On Top of MESAc/o MVMHS PO Box 50

Ojo Caliente, NM 87549(505) 583-2275

(505) 583-9133 fax

Grade-to-Grade, Grad. Reqs Vary

By Chastidy trujilloeditor

About 45 percent of all Mesa Vista stu-dents have been bullied, according to guidance counselor Lydia Palmer.

Bullying is an issue in all schools in the U.S., but the Mesa Vista principal and counselor are going to do something about it school-wide, with the program called “Bully Proofing Your School.” The school spent about $700 on anti-bullying materials, Principal Kurt Fisk said. “This program is to empower students and staff to create a caring community where ev-eryone feels safe. Its focus is to have the silent majority -- 85 percent of students known as the bystanders -- to get involved to stop bully-ing,” Palmer said. If a student was getting bullied, Palmer said she would reassure him/her that they are not

powerless or alone. Palmer would go over the bully-proofing strategies and go over the bul-lying situation. This process, she said, would probably make the student more assertive. “If someone came up to me and told me they were getting bullied, I would do an inves-tigation, have them sign a report and ask ques-tion to further the investigation,” Fisk said. The state mandates the program, and coun-selor Lydia Palmer runs it. Bullying has no substantial relief, Fisk added. Nothing positive comes out of bullying. He said he also believes that some bullies find some sort of relief when they bully so they continue to bully for that small sense of relief. “Victims of bullies have long-term physical and emotional pain. Students may be afraid to come to school and feel the need to retaliate in violent ways. Some statistics indicate that...

Mesa Vista MHS ı PO Box 50, Ojo Caliente, NM 87549 VOL. IV, ISSUE 2 ı Nov. 14, 2012

Photo by Marcellino Trujillo // Eighth grader Victor Villalpando does a handstand at the Halloween Dance on Wed., Oct. 31 as eighth grader Toni Lobato, junior Santana Gallegos and senior Santana Suazo watch on. The Mesa Vista Explorers hosted the dance, got together a haunted hallway, and sold pizza and other food as one of several fund raisers for the group’s March trip to Costa Rica.

By Kylie Coutueditor

25 or none. Seniors with less than 25 credits in the required classes won’t graduate in May. “There is no magic num-ber of classes to take for a half-day. However, you must be enrolled in four classes if you are going to play sports or par-ticipate in any NMAA spon-sored event. As long as you have enough credits to gradu-ate you do not need to take seven classes,” Superintendent Tracie Phillips said. This year, seniors need 25

credits to graduate and, those who have 22 or 21 already, can be a half-day senior. Se-niors who want to play sports must be enrolled in at least four classes to participate in any NMAA-sponsored event, including F.F.A., MESA and the state Journalism competi-tion. As long as seniors have enough credits to graduate, they do not need to take all seven classes. Seniors who have 25 cred-its, however, still must have specific classes -they can’t be random. To graduate in 2013, seniors must have four Eng-lish classes, four math class-

es, three science classes (two classes with a lab), three and a half history classes, one P.E. class, and one credit in a career cluster, workplace readiness or a foreign language class. (Most colleges ask for two for-eign language classes.) Seniors must also complete 7.5 cred-its of electives, one of which must be honors, distance learning, Advance Placement or dual credit. Both AP and dual credit classes are counted as college credit hours. Students who already have all required credits, but are not seniors yet, have the

By aliCia dominguezEditor

There are a total of eight students traveling and the cost of the trip is about $2,200 for each student. Each traveler is paying for half of their

costs and the group is working together to raise the rest of the funds. So far, they have raised thirty percent of the fund raising goal. Since August the group has hosted one bake sale at Bode’s, two car washes at the People’s

