Thunder Media

DVTV 05/16/12

ccrowe — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:30:44 +0000

Alternative Fuels – AP Environmental

ccrowe — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:45:42 +0000

Grad Night – Promo

ccrowe — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:30:04 +0000

Odd Future – Artist of the Week

ccrowe — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:15:05 +0000

Security – Back Story – Extended Version

ccrowe — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:00:14 +0000

Flying high: Spotlight on Vaneess Davis

mabunaja — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:20:36 +0000

Name: Vanessa Davis

Year: Freshman

Height- 5’8

Weight- 130 lbs

Q: What made you start vaulting?

A: I started in eighth grade. I did gymnastics for 10 years and then coaches said I should try vaulting, so I started in 8th grade. I quit gym and started doing this. I like it–it’s fun. I started vaulting about a year ago.

Q re-Game rituals?

A :Not really, I mean, I just get focused with my friends because they’re really supportive.

Q :You set the freshman record?

A :Yeah, it was 12 feet and then I went 12 ¼. I was going over it so I could have easily gotten 12’6. That’s my next goal.

Q :Biggest mistake while vaulting?

A :Just not being focused or getting caught up in distraction. Well, if you don’t make the heights the first time, it’s all learning and getting better.

Q o you start from scratch at practice or are all the vaulters pretty experienced?

A :It depends, we get new people that come and try so we have to teach them how to vault. We start at low heights and just keep improving.

Q :Have you already qualified for State meet?

A :Yeah, I qualified. The qualifying height was 10’3. There’s another girl, a freshman, who’s done 11’6 and a senior that has done 12 feet. I only know there are quite a few 11’s. I’m first in state and either the fourth or sixth freshman in the nation. It was one of those two. That’s what my coach told me. The No. 1 right now is a record holding 12’10.

Q :What keeps you coming back each year to vault?

A :The practices. We have a lot of fun with them and our coach is just a really great coach. He doesn’t really push us too hard to where we don’t want to come back. We still have workouts and build strength and stuff. Everyone’s really nice. It’s just fun to go to practice. It’s not something where you have to go where boring or hard.

Q :Would you say pole vaulting is the hardest event in track and field?

A :It’s definitely the most technical. There is a lot to it. It’s not just running with a stick and jumping. There’s a lot to it that you need to learn and it takes time to learn. So it’s not just one of those things that you can just expect to be really good at for the first time. Gymnastics probably helped because I had a lot of strength coming into it. You need lots of upper body and core strength.

Q id you go to state over the summer?

A :Yeah, I went in eighth grade because I couldn’t compete in the high school meet.

Student Council rules the school

SChristensen — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:19:24 +0000

Spirit is magic. And Student Council is the wizard behind the wand. At the end of each quarter, the pressure is on for the student body to elect their new class officials to represent them in the next school year.

Student Council is the heart of Desert Vista. They handle all of the behind-the-scenes mess, including fund raisers, approving bills, dances, posters and everything else spirited, like decorating the football players’ houses for the Tukee Bowl, the talent show, Mr. Relay, Battle of the Bands, and so much more to keep the school fun and in order. So, the responsibility of choosing officers who can handle all of that is extremely important, though sometimes neglected for the people who are more popular among the students.

Next year’s sophomore officers are Tommy Floegel as president, Sara Ozer as vice president, Hannah Daniel as secretary, Stephanie Christensen as treasurer and Alexa Ryder as spirit director.

Next year’s junior officers will be Kazem Harfouche as president, Leah Castle as vice president, Mitch Siruno as secretary, Josh Meyer as treasurer and Jasmine Coro as spirit director once again.

These new students have a lot of work cut out for them if they want to make next year run as smoothly as this year did with the help of Student Body.

“Right now we need to fund raise a lot,” Kazem Harfouche said. “We’re focusing on prom. Prom is very expensive and we want our ideas to be different from the past so it is amazing and unforgettable.”

Junior class is mostly in charge of prom committee and they need to start planning at the beginning of the year. Prom takes a lot of work to plan and Harfouche is excited to put his touch on next year’s celebration.

The officers for next year’s senior class are Josh Greene as president, Tess Kimura as vice president, Kelly Conrad as secretary, Caroline Ozer as treasurer and Adrianna Ramos as spirit director.

Action speaks louder than words. Of course, Student Council also puts together assemblies, hangs posters and enforces spirit for football games and on campus, throws fund raisers, works lunchtime music, attends important events and does much more than their everyday meetings.

