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theambassadorVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

Inside: News 2&6 Español 3 Op-Ed 4-5 Opinion 7 Sports 8

Four students share their experiences with bullying Pages 4-6

News Spike in crime calls

for preventionPage 6

OpinionFuture of education

unclearPage 7

SportsCross-country looks to city prelimsPage 8

Graphic Credit: Joanna Lopez

@theambonline

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In an attempt to increase college readi-ness, Advanced Placement course offerings were doubled to 10 this summer by the staff. AP classes are college-level courses that may give college credit for the class if the students pass the test in May. During the summer, last year’s AP test scores were re-leased.

“We are barely beginning our AP program and we are the school with the most AP classes available to the students… We do have a potential to get excellent AP scores as a program that is growing and con-tinuously pushing the students to the max,” counselor Herbert Muralles said.

The introduction of the new AP classes comes after a year of having five AP classes in which, the classes performed lower than the national average except for AP Spanish. According to the College Board Year Score Summary (2012), out of the five AP tests that were taken 17 students received a score of three or higher.

Nine students passed the AP Spanish test with a three or higher; two students passed the AP United States History test with a three or higher; two students passed the AP Calculus AB test with a three or higher; three students passed the AP Lan-guage and Composition test with a three of higher; and one student passed the AP lit-erature and Composition test with a three or higher.

ASGL has the most AP classes at RFK, UCLA has six, SVAH has four, LAHSA four, and NOW has none. ASGL started with 10 AP classes but cancelled AP Physics.

“Its college preparation, it helps you with college, it gives you pride because later on if you pass it you can say oh I passed an AP class,” senior Romeo Torres said.

“I want to see how this year goes and figure out through student input and evalu-

Aspiring high school journalists in Los Angeles scored the interview of the year when LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy held his first-ever student-led press con-ference. Sept. 13. More than 30 students from around the city filled the library at the RFK Community Schools Complex for this unique Q&A.

“I’ve been in the district for 13 years and I can’t recall a time when I’ve heard of a superintendent having this kind of con-versation with kids,” Antonia Guzman, journalism advisor at International Studies Learning Center, said. “I know it was a press conference but it almost felt like a conversa-tion with kids. I think we got to see the true person that’s running the district.”

According to Lydia Ramos, director of Internal Communication for LAUSD, no su-perintendent in Los Angeles had ever held a press conference specifically for students.

What ended up as a serious discussion, actually started off as a breath of fresh air for the man in charge of the nation’s second largest school district. Amid the prospect of massive budget cuts in education and con-troversial teacher evaluations, the superin-tendent offered insight on the current issues critical to students.

“It’s a very intense time because of what’s happening in Chicago and what’s

happening in L.A. So I have to tell you, it’s a joy to actually be here because you all look so reasonable and happy,” Deasy said at the start of the press conference.

With no professional media in sight, it became the student journalists only op-

portunity to ask tough questions. Among the topics probed were the looming Nov. 6 elections and Propositions 30 and 38, ballots issuesw that will determine funding for Cal-ifornia schools.

The press conference seemed to take on

a serious mood as Deeasy described the con-sequences of either ballot measure failing.

“It’s a real dilemma around these two

NEWSVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

AP course offerings double; scores releasedJulian HernandezStaff Writer

Graphic Credit: Vinci ReyesSource Credit: College Board

Superintendent holds first student press conferenceFelix RuanoEditor-in-chief

Photo Credit: Edwin Mendoza

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy answers questions from over 30 high school journalists at the RFK Commu-nity School. He discussed current issues like Proposition 30 and the controversial teacher evaluations.

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Test scores released by College Board provide insight on 2011-12 AP course performance at ASGL. Students, from sophomores to seniors, performed below state average on every exam except for AP Spanish.

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EN ESPAÑOLVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

Como resultado de La Acción Diferida, el distrito escolar del condado de Los Angeles ha recibido muchos pedidos de certificados de estudios. Las restricciones en el presupuesto de educación hacen complicada la tarea de emisión de certificados, pero el distrito está tratando de acelerar el proceso.

La consejera de ASGL Kathy Torres dice que ella ha atendido aproximadamente a quince estudiantes de ASGL que pueden calificar, pero que ella sabe que el otro consejero el Sr. Muralles también ha atendido a otros estudiantes, de modo que la cifra podría ser mayor.

Torres también nos contó que siendo hispana se siente muy orgullosa de esta iniciativa y que le da gusto que al fin estemos dando un paso positivo para ayudar a nuestros jóvenes que necesitan esta oportunidad y por eso ella y el Sr. Muralles están felices al poder ayudar escribiendo cartas de recomendación que, junto con los certificados de estudios, son uno de los requisitos para este proceso.

Presidente Barack Obama firmó Decreto Administrativo que permitirá a más de 200.000 estudiantes y graduados de la escuela secundaria que ahora tengan menos de treinta años obtener un permiso de trabajo y evitar ser deportados.

Para ayudar en el proceso de obtener la documentación, el distrito escolar ha creado el sitio dacarequest.lausd.net.

