Vol. 13 No. 8 Friday May 8, 2009 Port Coquitlam, B.C.

about someone based on the factthat they are an atheist is just asclose minded as what manyreligious people accuse non-believers of. An individual’s moral valuesshould be based from theirpersonal experiences and lessonsin life, not fabricated because acertain faith dictated a set of rulesto live by. Despite whethersomeone chooses to believe or notbelieve in something, assumptionsshould not automatically be madeabout them. Teenagers are startingto turn away from organizedreligion, but that doesn’t meanthey are turning their backs onmorals and ethics. This recentchange is good for our society;there are more differed opinionsamong teenagers which can teachthem to be more tolerant of others’views.

Today’s Teen Needs Religion

Strong Morals Without Religon

According to Project TeenCanada, from 1984 to 2008, thepercentage of teens in Canada whoidentify as Roman Catholic orProtestant has shrunk from 85%to a mere 45% while the percentageof teens who identify as atheistshas more than doubled, from 12%to 32%. Some people fear thatthese numbers mean teens arebecoming more superficial andless spiritual. But why can’tteenagers have strong morals andbe good people without believingin a higher being? Atheists may not attend churchor believe in an all-knowing power,but that certainly doesn’t translatein them being shallow or bad

The Plague of Voter Apathy

The Eddy has been the independent voice of the students of Riverside Secondarysince 1996 and is produced monthly by the Journalism class. Journalistic styles and standards conform to those of the Canadian Press. TheEddy welcomes letters to the editor. Letters, however transmitted, must be signedand free of libel. Additional articles, writing, and opinon pieces are accepted and will be published asspace allows. The Eddy reserves the right to edit all submitted material for brevity, and style.Advertisers can reach the Eddy at eddy@sd43.bc.ca or by contacting RiversideSecondary.

EditorsFront Page Editor...........................................................Tara MacklinOp/Ed Editor.................................................................Alexis BoleakNews Editors...............Alison Mullock, Maya Reddy-Thom, MaeganMatthewsEntertainment Editor...........................................................Tori DoveSports Editor..................................................................Kate RonaldFront Page Editorial Cartoon..........................................Tara MacklinEditorial Cartoon.......................................................Teresa OikawaAdvisor...........................................................................Mrs. ShongEditor-In-Chief...............................................................Tara Macklin

News StaffAlexis Boleak, Alison Mullock, Amanda McMeeken, Chad Sigsworth, Emily Nomland, Eric Willmott,Kate Ronald, Lorraine Lidher, Maegan Matthews, Marissa Vaillant, Maya Reddy-Thom, OliviaMcMullen, Richard Yu, Rudolf Szekernyes, Shozan Mondiwa, Tara Macklin, Teresa Ly, Teresa Oikawa,Tori Dove

Riverside Secondary2215 Reeve Street, Coquitlam, B.C.

Canada, V3C 6K8(604) 941-6053 local 221

fax (604) 941-2639

The editorials that appear in this space represent the opinion of the Eddy. They donot necessarily represent the personal views of the writer. The positions taken in theeditorials are arrived through discussion among members of the Eddy staff.

people. Just because someonedoesn’t believe in God or Allah,does not mean they don’t havebeliefs. An atheist can still see thegood things in the world andperform altruistic deeds. They canbe kind and generous becausethey know it’s the right thing todo, not because they have a fearof going to hell. This also posesthe question, is religion just anescape route? Should believers infaith be permitted to commit sinfulacts as long as they go to churchand express remorse inconfession? Perhaps the factatheism is on the rise among teensis a positive change. Teenagers arebecoming more reliable and willingto take responsibility for theiractions. Religion works for some, but notfor others. Nobody should bejudged for what they may or maynot believe in. Some believers infaith assume that atheists areshallow, close-minded, or self-absorbed. Making presumptions

Friday, May 8, 2009 - Vol. 13 No.8

It was recently reported inMacLean’s magazine that theProject Teen discovered Atheismis becoming more appealing andreligion is declining in today’steens. But today’s society(especially teens) needs religionmore than ever because it providesa sense of purpose needed intoday’s rampant consumerism –which is in large part responsiblefor our economic andenvironmental crisis. Teens needto know that happiness does notreside at the mall; it resides inhelping others who are goingthrough hard times, such aspoverty, homelessness orsubstance abuse. Religion has

