Olivierio to Olivero

Olivierio to Olivero.
This name change marked my great-grandfather as a legal citizen of the United States.
And it remains evidence of a big transition in my family history.
Instead of clinging to their experiences back in Telese, Italy, near Napoli, my ancestors wanted to become Americanized and make a new life for themselves.
In doing so, they left behind a family business.
Telese is close to Monte Vesuvio, and my family owned a nearby resort featuring mineral springs and excellent wines. When they left Italy to seek a better life and a different trade, they also left the resort.
Pasquale “Pat” Olivierio traveled to the United States on a boat from Italy in 1890 when he was just 3 years old. Although he was not completely aware of the change at that young age, he was transplanted from the mountain resort to the hustle and bustle of New York City.
He came with his family through Ellis Island and immense throngs of immigrants from other countries. They went to work as soon as they could in one of the many textile factories which provided immediate work for immigrants. And they lived in a small, dirty room just as many of us have seen in history books.
His many siblings, 16 in all, including him, worked side by side with him as soon as they could walk and talk.
Only about nine of these siblings reached adolescence, however, due to the various ailments that occurred at that time in the dangerous work conditions and unsanitary living quarters.
Two of them entered into priesthood. Like most Italian families, they were Catholic.
Money was hard to come by so they moved to Chicago Heights, a heavily Italian area in Illinois, as soon as they acquired money enough to do so. They all worked odd jobs to keep afloat. One was even selling alcohol, or what was called “bathtub gin,” during the Prohibition years.
Great-great-grandpa Olivero died early, around the age of 33, because of a raging infection caused by a cut when he was slaughtering a rabbit to eat. With today’s antibiotics, this could have been treated easily.
His son, my great-grandpa Pasquale, moved to Decatur, Ill. at the age of 13 to find a job and finish school. This was too hard of an accomplishment. In order to support himself financially, he dropped out of his last year of grade school and started a full-time job as a milkman.
He met his wife when he delivered milk to her farm. They married and had two children, including James Olivero, my grandfather.
During World War II, Pasquale served as a translator in Italy. It was a strange experience fighting against the culture that he held dear and even a few people that he knew personally.
When he returned, and developed a very successful contracting business, he succeeded in sending his son James to Stanford University, where he received a doctorate degree in education.
At 70, Pasquale joined his son James and grandson Michael — my father — to finally travel back to Italy to see our relatives.
My great-grandfather needed a new birth certificate because the original had been lost a long time ago in a house fire.
In Italy, they played bocce ball, a lawn bowling game, and watched soccer — two very Italian and European social activities.
To this day the family there still owns a winery and the resort with hot springs where Pasquale “Pat” Olivierio was born.
Through the generations, my family has held onto some strong Italian traditions. My father remembers having to wear a wreath of garlic to school when he had a cold because it was believed that would cure it and having his grandfather blow tobacco smoke into his ears to help with earaches.
I only met with my great-grandfather once, when I was about 9 years old.
While people could see his passion for his old country, he was a proud American as well. Up until the end of his life, he would become offended to the point of fistfighting if someone called him a “guinea” or a “wop,” derogatory names for Italians.
Traditions that carry on today include huge family gatherings, a passion for soccer and lots of food. This includes, of course, spaghetti.
You’ve never known spaghetti until you’ve had it in the traditional Italian style. This involves sauce that takes more than six hours to make, hand-rolled meatballs, and spicy Italian sausages that are enough to make you perspire slightly.
My allegiances for soccer switch between France and Italy — but I’d rather play for Ike girls any day!
In additional to Italians, I also descend from the potato-growing Irish and sheep-herding English.
Although I don’t look like the traditional Italian with dark hair, eyes and skin, my ancestral country’s pride runs as strong as the blood through my veins.
I’m proud to have an Italian heritage.

