TheWashington - Fremont Unified

The Washington
Hatchet
In-depth
religion section
Pages 5-7
October 4, 2006
Cheerleaders bring it
on in Santa Cruz.
Page 11
Washington High School · 38442 Fremont Blvd. Fremont CA, 94536
In the last two weeks, high profile violence in schools has exploded
in examples across the nation and in Fremont itself.
Ever since the massacre at Columbine High School, school security has shot through the roof. Somtimes it just isn’t enough. There may
always be circumstances that can’t be accounted for and there may always be “troubled kids” who take out their hate in schools.
Kennedy H.S.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Kennedy High School
exhibited violence different than our other featured
schools. The stabbing that
occurred on Wednesday
Sept. 20, was gang related
and unforeseen.
Four victims where involved: two victims and two
aggressors. They all were
Kennedy students, with the
two aggressors, brothers
having just been enrolled.
They had just started school
about half an hour before the
stabbing occurred.
“It appears that two Kennedy students said something to provoke the new
students,” Resource Officer
Rick Jones said. The new students, whose names are not
being released, then wielded
a sharp object, stabbing one
student in the abdomen and
one in the left shoulder. The
student stabbed in the abdomen was rushed to Valley
Fair medical center, the most
reliable available trauma
center. The student, who was
stabbed in the shoulder, went
to Washington Hospital
The two aggressors immediately fled the scene and
were not found until they
turned themselves in five
days later into the Fremont
Police Dept. The brothers,
ages 14 and 17 were accompanied by their father and
their attorney. They are now
being held in a juvenile detainment center.
The gang correlation with
this stabbing brings questions to if such an occur-
rence could happen at Washington. Though we have both
had any violent actions by
gang members on campus in
the past few years, they still
hold a presence.
“We have approximately
30 Norteños and 20 Sureños here,” said Campus Supervisor Kathy Fetz. “I tell
them that if they’re going
to fight each other, they can
fight each other somewhere
else.” Kathy does not think
we could have a similar violent act here, since she and
Derek Best, the other campus supervisors are walking
around campus all day.
“Kennedy went into lock
down mode exactly the way
they were supposed to. They
made sure everyone was fed.
[They also made sure] that
all emotional, physical and
bodily needs were taken
care of. [Kennedy] had to
stay in lock down because
they couldn’t have 1500
kids walking over the crime
scene,” Jones said.
These recent attacks
showcase that Washington is
at risk of such an attack, as is
every other school in America. We have very little means
of preventing such an occurrence but Officer Jones and
the school administration
are doing their best. This
crime is a hometown look at
the school violence sweeping America but it comes no
where near the atrocities of
the shootings that have occurred in past months. We
can only hope that the tolerance of others can help to
disuade these incidents.
Facts on school violence in
the United States
32 total acts of school violence:
✴ 1 suicide
✴ 6 Murder-suicides
✴ 3 stabbings
✴ 34 total deaths
✴ 4 under the category of other
✴ California accounted for 8 of the incidents
✴ Almost of the suspects were caught or committed suicide
✴ Youngest suspect in incident was 12 years old
✴ Youngest victim in incident was 15 years old
According to www.schoolsecurity.org
James Peng
Staff Reporter
Kimveer Gill, 25,
stormed Dawson College
in Montreal, Quebec with
a hail of merciless violence. Gill opened fire on
innocent students, killing
eighteen-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and injuring
nineteen others.
According to CNN.
com, Gill arrived at the
college around noon. Gill
held a passing lawyer
hostage and forced him
to carry his ammunition.
When Gill reached the
steps of Dawson College,
he immediately opened
Fremont CA
Molly Sweeney
Dawson
College
Montreal Quebec
fire at students with his
Berreta Cx4 Storm carbine.
Gill reached the cafeteria
ordering students to drop
to the ground, while shooting at people until he was
met by two police officers.
Students fled upstairs,
still being shot at by Gill
while officers attempted
to bring him down. Gill
grabbed two students and
held them as human shields
against the police officers.
He was shot in the arm
by a police officer, dropped
his carbine, took out his
Glock 9mm and shot himself under the jaw. Gill’s intentions are still unknown.
Platte
Canyon H.S.
Bailey Co
David Lyons
Staff Reporter
Illustration by Pirouz Mehmandoost
Weston
H.S.
Cazenovia WI
Yoshi Kulkarni
Staff Reporter
In another fatal school
shooting this week, fifteenyear-old Eric Hainstock
shot and killed his principal at Weston High School
in Wisconsin this Friday.
Principal John Klang, a
respected and loved educator, was shot while trying
to reason with Hainstock
as the freshman barged
into school armed with a
shotgun and a .22 caliber
revolver.
Authorities said that
Hainstock was bitter about
an earlier dispute with the
principal and vowed to his
fellow students “that he
didn’t believe Mr. Klang
would make it through
homecoming.” According
to CNN.
As violence in schools
multiplies, fatal shootings
spurred on by disagreements with teachers are a
growing concern for school
officials. Incidents such
as these raise questions
about the safety measures
at WHS.
Using the events of this
week, students and administrators need to be cautious and aware in order to
protect WHS. By working
together on topics such as
gang activity, and graffiti,
students can work together
to do our best to avoid a
shooting like this one.
In yet another incident
in the recent surge of violent
crimes at high schools, last
Wednesday Duane Morrison shot and killed sixteen-year-old Emily Keyes
before committing suicide.
He held six female student
hostages in a classroom at
Platte Canyon High School
in Bailey, Colorado. Several of the survivors report
being sexually abused.
According to the Rocky
Mountain News, Morrison,
53, walked onto campus
armed with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver.
He also carried with him
a backpack which he told
his hostages contained
a bomb. It was actually
loaded with sex toys, with
which he intended to sexual abuse the hostages.
Keyes was shot in the
back of the head trying
to flee during the standoff
which occurred when the
SWAT team arrived at the
classroom. After killing
her, Morrison then shot
himself in the head.
This is just one of a series of violent incidents
in Colorado and on high
school campuses which
has come to affect us locally with instances such
as the gang fights at Kennedy and the fight outside
Tak stadium.
Amish
School
Bart Township PA
Kyla Koger
Opinions Editor
Monday morning, in
Pennsylvania’s bucolic Lancaster County, a gunman
killed five girls at a oneroom Amish schoolhouse.
Several others were taken
to the hospital for injuries.
32 year old Charles Carl
Robert IV was armed with
three guns, a stun gun, two
knives, and a bag holding
600 rounds oh ammunition.
Police say Roberts walked
into the schoolhouse, binding and shooting four girls
execution-style before taking his own life. Police
said this appeared to be a
revenge killing for an unnamed incident when the
gunman was a boy.
Police
surrounded
the one-room school late
Monday morning, and
the Lancaster County
9/11 Web site reported
that dozens of emergency
units were dispatched to
a “medical emergency”
around 10:45 a.m.
Two ambulances left
the scene, and one person
was taken on a stretcher to
a medical helicopter.
Although there have
been some ugly things
going on in Fremont,
we don’t compare to the
damage and grief this will
cause to the Amish people of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania.
The Washington Hatchet
News
Page
2
Insult marks high point in conflict
Chen Yang
Staff Reporter
According to CNN, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez publicly insulted
President George W. Bush
during a UN session on Sept.
20. Speaking before an assembly of national delegates,
Chavez repeatedly referred
to Bush as “the devil.”
“The devil, the devil himself is right in the house. And
the devil came here yesterday, right here, and it smells
of sulfur still today,” Chavez
said. He then crossed himself, made a prayer gesture,
and glanced at the ceiling.
Chavez’s words and actions
elicited laughter and applause from his audience.
Chavez had, on many occasions, directed personal
insults toward Bush. His behavior at the UN session was
the first time he had attacked
Bush in public. This incident
was widely compared to
Nikita Khrushchev’s fingerwagging and shoe-thumping
episode in 1960.
The insults marked a
high point in the on-going
conflict between the United
States and Venezuela.
In recent months, Chavez
has been actively acquiring arms. His purchases include transport helicopters,
100,000 Kalashnikov assault
rifles, as well as a license allowing Venezuela to manufacture small arms.
Due to known connections between Venezuelan
arms and organized crime in
Latin America, analysts fear
that Venezuela is “exporting
chaos” into the region. The
violence could flow into the
United States, carried by the
active drug trade.
Chavez has also been suspected of forging alliances
with America’s enemies.
Venezuela has known ties
with both Cuba and Iran.
Chavez has made a mutual
pledge of support with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who stated that
“Iran and Venezuela should
share all experiences of each
other, stay by each other and
they have to be supporters of
each other.”
Chavez has also requested
a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, seeking a stronger relationship
between the two countries.
Tensions between the two
countries could mean unstable gasoline prices for the
American public. Also, organized crime could spill into
California from Mexico.
Staff Reporter
In 2005, a sign went up at
the NewPark Mall announcing renovations and a new
movie theater for 2006. Now
2006 is winding down, 2007
is approaching and nothing
has been built yet.
It was announced this
year that the development
company, General Growth,
has decided to reexamine
planned renovations. The
city of Newark has been supportive of the project and
hopes something will still
come through.
“I am optimistic that they
will surface soon with a proposal,” Newark Mayor David
Smith said.
With such a long delay,
the project could have significant changes from the
original.
“At this point we are not
sure if the movie theatres will
be a part of the renovation.
Illustration by Leah Andrews
It is still being discussed as
a possibility. Personally, I
hope so, but at this point we
don’t know,” Smith said.
Even though a plan is expected soon, there could be
some bumps in the road to
the mall renovation.
Mayor Smith said, “Sufficient parking will be an issue depending on the plans.
