Author: adviser

  • Raise a Glass to Reza

    Today, Thursday, March 24, is the last day that College Adviser Max Reza will be working at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. He has been working with students at Poly since September 2014, focusing on college applications and financial aid. His departure is a major loss for the Poly community.

     

    Johnny Thai: What made you want to take this position at Poly?

    Max Reza: I am a first- generation college student, and I had no clue what I was doing. I had this friend and his family and they helped me; I’ll never forget that. I’ve always wondered how many other students [are] out there that are unsure and need the same guidance that I needed. After I graduated from USC in 2014, I had a job opportunity that allowed me to advise students in the Long Beach Unified School District.

    JT: When you are not advising students, what is your favorite thing to do at Poly?

    MR: I really like going to the athletic events. I love the Poly pride associated with it; I love the football games and basketball games and other events. I also really enjoy the rallies! I don’t know if that’s really weird. Every single day at lunch, there happens to be music, and the activities

    going on at lunch help me break away from the daily workload.

    JT: So, you are leaving on March 24. What led to this decision?

    MR: I am accepting a position with the LA Clippers. Well, let’s rewind a bit. I have been working for the Clippers for the past five years. I will be a member of their basketball operations staff. Not too many people know that―my sophomore year in college, junior year, senior year, my first year at Poly, and this year. My main focus will be on overseeing the practice facilities. It was an extremely difficult decision.

    JT: How did this connection with the Clippers start?

    MR: I used to work at C&L Custom Varsity Letterman Jackets in Cypress. I worked there during college part-time, and they happened to make the uniforms for the Clippers. I would take orders with the equipment manager, and we developed a friendship. When I was going to enroll at USC, which, coincidentally, is across from the Staples Center, he offered me an internship. That relationship continued building up and it lead to this new position.

    JT: Some students are actually scared of going to you―scared that it is a sign of their weakness because they like doing things independently, or they might be afraid of being behind. What do you think about that?

    MR: That’s fascinating, because I’ve heard that quite a few times this month. The first thing I need to say is that we don’t judge. Some people feel embarrassed for not being where they should be, but we don’t really care about that. If you’re lost, our main goal is to make sure you’re college-ready. I think, hopefully through this interview… they’ll realize that we want all Poly students to succeed and this is a no-judge zone. It doesn’t matter―we’ll meet you wherever you are. That would be my parting advice: seek out anyone at the College and Career Center, because it is more helpful than you probably envisioned.

    JT: Any last words to say about your entire experience at Poly?

    MR: This was my first real professional job. The experience here has been so rewarding. Big thanks to the principals, staff members, teachers, and students for being easy to work with and welcoming. The idea of the Poly family is very real and it is very endearing. I would like to thank everyone at Poly in general for including me. I felt a larger connection to Poly during my year and a half here than I did at my own high school. Thank you to everyone.

  • Is Donald Trump Racist?

    Is Donald Trump Racist?

    On Tuesday,  March 1,  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was rather racially insensitive. Although he is ahead in the election, he is not quite ahead in terms of diversity with the public eye, for he has been critical towards certain religious and minority groups. Throughout the years, it is common for the campaigns and elections to have their level of personal experiences with race, economic troubles, and public welfare. Movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement are receiving backlash from Donald Trump.
    The Black Lives Matter movement and other activist organizations are strongly defending and supporting for equal rights of immigrants, Muslims, women, and people of color, generally because of  police brutality, broken economy, nativism, and sexism. All of these open-minded associations and social activist groups are including and bringing forth many Americans to protest and have their voices heard. Unfortunately, Trump’s pro-fascist nativism is increasing in power and the Republican Party is shocked that his racism and sexism is being brought to the forefront. Many minorities were rudely treated at Donald Trump’s rally in Louisville, Kentucky. Many white males in the crowd shoved and mistreated these minorities at this rally.  Ignorance united them in their demonstration of corruptness towards the barbaric actions across lines of race, religion, and gender. With the internet being overridden by Trump’s beliefs, the reporters interviewed his wife Melania Trump, asking her personally what and why people are angry about her husband’s views on certain groups of people. “He is not a racist, he speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to do so,” said Trump. Bill Maher replied with, “If you are a Republican, you are not necessarily a racist, but if you are a racist you are probably a Republican.” I believe that running or being president should give you advantage to be open towards everyone, not just a select few. I understand that the first amendment gives people the right to freedom of speech. However, like the old saying goes: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Donald Trump is putting a façade that he doesn’t interfere with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) David Duke. He claims that he was unaware of the existence of David Duke and his endorsement for Trump’s campaign. Trump speaks with such arrogance and deception to the topic and is very apprehensive of including his interest with this particular group. I find it hilarious that a man of Trump’s educational caliber “doesn’t know anything” about the KKK and David Duke.
    I suggest that he snaps himself back to reality and understand that race is a personal yet hard issue to speak openly to the public. “I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists,” said Trump. “So I don’t know. I don’t know why he did endorse me, or what’s going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists.”

