The oice ihsvoice.com Volume 21.1 October 19,2012

Nutrition FactsFruit LoopsYear: 2016Expiration Date: 10/3/2012

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SpiritSCAN HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

Freshmen “Loop” Through Spirit WeekFruit Loops freshmen do considerably well in 2012 spirit weekBy Cindy Meng

On the morning of Wednesday, October 3rd, the freshmen class of 2016 arrived at school as tacky tourists to help set up Spirit Week decora-tions in Irvington’s courtyard. Freshmen class vice president, Nathan Tietz, was spotted in a Toucan Sam cos-tume and passionately leading his fellow classmates. “I am proud to repre-sent my class and be the em-bodiment of spirit,” said Tietz, “Anything to pump up the crowd!” During lunch, the freshmen put on a performance pertaining to the Irvington vs. American homecoming game and a “tradition” of football play-

ers eating Fruit Loops for good luck. Throughout the week, freshmen were seen roaming around the halls in their class t-shirts on Monday, crazy socks on Tuesday, tourist apparels on Wednesday, and superhero at-tires on Thursday. With no prior experi-ence in Spirit Week, the class of ‘16 managed to knock out soph-omores and place third in the bench building category. “It’s all about the unity, spirit, and fun we had; our plac-ing doesn’t matter.” said class president Andrew You. She add-ed, “Since this is our first year, many freshmen aren’t aware of spirit week’s significance, but we

Nutrition FactsCaptain CrunchYear: 2015Expiration Date: 10/2/2012

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Nutrition FactsLucky CharmsYear: 2014Expiration Date: 10/1/2012

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Nutrition FactsFruity PebblesYear: 2013Expiration Date: 10/4/2012

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are excited to be more prepared next year.” After experiencing their first spirit week, freshmen are finally starting to adjust to the high school life. “[The]all-nighter was so much fun,” said freshmen Montserrat Rael. “It’s a really big

change from junior high.” Some already have high anticipattions for next year’s Spirit Week. “I’m pretty sure every-one is already pumped for next year,” said freshmen Kenneth Vu.

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It’s a Pirate’s Life!Sophomores make spirit week fun with islands, ships, and fashion mishapsBy Enya Kuo

Edward Chen, Nathan Tietz, and Chris Chu share a laugh during the fresh-men dance.

Photo: Kelsey Wong

Sophomores split the genders during the dance.Photo: Kelsey Wong

Despite falling short in the bench-building category, the sophomore class placed third in the dance, skit, and spirit scores for the 2012 spirit week with a theme of Captain Crunch. The sophomore dress

up days were fashion disaster, pirate day, business day, and class t-shirt day. “We wanted to keep the unofficial tradition of the sopho-mores having fashion disaster as a dress up day,” said sophomore

class vice president Tony Liao. The skit involved a rap battle between Irvington High School and American High School. “We wanted to do something that had never been done before. A rap battle seemed the most interesting to us,” said Aashna Pandya, a soph-omore skit writer. “We thought it would be cool to change up lyr-ics of popular songs to get the crowd involved.” The sophomore faced more challenges in the dance, choreographed by sophomore Jacquelynne Garcia. “We only had two real dance tutorials [this year], which is really little con-

sidering we had around 5 [last year],” she said. Rachel Yu, a leader in the sophomore dance, said, “Even though some of the steps in the dance may have been hard, most of the sophomores really pulled through and they looked great in the end.” The sophomores are confident that the class of 2015 will do better in the following years. “We are going to win triple crown if we all come to bench building,” said Rachel Yu. “We almost did it freshman year and we can most definitely do it again!”

SCAN HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

SCAN HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

SCAN HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

The Luck Of The JuniorsClass of ‘14 delivers solid performanceBy Chizobam Nwagwu

Jorge Rodriguez represents IHS in the junior skit.Photo: Kelsey Wong

With a theme of Lucky Charms, the Class of 2014 was able to put an end to the fa-bled “junior curse” by placing a solid second in every catego-ry. Regarding benchbuild-ing, junior class council wanted to think outside of the box for what structures would empha-size the various aspects of Lucky Charms. “Urkel Day” was under-way as juniors came to school with their suspenders, calcula-tors, glasses, and roller back-packs handy. “It was great that ev-eryone did their best to dress

up,” said Lauren, the junior class president, “I’m happy that every-one came out to participate.” According to Cooper, there was an impressive turnout of Junior participation through-out the week. The following dress-up days for the rest of the week were “Scarf Day,” “Class T-shirt Day,” and “College Day.” The juniors were up early to set up for Junior Day and gathered in front of the benches. Chants and cheers were heard throughout the morning includ-ing, “2400 SATs we’re all taking 6 APs.” At lunchtime, Class of ‘14 performed their class dance

and skit, which revolved around the American-Irvington home-coming rivalry. It encompassed various challenges each team had complete in order to gain points for their school, such as “Chubby

Bunny” and a dance-off. “I expected Junior Day not to be that hyped and excit-ing,” said Junior Pritha Roy, “But we showed the other classes that just because we’re juniors doesn’t mean we don’t have spirit!”

Senior Flintstones Stomp the Yard—Courtyard ... And snag the triple crownBy Shirley Lin

Seniors gather in the courtyard the morning of October 4.Photo: Chizobam Nwagwu

Following the tradition at Irvington High School, the senior class once again bagged Triple Crown for its Spirit Week prize. With the theme of Fruity Pebbles, the seniors modeled their main dress-up day and much of

their bench after the well-known cartoon, The Flintstones. Go-ing all out in bench and dress-up days, the seniors brought a stone age to Irvington. Throughout Spirit Week, seniors dressed up as old

seniors with protruding bellies and white hair, wild cowboys and girls, and as cavemen. Once Thursday, Octo-ber 4th, came along, the court-yard was filled with senior bench. Most eye-catching were the mas-sive paper mache volcano and Dino the dinosaur along with the life-size model of a car from The Flintstones. The volcano, de-signed by seniors Garrick Chan and Eric Liu, stood a towering ten feet, designed in a way so students could climb up and stand on the platform attached to the volcano. “Although I did not get a chance to participate in bench, it looks like a spent a lot of time on it, and somehow at the end,”

senior Tiffany Chen said. “It looks as if we were all united through our bench. Everything looks awe-some. I love it.” The seniors also utilized creative ways to spin a tale in their skit. In it, Bamm-Bamm Rubbles and Pebbles Flintstones were kidnapped by American High School’s pterodactyls. Seniors dressed as bowling balls cart-wheeled towards those dressed as bowling pins, creating a represen-tation of a bowling alley. “I thought our senior bench was one of the best I’ve seen as an Irvington student,” se-nior class president Shane Lamba said.

HOSA Organizes Stem Cell Guest Lecture

Green Advisory Grows Garden Makeover

With the school year off to a fresh start, and Green Ad-visory relocated to a new class-room with a new advisor, this group of students has taken on the challenge of creating a new garden on campus. Green Advi-sory has partnered with Garden-ing Club to cultivate the garden.With funds from previous years raised through grants, the pur-pose of the project is to encour-age younger generations like high school students to be able to learn about how to plant, nur-ture, and grow their own food. The Green Advisory students work on their garden every Friday during the advi-sory period. Irvington’s former Go-Green Commsissioner, Kelly Kong, was helpful in designing the layout for the garden. There-after, the group has progressed in laying down a layer of mulch to prevent future weeds, mov-ing the garden the beds to the appropriate locations within

By Nisha Patel

the garden, filling the wooden enclosures with bags of soil, and planting seeds in smaller pots before moving them to the larger garden beds. Upon per-sonal choices, advisor Mr. Greg Cannavero helped to buy seeds for sweet onions sweet peppers, winter squash, arugula, melons, and chard. “It’s a good way for all of us to work together to pro-duce something amazing that will make us more aware of our environment,” explained Junior Madison Mead when asked about

Green Advisory students use shov-els and picks to plant vegetable seeds in multiple garden beds.

Guest speaker Dr. Thorsten Gorba, Ph.D, visits IHSBy Simran Moza

The Health Occupa-tion Students of America Club (HOSA) held a stem cell guest lecture on October 3rd in Valhal-la during lunch. Several science teachers offered extra credit to any student that attended this lecture, presented by guest speaker Dr. Thorsten Gorba, the Director at CNS Assay Screening & Development at StemCells, Inc. Dr. Gorba gave a power

point presentation about stem cell uses and careers, followed by a question and answer ses-sion. Over 100 students attend-ed the lecture. According to Junior Kevin Chen, president of HOSA, they contacted Dr. Gorba through the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which was organizing guest lectures for various schools in honor of National Stem Cell Day. “It’s cool because it’s HOSA and Biotech’s very first event,” said Diana Chu, HOSA’s publicity officer. “It was a rush to see all those people to show up! It was a little hectic behind the scenes but I think everyone en-joyed it.” “The stem cell guest lec-ture was just the start of greater things to come! Students can look forward to awesome work-shops, labs, possible internships, competitions, and more guest lectures,” she continued.

Dr. Thorsten Gorba gives a stem cell lecture at Irvington High School.

Photo: Simran Moza

Irvington’s library and career center closed on October 10, 2012 for installation of a new heating and air conditioning sys-tem. While renovating, workers found asbestos and delayed the reopening of the library to late October of 2012. According to librarian Mrs. Hawks, workers found as-bestos while drilling holes in the walls for installation of a new heating and air conditioning system.

