A. May 21 – Prom – Directions
San Francisco Design Center
101 Henry Adams Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-5219
(415) 490-5800
- June 7 – Picnic
E. June 8 – Graduation Rehearsal 8:15 (RHS Gym) MANDATORY!!!
F. June 9 – Graduation Rehearsal 8:15(Richmond Auditorium – Meet at RHS) MANDATORY!!!
G. June 10 – Graduation 7:30 (Richmond Auditorium) Students, be there at 630 p.m.!
Reporter: Kelsey Chew
It has come to the attention of many residents of California that this year in November, marijuana might be legalized. Marijuana comes from two plants that are so closely related they are probably the same species. According to this website www.thebody.com/content/art6068.html, the plants are Cannabissativa (marijuana/hemp), and Cannabis indica,a bushier variety grown simply for its psychoactive (brain-altering) qualities. Cannabis produces male and female plants, and both of them contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol .Female plants, especially those that are not allowed to pollinate, or fertilize another plant, contain the highest concentrations of THC. Marijuana was later found to have other health benefits. It can lower pressure within the eye. This helps treat glaucoma, an eye disease which can cause blindness. Marijuana also reduces nausea and vomiting in patients taking chemotherapy treatment for cancer. It reduces muscle spasms in people with nerve problems like multiple sclerosis and can help treat some types of pain. These uses led to the development of the drug dronabinol Marinol, a synthetic version of THC. For example, a senior Roberto Lainez from RHS stated ” I think legalizing marijuana is a good thing for people who are sick, but at the same time its a bad influence for young teens. 43% of high school seniors reported that they have tried is at least once. Now there is synthetic marijuana a product legally marketed as herbal incense that will reportedly get you high if you smoke it. Erick Almaraz, a senior from RHS stated “I think if marijuana was legalized it would help decrease drug related conviction cases where many people go to jail just for smoking pot” . According to the state of California when you are caught with pot you are suppose to be arrested and taken to jail, depending on the amount you are caught with. Jose Loera, a junior from RHS stated “Im not really for it because its bad for you and i really dont like the smell, it makes my head hurt and I don’t think it would be smart to legalize something that is bad for you.”
At Richmond High School (RHS), Abel Pineda is a very well known student. He is currently a senior with a promising future ahead of him. Abel is the epitome of an all-around passionate person, who has dedicated his entire high school years as a school and community leader. He can be found all around campus and the community exercising all of his passions, which include but are not limited to, poetry, dancing, playing instruments and ,most importantly, political activism. His multiple passions are in part explained by the fact that he is a Gemini. Gemini’s are known to be people with several different sides to their personality, which overall balances their entire persona. In Abel’s case, his personality is divided between a revolutionary and artistic side.
Abel’s revolutionary side is most evident from his participation in school organizations, city improvement organizations, grassroots organizations, and school and community events. He is a great alliance builder and it is obvious, when considering the great relationship he has with the mayors of both the city of San Pablo and Richmond, School Board Trustees, Richmond High School Administration, and community organizations. According to Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, “ Abel is an outstanding positive role model with exemplary leadership skills.” Accordingly, Mr. Tony Thurmond, a School Board Trustee, said that “In [his] work with Mr. Pineda [he] [has] observed [Abel] to be a very thoughtful, charismatic, and hard working leader who is committed to building teams and bringing positive change to his community.”
In 2009, Abel was one of many youth community leaders who co-founded the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Youth Commission. He currently serves as a senior commissioner in that same commission and additionally in the City of San Pablo Youth Commission. His junior year, he was elected into the RHS School Site Council as a student representative where he currently helps manage the school’s budget to increase student achievement. Abel has for long advocated for an increment in the voice of youth in politics directly correlated with the environment and community. He has done this by participating in the educational justice organization called Youth Together. He believes that Youth Together “is the main reason why [he] is the person [he] is today.” Moreover, he has also served in an environmental organization dedicated towards a cleaner and safer community called Youth for Environmental Power and a grassroots organization called Macehualli, which is committed towards political education, indigenous cultural expression, and human rights activism.
Abel’s artistic side, which in great part allows him to connect with his peers in a deeper manner, is also his main method of expression. Creative writing has for long been his way of expressing his thoughts and a mechanism to cope with the struggles he faces in his community. He is well known throughout the Bay Area as a spoken word poet and a conscious rapper. Abel’s poetic abilities have managed to earn him 1st place in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest at the high school division two years in a row and 3rd place in the Regional level of the competition. His passion for poetry has also led him to start his own poetry group on campus called Poetry for the People. Additionally, he serves in Youth Speaks as Student Lead Arts Movement (SLAM) Leader. As well as poetic abilities, Abel is also pretty talented in regards to instruments. Abel to this day knows how to play 3 instruments: the trumpet, trombone, and congas. He has been able to demonstrate these instrumental abilities on countless occasions at community rallies and school assemblies.
