The Gusher Volume 94, Issue 1 Taft Union High School, 701 Seventh St., Taft, Calif. 93268 October 12, 2006

The school was filled with life when Taft High students, their parents, grandparents and siblings roamed the quad and halls on the evening of Sept. 11 during the annual Back To School Night. The evening started off with principal Marilyn Brown asking for a moment of silence in remembrance of those lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Brown then made brief remarks and introduced the department chairs and board members. From then on everyone was allowed to mingle in the quad and eat hot dogs and hamburgers cooked by Gary Rennie and Greg Davis. Activities Director Eric Newton and the ASB served the food while choir performed and clubs displayed materials for parents to persue. “This is so great because you get to see all the clubs, and our parents get to see

“We have one of the highest pass rates,” superinten-dent Curt Dubost commented about Taft’s spring 2006 Cali-fornia High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) result. Students take the CAHSEE for the first time in their sophomore year. If they do not pass, they are given ad-ditional opportunities to pass in their junior and senior years. Students who fail the test are placed in the CAHSEE Tutorial class. Those who fail to pass it in three years don’t graduate.

what we go through at school every day,” said junior Alexcia Perales as she sat at the Drama Club display. The families remained in the quad until the first bell rang at 7 p.m., when they reported to their first period class. Periods were 10 minutes long and teachers gave short presentations and answered questions. “This a really good chance for parents to get to know the community and environment their children are being taught in and what it is they are being taught,” said Isabel Palomares, father of freshman Yeni Palomares. Arlene Davis, grandmother of junior Alyssa Alonzo, agreed. “It’s wonderful for people who have never gotten the chance to meet the teachers and see the campus.” Parents also got to meet with their students’ counselor. By the end of the night, they had a better idea of what their children have to go through day after day for 180 days.

Back to School Night is standing room onlyFamilies turn out for BBQ, informational tables and teacher presentationsBy Lillie GervacioStaff Writer

By Jordie HoodEntertainment Editor

New legislation leads cafeteria to emphasize fruits, vegetables, low fat cooking and portion control.

Students, staff and parents man the wide variety of informational tables set up by TUHS clubs, classes and special programs for Back to School Night on Sept. 11. Jennifer Gonzales

Students, staff struggle to adapt to new, healthier cafeteria menu mandated by state

The Voice of the Wildcats Since 1912

For most, the changes in the cafeteria have been a complete culture shock. Going from huge helpings of oooey gooey biscuits and gravy to Di-xie-cup sized servings of fruit hasn’t exactly been the easiest change to adjust to, and students and faculty aren’t afraid to express their opinions on the subject. “Most of us are mature young adults,” says senior Vanessa Gonzales. “With all the choices we’re faced with at school every day, I’m sure we’re mature enough to make our own decisions about what we eat. Governor Schwarzenegger is fat, so he shouldn’t be able to tell us what to eat.” Gonzales isn’t the only one who feels this way. Students and even staff members have been boycotting the changes since day one. Though it may seem like students are more upset about the changes than the staff, the decrease in sales is actually higher in the faculty lunch line. Connie Bauer, cafeteria supervisor, feels that all the commotion is unnecessary. “We started receiving complaints on day one,” she says. “One day is not long enough to make that kind of decision. Students don’t real-ize how privileged they are to have these types of foods available to them.” Some of the new healthy choices on the menu include wild rice, peppered steak, freshly

CAHSEE, STAR testing results show impressive improvement

By Lacey ChappelearCopy Editor

Eighty-five percent of first-time takers pass theCAHSEE; STAR test API is up 17 to 650.prepared green salads, and frozen yogurt in

place of ice cream. Science teacher Leslie Moe seems to be pleased with the new changes and is relieved the government took action on the growing obesity problem. “I’ve always believed that if you’re offered healthy food, that’s what you’ll eat,” says Moe. “The change has helped me learn the proper amount of food my body needs. I feel so much more energetic.” Some staff are stuck in the middle. Ryan Hickman is one of them. “It’s tough changing from the food we used to have. It’s like we’re all on a diet,” says Hickman. “In the end though, it will lead to a healthier lifestyle.” We may not be happy with the chang-es, but the fact is, what’s done is done.

This student’s lunch is typical of the health-ier options being served in the cafeteria this year. She is about to enjoy a mini-tostada, grapes, lowfat Sun Chips, and grape juice.

It’s clear that a lot of TUHS students don’t find pass-ing in that time frame hard. “It was pleasing to me that it was easier than was said. Everyone can pass it,” junior Richard Gatewood asserted sagely. The test is divided into English and math sections. The math portion is completely multiple choice, while the Eng-lish is composed of multiple choice, reading selections and essay questions. “It was easy; the STAR test was harder,” ob-continued on page 3

Most girls aren’t all about short skirts and lip gloss. They have their own sense of style and their own way of showing it. That doesn’t go over very well with some of the boys around campus. It seems as though girls have to dress a certain way be-cause that’s how everyone as-sumes we should dress. Girls should be able to dress however they want without being judged for it. Honestly boys, it’s not that big of a deal if girls want to be comfortable. God forbid we should wear athletic shorts and a t-shirt. It’s not the end of the world. I’m not saying it’s hor-rible to dress “girly,” but come on, it’s just school. I honestly see no point in spending two or more hours in front of a mir-ror only to sit in a classroom for seven hours or sweat off all the make-up and hairspray in P.E. There’s a time and a place to put that much effort into get-ting ready, but I don’t think it should be for school. I’m not attacking any-body with this piece. Everyone has his or her own opinion on this issue. But I know I speak for many girls in expressing my opinion.

If distraction from the educational process is what the faculty is worried about, then they should note that their hyp-ocritical policies recently dis-rupted the entire student body. The Dress and Groom-ing Policy states, “Any apparel which draws undue attention to the wearer tends to distract from the educational process and is, therefore, inappropri-ate.” It seems this line is con-tradicted by the policy which the school is supposed to pro-mote. Lately, campus supervi-sors are told to personally escort home violating students so they can change, causing them to be truant. Isn’t this an even larger distraction from their “educa-tional process” than wearing trendy, normal-fitting clothing? The administration should pick their battles with students. Instead of worrying about an AP student’s shorts being a quarter of an inch too short, perhaps they should con-centrate on disciplining the stu-dents who are starting fights or back-talking teachers. We are now being la-beled as members of groups that do not exist here at Taft High. The newest controversy is stu-dents wearing cotton or plastic headbands in their hair. Isn’t that what they are invented for? To be used to create convenient hairstyles or to simply make a fashion statement? They’re not necessarily used to signify that we are now involved in “gang related” activities. Has Taft High encountered this problem in the past? Not to our knowl-edge.

Recently a student was asked to remove a polka-dot-ted, regular plastic headband. This “violation” is not clearly stated in the Dress Code, which states only that “Bandanas and hairnets are not permitted.” Notice that there is no mention of simple headbands. Perhaps the school should consider switching to uniforms; then everyone would be conforming to the way the Board sees fit. Another alterna-tive is to give students money to allow us to pay for poorly fit-ting, oversized clothes (which we know are not inexpensive) to serve as appropriate school apparel. Students are not willing to change until a fair compro-mise is reached. It seems the ad-ministration is picking out the same students to change their clothes. It would only be fair to have every student checked for their compliance with the Dress Code since the same girls get in trouble while others get away with it. It is understandable if a student’s clothing is unques-tionably inappropriate and too much skin is showing. Petty violations such as frayed jeans and headbands are much less distracting than, say, a two-foot hot pink mohawk. The Board and admin-istration should consider the extreme degree to which they are taking this issue. Decisions need to be made to ensure that time at school is productive, instead of taking time away from class to go home to change clothes. That waste of time is the complete opposite of what the school obviously intends.

