Being Editors-in-Chief of The Mirada has been the highlight of our senior year. We’ve not only grown to know each other, but we’ve grown to know all of the great achievements of the Class of 2013 through reporting on you.

From our internationally renowned band to our unique Civitas program to our award winning sports teams, we are truly on a road to achieve great things.

When we became Editors-in-Chief we were told “Everything in newspaper will take much longer than you expect.”

This sentiment was echoed by our advisor Michael Mahoney, who never stops saying “The difference between almost done and done is the same as the difference between never started and almost done.”

Boy, was that true.

But despite the many, many late nights we’ve spent toiling over last minute edits and the dreaded missing links, we’ve developed a strong camaraderie between each other and our staff which was only enhanced by the experience of seeing everyone clamor to read our newspaper every month.

We thank you for both supportive and critical comments as all have helped us produce the best paper we could.

We thank our adviser, Michael Mahoney, for being so supportive and innovative and for dedicating so much of his own time to help us make our vision a reality.

Next year, we have two bright juniors, Ryan Burns and Connor Jang, taking over and we have no doubt that they will do a superb job covering the stories that make us the school we are.

And we know that as the years go by, we’ll be hearing more from the Class of 2013.

Congratulations Class of 2013! Good Luck!

Mayor Kevin Johnson entered office with one primary goal. To keep the city’s only major professional sports team in the City of Trees.

Over the decades of the Sacramento Era, since the team moved from Kansas City, players like Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, and Mitch Richmond have taken the court at what is now named Sleep Train Arena.

In addition to the actual players, the Sixth Man in Sacramento has been one of the most loyal and supportive fan bases in the NBA, in a small market that does not offer the same population to draw from as a New York or an Los Angeles.

Any time a city can outsell a so-called “sports city” like Seattle ticket-wise for the same amount of time, the city deserves a team.

Any time a city with an official population of just over 400,000 people can draw a sellout crowd for the better part of two decades, the city deserves a team.

Any time a city that is in one of the worst economic depression in the United States, yet still wants to pay hundreds of million dollars to build a new arena, the city deserves a team.

That being said, Seattle is a great city and does deserve the return of the Supersonics as an NBA franchise. It just should not receive a team at the stake of one of the best fan bases in the nation.

Assuming the official decision of the NBA to keep the Kings where they are is the same as what the owners agreed on a few weeks ago, some changes in the franchise need to be made.

The most glaring problem is a lack of a state of the art arena. Players hate travelling to Sacramento to stay in the airport’s hotel and then drive to play in the dump called Sleep Train in Natomas.

The Sacramento Kings need to play in Sacramento, and a downtown arena – the proposed plan – would solve that problem.

The new arena next to the Downtown Plaza would be extremely beneficial both socially and economically.

It would revive the downtown area that has struggled in recent years. It would bring economic prosperity to the neighboring businesses while making downtown Sacramento a place to go, for both the youth and adults in Sacramento.

The arena relocation will make California’s capital a more attractive tourist spot as well. There will be a place to go that will be more lively and will be renovated to be a more attractive spot for visitors as well as natives of the valley.

If in the next few years the Kings can draft a few more solid players and develop the talent they already have (Cousins, Evans, Thorton), the franchise just might be able to create a dynasty to remember in their new home in the heart of Sacramento, and maybe even return to the glory days of the early 2000s.

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“It has been really enjoyable,” says freshman Mitch Worrell-Olson, who is playing Roger and Teen Angel.

Grease is about Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, who fell in love on the beach and unknowingly attend the same high school, Rydell High. They meet again at the first pep rally, but Sandy finds that Danny is different.

The story takes place in the 50’s, where Danny is a greaser and Sandy is a cheerleader and “Pink Lady.”

They are both very different from one another, but in the end, try to change for the sake of their relationship.

“There are a few differences between the movie and the stage musical, but the audience probably won’t notice them,” said drama teacher Jesse Miller.

Despite this, there will be slight changes.

Senior Frankie Maclaughlin says “It’s very similar to the movie, we do have some original twists that Mrs. Miller has put into it.”

The play will be in the Betty Miller Theatre and tickets are $7.

“Everyone should come and see it. But only if you want to have a good, fun time!” said Worrell-Olson.

