The Gusher - Taft Union High School

The Gusher
Volume 94, Issue 1
The Voice of the Wildcats
Since 1912
Taft Union High School, 701 Seventh St., Taft, Calif. 93268
October 12, 2006
Back to School Night
is standing room only
Families turn out for BBQ, informational
tables and teacher presentations
By Lillie Gervacio
Staff Writer
The school was
filled with life when Taft
Students, staff and parents man the wide variety of informational tables set up by TUHS
clubs, classes and special programs for Back to School Night on Sept. 11. Jennifer Gonzales
Students, staff struggle to adapt to new,
healthier cafeteria menu mandated by state
New legislation leads cafeteria to
emphasize fruits, vegetables, low fat
cooking and portion control.
By Jordie Hood
Entertainment Editor
For most, the changes in the cafeteria have
been a complete culture shock. Going from huge
helpings of oooey gooey biscuits and gravy to Dixie-cup sized servings of fruit hasn’t exactly been
the easiest change to adjust to, and students and
faculty aren’t afraid to express their opinions on
the subject.
“Most of us are mature young adults,”
says senior Vanessa Gonzales. “With all the choices
we’re faced with at school every day, I’m sure we’re
mature enough to make our own decisions about
what we eat. Governor Schwarzenegger is fat, so
he shouldn’t be able to tell us what to eat.”
Gonzales isn’t the only one who feels this
way. Students and even staff members have been
boycotting the changes since day one.
Though it may seem like students are more
upset about the changes than the staff, the decrease
in sales is actually higher in the faculty lunch line.
Connie Bauer, cafeteria supervisor, feels
that all the commotion is unnecessary.
“We started receiving complaints on day
one,” she says. “One day is not long enough to
make that kind of decision. Students don’t realize how privileged they are to have these types of
foods available to them.”
Some of the new healthy choices on the
menu include wild rice, peppered steak, freshly
This student’s lunch is typical of the healthier options being served in the cafeteria this
year. She is about to enjoy a mini-tostada,
grapes, lowfat Sun Chips, and grape juice.
prepared green salads, and frozen yogurt in
place of ice cream.
Science teacher Leslie Moe seems to be
pleased with the new changes and is relieved
the government took action on the growing
obesity problem.
“I’ve always believed that if you’re
offered healthy food, that’s what you’ll eat,”
says Moe. “The change has helped me learn
the proper amount of food my body needs. I
feel so much more energetic.”
Some staff are stuck in the middle.
Ryan Hickman is one of them.
“It’s tough changing from the food we
used to have. It’s like we’re all on a diet,” says
Hickman. “In the end though, it will lead to a
healthier lifestyle.”
We may not be happy with the changes, but the fact is, what’s done is done.
High students, their parents,
grandparents and siblings
roamed the quad and halls on
the evening of Sept. 11 during
the annual Back To School
Night.
The evening started off
with principal Marilyn Brown
asking for a moment of silence
in remembrance of those lost on
Sept. 11, 2001. Brown then made
brief remarks and introduced
the department chairs and
board members.
From then on everyone
was allowed to mingle in the
quad and eat hot dogs and
hamburgers cooked by Gary
Rennie and Greg Davis. Activities Director Eric
Newton and the ASB served
the food while choir performed
and clubs displayed materials
for parents to persue.
“This is so great
because you get to see all the
clubs, and our parents get to see
what we go through at school
every day,” said junior Alexcia
Perales as she sat at the Drama
Club display.
The families remained
in the quad until the first bell
rang at 7 p.m., when they
reported to their first period
class. Periods were 10 minutes
long and teachers gave short
presentations and answered
questions.
“This a really good
chance for parents to get to
know the community and
environment their children are
being taught in and what it is
they are being taught,” said
Isabel Palomares, father of
freshman Yeni Palomares.
Arlene
Davis,
grandmother of junior Alyssa
Alonzo, agreed.
“It’s wonderful for
people who have never gotten
the chance to meet the teachers
and see the campus.”
Parents also got to meet
with their students’ counselor.
By the end of the night, they
had a better idea of what their
children have to go through
day after day for 180 days.
CAHSEE, STAR testing results
show impressive improvement
Eighty-five percent of first-time takers pass the
CAHSEE; STAR test API is up 17 to 650.
By Lacey Chappelear
Copy Editor
“We have one of the
highest pass rates,” superintendent Curt Dubost commented
about Taft’s spring 2006 California High School Exit Exam
(CAHSEE) result. Students take
the CAHSEE for the first time
in their sophomore year. If they
do not pass, they are given additional opportunities to pass
in their junior and senior years.
Students who fail the test are
placed in the CAHSEE Tutorial
class. Those who fail to pass it
in three years don’t graduate. It’s clear that a lot of
TUHS students don’t find passing in that time frame hard.
“It was pleasing to me
that it was easier than was said.
Everyone can pass it,” junior
Richard Gatewood asserted
sagely.
The test is divided into
English and math sections. The
math portion is completely
multiple choice, while the English is composed of multiple
choice, reading selections and
essay questions.
“It was easy;
the STAR test was harder,” obcontinued on page 3
News & Opinion
Page 2
Editorial
Administration needs to pick their
battles on Dress Code enforcement
If distraction from the
educational process is what the
faculty is worried about, then
they should note that their hypocritical policies recently disrupted the entire student body.
The Dress and Grooming Policy states, “Any apparel
which draws undue attention
to the wearer tends to distract
from the educational process
and is, therefore, inappropriate.”
It seems this line is contradicted by the policy which
the school is supposed to promote. Lately, campus supervisors are told to personally escort
home violating students so they
can change, causing them to be
truant. Isn’t this an even larger
distraction from their “educational process” than wearing
trendy, normal-fitting clothing?
The
administration
should pick their battles with
students. Instead of worrying
about an AP student’s shorts
being a quarter of an inch too
short, perhaps they should concentrate on disciplining the students who are starting fights or
back-talking teachers.
We are now being labeled as members of groups that
do not exist here at Taft High.
The newest controversy is students wearing cotton or plastic
headbands in their hair. Isn’t
that what they are invented for?
To be used to create convenient
hairstyles or to simply make a
fashion statement? They’re not
necessarily used to signify that
we are now involved in “gang
related” activities. Has Taft
High encountered this problem
in the past? Not to our knowledge.
Recently a student was
asked to remove a polka-dotted, regular plastic headband.
This “violation” is not clearly
stated in the Dress Code, which
states only that “Bandanas and
hairnets are not permitted.”
Notice that there is no mention
of simple headbands.
Perhaps the school
should consider switching to
uniforms; then everyone would
be conforming to the way the
Board sees fit. Another alternative is to give students money
to allow us to pay for poorly fitting, oversized clothes (which
we know are not inexpensive)
to serve as appropriate school
apparel.
Students are not willing
to change until a fair compromise is reached. It seems the administration is picking out the
same students to change their
clothes. It would only be fair to
have every student checked for
their compliance with the Dress
Code since the same girls get in
trouble while others get away
with it.
It is understandable if
a student’s clothing is unquestionably inappropriate and too
much skin is showing. Petty
violations such as frayed jeans
and headbands are much less
distracting than, say, a two-foot
hot pink mohawk.
The Board and administration should consider the
extreme degree to which they
are taking this issue. Decisions
need to be made to ensure that
time at school is productive,
instead of taking time away
from class to go home to change
clothes. That waste of time is
the complete opposite of what
the school obviously intends.
Battle of the Sexes:
Female Fashion
The Gusher is a monthly publication of the journalism class at Taft
Union High School. The Gusher is an open forum for students, faculty
and alumni of TUHS. The opinions and views expressed in The Gusher
are the sole responsibility of the staff and do not reflect the views of
either TUHS, the TUHS District, or the Board of Trustees.
Governor signs bill
to increase state
minimum wage to
$8 over two years
By Josh Webb
News Editor
Aaron Rolls
Jordie Hood
Girls, it’s time for you
Girls are free to wear
to dress feminine again. whatever they want.
