You can name at least one person in ASB.
Not that this is a problem. It's actually not a surprising at all, considering that's how it is.
Why? Because ASB elections, to put it quite bluntly, are popularity contests. The more well-known candidate, the one who puts more effort into his/her campaigning, the one who makes sure the world of Costa Mesa High School knew who he/she is, usually wins. Think about it. If two people were running for ASB president, and you knew Candidate A better than you knew Candidate B, you would probably vote for Candidate A. Even if Candidate A may not have the best ideas for the school.
This is where our popularity contest prevails. With ASB elections, many candidates (most likely your friends) try to secure your vote for them. Perhaps you promised them your vote. Even though you weren’t probably too sure as to what they are planning to do as ASB officers or what they plan to change. You just agreed because they're your friends. For all you know, you voted for the psycho who wants to raise money for the school by raising the already much-too-high cafeteria food prices (we all know that would only result in the starvation of students everywhere).
Yet the nature of our own ASB elections is mirrored in actual political elections. Politicians try to appeal to the population and its ideals. Thus, broad platforms and broader promises are made.
It's strange that in the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, the people supported Kennedy if they saw the debates on television, while those who heard it over the radio supported Nixon. A conclusion could be made from this: body language and appearance factor in to our decision in choosing a leader.
When popularity and appearance are major factors in choosing the people who lead you, it seems that faith in humanity is wending its way into oblivion. Is it really too much to ask to vote for the best candidate, and not the best-looking one?
"Hey there! We're raffling off a quilt and all the proceeds are going to help raise money for treatment for Mrs. Sheldon. Would you like to buy a ticket?” If you have not heard this sales pitch, or one similar to it, you will soon.
This year, long-time CMHS teacher Mrs. Sheldon was diagnosed with liver cancer. Liver cancer is the third most common cancer in the world and can only be cured with serious surgery or a transplant.
Yassmeen Karimi, a senior who’s new to the school, said, “I feel like this really shows how much students care about their teachers and their well-being. It has united people for a good cause and that’s amazing.”
In our school there are only a limited number of teachers and at the same time many people who have grown to know and love this strong, sassy teacher.
In the past the business academy students faced a similar situation when one of their fellow classmates, Gloria, got cancer. They came up with the idea of raffling off a quilt in order to raise money for her. The resulting funds amounted to $5,000.
Mr. Sciacca, the Virtual Enterprise teacher, said “We did this because JoMarie Hayes is a very good quilter, and we have done it before in the past, and we raised a lot of money for a good cause.”
The quilt is being made by Ms. Hayes and then will be given to Virtual Enterprise to be raffled off at the end of the school year. And the Business Academy hopes to raise more than $5,000 to help Mrs. Sheldon.
Disbelief - that may be what hits you first. She’s a person that students from many different grades see every single day. And suddenly, she is gone. If we only took for granted her presence on campus, at least we are now doing our best to help such a special person.
The Kony 2012 Cover the Night campaign ended up with a great big belly flop when people woke up on Saturday to find their city not covered with the face of Joseph Kony.
Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. He proclaims himself as a man of God and has been visited by spirits. He is responsible for abducting children in the night and forcing them into becoming child sex slaves or soldiers. It is estimated that Kony has abducted over 66,000 children.
The main niche the Invisible Children Organization used to get people involved was targeting young people, thinking that they would become united behind a cause and would push the US government to put more resources toward helping hunt down Kony.
Unfortunately, they united too soon. The story hit the Facebook pages of CMHS students in March when the Kony 2012 campaign wasn’t supposed over until April. So the attention span of the young brain came and went like a wind-carried grocery bag by the time April 20th rolled around. Many people at Mesa didn’t even realize the cause they were once so passionate about had already come and gone.
The Kony 2012 Facebook page was flooded with comments about the stupidity of Kony 2012. Many of the comments pertained to how the campaign was more of a fad and how people were uninformed of the critical facts.
Many critics of Kony 2012 have also pointed out the fact that Kony is no longer in Uganda. The LRA has left Uganda and is now in countries that do not have as many laws as Uganda, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
Further fuel was added to the fire when Jason Russell, creator of the Kony 2012 video, suffered a mental breakdown where he walked through the streets of a neighborhood naked, masturbating and pounding his fists on the sidewalk. So this further adds to the questioning of the legitimacy of the Kony 2012 campaign.
Even though Kony was the main topic of many conversations in March, when it came time to actually act in April, people forgot about it or realized how corrupt the whole thing seems. Personally, i was for it but when April rolled around Kony was the last thing on my mind, Kony 2012 was really just a big waste of time.
Some coaches require their athletes to take part in other sports in order to keep them "conditioned" or give them experience in different sports. This, however, can have an impact on the sport they have temporarily joined.
When a person becomes passionate for a specific sport, seeing someone make a joke out of the sport can touch some nerves. If the athletes aren't going to take their "conditioning" seriously, is there really any reason for them to detract from another sport's workout or practice? A prime example is that some of the girls on the soccer team are sent to track and field to stay conditioned. But very few of these athletes do anything other than the bare minimum (and they even do that with little effort). This isn't entirely their fault though. Running is not a sport you can just throw someone into. In order to endure the self-induced pain of a long distance run or the intensity of a sprint, you must be serious about track. So as a result, soccer players are walking through their "workout" and taking up the time of the track coaches, time that could be spent coaching the actual track team.