No es una ley, es un Decreto Administrativo que el presidente firmó. Una ley la tiene que firmar el Congreso para ser aprobada. Aunque no sea una ley oficial, es una gran ayuda para muchos jóvenes porque les va a permitir aplicar a universidades y obtener licencia para manejar.

Aunque todo suena tan dulce como azúcar no lo es porque hay una probabilidad que Mitt Romney elimine el Decreto si gana las elecciones presidenciales. Este decreto administrativo es algo que va a beneficiar a muchos que cumplan con los requisitos necesarios.

Una de las beneficiadas es la estudiante de ASGL Shadany Arcos. Arcos nos explica que ella se siente muy feliz de tener esta oportunidad ya que hay muchos alumnos que quieren ir al escuela pero no son nacidos aquí. También nos dice que ella ya hizo el proceso y recomienda a quienes puedan calificar que obtengan ayuda de un abogado ya que las pregunta son difíciles.

Shadany también nos dijo que recibió ayuda de una amiga que tambien ya habia pasado por todo el proceso y además que tuvo mucho apoyo no solo de sus padres sino también de muchos maestros aquí en la escuela. Todavía no ha mandado su aplicación ya que esta esperando otros documentos necesarios pero que ella espera que después de mandar la aplicacion se tome por lo menos de dos a tres meses para procesar.

También dijo “Si mi aplicación es aceptada voy a hacer un esfuerzo muy grande en la escuela para poder ir a la universidad le recomiendo a aquellos que califican que hagan la aplicacion lo mas rápido posible para que sus papeles lleguen rápido y que aprovechen este beneficio que puede ayudarlos mucho”.

Para poder aplicar es necesario demostrar haber vivido en los Estados Unidos desde el 17 de junio de 2007.

Otro requisito es ser graduado o estar cursando la escuela secundaria. Quienes abandonaron los estudios se deben registrar en escuelas de adultos para poder obtener el Diploma de Equivalencias (GED). Desafortunadamente, y debido a recortes en el presupuesto de educación, muchas escuelas para adultos han cerrado.

Este Decreto Administrativo es un proceso largo con muchos pasos que se

deben completar perfectamente y sin ningún error o datos falsos que podrian causar el rechazo de la aplicación. En costo de la aplicación es de $465.00 por lo cual es importante que no tenga errores, porque si es rechazada por algún error o por no haber completado alguna sección del formulario, se debe abonar nuevamente el importe.

Es importante hacer revisar toda la aplicación antes de enviarla para tener la seguridad que será aceptada. Existen organizaciones en la comunidad que pueden dar ayuda gratuita. Si se contrata a un abogado se debe consultar el costo del servicio para evitar abusos y fraude.

Con respecto al Decreto, no todas las opiniones son favorables. Para José Cerritos, maestro de matemática de ASGL, la cifra estimada de 200.000 estudiantes en condiciones de aplicar es insignificante

considerando los casi 10 millones de inmigrantes indocumentados que hay en los Estados Unidos.

El real problema, explica Cerritos, es regularizar la situación de estas personas que siguen esperando una oportunidad o una ley que les permita obtener la residencia. La última ley de amnistía fue promulgada en el año 1986. Bajo esta ley pudieron obtener la residencia legal los trabajadores del campo e inmigrantes indocumentados que habían ingresado al país antes del mes de enero de 1982.

Un artículo escrito por Leticia Espinoza y publicado en el sitio www.vivelohoy.com explica que algunas organizaciones alertan sobre la falta de información y el uso político de este decreto. José Herrera, miembro de “Immigrant Justice Organizers” y de “Moratorium on Deportations Campaign

(MDC)”, señala en el citado artículo sobre el peligro de no informar correctamente los alcances y las limitaciones de esta medida. Herrera sostiene que la Acción Diferida no ofrece ninguna protección contra la deportación y que es importante asesorar sobre los riesgos corren quienes apliquen recordando además que la administración Obama ha deportado muchos ciudadanos indocumentados y que este precedente hace dudar sobre las garantías y las ventajas que otorgaría este decreto.

Estudiantes buscan Acción DiferidaVerónica GarcíaStaff Writer

CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS DEFERRED ACTION for

CONSIDERATION of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals allows certain individuals, who meet specific guidelines, to request consideration of deferred action from USCIS. Individuals who receive deferred action will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the United States for a specified period of time unless terminated. If you receive deferred action, you may be eligible for employment authorization. You may request deferred action for childhood arrivals if you meet the following guidelines:

Review guidelines

Can I be considered?

You came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday

You have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time

You were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012

You entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012

You are currently in school, have graduated or obtained your certificate of completion from high school, have obtained your general educational development certification, or you are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States

Collect documents

You have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat

How do I file?

You were present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS

JUNE

as evidence you meet the guidelines

Check the status of your request online

USCIS.gov

USCISForm

Visit your local USCISComplete USCIS

forms and fees

Application Support CenterForms I-821D and I-765

Mail USCIS

(total $465)

for a scheduled biometrics services appointment

www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals

If you have questions about your request please call USCIS Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TDD)

Graphic Credit: U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services

José Costanza, maestro de español, colaboró en la preparación de este artículo. Agradecemos su ayuda.