“It’s absolutely safe as the students were not actually ex-posed to the asbestos,” said Mrs. Hawks. “We just want our stu-dents to be safe, so we’re shutting down the library for a little longer as a double precaution.” Junior Sammy Tran is mainly concerned with the pres-ervation of the books. “I hope they don’t mess up any of the books,” said Tran. Mrs. Hawks assures students that the library is still safe and the books are protect-ed. “They’re keeping it under control, and we’ve covered the shelves and all the books,” she said. “Before we open, we’re go-ing to wipe everything down and thoroughly clean it.” Meanwhile, Ms. McAu-ley has been giving her study lectures by going from class to class instead of at the library like previous years. “It’s a little hectic, but

IHS Library, Career Center Construction

Closed for renovation, discovered asbestosBy Jenny Lu

we’re trying to make the best of it and to stay optimistic,” continued Mrs. Hawks. For now, room 41 is open to students to use the com-puters and print before school, during lunch, and after school. It also has a cart that offers various Quest and ORB books. “We tried to bring the more popular books over to Room 41. It’s like a mini library!” said Mrs. Hawks. “The library was a great place to do homework at lunch and it sucks that it has to close during my junior year,” said Ju-nior Erika Nunotani. “But I’m re-ally glad that they’re using Room 41 so we can still print and use the computers.” Asbestos has been known to cause asbestosis, a chronic non-cancerous repiratory disease, lung cancer, and mesthelioma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in the lining of the chest and lungs.

On October 7, 2012, the Irvington High School We The People team consisting of 26 students and three teach-ers, Mrs. Cook-Kallio, Ms. Piekarski, and Ms. Hern-den left to Washington D.C for a week-long academic field trip. Students stayed at Georgetown University. Students visited the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Newseum (a museum about jour-nalism), the Library of Congress, and the National Archives (home of the Declaration of Inde-pendence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Magna Carta). Over the week, the team also visited famous monuments, memorials and buildings includ-ing the Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, World

War II Memorial, and the Lin-coln, FDR, MLK and Jefferson Memorial, Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s home), Mt. Vernon (George Washington’s home), Montpelier (James Madison’s home), Capitol Building and the Supreme Court Building. The class also enjoyed the privi-lege of meeting with important people in politics. Two students,

Aviv Redlich and Aditya Kumar, performed a beat-box/rap combo as a tribute to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, whom the class met with. The class also were given lectures by US District Judge for the Dis-trict of Columbia, Royce Lamberth, Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet,

Georgetown government profes-sor Clyde Wilcox and Pew Re-search Center senior researcher, David Masci. The class was also given the privilege to sit in on a Supreme Court case.“From the trip, I learned that our government tries very hard to ensure our deserved rights. I also got to know people well,” continued senior Yi Zeng, “It was definitely worth making up a whole week of home-work.”

This past summer, Ir-vington High School lost one of its very own. Maria Murillo, who had just finished her sopho-more year at Irvington, passed away this last August. The entire Irvington Viking family has lost someone dear, but it especially hurt her friends in the Junior

In Memoriam: Maria MurilloBy Hugo Vera Class of 2014.

“Maria was like a sister to me and I loved her very much,” said her best friend, Junior Berenice Silva. “She was a kind person with a beautiful smile and a fun personality. She is in a much better place now and will never be forgotten.” Despite what has happened, many students at Irvington are beginning to heal by sharing memories of Maria and cel-ebrating her life, rather than suffering her loss. Maria will be missed greatly by all of Irvington. She lives on in our hearts and most loving memories. Sincerely, The Irvington High School Family

We The People in Nation’s CapitalWe The People visits Washington DC for a WeekBy Eswar Dhinakaran

Photo: B erenice Silva

Photo: Kelsey Wong

Junior Gopa Ravindhran and Junior Euan McArdle use the mini library in room 41

Photo: Yi ZengWe The People poses in front of Monticello in Virginia

Motivated students plant a vegetable and flower garden for school

News2 | The Voice 21.1

the benefits of having a school garden. “We’re planting vegeta-bles that will also help us become conscious about what we are eat-ing.” Later, the group plans on dividing into sub-committees, which will each play a crucial role in the overall functioning of the garden. The committees include: grant-writing, garden mainte-nance, and district policies. In previous years, the Green Advi-sory has not been as successful in facilitating the maintenance of the garden, so it hopes to change this trend and create a lasting garden with vegetables to harvest in just a few months. “It brings a group of students who would not nor-mally associate with each other together to work towards a com-mon goal, and hence builds a sense of community,” said Se-nior Anchi Wu. “We’re all hop-ing to get some good food out of this garden.”

Sp o t LightW

orld N e w s

By Rashi Saxena

A landslide on Octo-ber 5, 2012, killed 19 people in southern China in the Yunnan Province and affected the Tian-tou Primary School as well as some houses in that area. Ac-cording to CNN, the death toll included 18 school children and around 800 people were forced to evacuate their homes. “The students were studying to catch up because the earthquakes prompted the suspension of classes for about 20 days,” said Li Zhong, the county education commis-sioner. The landslide made the school unrecognizable as one side of the mountain had col-lapsed completely.

Earthquake

A 6.3 magnitude earth-quake hit Indonesia on October 8, 2012. The earthquake’s epi-center was near the capital of Maluku and hit 21 miles below the surface. However, the mete-orology and geophysics agency of Indonesia has declared that there is no danger of an upcom-ing tsunami. According to Associ-ated Press, no deaths have been reported, although residents and guests were seen running out of their homes and rooms. Not much damage has been reported so far. Indonesia’s lo-cation makes it prone to many earthquakes as it is located on the “Ring of Fire.”

Photo: voanews.com

Photo: enstarz.com

Strikes Indonesia

Kills 19China Landslide

Taliban Vows to Kill

Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old education activ-ist girl from Pakistan who was critically injured by the Taliban, is still a major target of the Tal-iban.According to the New York Times, the Taliban has reiterated their intent to kill Malala. Raja Pervez Ashraf, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said “[Malala] is the true face of Paki-stan.” According to the New York times, Malala is a dedicated advocate of education.

Photo: NY Times

14 Year Old Girl

Cheryl Cook-Kallio for Pleasanton MayorThe many hats of Mrs. Cook-KallioBy Cindy Meng

On November 6, 2012, Pleasanton voters will find the name of Irvington’s We the Peo-

ple and A.P. U.S. History teacher, Cheryl Cook-Kallio, on their bal-lots. Mrs. Cook-Kallio’s deci-sion to run for mayor was trig-gered after serving six years on Pleasanton’s City Council and a lifetime of dedicated commu-nity services. Since the age of seven-teen, Mrs. Cook-Kallio has been actively involved in presidential campaigns and participated in the Voter Registration Drive at age eighteen. Mrs. Cook-Kallio’s early passion for politics propelled her to earn a master’s degree in the

United States Constitution and serve as a James Madison Con-gressional Fellow under Senator Diane Feinstein. After 35 years of teach-ing, Mrs. Cook-Kallio’s profound knowledge in the subjects of government and U.S. History along with achievements as Ir-vington’s We the People coach will aid her in the 2012 Pleasan-ton mayoral election as she ap-plies the fundamentals of these subjects into her duties. “With effective commu-nication skills, I was able to reach out to students,” said Mrs. Cook-Kallio. “Now I will use this quality

to engage with those who don’t have a voice in the government and essentially represent Pleas-anton residents as a whole.” “ I think it’s really cool how Mrs. Cook-kallio is running for mayor,” said Junior Ray Chen, currently taking AP U.S. History with Mrs. Cook-Kallio. “It really gives us a realistic view of what we’re learning.” If elected mayor, Mrs. Cook-Kallio hopes to maintain the current quality of life in Pleasanton, while improving in-frastructures and transportation methods in order to induce job stimulations within the city.

Mrs. Cook-Kallio: Irvington teacher and Pleasanton mayor candidate

Photo: votecook-kallio.com

Tea With Steve Cho and Aziz AkbariFremont Mayorial Candidates Answer Questions from VoiceBy Mariam Syeda-Quadri & Kelsey Wong

Q: Why are you running for Mayor of Fremont?

A: I think Fremont is lack-ing leadership. It’s not taking advantage of the fact that we’re the fourth largest city in the Bay Area. People do know that. When we go out and try to pro-mote Fremont to attract busi-nesses, we’re not on the radar screen. It takes someone who is dedicated to bring in business. We are a part of Silicon Valley and should capitalize on that by actively promoting Fremont.

A: The school system is under the school board, which is separate from the mayor/city council. However, there are a lot of things affecting students that students are not aware of. People should be more aware of what’s going on – who is in office, the issues, etc. A knowledgeable community will function better.

Q: Do you plan to make any changes to the education system?

A: Aside from trying to provide the basic services of any city, a huge concern is public safety. We have the lowest number of police and firefighter staff in the nation for a city our size. The number of burglaries is on the rise, and this needs to be stopped. Also, I think we need to bring in more tax revenue, which would be produced my more businesses coming to Fremont.

Q: What will you focus on as mayor?

Q: What was your motivation for running for mayor at such a young age?

I’ve been involved in the lo-cal political scene since the age of 8, and I’ve noticed that our city has a great deal of un-tapped potential that goes un-realized year after year. We need a leader who has the vision to capitalize on these opportuni-ties and who has a vested inter-est in the future of Fremont.

Q: What was your most difficult obstacle in your campaign trail so far?