As I walk down the
halls I can’t help but ask myself,
“Where has all the feminine
fashion of the past gone?” I can
remember, as a freshman, seeing girls with their hair done,
wearing short little skirts and
those high socks.
I remember when girls
looked like girls and guys
looked like guys. Now, however, it’s all mixed up and so
wrong.
In a day and age where
it’s acceptable for girls to wear
dirty jeans and sport pink mohawks, how can we possibly be
attracted to many of these girls
that look like troll dolls?
I understand that people need to express themselves,
but maybe there should be a
limit to the madness.
Not only has feminine
fashion evolved, but guys’ fashion has as well. Everyday I see
guys wearing girls’ jeans, shirts
and who knows what else.
Everyone needs to dress
in their own way, but maybe we
should try to dress in way that
makes us more attractive to the
opposite sex. I think many people try to dress for attention, and
most of the people who try to
continued on page 6
The Gusher
Taft Union High School
701 Seventh Street
Taft, Calif. 93268
(661) 763-2300
bwolfe@taft.k12.ca.us
October 12, 2006
Most girls aren’t all
about short skirts and lip gloss.
They have their own sense of
style and their own way of
showing it. That doesn’t go over
very well with some of the boys
around campus.
It seems as though girls
have to dress a certain way because that’s how everyone assumes we should dress. Girls
should be able to dress however
they want without being judged
for it. Honestly boys, it’s not
that big of a deal if girls want to
be comfortable. God forbid we
should wear athletic shorts and
a t-shirt. It’s not the end of the
world.
I’m not saying it’s horrible to dress “girly,” but come
on, it’s just school. I honestly
see no point in spending two
or more hours in front of a mirror only to sit in a classroom for
seven hours or sweat off all the
make-up and hairspray in P.E.
There’s a time and a place to
put that much effort into getting ready, but I don’t think it
should be for school.
I’m not attacking anybody with this piece. Everyone
has his or her own opinion on
this issue. But I know I speak
for many girls in expressing my
opinion.
Managing Editor
Megan Chappelear
Sports Editor
Barbara Eveland
Production/Photo Editor
Jennifer Gonzales
Entertainment Editor
Jordie Hood
Copy Editor
Lacey Chappelear
Staff Writers
Brianne Carroll, Sarai Espinoza,
Lillie Gervacio, Samantha Gonzales, Billy Johnson, Jestin Korsgaard, Nathan Lampkin, Jessica
Lemmons, Aaron Rolls
News Editor
Joshua Webb
Features Editor
Courtney Glendening
After over two years
of debate in the state legislature, an agreement was finally
reached to increase the minimum wage. Over the next two
years, the minimum wage will
be increased from $6.75 to $8.
This is welcome news for the
over one million minimum
wage earners.
Of the entire low-wage
bracket, the 16.8 percent that are
part-time teens will, arguably,
be the most affected. Critics of
the plan continue to state that
an increase in the minimum
wage will lead employers to hire
fewer full-time employees and
replace them with part-timers,
or just to move their business to
a state with a lower minimum
wage. Long-term predictions
by these critics range from an
ensuing economic depression
to small recessions after each
increase.
Paul Ackerman, AP
Economics teacher and former
Taft mayor, also takes this point
of view. “The unskilled wage
earners who keep their jobs will
definitely benefit from the higher wage,” he said. “Employers, faced with a higher cost of
production, will either pass this
cost on to the consumers in the
form of higher prices, or in the
form of lay-offs,” he continued.
The proponents of this
bill point to the fact that, in
the past, minimum wage hikes
have actually helped the economy. Each increase in the wage is
essentially a preventative measure against inflation. Inflation
rises slightly each year, making
the cost of living rise as well.
The hike occurs when the cost
of living is more than the minimum yearly wage.
David Dennis, who
teaches several computer classes and has a background in
labor unions, feels that “[the
wage hike] will help those who
benefit directly from it; however, it will not affect the economy
as a whole.”
While the effects of the
hike are not known yet, one fact
is inevitable, this will not be the
last minimum wage hike by any
means.
October 12, 2006
Eric Newton takes over as
TUHS Activities Director
News
Page 3
Science teacher replaces long-time A.D. John
Kopp, plans many events for this school year
By Courtney Glendening
Features Editor
ing it easier than he expected to
adjust to the challenging job. “Right now there isn’t a difScience teacher Eric Newton ficulty. The students are so hard
has taken the role of Activi- working they make it easy,”
ties Director for 2006-2007. The Newton says.
He is
position
generatopened
ing ideas
up when
for Mock
long-time
Rock and
Activities
planning
Director
to keep
John Kopp
it tradiresigned
tional.
as A.D. at
Newthe end of
ton also
last year.
advises
“When
the LeadI
was
ership
first
apclass.
proached,
“The
I said no
class is
because I Activities Director Eric Newton helps
mainly
was plan- a student. Photo by Desiree Evans
geared
ning
on
to teach
coaching
leadership skills, getting kids
football,” explains Newton.
“But the students kept ask- involved, using time producing me if I would be willing to tively by leading by example,”
help, and that was enough for he explains.
Newton and the class make
me to say yes.”
Newton’s job for the most sure events and activities are
part is to make sure that the planned and organized well.
“It’s mainly a student-run
day-to-day events on campus
such as fundraisers, rallies and thing,” Newton says of the
noon games are organized and Leadership class. “They’re the
best class I could’ve gotten my
completed in time.
Surprisingly, Newton is find- first year as Activities Director.”
STAR, CAHSEE test results improve
continued from page 1
served junior Katie DuBois. The
sentiment should be echoed
by most TUHS students; 85%
of first-time takers passed. The
average pass rate of California
schools was 59% in math and
61% in English.
“I
am
incredibly
pleased,” Dubost said.
When it comes to the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, Taft
High is performing well. The
federal No Child Left Behind act
states that all students should
be “proficient” in English and
math (the top two classifications are “advanced” and “proficient”). The STAR is one way
their proficiency is measured.
“The national goal is
that by 2015, every student will
be above ‘basic’ level,” Dubost
explained. “That is our goal as
well. We are halfway to where
we need to be.”
Every school is given
an Academic Performance Index (API) number each time the
test is administered in April.
Schools are expected to increase
a certain number of points each
year, until they reach 800 on a
1,000 scale. Taft’s 2005 API was
633, with a goal to increase by
eight points. Taft’s 2006 API
was 650, a 17-point increase.
That places TUHS among the
top schools in Kern County
(third, behind Stockdale High
and Desert High at Edwards
Air Force Base).
“I am happy with the
results,” commented Dubost,
“but I know we could do better
if students tried as hard as they
do with the CAHSEE.”
Students in Kelly Morris’s new Dance class work on balance, rhythm and steps. Even a few
boys have enrolled to improve their athleticism. Photo by Sarai Espinoza
Variety of new classes offer rigor,
skills and creativity to students
By Josh Webb
News Editor
In order to keep interest high, the administration approved the creation of several
new classes this year, including
Dance, AP English Language
and Composition 11, Web Publishing, Ag Welding and the
Building Trades Academy.
Dance class, taught by
Kelly Morris, consists of learning rhythm and putting steps
together in order to create a
dance.
“I just want students to
have a basic understanding of
dance,” Morris says.
Morris wants to create
a concrete goal for the class, so
she is making plans for a performance at the end of the school
year.
Another elective class,
Carolyn Schoneweis’s Web
Publishing, is set to take over
maintenance of part of the Taft
High web site. The students’ job
is to maintain the web site and
help produce the Taft TV show.
Ag Welding, an addition to the F.F.A. program, is the
final elective added. The purpose of the class is to apply real
world situations to welding.
According to the teacher, Woody Simart, “Ag Welding
shows the facets of welding,
such as repairs, construction,
pipe welding, etc.”
To capture the attention of the 58 students, Simart
required students to produce
projects for the county fair.
As for an academic
class, AP English Language and
Composition 11 is a collegelevel class that makes use of a
“reader,” which is a collection
of essays used to help students
understand the different modes
of writing.
The teacher, Bill Wolfe,
explains that “the class is essentially a college rhetoric class,
with an emphasis on argument;
students learn a wide range of
rhetorical strategies to make
their point.”