Who is our premier? What party does he belong too? Those should besimple questions for anyone in this school but sadly, that is not thecase. What I have noticed throughout Middle School and my short timein High School is a disturbing trend of political ignorance amongst fellowpupils. When I was in grade 4, I could name our Prime Minister, hisopponents, our premier, his opponent, our MP, his opponents, and ourMLA and his opponent. In grade 4. Ask most grade 9s’ or 10s’ to name aquarter of that list now and you’ll get blank stares and remarks like“Wow, calm down dude – how am I supposed to know that? I’m not anerd!” Note to politicians: this is why we get only a 23% voter turnout inmunicipal elections and 57% in federal elections. The solution: As Tony Blair once said, “education, education,education.” I believe it is CRUCIAL to get an understanding, at a middleschool age, of how our political system works, and a bit about the differenttypes of ideologies. It should be the school’s responsibility to educateabout how the system works. Then, and only then, once the kid knowsthose foundations, it is the parent’s responsibility to introduce theirchild to different political views and ideas - or inject the kid with smalldoses of their ideology. It’s better to have parents do that last part thanteachers, then the education system cannot be accused of bias (not thatthere is a prevailing ideology among teachers in this province…) Some believe there is a simple solution to voter apathy that generatesrevenue to boot: Compulsory Voting. As per usual with shortcuts, thiseasy way out is wrong and dangerous. The idea is that if we forcepeople to vote, people will take the time to educate themselves aboutthe choices they have. Yeah right. Let’s face the facts here - if one is toolazy to take 10 minutes out of their day once every four years to place acheck mark next to a name, they aren’t going to educate themselvessimply because they’re told to. They’ll just pick at random, going bywhoever they believe to have the ‘coolest name’ or whoever is at the topof the ballot. Also, if one consciously doesn’t want to vote, they’llsimply just spoil their ballot with by marking multiple names or scribbling- and no one will go after them. Contrast this with the education solution,where at least everyone would know how the system works. That wayyou get more turn-out without the random votes. Now I can natter on and on about the need for more education andparenting, but honestly, if you’ve had the patience to read this far, thenyou can probably do some basic research yourself. Google. Wikipedia.There is more on the internet than Facebook! You can even ask yourparents! In just a few years, you’ll have the power to shape our country’sfuture. Don’t just sit there, do something with it! Become informed!

Guest Editorialist - Sebastian Zein

always encouraged philanthropy,helping people that are in need ofa sense of hope andencouragement that somebodyout there cares for them. Somepeople may resist the rules ofreligion, such as the TenCommandments, which westerncivil law is based on, but if youanalyze them, they help keepsociety in order, healthy and safe.Some examples are: abstinence, alimit of sexual partners and toparticipate less in high riskactivities such as drugs, smokingand excessive alcoholconsumption. Sounds like a HighSchool’s health curriculum, right?Studies have shown that peoplethat attend church regularly havefour times less of a risk ofcommitting suicide, fewercomplications in health issues,lower blood pressure and live alonger life. Church attendees alsohave less of a risk of getting adivorce, resulting in a betterhousehold for their children.

Teens that have a two parent homeare also less likely to use drugs.Religion also helps youth that area little shy or insecure aboutthemselves by encouraging themto come out, have fun and makeconnections with other peopleduring religious activities. Religionis a matter of faith, and if you don’thave faith, what do you have?Once you have faith, you findreasons and evidence for iteverywhere, even if it doesn’tseem logical to others. Mostimportantly, being part of a religiongives you hope. Hope about yourdeceased loved ones, your past,your present, your future andespecially your afterlife. Religionasks for little, but gives a lot. Andwith the complex and sometimescorrupt society that we live in inthis day and age, religion can bringease to our troubled minds andhelp us through the darkest hours.

Riverside celebrates Earth Day 2009

Seven affordable ways for teens to go green

Maya Reddy-Thom-staff reporter

1. Blackle.com

2. Recycle 3. Stop Wasting Water

4. Walk

5. 100 Mile Diet Encourage your parents to buylocally grown foods that are inseason. The energy output totransfer a tomato in winter exceedsits benefits and is wasteful to ourlimited resources. Eating productsgrown and produced within a 100mile radius benefits your localcommunity also by supportingyour local farmers and productionplants. Visit 100milediet.org to getstarted.

6. Control Energy Usage

7. Get Involved

Marissa Vaillant-staff reporter

K.Shong/EddyRiversides REACH club (environmental club) posing for a photo at the Environmental Day celebration.

Courtesy Of Google

Courtesy of Photobucket Courtesy of Google

Courtesy Of Ms. YorkeStudents from Riverside’s REACH club at the Pitch in For Poco eventwhere they collected 11 bags of garbage from the Coquitlam River.

Earth Day 2009 was celebratedon April 22nd. It was founded in1970 by U.S. Senator GaylordNelson, an environmental activist,as a day to force awareness on thegovernment and industries aboutwhat was happening to ourenvironment. At the time, anti-Vietnam War protests, called“teach-ins” were popular in collegecampuses across the country, sohe thought why not organize oneon a larger scale, to bring light tothe issues surrounding our planet.This was during a time whenindustry power plants releasedblack smoke and pollution into theair with no fear of legal orenvironmental consequences.People were burning leaded gas intheir cars, and there was no air care.Earth Day was a way to bringeveryone together, to fight aproblem that affects us all, now

more than ever. The first Earth Day was verysuccessful. Nelson selectedHarvard graduate Denis Hayes tocoordinate activities. He along withhis staff organized peaceful ralliesand protests from coast to coast,and 20 million people participated.The movementwas thebeginningof today’senvironmentalera, wherereduce, reuse,and recycle is ac o m m o npractice, andclean air issomething westrive for. April22nd, Earth Day 1970 united all theprotestors of many issues, from oilspills to pollution to endangeredspecies, who had been fighting for

the same thing, a healthy planet.Earth Day has since grown into aday to raise awareness about ourenvironmental issues and makechange. Today, over 500 millionpeople participate in Earth Day, aswell as over 175 nationalgovernments, according to the

