Making It Hot - Los Angeles Unified School District

Issue 1
April
“Making It Hot”
Advisor
Robert Hollman
Editor In Chief
Gilberto Parada
Editors
Sandra Flores
Priscilla Guerero
Jennifer Ruiz
Mayra Romero
Contributors
Isaac Cajina
Yvette Cano
Maricela Castellon
Chris Cortez
Karen Diaz
Sandra Flores
Mayra Garcia
Victor Granados
Yvette Hereida
Ralph Morales
Veronica Ortiz
Alejandra Ramirez
Abimael Rivera
Patty Robles
Jennifer Ruiz
Dora Sanabria
Maribel Soto
Ernesto Parada
Gilbert Parada
Ashley Venegas
Jeremy Zuniga
Table Of Contents
1
Entertainment:
The latest movies, music, technolgy and gadgets,
and video games. Also read the hot
quiz and horoscopes.
8
Fashion:
Check out what’s hot in fashion.
9
Karen’s Kitchen:
Learn how to make a delicious
dessert.
10
Vulcan Community:
Read poetry by fellow students as well as
student’s embarrassing moments. Here you can also
read our exclusive comic Strips also Vulcan news announcements.
14
Vulcan Features:
Special Reports
The editors of Vulcan would like to introduce Journalism track C’s latest project. This
magazine is for your entertainment and to inform you about the Bulldog news. It would be a
regular installment for the Bulldog community. We want to thank you for taking your time to
read this magazine and remember that this is your magazine, so feel free to let us know what you
think. If there are any suggestions or sections that you would like to participate in, feel free to
submit a letter to Mr. Hollman’s [Advisor], box or email us at thevulcanmag@netscape.net.
Remeber we do not discriminate on any basis of gender, sexual preference, or age. If you have a
voice you want heard, just submit it to us.
- Editors
Page
1. Music 2. Movies 3. Game Zone
—5. Technology 6. Quiz 7. Horoscope
Written By Jeremy Zuniga
True Rappers Of Our Time
In the music world today
there are so many talented rappers and singers, these three rapper’s are the guys that have made
it big or are going to. The first
rapper is a guy named Tupac
Shakur. By the age of twelve, Tupac had discovered his love for
acting, writing song and poetry.
As a young teen, his family moved
to Baltimore, Maryland, where he
attended a Baltimore School for
the Performing Arts to study acting. By the time he was twenty,
Tupac had been arrested eight
times, even served eight months
in prison after being being convicted of sexual abuse. He was
also the subject of two death lawsuits, one involving a six-year-old
boy who was killed after getting
caught in a gang-war crossfire between Shakur’s gang and a rival
group. But after all that Tupac
came to realize that expressing
1
everything he had to say in his
lyrics would be a better option.
The next
ojone is
Queens
rapper 50
Cent. Before hooking
up
with Dr. Dre and Eminem, 50
was not really known for being a
great rap superstar. He retreated
to the mix-tape circuit for a brief
moment before a major-label ensued in 2002. The grimy, streetlevel rappers career underwent
many ups and downs and over
the years. In the late 90’s, after he
united with Trackmasters and
Sony/Columbia Records, his
breakthrough seemed ensured.
But on the eve of his release date
in 1999, 50 was shot. Even worse,
Columbia pulled his album,
“Power of the Dollar”, claiming
that it had been too heavily bootlegged for a release. Rather than
sulk, 50 Cent began recording
dozens of tracks for release in the
underground. A buzz ensued, and
Eminem offered him a million
dollar-plus contract in 2002.
Once again, three years later after his first breakthrough opportunity, 50 Cent’s breakthrough
seemed ensured.
The next rapper is the
newest member of Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP) group
for short, his name is Chingy.
The St. Louis rapper studied
Nelly’s every move and learned
the ins and outs of artist promotion. “I watched how LL Cool J,
Run DMC, DJ Quick, Snoop
Dogg, Nelly, Ludacris and others
did, and how successful they
were, so I wanted to do the same”
said Chingy, after being asked
what influenced him to start rapping at age 23. Coming out of St.
Louis must have been a little
harder for Chingy because that’s
where another superstar rapper
Nelly, came out of. So Chingy so
far, is going to have to get a good
reputation and earn himself the
right to be the best St. Louis
rapper.
These three rappers are
some of the great rappers of our
time.
Written By Priscilla Guerrero and Mayra Romero
Is “The Passion” Worth The Sacrifice?
Finally, the movie that
many people were talking about
has arrived at the theater near
you. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this movie
since it deals with an issue that
many people feel uncomfortable
talking about. Although it is a
very sensitive subject, people
should still watch it because it lets
them know what happened to
Jesus Christ and lets them have
an idea of how he died. Overall,
this movie was very well done and
showed many good elements,
however, it was exaggerated.
Although, it was said by
many critics that “Passion of The
Christ” wouldn’t be successful,
this movie attracted a great number of people, about $118 million
worth of people to be exact. People showed great interest in this
movie and by the time the movie
ended, many people thought it
was very good. However, many of
them agreed that many of the
scenes were a bit too exaggerated
which made the movie more violent and graphic. The bloodshed
is what makes this movie stand
out from others. The director,
Mel Gibson, makes sure to show
the viewers the pieces of flesh
ripping from Jesus’ body as he
gets severely whipped. Just when
you think the whipping is over,
it’s not, he keeps on getting
whipped and surprisingly doesn’t
die.
This movie details the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus.
