Into the third week of school the greater part of the teachers are still working on “connecting names with faces”…after all, who can blame them, what with their 120-some-odd students. Well, with her frighteningly accurate memory of who is who at Mills High, Attendance Manager Supreme, Michelle Carr, is just about the only one that can. Therefore, a second thought to ditching is recommended since the chances of her forgetting about your previous cut or truancy are slim to none.

Sorry to disappoint, but admin-guru Carr can smell a fake note from a mile away. Especially if you forge the note right in front of her office and then try to present it to her…that’s a real wise move.

Also, just in case your most recent trip to the neighborhood psychic  revealed a “Senior Cut Day in your future”, I strongly advise you re-roll that magic eight ball because not only is Carr on the down low with the happenings of this infamous Monday after Prom, but the teachers are too. Especially the Advanced Placement’s, and this is why they will tend to assign a test or important assignment due on this Monday; therefore, I am going to have to take a needlepoint to your bubble and recommend an alternative. In lieu of ditching Monday, set up at massive Ditch Day on a Saturday! It is fool proof, trust me.

Another mind-blowingly wise idea is when a boyfriend feels sick and 25minutes later his girlfriend comes down with the mumps, and both mysteriously have to “go home”. Not suspicious at all guys. Believe me, I understand it is almost painful when you just want to be with your other half and you are stuck with one of  Pretto’s in-class-essay’s or Keller’s killer DBQs but, again, you both can get “sick” on a Saturday, or heck, be rebellious and go for a Sunday!

Contrary to popular belief, no one is out to get you and when you get caught cutting or doing anything of the sort, it is really for your benefit. Think of this from the perspective of the administrators and even your parents. Your guardians leave you alone from 8am-3pm, expecting you to be safe and at the same time, improving your chances for a better future. But when they get that phone call saying you have been seen driving away from school or even down at Lucky’, it is, as Ms. Carr would say, “a kick to the gut”.  Being a mother of two she perfectly understands the incredible importance parents place in their child’s safety and does her best to maintain that trust between parent and school.

“But my parents don’t care about me” you say….well, this may be so, but it does not mean that the school does not care! People do not spend their lives working in the educational system because they hate kids, or do not care about them, they do it because they love to see character growth in each and every student.  What I am saying here is, do not get mad when you get in trouble, just take it because you know you deserve it.

What happens if I ditch you ask?

As a general rule of thumb one cut will not do much to your record but it’ll definitely put a dent in your sleeping-in on Wednesday morning detentions. Multiple cuts however will result in truancies, a letter home from the Assistant Principal, an Attendance Contract and a lower grade due to the fact that teachers do not have to let you turn in any late work or make up any tests if you ditched. Just some advice: If you decide you simply must ditch because you will just die if you don’t, do not do it on a block day. Those are the most tempting, I know, but they also have stronger ramifications for said ditching, and a longer detention.

And, just for your information, and as unfortunate as it is, but when you audition for American Idol and have your mom call while waiting in line to excuse you from school due to the audition, regardless of how awesome that is, it is still a cut, and that is by no means a Michelle-Rule, but the San Mateo Union High School Districts. Now, I would never suggest telling something other than the truth, but if this ends up being your case, I would propose you come on with a headache, or even stomach ache if you’re feeling adventurous, and have your parents relay your pains.

So overall it is clear that ditching is not only harmful to your parent’s well-being, but also to your own future and if you just do not care about either, as is the case with most ditchers, think about Michelle Carr and having her usually pleasant demeanor turn for the nasty. And all that wrath will be directed straight at you, have fun.

The budget cuts that swept through California, causing waves of layoffs and cuts in funding for many educational programs, have not left Mills High School untouched.

Students were encouraged only three years ago to take seven periods, not for additional   Advanced Placement credit, but to nurture the individual student’s interests. Now taking a seventh period is strongly discouraged, and was threatened to be cut completely last year. This is simply due to a lack of money that would have provided for increased teacher salaries to cover teaching the extra period.

