Senior Tim Pak won an award for his column, “Separation by generations.”

Senior Matt Barney was honored for a sports photo of long jumper BriAnna Miller.

Junior Melody Moteabbed won an award for her photo from the CVHS musical “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Graduate Yoon Jung was honored for her hand-painted nameplate from The Olympian’s 2011 senior issue.

And senior Andie Smith won two honors. One recognized her article about wrestlers and weight loss and the other was a first-place prize for her 2011 political cartoon about LGBT equality.

“The kids deserved these,” said Olympian advisor Matt Johanson. “The awards reflect the hard work and talent of our entire staff.”

“We will be serving dinner from six to seven and the dance will end at nine,” stated Emma Hancock, one of the Leadership students in charge of the occasion.

Parents are encouraged not to stay with their children after dropping them off at the dance as special ed. teachers, district personnel, and Leadership will be supervising the entirety duration of the event to ensure a safe and fun environment for the students.

When asked why Leadership decided to create the formal dance, Hancock commented, “We held a nonformal dance a couple of months ago and it went really well. We decided to plan a formal one this time to add another element of fun.”

“We also wanted them to have the same opportunity as others to be a part of the student body. We are holding this dance to adjust to their needs because some of the school activities we have don’t exactly fit them,” Emma Woidtke, another student in charge of running the dance.

The dance comes at a great time too. With the school year coming to a close in a matter of weeks, why not start the celebration a little early by taking a carefree night off to just enjoy high school life with friends minus all of the stress and overwhelming work?

And if the dance is successful, you might just be seeing more of these social events in future years.

“If it all goes well, we would like to continue having these dances.” said Hancock.

Sniffles, sobs and the mourning cries of losing a loved one filled the Center for the Arts at a follow-up assembly on Friday, April 27.

On those two days, CVHS presented its own biennial event of “Every 15 Minutes.” With a name that refers to the average rate at which Americans die in drunk driving accidents, “Every 15 Minutes” is a worldwide educational program. At CVHS, this program targets juniors and seniors.

Selected students participated in this dramatic event; most of them represented the “Living Dead,” and had their faces painted ghostly white and their eyes rimmed with black. Every 15 minutes during first and second periods on Thursday, a police officer entered the classrooms of Living Dead students as their names were announced over the loudspeaker. The police officers then commenced to read off loving obituaries about the students and placed roses on their desks.

Seniors Jeremy Lawrence, Holly Talmadge, Celeste Martore, Erin Sullivan, and Matt Lindberg, and juniors Grace Cho and Caleb Kim were directly involved in the reenactment of an actual car accident. Seniors and juniors who watched from the bleachers of the stadium experienced firsthand the process of the whole incident. Firefighters and paramedics dealt with getting the injured students out of the smashed cars, onto gurneys, and into an ambulance or a helicopter to be taken to the hospital (Kim, Cho, and Martore). The coroner had the role of dealing with the fatality (Talmadge), and the police officers investigated and arrested the “drunk driver” (Lawrence).

“Overall, I was excited and anticipated the event in the weeks to come. But when I stepped onto the field, I felt numb. Because I was a participant in the crash scene, I witnessed it like a real event. Everything was improvised so I didn’t know what to expect even though I knew who was going to ‘die’ and what was going to happen. After the crash, I felt as though I had just watched an actual crash,” Lindberg stated.

That night, those selected students went on a life-changing, overnight retreat in Danville so that their families and friends could feel their absence. They participated in team building activities, story sharing, and listened to guest speakers. They also wrote letters to their loved ones and explored the retreat center.

“The retreat center was very relaxing and peaceful and it was a great setting for such an intense experience,” said junior Brooke Costello, one of the students participating.

The next day, CVHS students paraded up to the Center for the Arts with tissues in hand, knowing it would be a sentimental experience. There, an emotional video was shown of the crash incident leading up to the hospital emergency centers, the morgue, the police department jail, and the courthouse. The victims’ parents of the car accident were introduced in the video and, after being informed by police or medics that their son or daughter was involved in a car accident, acted out the sorrow of their losses.

The assembly was hosted by Chris Graham, the program coordinator and retired police officer. He proceeded to tell students about a motorcycle accident that occurred due to the consumption of alcohol.

Kassandra Kearns, the only survivor from a traumatizing car accident, shared her inspiring story by reading off a paper—a result of brain damage from the calamity that affected her ability to remember things. The Living Dead students were given the opportunity to read their letters to their parents, and the parents were given the opportunity to do the same for their children.

Many students who did not participate in Every 15 Minutes were greatly affected vicariously through this whole experience.

“It had one of the biggest impacts of my life. I always knew not to drink and drive but just seeing the reality of it is painstakingly real. I wish people would make better choices not only for themselves, but for those at risk with a drunk driver on the road,” commented senior Juan Barrera.

The Every 15 Minutes program pushes students to realize that they should make mature, responsible decisions, regardless if it is drinking, texting, or not paying attention while driving.

“Every 15 Minutes is not a scare tactic to freak kids into submission but a simulation that allows us to see what would happen if we would get in a car with a drunk driver. Worst of all, it shows us who we would hurt,” said Lindberg.

