> Grad night will be held at the happiest place on earth
by Kiley Chang
Reporter
Assistant Principal Lisa Cooper faced a dilemma. Unable to secure the preferred date for Grad Night at Disneyland (right before a furlough day), Cooper instead opted for a place on the waiting list and sought other options. One of those options was Grad Night at Six Flags, which was the originally planned Grad Night. However, the plan changed.
“Once we found out that we were up on the waitlist, I asked them [Senior Class Council and seniors] and the students actually said they would prefer to go back to Disneyland so that’s why we took the date,” Cooper said .
Grad Night will now be held at Disneyland on May 24, to the delight of many seniors. “I’m excited. I’m not a big fan of Six Flags at all and Disneyland is kind of like tradition, so I thought breaking it this year wouldn’t be fair,” senior Alexa Argumendo said.
“I’m really excited for Grad Night and I was hoping it was going to be there this year because I’ve had friends who’ve gone on it previously and they’ve all raved about how good it was,” senior Megan Hayes said.
Tickets for Grad Night will go on sale starting April 25. This year, there is a pricing structure for buying tickets: from April 25-27 the price is $75 also known as Three Day Blitz, from April 30 to May 11 the price will increase to $80, and from May 14 to May 23 the price will increase to $85. Students must also meet the requirements for Grad Night which include: zero detention hours, no more than four unexcused absences or truancies to any one period, no more than seven tardies to any one period, and student’s can’t be on the fourth quarter “No Go list.” A pre-approved list of seniors will be passed around to all Government and Economics classes during the week of April 16. Grad Night for the Class of 2012 is indeed a special night as 2012 seniors will be able to go to both Disneyland and California Adventure in one night. 2012 also marks the last year in which Disneyland sponsors Grad Night as next year, Grad Night will be hosted at California Adventure.
> Petty theft and vandalism at CCHS
by Oscar Medina and Tabish Khatri
Reporters
Campus security cameras recorded what appeared to be a young male breaking in to room 129 the evening of March 8. Psychology and sociology teacher David Mielke, who teaches in that classroom, reported the break-in on March 9 to Head of Security Ted Yant. Mielke’s iPod and speakers were apparently stolen and a mysterious salt-like white substance was left scattered on desks. Yant then notified the police who came and took fingerprints left by the suspect.
The suspect had entered the room from the front window, which was unlocked. The cafeteria also had fingerprints, leading police to believe the suspect had tried to break in there without success.
Mielke was first alerted about the break-in when his students notified him about a white substance on their desks. Mielke did not believe them until he saw it himself. He did not say much about it except, “Let’s play a little music and we’ll clean this up.”
When Mielke went to his drawer to play music on his iPod, he noticed his iPod and speakers were missing. He then notified the security office. When asked about how he felt the rest of the day, “The only tough thing to get through during the day was not having music. We always play music in the room!” Mielke said. He said he understood that someone would break in somewhere to steal things, but he did not know why they left that white substance on his desks.
“I don’t think any of my students would do this,” Mielke said. “I would be shocked if any of them would.”
The suspect has not yet been identified but CCPD is hard at work to find the culprit.
In a more recent break-in, two high school and two middle school students were caught vandalizing room 17 at the high school the evening of April 12, according to Yant. The vandals emptied the fire extinguisher, setting off the fire alarm, which brought security guards to the scene, according to English teacher Dan Richardson, who teaches in that room. They had also poured fish food and hand sanitizer in the aquarium, killing three fish. The same students were held responsible for vandalizing a middle school classroom earlier that evening.
Break-ins seem to be on the rise, as there were three at Farragut and two at El Rincon this school year, according to Yant.
> Eleven days and countless hours, LACMA’s newest art piece has arrived
by Kristian Punturere
Staff Writer
Levitated Mass, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s latest and greatest piece arrived on Saturday, March 10th. Levitated Mass is a 340 ton megalith that will sit centrally above a 456 foot long concrete lined slot, creating the illusion that the rock is suspended in air. Visitors will be able to walk under the megalith as the concrete walk way descends fifteen feet below the mass before it ascends again on the opposite side. The piece has already received worldwide media attention and is expected to become a “destination artwork” for the local, national and international public. “Just seeing the rock from far away is really intense and I’m really excited to see it,” senior AVPA Art student and LACMA intern, Edna Vogel said, “ I guess the feeling knowing that your under that extreme amount of weight is really exciting.”