MVMHS Talks Anti-Bullying

Explorers Raise Funds

cont. p. 8, see GRAD REQS

cont. p. 7, see BULLY

cont. p. 7, see COSTA RICA

On Top of Addiction: Teens & Technology

pgs. 4-5

Our Opinion: Bullying @ MVMHSpg. 3

page 2 November 14, 2012 OPINION

The Spectacle StaffThis is the second issue of the 2012-2013 Mesa Vista student newspaper, renamed On Top of MESA and produced by the school’s journalism class. The goal of this publication is to provide accurate, infor-mative and entertaining information in the spirit of responsible journalism and to op-erate as an open forum for students, staff and parents. Those who are not enrolled in the journalism class may still contribute to the publication in the form of a letter to the editor, a guest column, photography or artwork. No editorials will be printed, however, which complain or attack with-out factual justification. All guest editori-als must be signed and approved for pub-lication. On Top of MESA also reserves the right to edit copy. Readers’ responses can be mailed to On Top of MESA c/o MVHS, or sent in an e-mail to adviser April van Buren at april.vanburen@mesavista.org. Student journalists on On Top of MESA staff will publish only legally protected speech following the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy. The adviser of On Top of MESA will not determine the content of the paper. The adviser will offer advice and in-struction to help the staff cover all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethi-cal manner according to the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics. Gossip columns, horoscopes, song dedications, senior wills and senior su-perlatives will be avoided due to the nar-row audience they serve and the proba-bility they possess of containing libelous material and content. Staff members will strive to correct any errors before publication. However, if the editorial board determines a signif-icant error was printed, a formal correc-tion will appear in the following issue.

On Top of MESAc/o MVMHS PO Box 50

Ojo Caliente, NM 87549(505) 583-2275

505-583-9133 fax

Adviser: April van BurenEditors: Alicia Dominguez Chastidy Trujillo, Kylie Coutu, Athena Martinez, D’Angelo Padilla, Matthew Sandoval, Staff: Raelynn Archuleta, Cynthia Calderon, Diego Gallegos, Ashley Hardison, Samantha Herrera, Kristin Maestas, and Marcellino Trujillo

MESAOn TOP of

Staff Editorial

About 45 percent of Mesa Vista students get bul-lied, according to guidance

counselor Lydia Palmer. To cut down on bullying at Mesa Vista, the school is instituting a new program called “Bully Proof-ing Your School,” (see related story on p. 1) which includes posters and will eventually include training for students. The program, while well-intentioned, does not do enough to make a real difference for students at this school. In fact, American schools har-bor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their vic-tims, according to Michele Borba, author of the book “Parents Do Make a Difference: How to Raise Kids with Solid Character, Strong Minds, and Caring Hearts.” Bul-lying is such a widespread, na-tional program that it is clearly not an easy thing to change, so we applaud our counselor and prin-cipal for taking steps in the right direction, but we also urge stu-dents and parents to push for stron-ger anti-bullying efforts here beyond this new program. The program has just begun and we feel bad being critical of something so new, but at the same time, it’s already November. We’ve seen a poster in the high school building and got “anti-drug” bracelets on Halloween, but beyond the usual, what efforts are really taking place? Just like a teacher sets the rules on the first day of school, the school sets the tone in August. To make a stronger, louder message that bul-lying is not acceptable here, we’ll

need more than a few gentle reminders before Thanksgiving. Posters and surveys aren’t bad, but they’re not enough. We would like monthly assemblies on bullying; maybe have a guest that tells a few stories about bullying victims. Have a bully tell their own story; why they feel the need to hurt other people. At Compadre High School in Tem-pe, Arizona they have meetings, with each class, on how to deal with bullying. More direct conversations with small groups of students could make a difference in commu-nicating these “Bully Proofing” strategies. The new anti-bul-lying program is good for student victims to know they are not alone and that they have someone to talk to. The idea be-

hind the program is great -- trying to get everyone involved, including the bul-lies. The counselor and principal also talk with students

one-on-one to understand each person’s motives and to help them solve their problems. Bullying con-tinues, however. In addition, many kids are also threatened via texts, Facebook, and email. We need to talk about fighting this type of bullying, spe-cifically. This is also incredibly dif-ficult. We want to keep our privacy and rights; we’re not urging teach-ers or the principal to take our cell

phones or read our e-mail, but there must be other ways to fight cyberbullying. Students need to be taught directly or in small groups how to cope with harassment on-line or by text. For example, the Cyberbullying Research Center suggests victims not respond to a harassing message, and to show an adult the messages instead. Some students know to do this, but oth-ers would benefit from a guest speaker or class time spent on how to deal with these issues. So, thank you, for getting the ball rolling, but please also give us more.: A louder message, more training, guest speakers and more help in general so those 45 percent of Mesa Vista students who are bul-lied can focus on learning instead of watching their back for bullies and being afraid of abuse.