Maclaughlin, who will be playing Rizzo, said she is super excited.

“It’s really well casted. The cast is very strong and talented.” said Maclaughlin.

This will be the second show this year, and Maclaughlin’s last show with Rio.

Freshman Elisha Underwood said, “I loved the Reader’s Theatre show (Cinderfella) and I can’t wait to see Grease,”

Miller has previously directed Grease at high school and college levels. She says this cast is “very enthusiastic and a pleasure to direct.”

The very popular fish and chips eatery Tug Boat serves up some classic “London style” Seafood in this week’s Restaurant Review. Tug Boat’s food is served fresh and affordably with great service. But to call it great service would be an understatement. Tug Boat’s service is the second best and if not tied for the first best service I have ever received. If you order a one piece you usually get an extra piece no charge just because they want to be nice and enjoy your business. That brings me to the food. Fish and Chips is not the only thing on the menu but it could be and I would still be giving them a good review. The One, Two, and Three piece fish and chips is all you need they’re are perfectly cooked and perfectly filling with a little added salt and vinegar. With all these positive factors Tug Boat has its hard to believe that it has stayed under the radar for a long while within the school’s community. So if you’re a student who wants to diversify the places they eat at Tug Boat is definitely a good and viable option. Which I highly recommend and know a few other cool kids would too. Tug Boat #1 is located at 7601 Fair Oaks Blvd. Carmichael, CA 95608.

I give Tug Boat #1 three out five Wally Heads

Jim Denny’s
Jim Denny’s is a classic American diner located downtown. It has been around since 1934 and its claims to fame are burgers and pancakes. Man vs Food visited the restaurant and attempted to eat the “Hubcap Pancake,” a pancake the size of a hubcap. Gavin White, Maddie Jang and I did not even finish half of it. We gave away the leftovers to everyone in Ms. DeVilles second period APUSH class. Except we had four to go boxes and failed to get rid of them all. So we took to the hallways, calling out, “Pancakes! Free pancakes.” As it was freshman hall, everyone was timid to take the leftovers, except for Maddie Jang, who was upset we were giving away her precious food. And for $9, there is no way to go wrong. The food is made right in front of you, and the waitress immediately realized that we were first timers at Jim Denny’s. “Just use the rip and drip strategy,” she said as bowls of syrup were passed to us. It is a little bit of a drive to downtown, but a perfect way to spend a morning. Fill up on pancakes, get a coffee or something, then walk around the great city of Sacramento. There’s nothing better in the morning than pancakes. Jim-Denny’s is located at 816 12th Street in downtown Sacramento.

I give Jim-Denny’s 4 and a half Connor Heads out of 5

I experienced this in December when I submitted the Rio Americano Sports Center video to the administration, which I had spent over 20 hours editing, to be played at a rally. It was rejected because they deemed several scenes “inappropriate.” However, their claims are riddled with double standards

The administration had qualms about the Muscle Milk commercial scene, saying that Wes Plumley shirtless was inappropriate, but they had no problems with senior

Jordan Vinson. If their motive was to prevent men from being shirtless in the video, why single out Wes Plumley? The next issue was regarding the scene with the two Jesuit students philandering by a wall on their campus. Most people who viewed the video realized the true intention was to show them flirting, but the administration saw it and drew the conclusion that they were engaging in “inappropriate” activities.

It seems that the administration is looking for excuses to deem things inappropriate. They see a normal scene and assume the worst, giving it sinister new meanings that no one else saw before. Another complaint against the video was the scene showing seniors Madeline Arnett and Alex Engleburt playing basketball in Jesuit jerseys. They purposely missed the shots in an attempt to poke fun at the ability of Jesuit athletes. It was denied on the grounds that it furthers the stereotype that girls cannot play sports. This is ridiculous because the administration viewed girls blatantly and purposefully missing shots and decided it was derogatory towards women Even though I helped film and create the concepts for the video, I was shocked by the accusation that I was making fun of women. The scene was so satirical, it couldn’t possibly be misconstrued for a slam against women, but the administration took it a step further and decided it conveyed that women are bad athletes. I find this especially funny, because Alex Engleburt played basketball for Rio her freshman and sophomore year. She would have played her junior year as well, but she had to recover from a surgery. If I was truly seeking to portray women as bad athletes, why would I have used one of the best female athletes at Rio? Finally, Principal Ginter said that “the use of a teacher in the video was not appropriate,” regarding physics teacher Dean Baird’s appearance at the end of the video. Why would it be inappropriate to use one of

Rio’s finest teachers, a man who won the Presidential Award for Math and Science Teachers when he agreed to be featured in my video?