Threats are also present for our teachers, including cuts to health care. This is the most pressing concern, as well as cuts to teacher training days. Threats to teachers may not directly translate into threats to student concerns; however, what affects one group in the school district today may affect another tomorrow.

Teacher Union salaries and benefits are derived from funds that the county gets from property taxes. These taxes generally increase at a rate of about two to six percent a year. Due to the late economic downturn, house prices have plummeted and pulled down property taxes along with them. At the same time the cost of healthcare has risen astronomically, rising by nearly thirty-five percent a year. With property taxes bringing in less money and the ever-growing cost of healthcare, the balance between the two that allowed teachers to have their healthcare benefits paid by the said taxes is completely destroyed. As a result, cuts to healthcare benefits, or elimination of them altogether, is the largest threat the Teachers Union is currently facing.

Were any changes to be made, they would have to be negotiated with the two Co-Building Presidents that we have our school, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Pretto. The two act as mediators between the contract that the Union has with the School District Board and the unionized teachers that work under the contract. They ensure that teachers know their rights under this contract, and will provide backup in the event that the teacher is meeting with a parent who they find threatening or violent. Other important Union officials we have at Mills are Ms. Wagner and Mr. McMaster.  They are Legislation Representatives and work to handle day-to-day teacher issues and questions that surface. They also attempt to get more teachers involved in the Union process which increases representation at District Board Meetings.

Because Mr. Anderson and Mr. Pretto alternate going to the district meetings, there is only one representative per high school at the district meetings, totaling a representative body of six officials together with other high schools. By adding the Legislation Representatives, they increase their number to three representatives per school, numbering eighteen at the district meetings. Increased representation is a long standing goal of the Teachers Union, as is increased teacher participation.

If there were to be any other cuts due to lack of funding from property taxes, the cuts would not affect the students as that is what the school board wishes to do least. Threats to the music and arts programs are not present, as cutting any of these would come into conflict with the A-G requirements for college that Mills needs to provide. Teacher layoffs are also not a big threat because there is a stipulation that there must be one teacher per 27.5 students. This information should allay any fears of school class cuts, such as reducing the number of art classes, and teacher layoffs. However, teachers have as of now been working for 120 hours without a contract which after fourteen sessions is being still being renegotiated. A representative from the District Teachers Association clarified the stance of the Union at the San Mateo Union High School District Board meeting on the 23^rd in saying that teachers have “expectations, such as health care and job satisfaction” and while their last proposal included “major concessions in quality of work and salaries” the goal of the re-negotiation is to secure the teachers a “meaningful and authoritative role”.

It is still possible that funds for school programs not explicitly listed in the school’s curriculum may still be cut. While the band class cannot be cut, additional funding can be detracted, which places a greater burden on the students and parents to fund trips such as the annual trip each spring to Disneyland. Similarly, Drama is an official class at Mills and faces no danger of being removed; however, any funding that the Drama Guild, which funds the school plays, may have received in the past has been significantly decreased. Sports programs share the same story. Band, Drama, and sports are all programs offered by the school because it had the money to support them. Without the necessary funding, these programs could well be eliminated.

With the wide-reaching effects that the economic crisis brings, it would be prudent for all those with the possibility of being affected to stay informed. What may seem to affect only one group can spread to others.

Ever since the Millbrae stabbing between Jared Afu and Laungatasi Ahio, parents all around Millbrae have been allowing the violence paranoia to pervade their minds.

Rattling keys, my new but already scathed cell phone, and ten bucks in my pocket as I head out the front door for a casual Millbrae hang out with friends, just as I have been doing for years. But then suddenly my mom decides to intervene, “Don’t go out, stay home of you’ll get stabbed.”

At this point in my life, I know that I should appreciate my mother’s excessive concern for my well-being, but I am not speaking for simply one voice in this situation; I speak for every kid logged onto Facebook on a Saturday night because they are not allowed out of the house.

Parents need reminding that Millbrae is not a reenactment of Texas Chainsaw. Walking out the door is not a signal that I am going to run into the wrong people, get caught up in a situation out of my hands, and ultimately have to pay the eternal price. The situation between Afu and Ahio was a crime of personal effects. Let the story be that it was over a cigarette, over a girl, or due to gang violence, but the death was a cause of personal reasons.