After over two years of debate in the state legisla-ture, an agreement was finally reached to increase the mini-mum wage. Over the next two years, the minimum wage will be increased from $6.75 to $8. This is welcome news for the over one million minimum wage earners. Of the entire low-wage bracket, the 16.8 percent that are part-time teens will, arguably, be the most affected. Critics of the plan continue to state that an increase in the minimum wage will lead employers to hire fewer full-time employees and replace them with part-timers, or just to move their business to a state with a lower minimum wage. Long-term predictions by these critics range from an ensuing economic depression to small recessions after each increase. Paul Ackerman, AP Economics teacher and former Taft mayor, also takes this point of view. “The unskilled wage earners who keep their jobs will definitely benefit from the high-er wage,” he said. “Employ-ers, faced with a higher cost of production, will either pass this cost on to the consumers in the form of higher prices, or in the form of lay-offs,” he continued. The proponents of this bill point to the fact that, in the past, minimum wage hikes have actually helped the econo-my. Each increase in the wage is essentially a preventative mea-sure against inflation. Inflation rises slightly each year, making the cost of living rise as well. The hike occurs when the cost of living is more than the mini-mum yearly wage. David Dennis, who teaches several computer class-es and has a background in labor unions, feels that “[the wage hike] will help those who benefit directly from it; howev-er, it will not affect the economy as a whole.” While the effects of the hike are not known yet, one fact is inevitable, this will not be the last minimum wage hike by any means.

Editorial Administration needs to pick their battles on Dress Code enforcement

News & OpinionPage 2 October 12, 2006

Battle of the Sexes:Female Fashion

Aaron Rolls Girls, it’s time for you to dress feminine again.

Jordie Hood Girls are free to wear whatever they want.

Governor signs bill to increase state minimum wage to $8 over two yearsBy Josh WebbNews Editor

The GusherTaft Union High School

701 Seventh StreetTaft, Calif. 93268

(661) 763-2300bwolfe@taft.k12.ca.us

The Gusher is a monthly publication of the journalism class at Taft Union High School. The Gusher is an open forum for students, faculty and alumni of TUHS. The opinions and views expressed in The Gusher are the sole responsibility of the staff and do not reflect the views of either TUHS, the TUHS District, or the Board of Trustees.

Managing EditorMegan Chappelear

Production/Photo EditorJennifer Gonzales

Copy EditorLacey Chappelear

News EditorJoshua Webb

Features EditorCourtney Glendening

Sports EditorBarbara Eveland

Entertainment EditorJordie Hood

Staff WritersBrianne Carroll, Sarai Espinoza, Lillie Gervacio, Samantha Gon-zales, Billy Johnson, Jestin Kors-gaard, Nathan Lampkin, Jessica

Lemmons, Aaron Rolls

As I walk down the halls I can’t help but ask myself, “Where has all the feminine fashion of the past gone?” I can remember, as a freshman, see-ing girls with their hair done, wearing short little skirts and those high socks. I remember when girls looked like girls and guys looked like guys. Now, how-ever, it’s all mixed up and so wrong. In a day and age where it’s acceptable for girls to wear dirty jeans and sport pink mo-hawks, how can we possibly be attracted to many of these girls that look like troll dolls? I understand that peo-ple need to express themselves, but maybe there should be a limit to the madness. Not only has feminine fashion evolved, but guys’ fash-ion has as well. Everyday I see guys wearing girls’ jeans, shirts and who knows what else. Everyone needs to dress in their own way, but maybe we should try to dress in way that makes us more attractive to the opposite sex. I think many peo-ple try to dress for attention, and most of the people who try to

continued on page 6

NewsOctober 12, 2006 Page 3

Physical changes are coming to TUHS. The school board re-cently voted 4-0 to replace the sound system in the audito-rium. Proponents, including superintendent Curt Dubost and Ken Anderson, Fine Arts Department chair, argued that the current system is not suit-

In order to keep inter-est high, the administration ap-proved the creation of several new classes this year, including Dance, AP English Language and Composition 11, Web Pub-lishing, Ag Welding and the Building Trades Academy. Dance class, taught by Kelly Morris, consists of learn-ing rhythm and putting steps together in order to create a dance. “I just want students to have a basic understanding of dance,” Morris says. Morris wants to create a concrete goal for the class, so she is making plans for a perfor-mance at the end of the school year. Another elective class, Carolyn Schoneweis’s Web Publishing, is set to take over maintenance of part of the Taft High web site. The students’ job is to maintain the web site and help produce the Taft TV show.

Ag Welding, an addi-tion to the F.F.A. program, is the final elective added. The pur-pose of the class is to apply real world situations to welding. According to the teach-er, Woody Simart, “Ag Welding shows the facets of welding, such as repairs, construction, pipe welding, etc.” To capture the atten-tion of the 58 students, Simart required students to produce projects for the county fair. As for an academic class, AP English Language and Composition 11 is a college-level class that makes use of a “reader,” which is a collection of essays used to help students understand the different modes of writing. The teacher, Bill Wolfe, explains that “the class is es-sentially a college rhetoric class, with an emphasis on argument; students learn a wide range of rhetorical strategies to make their point.” The idea to make the Language and Composition

Variety of new classes offer rigor, skills and creativity to studentsBy Josh WebbNews Editor

Students in Kelly Morris’s new Dance class work on balance, rhythm and steps. Even a few boys have enrolled to improve their athleticism. Photo by Sarai Espinoza

class available to juniors came about in an attempt to encour-age students to take both the 11 AP and 12 AP classes. Those who take both classes will be much better prepared for col-lege. The final addition to the school’s portfolio of classes is actually a new academy. The Building Trades Academy (now known as ACE) is structured much like the Oil Academy in that it is intended to recruit stu-dents as sophomores and keep them in the academy through-out the next three years. The name was changed from BTA to ACE (Architecture, Construc-tion and Engineering academy) because the three core classes feature curricular connections to engineering and architec-ture. ACE advisor Ted Pend-ergrass plans to have at least one class trip per month, as well as summer internships. The ACE academy hopes to give the Oil Academy a run for the title of most active program at TUHS.

School construction projects announcedBy Lacey ChappelearCopy Editor able for school functions. They

noted that the only negative comments about last year’s pro-duction of Les Miserables were about the sound system. The estimated cost for the project is $150,000 to $200,000. The Board is also con-sidering building a new bus garage. The current garage is too small to handle the newer, larger buses. TUHS is looking at

vacant land to the west on San Emidio Street. The present site will become a new auto shop on campus, allowing the cur-rent auto shop to be remodeled into more classrooms. No plans, however, have been finalized. The rebuilding of the pool has yet to be started. The plans were delayed, and the new approximate start date for the project is early 2007.

served junior Katie DuBois. The sentiment should be echoed by most TUHS students; 85% of first-time takers passed. The average pass rate of California schools was 59% in math and 61% in English. “I am incredibly pleased,” Dubost said. When it comes to the Standardized Testing and Re-porting (STAR) program, Taft High is performing well. The federal No Child Left Behind act states that all students should be “proficient” in English and math (the top two classifica-tions are “advanced” and “pro-ficient”). The STAR is one way their proficiency is measured. “The national goal is that by 2015, every student will be above ‘basic’ level,” Dubost

explained. “That is our goal as well. We are halfway to where we need to be.” Every school is given an Academic Performance In-dex (API) number each time the test is administered in April. Schools are expected to increase a certain number of points each year, until they reach 800 on a 1,000 scale. Taft’s 2005 API was 633, with a goal to increase by eight points. Taft’s 2006 API was 650, a 17-point increase. That places TUHS among the top schools in Kern County (third, behind Stockdale High and Desert High at Edwards Air Force Base). “I am happy with the results,” commented Dubost, “but I know we could do better if students tried as hard as they do with the CAHSEE.”

