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• Dec. 12-16 Food Drive • Dec. 15 Super Student Party• Dec. 16 Multi-Cultural Fair• Jan. 10 Student Senate• Jan. 13 RB’s Got Talent

• Dec. 19-30 Winter Break• Jan. 3 First School Day Back• Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day• Jan. 20 Last day of first semester• Jan. 21 Informal dance

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According to the San Diego Union-Tribune over 139 of the 222 medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego alone have been shut down. Beginning in October, the federal government began cracking down on legal pot dealers by, forcing California to override its laws allowing marijuana used for medicinal purposes in favor of the federal law, which prohibits the sale of marijuana.

Whether or not this governmental act will help or hurt the problem is yet to be seen, but students at RB High certainly don’t want to wait for the results to weigh in on the arguments.

When asked if they thought closing the dispensaries was a bad idea, students had mixed views.

Samuel Chang, a sophomore, said he thought it was a good idea because it would reduce the ability of people who had phony prescriptions or no prescription at all to get drugs.

Elliott Wulff, a senior, believed that it was not a good idea because the dispensaries were operating legally under California law and sold a product with actual medical use that when taken away could have a harmful effect on the health of some people.

Taylor Kinnick, a senior, expressed during his interview that there is no better way to get medicinal marijuana for those that need it; you can’t get it at a pharmacy. And when asked if he thought that having the dispensaries available was causing a drug problem, he responded that, “It was actually taking away from a lot of street dealers and instead put money into a legally approved medicinal clinic.”

However, not everyone agrees with Kinnick. Shanthini Srinivasan, a senior, believes that there are safer, more effective ways for those that need medication to find relief. She expressed that there are other ways to alleviate pain, and, therefore, the dispensaries can lead to exploitation.

But, surprisingly all of the students agreed that the government is going about stopping the sale of marijuana in the wrong way. Some of the students believed that this method was not time or cost efficient.

Others like Wulff believed that it is not the federal government’s right to interfere with an issue that should be reserved for the states. And still others like Gary Kroesch, government teacher, support the federal law because making medicinal marijuana legal would create many more problems for the federal government.

But even further than that, Kroesch wonders what the motive is behind the crackdown. Why now?

Kroeschs’ comment really gets down to the core of the problem. Regardless of how students feel about the use of medicinal marijuana, it has been legal in California for nearly fifteen years even though it is illegal by federal law. Why have they chosen now to shut down the dispensaries whose numbers surpassed the amount of Starbucks by at least 60 locations? Should this really be a state issue? Is there a motive here other than to fulfill federal law? Is this just the government exercising its constitutional rights or is this about something bigger than a few pounds of pot?

I suppose we will have to wait and see.

A Look at HRCpg. 7

Girls’ Waterpolopg. 11

Vol. 24 No. 2December 15, 2011

Photo by Jennifer Chalam

By Jessica Noe

Staff Writer

Govern-ment cracks down on joints

Photo by Jennifer Chalam

For years, RB High’s baseball team has been touted as one of the nation’s most esteemed. Coined as “the Factory’ in Moneyball for its consistent quality of players, the baseball team has seen back-to-back CIF championships. Sam Blalock, having served for nineteen years as the head coach, has been largely credited with their success.

Blalock, often referred to as the “winningest” coach, has won the CIF SDS Division I crown for two years. Members of the baseball team regard Blalock as a fatherly figure, or someone whom they all unanimously admire and revere.

So on the morning of Nov. 30 when Blalock was allegedly fired under the orders of Superintendent John Collins, the community was naturally shocked.

Gosuke Katoh, a junior who plays second base, has played under Blalock since his freshman year.

“I was shocked when I first heard that our legendary coach was getting fired because it was so close to the beginning of our season,” Katon said. “This sudden decision surprised all of us because we had just come straight off of two consecutive CIF championships, and we were excited to win a third one under Coach Blalock.”

Because Blalock had been serving as an extra-curricular coach, it would not have been mandatory for the district to issue a

reason for firing him. However, this did not end the constant stream of allegations that were directed towards Collins.

Reports of Collins allegedly threatening to fire Principal Paul Robinson if Robinson did not fire Blalock were distributed online. Speculations that the dismissal of Blalock came from a personal rift between him and Collins ran rampant. From confusion to just general outrage, the community was a hodgepodge of emotions.

Matters only became more complicated, when, according to the Pomerado News, the very next day, Robinson and RB High’s Athletics Director, Peggy Brose, issued a letter of support to Blalock.

“He’s done a lot for our school,” said Robinson. “The support for Coach Blalock was deserved.”

Within days, players on the baseball team began a campaign to bring Blalock back.

“We first wrote letters, emails, and made phone calls to persuade the district to bring back our coach,” said Katoh. “This was followed by a heated meeting with the assistant superintendent.”

When this seemed to lead to no avail, a Facebook page was formed titled “Bring Blalock back.” In addition, the team, led by junior Matt Jervis who plays shortstop, began a petition to protest the unreasoned firing of the famed coach. The petition went on to garner over 600 signatures.

“We went door to door in Westwood,” said Jervis. “We got kids at school to sign it, and just people throughout the community. Gosuke and I took it to the District office on the Monday before the meting that took

place on Tuesday.”Plans were made to attend the Dec.

12 City Hall meeting in order to seize an opportunity to talk to Collins himself.

However, on Dec. 6, good news arrived: Robinson announced that Blalock would be brought back as the head baseball coach.

In a formal press release, Collins stated, “We were able to openly discuss what has transpired over the last few days and dispel rumors that have circulated...Having the opportunity to discuss this openly, were able to dispel rumors and to confirm our collective commitment to make the best decision in the interest of our students.”

When asked what the misunderstanding was, Robinson declined to comment.

“I will be the first to admit that I made some mistakes and given the information I now have, I probably would have reacted differently,” said Robinson. “I’m sorry for all of the concern and the devastation it caused our players. I’m sorry that my mistakes that I made in understanding comments that were said, and I take responsibility for that.”

“We have not been informed why our coach had been fired but we honestly don’t care anymore,” said Katoh. “We would like to push this incident back behind us, and we’re just simply blessed to have him back.”

“Coach Blalock not only helped me become a talented baseball player, but he’s also taught me some important life lessons,” said Katoh. “We all respect him. He teaches his players to not give up and to keep striving for your goal no matter how impossible it may seem.”

By Melody Huang

Editor-in-Chief

Winter dance concert

Photo courtesy of ASB

pg. 3

Nationally reknowned baseball coach, Sam Blalock, gets fired and re-hired

Community rallies together in support of Blalock

From left to right, top to bottom: Gosuke Katoh hits the ball; Coach Blalock holds up the CIF title from the 2011 Spring season; Fans come to a game to support their team; RB Baseball team created a sign to show their love for their coach.

Photos courtesy of RB High Baseball

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 20112 NEWS

SPORTS EDITORS

Rancho Bernardo High Silver Spur Staff

Carrie Chen

NEWS EDITOR

FEATUREEDITORS

ENTERTAINMENTEDITORS

Silver Spur Editorial Policy: The opinions expressed in the Silver Spur are not necessarily the opinions of the staff, administration, or the students of Rancho

Bernardo High School. They are not necessarily the opinions of the Silver Spur staff as a whole. The Silver Spur is a public forum.

STAFF WRITERS

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Maria Bischoff Sarah BookbinderHana Bradshaw

Ashley CarmichaelEmily Connelly

Zachary D’SouzaHolly Fallah

Chloe JordacheRachel KimGrant NoeJessica Noe

Diksha SudarshanSara Yogi

OPINIONS EDITORS

GUEST ARTISTS

Bahar Salehi

Stacy Luu Angela Hwang

Sam Lee

Natasha Khodykin

Jenny Jeong BUSINESS MANAGERS

Luke Verayo

Jennifer Chalam

RB High welcomes four new teachers onto our campus

Carrie Chen Amy Ma

Melody Huang

ASB conducts canned food drive

Local Italian restaurant, Graziano’s, closes down

There are new teachers this year at RB High, and they are revealing their experiences as new teachers here at our school.

Due to the number of teachers who retired last year, spots opened up for new teachers this year. According to Ms. Palzkill, our Assistant Principal, the process to becoming an RB High teacher is very selective. Many teachers vie for the available positions, and only a few will get accepted.

“Teachers apply to the school district and submit an application and letters of recommendation,” said Palzkill. “They are interviewed by the principal and members of the department, and those who are the best fit are chosen to teach at RB High.”

Students, teachers, and other members of the staff have done a great job of welcoming these new teachers onto the RB High campus.

“It’s nice to be able to see people joining our staff,” said Palzkill. “It’s nice for the students to have a balanced staff.”

Two new teachers, Rosanne Valenzuela and Emily Novet, share their experiences teaching this year.

Rosanne Valenzuela, the new orchestra teacher, said that she had been wanting to become a teacher since middle school. Seven years ago she was a student teacher for choir and orchestra at Bernardo Heights Middle School.

Valenzuela said that she is very excited about getting to teach at such a school as RB High.

She said that she was so eager to teach here that she “clawed her way in.”

Valenzuela’s previous teaching position was at Carmel Valley Middle School as the orchestra teacher. She said that coming into RB High, she realized that she had “a lot to live up to” in terms of the strength of the orchestra program, but she is optimistic about her years to come at RB High.

Another new teacher, Emily Novet, started the day before the beginning of the new school year as a geometry teacher. She has wanted to be a teacher for about the last five to six years.

Novet said that she was actually a student here not many years ago. Ironically, she is now in the classroom of the retired Judy

Donoghue, that she had as a teacher in high school, in the very same classroom.

Novet said that so far she is enjoying her role as a teacher, and that it was neat to experience high school from a different perspective.

She also said that she likes the drum line very much; it was non-existent when she attended RB High.

There are four new teachers this year: Ben Steelhead, Rosanne Valenzuela, Emily Novet, and Nate Alcorn. Both Novet and Valenzuela are very excited to be at RB High. It will surely be good getting to know them in the years to come here at RB High.

Graziano’s recently closed down. According to owner Bill Field, the land

lords wanted a huge rent increase that would make his business unprofitable. Because Field could not afford to pay the hike in rent, he was forced to close the doors of his business.

Field said that it was a popular restaurant for students at RB High. He said that he sold many Cheesy Bread Loafs after school. Many students are upset over the loss of Graziano’s.

As expected, many students from RB High are disappointed about the closing of the popular restaurant.

Alexis Coons, a junior at RB High, said that she used to go to Graziano’s often with

about eight to nine other friends. She is sad because she can no longer eat there.

Other students agree. “It’s really sad that Graziano’s closed

down because it used to be a place where so many kids gathered after school to have study groups or just hang out,” said Atrina Pebdani, sophomore.

Many great memories were made in Grazaino’s.

Now students are forced to find other local restaurants to satisfy their hunger. To make matters worse, Frutto’s, the frozen yogurt shop next door to Graziano’s is closed down as well. The two main venues that RB High students visited are no longer there to cure the after school munchies.

The only hope of RB High students as far as Graziano’s goes, is a similar restaurant close to the campus. Perhaps a new restaurant will open up where Graziano’s used to be.

The RB High ASB is having a canned food drive during period four for one week, from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16. Every day during fourth period, the ASB students go around to the classes to collect any cans that students have donated. The cans that RB High students donate will go toward feeding the hungry.

Karen Braunstein, a senior, is the ASB member who is coordinating the canned food drive. She said that the goal of the

drive is to reach about 2200 cans, which is roughly the number of students at RB High.

Dec. 12 is the first day of the food drive, and already ASB has collected about 180 cans. The ASB students have high hopes that RB High students will continue to donate in order to reach their goal.