4

I have faced a lot of challenges in my life. For me, it was a big challenge when I first came to the United States. I came to the United States two years ago in August. I didn’t speak English. I learned the English alphabet when I was in Korea, and was able to say only simple phrases such as, ‘Hi, my name is Tai-in’. I didn’t know anyone who could help me. When my teachers would say some-thing, I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

It was very hard to study at school. It was even harder for me to complete my homework. I had to ask someone for help everyday. When I didn’t have anyone to ask, I used the Internet. But, the Internet often gave me wrong answers. As time went by, I was able to do my homework by myself. Even though it was hard to speak up in class, I was able to understand what the teachers were saying.

It was hard to make friends, because of commu-

nication difficulties. When my friends made jokes and laughed, I could not laugh because it was not funny to me. I came from a different country with a different culture, and I needed a lot of time to understand the “American” culture. When I realized that my friends have different thoughts and culture, I really wanted to go back to my home country. I missed all of my friends.

I imagined how hard it was for my parents. My parents came to the U.S. because of my education, and they thought their lives would be better. But, in real life, starting a new life in a different country was difficult for my parents. It was hard to get a job and earn money.

My mom suffered more than anybody. She had no relatives that resided in the U.S. while my dad has had his father, his younger brother, and his younger sisters. Usually, I listened to her and tried to understand how hard it is to live in the United States. When I talk to my mom, I feel like I can overcome the problem of discrimi-nation.

Last year, when I was an eighth grader, I was in Algebra class with a Filipino girl. My friends who spoke Korean were in other classes. I sat next to her and we got closer. At first, we talked about how to solve the algebra problems. From there on, we talked about cultures, food, and friends. Since both Korea and Philippines are having land problems, we talked about it seriously. She used to bring her lunch and I tasted it. I loved it, so we talked about our cultural foods. When she had problems with her friends, I tried to cheer her up. I felt like I am related to friends who have different cultures.

Do you know how it feels like to be both a bully and a victim? It’s a miserable thing to do. You feel like you don’t want to be a part of this world anymore—at least that’s how I felt.

In 6th grade, I met a friend that motivated me to become a bully. My friend was known as the “popular and pretty” girl at the school. Every girl admired her for her popularity and every guy admired her for her beauty.

To be honest, I was not as pretty or popular as my friend and I never thought I would become best friends with the most popular girl in school.

Once we became friends and started to hang out with each other, I was continuously being compared to my friend. My peers would say “Why is Elizabeth hanging around with the most popular kid in school? She’s too fat and short to become her friend.” I was being discriminated; I had to stand up for myself but I had no courage to do so. After this inci-dent, I realized that sometimes I had to stand up for myself; the only problem was that I stood up for myself too much. I was preparing myself to become a bully.

From my memory, I think it was during the second se-mester when I started to bully my friends.

During lunch, I heard that a friend of mine had talked trash about me behind my back, and I

became enraged. I told my friend to stop eating her lunch so

that I can talk to her and she got up from the

table and walked with me to the front of the student store. Then I started to yell at her and ask her why she talked trash about me. My friend started to get mad at me as

well for yelling at her and so my temper got

in the way; I pushed her to the ground. Everybody

in the cafeteria area started to gather around my friend and I, to

see what was going on, and for a moment, I wanted the people who were watching us fight to know that that the same thing will happen to them if they messed around with me.

I was not a kind of person who cursed a lot but at that time, I cursed at my friend who was on the ground. My friend cried because she was em-barrassed and her feelings were hurt.

From that day on, the way people treated me changed. The girls at my school would fear me, and the guys at my school who I didn’t socialize with started talking to me. Students who were older than me would know acknowledge me and start talking to me as well. I enjoyed the attention that people were giving me.

If I think of it now, I think I started to bully people to gain attention. At that time, I thought that I would become popular if I started to bully my friends, which was stupid.

Every day at school during lunch and after-school, I bullied my friends; I cursed at them, yelled at them, physically hurt them, cyber bullied them by putting hurtful comments on Facebook, and I gave them a hard time.

My dad decided to transfer me to Robert F. Kennedy when I became a 7th grader. He thought that I was causing too much trouble at my old school and that I should care more about my grades.

I transferred to RFK with the mindset that bul-lying is not a right thing to do. At RFK, I got into a school called Ambassador School of Global Lead-ership (ASGL). I was friendly to almost everyone at school since it was the very first year of new school.

However, at the midst of 7th grade, a close friend of mine at school bullied me.

The bullying occurred because of rumors and lies that hurt my friend and me. At first, we were cursing at each other and giving each other

Our Bully StoriesTai-in ChungStaff Writer

Learning English brings challenges

Elizabeth ChoStaff Writer

My sisters would say, “You’re so fat. Stop eating. You’re going to get fatter.” I would always go cry in a room and then lock myself in there. I would cry to a song: “Invisible” by Skylar Grey. She would talk about people that didn’t pay attention to her and how she wanted to take some pills to make her thin.

