Some plans for the future are outlined below as students recap where they’re going, what offers they’ve gotten and why they chose what they did. Isabella Schwartz is traveling far off to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“I plan on majoring in Psychology, and UNC is ranked 20th in the nation, so it’s perfect for the cost,” Schwartz said. She continued, “It’s a large campus with small classes, so it really has a sense of community. Not only that, but my mom also lives there, so it’s on in-state tuition costs.”

Isabella Schwartz is ready to travel across the country to Chapel Hill in North Carolina.

Nicholas Selby is going to the Georgia Technical Institute to chase his passion for math, the sciences and technology as a whole.

“Georgia Tech is ranked second in the nation for mechanical engineering, which I plan on majoring in, so it was a great choice and they offered me a great deal,”   Selby said. “Location wasn’t really part of the decision, though I’ll be sad to see everybody go. I was offered scholarships to ASU, the University of Texas, and Harvey Mudd. I applied for Stanford as well, but unfortunately, was not accepted.”

Katie Giel, among other seniors, plans on attending the Barrett Honors College at ASU. Others plan on traveling afar to the Northeast, depending on where they received scholarships and which universities are most prestigious or fit their career interests. However, nothing is wrong with studying in state as Giel plans on doing. In fact, staying near family and friends has its rewards to visit for holidays or more frequently than that.

Options have closed for seniors, but no matter where they go, DV students know they have made a quality decision. ASU or other community colleges simply mean easier access to family, but the long-distance universities are also very prestigious. Wherever they go, Desert Vista’s seniors are sure to prosper and excel.

“I’ve known I’ve wanted to do something in science since I was little,” said Miyasaki. “I’m very excited about the new technology. I am planning to take biotech 3-4 my junior or senior year, and the new technology will be a big benefit.”

For Miyasaki, an aspiring scientist since elementary school, the new class will give her the tools to reach her dreams.

But life is a revolving door, and as one side opens up, the other side closes. The new science laboratory comes at a price: the FACS and culinary program will be chopped off.

At the other end of this door is Tino Bernasconi, a freshman with a different dream. Bernasconi aspires to be a great chef and own his own restaurant. For him, the new class puts his plans in jeopardy.

“It’s absolutely terrible,” said Bernasconi, with a practice baby doll in his arms. “I was planning on taking all of the 3-4’s of the FACs classes. Without them, I can’t get the certificate that shows I’ve studied food science, which makes it harder to get into a really good Culinary Arts School.”
This begs the question: Who is to say Katelyn’s dreams are more important than Toni’s?
“ I think mainly what we’re looking at as far as the FACs program was enrollment steadily declining,” said Mr. Dan Zavaleta, who is in charge of engineering at DV. ”There are more kids interested in science programs, and taking science classes. “
The new biotechnology lab will have more room for new technology, and will allow students to work more closely with plants. Giving biotech a separate space makes it easier for students to do more complex experiments.
“This is going to keep our program at the cutting edge,” said award winning biotechnology teacher, Mrs. Birgit Musheno. “ We deal with equipment that is very sensitive so its safer to have the classroom in an area that doesn’t have a lot of traffic.”
There will also be a new 8th hour research class for students interested in pursuing their own research projects.
“My goal is for more students to pursue their own research projects,” said Musheno. “The doctor of the future is going to need to understand genetics. Having a program like this will give students a leg up in college.”
The new additions in science and math mark the beginning of a new direction for the A Building. No longer the Fine Arts Building, the STEAM  will be placing a heavier emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
As for kids like Bernasconi, the future looms uncertain.
“EVIT is still there as an option, they can go there if they really want to go into those programs,” said Zavaleta. “So you know there’s still options available for them, so i think they’ll be okay.”
But is just “ok” enough when talking about someone’s future?
“ Some of my students want to be chefs,” said Mrs. Arlene Ransdell, the FACs teacher. “There’s a couple students in my advanced classes that I think will get there if they can continue, because they are extremely talented.”
Without an instructor on campus of course, they can’t directly continue.Getting into a Culinary Arts school is more difficult. Scholarships are harder to get.
“When you go to the culinary arts school, you are going  to know absolutely nothing, and that’s a really hard spot to be in,” said Ransdell.

According to Principal Dr. Anna Battle, guidance counselors will work with each student to determine the best program of study to meet the academic and career goals for the
students.

“We will continue to offer courses that students need for the 21st century,” said Battle. ” The Science classes that have grown, have proven to to prepare students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  Not only are students in these classes going to be prepared for coursework in post secondary training, but also will be ahead of their competitors in the job workforce.”

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math classes will only be extensions of the art program, and it is not likely for more programs to be cut in the A building.

Staff Writer

Restaurant Night fundraisers are popular to both restaurants and consumers because; they make the restaurant look good by giving back to the community, fill the restaurant on a slow night, and It introduces people to the restaurant that might not visit otherwise.

Restaurant fundraisers are held almost everywhere in chain restaurants such as; Baja Fresh, Boston Market, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, Sweet Tomatoes, and Subway. Some local businesses that are involved in “restaurant night” are  Zoyo and Yoasis. Businesses like these are always hosting charity nights where a large amount of their profits will go to a charity you can help choose. Fundraisers including raising money for the YMCA, Student United Way, Akimel middle school, Desert Vista Grad night, and much more.

