The Fadaiyan Sixteenth of Azar was formed in 1981, and had branched off from its parent organization, Fadaiyan, but both were extreme leftist groups against the regime.

Yaghoobi had been on his way to a meeting spot to talk to the leader of  the organization when he was attacked by agents and taken to a prison. At first arrival, he had to wait for hours just to be signed in to the prison. With none of his questions answered, he was taken to the block with many other prisoners. He was to wear a blindfold at all times which just disoriented him further.

Finally, he was taken to a room where three men questioned him about who he was, what he had been doing, and who or what he was affiliated with. The men were kind at first, until they realized he wasn’t  going to tell them anything. They then gave Yaghoobi two options: tell them everything, or keep up his resistance and be tortured.

The men had made it clear that they knew all the information already, but wanted him to tell about the organization anyway. Yaghoobi was given 30 minutes to contemplate his options.

“If I knew they had a piece of intelligence and just wanted me to admit it, then I was not going to be stupid and put my life on the line. If I thought they knew nothing on the issue, I was going to resist as much as I could and when I could not resist anymore, I was going to provide them with  false intelligence to buy myself more time.”

His plan did not go over well and he was beaten, but he kept his beliefs and showed a strong sense of courage.

Throughout the book, Yaghoobi is transferred from prison to prison, beaten and tortured countless times, and suffers many hardships, but manages to survive and not be sucked into being a tavvab. A tavvab is someone who was once against the regime, but  who repents and shows authorities that they are once again Islamic, in order to attain less abuse and time in prison.

Yaghoobi pushes for a revolt saying, “Iran often is portrayed in the West, particularly in the United States, in a way that mainly serves the purpose of those bent on military action against Iran, whether for the destruction of Iranian nuclear facilities or for regime change engineered by the West…The millions of Iranians who flooded the streets in June 2009 to oppose the regime are perhaps the most graphic illustration of why this picture and ‘solution’ are so terribly flawed…Regime change is needed in Iran but must be done by Iranians in their own interest, in their own time, and in their own way, rather than imposed by foreign powers” (372). He makes a point that this needs to happen not with America or anyone else, but Iranians.

In 1988, prisons were brimming with political prisoners. The Islamic Republic decided to separate people into groups of reformed, who would be set free, or non-reformable, who would be killed.

Yaghoobi was set free by pretending to give in to Islam, and moved to America where he wrote this book. This is a great read for all people to see the horrors the regime has brought to many people, and one man who survived it all.

Sentenced to prison for purportedly stealing a $40 million dollar diamond, former cop Nick Cassidy makes a desperate bid for proving his innocence. How so? By threatening to jump off the window ledge of a New York skyscraper, of course. He won’t be coming down until someone helps win his freedom.

There’s your summary. The storyline drew this reporter in at first, too. Sadly, there isn’t much hope for a movie made of cheap thrills, a predictable cast of characters, and gaps in the plot’s credibility.

Exploiting the common fear of heights is just what the writer of this movie accomplished, because why in the world would any sane man put himself in that situation willingly? There are more than enough almost-slips in this movie and frankly, the sight of Cassidy balancing on that ledge is enough to cause a decent whoosh of adrenaline. An admittedly good car chase in the first half-hour won some points. The only thing to keep in mind is that these are unoriginal, overused, mindless techniques to get a rise out of the audience. If you’re into that sort of thing, though, that’s perfectly fine.

For a man on a mission to save his own skin, Cassidy’s daringness – or stupidity – certainly builds suspense around his story and the mystery of why he would risk life and limb 21 stories above Manhattan. But the supporting cast of characters hardly encourages the viewer to engage with, or even like, any of them. Their roles are worn-out, complete with the jerk cop who undergoes something of a change of tact, the obligatory eye-candy girlfriend, and the close friend who turns out to be – spoiler alert – not so friendly in the end.

As for flaws in believability, the actions of the NYPD and the legal system leave a bad taste in the mouth. For one incident of theft, Cassidy’s given decades, as in plural, of jail time. The judge denies his legal appeals. New York’s cops don’t even recognize Cassidy as their ex-coworker, although even if they had, they’d probably lack the sense to put two and two together to realize why the man’s threatening to jump in the first place.

Man on a Ledge would be best as an airline movie; not really worth seeking out on your own, but hey, it’s there in front of you and a way to kill time. So why not? If you’re out on the town with two hours to fry and nothing else to hold your attention, you may as well give this movie a go. Just make sure to find a nice safe spot outside the theater for your logical self to wait in the meantime.

