Thursday, November 4, 2010

Trojan TimesIssue #3 Volume XXXVIII

Hassan Richard-son secures several scholarships

Sports

Page

10

Editorial

Page

9

News

Page

3

Students must be accountable for course decisions

New graduation re-quirements increase preparedness

Features

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11

“Change” is good; especially when you have some

Class of 2012 raises breast cancer awareness through five-mile walk

By Chanel Kawasakic.kawasaki@trojantimes.org

With October internationally known as both Breast Cancer and Pink Rib-bon Month, the number of campaigns for breast cancer awareness has taken a sky high leap. MHS’ own junior class has taken their part in the matter by participating in the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” march. This five-mile walk took place at Ford Island Bridge, and occurred on Saturday, Oct. 2. Both supporters and survivors from all around the island marched side by side in hope to raise awareness of the disease.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Topolinski graduates hula students

See page 5

CTAA presents The Laramie Project

See page 8

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2Thursday, November 4, 2010News

Statewide standardized testing is about to take on a big change in the 2010-2011 school year. All of the Hawaii State Assessment (HSA) testing, which was originally done by paper and pencil, will now be taken on the computer using an online HSA program. Part of the reason is that the company that supplies the HSA tests is shifting to a computer based direction, but there are other reasons within MHS. “Students can retake it,” said Curriculum Coordinator Robin Miller. All students testing will be allowed three attempts. “They won’t give you a score number, but they’ll tell if you passed,” said Miller. If a student does not pass they will have to

retake the test. The HSA coordinators hope that this will give students more of an incentive to do their best on the tests. “It’s a good thing because if there are stakes for the students, the students tend to do better,” said Vice Principal Andrea Moore. Knowing that their teachers and parents will be able to immediately view their scores, students will more likely strive to reach their fullest potential. “Many students do not put much effort into the HSA tests because no grade is attached,” explained Moore. “So for a lot of kids, if there’s not some reason to do well, if there’s not a grade attached or where they’re going to be positioned next year or whatever then, they just don’t bother to even try,” said Moore.

However, having to retake the test if it is not passed and more immediate score access are not the only incentives to do well on the test. Students test scores may affect the classes they are put in. “If you lay down three times on that test and not meet proficiency because

you just really don’t care, we will make sure that you are rewarded by where we are going to place you. You’re not going to be able to take (Advanced Placement)

HSA online modernizes standardized testingBy Shan Yonamines.yonamine@trojantimes.org

By Caitlin Kelly andBianca Sewakec.kelly@trojantimes.orgb.sewake@trojantimes.org

courses because your test scores say you can’t do it,” Moore stated. Though the HSA coordinators are embracing the change, there is some skepticism among students. “I think it will be harder because it’s different,” said Sophomore Terianne Hamada, “I’m more of a paper and pencil kind of person,” she explained. Despite this skepticism, the online testing will move MHS forward. Online testing will get the school more accustomed to advances in technology. “I think that yeah, it’s definitely a step forward,” said Miller. Hopefully the HSA online will prepare the MHS for more efficient technology based ways of testing in the future.

“I think that ... it’s definitely a step

forward.”

-Curriculum Coordinator Robin Miller

After winning the Grace K.J. Abernethy Screenwriting Contest, University of Hawaii (UH) student Laurie Arakaki was given a grant to turn her “Kill Haole Day” script into a film. The movie is meant to shed light on the hate crimes that white students endured during the 1950s. Cast members include MHS students Alumna Shelby Benson, Seniors Timothy Tyler Cain and Emily Makanani and Freshmen Jaslyn Loftin and Dominique Stuart.

Arakaki’s script was submitted in the Grace K.J. Abernethy Screenwriting Contest, where it won a cash grant. “She knew that she wanted to produce (the script). If you win the award you have to make the movie, otherwise you don’t get the money,” said Producer Lilah Akin, also a student at UH. The movie is based on the old local tradition of Kill Haole Day, that some high school students participated in. “It used to be the last day of school where kids

would pick on haole kids and beat them up,” explained Arakaki. In the script, a scrawny local boy named Kenny is seeking a better relationship with his father, who he doesn’t get along with. When Kenny hears his father talking about Kill Haole Day, Kenny tries to imitate him in an attempt to gain his acceptance. “(But) he’s realizing that that’s not

who he is, not who he wants to be, but he’s already kind of severed that relationship by his actions. So it’s kind of a tragedy, it’s examining a misguided race based mythology,” said Arakaki. Arakaki put together a cast and crew made of vol-unteers. In her search for high school student actors, she made a stop at MHS. “They just took our picture and we got a callback if they

Local award winning director casts MHS students in filmhair and make up and you get your wardrobe,” said Makanani. Cast members feel that their experience in the movie has been a positive one so far. “The fun thing about the scene I shot was it was a 70’s flashback. So we had all this ridiculous make up and clothes and it was fun,” said Makanani. The crew hopes that the film will spark discussion and educate people so the past will not repeat itself. “From this movie, I want people to know that it was something that happened and racism and prejudice is not a good thing,” said Akin. Arakaki also hopes the film will cause the public to think. “(Bullying) still goes on, even though we don’t call it Kill Haole Day, I think it still happens. So it’s kind of shedding a light on things and I’m trying not to judge anyone,’” she said. Kill Haole Day is project-ed to finish by next summer. From there, Arakaki will submit it to film festivals on the mainland, as well as the Hawaii International Film Festival.

wanted us in the show or not. And then we went to an audition about a week later at their place,” said Maka-nani. Filming began during fall break, with assigned days for different scenes. “They’re filming way out in Waialua, so your call time is at six in the morning. So I had to wake up at 4:30 to get down there and you get there and you go into

Alumna Shelby Benson, left, cheers on the main character Kenny in the fight scene. In the movie, Kenny beats up his best friend Evan, a white student, and severs their relationship as a result.

