Novelty of new school hasn’t worn off for West Valley highschoolers

By HANNAH SOUERS
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Two months have passed since the new West Valley High School opened its doors, just in time for the start of the school year.
By now, students and staff alike have learned to find their way around the 240,338-square-foot building.
Getting around the new building is much easier than the old high school down Zier Road. In the new high school, more than 94,000 square feet — including the second-story skybridge overlooking the commons area — is earmarked for hallways and movement around the building, giving students a chance to experience a truly spacious school.
They seem to like it.

Getting a new building “is the biggest deal of high school,” says 17-year-old Nashrah Mazhar. A senior, she’s a member of the first class — the Class of 2010 — that will graduate from the new West Valley High School.
“The best thing in the new high school is how we aren’t crammed into little classrooms, hallways and the cafeteria,” says 16-year-old Mikele Cluff, a junior. Plus, “All the students can park in the actual parking lot, not a dirt field.”
Students have a fresh start in keeping the school clean and preventing wear and tear on the shiny, new building. And most of the time students show remarkable amounts of respect — and pride — in their new $60 million school.
But there seems to be a certain laziness within the school’s commons area, which also serve as a cafeteria.
“There’s still a litter problem,” says 18-year-old senior Preston Wade, gesturing toward a Gatorade spill on the floor.
And, “In a few spots, there is already writing on the desks,” says another student, 17-year-old Marshall Kent, a junior.
Classrooms are starting to take on personal touches. For example, art teacher Debbie Sundlee has given her classroom walls a bit of color by covering almost every inch with students’ paintings, drawings and any other forms of art.

Sundlee says she likes the building’s natural light and center courtyard. Plus, she says, “I love the architect’s choice of color and texture.”
Most classrooms have a view of the courtyard, located in the middle of the building. Classrooms also feature increased technology, such as Smartboards, or interactive whiteboards with the enhancements of a computer.
Classrooms also have the capability of turning into computer labs and feature many more electrical outlets than the old school. And that’s not all.
“There is actually heating and air-conditioning,” says 16-year-old junior Ashley Packard. “The portables at the old high school were always freezing or roasting.”
There were a couple of quirks in the construction of the new high school. For example, many students don’t know that three weeks before the start of school there were no floors in the commons area. Apparently, the contractors were sent the wrong tiles, orange and cream rather than red and blue.
School started on time, but there were still some punch list items to complete.
“The school was opened because school had to start,” says assistant superintendent Tom Fleming, “not because it was finished.”
In fact, work is still being done on the grounds, including the baseball and softball fields. But that hasn’t stopped students from being excited to be going to school.
“I don’t think the novelty has worn off,” Packard says. “Because it’s so much bigger than the old high school, it probably won’t wear off for a while.”
Cluff compares the new school to something seen on the big screen. “Honestly, I feel like we are in ‘High School Musical,’ because that’s what it looks like,” she says. “I just want to break out dancing and singing.”
Wade also compares it to the movies: “It feels like the way the king in ‘The Lion King’ felt as his son was held up on the rock: Astronomical!
• Hannah Souers is a sophomore at West Valley High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.

Senior photos earn WV student a modeling stint in Las Vegas

By ALYSSA PATRICK
UNLEASHED STAFF

Danielle Ball decided to get her senior pictures taken at PhotoNuvo for no other reason than a suggestion from a friend.
How was the West Valley student to know that the owner of the  Ellensburg studio, Linda Hamilton, was a member of the Senior Portrait Artists?
She didn’t until a few months later, when she went from one of thousands participating in a end-of-high-school tradition to one in 15 working as a model at the SPA convention in Las Vegas.
The annual SPA convention focuses on training and techniques for up-and-coming photographers through the teachings of industry bigwigs.
“They want the professional photographers to use high school seniors as models, since they are different to work with than professional models,” Hamilton says.
SPA members can enter seniors in the organization’s modeling contest. And “ … after photographing (Danielle) I thought she’d have a good chance of getting in,” Hamilton says. “She was incredibly easy to get along with, had her own ideas, an obvious modeling background, and left an impression.”