However, I was in for a huge surprise. The movie was nothing like what I expected, but much, much more than that. Compared to previous Mission: Impossible movies, Ghost Protocol was far more intricate and enthralling.

Ghost Protocol continues the story of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force). It starts at the Kremlin, in Russia, when a bomb goes off, and the members of the IMF are the primary suspects in the terrorist strike. The President of the United States initiates “Ghost Protocol,” which disavows the entire IMF, allowing its members to act under the radar. With this, they begin one of their most dangerous missions, searching for the true perpetrator behind the bombing as the safety of American citizens is threatened by an imminent nuclear disaster.

Overall, the movie deserves two thumbs up and a standing ovation. I found myself enthralled by every part of the movie. The actors, the special effects, the music, everything was tailored for a successful and outstanding movie. In my opinion, it was a masterpiece worth watching.

This current school year is Mooney’s eighth year teaching Spanish and first year at CVHS teaching Spanish 2 and AP Spanish.

“I think I was born a teacher.  Good teachers teach throughout their life.  I was always excited to learn and just wanted to share what I learned with others,” she said.

Mooney’s eagerness to teach is apparent to her students and permeates the classroom atmosphere.

“I like maestra’s class because she’s always enthusiastic about the topic and she does a really good job explaining to us the stories that we read, making them more interesting and relatable,” claimed Sarah Blacher, a senior in Mooney’s AP Spanish class.

Although Mooney loves teaching any age group, teenagers are her favorite.

“Teenage years are such a beautiful time.  Whenever anyone over 30 years old is asked about their teenage years, they always smile,” said Mooney.

The adolescent students of CVHS can easily see her love for teaching.

“Maestra Mooney is an exemplary educator and has all the characteristics of a wonderful teacher,” stated Travis Mattas, a TA for Mooney’s sixth period class.

From experience, Mooney knows the difficulties of learning a new language, which helps her teach Spanish to non-native speakers.  Born in El Salvador, Mooney lived there until she was 13 years old. During eighth grade, her family fled from the El Salvadoran civil wars in the 1980s and immigrated to the United States.

“I remember my friends the most and growing up with them, especially the day I left because I never saw them again,” revealed Mooney.

Coming to America, Mooney did not speak English, but surrounded herself with English speakers and quickly learned the language.

She advises recent immigrants to “have patience because everyone wants to go back.  But the US really is the land of opportunity to those who seek it.”

Previously, Mooney taught at a charter school of approximately 400 students compared to the nearly 3,000 students at CVHS.  Although the student-teacher ratio was lower at her old school, Mooney already loves CVHS.

“What’s there not to love?” she asked.  “The staff feels like [a] family of really warm people.  And the students are very respectful towards me which is something I really value.”

After taking her Spanish class, she hopes that her students leave with a strong desire to continue learning Spanish and that her class changed their lives forever.

“I hope that I can be a person they can think back to as someone in their life just as my students have become a part of my life,” she said.

On the bright side, if you spell it right, you’ll be as happy as a bee in a sunny, golden meadow full of daises!

Every year, there is a spelling bee in the CVUSD for grades seven through nine. Here at CVHS, the process begins in the English classes of freshmen students. In each class, there is a mini-spelling bee. The winners represented their classes in the school-wide spelling bee. This year, the school-wide spelling bee was in room 501 and hosted by English teachers Tina Johansson and Colleen Mullany.

“There is a county bee and the district needs to send representatives,” explained Johansson. “English is one of the most difficult languages to spell because of all the influences from other languages,” she added.

Green paper was passed out and Johansson explained the rules. Finally, after much anticipation, the spelling bee began, and the room was silent. One by one, Johansson gave out the words, Mullany gave the definitions and origins if asked for, and the students attempted to spell them out.

And faster than a bee can pollinate sunflower, it was the end of round one. Six students remained. Johansson and Mullany switched roles, and round two began.

Round two, like round one, was full of quizzical looks (many words the contestants had never heard of), hesitant writing, and deep thinking. With some brains, preservation, and just a bit of luck, four people survived the round: Jessica Domingo, Grey Janowski, Helen Liao, and Esther Lim. All four will compete at the district-wide spelling bee at Canyon Middle School on Feb. 21.

The field was reduced to three, and then there were two…

Janowski and Lim battled head to head. Sometimes, one would get one right but the next wrong. Neither was able to spell two in a row correctly, which was necessary to win the competition.

“We’re going to be here ‘til ten!” Johansson joked.

However, in the end, Janowski prevailed, correctly spelling the words “vestige” and “larynx.”

