I’m absolutely thrilled to see that people are finally taking action about the “That’s so gay” epidemic. As a sophomore in high school, I’ve come to notice that the phrase is said at least once in each of my classes on a daily basis. And what’s even more shocking is that I’ve observed teachers standing within earshot of conversations where the phrase is used. Nine times out of ten they don’t even do so much as say anything!

As a matter of fact, only one out of my seven teachers tells the student to adjust their language. What kind of an example is that?! (Mind you that these are the same rooms that adorn posters stating that homophobic phrases will not be tolerated.) Rather ironic, is it not?

I understand that more often than not people use the phrase with no malice intended, but ignorance isn’t an excuse. Regardless of what one’s intentions are, the phrase is still homophobic.

If I’m so offended as a straight person, I could only imagine how hurtful the phrase would be when directed toward a homosexual individual. Racial slurs aren’t tolerated, and yet people turn their heads when a homophobic remark is made. What kind of a policy is that?

-Michelle Trosclair

Multiculturalism is as wonderful as it is messy. We promote our differences but we also our similarities; after all, every racial group gets their own prefix of –American. We love ethnic food, but also (though we’re more sheepish to admit it) ethnic jokes, but then only if it’s told by a person of the same color. The first rule when talking about race: do no harm.

Still, any comment or action based on race, no matter how carefully worded or politically corrected, can be interpreted and declared as the R-word: racist. The recent hubbub erupted in the Mount Diablo School District, where school officials organized assemblies for students according to their race in hopes of producing better test scores. Their rationale: pride in their heritage may cause them to do better on standardized testing. And naturally, the R-word has come up from concerned parents.

But here comes the more interesting S-word: segregation. Segregation brings to many Americans’ minds images of Civil Rights struggles and apartheid. As we know it, segregation is evil. We are taught to integrate; we are taught to love diversity; we are taught this integration and diversity is fully American. Unfortunately, all this promotion has caused the inevitable backlash (see: Survivor) against reactionary concepts that say segregation in certain events may be handled appropriately. We need to separate the denotative meaning from the connotative sense. In this case, students were segregated but treated equally and given the same message of taking the test seriously. There was no subordinate group looked down upon and denied any privilege. Yet some of us still feared this separation of races.

Racial hypersensitivity usually stops ideas like the Mount Diablo experiment from ever forming. Every bone in my Royal Blue liberal body tells me that segregation is wrong, that anything can work through unity and integration, but I want to see its possibilities. If we can celebrate achievements in Black History Month, can we incorporate into standardized testing? Would students do this voluntarily? Can this even work? I also question why we are willing to separate students’ test scores along with their race but not the students themselves. Again, the racial tightrope is one of the hardest to balance.

If this experiment succeeds, America may need to reexamine our achievement gap. Thirty minutes of segregation can ultimately lead to a more integrated future, with underrepresented minorities diversifying place of higher education and the professional workforce.

I don’t by any means believe that this should become any sort of policy, local or national. But if we want to start solving educational problems, we need to be open to all rational ideas and experiment. Mount Diablo should be allowed to try something new in an attempt to help their students, and it has shown a good amount of bravery defending their actions from the R and S words. This experiment may fail, but it’s an F the district should be proud of.

-Brian Mertens

Everything began to look bright and fuzzy. Feeling a bit dazed and confused, my friend told me to lie down on the cot. This was the closest I’ve ever been to passing out.

Today marked the annual Red Cross Blood drive at my high school, and I decided to donate a pint of mine for the good cause. This amount is enough to save the lives of 3 people.

There was a screening process before I could get approved as a blood donor. A questionnaire with some odd but necessary questions was a portion of it. Examples included whether I ever had sexual contact with an African and whether I had ever worked as a male prostitute. I clicked on the giant NO on these, of course.

My screening hit a snag when I began mentioning my summer vacation in the Philippines. Apparently one of the cities I had visited, Butuan City, did not show up on their global database. This led to a waiting game on the phone between the screeners and the supervisor located somewhere in Northern California. I didn’t mind twiddling my thumbs for over an hour; I was willing to miss a couple of my classes today and eat all the food that was being handed out to us.

I was a little anxious and jittery. I’ve never donated blood before and didn’t realize how long of a process it would be. After receiving my sign of approval, I was sitting on what looked like a lawn chair for about 15 minutes with a needled tube stuck in my arm.

When it was all over, I began feeling a little dizzy. I remained in my seat for a bit longer, urged to drink as much fluid as I can. I stood up and experienced some lightheadedness. This was the bright and fuzzy feeling that got me thinking something was amiss. I was determined not to faint and become the laughing stock among my classmates.

I don’t think I’ll be donating my blood some other time in the near future. That woozy feeling in my head just isn’t something I’m cut out for. At least my pint of blood will soon go to 3 deserving patients, and I’m proud to have helped.