They were talking about
some free-standing restaurants somewhere in today’s
parking lots.”
A renovation at the mall
could be coming at a particularly strategic time. The Pa-
Irene Cheng
Staff Reporter
On Sept. 25, the former president Bill Clinton defended his efforts
to kill Osama bin Laden
and claimed that the Bush
Administration had eight
months to do so before the
September 11 attacks, but
“they did not try.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended
Bush and accused Clinton
of failing to leave a strategy
for fighting Al-Qaeda.
Students on campus
have opinions about this
issue. Here are thoughts
from two students.
Junior Christopher DellaValle (for Bush):
I, for one, refuse to believe that the leadership of
any country would over-
cific Commons development
is the newest in Fremont,
but would lose that distinction in just a few years. Most
of Washington’s population lives either equally far
from the two developments
or closer towards NewPark.
This could greatly help the
city of Newark. Lots of tax
revenue generated by the
mall could come from Fremont residents living close
to Newark. Fremont would
lose out on this tax revenue
that could have gone to Pacific Commons.
Facing a newer mall could
be devastating for Pacific
Commons. If Pacific Commons is to stay competitive,
it would need to establish
a base of customers in the
next few years. Mayor Smith
thought that the NewPark
renovation, even with the
city giving it priority, would
take about two years to be
fully completed.
However, an interior renovation of NewPark could
happen sooner.
Teen relationship
violence addressed
Molly Sweeney
Co-Editor-In-Chief
BTW, there is an answer to this maze.
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SAVE is a foundation
committed to reducing the
amount of domestic violence
in our community. By running safe houses for battered
men, women and children
they provide safe planes for
victims of domestic violence
to stay and receive emotional
help.
They also have a hot line
where anyone, teens in particular, can call in to talk to
someone about an abusive
relationship.
On Friday September
29th SAVE held their fourth
annual breakfast eye opener.
A 75-dollar a plate breakfast
raised funds. The breakfast
2006
Clinton and Rice bicker
NewPark Mall theater delayed again
Sam Mahood
October 4,
was held form 7:30 a.m. to
9:00 a.m. at the Fremont
Marriot by California state
Senator Liz Figueroa and
included many prominent
guests.
A skit, which depicted
teenagers who were in abusive relationships, was presented by seniors from Mission High School struck a
chord among the breakfast
attendees most of whom
have children.
“My boyfriend never hit
me but I felt consistently degraded for a little over two
years before we broke up,”
an anonymous Washington
student said. If you are in an
abusive relationship, call the
SAVE hot line at 510-7946055.
look a document that had
as much importance as one
containing a “comprehensive
and anti-terror strategy.” If
such a document existed in
the first place, it would have
been used to circumvent the
terrorist plot of 9/11. Further, any argument based
on the Bush Administration
leaving Clinton’s “strategy”
intentionally unused is absolutely unjustifiable.
To me, the exchange
between Clinton and Rice
sounds like political name
calling. It’s a huge waste of
time and isn’t helping with
the present situation, which
just leaves more room for
our media to tear Bush apart
just in time for the November elections.
Junior Morgan Goldstein
(for Clinton):
It is sad when the former and current leaders of
our nation are reduced to
the equivalent of schoolyard bickering.
During his years of
Presidency, Clinton made
huge attempts to stop terrorism and kill Osama
bin Laden. When he was
unable to kill bin Laden,
Clinton left for the new
administration an “antiterrorism strategy” nearly
eight months before the
9/11 attacks occurred. While the Bush Administration was given tons of
information on the urgency of this problem, it did
nothing. So which man
are you going to blame?
The man who tried and
failed or the man who sat
around and did nothing?
WHS gets $925K grant
for new programs
Ryan Guerra
Staff Reporter
Washington
High
school along with Irvington and Kennedy High
recently received a Smaller Learning Community
(SLC) grant from the U.S.
Dept. of Education for
$925,000 each. On Oct.
16 and 17, WHS, IHS, and
KHS will each send a representative to Arlington,
Virginia to a conference
meeting to decide on the
conditions of the grant.
The representative will report the information he/
she gathered in Virginia,
and then each high school
will decide how they will
spend the money.
Former principal and
current Assistant Superintendent Dr. Milt Werner
got the call Friday that
said they finally earned
the grant.
The search for a grant
started in 2004, when
WHS saw the opportunity
to get money for school
reform. The grant proposal organized a plan to
improve student achievement, a plan needed to
remain accredited. After
adding the block schedule
in 2005-2006 school year
they applied for the grant,
but did not receive it. The
schools applied again this
year, despite dismissing
the block schedule but
leaving READ and latestart Monday, and received it.
U.S. rep resigns in scandal
Dennica Fernando
On Campus Editor
Former Rep. Mark Foley,
a Florida Republican, finally
gets officially investigated
for a scandal involving teenage boys.
Since mid-2005, there
have been rumors circulating
that Foley, 52, has been communicating, through e-mail,
with a 16-year-old-boy. Foley
asked for the boy’s picture,
asked the boy inappropriate
questions, and told the boy
inappropriate information.
The boy was uncomfortable
with the messages and consulted his parents and other
Representatives. The other
Representatives denied that
the e-mails were sexual. Further action was halted when
Foley promised to immediately stop communicating
with the boy.
Foley did stop communicating with the boy. But just
recently, other conversations
through instant messenger
were found with him and
other young men. These new
messages were even more
explicit than the first ones.
There were many groups
requesting for an investigation on him, and he resigned
from office and apologized.
He is currently in an institute
for alcoholism and there are
several investigations being
conducted on his case with
the teenage boys.
This corruptness in our
authoritative figures can
be quite unnerving. Foley
is supposed to be someone
that is representing the state
of Florida, in a manner that
displays the American way.
He is supposed to have a
manner of professionalism
and high morality, a model
for the people and especially
the youth of our nation. Instead he is harassing minors
and possibly breaking laws.
The Washington Hatchet
October 4,
Page
On Campus
2006
3
WHS readies for spirit week
Ryan Guerra
Staff Reporter
Spirit week is near and
for a lot of students excitement is growing high.
Starting on Oct. 16 students will start to dress in
crazy costumes according
to the theme of their class
for the day.
Students unite to show
their husky pride. They
also show their class skits.
These skits are a mixture
of pride, hard work, and
dedication, all brought together by each class.
“This is the highlight
of the school year and is
the most looked forward
to,” Helen Paris said, “the
Washington High School
spirit week embodies the
rich history of our school.”
The first WHS Spirit Week
dates back to the mid ‘40s.
We were the first school
in Fremont to have a
spirit week. And while
other schools are known
for their art program or
their academic program,
Washington is known for
the most school spirit and
pride.
Have you ever wondered with all the huge
posters,
backgrounds,
sound, and costume if
spirit week had a budget?
Well it does. ASB covers all
of the cost for the recordings
and the sound. Each class
covers the cost for their skit’s
backgrounds and props,
while each student participating in the skit will cover
the cost their own costumes.
If this year follows the
example of previous years,
there will be quite an amount
of students dressing up.
“Our theme this year is
Harry Potter,” senior Katie
Kinson said, “I’ve done the
Photo by Dennica Fernando
skit every year and it’s my faJuniors Nick Matthiesen, Vanessa Ayab, and Payum Mehmandoost paint scener y.
vorite part of the week.”
When asked what the
with excellence for their first
sophomores are doing for dance for another hour.”
Homecoming Royalty
“Our theme this year is time.
their skit, sophomore Tina
candidates announced
Freshmen Jaban Hibari
Nevin said, “We practice at Hercules,” junior Renee OliBoys:
Muer Park about two to three phant said. The juniors prac- said, “We practice hard and
Michael Wheeler
Lance Raby
times a week, and practice tice at different locations to often. We will win this year!”
Saami Siddiqui
lasts for about two hours.” suit the needs and availabil- The freshmen will be perJames Kim
forming Toy Story for their
Nevin and other sophomores ity of the performers.
Kenny
Durbin
“We practice at random skit and they are confident in
are dancing and acting in PiKevin
Tobin
rates of the Caribbean, their places like at Allie’s house their ability to pull it off.
Tanvir Dhillon
Besides being a week for
skits theme. Nevin also said, today and someone else’s
Russell Morris
“During practice, we grab a house on Friday,” Oliphant orange and black and pride,
Justin Montez
spirit week provides students
bottle of water and hydrate. said.
Jason Tawaih
Just like classes of ’07, with some fun in the midst
Then we dance together for
Girls:
Urshila Durani
about an hour. We get a ten ’08, and ’09, the freshmen of a busy school year.
Shelly Gupta
The week ends Oct. 20.
minute break, and then we this year hope to perform
Tuesday Wednesday
Monday
Superhero
Freshman Hawaiian Sports
Sophomore Cowboy Pirate
PJ
Junior
Senior
Toga
Army
20s
70s
50s
Celebrity
Thursday Friday
Spy
Orange/Black
Punk
Orange/Black
Orange/Black
80s
Nerd
Orange/Black
More than 100 give blood
Becky Allen and
Kyla Koger
donate blood,” senior John
O’Donnell said.
World News Editor and
O’Donnell was hooked
Opinions Editor
up to the Double Red maThere are a lot of ways to chine. This machine gives
give to the community, and plasma back so that you are
Washington does so much to not as tired or dehydrated
contribute. The blood drive when you’re done donating
on Friday was an example of your red blood cells.
one of the ways it does so.
First-time donors juniors
All day long students from Amanda Deponte and Chloe
grades 10-12, were coming Senadenos talked about how
into the main gym to donate nervous they were.
a pint of blood.
“I even cried!” Deponte
Some students donated said.
just to get out of class, but
“I don’t like pain; the
the majority came to do their finger was the worst part.”
part for our community.
