DGG February 26, 2020

DGG Dry Gulch Gazette Arroyo High School | Volume 59 Issue 3 | Feb. 26, 2020

Looking Back

UC Decision Dates Listed below are the college decision dates according to the University of California website.

Berkeley Photo | Samantha Wang

Seniors Hailey Silveira and Charlz-Clide Pidoy sing at the Talent Show on Feb. 21.

3/26

Davis

mid-March

Irvine

March 1-31

Los Angeles mid-March

Photo | Nanda Bean

Senior Celeste Macias and the girl’s varsity soccer team played against SLZ on Feb. 6.

Merced

mid-March

Riverside 3/31

San Diego 3/15 - 3/31

Santa Barbara 3/17

Photo Courtesy of Elaine Lin

ASA Action Sports athletes prepare to perform tricks for the crowd on Feb. 11.

2

Santa Cruz 3/15 - 3/31

Illustration| Vivian Liu and Chris Yalung

8

TABLE OF CONTENTS CAMPUS

4 - SATs 5 - Remembering Netzali Can 6 - AHS Elections 8 - Primaries Voting 10 - Blacktop Rule

22

26

COMMUNITY

11 - Living Locally 12 - San Lorenzo Theater 13 - Transgender Name Law 14 - Environmental Activism

32

A CLOSER LOOK

24

15 - Online Communities

20

OPINION

20 - Stop Requiring SATs 21 - Astrology Shouldn’t Dictate

ARTS & CULTURE

22 - Beauty Business 23 - Marching Band GoFundMe 24 - TikTok 25 - Astrology 26 - Talent Show 27 - Metal Band/Club

28

14

23

SPORTS

28 - First-Time Athletes 29 - Track Coach 30 - Athlete Stereotypes 31 - Jewelry

COLUMN

29

32 - Vote to Fix Issues

Cover Photo Illustration | Trinity Mai and Samantha Wang

CONTENTS

3

SAT Tests Under Criticism

UC utilization of standardized test in applications are under fire.

4

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Oct. 2019

Governor Newsom of California vetoes law allowing schools to allow SAT/ACT tests to measure 11th grade federal testing requirements.

Newsom cited racial and economic inequalities in his decision.

Compton Unified School District amongst other student advocacy groups near Los Angeles threaten to sue UC System if use of standardized tests if applications continue.

Dec. 2019

Oct. 2019

UC Academic Senate forms Standardized Testing Task Force (STTF) to investigate use of standardized tests in application processes. ACR-64 was passed by the California Senate in September proposing support of this committee.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ voiced support for discarding standardized tests in application processes. UC Provost Michael Brown and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia K. Larive voiced the same support.

Feb. 2020

A

s 431,000 California students in 2019 took their SAT tests in order to fulfill their college application requirements, the actual use of the SAT and similar ACT tests were criticized throughout the year.

These entrance exams were scrutinized by multiple UC regents and leaders, while their expansion in California schools were rejected by the California government. The UC system was also threatened by lawsuits from the Compton Unified School District for the unfair disadvantages lesser privileged students faced on the tests.

As the Career Center Specialist, Cecilia Adams assists students with affairs beyond high school, including SAT and ACT tests.

Adams believes that these tests have strayed from their intended purpose.

“SAT was originated by California UC system to determine whether a student can handle college by having this extra test be a part of their application process.

Unfortunately, what happened over time is that not only has it become an economic disparity, but it’s also become a systematic disparity too,” Adams said.

Future Academy leader Brian Fredin delves into the education system, and also goes over the flaws of many colleges and overall academic functions in his Introduction to Education class. One of the flaws Fredin teaches is how a student’s financial status can affect what academic advantages they have.

“SAT scores are really a reflection of how much money your family makes. The higher income students score on average higher on an ACT or an SAT, which suggests there is bias on the test,” Fredin said.

