Students walk blindfolded for science lesson

Javier Lenida

In early April, Physiology teacher Suzanne LeBaron blindfolded her students and took them outside to practice relying on their senses of smell, touch, and hearing instead of seeing.

“It was a really good use of class,” said LeBaron, adding that students wrote a reflection in their notes. She said that students definitely gained knowledge about what life would be like if they were blind and had to depend upon their other senses.

In my experience of doing the blind walk, I felt trust in my partner. Being blind was very confusing; it was hard to recognize people just by voice. Even when I thought I knew my surroundings, I didn’t.

“It was cool walking blindfolded. I would do it again,” said Carmen Murillo, a junior. “At first I didn’t have much faith in my partner,” she said, adding that he was too playful and made her worry that she might run into something.

LeBaron said that when a student does a blindfolded walk, it tests their ability to remember without seeing. It can take a person a while to remember where she or he is walking when blindfolded. Students learned that the surroundings they’re in can be very difficult to walk in when you’re blind or blindfolded

Students commented that it is important to know where you and your partner are going when you can’t understand your surroundings.The job of the seeing partner is to guide the blindfolded partner around and to let them know where they’re going. When pairs are climbing down the stairs, the seeing partner lets the other partner know to watch out for the steps. However, some students found out that their partner is hard to work with.

“I learned when there’s goofy people around, you can’t hardly trust them as your partner,” said Murillo.

One of the new hot movies that’s out and that everybody is seeing and wants to see is “The Call.” This movie, starring Halle Berry, is quite the suspenseful thriller with twists you would never suspect.

Halle Berry plays a police dispatcher by the name of Jordan that gets a kidnapping call that changes her life in a way that makes her quit her job and train dispatchers.

Six months later, she is training a new dispatcher on a call when the new dispatcher starts freaking out and doesn’t know what to do. It’s a kidnapping call; Jordan takes the call herself and tries to help a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) that has been abducted and is now in the trunk of the kidnapper’s car.

Through most of the movie, Jordan is helping the girl leave clues to her whereabouts, as well as keeping the girl calm while in this crazy situation. After all the leads are dead ends, she is told to go home but stays and plays the recorded conversation over and over and finds detailed clues. Oddly, she does not tell anyone and takes matters into her own hands, driving  to one of the locations of an old lead and finds herself locating the girl.

There is a twist that almost nobody saw coming and it will surprise you too when you see this great little thriller with a great cast and effects.          

This year at Oakland High School, Pi Day was very large and celebrated. What is Pi Day you ask? Pi Day is on March 14, because March the is third month, which makes the date 3/14 like the number 3.14 … or as you may know the number from math class, pi.

The San Francisco Exploratory takes credit for organizing the first Pi Day in 1988. Pi Day is also Albert Einstein’s birthday and on March 12, 2009, the U.S House of Representatives passed a resolution making March 14 National Pi Day.

OHS math teachers wrote two hundred digits of pi on the whiteboard. For every ten numbers a student memorized after fifty, he or she received five points of extra credit. Math teachers also taught little lessons on pi and such but when students heard extra credit they started putting digits in their heads

One student in Phillip Grebe’s Geometry class memorized 320 digits of pi.

This year for some reason,

students who don’t even like math recited hundreds of digits of an infinite number. Grebe saw the future and told teachers at a staff meeting

that they should not get mad at him if students were mumbling numbers in the middle of their classes. That’s exactly what students were doing all Thursday and Friday until their math class came.

Students have been complaining about teachers, but not like the usual, “OMG, Mr. Bleh is so annoying!” Far more serious Students are saying that teachers are using profanity towards them and are sending them out of class without warnings or referrals.

In some cases, teachers are putting their hands on students. This is not acceptable, so I investigated with surveys and interviews.

 Of the seventy students surveyed, 51% said that a teacher has used profanity towards them or made inappropriate comments towards them at school. 21 % of students said a school staff member had put their hands on them without permission, not including staff that have the right to search a student.

Finally, 48.5% of students surveyed said that they had been kicked out of class without a referral and without the teacher taking the correct steps or following the correct rules to send them out.

As it happened, the day after I concluded the survey, I had a substitute in my first period class.

The substitute appeared to be a level-headed man, but when I told him the procedure for the distribution of passes he yelled at me and told me, “This is my classroom for the next fifty minutes, so sit down and shut up. As a matter of fact, get out of my class!”

He sent me out the door without: a pass, note, or a referral. During the ten minutes I sat outside, eleven other students from the class were sent out, all without passes, notes, or referrals. This led me to ask one of our administrators what she thinks about the results of my survey.

 Assistant principal Shoshana Towers-Cabrera said, “I feel that no kid should be excluded [from] the class without a referral.” She also said, “I am aware of instances of teachers using profanity towards students, but a lot of times students provoke teachers in ways that the teacher snaps.”

In a way she is correct; sometimes students can provoke teachers. However, I feel that if your job is to work with teenagers day in and day out, then you should have more patience than the average adult.

It is up to everyone to know the rules, so that the students stop being subjected to mistreatment and are aware of what certain procedures are in order to be fairly treated. OUSD staff and teachers in general need to accept the fact that just because they have authority and are adults, that does not mean that they are always right.