Senadenos said.
“Each pint of blood given
When Senadenos was 12
can save three to five lives,” years old, she hid under her
nurse Mary-Ann Yadollahi doctors table because she
said.
didn’t want to take the teta“Definitely eat before you nus shot. But now she was
able to conquer her fear and
give her blood.
Junior Deanne Hokanson
was the one who put this all
together.
“We scheduled it about
eight months ago and started
publicity about one month
ago,” Hokanson said.
It had been a long process
of nine months, but in the
end yielded 120 donors.
For the most part the
blood drive went smoothly.
There were a few upsets
throughout the day. There
were a few students who
weren’t allowed to donate.
The next blood drive will
be organized by Hokanson
again. It will take place in
the auxiliary gym on Friday,
May 17.
Photo by Jonathan Kim
Senior Lindsay Dooley hands donor, junior Travis Solverson a drink.
Caitlin Allen
KaRynn Perry
Deanne Hokanson
Geneva Climent
Lily Barone
Katie Kinson
Jackie Sloves
Tiffanie Petett
Chess club
is back
Bharadwaj Ramachandran
Sports Editor
After years of break,
chess club has come back.
They have a great team
consisting of many new players and some experienced
players like senior Jackie
Sloves.
The club has many plans
for this year which include,
holding tournaments inside
school and going to outside
tournaments.
To play in these tournaments come to Mr. Jim
Macleod’s room E-128 every
other Friday. There are also
chess teaching and training
times every Tuesday in the
same room the tournaments
are conducted.
The president of the club
is Jackie Sloves and the vicepresident of this club is Bharadwaj Ramachandran. Other officers are, the treasurer
is Michael Wheeler, and the
secretary is Marrisa Floro.
There is an entrance fee
of three dollars. There are
many reasons for collecting
this fee, one being that we
need to buy new chess board
and pieces another being we
need to pay for the tournaments we will be attending
through out the year. Jackie
believes that we will have a
strong chess team.
Hip-hop club forms
Fred Del Carpio
Staff Reporter
During the 1970’s street
gangs ravaged the streets of
New York. Crime rate was
up and everyone wanted it
to stop. The hostile environment caused the youths of
New York to find a weapon
against the violence and lead
everyone to come together
in harmony.
This phenomenon was
ultimately called Hip-hop
culture. The movement
helped bring unity and peace
among gangs and neighborhoods thus creating a more
positive environment for everyone.
What does this have to
do with Washington high
school?
Since the Kennedy stabbing and other school related violence, the question
of making a positive nonviolent environment for students in and out of school is
prompted.
Washington is a diverse
school. Many cultures are
seen within Washington
and sometimes it’s hard for
students to interact with
each other because of it. Often conflicts occur between
certain groups in and out of
school environment. Also
you see similar racial groups
hang out with only each
other.
Why not make a club
that utilizes the diversity of
Washington to bring unity
in the school and make a
positive environment?
Hip-hop club will enable
students to express their
creativity in many different
ways such as dancing, rapping, creating new music,
and tagging.
Although tagging has a
bad reputation at the school,
the club will influence people to make it a positive
representation of artistic expression rather than making
it act of vandalism. In this
way we will able to change
any negative representation
about the culture to a more
positive one.
Everyone will have a way
to contribute to the club
and Washington will benefit
from it. Students will want to
see their peers do incredible
things on stage or anywhere
else. This will help open up
interaction between students
regardless of race or groups’
students are in.
The club will break down
any barrier that oppresses
unity and harmony of the
school. Having everyone
united for a good purpose
will help the school’s environment to be safe and fun.
Hip-hop’s influence to
the student’s of Washington
will bring fun and unity as a
school to make great things
happen.
“I hope to make hip hop
bigger...to keep hip hop alive,
and actually get [the club]
started,” said junior Aylmer
Jordan Abrea who would
like to see a lot more people
express themselves.
Hip-hop will be more
than an entertainment club;
it will help empower students
to have a voice in which they
are able to make positive
changes to themselves and
the community.
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The Washington Hatchet
Page
October 4,
Around the World
4
2006
Students discuss Pope’s speech and effects on Middle East
Kate Pyatybratova
Staff Reporter
During a current events
discussion in Mr. Tom Vargas’ government class, students brought up the speech
Pope Benedict XVI’s gave in
Regensburg, Germany, on
Sept. 12. While speaking out
against religious intolerance
and aggression, Pope quoted
a 14th-century Byzantine
Emperor Manuel Paleologos II, saying “Show me just
what Muhammad brought
that was new, and there you
will find things only evil and
inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword
the faith he preached.”
Against the intended purpose of the speech, Pope’s
inappropriate
quotation
provoked a great deal of aggression in Muslim-dominated counties.
“It is rather ironic that
despite Benedict’s hopes for
peace, his speech caused
such hostility,” said senior
Shirley Pan.
Despite Pope’s expressions of regret, Muslim
radicals around the world
have incited violence against
Christian institutions and
representatives of the faith.
Numerous churches were
bombed in Gaza and West
Bank. In Somalia, a 64-yearold nun was assassinated
outside the children’s hospital.
The majority party in
Turkey, which likened the
Pope to Adolf Hitler, chaffed
his attempts at ‘reviving crusader mentality.’
In a series of military campaigns during the Middle
Ages, the Byzantine armies,
sanctioned financed by the
Vatican, fought for control of
the city of Jerusalem in the
Middle East, the ‘Holy Land’
to Jewish, Christian and
Muslim religions. Some may
argue that such ‘religious
wars’ still occur, adopting a
new title, ‘terrorism’, in the
20th century. Pope’s ‘insult’
provided a further provocation for aggression and misunderstandings.
“I doubt if one in ten
thousand people had read
the speech. The mullahs
of Iran said he should be
killed for his statement.
When asked whether he
read [it], ‘No’,” said Vargas.
“The media took the Pope’s
speech totally out of context
and sensationalized it. This
caused the Islamic leaders to
react the way they did.”
On Sept. 26, Muslim leaders met Benedict XVI at his
summer residence in Castel
Gandolfo in Rome in an attempt to resolve their differences. Major Muslim groups
have called for a more ‘direct
apology’.
Despite their short meeting, and lack of pro-longed
dialogue between the two
sides, they seem to have
achieved an understanding.
According to a report in
Los Angeles Times, Sergio
Yahe Pallavicini, an Italian
Photo by Kate Pyatybratova
Seniors James Kim, Shelly Gupta, Matt Hiari, Vince Dinicola, Saami Siddiqui, and Tanvir Dhillion discuss the pope’s speech in Mr. Vargas’ class.
Muslim who visited Pope’s
residence said, “It was a
very positive meeting, and it
could be more positive if we
can consider this a starting
point.”
“I feel that Muslims in
the Middle East took it [the
quote] the wrong way,” said
senior Mariam Behashti, a
practicing Muslim. “But now
since the Pope met with the
Muslim leaders to put things
at rest, feelings aren’t overpowering our perspectives.”
Global Warming: Heating Up
Illustration by Laura Ramie
James Peng
Staff Reporter
One thing everyone has
been thinking is, “Why is it
so hot?” Global warming has
been on the rise recently, and
every year the temperature is
increasing.
Temperatures
change
the amount of precipitation
as well as cause a rising sea
level. These changes can increase the frequency and
intensity of extreme weather
such as hurricanes, tornados, heat waves, etc.
We don’t get that in California, right? No, but we will
get a wider range of diseases
as well as a lower production
of agriculture.
Scientists estimate a
2.5°F-10.5°F degree change
in temperature from 19902100. Every year it’s going
to get hotter unless we do
something about it.
“…inconvenient truths
do not go away just because
they are not seen. Indeed,
when we do not respond
to them, their significance
doesn’t diminish; it grows,”
said Al Gore.
Democrat or Republican,
everyone is starting to see
these inconvenient truths.
“I think that global warming is a major issue that has
been overlooked for years.
It is sad that we have waited
this long to start to attempt
and prevent it and that still
we are having a hard time
believing that it is occurring. If we don’t act now, we
will face dire consequences
in the future,” junior Parth
Chokshi said.
“The heat wave we had
this summer was horrible.
It was very inconvenient for
my schedule,” said junior
Sahibjit Ranu.
What can you do to
help? Use less energy. Be efficient on the road. Neutralize your pollution. You’ll be
surprised how great of an
impact the world will have
if everyone adjusted their
lifestyle a little.
So please, if you see a
plastic bottle on the street,
recycle it. It makes a difference. Be the change you
want to see in the world.
Photo by Molly Sweeney
Senior Sholah Ramish prays often during the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting
Mina Baber
Staff Reporter
On Sept. 23, 2006 the
month of Ramadan began for
some, for others it began on
Sept. 24, 2006 in the month
of Ramadan. Muslims fast for
thirty days, meaning they go
without eating or drinking.
They stop eating when the
sun goes up and begin again
when the sun goes down. Ramadan is over Oct. 22, 2006
for those who go by what the
Saudi’s say. For those who
look at the moon it’s over on
Oct. 23. 2006.
It’s a very special occa-
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sion that doesn’t get much
notice. In Islam Ramadan is
an important event. Ramadan is the month in which
the Quarn is revealed. In
the Quran it is said that in
that month of Ramadan the
prophet Mohammad (peace
be upon him). Fasting is one
of the five pillars, Ramadan
is the third pillar.
The five pillars are Iman
(faith), salah (prayer), Zakat (the financial obligation
upon Muslims), swam (fasting), and the pilgrimage to
the hajj otherwise known as
Mecca. These five pillars are
part of Islam. In addition to
the fasting you also are required to pray more.
