Northwood’s Amnesty International invited Matt Hunter, a representative of anti-genocide organization Jewish World Watch (JWW), and Wai John Wai, a member of a San Diego refugee center for Sudanese citizens, to the theater after school on March 24 to illuminate students on the Congolese and Darfuri genocides.

Hunter spoke first about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo that began in 1996 and has resulted in an estimated 5.6 million deaths. He also presented two videos about the genocide, one of which concerned the brutal rapes of women and girls in the area. Wai, the second speaker, covered the mass homicide of non-Arabs in Darfur, a region in western Sudan, that began in 2003 and has taken 400,000 lives. Wai encouraged students to send letters to government officials to help stop the human rights violations occurring in the areas.

“I [already] knew about the events, but the videos at the end of the Congo session that showed a firsthand account of what happened were very impactful,” said junior Youngha Hwang.

To raise awareness about the genocides, Northwood’s Amnesty International is campaigning around the Oak Tree from March 28 to March 31 and collecting signatures for petitions pledging to buy products free of minerals obtained through genocide or violent conflict. It will also send a team to JWW’s Walk to End Genocide, which will be held on Sunday, April 3 in Fountain Valley.

“After hearing about the events in Congo and Darfur, I realized how lucky we are to live in such a safe area,” said junior Janny Jang.  “I realized that students do have a lot of power to bring about change. We can write to our Senators and urge them to stop the atrocities.”

Northwood’s Environmental  Club hosted a beach cleanup on Saturday, March 19 at the Corona Del Mar State Beach.

Despite the chilly weather, 14 students, including club members and AP Environmental Science students, attended the event.  In honor of saving gas and reducing  vehicle emissions, the attendees met at Northwood and carpooled together to the beach.

Students looked for and picked up litter on the beach for about two hours. Afterward, the group enjoyed snacks brought by Enviro Club presidents Melissa Jeng and Parveen Kasraee.

“I felt like it was just a small thing I could do to help the environment,” said junior Farheen Basith. “I learned that we should be a little more careful with natural habitats, such as our beaches. Birds and other sea animals are being affected by the trash.”

Enviro Club wanted to give both members and AP Enviro students the opportunity to get involved in reducing  beach pollution and be part of a fun, hands-on experience. Participants  received community service hours, and AP Enviro students also earned field hours for the class. 

“I think [the beach cleanup] was a success because we had a great turnout, and it seems like we really picked up a lot of trash,” said Kasraee. “It looked like everyone had fun while doing it!”

Northwood High School’s Science Olympiad took a strong team to the Orange County Regional competition on Friday, March 4 and placed 3rd in the competition. Over 350 high school students from 22 different high schools faced off in the competition at Golden West College.

The team matched the toughest competition in events that ranged from creating the best rubber band-powered helicopter to designing a car powered by mousetraps.

Other events include Disease Detectives, where students recognized a disease in a lab and explained its cause, symptoms, prognosis and treatment; Chemistry Lab, which required students identify unknown acids using a series of experiments; and Optics, in which students showed concepts of reflection and refraction using lenses, mirrors and lights.

“The ultimate goal of the Olympiad is to encourage a greater enthusiasm of science among our young people,” said Carol Grimes, organizer of the competition, who spoke to the OC Register. “We often focus a lot of attention on sports teams in high school. The Olympiad shows that exercises of the mind should also be celebrated.”

High school teams are made up of up to 15 students. Teams can only carry seven seniors, with the rest of the teammates coming from the other grade levels.

Placing 3rd, Northwood finished right behind Irvine High School (2nd) and Troy High School (1st). University placed 4th, while Aliso Niguel (5th) and Canyon High School (6th) followed close behind. These six schools will advance to the State Competition on April 9th to battle wits against the top 6 schools in every county.

Photo: Quincie Li

The second annual Timberwolf 5K Run and Walk on Feb. 19 was once again a huge success, just as it had been the previous year.

Despite the possibility of rain, many runners and volunteers still showed up to participate. Participants, however, felt that the morning was perfect for holding the event, with its clear overcast skies.

“I was worried that it might rain today because it had been most of the week. If it did, I’m sure there would have been less people who would show up and participate in the run,” said sophomore volunteer Alan Sun.

There were about 750 participants ranging from Northwood students and faculty to community members. Participants of all ages joined together to run or walk along Wolf Trail, Orchard Hill Drive and around the back of the school.

“It’s really amazing to see everyone out there supporting [the 5K] and helping out. It was a community effort,” said runner Emaan Baqai.

The 5K also raised money for Boosters as well as Families Forward.

“It’s great that the 5K helps organizations and also promotes physical exercise. It’s a win-win situation,” said runner Christine Yang.

All participants were allowed to join the 5K whether they are a serious runner or a leisure walker. Johann Appell, Ryan Purcell and Luke Decker finished the 5K in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

“All three runners were really close. It was difficult to tell who placed first if we didn’t have the timing chips,” said runner Zeerek Ahmad.

The 5K Run concluded with refreshments, food and an awards ceremony. The top three finishers of each age group were given medals.

“Overall, the event was great and it would have never been possible without the help of the Northwood Athletic Boosters and volunteers. I think everyone did great and I’m sure next year will be just as successful, if not more,” said Sun.

Northwood’s second blood drive of the school year was hosted on campus by the Red Cross club on Feb. 2. The blood drive collected 48 pints of blood, enough to save 16 lives, which was transferred to Orange County hospitals for patients in need.

