pinion vol 90 issue 6

April 24, 2012Vol. 90, No. 6 McKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

RS 12-1212

President William McKinley High SchoolThe Pini n

Teacher uses shark to educateA 5-foot 5-inch baby shark arrived at

McKinley High School at 6:30 on Val-entine’s Day morning. Science teacher Channing Llaneza-Dominguez got the mako shark from Pop Fishing and Ma-rine from Captain Greg Natli and the crew of the Fishing Vessel Sea Pearl. Llaneza-Dominguez wanted a shark so that her Marine Science students could participate in the lab and get involved in science. Llaneza-Dominguez has experi-ence on dissecting humans which she did as a lab technician in college for foren-sics study. “I do not do it as often as be-fore, but I do miss it,” she said. This time she planned to dissect a shark. “We had a lot of people just see the shark before the dissection. I even heard it went viral on Facebook.” Llaneza-Dominguez wanted students to learn the similarity between humans and sharks, as well as to discuss marine adaptation and complete an eval-uation on a shark.

On February 15, the shark was dis-sected in front of 12 classes of students. These students came on their own time.

“I had my fourth period cut open the shark and harvest the organs, even hold it in their hands. The squeamish ones just watched. They enjoyed cutting up the stomach,” she said.

Most students felt disgusted at first,

but then some thought it was pretty cool even though it stunk during the dissec-tion. “I just wanted students to have a great hands-on experience in science rather than see it swimming next to them while surfing,” said Llaneza-Dominguez.

Alicia Nevitt (12), Destiny Yoshimura (11), Ka Man Lam (12), Akahi Lau (11), and Paulo Fran-cisco (12) watch as the shark is dissected in front of them. Photo by Leilani Hernandez (12)

Channing Llaneza-Dominquez thought students enjoyed seeing the “beautiful, majestic creature.” She reserved the sharks eyeballs, heart, jaw, and fin for students to view after the dissection. Photos by (left) Jeremy Chang (10) and (right) Leilani Hernandez (12)

by Juzhen Zhang (12)

April 24, 2012

2 THE PINION April 24, 2012

Juniors experience “Starry Night” promSpring arrived and so did “Starry

Night,” this year’s Junior Prom on March 16 at the Hale Koa Hotel, Banyan Tree Ballroom. Girls got to pick their dresses, do their make-up and hair while boys chose their ties, outfit and hairstyle. I was excited for a fun, bonding night where everyone would just socialize, take pic-tures and dance together. “I liked getting ready for Prom because it made me feel like a princess,” said Tina Ho (11).

From the moment juniors entered the ballroom, many different shades of blue were seen, creating the feeling of being under a starry sky. Tables had center-pieces of vases filled with clear and blue marbles with silver-blue star sprays stick-ing out, a star-shaped pillow with “Starry Night”written on it, blue fanned napkins and small glass cups with lit candles.

Emcees Grace Lu (11) and Devin Smith (11) welcomed everyone and gave tips throughout the whole night. Smith was an enthusiastic speaker who made everyone laugh. “I had a really great time and I wouldn’t mind being an emcee for Senior Prom,” he said.

The dinner menu consisted of chicken, char-siu fried noodles, crab legs, fruits, pasta and cakes.

As for entertainment, Lu and the whole Junior Prom committee performed. Lu sang and played “Superman” by Joe Brooks on her guitar. “I was actually really nervous when I performed but I’m happy I did it,” said Lu. The prom committee did a dance routine to “Wed-ding Dress” by TaeYang, “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO, “Next to You” by Justin Bieber and Chris Brown and “Without You” by David Guetta. “I thought the performance was awesome, everyone was having fun, and I enjoyed performing ‘Wedding Dress’,” said An-drew Gibson (11).

Juniors also played the games “DJ Says” and “Name That Tune.” “DJ Says” is similar to “Simon Says” except the DJ from Audio Zone is “Simon” of the game. For “Name That Tune,” students had to listen carefully to different songs played for a short time and write the titles on their table’s paper.

For the remaining two hours of prom, students had time to dance and have pho-

tos taken by Ishikawa Photography. “I enjoyed dancing although I was not

really great at it, but I tried and had fun,” said Anthony Chen (11).