The idea to make the
Language and Composition
class available to juniors came
about in an attempt to encourage students to take both the
11 AP and 12 AP classes. Those
who take both classes will be
much better prepared for college.
The final addition to
the school’s portfolio of classes
is actually a new academy. The
Building Trades Academy (now
known as ACE) is structured
much like the Oil Academy in
that it is intended to recruit students as sophomores and keep
them in the academy throughout the next three years. The
name was changed from BTA to
ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering academy)
because the three core classes
feature curricular connections
to engineering and architecture.
ACE advisor Ted Pendergrass plans to have at least one
class trip per month, as well as
summer internships. The ACE
academy hopes to give the Oil
Academy a run for the title of
most active program at TUHS.
School construction projects announced
By Lacey Chappelear
Copy Editor
Physical changes are
coming to TUHS.
The school board recently voted 4-0 to replace the
sound system in the auditorium. Proponents, including
superintendent Curt Dubost
and Ken Anderson, Fine Arts
Department chair, argued that
the current system is not suit-
able for school functions. They
noted that the only negative
comments about last year’s production of Les Miserables were
about the sound system. The
estimated cost for the project is
$150,000 to $200,000.
The Board is also considering building a new bus
garage. The current garage is
too small to handle the newer,
larger buses. TUHS is looking at
vacant land to the west on San
Emidio Street. The present site
will become a new auto shop
on campus, allowing the current auto shop to be remodeled
into more classrooms. No plans,
however, have been finalized.
The rebuilding of the
pool has yet to be started. The
plans were delayed, and the
new approximate start date for
the project is early 2007.
Page 4
Stanford opens first
online high school
By Jennifer Gonzales
Production Editor
Stanford
University
has decided to add another
branch onto its tree of learning:
an online high school has been
opened to challenge gifted students around the world.
Blandly named Online
High School, the school was
formed out of Stanford’s summer school program and Internet classes for gifted teenagers.
Unlike regular high
schools, OHS has a three-year
program that begins after freshman year at a normal high
school to establish familiarity
with high school classes. Students must be at least 13 to enroll and 14 to attend.
The classes offered at
OHS are taught at an advanced
level; some are even on par with
Stanford’s rigorous universitylevel courses.
The school consists of
approximately 30 sophomores,
The NCAA football
championship wasn’t the only
national title the Texas Longhorns won this year. They also
brought home the gold in partying like it’s nobodiy’s business.
The 2006 survey, onducted by
the Princeton Review, named
Texas the top party school in the
nation.
Texas beat out schools
such as Penn State, West Virginia and last year’s winner, the
University of Wisconsin-Madison on the overall chart. “I know there were a
lot of good parties here after we
won the national football championship,” UT spokesman Don
Hale told the Associated Press.
“And I’m going to guess that a
lot of the kids who filled out the
survey remembered those parties.”
With about 1,000 student groups, including more
than 50 social sororities and
fraternities, it’s relatively easy
to find a good party on the UT
campus.
“It’s such a unique environment,” Danielle Rugoff,
Texas’ student body president,
told ABC News. “It allows for
October 12, 2006
Derrick staff
attends yearbook
design workshop
juniors and seniors. The administration hopes the program
will grow to 300 students.
Tuition for OHS is very
expensive. Annual tuition for a
full time student runs around
$12,000. The school also offers
financial aid for those who need
it.
Stanford also recommends that OHS students visit
the campus once during summer to meet their professors
and experience their campus.
TUHS Superintendent
Curt Dubost sees both sides of
the issue.
“I believe there is a
place for distance learning and
that some students will do well.
However, I think the real joy in
learning comes from interaction
with a favorite teacher and that
relationship.”
OHS already has its students for the year, but prospective students can begin their applications for the next scholastic
year.
U of Texas top party school
By Nathan Lampkin
Staff Writer
News
students to just live life to the
fullest and have such a rich academic environment and rigorous academic program and still
have an amazing time and enjoy being in college.”
This just goes to show
that everything really is bigger
in Texas, including the “huge”
party scene at UT Austin.
California’s very own
UCSB ranked 10th on the overall chart and was voted as the
25th “hottest” college to attend.
Brigham Young University in Utah again won the
title of top “Stone Cold Sober
University”. They’re champions in that category nine years
running.
Top 10 Party Schools
1. University of Texas at Austin
2. Penn State University
3. West Virginia University
4. University of Wisconsin at
Madison
5. University of Mississippi
6. Ohio University
7. University of Massachusetts,
Amherst
8. Louisiana State University
9. University of Iowa
10. University of California,
Santa Barbara
By Jessica Lemmons
Staff Writer
Officer Greg Collins began working full-time at TUHS in late
September, “to help out.” Photo by Megan Chappelear
Sheriff’s Deputy Collins
now on campus full-time
By Megan Chappelear
Managing Editor
Taft High now has a
police officer on campus.
Deputy Greg Collins of
the Kern County Sheriff’s Department has been a truancy officer in Taft the last few years.
He will now be stationed on campus to work on
truancy problems, assist at athletic events and issue citations
when necessary.
TUHS has contracted
with the Sheriff’s Department
to place a police officer on campus to address situations that require law enforcement whether
preventative or responsive.
Collins knows many
families in Taft and works well
with kids and parents.
According to vice principal Rona Angelo, he came
with many good references.
“He’s a positive resource,” she says. “He’s a good
guy.”
Collins will be monitoring both the TUHS and Buena
Vista campuses. He is working
with the entire school district. He has all the authority
a police officer would normally
have.
He can cite students for
speeding, cigarettes, drugs, truancy and anything else that he
deems appropriate.
He is authorized to
carry a gun, but using it would
require extreme circumstances.
“I’ll be there to enforce
all of the laws of the educational
and penal codes,” says Collins.
Collins is here to insure
that the campus remains as safe
as it has been in the past.
“This is not meant to
be a negative thing,” Angelo
stresses. “It’s a positive thing.
He is here to help out.”
The yearbook class
traveled to West High on September 12 for an all-day workshop on design trades. Students
learned various skills such as
how to “create” a perfect yearbook, what a yearbook should
look like, copy writing, digital
effects and photo imaging.
Taylor Publishing has
held the workshop at West
High for two years now. Taft
High has been publishing the
yearbook with Taylor for several years.
“I think the workshop
was a beneficial experience for
our staff,” said yearbook advisor Lisa Borrecco. “New staff
members were introduced to
the world of yearbook and what
it entails. It was also a great
team-building experience.”
Yearbook staff and advisors from around the county
attended the workshop. They
also encouraged students to
become involved and to understand how important yearbooks are to their school, so that
students would be able to look
back and remember their high
school days.
“You will never remember all of the crazy things
you did in high school,” said
the parent of a West High student. “Believe it or not, you will
actually look back and laugh
at how you would wake up
an hour in advance to do your
hair, or how much money you
spent on ‘what’s hot’ and later
on realized how ridiculous you
looked.”
The Yearbook staff is
determined to make the 20062007 yearbook the best ever.
Walk of Fame to
honor key grads
By Brianne Carroll
Staff Writer
For nearly a century
Taft High has been home to
many notable graduates.
Stan Barrett, member of
the district’s board of trustees,
wants to create a lasting place of
tribute in the halls of the school
to honor these renowned alumni. There will be plaques with
the name and photo of each
honoree. continued on page 11
News
October 12, 2006
College Night offers Taft
students a glimpse into a
future of higher education
By Courtney Glendening
Features Editor
The Rabobank Convention Center was packed on
September 12 with hundreds
of excited students and parents
scrambling to obtain information about colleges. The Seventh Annual
Kern County College Night
welcomed high school and junior high students to come and
learn about different colleges
and financial aid.
There was something
for every student, no matter
their interest, from the National
Guard, Yale and Cal Poly to the
University of Wyoming, UCLA
and CSUB.
Representatives from
universities were available to
answer questions and hand out
brochures and goodies like pennants and bumper stickers.
High school counselors
had their own booth at the front
of the Convention Center to
provide on-the-spot guidance
to students.