Earth DayN e t w o r kwebsite.Earth Day isc e l e b r a t e da n n u a l l y ,during springin the northernh e m i s p h e r e ,and fall in thes o u t h e r nh e m i s p h e r e .Because of

Earth Day, people all over the worldare making changes and educatingothers about the dangers of climatechange. Programs like Lights Out,

created in 2005, are educating notonly adults, but children andteens, about global warming andthe problems it will cause if wedon’t start living more sustainablelifestyles. Lights Out originated inCanada, but over 10 countrieshave participated to date, provingthat climate change affects us all,no matter where we live. Riverside Secondary tookinitiative to help our planet withREACH, the school’senvironmental club. OnWednesday April 2nd, theyorganized the second annualEnvironmental Day Celebration.Everyone was encouraged to weargreen and there were games andcontests in the front foyer. Also,Riverside aluminum water bottleswere sold to reduce the amount ofrecycled water bottles.The club isalways looking for ways to helpthe environment. Recently, theyparticipated in a project to cleanup the Coquitlam River as part ofPitch in for Poco Pride, our city-wide community clean-up effort.

The Earth Day Network and EarthDay Canada are responsible for allour community celebrations andevents, but they don’t only occuron Earth Day. Earth Day Canadaorganizes all kinds of year roundevents that promote sustainabilityand environmental values, such asruns and tree planting events. Theyare a registered charity affiliatedwith over 3,500 communityorganizations. It’s been 39 years since that firstearth day, and a lot has changed;Hybrid cars are becoming moremainstream, our cities promotesustainability and recycling, andpeople are being educated on theeffects our actions have on theenvironment, but is it enough?Even with all the protests andscientific research coming theirway; our politicians are doing littleto ease the effects of globalwarming and we are already livingwith the consequences. But wecan’t afford to give up despitegovernmen, industry and corprateinaction.

A website that is digitally linkedto Google, so you get all the samesearch results, but only in blackand white. Not only does it saveenergy that color WebPages waste,but it also gives you a running tollof how many watt hours have beensaved; over 1.2 million so far!Replace google.com with the moreenvironmentally friendlyblackle.com to start saving energy.

Friday, May 8, 2009 - Vol.13 No.8

It seems like an obvious thing,but one would be surprised at howmany people do not. Whether it’spaper, plastic or tin, be sure to putyour recyclables in the properplace. Recycling means a cashreturn on recyclables (money thatyou’ve already put forward buyingthe product) and less waste in landfills and oceans. Buying recycledproducts also helps encourage there-using of these materials.

Water is a precious resource thattakes energy to create. Over usagecan cause reservoirs to get lowand potentially cause droughtwarnings. Stop wasting water bykeeping the tap turned off whenbrushing your teeth, use a bucketinstead of a hose when washing acar, fix drips on taps, shy away fromtaking baths (over 40 gallons ofwater fill one tub), and try to take ashower no longer than 4 minutes.

Instead of getting your parentsto drive you to school; walk, takethe bus, or carpool. Gasoline emitsharmful chemicals into theatmosphere that cause globalwarming and health problems. Atleast this way we are limiting thecarbon output. Consider that since2000 our Carbon Dioxide emissionshave raised an average of 2.9%compared to the 0.7% during the1990’s.

Energy is wasted through outCanadian homes. People forget toturn off lights, so a great way toconserve energy is to turn off lightswhen you leave a room and un-plug appliances when appropriate.Even “turned off” electronics stilldraw power from outlets. If you’releaving a room for longer than 15minutes, it’s worth it! Thesechanges can also decrease yourhousehold energy bill.

Many communities and/orschools have environmental clubsthat focus on ways to help thecommunity make moreenvironmentally friendly choices.Become involved, knowledgeleads to action! Talk to yourprincipal or city council to find onenear you. Riverside’s own club“Reach” meets on Mondays inroom 200 with Ms. Yorke and Ms.Riddell.

Courtesy Of GoogleGraphic design depicting recycling

Courtesy of GoogleMorbid Angel’s lead guitarist, Trey Azagthoth, perfoming live in Toronto in 2006. Morbid Angel are famous for releasing all oftheir albums in alphabetical order according to their title.

The crowd gets agitated, waiting for about an hour now. Suddenly, ahuge blast of light and smoke goes off in one giant pyrotechnicexplosion. The sound of guitars and breakneck-speeddrumming rings throughout the stadium. Thecrowd goes wild, gathering to experience anight of heavy metal. Considered the loudest and most aggressivem u s i c around, metal has been around for years,s h o w i n g no signs of stopping. No other form of musich a s gathered as many fans or controversy as this

genre. Even in it’s infancy, it was passed offas “trash music”. Because of this, metal

is considered to be underground music. But even metal has humble roots,

tracing back to the 1960’s withbands like Led Zeppelin, Cream,and Blue Cheer. These bands

borrowed elementsfrom the blues and(especially in Deep

Purple’s case) Neo-classical music. But

any metalhead will surelyagree, heavy metal’s true

birthplace is Birmingham,England, hometown of Black

Sabbath. “They were like aprototype for all of the bands thatfollowed,” said Riverside student

Michelle Jacobs, “a blueprint forbands to reference from.” Soon, other bands arose, likeAlice Cooper and KISS, famousfor their ghoulish live shows.

