of Science

Believes in Evolution

Knows what a molecule is

Knows the earth goes around the sun

Knows humans and dinosaurs did not coexist

Americans

40%

13

80

50

Skyline

71%

61

82

65

4 Opinions January 2006

Skyline OracleStaff

The Oracle welcomes signed letters to the editor concerning timely is-sues. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Opinions expressed in the Oracle reflect the views of its writers and not necessarily those of any other member of the Oracle staff or the Skyline High School Community. The Skyline Oracle is published monthly by the students of Journalism/Publication class. Subscriptions are available at an annual rate of $35.

Advertisements welcome.

12250 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619(510) 879-3060, Ext. 144

skyline_oracle@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2005 Skyline Oracle

***Volume XLV, No.4, January, 2006***

BUSINESS MANAGERDamon Mok

NEWS EDITORSimone Strunin

SPORTS EDITORDavid Okikawa

FEATURES EDITORJaredt Hunter

OPINIONS EDITORBen Dalgetty

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORAnnaque Dean

IT MANAGERSpencer Fang

STAFF WRITERSJessica Akins, Ebony Campbell, Nga Chan, Brittany Chenier,

Denise Dang, Loyola Landry, Tiffany Luong, Nelson Ma, Damon Mok, Elise Rath

PHOTOGRAPHERSGeoffrey Bantilan, Brittany Chenier

ADVISORTim Jollymore

PHOTO EDITORKatie Hauser

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRobin Higgins

SUPPLEMENT EDITORRachel Scott

COPY EDITORSHo-Hin Choy, Daniel Ha, Raymond Lo,

Peter Wong, Richard Yu

“Hang on a second, I just want to finish this text message.”

How many times do we hear this statement, or one very close to it? Everyday, I can say with complete honesty that I hear it entirely too often.

These days cell phones are everywhere. Classrooms, doctor’s offices, even churches, one is unceasingly assaulted by these electronic nuisances. We are constantly bombarded by ads that proclaim the virtues of these tiny titans of telecommunications, but what do they really do for us? Cell phones keep us wired into the system, make it impossible to escape civilization, and generally just make things much more complicated.

A prime example of how unnecessary cell phones are is during school. When a phone goes off in the middle of a class, everyone suffers. The owner of the phone most likely gets in trouble, the other students get sidetracked by the obnoxious ring tone, and the teacher loses control of the situation as the phone becomes the center of attention. Things like this happen daily, and it is ridiculous that people are becoming desensitized to such things.

But schools are not the only places to feel the negative impact of cell phones. In fact, no public place has felt the overabundance of phones more keenly than movie theaters. True,

thanks to the anti-cell phone clips shown before movies now, the actual chances of hearing a phone go off during your movie are much lower, but that’s the problem! The fact that movie theaters have to make ads to discourage the use of cell phones is one of the most palpable signs that they are taking over. If cell phones are really such a blessing, then why are people paying money

Skyline High School’s lack of security is leading to vandalism of student cars located in the school’s lower parking lot.

There are no surveillance cameras to watch over students’ cars. And because of this, people have been breaking into student’s car while students are in class.

Senior Judy Saechao had her car stolen the Tuesday after Winter Break. She looked everywhere for it, but later decided to go to the office to see if there were surveillance videotapes. The tapes showed the car leaving campus, but since there were no cameras in the lower parking lot, they could not see who took her car.

Skyline students debate usefulness of cell phonesBy Loyola Landry By Peter Wong

By Tiffany Luong “I parked close to the front of the lower parking lot and I went to my car fourth period,” she said, “but it was gone when I went to the parking lot after school.”

Another student, Senior Erica Pinter also had her car broken in to. She went to her car during lunch only to discover someone breaking in and taking her stereo. When the thief saw her, he ran off, but was thankfully caught by Officer Blake. The stereo was returned to Erica and the thief has been expelled from Skyline.