Ball’s modeling experience started at the tender age of 10.
“I’ve been with different modeling agencies who have helped me build a portfolio, but I’ve never been tall enough to really get into the industry,” the 18-year-old  senior says.
“In September (Hamilton) called to ask if I’d be interested in the contest. I said yes, so she had me come back to the studio for some different pictures.”
The second shoot made Ball’s entry stand out against about 300 others, and landed her an all-expense-paid trip to the Red Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in January.

In addition to being one of 15 models selected, Ball was also asked to be one of six to attend the pre-event photo shoot.
“Photographers who wanted some individual time with the big photographers paid a little extra money to attend the pre-event,” she says.
The six models — decked out in clothing picked by a Seventeen magazine stylist — posed for some of the nation’s most renowned senior portrait photographers at the Neon Sign Museum and in Red Rock Canyon.
“The main photographer would take pictures and talk about the techniques he was using to the group of learning photographers surrounding him,” Ball says.
Hamilton says she loves this part of the conference; it’s the chance to watch and learn from big-time photographers who aren’t shooting trained professionals, just high school kids like the seniors she photographs for a living.
Workshops for photographers filled the second day. Hamilton attended presentations about business and marketing while Ball spent the day in fittings and meetings about what the next day’s shoot would look like.
“It was not what I thought it’d be,” Ball says. “I thought we’d take a few pictures and then my mom and I would go shopping, but I was going nonstop. I was blown out of the water, I was working hard and really felt needed. I’ve never felt like such a VIP.”
On the last day, there was an award ceremony and fashion show. One of the most prestigious photographers Ball worked with received an award with a picture he took of her.
As for the fashion show, it was Ball’s first one, and she loved it: “I modeled eight outfits, and each one was an example of an upcoming trend the photographers should expect to see in the next year. It was so fun.”
While this experience embraced Ball’s one-time dream of becoming a model, she says she’s on a different path.
“Modeling is not as realistic for me now,” she says. “I want to further my education, but this was still an amazing experience I’m glad I had the opportunity to take.”

• Alyssa Patrick is the student editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.

The best Christmas present ever

By STACI GOHL
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
This Christmas rivaled all other Christmases.
That’s because I got something I had been asking for more than a year. I got a Gibson Les Paul.
Now it’s only a Studio and not a Standard or Custom, but it’s still a Les Paul. And it sounds great.
I wasn’t really expecting to get anything too exciting this year, but I still joked around with my mom, asking her to buy me a guitar.
I didn’t think she was serious, but she listened to me go on and on about this guitar. We looked on the Internet, and I found one on eBay that I kept going back to.
It was wine red with chrome hardware, just like I had wanted, and in excellent condition. While I was away, my mom put a bid on it. My parents and I had worked out a deal that they would pay for half, and I would come up with the rest.
Naturally, I was wary of buying a guitar on the Internet without even playing it, but the deed was done. My mom was corresponding with the seller, and he was more than helpful. I was impressed, and I knew I was going to get a quality guitar.
He sent me an mp3 of a song he wrote, produced and recorded on my guitar. I’m picky when it comes to music; I know what I like and what I don’t. His work was quality. His voice was easy to listen to, and I could tell he loved making music.
We talked to him on the phone, and he answered all of my questions. He told me a little about his family and his 3-week-old son. I was definitely sold.
There was no way I was going to let someone else outbid us, so I made sure to keep close tabs on the online auction. When we won, I was ecstatic. I called all of my friends who play guitar. They seemed just as happy as I was.
The guitar arrived via UPS in mid-December. My mom let me check it to make sure it was in top condition, then took it away until Christmas.
But I was too excited. From that day, I’d been sneaking my guitar out of its hiding place in the closet while my parents were gone and playing it loud. I was hooked.
Every morning since Christmas, I’ve woken up and looked at my guitar and thought about how much I love it. It’s absolutely wonderful the way the light reflects off those classic curves.
I plan on giving it a name, but I’m waiting for it choose its own. The previous owner called it Red, but I’m not sure that fits something so aesthetically pleasing.
I’ve been playing guitar for three years almost exactly now. I actually got my first guitar three years ago for Christmas. I took lessons from Joe Browning at Taylor Music for about two of those years. He always said he could see me playing for the rest of my life, and I hope he’s right.
I plan on playing this guitar for a long time.

