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muir.pusd.us 1905 N. Lincoln Ave. Pasadena, CA 91103Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The

by DIEGO OBREGON All Muir freshmen gath-ered in the small gym to attend a leadership conference hosted by A Step Ahead Learning Center. The three-hour confer-ence, which took place on Friday, April 10th, was designed to provide students with a different insight on school and attitude. Theconferencehadfivedifferent speakers. Speaking at the conference were the keynote speak-er, Ronnie Cunningham, Pasadena Police Department (PPD) Corporal Glenn Thompson, and former PPD

Lieutenant Rodney Wallace. Also speaking were A Step Ahead men-tor Jacques Bolton and the owner ofChick-fil-A’sPasadenafranchise,Adobi Gwacham. After each speaker spoke to the freshmen, the student facilitators would lead their group in a discussion about the topic just touched on. 25 students in grades 10-12 were selected to facilitate the conference by counselor Micah Brodi.Brodisaidthathedidn’tjustchoose the facilitators based on grades, but also on hardships that they had overcome and stories they

had to tell. Brodi said, “I wanted a nice mixture of what our kids have gone through.” The fa-cilitators had to go through a two hour training the day be-fore the conference to prepare them for their interactions with the freshmen. (story con-tinued on page 6)

by CYNTHIA SANDOVAL This past weekend, Dan-ielle Baber won prom queen over Alondra Gutierrez by one vote. Fray Rodriguez won prom king against Robert Aceves, Francisco Merlos, and Courtney Taylor. Rodriguez said, “Win-ning Prom King was an unbeliev-able feeling, never in a hundred years would I have imagined myself winning.” Prom was held on April 18 at The Reef in Long Beach. The event, along with all other

senior activities, was organized by the Class of 2015 cabinet. The theme, which was decided by a majority of votes from the senior class, was a Night in Paris. A total of 115 people attended prom, and it was held from 7pm to 12am. Attendees were served appetizers, pasta, salmon, chicken mozzarella, a dessert table, and a variety of drinks. Tickets went on sale on March 30 for $80 with ASB and $90 without ASB. After April 13,

prom tickets went up to $95 for everyone. Prom tickets stopped being sold April 16. Originally, the Class of 2015 cabinet was going to hire someone to plan and arrange the special event, but “we realized how much more affordable it would be if we did it ourselves,” said Karina Hernandez, Senior Class President. Senior Connie Martinez thought prom was all right.

(story continued on page 4)

Photo courtesy of Diego ObregonFreshmen gathered in the small gym for the leadership conference.

Freshmen attend leadership conference

by KYLEE SHARP With the end of the school year upon us, testing season is here. This week testing sea-son begins with the Smarter Bal-anced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). The juniors are taking this test starting on April 21 and ending on the 24. A practice test

was held last Thursday to give students a preview of the test. The SBAC is given in place of previous California State Tests and it is also used to inform students of their status for college level Math and English classes for the Early Assessment Program (EAP). Principal Timothy Sippel said, [on reasons why

students are taking the SBAC], “It’stoknowwhere[thestu-dent] stands. [They are] a year out from college and according to this assessment that the Cal States and Community Colleges use, this is where [the student] stands and next year these are the things they need to work on so that when they do go to college, [the student] can go straight into

college level classes.”The SAT is the next exam on the calendar. The SAT will take place on May 2, the Saturday before AP exams begin. The SAT will be held at multiple school locations and students should be aware of what time the exam begins to be there on time.

(story continued on page 6)

SBAC: The beginning of testing season

Muir has first Gates Millennium recipient in 4 Years

RYLA rewards students with camping trip

Photo courtesy of Josh AlcarazThe Class of 2015’s Prom Queen Danielle Baber and Prom King Fray Rodriguez.

Seniors celebrate, reminisce at prom

OPINION 3

Senior History Project: Is it worth it? 3

NEWS 4-6

CAHSEE English scores highest in 6 years 4

ENTERTAINMENT 7-9

Furious7:PaulWalker’sfinalride 8

SPORTS 10-11

Baseball continues to struggle through the season 10

by DOMONIQUE BALLEW This past weekend, 11 Muir students were selected to attend the Rotary Youth Leader-ship Awards (RYLA) camping trip as a reward for their ac-complishments, more than ever before. They were taken to Thousand Pines Christian Camp where they participated in work-shops and exercises in hopes that they would return to school even more motivated to lead. They were there for two nights and three days starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. When the students arrived at Thousand Pines they were split into small pre-decided groups of about seven people, each the name of a city. The cities were part of a larger group of about 36 people, called continents. They were split into the six continents, excluding Antarctica. The students were also assigned to cabins. The cabins were separated by gender. Within each cabin there were 9-12 people from different cities. This way campers were able to inter-act with different people from Southern California and Nevada. “I liked that we got put into groups with total strangers,” said junior Melissa Herrera. “It gave you an opportunity to know people that you never would have otherwise.” Once the students were in their groups they began doing activities. The workshops they did were designed to exploit their moral values, self-identity, time management etc.

(story continued on page 4)

by DIEGO OBREGON Senior Kimberly Mejia has been awarded the Gates Mil-lennium Scholarship. The presti-gious scholarship covers the cost of college for 1,000 graduating high school seniors each year nationwide. Mejia, a student in the Engineering and Environmental ScienceAcademy,isthefirstMuir senior to be awarded the scholarship since Valeria Sosa in 2011. Counselor Nancy Gon-zalez and engineering teacher Eugene Mahmoud recommended Mejia for the scholarship. While she was in North-ern California visiting UC Berke-ley and the city of San Francisco this past weekend, Mejia found out she had received the scholar-ship over a phone call with her mother. Seniors Cecilia Valle andLoganPattonwerefinalistsfor the scholarship, but were not awarded the scholarship, respec-tively.

(story continued on page 6)

MISSION STATEMENT The Blazer is produced by the Journalism Class at John Muir High School. It is a com-

pletely student-run newspaper, and all content is revised by student editors. Our goal is to re-

lease a high quality, informative, and factual newspaper that accurately depicts the John Muir

community. We, the Journalism staff, understand and will apply our rights under the California

EducationCode48907.ThisnewspaperdoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionsoftheJohn

Muir High School administration, faculty, or the PUSD. For any questions or concerns, letters

to the editors are always welcomed. They can be sent to The Blazer’semailatjmhsblazer@

gmail.com where editors reserve the right to edit any submissions for clarity and content. The

Journalism staff can be reached during 7th period in room D458. We strive to leave no story

untouched.

EditorsEditor-In-Chief: Cecilia Valle

Co-Editor-In-Chief: Logan Patton Copy Editor: Jennifer SalvadorNews Editor: Diego Obregon

Writers, Contributors, PhotographersJoshua AlcarazMariana Garcia

Cynthia SandovalDestiny ArriazaJair Gonzalez

Domonique BallewJuan Guillen

Rebecca GutierrezKylee Sharp

Virginia DeJesusEmmanuel Prunty

A Look Into Logan’s Logic: A Column

Valle’s View: A Column

by LOGAN PATTON Normally social media is often criticized for causing distractions and keeping individuals from interacting with others in the “usual” way. My experience with social media, however, has been an enlightening and, quite frankly, a hum-bling one. The social media site Tumblr is one of the reasons that I am able to stay so informed about a variety of news. It is also a source that has allowed me to continue learning about the different social injus-tices in the world and to go more in-depth with them unlike my social justice course thatonlylastedfiveweeksoverthesum-mer. Tumblr became the vehicle by which I was able to dig deeper into the social injustices against people of color not only in America, but worldwide. It exposed me to the racism that continues to take place in our country, and how not to fall into a system that was not built for historically marginalized groups. Tumblr is where I learned the ac-tualdefinitionforthetermfeminismandthatitdoesn’tequatetohatingmen,butto achieving equality for all sexes. In my 12 years of attending school, I was never taught about how deep the oppression against women is and has been. School always covered the surface of it by talking about how women never receive the same pay, or voting rights, or the same educa-tional opportunities as men. School never showed how this same injustice is placed strategically in systems to work against women, or how we live in a society that perpetuates and blames women for practically everything, or even how we are taught to think that anything women do is horrible which goes on to justify taking away certain rights for women. Tumblr is also where I learned to

