Ladies, I know what some of you are thinking in this dreadful month. “I\’m so amazing and everything, but why am I still single?” Yes, it\’s very depressing, but I\’m here to tell you it\’s not your fault! All you need is a little love advice. I bet you\’re thinking, “Who are you to give advice?” But I don\’t really care about your opinion, so here goes.

Warning: Results may vary.

#1: Be willing to take risks!

Some guys might be a little scared to talk to you because, maybe your time of the month is every second, or perhaps you\’re just too pretty to talk to. But if you really like a guy, you should be more outgoing with him and he\’ll soon open up to you! Guys like girls who are outgoing!

#2: Start picking up on interests guys like.

Guys love videogames and food, so when a girl likes these things too, the results can be rather spectacular. Because when I can sit down and play Call of Duty and a girl picks up a controller and plays with me (after making a grilled cheese sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes), then I know there must be something good going on here.

#3: Make a lad feel special.

At all costs, avoid the “friend zone”! It is an awkward place where both parties feel the other isn\’t going to commit , and therefore never end up getting any further than “just friends.” Girls, make sure the feelings are mutual or else he will lose interest and leave. Trust me, you don\’t want that. You don\’t have to be confrontational, but make it somewhat obvious since guys don\’t usually pick up on these cues, or they don\’t want to assume it.

#4: Change up the current strategy.

If your current method isn\’t formulating positive results, don\’t just continue doing it. If you\’re a clingy mess, then stop. If you play hard to get all the time, everyday, every second, then stop! It is a simple fact that if you’re not playing the game right, you\’re just going to end up heartbroken. So maybe be a little flirtier; or perhaps, give him some breathing room, and he just might start liking you!

Okay, so you must be thinking, “Like, oh em gee, I can\’t even find a guy good enough for me!” There are a lot of guys out there, so get over yourself. I\’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but love hurts, so deal with it. I\’m trying to help here.

#5 Looking for a guy: School

There are plenty of guys here at FVHS for you to pick! (If you\’re Asian, teehee.) Don\’t just assume you\’ve seen them all and none are actually your type. Particularly, don\’t set your bar so high if you don\’t even have a guy. You just haven\’t met him yet. Watch, if you take a different path to your next class, you\’ll see people you\’ve never met at this school before. But realize that you still have hope. Just look harder.

#6 Looking for a guy: Online

I don\’t recommend this because it’s kind of sad.

#7 Looking for a guy: Dances

Dances are a great way to meet new people. If you aren\’t good at dancing, it\’s okay. You\’re a girl, and it won\’t matter too much since you\’re with your girlfriends. But if you\’re a guy, please don\’t. Guys may approach you and if the feelings are mutual, go for it. But if you don\’t cue your group with some predetermined sign that I assume you girls have, then move away from him. You can even go up to guys if you\’re in the mood to dance and that\’s essentially it.

Ok girls, seriously, love isn\’t hard. You\’re just making it hard with your constant whining, mood swings, and high standards. Guys aren\’t hard to impress. If you can dazzle us with your culinary skills and athletic interests, you\’ll get there in no time. Oh yeah, if you\’re not cute, then none of this will work.

Photos By Sarah Rahman

Kalani Nakashima

By Christine Tran
 
Baron Banner: If you could be any ice cream flavor, what would you be?
Kalani Nakashima: Rainbow Sherbert, because it has a little bit of everything — that’s what makes it the best.
 
BB: Who would you rather date, Señor Yarnton or Megan Fox?
KN: Definitely Señor Yarnton, he’s the best! Only thing is, he’s not funny. Pero él es más hermoso!
 
BB: What sets you apart from all the other Homecoming candidates?
KN: I can’t dance? -laughs- No, but really, all the other candidates are really smart. But I have a bunch of AP’s.
 
BB: What do you think was your most important achievement in high school?
KN: Winning the talent show last year and Red Cross’s Battle of the bands. I love to play music, and to be recognized for that is just the best feeling.
 
BB: Who do you think is your biggest competition?
KN: I honestly didn’t think I could win [for Homecoming court]. I wasn’t as well publicized as some of the others. But they’re all major competition.
 
BB: If you win Homecoming king, how would you celebrate?
KN: Dance! I’ll throw the biggest part, and wear my crown and cape all night long!

Brandon Malone

Written by Kathy Dang

Baron Banner: How did you feel when you first found out that you made Homecoming Court?

Brandon Malone: I was kind of surprised, because I didn\’t vote for myself except for the ones at the very beginning. Other than that, yeah I was surprised, it was pretty cool.

 BB: What do you think have been the downsides and upsides to being on Court?

BM: There\’s a lot of work that you have to do with it, on top of band and everything.  Because band takes up a lifetime already, and this takes up a lifetime. So that\’s like almost one and a half lifetimes. Upsides? You\’re on Court. You get to dress up really nice without looking weird, you get a tuxedo, and I like tuxedos. Anyways, it\’s just an overall really cool experience because everyone wants to be in an assembly at some point, and it\’s your senior year, why not?

 BB: How do you feel about Homecoming being at Soka University this year?

BM: I have never been to Homecoming, ever out of my whole four years, and that is a fact. So I don\’t really know, everyone says it\’s really cool and trippy, and has a really nice scenery. So I think it\’ll be a nice venue.

 BB: If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?

BM: Oh man! Hm, it would be the ability to fly so that I could just bust it out whenever. Like if I didn\’t do any homework or anything, and they ask me what happened, I\’ll be like, “Oh, I\’m sorry I didn\’t know that… Oh am I flying right now? Am I flying right now? Yeah, and that\’s why I didn\’t do my homework, because I can fly and you can\’t.”

