Issue of December 11, 1998
Volume 82, Number Two
Click on a story title to see the story
News
ASB/Mecha food drive
Drugfree zone gets more pledges
Got Blood?
Our Miss Brooks Play Review
Sally Mae has the college info
Swing Assembly Coming!
The ever evolving Art Wall
Band wins awards
Opinion
A Million Gems (column)
Avid float destroyed
Hurray for the Boys of Autumn!
In Defense of Los Detalles
Keep the Santa Myth Alive!
Tell the Truth about Santa!
Opinion-ASB assemblies
Opinion-Death of Xmas spirit
Opinion-English overdose
Volunteer! You'll feel good!
Features
Agua Mansa/The Haunted Highway
Agua Mansa Interviews
Baby Think It Over
Denny's- Late night place to be
From Russia With Love
Gearwhore, spawn of Colton High
Klub Korner
New Years Drinking traditions
Diversions
Rap Music real names quiz
Method Man CD review
Oasis, Masterplan CD review
Phantom of the Opera review
Psycho/film review
En Español (Los Detalles)
Trabajo Vs. Estudios/en Español
¿Porque Los Detalles? En Español
Asambleas ASB/en Español
Sports
Boys basketball
Boys soccer
Cross country
Football almost makes playoffs
Girls basketball
Girls soccer
Girls tennis
H20 polo
Wrestling takes to the mat
High school relationships, bah humbug
by Milgem Rabanera ( A Million Gems/Column)
December 11, 1998
High school relationships. Bah humbug. I know that it is the season to be jolly, but I’m feeling everything but that. For all I care, Santa could give me a lump of coal for being so naughty.
To start off my grievances, there should be a rule against serious relationships in high school. Students have enough crap to worry about, they don’t need emotions such as “love” to get in the way. High school is too short and most of us are too young to have a serious relationship; in the end we all get screwed anyway with a “Lets just be friends,” or “I think that we need to meet other people and give each other space.” Why waste our time? Sure, most of the “sweet” memories are worth holding onto, but what stays most prominent in everyone’s minds? Duh, the very last encounter with your ex-significant other. The breakup. The heartache. The sleepless nights remembering those nights where we were otherwise occupied.
I agree with the majority of the students I interviewed. Those experiences aren’t worth your time of day. You have the rest of your life to deal with that crap. Too bad we can’t detach ourselves from the more complex emotions and solely focus on the lust. That would be the ideal way to fix the raging hormone problem that plagues sex-crazed teens today. Infatuated. That is what I call the majority of high school sweethearts, long term and short. They think they’re in love, but are actually infatuated with the idea of being in love. I think that in this stage of teenage lives, all we’re really looking for is someone to satiate our curiosity.
Of course there are going to be those couples offended by this article that have lasted through all four years in pre-marital bliss, but in reality the average pair remains happy for about three months, and then it’s downhill from there. Although the majority of the time couples are comfortable and somewhat happy, little problems accumulate into something immature minds don’t want to deal with.
Yet, I digress. Not all high school relationships are a waste of time. From my last experience, I’ve learned to keep the mistakes I had made in mind, so that I won’t cause the same pain and heartache in the next round.(yeah, remember Milgem? The girl who acted psychotic in a desperate attempt to salvage her romance gone wrong?) I must applaud those couples who contradict my negative opinions on high school relationships. I do take into consideration the ones who have gotten past the balancing act of knowing what and what not to sacrifice for one another. I just hope that new experiences will help steer me in that direction.
Life is filled with drama. Every experience has a lesson, every moment has a meaning. I now see life with a different view with each new situation that arises.These have influenced my thoughts and actions(for the better, I hope).
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Agua Mansa Interviews
December 11, 1998“My grandma told me once my grandpa and his friends came running to my house; they were really scared as if they had seen a ghost. My grandma didn’t know what was wrong, she had never seen him like that. I guess after work they were drinking by the road and they saw a woman (ghost) floating in the air. My grandma thought my grandpa was drunk and hallucinating but he had only drank one beer and they all saw the image.”
- Senior Loretta Hernandez
“I heard that if you drive or walk down that street at exactly twelve ‘o clock you will come upon a hitchhiker that wants a ride to the cemetery. I also heard that even if you don’t stop to pick him up he just appears in your car. He’s a ghost. This can only happen when you are alone.
I also heard that there is some lady that has drowned her kids in the Santa Ana River and now she haunts Agua Mansa Road looking for her babies. I heard she gas red eyes and screams as she runs toward you and whatever you do you mustn’t look into her eyes or she’ll make you crash.”
- Senior Anthony Romero
“A couple in their late 20’s were driving down the highway late at night. The man was driving and the woman began to doze off. The man was getting tired and looked down to see the time, and when he looked up a figure of what looked like a man appeared from the dark. The man driving the car tried to swerve out of the way, but it was too late. He heard a loud THUMP, and the woman woke up startled. The man slammed on the brakes. The couple got out of the car to see if the man was okay, but when they looked around there was nobody there. They searched the entire area but never found the body.”
- Senior Katie Davis
“It was on Semptember 13, 1997, my cousins and I were going out for my birthday. My cousin decided to go through Agua Mansa Street but something weird happened: we were driving by there and we got to a man that was selling teddy bears. My cousin bought me one and when we were coming back my cousin was going so fast that one car slid to the dirt. It made so much dust that we couldn’t see ourselves. The same guy that sold us the teddy bear was walking and we heard him laugh. We got out of the dirt to look for him and he was gone. We didn’t know where he went or what had happened to him. We were so scared. Nothing happened to us or the car as we went home and we were talking about what had happened.”
- Senior Jasmin Aquilera
I don’t remember the date, but I know I wasn’t even born yet.
My father used to be in a band when he was young. They used to play music at local parties, around San Bernardino, Colton, Rialto, etc., just the local areas.
But one night my dad had finished playing at the party where he was at and he had mentioned, “I’m going to take the short cut to Rialto.” his friends said, “Are you crazy?! Haven’t you heard about that road? Strange things happen down that street.”
Somehow it didn’t bother him. So he starts to drive down the road and something caught him off guard, causing him to drive into a hill off the side of the road.
Today he doesn’t even know how he could have survived, the whole front of his car was completely pushed into the front seat, and he has the scars to prove it.”
- Senior Jennifer Vasquez
On a dark, foggy night, after getting into an argument with his father, my uncle was driving home from a party he was not allowed to go to. That was what the argument was about.
My uncle decided to defy his dad and on the way home that dark, dreary night he saw, on Agua Manxa Road, “The Hitcher.” He was in tattered clothes and had blood dripping from his forehead down his face. My uncle passed him without stopping because he was so scared. A little ways down the road he glanced into his rear view mirror and caught the image of the bloody hitchhiker’s face. The hitcher was pointing his finger at my uncle and shaking it back and forth in a gesture of saying no, no.
When he got home, he passed a mirror in the hallway, and he could not see his reflection in the mirror. The next morning he was so guilty and scared, he apologized to his father and he never disagreed with him again. My uncle’s dad said the hitcher was Jesus and that he was trying to tell him to honor thy father and mother (one of the ten commandments)
-Olga Rainey, Bilingual Assistant
“There is this story about a lady (nice looking) who lived with her husband in the village. As the story goes, the lady got pregnant and became fat and ugly. Her husband (eventually) cheated on her. Feeling hurt and betrayed, the woman blamed her children for his affair, and killed them. When her husband discovered what she had done, he left her. She became depressed and angry, so she killed herself. Now they say her ghost sits on the side of the Agua Mansa Road moaning for her children to return to her.”
- Junior David Miller
“Myths that I have heard about Agua Mansa are that there was a hanging of a woman years ago. Now when you pass down the road around 12:00 AM, they say she walks along it hoping to find her killers, and anyone who gets in her way is caused to have a dangerous car accident. I heard that every night she gets more frustrated as she walks in search of her killers, so she just stands there in the middle of the road scaring people who drive by.”
- Junior Joseph Romero
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Agua Mansa—the Haunted Highway!
by Rose Terracciano with Kathy Croy
December 11, 1998
You may know of a lonely road stretching through the city of Colton referred to as Agua Mansa. Many of us have traveled on its winding and pothole-ridden surface. What you may not know however, is the Auga Mansa has history written all over it.
The Agua Mansa Cemetery, which is currently being cared for by 83-year-old Ursula Beardslee, is the oldest one in San Bernardino County, and is older than any city. It was built by men who came here from New Mexico in 1842, although there are accounts of settlers as early as the 1830’s. They came because the soil was fertile and there was enough land for all. It is estimated that between 6000 and 6500 graves are in the cemetery.
On September 16, 1968 the San Bernardino Board of supervisors agreed to take title to Agua Mansa Cemetery to protect it as a historical site under the jurisdiction of the San Bernardino County Museum. It is registered as Historical Landmark #121.
The story of Agua Mansa is rather ironic as well as interesting, considering the name Agua Mansa means “gentle water,” and the city was destroyed by pounding rain storms and flash floods which began on January 22, 1862 and lasted for 15 days. No lives were lost, but unfortunately nothing remained of the nice community. Since Agua Mansa cemetery was on a knoll it was not destroyed.
In the early days, the graves were marked by a wooden cross surrounded by a picket fence. The earliest marker is dated 1859, and the most recent 1963. Over the years fires have burned away many of the crosses, and now the graves are unmarked. Vandalism destroyed those that weren’t burnt. The pioneers did not keep good records, and only the markers showed where they buried their people. Many descendants have visited the cemetery and aided in relocating some of the markers. Others have mysteriously reappeared, and no one knows where they really belong.
As with any story, the reality of what actually happened becomes somewhat muffled over time as it is spread by word of mouth; hence, the ghost stories and myths about the haunted highway. “I haven’t seen any of these ghosts in the 20 years that I’ve been here,” comments caretaker Beardslee. She admits hearing “snatches here and there” of ghost stories, but in her 21 years of service she’s experienced nothing spooky except for kids breaking in. “That’s real life, not ghosts” she reveals.
And so, we present our collection of Agua Mansa ghost stories, admittedly a little late for Halloween. We make no claim for their truth or fiction, indeed, some of them seem to be adjunct of popular urban or folk legends, such as La Llorona, an old folk tale from Mexico that dates back hundreds of years. Not exactly Christmas stuff, eh? But a good scare is popular anytime. Enjoy. And remember, if you’re ever on that long, lonely, dark, misty road late at night, and you see someone hitchhiking . . .Back to top
Asambleas de ASB
por Roger Romero
11 de Diciembre, 1998Como si no fueran suficiente problemas con todas las nuevas polizas implementadas este año, ahora la escuela nos quita un derecho que tenemos como estudiantes de este plantel. Estoy hablando de las asambleas que hacen que el espiritu de el estudiante se endurezca y crezca.
