Puma Pals begin a legacy in sports - Chandler Unified School District

the 

Inside 

Prom survival! 

As prom makes its way 

onto the calendar for 

May, some questions of 

preparation linger. Tips 

and general information 

to ease the pains of attending. 

Page 6-7 

The Puma softball team 

toppled Hamilton last 

week and is catching fi re 

late in the season. Much 

of their success is thanks 

to a leadoff hitter who 

has overcome adversity. 

Page 12 

Choir faces new strength 

following their major 

performance in New 

York’s Carnegie Hall. 

Page 8 

As technology continues 

to progress, many are 

making the switch to 

plastic money and passing 

on paper. The staff 

debates each side of the 

coin. 

Page 5 

A rising social activism 

movement rises to prominence 

in youth culture. 

The Kony 2012 campaign 

makes its biggest 

push at the end of April. 

Page 2 

World/Nation: 

With less than 100 days 

to go, the 2012 Olympics 

are nearing, and tickets to 

the London-hosted event are 

selling out fast. According to 

CNN, sponsorship revenue 

for London has reached 

beyond past expectations. � e 

UK capital will have hosted 

the Olympics three times (in 

the modern era) when the 

fl ame is lit, beginning on 

July 27. With a $14.8 billion 

budget, will cover the venues 

(the Olympic Stadium, the 

Velodrome, and the Aquatics 

Center), as well as other 

expenses. 

In London, it may be 

diffi cult for the estimated 

325,000 extra people to get 

around, considering London’s 

older subway station, but 

they plan to suggest diff erent 

travel routes to citizens. 

Table of Contents 

News || 1-3 

Opinions || 4-5 

Prom Feature || 6-7 

A & E || 8-9 

Sports || 10-12 

precedent 

PERRY HIGH SCHOOL || PRIDE · PROGRESS · PURPOSE || GILBERT, AZ 

The First Season 

Puma Pals begin a 

legacy in sports 

By Rachel Lattin 

the precedent 

Not a lot of special 

education students contribute 

to the sports program at 

their school. A partnership 

between the Special 

Olympics Arizona and the 

Arizona Interscholastic 

Association created Unifi ed 

Sports, a program that allows 

special education students to 

participate in a short sports 

season alongside classmates. 

All four CUSD high 

schools competed in a 

basketball season throughout 

April. Each team consisted 

of students with disabilities, 

called athletes, and students 

without disabilities, called 

partners. � e PHS team had 

11 members: seven athletes 

and four partners. � e 

responsibility of partners in 

a game is to dribble and pass 

the ball, while the athletes 

shoot. 

“A lot of our kids play 

in the Special Olympics,” 

special education teacher 

Nora Boettcher said. A 

majority of the athletes have 

been involved in the Special 

Olympics for many years. 

Boettcher is confi dent in her 

team. 

� e primary aim of 

Unifi ed Sports is to produce 

lasting friendships between 

students with and without 

disabilities. 

“I really like [the team] 

a lot,” freshman Blake 

Hoff man said. 

Students who participate 

in Unifi ed Sports must fulfi ll 

identical requirements as 

other high school athletes; 

this includes completing 

the same physical packet. 

Due to funds from the 

Special Olympics, they wear 

uniforms similar to those 

worn by the basketball teams. 

� e season consisted 

of two practices and 

three games. � e games 

were shorter than regular 

basketball games, with four 

six-minute quarters and a 

ten-minute halftime. 

“I’ve played basketball for 

two years,” sophomore Kaleb 

Warner said. “I like to train 

for sports and to practice.” 

� e team’s two practices 

consisted of multiple drills 

and scrimmages. 

Although PHS only 

participated in basketball 

this year, Unifi ed Sports also 

off ers fl ag football, cheer, 

and track and fi eld. Boettcher 

hopes that they can also 

participate in fl ag football 

and track and fi eld next year. 

Despite losing their fi rst 

game against Hamilton, 

the team stayed positive. 

“It was our fi rst time so we 

didn’t know what to expect,” 

Boettcher said. 

To the students, it does 

not matter whether they win 

or lose. � e most signifi cant 

thing is the friendships and 

memories they create. 

april 

2012 

VOLUME V ISSUE VII 

photos by Amanda Wegleitner 

Sophomore Matthew Marquez prepares to shoot the basketball at the Puma Pals’ basketball game against Chandler High School on April 18. 

Athletic director takes step up to district level 

By Haley Witt 

the precedent 

Marcus Williams’ time 

at Perry may be ending, but 

his work for the Pumas is not 

over. � e PHS athletic director 

was promoted to the same 

position for the Chandler 

Unifi ed School District 

at the end of February. 

According to Williams, the 

defi nition of the job is that 

he is the director of students 

for athletics and the district. 

“I’m in charge of all 

high school and junior 

STEM program enrollment surprising 

By Haley Witt & 

Rachel Lattin 

the precedent 

� e much-anticipated 

STEM program has the 

makings of a future success. 

While the school was only 

expecting around 50-60 

students to sign up and join 

the program, 101 students 

have enrolled for the class of 

2016. 

“We pretty much 

high athletics,” Williams 

explained. He communicates 

to the coaches across the 

district and “makes sure 

everyone follows rules of 

the operation of sports in 

the [Arizona Interscholastic 

Association].” 

� ere are some signifi cant 

diff erences between his old 

job and his new one. As an 

assistant principal at Perry, 

Williams was in charge of 

discipline for freshmen and 

juniors. He was also in charge 

of all PHS sporting events. 

“Every athletic event 

that comes through here 

surpassed all our goals,” 

assistant principal Joe Greene 

said. “It has been a huge 

success as far as interest [from 

prospective students].” 

According to Greene, over 

half of the enrolled students 

will participate in the more 

demanding STEM Scholar 

program, which is a type of 

diploma that students can 

earn. Even more impressive, 

10 percent of the prospective 

comes through 

my offi ce,” 

Williams said. 

He also oversaw 

the games held 

at the school 

as well as the 

hiring of new 

coaches. 

Williams 

As the district athletic 

director, one of his main 

responsibilities will be 

communicating between 

schools and their athletic 

directors, as well as making 

sure they meet AIA 

guidelines. 

Another major change 

students were not involved 

in honors in junior high, but 

are going to accelerate into 

the program nonetheless. 

“We have changed 

their whole career 

path,” Greene said. 

� e program has also 

grabbed the attention of 

the underrepresented, like 

females and minorities, 

groups coming to PHS. 

� e school was only 

in his job is that he will not 

be working at PHS nearly as 

much. 

“I’ll have a district offi ce 

in Chandler,” he said. 

Williams took the over 

the job in the summer of 

2010 when he came over 

from Williams 

Field High School, where 

he helped open the east 

Gilbert high school. Under 

Williams’ guidance at PHS, 

the athletic department has 

fl ourished - nearly every 

team has made postseason 

appearances. 

As of press time, 

expecting 20 percent of the 

underrepresented students 

to join the program, but 51 

percent have joined. Not 

only that, but 40 percent 

that have joined the program 

are female. 

“It’s been a huge success 

all the way around,” said 

Greene. “We are looking 

forward to next year.” 

photos by Sarah Crow 

Junior Brian Albertsen talks 

with teammates during the 

halftime warm ups. 

administration had not 

named a successor to 

Williams, although sources 

say that the most likely 

candidate Higley High 

School AD Jennifer Burkes. 

“I think [Williams has] 

done a good job for us here 

and he’ll be a good fi t for the 

job at the district,” Principal 

Dan Serrano said. 

� ere is one aspect of his 

old job that Williams will 

miss, however. 

“� e number one thing 

I’ll miss the most is working 

directly with students,” he 

said. 

Science Fair Winners 

Freshmen Joelle Cayer and 

Kelsey O’Brien took home a 

major win for second place 

at the Arizona Science and 

Engineering fair on Apr. 4. 

� eir project was based 

on sustainable development, 

and it won the 2012 

Regional Ricoh Sustainable 

Development Award.

2 news || the precedent || april 2012 

“Kony 2012” campaign sparks interest; 

exposure leads to arising public questions 

By Drew Crawford 

the precedent 

Going from unrecognizable to 

one of the highly recognized villains 

in society today, Kony 2012, a 

campaign organized by people 

wanting to make change, is a social 

activism push that recently went 

viral before fizzling out. 

At the helm of it is Jason 

Russell, who is intent on making 

a difference in the world after 

a college trip to Uganda, a city 

located in Central Africa. 

The campaign centers around 

bringing justice to the leader of 

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), 

Joseph Kony, an elusive villain who 

has avoided capture for many years. 

According to Russell and many 

other reports, Kony is responsible 

for an extensive number of crimes, 

including kidnapping children from 

their parents and training them 

to be killers towards the society 

around them. 

Russell had been working on his 

campaign of stopping Joseph Kony 

for years, but he was unable to, 

lacking the ears of people around 

him to listen or the inability of 

congressmen to act. 

With the advent of Facebook 

Teacher pay based on students testing scores 

By Lauren Moore 

the precedent 

Recently, several politicians as 

well as parents have been pushing 

the idea of paying teachers based 

on student performance as a way 

to promote student achievement 

among schools. For many states, 

the strategic planning for this new 

education reform is derived from 

politician’s desire to win the $4.35 

billion dollars that comes along 

with the embracement of this new 

reform. 

With this new proposition 

comes a lot of uneasiness amongst 

teachers’ unions around the country 

saying that there has simply “not 

been enough planning done for 

how performance will be measured” 

and continue to advocate that 

teachers should be paid more overall 

regardless of student achievement. 

Arizona has ruled the reform 

The routines and lives of campus security 

By Kwaku Asare & 

Brennan Hennings 

the precedent 

Many people wonder what the 

job of a Perry High security guard 

entails. 