I was in 7th grade and only 12 years old. I became de-pressed. I wouldn’t eat or pay attention to food. All I wanted was to be very skinny. I wanted to weigh less.

Sometimes, I didn’t really eat for the whole day. I was already getting used to it. I would only eat my snack everyday, just like a portion of fruit. I was turning into a bad vegetarian. My mind turned into saying, “Lily needs to be skinny!” When I would be around to food, I would say, “No thank you.”

I didn’t want to look like some people who were anorex-ic, I mostly wanted to be like the different pretty women who look very beautiful. I wanted to look like them because I was very tired of my siblings calling me fat. But one month before 8th grade ended, I started to get really sick.

I would always go to the clinic and go home early during school days; I would always feel dizzy, sick and weak. I couldn’t focus in school When my mom took me to the hospital, my

doctor checked my blood. He told me I looked very pale and then he weighed me on the scale. I weighed 102 pounds. I was shocked because two summers ago, I weighed 123 pounds—I was supposed to be gaining weight as I got older.I felt like I was being irrational for being in this unhealthy diet.

My doctor checked my blood pressure and told me it was very low. Then my doctor told me I had anemia. Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells is below normal. I was shocked at what my doctor has just told me. I felt like crying, even though I cry for almost everything. But I couldn’t believe what I’ve been doing to myself. I decided to stop—for my own good.

I had to start eating healthy and right, like eating food that my mom makes and more green vegetables. My doctor told me that spinach is good for nourishing yourself and pre-venting anemia. So I start eating a lot of spinach, even though I didn’t like it that much. It was time for me to change.

My sisters also changed. They stopped calling me fat, and now they just open topics like, “Remember when Lily was chubby and did this or that?” I look at them in the eyes and smile —then close my eyes and ignore them.

My parents told me, “You are beautiful no matter what. You don’t need to change because you are beautiful just like who you are.”

It doesn’t matter how you look or how much you weigh. It’s important for you to be healthy and to feel right and happy. And for me it was a big challenge to face because I just

Beating the problems of body imageLiliana CamachoStaff Writer

“I imagined how hard it was for my parents. My parents came to the U.S. because of my education, and they thought their lives would be better. But, in real life, start-ing a new life in a different country was difficult for my parents.”

Struggling with being both bully and victim

5

Basketball is a very competitive sport. You have to know what you are doing when you play this game because if you don’t play smart, the other team or the defender will take away your game.

I love the game of basketball, but one disadvantage that I have is my height. I am really short to play the game of basketball. I am 5’4 and being short is one reason why I’ve thought about quitting the game.

However, the challenge of being small didn’t stop me from playing the game. Instead of criticizing my game, I made others look bad just to prove to them that I the “boss” on the court.

I became successful even with this short height because I worked harder than anyone else. I told myself all the time that there will always be one person from a different place that works harder than me, so why not work harder than them?

The last challenge that I faced was being called the worst point guard ever. Apparently, I was the reason why the team lost.

I hated it when people told me that I shoot too much and that I am a ball hog. This is a challenge that I always face because I play point guard and score most of the points instead of passing the ball.

I just really love the game. While having fun with the game, I started to learn the fundamentals and how to prop-erly play basketball.

Eventually, most of my time was spent on basketball.I remembered when I was 12 years old, I used to play

basketball at a park. I started playing when the park was opened until 7:30 p.m., only after I was sure I had worked hard on my game. These were long days, but I actually had fun.

I truly believe that no one or nothing can stop me from playing basketball. I don’t care if it’s hot or cold, rain or shine; you will see me on the court.

People like my parents and friends told me to stop playing the game of basketball because I am really short and skinny. They also told me that was just wasting my time because I won’t make it to the top. I didn’t listen to them because I believe that these are only small obstacles to my success.

I worked hard everyday to get better and I told myself that I will work harder than anyone else. I always remember Kevin Durant’s quote: “Hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard.”

The last challenge that I overcame was being called a ball hog and that I don’t pass the ball.

These comments really hurt my feelings because I’m supposed to get respect. I deserve respect because without me, the teams wouldn’t have anyone to lead them and tell them what they’re supposed to do.

I didn’t care about what they told me; I ignored all of the haters that hated my game. I told my coach and asked for help. Coach just wanted me to play smart and play ag-gressive, which really worked.

At the end of the season, I got the respect that I de-served because I did what I was supposed to do.

This really made me happy because the team finished with a 9-3 record for the JV’s first year. I overcame it by getting the MVP award. It really made me happy because it showed that the challenges I overcame and the time I put in paid off.

a very hard time. This incident hap-pened for a long time, and I started to lose my energy to go up against my friend and when I did lose my energy, I was being bullied.

My friend would put up hurtful posts that regarded me every day. She would call me and curse at me. She would bring her “backs” (or sometimes defined as a group of friends) so that I would feel outnumbered and scared.

She would talk about my parents and mock them. I was really having a hard time.