This film chronicles Jesus’ accusations of blasphemy from the Jewish
Temple Leaders, to the trial overseen by Pontius Pilot. This eventually leads to his eventual torture
and crucifixion at the hands of the
Romans. While watching this film,
the audience is allowed to realize
the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice as
well as his dreadful suffering. It
makes people appreciate Jesus
Christ more and not take anything
for granted.
“Passion” mainly focuses
on violence and suffering. It hardly
talks about his many miracles and
gospels throughout his years. It
briefly shows the Last Supper and a
small piece of one of his sermons to
His followers. Thus, this film feels
incomplete without seeing more of
Jesus at work. The movement of
his life is essential when making a
movie about him because it makes
it more significant when Jesus’
hands are nailed to the cross or
when the crown of thorns is forcefully placed in his head.Even
though much of this film focused
on violence, there were some moments that made the movie more
emotional. Some of the best scenes
in this film were the flashbacks that
Jesus had of him and his
mother, Mary. These special but
brief flashbacks showed the caring and loving relationship of a
mother and her son. There were
three of these scenes and it
started from when he was an
infant and grew into a man.
These scenes added an expressive
touch to the film without involving any sort of violence or suffering.
This movie is R-rated
and for a good reason! We don’t
recommend “Passion” for anyone who is squeamish or sensitive because you will have a very
difficult time sitting through the
whole thing. We also wouldn’t
recommend this movie to children because they are simply too
young to know and understand
what is happening. We do recommend this movie for anyone
who is religious because it will
give you a better understanding
of what really happened.
“Passion”would be good for anyone who is just curious or isn’t
really sure about what happened
to Jesus because you
will
learn
many things
that
you
didn’t know
before.
2
Written by “Vengeance”, “Deathpool”, and Gilberto Parada
Playstation Portable Takes On The Gameboy Advance
The video game war has
continued now for about three
years, and it appears that Playstation 2 is at the top of the tower.
There is only one video game
market that is not controlled by
Sony, the portable gaming industry. Nintendo has stayed at the
top with the Gameboy Advance
and continues to make huge sales
with their remake of the Gameboy in a new sleek design. Not
till October of 2003, has someone attempted to take Nintendo
off the top of the mobile gaming
industry. Nokia took the challenge with the N-Gage, but have
not succeeded in taking a significant part of the mobile gaming
industry. The N-Gage offers
many revolutionary features on a
3
portable gaming console such as
3D graphics, an MP3 player, and
phone capabilities, but the system has taken away many possible players by pushing it as a
phone with gaming possibilities
instead of a console with phone
capabilities. The price has also
scared off many possible buyers
being priced at $299.99 a price
far higher than that of a home
gaming console.
Now a new company
promises to enter the portable
gaming industry and take it by
surprise. At E3 2003, Sony
Playstation
System Features
surprised many gamers by announcing that they will be entering the mobile gaming industry
with the Playstation Portable
(PSP). Sony promises that the
PSP will have 3D capabilities between those of a Playstation one
and a Playstation 2. It will be
able to play movies, music and
obviously games. The system is
going to be a line of products
that can be upgraded to fit the
uses of the owner. The PSP can
be added many peripherals like
the phone add-on that would
give the system a phone attribute.
Sony has promised the system
Prototype will be ready by E3
2004 in May and would have the
game lineup by the Tokyo
Game Show in September
2004. Sony has set a target
date for a global launch in
November 2004. The price
has not yet been advanced by
Sony,
•
Vector Floating Engines
•
Reconfigurable DSP Engine (VME)
•
Advanced 3D Graphics Engine
•
AVC (MPEG4) Decoder
•
AES Crypto System
•
1.8GB UMD (Universal Media Disk)
•
3D-CG Game
•
7.1ch Audio, 3D Sound
•
ATRAC3 plus, AAC, MP3 for Music
•
AVC/@MP for Picture/Movie
•
16:9 Wide screen TFT LCD
•
Embedded Wireless LAN (802.11)
•
Li-ion Battery
•
Extension for GPS, Digital Tuner, etc.
continued on page
4....
Game Reviews
All Game Reviews are rated between 10 and 1 with 10 being the best and 1 being the
worst.
This is a very good fighting game. The
tournament mode is excellent. Graphics are
decent and there is a wider variety of characters compared to Budokai I, you
get to use all of the main characters from the beginning of DBZ to the end
with Buu. However, I didn’t think much of the story mode. It wasn’t faithful
to the storyline of the Dragonball Z episodes, and the story mode wasn’t
animated like the first one. Unless you prefer a big selection of characters, I
think that Budokai I may be a better investment. In Dragon World, don’t forget to search for the
dragonballs. To unlock all of the characters, you will need to unlock Babidi’s Spaceship, and to do that you
must summon the dragon. Also, on the last level, you can get the ultimate attack for the character that you
use to kill Kid Buu.
Dragonball Z Budokai II- 9/10
continued from page 3.....
but many analysts of the gaming
industry suggest it will range between $150.00 and $200.00.
Their have been suggestions by
Chris Deering, Sony Entertainment Europe Chief, that it could
be priced between 200.00 and
300.00 Euros that translates between $369.00 to $554.00.
Though this may be a wrong
estimate to look at since monetary transfers don’t tell what the
actual price will be. A good
example will be the Playstation 2.
It sells for $180.00 dollars in the
U.S, but 125.00 Euros in London. 125 Euros translates to
about $250.00, so it is safe to say
the PSP will be more likely to be
in the $150.00 and $200.00
range. To keep informed on the
development of the PSP, keep an
eye on the internet and PSP forums.