During its 105-mile long trip from Riverside County to LACMA, some local citizens expressed concerns regarding the incredible cost of transporting the solid marble rock, and the impact that it could have on those businesses and homes along the route. Despite these concerns, the project has actually had some beneficial effects on the local economy rather than a burden. In fact, the cost of the project is being entirely funded privately, with no funding coming from LA County. Additionally, a great deal of the privately raised funds have gone directly back into our local economy through payments to construction teams, transport services and permit fees that have been paid to a total of twenty two cities in four different counties for the transport of this mass, not to mention the fan followers who have come out to see the rock as it stopped in various cities along the way, where they spent money.
The artist behind this wondrous addition to LACMA’s plethora of art work is Michael Heizer. Heizer was born in Berkeley, California in 1944, and later attended San Francisco Art Institute briefly before moving to New York where he established his own studio. He also owns a ranch where he produced large scale sculptures such as Nine Nevada Depressions and Displaced/Replaced Mass. His 1969 artwork Double Negative, which is now owned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, has inspired artists for multiple generations. Major exhibitions of his art have been presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Foundazione Prada, Milan, Italy; Museum of Contemporary Art, LA and the Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterlo, Holland.
Transporting the megalith is Emmert International, a company that specializes in transporting giant items such as nuclear components and buildings. Traveling at a slight five to eight miles per hour, it took eleven total nights of transport for the enormous rock to reach its final destination at LACMA. A 260 foot long and 32 foot wide transporter had to be custom built, enabling the weight of the rock to be distributed evenly over an incredible 196 wheels. This method was used to prevent road damage, and the route for transportation had to be predetermined and many permits had to be acquired for this titious yet worth it task. Along the way to LACMA, however, the rock received some unanticipated attention. “While they were transporting it a lot of people came out to see it and they were throwing parties and they were like dressing in flintstone costumes and whatnot,” said senior AVPA Art student and LACMA intern, Marylin Liu, “It was just really cool seeing so many people excited about it.”
Levitated Mass will be open to the public at LACMA early this summer, but for now, if you want to know more about the artwork you can visit lacma.org/levitatedmass and for updates, stay tuned at lacma.org.
> Candidates for city council answer student questions
by Nicole Martin and Emily Wood
Opinions Editor and A&E editor
Students and parents packed into the Ivy Substation on the evening of March 14 for a chance to get to know Culver City candidates for the city council before the upcoming election on April 10. The event, formally called Ask 2 Know was a forum for students ages K-12 organized by Michelle Mayan, to advance her goal of getting more young people involved in politics.
Students, the majority of whom were CCHS seniors, had the opportunity to ask candidates questions regarding a variety of issues important to them, including LGBT rights, environmental policies and innovations, the CCPD, and budget cuts. To begin, the six candidates, Jim Clarke, Scott Malsin, Stephan Murry, Mehaul O’Leary, Megan Sahli-Wells, and Andrew Weissmen were each given two minutes for opening statements…and to explain their pizza choices (bought for the event in honor of Pi Day). Weissman explained that he chose LaRocco’s “the works pizza” because he was willing to work with everyone, and Murry commented, “it was pretty good, right?…sort of like my campaign,” when explaining his pizza selection.
The opening statements were informative, and at times amusing, if a bit constrained by time. Attempting to tailor their speeches to a student audience while still stressing the foundation issues of their campaigns, the candidates opening statements set the tone for the whole course of the forum. Clark began with a humorous, “I lost my first election in the 8th grade,” and stressed his experience attracting grants for the city, and spoke of the need for more foundation grants and public-private funding partnerships.