El pasado 9 de Octobre del presente año hubo una asamblea que tomo lugar en el ginmacio de las mujeres, en donde solo podian asistir personas que poseian tarjeta ASB. Esta asamblea creo mucha jostilidad en el cuerpo estudiantil de esta escuela, porque los estudiantes se sintieron presionados a tener que comprar esta tarjeta porque no querian perderse eventos como este.
“ Veo injusto que hayan asambleas como estas porque no todos los estudiantes tienen los recursos necesarios para poder comprar la tarjeta ASB. Pienso que podrian usar otras formas para escojer a los estudiates que puedan asistir a las asambleas, por ejemplo su promedio academico, asistencia, etc., comento Diana Sosa,12. Sosa quien posee tarjeta ASB, decidio no asistir a dicha asamblea y prefirio quedarse en clase porque ella siente que lo que la escuela esta haciendo estaba mal. Y como ella, hay muchos estudiantes que comparten sus sentimientos, es el caso de Sabrina Almaraz, 12, quien declaro . “Yo pienso que la escuela esta presionando a los estudiantes a comprar algo que no es necesario.” Esto es verdad porque hoy los estudiantes tienen que comprar dicha tarjeta para jugar deportes, para obtener la letra de deportes y letras de reconocimiento estudiantil conocidas como “C”.
La directora de actividades de la escuela Señora Karla Huesca comento, “Que por comprar esta tarjeta los estudiantes pagan por las actividades extra escolares que obtienen en la escuela.” Eso esta exelente pero, ¿Qué pasa con los estudiantes que no juegan deportes, tienen que pagar por el papel en donde se les va a dar su reconocimiento merecido? Lo unico que esta tarjeta hace es darte un minimo descuento en los tickets al Prom, paridos deportivos y en el libro del año, ¿ Pero después de eso para que más sirve?
No me mal interpreten, no quiero culpar al club ASB por esto, porque seria injusto. Muchas veces ellos no tienen control sobre situaciones como esta, posiblemente esta decisión fue hecha por el distrito y no por club directamente , por lo tanto estaria mal que los culparamos por algo de lo cúal no tubieron toda la culpa. Ya que ellos mismos fueron los que requirieron una asamblea pora toda la escuela que tomo lugar en el Ken Hubb GYM el Viernes 6 de Novienbre en donde todos los estuudiantes pudieron asistir sin necesidad de tener ASB. Quizas compartimos los sentimientos de muchos estudiantes, ya que como se vio hubo mucho decontento al respecto, por la simpl;e y sencilla razón de no dejar a todos los estudiantes de la escuela participar en eventos como este.
Solo esperamos que asambleas en donde solo puedan asistir estudoantes con ASB no vuelvan a tomar lugar, para que todos tomemos parte de las actividades escolares, y de esta manera no queden como historia de nuestra apreciada escuela.
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Mecha food drive
by Roger Romero
December 11, 1998
Another year, another chance to help. That’s the spirit of two clubs at school: M.E.CH.A and ASB. This year M.E.CH.A is having their annual food drive to help the needy people in Central America recover from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch that took the lives of thousands of people. M.E.CH.A. is collecting food cans, clothing and money to help.
Stacey Holguin, M.E.CH.A. President said “I think that it’s good sending these supplies to Central America because these people today don’t have enough to survive.” M.E.CH.A. does this food drive every year, in order to help their community.
ASB has the spirit too: their food drive ran from November 16-20. ASB officers and members went around the school to third period classes to ask for donations. The donations went to fund Thanksgiving baskets for local families.Back to top
AVID float destroyed—but spirit kept alive!
by Jeanine Medrano
December 11,1998You can’t be human without being wrong sometimes. So . . . I guess I proved myself to be human in my Homecoming article last issue. “Homecoming is a week full of school spirit.” Or so I said. My school spirit was soon destroyed, along with the floats being built for the parade.
The idea of float building is to build school spirit. It is supposed to be fun for the builders of it, and the community to view it as well. These are just some of the reasons why I volunteered my house as the building spot for the AVID float. The week went really well, and we even finished a couple days ahead of schedule. We were getting excited, thinking (although not wanting to jinx anything) that maybe we were good enough to win.
Imagine my shock on the day of judging, my morning wake up call is my mom at 5:00 a.m. “Jeanine, they destroyed your float.” To say the least, we had a hard day ahead of us. Once again, vandalism reared its ugly head.
Most people say, what about the security? How come they weren’t there? Well, this all happened around 2:00 in the morning, security cannot be everywhere 24 - 7. Also, it was assumed that AVID was not in high risk of being trashed.
Some of the other floats that were destroyed included the senior float, which was designed to look like TITANIC, and the sophomores float, which got egged. “Class of ’98" was sprayed along the seniors float, implying that previous seniors were behind these pranks. School spirit isn’t what it used to be. These practical jokes weren’t as funny as intended, in fact they caused much stress to many float builders.
I was right in my last article, though, when I said “Everyone seems to get involved.” Even those who are NOT welcome! One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cruise up and down neighborhoods in their “fixed up” cars (having nothing better to do of course). The only thing worse than that is when these cruisers have already graduated from high school, and pester underclassmen to compensate for their lack of a life. Please tell me that we have not written countless articles whining about this school. One would think the reward is graduation. Come on, graduate and move on already.”
“We survived” was the theme of the rebuilt AVID float, fully equipped with complementary band aids. The rebuilt float won first place in the club competition. Being only their first year in competition, club members had much to be happy for. “We defeated ‘98’s purpose by winning the trophy, it felt good,” said Laurenda Ornelas, AVID float builder.
The attempts of some losers living in the past to crush school spirit have been foiled. Instead, their antics gave school spirit a different definition this year. Well, they always say, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Colton High stands strong.
Baby, Think It Over
by Marisa Gutierrez
December 11, 1998“Parenting is not a matter to be taken lightly, it is a decision that lasts a lifetime,” comments Ellen Gordon, coordinator of the Baby Think It Over project at Colton High School. This is the first year that Colton High School’s Human Development course has become involved in the Baby Think It Over project. This new project is causing Ellen Gordon’s Human Development class to re-examine their ideas on future parenting by making each student responsible for a lifelike baby simulator. According to Ellen Gordon, the objective of the new project is, “To make students realize how much responsibility is involved in caring for a real baby.”
Each participant in the Baby Think It Over project is given a baby simulator that they are to take care of for five days. These baby simulators are highly sophisticated because they are electronically controlled by a computer chip.
These computer chips are programmed to make the baby cry at random intervals, much like a real baby would. In order to make the crying cease, the student must insert a corresponding key into their baby simulator, and hold it properly.
“They don’t let you rest, they just cry and cry.” Baby Think It Over participant Maria Marquez commented about her baby simulator.
“The baby’s crying can last any where from five to thirty minutes.” The computer chip is also programmed to record all instances of abuse or neglect, therefore forcing the student to have full-time responsibility over their baby.
According to Ellen Gordon, the Baby Think It Over projecthas been successful in achieving its objective. The student participants in her Human Development course have new outlooks on future parenting thanks to their experience with their baby simulators.
Baby Think It Over participant Tocarra Copeland has re-examined her perspective on future parenting.
“I’m going to wait until I get out of college to have kids.” Tocarra Copeland, like other participating students, has realized the importance of waiting to have a baby.
The success of the Baby Think It Over project has made it a permanent part of the Human Development course at Colton High School. Manuel Guillen, another participant, spoke for all other participants when he said: “They gave this project a good name because it really does make you think it over.
Band and Colorguard hit the Jackpot in Vega$
by Stephanie Greenlea
December 11, 1998
After a long season of competitions, Colton High School’s seventy member Marching Band is still going strong. They have come out on top in every competition this year.
“This year the Marching Band is able to put together a stronger show,” says Band Coordinator Luis Gonzáles.
The big competition they attended this year was Great Western Regionals, which was held in Las Vegas Nevada. They left on Friday morning and came back Sunday night. The competition was held at Green Valley High School, in Henderson Nevada, right outside of Las Vegas. The band had to compete against fifteen other schools. They ended up placing in second place. Colton’s Color Guard took sweepstakes in the competition.
Colton has also entered in other competitions where the band took sweepstakes. These include Fontana High School, and Sultana High School, and Barstow. “The band is stronger and definitely more unified this year,” said Gonzáles.
The Marching Band has also been selected to perform tomorrow in the Disneyland Christmas Parade. They still have one competition left which will be held at Eisenhower High School, but there is no doubt that this talented group will do nothing less than come out on top.
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Boys Basketball gears up for great season
by Jason Jones
December 11, 1998
The YellowJackets Boys Basketball Varsity squad finishes out the four-day long Rialto Tournament today at 7:00 p. m.
“I think [this year] will be easier, but the league still has quality teams,” says coach Cory Sorensen. Though losing to Redlands East Valley 71 to 54 on Tuesday December 1, the coach and the team still have confidence in winning SAL with the help of senior Cody Sorensen, who scored 12 points against Redlands. Walter Rudolph and Ruben Valvarada also scored 12 points apiece to lead Colton High against the tough defense of Redlands, who practice year round. Colton must concentrate on bigger and better teams such as the well known Pacific Pirates which they play January 15; the San Gorgonio Spartans (January 19) and Yucaipa Thunderbirds (January 26 ). It will be a tough challenge, but these three teams haven’t begun to feel the wrath of Sorensen, Rudolph, and junior Latarus Parish, another of the top players on the team.
Being in a new league will be interesting for the Yellow Jackets but the team is going in with confidence. “With the talent we have on the team we’ll be able to go all the way,” predicts Parish.
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Boys soccer
by Anthony Coronado
December 11. 1998
The Colton boys soccer team started their season where they left off last season, playing great soccer. The Boys team returns 13 players from their C.I.F quarterfinal team. The Jackets entered the season with high expectations. They met those expectations by outscoring their first two opponents, A.B.Miller and JurupaValley High Schools 10-2. “Right now we are playing great soccer,” said senior Jon Hunt, “but we still need some work to be at the level where we want to be.”
Going to Rialto High School to keep their winning streak alive the Yellowjackets did so by beating the Knights 1-0.“It’s definitely going to be interesting this year,” said senior Armando Ponce, “ we have the talent, now we just have to work hard and win the games we are supposed to win.” The Yellowjackets will try to stretch their record to 5-0 against Riverside North High School here tonight at 6 p.m.