Photo courtesy of Laurie Arakaki

Test Taking Tips

1. Read Directions It is important to look over the instructions before and after taking the test to make sure you have followed them correctly. 2. Don’t know? Try!If you are not sure of an answer, eliminate unlikely choices and make an educated guess.3. Understand the questions If you come across a difficult question try to pick out key words and rephrase the question in a more understandable way. However, be careful not to change the meaning.

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your--skills/10296.html

Each year, an average of 200 students take the Pre-liminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) at MHS alone. Out of those, only two stu-dents this year had scores high enough to get recog-nition from the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSC): Seniors William Gaul and Mallory Hayase. “(NMSC) is a scholar-ship program … that rec-ognizes students from all over the United States who have taken the PSAT in their eleventh grade year that have a certain score,” said MHS’ College and Career Center Coordinator Denise Yamamoto. These “certain scores” change every year, and this year the recognized students were required to have a score of at least 2010

out of the total 2400 pos-sible points on the PSAT. Recognition from the NMSC is split into two ini-tial categories: Semifinalists and Commended Students. Semifinalists for the 2009 NMSC are required to have a score of 2150 at the least. If a student scores at that level, then they are automatically given the opportunity to compete with other Semifi-nalists to advance to the Fi-nalist level in the 2011 Merit Scholarship competition. Then, they will continue to compete with other Final-ists for one of the NMSC’s 8,400 Scholarships and will earn the Merit Scholar title. Commended Stu-dents are required to have a score between 2010 and 2150. These students are not allowed to compete for an NMSC Scholarship, but they are recognized

Starting with the class of 2013, the Hawaii Board of Education (BOE) has es-tablished new graduation requirements as a prepara-tion for life beyond high school. The new require-ments, which went into ef-fect for freshmen last year, are designed to increase the preparedness of students for college and careers.

The new requirements accomplish this through a revamped diploma sys-tem. “The biggest change is that now there’s going to be three diplomas that students can attain,” said Curricu-

lum Coordinator Katrina Abes. The first is a regular high school diploma. The second is the BOE Diploma and the third is the new BOE with Honors Diploma.

This new diploma has taken the place formerly held by the regular BOE diploma. Abes explained, “Before, our BOE used to be just for peo-ple with a particular GPA, but now it kind of opened up to everyone.” Students now are eligible for the BOE Di-ploma no matter what their GPA is. For the BOE with Honors Diploma, though, a student must have a GPA eligible for Cum Laude sta-tus, which is a 3.0 and up.

There are also a few

changes besides the new di-ploma. “(The students) have to take an expository writ-ing class their junior year, or they take an Advanced Placement English class, and Algebra II is required if they want to pass the exam,” Abes said. The exam, called the Algebra II End-of-Course Exam, is now required for the higher diplomas.

Although these new requirements may sound daunting, there are several ways these diplomas can help students. “With a reg-ular high school diploma you’re just meeting the min-imum requirements,” Abes explained. “With a Board of Education diploma, you are

telling colleges … that you are college and career ready, that you have gone over be-yond what’s expected of you as a high school student.”

Counselor Gerlynn Sil-va, also stressed the impor-tance of going beyond the minimum as a high school student. “(University of Hawaii) requires seventeen credits, and the only elec-tive credit that counts for us is foreign language. So you figure you take … the bare minimum to graduate in the state of Hawaii for regular core classes,” Silva remarked. “That only gives you four-teen credits.” If students took two years of language, they would still only have

sixteen, not enough to enter the (University of Hawaii).

Some students even showed some enthusiasm towards the new require-ments. “I think by having these new requirements it pushes the boundaries of our intelligence to strive for excellence in every-thing we do,” said Sopho-more Anthony Monfort.

The new requirements and diplomas reduce the risk of a lack of credits by push-ing students to go further in their core classes. Students that accept the challenge will have a bigger chance of less-ened problems with courses and credits when college ap-plication time comes around.

Gaul and Hayase recognized by National Merit

New graduation requirements push students furtherBy Matthew Raabm.raab@trojantimes.org

•High School Diploma-4 English Credits-4 Social Studies Credits-3 Mathematics Credits-3 Science Credits-2 Fine Arts/Language Credits-PE, Health, PTP, Six Elective Credits

New Diploma Requirements•BOE Recognition Diploma-High School Diploma Requirements, plus--Expository Writing (0.5 Credit)-2 credits in Chemistry, Biology, and/or Physics-Senior Project-5 Elective Credits instead of six-4 Math Credits (Algebra I/II, Geometry)

•BOE Recognition Diploma with Honors-Requirements of the BOE Recognition Diploma-A GPA of 3.0 or better

These new requirements will go into effect beginning with the Class of 2013

3Thursday, November 4, 2010 News

by the NMSC as students who received a high score. In Hawaii, Gaul was the only student to score a perfect 2400 on the 2009 PSAT’s. “I was happy,” said Gaul of qualifying. “You just have to think like the test people, that’s all it is,” he added about his high score. Gaul plans to continue in the 2011 National Merit Schol-arship competition, which

requires “a whole long es-say process,” he explained. Hayase scored a 2010 on the 2009 PSAT, which quali-fied her as a Commended Student. “I was extremely surprised,” said Hayase. “I didn’t think I did well enough to qualify for that.” According to Yamamo-to, these recommendations come with an additional perk. “You can put it on

your college applications … (and it) looks good on (the student’s) resume,” she said. “I always … make sure that (recognized students) put that as an honor that they receive.” The reason for this is because colleges often boast about how many of their students have been recognized by the NMSC. Gaul won’t know until February whether or not he qualifies as a Finalist in the 2011 Merit Scholarship com-petition. If he wins a NMSC Scholarship, Gaul hopes to use it towards a major in computer science, with his top college choice being the University of Hawaii. Hayase hopes to major in either computer science or computer engineering, and is applying to many colleg-es, such as Stanford and the University of Washington.