My intent was to bring the teachers and student body closer together through cooperation in projects like these as well as to excite the students of Rio with a humorous display that incorporated curriculum into the comedy. Many people would be upset if their video was censored by an overly conservative administration, but I am not.

The rejection of the video made it an online sensation in high schools across Sacramento and gave it over 3,500 hits on YouTube, which are much better results than I ever could have hoped for.

In today’s society, when something is held down, it draws much more attention than it ever would have received. This is evident across society, but also here at Rio when Darren Miller’s article “A Modest Proposal” received so much attention it made the national news.

The administration may continue to censor content that is deemed “inappropriate”, but Muscle Milk will live forever.

26 students will spend 16 days abroad, travelling across France and gathering cultural and historical experiences.

“I am very excited and somewhat nervous for this trip,” junior Michael Wu said. “It is the first time I have really tested by language skills.”

Some students have already been to France, but are looking forward to returning.

“I went to France over Spring Break two years ago,” said junior Corbet Kaniff. “But this trip will be much different due to the family stay, which I am super-duper excited for.”

The first week will be with a French family.  Students often report this to be the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the experience.

After the family stay, the world travellers trek to the historic Normandy Coast to visit the important battlefields of World War II, and pay respect to fallen soldiers by exploring the D-Day beaches of Arromanches and the American Cemetery.  Then the group will make their way to St. Malo, a fortified city converted into a prison during the French Revolution.  They will climb the cobbled streets of the Mont St. Michel.  They will also see the Tapestry of Bayeux, which narrates William the Conqueror’s victory over England in 1066.

Next on the trip’s itinerary is the Loire Valley, called the “Garden of France” due to its gorgeous landscape.  The region in central France is famous for its sprawling vineyards.  The Château de Chenonceau is also on the itinerary, one of the most elegant castles in all of France.

The next destination is Paris, and on the way they will visit Chartes, one of the best examples of Gothic Cathedral architecture in Europe.  The town around the church was devastated by American bombing campaigns in World War II, and the only reason that the church is still intact today is because an American Army officer challenged his orders from superiors to destroy it.

Spending the last three days in Paris will allow the students the ability to explore their personal curiosities and practice their French in the capital city.

The final days in Paris will include sightseeing and enjoying the city, with its bridges, cafés and museums.  At night, everyone will have dinner atop the iconic Eiffel Tower and reflect upon the experience they have had.

The next day, they will catch a flight back to the United States, leaving France behind them, but keeping memories forever.

The students will not be alone on their trip. History teacher William Taylor and his wife Mrs. Ocken-Taylor, an English teacher at Arden Middle School will be the chaperons.

“I am really looking forward to their company,” junior Michael Wu said. “They both know a lot about the country.”

“Mr. Taylor will bring tons of historical knowledge to the trip, I’m especially looking forward to visiting Normandy with him because World War II is his passion,” junior Trey Athey said.

The students and chaperons alike should bring home excellent souvenirs, but also lifelong memories of their incredible adventures in France.

“Bon voyage, America,” junior Christian Noack said. “We are going to France.”

Whether they are catching, batting, or pitching a ball, the women are sure not to disappoint.

The team is composed of two freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and seven seniors. Many of the seniors on the team have played softball for Rio since their freshman year.

Although a small team, with only 15 players, this season’s women have shown skill unlike any other team in the last few years.

“If we win 7 games this season, we will have won the most games by the softball team at Rio in 6 years,” said senior Kelsey Showler. “We only need one more win to reach this goal.”

Breaking this record only lays the foreground for more broken records in the future.

Coached by Chris Martinez, the father of two of the girls on the varsity team, the women train hard in practice to better their performance in games.