Malsin centered his opening statement around his desire to continue to make Culver City a cultural destination, and how much more difficult that could be now that the redevelopment agency has been lost. Malsin said he hoped to enact zoning changes that could create new parks if elected to office, and reminded students that he had brought Indiecade to Culver City.
Murry chose a surprising message for his opening remarks–a promise to make a 60% increase in spending cuts. It is unclear whether his brutal honesty will pay off with voters, or if the negative tone of his speech will shift votes away from his campaign.
O’Leary explained his immigration from Ireland to the United States, and how he lived the American dream and hoped to continue to make that possible for everyone in Culver City, as well as stressed his business experience as the owner of various restaurants.
Sahli-Wells focused mainly on her inspiration and experience in public activism as a basis for entering city government, including joining the LA Student Coalition to protest apartheid, and her work registering voters.
Weissman said that he was running for city council because he had lived his whole life in Culver City, since 1952, and hoped to continue investing in the community he loved. “I am a testament to getting involved and staying involved,” he said.
After opening statements, the forum opened up to student questions. Eric Bergstrom, a senior at CCHS, asked the first question, regarding environmental issues in Culver City. Sahli-Wells, seemingly the most passionate about environmental issues, explained the importance of a mandated re-usable bag policy in Culver City, and the importance of “green education” in schools. She also elaborated on which materials were truly recyclable, of which styrofoam is not. All of the candidates were in favor of implementing some sort of reusable bag plan: Clark supported a reusable bag incentive, and would consider a complete ban on plastic bags, Malsin said he would implement the LA bag ban model, Murry spoke of taking it a step further and also banning styrofoam, saying, “I want to make sustainability core to Culver City,” and O’Leary promised that such changes were already being discussed. Other environmental question included what candidates position were regarding oil drilling or potentially fracking in Culver City oil fields. Most candidates seemed concerned with the environmental consequences of such actions, but seemed insufficiently informed about the subject to take a strong position. Sahli-Wells did comment that she found the idea of fracking frightening, especially because of the potential for chemicals to enter the groundwater and watershed (including La Ballona Creek) in Culver City. She also spoke of the need for more comprehensive testing to make sure that oil drilling techniques were not harming the environment or potentially local residents, many of whom were expressing concerns.
Throughout the forum lighting-round questions occurred to break up the seriousness of the issues, with younger students in mind. Each candidate had 30 seconds to respond to more humours questions, forcing candidates to attempt to provide witty and creative answers under pressure. These questions included, “What is your favorite type of pie?” and “If you could invite any living famous person to speak who would it be?”
However, a majority of the forum focused on more to-the-point questions, such as senior Marilyn Liu’s inquiry regarding widespread accusations that the Culver City Police Department awarded unfair treatment to young drivers and ethnic minorities. Responding to this issue, Sahli-Wells had the most concrete response, advocating for diversifying the CCPD force, installing cameras in police cars, and the need for data regarding the types of arrests made and the ethnicity of the accused. O’Leary seemed shocked by the clear approval of the question by the audience, which applauded, and said that the council had not realized that the issue existed prior to it being brought up in the forum. He promised to look into the matter carefully. Murray brought up the fact that our CCPD is more costly than that of other comparable cities, and suggested that we audit the CCPD to determine how to make it more efficient.
When asked if they supported the overturn of Proposition 8, and whether they would be willing to make a public statement regarding the majority of Culver City citizen’s support for overturning Proposition 8, all candidates except O’Leary said strongly that they would be willing. O’Leary made it subtly clear that his personal views on the matter were in conflict with the majority, but said that he felt that this was not a local issue, but something that should be handled at the state government level.
Additionally, candidates were asked what ideas they had to improve the traffic and parking situation in downtown Culver City. Malsin pledged to make more effective use of the parking that already exists, while O’Leary offered the idea of charging more to park in the center of downtown, and less in lots further away, hopefully causing less people to attempt to park in the same downtown structures. Murry proposed a Baldwin Hills crosswalk, which he hoped to fund through grants.