These students work as a team to make Desert Vista the best school possible.

Leading the Desert Vista students will be there pleasure next year. Whether behind the scenes or in the spotlight, these council members are going to work as hard as they can to bring on the new school year.

Blue and gold goes green

mabunaja — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:12:14 +0000

Water Conservation: Faucets with an aerator save two gallons per minute. All school faucets have aerators on them.

Recycling: By the end of the week, a whole 6-yard bin is filled with recyclable material thrown out in classrooms.

Low Flow: All urinals save water by using 1.5 gallons per flush. These are low-flow toilets that save water.

The Off Switch: The school runs on an energy manage system that switches lights off at 5 p.m. unless someone turns it on.

Solar Panels: On top of the cafeteria, DV uses solar energy with year-old solar panels. Check out what DV saves at http://srp.kiosk-view.com/desertvista.

Spring Sports Recap: Tennis, Track and Field, Baseball, and Softball.

Orion — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:09:54 +0000

Tennis

Overall tennis worked especially hard during the action-packed spring of 2012. The boys had a regular season record of 11 wins and three losses. The boys also defeated Chaparral after not being able to defeat its team for the last two years. The girls had just as many wins, defeating tough opponents such as Chandler. “It was a hard-fought season, but our work paid off,” the boys tennis coach Wayne Brimley said.

Courtney Floegal works hard at tennis practice.

Track and Field

Track and field did a wonderful job, winning most of its meets this season, for both boys and girls. At invitationals, such as the Aztec and Kiwanis, DV defeated many teams from the entire state of Arizona and earned spots in the top three several times.

“As a coach, I have enjoyed watching this team grow and mature. Every meet athletes achieved personal best marks or times. One of the coaches of the team, Cassandra Cline-McKenzie said.

Baseball

The Desert Vista baseball team tore through its season with very wide leading scores, winning against most of the teams they were put up to face.

The team had a batting average of .297 and maintained a few strong winning streaks over the course of the season of spring. Their hard work earned them a total of 16 wins and 14 losses for the varsity team. Despite facing some fierce competition, the DV baseball team did very well.

Kyle Gibbs practices his batting.

Softball

Desert Vista’s softball team had a season full of improvement, leading themselves to several victories. The softball team had a regular season record of 12 wins and 6 losses. The team also placed third at the Sun Blast tournament, maintained an eight-game winning streak, and qualified and even won a state playoff game for the first time in three years.

A few members of the softball team enjoying themselves during practice.

Seeing beyond the surface is best way to break stereotypes

SSeo — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:09:34 +0000

By Sujin Seo

All blondes are bimbos. All Asians have genius IQs. All black people are involved in gangs. White people can’t dance. Muslims are terrorists. Fat people have no self-control.
Sound familiar?

Every one of us encounters stereotypes daily and some of us are naive enough to actually believe them. While some may argue that stereotypes are based in fact and occur pretty often, most people agree that stereotypes are nothing more than a bunch of generalizations that has nothing to do with the individual.

The most common of stereotypes, especially in high schools, is the one that says all blondes are stupid, airheaded girls who are only useful for their looks. (Dumb blonde jokes, anyone?) The fact that people still quote this stereotype is proof that people don’t realize that blondes are smart, intelligent students that can take offense in this stereotype.

“I think it’s dumb,” said Emily Wolph. “It’s not true. Just because our hair color is different doesn’t mean that we’re different.”

Another common stereotype is one that involves Asians. The norm dictates that all Asians are nerds who wear glasses and pocket protectors, who can pass a test with flying colors without even studying, and spend their free time reviewing for the SAT’s. The truth is, while many Asians do score high in their classes, many are just regular students who study hard for their grades and spend their free time hanging out with their friends. They are regular, mortal people.

“It gets really annoying,” said Nikhil Patel. “Whenever I get a good grade on a quiz or something, people always say, ‘Oh, it’s because you’re Asian’ not ‘Good job’. It’s frustrating.”

The definition of a stereotype according to Webster’s Dictionary is “… a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.” The biggest advantage to a stereotype is that we can respond faster to certain types of situations because we have seen it before. But the disadvantage is that we don’t judge a person based on their individual traits and personality. Psychologists have done multiple tests on this.

“When we use stereotypes, we take in the gender, the age, the color of the skin of the person before us, and our minds respond with messages that say hostile, stupid, slow, weak,” said Dr. John Bargh of New York University in a press release. “Those qualities aren’t out there in the environment. They don’t reflect reality.”