“It’s nerve-wracking to spell in front of people. But it feels good to do well,” Janowski said.

Still, all contestants walked away with a prize: a bigger vocabulary!

Many would blame the students for this general ignorance, and in some ways that is fair. After all, most of us have taken CCG and learned the world map.  But it is difficult for us as students to carry those facts on in our memories after only a semester of exposure. It is also true that we can learn geography on our own, learning from maps on the Internet or from atlases, but most students are not motivated to do that, and it would be hard to learn without formal education.

It is not really reasonable to blame the teachers for not teaching the students more geography, either. Most history teachers have to focus on state standards when creating lesson plans, and those standards rarely include extensive knowledge of geography. CCG teachers, whose job is to teach geography, generally do a fantastic job, but are only given one semester to impart knowledge of the world map onto their students. Teachers are limited by the education system in their ability to continually expose students to world geography.

I think the underlying component of this issue is our culture’s general disinterest with the rest of the world.  When creating state standards, people may not include content involving much geography because they don’t think it is very important. This ends up hurting students, as it makes them less likely to understand world politics and learn about other cultures.

It is ultimately essential that this generation learn more world geography so we can participate more actively in the world, not just in the US. I know that I will be looking everywhere I can in the future to improve my knowledge of the world map.

Joyful Noise is about a church choir in the small town of Pacashau that struggles to break through traditional Gospel styles and compete in the “Joyful Noise” competition under a financial deficit. The movie stars Queen Latifah as the strict mother of two teenagers who takes over the choir after the director’s death and Dolly Parton as the director’s widow. While the film offered strong and talented vocalists, there was a lack of decent song selections. The only two worth mentioning are Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

Joyful Noise is not only a musical but also a comedy. But I don’t consider it a comedy at all. I sat rather emotionless through the entire film. There were a few scattered laughs throughout the theatre but those were from people born with extra funny bones because there was absolutely nothing to laugh about. The funniest scene was when a minor character unexpectedly died, not because death is anything to be laughed about, but because it was the only unforeseen event.

Everything else in the film was predictable. One could practically play out the plot in mind without even watching the trailer. Think of the most typical factors of a movie ever – the teenage girl who happens to be just so darn pretty that boys fight over, the swoon-worthy bad boy with the voice of a million angels who captures the heart of the girl by helping out her brother with Asperger’s syndrome, the father in the military who is separated from his family – if I say anymore, I’d just about give away the entire movie. Picture a mash up of the awful High School Musical and Glee with endless references to God and there you have it.

So if you have a bit of money to spare and you feel like torturing yourself for nearly two hours, go ahead and watch Joyful Noise. Just prepare to watch a screen of people in purple robes relentlessly singing, dancing, and praying.

I have a problem with this, probably because I generally have a problem with ignorant people trying to meddle with things they don’t know that much about, and because I dislike people trying to decide matters for the whole, discounting the feelings and situations of the minority. Of the many polarizing and heated issues out there today, the concept of abortion is probably one of the oldest and bitterest.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, when Margaret Sanger first publicized the idea of contraception, abortion has always been a controversial issue.

It received a lot of backlash from people who argued that it’s “God’s will” if a child is conceived, and that any meddling with that order is an abomination. Since then, people have gotten even pickier about the science of it, claiming that the moment an egg is fertilized, it is a living person.

Some radical groups go so far as to oppose aborting the embryo even in dire circumstances, like if the egg is frozen and has no hope of reaching full term alive, or if a mother finds out early in the pregnancy that the child will be stillborn or born with an irrevocably fatal condition. In instances such as these, I personally feel for the mother, who has to carry the child full-term, constantly being asked questions about the pregnancy by strangers, and being reminded every time she looks in the mirror that the baby inside her will die come delivery. What many conservatives fail to recognize is that there are countless instances where bringing another child into the world would be hard on the parents and ultimately unfair to the child.

Think about the middle-aged woman who by a twist of fate got pregnant, after having raised a couple of children already. She faces the dilemma of having a child late in life and with an extremely large age gap between her children. She may not be up to the idea of spending the next 18 years raising another child after having seemingly finished with her previous children. Or think about the girl who was raped one horrific night and subsequently got knocked up with her attacker’s child. If she goes through with the pregnancy, when the child is born, it will forever be a living reminder of that traumatic night. And it wouldn’t be fair to raise a child without a father in the picture, not to mention that she can’t exactly ask the man for child support.

