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[Student Reporters] The Cost of Competition

Schools are proud to have successful athletics programs, from football to tennis to soccer. However, with the recent times of economic uncertainty, more sports programs are finding their budgets becoming restricted and smaller. For tennis, the field house is in a rather less-than-excellent condition, with old benches and broken water faucets. Furthermore, the department is not able to purchase the best equipment possible to help our improvement in the sport, from the quality of the tennis balls to the availability of water and ice. “While we still work hard,” tennis player Tom Hopkins stated, “it would still be nice if we had better facilities.” “I really hope our program gets some more money in the budget so that we can improve our facilities and purchase higher quality stuff so that we can have more productive practices.” Max Pickens, captain of the Taylor Tennis Team, expressed his sentiments, “The times are tough. We need to do it with what we can buy, even with the limited resources.” The recession America has been experiencing has had much more far-reaching effects than just how many retail stores sell their merchandise or how much stock prices change. The effects of the economic uncertainty of today have effects reaching down to high school athletic programs.

2009-12-20

[Student Reporters] Too Many Students, Too Little Chairs

High school students are quickly becoming frustrated with the effects of overcrowding causing confusion with the new schedule changes and enrollment difficulties. Overcrowding of the school is becoming readily apparent as empty desks in classrooms are being filled up and as faculty members enter AP classes to ask for volunteers to drop the class or else arbitrarily drop students from the course. This has proved to be a severe problem especially for students at Claremont High School. With the new IB program implemented this year at Claremont High School students taking regular AP classes are finding it increasingly complicated to acquire the schedules they want. The problem with arranging schedules for students has become so severe and common that the school cut some AP classes to make room for more standard leveled classes. This was evident in the administration's recent decision to drop a section of AP U.S. History to be replaced with a regular U.S. History class. This decision raises concerns for many families. They fear that it will force the students who challenge themselves academically and who have a passion for learning to be squeezed into overcrowded classes in which these students do not receive the personal attention necessary for their level of learning. In addition to the perplexing jumble of schedules the school is also finding difficulties in handling the economic crisis. Even though each student that attends the high school means more money for CHS many find that the school may be taking advantage of this stipulation to the degree that it compromises the quality of education deserved by students already there. Many students have been forced to sit down on chairs with no desks sit on counters or even stay standing. While CHS is attempting to solve the problem of overcrowding the acceptance list seems to have reached its capacity with over 50 people on the waiting list to attend CHS. However the school is attempting its best to overcome the setback of a stringent budget and resolve the problem of overcrowding by taking the initiative to put more proactive methods into action.

2009-12-20

[Student Reporters] What are you? A Hapa?

On November 19 Kip Fullbeck an artist and filmmaker gave a riveting presentation on racial identity to the Flintridge Prep community. Kip Fullbeck began his speech by answering questions ranging from his educational background to his preference in Madonna or Celine Dion. When finally asked about his racial identity he stalled. The point of this interview: only until recently were people allowed to mark more than one check box on the racial identity section of a standardized test or survey. His book titled "Part Asian 100% Hapa" shows photographs of racially mixed people of all ages and professions. Hapa is a derogatory slang word which literally means "half" in Hawaii. It has been redefined as a person of mixed heritage who is partially Asian or Pacific Islander. Each person was photographed in expressionless headshots. After each photo the person would give a written response about how they identify themselves. His Hapa Project encompasses exhibitions and lectures that deal with multiracial identity. His presentation for the school presented slideshow of the pages of the book. Despite the racial diversity throughout the slides all the comments shared similar connotations of a deep sense of pride in being a hapa. He ended the presentation with spoken word piece titled "My World" where he describes his ideal utopia: a society of social responsibility and open-mindedness. "In this day and age of haves and have nots blues and reds legals and illegals it is more important to react like Kanye West than Mike Myers. It is more important to speak up than sit politely and it is more important to live with the consequences of doing so than to stand idly by and watch this beautiful garden go to seed." After the morning assembly Fullbeck stayed to give a Q&A during lunch in the school library. He is the author of other books such as "Permanence: Tattoo of Portraits" "Paper Bullets: A Fictional Autobiography" and the upcoming "Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids". He has also directed 12 short films such as "Banana Split" and "Nine Fish". He is a professor of art at UCSB where he has received the school's Distinguished Teaching Award. More information is present on his website seaweedproductions.com.