Not every single kid walking around at night is going to turn up fatally wounded. Of course there are certain precautions that everyone should still be aware of: If you are listening to your mp3, play it low enough so that you are still attentive to your surroundings, walk under streetlights, and have a walking buddy whenever feasible. However, there is no need to pull a Boo Radley  and completely seclude yourself from the outside world.

In fact, I believe that Millbrae acts as more of a safe haven when it comes to crime rates. Compared to larger neighboring cities like San Francisco, Millbrae’s crime rate is rather mellow in comparison. To me, Millbrae is just one giant neighborhood that is safe to walk the streets of. We should all still be wildly aware that danger can in fact lurk in every corner, but again, compared to the big shot cities, Millbrae is analogous to a protected refuge.

With these thoughts in mind, I cannot help but find my mother to be irrational to disallow me to take a little night stroll around the vicinity. I cannot help but feel if she wants to keep me safe, why not teach me ways to protect myself instead of shunning me from the outside world altogether? However, mother’s word is law and must be obeyed… to a certain extent.

Senior Steven Smith at the Mills-Terra Nova game.

Girls Varsity and Boys Junior Varsity water polo celebrate winning their first games of the season against the Terra Nova Tigers on Thursday, September 16.

The Lady Vikings started their game with goals scored by seniors Lexie Chierici and Stephanie Del Bianco as well as junior Catalina Ibarra which pulled Mills into an impressive 11-0 lead within the first half of the game. Amazing teamwork and defense helped the team finish strong with a final score of 15-7. Winning the match has boosted the girls’ confidence and they are ready to take on their future opponents of the 2010 season. JV boys had a great start to their season as well with a winning score of 11-7.  Their strong offense helped them start off with a strong lead like the girls had and they scored continuous points to keep their game up until the end.     “We played really well for our first game,” said varsity player Heidi Jansen. “our defense was really strong and we had some good plays on offense so I think it was a good way to start out the season.”

The Varsity boys played hard throughout their action packed game with occasional backhands and skip shots. Despite their strong offense they did not defeat Terra Nova but they do not see this as a setback and they look forward to the rest of the season with high hopes of winning as they continue to practice for their upcoming games.

“Unfortunately we took our first loss of the season,” said Varsity player Jonathan Fong, “but we’re coming into our next game more focused and determined to win.”

Q: What did you do before coming here?

A: I taught the freshman bio[logy] class last year at San Mateo [High School]. That was actually my first year teaching. I moved up from Southern California to work.

Q: Why did you decide to move up here?

A: The area’s really nice. I’m sick of SoCal. It’s not really my scene and there were a lot of job openings in the district. The students work hard and the district takes care of the teachers.

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

A: I was pre-med in college. …Five years ago in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit I stopped working as an EMT and… went over right after the hurricane to… [run] the medical care shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A lot of kids were running around there…so I sat them down one day and… [had] a Q& A for science related things. When I came back I decided that I’d rather be teaching kids than doing really routine medical things. …I feel like I’d have a bigger impact working with younger people. …I wanted to work with older people where I could have a more direct impact on their future and their goals and what career they would go into.

Q: Are you interested in any activities at Mills?

A: I’m already helping out with the tutoring program here and I’m the advisor for the Freshman Class Council… I’m trying to get the freshman to do a lot so the rest of Mills better look out. The freshmen are going to step it up. Also, I’m being pseudo-advisor for Interact. Also, the Biologee Club wants to run experiments and stuff after school so I’ll be sponsoring that.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: My biggest hobby is rock climbing. Whenever I have a free weekend or over the summer I usually like to plan climbing trips. This summer I went to Canada and camped up there with my family and met people [from] all over the world.

Q: Who has had the most influence in your life?

