Category: Arts & Culture

Nintendo released Super Smash Brothers for 3DS, the latest entry in Nintendo’s all-star fighting franchise since 2008’s Super Smash Brothers Brawl, on October 3rd, 2014.
This fourth installment also marks the series’ first appearance on a handheld system. A home console Wii U version will be released November 21.
Super Smash Brothers for 3DS (SSB43DS) continues the trend of “guest” characters from non-Nintendo franchises, with icons Mega-Man and Pac-Man joining the fight.
SSB43DS also sees the addition of new fighters from popular Nintendo franchises such as Animal Crossing, Super Mario Bros, and Fire Emblem as well as first-time representatives from relatively obscure Nintendo franchises Punch-Out!! and Xenoblade.
Although many characters return, Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series and franchise veterans Ice Climbers did not make the cut.

Game director Masahiro Sakurai has stressed that the character roster and core mechanics will remain the same between both versions of the game.

However, some stages and modes will remain exclusive to each version. Smash Run is a new 3DS-exclusive mode where players scavenge for stat-boosting items in a large, pre-defined map for 5 minutes before facing off against computer players or fellow humans in a final contest, ranging from a simple battle to a race to the finish.
Along with a wealth of single player content, the game supports local and online multiplayer.
“I love how I can now smash whenever and wherever I want,” said senior Nicholas Yiv.
With new characters and maps SSB43DS seems to have earned a permanent place in the pocket of any Nintendo fan.

The Long Beach Poly Marching Unit (more commonly known as Marching Band) placed 2nd in their first competition of the year, held at Warren High School in Downey on October 4th. Poly competed against Golden Valley High School. In the 99-degree heat, they played a four movement field show of the selective works of Elton John. This included the songs: “Funeral For A Friend,” “Love Lies Bleeding,” “Your Song,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” The group was led by senior drum major Emily Golison and directed by music teacher Chris Stevens, Bobby Fray, and chemistry teacher Casey Gillett.Photo Courtesy of Nancy Levy

Coach Don Norford was an invaluable asset to Poly sports for many years, and to fully recognize and appreciate all he has done, Campus Security Officer Rey Porter teamed up with Milo Meaks and Antonio Gilbreath to create a documentary on the legacy of “PapaDon.”
Coach Norford received awards as both top track and field and top football coach in the nation, which no other person has accomplished.
“God just brought it to me,” said Porter about conjuring the idea for the documentary.
Porter was worried Norford would not agree to having a documentary made.
“He’s a private person,” said Porter, “but he embraced it.”
“The goal is to expose the mentorship of Don,” said Porter. Norford is featured in Denzel Washington’s book on mentorship, A Hand to Guide Me.
There will be many famous NFL players in the film who were inspired and mentored by Norford. He helped his players through difficult times, sometimes offering a place to stay and providing a true coach-player companionship.
“We needed a narrator,” said Porter, “and I said, ‘Snoop!’ I called him up and told him what I was doing…he said it would be a privilege.”
“Snoop scheduled an album photo shoot at Poly and…[afterwards] I miked him, began interviewing him, and a crowd circled around us…He did an amazing job.”
Snoop contributed to more than just the narration. “[He] set us up with his people in Hollywood at Paradigm Entertainment,” said Porter.
They ended up meeting to work on the documentary for more than three hours.
The documentary is only a small part of a full-scale project.
“We’re doing three things simultaneously,” said Porter. “We’re doing the movie script, the documentary, and the book.”
Help with the documentary came from various faculty members, a student from the USC film school, and all the people touched by Coach Norford.
The documentary will feature Norford’s exploits as a mentor as well as detail his major national coaching awards and his approximately fifty championship rings.
The rough cut for the documentary has already been previewed at CSULB, and a ten-minute sneak peak can be found on YouTube under “PapaDon Sizzle.mov.”
Currently, Porter, Meaks, and Gilbreath are working to update everything, condense it from ninety to sixty minutes, and convert it to HD.
Porter revealed that the documentary should be finished by January of 2015.
Coach Norford has contributed much to maintaining and building upon Poly’s reputable image.

Since its creation in 1995, Poly Burgers has played a pivotal role in Poly’s off-campus culture.

The burger joint, located two blocks to the right of Poly, frequently attracts students with its inexpensive, salty fries and student-friendly atmosphere.

Anyone who steps into Poly Burgers on a weekday afternoon can observe the swarms of Poly students laughing and sharing their paper sacks full of french fries, burgers and sandwiches.

Yukon Oh originally bought the building as “Tomy Burgers,” but changed the name of his restaurant when he found customers were confusing his business with a franchise of the same name.

“I thought about many names, and since this block of businesses is often called the ‘Poly Plaza.’ I asked the school if I could use the name Poly Burgers, and they said yes,” explained Oh.

The name change simply labeled the business’s already well-established relationship with Poly students, and gave it stronger ties to the school.

“I come here four to five times a week,” said junior Jimmy Ruiz, as he sat with a few of his friends at one of the tables outside of Poly Burgers. “It’s convenient and you get a lot [of food].”

When asked about the nature of a restaurant where the main customers are students, Oh answered with a smile.

“Since the beginning, students respect Poly Burgers, they listen if I request something, they act respectfully, just like they do in school. Customers think they look wild, that they look eccentric, but they don’t harm anybody.” Thank goodness for that, since

Poly students are Poly Burger’s most loyal fans. Poly Burgers has a culture of its own. One woman, whom everyone knows as ‘Mama G,’ sports a black security jacket and calls herself the protector of the students who come to eat at Poly Burgers.

“Mama G is our protector. She takes care of us,” explained senior Amanda Martinez, a regular of the restaurant.

