1. Two-thirds the length of an Olympic sized swimming pool2. The width of an 8-lane highway

3. The size of a blue whale 4. 2.5 school buses or city blocks5. The length of a professional basketball court

Wolves’ ChronicleVolume 2, Issue 2 stockton early college academy december 17, 2010the

InSIDE: School survey results // Helping vs. Cheating // Winter vacation ideas

The distance of the binder chain was longer than...

Five, four, three, two, one! On Oct. 22, this was the countdown heard in the air of the Urbani Building park-ing lot at lunch, as more than half of the high school’s students witnessed what is

now known as “The Ultimate Binder Challenge.” Students stacked their AVID binders upright in a long line that reached up to more than half of the back parking lot. This line, composed of 146 binders, reached a distance of 102’ 22”.

“I was disappointed because I knew there were other binders that didn’t participate. I thought it was pretty amazing that it [the binders] reached that far, though,” said Jasmine Fredericksen, sophomore and Wolves’ Chronicle staff member.

It took 25 minutes for the binder dominoes challenge to begin. Rachel West, adviser of the Newspaper Production class that organized the challenge, pushed down the first binder stationed at the very back gate of the parking lot. This triggered the rest of the chain of binders to fall in a slow, continuous motion.

“I was kind of excited because we had been planning to do this for a little while,” said Frederickson.

In fact, the class planned this event the week it occurred. The idea originated from the mind of Managing Editor, Josephine Espinoza.

“What most inspired this idea was nothing; it just came to me. Most great ideas just come out of nowhere,” explained Espinoza, sophomore.

Though the idea came from nothing, it certainly turned into something by the end of Friday. This “something” was different for each individual. While “The Ultimate Binder Challenge” created a domino effect when the binders fell, it also created a domino effect in the process of its organization.This involved some students gathering all of the binders they could find and taking them away from their owners to use for the challenge. Students, such as freshman Danetta Holland, found their binders “borrowed” for the purpose of the challenge.“They [fellow students] took my binders without asking me. My stuff was everywhere; I couldn’t do my homework, which would mean I would get in trouble. It was a domino effect just like the binders,” said Holland. As a result, Holland did not watch the event.

“It wasn’t interesting, and I was angry,” added Holland.With only a turnout of 146 binders, out of the 250 students SECA

has—each student having an AVID binder—many agree.Although, there were “borrowed” binders, there were also bind-

ers willingly participating at the permission of their owners. “I thought it was going to be fun, and it turns out I was right,” said Fredericksen.

The ultimate binder challengeThe domino effect created mixed feelings

Sucharita Yellapragada Editor-in-Chief

Photos by Desiree Alcocer--Sucharita Yellapragada

12.17.103edItorIal12.17.102 news

Editorial Policies: About Us:Wolves’ Chronicle Staff:

Editor in chief: Sucharita YellapragadaManaging editor: Josephine EspinozaDesign Editor: Desiree Alcocer

Webmasters: Holly DeHonestis & Emily Wilburn

Layout & Design: Angelynn Jose, Jonathan Kwan Photo Editor: Karen Alvarado-Contreras

Staff members: Jorelyn Calam, Jhovany Gomez, Sirenio Gonzalez, Melissa Cruz, Jonathan Kwan, Faviola Paz, Richard Huynh, Alex Xiong, Jasmine Fredericksen, Mikey Aguilera, Chanchharath Ros

Adviser: Rachel West

The Wolves’ Chronicle newspaper is published quar-terly and distributed free of charge. Our newspaper is an open forum for free student expression. Stu-dent editors and reporters make content and style decisions with the adviser offering guidance. Edito-rials reflect the view of the entire editorial board and therefore are unsigned. Opinion columns reflect the view of the writer. Readers are welcomed to write letters to the editor. We will make every effort to print any letters as long as it is not libelous. Letters longer than 250 words will be edited. Unsigned let-ters will be printed only in unusual circumstances, and only when we know who the writer is. Letters may be brought to the newspaper room, room 6, or emailed to wolveschronicles@gmail.com

Stockton Early College Academy (SECA) is in its second year as a dependent charter school in the Stockton Unified School Dis-trict in Stockton, CA. We currently have freshman and sophomore classes, with a population of 250 students. We are located at 640 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton, CA 95202.

Our newspaper is published by Herburger Publications in Galt, CA and distributed for free to all students.

Go Timberwolves!

Each day is a dispute. Who’s to say anyone is watching? “I can get away with anything.” We trust too easily. Who’s to know what’s dis-played on a laptop that’s causing uproar? Friendly tribunal members are either too infatuated with their sandwiches, or trusting enough to let the laughter slide.

Doesn’t matter what’s on the laptop, it could be pornography for all we care. Who’s watching? Friends of course, “cool” people, or those who take situations like this lightly. Where are the teachers, or the loyal tribunal members? Likely in another room. They had no idea about the drugs being used, the computers be-ing used for inappropriate purposes, the constant cheating, or the weapons brought here. So it’s the students’ duty to report it, but every action has its consequence.