A: My dad is probably the biggest influence on me. I come from a Christian family so our faith is really important to us. He always sees everything as a blessing and [that] we should just use our blessing to help other people. …Our society says that the most important thing is having a lot of money and fame. I’ve been lucky because my parents kept my head grounded. Now I try to do the same thing. …There are more important things in life than just getting a career that makes a ton of money. It’s more important to find your purpose in life and what impact you want to have on your community and people around you. Be remembered as somebody who serves others and not just serves yourself.

Q: Is there anything else you want to tell everyone about yourself?

A: I told my students this, but a lot of the time the kids think they’re working for the teacher. It’s really the other way around. The community pays taxes and the tax dollars pay us, so really, as teachers, we’re working for you. Whether it’s help in the class, academic or not academic, all the teachers are here for you.

Students Organizing Against Prejudice (SOAP) hosted its fourth annual freshmen assembly on August 27^th during fourth period to welcome all incoming freshmen and help them start their high school career well-informed.

“Our goal is to welcome freshmen into the Mills student body and to alleviate the common anxieties that is normal for any student adjusting to a new school environment,” said Mrs. Susan Evans, teacher advisor of SOAP.

Humorous yet informational skits and videos acknowledged the challenging academic coursework, and concerns about fitting in that are often affiliated with high school. Mills freshmen were introduced to important staff members including Principal Paul Belzer, Vice Principal Linda Kitano, campus aide Beverly (Bev) McDonald, and safety advocate Grant Leitheiser, who is new to Mills this year. Counselors Cory Nakamoto and Barbara Delbon were also present to notify the freshmen of the support they had access to through the counseling department.

“There are many people that are willing to help out,” freshman Lawrence Yonathan sums up.

Upperclassmen club officers representing some of the diverse groups on campus spoke at the assembly and were part of SOAP’s efforts to encourage the new students to get involved with the activities on campus.

“This incredible campus has lots of activities, and we want them to know that there are many ways to express themselves through things like drama, sports, clubs, and peer helping” said Mrs. Evans.

Many freshmen indicate that the assembly was helpful to them.

“I was scared that I would have a lot of work to do and that I wouldn’t have friends. But when I went to the freshmen SOAP assembly, I found out that people in Mills are really nice and that I just needed to relax,” commented freshman Vishnu Priya.

Each year, SOAP works hard to prepare and plan for its freshmen assembly. The club begins with a general plan for its assemblies, then allocates the time needed in order to revise old material such as the assembly program. This year, the club was challenged to finish all of its preparation in a shorter period of two weeks due to scheduling conflicts such as Rachel’s Challenge and Kid’s Day.

“In order to meet the tighter deadline, we began working on things during the summer and the first weeks of school leading up to the assembly,” explained junior and co-president Deeyar Ahwal.

Mills students often confuse the SOAP freshmen assembly with the club’s more well-known all-school assembly in the second semester. This assembly, which takes place later on in the year, is usually centered around a theme or specific issue that the club members choose to make the school aware of that year. Although SOAP has been presenting a freshmen assembly for several years, occupied Vikings often forget about the assembly. However, many upperclassmen who remember their freshmen SOAP assemblies reflect back on the material they obtained with favorable responses.

Sophomore Natalie Tarangioli recalls her feelings after attending her freshmen SOAP assembly: “It helped me feel more comfortable being at Mills and not like I was the only one feeling stressed out with too much homework. High school was a big change but being at the assembly calmed me and made me realize it’s high school, and I should be having fun and not stressing out.”

SOAP hopes that the freshmen assembly will help freshmen students approach their first year of high school more confident, which will hopefully translate into positive and successful high school careers.

A tropical landscape greeted Mills students entering center court on the evening of August 27^th for the Welcome Back Dance.

Surrounded by palm trees and surfboards, students socialized and danced the night away. Leadership students had made cardboard cutouts of people holding surfboards and dressed up garbage cans as volcanoes. A tiki pole standing in the middle of center court was surrounded by posters of palm trees gracing sandy beaches with seagulls flying in the distance, taking the students further into the world of Hawaii. The luau theme had a great effect since the dance was held outside.