A 2013 study conducted by three university professors titled Race, Poverty, and SAT Scores saw that higher income students gained on average higher scores than lowincome students, and this disparity doubles when compared to low-income minority students. SAT have tried solving these problems through the failed implementation of an adversity score and have claimed to change the structure of the test to deter any discriminatory practices.

Other than the accuracy of these tests, the primary functions of the test scores are argued to be outdated. More high school students are now pursuing higher academic classes along with their regular classes in order to appeal to more colleges.

AHS currently offers 15 AP classes and other concurrent enrollment classes on campus. Students are also encouraged by

Jan. 2019

By Sebastian Lopez

STTF reports to the UC Senate that their study found that standardized test scores were not the biggest factor in racial underrepresentation in UC Campuses. STTF recommends UC create their own entrance test as replacement.

the counselor’s office to take college courses over the summer.

“The other reason SAT was initially put out there was to assess [a] student’s academic success in a college setting, but what we’re seeing today is that students are already taking college courses at a high school level.

So is it necessary that they have to prove to the university that they can handle a college course again?” Adams said.

As the fate of these tests may seem weary, the alternatives that may replace them might be something academics are already familiar with.

“Your GPA is a better predictor [of college success], so [for] students who have a very good GPA but their SAT scores are not as high, they might have a better chance of going to college,” Fredin said.

Fredin referred to a recent study from the University of Chicago, which studied the relationships between GPAs, standardized test scores, and college graduation rates.

What the study found was that GPAs had a stronger relationship with college graduation through all schools while test scores had a weaker connection and varied depending on the school.

More and more colleges across the country are starting to drop the standardized test scores from their admissions process and started to rely on other features to determine a student’s acceptance. Many argue that with the nearly 200,000 students that apply to the UC system each year, UC needs to start investing in a more comprehensive and fair process.

“You can look at personal statements, you can look at letters of recommendation...If you really wanna know what kind of students you’re getting, you look at their GPA, and you allow them to write essays and have letters of recommendation—they don’t do that right now because they have to filter as many kids through the process,” Fredin said.

The UC Board set up their own research panel to investigate the claims against the tests last year, and came to a conclusion earlier this month. The panel claimed to not have found substantial evidence against the tests and recommended to keep the entrance exams until the UC system could create their own tests, which is estimated to take up to nine years. The UC Board has set up a deadline for their final decision on the tests

by May. •

Remembering Netzali Can Events and scholarships are being organized to recognize an alumni.

By Vivian Liu

N

etzali Can, class of 2019, passed away early Jan. on a family trip in Guatemala. A memorial service was held for her on Jan. 25 at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living.

Can was a phenomenal three-sport varsity athlete and a scholar student, and is remembered fondly by her teachers. She was captain for her cross country team, soccer and club soccer team, and a varsity athlete for track and field.

Samantha Johnson, biology teacher, is organizing a scholarship along with other groups to honor Can’s legacy. Johnson is working out the logistics with the district to ensure the longetivity of the scholarship.

“We have a lot of alumni that knew her or that know her family, and when the word started getting out...people really wanted to do something to honor her in a meaningful way, and the idea was because she was so involved in the Health and Medicine Academy and such an academic rockstar, was to create some kind of scholarship in her memory... We want to work with the athletics group and also other people that are interested in being involved,” Johnson said.

A soccer game in honor of Can, organized by the senior girls on the varsity soccer team,

took place on Feb. 6. Andy Waranoff, athletic director and coach for the girl’s soccer team, spoke about Can in his speech and a

Photo | Firstname Lastname

Photo Courtesy of Anvin Tang

Netzali Can running on the track. moment of silence was held before the game.

Waranoff and the varsity girl’s soccer team

plan to retire Can’s jersey near the track to have her presence there.

“After we found out about her passing, Waranoff said we all wear black badges, and we have been wearing it for the rest of our season [during games],” senior Michelle Garcia said. Garcia was one of the varsity athletes who helped organize the soccer game. “We were talking about retiring her jersey, maybe putting it in the stands over there near the field because her number was sixteen and that’s how I will always remember her.”