What is the result of reporting to an authority? Often mixed feel-ings of fear, anxiety, guilt, and worry overcome a person. It is difficult to report dear friends and family. It may be fear of destroying the friendship, and even at times, fear for their own safety. If there does happen to be an incident because of misconduct, how is someone affected then? They could sit there countless hours, thinking to themselves, “I could have stopped this… but I couldn’t bring myself to tattle.” Even if there is an incident, the same question remains unan-swered: what is the right thing to do?

At times, being the bystander seems to be the easiest, preferred, and automatic choice.

Unlike reporting a friend, staying silent involves nearly no hesita-tion or conscience. But critical questions to ask are, “What will happen

to them, will they know it was me, how will I be affected, and is this the right choice?”

Rat: One who turns on close associates in times of danger; one who informs/ reports any misconduct.

Ironically, the term rat shares one of the qualities of what is considered a good citizen. Similarly, the police force is often referred to as “pigs.” No one likes to be “tattled on,” so anger shifts to their accuser. The accuser is labeled as two-faced, back-stabbing, rotten, and many other demeaning phrases. Rela-tionships are broken off, and in extreme cases, violence is established.

Of course, the informer isn’t the one to blame.

Being a bystander can lead to seri-ous consequences. Someone may end up hurt if this inappropriate behavior does not stop.

Being a “rat” is often more benefi-cial than staying silent. Injuries, expul-sions, and interrogation of multiple sources can be prevented if the main source of misconduct is reported. In fact, the ethically correct and feasible

solution is to prevent any negative actions in the first place. It’s prob-ably the most friends can do for each other, rather than staying silent and watching each other’s backs.

The definition of right and wrong varies from person to person. To some, friends come before rules, to others, the responsible choice must be pursued.

Perhaps, the ultimate solution is to talk associates out of negative actions, or not commit them in the first place. By pursuing ethical stan-dards, burdens are lifted off bystanders and all trouble is avoided.

Finding the right decisionThere is no true definition for right and wrong

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Feeling up for some basket-ball comedy? The Harlem Globetrotters are coming to the Stockton Arena January 18th @ 7p.m. Tickets are on-sale now!

A night full of laughter is guaranteed! Comedian Gabriel Iglesias is coming to the Bob Hope Theatre from 7 to 10 p.m. Ticket prices are $35.

How about spending the day watching a delightful play? The Bad Seed presented by Changing Faces Theatre Company will be shown at the Hutchins Street Square Performing Arts Theatre in Lodi at 8p.m.

Come and enjoy the play Casablanca at the Bob Hope Theatre at 7:00 p.m. Adult ticket prices are $8 while children 12 years and younger only have to pay $4.

Student council members don’t forget to attend the winter planning session on school campus from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feel free to bring any snacks for the pot luck!

Newspaper Production class students interested in design should attend Design Boot-camp on school campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a lunch break around noon.

Stay home, relax, and sleep. You’ll thank us three months from now.

Ready to use your voice for some cheering? Pacific Tigers Women's Basketball team is competing against UC Santa Barbara from 4 to 6p.m. Adult tickets are $10 and youth is $8 at the Alex G. Spanos Center at UOP.

Bring your little siblings (ages 6-12) to the Arnold Rue Center from 10-11 a.m. to participate in beginning ballet classes. Also, stop by at the Stockton Arena to watch 63 of the top high school wrestling teams compete.

AcaDec Bootcamp meets today again!

Need computer training? Come take some computer classes at the Cesar Chavez Central Library from 11a.m. to noon. No sign-ups or fees necessary.

Come and read to younger children at the Tracy Branch Library 4p.m.

Teen Book Club meeting will take place at the Tracy Branch Library 4 p.m. where students can discuss books they have read.

Academic Decathletes, today’s the first day of Acadec Bootcamp! Don’t forget to attend; extra credit will be given! Other dates to attend bootcamp are: 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, and the 14th.

World Events Jr. Kings Basketball League begins. It “offers the NBA's official non-competitive youth Basketball League for boys and girls.”

It’s the beginning of the New Year. Catch all the New Year’s sales at the mall and start thinking about keeping your New Year’s resolutions.

Say goodbye to 2010 and countdown the seconds to 2011! Have a great New Year’s Eve.

Have fun with the family at Dell’ Osso Farm in Stock-ton. Check out the lights, snow, and Santa’s Village.

Go to the Haggin Museum and celebrate 150 years of local inventions by seeing a special exhibit of more than 125 objects.

Have a craving for donuts? Go to Krispy Kreme and rejoice in deliciousness of donuts.

Spend a day at the hockey arena. Go and see the Stockton Thunder play hockey against the Bakers-field Condors.

Today is the beginning of Kwanzaa. Have fun lighting a kinara and giving gifts.

Merry Christmas! Celebrate the day with family and open up those presents.

Today’s Christmas Eve! Get ready for Christmas by making sure your in the holiday spirit.

Don’t forget to start your English assignments. It’s better to start now!

Celebrate the beginning of winter. Key Club members, don’t forget to volunteer at the 3rd Annual Winter Wonder-land Public Ice Skating at the Stockton Arena.

Spend a day at the movies with your friends and/or family. Watch “Little Fockers” in theaters opening day.

Discover the mystery of the Christmas Star in a special presentation at the Clever Planetarium in Stockton. Be there at 7:30 p.m. and get a chance to check out our universe from home.

Dec. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Jan. 1313029282726

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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Your Winter Break Just Got Better!

