1October 2012

Volume 100, Issue 1 Modesto High School October 2012

Prop 30Important update on ballot measure page 5

Panther PuffSeniors victorious page 7

College ConnectionSearching for the right college page 8

The Panther Press18 H StreetModesto, CA 95351

Editor-in-Chief:Morgan Krueger

News Editor:Noelle Souza

Opinion Editor:Eva Brotslaw

Features Editors:Phillip Chau, Samuel Lee

Sports Editor:Adam Khattak

Special Report Editor:William Shewfelt

Staff Writers:Mackenzie Anderson, Brynna Bolt,Gabrielle Brow, Sierra Gonzales-Baldo,Jeanah Kim, Jason Li, Sarah Lim,Kevin Nguyen, Sophy Ouk,Shawna Sok, Catherine Tan,Amit Uma, Shelby Willis

Adviser:Kerrie GlennGlenn.K@monet.k12.ca.us

Credits:Cover banner designed by Scott Mitchell.Cover photograph courtesy of Lynd-sey Watson.Licensing for some of the images in this publication was purchased from the website Pond5.

The Panther Press is created for and by students of Modesto High School. The goal is to bring news to MHS and acknowledge ideas, events, and individuals on campus in an unbiased and professional manner. The opin-ions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Modesto High School or Modesto City Schools. This publication can also be accessed at http://modesto.monet.k12.ca.us. Letters may be mailed to MHS or submitted to Kerrie Glenn’s mailbox in the main office.

2 The Panther Press

School Information

Letter from the Editor ................................................. 3

Upcoming Events ........................................................ 3

Homecoming Week ..................................................... 3

News

Presidential Election .................................................... 4

Propositions Aim to Help Schools .......................... 5

Sports

Panther Puff .................................................................... 7

Sports Updates .............................................................. 7

Teen Life

The True Colors of MHS .............................................. 8

Searching for the Right College .............................. 8

Gas Prices Impact Teen Drivers ................................ 9

The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer .......................... 11

iPhone Apps for Students ......................................... 14

Campus Life

Attending School in a Different Country ............. 12

No Lanyard, No Service, New Policy ...................... 13

Panthers Rally in Prayer at Flagpole ....................... 13

Panther Pride .................................................................. 14

Table of Contents

3October 2012

Letter Fromthe Editor

The Panther Press is developing a new look this year. We will be produc-ing a full-color, glossy, magazine style news publication. This school year marks the 100th volume of The Panther Press, and in honor of this, we are giv-ing the publication an extreme make-over. An updated look similar to that of a magazine is the new goal, with more reader friendly articles. Full colored pictures will also catch readers’ eyes and give our school’s paper a modern touch. We are in the beginning stages of the transformation and are excited to see our progress throughout the year.

The changes you will see are the re-sult of a partnership with a company called aPrintis. The company sells ad-

vertisements to cover the cost of printing and shipping. We hope the result will be an entertaining and informative publica-

tion at no cost to us. The free printing of our paper is a huge savings for The Panther Press. With the new publisher, we plan to bring in a new style and a new look to increase its appeal to stu-dents, with a circulation of 1,000 pa-pers for our first edition of the year.

As we want to successfully con-tinue this new look for our school paper, we’re asking for your support. The company that prints our paper is able to do it with no cost to us because they get profits from our advertising. So whenever you go to a business that advertises with us, mention that you saw their ad in the Modesto High School news magazine, and in doing so, help us keep The Panther Press looking fresh.

Morgan Krueger

Oct.8 - Dance Production Oodles Fundraiser, 4-9 P.M.

Oct.8 - Talent Show Auditions

Oct.8-12 - Homecoming Week

Oct.11, 13, 14 - MHS Theater Production “Lend Me a Tenor.” Oct.11, 13 7:30 P.M. Oct.14 1:30 P.M. $5 for students, $7 for adults.

Oct.12-Nov.16 - KCRA Kids Can! Canned Food Drive

Oct.13 - YFL Speech and Debate Competition at Gregori

Oct.20 - Gathering of the Pan-thers, 5:30 P.M. An adult event. Tickets may be purchased in the MHS main office.

Nov. 1 – Talent Show

Upcoming Events

Homecoming week is from October 8 to October 12. It remains to be seen if the other classes have what it takes to beat the seniors at the Homecoming rally on Fri-day the 12th. Students can win points for their class by dressing up on theme days.