Being bullied made me think of com-mitting suicide. I couldn’t bear it anymore. I would always come home and I would lock myself in my room and cry.

One day, I got a knife from my kitchen and then I wrote a short letter to my parents saying that I am really sorry for committing suicide and that I’ll always thank them for everything they’ve done for me.

I grabbed the knife and I imagined me actually stabbing myself, and I was scared. I had no courage to die. I put the knife back into the kitchen and ripped up the letter and threw it away before my parents read it.

One day I decided to tell my parents that I was having a hard time at school

and at home both mentally and physically. I really wanted an adult to know what

I was going through so that I can at least go to school and study.

My dad once came after school to talk to the girl who was bullying me and asked her to stop but she would give my dad at-titude and just walk away.

My dad continuously came to pick me up after school so that I won’t get bullied afterschool. My dad also told my advisory teacher that I was being bullied but my ad-

visory teacher did not do anything; he only told me to cheer up. I thought I was sup-posed to feel safe at school, but obvi-ously I wasn’t.

I was sick and tired of being bullied. One night, I called the person who was bullying me and said that I could not take it anymore.

I told the bully that I would not talk to her or even mention her name e v e r during the school year. After that dreadful year, the friend that bullied me and I started to somewhat talk to each other. I asked her why she had bullied me and she said that she bullied me for fun and she also said that she liked seeing me being scared of her.

I was pretty shocked at the fact that this friend had the same mindset that I had when I used to bully my peers. I learned that bullying is not the right thing to do.

Bullies may enjoy themselves, but it really hurts the people who are being bullied.

When you’re being bullied, it feels like everything in your life is over. You feel depressed, and then you think of committing suicide.

People who can’t pull through, end up giving up their life just because of being bullied.

I was able to pull through because of my loving family and friends who cared about me and supported me when I was bullied. Without them, I think that my life would have been over by now.

There are still victims that experience bullyiny. It’s very hard to experience it all by yourself; so as a victim of bullying, I encourage those who are being bullied to talk to those who care about you.

Our Bully Stories John SantosStaff Writer

Basketball enduresagainst all odds

wanted to be skinny. But it doesn’t work like that. No one is pretty enough that it’s worth trying to copy their body to the point of hurting your body. It’s important for you to be yourself and not worry about what you have. It’s not healthy for a young person to be going through this stuff because there’s a long way to go— and we aren’t done growing up just yet.

Beating the problems of body image

Illustration credit: Elizabeth Cho

Illustration credit: Joanna Bayna

Struggling with being both bully and victim

6

NEWSVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

Gang prevention stalls amid high crime rate

initiatives. I believe in revenues and I think it would be great if we got them both,” Deasy said. “If it were only that simple; each measure was written in a way that if they both pass, something wrong happens with the other. It’s called a poison pill.”

Deasy acknowledged that having mul-tiple ballot tax initiatives tends to produce “no results.” He said that if they failed, he would initiate a parcel tax, at which point two-thirds of Angelenos would need to approve that last-minute attempt at funding the district.

“There’s very little more you can cut, so what would have to happen is that the [school] year would have to end,” he said as students and teachers quietly gasped. It would have to end “about a month and a half early and we would just have to close.”

The press conference with Deasy and the student journalists was organized by the LAUSD Journalism Collaborative originally funded by the McCormick Foundation. The non-profit aims to restore and improve student journalism programs in California public high schools. It hosts monthly stu-dent-journalist meetings where speakers are invited and journalists collaborate on im-proving their publications. Funding for the three-year program ended last school year.

“It was a tremendous opportunity. I was very happy that the superintendent was so accommodating. He certainly provided lots of information,” Steve O’Donoghue, Di-rector of the California Scholastic Journal-ism Initiative and McCormick leader, said.

Deasy did point some positives things that have happened during his term as su-

perintendent, a job that he started last year. This past year, he noted, marked a record number of LAUSD students taking and passing AP exams. Unfortunately, accord-ing to him, this isn’t the media’s focus, so it wasn’t reported.

“No offense, I’m about to make a state-ment about newspapers. No offense to ev-erybody who’s about to be a journalist, but the only thing that sells on the front page is controversy or something negative,” Deasy said.

But by the end, even as he was about to write off journalism, Deasy wasn’t shy in praising the value of student writing, the underlying purpose of the event.

“Exercise your voice. Let people know. I mean, it’d be very difficult for a main-stream newspaper to turn away a letter to the editor or an Op-Ed authored by students of LAUSD.” he said. “For those of you who chose journalism, it’s a field that’s unbeliev-ably tied to the ethics of reporting. It’s dead serious.”

For the group of young journalists, it was a chance to get a first person account from the head of their school district. Haeeun Jee, a senior at Cleveland High School, said the press conference is “defi-nitely going to help get better interviews and information.

“This press conference helped establish if not solidify a better relationship between student-journalists and the district,” Jee said.

Tai-in Chung and Grace ChoiStaff Writer

In hopes of preventing teenagers from joining gangs, Los Angeles Police Depart-ment created Jeopardy, a gang preven-tion program designed for boys and girls ages 8-15 and their parents. According to campus police officer Zavala, it is a volunteer program for both parents and the students, not a program akin to an involuntary boot-camp.