18 19 20 21 22Don’t forget to get to school on time at 7:55 a.m. as always.

Your Winter Break just got better...how to keep busy during your month off!

Come back to school!

Editorial POlicies: About us:

AP World History Guide (applies to current and upcoming sophomores)

Trendy giftsDon’t know what to get your friends for Christmas and you don’t have too much to spend on a fancy gift for them? Well, worries be gone! Here is a list of gifts you can buy for your friends for under $20.

And when you’re stuck for time, iTunes or movie theater gift cards are always useful! And there’s always a copy of the Wolves’ Chornicle, free in the office.

Graphic T-shirts are inexpensive but trendy

Cards or hugs are inexpensive but worth the effort.

To snitch or not to snitch?12.17.104 opInIon

While sitting outside the principal’s office, tons of thoughts are racing through

your mind, not knowing what happened or the purpose of being there. Then there is something which causes the race of thoughts to stop right in its tracks, the remembrance of seeing a good friend vandalizing school property. Then again, why would you get in trouble? You didn’t do anything, but that’s just it, you didn’t do anything.

I’m sure most of us have been in a situ-ation where we were a witness in an event where somebody did something wrong and

didn’t report it. Was there ever a time where you wondered, what if you did say some-thing and you saved somebody’s life or even just taught somebody a lesson? Even though people run across problems where they know the situation is wrong, most of us don’t do the right idea and act on it.

“If I knew I could have prevented [the situation] from happening and they got ex-tremely hurt, that wouldn’t make me feel good,” said Jennifer Smith, sophomore.

Teenagers tend to not tell on their friends because their peers make it seem as if telling on someone is the worst of the worst to do to your friends and family. They know people want to blend in and probably wouldn’t do anything to change that. Our tribunal members always have to report students for their mistakes, and most of us respect them for the big responsibility of having to report their friends to tribunal. Some people like Aldo Guzman, sophomore, think otherwise about tribunal members and their choices.

“Some [tribunal members] just say things without having real proof and they think someone is doing something; they are making inferences on people’s rumors, but that doesn’t really count,” said Guzman. Although some people agree with this statement, the tribunal members actually do whatever they can do to make everything fair. According to tribunal member Alexander Salcedo the process in which tribunal follows is:

1. A student, teacher, etc., writes a referral to Mr. Lewis.2. He then has the Chief Justice sign the referral and then gives the cases to the

Attorney General and Defense Attorney. 3. There is a trial where the student reported, gives his/her plea, guilty or not,

if the person is not guilty the Defense Attorney presents evidence and wit-nesses and if the plea is guilty, then the evidence and witnesses are skipped

4. After the trial, the room is cleared and the justices begin deliberating and come up with guilty or not, the Honor Code violation, and the punishment.

5. The final process is the verdict is sent for approval by the principal and the verdict is read at the next trial.

As teenagers, our friends influence many of the things they do such as the clothes worn, the music heard, and action overall. Peers should not affect people as strongly as they do, but what happens when the person has to go against their friend(s)? There is this subconscious moment people have where they just want to stay quiet, fit in with the group, and let our elders handle the problem themselves, but sometimes our elders need our help. People have to burst out of the little bubble they are in and report what hap-pened. Even if our friends react like they never want to talk to us again, if he/she is truly a friend, they will get over it and might even say thanks.

“I would tell the truth and fight for what’s right,” said Smith.A reason why teenagers tend to not say something is, because they probably do not

know who to tell. Possible people can be a teacher, principal, or even the janitor. People should tell their situation to someone who will actually do something and make it as less dramatic as possible.

Many organizations are concerned by the increase in this detrimental student be-havior. The National Emergency Assistance Team of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is one such group. President Philip Lazarus wrote a Call to Action to prevent this type of behavior.

“Kids need to know that they’re not getting a friend in trouble -- their friend is already in trouble,’’ said Lazarus.

Good Idea Bad Idea

Forming a study group to openly discuss questions in order to clarify, form a better opinion, or debate

Forming a “study group” to copy down the same answer

Explaining or clarifying a question in a way that is easier to understand

Dictating the entire process of a question or prob-lem

Checking over work for possible errors and going back to the drawing board

Telling another student the answers and exactly how he/she needs to fix it

Giving them the assignment Giving another student your work to copy

Sharing lecture or movie notes, however you can talk to your teacher or use Snapgrades to get the information and take notes

Copying textbook Cornell notes. . .you could’ve taken them yourself from the book

Taking notes every day in every class Changing dates on notes and learning logs. . .Yes I mean your binder challenges

Using information from sources with proper cita-tions so brush up on MLA style

Copying or taking quotations and claiming them as your in other words textbook plagiarism

Being honest, moral, and ethical Improperly grading someone during peer grading

Jhovany GomezStaff member

Photo Credit: Jhovany GomezThink about it, take a second. Are you willing to change the relationship of your peers to help your society?

A large portion of cases that come to the Tribunal are cases on the topic of either missing assignments or plagiarism. Students who can’t make homework due dates often resort to the ill-fated mistake of cheating or copying another student’s work. The staff of the Wolves’ Chronicle felt that this was a major issue in the school. Here’s a “cheat sheet” on not cheating.