By Jacquelyn Perreiraj.perreira@trojantimes.org

Senior Mallory Hayase Senior William Gaul

4Thursday, November 4, 2010News

“It was hot, and we were all getting dirty and tired, but it was really inspiring,” said ASMHS president Shar-maine Lee, a junior who took part in the walk. “Breast cancer, as all cancers, is a se-rious issue,” said Lee. “The more people who support it, the better because it’s really a difficult struggle for those with it,” she said. The junior class accept-ed all students who came to help out on the day. They volunteered as cheerlead-ers for the marchers, mak-ing signs and pom-poms; energetically cheering the walkers and runners on as they crossed the finish line. Throughout the walk the MHS students also helped out with the set-up, by pick-ing up trash and collecting all recyclables. After seeing the com-munity come out to raise awareness, the juniors were inspired. It is now serving as motivation for the junior class to try to create their own campaign. “Giving back to the com-munity is very important to all of us ... Some of us know people who have had breast cancer and it was really emo-tional for those it has affected

... we really support fighting against breast cancer,” said Junior Class Vice President Shayna Hokama. “(Seeing) the money being raised for that cause was very heart-warming because you can see that it touches lives,” she said, adding, “Finding a cure is very important to all ... it’s really awesome that people take time out of their sched-ules to help this cause.” Junior Class Adviser Katrina Abes, commented, “(The Walk was) a great op-portunity for them to help.” The march for breast cancer not only acted as an eye-opener for the view-ers but also as a motivation for the MHS students who participated in it. “(The ju-nior student council) plan on organizing a walk for the school,” Abes said. “They would like to see what it was like in action.” The walk is still being planned, and the date is to be announced. With breast cancer awareness campaigns show-ing up much more frequent-ly around the community, from rubber bracelets to Facebook, it’s unmistakable the student body is slowly growing more conscious of the cause.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

JV math team places 3rd at OML competition On Sept. 18, the MHS math team participated in the Oahu Math League (OML) competition which was held at Iolani Schools. Most of the private and pub-lic schools on Oahu attend-ed. Through their hard work and training, our Varsity team came in 8th place and JV placed 3rd. In order to prepare for the competition, the team had up to three weeks of practice, which took place before and after school in study sessions. “It’s like an-other class,” said Sophomore Kyle Yamada, “You learn a lot, but there isn’t the pres-sure of grades and it’s fun.” Kyle Yamada was the JV teams top scorer getting an 18 out of 30 in his two algebra events and geom-etry event. “I felt surprised because I knew I did my best at the competition but I

By Reid Imamurar.imamura@trojantimes.org

didn’t know I had done well enough to be the top JV scor-er for Mililani,” he said. Senior William Gaul was the overall top scorer for Mililani, receiving a 22 out of 30. In the JV division Iolani was first and McKinley was second. In the Varsity divi-sion, private school claimed the 3rd to 7th spots. Math

competitions consist of stu-dents competing in three math subjects: algebra, ge-ometry and trigonometry. Students are assigned sub-jects by their advisers who placed them according to practice scores. At the event, many of the participants were un-easy and had to overcome mental obstacles. “I felt ner-

vous about the competition but I knew that my fellow teammates and I put in a lot of practice time. At the end of the competition it was a feeling of relief and confi-dence because I was glad it was over and I knew we performed to the best of our abilities,” said Yamada. At the end of the compe-tition, the JV team tied with

Kamehameha-Kapalama. “I was very proud of everyone because we all took the time and effort to attending the math session’s after school and before school, In order to prepare ourselves for the big competition,” said Soph-omore Gabby Gregorio. Although Mililani placed in the single dig-its, there is always room for improvement. “I’m glad JV did so well, usually the pri-vate schools with their mega geniuses get first to fourth place, so placing third is great. Varsity, we could’ve done better. And it feels good to be top scorer but there’s room for improve-ment too. I was hoping for a 30 out of 30 but I only got a 22 out 30,” Gaul. Mililani placing 3rd and 8th gives them a great place to start working harder, eventually being able to compete with top private schools.

(Left to right) Sophomore Stephen Mau, Junior Tru Dang, Freshmen Brysen Pasion and Jacob Baysa are members of the JV and Varsity math team.

Photo courtesy of Junior Melinda Sue Chinen

Students from the class of 2012 show their support to breast cancer surivivors by cheeringthem on as they crossed the finish line in the blazing sun.

Particapants of the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” march, went through Ford Island, from one end to another in a five mile walk. The walk was meant to promote breast cancer awareness.

Photo courtesy of Junior Melinda Sue Chinen

Reid Imamura | Trojan Times

“”

If you’re Hawaiian, you should learn more about your culture instead of just saying

you’re Hawaiian and all that. You should actually get to know your culture. What they did and

all the history about it. --- Senior Cindy Among-Serrao

Coming from a Hawai-ian heritage, Social Stud-ies Teacher John Topolin-ski and World Languages Teacher Kekoa Wong both share an interest in gaining knowledge of their culture. After graduating from hula school, Topolinski founded Ka Pa Hula Hawaii (School of hula) in 1973 where he teaches the traditional art form of hula that he passed down to his students, in-cluding Wong. Ka Pa Hula Hawaii’s goal is what sets it apart from modern halaus. “It’s to keep hula traditional in the Hawaiian sense,” ex-plained To-p o l i n s k i . “ M o d e r n hula teach-ers are us-

By Bianca Sewakeb.sewake@trojantimes.org

ing movements from like karate. They use movements from the orientals or they use movements from ballet, which is not Hawaiian.” Both Topolinski and Wong dance by choice, with the reason being that it’s

part of who they are. “Being part Hawaiian is part of my heritage,” said Topolinski.

“I think I should know the traditions of our people

so that I can best figure out the way we live today. You know, it’s like helping me to define what it is be-

ing an American,” he said. Wong stated, “It’s more of a religious duty or responsibility. I have to because

that’s what we are.”