The freshmen’s day this year is Robe Day, inspired by the series The Lord of the Rings. The sophomores will be in charge the next day with Twin Day, which takes after the Pixar movie Despicable Me. Juniors will then have Tribal Day on Octo-ber 10th, modeled after James Cameron’s Avatar movie. The seniors’ inspiration, Harry Potter, will be celebrated with House Day, in which each class dresses up as a house from the series. The seniors will dress up as Gryffindors, the juniors, Slytherins, the sophomores, Hufflepuffs, and freshmen will be Ravenclaws. This will culminate in Spirit Day at the end of the week. On this day, students will proudly dress in MHS colors, paint their faces with cool tribal patterns, and wear all crimson and black clothing. At the end of Spirit Day is the Homecoming Rally, in which the classes will show off their school spirit and the sophomore and junior royalties will be named. The senior royalties will be named during the half time of the varsity football game that night. Overall, the Homecoming activities will be sure to entertain and raise the spirit of the MHS student body.

Homecoming Week

4 The Panther Press

Presidential E lec tionObama vs. Romney

jobs. According to his campaign web-site, www.mittromney.com, Romney promises to cut taxes and reduce government spending. The website explains that these areas will go far to enable businesses to expand and hire new employees. This plan will also reduce the amount of influence the government has over individual citizens.

Despite the varying opinions and ideas in regard to all of the issues that impact the American people, it is important for every eligible voter to participate in the voting process. Students who can vote should do so. Voting is a way individual citizens can make a difference in this country.

Regardless of personal and politi-cal views, encouraging friends to vote is vital, as voting is an important way citizens can keep the government in the hands of the people.

site, www.barackobama.com, Presi-dent Obama is stressing job creation and the economy. He plans to invest in American manufacturing and in-novation in the hope that it will allow the economy to flourish. Obama is also placing a large focus on job cre-ation. This job creation, according to the website, is an essential part in a national effort to boosting the econ-omy.

Romney also has ideas surround-ing the economy and how to create

This is a time of much skepticism and change for the

American people. It is an election year, and citizens are attempting to look past the commercials, ads, and propoganda in order to determine which of the candidates is the better person for the influential job of presi-dent.

There are two main choices in this election: President Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and Mitt Rom-ney of the Republican Party. The poli-cies of these two men are very differ-ent, and it is important for the voting citizen to know the platforms upon which each candidate is running. Each man’s official campaign website covers his views on important issues including the economy, education, energy, health care, and women’s is-sues.

According to his campaign web-

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NEWS

5October 2012

Propositions Aim to Help Schools

With the current state of the econ-omy, education has been hit hard and budget cuts have severely lim-ited funding to schools. On the 2012 ballot, two propositions have been added that would help to prevent further cuts and increase spending on education and public safety; they are Propositions 30 and 38. Prop 30 includes a temporary tax increase on those with annual incomes of over $250,000, a sales tax increase of .25%, and guaranteed public safety fund-ing. Prop 38 consists of temporary state income tax increases for most Californians.

Modesto City Schools Superinten-dent, Pamela Able said, “Modesto City Schools (MCS) hasn’t received $175 million from the state. K-3 class sizes have increased from 20 students to 1 teacher to 25 students to 1 teacher.

California is currently #47 in pupil funding. The top 5 states in terms of per pupil spending spend an average of $18,660 whereas California spends $9,524.”

Prior budget cuts have already pushed schools to cut personnel and eliminate many programs. Further cuts will come if both propositions fail to pass.

If Prop 30 does not pass, MCS will have to cut thirteen million dollars from the current school year’s bud-get. Strategy Committee Chair and MHS Teacher Kerry Castellani said, “If Prop 30 doesn’t pass, $13 million in cuts would equal 15 days lost. Many programs could be eliminated like the arts, sports, teacher training, AVID, and field trips. If it passed, we’d still have issues and teachers would make concessions, but we wouldn’t

have to make $13 million in cuts.”Of the two similar propositions on

the ballot in November, Prop 38 is seen as the least likely to pass.

Able said in regard to Prop 38, “The tax revenue goes directly to school sites, but it’s uncertain by whom the money would be allocated. We’d also have to wait a year, in which time trig-ger cuts would occur.” This means that cuts would still be necessary for the current school year.

Support has mainly rallied around Prop 30 which advocates believe will have a stronger and more immediate impact on the problem.