A group of 76 students,
counselors Mike McCormick
and Tammy Sutherland and
teachers Debra Popejoy and
Brandi Trejo were among those
who attended College Night.
Some students simply
went to obtain more information on colleges they already
wanted to attend.
“I’ve always wanted
to go to Cal Poly because it’s a
good school,” says sophomore
Corren Thompson. “I found out
more about their admissions.”
A variety of information sessions were held on
scholarships and financial aid,
planning for admission to public colleges and universities and
planning for admission to competitive colleges and universities.
“The fact that the parents and students can attend together is very beneficial, along
with the sessions on financial
aid,” says Sutherland.
Taft High encouraged
its students to attend the event
in order to gain knowledge
about their options for higher
education.
Sophomore Tiffany Saltiban feels she gained from the
experience.
“I could see what the
colleges offered and how much
it was [cost of tuition].”
College Night did sway
some opinions; at first Saltiban
wanted to attend Pepperdine
University, but now she is considering Cal Poly as well.
“It was the first time I
got a chance to go because of
[coaching] volleyball,” Sutherland explained. “College Night
exposes students to the different types of colleges available
to them and gives them an idea
of the bigger picture after high
school.”
New yearbook
advisor Lisa
Borrrecco leads
a winning team
By Sarai Espinoza
Staff Writer
After many years of awardwinning work as yearbook advisor,
Jim Carnal has resigned and has
passed on the job to English teacher
Lisa Borrecco.
“It is exciting. It’s something
new,” Borrecco says about being the
new advisor.
The position is a challenging one, especially in the first year.
“I’m a little stressed,” Borrecco admits. “It’s hard work but
it’s fun work. It’s also time consuming.”
Particular challenges in
producing The Derrick, according
to Borrecco, include “selling ads,
taking good pictures and meeting
deadlines.”
This summer Borrecco and
her editors went to Pepperdine Yearbook Camp Malibu, for five days.
They sometimes worked from 8 am
to 9 or 10 pm.
“We got our theme for this
year and learned how to create page
layouts,” Borrecco says.
There are 21 staff members
working with Borrecco. Top editors
are Tiffany Payne and Joie Reyes; ad
editor Emily Graves; sports editor
Crystal Waldie; and copy and photo
editor Roia Liljeroos. Sixteen new
staff members are learning about
yearbook along with Borrecco.
Yearbook advisor Lisa Borrecco plans to continue where
last advisor Jim Carnal left off. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales
“I am excited, learning new things, working with
students, creating a memory book that people will keep for a
lifetime,” Borrecco says.
Borrecco was sent by yearbook publisher Taylor to
Dallas for seven days to learn the special yearbook computer
programs and how to manage a yearbook class.
“It was fun,” Borrecco admits.
There is one piece of advice Borrecco wants to give
students.
“This year’s yearbook is going to be great, and there
will be new things, so everyone should buy one. The sooner,
the better!”
Greg Goossen brings enthusiasm, energy
to Renaissance Club advisor position
By Billy Johnson
Staff Writer
Renaissance advisor Greg Goossen works with sophomore
Sierra Sutherland in Multimedia class. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales
Page 5
By blasting visuals and
audio, T.V. Productions teacher
Greg Goossen plans on bringing the heat in Renaissance.
Rather than changing
the previous goals in Renaissance, he plans to keep the focus and energy on academics,
positive attitudes and the relationships with their current
business partners in the community.
“Everyone on the staff
loves Taft High. We’re glad to
be here. I want to inspire positivity and celebrate this school,”
Goossen says.
Goossen received the
position before he could even
make the trip to see Taft High
principal Marilyn Brown.
“I read the announcement. In fact, I was leaving
my room to go see Mrs. Brown
about the position, and she simply came up and asked me if I
was interested,” Goossen explained.
During the summer,
the Renaissance team traveled
to Minnesota for the national
conference.
“The trip was excellent.
I’m not a big fan of conferences
-- and I’ve been to a lot -- but I
can’t wait for next year’s,” Goossen says excitedly.
Although the club is
not as organized as the class,
the club still has more variety
of input because it outnumbers
the class by approximately 15
students. The class, however,
has the luxury of time, whereas
the club has a tendency to be
rushed. Despite these differences, Goossen appreciates both
of the groups’ hopes for Taft
High.
“Everyone’s
input
needs to be heard and valued,
and to do that, we are working
towards an equilibrium.”
Since Goossen is the
new director, all of the students
in both groups are new to him.
“We’re
fumbling
around in a dark room looking
for the light switch, but we’ll
find it,” he says optimistically.
Features
Page 6
October 12, 2006
New teachers, school psychologist join TUHS staff
Alumna Kelly Morris will teach drama and dance, while Sigi Cruz is added to the math department and Mark Shoffner analyzes student needs.
Kelly Morris
By Jestin Korsgaard
One of the new faces on
campus may be quite familiar to
the TUHS staff. That’s because
new Drama/Dance teacher Kelly Morris is a TUHS graduate.
Morris graduated from
TUHS in 1997, and then went
on to Taft College to receive her
AA. After earning a Bachelor’s
degree in English and theatre
at Cal State Bakersfield, Morris
was hired as the new Drama/
Dance teacher.
She is very excited to be
the new Drama teacher and is
very pleased with her students
“so far,” she jokes. She is always looking for students who
are “willing to learn and have
fun, but don’t expect Drama to
be an easy-A class,” she warns.
Morris is thrilled about
her first year of teaching.
“I’m loving it so far.
I’m happy with the caliber of
learning going on,” she says.
One challenge Mrs. Morris has
faced so far is working alongside people who used to be her
teachers.
“It’s really hard to call
them by their first names now,”
she laughs.
Some of Morris’ hobbies
include knitting and crocheting.
She is also proud of her newest
hobby, called “lampwork glass
Sigi Cruz is settling into his new “home” in the Science building, where he teaches algebra. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales
Sigi Cruz
Kelly Morris, TUHS ‘97, brings her ebullient personality from
the stage into the drama and dance classroom. Photo by Jestin
Korsgaard
beads.” She made her own
bead, which she has displayed
hanging from her cell phone.
“I just have to show everyone!” she admits.
Morris resides in Taft
with her husband Wesley, who
is a teacher at Alta Vista High
in Bakersfield. They have two
Labrador dogs, Rocky and Bailey.
Morris will be directing
TUHS’s first play of the year,
Shakespeare’s comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” She
hopes to be able to direct a musical during the spring semester. While she hasn’t chosen the
musical yet, she is considering
“High School Musical,” a very
popular Disney film released
earlier this year.
By Sarai Espinoza
There is a new math
teacher at TUHS and his name
is Sigi Cruz. He moved from
Oxnard, California one year
ago and he is happily married.
After graduating from
CSU Channel Islands with a
BS in Math, he taught at North
High School for a semester, finishing his teaching credential
on the side.
Describing why he decided to teach math he said, “I
have patience with numbers
and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others.”
Mark Shoffner
By Jestin Korsgaard
Psychologist Mark Shoffner works with special education students on their IEPs. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales
Taft High’s new school
psychologist, Mark Shoffner
replaces previous psychologist, Don Asbridge who is now
working in the Delano Elementary School District.
Shoffner
graduated
from Saratoga High School in
San Jose, California. He continued his education at UCLA,
where he earned a BA in Economics and a masters degree in
psychology. Shoffner also received his pupil personnel services credential at Humboldt as
well.
Shoffner worked for
three years in Humboldt County and then in San Luis Obispo
for 22 years. While in San Luis,
Shoffner was the director of
special education for Templeton
Unified School District, previous home of TUHS superintendent Curt Dubost.
Shoffner lives in Atascadero with his wife Robyn.
He enjoys working at TUHS
because he likes the small town
lifestyle and being able to work
with more students.
“I’ve died and gone
to heaven,” Shoffner remarks
about working at TUHS. “Everyone is so friendly.”
During his time off,
Shoffner enjoys camping, backpacking, photography, reading
and spending time with his
family.