become an ally for those in the LGBTQ community, those who have different religious preferences, and other histori-cally marginalized groups. I learned how simple-words and phrases can affect the way a population of people is viewed or treated.Asaresult,I’velearnedtousemore inclusive language and avoid us-ing words that demean another group of individuals.I’vealsobecomeawareofmy privilege as a heterosexual cisgender woman, and I now use that to help those who do not have the same privileges as me. I have found it important and helpful to be aware about these injustices, asit’sallowedmetoreflectonmyselfasaperson and adjust my thought process and actions accordingly in order to ensure that Idon’tcontributetothevariousoppres-sions that occur throughout the world. I know that along with Tumblr, a university will add to my knowledge and allow me to take further steps to help reform the systems in the world that also contribute to social injustices with their courses that focus more on the histories of women, African Americans, the LGBT community, and more, as well as the various organi-zations that are aimed toward achieving equality for historically marginalized groups. Tumblr is essentially what allowed me to become more socially conscious, enhanced my critical thinking skills, and helped me become a bet-ter citizen of the world. I have become aware that I am a holder of privileges and because of this realization I now have the courage to spread my knowledge to others and take a step closer to addressing the problems with oppression in the world, something the education system so far has failed to do.

by CECILIA VALLE A topic that has come up a hand-ful of times while being in Journalism is the concept of objectivity. This is an important aspect of a newspaper because having an absence of bias, absence of prejudice, and neutrality help us deliver a well rounded, and factual newspaper. This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to see a play at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The play I saw was called The Power of Duff. Charlie Duff, a news reporter from Rochester, New York, lost his father and was struggling with his relationship with his only son. He began praying at the end of every news cast. His coworker Sue Raspell was upset with him because she understood the importance of leaving your personal life away from news reports. After being told multiple times not to pray on air, he did not listen. And after each prayer, “miracles” happened. A kidnapped girl was returned after he prayed for her. An inmate who was beaten with an inch of his life miraculously healed, after yet another prayer. The playwright, Stephen Belber, hit a lot of main points throughout the play. There were barriers between father and son, a question about whether or not a higher power exists, and as a journalist, I noticed the effects subjectivity has on the viewers. In hopes of a higher power, many viewers cheered on Duff and appreciated his prayers. Many other viewers condemned Duff for expressing personal beliefs to the viewers because everyone did not have the same beliefs. Not every viewer or reader practice religion, and if they do, they might not practice the same religion as the journalist. As a news journalist, objectivity is important. We deliver facts, not opinion. If one wants to express their opinions, they can write an editorial or an opinion piece. As a news journalist, it is our job to state facts, and data. We deliver the information needed so that the reader can gather their own opinion about recent events.

Duff’sprayersmayhavehadmanypeoplebelieving that he was a miracle worker, that his prayers can heal all the wrong in the world. But all his praying did not help him build a better relationship with his son. He gained fame worldwide, but didnotgainhissons’attentionaseasily.Whatevervoidhewastryingtofillbypraying on air did not help. What helped himfinallybeginarelationshipwithhis

son was his honesty. His news channel may have gained more viewing because of the dilemma he caused, but they lost their credibility. One of the goalsI’vehad,andagoal that any Editor-In-Chief of a news-paper should have, is to have an objective newspaper. The Blazer highlights positive news stories, and we highlight the negative news stories. We are not here

to make the school look good, we are here to provide information about what goes on here at Muir to our readers.

Page 2 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muir.pusd.usThe Blazer News

Columns

muir.pusd.us Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | Page 3The Blazer News

Opinions

Senior History Project: Is it worth it?

by MARIELA MARTINEZ Yes,we’veallstruggledwiththistedious research paper, but let me tell you why it was totally worth it. One third of college freshmen drop out of college before their sophomore year due to the fact that they thought it was “too hard”. This paper was not to see how much attention you paid in history or to findouthowmanyliterarydevicesyoucan come up with in a single English paper. It is not “busy work”. This project was meant to challenge us, to make sure that we are able to critically analyze works written by others, to see if we can actually think indepen-dently. One third of incoming college freshman at California State Universities cannot pass the English Placement Exam, placing them in a remedial English class which will take up both their time and money. In all honesty, we have it far easi-er at our school than most other schools in California.

It is a real tough world out there, and our school would be doing us a dis-service if they did not require at least one research paper a year. Heck, some high schools do one research paper per month. This year is an amazing one for Muir,andquitepossiblyonethathasn’tbeen seen in a long time. We have seniors going to more UC schools than ever be-fore. We should attribute some part of our success to this project.

We are thefirstclassthat had to go through this task, start-ing with our junior research paper last year

and ending with our senior project this year. We are the guinea pigs, the kids with which Muir has chosen to experiment on. I know you all ask, “Why us? Why now?” If not us, who? If not now, when? The district is going to implement something like this for every high school eventually. What could be better than Muir getting a head start at it with the best graduating class they have ever seen? Go class of 2015!

by EMMANUEL PRUNTY Now let me tell you why it was totally not worth it. Ideally this senior research project was supposed to teach us how to write, and analyze other sources of info besides Google, etc., however all this project taught us to do is to turn in an as-signment on time. Turning in an assignment on time is important but us seniors learned this a pretty long time ago. All that was required for this assignment in order to graduate is that seniors just turn it in. Even after you “revise” it, it still doesn’t have to meet ANY quality requirements. You can turn in a paper you spent two minutes on, then have the appearance of listening to your teacher as he/she ex-plains how to make it better, and maybe do improve it slightly and voila, you graduate. I don’t think it works like that in college? Also, it doesn’t help that every teacher in the school was requested to grade these papers. I’m sure all teachers are adept at reading and writing at John Muir High School but I’m also sure that there would’ve been more consistent scores if the English and history department were the only ones to grade the papers since they are the ones who created the project and knew exactly what they were look-

ing for. With having all the teachers grade the papers comes the greater possibility of conflicting scores since each paper gets graded by two teachers looking for differ-ent qualities in the paper. On top of that, students couldn’t communicate with their scorers because their names were withheld. This led to confusion since students have to revise their papers if they received a grade that’s not passing. Courtney Taylor, a senior in AEM, said “ I got a 1-something on my paper and I don’t understand why; I can’t revise it in class because I thought I did everything right and don’t know what to fix and my English teacher is unable to read it.” It’s also important to note that this research project’s main purpose is to teach students how to think for them-selves, analyze information, use it to bolster their argument in a coherent paper, and most importantly research! The project is not a response to how many students have to take remedial English classes at the California State University (CSU) level. That’s what the senior Expository Reading and Writing Course here on campus, with the CSU trademarked textbook, is for.

Pros: It’s good college prep Cons: It’s jumping through hoops

One third of incoming college freshman...cannot pass the English Placement Exam.

Speak out, be heard, and

make a change.

See Mr. Ortega after school

in room D458

Page 4 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muir.pusd.usThe Blazer News

News

by MARIANA GARCIA The passage rate for the English portion of the California High School Exam (CAHSEE) isthehighestit’sbeeninthelastsix years. Math, however, went down 4%. With the increase of 12% on the English portion, 77% of sophomores passed the exam ontheirfirstattemptand75%passed the Math portion. The CAHSEE is one of the require-ments a student needs to gradu-ate high school. This year the English part of the CAHSEE was held on Feb. 3 and the Math part of the CAHSEE was held Feb. 4 for all sophomores and other upper-classmen who have not passed. A student must get a 350 or above in both subjects in order to pass. According to Principal Timothy Sippel, the CAHSEE is a basic skills test to determine whether students are ready to go on into the world. Sippel men-tionedthatit’snottoshowthatastudentiscollegeready,butit’sa step for college. He believes a students need to work hard to pass the exam. Sincethere’sbeenadecrease in the math part of the exam, Sippel mentioned that math teachers are working to-gether to help students improve. “We have software that we’reusingonall9thand10thgraders called Aleks, in addi-tiontowhatthey’relearninginGeometry, Integrated Math or Al-gebra 2. It helps them strengthen skillsthatthey’vemayhavelearned in 6th or 7th grade that

are tested on the CAHSEE,” Sip-pel said. He said that the school might use a different software next year instead of Aleks to help students improve. Math teacher Mi-chael Watter said hbelieves the CAHSEE is a fair requirement to graduate. He believes the mate-rial in the exam is something students should know when they leave the high school level. Wat-termentionedthesignificanceofa diploma is proof that a student has shown and mastered certain educational achievements. “When a student passes,

