Wai'anae, Hawai'i
November 23, 2013

In today’s society when some people think of the sport of wrestling they think about large muscular men with strange stage names.

“My favorite is Umaga” said Sani Pitolo.

Greco-Roman wrestling is a combat sport which confronts two male competitors who try to gain control over their opponent through the use of throws, locks, and clinching techniques. The holds can only be executed by means of the upper body, with the ultimate goal of pinning the opponent's shoulders to the mat. Wrestling is not only a sport for boy but for girls too. Malie Gonsalves a Senior at Waianae High school dominates the mats when wrestling because to Malie it’s more than just a sport but a lifestyle. Although wrestling is a very physical sport, it is not all about being physically strong but also mentally.

At Waianae High Schools senior Malie Gonsalves said “My struggles was mostly mental cause you need to have a strong mental attitude to be able to wrestle and so once you get mentally strong then the physical part gets easier”.

Last year Gonsalves competed for the OIA championship finals in the last match while losing by six points in the first two period she remembered to not give up and won her match by two points and became the OIA champion. When overcoming her struggles from the help of her father; her biggest encouragement knowing what she goes through and what it takes to be on top also brings her up to do better. With the season starting back up learning wrestling techniques, strength training and conditioning Gonsalves proves to herself to be better of what others think of her.

“Well when people underestimate me I just try to prove them wrong and I can make myself better at the same time” Gonsalves said.

Knowing when she doesn’t do her best, Gonsalves betters herself for the next one while looking foward and prepares for her next match. By getting introduced to the sport by her father, to Malie wrestling is more than just a sport but a lifestyle.

“My plans after high school is hopefully go to college on the mainland and if possible and get a full scholarship to wrestle” Malie said.

Continuing to wrestle after high school Gonsalves is looking at the University of Oregon women’s wrestling team as a possible option. Hoping to go to college on the mainland and the possibility of getting a full scholarship to wrestle Malie continues to do what is her whole life.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
February 20, 2014 - Wai'anae, Hawaii

In this age of modern technology where computers, tablets, and cell phones are the major past times, a simple ball attached to a stick by a string is the newest fixation amongst teens.

The kendama is a traditional Japanese toy that dates back to over 400 years ago. Its body consists of three cups and a spike, connected to a ball by string. Its main objective is simple: catch the ball in one of the cups or on the spike. While it may seem like nothing special, the kendama’s popularity has recently spiked in Hawaii.

Kids all over the state are found with the toy, including at school. Many students bring and play with their kendamas at school, much to teacher and admin’s dissatisfaction. “It becomes a problem ‘cause it takes away their focus,” said biology teacher Elorde Tuliao. But to some kids, kendamas are more than just a game or a distraction.

“When people pink slip it means that they wanna see if they have the skills to win the other person’s kendama, and… win,” said sophomore Makana Savaiinaea. Kendama players often play a game called Dama, similar to Horse. Players take turns performing a trick, and for each trick missed you gain a letter of the word Dama. Once all letters are collected by a player, they lose. In some cases, kids are catching more than just the ball. Players have the choice to “pink slip”, or wager, their kendamas when playing the game. Pink slipping is considered gambling and is a Class B Chapter 19 offense. Some Oahu schools, such as James Campbell High School, have taken action and banned kendamas from campus.

In 2012, a study showed that 60-80% of teenagers have gambled. Over the years, schools have banned numerous toys, such as pogs and marbles, due to gambling incidents. This just goes to show that kendamas are simply another tool for students to gamble.

Eliminating kendamas from school might not stop kids from gambling, but it might do just the trick in preventing it. “I think the school is taking steps towards avoiding these problems,” said Tuliao.

The kendama might not have a screen or cool apps, but clearly, they have still managed to catch the attention of kids all over Hawaii.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
February 19, 2014- Wai'anae, Hawaii

E-Cigarettes may seem like the hot new trend in Hawaii, but according to abcnews.com they were invented in the 1960s.

An Electronic Cigarette or E-Cig is a device that contains nicotine, in which you receive through vapor inhalants. Not only does it give of nicotine but it also comes in non-nicotine, where users do it for the vape. With the E-Cigs there is over a hundred different vapor flavors ranging from fruit to coffee base to dessert styles. The E-Cig is starting to trend all over the world, especially in Hawai’i. Volcano Fine Electronic Cigarettes a worldwide seller of the product has opened and expanded to ten stores statewide. It’s was built on the theory that it’ll be a better alternative than smoking and also a way for regular smokers to get nicotine in a “healthier way”. Since it’s still new and known for now as unharmful E-Cig smokers enjoy the rule of vaping in any public setting.

“Everywhere, Cars, Beach you know you can smoke it pretty much anywhere,” said E-Cig smoker Vaughn Osterna.

There is always the possibility of having harmful effects.

“There are many health risks, the most important one that we actually know is that nicotine is a very addictive substance,” said Dr. Nicolas Nelken.

Dr. Nelken works as a Vascular Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in Moanalua, Hawaii. He is very familiar on how cigarettes affect people internally and just like others is trying to see if E-Cigarettes do similar damage.