Whether it is cruising aimlessly 

in their souped up golf carts, 

handcuffing students [citation 

needed] and breaking up intense 

fights, or taming the unruly with 

tasers and pepper-spray. 

However, in all reality, their 

jobs as security guards are serious 

and play a fundamental role in 

Follow us! 

@phsprecedent 

and other forms of social media 

Russell used these tools as a catalyst 

to act and release his campaign to 

the public. He created a video that 

he placed on YouTube to expose his 

motives. 

This video has gone viral, 

spreading like wildfire until many 

became not convinced of its 

accuracy, writing it off as a scam, 

because only around 30 percent 

of the funds raised for charity go 

to the campaign. On Apr. 6 Kony 

2012 part II was released. 

The video called Beyond 

Famous is more informational 

and proposes solutions of what 

people worldwide can do to aid in 

Joseph Kony’s capture. These things 

include spreading the word that 

he exists, writing to congressmen, 

and participating in an event called 

Cover the Night. 

Slated for Apr. 20, Cover the 

Night will be the day of global 

recognition where everyone is 

supposed to spread the word.The 

plan proposed by The Invisible 

Children, the group organizing the 

campaign, involves staying up all 

night long while plastering walls 

with propaganda, distributing 

flyers, and setting up signs. 

unconstitutional because it is only 

open to 28 of the 280 schools 

therefore making the reform a 

statewide regulation unfair for 

teachers at non-participating 

schools. However, despite the 

state’s ruling, some Arizona school 

districts have begun to contemplate 

enforcing the reform in their 

schools. 

When asked as to how he think 

teachers as a whole felt about the 

reform, Principal, Dan Serrano 

responded with, “I don’t think 

anyone is against it, I would just say 

that a lot of people are apprehensive 

about it because any time you 

attach money to a concept, 

people tend to get a little uneasy.” 

Serrano also went on to discuss the 

possibility of new reform going into 

effect next year and the ambiguity 

that surrounds the methods that 

will be used to measure student 

performance. 

providing security on campus. 

From patrolling the outskirts of 

school to supervising local sports 

events and extracurricular activities, 

the security guards are constantly at 

work. 

“ I am the first one here every 

morning and I check the interior of 

the campus. From disarming alarm 

systems to making sure it is safe for 

students and little children alike. To 

me, the safety of staff and students 

is first and foremost,” states Leon 

Gumbi. 

Gumbi, who has been working 

screenshot courtesy of Youtube 

The short film for the Kony 2012 campaign went viral in March of 2012 on 

the popular video site, Youtube. To this day, it has garnered nearly 100 million 

views worldwide, and has convinced a sizable following to take action. 

“When it comes to core classes,” 

he said, “I think it’s going to be 

a lot easier to measure student 

performance due to pre and post 

tests but its classes like P.E, dance, 

and art that are going to be a little 

harder to measure.” 

History teacher, Jason Myers 

recently heard about the dispute 

over teacher salary and attended 

a conference in which he found 

out exactly how the possible 

reform could affect Perry. “At the 

conference it was basically me and 

several other high school and junior 

high teachers and we discussed 

what concepts we thought could be 

included into a standardized test as 

a way to kind of measure student 

performance.” 

Although he believes in teachers 

should be held responsible for 

how students obtain information, 

Meyers does not believe in a 

standardized test being the only 

at Perry since day one, enjoys 

camping, hunting, and fishing. His 

favorite colors are green and yellow, 

and he goes by the codename, 

“BOSS.” 

Gumbi’s right hand man, 

Mike Martinez, also plays an 

important role in keeping the 

Puma community safe. With two 

years of securing Perry under his 

belt, Martinez has become a more 

noticeable figure among the school’s 

faculty. 

From helping students into 

the elevators, to patrolling 

factor in determining whether a 

teacher should be paid. 

“Having a standardized test 

be the end all be all for a teacher’s 

salary would be unfair and it’s just 

not the point.” 

Among campus, the general 

opinion towards the topic seems 

to be positive with a large majority 

of the teachers directly supporting 

the reform such as history teacher, 

Angela Gardner saying, “Teachers 

shouldn’t get paid for what they’re 

not doing.” 

Whether or not is acceptable 

for teachers’ salary to directly 

correspond with student 

performance, Gardner says 

there is a correlation between 

teacher performance and student 

performance. 

“If a teacher is not doing the 

best of their ability to teach a 

student then they simply shouldn’t 

be in the classroom.” 

the C-Building and covering 

extracurricular activities, Martinez 

and Gumbi are a tag team sent from 

above. 

However, they are not alone in 

their quest to vanquish all evil from 

the halls of Perry High. A number 

of others serve equally as much, 

including the notorious Geo, who 

escaped the “Precedent” reporters 

via golf cart. 

With all the school has to 

offer, security is one of the most 

important. Without them, the 

school would not be as safe. 

Yearbooks 

on the 

way in; 

seniors on 

the way 

out 

By Michael Wolfe 

the precedent 

As each day of fourth quarter 

flies by, we get just a little bit closer 

to the end of the year, which always 

brings us many new and great 

things. 

The end of a school year will not 

just bring summer, but will also 

give us a new school yearbook and a 

new class for, yet another successful 

graduation at Perry. 

When the fourth quarter begins, 

at the end of March, students are so 

anxious that they can hardly stop 

moving with excitement. 

The fact is students just simply 

cannot wait to receive that new 

2011-2012 yearbook and flip 

through the pages looking for silly 

and sometimes serious photos of 

them and their friends, and who 

knows; maybe there will be a page 

starring you. 

Along with the yearbook, thanks 

to assistant principal, Heather 

Patterson, we have a confirmed 

a date, time, and location for the 

2011-2012 graduation. 

Graduation this year is at the 

John Wrenn Stadium on the Perry 

campus, May 30 at 7:30 p.m., 

which means that the wait for the 

seniors is almost over. 

Along with that, this year 

at Perry, there will be two 

valedictorians for graduation unlike 

any other year. 

The valedictorians for the 

graduation ceremony will be 

seniors, Jessica Resnick and Brooke 

Hudson, whom received the news 

of becoming valedictorians earlier 

this year. 

Along with the coming 

graduation, comes the new 2011- 

2012 yearbook. The yearbook staff 

will release the yearbook on May 16 

and will have it available for pickup 

all week in room C117. 

Yearbook will not only be giving 

one chance to get a yearbook, but 

two. The yearbook staff will also be 

hosting a viewing party for those 

interested in getting their yearbook 

a week earlier than the other 

students get on campus. 

The viewing party will take place 

in the cafeteria on May 9 from 4 

p.m. to 6 p.m. and will cost $3 for 

admission. 

However, if you have not yet 

purchased, do not fret because 

yearbooks are still available for 

purchase on jostens.com or in the 

bookstore for $70. 

Hurry though, because 

yearbooks are selling faster than 

lemonade on a hot summer day.

School & Local News Briefs 

Holocaust survivor speaks to 

students; Gov. vetos gun bill 

From Staff Reports 

the precedent 

The importance of history lies in the knowledge of, so past 

events never recur. 

It is for this reason that Oskar Knoblauch, an 85-year old 

Holocaust survivor, came and spoke to the junior class. 

Knoblauch retold his take of struggle against the onset of 

Nazism, which lasted for 12 years, ending in his rescue from 

Nazi Germany by Soviet forces. 

Lessons of respect, of tolerance and of appreciation of 

freedom were spread by Knoblauch, through stories of making 

new friends in unlikely places and how far common courtesy 

could get you in life. 

“ If we are to teach tolerance, we must begin with youth,” 

Knoblauch stated. His most important lesson was that of 

having tolerance, that hate amongst people should cease to 

exist. The visit left both student and teacher with a lesson and 

message to learn, and served its purpose well; to never forget 

the past. 

Dodgeball tournement 

A soon to adopt tradition at Perry High School is an 

annual dodgeball tournament. This year marked the first of 

many to come tournaments which thrilled and entertained all 

participants and spectators alike. 

The tournament took place on April 13 and started at 

6pm. It included 2 rounds of single-elimination pool play to 

determine seed placement and a final championship round. 

The winners of the tournament ironically were named The 

Losers, being champions of the 12 participating teams. 

Overall, the tournament’s expenses were as much as it 

grossed, but with many more to come, StuGo (student 

government) Advisor Brandon Keeling believes next years 

tournament will be a success. 

“It was an enjoyable event to only get bigger and better 

and to become a great tradition at Perry. 

Expecting big things, StuGo is looking to make next years 

tournament even grander. 

Brewer vetos gun bill 

Gov. Jan Brewer has yet again vetoed a bill stating that 

guns will be permitted in almost all public settings. This 

includes Courts, Hospitals, senior centers, public pools, the 

state Capitol, and city halls. 

Last year Gov. Brewer vetoed a similar bill requesting that 

guns be allowed in public settings. However, Brewer vetoed 

said bill because she felt what was written was too vague. 

Just recently, the legislature passed a bill allowing guns on 

college campuses. Now Rep. David Gowan is trying to get a 

similar bill passed as the one vetoed last year. 

Brewer stated that she would not pass these types of bills 

unless she has the support of the Police, cities, and the public. 

Another reason for her decision was the cost of businesses 

having to provide weapon lockers in order to prohibit 

weaponry at their facility. 

Some of Brewer’s colleagues agree that this was the best 

decision. Though they know this issue may show up again, 

Brewer will not pass it unless it is the best possible answer. 

news || the precedent || april 2012 

3 

photo by Justin Sprague 

Holocaust survivor Oskar Noble (Knoblauch) visits Perry’s 

history students to share his rough journey through the Holocaust 

and how he came out alive.