Palwasha Baber said,
“During the month of Ramadan God forgives all.”
Jabar Baber, who is a religious leader, said “Ramadan is an important pillar
in Islam.” He also explained
why the twenty seventh day
is important. “On the twenty
seventh day of the month,
Muslims celebrate the Laylat-Ul-Qadar (the night of
power). On the twenty seventh day, people pray for the
whole night to get a closer
relationship with God.
When asked if people get
excited about the celebration he laughed. Baber said
“You know, a lot of kids get
excited because of the big
celebrations after the thirty
days are over.”
After the month of Ramadan there is a big celebration
called Eid-al-Fitr. Eid is a
way of celebrating the end of
Ramadan. This Celebration
lasts three days. In this celebration there is one thing
that makes the kids extra
happy, that is the kids make
money from the adults.
Friends and family exchange
gifts during Eid.
Also during Eid people
give more to the needy. The
month is all about giving
and being thankful for what
you have.
Eid happens twice a year
every year. The first one is
the little Eid which lasts
three days, and it just celebrates the end of Ramadan.
The other is the bigger
Eid which lasts seven days
and that is to celebrate the
earth going around the sun.
October 4,
2006
The Washington Hatchet
In Depth
The diversity at WHS contributes to the variety and range of different backgrounds,
cultures, and, especially, religions. However, with common misconceptions, many
religions have been misunderstood and misinterpreted . Learning the facts
about different religions helps everyone to focus on the simliarites rather than the
differences, creating a diverse, yet unified, student body.
CREDITS:
Christianity cross, Buddha, Arabic writing and menorah illustrated by Pirouz Mehmandoost.
Star of David, Buddhism circle, Bible and moon and crescent illustrated by Leah Andrews.
Aum and elephant illustrated by Pritika Kumar.
Layout design by Pirouz Mehmandoost.
Photos by Pritika Kumar, Pirouz Mehmendoost, Rebekah Lee, David Lyons, and Pam Sloves.
Pictured above (from Buddhism clockwise to Hinduism): Phra Michael Buddhiko, Muhajireen Masjid, Jewish Steven Kaplan, Paul Lee, Arun Thaker.
Page
5
Hinduism
Photos and illustration by Pritika Kumar
Hinduism has grown to become the world’s third largest
religion after Christianity and Islam. Commonly regarded as the
world’s oldest organized religion, Hinduism traces its roots to the
early phase of the Vedic tradition in India, between 10,000 - 7,000
B.C. Hinduism evolved by the sages of ancient India as a ‘dharma,’
or way of life.
Mr. Arun Thaker, administrator of the Fremont Hindu Temple
explained Hinduism through its definition of God. “Hinduism is
not a straightforward sermon to be followed. It is wide and deep
like an ocean and everything can be proved and disproved in it.”
The Hindu religion was not derived from a single book, but from several. It has many sacred writings
such as the Vedas, Upanishads, the Puranas, and the Epics - Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.
Junior Parth Chokshi sees the Gita as a manual for life, “Say-
Buddhism
Religions at WHS
by Pritika Kumar
by David Lyons
Photos by Pritika Kumar and David Lyons
Buddhism is based on the teaching of Siddhartha Gotama, also known as Buddha, who was born
in northern India in the fifth or sixth century BCE.
“The main purpose of Buddhism is trying to see things the way
they are,” says Phra Michael Buddhiko of Wat Buddhanasorn. “I
think that religion is just a way to get at truth.”
“A Buddhist is someone who wants to achieve enlightenment,
to have better control of one’s self,” says junior Grace Chu. “It’s more
of an idea than a religion. It can be anyone who is willing, no matter
the background.”
At the age of twenty-nine Buddha left his wealthy and privileged family in search of enlightenment, which he obtained under
the Bodhi-tree at Bodh Gaya on the full moon of May.
Shortly after this he delivered his first sermon, in which he spoke
of the “four noble truths,” a central practice in Buddhism today.
Poll by Pritika Kumar
ing that the Gita pertains only to Hindus
is a misconception because nowhere in
the Gita will you find the word “Hindu.”
The Gita is a manual for mankind as a
whole.”
Hinduism has had no past history of
global conflicts with other religions however there are many common misconceptions in understanding the religion.
Hinduism differs from Christianity
since it does not have a single founder
or a specific theological system. Hinduism consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India
since 1500 B.C.
Common misconceptions include
the Swastika, often confused for the Nazi
sign. The Swastika is an ancient solar
sign in Hinduism while the Nazi symbol
is rotated 45 degrees. Hinduism is not a
polytheistic religion. Hindus believe in
one Supreme God. Hindus also do not
worship the cow, but honor it. The cow
is a symbol of purity, motherhood, and
non-violence.
During the week of Sept. 22 - Oct.
1 Hindus celebrated Navaratri, a festival
of pure happiness, one of the most auspicious occasions in Hindu culture. Navaratri is a festival of worship, dance and
music celebrated for nine nights. Dances include the traditional Garba and
Dandiya-Raas. Hindus also celebrated
Dussera on Oct. 2.
For more facts on Hinduism, its
beliefs, and history, visit www.hinduwebsite.com.
According to him they are these: 1. Life
is suffering. 2. Suffering is due to attachment. 3. Attachment can be overcome.
4. There is a path for overcoming this.
He also described this path, which
he called the “eightfold path.” These are
eight basic values we should hold in
order to achieve enlightenment: right
view, right aspiration, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, and right concentration.
Gotama spent the majority of
his life preaching and in the process attracted a large communal
following known as the Sangha.
A few months after his death at
the age of eighty, the Sangha met
at Rajagaha to come to a consensus about the Buddha’s teachings.
Together they came up with the Suttas and the Vinaya, which were passed
down orally until they were finally
written down in the first century BCE.
These writings form the basis for modern Buddhism, though they have been
altered by religious leaders with different interpretations over the centuries.
The period between 150 BCE and
100 BCE saw the rise of Mahayana
Buddhism, which is practiced by
over fifty percent of Buddhists today.
One estimate says that there are
approximately 350 million Buddhists in the world today, with
the largest population in China.
The largest proportions of Buddhists
to population in nations today are in
such countries as Thailand, Cambodia,
and Myanmar.
Other 12%
Islam 7%
Buddhism 12%
Hinduism 14%
Judaism 4%
Chr
Total Students Polled: Freshmen: 104 Sophomores: 108 Juniors: 11
People o
faiths a
whs com
Everyone has their own identity, taste,
are a million things that separate and seg
mon: we are all students at Washington H
has caused conflicts abound throughout h
these people, who believe in peaceful, lov
that different, will never cease to amaze
ery faith, be it Buddhism, Hindu, Muslim
come together in a community; a league
mitted to their faith and those who hav
friends. We could not possibly cover every
we have gathered our best to display our
unity. Our community is a whole despite
Christianity
by Yoshi Kulkarni
Photos by Monica Huang and R
Faith in Jesus Christ is what keeps believers g
tians believe that to go to heaven, all you need to
God’s gift into your heart and make him your Lord
Senior Jordan Berrner says, “No matter what happens, G
all your sins away if you embrace the gift God has given you
Pastor Paul Lee, the pastor at Home of Christ in Frem
when he was a teenager in high school, his friends would c
like “holy Joe” or “righteous.” “Even though they may not li
that God still loves me and loves them as well, so I smile at
Lee said.
ristianity 51%
11 Seniors: 57
Christianity-
Hinduism-
Buddhism-
Islam-
Judaism-
Other-
The Breakdown
Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Freshmen 14%
18%
23%
45%
0%
28%
39%
33%
13%
27%
20%
30%
10%
20%
40%
30%
20%
0%
20%
60%
0%
47%
20%
33%
of many
are one
mmunity
, culture, ethnicity, style, and religion. There
gregate us, yet we all have one thing in comHigh school and we are all Huskies. Religion
history, causing hatred and war. The fact that
ving gods, are killing others who really aren’t
e. Yet, here at Washington people from evm, Christian, Jew and everything in between,
of friendship. Those whom are deeply comve no organized faith coexist as equals and
y religion on campus or every sect. Threfore,
religious difference while exemplifying our
e our differences.
i, Rebekah Lee and Aaron Williams
Rebekah Lee
going. Chrisdo is accept
d and savior.
God will wash
u: Jesus Christ.”
mont, says that
call him names
ike me, I know
t them,” Pastor
Although Christianity is one entire religion, there are many different groups, one of
which is Roman Catholic. Led by the Pope,
the Roman Catholic faith is one that’s full of
tradition and customs that have been practiced for more than a thousand years. The Roman Catholic faith only has minor difference
from that of basic Christianity, such as Saints.
A common misconception is that praying to
these saints is idol worship, which Christianity
restricts. However, Deacon Bill Drobick says
that’s completely false.
“When someone who has done positive
in the faith dies, they go into the spirit realm
and watch us [on Earth}. I don’t see anything
wrong with praying to those people for help. It
still doesn’t replace the idea of Jesus.”
Another thing different about the faith is the
fact that sometimes, two other books are added
in the bible. Drobick only sees it as “addition to
the faith” however, and most catholic churches
use the new international version.
All in all, Christianity is a religion that preaches one message: Jesus was the son of God and
he was sent to forgive every one of their sins.
No more are the days of sacrifices done in the
Jewish faith for Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.
Not only that, but Christianity preaches a universal message of loving everyone around you
living for others before yourself.
For more information, there are many
churches that are great places to find out what
Christianity is about.
Islam
by Pirouz Mehmandoost
Islam has carried a stigma since
the time of the Crusades. The religion
whose name literally translates into
“peace”- covers front pages in violence.
