Polytechnic School :: Pasadena, California On the Internet: polypawprint.com

Santa Ana winds leave Southern California without power, school cancelled.

Courtesy of Pasadena Sun

Vol. XXIVISSUE IV

See CIF, page 7

BUDGET HEROES: A group of Upper School students participated in KPCC’s radio show “Mar-ketplace” by playing Budget Hero, an online budget-balancing simulation. See page 2.

Poly Pilferer strikes againDecember 15, 2011

See WIND, page 15

Devastating Santa Ana winds tore through the San Gabriel Valley during the first week of December and left widespread destruction in their wake. The disaster provoked an official state of emergency in Los Angeles County. Toppled trees and power lines obstructed roads and left thousands of citizens without power.

These annual late-fall winds usually only reach top speeds of 40

CIF-SS: realignment for failure

Wind wreaks havoc in Pasadenamph in Pasadena. However, this year’s winds reached up to 100 mph and left utility crews struggling to restore power to over 600,000 homes. Winds reached 140 mph at higher altitudes, a speed equivalent to Category 4 hurricane winds.

The clash between a high-pressure system over northern California and a low-pressure system in Arizona produced the winds. Pasadena, among the hardest hit cities, released preliminary estimates of damage costs of nearly $20 million.

The gusts left residents in utter shock as they witnessed first-hand the most severe effects of the Santa Ana winds in over a decade. “I have never in my life seen anything like this before,” said senior Sahil Shah. “I found myself just staring at the huge fallen trees in complete awe. It looked like a warzone.”

Such a rare occurrence led to Poly’s cancellation of school on December 1, the day after the winds struck Pasadena. Early morning automated messages notified

For the last few months, an apparently connected series of thefts has affected the Upper School. Over $1,000 worth of valuables has been stolen from numerous locations on both the North and South Campuses.

Upper School Director Jamie Neilson noted that there have been two kinds of thefts. The most common ones appear to be the organized work of outsiders. In one instance, students returned from sports practice in the Poly gyms and field to find that someone has rummaged through their athletic bags. Missing items included smartphones, iPods, iPhones, camcorders, wallets, calculators and Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Outside robberies are not new to Poly. Last year, several instruments were stolen from the orchestra room in Garland. After one of these instruments was found for sale on eBay, the robberies were traced back to a Poly late-night security guard. Neilson said, “I expect that these outside folks arrange to have lookouts, and stay in contact with one another by cell phone so that they can escape quickly if need be.”  Director of Buildings and Grounds Dale Rasmussen has been working with the Pasadena Police Department to try and prevent these outside thefts.

Other thefts have occurred in places not easily accessible to strangers, such as near the freshmen locker area and on the junior patio, suggesting that the work may be connected to someone within the Poly community. Mostly involving cash, these larcenies began shortly after announcements about outside robberies were made in Morning Meeting. Appeals have so far

been ineffective, and the number of thefts is escalating. More than $150 has been stolen in addition to a boombox, an iPhone and several calculators.

Junior Alison Ball lost her wallet on the junior patio, only to find it one week later in the classroom of Upper School math teacher Eric Strom, emptied of cash and gift cards. Ball said, “No one besides a student would steal a relatively paltry amount of cash, and then return the wallet to somewhere near the scene of the crime. I hate to judge so many by the actions of one, but I don’t feel safe leaving my belongings around my peers anymore.”

Additionally, an iPod belonging to Writing Center Director Grace Hamilton was stolen from her desk in Boswell Library in early November. It was found in the Garland parking lot by one of the visiting students from Nirayama High School after Hamilton issued an appeal for its return in Morning Meeting. The latter crimes particularly distress Neilson. “Do we really want to feel as though we need to report one another for suspicious behavior?” he asked. “I don’t think we do, and it definitely undermines my own sense of living in a community where people are looking out for me just as I try to look out for others.” 

Poly prides itself on its spacious, open campus, but in this case, it serves as a pitfall. Anybody interested has easy access to the Poly campus. Neilson advises students to refrain from leaving anything of value in a location that is out of their sight. In addition, students should avoid going through other peoples’ bags and should report any instances of such an activity—particularly during time periods when the campus is relatively deserted. 

By RYAN HYONAssistant news editor

By NOAH KIM and RACHEL HOANGAssitant news editors

Unknown bandits repeatedly steal valuables from stu-dents, suggesting a culprit within the community

Last winter season the girls varsity basketball team won the CIF championship and the return of many key starters has it poised to repeat the victory this season. Other than Prep League rival Chadwick, there is little standing in the way to prevent another long postseason drive. There’s one problem, though, and it’s called realignment.

This year the Southern Section division of the California Interscholastic Federation decided it was prime time to move basketball programs around, all at the same time. Strong teams that were doing too well for their own good were moved to higher divisions and under-performers were demoted. All for fairness’ sake, right? Not really, if you take a closer look at the decisions CIF-SS made and what the criteria was for moving up and down.

The decision-makers used enrollment requirements and a “weighted power point” system to

By CALEB LEESports editor

Senior Michelle Miller led the varsity girls basketball team to a CIF championship last year. The recent CIF realignment will pose a new challenge.

Courtesy of Jennifer Godwin-Minto

OPINION: FEATURES:A look at the Occupy movement in the

Rose Parade. See page 4.

SPORTS:

LIFE:Spotlight on Court-ney Yang. See page 5.

Soccer preview. See page 7.

What does the future of American innova-

tion look like? See page 6.

INSIDE

The Chris Paul trade. See page 6.

NEWSthe paw print2 November 18, 2011

students of the temporary closure of school due to concerns regarding student safety. Westridge School, Mayfield School and the majority of public schools in the San Gabriel Valley also closed school for the day. The winds disrupted the lives of Poly students and faculty alike. Although students were given a day to recuperate at home, communication issues due to the long-term power outages engendered confusion among students regarding the postponement of classes, tests and assignments. Poly reopened school the following day, one of the only schools in Pasadena to do so.

“I was disappointed by the administration’s decision to reopen school so soon. Poly was the only local school that reopened on Friday, and many students still didn’t have any electricity,” said junior David Rodgers. “It seems contradictory to force students to go to school when there’s a chance that they won’t even be fully prepared for a day of new intellectual material. Did Poly really expect us to be ready for school after just one day of recovery after such a catastrophe?”

Many residents were still left without power midway through the following week. “My house didn’t

With the United States over $15 trillion in debt and its economy in shambles, citizens are taking a more hands-on approach to brainstorm ways to balance the nation’s budget. Ten Upper School students traveled to the Crawford Family Forum at KPCC’s Pasadena studio to participate in a budget-balancing activity for Kai Ryssdal’s show “Market Place.”

The show brought together students from Poly, Maranatha and Waverly to see whether groups of students could come to an agreement about ways to reduce the national debt in 20 years, a feat that Congress’s Budget Super Committee recently announced that it was unable to do.

The students played Budget Hero, an online simulation game that shows the national debt as a series of buildings. Each building represents a particular sector of the economy, including social security, taxes, defense, health and foreign aid. Players either increased revenue through taxes or decrease spending. The students also had to choose badges that represented their values and guide their choices through the game, ranging from support from the Tea Party to an emphasis on energy independence.