- Joseph Natividad

Although I wasn’t even a year old when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck in the summer of 1989, it sends chills down my spine to think that something just as terrible or worse will most likely occur in my lifetime.

I felt a slight tremor this past Friday afternoon while my friends were over at my house. After hearing in the local news that a magnitude of 5.4 hit Humboldt County over the weekend, there has to be more to this than just plain coincidence right?

Could these minor shocks be clues revealed by the continuous shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates? Is there a more destructive quake in the making? I don’t even think I’m truly prepared for a giant earthquake. I doubt that a lot of Bay Area residents are too.

When I’m at school the earthquake protocol includes a tucked-in position under our desks. We don’t really have those survival food kits that were required at my grade school. Although most of my high school’s buildings are pretty much earthquake proof, I can still imagine the ceiling lights falling apart as books get thrown off their shelves.

I may sound like a pessimist, as the big one might come any day now or not for a long while. However, you can’t go wrong by preparing for the worst.

- Joseph Natividad

My dad, with his unintentional funniness, remarked about presenter Cameron Diaz: “Is that hair en vogue now? What is that style called? Ugly?”

The 79th Academy Awards, with its film montages, cut-off speeches, and disappointed nominees, had its share of memorable moments. Martin Scorsese’s win for Best Director for “The Departed” was well deserved. Al Gore’s win for “An Inconvenient Truth” was too. His mini-skit involving his near announcement for presidential candidacy was silenced by the sound of the orchestra. He really has turned out to become more popular than ever before, and his mission to help us realize that we can put an end to global warming is becoming his legacy.

Most of the winners in the major categories — Best Actor and Actress — were pretty much shoo-ins. Even though her chances were much slimmer, I was a little disappointed that Abigail Breslin didn’t win for her supporting performance in “Little Miss Sunshine.” That lovely film did take a few other Oscars during the evening, including Alan Arkin’s win for Best Supporting Actor.

Ellen Degeneres’ shot at hosting the Oscars felt a bit uninspired. She could have done without the vacuum cleaner in the front row or the recycled collection of jokes. I did enjoy her impromptu photo-op with Clint Eastwood, while Steven Spielberg acted as the designated photographer.

The onstage performance by Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé was extraordinary. In fact, their vocalizations seemed so flawless that I began to wonder if they were actually lip-syncing. I was looking intently to determine whether they were just mouthing those hard to reach notes and fooling millions of people around the world.

The 5 second delay wasn’t enough to stop the MC from committing an error when she recited a factoid that “The Departed” was based on a Japanese film. It was actually copied from “Infernal Affairs,” one of the best movies to come out of China in recent years.

Well, I may be writing this while the Hollywood A-listers are busy schmoozing in their respective after-parties. I’ll leave it to the pros to figure out the best and worst dressed of this year’s awards. My job, as the viewer, is to continue watching the best films that the world has to offer and to admire them as works of art.

- Joseph Natividad

On the eve of the 79th Academy Awards, it was fitting to have spent my Saturday watching a couple Oscar worthy movies: this year’s contender for best picture, Babel, and Black Orpheus, the 1960 winner for Best Foreign Film.

Babel, the ultra-dramatic saga created by Alejandro González Iñárritu, took me around the world from Morocco to Tokyo to Mexico. Molded in the style of Crash (last year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture), each vignette was somehow related through each character as they struggled to piece their lives together. Themes depicting the inability to communicate with one another could have acted as a social commentary to the way other countries view America and how we view them.

Black Orpheus, based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice but with a Brazilian twist, is a sweeping love story with Rio as its background. Scenes of people dancing everywhere during the world famous Carnaval made me want to get off the couch and samba. (Not that it would be any kind of spectacle worth witnessing.) The music undoubtedly enhanced the beauty of the film, which opened the world’s ears to the mellow sound of bossa nova.

After watching Jackass: Number Two for the third time last night with my friends, it was more of a relief to switch from witnessing people puke on themselves to admiring some of the better films of our time.

- Joseph Natividad

Whether you are a gamer or you know a lot about gaming or not, watch this funny video that insults the Playstation 3. Someone took the song from The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” and made up their own lyrics to show the bad aspects of the PS3. Overall, it’s a pretty funny video. And, as one blogger noted, “It’s good to finally see a gaming music video that’s calm and serious instead of just a bunch of white rapping dudes who figured out that Wii, PS3, and 360 all rhyme with each other.”

- Colin Kennedy

Though it seems oh so far away, there will be a time when we seniors are actually accepted into colleges, rather than just anxiously awaiting their replies. Then the choice becomes all ours. And here lies the challenge. How to choose?