Stopping Bullying At Mesa Vista

Posters and surveys aren’t bad, but they’re not enough....“

”

Photo by Athena Martinez // Working to stop bullying, the school counselor has posted bullying posters in the coun-seling office to encourage students to help when others are being mistreated. The posters are meant to bully proof our school and help kids be nice to one another, but one poster is not enough. Students at Mesa Vista Middle and High School need to be reached out to.

FEATURES November 14 , 2012 page 3 MESAOn TOP of

Stopping Bullying At Mesa Vista Back in the Day: The New, The Old, The Same

By ashley hardisonReporter

On Oct. 16, a tall, slender man, with long wavy black hair tied into a poofy ponytail,

wearing torn jeans and black boots, walked into the auditorium. New mu-sic teacher Reynal Martinez starts his sixth period Mariachi class. Martinez does not dress like a typi-cal teacher. Despite his laid back atti-tude, however, Martinez said he is here to instruct us. “I am very happy to be teaching you guys. I am planning on having a really great mariachi band this school year,” Martinez said. Martinez stepped in after teacher Arturo Montoya resigned in early Oc-tober. In addition to teaching, Mar-

tinez plays in two bands and works a second job in Los Alamos; he also takes classes at Northern New Mexico Col-lege in Espanola. Martinez doesn’t have time for hobbies, he said, because he is busy working two jobs, practicing with his bands and being a student. This is Martinez’s first year teaching. “I like Mr. Martinez because he actually wants to hear what we have to say about music. He lets us work on other instruments not just guitars,” freshman Tracy Ann Archuleta said. Martinez, who isn’t married and has no children, is admittedly busy. From Es-panola the new teacher graduated from Espanola Valley High School in 1998. “Mr. Martinez is young, energetic and very strong in his music. He is going to bring an outstanding musical arts program this school year,” Principal Kurt Fisk said.

Photo by April van Buren // Music teacher Reynal Martinez shows junior Shaniah Pena a musical performance online. Martinez started working at Mesa Vista mid-October after former music teacher Arturo Montoya resigned. This is Martinez’s first teaching job.

By samantha herreraReporter

Close your eyes and imagine Mesa Vista without computers, iPods or cell phones, without the big library, and without the

tech lab. That’s a pretty good idea of what the school looked like in 1997 when coach Tomas Vig-il was a freshman here. From there, picture the band room where the clinic is now and more portables on campus. That’s what it was like in 1979 when secretary Sylvia Gu-rule first started working here. Take away all the buildings except the middle school building, the C cluster and the gym. That was Mesa Vista in 1974 when teacher Bernadette Galvez started high school. “A lot has changed,” Vigil said. “We used to have concession and the cafeteria for lunch, the weight room was different and the track was all beat up.” Vigil said much has changed since the ’90s. Even more has changed since the ’70s. “There even used to be a smoking corner for students that had permission from their parents to smoke,” Galvez said.

There’s also a big tradition no longer followed at Mesa Vista: Initiation, which Gurule said was when seniors would “buy” freshmen for a week and the freshmen would have to do chores for the seniors. It was a form of fund raising, but this tradition stopped because seniors in other schools started going too far with it. “Initiation was so fun,” Gurule said. “We had it for Spirit Week. Then, at the end of the week, we would go paint the MV and have a barbeque.” Of course fashion has changed, too. From the 1970’s to the 1990’s students wore bell bottoms and really bright colored shirts, Galvez said. “Style has changed a lot. The bigger the pants, the cooler you were,” Vigil said. “I think today’s style is better.” Sagging in wide, baggy pants and wearing long dark shirts also became really popular in the late 1990’s. Even now, this look is around. “We can’t seem to get rid of that style even today, “Gurule said. “I don’t know if we will ever get rid of it.” Aside from style, emphasis on education has also changed. The school, Gurule said, is doing better on getting students scholarships. Academic educa-