Spawn: Armageddon- 7/10
Possibly one of the best action games
I have ever played because there is
hardly any talk. Spawn can harness the power of his
signature cape and chains, use several different hell
powers, and carry an arsenal of seven different guns. He
also wields Agony, a double-edged battle-ax. While using
all of these weapons is very fun, it is also pretty confusing. You not only have to watch your health but you’ve
got your energy and ammunition to worry about. I think they should
have kept the game a little simpler. Try not to forget about your hell
powers or the guns that you collect. Sometimes I would find myself in
a very tough battle using dual pistols. I kept forgetting that I had a
minigun handy to blow the larger opponents away. Also, you may
have only a limited amount of hell powers, but don’t be too stingy
with them, they can help a lot.
True Crime: Streets of LA- 8/10
Raise some hell in the
City of Angels, our very own hometown. This game
covers 250 square miles of Los Angeles. It is actually
very similar to Grand Theft Auto, except you’re a cop.
Luckily, just because you have to be a cop, doesn’t mean
you can’t run a few people over. Just try not to take your anger out on
the good guys. There are penalties for being a bad cop, so don’t kill
too many people; just kick the crap out of them. Try searching people
often to find illegal drugs or weapons and arrest them. This will keep
your good cop meter up. Knock people out instead of killing them as
often as you can, but don’t put your life on the line just to be a nice
guy, it’s not worth it. Be especially careful around civilians.
4
Written By Isaac Cajina
A New Smaller iPod...
A smaller iPod (http://www.apple.com/
ipod/)? How you say? It’s already really, really small,
you must be lying. To that I respond, “Shut up,
Becky.”
Anyway, the new aptly named iPod mini
(http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/) is a full halfinch shorter then it’s already tiny brother.
Still, this doesn’t come without a huge loss
in storage space. While the iPod mini still holds 4
GB of stuff (you can store pretty much anything on
it really, from Word documents to game saves). It’s
downright small compared to the smallest standard
iPod, the $299 15 GB version. To help you picture
this, my music collection clocks in at about 4.5 GB.
These 1300 songs last me about three days of
straight listening time. That’s quite a while, but
5
considering that the standard iPod has more then
three times the storage capacity, and for only $50
more, my recommendation is to go with the 15 GB
version. Unless you need a color iPod (the mini
comes in Silver, Gold, Blue, Pink, and Green) and
consider the myriad of accessories you can get for
the original iPod (Apple's site is at http://
www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html), the mini
doesn't have any real advantage over it's bigger
brother.
In the end, the iPod mini is a great idea,
but with the iPod being the ultimate in mp3
players, the little brother doesn't stand much of a
chance in my book. Then again, I'm writing a
column on gadgets and electronics, so what do I
Written By Patricia Robles
Do You Really Know Your Partner ?
Instructions: Answer the following questions. Then compare them to the actual answer of your partner.
The more you get right the more you know your partner!!!! Promise, not to ask the questions before you
answer them. You should already know them.
1. What is his/her favorite restaurant?
_________________
2. Where did you first meet?
_________________
3. When is your anniversary?
_________________
4. What is his/her favorite color?
_________________
5. Who is his/her favorite band or
artist ?
_________________
6. What's his/her favorite sport?
_________________
7. When is his/her birthday ?
_________________
8. Name his/her last EX.
_________________
0-5
Do you even know who your partner is?
Obviously, you have no idea about this guy/
girl. I suggest you sit and talk instead, of
getting to know each others lips. There's
more to a relationship than just kissing or
anything else you might be doing.
9. What animal does your mate prefer?
_________________
10. What is your mates favorite T.V
show?
_________________
11. What kind of date do they prefer,
outdoor or indoor?
_________________
12. What's his/her favorite movie?
_________________
13. What are his/her parents names?
_________________
14. What are his/her plans for the future?
_________________
15. Name his/her best friend?
_________________
16. What is his/her shoe size?
_________________
6 - 11
I'm guessing you have only been together less
than 3 months, if so you are on the right
track. Don't forget there's always more you
could learn about your partner. Take some
time and spend it in the park, just talking!
I'm sure after that you'll know more than
what you thought you knew!!
12 - 16
Let me guess, you were best friends first, before you went any further. It's obvious that you care about
your partner's mind and feelings than just his/her sex appeal. Looks, to me like I hear wedding bells in
the future!!
6
Written By Patricia Robles
Happy Birthday, Aries!
March21 – April 19
Start focusing more on school, try a science fair or the geography bee!! And if
you’re parents are impressed by all the
new brain activity ask for a bigger
allowance-they may give it to you.
Lucky Days: 4, 16, 22
Pisces
February 19 - March 20
Sometimes you may be flaky and dreamy,
but underneath you are really sensitive
and you actually care for other people’s
emotions. Remember don’t forget about
yourself and your own needs. You’re also
very creative.
Lucky Days: 7, 11, 19
Taurus
April 20 – May 20
You may be flirting a little too much with
you’re boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s friend.
And your honey isn’t liking it. After you
fix that situation you may want to have a
day out with your own friends.
Lucky Days: 7, 14, 18
Gemini
May21 – June 21
If you’re thinking about getting a parttime job you should do it now, and when
you do, make sure that what you find involves tasks or else you will become
bored.
Scorpio
October 24 –
November 22
This month
you’ve been a little antisocial this
month which
isn’t a bad thing,
but you should
think of getting
up and getting
out there before
people forget that
you excist.