“We are really excited about getting the pens, and I think they will be very effective in helping students outside the classroom,” said Smith.

According to the Livescribe website, the pens “revolutionize the act of writing by recording and linking audio to handwriting, so users never miss a word.”

The pens can record up to four hours of audio, and with the notebooks can be used as a calculator as well. After taking notes and recording the lecture, users can tap a word in their notes with the pen, and the pen will play back the part of the lecture that the word was in. This is very helpful for going back and understanding and completing hurried notes.

“I think that all students should have one because they are really helpful because if you get stuck on the homework it’s like having a teacher there to help you,” said sophomore Felicianna Marquez.

Each class has its own pen and a student scribe who writes down the notes everyday. The notes are then posted online and are available to all students. Students are chosen to be scribes based on their notebook grades. The special focus classes are using the pens more often than the regular classes.

“I would love to get more, but they are $200 each and I don’t think we can get more donated,” said Smith.

That is, their characters, of course.

Growing up in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, Scout and Jem witness their little town’s vehemently racist white community when Atticus agrees to defend the innocence of a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman. To Kill a Mockingbird has stood the test of time as a story of believing in the goodness of mankind despite the deplorable injustices displayed by society.

Relive Harper Lee’s beloved classic in a whole new way, reenacted by Steve Davidson as Atticus Finch, a double cast of Matt Skinner and Tyler Brady as Jem, a double cast of Lisa Bonsignore-Opp and Jenna Brady as Scout, Mark Schantz as Boo Radley, and 30 other promising talents of the CVHS drama department. The whole shebang will be narrated by the double cast of Johnna Murch and Emma Hancock.

“It’s a different experience from reading the book or watching the movie when you see it in theater,” said director Tiffany Daily in a hushed voice as actors rehearsed solemnly in the CFA. “Watching it performed live makes the whole thing a more personal story.”

Daily pointed out that this particular show is one with which many students should be familiar, as all freshmen who pass through the halls of CVHS are required to read To Kill a Mockingbird.

“We’re really excited to produce something part of the freshman curriculum,” she whispered. “We really hope the whole student body can come see it.”

With such a large prospective audience, seats are predicted to fill up fast, so listen for the PA announcing when tickets become available. Showings will be held on the first two weekends of May, at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Lifebeam Technology Club president Dominick Lee, along with two other members of the club, Andrey Zherebnenko and Andy Tang, launched an eight-foot weather balloon in Castro Valley on the afternoon of April 3.

Inspired by a commercial he saw on television and his love for physics, Lee designed the balloon so that it would hold two essential HD camcorders, a GPS tracking unit, and a mini on-board computer called an Arduino, which tracked the balloon’s descent at approximately 10,000 feet within 11 minutes of the launch.

“Our GPS unit tracked the exact coordinates of our balloon’s longitude, latitude, altitude, and speed,” said Lee. “We used this data to find our popped balloon, and also used it to analyze the height as corresponding to what we recorded in our two camcorders.”

The videos, which were recorded from the camcorders during the balloon’s journey, will be distributed to the people who helped donate to this $250 project and possibly be published on the club’s website: http://www.lifebeam.net/.

Determined and ambitious, Lee accomplished this big project in two months with the help of teachers Chris Burns and Bertram Pinsky.

“I wanted to take my skill to the highest potential,” said Lee.

Overall, the weather balloon experiment was a success and a great experience for all who participated. The balloon, which had a good drop-control, traveled approximately five miles and landed from Castro Valley Community Park to Glenwood Road.

“Our project met all the expectations. We had exactly enough helium, there was no rain or wind, and the balloon was not too far off,” said Lee.

Throughout the whole experiment and rigorous planning, Lee wants everyone to see that physics is anything but boring.

“I want to motivate and educate students about the fun of physics and the innovation of technology,” Lee said.

For those who are not aware, the EAP is an academic program that helps high school students meet college readiness standards in language arts and mathematics.

The EAP exam is a 45-minute writing task, and students are given a prompt, where they read and analyze a short passage.

“The EAP is a good indicator of the text you’ll read in college,” said American Literature teacher Elisa Frozena.

Students’ results are mailed home in early August along with the STAR test scores.

Although it is better for students who are interested in going to a college after high school to pass the EAP the first time around, it is not the end of the world if one doesn’t pass.  Many different options are available for those who fail the exam: these different options include scoring a 500 or higher on the SAT Critical Reading test, or passing the English Placement Test and Entry-Level Mathematics Exam.

“For the juniors who don’t pass, it’s recommended to take the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) senior year,” said Frozena.

Many juniors found that the EAP exam was not as easy as they thought it would be. According to students, the essay prompts were vague and hard to write on.

“The prompts were really difficult and they were definitely harder to write about than the SATs. Since I want to do well, it does worry me, especially since it will affect me in the future,” said junior Jolinna Nguyen.

Junior Kristie Huie, who agrees with Nguyen, can also see EAP as a good way to prepare students for the future.

“The EAP is a good measure to see how students are doing in school,” said Huie.

