Yosemite High School
Blue Print
February 11, 2005
Volume 28 Number 3

Opportunity to study in America is dream come true

Students raise funds to help victims

District official was in India when quake hit

Opportunity to study in America is dream come true
Krystal Kane

Laura Grafen	Nelisha Vogelbusch	Karin Rostum

America symbolizes a place of freedom, opportunity and prosperity to many people across the world. For students in foreign countries, being given the chance to venture into this land of plenty is a dream come true, and seems to exist only in their imaginations. But for the foreign exchange students on Yosemite High School's campus, it no longer remains untouchable. They have come a great distance, away from their families and familiar surroundings, to experience a year in an American household. They have settled into their daily routines, acquired friends and memories, and learned many valuable lessons they will remember for years to come.

“My parents were worried,” explains Laura Grafen, a junior exchange student on campus, describing her family's attitude toward her being so far from home. Yet despite their uncertainty, they felt it would benefit Laura's growth and development as a person to take this great opportunity presented to her. Now that she has witnessed life in America, she sees many differences between her home and this country. “People in America are more spontaneous, and welcoming,” says Laura, and that overall, those in Germany are not as friendly or cordial to one another. High school also seems much easier than at her previous campus, and offers classes she enjoys, such as choir, drama, or an elective in the arts. In Germany, high school lasts a year longer and does not offer these types of classes. Their system is one in which the student cannot stop taking a class, such as a foreign language, until the end of their 13th year. This is a positive change that Laura will miss once she returns home at the end of the school year. At this point, her future plans for college have not been fully established, but she hopes to attend a university in Germany or Italy when the time comes. After being away from her parents for such a long period of time, Laura looks forward to seeing them again, and realizes just how many blessings she has in her life. She has learned to “appreciate what I have,” and not take anything for granted. For now, Laura is trying to be in the moment, and “enjoy it while I can. It is a once in a life time experience,” one that may never come again.

Fulfilling her family's dreams, Nelisha Vogelbusch has taken quite a daring step for someone so young. Also a student from Germany, she anticipated traveling to this country to experience all the opportunities available for her, and to fulfill her father's wishes. He had never been given the chance during his life to come to America, and urged her to come as soon as possible. It was quite a drastic change from her previous life, however, which she soon discovered. In Germany, Nelisha lived in a big city with transportation available to go where she pleased. Yet this is not the case in the mountain area. School life was quite different as well. Attending an all girls' private school run by nuns, YHS certainly is not comparable to her former routine. The academic level is not as high here, she says, and she has made a heavy work load for herself to fill in the gap. Enrolled in three foreign languages, she is very well versed and enjoys learning more about the English language. Her greatest passion, however, is art and she hopes to major in this field once she reaches college.

“I have learned a lot about myself, and what I am capable of,” says Karin Rostum, a student from Norway. For Karin, coming to America has been like fulfilling a dream, one she has had since she was a little girl. After arriving in the states, despite her mother's worries, she has enjoyed making new friends and has learned a lot about American culture and life. The most outstanding difference she has seen between her high school in Norway and YHS is being allowed to attend activities and school sports on campus. In Norway, a student must go to a dance or sports event outside of school, and is not considered part of the curriculum. Also, high school lasts for three years, and is held in one main classroom with a head teacher. Despite these difference, Karin enjoys the mountains and living with her host family. She has become very close with them, something she had not anticipated, and will miss them once she returns home. Her hopes for the future involve traveling to other countries. With Yosemite checked off her list, she now can set her sights on other goals and looks forward to the road ahead.

Students raise funds to help victims
VERONICA STEWART

YHS Principal Steve Raupp accepts a check from Interact President John Singer. The club donated $550 to each of the two Rotary Clubs in Oakhurst. Raupp is a member of the Sierra Sunrise Rotary Club.

On December 26, 2004 an earthquake ranking 9.0 on the Richter scale struck South Asia southwest of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra. The tsunamis caused by the massive quake left death and destruction across many nations, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.

Hundred of thousands are dead, and millions are in need of aid. At Yosemite High School, five students, Aboudi Kabanni, Caitlyn Johnson, Ricsie Hern-andez, Carmen George and Alyssa Barigian have decided to take the initiative and “to do everything in our power to help.” All five went to a meeting conducted by Consuelo Mercier about what YHS students could do to assist those who are in most desperate need of assistance. They decided they would collect monetary donations. Kabanni found tsunami relief bracelets on the internet which are now being sold for $2, the proceeds of which will go directly to tsunami relief.

Those affected by the natural disaster that the students are most concerned about are the children, especially those who were orphaned. They did some research into which relief organization to donate the money to, and decided on Rotary Inter-national. Rotary is working on both immediate and long term relief and members of the affected nations are directly involved in the rebuilding process in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Interact Club purchased about 400 tsunami relief bracelets for the group, but the project is not associated with any specific service club at YHS. Instead, the students wished this to be project by YHS students, not a certain club. The short term goal is to sell the bracelets, which are red and modeled after Lance Armstrong's yellow Live Strong bracelets, for immediate relief. They can be purchased at YHS, and in the school library. So far the bracelets have been well received, and almost $200 worth were sold on the first day they were available.

The long term goal is to collect enough money from donations to match the $1,100 donated by the Interact Club. There will be donation cans at YHS basketball games and a plan is in the works to get cans at Raley's and Oakhurst Elementary. There is a collection can in the library. The students are also planning to put more collection boxes in classrooms. They are still brainstorming on what more they can do to raise funds. Anyone can volunteer to help with this humanitarian aid project, and anyone interested in helping in any way should contact Mercier. Johnson, Kabbani, Hernandez, George and Bari-gian all ask for everyone to please donate.

Those affected by the disaster have nothing, and every dollar donated can go a long way in rebuilding the lives and livelihood of these people, the students say.

District official was in India when quake hit
VERONICA STEWART

Srini Vasan, the director of business administration for the Yosemite Joint Union High School District, was in Madras, the state capital of the Tamilnadu state in India, visiting his family over winter break.

Around 6:45 a.m. he felt the quake that struck off the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. It was not until about 9:30 a.m. that the tsunamis hit the coastal city of about 20 million people. At the time when the tsunamis struck India, Vasan was two miles inland. He and his mother usually took walks on the beach every morning. However, two days before the tsunami she had fallen and sprained her back, thereby preventing their usual walk the day of the disaster.

The people of Madras were taken by complete surprise. Tsunamis are extremely rare in the Indian Ocean. There was no advance warning. There is an advanced warning system for nations such as the United States and Japan in the Pacific Ocean due to more earthquake activity. India had never experienced a tsunami of this destructive magnitude.

The goal is now to set up an advanced warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

The total death toll for India is about 15,000. Madras was not the hardest hit area, but there was still extensive damage, particularly in regards to the fishing industry. Trees were uprooted and cars were flipped over. The hardest hit areas of Madras were cordoned off, but Vasan recalls seeing many wrecked fishing boats among the debris.

While he was still in India, Vasan attended meetings of the local Rotary clubs. He has been a member of the Oakhurst Rotary for over a year. There are 60 Rotary clubs in Madras alone. The Rotary decided to assist in the rebuilding process in three phases. Phase one is immediate relief, such as food, water and clothing. Phase two is handing out to each family a starter kit with basic amenities. Phase three is building shelters.

India does not need foreign aid in reconstruction and rebuilding efforts. It is handling the crisis well, Vasan said. As a self-sufficient country, India is also assisting other nations affected by the tsunamis, such as Sri Lanka. India was the first country to send any naval support to help in the rescue and relief efforts, and was the first country to send supplies to the Sri Lanka, according to Vasan

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