The Junior Prom Committee did a great job in preparation. The publicity subcommittee spread the word on bid sales and ticket pick-ups with flyers, ban-ners and word. Entertainment planned the games and songs. Programs set up the schedule and decorations brought

pizzazz to the hotel room. Winnie Ly (11), chairperson of Junior Prom 2012, enjoyed working with people in these committees. There was some frustration along the way but the prom committee made it through. “I want to thank every-one so much for helping with prom, es-pecially Ms. Akasaki who was our Prom advisor,” said Ly.

Go to myhsj.org/pinion to check out some prom pictures.

by Pauline Yang

Fifteen projects from McKinley High School were chosen to represent the Ho-nolulu District in the 55th Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair that was held at the Hawaii Convention Center from April 2 to 4.

The chosen student projects were from the biology, physics, and chemistry classes here at McKinley. These projects were chosen at the Honolulu District Sci-ence fair which was held on February 14 at Kapiolani Community College.

“The science fair is to gauge the stu-dents’ curiosity in science. They could use that curiosity and turn it into their own findings,” said Channing-Marie Llaneza-Dominguez, biology teacher and MHS science fair coordinator. She add-ed, the greater you participate in these fairs, the greater the chances you are to get scholarships for college.

“In the past years, the science projects that were chosen in our school’s sci-ence fair went directly to compete in the

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Math Reading Science

National Target MHS

HSA ROUND 2 RESULTS

The scores from Round 2 show that although McKinley sophomores did not meet the target goals, their scores still improved from the first round. The science target goal is a MHS target and was not tested in the first round.

To: Ms. Oda

High school is like clothesYou no like wear but have to

So teacher, thank you

-Christopher Oakland (11)

To:Ms. Trinh

Chemistry is tough.When I don’t ask you for help,

Lab reports kill me.

-Erwin Domingo (11)

To:Mrs. Murakami

Thank you very much,for teaching me how to soar,

high with the eagles.

-Kaliko Kahumoku (12)

To: Ms. Morneau

Thoughtful and helpfulyou have a gift of teaching

You’re one of a kind

-Richard Hong (10)

To: Mr. Staszak

Thanks for teaching meHelping me get smarter

But less homework please.

-Xiao Ting Pan (9)

Juzhen Zhang wrote a Chinese summary for these stories. Visit myhsj.org/pinion to read them.Juzhen Zhang 将为以下文章提供中文总结。同学们可以到myhsj.org/pinion在线阅读此版本。

shark 鲨鱼来了hunger games 饥饿游戏blood drive 大家一起来献血Jr. prom 那些年我们参加的舞会

Teacher Appreciation Day

April 5, 2012states. This year was the first year in 30 years that the Honolulu district had ar-ranged for a District science fair,” said Harolyne Grant, physical science teacher and co-coordinator of MHS science fair.

From the McKinley Science Fair, the chosen projects from students proceeded to the District Science Fair.

During the District Science Fair, only Farrington High School and McKinley competed. “The judges in the district science fair had chosen 20 projects from the participants. There are 15 projects from MHS that are chosen to advance to the states,” said Jossefin Rasay, physics teacher. Rasay said she helped her stu-dents in their science fair projects from the beginning, from the topic selection until the students did their experimenta-tion.

April 2 was the day when the students had set up the display for their exhibits in the venue. April 3 was the Judging Day and on the 4, was the opening of the exhibits to the public and the awards ceremony.

by Jocel Siapno

McKinley attends Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair

April 24, 2012 THE PINION 3

AOF students travel to New York

by Brannagan Mukaisu


“I did not like New York. I LOVED it!,” said Debbie Ababa (11), one of three Academy of Finance students who at-tended a Wall Street Field Study. The October trip was through the AKAMAI Finance Academy, an extracurricular program that helps Hawaii students prepare for their futures in the business field. Ababa, along with Ridge Hayashi (12) and Nathaniel Teocson (11), were chosen for this trip based on recommen-dations from workers of the AKAMAI Academy. The recommendations were based on how much effort they put into their business classes and how much they showed passion for this field.

Ababa, Teocson, and Hayashi were accompanied by Patricia Meyer, a SPED teacher here at McKinley who is also the adviser for AKAMAI Fianance Acade-my. The three students were in New York for the first time from October 2 to the 6. They got to meet about 55 other students from various schools around the state. From this Wall Street Field Study, Ababa said they went to banks like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. The purpose for this field study was to teach the students more about the business industry and how they can have an effective career in this field. They also got the chance to tour the financial district and see the first Macy’s on 34th Sreet.