However, the Jeopardy program has not launched, even as local crimes rates have spiked in recent months, some reportedly gang-related.

“The LAPD will run the Jeopardy program [with] the juvenile section of their department,” Zavala said. “However, [the] department we work with is Olympic divi-sion and we get assigned budget to officers to run the Jeopardy program. It is involved with us but it is not something designed for our school.”

Last month, Olympic Division released its set of data. On the week ending on Sep-tember 22, 2012, a total of 70 violent crimes and 289 property crimes were committed and 423 arrests were made. To compare from 2011, the violent crime increased by one percent and the property crime increased by 12 percent.

According to the LA Times, over the last three months, Koreatown averaged 11.5 violent crimes and 38.0 property crimes per week.

As a result, students have shown concern. Senior Cecilia Antonio said, “Some-times I feel insecure because of all the crimes I hear around our neighborhood. I think to prevent this, there should be more police guards outside the school.”

The teachers are worried over this issue

too. “I heard about them, and they sound pretty bad. I’m worrying about them because they are happening so close to so many of our kids and the place that we spend so much time and especially in our community that we are in,” Math teacher-Collin Felch said.

Felch said he be-lieves school is a place where you should feel free to come learn but it seems like this issue is preventing that. He also said that it doesn’t seem like school is a safe place to the students these days.

However, the same Times report reveals that the major-

ity of crimes are not violent. There are some violent crimes committed but usually it’s the property crimes that are happening.

Campus Aid Rigo Mendez advises both the parents and stu-dents. “Whenever you see something wrong, don’t do it and stay away from it and please report it. Also the parents should keep their eyes open and always advise their kids about bad things. Also speak about it. Talk to them.”

Zavala also advices students. “One of the best things that can be done to prevent gang activity, crime, and weapons at our schools

is what the kids don’t want to do, which is what they call snitching, telling. But we have officers here. We can act on the information or anything that we see.”

The causes of this problem are due to the many reasons. Math teacher Michelle Acosta believes it is due to the mistrust between the citizen and the police. “Some-times, people don’t report, because they are afraid to report. They think the gangsters will harm them if they report. But police of-ficers can help them. You know, gangsters can not kill everyone.”

Mendez said he believes that it is due to the [economic recession]. Even so, teachers believe in the environment a school stands for.

“[School] should be a place that every-body feels safe to come both emotionally and physically.” Felch said. “That’s what we want to make sure that happens here.”

ation how I can teach the class better for the next years to come,” AP European History teacher Esther Rhee said.

“I felt good because I heard it was for the really smart people so I was like woohoo I’m smart,” sophomore Martin Ramirez said about AP European History.

The new AP classes that were intro-duced were AP Physics with Jocelyn Beun-consejo, AP Chemistry with April White, AP Biology with Maria Hernandez, AP Eco-nomics with Collin Felch and AP Euro-pean History with Rhee. No instructor has taught the new AP course before.

“Even if this year goes bad I will be teaching it again,” AP Biology teacher Her-nandez said.

After a week of instruction, physics teacher Jocelyn Buenconsejo cancelled the course.

“The student didn’t have a strong back-ground in physics, they needed a strong background in physics for the class, and they were afraid on failing the class. It is, it’s better so my students don’t fail,” Buencon-sejo said.

This will be her first year teaching an AP class and she has experience with chemistry having majored in biochemis-try, having a graduate degree in teaching biology and chemistry, teaching chemistry

for a year, and working in the industry for six years under biochemistry.

“What I would like is for every one of my students to pass the test to have the class count as their college credit but I want them to have a lot of fun doing it but it’s a very challenging class,” AP Chemistry teacher White said.

According to Felch his true passion is not math, but economics. Felch wants his

student to think like econ-omists, be able to think economically.

“Teaching economics is very different from any class I have taught before but I am having an abso-lute blast. Every class is a lot of fun and it’s differ-ent from the usual math classes that I teach. It’s a very nice change,” Felch said.

Hernandez had taken a class to get her teaching

credentials and is using the techniques of teaching all her classes like an AP class.

“I want [students] to know what it’s like or the level of rigor that is involved in the college class room. I will be teaching AP biology again because you always learn,” Hernandez said.

AP Test Scoresfrom page 2

Press Conferencefrom page 2

Graph shows Koreatown crimes, Oct. 11-14, with a rate of 3.5 crimes per 10,000 people. According to the Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A. project, local violent crime rates “jumped significantly.” Westlake and Harvard Heights had lower crime rates.

“One of the best things that can be done to prevent gang activity, crime, and weapons at our schools is what the kids don’t want to do, which is what they call snitching.”

Campus Police Officer Zavala

“I want [students] to know what it’s like or the level of rigor that is involved in the college classroom.”

Maria HernandezBiology teacher

7

OPINIONVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

There are few reasons why students shouldn’t be protesting at every public school in the city.