STAR, CAHSEE test results improvecontinued from page 1

Science teacher Eric Newton has taken the role of Activi-ties Director for 2006-2007. The p o s i t i o n o p e n e d up when long-time Activities D i r e c t o r John Kopp r e s i g n e d as A.D. at the end of last year.

“When I was first ap-proached, I said no because I was plan-ning on coach ing football,” explains Newton.

“But the students kept ask-ing me if I would be willing to help, and that was enough for me to say yes.”

Newton’s job for the most part is to make sure that the day-to-day events on campus such as fundraisers, rallies and noon games are organized and completed in time.

Surprisingly, Newton is find-

Eric Newton takes over as TUHS Activities DirectorScience teacher replaces long-time A.D. John Kopp, plans many events for this school year

By Courtney GlendeningFeatures Editor

ing it easier than he expected to adjust to the challenging job. “Right now there isn’t a dif-ficulty. The students are so hard working they make it easy,” Newton says.

He is generat-ing ideas for Mock Rock and planning to keep it tradi-tional.

N e w -ton also a d v i s e s the Lead-e r s h i p class.

“ T h e class is m a i n l y g e a r e d to teach

leadership skills, getting kids involved, using time produc-tively by leading by example,” he explains.

Newton and the class make sure events and activities are planned and organized well.

“It’s mainly a student-run thing,” Newton says of the Leadership class. “They’re the best class I could’ve gotten my first year as Activities Direc-tor.”

Activities Director Eric Newton helps a student. Photo by Desiree Evans

NewsPage 4 October 12, 2006

Taft High now has a police officer on campus. Deputy Greg Collins of the Kern County Sheriff’s De-partment has been a truancy of-ficer in Taft the last few years. He will now be sta-tioned on campus to work on truancy problems, assist at ath-letic events and issue citations when necessary. TUHS has contracted with the Sheriff’s Department to place a police officer on cam-pus to address situations that re-quire law enforcement whether preventative or responsive. Collins knows many families in Taft and works well with kids and parents. According to vice prin-cipal Rona Angelo, he came with many good references. “He’s a positive re-source,” she says. “He’s a good guy.”

Sheriff’s Deputy Collins now on campus full-time

Officer Greg Collins began working full-time at TUHS in late September, “to help out.” Photo by Megan Chappelear

By Megan ChappelearManaging Editor

Collins will be monitor-ing both the TUHS and Buena Vista campuses. He is working with the entire school district. He has all the authority a police officer would normally have. He can cite students for speeding, cigarettes, drugs, tru-ancy and anything else that he deems appropriate. He is authorized to carry a gun, but using it would require extreme circumstances. “I’ll be there to enforce all of the laws of the educational and penal codes,” says Collins. Collins is here to insure that the campus remains as safe as it has been in the past. “This is not meant to be a negative thing,” Angelo stresses. “It’s a positive thing. He is here to help out.”

The NCAA football championship wasn’t the only national title the Texas Long-horns won this year. They also brought home the gold in party-ing like it’s nobodiy’s business. The 2006 survey, onducted by the Princeton Review, named Texas the top party school in the nation. Texas beat out schools such as Penn State, West Vir-ginia and last year’s winner, the University of Wisconsin-Madi-son on the overall chart. “I know there were a lot of good parties here after we won the national football cham-pionship,” UT spokesman Don Hale told the Associated Press. “And I’m going to guess that a lot of the kids who filled out the survey remembered those par-ties.” With about 1,000 stu-dent groups, including more than 50 social sororities and fraternities, it’s relatively easy to find a good party on the UT campus. “It’s such a unique en-vironment,” Danielle Rugoff, Texas’ student body president, told ABC News. “It allows for

U of Texas top party school By Nathan LampkinStaff Writer students to just live life to the

fullest and have such a rich aca-demic environment and rigor-ous academic program and still have an amazing time and en-joy being in college.” This just goes to show that everything really is bigger in Texas, including the “huge” party scene at UT Austin. California’s very own UCSB ranked 10th on the over-all chart and was voted as the 25th “hottest” college to attend. Brigham Young Uni-versity in Utah again won the title of top “Stone Cold Sober University”. They’re champi-ons in that category nine years running.

Top 10 Party Schools

1. University of Texas at Austin 2. Penn State University3. West Virginia University4. University of Wisconsin at Madison5. University of Mississippi6. Ohio University7. University of Massachusetts, Amherst8. Louisiana State University9. University of Iowa10. University of California, Santa Barbara

Stanford University has decided to add another branch onto its tree of learning: an online high school has been opened to challenge gifted stu-dents around the world. Blandly named Online High School, the school was formed out of Stanford’s sum-mer school program and Inter-net classes for gifted teenagers. Unlike regular high schools, OHS has a three-year program that begins after fresh-man year at a normal high school to establish familiarity with high school classes. Stu-dents must be at least 13 to en-roll and 14 to attend. The classes offered at OHS are taught at an advanced level; some are even on par with Stanford’s rigorous university-level courses. The school consists of approximately 30 sophomores,

juniors and seniors. The ad-ministration hopes the program will grow to 300 students. Tuition for OHS is very expensive. Annual tuition for a full time student runs around $12,000. The school also offers financial aid for those who need it. Stanford also recom-mends that OHS students visit the campus once during sum-mer to meet their professors and experience their campus. TUHS Superintendent Curt Dubost sees both sides of the issue. “I believe there is a place for distance learning and that some students will do well. However, I think the real joy in learning comes from interaction with a favorite teacher and that relationship.” OHS already has its stu-dents for the year, but prospec-tive students can begin their ap-plications for the next scholastic year.

Stanford opens first online high schoolBy Jennifer GonzalesProduction Editor

Derrick staff attends yearbook design workshopBy Jessica LemmonsStaff Writer

The yearbook class traveled to West High on Sep-tember 12 for an all-day work-shop on design trades. Students learned various skills such as how to “create” a perfect year-book, what a yearbook should look like, copy writing, digital effects and photo imaging. Taylor Publishing has held the workshop at West High for two years now. Taft High has been publishing the yearbook with Taylor for sev-eral years. “I think the workshop was a beneficial experience for our staff,” said yearbook advi-sor Lisa Borrecco. “New staff members were introduced to the world of yearbook and what it entails. It was also a great team-building experience.” Yearbook staff and ad-visors from around the county attended the workshop. They also encouraged students to become involved and to un-derstand how important year-books are to their school, so that students would be able to look back and remember their high school days. “You will never re-member all of the crazy things you did in high school,” said the parent of a West High stu-dent. “Believe it or not, you will actually look back and laugh at how you would wake up an hour in advance to do your hair, or how much money you spent on ‘what’s hot’ and later on realized how ridiculous you looked.” The Yearbook staff is determined to make the 2006-2007 yearbook the best ever.

