Volume LXXXIX Issue 8Friday, November 14, 2014

wildcatpaper.com@uniwildcatnews

11800 Texas AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90025

NEWSAdministration strug-gles to reform student behaviorNew policy affects atti-tudes towards illegal acts Page 2

OPINIONSuspension fails to sus-pend misconductAlternative methods of drug reforms support studentsPage 3

DOUBLE SPREADStudents dance the night away at A Night in New YorkPicture collage showcases Homecoming DancePage 4

FEATUREDia de Los Muertos brings dead to lifeSpanish projects present culture and pay respects to friends passedPage 6

SPIRIT WEEKWildcats pepped up throughout Spirit WeekPictures showcaseSpirit WeekPage 7

WILDCATU N I V E R S I T Y H I G H S C H O O L

The Wildcats defeated the Westchester Comets on Friday, Nov. 7 at Homecoming game. The victory was a shutout with a score of 25-0. Due to field renovations here at home, the game was played on Venice’s field. This game made history, as it marks only the second win on that field in the past 20 years.Page 8

Wildcats come home

with win

Jevone Moore

Page 2 November 14, 2014

NEWSUNIVERSITY HIGH WILDCAT

New admin transitions with freshmenBy Eduardo Cuellar- AguilarManaging Editor

Due to an increase in student enrollment, Uni

welcomed assistant principal Oscar Lopez to the Wildcat pack on Nov. 3.

“I pledge to help all students become successful in school and life, to provide the teaching staff with support and the tools to produce students who will graduate from Uni ready to go to college and become productive citizens of the United States,” Lopez said.

This year, the student body gained enough members, at 1750 students, to qualify for a higher class-size norm. This allows the school to employ an additional administrator.

After learning this, principal Eric Davidson contacted Lopez and offered him a position as an assistant principal to assist the freshman at Uni.

“I believe [freshmen] need help because they are new, like me, to a huge campus,” Lopez said. “They are also introduced to a new system of education, one in which grades really do count, instead of moving from one grade to the next regardless of the grade they have earned.”

Lopez began his teaching career as an educational aide at Palms Middle School. Lopez notably worked as an administrator at Webster Middle School and took on administrative roles at Beaudry, LAUSD’s headquarters.

Although Lopez was hired specifically to help he transition into high school for freshmen, he is completely devoted to helping every student on campus.

“I’m willing to drop anything I am doing to help [students] become successful in school and in life,” Lopez said.

If allotted by LAUSD to stay after June 2015 based on funding, Lopez will continue on his mission to help all students.

“If I had it my way, I would stay at Uni until I retire,” Lopez said. “I like the students and staff at Uni and the environment.”

By Sania SyedNews Editor

School administration is being forced to find alternative methods for drug and behavioral

suspension. Recent occurrences of

illegal (drug and alcohol consumption) activity on campus, whose perpetrators remain anonymous, have caused administration to reevaluate the disciplinarian system.

“These are serious issues that cause disruptions to the culture and climate of the school,” principal Eric Davidson said.

Major policy changes this year include the reduction of severity for punishments of marijuana possession. Before, students received immediate citations and eventual suspension when found with any sort of illegal substance on campus; now, the major

consequence is confiscation and detention.

Additionally, schools in both the district and the state previously used a policy known as “willful defiance” to suspend students. As of May 2013, LAUSD was the first district in the state to ban suspensions as punishments for defiance, after a disproportionate amount of African American and Latino males seemed to be punished.

“The problem I’m looking at now is that the code has been broken by students, so they realize that there’s no longer suspension for willful defiance,” Davidson said.

The district hopes to emphasize consistent attendance as a gateway to academic success.

“A student’s greatest chance to be academically successful is if they are in their seat,” Davidson said.

Since then, all sorts of alternatives to full-day suspension have been implemented, such as in-class

suspension and after school d e t e n t i o n . However, new policies have not proven effective.

The school struggles to find balance b e t w e e n s u p p o r t i n g all students’ pathway to success and

maintaining the consistent attendance of all students. Previously, disruptive students were just removed from the class completely.