The creators of Budget Hero

An Advanced Placement Program symposium drew an Upper School audience on December 1 in spite of hazardous weather conditions. The debate was facilitated by Poly parent and KPCC host Larry Mantle. Featured speakers included former Headmaster of Crossroads School Roger Weaver, who argued against the continuation of the AP Program, and Chief Reader of the AP English Language and Composition exam David Joliffe, who argued in favor of the AP Program. The speakers addressed the question, “Is the AP Program relevant for i n d e p e n d e n t schools?”

A l t h o u g h juniors in the AP English Language course were required to attend the symposium, the event was open to all members of the Poly community. The eleventh grade students are studying the art of rhetoric throughout the year and the symposium allows them to observe the use of persuasive techniques outside of the classroom. Following the debate, the students analyzed the effectiveness of each speaker’s argument.

After briefly introducing each speaker, Mantle gave each side the opportunity to explain their stance. In opposition to the AP Program, Weaver explained that

Crossroads School eliminated the AP Program from its curriculum in 2005. Weaver emphasized that Crossroads replaced the AP courses with equally demanding interdisciplinary courses, thus maintaining a rigorous curriculum. Collectively known as the Crossroads Advanced Studies (CAS), Weaver stated that these specialized courses better cater to students’ interests. Courses such as the Advanced Study in the Marine Biology of the Urban Coast of California instill a genuine love of learning and actually make students stand out during the college admissions process.

Especially in schools that have strong records of successful college placement, Weaver maintained that the development of unique courses would provide students with a rich education and spare them from stressful and impersonal AP classes.

On the other hand, Joliffe praised the AP Program for its ability to provide students with a standardized, rigorous curriculum that gives schools credibility

note that the game seeks to provide a values- and fiscal-based lens for citizens to examine policy debates during this election year. Partisan messages tend to cloud the real issues at play during campaigns, and most candidates are loath to attach detailed financial impacts to solutions which make up their platform.

Said senior Taani Ahluwalia, “I thought it was particularly interesting that there were some topics that we just couldn’t all agree on, such as whether NASA should continue receiving federal funding. I think in a much broarder sense, it is very easy to judge Congress. When the Super Committee said it could not come to an agreement, I know many of us might have rolled our eyes or said, ‘Of course it didn’t,’ but if I couldn’t even agree with the seven students at my table, how could the Super Committee, which has to deal with so many more factors, agree?”

After playing the game, students participated in a discussion panel and were interviewed by Ryssdal.

History Department Chair Greg Feldmeth, who helped arrange Poly’s participation in the event, said, “I was impressed by the students’ knowledge and thoughtfulness in their discussion of the budget crisis.”

WindContinued from page 1

Students analyze budget crisis

during the college admissions process. Joliffe emphasized that the purpose behind AP courses is to give students the opportunity to study subjects of particular interest to them in more depth.

In general, the two debaters agreed with each other about a variety of issues. Both maintained that overly demanding course loads were not healthy for students and that the College Board runs a corrupt monopoly that generates $580 million in profit each year despite its front as a non-profit organization.

In addition, Joliffe and Weaver maintained that well-written exams

are essential for the AP Program to be useful for students. Joliffe highlighted the AP English C o m p o s i t i o n and Literature exams as particularly well-designed tests that encouraged students to “construct, rather than reproduce, their knowledge.” Weaver argued the exact opposite, using the AP

Biology exam as evidence that the AP Program forces students to simply “regurgitate” information.

Junior Michael Caughron reflected, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the symposium was a debate, since both speakers argued for the same points. It was hard to tell who was on which side. Overall, the symposium did not live up to my expectations.”

Poly questions the value of the AP Program

Poly alum John Keatley ‘91 spoke to students last month as part of the Lunch in the Boardroom Program, an Alumni Office series designed to share insight into being an effective leader run.

Keatley, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Green Dot Corporation, began the meeting by asking the attending students to discuss some of the ways in which they have been successful and unsuccessful leaders. Keatley examined different leadership methods without endorsing one particular style. He instead emphasized the importance of finding a “leadership culture” that is effective for the specific situation.

Keatley also discussed the challenges of starting a successful business or corporation from scratch. He shared his own experiences in establishing an online education service that would connect Ivy League university professors with students interested in attaining higher education. Keatley discussed the shortcomings of this business and reflected, “We had enough money raised, we had an amazing team of people working with us, we had a viable idea, but we lacked a clear audience.”

To conclude the discussion, Keatley had students brainstorm ways for Green Dot Corporation to market its products to college students, an age group he believes would benefit from having a reloadable card with no overdraft fees and no credit rating attached. Despite the enormous success of Green Dot Corporation and his success as CFO, Keatley hopes to start his own business in the future.

-Ryan Kidman

Lunch in the boardroom with John Keatley

David Joliffe and Roger Weaver shared the stage at a symposium concerning the AP Program in independent schools.

Students on radio show play game to balance budget.By LINA VADLAMANINews editor

By LILLIAN MECUMNews editor

Mark Loyola / The Paw Print

!e English Department held a symposium examining the relevancy of APs at Poly.

have power for at least 132 hours after the winds hit. These blackouts are usually resolved within 24 hours,” said junior Audrey Xu. “Since I couldn’t do anything at home, I had to go out every night to do work and kill time.”

However, the severe windstorm may also have had a positive impact on the community. Senior Kevin Chu reflected, “It was really inconvenient, but I became much more aware of how fortunate we are to have electricity.”

SCHEDULEthe paw print 3December 16, 2011

Poly’s new schedule debuted this year to a de-cidedly mixed reaction from the student body.

Among other things, it shifted arts to the morn-ing, introduced block periods and established a rotating system. Here, students and faculty give

their impressions.The new schedule has taken a toll on the strong communi-ty vibe that has always been a distinguishing factor of the Poly campus. With everyone--both teachers and students--constantly running from class to class, it’s extremely difficult to find times to meet with teachers, see friends that aren’t in your classes or just drop by Ms. Williams’ office with a quick question. Also, lunch and conference period at the end of the day are too short. -Mackenzie Marcotte ‘12

Editors-in-chiefHayden BettsAnna Wohl

Chief online editorConnor McKnight

Print edition:

News editorsLillian MecumLina VadlamaniAssistants:Rachel Hoang

Ryan HyonNoah Kim

Opinion editorsAndrew LiflandPhillip OuKevin ChuAssistants:Kelsey KawanaJane Rem

Life editorsAudrey ChaiMackenzie Marcotte

Assistants:Shana SzetoNate Young

Features editorSamuel PuliafitoWriters:Michael LibuchaKatherine PengMaggie Phelan

Sports editorsCaleb LeeIan McKnightAssistants:Charles PattersonCharlie Ramirez

Games and Entertainment EditorMatthew Rossi

Satire editorPate SandersContributorsAnton MeierAlex Veitch

Staff writersElly DebreuNatalie EdwardsSebastian HartRyan KidmanOlivia TriesterMara VeitchEmily Woolway

Copy editorsMackenzie LeeIsabel Sunshine

Photography supervisorMark Loyola

“An upper school publication of student news and views”

Staff Photogra-phersTaani AhluwaliaDouglas ClearyHarry Templeton

Business managerJulia TsaiAssistant:Matthew Liu

Art editorGreer ClemArt ContributorsGrant LabriolaNicky Terrile

Faculty advisorGreg Feldmeth

Online Edition:

Director of online operationSahil Shah

Online managing editorEric Lifland

Technology directorsBrandon AzadEzra Rawitsch

General infoStaff members can be telephoned at (626) 396-6698, visited in the South campus Publi-cations Room or emailed to the email address thepawprint@polytechnic.org. The advisor can be reached at (626) 396-6610.