Looking to get some revenge on Chaffey High School, the team will attempt to do so in a home match on December 16 at 4:30.Back to top
Cross country runs to second place finish
By Anthony Coronado
December 11, 1998
The Colton Cross Country team made some great strides this year. They set their goal and through hard work and determination they meet that goal, by finishing in second place behind powerful Yucaipa High School. Both the boys and girls teams accomplished this incredible feat by beating the teams they had to beat.
The boys team led by senior Eric Reyes and freshmen twins A.J. and James Wall, found themselves in second place with their convincing 7-3 overall record. The team very happy with their results only look ahead to the upcoming year. “ Things look good for next year,” said coach Bill Halley, “ Theres a close gap between us and Yucaipa High School.” This season above all earned the Yellowjackets respect from some of the states best programs, such as Yucaipa High School.
The girls team led by senior Maryana Vasquez and juniors Antionette Duke and Julia Shulte set their sights on second place as well. Their 6-4 overall record put them where they wanted to be, in second place behind Yucaipa High School.
Vasquez placed 6 in the individual league results just missing qualifying for C.I.F. individuals, as did James Wall who placed 10 on the boys side. All and all the Yellowjackets were happy with the results they put up this season. When asked who the outstanding runners were, Halley had nothing to say but,” The whole team.” This years results leaves the team very optimistic and excited about the future.
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Denny's: the late night place to be
by Kathy Croy
December 11, 1998
Teenagers have never been strangers to late nights; Being able to pull all-nighters and stay out until dawn are just some of the things we tend to be notorious for. However, while staying out longer than other people, sleep can sometimes cause a problem when those late night munchies roll around. Sure, using the drive-through at McDonald’s can satisfy a growling stomach so long as you want to use the hood of your car as a table. When you want to be able to sit in big comfortable booths, and not have to worry about the waitress hearing you wrong, some Colton High students take their rumbling tummies and head to Denny’s.
Denny’s Restaurants are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which makes it a convienent place to go after any late night event. “I usually go to Denny’s after football games on Friday nights cuz usually people are hungry after the game,” says junior Jason Durdle, “and it’s just an easy place to kick it at.” In fact so many people include Denny’s as part of their evenings that it should come as no surprise to see someone there you know.
“People are always coming and going,” observes junior Kelly Baden, “I usually see people from school after the football games. I think it’s cool that we see so many people there that we know.”
Even waitresses seem to agree that teenagers are very attracted to Denny’s. “Denny’s is a meeting place for teenagers to meet other teenagers,” says Dee*, a Denny’s waitress who works the late night shift. However, some students who visit Denny’s on a regular basis seem to be under the impression that their large groups and limited funding for tips causes them to receive second-hand service.
“The waitresses often tend to reject us kids and serve the adults first,” says junior Veronica Nunn. But waitress Katrina M.* seems to understand that teenagers aren’t always flowing with cash. “Sure that’s why a lot of servers don’t like to wait on them [teenagers], but if they don’t have money that time, they’ll tip next time. Most of them tip when they have the money.”
Ultimately, teenagers in Denny’s are not as disliked as thought by most. “I don’t mind them at all,” Katrina continues, “they’re some of the best customers. The kids that come in here are actually really nice. [They] don’t bother me at all.”
So next time your tummy is aching for some good food and friendly service, (that doesn’t say, “thank you drive through,”) then you might want to consider Denny’s as the late night place to be.
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Drug free zone gets more pledges
by Charissa Six
December 11, 1998
The Drug Free Zone is an “area of positive reinforcement of positive value,” says Doctor John Fisher on the Drug Free Zone. Fisher stated that the DFZ had everythingto do with positive outlooks, acts, organizations etc., and tries to take away the focus on negativity.
Until the DFZ started in 1991, Fisher stated “the DFZ didn’t exist. It had little publicity and there was no way for kids to say their school was a drug free zone.” Although the first DFZ had about 450 participants, it has risen each year to where there is presently over 2,000 participants.
The idea is to get students to realize that school and the school parking lot is off limits for drugs and alcohol. Wearing the bracelet and participating in the Red Ribbon Week show that those individual students haved made a commitment to that idea. Other acts of support are the seniors’ key chains. Even though the key chains had only started in 1995, 90% of the senior population had a key chain. Fisher says that the seniors are showing their commitment by saying, “‘ while I’m drunk, high, etc., I will not drive.’ They got used to the idea that there’s a time and a place, but the school isn’t one of them.”
Amy Yarnall and Amber Arakaki, both sophomores at Colton High, say that the DFZ and Red Ribbon Week has no affect on them whatsoever. Yarnall said, however, that an assembly on drug and alcohol awareness “may or may not make a difference.” Fisher believes that the students get nothing from the adults. He said, “it sends freshman and sophomores the wrong message. We used to alwayshave Channel 1, and then we could go and give out the wristbands. Now, we gave them to the teachers and the kids had nomotivation.” Fisher says that next year he hopes we will send out the bracelets by the students who volunteer tobe in the DFZ.
Other than the Red Ribbon Week bracelets and the DFZ, there is yet another organization that is a positive group for kids. It is called the Be Excited About Reading (BEAR) program. “the elementary school idea is to reward younger students for reading, and older students to stay involved and actively present.” remarked Fisher. Like the DFZ, BEAR is run by a group of volnteers who want to help others in making good decisions and being positive.
A major issue that the DFZ tries to make the most awareness about is pregnancy and drugs. Inside many of the rooms at Colton High, there is a powerful poster. It is the picture of a pregnant Indian with the saying “ An inner voice...” The DFZ used that picture because, “a lot of the Indian tribes are losing their babies due to drugs and alcohol.” stated Fisher. By his gesticulation, I could tell that he felt strongly about the fact that once you’re pregnant, you have to “stop it now”. He said that even though it may seem like it’s easier and going faster with drugs, “it’s not.”
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Colton Football barely misses postseason in thrilling finish to storybook season
by Steven Perez
December 11, 1998
A minute and a half. Ninety one little ticks of the clock. A tiny moment in time, but enough to deny the varsity football team their season-long dream of making the playoffs-a season in which the Jackets were expected to do little more than provide easy games for the rest of the teams in the San Andreas League. In the final game of the year on an unlucky Friday, November 13, the Jackets were just 1:31 away from postseason play when the unthinkable happened—Yucaipa scored, beating the Jackets. A victory would have assured them a playoff spot. The Jackets were left wondering what if, as the team was hampered by injuries throughout the second half of the season.
With injuries to key players such as starting senior wingback/safety Cody Sorenson, starting senior offensive guard/defensive end Sam Juarez, starting senior offensive guard/outside linebacker Mike Guiterrez, and starting junior quarterback Brian Pope, the Jackets still managed to be in the playoff race up to the last game.
‘”I would say the season was a success,” said senior guard Sam Juarez,”compared to other years.”
The Jackets opened up league play routing the Cajon Cowboys as Cody Sorenson recorded four touchdowns en route to a 29-9 victory. The Cowboys struck first with a field goal, and Colton responded by racking up 29 consecutive points as they improved to 4-2 and 1-0 in league.
With the odds stacked against them, the Jackets came out and played a tough first half against All-American running back Joe Weber and the Pacific Pirates, only to lose by a score of 28-10. The Jackets found it hard to get the offense going as starting quarterback Brian Pope was knocked out of the game with a concussion.
In game three of league play the Jackets found themselves down 20-0 at halftime against the San Gorgonio Spartans, but battled back in an emotionally spirited second half only to succumb 26-20. The game ended in controversy as a touchdown run by Pope was called back because the referree said his knee was down.
With a 1-3 league record and major playoff implications on the line, the Jackets came out and were caught off guard by the San Bernardino Cardinals by a score of 26-8. Senior full back Adam Edwards had the the only touchdown as the Jackets were believed to be eliminated from the playoffs.
However, because of a forfeited game by the Cajon Cowboys, the Jackets found themselves still eligible for the playoffs.
With a San Bernardino loss and a Colton win over Yucaipa, a coin toss (which was conducted before the final game) would decide who went to the playoffs. Although they did not know it yet, Colton won the toss. Now all they had to do was win the game.
Transfer Latarus Parish led the way as he scored on two passes from Brian Pope and Adam Edwards contributed 102 yards on 10 carries as the Jackets led 13-7 with under two minutes to play. However the Thunderbirds marched 94 yards and eventually scored with 1:31 to play. The loss was all the more painful as the Jackets found out after the game that they had won the toss and were within a minute and a half of the playoffs.
Despite a disappointing finish to the season, several Yellowjackets made all league honors. Ornelas was among several Colton players selected to be All-San Andreas League. The others were senior safety Cody Sorenson and senior offensive guard Sam Juarez. Those selected to Second team were, junior center Ronnie Castorena, senior offensive tackle Joe Ayala, and senior Adam Edwards was selected at both fullback and outside linebacker.
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Russian Gals discover America—What a country!!
by Joanne Flores
December 11, 1998
Imagine coming to a new country, learning a new language, and not knowing a soul. No, we’re not referring to the well documented influx of our friends from south of the border. Recently, three girls, all sisters, showed up from far away Russia. The Patsoukevitch sisters hail from Moscow, and they include senior Oksana, junior Olga, and freshman Anna.
According to the girls, Russian schools are much different from California schools. There, you don’t have a speaking relationship with your teachers in class or out of class, plus you start school at age seven and end at age eighteen.
“I like it here,” said Olga. “Students think about students better.” The three girls do so much with each other and just love everything the same. They share the same friends, same happy attitude, and love for life and going to new places. (In their case new countries or continents).
Oksana, the oldest, plans on graduating this year. They all travel with their Russian/English translation book to help them with their English and all speak quite well for barely learning the language.
Due to a change of apartments the three sisters have transfered schools. They all now go to Redlands now, so they left Colton High before many got a chance to know them. But those who met them will never forget our Russian friends from far away.Back to top
Gearwhore—alumni make it big in electronica band
by Leah Feldhaus
December 11, 1998People who like to make fun of kids in the high school band find themselves wondering what participating in something like a band could possibly do for someone’s future. Well, to all those people the time has come to put your foot in your mouth. Former Colton High students Matt Kjorvestad and Levar Boutte are proof that being in high school band really does help. Now members of the percussion group Vector Tribe, these two have plenty to say about what they do and how they got where they are today.
“We both played tenors in the Colton High drum line,” said Kjorvestad. “The drum set up [for Vector Tribe] looks almost like a marching band percussion set up.”
Both members agree that being in the high school drum line has helped them tremendously. It taught them the skills and the discipline they needed to know in order to succeed.