“E-Cigs are still very very new, I would remind you that it took twenty years to figure out that cigarettes were associated with cancer, twenty years from now we’re gonna start seeing what bad health effects are with E-Cigs, so it’s very difficult to know,” said Nelken.

What officials and the people of Hawaii do know is that in the beginning of 2014, DOH banned cigarette smoking on all city beaches, parks, pools, and athletic facilities. The thing is E-Cigarettes were exempt from the law because officials don’t know how it much it’ll affect others with secondhand smoke.

Reasonings of why the ban on cigarettes were place was because it’s common knowledge to the public on how it could cause cancer.

“About five thousand identified chemicals, four thousand of these are known to be poisonous. That’s why cigarettes are so bad for you, only one of those is nicotine,” said Dr. Nelken.

Since E-Cigarettes lack many of the chemicals that occur in secondhand smoke, they able to see the limelight, as officials didn’t place a ban yet.

“Now whether banning E-Cigarettes has an effect on cigarettes or not is a difficult thing to know. I’ll tell you since we know so little about the long term effect of E-Cigarettes, I think it’s prudent to release them carefully and very slowly liberalize use if it becomes clear that they are safe but since we don’t know that it seems prudent also to lump them in with cigarettes in terms of their use”, suggest Nelken.

As for now the Hawaii State Lawmakers limited the use of cigarette smoke in public areas, but for E-Cigarettes it’s a future still left hazy.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
February 19, 2014, Wai'anae, Hawaii

Although the cost of living in Hawaii has an expensive price tag, there is one way some local residents are racking up savings.

According to the Institute of Energy Research, Hawaii has the most expensive energy in the country with gas prices at $3.47 a gallon. Gasoline is not the only necessity costing more on the islands. Groceries such as orange juice or milk can cost up to seven dollars a gallon. Life-long Hawaii resident and mother of four, Corinne David, has decided to literally cut the cost out of shopping.

“Couponing is when you go shopping and you bust out your coupons, thats your money,” David said. Coupons are printed discounts that are offered in newspapers, online and in other media. The coupons alone only add up to a few cent’s off merchandise, but a few cents here and there can lead to hundreds in savings a month.

Accourding to Yahoo.com by spending 20 minutes per week the adverage consumer can save $1,000 per year by taking advantage of the coupon and special offiers.

Corinne spends about three hours a week planning her shopping trip. First she cuts out the coupons and then begins outlining her game plan consisting of price matching from stores, getting competing advertisement and shopping on the clearance racks.

“You like clearance because you can use coupons to get it even cheaper” David said. The three hours of clipping and deal hunting can sometime save Corrine and her family over 75% off of retail prices.

The potential for savings that couponing offers does not suit every consumer. School teacher, Vanessa Shalkey, doesn’t mind paying regular price for products.

“I think couponing is cool, you can save a lot from the discounts, but it takes time to look and cut them all out. Also, they may not have the products that I want at the moment,” said Shalkey.

For Corinne David and many others, couponing is all about getting the lowest price she can possibly get. “If I can get it for free, I want it for free. Thats the goal, 100% just pay the sales tax” David said.

Every week Corrine purchases four Sunday papers every week and with the amount money Corinne saves from couponing, she can put towards other expenses.

“I can use the savings, towards my kids football practice, or football buying their uniforms” David said . With a household of six people Corinne will continue to coupon in the future.

“I like that my mom coupons because I get free stuff, I like that she brings home deodorant because I don’t want to smell stink” said Kody Rosa. Even though Kody dislikes carrying the bags of groceries he still likes it when his mom come home with new stock. With scissors in hand Corinne David will stop when then the last copy of inserts are extinct.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
November 25, 2013 - Wai'anae, Hawaii

According to bigstory.ap.org, almost a third of this year's high school graduates who took the ACT tests are not prepared for college-level writing, biology, algebra or social science classes. “Compared to other students in the state, I don’t feel like I’m ready,” said Wai’anae High School senior Gloria Baniaga.

The state of Hawaii offers two types of diplomas, a regular high school diploma and the Board of Recognition Diploma. The Board of Recognition Diploma not only holds students to the same elements as the regular high school diploma, but also requires students to pass the Algebra 2 end of course exam, complete a senior project and earn one more credit of math.

“I know that this is a challenge for me, but I want the BOE recognition diploma because I work hard in class so I want to be recognized for all my hard work,” said Wai’anae High School senior Alyssa Jade Grande.

Although students struggle to meet these requirements, teachers and staff hope that a little added pressure will help prepare students for college. “I think a healthy bit of struggle is important because if you’re not struggling you’re not expanding and challenging yourself basically you’re just cruising and doing assignments in class,” said Wai’anae High School Academic Counselor Shane Nakamura.

The current requirements for the BOE diploma have been in effect for the graduating class of 2013, 2014 and 2015, but this too did not have the effect that officials hoped for. “Out of all the students who graduated from Waianae High School 10% got accepted to a four year university and 20% got accepted to a two year college,“ said Nakamura.

In the year 2016 the requirements are to change yet again. There will be four types of diplomas, the basic high school diploma, the Academic Honors, the CTE honors and the STEM honors. “So they’re really upping the standards,” said Nakamura.