Lucky Days: 4,
22, 30
Capricorn
December 22 –
January 20
This month your
other half has
been avoiding
you and you get
some pretty good
excuses for doing
it. You need to
wake up and give
him/her an ultimatum.
Lucky Days: 11,
14, 24
Aquarius
January 21- February 19
You might want to help out in a children’s hospital or join an art class, so you can meet a whole set
of new kids and help out with others. You’ll feel
good in the end.
Lucky Days: 2, 16, 26
7
Cancer
June 22 – July 22
Sometimes it may seem that you are picky
with whom you might date but this time
you’re letting your guard down, which
turns out to be a good thing. You’re guy/
girl may not be the best one in the in
crowd but, he/she is the best one for you.
Lucky Days: 1, 10, 19
Leo
July 23 – August 22
This month you should think about
spending more time with your dad. Ask
him to teach you how to cook that special
recipe he cooks for mom all time, you
never know it might come in handy one
day.
Lucky Days: 3, 13, 25
Virgo
August 23 – September 22
Usually you don’t socialize with anyone,
and you don’t try to get involve, but this
month you are singing up for everything.
You don’t be scared, you might even like
it.
Lucky Days: 7, 14, 23
Libra
September 23 – October 23
Remember when you were telling your
mom she was out of style, well you should
think of apologizing to her, you might
need something from her later on.
Lucky Days: 3, 26, 31
Sagittarius
November 23-December 21
Is there someone out there and everyone says you
should go out with? Guess what, you should!
You're perfect together.
Lucky Days: 4, 12, 17
What’s Hot What’s Not
Written By Ralph Morales
www.rolex.com
www.pinkpanther.com
www.google.com
There are a lot of styles out
there for the fashion enthusiast. Such as
hip hoppers, rockers, greasers, casual
players, skaters, gothi, etc. They’re all
distinctive in their own unique way. The
clothes you wear describe the kind of
personality you have and how people
will
judge/criticize you in the world.
The sad truth is that you’ve got
to dress to impress. And dressing hot
doesn’t come cheap. It can get expensive
depending on how much you want to
accessorize. That’s why businessmen like
Mr. Hollman, for instance, wear fancy
suits to work on a daily basis. To look
presentable? Maybe. To look impressive? Absolutely!!! With so many
choices, it’s no wonder you can’t possibly make up your mind, right? So what’s
right for you? I don’t know but, personally hot pink has been fast becoming a
trend in masculine wardrobe thanks to
male artists. Supporters are like rapper
Cam’ Ron . I myself wear it to stand out
from the rest and be different;original, if
you will. Jacob watches are also selling
out faster than Rolex Jewelers can keep
up.
The Air Jordan line of shoes
and apparel is still going on strong and is
in the top of fashion’s must-haves. Why?
Because consumers are influenced by
their idols on television shows and commercials. People they want to imitate
and dress like. Magazines are our source
to give us the scoop on what’s hot and
what’s not, but just try to be yourself.
That’s the moral of my column. Don’t
spend too much on clothing because in
the long run, it’s what least matters.
8
Written By Karen Diaz
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
· 2/3 cup shortening
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
·
·
·
·
·
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
(Makes 2 dozens of cookies )
Directions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Preheat the oven at 375°.
Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla.
Add egg; beat till light and fluffy.
Stir in milk.
Mix together dry ingredients; then blend it into the other creamed mixture.
Divide dough in half and then chill for 1 hour.
On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/8 inch thickness.
*Cut with star cookie cutter shape, or desired shape. After sprinkle sugar, colored sugar or yellow
sprinlkes onto cookie.
9. Bake on greased or buttered cookie sheet at 375° for about 6 to 8 minutes.
10. Wait till the cookies are cooled slightly and then remove from pan.
* If you do not have any cookie cutters you may use the top of cups to make a circle or cut out figures to
your own desire.
Total time for recipe is less than a half hour.
9
Page
10. Poetry 11. Embarrassing Moments
13. Vulcan News 13. Vulcan Comic
And never let out,
That there was a love inside her.
A Look Back
Pero donde sea que estoy estás
presente.
I’m deep in it
Eres un sueño que tengo de días y
Oh man what have I done
de noches.
It was all out of control,
Sin saber que hacer, mi corazón
Unleashed
me grita reproche.
Quisiera poder pararme y
Then there was a moment
hablarte.
I saw myself in the eyes of others
¿Pero como?, si mi cuerpo
And I realized who I was,
comeinza a temblar con solo
Regret
mirarte.
Quisiera poder mirarte a los ojos.
I knew that it was enough
Y así besar esos delicados labios
Time to say “O.K, chill man”
rojos.
Then I stopped
En ese instante parar el tiempo
en el mundo,
And as I look back
Y respirar juntos el mismo aire
I see how it was building
por un segundo.
Into my own destruction,
Decirte la gran necesidad que
Shame
tengo porque estés conmigo.
Y finalmente confesarte que
But how it’s all over
deseo estar contigo.
It all passed by in a flash
——————————————————Carlyt
The past doesn’t mean a thing
I can now look back
—————————————Ramon
Quisiera
Ni siquiera te conozco, ni siquiera
te he hablado,
Y mi niña ya siento que te amo.
No se que me hiciste, pero desde
que te mire
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti.
Desde ese día el amor yo sentí.
He tratado de olvidarte y sacarte
Forbidden
Once there existed a child..
Who loved to come out and play.
She ran and laughed,
And never bragged,
That there was a love inside her.
This kind of love,
She couldn’t release,
And couldn’t tell anyone either.