In past years, statistics show that students had a low passing rate of 30 percent on the EAP. Since the EAP will affect students with their college admissions, the passing rate is expected to dramatically increase in years to come.

The 2,700-page document lists hundreds of details concerning changes and requirements that are to be met by insurance companies, individuals, and health care professionals. Among several changes include required immunization and preventive care, dependents being covered until the age of 26, and everyone having some form of health insurance.

The bulk of this plan, however, is this: ideally, it would benefit poor families as insurance will become more available, most employers will provide health insurance or pay fines, and 32 million more people will have health insurance in about seven years.

The controversial mandate of the law  is that citizens will be expected to buy their own coverage or be faced to pay a $695 fine annually.

Over the span of ten years, the law is expected to cost $940 billion. Yet compared to the government’s expected health costs otherwise, the law is predicted to save $138 billion over that time and a whopping $1.2 trillion by 2022.

The law proves to be an extremely controversial issue and especially illustrates the difference in opinion of the nation’s two strongest parties. While Democrats are aiming to improve health care by making it more widely available and affordable, Republicans argue that this new law would be moving our nation towards socialism and violating constitutional rights.

“Never before has the federal government required every American to buy a good or service, and the reason is simple; the Constitution does not permit for it,” senior Seamus Guerin said. “Such actions infringe on our rights as Americans to determine our own fate and make our own decisions.”

Conservatives also believe that the law will raise federal deficits, impose higher taxes, and financially crush individuals who cannot afford their medical costs. On the other hand, Democrats claim that the health care reform law will eliminate medial bankruptcy and lower family premiums.

“I believe ObamaCare has good intentions but just like any form of public care, there are always going to be people who take advantage of the situation. However, I do think it could improve America in the long run,” explained senior Arianna Weingarten.

“I think there are some parts that are great about it and others, not so much. You can’t really keep a few parts and throw the rest away, though so it’ll be interesting to see what the Supreme Court decides later,” said CVHS nurse Sandee Velasquez.

The law was discussed for three days before the nine Supreme Court justices in late March and a ruling of the case is expected come in June. The court’s decision will immediately affect the way all Americans receive and pay for their personal health care and will undoubtedly serve as a central theme in November’s presidential and congressional elections.

The band isn’t quite well known yet, but some would consider that a good thing. The band retains an individuality that not all other male bands currently have, whether it be due to Sameer Gadhia’s flawless voice, the dreamy guitar riffs, the explosions of instruments, or sudden surprises of cello.

The lyrics in all 12 songs of the album, self-titled Young the Giant, are mentionable as well. In the track “Islands,” my favorite on the album, Gadhia breathily croons, “All the years I miss your warmth…have you missed my warmth?” The track is the slowest on the album but not at all the least entertaining or catchy. “Islands” incorporates lyrics describing a beach, but it can be argued that the beach is cleverly being compared to a lover.

“Apartment” is the next best song on the album, and in this track a relaxing, urban tone replaces the swings of SoCal influence. Gadhia’s tone is stronger in this song, and with this more intense tone, he is able to rile up the listener to sing along to lyrics like, “You carved a boat to sell my shadow… Now I walk alone.” This is a song that has a rare, bizarre quality. You can never get sick of it, no matter how many times you listen to it. Trust me, I know from personal experience.

Young the Giant was probably the best discovery I’ve ever made on Pandora Radio, and I’m still searching to find more bands like it. After listening to the album, you might find yourself suddenly humming one of the band’s many catchy tunes wherever you are. However, no one will get sick of your humming because the tunes are so likable.

Overall, there were six gold medal winners from CVHS: Roman Kayutkin, Andrey Zherebnenko, Quinton Wang, Alvin Cheung, Sabreena Sahota, and Taranpreet Singh, as well as six silver medal winners: Matt Saxton, Lindsey Matheney, Wyatt Melton, Ryan Gray, Dominick Lee, and Caleb Kim.

The competition consisted of three sections: a computer build, a multiple choice test, and a packet tracking.

In the computer build section, students were asked to disassemble and reassemble a computer. After finishing this task, students were required to use that same computer to make a PowerPoint presentation about it.

Next, students were expected to complete a multiple choice test consisting of 50 multiple choice questions pertaining to CISCO curriculum. Some students found this portion of the competition to be challenging.

“We found that we struggled a good deal on this portion,” commented junior Quinton Wang.

The last part of the competition was called packet tracking.

“Packet Tracker is CISCO’s network simulation program,” explained senior Matt Saxton. “They give you a scenario, with computers that need to be connected and problems fixed. They try to make it like it would be in real life, to help prepare yourself for the world. The goal is to correct the scenario as quickly as possible.”

Some students found this part to be the most enjoyable.

“I think my favorite part was the packet tracker activity just because that was when the team really relied on me. I felt I did a really good job,” senior Ryan Gray said.

In the end, most students were glad to have participated in the event, and saw it as a valuable and fun learning experience.

“I feel that the CISCO competition is a fun and simple competition. Although very understated, there were no real major setbacks and everything went like it was planned. The judges are qualified and they are knowledgeable in what they are doing,” Saxton said.