Vector Tribe has now just completed their first release, a collaboration with Gearwhore (a.k.a. Brian Natonski), entitled Drive . The CD contains a variety of songs, from the melodic song “Love” to the fast-paced house song “Accelerator”. Vector Tribe’s song (cleverly entitled “Vector Tribe”) is an upbeat, fast-paced electronica song, but the percussion is still very noticeable.
“That’s why we’re so different. We’re real people who know how to play [the music].”
Since the international release of their CD is scheduled for the first week of February, they are now preparing for a worldwide tour with Gearwhore. As Vector Tribe, they have played many raves with D.J. Huggy and D.J. Bryan Lee. Some of the places they have played include Seattle and Los Angeles. According to Kjorvestad, Seattle was one of his favorite places to play. The reason being that Seattle has more Soundgarden memorabilia, and Kjorvestad counts them as being one of his biggest influences.
That isn’t the only band that he counts as his influence. Kjorvestad and Boutte have many of them. Carter Beauford, drummer for the Dave Matthew’s Band, is one of the musicians they include in this long list of influences.
Since these bands have a bit of a different style than Gearwhore or Vector Tribe, it makes it hard for them to be able to play together. But being on the same record label as Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim can have its benefits. Astrelworks, the label that they are on, is an extension of Virgin Records, which makes it easy for anyone to grab hold of this CD (hint, hint). Being on a major label hasn’t changed these guys’ attitudes at all though. “Our whole objective is that no matter how big we make, we’ll always play for free,” states Boutte. “We’re there for the kids, you know, they’re the ones who got us here.”
These two seem to have an idea about what the music industry should be like. Unfortunately, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.“[The music industry] is not as glamorous as people think. It’s very corrupt,” according to Boutte. “Everything is about who you know.”
Being in the band at Colton introduced them to a world of opportunities. “The better you are, the better chance you have,” said Kjorvestad. “And it all takes practice.”
So that’s what being in the Colton High band can do.
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Girls Basketball
by Kelly Wheatley
December 11, 1998
With senior captains Sasha Saylor and Alina Arvize leading the way, along with Junior Kristina Six, and with hard work as their motto, the Girls Basketball program expects to do quite well this season.
Although the team is currently without a win at press time, it is only the start of the season, and many feel this is a great LadyJacket team. Coach Chris Burner was quick to point out the differences in this year’s squad from last year’s: “They’re potentially better. It all depends on them. They’ll do as well as how hard they work.”
The team’s goal this year is to make the playoffs, which means coming in at least third overall up against tough teams as Chaffey, Redlands, San Bernardino and Yucaipa.
They faced all these teams this past week at the West Valley tournament. Results will be in the next issue of the Pepper Bough. The next game will be Thursday December 17 at Chaffey.
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Girls soccer
by Stephanie Greenlea
December 11, 1998
The girls varsity soccer team has suffered one big loss before the season even started. The last coach, Michelle Russel. left after a good two years of coaching. Russel went to league rival Yucaipa High School. New coach Roy Nix has been something to adjust to. With new game strategies and ideas it has challenged the girls. Nix feels that the girls have the possibilities to go far this year. Nix’s feelings on coaching are very positive,”I’m loving it, I really like the girls and their attitudes.”
Starting in a new league this year has brought high expectations to Colton’s Girls Varsity team. “ I wasn’t sure because of the youth on our team, but now I feel we have a realistic chance at a League Championship,” states Nix. They have definently proved that by starting off the season by tying 4th ranked CIF team Jurupa Valley High School in the opening scrimmage. In their first pre-season game they beat A.B. Miller 4-3. They have twelve retuning players from their playoff team last year.The girls play at Santiago High School today at 3:15.
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Girls tennis uses teamwork to win
By Milgem Rabanera
December 11, 1998
Since 1995, the Girls Tennis team has always placed a solid 2nd in league, and is one of the fall sports well known for making it to CIF year after year. Although there were many barriers to overcome, the team was still able to make the 1998 season fruitful.
Tough alumni players leave a legacy for their younger siblings to take, and take they do—aggressively. Senior and team co-captain Stephanie Patrick’s older brother, Jeff, was on Coach Kirk McVey’s boys tennis team. Senior Milgem Rabanera’s older sister, Mariver, played varsity from ‘91 to ‘93. Other siblings who played or studied under McVey include junior Kelly Baden, senior co-captain Summer Zamora, and junior co-captain Cathy Villanueva. Her older sister, Christina, was notorious for her varsity singles playing abilities. Even though they come from a family of “jocks,” these players don’t look at their older siblings as something to live up to, they establish a name for themselves.
1998 was the year that the team “re-mobilized.” This may sound like an exaggerated preparation for war, but to those players involved, it is. Outfitted with war paint (sporting their respective graduation dates in glitter on their cheeks), the girls were armed with rackets, ready to face new adversaries and overcome new obstacles.
Due to the dilapidation of the actual home courts of the Yellowjackets, they were put in a new environment, courtesy of the Rancho Mediterranean club. While becoming accustomed to these snazzy “new home courts,” McVey had to size his line-up against the league Colton had left two years ago for the Citrus Belt League, the San Andreas League. Rabanera comments, “I found myself returning to the familiar courts of Cajon, San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Pacific, and San Gorgonio of my freshman year, yet I didn’t know the opponents like I would’ve if we had remained in the SAL.”
Every year coaches have to deal with the problems of where to place promising players. This season proved to be a tough one for McVey as uncontrollable circumstances popped up all over the courts. When it seemed as if the line-up was set in stone, the team had to lose one soldier, senior Jamie Dieppa. Peeking at her statistics, one can see how helpful she was to the team. She won a fair share of singles and doubles games. Unfortunately, Dieppa had to leave the team due to a death in the family. Another absence of a player was felt while battling Pacific and Cajon High because Zamora had to leave for an important two week leadership conference in Washington.
The team did not look at this situation as a loss, but as a chance to polish their skills. Players who were originally on the J.V. team rose to the occasion such as sophomore Ana Monterrossa. She ended up being the varsity team “gopher,” going back and forth from playing doubles and singles. Juniors Lorrisa Vega and Baden also did much leapfrogging; they teamed up a couple of times, and played singles as well. While Zamora was out, her partner Patrick and co-captain, junior Valerie Nave, teamed up to squash their opponents. These circumstances gave players opportunities to experiment with their abilities and shine. Sophomore Amber Arakaki comments, “It was a good experience and it prepared me for the next year.” She and her twin sister, Kristen, were among the J.V. players given the spotlight on varsity a couple of times.
On another note of optimism, all varsity players are able to take pride in the fact that they “swept” more than one of their matches against the multitude of opponents. In addition to their having “swept” other schools in their individual matches, other notable accomplishments go to Vega, Nave, Villanueva, Campa, and Rabanera, who were able to make it past the first round of league finals.
The icing on the cake goes to Zamora and Patrick. During the league finals, the pair ended up being seeded #1 in the whole league. Throughout the whole season, opponents were wary of this dynamic duo, which remained undefeated. Along with sweeping all of their games, they made it past the 2nd round of league finals. McVey said with pride, “this is the first time any of my players ever placed first in league.”
In all, the 1998 season proved to be eventful. The fruits of each players labor will be presented during their banquet at the wonderful Italian restaurant Alfredo’s, on Thursday, December 10.
Serve it Back across the net to top
Blood drive nets multiple pints, students make like Dracula
Brenda Quintero and Kelly Wheatley
December 11, 1998Has saving someone’s life ever given you that weezy feeling? Well, it felt just like that for the 172 people who donated blood in the Vica sponsered blood drive. The blood drive took place on November 23, from 8 a.m to 1p.m., in the Hubbs gym. The students each donated 1 pint of blood, which would then go to help save 3 people’s lives.
A lot of screenings took place before the actual event of giving blood. The requirements that each student had to meet were very strict. You had to be at least 17 years old, in good health (no cold or flu) and you had to weigh over 110 lbs. The check of the iron levels was one of the most important of the tests taken. The nurses were required to only take excess blood. “ We’re looking out for their safety also.” says Medical Assistent, Adrian Leanos. The whole proccess took about one hour.
The coordinator, junior, Monica Santana, made sure every Vica member was helping out. Whether it was comforting a donor, or offering them cookies afterwards. For the most part the students were giving blood to help others out.
“It really feels good, it makes the day better.” commented senior, Chistina Barndollar when explaining how it felt to help someone out.
The goal for the drive was to get 123 students to donate blood. Their goal was well over done. Vica members are now setting another goal for the next blood drive which will be held on March 25.
Water polo fights through tough season
by Rena Ramirez
December 11, 1998
Suffering from a lack of players, Water Polo ended their session with an overall record of 0-13. This team tried to be secure in the fact that they battled hard for a squad of ten, playing against schools with much larger programs.
Out of the ten only two were returnees, both currently captains: juniors Christopher Muir and Christopher Turner. “Having only ten players on the team is a major disadvantage because I am asking first players to play at a varsity level when they have had no prior experience,” said Coach James Vickers. “Most teams will have at least a junior varsity and varsity squad; thus, their players have at least two years to develop and learn the same before reachinging the varsity level.” This year Colton faced some of the top teams in the league: Pacific, Cajon, San Bernardino, and Yucaipa. Coach Vickers practiced his team hard and diligently to prepare for each team. Although they were beaten by every school they had to face, Colton put up a good fight. “Water Polo is a fun sport to play, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” said senior David Gardner.
Another problem that this team had to face was not having access to a pool as often as they would have liked. “Not having a pool is a big disadvantage,” says Muir. “Every high school which has a pool on campus is capable of practicing year round, where we’re only allowed to practice for a portion of the year.” Agreeing with Muir, Coach Vickers states, “Not having a pool on campus also hurts the team’s ability to recruit new players. I think that this team has improved from the start of this year. For a group of individuals who had never seen a game of water polo played they now have a good understanding of what the game is is about.” Next season they will need to recruit a few good players because of the loss of graduating seniors Joshua Brillhart, Daniel Gallardo and David Gardner. “Losing those players will be a loss, but we always have room to recruit new players for the next season,” said Turner. Coach Vickers believes they need to mature in their playing ability and they also need to be more consistent in their practice intensity. By maintaining focus in the game and executing all those skills they will be better prepared for what they are up against next year.
Although the boys didn’t do so great, the girls team has much higher hopes. “My goals for the season are to work as a team and to do our best,” said junior Beth Mleczko. “I don’t know if we will have the same luck as the boys, but we will certainly try our hardest.”