She kept it inside,
No one could see,
The love that she had,
And no one could tell,
That she was under a spell.
And then came a day,
Where everything was lost.
And the once happy girl,
Became one with a loss.
Her happiness had left,
No longer did it stay,
Not even a good-bye,
Or better yet a hello.
She fell into a hole,
And she couldn’t get out....
There was nothing to do...
And nothing to say.
Everyone asked,
“What’s wrong with you child?”
But no words came out,
Only a smile.
One lonely night
She looked up to the moon
And stared at the stars,
Wondering why?
She wanted to die,
She couldn’t live on.
The pain of a love,
That now was gone.
A love so secret,
That no one else knew,
About the love,
That she carried in her womb.
————————Dark_Dreamer_13
10
Moments Collected and Organized By Jennifer Ruiz And Sandra Flores
In ones life everybody gets embarrassed at a certain point. This section was set up to share our human side. We are all the same and go through similar things. Remember that no one is perfect. We hope
you enjoy this section and participate.
Once when I was in middle school, I was invited to a beach party. I was so excited because it was
the first time I was going to a party. I spent a whole week looking for the perfect swimsuit and I got one
that was sort of revealing. On the day of the party, I wore my bikini with some extra
clothes on top. I got a ride with my friend and we went off. As soon as we got there,
we undressed and either got into the water or we layed on the beach. I decided to get
a tan so I sat down and stretched my arms. All of a sudden, some girls started to laugh
and I felt weird. Then I noticed that they were staring at me because...I had forgotten
to shave. Oh my God, I was so embarrassed. Through all of the excitement, I had for-
Ever since I was little, I've had this problem where my legs fall asleep. I hate it because it can happen at any time. One of the times it happened was when there was a rainy day and we had to all sit down
on the floor of the gym. We were there for an entire hour and we couldn't get up. When it was time to
leave, I couldn't feel my legs, they had fallen asleep. I couldn't even get up from the floor. Since it was a
new school year, I didn't know anyone and I couldn't ask anyone for help. Everyone was leaving and I had
to get up so I tried. I stood up and then I fell. I fell on other people and then everyone started to fall like
dominoes. I was so red and at the end, several people had to help me stand up and walk out of the gym.
There was a time in my life when I didn't have a boyfriend. My friends told me they wanted to help
me and that they would get me a guy. I trusted them and they told me that some guy was
interested in me. They described him as being smart, handsome and funny, so I was excited. They convinced me to write him letters and I did. When the time came to meet,
they said they would present him to me on the day of the Valentine's Day dance. I went
to the dance and my friends were there. They made this big announcement
11
and he came out. I was so embarrassed; he was so ugly. He was short, thin, and was breaking out with
pimples everywhere. For the entire semester, ugly guys kept asking me out.
One time I came to class late because I had returned from the eye doctor. I came in while they
were watching a movie in the dark. Because the lights were off no one saw my face. I have to admit that
the movie was sad but I’m a guy and guys don’t cry. Anyways, after the movie, the teacher turned on the
lights and my eyes were red from the medicine they put on me. A kid looked at me and
out loud said that I was crying and everyone was laughing. The worst thing was that my
eyes were watery and it wouldn’t stop. I then had to go home and everyone kept saying
it was because I was so sad. I was so embarrassed and for the rest of the semester, everyone made fun of me.
My first year teaching here at Garfield, something happened to me. I taught in the 100's building
and had just made my way from the cafeteria to my classroom. All of my students
were lined up at the door. I was getting near to my classroom with a diet coke in my
hand when, all of a sudden, I tripped. The can of coke flew out of my hands but
didn't quite reach the floor. Instead, it fell all over a student who was standing in
front of me. He was covered with soda and I was totally embarrassed.
I've never been really active in sports, so when I took P.E. I really hated it. One of the times that I
really hated it was when my class was playing dodgeball. Everyone was happy getting hurt because it was
only from the waist down. I was one of the remaining players in the game and everyone who had been out was sitting on the floor of the gym. I was all into the
game when all of a sudden...SWOOSH! Someone had thrown a ball at my face.
They hit me so hard that my head banged across the wall and my nose started to
bleed. Everyone started to laugh at me and I began to cry. I was so embarrassed
that I dropped the class.
Do you have an embarrassing moment you want to share? We can make sure to give you
anonymity, but we do require your real name in case of verification issues. Just email it to thevulcanmag@netscape.net or drop it off in Mr. Hollman’s box in the main office. We hope to have plenty of your
involvement. In a future issue, you, the readers can vote for the most embarrassing moment and a cash
prize will go to the first place, so get involved.
12
Hope you have enjoyed the issue so far. For production issues, we might have to be directed to
charge for the upcoming issues. We are attempting all we can to avoid this possible outcome. If at most
we would charge about 50 cents. Please give us all of your opinions and tell all administrators if you enjoyed it so we may be able to bring you more issues. We will keep you informed of this before the second
issue is published. If anything, we will begin to charge the third or fourth issue if we are driven into that
path. Please do recall that anyone can write for the magazine, and we do value your work. Remember, the
Vulcan is dedicated to one thing and one thing only, making it hot.
Created By Ralph Morales
Hey, we
don’t have to
resolve our anger
using violence
We could be peaceful like Gandhi. He
influenced a whole
nation!
Really?
He’s a hero!
13
All Gandhi did was
go on a hunger
I’d rather
fight!
Violence will take you
nowhere. Instead keep the
peace alive.
War Sucks!
Wow!