Practices cover a range of conditioning and drills. The women do hitting and fielding drills to improve their ball handling skills.

The team holds impressive statistics. Junior Sarah Murphy, despite her limited chances, has recorded the team’s only perfect fielding percentage. Similarly, senior Haley

Boyer holds the team’s second highest batting average of .361, behind sophomore Chelsea Martinez who bats .500.

As a team tradition, the girls wear a bow on their heads to each of their games and plan to keep this tradition alive.

The women all agree their camaraderie plays a vital part in their successes as a team. “I love playing because being on the field helps me forget about everything else going on and I like being with my friends every day,” said senior Kara Lavenda.

“One of our greatest strengths is that we are best friends and we can left each other’s spirits,” said Boyer.

As the player’s goals differ, they all see more wins in the future.

“We have five wins so far and we are all hoping we can get a even more to further beat last season’s record,” said Showler.

“My last year on the team I hope to win a lot of games and improve myself as a player,” said Lavenda.

The players are also very versatile in the positions they can play, which is required over the course of a long season.

“I play a lot of positions: left field, right field, catcher and first base. I like getting to alternate around,” said Lavenda.

As their season rounds the bases, the wins to come are next at bat.

Mirada adviser Michael Mahoney hopes that Rio will offer a new Journalism class on campus that focuses on more regularly updating the Mirada web site, www.riomirada.com, but which also teaches students about the new world of online journalism, blogging, and how old fashioned reporting can stay relevant, and even thrive, in a digital age.

“This is the direction journalism has been moving in,” Mahoney said. “We’ve had a web site for years, but we need to become more interactive, more integrated, and more involved in school life.”

English teacher Adam Bearson would teach this class.

He wants to use it to teach students the manifold skills they can learn from working on an online publication.

“I’m very excited to teach this,” Bearson said. “Part of the challenge of this class is rethinking the whole purpose of a newspaper as more and more people get their news online. The sky’s the limit when it comes to online journalism. We want to give students the opportunity to produce a news aggregate site that relates to Rio specifically.”

Current Web Editor senior David Egan believes having a new class is an excellent idea.

“I think it’s a great idea to create a class that puts together platforms that almost all high schoolers already use,” Egan said. “All the class is doing is organizing it.”

Sports Editor junior Ryan Burns, who will be an editor-in-chief of the print Mirada next year, is also excited about the opportunities presented by the expansion of the Mirada’s online presence.

“I think it’s going to be a great way to expand the newspaper to those who don’t receive the monthly copy,” Burns said. “It will also give people better periodical updates through video and other mediums.”

The Mirada currently updates its web site once a month concurrent to the release of the paper’s print edition. The web site often includes extra content and interesting stories that can’t fit in the sixteen page newspaper.

Coming out once a month, the Mirada’s print edition is an award winning nationally recognized publication and along with the Tesoro yearbook forms the heart of Rio’s journalism program under the leadership of English department head Michael Mahoney.

Colleges take notice of experience on a high school newspaper, and being an editor-in-chief is equivalent on applications to other major leadership roles such as student body president.

With the Mirada expanding its online presence next school year, there are now new opportunities to be a part of things in producing a superior publication – online or in print – during Rio’s fiftieth anniversary year.

The NCAA Tournament guarantees excitement and rightfully gets its month in the spotlight in the sports world, but for the wrong reason.

The problem is ESPN and the Bracket Challenge.

Admit it. You made a bracket. You were watching a close game and rooting for a team because you had them in your Final Four.

The team you were cheering for was Georgetown and they were playing Florida Gulf Coast.

FGCU catapulted to the top of the sports world in a matter of three days by knocking off Georgetown and San Diego State in two colossal upsets. If you say that you had Florida Gulf Coast in the Sweet Sixteen, you are a blatant liar.

But while you were cheering for Georgetown because of your bracket, I was enjoying one of the greatest tournament runs of all time. Andy Enfield led the cocky “underdog” fifteen seed to the Sweet Sixteen.

If you switch to the New Mexico v. Harvard game, I was able to laugh at Jeremy Lin’s celebratory Instagram post while you tore up your last perfect bracket.