At first, the most difficult part was getting people to recognize me as a viable candidate. But once the debates rolled around, people saw that I have a knowl-edge base beyond my eighteen years and that I have the pas-sion and the skills necessary to lead our city forward.

Q: What new ideas do you have to offer to the table if you do get elected?

I have a 4 point plan: bring more tech and biotech com-panies to Fremont, increase our retail, dining, and enter-tainment options, improve our educational environ-ment by hiring more teachers and bringing more technology to the classroom, and preserv-ing our historical districts and preventing over-development.

Steve Cho Aziz Akbari

Photo: aziz4mayor.comPhoto: stevecho4mayor.com

S newOctober 2012| 5

What are some fun facts about you? “I’ve taught in 3 continents and can speak 4 languages.”What came first, the chicken or the egg? “Neither. Matter is neither created nor destroyed. They both just existed.”

Where were you prior to coming to Irvington and what did you do? “I taught 10th and 11th grade drama at Mission San Jose High School. I was also an ESL instructor for 3 years at the Fremont Adult School.”

Which came first the chicken or the egg? “I would say the egg because without it, the chicken couldn’t be here. There should be an egg for the chicken to hatch from.”

S tudent Life4 | The Voice 21.1

Homecoming King and Queen InterviewGetting to know Gabriel Block and Nicole Ho

By Cindy Meng1. Throughout your high school career, did you ever dream about winning? If so, when? If not, how does winning make you feel?Nicole: “Yeah I have! I remember through-out high school always watching the queens get crowns and would think ‘what if that could be me when I’m a senior?’”

Gabriel: “No, I never dreamed about winning. I sometimes thought about the possibility of being on court, but would quickly forget.”2. What is your favorite high school memory?Nicole: “Meeting all of my friends. I don’t know where I’d be without them and I’m so blessed to have such amazing friends. Shout outs to Abi, Katrina, Kelsey, Kaela, Devika, Jennie, and Joey! Love you guys!”

Gabriel: “Spirit Week senior year. We came together as a united class and showed Irvington what it means to be spirited.”

3. Define homecoming king/queen in your own words.

Nicole: A good role model to my peers at school and setting a good example.Being crowned means a lot to me because I feel like everyone on court deserved to be queen. It felt so surreal when they announced the results.”

Gabriel: “Being crowned king is the blessing that my peers recognized me for being myself and a genuine person every day. Being king means that I was recognized by my fellow classmates, for the contributions I made to the school and the people around me on a daily basis. Homecoming king is not a title but simply recognition for being a leader and a good person.”4. A message for your fellow Vikings?

Nicole: “I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported me! It’s such an honor to become Irvington’s homecoming queen. Thank you all again!”

Gabriel: “Find what you love or what matters to you and get as involved as you can. Making the world a better place doesn’t happen by waiting: it comes from YOU and your actions. Be the change and have fun doing it.”

5. How many licks does it take to reach the tootsie roll in a tootsie pop?Nicole: “One lick…two licks…three licks…chomp!”Gabriel: “None if you’re cool enough.” Photo Credit: Aishwarya Aravind

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Ms. Fiona Walker

What was your dream career? “I was always good at art and wanted to do that, but I was

What did you do before you came to Irvington? “I was a nanny for years while I was going to school. I also worked a lot of retail, which actu-ally made me want to go back to school.” What came first, the chicken or the egg? “The egg containing whatever genetic mutation that turned it into the first chicken.”

Mrs. Diane PhillipsWhat are some of your hobbies? “ Hiking, painting, and swimming.”

What are some fun facts about you? “I was in the Peace Corps. And I have a daughter, who goes to University of North-ern Colorado. ” What came first, the chicken or the egg? “It’s the cycle of life.”

Ms. Dipa Kalra

What are some of your hobbies? “Yoga. I also watch a lot of international movies, like French

Mrs. Mehelle Gilford What was your dream career?“An astronaut because I had always loved space and space exploration and thought it would be cool to go into space.”

Where were you prior to coming to Irvington and what did you do?“I moved from Chicago 2 months ago. Before that I was in Florida where I taught both gifted and special needs kids. I was also also working on my PhD on arts therapy and special needs.”Which came first the chicken or the egg? “The egg. When I hear this I think of Salvador Dali's painting 'Birth of the New Man' and I imagine the chicken bursting out of the egg just as the man in the paint-ing is doing.”

Mrs. Parvaneh Javid

What was your dream career?“A doctor. I got an associate degree in nursing when I lived in Iran. Then I realized you don’t have to be a doctor to help people so I went to study English literature and got my BA then Masters. I was also in a PhD program but then got married and came to U.S.”

Mr. Adam AnayaA few sentences about yourself.

What is your favorite part of Irving-ton and what was your first impres-sion of the crowd here? “The students here seem dedicated and my first impression of this place was there are a lot of people.” What came first, the chicken or the egg?“Neither, I believe in evolution.”

What came first, the chicken or the egg?“If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

A few sentences about yourself.“I’m originally from Santa Cruz; therefore I

What is your favorite part of Irving-ton and what was your first impres-sion of the crowd here?“I love the diversity here; it feels like the U.N. I have high expectations from my students and I believe it’s time to get seri-ous.”

Mrs. Julie Rooney

Mr. Daniel VucurevichA few sentences about yourself.“I enjoy unicorns, flowers, and long walks on the beach. I’m a Scorpio and my favor-ite color is golden lavender.”What is your favorite part of Irving-ton and what was your first impres-sion of the crowd here? “I love the variety of students here, and my first impression of the crowd here: nerds.”

What came first, the chicken or the egg?“The chicken. Due to genetic mutations, the chicken was forced to push some eggs out.”

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love the beach. I love cycling, swimming, traveling, reading and cooking. I have a 20 pound male tuxedo cat named after the famous Italian cyclist, Cipollini.”

Mrs. Kristin Berbawy What was your dream career? “A florist because I like flowers and mak-ing people happy. People are always happy when they get flowers.” What are some of your hobbies? “I like bike riding, snow skiing, and knit-ting – even though I haven’t been able to do any of them in a long time.”

What came first, the chicken or the egg? “It doesn’t really matter. They’re both delicious.”

discouraged from pursuing it as a career. I also studied science and biology, anthropology and administration of justice. I also wanted to be a police officer.”

“I’m from Fremont. I used to teach in Oakland at Ralph Bunch School. The rea-son I came back was because I missed my hometown. I have an undergrad degree in music and I love math.”

and Italian. And I like to read books.”

Ms. Fiona Walker

Ms. Dipa Kalra

spend the $10 compared to snacks that are just going to rot away in the refrigerator. In today’s economy, the fastest way to make money (that is, selling junk food) is argued to be the right way. How-ever, while America is attempting to pick itself up from the recession, this doesn’t mean we should ignore all the other prob-lems that are affecting millions of Ameri-cans. According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children aged 6-11 who suffered from obe-sity “increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008.” With this small pocket change accumulating toward thousands of dollars for fighting against child obe-sity, it’s simply a small price to pay for a bag of chips to solve a larger problem.

Opinions6 | The Voice 21.1

Healthy Vending Machines: Yay or Nay?

AP : (Not) Absolutely PreposterousStudents should be encouraged to choose AP’s over regular classes By Iris Lee The fundamental question of life: is it better to take the easy route and breeze through life or struggle through the difficult route and im-prove your future? In other words, is it more worthwhile to choose the regular course rather than face the demanding Honors or AP course? As a rising junior, I have had my share of both kinds of courses: those that actually teach and those that…do not. While there are benefits to enrolling in a regular course, ex-perience has taught me that the chal-lenging course is far more worthwhile. Instead of avoiding the hur-dles, we need to challenge ourselves in school because it will help, not hinder, getting into college. The work hab-its, ethics, and motivations—impor-tant traits college admissions analyze, all stem from the types of courses we choose to take. Contrary to common belief, colleges are not simply impressed by the extra phrase in front of the course name; it is the overwhelming amount of material taught in the AP classes that better prepares a student

Choose Healthy, Be Happy

With the new vending ma-chines by the band and choir rooms supporting healthy foods at a slightly higher price than the previous vending machines, there has been a question lin-gering in everybody’s minds: is it worth paying a little bit more for a healthier lifestyle for both yourself and others? Previously, the vending machines by the band room and in the 200 wing sold Gatorade and water bottles at $1 each. Now, the new vending machines sell a variety of healthy choices, but at a more expensive price, ranging from $1 to $1.75. This extra twenty-five or fifty cents goes to-ward fighting against child obesity, which is a justifiable reason for the extra money. Some may also argue that in this current economy, this extra change for food will add up to be a unacceptable amount to spend on snacks. If somebody buys a bag of chips, say for $1.50 rather than $1, every day, he would be spend-ing an extra $10 on snacks every month. I disagree. It would have been spent on groceries that won’t be eaten and go to waste will add up to much more than $10 a month. Using the money for healthy snacks that the student will eat is a better way to

Influences Counteract the Purpose of VotingLetting your parents influence your political ideology is not rightBy Aaron Whitaker

The presidential elections are coming up in November and it is inter-esting to see who people in different parts of the country vote for. But how do vot-ers decide who to vote for? Sure, the candidates campaign to try and persuade citizens to vote for them, but many voters make decision based on family influences. However, this does not benefit anyone ex-cept the candidate you vote for. In the Bay Area, there is a largely democratic popu-lation and many people are completely unaware of opposing political opinions, in part due to influences. Your political views should be what you believe, not what your parents or those around you believe. Before voters head to the polls, they should consider everything that their desired candidate is implementing into the community and nation. The lead-ers of our community and nation make decisions on future legislations, laws, and bills, which affect all citizens directly. The purpose of an American democracy is for people to be able to vote for which can-didate they believe would serve best. If someone supports a party solely because their family supports it, they are miss-ing the point of voting. The future of a