Page
14. Death PLays Its Game
16. Forward Bound
18. “So Oblivious”
Death Plays Its Game
Written By Jennifer Ruiz
Throughout your life
you will eventually go through a
few tragic events. They can be
anything from declaring yourself
bankrupt to getting lost in a foreign country. Yet it seems to be
that when bad things affect you
the most, is in high school. It’s
during this time that life is beginning and many things are changing. One of the things that have
a major impact on teens, is dealing with mortality.
Perhaps you've had experience with a family member who
has been diagnosed with a deadly
illness. You may think, “why do
I suffer if I'm not the one who is
dying.” It might be that just
seeing someone change from
happy to almost not being able to
get up from their bed can be
traumatizing. Taking care of
someone who can’t even get out
of bed can alter someone’s perspective on life.
Something of this nature
affected everyone here in Garfield
High School. This
year, one of our freshman students tragically died. His death
was a tragic accident that no one
expected to occur. His name was
Fernando Centeno and he was
on
Track B. Like any other person
his age, he was playing one day
outside of his home. Then in the
midst of gang rivalry many shots
were fired. Those people were
shooting at each other, not
thinking about the kids who were
playing outside. As always, an
innocent person was hurt. Fernando was shot and died. His
parents would have never imagined that this would of happened; he had only been in high
school for two months and wasn’t
able to show everyone his true
potential.
Ms. Duran, his counselor, said, "Even though I really
never had a chance to know him,
I could tell he was a good student
because he had never been referred to the counselors office or
the deans office.” Who is to say
that when
he grew up he
wouldn’t have done something to
help others, as his brother did
who was a tutor from GEAR UP
here at Garfield. It is impossible
to understand why these things
happen but it's important to deal
with them and comprehend that
sometimes things happen for a
reason that you will
later understand.
Many are curious to find
out how we deal with death. To
find an answer to this question,
various people of different ages
were interviewed to discover how
they deal with such a sad moment. The first person was a
nine-year-old boy, "Mike". He was
asked how he felt about his mom
who has two years being sick. He
gave a surprising response, “I wish
I could be like her, so I didn’t
have to go to school everyday.”
He knew that his mother was
diagnosed with a deadly disease,
but he did not know what the
disease was, nor did he know that
his mother wasn’t going to live
long. He also said that now he
gets mad at his mom a lot because
she doesn’t take him out anymore
nor play with him. To some this
might seem a little selfish on
Mike's part, but he’s only a child
and he still has no clue about the
difficult things in life that we
have to go through or about the
reality that his mother will not
always be there for him.
continued on page
15...
14
continued from page
14...
The next person asked about a
personal experience was a freshman named Wendy. She said
that now that she’s starting high
school, she’s starting to feel more
pressure about having a sister diagnosed with Leukemia. Wendy
said that she doesn’t mind taking
care of her sister because, after all,
she does care about her. It’s just
that sometimes she feels that she
has too many responsibilites.
Since Wendy's mother works to
provide for them, Wendy has to
take care of her sister and sometimes that can put restrictions on
where she can go, what she can
do, and also how she can behave.
During the interview it
was obvious that Wendy is a responsible person who doesn’t like
to get into trouble, but who also
at some point, would like to
experience "life". She also said, “I
wouldn’t pray for my sister to die
just so I wouldn’t have to do so
many things because I would give
anything for her to live.”
Another person interviewed about how it feels to deal
with mortality as a teenager was
Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a junior in
college.
She told me that experiencing
her father having a brain tumor
was terrifying. Sometimes she
woke up at night to find her
father crying in the restroom because he couldn’t stand the pain.
This happened when she was a
senior in High School.
It was very tough for her
because, at that time she didn’t
just have to take care of her
younger siblings, but she also had
to prepare to go to college. She
confessed that, before she went
off to college, her father tragically
died and she felt very sad. Elizabeth wanted to stay at home and
not go to college, but her mother
told her not to stay because her
father would have wanted her to
go. He would’ve wanted her to be
successful and not feel sorry that
he wasn’t around any more. Now
that she’s close to graduating she
still feels that, in some way, he’s
looking after her. She confessed,
“It’s taking me a long time to heal
but, slowly, I know I can get
through it.”
For anyone who has ever
thought their lives were difficult,
it might be helpful to find out
that the world revolves around
many
“ ... sometimes, things happen for a reason that you
will later understand.”
15
problems. There are people everywhere who you may think are
always stressed because they always seem to have "problems,"
but they are the ones who will
benefit the most from the world.
Perhaps you’re thinking why
them? The reason is that they will
be the responsible one’s, they will
be the ones who see life as it is
not as society makes it seem. Society gives everyone this picture of
the perfect family. They tell you
that you'll go to school, get married, have children ,and then
you'll die an old person. They
know that life isn't all about these
types of things. In their minds
they understand that in order to
be successful you can't always rely
on the fairy tales of suffering only
a little while and then everything
will be alright. Sometimes you
have to go through many difficult
obstacles in order to achieve
something in life, and when
you're in high school you don't
realize that.
Not only will these people see the world in a different
way, but they will also cherish
things more than others. They
will not be naïve in thinking that
they won’t die until they are old,
they know that sometimes things
can occur unexpectedly and
sometimes there is nothing you
can do about it.
“Forward Bound”
Written By Karen Diaz
At this time there are
high school grads that are now in
college. My sister, Jennifer, left
LA on a Sunday night, August
24th, to go to Boston. She is now
a student at Wellesley College. In
December she came back from
Wellesley to stay for 2 months. I
am proud to say that she has been
doing really well at Wellesley. My
family supports her and misses
her. But I still remember when
Jenny was still in high school and
making her decision on what college she wanted to go to. It was a
whole different story.