All three gained lessons from their New York experiences. Ababa said, “I learned that there are more opportuni-ties of finance jobs in places that I would never have thought of before.” Teocson learned the important tools in the finance field, like how to buy and sell shares. He also learned that “hard work pays off and never give up on anything, even your dreams no matter how big.” Hayashi said he learned a lot by getting advice from the financial professionals at each invest-ment bank. “They said the key thing is to have motivation and to network a lot.”

Ababa went on to say that she definite-ly will take the things that she learned because she has a passion for business and wants to pursue it after college.” Teocson said that he could use what he learned in New York and said, “I could use this to buy and sell my own stocks or help use the info to help my family’s business. I would also use the informa-tion to get a job in the finance field.” Hayashi agreed by saying, “Yes, I will use this learning experience in my future when I do apply for jobs and internships in New York.”

While in New York Ababa felt privi-leged to have stayed in a “beautiful hotel right near Times Square and Central Park.” During her leisure time she “got to stroll in Central Park” and eat foods like “pasta, pizza and even more pasta!” Ababa felt that New York was a big city but she is a “city type of girl,” so she “ab-solutely loved (New York).” She said, “I love the environment and the sites it has to offer. People always say NY at night is beautiful and it really is.” Ababa’s most memorable moment in New York “was the sight of Times Square at night. It was so beautiful.”

For Teocson, he explained that going to the New York stock exchange where not much people can get into was the most memorable experience for him. Teocson said he loved New York and enjoyed the

cold weather. The advice he would give to students who would like this oppor-tunity is to “just work hard and you will be able to do great things and go many places.”

Hayashi believes the experience was worthwhile. He revealed that they “were given a once in a lifetime opportunity that no one else had before. For example, only workers would be able to go into the New York Stock Exchange. There were never tourists that had access to the headquarters; however the students were able to enter the premises. Hayashi said, “Every single moment in New York was memorable. The thing that really excited me was walking around Times Square because there was so much to do and so much to see. The lights, billboards and crowded streets in the heart of New York are very mind-blowing.”

Now looking back on their experiences Ababa said, “I would love to go back to New York! It’s my kind of city and en-vironment.” Teocson said, “Yes I would love a chance to go back.” Hayashi felt the same way as the others by saying, “I would love to go back to New York! I plan on living and working there because the life there is exciting and very fast paced.” From their hard work and moti-vation, and New York experiences, we can see that they “love” and have a sure passion for the business field.

Ridge Hayashi (12), Debbie Ababa (11), and Nathaniel Teocson (11) traveled to New York to meet executive directors like Michael Maii at Stanley Morgan.

Hayashi, Ababa, Teoc-son earned their way to New York with pas-sion and motivation

I would want to interview my grandmother. This may seem strange, since most peo-ple would tell you they would want to interview someone famous like Oprah or Justin Bieber. But I just want to interview my grandmother.

My grandmother has lived with me since the day I was born. She taught me to be a strong individual and to persevere. You would think that growing up with my grand-mother I would know everything about her, but I still don’t know a lot about her child-hood, where she came from, or even who her parents were. In the last year my grand-ma has developed Alzheimer’s disease. This is the most awful disease anyone could ever have. My grandmother can barely remember simple events. For this reason, I wish I listened closer to the stories she told me and asked more ques-tions about her side of the family. As she is still living, I would love to interview my grandmother before this disease strikes her further.

People would probably say, “what would you ask your grandmother?” I would simply say everything and anything. I would ask her about her childhood, like what was it like living on Maui, what did you do for fun, what were your cousins like, what were your parents like, do I possess any of their traits? Being able to ask these questions means a lot more to me than asking a celebrity about how they love being famous, because asking these questions would allow me to get to know myself and get to know who my family is.

I think whenever people are asked this question, they would never say they would want to interview their own family members, but to me, my family means the world and getting to know who they are or getting to know who I am is more important than asking questions to someone out in the limelight. I would not want to interview any-one else at this moment besides my beloved grandma.

There is a young man in a small coun-try who often helps people solve difficult problems. He is smart and good at logic.