— Staci Gohl is doing a job shadow at the Yakima Herald-Republic as part of her senior project. She attends West Valley High School.

Staci hearts punk

By STACI GOHL

WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

It may be beaten, bloody and bruised lying in a gutter, but surely punk rock isn’t dead.
At least, it isn’t dead to me.
It’s loud and aggressive and offensive, and to me it’s one of the most important things in the world.
Punk isn’t just about running around without any direction causing trouble. It means much more than that. It’s a sense of community and a sense of freedom.
A drum kit, bass and electric guitar is all you need. Well, that and a singer, who can or can’t sing — it doesn’t matter.
There’s an alluring quality in the simplicity. It is raw emotion, and I can feel it every time I play one of my favorite records, like “Energy” by Operation Ivy, “Lower Class Crucifixion” by the Unseen, and “Let’s Go” by Rancid.
It’s an expression. That’s why it’s so wonderful.
Here, the rules of everyday life don’t apply. Just like in the song “Radio” by Rancid: “When I got the music, I got a place to go.”
Punk is a place to run from the stress and frustration of everyday life and the growing obsession with celebrity. Here, there are like-minded people, who may not always have the same opinion, but still respect the right to think for yourself.
There is a sense of camaraderie among these people, people who understand each other, even when the rest of the world doesn’t. Punk is a place to call home.
It’s about standing up for yourself and speaking up when you see something you don’t agree with. It’s a sense of confidence and a motivation and a source of inspiration. Punk is a way to overcome.
And while apathy and the use of drugs and alcohol are closely associated with the punk-rock lifestyle, that’s not what it’s about. It’s not a fashion statement. Punk is a state of mind. One of openness and acceptance. One of breaking the rules. One of out-of-the-box thinking.
Although many people claim to be punk or whatnot, those claims are not something I usually pay much heed to. True punk rockers know that at the end of the day, it’s not about the label, it’s about being at peace with yourself knowing you’ve stayed true. Which definitely isn’t always easy. Punk takes work.
Past all the talk about what punk is or isn’t and all the elitist and trendy kids, the heart of rebellion lies. There are times when I sometimes get lost in all the talk, but there are moments where I am reminded why I fell in love with it in the first place. And those moments are beautiful. They’re what keep me coming back for more.
Punk will always have my heart.

• Staci Gohl is doing a job shadow at the Yakima Herald-Republic as part of her senior project. She attends West Valley High School.