To p o l i n s k i offers classes

open to any-one ages 14 years old and up. Classes are every S a t u r d a y

from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at

Nuuanu Elementary School and he teaches for free, with the exception of payment for use of the facilities. “It’s for the culture,” said Topolins-ki. “I get paid in other ways, such as them carrying on the tradition. ”

Wong discovered Topo-linski’s hula classes through his cousin. “I was done play-ing sports in college. And my cousin picked me up and took me to the class,” said Wong. From there, Wong be-came a student of Topolin-ski’s for 19 years and gradu-ated this year on Aug. 21 amongst some of the other students of Ka Pa Hula Ha-waii. These graduates ranged from 14-19 years of training. “It depends on how fast the student learns or if I think they’re ready,” explained Topolinski. “So there is no like four year college, five years masters. None of that. It’s determined by the teach-er and the student’s ability to catch on. And so, some never graduate.” At the ceremony, the graduates ate certain foods, which held symbolic mean-ing. For instance, they ate

the ear of the pig for good lis-tening skills. They also per-formed dances they learned as a way to showcase what they were taught. Topolinski is also a com-poser and has written three songs. One of them was

performed by the graduates that night. It was a farewell to the graduates, thank-ing them for their time and wishing them to continue learning and teaching. Topolinski expressed his wish for hula for his gradu-ates by saying, “That it lives. That it continues to be Ha-waiian. That it does not be-come watered down by outside influences.” He added, “I don’t want it to die, honestly.” This was Topo-linski’s third and final class that he will be gradu-ating. But his school will re-main open and he will contin-ue to teach for personal rea-sons. Tradition-ally, these graduates go

on to teach the next genera-tion. This is what Wong has already been doing by teach-ing hula classes at MHS. Senior Cindy Among-Serrao, a student of Wong, has already learned the im-portance of hula and learn-ing about one’s culture. She said, “If you’re Hawai-ian, you should learn more about your culture instead of just saying you’re Hawai-ian and all that. You should actually get to know your culture. What they did and all the history about it.” Although all three are from different generations, they will continue to learn about their culture through hula and pass on what they learned to the generations after them, so that

the tradi-tions, as well as the cul-ture, will live on.

Ka Pa Hula Hawaii: Preservering traditional hula through Topolinski and Wong

Above: Topolinski sits in the center amongst the teachers and students of Ka Pa Hula Hawaii, the hula school he founded. Bottom right: World Languages Teacher Kekoa Wong, a student of Topolinski who recently graduated after 19 years. Bottom right: Social Studies Teacher John Topolinski.

5Thursday, November 4, 2010 Chosen Trojans

All photos courtesy of Social Studies Teacher John Topolinski

For the past 14 years, the MHS marching band has been participating in the Moanalua Menehune Clas-sic; an event where march-ing bands showcase their routines. The purpose of this is so bands have the op-portunity to perform before a live audience and receive feedback by judges. Every year there is a dif-ferent theme to represent each marching band. This year the theme for MHS was “Mind Games”. There are three different sections in each performance – entitled “Crop Circles in the Car-pet”, “Sinking… Feeling…” and “The Takeover”. This annual event was held on

to competing, rarely getting nervous before perform-ing. He said, “Since I have been competing for so long, there is nothing to worry about. I feel we are prepared enough.” The band showcased a

Saturday, Oct. 16, making it the first band exhibition of the marching band season. To prepare for this event, the members of both the marching band and color guard had to attend a band camp during fall interses-sion. Drum Major, Senior Kyle Peacott-Ricardos said, “(In preparation for this an-nual event there was) a lot of practice, a lot of repetition, a lot of cleaning and making the group more together.” This is his fourth year par-ticipating in the Menehune Classic and second year as a Drum Major. Although he practiced, Peacott-Ricardos was still nervous at times, but continued to do his best. Senior Nicholas Tuvera, a Snare Drum player, is used

variety of beats. By work-ing together they fulfilled unique transitions and chal-lenging line ups. Band direc-tor Derek Ka apana referred to the underclassmen say-ing, “For the first time out, they did a fairly good job.”

As the judges tallied up their scores, the march-ing band had received the highest scores of “superior” in four categories; Music, Drum Major, Percussion and Color Guard. Lastly they re-ceived a score of “excellent” in the category of Marching. These score left them tied with Kamehameha, whom Tuvera refers to as their “biggest competition.” By the end of the night, Tuvera felt a sense of accom-plishment from his band members. Looking forward to further competitions, Pea-cott-Ricardos said, “This is a real stepping stone for the band, our first real preview performance in the front of other bands.”

By Judy Mossmanj.mossman@trojantimes.org

Marching Band takes superior in 14th annual Menehune Festival

Judy Mossman | Trojan Times

Clarinet players Juniors Kelsea Uratsuka, Melinda Sue Chinen, and Freshman Mari Sato participate in the Moanalua Menehune Classic performing at Moanalua High School.

On Oct. 15, musician and actor Mishon Ratliff from the T.V. series “Lincoln Heights” performed in MHS’ cafeteria in hopes of inspiring the stu-dents. Ratliff overcame life ob-stacles and hopes MHS stu-dents will do the same. Ratliff sang professional-ly ever since he was 9 years old. His talent as an actor came around the age of 12. “Well I was kind of a singer at first; kind of started sing-ing in my household and school choir,” said Ratliff. “Acting just came along and it was something I decided to do and I got into it and my T.V. show, ‘Lincoln Heights’. I did it for four seasons; one of my first auditions that I’ve ever went on, and I got the part. And from then, it’s been great,” he said. Although being an artist is rewarding, there can be a few prodigious circumstanc-es to overcome. Ratliff said,

more convinced and hopes to share her talents later on in the year. “Being on stage to me is the greatest, most exhilarating feeling in the world. And when I saw him perform, it inspired me to pursue Brown Bags to Star-dom this year,” Fowler said. Senior Nicholas Kamai, who has a passion for music, also watched Ratliff’s per-formance, which gave him more reassurance on becom-ing a music artist, “One day, I want to become a musician. Ratliff inspired me a little to make it happen,” stated Ka-mai. Kamai became more in-fluenced and hopes to speak his mind through music freely and pleasantly. Ratliff stated, “My mes-sage to everyone is to be the best of what you do and try work as hard as you can and stay positive.” His wish for the stu-dents is to feel assured when there’s a downfall and to get right back up again.

