Senior Spotlight: CJ Mahoney

By Varun Roperia

                                                             
Christopher James William Francis Patrick Mahoney, known to most as CJ, is the quintessential brooding artist, while simultaneously exhibiting a cheery and inviting façade that everyone loves. Birthed on August 9th, 1991 at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance to James and Andrea Mahoney, it could be foretold that CJ was destined for greatness. He is known on campus for his unique persona and in particular for his musical aptitude, and there are few that do not admire such traits.
Although he at first lived in Torrance with his grandmother, CJ moved to El Segundo when he was two years old. He did not come to the El Segundo School District until sixth grade, however, attending St. Catherine Laboure elementary school in Torrance instead. Nonetheless, his contribution to the rich fabric of El Segundo is not diminished, and his seven years in the district are memorable indeed. A particularly strong childhood memory is “when I was two, I burned my hand so badly they had to graft new skin onto it. I had to wear a glove for a year so that it wouldn’t get infected.” This incident can simply be regarded as another intricacy that adds to the unique experience of meeting such an interesting individual.
In regards to his family, CJ is an only child and furthermore many of his family members live on the East Coast, where he himself hopes to move someday. They are important to him, and along with his friends serve as a great source of solace and inspiration. He further mentions his friends Ian Maloney, Danny Gladstone, Alex Konow, Brendan Loftus, Robert Nagelhout, Varun Roperia, and of course, Jeffrey Liu.
At ESHS, CJ has been involved in a variety of programs, and done his best to participate and contribute to the atmosphere with whatever input possible. He was in choir his freshman year, and is currently participated in the yearbook, doing his best to ensure the greatest possible product is released. He took on the responsibility of Arch Bearing last year, and has also participated in the talent show every year, either as a member of the bands Anne Ville or DeVoid.
As far as the band goes, he is currently the singer for DeVoid, which includes fellow senior Ian Maloney, as well as Brendan Loftus and Robert Nagelhout of Chadwick High School. “We’ve been together for over a year, and played at a lot of great places, such as the Knitting Factory, the Whisky, the Roxy.” You may have heard them at last year’s talent show, and if not, they will be playing this year as well; it is well worth one’s time to go to one of their shows.
A motivated person, CJs personal and career goals are centered around his musical aptitude. He feels that “if you can just reach one person and somehow inspire them, it makes your life that much better, and if I can do that musically…well, then its just the bee’s knees.” In addition to singing, he also plays piano, guitar, bass, and a bit of drums. College-wise he applied to a couple Cal State Universities, mostly out of convention, and is currently anxiously awaiting a response from Berklee college of music in Boston, where he hopes to major in film scoring.
Some random facts CJ would make known include that one of his role models, on a personal level, is Andrew McMahon, a singer/songwriter. Musically, he has been influenced by bands such as Jack’s Mannequin, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bright Eyes. His favorite color is blue, his favorite movie (he has seen many) is Sunshine, he finds In n Out (animal style) to be his favorite food, and perhaps most astounding of all, he maintains that he has never gotten a paper cut. All in all, he is clearly an inimitable individual, and an up and coming name you should watch out for.

 Favorite quote (pull out): “Life’s a garden. Dig it.”