In 1980, a whole newgeneration of British

headbangers decided toform bands. Metal came

out with a slew of newalbums in 1980:

Judas Priest’sBritish Steel,

Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, and Iron Maiden’s self-titleddebut, among others.

It was called the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal”,“NWOBHM” for short, and it dropped Metal’s blues rootsin favor of classical runs and jackhammer rhythms. Once

these imports found their way to American soil,the US took notice and spawned a whole newwave of American metal: thrash metal, death metal,black metal, and so forth. Soon all of America wasembracing this music from overseas. All over the

world, legions of metalheads, or “headbangers”,were rising and embracing this new excitingmusic and its many forms. For those unaware, a

metalhead is a lover of any form of metal music.They are often characterized by their long hair,

band t-shirts or jackets littered with band patches.The average metalhead is aged 16-24, but most stick with metal for many years. “I still have my vest and pins from my high school years,” said Riverside teacher Dave Romani.By the mid-80’s, America was swarming with metalheads. Unfortunately with this new metal came a new enemy: it was the P.M.R.C., a group of parents wanting a ban on metal, believingthat all metalheads used drugs and were brainwashed by the lyrical content. “Metal music is already fast and aggressive,” said Jacobs, “so offensive and scary lyrics just naturally fit in.”They were also against the dances performed at metal concerts, like headbanging (vigorously shaking one’s head up and down or side to side) or moshing (a dance borrowed from punkmusic in which people purposely slam into each other). “Parents have always been against something rebellious,” said Romani. The PMRC resulted in the now famous “Parental Advisory” sticker found on most offensive albums today. Ironically, this would be the best thing to happen to metal because once adisgruntled teen saw the warning sticker on an album, they would take it home and then play it to annoy their parents. Once the sticker was introduced, metal album sales skyrocketed. Metal is also famous for its collaborations and experimentations with other music. One of the first true collaboration was “crossover thrash metal,” a fusion of punk and thrash. Anotherpopular fusion was rap and metal, two extremely different genres that blend quite well together. This collaboration spawned ‘nu’ metal, a music that, along with grunge and death metal,were the biggest genres of the 1990’s. With the new millenium came a whole new resurgence of metal interest, and not only did many old bands return, but a whole succession of new bands emerged. But why has metal been around for so long? Why only now does it regain the same popularity as its heyday? “In my opinion, the reason is because the old metalheads have kids now,and the kids are learning about it through Rock Band and Guitar Hero and want to feel what their parents felt,” said Jacobs. Maybe the answer isn’t just metal’s staying power, but it’s ability to adapt with the times. “I don’t think metal is getting more or less popular,” said Romani, “I just think it’s changing,taking different shapes.” Metal is a powerful entity. It can frighten or astound you. It can embrace and express many topics too taboo for any rational human to talk about. And that’s why metal has stayed…and always will.

Eric Willmott, Rudolf Szekernyes - staff reporters

Friday, May 8, 2009 - Vol. 13 No. 8

One of the best guitars out there; the BCRich is a popular guitar in Metal bands.

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Lay down your soul to the God’srock and roll; Metal will take hold

Demi Lovato re-releases album

45 Minutes from Broadway to Riverside’s stage

Students set for trip to France

Olivia Mcmullen -staff reporter

Teresa Oikawa - staff reporter

Kate Ronald - staff reporter

courtesy of Google

Demi Lovato’s re-released Don’t Forget album cover including Don’t Forget and Get back.

The Communications 10 classpresented their annual FrenchImmersion play Wednesday, April29th at Riverside Secondary. Theplay was widely appreciated andthere was a great turn out tosupport the next segment in thepopular plays presented byFrench Immersion teacherMonsieurJacques-André Larrivée. The Communications 10 classcenters mostly on philosophyalthough practices are held for adramatic portion of the class.However, unlike past years, not allthe students had a part in the play.“It came as a surprise for a lot ofex-students,” said ex-studentTamana Aurom. “We knew it wasgoing to be different, but no onereally knew what to expect.” Rather then present numeroussmall skits (usually focusing onhumor), the group remained on

stage at all times presentingphilosophic poems, skits andsongs. One of the highlights wasa song sang by Tabatha Grantwhile grade 10 student KathyBleinis performed an interpretivedance and Chloe Lam playedpiano. The class prepared for their

May 1st departure for France wherethey will present their play“Epilogue: Soirée de poésiequébecoise” at various areas inFrance. “The play was a success”said Communications student JoelKveton. “And we’re anticipatingthat the trip will be the same.”