By Sophia ChanChoose Cheaper, Be Smarter

The new smart food vending machines are a valiant effort to force stu-dents to eat healthier food. Located near the band room, these machines sell healthy alternatives but at higher prices. Although the vending machines may be selling smart food, selling and buying healthy food or try-ing to do so is simply not worth the trouble. It may seem that placing healthy food alternatives will entice students into eating better choices for lunch and snacks. The price tag on these choices will easily push students away. Students bought and consumed the food that was previously not as healthy and less expensive. In re-ality, the smart food vending machines will simply be ignored as there are other cheaper and better-tasting alternatives around school and near the campus. Cafeteria food - often is a mix of tater tots, greasy pizza and cheeseburgers - appeals to hungry students more than health foods like granola bars. Moreover the plethora of fast food and junk food vendors outside of school adds to the rea-son why students won’t be choosing the health food vending machines. The new 7-Eleven that replaced the gas station’s store brings a wealth of sugary, salty, and fried goods. $1 might not even buy a stu-

dent a granola bar at the health food vend-ing machines. On the other hand, $1 can buy a student a student a half-gallon of sugary ice tea at 7/11 or two liters of soda at Walgreens. In fact, it is often better to buy the unhealthy food over the healthy food. After a long four periods, students would want something in their stomachs that actually feels like a lunch. Spending $5 on a healthy lunch every day is frivolous when, off campus, students can get a fill-ing meal for way less than that. $2.75 will buy students a large slice of pizza and a can of coke at Bronco Billy’s across the street. Getting less bang for the buck is an obvious reason for students to not empty their wal-lets at the smart food vending machines. Today, people are more inclined to buy unhealthy food as long as it’s cheap-er. Healthy food could be an option for students, but only if the prices don’t force students to gravitate toward purveyors of fat and sugar like McDonalds and 7/11. Perhaps if the school sold fruits to students at the price they were bought at, students would buy them. But selling small portions of healthy food while cheap, finger-licking, and fattening food is around the corner is not the way to advocate healthy behavior.

community and nation lies in the hands of each individual, and if people vote for a candidate exclusively because they are close to people who support that party, it will negatively affect them. In addition, one’s political influ-ences may affect their futures. Let’s say two people meet each other and fall in love, and the only thing stopping them from get-ting married are their fam-ily’s political views. Their families’ political views may be totally different from their personal views butthis should not stop them from marriage. In the same respect, no one should end up voting for a candidate whose policies go completely against their be-liefs simply because that is who their parents are voting for. Being happy with our na-tion’s leaders is a huge part of American democracy and voting for an abysmal can-didate just because they are in favor of your family’s ide-ologies should never happen.

Many might claim that family should influence one’s political ideologies since they know them well and, in turn, know which candidates’ policies will work best for them. However, this argument is void. Families should let their children decide who they side with on political is-sues. Parents will not always be there to

influence their children once they lead independent lives, and it is ultimate-ly their future which will be affected. People should value their own opinions when it comes to vot-ing. What one believes is a good fit for a political leader will satisfy them more than following their family’s stance.

for the future. In order to be success-ful, we all have to go through a gru-eling process to learn our own work habits; testing ourselves with these cognitive challenges will save time in the future and improve our lifestyles. Even though it is difficult to believe, grades do not define intel-ligence. With parents constantly on our backs about 4.0 GPA’s and Ivy Leagues, we are sometimes torn be-tween choosing the pressure to snag the easy “A”s and concrete knowledge. But in truth, what is the point of an “A” without the intelligence to prove it? Ten years outside of the school sys-tem and the outstanding letter grade will not translate into anything more than a single letter of the alphabet; it is meaningless, whereas an AP class’s effects can last for years to come. Life continues after high school. The earlier we leap over the obstacles, the smoother the road to success will be. Do not be afraid to pursue those awe-inspiring classes over regular courses as long as aca-demics and life blend harmoniously.

By Eswar Dhinakaran

S opinionOctober 2012| 7

The VOICE is a student-run newspaper with the sole purpose of providing an open forum for student expression. Any-thing printed represents the opinion of the writer, but not necessar-ily that of the VOICE staff, the administration or faculty of Irvington High School, or any person affiliated with the Fremont Unified School District. The VOICE does not discriminate against race, political orientation, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Although the VOICE will never refuse to publish stu-dent guest submission based on the aforementioned factors, we reserve the right to edit or not publish them.

Advisor: MAtthew PhilliPs

irvingtonvoice@gmail.comCheck out our new website! http://www.ihsvoice.com (510) 656-5711 ext. 46401

*Deadline Workers

POLICY STATEMENT:

VOICE STAFF 2012-2013Columnist: Eswar DhinakaranBusiness manager: Melanie DohertyCopy editor: Michelle LangWed editors: Kelsey Wong Mariam Syed-Quadriphotographer: Kelsey Wong

editors-in-Chief: Shirley Lin* Nisha Patel*neWs editors: Jenny Lu* Eswar Dhinakaran*features editors: Sophia Chan* Kanika Priyadarshi*entertainment editors: Japjot Bal* Rashi Saxena*sports editors: Eugene Wong* Karthik Mayilvahanan*humor editor: Adi Kumar*

Disagree with the writers? Bring your letters to the editor to room 101A or e-mail them to staff@ihsvoice.com.

We welcome all comments.

Irvington’s Pride and Joy NeglectedOur arts program is not getting the facilities it needsBy Chandni Patel Irvington High School is an arts magnet school. It takes pride in saying it is an arts magnet school. But despite being so proud of our achievements in the arts, one part of our arts department has been severely neglected: the music department. School records show that band teacher Mr. Rodda has 65 students in wind ensemble, 68 in symphonic band and 186 students in marching band. Try imagining marching band, which meets in the caf-eteria for seventh period because there is no way to fit them and their instruments in the band room. This is completely un-fair to the students. They spend hours af-ter school, practicing for competitions that boost our reputation as a magnet school but do not even get their own classroom to do so. Choir teacher and fellow mem-ber of the Performing Arts Department, Ms. Olson, even mentioned that a lot of other schools in the district have band rooms twice the size of ours—and they do not even have arts magnet programs! Ms. Olson also has a classroom with a major problem: namely, a lack of air conditioning. Although the school started installing the AC on Monday, October 8th, it is not going to be finished until January. Even though the AC is being installed now, there’s no ignoring the fact that our school is inexcusably behind schedule on these renovations. In 2004, the William Act of the State of California was created, stating that all classroom facilities have to remain between 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It is now 2012, which means our school has been out of compliance with that act for

Joining Team MetricConverting away inch by inchBy Pallavi Sherikar

eight years. After dealing with the prob-lem for so long, Ms. Olson spent her own money on a portable AC to cool down her classroom. Teachers should not have to pay for what the school is supposed to supply them with-a functional classroom. The school should have taken care of this problem years ago, when it became mandated by the law for them to do so. While money is tight and the dis-trict is required to budget school spending, they should be taking the needs of indi-vidual schools into account. In response to economic difficulties, they have cut spend-ing from Arts programs (leaving other ar-eas untouched) t h ro u g h o u t the district. However, for a school like I r v i n g t o n , it would be more pru-dent to stop spending so much money on technol-ogy and use what is saved on improv-ing classroom c o n d i t i o n s for music students. It makes no sense to buy more c o m p u t e r s

Photo: Chandni Patel

Every student in America has taken a science class that has required them to master the pesky task of dimen-sional analysis, or unit conversion. But why exactly is unit conversion an extra chore for American students? We have to shift our entire frame of reference from the American system of measurement to the metric system of measurement. Sud-denly pounds become kilograms, inches become centimeters and miles become ki-lometers. It would be a much simpler and easier process if we just integrated the metric system into our lives. American engineers, American scientists, Ameri-can statisticians and even American in-ternational policy makers are required to use the metric system in their jobs. According to the National In-stitute of Standards and Technology, the United States is now the only industrial-ized country in the world that does not use the metric system. That means that all of our trade partners use a completely separate system of measurement. Why do we choose to be different? I suspect it comes out of our need to be unique. As Americans, we do have a sense of national pride that, at times, borders ar-rogance. Most developed nations in the world are united under the metric system. We choose to not be a part of this global union. What distinguishes America from these countries? There may have been a time when we could flaunt our unique system; but that was a time when our country was significantly dominating the global trade markets. The fact is, we are no longer the sole dominators and we do have comparable rivals like China moving into the fray. For this reason, we should no longer continue with our current system of measurement that is becoming more and more obsolete on the global scale. Converting to the metric sys-tem would be in our best interest. Not much would have to be changed indus-trially because most manufacturers try to place both systems of measurement on appliances. But I am talking about a cultural shift. We, as an American soci-ety, have to accept our place within the world and stop acting like we own the world. We cannot continue skipping idly through a field that we do not own. We are America, and yes, we are a great na-tion; but we are one nation in a world of 195 nations. And as citizens of Ameri-ca, we are automatically citizens of the world. We must join the metric team, for our own convenience and advancement.