“He ripped everything out so the inside of her car was a mess,” said Senior Vicky Ngo.

“Even though the school is not liable, we should have at least some security, so when we

to make ads to stop their use?So here then is the call to

arms. Try to turn off your phones; I dare you. In fact, I double-dare you. Try to keep them off for a couple hours, maybe even a whole day. I bet half- no more than half- of the people reading this cannot do it. And if you find that you are one of those who cannot keep their phones off, then do some serious thinking, because something is up.

“Can you hear me now? Good.”

I am sure that you have all heard this line in the Verizon Wireless commercial. This is evidence of cell phones increasing popularity.

Most people, if not all now have a cell phone, but they are for the most part, used to only call one another. Cell

phones also now have functions that make other gadgets obsolete.

If you enjoy listening to music, then the newer models with built-in MP3 players are perfect. These music-playing phones offer either internal memory or an expansion slot that could store up to 2 gigabytes of songs, easily replacing music player. The quality of the songs played through a cell phone are just as good as if they were played on a MP3 player. Some phones even feature a loud speaker that can fill up the room with its music. Can MP3 players do that?

In addition to music, cell phones are a growing part of the digital imaging market. The quality of pictures taken by cell phones has been improving since its inception and now have an average of 1.3 megapixels. Many high end phones can even rival the quality of actual digital cameras.

In school, I see many people with their iPods all wrapped up with a protective case. I also see digital cameras being carried around in bulky leather cases. How do people fit so many things in their pockets at once? Carrying all three devices separately is uncomfortable and bulky, but with an all-in-one cell phone, you would only have to worry about carrying a single item. Wouldn’t you want to have fewer things in your pocket every time you go out?

So if all that your cell phone can do is call someone, it is time to get a new one.

Katie Hauser- StaffA beautiful collection of Skyline students’ cell phones

go to our cars after school, we will know that they are somewhat secure,” said Senior Howard Lo.

Although Skyline has a sign posted in the parking lot that reads, “NOTICE, Oakland Unified School District and Skyline High School Do Not Assume Responsibility For Lost Articles of Theft. PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK,” the administration should still be trying to secure our cars.

The administration has already forced students to park in the lower lot and for them to not make this lot secure is unacceptable. As long as our school’s administration refuses to secure the lower lot, students will have to constantly worry about their cars.

Skyline students experience car break insLauren Carney

Ms. Ostrom 101By Raymond Lo

This month’s edition of teacher feature, a new comer known as Ms. Tracy Ostrom. In the little time she has been here a lot of students have come to know, admire, Skyline new science teacher, but for those who do not have the pleasure to have her class already know him, here is a little interview to get to know the man that occupies room 78.Oracle: What types of classes do you teach? How long have you been at Skyline?Ms.Ostrom: This year I am teaching Honors Chemistry and introducing a new course to Skyline called Advanced Placement Environmental Science. This is my first year at Skyline High.Oracle: What work experience did you have before you started teaching at Skyline?Ms.Ostrom: I spent the past seven years teaching Chemistry at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek. Prior to that, I spent thirteen years working in the environmental consulting industry. Two years before working in the industry, I was in Peace Corps as a Chemistry and Biology teacher in Africa.Oracle: What was your reason for leaving the environmental consulting industry?Ms.Ostrom: I wanted to teach because I do not want to get too hung up in the corporate world.Oracle: What was your first impression of Skyline the campus and the students?Ms.Ostrom: Although the campus and classes sizes are larger than I am used to, I am amazed at how adaptable, easygoing, and full of character Skyline students are.Oracle: So you’ve been