4 opinions || the precedent || april 2012 

Sta� Editorial 

The advent of 

viral social 

activism: 

revolutionary 

or temporary? 

Gone are the days of going door-todoor 

to raise awareness, as a new form 

of activism has blanketed our walls: 

forums, and blogs. 

Social activism has allowed anyone 

with Internet access to contribute to 

multiple causes by simply clicking a 

“share” button. So, when a horror such 

as a man pillaging through Africa with 

an army of kidnapped kids appears on a 

website, many do not just sit idly by. 

On the other hand, how much good 

does one “slacktivist” think they have 

done compared to what has truly been 

accomplished? 

Raising awareness does not enrich 

the physical e� orts for campaigns like 

KONY 2012; it informs the people who 

actually would take action for the cause 

(otherwise known as doers), to donate or 

write a letter to an o� cial regarding the 

topic. 

Studies conducted by TBWA/ 

Worldwide organization show that 

seven-out-of-10 young people today are 

social activists. Although, only one-outof-� 

ve advocates actually participates in 

rallies or goes as far as to contact local 

representatives. 

An instance where action over posts 

has succeeded is when the Internet 

censoring bill, SOPA, was altered into a 

shell of its former self after being widely 

criticized throughout the web. Now, 

this event of social activism succeeded 

because it encouraged critics to write 

a letter to a local congressman to vote 

against the legislature. 

In addition, recently TOM’s shoes 

publicized their “One Day Without 

Shoes” event through social networking 

which had people go a day without shoes 

- as some are forced to do in many third- 

world countries where shoes are a luxury. 

Regardless of good intentions, is 

having privileged � rst-world kids walk 

from the C-building to the F-building 

sans shoes for one day help those who 

walk on hot, rough, disease ridden terrain 

their entire lives? 

We don’t think so. 

Although TOM’s shoes is a respectable 

charitable organization, rather than 

having people walk around without their 

product, it would have been better to 

encourage others to wear the brand and 

advertise it more openly. 

Frankly, if this armchair-activism 

is replaced with even the tiniest bit of 

genuine e� ort, who knows how much 

more could be achieved. 

Even though social sites like Facebook 

and Twitter act of a gateway for false 

advocacy, its power to spread the word 

and promote free speech has empowered 

people before. 

For example, during the recent 

revolution in Egypt, Facebook was used 

to organize protests, voice opinions that 

were previously oppressed, and act as a 

news feed for the isolated country. 

Some even credit the site for sparking 

the rebellion, as illustrated by one 

Egyptian man who named his daughter 

and � rstborn child, “Facebook,” as a way 

of expressing his gratitude. 

Nevertheless, spreading awareness 

using social media can get things started, 

but it will always take the actions of the 

people to actually get things done. 

“Kony 2012” campaign inspires students 

precedent 

the staff information 

Pride • Progress • Purpose 

Perry High School 

1919 E. Queen Creek Rd. 

Gilbert, AZ 85297 

480-224-2800 

480-224-2820 fax 

|| Newspaper Adviser || 

Damien Tippett 

|| Editor-In-Chief || 

Thomas Pipia 

|| News Editor || 

Bailey Byers 

ALYX 

ALCALA 

the precedent 

Prior to Mar. 5, the world knew little of 

the name Joseph Kony, let alone the 

organization Invisible Children. 

Once the video entitled “Kony 2012” 

went viral, millions worldwide were exposed 

to the atrocities stirring in Central Africa. 

Co-founder of Invisible Children, Jason 

Russell, also the narrator of the video has 

been subject to criticism over the past month 

for a number of reasons, and the question has 

been raised: is Kony 2012 actually making an 

impact? 

Issues such as oversimpli� cation and 

misspending of funds have been brought to 

public attention by the media, but despite 

the negative feedback from skeptics, Invisible 

Children has addressed concerns and proven 

their legitimacy. 

� e organization released their spending 

reports as early as 2004 to show that even 

though less than a majority of the money 

goes to support African Children, they have a 

multitude of other obligations. Yet, their focal 

objective is to � rst raise awareness on the issue 

and then gain a pro� t for the cause. 

Jason Russell has been open about the 

documentary’s intentions, which were to 

initially oversimplify the way in which people 

could get involved. Some criticized that the 

Bri’s Brief: Education lacks a “real life” factor 

BRIANNA 

BARTOS 

the precedent 

The end of the school year is nearing, 

and, for many students, that means 

one powerful word: graduation. Yet, 

what does that mean? Graduation to what? 

From what? Most would say that step or 

level from the sometimes trivial trials of high 

school to the “real world.” 

But, many students are not fully prepared 

for this transition to real-life issues where 

complicated problems must be navigated 

with street smarts, not just book smarts. 

In high school, the focus is on test 

preparation, and “real life” readiness is not 

often applied, nor does everything a student 

learns pertain to what they may wish to study 

or pursue. 

High school teens would bene� t from 

classes that instruct on adult life through 

their college years, as members of the 

working-class society, and an increase in 

maturity and independence. 

� e problem remains that high school is 

Photo by Victoria Sinclair 

Students (from left) Juniors Chad Williamson, Rhett Raleigh, Shelby Daeffl er, Jordan 

Maes, and Abby Rudek host a car wash April 15 to benefi t the “Kony 2012” campaign. 

actions he encouraged the public to make 

would not create as much of an impact as the 

video made it seem. 

But for viewers who have never been 

exposed to this information or what can be 

done to stop it, this was the most e� cient 

way to globally in� uence such a complex 

con� ict. � e organization is not asking the 

public to simply solve a civil war overseas 

by wearing Kony wristbands or purchasing 

merchandise, but to do this as a gateway, to 

not real-world-preparatory enough. 

Although students learn tons of lessons 

from various subject matters, they lack 

learning multiple basic skills that would only 

bene� t them in their post-high school career. 

For example, a class titled Maintaining 

Finances would be extremely bene� cial to 

students planning to live on their own, in a 

dorm room or apartment. 

Contrary to popular belief, high school 

students do not know everything (shocker!), 

and parents might not always know how 

or have time to instruct their kids on how 

exactly they should handle money in college 

or a post-high school career. 

Although trial and error is often a 

technique chosen in a given instance, when 

it comes to sustaining oneself, a dollar spent 

incorrectly could lead to missed meals or 

pinched pockets. 

Also, many would be surprised at the 

number of grown adults who lack the 

capabilities to, say, change a tire, or drive 

a stick shift. An easy � x? Some type of 

Automobile Know-How class could help 

students avoid simple blunders later on. 

Some may argue that adding real life 

courses to a menu of classes may result 

in more costs, yet they would bene� t 

|| Opinions Editor || 

Brianna Bartos 

|| A & E Editor || 

Brooke Karakey 

|| Features Editor || 

Skeeter Arvizu 

|| Sports Editor || 

Drew Crawford 

|| Assistant Editors || 

Alyx Alcala 

Kiwi Asare 

Lani Dekker 

Ciera Woodfi n 

|| Staff Reporters || 

Mitchell Albrecht 

Katelyn Escalante 

Tatyana Garcia 

Brennen Hennings 

raise awareness. 

Enthusiasm is evident in youth, especially 

at Perry, where students organized a free car 

wash April 15. Donations went towards 

supplies for the Cover the Night as well as 

contributions to the organization. 

Regardless of personal views on this 

monumental movement, it can only yield a 

positive in� uence on the community. Kony 

2012 connects people in a new and rare 

fashion, that alone deserves recognition. 

the general safety and, well, common 

sense, of the future working-class society. 

Even though schools are doing well with 

providing students with some classes that 

can teach them basic life skills, such as Home 

Economics, there is room for more. 

A few high school students support 

themselves entirely, with part-time jobs, but 

they are nothing compared to the plethora 

of kids who still depend on their parents to 

provide them with anything they need. 

Supplying these young adults with the 

chance to learn about other entities other 

than chemistry and world history would force 

the youth population to mature and depend 

on themselves, especially if they were able to 

apply such skills outside of the classroom. 

Carrying learned ideas to the outside 

world remains the missing link in today’s 

young educational facilities. 

Kids may learn material in the classroom 

that is only applied to a test, forgotten about, 

and shoved into a corner of the brain, where 

dust soon envelops it. 

� is tactic of incorporating some “real 

world” principles in the classroom would pay 

o� as students would engage their brains and 

utilize content outside of the classroom: reallife 

applications, my friends. 

|| Staff Reporters || 

Travis Klein 

Joelle Landry 

Rachel Lattin 

Victoria Lovvorn 

Kaileigh McCormick 

Lauren Moore 

Raphael Shafeev 

Austin Williams 

Haley Witt 

Michael Wolfe 

Alli Klassen 

The Precedent is published by the student newspaper staff at Perry High School. Opinions expressed in the paper are of the writers and do not 

necessarily refl ect those of The Precedent staff, the adviser, the faculty, or the administration of Perry High School. Please e-mail all questions, 

comments, guest articles, or letters to the editor to theprecedent@hotmail.com. All submissions must be signed; however, requests for anonymity 

may be honored.

opinions || the precedent || april 2012 

5 

point|counterpoint: The transformation of money On_Campus 

Stick with the money, honey 

The world is a constantly 

changing place, and new 

ways of keeping up with the 

changes are being brought to the 

table every day. 

The removal of currency from 

society is a way of modernizing 

the world and saving money that 

is being heavily considered. Many 

consider this an effective way to 

save money because of the high 

costs of printing bills and stamping 

coins. However, dollar bills are an 

essential part of society that have 

been around for many years. 

Some argue that it is far too 

expensive to continue printing 

currency, but, in reality, the only 

pieces of currency that cost more 

to make than they are worth are 

the penny and nickel. The rest of 

the coinage is fairly inexpensive to 

make. The $5 bill costs a mere ten 

cents to print and the $100 bill 

only eleven cents. That seems like a 

small price to pay for a bill that is 

worth $100. 