The girls played their first game on December 1 and lost 28-5. “I think we did pretty well for our first game considering North was a really good team,” said junior Melissa Zamora. “The girls water polo team is just as aggressive as the boys. They work just as hard and give just as much effort.”
Coach Vickers plans on following through in coaching the girls water polo team and is going to return next year for another season. “Yes I do plan on returning next year. I have made a commitment to the players as long as they are willing to work hard,” said Vickers.
Although the boys season is finished, you can catch the next girls waterpolo game at home against Perris on Tuesday December 15 at 3:15.
Time to give three cheers for our football team
Staff Editorial
December 11, 1998This 1998 sports season at Colton High has successfully given the student body a reason to carry a little school pride. In the past three years, pride on this campus has slowly diminished and hasn’t been restored, until now. Many disillusioned fans may be thinking right now that we at the Pepper Bough are crazy and we must have been watching a different team this year. But we know exactly what we’re talking about.
The football team has accomplished more in one season than in the last three years combined. This is definitely something worth celebrating. The yellowjackets have worked hard and have finally been able to show their opponents who’s on top.
This year’s football team started the season off with a bang winning the first football game of pre-season. Unfortunately they were defeated in the second game, but came back wining the next two games. All of these games were part of the pre-season, and all students awaited to see what the team would accomplish in league. The Yellowjackets were only able to defeat Cajon in the SAL season. Many may still have the attitude that our football team sucks, but this is not true. In the past three years the football team has only been able to win four games. That’s how many games they won in this one season. That is some major improvement. This is something to be proud of.
So all you Colton high students should hold pride for your school. No more “This school sucks,” or “ I hate this school.” Have some pride for the accomplishments this school has made and for the school you will one day call your alma matter. You will always remember Colton with your high school memories so you better make them good ones.
Keep the Santa Magic alive!!
(Both sides now column)
by Stephanie Greenlea
December 11, 1998Do you remember the feeling on Christmas Eve night sitting in your bed, eyes wide open waiting and listening anxiously for Santa to come with that one present that you have wanted for so long? Just imagine waking up without the magic of Santa being there. What would Christmas be like for a little kid if they never had the chance to experience Santa Claus?
I remember when I was a little girl, Christmas was like the whole world to me. I remember Christmas Eve’s not being able to sleep, sitting up all night with my sisters, looking under the door crack hoping to catch a glimpse of big black boots. Next morning after falling asleep from fatigue, I remember the feeling of excitement, knowing Santa had come. I next ran to the Christmas tree to find all the stockings overflowing with goodies and the one unwrapped present sitting there in all it’s glory left by Santa just for me.
I feel that children who are denied the magical myth of Santa are deprived of one of the biggest excitements and joys of being a young child in America. For most families in America this has become such a big deal for the children. I know when I was younger Santa was such a big thing to me, knowing that someone other than my parents went out of their way to bring me some toy that I could have definitely lived without. Just knowing that made me feel special.
Being brought up with a role model that is totally giving can have such a big influence on the way a child acts. Isn’t Santa a symbol of good and kindness? Why wouldn’t you want your child to grow up believing in such a value? Ok, so there isn’t really a jolly fat man who climbs down your chimney, but isn’t it really about the spirit of Santa Claus? Isn’t a myth that brings a smile to a child’s face a lot more important than a hard truth that will cause them to lose hope in a world full of hate? Kids grow up too fast now. I say let them have at least some semblance of tradition and magic.KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE!!!
Ho Ho Ho Go back to top
Klub Korner
by Karen Venegas
December 11,1998
Asian Club
Some people may not be aware of the fact that the Asian Club is open to all who are interested in joining. Their club Advisor: Julie Printz; President: seniors Ammelin Bilavarn and Veasna (Ves) Nhep; Vice president: seniors Veasna (Ves) Nhep and Hean Ben; Secretary: senior Jennifer Andrada and junior Jennifer Kim; Treasurer: junior Davey Nhep; Photo: sophomore Hoeun Ben and freshman Roeum Eang. Members of this club can be ready to explore the backgrounds of others as well as their own, “We learn about different ethnic groups. We learn about each other,” said Veasna Nhep.
The Asian Club plans to host an assembly about Asian cultures and traditions to tie in with an Asian New Year in about April or May. They plan to include costumes, dancing, music, and other entertainment. A spring field trip to Los Angeles for an Asian theme exhibit at a museum and possibly a visit to an Asian community and “Friendship Day” at University of California, Riverside are also some of the club’s future plans. Their next club meeting will be Thursday, January 7, 1999 in room 507.Color Guard
Color Guard consists of eleven girls that are very dedicated to putting their all into their performances. What makes them unique is that they are the only color guard that actually plays instruments.
This season alone they have already won two sweepstakes in their division, that’s the highest award possible. Under the advisement of Luis González and their choreographer, senior Mary Woods, they practice everyday during seventh period and after school.
They competed in Las Vegas on November 7. “We’ve worked really hard this year and we’re hoping to do really well in Vegas,” said Woods before the trip. Color Guard lived up to Woods’ expectations and won sweepstakes, they one of fifteen colorguards competing. They have two Christmas parades coming up, one at Disneyland and the other in Colton at the Colton Christmas parade.
The next opportunity to join the Color Guard will be in April. The requirements of joining are to be coordinated and to be able to play a musical instrument. A year of being a member of the band is required because in January the girls join the concert band.
These girls live by some words of wisdom that they heard from Joey Mercado, drama teacher, “Be the star that you are!”M.E.Ch.A.
M.E.Ch.A.,(Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Chicano de Aztlan; Chicano Student Movement of the Southwest) considers themselves “A new image for a better future.” Their club is national throughout the United States in colleges and universities.
Their club Advisor: Avelina Villa; President: senior Stacey Holguin; Vice President: senior Loretta Hernandez; Secretary: senior Cynthia Lopez; Treasurer: junior Monica Santana; Publicist: junior Maria Crozco; Historian: senior Diana Sosa; External Affairs: junior Roger Robles; Sergeant at Arms: senior Roger Romero.
They collected a food basket and donated it to the homeless in November. In December they plan to be in the Colton Christmas Parade and spend time with sick children. M.E.Ch.A. also plans to host their annual Mujer Banquet and to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. “We want to make a difference not only in our school but in our community,” said Loretta Hernandez.
M.E.Ch.A’s next club meeting will be Thursday, January 7, 1999 in room 254 at 2:30 p.m., and they would like to clarify that M.E.Ch.A. is open to everyone.Back to top
Method Man CD Review
by Allen Eley
December 11, 1998Method Man grew up in the Staten Island’s Park Hill projects. Method Man often writes his rhymes right their in the studio without editing. His fave rock bands include Rage, Sound garden and Metallica. Method Man is just an incredibly gifted performer. The November release of Method Man's Tical 2000: Judgment Day stands out as the long overdue follow-up to the 1994’s platinum solo Tical.
Tical 2000 is state of the art East Coast Hard-core , with dirty lyrics and creepy sonics, by the likes of Mobb Deep’s Havoc, Eric Sherman and the Wu’s RZA. The lyrics flow like water with sweet new rhymes which I rank about an 8 on a scale of 10. The rhymes, lyrics and illmatic beats make the CD different from the other hip-hop artists.
In case you didn’t know, Method Man is a Pisces, a personality type reputed to have changeable moods, sleepy eyes and baggy clothes. Lately people call him “Jonny-John,” for Jonny Blaze; his names also include hot Nickels, Hot Nixion, Iron Lung, Ticalion Stallion, Panty Raider Shaicuan and his birth name “Clifford Smith”. If you ever want to see any portion of the CD just look for Senior Walter Vaughn. I highly recommend this new CD! Buy it now.Yo, Back to top, foo
Happy New Year, You're Dead—Dead Drunk
by Julie Connor
December 11,1998This is the last New Year’s of the century. A time for resolutions, reflection, reminiscing, and recommitment - a new beginning. Traditionally this is what New Year’s is all about. The key word there was traditionally.
But what are you really doing? If you’re like almost every other high school student, there will be parties. Like one anonymous student so accurately described, “mass people, mass women, and mass food.” I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with ringing in the new year with a few hundred of your closest friends, but heed a voice of warning. According to the California Highway Patrol, from Thanksgiving until New Year’s is the deadliest time of the year.
In California in December 1997 there were a total of 418 alcohol related collisions involving 18 year olds, killing 20 persons, 18 males and 2 females. 330 males were injured where only 68 females were. In San Bernardino County alone that month, 65 were killed and 1,624 were injured, all teens. County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Dvorak has seen many a high school student controlled by alcohol and suffer the consequences. “Kids always think ‘it will never happen to me’ but why wouldn’t it? They’re drinking the same alcohol.”
When it comes down to it it’s all about choices, and Officer Dvorak has seen kids make some pretty weak ones. He told me about some of them. Do you want to be that senior from Rancho Cucamonga who left a party drunk and tired only to slam into an oak tree at 70 mph? He died instantly. When the cops found his body in the backseat and his feet remaining in the floorboard, they wished he’d made a better decision. Or how about that 17 year old girl who at a party became so drunk she had sex with 4 guys who then left her out in a field. These are only a few of the cases he’s dealt with but they’re real and it could happen to anybody who puts themselves in that position.
The possibility is always there with other irresponsible drivers and drinking only increases chances. As if these consequences aren’t enough, drinking means risking losing your license, injuring or killing others or yourself, having your car impounded, serving possible jail time, ruining your record, and paying fines. These are the penalties. All for a drink. Or two. Or seven. Or twenty.
So this year when you make your resolutions, make the decision beforehand to create memories instead of fatalities and decide for yourself: is it really worth it?Back to (hic!) top
Masterplan/Oasis CD Review
by Ismael Zamora
December 11, 1998The Masterplan is the long awaited fourth album from the band Oasis. They come from the great city of Manchester, England (also hometown of the famous band of the 80’s, The Smith’s).
Oasis is bass player Paul McGuigan, rhythm guitar Paul Arthus, drummer Alan White, vocals Liam Gallagher, and lead guitar and back up vocals Noel Gallagher. The Masterplan brings fourteen unreleased songs from the past four years. It brings in their favorite songs like “Acquiesce”, “Talk Tonight”, “The Masterplan”, and my personal favorite, “Headshrinker”.
The Gallagher brothers question themselves as to why none of The Masterplan songs weren’t on any of their last three albums. However, they said it was for the best. Their first album, Definitely Maybe was the fastest selling debut album in England, and sold 3.5 million copies here in the U.S.