teaching for quite a while, what does teaching mean to you?Ms.Ostrom: Teaching is a job I can bring creative and challenging ideas. No two work days are the same and teaching always remains interesting and exciting.Oracle: What are some of the things you want to teach Skyline students?Ms.Ostrom: I hope to bring to Skyline students good work ethics and a sense of organization. I want to teach them to become self-disciplined and leave my class with an appreciation of science.Oracle: What are some types of assignments you assign your students?Ms.Ostrom: Among the variety of work I give to my students, I assign outlines of textbooks where students can take notes.Oracle: What are the purposes of assigning these types of assignments?Ms.Ostrom: I want to assign work that has an application for the future. No matter which direction students take, note taking and understanding the material is very important.Oracle: How do you think the rest of your years as teaching will be like?Ms.Ostrom: I am prepared to face any obstacle and challenges that stand in my way. I also hope to learn just as much as my students will this year.Oracle: What kind of message do you have for students?Ms.Ostrom: Change is always hard, and being at Skyline is hard. The more energy you put into it, the more rewarding the outcome is. I hope we as students of life can learn the aspects of learning and adapting to change.

Tracy Ostrom holds a beaker for the camera Katie Hauser-Staff

Best holiday ever? Typical commercial family holidays are filled with joy, laughter and gifts. However, not everyone is typical commer-cial family.“The best Christmas I ever had was when I thirteen years old and I went to visit my family in At-lanta. That year I received about

“When I thirteen years old I went to visit my

family in Atlanta. That year I received about a 1000 dollars from

my relatives” -Brittany Cash-White.

a 1000 dollars from my relatives,” said junior Brittany Cash-White. Students at Skyline High School have experienced won-derful Christmases like Brit-tany; nevertheless there are some whose experiences with Christmas are not as delightful.“This year was the worst Christ-mas I have ever had. All I did was get up and eat breakfast with my family. We had no pres-ents and we didn’t even spend the rest of the day together,” said junior Giovanni Cortez. In the past years

Giovanni’s Christmases were more exciting. He received his first pair of Jordans, a Sega-Genesis, clothes and a bike. He also spent the majority of the day with his family and friends. As we all grow up Christ-mas does not seem to be as exhil-arating as it seemed to be when we were children. Janae Smothers and Monique White are two stu-

dents who completely agree with the fading of Christmas delight. “This year I didn’t spend Christmas with my fam-ily and had no presents,” said senior Janae Smothers.Like Janea, instead of visting her distant relatives, Monique was forced to say home. Her

“We had no presents and we didn’t even

spend the rest of the

day together”

“This year I didn’t get anything I wanted. I got a bunch of clothes and make-up that I’ll never

wear!”

-Monique White

“I never really had a bad Christmas. As long as I’m with my family the day can never be

that bad,”

-Giovanni Cortez

-Jovanna Cobb

Elise Rath

presents were also very useless. “This year I didn’t get anything I wanted. I got a bunch of clothes and make-up that I’ll never wear,” said senior Monique White. “I never really had a bad Christmas. As long as I’m with my family the day can never be that bad,” said senior Javonna Cobbs. They are many different experience with Christmas result-ing in great times or devastating times, but no matter what unfortu-nate events might taken place this season usually brings up strong memories that will last a life time.

Skyline High School’s annual Talent Show, Skyline Idol, was held on Thursday, January 26th, 2006 under the direction of Performing Arts Director Jan Hunter.

Once called Showtime at the Line, Skyline Idol is a way for students to get up on stage and show the school what they’ve got. The show is a rendition of the world famous show Showtime at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. The show has been the responsible for the fame and fortune of entertainers like the Jackson 5. Those familiar with the syndicated television show know that the audience has the power. If the performer is good the audience is asked to cheer, clap, or other forms of gratitude. But if the performer shows no promise or talent the audience has the right to boo and yell all they want. Yet, here at Skyline, a school filled with in security and self doubt the rules had to be stretched a little bit as well as the name.