Wellesley is a private
women’s college and is for students who have high personal,
intellectual and career expectations. It has a lot of diversity with
people from many different cultures and backgrounds. In order
for you to get away from the
campus you have to take a train
twenty miles into town, so the
community is really the school.
Throughout its 127 year
history, Wellesley has consistently
been one of the country’s distinguished liberal arts college for
women. The Wellesley faculties
are recognized as accomplished
scholars and are very dedicated to
the students. It is an excellent
college because it is a place where
students can say their opinions
and give suggestions to improve
the college without the administration showing their backs.
Strong women are created there:
Hillary Clinton, ex- first lady and
senator, graduated from Wellesley.
My sister, Jennifer has always worked hard to get good
grades. Beginning at 4th Street
Elementary, she did well and
teachers have always been commenting how good of a student
she is and how well she does her
work. Jenny went to Griffith
Middle School and got a grade
point average higher than a 3.8
and even took geometry in her 8th
grade. Geometry! Then, here at
Garfield, she maintained a grade
point average of 4.2, taking about
six A.P classes and graduating 8th
in her class.
She was in the California
Scholarship Federation (CSF) for
four years at Garfield, the Marching Band and in Drumline. She
was also involved with community service at church and at 4th
Street Elementary.
As you can see, there is
no one that deserved to go to
Wellesley more than my sister.
But she wasn’t perfect. Jenny always adapted to a stressful envi-
little; still doing all of her homework. Even though she was committed to many activities she still
had fun. As a senior she loosened up a little.
Jenny at first didn’t
know about Wellesley. She actually wanted to go to U.C. Berkeley or San Diego State. It wasn’t
until a representative from
Wellesley came and talked to
Garfield students that Jenny became interested.
However, once she told
family and friends where she
wanted to go, she got mixed reactions. Her friends were very supportive of her - a couple of friends
also wanted to attend Wellesley.
As for my family, their reaction
was,
“¿Porque tan lejos?”, “Why so far
away?”
continued on page
17...
16
continued from page 16......
My uncle,
Lucio, actually did support Jenny,
but wanted
her to make
sure
that
that was a
good college.
My
other sister
and I did support her, but we
didn’t want her to go so far away
because we wouldn’t be able to
visit her often. My family just
didn’t want to talk about it until
the acceptance letters came in.
As that day came closer, my family got nervous. My mom did
want her to go and get a good
education, but she was worried
about the cost. She was also
worried about Jenny being by herself. If Jenny did get accepted she
would be the only one in the
immediate family to travel far. In
a way, she was out of the bird’s
nest and was ready to get her own
food.
The letter finally came.
Jenny was nervous, but for some
reason, my family knew that she
would be accepted. And we were
right. Everyone was happy, but
some still had negative things to
say. Now they were saying, “You
are not going to go” and, “You
are going to come back in December and not go back to Wellesley.” Jenny, of course, which
made more of a reason to go; and
she had to make a decision because she got accepted to eight of
the nine colleges she applied to.
Jenny was concerned that
she would miss LA too much,
but she didn’t want her decision
to be based on fear. She knew
that Wellesley was going to give
her an education that she
wouldn’t find anywhere else. It
would be her first time outside of
California and the other side of
the United States, the east coast.
She would be far away
from her family, friends and the
East LA that she has known all
her life. She would be alone and
independent. She would have to
have a new life; by herself. Jenny
wouldn’t have any one that
would cook for her, or clean for
her, and would have to get a job,
and buy things for herself. But
after all of those considerations
she still decided that she was
going to go to Wellesley.
I have always admired
my sister. She has worked so
hard and is actually going somewhere with her life.
All of those sleepless
nights doing her homework have
paid off. But that didn’t bother
Jenny either - she still came to
school with the same energy as
any other day. She deserves
Wellesley and Wellesley deserves
her.
The only thing I don’t
like about her going to Wellesley
is that she won’t be here when I
perform at the first Garfield football game of the year with the
band, or at the City Competition,
or even when Drumline season
starts.
She also won’t be here
on my birthday, or even hers. I
will really miss times when we
would be able to sisterly inside
jokes. Nobody else could be able
to understand them. But sometimes not even her, like when I
would tease her and she would
never understand the joke. It
would always take a couple of
minutes for her to get it.
But as I think about it
more, I shouldn’t have really felt
too bad that she left. She was
going to be back at Christmas.
She would also be here for the
summer.
Jenny was just growing
up and leaving, going to College.
Our family should be proud of
her and support her in any way.
Jenny is getting a great education,
one that she wouldn’t find anywhere else.
Going to Wellesley has
made my sister a stronger person
and independent. Those things
will help her in the long run,
especially later in
life. I just have to
wait patiently until
Christmas
and
summer
come
along so I can bug
her.
“So Oblivious”
Fiction Piece Written By Abimael Rivera
“Just forget it, don’t think
about it.” Eric said, “Just forget
it, Vincent.” We were ready to
leave school, but I was still sitting
on the beige ledge that is in front
of steps leading to the front gate.
“She’s screwing with you” he said.
I was quiet; I didn’t feel like saying anything. Eric couldn’t understand. He was too feeble
minded, too stupid to get the
whole picture. Maybe it’s because
he hadn’t experienced a girl suddenly blurting out to you, “I love
you!” Eric kept bugging me not
to believe her.