Almost nobody had Harvard, La Salle and FGCU winning their first games. Even fewer correctly guessed the Sweet Sixteen, all of which most likely are friends with a Sherman

Brown or another Florida Gulf Coast player.

With those examples in mind, allow me to get to the point. I did not make a bracket this year. Call me crazy.

I was rooting for upsets and was in awe with the spectacle of FGCU especially. Dunk City impressed me endlessly, at least until the Eagles’ season was ended.

La Salle overcame the odds to win the play-in game in addition to its next game.

Harvard put that last corner of your bracket into the paper shredder.

March Madness has become just a game, but for the spectators rather than the players. Actually, it has become less than a game. It is just an activity now.

That brings me to my proposition: ESPN deletes its hugely popular online bracket in order to allow more people to enjoy the games and the Madness they bring.

So next year please do not make a bracket. Trust me from first hand experience. It really does make March Madness better from a fan’s standpoint.

It will be the same David vs. Goliath, and a few trees will be saved in the process.

All items will be donated to the Wind Youth Services. WYS is a non-profit organization that provides homeless teens safety from the streets and supplies them with resources.

“We chose the Wind Youth Services to donate to because they are a local charity organization that will help our homeless teens in our area, not some random city.” said junior Fashion Club president Cleary Chizmar.

Items that are accepted are T-shirts, coats, pants, shorts and shoes.

“All girls should help out to give back to our community and help homeless teen girls that are less fortunate,” said Chizmar.

Not only can girls help, though they are known to hoard lots of clothes, boys can help as well. You may think you’ve worn that T-shirt or blouse too many times, but to someone else its brand new and something like the one they’ve always wanted.

“I founded this club to express styles I had interest in and pick-up styles from classmates, so I’m glad that now we’re doing an activity where we are reaching out and sending our styles to people outside of our school especially those unable to provide themselves with clothes.” said Chizmar.

It’s really simple to help out, all you have to do is go through old clothes that sit in the back of your closet never worn. You may see it as worn out or out of date, but to someone else it means much more.

It’s easy, convenient and you can sleep better knowing the needy can benefit from your slightly used clothing.

Bring any of your items to the main office and place in the Fashion Club’s box during the week of April 8-12th. The box can be found on the left-hand side of the office. Please help Rio’s Fashion Club along with those less fortunate!

“Compared to last season, this season is much more intense” said junior Kayla Bradford. “I am very confident in the team’s ability to win this year.”

So far this season, the team has competed against high schools such as Cordova, Whitney, Bella Vista, Rocklin, and El Camino. During the meets, the teams compete in a variety of events including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 meter relays, shot put, long jump, high jump, and triple jump.

Junior Kadyn Silva jokes because he does a wide variety of events, including the sprints, jumps, and throws.

“I like to call myself a decathlete,” he said.

So far the team has competed in six meets and have 15 meets left of the season.

In order to place well at the meets, which are usually held at least once a week, the team is practicing harder and harder with practice everyday of the week for about two hours.

With the teams biggest competitors in the sprints and relays being Whitney and El Camino, the runners including sophomore Mark Baker have been working hard creating strategies to win the race.

“My strategy to win a race is don’t go too hard, run smart, and go strong until the end “ said Baker.

This is his first year running track at Rio, but he was one of Arden Middle School’s best runners in middle school.

In addition to the weekly meets, the team also has to prepare for their section finals, which begins in a little over a month on May 15th and for the state meets starting May 31st.

The team is determined to place well in both and continue their winning record against rivals El Camino and Whitney.

If they continue on this track, the team is sure to continue their success and take a league title this season.

Dean Baird’s Physics class.

Preparation for the exhibits began before February Break.

“We started planning before Ski Week,” Baird said.

“Pretty much every day after school for all of March one or two exhibits came in. The students and I would talk about them and make sure they understood the physics behind it all. It takes 6 weeks of preparation for a short show.”

When the big day came, Baird’s students welcomed 300 to 400 elementary students from schools around Rio. Dozens of exhibits taught them physics related concepts.

“Our project is that we have a fish tank filled with dry ice and we’re spraying the dry ice with water,” junior Erin Cherovsky said.

“This creates a vapor. Then the kids can blow bubbles and the bubbles float on the denser layer of the vapor. There is a semi permeable membrane and then, finally, the bubbles sink.”