Now, credit cards can be very 

beneficial in certain situations. 

They are also very easy to use and 

make shopping quick and simple. 

Nevertheless, even with these few 

benefits, cash is still the way to go. 

What happens when you lose 

that small, and easily misplaced, 

credit card? Well, you are out of 

money until you either find the 

MITCHELL 

ALBRECHT 

the precedent 

Fantastic plastic: here to stay 

Trayvon Martin case: legal opinion overshadows public 

CIERA 

WOODFIN 

the precedent 

Imagine walking home one 

late afternoon and noticing an 

unfamiliar vehicle following 

you. As young people, we are 

taught to keep moving, call for 

help, and get to a safe place. In the 

case of Trayvon Martin, no one 

knows what he did, except for the 

only other person who was there, 

George Zimmerman. 

This story has brought out 

many opinions, was Zimmerman 

a perpetrator or a victim? With no 

public statements made by him, the 

only thing left for the public to do 

is speculate on how Martin died. 

He died at the hands of a selfappointed 

neighborhood watchman 

with the possession of a deadly 

weapon, a gun. That weapon was 

used on a 17-year old boy from 

Sanford, Fl. that Zimmerman 

believed fit the stereotype of a 

suspicious person. 

In fact, this so-called 

“suspicious” teen was found 

wearing a hoodie carrying 

iced tea, and a bag of skittles. 

In the state of Florida Zimmerman 

used the defense of self-defense, 

which means he was protecting 

himself from harm and stood his 

ground instead of retreating. 

However, legal experts question 

card, or have a new one sent to 

you, and who knows how long that 

could take. 

In addition, what about when 

you are standing in front of a 

cashier at a fast food restaurant and 

your card is denied? You definitely 

will not be getting a meal, that is 

for sure. 

Another detriment of expelling 

the use of cash is that credit cards 

are not always capable of being 

used. 

There are many times 

throughout daily life, such as at 

school functions or garage sales, 

when people sell items to others, 

and paying with currency is the 

simplest way of payment. 

Grocery and department stores 

may have PIN pads, but the average 

person does not have a PIN pad for 

people to swipe their card on every 

time they sell something. Getting 

rid of cash would just complicate 

the way transactions are made. 

There are times when a credit 

card is beneficial and there 

are other times when paying 

in cash makes more sense. 

Removing cash completely from 

society is an option that should not 

even be considered. 

Currency has been around for as 

long as anyone can remember, and 

it will not be going away anytime 

soon. 

photo by Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/MCT Campus 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, third from left, marches with the Rev. Al Sharpton, center, and NAACP President 

Ben Jealous, center right, during a rally seeking justice for Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, 

Saturday, March 31, 2012. 

the issue of deadly force, against 

non-deadly force. 

What Martin’s family 

wants is justice for their son’s 

death by Zimmerman going 

through the judicial system. 

The Sanford Police Department’s 

inability to properly investigate, 

and prosecutors bring charges to 

George Zimmerman is the reason 

the whole town, and most of the 

country is in uproar. 

No one can say if George’s 

response to confronting Martin was 

justified, but the fact that shooting 

an unarmed teen can be questioned 

if it was reasonable or not. 

All of these facts bring other issues 

Let’s face it: having loose cash 

floating around in your 

pocket is a big pain in the 

noggin. 

The feeling of having your 

money just jingling with every step 

you take is a pain in the neck. 

Well, the common resolution 

would be to just buy a wallet to 

store the money in. 

So, spend more money in order 

to keep track of the money that you 

are trying to prevent yourself from 

spending? That makes a lot of sense! 

(Cue sarcasm.) 

Or, how about we just follow 

along with what the government 

is leaning towards doing: causing 

actual paper money to approach 

extinction, and using cash-cards for 

everyday spending. 

Hence the main reason why the 

government and banks made credit/ 

debit cards: to make people’s lives 

easier, one card at a time. 

How do they make our lives 

easier? First off, they are way more 

TRAVIS 

KLEIN 

the precedent 

photos by Brianna Bartos 

to the forefront, racism. Was race 

a factor in Trayvon’s death? Some 

argue no, others say it has always 

been a factor when it comes to law 

enforcement and civilians. 

From the view of many, race 

plays a major role in why Martin 

was approached in the first place, 

and for the police department 

failing to investigate adequately. 

I can personally relate to being 

seen as a “suspicious” character 

in my own neighborhood. All 

signs point to Martin being 

a victim, not an aggressor. 

Communities have been divided 

over Zimmerman, and Martin’s 

character of have been dragged into 

convenient. Carrying around a card 

with your hard-earned money on it 

is the easiest way to quickly pay the 

cashier after a long shopping day 

when the line for the register is a 

mile long. 

But, at the same time, it is also 

cheaper for the government to have 

the people of our country use cards. 

If actual paper money were to 

become extinct, the government 

would benefit from it, because 

printing and distributing money is 

not the cheapest thing in the world. 

According to USA Today, as of 

Jan. 2, the unit cost for making a 

penny was 2.4 cents and a nickel 

was 11.1 cents. 

With that huge rise in 

production costs, the annual rise 

becomes $116.7 million. That does 

not seem like chump change for the 

government. 

The government could be using 

that money for other economic 

issues. 

And how about online 

shopping? We all have done it at 

one point in time. That is where 

this amazing little 3/8-of-an-inchthick 

card comes into play. Enter 

your card number, and you are set 

to go. It remains impossible to pay 

for anything online with cash. 

The dead honest truth is that 

online shopping is a convenient 

way to spend one’s money, and it 

would be unfathomable to do so 

sans a credit or debit card. 

Utilizing a credit or debit card 

is a quicker option; there is no 

need to count money by hand, so 

that one gives exact change. This 

benefits both the cashier and the 

spender.People may argue that 

money is not going anywhere. 

However, the United States is 

always changing, always renovating 

how things work, in order to make 

sure that our country is always 

moving forward. 

By replacing paper money with 

cash cards, this is a new way for 

our country to ensure that we are 

always looking toward the future. 

play over how they were before the 

event took place. 

In the Martin family, the only 

thing that matters is that Martin 

is not here to tell us what really 

happened and someone has to be 

held accountable. 

When it all comes down to it, 

Zimmerman is completely and 

utterly responsible for his actions 

against a young man who was 

approached. 

Despite being a lawful person 

before Martin’s death, Zimmerman 

became another person when he 

brought a gun, to what could have 

been a fistfight and no one knows 

whether either side will ever recover. 

Where do you plan 

on going for dinner 

on Prom night? 

Alex Sandoval 

Junior 

“Cheesecake Factory.” 

AJ Iacano 

Senior 

“Olive Garden.” 

Chessie Fifield 

Senior 

“Red Robin.” 

Jalen Johnson 

Junior 

“Way Sushi.” 

Justin Parada 

Junior 

“An upscale restaurant.”

6 

Continuing the tradition, this year Perry’s 

Student Government has kept the student 

body guessing when it comes to prom, but 

as of April, the curtains have been lifted. 

Prom will be held on May 19th this 

year, just eleven days before graduation for 

Seniors. 

“We’re going to try really hard to keep 

the prices the same $40- $45- $50,” Student 

Government Adviser, Brandon Keeling said. 

The location of this years prom is new to 

Perry, it will be in the Phoenix Convention 

Center, downtown. 

The D.J. StuGo hired for Homecoming 

earlier this year, Satyr Entertainment, will be 

providing the music at Prom also. 

The theme was announced at an assembly 

on April 13, StuGo members walked out 

carrying signs with the words “Dream 

Among The Heavens - Prom 2012.” 

Duke Photography will be on location to 

photograph students, couples, and groups 

as desired. Differing from the usual singleback-drop, 

they are offering a variety for 

groups to choose from. 

StuGo is sending out invitations for all 

upperclassmen a few weeks before the event. 

The invitations contain information on the 

theme, date, and location. 

“We are definitely super excited to see 

how the juniors and seniors will like Prom. 

I know we’re all going to love it,” Allison 

Powell, junior, said. 

The event should bring the year to a 

close nicely; a night that will surely be 

remembered. 

features || the precedent || april 2012 

photo by Skeeter Arvizu 

Perry’s Student Government and volunteers (Below) release the prom theme to the staff and students at an assembly on April 13. StuGo members. dressed in the appropriate 

prom attire, parade in across the gymnasium holding bright white and yellow signs displaying the words “Dream Among The Heavens - Prom 2012,” as the crowd cheers in 

excitement. 

StuGo surprise unveils prom secrets previously left mystery 

By Skeeter Arvizu & 

Joelle Landry 

the precedent 

History behind idea of prom, accessories, and prom royalty 

ByTatyana Garcia 

the precedent 

The dance 

Before there were stretch 

limos and “prom queens,” 

the social event began as an 

upper class gathering in the 

late 1800s. 

The word “prom” comes 

from “promenade,” which is 

a march of all the guests at 

the opening of a formal ball. 

These events were mainly 

held by the upper class in 

grand ballrooms and the 

guests wore extravagant 

clothing to represent their 

social status. 

In addition to the Grand 

ball, a similar event called a 

debutante ball was held for 

the younger group of people. 

This dance was considered 

an “entry to adolescence” for 

teenage girls. 

It was not until the 1920s 

when middle-class parents 

and educators decided that a 

formal dinner-dance would 

improve the modern teens’ 

social skills. 

At this point, proms 

became homegrown affairs. 

Proms were being held in 

school gymnasiums and the 

guest wore their “Sunday 

dress.” By the 1950s, young 

adults started to use prom as 

a night to be luxurious. 

To do so, schools started 

renting out fancy venues and 

the students started to dress 

in elegant clothing. 