K.Ronald/eddy

courtesy of R.Pope

The Acting 12 class presented aGeorge M. Cohan musical onTuesday, April 28 known as 45

Minutes from Broadway. The playwas written to be “very light andsuperficial,” said acting 12 teacherMr. Secunda . “It was what people

wanted at that time because of theDepression; things were difficultfor them, so they wanted some sortof escapism.” The story began with a directornamed Richard Foster (RyanScramstad) having troubleproviding the money he needs toproduce the show. When MonaMonroe (Leila Kerves), a star, turnshim down when asked to take thelead role, a girl named Mary Collinsarrives, hoping for a part in theplay. Foster decides to cast herfirst as a chorus girl, then as thelead role. Meanwhile Legs Ruby(Taz Khandwani), a bookie, hidesin the theatre from a mob and,hearing of Foster’s moneypredicament, secretly invests

$100,000 in the show. Mona wasthought to be the one who donatedthe money, so she decides to goalong with Foster’s assumptionsand with that, blackmail him intogetting the role back and to get ridof Mary. Eventually Foster findsout that Mona wasn’t the one whoinvested in the play, thus he getsrid of her for good, rehires Mary,and everyone ends the show witha final song and dance. Though the style was lackinganything modern, the audienceresponded well to the story lineand easy humor. Lovelyharmonies were sung, and therewas even a solo sung by a chorusgirl (Kyleigh Francks), followed bya well choreographed dance

routine with the whole cast usingumbrellas. Secunda seemedpleased with the outcome.“Considering the amount of timeusually we would do this mid May,and we do other short projects inFeburary and March before SpringBreak. Normally we would havethree more weeks, but because offield trips we didn’t have the time.Everyone stepped up to the platereally well, and we were able tofinish it in record time, we reallydid.” said Secunda. Overall, 45Minutes from Broadway was agreat success.The play was a niceway to finish the season byleaving a satisfactory mark on theActing 12 class’ finale ofperformances.

Riverside’s acting 12 class presents 45 Minutes from Broadway.

Tabatha Grant singing La Scène while Katharina Bleinis dances.

Recording artist Demi Lovatorecently re-released her albumDon’t Forget. The deluxe versionof the album features two newsongs and a behind the scenesDVD. The original album debutedat number two, beating out ThePussycats Dolls’ DollDomination, Metallica’s DeathMagnetic and Kings of Leon Onlyby Night. In the first week alone, itsold 93,000 copies. Lovato, who is sixteen, has beenwriting music since the age ofthirteen. She wrote the music andlyrics for this album, but had somehelp with polishing the songs forthe album from friends, the JonasBrothers. “I came to the JonasBrothers and I was like umm… Ineed some help writing stuff justbecause well, my target audienceisn’t metal music; my songsneeded a polish which is where theJonas Brothers came in,” saidLovato.

The deluxe version includes twoadditional songs which were noton the original. The new songsinclude Behind Enemy Lineswhich shows how she has grownas an artist. Le Que Soy the Spanishversion of the song This is Me fromthe Disney Channel original movieCamp Rock, which she stars in,shows Lovato’s paralyzing vocalpower. Overall the album shows aside that most don’t expect from ayoung Disney star. Songs like LaLa Land, which she performed atthe kids Inaugural Ball this pastJanuary for Michelle Obama andher daughters Sasha and Malia,describe how she won’t changeand will remain grounded, despitethe fact she’s in Hollywood. Theup-tempo song Get Back is alsothe first single from the album; itreveals a desire to get backtogether with someone. Lovatodefinitely shows that she is wisebeyond her years and will notfollow on a self destructiveHollywood path of some beforeher. One of the albums highest

points is the song On the Line, aduet with close friends and CampRock co-stars the Jonas Brothers,along with the song Don’t Forgetwhich is an emotional rock balladabout an ended relationship.

The bonus DVD includes abehind the scenes look at Lovato’srole in the Jonas Brothers’ 2008tour. Other DVD features includetwo of her music videos and a lookat her recording session from the

album. Lovato, whose 45 city 2009summer tour is soon to be sold out,remains humble despite all thecraziness, stating in a July 2008interview, “I’m just really busy andpeople know who I am.”

Friday May 8th, 2009 - Vol.13 No.8

When I am walking to my sports event and I see some girlygirl with her hair down it makes me want to die. All I want todo is walk over and give her a pony tail so she can get herhair out of her face. You’re at a sports event playing a sport,your hair doesn’t have to look perfect! It just has to be outof your eyes so you can see the ball being thrown at you.Even in gym class, they can’t see the ball coming towardsthem because their hair keeps flying in front of their faces.Tie it back. Now it isn’t just girls having their hair down,boys love to have their long locks hanging about too. Theworst thing, is when you overhear them talking about howannoying it is when their hair gets in the way. These girlsconstantly make sure that their hair still looks nice and putit up; however, nobody except for them cares how it looks.

GLASS youth choir in Canadian debut

Every once in a while I am telling a friend a story about myday when I hear a “beep, beep.” I continue to tell the storywhen I notice that they have picked up their phone, thesame phone that had just beeped and disrupted the story inthe first place. They begin to read the text message thatthey just received paying no attention to what is comingout of my mouth. Not only have they interrupted my story,but they begin to ignore me by texting back to this personwho is clearly more important than me, all the whilepretending they are listening to me. If this text message isreally that important and you need to text back immediatelyat least have the decency to ask me if it is okay to text back.Texting somebody while actually having a face to faceconversation is just rude!