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a 2010 graduate of Eisenhower High School and a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

The power of choice and preparing for college

I never realized the change that took place inside of me until now.
This week, I graduate from Eisenhower High School. But before coming here, I attended St. Joseph-Marquette School from third grade until eighth grade.
Our class was close. Every one of us had a relationship and attachment and a sense of belonging that I had never felt before in my life.
We had our basketball games, where we screamed “Go Squires!” and did the wave; our recesses, during which every boy would be expected to play basketball; and our school store, which would occasionally see its entire stock raided and its content consumed (free of charge).
We did things as a group, and I never wanted to leave them. Because of our bond, I was completely sold on the idea of sticking with Catholic school and going to La Salle High School after eighth-grade graduation.
But there was a problem. We had limited funding for my education. If I was to attend La Salle, I would be cutting into my college fund and putting an immense financial strain on my mother when college time came around.
For this, and wider opportunities at a bigger school, she decided I should attend Eisenhower. This is an extreme opposite of La Salle, and I saw it right away.
The first week of my high school education I saw kids skipping class, drug exchanges on the corner opposite from school, and a girl fight that included using heels as a tool of impalement.
I also took part in my first 2,000-person pep rally for our school’s outstanding football team, attended my first class meeting of 500, and started my soccer career.
I was completely in culture shock.
But looking back on all of my high school experiences now that high school is slowing to a halt, I see the wisdom in my mother’s decision.
I was able to choose what I wanted to do, with whom I wanted to hang out, and what activities were — and weren’t — worth my time.
There were more clubs to join, school-wide activities to take part in every day, and all sorts of different people that do different activities and have different values and morals than I do.
At Ike, I learned the power of choice. And it helped me mature beyond what I would have been able to do at a smaller school.
Eisenhower prepared me for college. It educated me through rigorous Advanced Placement classes, forced me to organize by risk of failure, and did not baby me when decisions made by overpowering authorities didn’t go my way.
I’m going to miss the sports games and theme days as well as the classes that I’m sure will be even more extreme in college.
Thank you, Eisenhower, for preparing me for success.

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a senior at Eisenhower High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.

What should the new Ike look like?

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL
Eisenhower High School is going to be rebuilt in two years.
In the meantime, students and staff members have all kinds of ideas about what should be incorporated into the new building.
Forty-year-old Ryan Froula, for example, has put much thought into what the new Ike needs. The math teacher wants to make sure it’s “large enough to accommodate the student body in all areas.”
Some things, Froula says, should be kept, including mementos like the crest, plaques and aerial photograph of the current — soon-to-be old — school.
In the new school, he also wants to see technology galore.
“There are fantastic opportunities to teach and learn using a multitude of technologies,” he says.
On Froula’s wish list for his classroom: A projector, document camera, mobile computer lab and Smart Board, which is like a white board with a touch screen.
Phil English, a 54-year-old science teacher, has similar views.
“It needs to be energy-efficient and people-friendly,” he says of the new Ike.
Like Froula, English says the building should be more spacious and shouldn’t feel crowded. He would also like to see an expanded agricultural curriculum, including a greenhouse.
Fifty-eight-year-old Belinda Buehler, who teaches home economics and healthy choices, looks at the school in a more food-oriented way. She would like to have a culinary program as well as microwaves in the cafeteria and a built-in barbecue area, either indoors or outdoors.
She would also like to see a preschool for childcare and more vocational options for students who aren’t looking to go to college or a university.
Buehler also suggested an outdoor courtyard.
Jessica Bush, an 18-year-old senior, has more of a sports-related view. She wants to see a state-of-the-art weight room, swimming pool, and more than one gym.
Jason Easter, a 15-year-old sophomore, reiterates the need for a sports complex with extra parking and new fields with artificial turf. He favors tearing down the old stadium and — if possible — building a new one across the street at Fisher Park.
“Put in a sports complex,” agrees Timothy Cummings, a 16-year-old junior. He says he would appreciate an multi-use stadium with an aquatic center and indoor track.
Froula, who is also a baseball coach, says he thinks a “state-of-the-art” sports complex is very important.
When it comes to the cafeteria, freshmen might have stronger opinions because they are required to stay on campus for lunch.
Rachel Lopez, a 14-year-old freshman, would like to see more food options as well as more room.
Now, “There’s only three feet of walking space” between tables, she says
English agrees. “Students shouldn’t have to eat in the halls at lunch,” he says.
Many students also want to see a center for socialization. A commons are would give students a place to study, chit chat or hang around.
According to Cassie Manjarrez, a 16-year-old junior, this is very important. “We need a hang-out area,” she says.
Overall, she says, “The new Ike should be a safe place where students want to come and learn.”