The process to start promoting a fundraiser at one of their locations is rather simple. It’s actually only as hard as emailing Zoyo at fundraising@zoyogurt.com with the following information;

• Pick a day, anytime between Monday through Thursday, and it’s your official day at Zoyo.
• Send them your info and they will provide a copy of the flyers and you take care of the distribution.
• You can print, post, and email any additional flyers to everyone you know.
• Make sure everyone knows to mention the organization while paying the day of the fundraiser.
• 20% of the proceeds that your organization brings in will go directly back to you.
• Send them payment information for the check and you will have it in the mail within the week of your fundraiser.

The secret to having a successful restaurant night fundraiser relies on spreading the word. The key is to advertise the event to peers and make sure they show up, as well as asking friends and family to encourage others to attend the restaurant night. One major way people are spreading word is through Facebook pages. Facebook pages serve as an excellent method to gain attraction because they are able to remind everyone before the event and give an estimate on how many people are attending.

Just a day later,  Cory Crowe and Gabby Newell, received an honorable mention for their on-site broadcast package; Tyler Oman, Excellent for Sports; Anessa Blanco-Paiz, Excellent for News; and Elena Mendoza Honorable Mention for Features.
More than 3,000 students from high schools across the country gathered for the JEA / NSPA national spring convention where students attended workshops and competed in group and individual publication contests. The DVTV staff chooses a newscast of announcements, stories and projects, then saves it on a DVD and submits it to the convention officials. Judges watch and critique the shows, choosing the best to recognize at the Saturday awards ceremony.
“To prepare we looked at previous shows about a week out and started building what important aspects we wanted to include,” said Cory Crowe.

This is only the third time the DVTV staff has competed in the national competition, but they have climbed the latter of rankings as a team with each venture.
“The staffers focus really hard to put their best work on the air,” said adviser Michelle Coro. “The amount of time that is spent coming up with ideas and producing the show is a testament to how much these staffers care about what they do.”
The competition is based on a daily newscast submitted for review and judged onsite. Ten schools are recognized in the awards ceremony, but dozens more come to submit their newscasts. In the overall contests, hundreds of students compete with each others. Strong journalism programs in Texas, Missouri and throughout the country always come with students well prepared.
“It was unreal,” said Elena Mendoza. “My first reaction was just to jump out of my seat and start screaming…and I was glad we beat Corona Del Sol.”
Several publication staffs from TUHSD and Arizona traveled to the convention, with groups representing broadcast, newspaper, yearbook and photography for best of show. Corona, Horizon (Scottsdale), McClintock, and Mountain View also received recognition for their student publications.
“At first I heard them call ‘D-TV’, which was another high school, and I got super excited so when they said ‘DVTV’ shortly after, I flipped out,” Gabby Newell said.
Having confidence in their publications, staff members sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation.
“I didn’t know when would hear our name but I knew we would,” Tyler Oman said.

By donating small pieces of cardboard, attendants of schools can show that they support the ongoing upkeep of their schools. Although, the prize being offered is an even more pulling incentive: a pizza party will be given to the third hour class which collects the most Box Tops from their students.

Collecting box tops can be very beneficial for any school. When students have grievances, like not replacing uniforms or equipment, it is most likely the fault of the budget. There are varying Box Top programs, and schools can earn a sum of up to $20,000 per year.

Though, some teens don’t realize what their contribution of box tops can do for their school, or just simply can’t bring them in for lack of time. “I don’t really like participating in the box tops programs, I am usually too busy to focus on things like that.” said Hunter Norton-Hill, a freshman.

Mrs. Montoya’s class is among the leading third hour classes with the most box tops. Evidently, her class has students who choose to take time out to bring in what they can.

They can be found on almost everything anyone can find in the kitchen. Several Cheerios, Chex, and Yoplait products supply Box Tops for the program. Bringing them in is not only rewarding and beneficial, but also easy. Anyone can simply clip them out of the tops, and without difficulty, earn cash for the school, while also getting the chance at a pizza party.

Why do trolls troll? Most trolls, by study, show to have been bullied when they were younger. Their lack of self confidence makes these internet prankers feel a need for power. living their lives vicariously through those they see as strong and successful. Disrupting a stable newsgroup gives the illusion of power, just as for a few, stalking a strong person allows them to think they are strong, too.

Not all trolls are harmful, or even cause a disturbance for that matter. However, not all trolls aren’t. A lot of them take their harmless jokes and words too far and can turn situations into more then just messing around. Causing harassment and bullying in others lives when they think they’re just having some fun.

For trolls, any response is ‘recognition’; they are unable to distinguish between irritation and admiration; their ego grows directly in proportion to the response, regardless of the form or content of that response. They’ll usually post just enough to get an argument going, then sit back and count the responses.

Mostly, the following techniques will be used by a troll;

False Identity- virtually never write over their own name, and often reveal their intentions in the chosen ID.