People thought the weather would be as hot as it was earlier that week, but unfortunately it cooled down when it came time for the dance. Although the chilly weather did not perfectly suit the tropical theme, it did not impede students from having fun. In fact, it motivated them to dance in order to warm themselves up. The dance had many positive responses.

When asked to compare to last year’s Welcome Back Dance with this year’s, leadership student Rachel Kawawaki said, “The weather was colder and fewer people came, but more people liked it and there were a lot more freshmen this year. I wanted more upperclassmen to come, but overall, it was a good turn out and it was successful.”

Senior Christina Song heard that not many people were going, but she went anyways because she enjoyed it last year.

“It was boring and slow at first, but it got really fun, and I didn’t want it to end,” she said.

Leadership student Harrison Kwan commented, “I thought it’d be a blast, and it was.”

Sandy Kim, ASB President, and Rally Commissioners Kristen Chin and Matthew Shen plan to unify the student body and revive school spirit through a quest for the red and gold that constitutes all Vikings.

ASB President Sandy Kim has a decisive plan of action for the 2010-11 school year, aiming to promote collaboration between all four classes at Mills in order to achieve a collective school identity.

What motivated you to run for ASB President?

Sandy Kim: I wanted to be involved in school activities, take charge, and improve things. I wanted to implement different opinions. I thought that I could be the one to bring change to Mills.

How does this office make you feel?

Sandy Kim: It’s kind of intimidating, because there’s a lot of pressure and responsibility involved. There’s pressure for me to be a role model for other students.  I have to lead the leadership class, and I have to take charge of things.

What are your goals this year?

Sandy Kim: I want the senior class to rule. We were underestimated and shunned throughout our junior and sophomore years. However, I also want the entire school to be united, because all our classes are separated. We tried to unite them through events such as the “Welcome Back Dance”. We will try to generate pride for the classes and put it together.

What might keep you from meeting these goals?

Sandy Kim: People just might not be interested. If Leadership itself doesn’t do its job, we can’t expect the school to follow suit.

What will you do to overcome such obstacles?

Sandy Kim: I will try to take charge of things. I want to take my own idea of what a Viking is and portray that, and I want others to take that and put their own twist to it.

****

Matthew Shen and Kristen Chin also hope to have a positive influence on school spirit this year. The ASB Rally Commissioners seem intent on nurturing healthy school spirit within all students here at Mills.

What motivated you to run for ASB Rally Commissioners?

Kristen Chin: I ran because I had school spirit.

Matthew Shen: My motivation was to bring spirit back to the school, and be the

catalyst of change.

How does this office make you feel?

Kristen Chin: I really like it, and it gets you very involved with everyone in the

school.
Matthew Shen: I think that it’s instrumental for the school.

What are your goals this year?

Kristen Chin: Our goal is to promote school spirit.

Matthew Shen: The ultimate goal is to unite the school through bonding.

Reaching out to all classes through activities and events will ultimately unify the school.

What might keep you from meeting these goals?

Kristen Chin: Organization and communication.

Matthew Shen: It’s hard to engulf everyone’s ideas into one rally, so you have to compromise to come up with a rally that will satisfy everyone.

What will you do to overcome such obstacles?

Kristen Chin:  We will be open-minded and take everyone’s opinions, through compromising.

The ASB President and Rally Commissioners all have new, practical strategies that may prove to be the defining point of Mills High School’s identity. These may be precisely what Mills High needs to advance and develop.

“Dreams only feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange,” Leonardo DiCaprio tells the architect Ariadne as he explains his job to her in the film Inception.

DiCaprio plays a character named Dom Cobb, who is exceptionally skilled at stealing secrets from others by invading their minds through their dreams. His career has forced him to sacrifice everything he treasures, including his children. He is offered an opportunity to regain everything he has loved, but instead of filching an idea, he must plant one into someone’s mind.