Castellani said, “A coalition has been formed to garner support for the passage of Prop 30. It consists of the Modesto Teachers Association, California School Employees Asso-ciation-Chapter 007, MCS Managers Group, board members, and Superin-tendent Pamela Able.”

Some people contest that tax in-creases on the wealthy would drive jobs and tax revenue out of the state. It has been argued that the proposi-tion does nothing to cut bureaucratic waste.

Able said to opponents of Prop 30, “To opponents of the propositions, they’re sacrificing children’s educa-tion. Even if they pass, there are still cuts we would have to make. With one month of school lost every year thanks to the cuts, students over the course of kindergarten to 12th grade would lose one whole year of educa-tion.”

by William Shewfelt

NEWS

6 The Panther Press

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX SANDERS

PRESS PHOTO BY JEANAH KIM

PRESS PHOTO

PRESS PHOTO

PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM R.

PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK

PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK

SPORTS

7October 2012

GIRLS GOLF (1-5, 1-5)Ahead: The Lady Panthers will com-pete against Johansen at Muni on Thursday.Results: Beyer 291, MHS 303; Enochs 296, MHS 314; Downey 284, MHS 303; Gregori 280, MHS 291; MHS 317, Davis 327; Beyer 280, MHS 295.

Girls Tennis (17-1, 17-1)Ahead: The girls will be hosting Enochs on Tuesday, October 9th Results: MHS 9, Davis 0; MHS 8, Johansen 1

BOYS WATER POLO (3-1, 7-4)Ahead: The boys will be playing Davis at Davis this Thursday. They are looking forward to an easy victory as they go into next week.

Results: MHS 8, Beyer 3

Varsity Water Polo Girls (8-3, 4-0)Ahead: The Lady Panthers take on Gregori Results: MHS 8, Beyer 2 Football (1-4, 0-1)Ahead: The Panthers will play Fri-day, October 12th against Enochs. The homecoming game will be at Downey.Results: MHS 31, Ceres 7; Stagg 64, MHS 21; Pitman 49, MHS 6; Turlock 48, MHS 23; Gregori 28, MHS 17

Volleyball (1-2, 4-4-1 )Ahead: The Lady Panthers host Johansen on Tuesday, October 9th at 4:00 P.M.

Results: MHS 2, Orestimba 2; Golden Valley 3, MHS 0; MHS 3, Downey 0; Gregori 3, MHS 0

Girls Cross-Country (12,0, 12,0)Ahead: The next league race is on Wednesday, October 10th, location to be determined

Boys Cross-Country (12,0, 12,0)Ahead: The next league race is on Wednesday, October 10th, location to be determined

Boys Soccer (5-2-3)Ahead: The Panthers host Gregori on October 11th at 3:30 P.M.Results: MHS 0, Central Valley 3; MHS 3, Downey 1; MHS 1 Gregori 0*Records current as of 9/27/12

J u n i o r s G o D o w n F i g h t i n gOn September 27,

MHS held their annual Panther Puff game at Jo-hansen. Panther Puff is a traditional football game where the boys and girls switch roles, boys become the cheerleaders and the girls become the players. They had about a week to prepare for the battle be-tween the upperclassmen.

Students signed up for a variety of reasons.

“I joined because I thought it would be a lot of fun and I always watch football, so I wanted to experience what it’s like,” said junior Lani Balzer. “My experience was amazing. It was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. My favorite moment was when I ran 68 yards for a touchdown.”

“I joined because it’s a fun sport and hanging out with the senior girls and getting to know them,” said senior Mai Yang. “My

experience with them was amazing and I had so much fun. Practicing together as a team and beating the juniors.”

Nick Anderson and TJ Wolf were among the ju-nior coaches. The seniors were coached by Ryan Vincent, Blake Perez, Kon-ner Miller, and others. The battle began at 7 P.M.

Seniors pulled ahead early by scoring the first touchdown. The juniors quickly came back and tied the game.

During halftime the junior and senior cheer-leaders entertained the crowd with dance rou-tines. The juniors danced to a mix of popular songs, such as “Call Me Maybe,” “Gangnam Style,” and “Get Low.” The seniors also had popular songs they per-formed to, including “Bad Girls Club,” “Gas Peddle,” and “Baby Got Back.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCOTT MITCHELL

SPORTS

Great memories were formed both during the game and practices.

“My favorite memory would have to be when Ryan played as quarter-back in practice and the defense had to tackle him to the ground,” said senior Lhea Santos.