Guests began renting out 

limos to arrive to the dance 

in style during the 1980s. 

For as long as it has been 

around, prom has always 

been an event made to 

change an adolescent’s life. 

The accessories 

Corsages are used in any 

formal occasion, whether it 

is buying one for Mother’s 

Day or for a wedding. 

Quick Tips 

•Know your date, the 

colors of a womans 

dress, and her favorite 

flower are need-to-knows 

for corsages. 

Boutonnieres and corsages 

were also worn to perfume 

the wearers in the day when 

bathing often was considered 

“unhealthy.” Young women 

get them on prom night as a 

remembrance of their special 

night. 

So in order to pick out the 

right one - gentlemen - be 

sure to know what color(s) 

the date is wearing and what 

kind of flower she likes. 

It could even help to 

•Refrigerate corsages prior to 

the event to keep them fresh and 

ready to use. 

•Using hairspray on a corsage 

after the dance will cause them to 

keep their shape as they dry. 

•A corsage can be used in any sort 

of formal occasion. 

bring the date along so the 

couple can coordinate the 

boutonniere to be the same 

style. 

Also, be sure to pick up 

the accessories the day of and 

put them in the refrigerator 

so they can stay fresh for as 

long as possible. 

Corsages can be kept for 

as long as they are wanted, 

even if they came with fresh 

flowers. 

In order to preserve this 

memento, spray the corsage 

or boutonniere with a strong 

hold hairspray the day after 

the dance. That way, the 

flowers can hold their same, 

elegant formation when they 

dry up. 

The royalty 

During the 1950s, the 

remembered night became 

more competitive when it 

came to having the best dress 

and the best date. 

When administrators 

found it acceptable to have 

“prom court,” It was also the 

time that attendees began 

nominating and voting for 

the prom king and queen. 

Although the race to 

become “prom king and 

queen” has the potential to 

become a large ordeal, the 

tradition has been brought 

out to today and is known 

to be a “fun process” for the 

students. 

Preparations: tips to save time and money 

By Victoria Lovvorn 

the precedent 

Prom season is right around 

the corner and one of the most 

anticipated parts of high school. 

From the dress to the makeup, 

many girls are left wondering how 

will be able to afford to look their 

best on the big night. 

Thanks to the Internet, and 

some money saving strategies, you 

might be left with some extra cash 

to spend on a refreshment or two. 

Most makeup counters will help 

you create a face chart for you to 

use for free! 

It will help you decide what you 

want to look like, and you there are 

no purchases necessary (aside from 

what you may need to recreate the 

look). 

For a minimum purchase 

amount, you can have your makeup 

done for free where a professional 

can teach you how to do your make 

up and just purchase your touch 

up items. If you or a friend feels 

comfortable you could even do each 

Tips on tipping, fine dining, and etiquette 

By Joelle Landry 

the precedent 

Have you ever been to a great 

restaurant, with a great waiter and 

did not give such a great tip? 

If you have a job in the food 

industry, you would know tipping 

is a pretty wonderful thing. 

Just straight up cash in pocket, 

without tax or hassles. 

It usually ends up that if 

a teenager walks into a nice 

restaurant, the waiters fight over 

who gets to serve the table. 

But most times, they are not 

fighting about who gets the table as 

much as who doesn’t get the table. 

Teens are not exactly the model 

restaurant patron. 

By following these three very 

simple tips on tipping, you can 

prove to your waiter that he/ she 

was lucky to get your table. 

Step One: 

Before you even leave the house, 

think about how much you want to 

spend on dinner. 

Since most dates are planning 

on fine dining at the Olive Garden 

others makeup 

using things you 

already have or 

things you can 

splurge on for 

the big night. 

Thanks to the 

Internet, we have 

YouTube! 

There’s a 

plethora of 

tutorials on how 

to do your own 

hair for prom. 

Many supplies are things you 

will already have; but you should 

practice a few times so that there 

are no malfunctions before hand. 

Again, if you are getting ready 

in a group, you and a few friends 

could help each other out and do 

each others’ hair. 

There are many discount stores 

that carry prom worthy dresses 

such as, Nordstrom Rack and 

Last Chance. These stores carry 

discontinued and discounted items 

for your look head to toe. 

instead of In-N-Out’s drive-thru, a 

couple should be looking at a bill 

around $100. 

And since the males ought pay, 

the females ought to be gracious 

and choose something on the menu 

that isn’t too expensive. 

Chicken can be just as tasty 

as prime rib, if you believe hard 

enough. 

Step Two: 

When everyone finishes dinner, 

the waiter should come with 

separate checks. If the service was 

bad, don’t automatically blame the 

waiter. 

It could have been the chef’s 

MCT Campus 

You could borrow a dress from a 

friend or family member. 

For those creative souls, you 

could make your own dress. You get 

to chose, the fabric and colors, it’s 

one way to make sure no one shows 

up in the same dress 

Many students don’t want to 

break the bank trying to look their 

best this time of year. 

This Prom season, save some 

money and use these tips to help 

you and your date/friends have an 

awesome prom experience. 

Dangers of artificial tanning methods 

By Alli Klassen 

the precedent 

Prom season is ending, and the 

last touches are going into action. 

One of the last and biggest touches 

seems to be immaculate, sun kissed 

skin. 

Although teens have been 

artificially indoor tanning since the 

1960’s, the rate of melanoma keeps 

rising each year. 

The American Academy of 

Dermatology states that indoor 

tanning itself before 35 years 

old was linked the increase of 

melanoma. 

Seventy-five percent of woman 

from ages 16 through 29 have 

indoor tanned at least once. 

The National Cancer Institute 

reports that the non-melanoma 

skin cancer is most common among 

people under 30. 

Just under half of all Americans 

who live to sixty-five will have this 

cancer, knowingly or not so. 

Prom and looking flawless; go 

hand in hand. 

Many people have decided to 

hop off the bandwagon because it 

has shown to be dangerous to the 

skin. 

“It’s just our big season, period. 

It’s just a big kind of year, I am 

not going to say that people come 

in just for prom, like I said it’s our 

busy season.” says Planet Beach 

manager, Debbie Huskey. 

Tanning 15 minutes a day for 2 

days a week can raise the increase 

of getting melanoma or any other 

cancer. 

Prom is the season to have a 

great time, look back on your high 

school time, and cherish it. 

That may be the case, but 

looking flawless is one thing that 

should be in moderation. 

“ We don’t just do tanning, we’re 

a big spa. We promote health, we 

promote beauty, and we promote 

wellness,” says Huskey, “It’s a smart 

way to get color, but you need to do 

it in a controlled environment, and 

not be stupid about it,” 

“With spray tanning, you get 

an even line and as long as you 

do the right level it will still look 

normal instead of tanning beds, 

There is nothing worse than looking 

orange,” says senior Chessie Fifield. 

Although Prom may be the 

last event for some of us to look 

flawless, sometimes flawless can 

turn into a showing mark for the 

rest of ones’ life. 

fault if the food took awhile getting 

to the table, or was not the dream 

dinner one might imagine. Was the 

restaurant understaffed? 

Maybe your waiter is new on the 

job? The bottom line is none of 

those questions really matter, and 

common courtesy should tell you to 

tip based on how good the service 

was. 

Step Three: 

To show your date you know 

a thing or two when it comes to 

math, remember this little rule. 

10% = $1 for every $10, 

15% = $1.50 for every $10, 

20% = $2 for every $10. 

Most above average restaurants 

aim for the 15% tip mark, meaning 

that an extra fifteen percent of your 

bill should be going to that kind 

man / lady who served you for the 

evening. 

So just leave a few additional 

bills on the table, and head out to 

the rest of your magical evening 

with a smile on yours and your 

waiter’s face. 

features || the precedent || april 2012 7 

A guide to a successful prom night 

Do’s 

Have your hair 

done nicely and 

wear a smile on 

your face. 

Wear a nicely pressed 

pair of dress pants, as 

well as shoes that match 

your overall appearance. 

Don’ts 

Appear bored, 

or lazy. Prom is 

a formal event 

and should be a 

memorable night 

for everyone. 

Appear wearing 

formal attire, such as 

a floor-lengthed dress, 

as well as nice shoes. 

An ironed dress - shirt, 

vest, and tie is never a bad 

combination. Men can 

wear accessories too. 

Appear informal, 

goofy, lazy, or 

under dressed for 

the occasion. Knee 

high socks and 

popped collars are 

definitely a no for 

prom. 

Wear a casual dress 

that shows off too 

much of your legs, 

or your sneakers. 

Avoid wearing the 

sneakers all together. 

Comfortable is okay, 

but there are limits.

8 arts & entertainment || the precedent || april 2012 

Burial- Untrue 

By Thomas Pipia 

the precedent 

By now, anybody who has heard 

the term ‘dubstep,’ has formed an 

opinion about whether they love it 

or hate it. I want to take a moment 

to challenge anything you know 

about the genre. Step back from the 

dancy bass wobbles, the loud sirens, 

and all of the remixes to go back to 

a simpler time. 

Long before there was a young 

Sonny Moore throwing down beats 

on his iMac and sample pad in the 

US, there was a thriving scene in the 

late 90’s full of musicians creating 

something called UK Garage. As 

the genre evolved, it combined twostep 

beats and heavy bass tones to 

become early dubstep.This is where 

Burial comes in nearly 10 years 

later. As a pioneer of dubstep, his 

sound is radically different from 

any Grammy winners. In 2007, his 

album Untrue made an enormous 

splash in the electronic music arena. 

What set the album apart was the 

wildly imaginative and somber tone 

it set. The melodies are comprised 

of some work on a synthesizer, and 

most notably, his use of heavilydistorted 

R&B vocals. 