and smart boards if students cannot even have good classrooms to learn in. In comparison to these unsatisfac-tory classrooms, Irvington has four com-puter labs, all fully equipped with AC and space. These rooms are not used regularly for classes and are not a part of the mag-net program. It is outrageous to think that rooms that sit empty all day have the needed facilities while classrooms rooming hun-dreds of students do not. The computers are not what set our school apart from the others, it is the students, and they should not have to try and learn while fighting heat-stroke or avoiding elbows and black eyes.

staff Writers: Jason Amico Simran Moza Enya Kuo Chizobam Nwagwu Iris Lee Chandni Patel Sonakshi Maheshwari Pallavi Sherikar Brandon McAlister Devin Trubey Cindy Meng Jared Tse Hugo Vera Aaron Whitaker

Butch Hartman, the writer of another pop-ular TV show, The Fairly OddParents, created

Danny Phantom in 2001. The TV show is the story of 14-year-old Danny Fenton, who accidentally enters

his parents’ “Ghost Portal” and transforms himself into a half ghost with supernatural abilities. Even though he pan-ics at first, Danny eventually adapts to his unique situation and secretly leads both a teenager’s and ghost fighter’s life. The story was originally centered on a team of human ghost fighters, but Butch decided it would be more in-teresting to change the main character into a regular teenage boy living a double life as a ghost. In creating Danny’s pow-ers—flying, turning invisible, and making his body intangi-ble—Butch drew inspiration from the Fantastic Four heroes. Unfortunately, Danny Phantom was cancelled after 53 episodes due to the creators overspending the budget and hiring voice actors without Nickelodeon’s consent.

Famous for its lovable protagonist and vibrant animation, Hey Arnold! first aired

in October 1996. Its creator, Craig Bartlett, origi-nally came up with the football-headed nice-guy Ar-nold as a part of a claymation series in the late 1980s. Nickelodeon liked Arnold so much that they felt he should have his own show, so Arnold made his debut in a self-ti-tled animation short in 1996, and the first season premiered later that year. The show was immediately a huge success; in fact, the group of Arnold’s diverse cohorts and secret lover Helga has gen-erated a huge fan base that is still around. The group’s adven-tures through Hillwood and Arnold’s aptitude for always guid-ing them through adversity are what makes the show loved. It stopped airing new episodes in 2002 due to commitments to other shows by creator Bartlett, but reruns often air and the entire series is available for instant streaming on Netflix.

From 1999-2004, Nickelodeon presented audiences with

an action-packed show, Rocket Power. Cen-tered around middle-school extreme sports en-thusiasts, Rocket Power featured characters such as Otto Rocket, Reggie Rocket, Twister Rodriguez, Ray Rocket, Tito Makani and Sam Dullard. Residing in the southern California beach of Ocean Shores, the characters often engage in surfing, ice hockey and skate-boarding. These characters made popular catchphrases such as “Later…much!!”, “MAJOR BEEF!!!” and “BUST!!!” The show also had cameos from popular sports figures, such as Tony Hawk and Andy MacDonald. Created by Gabor Csupo and Arlene Klasky, the classic Nickelodeon show,

Rocket Power, aired 48 episodes throughout its 5 years of air-time. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled on July 30,

2004 due to low ratings and a decrease in viewings.

Drake and Josh is about the life of two different teenagers who became stepbrothers. When Josh has a very straight edge and high main-tenance personality and Drake has a rebellious and bone-headed personality, only comedy can ensue. Dan Schneider, writer and creator of Drake and Josh, produced and wrote his own T.V shows and mov-ies in the 1990‘s. Drake and Josh was one of the many hit phenomenas that Schneider created. Overall, the show won 11 awards for categories such as ‘Best Children’s T.V Program’ and ‘Favorite T.V Show’. Drake and Josh first aired in 2004 and ran until 2007 having a strong four seasons and sixty episodes. The show ended because the actors all decided they wanted to go their own ways. Drake Bell decided to focus on his music career, while Miranda Cos-

grove and Josh Peck continued to act.

Drake and JoshBy Brandon McAlister

Danny Phantom By Iris Lee By Jason Amico

By Japjot BalRocket Power

By Kanika Priyadarshi

Catdog Catdog was an animated hit TV show series created by Peter Hannon for Nickelodeon, lasting from 1998-2005. The show was about a cat and a dog that were conjoined at their bod-ies, with the cat’s head sticking out at one end and the dog’s head sticking out at the opposite end. The cat is portrayed to be a clever character while the dog is portrayed as more of a laidback charac-ter; yet with these conflicting personalities, both were best friends. Albie Hecht, senior vice president of Nickelodeon, said that the creators had planned two characters conjoined at their bodies

because they wanted to show “the worst of both worlds.” Over the 7 years it showed on TV, the series consisted of a total

of 68 episodes in 4 seasons. Due to gradually low rat-ings of the show, it was cancelled in June 2005.

Hey Arnold!

FEATURES 21.1

Famous for its lovable protagonist and vibrant animation, Hey Arnold! first aired

in October 1996. Its creator, Craig Bartlett, origi-nally came up with the football-headed nice-guy Ar-nold as a part of a claymation series in the late 1980s. Nickelodeon liked Arnold so much that they felt he should have his own show, so Arnold made his debut in a self-ti-tled animation short in 1996, and the first season premiered later that year. The show was immediately a huge success; in fact, the group of Arnold’s diverse cohorts and secret lover Helga has gen-erated a huge fan base that is still around. The group’s adven-tures through Hillwood and Arnold’s aptitude for always guid-ing them through adversity are what makes the show loved. It stopped airing new episodes in 2002 due to commitments to other shows by creator Bartlett, but reruns often air and the entire series is available for instant streaming on Netflix.

Ren and Stimpy, created by John Kricfalusi, focused on the

lives and adventures of Ren Hoek, an ec-centric Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a kind

but slow-witted cat. The show first aired on Nick-elodeon in 1991 and was an immediate hit with viewers of all ages, with toilet humor as the domi-nating “laugh factor.” Toilet humor usually revolves around urination, vomiting, and other related processes. However, as the show progressed, parent groups protested that Ren and Stimpy was not child-friendly due to its rather abusive display of friendship between Ren and Stimpy, toilet humor, and inappropriate ref-erences. After 5 seasons and 52 episodes, Ren and Stimpy came to an end in 1996. In 2003, the show at-tempted to make a comeback on the cable network Spike TV, but was canceled a month after its de-but, once again due to its inappropriateness.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius was a popular Nickelodeon children’s show created by John A. Davis. The show deals with the troubles of Jimmy Neu-tron, a brilliant boy with an abnormally large head who spends most of his time either working on new science in-ventions or saving his city from his own science inventions with his two best friends, Carl Wheezer and Sheen Estevez. The show created 67 episodes through three seasons from 2002 to 2006. Each season continues with Jimmy’s inven-tions, his enemies, and his crush on Cindy who is equally as intelligent, a fact which initially causes dislike between the

two. The show also collaborated with another of Nickel-odeon’s show, Fairly Odd Parents, for a few episodes.

The show ended in 2006 when its company DNA Productions went out of business. Jimmy Neu-

tron is remembered for his love of math and science and his robot dog, Goddard.

The Wild Thornberrys was produced by Klasky Csupo, and premiered in September 1998 as the

first 22-minute Nicktoon, which is an animated televi-sion show aired on Nickelodeon. Eliza Thornberry is an

extraordinary child who happens to travel the world in an RV with her parents, Nigel and Marianne, who are famous na-

ture show hosts. Eliza holds the magical ability to talk to and understand animals. She teams up with her sister Debbie and friend Darwin, who tries to be the voice of reason for Eliza, to save these animals from the threats facing the wildlife. The show was rerun in the United States on the Nickelodeon channel and occasionally on Nicktoons un-til 2000, and is now being released on DVD. The series is affiliated with the conservation group known as the National Wildlife Federation; hence, there are oc-

casional pieces of nature facts added into the script as Eliza travels through her journeys.

By Jason Amico

By Kelsey Wong

Ren and Stimpy

By Karthik Mayilvahanan

Rugrats Rugrats was created by Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csu-

po, and Paul Germain in 1989. It began running in 1991 and was cancelled in 2004. Rugrats received several accolades

which included five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Children’s Program. It ran for 9 seasons, including 72 episodes. The series is about the adventures of Tommy Pickles and the infants in his playgroup. The most notable characters include Tommy, his best friend Chuckie, their friends Phil and Lil, who are twins, Tommy’s baby brother, Dil, and Tommy’s cousin An-gelica, who is the predominant antagonist in each episode.

Rugrats is also known as one of the few television shows that depicted Jewish families, and the series aired two Han-

nukah specials in 1992 and 1996. The series was followed up by Rugrats Pre-School Daze, which occurs when

Angelica is in pre-school, and All Grown Up, when all the main characters of the origi-

nal series are in their teenage years.

By Mariam Syeda-Quadri

Invader Zim

Invader Zim is an American TV series that was created by Jhonen Vazquez. This TV show is about an alien named

Zim from planet Irk who has evil plans to conquer and de-stroy planet Earth. The epsisodes each have individual story-

lines but are all connected under the theme of alien Zim trying to take over the human race. This TV series was first broadcast on March 30th, 2001 and was targeted at children in their early teens. After the first season, the ratings suffered dramatically. Because of the extremely low ratings, the show was cancelled before the second season was complete. The show lasted

from 2001-2003 airing 23 episodes. On August 2006, however, 46 canon episodes and one pilot episode

aired on Nickelodeon and were released on DVD.