Some students strive for these requirements. “Boe Recognition diplomas are important because it shows you took the effort to accomplish more than your peers.” said senior Alissa Cateil

Others feel that receiving this diploma is nothing more than just the icing on the cake. “I don’t think getting BOE Recognition Diploma is important because colleges don’t require it.” said senior Jonathan Dannog.

“Boe Recognition diplomas are important because it shows you took the effort to accomplish more than your peers.” said senior Alissa Cateil

Although the requirements for recognition diplomas require more rigorous standards, it is the challenge students need to prepare themselves for college level courses.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
November 28th, 2013

According to the center for disease control, obesity has doubled in teens and tripled in adolescents in the past thirty years. This growing number of overweight youth in the United States indicates that today’s youth are not getting the exercise they need.

Waianae High School’s (WHS) students are required to take one semester of physical education in the four years they attend. This is nowhere near the recommended amount of physical activity for teens. Students can get added exercise by walking or biking to campus. The majority of the WHS community live within a five to 10 mile radius of the school. Making biking a healthier and more environmentally friendly alternative to the bus or being dropped of. “I bike because it helps me stay healthy and I don’t want to pollute the atmosphere”, said English teacher Lawrence Dreyfuss.

Biking as a transportation activity is being denied to WHS students by the simple fact that they can’t securely park a bike at school. "They should have racks to encourage kids to ride bikes", said Daniel Bruening Plop.

Biking to school could be faster and safer than walking because of how much quicker you could get to your destination. “I get here pretty fast and safely using my bike”, said AP english teacher Mr. Dreyfuss.

Mr. Dreyfuss is an AP teacher that has had a couple of his students in the past have issues with Waianae not having bike racks. "One of my students had to put his bike in my class because he thought that it was gonna get stolen", said Dreyfuss. Daniel is a WHS Senior that rides his bike to school and chains it to the tree in the parking lot. This lack of a secure space actually prevents some students from using a bike even when they can. "I would bike but there are no bike racks”, said Junior Damien Dean.

“There are many benefits to having bike racks but we just don’t have the resources to obtain it”, said Shane Nakamura.

Shane is the counselor for the WHS Searider Productions academy. Shane believes that there are many reasons we should have bike racks but he also knows that there is no budget at WHS to pay for the cost of bike racks. “It all comes down to the money”, said Shane.

Transportation may be a problem for students and that is why Shane feels that there should be bike racks to not only compensate those who are willing to ride but maybe to also get some other people to start riding their bikes.

Biking could provide the exercise help students need to be more physically fit by having them be more active everyday when they have to ride their bike home rather than having to catch the bus or drive. Also this combined with Waianae’s selection of healthy food could benefit the students in a healthy way. By Waianae adding bike racks it could encourage students to be more healthy and ride bikes. “ I would ride if there were bike racks because thats way better than catching the bus or walking”, said Dean.

For students at WHS there is no way to guarantee that they get the exercise they need but bike racks may create the opportunity they need to start living a healthier life.

Wai'anae, Hawai'i
November 08, 2013 - Wai'anae, Hawaii

15,000 adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type one diabetes each year. Type one diabetes is when the body doesn't’ produce insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot convert sugar from food into nutrients for the cells. Some effects are extreme thirstiness, weight loss, drowsiness, and heavy breathing.

According to American Diabetes Association, about 2,050 children in Hawaii are affected by type one diabetes. In 2013, ten-year-old Markaiya Spencer became one of the 2,050.

Markaiya had been having stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting for the past year. She was suffering from these afflictions, not knowing that they are some of the symptoms for type one diabetes. “Because I had a really horrible pain, like every time I breathe, it hurt. One day, it just tightened up every time I took a breathe,” she said. Soon after the symptoms started, Markaiya was sent to the hospital, finding out she has type one diabetes.

There is no cure to type one diabetes, but there are treatments to manage the condition. With proper management, diet and exercise a person with diabetes can still live a long healthy life. Markaiya is now taking five shots of insulin a day, and also has changed her eating habits. She eats three meals, and two snacks every day.

“Before every meal I have to do all my medical things like test my blood sugar, and do my Humalog, which is my needle shot,” she said.

She has to take a shot to check her glucose level, or sugar count. The glucose level tells her how much insulin to take.

Markaiya also has to go on a diet of 60 grams of carbs per meal each day. She can no longer eat candy, or any type of food with high sugar in it.

“I can’t eat when I want to when I’m hungry now, and because sometimes when I want to play outside I can’t because of the insulin. It might come out of my sweat when it’s really hot outside,” Markaiya said.

She uses a booklet that contains a list with how many fat, carbs, and sugar is in a certain type of food. She then takes all of the food she’s about to eat, and adds them all up to equal 60 grams of carbs. The mathematical balancing act is time consuming, but it is a small price to pay to stay healthy.

Being diagnosed with diabetes at such a young age and having to take on greater responsibilities to make sure she maintains a healthy lifestyle has opened up her eyes in a new way . “I just want to say that diabetes, now that I experienced it, I feel really scared. And now I know that kids diabetes is worse than adult diabetes and that’s what makes me really scared, and that’s all.”