Volume 103, Issue 3 Modesto High School February 2016

Awards Behind the Season Homecoming Blitz pp. 4-5 pp. 6-7 pp. 8-9 The Panther Press 18 H Street Modesto, CA 95351

Editors: Liam Coyle, Nicole Parhizgari, Enya Rodri- Table of Contents guez, Lucy Wenstrup, Natalie Schlenker

Panther Press Staff: Roberto Jimenez, Waleed Khan, Yarith- celi Mariscal, Stacey Mean, Amar Pannu, Amrit Pannu, Jordan Toledo, Jasmine Underwood, Alexandria K. Yaum and Kristina Zuroff

Adviser: Kerrie Glenn [email protected]

The Panther Press is created for and by students of Modesto High School. The goal is to bring news to MHS and to ac- knowledge ideas, events, and individuals on campus in an unbiased and profession- al manner. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Modesto High School or Modesto City Schools. This publication may also be accessed at mohipanther- press.com. Letters may be mailed to MHS or submitted to Kerrie Glenn’s mailbox in the main office.

Cartoon by Carmen Leyva Rios The lucky winners of the 2016 Powerball Lottery found them- If selves waking up to a new life of immense wealth and fame. Just overnight, three people from three different states became instant millionaires, with enough luck to beat the 1-in-292.2 million odds by I picking the fortunate combination: 4,8,18,27,34, and Powerball 10. After dividing the winning cash and taking away taxes, each winner was granted a whopping 328 million dollars, not an amount to laugh at. We went around Modesto High to see what fellow students and Won faculty would do with that kind of money. the If I won the Powerball, I would…”Not go to college but pay for my friends’ college educations, help my parents financially, invest in Amazon, and live by myself in the mountains.” -Freddy Batt (‘16) P If I won the Powerball I would... ”Buy the San Francisco Giants, pay my tuition to UCLA, invest in Disney, and save endangered animals.” - Carson Hull (‘19) If I won the Powerball I would…”Fund a school O in Africa, buy a luxurious home for my family, study abroad, and save the rest of my money for my future children.” - Semaj-je’ Belt-Traylor (‘16)

If I won the Powerball I would... ”Get a financial officer, tax- at W torney, purchase a new car, buy both of my parents houses, pay for my siblings’ educations, and finally buy a brand new wardrobe.” - Hunter Blickenstaff (‘17)

“If I won the Powerball I would…”Invest in the E Food Network channel and purchase the Ele- phant House in Edinburgh, Scotland because that’s where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.” BALL - Emmy Power (‘18)

R 3 AwardBY: Robert Jimenez & Alexandria K. YaumSeason Earlier this year, the award season kicked off with the Golden Globes, which had some surprising and well-deserved nominations and wins. The Golden Globe Award is an American accolade that is bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that recognizes excel- lence in film and television. It marks the beginning of the award season which ultimately ends with the Academy Awards.

This year’s Golden Globes was quite interesting, many believing that it was the year of the underdogs. Among the nominees for best motion picture were: The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, Spotlight and Carol. The Revenant was the biggest nomination of the night to say the least. It was one of last year’s movies that everyone was raving about. Not only was it directed by Alejandro In- arritu, who also happened to win Best Director, but Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama. Overall, the film brought home five Globes, well-deserved ones at that. Among other winners were Jenni- fer Lawrence for her performance in Joy as a Motion Picture: Comedy, this being her fourth nomination and her third win overall. won her fourth Globe for her Supporting Role in Steve Jobs. won for his perfor- mance in The Martian, marking his second win.

Some of the underdogs and unexpected wins were Lady Gaga, who starred in season five of American Horror Story: Hotel. This was her first nomination and her first win. Among other first time nominees and winners were Taraji P. Henson for her performance in Empire and Brie Larson for her performance in Room. Gael Garcia Bernal won his first Globe for his performance in Mozart in the Jungle. Oscar Isaac won his second Globe for his performance in a limited series, Show Me A Hero. The Cecil B. Demille Award was given to Denzel Washington, which is a very prestigious award for those who have contributed greatly to the world of entertainment. The Academy Awards is a ceremony where the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences honors the best films of 2015. Some of the most nominated films were: The Revenant (12), Mad Max: Fury Road (10), The Martian (7). Actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), (Carol), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), and others were all nominated for excellent performances. Although the nomi- nations were filled with great actors and actresses, one thing that was clearly missing within the nominations were people of color, thus showing the lack of diversity. This is the second year where there is a clear lack of diversity among the nominees.