Through his efforts Abel has been able to experience a wide variety of things. For instance, in 2007 Abel participated in a trip to Washington D.C. through Close-Up’s Civic Education program. This trip he stated was for him “an unforgettable experience that has helped [him] have a more profound understanding of politics and how it plays out in [his] everyday life.” Likewise, he has been able to work for UC Berkeley at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Library as a student intern since June of 2009. Accordingly, Abel this fall will be well on his way to beginning his higher education as a student in the UC system.
It is only fair, to say that Abel Pineda has been capable of making a positive impact on campus and in the community for many generations to come by utilizing all the knowledge he gained through his participation in political movements. It is his dedication and great zeal that has earned him the recognition and love of his school and community. Though, he departs this year we are all well aware that he will continue to represent our community righteously wherever life takes him and that he will speak for those unwilling to speak for themselves.
Do you know what an estuary is ? It is a body of water made up of the combination of fresh water and salt water. Last Saturday, March 13, 2010 the Aqua Team went canoeing in the bay. While they were out canoeing they got to see the animals in the wetlands environment. According to a great number of the aqua team members it was a lot of fun. For members for whom it was the first time canoeing it was hard in the beginning but in the end it got easier as they got used to it. There were a total of three people per canoe the person in the back of the canoe was called the captain because they were in controll of the canoe. The other two people in the canoe simply just had to row the canoe. The animals that the group saw were crabs, ducks, fish,great egrets,etc. In addition, the students are currently in the process of creating a mural. It will be located at El Sobrante Public Library. The students have designed this mural working with a professional muralist named Eduardo Pueda. For more info stay tuned at rhs newswire.net
Reporter: Olachi Obioma
There are many after school programs at Richmond High School (RHS) in which students engage in in order to help their community.One of these that many students have shown great interest for is the Aqua Team. When most people first hear about the program they thinks it is some sort of swim team, but it is not, in contrary it is a youth group that aims to learn more about the environment.This year, according to Chiara Swartout, the head instructor at RHS, it is the ‘’second year doing aqua team”. Swartout goes on to say that “this year the Aqua team is studying the way that water flows from up in the mountains down through the neighborhood into the San Francisco Bay estuary, and into the Pacific Ocean.” According to Swartout, this year she plans on teaming up with Doria Richardson, the creator of the RHS garden and the program Urban Tilth, to improve the garden. Richardson is currently the producer for Green Screen TV, she says now her job is to “meet with students all over CCcounty and Alameda doing good things for the environment.” Richardson states that, ”the RHS garden started years ago, the plan was to give students a green place of flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. She continues saying, “some of the organizations that helped were Chevron which came and donated water pumps, electricity, and plumbing. And the California Conservation Corps came and bought pick axes, shovels, and helped dig to make the creek.” Student Tymichia Griffin, a RHS 12th grade student stated, “I love the aqua team, it makes me feel like my peers and I are doing the right thing by helping our community and earth. It keeps me busy and updated about what’s going on in my local environment. I’ve learned that a creek went through my neighborhood which is North Richmond.”
Many Americans do not have health insurance coverage – either because they are unable to afford it or obtain it. Some students even have to stay out of school in order to care for ill family members. They are often forced to search for employment to pay for their family’s high medical bills.
This issue is having a drastic effect on students, who instead of worrying about health care should be concentrating in school. Students have plenty to worry about: death from disease, general health problems and the H1N1 virus. These Americans will be those who cannot afford health insurance or those that do not know how to get it. Even working Americans who undergo surgical procedures are having to return to work before their recovery period is over in order to pay for their medical bills.
Jeffrey Humble, 16, a Richmond High School student, has medical insurance, but it does not cover everything. He and his family do their best to “stay healthy” and “away from danger.” Although they have no problem paying for the insurance, when they need to visit the doctor they end up receiving a large bill in the mail.
In Victor Velazquez’ family the only insured members are he and his younger brother. His parents do not have health insurance and that is why they try to take good care of themselves to stay as healthy as possible. In their home they have lots of medicine and first aid supplies. Once when Victor was having difficulty breathing they had no other choice but to call an ambulance, In the end cost them around $2,000. “Health comes first,” he said, “So when there’s an emergency we don’t think about how high the bill will be, we think of our health.”