“Giving blood was a great experience. While it hurt a little and made my arm weak for the rest of the day, I’m glad I could do something to help people who need that blood more than I do” said senior Natasha Karamally.

Close to 45 students signed up for the blood drive, and a few more students were able to walk-in and donate without an appointment. Before students could donate their blood, they had to meet specific age, height and weight requirements.

On the day of the blood drive, two Red Cross buses were parked by the pool to provide students with a safe donating experience. Medical professionals who worked on the bus made sure students were comfortable while giving blood.

In response to Northwood’s success with past blood drives, The American Red Cross has scheduled another blood drive at Northwood. The third blood drive of the school year will be held on May 23.

“We hope to get more volunteers next time and eventually educate more people on the benefits of donating blood,” said Northwood’s blood drive commissioner, senior Helen Tran.

WolfPack Boys Night

WolfPack Girls Night

Northwood’s WolfPack club hosted two events on Friday Jan. 7: Boys Night and Girls Night. WolfPack is a club that pairs students in the Developmental Disabilities (DD) program here at Northwood other student “buddies.”

The events were held at two separate houses, but both were big successes.  Girls Night was a pajama party, and Boys Night was sports-themed.

Four students from the DD class and many more peer buddies attended Girls Night, held at the Maguire residence. When the girls arrived, they were greeted by a “Girls Night Out” banner on the garage and some tasty snacks inside. They socialized, put on some temporary tattoos and danced around to the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack while waiting for their pizza dinner to arrive. After dinner, some crowded around the kitchen table to do nails, and others transitioned into the family room to watch “Shrek.”  

“My favorite part of Girls Night was dancing with all my friends and spending time with them,” said Mariah Gill, a student in the DD program.

The jersey-clad boys had a blast together at Boys Night, where there was a large turnout of both buddies and DD students. Their evening began by eating lots of pizza; they finished it all within 26 minutes.

“I had fun at Boys Night,” said Vahdan Derakhshanian one of the DD boys. “I have fun and eat pizza and a coke, I watched TV, and that’s it.”

The boys also enjoyed parading around with a “Boys Night – No girls allowed” sign. Later some transitioned to watching the comedy Grown Ups. At the same time, cards were flying as the rest played a competitive game of Uno in the dining room.

“I thought Boys Night was fantastic,” said Greg Johnson, one of the DD teachers and host of Boys Night. “The WolfPack members who came and set up our house did a great job getting everything ready. All the students were there on time, and we had a great time watching the movie and playing Uno.

Overall the events were great opportunities for club members to mingle outside of their usual buddies. The girls had a chance to indulge in their feminine side, and the boys got a chance to be masculine and hang out with the guys.

“It was a great time,” said junior Jamie Ullman, membership coordinator of WolfPack. “I got to talk with a lot of my already-made WolfPack friends and meet plenty of new ones over a great movie and pizza.”

Photo: gaylekingshow.com

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and around 18 others were shot outside a supermarket in Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 8 by a man identified as Jared Loughner.

Six of the victims died, including a chief judge for the District Court of Arizona and a 9-year-old girl. Giffords, despite being shot through the brain, can now breathe on her own and has recently opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting.

At a memorial service for the victims of the shooting, President Obama shared an emotional story with the crowd about his visit to Giffords’ bedside.

“Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey,” said Obama.

The nation has gathered a tremendous amount of support for the victims of the shooting. President Obama led a moment of silence on Monday and the House of Representatives also paid tribute to the victims. All across the nation, hundreds of people came together for candlelight vigils.

Leading up to the shooting, Loughner had a troubled past. He is an adamant nihilist and believed that the government was involved in numerous conspiracies. According to court records, he has had previous offenses involving possession of drugs.

The shooting was not Loughner’s first encounter with Giffords. He attended one of her campaign events at which he asked, “What is government if words have no meaning?” He was disappointed with her answer, which he considered inadequate.

In the midst of the tragedy and mourning, several heroes have been recognized for their bravery. Patricia Maisch, 61, was hailed as a hero for wrestling away bullets from Loughner as he tried to reload.  Another emerging hero is Giffords’s intern, Daniel Hernandez, who had been hired just five days before the shooting. When Giffords was shot, Hernandez rushed to Giffords’ side and applied pressure to her wounds.

Considering its political implications and motives, the shooting has called for more responsible political rhetoric and has come as a chance for the nation as a whole to reflect on its behavior.

President Obama united the nation with this message of hope: “The forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. I believe we can be better.”

Photo: blogspot.com

 From the Haiti earthquake to the BP Gulf oil spill, many events occurred in 2010. 2011 has just begun, and looks to be another eventful and exciting year. Below is a recap of the top stories of 2010, in chronological order. Enjoy!

January 12- Haiti experiences a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, resulting in a death toll of 230,000.

February 12- The 2010 Winter Olympics begin in Canada.

April 20- The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurs at the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers.

May 4- Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust becomes the most expensive painting ever sold; the highest bid at the New York  auction was $106.5 million.  

July 25- WikiLeaks, a nonprofit site that publishes private high-profile media and information, releases 90,000 unauthorized U.S. documents regarding Afghanistan.

August 10- The World Health Organization declares the end of H1N1 scare.

October 11- Thirty-three Chilean miners are rescued after 69 days underground following an accident at the San José Mine.

November 11- G20  Summit, a meeting of economically advanced or advancing nations, is held at Seoul, South Korea to address the current global financial situation.

November 23- North Korea fires on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, escalating tensions between the two nations.

November 28- WikiLeaks releases over 100,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, prompting national security concerns within the U.S. government.