Newspaper policiesThe ideas expressed in the articles reflect the views of the writers and are not necessarily the views of the newspaper, the editorial board, or Polytechnic School. Initialed editorials are the opinions of the Editors-in-Chief. If you would like to write a letter of no more than 300 words to the editor, please send an e-mail or place the letter in the box of the opinion editors. Anonymous submissions will not be published, and names will not be withheld.

CorrectionsTo submit corrections, email thepawprint@polytechnic.org.

November Issue -In the article “Best of Pasadena,” Tastee’s Donut and Burger was misnamed Tasty’s Doughnuts and Burgers.

-Additionally, Bobby’s Place was called Rick’s Place. The restaurant changed its name in August.

-The Bank of America building is at the corner of Green and Marengo.

Most students said they are less likely to take arts classes un-der the new schedule, with additional sleep being the most common reason. One student said, “With this new schedule, participating in a relaxing, stree-free activity like photography or woodshop means sacrificing an hour and a half of sleep each night.” Another said, “Despite this sentiment, arts en-rollment is not signifcantly down compared to last year; it remains to be seen if this will hold true into the second se-mester.”

Looking ForwardUpper School Head Jamie Neilson has announced that Poly will not be returning to its former schedule. However, it is likely that there will be modifications in years to come. Neil-son said, “There are always going to be problems with the schedule. What we don’t want to do is create new problems by moving too quickly.” We asked students to suggest ways in which to improve the schedule.

PROS

Overall, I really enjoy the schedule here at Poly. The up and down, push then pull feel of the week helps me pace my homework and after school activities, and going to classes at different times during the day avoids the risk of a monoto-nous routine. Also, sleeping in a few days a week is always a plus! - Maya Omori ‘15

CONS

If you have a sibling or a carpool, you have to come to school early anyway and don’t get the intended “extra sleep” to com-pensate for the extra homework on block days. Plus, the new schedule was intended to encourage kids to take more art classes, but a lot of people don’t because they don’t want to have to wake up earlier. -Natasha Piñon ‘15

I think the schedule moves us through the day at a rapid pace with lots of classes packed in, which is both mentally and physically exhausting. I appreciate classes starting later, but I believe that the Arts Department really took the biggest hit, with classes starting at 7:45am. I know of some kids who dropped their participation in arts simply because of the early start time. This meant that kids who either wanted to take certain sciences or kids with schedules that were too hard to manipulate in another way were forced out of the option of taking an art. - Caitlin Burns ‘12

I am thoroughly enjoying the block periods. Students and I arrive with a kind of ‘settling in’ feeling, ready to take time to go in-depth into a subject or do a variety of exercises. I don’t feel rushed. I had the opportunity to shadow a senior during an “A” day, and she and I talked about the quick, fragmented and sometimes overwhelming feeling of those days--water skiing through academics with little or no connection. As a teacher, I can do a quick 45 minute lesson, but I think it is difficult for students. They have all of their classes, plus all of their homework in two days. Several have told me that, come Wednesday, they are completely exhausted. -Grace Hamilton

Negative aspects of the schedule include uneven home-work loads, inconsistent times (starting, ending and lunch), lack of free time and early scheduling of arts classes.

Positive outcomes of the schedule change include late starts, longer periods for tests and labs and a truer rota-tion of classes.

37The percentage of

respondents who said they didn’t know why

Poly cahanged the schedule.

8The number of

students shadowed by teachers through a school day as a way of evaluating the new

schedule.

•Commit to a full block schedule with a truer rotation.

•Never have all six classes in one day, and get rid of A period on Thursday.

•Switch the Tuesday and Wednesday schedules to even out the work load.

•Make lunch earlier and longer. Without arts/labs, we need a break in the middle of the day.

•Move Advisee back to two days a week.

Schedule By the Numbers

19The number of times

that the Schedule Committee met during the 2010-2011 school

year.

40The percentage of

respondents who listed “Wednesday” as one of their favorite aspects of

the new schedule.

2The number of meet-

ings regarding the schedule that students were invited to partici-

pate in.

43The percentage of

respondents who said that reducing most

academic classes to 45 minutes has had almost

no impact.

31The number of years ago that the former schedule was created

and put into use.

19The number of times

that the Schedule Committee met during the 2010-2011 school

year.

I feel like having the new schedule and the construction at the same time is a lose-lose situation, and most people aren’t happy with the fact that they’re not entirely sure what time they need to show up in the morning. For some arts classes, like acting, the class is one of your block periods, leaving you no free period at all. Also, Monday schedule is pretty much the worst since you have to do six classes’ worth of homework that night. - Brianna Chu ‘14

FEATURESthe paw print December 15, 2011

few weeks ago, the Occupy Los Angeles camp was disbanded by

the Los Angeles Police Department. Occupy LA had managed to draw around 2,000 pro-testors at the peak of the movement, mak-ing it one of the largest of the approximately 2,500 Occupy locations.

Though Occupy Los Angeles and many of the Occupy protests across the nation have now been cleared and organization is low,

Occupy activists in Pasadena are continuing efforts to deliver their message to the public. Plans have emerged to stage a large protest during the 2012 Rose Parade on January

Occupy movement sets sights on Rose Parade but questions aboundBy LUKE ASPERGER and NICKY STIEDELOnline sports editor and Online features editor

4

2nd, a world-wide broadcast that attracts 50 million viewers in the United States and an additional 200 million internationally. The demonstration hopes to draw thousands of protesters from other Occupy movements nationwide who will converge to form a “hu-man float,” carrying large signs and banners to express their message.

Former lawyer Peter Thottam, a resident of Venice, California, who has a long history of anti-government activism, is organizing the event. Thottam was a prominent leader in a similar but smaller demonstration in the 2008 Rose Parade that protested the Iraq War and that called for the impeachment of

Bush and Cheney. However, questions as to the legitimacy of

the planned march, not to mention those di-rected at Thottam himself, have arisen.

No funny ha-ha hereBy MICHAEL LIBUCHAFeatures correspondent

ach Friday, at the Flintridge Retreat Center, a small group

of people joins together to participate in laughter yoga. Recently, I joined one of these weekly classes.