In its second year with the new name, Skyline Idol still brings enjoyable entertainment that will be remembered long after school has pasted. Senior Brigee Jackson agrees by saying “I still think about the Apollo in ninth grade; oh my god it was so

good, the Apollo is my favorite show, next to the DP show of course!” The show is divided into two sections. The first half of the show is called Entertainment. This portion features Advanced Drama, and Performing Arts Academy Students portraying some of there favorite singers and bands. For the Advanced students the show is a final, along with their completion of performance the must complete a research paper, an oral report on their chosen celebrity. The second half is completion. Different acts audition and compete for a prize.

“I think the show is such an effective way for students who you don’t normally see on stage, on stage.” Said Junior Evan Lynch. Once all acts have finished their performance a panel of judges configured of faculty and staff deliberate and decide who the winner is The show was a complete success. Once again the PA Academy blessed Skyline High School with another highly praised Production. Students, Administration and parents anticipate next years and wonder it will surpass what they’ve seen

“Idol” strikes again

FEATURESSKYLINE ORACLE

5 January 2006

Desmond Ports portays Jimmy HendrixBritany Cheiner-Staff

By Jaredt Hunter

Dayina Darby and Anthony Washington

A new parent organiza-tion has formed at Skyline, and they hope to add a family atmo-sphere to the campus. The group, Parent Patrol, operates under the school’s Family Resource Cen-ter and the Head School Safety Officer Philips. The program is adapted from a similar program created five years ago at Oak-land Technical High School. The group’s goal is to provide students with friendly encouragements and reminders to stay in class. While on duty, the volunteers wear red windbreakers for easy identification and carry two way radios to stay in contact with school security. In addition to encouraging students to get to class on time, they will report facility problems like broken locks, graffiti and safety hazards.Parent Patrol volunteers receive

training from Officer Philips, Ms. Margaret Klatt, the Sky-line Parent Liasons, and other experienced Patrol members. They will not serve as security guards, but as additional eyes and ears around the campus.According to Assistant Principal Ms. Margaret Klatt, there are cur-rently twenty-five parent volun-teers who patrol Skyline’s cam-pus. Their routes are designed with student traffic in mind, with the portables, area behind the 60s/70s building, and football field as the highest priority areas. Any parents interested in volun-teering can contact the Skyline Family Resource Center at sky-linefrc@yahoo.com. Currently they would like more volunteers before first period, immediately after lunch (12:55 p.m.), and after school (3:05 p.m.) near the buses.

Spencer FangParent Patrol to the rescueParent of ninth grader patrols to keep the campus safe

Katie Hauser-Staff

With college applications over, seniors are now scrambling to look for scholarships and financial aid. But while seniors chase the dollars, they should not lose sight of FAFSA. The FAFSA gives students ways to pay for college in the form of grants (free money) or federal loans with very low interest. However, unlike many scholarships and grants, the FAFSA does not give grants based on merit, just need. The FAFSA is also less competitive than other forms of financial aid; just

applying early almost guarantees some financial aid options. Many private universities grant financial aid based on need to students who submit their FAFSA applications to the college. Many expensive and Ivy League universities offer complete tuition and living coverage to students who meet a certain level of need. FAFSA applications can be filed from January 1 to mid-June. However, because aid is given on a first-come first-serve basis, seniors are encouraged to submit their FAFSAs as early as possible.

Free money is good moneyRichard Yu

To fill out a FAFSA, you will need to know your parents’ financial and tax returns information. Having a copy of your parents’ W-2s and 1040s will help greatly, as the FAFSA indicates where necessary information can be found. FAFSAs may be filled out online at www.fafsa.ed.gov, but applicants and one parents must both register for a PIN number with the federal government to electronically sign. Paper applications can also be requested on the same site.

First semester finals just passed, and students are looking forward to a brand new semester. With a three-day schedule for finals from January 18 to the 20th, each teacher had two hours to test the students on what they have learned from the past three marking periods. “It is too long for some, too short for others. Some non-academic classes don’t even need two hours because either their finals are very short or there are no finals,” said senior Raymond Leung.

Finals are a thing of the pastTeachers, however

have a different viewpoint on the length of each period.

