The Samur-Eye is an award winning student newspaper written by students of MC Perry high school on Iwakuni Naval Base, Japan. Please enjoy reading the articles!

1. 1
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3
4
5
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INDEX
Sochi Olympics
FEJC Recap
Black History Month
Science of Love
Cupid and Valentines
Samurai Spotlight
Groundhog Day
White Day
Temple University
Sports Recaps
Back Page
UPCOMING EVENTS
MAR 3-6th
Far East JSHS
MAR 10-14th
Terra Nova Testing
MAR 24-29th
Far East Linguafest
MAR 24-26th
Far East JROTC
MAR 25-28th
Far East JSHS
APR 3rd
End of 3rd Quarter
APR 4th
No School
Teacher Work Day
APR 4th-13th
Spring Recess
School Resumes 14th
LOCATED ON PAGE 10 - SPORTS
SPORTS
LOCATED ON PAGE 11 - FEATURE
SAMURAI
Spotlights
LOCATED ON PAGE 4 - FEATURE
Far East Recaps
SCIENCE
of Lust and Love
9
6
7
February 2014Volume 12 Issue 4
Becky Lee
blee8648@student.dodea.edu
Millions of spectators gathered in Sochi
to catch a glimpse of the thousands of
athletes from every livable continent
that are competing for the gold. With 15
divisions of snowy events – alpine ski-
ing, curling, ice hockey, figure skating,
biathlon, bobsleigh, etc. – simultane-
ously taking place, the Winter Olympics
is a source of entertainment and a way
of finding pride in your nation’s flag.
Kyle Stevens said, I’ve
watched it o n
AFN and
it’s pretty awesome.”
Irina Rodina of Russia, who began
her athletic career at age 13, was the
most victorious pair skater in history,
winning 24 gold medals and claiming
an additional silver and 2 bronze for the
major competitions. Despite her low
health condition and minor injuries, she
aimed for the best every moment until
her retirement in 1980 after triumphing
over her second and last Olympic title.
The majority of high school students
at M. C. Perry have never heard of her
name, yet she accomplished a great task
for every one participating or watching
in this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Rodina was one of the two people that
lit the torch in the opening ceremony
at the Fisht Olym-
pic Stadium on
February 7, 2014.
This year’s
Winter Olympics
at Sochi hosted a
variety of events
from February 7, 2014, to the closing
ceremony which was held on Febru-
ary 23, 2014. With 230 contestants
competing in all fifteen categories,
Team USA had the highest number of
athletes that competed in the games.
Throughout the entire competition,
we won a total of 28 medals with 9
gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze, ranking
America 4th in the overall tournament.
Anna Kehr said, “America has
been doing pretty well. For all the
people who are teenagers, it’s amaz-
ing how they made it that far, and
they’re only a few years older than us.”
These headstrong American athletes
have earned glory and proved what it
meanstobeanAmerican. AlthoughPres-
ident Obama and Vice President Bidden
were absent for this phenomenal event,
the millions of supporters in the crowd
cheered as skier Todd Lodwick rep-
resented our country when he walked
the Parade of Nations with the Ameri-
can flag raised high into the evening sky.
For the previous 22 years, since
XXII Winter Olympic Games
1992, the US has placed 5th or high-
er in the overall ranking, as well as
achieving a first place win in 1932.
This year, however, we must congratu-
late Russia for placing first in the So-
chi Winter Olympics. Although these
Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia,
we must give Russia credit for earn-
ing this honor through the dedication
and lifetime training of its athletes.
All the countries that participated in
this global event, whether it’s Brazil,
China, Germany, or Jamaica, have
displayed their finest athletes this win-
ter. These Olympic Games serve as a
way to bring countries miles and oceans
away together in one stadium, where
the best of the best are given an op-
portunity to show the world what their
country is made of. These friendly com-
petitions unify this world we live in.
The colorful rings are the insignia
of the Olympic Games, each ring rep-
resenting a different portion of the
world. The Americas, Australia, Asia,
Africa, and Europe are brought to-
gether in these games and, much simi-
lar to the interlocked rings, are con-
nected through this worldwide contest.
Even in mainland Japan, we are in-
spired by the effort of these daring ath-
letes who are serving their country as
a representative, much like us “mili-
tary brats”. The exceptional talent and
strength of every athlete allows them to
be role models for many young Ameri-
cans, especially athletes. To think that
every one of the participants began as
high school students in foreign coun-
tries like Japan gives us hope to achieve
something even greater in the future.
Tyler Culp, sophomore student at
Perry said, “By seeing what they do, it
would inspire other people to do better.”
Sochi Gives Inspiration Worldwide
These friendly competitions
unify this world we live in.

2. Maxinne Hernandez
mher3940@student.dodea.edu
M
atthew C. Perry High
School, “the little school
that could”, left 2014’s
Far East Journalism Con-
ference with a great bang! The compe-
tition was tremendous, but M.C. Perry
stood strong. FEJC is made up of three
main categories; broadcast journal-
ism, newspaper, and yearbook. De-
spite being a school consisting of little
over one-hundred high school students,
M.C. Perry managed to win the first
place gold awards, for each category.
Originally, FEJC was scheduled
for October of 2013. However, the recent
government shutdown forced DoDDs to
postpone the event. FEJC began on Feb-
ruary 3rd, 2014. Students were greeted
by a bone chilling air, but were burning
with excitement. Though the atmosphere
was friendly, everyone knew that an in-
tense competition was about to begin.