tion has also gotten more serious all over the state throughout the years. “There wasn’t as much success back then. Em-phasis on reading (now) is better,” Vigil said. “It used to not be cool to read, now it is. Life isn’t all about academics, though, it’s also about deci-sions. Assemblies about drugs and alcohol really helped me in my young life, and I don’t think we do enough of that for you guys.” Along those lines, Galvez said student behavior has gotten less respectful. “The students used to behave,” Galvez said. “They were afraid of the teachers, but more afraid of their parents. You never heard all the bad words you do now.” Perhaps the technology has impacted the way students communicate, Vigil suggests. “It isn’t the kids that changed; it’s the technology that changed, “Vigil said. “Now students are a lot more opened-minded and tolerant of people who are different because of social media. We’ve always had good kids at this school. We still have small town morals and values. In a weird way, the school is the same in a lot of ways, but it has changed a lot too.”

Another 9 Weeks Brings Newest Music Teacher

page 4 November 14, 2012 CENTERSPREAD page 5

Gamers Anonymous: Gone Too FarBy diego gallegosReporter

I’m playing Call of Duty (COD) on

zombie mode. I’ve made it all

the way to level 25, and suddenly,

my Xbox freezes and now I’m cornered by

three zombies with low am-munition. Noooo! “GAME

OVER” flashes across the TV. I’m so angry; I punch a hole in my wall. I’m not really that into my games, but I do enjoy playing when I have a couple hours of

free time. Some people take their video games way

too seriously, however. In one extreme in-

stance, according to the Wikipedia article on Video Game Addiction,

a 17-year-old boy would play for up to 15

hours at a time, skipping meals and only stopping when he blacked out. In another case, in February 2002, a Louisiana woman sued Nintendo be-cause her son died after suffering sei-zures caused by playing Nintendo 64 for eight hours a day, six days a week. Nintendo denied any responsibility, according to Wikipedia. “If I had a day to myself I would

just play video games with my broth-ers,” NBA player Jeremy Lin said in a Twitter status. Sometimes, just because a child plays video games a lot does not mean they necessarily have an addic-tion. Nor does it mean they don’t. To be a valid addiction there has to be real injury done on a variety of levels. For instance, a combination of school, family, social and mental functions need to be effected nega-tively in order for the game playing to be classified as an addiction, ac-cording to the Wikipedia article on video game addiction. “There are plenty of skills I’ve learned from playing video games. It’s more interactive than watching TV, because there are problems to solve as you’re using your brain,” pro-fessional snowboarder Shaun White said in a Twitter status. Video game addiction symptoms in teens include irritability, cranki-ness or agitation (withdrawal symp-toms) when not playing a video game or on the computer, according to My Recovery Network. “For most young people, playing games on a computer, video game console or handheld device is just a regular part of the day. Most are able to juggle the multiple demands of school, sports, work or chores, and family life. Gaming becomes an ad-diction when it starts to interfere with a person’s relationships or their pursuit of other goals, such as good grades or being a contributing mem-

ber of a sports team,” according to an article on video game addiction from Video Game Addiction.org. Video game addiction treatment centers are becoming more and more common. Places like China, South Korea, and the United States have set up treatment centers in an effort to provide help for video game addiction. Although Mesa Vista students may not need video game addiction rehab, there are still plenty of stu-dents willing to admit that they may overlook other duties to get in more gaming time. “I was supposed to put the left-overs of dinner away, but I was busy gaming and forgot, so I got in trou-ble,” eighth grader Lawrence Holter-man said. Students don’t have to be addicted to video games for gaming to cause multiple problems. “I was playing Modern Warfare 3 and my mom told me to clean my room and I told her ‘hold up’ and I got into trouble,” sophomore Lee Martinez said. Often, video games tend to dis-tract people from reality. It can lead to problems in their normal lives. “I got addicted to Tetris, play-ing it in my basement; I was missing all these airplane flights over it. After the fourth one that I missed, I real-ized I needed to get rid of this thing - so ever since then, I don’t play video games anymore,” Wild Boys reality show actor Bam Margera said in a Facebook status.