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a senior at Eisenhower High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Working: barista

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
UNLEASHED STAFF
Rich aromas fill the shop.
So do the sounds of whirring blenders and coffee grinders. Posters featuring the game schedules of nearby Eisenhower High School hang on the walls.
Behind the counter, Cassie Gordon is ready with a smile to make an espresso drink or blended beverage.
Her favorite is a caramel macchiato, unstirred. She likes the layers.
And she loves her customers. She says she knows 80 percent of them by first name or at least their regular drink order.
“I take great pride in knowing my customers,” she says.

Gordon, 29, is the owner of Tom Tom Espresso at 412 S. 40th Ave., across the street from Ike.
Gordon says she became interested in the espresso business when she was 15 and working at State Fair Park. She first made espresso drinks then.
She has worked at Tom Tom for three years now. She bought the business two and a half years ago.
At first, “It was scary to be responsible for someone else’s paycheck,” she says. “I went from total security to unknown.”
Now, Gordon employs six people plus herself. Most employees make minimum wage plus tips.
Gordon does everything from ordering supplies to delivering drinks to customers. Her shop is open every day, 24 hours a day, so she has had her fair share of long days.
Tom Tom sells beverages from Americanos to Italian sodas and lemonade. It also sells blended, iced beverages, fruit smoothies and other specialty drinks.
Snacks are also available, from muffins and chips to breakfast sandwiches and pork egg rolls.
Megan Kinney, a 17-year-old junior at Ike, is a frequent customer at Tom Tom, particularly during her lunch break. Her favorite drink is a peach-lemon iced tea. What keeps her coming back to Tom Tom?
“The staff is always pleasant, and their location is convenient,” she says.
Stephanie Carlsen, 56, of Yakima likes Tom Tom’s cappuccinos. She says the coffee shop being open all hours makes it easy to fit visits into her schedule. She frequently uses the drive-up window.
“Cassie always greets you with a smile,” Carlsen says.
Customer service is important to Gordon.
“I love my customers,” she says, adding the food service industry “is good for people.”
“It gets them on the other side of the counter and makes them more courteous, grateful and patient.”

• Lety Clark-Olivero is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

Gang life: a hard decision for some

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
UNLEASHED STAFF
The lure is “life with no limits,” says Alex Santillanes.
Drugs, alcohol, adrenaline, and a sense of belonging or feeling that the group has got your back.
These are the things that attract people, particularly teenage boys and young men to gangs, according to Santillanes, the 65-year-old executive director of Barrios Unidos, or United Neighborhoods, a gang outreach ministry program for the Catholic Diocese of Yakima.