“Everything has been so intense. Watch-
ing people scramble to find a story and
finish their work on time… It was crazy,”
said Kailey Cronin, a sophomore journal-
ist for Kinnick High School’s newspaper.
FarEastJournalism
Without a doubt, every indi-
vidual team of every category put forth
outstanding material. The broadcast reels
were professionally edited, anchored,
and filmed. Broadcast journalism teams,
newspaper teams, and yearbook teams
that won first and second place all includ-
ed students from M.C. Perry. Carlos Cas-
tro’s (senior) broadcast team placed sec-
o n d ,
w h i l e
Richie
Roth’s
( j u -
n i o r )
broad-
c a s t
t e a m
placed
f i r s t .
Julian Perez’s (junior) team
placed second for over-
all yearbook layout, and
Gaku Lange’s (senior)
team placed first. For
newspaper, Maxinne
Hernandez’s (se-
nior) team placed second for over-
alls spread, while Ante Rosales’s
team placed first. Sam Hess’s (senior)
amazingly written article won first
place for best newspaper editorial.
M.C. Perry students won an
abundant amount of awards for the indi-
vidualphotographycompetitions,aswell.
Mandolyn Peterson placed second in
both best non-con-
ference and best To-
Perry brings home the gold
kyophotography.GakuLangewonsec-
ond place in best people photography.
Every product was created
during the first three days of FEJC,
unless stated otherwise. Matthew C.
Perry students have shown that they
have the heart and dedication o create
amazing work, with limited time. As
Julian Perez, a junior that attended the
conference, “FEJC really showed how
well we can work together, and how
our strengths and weaknesses
mix to make us a great team.”
“FEJC really showed how well
we can work together, and how
our strengths and weaknesses
mix to make us a great team.”
-Julian Perez-Bosse
Elise Silvas
safeleo@gmail.com
T
he2014FarEastDramaeventwas
a huge success! Put together
with the help of Ms. O’Con-
nell and hosted right here in
Iwakuni, several different schools came
from all over the Pacific to show off their
hard work in acting out a one act play.
Students were able to perform in the
Sakura Theater, and they also performed
individual or small group scenes. The re-
sult was a week full of fun and watching
theater! To help improve specific areas of
our drama abilities, there were also work-
shops. The primary workshops included
Far East Drama
able and opened the way for fun times
for everyone. “I’ve never loved Drama
more.” Says Catherine, reflecting on
the multiple field trips and team nights
that we shared with all the schools.
Although our school didn’t win
any awards with our one act play, “The
Miracle”, Tenacity Clayton and Dina
Roman won best in room with their
performance of “Cinderella”, and Rob-
bie Johnson, Monica Grant, and Alexa
Hodges
won best
in room
Stomp, Stage Design/Makeup, Readers
Theater, Improv, Pantomime, and a Star
Wars Shakespeare mash up. These prima-
ry workshops met over the course of the
week, then presented their skill in front
of all the schools. There were also sec-
ondary or “taste” workshops, with quick
one hour lessons on projecting your
voice, speaking in accents, puppetry, au-
ditioning tips, and other useful things.
This opportunity was especial-
ly important to
people like Chan-
cellor Gardiner,
who had never
before been to a
Far East event. It
was a very pos-
itive experience
for him though, as he said, “It was the
best opportunity I ever had at
Perry, I could walk up to
anyone and instantly find
topics to talk about.” Other
people shared a similar con-
senses, noting how Drama kids
were naturally more outgoing
than most other students, which
made the environment very enjoy-
with their performance of “Elevator
Games”. Furthermore, Chancellor Gar-
diner won an award for his participation
in the primary Stomp group, and Elise
Silvas won an award for best technical
presentation, which included makeup,
marketing, and script writing. Kou-
dai Franklin, Chancellor Gardiner, and
Catherine Taylor won awards along with
the entire Stomp group, because their
performance was voted the best of the
primary workshops. After that exciting
awards ceremony, everyone went to the
Valentines Dance to conclude the week.
Overall, it was a very good Far
East experience, and everyone had a
lot of fun showing off their talents on
stage. Edgren won one of the best one
act awards, with their performance of
“Sweeny Todd” and Kubasaki won the
other best one act award, with their per-
formance of “Time for Tea”. Even though
Perry didn’t win, however, we all made a
lot of friends and created a closer friend-
ship with each other. Most of the people
on our team want to participate again
next year, so you should join us too. As
Alexa Hodges said, “This was definite-
ly the best Far East I’ve ever been to.”
reflection
“I’ve never loved Drama
more.” -Catherine
Taylor
2 Samur-Eye / February 2013 News

3. 3February 2014 / Samur-EyeFeature
Marina Topel
topelmarinav@gmail.com
I
n 1926, a cultural occasion, which
is now widely celebrated, was born.
What we now know as “Black His-
tory Month” actually began as Black
History Week. A member of the Asso-
ciation for the Study of Negro life and
History, Carter G. Woodson, originally
created this week of remembrance and
education of black history to be specifi-
cally set on a certain week, the week that
holds the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln
and Fredrick Douglas.
