Bruins lend a hand to brainy teens
By Maria Lemus
Feb. 8, 2009 10:36 p.m.
Ackerman Union was buzzing with 500 high school students Saturday as participants of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Academic Decathlon competition filled the building.
With some sporting leather jackets imprinted with “Academic Decathlon,” students lined up at tables to compete in the district round of the National Academic Decathlon.
Members of Gamma Zeta Alpha Inc., a Latino fraternity, proctored the event, which featured seven 30-minute quizzes on topics such as math, economics, social science, art, music and a special subject, which this year was Latin America.
Gilberto Sotelo, Gamma Zeta Alpha’s social chair, said the California Academic Decathlon featured Latin America to recognize the state fraternity’s contribution to the program.
The fraternity celebrated its third year as official sponsors of the California Academic Decathlon, and members of the fraternity said they were proud to be honored in that way.
“It is giving exposure to a (subject) that is not always covered in high school,” said Christian Diaz, a UCLA and Gamma Zeta Alpha alumnus, who helped proctor the decathlon.
The district round, which is the second of four rounds of competition, began with speeches and interviews from the competitors earlier in the week, Sotelo said. On Saturday, the teams were broken down into three levels based on GPA.
“You get to see a wide range of students. It’s good that they are putting this much focus on something that will benefit them,” Sotelo said.
Priyanka Kumar, a senior at El Camino Real High School, said she enjoyed the diversity of students who attended the event.
“The Academic Decathlon brings a variety of kids together,” Kumar said. “It’s kind of like taking the SATs. It’s long and stressful, but I enjoy it.”
As the only round in which parents can attend, the event gave friends and family the chance to bring motivational posters to show their encouragement.
UCLA’s Gamma Zeta Alpha chapter was established in 2000 and upholds the principles of academic achievement, involvement in community service and preservation of the Latino culture through congenial brotherhood, Sotelo said.
The fraternity also volunteers and raises money for the American Diabetes Association and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Despite being busy preparing for law school, Diaz said the impact of the decathlon on high school students encouraged him to volunteer for another year.
The Academic Decathlon gives a push to the students who have an interest in higher education, Diaz said.
“It helped me develop my public-speaking skills,” he said on his experiences in the competition. “You also have to learn a lot of material in a short amount of time, and it helps you time manage your work.”
The Gamma Zeta Alpha, Inc.’s sponsorship also motivated the Decathlon participants, who were impressed by their impact in the community.
Three teams will be selected as winners later this week based on the average score of the quizzes. They will then compete in the California Academic Decathlon to be held March 13-16 in Sacramento.
Sixty high school teams will compete for the 2009 state title, according to a decathlon statement.
“California has won the national title the last six consecutive years contributing to its 15 national titles. In 27 years of national competition, California has placed first or second every year but one,” said Ken Scarberry, California Academic Decathlon’s executive director in the statement.
