Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine recently named three of the UC’s as “among the nation’s best public school bargains.” In the list of 100 schools, UC Berkeley was ranked 7th, UCLA was ranked 10th, and UC San Diego was ranked 10th–a major achievement.

Brian Ross ’12 believes the UC rankings are well-deserved as he says, “There is no question that these three schools, especially UCLA, are among the best in the nation in terms of educational quality. Smaller schools, such as CSU Pomona for example, are an even better value specifically in engineering and hospitality. So the thing to consider here is this: you still need to do your own research to find out what is the best bargain for YOU, being that you are a special case and not a generalization, which is what this ranking is by its own nature. Go Bruins!”

These rankings are based on tuition and the “academic value” of each school, informing the nation which schools are of the highest quality in relation to cost, even with increasing costs of attending college. In this respect, several other California schools made the list, as well.

The entire list can be found here: http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

A typical festival complete with lanterns and varied shades of red

Legend has it that on the day of Lunar New Year, Buddha asked all animals to meet with him. Only 12 animals came (the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig), and those 12 were rewarded with having their namesake embedded in the zodiac forever. Seeing that the diverse group of animals characteristically encompassed most human personality traits, Buddha proclaimed that people born on certain years would inherit some the corresponding animal’s personality traits. People born in the year of the dragon, in particular, are assumed to be ambitious, innovative, courageous, and passionate. Notable historic year-of-the-dragon’s are Joan of Arc, Sigmund Freud, John Lennon, and two of our former presidents, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

Other new year traditions entail the lighting of firecrackers, dragon or lion dancing, and overindulging in the color red, all of which are based around the bringing of good luck and eluding bad luck. Firecrackers are meant to scare the bad luck away with the loud noise and the crackling flames, whereas dragon/lion dancing and the color red (as can be seen in festive clothing and ‘red envelopes’) are both supposed to reap a harvest of good luck.

“One of my favorite things about Lunar New Year is how jovial everyone is everyone is wearing bright colors and there are reciprocal exchanges of laughter and good vibes,” Julie Vu (’13) comments.

The most important of all traditions is the gathering of multiple familes, related in some way or even unrelated. In the early periods of American history, Chinese immigrants would arrive with their families in search of opportunity. As the ideas of racial hierarchy were still prevalent in that age, the Chinese usually lived in outcast enclaves. Nonetheless, they were able to find a sense of community through Chinese neighborhood bonds, especially on the day of their Chinese New Year.

Through the course of time, people of all shapes, sizes, and colors have grown to be more open-minded about the equal beauty of all humankind. And most people in the United States (especially in Fountain Valley) are able to live peacefully and harmoniously with their neighbors.

While we dance to Asian folk music and wish each other joy and prosperity, let’s remember to celebrate our heritage and more importantly, our families. In the coming year, let’s not take for granted the incredible people in our lives and how ‘lucky’ we are to have them.

Best wishes for the new year, Barons!

FVHS ASB

On Tuesday January 17th during SSR, ASB will be conducting a student survey in order to assess student satisfaction.  The survey will consist of three open ended questions which students may answer voluntarily.  All responses will be kept anonymous and ASB will later analyze the results.

ASB Activities Director, Quinton Dang, said “the survey is one of our ways to try to reach out towards our students and listen to their voices, to see what they want and what they like and don’t like. We know that there are always certain people who would tell us upfront, but quite frankly, there are a lot of students who aren’t comfortable doing so, so we never get the right feedback. We’re hoping this survey will allow students to freely express themselves.”

ASB plans to take the results into consideration for improvements in the future.

Cover of Time magainze for 2011 Person of the Year

Time magazine’s Person of the Year title is awarded to a person, group, or idea that “for better or for worse …has done the most to influence the events of the year.” This year, Time chose for its Person of the Year, “The Protester.”

The award focuses on the influence, rather than positiveness (or lack thereof) of the candidate. Past recipients have included not just great humanitarians, but those of questionable morals as well.

With this, “The Protestor” is the ideal candidate. “The Protestor” represents a collective group of individuals who stand up against a governing system. The year 2011 featured a slew of uprisings by the masses and overthrows of a few governments as well. Civilian uprisings occurred in The Middle East, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, London, various Asian countries, and the Americas. In these regions, over 25 cases of riots erupted.

A key tool in the series of protests is the internet. Through various social networks and communication techniques in the modern day, organizing uprisings became much easier. News of riots appeared all over news networks, as well as Twitter and Facebook. People in underdeveloped nations found that underground access to networks and interviews were conducted by online communities. The protestors spread their influence even amongst each other.

The main difference among the protestors throughout the year, and around the globe, was their purpose. Oppressed nations fought to overthrow government, countries like London wanted to spread awareness of their lack of freedom, and Americans held Occupy movements to fight the maldistribution of wealth. Some probably did it for the attention, and some to follow the trend. They found varying degrees of success – some were praised, others criticized. But the ultimate result they all had in common is found in their influence spread of awareness. They got the media and the government’s attention, and at the end of the year, Time magazine’s attention.