Through his movie, director Christopher Nolan shows how an idea has the power to change everything, making it either a dangerous weapon or an asset. His film also questions reality versus dreams and how people can affect them. Because of the complexity the challenge requires, Cobb acquires help from Ariadne, who is played by Ellen Page. With her help, he and his team create the landscapes of the dreams they enter. Inception can easily be labeled as the most complicated of all the other parallel-world movies that have been released this year, such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. Whereas in other movies the characters go to other worlds and return with a solution, the characters in Inception must explore the unconscious mind to find an answer.

Junior Alli Dwyer said, “It’s similar to Avatar. Even though it [Avatar] was animated, the actors still acted out all the scenes. In my opinion, it [Inception] is more appealing knowing that they were actually their own stuntmen.”

Nolan made the actors perform stunts to the best of their abilities to minimize the use of computer graphics. Filmed in over six locations around the world, the film displays incredibly beautiful scenes. In other words, it’s a visual treat!

“I was amazed at the rotating hallway shots. I have no idea how the zero gravity scenes were shot either. すごくいいですね!!! [It was amazing],” exclaimed senior Daniel Lin.

However, others complained about the loquacious dialogue, arguing that the movie was purposely made confusing to fool the audience and hide the stupidity of the film.

Lin continued later on to say, “There were some minor plot holes. I didn’t like how the girl kissed Levitt [a member of Cobb’s team] instead of me.”

On the other hand, people who liked the movie described it as mind-boggling and perplexing.

“I like the fact that you had to think in the movie to figure out what was going on. I had to put all the pieces together,” said 11^th grader Brandon Ip.

Kevin Tan, also a junior, said, “It was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen because it got me thinking the whole time, and it made my brain hurt!”

Based on the positive feedback received by Mills students, there is no question as to whether Inception is a must-see. The real question is: How do you know if this moment in time, as you sit here reading these words, is real… or just a dream?

When an architect designs a new building with free reign, she has an opportunity to push her creative boundaries, uniting form and function in a meaningful manner to construct a building that invokes a sense of amazement, wonder, and more importantly, pride.

As the new math building approaches completion, the architects commissioned from the Measure M Bond will soon unveil their new masterpiece, a Postmodern construct that integrates Modernist influences.

The school’s original construction was based on popular Modern architecture of the 1950’s. Buildings were created with the idea of “honesty in materials.” The pipes are purposely exposed as a method of creating decoration using building materials.

Previous reconstruction was limited by the school buildings’ original structure, which forced the architects to plan within certain boundaries. When renovating the school, components of Postmodernism were added. The stucco walls framing the hallway entrances contrast with the stark simplicity of Modernist design. Stucco is used to hide the materials that create the building, an idea that goes against the initial intent to use the structural form of the building to enhance its aesthetic beauty.

The completely open space between the cafeteria and boys locker room allowed for heightened innovation when designing the new building. This is the first building at Mills that was developed completely from scratch since the school’s debut. After tearing down the outdated building, this new wing is being built from the ground up using a layout that incorporates the Modern and Postmodern architectures used throughout the school. The walls are covered in deep red stucco, a form of decoration that is widely used in Postmodern decoration. At the same time, parallel metal beams support the structure and allude to the classical Greek and Modern characteristic of the school. Metal plates enhance the idea that “form follows function” by creating natural air conditioning while decorating the exterior simultaneously.

Mr. Jackson proclaims, “[The] symmetrical windows are visual allusions to classical shapes. They did a good job tying the designs together.”

The new math building allows the architect to conceptualize a relationship between form and function, while uniting the various time periods revealed in the school’s architecture. This layout allows each classroom to fit a large window on one wall, which is a component that does not exist in most of our current classrooms.

The construction of this new math wing should conclude in October. All math teachers, except Ms. Dreyer, are preparing to move into the new building in November. Because Ms. Dreyer teaches part time and shares her current classroom, the school feels that it would be unwise to move her location.

In this new addition to our school, functionality transcends form. The lackluster creation invokes no sense of renewal, of inspiration. Although the architect skillfully unites the existing eras of structural design, her creation does not ascend the steps of eminence in the realm of architectural design.  Students pass by the construction without giving much though to the new building, viewing it as just another addition that will soon become an ordinary section of the continuously evolving school.