“If a race has
no history, if it has
no worthwhile tra-
dition, it becomes a
negligible factor in the
thought of the world,
and it stands in danger of
being exterminated,”
said Woodson
regarding his
views on the
necessity
of Black
h i s -
tory
week. On the 50th anniversary of
Black History Week, it was expand-
ed to the whole month. This change in
1976 included almost the whole coun-
try in the celebration of their histo-
ry. Although black people do endure
vast amounts of cultural history and a
plethora of memories that they should
always conserve, should there really be
a month dedicated to Black History?
The question as to whether or not
there should be a black his-
tory month has been
debated many times
before.At the time,
black history was
ignored instead
of celebrated or
studied. How-
ever, since then
times have drastically changed and black
history has become a major part ofAmer-
ican History. Their history is no longer
ignored, no longer looked upon as inferi-
or to America’s history, and is no longer
something that students aren’t interested
in learning about. So why is there still a
month dedicated to learning about black
history? Why can’t we learn about their
history everyday instead of only rec-
ognizing it on February of every year?
Maybe the key to
officially ending racism
is to stop segregating
black history into just
one month. Instead, there
should be EQUAL read-
ing on black history as
there is on American History, Hispanic,
Asian, etc. Every day, we should be learn-
ing about black history. If all of mankind
is really created equal, then this should
have been a solution a long time ago.
In a recent interview, Multi-award
winning actor, Morgan Freeman, reveals
to Mike Wallace of CNN “I don’t want
a black history month. Black history is
American history.” After strange looks
from Wallace, he promptly asked Free-
man “How are we going to get rid of
racism.” to which Freeman replied “Stop
talking about it. I`m going to stop call-
ing you a white man, and I`m going to
ask you to stop calling me a black man.
I know you as Mike Wallace. You know
me as Morgan Freeman. You`re not go-
ing to say, “I know this white guy named
Mike Wallace.” Hear what I`m saying?”
Completely cutting out black his-
tory from our everyday lives is never
going to be a solution, but maybe not
having a Black History month could
be. Maybe if there was no black histo-
ry month, people wouldn’t automati-
cally separate blacks from whites from
Hispanics in their heads. The new in-
stinct would be to think of everyone as
human beings. To think of everyone as
their equal, and to never think they are
above someone because of the color of
their skin. The real solution to racism
is acceptance of equality, and that just
can’t happen if there is only one month
out of twelve dedicated to black history.
Black history monthDoes its existence cause more division?
“I don’t want a black his-
tory month. Black history
is American history.”
-Morgan Freeman
750-800 Attendance
800-1015 Math Testing
1015-1020
1020-1045 B4 SEMINAR (25 min)
1045-1050
1050-1215 A1
1215-100 LUNCH
105-230 A2
Monday March 10 (A day)
MATH
750-800 Attendance
800-1025 SS & LA Testing
1025-1030
1030-1130 B4 SEMINAR (60 min)
1130-1135
1135-1215 B1 (40 min)
1215-100 Lunch
105-145 B2 (40 min)
145-150
150-230 B3 (40 min)
Tuesday March 11 (B day)
SOCIAL STUDIES & LANGUAGE ARTS
750-800 Attendance
800-1015 Reading Testing
1015-1020
1020-1045 B4 SEMINAR (25 min)
1045-1050
1050-1215 A3
1215-100 LUNCH
105-230 A4
Wednesday March 12 (A day)
READING
750-800 Attendance
800-915 Science Testing
915-920
920-1045 B1
1045-1050
1050-1215 B2
1215-100 Lunch
105-230 B3
Thursday March 13 (B day)
SCIENCE
Friday March 14 (A day)
Regular A day schedule
Score at or above
the 80 Percentile
In 4 out of 5
Subjects
Or Improve by at
least 10 Percentile
points in 4 out of 5
subjects

4. 10
TheScienceofLove
Ways to Say “I Love You”CherokeeYoung
cyou4434@student.dodea.edu
N
ot everyone here at M.C.
Perry High School speaks
English. Some of the major
languages spoken here
include: Japanese, Spanish and Tagalog/
Filipino. Well, now that this is the des-
ignated month of love, some of us may
be trying send your love to that special
someone (or something). You could go
down the traditional route and simple
state “I love you”, but where is the
excitement in that? The correct answer
is, there is no magic in just saying that.
What you could do instead is (possibly
confuse) and wow the love of your life
by phrasing it in a different language,
no matter how uncommon that phrase
may be.
1.French-Je t’aime (pronounced: zhe
tehm). More often than not, French is
usually referred to as the “language of
love” so it seems only fitting that it be
added to the list.
W
hy do people love? The
process of falling in
love has been classified
into three different stag-
es. Lust, attraction, and attachment
these three stages all have their own
hormones and receptors in the brain
that are released and detected by. In
each of these stages the person goes
through several symptoms that make
their lover seem like the best person in
the world and helps to create a bond
that will last. Helen Fisher said “it’s
what gets up and going to get anything.”
The first stage being lust is
the most known, and often mistaken
as love at first sight. Lust is the sexu-
al attraction between two people; the
creation of lust is created by the indi-
vidual releasing hormones known as
testosterone in males and estrogen in
women. Testosterone is not only found
in males but also in women with high
sex drives. “It’s what gets up and go-
ing to get anything.” Helen Fisher said.
2.Finnish-Mina rakastan sinua
(pronounced: mee na rak a stahn sin oo
a). This is a formal way of saying, but
nonetheless, it’s a simple way to express
your feelings.