Obama's Inauguration

By Andrew Gen

I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with a group called the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference (PYIC) between the dates of January 17 through the 20 to witness the Inauguration of President Barak Obama. The first day, we saw two speakers in the afternoon at the University of Maryland. First was Writer Doris Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the award winning book Team of Rivals. Mrs. Goodwin spoke of Lincoln and showed comparisons between him and President Barak Obama. She studied Lincoln for ten years and has written books on several presidents giving her the title of presidential historian. After Mrs. Goodwin, journalist Lisa Ling, a special correspondent for the National Geographic Channel and works with Oprah Winfrey spoke. Miss Ling showed us the importance of following your dreams and doing what you are passionate about. She criticized news shows and what they call news. She dislikes how America concentrates on Britney Spear's new tattoo when there are eight year old children fighting and dying in Russia.
    The following day we were honored to see General Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State. Sophomore Ben Okeya, who also attended the PYIC, commented, "General Powell's speech created an influential understanding on how we need discipline in order to become a leader worth to be mentioned. I enjoyed his speech thoroughly as I learned more of his personal past and how I can apply it to my future goals as a leader." Following General Powell was revered human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Archbishop Tutu called his speech "Answering the Call" and spoke of God's will upon the young and how young people are the future and have the weight of the world on their shoulders. At the age of 78, Archbishop Tutu was most comical, high-spirited and caring in his speech. After Tutu, we headed out to go see the Presidential Inaugural Opening Celebration. We were star struck when we saw famous celebrities like Tom Hanks, Tiger Woods, Jack Black, and Samuel Jackson, but not as much after watching live performances from renowned artists Usher, Will.I.am, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Beonce, and Tim McGraw. But fighting through the crowd of an estimated 750,000 people, I tried to get as close as I could to the Lincoln Memorial for Barak Obama’s opening celebration speech. (quote).
    Heading back to the University of Maryland. We saw the Creative Coalition, a group of celebrities who spoke about the great words that shaped our Nnation. The coalition is made up of many members, but notable members include Ron Reagan, Blair Brown, Michael J. Fuchs, Alec Baldwin, Joe Pantoliano and Tim Daly. Following the Creative Coalition was former Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Gore is a Nobel Peace Prize winner for building up and disseminating the knowledge about human-made climate change. Gore spoke of the unhealthy waste of fossil fuels and how the upcoming of solar power, wind power and power harnessed from the earth can be used and how much more efficient they are. The following day, the conference woke up early to go the National Mall to witness the Inauguration of Barak Obama as the 44th president of the United States. 
    1.8 million people was estimated to be at the National Mall that day as we witnessed members of Congress, the House of Representatives, the Senate the governors of every state, famous people such as Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali, Beonce, Kanye West and Diddy all walk out to the front of the Capital Building. As President Obamas wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their children first came onto the screen of the several Jumbo-Trons stationed throughout the mall the crowd roared in cheer and applause and thousands upon thousands of American flags began to wave through the sky. After the Obama family came out, former President George W. Bush and his wife came out, and there was silence, with only few supporters, the majority of the crowd was booing or silent. The lady standing behind me said, "Why are they showing him, I wanna see Michelle!"
    I could feel the pride of the people around me and that pride carried on when Braka Obama walked onto the steps of the Capital Building, where a sea of flags carried by an uproar of people cheering, praying and applauding in joy, happiness and celebration of the first black president. When Mr. Obama became situated, after shaking hands with supporters and friends, United States Senator, Dianne Feinstein came out to start the ceremony. She introduced Pastor Rick Warren and the crowed bowed their heads in prayer. After the preacher prayed of protection, forgiveness, and freedom, cries of "YES!" came out of the mouths of the people around me, agreeing with quotes such as, "Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or by blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all."
    Soon after came the swearing in of the President and the Vice President. First Vice President Joe Biden was first sworn in, but the ambiance given off by the people surrounding me was waiting for the historic moment of Obama swearing in to the presidency. As Obama stepped up and placed his hand on the Bible, Justice John Roberts slightly jumbled up the words of the oath which the crowd simply laughed off and continued the historic moment. President Obama then presented his inaugural address where he spoke of the "bold and swift" promise to restore the economy. His speech was not only educational but was also moving. As the realization of the first black president started to hit the people surrounding me, some broke down into tears and cries of happiness, while others stood staring up at their new president who they are proud of and grateful towards because he is a symbol of how America has changed and that the son of an African immigrant can grow into the most powerful person not only in the U.S. but also the world.
ESHS students who attended the Inauguration included, senior Erica Fetterolf, junior Josh Footlick, sophomore Ben Okeya, Freshman Daniel Brown. – RIGHT???????

 

Lacrosse: Stepping onto the Field

By Emma Smith

 Americans live for their sports. Whether a favorite pastime is watching games on TV, playing on the high school team or aiming for a college athletic scholarship, the traditional rush of adrenaline and excitement is there. ESHS is obviously not immune to the athletic allure. In fact, a new sport is quickly rising in popularity in El Segundo. This recent addition to the sporting repertoire is lacrosse, which started out mainly on the East Coast but has recently spread to capture fans and players in the West. Several ESHS students have joined what amounts to a club lacrosse team here in town. While their organization is still small, they hope to eventually morph their group into a legitimate high school team. 

            Some will recall last year when lacrosse representatives came to the PE classes at ESHS. They demonstrated some basic moves and set the students free to try out throwing and catching with the usual solid rubber ball and lacrosse sticks. Coordination was not abundantly apparent in the miscellaneous group. However, this is where the club team got its start. Players who were interested in learning the sport signed up that day and began attending practices. One year later, they feel they have come a long way. Junior Melissa Swenson portrays this optimistic attitude: "I love the sport and I love my team. There are a lot of us who are beginners, including me, but we have a lot of fun becoming even better and we're determined to succeed in beating our competition.” Sophomore Kayla Sanchez concurs: “This is our 2nd year for this program, so it is very new…It is a tough sport but you get used to it after you get some games in. It has been a great experience for me.”

            Lacrosse seems to be a combination of soccer, football and hockey, although the combinations of related sports vary depending on who is asked. The field itself is set up to look like a soccer field with smaller goals. The general objective is to use the lacrosse stick to catch, carry and pass the ball in an effort to score. Scoring occurs by hurtling the solid rubber ball into the opposing team’s goal. The teams also strive to defend their own goal and capture the ball from the other team. There are, of course, variations of the sport. The El Segundo group has a boys’ team and a girls’ team. Boys’ lacrosse involves full body contact that brings to mind images of intense soccer or hockey matches where players wholeheartedly attempt to take each other out. Add in the lacrosse sticks and things get messy quickly. The rough atmosphere requires special padding. Girls, on the other hand, find their sport more closely related to flag football: very little contact is allowed. Many of the female athletes feel that this places too many restrictions on the game and results in referees frequently halting the game to issue penalties. Swenson is one player who agrees with this perspective: “Some of [the girls] wish it was like guy's lacrosse where lacrosse becomes a contact sport, meaning we wear a lot more gear and, according to the rules, are actually allowed to hit each other with sticks. I see the guys play and it's really intense." 

