A previous article written in October concluded with Brandon McInerney awaiting his pending re-trial where he would be charged as an adult for murder of his openly gay classmate, Larry King.

On December 19, McInerney, now 17 years old, pled guilty to second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to serve 21 years in state prison. Under the conditions of his plea bargain, he is not eligible for early release, so he will serve in prison until his reaches the age of 38.

Before McInerney was handed his final sentence, the murder victim’s father, Greg King expressed his rage in a very emotional four-page statement to the court.

According to Catherine Saillant of the LA Times, King “called jurors ‘incompetent’ for failing to reach a verdict in the September murder trial, criticized the media for its coverage of the high-profile case and heaped blame on school officials for failing to watch over his son’s well-being.” He also lashed out at his son’s killer, telling him that he was “‘a white supremacist assailant’ who had been given the break ‘that Larry never got’ by his jurors.’” He ended by telling McInerney that he could never forgive him for shooting his son.

In the end, a young boy was killed because he was gay and his killer was given only 21 years as his debt to society. In addition, the final verdict dismissed the hate crime charge that the jury had originally failed to convict.

All of this information just begs the question: if Larry King had been heterosexual, would this whole tragedy, the crime and the chaotic trails, have occurred?

English teacher and debate coach John Bailes said, “I am very pleased with every level of our speech and debate team so far. We keep growing in numbers and maturing as debaters. We had twelve debaters–four of which were in pairs for public forum. The other eight competed in the Lincoln-Douglas format. Three debaters–James Ren, Yang Ren, Lauren Li–had winning records (3-1) and two–Felix Yoon, Wendy Li–had undefeated records (4-0),” Bailes said.

The event ran from early Saturday morning until late evening. Junior Varsity debater Yang Ren said, “Well, there wasn’t as much time to polish up arguments and speeches with finals being the week before the debate. Reviewing material for the next day’s finals really takes that chunk out of your day.”

Difficulties aside, the Debate Club plans to compete in the Stanford Invitational Debate Tournament, held on the Stanford campus in mid-February. Many of the debaters see this past weekend as a warm up for the larger event – the Stanford Debate attracts several hundred more debaters from across the country.

“I can already tell that Stanford is going to be great,” said sophomore Regina Park. “We have some great debaters this year and just going with the team is always really fun!”

On Monday, school officials handed out the the new policy to students coming in late. It reads: “Beginning Wed. Jan. 25, all students who are tardy to any class must first go to the Attendance Office, sign in, and get a blue pass before entering any class. Teachers will no longer allow students to enter a class without a blue Attendance Office pass, whether excused or unexcused.”

“Tardiness has actually been a problem for me this year,” said social studies teacher Kevin James.

According to the administration, teachers have been expressing an increased concern regarding tardiness and how it is a significant disturbance in class both for teachers and those students who are on-time and trying to learn.

Today, some 180 students stood in a line in front of the Attendance Office waiting for their pass if they arrived after the second morning bell. The students included both those who did not step into their specific class before the bell and were sent down by their teachers and those who were stopped by the administration at the school entrances.

Many students were upset with this new procedure. “It’s not going to last. This is a ridiculous waste of time,” said one student who showed up one minute late yet returned to his class 15 minutes later due to the long line at the Attendance Office.

Vice-principal Susan Charlip put it simply, “Don’t be tardy, it’s not that complicated.”

Similar views have been expressed by other school officials who simply ask students to leave a little earlier and show up on time so there won’t be any unnecessary disturbances in the classroom.

This morning there were more than 180 students who showed up late to class and were forced to go to the Attendance Office. According to the administration, first and second periods are the most troublesome, as well as those immediately after lunch.

Principal Ted Barone explained, “The AHS faculty made it a priority to resolve the problem. And it is not a new policy, but rather a new procedure to have better accounting [of tardies].”

School administrators hope that the number of tardies will be reduced in the coming days.

According to U.S. Census data from September 2011, close to 15 percent of Americans are living in poverty. Based on this increasing poverty trend and future economic trends, homelessness is expected to continue to rise. This indicates more people without access to comforts that many of us take for granted every day such as shelter and a way to keep warm.

“For most, a warm coat solves the problem,” says One Warm Coat, a nationwide organization that works with groups across the country to collect coats and give them to those in need. “But, for… Americans living in poverty, a warm winter coat is a budget ‘extra.’”

Homelessness and poverty are more personal to people than they are often aware of. There have been in the past and still continue to be students enrolled in the Albany Unified School District who have dealt with or deal with the issue of homelessness. Across the Bay Area, schools have become increasingly aware of the rise in homeless students and families.