However, it wasn’t until their second album What’s the Story Morning Glory, that made them known all over. From big hits like “Wonderwall”, ”Champagne Supernova”, and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, their music careers were looking good. However, what go’s up must come down. It was the release of their third album, Be Here Now that did not do very well in the U.S., selling only 100,000 copies its first week. Notwithstanding the fact that they still had some good songs like “D’you know what I mean”, and “Don’t go away”.
Band members Paul McGuigan and Paul Arthus admits “It was a little to early to release our third album but what can you do”.
Now, they’re back with The Masterplan and hoping to rip the charts up with their big hit “Acquiesce”. Liam Gallagher say’s “Most of the songs written by my brother come from the soul and beyond; he is truly a great writer” and with The Masterplan already out in stores, it will just keep getting better and better for the band Oasis.
This album is truly great because of the wide variety of rock,pop, a lot of acoustic, and a little bit of folk. Belive me, this is a band that keeps on giving. So if you want to hear some good songs of life and every day problems, then you want to get The Masterplan from Oasis.
ASB assemblies only for ASB card holders—and that's wrong!
by Roger Romero
December 11, 1998If there weren’t enough surprises (ahem, such as the new school policies that have become rampant this year), now the school takes away another privilege given to the student body. I’m talking about the assemblies that make the student spirit grow.
On Friday, October 9, there was an addtional assembly that took place in the girls gym, while we only expected a meager three to satisfy us for the rest of the year. Good news, right? Wrong. It was only for people with an ASB card. This assembly created much anger amongst our students because they felt they absolutely had to buy an ASB card in order not to miss out on events like this.
Senior Diana Sosa says, “I don’t feel that this is right because not everyone can afford buying one, I believe that there are other ways to choose people to attend to this assemblies such as GPA, attendance and achievement at school.” Even though she has an ASB card, she decided not to go because she thought that it was wrong what the school was doing to the students. And like her, other students shared her ideas.
“I feel that the school is pressuring the student body for something that is not necessary,” says senior Sabrina Almaraz. Karla Huesca, the activities director, responds to such criticism by noting, “By buying an ASB card you pay for the extra curricular activities that you get.”
That’s okay, but what about the rest of the school population that doesn’t play sports or participate in after school activities? Admittedly the almighty ASB card takes a few bucks off on things such as the yearbook, football games, and tickets to prom, but that’s about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to put ASB down. I’m just giving the opinion of the people. I know that the members are very dedicated and very passionate in doing good things for the school. What they want is to make the school better, and we should support them at all times. It would be very unfair to blame them for everything that goes wrong at school, because sometimes they don’t have control over different situations, but they’re trying their best.
For example, the assembly that took place in the Ken Hubbs gym on November 6 for the whole school was their idea; maybe the ASB members realized that what the school did was wrong so they tried to make an assembly for the whole school and they did. But let’s just hope that assemblies for people with an ASB card only won’t happen ever again at this school.Back to the top
Loss of Christmas spirit lamented
by Jason Valenzuela
December 11, 1998BAH HUMBUG! What the immortal Scrooge said should replace the Merry Christmas of today. Christmas Spirit is just that, a spirit of what it formerly was. The holiday is a joke now! It is a commercialized moneymaking monster as far as stores and companies are concerned. And people, especially children, when you say “Christmas” they say “PRESENTS!!!”
Even this issue contributes to the death of Chistmas spirit. Two of our other stories are about jobs to get money for Christmas and hot present ideas. It literally makes me sick. Christmas has progressed greatly over the years but it is worse now than it ever was before. Candlemas, an ancient version of Chistmas, dates back far before 500 A.D., and in some opinions and books, before the birth of Christ. So you can bet your life on the fact that no one was doing last minute Chistmas shopping around then!
For those of you who are of the Christian religions Chistmas represents a celebration of the birth of Christ. I don’t often see that fact displayed around the holiday season. For those of you who aren’t of that religion or are atheists it is the spirit that counts. Christmas is supposed to be a time of celebration with family and friends and I don’t see that either around Christmas. What I do see is Christmas sales starting earlier and earlier each year. The Christmas decorations practically come up right after Halloween ends.
Okay, here is one point of cheer. All of the Christmas specials and movies on TV. Those make me sick too. It is the Hollywood and television way of cashing in on the season. I have seen the Christmas Story done well and then I saw one version so twisted just so they could make another movie where the ghosts looked as if they belonged in a cheap horror flick. There are a hundred versions of every possible Christmas story on TV.
We as a general people have allowed things to become this way. We are a society of Scrooges depending only on the material things such as money relatives send for Christmas or presents that we recieve from close friends and family. There are a few people who are Tiny Tim’s but most of us don’t deserve their cries of “God bless us every one.” I find that often Christmas is a time when people worry about who or how Christmas dinner is to be prepared and what is the right present for so and so. Almost everyone needs the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future to come for a vist or maybe to give a swift kick in the rear.
So once more I say Scrooge is taking over and the money making store and corporations along with our help seem to have found a way to contain and silence the Three Ghosts. I just hope that as the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge, we don’t end up depending on material things which will bring no lasting joy or happiness and will only be there for another greedy person to take once we are gone. Wake up everyone, and see it. Christmas is a time for family or you may wake up and realize one day yu have no family to celebrate your life and happpiness with or no happiness to celebrate at all.
In general the true celebrations are dying: Halloween, Christmas, and how many people even know what Beltain or May Day actually is? We have many celebrations such as Saint Patrick’s Day or Valentine’s day that even the older people in our modern society can’t begin to remember why they are around. The have become a time for stores to put on sales and make more money than usual. Even the days that celebrate the history or people of our nation are dying. Our spirit in general is dying away and we need to wake up and see the truth or we will all fall into a sleep that will kill our hearts and souls.
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Enough with the grammar overdose!
by Jason Valenzuela
December 11, 1998Diction, pentameter, word order, and syntax. Words heard by me and every student at Colton High. They are the words that we inevitably hear in all four years of our english classes. Their purposes is to analyse the structure of a work a book, short story, and poem. Works that the author may never have intended to be analyzed.
I’m sick of it! Hearing that such and such author used a gerund here to imply this or a complex compound here to remind us that, etc. I consider myself a poet and a writer and I have friends who are writers too. When I look at a poem, I see not words strutured specifically, but a feeling, a portrayal, of someone’s mind or heart. I can tell you that at least 99% of all the poets in world did not intend for their worked to be analzed and picked apart!
When a poet or writer writes they may portray their views of society and religion, but it doesn’t mean that they meant for it to happen. For most writers I know, and myself, we simply get an idea and write. Idea and imagination flow forth onto the page given shape and voice by our hand. Then someone goes and picks it apart to the bone!
Half the time the poem only has meaning to the writer! I once sat back as an english class picked apart my poem and could only laugh. Their ideas were flawless in analysis but wrong in the heart. As they looked at each piece of it they went further and further from the true meaning.
So I ask you the next time you see a poem or story take the time, read it through, and then again. But don’t pick it apart, because the closer you look to the single stroke of a painting the more you lose sight of the entire picture. Analysis has it’s place but it should not come formost, see the feeling before you see how the author ended up portraying it.
Diction, pentameter, word order, and syntax. Words heard by me and every student at Colton High. They are the words that we inevitably hear in all four years of our english classes. Their purposes is to analyse the structure of a work a book, short story, and poem. Works that the author may never have intended to be analyzed.
I’m sick of it! Hearing that such and such author used a gerund here to imply this or a complex compound here to remind us that, etc. I consider myself a poet and a writer and I have friends who are writers too. When I look at a poem, I see not words strutured specifically, but a feeling, a portrayal, of someone’s mind or heart. I can tell you that at least 99% of all the poets in world did not intend for their worked to be analyzed and picked apart!
When a poet or writer writes they may portray their views of society and religion, but it doesn’t mean that they meant for it to happen. For most writers I know, and myself, we simply get an idea and write. Idea and imagination flow forth onto the page given shape and voice by our hand. Then someone goes and picks it apart to the bone!
Half the time the poem only has meaning to the writer! I once sat back as an english class picked apart my poem and could only laugh. Their ideas were flawless in analysis but wrong in the heart. As they looked at each piece of it they went further and further from the true meaning.
So I ask you the next time you see a poem or story take the time, read it through, and then again. But don’t pick it apart, because the closer you look to the single stroke of a painting the more you lose sight of the entire picture. Analysis has it’s place but it should not come formost, see the feeling before you see how the author ended up portraying it.Back to top
Play review/Our Miss Brooks
by Amber Arakaki
December 11, 1998“Swell,” “Golly gee,” and “jeepers” were said among many other “neato” words in the Our Miss Brooks play on the nights of December 3,4,and 5.
The play, based on an old TV series, is set in the early 1950s. The title role, played senior Jenny Pearce, is an English teacher at Madison High School who goes through the adversities of producing a high school drama, dealing with an overbearing principal, and trying to achieve a normal life by winning the attention of Madison High’s basketball coach, Mr. Hugo Longacre, played by Mario Villalobos. The relationship between Miss Brooks and the coach parallels two other students, Jane and Ted, played by Megan Loewy and Alex Villalobos. On opening night, everyone in the play was very excited and had the jitters. “Opening night was great because there was a great audience, but I was really nervous,” said Pearce. Although they were all nervous, the play went very well. One audience member after the play said, “Everyone played their parts really well . . . the play was excellent. Ms. Mercado must be doing a good job.” The play couldn’t have done so well without the aid of Ms. Mercado as well as the people behind the scenes. “The cast is energetic,” said junior Diane Keeling. Flora Schaller, who played Elsie, said, “We get along great
. . . like a family.” Many said that the play was “cute,” “adorable,” “funny,” and one person even said, “neato!”Back to top
Phantom of the Opera
By Amy Yarnall
December 15, 1998“The Phantom of The Opera” echoed in and out of the great walls of the Pantages Theatre in L.A. On the night of Friday, October 17th, it sent hundreds of spectators into an amazement that filled their eyes and ears. Crowds of people stood in line, waiting for the door man to lead them to what would be a spectacular event.
The original story of the “Phantom” was written by a man named Gaston Leroux, who wrote the book based on France’s greastest opera house. The two men who transformed Leroux’s novel into a play, were Broadway’s famous music composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyric writer Charles Hart.
“Phantom” begins at the “auction scene” where items that used to be in the opera house are being auctioned off. At the end of the scene, an enormous chandelier swings out over the audience; and, being six rows from the stage, it
felt as though my friends and I were going to be brutely smacked in the face.
A brief synopsis of the play: It’s a story about a man who declares himself to be the ghost of the opera house. Within the theatre he taunts and teaches a opera singer named Christine Daae . Daae reunites with a man named Raoul De Changhy, and falls in love.