‘Text Me, If You Dare’

Illu

stra

tion

by

Athe

na M

arti

nez

Danger: Technology Overload

CENTERSPREAD page 5 MESAOn TOP of

Gamers Anonymous: Gone Too Far‘Text Me, If You Dare’

By Cynthia CalderonReporter

Would you rather give up your toothbrush or cell phone for an

entire week? Sophomore Mi-randa Gonzales said, “Goodbye, toothbrush!” and Gonzales is not alone. People addicted to their cell phones have what is called “No-mophobia.” The group One Poll surveyed 1,000 people in Febru-ary in the UK. They found that people ages 18-24 are most de-pendent on their cells, and about 77 percent couldn’t be away from their phones for more than a few minutes. About 66 percent said they would rather sleep next to their smart phones, and 20 percent would go shoeless for a week, said Dr. Keith Ablow, an American Psychiatrist and ex-pert witness for New York Times. “(It’s like) comparing cell phones to slot machines,” said David Greenfield, the founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction (virtual-addiction.com) to reporter Dani-elle Braff in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “The difference is the slot machines are in the casinos and cell phones are just a reach away. And it is necessary,

for anyone looking to keep their job, maintain their relationship and reach out to the world.” Some experts worry cell ad-diction will soon become more severe than other addictions such as food or gambling. Young adults have reported physical and mental withdrawal of their cell phones, according to Susan Moeller, Director of the Interna-tional Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland, College Park. The medical reason, accord-ing to Moeller, is that cell addicts hear the phones ringing and they get jittery and have headaches. “If I ever lost my phone I would cry and run around look-ing for it,” sophomore Mariah Trujillo said. This may sound extreme to some, but some people truly feel at a loss without a cell. A phone can act as a modern-day secu-rity blanket, changing a person’s mood and helping them feel safe and content. This interferes with their interpersonal skills, meaning fewer in-person con-versations and outside activities, Ablow said. “I love Facebook and listening to my music. I also love my camera on my phone and friends texting me,” sophomore Desiree Quintana said.

By Kristin maestasReporter

If TuPac had had a Facebook he prob-ably would not have made so many great hits.

Facebook, which has been around since about 2005, is a tool for sharing photos and much more, but is also an easy way to procrastinate. “Facebook is taking over the world, and that’s no exaggeration. Everyone from eager-to-fit-in tweens to educated business people to intrigued grandpar-ents has joined the phenomenon, and unsurprisingly many teenagers have also caught Facebook fever,” writer Amy Summers wrote in her 2011 Social Times article “Facebook Addiction Dis-order – The Six Symptoms of F.A.D.” Truly everyone is on Facebook, in-cluding this writer’s father, who is con-stantly on the social networking web site. “If I didn’t check Facebook daily, I would probably be going crazy. My Facebook takes up most of my time,” said Diego Maestas, a Mesa Vista par-ent (and, full disclosure, Maestas is also the author of reporter Kristin Maestas). More than 700 billion minutes a month are spent on Facebook and more than 250 million people interact with

Facebook (from other sites or without even logging in) on a monthly basis, across 2 million websites, according to the Digital Buzz. More than 200 mil-lion people access Facebook via their mobile phone. Forty-eight percent of young people said they now get their news through Facebook. Meanwhile, in just 20 minutes on Facebook, more than 1 million links are shared, two million friend requests are accepted and almost three million messages are sent, according to The Digital Buzz online. “If I grew up with Facebook, I wouldn’t have a life. I would probably be more social on the Internet,” fresh-man Teresa Pena said. Most people use Facebook to con-nect with family and friends, or to get in contact with old friends. Yet, with regular updates, notifications, mes-sages, game and invites, the site is hard to ignore for long. It’s easy to access – many students have Facebook on their cell phones and ipods as well as at home on the Internet. “I don’t have a Face-book, but most people I know are addicted and have to check it daily,” seventh grader Darius Gallegos said.