“It is difficult not to put Islam and
aggression on the same page, because
in every news article they are on the
same page”, Muhajireen Masjid (the Islamic Center of Hayward) attendee Ali
Mohseni said.
“There is irony in militant actions.
Extremists tie religion closely to their
incentives, and then the world gets the
idea that violence and Islam are related.”
Muslims do not consider hostile militants to be of any religion.
“We would truly be fools if we considered members of wrongdoers to be
true Muslims,” Mohseni said.
At WHS, sophomore Hira Bhatty exemplifies the spirit of a budding young
Muslim generation. Bhatty is currently
spearheading the creation of the Muslim Students Association.
“I think everyone should know that
Islam is an open belief. I choose to follow the religion myself.”
Islam is a prominent religion from
the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Its
holy book, the Koran, overlaps stories
in the Bible and the Torah, including
figures such as the angel Gabriel. The
Muslim prophet Muhammad spurred
the growth of Islam 1437 years ago.
On Sept. 23, and Sept. 24, the special
month of Ramadan began. It is a time
when Muslims fast for thirty days from
sunrise to sunset. During Ramadan,
Muslims celebrate the time when the
Judaism
Photos by Pirouz Mehmandoost
verses of the Koran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a time of worship and contemplation.
“Fasting makes me more alert, and not even in a spiritual
sense. It isn’t as hard as it seems”, Mohseni said.
“I think of it as a religious diet.”
Despite the sadness of events involving the name of Islam, Muslims keep a positive eye on the future. With time,
Mohseni hopes that more people will learn about the religion, and that it isn’t as foreign a belief as it may seem.
“A part of Islam is in everyone. It’s the part that makes
you love, and it’s in every religion. Muhammad emphasized
good morals and humanitarianism like Abraham and Jesus
before him.”
The Muhajireen Masjid Islamic center is open to all. There
is no membership required to enter. Visit http://www.sbia.
info/htmlpages/BayAreaOrgs.htm for more information.
by Kate Pyatybratova
Judaism, the first recorded monotheistic religion in the world, has 14
million followers, reports a religious
tolerance website. Practitioners observe
commandments outlined in Torah, the
Holy Scripture, which is said to have
been given to Moses by God after Hebrew liberation from Egyptian slavery
3000 years ago. The event is commemorated by Passover. Other Jewish calendar holidays include Yom Kippur (Day
of Atonement), Chanukah (festival of
lights), and recently celebrated, Rosh
Hashanah (Hebrew New Year).
“[Judaism] is essentially a way of
life, the goal of which is to be a better
person,” Stewart Perlman, Washington’s
English teacher, said.
When remembering the ancient Jewish traditions, one also thinks of persecution against its people: from Egypt
and Roman domination, to purges during the Middle Ages, pogroms in Russia,
and the Nazi-perpetrated Holocaust.
Between 1939 and 1945, nearly six million Jews were systematically murdered
in European concentration and death
camps, as a part of Hitler’s “Final Solution.”
It is not surprising, hereafter, that
following Holocaust, many Jews, who
at first scoffed the idea of Zionism, or
returning to the original Jewish homeland in the Middle East, now flooded to
the newly-established state of Israel. The
importation of thousands of Jews into
Israel has created strong antagonisms
from Muslim Arabs in the Middle East,
who initially did not recognize Israel’s
legitimacy.
Photos by Pam Sloves
“Israel has a right to exist, which does not preclude the
Palestinians’ right to exist,” Perlman said. “Jews were in the
Middle East centuries before Muhammad.”
Israel continues to be plagued by radical Muslim groups
from surrounding countries, which, this past summer, provoked a war between Israel and Lebanon.
“If I had to choose a side, I would be in favor of Israel,
but I think that both Israel and Palestine are at fault for the
terrible situation,” said senior Jackie Sloves, member of the
local Temple Beth Torah.
The violence in the Middle East has partially been a
result of anti-Semitism and stereotypes about Jewish People.
“People think that Jews are generally cheap, value education, have big noses, and are liberal, but these are false stereotypes,” said Sloves.
To learn more about Judaism, visit: www.religioustolerance.org
The Washington Hatchet
Page
October 4,
Opinion
8
Campus safety begins with you
Our view
Staff Editorial
This past month has seen a surge
of school violence. In Montreal, a
young man strolled onto a college
campus and opened fire on students. In Colorado, a gunman began
a siege in a high school classroom
that ended with the death of a hostage. In Wisconsin, a student fatally
wounded his high school principal. In Fremont, two students were
stabbed at Kennedy High School in
a gang-related altercation.
What can be done to keep us safe
in our school?
The installation of metal detectors and surveillance cameras
has been suggested. The extensive
construction on campus was possible only by years of fundraising.
Repairing damage caused by theft
and vandalism drains away more
money. Installing electronic equipment would require a tax bond or
massive fundraising.
Red Lake High School, located
on a Native American reservation
in Minnesota, had metal detectors
and a guard. But these measures
failed when a student shot the unarmed guard and entered the school
with deadly intent.
Technology won’t always keep us
safe at school.
Although high-tech means of detection and monitoring are out of
our reach, we are not helpless.
We can take a number of simple
steps to safeguard ourselves. Washington currently has a zero-tolerance policy on weapons and death
threats. More strict enforcement of
such discipline is another way of deterring school violence.
The school administration could
also cooperate with law enforcement
and parents, keeping a closer watch
on students with police records.
In the end, advanced technology
is not the answer to everything. It
is the people that make all the difference.
Let’s face it – Washington’s staff of
less than a hundred is far less effective at spotting danger than the vast
student body. The students as well as
the staff must be vigilant and report
any suspicious behavior in order to
ensure a safe environment for all.
Letter to the Editor
Instead of just thrashing one form or another, I
believe the best way of going
about this article would be
to state pros and cons about
the topic.
Now, I love rock music
but I wouldn’t go as far as to
say that it’s the only form of
music to portray a message.
Rap music, I will admit has
gone downhill over the past
few years. Both Tupac and
Dr. Dre alone rapped about
so many problems the world
had and tried to share how
to fix them. If you want to
hear a message with some
relevance to anything then
just listen to “Changes” by
Tupac.
Now as for rock music,
there are so many types of
rock that if you only listen
to one type it would be unfair to judge rock as a whole
saying that “true rock has
lost its roots” is just plain
ignorant. Go buy yourself a
copy of Velvet Revolver, you
can’t get more “true rock”
than Slash (Guns’N roses)
and Scott Weiland (Stone
Temple Pilots).
In my personal opinion
a song, Rap or Rock, is
about whatever you want
it to be about and is art no
matter what.
If you have never seen
rappers in a studio then
don’t be so quick to judge.
I was once at a studio for
my friend’s band practice
and 2 studio rooms over
these 3 rappers drilled
away at one beat from
before we got there until
after we left. Rappers put
their hearts and souls into
their music.
All in all I’d have to tip
the scale in Rock’s favor,
but saying Rap isn’t an art
form and they have nothing to talk about is just a
biased opinion. There are
so many forms of Rock
and Rap that I’m sure
there is something for
everyone to enjoy in both.
-- Taylor Christopher
Staff Reporters
Leah Andrews
Mina Baber
Rachael Bridges
Irene Cheng
Frederick Del Carpio
Ryan Guerra
Jonathan Kim
J.J. Kochly
Yashad Kulkarni
Rebekah Lee
David Lyons
Sam Mahood
Pirouz Mehmandoost
Daniella Morariu
James Peng
Kate Pyatybratova
Laura Ramie
Chen Yang
Sam Mahood
Staff Reporter
The Iraq War has become
a tired act. Its parallels to
Vietnam are uncanny, we are
hopefully headed towards its
end.
Polls this year have shown
50% to 60% of Americans disapproving of the war. President Bush has held extremely
low approval ratings over the
past year. The architect’s plan
may be crumbling.
Bush and his cronies have
spewed sound bite after sound
bite to the American public.
As soon as one stops working
or is disproved, they are on to
the next. We were told that
Saddam Hussein was building
“weapons of mass destruction”. Now Bush’s message has
evolved to suggest that Hussein had a hand in 9/11—a
rumor completely false since
Hussein preferred to rule as a
secular dictator than an Islamic extremist. We’ve also been
Co-Editors in Chief
Molly Sweeney
Melissa Yao
In-Depth Editors
Melissa Yao
Pritika Kumar
News Editor
Sharanya Kuppuswamy
A&E Editors
Nate Miu
Aaron Williams
On Campus Editor
Dennica Fernando
Around the World
Becky Allen
Sports Editors
Bharadwaj Ramachandran
Cody Bolce
Opinions Editor
Kyla Koger
Business Manager
Daniella Morariu
Mission Statement
The staff ’s objective is to provide a forum for
the opinions, interests and activities that affect the
students of Washington High School in an unbiased,
informative, and entertaining manner. We wish to
produce a factual and honest representation of our
Embrace your curves
that beauty is in the eye
of the beholder, but being
beautiful and unhealthy are
two different things.
Not only is being underweight unattractive for
models, but it is also dangerous. Girls, teenagers, grown
women, just about every
female, will look at models
and want to be like them
and have the image the media produces for us.
It makes women feel awful
about themselves because
no one looks like that.
I know when I see modDrawing by Laura Ramie els in magazines or any type
of media I will feel a twinge
Becky Allen
of self-consciousness about
World News Page Editor
my looks and weight, even
Ever since I read an ar- though I know that I am neiticle from the New York ther ugly nor overweight.
Times I have been absolutely
I know girls who have takthrilled.
en the ‘perfect’ model image
It seems the rest of the too seriously and have hurt
world is finally catching themselves in more ways
up to my kind of thinking. than one.