After years of continuous budget cuts, the district is facing even greater cuts this year. Per-pupil funding is scheduled to drop under $5,000 in a worst-case scenario; Low per-pupil spending has produced over-crowded classrooms, furlough days and less money for instructional materials. There is no doubt that student have gotten the shorter end of the stick.

Last week, at the State of the District Address here on campus, Superintendent John Deasy implored LAUSD employees and community partners to think hard about the consequences of further severe budget cuts.

He isn’t allowed by law to promote one proposition over another. But at the State of the District, his message was clear: if both ballots fail to pass, he is left with no choice but to cut schools days, moving the last day of school to April. A shorter school year will leave graduating and AP students in a limbo, as AP test are scheduled to take place in May. Even so, AP test are much smaller matter amid the bigger picture.

The fact is, no matter what way we look at it, less funding means less educa-tion; how’s that for closing the achievement gap? Throughout all this, it is mainly stu-dents --not the parents, not the teachers, not the administrators-- that are going to be affected.

We are the ones who will receive a sub-standard education in a world increasingly demanding higher education and workplace skills in order to earn just a living wage. When children of the most disenfranchised communities are not obtaining the level education on par with students across the

nation, everyone loses. The flow of highly-skilled workers slows down, and employers seeks these workers elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the cuts have gone on for so many years that younger students have no idea how bad they have it, and ac-cording to Superin-tendent John Deasy, further cuts can’t be made.

This is precisely why the district needs us more than ever -- the same way we have needed it our entire lives. So are we, as older students burdened with this inherent responsibility, supposed to sit back and accept these cuts?

Here’s the thing: we can’t go decades back and change the laws and decisions that got us into this mess. But there’s still a

chance to prevent further disaster, if only for our younger peers and sib-lings. The opportunity for impact will be in the weeks leading up to the election.

If students want to see schools stay open and teachers in front of their classes, then voters must be made aware of the need to fund schools.

The passage of Proposition 30, according to Deasy, would immediately stop further cuts and help lower the money owed to the district. On the other hand, because of how

it’s laid out, Proposition 38 would only help alleviate the state’s budget problem for four years, even though it will pump money di-rectly to schools. According to the LA Times, while Proposition 38 would increase income tax on incomes as low as $7,316, Proposition 30 would only increase income taxes on in-dividuals making over $250,000. Consider-ing the struggles of low-income at this time, it only makes sense to tax the more affluent citizens.

But who wants to pay more taxes, right? We get it: these are tough times and each tax that comes along is seen as another financial barrier to prosperity. However, education should be a priority in the political spec-trum. It should also be noted that across the United States extremes disparities exists: In 2010, for example, Washington D.C. paid $18,667 per-pupil. New York paid $18,618. The national average was $10,618. And Cali-fornia? $9,355—and it keeps getting worse.

We can’t help but agree with Deasy when he called California educational funding “pathetic.”

Granted, students under 18 have no tangible vote and when elections come around we will be in class instead of at the ballot box — yet people should not dare say we lack political influence. The power middle and high school students hold is not measured by ballots, but by the intensity of their voice.

So what should we do? Let every single adult know the weight of their vote and the implications of not voting at all. If students don’t stand up for the public education they rightly deserve, no one else will -- at least not with the same level of immediacy and attachment.

Deferred Action meansstep forward for all Americans

EDITORIALS

Wake Up Everybody

The AmbassadorAmbassador School of Global Leadership701 S. Catalina St. Los Angeles, CA 90005theambassadornews@gmail.com

Adviser: Alexandria LauEditor-in-chief: Felix RuanoGraphics Editor: Elijah Ko

An estimated 800,000 young undocu-mented immigrants, from kindergarten through 12th grade, are enrolled in Ameri-can schools according to the Migration Policy Institute, an independent institution in Washington, DC. These young immi-grants were brought into the states as chil-dren. However, their pride in the United States shatters when they are categorized as “illegal immigrants,” some of which get unfairly get deported.

Finally there is an chance for correct this wrong: Deffered Action for Childhood Arrivals.

On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security would not deport certain undocumented immigrants that qualify for DACA. In his speech re-garding DACA, Obama said, “[Young un-documented immigrants] are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one. On paper.” According to the National Immigration Law Center, deferred action is an action that prevents deportation to occur to illegal immigrants in the United States. The federal govern-ment has been accepting deferred action requests since August 15, 2012. In order to apply for deferred action, undocumented immigrants must meet specific standards; they must not be convicted of any crimes and they should have continuously begun to reside in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 up to present time; students should still be in school when they request deferred action.

Deferred action will help many un-documented immigrants by helping them apply for a work permit for the period during which he or she has deferred action status. It will also prevent deportation of

undocumented immigrants for about two years.

Not all people agree on deferred action. In the month of August, Immigra-tion and Customs Enforcement had sued the department in federal court in Dallas and accused the administration of violating federal law and forcing ICE employees to break the law by not arresting certain un-documented immigrants. Also, people who disagree with deferred action believe that the U.S. should focus more on the actual legal Americans who reside in the United States. “I am so sick and tired of hearing “the children of illegal immigrants should not be punished because their parents brought them here illegally,” User RJM commented on the article “Long Lines and Big Dreams” published by the New York Times.