Facebook Addiction for All Ages

Danger: Technology Overload

21%would Give up

Their tooth brush

Would you rather give up your cell phone or tooth brush for a week?--based on a survey of 125

MVMHS studentsCompiled by Athena

Martinez & Kristin Maestas

Pho

to b

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ynth

ia C

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would rather Give up Their

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page 6 November 14, 2012 SPORTS MESAOn TOP of

Basketball Teams Work To Rebuild LegacyBy marCelino trujilloreporter

With a new coach for the both JV and V girls’ basketball teams and new play-ers on both boys and girls teams, Mesa

Vista basketball is off to a strong start. The new girls JV and varsity coach is School Board member Josh Ar-chuleta, who coached the El Rito Elementary girls basketball team for the 2010-11 school year. Although Archuleta may be new to coaching at the high school level, he is not new to the district, hav-ing served on the School Board since 2010. As of this summer, Archuleta and co-coach Carlos Ortega took over the girls basket-ball team and have been focusing on fundamentals, Archuleta said. “Coach Josh is a good coach because he helps the team with exercises, helps them fix their mis-takes, tries to help the team achieve their goals, and tells them to give 100 percent and never bring themselves down,” freshman Celina Valdez said. Last year the girls basketball varsity team played 23 games with a record of (10-13) for the 2011-

2012 season. This year, the girls varsity and JV teams have 17 regular scheduled games, and four tournaments (Ben Lujan Invitational, Northern Rio Grande Tournament, Cuba Tournament and the District Tournament). Archuleta said his strategy to get the team to state is to make sure all the girls get along and to get rid of negative attitudes.

“Our team’s like a family, if there’s problems at home, meaning the team, then no one’s going to be happy,” coach Archuleta said The boy’s team, on the other hand, continues with I.S.S. director Thomas Vigil (and assistant coach P.E. teacher Miguel Garcia). In May, the boy’s bas-ketball team lost eight varsity players to graduation, but they are going into the

2012 season with at least 7-8 returning varsity play-ers and about 30 up-and-coming eighth and JV players that may be able to earn a spot on varsity. The games to look out for are Pecos (Jan. 25), State (Feb. 25 - March 2) and districts (March 12-16), Vigil said. The boys are practicing five days a week at the usual time, 3:45-6:30 p.m. “With a new team, you have to approach the game a whole different way by pushing them to the expectations that I have,” Vigil said.

With a new team, you have to approach the game a whole different way by pushing them to the expectations that I have.

“ ”-Head Coach

Thomas Vigil

Mesa to Maybe Add New Boys Sport, Girls Softball

file photo // 2012 graduate Andres Coronado makes a pump fake against a player from Pecos on March 3, 2012. This season, the boys are regrouping after losing eight players to graduation with thirty new, potential players including eighth graders. The first game of this season for the boys is an away game against Questa on Friday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. The team started official practices Nov. 5. The first game of the season for the girls is at Santa Fe Prep on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.

By matthew sandovaleditor

After many years, Mesa Vista High School is considering adding a new sport. “Three weeks ago, there were some inter-

est in the community in getting a softball team,” principal Kurt Fisk said. In mid-October, Fisk put up a sign-up sheet in the front office to see if there’s enough interested girls to put together a middle and high school soft-ball team. Yet, this new sport for girls might also mean that the guys could get a new sport. Right now the options for boys’ sports are bowling, ten-nis, soccer, swimming and wrestling, and football is an unlikely ‘maybe,’ Fisk said. The reason for the girls getting a softball team and the guys not get-

ting football after so many years is because of how much interest there was in softball compared to football. “There has to be an equal amount of sports between girls and boys according to state law. The girls and guys have to have an equal amount of opportunities to succeed in sport and club related activi-ties,” Fisk said. Softball creates another opportunity for those involved to stay in shape year-round. “The team would be good because of all the

athletic girls that want to join. It would also be good because we get to play against teams from

different schools that are our rivals,” eighth grad-er Santana Marquez said. This softball team will cost the players noth-ing but their shoes and gloves. The school will provide the rest of the equipment including bats, balls, helmets, etc. “There are three reasons for us to get this sport; one is how many students are interested in doing it, two is how much all the equipment will cost, and three is to balance out the girls sports with the guys’ sports,” Fisk said.

This decision to get a softball team is in the board’s hands but it is still undecided. If they do not come to a conclusion, then the decision will be made next year if there is enough interest.