How about the broke teen mom whose condom didn’t work one night, and is consequently faced with the prospect of raising a child in high school and college? If she keeps the child, it would make life much harder on the mother and father of the teen, and the child because the family may not be able to support it. There are cases of extraordinary people who overcome such a setback, but in more cases than not, if the girl had had the abortion and then had a child when both she and the father were ready, life would be much easier for both them and the child.

Of course, adoption is another option, but then you’re just setting your child up for a life of uncertainty and hardship that doesn’t always end happily.

I would like to make very clear that I am in no way advocating abortion as a convenient method of birth control. Abortion is an extremely hard decision, one that the mother will have to live with her entire life. But in some cases, it may be the best option for all involved.

Our society has grown to view doctors who provide abortions as villains, and death threats are sadly more common than you may think. But would you rather these desperate girls be faced with the alternative of seeking out unqualified “doctors” who may harm if not kill the mother as well?

Why is our society so intent on leaving no option but the latter?

The 7 percent that Planned Parenthood provides for ensuring safe abortions may be the difference of life or death for the mother, and saving a child from a needlessly difficult life.

The school intends to tow the cars of students parked on campus without warning. “We will tow on first offense,” said Assistant Principal Matt Steinecke, who is in charge of the logistics of the project. “There is not enough time or space to mess around with warnings.”

Towing expenses will run around $200 per vehicle, school officials estimate.

While student parking will be eliminated, $7 refunds will be available for all who bought $20 parking permits. “If they get a refund though, we will not reissue a permit should the lots reopen,” explained Steinecke.

The panels will provide for 75 percent of the school’s energy needs, and are expected to save the district $100,000 annually. They will last for 30 years.

The $6.6 million project was partially funded by a $1.4 million PG&E grant. The district received the grant on two conditions: the first being that construction would start before the summer of 2012, and the second being that the district would receive no solar energy kickbacks from the company.

Solar panel users who run up an energy surplus often have the option to sell their extra energy back to the power company. Under the conditions of the grant, CVHS will not have this option.
“PG&E usually buys energy from its clients who use solar panels,” said Steinecke. “Not so for us; in our case, it is purely a donation.”

The effects of the construction will be felt most directly by seniors, who hold most of the school’s parking permits. Nonetheless, students of all grade levels are nervous about the congestion that is sure to come.

“I don’t like the idea [of eliminating student parking], and I think it’s unfair,” said junior Janice Lu.

In the event that the panels are not fully installed by the end of the school year, the school will stop all construction for graduation week to reduce gridlock. Construction will be resumed after graduation.

Despite the inconvenience of installation, the financial and environmental benefits of transitioning to solar power cannot be ignored. The panels could even prove to have an educational aspect; in the coming years, Assistant Superintendent Mike Bush hopes to introduce the science of solar energy to the classroom.

“It’s like buying a gym membership,” Steinecke said. “You buy it up front, and then get to use it for an extended amount of time.”

These three English classes are Science Fiction, British Literature and World Readings, all of which were chosen to be cut based on student course requests, class sizes and availability.

“Personally I don’t like having to give up other electives for this new class,”
said Peter Brewer, the only Science Fiction teacher.

This new class was created by the state to help students who did not pass the CSU Early Assessment Program (EAP) test during junior year. CSU’s new policy now requires students to either have passed the EAP no later than May before they start college, or to have taken a remedial summer English course after their senior year.

However, retaking the test and attending the summer course both cost money.

“Our goal in bringing the ERWC class to CVHS is to provide our students who have not passed the EAP a cost-free option in response to CSU’s new policy and to continue to align our curriculum with the demands of college level literacy,” explained Assistant Principal Erica Ehmann.

The EWRC class is designed to prepare seniors to pass the EAP when they take it a second time and to help students be more successful in the CSU summer program. For the 2013-2014 school year, CSU is considering allowing seniors to take and pass the ERWC with a B or better in lieu of retaking the EAP test or attending the CSU summer course.

Not only is the English department sad to see these three classes go, but students both from past and present enrollments have been outraged to hear the news of the loss of Science Fiction.

“It was a very very difficult decision for the department; it’s not like we wanted to
get rid of Science Fiction,” said Robin Munsell, the English department chair.

This new class will focus on reading, writing and discussions on interesting issues ranging from the politics of food to juvenile justice.

“It’s not a bad idea to have a class tailored for expository writing,” Brewer said.

Staff members do not know how long the new class will last at CVHS and when the other electives may return.

“We are really at the mercy of the CSUs because we want our students to have access to college,” Munsell said. “We aren’t sure how many sections we will fill and how many we will need in future years and that is what will determine how many other sections of courses we offer.”