A gang member’s life is full of danger and crime. Yet, it can still seem attractive to newcomers, many of whom come for low-income households and grow up in neighborhoods where gang activity is prevalent.
As children, they might see older gang members try to recruit young boys who are attracted to their tough, “machismo” behavior, or tagging homes and buildings with numbers and letters that represent different gangs. They might also see teens wearing colors associated with gangs.
And they might be invited to hang out and go to parties, where they’re introduced to a life characterized by drugs, sex, alcohol, crime and violence.
If the answer is no, they aren’t left alone. They might be wooed or intimidated until they finally say yes.
“They can be threatened, harassed or beat up,” Santillanes says.
Vanessa Alamo, a 16-year-old junior at Eisenhower High School, grew up with people who were in gangs. She says she was 14 when she was first approached.
Initially, she agreed: “I was having a lot of family problems, and (gang members) were always there for me.”
A friend persuaded her to rethink her decision. But Alamo says, “They kept asking, and I kept ignoring them.”
However, not all teens can withstand the pressure.
“I got rushed in,” says a former gang member who asked not to be named. The 16-year-old attends Eisenhower and says he was 13 when he was initiated into a gang by nine or 10 others.
Gangs initiate new members in different ways. The most common form is being “rushed in,” or “jumped in,” or being beaten by gang members already involved. The person being initiated isn’t allowed to fight back.

Other forms of initiation include committing various crimes — from beating someone up to vandalizing property, even killing a rival gang member — to prove their allegiance, Santillanes says.
After initiation, a new gang member is expected to follow the rules of the lifestyle. He — or she — isn’t allowed to associate with members of rival gangs, and is expected to show up when called to a brawl and commit crimes that are ordered by superiors.
“They are to follow orders that they’re given,” Santillanes says.
Subsequently, they have to be on constant lookout for enemies, rival gangs and police.
“Supposedly, you are supposed to feel protected”” says the 16-year-old former gang member who asked to remain anonymous. “The truth is you are in more danger.”
There are approximately 1,200 to 1,400 gang members in Yakima, according Sgt. Joe Salinas, a member of the Yakima Police Gang Enforcement Team.
“And that number could easily be doubled for the (entire Yakima) Valley,” says Salinas, who supervises a group of officers that are responsible for curbing gang activity in the city.
Usually, the gang unit is called about graffiti and fights, but sometimes they are also involved with homicide cases involving known gang members.
Salinas says he has seen a significant decrease in gang activity — maybe even by 50 percent, he says — in the past five years. He credits the crack-down on gangs and gang laws as well as an increasing lack of acceptance by the community.
Barrios Unidos is also helping. The program, which focuses on prevention, education, and intervention, was established in 1997. Today, the program has locations in Yakima and Toppenish. There’s interest in adding one in Prosser as well, Santillanes says.
Barrios Unidos offers a safe haven for kids that live in gang-affiliated neighborhoods. Members meet once a month during the academic year and two or three times during the summer. During meetings, they are expected to respect people’s property and leave their gang identities behind.
“Norteños and Sureños unite under one banner of Barrios Unidos,” Santillanes says.
A success story for the program is Pablo Casillas, an 18-year-old senior at Mabton High School. Casillas says he was never in a gang, but he was affiliated with gang members and hung around them at his school.
When he lived in Grandview, gang members gave him trouble, demanding to know which gang he was “down for” and what color he supported. Casillas met Santillanes at a leadership conference last February. And Santillanes inspired him to change his life.
Now, Casillas wants to “change kids’ lives” through his experiences, “instead of seeing kids die over a color.” He’s president of Barrios Unidos.
“I talk to kids; principals approach me. I’m sort of like a counselor,” Casillas says. “What it comes down to is love and the family bond; this is what they see in gangs, but it’s really not the right one.”
Instead of joining gangs, he hopes young people get involved with other activities.
“There is a lot of effort put on by numerous communities to counter gang violence, and if the youth step up to follow suit things will change,” he said.

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She is a junior at Eisenhower High School.

We’re thankful for …

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, some of the Unleashed kids — student reporters, photographers and artists from around the Yakima Valley — are sharing what they’re grateful for this year.
Some are local, like the terraces at Franklin Park. Some are personal, such as banana pancakes with toasted pecans and powdered sugar with steaming hot syrup. And some are universal: Life itself, clean water and food, shelter.
Plus, there are many more.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Jessica Serrano, La Salle High School
• Faith and justice.
• Family and loved ones.
• Diversity.
• Freedom of speech.
• Strawberrries.
• Philanthropy and philanthropists.
• Forgiveness.
• New beginnings.
• Art.
• Life itself.