One day, the King hears somebody talking about the young man and how smart he is. The King feels jealous be-cause all the time he thinks he is the smartest man in his country. Now, he has a great idea. He wants to find out who is smarter, himself or the young man.

Fifty soldiers converge on the young man’s house. They make sure everything is under control. Then, the King comes to visit this young man. He asks, “Are you the smart man?”

The young man replies, “Yes, your Majesty. What can I do for you?”

“I appreciate you. So I have a gift for you,” the King says, “There are two big boxes. You should choose one of these as your gift. One box has a snake. The toxin from the snake will surely kill you. The

other box has a lady. You can marry her if you open it. I will not tell you which box has a snake and which box has a lady.”

The henchmen hear the King’s ques-tion. They feel happy. They think the young man is not smarter than the King and will die.

“Our King is the smartest. Give up now, guy,” the king’s henchmen say.

The young man thinks, “This is a dif-ficult situation. If I tell the king I am not really smart, he will kill me for lying when he asked me ‘Are you the smart man?’ If I pick a box, I just have fifty percent chance to be killed. It seems like a terrible choice to me. Being too smart is not a good thing. It has caused the king to become jealous.”

“Don’t feel sad, young man. My ques-tion is not over. I will give you a hint. You can only ask one of these two people one question. You should know that one

person always tells the truth, and the other person always lies. Also. I will not let you know which person tells the truth and which person always lies,” the King says.

“Thank you, King. I think now I know the answer,” the young man says.

“Really?” People don’t believe he can solve it. Only the King smiles, and says, “You can start now.”

The young man asks one of these two people, “If I ask the other person which box has a snake, what will he tell me?”

The person says, “He will say the left box has a snake.”

The young man walks to the left box and says, “The right box has a snake. The left box has a lady.” Once the left box is open, a lady comes out.

Do you know how the young man knew the lady was in the left box?

?

If I could interview anyone...

Hongru Zheng (12)

A logic puzzle - Who is smarter, the king or the young man?

If you could interview any living person, who would it be and why? What would you ask that person?

by Brannagan Mukaisu

Check myhsj.org/pinion for the answer.


“Wacky, Wonderful, and Wickedly Funny”

I believe that the students thoroughly en-joyed seeing teachers dance, sing, and have fun and the human side of teachers. The tradi-tion of McKinley’s Faculty plays is great. Isn’t it a great tradition...just look at the turnout at the Dress Rehersal. The audience is getting bigger and bigger as the years go by. Wow.

For the faculty to organize and do some-thing like this for our students enjoyment is truly remarkable and shows you the kind of staff we have and what we are capable of ac-complishing. Amazing what we can accom-plish when we all work together.

Neal Takamori - Prince Peanut Buttercup

Being that this was my first experience with the McKinley Faculty play, I was very excited to be a part of this long-honored tradition. Although I do not have any real talent, I was glad that I could somehow contribute to the play. Once I found out what my role was going to be and what the final act would be, I was relieved that I would not have to dance or sing. A pie in the face, I can do that! It was very interesting to hear the reaction of the audience the first time at dress rehearsal, as I am assuming, they were not expecting the principal to be hit in the face with a pie! So they were at first stunned silent, then began to laugh as they realized what had just happened! It was also the same reaction from the students as well. Most of them were silent and I heard many of them gasp in shock, then roar to laughter once the shock wore off! This for me was the most funniest part of being part of the play!

Overall, I am glad that this is such a huge part of our tradition here at McKin-ley and will do whatever it takes to maintain it! I want to thank all of the faculty and staff members who participated both on and off the stage to making it a huge success! And to Jimmy Nakamoto and Peggy Anderson, much “Mahalo” for help-ing us put on this wonderful event!

Ron Okamura-King

Kumu Blaine Kia was a tremendous help, and he really set the tone for the number, both comically and artistically.

Joey Akana - hula group member

The time it took to prepare was difficult, because we were all so busy with other school functions, but it was worth it because the students seemed to enjoy it and we got a chance to have some fun together on stage. We were the only group that was allowed to just ad-lib our lines as we announced the next performers so we would make each other other laugh by making up new things.

Cory Marlowe - jester

I love how it really brought unity between all the teachers and staff. For us to come together and put in all our time and efforts into something that benefits our students is a win win situation. And to hear the response of the students and fellow staff members was well worth the hard work! I loved it! Bravo Tigers... Bravo!!!