The purpose of laughter yoga is to simu-late authentic laughter to the point where one is essentially fooling the body into laughing wholeheartedly. Laughter yoga does not only consist of laughing, but it also incorporates the mental and spiritual aspects of traditional yoga as well. As I learned from a long-time participant, “We hardly ever use more than 80% of the air in our lungs, but this class forces us to use 100% of it.” This type of yogic breathing, along with positive reinforcement and mental discipline, sets the environment for individual improvement over the course of an hour.

There are no Fight Club-type antics at laughter yoga. There isn’t anything secretive or exclusive about it. Laughter yoga is first and foremost a welcoming and pleasant ex-perience, that is if you can get over the so-cial barrier that prevents most people from laughing for no reason.

Upon starting the class, the instructor will introduce the five rules of laughter yoga. First, cross your arms into an “X” and declare that there will be no new pain during the class. Then make eye contact with fellow class-mates; each member of the class exchanges glances one at a time. Third, talking is pro-hibited. Part of the mental aspect of laughter yoga is to slow down and, if done properly,

A

to shut off the brain, as genuine laughter can only be achieved by expelling the petty, nag-ging problems we silently drag behind us. Fourth, fake is fine. Fake laughter is accept-able, if not encouraged. The idea is to fool the mind by leading with the body, which is why some people advocate for performing laugh-ter yoga when not in the jolliest of moods. And finally, if one must fake, fake with pas-sion. One does not benefit from laughter yoga if he approaches it half-heartedly.

After everyone understands the basic rules, the class gets under way. The session is di-vided into three different parts, starting with mobile activities. During this period, the class stands in a circle and laughs to a particular theme every couple minutes. For instance, we pretended to be the wind from the wind-storm that had recently affected the region.

The different exercises are broken up by the ritualistic “hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha” chant that everyone claps out individually, with a part-ner, or in a group. After a set of five to seven “themes,” the class moves into the sitting position, which emphasizes individual laugh-ter or laughing in pairs. The final portion of the class consists of lying on one’s back and laughing non-stop for the remainder of the class. We laughed continuously for nearly 15 minutes. Most often the class is given a topic to laugh about during this period.

The class concludes with some positive re-inforcement, hopefully preparing the partici-pants for the upcoming week, or at least until the next session of laughter yoga.

E

Occupy Pasadena, the Occupy move-ment’s Pasadena derivation, has denied any affiliation with Occupy the Rose Parade. “Disrupting cherished city traditions is really not an appropriate step to take,” an Occupy Pasadena spokesperson told The Pasadena Star-News. However, in an interview with The Paw Print, Thottam defended Occupy the Rose Parade, saying, “Our overarch-ing message is peaceful protest, so we’re not planning to stop the parade or anything like that. We’re just poised to really use it as a vehicle for showing some of the inherent flaws of the U.S. economic and political systems.”

According to the Daily Breeze Thottam was arrested in Mexico in June 2003 for shoplifting a pair of socks. In 2004, Thottam was disbarred from the practice of law after being caught shoplifting books at UC Irvine. He is also a leading fig-ure in the 9/11 Truth Movement, which al-leges that the United States government had prior knowledge of or actively participated in the September 11th attacks.

In a video promoting Occupy the Rose Parade, Thottam observed, “On January 2nd, 2012 we’re leaving the Age of Pisces and we’re entering the Age of Aquarius. And I think it’s an extremely symbolic moment and this protest in particular is sort of bringing in a new era, an era where we go beyond the United States as a vehicle for the one percent and the Fortune 500 and the banks that work for those people.”

Thottam recently set up a website adver-tising Occupy the Rose Parade, which en-courages supporters to donate to the nascent movement. Unlike many of the other Occupy movements, which have been criticized for a

lack of clear objectives, Thottam has laid out specific demands and goals.

Foremost among these goals is reversing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens Unit-ed v. Federal Election Commission, which held that corporations and unions couldn’t be lim-ited in political spending. Occupy the Rose Parade believes that such a reversal must be followed by Congressional action to com-pletely ban corporate money from elections.

“Citizens United single-handedly has given control of the electoral pro-cess to Fortune 500 companies and the banks that finance Fortune 500 c o m p a n i e s , so one thing we have to do

is take away the influence of these banks,” Thottam said. Thottam also suggested mak-ing a switch to the European parliamentary system, which he believes would hold the government more accountable to the people.

Thottam hopes for a large turnout and initially called for 40,000 protestors to par-ticipate, but Thottam could not provide an estimate as to how many people currently plan on attending. “We’ve seen endorsements from a couple regional Occupies, including Denver. . . but the headcount and all, that still remains to be seen.” When asked whether he anticipated any arrests during the demonstra-tion, he said, “We can’t predict that with cer-tainty. Our purpose is to be nonviolent and that’s how we were in 2008, and not a sin-gle person was arrested in 2008.” However, Thottam was mistaken. The Los Angeles Times reported that one protestor was arrested for interfering with the parade.

The legitimacy of Occupy the Rose Parade and the reputation of its orga-nizer, Peter Thottam, have been called into question.

Courtesy of Prayitno

Thottam was ar-rested in Mexico in

June 2003 for shoplifting a pair of socks. . . He is also a leading figure in the 9/11 Truth Movement.”

LIFEthe paw print 5December 15, 2011

Across1. Beneke of “Breaking Bad”4. Top left key7. http://www.facebook.com, e.g.10. Shout, to Mufasa11. “Become one with the _______”: Asian spiritual goal12. Father of Shem, Ham, and Japeth14. It has layers, like an onion15. Ford’s masterpiece16. Give in17. Hackneyed19. Contains 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets21. Bernie of Ocean’s 1123. Risqué dance location24. You can water skurf with it27. Battleship or Mastermind piece30. Prefix with green or glades31. “…_______, Thy will be-done…”

32. Wasted Boston Party drink33. Caltech cocktail venue35. _______ for Tea: Tea Bar & Restaurant36. End of “Finding Nemo”?37. Month by a South American river?41. Entered into a computer45. Grammys counterpart46. JFK predecessor (for short)48. “_______ he thought…”49. It comes before a famous Lisa50. Honda hybrid model51. Not yep52. Neighbor of Swe.53. TI-84 power source54. Bond or Rosenberg, e.g.

Down1. Common frat party attire2. Gain (as respect)3. One who is in REM

4. “And other things,” on a list5. Swedish car manufacturer6. Aquatic locale7. Open a bottle, perhaps8. Wander9. A’a’ is a type of it10. Heist13. “_______ makin’ a list…”18. Comes in black, yellow, or chocolate20. Used to possess22. Nicaragua neighbor24. What you might get if you #24 Across25. Bird, to Joaquín26. Mauna _______27. Edgar of macabre literature 28. Grounded Aussie bird29. Rock tumbler product31. They’re carved by rivers

33. Tuna type34. Monkeys might pick one35. Civil rights activist Chávez37. Traffic snack topping?38. On a roll: “I _______ fire!” 39. Less than micro and more than pico40. a.k.a. Lady’s Fingers or Gumbo42. Ruby slippers or Vader’s hel-met, e.g.43. Pro athlete award44. It’s before “Ray,” to the Von Trapps47. Longoria of “Desperate Housewives”

THE FIRST PERSON TO TURN IN A COMPLETED PUZZLE WILL RECEIVE A $10 GIFT CARD TO STAR-BUCKS!