3.Italian-Ti amo (Ti sounds like tea,
ah-mo). Not to be confused with the
Spanish version “Te amo”, Italy’s form
of the word shares the definition.
4.German-Ich liebe dich (eee [then
soft k] lee buh dee [soft k]). In Germa-
ny, some of the sounds of letters and
stressed but try not to make to but too
much emphasis in the pronunciation;
you don’t want to scare someone.
5.BBC’sSherlock-Sherlock is
actually a girl’s name. This is more of
an inside joke with the series but you
can still apply to anyone… as long as
it’s not Moriarty.
6.J.R.R.Tolkien’sElvish-Amin
Mela Lle (ah-mean mel-ah lay). Now
some of you may now this phrase, but I
think it is safe to say that Elvish is
not the common tongue here.
7.Greek-
S’agapo
(sag-app-oh).
Aphrodite
would be in-
credibly proud
if you said this
to someone. She’ll
get giddy just thinking
about it.
8.Romanian-Te iubesc
(teh yoo-behsc). Before you
get any ideas… no, this is not
what vampires say to each other.
9.Danish-Jeg Elsker Dig (yee elskeh
di [I as in hi]). In the northern areas of
Europe like Denmark and Sweden, there
are minor variations to the phrase but
the overall concept is synonymous.
10.Russian-Ya ne mogu zhit
bez tebya. In Russia, this version
of the words “I love you”, is
actually translated to “I cannot
live without you”. By saying
that, that then becomes the most
sincere way to show
one’s affection to
another.
These are just
a few of the dif-
fernt ways that
there are to say
“I Love You” so go
out and find and use
as many ways as you
possibly can!
Eric Cox
Ecox@gmail.com
Stage two of love is known as
attraction. This stage being one of the
most powerful to the person feeling its
effects, this is the stage that people can-
not stop thinking about their other. Some
people might even lose their appetite, or
even need less sleep. The body wants to
spend less time sleeping and eating and
spend more time with the person they
cannot stop thinking about. Moreover,
during this stage more hormones are re-
leased and help to create what is known
as love between these people. Dopa-
mine is released by the brain, this is also
what is found in cocaine and nicotine,
this creates an addiction to the person,
and your brain needs to see this other
person in order to help feed its addic-
tion. Norepinephrine, otherwise known
as adrenalin, this gives a dramatic rush,
creates clammy hands, flushed cheeks,
and makes your heart race. The last
hormone released by the brain is sero-
tonin. It is love’s most important chem-
ical and one that may actually make you
temporarily insane. When the hormone
is released you lose all control, making
anything look like a great idea, mean-
ing you might actually do anything for
your love. It makes you insane and re-
ally makes your love have control over
you, doing anything they tell you too.
Stage three is known as attach-
ment. This is the stage in which both
parties if feeling the same way towards
each other makes the love last. This
stage is usually seen with child birth
with the release of several different
types of hormones. These hormones
are found in women and their children;
they help create a motherly bond with
the child. Oxytocin, one of the hormones
released by the hypothalamus gland
helps cement the strong bond between
mother and child and also released by
both sexes. Another important hor-
mone released during this stage of love
is vasopressin, found in long term com-
mitment couples, scientist are not sure
what it’s function is but have found
some uses of the hormone is for kidney
function. “Love is what I believe to be
a reaction to chemicals, so the emotion
we label as love is merely a bodily reac-
tion.” says Elise Silvas a junior at Perry.
...the emotion we label as love
is merely a bodily reaction.
---Elise Silvas
...the emotion we label as love
is merely a bodily reaction.
---Elise Silvas
4 Samur-Eye / February 2014 Feature

5. 5February 2014 / Samur-EyeFeatures
Ivan Davila II
idav3692@student.dodea.edu
O
n February 14 there’s a hol-
iday called Valentine’s Day.
On this event there are gift
given from there spouses,
boyfriends girlfriends, someone spe-
cial, and secret admirers. Some of the
gifts that are given on Valentine’s Day
are, jewelry, roses,
sometimes dinner,
and then there’s
chocolate. Almost
everybody likes the
luscious goodness
that comes in dif-
ferent varieties of
flavored chocolate,
but why is it one of
the first gifts hand-
ed to someone?
Why is it
that the most com-
mon thing to get
handed, a box of chocolate, why can’t
it be something different. Well here’s a
little history for you, in the 1800’s there
was these brother’s called the Cadbury
brothers who set up a shop in England
making chocolate and then selling them.
Richard Cadbury built the first heart
shaped chocolate box for Valentine’s
Day. There making one of the links
from chocolate and Valentines Day.
What do others think about get-
ting chocolate on Valentines Day? Some
might think it’s romantic; others disagree
and think it’s a waste of time and mon-
ey. Some of there opinions are “to give
people sweet stuff without having to get
physical” said Matthew Sellers. Or “ be-
cause it’s a way to show someone that
you care about them,” said Hunter Kae-
mming. But of course that is not really
accurate because the holiday really gets
separated into to categories, people who
are with someone, and then there are
single people. So of course they have
there own opinions of the holiday. Those
people without a companion could hate
Valentines Day until
t h e y
f i n d
some-
o n e ,
get some
c h o c o -
late or another gift and think it’s the
best holiday out of the whole year.
If you ever come across the
question why in the world do people
give out chocolates on Valentine’s Day,
it’s a waste of time, effort, and money.