Lisa Garrigues, Naches Valley High School
• My caring parents.
• My protective older sisters and brother.
• My supportive friends, teammates, teachers and coaches.

Hannah Naughton, Davis High School
• My family’s health.
• Banana pancakes with toasted pecans and powdered sugar with steaming hot syrup.
• My parents’ love.
• My friends.
• My two crazy sisters.

Samantha Knittle, Davis
• Marching band.
• My family.
• The sun and warm weather.
• School (but not homework).
• Clean water and food.
• My friends.
• Free speech.
• My teeth.
• Drum Corp International.
• God.
• Chocolate.
• Swing sets.
• My teachers.

Hannah Kivi, Riverside Christian School
• Freedom of religion.
• My parents.
• My friends.
• My Bible.
• Softball.
• My house.
• My school.
• Unleashed.
• Our country.
• Music.
• My ability to write.
• Gum.

Lety Clark-Olivero, Eisenhower High School
• My parents.
• My siblings.
• Shelter.
• Sustenance.
• My cell phone with its unlimited texting.
• Jesus.
• A healthy body.
• Laughter, life, love and a little dancing mixed in there somewhere.
• My boyfriend.
• My friends.

Kami Cross, Eisenhower
• “One Tree Hill.”
• Starbucks Christmas decorations.
• A car that runs (most of the time).
• Addicting books.
• Cuddling.
• My loving family.
• Thursdays.
• Friends.
• Football games. (And the end of football season.)
• Rainy days.
• Strawberry-pineapple iced teas.
• Musicals.
• Running through the sprinklers at night.
• My bed being right under the heating vent.
• Peacoats.
• Family videos from when I was little.

Georgia Gempler, Davis
• Freedom.
• Education.
• Family.
• Animals.
• Shelter.
• Opportunity.
• Books.
• Technology.
• Snow.
• Music.
• Artistic expression.
• Free time.
• Movies.

Loren Button, Riverside Christian
• Jesus.
• My parents.
• My home.
• My friends.
• “Guitar Hero: World Tour.”
• Being a senior in high school!

Colleen Fontana, Davis
Long books and warm blankets on cold rainy afternoons. Music and iPods and singing loudly in the shower. Friends to understand me and parents to confide in. Sisters to cry to and brothers to make me laugh. Raspberry peach iced teas from Lincoln Avenue Espresso and blue Papermate pens.
Warm winter coats and old furry boots. Moleskine planners from Inklings Bookshop and sledding down the terraces at Franklin Park. Stick shifts and curly hair and laughter and bright pink nail polish. My camera, Benji, and pony tail holders.
Summer thunder storms and the smell of the rain afterward. Games of kick the can and lap tag. Volleyballs and pianos and coffee. Thank goodness for coffee, and the roof over my head and the God over my roof and this life with which I have been blessed.

Sean Nagle-McNaughton, Davis
• Books.
• Music.
• Friends.
• Parents.
• Brothers.
• Kindness.
• Knowledge.
• Challenges.
• Grandparents.
• Conversations.
• Peace and quiet.
• Those who help others.
• Nature.
• Happiness.
• The whooshing sound of deadlines going by (just kidding).
• The world I live in.

Janessa Mains, Eisenhower
• My family.
• My friends.
• My camera.
• Knowledge.
• Books.
• My cat George.

• Animé.
• Gay pride.
• Music.

Hannah Besso, Davis
• A supportive family.
• Loyal friends.
• Laughter.
• Sports.
• Music.
• Weekends.
• Summer.
• Good food.
• Snow.
• Sleep.

Libby Young, La Salle
• God.
• My family.
• My friends.
• My school.
• Church.
• My cats.
• My teachers.
• Life.
• Dance.
• Vacations.
• Books.
• Freedom.
• My iPod.
• My cell phone.