The opening track on Untrue - 

called “Archangel” - paves the way 

for a delightfully desolate sounding 

album in its entirety. In fact, of 

the 13 tracks on the record, four 

of them are entirely ambient sonic 

experiences, without any beat to 

latch onto.Just because a catchy 

undertone is not present here, does 

not mean the record should be 

dismissed. Listening in to Burial 

should be treated as an experience, 

and it may very well toy with your 

emotions, making the listener feel 

as cold as the sounds. 

Much of the brilliance that 

is Burial comes from the sheer 

dimensionality of his music. Some 

songs like “Endorphin,” “Homeless,” 

and “Etched Headplate” tend to 

have a quality of dancing around 

the listener, utilizing both stereo 

channels and the human perception 

of sound to their advantage. 

Untrue is noted for being one 

of the landmark albums in more 

recent electronic music. There 

is good reasoning behind this. 

Anyone who has ever heard Skrillex 

or any modern dubstep owes it to 

themselves to try out Burial. 

The Hunger Games slays box offices nationwide 

By Drew Crawford and 

Lani Dekker 

the precedent 

It has swept the world twice. 

Once as a popular book fad, and 

a second time as a movie that 

garnished more money than almost 

any other in history on an opening 

weekend. This aside, what is The 

Hunger Games series all about, and 

who and what drives the adolescent 

bow-savvy Katniss Everdeen? 

Picture this- you are in an arena 

with 23 other kids just like you, 

being televised in an organized 

teen-slaughter for the rest of the 

Nation’s enjoyment. The thoughts 

going through anyone’s head would 

be more than ordinary. 

Suzanne Collins depicts these 

thoughts through one teenage girl 

in the book series, The Hunger 

Games (which also includes the 

following two books Catching Fire 

and Mockingjay). 

Right from the start, Katniss 

and the other main characters are 

displayed and the action begins. 

The Hunger Games is a thrilling 

book stockpiled with adventure that 

reveals the thoughts and emotions 

of a young girl : letting us in on 

how she feels about life and her 

current life-threatening situation. 

Collins’ writing style with 

these books is unique and very 

personal. These books were written 

in a way that can be described as 

a journal. Page by page you learn 

about Katniss Everdeen as she, the 

character, wants you to see her. 

Throughout these personal 

stories of her current life, you begin 

to see the way she feels about certain 

Choir returns after a riveting preformance in NYC 

photo by Kaileigh McCormick 

Students practice singing on April 17 after preforming at Carnegie Hall. 

By Katelyn Escalante 

the precedent 

For prestigious song artists, 

encores come easily and constantly 

occur. Yet having a high school 

choir receive an encore is a rarity. 

As rare as it may be, Perry 

choir pulled it off by being the 

only choir to receive an encore 

while performing in New York at 

Carnegie Hall. The encore they 

photo by MCTcampus 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in the movie, “The Hunger Games.” 

situations, becoming acquainted 

with her judgements and reactions 

towards other characters. 

To an extent readers begin to feel 

the way she does about everything 

described. 

Suzanne Collins attached so 

many emotional strings to her 

stories that readers can relate in an 

interpersonal way when becoming 

familiar with the conflict. When 

received was a reward for the many 

hours put into preparation for the 

performance. 

“I hope for them [Perry choir] to 

see a higher level of performance,” 

said choir director, Joe Little. 

His singular hope for his choir 

came true as the performance 

ensued because instead of just seeing 

the high level of performance, his 

students became the high level. 

A new generation of video-gaming 

By Raphael Shafeev 

the precedent 

The future of video gaming 

is almost upon us, and seems to 

have started stirring up a storm of 

rumors already. 

Though the companies have not 

yet released official information, 

video game giants Microsoft and 

Sony, producers of the Xbox 

and PlayStation, respectfully, are 

rumored to have begun work on 

the next generation of gaming 

consoles. 

Information on the Xbox 720, 

codenamed “Durango” or “Loop”, 

and the PlayStation 4, also known 

as “Orbis”, has been circling around 

they cry, It can tear your heart 

out. When they love something 

you want to love it too. And when 

tension is high, you cannot stop 

reading until you know what 

happens next. 

These very attributes are 

expressed in the new movies coming 

out based on these exciting books. 

The directors took the journal entry 

stories and turned them into a third 

“Basically, our performance 

was so good the audience wanted 

to hear more, so they asked for 

an encore,” choir member Tyler 

VanKlompenberg explains. 

The choir members had already 

started to create a name for 

themselves even before they received 

an encore. Their performance in 

San Diego for the Heritage Festival 

may have started it all because at 

this event, they earned two first 

place gold medals, locking in a slot 

to perform in New York. 

From there, they only improved. 

“Carnegie is considered to be 

the premiere place to perform in 

the U.S. Once you perform in 

Carnegie, it’s the best you can do.” 

Little explains. 

Before the actual performance, 

nerves were flying everywhere; it was 

contagious. With a room filled to 

the brim, containing almost 3,000 

individuals, the choir members had 

waited in anticipation. 

“We arrived at Carnegie Hall a 

couple of hours before performing,” 

VanKlompenberg states. “So we 

were able to soak in the grandness 

of it all,” he explains. 

Yet while the performance was 

like mad, and most of it does not 

seem too far-fetched. 

Rumors include that both of 

the systems run on dual Advanced 

Micro Devices (AMD) 7000 series 

of graphics chips. Being of weaker 

processing power, it is also said the 

chips would probably be changed 

out with something more advanced. 

Major changes in the Xbox 720 

is the alleged addition of a Blu-Ray 

drive to read movies and games, as 

well as the new model of the motion 

capturing camera, the Kinect, to be 

installed in the Xbox itself. 

Both console producers seem 

to be trying to get rid of the 

second-hand game market, using 

tactics such as locking games to a 

person movie with the same effect 

as before. 

The only difference is added 

conflict among outside characters 

that are not seen but a few times 

throughout the story, giving the 

whole plot a new exciting twist. As 

the world becomes more acquainted 

with these intense yet inspiring 

novels, the incoming films are sure 

to make a lasting impression. 

on going, the choir sang with ease 

as they remembered their practices. 

“The songs were a variety of 

pieces ranging from classical and 

gospel to a more cultural feel,” 

choir member Becca Murray 

explains. “We were energized and 

thrilled to sing these songs. It was 

breathtaking,” she continues to 

affirm. 

Some of the songs they 

performed were German and 

Spanish. They even dedicated a song 

to their director Epeli titled “Gospel 

America.” Though the performance 

was the highlight of the trip, the 

members took time to visit some 

historical sites in the big city such 

as the Statue of Liberty and the 

construction site for ground zero. 

“The trip was organized chaos 

that was like nothing I have 

experienced before,” Murray states. 

“It allowed me to gain more music 

experience as I performed in a 

prestigious place,” she continues to 

say. Filled with encores and new 

experiences, the choir members 

were able to have a life changing 

experience where they made a name 

for themselves. 

single account on the console and 

requiring an internet connection to 

play games at all times. 

This could harbor both positive 

and negative effects, as the gaming 

market would both grow from an 

increase in internet downloaded 

games and third-party titles. On the 

opposite hand, this would also get 

rid of the entire second-hand game 

market as well as turn away a large 

amount of people who rent games, 

buy used or just don’t have internet 

connections. 

Rumors put the release dates 

of the consoles around Christmas 

2013, so let’s hope Microsoft and 

Sony line all of their ducks up by 

then.

By Rick Bentley 

McClatchy Newspapers(MCT) 

arts & entertainment || the precedent || april 2012 

9 

The Lucky One shows different side to young actor Zac Efron 

LOS ANGLES _ Actors 

Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling 

discovered the importance of trust 

while filming "The Lucky One," 

a romance based on the book by 

Nicholas Sparks. 

Efron plays a young Marine 

who has pulled back emotionally 

because of what he's seen through 

three tours of duty in Iraq. 

Schilling's character is a single 

mom who's afraid to open her 

heart because of a bad previous 

relationship. 

They needed to trust each other 

to make the scenes of them falling 

in love believable. 

The actors had to do a love 

scene, which needed to be filmed 

with precision but still look natural. 

"It took more space for me to 

uncover where she was coming 

from and where she was going and 

how this man was opening her up 

to true love finally after being so 

guarded for so long," Schilling says. 

"The love scenes were really just 

a natural outgrowth of where she 

was at that point in her story. 

"Doing the love scene ended up 

Lovable Betty White didn’t always have the ‘Golden’ touch 

By Andy Edelstein 

Newsday(MCT) 

Betty White's career renaissance 

continues this week when the 

90-year-old's prank show "Betty 

White's Off Their Rockers" 

begins its regularly scheduled run 

(Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on 

Zac Efron stars as U.S Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault with co-star Taylor Schilling as Beth. 

being pretty simple. Zac and I were 

pretty close at that time, having 

been working together. I really 

trusted him and he was a class act. 

It was fun and comfortable." 

Director Scott Hicks told 

NBC). White, of course, is best 

remembered for her roles as Rose on 

"The Golden Girls" and Sue Ann 

on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," 

but the actress' TV resume also 

includes several less than lovingly 

remembered series. Take these five: 

"Ladies Man" (1999-2001) _ 

Alfred Molina starred in the title 

role. He wasn't a Don Juan, but 

them to have fun with the scene. 

He wasn't looking for tightly 

choreographed movements, and 

he pushed the actors to be a little 

awkward together. 

Trust was just as important 

rather he was the only man in a 

household of women _ a wife, two 

daughters and mother (the latter 

played by White). 

"Maybe This Time" (1995-96) 

_ In this comedy, White played 

the mother of a divorcee (Marie 

Osmond). 