“There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t always fall through or follow through, but you can’t always have your hopes up; you just have to work hard as everybody else and try to be the best you can be.” Watching Ratliff’s per-formance inspired Junior Britney Ann Corrales, a former dancer. “It was out-standing. I loved it,” stat-ed Corrales. “He’s a great singer and dancer.” After his performance, she began reconsidering dancing once again. “His performance helped me think of dancing and acting. I want to go back to dancing if I had time and less homework,” she stated. In addition to that, Ju-nior Sidney Fowler, an as-piring singer, was also mo-tivated to sing and act by Ratliff’s performance. “I thought his performance was really good. He had great interaction with the audience; I was feeling it,” stated Fowler. She has been

Actor/Musician Mishon Ratliff encourages students to chase dreams and make it happen

By Jo Anna Antonio

Education is not just an essential factor to one’s life, but to a coun-try’s economy as well. In-donesia was listed as the country with the fourth biggest population, and providing quality educa-tion to an over crowded classroom isn’t possible. That is why MHS’ Key Club decided to join One Dollar for Life (ODFL). ODFL is a non-profit organization founded to address third-world pov-erty by collecting a dol-lar from each U.S. high school student and then channeling those funds into small-scale infra-structure projects in de-veloping countries. “The ODFL fund-ing will enable complete renovation of Manikaji School like new ceilings, new doors and windows, repair floors and tiles and painting the school inside and out,” according to the ODFL’s official website www.odfl.org. Indonesia was chosen by Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona as the re-ceiver of the fundraising activity’s proceeds. “It’s a government system

within Key Club and they chose One Dollar for Life and then we said that we are going to help (Indone-sia),” said the Key club’s President, Senior Justina Choi. The bake sale raised $375. This said activity easily spread to the stu-dents through the efforts of Key Club members “Mostly to advertise, we made posters, and we put the announcement on bul-letin.” explained Choi. Key Club Adviser Marcie Waki and students made the products. “We asked the students to bring in baked goods like brownies, cookies, rice crispies, blueberry mochi, cakes and cupcakes. The students did it at home, and then brought it to school,” she explained. The bake sale took place in front of the school’s of-fice and other places in the state. MHS’ Key Club was just one of many high schools in the country who partic-ipated in ODFL’s project. “All the Key Club mem-bers did some kind of fundraising and with the money that we raised, we just did a big sale, so oth-er schools did something else,” stated Waki.

By Ella Macaraige.macaraig@trojantimes.org

Key Club holds bake sale for Indonesian school

6 Thursday, November 4, 2010Trojan Life

Actor and musician Mishon Ratliff entertains and inspires the lunch crowd. “Be the best of what you do and try work as hard as you can and stay positive,” he advised.

Jo Anna Antonio | Na Mana o Poina ole

7Thursday, November 4, 2010 Trojan Life

Empeno and Sikkink win CTAA logo contest

Your path to success starts at UH West O‘ahu.Apply today!

Classes begin at the new Kapolei campus in Fall 2012

454-4700admissions@uhwo.hawaii.eduuhwo.hawaii.edu

Find UH West O‘ahu on Facebook and follow us on Twitterfacebook.com/uhwestoahu • twitter.com/uhwestoahu

By Chanel Kawasaki c.kawasaki@trojantimes.org

Just last year, MHS’ act-ing group had opened up their doors and went center stage with their new title, Central Theatre Arts Acad-emy (CTAA). This school year, in order to give them-selves a new look and de-sign, they created a contest calling actors and artists alike to create an original logo with a grand prize of $100. “We want (these de-signs) to be something we can keep for years,” said Stroud, adding, “When their kids come to Mililani they will hopefully be able to see it.” All CTAA students from middle to high school, in any Hawaii public school could enter, and on Sept. 30, awards were given in the cafeteria to the students who had the most expres-sive designs.

In an abrupt tie between Senior Francis Empeno Jr. and Junior Anna Sikkink, CTAA Head Jamie Stroud and the selection staff de-cided to have the two share the spotlight, granting each of them $100. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Sikkink, “I hadn’t ex-pected to win.” Recalling his thoughts just before the names were called, Empeno said, “I was just sitting down next to a couple of my friends, then when my name was an-nounced it was unbeliev-able.” Empeno, in his first of-ficial year as member ofCTAA and cast member in the Laramie Project, will have his design featured on programs, pamphlets and forms. Likewise, Sikkink, a three-year member of CTAA is going to have her design on the CTAA shirts. “I was trying to add as much as I could about what

we did in CTAA into the logo, so that people who see it will know what we do,” said Sikkink regarding her

T-Shirt design. The CTAA has gone through many changes this past year. With new shows

coming up, you can expect to see a debut of their new logos on future CTAA shirts and programs.

Chanel Kawasaki | Trojan Times

Top Left: CTAA Director Jamie Stroud with logo contest winners Senior Francis Empeno Jr. and Junior Anna Sikkink. Bottom Left: Empeno’s logo selected as CTAA’s official logo. Right: Sikkink’s logo submission that will appear on CTAA shirts.