Where are trolls likely to be found?
Wherever they are tolerated or “fed” as some call it.- this means any forums, networking sites, youtube, or messaging sites that have loose or lazy moderation. Where trolls are successful is a slightly different issue. ]]> http://dvthundermedia.com/classes/journalism/2012/03/19/troll-survival-guide/feed/ 0 http://dvthundermedia.com/news/2012/03/19/thunder-strikes-at-harvard-massachusetts/ http://dvthundermedia.com/news/2012/03/19/thunder-strikes-at-harvard-massachusetts/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:28:53 +0000 Rfedasiuk http://dvthundermedia.com/?p=9467 Before even the break of dawn, the Thunder’s very own Speech, Theatre, and Debate Company was already up and active as they all congregated at Sky Harbor     at 4:30 am. January 17th was a day of massive travel for over 70 members of the team as they took to the skies to travel across the country. With an overlay in Chicago and over five hours of plane flight, and even more car and bus travel, they arrived at the Marriott in Boston, Massachusetts. After touring Harvard and most of Cambridge, they settled in for sleep because the next day would be packed with performances and debate.

It was a grueling task to wake up at three in the morning in Arizona’s time zone, but after three more days of transit to and from Harvard and the toughest rounds in the nation, the team got used to it. By Sunday the 19th, speech competitors had finished four rounds, debate competitors a total of six rounds, and for those in Congressional Debate, a total of three preliminary rounds: almost 12 hours of pure debating…and that’s just for preliminary rounds.

In Congress alone, senior Alison Brown, senior Katie Giel, and freshman Ben Kilano broke to semifinals, and all received bids to the prestigious Tournament of Champions that will be hosted in Kentucky this summer. Kilano ranked higher in his semifinal round than any Congressional Debate competitor did from the entire state of Arizona.  “It’s really weird, the competition was all over the place. I barely made it to semifinals, and the competition was rough there, too. But either way, I’m happy I made it to semifinals and as only a freshman.”

That’s not all the success to share, though. The entire team did better than they have ever done in the past.

“Statistically speaking, we had a better Harvard than anybody else. We beat out Nova High School in Florida, who is currently ranked first by the National Forensics League in terms of NFL points,” proudly announced coach and teacher Victor Silva. He continued, “but there is always room for improvement. At Glenbrooks this year [another national competition in Chicago], our team accepted defeat very well. Because of this, our practices got better, and we got better, and that showed in our performances.”

Not only did TSTDC do well overall, but individual success was also prevalent. Senior Samuel Abney and sophomore Austin Kennedy broke to finals in their events, the top six in the nation out of hundreds of entries.

“I’m really happy that I made it as far as I did, and other people on our team definitely deserved to go farther than they did. My goal was to be interrupted mid-performance with applause from the crowd at least once, and I achieved that multiple times,” said Abney, a senior who took second place out of over 300 entries in Humorous Interpretation.

“I just don’t know what to say. I’m happy I made it that far and I know other members of our team can make it that far in the future,” said sophomore Austin Kennedy, taking third place out of over 390 entries in Original Oratory speaking.

This was a great feat by TSTDC as they conquered at the 38th Annual Harvard National Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament, beating out over 3,500 competitors.

The Courtyard: Stephanie Christesen (left) and Jessica Tueller (right) walk to their next round in Harvard Yard.

Now the team sets their sights on the State Championship and Nationals.

Sam Abney performed in the Humorous Interpretation finals in Sanders Theater at Harvard.

Thunder kids unwinding in the hotel's sitting room by the fire.

Breakfast at the Marriot hotel. (Left to right): Jessica Tueller, KDee Heath, Stephen Glass, Phillip Mckenzie, Sepehr Rostamzadeh, Matt Pinkston, and Ben Reinhart.

Since these popular movies are all of different genres and has different appeal, what makes kids today want to spend five to ten dollars on a movie ticket?

Scary movies seems to be the answer.

“ I like to watch horror movies because I think its actually pretty entertaining to get scared!”says Sophomore Kyle Sese

Another movie-goer agrees.

“ I really love scary movies because I love to be always on the edge of my seat and waiting to see what happens next. They’re so exciting,” said movie lover Larissa Harris

Nowadays, the movie theatre isn’t the only place you can catch a movie. You can watch movies everywhere you go, wherever you are with movie and TV show streaming websites like Netflix and Hulu. With technology like this, you can instantly watch all kinds of movies- oldies, horror, comedy; you name it.

And even though there are probably thousands of titles on Netflix, what do users look for most of the time?

“I look for romantic comedies! I love how I can laugh but also watch the sweet plot develop. One of my favorites are The Proposal. I loved the funny action but I also loved how they fell in love in the end, “says freshman Sanjana Ramesh.

Other students say they also like searching for comedy, but a different kind of comedy.

“ I love watching comedy movies! I like dramatic comedies, or just regular old comedies. I love laugh and they always put me in a lighter, happier mood after watching them,” says freshman Melissa Kahn.

Of course Hollywood has no shortage of different genres of movies coming out this year. Thriller and mega- successful book franchise, The Hunger Games, is coming out this March 23rd, and highly anticipated horror film, The Cabin in The Woods, hitting theaters April 13.