The Smoke Signal

Take a look at our graphic opinions on a congressman’s response to the Giffords Arizona shooting and recent changes to the Zodiac. Click on the image to enlarge. By: Cassie Zhang By: Tina Tseng

By: Anthony Chen We have often heard about being shielded from the “harsh realities” of the world outside MSJ by the bubble of relative affluence we live in, but one aspect that most people fail to point out is that we’re not the only ones sitting on this academic throne. There are many other high schools that are of equal or higher caliber, and there are countless individuals who are just like the students at MSJ. The Mission Bubble has created a false sense of superiority and complacency. We continuously receive boosts to our collective ego in the form of…

By Frank Chen and Alekya Rajanala English Teachers Katherine Geers and Jennifer Moore’s sophomore students are currently participating in a pilot program that is co-directed by the non-profit organizations Facing History and Ourselves and Voice of Witness. This project may be featured in the Smithsonian Museum of Washington, D.C. later this year. The purpose of Facing History and Ourselves is to help give educators the resources to teach students about concepts such as human rights crises, human behavior, and narrative history. Voice of Witness is an organization that serves as a platform for oppressed or unheard voices to be recognized.…

Come relive the last Friday Activity where students and teachers bid to shave Mrs. Chaney-Aiello’s head BALD!

By: Vaishaal Shankar Apparently in order to fit in at Mission, I must practice this art called “Sprezzatura” (you know, trying to be effortless). The concept was simple enough, whatever I do, whenever I do it; I need to act like I don’t care. The “act” was emphasized which allows me to work hard on the inside but seem effortless on the outside. And the more effortless I seem, the cooler I’ll become. It was a lot harder to execute than I thought it would be.  I had to fight my inner Asian tendencies, for example whenever the teacher would…

By: Andrew Han On Tuesday, December 21, a divided Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a set of rules that forbids broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic. According to the FCC website, “the Federal Communications Commission is an independent United States government agency… [responsible for] regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.” The controversial rules attempt to support “net neutrality,” the effort to provide equal access to all websites and online services. “These rules fulfill a promise to the future — to companies that don’t yet exist, and the entrepreneurs that haven’t yet started work in their…

By: Aishwarya Thakur Interested in having some fun playing badminton with your friends, while raising money for a charitable cause? Then come to Key Club’s fourth annual badminton tournament fundraiser held in the MSJ gym on Saturday, February 26. All proceeds will go to Pediatric Trauma Prevention to help support preventing accidents that can happen to children and children who suffer from traumatic experiences. Key Club asks that players register to participate. This year players may not register at the door, so they must pre-register. The deadline for early bird sign-ups is February 6 and the amount for registration is…

Cramming for finals? Need to raise that B+? Check out this issue’s Smokie Playlist to get you in the studying mood. Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

By: Sonia Dhawan The Dilemma is a movie about two best friends, Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (Kevin James), and the lengths they would go to protect one another. It focuses on the ethical problem Ronny encounters when he sees Nick’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) cheating with tattooed, muscular Zip (Channing Tatum) and is torn over whether he should tell his friend. The trailer, which garnered attention last year for negatively using the word “gay,” implies that the movie is another laugh out loud comedy. Though it is still a comedy, the movie takes full advantage of sappy background…

By: Ravneet Kaur According to Urban Dictionary, “bandwagoning” is “when someone adopts a popular point of view for the primary purpose of recognition and/or acceptance by others”. Sounds familiar, right? The term is usually a reference to those not so cool kids that “jump on the bandwagon” for the latest fad. A prime example of “bandwagoning” was evident in the Bay Area when the San Francisco Giants were crowned World Champions. Numerous people who didn’t previously support the Giants rushed to join the growing number of fans.However, think back to early December when your Facebook newsfeed was invaded by profile pictures of…