World officials are saying
Some developed eating
that models are too skinny.
disorders, believing they
I’ve always thought that. need to be a size zero to be
In my opinion models have pretty.
always been unreasonably
Others will doubt themskinny and sickly looking. selves, are they too fat?
Gaunt eyes and jagged Are they pretty enough?
cheekbones are not my idea Are they wearing the right
of beauty. Yes, I have heard clothes and make up and
hair? Will guys still like
them if they look the way
they really do or should they
try to be the pretty girls in
the magazines?
The answer to all of those
questions is obvious – they
should be exactly who they
are and not compare themselves to unreasonable role
models. You should just be
comfortable with who you
are.
I understand that it is
hard to be comfortable with
yourself, especially in high
school, but the sooner you
face who you are and what
you really look like, the better off you’ll be.
Models conform to impossible images, but that
doesn’t mean you have to.
Now before anyone jumps
down my throat let me explain my meaning. I am not
saying that models are ugly
or that all are underweight,
only that most are capable
of being beautiful if they’d
only add a few pounds on.
So I say embrace your
curves, shakes those hips
and eat all you want. Just
because models don’t do it
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t
as well.
Tired of the Iraq war, or do we support it?
The Washington Hatchet
38442 Fremont Blvd / Fremont, CA 94536
whshatchet@fremont.k12.ca.us
Tel (510) 505-7300 / Fax (510) 794-8437
2006
school as a historical record while following journalistic standards and precisely reporting on the sports,
news, issues, people and places that affect our readers. It is created by the students for the students reflecting the students’ voices.
told
that
we’re freedom fighters, helping
the spread of
democracy.
I find it funny that we
don’t seem
to care too
much about
spreading
demo crac y
in Africa or
any South
American
country that
doesn’t have
oil.
Like during Vietnam, over 30 years
ago, our government has become arrogant. They refuse to
give up on the war, thinking
they will be viewed as failure.
Well, it is too late for that.
Fewer Iraqis have electricity and clean water now, than
when Hussein was in power.
We’ve destabilized a region we
were supposed to stabilize. A
new report from the State Department shows that the Iraq
War has encouraged a new
generation of terror rather
than stop it.
Billions of dollars have
been spent on destroying a
foreign country, when it could
have been spent building this
one. This money could have
been invested on alternative
energy, education, or fighting domestic crime. It is time
that President Bush realizes
America comes first. We have
become so caught up fighting
a war that benefits the oilmen,
when we could have tried to
fix our own problems.
Drawing by Kate Pyatybratova
J.J. Kochly
Staff Reporter
Bush is not perfect. That is
something that even conservatives like myself need to understand. But he’s not doing
as bad of a job as everybody
thinks either.
Why do people dislike
Bush? I will tell you now
that the definitive answer is
because he’s a republican. If
they stuck a little “D” in front
of his name, everything would
be hunky-dory.
But we don’t treat him as
we should. So why do we
dislike Bush? The first thing
anyone will say is because of
the war. Admittedly, we have
been there for a long time.
But why did we make a
big deal when he fought back,
practically after terrorists declared war on us? And then
we got mad at him for invading Iraq because we believed
they had ties to Al-Quada?
Think of it this way: if
a doctor told you that you
might have cancer in a part
of your body but wasn’t sure,
you’d want to get a tissue
sample, right? And when the
results came back and you
found out you didn’t have
cancer, you might be slightly
mad that you went out of your
way to find out that it was a
waste of time, but you’ll still
be glad that you checked. That’s what basically happened in Iraq. Only Saddam
attacked us while we were at
it, so we bounced back. So really, there’s nothing evil in it.
Almost every war in the
20th century was started by
a Democrat. World War I,
World War II, Korea, Vietnam—all the work of democrats. Now we’re attacked by
anti-American extremists, we
invade them, and everyone
gets mad at Bush?
The next thing people will
say is that he’s an idiot. He
graduated from Harvard, a
place where idiots are not
welcome.
As for his performance in
speeches; maybe he’s just not
good at public speaking. The
president doesn’t have to be
good at everything.
Other people hate him
because he focuses on our
national interests rather than
being bullied into treaties by
little countries that wouldn’t
matter. What’s wrong with
focusing on our best interests?
Practically the only things
he’s conservative about are being pro-life and cutting taxes.
But now that Bush is elected,
9/11 happens and he escalates the work in the Middle
East that Clinton was doing,
makes him evil.
October 4,
2006
The Washington Hatchet
Arts & Entertainment
Ardenwood festival showcases Cajun culture
Laura Ramie
Staff Reporter
Sat., Sept. 23 was the
10th Annual Cajun/Zydeco
Festival, held at Ardenwood
Historic Farm. Proceeds
contributed to the Parks
Express Program, to provide inner-city youths and
senior citizens transportation to East Bay parks.
The term “Cajun” refers
to the unique culture of
southern Louisiana. Cajuns
are descended from the
French settlers of Acadia in
eastern Canada, who settled
the Louisiana frontier from
1764 to 1785 after being
kicked out of Nova Scotia
by the English. The Cajuns
evolved into a medley of
cultural influences: indigenous peoples, French and
Spanish settlers, African
Americans, the English,
Irish and Scottish settlers,
and German immigrants.
The name “Acadians” gradually changed into “Cajuns.”
Cajuns today still speak the
language of their ancestors,
a dialect of French.
The two biggest attractions at the festival were
Photo by Laura Ramie
Young and old, black and white dance together at the Cajun Festival Sept. 23.
the regional cuisine and the
lively music. Festival-goers
sporting cowboy hats and
Mardi Gras beads lined up
to taste the spicy dishes:
etoufee (creamed crawfish
served over rice), beighet
(a deep-fried doughnut),
seafood gumbo, catfish,
jambalaya and red beans
and rice.
Traditional Cajun music is characterized by the
sweet whine of a fiddle and
the soulful accordion. It’s
influenced by French dance
melodies and country music. The vocals are often in
Cajun French.
Zydeco music, some-
what different, is the music
of south Louisiana’s native
black Creoles, borrowing
some traits from Cajun music, just as Cajun tunes borrow from Zydeco. It is fairly
modern, developed after
World War II. It’s increasingly performed in English.
Influenced by blues and
rock and roll, Zydeco features the accordion, electric guitar and bass, drums,
sometimes a saxophone,
and a metal rubboard called
a “frottior” worn over the
chest and rapped with metal instruments.
Bright parti-colored umbrellas and folding chairs
surrounded a large tent,
where Zydeco bands played
as dozens of couples danced
on a wooden platform. By
mid-afternoon, the stage
was packed with people
dancing, their feet stomping in rhythm and ladies’
skirts flying. Olivia “Tee”
Guillory gave a half-hour
dancing lesson, leading
the crowd in a line dance.
Cajun music is danced to
simple steps, relying on individual expression instead
of showy technique.
Ardenwood farm is a
festive place throughout the
year, offering well-attended
celebrations, ranging from
Civil War reenactments to
the Celtic Festival. The next
event is the Harvest Festival
on the weekend of Oct. 14
and 15.
Artist Spotlight of the Month: Nikita Gurnani
Leah Andrews
Staff Reporter
It’s not often a freshman
comes along who shows
such an incredible amount
of pride and confidence in
her work as Nikita Gurnani,
but then again, it’s not often
there is such a talented artist as her.
Ever since she was
a child creating arts and
crafts in kindergarten, Gurnani has been interested in
art. Since the fourth grade,
when her father bought her
a paint set from Costco, she
has been creating incredibly stylized pieces over
a wide range of media. “I
try not to stay in a box”, she
says, “I try to experiment
with a variety of different
things”.
Image by Nikita Gurani
Here is one example of the abstract work Gurani does.
Not only is she interested in drawing and
painting: Gurnani also has
a passion for photography
and poetry as well. After
taking a photograph, she
will sometimes edit the
pictures using Adobe Photoshop to create certain
moods, styles, or looks us-
ing various techniques. For
example, in a piece she created about LSD, she rose the
contrast to create a chaotic
feel to it. She also uses the
program to adjust lighting
and other things she is not
satisfied with in her photographs.
Gaining inspiration
from the music she listens
to, ranging from Gothic
industrial to hip-hop, as
well as from the people
surrounding her, she creates fascinating works of
art that are distinctive to
her own style. Her piece
she titles “Self Portrait” is
particularly impressive and
demonstrates her shear talent. To create it, she used
a variety of images that she
pasted together and later
detailed further with pen.
“It’s supposed to be kind of
sarcastic” she says, “This is
the real me”.
Currently, Gurnani
is working on her next big
project, a painting on an extravagant canvas. Though
she has not yet physically
began painting, she is
searching for inspiration.
In accordance to her constantly changing media and
subject matter, she hopes to
work with ceramics in the
future.
Gurnani is an incredible artist that deserves to
be recognized for her phenomenal achievements. It
is hoped that more amazing works of art will be
seen from her in the near
future.
The next generation consoles: which should you choose?
Aaron Williams
A & E Editor
It has been close to
five years since the original
release of the Playstation 2, the Xbox, and the
Gamecube. Gamers have
been eager to see what
each company will bring
this year. The future is
here today with the next
generation of video games
consoles. This fall, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony
will be unleashing the next
wave of digital entertainment.
Sony, who won the last
generation’s console war, is
here to deliver the Playstation 3. They insist that the
PS3 is the ultimate console
for it boasts the strongest
Page
components inside and has
multiple external uses.
Microsoft, last fall,
released the Xbox 360. A
HD DVD add-on will be
added to compete with the
blu-ray technology of the
PS3. Microsoft hopes that
their new software line-up
this year will help them
secure victory.
Nintendo, which has
been rather unorthodox
with its approach this
year, has released the Wii.