For nearly a century Taft High has been home to many notable graduates. Stan Barrett, member of the district’s board of trustees, wants to create a lasting place of tribute in the halls of the school to honor these renowned alum-ni. There will be plaques with the name and photo of each honoree. continued on page 11

By Brianne CarrollStaff Writer

Walk of Fame to honor key grads

NewsOctober 12, 2006 Page 5

The Rabobank Con-vention Center was packed on September 12 with hundreds of excited students and parents scrambling to obtain informa-tion about colleges. The Seventh Annual Kern County College Night welcomed high school and ju-nior high students to come and learn about different colleges and financial aid. There was something for every student, no matter their interest, from the National Guard, Yale and Cal Poly to the University of Wyoming, UCLA and CSUB. Representatives from universities were available to answer questions and hand out brochures and goodies like pen-nants and bumper stickers. High school counselors had their own booth at the front of the Convention Center to provide on-the-spot guidance to students. A group of 76 students, counselors Mike McCormick and Tammy Sutherland and teachers Debra Popejoy and Brandi Trejo were among those who attended College Night. Some students simply went to obtain more informa-tion on colleges they already wanted to attend. “I’ve always wanted to go to Cal Poly because it’s a

College Night offers Taftstudents a glimpse into a future of higher educationBy Courtney GlendeningFeatures Editor good school,” says sophomore

Corren Thompson. “I found out more about their admissions.” A variety of informa-tion sessions were held on scholarships and financial aid, planning for admission to pub-lic colleges and universities and planning for admission to com-petitive colleges and universi-ties. “The fact that the par-ents and students can attend to-gether is very beneficial, along with the sessions on financial aid,” says Sutherland. Taft High encouraged its students to attend the event in order to gain knowledge about their options for higher education. Sophomore Tiffany Sal-tiban feels she gained from the experience. “I could see what the colleges offered and how much it was [cost of tuition].” College Night did sway some opinions; at first Saltiban wanted to attend Pepperdine University, but now she is con-sidering Cal Poly as well. “It was the first time I got a chance to go because of [coaching] volleyball,” Suther-land explained. “College Night exposes students to the differ-ent types of colleges available to them and gives them an idea of the bigger picture after high school.”

After many years of award-winning work as yearbook advisor, Jim Carnal has resigned and has passed on the job to English teacher Lisa Borrecco. “It is exciting. It’s something new,” Borrecco says about being the new advisor. The position is a challeng-ing one, especially in the first year. “I’m a little stressed,” Bor-recco admits. “It’s hard work but it’s fun work. It’s also time consum-ing.” Particular challenges in producing The Derrick, according to Borrecco, include “selling ads, taking good pictures and meeting deadlines.” This summer Borrecco and her editors went to Pepperdine Year-book Camp Malibu, for five days. They sometimes worked from 8 am to 9 or 10 pm. “We got our theme for this year and learned how to create page layouts,” Borrecco says. There are 21 staff members working with Borrecco. Top editors are Tiffany Payne and Joie Reyes; ad editor Emily Graves; sports editor Crystal Waldie; and copy and photo editor Roia Liljeroos. Sixteen new staff members are learning about yearbook along with Borrecco.

New yearbook advisor Lisa Borrrecco leads a winning teamBy Sarai EspinozaStaff Writer

“I am excited, learning new things, working with students, creating a memory book that people will keep for a lifetime,” Borrecco says. Borrecco was sent by yearbook publisher Taylor to Dallas for seven days to learn the special yearbook computer programs and how to manage a yearbook class. “It was fun,” Borrecco admits. There is one piece of advice Borrecco wants to give students. “This year’s yearbook is going to be great, and there will be new things, so everyone should buy one. The sooner, the better!”

Yearbook advisor Lisa Borrecco plans to continue where last advisor Jim Carnal left off. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales

By blasting visuals and audio, T.V. Productions teacher Greg Goossen plans on bring-ing the heat in Renaissance. Rather than changing the previous goals in Renais-sance, he plans to keep the fo-cus and energy on academics, positive attitudes and the re-lationships with their current business partners in the com-munity. “Everyone on the staff loves Taft High. We’re glad to be here. I want to inspire posi-tivity and celebrate this school,” Goossen says. Goossen received the

Greg Goossen brings enthusiasm, energy to Renaissance Club advisor positionBy Billy JohnsonStaff Writer

position before he could even make the trip to see Taft High principal Marilyn Brown. “I read the announce-ment. In fact, I was leaving my room to go see Mrs. Brown about the position, and she sim-ply came up and asked me if I was interested,” Goossen ex-plained. During the summer, the Renaissance team traveled to Minnesota for the national conference. “The trip was excellent. I’m not a big fan of conferences -- and I’ve been to a lot -- but I can’t wait for next year’s,” Go-ossen says excitedly. Although the club is not as organized as the class,

the club still has more variety of input because it outnumbers the class by approximately 15 students. The class, however, has the luxury of time, whereas the club has a tendency to be rushed. Despite these differenc-es, Goossen appreciates both of the groups’ hopes for Taft High. “Everyone’s input needs to be heard and valued, and to do that, we are working towards an equilibrium.” Since Goossen is the new director, all of the students in both groups are new to him. “We’re fumbling around in a dark room looking for the light switch, but we’ll find it,” he says optimistically.

Renaissance advisor Greg Goossen works with sophomore Sierra Sutherland in Multimedia class. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales

FeaturesPage 6 October 12, 2006

Alumna Kelly Morris will teach drama and dance, while Sigi Cruz is add-ed to the math department and Mark Shoffner analyzes student needs.

New teachers, school psychologist join TUHS staff

Sigi CruzBy Sarai Espinoza There is a new math teacher at TUHS and his name is Sigi Cruz. He moved from Oxnard, California one year ago and he is happily married. After graduating from CSU Channel Islands with a BS in Math, he taught at North High School for a semester, fin-ishing his teaching credential on the side. Describing why he de-cided to teach math he said, “I have patience with numbers and enjoy sharing my knowl-edge with others.”

His first impression of TUHS is positve. The staff are very friendly and the students are respectful,” Cruz says. The goals he has set for his students this year in-clude helping them learn math and having all of them pass the CAHSEE. He also sets goals for himself. Like all new teachers, he wants “to enjoy the year and to survive my first year as a teacher.”

Sigi Cruz is settling into his new “home” in the Science build-ing, where he teaches algebra. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales

One of the new faces on campus may be quite familiar to the TUHS staff. That’s because new Drama/Dance teacher Kel-ly Morris is a TUHS graduate. Morris graduated from TUHS in 1997, and then went on to Taft College to receive her AA. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in English and theatre at Cal State Bakersfield, Morris was hired as the new Drama/Dance teacher. She is very excited to be the new Drama teacher and is very pleased with her students “so far,” she jokes. She is al-ways looking for students who are “willing to learn and have fun, but don’t expect Drama to be an easy-A class,” she warns. Morris is thrilled about her first year of teaching. “I’m loving it so far. I’m happy with the caliber of learning going on,” she says.One challenge Mrs. Morris has faced so far is working along-side people who used to be her teachers. “It’s really hard to call them by their first names now,” she laughs. Some of Morris’ hobbies include knitting and crocheting. She is also proud of her newest hobby, called “lampwork glass

Kelly MorrisBy Jestin Korsgaard

beads.” She made her own bead, which she has displayed hanging from her cell phone. “I just have to show ev-eryone!” she admits. Morris resides in Taft with her husband Wesley, who is a teacher at Alta Vista High in Bakersfield. They have two Labrador dogs, Rocky and Bai-ley.

Morris will be directing TUHS’s first play of the year, Shakespeare’s comedy, “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream.” She hopes to be able to direct a mu-sical during the spring semes-ter. While she hasn’t chosen the musical yet, she is considering “High School Musical,” a very popular Disney film released earlier this year.

