Ben Clement

Tension increased between the U.S. and Israel as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu's inappropriately timed decision to announce the construction of 1,600 Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem.

Second semester usually brings a few new faces to Saratoga High, but it is rare that any of those are among the faculty. That is not the case this year, however, due to the addition of new student teacher Jeff Scott, who has just taken over Rick Ellis’ third-period geography class and Mike Davey’s fourth-period World History class.

Saratoga suburban legend sometimes alludes to a tradition known as the "senior streak." From the mid-'80s until 1995, seniors left their legacy in the form of a streak through the high school while covered in body paint some time during the year. Many participants drank alcohol as way of working up courage for the streak. Even more surprising than the lifespan of this tradition was that teachers and administrators mostly seemed to view it as a harmless activity. In 1991, then-rookie history teacher Kim Anzalone was shocked the first time she witnessed the streak.

If students are spending more time watching YouTube videos and clips on school computers this year, it's because the school decided to reverse an earlier decision to block the popular site at school. Previously YouTube was open only for teachers, but administrators made change when these restrictions proved to be inefficient when, for example, students were unable to access various web sites that teachers wanted to use in their lesson plans. “We were spending a lot of time managing who could and could not access material that was mutually beneficial,” said principal Jeff Anderson.

The recent recession has had many unfortunate side effects. It’s impossible to open a newspaper or watch a news show without hearing a heart-wrenching tale about the millions of newly unemployed. As if these reminders of the recession didn’t create enough anxiety, Arizona residents now have another reason to fear for their safety and security. In mid-October, the state announced its intention to sell nine of the state’s 10 medium to high-security prisons to companies in hopes of garnering a small sum: $100 million to be exact. This money will help alleviate the state’s nearly $2 billion budget shortfall.

Hamas fires a rocket from a school black top, aimed arbitrarily at Israel, with no regard for whether the target is a military or civilian location. The Israeli military pinpoints the origin of the attack and fires back. What does mother UN do? Issue a report equating to a slap on the wrist for Hamas and a belt to the behind for Israel.

With bipartisan tensions at the forefront of political news, the Democrats, in quintessential political fashion, have decided to throw more fuel on the fire by initiating an investigation of CIA interrogation techniques under the Bush administration.

The lacrosse team has ended its inaugural season, finally rewarding the years of effort put forth by parents, administrators and students who sought to have it as a school sport. In their last several games, the boys, who finished 1-13, showed great improvement and looked like a genuine lacrosse team. Although some of the last games were against some of the best schools in the league, those against more evenly matched teams, like Leland, Sacred Heart Prep and Los Gatos were all much closer. This improvement gives the team much more to build off of next year.

In early April, the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District announced that former SHS assistant-principal Markus Autrey will be replacing Doug Ramezane as principal at Los Gatos High School next year. Autrey was hired at Saratoga High in 2005 by principal Jeff Anderson. After a little more than a year at Saratoga, Autrey left to become the head of the guidance department at LGHS. Having worked in the district for only a little over three years, Autrey is excited to assume his new position.

By now everybody (with the exception of some clueless Saratogans) has heard of the notorious Somali pirates and their increasingly daring exploits. Embarrassingly, this news is surprising to many. Think about the situation as a whole for a second. Somalia has lacked a competent central government since as early as 1990 due to civil war.

10. Houses get TPed… the good ones get egged 9. Gender roles are reversed… which can be very confusing.

Frank Resetarits, who plays professional lacrosse, splits his time between New York, where he plays in the Men’s Lacrosse League (MLL) on the Long Island Lizards, and California, where he plays in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) on the San Jose Stealth. At only 24, Resetarits brings enormous credentials to the table as both a coach and player. In college, Resetarits was co-captain of the University of Albany’s Division I Great Danes, and helped the team qualify for the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament his senior year.

This year’s location for junior prom, the Fourth Street Summit Center in downtown San Jose, has received much enthusiasm; however, the price of $80 per person has solicited more conflicted opinions.

Preseason games are over. No more practice scrimmages. No more friendly competition. And definitely no more room for doubt. With the arrival of spring, both lacrosse teams now face their first and probably toughest season in history.

10. Make her an adorable sign and surprise her, you pathetic excuse for a man. 9. Have her best friend ask her because you’re too afraid… Girly man. 8. Ask her over Facebook/text/IM. Just like a middle-schooler.

Learning a new sport isn’t easy. Learning and mastering a new sport in less than four weeks is even harder. That, however, was exactly what both the boy’s and girl’s lacrosse teams had to accomplish during their February preseason training.

It’s Monday morning and the halls are bustling with students clad in the usual sweat shirts and Ugg boots, but something new stands out amongst the crowd: the lacrosse sticks wielded by both boys and girls. Lacrosse, although traditionally a boys’ sport, is crossing gender lines at Saratoga High School with the inception of a girls’ lacrosse team to complement the newly formed boys’ team. Despite early reports that there would not be a separate team for girls, Saratoga High has added a JV girls’ lacrosse team to its spring sports roster.