Maybe instead of forcing the athletes into a program they don't care about, they could give the athletes a program of their own. If the athletes really want to improve in their sport they will follow that program. This way they'll be doing something that they will probably enjoy more, and feel is actually helping their sport.
Working out for any sport requires a passion or a drive for that sport. If you really want to improve you will do whatever your coach or trainer tells you, regardless of what it is.
 Photos by Royce Friedmann Mr. Smith takes time from his tight schedule to sit down and discuss some of his weird habits.
An odd phenomenon regularly seen around campus is the sight of a teacher running through the crowds of walking students. The teacher is Mr. Smith, who teaches Algebra Readiness, AP Computer Programming, and Algebra A. Teaching at Costa Mesa High 9 years, he was also the former coach for the school’s tennis team.
In order to justify his endless running, Mr. Smith explained that this was his first year teaching in two different classrooms and that, due to his tight schedule, running was the only way not to fall behind. The extra workload has also affected the teacher personally. He explained that he now has less time to go to the gym, so he tries to substitute the exercise by sprinting from class to class. Mr. Smith stated that he was very active in high school, participating in many sports including running for the Cross Country team. Since then, he has lost his 12-pack (which he now states has shrunk to a 6-pack).
But isn’t it better to take your time and enjoy life around you? Mr. Smith thinks differently. He boldly stated that he preferred to rush through work, so he could use that extra time to enjoy life. Sitting back in his chair, he explained how busy he has recently been. Caught between extracurricular activities like swing dancing and entering his new dog in a dog show, he had no time to doddle.
Mr. Smith summarized his fast-paced life in two lines: “Time is precious. Why walk?”
 With AP test season coming up, I am sure many Mesa students are feeling the heat. As the following month slowly ticks down, every passing day is just a reminder of how close the big test(s) is/are. That said, I have taken the time to put together a general guide (that is completely serious in every sense of the word) to studying for, and hopefully scoring high on, the AP exam. I’ve designed it in such a way that, followed correctly, should be a near-foolproof plan for passing the exam. Having taken a grand total of two AP exams myself, I can confidently say that I am very well informed in the area. Trust me. I’m an expert.
First things first: assess how you have been performing for the first two-thirds of the year in your Advanced Placement classes. You may find it helpful to create a checklist of things to look for. In general, the less work you have put into the class over the year, the better. Any AP expert (such as myself) can tell you that the best way to earn a high score on the exam is to do as little actual work as possible during the school year. On the checklist, you should put things such as “did fewer than 4 homework assignments during the year” and “currently managing a D- in the class.” Maybe you could even include “spends at least 60% of non-school time on Facebook,” although I’m sure not many people could have that on their checklist (it’s a pretty tough standard to meet). If you have at least five check marks in categories like these, you’re probably in good shape. Congratulations on a successful year of slacking!
 Now, on to actually preparing for the test. Since you’ve probably dedicated so much time to things other than APs, you should capitalize on this by waiting until the last possible moment to start learning the material. My general rule of thumb for success is “6 to 60.” That is, learn the 6 months worth of information within 60 minutes, if possible. Being the dedicated student you likely are if you’re currently reading this guide, I am sure it will not be much trouble. It’s best if you can execute the “6 to 60” plan while giving yourself room for a maximum of 3 hours of sleep the morning of the test. While sleep is (unfortunately) a necessity, the general consensus is that sleep has a negative effect on test performance. The less you have, the better. On a side note, if you’ve been diligent all year and have been actually learning the material over six months, shame on you! It’s people like you who drag down the rest of the population with your over-achievement! Your ample (some could even say healthy) amount of sleep is utterly disgusting. I sincerely hope you fail the test, as your lack of mental fortitude has no place in the revered AP testing room whatsoever.
 And finally: the test itself. This is when the real fruits of your (lack of) labor make themselves apparent. This is the moment of truth. The knowledge you gained about four hours ago (if you’ve been following this guide faithfully) should still be fresh in your mind. The fact that you barely skimmed the material should be of great benefit to you on the test, because as we all know, the less you know, the more you actually know, you know? Indeed, you should have no trouble with the multiple choice section (I mean, you automatically get 20% right!). However, if you’re somehow unable to use your absolute lack of knowledge to your advantage, here are a select few answers that may be on the exam: Eugene V. Debs, 42, F = ma, the Nazca Lines, super-ego, social stratification. Hopefully these will be helpful to you. As for the essay portion, you probably have no idea how the essays are meant to be written. This is a good thing. It means you have room for creativity! So, you would probably be best off trying to convince the AP test grader that you deserve a score of 5 on the exam. Use every excuse you can think of. Tell them about your pet ferret. Offer them a hot beverage. Go crazy, because the sky is the limit!
This concludes my foolproof guide to passing the AP examination. Hopefully it leads you to great things in both your immediate and long-term futures. If, by some great stretch of the imagination, you manage to score a 1 on the test, don’t fret. I’ve heard that most parents don’t react to something like that by disowning their kids. Well, at least, not for longer than 3 years. So don’t worry; in a few years you’ll (probably) be able to enjoy a home-cooked meal again! Enjoy!
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