Most of the donations are from Jeff Carpenter’s class. Carpenter’s class alone donated 40 to 50 cans just on the first day.

“I told my students that they should look out for people who cannot take care of themselves,” said Carpenter. “They need to picture a better world.”

As a result of his motivational words, many of his students donated to the cause.

“[Carpenter] has really motivated us to bring in a large number of cans so we can help the hungry,” said Connie Kang.

The cans are all bound for the San Diego Food Bank, where Braunstein hopes that the food will be distributed to feed the hungry.

“If every student in the school donated one can, we could feed so many people,” said Braunstein.

It seems like such a large food drive would be rather difficult to institute, but Braunstein said, “It is actually easy to organize. You contact the San Diego Food Bank, and they come to pick up the cans.”

Braunstein said that a food drive is a great thing to do for the holidays. She said, “It is only for one week, but we were thinking about doing others throughout the year. There are always people who need the food.”

Mackenzie Bale, a senior who is also in ASB, agreed with Braunstein. She said, “It just feels good to help people. It is a win-win situation. We are happy for them, and they have food on the table.”

Many point out that people are only willing to donate during the holidays.

When asked to comment, Carpenter said, “That is why it is so important to donate a lot during the holidays, because we are not donating the rest of the year.”

ASB is trying their best to encourage the true spirit of Christmas, which is to give, rather than to receive. This spirit is what makes the holidays so special.

ASB students Alex Le and Karen Braunstein stack cans.

By Grant NoeStaff Writer

By Grant Noe

Staff Writer

By Grant NoeStaff Writer

Photo by Jennifer Chalam

The deserted building where Graziano’s and Frutto’s used to be. Photo by Jennifer Chalam

Emily Novet teaches geometry. Photo by Jennifer Chalam

PHOTO EDITOR

Jennifer Chalam

Unfortunately, Field said that he has no plans in the near future to open up any new restaurants resembling Graziano’s.

Despite the fact that his restaurant is closing, Field is optimistic about finding a new job. He said since he is experienced at owning and managing a place, he may be hired quicker.

Field said that he mainly feels bad for his employees.

“I really feel for all my employees who are out of work. They did nothing wrong. I gave them letters of recommendation to help them get hired quicker.”

Field even said that he has had three of his employees for all five of the years that he owned Graziano’s.

Unfortunately, for the students of RB High, this means that we no longer have Graziano’s or the tasty Cheese Bread Loafs. Does this mean that it is back to Pizza Hut for the students of RB High?

Michael Rupic

Melody Huang

Stacy Luu

By Sara Yogi

Staff Writer

Colleges are slowly becoming more selective

Ever since we picked up our first crayon, we have been trained to be college-ready. Regardless of what others may say, a college education is one of the surest ways to not only survive but also thrive in a world in which intelligence, perseverance, and determination are valued. Of course, to attain a college education, one must first gain admission to college—a feat which is becoming increasingly difficult.

With an increase in the size and intelligence of the application pool, schools that were once considered “easy” to get into are now becoming competitive.

“I believe that acceptance rates are only lower because more people are applying to colleges these days, and college acceptance is harder because more and more students are doing well,” said senior Gayle Abraham.

Students nowadays must work and study harder than ever before to ensure their admission to schools which would, in earlier years, have accepted students of a lesser academic background.

Unfortunately for us, prestigious institutions are not the only schools which are becoming much more difficult to gain admission to. Junior community colleges, once thought to be a sure-fire back-up

plan for people who did not feel ready for college or did not have the appropriate grade-point average, are no longer accepting all of those who apply.

How do RB High students feel about this? According to senior Lara von Nyssen, this newfound competiveness “hurts the students because they make it so much more competitive for no reason…Most kids go to community college to save money, and maybe because they need a little bit more time to adjust to the college mentality. But what competitive junior

college rates do is stress them out even more.”

In the face of declining admission rates from regular and junior community colleges alike, it is easy to lose hope for one’s future. However, as von Nyssen points, “College acceptance rates

are just numbers.” Don’t let the number shape which schools you apply to. If you think you are in any way qualified to attend the school you choose to, it is better to try for it than to never make the leap. As ASB President Lisa Kim says, “I think a lot of students fear that number and degrade themselves and their capabilities, instead of realizing that the acceptance rate is just another number. If they don’t get in then it’s a bummer, but it’s worth trying anyway, because there is still a chance of being accepted. I would rather try regardless of a number than regret not doing anything at all.”

“”

Acceptance rates are lower because more

people are applying to college these days.

Walking distance

from RB

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 3NEWS

The computer literacy requirement has recently been dropped from the RB High graduation prerequisite.

“Because students are so proficient in computer skills, the Board of Directors be-lieved the computer literacy requirement is no longer applicable to students,” said counselor Charlene Rolls.

Now that technology has become so prevalent, most students already have a lot of experience dealing with computers.

“The practical art requirement dropped as well. It met both the computer literacy requirement and the practical art require-ment,” said Rolls.

It is unsure whether the computer literacy requirement will come back in the future.

“I know we are going to offer computer classes, at least through second semester. But, I don’t know what the future holds for computer classes that fulfilled the computer literacy requirement,” said Rolls.

Many students are happy with this change.

Junior Asana Pebdani doesn’t believe the computer literacy requirement was neces-sary.

“The computer literacy requirement was pointless because high schoolers already know about computers. Those who don’t know about computers in this generation are lagging,” said Pebdani.

Junior Anthony Lucero agrees.“I think that it is a good thing that the com-

puter literacy requirement is gone, because it takes up our space in class schedules and plans for high school,” said Lucero. “Also, if a student needs help, then he or she can take a computer class. But that doesn’t have

to be something required for all students,” said Lucero.

Many students do not see the computer literacy requirement returning to RB High.

“I don’t think the computer literacy re-quirement will come back. As technology is becoming better, more people already know how to use the computer pretty well” said Pebdani.

Lucero also doesn’t see the computer lit-eracy requirement coming back.

“I am glad the requirement is gone, and I don’t see it coming back anytime soon,” said Lucero. “Since most students already know how to use the basic functions of the computer, it is not for everyone.”

Overall, the computer literacy require-ment is important for the success of stu-dents. However, with the recent new tech-nological innovations, most students have the basic computer skills necessary to suc-ceed in high school.

Holly FallahStaff Writer

RB High’s winter dance concert wows crowds

On Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, all of the dance teams at RB High, Tour de Force, Intermediate, Modern, Hip Hop, B-boy, put on their annual winter dance show.

There were 30 performances starting with the number “Marry Me” and ending with “Rocking Christmas.”

The Intermediate dance team performed “Neon Lights,” “Get Crazy,” and “Jar of Hearts.”

The B-boy team performed, “It’s a Bboy Christmas,” and Modern dance did “Friday Night.” Hip Hop team performed “Get Buck” and “Optimus Prime.”

This year’s show is especially unique

because the starting number “Marry Me” (the song by Bruno Mars) was dedicated to the newly engaged dance teacher, Michelle Ling. Also, this is the first year all of the classes have been able to perform in the show. In the previous years, the dance courses have been unavailable due to budget cuts.

The Tour de Force team performed a majority of the dances, and two of their freshmen performed solos: Sequoyah Tate “Everywhere I Go,” and Holly VanDohlen “Toxic.”

Hyewon Jung, a freshman member of the Hip Hop dance team, choreographed the songs “Neon Lights” and “Get Crazy.”

“I wanted to be an important part of my first concert,” Jung said. “I chose the style first, then I choose the music, and then I

kept listening to it to come up with the choreography.”

Besides the normal daily practice during school, some dance teams practice outside of school for several hours—as a team and some individually.

Alexander Fausto, a dedicated sophomore member of the Hip Hop Team said, “Personally, I practice two hours daily before I go to sleep. I also help out with choreography at my church’s dance team and on occasion, I volunteer to assist the BHMS dance team.”

The audience responded favorably to all of the numbers. The RB High dance program has very supportive fan base.

The winter dance concert came to a successful end, and there will be another concert in the spring.

Jenny JeongSports Editor

Poway’s Luke Lipscomb passes away

RB High has taken various measures in order to raise awareness of the consequences of drug use as well as attempt to lower the drug use rate among the student body. Ranging from informative assemblies to bringing in drug dogs, the administration’s methods have varied in effectiveness, and unfortunately, many students chose to ignore the warnings presented to them.

However, on November 14, RB High students received a startling wake-up call from an unexpected source: Poway High.

On Nov. 14, Poway High student Luke Lipscomb died after being shot in the head by a friend. Lipscomb and his friends were allegedly said to have been smoking marijuana laced with a hallucinogenic drug, and Lipscomb’s friend was unaware of his actions until he pulled the trigger.

Students at RB High were shocked to hear the news of Lipscomb’s death, but some were disappointed in the circumstances under which it occurred.

“I first heard about it in Mr. Carp’s class, so when I heard I was a little shocked, but how Carp described it was completely right, ‘Live like an idiot, die like an idiot,’” said senior Phillip Poblete.

Sophomore Ben Cohen added onto Poblete’s comment.

“I thought it was ridiculous that another one of those avoidable deaths happened again,” said sophomore Ben Cohen. “It’s fine to spend time with friends, but taking drugs or drinking, whether it be marijuana or alcohol, is a hazard to anybody’s health.”

Students with similar opinions to Cohen’s and Poblete’s all agreed that, while the news of Lipscomb’s death was a sharp jolt back to reality, it was easily avoidable given its circumstances.

“It’s really surprising that they had access to firearms, especially in that drugged state,” said junior Zach Manlapid, expressing his disbelief when he first heard the news of Lipscomb’s death.

Lipscomb’s death is the second warning to come to RB High from Poway High; the first was Aaron Rubin, former Poway High student who became a quadriplegic after he overdosed on “OxyContin.”

RB High students have done well in the past to ignore the seemingly shallow warnings of their administrators and parents, but with a death so close to them, perhaps students will begin to change their tune when it comes to drug use. “It’s just a bad thing overall,” said junior Gabe Hutter in closing.

AP Gov encourages fun learning

RB High’s AP Government teachers, Jeffery Carpenter and Gary Kroesch, are encouraging students to learn through more innovative ways – namely, through group projects and presentations.

When learning about censuses and polls, students were asked to recreate the process of traditional polling by surveying a “random sample” in their community. Students chose topics to survey people on, from the legalization of marijuana to capital punishment, taking care to get responses from a variety of age groups, religions, and political leanings.

Whether it was going door to door in their neighborhoods or kindly soliciting shoppers at the local grocery stores, AP Government students were able to make the polling process more interactive and “real.” In addition, students were asked to analyze the information they gained to observe

trends in their responses; for example, one trend observed was that conservative people were more likely to support the death penalty. After analyzing the information gathered, students presented their findings to their classes through charts and graphs in PowerPoint presentations. The entire process allowed students to participate in their own microcosm of the nation’s polling and census processes.

Another project that students were assigned is the “Political Holiday Song.” Students were asked to pick a political issue and rewrite the words to a popular Christmas song instead describing the political issue in a clever way. Some song lyrics included “Obama got run over by a reindeer” or “The government is coming to town.”

The creative projects that students are encouraged to partake in reflect the AP Government teachers’ view of the importance of teamwork and creativity in education.

“I clearly understand the connection between college level teaching and high

school. I like to teach in the form of direct instruction, but I also have my students partake in group discussions and projects. Social science needs to be social,” said Gary Kroesch, an AP Government teacher.

The AP Government students also seem to respond well to the innovative teaching style.

“His teaching style allows me to actually enjoy what I am learning about, and therefore, it doesn’t feel like a burden to learn or do the work,” said Mayra-Alvarez Bernal another one of Kroesch’s AP Government students.