“I love the coming to-gether as a family,” said se-nior Ambrosia Lobo.

by Press Staff

A cursory look at the yearbooks and other histories of Modesto High will reveal that the original and true school colors are red and black. In fact, the name of the school newspaper for many years was The Red and Black. Ask anyone who attended MHS be-fore the mid-1990s to name the school colors and that person’s immediate an-swer will be red and black. There were songs, chants, and cheers for the red and black, and everyone wore those colors on spirit day.

In 1935 students Martha Ayer and Lauramae Lewis wrote what is today the school hymn. In their lyrics they included the phrase … in black and crimson majesty…. The songwriters used the word crimson because they needed a two-syllable word to main-tain the rhythm of the lyrics. Everyone then, and for decades after, understood that crimson is a variation of the color red; the songwriters were not attempt-ing to change the school’s colors. The school hymn was the only reference to crimson, and red and black continued to represent Modesto High.

Confusion about the MHS colors be-gan in the 1990s when the principal and the football coach selected new foot-ball uniforms during the summer be-fore the opening of school. These two people unilaterally decided to include crimson in the uniforms; there was no community or school-wide input. Soon crimson was included in other sports uniforms, cheerleader dress, and school items. There was never any referendum to drop the color red.

The school colors are red and black; crimson is a variation of red. Whether one chooses to wear red and black or crimson and black, it is important for school unity and for the support of our sports and academic teams to wear school colors, especially on Fridays, our traditional school spirit day.

Patrick Durr, MHS Class of 1967

The True Colors of Modesto High

School

College Connection

For students in their senior year, the process of choosing and applying to colleges can be daunting and confus-ing. Often, it’s difficult to know where to even start, but there are several re-sources that students can use to learn about and apply to colleges. These re-sources clarify the college process and make applying to colleges less stressful than it once seemed.

One essential resource is Naviance. Naviance is a district-wide resource where students can get information on which college representatives are visit-ing MHS, scholarships, and access to other resources that help students find and narrow down their college choices and figure out their careers. Through Naviance, counselors can contact stu-dents and give them up-to-date infor-mation on deadlines for applications, scholarships, the college process, and other opportunities. In addition, stu-dents can compare their GPA and test scores with those of past MHS students who have applied to the same colleges with the “acceptance scatter-gram” fea-ture, and see how likely they are to be accepted.

On Naviance, college counselor, Amy Switzer states, “I think that ultimately while the counselors are here to help you guys to strategize your futures, it’s very important that students make their own decisions, and Naviance is an-other way to help students to get orga-nized and figure out what they want to do in life.”

Another important resource is the College Board’s website at collegeboard.org. Here, students can register for SAT and SAT II tests and can use the college search feature to look up colleges in which they are interested. Students can access information on a college’s ac-ceptance rate, financial aid information for the college, what majors it offers, its retention rate, and more. In addition, College Board also has tools for finding a college that fits each student. It also compares colleges and allows students to explore different majors.

To apply to UC or CSU’s, students can access universityofcalifornia.edu and calstate.edu to get more informa-tion. However, the applications to these schools do not launch until November 1st and October 1st, respectively.

For students who are applying to pri-vate colleges, the Common Application website is also essential. Students can both fill out an application that is ac-cepted by over 400 private schools and further research schools that accept the common app.

Though searching for colleges is dif-ficult, there are many resources avail-able for student that clarify the process.

Below is a QR code that, when scanned with a SmartPhone, will direct you to Naviance.

Searching for the Right Collegeby Eva Brotslaw

Photo by Morgan Krueger

8 The Panther Press

TEEN LIFE

9October 2012

As the school year continues, gas prices continue to rise. This

has a negative impact on many teens, making it difficult and expensive to travel places. While this is a problem that mostly affects upperclassmen, it will soon affect lowerclassmen as they receive their much anticipated driving rights and start having to find money for gas.

“High gas prices increase stress in my family,” junior Oliver Melgar said. “And when my family is stressed, I have to walk.”

With September gas prices aver-aging $4.15 in California according to Energy Almanac, getting to and from school can become problematic and expensive.

“Gas prices affect me in a nega-tive way,” said senior Christi Candido. “It becomes a hassle and that money could be used as my lunch money.”

Junior Phillip Haflich has to pay for his own gas, which he does through his job.

“It’s less fun and more work,” said Haflich. “I have to pay for the gas somehow.”