Many individuals have gone on to speak of the matter and even boycott the ceremony altogether, such as Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and . The ceremony was also met with criticism by George Clooney, Lupita Nyong’o, and Viola Davis. The controversy went on to be noticed by Barack Obama, he stated, “I think that California is an example of the incredible diversity of this country. Strength. I think that when everyone’s story is told then that makes for better art, it makes for better entertainment, it makes everybody feel part of one American family, so I think as a whole the industry should do what every other industry should do which is to look for talent, provide an opportunity to everybody.”

Recently the SAG Awards took place in late January, where African Amer- icans and members of other minority groups won awards for leading and sup- porting roles. Individuals such as Queen Latifah for her role in Bessie, Viola Davis for How to Get Away with Murder, Idris Alba for Beasts of No Nation and Uzo Aduba for her role on Orange is the New Black. This issue reflects a deeper problem within our society. However, some actors went on to defend the ceremony and its nominations. Whoopi Goldberg, someone who’s won and hosted the ceremony, stated that it’s not just about race when it comes to nominations. She said, “Even if you fill the Academy with black and Latino and Asian members, if there’s no one on the screen to vote for, you’re not going to get the outcome that you want, I won once, so it can’t be that racist. I’ve been black the whole time.”

This issue isn’t a new one but a continuous one that has been seen over countless years in award ceremonies and the film industry as a whole. On January 22, the Academy issued a statement responding that it would reform their voting and membership rights which would allow for a drastic change within the Academy.

5 By: Nicole Parhizgari

Black Hole going crazy! homecoming week taking panther pride to a whole new levelWinter

It was a bittersweet week for Modesto High School students with the last homecoming of the year. This winter’s theme was “cartoons” and throughout the week, each class decorated the main hallway according to the corresponding cartoon show. For example,the freshmen had “The Jetsons,”the sophomores had “The Flintstones,” the juniors had “Scooby Doo,” and the seniors had “Spongebob.” As always, a homecoming rally was held and included intense cheers, a staff basketball competition, support for the basketball team, and ended with Modesto High’s school hymn echoing through the gym. However, Mohi’s school spirit didn’t stop there. Despite the class competition , students from every grade came together to support the basketball team against Beyerin the Black Hole. At halftime, leadership brought out the floats and performed a skit. The winners for the rally, hallway, and best skit were also announced. Juniors claimed the win for the rally, while senior swept overall. Arianna Reyes and Colton Cruce won sophomore royalty, Joan Ashby and Juan Cisneros won Junior Royalty, and Abby Lovell and Kendall McNair were crowned as Senior Queen and King. Congratulations to our 2016 Homecoming Royalty! As the game continued, the atmosphere was extremely tense and exciting. Cheers from both Modesto High and Beyer ricocheted back and forth up until the final seconds. and although we lost, the boys played a great game and gave it their all. Modesto High School will always be proud of all of you!

The players making their Let the game begin! 1 entrance! 2

6 THE PANTHER PRESS This year, leadership prepared a Homecoming dance after the game. Students walked over to the boys’ gym in their spirit wear and enjoyed great music and lots of dancing. ‘It was a great way to end the night,” said senior Waleed Khan.