The time between classes is always frantic. Everyone is in arush to get to their next block on time. There are alwaysthose students who are running late. The last thing we wantto see is an obstacle that’s blocking us from our destination,but that’s exactly what some kids are presenting. We have amillion different places to hang out at Riverside but somestudents choose to hang out in locker bays, parkingthemselves right in front of lockers, making it impossible forme to get to my locker without pushing them aside. It’s notlike the locker bays are comfortable. Go to the cafeteria orthe front foyer so I can easily get to my locker and continueon my way. The locker bays were made for lockers, not soyou can have another place to hang out with your friends.So move it! (please)

Put it up! Can it wait?

Alison Mullock and Kate Ronald

Friday, May 8th 2009 - Vol.13 No.8

Emily Chan speaks at Encompass Conference

K. Shong / eddyOne of bras showcased in the Sing for the Cure show, designed by Emily Bornestig.

curtesy of Carol SirianniSing for the Cure promotion poster.

Amanda McMeeken-staff reporter

Locker bay back-up!

This past Saturday, April 25th,GLASS youth choir (gay, lesbian,and supportive singing) were thefirst to host Sing for the Cure inCanada. Sing for the Cure was firstperformed in Dallas, Texas in 2000;

it is a concert that raises awarenessand money for breast cancerresearch. Sing for the Cure wasstarted by Susan G. Koman, avictim of breast cancer, who wastrying to find a way to make thelives of other women with breastcancer better. When Susan’s fightwas coming to an end, her sister,Nancy Brinker, made her sister a

promise that she would do herbest to end breast cancer, andcreated “Susan G. Koman for theCure.” Since 1982, it has raisedover one billion dollars. Carol Siranni, Riverside’sBand, Choir, and Social Justiceteacher, along with the GLASSyouth choir were the hosts ofthe show. They wereaccompanied by more than 200other choirs and soloists fromTexas, Metro Vancouver, Seattle,and Portland. Along with Sing for

the Cure, there were otherfundraising opportunities for breastcancer going on at this event. Onewas called the “Brauction,” whichwas run by Riverside Art teacher,Ms. Schmidt. The “Brauction” wasa silent auction where guests couldbid on over twenty artisticallydecorated bras by Riverside artstudents. The themes of the artworkon the bras were varied, including“hope,” “love,” “courage,” “prettyin pink,” and many more. Guestswere able to bid on these bras at the

show or online, before and afterthe date of the show. One hundredpercent of proceeds from the show,as well as the “Brauction” went tothe Canadian Breast CancerFoundation, the BC CancerFoundation, as well as the SusanG. Koman for the Cure GlobalPromise Fund. Aside from the silentauction, there were raffle ticketsand door prizes that guests couldwin. Prizes included a West jetvoucher for two return tickets foranywhere that Westjet flies.

Guest speaker Emily ChanK. Shong/ eddy

Alexis Boleak- staff reporter

“When I think of my life, I thinkof the people who have changedme. I think of how they haveshaped my personality, mythoughts, my actions; how theyhave shaped my very being I thinkof my family and my friends, myteachers and my coaches. I alsothink, however, of three otherindividuals who have altered mylife irreversibly.” This is theopening thesis of Emily Chan’sessay entitled, Forever Changed.Chan is a grade eleven student

from Riverside Secondary whowrote and read her essay at theEncompass Conference that tookplace April 17th, 2009 at HeritageWoods Secondary School. The Encompass Conference is adiscussion where participantsconfront and discuss socialjustices and injustices. Chandelivered her speech that dealtwith how three individuals shelearned about through the internethave changed her life. One is ayoung girl who suffered underChina’s one child policy and foundherself in one of China’s ‘DyingRooms.’ The second is a young

boy from Sierra Leone who wasforced to be a child soldier, andthe final individual is a Pakistaniwoman accused of adultery

without evidence and was almostmurdered as a consequence, andleft behind with facial disfiguration.Chan keenly felt the injustices ineach of their stories. She stated thatshe has always been interested insocial justice and poverty issues;“I always used to make my speechtopics based on different types ofsocial injustices.” Apart from her essay, Chan tookpart in the Sing for the Curefundraiser for breast cancer with theRiverside GLASS youth choir; soit was appropriate she was chosento speak at the Encompassconference. To be able to create

awareness about these issuesaffecting our society is a goodthing because by makingeveryone aware of what socialjustice is, it can help to createempathy and inspiration forourselves and those sufferingaround us in situations that arebeyond their control. Many people can change theirown lives, but what many mightneglect to see is how they canchange another individual’s life.Emily Chan’s essay reveals howshe was inspired to help others,and in turn, her essay inspiresothers.

Down By The RiversideWho would you vote for and why?