8 Thursday, November 4, 2010Trojan LifeMHS cast to perform the upcoming Laramie ProjectBy Aven Santiagoa.santiago@trojantimes.org

The Laramie Project has been called one of the most popular, yet controversial plays ever written. This documentary play compiled by Moisés Kaufman, takes place a month after a horrible crime occured in the city of Laramie, WY. Central Theatre Arts Academy (CTAA) will be putting on this play directed by CTAA Head Jamie Stroud. The cast of the play, including Seniors Andrew Baker, Timothy Tyler Cain, Amber Davison, Francis Empeno Jr. , Emily Makanani, Junior Nastasha Merced and Sophomores Daniel Bayot and Kamuela Dawn Napoleon, will be doing production of this well known play. The idea of this production was to capture the emotions and reactions of all the people that were most directly related to the crime of the beating and death of a young, gay college student. The cast members of the production are excited about

the project. “Preparing for it has been fun. We’ve become very in tune with the story, which I think is a good story,” said Cain. In Oct. 1998, a 21 year old gay student named Matthew Shepard, who attended the University of Wyoming, was struck about the head, mugged and left to die of the post of an October night. About eighteen hours later, he was accidentally discovered by a passing biker. Shepard was beyond recovery by the time he reached the hospital. He never regained consciousness and died several days later. Two local young men were charged with the crime. “This show is really interesting and challenging because one person didn’t just decide to write about this town with no background information. The members of the Tectonic Theater Group went to Laramie and conducted interviews of people who were close to the case in general. The words we speak have been spoken by actual people.

Also, I would really like people to realize that this show isn’t about gay pride. It’s about gay tolerance,” said Makanani. Playing the roles of all the characters was one of the more difficult parts of the production, having to put yourself in the characters position to make the scenarios real. “When you are playing a character that isn’t real, you can do whatever you want with it,” said Makanani. “The character is yours to build off of. However, this play isn’t made up. The words that we speak were actually

spoken at one point in time. We have to do our best to say things the way this person said them. We have to do this play justice, after getting to know this show, I think it’s really well put together and I think it will really open some people’s eyes,” she said. Being the first time this play has ever been shown at MHS, the cast is anxious about the upcoming production. Scheduled to be performed on Nov. 6. Other showings will be on Nov 7, 12 and 13. The Cafeteria doors will open at 7:00 and show time will be at 7:30.

The cast of the Laramie Project anxiously awaits as CTAA head, Jamie Stroud addresses them about the upcoming production.

Aven Santiago | Trojan Times

ASMHSPresident

Hi Trojans! We are through the first few weeks of the second quarter and there were a lot of exciting activi-ties and events at our school. On October 12, second quarter start-ed, it was great to see friends and start learn-ing again. October 23rd was Make a Difference Day, students and vol-unteers from our mili-tary partners worked to clean up our school. From October 25th to the 29th we had the Halloween Spirit Week, spirit points were awarded to each class for their participation in the dress ups. On Oct. 26th, Homare High School, a Japanese high school from Nagoya, came to visit. Thank you to all the volunteers who entertained and acted as tour guides. On the same day, students also had the opportunity to donate blood to our Blood Bank Drive. Luckily there was no school on October 31, Halloween. Be it trick or treating, partying with friends, or going out for a scare I’m sure all of you had fun. Finally, congrat-ulations to our athletes for doing so well in the Fall season sports. We’re almost half way through the second quarter and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Students, keep studying and thank the teachers because we all appreciate their help.

Sharmaine Lee

Trojan Times

The Trojan Times is a monthly production of the Newswriting staff of Mililani High School 95-1200 Meheula Pkwy.,

Mililani, HI 96789

To voice an opinion or any concerns, feel free to submit a letter to L205 or to b.sewake@trojantimes.org. The Trojan Times re-serves the right to edit letters as they see fit. Please type your letter and clearly state your name, grade level and period one class.

The mission of the Trojan Times is to be the student

voice and to publicize events, share in the suc-

cesses of students, promote the hard work of the faculty and capture the dedication

of organizations.

Editor in ChiefBianca Sewake

Assistant EditorCaitlin Kelly

Design EditorMatthew Ambrosecchio

Sports EditorJayna Kitazaki

Business ManagerJessica Antonio

AdviserMr. Christopher Sato

PrincipalDr. John Brummel

Staff

Jo Anna AntonioJonalyn Bate

Zora HaReid Imamura

Chanel KawasakiElla MacaraigJudy Mossman

Jacquelyn PerreiraMatthew RaabAven SantiagoShan Yonamine

By Caitlin Kellyc.kelly@trojantimes.org Whether it’s from par-ents with high expectations, the competitiveness of col-lege admission or their own hardworking nature, high school students are under a lot of pressure. As a result, they often feel like they need to take an absurd amount of Advanced Placement (AP) classes and join a bunch of different clubs all at the same time. The stress from the numerous responsibili-ties can at times, seem out-rageous. However, it is not fair to say that requirements have spiraled out of control. Students are informed of the work that will be required of them before they take a class or join an extracurricular ac-tivity, therefore the responsi-bility is solely theirs. There is no doubt that pushing boundaries can be helpful, as it results in a feel-ing of accomplishment. “I think it’s going to help me in the long run. I was look-ing through my college apps and looking through col-lege requirements, and they do accept a lot of fours and fives if you take the (AP)

Students ultimately accountable for enrollment decisions

9Thursday, November 4, 2010 Editorial

test,” said Senior Keenan Robles, who is a drum major of the marching band, and enrolled in three AP classes. It’s great that there are so many students who wish to step up to the plate. After all, without driven people, no progress would ever be made. But it is when students try to take on more than they are possibly capable of, that problems begin to arise. “There are several (students) who come in crying, literally crying, because they’re so stressed out and that to me, that is not a challenge, that is being overly challenged,” said Social Studies Teacher Judy Taparra. We have probably all got-ten that ‘what have I gotten myself into?’ feeling at one point or another. As a result, it is natural for us to put the blame on others; whether it be teachers for assigning so much work, or coaches for scheduling practice during a long awaited weekend. However, blaming oth-ers is not acceptable; enroll-ing in tough classes or time-consuming activities is not mandatory, and students are given ample informa-