By Kanika Priyadarshi

Catdog was an animated hit TV show series created by Peter Hannon for Nickelodeon, lasting from 1998-2005. The show was about a cat and a dog that were conjoined at their bod-ies, with the cat’s head sticking out at one end and the dog’s head sticking out at the opposite end. The cat is portrayed to be a clever character while the dog is portrayed as more of a laidback charac-ter; yet with these conflicting personalities, both were best friends. Albie Hecht, senior vice president of Nickelodeon, said that the creators had planned two characters conjoined at their bodies

because they wanted to show “the worst of both worlds.” Over the 7 years it showed on TV, the series consisted of a total

of 68 episodes in 4 seasons. Due to gradually low rat-ings of the show, it was cancelled in June 2005.

By Rashi Saxena

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron

By Nisha Patel

The Wild ThornberrysHey Arnold!

FEATURES 21.1

IHSV

OIC

E.C

OM

Fall Fashion TrendsSeasons are changing and so are students’ wardrobesBy Melanie Doherty

Faux Leather Jackets- This edgy look looks good on all girls, keeping you warm and stylish. These jackets are perfect for going to the movies or hanging out at night.

Animal Print Skinny Jeans- Lots of stores are carrying animal and floral print skinny jeans. It’s a great way to dress up your legs and the darker tones are great for fall.

Cargo Shorts- These are a staple item which almost every guy needs. They are good in spring too, but ideally when it gets colder pick jeans instead.

Jackets over hoodies- Wearing a zip-up jacket over a Gen2bano hoody keeps you extra warm, this is the guys’ way to layer clothing. This look is good even without the jacket, too.

Vault Vans- These are hot pair of shoes that look good with many out-fits. They come in many colors but are difficult to find. However, they can usually be found in boutique stores.

REVIEWSELEMENTARY GOOD Music

When rapper Common pro-duced his Grammy award-winning album under Kanye West’s label GOOD Mu-sic in 2004, the rap and hip-hop world looked to the up-and-coming-label for more “good” music. The label did not dis-appoint. After A-list artists John Legend, Big Sean, and Kid Cudi produced their albums under the label from 2004-2011, the record company was confirmed as a success. One thing that the label failed to produce, however, was the collabora-tion album first mentioned by Kanye in 2009. For three years, fans waited for the all-powerful collaborative album by the hottest names in rap and hip-hop. In April 2012, Kanye West fea-tured Pusha T, Big Sean, and 2 Chainz on the

On September 27, 2012, CBS’s Elementary premiered to an audience of 13.4 million Americans as shown on Nielsen television ratings. Directed by Robert Doherty, this modernized version of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories retains the series’ witty dialogue and en-gaging mysteries in a fresh and more relat-able context for the current generation of television viewers. Fans of crime and in-vestigative shows can enjoy a nice blend of suspense as well as light-hearted wise cracks by Sherlock to break the tenser moments. More devout fans of Conan’s clas-sic stories may be irked by the deviations from the original series from the 1880s. These changes are especially apparent in the environment of the show and the main characters. Instead of Lon-d o n ,

we follow the detectives in New York, and instead of a naïve male sidekick, we have a charismatic female associate to Sherlock played by Lucy Liu. Despite the differ-ences between the classic and this contem-porary adaptation, Elementary provides viewers with the same detective thrills and witty dialogue that made the original stories such a success. Keep up with the series every Thursday at 10 p.m. on CBS.

bass-boosting track “Mercy.” A string of singles followed throughout the summer, from the harsh lyrics of “I Don’t Like” to the rolling instrumental of “Clique.” In most of the album’s songs, each art-ist infuses his own signature style into the track while maintaining the song’s flow. However, one thing wrong with this album is the inclusion of “rapper” 2 Chainz, who is notorious for rapping with the lyrics, maturity, and profaniy of a junior high school student, Other-wise, the album as a whole masterfully arranges high-quality instrumentals and artists to the pleasure of the listener.

An all-star cast and solid range of beats contribute to a near perfect albumBy Aditya KumarBy Eugene Wong

NBC takes unique angle on classic, Sherlock Holmes

Photo: wwwthevoiceoftv.com

Photo: kanyewest.com

Screen shot of Sherlock Holmes in action. The cover of the

new album.

Peplum tops/dresses- The peplum cut adds a nice flare which is super flattering for girls and gives your body a curvier look.

Girls

Boys

Photos: Cassie Reynoso, Nitin Mehta, Mela-nie Doherty, and Shane Lamba.

E ntertainment10 | The Voice 21.1

Increase Your Candy Haul This HalloweenTry some of this tricks to get the more candy while trick-or-treatingBy Jared TseAre you tired of your candy bag being reduced to a candy pouch soon af-ter Halloween? What you need are some tips to fill it up more than ever before so you never need to worry about restocking again. • Take your friends with food allergies along with you so that you can take the candy they are allergic to. They won’t mind. • Don’t make yourself look loaded with candy, even if you are. Bring a back-pack to put your extra candy in to give the illusion that you have no candy. When your neigh-bors see your lack of candy, they might give more candy out of the kindness in their heart. • Go trick-or-treating late at night because people might have an ex-cess amount of candy still left and probably will give you the rest of their candy. • Visit some rich neighborhoods. Maybe they will put some of their extra cash into giving kids a generous amount of candy or at least bigger candy bars. • Don’t be afraid to go to the same house again; peo-ple are giving away free candy, so why not stop by a few times? Just in case, try to change up your costume so they won’t notice you.

Best and Worse Items to Receive on Halloween Watch out for these must get or must avoid treatsBy Aaron Whitaker

Best1. Enjoy and savour the king-sized candy bars, with plenty to spare for friends.2.Vampire teeth in your bag give a new idea for next year’s Halloween costume which is sure to creep everyone out. 3. The classic Pixy Stix will give you a sugar rush, which is what we all want on Halloween, right?4. Stimulate your taste buds with Popcorn Balls!5. Mouthwatering ring pops will definitely sat-isfy your sweet tooth!

Worst1. Nothing disap-points more than get-ting last year’s stale candy.2. Unless you plan on being grandma, you don’t want to be stuck with disgusting dentures.3. Unless near a camp-fire, match sticks are not edible or desirable.4. Moth balls are outdated and dangerous to ingest. Be-sides, the moths can turn your clothes into a Zombie costume. 5. Flimsy, plastic spider rings can easily be snapped, mak-ing them an unwanted treat.

Question Man

Broadway West amazes audiences with another successful productionBy Chizo Nwagwu

By Kanika Priyadarshi

What is the most epic pumpkin carving you have ever seen?

Malaysia Cusseaux, Freshman “The most epic pumpkin I have ever seen was a witch with a little broom and hat that had a soke machine and evil noises coming from behind, enhancing the pumpkin’s eerie effect.”

Mayank Sharma, Sophomore “I saw a 10 foot pumpkin that had a scarecrow carved into it.”

Ryan Lovejoy, Junior “The most epic one I have ever seen was a pumpkin who commit-ted suicide. Part of its head was missing and there were pumpkin guts coming out.”

Jennifer Windsor, Senior “I once saw a really intricate dragon carving that looked like it had taken hours to make. It was the kind of carving where in some places the pumpkin was not cut all the way through, so you could see different shades of orange for the body and flames.”

"I, Victor Frankenstein, am damned!" Broadway Live's production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a must-see. The small theater sis located in the Irving-ton District, just above Bay Street Cafe.. Celebrating their ninth consecutive year, they are closing up their sixth season. "This story has always been a favorite of mine, since I was a little girl," said Frankenstein's director, Paula Chenoweth, "So, directing the story has always been in my thoughts." The play revolves around the story of Victor Frankenstein, played by the flamboyant Chuck Phelps, and his eccentric obsession with the concept of resurrecting human life. Victor creates "The Creature", played by the thrill-ing Joel A.S. Butler, from a corpse and

some electricity acquired from a lightning storm. The Creature's naivety and plight drives the vehemence of the entire story. Broadway West's reproduction of this classic tale is just as frightening as it is touching. The story line was relatively easy to follow for those who have not read the book or watched any of the movies, such as myself. I found the play intense yet light-hearted. I could truly understand Victor's confusion and the despair that was sur-rounding his life throughout the play. The audience could really feel "Frankenstein's" dissonance and discontent with his mortality. Overall, this 2-hour show is worth the time. Unfortunately, Oct 13. was its last showing and it has already completely sold out. However, make sure to catch their final show of the season, "A Tune of Christmas," this November.

Photo: Chizo Nwagwu

Photo: Chizo Nwagwu

Cast members gather on the stage one last time during the performance.

Frankenstein and some other cast mem-bers take a picture with our own staff.

Photo: bluezones.com/2011/10/halloween-candy-how-much-sugar/

T entertainmenOctober 2012|11

Review: Frankenstein

Photos: Kanika Priyadarshi

By Melanie Doherty

By Devin Trubey

By Sophia Chan

Girls TennisBy Chandini Patel

Photo: Jason Amico

So far this year, the girls’ tennis team is looking to be a strong contender in MVAL. Varsity is up 4:2 and JV is up 5:1. Varsity lost to Logan and American, while JV has only lost against Logan. The team has 27 players. The team captains are Senior Abbirose Garcia, Varsity 1 Singles, Senior Congrui Lin, Varsity 4 Singles, and Senior Vida Bao, Varsity 1 Doubles. Captain Vida Bao was optimistic about the rest of the season. “I’m hoping to end the season with a 10-4 record,” said Vida. “I think we have a good chance of coming third in the league, hopefully. Our biggest rivals are definitely Logan, Mis-sion, and American.”