Although the Gamecube
had weak sales, Nintendo
is hoping that the Wii will
attract hardcore gamers
and non-gamers alike with
its crazy controller and
innovative software. Here’s
the new consoles:
http://www.sfgate.com/blog
Photo by
Photo by
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.egadgetmag.com
- Name: Playstation 3
- Name: Wii
- Name: Xbox 360
- Company: Sony
- Company: Nintendo
- Company: Microsoft
- Price: $499.99 for core - Price: $149.99 for entire - Price: $399.99 for core system, 599.99 for
system!!!
system, 499.99 for premium.
- Notable Games:
premium.
- Notable Games:
Super Smash Bros.
- Notable Games:
Heavenly Sword, Brawl, Gears of War, Warhawk, Legend of Zelda Halo 3, Resistance: FOM
Red Steel
Blue Dragon
-Mishaps:
-Mishaps:
-Mishaps:
No rumble feature?!
The name?!
$200 HD add-on?!
9
Four new
shows to
watch for
Chen Yang
Staff Reporter
www.cbs.com
Shark: Sebastian Stark
was a charismatic, highly
successful defense attorney
until a shocking outcome
in one of his cases forces
him to rethink his career.
Seeking redemption after
suffering an attack of conscience, Stark turns his
skills to prosecuting highprofile criminals.
www.cbs.com
Jericho: The residents
of a small Kansas town
watch as a nuclear mushroom cloud blossoms silently across the horizon.
The people look on in disbelief, unsure of their fate.
In this promising series,
Lost meets Cold War-era
Armageddon.
www.cbs.com
Smith: On the surface,
Bobby Stevens is simply
another family man with
a normal, boring job. Under that guise, however, he
is a professional thief who
accepts high-profile heists
with the assistance of an
elite team of criminals.
www.fox.com
Vanished: The beautiful young wife of a prominent congressman vanishes without a trace. An
investigation is mounted
under pressure. As the instigators work to solve the
disappearance, they begin
stumbling upon disturbing
evidences suggesting that
all is not what it seems….
The Washington Hatchet
Page
October 4,
Arts & Entertainment
10
2006
The Zune
Jay-Z refers to Lupe Fiasco as “wunderkind”
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
Yoshi Kulkarni
Jonathan Kim
Although Microsoft
denied the existence for a
while, in the end they could
not keep it under wraps.
Info is posted online, and
even appeared on the Ellen
DeGeneres Show.
The Zune has many features to combat it’s great
predecessor. The 320 x 240
resolution and, three inch
screen yet again rivals that
of the iPod. Surpassing the
iPod, the Zune has a Zune to
Zune feature that allows users to share anything from
songs, to pictures to videos.
Just as iPod was incompatible with windows in the
beginning, the earlier Zune
not cooperate with the macs
at launch.
Costing about $300, the
price is comparable to the
the current 30gb Video iPod.
Is the Zune really just a rival
for the iPod or could it be it’s
successor?
Starting out at the top of
his game, newcomer Lupe
Fiasco has already received
praises for his talents. With
a solid past, stemming from
being signed to various labels and appearances on albums such as Late Registration by Kanye West, Fiasco
is taking the hip-hop world
by storm. Using inventive
Liquor explodes with excellence. Songs like “Kick Push”
redefine the meaning of
hip-hop with touching lyrics
and ideas which apply to a
variety of audiences. Straying from stereotypical raps
about drugs, sex and money,
Fiasco explores the game on
a new level. With support
from the biggest cats in the
game and a confident attitude, Fiasco is here to stay.
college age would be virtually unable to relate to these.
With actors like Bilson and
Braff that draw a predominately teenage crowd, this
appears to be problematic
as this film is not meant for
them.
With Braff ’s enormous
teenage fan-base formed
from the success of his previous film, Garden State, high
expectations were made,
most likely because there
was a common misconcep-
tion that Braff, like Garden
State, also wrote and directed this film.
Despite its flaws, this film
is entertaining and has an
impressive soundtrack with
popular artists like Snow
Patrol and Coldplay.
If
you liked the Garden State
soundtrack, you’ll like The
Last Kiss soundtrack, but if
you liked Garden State the
movie, you probably won’t
enjoy this film in comparison.
David Lyons
like the first time, with only
their opinions changed.
One main theme is Vonnegut’s lament of the decline
of traditional family values,
reading, and ties to a single
area. He uses as an illustration of the latter point his
own family’s tie to Indianapolis, where none of the remaining Vonneguts live and
few are buried. Vonnegut
makes constant references
to a wide variety of his own
family members in Timequake, and it is a statement
about his views on family
values that he himself is a
successful writer with close
ties to his family while his
alter ego, Kilgore Trout, is an
unsuccessful writer with no
family.
Timequake is classic Vonnegut: bleak, inconsistent,
and absolutely hilarious.
Tony Goldwyn’s ‘The Last Kiss’
Leah Andrews
Staff Reporter
http://gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2006/08/zune.jpg
The Last Kiss, starring Rachael Bilson and Zach Braff,
is quite an exceptional film,
but has certain aspects that
alienate its teenage audience.
This movie follows the different love lives of a gathering of emotionally hindered
characters, each suffering a
midlife crisis. This film does
make effective, however
anyone younger than post-
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techniques and beats with a
lot of jazz roots and inspiration from the likes of EasyE, Lupe weaves intricate patterns under his seemingly
simple raps. With his new
album, titled Food & Liquor, Lupe also brings into
play his Muslim beliefs, as
well as life on the streets of
Chicago’s West Side. Called
“refreshing” by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Food &
with three consecutive months enrollment
and registration fee in
Tap, Jazz, Ballet or Kinderdance Program.
Vonnegut’s last novel
Staff Reporter
Timequake, which Kurt
Vonnegut has called his last
novel, is in fact less of a novel and more of a prolonged
rant about everything from
the creation of the universe
to the negative influence of
the media in the modern
world. The story is largely
autobiographical, but he also
spends a lot of time interacting with Kilgore Trout, the
fictitious, long-out-of-print
science fiction writer.
The premise and namesake of the novel occurs
when the universe suffers a
crisis of confidence. It begins to question the purpose
of expanding indefinitely, so
it jumps back ten years from
2001 to 1991. Everyone living in it is forced to relive all
of their experiences exactly
‘Studio 60’ is quick and witty
Sam Mahood
Staff Reporter
For the past several years
network television has become a reality show wasteland. However, Studio 60
on the Sunset Strip bucks
this trend. Created by Aaron
Sorkin, who created the West
Wing, the writing is fresh
and witty. Studio 60 takes
place on the set of a fictional
sketch comedy show by the
same name.
The fictional show has
lost much of its humor and
provocative material over
the past few years, and we
witness a network censorship of a skit deemed too offensive for TV in the opening scenes.
This causes the show’s
producer to stop the show
highjack the screen and blast
what the media has become
over the past few years. His
firing shortly ensues. With
the direction of the show
uncertain, a young new ex-
ecutive—played by Amanda
Peet—makes a bold move.
She decides that the show
has been dieing and that it
is time to bring back Studio 60’s ex-writers. These
ex-writers, Matt and Danny
and played by Matthew
Perry (Friends) and Bradley
Whitford (The West Wing)
respectively, are much more
edgy and unafraid to be politically incorrect.
The dialogue on Studio
60 has a witty, quick pace to
it—not unlike that of Sorkin’s
West Wing. What is almost
as key to the dialogue is the
message of the show. Studio
60 hasn’t been afraid to examine the corporate world
of network television that it
lives in.
With the media becoming
increasingly superficial and
afraid to dissent in the past
years, it is a breath of fresh
air for viewers to watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
The Washington Hatchet
October 4,
Sports
Cheerleaders place first in Santa Cruz competition
Page
2006
11
Sharanya Kuppuswamy
News Editor
The On Sept. 23, both Varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads competed
in the Santa Cruz Regional
Competition, which determined whether or not they
will go to Nationals, taking
place in Disneyland. WHS
placed first when competing
against six other schools.
“It took all of us to work
together in order to make it
happen. I was really proud
of how my team came together and finished on top,”
said coach Tiffany Wittmer.
Even though the team had
been practicing for the entire
summer, they only learned
the routine two weeks before
the competition. Their victory is all the more amazing
because they practiced the
routine only eight times.
“We were really worried
because half of the team is
new, so getting first was like
giving birth - really crazy,”
said senior captain Tiffanie
Petett.
Photo by Angie McCoy
2006-2007 Cheerleaders pose after winning first place at the Santa Cruz competition.
Cross country shines
A’s open
playoffs
with win
The Oakland Athletics defeated the Minnesota Twins
3-2 in the opening game of
the ALDS.
The A’s began their standard mid-summer march
toward the playoffs in early
June and finally put a cap on
their run Sept. 26 at Safeco
field, capturing the American
League West division from
the Anaheim Angels. Despite having only a pay roll of
slightly over 62 million dollars, they beat out the Angels
who spent nearly double that
this season.
Whether the A’s will make
noise in the playoffs is yet to
be seen, but the fact that they
made the playoffs with such
a low payroll beating out the
Red Sox, the Angels, and the
World Champion White Sox,
is an accomplishment.
Rebekah Lee
Staff Reporter
Brian Peterson/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT
Oakland Athletics’ Frank Thomas gets a high-five at the
plate from teammate Eric Chavez (3) after hitting his
second home run of the game in the eighth inning at the
Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Tuesday, Oct. 3.
On Saturday, Sept. 16,
WHS cross-country runners
junior Edriane Luna and
sophomore Ranvir Dhillon
broke the boy’s school record for the 1.9-mile course.