After months of research and consideration, the administration at Los Gatos High School has announced the school’s switch to a full block schedule for the 2009/2010 school year. A leading figure in the deliberations was Los Gatos assistant principal Markus Autrey, who witnessed the implementation of the block schedule while working at Saratoga High.

10. I thought you had to be in good physical condition to be a police officer.

10. He has catchy phrases and all the young people love him. There isn’t much difference between him and Miley Cyrus. 9. He’s so tall and skinny. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t be able to walk on water. 8. For the next four years it will be pronounced “nuclear.” 7. Obama even smokes occasionally. Especially on Election Day, when he smoked McCain. 6. He is going to end the war in Iraq. Right after he invades Afghanistan. 5. He’s so young. In McCain’s defense, he’s 335 in dog years. 4. He will be our first black president.

The recent Mumbai bombings have brought long-harbored feelings of animosity between India and Pakistan back into the spotlight, compounding the fear of another clash between the two nuclear powers. The attack, which occurred on Nov. 26, consisted of Islamic terrorists bombing and raiding several different locations around the city, killing, according to the New York Times, nearly 200 individuals, wounding roughly 300 and taking a number of hostages. The attack was performed with devastating efficiency and spanned nearly two days until Indian authorities managed to regain control of Mumbai. The testimony of captive Azam Amir Oasab confirmed conjecture that the attackers were trained by a Pakistani militant group originally formed by Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, to fight Indian influence in the Kashmir region. The mere fact that such a large-scale act of terrorism was successfully carried out on Indian soil and unable to be stopped, or at least inhibited, by the Pakistani government is unconscionable. But Pakistan’s refusal to hand over suspected members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist organization allegedly responsible for the attack when the country itself claims to have detained at least 15 members of the organization reeks of ulterior motives on the part of Pakistan.

Sometimes, due to blocked traffic on Highway 17 or other unforeseen circumstances, teachers are tardy to their own classes. While some students may bolt for the door immediately, others sit in apprehension—watching the clock and waiting, hoping and even praying for the minute hand to reach 15 minutes past the start of class: the magical moment when it’s OK for the class to leave without it being considered a cut. Right?

Saratoga High has finally added lacrosse to its spring sports roster, five years after the creation of the highly successful West Valley Redhawks Lacrosse club. The process started around this time last year when several members of the Redhawks management, as well as Wes Koenig, a lacrosse supporter responsible for the lacrosse programs in Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz, approached former athletic director Ian McKenzie and assistant prinicipal Joe Bosco.

After the recent Homecoming dance, some parent chaperones expressed outrage at the manner in which students chose to dance, a form commonly known as “freaking,” a sexually suggestive form of dancing. While this style of dancing may be offensive to parents, parents should understand that there is no way to change teen culture.

Although talk about building a media arts center began nearly a year ago, the blueprints have now been completed, and the school will soon be moving to the next step of the approval process. The main reason for the delay in the structure that will be home to the school’s new Media Arts Program (MAP), as well as the other various media arts classes at the school, is that many changes have been made in the architecture, pushing the eventual building date further back.

Saratoga High has finally added lacrosse to its spring sports roster, five years after the creation of the highly successful West Valley Redhawks Lacrosse club. The process started around this time last year when several members of the Redhawks management, as well as Wes Koenig, a lacrosse supporter responsible for the lacrosse programs in Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz, approached former athletic director Ian McKenzie and assistant prinicipal Joe Bosco.

The Celebrate Saratoga Street Dance, a popular and well-received event by all of Saratoga, has been changed this fall to appeal more to an older population. Celebrate Saratoga has been going on for 19 years, and last year entertained 30,000 people. It now will be called “Taste of Saratoga,” and will be held from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sept. 20, a change in timing dictated by the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce.

10. It ends conveniently at 6. So you can still make Bingo at the community center. 9. Good opportunity to meet other people. Be careful, though, old people are fragile. 8. The really good food stalls. Who doesn’t like overpriced prune whip and Gerber’s mashed potatoes?

With the end of the year approaching, many changes are being made in preparation for next year. These include the retirement of assistant principal Gail Wasserman, another English teacher being hired and Child Psychology teacher Jill McFarlen, World History teacher Chuck Newport and guidance office staff member Becky Allen retiring.

Freshman Brian Tidd’s palms began to sweat in his gloves as he waited for the countdown at the start of the Junior Olympics downhill skiing competition; his face was numb from the cold, constant winds atop Bald Mountain in Idaho. He bent his knees and leaned forward, as he waited for the word for the word. 2…3…GO! With a skillful lunge, he flew out of the start and down the run skillfully maneuvering to the finish. Tidd, a competitive skier since age 10, qualified for the Junior Olympics this year and competed in the first round of the competition in Idaho in March.

Traditionally, student activism involves posting flyers around campus to reach out to the student body. But with the use of Facebook prevalent throughout the school, online groups are now the focus for those trying to organize—and sometimes stir up—students.