The future of success pp.10-13 Success for some, success for one The Armijo Signal Armijo High School, Fairfield November 2015 Volume XX, Issue III Board revisits mascot debate Indian representation put under scrutiny in current climate CAHSEE suspended Students earn diplomas By Sophia Santos Editor-in-Chief On Wednesday, October 7, Governor Jerry Brown signed Sen- At 125 years old, Armijo is ate Bill 172, “suspending CAHSEE the oldest high school in the Fair- through 2018. The suspension/ex- field-Suisun Unified School District emption is retroactive to 2003-2004. (FSUSD). With its age comes a The law will take effect January 1, long history. Armijo is named af- 2016. At that time diplomas will be ter the family that bought one of issued to eligible students,” said Ms. six original land grants in the So- Marie Williams, Director of Second- lano County area, but our mascot, ary Education for the Fairfield-Suisun the Indian, is representative of the Unified School District. people that the Armijo family had EdSource.org stated that, taken land from. So with all the across the state, about 6% of the stu- other reforms caused by Ameri- dents did not pass the test but many cans becoming more aware of the of those will not receive diplomas be- people who had originally inhabited cause they also did not have the re- the continent (namely: the fight to quired credits to graduate. change “Columbus Day” to “Indig- According to EdSource.org, enous Peoples’ Day” and the peti- “Senator Carol Liu, D¬-La Cañada tions to change the Washington Flintridge, who authored the bill, ini- Redskins to something less insult- tially introduced the bill because the ing) it is no surprise that the topic of exit exam is not aligned with new our school’s mascot came up at the Common Core standards. It was later These are just a few of the emblems and artwork that would have to be discarded FSUSD board meeting on Thurs- if the Armijo mascot was changed. amended to remove the exit exam day, October 22. Photos by Myrel Catacutan as a requirement for graduation for Antonio Gonzales, director students who still hadn’t passed be- of the American Indian Movement-West in San Francisco, and other representatives of various activist groups cause they no longer had an opportu- spoke out about the topic, saying that, “No people should be a mascot,” said Gonzales. nity to take the test.” Many find the change insignificant, unnecessary and even insulting to the mascot. Alumni and current State Superintendent of Pub- students alike see the Armijo Indian as something to honor. It is also noted that most don’t find the term “In- lic Instruction Tom Torlakson was dian” to be derogatory at all. The issue has been protested multiple times before, and has never changed. In pleased that the bill had been signed addition to that, the budget to change everything our school owns that holds the “Indians” logo simply doesn’t and expressed himself in a written exist. statement. Looking to our neighboring schools shows us a similar conflict. While both Napa and Vallejo High “The high school exit exam is School have come across complaints akin to those addressed at the board meeting, Vallejo High School has outdated and does not reflect Califor- changed its mascot from the Apache to the Redhawks, whereas Napa continues to use their Indian mascot as nia’s new, more rigorous academic well. standards that emphasize skills need- ed to succeed in college and careers A week of celebration for all students in the 21st century,” he said. The test is currently suspend- Sports rally, dress-up days, activities lead to gametime ed through the 2017-2018 school year but the state will continue to de- Students and staff spent a week of preparation for the annual football home- termine whether or not to reinstate it coming event and the only real disappointment event was the final score for the varsity or create another way of evaluating team. The focus, however, was on the fun and that was something that was in great the students’ preparation for gradua- supply throughout the last week of October. tion, based on Common Core Stan- The theme for the week was ‘90s TV shows and the focus was dards. on children’s programming. Monday’s topic was PowerPuff Girls and Source: http://edsource.org/2015/governor- everyone was encouraged to wear pink. Tuesday was all about the signs-bill-allowing-diplomas-for-students- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was a chance for friends to dress who-failed-exit-exam/88698 alike. Wednesday was Rugrats onesies day while Thursday was a chance to TABLE OF CONTENTS dress up to show off You’re All That. Be- cause the game would be on Friday and News 1, 3-5 Saturday was Halloween, the school was filled with cos- Editorials, etc. 2 tumed individuals, some sporting purple and gold. People 6-8 The JV team was a nailbiter, ending in a 15-13 vic- Center Spread 9-10 tory for Armijo. Then classes showed off their acting abili- Presidential News 11-12 ties and performed skits. At half-time of the Varsity game, Senior News 13 the Homecoming Court was introduced. At the end of the evening, the Varsity team had a disappointing 7-77 loss to Clubs 14-15 Will C. Wood. Sports 16-17 Entertainment 18-20 See list of homecoming winners on page 5 2 Editorials, etc. News 3 Editorial Meet the editor Stay healthy Funds raised for Cancer Awareness Writing to express Back to the future By Marianne Sabado By Mr. T.J. Sugimoto Club adviser By Andrew Zheng Staff writer There really isn’t anything more unpredictable than the future. We can Senior News editor I would like to thank all of the teachers who helped with the Breast anticipate, fear, embrace, but I think the one thing we can’t ever do is know what Infl uenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and happens next - just like how no one could have possibly predicted the campaign Cancer Awareness Fundraiser. We have so many amazing students and staff I never sometimes even death. Flu season is upon us, which means that it is very who helped Around the World Club raise a grand total of $1,868.32 for the of presidential candidate for 2016’s election, Deez Nuts. thought about writ- important that everyone six months and older, no matter how healthy, American Cancer Society! Thanks again for all of your generous donations We can all take our best guesses as to what could happen in the future, ing as a career, should get a fl u vaccine. and please make sure you thank all of your students for helping to raise this but in the end they are just guesses. Do we get into the college of our dreams? or just for amuse- Vaccination is especially important for people at increased risk for much money. To freshmen - is the college of your dreams even going to be the same by your ment, in elementa- complications from the fl u or at higher risk for infl uenza-related outpatient, There was a competition to see which teacher’s classes could raise senior year? What are we going to be doing fi ve years from now? Will we be ry school, let alone ED, or hospital visits. If the risk of death doesn’t put things in perspective, the most money and those classes would win Krispy Kreme Donuts. The drowning in college debt? Will the friends we have then be the same friends becoming a jour- here are some statistics: According to www.cdc.gov, “Over a period of winner of this competition was Mr. Bryce Jordan’s classes in T4 with a total of we have now? It’s a mystery how people don’t spontaneously combust with the nalist. Throughout 31 seasons between 1976 and 2007, estimates of fl u-associated deaths $165. Nice Job! in the United States range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about Teachers could also challenge each other to see who could raise the anxiety surrounding the uncertainty that is the future. With everything that could my education, how- ever, as the years 49,000 people. During recent fl u seasons, between 80% and 90% of fl u- most money, and the losing teacher would either have to take a pie in the possibly happen, to not know is an overwhelming disposition. fl ew by, I started related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older.” It is clear face, shave their head, or dye their hair pink. Here are the results for the And yet, somehow, all people who live their lives (a.k.a. everyone) get to communicate that people should get vaccinations to lower this extraordinary number of individual competitions! The “losers” will face their punishments in November. through it, because, somehow, the nauseating idea of being in the dark is sub- on paper like I had deaths. dued by the general curiosity and anticipation for the future. With the countless never believed I Vaccinations are not only important for people’s own health. They Winning Teachers vs. “Losing” Teachers and Punishments possibilities, there is great potential for success and satisfaction - which is like could before. I be- are also important for the health of others in the community. The circula- Sharp Meyers (Pie) the light at the end of the tunnel or the ‘big game’ at the end of the season.