I feel extremely proud of them. I think that there can be a lot of stress on the student, because this is a hurdle they must jump in order to graduate. Once that obstacle is cleared, it is one less thing they need to worry about,” Watter said. Watter mentioned that whenastudentdoesn’tpassitcan be disappointing. However, he believes that a student should usetheirfirstsetofscoresasalearning opportunity to improve on the areas they need to for the next exam. English teacher Roland Bynum prepared his sophomores

by talking about the CAHSEE since the beginning of the year. Whenastudentdoesn’tpasstheCAHSEE, Bynum mentioned, he encourages that student to know that they can pass. He believes givingthestudentconfidenceand helpful strategies will help eliminate fear. “Preparing students for the CAHSEE is an ongoing process. When we have our text-booksandwe’rereadingauniton theme, narration or character, I talk about the literary response and analysis and the types of questions that students will get when the CAHSEE comes

around,” Bynum said. Senior Jacqueline Lopez passed the English portion of the CAHSEE on one of the last opportunities given to seniors. Counselor Nancy Gonzalez gave Lopez a CAHSEE Prep class to prepare for the exam. With the assistance from Film teacher Louis Bond and English teacher Jose Ortega, Lopez said that she got the help she needed to study ahead of time. “WhenIcouldn’tpass,I felt stressed out. I felt like I wasn’tgoingtoeverpassit.Nowthat I passed it, I feel amazing. It feels like I just got so much weight lifted off me,” Lopez said. Lopez’sadvicetootherstudentsthathaven’tpassedtheCAHSEE is to not give up and findasmuchhelpaspossible.She believes the more help you get,themoreconfidentyouwillfeel about passing. Sophomore Angeles Hernandez felt proud of herself when she found out she passed both subjects in the CAHSEE. Hernandez mentioned that as soon as she saw her results she sent her big brother a message. She gave him the good news that she passed the Math sec-tion with a 383 and the English section with a 352. Her advice to studentsthathaven’tpassedistonot lose hope and do their best. “Honestly a lot of peopledidn’tbelieveIwouldbeabletopassit.Withtheconfi-dence, wanting to prove them wrong, and studying hard helped mepassitmyfirsttry,”Hernan-dez said.

CAHSEE English scores highest in 6 years

(prom story continued from front page) “I wish the music would’ve been better,” said Marti-nez. Hernandez said, “We had to make sure to contact every place/person we needed to make prom happen and stuff like that.” Despite the many hours and hard work put into planning prom, not everyone was able to go. In order to be eligible to attend, seniors must have had a 2.0 GPA or better, less than/or three unexcused absences or full day absences, no more than 10 tardies, no suspensions or more than two minor disciplin-ary infractions, have all Satur-day school or detention hours cleared, and have a paid a portion of library fees. Andres De La Torre was ineligible due to his grades, but saidhedidn’tmind.“It’spoint-less, it was just another dance.” Even though many see prom as a huge event that people proclaim you will always remember, some people would rather not go. Senior Cameron Wrightsayshedidn’tgobecauseit was too much money. “It was too much money for me, [I] was saving for grad night.” Before prom, senior Karina Garcia saw prom as something to look forward for. “AtfirstIwasn’tgoingtogoto

prom,sonowthatI’vedecidedtoIhopeIwon’tregretit.” Accordingtotwofly-ers received after the purchase of a prom ticket, not only must seniorsfulfillalleligibilityre-quirements, they must follow the guidelines for dress. If your dress has excessive cut out sections on the back or is excessively reveal-ing you were not allowed into the venue. Acceptable attire included formal attire, such as a tux, for the men and dressy blouses, skirts, dresses, or gowns for women. Upon arrival, students were also be searched. Theseflyersalsostatethat there are behavioral stan-dards to follow. Your dancing and dancing positions had to be respectable and your behavior had to be appropriate. Failure to follow these rules would have resulted in removal from the prom, possible suspension, and non-participa-tion in the graduation ceremony. Despite these prerequi-sites, after prom Hernandez said theywereworthfulfilling. To add to this list of requirements, seniors must have attended school on Friday, April 17th in order to continue being eligible for prom. Prom also featured a free caricatures and a photo booth. Attendees were given gift bags with candy a ticket for a

caricature. In light of concern over behavior and expectations over prom weekend, seniors had a mandatory assembly during ad-visory in the auditorium on April 16. Jessica Corral, from PeaceoverViolence,anon-profitvolunteer organization, gave a presentation to the seniors on sex, consent, and rape. Representatives from the Pasadena Police Department also gave a presentation on drunk driving and safe transportation. Senior Jasmin Pena, thought the presentation was okay. “The girls took the as-sembly more seriously than the guys,” Pena said. “The guys were making jokes and laughing.” Pena thought the presentation was something good because she hadn’treallythoughtaboutthetopics discussed. In case there were se-niorswhohaddifficultyarrivingto prom, a John Muir spon-sored bus was available to take students from Muir to prom and back for free. If a student took this bus to prom they were required to take it back as well. In order to get on the bus all you needed to do was sign up in A185.

Graphic courtesy of Mariana GarciaA chart showing the percent of Muir students passing in both Mathematics and English Language Arts from 2010 through 2015.

(RYLA story continued from front page) Activities included trust fall, RLYArians on the line - an activity where they had to get in a line by birthday without talking, and culture walks, where they discussed things about themselves. Over the weekend, each city was also assigned a project where they had to present an is-sue and a solution for that issue. Each continent then chose a city to represent it. The representa-tive cities all presented their projects on Sunday during the last meeting. The city Adelaide from Australia won. Prakash Dass said, “I didn’treallyhaveagoodtime.The members in my group seemed closed-off and unwilling tosocialize.Ididn’tliketheirpersonalities very much, so I didn’thaveasmuchfun.” Saturday night there was a dance party for all the students, complete with a DJ and strobe lights. Campers could sing along, dance, and generally have a good time. At the same time, there was also an open mic night on Saturday. There were two musi-cians with guitars and students could requests songs or go up and perform themselves. Victoria Pulcifer said, “Myfavoritepartwasdefinitely

getting to know everyone else. I was lucky to befriend every-one in my cabin and city. I was surprised at how quickly we all grew attached and how many things we had to talk about.” Overall most of the stu-dents had a positive experience. They took with them memories of fun, and life lessons about leadership and how to interact well with others.

Photo courtesy of Diego ObregonA photo of the RYLA campsite.

muir.pusd.us Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | Page 5The Blazer News

News

by DIEGO OBREGON Four physics students wonfirst-placeinarollercoasterbuilding competition at Physics DayatKnott’sBerryFarm.Be-causetheywonfirst-place,eachof the four students received four complimentaryticketstoKnott’s. Although there were other competitions available for students to enter, including a rub-ber band powered vehicles con-test and a paper airplane contest, the roller coaster competition was the only competition that Muir students won. The roller coasters were judged based on travel time, height, and the number of loops. The roller coaster had to be within the size constraint of 80cm x 85cm x 20cm. Aerospace Engineering teacher Eugene Mahmoud and Physics teachers Daniel Harris and Beverly Rodriguez chaper-oned the trip. The Engineering and Environmental Science academy sponsored the trip. However, the trip was not limited to EESA students, so 35 spots were avail-able to any student in a Physics or Aerospace Engineering class earning an A or a B grade. The team of students who worked on the roller coaster consisted of juniors Vanessa Placidon, Adrian Valencia,