The team will be good because of all the athletic girls that want to join. It is also gonna be good because we’ll get to play against teams from dif-

ferent schools that are our rivals

“

”-Eighth GraderSantana Marquez

NEWS November 14, 2012 page 7

Cheer Fever: New Coach, Doubled SquadBy aliCia dominguezEditor

The number of cheerleaders has doubled since last year, but so have the hours of practice that the girls are putting in, to

make up for lost time. Cheerleading is an all-year sport and practices usually start during the summer, but it took a couple of months to find a new coach that the cheerlead-ers could have used for practice. Although starting late, coach Shauna Martinez is making the girls step

up and work harder to be ready to cheer at games. “I’m very excited to get this squad going in a new direction with new skills and new potential,” Martinez said. The cheerleaders practice every Monday, Thurs-day and Sunday, focusing mainly on cheers and being in sync at practices. They also practice their tumbling and stunting. This year the cheerleaders are going to try and perform more dances and im-prove their stunting and tumbling, Martinez said. “We’re not doing too bad. I expected us to be horrible. A lot of us didn’t really have cheer experi-

ence, but having a lot of practices help,” sopho-more Vanessa Varela said. Since the majority of the girls are new to cheer-leading, a lot of the time has been spent going over the essential moves and skills needed for the sport. Martinez wants the squad to build a solid founda-tion of skills before the group continues with more difficult stunts and lifts, she said. “Each one of these girls bring their individual strengths to the squad. I love that they all have strong personalities. I see potential for them. They can all go a long way,” Martinez said.

Basketball Teams Work To Rebuild Legacy

Mesa to Maybe Add New Boys Sport, Girls Softball

BULLY, cont. from p. 1100,000 k-12 students (nationwide) bring guns to school. There are 260 attacks due to bullying every day,” Palmer said. There are many steps already in place at Mesa Vista, Palmer said, including disciplinary reports and identifying possible bullies and victims. Stu-dents need to know the rules and understand the consequences for breaking those rules. “Teachers have been working together on the program and techniques. I am hoping to start talking to students this week,” Palmer said. The Public Education Department (PED) es-tablishes policies and requires every local school district, state and charter school to implement bullying prevention program. Palmer has al-ready spoken to the teachers at the last in-service (Oct. 12) and, by next week, the school should be teaching the students the lesson (1-6). Palmer also conducted a bullying survey with students on Oct. 25 to assess bullying at MVMHS. The bul-lying program is new because there is some new training for teachers and students from seventh through twelfth grade, Fisk added. “‘Bully Proofing Your School’ is a program to get the bullies, bully-ers and the bystanders more involved as well as the teachers and the victims,” Palmer said. The board has a bullying policy and now there is a bullying program at Mesa Vista Middle and High School to support that district policy and support students in any way, Fisk said. “We have taken disciplinary measures. We have counseling for those who need it,” Fisk said.

Bank in Taos, the Halloween Dance, and soup cup and tea sales at school. “The bake sales and the car washes have helped us out. They bring in a lot of money for us. Now that it’s getting colder, we’re going to have to find something else to do to raise money,” junior Mercedes Velasquez said. With the weather change, participants of the trip need to find new, different ways of fund raising that are more practical in the winter. The group wants to show a Christmas movie in the auditorium for their next big fund raiser and to have one more bake sale at Bode’s, on Nov. 18. The travelers’ last big fund raiser was the Halloween Dance. The dance took a lot of planning and executing but was an overall success for the travelers.

“I thought it (the Halloween dance) went great. It wasn’t difficult to set up, but it was time consuming, especially when you’re doing it for the first time. Half the fun is the planning and execution though,” said teacher Sabrina Maxwell. It will be most of the participating students’ first time traveling out of the country.

COSTA RICA, cont. from p. 1

Photo by Marcellino Trujillo // Seniors Larry Trujillo, Matthew Richardson, Jeremy Broyles, Jose Perez and Alicia Dominguez, and junior Mercedes Velesquez sell baked goods at Bodes’ General Store in Abiquiu, NM as a fund raiser for their Costa Rica trip. Eight stu-dents from Mesa Vista High will travel to Costa Rica in March.