“I like that he tells you what to do and that he leaves it up to you to do it if you want a good grade on the test,” said Michael Ralph, another one of Kroesch’s AP Government students.

The AP Government curriculum seems to be working effectively, and consequently, students are able to experience the intersection between learning and fun. And after all, government and politics is a subject best taught interactively.

PUSD Board cuts the computer literacy requirement

Bahar Salehi

Opinions Editor

Luke Lipscomb

By Ashley Carmichael

Staff Writer

RB High students participate

in Women in Engineering

Engineering is the profession where males dominate, and where the female population is less than 12.3 percent, according to the National Research Council study Women Scientists and Engineers Employed in Industry.

On December 2, an engineering company named Lockheed Martin hosted its third-annual Women in Engineering Day where they invited over 30 girls from three PUSD high schools, RB High, Poway High, and Mt. Carmel, to go to their headquarters in Scripps Ranch. This event was a great turn out, and it influenced a lot of girls to think about their careers and the paths they should take to get there.

In order to introduce the girls to a career in engineering, L o c k h e e d Martin had women speak to the girls about following their paths towards becoming what they have always dreamed of being, even if it’s not a career in engineering.

One of the speakers was the PUSD Associate Superintendent of Business Support Services, Malliga Tholandi. She discussed her two daughters and how one of them wanted to pursue a career in mathematics and engineering. As a result, Tholandi and her husband helped their daughter take the courses she needed to get into a good college.

“I really liked the speakers because they all inspired me to go after my goals and take risks. If you really want something you should go for it,” said junior Katie Jacobus.

Besides listening to women speak about how their paths towards their goals affected their lives, the other part of the day consisted of three activities that let the girls experience what different kinds of engineers do. One of the activities consisted of building a tiny solar powered car.

First, the girls had to make a list of the

requirements that the car should have and what it shall do; this taught them that they had to be really specific about what they wanted.

Then, the girls had to say how they were going to test it to make sure it would work before showing it to the customer; this also taught them to be really specific and make sure that the car really works.

Lastly, the girls had to show it to the customer and tell them how it works; this taught them communication skills as well.

Another one of the activities was to disassemble a computer. After the girls took it apart, they had to remember what they did and put it back together; this taught the girls that they had to follow strict steps

but also to remember them. The last activity was

making a boat out of foil paper, and then putting as many pennies on the boat until it sinks. First, the girls had to build a boat they thought would hold the most pennies; this taught them to

think about the surface area of the boat. Then, they had to place the pennies on the boat in any way they think would be the best to hold all of the pennies; this taught the girls about balancing the boat with the weight of the pennies.

“I enjoyed the foil boat activity the best because it was simple; yet, it involved lots of logic and reasoning,” said junior Hannah Sieger.

After visiting Lockheed Martin, hopefully these girls will be more interested in pursuing a career in mathematics, science and engineering.

“I think I would be interested in becoming an engineer because I like science and this career allows you to think creatively and help other people in the field,” said Jacobus. “I definitely would like to become an engineer because I’m really good at problem solving, I try to be as creative as I can be, and I love math,” said Sieger.

This was a great eye-opener for the girls who had the opportunity to visit Lockheed Martin. It showed that if they really stick to their goals, the can accomplish anything.

“”

I think I would be interested in becoming an engineer because I

like science.

Jennifer Chalam

Photo Editor

RB High’s Tour de Force performs a number. Photo by Jennifer Chalam

Computer Graphic Arts is a class that fulfills the computer literacy requirement. Photo by Jennifer Chalam

”“

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 20114 OPINIONS

By Natasha KhodykinSports Editor

Whether or not [one’s education] is from the

Ivy Leagues doesn’t make much of a

difference...

Cartoon by Luke Verayo

Are elite and revolutionary students taking advantage of prep classes?Is enrolling in prep classes equivalent to paying for your score on the SAT?

Yes No

On selected Saturdays during the school year, thousands of students pack their sharpened number two pencils, graphing calculator, consume a hearty breakfast, and leave to take a four and a half hour college entrance exam known as the SAT.

The SAT Reasoning test was once credited as an accurate measure of student aptitude; however, the test has now become one of the most competitive marks of a high schooler’s life. For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It holds the empty promise of success. In a distorted sense, it has become one of life’s major landmarks.

SAT prep is a big business - thousands of companies and private counselors make impressive claims about their ability to improve your SAT scores. Although no one can guarantee a certain score, preparation programs such as Elite and Revolution attempt to provide a variety of paid-for curriculums which are designed to provide results within a certain numeric threshold. With this in mind, the question arises, is taking one of these “guaranteed improvement” classes a form of buying the desired score?

For seven hundred ninety nine dollars, Revolution advertises six three-hour comprehensive classes, five proctored practice exams, two six-hour Booster Classes to help with

AP Exams and targeted homework.Without a doubt it takes a lot of

hard work and time to constantly go to class and take those practice tests, but in the end it is those people who are the ones to score far above the rest. According to Nina von Nyssen, a junior who plans on taking the SAT in the fall, going to these classes is, “paying money to get a better score... however, the people who take these classes must also put in the effort to get good scores. It’s buying the opportunity to get a better score.”

The accuracy of the assessment is clouded when people who can afford to pay two thousand for Elite do so, while those that are in need of the help cannot financially get there and thus must self-study.

Nicole Tacos, a senior who took the SAT last year, said that “I just used my brain” rather than attending any preparatory classes.

Why is this so rare to come across nowadays? Since when did doing well on a test depend on the money you paid for a preparation course?

Seung-yeon Jeong, a senior who has taken the test three times. She says, “If we never had any type of SAT class it would be a more accurate calculation of the student’s ability to take the SAT and study on their own.”

Students should take the time to learn the curriculum alone. Better yet, why not take the test based on your knowledge that you’ve accumulated from school? CollegeBoard states that the SAT is

By Melody HuangEditor-in-Chief

By Jessica NoeStaff Writer

Cartoon by Amy Ma

The end of the high school experience is coming for all seniors, and as college apps continue to loom on the horizon, leaving a bad taste of uncertainty in the mouths of all partakers, one can’t help but wonder if an Ivy League education is really worth it.

For William Lu, a sophomore, the decision is clear-cut. When asked if he thought going to an Ivy League school will help you in the long run when it comes to getting a job, Lu said, “Ivy League schools will definitely help you in finding a job, because they offer you the best possible education, great job opportunities, and a network of people that you can grow and utilize over time.”

Emily Balderrama, a senior, thinks a little differently than Lu on the worth of the Ivies. She cites that an Ivy League education, “might provide you with connections that might ensure a job, but it boils down to what degree you earn and what amount of effort you put into your education.”

To address the issue of cost, Lu talks about the large number of need based scholarships and the overall worth of an education that keeps on giving.

Balderrama approaches the

problem by avoiding the high tuition schools unless you are planning on getting a high paying career, such as law or medicine, which might make the loans worth it.

Both interviewees had similar views on how an Ivy League education will help a graduate in more than just the first job interview. Lu believes that an Ivy League education only can increase over time as experience is added on, though

the worth of the education itself decreases slightly in the shadow of the previous experience.

Balderrama thinks it really comes down to what qualities the person has, not their school, and though an Ivy League education “might be able to prepare someone for an interview, it cannot create someone.” She believes one can learn the skills necessary to ace the interview without the cost of an Ivy League school.

Small business owner David

Noe can substantiate both of these students’ statements on job interviews. Noe believes that that the Ivy League education can help you further than just the first job interview, but its value does decrease over time.

“There are a lot of people that have a great education but also a tremendous amount of work experience,” Noe said. “In our hiring practices, we look more at a person’s experiences than where they got their education.”

To get the full picture of the worth of the Ivy League education, it is necessary to put together the principals of both of these student interviewees as well as our resident private sector resource. Education in general pulls a lot of weight when it comes to getting a job.

Whether or not it’s from the Ivy Leagues doesn’t make

much of a difference unless it falls within certain majors that turn out high pay such as law or medicine, so the loans are worth it. What makes the difference when it comes to getting a job isn’t altogether about where you got your degree; it is that you have it and if you possess the qualities that are best suited to the position.

So, for all you seniors who are contemplating joining the ranks of Harvard and Brown Alumni, maybe there is a better way to get an education that will serve you best.

The few who stand out among manyBy Sarah BookbinderStaff Writer

Every year seniors at RB High vote on who they feel out of the senior class best represents certain qualities. This is what is called senior standouts.

Meet senior Neil Gillespie who won for biggest heart this year.

“I was very, very surprised I won. Someone told me that hey had voted for me, and I said thank you. I didn’t think about it,” said Gillespie.

“I strive to make a positive impact in peoples’ lives and put a smile on their face,” said Gillsepie.

Another senior who won this year is Emily Zhao. Zhao won for most artistic.

“It is nice to be recognized. I am very flattered to win most artistic because there are so many good artists at this school,” said Zhao.

Zhao is in AP Art here at RB High. Her preferred medium is painting, but in her spare time she enjoys doodling on paper or using

colored pencils.Senior Shane Brown won the

senior stand out for best dressed.“The senior standouts mean a

lot to me because they orchestrate an individual’s characteristics and personality that fits them best,” said Brown”

Shane Brown is the perfect

candidate for this category.“My unique style and swag

allowed for me to win this special senior standout,” said Brown.

Brown spends a lot of time and energy to perfect his style, and he tries to perfect his outfits every day.

“I am not that surprised I won because people said they were going to vote for me, and I always try to impress people with what I wear,” said Brown.

Senior Dimitri Voytilla is enthused that he won senior standouts for most spirited.

“Senior standouts is a chance for your class to vote on what each individual

truly represents and what qualities represent the most,” said Voytilla.

Voytilla is the obvious choice for this category, because of his love and passion for RB High.

“I think I won because I’ve been representing Rancho Bernardo High in an ambitious way since the day I set foot on this campus,” said Voytilla.

Despite Voytilla being the most obvious choice, he was still surprised about being nominated for the stand out.

“I’m surprised my class is so kind as to allow me this great honor,” said Voytilla.

Although only a handful of seniors won a standout, all students at RB High are unique in their own ways and our standout winners are just amongst the many other students who also represent these qualities.

Real-life warnings fail to impact teensBy Bahar SalehiOpinions Editor

On October 14 of this school year, guest speaker Sherie Rubin and her son Aaron Rubin gave a presentation about drug use among teenagers, as well as the damaging and lasting affects drugs have. Aaron was a former “OxyContin” addict who suffered a violent reaction to the drug and is now a quadriplegic as a result of the drug use. During the assembly, both of the Rubins desperately attempted to open the eyes of teenagers to the dangers of drug use; they wished to raise awareness of how drugs will inevitably end up harming the user, regardless of how safe he or she may think the drug is.

At first, the assembly appeared to have promising results, stunning many students into awareness about drug use.

“I was shocked that people

would do that to themselves,” said freshman Allen Gao in reaction to Aaron Rubin’s story.

Now in the month of December, 3 months after Sherie and Aaron Rubin brought their shocking message to the attention of RB High students, many students remark that the assembly has failed to bring about any major change in the attitude of students toward drug use.

“I think the assembly made a huge difference to people who have never tried drugs, but the people who already do drugs won’t take it to heart, and if they do it would probably only make a difference for a day,” said junior Roxana Shahryari.

Shahryari’s opinion appears to be one shared by many at RB High. So if the assembly did not make any change in those who currently use drugs, was the message flawed? “No, it was definitely a good message. It’s just sad the way some people reacted to it like a

Cartoon by Luke Verayo

joke. Especially with all of the kids being expelled this year, people need to be taking this seriously,” junior Peter Hong said.