Oh estimated that Mama G has been visiting Poly Burgers for more than 10 years. Her presence adds to the idiosyncrasies of Poly Burgers that make it an integral part of the Long Beach community.

Poly Burger has also given back to the Poly community.

“Over the many years, I’ve tried to support Poly by donating to the ethnic clubs, football, baseball, basketball, and track,” said Oh, “It’s not much, but I try.” In fact, every year Poly Burgers donates a $1000 scholarship to Poly students.

Regardless of whether it’s the food or the faces, the students keep coming back.

“I’ve always considered it a must if you go to Poly,” said junior Maria Palaroan, as she licked a soft-serve ice cream she had just bought from Poly Burgers.

“Yea, if you go to Poly, you go to Poly Burgers,” chimed in junior Jeffrey Lam, waving a fry.

As much as Poly Burgers is loved for its consistencies, Mr. Oh said he is trying to improve his menu with the addition of healthier options.

“Now many people look for healthy food- we have chicken salad and veggie bowls,” said Oh.

While Poly Burgers may be including new items on their menu, it seems as though Oh is confident that his business doesn’t need to drastically change. He knows students will keep coming back for the food they’ve always loved, and Poly Burgers will continue to be an iconic tie between the school it’s named after and the surrounding Long Beach community.

Since the age of Gutenberg, books have been a prominent part of the world’s history. Books have engaged us, educated us, and have enlarged our imaginations. However, with the arrival of highly popular e-books, kindles and iPads, words written on paper are now being classified as old and outdated.

Electronic books, or e-books, are defined as digital book-length manuscripts and are produced on a computer or other electronic devices. In 2007, a device called the Kindle was released in the United States and produced by Amazon, which launched a competitive movement to deliver e-books and other written materials in a convenient, inexpensive way that fits more comfortably into today’s modern digital age, as opposed to physical books.

“Device book viewing is inevitable. All or most paper written books will be replaced by reading via e-book,” said Pamela Oehlman, who is Poly’s librarian.

EBSCO, a company that provides an array of online text books and audio books, is now an option for students attending Huntington Beach High School. This company has created an alternative to the hassle of checking out library books. With the spread of EBSCO, many students and faculty members believe it is only a matter of time before E-books are integrated into the Poly system.

“Within ten years common library books will be substituted with devices that contain text reading material. The only problem is, some students will not have access to such device,” said Oehlman.

Although the use of reading devices might solve issues such as book damage, check out hassle, and an overall loss of interest, students who do not own any of these devices will be at a significant disadvantage. If reading devices are offered at libraries as opposed to books, students who do not have access to these devices will have to check one out, posing new costs and expensive fines.

iPads and Kindles include gaming apps and other forms of entertainment which uproots the question of whether or not integration into schools is actually beneficial.

“These reading devices will be a distraction and will add to problems with classroom retention,” said senior Chris Adams.

Times are changing and older resources are shifting into the new, digital age. Although reading via digital device is probably a part of our future, whether or not this idea will benefit schools seems to be strongly questioned.

Poly’s Marching Unit marched into second place on Saturday, October 4 at the 13th Annual Kennedy Field Tournament. Poly placed second out of the three bands in the 2A division. Twelve bands competed in the Tournament.

Poly’s score put them ahead of Marina High School’s Marching Unit, but behind Rancho Cucamonga’s.

The Jackrabbit auxiliary scored 3rd in the 2A division. The auxiliary, which includes the color guard, is also known as the Polyettes.
“I feel like this is a very good start,” said sophomore saxophonist Paul-Edward Johnson.

“We tried our hardest and prevailed” said sophomore mellaphone section leader Daniel Sagrera.

Poly’s field show this year is La Nouba, a compilation of Cirque du Soleil songs including; Distorted, Rêve Rouge, Urban, and A La Lune.
Poly’s Marching Unit is led by senior Drum Major James Donahue.

“At the beginning the pit was really rag tag. I myself started late, but we all put 100% in which is why I believe we are constantly improving each day and we will be ready for the next competition,” said pit member Truan Barkis.

Poly’s marching band, which performs their field show at every home game, will also perform their show at two more events, LBUSD’s Band Spectacular, and Huntington Beach High’s Field Tournament. LBUSD’s Band Spectacular will feature bands from all five of Long Beach’s high schools.

Poly and Jordan battled it out to rally up friendly competition for the Homecoming game last Thursday at the annual Homecoming Battle.

Student Commission organized another successful Battle, this time in the parking lot of the Baja Senora on Atlantic Avenue, to help raise funds and school spirit in anticipation for Poly’s Homecoming football game.

“I was the head of this event and there was a lot of work that went into it,” explained senior Girls’ Athletic Director Alexis De La Fuente. “Pep rally fundraisers are a great way to raise money for our school while showcasing the talent of our band and cheerleaders.”

Poly and Jordan faced off in the form of a combination battle of the bands and cheer off where they took turns to exhibit their expertise and muster up a spirit of competition and school pride. There was also a performance by the Jordan dance team and an appearance by some of the International Ambassadors who were formally showcased during the Homecoming game.

“It’s fantastic to have this friendly rivalry on and off the field,” said Poly’s co-Principal Principal, Joe Carlson. “Poly and Jordan have more in common than you think.”
The event served not only to bring together the two schools in a friendly competition, but also to raise money. Ten percent of all the proceeds Baja Senora made that night was split in half and given back to both Jordan and Poly.

“It was a really fun experience; it’s something I probably wouldn’t forget. It was really cool to see all these people come out to support the teams,” said junior songleader Sonita Tan.

Poly and Jordan faced off once again on the field last Friday at the homecoming game in which the Jackrabbits won 31-0.