Anthony Izaguirre, and senior Kimberly Mejia. Although the team was only allowed to be comprised of four members, juniors Yasmine Rodriguez and Michelle Rios-Alquizar worked on the roller coaster, but did not receive any tickets. However, the students who received the tickets split them with Alquizar and Ro-driquez. Placidon said, “It felt good to win. We had all put a

lot of effort into building the roller coaster and we got a good feeling knowing that our efforts paid off in the end. Muir is often not recognized for the effort and work that the students put in [...] Doing things like the competition is a good way to get our name out there and do something that will get Muir recognition.” Students attending the trip were required to enter a con-test, but they were permitted to pick which contest they wanted

to enter. Junior Katie Ayala participated in the paper airplane contest.Ayala’spaperairplanelanded closest to the target, but the judges claimed she stepped overthelineanddisqualifiedher. However, her peers and a video recorded by junior Samuel Cortez claim that she did not step over the line, and deserved the firstplaceprize. Ayalasaid,“Ididn’tstep over the line, I probably

stepped on the line, but maybe they saw something differently. I was kind of bummed because I could have won.” Ayala was given tickets by the roller coaster team as recognition for her achievement. “She was able to put together and practice her understanding of physics and aerospace, so it was still a suc-cessbecauseit’snotreallyaboutwhetheryou’rewinningorlos-ing, but how you play the game,” said Harris. Each contest lasted about an hour. After the contest they chose to compete in was over, students were allowed to goreturntoenjoyingthepark’srides. Mahmoud said, “The purpose behind taking students to Physics Day was to build an awareness around the real world applications of the physical sci-ences. The intention was also to encourage students to participate in competitive, fun, social activi-tiesthatengagestudents’designsensibility.” Harris said, “I think the structure of the competition really pushes students to apply their understanding, so I think we’regoingtotrytocontinueto make this an [annual] event where students compete and showoffwhatthey’velearned.”

Physics students build prize-winning roller coaster

Photo courtesy of Rudy AmayaThe winning physics team holding their winning roller coaster at Knotts Berry Farm.

by JUAN GUILLEN Cynthia Lake, Studio Art and Ceramics teacher, is in the process of completing a pond on campus that will house many differentspeciesoffish. The pond is being built right outside her classroom in the G building. According to Lake, the purpose of the pond is to help to teach important skills. “Teaching young people how to construct from trash and nothing, making an environment that’smoreinterestingtopartici-pate in and having a home for mydearpoorturtlesandfishthatare over-populating my pond,” said Lake. Lake has been assigning her studio art and ceramics stu-dents to take on tile work which is made out of clay, the tile must contains their names and class year on it. She has also collected some of the tiles made by alumni

from the past seven years, and with those tiles she plans to decoratethepond’sbaseaswellas the surrounding areas. “Learning how to do tile work has been a real learning curve,” said Lake. Angel Diaz, a senior from her Studio Art class said, “Making the tile was pretty easy, and most of the time I was work-ing with a friend which made it more interesting. Other students also worked in groups. That may be the the reason many tiles were done well.” “There are going to be at least a dozen turtles and prob-ablythatnumberoffish.”saidLake. Many students and volun-teers have assisted Lake with the pond. About 35 students from all her classes mixed the concrete. All 35 students were given the title of Pond Heroes by Lake.

Every student that worked on the pond saw the value in the project. “I think that having a pond that is home made is a great thing to be a part of, especially considering the fact that when the project is complete I can look back and be proud of what I helped bring to Muir,” said Castro, an EESA senior. This project began in mid February, and by the end of March it had all the concrete and tiles. “I plan to have the pond donebytheendofAprilfilledwith water and sustaining life,” said Lake. So what once started as literally a “garbage pit” has now became a soon to be life sustaining pond thanks to the teacher who had an idea and the students that are making it a real-ity.

Students help Lake build pond

Photo courtesy of Juan GuillenSenior Angelica Cortez working on the pond outside of Cynthia Lakes’ classroom.

by DIEGO OBREGON For their 10th Anniver-sary, the John Muir High School Alumni Association (JMHSAA) held a celebration at Noor in Pasadena. Invitations were sent out to JMHS alumni, JMHSAA members, various community members and partner, and the Pasadena High School Alumni Association. Jill Hawkins, JMHSAA Vice-President and Muir alum, said, “It was a great turnout, I al-ways think we could have more, but it was really fun because we had a lot of our founding members here. Almost our entire board was here and a lot of new friends and faces that will hope-fully become members and get involved.” The event had been in planningforaboutfivemonths,beingthefirstmajoreventtheAlumni Association has hosted. The event kicked off withaperformancefromMuir’sJazz band. Following that, the founding members of the JMH-SAA were honored. The JMHSAA was start-ed in 2004 by alumni Charles Bradford, Carrie Hill-Bradford, Neal Brockmeyer, Samuel Es-trada, H. Gary Jeffries, Douglas Kosobayashi, Eddie Moses, and Ko Nishimura. Since then, it has grown to about a thousand members

and has contributed and plans to contribute to various projects at Muir. A few accomplishments of the JMHSAA are funding student testing fees, providing funding for Cheer Squad uni-forms, and awarding scholarships to seniors. Future plans of the JMHSAA include raising funds to purchase a new scoreboard, developa‘FutureAlumniClub’on campus, and continuing to host Homecoming activities. Jim Henderson, JM-HSAA President, said, “Un-fortunately,there’ssortofadisconnect between the Alumni Association and students and we’retryingtobridgethatgapevery day. One of the ideas that I had that I want to present to the ASB is to start a student alumni association on campus so that theyknowwhatwe’reaboutandwhat’swaitingforthemwhenthey graduate.” Hawkins said, “Students needtobeactive,anditdoesn’tmatter really what it is but they should be doing extracurricular activities of some sort...whatever their passion is, they should do extracurricular activities to be involved.It’shardwhenyou’rein school, but it takes probably through college and a couple years after to realize what a spe-cial place Muir was and why you want to come back.”

JMHS Alumni Association Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary

Page 6 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muis.pusd.usThe Blazer News

News(Testing Season story continued from front page) It is recommended to take a watch, pencils, and a calculator. Students in Advanced Placement classes will take the AP exams associated with the class. The dates for the AP exams vary according to the subject, but the exams begin May 4 and continue through May 15. Junior Vanessa Placidon said,“It’sstressfulandannoyingtostudy for 3 [AP] exams, 3 days in a row.” During the week of AP exams, the CAHSEE will also be administered to juniors and seniorswhohaven’tpasseditandto sophomores who were absent when it was given in February. will also be the retakes for the CAH-SEE on May 12 and 13. After the rush of inten-

sive exams for two weeks, students will have a couple weeks to relax or study, for the next set of tests: finals. Final exams will take placeduringthefinalweekofschool, beginning on June 2 and ending on June 4. Final exams are really important because for most classes they have a big impact on thefinalgrade. FollowingfinalsisthefinalSATbeingadministeredforthis school year on Saturday, June 6. Junior Paola Nieto said, “[Taking the SAT around the same timeasfinalsis]betterthantakingit during AP exams.” The ACT concludes the testing season for this school year on June 13, a week after school ends.

Graphic courtesy of Kylee SharpA calendar of all tests for the next three months. There will be the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, Advanced Placement exams, California High School Exit Exams, along with the ACT and SAT.

Mejia undecided what college to attend

by JENNIFER SALVADOR Seniors were given back their Social Science Research papers on April 1-2 after being graded by staff; teachers, admin-istrators, and counselors. In order to pass the paper, students needed to have a score of a three or four. Each paper was graded by two staff members,andthefinalscoreisthe average of the two individual scores. According to Philip Hoge, history teacher in the Business (BE) academy, every senior submitted a project. How-ever, there are a few students whodidn’tgetapassinggrade

and have to rewrite and resub-mit their paper to their history teacher by today at 5:00 pm. Manuel Rustin, a histo-ry teacher in the Arts, Entertain-ment, & Media (AEM) academy said, “No one failed […] Failed is a harsh term. 80% of them had to make revisions and resubmit it.” Hogesaid,“It’sthestudent’sabilitytowritethepaper. Our belief in John Muir is this, we should have a culture of revision. We want all of our students to review the work that they have.” One student that got a perfect score of 4 was Oscar Benn in the AEM academy. The

topic that he chose was about “The Rising Cost of Postsecond-ary Education”. “Ididn’tknowwhattoexpect, but I thought the project would have received a lower grade for daring to scrutinize the education system,” said Benn. Astudentwhodidn’tget a passing grade and had to rewrite their paper was Charles Townsend, senior in the Business academy. His topic was about Reforming Education. Townsend said, “Since Ididn’tpasstherequirements,Ihave to improve my essay. I was madatfirst,butIcametorealizethat this is to help me improve my writing.”