Finally, when asked about how they would handle the need to make cuts in services, the candidates offered a variety of positions. “I think we’ve cut enough. We’re going to lose the soul of Culver City if we keep on cutting,” Malsin said. Sahli-Wells proposed raising taxes in order to reduce cuts, and O’Leary proposed applying for more grants to make up for the shrinking budget. None of the candidates gave a clear answer regarding what specific services they would cut if cuts could not be avoided.
The forum ended with closing statements, for which each candidate was allotted 90 seconds. All of the candidate stressed the importance of their specific agendas, and the importance of voting and participating in local city government. O’Leary particularly stressed how important it is for students to attend council meetings in order to bring issues to the attention of the council. Voter registration cards were given out to students eligible to vote in the upcoming election, and students were encouraged to vote in a “mock election.”
> Sweeney Todd, an overall success
by Sarah Handler
Features Editor
Filling the streets with horror and terror, AVPA Theater’s performance of Sweeney Todd was an overall success.
Last month, AVPA theatre members gave a magnificent performance of Sweeney Todd, directed by Jon Kellam, co-directed by Jill Novick, and assistant directed by Justin Forsythe. Telling the dramaturgy of a demon barber seeking revenge on the malicious judge who raped his wife and seized his daughter. The show opened with creepy music and intense starring, as the cast vividly depicted the true theme and atmosphere of Sweeney Todd. Although the first act began with a somewhat rocky start, the second act was extremely well performed. Fogg’s Asylum and City on Fire were among the best scenes, after which point the show truly picked up and became exciting. The play came to an exciting and exhilarating end, culminating a pleasingly portray the story.
The acting itself, however, was impeccable. The Beggar Woman (Kayla Guirguis) made the show as she embodied her character, owned the stage, and charmed the audience, walking through the seats and making the show an intimate theatrical experience for everyone in the audience. In addition, Sweeney Todd (Christopher Clark) exemplified Sweeney Todd exceedingly well taking control and powering the production. Moreover, Mrs. Lovett (Marti Skoler) became the highlight and stole numerous laughs and she lit up the stage.
The set was ingeniously by designed by Mia Torres (no students designed the set but the head of the set was Marlee Goldshine and the set itself was managed by Tara Griffo, and students worked to prepare the set) to be versatile enough to suit the needs of all of the scenes in the play. Not only did it evoke the true spirit and the experience of Sweeney Todd, but also grasped the attention of the audience. Set designers made a wise choice using only simple props that emphasized the quality and impact of the pure acting. From the flour, dough, razor, coin wallet, caged birds, key and a meat grinder, these little additions were delightful extras that transported the audience, even though unfortunately, the birds were fake. Without a doubt, the highlight of the show was the sliding chair. It created suspense, elevating the show to another level. Also noteworthy was the lighting design by Eric Mitchell with mentor Christopher Stokes, which entranced the audience and set the dark and creepy tone of the play.
The makeup and hair were well done,designed by Alicia Simmons, emphasizing the darker tone of the play, and made the actors and actresses look truly creepy. The Beadle’s (Attiyah Joseph) makeup was especially frightening. Though Tobias Ragg (Tristan Price) faced some difficulties with his wig, Johanna (Georgia Funnel) had a beautiful blonde hair-piece that perfectly embodied her character. The gray streak in Skoler’s hair was a nice touch along with the overall look of Clark. Furthermore, the wonderfully detailed costumes donated by Sony allowed the characters to come to life and embrace the many personalities of their characters. This was particularly evident in Pirelli (Tristan Price) and his purple Willy Wonka costume.
The live orchestra music, provided by AVPA music students and directed by Tony Spano Jr., was also a high point, helping to smooth over other difficulties: the play suffered significantly as the singing of some characters was persistently off pitch and unpalatable. Terrible accents, difficulties with sound effects and the microphones, and other technical difficulties detracted from the charm of this play, but the live music throughout somehow managed to keep the true emotion of Sweeney alive. Still, a select few of the vocalists, including Kayla Guirguis and Clark, carried the show with their talents.