“I think students are
lucky to be able to attend a
school like TUHS,” says Shoffner. “I don’t know of any other
high school like it.”
His first impression of
TUHS is positve.
The staff are very
friendly and the students are
respectful,” Cruz says.
The goals he has set
for his students this year include helping them learn math
and having all of them pass the
CAHSEE.
He also sets goals for
himself. Like all new teachers,
he wants “to enjoy the year and
to survive my first year as a
teacher.”
Battle of the Sexes
Feminine Fashion
Bringing back traditionally
feminine style
continued from page 2
dress radically are getting
negative feedback from their
peers. If it’s negative attention they want they can go
ahead but for all those who
dress to impress then thank
you. You have done society
a major favor.
I think for the majority of the student we look
good. I’m not telling girls to
throw away your jeans and
go buy a bunch of dresses
but I am asking that maybe
every once in a while try to
dress a slightly more feminine way, for old time’s sake.
And guys, leave the girls
clothing for the girls!
Features
October 12, 2006
Page 7
Foreign Exchange Students get a taste of America in Taft
“Even though I do miss
home and the small activities I
usually do with friends, I still
wouldn’t give up this experience,” he says enthusiastically.
hot or too cold, and everything
is a lot greener.
“I was here a couple of
years ago on vacation and I really liked it here, but the main
reason [I came back] was because I love all American things.
I was like,’oh, that’s cool, cool
cars, everything’s cool!’”
Not only can she fluently speak
German and English, but also is
very familiar with the Spanish
and French language.
Her hobbies consist of
hanging out with her friends,
dancing and just having a good
time.
Silvan Hammerli
Switzerland
By Billy Johnson
If you have seen a long
haired kid with a burgundy
fedora hat singing in the hallways, then you’ve seen Silvan
Hammerli.
Silvan Hammerli is a 16
year-old foreign exchange student from Lucern, Switzerland.
Hammerli decided to spend
a year in America not only to
improve his English, but to experience the American culture
firsthand.
“It was boring at home
and America was the least expensive country to stay in for
a school year,” Hammerli explains.
He’s enjoying his year
at Taft High. Although he’s not
fond of the school’s dress code,
he likes the students, staff and
the difficulty level of the schoolwork.
“The work is easy and
the teachers try their best to do
a good job for their students,”
Hammerli says.
Hammerli is currently
living with the Haroutunian
family in Taft. His parents are
Lugrid and Ruedi Hammerli
who are both doctors in Switzerland. His sister, Marion, is
a 19 year-old college student in
Switzerland.
Hammerli is looking
forward to playing soccer for
Taft High. “I used to play back
home, so I want to experience
how two different cultures play
the same sport. It should be
fun.”
Despite his excitement
for the school year, he still misses his family and friends.
“It’s not that I miss
Switzerland as much as I miss
the people in Switzerland. Oh,
and my band,” he says with a
grin.
Hammerli is also a talented musician. He plays guitar, piano and sings for his band
in Switzerland.
cisco, San Diego and Las Vegas.
Although he has seen parts
of Hollywood and Malibu, he
would like to spend more time
there.
He has a good overall
impression of America already.
“The people are very
friendly,” says Kaiser. “Everyone helped me and explained
things to me when I first got
here.”
Alexander Franzen
Germany
By Lillie Gervacio
For foreign exchange
student Alexander Franzen,
Taft is a reminder of his hometown, Norrkopig.
“My town is just like
Taft, but closer to a big city. I
go to school in the big city, ten
minutes away,” he recalls.
According to Franzen,
Taft High is “really nice. I like
the sports.”
Back home his school
didn’t have sports and he had
block scheduling, meaning
90-minute class periods and,
somewhat on the brighter side,
20-minute breaks.
“Most classes that we
take in Sweden are based on
preparation for what you want
to be, like if you wanted to be a
carpenter you’d take classes for
that,” he explains.
Franzen hopes to become a lawyer; however, his
favorite class at Taft High is accounting with Ken Anderson.
Franzen is currently running
cross-country to get into shape
for other sports, basketball and
soccer being his favorites.
When he isn’t playing
sports, Franzen is hanging out
with friends. He has become
good friends with the other
foreign exchange students and
fellow cross-country runner
Giovanni Flores.
Franzen is living with
the Pollocks and even though
he really misses his family and
friends, he really enjoys being
here.
He loves the weather
because Sweden is so cold. He
advises anyone who goes to
Sweden to visit in the summer
because the weather isn’t too
Patricia Unsoeld
Germany
By Nathan Lampkin
There are only good
things to say about our new
foreign exchange student Patricia Unsoeld. And she has only
positive things to say about Taft
High as well. Upbeat and delightful, the native German resident Unsoeld brings a great attitude to Taft, the kind we love
to have here at our school.
“The school is really
cool, and I am enjoying my
classes,” Unsoeld says.
She is very enthusiastic about being in America and
loves the atmosphere.
“My host family is awesome, they’re really nice and
I am grateful to have such opportunities to come to America
and meet wonderful people like
them,” Unsoeld explained.
She came to America
because she was told it would
be a great experience and she
wanted to learn better English.
“I thought that it would
be fun to go away to another
country for a year and learn a
new culture,” says Unsoeld.
The only set backs, in
Unsoeld’s opinion, are all the
rules we have to abide by that
they are not used to in Germany.
“It kind of feels like
you can’t really do anything,
there are way more limitations
then I am used to, but that can
be expected.”
After finishing school,
Unsoeld wants to pursue a career in the media.
Christoph Kaiser
Germany
By Megan Chappelear
Foreign Exchange student Christoph Kaiser came to
the U.S. to meet new people,
have a better understanding of
English and try new sports.
Kaiser comes from
Hamburg, Germany, where
he would be in the 11th grade.
Although he misses his family and his girlfriend, there are
many things he loves about
Taft. He enjoys the nice people,
the school, the movies and the
hot weather. According to Kaiser, the landscape is one of the
biggest differences between Taft
and Germany.
“Everything is green in
Germany,” he said.
Kaiser enjoys playing
sports, and while he is here he
will be playing football, soccer
and tennis. So far, he has made
a lot of new friends on the football team.
While he is in Taft,
Chris is staying with the Williams family; they have no other
TUHS students in the family.
While there are many
aspects of life in Taft that he enjoys, Chris doesn’t like having
to do homework every night.
In Germany, he only has certain
classes every other day, so he
gets an extra day for all of his
homework.
His favorite classes are
Spanish, taught by Jorge Torres, and history, taught by Ray
Newton.
While he is in the U.S.,
Kaiser wants to visit some of our
best cities, including San Fran-
Sjoerd Groot
The Netherlands
By Barbara Eveland
Sjoerd Groot is not
your average Dutch boy. He’s
17 years old and is already attending the University of HVS
in Amsterdam. He was born
in Voorschotem, Holland but
is staying with Margo Tyree in
Taft while attending Taft High.
He played field hockey
in Holland and plans to join the
soccer team here. Outside of
school he likes to hang out with
friends and swim. His favorite
place to eat is Panda Express.
He has traveled to
many places, such as Iceland,
Belgium, France, Austria, Spain,
Germany, Tunisia and Africa.
He can also speak French, German, Dutch, English and some
Spanish.
“People who walk
around here are very open and
say hi to strangers, but if you
were to do that in Holland, people would just stare at you as if
you were crazy,” Groot says.
On the other hand he
notes, “In Holland they are less
strict with almost everything.”
“People say that America is the land of the free, but
compared to Holland it isn’t,”
he explains.
Sports
Page 8
October 12, 2006
Varsity volleyball players in action: (L-R:) Sara Kidd, Morgan Blair, Ali Matthews, and Megan Peters set up for another point. Photo by Aaron Rolls
Varsity volleyball team racks up early winning record
By Aaron Rolls
Staff Writer
With a 19-3 overall record (1-0 in league), the girls’
varsity volleyball team is looking great.
The girls traveled to Tehachapi for their league opener.
With momentum from a great
preseason and the determination to start their league season
off right, the girls outplayed Tehachapi in game one, 25-21.
