The power of pumpkin pie

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On Nov. 18, senior Valerie Ortiz competes in the pie-eating contest, representing Downey cheer, in front of Stay Gallery, to help raise money for the less fortunate families in Downey. “Having pumpkin pie inside my nose wasn’t the best feeling,” Ortiz said.

Vivian Buenrostro, Co-Editor-in-Cheif
December 9, 2014

Instead of hurrying home after school on Wednesday, Nov. 18, students from Downey and Warren High gathered at Stay Gallery to cheer on their classmates participating in a pie eating contest.

The contest was arranged by Warren’s Stay Connected club with hopes of raising $700 to donate to the needy families in Downey just in time for Thanksgiving. Stay Connected used Stay Gallery for hosting purposes, but to make things more interesting, they decided to rekindle the Downey-Warren rivalry by reaching out to a few organizations from each school. The tag teams that participated had to finish an entire pumpkin pie with their hands behind their backs. The first team to finish three pies won that round. Best three out of four rounds would be named pie eating champions.

The first round featured tag teams made up of Downey’s versus Warren’s ASB. They were neck in neck, but sophomore Jonathon Jin finished his pumpkin pie first giving the win to Downey for the first round.

“Besides the glaring fact that I felt absolutely gorged, I felt an immense sense of satisfaction in representing Downey for such a charitable cause,” Jin said.

The second round included cheer, and as the crowd got rowdier, the pressure intensified. Downey won making the score 2-0. Varsity’s cheer senior Valerie Ortiz shared her thoughts on the event.

“It was nice to have my classmates support and chant for me for a change,” Ortiz said.

The third and fourth rounds included boys and girls cross country. Warren took the win for both of those rounds leaving the two schools tied. In order to break the tie, Downey’s Amigo’s club volunteered to go against Warren’s Key Club. The most intense round of all led to a Viking defeat.

Before Stay Connected could wrap up the event, Councilmen Mario Guerra got on stage and said that he noticed the crowd from his office across the street. Intrigued, he walked over to realize that it was a student run event with a purpose to help out their community.

“You guys were close, about $200 shy of your goal, and I’m going to pay that difference because I think what you guys are doing for your community is great,” Guerra said.

Guerra agreed to donate under the condition that a Stay Gallery director would receive a pie in the face. The event ended with Valentine Flores having a pie slammed to his face by Guerra.

Regardless of the competition, it was a gratifying afternoon for both Vikings and Bears to know that they took part in aiding the less fortunate families within their community for the Holiday season.

About the Contributors

Vivian Buenrostro, Co-Editor-in-Cheif

Senior Vivian Buenrostro is not only a writer for The Downey Legend online newspaper, but has also taken on the responsibility of Co-Editor-In-Chief. Having been a part of the newspaper staff since her sophomore year, she has experience with the different positions and has even held the positions of Arts and Entertainment Section Editor and Song of the Week Editor. “Newspaper has been one awesome ride these past three years,” Buenrostro said. “I’ve learned skills that are applicable to everything and anything.” Although Co-Editor-In-Chief is a tough and tedious job, Buenrostro is ready to take on the challenge. Throughout this year on staff she hopes to build a close bond with all of the staff members and have productive deadlines.

When she is not running the staff or writing stories, Buenrostro enjoys jogs around her neighborhood, making healthy shakes and other concoctions, or swimming in the waves at Huntington Beach. “Time doesn’t really exist when I’m in the ocean,” Buenrostro said. Buenrostro also loves live music; she has been to various concerts including Young the Giant, Arctic Monkeys, and Walk the Moon. Buenrostro plans to graduate and attend an out of state school far from California. “As much as I love Downey High,” Buenrostro said, “I can’t wait to go to college in a new environment.” While away at college she hopes to major in biology and medicine to start her path towards her career goal of being a doctor. Buenrostro aims to make her final year at Downey High School rewarding in both her academics and her position on The Downey Legend staff.

Karen Ariciaga, Co-Photo Editor

Senior Karen Ariciaga is starting her second year in Newspaper, and she enjoyed her position very much. She entered Newspaper with a position, as photographer last year, was her first year actually knowing how to work the cameras and take pictures on a professional camera. As a photographer, she has a job of taking pictures of sports events, rallies, and school events. “I really liked taking pictures for events, it was a way for me to see what was going around me,” Agriciaga said. “Being a photographer seems like a fun job, but there is also work that comes with it, there’s a balance.” stated Agriciaga stated. Her goals for newspaper are to enjoy every minute of it.

Photography is one of her many interests, she also enjoys re-watching old TV series such as Gossip Girl in her spare time. “Blair is my favorite,” Ariciaga stated. Other than Gossip Girl, she loves to sleep and eat Sushi, “I can eat sushi it all the time,” said Ariciaga. As a senior, one of her plans for this year is to go to all the dances. Ariciaga wants to be a lawyer when she is older. “I love the feeling of winning an argument,” she said. She plans to attend Loyola Marymount University after high school and wants be signed to a firm after college in hopes of fulfilling her goals. “ I want to get higher scores on my SATs’, pass with straight As, and join more school activities,” Ariciaga said, Her back up plan is to go to San Francisco State and fall back on business, so she is applying for scholarships and other colleges just in case. She is very focused on her career; Karen Ariciaga is very dedicated to get what she wants in life. She is taking steps to get to where she wants and going through it with a great attitude toward her up and coming year.