Dana Dempsey, Grade 12 Lisa-Jane Hayfron, Grade12

Fatima Aziz, Grade 12 Nikki Prasad, Grade 12Taylor Happy, Grade 11 Green Party - “I care about theenvironmental issues. It affects usall.”

Liberal – “I respect their valuesand the issues they set out to re-solve.”

Green Party – “The environmentalissues are going to be affecting ourgeneration so it’s important that wetake notice.”

NDP – “I am very involved in socialissues around our community andcare about getting people off thestreets.”

Referendum and Election will be pivital for BCFriday, May 8th, 2009 - Vol. 13 No. 8

Beware! Electronic data is there forever

Green Party – “They go green tohelp our economy as well ashelping the climate.”

Lorraine Lidher - staff reporter

There are many issues that willplay a role in the upcoming BCprovincial election on May 12: thereferendum to change the electoralsystem, the economy in arecession, and dealing effectivelywith crime. Gordon Campbell’sLiberals are running for the thirdterm in office on the message of“Keep BC Strong.” While, the NDPand Carole James are running oncampaign of “Take Back Your BC!”The Greens, and their leader, JaneSterk, are hoping their “Better planfor BC” will attract more voters. This election, voters will be askedto also vote on the referendumbetween the current electoralsystem (first-past –the –post) andthe single transferable vote system(STV), proposed by the Citizens’Assembly on Electoral Reform.STV allows voters to Ratecandidates in order (1, 2, 3, etc..).STV is designed to represent thepopular vote more. On May 12

voters will choose which electoralsystem should be used to electfuture members to the BCLegislature. With the recession devastatingthe economy, the political partieshave come up with their own plansto save it. The Liberals plan is tostimulate the economy by loweringtaxes on buisiness. They promiseto create jobs in mining,

agriculture, film and technology,and to invest in buildinginfrastructure, and open up moretrade routes. To help the economythrough the recession, the NDP’splan is to raise the minimum wage,remove the six dollar training wage,and lower taxes for small businessto adjust for the raise in theminimum wage. They promise togenerate more jobs with

infrastructure projects, and investin skills training. With the increase in gangviolence over the past few months,many voters are looking for a partythat will be tough on crime. TheLiberals are planning to deal withcrime by hiring more police officersand prosecutors, create tougherlaws and sentencing, build morejails, and crackdown on gangs and

illegal guns. To tackle crime, the NDP’s planto fund new police officer’s, andprosecutors, create tougher bailconditions, new penalties for guncrime, new laws on body armor andarmored cars, and expand supportfor youth and families. Jane Sterk and the Green partyhope to attract more environmentalvoters to the party with their planto stimulate the economy byinvestments in green technology,and a healthy green livingplatform. The candidates that are runningin Port Coquitlam riding areincumbent Mike Farnworth,opposition Critic of Public Safety,for the NDP, Bernie Hiller for theLiberals and Cole Bertsch for theGreen party. On May 12, voters will decide asto who they want to lead theprovince through a recession, helpreduce gang violence, and createan environmentally sound policyfor the future.

photos courtesy of GoogleLiberal party leader GordonCampbell.

NDP party leader Carole James. Green party leader Jane Sterk.

A cartoon satirizing the perils of living in the internet age.

Shozan Mondiwa - staff reporter

For the people who think they can put any type of picture up on Facebook and get away with it, you’remistaken. Many don’t realize that what you put on the internet will be there forever. NDP candidate forVancouver-False Creek riding, Ray Lam, learned this the hard way. He recently withdrew from the currentpolitical race because of some allegedly inappropriate pictures of him that were posted on Facebook. Heremoved the pictures, but it was too late; the pictures had already surfaced on other sites. Lam later saidin a press release, “I regret this material and the associated comments that have now become public.” Healso added, “I do not want this to be a distraction in the election campaign and have advised the partythat I am stepping down.” (CBC News)................................................................................. NDP Leader Carole James said Lam showed “a lack of judgment when he allowed risqué photos of himto be posted on a social networking site.” James says her candidates have been warned that their privateFacebook pages will probably be brought into the spotlight if they contain offensive or inappropriatematerial. In the age of the internet, screening potential candidate’s private profiles is a reality. Young people today should be cautioned that what they put up on Facebook may seem fine or funnyat the time, but may affect their lives in the future. Many people have lost jobs over content on theirsocial networking sites, and pictures they’ve posted online. Recently an article went on Facebook withthe title, “We can do anything we want with your content forever.” This article suggests that even if aFacebook account is deleted, the administrators still have the right to do what they want with your oldcontent. This policy, however, is currently under review due to public complaints. The internet is a publicdomain; people should take precautions because one never knows where a private photo will end up.

courtesy of Google

Riverside’s track and field team is off to a good start

Friday, May 8th, 2009 Vol. 13 No. 8

Chad Sigsworth-Staff Reporter

Anika Ledoux at a recent match.