  • Super Tuesday Results Are Rolling In

    Super Tuesday went as expected.  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump got the most attention as well as the most delegates. Clinton, gaining a lot of support with 1052 delegates (including superdelegates), won Alabama with 77.8%, Arkansas with 66.3%, Georgia with 71.3%, Massachusetts with 50.1%, Tennessee with 66.1%, Texas with 65.2%, and Virginia with 64.3%. With her big support from the South, one can only assume she will get the Democratic nomination and that her opponent Bernie Sanders has only a slim chance of defeating her. However, the younger generation — myself included — feels that Sanders is the right man for the job, but simply does not have as many connections or as much publicity as Clinton. Sanders, who won 427 delegates, is not to be overlooked. Though Senator Sanders was only able to win a few states [Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont (duh)], I have high hopes for him as the campaign progresses.
    As for the Republicans, it is still anyone’s game. Trump, of course, remains in the lead with 319 delegates. He won Alabama (43.4%), Arkansas (32.8%), Georgia (38.8%), Massachusetts (49.3%), Tennessee (38.9%), Vermont (32.7%), and Virginia (34.7%). Trump, who is by far the most talked-about candidate overall, has been nearly unstoppable. Popular he is, but likable he is not, which leaves many asking, “Who in America can beat this billionaire?’’ Well, Ted Cruz might be the best bet for defeating Donald Trump. Not that far behind with 226 delegates, Cruz is someone any Republican who is anti-Trump (or anyone for that matter) should definitely keep an eye on. Other candidates, including Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson, really did not show any significant progress.
    The two clear winners are already narrowed down to Clinton and Trump; that is really what it seems to always come down to.  And it is more than just a question of Democrat or Republican—it is businessman or former First Lady and former Secretary of State, it is man or woman. I do not think someone without experience should be able to have so many followers backing up everything he says, nor do I feel that Clinton  is the right woman for the job. Walls are for dividing kitchens and living rooms, not countries.
    I would like to see some of the other candidates stepping up to the plate and taking the spots of both the Democratic and Republican front-runners. I think Rubio and Cruz have a chance of overtaking Trump in the near future—a small chance, but one indeed. I feel that a lot of other people will be more open minded about what they have to say as the election moves on.