Kelly Morris, TUHS ‘97, brings her ebullient personality from the stage into the drama and dance classroom. Photo by Jestin Korsgaard

Psychologist Mark Shoffner works with special education stu-dents on their IEPs. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales

Mark ShoffnerBy Jestin Korsgaard

Taft High’s new school psychologist, Mark Shoffner replaces previous psycholo-gist, Don Asbridge who is now working in the Delano Elemen-tary School District. Shoffner graduated from Saratoga High School in San Jose, California. He con-tinued his education at UCLA, where he earned a BA in Eco-nomics and a masters degree in psychology. Shoffner also re-ceived his pupil personnel ser-vices credential at Humboldt as well. Shoffner worked for three years in Humboldt Coun-ty and then in San Luis Obispo for 22 years. While in San Luis, Shoffner was the director of special education for Templeton

Unified School District, previ-ous home of TUHS superinten-dent Curt Dubost. Shoffner lives in Atas-cadero with his wife Robyn. He enjoys working at TUHS because he likes the small town lifestyle and being able to work with more students. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Shoffner remarks about working at TUHS. “Ev-eryone is so friendly.” During his time off, Shoffner enjoys camping, back-packing, photography, reading and spending time with his family. “I think students are lucky to be able to attend a school like TUHS,” says Shoff-ner. “I don’t know of any other high school like it.”

dress radically are getting negative feedback from their peers. If it’s negative atten-tion they want they can go ahead but for all those who dress to impress then thank you. You have done society a major favor. I think for the ma-jority of the student we look good. I’m not telling girls to throw away your jeans and go buy a bunch of dresses but I am asking that maybe every once in a while try to dress a slightly more femi-nine way, for old time’s sake. And guys, leave the girls clothing for the girls!

Battle of the SexesFeminine FashionBringing back traditionally feminine stylecontinued from page 2

FeaturesOctober 12, 2006 Page 7

Foreign Exchange stu-dent Christoph Kaiser came to the U.S. to meet new people, have a better understanding of English and try new sports. Kaiser comes from Hamburg, Germany, where he would be in the 11th grade. Although he misses his fam-ily and his girlfriend, there are many things he loves about Taft. He enjoys the nice people, the school, the movies and the hot weather. According to Kai-ser, the landscape is one of the biggest differences between Taft and Germany. “Everything is green in Germany,” he said. Kaiser enjoys playing sports, and while he is here he will be playing football, soccer and tennis. So far, he has made a lot of new friends on the foot-ball team. While he is in Taft, Chris is staying with the Wil-liams family; they have no other TUHS students in the family. While there are many aspects of life in Taft that he en-joys, Chris doesn’t like having to do homework every night. In Germany, he only has certain classes every other day, so he gets an extra day for all of his homework. His favorite classes are Spanish, taught by Jorge Tor-res, and history, taught by Ray Newton. While he is in the U.S., Kaiser wants to visit some of our best cities, including San Fran-

For foreign exchange student Alexander Franzen, Taft is a reminder of his home-town, Norrkopig. “My town is just like Taft, but closer to a big city. I go to school in the big city, ten minutes away,” he recalls. According to Franzen, Taft High is “really nice. I like the sports.” Back home his school didn’t have sports and he had block scheduling, meaning 90-minute class periods and, somewhat on the brighter side, 20-minute breaks. “Most classes that we take in Sweden are based on preparation for what you want to be, like if you wanted to be a carpenter you’d take classes for that,” he explains. Franzen hopes to be-come a lawyer; however, his favorite class at Taft High is ac-counting with Ken Anderson. Franzen is currently running cross-country to get into shape for other sports, basketball and soccer being his favorites. When he isn’t playing sports, Franzen is hanging out with friends. He has become good friends with the other foreign exchange students and fellow cross-country runner Giovanni Flores. Franzen is living with the Pollocks and even though he really misses his family and friends, he really enjoys being here. He loves the weather because Sweden is so cold. He advises anyone who goes to Sweden to visit in the summer because the weather isn’t too

Sjoerd Groot is not your average Dutch boy. He’s 17 years old and is already at-tending the University of HVS in Amsterdam. He was born in Voorschotem, Holland but is staying with Margo Tyree in Taft while attending Taft High. He played field hockey in Holland and plans to join the soccer team here. Outside of school he likes to hang out with friends and swim. His favorite place to eat is Panda Express. He has traveled to many places, such as Iceland, Belgium, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, Tunisia and Africa. He can also speak French, Ger-man, Dutch, English and some Spanish. “People who walk around here are very open and say hi to strangers, but if you were to do that in Holland, peo-ple would just stare at you as if you were crazy,” Groot says. On the other hand he notes, “In Holland they are less strict with almost everything.” “People say that Amer-ica is the land of the free, but compared to Holland it isn’t,” he explains.

There are only good things to say about our new foreign exchange student Patri-cia Unsoeld. And she has only positive things to say about Taft High as well. Upbeat and de-lightful, the native German resi-dent Unsoeld brings a great at-titude to Taft, the kind we love to have here at our school. “The school is really cool, and I am enjoying my classes,” Unsoeld says. She is very enthusias-tic about being in America and loves the atmosphere. “My host family is awe-some, they’re really nice and I am grateful to have such op-portunities to come to America and meet wonderful people like them,” Unsoeld explained. She came to America because she was told it would be a great experience and she wanted to learn better English. “I thought that it would be fun to go away to another country for a year and learn a new culture,” says Unsoeld. The only set backs, in Unsoeld’s opinion, are all the rules we have to abide by that they are not used to in Germa-ny. “It kind of feels like you can’t really do anything, there are way more limitations then I am used to, but that can be expected.” After finishing school, Unsoeld wants to pursue a ca-reer in the media.

If you have seen a long haired kid with a burgundy fedora hat singing in the hall-ways, then you’ve seen Silvan Hammerli. Silvan Hammerli is a 16 year-old foreign exchange stu-dent from Lucern, Switzerland. Hammerli decided to spend a year in America not only to improve his English, but to ex-perience the American culture firsthand. “It was boring at home and America was the least ex-pensive country to stay in for a school year,” Hammerli ex-plains. He’s enjoying his year at Taft High. Although he’s not fond of the school’s dress code, he likes the students, staff and the difficulty level of the school-work. “The work is easy and the teachers try their best to do a good job for their students,” Hammerli says. Hammerli is currently living with the Haroutunian family in Taft. His parents are Lugrid and Ruedi Hammerli who are both doctors in Swit-zerland. His sister, Marion, is a 19 year-old college student in Switzerland. Hammerli is looking forward to playing soccer for Taft High. “I used to play back home, so I want to experience how two different cultures play the same sport. It should be fun.” Despite his excitement for the school year, he still miss-es his family and friends. “It’s not that I miss Switzerland as much as I miss the people in Switzerland. Oh, and my band,” he says with a grin. Hammerli is also a tal-ented musician. He plays gui-tar, piano and sings for his band in Switzerland.

Foreign Exchange Students get a taste of America in Taft

Silvan HammerliSwitzerlandBy Billy Johnson

“Even though I do miss home and the small activities I usually do with friends, I still wouldn’t give up this experi-ence,” he says enthusiastically.

Alexander FranzenGermanyBy Lillie Gervacio

Not only can she fluently speak German and English, but also is very familiar with the Spanish and French language. Her hobbies consist of hanging out with her friends, dancing and just having a good time.

hot or too cold, and everything is a lot greener. “I was here a couple of years ago on vacation and I re-ally liked it here, but the main reason [I came back] was be-cause I love all American things. I was like,’oh, that’s cool, cool cars, everything’s cool!’”

Patricia UnsoeldGermanyBy Nathan Lampkin

Christoph KaiserGermanyBy Megan Chappelear

cisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. Although he has seen parts of Hollywood and Malibu, he would like to spend more time there. He has a good overall impression of America already. “The people are very friendly,” says Kaiser. “Every-one helped me and explained things to me when I first got here.”