On December 13^th, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown announced major mid-school year budget cuts to public education, removing all funding for school buses. The $79.6 million dollars cuts would further the damage the $18 billion dollars budget cuts have already made in the past few years.  These budget cuts to education will go into effect on February 1, 2012.

In actuality, the impact public schools will soon suffer is more lenient than it would have been.  Originally, K-12 schools were at risk of losing up to $1.5 billion dollars in funding, but revisions to the budget forecast have softened the blow.  However, other funded areas weren’t spared from the knife.  Colleges, child care, libraries, and services for the disabled will soon lose funding as well.

The removal of funding for school buses would hurt rural, low-income, and special education students in particular, for transportation is required for low-income and special education students by federal law.  Because of this, some districts will make the cuts elsewhere in order to ensure bus transportation for disabled students.

Responses to the budget cuts have been controversial.  Some districts have tried to rectify this problem by using their own funds to provide for transportation.  Higher taxes have been proposed, but the specific type of statewide tax is currently being determined by poll.  Some organizations have sought school funding initiatives.  Other districts, such as the Los Angeles Unified School District, planned to file lawsuits against the state of California.

“There’s no way to solve the budget situation without making some people mad,” says Kevin Nguyen (’13).  “Maybe it’s up to the parents to get their kids to school somehow.  Carpooling is an option.  The government can’t care for every kid.  It’s a sad reality but it’s kind of survival of the fittest.  It’s impossible to have the perfect society.”

This new program mainly applies to the middle class, as suggested by the name “Berkeley MCAP (Middle Class Access Plan).” For example, families earning a gross income of $80,000-$140,000 will have to make a parental contribution of at most 15%. These families must also have less than $200,000 in assets, not including home value or retirement savings. The main goal is to reduce the sometimes incredible amount of money parents still have to pay, even after receiving financial aid.

UC Berkeley is not only acknowledging the plight of the California middle class, but is also breaking records as the first public university in the nation to reduce the financial burden of said middle class. Fortunately, this plan will go into effect for the 2012-2013 school year, benefitting us seniors.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harry LeGrande states that due to decreased state support, tuition has skyrocketed and adds, “Today, the total cost of attendance is at a level that can be easily accommodated only by affluent families. Even as we continue to advocate for increased state support, we feel the need to address the very real issues of our middle-class families.”

However, as recently discovered, the UC system is accepting more out-of-state students due to their even higher tuition. Berkeley has announced that their new financial aid program will not be paid for by the state, but by fundraising, redirecting funds, and “revenue from the increased number of UC Berkeley students paying non-resident tuition”. Currently, California residents pay an average of $32,634 each year (living on campus), while out-of-state students pay an additional $22,878 each year. Although UC Berkeley will now be easier to afford, it will be even more difficult to actually get accepted.

Retaining the status of being one of the few schools with the lowest per student graduation debt, Berkeley Chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, has expressed very noble and inspirational reasons behind this new program as he explains, “Public universities are the gateway to the American Dream, and the engine of future economic growth. We will continue to do everything in our power to serve the greater good through steps to preserve the excellence and affordability of this university.”

Harry Potter fans now have another reason to love the best-selling franchise even more.
Due to the success of the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida, officials have recently decided and announced the confirmation of building a second park in Universal Studios, Hollywood.

It was stated that building another park would bring millions of dollars into California�s economy and create many news jobs as well. In addition, many fans and tourists would also be able to have another location option to visit the famous park, helping save time and money.

Many fans rejoiced and embraced the fact that they don�t have to travel all the way to Florida just to experience the attraction. Popular rides such as the Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, and stores like Zonko�s Joke Shop and Honeydukes are all expected to make a return. Overall, rides, shops, and design structures are expected to stay the same, with the exception of a few new entertainment options.

Although the announcement has stirred up some anxious aniticipation, people must wait a while for the construction and building to begin. The whole theme park isn�t expected to open until at least 2015, which still stands far in the future. However, time does pass by quickly, and soon fans from all around the world can be able to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in LA.

In fact, Trick or Tracker is one of many apps that has the ability to keep track of children, or anyone else for that matter. Other apps include MobileMe and Lookout Mobile Security. They all serve the same purpose: to follow where a child (or anyone else) is with a simple touch of a button.

This device works on phones that have GPS-like abilities. The way the devices work is that the tracking app is downloaded onto the phone that a person wants to track. From there, a person may track the location of the phone via internet or another smart phone. Some of these devices also allow the tracker to view call lists and texts also.

The apps also have “geo-fences” which make them more children specific. If children go out of a certain region, the parent will receive a text message notifying them. The main purpose of these apps is to allow parents to keep track of their children, especially on Halloween.

One of the pros of this app is that parents don\’t need to tag along with their children to know they are safe. The cons of this app are that the child you are tracking needs to have a phone and it depends on whether or not you think a seven-year old deserves to have a phone. It even seems as if more trust is in an app than in your children.

FVHS students have been asked to give their opinion on this app.

Emily Lam \’13 says, “If parents are attentive and responsible enough, they wouldn’t need to keep track of their kids on Halloween. What\’s wrong with good, old-fashioned watching them? The only time I’d feel it’s not lazy/inattentive for parents to use the app, is if they have 10 kids or something. That\’s too many to keep track of.”