Edward Sariol - Hot Lava choreographer

Some Comments from the Faculty and Staff



Incident at

Fa Fa Fa Auwe

Photos by Tenemane Malufau-Howell (12) and Michelle Ann Dela Cruz (11)Edited By Jomar Devera (11)

Oh the faculty play! Instead of the teachers watching us students be all silly, we were the ones to watch them. It was really fun to laugh till my cheeks started to hurt.

Aubrey Fernandez (10)

The faculty staff play was one of the most entertaining plays I’ve ever seen! What makes it even better was the fact that we could see our teachers act a way we’ve never seen before.

Kameron Yamada (10)

The faculty play was very funny and enjoyable. I wish I could be here to see the next one.

Vance Aloncel (10)

The faculty play was entertaining, fun-ny, and enjoyable. I don’t see how anyone could not enjoy it.

Cory Canite (10)

The play was hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. Also, I didn’t know that the teachers can dance. Hahaha, it shocked me. Overall, it was great and funny.

Joseph Sabuo (12)

I think the play was awesome. The teachers put a lot of effort and energy to make their performance special, creative, and most of all HILARIOUS! I re-ally liked the dancing and singing, I had no idea my teachers could be so tal-ented! Any ways, the play was AMAZING! GREAT PERFORMANCE!

Francis Vilar (10)

I felt the play was great. After a stress-ful week, something funny helped me become unstressed. I wished it was every year, but it’s once every four years. It was funny watching the teachers dance and act.

Anne Lau (10)

On March 30, the auditorium held the faculty and staff play, “In-cident at Fa Fa Fa Auwe.”Having the faculty play every four years is a tradition at McKinley. The local-ized theme was chosen by James Nakamoto, former drama teacher at the school. Nakamoto, for whom the auditorium stage is named after, directs the faculty play.The play consisted of 60-65 faculty and staff and they practiced after school since February. The play was about a prince who did not laugh since the age of three. Various groups sang and danced to try to amuse him. Nothing worked...until the King got a pie in the face!

Some Comments from Students


If you are enjoying this Pinion, why not join the

staff? Sign up for Newswriting

next year. See Cynthia Reves

in E207.

Pass on the words and inspire

Macon Telegraph/MCT

Be a Proud Tiger

Dress Appropriately.Do Your Own Work.

Respect the Lunch Line.Keep Walls and Grounds Clean and Beautiful!

Mistakes are what make life fun.Bill Khau (10)

Reading a book, learning new words.

Gavin Mateo (10)

Life is a road with challenges.Bryant Lei (10)

Every ending is a new beginning.Ishah Garcia (10)

Writing is where I reinvent everything.

Linh Dang (9)

Journey is better than the destination.

Peisheng Xu (10)

Music is the way of life.Jeramy Pasion (10)

Art is where I’m a genius. Jordan Viniegas (10)

Easy or hard, it needs time.Zhen Wei Luo (10)

It is said to be believed that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to

write a story using only six words. Later on a Magazine Company called SMITH decided to ask their readers to send in their own life story in six words. Since

the release of this challenge the Six-Word Memoir Project has become widely known and very popular. Six-Word

Memoirs are now used as a powerful tool to inspire conversation. Now my ques-tion is “Can you tell your story in six

words?”

☻

I’m working to be successful.Pornsuda Akarapreecha (12)

Striving hard to be better me.

U Hang Sio (11)

There are a lot of surprises.Jessica Song (11)

I really enjoyed your article on the young cancer patient, known as Ryder. It was thoughtful and positive of you to im-mediately let the reader know that Ryder has survived his battle with cancer, and is currently in remission.

After addressing his successful can-cer outcome, you went into great depth and detail, explaining how Ryder had to handle the psychological and emotional stresses related to cancer and interact-ing with others. He had to interact with his other classmates, some of whom could not cope with the obvious physi-cal aspects of his disease such as weight loss, hair loss, and lack of energy. This made him feel very isolated, and it felt like he was going through this ordeal without help. Fortunately, Ryder did not have to cope on his own. He had his best friend by his side, and they both went to organizations and a program called H.U.G.S. for help. I love the way the ar-ticle articulated the strength that Ryder gained back, and how his experience has led him to appreciate life more. This is something that we can all take a positive lesson from.