Well now you know because of the Cad-
bury brothers, how Richard built the first
heart shape chocolate box. Have in
mind you might think Valen-
tine’s day shouldn’t even be
a holiday, that it’s a
waste of time
and mon-
ey, but
u n t i l
y o u
found
some-
o n e
to share
it with
you will
probably feel
different about it.
Valentine’s day chocolates
“Because it’s a way
to show someone you
care about them.”
-Hunter Kaemming
Johnmichael Pearson
C
upid is the most famous of Val-
entine symbols and everybody
knows that boy armed with
bow and arrows, and piercing
hearts. He is known as a mischievous,
winged child armed with bow and arrows.
The arrows signify desires and emotions
of love, and Cupid aims those arrows
at Gods and Humans, causing them to
fall deeply in love. Cupid has always
played a
r o l e
in the
c e l e -
brations
of love and
lovers. In
ancient Greece
he was known
as Eros, the young
son of Aphrodite,
the goddess of
love and beauty.
A question
we ask ourselves
around Valentine’s
Day is why is cupid depicted as a baby?
Cupid himself is not a child or a baby.
He is the son of Mercury and Venus. He
is actually depict- ed as a winged
t e e n a g e
boy, I
think the reason that he is seen as a
Baby nowadays is because he has be-
come confused with cherubs (winged
babies who shoot people with love ar-
rows) or because children or and ba-
bies are usually the result of love, pas-
sion etc. of which Cupid was a god and
so became associated with them
The story of Cupid and Psyche in
which he accidentally wounds himself
with one of his own arrows and falls in
love with Psyche this shoes he is shown
as older than a baby. The story of beauty
and the beast is actually derived from the
story of cupid and psyche. The idea of
CUPID: THE BABY, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND
cupid has been changed a lot throughout
time. He has been depicted as an adult
all the way to a baby. Another reason we
might show cupid as a baby it shows a
sign of immaturity however in that im-
maturity one is expected to grow and de-
velop the relationship into a loving and
m a t u r e
L o v e
that will
last the
test of
t i m e .
Here at
Mathew
C Per-
ry many
p e o p l e
don’t know the origin of the naked baby
that symbolizes this well-known holiday.
“I didn’t know the extent of cupid’s histo-
ry! “ When asking around a small portion
of the school seemed to know the origins.
Maybe we can start our own tradition here
at our school and depict him as something
other than a baby, maybe an old man?
jpea8368@student.dodea.edu
“I didn’t know the
extent of cupid’s history!”
- Ivan Davila
Why is chocolate the renown Valentine’s Day gift?

6. ern Japan “All-Star Team” compris-
ing of the top rising soccer players in
the Southern Japanese Prefectures.
His recent decision to sign for
the Division 1 School, University of
the Pacific in California was not
a simple choice. Lange also
had to weigh two other offers,
one to Temple University
in Philadelphia, and anoth-
er to College of the Holy
Cross in Massachusetts.
On behalf of
the entire school,
we would like to extend our congrat-
ulations towards Gaku on his tremen-
dous accompishmets, and also wish
him luck in his upcoming high school
senior year “Samurai” Soccer Season .
On behalf of the entire stu-
dent body we would like yo wish
you the best of luck in California!
Lakeyia Brown
lbro1614@student.dodea.edu
F
ebruary is the home of many
other holidays, but it is notori-
ously known as African-Amer-
ican History month. Our very
own principal Mr. Lorenzo Brown
used to be an African American history
teacher long before his years at Perry.
Prior to getting into the Department of
Defense education system, Mr. Brown
used to be a history teacher in South
Carolina. After graduating from
Coker College with a degree
in education, specializing in
history, he attended a job
fair in his hometown of
Hartsville, South Carolina.
His job fair led him to the
opportunity to teach in a little
town called Greenwood in South
Carolina. He became employed
at Greenwood High School,
where he was a history teach-
er and a coach. Greenwood is
a somewhat diverse town with
residents of various ethnicities.
He wanted to try to reach out
to students as well as fulfill his
pastime of teaching the history
of the African American com-
munity. So, he created the Af-
rican-American History
club (AFRAMHIS Club)
at Greenwood High.
After all the saying goes, “those who
do not know their history are con-
demned to repeat it.” Mr. Brown has
always had a passion for teaching his-
tory, he feels that it is important that
all people know their history.
“African American History
month is important because it
supplies a greater knowledge
and understanding of his-
tory” said Brown.
African-American His-
tory month is rather
important because
just like Hispanic
Heritage month and
Asian-Pacific Heritage
month, that month is rep-
resentative to the nation of
the resiliency and strength
of an ethnicity. It is the ap-
preciation of that group’s
contributions to the world.
His favorite part of being
an African American histo-
ry teacher was “being able
to experience how people
learned and understood
concepts when they were
aware of the history they
never knew,” he said.
H
ere at Matthew C. Perry,
sports scholarships are lim-
ited to say the least. Howev-
er, the isolated location did
not hinder soccer prodigy Gaku Lange
from achieving his high school dream:
to play soccer at the college level.
When asked about his accomplishment
Lange humbly responded “I try to hone
my skills every day and want to keep
playing soccer at the highest
competitive level possible.
I’m extremely grateful
for this opportunity,
and will work my hardest.”