  • Au Revoir France, Bonjour America

    On Sunday, February 21, nine French students and one teacher arrived in Los Angeles and met their Poly host families. They were only here for two weeks and left on Saturday, March 5. In past years, the students left later during the second weekend they spent in America, but this year, their flight was scheduled on Saturday morning.
    The students did not only visit Poly; there were other French students in other schools around the area. The kids came to classes and lived with students’ families to improve their English and learn what life is like as an American teen. They were accompanied by a teacher who stayed with Silvia Battigalli, the Poly French teacher, and checked in with them every day at school.
    The program organized two trips with all of the visiting French students. On the first Thursday, they went on a day trip to San Diego, and on the second Thursday they went to Downtown LA for the morning and early afternoon. Since there were only two organized trips, the students relied on their host families to show them around Southern California and what the area has to offer.
    Senior Erin Osman took her student Pauline LaBurthe to Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, the Getty, and the Getty Villa. LaBurthe has visited Poly every year for the last three years. LaBurthe attended all of Osman’s classes with her, went to orchestra rehearsals, and played the flute with the Symphony. Her favorite thing from her three years here was the backlot tour of Universal Studios.
    LaBurthe returned to Poly three times and there have been many things she loved about it: “The sun, the food, playing with the orchestra, and getting to see another way of life.”
    Senior Sarah Passage took her student Hugo Dubreuil to Venice, Santa Monica, Hollywood, a twelve-hour shopping trip, indoor go-karts, a skate park, and surfing. Dubreuil’s favorite thing about America was In-n-Out, a West Coast favorite.
    Hugo said the only thing he disliked about the trip was that there were “too many things to see and not the time to see [it all].”

  • Students Step to the Podium

    On Saturday, February 27, the state qualifiers for speech events were held at California State University, Long Beach. Freshman Coco Sanabria and senior Destin Bigsby both participated in the qualifier, but they did not make it to the state competition.
    “Neither Coco nor I qualified for state, unfortunately,” said Bigsby. “But Coco is only a freshman and she seems to be on track for a state qualification in the future.”
    Both Sanabria and Bigsby participated in the impromptu event, which requires speakers to create a four-to-seven minute speech on the spot in two minutes and then present it in front of the judges. In addition to these challenges, speakers in this year’s impromptu category had to compete against 60+ other competitors. In order to qualify for the state competition, speakers must place in the top five in their event.
    Bigsby also participated in the original prose and poetry event. In this event, meant to engage a speaker’s creative side, speakers write a piece of prose or poetry in advance of the competition and present it to the judges. This piece must be at least five or six minutes long and memorized.
    On Saturday, March 4, the state qualifiers for debate events were held at Schurr High School. This event is a simulation of the US legislative process in the Senate and the House. Students must prepare for debate on numerous topics and are assessed on their research, argumentation, and delivery skills. Freshman William Terlinden participated and senior Crispin Jay Salapare competed, but unfortunately did not place.
    Novice Championships will be held in May.

  • Beating Cancer One Step at a Time

    Pennies for Patients

    Every single year for 15 years, Poly’s Student Commission has held a big spring project called Pennies for Patients. In this project, boxes are given to all classrooms for donations with all the funds going toward the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Posters with kids diagnosed with cancer are also displayed in order for the students to put a face to the disease. Although the classroom with the most funds gets a pizza party, the big picture is that the funds are going toward people who have been affected by leukemia. For different students and faculty of Long Beach Poly, it means a lot more to them because they personally know people who have been diagnosed with cancer. With a goal of raising $3,500 dollars, the school is sure to make a big contribution towards the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
    “Personally, I feel that this is a great way to help others who are [suffering from] leukemia,” said sophomore Katherine Khiev.
    As the head of the Pennies for Patients project, Khiev has very high hopes for the funds that will be donated this year.

    St. Baldricks

    Freshman Max Magilnick has made a commitment to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer, shaving his head every year on March 12 to raise money for an organization called St. Baldrick’s Foundation. All around the world, every single day, this organization shaves people’s hair in an attempt to raise money and awareness to shave childhood cancer off the face of the Earth.
    “When I was in 5th grade, my sister got cancer, and I didn’t know what to do. So I tried to find anything that I could and I found St. Baldrick’s,” said Magilnick.
    Ever since the age of 10, Magilnick has been passionately finding a way to help his sister and doing whatever he can to eliminate childhood cancer. With the support of family, friends, and even more people from Poly, the impact could even be far greater than that.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief

    Missiles Fired on Sea of Japan

    On Friday March 4, Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un has ordered his military to ready nuclear missiles. This action followed the United Nation’s decision to impose harsh economic sanctions on North Korea, which were intended to weaken North Korea’s nuclear program―the strictest policies on the country in 20 years. Some of the policies include crippling parts of North Korea’s income that would benefit nuclear developments. Just hours after this UN vote, North Korea launched short-range missiles over the Sea of Japan. As of this writing, the threat is being assessed by South Korea, as they are determining what kind of projectile was launched over the Sea of Japan. China had been the only known ally to North Korea, but the news revealed that China and the United States had been working together on this sanction for the past seven weeks. Additionally, China has stated its opposition of North Korea’s nuclear weapon developments in previous conferences.