“I think it is good. It allows teachers to give a final long enough to test everything students have learned without being rushed,” said Physics and Earth Science teacher Zach Ronneberg. With all these tests coming in from finals, teachers have to grade them faster in order to accommodate the deadline of grades on the following Monday, which means that students do not have to wait long until they know the results of their intense studying. This

also means that the length and intensity of the tests are reduced. For seniors, this would be the last final that they have to worry about before college acceptances. Seniors would still have to pass the second semester finals though, so they cannot completely neglect studying at the end of the year. “Why would I slack off now when college is around the corner?” said senior Alyssa Pharn. Finals may have pasted but there are still more to come. But the bright side is there the last finals of the year

Peter Wong

6 Features January 2006

ENTERTAINMENT 1/06

Skyline Oracle

“IT” BOY

Name: Pamela StewartGrade: 12th

Birthday: November 29, 1988Sign: SagittariusPersonality: Quiet but hyphy, car-ing, and stubbornWhat is your favorite sandwich? PB&J²If you were a car, what kind would you be? A bright yellow 1995 beetle What is your favorite cologne/perfume? Romance – Ralph Lau-renWhere do you see yourself in 10 years? A child psychologist and paying off student loansWhat is your dream date? Dinner, then going dumb all night with my beezie, boo, secret and late night lovers and friends.What is your celebrity style? Don’t have one.Who inspires you? My mom and best friends.What is your favorite dance move? The dummy.Where do you hang out on the weekends? The house, Bay Street, wherever, I am a free spirit; I go where the wind takes meWhat is your hobby? Eating...DUH!What is your status? Single...um...well...who’s asking?What type of guy do you like? A person that is not scared to be himself and won’t do anything scandalous and he has to be funny, that is an absolute mustWho is your favorite band/genre? All, especially Bay Area music.What do you like to do during your free time? Eat, sleep, be on the phone/computer, and writing.What is your favorite color? Baby blueWhere do you like to shop? Mac y’s, my favorite brand is paul frank I just love that little monkeyWhat is your favorite sport? Football because you can hit as many people as you want and get praised for it apposed to getting in trouble

Name: Excel LoveGrade: 9th

Birthday: November 8, 1991Sign: ScorpioPersonality: I am caring, loud, weird, understanding, and easily confused.What’s your favorite sandwich? Ham and Cheese.If you were a car, what kind would you be? Toyota CelicaWhat is your favorite scent? Axe or Tag.Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Walking down the red carpet for the MTV Video Music Awards.What is your dream date? A scary movie and a quiet walk in the park.What is your celebrity style? The Urban lookWho inspires you? JoJo, she’s a 14 year-old singer and I think it is great that she is so young and suc-cessful in music and has a career doing what she lovesWhat is your favorite dance move? I make up my own I am an originalWhere do you hang out on the weekends? At home or at my friend’s house.What is your hobby? Singing to loud music in my room.What is your status? Single and looking for someone to relate toWhat type of girl do you like? A girl that has a good sense of humor, smart, pretty, weird like me, and has similar interests.Who is your favorite band/genre? Hip-Hop and Pop.What do you like to do during your free time? I usually like to read and watch TV.What is your favorite color? Red of course Where do you like to shop? Most of the time I shop at Anchor Blue and Niketown What is your favorite sport? I like Cross-country because it takes skill and technique to endure such a sport.

This month’s “It” Girl was selected because of her outstanding leadership on the ROTC classroom, and her unique style and personality.

This month’s “It” Boy was selected for getting involved in school very early as the freshman class president.

1) You are at a local hang out spot after school with your friends when you spot another group staring at you while whispering and laughing. So you…

a) Head towards their table and poor a smoothie on the girl talking the most. b) Alert your friends and crack jokes about how their entire table needs to join Jenny Craig and are in desperate need of braces. c) Ignore them and go back to what you were doing.