Senior Lhea Santos lives in Pat-terson. The commute to and from school adds up quickly, swallowing up money she would otherwise be saving for college. “High gas prices make it hard for us to actually go and do stuff just for fun as a family because we usually don’t have the money to pay for the amount of gas that we need to use,” Santos said. “It is also making it hard to do activities after school because of how far we have to drive.”

Junior Peacha Sokk’s parents pay for her gas, and her mom is of-ten annoyed when she asks for gas. Like Sokk, senior Noelle Candido’s parents also pay for her gas. “Some-times, during these high prices, I feel bad and so I try to limit where I go,” Candido said.

Many are forced to limit their so-cial outings, like senior Jacki Miller. “I

can’t go as many places like to Star-bucks or Jamba Juice because it takes more money to get less gas now,” said Miller. “So not only do I not have as much gas to go to those places, but I also have less spending money.”

Many students have changed their habits to be more fuel efficient, or have discovered alternative ways to travel.

“I ride a bike, thank you,” junior Matthew Ip said.

Just because it isn’t their problem yet, doesn’t mean underclassmen shouldn’t be worried about the po-tential problems they will face if gas prices don’t start to fall. The extremity of our current gas prices is a big prob-lem for everyone.

“Well thankfully my car is super fuel efficient,” senior Ambrosia Lobo said. “But I think it’s funny how my grandparents are in awe when they see gas prices so high because when they were younger, it wasn’t anything like it is now!”

Gas Prices Impact Teen Driversby Morgan Krueger

TEEN LIFE

10 The Panther Press

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11October 2012

The lull of a three-month break in the middle of the hottest time of

the year brings new life to students. Days swiftly pass while students trav-el to exotic new places, spend time with friends, or work on activities to enrich themselves.

Many students escape the valley to visit relatives, cooler climates, or other relaxing settings.

Junior Nataly Nguyen said, “I went to Panama to visit family! I had so much fun with my little nephews.”

“I went to Hong Kong to see my grandparents,” said junior Matthew Ip. “All I did was eat food there. Chinese food is the best there!”

Senior Kyle Klein said, “During the summer I traveled to Europe with my family. We visited London, Spain, and Holland.”

“Oh my God, I went to Spain over the summer to learn Spanish at this school with a bunch of other people from MHS, but it was mainly us tour-ing Spain. It was the best time ever,” said junior Molly McGarry.

Still others, such as juniors Reese Dorrepaal and Parker Steward, were committed to bettering themselves this summer through organized edu-cational activities.

Steward said, “I went to Washing-

ton D.C. for a youth leadership con-ference called NYLC, National Youth Leadership Council, for two weeks. I then visited family in Idaho and Seat-tle. It was nice to have some fun after spending all that time learning. “

Dorrepaal said, “I went to North Carolina for a program about inter-national law and foreign policy at Duke. It was actually pretty interest-ing. From there, I went to the Neth-erlands. The beaches there were just amazing and the atmosphere was just so relaxing. “

For those who were unable to get away or who stayed in Modesto after an early vacation, all was not lost.

Junior Catherina Tan had the fun come to her. “I got to spend an amazing week with my big sister,” Tan shared. “We told stories and played games and had the best time ever. She only gets to come home once a year. We played a lot of mahjong.”

Sophomore Emma Austin spent the summer getting ready for a new season of water polo. Austin said, “I worked out like all summer. I played water polo and swam every day. I wanted to get better over the sum-mer, so I would have something to bring to the varsity team this year.”

Ip, after coming home from his trip

to China, said, “I spent the rest of the summer running, playing tennis, chilling with friends, and trying to gain a couple pounds. Overall it was a good summer. I have no regrets.”

The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer by Samuel Lee

SEA BREEZE - SENIOR KYLE KLEIN SPENT HIS SUMMER RELAXING ON THE BEACHES OF HOLLAND. HIS DAILY ROUTINE CONSISTED OF WAKING UP AND SPENDING THE ENTIRE DAY RELAXING WITH HIS MUSIC AND BOOKS NEAR THE SOUND OF THE COOL OCEAN BREEZE.

PANAMANIC VIEW - JUNIOR NA-TALY NGUYEN ENJOYS THE VIEW OUTSIDE OF HER HOTEL ROOM IN PANAMA

TEEN LIFE

LIVING IT UP IN SPAIN - (LEFT to RIGHT) - JUNIORS MOLLY McGARRY, LAUREN NG, KALEB HALLACK, CESAR ARGUEL-LA, TRYA BROWN, KEEGHAN SWEENY, AND MACKENZIE ANDERSON TAKE A PICTURE WHILE STUDYING IN SPAIN.