  • MUN Takes the Bay

    From Friday, March 4 to Sunday, March 6, several Poly students participated in the Model United Nations (MUN) conference held annually at UC Berkeley.
    MUN places students in real-life simulations of the United Nations; participants can choose from several committees based on UN agencies and discuss issues in line with each agency’s focus. Students are given the roles of ambassadors for specific countries and must gather research, write position papers on their countries’ policies, and create resolutions in their committees.
    “My partner Emma Larson and I were in a committee based on migrant workers’ rights and the implications of sex tourism, so not only were we able to learn about the world and real-life issues, [but] we were [also] able to do so in a way that helped us work together with others for a common goal,” said junior club president Stefana LoTempio.
    Hosting almost two thousand students annually, Berkeley MUN is one of the largest conferences on the West Coast and in the nation. 17 Poly students made their way to the Bay Area early Friday morning to catch the opening ceremony and first committee session later that night. This group, along with the almost 1800 students overall, had been preparing for the conference since the beginning of the year.
    “We found out our committees in February, and we wrote our position papers and did research this month,” said senior Daniel Sagrera.
    Participants divided their time up between committee sessions on their two topics and unscheduled periods for leisure and exploration. One of the benefits of being at
    an away conference is having the opportunity to explore a new area and meet people from all over the world. Students were not only from the United States, but also from El Salvador, Canada, and Singapore.
    “The away conferences allow us to meet other kids. A lot of the away conferences are much better run and the kids are more prepared and the debate runs much better,” said junior Emma Larson.
    Larson and LoTempio earned research awards for their position papers. Though not everyone won awards at the conference, all those involved had an enjoyable and fruitful experience.
    For those interested, MUN is held every Thursday in Room 415 (Gillogly). The next conference will be at UC Irvine in May.

  • Healthy Living at Poly

    Monday, February 29 to Friday, March 4 was Wellness Week here at Poly High School. It was a week of healthy decisions and activities for the students and teachers.
    There was a list of activities and workshops to do throughout the week in order to get students exercising and eating healthier. The workshops were Monday through Thursday after school from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. in the teacher’s lounge.
    Monday was a workshop about positive relationships with yourself and others. Yoga was on Tuesday, then Healthy Eating on Wednesday, and natural remedies for stress and anxiety on Thursday.
    “I was always surrounded by people who had health problems and I’ve always felt bad, at school there was a lot of great opportunities to make a change in my community and I’m glad I’m here to help,” said senior Karla Figueroa.
    During lunch, there were rallies with healthy exercises and contests. Monday through Thursday, students and teachers did workouts on stage, while other days, they held dance lip sync battles and an obstacle course challenge.
    Friday was Health Fair Friday at lunch where booths and tables were set out. A DJ came out and activities were set up all around the quad and on stage.
    “I thought it was cool because my friend was involved in the activity on stage and I liked how the school set everything up,” said junior Marawin Chheang.
    There were multiple booths that were all based on healthy living such as a healthy teen environment, having a healthy body, and many more that you could go to for tips about how to maintain a healthy life.
    Poly also had many local health organizations from Long Beach come and set up booths that caught lots of attention from students.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief

    UK Staying in the EU?

    The United Kingdom is scheduled to have a public vote for citizens over the age of 18 to decide whether or not the UK will stay in the European Union. Historically, the UK joined the EU in 1973 and has been a somewhat active member, though they have not conformed to Europe’s currency, the Euro. Prime Minister David Cameron, a conservative leader, calls for a renegotiation of membership with the EU―specifically for restrictions on EU migrants and benefits. Being a member in the EU allows citizens in the UK to travel across countries without trouble, which allows for a wider variety of job opportunities. Some leaders such as President Barack Obama are in favor of the UK staying in the EU, as well as a majority of the European citizens. However, those in favor of leaving the EU believe that the cost of maintaining membership is not worth the amount of effort that the UK has put into the EU―they believe it is most logical to simply terminate membership. The British Pound has been dropping in value in midst of this British exit, or “Brexit”, as some call it in the UK.