Future late-night host Craig 

Ferguson played their cook. 

photo by MCT Campus 

outside the love scene. A lot of 

Sparks' dialogue reads romantic but 

can end up sounding trite if spoken 

incorrectly. Efron had such a line, 

when he tells Schilling's character 

that she's the kind of woman who 

"The Betty White Show" 

(1977-78) _ When "MTM" ended, 

White got her own (much less 

successful) sitcom. 

She played a movie actress 

offered a TV role on a cop series 

directed by her ex-husband. 

("MTM" co-star Georgia Engel was 

also part of the ensemble.) 

"Date With the Angels" 

"deserves to be kissed every day." 

Efron laughs and says he had 

to trust that his delivery sounded 

romantic. 

Schilling believes women will 

hear the line the way she did. 

Although it may seem outlandish 

and a little cheesy, she says it feels 

very romantic. 

Efron also had to gain the 

respect of a group of Marines. He 

spent weeks hanging out with them 

to prepare for the filming. 

Not only did he put on extra 

weight and muscles to look like the 

veteran of three tours in Iraq, he led 

a group of real Marines through the 

raid that opens the film. 

"I couldn't have felt anymore 

out of place in the beginning, being 

a musical-theater geek who wants to 

come in and play a Marine," Efron 

says. "But, after a couple of hours, 

they opened up and told wonderful 

stories that really helped. 

We needed them to trust us 

enough that they would tell us the 

real stories of what it is like over 

there. 

"There's no way you can fully 

appreciate what's going on over 

there. But you want to try to 

understand as much as you can." 

(1957-58) _ Comedy about a new 

bride and her insurance-salesman 

husband. 

"Life With Elizabeth" (1953-55) 

_ White's first show was a local 

Los Angeles sitcom that eventually 

would be syndicated nationally. 

Each half-hour featured three 

separate episodes in the life of a 

married couple.

10 sports || the precedent || april 2012 

Our Take 

As a player, he is one of the 

most highly respected individuals 

to ever play. Many critics 

consider him to be the best to 

have ever played 

the game. As 

a player, he is 

on the cover of 

the NBA 2K12 

game cover 

But, in his 

new profession 

as the owner of 

the Charlotte 

B o b c a t s , 

Travis 

Klein 

the precedent 

Michael Jordan has had very 

little success, if any. His team is 

the laughing stock in all of the 

NBA as they have posted a 7-53 

record so far this season (lost 17 

straight). And who is to blame 

for their non-success? � eir 

owner of course; the one who is 

responsible for every change that 

happens with the team. 

Rightfully so, Jordan has 

been criticized as one who is 

outstanding, but does not have 

a calling card in owning teams. 

� ose same critics that call him 

the greatest of all time as a player 

are not giving him as much 

praise as an owner. It is probably 

in his best interest to either: 1. 

Make a dramatic change to his 

team to show that he still has 

his competitive spirit and wants 

to win, or 2. Step down or sell 

the team in order not to only 

ruin his reputation, but to have 

enough respect for the Bobcats 

fan base by giving them a better 

shot at winning with another 

owner. Because lets face it, he is 

not doing that organization any 

good in staying. 

Track South East 

Valley Meet @ Queen 

Creek High School- 

5/2 

Softball State 

tournament begins on 

April 28 

For up to date scores, 

follow @phsprecedent 

on Twitter 

SP O R T S BR I E F S 

Arizona State University has 

recently announced a plan to 

rennovate their football stadium 

during the next couple of years. 

� e artist’s rendition released 

Apr. 4 depicts a shade canopy 

veiling the top of the fi eld, allowing 

for natural light to pass through the 

fi eld. A high quality- sound system, 

as well as other additions will be 

part of the other changes in the 

project. 

� e stadium changes provide a 

steady mark for ASU’s recruiting 

eff orts which began last year with 

new athletic garb, and a freshly 

designed pitchfork logo for the 

Devils. 

� e construction for the plans 

off ers two options: one that calls 

for fast completion, while the other 

is more timely. If fast completion 

is chosen, expect the Sun Devils to 

play in another stadium next year. 

By Drew Crawford 

Garcia claims hold of school hurdle records 

Senior leaves mark on track team 

for years to come and will 

continue to at college level 

By Brennen Hennings 

the precedent 

� e Perry Track and 

Field team has been on 

a roll this 2012 season. 

With personal records 

being set and old 

records being shattered, 

Puma athletes are 

continuing to grow in 

strength and speed. 

Senior varsity 

hurdler, Kaleb Garcia 

set a personal best and 

new school record at 

the annual Chandler 

Rotary, on Mar. 24. � e 

record propelled him 

upward in the rankings, 

currently sitting at 

fourth in state. 

Garcia has been 

involved in sports since 

his freshman year, and 

has been hurdling since 

he was a sophomore. 

“Coach just stuck me 

in the hurdles, and I’ve 

found that I’m actually 

pretty good at it.” 

Garcia stated. 

Garcia began his 

hurdling career with a 

44 second time in his 

signature race, the 300m 

hurdles. Over the years 

however, he has shaved 

that time by over six 

seconds and currently 

has a personal record of 

38.81 seconds. Garcia 

has already decided 

to attend Jamestown 

University located in 

North Dakota. He will 

fund his education and 

college experience with 

dual scholarships in 

By Mitchell Albrecht 

the precedent 

photo by Taylor DeLaveaga 

Senior four year letterman Patrick Hardwick competes in the 1600m against Desert 

Vista on Wednesday April 4. The guy Pumas earned a win with Hardwick as a key 

contributor. 

Berghorst is No. 1 on and off court 

Aspiring junior 

helping team bring 

their A-game; 

Headingi into fi nal 

week, Pumas No. 24 

Balancing school work and 

athletics can be one of the most 

diffi cult tasks for students to tackle 

during high school. 

How are you supposed to keep 

your grades up, but at the same 

time, excel at a sport? Just ask junior 

Alex Berghorst. When it comes to 

having the perfect balance between 

school and sport, Berghorst is on a 

level of his own. 

“[� ere are a lot of] really late 

nights,” Berghorst jokes when asked 

about how he balances school and 

sport. 

He admits that paying attention 

in class so he does not have to do 

as much work at home is a key to 

balancing the athletics and school. 

� e junior is ranked number 

one academically in the Perry High 

School class of 2013 and is also one 

of the most crucial members of the 

boys volleyball team. 

However, the excelling junior 

faced a major setback a few weeks 

football and track. 

“I’m very competitive, 

that’s why I joined track. 

So I’m looking forward to 

the change in competition 

when I go to college next 

year.” Garcia said when 

asked about what he will 

bring to Jamestown. 

Garcia has sacrifi ced a 

lot to get where he has, and 

he is always one to make 

known that he has not 

accomplished what he has 

off of pure talent alone. 

“� e hardest part 

about track this year, 

would probably have to be 

everything that I’ve put off 

with my friends, in order 

to train. But I think it just 

shows how dedicated that 

I have become,” Garcia 

calculates regarding the 

benefi ts. 

“I’ve known Kaleb for 

many years and he has 

always had a strong sense 

of commitment on the 

fi eld,” his best friend and 

fellow standout athlete Bo 

Neely says. 

Garcia shows an 

enormous amount of 

commitment to his sports 

and has been a vital asset to 

the track and football teams 

in the past years. He hopes 

to maintain his strong 

desire for success and 

continue with his progress 

in hurdling throughout his 

college years. 

“� rough hard work 

and determination, 

anything is possible,” the 

athletically well-rounded 

senior caps. 

photo courtesy PHS volleyball 

Junior Alex Berghorst prepares to return a serve in preparation for a recent 

match. Ranked No. 1 in his class, Berghorst brings an X-factor to the Pumas. 

ago, breaking his leg during the 

Falcon Invitational volleyball 

tournament. Since then, he has 

missed a tournament and four 

season games. 

Despite the loss of one of their 

top players, the Pumas have gone 

3-1 since the absence of Berghorst 

and have been able move forward 

(9-4 overall in power point 

matches). 

When asked about the teams 

playoff chances, head coach Brian 

Pomerantz stated, “� e’re looking 

good, but a lot of pressure is on 

us. We have to win our last fi ve 

[matches] to see a state berth.” 

“I think [the season] has gone 

pretty well, as a team were growing 

and getting better,” stated Berghorst 

on his team’s performance. Despite 

the unlucky break, Berghorst 

is hoping to recover and begin 

preparing for next season. 

“Physical therapy, and really 

hard work to comeback senior year 

and make an impact,” he stated on 

what will be necessary regarding 

his recovery. With his strong work 

ethic and devotion to improving 

himself, the young man should have 

no problem recovering and moving 

forward. 

On the academic side of things, 

Berghorst and is hoping to be 

valedictorian his senior year. 

“A full ride scholarship to a 

university, and to end my high 

school career on a strong note while 

still having a social life,” Berghorst 

related, stating his goals and 

specifi c plans for the future. On the 

academic side of things, Berghorst 

and is hoping to be valedictorian 

his senior year. 

A strong foundation of junior 

players as well as key senior players 

has allowed the squad to see the 

success that they have already 

experienced. 

THE 

BERGHORST FILE 

Position: Right-Side Hitter 

Class: Junior 

Jersey: #1

NHL Playoffs 

Coyotes one happy pack 

By Brian Hamilton 

Chicago Tribune/MCT Campus 

Every few moments or so, 

the visitors’ dressing room 

door cracked open Thursday 

and a gale of shrieking glee 

would escape. The Coyotes 

won 3-2 in overtime, 

they took a commanding 

3-1 series lead over the 

Blackhawks and they did not 

hold back the happy. 

It was another game won 

with multiple crucial cogs 

missing. It was another game 

won with goalie Mike Smith 

turning away gilded chances 

and then recovering after a 

gut-twisting late goal skidded 

in. It was another secondary 

scorer, Mikkel Boedker, 

notching a first-rate winner 

in overtime. 