Lange, who started playing
soccer as young as 4 years old, always
showed an interest in soccer. From 5th
grade all the way to his sophomore
year, the young star worked his way
through Sanfrecce’s Youth Academy,
earning not only a starting position on
the team, but also making the South-
Mr.Lorenzo Brown
a diverse educator of many facets
Samuel Hess
samuelj.hess@yahoo.com
SAMURAI SPOTLIGHTs:Sir Gaku Lange
Signs for University of the pacific
6 Samur-Eye / February 2013 Feature

7. Joel Villanueva
jvil6248@student.dodea.edu
Holidays are usually known for
being the time of the year in which your
family all around the world gets together
just to celebrate that holiday. However,
on February 2nd, there is a holiday in
the U.S that some people don’t even
celebrate nor care about. That holiday is
Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day is a holiday in which
a groundhog comes out of its burrow, in-
dicating whether or not we will have an
early spring, or six more weeks of win-
ter. If the groundhog sees its shadow and
goes back into its burrow, it means that
we will have six more weeks of winter.
If the groundhog stays above the ground,
it means
t h a t
s p r i n g
w i l l
c o m e
e a r -
ly. The
type of
weather
plays an
import-
ant role
on this day, helping to
change the outcome.
Dating back all the way to 1887,
Groundhog Day was a holiday that
was often compared to another holiday
named Candlemas Day. Some even be-
lieve that Groundhog Day was based off
of Candlemas Day, but it is not certain
whether or not it really is. Candlemas
Day was mostly celebrated by Christians
that be-
lieved if the
sun came
out on that
day, winter
would
last for
six more
weeks,
but if not,
spring
would come early. Although Candlemas
Day tells whether or not spring comes
early, Christians also celebrate the
Purification of the Blessed Virgin and
the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
on this day If you ever wonder why
Groundhog Day is based on the ground-
hog of all animals, it is because the
groundhog hibernates during the winter
and comes out of the ground when
spring arrives. Also, because several
people around the world back in the past
believed that the groundhog was the
wisest of the hibernating animals, the
peopole felt like the groundhog should
predict the weather. In Europe several
centuries ago, people watched for other
hiber-
nating
animals
along
with the
ground-
hog,
including
badgers,
bears,
and
hedgehogs. One specific groundhog in
the United States named Punxsutawney
Phil is the groundhog that makes the
decision. Although Punxsutawney Phil
is the main groundhog, several places
have their own groundhog that predicts
the weather, includingCanada’s albino
groundhog named Wiarton Willie, and
New York City’s groundhog, Pothole
Pete. Before, Groundhog Day was
not very popular amongst the people
all around the world. But in 1993, the
movie Groundhog Day had boosted the
popularity of Groundhog Day substan-
tially. Ever since the movie had come
out, about 40,000 people had started
visiting the East Coast event annually to
celebrate Groundhog Day over the re-
cent years. Even Punxsutawney Phil had
a major boost in popularity, allowing
him to do several things, including being
on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995,
and even traveling to Washington DC to
meet with President Reagan in 1986.
Although Groundhog Day was not
very popular before, it has now become
a holiday that many people enjoy cele-
brating. Whether it be to hear about the
prediction of the weather, or just to see
Punxsutawney Phil himself, people from
all around the United States gather in
one spot on the holiday that is Ground-
hog Day.
A Holiday for the
Groundhogs
“Although Groundhog
Day was not very pop-
ular before, it has now
become a holiday that
many people enjoy cele-
brating.”
February: HolidaysandEventsJustin Hill
jhil5237@pac.dodea.edu
F
ebruary is an exciting month
with Valentine’s Day, white day,
president’s day, and the super
bowl game. There is also one
thing that is interesting about this month
is that we only have 28 days. Why is it
only 28 days? Well the first calendar was
established by Romulus. He only had
10 months to begin with, and it started
with March. After Romulus, Julius Cae-
sar made his own solar calendar which
we are using right now. He added addi-
tional 10 days in the calendar. However
Julius’s cousin, Numa said the month of
February should be a purification month,
and a religious month. But Julius new
calendar required extra day every year.
So every four year it’s called the “leap
year.” February has different holidays.
The most common holiday that people
know is, Valentine’s day. People ex-
change gifts among themselves. Normal-
ly people give each other chocolates, or
flowers. Sakura Fleming said “when the
day comes I get really nervous because I
want to get a chocolate from who I like.”
In japan during Valentine’s Day the girl
has to give the boys or their lover a gift.
After a month from Valentine’s Day is
called White day. It was originated in
Japan then it went to China, Korea, and
Taiwan. If you get something from a girl
you have to give a chocolate
back to the girl that you got
a chocolate from. The day
before valentines and white
day, they go to the grocery
store to buy some ingredi-
ents for the chocolate. When
they make the chocolates,
they make it creative and
cute so the person they give
it to will know that they
made the chocolate from their heart. In
America, most people will buy choc-
olates from the store, because they’re
just lazy or really don’t like the person
they’re going to give the chocolate to. If
you haven’t made a chocolate for some-
body, you should try it because they will
actually like the chocolate, and they will
know it came from your heart. What is
president’s day? Do you know why we
celebrate president’s day? This holiday
wasn’t celebrated until the late 1870s.
It’s a federal holiday because we are
celebrating the day of George Washing-
ton birthday, and also recognize our first
president. During president’s day, some
people celebrate all presidents in the past
and present. Did you know there were
four executives that had their birthdays
in February? The four people are George
Washington, William Henry Harrison,
Abraham Lin-
coln, and Ronald
Reagan. Many
Americans stay
home during the
super bowl game.