12 The Panther Press

With the school year well under-way, students may have noticed new faces on campus. Many are fresh-men, some are transfer students, but two students in particular are at MHS under very unique circumstances. They are exchange students. Michele Schertenleib is a sophomore from Switzerland, and Anongpat “Mook” Jayasananon is a junior from Thailand.

Much like the freshmen on cam-pus, Michele and Mook are adjusting to the atmosphere and procedures of MHS. But unlike the class of 2016, these two students are also adjusting to the newness of the American cul-

ture as a whole. According to Michele, “In America, everything is bigger - the town, the streets, the cars, and even the bottles of milk!”

With regard to their experiences with their host-families, Mook said, “I like the big house! We do not have dishwashers in Thailand, so it is in-teresting to see one here.” Michele added, “We do more with the whole family in America.”

Mook also notices cultural differ-ences. “In America, guys and girls seem so comfortable hugging, kiss-ing, and holding hands with each other in public because no one really pays attention, but in Thailand, it is totally different. People don’t do that,” she comments.

Both girls are enjoying their expe-riences in the United States. “I don’t have anything negative about the United States - I find everything great, good, and wonderful. A positive as-pect about here is the social nature from the people,” said Michele.

Mook dis-cussed some of the negative and positive elements of the American school system as she sees it, “A negative thing is that students seem more in-dependent here. Students and teachers aren’t as close to each other as they are in Thailand. A positive thing is that students are more active in class. There is more discussion and students speak their own thoughts. Also, school teaches responsibility – students must walk to classes in a certain amount

of given time; whereas in Thailand, the students stay put in the classroom and the teachers come instead.”

Both students commented more on differences in school in the United States in comparison to their home countries. They both say the schools they each came from are much small-er than Modesto High. Mook is from an all-girls Catholic school and Mi-chele’s school has approximately 200 students.

Michele said, “In Switzerland, I don’t have the same everyday school schedule, and school is until 4-5 pm. Also, there are no sports as football, cheerleading, or water polo.”

“In Thailand,” Mook explained, “there are about 16 school subjects, and a different sport is mandated for every school year. Some of the sports choices are basketball, table tennis, volleyball, and badminton.”

Both students are enjoying their experiences here in the United States and at MHS.

ATTENDING SCHOOL IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRYby Sarah Lim

ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE - JUNIOR ANONGPAT JAYASANANON SMILES AS SHE TALKS ABOUT HER TIME IN THE UNITED STATES.

FAST FRIENDS - SOPHOMORES MICHELE SCHERTENLEIB (RIGHT) LIKES HANGING OUT WITH HER HOST FAMILY, ESPECIALLY SOPHOMORE FIONA MCBRIDE LUMAN (LEFT).

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There is a stricter lanyard policy at MHS this year. The major differ-ence between last year and this year is that it is now a school rule to wear your lanyard. Last year, it was simply a recommendation for the students to wear their lanyards.

The new enforcement of lanyards is for a good cause. It is important for students to wear their lanyards for safety reasons. The lanyards allow the school administration to make sure that no unauthorized people are roaming the campuses.

Senior Donovan Davis said, “I feel that students should not be com-plaining about wearing their lanyards if it is keeping us safer. Wearing a lan-yard is not a big deal.”

There are consequences for stu-dents who do not wear their lanyards. Students found not wearing their lan-yards will be given detentions. Con-stant disregard for this new policy can also lead to Saturday School.

School safety is a serious matter, and it is imperative for students to fol-low the rules. The MHS administration

and faculty are helping to support this new policy in order to keep the stu-dents safe. The campus supervisors are constantly on the look out and reminding students to wear their lan-yards. Many teachers are also show-ing support by rewarding students for wearing their lanyards.

The lanyards are required in or-der to do almost anything at school. Without a lanyard, students will not be allowed to make purchases at the

No Lanyard, No Service, New Policy by Phillip Chau

Panthers Rally in Prayer at Flagpoleby Phillip Chau

student body office, do business in the counseling office, attend rallies, or check out books. Next year, the caf-eteria will require lanyards in order to purchase lunch.

These rules and consequences may seem strict, but they are being en-forced for the safety of the students.

Assistant Principal of Student Su-pervision Jared Lawson said, “It is in the best interest of the students, and it is strictly for safety reasons.”