“It has become a challenge to manage those behaviors

because they become so prevalent for some of our students,” Davidson said.

However, when these students are forced to remain in the classroom, their behavior might prevent other students from getting the proper attention that they deserve.

“These are problems that exist on every high school campus,” Davidson said. “It becomes problematic when you do not acknowledge the problems.”

Uni employs counselors, psychologists, interventions and programs such as Peer Mediation and Life Talk to help students cope with the conflicts that lead to disruptive behavior.

“There are some serious, uncomfortable issues [e.g., occurrences of illegal activity], but we are taking every step possible to prevent them,” Davidson said.

Students shine in Shakespeare spotlightBy Alissa NardoEditor-in-Chief

The Theater Arts program is putting on their fall

show of the year, The Complete Work of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

The play is a comical mash-up of all 37 William Shakespeare plays into a 97- minute package. P l a y w r i g h t s Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield parody 36 of S h a k e s p e a r e ’ s plays in the first act, and focus on Hamlet in the second act.

“The authors gave liberty to future performers to edit the script as they see fit, encouraging actors to include improvised bits and contemporary humor,” director Ronnie Sperling said. “The framework of the story is always the same, but the actors get to throw in jokes and use lingo they’re comfortable with.”

The play is typically performed by a three-man ensemble, but director Ronnie Sperling saw its potential for Uni’s bigger cast of 12 students.

“I heard it had been done by bigger schools across the country and it opened my eyes,” Sperling said. “We can invite the history

classes and the English classes to watch the show. This play is the perfect way to bring Shakespeare to Uni.”

S p e r l i n g o r c h e s t r a t e d the show with

the help of choreographer Lindsey Lorentz, set designer Tina Choi, light designer Rob Fritz and costume designer Travis Thi, many of whom started helping at Uni during last spring’s musical, Working.

The stage resembles the outside of the iconic Shakespearean Globe Theater. The costumes are mainly reminiscent of the Victorian era aside from the Converse

shoes worn by each actor, a homage to the original production of the show.

“Each actor plays several characters,” Sperling said. “There are lots of wigs, lots of accessories and a few quick changes. Boys play girls and girls plays boys. There are some students who don’t even play characters of their own

genders. It’s just like how actors used to play women in the Globe Theater.”

Opening night is Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Following performances are Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m., Friday Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 presale at the student store and $12 at the door.

Shyra ThomasCast members receive feedback from director Ronnie Sperling during an after-school rehearsal.

“A student’s greatest

chance to be academically successful is if they are in their seat.”

“This play is the perfect

way to bring Shakespeare

to Uni.”

Administration struggles to reform student behaviorAs punishment policy softens, so do students’ attitude towards illegal activities. Administration is forced to reevaluate disciplinary system.

Nov. 17 - 21Antibullying Week

Tuesday, Nov. 18BTSD early dismissal

1:35 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 21UTA grant proposal

presentations

Campus Calendar

Suspension fails to suspend misconduct

Diagnose dying with dignity

Samantha ElmS

Shootings: who’s at fault?

“Those that have to deal with death over their shoulder should

be given the option of ending

their pain.”

The state of California and LAUSD are lessening the severity of consequences towards drug amd

alcohol use.This helpful change was triggered by

the disproportionate amount of Black and Latino male students being punished for defiant behavior.

Under the recently passed Prop 47 in California, sentences for certain drug crimes have been significantly reduced. Because of their nonviolent nature, these offenses are now considered misdemeanors rather than felonies.

Prop 47 saves the costs of arresting people and keeping them in prison, which has been a burden on society ever since the upsurge of incarcerations due to the failed policies of the War on Drugs.

This law also applies to teenagers. As long as the drugs in possession are for personal use, the offender might only have to pay a fine rather than serve an exaggerated amount of time in jail.

While drug and alcohol use is a hindrance to the culture, climate and educational program of the school, many students believe they have no choice but to use them as coping mechanisms for hardships they must endure.

Suspending a student from school due to drug-related issues might prompt the student to stay home and continue their misconduct. No real lesson is learned, therefore the punishment is not productive.