Vida also mentioned how many varsity players are playing varsity for the first time. Vida comments that “…they’re holding up remarkably well to the pressure. I would say singles are our strengths this year.” Jamie Lagman, Varsity 1 Doubles player (and Vida’s partner) says that she thinks “Our biggest competition is probably Logan and we’re going to try our best to keep up with them.” Both players agree that American and Mission will be teams to watch as they com-pete. Overall the team is hoping to place at league tournaments and agrees that there is a lot of competition this year.

CheerleadingOn September 29th, the Irving-ton High School Cheerleaders competed in a qualifying match in Santa Cruz. “We have com-peted in this competition since my freshman year and we were all a little upset that we came in 5th, said Senior Captain Jessica Lee, “but I am so proud of all girls.” In order to score points the cheerleaders have to earn points in five categories, includ-ing energy, stunts, tumbling, choreography and the cheer itself. There are three judges and the scores are averaged for a final score out of one hundred.

Their hope is to score at least a seventy-five and to use that score towards qualifying for nation-als. All of the competitions they compete in through the United Spirit Association counts towards qualifying them for nationals. This year the team is smaller but that doesn’t mean they are lacking in spirit. “It definitely makes us a closer team because varsity and junior varsity compete together.” Look for more cheerleading updates in February when they compete in States at Davis and Nationals in March.

Gymnastics at Irving-ton has always been a sport with relatively low participation. This year, the team consists of twelve girls. “A small team is a definite advantage,” sophomore Kathy Phan said. “At Washing-ton [High School]’s gym where we practice, there is a limited amount of apparatuses, space, and time. . . . We only have one coach so I can imagine how hard

it would be for her to watch over 20 gymnasts.” Regardless of the team’s small number of people, gymnastics is still an intense sport. “For a week, we actually practiced in a gym, we condi-tioned outdoors at Irvington. It consisted of running 1-2 miles, doing spints, ab, leg, and arm workouts. We also worked on flexibility and basics.”

Gymnastics

Fall Sports updates JV and Varsity have a win-loss record of 6-2 in league games. On Tuesday, October 9th, girls’ volleyball played Mission, both JV and Varsity won and on Thursday, October 11, the lady Vikings had an-other win against Kennedy. JV creamed Mission in two sets, 25-12 and 25-5. Then, on Thursday they got another victory and beat Kennedy 25-17 and 25-12. Varsity beat Mission in

an intense game that lasted four sets, 18-25, 25-19, 25-20 and 25-23. Senior Danielle Carothers had 10 kills, 11 digs, 20 assists and 1 block. Junior Laura Hu-bacek had 21 kills and 2 blocks. Junior Emily Lopez had 11digs. Then, they crushed Kennedy on Thursday in three sets, 25-12, 25-15 and 25-22. Carothers had 8 kills, 6 digs and 14 assists. Sophomore Madi Fremont had 4 aces, 2 kills and 3 assists.

The Mission game kept the crowd on their feet, during the third set there where very intense rallies between the Vikings and Warriors but the varsity girls were able to pull through and win. The fourth set was tough and close Vikings started ahead then began to lose their lead, but near the end of the game Senior Nicole Ho’s serves and Hubacek’s kills brought the team to victory.

Volleyball

The boys Cross Country team is currently 1-3, having lost close races to both Logan and American. “The season has been really great so far. We may not have the best record, but we’re consistently getting runners to finish in the top 5 in every race and everyone is pushing their limits,” said Junior Captain San-jeev Reddy. “As long as people are running their best race every

race, our season can only get better. We’re matching up against top teams better than I thought we would.” Both Frosh/Soph and JV run two miles, while Varsity runs three miles. The fastest Vikings in each of these divi-sions include Freshman Chad Walker (12:37), Senior Saad Syed (12:40), and Junior Matt Doerner (18:30). “[In our races against

Logan and American] we came close to winning, closer than we ever have,” added Reddy. “De-pending on our training until the end of the season, we could put up a major fight at MVALs.” The team hopes to have at least one runner place within the top five at each division at MVALs.Next week, the Vikings will be racing Moreau Catholic School, which is new to the league.

Boys Cross Country By Karthik Mayilvahanan

With a win-loss record of 4-7 for Varsity and 2-7 for Junior Varsity, the Boys’ water polo members are hoping to turn their season around. Coach Robert Herndan still has hopes for the both teams. "My hope for Varsity is to win their last 7 games and the make it to NCS

tournament.” He continues, “as for JV, I want the team to im-prove on the understanding of the game and for them to gain experience in the sport." Freshman Vibhu Singhal hopes to improve the JV season record by focusing on teamwork. “My hopes for the

season are to win at least two more games for the season and for our team to blend as one.” Vibhu Singhal explains, "I want to improve my teamwork and attitude toward the team and I am trying to pass more and swim harder.”

Boys Water polo By Jared Tse

In the end, however, the practice is always based on personal and team motiva-tion. “I like to have my girls set goals for themselves as well for the team,” says coach Le Dios. “It’s something we do before we compete at every meet, something to get their minds focused. Once you have a goal in mind, it can be a huge moti-vator to achieve.”

The girl’s water polo team has a record of 1 - 4 at the moment. This year the lady vi-kings have no JV team and have combined all the girls to form a varsity. Their varsity team con-sists almost completely of new athletes who have never played before. Still, the girls have been working hard considering the circumstances. “Most of us polo players are new to this sport”,

explained junior Mariah Dam-aso on the girls team, “To be playing on varsity, we’re doing a good job”. Including the non-league tournaments the girls have won a total of 7 games, and lost a total of 6. “We’re working harder and training more every day”, junior Lauren Wellman captain of the polo team explained

Girls Water polo By Brandon McAlister

The Girls’ cross country team has a win-loss record of 2-2 (JV) and 1-3 (V). All of the 25 runners aim to improve over the season, including varsity runner sophomore Chesna Pokaharel, who says, “My goals are improv-ing and I am trying the best I can. Hopefully I can get faster and have more endurance by the end of the season.[sic]” These athletes have all had to

face challenges while on the team, including sophomore Simran Sidhu, who said, “My hardest race was Coyote Hills because I had to push myself to climb those steep slopes.” At the end of every meet, the team celebrates everyone’s efforts by doing the SIMP dance. SIMP stands for squirrels in my pants, and is considered a tradition for the cross country team.

Girls Cross Country

On the morning of October 6th, the Irvington Marching band and Colorguard rushed to San Jose to perform in the Feste Del Mar band review. The judges rewarded Irvington with five trophies: Irvington Marching band was awarded with Sweepstakes and 1st place for Parade March while Colorguard was awarded

2nd place. The Irvington Wind Ensemble managed to snag 1st place, and Drumline was pleas-antly surprised with 3rd place. When asked her opinion of the colorguard performance, Junior Michelle Wen said, “I think we did well, especially with the time we had to change our routine. There’s definitely room for improve-

By Simran Moza

Band/Colorguard

ment and I’m excited to clean and perfect our march.” Even though the Irvington Band has come a long way, members still feel there is lots of room for improvement. Junior Kristy Ju said, “I think we did pretty well, but if everyone just took Mr. Rodda’s directions more seriously and focused on his advice we’d do even better!”

By Iris Lee

Photo : Cesar Lara

Photo: Chandni Patel

Photo: Brandon McAlister

Photo: Melanie Doherty

Photo: Coach Cheri

S ports12 | The Voice 21.1

By Shirley Lin

By Cindy Meng

Photos: Jason Amico

Fall Sports updates

Near the end of Oc-tober 2010, 7th grade figure skater Cindy Yang placed second at the Central Pacific Regionals Championship in Sacramento. Cindy’s outstand-ing performance sent her to Salt Lake City for the Junior Nation-als Figure Skating Competition. Now, as a 9th grader, Cindy will return to Utah for Regionals next week. “This is the first year I am age-eligible for Nationals,” said Cindy, “so my goals will be

Matt Doerner is a junior who joined Irvington's cross country team just this year. Although new to the team, he has been doing great. “The main reason I joined cross country is because of all the awesome and supportive people on the team,” he said. “Without them, practice wouldn’t be nearly as fun as it is.” His biggest achievement this year is getting a time of 18:30 at Irvington’s home course. He hopes to finish in the top 5 at MVAL finals if he can improve a little off that time. Other notice-able achievements include his

best time at Coyote Hills, a 18:30 and at Quarry Lakes, a 17:08. His best mile time last year was 4:56 and his best Buum time was 8:12. “The main reason I joined cross country”, he said, “is because of all the awesome and supportive people on the team. Without them, practice wouldn’t be nearly as fun as it is.” What he loves most about cross country are hanging out with the team and having the feeling of accom-plishment after a hard workout or race. He said he has had so

different from goals in previous years.” Since the age of eight, Irvington’s young figure skater began spending her free time at Fremont’s Shark Ice Skat-ing Ring. She practiced for a minimum of 3 hours a day, totaling up to 20-25 hours per week. Since it is year round sport, figure skating takes up the majority of Cindy’s time. “I am not able to do most of the things a normal teenager does [sic],” said Cindy. “It is so difficult to balance school with skating and do well in both.” . What started out as a recreational summer activity

in second grade has devel-oped into a possible life-long commitment for Cindy. “In the future I want to be a dance or figure skating choreographer,” said Cindy. Her involvement in dance helps improve certain techniques in her figure skating. When asked to compare the two sports, she expounded on the fundamentals of each sport. “Dance is on the same expres-sion level as skate,” said Cindy, “but I enjoy the thrills and tech-nical elements of figure skating more. It is a lot more dynamic.” Following the foot-steps of role models Michelle Hong (2011 Irvington graduate

Athlete Spotlight: Cindy Yangand current Cal Figure Skating captain) and Kristi Yamaguchi (1989 Mission San Jose gradu-ate and 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics Figure Skating Gold Medalist), Cindy plans to leave her mark in the sport of figure skating. “I did my best in Junior Nationals (2010), but my best wasn’t good enough,” said Cin-dy. “This year I hope to qualify and do well at Nationals.” The determined figure skater will attend Regionals from October 18th to 23rd in Salt Lake City in hopes of qualifying for Section-als in mid-November as well as Nationals in Omaha, Nebraska near the end of January.