Hong’s observance was rather accurate; many students at RB High behaved in a disrespectful manner during the assembly (waving their lit phones and screaming), and the sad fact of the matter is that those students do not feel the need to care or feel above the warnings against drugs their peers and elders attempt to advocate. Teenagers generally feel invincible at this point in their lives and feel that ‘one or two’ uses of a particular drug will not hurt them.

“I wish it weren’t that way, but people are ignorant,” Hong said.

The sad truth of the matter is that drugs, even used once or twice, can have devastating consequences. And while the message was strong, the general mindset of the younger generations makes them feel above any consequences of negative actions.

Attending an Ivy League UniversityIs it really worth all of the time and efffort?

a test that is largely based on your logical and reasoning skills.

With the help of the SAT preparatory class, the student enters the testing location with the knowledge received during his schooling combined with the testing tricks taught inside their class. The SAT becomes a more strategical game than an actual measure of intelligence.

Philip Poblete, a senior who faced the SAT last year, said, “It has become more of how much money one is willing to spend to learn tips and tricks from a professional tutoring service to get a better score rather than simple self-reliance.”

Staying up past 2 am to learn vocabulary words that will never appear in normal conversations, spending one too many Friday afternoons after school taking a grueling practice test, getting headaches from too many cram sessions – these are all common horror stories told by many juniors or seniors who have found themselves haunted by a standardized aptitude test from hell, more commonly known as the SAT.

But now there seems to be a magical pill that students can consume

to do well on the SAT. With the impressive reputation of numerous SAT preparation programs, many people seem to be under the illusion that when they sign up for SAT prep courses, they are alleviated from the pains of preparing for the SAT.

These people think the self-proclaimed “poor souls” who have taken the time to arduously self-study without the help of an “elitist” organization will be forever doomed, as they lack the benefits that this corrupt bargain promises.

But others – particularly those who have actually participated in a SAT preparation program – know that these preconceived notions are far from being true. Contrary to popular belief, paying money for an SAT prep course does not actually guarantee a 99th percentile score; reaching a high score takes both time and effort – even with the addition of the weekly classes and practice tests prep courses have been known to offer.

Prep courses such as Revolution’s “hybrid course” and Princeton Review’s “Ultimate” class can undoubtedly help students in their journey for preparing for the SAT. Their review sessions, office hours, and dedicated staff are geared toward guiding students to effectively study for the test. These programs generally teach students test-taking strategies and cover the difficult material that the SAT tests.

William Bradshaw, Director of Elite Educational Institute, has helped numerous students reach their

goals on the SAT. However, even he says that the success students have on the SAT is not dependent upon the money they pay for the SAT program of their choice.

“There are few guarantees in life, and if students don’t put in the necessary effort, even the best SAT prep courses cannot guarantee a large score increase,” said Bradshaw. “Successful students spend 2-3 hours daily working on vocabulary, practicing math problems, and reviewing grammar. Our programs are successful, in part, because they are very rigorous; despite rumors to the contrary, we don’t put a special ‘smart’ potion in the drinking water.”

The simple truth is, while many SAT prep courses boast of helping students reach “new heights” and “building student futures” with strong SAT scores, the reason behind this touted score jump doesn’t actually come from paying $2000 for the class. A respectable score doesn’t suddenly appear from half-heartedly attending a study session or watching review packets and test materials collect dust; it comes from hard work.

Before you accuse the next person who earns an enviable SAT score of “buying” his or her way to success, you might want to reassess your statement. The kids who paid for prep courses also share the same stories of late-night ventures in memorizing vocabulary; they’ve all taken their share of practice tests, and believe it or not, they’ve worked just as hard as you have.

Preppy at its finest...

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 5OPINIONS

Status update: what’s the point of Facebook?

By Jessica NoeStaff Writer

By Jennifer ChalamPhoto Editor

AbandonBy Sam LeeEntertainment Editor

Occupy Wall StreetDo you support the 99 percent?

Occupy

What do students really know about politics?

A few weeks ago I had an epiphany. I was like, “I know! Lets poll teenagers at our school to see who they would like to be president and then I will write an article about the results!”

The unfortunate, slightly amusing, yet very frightening outcome of that poll was not whom the students voted for, but whom they didn’t vote for. Out of the 67 students I presented this poll to, I got a whopping 13 who decided to waste forty five seconds to tell me who they like and write one sentence why.

I have two theories as to why this happened.

One: 54 of the 67 students who didn’t take the poll are either

all banned from facebook for inappropriate behavior, their parents have taken away that privilege, their computers all spontaneously combusted, and/or they have been abducted by aliens and their robot replacements are walking around the school in their place.

Two: When they saw that it was a poll on their favored presidential nominee instead of their favored ice cream flavor, they all left the conversation or simply didn’t respond.

I’m sorry to say that I hope it was theory one, because if in fact this generation has come to the point where 45 seconds of contemplation about those who lead this nation is 45 seconds too many, I fear for our future. Letting a generation of indifferent voters into the booth is like letting a kid who just now got his permit take his first joy ride

completely drunk. I hope your political indifference here is not indicative of what you will do on election day.

Guys, wake up! You can’t just check out whenever something politically related comes up. Yes, politics can be boring, and politicians can lie, but if we don’t choose the lesser of two evils at the polls, then we could very well end up with evil times two. Whether you like it or not, politics affects your life, and as much as we all would like to think that we are in control of our own lives I should think the governing of your country, which controls so much of your daily life it isn’t even funny, should be something to pay attention to.

This country is truly one of a kind. In America, because of the twenty-sixth amendment (yes

we can amend our frame for government, just one of the many perks of democracy), when we turn eighteen we can vote! Because of the nineteenth amendment women have the right to vote. Because of the fifteenth amendment there can be no racial discrimination at the polls. If you can’t take forty five seconds to think about your world today, take forty-five now to think about what your world would be like without these freedoms. We take so much for granted. There were many who took on pepper spray and high-powered water hoses to get you the right to vote. Millions of dollars were spent so you could take part in your government. Thousands of voices cried out loud so that you could be heard, and you take that for granted.

Hundreds of thousands of lives

have been lost overseas to protect what we have here. So much has been done to protect your right to vote in a stupid facebook poll for the Silver Spur.

For those of you who voted: Elliott Wulff (senior), Alex Clark (junior), Clara Bird (senior), Meghan Macaulay (senior), Kody Cowell (senior), Kelly Zhao (sophomore), Emily Zhao (senior), Freddy Cleveland (senior), Savannah Stern (senior), Lauren Long (senior), Seth Valenzuela (senior), Cameron McKirdy (junior), and Sateen Zanjani (senior), thank you! You give me hope for our future (yes, even Mr. McKirdy whose comment consisted of McKirdy 2012!).

I can honestly put my personal political feelings aside and say thank you Emily Zhao, for voting for Obama along with seven of your

liberal cohorts, saying: “I agree with most of his policies, and I believe that he’s improved this country since he stepped into office…I feel like he can connect with the people pretty well - especially the youth, which, in this time of blatant distrust in the government, seems pretty important.”

Thank you Freddy Cleveland, for taking forty five seconds to say: “Obama. I can’t get behind any of the other candidates, because I believe them to be completely insane, with the exception of Mitt Romney who I just disagree with.”

Thank you to the four who voted for Republicans (two votes for Ron Paul, one for Rick Santorum, and one for Mitt Romney). And yes, thank you to those who voted Cameron McKirdy for the 2012 elections.

By Jessica Noe Staff Writer

Imagine a world where we cannot freely browse the Internet or voice our opinions. A world where our every move is closely watched by a hidden security force controlled by a dictatorial government. Scary, right?

Censorship is commonplace in many countries, and soon it may be common in the United States, the supposedly “free country.”

The Stop Online Piracy Act, and the PROTECT IP Act has been acts created by Congress in order to “expand the ability of the US law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeited goods.”

When passed, the bill allows the Department of Justice along with copyright holders to seek action against websites supposedly, “Copyright infringing on intellectual properties.”

The bill would also make streaming of copyright content a

felony. Put simply, the bill will make increase penalties for streaming music, and some sites will be completely blocked.

The bill is a serious infringement on our First Amendment rights. The First Amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”

The SOPA and PROTECT IP Acts both attack one of our most basic rights, which is the right to expression. The bill is therefore prohibited as stated by the Constitution.

The bill also overturns the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which protects internet companies that act in “good faith” to remove user-uploaded infringement content from their sites.

This act protects sites such as Youtube and social networking sites such as Facebook from censorship provided that they remove copyright infringing material. Youtube is only legal because it follows

the guidelines set by the Digital Millennium Act, but with the SOPA and PROTECT IP Act many of the social networking sites, and even Youtube may find itself censored by the government because they either, “stream videos, or have copyrighted images.”

Along with the fact that it’s unconstitutional and it may take down the most popular sites in the world, it has many legal ambiguities and also affects the economy negatively. The bill makes investing in digital media a risky business which is a giant problem. Also innovation may become stifled because they face the risk of “censorship.”

The bill is a giant mistake and attacks some of our most basic human rights. The bill may end up creating a repressive atmosphere for entrepreneurs, and Congress has demonstrated its technical incompetence when it comes to the bill. I hope that the states don’t have to suffer the repression that many other countries face when it comes to the internet.

By Sam LeeEntertainment Editor

Occupy! Occupy! Seems to be

the cry of the times. For weeks this grassroots movement has been spreading its seeds from Wall Street to Oakland. America citizens have

been occupying major corporations without ceasing, enduring rightful evictions and pepper spray all in the name of change. But what is that change, and is it plausible?

According to Bill Egnor, a noted Democrat and political blogger who is an active supporter and frequent visitor to the Occupy D.C. movement, the message is to protest the uneven distribution of America’s wealth.

But the plausibility of any change happening is questionable at best. Egnor attributes their failures to the lack of a policy program, but applauds the group for getting the conversation started. Personally, I believe that the problem runs much deeper. Yes, the lack of a policy program is a big one, but their apparent lack of media coverage is causing them more problems than realized.

The average high school student, when asked if they knew what Occupy Wall Street was said they knew of it but nothing about it and denied an interview. This is a problem. If a grassroots movement against big business can’t get the attention of the high school student who can they get a hold of? Revolution is built on the backs of the young, and the occupiers seem

to have been unable to reach the unemployed, rebellious, and angst-filled.

Because of this apparent lack of interest, I had to hit up the AP Government students in hopes that I would get, not a positive or negative reaction to the occupiers, but any reaction at all.

“I think that certain points made by the Occupy movements are valid, and there are many problems with our system of government; however, they lack any sort of cohesive message or general goal,” said senior Elliott Wulff.

The unity aspect of all three interviewees is very interesting, and very true. There is no unity amongst the different movements, and there is no leadership.

Because there is no leadership, they have no policy plan, and this causes them to misuse their media coverage, and leaves them in a position where they can do nothing but occupy their cities, unable to collectively organize boycotts or sit-ins, etc.

The problem they are addressing is real, but their expectations are unrealistic. If they cannot convince a sixteen year old to stand on a street corner and demand change, then surely they cannot move big businesses.

Occupy Wall Street is a protest that began on September 17 2011. The protests are against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption, and the influence of corporations on the government.

Occupy Wall Street is not merely a liberal movement. In fact many of the people protesting have declared themselves to be independent and have not taken either side of the political spectrum. The people that have reported themselves to be Republicans are 2.4% while Democrats in the Occupy Movement make up 27.3% of the people. Independent however has the majority with 70% showing that the movement isn’t just a movement favoring one side. It shows that the main populace, the common person is discontent with the direction our country is veering towards.