Eckloff ultimately believes Can is a model of someone who overcame adversity and can serve as someone to look up to for future generations.

“I would hope that students remember Netzi’s work ethic and her courage. She faced a lot of self-doubt in her life and she overcame it and it made her a much stronger, empathetic person and the result was a very kind-hearted person. And I think we can use her as an example for future Dons who might have doubts about their own securities and how they can overcome them and achieve at levels that she achieved,” Eckloff said. •

Teachers share fond memories of Netzali Can.

Photo | Vivian Liu

“Netzi turned in a project where she talked about her future dreams and what she wanted to achieve. It was all about how she wanted to give back and help people who that were less fortunate, and that captured Netzi in a nutshell. She worked hard to help those who needed help.”

- Philosophy and Government/Economics Teacher Andrew Eckloff

Photo | Elton Wong

“Netzi was late to every Wednesday practice. She would go home to eat lunch to eat or take a nap or who knows. And we would start 3:30 promptly, and sure enough, she would come super late, sprinting in from the parking lot, wearing her cross country sweatpants, dressed, her cleats on as she drove to practice... And she always had this sort of ‘What?’ smiling and she would jump right in and it was hard to be mad because she was laughing about it...”

- Athletic Director and Girl’s Soccer Coach Andy Waranoff

Photo | Vivian Liu

“I presented Netzi’s [Health and Medicine Academy Award]... I was honored that she selected me because a lot of the staff members had a really close relationship with her... Trying to put everything about her into a one to two minute presentation was really hard. So sitting down, writing it, and really thinking about what I wanted to say and... watching how excited she was to graduate with distinction... I think it was a good moment with her.”

- Science Teacher Samantha Johnson

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Rolling Into Elections Leadership students reflect on the importance of AHS Elections.

By Alexis May Go and Dorothy Hoang

G

oing into the 2019 ASB elections, senior Hannaliza Sapida didn’t expect to run for ASB president. She initially wanted to run for the position of secretary.

However, after further pondering, she settled down with running for ASB president. As the time of elections are approaching, it is time for Sapida to dethrone herself.

ASB elections occur every Feb. with a handful of students choosing to run for a position in the student body. Last year, candidates persuaded voters to vote for them because they had experience in Leadership, are hardworking and trustworthy, and even included their resume of being previous class presidents.

Many of those who chose to run for a position in the student body do so because they want to make a change. Sapida and ASB Vice President Hailey Silvera go to the district office every other Tuesday to give the Board of Education updates on occurrences at AHS. In addition, she attends ASB meetings, meetings with class presidents, commissioners, and school site councils that happen every month.

Sapida said that she decided to take on this important role in order to make a change.

“People would have problems within the school and I [felt] like leadership was very onto itself and unless you were a Leadership kid, you couldn’t really make things happen,” Sapida said.

Junior Nathalie Bombase will be the only candidate running for next year’s ASB President. Her motives behind running for ASB President were because her peers envisioned her as the next ASB President and she believed that the ASB President held the most important role at school.

How important is voting in AHS elections?

Based on a survey of 223 students at AHS...

624

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“I remember students in leadership telling me at the beginning at the school year that they already had the idea of me taking over as ASB President when I was a senior and I guess that got me thinking that maybe I was capable of doing something like this… if you’re a class president you don’t necessarily have the same power that an ASB President would hold,” Bombase said.

Sapida recalled activities director Jennifer Rodriguez telling the 2019 candidates to write down their desired position but that they can change if they wished later on.

Sapida decided to switch from the race for Secretary to the race for President because she felt that it would give her more control and to hear insight from other people.

However, the question of the matter seems to be about how effective campaign mottos are.

Sapida admitted that not all voters vote because they want to be involved in their school but rather they wanted to support their friends who were running for a position.