When I read the article, Ryder’s story really touched me. It was emotional in so many ways, and I can somewhat relate to what he went through. There are times where I feel like I am losing hope, and going through life on my own, but in the end, I always have my family and friends there to support me. Sometimes, we have to realize that not everything in life is going to be easy. You have to learn to stay strong no matter what, and always have faith in yourself. Like the article stated, you should not always focus on the negatives. An illness does not have to take over your life. Learn to enjoy the beautiful things in life, because it will make you happier. Remember, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade!

Annie Lien (10)

I really liked this month’s Pinion. There were many pictures. I also really liked the cover story about Justly and his boxing career. Also the one about the two views on handling school stress. It shows some of the ways that you could use to have less stress in school. I also

really liked that picture by Stephanie Ngo. It was really interesting. “Destiny is Reality” It probably took a lot of time. I think you should’ve interviewed her a little bit more on what inspired her to make that picture.

The most interesting article was about who Kelsey David would interview. She chose Hitler. That was a really brutal choice like she said. Her reasons were pretty legit though. I learned that he was rejected by an art school and maybe that was the reason why he was how he was. I like how you explained about what he did and who he was. Since we did something in our class about the Holocaust, I found it interesting. I think by far, this Pinion was the best one so far. The pictures, stories and everything were interesting. I actually read the whole thing for the first time. I hope next months’ one is as inter-esting as this one.

Jessica Gudalis (10)

I think that including various sports in the Pinion was a great idea. Reading about different students’ lives and how far they go into each sport and how much it means to them shows how diverse our school is. Reading about the students’ lives shows how proud and how passion-ate McKinley’s students are in the many things they do to achieve - not only in sports, but also how they balance school with other activities. I think the Pinion should continue to do this because it shows that many of the students are more than who you see on campus.

Shelby Baradi (10)

I really like the article about “Two views on handling school stress” because this article really matches my real life. Actually, I always get so much stress from school. It makes me discouraged. I don’t know how many of my brain cells have died because of stress. When I read your article, I learned some different ways to alleviate stress. Also, I started to follow your suggestion. Seriously, those ways work. Those methods are very helpful. So I would like to say thank you to you.

Yin Hei Lao (10)

My favorite ways to fight stress is playing tennis and eating. I play ten-nis about five days a week. When I first started playing tennis, I didn’t have the love toward the sport like I have now because I didn’t know if tennis was right for me. Then I realized how much I love tennis and how tennis has become one of my stress reducers. Every time I swing my racquet to the tennis ball, it takes a little of my stress away from the piles of never-ending homework and tightly-scheduled tests that I don’t have time to study for. Another way I fight stress is by eating. I like to eat a lot of snacks when I’m stressed out. I pretend the snacks that I’m eating are the piles of homework or anything that’s stressing me out, biting it as hard as I can and then swallowing it. Playing tennis and eating are the two things I do to reduce my stress level.

Ting Ting Wu (10)

Handing school stress is the most im-portant thing for getting a good grade in school. For example, I have tennis practice everyday after school and it lasts around three hours. When I get home, I barely have enough time to do my home-work as well as having the energy and concentration to do it. Therefore, I think that your ways of alleviating stress will be helpful in my future years of high school. I’ve already started doing several of your methods of alleviating stress but I was not able to not procrastinate. The solution I think for my procrastination is to do homework in school whenever I have the time because I find it easier to concentrate on homework in school than at home because of the distractions such as computer, socializing, video games, etc. I hope to improve my habits by the end of my sophomore year so that I can get better grades in my junior and senior years.

Shengyuan Su (10)

Check out myhsj.org/pinion for anotherletter about stress by Ann Nguyen (10).

Find the Pinion online at myhsj.org/pinion

Akron Beacon Journal/MCT

The News Tribute/MCTLetters to the editor...Editorial April 24, 2012 THE PINION 9

McKinley’s football team is practicing for the upcoming fall football season.

Coach Joseph Cho said that it’s to the team’s advantage to prepare ahead of time. He said training is important. “If you don’t do it, you’ll fall behind.” Cho said it’s necessary for the players to be in condition, since a player who is tired “will be more worried about breathing,” and not be able to concentrate on the game.

