The Lincoln Log

by Colleen Ma

Only eight days after his fifteenth birthday, would-be sophomore Alain Lazcano drowned in Lake Berryessa in Napa county, after heroically saving the life of another young girl on August 17, 2008.

Lazcano’s service was held a few days afterwards, and the chapel was brimming with tearful friends, family members, school mates, and Lincoln faculty.

Among the Lincoln faculty members who attended was English second language counselor Rogelio Santillan, who worked directly with Lorenzo.

“I feel like I let him go without inviting him to come back,” said Santillan.

Last year, the two had been working on a series of interviews in which Lazcano would discuss how he was adjusting to high school school.

“He didn’t know that I was going to ask him to come in again, and now, I cannot.”

Known as a friendly and social student, Lazcano worked hard to do well in school. He came from a large family of immigrants from Mexico, and aspired to graduate from high school and attend college, like his two older sisters.

His favorite subjects in school included English and History, and his willingness to learn was exceptional.

“Alain was an enthusiastic learner, a leader, and a gentleman, said Richard Sylvester, Lazcano’s ninth grade English teacher. “I miss him.”

Though Lazcano was not an exceptional student academically, he always made the effort to get the best of his education.

“He was putting in extra effort to get to know teachers and for them to get to know him,” said Santillan.

“He knew he had to adjust to our [school] discipline…he had to find out how to work in a high school that gave him freedom and independence [unlike middle school].”

A thorough thinker, Lazcano had planned on joining the Lincoln football team this year in order to “build strength and character,” as quoted from one of the interviews that Lazcano had completed at the end of his freshman year with Santillan. He had also found dancing to be an effective outlet for stress, and appreciated calm and relaxed moments.

Many Lincoln students were devastated by the incident, and set up memorials everywhere – myspace.com, facebook.com, and on personal websites. Undoubtedly, his family was greatly affected and mourned the loss of their son, brother, cousin, or nephew with immense grief.

Lazcano’s mother took him to be buried back home, in a town called San Martin Texmelucan in Puebla, Mexico, sixty miles northeast of Mexico City. She was simply following their family tradition, wishing for him to be close to his heritage (his grandparents were buried there), and felt safer with him there.

A Lincoln student with much to be respected for, Lazcano gave up his life in order save another’s life, and will be remembered for his bravery and spirit; his presence will be missed at Lincoln.

by Tina Chung

It was on June 22, 2008 when tragedy struck – one Lincoln student and the other a Lincoln alumnus were shot to death, along with their father, while driving in the Excelsior district. 48-year old Tony Bologna, 20-year old Michael Bologna and 16-year old Matthew Bologna died within moments of the incident.

Tony Bologna drove in front of the murderer’s car, temporarily blocking the vehicle from making a left turn. The shooter, Edwin Ramos, drove around the Bologna family’s vehicle, and without a word, pulled the trigger of his gun, leading to their three deaths. Reports have been made that this homicide was not due to road rage, but because of the victim’s ethnicities.

Hereafter, police made investigations and arrested the suspect, Edwin Ramos, who was an illegal alien. Ramos is involved in a gang named MS-13, mainly made up of El Salvadorians, Guatemalans, and various Central Americans. These gang members have committed numerous offenses directed towards people that appeared to be Latinos or African Americans.

The Bologna family fell innocent to Ramos’s motives, losing their lives in this tragic incident. This tragedy largely impacted the Bologna family, teachers, faculty, as well as the students.

“I cried; it (the incident) was heartbreaking. It still is. They were a family who loved each other and cared for each other. 1,500 people were at the funeral. I sat in the middle of the church and saw at least ten students in every direction,” said dean Joel Balzer. “They were a well loved family, including Andrew, Matthew, and Michael. Life is fragile and precious. Nothing makes up for the loss.”

Indignation, grief, and trauma; all sorts of emotions compiled after the occurrence made headlines over the internet and onto the newspapers. Tragic incidents happen frequently without our mental preparations, but it just so happens that many Lincoln students knew these victims.

“Both Michael and Andrew teacher assisted for two years before graduation. I loved them. They use to share stories about their family, like barbecues or going to grandma’s house to swim. My fondest memory of Michael was when he wrote a note on the back of a picture, thanked me for teaching him how to be a good person, being nice and behaving properly,” said Paula Martinezmoles. “I didn’t realize I affected him. Michael always had a temper, but he was a young man with a big, loving heart.”

Both Michael and Matthew Bologna had a huge impact on our Lincoln community. Their spirit, courage, and kindness was limitless.

“I remember each one individually,” said principal Ronald Pang. “Michael had a hard time in the beginning, but strengthened himself up and graduated on time. I use to call Michael ‘Big Bologna,” and Matthew ‘Pepperoni.’ No matter what they did, I always saw the kindness that they had. The Bologna family was willing to help (them) when they were needed.”

Softly, Pang added, “Appreciate your family, show them love, because they can be quickly taken away from you.”

A memorial was set up to commiserate the Bologna family, a traditional custom to do at Lincoln when somebody passes away. Their memorial no longer stands in the window by the main office, but their spirits will live on forever as beloved Mustangs.