“Cheat sheet”

--Richard Huynh

12.17.10 News5 Students from the Key Club at Middle College High

School (MCHS) have been visiting Room 5 recently in a new effort to bridge the gap between the schools’ clubs. The Key Club of SECA has the chance to start over this year with the new

leadership of MCHS, as well as fresh ideas and new recruits.“This year I want SECA’s Key Club to get involved with fundrais-

ing and be able to go on trips like Fall Rally... and the convention that’s coming up,” said sophomore, Jorelyn Calam, Key Club’s president.Key Club involves not only helping with community projects and making the world a friendlier place, but also stresses getting along with clubs in different locations.

“Key Club is basically about helping the community and the school, about having fun, making new friends, and interacting with other clubs,” said Calam.

Learning to be a successful Key Club starts with following the example of oth-er clubs, like MCHS’s. During a visit on Monday, Oct. 25, their president, Parampreet Singh, opened the meeting and helped show SECA’s newly elected officers what would be expected of them during meetings.

“I thought it was a good role model for our Key Club,” said Andrea Fua, sopho-more and secretary of SECA’s Key Club.

“They do a lot of different projects and I think they’ll help us build up our Key Club,” said Katie Perez, a sophomore who recently joined the club. “They’ll influence us to be better and more involved.”

Last year’s Key Club wasn’t very active. They coordinated only one activity— a canned food drive that didn’t attract much attention from many students. According to Shannon Kelly, the club’s adviser, everyone made a good effort, but it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to.

“We didn’t really have help like we do this year to get us started,” said Fua. “It was an interesting experience, but I think it’ll be different this year. We didn’t really do much last year.”

This year, on the other hand, the club plans on participating and organizing much more. By following MCHS’s example, they’ve learned little steps on the way to becom-ing a busy, hardworking Key Club.

“It’s already better this year,” said Kelly. “They helped us elect officers, set up our board, learn new cheers... they’re good role model[s]. They said they’d help us when we start fundraising and service projects.”

MCHS is exhibiting some of the best values of Key Club, giving back to the com-munity by teaching SECA’s Key Club. This year, the club is concentrating on building a strong group that is active in the community and the school.

“MCHS already helped us by starting off our meeting and helping us with elections

for officials,” Calam explained. “Also, they’ve talked to us about fundraising and they’ve said they’re willing to hold a combined fundraiser.”

“It’s been a great help,” Kelly said, adding that the MCHS students were very generous.

Talking to the MCHS officers has made the SECA students think more about the fu-ture of their Key Club and the legacy they will leave, especially compared to the Middle College club, which has already been active for years.

“We’re barely starting, and they’ve been active for longer than us so they... know what they’re doing. But I know we’ll get to their level soon,” said Calam, laughing.

MCHS, SECA team up in key relationshipKey club gets a new start and new friends

Emily WilburnWebmaster

Photo Credit: Emily WilburnKey Club board members Vanisha Patel, Sucharita Yellapragada, and Delia Davila work together with the rest of the club to create a colorful poster promoting the club. The poster, created by Davila, was a group project meant to bring the club closer together as well as recruit new members.

As the classes of 2010 and 2011, fill the halls of 640 N. San Joaquin St., questions arise on how stu-dents are supposed to fit another class of freshmen this upcoming school year. With the

pushing and shoving between the sophomores and freshmen, it makes it practically impossible to get to class without using the whole five minute break. But finally, there are answers on the new location and the details of the year to come.

The “Old Commodore Skills” is how a few students describe the new building. As the official new home of the Timberwolves starting 2011-2012, many people are excited for the move. This new location comes with new classes, hallways, and responsibili-ties.

Seniors and juniors are allowed to have off-campus lunch and off-campus access during free periods, but if anyone is on academic probation, this privilege is taken away.

“I would feel more like an adult dealing with new priorities and taking on new responsibilities,” said sophomore, Adrianna Guerrero.

A huge cafeteria and gymnasium are in one building with high ceilings and lots

of space. Also, the new location has a huge field and a large amount of cement space to provide some access to sports and free time.

The new building allows the school to provide new classes such as Physical Educa-tion. There will be a sports program in our school including: soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, and golf. There is no foot-ball or basketball. However, one requirement needed to stay in sports is upholding a 3.0 GPA. Each student will have a coun-selor to get an Associate of Arts degree, and it is mandatory for everyone to take a certain language for two semesters.

Also, college courses will be in the actual college classes at Delta Community College, instead of regular classrooms. Some students and parents view this positively as an appalling fixation.

A new location means a new, fresh start. Moving to a new home gives this school’s students and faculty a huge advantage to grow as a school and have the true college experience. This new home will be a place for the Timberwolves to officially make their last mark in Stockton.

SECA’s moving & here’s the truthStop the rumors - read the newsDelecia Velasquez-StumpStaff member

A huge cafeteria and gym-nasium are in one building, with high ceilings and lots of space.

12.17.1012.17.10 what we’re all about...6 7

How many boys and girls are there in the school?

When is your birthday?

What school did you come from?

What’s your favorite candy?“Reese’s because there’s nothing better than peanut butter and chocolate together in a little cup.” Gabriel Ortiz

What’s your favorite holiday?“Go Skate Day. ‘Cause that day a whole bunch of skaters go places they’re not allowed to.” Andres Solis

“Christmas. Presents. Food.”Simran Jit

What’s your favorite shoe brand?

