Weak attendance and past stigma hampers the sucess of the Sadie Hawkins Dance

By Komal Ram, Staff Writer

Senior Commission\’s Sadie Hawkins Dance was last Saturday, Barons. While the dance was considered better than last year, there’s still room for improvement. Among students, Sadies has earned the reputation for one of the worst dances of the year. While this is a rather harsh view, it is seemingly justified. Now, the main concern that was heard repeatedly throughout the night was that not enough people went to the dance. This isn’t an easy problem for Senior Commission to solve. Let’s relate getting more people to come to a dance to figuring out how to get more people to come and buy things from your store. You\’ve only got so much money to spend and a lot of different ways as to how to spend it. Should you get more merchandise? Should you advertise more? Should you get more expensive merchandise, even though that would mean you’d have to charge more? Should you get cheaper merchandise so you can charge less, even though the quality might be terrible? It’s definitely a valiant effort on Senior Commission\’s part to attempt to organize the timeless high school staple that is the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Still, as far as dances are considered, there are things that can change.

When I entered the gym, the first thought that came to my mind was “awkward”. The lights were turned off and the black lights attempted to give a dance/nightclub/rave impression, but there was something missing. Lasers? Albeit, there were few students on the dance floor, most of them were standing doing absolutely nothing. But it was early into the night, surely there would be more to come. The “awkward” mood became a bit more relaxed as time went on. Still, when you walk into a dance, you want to walk into a dance where people are having a good time. After a while, people did seem to start having a good time, but in a way that’s a little too uncomfortable for my tastes. Most people there were grinding to the point where you couldn’t help but want to pay for their hotel room. Even though I suppose one could call that enthusiasm, I was hoping for dancing less appropriate for a bedroom and more befitting for a dance floor. The music had just about every popular pop song of the last few years as well as a few blasts from the past . While I generally subscribe to different musical tastes, I really liked the music and it did help to get people in the right mood. The video DJ-ing was a nice touch. It helped to fill up the empty space of the dance floor. Being that it was a Sadie Hawkins dance, I’m relieved that at least a few slow songs were there. They’re a great excuse to dance a little more eloquently and for the shyer girls to actually dance with your date. The night was rather uneventful in terms of supervision. No major or noticeable problems occurred, so way to go Barons for not making the night interesting in a bad way!

Interviews during the dance tended to yield the same responses. While the music selection and dance atmosphere were great, the students who were there felt that there were too few students. One student also complained that the photo booth being outside of the actual dance area contributed to the lack of people, saying that: “people would just stay over there and take pictures all night instead of dancing.”

In planning next year’s dance, Senior Commission may want to consider having more activities during the dance, like games with prizes or a dance-off to entice people into coming. The issue with students coming is not entirely the club’s fault as well. Most students wouldn’t go to a dance knowing most of their friends aren’t attending. Because Sadies already has a reputation for low attendance, people ultimately feel less inclined to go. So, my fellow Barons, if you like dancing and like having fun, consider going to Sadies. The more people go, the better the dance will be.

Staff Writer

So, you’re sitting in math class and the teacher’s handing back tests. You really studied this time, did the homework, asked questions. You’re sitting pretty, waiting for your test, waiting to see that “A” at the top. Then, the teacher hands you a paper with a “D+” (the “+” just makes it worse) and you can hear your self-esteem implode. And of course you sit next to the genius kid who gets A’s and never has to study. Yet as happy as you can be for their perpetual success, many people can’t help but feel dumb when they try so hard and it’s not enough. The other kids who can party and do well in school, the people who can have a good time and still get into a college; what makes them so smart? How
can the rest of us be smart too?

Before we can even hope to figure that out, we have to consider what it means to be smart. Is it grades? Our GPA? Our SAT score? Or something more? Being smart can mean different things to different people. People who get grades in school could retain little of what they’ve learned. And many who have poor grades in school can still score on tests  like the SAT and ACT. Intelligence doesn’t even have to be limited to academics. The grades we earn in school are based on what we do in class and what we do at home as homework. If you choose not to do these tasks, your grades go down. You could know the capitals of all the states in the country, but if you your mind goes blank on the subject test, you’re probably going to fail. It doesn’t make sense to associate being smart with just good grades.

What else is there then? Consider this idea first presented by Sir Ken Robinson: every year we’ve been in school, we’ve been taught mathematics of some kind. Whether it’s basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, or calculus, math class has been a staple to the whole school environment. So, why don’t we do the same thing with dance? Why don’t we teach dancing as rigorously as math? Dancing is definitely as complicated as math and, dare I say, even more beneficial to our daily lives. So, why don’t we?

It has to do with how we perceive intelligence. In the long-run, we’ve always been taught to believe that going to school and studying will benefit us in the future. Following this line of thinking, those people who are “smart” would most likely spend their time on things that would benefit them the most. They’re better off studying for their Pre-Calculus quiz than learning to Tango because it’ll do more for them. Now, there are two problems with this. First, we are more likely to want to do things we like. People are willing to pay 40 dollars for the video game, Just Dance 2. They surely will be using that game more than they will a calculator of the same price. What’s smart doesn’t seem to make all that much sense.

The second problem with the view of being “smart” is that it’s so narrow. It’s as if the only talents that ought to be celebrated are the ones that will make money. Money is nice, but it’s not everything. To paraphrase from an economics book: money is only good when you’re getting rid of it. It’s valuable when you can use it to buy the things you want. I doubt our fondest memories involved figuring out how to complete the square so much as they involved spending time with you, doing silly, random things. So, if being smart is just about grades, it seems pretty stupid to me.

Here’s what some of the students of FVHS have to say about their upcoming Winter Break plans:

Jordan Marc Diamond ’13 says: I probably will be eating a lot, getting fat, sleeping. So getting fat. More eating and watching TV; so activities that will get me fat.