The first four weeks of the Occupy Movement were a series of demonstrations, with arrests going throughout the Movement for “disorderly conduct.” Along with mass arrests, the police would use tactics such as the pepper

spray to try and keep a semblance of “order.” The next four weeks saw a continuation of the first four weeks with mass arrests going on. Protestors during this week also shut down the Port of Oakland, the fifth largest port in the United States. The next two weeks saw the eviction of Occupiers by the police, and many of the tents, books and such were dumped without permission. The ninth and tenth week show how the justice system simply tramples on the First Amendment.

As of November, many Occupy movements are facing eviction. This is a violation of our constitutional rights, which is explicitly stated by the First Amendment, “The right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Along with eviction, the First Amendment gets dishonored again as the right to protest is also violated. This infringement of our most basic rights is a giant crime. We have been promised such basic rights like speech, press, equality before the law, etc. However it gets trampled once the politicians see it in their best interests to stomp on it.

Also along with the infringement of our most basic rights, there have

been reports of police brutality in sites of the Occupy Movement. Some journalists from major companies have been reported to

have been arrested, or been beaten with a police baton further demonstrating the decline of the individuals rights in the United States.

Cartoon by Amy Ma

Facebook is for stalking. Everything about Facebook, from the minutely detailed newsfeed to the constantly updating “ticker,” is designed especially for lonely internet browsers to keep a constant update on every detail of their friends’ lives. The new “check-in” feature even allows users to be in touch with where exactly their friends are at any given moment. Facebook is the ultimate stalking mechanism.

A typical person who joins Facebook might join because he wants to reconnect with friends. They might not have the intention to become a “stalker” at first, but increased use of Facebook over time has proven to make people more inclined to become “stalkers”.

There are two kinds of Facebook stalkers: those who outwardly display their stalking through liking comments and statuses, and those

who secretly stalk, looking at pictures and profiles without leaving a trace. Most people, whether they admit it or not, are one of these

types of stalkers. ” The very nature of Facebook

encourages, stalking. Let’s take, for example, the average Facebook user. First, he logs into Facebook

and checks his notifications. Then he spends a few minutes scrolling down the newsfeed, checking out his friends’ current activities;

during this time, his sub-conscious is piecing together information about his friends’ activity, communication, and relationships.

Facebook, can also be used for stalking in the more serious sense of the term. A recently launched website, “takethislollipop,” is an interactive simulation; the website prompts the user to log in using his Facebook account, and then proceeds to play a video in which a real life stalker scrolls through the viewer’s profile and photos, getting visibly excited.

He then proceeds to look up the user’s address, and the

video ends on a chilling note as he “drives” to the user’s house. Though harmless, the site subtly proves that Facebook stalking can get serious.

Cartoon by Luke Verayo

Censored: you could lose your First Amendment rights

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 20116 FEATURES

Parents deployed: Everyday Heroes

Name: Tony Pabon

RB High student:

Lily Pabon

Years served: 26

Position: Navy

Name: Eric Gardner

RB High student:

Rosi Gardner

Years served: 20

Position: Lieutenant

Commander in the Navy

There are many ways to classify a hero, and many respectable people bestow this honor. Some of them are the soldiers who fight to preserve our freedom each and every day. These soldiers are not fully aware of the gratefulness that we feel towards their duties to the nation. They are not only courageous, but also very valiant. These heroes are thrust in the face of danger every single day, and devotedly preserve what we sometimes take for granted today.

According to Wikipedia, the United States military is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with more than 370,000 of its 1 million active-duty personnel serving outside the United States. Most are deployed in combat zones in the Middle East, as part of the “War on Terror”.

Being deployed in a possibly unknown territory has a huge impact on not only the soldier, but also on his family. Some students here at RB High have parents who have been deployed before or have just recently been deployed.

Eric Gardner was in the military, and his daughter attends RB High.

“He started in 1991, and retired earlier this year,” said junior Rosi Gardner. “We moved around a lot and met new people. [It caused] my family a lot of stress. My mom had to take care of young children while my dad was in places like Singapore and Australia. We’ve learned to cope, but it’s still hard for the change.”

Tony Pabon was also in the military, and his daughter also attends RB High. “My dad is in the navy, so he would go out on a ship for months at a time, details were not really allowed, so we only really knew of his locations at some points during his trip,” said junior Lily Pabon. “It was hard when he was gone because I missed him a lot.”

Andy Burnett, a senior, is used to his

dad leaving for long periods of time. His dad, Andy Burnett, was deployed this last month.

“My mom and I just go through the every day routine,” said Andy. “He’s not physically there, but he emails us every day. I’ve been dealing with it ever since I was a little kid.”

With so many mothers and fathers serving, there is an even greater impact on the concept of family. On television, there is always footage of parents coming home to their wives and to their children after being away for so long. Their facial expressions are ones of happiness and warmth. That scene makes us step back and think about the family that is present in our lives and how grateful we are to have family close to us.

When these parents return home, they must then resume their role as a parent. In time, they transition easily back into their life before being deployed. Leading the double life isn’t always the easiest thing, and that is what makes them versatile. Being able to flexibly do both jobs while staying strong is

what makes them everyday heroes. There are many things that we have

done to honor these hereos. Sending care packages, raising money to support them when they arrive home, sending food across seas during the Holidays, and sending a cards and letters showing our appreciation. The Girl Scouts put aside money every year from their cookie sales and give it to military troops on the USS Midway as a part of the Operation Thin Mint. There are also programs to help the soldiers who are in need of a job after coming back. They struggle to find income to support themselves or their family.

As the tumultuous year goes on, we will pray for the safety of thousands of parents who recently got deployed and thank them for their commitment and devotion. We also bow our heads to the ones who have sacrificed their lives for their country. Even when the country seems to be falling apart, there is still a thread of nationalistic pride that strings us together and makes us proud to be an American, to be free.

Top Combat ZonesHow many US personnel in each region

U.S. - 1,226,638

Afghanistan - 103,700

Germany - 54,198

Japan - 40,178

South Korea - 28,500

Iraq - 11,000

Italy - 10,771

United Kingdom - 9,436

*Statistics from December 2010

By Stacy Luu

Features Editor

stories of RB High students’ heroes

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 7FEATURES

“Green” Car of the Future: the Car2Go

Considering all of the recent advancements in the world of science, it is difficult to stay current with the inventions involving green technology.

Technology is about making daily tasks simpler to accomplish and improving one’s lifestyle. If the term “green” is added to the technological aspect of any word, the meaning is entirely different.

There are several ways to live an environmentally-friendly life, like recycling or reusing items; riding a bike, walking, or carpooling; consuming less products; using renewable energy resources; and discussing global issues with friends and family.

Reducing your carbon footprint on the planet is becoming more accessible by the minute with all of the innovative ideas that are being created. One of the concepts that has been developing for about a decade is increasing the abilities of cars to drive for an extended number of miles. Driving is something that nearly every student and working person encounters on a daily basis when commuting to school or work; this is why it is one of the primary tasks that is being changed by green technology.

In comparison to the hybrid car, which relies on the use of gasoline and electricity for energy, the electric car is solely dependent upon electricity. With such electric cars

as the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt hitting the car market, these cars have been receiving a considerable amount of news exposure.

The electric car that has recently gained the attention of commuters is the car2go. This idea was developed in association with the makers of the smart car and is intended to help workers traveling within the limits of the city. In addition to its original locations in various foreign countries, the company has expanded its locations to include one in San Diego. According to the company’s website, the city’s commitment to being a leader in sustainability and green technology, establishing the car2go center in San Diego was the natural choice. The city’s support of the installation of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the region allows car2go to offer a groundbreaking zero emission, electric drive car-share service.

Car2Go hopes to reduce emissions by progressing the concept of carpooling to another level. The company operates a free-floating fleet of smart “fortwo” electric drive vehicles which means that the smart cars are open to be used by all of the program’s members. By implementing the smart car in its fleet, car2go increases the efficiency of driving by allowing the car to drive for an extended number of miles.

The installment of the operating center in San Diego was made during the summer of this year and is generally located in the downtown area of the city. One of the first steps in registering for the program is by

visiting the website at http://www.car2go.com/sandiego/en/concept/. In order to become involved with the car2go program the driver must have all of the same requirements that any other driver needs to have.

Simply by walking to the several parking lots designated as car2go centers, the driver can swipe his membership card against the vehicles windshield’s and the onboard touch screen computer inside prompts the driver to select the options available to change for the drive like the radio and the navigation system.

Some of the benefits of paying for the car2go system include starting and ending one’s daily commute in the same convenient place and taking advantage of the attractive “by-the-minute” rates which include costs for fuel, insurance, parking, and maintenance. The rate per minute is reasonable compared to the fees for driving one’s own car and is an alternative option to spending time and money on another car.

The car2go company has allowed the idea of environmentalism to become practical for the large population of drivers. Renting a car to drive to work may seem like a novel concept to some, but learning how to adapt to changes in the world is one of the attributes that people have learned to exhibit.

A change of thinking is the principle on which the issue of global warming was founded and making electric cars more accessible to drivers is one of the ways to reduce the impact of humans on the earth.

Human Relations Conference inspires sophomores

Human Relations Conference, otherwise known as HRC, is a conference for all sophomores at RB High. The purpose of the conference is to break down the barriers between students.

Started long before Principal Robinson came to RB High in 1999, HRC has become an annual tradition.

“Our school was trying to figure out how to build better relations among students,” said Robinson. “Students wanted to better unify the campus.”

Since its start in 1996, HRC has become an eye-opening experience for everyone who takes part in the conference, and this year’s HRC was no exception.

With the help of 50 hand-chosen junior and senior HRC facilitators, many sophomores left the gym at the end of the conference with a more positive and open perspective of the world around them.

“The purpose of HRC is to unify the sophomore class and to help individuals look past social status, to look deeper within each other and understand each other better,” said senior Neil Gillespie, who co-planned the entire conference with Lindsay Sager.

Esteemed speaker Keith Hawkins is invited

every year to speak at the conference, and every year he works to bring the sophomore class together through fun activities, as well as serious discussions.

This year, Hawkins asked the 50 HRC facilitators to stand among an audience of 274 sophomores if the problems he described applied to their lives. After seeing

the junior and senior facilitators respond to questions like “stand if you’ve ever had to leave your home” and “stand if your family has been going through financial problems,” the sophomores realized they were not alone. This theme was carried throughout

the entire conference, especially when the sophomores were split up into smaller groups and shared their stories with others in their group.

This realization of “I’m not alone” is a major theme of HRC. Every November when it takes place, sophomores shuffle into the gym expecting the same old pointless

routine, but many are surprised to find that HRC is nothing at all what they had expected.

“I hope the sophomores realize that they shouldn’t be so judgmental of people,” said junior Anil Tharani, an HRC facilitator. “We

have more in common with people than we think.”

The facilitators, too, got a lot out of the conference. These juniors and seniors are the once-sophomores who had, just like this year’s class of 2014, experienced HRC and got a lot out of the conference.

“I remember last year I got a lot out of it

and my facilitators were great,” said Tharani. “I wanted to help people like my facilitators had helped me.”

Sager believes the conference is even more meaningful for those who have gone through the conference more than once.

“I think sometimes the facilitators get more out of it than the sophomores do, since it’s their second time through,” said Sager. “It’s a lot different being there for someone else than having the focus be on you. It’s a lot more rewarding when it’s about someone else.”

However, as eye-opening HRC is, the results may not be permanent.

“I feel that it was life-changing for about two weeks,” said sophomore Atrina Pebdani. “After that, everything was back to normal.”

Because HRC is not a recurring event, the unity among the sophomores does not continue throughout the rest of the year. Principal Robinson agrees.

“Everyone talked about how great it was,” said Robinson. “I’d like to do it every week, but it would probably lose its pizazz.”

