The James Logan Courier

By Larry Gordon
Los Angeles Times (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — Claremont McKenna College exaggerated the collective SAT exam scores of incoming freshman classes for the last six years, boosting statistics used for national school rankings, an internal probe has found. A senior official in the school's admission office has taken responsibility and resigned, according to a campus announcement Monday from the school president.

"As an institution of higher education with a deep and consistent commitment to the integrity of all our academic activities, and particularly our reporting of institutional data, we take this situation very seriously," President Pamela B. Gann wrote in a memo distributed at the prestigious liberal arts college, which enrolls about 1,321 students.

By Kevin Yamamura
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Now in his third year at Yuba College, a year he once hoped to spend in Chico or Davis, Robert Bond said every student he knows has struggled to get the classes they need.

"My first semester here, no math classes were open, so I couldn't get a math class," Bond, 20, lamented on the Yuba campus quad, decked in a sweatshirt and shorts on an unseasonably warm afternoon. "Basically it took me two years until I could get a math class, college-level Math 52. So I'm like way behind."

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Courier Managing Editor

Another semester has come and gone at James Logan High School, but as some celebrate the payoff of the effort they have put into their schoolwork, others are reaping the benefits of work that is not their own. Students at Logan are advised that cheating will not be tolerated, but is the warning working?

The Logan handbook defines cheating as, “taking the work, words, ideas, and/or efforts of another and presenting them as one’s own or providing one’s own work to be presented as another's.” There are also consequences in place to discourage cheating.

However, whether it is through electronic assistance, answers on a hand, or good old fashioned peripheral vision, there is no doubt that it is easier than ever for students to display academic dishonesty. In grade school, children are usually taught that cheating is wrong, so what is the reasoning behind cheating at a high school level?

By Candace Laxamana, Courier News Editor

You may have noticed that on January 18, 2012, Google had a black box over it's logo. This is because many major websites have "censored" or "blocked" their websites for 12 to 24 hours in protest of SOPA and PIPA bills.

These bills were put out with good intentions in mind, but many internet users, and sites think this is the American version of "The Great Firewall of China."

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Director of Parent and Community Relations

The Board of Education on Tuesday night received the results of a survey asking voter opinion regarding a possible ballot measure that would raise approximately $3 million through a parcel tax.

Among 300 registered voters polled Jan. 3-8 by the EMC Research Group, 65 percent say they would vote to approve or would lean toward voting to approve a $180 per year tax for four years, compared to 30 percent would say they would vote to oppose or would lean toward voting to oppose the tax. The remaining 5 percent said they were undecided.

From VOA News:

Americans are honoring the memory of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., 44 years after he was assassinated.

Martin Luther King Day, on Monday, is an annual federal holiday marking the birthday of King, who fought discrimination and racism in the 1950s and 1960s. King would have been 83 years old this year.

Watch Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, free from YouTube.

By Justyna Torres, Courier Supervising Editor

James Logan teacher Peter Kolesnikov is in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA facing charges stemming from an alleged sexual act with a minor.

Kolesnikov, who is on leave from his teaching duties this year, is facing three charges - sex with a minor (PC 261.5(C) F V), contacting a minor with intent to have sex( PC 288.3(A) F ), and oral copulation with a person under 18 (PC 288A(B)(1) F).

He was arrested yesterday at 11:11 a.m. in Hayward. Bail has been set at $1 million.

He's set to be arraigned at 2 p.m. on January 17th in Department 606 of the Fremont Hall of Justice.

By Joseph Agharanya, Courier Staff Writer

The former head coach of the track and field team for both boys and girls, Lee Webb, stepped down this year due to health reasons. He found out that he had skin cancer, and because he is recovering now he plans to take it easy.

He stated that he is not resigning but is just not head coach anymore. He will continue coaching for Logan Colts track team's distance division and cross country and also continue to be a teacher for adaptive physical education at James Logan.

By Dean Kuipers
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
Bad news for the Gulf of Mexico: a study released in late December sheds new light on the toxicity of oil in aquatic environments, and shows that environmental impact studies currently in use may be inadequate. The report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study, spearheaded by the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory in collaboration with NOAA, looked into the aftermath of the 2007 Cusco Busan spill, when that tanker hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled 54,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the bay.

By Alan Boswell
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Threats of genocide and ethnically charged rhetoric are roiling South Sudan's Jonglei state one week after a days-long rampage by a tribal militia forced 50,000 people from their homes and may have left thousands dead.

The commissioner of Pibor County, where most of the bloodshed took place, said that 3,141 people were killed, according to an initial assessment of the attack. But officials from the United Nations and the South Sudanese government cautioned that the number was unconfirmed and may be inflated.

By Candace Laxamana, Courier News Editor

It is a common occurrence when James Logan receives new students. Logan High School consist of about 4,053 students and 172 faculty members.

Making new friends here could be frightening, even intimidating, considering the amount of students that go here. These numbers may seem daunting, along with the fact that Logan is known for its huge campus and huge classes.

How do these new students go about making new friends?

By Mike Rosenberg
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Warning of an "immense financial risk" to the state, a renowned group of transportation and financial experts advised lawmakers Tuesday to pull the emergency brake on funding California's $99 billion high-speed train.

The Legislature created the high-speed rail peer review group to weigh the project's chances for success, and their sobering conclusions are the most striking — and perhaps most influential — analysis yet of the pivotal plan lawmakers will evaluate in coming months.

Former Caltrans chief Will Kempton, the group's chair, said most troubling was the state's plan to spend all available funding — $6 billion — on a small stretch of track in the Central Valley and hope for the rest of the money later.

By Joseph Agharanya, Courier Staff Writer

Tyler, a twelfth-grade student at Logan, grew up doing martial arts since he was two years old. He now runs and does his own business teaching others how to workout and be more fit in their lives. He trains other students at Logan, as well as adults in the community and his love for physical fitness is expressed when he trains others.

Since he is experienced in working the body, his workouts are pretty tough because he expects the most out his trainees. He works as a personal fitness trainer, and can train others at the Union City sports center. Anyone who is looking to have a healthier body, or who wants to get more muscle will get a great workout from him.

By Paul Tran, Courier Staff Writer

When reaching adolescence, it’s natural for teenagers to start feeling lonely. When you begin to develop your own ideas, you can begin to think that nobody understands you, or that you don’t belong. Students find different methods to deal with this feeling, ranging from subtle to aggressive, and unhealthy to harmful.

When asked about their experiences with loneliness, Ariy Castro, a Junior, said, “When I first moved here, I had no friends, so I would spend my days stuffing my face with Cheez-its and watching re-runs of Degrassi,” and Katelin Kasilag, also a Junior, said, “I listen to sad music and eat lots of ice cream. Pretty much what I do on my period.”

By Tovin Lapan
Santa Cruz Sentinel (MCT)

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — In 2009, Ashley Sorci graduated from her suburban Sacramento high school with a 4.25 grade-point average and was about to become the first person in her family to go to college.

She got into Humboldt State, the University of California, Davis, and UC Santa Cruz. She chose UC Santa Cruz because she loved the city and campus, and was considering a major in the one-of-a-kind community studies program.

The only problem was that her family, which owned a small business and was heavily invested in real estate, was on the brink of insolvency and could not help her.