Should students
miss school just
for a football
game? Is it that
important of a
thing that we can miss school? I asked
Kai Lange who is Japanese American
he remarked “why do you have to miss
a day of school for a football game?
It’s unbelievable in Japanese school.”
In my opinion I think skipping a day
of school just for a football game is ri-
diculous, but I understand that football
is the main sport in America. It is good
to support your team, but I think we
shouldn’t skip school for a football game.
“whenthedaycomesIgetreallyner-
vousbecauseIwanttogetachoco-
latefromwhoIlike.” -SakuraFleming
7February 2014 / Samur-EyeFeatures

8. Valentine’s Day & White Day
To: Trish,Desmond,
Pj and Lakeyia
From: Saiya
To: Angel Cadavos
From: Tyson (:
Shout-Outs
To: Bobbi Hill
From: Lewis Billups
To: Lakeyia Brown
From: Lorenzo “ZO”
Brown
To: My “Girlfriend”
From: Charles Jackson
To: Kahlei Van OstranFrom: Johnmicheal Peason
To:Penelope KehrFrom: Miles
Saulsberry
To: Erin WaughFrom: Kayla Graham
To: Lebet “Rat” Erhart
From: Caia Delavergne
To: Jen Natiola
& Angel Cadavos
From: Michael
Tanglao
To: Becky Lee, SakuraHagensieker, & DanaAlfafaraFrom: PenelopeKehr
“Sambai Gaeshi” in February
Red roses, chocolates, and
valentines are the common
thoughts that come to mind
when Valentines’ Day comes
to town. Once a year on February 14th,
Valentines’
day is cel-
ebrated by
everyone
t h r o u g h
giving and
receiving
gifts to
show their
love. Prior
to this day,
retail stores
stock up
on flowers,
delectable
chocolates,
cuddly ted-
dy bears,
and elegant
cards. Consumers rush to get their spe-
cial presents for that special someone
and schedule reservations at a fancy
restaurant. However, outside the Amer-
ican continent, people celebrate these
holidays in their own unique tradition.
Chocolates, marshmallows, gifts, and
cards are common gifts in Japan. Kikuko
Ito, manager at the Paper Mint card shop,
said, “Boys buy blank or white cards.
Mostly women come, and girls shop the
week before.” According to the manag-
er, there are
no cards re-
served for
White Day
at Paper
Mint.
Regions
in Eastern
Asia, which
are mainly
composed
of the
countries
of Korea,
T a i w a n ,
China, and
Japan, have
a c c e p t e d
White Day
as an event-
ful day that follows Valentine’s Day.
White Day is one of the newer mi-
nor holidays, only being 20 years old.
It is also of inferior importance when
compared to Valentine’s Day. Since this
applies mainly to the younger couples
of Japan, it is unable to become a true
holiday that could be merged into Ameri-
can culture. “It’s not considered a typical
holiday where you would have a day off;
it’s an important day for couples”, says
Mr. Lange.
The
m a i n
differ-
e n c e s
b e -
t w e e n
the two
cultures celebrating the tradition are the
gift giving gestures. In Japan, it is cus-
tomary for the women to give the men
chocolate, whereas in the American tra-
dition, men are commonly known as the
gift givers. In addition, the Japanese cul-
ture consists of a White Day, on March
14th, when men give back and present
chocolates to the women who hope to get
something in return on White Day.
The second difference would be that in
Japan, there are two types of chocolates
given on Valentine’s. The first, called
giri choco, is mainly given to others as
a sign of friendship. The second, honmei
To: Rebecca Graham
From: Kaede Goble
Becky Lee & Rebecca Graham
blee8648@student.dodea.edu
“three times the return”
-Shuntei Harada
choco, can be hand-made or bought, and
women offer it to the person that they
like. Hand-made chocolate is a message
from a woman to a man, saying that he is
her one and only man.
According to the vendors selling choc-
olate, they begin the sale of Valentine’s
Day chocolates starting February 4th.
White Day chocolates, ordinary choc-
o l a t e s
wrapped
in a gor-
g e o u s
w h i t e
box the
color of
marshmallows, are sold beginning Feb-
ruary 27th.
Shuntei Harada, worker at chocolate
shop la maison de chocolat Paris at Rop-
pongi, said, “Sambai gaeshi is famous
script from Japanese drama. Is three
times the return.” Though, in the United
States, there is only one kind of choco-
late with no particular symbolic meaning
for which people can freely give, on
White Day, the man is returning the favor
by giving a gift worth three times more.
Sambai gaeshi reflects the traditions and
practices used within Asian culture.
Photo courtesy of Becky Lee
Two friends in M. C. Perry hold hands this February as a
sign of friendship and love
8 Samur-Eye / February 2013 Feature

9. 9February 2014 / Samur-EyeAdvertisement

10. aLONGWAY
TO NOt TRAVEL
Gaku Lange
glang8716@student.dodea.edu
T
ears were running down the
faces of the team after the
final buzzer. None more no-
tably than seniors DQ Ber-
nard and Martin Ziola, who had just
finished their last basketball games of
their high school careers. The score-
line did not show the whole story
as a slightly lopsided final score of
70-54 was emblazoned on the wall.