Crossword by Matt Rossi and Allan Wu

pectations I had for her.” This improvement was evident in this year’s Girls Service League Dance Show, which exhibited a wide range of talent and styles in the piec-es presented (three of which spot-lighted Yang a s

a solo performer). B u i l d i n g

from a strong foun-dation in ballet, Yang

has shifted her focus to contemporary dance. Her

skill in this arena was ex-hibited in “This Woman’s

Work” (choreographed by Cindy Montoya), which Yang

noted as her most technically challenging but also most reward-

ing piece of the night. She said, “In order to convey the right emotion, there’s a certain mindset that you have to be in so the audience can experience the piece the way it was meant to be felt.”

In addition to mastering the demanding techniques of the en-semble and small group pieces, Yang chose to participate as a se-nior choreographer, a new option this year for seniors returning to the dance program.

Yang’s piece, set to Ludovico Einaudi’s “Primavera” and per-formed alongside senior Harri-son Hodgkins, portrayed a young couple’s blissful afternoon picnic. Masterfully choreographed and performed, Yang proved herself yet again to be an incredible young tal-ent.

When thinking ahead to col-lege, Yang is unsure of the path her art will take. At this time, she

knows only that dance has become too huge a part of her life to aban-don.

Whether or not Yang pursues dance as a career, Montoya feels that her work at Poly has prepared her for whatever she encounters, explaining, “She might have ar-rived in the Poly dance program as a young ballerina, but she will leave high school as a multitalented per-former, choreographer and artist.”

Image by Mark Loyla / The Paw Print

Artist of the Issue

For a n y -one in-volved in the dance program, the incredible eloquence and beauty continuously displayed by senior Court-ney Yang is no longer surprising. Since she be-gan ballet classes at age three, Yang has proven time and time again that she was born for the stage. At her current studio, Pasadena Dance Theater, Yang h a s found the inspi-ration and guidance n e c e s - sary to delve i n t o the previously

unfamiliar worlds of jazz, contempo-

rary, African, Ar-menian and Horton tech-

nique dance. “I was exposed to pretty much everything,” she said.Throughout her career thus far,

Yang has attended prestigious sum-mer programs at LINES studio in San Francisco, Interlochen Arts Academy, Joffrey Ballet New York and UCLA.

Her litany of awards and hon-ors began in seventh g r a d e , when she was cast as Clara in her stu-dio’s pro-d u c t i o n of The Nutcrack-er. Since then, she has earned numerous solos in the Poly dance shows, was awarded a merit schol-arship to the Interlochen Arts Academy program, placed first in a local choreography competition (her first time choreographing) and, earlier this year, was awarded the Pasadena Arts Council’s young artist award for dance.

Cindy Montoya, who has been instructing Yang since the seventh grade, noted, “Courtney has always been poised with solid technique, but needed to work on letting go and expressing herself more freely.

With maturity and hard work she has surpassed any ex-

Courtney Yang:

With a relationship dating back to the 1980s, Poly has been coor-dinating volunteer efforts with the Union Station Services Center to provide hot meals for homeless men, women and children. With the “Adopt a Meal” program, vol-unteer groups cook and serve food for those in need. Dean of Students Brendan McGrail took over as Poly’s faculty liaison to the “Adopt a Meal” program in 2005. Each year he chooses a student coordina-tor to oversee the menu, shopping and preparation of the meal. This year’s student coordinator is senior Mackenzie Lee.

Once a month, a group of ten Upper School students take the five-minute trip to the homeless center and prepare, cook and clean for the entire evening. Lee cus-tomizes the menu each time to in-clude dishes such as BBQ chicken or tacos. Students ranging from freshmen to seniors and amateur cooks to experienced chefs all find a way to help out. Even McGrail, who deems himself “far from an expert chef,” finds himself a mas-ter vegetable chopper and produces the best salads every time.

The people on the receiving end

A tradition of giving continuesof the students’ hard work are more than grateful. Lee said, “They al-ways come up to us smiling and appreciative. They are thankful that we take the time, money and effort to do this for them. And after every dinner, they always give us a round of applause. It makes you feel proud of the work you do and shows that the intense three hours of hard work you just put in, did not go unno-ticed.”

But perhaps more than just the homeless benefit from the students’ work. “I think it’s a good ex-perience for all of us,” said Lee. “A lot of the time, Poly stu-dents are ac-cused of being stuck in our own bubble of privilege, and we often over-look the ways

that we can get in touch with our local community.” Opportunities such as cooking for the homeless are some of the best ways “to get to know our area fully and really make an impact on the world around us,” concluded Lee.

By AUDREY CHAILife editor

...the incredible el-oquence and beauty

continuously displayed by se-nior Courtney Yang is no longer surprising.”

Taani Ahluwalia / The Paw Print

The doubtful future of American innovationSince the foundation of our country, American innovation

has gone hand in hand with financial success and technologi-cal progress. We transcended the boundaries of science, we stretched our borders from sea to shining sea and, in a mere 200 years, rose from a group of revolutionary colonies to an undisputed hegemon on the international spectrum.

We have had innovators like Benjamin Franklin, who con-jured up the idea of flying a kite in the middle of a severe storm to set a foundation for our understanding of electric-ity, all the while serving America as a diplomat and states-man. Thomas Edison and his think tank at Menlo Park took Franklin’s idea and made a device that is seen in nearly every household across the fifty states: the light bulb.

The Manhattan Project, which culminated in the revolu-tionary and horrifying discovery of the atomic bomb, took place on our soil. We even boast one of the most innovative companies in the world in Apple, which, even after the death of its mastermind Steve Jobs, continues to flood the market with incredible devices.

But, all of this has started to reach a standstill. Today, as our economy plummets into financial oblivion and our na-tional debt has aggrandized to the point that politicians can no longer hide the astronomicaly negative number, the future of American innovation has never looked so bleak.

While the government starts to address the deficit with budget cuts by still attempting to implement promised social services to the increasingly angry public, research and devel-opment has been the first to go. NASA has started to disap-pear off the map. Science has seen its government support vanish in a fortnight. Alternative energy has been pushed to the wayside. A lack of financial backing has curbed the in-credible progress of medical research. Funding is increasingly being diverted away from technology.

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to listen a se-ries of speakers from the Hamilton Project, a program at the

By CONNOR MCKNIGHTChief online editor

OPINIONthe paw print6 December 16, 2011

The Chris Paul trade in the post-louckout era

Brookings Institute dedicated to continue the advancement of “America’s promise of opportunity, prosperity, and growth.” With speakers ranging from leading scientists, economists, presidents of universities and even members of the Obama Administration, I heard, for the first time, blatant concern for the future of American innovation.

Analyzing the trends of American growth in correlation with technological advancements, it has been clear that the rate at which new dis- coveries and de-vices are invented is di-rectly proportional to the state of the econ-omy. During the Age of Industrial Revolu-tion, modified versions of the conveyor belt flooded the market with consumer goods and provided jobs for people in urban environments.