PRAYING PANTHERS - MHS STUDENTS JOINED HANDS, HEARTS, AND SPIRITS IN AN UPLIFTING SESSION OF PRAYER AND WORSHIP. STUDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS TOOK TURNS PRAYING FOR THE SCHOOL, MODESTO, AND THE COUNTRY.

LANYARD SWAG - (LEFT to RIGHT) - JUNIOR MARIAH GARCIA AND SENIORS EMILY GARCIA AND ROTIYAH AMIL SHOW OFF THEIR FLASHY LANYARDS.

On Wednesday, September 26th students from MHS met at the front of the school near the flagpole for the annual “See You at the Pole” event. See You at the Pole is a global event held every fourth Wednesday of Sep-tember to bring Christian students together for prayer, scripture-reading, and singing.

The history of See You at the Pole began in 1990 originally as a grass roots movement with only a few stu-dents praying at their school. It has been over twenty years later and the event is now a world-wide tradition.

See You at the Pole is a student-run prayer rally. At MHS the Panthers for Christ club has been organizing the

event on our campus for years. It has been a success, with many people showing up at the flag pole. More than sixty people participated this year.

Panthers for Christ President Gar-rett Cook said, “I think it went well. This year the event was much better than last year. This year we had more students and teachers participate. We also had some of the local youth pas-tors help out.”

Even if it is a student’s first time par-ticipating in See You at the Pole, they are still encouraged to come and join the event.

“It was my first time [participat-ing],” said senior Daniel Standart, “but I thought it was cool seeing students and staff come together to pray for our school.”

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CAMPUS LIFE

14 The Panther Press

Students dressed up in spirit wear, athletes proudly donned their jerseys, gymnasts showed off their skill, cheer-leaders hyped up the crowd with rally dances- all of these groups came together to create the excited atmosphere of the first rally. The rally on September 14th marked the beginning of the freshman experience and the beginning of the end for the seniors as they enter their final year. Though each class has pride for their grade, rallies help bring all Panthers together like one giant family, showing love for MHS.

The first rally this year was a success. From the leadership game to the pep-o-meter, the atmosphere influenced everyone to go crazy with panther pride. Of course, Mrs. Hutton stole the show, showing all students the perfect example of high school spirit. Also, do not forget that the seniors won the pep-o-meter, showing the other classes how it’s done! The only question left here is, which grade will win during the next rally?

Panther Pride by Shelby Willis

Photos courtesy of Scott Mitchell

Foreign language teachers of-ten recommend purchasing a dic-tionary to help with translations. “MyLanguage” app allows students to select which language to translate into English, or allows translation from English to any other language. Language applications are con-venient and helpful, but stu-dents should be warned not to overuse these translators. Mathematic or scientific formulas can be difficult to remember through the school year. The app “iFormulas” gives easy access to hundreds of for-mulas for Algebra, Calculus, Chem-istry, Geometry, Physics and more. “Remembering some of the formu-las we use in class can be hard,” junior Bailey Donnelly said of her Chemistry class. “I get them mixed up sometimes.” The use of an electronic device

during a test is most likely prohib-ited in the classroom, but it can be helpful with homework assign-ments or when revising for a test. To keep up to date with your friends, install the “Twitter” appli-cation. Having friends a tap away to get help on homework or find out due dates can come in handy. As of June, Twitter reached 500 mil-lion users. When asked about Twit-ter, Junior Cesar Areola, said, “…sometimes you just need a break from homework…and it’s really good for when you need to get in touch with another student quickly.” School is all about classes, grades, friends, college applica-tions—and now it’s about smart-phone applications as well. New technology has made keeping ahead in school easier than ever.

Not all iPhone apps are used for en-tertainment purposes; many are avail-able to improve the lives of students. Since 2007, an estimated 85 mil-lion Apple iPhones have been sold worldwide and 25 billion apps have been downloaded as of March 2012. Many students on campus own iPhones and use them daily. Some students pay for programs to expand their SAT vocabulary, but “SAT Vocab Free” costs nothing and is ideal for reviewing during free time. The app contains over 1,500 English flash cards and has a five star rating. “iStudiez Lite” is an application cre-ated to organize busy schedules. Stu-dents that have trouble keeping track of activities and assignments can benefit by saving their assignments in the app which will color coat their calendars to keep them on track.

iPhone Apps for Students by Mackenzie Anderson

CAMPUS LIFE

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