But hopefully the conference helped sophomores realize that stereotyping and judging based on appearance will hardly portray an accurate picture of a person.

Everyone is going through similar problems, and we have more things in common with people than we think. There will always be people

who are willing to listen and help with the issues you’re dealing with in your life.

One sophomore in the conference said it best, “We’re not alone, so stop pretending like you are.”

A Special: Behind the scenes of Yearbook

An editor for the yearbook can sift through hundreds of pictures before they find the perfect one. When the fires tore through Rancho Bernardo in the fall of 2007, there was no lack in emotional visuals. Pictures of homes that once were more than a pile of smoking ash, of charred hills, and blackened trees whose branches reached into the sky. But one image stands alone as a testimony to the power of memory—a girl standing amiss the chaos with her high school yearbook tucked into the crook of her arm.

A high school yearbook will never be thrown out or discarded, but cherished always. Its glossy pages provide an individual with the ability to flip through a library of memories and remember those “good ole days” of their past high school experience.

This final product is the compilation of countless hours of hard work and dedication given by the yearbook staff in order to be able to provide people a treasure which RB High can truly be proud of.

The yearbook class functions as a business. Throughout the year, people trust the program enough that they are willing to fork out seventy to eighty dollars for a book they have never seen and will not see until they receive it at the end of the year. Kevin Mihalik, one of the editors and chief, believes that the publication has an, “obligation to them [the readers] to turn out the best product we can. This is both an obligation and a magnificent opportunity. No matter what we need to persevere through obstacles to make sure our customers are not disappointed.”

Recently, the class acquired a program called HJedesign which allows work on the yearbook to be spilt up between home and school due to the online function. For Mihalik, “sixty-percent of the work is done at school, and the other forty-percent of the time I am at home proofing pages, creating layouts, or doing something related to Yearbook on my home computer.”

The RB High advisor, Kurt Trecker, and two representatives from the Herff Jones oversee the production of the yearbook. These adults are the go between of the student and the company who have producing

yearbook for a long time and never fail to give excellent advice.

So what exactly is a typical day in room 901? As Editors in Chief Regina Manneh, Kelsey Bright, and Kevin Mihalik (all seniors) are expected to lead a yearbook team in such things as meeting about upcoming deadlines and final quality control on all the pages.

Bright said that her third period consists of, “editing pages, designing layouts, assigning pages and dealing with anything that needs to be dealt with.” Manneh said that the expectations on a staff member “are not very much, just as long as you know how to manage your time.” Minimally each student must create seven pages the whole year unless you choose to take on extra responsibility as a staff editor.

Ryan Rampoldi, a senior, said that “it is nice to be able to make a sort of art within every page.” The class works together as a whole in order to document every aspect of the passing school year.

RB High thanks the students who have rightfully adopted the motto, “Yearbook is my life”, in order to produce this spectacular publication. Yearbook students working hard. Photo courtesy of Kevin Mihalik

By Michael Rupic

Opinions Editor

By Carrie Chen

Editor-in-Chief

By Natasha Khodykin

Sports Editor

A Car2Go Photo courtesy of Austinchronicle.com

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Photo courtesy of fantasticfiction.co.uk

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By Sam LeeEntertainment Editor

By Sam Lee Entertainment Editor

Photo courtesy of kotaku.com

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No video game players are ever complete without playing the latest game in the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim. The game which is a sequel to the fourth game, Oblivion, takes place in a land aptly named Skyrim.

In Skyrim you are able to roam freely in a vast land full of computer controlled non-playable characters and creatures. There are towns filled with beggars, merchants, craftsmen, and other such characters. Skyrim offers an immersive world filled with interesting people, and allows you to take advantage of the immense space by letting you do whatever you want.

Skyrim starts off with the main character as a prisoner being taken to an unknown location. As the main character is about to be executed a dragon comes in and interrupts the execution. As Skyrim continues the main character discovers that the Skyrim’s Civil War is one of the last in a sequence of events told by the Elder Scrolls which also foretells the return of Alduin, the Nordic-God of destruction. The main character discovers that he is the last Dovahkiin, meaning that he is the dragon hunter that is anointed by the gods to fend off the threat.

One of Skyrim’s biggest assets is the

freedom. While Skyrim has a strong central plot, you are allowed to roam the world of Skyrim. You can pretty much do anything in Skyrim from fishing to killing dragons. The character ultimately decides his story, he can live and be a villain or he could be a morally upright citizen of Skyrim.

While Skyrim offers so much freedom with exploring and doing various tasks, it also lets you choose your class.

While most fantasy games have a set defined class, Skyrim lets you be multiple identities at once leading to an even larger freedom.

While Skyrim is a fun immersive game, it’s not perfect and it does have its share of problems. Its interface is chunky and it has average performance on the Playstation 3. It does offer a giant world of immersion and that’s something that most games don’t offer these days.

While you may spend hours on Skyrim, you have to realize at the end of the day that Skyrim does not offer an online multiplayer experience like Maplestory. This is one of the few drawbacks of a vast single player environment such as Skyrim.

All in all Skyrim is a great game that every gamer should play. Although its not the type of game that you would spend your whole life playing, it is a masterpiece that deserves its own spot in gaming history.

he leaves many of the main characters endings ambiguous and completely leaves out the side characters back story. The book ends with Eragon and Saphira leaving the continent of Alagaseia.

While Paolini could’ve written a very strong story he fails to do so and leaves us with more questions then answers. Many problems persist throughout the book such as the underdevelopment of characters. This would make reading the last few pages a chore considering that the last few pages are all about each characters lives after the battle.

Another problem that persists is the repetitive use of sieges and battles with no advancement in the main story. For the first 600 or so pages the book resorts to using sieges and battles and detracts from the main storyline.

If you are a fan of repetitive battles and sieges, then great, this book is for you. For the majority of people that hate repetitive battles, good luck going through this book!

These severely destroy the strength of the novel and leave it with a very repetitive and underdeveloped novel.

The book becomes a typical hero beats the enemy and everyone lives happily ever after. While Paolini showed sparks of brilliance and potential he fails to properly utilize his strengths.

Skyrim

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 20118 ENTERTAINMENT

An original short story:Quarantine By Jessica NoeStaff Writer

Ms. Smedley observed her Bio Tech class with satisfaction as they bunched around the incubator in the back of the room, removing Petri dishes that smelled of rotting chicken. The E-coli experiments were always some of the most entertaining.

“Anthony!” She called. “Get my samples out and bring them up to me, please.”

Anthony nodded, grabbed the sample, and delivered it to her. She called the white coat-clad classroom to order.

“Okay, guys, listen up!” She yelled. “Look at your samples and diagram them before you open them. If there are any foreign blotches, like the one I have which is this lovely color of vomit-green, include them and try to not get any sample colonies from around it. This is a contaminant.”

She opened the lid and scraped off the offending colony on her inoculation loop. She put the tip of the loop into the Bunsen burner and kept it there till the metal began to glow like a burning ember and its touch to the agar would make it sizzle before she used the loop to pick a sample colony and transfer it to a tube of broth.

Her nose began to itch and she coughed a little by reflex.

“Smed!” One of the students said as he approached her. “I can’t get the stuff to come off of the loop.”

She took the tube and the metal tool and twisted it while banging it back and forth against the side of the test tube, her breath fogging the glass. The tan clump detached from the metal and fell to the bottom of the tube. “Shake it to break that apart,” she said. The tickle returned and she sneezed, spraying the table beside her. Apologies were said and Smedley bustled on her way, aiding her little technicians grow cultures. By the time the bell rang, she had been to each table at least once to answer questions. So many seemed to have the foreign blotches, and it took a while for her to dispose of them so they didn’t overtake the samples.

Halfway through her next class, she developed such a splitting headache that she had to have Mr. Campbell come in and watch her class so she could go to the teachers lounge and get some Tylenol, and was surprised to find that both containers were almost empty. The two pills she downed took the edge off at least.

As she was walking back to class, hoping the throbbing pain in her head didn’t show

on her face, a shriek cut through the air. Alarmed, she took off at a run for her classroom. As she burst through the door her eyes seemed to pause in confusion at the scene that was spread before her. All her students were standing, shock on their faces as a boy was shaking the shoulder of a catatonic Mr. Campbell. The man was lying face-up on the ground, eyes open, body as still as death.

Smed rushed to his side and yelled for someone to call for an ambulance. Suddenly the body gave a violent jerk and began to convulse.

Smed immediately rolled her friend over onto his side, desperation flashing in her eyes. His face was beet red and his throat gurgled as a yellowish froth bubbled past his clenched teeth.

Sirens wailed in the distance and the intercom crackled to life. “Rancho Bernardo staff and students, please forgive the interruption, we are asking that everyone stay inside their classrooms until further notice.”

Suddenly a HAZMAT clad figure burst into the room.

The intercom rang out over the wailing of the sirens. “Rancho Bernardo High School is now under quarantine.”

Hunger Games

By Sara Yogi

Staff Writer

As the daughter of an Air Force member, novelist Suzanne Collins has strong opinions on the devastating effects of poverty, war, starvation, and loss of loved ones. Pair that with a love of Greek mythology, and you have The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games tells the tale of sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen as she struggles to survive in the futuristic, post-apocalyptic world of Panem. Katniss is a citizen of District Twelve, which is one of the twelve districts forced to slave under the ruling thumb of the dictatorial Capitol. During the early days, known as “The Dark Days”, the Districts rebelled against the Capital’s harsh regime, but failed to evoke any permanent change. As punishment for the uprisings, one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen is selected by lottery from each district and forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or “tributes,” must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one victor emerges.

The Hunger Games, unlike Collin’s earlier works, targets both younger and older readers. On the surface, the book seems to be no more than a fast-paced, adventurous tale of a girl and her climatic, near-death experiences on both the physical and emotional battlefield.

But if you were to look beyond the fighting and romance, a deeper, more meaningful message appears. It is a message of dogged hope in a world dictated by brutality, terror,

and absolute control. As readers follow Katniss’s journey through all three books in the series, they come to see Katniss as an emblem of resistance to all that suffocates an ordinary man’s freedom and dignity. The Capitol itself resembles both the communistic government of Soviet Russia and the wasteful frivolity of the Roman empire to create an overall image that both disgusts and fascinates the reader.

The Hunger Games is definitely a book you want on your bookshelf. From the very first page, I was immersed in the riveting twists and turns of Collin’s view of a futuristic world. The dictatorial Panem lies, ironically enough, on the smoldering ashes of North America. Freedom burned to death, and from the ashes arose a bleak, harsh regime not unlike as those seen from fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Reading about how the districts dealt with Panem and the conflicts that ensued had me flipping page after page, while the emotional journey of Katniss as she juggles family, boys, and the government in a manner that is realistic led me to alternately cry and laugh.

One of my favorite aspects of the Hunger Games is that romance is only a secondary element of the story. Unlike the Twilight sereies, in which you have Team Edward and Team Jacob, the Hunger Games considers romantic issues practically and in a way that teenagers today can relate to. The books do not revolve around the love life of Katniss, but rather, make her love life a side story; interesting but not radically important.

The Hunger Games may not use eighteenth-century lingo or rely on overly winding metaphors to describe a tombstone or a child, but it definitely belongs with some of the greatest classics in literary history.

The Inheritance Cycle ends with the newest book, Inheritance, released on November 8th 2011. The book details the adventures of Eragon and his dragon, Saphira on their quest to slay the tyrant king Galbatorix. Paolini tries to end the tale with a strong finish however the ending was weak and often left the readers wondering, “What happened?”