If you have a warm coat that you can donate, there are numerous places to drop one off. The Albany Community Center, for instance, is collecting coats for One Warm Coat. There are also many, many more around the Bay Area.

Below is a partial list (for more information, go to http://onewarmcoat.org/donate/donate-a-coat):

But rather than focusing only on a two-point loss that would’ve given Albany its first-ever state athletic title, let’s celebrate what can only be described as “one hell of a season.” Hollywood would have a hard time recreating the drama that the Cougars provided for the Albany fans and community.

Make no mistake about this miracle season. What the Cougars achieved was not through an act of divine intervention, but rather a culmination of hard work, dedication, and grit when they had their backs regularly pinned against the wall.

Date back to October 15. In the final match of a daylong tournament, the Cougars lost in straight sets to rival Salesian High School, showing what some said was little effort.

“I saw the team coasting through the schedule and not living up to their potential,” said second-year coach Roger Worsley. “Seeing them under perform, I needed to push some buttons. I gave them a challenge and they responded.”

Worseley called for 5:00 a.m. practices the Monday following the loss. Added to this dilemma, the team’s roster was down five members, due to injuries and other off-field issues.

“It was a struggling time, but from it we learned how to be a team,” senior captain and setter McKenzie Giblin said. “We got ourselves straightened out.”

The practices paid off. Reestablishing their hard-hitting mentality and orchestrating better ball movement, the Cougars went undefeated the rest of the regular season.They finished with a 13-0 record, and did not have to play more than three sets until the BSAL Championship in a rematch against Salesian. It was evident that the Cougars never took their foot off the gas pedal.

“It really showed that hard work pays off,” junior hitter Kyra Holt added. “We were more mature, held our composure, and we stayed together as a team.”

But teamwork can only carry the group so far. The Cougars also had phenomenal athletes, led by BSAL Most Valuable Player Kyra Holt, who was also named to the State All-Tournament Team and was the Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area NCS Player of the Year. Other top performers included senior middle hitters Maddy Dunn and Kariana Castanon-Hill, sophomore middle hitter Amber Erhahon, and junior outside hitter Marin Gibson. A side note about these big guns—they are all six-feet or taller.

“Kyra is the hammer on the court,” Erhahon said. “She’s the definition of power, and she’s a leader on the court—a home base for us to regroup during a match.”

This group of sheer power would not have reached its full potential without Giblin, however. The captain has been the starting varsity setter all four years of her high school career. Worsley commented, “Watching McKenzie progress over the last two years, she’s come a long way. Before she seemed to press a lot, but now she’s much more understanding of the ebb and flow of the game.”

He added: “She also has a better mental approach and comprehension of the setter position.”

Another impact player bringing the talent together is sophomore Brooke Tannahill, who took the reigns of libero in only her second year of varsity play.

“For someone playing the position for the first time, she’s great,” Giblin said of Tannahill, “and she’s always looking to get better. You don’t see that maturity and fire in an underclassman.”

It was with this group of starters that the Cougars earned the number three seed for North Coast Section playoffs. First ousting six-seed Analy, Albany went into a hostile environment to upset the two-seed Campolindo High School—the favorite to win NCS. It was also here that the Cougars started playing the role of the comeback kids.

“It was a rivalry game we had to win,” Dunn said of the Campolindo victory. “When we were down after the first set, Coach Worsley said he wasn’t ready to stop being our coach this season, and that really set us off. We were on fire from that point and redeemed ourselves.”

After an upset of the one-seed Miramonte on the other side of the bracket by Sir Francis Drake High School, the Cougars had an opportunity to win NCS on their home court against the Drake Pirates. Winning the first two sets easily but faltering in game three, the Cougars showed enough poise to pull it out, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23.

“Watching Drake in the past, we knew exactly what they were going to do,” Erhahon spoke of winning NCS. “It was a great game plan and we stuck it to them.”

With the win, the Cougars clinched the number three seed in the NorCal State Volleyball Tournament.

In the first round, Albany routed Christian Brothers High School at home, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23.

The second round game forced the Cougars to drive to Folsom to play Vista del Lago High School. Again they found themselves backed into a corner.

“They thought they had it in the bag when they won that third game,” assistant coach Lynn Hall said. “We just said ‘hell no’ and came back. Once we tied it up, the whole gym went quiet and we knew it was ours to take.”