2009-12-20

[Student Reporters] House of Angel: A Haven for North Korean Children

Pastor Chun Giwon has been helping North Korean defectors for over a decade through Durihana. His work includes assisting those trying to escape North Korea helping those stranded in China get into South Korea and providing safe haven for the rest. One of his most recent projects is the House of Angels an orphanage for North Korean children in China. ▷ How are the kids? ▶ The mothers are all gone. They either left their child to go to South Korea or were caught and shipped back to North Korea. Most of their fathers are Chinese. They are too poor to take care of the children. Because the mothers didn't have any citizenship when they gave birth the children have none either. As a result they are neither Korean nor Chinese. It is possible to buy a citizenship but the cost is much too high for the Chinese fathers. ▷ What is the official stance of the Chinese government regarding North Korean defectors? ▶ They consider the North Korean defectors as illegal residents because the North Koreans entered its borders because of economic reasons not political. As a result they are not considered refugees. But according to the United Nations a refugee is defined as someone who cannot go back to his/her country. China because of its diplomatic relationship with North Korea doesn't recognize this. China might be right in that they aren't political refugees. But they are refugees nonetheless. ▷ What are the kids in The House of Angels like? ▶ Every child except one has a government document making them legal residents. They attend school and get enough to eat. But these children are a minority. Many still live in the mountains and forests because they have nowhere else to go. But although the children in the House of Angels might not be as desperate as the rest they are still parentless. Many have seen and experienced things no children should. One eight-year-old says he wants to commit suicide. ▷ How much does it cost to take care of one child? ▶ It doesn't take much to feed them. But it's illegal and we don't receive any government funding of any kind. Generally we hire about five people to take care of one house and that equals about 400000\ for every child monthly. It should only cost about half of that anywhere else but because of the various obstacles we face it's only becoming harder and harder. ▷ What is the final aim of the House of Angels? ▶ It's to get these children educated and eventually make them into functional members of society. To do this we try to send them to South Korea or the U.S. Two kids are going to the States this December. They were adopted by an American couple. Since these children have lost their parents they have the right to at least grow up in the best environment possible.

2009-12-20

[Student Reporters] The Lawrenceville Community Discusses…'The Trouble with Traditions'

On Monday November 31st the Lawrenceville students and faculty convened in the Kirby Arts Center for an all-school residential life program. This year's topic was "Language Respect and Political Correctness" discussing the nuances of our languages that we use everyday our cores and our means of relationships both with individuals and groups. Mr. Daniell Dean of Residential Life led the introductory discussion and then students were broken up into groups to discuss the appropriate or acceptable times to use certain debatable terms. The discussions aroused many other great questions such as: Is it by any means possible for a word to lose its original punch of denigrating connotation and are used in a completely innocuous way? Mary an 11th grade student stated "I think many students use the phrase "that's so gay" or even "that's so retarded" not being aware of what the term really means and today's activity was helpful in that it gave a moment for everyone to ponder the words they use in everyday life." The debate heated up when these questions led to the discussion of those centuries old House traditions that the administration may have considered as "offense". Ms. Thomas Dean of Students said "The fact that the whole House engages in the activity shapes House pride and tradition. However whether or not it is house tradition this raises a sophisticated issue of what we consider certain traditions as house pride and as an abuse." Meanwhile Will a 10th grade student received the oration of his House mates when he questioned how although there might be some debatable house traditions eradicating them completely may be taking the unique House bonding experience away. He said "Our school is built upon traditions. There might be both good and some controversial ones. However when the administration tries to eradicate those century old house traditions it might be taking away some of the bonding that makes the House system unique to Lawrenceville." The thoughtful discussions contributed by the collaboration of students and faculty brought even the complex issues in consideration. Mr. Daniell concluded "We offer important opportunities to approach non-academic topics with the same critical eye and commitment to understanding that mark similar discussion in our History and Science classrooms."

2009-12-20

[Student Reporters] Jerking: A Dancing Phenomenon

At schools events and the media a new type of dancing has become increasingly popular among high school teens. Originated in Southern California "jerking" is a dancing phenomenon that consists of skipping backwards moving knees and various dips to the song "You're a Jerk" by New Boys. Hailed as the new version of the phase of the "Soulja Boy" dance it has also exploded in the internet as people post both videos showcasing their skill and teaching others how to jerk. The reason for its popularity varies. Katherine Figueroa says "It's fun to mess around and blast music. It's the easiest move to do; everyone can do it!" With simplistic moves all kinds of people have found appeal to it and many have personalized this dance to make it their own. "Sometimes there are jerk-offs to see who can dance better. It's fun getting in a circle and watching people" says Andrea Kim. Others find that jerking has received undeserved praise. "I absolutely despise jerking. I hate it especially because of the music it's danced it. It's just popular because it's the new thing to do. This generation seems to just follow everyone else" says Chris Guiterrez. Some students argue that the dance moves are "too simplistic" and therefore is largely overrated for the popularity the dance has garnered. Danielle Kim says "I think jerking is okay for appropriate times. It becomes kind of rude weird and awkward at other times. People need to keep their pants on."

2009-12-20

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