            The lacrosse players have embraced their new sport and look forward to the beginning of their season with restlessness and excitement. Senior Matthew Monzo exclaims, “The team is looking really good and…we should be undefeated!” While the first game is on March 14, the most anticipated match is the one the girls play on April 20. A lacrosse team from the UK is touring the nation and will play the girls’ lacrosse team at Campus El Segundo. With such enthusiastic participants, the game and season are sure to be eye-opening. Sophomore Tatiana Nikolovski emphasizes this, saying, "I think it's a really fun sport and anyone who is interested in trying it should really come and check it out."

Band Fights Back at Budget Cuts!

By Jack Li

Everyone living in the United States is aware of the national financial crisis and the quickly declining economy. What many people may not realize is that the economic crisis is indeed a worldwide problem. No longer is it a looming problem that only happens to the "other people on TV." This problem permeates every society from little villages in Africa and South America to the government in Washington, and down into the structure of every community, affecting almost all citizens. Even El Segundo schools have begun to exhibit symptoms of the economic problem. Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislators have passed spending cuts which will mangle the curriculum of all students in California. Numerous teachers and other school employees could be let go as a result. Most of our own cherished extracurricular programs are now deemed "unnecessary" and are in danger of being cut. On February 23, the Board of Education passed budget cuts will turn the once-rich curriculum into a bare skeleton, and a prime example of this is the El Segundo band program.
 Band has always been an important class at ESHS. Throughout the years, the program has educated many high school students in the aspects of music. Unlike many other programs taught in school, music is something that high school students may carry with them for the rest of their lives. This coming year, the vital program is struggling to stay afloat. Money has been steadily draining out of our school’s funds and even more is bound to disappear. This year alone, the school district needs to save $1,000,000. Next year's cuts are still undetermined, but they will undoubtedly be much higher. This will affect the band program in many disastrous ways.
At a recent band meeting, band director Steven Fox said, "Band is in danger of being cut." Band students need to raise $20,000 to ensure that the band keeps going. All those who looked forward to the band cruise trip to Ensenada were sorely disappointed; the expedition has been canceled. The trip would have paid for itself and come at no cost to the school, yet it had to be removed. Junior Josh Footlik commented on the apparent band crisis: "I am appalled that such an important program as band is in danger of being removed from our school." Many students feel the same way.
 This is just one example of how the budget cuts are affecting our school. The same thing is happening to many other extra curricular classes such as drama, dance, and journalism. As in the case of band, students need to act for their school and help raise money to weather the coming crisis, or such extracurricular classes may not exist next year.

PK- Parkour

By Jeff Liu

In a fast moving urban world, speed is something that is held to be a very important part of our lives. Some take this to the next level; they are able to move from one point to another via the most efficient and fastest possible method involving utilizing their bodies as tools to bypass obstacles. This is known as parkour (or "l'art du déplacement," a French term which literally translates into the art of movement).
The main and most basic trait of parkour is just moving from point to point in the quickest, most direct way possible. This includes avoiding injuries during the process. Practitioners of the skill, known as traceurs, are known to have enhanced consciousness of their surroundings and improve this train of thought by overcoming physical and mental barriers. Traceurs are able to swiftly adapt to their environment and are capable of facing any problem at any given time.
The basics of parkour involve running, jumping, climbing and vaulting (jumping over an object). While these actions seem simplistic, they are actually more complex than running across a sandbox; each obstacle that the traceur encounters presents its own, one-of-a kind test and must be dealt with by performing a specific move. Above all, parkour movements that are executed well share a common characteristic: the traceur uses his or her body and manipulates their motion to perform almost impossible maneuvers. An important factor here is absorbing and redistributing the energy during an impact, which allows traceurs to leap off high places without injuring themselves.
Getting started in parkour requires a good physique because it is impossible to do the best movements if you're out of shape. Parkour pushes the body and the mind to their limits, because traceurs must know exactly which move combinations they must use to overcome the obstacles. The best way to train this skill is also very simple: set a path from one point to another and do whatever you can to get to that point in the shortest amount of time. The kind of path that is taken will depend on the traceur's own innate ability and the time of training may range from a few hours to years depending on the complexity of the course.
After the basics training, you can pursue individual or group training. Large groups are generally less favorable because herd instinct takes over and the traceurs and quickly go over paths that others already traced. The best way to train for intermediate traceurs is through exploring their surroundings and experiment with the different obstacles.
Above all, parkour is all about keeping a smooth flow of actions, transitioning from one place to another. Through practice and dedication, beginners can develop their skill and become just as experienced as other traceurs that are often seen in hardcore videos of urban free-running.