The Cougars beat Vista del Lago 12-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-23, 15-10.

To advance to the State Finals, the Cougars needed to win the NorCal final against heavily favored Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco. Albany took the first two games, but let the Fighting Irish come back to tie it up. Albany won the decisive fifth set to earn the trip to Irvine, 27-25, 25-19, 16-25, 23-25, 15-11.

On the win, Hall said, “People thought that once they were back in it, we had no chance. But like a cat with nine lives, we hung around, out-executed, and won.” Hall added: “Not being a big school is a big advantage, since most teams have never heard of us and don’t have tapes on us.”

It was going to be Albany’s first appearance in a state title match for volleyball in the school’s history. Sacrificing valuable class time, the school held a pep rally on December 1^st, two days before the match, to send the team off in high spirits.

“We wanted to make sure the team would carry a piece of the school, the students and the community,” said Albany High Principal Ted Barone. “It was nice to see everyone be involved for such a special occasion.”

The Cougars then made the trip down to Concordia University in Irvine with one goal in mind: take home a state title. To do this, they would have to defeat powerhouse Cathedral Catholic High School, the SoCal representatives who had won every set so far in playoffs. The stage was set for a David vs. Goliath match up, as Cathedral Catholic had won the state title in 2008, 2009, and was the runner-up last year.

“It was going to be a matter of game plan and execution,” Hall said.

And execute they did. After getting blown out in the first set, 25-15, the Cougars responded by taking the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-21. The Cougars overcame deficits of as much as seven points to steal the match’s momentum.

“We weren’t ready to go down, and we gave them all we got,” Dunn said.

A late charge by the Dons and some sloppy play from the Cougars took the title right out of their reach, as they faltered 31-29 and 16-14 to finish just shy of the ultimate prize.

“We couldn’t have been better prepared. We just got out performed,” Hall said of the defeat. “It was a learning loss though, and we went out playing the Albany style of play that got us here.”

Though the season ended with a loss, it was the first match Cathedral Catholic played where they were challenged until the last point. There is also a beneficial factor of the loss that will help the team in the future.

“How far we got was nothing short of what I expected,” Worsley concluded. “It was a season of discovery. The girls saw what they had to do to fight within themselves to come out on top. They now understand what to expect of themselves.”

Brian Douglas Kagawa was born in Lodi, California. He grew up in Berkeley, attending Washington Elementary and Garfield Junior High. He develeloped a love for basketball at a young age and began playing officially in leagues as a sixth grader. Even though students were not typically allowed to join until the seventh grade, Kagawa was permitted to join early because he was so talented and hardworking.

The referee for Kagawa’s Japanese league games was also the varsity coach at Berkeley High School. He finally convinced Kagawa to join the team in his junior year. Kagawa played on the varsity team for two years as a guard. In 1967 and 1968, Kagawa helped his team win the ACCAL championship and the regional Tournament of Champions. He played alongside future NBA players and was eventually inducted into the Berkeley High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Kagawa graduated from Berkeley High in 1968.

Kagawa attended Merritt Community College and Cal State East Bay where he received a degree in biology and kinesiology as well as his teaching credential. Kagawa then returned to BHS as a PE teacher. He worked with his former coach as the varsity boys basketball assistant coach from 1973 to 1976. Kawaga was also an assistant varsity football coach and the JV basketball head coach. Additionally, he coached football, swimming, and water polo at the BHS West Campus for ninth graders.

Even though Kagawa hadn’t played football or water polo, he was still an excellent coach. He found that coaching football was similar to coaching the defensive strategies in basketball.

He attended UC Berkeley and U.S. Olympic Team water polo practices and games to improve his coaching techniques. Kagawa was highly committed to his work and consistently went above and beyond what was expected of him in order to ensure that he could be the best coach for his players.

Current AHS Athletic Director Andrew Strawbridge said of Kagawa, “He is a person of high character who cares greatly for his students. You have to admire a coach with so much passion.”

After his two years as a PE teacher at BHS, Kagawa was one of 60 young teachers who were laid off in a series of district-wide cuts. He then worked nearly full-time as a substitute teacher and continued coaching. In 1976, Kagawa worked as a long-term substitute at Vallejo High School for a biology teacher on maternity leave. Kagawa was so well-liked that he was offered her position the following year.

Instead, he applied for a position at AHS. Kagawa began working at AHS in 1977 as a full-time PE teacher and boys football and basketball coach. Soon, he began teaching freshman Health and senior Family Life, as well as Leadership.