Sjoerd GrootThe NetherlandsBy Barbara Eveland

SportsPage 8 October 12, 2006

Varsity volleyball players in action: (L-R:) Sara Kidd, Morgan Blair, Ali Matthews, and Megan Peters set up for another point. Photo by Aaron Rolls

Wildcats off to strong start against non-league teams, win first league game against Tehachapi in last minuteBy Barbara EvelandSports Editor

The Taft High Wildcats varsity football team fought fe-rociously on Oct. 6 to win their first league game against Te-hachapi. The game was a close one, with neither team scor-ing before halftime. Tehachapi led in the third quarter with a touchdown, but Taft pulled ahead with a touchdown of their own with less than a min-ute to play in the fourth quarter. Chris Kaiser’s extra point made the difference in a 7-6 victory. In the weeks before the Tehachapi game, the boys took two trips to San Diego to play two different teams, one

of which was the biggest rival in their league. Taft defeated Christian 22-19 Sept. 23 and Horizon 41-17 on Sept. 30. The season has gone great so far, with the boys win-ning all their games except one. They got off to a strong start by winning their first game of the season against Foothill 33-7. Although they lost their back-up quarterback, Jer-emiah Twisselman, due to a leg injury, the players still believe they have the skill and determi-nation to make it to the Valley championship. Right guard and long-snapper Shawn Wynn explains, “Since Jeremiah got hurt we definitely lost a major addition

to our team. He’s a great athlete and a fun player, but we are go-ing to play our hardest to see the season through.” The boys struggled a bit and lost their second game to Ridgeview 49-23. “We’re our own worst enemy,” says Wynn. “We need to step it up a little and play harder,” says wide receiver and defensive back Christian Ramirez. “We are unbeaten at home, but we did let Ridgeview get away with one,” coach Steve Sprague notes. The boys practiced hard after that loss and won their third game against South 27-7.

The following weeks were spent on the road against the two San Diego high schools. Sprague is happy with the season so far and feels opti-mistic. “I love coaching,” he says. “It keeps me young. Hanging around with a bunch of teenagers, there’s nothing better.” Most of the boys think highly of Sprague, especially starting defensive tackle Chad Cruz. “Sprague is a really good coach. He has taught me a lot and he is an inspiration to me,” he says.

Varsity volleyball team racks up early winning recordBy Aaron Rolls Staff Writer

With a 19-3 overall re-cord (1-0 in league), the girls’ varsity volleyball team is look-ing great. The girls traveled to Te-hachapi for their league opener. With momentum from a great preseason and the determina-tion to start their league season off right, the girls outplayed Te-hachapi in game one, 25-21.

The second game was another win for the Wildcats with a score of 26-24. The third game didn’t go as well as the previous two, with Tehachapi bouncing back to win 25-21. The Lady Cats didn’t give up though; in game four they rallied back to overcome Tehachapi 25-16. “The girls are working hard and playing as a team,” says Coach Shari Norman.

“They have adjusted to a new defense and offense with little trouble. Their skill level and ambition are amazing. They have what it takes to go all the way if they continue the hard work.” The girls not only have the support of their coach, but also their fans. The bleachers started to fill with excited on-lookers from the very start of the new season.

“I enjoy watching the girls play. I’ve been to many games in the past, but I can’t remember a team with so much talent,” says senior Ryan Coul-ter. Not only are the fans excited about the season, the players are too. “We have the potential to win it all this year. We are all close to each other and work well together,” explained senior

Sara Kidd. The girls are playing with the ambition and determi-nation to win league and maybe even more. “A lot of things have changed this year: new coach, new defense, new everything,” says senior Megan Peters. “But we’ve grown strong as a team this year. We will only get stron-ger and better and hopefully take league.”

Football10/20 Wasco10/27 Bak. Christian11/03 at Arvin11/10 Playoff11/17 Playoff11/24 Playoff12/01 Playoff

Volleyball10/19 Tehachapi10/24 at Bak. Christ.10/26 Arvin 10/31 Wasco11/02 at Shafter 11/07 Playoff11/09 Playoff11/14 Playoff11/16 Valley Champ.11/21 Reg. Playoff11/25 Reg. Playoff11/28 Reg. Playoff12/02 State Playoff

Football, Volley-ball Schedules

SportsOctober 12, 2006 Page 9

Local soccer enthusiasts had a chance to hear a speech and witness a soccer demon-stration by U.S. National Soc-cer Olympian Shannon Boxx at Martin Memorial Stadium on August 31. Boxx came to Taft to publicize the inauguration of the Taft College women’s soccer team. She teamed up with the Lady Cougars to display their advanced skills on the soc-cer field, and she also gave a heartfelt speech about the hard-ships and difficulties she faced coming up in the WUSA soccer league. After a 45-minute skills demonstration from Boxx and the collegiate athletes, everyone in attendance had a chance to get an autograph from the pro-fessional ballplayer. “When seeing the moves being done by an Olym-pic superstar, you pick it up quicker and easier because you’re really learning from the best,” said a young attendee. Boxx was a freshman when Notre Dame won its first NCAA women’s soccer cham-pionship in 1995. She shares the school record for career games played, with 101, and was an All-Big East selection in 1995, ‘96 and ‘97.

U.S. Olympic soccer player Shannon Boxx gives clinicThe national soccer star paid a visit to Taft to publicize the debut of Taft College’s women’s soccer program.

By Nathan LampkinStaff Writer

Shannon Boxx, right, shows her Olympic gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games to young soccer players from Taft during her recent appearance at TUHS. Photo by Nathan Lampkin

In 2004 she scored eight goals and brought home a gold medal from the Athens Olym-pic Games. The WUSA superstar scored three goals in her three games after becoming the first uncapped player ever named to a Women’s World Cup. She earned All-Tourna-ment Team honors and a berth as captain of the FIFA World Stars team that played Germa-ny as part of FIFA’s centennial celebrations in Paris.

TUHS sophomore soccer player Nicole Owen receives some personal coaching from Shannon Boxx in Martin Memorial Stadium. Boxx was on crutches due to a recent leg injury, but gave a clinic anyway. Photo by Nathan Lampkin

“You might not be the star that gets all the notice, but if you work hard, someone is eventually going to notice it,” said Boxx. In addition to being a soccer superstar, Boxx graduat-ed from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in psy-chology and African-American Studies. The evening with Shan-non Boxx was very inspira-tional and gave optimism and confidence to ambitious young soccer players.

Boxx signed autographs for her many fans, including on shirts, soccer balls and soc-cer shoes. Photo by Nathan Lampkin

SportsPage 10 October 12, 2006

The Taft High cheerleaders work on one of their routines at cheer camp on the UC San Diego campus. Photo courtesy of Emmy Lou Heber

The Taft High cheer-leaders are back in action for the 06-07 school year. The girls are led by head coach Emmy Lou Heber and assistant coach Kristina Hammons. The cheerleaders are split into two different squads: eight on the varsity squad and seven on the JV squad. The var-

Competitive cheerleaders return to action after cheer campBy Jennifer GonzalesProduction Editor sity captain is Kelsey Burch; co-

captain Trina Malone also cap-tains the JV. The girls worked hard throughout the summer to prepare for their year-round season, including attending a cheer camp at UC San Diego to improve their skills. They came back stronger than ever in stunt-ing and crowd involvement.

JV cheerleader Bryanna Bacot is excited about the new material the girls are working on for the fall season. “The routines and stunts are really cute and fun,” she said. The squad also plans to attend several competitions this year. Their goal is to qualify for the USA Disneyland Competi-tion in the spring.

Coach Heber is opti-mistic about the competition season. “Our girls work in-credibly hard; they have 100% dedication to their sport. I think they’ll do extremely well at any competition,” she predicts. This season the cheer-leaders can be seen during foot-ball games on the sidelines and at halftime.

Wildcats in 1st place with 20-19 win over ShafterTaft’s defeat of rival Generals provides advantage in tough SSL playoff race.