It was a busy week full of fun, competition, and school spirit. Freshman Hallway Modesto High did not disappoint and demonstrated their panther pride at every event. A lot of time and effort was put into making homecoming happen. From the hallways, to the floats, to the cheer- leading routine, students worked hard to make this homecoming an taking panther pride to a whole new levelWinter unforgettable one. Until next year! Senior Skit

Shoutout to the Black Hole leaders, leadership class, cheerleaders, and basketball

team for making Modesto Sophomore Skit High’s 2016 Winter Home- coming so great and mak- ing us proud! Kendall McNair and Abby Lovell The basketball team, black hole, and black hole leaders Junior Hallway

Cheerleaders giving an amazing Go MoHi! 3 performance at halftime! 4

February 2016 7 Behind the Blitz By: Enya Rodriguez

Often times, students attend Modesto High School theatre productions with only a few things in mind; they want to see their friends who are acting in the play, to support the school, or to just hang out with their friends while enjoying a piece of theater. Few students actually know the intense process that goes into creating and producing the play.

Laughter fills the stage at rehearsal. On the right are Seth Hammond (‘16), Albert Coito (‘16) and Cole Romero (‘18), and on the left are Mckenzie Hillier (‘16) and Katt Ciccarelli (‘16).

The plot of Front, the school play this semester, has a lot to do with World War II, and the Battle of Britain, a series of German air raid attacks on British cities, also known as “The Blitz”. These bombings lasted for about nine months, from September 1940 to May 1941. Amazingly, the British never lost their morale and re- mained strong throughout the war. Front portrays this struggle. “It’s really about the ladies that are left behind, having to deal with war,” said director Mr. Murry. “What’s left is the women and how they deal with it... really the fear of death on a regular basis, from September to May.”

Laura Hay (‘16) and Xanthia Yer- by (‘17) maneu- ver with Murry’s blocking.

8 THE PANTHER PRESS Mr. Murry talked about how Front differentiates from the recent musicals that have been produced (Zombie Prom and The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee). These shows are musically driven, and farcical, based on funny and silly situations that would most likely not occur in real life. Front is a play about “Normal people in extraordinary circumstances,” according to Murry. “It allows us to do some serious acting that we haven’t done since The Diviners, in terms of developing strong characters that have a lot of texture to them, a lot of layers. You don’t really get that in musicals.” When asked about the process of dealing with serious plays on the high school stage, he cited both the positives and negatives of working with young actors. “Teenagers are a whole lot more comfortable with being out there and facially-bi- zarre than something like this, in which you’re asking them not to be silly.” He also discussed how actors prepared for their roles. “We talked early on in the process of actors doing their own research... just looking at images of what happened to London virtually every night for the space of nine months, and just get into the characters that way.” Finally, Mr. Murry imparted a piece of his wisdom about his role as a director, and how he decides how the final product is created. “It’s really organic. It starts with the text. Your ultimate goal as a director is to have people in the audience find some- body on stage that’s them. And then they’ll start to interpret the story through that person. The audience members are supposed to transfer themselves onstage and say ‘that’s how I would respond to that matter’.” For the people in the audience, shows like Front take them into the scene that’s in front of them, something you can’t gain from any other experience.

The show is up February 26/27 and March 4/5 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium. The students in the photos aren’t the only ones in the production. Be sure to come and see their spectacular per- formance! Photos by: Enya Rodriguez

February 2016 9 Stop Human Trafficking

What is human trafficking?

The California Legislature defines human trafficking as “all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons, within national or across international borders, through forced coercion, fraud or deception, to place persons in situations of slavery or slavery-like conditions, forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor, or other debt bondage.” Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. It involves controlling a person by force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victim and force them into labor or sexual exploitation, or both. Human trafficking strips victims of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights. Three out of every 1,000 persons worldwide were forced in labor between 2002 and 2011. Human trafficking not only includes men and women, but also boys and girls.