After an AHS counselor retired, rather than hiring a new counselor, the department decided to try something new and assign his students to five teachers. Kagawa spent one period a day counseling 40 students. He enjoyed counseling so much that the following year he went back to school at St. Mary’s College to get his masters degree in counseling.

After receiving his degree, he spent three periods counseling and two teaching Family Life each day. Kagawa became a full-time counselor in 1982 and the head counselor in 1997.

Fellow counselor Sally Benjamin believes “Kagawa’s accomplishments in the counseling office are second to none. He treats students with genuine compassion and respect–no matter if they are the highest achieving student trying to manage stress or the depressed student who is struggling to graduate.”

Kagawa coached the mens varsity basketball team for 30 years and was inducted into the AHS Athletic Hall of Fame for his service. Kagawa truly enjoyed his time coaching. He said, “We won some games and lost a lot, but we always competed from the tip-off to the end of the game.” Kagawa taught all of his players that the most important thing they could do both in basketball and in life was to never give up.

Wrestling Coach Kermit Bankson reminisced about their times together, “It was great when the wrestling and basketball teams had their banquets together. New Orleans football fans used to wear paper bags over their heads because the team was so bad, so when the basketball team was struggling to win games, the wrestlers, the team’s biggest fans, put paper bags  with eye and mouth holes over their heads to watch the games. It was funnier than hell.”

In 1975, Kagawa reconnected with Debbi, his former high school girlfriend. They were married the following year. The Kagawas recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.

In 1979 and 1981, their children Lindsay and Scott, respectively, were born. Both attended AHS. Like Doug, Lindsay was an outstanding athlete in high school. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Stanford University to play volleyball. Lindsay is now a sports agent, who primarily represents female basketball players.

Scott is musically talented. He received a scholarship to play the trumpet at Northwestern University. Scott now works in the social media industry, but continues to pursue his passion for the trumpet.

Doug and Debbi are extremely proud of their children. David DeHart, close friend and colleague of Kagawa for 29 years, said of him, “He raised a great family and I had the privilege of teaching both his kids.”

As a counselor, Kagawa is often admired for putting his students first. Senior Edward Gong said, “Kagawa is so kind, humorous, and generous with his time.” Junior Stella Goldstein, said of Kagawa, “He really cares about all of his students and their futures. He’s a great counselor and a great person, and I’m really going to miss him.”

Many teachers and upperclassmen fondly remember Kagawa’s participation in the 2010 senior homecoming lip sync. Senior Siobhan Bauer recalled, “Despite class jealousy, it was super excting and hilarious to see Mr. Kagawa break down some sweet moves in the lip sync. In addition to learning that he is quite the dancer, we saw how much he was appreciated and respected by the entire student body.” It is a testament to how much he is liked that he has been the only teacher or administrator ever to appear in the lip sync in its history at the school.

Though he is soon to be leaving the checkered halls of AHS, Kagawa will always be remembered here as a great teacher, a dedicated coach, and a wonderful counselor. Benjamin cannot imagine AHS without Kagawa. She said, “He has been the face of Albany High School for more than three decades, and I would venture to say that he is the most widely revered staff member at our school. I urge all of us to put aside our selfish wishes for Kagawa never to leave–and instead wish him happiness and delight in his retirement.”

President of the H2O Club, Melinda Lyall, has expressed intense disgust by the excessive wasting of water. The main concern by AHS students, however, is whether or not the pool construction will be delayed because of the flooding.

Water to Albany High School has been shut off while construction crews work on repairs.

UPDATE: Water has been returned to students at AHS at 1:45PM. Construction crews reported that only an auxiliary water line was damaged, and not the main line to AHS.

Some 50 designs, created by AHS Graphic Design students, are available for viewing at web.ahs510.org/2011volleyballvoting.  Voting will continue through Friday December 9.

Jeff Castle’s Graphic Design students were charged with making inexpensive ($10), two-color t-shirt designs as quickly as possible.  The 50 selections were created in just several class periods.

Once a winning design is selected, shirts can be ordered during the week of December 12.  Shirts will be available for purchase online with a credit card or in person in Room 109.  Ordering details to follow.

Wear a piece of Albany High history.  Vote for your favorite design today!

At the second tournament – November 19 – one Albany team walked away with an award. Debaters Faustine Luo and Charmaine Chan were recognized for a winning record, emerging as the victor in three out of their four rounds.

“It was unexpected, but the award made the stressful preparation well worth it,” said debater Luo. Her partner, Charmaine Chan, added, “It was tiring, but an interesting experience overall.”