tion before they must make their decision. For example, AP students are informed of class expectations the school year before they are enrolled in the class. “During the AP curriculum night I let them know, because I want them to know exactly what they’re getting themselves into. Otherwise they won’t be very happy if they didn’t expect it to be like the way it is,” said Taparra. And it is essential to re-member that even though you may be stressed out with your workload, there’s a good chance that others are as well. If one doesn’t pull their own weight because they have spread themselves too thin, they ultimately af-fect people around them. “It is understandable if they cannot make it to all (club) activities, and I completely sympathize with people balancing loaded schedules. Yet at the same time, it is not acceptable if they never show up to anything,” said Junior Jessica Kawana, who holds leadership positions in three different clubs while balancing two AP classes. Therefore, it is essential to recognize your boundar-

ies. Experience is a tough teacher, but it is only through experience that you will get to know yourself and your limits. “Pushing yourself too far over your limit can be disastrous and will take time to recover from. There-fore, it becomes necessary to carefully examine what you can handle before you com-mit to anything, whether it is a class, club or sport,” said Kawana. It’s important to balance accordingly based on your knowledge of what you can and can’t handle. And among the craziness, it is im-portant to leave some space for leisure time. “What I like to do is stop and take a mo-ment for myself. If anything, I guess this would be time to chill with a friend. Some-thing to just get your mind off everything, give your mind a break and to relieve stress,” said Robles. No one can do it all, and that’s okay. Sometimes it is necessary to say no to join-ing a new club, or signing up for yet another AP class, because it is you and no one else that will be held respon-sible for the work that en-sues.

Relative Reason By Matthew Ambrosecchio

Thursday, November4, 2010Sports10 The talent demonstrated on the gridiron this season by Senior Hassan Richard-son has led him to some out-standing accomplishments. Not only is the MHS football team headed to the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) playoffs, but Richard-son has secured multiple full ride college scholarships. Standing at six foot four, Varsity Wide Receiver Rich-ardson is a formidable force for any defense. “He’s got a lot of talent,” said Head Football Coach Rod York. His ability on the field is such a threat that defenses are forced to stack the odds against him. “Teams double team him, or they have a guy underneath him and a guy over the top of him so it’s tough to go to him every game,” York continued. His ability has brought Richardson considerable gains. “I got two (football scholarships),” he said. “I got San Diego and I got Wy-oming.”

Colleges have taken an interest in Richardson, and these football scholarships have given Richardson the chance to continue his foot-ball career beyond high school. “I am waiting on more offers, but right now I’m sort of looking forward to going to San Diego State,” he said. Richardson is commit-ted to what he does. “I was counting on scholarships so that’s why I always worked hard as a little kid, to get where I need to be right now,” he remarked. York had praise for this dedicated personality. “(Richardson) works hard,” he said. “He does work hard, and takes care of his business academ-ically.” This dedication and work has had an effect on his teammates, who had respect and praise for his personal-ity. “Richardson is a very talented individual. I play with Richardson, not only football but basketball too. He’s very skillful, and his personality, he’s very hum-ble about what he does,”

explained Senior Brandon Tacadena, Defensive Tackle on the Varsity football team. York agreed. “His team-mates like him, his teachers like him; he has a very like-able personality,” he said. This personality might be what helped Richardson to go beyond his own inter-ests and establish himself as a team leader. “I try to be a leader for the offense,” he said. York noted that Rich-ardson handled this leader-ship well. “He’s a team lead-er through example. He’s not too vocal, he’s a quiet guy, but if you watch his ac-tions, we always say action speaks louder than words, and he’s definitely one of those examples.” This personality, paired with the skill Richardson has, is a volatile combina-tion, exemplified by the six touchdowns he scored in the regular season and his aver-age of sixty yards per game. And with scholarships al-ready secured and a strong season under his belt, Rich-ardson has the potential to achieve more.

Pacing up and down the field shouting words of encouragement, is Senior Dominick Lankford, dressed as the school mascot during football games. Accompa-nying him is assistant Tro-jan Man, Junior Kenneth Anglemire, showing school pride and promoting spirit. Lankford, as well as Anglemire, will continue the Trojan Man legacy, left last year by Alumnus Jesse Sakuragi, by keeping the crowd pumped up. Since this was his last year, Lankford wanted to be as involved and spirited as possible, “In my four years of high school, I have had a lot of spirit. But I never had a way to show it. Since I’m a senior now, I wanted to go out with a bang,” he said. “The only requirements that I needed before trying out were to have spirit and my grades have to be C’s or better. Basically, tryouts are to show the judges how spirited you really are. How

far you’re willing to go to pump the crowd up,” he continued. Cheerleading Coach Re-nesha Kierstedt can agree with these requirements. “Some of the key things nec-essary to be a great mascot include: spirit, energy and confidence,” said Kierstedt,

continuing, “Sure, being fit is another plus too, but what’s the point if you’re not going to be pumped up during games.” Before Lankford tried out for the Trojan Man, he was still a crowd pleaser, participating in the school’s choir group. “I’m a part-

time, freelance musician who plays guitar and sings,” he said. Lankford was also in the group Acoustic Sun-rise, a band formed by he and his friends, who have made several performances in Mililani Town Center. With experience of per-forming in front of crowds,

Lankford is able to be him-self and have fun while get-ting the crowd hyped. “(He) makes the game fun for me because the way he tries to imitate us cheerleaders but also adds his own style,” said Sophomore Kylee Ann Enoki. He dances and does routines with the cheerlead-ers, as well as dance while the band plays pep tunes. Running while waving the school flag around may seem tiring to some people, but to Lankford, it’s very enjoyable. “I usually make the crowd laugh whenever I copy the cheer leaders or run around and make a fool of myself. But honestly, I love this job. Not only do I have fun, but it also teaches me how to be open, and how to be myself. And that is usu-ally my normal behavior.” Lankford can be seen at the various football games exerting lots of energy and pumping up the crowd. Be-ing the school’s mascot may not be easy, but Lankford will surely carry on the tra-dition of being a spirited mascot at MHS well.