    Nevada and South Carolina Primaries

    On Saturday February 20, Nevada and South Carolina held their respective caucus and primaries for the Democratic and Republican party. Secretary Hillary Clinton (D) won Nevada with 52.6% of the vote, winning 19 delegates and Senator Bernie Sanders trailing behind with 47.3% of the vote, winning 15 delegates.. Though this is an upset for Sanders, as this was a much needed win, there just was not enough young voter turnout. At South Carolina, businessman Donald Trump crushed the primaries yet again winning 32.5% of the vote, winning all of the 50 delegates. Senator Marco Rubio won the second most amount of votes, coming in at 22.5% of the votes and Ted Cruz closing off the higher percentage of the votes with 22.3%. Following this, the Republicans and Democrats will swap places and hold the Republican caucus in Nevada, and the Democratic primaries in South Carolina.

  • Classroom Feature: Auto Shop!

    In between the Poly Playhouse and the soccer field is an opportunity that many students have not taken advantage of. As a matter of fact, many students do not even know of it.
    This opportunity is the auto shop class taught by Mr. McColm. When inquiring sophomore Brandon Taylor about this auto shop class he said, “I didn’t even know we had an auto shop here.”
    Around 2000, Mr. McColm started teaching the class and has had a lot of success in the class. He teaches all students, even individuals with special needs.
    Many of the kids do not seem to have much interest in the class. However, the very few who take the class to the next level have a lot of potential in their future. In fact, one of his dyslexic students ended up being a successful engineer for Yamaha.
    “The reason I came into teaching is to teach these kids how to do it,” says Mr. McColm. “This is a good opportunity. They can go to a community college, then training, then go to work at a dealership.”
    For many of the students here at Long Beach Poly, they do not see the potential in this auto shop class. Most of them do not even know that auto shop exists.
    If the students did know, there could possibly be a chance that they would take interest in the class and make something out of it. For many of these kids, turning a wrench can be turning their life around.

  • Californians Canvass Caucus

    From February 19-21, 65 students from Daniel Adler’s AP Government and AP Econ classes and Patrick Gillogly’s AP US History class went to Las Vegas, Nevada to work for a political campaign and observe how the caucus system worked.
    The group arrived in Las Vegas and immediately started canvassing for the campaign they chose to work for; choosing between Sanders, Clinton, or Rubio. Then on Friday night, students attended either the Bernie Sanders or the Hillary Clinton rally.
    “It was so cool to go to the Bernie Sanders’s rally and hear him speak about issues I really care about. The energy of the crowd was incredible because everyone was excited to be there,” said senior Milan Perry.
    At the Clinton rally, students got to hear America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Chelsea Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton speak about plans to improve America.
    The group of Jackrabbits went to four different caucuses on Saturday morning and everyone had a different and interesting experience. Hillary Clinton showed up at one of the sites our students attended. The Rubio supporters observed write in candidate Rocky De La Fuente campaigning during the caucus, and two different groups of Bernie supporters observed how easy it is to manipulate the Caucus system.
    The Clinton supporters had the most unforgettable experience because they actually ran a caucus because the necessary officials were absent.
    “We were thrust into a situation with no leaders present so we ended up organizing most of the precincts at our caucus site. I actually read the official letters from the DNC to over 200 people and many other students assumed many positions otherwise unoccupied,” said senior Timothy White.
    After the caucuses were over, students either attended Clinton’s victory rally or Sanders’s short concession speech.
    “After all of the chaos at the caucus and getting yelled at by many Nevadan residents, it made it so much more amazing to meet and converse with Hillary. I’ve been a Hillary supporter for most of my life and meeting her was one of the best moments of my life,” said senior Jasmine Roberts.