After the 80% of the students that needed to rewrite and resubmit their paper, all of the seniors will have to start pre-paring for an oral presentation, which will take place during the lastweekofAprilandfirstweekof May. Hoge said, “About 5 or 7 minutes of oral presentation in front of a panel of community members, teachers, administra-tors,students,andwe’realsoin-viting their parents to come and see their presentation as well.” “Before the oral presen-tation, I will go over my essay and articles to help me defend my work,” said Townsend. Benn will prepare for

the oral presentation by making his project easily accessible in order to receive a lot of feedback on his work. Benn said, “I just hope that the panel reviewers will be able to have the same impactful experiences as my readers.” Sincethisisthefirsttime Muir has done something like this, there might be some changes next year as to how things were evaluated. Rustin said, “What we’regonnadoisgettogetherbetween now and next year and access the results and think of ways we can continue to improve on our work to get all Muir stu-dents to be ready for college.”

Seniors submit final revisions, prep for oral presentation

(Freshman Leadership Conference story continued from front page) “[The training] prepared us on what to talk about and how to communicate and start con-versations with all the freshmen […]Ididn’tknowwhatitwas,but when I found out I actually wanted to do it,” said David Mar-tinez, a sophomore facilitator. “I liked how they had the facilitators as students [because] they could relate to how we feel,” said Lino Dominguez, a freshman. Cunningham gave a ses-sion on personal growth, leader-ship, and success. Following Cunning-ham’ssessionandthegroupdis-cussions, Wallace, gave a session along with Thompson. Wallace and Thompson led a session in how students view police, why students have a nega-tive view of the police, and what can change. Students then participat-ed in a role-playing activity where they acted out different situations in which they might encounter a policeofficer. “There are different things that happen in all of their lives that seek to derail us from their success. And so many of the young people have an opportu-nity and so much potential that they can go ahead and go beyond where they are right now,” said Wallace. “I’mreallygladthatthisevent is taking place here because it’sgivingyoungpeopleanop-portunity to actually come out and beabletohavetwoofficersthatthey identify with,” said Thomp-son. “Hopefully, I can bring other

officersinsothattheycanalsoidentify with [them] as well.” Bolton led a session onteachers’attitudestowardsstudents and how students can help turn negative attitudes into positive attitudes. Bolton led students in a role-playing activity where the upperclassmen portrayed teachers, and the freshmen portrayed them-selves. The activity was meant to showstudentsateacher’spointofview. Gwacham gave a session on having the mindset to reach your goals and the importance of perseverance. Gwacham said, “Hope-fully,I’vebeenabletoreachafewstudents and impact them with my story and tell them you can be able to achieve whatever you put yourmindto,you’vejustgottowork at it.” The conference received positive feedback from the fresh-men. “I liked how they brought people from the real world who told their stories and their perspective on life and how we can turn our lives around and bejustlikethem…I’mwalkingout with some valuable informa-tionandI’mluckytohaveit,”said Julio Zelaya, a freshman. Sydney Cattouse, a freshman, enjoyed the conference andfeltthatitwasbeneficial. “I think [the conference] just let me and other freshen know that we are soon reaching the age where we need to be more aware of our actions and start planning for our future,” Cattouse said.

by DIEGO OBREGON Six Muir juniors who are part of Cal State Los Angeles Upward Bound got the opportu-nity to visit colleges on the East Coast over spring break. The students were Myla Dickerson, Melissa Herrera, Beverly John-son, Jennifer Salvador, Rebecca Gutierrez, and Alejandro Gonza-lez. The trip included visits to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York. The Upward Bound juniors who attended the trip consisted of students from Muir, Marshall High Fundamental School, Pasadena High School, and Blair International Baccalau-

reate School. Students had chances to tour the cities they visited and various colleges, including fiveoftheIvyLeaguesandtwoprivate research institutions. The trip was free to students and funded by the federal govern-ment through Upward Bound. Students were chosen to go basedonfirstsemestergradesand Saturday Academy atten-dance. Johnson said, “I really enjoyed this trip, it was a once in a lifetime experience. This trip really opened my eyes to the many opportunities there are in my college selection.” Along with touring the colleges, the students visited Times Square, Central Park,

the Empire State Building, 9/11 Memorial Museum, Statue of Liberty, and watched a Broadway performance of Wicked. In each of the hotels where they stayed, boys and girls were separated into differ-ent rooms. However, they were allowed to choose their own roommates. Gonzalez said, “The tripwasbeneficialtomebecauseI had a chance to see all the top universities and feel how the en-vironment was to see if I would like it or not.” Johnson said, “I enjoyed every single minute of that trip, absolutely everything. I am really thankful that I got this op-portunity.”

Six Muir juniors tour East Coast

(Gates Millennium story continued from front page) Mejia said, “I would per-sonally love to thank Dr. Gonza-lez and Mr. Mahmoud for writing my recommendation letters about my academics, extracurricular activities and my personal life. They helped me achieve this great honor of being a Gates Millen-nium Scholar.” Gonzalez said, “The stu-dentwhofillsouttheapplicationhas to be a real go-getter because the student has to complete seven essays, the nominator has to com-plete four, and the recommender hastocompletefive.” Mejia said, “Now that

financialaidisnolongerafactor,itdefinitelymakesmydecisiononpickingacollegemoredifficult.Ican’tjustpickaschoolbecauseit’smoreaffordablethananotherschool, which is what I was doing before I received the scholarship. Now, I have to think about the resources and environment at the different colleges and where I see myself going the most. It is a good problem to have - all of my college options are now afford-able.” Along with the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Mejia has been awarded numerous others such as the Edison Interna-tional Scholarship, the Elks Na-

tional Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarship, along with scholarships from schools she was accepted to. Mejia attributes her suc-cess to programs such as Cal State Los Angeles Upward Bound, the Puente Program, College Access Plan, her academy, and the Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovations course she attended last summer. Gonzalez said, “Aside from the correct grades and classes, [Mejia] also has some phenomenal experiences. She has worked with scientists from Caltech and completed programs at prestigious schools.”

muir.pusd.us Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | Page 7The Blazer News

Features & Entertainment

Modern Slang and Trends: Teachers, can you keep up?by REBECCA GUITERREZ Recently, The Summer Set band member Brian Dales, 25, sent out a tweet that said “What is Fleek?” Several people responded with an LOL or an actualresponsedefiningthewordfor him. After several responses he followed up with a tweet saying, “I got excited I thought Fleek was a new app or some-thing.” For those of you who don’tknowwhatfleekis,itismodern slang teenagers use in the place of great. For ex-ample, if you recently got your

eyebrows done and they are all straight and nice, you use the terms“onpoint”or“fleek”. Since Dales is 25 years old, he is not much older than us.Yethestilldidn’tknowwhatfleekmeant.SoItookittomyown hands and decided to ask someteacherstodefinesomeofthe meanings we know as slang words. The outcome was pretty funny. Before I introduce the teachers and their responses these are the list of words that I used: BAE, Salty, Fleek/On point, Ba-sic, to have cake, grenade, Turnt

up,YOLO,Catfish,# (the hashtag), PAW, and Wet. History teacher Manuel Rustin answered 11 out of 12 right. He got Basic wrong, saying that it was mediocre/awesome, whentheactualdefinitionoftheword is unoriginal/follower. English teacher Mag-gie Gillham answered 5 out of 12 of the words right. One of the definitionsshemissedwasforgrenade. She said it meant to fart, when the actual term, which was used mostly on the show Jersey Shore, refers to an unattractive girl. History teacher Joseph