2) Your teacher accuses you of cheating and begins to bad mouth

you in front of the entire class; threatening to write you a referral. So youa) Yell at the teacher about how he/she is a liar, then storm out of the room.b) Get upset, but say nothing and personally approach them after class…proving your innocence.c) Say nothing and accept the consequences even though you REALLY didn’t do it…you don’t want the situation to escalate.

3) Someone bumps into you on your way from Café Madrid spilling

hot cocoa on your brand new white jacket without apologizing. So you…a) Instantly grab that person and frantically curse them out about how expensive your coat was.b) Turn around; immediately shout at them from a distance while cleaning yourself off with a napkin.c) Quietly head to the nearest restroom…accidents happen.

4) You go apply to a job and the clerk tells you that they are out of applications, but as you are leaving you see him/her give one to another applicant. So you...

a) Create a massive scene; raving about how prejudice they are. b) Approach the manager about the situation, then make sure you contact a higher authority to

report their discriminatory behavior. c) Leave without any complaints…maybe that applicant had an application reserved.

5) You see another girl/guy slip your boyfriend/girlfriend their number at a party. So you… a) Rush over to them slapping the both of them b) Approach your boyfriend/girlfriend about the situation c) Ignore the situation…you do not want to make an issue out of nothing.

Do You Need Anger Management?By SatieBy Brittany Chenier and

Tiffany Luong

Aries This month it is es-pecially important to compromise with your loved ones.

TaurusTake charge of your personal life and school life.

Gemini Use your great people skills to meet new people. Experiment and branch out.

Cancer Let your friends and family benefit from your sensitive side

Leo Push hard this se-mester, instead of slacking off.

Virgo Don’t let your in-securities stop you from speaking your mind to your sig-nificant other let him/her know how you feel. LibraIt is time to let go of your past rela-tionships and stop moping around the house.

Scorpio People will be open to your new ideas and will be anxious to know what’s on your mind and in your heart.

Results:13-15 points You need Anger Manage-ment!You are very aggressive, and you might want to consider a little anger man-agement. You don’t care what other people think and you always express your opinions even if they are not wanted. This could be a good characteristic to have, but when you enter the real world you have to learn that there is a time and place for everything. Sometimes there are times where you have to bite your tongue and deal with what ever problems you encounter.

Horoscopes

09-12 points: You do not need Anger ManagementYou have the perfect amount of pa-tience… you respect the opinions of others, but you make sure that your voice is heard. You understand that in order to receive respect to have to give it, but you also understand that everyone does not understand that, thus you are the first to let them in on the knowledge.

06-08 points: Absolutely no Anger Management NecessaryYou are a very passive person. You try to avoid conflicts, even at your own expense. You may want to consider standing up for yourself at times, or else people will continue to walk all over you…much like a carpet. No one’s tell-ing you to transform into a rude person, but when you step into the real world things will only get worse, so stand up while you still have the upper hand!

Anger Quiz Key: A’s = 3 points; B’s = 2 points; C’s = 1 point

Sagittarius This month it is important to ex-ercise self control when it comes to spending.

CapricornIt is important to stick to your New Year’s resolutions

Aquarius You will be put to the test this month when someone f rom the pa s t comes back into your life.

Pisces After all the hard work you did last year, you deserve some fun which is coming your way.

“IT” GIRLBy Brittany Chenier andTiffany Luong

By Elise Rath

7

Katie Hauser - StaffAngel Perez (left) wrestling with teammate William Redding (right)

Athlete of the Month: Angel Perez

By Simone Strunin

Men’s basketball team takes first place in the Oakland Athletic League

Wrestling team slams to success

Wrestling season has begun, and the Skyline women’s and men’s wrestling teams have started the year off victoriously. The women’s team , which was started two years ago, has come a long way from their beginnings. The wrestling team participated in a tournament on Saturday January 7th against