Our boys were truly Samurai
for three consecutive days at this year
Far East Division II basketball tour-
nament held here on MCAS Iwakuni.
Due to budget cuts, the length of the
tournament was shortened by one day
from the customary four days allotted
for play. The resulting schedule was
consequently beyond unimaginable.
The first day the boys ran out
winners with four consecutive wins in
shortened matches against OCSI, Zion,
Osan and EJ King. Sophomore Vince
Ermitano was the standout performer
scoring over 10 points each match and
even hitting 22 against EJ King along-
side Bernard. The second day, the boys
won their first two matches against
Humphreys and Zama, but faced a dif-
ficult task getting past eventual cham-
pions Daegu in the third match. In the
seventh match of the tournament, the
Samurai were barely beaten by the War-
riors, 45-44. The Samurai went on to tie
Edgren in the final match of the day.
Believe it or not, the team had
to play five… let me repeat, FIVE full
matches on the final day of the tour-
nament. Overall, the team completed
THIRTEEN matches in three days,
a ridiculous number
and most definite-
ly against DoDEA
policy for number
of games allowed
to be played within a
certain timeframe. De- s p i t e
the difficulties facing the boys, mainly
physical and mention exhaustion, the
team came out booming with a well-de-
served win against the Zama Trojans.
Following that match, the team beat
OCSI once again by a margin of
over 20 points. Then came the
toughest match of their season,
a semifinal matchup against Dae-
gu for the second time of the tourna-
ment. Although Ermitano banged in 20
points and Jon Cadavos netted
14, the team was not able to
quite hold out and barely lost
in the dying seconds after
a spirited c o m e -
b a c k ,
58-56.
The team had to fight their way back out
of the loser’s bracket, defeating the Tro-
jans for the third time 52-37, to reach
the final game against Daegu. After
already playing 12 matches against
high level opposition, the exhaustion
caught up to the boys as they barely lost
after keeping up with the Warriors
until late in the fourth quarter.
Ziola put it best, saying “We
gave it our all. We left it all on
the court.” The team finished
second place in the tournament
with Ermitano and Cadavos earn-
ing All-Far East accolades. All
though we did not capture the
much elusive banner that has
been haunting our gym since
the last title in ’96, our boys
brought an immense feeling of
pride to the school and made
us all feel truly blessed to be
Samurai. Congratulations
on a fantastic season, al-
most perfect Far East.
Ante Rosales
arosa5189@student.dodea.edu
A
tough week that ended with
a n even more gruesome bus
ride back home for the 2013-
14 Matthew C. Perry Wres-
tling team who attended the 2014 Far
East Wrestling Tournament. The Per-
ry wrestling team came out third place
for the team award in the tournament.
16 teams were participating in
the three day event which caused many
meets to be played in one day. On their
first day, the Perry team was eliminat-
ed out of the duals meet, but the other
d a y s are where
Perry
show-
c a s e d
their
wres-
tling abilities. The top wrestlers from
Perry were sophomore Miles Saulsber-
ry and junior Tristan Graydon who both
won 1 dual and lost 2. Freshman Make-
la Adams, Freshman Kieren McIntyre
, Freshman
Moziah Stew-
art, Freshman
Lucas Holsop-
ple, and Soph-
omore Christo-
pher lynch all
lost 2 meets, but not without a
fight. When asked about his
thought on the team’s
effort, Sauls-
berry said “we
all did a great
job even we
got eliminated
the first day
in the duals
meet the
n e x t
t w o
d a y s
w e n t
great
a n d
o u t
of 7
Ante Rosales
aros5189@student.dodea.edu
T
he Matthew C. Perry High
School’s girls basketball
team gave it their all this sea-
son , but as it was winding
down towards the Far East week, they
were told that they were not going to
be able to attend the tournament that
was held at Camp walker and Camp
George in South Korea. They finished
the season off with a record of 1-13.
The main reason that the girls
basketball team did not travel to the
tournament was a shortage of players.
In a tournament where you have to play
many game in one day, there must be
enough player so that a player that has
been hustling down court for 2 games
straight can catch a breath. Another sce-
nario is if a player get injured there must
be someone else to take her position.
“I wish we could have gone, but
fate wasn’t exactly on our side this year.
injuries,lownumbersofplayersandother
issues definitely made going to Far East a
conflict” said Senior Lakeyia Brown who
was one of the three seniors on the team.
Hopefully next year our Lady
Samurai basketball team will be able to
competeinnextyear’sfareasttournament.
teams we placed 3rd”
Unfortunately, the tournament
itself was not the most challenging part
of the trip. It was a treacherous 26 hour
bus ride that they were forced to endure
during their return. They were first de-
layed because of heavy snow that caused
traffic on the express way. It continued
until the express way was closed for
14 hours causing a hefty delay. Many
might think that this would be a bad
thing, but some team members thought
that it was fun because they were able
to talk and spend time with their fel-
low teammates. “We all had our heads
up high and a sense of satisfaction in
our minds. The ride back though, left
us exhausted and just plain cramped
in that bus. 26 hour bus ride is by far
our limit for road trips” Said Graydon.
Never the less, the 2013-24
Perry Wrestling team did not let a 26
bus ride to weaken the fun that they
had during as successful tournament.
“...26 hour bus ride is
by far our limit for road
trips”
26 hours of team
Bonding
on the Court:
In our Hearts
SilverSilver
Gold
10 Samur-Eye / February 2013 Sports