According to a study conducted by researchers Costenbader and Marskon in 1997, 69 percent of 252 students felt that their suspension was of little use and 32 percent predicted that they would be suspended again.

Teenagers engaging in illegal drug or alcohol activity can be found on any high school campus, and Uni is no exception. The issue is not whether schools suffer with this problem or not, it is about how they choose to handle it.

While the typical solution would be to suspend students for any number of days, Uni chooses alternative and perhaps better forms of discipline.

The Discipline Foundation Policy, implemented at the school three years ago, provides proactive approaches to misconduct. Through this policy, Uni is able to offer extra counselors, psychologists, referrals and even the newly created Life Talk club with Mr. Tillett in Rm 311 every Thursday for girls and Wednesday for boys to provide aid for students going through distress.

These resources are intended to provide direction and support systems that are customized for each individual student.

Many students feel that there is no other option to deal with their problems. Drug and alcohol use, whether habitual or recreational, causes underlying issues that might be solvable if acknowledged early enough. If left unattended, the issue will accumulate into something even greater.

By RoBin Kopf

Staff Writer

Death with dignity, or medical aid in dy-ing, is legal in Oregon, Vermont, New

Mexico, Washington and Montana. On Sat-urday, Nov. 1, Brittany Maynard, terminally ill 29-year-old, passed away and became a poster-child for the death with dignity move-ment.

Death with dignity laws allow people to obtain a pre-scription for medication that will end a patient’s life. It of-fers those that know the end is near the sense of comfort and control in dying peace-fully by their own hands in-stead of waiting to die by the hands of their illnesses.

Doctor assisted suicide should be legal throughout the U.S. and the world. Legalized end of life care would keep people from hav-ing to uproot their lives, like Maynard, and move to a state where it is legal to peacefully end their own lives.

The laws would give people with terminal illnesses the opportunity to end their lives when they are faced with too much pain to keep on living. Even if those people eventually do not choose to follow through, they can know that they have the option.

Families often do not have all of the necessary funds to treat their loved ones with terminal illnesses. People who have accept-ed their imminent death may also ease the financial burden of medical bills that only de-lay the inevitable.

Some may say that death with dignity is immor-al and should be kept illegal. It is thought that doctors should continue to try saving their patients even when they know their patients might not make it.

Death with dignity laws do not stop doctors’ incentive to attempt saving the lives of their patients. Doctors will continue to work to find cures for terminal diseases because people often choose life over

death when they can. With death with dignity, they can still have the option.

Maynard’s story has inspired many to support the death with dignity movement, as the laws should be legalized.

Those that have to deal with death over their shoulders should be given the option of ending their pain. Although we cannot often choose when or how our lives will end, people that are destined to die in pain should have the opportunity to die in peace.

By ERica Kopf

Staff Writer

Whenever news of another school shooting surfac-

es, the controversial subject of gun legislation is brought up as well as the tragedy of the deaths of such young lives. Soon af-ter, the media switches to a new burning topic until the next school shooting appears and the cycle begins again. This is a commonality of the ma-jority of school shootings that have occurred over the past few years.

Just a few weeks ago, a freshman named Jaylen Fryberg opened fire on the stu-dents at Marysville-Pilchuck High School just north of Seattle, killing five people before turning the gun on himself in the attack. Fryberg was a popular boy, liked by students as well as teachers and was recently crowned the freshman homecoming prince. With the death of the fifth victim just last week, the question of who is truly at fault resurfaced.

The assailant’s popu-lar status at school makes this a different case. Often the community puts the blame on

societal pressures such as bullying but it is important to stress the mental stabil-ity of the individual when investigating. In many cases, the shooter has undergone a traumatic event such as abuse that then triggers an urge to kill.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, half of all mental disorders in people begin at age 14. In many cases there can be years between the first symptoms and the beginning of treatment. Untreated mental illness can lead to a much more severe illness that is consequently more difficult to treat. Bringing the attention to bullying, although important, only fixes an external problem.

