The Smoke Signal

By: Anusha Rijhsinghani Girls, it’s that time of year again where we are in control and have the opportunity to do the unconventional: ask a guy to a dance. Yes, that’s right, the Sadie Hawkins dance is only a few weeks away which means it’s time to start figuring out who to ask and more importantly, how. As one of my male friends so eloquently put, “Guys don’t go for the romantic stuff that girls fall for. Just straight-up ask him.” I guess that could be one approach to asking a guy to Sadie’s, or you could take the road…

By: Grace Wu On February 14th 2012, MSJ’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) held their annual mock wedding during lunch in the A-wing cafeteria. The event gave students the opportunity to exchange vows with each other regardless of gender. Students were also encouraged to watch and enjoy the ceremonies. MSJ’s GSA is a club “which provides a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and work to end homophobia and transphobia.” The wedding served as a celebration of rights and equality, in light of recent legislation passed…

By: Anjali Kanthilal Smoke Signal: What experience do you have working with the student body? How will it show if/when you become president? Monica Liu: I am currently the ASB secretary, so I do have a lot of experience working with the student body. We’ve planned a lot of events this year and many new things as well. We’ve made the MSJ ASB website, we’ve created a Twitter account, and a new Facebook group. We’ve also implemented a new minute structure during council, and a new club process this year so that clubs can be really successful. In ASB this year,…

By: Jaynelle Gao Smoke Signal: Why did you want to be involved in leadership? Dennis Lee: I applied for Leadership 2 because as a freshman, I really looked up to everyone in the class and after every event I would think, “I really want to get to know that person” and I feel like they did a lot for me. Nihar Parikh: When I was in eighth grade, I saw the class of ’09-’10 and they were kind of immortalized because of the effect they had on the student body. I felt like I would like to have the same…

By: Jin Peng Smoke Signal: What changes do you want to implement/what do you want to do differently if you are elected as ASB Secretary? Alton Lin: I would like to have more effective communication between ASB and the student body. I really would like to see students give more input and feedback and to overall nurture a stronger relationship between ASB and students. I wish to achieve this greater connection so that more people can get involved and more people can understand how this school runs and in turn get better feedback for questions that they may have.  …

By: Anjali Kanthilal Smoke Signal: What experience do you have working with the student body? How will it show when you become treasurer? Emily Chen: I’ve been Junior Class Treasurer all year and I’ve also worked alongside the current ASB Treasurer in the student store and his comittee. Through being treasurer in both those positions, I’ve worked with the school accountant, Ms. Stoorza, and I’ve had to file requisitions and make deposits. As ASB Treasurer, I will have to be in charge of a lot more than that because all the club stuff will go through me.   SS: Handling the large…

By: Sonali Toppur   Smoke Signal: What qualities do you possess that make you a good candidate for this position? Charley Lin: I’m a very open-minded person, and always open to new ideas. Also, I’m very social and love to be around other people. Being Activities Coordinator is a position in which you have to bring the school together and put yourself out there. This is a quality that I have. I’m also very hard working, and a lot of fun! Neha Nayak: Being a member of L2 has definitely given me the insight and experience needed to work as a…

The Smoke Signal is looking for our next year’s Journalism I staff. The application will be available on February 24th, so check back for more information!

By Leland Bernstein During a time when movie watchers complain about how every movie they see has the same plot or is a digitally re-mastered version, Chronicle stands far above the crowd. The movie begins with Andrew (Dane DeHaan) starting to record his life – a drunken, abusive father, bedridden mother, testosterone-filled bullies, and his popular cousin Matt (Alex Russel). To break Andrew out of his anti-social shell, Matt takes Andrew to a Rave where he still gets pushed around. After leaving the dance, Andrew meets Steve (Michael B. Jordan) who convinces Andrew to bring his camera to a strange…

By Sherry Xiao The annual MSJ Wrestling Invitational organized by Head Wrestling Coach Thomas Thomsen brought over 70 teams and 450 wrestlers to MSJ. Of MSJ’s 42 wrestlers, Senior William Booth, Senior Corbin Lee, Junior Alex Dornfest, Senior Issac Garza, Senior David Kim, Junior Shane Keenan, and Senior Swahib Kaba were selected to compete in the tournament. Varsity Captains Corbin Lee and David Kim both placed third in their respective weight classes. As a team, MSJ placed 13th overall. Clovis High School won the tournament title for the fifth consecutive year. Thomsen said, “[Our team’s performance] has stayed pretty consistent.…