Job shadow gives behind-the-scenes look at jobs in journalism

By STACI GOHL

WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Beginning sophomore year, students are bombarded with stories about the infamous “senior project.”
These are long-term, very involved projects that students must complete in order to graduate.
And now, for my class, the Class of 2009, it’s our turn to grapple with them.
This column is part of my project.
I chose to do an extended job shadow at the Yakima Herald-Republic with Adriana Janovich, reporter and Unleashed coordinator.
To be honest, I really didn’t know what to do, so I kind of just chose something. I knew I was a decent writer, so I just went with it, and in the end I learned more than I ever thought I would.
The following is a journal of the 20 hours I logged.
• Oct. 10, 2008 — This was my first meeting with my mentor. When I arrived, she briefed me on the code of ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists and how the newspaper and her job work in general.
We talked about the First Amendment and what it means to a journalist. She showed me around the newsroom and then we set out on my first interview. I didn’t really know what to expect at all.
We pulled up to Yakima New Hope Community Church of the Nazarene in Terrace Heights and walked in.
Adriana proceeded to interview the pastor and church secretary who were both organizing an outreach program to feed the homeless and hungry in Yakima. I got my first taste of reporting. This was an easy transition into something I’d never done before.
• Oct. 18, 2008 — During this meeting, Adriana and I went to the fourth annual Wapato Tamale Festival, where she interviewed some of the vendors, coordinators and others participating in the event.
This was decidedly more fun than our previous meeting. The people were friendly and the conversation was a little more light-hearted. Once we arrived back at the newspaper, she began writing the piece for the next day’s newspaper. She had me copy the tamale recipe for the newspaper’s Web site, and we did some obituary writing as well. This was really my first view into the process of how an interview becomes a story and the craft that is present behind it.
• Oct. 23, 2008 — This interview was especially entertaining. We went to the Yakima’s Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 289 to do an interview and tour the building. The people we interviewed were eager to talk to us and show us around. It showed the kind of people you might meet while working in this profession, which could really be just about anyone.
• Nov. 11, 2008 — This time I met Adriana at West Valley Church of the Nazarene. She was interviewing a pastor who was retiring from his church to go do other things. This was another in-depth look at how to properly interview someone and the kinds of questions to ask. This interview was a bit long — an hour and a half — but it was a good learning experience.
• Nov. 19, 2008 — I went to an Unleashed meeting where I got a behind-the-scenes look at the newspaper’s teen program. Herald-Republic city editor Craig Troianello talked to us about his job and what he does. I sat through the meeting just like any member of the Unleashed team would, and I got to be around some other high school kids who are interested in journalism.
• Dec. 17, 2008 — Today was another Unleashed meeting. This time, I saw a presentation on photojournalism and learned a bit more about it and how it can be done. Sara Gettys, a Herald-Republic photographer and the Unleashed photo mentor, explained the importance of multi-media in the changing times and how newspapers must stay relevant by utilizing this trend.
This was a very sobering experience because most of the media she showed us was actually very heavy and depressing. She showed us photo projects on a dying man, the mentally ill in prison, and residents of a mobile home park that was going to be developed. At the end of her presentation, everyone was quiet and no one was quick to break the blanket of silence that lay over the room.
• Dec. 29, 2008 — Closing in on the end of my project, this was one of my last meetings with Adriana. I talked with Herald-Republic photographer Kris Holland and watched him upload the pictures he just captured in the field. The top story was the weather, and he showed me photos of a man shoveling snow and kids jumping into snow piles. I also watched him choose one and pull up an archive photo for another story on a wrecking yard in the Lower Valley.
At 2:45 p.m., I sat through the daily budget meeting, where I got to see how editors choose stories for the daily paper. They talked a lot about story and photo placement.
The rest of my time was spent in front of a computer writing this column.
Overall, as far as I can tell, the whole senior project hype is just that, hype. I don’t know about other students, but I found out that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it really has been a stretch in learning, which is the purpose of the cumulative project.
Looking back, I’ve gained some experiences I would have probably never had. I’m going to get to see my writing in print. I’ve been forced to go out and talk to people I would have never dreamed of talking to. Even though I don’t really see myself with a burning passion to pursue this profession as a career, I would definitely say I’m satisfied with my project and have enjoyed the ride.

— Staci Gohl is a senior at West Valley High School. She is completing a job shadow at the Yakima Herald-Republic for her senior project.

Fresh Faces: Chase Crouch

Name: Chase Crouch
School: West Valley High School
School/year in school/age: West Valley High School, junior, 17.
Activities/Hobbies/Clubs: Leadership Plus Club.
Favorite food: Cheese pizza.
Favorite movies: “The Hills Have Eyes,” “The Descent,” and “Cry Wolf.”
Favorite books/writers: Scott Westerfield and his books, the “Uglies,” “Pretties,” “Specials,” and “Extras.”
Favorite music, musicians, or bands: Mika, Hellogoodbye, Brand New.
What is your most treasured possession? My iPhone, because it is one of the first things I worked for when I started my job at Living Care Retirement.
What’s your favorite place to go in your hometown? The Yakima Valley Mall.
Which person do you most admire and why? I admire my older sister, Catie, because I learn from her, whether it’s from the good or the bad.
What would you do with $1 million? I would buy an emu.
Three words that describe you: Funny, smart, happy.
What is your greatest achievement? Getting into Leadership Plus my junior year.
Greatest wish: I wish I had my car back!
When and where were you the happiest? Seeing my sister, Grace, for the first time.
Where and how do you see yourself in 10 years? I see myself in a successful job with a wife and maybe a child.

— Evalyn Suarez attends West Valley High School.