Ian Jon Bourg played the role of the Phantom. Bourg, who gained his fame by his work in contemporary musicals, gave such songs as “ Angel of Music”, “The music of the night “ and “The Phantom of the Opera” , a rich quality that only a baratone voice could achieve.
Marie Danvers played the role of Christine Daae. Danvers has played the role Christine in many theatricals and her experience showed that night. Her high pitch voice shook the theatre walls and made the ears of many people tingle.
Raoul, the man who falls in love with Christine, was played by Richard Todd Adams. Adams, who is working on his masters in music, took a leave of absence to join the company. He intrigued and astounded the audience, making them fall in love with his character.
All of the passion that each performer possesed and their experience contributed to the overall effect that I think Webber and Hart wanted the public to witness. However, Bourg, Danvers, and Adams were not the only members that brought this play to life. It was the set designers, props, and extras that helped make “Phantom” remarkable.Back to top
In defense of Los Detalles
by Diana Sosa
December 11, 1998Lately it seems that speaking the Spanish language has become controversial. Different laws have come out trying to prohibit the use of Spanish in schools; I would have to go into great detail in order to explain each of them, but the main one that has affected all of us in education is the passage of Proposition 227. Within all this is a priority to be informed, maybe not in a professional way, but especially, for those of us for whom Spanish is our native language, in our own language. This is the main job of our Spanish Page called Los Detalles, which comes out in every issue of our school newspaper.
Our job is to keep alive the custom of reading in our own language, no matter who stands against it or thinks that having a Spanish page is a waste of time. Unfortunately, many think this way, and negative comments are common. Questions that the staff are bombarded with include “Why do we have a Spanish Page if we are supposed to learn English?” “How does it benefit the school to have one?” and “Why is it important to have one?”
I understand that we live in a country where if we don’t learn English we cannot succeed, or go forward.This doesn’t mean that we must forget where we come from, and most importantly we shouldn’t forget our native language. This is one of the main reasons why I believe I should defend the importance of having a Spanish page.
I consider that our working on Los Detalles makes a big difference, giving a privilege that not many can obtain. In the three years I’ve been working for Los Detalles, I have noticed that maintaining our culture is very important, since we face many obtacles which attempt to make us forget where we come from. According to those who want to eliminate the right to speak Spanish, they argue that we must learn English instead. I believe they are right. Why not? We certainly do need English to succeed. But nowadays speaking two languages is becoming more common, especially speaking English And Spanish, many high pay jobs are requiring this more and more. So, why do people make so many negative comments about having a Spanish Page? I am proud that we have a Spanish Page on our paper. The news should be for everyone.Back to top
Por que Los Detalles
por Diana Sosa
11 de Deciembre 1998
Ultimamente el hecho de hablar español se ha vuelto toda una controvesia. Las diferentes leyes que se han dado a conocer tratando de prohibir el hablarlo se han incrementado, la más reciente fue la controversial 227. Tendria que entrar en detalles para poderlas describir una por una. Con todo esto es una prioridad estar un tanto informados, talves no profesionalmente, pero si en nuestro idioma. Este es el trabajo de nuestra página de español, conocida como “Los Detalles”. La cúal es encontrada en todas las ediciones que se publican en el periódico escolar. Aunque los que trabajamos aqui no somos nada profesionales, pero quizas sonamos en serlo, nuestro trabajo consiste en mantener viva la costumbre de poder leer en en nuestro propio idioma, apesar de los que se opongan y digan que el tener una página en Español es solo una perdida de tiempo. Desgraciadamente muchos piensan de esta manera, y los comentarios negativos no se hacen esperar, poniendo como excusa que tenemos que aprender Inglés si queremos salir adelante. Y preguntas como estas se han hecho más comunes, ¿Para que sirve el tener una página en Español, si se supone que debemos aprender el Ingles? ¿Como nos beneficia? ¿Por que es importante tenerla?
Entiendo que estamos en un país en donde si no aprendemos el idioma inglés no nos podemos superar y menos salir adelante, pero esto no quiere decir que nos tengamos que olvidar de donde venimos y mucho menos que nos olvidemos de nuestro idioma. Es por eso que defiendo la importancia de tener una página en Español, y esto no quiere decir que por el simple hecho de ser la editora me corresponde defenderla, pero considero que el tenerla hace una gran diferencia, es gozar de un privilegio el cúal pocos pueden obtener. En los tres años que llevo de ser parte de esta sección del periodico me he dado cuenta lo importante que es nuestro idioma, apesar de que muchos digan lo contrario. Según aquellos que quieren prohibir el que uno tenga el derecho de hablar en español, ponen la excusa de que es por nuestro propio bien para poder superarnos . Y tiene razón, porque no! Pero entonces, ¿Porque aumentala demanda en muchos trabajos de hablar Español é Inglés? Ah! Entonces ahi no ponen ningun “pero”, verdad! Alcontrario si eres bilingue tienes una mejor oportunidad de ser mejor pagado que el resto de los trabajadores que solo hablan un solo idioma.
Me pregunto ¿Valera la pena que pierdan su tiempo tratando de prohibir el hablar Español? Ya que dentro de pronto los hijos de aquellos que se oponen a nuestro idioma, en un futuro dependeran de el. Al dejar de hablar nuestro idioma significaria negar de donde venimos y mucho más importante olvidar nuestras raices.
Hay que dejar claro que el hecho de estar en otro país, no quiere decir que nos tengamos que hacer a la manera que nos piden ser, podemos salir adelante sin necesidad de llegar al estremo de dejar de hablar Español. Sigamos conservando la tradición, o mejor dicho el privilegio de poder tener una página, ya que esta es posible gracias a muchas personas que nos apoyan y creen en nosotros, y en el derecho de poder leer en nuestro propio idioma. no importantando quien se oponga.
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Psycho/Movie Review
by Steve Ramirez
December 11, 1998In the new movie Psycho director Gus Van Sant recreates the classic Alfred Hitchcock 1960 thriller. In remaking the movie Van Sant recreates nearly every shot and line of dialogue from the original film.
That does not mean that it is just as good as the original, but it is still a very good, very interesting, and at some points scary movie.
Vince Vaughn stars as psycho Norman Bates, Anne Heche plays the shower victim Marion Crane, and Julianne Moore plays her sister.
Psycho is about a demented, murderous motel proprietor and a woman on the run who has the misfortune to stop at the Bates motel on a rainy night. The psycho Norman Bates has two sides to him. One half is himself and the other half is his dead mother. When the reality struck to close to Norman only one half could exist. Norman was always the mother part of him, but he wasn’t always Norman .
Norman’s mother didn’t like him to like girls so when Norman liked a girl the mother part of him would kill the girl.
In the original Norman Bates was played by Anthony Perkins, Marion Crane the shower victim was played by Janet Leigh, and the sister was Vera Miles. The original was the first movie to graphically depict murder .
The differences from the original and the new version are that the new Psycho is in color, there are different actors of course, and in the new movie the time is 1998.
The original Psycho was the first of its kind and it inspired many slasher films to come. One of the best horror movies it inspired was Halloween which came out in 1978 and starred Jamie Lee Curtis, who is Janet Leigh’s [from the original] daughterAll the actors do a great job of playing the original characters, but there is still no one who plays Norman Bates like Anthony Perkins in the original .
If you have seen the original movie and you liked it then the new Psycho is worth going to go see because it is fun to compare the two films and also to see it all over once again on the big screen .
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What’s My Name? Take our Rap Stars Quiz
by Steve Ramirez
December 11, 1998Have you ever wondered how those rap music stars get their “street” names? Have you ever wished you knew what a rapper’s real name
is ? Well this is your chance to find out some rappers (and two other non-rappers) real names but, first see how many real names you may already know. Take the quiz or you can just find the real names by looking at the answers. Once you find the real names you may understand why they don’t use their real name . (Look out for the hardest one I put in which is the first one.)1.) 2pac
2.) Snoop Dogg
3.) Dr. Dre
4.) Puff Daddy
5.) Notorious B.I.G.
6.) Busta Rhymes
7.) Ice Cube
8.) Method Man
9.) Jay-Z
10.) Mack 10
11.) LL Cool J
12.) Kurrupt
13.) Ol Dirty Bastard
14.) Masta Killa(Wu-Tang)
15.) Dat Nigga Daz
16.) B-Real(Cypress Hill)
17.) KRS One
18.) Ice T
19.) Ghost Face Killa(Wu-Tang)
20.) Coolio
21.) Chuck D
22.) Big Daddy Kane
23.) Bizzy Bone
24.) D.J. Quik
25.) Axl Rose
26.) Marilyn MansonA. Clifford Smith
B. Tracy Marrow
C. Calvin Broadus
D. O’Shea Jackson
E. Andre Young
F. Ricardo Brown
G. Christopher Wallace
H. Shawn Carter
I. Louis Freeze
J. Larry Parker
K. Sean Combs
L. Trevor Smith
M. Dennis Coles
N. D. Rolison
O. James Todd Smith
P. Russel Jones
Q. Desmand Arnaud
R. Jamal Turner
S. Tupac Amaru Shakur
T. Charles Scruggs
U. Artis Ivery, JR.
V. Bill Bailey
W. Brian Warner
X. Antonio Hardy
Y. Dante Blake
Z. Carlton Ridenhour
Answers: 1.) S 2.) C 3.) E 4.) K 5.) G 6.) L 7.) D 8.) A 9.) H 10.) N 11.) O 12.) F 13.) P 14.) R 15.) Q 16.) I 17.) J 18.) B 19.) M 20.) U 21.) Z 22.) X 23.) T 24.) Y 25.) V 26.) W
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Sally Mae Has college info
by Brenda Quintero
December 11, 1998High School students and their families who are stranded in a college tuition desert, trapped under a mountain of financial aid forms,or drowning in a sea of confusing advice, can find a help line on the phone or on the internet.
Sallie Mae, one of the nation’s leading source for college answers has this new,easier way to find financial aid,search for education grants or work-study. You can call toll-free at 1-888-888-3460 Monday-Friday 8am-9pm. If you also have access to the internet you can find those same answers by visiting Sallie Mae’s interactive web site, www.salliemae.com. "Sallie Mae is one of the many sources out there,” says head counselor Ken Clark. You can find alot of help on your college concerns and the internet provides a lot of help on financial aid. If you have any questions, you can also contact Clark or any of the counselors in the counseling office.