It was another granular 

effort short on aesthetics but 

long on results. It was pretty 

satisfying. 

“Coyote ugly, yeah,” 

Smith said after a 30-save 

performance. “Guys putting 

their body on the line, guys 

getting their stick in there, 

clearing rebounds and just 

finding ways to get goals at 

huge times in games. 

“That’s what (Boedker) 

did again. That has been our 

motto all season long. The 

resiliency has been there. We 

just have to remember it’s not 

over until we get that fourth 

one.” 

If no one is quite sure how 

the Coyotes are managing 

this, consider Boedker 

couldn’t really explain his 

second consecutive overtime 

game-winner. 

“Actually, I don’t know 

how it slid in, but I’m happy 

it did,” Boedker said. “It 

was a bobbled puck...I was 

partially alone there, there 

were a lot of sticks and 

hooks. It went in and it was 

an amazing feeling.” 

The Coyotes didn’t have 

a shot for the first nineplus 

minutes but Smith 

kept them in it, stoning 

Jonathan Toews on a break 

in the first period. He later 

stymied Michael Frolik on a 

breakaway. And he shook off 

the two third-period scores 

to make a couple of overtime 

saves in traffic seconds before 

Boedker broke loose. 

“I’m an emotional guy,” 

Smith said. “But I’m finding 

ways to calm myself down 

and remember that I have 

a job to do back there, and 

that’s stop the puck and give 

the team a chance.” 

The prospect of winning 

a playoff season is new to the 

Coyotes – it is something 

the team has never done 

since moving to Phoenix in 

1996. It’s something to shout 

about. 

“We just want to end it,” 

captain Shane Doan said. “It 

has nothing to do with what 

game. As an organization, we 

want to find a way to end it.” 

By Kwaku Asare 

the precedent 

Delving deeper into 

the season, the Puma boys 

tennis team now holds a 

record that sits at 6-5. They 

have come off of huge wins 

against Marcos de Niza and 

Basha that have given them 

the momentum that they’ve 

needed to try to rise through 

the rankings, fighting for a 

top name and a better seed in 

the playoffs. 

Recently placing 3rd 

place in the East Valley 

Invitational, the tennis 

squad felt like they did 

what they had to do and are 

accomplished and satisfied 

with their performance. 

After trouncing their 

Basha rivals, the Pumas 

have poise and eyes set on 

facing Chandler. The team 

prepares for their next 

tough week of competition. 

The squad’s invitation 

to the Chandler-Hamilton 

Invitational has junior 

Garrett Sciascia spending 

every waking moment 

practicing his serve and netplay. 

“I am going to be 

focusing on doubles and 

getting my first serve in. 

I expect to face one of the 

toughest teams in the state 

state: Hamilton,” states 

Sciascia 

Long hours of perfecting 

techniques and play styles 

sports || the precedent || april 2012 

will come to light during 

the next week of games. 

Lady Puma update 

With the Puma girls 

tennis team holding the 

same record as the boys, 

they continue to face teams 

with a headstrong mentality. 

Coming off a win against 

Mesa in the East Valley 

Invitational was a major 

boost to team morale. 

“It was the first time that 

tennis has brought back an 

award,” states junior Ashlee 

Sun. They also beat their 

Val Vista rivals, the Basha 

Bears, just like their male 

counterparts. 

“It was a lot of fun when 

we crushed Basha, them 

being our rivals and all,” 

says Sun. 

With the Chandler- 

Hamilton Invitational in 

their sights as well, the Lady 

Pumas may be able to make 

a run and steal the show. 

“I plan to really work on 

serving and ground strokes, 

as well as just focusing on 

one point at a time. I know 

the competition will be 

tough, a lot of incredible 

teams will be there, but our 

team will push through it,” 

explains Sun. 

The up and coming 

week will prove whether or 

not the extra sessions and 

painstaking practices have 

helped or not. 

11 

Tennis shuts down opponents 

photo by Heather Mangola 

Junior Brandon Olsen serves the ball across the net.

12 sports || the precedent || april 2012 

Teamwork pitching allows Pumas to thrive on mound 

Club uses pitching depth 

to try and salvage a return 

to the playo� s 

By Austin Williams 

the precedent 

Justin Schander gripped the 

baseball with a full moon staring 

at him from beyond right � eld. 

Toeing the rubber at Salt River 

Field, the junior pitcher did not 

notice the enormous jumbotron 

in left � eld, the HD cameras 

broadcasting his every move, or the 

screaming Basha team raucous in 

the visitor’s dugout. 

All he did was pitch. 

“I felt con� dent,” Schander, 

who has 2.71 ERA, said. � e 

junior pitcher threw 8.1 innings in 

relief in the April 5 game against 

BHS, allowing ounly four hits and 

striking out eight. 

� is season the pitching has 

been a key factor for the Pumas’ 

success. � eir team ERA is down 

nearly one point from a year ago (at 

3.57, from 4.40 last year), meaning 

that fewer opposing runners are 

touching home plate. 

With the season winding down, 

the Puma baseball team’s record 

is just under .500 (12-14 at the 

time of press). With the deadened 

BBCOR bats in play this season, 

2012 was supposed to be the year 

of the pitcher. 

“I pound the zone more,” junior 

Schander, who is playing his � rst 

year varsity, said. 

Logan Swane, senior, who has 

been a two-year starting pitcher 

for the Pumas said, “With the new 

bats, I feel I don’t have to worry 

about the ball being hit far,” also, “I 

feel I can attack the hitters.” 

photo by Drew Crawford 

The Pumas pitching staff has done everything in their power on the mound to keep their playoff hopes alive. From left: Brady Hettinger, 

Marcus Bowers, Kyle Huckaby, Logan Swane, Jarren Drummond, Justin Schander, Kade Bishop, Jake McCann and Grady Bain. 

� is season’s varsity pitching 

sta� is comprised of three returning 

seniors: Jaren Drummond, Logan 

Swane and Marcus Bowers, and 

� ve underclassmen. � ere are three 

juniors: Kade Bishop, Jake McCann 

PUMA S C O R E B O A R D 

BASEBALL 

Division-I, Section-II 

1. Mesquite 13-3 

2. Desert Ridge 12-4 

3. Hamilton 11-5 

4. Gilbert 10-6 

14. Perry 6-10 

SOFTBALL 


1. Basha 14-1 

2. Red Mt. 16-1 


4. Chandler 11-5 

9. Perry 10-6 

and Schander, as well as two 

sophomores, Kyle Huckaby and 

Brady Hettinger. 

During that April 5 game 

against Basha, the Pumas outscored 

their rivals, 5-4 in the 

13th inning at Salt River Fields 

in Scottsdale. Starting rough, the 

Bears ascended to a 4-0 lead o� of 

Drummond, Perry’s ace. 

Timely hitting by sophomore 

Brady Weiss and senior Max 

Arredondo helped PHS claw back 

into the game. 

Swane shut BHS down in the 

top of the 13th, and freshman 

Austin Bull drove home the 

winning run. 

In aftermath of injury, OF 

Gomez returns with prowress 

By Kaleigh McKormick 

the precedent 

A true athlete stresses 

improvement, desires 

perfection, and does 

more than just show up 

for practice everyday. 

in her past years 

of playing softball 

sophomore out� elder 

Laynee Gomez has been 

a major asset to the 

team. 

Having a .300 

batting average, she was 

then o� set by an injury 

early in the season. 

Despite hard work 

and determination, 

photo published with permission from the 

Grebe family 

(Left) Sophomore Laynee Gomez 

slaps a single to left fi eld. Gomez 

has been a spark plug for the 

Pumas this season. 

photo by Josh Leon 

(Right) Junior Jillian Leslie 

pitches a shutout against Desert 

Ridge on April 12. The Pumas 

defeated ‘Ridge 10-0. 

BOYS VOLLEYBALL 

Division-I, Section-III 


2. Corona del Sol 13-0 

3. Highland 11-2 


10. Perry 9-5 

injuries can stop anyone 

at playing their best. 

Gomez recently 

su� ered a major back 

injury diving for a ball, 

and injured the par � fth 

lumbar of her spine. 

“� e team missed her 

greatly, it was like we 

had a hole in our team,” 

Kevin Chapin varsity 

head coach relates 

regarding the loss. 

For four weeks 

Gomez has gone 

through intense therapy 

sessions. 

“Laynee’s mom 

kept me up to date 

with doctors visits 

BOYS TENNIS 



2. Salpointe 13-1 

3. Red Mountain 12-2 

4. Buena 11-2 

7. Perry 8-6 

and progress made in 

physical therapy.” states 

Chapin 

“It was hard to watch 

my games”, says Gomez. 

Even though she was 

injured, it never stopped 

her from going and 

supporting her team at 

games. 

From an academic 

perspective Gomez 

was never a� ected, 

but athletically was a 

di� erent story. 

“It was hard to get 

back, but I’m getting 

there,” states Gomez. 

Getting back on the 

� eld and playing again, 

was not hard for her. 

Since Gomez has 

been back, she has been 

practicing with her 

team, and improving 

every single day. 

True athletes crave 

improvement, even 

through rough times in 

life. 

In her return she has 

gone seven of fourteen 

with four stolen bases, 

and is the team’s starting 

leado� hitter. 

As of press time, the 

PHS was No. 19 in the 

division-I standings. � e 

top-24 teams reach the 

postseason. 

As of April 20 

GIRLS TENNIS 



2. Salpointe 13-1 

3. Chandler 9-5 

4. Red Mountain 10-4 

7. Perry 8-6

Puma Pals begin a legacy in sports - Chandler Unified School District

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?