Ulysses S. Grant High School is a public high school located in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, in the east central San Fernando Valley. It is located adjacent to Los Angeles Valley College. It is part of District North 2 of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves several areas, including Valley Glen, much of Sherman Oaks, and sections of both Van Nuys and North Hollywood. Its mascot is the Lancer and the school colors are brown, orange, and white. The school motto is: "What we are to be we are now becoming." The school newspaper is called The Odyssey in reference to President Grant's first name - Ulysses - the main character in Homer's epic The Odyssey. There is a school tradition that, on or about April 1, a satirical issue is distributed called the "Oddity", which contains comical and irreverent articles. Past "articles" have been about finals being canceled, the school being closed, rats infesting the cafeteria, clothing-optional P.E. classes, etc. The school yearbook is called The Shield. Connected to Grant High School is a communications/technology magnet which emphasizes smaller class sizes and communications technology electives including film/video production, broadcast journalism, computer technology, graphic communications, and performing arts. History Grant opened as a high school in September 1959. Grant's original purpose was to serve as a high school for the families of World War II veterans who were moving into the San Fernando Valley. Its first students were baby boomers moving into suburban houses in the Valley. It was in the Los Angeles City High School District until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD. Reut Cohen of Neon Tommy, a publication of the Annenberg Media Center, wrote that in the 1970s and 1980s the school was "regarded as an excellent public institution." In the 1990s there was ethnic tension between the Armenian students and the Hispanic and Latino students. An LAUSD official stated a belief that the tension may have originated from earthquake relief drives held in the 1980s which were meant to benefit Armenia and Mexico. Cohen stated that the ethnic tensions were a major factor in the decline of Grant's reputation in the 1990s. The tensions exploded on October 21, 1999 when a fight between an Armenian girl and a Latina girl turned into a fight among 200 students. The fight resulted in 40 students being detained and minor