MESAOn TOP of

BACK PAGE November 14, 2012 page 8 MESAOn TOP of

By d’angelo Padillaeditor

It’s 1871 in Abilene, Kansas and the city is pre-paring for the world’s largest cattle trade. This is the setting for

author Larry Bjornson’s west-ern novel “Wide Open,” which Penguin Group and Berkley Trade released on June 5. The Western novel is packed with action and fighting, dra-ma and a touch of romance. The main character, Will, is 15 and faced with surviving in town after he and his fam-ily have been outcasts. The book is fiction, but in-cludes realistic, historical aspects like the real-life Wild Bill Hickok and the daily life of cattle farmers in the 1870’s. The book is written in first person so it describes more of what Will is feeling or what he’s doing. The story keeps readers going with lots of fights be-tween the marshal and the cowboys, and Will and his best friend Jasper. The story line has great flow. Just when Will is having a good moment there’s another fight, or disaster strikes. The story itself is different than your usual ac-tion novel. It starts as Spring arrives and settlers are planting crops hoping to make a living. The main character, Will, lives with his mother Eleanor, his father J.T. and his sister Jenny. Will’s family, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, has just moved to Abilene with the hope of becoming wealthy in the cattle trade. Wild Bill Hickok is the new mar-shal in town and his name brings chills to people.

The city council hired him in an attempt to control the cowboys that party in Texastown. The cattle trade is at full force; buyers from across the U.S. are in Abilene to buy cattle.  The Merritt family and women from

around Abilene want the cattle trade gone because they felt like it’s a dan-ger to the town. Winter Wheat is only used in Nebraska until Will’s fa-ther (R.T.) finds a settler family, the Dunham’s, who want to settle down and raise a family. The Dunham’s agree to work

for R.T., help plant the Winter Wheat ten miles from Abilene, and the Winter Wheat is a success. Because of his success with the wheat, Will’s father calls a town meeting to suggest the town gets out of the cattle trade and Will’s mother even gets the women in town to sign a petition against a cattle trade in Abilene. After the meeting, however, the Merritt family become outcasts in the city. Overall I recommend this book for any-one interested in the Wild West or the cattle trade. The book offers a lot with its 45 chap-ters and there is an epilogue at the end telling how Will’s life changed in the four years af-ter dealing with being an outcast. Bjornson’s character descriptions and personalities make this a worthy read because it describes what they do for a living, how they live, and what they look like. Also, the author includes so many vivid details about the events of the time,

which offer a window into the past and allow read-ers to feel like they are in the book as they read.

1870’s Come Alive In New, Thrilling Western

GRAD REQS, cont. from p. 1option to go to college or take dual credit classes. “I would go to college. However, you must take English IV and Gov-ernment to graduate…so it isn’t just credits. There are also required high school classes that must be taken,” Phillips said. Most likely these requirements will not change for the underclassmen,

but change is still possible. The state’s Public Education Department (PED) sets overall credit requirements while individual districts have the right to add more, but not make the require-ments any less than what the state re-quires, Principal Kurt Fisk said. There have been changes to the requirements this year. For example, seventh graders have to take T.O.P.

(Teen Outreach Program). “In T.O.P. we do community ser-vice, learn values and about health. T.O.P. is fun, but I don’t think it’s fair that the grades before us didn’t have to take it,” seventh grader Christen Gallegos said. In other years, T.O.P. was a club, open to all students wanting to join or participate in the club to help oth-

er teens in their community. “To graduate in 2013-2016, stu-dents need 24 credits. A credit will be added for the class of 2017. They are required to take one half (one semes-ter) or one full credit of health edu-cation. It is required for students en-tering the eighth grade in this school year and it may be taken in middle school,” according to the PED.

photo used under Fair Use // “I’m currently struggling with whether I should do a sequel to ‘Wide Open’ or write about something entirely different,” author Larry Bjornson said in an October email interview with reporter D’Angelo Padilla. See the full Q&A with the author my.hsj.org - Look for New Mexico Schools for this online exclusive.

I’m currently struggling with whether I should do a sequel to ‘Wide Open’ or write about something entirely different

— Author Larry Bjornson

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