Kacie Cross, Eisenhower
• God.
• My parents.
• My sisters and brother.
• My friends.
• Boys.
• Music.
• Dancing.
• Paper.
• Air.
• Elephant Ears.
• Food.
• Eyes.
• Hands.
• Computers.
• Telephones.
• Movies.
• “One Tree Hill.”
• Books.
• The saying, “If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
• Tennis.
• Musicals.
• Makeup.
• Showers.
• The color blue.
• Rain.
• Relationships.
• Life.
• Love.
• Laughter.

James Hibbs, Davis
• Books.
• The Davis High School library and its librarians. They keep it open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday to help kids study.
• Doug Johnson and Avid.
• Food.
• My siblings.
• My parents.
• Kenneth Capp and epistemology as manifested in “Theory of Knowledge.”

Alex Braman, Davis
• Davis High School.
• My friends (We make Davis fun).
• My iPod (I take it everywhere).
• My camera (I want to take it everywhere).
• My family (They raised me how I am today).

Jasmine Okbinoglu, Eisenhower
• My family and friends.
• Music.
• Books.
• Food.
• Tennis.
• Laughter.
• Summer.
• Swimming.
• Movies.
• Art.
• Nature.
• Candy.

Jessica Cummings, Bickleton High School
• God.
• My loving family.
• My church.
• My fellow believers.
• My friends.
• My gifts and talents.
• My country.

Alyssa Patrick, Eisenhower
• John Mayer’s lyrics and musical talents.
• Sunday nights, squished on the couch between my mom and sister, watching “Grey’s Anatomy.”
• My brother.
• Authors who lace so much into each sentence that my mind never has to stop unraveling new clues.
• Jim and Pam. Always. If the writers on “The Office” break them up, I will have a nervous breakdown.
• Rachel’s Challenge, Leadership Camp and Invisible Children.
• Mango ice cream.
• “Benny and Joon.”
• My family.
• Teachers who never stop teaching the way they believe they should teach, even when some of their students don’t give them that effort in return.
• Broadway.
• Ike’s Little Theater.
• My car, its CD player, and 20-minute drives at the end of long days.
• My bed.
• My physical health, so I can dance.
• My opportunity to go to college.

— Want to see more artwork by artist Samantha Knittle? The Davis High School senior has an online portfolio. To check it out, visit http://samanthaknittle1.tripod.com.

Sarah Palin: “Just Not Up to Par”

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
UNLEASHED STAFF

Are there any U.S. Supreme Court cases other than Roe v. Wade that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can recall?
Apparently not.
When pressed by CBS news anchor Katie Couric, Palin, the vice presidential candidate, couldn’t think of any that she disagreed with or otherwise. Instead, she drew a blank, stalled for time and rambled.
“Well, let’s see,” she said. “There’s, of course — in the great history of America rulings, there have been rulings, that’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be, there would be others but … ”
Even I, a high school junior, can — off the top of my head — name at least three. If a 16-year-old can do this with no government or large leadership experience, what does it say for the future of our country?
Political commentator Jack Cafferty called Palin’s interview with Couric “disastrous.”
“If John McCain wins this woman will be one 72-year-old’s heartbeat away from being President of the United States. And if that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, it should,” he told Wolf Blizter on CNN.
He called a clip from the same interview “one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country.”
And he hit the nail on the head.
Some people view Barack Obama as an unqualified presidential candidate. However, Palin is even more unqualified.
While it’s impressive to me to have a woman running for such a powerful office, there are still standards that should be met no matter what gender a candidate is, and Palin is just not up to par.
She is a good woman in many senses. She grew up in the Alaskan wilderness and hunts and fishes like many Americans. She is also the mother of five, one of whom is pregnant at 17, another of whom is serving in the military, and a newborn with Down syndrome. She’s been through a lot and fought through it.
But does her hockey mom instinct and beauty pageant smile make her a qualified candidate to be the second-in-command of our country?
I think not.
Palin does posses an uncanny ability to talk on a personal level through her winks, nods, and scrunching of her nose in debates. But what about the actual answers to the questions? She seems to dance around them and always refers back to her talking points, which, by the way, are on note cards held under the podium during debates.
McCain is 72. If the McCain-Palin ticket wins, it’s very likely Palin could become president.
Please, America, make the right decision. Vote Barack Obama and John Biden. We must keep McCain and his smiling beauty queen out of office.