“Fallen because I’d like to be sponsored by them some-where in the future.”

Andres Solis

“Snickers because it’s chocolately and sweet.”

Simran Jit

After the Ultimate Binder Challenge the Wolves’ Chronicle staff started thinking about the dom-ino effect. Just as each unique binder affected the other, we thought about how each of us af-fect each other. Then we realized that just like our binders we are all unique and different, but at the same time connected. These statistics show how we as a school are similar in many ways, yet we are still unique Timberwolves.

What’s your favorite class?

What type of pet do you own?

What’s your favorite color?

Status message update, new posts, new tweets, profile updates. Our information is out there through social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace. Careless actions such as posting phone numbers and addresses leave stalkers fol-lowing people creepily in the night as they walk or call them, though they don’t even

know who they are. Why do we do it? Nobody knows, but we do what we can to prevent those eerie stalkers and unwanted phone calls from the guy in Ohio. Take what precautions you can. Set your profile to pri-vate, but even by doing this you’re still at risk of your information being dispersed onto the web. Once your information touches the web in any way, it is possible to obtain-not through viewing your profile, but rather through a malicious form of hacking. Using their tech know how hackers can break into your profile and steal your information.

But wait! Isn’t the information secure? Yes and no. It is secure to the extent that non-hackers cannot see it. However, hackers can easily break into your profile. They’ve gotten into government files before and recently too. On November 28, informants for

the WikiLeaks website released information which could be considered highly sensitive and even life threatening. The documents released contained hundreds of thousands of documents. Now the site’s founder, Julian Assange, is claiming to have gained access to

information on American banks that could ultimately close several banks. He was arrested, however on December 7th by British officials on allegations on sexual offences.

Hackers can gain access to any information that has touched the web because it is connected to everyone in some shape or form. Even things that could be considered safe such as e-mails can be hacked, which often exposes personal information to the hack-ers. Hackers can trace your e-mails back to your address and use sophisticated software such as pin-crackers or password generators to

force their way into information. If our governmental and financial estates’ files can be accessed on this scale,

how safe is our information on the internet? It is not very safe, leaving only one real solu-tion to this problem. The solution is to not put any of the information on the web so that people cannot have the opportunity to hack it. Also, if you do decide to post something on the internet, make sure it is not information that could put you or others at risk.

New Year’s excitementCelebrating New Year’s over winter break

People are constant-ly updating technological devices. These devices are supposed to improve peo-ple’s lives. Recently the

Sony 3D TV, Windows 7, and the Apple iPad have come out in the market. Students are using them for educational purposes; making their school lives easier.

“I feel technology is very useful, it can be [used for] taking notes, researching and presentation,” said fresh-man, Christopher Crawford.

Technology has a great impact on today’s generation. Many aspects of technology have changed over time. Take the iPad for example; it has changed from an iPod shuffle, which only plays music ran-domly, to devices involving video, pictures, games and Internet. These changes in technology are help-ful for students in ways such as making research easier. It’s faster, more convenient, and there is less of a hassle.

“It’s easier for me to get information, [be-cause] it’s right at my fingertips,” said sophomore,

Adrianna Guerrero.Some people don’t prefer advanced tech-

nology, because it can be tricky to figure out. Instead they prefer the older way, such as us-ing a real dictionary instead of dictionary.com, whereas some students prefer newer technology because it helps them get their homework done

quicker, and more efficient-ly.

“I have a computer at home, [I use] to complete assignments with,” said sophomore, Xe Her.

Using new technol-ogy helps homework get done faster, and perhaps make it much easier. Tech-nology informs people about local and global is-sues and keeps one in con-tact with their family and

friends. “I love technology, [it] keeps you updated

with everything and that’s good because [you] need [to] know whats going on in the world.” said freshman, Milan Bayonne.

12.17.10 techNology8The Internet is an ever-expanding place and used by millions

of people all over the world, especially this generation. Some of the most popular websites are known as “social networking” sites. These sites are made for the very purpose of keeping people con-nected through the Internet.

The three most popular and well-known social networking sites are Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, according to webtrends.about.com. Some sites are more personal than others, can be used to connect people, and help the spread of information. But by signing up on these websites and putting your personal information online, there are certain security risks as well.

Many teenagers say MySpace is dead, leaving Facebook as the current #1 social net-working site. The site features tons of groups, games, quizzes, and different ways to com-municate with the people you add as friends. There must be some important reason for using social networking sites though.

“There’s no use for it,” sophomore, Mat-thew Samson said. “I just use it,” he contin-ued, also saying that he does not find social networking sites to be helpful in anyway.

Some people disagree though, using so-cial networking sites constantly to stay con-nected with friends.

“[Social networking sites are helpful] because I get to talk to friends about things I don’t understand,” said sophomore, Alex Sal-cedo.

Sometimes, social networking sites are more regressive than progressive though. They can be very distracting when you should be doing other things, like homework.

“How doesn’t it add to my procrastination? It just does!” Samson said.And more people than just Samson find social networks distracting and they help a

lot of people procrastinate on their homework.“Sometimes I can’t resist, other times it’s a battle between social networking and

homework. Other times it’s just ‘eh,’” Salcedo said.With social networking sites becoming more and more dominant in our society, it

is not all that uncommon now for students to find their teachers online. Some people find it weird to see teachers they only know from class on the Internet though.