Left to right: Angela Nguyen ’13 & Julie Dang ’13

Angela says: I am going to go Christmas shopping and spend time with my family and friends

Julie says: I am hanging out with my family and I am hanging out with friends and going shopping.  Oh and tumblr!

Left to right: Thao Pham ’12 & Jenny Huynh ’12

Thao says: I am going to Disneyland and hanging out with my family!

Jenny says: I am probably going to Disneyland with my friends and getting my license so I’ll be free to drive anywhere!

Angeline Tran ’11 says: I am going to the Harry Potter theme park in Florida and the Walt Disney park.

Left to right: Irving Nguyen ’14 & Christine ’14

Irving says: I am going to… I don’t know!  Probably sleep.

Christine says: I haven’t really decided yet.  I don’t know.  I’ll probably stay at home all day.

Photos By Kennington Cung w/ Sarah Rahman and Joy Chen

Engineer and business owner, Charlie Nguyen, grew up in the area and attended Westminster High School.  He claims that if elected, he will prioritize encouraging parental involvement and support teachers.  Nguyen strongly believes in Republican ideas and as business owner, has much faith in the free market.  He trusts that private industry will benefit the public school system in many ways through generous donations. Nguyen has been endorsed by the CA Republican Assembly and Assemblyman Van Tran.

1. Why do you want to be elected?

- To provide the best education possible for our children. I also grew up in this area and went to. Westminster highschool and its a good way to contribute back to the area where I grew up.

2. How would you apply a business mentality to running a school district?

-Leadership skills are important  in order to listen to parents and students and how to manage their issues while having budget and other ….in mind.

-As a business owner I can work independently to manage the school budget and make sure that we use that budget properly and prioritize. As a business owner I believe in having a plan carrying out with the plan and end with measuring the result.

3. Since funding is a problem is that what you will go after first, or is there anything else?

We have to look at the big picture, however, funding is one of the top priorities. We need to see what we have and from there work and move forward.

4. How will you maximize the use of technology?

As an engineer, I know how to balance. Corporations value education because the next generation will improve our technology. Computer programs, for example, although they have many versions but give a free student version. Companies buy, but student (school) gets it free.

5.Would you provide an incentive for these companies?

-Firstly, they want to contribute to school, and since school is for everyone, then everyone has to contribute. If students are familiar with the software and programs then they will choose that product or software. So the companies, in the long run have the advantage in the future.

[Show as slideshow]

Squirming through the tight crowds, screams coming from all different directions, cute grabbers and handouts are only a few of the things you experience from Club Rush.  Every year, FVHS holds the highly anticipated Club Rush where clubs campaign to gain new potential members and show off their school spirit.

On campus, clubs vary from the Pokemon Club to Operation S.E.A. Red Cross to Make-A-Wish and many, many more.   Each of these clubs have different set of goals for themselves such as helping the environment, prevention of cancer, community service, or just simply being around people who share the same hobbies and interests.

This year, FVHS\’s ASB decided to have a battle between the clubs to see who could be the most spirited and loudest of all.  The winner who came out on top would have first pick at our school\’s International Week and receive a pizza party for their club.  Many clubs vied for this since International Week is a very important fundraiser for clubs.  Key Club and KIWIN\’s were some of the loudest this year even going as far as having a spirit battle with each other.

Students had many opinions this year about the long standing tradition and were not afraid to voice them out.  Tracy Nguyen (\’12) said, “I liked it because there were a variety of clubs and there were new ones that sprang up that were unique and new like the Asian Pacific Islander Club.  I also really liked advertising for my club and talking to the freshmen was great too!”  Richard Nguyen (\’13) said, “It was really loud and crowded.  I joined Red Cross because it meets in the room I hang out in so it\’s the best of both worlds.” Tom Nguyen (\’12) thought that “it went well and was outstanding this year because each club represented themselves well and cheered very loudly.”  Catherine Chu (\’14) thought it was “well organized and it really showed a perspective of each club.”

Joining clubs can be a thrilling and new experience for most people because it truly allows yourself to get out into the open and engage in many activities and helps you broaden your outlook on a variety of different interests.  Now isn\’t that what high school\’s all about?  Learning and experiencing new things that put you into situations that you haven\’t been in before are priceless. You should take the chance when given the opportunity to learn.  Club Rush remains and will continue to be a favorite high school event in the years to follow.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Artwork Created by: William Mai (’11)

by Sarah Rahman

by Jeff Nguyen

by Caitlyn Ducat, Guest Writer

Whether it\’s with a new pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, the latest H&M handbag, or that Urban Outfitters belt, everyone feels the need to dress their very best. Once school starts, however, the days of suntans, trips to the mall, and weekly manicures are replaced with the race to get the perfect back-to-school wardrobe.

But is it really necessary to look stunning at school?

Sure, school is a place for meeting up with friends, but it\’s also a place for learning. It\’s important to be comfortable and relaxed in your outfit.And being comfortable doesn\’t mean you can\’t be fashionable. Don\’t be afraid to wear those new Addidas shoes, sling on that Nike backpack, and don your Puma sweater.

With styles constantly changing, it\’s hard to stay up to date with the latest trends. However, it\’s possible to stay true to yourself while keeping it current.

Volume will definitely be big as designers experiment with different prints and embroideries on lampshade skirts. Pants styles will also shift from clean-cut to a more baggy and natural look.

Bold geometric prints will replace accustomed shades of color, and urban and natural shades will be blended for a more subtle, yet powerful look. WAS ME While the eighties will still play a part in this fall\’s fashion, expect to find clothing inspired by the forties and fifties.

Make your decision, travel in style, but most importantly, be comfortable with who you are and with what you\’re wearing.