Both junior varsity and varsity have been participating in the spring training. Cho said even eighth graders pursuing a spot on the team come to spring train-ing. Football players have been training on the field and in the weight room since January three times a week for two hours straight. Each session consists of agility work and weight lifting. When football season starts on July 23, practice will increase to five times a week. From then on, practice will consist of everything

Football team trains for upcoming seasonby Amanda Muramoto

Tyrell Tuiasosopo (10) and the team practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. As required by the state, to play in the up-coming season you must have participat-ed in ten preseason practices. Interested students should see Cho in F155.

from game strategies to practicing some offenses and defenses.

However, it’s more than getting into condition for the team. “Training defi-nitely brings the team together,” said Jared Malaga (11) who plays O-line and D-line on the varsity team. Malaga said that training shows who’s the leaders of the team. “Some players speak out and encourage other players to push them-selves. It also helps the newer kids get to know our coaches a lot more.”

“They’re good kids,” said Cho. “They’re still learning how to be a team and what it takes to be a team.”

The team has always trained before season. As for the training now, Cho hopes that it, brings a sense of team-work, a sense of knowledge, and a sense of confidence. He takes this time to see where his team stands against the other teams and what they need to work on. Cho encourages that anybody can still come and try for the team.

by Ivan Nguyen (10)

Memory of a football playerIt began on a dry, crisp August day

on the field that many look at as a place for rites of passage. Our coaches loved telling us that the field is where we start our lives as men. They often made sure that we did not ruin the same field that they had practiced on when they were younger. I entered my sophomore year that season, and I was on the defensive line. There was my teammate, He was the guy that always had a big smile on his face, but the smiles came to an abrupt end one day.

It was evident that there was some-thing up with him. He seemed a bit irri-tated and was slacking during the drills. After our drills were finished, we got into a skirmish. He was pushed off by the coach and then he walked away. I didn’t really worry why he did it, but I knew he was already upset. Our coaches had the list of the first and second line up. I had always been trying for the first line up throughout the season but the coach called my name for the second line up.

Right then, I knew things had to

change because I wanted to be in the first line up. Throughout that week, I tried to work hard to get in the first line up, but again, I didn’t make it. I knew that it was without my teammate that I was suffer-ing. I knew that I did not have that other guy pushing me to my limits and I had to change that.

I later talked to him about our skir-mish earlier in the week. We eventually worked things out. He came back to practice the next day and while we were doing our drills, I noticed that he was behind. I would always get at him for slacking. We were later put onto two dif-ferent teams to scrimmage each other. After the scrimmages, he was upset at his performance. He felt like he had not done enough. I talked to him about it, and how he could get over it.

Over the next few days, leading to-wards our first game. I did what I had to do. I worked with him and myself to get us in the first line up. Whenever he would slack, I would remind him of who he was playing for. It was a way for him to build himself up and to be a better

player. Everyday we became better and better. We both drove each other that week. On the day before the game, our coaches told us the line up. He began to read the first names off, When the names were called, we knew immediately that the coach had made the right choice - we were both in the first line up!

Game day came, and it was one of the longest days of my life. We got our gear, suited up and got on the bus. The bus ride was refreshing. It got our minds on the game and, of course, our rivalry.. We got to the field and it was a good day to be playing the game of football. The energy surged as we went against our rivals from the kickoff to the last minute. It was a very back and forth game. They just kept scoring on us but we fought back. We went on to lose that game, but it wasn’t the loss that counted. It was the hard work and effort placed into the game. We walked off that field exhaust-ed, but we both had put all the effort into preparing ourselves for a fantastic game. I was glad that I had my teammate and the determination for us to get better.


McKinley High School will be host-ing a Blood Drive on April 26. Donating blood can make a big difference. Not only is it safe and simple, but it also saves lives. It helps those that have no other options.

“I’ve donated blood many times,” said Alan Sekiguchi, digital media teacher. “At first it’s just a little pinch, and the feeling is really rewarding.”

When registering for the Blood Drive, potential donors need to bring some form of ID that states their birthday. They will also need to make sure that they keep hydrated, as well as maintain a healthy iron level in their diet. A mini-physical will also be provided.

“I totally want to donate blood,” said Jenny Liang (11). “But I’m not 17 yet, so I guess I’m going to have to wait a little while longer.” As Liang stated, student donors need to be at least 17 years of age, or 16 years with parent consent. Donors also need to be at least 110 lbs, and should have healthy blood in their system.