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

“Everything and More for Me”

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL

“I want to be the first woman president.”

How many of you have heard a girl say that? I can think of at least 20. When I said that sentence, I was in school at Adams Elementary and can proudly say I was at the top of my class.

In those days, becoming president seemed quite near and local, but as I grew I changed my focus a bit. After doing a project on snow leopards, I decided I wanted to work as a veterinarian for the endangered species of the world. Of course, I had no plan for getting there, but I was determined that I would.

In seventh grade, I did my first free write. The rules were gone. We needed to work on grammar, punctuation and sentence flow, but the topics were for us to choose. The point was to get us interested and writing about things that were important to us.

If I remember correctly, I did my first free write on how stupid I thought the assignment was. To my surprise, I had lots of fun.

I used a thesaurus and found seven different synonyms for stupid. This fueled my interest and left me hungry for a challenge. Plus, I had fun with my writing.

A year later in eighth grade, my teacher proposed an opportunity to the class: try to get on Unleashed, the teen section of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

I grabbed the flier and booked it home to show my mother. I remembered her showing me the section and trying to motivate me into trying out. My experience from the free write and my teacher’s recommendation made me actually take it seriously.

My mom was ecstatic, and I immediately got to work on my application and questions, and collecting teachers’ recommendations.

I was excited because writing entertained me. But I was also pumped to have the people of the Yakima Valley look at me, have something impressive on my résumé, meet new people and be challenged and exposed to new and exciting things.

Unleashed has been everything and more for me. I have been fairly successful, and it’s an adrenaline rush every time I see my name in print.

It’s brought me joy.

— Lety Clark-Olivero, a junior at Eisenhower High School, is in her third year on the Unleashed team.

Girls and Knee Injuries

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL
Anna Johnson took a twist toward the ball, and something went terribly wrong. Within seconds, the teen athlete was rolling in pain on the floor of the indoor soccer arena.
“I knew I tore it,” says the 17-year-old senior at Eisenhower High School. “It felt like my knee popped out and came back in.”

Johnson and her family rushed to the emergency room. After differing prognoses, including a sprain and a full tear, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, confirmed Johnson had a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. That’s the tendon that holds the two bones together in the center of the knee.
At the time — the injury occurred during a coed game last March — Johnson says her biggest concern was not being able to play for soccer for the season and maybe even her final year at Ike.
And she’s not alone.
Baylee Jones, a 16-year-old junior at Ike, had a similar knee injury last September. Jones was playing in a league soccer game against a Moses Lake team.
“I was running next to a girl and she ran into me and hit the right spot,” Jones says. Her first thought: “Please, God, don’t let it be my ACL.”
Jones was carried off the field. A trainer determined her knee had been dislocated. A trip to the emergency room later confirmed she was suffering from a dislocated knee cap. But the pain and swelling didn’t go down.
“Even through my professional training and the use of ibuprofen, heat and ice, the swelling didn’t go down,” says her mom, Joyce Jackson, a personal trainer.
Another trip to see a doctor — and an MRI — showed a tear of the ACL.
Around the same time, there was yet another knee injury. Megan Kinney, a 16-year-old junior at Ike, was playing in a league soccer game. She was taking a kick at the ball when her foot hooked another player’s foot. She fell. Upon getting back up, Kinney felt something was seriously wrong.
“My leg felt like Jell-O,” she says.

Kinney substituted out of the game. A trip to see a doctor and an MRI showed a tear of the MCL, or medial collateral ligament, located on the outside of the knee.