Auch got 5 out of 12 correct, an-swering the same ones wrong as Gillham.Whenhedidn’tknowthe answer he simply skipped. Only 4 out of 10 teach-ers got a score above 5. When I asked the teachers who I should quiz next they all recommended Rustin. Lastly I asked them about the slang they used when they were our age. The responses Ireceivedweren’tasinterestingas I thought it they would be. One word was Mud-duck, which for us would be a grenade, an unattractive girl. An-other word, Notch (short for top

notch), means a very attractive girl. There were multiple words they used that were all different but shared the same meaning such as: Rad, gnarly, sick, and Hold it!, which all mean one word, Awesome. As the years go by there will be changes in our language, whetheritsbadorgood,it’sallbased on how often we use the word, and how popular it gets. Maybe if it gets popular enough it could be added to the diction-ary just like adorbs, binge-watch, cray, humblebrag, SMH, and YOLO.

by JOSHUA ALCARAZ Action Bronson is a rapper from Queens New York. His songs consist of the typical things like drugs, women and money but with his own twist andreferencesfrom80’sand90’sculture.Heisalsothehostof a popular show on Munch-ies, a Vice Media off shoot, called“F*#kThat’sDelicious”in which he goes to restaurants and meets with the chefs from all around the world where he is touring. He is also a trained chef but went to rapping when he broke his leg while in the kitchen when he slipped and fell. The concert took place at the Belasco Theater in Down-town LA which is closer than the typical concert venue I go to which is in Orange County. I ac-tually got there early because we knew it would be really packed. I would say the whole atmosphere was different than the other venue I have gone to it was more laid back but smoking was not permitted in the venue. When we

got there we rushed to the front of the stage and was only 1 row away from the stage. Mayhem Lauren ,a friend of Action Bronson, opened upfortheshow.I’veheardhimfeaturedinsomeofBronson’ssongs but never really listened to his songs. He was pretty good better than most of the people who open up for rappers that I’veseenlive.Hegotthecrowdhyped for the the main perfor-mance. There was also a DJ that was on before Bronson and he played80’sand90’smusic.Itwas pretty good but the crowd was anxious for the main perfor-mance. After 3 hours of wait-ingandstandingfinallyActionBronson came on. He recently released his debut album titled “Sincerely Mr. Wonderful” and he was on tour for it. He opened upwiththefirstsongonthealbum named “Brand New Car”. He also played “The Symbol” “Actin Crazy” and one of his most popular songs “Easy Rider”

in which he sampled a very psychedelic guitar riff that makes the song unique because it is somethingmostrappersdon’trapover. Through out the show he poured water bottles on him-self and was so hyped he jump around the stage. In typical Action Bron-sonmatteryoudon’tknowwhathe was going to do because he is so unpredictable. In some past concerts he left the venue and bought fried chicken from the shop that was across the street. In this concert he gave away a BBQ smoke pit that he had covered with a black sheet on stage. To be even more random the actor Denzel Washington was back-stage watching the show. To end the night he screamed “I LOVE YOU LA!” and threw the mic to the crowd. While walking off he saw a person trying to climb on stage so he kicked him right in the chest and the guy fell towards the crowd.Itwasnotthefirsttimehedid that to a fan, on a past show

he body slammed a fan that went on stage and threw him back to the crowd. All in all it was a great concert. So much so that by the time I had left my voice was gone. Action Bronson is my

favorite rapper right now and going to his show was a great experience to go to your favorite artist concert.

Photo courtesy of Joshua AlcarazRapper Action Bronson performing his well known song “Ac-tin Crazy” at the Belasco Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.

“Actin” Crazy with Action Bronson: A concert review

by DOMONIQUE BALLEW Have you ever wanted to write a book, but then decided that the idea was a bit too far fetched, and no one would really care what a highschooler had to say? Welldon’tgiveupjustyet because one of our very own Mustangs, senior Oscar Benn, wrote and published a book earlier this year. True American Graffiti:ASeriesofDates,Rhymes, and Poems is a book written by Oscar Benn in an attempt to get his thoughts out of his head and onto paper. The book con-sists of poems and quotes describing what his life was like at those moments. It dives into hishomelifeandtheconflictsheexperienced during a breakup at the time. Benn said, “I always promised myself that if I had a chance to write a book, I would. This was my chance and I took

it.” He explained that writing thebookwasn’treallyaboutgetting money, it was more about leaving his mark on the world. He wants to be remembered for something. “WhenIdieandthere’snothing left of me, my children, and their children, and their chil-

dren will be able to read this and know who I was.” After some hard work, Benn had the book adapted from an ebook to a physical book. He added more poems and other things in order to make the book longer. “It was lot of work get-ting everything done,” he said,

“I had a lot of sleepless nights, especially doing all of this on top ofschoolwork.ButIknowit’sworth it.” Yasmine Rodriguez, a junior in the EESA academy said, “I read some of his poems, they were really good and I learned some things about him

thatIdidn’tknowbefore.Itreally inspires me to think that maybe one day I can get something of my own published.” The online copy of the book is currently 99 cents, and the physical copy is 5 dollars. Benn has sold 10 online and 5 hard copies so far and plans to hopes to

continue getting the word out. He will be reading from his book tonightatStang’sHouseLiveinthe library. Anyone with a will to get something done can ac-complish anything. Oscar Benn proved this with his journey to be remembered.

Photo courtesy of Oscar BennThe cover of his online and hard copy book True American Graffiti.

Senior becomes a published author

“ It’s more than leav-ing a mark on the world, I want to be remem-bered. Oscar Benn,

Student and author of True American Graffiti

Page 8 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muir.pusd.usThe Blazer News

Entertainment

SPOILER ALERTSby REBECCA GUITERREZ $392 million at the box officeopeningweekend,and$800 million worldwide in two weeks.Itwasn’tsurprisingtoseethe theater packed on opening day, but it was great to see the cast which consisted of Brian O’Connor(PaulWalker/CodyWalker), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludac-ris). The opening scene of the movie starts with Ian Shaw talking to someone in a hospital bed. Now, to recall who was in the bed in the previous movie (Fast & Furious 6), was the antagonist Owen Shaw, making, Ian Shaw his brother. After that scene the movie continues catching up with the rest of the cast and we got to see the adorable son of Mia and Brian, Jack. But the real action started when Shaw contacted Toretto by placing a random package in front of the Toretto household, which then exploded, destroying the house endangering Dom, Mia, Brian and Jack. Like most of the Fast

and the Furious movies, there is always that one part of the movie that looks completely fake. Like in thefirstmovie,when they were driving, if you looked outside the car you would see the lights on the streetsflashingin a blur, then in Fast and Furi-ous 6 when he jumped from his car to save Letty. However in this installmentitwasverydifficulttofigureoutwhichscenelookedfake thanks to the great editing. Withcarsflyingoutofa plane, them speeding down cliffs,andwithO’Connorhavingthose moments where he could have died, the audience was in need of some comedic relief to bring their anxiety level down. And that is where Roman and Tej come in. With Roman always second guessing and blabbing his mouth every chance he got, and Tej always giving him those chances they made the perfect comedic relief duo in the movie. This crew, or how

Toretto calls it “family”, was implied way too much in the movie. Every few seconds, they would put that in. This made the movie cheesy and repetitive, because we already know that Dom thinks his friends or people he is surrounded by are part of his family. It makes some sense they used the theme family since this movie was for Paul and they thought of him as family. The last action scene of the movie was one of the most emotional action scenes in the history of Fast and the Furious movies.WithDom’sneardeathexperience and Letty getting all of her memory back, and with a surprise that I will let you

(the audience) go watch if you haven’tyetseenthefilm. Thefinalscenesofthemovie left me in tears. On the beach was the whole crew sitting around watching Brian, Mia, and Jack playing on the beach. When Dom is in his car about to leave, the song See You Again by Wiz Khalifa starts playing in the background, and we see Paul Walker pull up in his car. The song was perfect for the scene since it was a tribute to Paul.