The internal issue lies in the hands of the assailant with the weapon. By focusing on the internal issue, the 20 percent of students with mental issues that are receiving treatment can rise and the amount of school shootings can decrease. Society needs to realize that in order to stop the recurring violence in schools we need to start being proactive and stop being reactive.

Page 3November 14, 2014

OPINIONUNIVERSITY HIGH WILDCAT

University High School11800 Texas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025

The Wildcat student newspaper is published by the Journalism 2 class at University High School. Letters should be directed to room C-261, Wildcatpaper@gmail.com or the Journalism mailbox in the main office. Please include full name and grade. Letters are subject to editorial discretion. Call (310) 914-3551, ext. 504 or email Wildcatpaper@gmail.com to place an advertisement.

Wildcat Editor-in-Chief ...............................................................Alissa Nardo Managing Editor...........................................Eduardo Cuellar-Aguilar News Editor........................................................................Sania Syed Opinion Editor............................................................Emma Nicoletta Feature Editor................................................................Shirin Enayati Sports Editor........................................................Brandon Berookhim Creative Director.........................................................Samantha ElmsOnline Manager............................................Matthew Goriachkovsky Business Manager........................................................Samantha ElmsCopy Editor......................................................................Alissa NardoPhoto Editor.................................................................Stephanie ZeckWriting Coach...................................................................James Ward Journalism Adviser......................................................Alexandria Lau

Wildcat Staff: Zoe Adams, Ashley Drew, Destiny Frazier, Jesse Herrera, Ariana Kidd, Erica Kopf, Robin Kopf, Julissa Lopez, Sha’terra Myles, Alexandra Parker, Matthew Song and Zoha Syed

***************************************** The Wildcat is a student-run, student-operated

student-produced newspaper, which does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administration or the school at large. Staff editorials represent the collectively agreed upon opinions of the Wildcat editors. All writers published in the Wildcat are protected under Calfiornia Education Code 48907.

Students dance the night away at

A Night in New York

Seniors Victor Vasquez and Stephanie Sagastume took home the titles of Homecoming King and Queen. Juniors Deandre Lee and Vivianne Perez win Prince and Princess. Sophomores Michael James and Laisona Morris win Duke and Duchess. Freshman Ashley Hunt wins Countess

Joshua Corpuz

Page 6 November 14, 2014

FEATUREUNIVERSITY HIGH WILDCAT

Color Guard colors Uni spirit

Dia de los Muertos brings dead to life

Wildcats work the polls

provided by: Sarah ContreraS

Senior Sarah Contreras as-sists voters as a poll worker on the Nov. 1 Election day. Uni students offered their services in return for pay and community service hours.

By Shirin Enayati & aShlEy DrEwFeature Editor & Staff Writer

From the heart of Mexico to the campus of University High School, students of every culture celebrated Día de los

Muertos on Nov. 1.The Mexican holiday is a tradition that

originated more than 400 years ago. The name translates from Spanish to “Day of the Dead,” which corresponds with the Catholic observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day that is observed from Nov. 1-2.

“Día de los Muertos is a tradition in Mexico in which we honor our ancestors and our family members that have passed,” junior Eunice Cruz Martinez said. “We build altars consisting of food, candles and water.”

For the Spanish language classes, the Day of the Dead event has been an ongoing tradition on campus for about a decade. The Spanish department collaboratively decided that they wanted their students to experience this ceremony rather than just read about it.

Writing biographies and creating altars help the students to meet the cultural academic requirements.

“Reading the biographies is the most touching part because one gets to see how someone’s life has made an impact on those

of us who are still living,” Spanish teacher Leslie Coleman said. “That, to me, is really powerful. The symbolism of being in the presence of the altars with the wind blowing through the papel picado is really moving for me.”

While competition between traditional alters has been a distinct part of Uni’s celebration for the past few years, this year the Spanish department decided to award nontraditional altars in addition to the traditional ones.

The moden language teachers conducted the judging. For the traditional altars, they were mostly looking for the main offerings, such as calaveras (sugar skulls), pan de muerto (bread) and papel picado (perforated paper).