Hard work and determination lead to rewards for Richardson By Matthew Raab m.raab@trojantimes.org

By Zora Haz.ha@trojantimes.org

Lankford and Anglemire continue trojan man tradition

Senior Dominick Lankford exemplefies school pride as the trojan mascot for the 2010-2011 school year. Lankford can be found waving the school flag and dancing to the band at MHS football games.

Zora Ha | Trojan Times

Senior Hassan Richardson

Jong Hee Lee | Na Mana o Poina Ole

Go For Broke?

Be a decisive shopper:

Ever walk into a store expecting to

get one thing, and then walk out with

ten different things? Knowing exactly

what you’re shopping for will help you

keep from being sidetracked in the aisles

and making unnecessary purchases.

Snack attack

shopping:

One of the worst

things

you can do is go snack or fo

od

shopping when you’re hun-

gry. Chances are an extra box

of Cheez-its, or a package of

Oreo’s will f

ollow you to the

checkout.

Two day rule: This one’s simple. If you see something you want to buy, don’t get it right then and there; wait for a bit. Go home and think about it, if you still want to purchase the item after a day or so then go for it; if not, well then I guess you re-ally didn’t need it as badly as you thought you did.

A side n

ote on

borrowing/len

ding money:

Lender: Only lend out w

hat you ca

n. If

you need to pay for so

mething in the near

future, but figure your fr

iend will pay you

back in time, th

ink again. A good ru

le of thumb is

“don’t not expect t

o be paid back soon.” Id

eally th

at

should be th

e case, but it

’s ofte

n not.

Spender: Please don’t b

orrow m

ore than you ca

n pay

off, and only—and I m

ean ONLY—borrow m

oney in

an emergency. It’s

no fun being in debt, especially

to a

friend.

By Matthew Ambrosecchio m.ambrosecchio@trojantimes.org

Life can be expensive at times—after all, the latest trends, a night out with

friends and the must have item of the week often ‘breaks the bank.’ Fortunately, there are a few money

saving tips to help you from going broke.

Budgetin

g:

It

may so

und odd, b

ut budge

t-

ing you

r inco

me is a

n effec

tive w

ay

to man

age y

our m

oney.

If yo

u didn’t

know

, budge

ting

involves

settin

g

aside p

ortio

ns of y

our c

ash in

to ca

t-

egor

ies, su

ch as

food

, cloth

es, video

games,

mov

ies, e

tc. B

y doin

g this

you’ll

alway

s hav

e so

me ca

sh o

n

hand an

d some s

et asi

de.

12 Thursday, November 4, 2010InteractiveHoroscopes

Aries(March 21 - April 19).

Live up to your horoscope’s animal and become strong like ram! Go to the gym and start pumping iron. After exercising, use sweet pea scented body wash to keep you so fresh and so clean.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)Try standing your ground… literally. Stay away from mud and all things slippery. If needed, start wearing soc-cer cleats for some extra bal-ance.

` Gemini (May 21 - June 21)All work and no play make Gemini a sad sign. Give your mind a rest! Take a break from all of the rumble in your head and wear some bright colors to school to-morrow.

a Cancer (June 22 - July 22)Please don’t follow Aries’ example. No one likes being around a crab. Instead, try cooking some beef stroga-noff. It’s delicious.

b Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22)No need for energy drinks this month; you’ll already possess all the energy you’ll need. With it, you could try making your mother happy by doing some extra chores around the house.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)You’ve got ninety-nine prob-lems and focusing in school is definitely one of them. Try singing every now and then during class to keep you awake.

dLibra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)This month will be full of lucidity for you, so use it to balance all of the com-ponents in your life. Divide your time wisely and to your best advantage.

eScorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)Lucky for you, the sec-ond and fourth quarters of school are looking particu-larly bright. However, greed is your worst enemy this month, so be sure to not bite off more than you can chew.

fSagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) Play with fire and you are bound to get burned. That being said, pay attention to details this week or you’ll surely regret it.

gCapricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) Time to grab life by the horns and go for what you really want. Can’t decide? Then flip a coin.

hAquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)Spread your fins and you’re sure to make some new friends. I know you think that you always know best, but just trust me on this one.

iPisces (Feb. 19 – March 20)Just because summer is over doesn’t mean that your luck is gone. You’ve been feeling money hungry this month,

so take some initiative: get a job and save up.

By Jacquelyn Perreiraj.perreira@trojantimes.org

People and Places

ACROSS 2. Students will be allowed to take the HSA _____ times online.7. Which student scored perfect on PSAT?8. Name of hula school founded by Topolinski.9. Who is the main Trojan man?11. Name of school where the OML math competition was held at.

... Can someone explain what’s going on?

Umm it’s a lockdown; we need all the lights off,

windows sealed, doors bolted, heads down, cell phones shut off, and above all, absolute silence.

You’re not serious are you! Isn’t that impractical? I mean we can’t do any real learningin conditions like this.

... You have a point, there is a ton of work I could be doing now.

Kayla, leveling up in your game does not count as work

At least I’m not wasting my time.

_

c

By the BellBy Matthew Ambrosecchio

3to5daysBy Jayna Kitazaki

T H R E E IC

K A P A H U L A H A W A I I

SI

K INK

ARDSO

I O L A N I

ODF

KAME

AMEHA

D

PL A N K F O R DOM AS

G A U LJ

N I

RS

Answers to Crossword

DOWN1. Which school did MHS tie with at the Me-nehune Festival?3. Football player who secured multiple col-lege scholarships.4.Student whose logo will be on CTAA shirts.5. What class campaigned against breast can-cer?6. There are now three different _______ stu-dents can earn.10. What organization does Key Club belong to in order to help the Indonesian School?

31

4 5

6 7

2

8

910

11