The family of Yahana Armendriz, who is 17 and attends Richmond High School, has no health insurance.“I went to the hospital once because I was feeling really bad,” she said, “They had me wait for a while, and then when they called me in they told me that I would have to wait for a whole week for just one appointment.” Many people are severely sick but are denied treatment by a doctor because they do not have health insurance. What if Yahana had a contagious illness it or in a worst case scenario a deadly condition? It is important that every individual in this nation have health insurance, not just for their personal well being but that of everyone around them. It is a person’s right to be able to see a doctor when they are ill.
Many people like Yahana’s mother, who studied nursing, have to take care of their own families with home remedies or other resources at hand. Yahana, like many other young people, plays sports – in her case soccer. When she gets injured her mother has no choice but to find some way to treat her without going to the doctor.
Luckily there are students who do have health insurance. One of them is Harold Guerra, who is 16. His health insurance plan charges him only $5 for every doctor’s visit. He pays nothing for prescriptions. Other students at Richmond High depend on the Communities in Schools program for STD testing, advice from personal counselors, birth control, sports physicals, eye testing and more. It is like a personal hospital and the best thing about it is that the student’s visits are confidential, so their parents will not find out.
Many Americans desire affordable health care for the future because otherwise there will be more people catching dangerous diseases and dying. This affects not just one person or one group of people, but everyone no matter the age.
The crime that occurred last Saturday after the Richmond High homecoming dance is a very tragic and unfortunate event. Every single person is somehow affected by this event, from parents, to staff, students, listeners, bystanders, and the poor girl. Parents are extremely unsettled, disturbed and frightened for their children that attend the school. It’s more disturbing knowing this violence occurred on school grounds. But one also has to consider this happened in an isolated, poorly lit parking lot. Students are frightened because they know some of the people that took part in the violence. Students want the public to know this doesn’t reflect the school as a whole. We believe the media is presenting this misconception. “What happened doesn’t mean that all of Richmond is full of pot-head, drunk, bad people,” said David Pation a Richmond High School student. He goes on to say the boys involved didn’t even go to Richmond High School” but the news doesn’t seem to care. The media doesn’t care because “cause after all, it’s Richmond, so why not make us look bad right?”
A tragic event such as this could have occurred anywhere, but because it occurred in Richmond, which has a bad reputation, the media has blown the circumstances out of proportion. This makes the staff, the authorities, and the students look bad. The people that were involved made poor choices. They didn’t think of their actions and how they would affect the school and community. Not all Richmond High students drink, smoke or participate in promiscuous activities. All of us have not committed crimes. Generalizing and stereotyping all students is unethical and wrong.
Despite the grave negative affects this event has caused our school and our community, students believe we can shape it into a positive outcome. A public crime like this one can bring together a community, even a nation. It can unite the school and bring us together.
Join the Richmond, California community in a healing event. A candle light vigil will take place in front of Richmond High School on Tuesday, November 3rd from 3:30-5:30. The community wants to come together and take a stand against violence. According to Anna Hurtado, a student active in planning the event, ”spread out the word about the candle light vigil to have peace in this school.” There will be spoken word, music, dance, and a speak out during the vigil.
Please wear white.
For more information contact YES youth Enrichment Strategies at www.yesfamilies.org
High school students highly recommend study trip sessions on journalism to get a better education, make connections and have fun.
A high school journalism convention was held in Sacramento, CA last weekend. The convention had many sessions which included a variety of unique journalism classes. As Dick Rogers, former San Francisco Chronicle Reporter, stated “I think the convention is very informative and has some very impressive sessions.”
While Teresa Molles, 11th grade student from Vacaville High School, stated “I really enjoyed the convention because it really clarified most of the questions that have been floating around my head for a while.” She added “I really enjoyed one of the photography sessions.”
One photography session was titled “Creating photography Portfolios” taught by Bryan Farley. The session covered how to control visual stories, whether for print portfolios or online. Sessions included; Newspaper Layout Strategies, Multimedia: The Next Generation, A Crash Course in Interactive Gaphics and Crime Reporting. The convention was held in downtown Sacramento October 23-25th, 2009. Many professionals, students, and businesses attended.
Reporters: Felicia Romero, AnaKarina Romo and Missael Rodriguez
The majority of students at Richmond High School (RHS) have gotten their classes changed without their permission. According to Dao Xayalath, “his classes have been changed approximately five times.” The counselors, administration, and students are not too sure of why their schedule changed. The reason why the sudden change of our classes come unexpectedly to students. They don’t really know why this is happening. As Elizabeth Olvera states, “They want us to be in the right academy/house.” It can happen to anybody that doesn’t have the right academy or house. We should protest to make the administration stop changing our classes. Mr. Amy says the classes are being changed, “because the classes weren’t ready at the beginning of the school year.” It is a lot of frustration and so much daily chaos for all the students and it needs to STOP!!!!!!!!!