“It’s really awkward,” Andrew Ngai said, but he also said having teachers putting homework online could be helpful.

Already, our own teacher, Rachel West, has a Twitter account where she has been known to tweet the homework for her English students, despite any awkward feelings.

“[Seeing teachers online] would be kinda weird, because it crosses a line between school and home,” freshman Cristina Ochoa said.

There is plenty of personal in-formation that can easily be put on Facebook for the world to find. There is a certain amount of security, with sites like this allowing you to make some information private, but there is still the risk that information you don’t want strangers knowing be-ing found. Some people do take the time to think about what information they are comfortable about sharing and what they aren’t, but many don’t care or aren’t aware of the dangers and don’t take any precautions when putting personal information online. “[I won’t put] my phone number and, occasionally, my address [on-line],” Samson said.

Some people are even more lax than that, putting their cell phone num-

bers into public comments, tweeting where they are right at the moment, or letting the world know what city they live in.

“[I won’t put] my social security number,” Salcedo said. “I don’t really do anything stupid in the first place.”

If students really don’t want everyone in the world to be able to find out who, and where, you are, there are some simple precautions that you can take to protect your personal information. The simplest precaution being to not put the infomation online at all. Send your phone number, address, and private emails addresses through private mes-sages, use privacy features, opt out of adding a location to your posts, and just take care in what you are putting online and what you are allowing who to see.

12.17.10off campus 9Students socially safe onlineHow social networking effects students’ lives

The celebration of New Year’s Day is an around-the-world event. People who party on New Year’s Eve tend to count down for the arrival of the new year, so they party two years consecutively. Besides the two-year party, there are many different ways to celebrate.

“I party and wait for the ball to drop. Then [I] drink apple cider,” said sophomore, Alec Sanchez.

There is a big celebration for New Year’s at Time Square in New York City. This celebration involves thousands of people from all over the world coming to see a big ball filled with confetti papers. As soon as the clock ticks midnight into the new year, the ball bursts. Many people start to countdown until the big ball bursts, letting the confetti papers fly everywhere.

“We start to countdown at 10 seconds before New Years,” said freshman Jesus Davila.

Others celebrate New Year’s Day to just leave bad memories away and create new ones. They also come up with New Year’s resolutions and commit to them so that they don’t make the same mistakes as last year.

“I celebrate it because it’s a time where I can forget about the last year and move on to the new year,” said Sanchez.

However, there are people who don’t actually celebrate or do much for New Year’s Day only if they have to attend a party. Besides being called to a party, they would just go through the day as if it was a regular day.

“I just stay home during New Year’s, [because] we don’t have any family tradi-tion,” said freshman Delen Wen.

As people around the world celebrate New Year’s Eve, there are varieties of ways to celebrate the welcoming of the next year. Some party animals have loads of fun, while others just go through the day as if it was a regular day.

Chanchharath RosStaff member

Out with the old, in with the newThe impact of technology on humanityFaviola PazStaff member

Holly DeHonestisWebmaster

Photo Credit: Faviola PazChristopher Crawford owns an iPad and brings it to school every day. His friend, Ejay Lopez, uses it during lunch.

Breach in security, breach in identityAnd why your information is at risk Richard HuynhStaff member

Hackers can gain access to any information that has touched the web because it is connected to everyone in some shape or form.

Adam J.W.C.

The grand celebration of New Year’s Day is not only celebrated at Time Square in New York City, but in Sydney, Australia as well. Beautiful fireworks are shot over the harbor in Sydney to welcome the New Year.

Technology has a great impact on

today’s generation.

To protect you, the school has designed filters to keep you away from social networking.

They can dance, too?44 acts, 18 winners, and one night to show it all

12.17.10 EvEnts10 12.17.1011FEaturEs

The Stockton we have grown up in is very different from the place it was when

it was founded over 150 years ago. As the next generation that will inherit the city, we have to learn where we came from before deciding where we’re going.

It began when a German immigrant named Charles Weber acquired a large amount of land, failed at gold mining, and decided to sell mining supplies to the thou-sands pouring in from all over the country. Weber Point and Weberstown Mall are both named after this clever founder. Stockton quickly became what was commonly re-ferred to as a “boomtown”-- it expanded incredibly due to the hordes desperate for gold. Conveniently located for shipping and for starting off into the Mother Lode, many passed through the town.

Stockton has actually had many names throughout the years, including Mudville, Gas City, and Tuleburg. But We-ber chose to honor Commodore Stockton,

a talented soldier with a big reputation out west, and his boomtown became the first community in California with an American name-- all others were Spanish or Native American.

Stockton wasn’t just rich from min-ers’ money; the soil is incredibly fertile, even today. Agriculture became abundant both in the city and in the surrounding com-munities.

Some people may not like the high rates of crime, unemployment, and fore-closure, but even so, Stockton is an inde-pendent, fundamentally American city. It is diverse, mixing together people of all different cultures. It’s the thirteenth larg-est city in California, with a population of nearly 300,000. Right from the start, it has been a city of dreams, a city of second chances.