The story starts off with a siege, and throughout the book the same pattern is repeated. They enter a new territory, then conquer it and move on, with slight “background” story interwoven throughout the novel. This pattern soon gets repetitive and the reader slowly loses interest in the story. Eventually Eragon and Saphira ends up at the supposed “climax” of the scene where he confronts the king. Instead of a long awaited heroic battle, the climax was very anti-climatic and left many people feeling disappointed.

After the death of the king you’d expect the book to end soon, however the book does not end and continues to go on and on for about 100 or so pages. This normally wouldn’t be a bad thing had the author taken time to develop each character, however

“I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow

to the knee.”-Skyrim guards

“One boy... One dragon... A world of adventure”

-Eragon

About the Author:

Inheritance

I’ve only been writing since sophomore year - I have Mrs. Kravchak to thank for introducing me to the beauty of words - but my ability to tell a story goes back to my childhood. My role was “gamemaker”; I created the elaborate schemes, which would play out for days at a time. Little did I know when I was eight years old that I had already found my passion.

I figure this about sums up what writing is to me: art means to take something empty and give it substance, make it beautiful. A painter fills a page, a musician fills silence, a storyteller can do both. The art a storyteller creates can fill the silence, it can be recorded on paper. They can create a world with the tongue, spin images with the mind. They can craft a human being who will live and breathe forever in our memory because we can always turn back to chapter one when he was still alive. Their works have a sense of both mortality and immortality, for each story must end, but its retelling can be without ceasing. We were created to create, why not try and leave something beautiful while we’re at it.

Photo courtesy of Scholastic.com

Jessica Noe Photo courtesy of Jessica Noe

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 9ENTERTAINMENT

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Throughout the movie, Pacino tries to lure her. When she doesn’t comply, Pacino threatens to not do the commercial. Jack tries to use Jill to tempt Pacino by taking her on a cruise. There, since Jill won’t cooperate with what he says, Jack dresses up as Jill and meets him on the boat. The two have a lovely date. When Jill calls Jack, she finds out that Jack had just used her for business means. When she gets off the boat, Jack who feels horribly, also gets off the boat, and apologizes. The two finally overlook eachother’s bad habits and learn to get along.

Adam Sandler, who played two roles, as well as the voice of a bird, did a great job especially with his funny style. Al Pacino, who appeared in the “Godfather” and “Scar Face”, acted in the complete opposite way from his other movies.

The main moral of the movie is that you should always love your family, no matter how annoying and immature they can get. You can and should always love your family no matter what happens. I’m sure we have all had times with our siblings where we just wanted to be an only child and never see them again, but at the end of the day, you love them ,and you don’t know what you could have done without them. You should always love your family, and put thier best interests at heart.

Restaurant Movie

California Pizza Kitchen was established in 1993 and was a huge success. With many unusual choices of food, I decided to give it a try, since I had never been there, and it was what everyone was talking about.

I went with my family. First off, we of course, being a family that already eats a lot as it is, we ordered an appetizer. It was the avocado egg rolls. Traditionally, when we think of egg rolls, we think of Chinese egg rolls often filled with of course egg, or chicken. These egg rolls however, consisted of bacon, chicken, avocado, and a crisp, soft, brown shell. You had two choices of sauces to dip these scrumptious looking ap-petizers with, ranch or chipotle ranch. Once you have this dish, there is no going back to ordinary egg rolls. Once you’ve tried this delicious thing, you are hooked for life.

Next, we ordered the Barbeque Chicken Pizza. Surprisingly, the pizzas were rela-tively small, but they were still amazing! With rich BBQ sauce, and a garnish of veg-etables and a sprig of pepper, this pizza is sure to make your mouth water. My family, consisting of five people, devoured this piz-za, and we decided to order another. Next came the Chipolte Chicken Pizza. This

“Jack and Jill”, directed by Dennis Dugan, is a comical, yet heartfelt movie about getting to love your family, and over looking their flaws.

Jack Sadlestein played by Adam Sandler, is a man who has a twin named Jill. Jack who has been popular all his life, is now in his forties. His sister Jill, who is also played by Adam Sandler, comes to visit for Thanksgiving. Because she had always lived alone, and the twin’s mother had just past away, Jill decides to stay for the Holidays.

Jill causes disturbances in the house by her immature and annoying behaviors. Not to mention her parrot named Poopsie, who is also played by Adam Sandler. Jack is a director of commercials and his primary source for commercials is Dunkin Donuts.

The problem is that Dunkin Donuts wants Al Pacino to advertise their new coffee, called the Dunkicino. If Jack doesn’t manage to get Pacino in a week, the whole company will be shut down. Jack reluctantly takes Jill to a Laker’s game because he is told that Pacino is there. Jack approaches Pacino, and takes Jill along. Pacino falls in love with Jill despite her manly looks.

By Hana BradshawStaff Writer

ByHana BradshawStaff Writer

California Pizza Kitchen (1985-2011)

“Honestly the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”-Hana Bradshaw

Photo courtesy of eeendeavors.com

Jack and Jill (2011)

“His twin sister is coming for the holidays...and it ain’t

pretty...”-Jack and Jill

Photo courtesy of thebiglead.com

pizza reminded me of a fajita and a pizza combined. With fresh Pico De Gallo on the top, as well as tomatillo sauce, my family wolfed down this pizza as well. Apparently, my family had wanted to go for round three! We called over the annoyed waiter and or-der yet another dish; it was the Jumbalaya. The Jumbalaya was made with thin noodles with a good spaghetti-type sauce with fresh shrimp and a assortment of vegetables and well as salmon and capers. It was fresh and hot. It is my family’s custom to share our food, so of course, all of my family gobbled this delicious pasta down. I looked like I had gained a pound and my stomach was bulging. By now, I was exhausted from eat-ing too much food, but I was ready for des-ert, and a big desert at that.

After our stomachs managed to deflate a little, my family ordered the highlight of the meal, the buttercake. The buttercake is a fluffy yellow cake, with a light layer of crystallized sugar, and a dollop of ice cream on the top. It didn’t even take a full five minutes for us to annihilate this heavenly desert. In my opinion, it was maybe the best cake I have ever had in my life.

For those who are always in a dilemma for where to go to dinner, I strongly recom-mend California Pizza Kitchen. It has the right things for the picky eaters, the “every-thing” eaters, and all eaters in between.

ASBStudentStore

• Chocolate pudding

• Crunchy cheese cheetos

• Hot munchies mix

• Pirate’s booty white cheddar popcorn

• Peach cups

• Frosted strawberry poptart

Have you checked out the new items in the Student Store? Stop by and try the newest snacks! ALL profits from the Student Store go back to the students in the form of dances, sports, assemblies, clubs, etc.

• Strawberry Nutrigrain

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 SPORTS

Three RB High cross country runners make it to state

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By Rachel KimStaff Writer

RB High’s boys basketball team is one of the most well known and supported sports around campus and its recent accomplishments in the last two years has added to the positive school opinion.

The team was CIF champion in the 2009-2010 season and placed second in the Palomar league in the 2010-2011 season.

However, behind the success and smiles of the players lie long dedicated hours of vigorous practices and training, busily managed grades, and occasional defeats. The very thing that unifies the team every game and season is the never-ending passion for the sport.

The team is solid this season. There are the experienced returning players that will be the foundation, and the new, energetic players that will bring fresh ideas to the team.

One of the strong backbones of the team, senior Shane Brown, said that the team is very close; they have lunch meetings and team meals to socialize, discuss strategies and plays.

One of the most important aspects of being an athlete on a team sport is having the ability to be a team player, but at the same time, being more than just another person on the team.

Because the team must have the best players at RB High to maximize the number of wins, certain characteristics are looked for in a potential player. Sam Sanati, senior, listed hardworking, good

attitude, persistence, and commitment as some examples of traits that are looked for in players of the basketball team.

Arnell summed it up nicely when he said, “You have to work hard, play smart, and do the right things.” This is evidence that basketball requires more than just a good physique and athleticism.

It has not been long since the season started; however, the boys are eager to grab the ball and step into the court again. As the basketball team meets its first opponents, the players recall memorable games of the last season.

Senior Michael Pierick said that his most memorable game last season was against Horizon High, when RB High won after a double overtime. As amazing as that game was, the game against Carlsbad High was extraordinary as well.

Sanati said, “The most memorable game was at the 2010 CIFs against Carlsbad when we won with one second to go.”

Of course the team is not triumphant in every single game. However, even if the team loses, Coach Choe is always there to support the players and shows them advantageous plays for the next game.

“He (Coach) tells us that we got to move on from it because we have more than one game per week. We can just do better the next game,” said Sanati.

The team has a couple of months before the season ends, and there are many more games to come before CIFs.

To assist the team in winning CIFs, the faculty and students at RB High need to show their spirit and love for the basketball team.

Intro to boys’ basketball

By Holly FallahStaff Writer

Kai Harris (middle) poses for a photo. Photo by Sarah Bookbinder

Over the last few years, the girls’ basketball program has had a few different coaches. This year they have a new coach, Kai Harris, who is working with the girls to form a stronger and more successful team.

Coach Harris has a lot of experience with basketball, and is very capable of doing the job.

“I started off coaching at Missouri State, then I was a coach at Mesa College. I then became the head JV coach for boys at RB High. Now I am the varsity girls coach. This is my second year coaching at RB,”

said Harris.Coach Harris is really excited about

taking on the coaching job, and plans to make a change for the better.

“This year I am going to change things by changing the tempo and attitude. I also hope to make things simple and fun, while building a competitive program,” said Harris.

The change coach Harris is making to the team is evident, and many of his players approve of this change.

Harris said, “The most important thing is to have fun, play hard, play smart, and play together.”

Sophomore Kathy Rudkin likes this change to the program.

“Since we got a new coach this year, our team has a much more family oriented type of feel. Our new coach focuses on how we act and present ourselves both on and off the court,” said Rudkin.

Junior Lauren Enos also likes Coach Harris’s coaching style. “Coach Harris is a great example for our team by showing us leadership, how to be a person of honor, and teaching us accountability,” said Enos.

Coach Harris integrates positivity and passion with the team, and focuses on preparing the girls for success on the court and off.

“A typical practice consists of a series of drills that help improve our skills and force us to stay focused and encourage each other. We also condition a pretty good amount, and he puts us in game like situations so that we can be ready for them when real game time comes. In addition, he incorporates lessons that we can use off the court as well,” said Rudkin.

Coach Harris’s coaching philosophy is what makes him different than most coaches. He believes in character as well as talent, and is there to teach the girls life lessons.

“I think our new coach is a great aspect to our team. He brings positive motivation on the court at all times. And, most importantly, he believes in us,” said Senior Brenna Alvarez.

With the success and new change Coach Harris has brought to the program, the girls basketball team is off to a great start. They have high hopes for this season of girls basketball. Good luck girls! RB High wishes you the best.

Danielle said, “I was excited to make it to State, but sad that the rest of the team couldn’t come.” Danielle ran it in 18:50 and

received 32nd place. “I would like to improve in my speed training near the finish line,” said Danielle. “I hope to take the team

along with us to CIF State and maybe go to Western Regionals.” Danielle says she beat her competitors, so she feels proud. She

broke her own personal record. For next year’s track season, she plans to get under a five minute mile.

Kevin Mihalik received fourteenth place and finished the 3.16 mile course in 15:40, 11 seconds better than his previous time at State. He competed against 183 runners. “It was a goal of mine to make it to CIF State twice, and I was happy to be the

first individual to qualify,” said Mihalik. “I was happy with my race. I started strong, and at the second mile mark I was under ten minutes.” Next year, Mihalik will be leaving to go to college at the

United States Air Force Academy. He will continue to run cross country but will run longer distances, between 3.7 and 6.2 miles.