If the idea of saving a life is not enough motivation to donate blood, then maybe free cookies and juice will do the trick! After the donation process, donors will have time to rest and receive refreshments provided by those hosting. It is said that drowsiness may occur after the drawing process.

“It’s amazing how many people need blood,” said Sekiguchi. “Those who give themselves to help others... it’s a very noble thing to do.

Donate blood to

save a lifeby Kelsey David

Pinion Staff Adviser: Cynthia Reves (publishing) Nancy Wilcox (photography) Editor: Amanda Muramoto Reporters: Kelsey David, Brannagan Mukaisu, Pauline Yang, Jocel Siapno

Publication InformationTHE PINION is published by the

Newswriting Staff and printed by the Reprographics Learning Center.

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by Corey Kahalewai (11)

by Jocel Siapno

“The Hunger Games” score

Parkour takes McKinley student to new heightsEditor’s Note: “The Hunger Games”

movie consists of a lot of physical work, since it’s all about survival of the fittest. Jennifer Lawrence credits parkour as part of her training regime. Corey Ka-halewai (11) lets us know more about this activity.

One summer vacation, I was stuck at home again and was watching videos on parkour and freerunning and I was impressed with their movements, their freedom. Right then and there, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. After that, I did nothing but train and train. From it, I gained friends and a healthy community with other people like me who enjoy freerunning and the rush of feeling free. I’ve gained recognition that I never knew in my childhood. Every-thing changed for me, It was around third grade when I started to become a traceur (parkour practitioner). Back then I had no

idea what I was doing. Climbing trees, jumping from the top of a flight of stairs, I don’t know, you name it. Anything that gave me the rush of flying, I did it. With parkour I was given a way to express myself, and it also became my way to be recognized. Freerunning/parkour has given me friendships that wouldn’t other-wise have been as strong. It has given me new goals to work toward, and a shred of self-confidence. It’s also given me a new perspective on my life. Parkour has given me a passion, a purpose, something to pursue and, at this point, a career to look forward to in the future.

Parkour gives teens an opportunity to try something different but it also teaches them a discipline, a mindset that there is no obstacle that can’t be over-come. With that mindset, freerunners are able to apply that way of thinking not only to their training as freerunners but to everyday life and use that to solve

whatever problems they cross in life. It’s a way of thinking that keeps you “stay-ing positive,” a quote by all-time tricker and freerunner Kyle “Epic” Mendoza. I believe everyone can benefit with park-our, for it teaches not only ways to live your life but it also teaches something about yourself.

They say that whenever you read the book first instead of watching the movie, you will end up hating the movie. Be-cause, the movie didn’t reach the expec-tations you have if they will turn it into a movie.

I read the book first and I did not hate the movie, I loved it. “The Hunger Games” met my expectations while I was watching it. The screenwriters expanded the movie into a wider scale, which is slightly different from Katniss’ perspective in the book.

If you saw the movie first before read-ing the book, there are not that much of a difference unless you decided to read the book and regretted that some details from what you read is not in the movie that you watched.

With the three-dimensional effects that they use to construct the country of Panem, the country in which according to the book is the country that replaced North America, we got to see the Panem that we might have imagined when we read the book.

Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and the other cast of the movie really played their characters well. At first, I felt kind of disappointed because in the book, Katniss and Peeta was suppose to be 16-year-old teenagers, but in real life Lawrence is 21 and Hutch-erson is 19.

According to E! Online, the movie earned $155 million on its opening week-end, making it the third-highest U.S.

go online to see the book review by Heather Situ (10)

film opening behind “The Dark Knight,” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal-lows Part 2.” “The Hunger Games” is the highest opening non-sequel in the coun-try. As of April 1st, the rough estimate of the movie’s earnings is past $250 million.

If you didn’t watch the movie yet, it is not too late. “The Hunger Games” is still showing in various movie theatres on Oahu. Also, do not forget to read the book!

“I had running, free running — like parkour agility training, combat, climbing, archery and yoga,” Jennifer Lawrence said of her training for her role as Katniss to NPR’s Morning Edition. Murray Close/MCT.

Is the book or movie better?

“Parkour is fundamental on the fact that we can do so much with our bodies that we don’t even know about yet,” said Corey Kahalewai (11).


pinion vol 90 issue 6

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