Following World War II, with a flood of innovation in weapons and technology to help defeat the Axis powers, the American economy boomed after finally emerging from the Great Depression. Even in the 1990s, when it appeared that the United States was about to hit another financial road-block, the introduction of the Internet directly correlated to an economic surge.

But now, according to economists who work with the Hamilton Project, we are entering “an era where we’re going to have to do more with less.” American innovation will have to find a way to persevere despite brutal cuts in research and development. At the moment, surging economies overseas are benefitting the most from new technologies. Only 35% of patents in the world now remain in the US, and 4 of the 5 world’s supercomputers are in foreign countries.

Firms devoted to pioneering innovative devices are losing productivity due to their lack of financial support. In their

eyes, the government does not understand that innovation “is not a 100-yard dash, it’s a marathon.” Without sufficient funding, completing this marathon and continuing along the path that Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison set as the American standard for ingenuity seems impossible.

Education is the key to promoting innovation in this fi-nancially challenged era. Supporting creativity in our younger generations fosters the entrepreneurship that has always driv-en American innovators since Franklin.

But as the next generation enters their un-dergraduate studies, universities have started to see their research funds diminished. Gov-ernor Jerry Brown cut 16.4% of the funding for the research universities in the University of California system. In the past, an under-graduate exposure to research has enormous-ly encouraged creative development, and that

will be essential for the future.However, there is a still a glimmer of hope

for these young minds. The co-founder of Paypal Peter Thiel has had the most extreme response to this decreased fund-ing for universities, receiving plenty of criticism for his ef-forts. He created Thiel Fellowship, a program where he offers $100,000 for students to drop out of college and pursue their innovative interests. In a New Yorker feature about Thiel, it was noted that “something about the turbulence of this age, the deep sense of dissatisfaction with things as they are, prompts people to discard the stale verities and invent new ones. Which, after all, is a very old way to respond to dis-tress in this country.“ That spirit of invention is necessary for America to get back on the track towards a prosperous future, one devoid of economic turmoil.

The United States cannot respond to financial crisis by de-stroying the foundation of American success. Before we shove research and development aside to cut costs, we need to think about the real basis for our prosperity. It starts and ends with innovation.

The United States can-not respond to financial crisis by destroying the

foundation of American success.

Lockout, blockbuster trades, Metta World Peace. It’s been an offseason to remember for the NBA.

When I saw that Chris Paul had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, my boring afternoon was suddenly trans-formed into world of purple and gold. I then proceeded to spend my next two hours hypothesiz-ing about scenarios for the Lakers. Who are their start-ing five? How does this af-fect the offense? Can we win it all in 2012?

Then I saw the follow-up news report a few hours lat-er. David Stern, NBA com-missioner, had nixed the deal for “basketball reasons”—CP3 was no longer heading to L.A.

The nullification of the trade by Stern raises some serious questions in the post-lockout era. Firstly, does David Stern have the right to nullify the trade? As commissioner of the NBA, he does not. He acted on behalf of some of the owners, who feel a shift of power is unhealthy for a small-market team like the New Orleans Hornets, and out of concern that the Lakers might be able to acquire another star, Dwight How-ard, once Paul landed in L.A. That’s like waking up, hopping in your truck, and getting a ticket because there’s a chance you might speed on your way to work.

Stern is sending a dangerous message to the owners and players that he cares more about equality than he does about

interest in the game. He would rather create 30 champion-ship-caliber teams than allow good teams to succeed and let others struggle.

Ultimately, he is fighting the inevitable. The world of sports caters to competition—and like it or not, there is a winner and there is a loser. Historically, the Lakers have been successful win-

ners, winning two of the last four NBA cham-pionships . It seems h o w e v e r , that David Stern op-

poses such s u c c e s s — o r

does he? Try to remember a time, not so long ago when a certain Lebron James wanted to take his talents to South Beach to join his pal Dwayne Wade. Then there was another, Chris Bosh, who travelled the same path down to Miami, and a historical “Big Three” was formed. Did we hear any quibbling from Mr. Stern then? No.

Try to remember a time, not so long ago when a certain Pau Gasol was traded to the Lakers for his brother, Marc Gasol; Kwame Brown (a former first round draft pick who

turned into a flop with impeccable physique to complement his stubby fingers); Javaris Crittenton (arrested for bringing guns into the Wizards’ locker-room and more recently charged with the murder of a mother of four) and Aaron McKie (re-

tired less than three months after the trade). Needless to say, this went down as one of the worst one-sided trades in the history of the game, with the Lakers getting the upside on this deal. Yet, did Mr. Stern bow out to the owners’ shrieks of “No fair, mom!”? No.

Well then now, why such a turn, Mr. Stern? Could it pos-sibly have anything to do with the fact that the Lakers went on to win the next two cham-pionships after they received Gasol? Are you afraid that the Lakers might win again with the acquisition of Paul?

David Stern has made a grave error. He has suddenly transformed himself into the socially insecure high-schooler

constantly seeking approval from every next “cool kid.” Except there are 30 cool kids he’s trying to suck-up to and they all want to be the best. Pret-ty soon, Mr. Stern, you’re going to find yourself pinned up against a locker with 30 fists in your face.

Stern is sending a dan-gerous message to the owners and players that

he cares more about equality than he does about the game.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Paws & ClawsPaws to Secret Santa next week. -Mackenzie Marcotte ‘12

Claws to not having power for 120 hours. -Audrey Xu ‘13

Claws to hectic schedules before break. -Francesca Jimenez ‘12

Claws to too much opti-mism on campus. -Sam Williamson

Paws to photosynthesis. -Sahil Shah ‘12

Claws to David Stern. -Kevin Chu ‘12

By DAVID RODGERSStudent contributor

SPORTSthe paw print December 16, 2011 7

Relatively inexperienced boys basketball team begins season with mixed results

Fueled by in!ux of players, boys and girls soccer look strong in season openers

determine which teams were moved up and down. !e enroll-ment requirement part is easy: your school either has an enrollment size of above the magic number 1250 (automatically Division 3A or higher) or below 1250 (cannot go higher than Division 4AA). Where the CIF-SS peo-ple obtained this arbitrary num-ber of students is questionable; maybe it’s the mean number of students at each school in the sec-tion?

But the enrollment size ques-tion isn’t even the main issue brought up by the new quali"ca-tions; it’s this new point system that is supposedly fair to everyone. In the setup, playo# victories were assigned point values and weight-ed based on how far the team ad-vanced in CIF.

!e o$cial memo from CIF-SS states, “Each member school will have a cumulative CIF-SS playo# “four-year point pro"le” logged for the preceding four sea-

sons (07-08, 08-09, 09-10, 10-11). !ese totals are accumulated with points earned by a win in rounds one through the "nals of each sea-son. !e 4-year pro"le will then be weighted at 90% for the past 3 years (30% per year) and 10% for 4 years ago. !is will put more fo-cus on recent success in identifying

“power” schools while minimizing what was accomplished 4 years ago.”