If students get in trouble for breaking the rules, so should faculty. When a student gets in trouble, they get a referral and then suspension. I call for parallel consequences.

Students explore the Futurama event on the Oakland High basketball courts on May 8, 2013. Image credit: Ma'Lisa Walker.

Aegis Staff

Oakland High students gathered on the school’s basketball courts on May 8, for the Futurama resource fair where vendors informed students about what their colleges and programs offered.

Programs ranged from career opportunities such as the Navy, to enrichment programs like Girls Rock Camp, to educational groups such as the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

Susan Yee, the founder and organizer of Futurama and director of  the school’s Shop 55 Wellness Center, said that the event began as a health fair, but “students care about more than health, so we expanded it to cover their futures.” The name Futurama embodies this concept.

Futurama is partnered with PBIS, which stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, to encourage a healthier, safer school environment. PBIS provided free t-shirts for this year’s event. The Bechtel Foundation sponsored the event.

Organizers from Shop 55 hope that students will learn about the programs and opportunities that they offer. However, some seniors reported feeling “shunned,” saying that although the program representatives were polite and communicative, the programs seemed to target younger students.

“I’m looking for potential students who are looking forward to actively participating in their future in design and/or fashion,” said Michelle Prior, College Representative for FIDM.

The programs can help students get through high school or into college, and can help students establish a career path.

Aegis reporters Malea Jones, Yoshi Rodriguez-Takada, and Dominique Dyer contributed to this story.

Bryanna Black

Gay marriage is a controversial issue in our society today. In California, two partners of the same gender are not allowed to get married. Same-sex marriage is considered an embarrassment in some countries, others feel like there is nothing wrong with who you fall in love with. As of Nov. 7, 2010, gay marriage was legalized in 9 U.S. states: Maine, Md, Mass., Conn., Iowa, V.T, N.H., N.Y. and Wash. 38 states had banned gay marriage.

The District of Columbia allows gay and lesbian couples to marry. Massachusetts was the first to legalize gay marriage.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing two cases that are related to gay marriage rights: the Hollingsworth v. Perry case and the U.S. v. Windsor case. Both cases argue about the true definition of marriage.

Supporters of gay marriage believe that same-sex marriage should have the same marriage benefits and rights as marriage between a woman and a man. Supporters also believe that banning same-sex marriage is discrimination that goes against the Constitution.

The Obama administration argued that the court should legalize same-sex marriage in the eight states that provide committed gay and lesbian couples to marry. The administration might dismiss the case, which would probably allow same-sex marriage in California.

”Gay marriage is fair to me because everyone falls in love, but apparently others fall in love with the same sex,” said Brittany Black, a freshman. “If they are happy, then that’s all that matters.”

Many students, like Black, believe that gay marriage should be legalized, but others object to gay marriage because they say it seems unnatural. Natasha Brown, also a freshman at Oakland High School, supports California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. Brown does not believe in gay marriage and feels that homosexuality goes against the Bible. Brown has one family member that is gay, and feels uncomfortable around him because of his sexuality.

Jonathan Pho, a freshman who is gay and feels confident about his sexuality, said he doesn’t feel like there’s a point of hiding who he is. ”I do feel comfortable talking about my sexuality because I have already been through bullying, laughter, and the gossip, but now I feel more strong and confident about who I am today,” said Pho. “The bullies have made me a stronger person.”

By: Yoshi Rodriguez-Takada

Food Faire 2013 has happened again this year and clubs, sports, and students were excited to eat the various foods that were available at food faire.

This year’s Food Faire took place on April 17, an early-release day, right after school at Senior Court.

It is a yearly event here at O-High where students and teachers can eat different cultural foods from Mien and  Latino to Filipino food.

“There’s a total of 24 clubs/organizations that participated,” said Xiaodi Li, Commissioner of Food Faire.  “The purpose of this is for these organizations to raise some money and to recognize different cultures at Oakland High.”

It is an event where all faculty, students, and people outside of school can come together and enjoy the food to eat, laugh, and have fun.

“The students and staff really love coming out to food faire because there is a wide range of food,” said Li. “People from outside of Oakland High stopped by and supported Food Faire too.”

Many clubs used this event to fundraise so they can hold events of their own or save up money for the club next year in their own financial accounts.

“Usually we spend a little on ourselves to show how much I’ve appreciated all the club members’ dedication towards the club,” said Latinos Unidos President Mariana Lopez. “The rest of the money goes into our bank account for next year so that way the club has money to begin with.”

One of the most successful food that sells out immediately is the Kasoy from the Mien Club.  The native noodle soup of the Mien people is always a hit and goes out quickly.

“Last year was really successful,” said Mien Club President Kimberly Cobos. “I’m not sure how much we made but the Kasoy sold out really fast, in a matter of minutes, and for that reason we used two pots to make the food.”

ESA senior Melanie Saechao sorts waste into the correct bin. image credit:Stopwaste.org

By Yoshi Rodriguez-Takada

In this year’s Earth Day, on April 22, Oakland High School introduced a new kind of disposal for food waste.