While AVPA theater’s production of Sweeney Todd possessed numerous flaws–primarily issues with vocalists–overall it captivated the audience while presenting a good rendition of a brilliantly written story.
> Craft and Folk Art Museum displays a collection of Perestroika-era political posters through May 6.
by Emily Wood
A&E Editor
Nestled in between businesses and restaurants, across the street from the tar pits and LACMA, sits the tiny Craft and Folk Art Museum—a converted apartment with no permanent collections, but always filled to the brim with temporary exhibitions. While the name Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) might call to mind images of knitted masterpieces, cozy hand made crafts, and indigenous art, this time, the yarn creations are left outside on the lampposts and parking meters (a product of knitting bombing sponsored by the museum), and the art inside is of a much more severe nature: a collection of 24 political posters created during the period of Perestroika and Glasnost, or Openness and Restructuring, during which the party of Mikhail Gorbachev made various economic and social reforms prior to the disintegration of the communist system in the former Soviet bloc.
The posters range from a critique of the USSR as a whole, to broken promises of prosperity, to the communist command economy, to the neglect of social problems under the soviet bureaucracy, to criticism of Lenin, Stalin, and Gorbachev himself. Most of the works were complete between 1987 and 1991, and display a wide range of styles and mediums. These political posters are unique, not just in their message, but also in their design and composition. Many embrace the typical simplified, graphic style of posters, but likewise combined elements of texture, depth, and an overall greater degree of craftsmanship that we’ve come to expect in political art—perhaps a reflection of the artist strong feelings toward a tenuous subject and some rather ominous personality complexes (Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler to name a few).
The exhibit is located on the second floor of the CAFAM and opens with two video pieces, one a take on a classic Soviet propaganda film, whose technical assistant, Catherine Maxwell, is a recent graduate of CCHS and current student at UCLA, and the second, an amusing Super Mario clip with a communist twist. The Soviet national anthem, the background music for the first film provides an eerie setting, audible as visitors peruse the remainder of the exhibition. One of the first works displayed in the gallery is Nash put’k Kommunizmu (Our Road to Communism), created by Aleksei A. Rezaev, which displays a hybrid Tower of Babel-Palace of Soviets complete with vital dates in USSR history, and topped with a fist providing the native equivalent of ‘giving the finger’ to socialism. The detail on the tower itself is extensive, and the hues are vibrant, creating what could only be described as a new kind of high-art political poster genre. Another noteworthy piece, The Monument, by Akeksandr Vasil’evich Lozenko depicts peasant workers at once building and destroying a typical statue of Lenin, a poignant reminder of the hope and disgust experienced by artist under the socialist system. Other works included depictions of Stalin in the characteristic death cloak, with hood half-removed to expose his face, as well as a rendering of Stalin and Hitler handcuffed together in an explicit protest of government sponsored genocide, politically or religiously motivated.
Mikhail Rozndestvin’s With a Big Communist Greeting mocks Lenin as a crazed leader unwilling to see the faults in a broken system. The background is painted a pale yellow colour, and a grinning Lenin waves at the viewer—the joke is on him though as the artist references a popular slang term for the insane asylum, the yellow house. And the irony continues with Bright Path created in 1990, probably the creepiest of all the works on display, with a black background and dark figure glowing slightly in hues of navy with one eyeball depicting in red the hammer and sickle emerging from the depths. Finally, Collectivization, by Aleksandr Vagnov, the most unique in terms of medium, created on a burlap sack, depicts a the sickle of collectivization, the hated policy of taking peasant lands to create a massive socialized farm system. Upon closer inspection the viewer notices that the jagged inside curve of the sickle is in fact the profile of Joseph Stalin.
Deconstructing Perestroika: Soviet Ideology and Its Discontents is well worth the trouble of locating the obscure CAFAM, especially for those history junkies out there, and indeed not so dissimilar from where we are as artists and protesters today. In the midst of a fiery campaign for President, Occupy Movements, and students struggling to afford the increasing cost of UC, Community, and CSU education, it seems indeed the perfect time to take a quick glance back at the artwork created during a time of restructuring and openness.