For example a "rst-round play-o# win is credited with one point while a "nals win is awarded "ve points. See the accompanying chart to see how the Poly girls bas-ketball team was graded.

Another caveat embedded in the memo warns that schools “fail-ing to win a playo# game over a preceding four-year span will then be moved down one-half division from their original enrollment grouping, in order to address com-

petitive equality.”Essentially, the results of the

past dictated the decisions made for the future.

Penalizing “power teams” be-cause they are doing too well? Helping weaker programs perform better by moving them down to easier divisions? !is all sounds a

lot like socialist sports maneuver-ing if you ask me.

So why should Poly even care at all? Unfortunately because the girls basketball team has done so well these past few years, it was moved up one and a half divisions, from 5A to 4AA. Sure, it’s nice now for the pride of the program, but the move may have nipped any future championship runs in the bud for quite awhile. Instead of facing schools of similar size and strength, Poly will now have to face teams such as Harvard-Westlake, Centennial/Compton, Serra, Blair

and other larger programs. !is is more than a challenge for Poly; this is just plain unfair and wrong.

One may think that Poly is up for the task. Last season Poly sched-uled a game against then higher-division Muir High School, which is now in the same division as the Poly girls for basketball. !e hyped

matchup resulted in a not-so exciting "nal score: 71-34, one of the Panthers’ three losses on the season. !e main storyline of that day was whether or not junior standout Michelle Miller could still score against faster,

stronger players. Miller did score 30 points, but doubling that total would not even make up the de"-cit.

Even if the Panthers could keep up with a team such as Muir this year, there is another glaring problem around the corner: this will be Miller’s "nal season in a Panther uniform. What happens to the team in terms of division placement when Miller graduates? Absolutely nothing for at least the next four seasons, unless the CIF-SS comes to its senses. Realign-ment fails to address the biggest

oversight in its logic: teams were moved this year based on the per-formance of players that have likely graduated or will very soon.

Win or lose, the Panther girls cannot avoid the fact that they are stuck in a higher division against larger and stronger schools for an inde"nite period of time. To be moved down only a half a di-vision (e.g. from 4A to 4AA), a program must earn zero weighted power points over a period of four straight years.

!us, for the Poly girls to go back down one-and-one-half divi-sions to Division 5A, where they won the championship last season, they will have to either fail to make playo#s or lose in the "rst round for the next twelve years, all be-cause the previous seasons dictate any movement.

So then it may have been a good thing that the boys basketball team did not go as far as the girls in the past four seasons; otherwise, the current group may have been placed in a higher division with the likes of much larger public schools like La Cañada or Muir too.

CIFContinued from page 1

!e Poly boy’s varsity basketball team began the season with high expectations from last year’s suc-cess and has achieved mixed results so far.

After an opening win against !acher and posting a 1-3 mark in the Poly Tournament, the squad now anticipates the San Gabriel Tournament and pre-break up-coming games against St. Anthony and San Marino. !e Panthers look to start league games strong after the winter break, and the team acknowledges the challenges of the upcoming season.

“I think our expectations have to be realistic. We lost a lot of our team from last year and so we are going to have to play through some of our inexperience,” commented senior Logan Beerman.

!e loss of six graduated play-

By HUNTER WORLANDStudent contributor

ers, two of whom now play college basketball, will be felt through the course of the season. !e gradu-ated seniors, Daniel Wohl and Hunter Merryman, were piv-otal to the team’s suc-cess, as the Panthers played their way to the CIF Semi-Finals. !ey ended the season with a 24-3 overall record, 7-1 in the Prep League.

!e Panthers com-prise a young team, with two seniors and only four returning varsity players. Despite its lack of experience, the squad hopes to compensate with ef-fort.

Junior and three-year varsity player Curtis Toyota noted, “It’s hard having so many young guys because we "nd ourselves physi-

cally outmatched more often than we’d like, but we can make up for that by working harder and smart-

er than the teams we play.”“Even though we don’t have

very many people that can cre-ate for themselves o#ensively, as a

team we play very well together,” freshman Jared Lim added.

Despite recent losses, the team started the non-league sea-son strong with a 48-36 win against !atcher. !e Pan-thers continued their strong play with a solid win over Feilding High School from New Zealand. !e team led during the en-tire contest, paced by sophomore center Will Gen-ske, who scored 25 points in the 57-44 victory. Point guard Toyota scored ten

points to back him up. Toyota has proven himself in-

dispensable to the team. !e team recognizes him not only as a stand-

out player, but also as a team leader. Genske commented, “We started out struggling to "nd leadership but I de"nitely think it’s come from Curtis Toyota on the court because of his ability to not be mentally rattled.”

After starting o# the Poly tournament strong, the Panthers su#ered a setback, losing to Bur-roughs. Genske led the Panthers with 16 points but did not receive much help in the 64-35 loss. Poly then lost by six points to Rosemead High School to "nish tournament pool play with a 1-2 record.

!e playo# round game showed that the Panthers still have some work to do. Constantly over-matched and undersized on de-fense, Poly fell to Marshall by 18 points. !e Panthers do not open league play until early January, and will be working hard to improve team chemistry and gain experi-ence in multiple non-league games.

Sophomore starter Zach Bern goes up for the ball against Burroughs/Bur-bank. Poly has tipped o! the season with a 2-3 record.

Courtesy of Jennifer Godwin-Minto

!is year’s soccer program is ex-periencing one of its greatest turn-outs in history with 91 athletes on boys and girls teams. Strength can always be found in numbers, allow-ing for depth on each team. !eir numbers better help the chances for success in the future.

Although the boys squad had a rough start to their preseason with a 2-0 loss to Maranatha, they rallied and came back to tie high-ranked Windward 0-0. Even more impressive, Poly’s third game against Monrovia was an upset, as the Division 6 Poly defeated the Division 5 team 2-0. In the game, Monrovia had 16 shots on goal with no scores, while Poly only had 3 shots with 2 goals. !roughout the game, Poly’s intense defensive e#orts paid o# as they stopped some of Monrovia’s top scorers.

By CHARLES PATTERSONAssistant sports editor

!e team sti%ed all of Monrovia’s attacks with a strong performance from the defensive back four.

On the o#ensive side, Poly capital-ized on their counter attacks. Junior J.P. Olinski scored o# of an assist from Soph-omore Ali Kamal, who also scored late in the second half to "nish the game. !is season, the team also holds a num-ber of skilled fresh-men: Skyler Mclean, Hunter Worland and twins Ben and Will Hubsch. With the help of the skilled freshmen class, as well as some strong sophomores, Ian McKnight and Ali Kamal, the squad will have a strong core after talented seniors Benoy Menon,

Jack Birkenbuel and goalkeeper Chris Ward graduate.

On the girls’ side, the var-sity team is o# to a strong start to their preseason, with a 3-0 record. !ey came out of the locker room with a scor-ing mindset in their "rst game, as they defeated Hoover High School 7-1. In their second game versus La Cañada High School, Poly won 4-2. !e team then defeated South Pasadena 3-2.