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Break out the Zoot Suits, it the Swing Dancing Assembly!
by Mollyrose Jones
December 11, 1998What better way to get students acquainted with the culture and past times of the World War II era than with an assembly centered around swing music and dancing? Of course, it helps that swing has been going through a revival among young people. The many fliers around campus have been up since mid-November, and the assembly will ultimately take place Monday in the Macintosh gym during both lunches. The assembly is but one in a string of assemblies which will also take place during the week. They all share the important purpose of promoting awareness of life during World War II. The themes for the other assemblies this coming week will be the Holocaust, The Japanese Internment, and Science and Technology.
“The point of the assemblies is to make some meaning out of the literature that [the students] are learning in their classes,” says Tami Preciado, who helped organize the assembly, along with fellow English teacher Darcy Vickers. “I think it hits home more when they become a part of this,” says Preciado.
Of all the relating assemblies, the one which gives students a chance to get down and swing dance seems to be the most popular and talked about. The volunteers to be a part of it have been flocking. “It’s amazing the response we’ve gotten from this,” says Preciado. The one little problem is that a majority of the volunteers were girls. Thus, the abundance of fliers which went up, asking specifically for more guy volunteers. The interest in swing dancing has sparked talk of a school swing club starting up at the beginning of 1999.
The impact of this assembly has indeed grown tremendously from where it originally started. Originally, the assembly was going to be put on by the cheerleaders alone, but it was decided that it should be opened up to anyone interested in becoming involved, no previous experience necessary.
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Tell the truth about Santa!
by Sharon Bjornstad
(Both sides now column)
December 11, 1998Picture this: it’s 11:30 p.m. or 12 midnight, Christmas morning, you’re about 7, or 8 years old, and Thunder Cats, My Little Ponies, and He-man or She-ra (whichever) are still your favorite programs, and that sparkle in your eyes was still big and bright and glowing with the hopes that unicorns were really real, along with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and . . . Santa Claus?
Little do you know that the truth waits at the Christmas tree down the hall. Even before you’re fully awake, you’re up out of bed making your way to the family room—hoping that this time you’ll catch a glimpse of Ol’ Saint Nick. Just as you enter the room, expecting to find a fat jolly old man, instead you find your mom or dad, hunched over a couple of presents, seemingly arranging them in certain positions—as if they had put them there—not Kris Kringle. The first words that mutter out of your mouth are, “Where’s Santa Claus?” and all your mom or dad can seem to do is just stare at you, terrified, unable to speak in complete words.
For all children, such is the case; maybe your experience wasn’t entirely the same as this. But for any child the realization that these characters, wonderful and great as they may seem, are nothing but myths, can be a very traumatizing moment. Now I’m not saying that after realizing that Santa Claus isn’t “real,” that a child now has the possibility of becoming a potential psychotic, but there definitely has to be something very wrong with a society that gets a kick out of watching a kid make a fool out of him/herself. Personally I think that starting at birth people are instructed to be a certain way, to value certain things, and believe in certain things but do we ever question it, and ask ourselves why? Seldom not, which would probably explain the meaning of Santa Claus’ survival throughout the years.
Speaking of meanings, doesn’t anyone remember the true meaning of Christmas? Don’t get me wrong, I love giving and receiving presents just as much as the next person, but I don’t believe that tricking children into believing a story that has no significant effect in the production of their growth. You don’t have to have a Santa Claus to have “the Christmas spirit,” or be able to give and receive presents, the spirit should be in you and if you decide to give it should be because you want to not on behalf of “The Holiday Season” or a fat man in a red suit who kids only like because he gives them presents.Back to top
Art wall takes shape
by Amber Cambroto
December 11, 1998
“All the world is a stage, all men and women merely players”: what role will you play? This is Shakespeare’s theme for Colton High’s Art Wall.
The art wall on the side of the auditorium was started two years ago. It was a summer project for the art I class. As the wall became more detailed, the advanced art class took over as a school year project.
The wall shows a view of a seated audience in an auditorium which will soon start to look like Colton High’s. The audience is filled with past and present historical figures. Characters of American popular culture including the very expensive Mona Lisa and the Shakespeare are displayed on the wall. Not only do they depict historical figures, but they also display characters of the present day. This ranges from the Simpsons cartoon characters to a dinosaur from Jurassic Park. The art class hopes to add more characters.
The main reason for the wall is to point out that within us, there could be a future historical figure. Art teacher Patricia Hughes hopes that it pushes students to work hard and strive toward their goals in order to become something great in the future.
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Trabajo Vs. Estudios
by Horacio Fregoso
11 de Diciembre 1998
Conforme vamos creciendo nos vemos en la necesidad de trabajar para poder tener nuestras propias cosas y pricipalmente ayudar a nuestros padres. Algunos trabajamos medio tiempo para poder asiatir a la escuela y poder seguir con nuestros estudios. La cantidad de estudiantes que buscan trabajo de medio tiempo se va incrementando conforme van pasando los años. Pero, ¿En realidad que ventajas y desventajas adquirimos al trabajar en nuestra adolecencia?, y a un importante durante nuestros años escolares?
Muchos de nosotros encontramos la ventaja de que podemos comprar lo que nosotros querramos sin necesidad de andarle pidiendo dinero a nuestros padres o hermanos, tambien trabajando podemos de alguna forma ayudar a nuestros padres con un poco de dinero.
Pero como todo se encuentran tambien las desventajas que se presentan al estar trabajando, ya que puede suceder que uno no haga muy bien en la escuela. Por ejemplo se pueden obtener bajas notas, no te puedes concentrar, te duermes durante las clases, y principalmente no obtienes suficiente tiempo para estudiar y hacer la tarea.
Celso Jaramillo,11 nos comento que el queria ganar dinero por eso empezo a trabajar. Pero tambien para poder ayudar a su familia. Sin embargo sigue pensando que el estudiar es mas importante que trabajar. Por ultimo nos comento que el trabajar no le estaba afectando nada en sus estudios porque trata de darle su tiempo a cada uno. Desgraciadamente no todos corren con la misma suerte porque hay algunos estudiantes que por la necesidad descuidan sus estudios, ya que obtiene trabajos con horarios muy forzados, es decir que tiene que salir muy tarde de ellos. El Señor James Willoughly encargado de dar los permisos de trabajo en el Career Center ( Centro de Carreras) nos comento que estudiantes que trabajan y que el les ha otorgado el permiso requerido, siguen asistiendo a la escuela regularmente sin ningun problema, y la mayoria de ellos continuan haciendo bien en sus estudios.
Hemos visto muchas de las ventajas y desvantajas que el trabajar nos atrae, pero siempre hay que tomar encuenta que no hay que descuidar el estudio por el trabajo ya que hay que recordar que nuestros estudios son aun mas importates que cualquier otra cosa.
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Volunteer: It'll make you feel warm and fuzzy all over!
by Lisa Humphrey and Stephanie Farrior
December 11, 1998
Have you ever thought of doing something both good for the community and helpful to you? If the answer to this question is yes, then you should consider becoming a volunteer for the Loma Linda University Medical Center. The center, which believes in “Making Man Whole” in a setting of advancing medical science, has been running the volunteer program since 1960. This program is a positive way to have fun.
Some people may shy away at the thought of working with no pay. However, the personal satisfaction you recieve from knowing that you have done something both good and worthwhile is a reward far greater than money. Anyone who has volunteered at the hospital knows first-hand the boost of self esteem and assurance you get every time you have come into the hospital. You have lent a hand to someone who needs you, without asking for something in return, which is sometimes the greatest thing a person can do for someone else, especially in this holiday season.
When you make the decision to become a volunteer, the hospital has over 55 programs and areas for you to choose from. Some of the programs involve operation of equipment, craft making, running errands for the hospital, filing, greeting vistors, and even reading to patients. The volunteering ages range from age fourteen to people in their nineties. The schedules are flexible, but most of all, the voluteer program is fun way to spend your time.
It takes about one to two months before actually starting to volunteer. First potential volunteers go through an orientation thats takes aproximately two hours. Following that is an interview session, then training in the program of your choice. Volunteers must have up-to-date vaccinations, and are required to get their uniform, which runs about nineteen dollars for a shirt or a pullover.
The program that we are currently working in is the Dispatch department. We deliver charts, carry specimens from the lab, transport patients to where they need to be, and run other errands for the hospital. Working in Dispatch is fun, and you learn quickly how to find your way around the hospital. So far we have met many new people, including other volunteers our age. It is a great way to not only gain experience for any future employment, but also to become aquainted with the medical field. Julie Connor, a sophmore, has been volunteering in the dispatch department for six months now and says “I would recommend this to anyone.”
Not only is volunteering exciting, but it can be very serious as well. The volunteer has to deal with seeing very ill patients and small babies, people with injuries, and some who will never leave the hospital.It takes dedication and a desire to help others to be a successful volunteer. This experience might even perhaps make you a stronger person. “Helping others refocuses my attention on them, and helps me to forget about my problems,” says Connor. “It probably helps me more than the people at the hospital.”
Volunteering at the Loma Linda University Medical Center is experience that is favorable on college applications. If you don’t want to volunteer in the medical field, you should consider giving your time to some other organization that offers similar programs. “Loma Linda recieves the help of approximately 1,000 volunteers per year,” says Deborah Alvers, a manager of the Department of Volunteer Services. People make the commitment to these types of programs for the personal satisfaction of helping others, and also to gain the experience to help themselves in the future.
The purpose of this program at Loma Linda is “To assist the community and local hospitals in the overall effort to help mankind.” Alvers comments. “We volunteer to aide those who are less fortunate than we are.” This is proof that one person can make a difference in someone else’s life. “If I can make someone’s day go better it was worth my time,” adds Connor.
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Wrestling takes it to the mat
by Joanne Flores
December 11, 1998
Hard working, strong and dedicated men (and one woman) in tight little outfits—that describes a wrestler to a “T”. It might be hard to compare this team to lasts year’s top finishers who all made C.I.F. finals but…they’re all still here.
This year’s team has more dedication and talent than Colton has seen in a long time. With top wrestlers such as Joe Ayala, Tony Bacerra, Darin Boby, Manuel Guillen, Mike Gutierrez, and Ifren Ramirez all top finishers in C.I.F., they’re sure to reach their goals of taking League and winning C.I.F.
They’ll be facing some pretty tough teams since the change to the S.A.L. League. Cajon and Pacific will be a challenge but Senior Mike Gutierrez feels “Hard work and dedication will payoff for those that want to work hard. In which ‘WE’ as a team will.”
“They’re a great team,”said Coach Troy Knudsvig. “They work hard and try their best. I don’t see why they can’t take the Christmas Classic and even League if they continue to practice and work hard.”
The Colton tournament or Christmas Classic will be held here at Colton’s very own gym on Dec. 18-20