Darcy Le ’13 says, “I actually think this is only useful in extreme emergency situations where a child runs away or gets kidnapped, it’ll be helpful to have a tracking device for investigators to search. But otherwise, no, it’s not that great because it lessens the amount of trust between a child and a parent. Especially, if the parent calls the child to check up on him or her and thinks their child is lying.”

One of the killed - a lion lies by a fence. Image taken from latimes.com

49 animals were killed, 6 were captured, and 1 animal has unknown whereabouts. These animals included tigers, lions, grizzly bears, and wolves that were set on the loose by Terry Thompson, an Ohio exotic animal farm owner.

On Tuesday, the 18^th of 2011, police and law enforcement offices were flooded with calls from people reporting sightings of exotic animals, a giraffe grazing alongside cars speeding on the highway, and a monkey in a tree.

By the time deputies arrived on his farm, Thompson was dead. He was reported to have shot himself in the head after throwing open animal cages, cutting open pens, and unlocking the gates of the farm, allowing the animals to roam wherever they please.

Most of the animals were shot since tranquilizers required more time to take effect in larger animals, as Muskingum County Sheriff reported:

“We just had a huge tiger, an adult tiger that must’ve weighed 300 pounds, that was very aggressive. We got a tranquilizer in it, and this thing just went crazy.”

49 out of 56 of Thompson\’s animals were killed as a means of protecting the public from potential dangers that the animals might cause. 6 of the animals were rescued successfully, it is still unknown where the animals will go but Marian (Thompson\’s estranged wife) has expressed interest in keeping the animals herself.

The last animal of the 56, reported to be a monkey, might have been eaten by one of the lions or tigers.

Thompson\’s farm has a history of animal abuse and neglect, with reports that animals are never provided with sufficient food and water. Living conditions are extremely unsanitary, with the layers of urine and feces that animals are forced to live on in addition to stench of carcasses. Some animals are even forced to live alongside the carcasses, as the dead are not moved until they are placed in a hole of the increasing number of animals dying from mistreatment.

Cages were not appropriately sized for the animals, with tigers and lions living in cages as small as dog kennels that didn\’t allow them to move around. The cages were placed right next to each other, creating anxiety and stress among the animals. One tiger was missing a tail as a result of the tail slipping into another cage and was ripped off or bitten off by another animal.

There have been many reports of cattle and horses breaking free in search of food and water, grazing on neighbors\’ lawns or licking the rain droplets off of a car for water.  There is also some speculation that one of the big cats that Thompson owned tried to eat him before running off, he has bite marks on his head and his body was dragged for a short period of time.

This occurrence has sparked a stricter reinforcement of laws protecting animals of all types, something that manyOhiocitizens say has been long overdue.

“I think that it’s sad that they had to have a tragic event occur for them to enforce laws for animal protection,” Julia Hong ’13 comments, “These animals are already endangered and they deserve utmost under law.”

Marian Thompson has told authorities that she and her husband took in the animals because they had been abused and neglected, confirming their reported reputation as “animal lovers”.

Authorities are still trying to figure out how Thompson got the animals originally and why he intentionally endangered them after claiming to love animals.

3D Moviegoers

            A recent article published by the Los Angeles Times has announced the next step in film production: re-releasing in 3-D. Studios plan to take classics like Star Wars and Titanic and make 3-D movies out of them. Yes, 3-Dimensional films are the new medium and retain a huge following, but at what point do we draw the line? Just because 3-D is the new fad, are we going to convert every single movie ever made into this passing trend? I understand current pictures being filmed in 3-D, as it is the current technological breakthrough, but I see no point in even touching the old ones.

            The chief motivation behind this push is, of course, money. How could producers not jump at the opportunity of not creating a new movie, releasing the same old ones, and making even more money than they did years ago? It makes fiscal sense, but I feel as if it\’s just making them lazy. No new ideas, storylines, character, nothing; just the same old movies we loved decades ago.

            Although these re-releases rake in mounds of dough, the process of 3-D conversion is quite costly. For Titanic, Paramount Pictures and director James Cameron are going to spend $18 million on its 3-D-ification. But for Disney\’s The Lion King, only $10 million was spent on its conversion, yet it made over $30 million in one weekend. And due to software innovation, conversions are costing less and less.

            But as consumers, wouldn\’t you like to pay to see brand-new films? I know I won\’t see The Lion King in 3-D because I\’ve seen it a million times. In fact, many moviegoers haven\’t noticed much difference between the 3-D and 2-D versions of the film.  Not only that, but 3-D movies cost an extra few bucks. Yeah that makes sense, “I\’m going to pay more money so I can see a movie I\’ve been watching since I was a kid!” but in 3D.

            I feel as though these studios are not leaving well enough alone. Great movies can be appreciated for generations to come without being altered every step of the way. For all we know, 4-D technology could be just around the corner, then 5-D, and maybe 6-D (although I don\’t know what exactly they would entail). With technology improving every day, it would just be a waste of time and money to convert all the old classics into today\’s movie fad: 3-D.

            But that\’s only one gal\’s opinion, are you looking forward to the 3-D versions of classic films?