Albany, San Marin, Oakland Tech, McClymonds, and Oakland High, and won four medals. Saturday January 12th marked the team’s first match against Oakland High. They beat Oakland High in the last round 38 to 35. The team practiced for weeks ahead of time in prepara-

tion for its first match-up. “We practice really hard and are going to continue do so. It was a really good turnout,” said team captain Tori Lam. Team members went into the match against Oakland High feeling confident that their performances would be strong. “I think that we did fairly well in our first match because most of us are begin-ners. The fact that four of the people on the team medaled in the top three in the tournament on the 7th gives the team a lot of confidence for upcoming matches,” said Lam. The team has practices daily after school from 3:30 to 5:00 and is scheduled for matches against other wrestling teams within the Oakland Ath-letic League in the months to come. “Morale is really high this year. As a team we are working really hard,” said re-turning team member Nhi Tran, a senior who has been on the team for two years. If successful through-out the season, the team hopes to enter into state competition against other California high schools.

Robert Harding wrestling at practiceKatie Hauser- Staff

Name: Angel PerezSport: Wrestling Birthday: January 13, 1988Class: 2006

Angel Perez was a junior when he started wrestling for Sky-line. And from the very beginning, he loved it. “Wrestling’s competitive, very competitive,” said Perez. “You always have to do your best and be on the top of your game. Any little mistake you make can cost you the match.” Perez wrestles in the 145 pound weight class, and according to teammate Bill Li, he dominates. This domination was shown dur-ing the Oakland Technical Tourna-

ment on Saturday, January 7 where he placed second in his class and also earned the honor of a medal. To place second, Perez defeated four opponents, including one who he pinned in just thirty seconds. “I think I have improved a lot from last year. All the hard work, practice, and just the support from my family and friends,” said Perez. During the off season, Perez kept in shape and gained strength by playing an active role on Skyline’s football team. With the heavy training and constant physical contact, wrestling seems no problem. “I think football really kept me in shape and did help me out for wrestling,” said Perez. Under direction of Coach Fink,

training for wrestling consists of daily running, skill sharpening drills and hours of practice to get all the moves down. “Practice, practice … practice makes perfect,” said Perez. “I’m always practicing, practicing to get all my moves down.” According to teammate Nhi Tran, it shows. “On the mat, Angel is very quick and smart with his moves, and he’s always a great team player,” said Tran. Along with his participa-tion in sports, Perez maintains a strong 3.0 GPA and aspirations of even more competition at the col-lege. “Everybody always looks to play at the next level and in the fu-ture. I really hope I can continue,” said Perez.

By David Okikawa

Lloyd Redding (left) practices in the gymKatie Hauser- Staff

By Robin Higgins

The Skyline Men’s Varsity basketball team won its first three games of the regular season and is now ranked first in the Oakland Athletic League. On January 10, the team started the season by defeating Oakland High with a very slop-py, but exciting game. There were many fouls but the Titans pulled through with an ending score of 52 to 47. On January 13, the men’s baketball team beat McClymonds High School 72 to 67, and on January 24 the team beat Oakland Tech 73-61. “We played well, but I think we could have done a lot better,” said var-sity player Akil Danjuma. These wins followed the team’s preseason in which they won thirteen games out of the seventeen played. Assistant Coach Kam-

eron Gray said he has “high expectations,” for the team, and that they will “win the OAL.” “We play well as a team. No one’s selfish.” Said senior Robert Owens, a shooting and point guard on the team for his third year. Another top player, senior Devanae Leach and a combo guard on the team for his second year said, “We are more disci-plined, more focused.”Gray, Owens, and Leach all had one common idea: win the OAL. Competition comes from Casltlemont High School, who has lost one game to Mc-Clymonds High School and beat both Oakland Technical and Freemont High, and Freemont High who beat Oakland High and McClymonds High, but lost to Castlemont High School.

SPORTSSKYLINE ORACLE

8 January 2006