Story by: Yarithceli Mariscal, Jasmine Underwood & Stacey Mean

10 THE PANTHER PRESS How To Prevent Human Trafficking:

Human Trafficking is becoming a big issue in the United States. In order to prevent human trafficking, students should receive education on the topic. Students can go to retreats offered by hospitals and churches. Local representative, Kristin Olsen, participated in an information meeting on this topic this month at Kaiser Hospital in Modesto. Part of the meeting discussed the need for awareness and education. One way to help stop human trafficking is to learn where your foods and products are made. In Africa, there are small children forced into slavery to pick the cocoa from the trees to make chocolate. These children are working in very poor conditions with no pay and little food. There are also women in parts of the world that make jewelry in unhealthy environments. Unfortunately, consumers pay a lot of money for these products yet the workers do not get paid. Many times consumers do not realize that the products they purchase are made by people that have been kidnapped and abused. If we stop buying these products, we can decrease the need for slave labor and save people from the torture they are going through daily. Destiny Tolliver, a student at Modesto High, suggests that we can prevent human trafficking “by looking out for each other more.” She also thinks that “there should be more police officers around or driving around,” looking after children and other potential victims of human trafficking. Another student, Semaj-je’ Belt, states that “the way to prevent human trafficking from happening is by having security cameras around certain areas.” By becoming an educated person, you can know the signs and get help. There are ways to get help or report an incident, Save 888-373-7888 in your phone; victims can also text BEFREE(233733)” (Tomczak, Linda. Human Trafficking: 20 Things You Can Do Today To Stop It. Aug.15,2011). It is very important to learn about the world wide problem. We have to take care of ourselves to prevent our family and friends from becoming a victim of human trafficking.

February 2016 11 Day of Respect

For the past eighteen years, Modesto High school has held the tradition of Day of Respect, an event in which peo- ple from around the community come to our campus to speak to students to dis- cuss issues and difficulties that have faced in their lives. By taking part in this event, these speakers show our student body the possibility of having strength and growth in times of adversity. The human relations class and club, led by Ms. Pegarella, once again had a suc- cessful Day of Respect on February 10 of this year. The students are heavily involved the process as they act as escorts for the speakers throughout the day, making them feel welcome at our school and helping Photo taken by Mr. Mitchell of his second them establish a connection with their period photography class audiences. One of the escorts from the day, senior, Sabina Villalobos expressed to the Panther Press how proud she was to be a part of the school-wide event saying, “Day of Respect is an incredible part of Modesto High’s tradition. It shows the accepting Day of Respect has grown into a nature of this campus and teaches lessons very treasured part of the Modesto High to not only the staff but the students.” experience. Students get the opportuni- ty to listen to the stories of a diverse cast of characters and relate to them. This is important to our foundation, as it allows students to understand the personal strug- gles and difficulties people face through- out their lives whether it be due to dis- crimination, self-deprecation, or personal hardships. Senior, Hannah Spiering, talked about what this tradition means to her. “It is my favorite thing MoHi has to offer its students.”

Marcos Rivera speaks to students in the third By Natalie Schlenker period photography class inRoom 50

12 THE PANTHER PRESS OldSAT Sat v. New SAT By: Waleed Khan & Kristina Zuroff

The SAT has been around since the 1920s and is one of the main criteria that colleges use to judge incoming students. The SAT has changed multiple times in the past. The last change was in 2005, changing the scoring being out of 1600 to being out of 2400. For the last 10 years, the SAT has fol- lowed this scoring format with 10 sections; 1 essay section, 3 mathematics sections, 3 critical read- ing sections, 2 writing skills sections, and one wild card section. Every year 1.7 million students take the SAT and over time many of them have grown frustrated with the exam. The intention of the SAT is to be fair and equal opportunity to do well on the exam. However, the SAT itself is flawed in that pursuit as that over time, students from higher socio-economic positions have had more access to prep materials and have had a leg up on the understanding of how the test works. This leads them to better scores. In the older version of the tests, students were simply able to learn tricks to elim- inate answers or guess the correct ones. To combat this the SAT is changing dramatically in March 2016.

The new SAT is now broken up into 3 tests: 1 Evidence-based Reading and Writing test, 1 math test, and 1 optional essay test. There are four total sections within the two main tests: The test is now shorter, if you chose not to take the essay portion. Before the change, the SAT was 3 hours and 45 minutes and now without the essay portion, the test is only 3 hours. With the essay portion, the test is 3 hours and 50 minutes. Another major difference between the old SAT and the new SAT is that on the new one there is no penalty for a wrong answer (or guessing) whereas on the old one there was a deduction for each incorrect answer. In addition to an overall score, the new test provides sub scores in each of the test categories.