Knee and other sports injuries are more common in female athletes than their male counterparts. In fact, women are up to eight times more likely to damage their ACLs than men.
Michael Sokolove documents the alarming statistics in his new book, “Warrior Girls.” Published in June, his book asserts women can reduce their risk with proper attention and training.
But they are still more vulnerable to sports injuries, particularly ACL injuries, than men. According to Jackson, girls especially suffer joint injuries, particularly in their knees, because of the elasticity of their joints.
“Women’s joints need to be limber so they can move to carry a baby during pregnancy,” she says, adding this “creates major problems in athletic girls.”
Most of the women with knee injuries she sees are 16 to 30 years old. She recommends all athletic young women not only do regular exercises, but find exercises that focus on strengthening the knees and muscles surrounding them.
Richard Roux, a doctor with Northwest Orthopedics in Yakima, is a specialist on the issue. He’s been practicing in Yakima for 18 years and says he has worked on more than a thousand knee injuries in women.
“There are more ACL injuries in female athletes than there are in male athletes,” he confirms. “However, the differences that cause these aren’t fully understood.”
Many ideas have been circulating, Roux says, including differences in bone structure and narrower notches in women’s knee bone, anatomical muscle mass, endocrine and training differences.

The sporting lives of three teenage Yakima girls — Johnson, Jones and Kinney — were disrupted because of knee injuries. And now these athletes are at risk for even more struggles with their knees as they grow older.
To recover from her ACL injury, Johnson wore a brace and went to physical therapy. But she reports she still occasionally feels pain.
Jones needed surgery; her ACL had to be rebuilt.

“It was totally gone,” she says.
Recuperation took about six months and included physical therapy and the use of a brace. Sometimes, she says, she still feels tightness in her knee.
Kinney didn’t need surgery. She wore a brace and iced and elevated her knee for about three weeks before getting back to basketball and soccer.
Knee injuries can cause excruciating physical pain as well as the emotional pain of missing play and practice. Still Jones tried to remain positive. Although her ACL injury hurt a lot and required surgery, she says, “It’s not the end of the world.”

Sex Education

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL

“Mommy, where do babies come from?”

This question, dreaded by many parents, is often presented to them by their sons or daughters in the early years of their children’s lives.

And typically it leads to “The Talk,” which is usually more about birds and bees than how life is created by a man and a woman.

To ease parents’ pain as well as educate kids on the basics of sex and health, schools provide sexual education. At Eisenhower High School, and many schools throughout the Yakima Valley, this class is called “health” and encompasses a variety of ways in which teens can lead healthy lives.

In it, students learn about their bodies’ reactions to everything from diet and exercise to drugs and sex. One of the main portions of this course is teaching about abstinence as well as condoms, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases and, of course, pregnancy. It is a required course for students to take before they can graduate. And it can be controversial.

How does sexual education impact decisions made by teens about their sexual activity? Does sex ed help or hinder? And does it even matter in the heat of the moment?

These are questions I asked several teens from the Yakima area. And this is what I found:

• To the teens who have had no sexual experience, sexual education was a valuable and needed asset to all public schools.

For example, one 16-year-old Ike sophomore who didn’t want to be named but has taken health class said she learned about things of which she was previously unaware, such as “disgusting STDs” and other risks.

However, those aren’t the only reasons she has remained abstinent. She said “my religion as well as my morals” have helped more than anything else when it comes to questions about sexual activity.

Still, she said sex ed is a good asset in schools: “If it can protect one person, it’s all worth it.”

• To teens who have had some sexual experiences, including oral sex, sex ed has taught them about sex, but not impacted their decisions whether to have sexual experiences.

• And teens who already have sex have about the same take.

For example, two 17-year-old Ike juniors who also didn’t want to be named said the class helped them learn and made them more cautious and aware of their surroundings.

“It was my favorite class because you learned about stuff that actually applies to you,” one of them said.

All in all, students seem to think sex ed is a valuable asset.

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