You’ve heard from the Princeton Review, your counselors, your parents, and everyone else with a mouth and opinion. You can calculate median SAT scores, the faculty’s Nobel prizes, and even check out the social scene. (Let’s cross University of Chicago off that list.)

But have you considered everything? These four factors may make or break your decision. You just need to know where to look (or smell.) So hop onto the nearest college campus, bring this guide, and select the college of your future.

The Smell: That’s right, take a whiff. Is that ethnic food? Flowers? Sewage? B.O. of a potential roommate? Discover the campus through your nostrils to determine if you’re smelling an olfactory fantasy—or nightmare. Scent is a criminally underused sense when determining colleges, for it can reveal so much. The sum of a college’s parts (from the cafeteria to the gym) contribute to its scent, so don’t ignore it. You only have to breathe in for the true essence of a college.

The Student Newspaper: What’s on the front page? College newspapers are a valuable resource to keep in the know. The best papers have articles which criticize faculty and report student crime, the kind of stuff you won’t find in the college pamphlet. But if you’re reading nothing but crime statistics, you might want to consider enrolling in another college (or at least bringing along some mace.) And if nothing’s going on? If the headline is miniscule (Bike Stolen From Library!), rural Ohio may not provide the excitement you’re looking for. If you like what you read, go for it.

The Mascot and School Colors: As those at Princeton know, it’s hard to pull off orange without looking like a prisoner. It’s also pretty hard to find maroon face paint when rooting for Arizona State. School colors can be a valid, if not shallow, reason to choose your place of higher learning. But placed alongside the school’s mascot, they can reveal the school’s character. UC Santa Cruz’s Banana Slug shows off the school’s more unusual take on the traditional college system. Even more representative is Dartmouth College’s “mascot.” The school banned its former mascot, the Indian, on account of racial stereotyping, and in 2004, a student humor group came up with Keggy the Keg. Anyone who knows about Dartmouth’s social scene will surely see it fitting.

The Bathroom Graffiti: Here’s where the soul of the student body is laid out: through their scrawling. Check for song lyrics, musings, angst ridden proclamations. These are your future classmates, what have they written on your urinal? Try to assign a point total: 1 point for Nirvana, 2 for Voltaire. Subtract a point from every Nietchze comment. Unless you’re into that whole Nihilism thing.

So forget Fiske. All you need are these four handy tips to choose where to spend the best years of your life. Four years and 200,000 dollars later, you’ll thank us.

Brian Mertens

Although some might find his efforts to be whole-hearted, it appears that Assemblyman Jim Beall has it all wrong when it comes to underage drinking. There’s no sense in eliminating fruity alcoholic beverages because that’s just not what kids are drinking. I might not know the statistics, but I could almost guarantee that if you went to a party where there was underage drinking going on, you would not find beverages such as hard lemonade. I’m sure that if the fruity stuff was there then kids would drink it, but most would prefer hard alcohol hands down.
They’re both just as difficult to get and fruity alcoholic beverages usually have lower alcohol content so they’re less appealing.
Teenagers don’t drink for taste; they drink to get drunk.
-Michelle Trosclair

Walking into my school gym and hearing “Rumors” by Lindsay Lohan blasting is definitely not what I expected in return for missing my math class last Thursday.
I anticipated dull, repetitive speeches about gossip, this year’s topic for Carondelet’s annual Fontbonne Forum. Between select moments from Boy Meets World and re-enacting scenes from Mean Girls, the Forum held my attention for the majority of the eighty minutes, despite the fact that I was sitting in an uncomfortable, metal folding chair.
The presentation started to get off track, like last year, when three microphones throughout the gym were opened for students to share their thoughts for roughly a minute and a half. Meant to help create solutions for the problem, the majority of the students who took a courageous step up to the microphone ended up debating each other about whether girls or guys gossip more. An amazing amount of sub-ideas branched off from that debate, and was only stopped by the lunch bell signaling the end of the forum.
Otherwise, the forum was well put together, and the ideas ran cohesively. However, I highly doubt that eight hundred girls will stop talking about each other as a result. Case in point: having been told repeatedly to lengthen our skirts has, if anything, provoked more students to defy the rules, rather than actually getting the desired results.
Similarly, the same day of the Fontbonne forum, many girls talking about who did what with who when had already established that their conversations held no harm, and that they were not gossiping, merely “facting.”
Unfortunately, this problem will only be solved when everyone does their part, which in turn only happens when every teenager decides for him or herself that they do not want to talk about other people behind their backs. I know how hard that is, too.
I vowed on Thursday to stop gossiping, and this morning already found myself engrossed in an article about how Britney Spear’s hair is selling for one million dollars. While it will certainly not stop gossip overnight, this forum opened up the way for people to be honest with themselves and with others, which is a very necessary first step to recovery.
-Alexandra Rudolf