December 2018-News

LINCOLN JROTC STUDENTS PREPARE FOR DISTRICT-WIDE FALL COMPETITION

By:Jonathan Chan

Color Guard prepares for Fall Competition. Photo By: Lily Hu

 

 

On November 17th, Lincoln’s JROTC cadets will compete against four other schools at Balboa High school for first place at competitive drilling, Color Guard,

Everyone is confident in their chances of winning due to the amount of time they have put into practice. Colonel George Ishikata is very proud of the JROTC teams and said that each team staying from four to six to practice. To add to that, Chief Watson said that they are very dedicated to their training. Watson said that they would even train on weekends to improve their skills.

Francesca Ng, a cadet competing in the Drill Platoon said, “We’re not as put together this year, but I think we can still place because I have faith in our teams.” Ng thinks that the number of new cadets on the roster are good because with each new member, “It’s a new experience and new chance to make memories.”

In terms of how prepared the teams are, Ng said, “Some of the teams were put together last minute, so I’d have to say not very.”

Erica Tam, another cadet competing in the Fall Competition as well as a member of the Girls Drill Team says, “Even if this is my last year being able to compete for Fall Comp, I still get the same excitement yet nervousness. Of course, I want my team to be first, but I know we are going against really good teams, so as of now, I’m trying to perfect my squads and myself.”

On the topic of new squad members, Tam said, “I think having new cadets has pros and cons. It’s sometimes a challenge to teach them how to drill because there are chances of forgetting, or they are too tense to be comfortable. It’s also worth the challenge to see new cadets having so much fun. I think having new cadets can improve the chances of winning because they may have more potential than the past cadets. Winning shouldn't be the one main priority to being on a team; it’s to create new bonds with everyone as well.”

Contrary to Ng, Tam said, “From what I have seen, everyone seems to be prepared and ready to go except for some few problems that refining will help. Everything seems to be going rather smoothly so we just need to hope that Saturday will have great weather.”  

However, when the day of the districtwide Fall Competition arrived, so did the terrible air quality. Unfortunately, Fall comp was postponed due to the unsafe quality of the air. “Most people felt relieved because we were rushing around to get our uniforms when we were getting kicked out of school, but at the same time we were kinda disappointed as well. We were practicing very hard and then it got postponed. It felt like our time was wasted, but it was out of our control. We can only now be optimistic for the extra time given to us,” said Tam

NEW GIRLS GROUP WELCOMES AND SUPPORTS AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALES

By:Armani Stewart

 

 

Studies show that students with a connection to school usually perform better academically and socially. Taking this into thought, teacher Samantha Sherman starts a Group especially for African American females. The meetings take place on Tuesdays in room 141 at lunch. The point of the group is to provide a safe and comfortable space for the girls to vent, ask questions, and share opinions with each other about things that are important in our community. She wants young ladies to be able to have someone  and somewhere that we trust and are comfortable enough with to share personal things with confidently. Another big point of the group is to build trust between us as females and a bond that exceeds beyond school, especially since our numbers aren't as great as they could be.

What better way to know if a group is meeting expectations then asking the ladies in the group? I spoke to Laila Boston, a Junior at Lincoln, who said the group has “great talks about life and what resonates to us”. After asking laila did she feel comfortable and safe in the space she replies, “Yes and I especially feel supported by Samantha Sherman. She makes everybody feel like less of a student and more so her family.”

Even after talking to a few members of the group I spoke with some non-members who are aware of the group, but have a few difficulties as to why they aren't in the group. I asked Jael Bryant, a junior at Lincoln, what her reason was for not being a part of the group. Her response was: “The meetings are at lunch and they don't provide food.” Yes, the meetings are at lunch, but food is not provided. There is a 15 minute time frame where Ms. Sherman lets people go out and grab something to eat before the discussions start. The group initially started for African Americans, but it is definitely open to any females who feel like they can relate to the problems that we, as a community have

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SERVES AS POLL WORKER IN MID TERM ELECTION

By: Zhigang Lin

While people are still enjoying the morning laying in bed at 6 a.m, a lot of high school students already started helping out at their local polling place on the day of midterm election on 11/06. The department of election hired about 500 SFUSD high school students. Students start working at 6 a.m and get off at 9 p.m with 2.5 hours of break in between. Students receive a $142 stipend for working for the whole day and a extra $10 if they can speak more than one language.

Students start up by setting up the polling place at 6 a.m. They set up the voting machines, privacy booths for voting, check in table, so polling can begin at 7 a.m on time. Then, students check in with voters, issuing ballots to them, and offers assistance to voters if needed. After the polling places closes at 8pm, students counts the leftover ballots and cleans up the polling place.

“Honestly, I signed up for poll worker was because of the stipend and I get to skip one day of school. But now, I felt that money wasn’t the most important part of poll working, what’s more important is the experience and I get to know a lot more about the voting process. I felt that this experience is very helpful,” said Lincoln student Isaac Tang.“

I immigrated to the U.S two years ago, and I’ve been hearing a lot about the voting. I felt great that I can be part of it and be able to see this process from a different perspective,” said Lincoln student Jayden Li.

A lot of students thought that being a poll worker is very tired and boring. However, students have different opinions after. Being a poll worker doesn’t mean you have stand all day, the fact is, you sit most of the time. Voters often have conversations with you and students will not feel bored, and also there are usually two students poll workers. There’s somebody around your age so students won’t feel bored.

“I sat in the registration table and help with check in the whole day so I wasn’t very tired. Voters were being very nice to us, and some of them even brought cookies and drinks to us,” said Rica Fung.