The second game was
another win for the Wildcats
with a score of 26-24. The third
game didn’t go as well as the
previous two, with Tehachapi
bouncing back to win 25-21.
The Lady Cats didn’t
give up though; in game four
they rallied back to overcome
Tehachapi 25-16.
“The girls are working
hard and playing as a team,”
says Coach Shari Norman.
“They have adjusted to a new
defense and offense with little
trouble. Their skill level and
ambition are amazing. They
have what it takes to go all the
way if they continue the hard
work.”
The girls not only have
the support of their coach, but
also their fans. The bleachers
started to fill with excited onlookers from the very start of
the new season.
“I enjoy watching the
girls play. I’ve been to many
games in the past, but I can’t
remember a team with so much
talent,” says senior Ryan Coulter.
Not only are the fans
excited about the season, the
players are too.
“We have the potential
to win it all this year. We are all
close to each other and work
well together,” explained senior
Wildcats off to strong start against non-league teams,
win first league game against Tehachapi in last minute
By Barbara Eveland
Sports Editor
The Taft High Wildcats
varsity football team fought ferociously on Oct. 6 to win their
first league game against Tehachapi.
The game was a close
one, with neither team scoring before halftime. Tehachapi
led in the third quarter with
a touchdown, but Taft pulled
ahead with a touchdown of
their own with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter.
Chris Kaiser’s extra point made
the difference in a 7-6 victory.
In the weeks before
the Tehachapi game, the boys
took two trips to San Diego to
play two different teams, one
of which was the biggest rival
in their league. Taft defeated
Christian 22-19 Sept. 23 and
Horizon 41-17 on Sept. 30.
The season has gone
great so far, with the boys winning all their games except one.
They got off to a strong start by
winning their first game of the
season against Foothill 33-7.
Although they lost
their back-up quarterback, Jeremiah Twisselman, due to a leg
injury, the players still believe
they have the skill and determination to make it to the Valley
championship.
Right guard and longsnapper Shawn Wynn explains,
“Since Jeremiah got hurt we
definitely lost a major addition
to our team. He’s a great athlete
and a fun player, but we are going to play our hardest to see
the season through.”
The boys struggled a
bit and lost their second game
to Ridgeview 49-23.
“We’re our own worst
enemy,” says Wynn.
“We need to step it up
a little and play harder,” says
wide receiver and defensive
back Christian Ramirez.
“We are unbeaten at
home, but we did let Ridgeview
get away with one,” coach Steve
Sprague notes.
The boys practiced
hard after that loss and won
their third game against South
27-7.
The following weeks
were spent on the road against
the two San Diego high
schools.
Sprague is happy with
the season so far and feels optimistic.
“I love coaching,”
he says. “It keeps me young.
Hanging around with a bunch
of teenagers, there’s nothing
better.”
Most of the boys think
highly of Sprague, especially
starting defensive tackle Chad
Cruz.
“Sprague is a really
good coach. He has taught me
a lot and he is an inspiration to
me,” he says.
Sara Kidd.
The girls are playing
with the ambition and determination to win league and maybe
even more.
“A lot of things have
changed this year: new coach,
new defense, new everything,”
says senior Megan Peters. “But
we’ve grown strong as a team
this year. We will only get stronger and better and hopefully
take league.”
Football, Volleyball Schedules
Football
10/20
10/27
11/03
11/10
11/17
11/24
12/01
Wasco
Bak. Christian
at Arvin
Playoff
Playoff
Playoff
Playoff
Volleyball
10/19
10/24
10/26
10/31
11/02
11/07
11/09
11/14
11/16
11/21
11/25
11/28
12/02
Tehachapi
at Bak. Christ.
Arvin
Wasco
at Shafter
Playoff
Playoff
Playoff
Valley Champ.
Reg. Playoff
Reg. Playoff
Reg. Playoff
State Playoff
October 12, 2006
Sports
Page 9
U.S. Olympic soccer player Shannon Boxx gives clinic
The national soccer star paid a visit to Taft to publicize the debut of Taft College’s women’s soccer program.
By Nathan Lampkin
Staff Writer
Local soccer enthusiasts
had a chance to hear a speech
and witness a soccer demonstration by U.S. National Soccer Olympian Shannon Boxx at
Martin Memorial Stadium on
August 31.
Boxx came to Taft to
publicize the inauguration of
the Taft College women’s soccer
team.
She teamed up with
the Lady Cougars to display
their advanced skills on the soccer field, and she also gave a
heartfelt speech about the hardships and difficulties she faced
coming up in the WUSA soccer
league.
After a 45-minute skills
demonstration from Boxx and
the collegiate athletes, everyone
in attendance had a chance to
get an autograph from the professional ballplayer.
“When
seeing
the
moves being done by an Olympic superstar, you pick it up
quicker and easier because
you’re really learning from the
best,” said a young attendee.
Boxx was a freshman
when Notre Dame won its first
NCAA women’s soccer championship in 1995. She shares the
school record for career games
played, with 101, and was an
All-Big East selection in 1995,
‘96 and ‘97.
Shannon Boxx, right, shows her Olympic gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games to young
soccer players from Taft during her recent appearance at TUHS. Photo by Nathan Lampkin
In 2004 she scored eight
goals and brought home a gold
medal from the Athens Olympic Games.
The WUSA superstar
scored three goals in her three
games after becoming the first
uncapped player ever named to
a Women’s World Cup.
She earned All-Tournament Team honors and a berth
as captain of the FIFA World
Stars team that played Germany as part of FIFA’s centennial
celebrations in Paris.
“You might not be the
star that gets all the notice, but
if you work hard, someone is
eventually going to notice it,”
said Boxx.
In addition to being a
soccer superstar, Boxx graduated from the University of Notre
Dame with a degree in psychology and African-American
Studies.
The evening with Shannon Boxx was very inspirational and gave optimism and
confidence to ambitious young
soccer players.
Boxx signed autographs for
her many fans, including on
shirts, soccer balls and soccer shoes.
Photo by Nathan Lampkin
TUHS sophomore soccer player Nicole Owen receives some personal coaching from Shannon
Boxx in Martin Memorial Stadium. Boxx was on crutches due to a recent leg injury, but gave a
clinic anyway. Photo by Nathan Lampkin
Sports
Page 10
October 12, 2006
Wildcats in
1st place with
20-19 win
over Shafter
Taft’s defeat of rival
Generals provides
advantage in tough
SSL playoff race.
The Taft High cheerleaders work on one of their routines at cheer camp on the UC San Diego campus. Photo courtesy of Emmy Lou
Heber
Competitive cheerleaders return to action after cheer camp
By Jennifer Gonzales
Production Editor
The Taft High cheerleaders are back in action for
the 06-07 school year. The girls
are led by head coach Emmy
Lou Heber and assistant coach
Kristina Hammons.
The cheerleaders are
split into two different squads:
eight on the varsity squad and
seven on the JV squad. The var-
sity captain is Kelsey Burch; cocaptain Trina Malone also captains the JV.
The girls worked hard
throughout the summer to
prepare for their year-round
season, including attending a
cheer camp at UC San Diego to
improve their skills. They came
back stronger than ever in stunting and crowd involvement.
JV cheerleader Bryanna
Bacot is excited about the new
material the girls are working
on for the fall season.
“The routines and
stunts are really cute and fun,”
she said.
The squad also plans to
attend several competitions this
year. Their goal is to qualify for
the USA Disneyland Competition in the spring.
Girls’ varsity tennis team improving slowly but steadily,
notching wins against Shafter and McFarland to go 4-7
By Desiree Evans
Staff Writer
The girls’ varsity tennis
team is off to a good start for
the 2006 season. Mike Cowan,
coach, states
“I am very excited”
about this coming season, says
Coach Mike Cowan.
The girls are 2-6 in South Sequoia League play and recently
defeated McFarland 7-2 on October to improve to 3-7 overall.
On October 5 the girls
defeated Shafter 5-4, to improve
to 3-6 in SSL and 4-7 overall, despite only two wins in singles
play. Tess Robbins and Brianna
Lemmons won their matches.