By Sam GonzalesStaff Writer

Cross-Country team overcomes small roster to perform well

Coaches Barry Jameson and Shawn Sutherland are full of anticipation for a great sea-son for this year’s cross coun-try teams. Filling in the roster are six girls and 10 boys who have proven themselves to be a “good group of hard workers.” According to Shawn Sutherland, team goals this year are to “improve every week” and “achieve a score to get into Valley.” Typical practice ses-sions are tough, but to keep the runners going the coaches run with them. Standout freshman Megan Thompson continues to finish with consistently impres-sive times in nearly every race in which she competes. Fresh-

man Jimmy Golden has come a long way since the start of the season. With “constant im-provement of times” from all runners, Sutherland believes the team has a “good shot at coming in at the top three in league.” This year’s major dif-ficulty is the small number of runners. “We have a little bit of runners compared to other schools we race and that makes it harder to win,” says a con-cerned Gio Flores. Although the teams are challenged with a small ros-ter, they have still managed to make excellent showings at the Sangera, Wolfpack and East Ba-kersfield Invitationals.

By Desiree EvansStaff Writer

Girls’ varsity tennis team improving slowly but steadily, notching wins against Shafter and McFarland to go 4-7

Jeanylene Alita practices her forehand stroke.

The girls’ varsity tennis team is off to a good start for the 2006 season. Mike Cowan, coach, states “I am very excited” about this coming season, says Coach Mike Cowan. The girls are 2-6 in South Se-quoia League play and recently defeated McFarland 7-2 on Oc-tober to improve to 3-7 overall. On October 5 the girls defeated Shafter 5-4, to improve to 3-6 in SSL and 4-7 overall, de-spite only two wins in singles play. Tess Robbins and Brianna Lemmons won their matches. Taft dominated dou-bles play, however, sweeping those matches. Partners Cook and Robbins won their match 6-2, 6-2. Amy Glagovich and Lemmons gave their opponents

a 6-2, 6-1 smackdown. Finally, Me-gan Jaske and Jeanylene Al-ita took their match 6-4, 6-0.C o w a n ’ s goals for the team are “to master the f u n d a m e n -tals and be-come more aggressive.”

Sophomore Leslie ”The Cookie Monster” Cook is on her way to becoming the best in the county, along with her doubles partner, junior Tess Robbins. “They will likely win the doubles title in the SSL this year,” predicts Cowan.

Even after practice has ended the girls stay late to practice more. The positive re-inforcement, “props,” and con-structive criticism they receive from Cowan inspire them to perform even better.

The Wildcats won their most important game of the year on October 13, defeating the Shafter Generals 20-19 in a nail-biter. The game was ex-pected to be a contest between Shafter’s explosive offense and Taft’s stubborn defense. Al-though the Generals racked up passing yardage, their running game was stopped completely. Taft took a 7-6 lead into half-time, courtesy of Dalton Botts’ 7-yard run into the end zone. Tony Savaii scored twice in the second half, includ-ing the go-ahead touchdown with seven minutes left in the game. Taft rushed for a total of 257 yards on 53 carries, includ-ing 85 yards on 14 carries by Fernando Romo. The Wildcats are now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in SSL play. They are all alone in 1st place, heading into games against Wasco, Bakersfield Christian and Arvin.

EntertainmentOctober 12, 2006 Page 11

Fernando Romo, Vanessa Gonzalez, Emily Graves, Megan Peters and Kelsee Melton. Photo by Billy Johnson

What better way to celebrate the varsity football team’s dramatic come-from-be-hind victory over the Tehachapi Warriors on October 6 than to strap on your boots and hustle on down to the Sadie Hawkins shindig after the game. With great beverages

Sadie Hawkins Dance a good time for cowpokesBy Nathan LampkinStaff Writer

and danceable music, the cel-ebration started early. Students showed their rootin’ tootin’ Sa-die Hawkins spirit by putting on their best cowboy/cowgirl apparel and showing off their own country style. “I always love to cow-boy up and have a good time with some cowgirls,” exclaimed senior Aaron Rolls.

With everything from a hay bell campfire, a wed-ding chapel where students could find them a gal and “get hitched” and a jail for all the rot-ten outlaws, the dance proved to be an authentic western-style evening. The only thing miss-ing were some Indians and a bull-riding contest.

One of the best movies of the year is also the least hyped. Director Neil Burger has created a film based on Steven Millhauser’s short story “Eisenheim the Illusionist,” entitled The Illusionist. The main action of the story is a narrative by Chief Inspector Uhl, who is telling the Crown Prince why he was late. The story tells of Eisenheim, a magician who amazes his audience with feats of mind-boggling illusion. When the Prince attends one of his performances, Eisenheim is reunited with a childhood love, the Duchess von Teschen, and they begin an affair. But the Duchess is the intended of the Crown Prince, so they plan to leave Vienna together. However, word reaches the Prince, who does not take the news kindly

when the Duchess meets him to break it off. What follows is a mysterious murder, accusations and a new trick up Eisenheim’s sleeve, a trick that worries the Prince: the ability to bring spirits to life, if only for a short

By Lacey ChappelearCopy Editor

Illusionist one of year’s best moviesperiod of time. Chief Inspector Uhl is kept busy both by the Prince’s wishes for him to shut Eisenheim down and the investigation of the murder. As he digs deeper, he finds too much incriminating evidence. Even when the mystery of the murder has been revealed, the movie is not yet over. Eisenheim is still missing. Uhl spots him in the street and follows him to the train station. There, he recalls several key, seemingly unimportant facts that cause him to realize the true plot of the story. The movie ends with Uhl laughing at Eisenheim’s brilliance, as the two characters are finally free and happy. The movie stars Edward Norton as Eisenheim, Jessica Biel as Sophie von Teschen and Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Uhl. All three perform brilliantly.

Barrett first presented his plan to athletic director Mar-sha Eubank and TUHS superin-tendent Curt Dubost, who said he thought the plan was “an awesome idea.” Barrett then proposed his plan to the school board which, Dubost said, “ap-proved it enthusiastically.”

Walk of Famecontinued from page 4

Dubost refers to Barrett as the “historian” of Taft High. U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, whose father gradu-ated from Taft High, will be visiting campus on Oct. 19 and will help in the inauguration of the Walk of Fame. Dubost also stated that he hopes the Walk of Fame will show students “what they can accomplish.”

When The Mars Volta released their first full-length album, De-loused in the Comatori-um, in 2003, people experienced nothing but illumination. Then, in 2005, the re-lease of Frances the Mute seemed to tone things down with the extensive use of mel-low sound effects and noise mak-ing. Of course, there were a couple songs that c a u g h t our atten-tion, such as “L’Via L’Viaquez” and “The W i d o w, ” but Frances the Mute still seemed like a retreat from De-loused. Well, that retreat no longer exists. With Amputech-ture, released on Sept. 12, The Mars Volta is, once again, on the offensive. Omar Rodriguez-Lo-pez, the band’s guitarist, has established himself as the main composer and musical direc-tor. Although he writes all the material for the band, he felt it was necessary to bring Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Fr-usciante into the studio to lay down the guitar tracks. Long-time band mem-ber Jon Theodore played drums, but he has been replaced by Blake Fleming, the original drummer on The Mars Volta’s debut E.P., Tremulant. One can still hear inno-vative sound effects, however, courtesy of Pablo Hinojos-Gon-zales, who is a part of the action

using guitars, synthesizers and random instruments. While Rodriguez-Lo-pez is writing the music, Ced-ric Bixler-Zavala is crafting the words. The Mars Volta has a history of incomprehensible lyrics with the use of unfamiliar words, and that is still the case

here, but t h e r e s e e m s to be a new reli-gious in-f luence in the l y r i c s on Am-p u t e c h -ture. W i t h s o n g t i t l e s like “Vi-carious A t o n e -

ment,” “Tetregrammaton,” and “Asilos Magdalena,” one can’t help but notice the religious references among the three names. Another aspect of Bix-ler-Zavala’s writing style has been the use of English and Spanish lyrics. It’s not surpris-ing when one considers the fact that he and more than half of the band have Latino heritage, mostly Mexican. Amputechture offers over an hour of musical activ-ity that’s impossible to describe but certainly never boring. When listening to Amputechture, you catch yourself wondering, “How do they do it?” I encourage everyone to at least listen to the band’s singles released on their website (www.myspace.com/themars-volta). You may end up finding yourself at the store buying the album.