Students who sign up to be a poll worker have to be at least 16 years old, so a lot of them are taking government class. Some teachers at Lincoln also think that students participating in the poll will have a positive impact in their future

HOW SEXUAL ASSAULT CLUB IS BUILDING A SAFE SPACE FOR STUDENTS

By:Alexis Gomez

 

 

About a month ago, a new club was created at Lincoln, the SAA Sexual Assault club. Empowering every member of SAA or anyone just wanting to check out the club.

After the Kavanaugh hearings, Aurelie Bass found herself frustrated and wanting to help victims of sexual assault find their voice. Sexual assault can be a subject a lot of people brush away or don’t mention and it's not the easiest topic to speak freely about. However, Bass works to keep SAA a safe space for women and men to talk about their experiences and receive support from their peers with no judgement.

Building safe spaces for students requires trust, kindness, and healthy relationships, which is what Bass tries to instill in SAA. In weekly meetings held on Fridays, everyone has a voice, meaning everyone who decided to join or just sit in on a meeting can share their experiences with sexual assault or, just listen. Another element to SAA meetings is sharing ideas about how the club could get involved with the community of nonprofits and local organizations that provide support to women and men who have experienced sexual assault. Bass and other members are actively organizing events and fundraisers such as organizing a sexual assault awareness week during April.

Bass states that, “Sexual Assault Awareness Week will be full of activities SAA has planned. Monday the school will be wearing teal, Tuesday there will be a speaker from RAINN, (rape, abuse, and incest national network). Then we will be having a legal consultant, and we will be taking a pledge. The pledge is to grow into helping this movement for sexual assault awareness and not belong by being a neutral bystander. Finally, on Friday we will be making posters for the annual Walk Against Rape on Saturday April 6th”.

Ruth Hernandez, another senior passionate about the SAA club says,“Everywhere I go I put it on myself to bring awareness about sexual assault because it's very important to me.”

Reaching out to other organizations and adult allies is important to SAA because as a new club, spreading knowledge about these topics can be difficult because it might make some students uncomfortable.“

Lily’s really passionate about getting more awareness out, more than most people. She wants real stories to be shared to show the realities of sexual assault.” Says Francy Wentker, another SAA member.

SAA is always trying to recruit more members by putting up signs all over Lincoln, explaining where SAA meets and their mission. Bass and other members have also made homeroom announcements explaining what SAA’s goals are and the community they are striving to build

AS MICE CONTINUE TO PLAGUE LINCOLN CLASSROOMS, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MUCH DECIDE WHETHER FOOD IN CLASS IS WORTH HOUSING THE PESTS.

By: Zev Curiel-Friedman

Janitor Trudy and the rest of Lincoln's janitorial staff are often left to pick up the mess of the mice. Photo By: Zev Curiel-Friedman

 When Gianne Souza had her 9th-grade biology students plant radishes and sweet peas on the first day of school, the goal in mind was to study their growth and develop quantitative and qualitative observational research skills. Although the class was able to develop those skills over the course of the next two weeks, it wasn’t in the manner they had initially started in mind with, as the majority of the classes plants were tampered with by mice.

 After further examination into the matter, Souza and her class were able to conclude that 76 students out of the 132 students (about 58%) that planted peas/radishes the first day of school had evidence of probably mouse involvement.

 “Radish and pea plants are definitely not always  available for mice to eat, but since mice are opportunistic feeders and scavengers, it makes sense why they would take advantage of so many tasty plants!” says Souza.

 The scavengers involvement, however, is definitely not just a one-time occurrence here at Lincoln and is, in fact, an issue that stems much farther than the sabotaged plants.  

 Souza notes that “Every science teacher I have talked to has had past or present issues with mice. They are a ubiquitous nuisance that we can hopefully reduce through careful food handling practices and humane traps.”

 It isn’t just in classrooms either. From trash cans out in the yard, to the boy's basketball team room, the mice have made Lincoln their personal breeding ground, and don’t seem to be wanting to leave any time soon.

 The simple reality of the current infestation plaguing the Lincoln community, says Janitor Trudy, is that “As long as teachers allow students to eat in their classrooms, there will always be a mice issue.”

 With students and teachers alike complaining about the ravenous rodents, according to Trudy, a simple and doable solution is available to help rid them of their complaints; however, it may be one that many will have a hard time dealing with.

 “Students aren’t supposed to be eating in the classroom. When they drop crumbs the mice come and it's just like a party. If you invite one Mr. Mouse he’s gonna bring his wife and his daughter, his whole family,” Trudy says.

 Eating in class is a very touchy subject, and rules greatly vary from classroom to classroom. For some teachers, allowing students to eat helps make sure they are well nourished and have enough energy to focus and do well in class.

 “A lot of the time in the mornings I haven’t gotten a chance to eat anything, but when I can eat something in class and ease my hunger I am able to focus on more on class and less on food, ” says senior Kauchani Heredia-Bratt.

 However just as the students are aided with the availability of food, so are the rodents.

 “Some of these teachers are the friends of the mice. They have food in their class every single day! Why would they need to go anywhere else if everyday teachers will just give food for them to eat?” says Trudy.

 She continues, “These mice are just like humans beings. Out in the world, there are millions of other mice they have to compete with. That means it is harder to find food and shelter. Since they know that they can be warm and have food here they just come and make their homes.”

 Other, more hygienically concerned staff, such as those residing in the dean’s office, are much more strict in what they allow in their room so as to prevent mice from invading their space.

 “We used to have mice issue until we started to not allow food to be stored in our room. I installed a metal blocker at the bottom of the door, put out some mouse traps and put steel wool in the walls to prevent them from getting in,” says Dean Joel Balzer.

 “Whenever we eat lunch we always make sure to sweep up our lunch after we finish too,” adds Security Guard Martha Virgil.

 To put it simply, Trudy says, “If teachers want to have visitors, whoever wants the mice, they are welcome. If they have food in their classes then they can't complain.”