“This year, [the students] really went all out by making significant, meaningful altars,” Spanish teacher Dayle Fuqua-Caballero said.

Students were not required to incorporate traditional aspects, the judges appreciated the homages. Cristo Rey, Jonathan Su and Misael Machado won first place for traditional altars with “Catinflas,” and Stacy Claros, Rosa Devora and Emili González won the nontraditional first place with “Angels in Heaven.”

By Samantha ElmSCreative Director

A Uni tradition in the making, Color Guard

plans to bring more pep and spirit to the school.

Color Guard provides a new form of entertainment and school spirit like the Cheerleaders and Drill Team do. Members of Color Guard perform dynamic dances with props. For e x a m p l e , m e m b e r s twirl flags and throw batons while accompanied by music. The Color Guard plans to work in conjunction with Drum Line to raise school spirit at events such as football games and pep rallies.

“[Color Guard] provides a better opportunity for students to come together and have more spirit,” co-captain junior Ryan McNeil said.

McNeil, Deandre Lee and Kori Smith, all juniors,

co-founded this club in October.

“The purpose of this club is to bring more spirit and togetherness,” McNeil said. “We want to spread cheer. We want to spread unity.”

Color Guard is currently recruiting motivated and responsible students to join the team. No experience is necessary to join.

“I think people should join Color Guard because

it is fun and c r e a t i v e , ” Lee said. “It is something different.”

Until they o f f i c i a l l y b e g i n p r a c t i c i n g , Color Guard is fundraising for uniforms, flagpoles and flags in Uni colors: royal blue and persimmon.

Students wanting to join Color Guard must submit an application to any of the club officers or Kahlil Sabbagh, club advisor.

Students can check out Color Guard on Tuesdays at their weekly lunch meetings, in Rm 384.

“It was interesting to see people so prideful about voting,” senior Sarah Contreras said. “They were grateful for my service, which was nice. I loved seeing all the different kinds of people that came to vote. I definitely learned a lot from this experience.”

There will be another opportunity for students to participate in poll working in March of 2015. This time, it will be more convenient for students to participate because the required training will be held at Uni.

By Zoha SyED

Staff Writer

Over 25,000 high school students volunteered to work the polls

on election day at different locations around the city.

“For many students, this was an awakening to the democratic process, giving them a better idea of what poll working and voting is all about,” college counselor Paula Van Norden said. “Those who took advantage of this experience gained a much better understanding of voting and its significance to this country.”

Applicants were assigned to specific locations based on poll proximity and native language. Volunteers had to be at least 16 years of age, attend a public or private secondary educational institution, maintain a G.P.A. of 2.5 or greater and have parental consent. Out of the 35 students who applied from Uni, 29 received an acceptance packet.

They were responsible for setting up and opening the polling location, assisting voters, closing the polling location and counting the ballots.

Participants had the opportunity to earn community service, receive up to $105 and gain a significant experience on their college applications and resumes. Volunteers worked from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on election day. In addition, students were expected to attend a training session prior to Nov. 1, which accounted for $25 of their pay.

“[Color Guard] provides a better opportunity for

students to come together and have

more spirit.”

photoS provided by: alex parker & ariana kidd

November 14, 2014 Page 7

SPIRIT WEEKUNIVERSITY HIGH WILDCAT

Spirit flies on SPIRIT FRIDAY

Lazy Monday Twin wednesdayCollege sweatshirt Tuesday Tie-dye Thursday

Wildcats get pepped up throughout Spirit Week

Samantha ElmS

Seniors Alize Knight and Ariana De Los Reyes stay comfortable in charac-ter pajama pants.

Senior Jocelyn Valdez reps UC Irvine while senior Grace Kang supports UCLA with her college tee.

Senior Carlos Hernandez and sopho-more Tessa Henry sport matching Lego T-shirts.

Senior Verne Patrick proudly rocks his psychedelic tie-dye top.