Seven deadly sins: sloth

By ASHLEY GEORGE
UNLEASHED STAFF

Mention of the Seven Deadly Sins can be found in writings as far back as the 4th century.
Since then, the list of vices have slightly transformed into more modern practices and can easily be applied to today’s adolescents.
When first created, the sin of sloth was characterized by sadness. It was later considered to be an unwillingness to accept God and religion in your life.
Today, the standard interpretation is laziness or the waste of talent.
Students can be especially guilty of this throughout their senior year of high school, when they are prone to experiencing a longing for independence and desperation for college life.
By the middle of the year, most seniors have been infected and self-diagnosed. Once “senioritis” has been identified, there is no reducing the resulting behaviors.
Many skip challenging courses or simply don’t bother to turn in work. All of the skills honed throughout the previous three years of high school go to waste because of sheer laziness and lack of effort.
Year after year, promising students let their GPA’s go and plunge into the plague of senioritis. I’ve watched a number of friends experience the desolation. They were constantly anxious and talked of nothing but graduation.
Their search for freedom from high school seems closer when “Senior Skip Day” approaches. Senior Skip Day is a day dedicated to slothfulness. Most seniors participate by skipping classes and celebrating graduation early.
Where to place the blame? A sin is something of your own doing, but teachers hold some responsibility in the slothfulness. Without fail, extra credit assignments will be handed out and tests will be forgotten, or not put into the grade book at the end of the school year.
The entire sin — or at least senioritis — could be avoided if teachers held seniors to a higher standard.

— Ashley George is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends West Valley High School.

Seven deadly sins: greed

By ASHLEY GEORGE
UNLEASHED STAFF

You see them walking around with the latest stuff, the tags just cut from their faux vintage tees, earbuds plugged into 16-gig iPhones, playing the newest singles, and sporting expensive jewelry that glistens in the radiance of their own greatness.
Teens strive for that status. The thinking is that with those material things comes a sense of belonging and betterness.
It might be that a want for more cannot be helped. It’s only natural to want to have the best of the best.
But sometimes, greed goes too far.
Greed is not a one-step transgression. Just because you desire more does not mean you are a greedy individual, rather a jealous one. Greed begins with envy: you see a particular item that belongs to someone else and you desperately want it.
Not a big deal, until you obtain it.
And then it continues with one fixation after another.
The winner gets everything he or she ever wanted, and yet at the same time, nothing at all. There is no real gratification from material hoarding after the initial elation of the purchase. It’s a hollow happiness.
The problem with greed is that it is never satisfied. There will always be a constant desire for more, more, more. Greed is infinite in its ability to inhibit the integrity of humans.
The more we lust for the newest product, the sooner a company will produce an even better one. It’s an unrelenting cycle.
Once you crave something far beyond your means, you will never be satisfied with what you have or once had. Greed is like an addictive drug. You build up tolerance, wanting more, until getting more becomes your life.

— Ashley George is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends West Valley High School.

Fresh Faces: Michael Riggin

Name: Michael Riggin
School/year in school/age: West Valley, junior, 16.
Activities/hobbies/clubs: Snowboarding, skateboarding, golfing.
Favorite food: General Tso chicken.
Favorite movies: “Fight Club,” “American Beauty,” “Into the Wild.”
Favorite writers: Hunter S. Thompson, J.R.R. Tolkien
Favorite music: I like too much music to have a favorite.
What is your most treasured possession? Don’t have one, sadly.
What’s your favorite place to go in your hometown? White Pass.
Which person do you most admire and why? Thomas Edison, because that guy’s a genius
What would you do with $1 million? I would bathe in it.
Three words to describe yourself: Friendly, observant, determined.
What is your greatest achievement? Still being alive.
Worst fear: Death.
Greatest wish: To make a lot of money.
When and where were you the happiest? Anywhere during the beginning of summer break.
Where and how do you see yourself in 10 years? In an apartment somewhere in Seattle, eating Chinese takeout, with a decent career.

— Ashley George, West Valley High School

Remembering Loved Ones

By EVALYN SUAREZ
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

If a flower petal can represent a memory, then we had many this Memorial Day. True, we did not pick them from our own yard this time. Instead, we went to Safeway and bought several dozen.

But the gesture was still the same. Read more

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