When they had their last ride, they head toward the intersec-tion and go their separate ways, andthatiswherethefilmends.Before the credits there is a trib-

ute to Paul, where they gathered clips from the past movies Paul was in and dedicated the movie to him. In2001,thefirstinstall-mentofthefilmwasreleased,anditwasalsothefirsttimeI’veseen the movie. If my calcula-tions are correct I was only 3-4 years old and fell in love with thecharacterBrianO’Connor.14 years later, Furious 7 was re-leased and Paul Walker deceased. Imagine all those people who grew up watching the movie,likeme.Seeingthatfinalscene was like an empty space in the heart. Paul was one of the main characters in the movie and knowing he is gone forever you would expect that this would be thefinalfilm. On a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Vin Diesel, an actor of the Fast and the Furi-ous movies said that this movie leads to another movie based in NewYork.Dieselconfirmedthatthey will make an eighth movie saying that “Furious 7 was for Paul and Fast and Furious 8 will be from Paul.” I am looking for-wardtowatchingtheeighthfilmbut I just have one question, will BrianO’Connorbeinit?

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca GuiterrezPoster of the movie Furious 7 at The Regal Theatres in La Canada.

Furious 7, Paul Walker’s Final Ride: A Movie Review

Word Search Puzzle

Word Bank:ACTApril

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TestingTrack

by VIRGINIA DEJESUS If you like Ed Sheeran, then you would like Shawn Mendes. Mendes, 16, is an up-coming singer-songwriter from Canadawhojustreleasedhisfirstalbum called “Handwritten”.He started his fame by posting many cover videos on Youtube and Vine in 2013. He gained many views and fans in just a couple months which led him signing with Island Records, touring with Austin Mahone in the summer of 2014, and now touring with Taylor Swift. Handwritten is all about love and heartbreaks. It shows Mendes as the type of guy that is fascinated with the idea of love,butdoesn’twanttogethisheartbroken by the wrong girl. The album starts off with Mendes’hitsingle“LifeoftheParty”. Some of the songs talk about him being in love such as “Kid In Love” with the lyrics, “MaybeI’mjustakidinlove/Ifthisiswhatit’slikefallinginlove/thanIdon’teverwannagrow up”. Other songs talk about him being broken hearted such as, “The Weight” with the lyrics, “But when you try to take me back/my heavy heart just breaks/ NoIcan’tlifttheweight”.Afterlisteningtohisfirstalbum,as a major fan of Mendes, I lost my mind. I love each and every song he comes up with because there is so much meaning to the songs such as, “A Little Too Much” (one of my favorite

songs) in which he talks about those moments some may have where life gets “a little too much”, but we have to keep try-ing because everything will be okay. My least favorite song from the album is “Air” ( a duet featuring another artist signed to Island records named Astrid) because I dislike the beat a bit and how they sang the word “air” repeatedly. I also like that Mendes written the album himself and hissongsaren’taboutmoney,sex, and drugs like most songs arenow,it’sprettyhardtofinddecent song nowadays. I disliked that most ofthesongshewrotearen’tasupbeat except one called “Some-thing Big”. His songs mostly puts you in the mood to either fall in love or just really think aboutlifeorasignificantother,soundsalotlikeSheeran’ssongsdoesn’tit? Also, I think he should take a break from his guitar in at least one song and just focus on his voice more than the chords.Nowdon’tgetmewrong,hisvoice is amazing. I got to attend a show he performed at and he doesn’tneedauto-tuneatallbutthinkaboutit,he’samazingnowplaying his guitar, but imagine how great he will sound without thinking about which chords to play. There’smanypeoplethat dislike his music, but that does not change the fact of how muchShawn’sfans(includingmyself) enjoy his work.

Review: Handwritten by Shawn Mendes

muir.pusd.us Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | Page 9The Blazer News

Entertainment

An inside look at Coachella

by DESTINY ARRIAZA Coachella is an annual event that takes place at the Em-pire Polo Club in Indio, Califor-nia. It is a two-weekend event that started this past weekend, April 10th, and continued this weekend April 19th. Coachella is considered the biggest music festival that is held and contains a wide variety of performers that people travel from everywhere to see. I had the privilege of seeing the whole stage and set up and it was totally worth it. See-ing all the thousands of people there was mind-blowing and it showed just how much fun the festival would be. This event may seem easy to set up and plan, butitreallyisn’t.Myfa-ther, who has been going to work on Coachella for 4 years and stays up there for almost a month working on it, told me that not only are they working all day, but they work in the scorching, hot sun. He is in charge on run-ning the generators and making sure the power stays on.Around 2,000 workers are sent to Indio, California to set up and make this music festival come to life. Not only do they have to work on Coachella, but right after they have to begin setup on the country festival. Past Coachella perform-ers include artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Eminem,

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay Z, and many, many more. This years line-up will contain Drake, ACDC, The Weeknd, Alesso, David Guetta, and those are just 5 of the hundreds. The creators of this festivalnotonlyhavetofindartists that people would want to pay to see, but artists that are not on tour, which can be very hard at this time of the year.Hey!Wearen’ttheonlypeoplethat attend Coachella either. Many celebrities attend also, of course having private tents, but they still go for the same reasons that we do. They

go to have fun, party, and many even get special access to see the performers rehearse days before. Now this year, I got to see how big the stages were and all the hard work the constructors do. The bands were absolutely amazing and everyone was hav-ing a fun time. Not only did I got to see phenomenal performers, but I got to talk to people who came from different states just for this event. Drake! He literally

killed the show, rapping some of his classics and yelling out for the crowd to join him. In my opinion, his performance was the best one from the whole week-end. He stepped up to the plate and blew everyone away. My favorite perfor-mance, other than Drake, had to be The Weeknd. His voice was flawlessandeveryonewassilentas he captivated them with his vocals. He performed his songs off his album including “Earned it” and my absolute favorite “Often”. And I know most of yousawpicturesofthebutterfly

or the caterpillar and they were two pieces of this years art. The caterpillar was set up in the day and as soon as darkness began to fall they switched it out withthebutterfly.Thecolors that they used for the structures were so bright and made you feel so happy and full of life.

I highly recommend that you attend this event because it is worth it. This festival is an unfor-gettable experience that anyone would kill for so those that are planning to go in the near future, be careful. But also just have fun and enjoy everything that thousands of people have worked to make and for what you paid almost $400 dollars or more on.

by CYNTHIA SANDOVAL What used to be an old warehouse up the street from Muir is now called Lincoln, a restaurant with the adjacent building serving as a candy shop and a private dining room. Owned by business part-ners Christine Moore and Pam Perkins, Lincoln is open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Everyday, the restaurant offers fresh-baked pastries, sand-wiches, farro bowls, charcuterie boards, salads, and egg dishes for breakfast. I had the opportunity to experience Lincoln for myself. While there I had a ham and brie sandwich, a baily, and a chocolate chip cookie. Although the ham and brie sandwich was good, the bread was too thick. I understandthatit’scalledahamand brie sandwich for a reason, butthefactthatthat’sallitcon-tained did not make it worth $11. With the sandwich came a small sideofgreenswhichweren’tbad, but the dressing was way too acidic for my taste. The baily I had, which is something like a small pizza, was topped with tomatoes and cheese and was really good. The dough was really airy and chewy the cheese in between it made it delicious. It is something I would definitelyrecommendandwasdefinitelyworththreedollars.

The chocolate cookie I had was the right combination of crunchy and chewy. It was satisfying,butI’mnotsureitwasworth a $1.50. Despite the bright, open, nicely decorated building, I felt out of place. In my opinion, the Lincolnisn’tmeantforstudents,despitethefactthatit’sinverynear proximity of a high school. Maybeit’sbecausesomepeopledon’tevenknowit’stherethatstudentsdon’tgo,butthe fact that there were no other students, besides my friends and I, makes one feel out of place. It appears that Lincoln is meant for an older audience, looking to try something new. It also seemed that Lincoln attracts a certain crowd, leav-ing little room for diversity. This was an observa-tion, not a dislike or complaint. Idon’tmindatallactually,it’sjust that the people I saw there didn’tlooklikemyfriends,fam-ily, or the people I go to school with. Some may argue that this isgentrificationinthemaking,but if Lincoln helps develop the community and bring new things to it, I see that as a good thing. The prices at Lincoln, considering that the people who live in the neighbor-hood around it are low-income, are too high. I doubt most of the people that live or eat around this neighborhood would pay $11 for a sandwich.