Ashley DrewAshley DrewAshley Drew Provided by Yearbook

Page 8 November 14, 2014

SPORTSUNIVERSITY HIGH WILDCAT

Wildcats roar at HomecomingBy Brandon Berookhim

Sports Editor

The Wildcats (5-5 overall, 3-2 league) charged onto the field and bleachers of Venice High School, making it their own, for Homecoming against Westchester on Friday, Nov. 7.

No one could overlook the fact that the Homecoming game was not at home due to field renovations at Uni. Adding to this, the football team had only won at Venice once before in the past two decades. But the Wildcats landed on the field

running and burned the Comets with a score of 25-0.“The students and the staff did a great job of getting people out there

to the games,” senior tight end Nehemia Abera said. “Hopefully we can continue this home spirit throughout the playoffs. It is a great environment to play in.”

The efforts by the administration made this environment possible. They organized free rooter buses for the students. The usual spectacles of the loved halftime floats, banging drum line, joyous cheerleaders, hyped drill team and pumped up crowd were all there. The game was on Uni turf, in a sense.

“We make every field our home and we play hard no matter where we are,” junior Eugene Ford said. The wide receiver and free safety received a staggering 503 yards this season.

The defense gave it their all from the start. The Wildcats kept the Comets at their own 25 yard line, forcing a three and out. Tyrone Nelson, strong safety and halfback, soon scampered in on a 25 yard touchdown run, the first of the game. Senior Edson Garcia got the point after try to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game. Nelson was later awarded offensive player of the game.

The tight defense forced the Comets to give up possession of the ball at the 15 yard line. From here, senior team co-captain and quarterback Paul Davis scored a touchdown in the remaining 40 seconds of the half, bringing

the score to 13-0.“We were able to go out and ball

out,” senior team co-captain and defensive tackle Rashley Castillo said. “Our defense did an amazing job keeping our nice lead.”

The Wildcats played especially hard this game considering there were several ineligible athletes and a few others left the team. Their offense was strongly impacted by this, struggling for much of the game. Lowe wisely took out quarterback and linebacker Paul Davis for a bit so he could take a step back from the intensity of the game.

“I felt that our performance was mediocre,” Davis said. “I thought we could have done much better.”

When Lowe put Davis back in, Davis was in it to win it. His throws were more accurate and there were more receptions. He finished the game with 110 total passing yards and a 35.0 completion percentage.

Tariq Culpepper, wide receiver and cornerback, who won offensive player of the game in late September against San Pedro, gained more than 100 total receiving yards with six catches this game. He was selected as the overall player of the game.

“We had a pretty good game,” Culpepper said. “It was our big game and I’m glad we won. Go Wildcats!”

The students were elated that we won, but the athletes and coaches expected more.

“To be honest, our performance was average,” varsity head coach Lee Lowe said. “We could’ve played a lot better, but I’ll take the win.”

What won the game was the team’s defensive linemen who call themselves the “No-Fly Zone” because they swat every ball in reach. As a team, they restricted the Comets’ gains to only a few yards per run and forced them to punt it on fourth downs on almost every possession.

The defense also did a great job of forcing their opponents back more than they advanced. Inside linebacker Gabriel McClain won defensive player of the game with 13 tackles, four tackles for losses and one sack.

Towards the end of the game, however, the Wildcats seemed a bit too confident with their 25-0 lead. They missed an opportunity for a touchdown when the ball was intercepted at the Westchester 10. The Comets took it back more than 70 yards. Fortunately, the Wildcats’ defense locked the Comets down again, preserving the shutout.

This victory takes the squad to the Los Angeles City Section Division II playoffs as the fourth seed. They hit Venice’s field again today at 7:30 p.m. They will be playing against the Grant High School Lancers (6-4 overall, 4-2 league), who are ranked 13th, in a single elimination match.

If the Wildcats win, they will face either Southgate (6-4, 4-2) or Franklin (6-4, 4-2) in the second round of playoffs. The squad played their first game of the year against the South Gate Rams, and they beat the Franklin Panthers the past two times they played in the playoffs.

Samantha ElmS, JEvonE moorE and Emma nicolEtta

“We make every field our home”

“We were able to go

out and ball out”

“It was our big game

and I’m glad we won”