Taft dominated doubles play, however, sweeping
those matches. Partners Cook
and Robbins won their match
6-2, 6-2. Amy Glagovich and
Lemmons gave their opponents
a 6-2, 6-1
smackdown.
Finally, Megan Jaske and
Jeanylene Alita took their
match 6-4, 60.
Cowan’s
goals for the
team are “to
master
the
fundamentals and become more
aggressive.”
Coach Heber is optimistic about the competition
season.
“Our girls work incredibly hard; they have 100%
dedication to their sport. I think
they’ll do extremely well at any
competition,” she predicts.
This season the cheerleaders can be seen during football games on the sidelines and
at halftime.
Cross-Country team overcomes
small roster to perform well
By Sam Gonzales
Staff Writer
Jeanylene Alita practices her forehand stroke.
Sophomore Leslie ”The Cookie
Monster” Cook is on her way to
becoming the best in the county,
along with her doubles partner,
junior Tess Robbins.
“They will likely win the
doubles title in the SSL this
year,” predicts Cowan.
Even after practice
has ended the girls stay late to
practice more. The positive reinforcement, “props,” and constructive criticism they receive
from Cowan inspire them to
perform even better.
The Wildcats won their
most important game of the
year on October 13, defeating
the Shafter Generals 20-19 in a
nail-biter.
The game was expected to be a contest between
Shafter’s explosive offense and
Taft’s stubborn defense. Although the Generals racked up
passing yardage, their running
game was stopped completely.
Taft took a 7-6 lead into halftime, courtesy of Dalton Botts’
7-yard run into the end zone.
Tony Savaii scored
twice in the second half, including the go-ahead touchdown
with seven minutes left in the
game. Taft rushed for a total of
257 yards on 53 carries, including 85 yards on 14 carries by
Fernando Romo.
The Wildcats are now
6-1 overall and 2-0 in SSL play.
They are all alone in 1st place,
heading into games against
Wasco, Bakersfield Christian
and Arvin.
Coaches Barry Jameson
and Shawn Sutherland are full
of anticipation for a great season for this year’s cross country teams. Filling in the roster
are six girls and 10 boys who
have proven themselves to be a
“good group of hard workers.”
According to Shawn
Sutherland, team goals this year
are to “improve every week”
and “achieve a score to get into
Valley.”
Typical practice sessions are tough, but to keep the
runners going the coaches run
with them. Standout freshman
Megan Thompson continues to
finish with consistently impressive times in nearly every race
in which she competes. Fresh-
man Jimmy Golden has come a
long way since the start of the
season.
With “constant improvement of times” from all
runners, Sutherland believes
the team has a “good shot at
coming in at the top three in
league.”
This year’s major difficulty is the small number of
runners.
“We have a little bit
of runners compared to other
schools we race and that makes
it harder to win,” says a concerned Gio Flores.
Although the teams are
challenged with a small roster, they have still managed to
make excellent showings at the
Sangera, Wolfpack and East Bakersfield Invitationals.
Entertainment
October 12, 2006
Page 11
The Mars Volta returns to form with
sonically adventurous Amputechture
By Billy Johnson
Staff Writer
When The Mars Volta
released their first full-length
album, De-loused in the Comatorium, in 2003, people experienced
nothing but illumination.
Then, in 2005, the release of Frances the Mute seemed
to tone things down with the
extensive
use of mellow sound
effects and
noise making.
Of course,
there were
a couple
songs that
caught
our attention, such
as “L’Via
L’Viaquez”
and “The
W i d o w, ”
but Frances the Mute still seemed
like a retreat from De-loused.
Well, that retreat no
longer exists. With Amputechture, released on Sept. 12, The
Mars Volta is, once again, on the
offensive.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the band’s guitarist, has
established himself as the main
composer and musical director. Although he writes all the
material for the band, he felt it
was necessary to bring Red Hot
Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante into the studio to lay
down the guitar tracks.
Long-time band member Jon Theodore played drums,
but he has been replaced by
Blake Fleming, the original
drummer on The Mars Volta’s
debut E.P., Tremulant.
One can still hear innovative sound effects, however,
courtesy of Pablo Hinojos-Gonzales, who is a part of the action
Walk of Fame
continued from page 4
Barrett first presented
his plan to athletic director Marsha Eubank and TUHS superintendent Curt Dubost, who said
he thought the plan was “an
awesome idea.” Barrett then
proposed his plan to the school
board which, Dubost said, “approved it enthusiastically.”
using guitars, synthesizers and
random instruments.
While Rodriguez-Lopez is writing the music, Cedric Bixler-Zavala is crafting the
words.
The Mars Volta has a
history of incomprehensible
lyrics with the use of unfamiliar
words, and that is still the case
here, but
there
seems
to be a
new religious influence
in
the
lyrics
on Amputechture.
With
s o n g
titles
like “Vicarious
Atonement,” “Tetregrammaton,” and
“Asilos Magdalena,” one can’t
help but notice the religious
references among the three
names.
Another aspect of Bixler-Zavala’s writing style has
been the use of English and
Spanish lyrics. It’s not surprising when one considers the fact
that he and more than half of
the band have Latino heritage,
mostly Mexican.
Amputechture
offers
over an hour of musical activity that’s impossible to describe
but certainly never boring.
When listening to Amputechture,
you catch yourself wondering,
“How do they do it?”
I encourage everyone
to at least listen to the band’s
singles released on their website
(www.myspace.com/themarsvolta). You may end up finding
yourself at the store buying the
album.
Dubost refers to Barrett
as the “historian” of Taft High.
U.S. Senator Diane
Feinstein, whose father graduated from Taft High, will be
visiting campus on Oct. 19 and
will help in the inauguration of
the Walk of Fame.
Dubost also stated that
he hopes the Walk of Fame will
show students “what they can
accomplish.”
Fernando Romo, Vanessa Gonzalez, Emily Graves, Megan Peters and Kelsee Melton. Photo by
Billy Johnson
Sadie Hawkins Dance a good time for cowpokes
By Nathan Lampkin
Staff Writer
What better way to
celebrate the varsity football
team’s dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Tehachapi
Warriors on October 6 than to
strap on your boots and hustle
on down to the Sadie Hawkins
shindig after the game.
With great beverages
and danceable music, the celebration started early. Students
showed their rootin’ tootin’ Sadie Hawkins spirit by putting
on their best cowboy/cowgirl
apparel and showing off their
own country style.
“I always love to cowboy up and have a good time
with some cowgirls,” exclaimed
senior Aaron Rolls.
With everything from
a hay bell campfire, a wedding chapel where students
could find them a gal and “get
hitched” and a jail for all the rotten outlaws, the dance proved
to be an authentic western-style
evening. The only thing missing were some Indians and a
bull-riding contest.
Illusionist one of year’s best movies
By Lacey Chappelear
Copy Editor
One of the best movies
of the year is also the least
hyped. Director Neil Burger
has created a film based on
Steven Millhauser’s short story
“Eisenheim the Illusionist,”
entitled The Illusionist.
The main action of
the story is a narrative by
Chief Inspector Uhl, who is
telling the Crown Prince why
he was late. The story tells of
Eisenheim, a magician who
amazes his audience with feats
of mind-boggling illusion.
When the Prince attends one of
his performances, Eisenheim is
reunited with a childhood love,
the Duchess von Teschen, and
they begin an affair. But the
Duchess is the intended of the
Crown Prince, so they plan to
leave Vienna together. However,
word reaches the Prince, who
does not take the news kindly
when the Duchess meets him to
break it off.
What follows is a
mysterious murder, accusations
and a new trick up Eisenheim’s
sleeve, a trick that worries
the Prince: the ability to bring
spirits to life, if only for a short
period of time. Chief Inspector
Uhl is kept busy both by the
Prince’s wishes for him to
shut Eisenheim down and the
investigation of the murder.
As he digs deeper, he finds too
much incriminating evidence.
Even when the mystery
of the murder has been
revealed, the movie is not yet
over. Eisenheim is still missing.