For those who did not win awards, the weekend was a learning experience. The Sonoma Valley HS tournament exposed one of the difficulties of debating both sides of the resolution: sometimes, the very arguments one gives can be the arguments the debater faces in the next round. Nonetheless, both tournaments were enjoyable for the debaters who attended.

Sophomore Regina Park said, “I had a lot of fun meeting new people with similar interests. We’ll all see each other next time. Overall, the tournament was a lot of fun.”

Other Albanians in attendance at the November 19 tournament were Board President Dr. Patricia Low and Albany High English teacher and Debate Coach John Bailes. Coach Bailes was particularly proud of the debaters at the November 19 tournament as they represented AHS’ expansion into a new style of debate. “Our Public Forum debaters are our new addition to AHS Speech and Debate. These debaters are demonstrating how versatile and engaging debate can be as we now have Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum competitors. Going forward, I would like us to have students who want to compete in Extemporaneous and Parliamentary debating. One step at a time.”

In a nutshell, Model UN is a club where students attend conferences and represent diplomatic delegations from various countries. Conferences – usually held during a weekend on a university campus – are gatherings of Model UN clubs and classes from various schools and simulate meetings of various United Nations subcommittees and international government organizations.

What happens during committee simulations? The UNAUSA’s homepage – United Nations Association of the United States of America – reads, “In Model UN, student step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization’s agenda. Students make speeches… negotiate… resolve conflicts… all in the interest of mobilizing ‘international cooperation.’”

Looking at the classic description of Model United Nations, one can’t help but consider how cheesy the whole activity sounds. Think about it. High school students solving world crises in just one weekend? Caulfield would most definitely call the whole affair “phony.”

The phony part of Model UN, however, ends at its classic definition. Not only does Model UN expose an individual to a wide variety of individuals and personalities, but it is also offers excellent practice in negotiation.  To be able to “solve a crisis in a weekend,” students must also be well versed in the international matters at hand and be prepared to combat opposing viewpoints. Such versatility and familiarity mandates a deep knowledge and understanding of reasons for certain international diplomatic relationship, and not just knowledge of the current state of affairs.

When asked why he enjoys Model UN, Co-President Juneyoung Jeong said, “One of the things I like about MUN is that it harbors an expansive diversity of ideas. Creativity and research can harmonize very well, if you try to make it so.”

Although it may seem cliché to say that you have to see it to believe it, the phrase most definitely true for Model UN. To fully appreciate the merits of Model UN, one cannot just attend club meetings; one has to attend a conference. During conferences, students become delegates advocating for the interests of their assigned country, and spend hours deliberating while using formal UN conference procedures. Most committees include opposition viewpoints, which allows for the presentation of opinions not commonly heard.

Senior Zian Liu and new club member observed that, “Though it may at first sound boring to sit in a room for hours on end and discuss issues that we may not find pressing in our everyday lives, sitting in committee will lead you to realize that it is quite interesting to observe the presentation of polar viewpoints of seemingly similar countries.”

“Even the more…unreasonable and less pleasant delegates in the room can freely express their ideas,” added Co-President Jeong. “While such free expression can become difficult at times – hearing North Korea continually complain about the United States’ heavy hand becomes annoying at a certain point – it forces students to consider the positions less commonly discussed on a daily basis.”

Junior James Ren summed up the viewpoints of many of the club members, saying “It’s really rewarding because you really get a chance to understand your country and international relations better, as well as improve your public speaking skills.”

Our club has traditionally attended conferences hosted at three different universities: Stanford in early-November, Berkeley in early-March, and UC Davis in mid-May. All three of the conferences put their own twist on Model UN: Stanford tends to put an unexpected twist on common international issues; Berkeley emphasizes the seriousness of the international issues being discussed; and Davis favors a less stringent and more relaxed approach that fits the feel of the last few weeks of the school year.

The Model UN Club’s most recent conference was the Stanford Model UN Conference, held this year November 4-6, 2011. This year’s event was a huge success for Albany High’s club: fifteen of the twenty five students who attended were formally awarded and recognized by the conference. A combination of strong preparation and speaking skills during the course of the weekend enabled the Albany delegation to walk away from a very successful conference. “[The conference was] an excellent start to the new school year!” said Jeong after the awards ceremony.

Liu, one of the award winners at Stanford, commented that “Even though this was my first conference, I was still able to walk out very successfully from committee. I feel that the experience was very rewarding, and I wish I joined the club earlier.”