Undocumented immigrants are big issues to the United States as well as the other problems issues that are happening in the United States. People who claims that dealing with undocumented immigrants is a waste of time, should realize that illegal immigrants were involuntarily brought to the U.S. Young children should have the right to pursue their goal in life and by pre-venting deportation, these dreamers will one day pay back to the U.S. with their hard work. Therefore, students, parents, and the community should all support in giving these young students a chance to live in the U.S. The Declaration of Independence states, “All men are created equal”. If all men were created equal, they all have the equal amount of chances. Therefore, un-documented young children have the right to stay in the U.S.

The Ambassador, the student newspaper of The Ambassador School of Global Leadership, is a public forum, with its student editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents. Student journalists believe that our duty is to seek the truth and to provide a fair and unbiased side of events and issues. Our goal is to inform the public and the school with honesty and objectivity. Unsigned editori-als express the views of the majority of the editorial board. Letters to the editor are welcomed and will be published as space allows. Letters must be signed, although the staff may withhold the name on the request. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel, privacy and disruption of the school process, as are all contents of the paper.

Staff:Jasmin AnguianoLesly AvalosKarla BarreraJoan BaynaRolando BolanosAnahi CaballeroLilian CamachoJackeline CaracunLorenzo Castaneda

Paul CastilloGrace ChoiElizabeth ChoTai-in ChungRocel CostoKatrina EseoJesus EstefoJulian HernandezPaul KimJanice Lee

Joanna LopezMarlen MendezErik MorenoJonathan NegrerosJericho PaladoElder RamirezVinci ReyesHeber RivasJohn SantosDaniel Suarez

“The fact is, no matter what way we look at it, less funding means less education; how’s that for closing the achievement gap?”

Photo Credit: Elijah Ko

8

SPORTSVolume 3 Issue 1 October 22, 2012theambonline.com

Cross-country aims for city finals

Following in the steps of last year’s boys soccer and track teams, the cross-country team is looking to earn its first league title and make it to make it to city finals.

For now, strictly based on dual-meet performance, the team stands to lose against Belmont, who has four runners under 17 minutes. To make it to city prelims, the teams must finish in the top 3 at league finals, taking place at Pierce College. From there on, it’s a mountain to climb, as the best teams across the country compete for only 12 spots. Nonetheless, some players keep hope.

“If we do make it to [city] finals it’s because we are doing something right and so far we have a pretty solid

team,” said LAHSA senior Diana Martinez, one of the varsity girls captains this year.

Two meets into the season, the boys varsity team goes undefeated. In the first race, against Bernstein, eight RFK boys came before any Bernstein runners. In first place, junior John Santos finished with 18:23, nearly three minutes ahead of the first Dragon.

It was another outcome for the girls, who were de-feated by four Bernstein girls under 25 minutes. However, the girls keep on dropping times. In the latest match-up against Belmont, two girls, Daisy Nuñez and Brenda Velas-quez, finish under 25 minutes, showing that improvements are still being made.

Third-year coach Daniel Chaffino said that even if the team loses against Belmont at league finals, there is still a chance to make it to city finals. The only way to do this is

by placing in the top four spots in the heat at city prelimi-naries.

Last year, the boys varsity team finished sixth in the heat, which included other top cross-country schools like South Gate, Marshall, San Fernando and Granada Hills. In that race, now-sophomore William Ramirez finished 29th in the heat.

The varsity boys team will race city pre-lims this year with at least six returning runners. The verdict is still out if the seven boys will be able to jump to places from last year. One thing is certain: it’s going to take more work than last year to outdo the achievements of the other successful Bobcat teams.

“All we need is to keep putting in the effort and its very possible we could present stiff competition for the other teams,” Martinez said.

Thu, Oct 18 RFK VS TorresThu, Oct 25 Contreras @ RFKThu, Nov 1 Central League FinalsThu, Nov 8 LA City PrelimsSat, Nov 17 LA City Finals, LA Pierce College

Varsity Men Top 10 Varsity Women Top 10 1. William Hernandez Daisy Nunez Gil 2. John Santos Brenda Velasquez 3. Max Soubalete Diana Martinez 4. William Ramirez Sabrina Wang 5. Kevin Ramirez Jasmine Lopez 6. Chris Reyes Carla Duque 7. Felix Ruano Shadany Arcos 8. Jeffrey Hayes Claudia Llontop 9. Andres Segura Evelyn Flores 10. Chris Ortega Rosaura Martinez

Season Records

Cross-Country Schedule

Photo Credit: Claudia Llontop

Photo Credit: Claudia Llontop

Felix RuanoEditor-in-chief

In her third varsity cross-country season, junior Brenda Velasquez races alongside a runner from Hollywood High School at Elysian Park. The varsity girls main-tains a single victory, while the varsity boys team has one loss (against Belmont) so far this season. League finals are scheduled to take place Nov. 1.