 BB: What do you enjoy doing in your free time outside of school?

BM: Outside of school, I like playing music. You know, having fun, going out with people, watching movies. Band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, band, and track, and band.

 BB: Who do you look up to most?

BM: My role model would have to be someone like Martin Luther King, in a sense like, what would he do in my situation? But in a lesser extent, I would have to say someone like Lupe Fiasco, because he is the voice of our generation. He keeps it real, really real.

 BB: What\’s your future look like?

BM: I want to go to college (laughs). I want to go to Cal State Long Beach, get into their music program, and get into some kind of medical program there too. Hopefully, I\’ll become a musical therapist.

 BB: Any advice for underclassmen?

BM: You know, just kick back and relax. Sometimes you\’re going to have to get up and go, but right now just kick back and relax.

BB: Tell me something random about yourself.

BM: Um, I sleep with one really soft pillow and one really hard pillow so that I can meet them in the middle, so it\’s just a regular pillow. Oh, and I fry chicken like a pro!

Hassan Ilyas

By Marwa Aboubaker

Baron Banner: Who nominated you for Homecoming King?

Hassan Ilyas: My friend Johnny.

BB:What makes you different from other candidates?

HI: I like to have fun, in any way, shape, or form.

BB:What does the title Homecoming King mean to you?

HI: Someone who smells really good.

 BB:Who do you consider your competition or are afraid of?

HI: Marian and Mrs. Krimker.

 BB:So who are you taking to Homecoming?

HI: Sarah Haydock

 BB:Is there anything you want to fulfill before graduating?

HI: Get a scholarship.

BB:What is your signature dance move?

HI: The Worm.

Judd Chamma

By Marwa  Aboubaker

Baron Banner: Who nominated you for Homecoming King?

Judd Chamma: My best friend, Nezar nominated me.

BB:What ideal traits should a Homecoming King posses?

JC: They should be outgoing, funny, good looking, smart, and athletic.

 BB:Do you posses those traits?

JC: Id like to think so..

 BB:Who do you consider your competition or are afraid of?

JC: At this point anyone could win, and were all friends.

 BB:So who are you taking to Homecoming?

JC: Meghan Fallan

 BB:Is there anything you want to fulfill before graduating?

JC: Win Sunset League in Basketball and make it far in CIF.

 BB:What is your signature dance move?

JC: Its hard to explain in words, but you\’ll see it at the dance.

On May 4th, boys volleyball played their last home game against Edison.

[Show as slideshow]

Friday, January 22, was a great day– not only for the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, but also for our Varsity Boys Basketball team who played Esperanza.

The boys were down by one when there were only four minutes left. Luckily, they stepped up their game to bring it up by one with only 50 seconds left.

The boys were worried when they entered the game because the Junior Varsity team had previously lost by 25 against the Aztecs. However, throughout the match, they continued to hold about the same points as Esperanza, slightly lagging behind. With 6 seconds remaining on the clock, two free throws put the Barons up by 2 and led to a victory against the Aztecs.

“Although they came into this game 0-4 in league, Varsity pulled through to win an exciting game against Esperanza 47-45,” says Michael Perri (\’12), who plays on the JV team.

“The crowd was on the edge of their seats as the game progressed; seconds went by like hours. The game was very emotional for both sides and extremely tense,” continued Perri. “These are the games I want to see; the Barons deserve every victory with their hard work!”

Now with a record of 1-4 in the season, the team hopes to enter a winning streak.

Adam Renth concluded, “We came out strong by setting the tone early and Ardalan came through in the clutch. This was a great win in a hostile environment. It was a true Nam Pham Friday!”

The Barons won the first match 29-27 against the Rams.  Junior Raffi Contreras-Geck, playing in for senior Matt McCoy, did wonders for the team.  Constantly running, Contreras-Geck sent everything directly to the hitters. Captain Dillon Emery (‘09) had four kills, and senior Chris Gierhart had two kills.

On Tuesday, March 17th, the boys\’ varsity baseball team lost to Tesoro High School. Tesoro held with a firm six run lead almost the whole game. With only two runs scored by junior, Eddie Alvarez (batted in by senior, Ray Strazzula) and senior, Loren Robb, spectators could say that the boys didn\’t quite perform to the best of their abilities.

With the exception of a couple of losses, one to Servite on March 6th and one to Edison on March 14th, the Barons had been doing well. The large loss to Tesoro on Tuesday however, definitely left the boys slightly discouraged.

“I wasn\’t too pleased with the outcome of our game.  We are a much better team than they were and we should have won that game.  We just weren\’t into the game mentally, and there was a lack of focus. I\’m not really sure about what went wrong, we are usually much better than that,” says sophomore John Goldsby.

Despite the final outcome, there were some standout players in the game. Pitcher and junior, Kyle Ball led the first part of the game with numerous strikeouts even though he had a shoulder injury. Senior Ray Strazzula also had a great game by batting in a runner, junior Eddie Alvarez. Strazzula had major arm surgery last year but seems to be on the come-back this season.

As the game against Tesoro drew to a close, the boys performed stronger than the first half by scoring two points. Tesoro, however, scored two more points though to round the ending score to eight to two, sealing the Baron\’s fate

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Despite the disappointing defeat, the Baron boys continue to stay driven and focused. “This one [game] stung,” says sophomore Danny Jimenez. “But we are going to do better next time.”