Athlete Spotlight: Matt DoernerPhoto: Trent Nelson

Yang competed at the 2010 Junior Naional tournament, and won second place

On October 6, 2012 Irvington’s football team suf-fered a difficult loss in their homecoming game against American High School (13-26). Despite the loss, hundreds of Vikings were in attendance to support the team. Irvington fought tenaciously in the first half of the game, but started wearing down during the late half to American High School’s relentless offense. In the second quarter, Senior Ariel Hercik scored a touchdown to tie with the Eagles at 6-6. A successful field goal pushed Irvington to maintain a 7-6 lead for most of the quarter. The Eagles responded in the final seconds of the quarter with a touch-down by Senior Segun Giwa to end the half (7-12). The Eagles started pulling away from the Vikings in the third and fourth

quarters with multiple touch-downs, although Irvington was able to maintain a 13-12 lead for a short while in the third quarter. Irvington Junior Tyler Roe scored the last touchdown for Irvington. The Vikings suf-fered an additional loss in the Battle of Blacow game against Kennedy on October 12 (20-22). Senior Ariel Hercik, who starts as running back and strong safety, reflected on his performance at both games: “I don't have any regrets. I made mistakes, a lot of them, but I always played 100%.” He continued, “No game is perfect, so there are many things that I personally, as well as the team, could have done better. We made mental errors which could have been avoided. We should have won both games.” We also asked Ariel and

Senior Erik Kagawa on how they prepared mentally for the big-gest games in the season. Ariel said, “I have the same mentality going into any football game). Be physical. Be violent. Be a leader. I tell myself I'm invin-cible, and no one can stop me. And it's not about being con-ceited, or thinking you're the best. It's just a certain attitude and confidence you need to have in order to play this game.” He continued, “But above all, going into every game, I play with a purpose; to represent the school, honor God, and play my heart out for every man on the field with me.” Erik responded, “I don't regret much because I played to my fullest extent but I do I have to say that I could've studied film on both teams harder to gain more of an edge on them.”

Football frenzy By Eugene Wong

“But above all, going into every game, I play with a purpose; to represent the school, honor God, and play my heart out for every man on the field

with me.”

Photo: Eugene Wong and Melanie Doherty

many great cross country memo-ries but his favorite is probably doing the famous IHS “Squirrel Song” after every meet. In addition to attend-ing cross country practices, which are every day after school for two hours and six A.M. on Mondays and Fridays, Matt also runs on the weekends with teammates. He ran 300 miles during the summer! Matt is still not sure what his future plans are for , but de-pending on what his fastest times are next year, he might want to run competitively in college.

S sportOctober 2012| 13

As students, we are used to the plethora of advice and uidelines that teachers throw at us. But it seems a bit unfair that teachers themseves don’t follow their own golden advice.

For example, they tell us to:

1. Write neatly. Some teachers just have illegible handwriting. Whether it is on a white board or smart board is illegible. Why is it that when students turn in illeg-ible work it is a redo and you lose points?

2.Read the book don’t watch the movie. Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn, The Cru-cible and The Great Gatsby are all available for your entertainment pleasures. So they show the movie in class. How does that work?

3.Eat a healthy breakfast. Teachers live on coffee and consume it as if their life de-pended on it.

4.No texting in class. How many times have you seen a teacher answer to the magical ringtone that comes from in-side their pocket or bag? Too many.

5.Come prepared to class. This is a clas-sic statement, “I didn’t have time to Xe-

rox the handout.” How easy it is to forget things, like the fact that we are all human and we all make mistakes.

6.Use dark ink. Who in their right mind invented yellow expo markers? You want to read assignments in blue or black and so do we.

7.No eating or chewing gum in class. If teachers are going to eat in class they should allow their students the same privileges.

8.Be on time. “There was traffic.” Well, students get stuck in traffic too.

9.Get involved in school activities. “I have too many papers to grade.” There are some teachers that nev-er leave their classroom. I thought one was a substitute once, gasp.

10.Be a part of America’s Greenest School and save paper. The Xerox bill speaks for itself.

By Devin TrubeySay one thing, do anotherHypocritical Teachers

Romney’s recent comment at a closed-door fundraiser revealed that he felt that forty-seven percent of America is freeloading and that is why he cares only about helping the oth-er fifty-three percent of the country.

To his credit, Romney did not realize that he was being covertly taped and that soon enough at least fifty-three percent of the country would hear what he said. The press had a joyous field day with cries of blasphemy and incredulity at his comment. However, upon further analysis, Romney’s inclination toward only 53% of the country follows his lifestyle trends.

I mean think about it:

•Romney only wears fifty-three percent of his sweater vests.

•He owns fifty-three percent of the Nascar Teams.

•He spends fifty-three percent of his in-come on hair products.

•His pauses are fifty-three percent as long as Obama’s.

•He only messes up fifty-three percent of the speeches he gives.

•He mentions only fifty-three percent of the details of his economic plan.

•He only needs fifty-three percent of the campaign fundraisers Obama needs.

•He practices his laugh and “normal” per-sonality fifty percent of the time.

It really does not make sense that people are surprised by Romney’s comment. If anything, his fifty-three percent complex is his one point of consistency in the past eight months.

By Pallavi Sherikar

Romney’s favorite number is no surprise

53 Percent Complex

To the petrified freshmen step-ping into Irvington for the first time: your upperclassmen embrace you with complete acceptance and utter love. We’ve all been there and experienced shock and fright of Irvington’s spectacular hallway traffic. Here is some heartfelt guidance that we hope will make your days at Irvington less unbearable.

1.Always carry rolling backpacks: the more wheels, the better.

2.Complain to your upperclassmen about your workload; we understand how terribly burdening your work is.

3.Procrastinate! This is precisely why the government gave you three entire years to catch up on academics.

4.Brag about the prestige of your honors classes.

5.Who has time to run to his / her locker between classes? Carry all your textbooks with you everywhere.

6.Flaunt your Facebook middle names. They’re very cool.

7.When in doubt, keep your questions to yourself. You’re supposed to be shy and scared; don’t confuse your teachers by ask-ing them questions.

8.The different pockets in your back-pack are there for a reason (a.k.a. or-ganization). Use them instead of binders, which clip your fingers.

9.Advisory time = nap time. As the ancient proverb says: “A good rest is half the work.”

10. Memorize all your homework. It’s good brain workout: plus if you forget your homework, then you won’t have to do it!

By Enya KuoHelpful Advice to Get You Through High SchoolWelcome Freshman!

Junior Michelle Wen shows off her roller backpack swag. Be sure to brag about how you have improved back support

Photo Credit: Umika Kumar

Romney rocking a fifty three percent frown on the campaign trial

By Sophia Chan

Eight hundred fifty clubs too manyOver 9000! Clubs

Disapproving Adi eyes stare at you disap-provingly

Photo Credit: abcnews.com

The Academic Cheer Club spreads joy to math competi-tion Irvington students.

Photo Credit: Sophia Chan

Photo Credit: Janice Lin

Humor15 | The Voice 21.1

This year, there are more than three thousand clubs already approved here at Irvington, almost enough to accommodate the all of the interests from the freshmen influx. The dramatic increase of clubs could be from students suddenly pressured by their peers who are all making new clubs, students suddenly discovering hundreds of new interests and/or talents they wish to bring to IHS, or simply ASB’s poor decision-making skills. “Most of the clubs that are not approved are the really ridiculous ones,” said ASB Club Commissioner Julianne Vinh. “Like the Anti-Julianne Society.” Rather than advertising the ever-popular InterKey Leo clubs, I’ve decided to introduce some of the new clubs soon-to-be created this year. One of them includes the “Bathroom Cleaning Club,” which cleans Irvington’s bathrooms on the weekends

for service hours and donates the money that would go toward the janitors toward its annual Bathroom Conference field trip. There is also the Another new club is “Academic Cheer,” ASB’s newly created club to cheer at chess competitions, science bowls, and math contests. “APES,” which stands for Advanced Placement Emotional Sup-port (not to be confused with AP Environmental Science), offers physical and mental therapy for students who cannot handle the stress of APs and fundraises money by giving hugs. Harry Potter fans have been clamoring for a Quidditch Team, also a new club that will soon be approved by ASB. “I’ve been waiting three long years for this,” said senior Ivy Pham. “It better be approved.”

Disclaimer: Not all of the mentioned club’s constitutions have been ap-proved. Yet.

Photos by Enya Kuo, Chizobam Nwagwu, Melanie Doherty, Nisha Patel, Jared Tse, Eugene Wong and Kelsey Wong