“My exhibit is called the Bernoulli Levitator,” senior Nate Ansbach said.

“It illustrates changes from high to low pressure. I’m just really excited everyone’s enjoying their projects.

The smiles are what we do this for.”

The enjoyment of showing the kids something new and unique was echoed by students throughout the day.

“It’s always fun for me to bond with my buddies in physics,” senior John Price said.

“It’s fun making the kids smile and giggle.”

“We have a bubble tray that makes larger bubbles than usual because they include a sugar molecule that makes them more prone to expand,” junior Darian Rosengard said.

“Mr. Baird has been there a long time and has done an amazing job putting this all together. It gives kids hands on experiences who may not be able to go to the ExploratoRio in San Francisco. The chance to come to their future high school and see this is great.”

Baird sees ExploratorRio as a great opportunity to introduce kids to physics and to make it fun and relatable for them.

“We’ve been doing this every year since 1994,” Baird said.

“It was only a few years in that we discovered we should invite fourth graders. When you’re in the fourth grade, a high school student is like a god. When you’re a high school student, you think you’re a god. So everybody’s on the same page.”

Baird loves meeting people who one day will become future students of his.

“I have pictures of when Walker Hershey and Carly Tyer were here about eight years ago,” Baird said.

All seemed to agree that the annual ExploratoRio event educated, inspired, and gave everyone something to be happy about.

“It’s fun seeing the kids reactions to our experiment,” junior Matt Dodge said.

“They look like they’re having a good time.”

“Pitch Perfect,” starring Anna Kendrick, was a major hit with girls. The movie starts off when freshman Becca Mitchell first arrives at her new school Barden University. She gets pressured into joining an all girls acapella group and experiences the extreme tension the competition has to give. To audition for the group she sings “When I’m Gone,” accompanying herself by turning a cup over, tapping it and clapping.

The song has become known simply as “The Cup Song,” and numerous fan versions have attracted attention on youtube.

As the Cup Song sweeps the nation, many Rio Americano students are picking up the hobby.

“It was actually pretty easy to learn,” freshman Jordan Davey said. “I rewatched the scene from the movie over and over until I got it,”

Freshman Mia Fahn agreed that the song is easy to master.

“It took me about two minutes to learn completely,” Fahn said. “Sometimes I perform it for my friends but nothing big.”
Not only was that particular scene in the movie a major hit, the movie as a whole received numerous awards for everything from Best Musical Moment to Favorite Comedy Movie at the MTV Movie Awards..

The cup song originated from Lulu and the Lampshades, and was added to the movie because Anna Kendrick (Beca) already knew it.

Kendrick mastered the song all on her own, and even performed it on David Letterman’s “Late Show.” The audience gave her a standing ovation.

The cup technique came first, and was put to the song “You’re Gonna Miss Me” after a few years, the Lampshades’ Luisa Gerstein said in an interview with Brenna Ehrlich of the O Music Awards blog.

“The chorus is taken from an old folk song and I made up the verses. The first time we performed it I was leaving to cycle to Berlin the following day; it was kind of meant as a song to persuade friends to come with me, hence ‘the long way round etc …’”

Since Pitch Perfect, the cup song has gradually become very popular among fans of the movie.

“I’ve known how to do the cup song since the movie came out,” freshman Meghan Shellooe said.

While the cup song is easy to master for Anna Kendrick, not everyone got it on their first try.

“Emily Gomes taught it to me and then Julia Davis taught me again because I forgot it,” Shellooe says.

Even if it takes a couple tries, people from all over are tapping red solo cups to the popular tune.

Lulu and the Lampshades, who loved the Pitch Perfect version, said “I just like the idea of people in kitchens all around the world trying to master the rhythm and then the singing at the same time. It’s fun, the response has been incredible.”

The seeding of this year’s competition pitted the varsity and JV teams against each other in the quarter finals. While the JV team won, they were narrowly defeated in the next round.

Meanwhile, Meyer went to claim the title as best artist.

The Mock Trial competition simulates a trial-level proceeding in which students portray the roles of pre-trial counsel, prosecuting and defense attorneys, witnesses, court clerks, bailiffs and jurors before a single presiding judge and 2-3 scoring judges. It includes the Courtroom Art competition, in which artists from participating schools create courtroom sketches during the competition.