This past October, the PSAT/NMSQT test was changed to accommodate the upcoming changes on the March 2016 SAT. When comparing the old SAT to the new PSAT (since the new SAT has not yet occurred), Leah Ratzlaff (’17) describes it as, “More reasonable with the time and there isn’t as much stress compared to the old SAT.” Overall, Ratzlaff describes the difference as, “…a lot easier…” All in all, the new SAT is supposed to be more geared towards accommodating everyone instead of the people with money for practice. Khan Academy is also offering free SAT prep problems Online and College Board can email you a practice question every day. Also available Online are a few dif- ferent websites with practice tests so that you can see how you would score on the actual test.

For more information on these changes, visit College Board’s website: https://collegereadiness.col- legeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test/compare-old-new-specifications

Another resource for practice and information about the different tests is from Kaplan College: http://www.kaptest.com/sat/kaplan-sat-prep/sat-test-change

February 2016 13 Moving Forward

The Modesto Teachers Association and the Modesto City School District have been embroiled in contract negotiations since early last March and have been negotiating since. They are currently in the third stage of negotiations; the state is mediating the discussion. These are the two sides.

The Modesto Teachers Association The Modesto City School Dis- sunshined several proposed changes to the trict maintained that the demands of the current district policy last March and while teachers aren’t able to be accomplished aspects have been whittled down, the basis at the time and that the teachers are remains the same. The Panther Press spoke to demanding too much. The argument is the lead negotiator, Mr. Peterson of Modesto primarily about whether or not the offers High, to learn more. that the district has made are actually what What our reporter understood as the they’ve made, meaning whether there are three main issues were as follows: hidden deductions or costs. The district also claims that the funds for some of the -A pay raise to compete with neighbor- salary increases are nonexistent. ing districts It is important to remember that -Increased teacher staff ratios to be both sides have the best interests of the comparable to pre-recession levels. students at heart. Neither side wants these negotiations to infringe on the education -An additional preparatory period for of students in any way. elementary teachers. TENTATIVE AGREEMENT As of Friday, February 12 In four articles, the district and the teachers’ have come to a very tentative set of terms that are to be voted on at a later date. An extremely abbreviated version of the agreement as listed on the MTA website is as follows:

- Elementary sites will have an extra 45 minute per week preparatory period.

- Teacher salary was increased by 4% as of July 1, 2015 and has been further increased by 1.7% this year.

- The number of collaboration days will be 14.

14 THE PANTHER PRESS Drainage Issues By Amar Pannu

With the onset of the El Niño storm system, California has experienced more rainfall than usual in the drought stricken state. The result is that people have been unprepared for above average amounts of rain. Modesto High has experienced its own set of challenges as the result of heavy rain. First, there is the issue of the planters next to the cafeteria filling with water. It seems unlikely that the plants can survive being drowned in water. Along with this, I have seen many times an un- fortunate person step into or even almost fall into these oceans of drain water. It’s only a matter of time before someone takes a “bath” in the planters. through it. This results in soaked feet and Another issue is that after a good rain storm, soiled shoes. a large puddle develops in the street and on the These drainage problems are nothing walkway leading to north campus, but that isn’t the compared to what student drivers and staff worst of it. If you talk to anybody who has to go to members face in the cage. After a day or so rooms 80 or 81, they’ll tell you about the lake that of rainfall, a reservoir develops, swallowing forms in front of these two rooms. It is impossible the middle row of cars in the cage. People to cross over in one step; trust me; I’ve tried. Get- have to wade ankle-deep in order to reach ting a running start and jumping is a risky move, their vehicles. too. The only way to cross this lake is to tip toe The question now is how to deal with the standing water. All we can do for now is prepare ourselves for the rain to come. If you know it is going to rain, don’t wear expen- sive, suede shoes or nice socks. Invest in a pair of rain boots to keep your feet dry. The drainage issues are tough to resolve. Major repairs would be required. So, plan ahead, and ultimately, be thankful for the much needed rain.

February 2016 15 Your ad could be here. Contact us at [email protected]