I was trying to ignore
him, but I couldn’t. But maybe
he’s right, I thought.
“You don’t get it, do
you?” he asked.
“And you do?” I asked
him.
“I just do”, he replied.
I got home and laid on
my bed. I left the TV on and fell
asleep. I didn’t want to but I felt
my eyelids were too heavy to keep
them open.
I awoke to a dark room.
Someone came in and turned the
TV off. I went over to the wall
and found the light switch and
turned it on. The light was dim;
the light bulb was running out of
power. It gave out this sickened
glow that made the walls of the
room look dirty.
I didn’t know what to
do so I got my hooded sweater
and my shoes and went down -
stairs. The house seemed empty,
so I decided to go to Eric’s house.
I went over to the white
front door and opened it. A
sudden cold breeze swept over my
face as the wind blew. Dark
clouds were in the starless night
sky. It had just stopped raining
and the drying ground gave out a
familiar scent. It rose and slowly
crept into the air and I took it in.
The spicy scent lingered and I saw
my breath in the cold evening air.
The night sky was blocked by the
thick clouds. Dead leaves were
lain on the floor, curled up and
crippled, brown and dead. The
pine trees rocked back and forth
and the cold wind hissed around
me.
I kept walking, my hands
inside my black sweater, I shuffled lint between my fingers and I
pulled it out. I put my hood on
and my vision was being partially
shielded by the top of the hood.
I finally left the projects and
started going up the street. The
wind was blowing to the right of
me, making my hood fold onto
my face. More wind rushed up
and from behind me a light behind me cast a shadow on the
dark sidewalk.
A car pulled up and
stopped. I didn’t turn, didn’t
bother to look to see if I recognized the car. I continued walking and the driver honked the
horn, but I didn’t turn. It
honked again and I still didn’t
turn. I thought it was somebody
picking up someone up from the
projects. They honked again and,
this time, it didn’t stop. I turned
around and saw that it was
Matthew's car. His ‘67 Mustang
was parked at an angle with the
headlights pointed at my direction. The fog was illuminated by
the headlights as it floated and
lingered.
I walked over, as my feet
stepped on the dead leaves, making a crunching sound.
“Where you going?” he
asked. His dark, long hair was in
his face. His black leather jacket
glowed by the street lights.
“I don’t know” I replied.
“You up to something?”
he asked.
“Nothing much. Just
thinking of going to my friend’s
house” I said.
“Need a ride?” he asked.
“Naw, it’s cool.”
“You hungry?”
“A little.”
“Let’s go eat.”
“All right then.”
He unlocked the passenger door
and I got in. I fell comfortably on
the seat, one that felt so soft that
I could have gone to sleep in it at
that very moment. A sweet smell
lingered in the car; I breathed it in
and laid back.
The dark ceiling of the car
looked like an endless
continued on page 19....
18
continued from page 18....
black, empty sky.
He turned the ignition
and hit the gas a couple of times,
revving the engine. My comfort
was swept away as he suddenly
took off. Houses and light posts
were all a blur. I didn’t know
where he was going. His face
stared forward and didn’t move.
I finally realized something about him. As he made a
right turn I finally got to see his
face. His expression was dull, but
with a hint of anger that was
hidden within.
We drove down Cesar
Chavez Boulevard and stopped at
a red light in front of The Hat
restaurant on Atlantic.
“So what do you want?”
he asked.
“I don’t care” I told him.
He turned left and went
to Atlantic Square strip mall.
“We’ll go to Fatburger” he said.
“Cool” I said.
He parked his Mustang
behind the restaurant. We got
out, the cold chill swept over my
face and a small rush of wind was
sweeping my hair into the air. It
kind of sucks when you have hair
down to your eyes and you
haven’t combed it. Matthew's
long hair was all over his face.
I took out a five and
handed it to him but he refused,
“It’s cool, I got ‘nuff” he said.
We got inside. No music
was playing, which was odd because it would usually be on. It
was dimly lit, as usual, and
Matthew went to the counter.
19
“Just a burger.” I said, “No pickles, no onions.”
He paid and came to sit
down. We didn’t speak. It was
quiet, except for the sound of
meat sizzling on the grill. I kept
staring outside the window. The
end of another year was already
on its way. eighth grade was going
to start and I didn’t know what to
expect.
“So what happened to
Michelle?” he asked suddenly. I
didn’t face him; I was staring
outside at the dark sky.
Then I said, “I got to talk
to her, finally.”
“What she said?” he
asked.
The order was ready and
they called out to Matthew. He
got up, went to go get the trays
and brought them over to the
table. I unwrapped my burger,
and started eating.
“Slow down man” he
said.
I lied. I was really hungry; I didn’t eat the whole day.
“So what she said?” he
asked.
“Something, man, something I really didn’t know how to
react to” as I felt grease and sauce
dripping down my hand.
‘Well what was it?” he
asked.
“She said she loved me”
I said.
I remembered the phone
call right after I said that.
Michelle kept repeating it over
and over again. I really didn’t
know what to say, I didn’t know
how to react. I really didn’t
know
why I told Matthew.
“Damn, I don’t know what to
say, man,” he said in a low voice.
“Didn’t you like her? Go for it.”
“I don’t know” I said.
“Just be careful, you
know? She might just be messin’
with you.”
“I don’t know man.”
We were quiet for the
rest of the time we ate. I was so
oblivious back then. I didn’t
know what to expect. But then
“ My comfort
was swept away
as he suddenly
took off.
Houses and
light posts were
all a blur.”
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