Standout sopho-more Evan Gancedo commented on the

attitude of the team thus far. “Last year we lost a lot of seniors, so this year has been really exciting since almost half the team is new. I think

we have some good camaraderie so far, and it’s looking like we’re go-ing to have a successful season,” she said.

As "ve new freshmen join the team, new blood and skill is abun-dant. One of these freshmen, Bec-ca Hanel, is excited about receiving her varsity letter as a freshman, and is looking forward to the season. “I didn’t re-ally know what to expect go-ing into the season, but the return-ing players have been very wel-coming and helpful to all of the new girls

on the team, especially the fresh-man,” she commented. “!e reason the season had been so great so far is because of the warm welcome we freshman received, making it easy to come into a tight group of girls. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and getting to know these girls better.”

Sophomore Noel Askins dribbles around a defender.

Courtesy of Jennifer Godwin-Minto

PANTHER SPORTSthe paw print 8December 16, 2011

Points scored by sopho-more center Will Gen-ske against Feilding High

School from New Zealand.

Saves recorded by se-nior goalie Chris Ward against Windward. The

game ended in a 0-0 tie.

Length in days of the NBA Lockout. Players and own-IVW�VIGIRXP]�VEXM½IH�E�RI[�

bargaining agreement.

Points scored by senior guard Michelle Miller

against Verdugo Hills in the Poly Tournament.

Girls BasketballPoly vs. Verdugo Hills72-17 (Poly)

Girls SoccerPoly vs. La Cañada4-2 (Poly)

By !e Numbers18

!e Panther Scoreboard43

141 25

Leadership, determination, positive attitude and versatility; these are all qualities that have been attributed to senior girls water polo captain Hannah Grotzinger. Grotzinger has been a valuable athlete in the girls water polo program for the past sev-eral seasons. Her contributions have led the team to many vic-tories, and she continually improves the team’s chances for success.

What distinguishes her from other players on the squad is her constant e!ort and drive to succeed. Senior Mimi Morrish relates, “Every girl on our team plays hard and puts in a lot of e!ort, but Hannah’s dedication is by far the strongest. Whether it’s practice or game time, Hannah is always focused and always giving her all. She is a great leader for our team and really shows how hard work pays o!. I can speak for our team when I say we feel very con"dent whenever Hannah is in the game.”

In Grotzinger ‘s "rst game of the season, the team upset a ranked Pasadena High School squad. Grotzinger’s "ve goals led all scorers and keyed the Panthers to victory. As the season moves on, the team looks to Grotzinger for her o!ensive support and leadership.

Ian McKnight

With the girls varsity basketball team only four games into its season, a new player has already distinguished herself: Kiki Yang. As the only freshman to make the varsity team this year, her skill sets have added a new weapon to this already dangerous o!ense.

#e girls basketball team is facing a di$cult season in a higher division, but with recent solid wins, it is poised to exceed expectations. In the "rst game of the season against a strong La Salle team, Yang scored nine points.

In the Poly-hosted tournament, Yang con-tributed a valuable 15 points in Poly’s 72-17 victory over Verdugo Hills. “Kiki always hustles, looks for the open man and is a great dribbler. She "ts well into the team dynamic on the court,” said her teammate, senior Tessa Loera.

With many important games ahead for the team, a lot will be demanded of Yang and her teammates. Yang’s future on the team is quite promising if she continues to play with as much motivation and determination as she has demonstrated thus far.

Mara Veitch

Athlete of the Future

Hannah GrotzingerKiki Yang

Taani Ahluwalia/ !e Paw Print

Boys SoccerPoly vs. Monrovia 2-0 (Poly)

Girls basketball squad picks up where it left o", wins Poly Tournament

Chris Ward

!e reigning CIF Division 5A champions have resumed their po-sitions on the court this winter. In-juries have plagued the varsity girl’s basketball team early in the season. Sophomore Kaitlyn Olah su"ered a neck injury in the season opener against La Salle, while senior Tessa Loera sat out the #rst game due to a concussion.

But regardless of the setbacks that led to a hard 46-39 loss against La Salle, the girls showed that they are ready to play when they won the Poly Tournament. !e team defeated Verdugo Hills, 71-17, South Pasadena High School, 43-32, Maranatha 79-16 and Flin-

tridge Sacred-Heart 56-35 in the #nals.

Pr inceton-bound guard Michelle Miller led the team with 43 points against Verdugo Hills and 24 points against South Pasade-na. Starting freshman Kiki Yang has proven to be a vital addition to the team with her high scoring average, includ-ing 15 points against Maranantha.

In the #nals, Miller led the Panthers to victory with 38 points on 10-21 shooting, and shot 12-14 at the free-throw line. Junior

Courtney Foster contributed with ten points. Miller was named Tournament MVP and freshman guard Kiki Yang was named to the All-Tournament team.

As a result of CIF realignment, the team moved up to Division 4AA, com-pared to 5A last year. Potentially facing teams like Windward High School, ranked 16th in the nation, the team will clearly face challenges this season, especially in the playo"s.

By OLIVIA TREISTERSta" writer

Harry Templeton / !e Paw Print

Female Athlete of the IssueMale Athlete of the Issue

Harry Templeton / !e Paw Print

!e team aspires to go unde-feated in league competition and go far in CIF, and Miller is also go-ing for the CIF all-time scoring re-cord. As the team plans for the up-coming playo"s, Miller said, “We are playing a tougher tournament [over] Christmas [break], so hope-fully we will be better prepared for playo"s, which will be challenging given our division is arguably sec-ond to only Division 1AA.”

!e Panthers are excited to begin league play and eventually excel in the playo"s. Junior Ra-chel Hoang said, “We’re going to have to work hard but we’re a great team that’s getting better each day. I think this season is going to be one worth remembering.” Junior Courtney Foster and senior Tessa Loera trap a Verdugo Hills player.

!e Panthers have given up only 29.2 points per game so far this season.

Courtesy of Jennifer Godwin-Minto

Having already recorded two shutouts in the season and holding oppo-nents to an average of 0.6 goals per game, senior goalkeeper Chris Ward has established himself as a vital part of the varsity boys soccer team.

Ward’s success has come from his strong work ethic and determination, both of which are recognized by his teammates. Junior Hunter Palmentiero comments, “Chris chose to go to goalie camps over the summer and his im-provement was incredible.”

Senior Jack Birkenbeuel agrees, stating that Ward’s “enthusiasm and hard work in the o!-season has really helped him to make incredible saves.”

As well as being the solid last line of defense for the Panthers with his in-timidating stature and athleticism in the box, Ward has earned recognition as a key leader on the team. Birkenbeuel continues, “He’s de"nitely brought a leadership role upon himself, and as keeper you need to lead the team from the back and he’s able to do that through his communication.”

Anchored by Ward, the solid defense has had great showings this season and displayed stellar play against top-ten Division V team in Monrovia. #e Panther shut down Monrovia’s o!ense, and Ward recorded 14 saves. Palmentiero comments, “Chris has a lot of determination and if the defense screws up, we know he has our back.” #e boys soccer team looks to Ward to continue his great play in the net as it looks to go deep into CIF playo!s.

Charlie Ramirez