The Environmental Science Academy (ESA) received approval from the district to allow Oakland High to have a new bin.  The usual bins that we have are trash and recycling, and now we have added, a compost bin.

The compost bin is being placed because the seniors and sophomores have discovered that we are wasting perfectly good compostable items.

Academy Co-Director Katie Noonan said, “In our school about 60% of our garbage that goes to the landfill, can be used for composting for school gardens.” A group of seniors discovered this while performing a trash audit for their senior projects.

“A lot of this trash can be composted for the greater good,” said Noonan.

On Earth Day, ESA seniors and sophomores assisted students in the cafeteria with distributing the various waste products into the correct bins.

“This is just another step for O-High to become more efficient in becoming green,” said Noonan.  “We hope more can come out of this.”

Some O-High students snorkeling in Catalina island

ESA trip to Catalina creates passion for science

By Yoshi Rodriguez-Takada

The Environmental Science Academy (ESA) has returned from their yearly Catalina Island field trip, which lasted from March 31 to April 4.

Katie Noonan, the Academy co-director, started this field trip in 2000 by because she wanted students to get hands-on experience with marine biology.

“ESA kids … go hiking, snorkeling, night snorkeling, and [conduct] labs,” said Noonan. “Also on the last day they receive a personal tour of UCLA by former ESA alumni.  The kids and adults all sleep in outdoor tents in which they can hear the waves of the ocean.”

It is a fun and exciting trip that students enjoy and cherish for a long time.  Kevin Fulgado, a senior who went to Catalina two years ago, stated that he remembers it vividly.

“Tasting the sea water for the first time was so memorable that I can still imagine it in my mouth,” Fulgado said. “What was also memorable was saying goodbye, as all of the instructors got together and showed their appreciation. I didn’t want to leave Fox Landing,” he said, referring to the Catalina port where the students were dropped off.

Many new students that attended the trip were just as excited.  Senior and first-time Catalina visitor Richard Truong said, “I was extremely excited because a lot of the alumni and teachers kept telling me it was a trip of a lifetime.”

Catalina Island is a place where only few people can go and see because it is protected by the government due to its status as a habitat for exotic fishes and animals.

The schedule for the trip is rigorous.  The students leave on Sunday at midnight and take a seven-hour bus ride to Long Beach, then a two-hour ferry ride to the island. Then they are on the island for three days of non-stop educational activities, all provided by the staff members of the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI), a government-funded program that examines the biodiversity on the island.

“This was a trip that was worthwhile and I will always cherish it forever,” said Truong.

How much of your time is spent sitting at a computer or head down, eyes glued to your phone? It seems as the world evolves, so does technology. Technology plays a major part in everyone’s lives, from cellphones, to touch screen computers and televisions–now these things are in our cars, and even on public transportation. The dependence on technology is too great in today’s society. Technology’s role in our everyday lives can be overwhelming.

Lately as I walk around school, I notice that a majority of students are either hustling to class with their heads down staring at their phones or pacing themselves and taking their sweet times, completely focused on their phones and less worried about getting to class on time. This causes traffic jams of students eager to get to class. It seems as though we revolve our lives around phones and other devices to get us organized or keep us on track.

 Symone Johnson, an Oakland High senior, said that, “Twitter and Instagram are my favorite social networks [and] I spend countless hours on them.” Instagram and Twitter are among the most popular social networking sites for all OHS students.

However, teens’ range of communication is limitless. They use these social networks not only to communicate but also to keep up with the latest fashion fads, what’s hot and what’s not, and the ever-so-popular who’s dating who. But what does this mean, spending every waking moment staying connected and keeping up with all this, fixating over every picture we upload or every status we update?

What are we searching for? Approval from others to build our own self esteem? Or is our search deeper than that? Who’s to say that we should seek in others the approval of ourselves, and let the opinion of others cloud our judgment of ourselves or what we feel is right?

In addition to self-esteem problems, a lot of issues arise from teens being so connected and dependent on social networks. Teens are bullied and harassed because of their sexual preference or made fun of for reasons that are fictional or not 100% true. According to InfographicsMania, 92% of students have experienced cyberbullying on Facebook. 65% of the teens surveyed responded to the bullying; 35% of them responded in person. Some of the  students are not completely alone, though only 10% of parents are aware that this bullying is occurring.

Social media sites cater to the many needs of people, from bloggers to free-lance journalists. They allow the everyday person to share their thoughts and opinions with the whole world. But just as soon as a social network can become popular, it can lose its momentum or develop a negative reputation.

“I love using Instagram. It’s my favorite,” said Jackie Chen, a senior. “I used to use Facebook but it’s so ‘ratchet’ now.”

I do not wish to completely stop the use of electronics and technology, but to limit the dependence that today’s society has on these tools. We should take more opportunities to hold face-to-face conversations and to physically spend time with others rather than Facebooking someone or tweeting them. It may be difficult for us to limit ourselves because we are already so dependent, but we need to instill a value for person-to-person communication in our younger generations.

We lose that sense of genuine conversation, having things past down from one generation to another and being able to hold on to those values that are instilled in those before us.