Stockton is not just a dot on a map. It’s a city with an identity, and we are deter-mining its future. What kind of place will Stockton become next? It’s up to us to find out.

Stockton, past to futureEmily WilburnWebmaster

Photo credit: Sucharita Yellapragada

On Dec. 3, sophomores in Patricia Jordan’s Theatre Appreciation class attended their last play of the semester, Oklahoma!. Students arrived at the Stockton Civic Theater 30 minutes prior to the play. Oklahoma! began at 8:00 p.m. and ended at 10:45 p.m. “I felt it wasn’t a good way to end it; the play wasn’t very good to me be-cause of the amount of singing,” said Jhovany Gomez.

Photo credit: Vanisha Patel’s mom

On Nov. 20, SECA won the 1st place trophy for the Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) Quiz Bowl competi-tion, which took place at the University of the Pacific (UOP).The winning team consisted of four sophomores: Sandra Mendez, Jo-sephine Espinoza, Nico Brondial, and Vanisha Patel who were ac-companied by their adviser, Obed Galang. SECA’s overall point total was 17, while Edison High School, who placed second, received 13.7. McNair, Franklin, Stagg, and Chavez also participated.

On Friday, Nov. 12 students performed along with Los Danzantez Del Puerto (LDDP) and many other talented people at the Bob Hope Theatre for the 12th Annual Apollo Night. With 44 acts the night began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted until 10:30 p.m.

The categories ranged from modeling, singing, dancing and playing music, to many other things.

Students got involved with Apollo Night when instructor Marie offered Ballet Folklorico students from SECA to join her group LDDP to participate with them in the 12th Annual Apollo Night.

“What a spectacular night, I had so much fun with my friends, there was so much dancing, music, singing and many awards given out. Even though we didn’t win I had the best experience ever,” said Gloria Munoz, freshman performer who decided to par-ticipate in this event after Ballet Folklorico was offered at school.

Students didn’t just perform at the event; other students went to support their friends.

“When we got there we saw many performances before our friends, and some I have to admit looked like professionals, and they also did better than my friends, but when my friends came out they beasted. We later found out they didn’t win, but it’s okay because there is always next year,” said sophmore Daryl Palafox. The night was huge, many won, such as Mama J in the category of other performing her comedy/dance.

“It was a nice thing to be participating in because you get to meet new and talented people such as Mama J; she was hilarious,” said Karen Alvarado, sophomore.

As the show was ending, the time to announce the winners came and there were about 18 winners, but unfortunately LDDP didn’t get announced. Many others did win such as Mama J, COA and Tytu.

“Even though we didn’t win I still think we did really good representing the school and LDDP. We had fun and that’s all that really matters. Go LDDP,” said freshman Cosme Castro.

Sirenio GonzalezStaff member

Photo Credit: Sirenio GonzalezAs people started walking into the theater and seats began to fill, Apollo Night soon became a sold out show.

As the warning bell rings, students quickly pack up their belongings to go to another class for the remaining few pe-riods. After many hours of class work and lectures, most students have different moods while being in class. The weather can lead

students into several types of moods such as frustration, sadness, happiness, and an-ger. Weather affects students’ moods, which make students feel uncomfortable towards the rapid changes of the weather and can affect students’ studies.

“Most people would think that the weather can affect them to do work,” said Anissabel Diaz, sophomore.

Whenever the season changes instantly from hot weather into a cold, breezy winter, some students might not be in the mood to do their homework or to study.

“I don’t have the right feeling to motivate me to do work,” said Diaz. Some students try their best to stay up late to finish any uncompleted homework,

but hardly get enough sleep. In addition, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) makes your body react by having a bad mood from the shortage of sleep and sudden change of the weather. Weather seems to be another barrier for students to actually stay awake to com-plete their work.

“Sometimes it is hard to wake up early in the morning to go to school. I just wish we could sleep in during the day to get more rest,” said Diaz.

According to Weather Can Change Mood, the continuation of darker moods could lead a student to have a depression called SAD, a form of depression ocurring in relation to the seasons, most commonly beginning in winter. Depression is not only from pressure but can have an impact from the weather. This disorder is directly related or caused by too little intake of sunlight, which causes the body’s internal clock to go out of sync. Later on, upsetting the body’s routine could also change people’s mood.

“I never considered myself to always have mood changes, but most of the time [I have mood changes],” said Diaz.

Motivation from the weather gives either positive or negative feedback to students, which can reflect to have a mood of completion or incompletion of homework. Accord-ing to the studies of SAD from Hoffman and Howard (1984), humidity, temperature, and hours of sunshine had the greatest effect on mood. Sunlight gives a spectacular energy, which gives your body more energy to face the day.

“I’m not sure that sunlight can give me more energy, but I hope it can work now. So

I can stay awake during class lectures,” said Diaz.When our eyes detect darkness, a small gland in the brain called the pi-

neal releases melatonin, which establishes sleep cycles. When we de-tect light, melatonin production subsides and its cheerier hormonal sib-ling, serotonin, takes over to promote wakefulness and help elevate mood.Many students can have the feeling if their day was happy and wonderful, the day would pass by faster, but if their day was frustrated and gloomy, the day would seem longer. Whether having a gloomy or bright day, students should try their best to receive more sunlight to reduce any mood changes.