The team that met at Farmer Invitational at Hayward
High broke through the finish lines with smiles on their
faces. The previous boys’ record was 10:55, which Dhillon beat by 41 seconds.
“I was proud of my accomplishment, but there’s
still a lot of work,” he said.
Luna came in only 2 seconds behind Dhilon, coming into the finish lines with
a 10:06. Both were delighted
and proud.
“To do something great,
it takes time and dedication,
but you also need the desire
and ambition to accomplish
it,” Luna said.
Juniors Elizabeth Raymond and Theresa Richardson also broke the girls’
record. The previous record
Photo by Rebekah Lee
(From Left to Right) Sarah Hughes, Alexandria Smith, Lyla
Rayyan, Clare Cisneros, Allison Gower, Elizabeth Raymond,
Theresa Richardson, Shantall Prad line up for a photo.
was 12:22. Richardson beat
the record, timing 11:38.
Raymond came four seconds ahead of Richardson,
with 11:34.
The cross-country team
looks forward to doing better as the season continues.
The next meet will be on
Oct. 14th at Castro Valley.
New and better players, hope for 49ers team this year
Sam Mahood
Staff Reporter
The San Francisco 49ers
have gotten off to a 1-3 start
to the 2006 season. Most
teams would not be too
thrilled with this record, but
49ers fans are the more excited than they have been in
the past few years.
Unlike in the last two
years, the 49ers now have a
group of players that have
enough talent to play in the
National Football League
for years to come. These
two past years 49ers won a
total of six games, and there
is a chance they will win as
many this year.
This turnaround started
in the last off-season. Determined to improve, the 49ers
set out to re-stock their personnel. This year they signed
a free agent wide receiver
Antonio Bryant an offensive
lineman Larry Allen, and
drafted tight end Vernon
Davis.
The team’ running back
Frank Gore has come back
to the team for a second year,
and seems to have improved
his game a lot. All of these
players are now offensive
weapons for quarterback
Alex Smith, who has shown
the biggest improvement.
As a rookie he was left with
untalented receivers and a
shoddy offensive line. This
year he has shown incredible maturation and a newfound confidence, stepping
up in the pocket and avoiding mistakes.
With a re-stocked offensive arsenal, there needed to
be a master plan. Last year
offensive coordinator Mike
McCarthy left to become
the Green Bay Packers head
coach. To replace him, the
49ers hired former Oakland
Raiders head coach Norv
Turner. Although Turner
was unpopular in Oakland,
he has a better reputation
as an offensive coordinator
than as a head coach. Early
in the 1990s, Turner was
instrumental in developing
Dallas Cowboys quarterback
Troy Aikman, and designing an offense that went on
to win three Super Bowls.
The 49ers hope that he can
do the same for Alex Smith.
Smith has the mobility and
intelligence to be a superstar, but he still has a lot to
learn.
The past two years have
been brutal for the 49ers
Faithful. This young core
of players, however, might
change all of that. There is
a real chance for a sustained
run of success that hasn’t
been seen since the 1990s.
The 49ers probably won’t
make the playoffs for a year
or two, but with time a return to their past glory could
one day be achieved. It will
be a long hard road, but with
a few good drafts and the
emergence of Alex Smith, it
can be done.
The Washington Hatchet
Page
Rachael Bridges
Staff Reporter
Wham! Buzzzzzz! Are the
sounds of a water polo game,
starring your very own boys’
water polo teams! Go Huskies! While watching the
game, I learned a lot about
the fouls and how to score.
I interviewed driver Jake
Jarman, an offensive player
that plays on the perimeter
of the pool. When asked how
he feels about the team he
says “We are doing all right,
but we are still making some
mistakes.” When I asked Jarman what he would change
or improve about the team
he answered confidently
“definitely the passing.”
On the other hand, Jarman says he loves the coaching staff and the way they
coach. He says he wouldn’t
change a thing about them.
Being a senior and an impressive player on the varsity
team, Jarman, with only two
seconds left in a tied game,
with the crowd excitedly
cheering, scored the winning point. Jarman said he
had a lot of areas he needed
to improve in! The crowd
went nuts!
I was lucky enough to
watch the game. Up to the
last two seconds, it was so
exciting it made your muscles tense. The game was
close, I will give Mission
San Jose that, but there is no
stopping the fierce, persevering, snapping-teeth-atyour-throat Huskies.
I would like to thank Jake
Jarman for being so cooperative, sweet, and helping
me learn a lot more about
the game. So when you hear
the team is playing go out
and watch, I guarantee you
will have an awesome, exciting time, and the Huskies
won’t let you down.
Photo by Rachel Bridges
Senior Jake Jarmen reaches out to grab the ball.
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2006
Strong start for girls volleyball
Jarman’s goal wins game
in last two seconds
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October 4,
Sports
12
Jonathan Kim
Staff Reporter
Photo by Jonathan Kim
Junior Paulina Gentr y
sets during warm-ups.
The game on Tues. Sept.
26 was what I expected from
the girls volleyball squad this
year. The Huskies were clearly a stronger team when they
played against Kennedy. Setting the pace for the rest of
the day, JV came out strong
and took the match in the
first two games. They came
out with a bang in game
one when we took it 25-11.
We put it in the books with
another win in game two,
25-14. I knew that our team
had the potential to come
together, and this slaughter
was a clear demonstration
of what being a Husky is all
about. Clearly these girls
have been practicing hard,
it is showing, and it is clearly
paying off.
Using the momentum that JV started, varsity brought they’re game as
well, taking the first game
25-14. Clearly Kennedy was
no contest. The second game
was another murder, 25-11,
this was our way of saying
that the Titans weren’t getting a lucky break.
The Huskies set the game
in stone with yet another
win in the third game 2521. This match was clearly a
massacre, this is Husky volleyball. The game last Tues.
was exactly how I imagined
every match to be this season for our girls volleyball
team. We will continue to
see this throughout the season, as the Huskies continue
to work hard during practice
and stay dedicated to the
sport they love.
I belive that the girls can
keep this wonderful perfomance going on for the rest
of the season.
JV football team seeks to improve after loss
Kyla Koger
Opinions Editor
The Rolling Stones are
right- you can’t always get
what you want. Much of life,
for most of us, is spent dealing with the gaps between
what we want and what we
get. When a good luck streak
occurs where you are winning for a long period of
time, there has to be a point
of loss.
Last year was an undefeated season for the JV
team. But with losing a
game, some might not have
faith that they will do as
well this year. All you have
to remember is that there
must be a balance between
winning and losing. One
bad game does not mean an
unfortunate year. We need
to support our JV Football
team. They tried their hardest and gave it all their heart,
it would be a shame on our
part not to keep cheering
them on. We went into the
game pretty confident,” junior Chris Heimsoth says
about their first game against
Arroyo. They tried their
hardest against San Ramon,
but ended up losing because
the other team was good and
bigger. “For our next game I
want to have everyone feel
confident in playing against
the other team and not be
afraid at all to “hit” whoever
we face,” says junior Jordan
Voytilla. Of course losing
doesn’t feel good at all, but
that doesn’t mean that our
JV team should be discouraged to play more games.
“We played the two toughest
teams of the season and everything now should be easier, and we won’t stop playing
our hardest,” said Voytilla.
Coach Antoine Evans felt
husky pride when he saw
Photo by Bharadwaj Ramachandran
Junior Jeremy Hunt runs the ball during practice.
what his team was able to
do against their opponent.
Some of the players on the
JV team said they would like
to work on tackling, more
passing plays and come up
with something that the
other teams would not expect. Some of the mistakes
the team made during the
game were missing tackles,
not wrapping up to make
tackles, and not running to
their full advantage.
So maybe The Rolling
Stones are somewhat right
when they say you can’t always get what you want, because we all know that when
we want something enough,
you can most definitely get
it. And I know that our JV
football team can win if they
really try hard.
Girls’ tennis starts season off slowly
B. Ramachandran
Pritika Kumar
Sports Editor
In-Depth Editor
Girls’ tennis is off to a
shaky start in their 2006
campaign, losing 0-7 to
Castro Valley and their
home opener 1-6 to James
Logan in recent matches.
The lone win against the
Colts came at Varsity #3
singles, where Vivian Zhang
prevented a shutout loss.
However it is still early in
the season, and many more
league matches remain to
be settled. Coach Maria Ramos described her team as
an “intermediate level team,”
with many objectives and
aspirations. She also said the
team certainly has expectations of defeating Kennedy
and Newark Memorial.
Varsity captain Emily
Kowalski gave her opinion
on the team and the season
so far. “We’re a good team
this year, not just with our
playing but with our attitudes.” The team is split up
into three teams, varsity, and
two junior varsity teams.
Some objectives laid out
by Coach Maria Ramos are
“hoping to become more ag-
Junior Nicolette Nario swings at the ball during practice.
gressive, more independent
on court, just learning how
to play without needing help
from me.”
She later said to what one
thing she hopes the team
can accomplish this year
“It’s hard to say…,” because
there are many aspects to the
game. Being physically fit
and mentally tough are the
two most important ones.
The team is showing unity, all having a common goal
of improving their game, and
working hard in practice to
have good results shown in
matches.
Most of the players replied in saying they look forward to probably challenges
posed by American, and said
their first match went well,
giving a good moral boost to
everyone for future matches.
Varsity players gained more
match experience at a tournament hosted at Ohlone
Photo by Joel Capra
College Sept. 23 through
October 3rd.
The tournament was
hosted by Coach Maria’s
company, Maria’s World of
Tennis.
Show your support for
the Girls’ Huskies at their
next home game against the
Mission Warriors on Oct. 5
at the WHS tennis courts.
The coach also says they
hope to good in the rest of
the season.