Riverside’s tennis team aims for a good seasonRichard Yu - Staff Reporter

The tennis season started justbefore Spring Break and theregular season ends on May 12th;however, the season ends on May19th to 20th for the teams with highscores. There are eleven teams inthe league and only two from ourzone will go on to play in the FraserValley Championships. Pinetreeand Charles Best are the top twoteams and Riverside is in 3rd placenow. Through many try-outs, theRiverside team was selected. Last year Riverside Secondaryonly had a Junior team, however,this is the first year with a seniorteam. There are 21 players on thesenior team. There are a total of 12matches, both singles anddoubles. When playing anotherteam, 11 sets are played with thesame gender and one match ismixed doubles. To date, theRiverside Secondary senior team

has played five games. On April7th, the Riverside Secondary teamhad their first game which theywon against Charles Best by 10 to1. On April 14th, the Riverside wonagainst Pinetree by 6 to 5. On April21st, Riverside lost toTerry Fox 7to 4. On April 28th, Riverside won

against Garibaldi Secondary 10 to1. On April 30th, Riverside wonagainst Archbishop Carney 9 to 2.If the Riverside Secondary teamkeeps playing as well as they arenow, the tennis season will endfor them with a spot at the FraserValley’s on May 19th and 20th .

Grade 11 student Vanessa Bradley competes in long jump at Towncentre stadium. K. Shong/eddy

Maegan Matthews - Staff Reporter

As the school year comes to anend, so does the track and fieldseason. Although the team wassmaller this year than last, theathletes that made up this year’steam have become more cohesive. At the team’s most recentcompetition, the Districts, therewere a few events which pleasantlysurprised the coaches. Riversidewon first, second, and third placein the senior girl’s shot-put. Thegirls who placed in that event fromfirst to third were VanessaWattamaniuk, Avisha Henry, andHeather Cowie. Another goodsurprise this season at Districtswas Christian Serban winningsecond place in the long jumpevent, despite the fact that hedidn’t have the time to practice forthe event prior to it, and he didn’t

have any past experience with theevent.Throughout the season, thecoaches have had an opportunityto see who some of the rising stars

in each event are. To the coaches,the athlete who stands out themost and really excelled thisseason in the javelin event was

grade twelve student, Patrick Hay.New to the team, grade ninestudent Adam Altwatser not onlystood out in the shot-put event

but will also be remembered by hiscoaches as one of their best triplejump athletes. Larry Longmanexcelled at the hurdles. The topathletes named for the long jumpevent were grade twelve studentsShannon Knight and ChristianSerban. The team’s performance at theDistricts has resulted in tenstudents qualifying for the FraserValley’s as well as five alternates.The Fraser Valley’s will be held inLangley on May 11, 12 and 13th.Those numbers are around thesame as last year’s even thoughthis year’s number of athletes hasdwindled.“We just hope that theyall move forward from the FraserValley’s on to Provincials,” saidone of the team coaches, Mr.Barrington. If Riverside goes to theProvincials, it will be held atSwanguard stadium at the end ofJune.

Roberto Luongo is playing great for the Canucks.

After not qualifying for the playoffs lastyear, the Canucks were looking to make animpact this year, and that’s exactly what theydid. They won the Northwest Division Titledespite losing their top goaltender for 2months, and a ten game home losing streak.At the end of February, they were twelvepoints behind the Calgary Flames, but theymade up lots of ground and finished twopoints ahead of them. The Canuck’s successthis season is based greatly on the play ofAlex Burrows and Ryan Kesler; each of themhave set career highs in goals, assists andpoints this season. And the fact that GMMike Gillis signed future Hall of Famer MatsSundin to a ten million dollar contract willdefinitely help in the long run because hegives the Canucks nine forwards that canscore goals, giving three very dangerouslines. The Sedin twins also have had animpact; as they each picked up their second80 point seasons, while the blue line was ledby Kevin Bieksa’s 43 points and Alex Edler’s37 points. Ryan Kesler and Kyle Wellwood

led the power play with 10 goals each on theseason, while Ryan Johnson really helpedthe penalty kill with his outstanding job inthe face-off circle, and excellent shotblocking ability.

Coming into the playoffs, the Canuckshave 4 solid lines, 3 of which can score goals,6 top quality defensemen, and a world classgoalie in net. This is for sure the mostcomplete team since their run to the finals in

1994, and maybe even in team history. Andeven better, they have played so well, thatHead Coach Alain Vigneault hasn’t had toworry about the line matchups. He truststhat whoever he puts on the ice will get thejob done. And they’ve done just that. Whena coach has this much trust in his team, that’susually a good sign. (It also benefits theplayers because you’re not going to havesome players sitting on the bench for longperiods of time.) It also keeps your team freshbecause there isn’t anyone packing in theice time. This is also the case for many ofthe previous championship teams. The Canucks swept St. Louis in the firstround of this season’s playoffs; the first timein team history. Oddly enough, the last timeSt. Louis was swept in a series was in 1991by the Northstars, who went all the way tothe finals. The Canucks are now leading theChicago Blackhawks two games to one inthe second series, and with Roberto Luongoin net, and the Sedins finally acting asleaders, this is all shaping up to look like theCanucks will go all the way to the finals andhopefully win the coveted Stanley Cup.

Canucks thrill fans with a run for the cup!

curtesy of Google

M. Matthews/eddy