The Lincoln: A restaurant review

Photo courtesy of Cynthia SandovalAn inside view of the Lincoln restaurant.

Photo courtesy of Anthony Persaud

A gathering of people at the Empire Polo Club for the Coachella music festival.

“ Drake! He literally killed the show, rapping some of his classics and yelling out for the croud to join him.”

Destiny Arriaza,Student

Page 10 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muir.pusd.usThe Blazer News

Sports

Baseball continues to struggle through the seasonby JOSHUA ALCARAZ Varsity baseball had an away game at Arcadia High School yesterday April 21st. The outcome of the game was a 13-1 loss. The team is 0-7 inthePacificleagueand0-15overall. This is the seventh game of the season and second meeting between the two teams.Thefirstmeetingwasthe opening day of league play in which the Mustangs lost of a score of 12-1. Recently, the Mus-tangs played Crescenta Valley High School in which it resulted in a 10-0 loss. “The season has a bumpy start,” said Coach Robert Galvan, “It was mostly due to some chemistry and grade issues.” A close game with Glendale High School ended in a with a loss of a score of 3-2. “We actually should have won that game if there

wasn’tamissedcueearlyinthe game,” said Pitcher Bryan Barrios,“butit’sateamef-

fort in the game of baseball.” Barrios also said they felt very confidentplayingthemagain.

“The team had some changes over the week and the chemistry is at its best this

point,” said Galvan, “ Home fieldadvantageshouldbebeneficial.” This Friday the Mustangs will play crosstown rivals Pasadena High at 3:30 at home. “Barrios wants the ball [on the mound],” said Galvan, “The team is pumped and there is nothing like HS week.” Barrios added “We are feeling great [for the game] we are going to play hard. We know if we played hard we could take the win.”

Photo courtesy of Joshua Alcaraz2nd basemen Isaiah Irby throws to 1st basemen Michael Hawkins to land a double play in a game against Arcadia High School.

Track continues to prepare for upcoming Championshipsby LOGAN PATTON Runner David Smith wonfirstplaceinthe300meter hurdles at the Hoover Meet located in located in Hoover High School. With the track team in the midst of their season, they are now preparing for the San Gabriel Championships. “I tried hurdles for the firsttimeandthatwentokay,ImeanIgotfirst,”saidSmithwho ran the 300 meter hurdles in 45 seconds. The team also partici-pated in the Arcadia Invita-tional for days one and two at Arcadia High School. On the firstday,shotputterJasmineHarris threw for 33 feet and

10 inches. Earlier in the sea-son at the Pasadena Games, located at Pasadena City Col-lege, Harris threw for a season record in both the discus and shot put throwing 104 feet and 11 inches and 37 feet and two inches respectively. “I was a little disap-pointedbecauseI’vethrownfarther and better at other meets, but it was a great expe-rience,” said Harris. The next day the boys

participated in the 4x100 relay running in 44.53 seconds. The four runners who competed were Taeon Mason, Edward Jones, Eddie Jones, and David Smith. “[The invitational] was alright. We would have run faster if one of the twins wasn’tsickwiththestomachflu,”saidSmith. Coach Micah Brodi would like to see more prog-ress on the team, not only for the next meet but for the next season. Brodi mentioned that they need to work harder and dedicate more time to condi-tioning. “There have been a lot of ups and downs in con-

sistency [and] it could be a lot better [but] I am excited about a lot of my underclassmen. They have a lot of potential andI’mexcitedaboutwhatthey’regoingtodo.It’snotwhere I would want to be or where they want to be butthere’salotofroomforgrowth,” said Brodi. The San Gabriel Championships will be taking place on Saturday, April 25 at San Dimas High School.

“ It’s not where I would want to be or where they want to be but there’s a lot of room for growth.”

Micah Brodi,Track and Field Coach

“ The season has a bumpy start. It was mostly due to some chemistry and grade issues.”

Robert Galvan,Baseball Coach

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muir.pusd.us Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | Page 11The Blazer News

Sports

by JAIR GONZALEZ Muir’ssoftballteamhas lost all pre-season and league games, leaving them with an overall record of 0-6. Their most recent season game was on April 16th against Cres-centa Valley. Varsity lost the game with a score of 19-0. Despite losing every game,varsityout-fielderJasminPena said, “The past few softball gameshavedefinitelydemonstrat-ed how much the softball team has improve over the past year.”Prior to the most recent game, varsity played against Burroughs High School on April 14th. Muir went home with a loss, scoring 15-0.On April 9th, Muir played against Burbank, resulting in a loss for Junior Varsity (JV) with a score of 15-0, and a loss for Varsity with a score of 17-0. Third base player Amber Davissaid,“Weweren’tbad.Wejust knew we could do better.” Varsity also played

against Glendale on April 4th, and lost the game with a score of 13-0.JVlostaswell,withafinalscore of 15-0. On April 2nd, varsity played against Hoover, losing with a score of 15-2. JV lost to Hoover the same day at a home game with a score of 17-3. Yeimy Hernandez, JV captain and pitcher said, “It was a really good game because we were all focused. We lost because of little errors, but even though we lost, we still had fun.” JV pitcher Roxana Gallegos stated that the team has improvedsincelastyear.“We’reimproving. The Hoover coach even mentioned that he sees im-provement in our team since last years game.” Muirhadtheirfirstseason game against Arcadia on March 31st. Varsity played at Muir, while JV played at Arca-diaHigh.Varsity’slosingscoreagainst Arcadia was 14-0.Mileydis Garcia, one of the JV

captainsplayingcenter(field),was upset that the team lost. “I felt like we were trying our best.

Wedefinitelyneedtocommuni-cateinthefield.It’sthenumberone thing.”

Varsity’snextgamewillbetodayagainst Arcadia High School at 3:30.

Softball, still searching for first win, loses to Arcadia

by LOGAN PATTON National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer Jim Brown came to John Muir High School in late March for the special event Heart of a Hall ofaFamerSeries.Thisfirst-time event occurred in Roland Bynum’sroomduringadvisory,6th period, and part of lunch. The Heart of a Hall of Famer Series was an event that allowed the NFL Hall of Fame to reach out to schools to promote the importance of developing a great character. The characteristics required to develop this great character, called the gold standards of character, were commitment, integrity, courage, respect, and excellence. “That [the development of the gold standards of char-

acter] is the Hall of Fame and I live by them,” said Brown. Throughout the course of the event Brown spoke about subjects that ranged from the importanceofanindividual’scharacter to why he decided to retire from the NFL. The event had a variety of people in attendance rang-ing from students, coaches, and football players to Pasadena UnifiedSchoolDistrict[PUSD]member Tyron Hampton. “I think the event went very well, I think the questions were great and the answers were superb,” said Hampton, “I was invited[andI’m]aJohnMuiralumni so anytime we get some-one as honorable as Jim Brown inthehouseI’llmostdefinitelycome,andI’malwaysatJohnMuir anyway.”

Senior Shaka Terry was the student from Muir who askedBrownabouttheinflu-ences in his life who helped develop him into the man he is today. “I thought it was a great experience. Mr. Brown was very responsive to the students and I felt that I learned a lot about how to develop good character traits” said Terry. Brown plans on par-ticipating in this event annually at schools across the nation. “Communication between the students, coaches, and principal was great,” said Brown,“[so]I’msureiwill[participate in a similar event] because Mr. Baker is the new president of the Hall of Fame andthisishisconceptandI’llwork with him however I can.”

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown speaks to Mustangs

Photo courtesy of Logan PattonHall of Famer Jim Brown sits in Roland Bynum’s room speakingto students from across the nation.

Photo courtesy of Joshua AlcarazA Mustang batter hits the ball for a single in a game against Hoover High School.

Baseball SudokuHow to play?

Fill the columns, rows, and boxes with the remaining baseball positions (1B, 2B, 3B, P, C, SS, LF, RF & CF). All 9 positions must be used in each box, row, and column. They cannot be

repeated. Use the given positions as clues to figure out the empty boxes. There is only one correct solution!

There is only one correct solution!

Level of Difficulty: Hard Puzzle by Cecilia Valle

Page 12 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015 muir.pusd.usThe Blazer News

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