Uhl spots him in the street
and follows him to the train
station. There, he recalls several
key, seemingly unimportant
facts that cause him to realize
the true plot of the story. The
movie ends with Uhl laughing
at Eisenheim’s brilliance, as the
two characters are finally free
and happy.
The
movie
stars
Edward Norton as Eisenheim,
Jessica Biel as Sophie von
Teschen and Paul Giamatti as
Chief Inspector Uhl. All three
perform brilliantly.
Entertainment
Page 12
October 12, 2006
English and Australian bands find their “muse” in variety of genres
Muse
Black Holes & Revelations
By Lillie Gervacio
Keane
Under the Iron Sea
By Lillie Gervacio
Lost Prophets
Liberation Transmission
By Jordie Hood
The Feeling
Twelve Stops and Home
By Lillie Gervacio
The Living End
State of Emergency
By Lillie Gervacio
The British trio has
done it again! Following Absolution, the musical masterpiece
from 2003 that broke the band
in the U.S., Muse have returned
with their fourth album, Black
Holes and Revelations. It entered
the U.S. charts at #9 and reached
#1 in their native England.
The first single off the
record,”Supermassive
Black
Holes,” displays a funky,
groove-based sound that has
earned much admiration and a
spot on the EA Games Fifa ‘07
soundtrack.
“Starlight” continues
Matthew Bellamy’s combination of piano tinkling and guitar
wailing. Bellamy croons “Hold
you/ in my arms/ I just wanted
to hold you/ in my arms” before
switching from piano to guitar,
with Chris Wolstenholme and
Dominic Howard adding to the
hullabaloo on bass and drums.
This is sure to be a hit.
Muse then goes on to
show their apocalyptic, conspiracy theory-loving side
with songs like “Take A Bow,”
“Assassin,” “Exo Politics” and
“Knights of Cydonia.”
“Take a Bow” attacks
both U.K. Prime Minister Tony
Blair and President Bush for
their roles in the Iraq war, as Bellamy sings,”Pay, you must pay
/You must pay for your crimes
against the earth/hex, feed the
hex, on the country you love.”
With songs like these,
Muse puts other so-called “political rock” bands to shame.
Ever since Muse
formed in 1996, they have been
pushing the boundaries with
the wide variety of music on
their records (the innovative
debut Showbiz in 1999, the energetic Origin of Symmetry in 2001,
and the urgent Absolution).
Black Holes and Revelations again
comes as a bit of a surprise but
will win over Muse fans and attract new ones.
The new album by Keane, Under The Iron Sea, is a bit
of a bore after their debut album
Hopes and Fears, which was such
an artistic success.
Keane has a wonderful
musical ability and a way with
lyrics, yet most of their actual
songs lack the energy needed
to keep the listener’s attention,
which is rather odd since the piano, drumming and Tom Chaplin’s high tenor usually deliver
a full sound.
A perfect example of
this is the sleepy ballad, “Hamburg Song,” which never seems
to reach a climax. The song starts
off slowly and continues at that
pace until the end, making the
song something of a snooze.
“Is It Any Wonder,”
the first single off the album,
is perhaps the best song on the
record. It’s a lot heavier than
Keane’s typical piano-based
songs. Showing an eagerness to
experiment, pianist Tim RiceOxley swaps his piano for a
synthesizer, resulting in a sound
that seems to feature guitars.
The lyrics are so troubled that you can feel the angst
and insecurity when Chaplin
sings, “Is it any wonder that
I’m tired?/Is it any wonder that
I feel uptight?/Is it any wonder
I don’t know what’s right/Oh
these days/After all the misery you made/Is it any wonder
that I feel afraid?/Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed?” Musically, it sounds like U2; lyrically it seems like Radiohead’s
depressive songs. Chaplin
has struggled to deal with the
band’s sudden fame in the past
few years and recently entered
rehab.
Under the Iron Sea is
far from a bad album, but it
just doesn’t compare with their
last album. Keane is the perfect
band for anyone who has a love
for classic pop music with a
modern, melancholic approach.
A few years ago, Lost
Prophets was your typical rocker band: vintage T’s, faded jeans,
and a following similar to that
of Linkin Park. A few changes
have taken place on the new album, Liberation Transmission.
The boys are back with more of
what some may call an “emo”
sound. They’ve traded in their
t-shirts and Converse shoes for
black hair dye and eyeliner. The
guys have taken a major chance
with such a drastic change in
sound and appearance between
albums. So far, however, the
response has been mostly positive.
The first single off the
album is entitled “Rooftops.”
If you expect it to sound like
“Last Train Home”, expect to be
surprised. Though lead singer
Ian Watkins still keeps his edgy
tone, the instrumental sound
has changed almost as much
as the band has. They’ve gone
from a raging angry rock sound
like Linkin Park to a pop-punk
sound like early All-American
Rejects.
With the competition in
the music business these days,
it’s hard for bands to keep a
true sound and not “sell out.”
That may have been a problem
for these guys on a few songs. If
you listen to the whole album,
you can easily detect which
ones were made to be hits.
Overall, the album isn’t
bad. It’s really catchy and easy
to listen to if you’re in a good
mood. Even with the sound
and appearance make-over,
Lost Prophets still know how to
rock.
Emerging from Sussex
and London, the five piece softrock band The Feeling have released their debut album, Twelve
Stops and Home, a godsend to
anyone in need of a great pop
album.
The majority of the
songs are so catchy and upbeat
it becomes nearly impossible to
skip over any songs.
Among the heap of
great songs is “Anyone.” Both
lyrically and musically strong,
this song is the type you will
sing along to each and every
time you hear it. The opening
line gets you hooked and by the
second time you hear the chorus, you find yourself singing
right along.
Some might find it trivial when bands use “la-la-la’s”
and “na-na-na’s” in place of lyrics, but when lead singer/guitarist Dan Sells & Co. do this it
only add the finishing touches,
especially on the band’s biggest
hit yet, “Sewn.” The unpretentious, down-beat sound seems
almost out of place in the midst
of all the other cheerful songs,
but “Sewn” has found its place
at the top of the U.K. charts.
“Fill My Little World”
can best be described as a guilty
pleasure. The school crushing
sappiness makes it the song
you hate to love.
If Queen and McFly
somehow had a lovechild you’d
turn up with The Feeling. The
band also shows similarity to
the Secret Machines, the Postal
Service, Muse, the Shins and
Supertramp.
Twelve Stops and Home
was released five months ago
in the U.K. and in the U.S. on
Sept. 26. Their second album is
already being anxiously anticipated.
The Feeling is currently
touring the U.S. with The Fray,
including an Oct. 12 headlining
show in Hollywood.
As one of the biggest
acts in their country, Australian
rockers The Living End have
managed to avoid the “rut” that
many modern punk-rock bands
have fallen into.
When listening to their
new album State of Emergency,
you may hear the influence of
Australian legends Midnight
Oil, a bit of the Clash and some
of the old Green Day.
The precision in the
band’s music really shows
through on their fourth album.
Their lyrics may not be all that
impressive but they work well
with their blazing songs.
The highlights on the
album are “’Til the End,” “Long
Live the Weekend,” “What’s
On Your Radio?” and the title
track.
“’Till the End” is a great
opening song. This dynamic
rocker shows what’s in store for
the listener on the rest of the album.” Long Live the Weekend”
is a catchy anthem about living
through the long week waiting
to escape to the weekend. The best song on the
record, though, is “What’s On
Your Radio?” Guitarist/vocalist Chris Cheney delivers the
meaningful lyrics in his crisply
accented, slightly raspy voice:
“You say you find it hard to decide/But you will never know
until you try.”
Although The Living
End may not be to everyone’s
liking, they are definitely a
band worth checking out. They
might well surprise you.
Is there a CD you think we
should review? Let us know
by emailing us at bwolfe@
taft.k12.ca.us or by dropping
a note in Mr. Wolfe’s mailbox
in the principal’s office.
What do YOU think of the
CDs we’ve reviewed this
month? Do you agree or
disagree with our reviewers’
assessments? Let us know
what you think by sending
an email to bwolfe@taft.k12.
ca.us or by dropping a note
in Mr. Wolfe’s mailbox.