“At the very first meeting in my freshman year, I joined the mock trial,” Meyer said. “I didn’t know that they had a courtroom artist when I first joined, and my next year,

I decided that I wanted to be the courtroom artist too.”

Since then, Meyer has drawn mock trial courtroom scenes while they progress using dry art mediums, specifically using colored pencils and regular drawing pencils.

Unlike many courtroom artists, Meyers is a member of the team, and she said that may give her an advantage. She traveled with the team to scrimmages to hone her skill.

“Santa Barbara was where I learned both more in mock trial teams and as the courtroom artist,” Meyers said. “We spent three days there and it gave me a lot of time to develop my skills in arts and had a lot of fun.”

Artists are usually inspired by famous people like Van Gogh and Leonardo Da Vinci, but Meyer’s inspiration came from somewhere else. The art in her house since she was young was done by her cousin who is an animator. “Other inspirations are Mary Blair, who designed ‘It’s a small world’ ride and heavily influenced the designs of the

‘Alice in Wonderland’ animated movie,” she said.

Art for Meyer takes up most of her life, and makes her happy.

“Art just gives me a good way to express myself and it gives me something to do with my hands.I love to do stuff that makes other people and myself happy.”

Art comes in many ways to artist, and during the Mock Trials it comes a different way for Meyer.

“I look for scenes that have a lot of action and emotion in it, and I like to find colors that draw the eye in to help me focus on a certain character or element of a scene,” she said. “I’m usually supposed to draw the courtroom background; there’s the flag, the judge’s desk, witness stand,and at least a character in the room. I like to draw at least three, which are the judge, an attorney, and a witness.”

When you love something, you go to college for it.

“I’m going to major in mechanical engineer or robotics, and from there, I am going to hopefully be an imagineer at Disneyland and design the animatronics. I programmed the robot in the robotics competition, which is furthering my future career towards animatronics.” 

The argument goes that because of increasing numbers within the electorate of Hispanics (who went for Obama 71-27), Youth (who went for Obama 60-36), and Black Americans (who went for Obama 93-6), a Republican presidential candidate is no longer able to win a national campaign as long as they are associated with social or fiscal conservatism.

I will concede that the basic facts behind the myth are true. More Hispanics, Youth, and Black Americans are entering the political process and these groups are Democratic trending. But history has shown time and again that as issues change, political allegiances change too.

The textbook example of this is what has happened over the past 50 years to the Roman Catholic vote. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson won election with the greatest percentage of the vote America had ever seen – 61.1 percent of the vote. Catholics gave 79 percent of their votes to the Democratic candidate. Catholics credited their assimilation into the mainstream of America in part to Democratic Party New Deal pro-union policies. Similar numbers had voted for Democrats all the way back to 1928.

Catholics had never in all of American history voted for a Republican candidate for President — not even once. In just eight years, however, Republican Richard Nixon won re-election with the third greatest percentage of the vote in U.S. history and Catholics voted for him over his Democratic challenger 54-44. Why? The issues changed. Irish,

Italian, and Polish-Americans in large measure blamed Democrats for Vietnam, the hippie movement, the decay of the big cities, increased crime, racial tensions between blacks and whites, and inflation.

They moved to the suburbs, the power of the big city machines fell apart, and they felt less like a minority group and more like any other American. Catholics have voted

Democratic for the most part since 1972, but never as high before. In 2012, they went for Obama 50-48.

The point of this story (other than that I love talking politics and religion) is that as issues change, politics change. Many Hispanics and blacks are anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage. As the economy improves and those issues come more to the forefront, who’s to say that they won’t vote more increasingly Republican?

And yet Obama didn’t win 61 percent of the vote in 2012. He won only 51 percent. A shift in just 4 percent of the votes cast, one in 25, and we’d be talking about the victory of President Mitt Romney. The Democrats need to stop acting like just because they won one game by a narrow margin, they’re going to sweep the season. They need to remember that the continued popularity of the President has a lot to do with enthusiasm for him personally, not for the Democratic Party.

They need to remember that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.