Lauren Voyles received 29th place and ran the 3.16 mile course in 18:49. She believes that she did really well. She says, “I think

I did pretty well. We made our goal to make it to state.” She competed against over 150 people. Lauren is going to continue

with cross country next year and she hopes to get an 18:30 on this particular course. She also hopes for the whole team to make CIFs. Lauren is proud of her accomplishments this season, and

hopes to make next year’s cross country season even better.

Lauren Voyles Danielle VoylesKevin Mihalik

The varsity roller hockey team smoothly glides into the new season. The players are facing the season with enthusiasm and determination to prove once again that RB High’s roller hockey team is stronger than ever.

Skating in an open arena with a stick may seem effortless, but the roller hockey team does much more than just skate.

The objective of the game is to shoot the puck into the opponent’s goal, and there is much pushing, turning, and maneuvering involved.

To put in the maximum strength and effort into the game, the players rotate every minute to one minute and a half. Roller hockey requires every ounce of physical strength as well as focus.

To fulfill the demanding tasks that lay ahead, players must possess certain physical and mental character traits. Coach Pat Sagara, who has been coaching at RB High for six years, said that players must be “coachable and have certain skill sets and work ethic.”

One of the three captains, senior Nick McEneany, who plays defense on the team also said, “They have to be motivated, athletic, and have a friendly attitude.”

Players must come into the team and the game with these characteristics to become

champions.Besides the necessary qualities for being

an excellent player, each person has his personal reasons why he chose roller hockey as his sport.

When asked why he enjoys playing roller hockey, sophomore Captain Geoff Segara, who plays forward, said that he prefers roller hockey over ice hockey and the unique style and competitiveness draws him to the sport.

Captain Jake Troyer, senior, who plays forward, said that there are many warm up drills and the team does not have a set warm up routine. However, the chosen drills for that day strengthens and toughens the team for the upcoming games.

Having coached roller hockey for the

past twelve years, Coach Segara’s goals for the season are short and simple: Win league and win CIFs.

The roller hockey team has won two CIF titles so far under Segara, and he hopes to bring in another trophy this year.

Troyer’s goals are not much different. He will work with the Coach and his team to win division league and CIFs. However, as a captain of the team, he wishes to improve overall skill and leadership among players, especially since the team consists of many sophomores and juniors.

Everything is set to go for the roller hockey team, and the players’ athletic skills, collaboration, perseverance, and passion will make way for another successful season.

Roller hockey team starts strong By Rachel Kim

Staff Writer

Stefan Jovanovich weaves through Hilltop.

Girls’ basketball gets a new coach

Photo courtesy of broncosrollerhockey.com

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 2011 11SPORTS

Fall sports wrap up

Girls water polo starts season strong

Jana McCord wins individual CIF title

By Natasha KhodykinSports Editor

Surf team catches some waves

Broncos make a splash with winter sports

Now that the surfers at RB High have gotten back in the water, the team’s competition is just getting started. The weather provides for perfect waves, and invites even non-surfers to the beach. Even if you are not an avid surfer, you can still be a part of the great sport here at RB High.

The surf team has been competing in tournaments for the previous month, and the season is going well. According to Michael Parrinello, the coach of the RB High surf team for the past seven years, the beginning of the season has gotten off to a good start.

Surfing competitions are different compared to other sports. In a typical competition there are six “heats,” three from one school and three from another. Heats can be defined as the time in which the surfers from each school have the opportunity to catch as many waves and score as many points as possible.

The way that scores are assigned to the teams in the school versus school competitions is decided by awarding points ranging from one to six based on the performance of the teams. Six points is given to the first place team, five points to the second place team, etc. as it is a reversed scoring system.

The top three surfers from each school continue on to compete in the team versus team competitions. This type of contest is between the entire sectional division which includes all of the schools involved with the tournament.

Some of the upcoming competitions are state tournaments in which more than 200 schools from all across California compete for several titles. The surf team at RB High is a Division IV school in surfing, but it competes with various Division I schools like San Dieguito, Canyon Crest, Cathedral Catholic, and Torrey Pines. These high

schools are ranked higher because of their proximities to the beach; because the teams have the advantage of being located on the coast, the frequency of practices is higher compared to how often the team at RB High practices together.

Coach Parrinello believes that the strengths of the team are that the surfers work together as a team and are able to surf well because they always try their best and show up to the competitions.

“Surfing offers another sport for kids to become involved in who would not normally participate in sports,” Parrinello said while describing one of the most important aspects of surfing. “Although some of the kids double-up on surfing by playing water polo or swimming, for other kids surfing is the sport they enjoy playing the most.”

The one improvement that can be made to make the team more cohesive is an inevitable one because of the age difference among the surfers. Due to the fact that students from all grade levels are on the surf team, the seniors and juniors are the only ones who can drive themselves to the beach to practice. Since the underclassmen on the team do not have their driver’s licenses, the number of times the surfers can travel to the coast is limited.

The surf team is unique because surfing is a team sport at the school, but it is typically considered to be an individual sport. Because the practices for the surf team are primarily independent, one of the challenges of the team is to work on improving their skills together; more times than not the surfers practice by themselves. There is no other sport like surfing, especially when it is practiced on the high school level.

“I don’t really care about winning and losing. To me it is all about getting out there and having fun,” Parrinello said.

The surf team encourages its members to keep up the good work, and have a good time doing what they love. RB High wishes the surf team the best of luck!

It’s a new winter sports season, and also a new season for the girl’s water polo team. Even through the increasingly cold weather, these girls continue to practice every day, working hard. Waterpolo is like many other sports; it requires every member to work as a team, rather than a single unit. The waterpolo team achieves just this.

These talented girls are led by coach, Fred Gleason. Gleason is firing up the girl’s to have another successful season. With a history of going to C.I.F almost every year since 1999, it’s no wonder that RB High’s girl’s water polo team is expected to have a great season this year.

Coach Gleason has been coaching the water polo team for eight years; a water polo player himself, he has tricks up his sleeve for teaching these girls to play well, win, and most importantly, have fun.

Gleason, who has been training water polo players at RB High for the past eight years comments that this particular team has been a great team in terms camaraderie. Gleason also coaches the boy’s water polo team in the fall.

“If I could choose a group that is easier to coach, it would be the girls. I love my boy’s team, but the girls tend to listen better sometimes and play smarter,” Gleason said.

The girl’s team practices on average five times a week, with at least two games on the weekend. The phrase, “hard work equals determination, dedication, and perspiration” definitely applies to these girls. With morning practices in addition to practices after school, it’s hard to imagine the strenuous work and effort that is required to playing this intensive sport.

However, many of the team members are not only amazing athletes, but also stunning

scholars. Emma Sasson, the captain of the team and a senior, has been playing waterpolo for six years and has learned to balance her demanding water polo schedule with an equally tough study schedule.

“At times it’s hard to manage practice and games around schoolwork,” said Sasson. “But I’ve been doing this for a while and time management became a priority.”

Kim Pierce, also a captain and senior, has been playing for three years and started water polo because her friends suggested it and it looked fun. Also, because her love for swimming, she decided to try a new water sport.

These girls truly exemplify balance and determination. Though water polo takes up a big part of their lives, Sasson still participates in other activities, such as being the co president for a cancer walk organization. Pierce is also active and plans to be more involved with her church.

These girls are not only a team, but also friends. They foster a family dynamic.Many of them are friends out of the team, and all of them share a love for water polo.

“These girls are very close and I love to see that,” said Gleason.

The girls have started strong this year and earned a hard-fought victory over Scripps Ranch High with a score of 7-6. With long practices in harsh weather, these girls have been working hard towards their success.

Torrey Pines High School will be the biggest rival for the team this year. However, Gleason said Poway High will be the biggest threat this year. However, with their hard work and determination, these girls will hopefully prevail and go on to vanquish the enemy.

With a very long season ahead, we should root these girls on and appreciate their dedication and efforts. Let’s hope the team can keep on with its record of going to CIFs and have a productive season. Good luck!

Jana McCord, a junior at RB High, not only won the CIF Individual Championships, but also went the whole varsity tennis season not losing a set.

Her determination and hard work paid off in the end, as McCord didn’t drop a set the whole entire season, making her undefeated. The scoring for tennis is a two out of three set match, consisting of six games per set. She ended the season with a 6-2, 7-6 win in the finals of CIF Individuals, against Monica Robinson of Fallbrook.

After her win, McCord said, “It feels really good, and all of the hard work paid off.”

When asked about her mindset going into the finals, McCord said, “I knew it was going to be a battle, and I was expecting to fight, and never give up.” Her mature mentality also helped her with her nerves.

“I was a little nervous, but I have gotten used to it, and I channeled my nerves in the right direction.”

Coach Mike Parrinello said of the finals, “I knew it would be a close match, but I felt confident in her. I was confident that her mental toughness and ability would get her thorough the tight spots.”

According to Parinnello, “I never see her get rattled when she makes an error, or when her opponents hit winners. I just see her

Football Overall: 5-5

Girls GolfOverall: 18-2

Girls VolleyballOverall: 13-17

Girls TennisOverall: 8-3

Girls XCOverall: 3-1

Boys XCOverall: 3-1

Boys Water PoloOverall: 4-2

Highlights: Boys Water Polo finished third place in the

Palomar League.

concentrating. She has a great ability to put the past points behind her, and focus on the next point, which is unusual for her age.” Parrinello concluded, “I see her getting into a good division 1 college.”

Reina Shintani, a senior at RB High, and the captain of the varsity team, said that she “admires” McCord’s mentality that she, “never gives up, and the match is never over until it is over. She tries for every single ball.”

Shintani describes McCord’s personality as, “friendly, and always smiling. She is a really nice girl.”

At the beginning of the season, Shintani said of McCord, “I knew she was really good, and a really nice girl. I was excited to bond with her, and to have her be part of the team.”

Many of those who know McCord know that she is a positive and encouraging teammate, and a great addition to the tennis team.

When asked if McCord ever wants to take a break from tennis completely, or if she ever gets burned out, McCord responded with an assured, “Never. I love it!”

It is this passion that is displayed on the tennis courts every game.

As for her plans for the future, McCord hopes to get into a division 1 college, and if the situation is right, become a professional. McCord is certainly on the right track. Congratulations on a winning season and a great finish to the tennis season, Jana!

By Emily Connelly

Staff Editor

By Michael RupicOpinions Editor

Photo by Jennifer Chalam

Photo courtesy of Ryan RampoldiRyan Rampoldi shows off his skills in competition.

By Hana Bradshaw Staff Editor

Photo by Jennifer ChalamThe varsity team warms up with passing drills.

Hightlights: Trent Sessions broke the San Diego

record for completion percentage in a career (68%). Jake Arnell and Charles Ensley finished #1 and #2 in receiving

throughout the county for Division 2.

Highlights: The team finished 2nd in leagues

and 2nd in CIFs.

Highlights: Finished T-5 in Division I, with a second round loss to Torrey Pines. The win at Fallbrook in the first round is the farthest a RB team has advanced in

the last 15 years.

Highlights: Twins Lauren and Danielle Voyles

represented the Broncos’ girls team in the state

meet. The two sophomores finished in 29th and 32nd

place, respectively. Lauren finished in 18:48, while Danielle came in just

behind in 18:50.

Highlights: Kevin Mihalik broke the 13-year-old

school record by finishing in 15:54 at the San Diego

Section cross country meet.

Highlights: Jana McCord, a junior at RB High, not only won the CIF

Individual Championships, but also went the whole varsity tennis season not

losing a set.

Jana McCord smiles for the camera.

THE SILVER SPUR - DECEMBER 15, 201112 FEATURES

Backpage art by Melody Huang (Editor-in-Chief)