Jonathan KwanLayout & Design

Photo Credit: Jonathan KwanThe weather enlightens the students to fullfill their needs to continue working on their studies for homework.

Weather affects moodand possibly student studies

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Stockton was founded by Charles M. WeberThe Record was founded

University of the Pacific moved to Stockton from San Jose

Fox (Bob Hope) Theatre founded

KWIN first aired on the radio

San Joaquin Fair was first hosted

Cleveland School Shooting

Stockton Thunder hockey team was introduced

SECA was founded

Memorial Civic Auditorium finished being constructed

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Compiled by Jorelyn Calam

Up the entrance stairs, down the hall to the left, into Room 2, one would have found two unusual brown-spotted students of the names Sally and Mandy. Named to sound like “salamander,” the slimy, yet much loved pair of Giant Coast-

al salamanders made the chemistry/biology room their residence for over two weeks. Chemistry teacher, Ansel Eayrs, who found the creatures in a forest near Fort Bragg, California, has recently decided to return them to their natural habitat for legal reasons.

“It’s an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt or capture them so I have to be a good example and release them. Plus, [students] get all excited and yell, and drop them,” explained Eayrs. “They’re not happy; the kids are stressing them out.”

Students, who visited the salamanders mostly at lunch, also noticed the sala-manders were mistreated.

“When I came back the next day to see them [one] had peeled skin on its side. I think it was Mandy who had the scratch,” said sophomore, Annette Manzo, the ‘sala-mander whisperer’ according to Eayrs.

Though the salamanders’stay was short-lived, Eayrs is still prideful in his catch. “I was just camping, and I found them lying down on the ground enjoying the

rain,” said Eayrs, who later took them to a pet store to determine the type of food to feed them. “Those were the biggest salamanders they’ve ever seen,” he exclaimed. “They’re usually half their size.”

For most students the size of each salamander is what helped distinguish them. One salamander was relatively larger than the other.

“The fat one is Sally, you know, because it’s jolly. The skinny one is Mandy because it eats candy so it’s hyper,” said Eayrs.

Though they provided students with animal knowledge and simple fascination, the salamanders also served as a new learning experience of responsibility, as several students brought in food for them.

“[You have] to be careful; they’re so delicate. It was a lot of responsibility to clean out the tanks and food they ate,” said Manzo.

Many felt the salamanders were excellent class pets, something of which Eayrs agrees with.

“They’re awesome. They’re different than other class pets,” he said. “They’re better. They’re like the in between of a frog and a lizard. Most students hadn’t ever even seen them before.”

Speaking of lizards, on Eayrs’ trip back to Fort Bragg to return the salamanders, he brought back a lizard, Lizzy, to be the new class pet.

“I thought the salamanders were getting more attention,” said Manzo. “A lizard you can see everywhere, I had never seen a salamander.”

Contrary to Manzo, sophomore Richard Huynh enjoys the lizard’s company.“I’m a reptile person. It’s scal-astic! I find reptiles awesome and it’s going to

help us promote biology. Except we will not disect the lizard,” he joked. Some students will be happier of the salamander’s absence because the room

will not smell anymore, Eayrs said. Most, though, will miss the four-legged, long-tailed creatures.

“I had gotten used to them,” said Manzo. “[But] they looked happier in the video. [I want them] to be happy and have babies,” she said. “So they won’t be endangered of extinction anymore.”

TailthE End

From slimy skin to rough scales Students wave goodbye to class pets

Photo Credit: Karen Alvarado

Top: New class pet, Lizzy, enjoys the warmth of a sleeve during chemistry. Though much more mobile than the salamanders, Lizzy has been known to lay on Eayrs shoulder for long periods of time. Bottom: Previous class pets, Sally and Mandy, have been released back to their native forest near Fort Bragg, California. “The fat one is Sally, you know, because it’s jolly. The skinny one is Mandy,” said Eayrs.

Josephine EspinozaManaging Editor

The embarrassing life of the American teenagerAt one point or another, kids

have all experienced embarrassing moments where their parents have done something completely ballis-

tic to them. They stand there with their heads down face -palming themselves, wondering what in the world they did to deserve such humiliation.

“[My parents] tried to show my friends’ parents pic-tures of our dogs,” said Kaitlin Smith, sophomore.

All the embarrassing baby pictures around the house and the awkward dancing moments in a department store (or own house) when parents hear their favorite song, to

teenagers it’s all nonsense, but to their parents it’s just having fun. Living in a new generation, everyone’s morals and values may have changed, but everyone of all ages have their own version of enjoyment, even if it is embar-rassing.

“When I’m with my friends [my mom] tries to speak English, but she can’t speak it very well. She does it pur-posefully,” said freshman Andres Solis. “She probably thinks it’s fun,” Solis continued.

But some parents are only embarrassing inside the house. Sophomore Maiya Coilton says her parents aren’t embarrassing in front of others. Coilton isn’t embarrassed

of her parents in public but at home there are times where she is embarrassed.

“[My mom] tries to dance [inside the house]. She tries to sing. I don’t know what she does,” Coilton said.

Although parents do all these things, their children still love them anyway. When they grow up and become parents they’ll be in their own parents’ shoes and experi-ence the same thing.

Angelynn JoseLayout & Design