The Mars Volta returns to form with sonically adventurous AmputechtureBy Billy JohnsonStaff Writer

English and Australian bands find their “muse” in variety of genres

The Feeling Twelve Stops and HomeBy Lillie Gervacio

Emerging from Sussex and London, the five piece soft-rock band The Feeling have re-leased their debut album, Twelve Stops and Home, a godsend to anyone in need of a great pop album. The majority of the songs are so catchy and upbeat it becomes nearly impossible to skip over any songs. Among the heap of great songs is “Anyone.” Both lyrically and musically strong, this song is the type you will sing along to each and every time you hear it. The opening line gets you hooked and by the second time you hear the cho-rus, you find yourself singing right along. Some might find it triv-ial when bands use “la-la-la’s” and “na-na-na’s” in place of lyr-ics, but when lead singer/gui-tarist Dan Sells & Co. do this it only add the finishing touches, especially on the band’s biggest hit yet, “Sewn.” The unpreten-tious, down-beat sound seems almost out of place in the midst of all the other cheerful songs, but “Sewn” has found its place at the top of the U.K. charts. “Fill My Little World” can best be described as a guilty pleasure. The school crushing sappiness makes it the song you hate to love. If Queen and McFly somehow had a lovechild you’d turn up with The Feeling. The band also shows similarity to the Secret Machines, the Postal Service, Muse, the Shins and Supertramp. Twelve Stops and Home was released five months ago in the U.K. and in the U.S. on Sept. 26. Their second album is already being anxiously antici-pated. The Feeling is currently touring the U.S. with The Fray, including an Oct. 12 headlining show in Hollywood.

Muse Black Holes & RevelationsBy Lillie Gervacio

The British trio has done it again! Following Abso-lution, the musical masterpiece from 2003 that broke the band in the U.S., Muse have returned with their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations. It entered the U.S. charts at #9 and reached #1 in their native England. The first single off the record,”Supermassive Black Holes,” displays a funky, groove-based sound that has earned much admiration and a spot on the EA Games Fifa ‘07 soundtrack. “Starlight” continues Matthew Bellamy’s combina-tion of piano tinkling and guitar wailing. Bellamy croons “Hold you/ in my arms/ I just wanted to hold you/ in my arms” before switching from piano to guitar, with Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard adding to the hullabaloo on bass and drums. This is sure to be a hit. Muse then goes on to show their apocalyptic, con-spiracy theory-loving side with songs like “Take A Bow,” “Assassin,” “Exo Politics” and “Knights of Cydonia.” “Take a Bow” attacks both U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush for their roles in the Iraq war, as Bel-lamy sings,”Pay, you must pay /You must pay for your crimes against the earth/hex, feed the hex, on the country you love.” With songs like these, Muse puts other so-called “po-litical rock” bands to shame. Ever since Muse formed in 1996, they have been pushing the boundaries with the wide variety of music on their records (the innovative debut Showbiz in 1999, the ener-getic Origin of Symmetry in 2001, and the urgent Absolution). Black Holes and Revelations again comes as a bit of a surprise but will win over Muse fans and at-tract new ones.

Lost ProphetsLiberation TransmissionBy Jordie Hood

A few years ago, Lost Prophets was your typical rock-er band: vintage T’s, faded jeans, and a following similar to that of Linkin Park. A few changes have taken place on the new al-bum, Liberation Transmission. The boys are back with more of what some may call an “emo” sound. They’ve traded in their t-shirts and Converse shoes for black hair dye and eyeliner. The guys have taken a major chance with such a drastic change in sound and appearance between albums. So far, however, the response has been mostly posi-tive. The first single off the album is entitled “Rooftops.” If you expect it to sound like “Last Train Home”, expect to be surprised. Though lead singer Ian Watkins still keeps his edgy tone, the instrumental sound has changed almost as much as the band has. They’ve gone from a raging angry rock sound like Linkin Park to a pop-punk sound like early All-American Rejects. With the competition in the music business these days, it’s hard for bands to keep a true sound and not “sell out.” That may have been a problem for these guys on a few songs. If you listen to the whole album, you can easily detect which ones were made to be hits. Overall, the album isn’t bad. It’s really catchy and easy to listen to if you’re in a good mood. Even with the sound and appearance make-over, Lost Prophets still know how to rock.

The Living End State of EmergencyBy Lillie Gervacio

As one of the biggest acts in their country, Australian rockers The Living End have managed to avoid the “rut” that many modern punk-rock bands have fallen into. When listening to their new album State of Emergency, you may hear the influence of Australian legends Midnight Oil, a bit of the Clash and some of the old Green Day. The precision in the band’s music really shows through on their fourth album. Their lyrics may not be all that impressive but they work well with their blazing songs. The highlights on the album are “’Til the End,” “Long Live the Weekend,” “What’s On Your Radio?” and the title track. “’Till the End” is a great opening song. This dynamic rocker shows what’s in store for the listener on the rest of the al-bum.” Long Live the Weekend” is a catchy anthem about living through the long week waiting to escape to the weekend. The best song on the record, though, is “What’s On Your Radio?” Guitarist/vocal-ist Chris Cheney delivers the meaningful lyrics in his crisply accented, slightly raspy voice: “You say you find it hard to de-cide/But you will never know until you try.” Although The Living End may not be to everyone’s liking, they are definitely a band worth checking out. They might well surprise you.

Is there a CD you think we should review? Let us know by emailing us at bwolfe@taft.k12.ca.us or by dropping a note in Mr. Wolfe’s mailbox

in the principal’s office.

What do YOU think of the CDs we’ve reviewed this month? Do you agree or disagree with our reviewers’ assessments? Let us know what you think by sending an email to bwolfe@taft.k12.ca.us or by dropping a note

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EntertainmentPage 12 October 12, 2006

The new album by Ke-ane, Under The Iron Sea, is a bit of a bore after their debut album Hopes and Fears, which was such an artistic success. Keane has a wonderful musical ability and a way with lyrics, yet most of their actual songs lack the energy needed to keep the listener’s attention, which is rather odd since the pi-ano, drumming and Tom Chap-lin’s high tenor usually deliver a full sound. A perfect example of this is the sleepy ballad, “Ham-burg Song,” which never seems to reach a climax. The song starts off slowly and continues at that pace until the end, making the song something of a snooze. “Is It Any Wonder,” the first single off the album, is perhaps the best song on the record. It’s a lot heavier than Keane’s typical piano-based songs. Showing an eagerness to experiment, pianist Tim Rice-Oxley swaps his piano for a synthesizer, resulting in a sound that seems to feature guitars. The lyrics are so trou-bled that you can feel the angst and insecurity when Chaplin sings, “Is it any wonder that I’m tired?/Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?/Is it any wonder I don’t know what’s right/Oh these days/After all the mis-ery you made/Is it any wonder that I feel afraid?/Is it any won-der that I feel betrayed?” Mu-sically, it sounds like U2; lyri-cally it seems like Radiohead’s depressive songs. Chaplin has struggled to deal with the band’s sudden fame in the past few years and recently entered rehab. Under the Iron Sea is far from a bad album, but it just doesn’t compare with their last album. Keane is the perfect band for anyone who has a love for classic pop music with a modern, melancholic approach.

KeaneUnder the Iron SeaBy Lillie Gervacio