“Of course it’s something that I would like to change within this upcoming term but people vote to vote on you know their friends or the people they know,” Sapida said. “I feel like a person can be really spirited, they can participate in every spirit day, they can attend all the events but... if they don’t know the candidates, I would understand as to why they don’t feel the need to vote,” Sapida said.

Bombase believes students who vote chose to vote because a well known classmate is running. Not only is populariwty a factor but also the voters’ judgement of whether or not a candidate is deserving of their position.

“I really think it’s both [popularity and a candidate’s capatibility for their position].

There’s no way to control the popularity aspect of an election. There’s always going to be someone that a lot of people know and someone that not as many people know.

Students who are going to vote have an idea of who deserves the position and who doesn’t,” Bombase said.

On the other hand, not all people choose to vote. Activities director Jennifer Rodriguez, believes that people who choose to not participate do not care about their voice being heard.

“It’s like some [students] don’t dress up and participate because they really don’t care or some people think my vote doesn’t count or there’s only one candidate so it doesn’t matter.” Rodriguez said.

Also, interestingly, in most of the 2019 positions, there was only one candidate running. Sapida again saw as to why people did not vote in the previous election.

As her term is coming to an end, Sapida wants to say this to the next ASB President: “I want [you] to be stern [... and] I want you to be friendly like create a relationship with the people that you’re working with but at the same time build that respect to be taken seriously and be kinda like determined [because] being ASB President is a lot and you are going to feel overworked [...] But just remember that at the end of every event [and knowing that you worked so hard] it’s very rewarding,” Sapida said. •

Vote for your candidate on Thursday, February 27th in the quad at lunch!

MEET THE CANDIDATES Nathalie Bombase I want to run for ASB President because I’m passionate about being involved in the community and enjoy project planning.

Jenny Lei I chose to run for ASB Executive Officer because I’m very capable of doing whatever needs to be done and I’m very dedicated to the work I do.

Ronald Nguyen I decided to run for Rally Commissioner because I want to increase the spirit and energy at Arroyo.

Erica Xie I chose to run for Athletic Commissioner and Historian because it helps me get more involved in school and show my school spirit.

Catalina Do I chose to run for ASB Vice President because I wanted to challenge myself a little bit more and hopefully inspire others on campus to do the same!

Annie Xu I chose to run for ASB executive officer so I could be involved with the school in more ways.

Brandon Lee I’ve decided to run for ASB Secretary because I will work with the other ASB officers to ensure that we get the student’s voices heard and that the years to come are fun unforgettable memories.

Tristen Nicdao I want our last year of high school to be memorable!

Laura Son I’m running for Senior Class President because I want to create inclusive events for my class to enjoy and create memories with.

Esai-Romero Cruz I have been Class Vice President for the last two years and I felt like I was ready for a higher position.

Emily Nguyen I’m running for office because I want to be able to improve class events and create a stronger bond within our class.

Briana Yulo I want to make a change in the school to hear the kids’ voices because they/we make the school.

I want to be able to carry out communication through the board so we can get tasks done faster.

Janelle Pascual I wanted to run as rally commissioner because I’ve had the experience before and I wanted to lift up the spirit during rallies.

Maile Kim I chose to participate in this year’s election because I want to get involved as well as gain more experience in working with others, organizing events, and improving my leadership skills.

Queena Huang

Walda Chen I chose to run for Junior Class Executive Officer because I think that this position will give me some experience in a leadership position and give me an opportunity to express my ideas to benefit the junior class.

Kevin Celedonio

I decided to run because I just really love leadership and hope to become a better leader by running for a position.

Photos | Alexis May Go

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So You’re Thinking About Voting

By Alexis Quino and Claire Ramos

M

any people do it.

Only adults do it, but eventually everyone does it at least once. Some do it more than others, and some are more enthusiastic about it. The first time can be a little intimidating, but voting is a coming-of-age experience. •

Illustration | Crystal Yeung

Too Young to Vote

Not Voting

Junior Christopher McNicholas

Senior Ramil Briones

Photo | Claire Ramos

J

unior Christopher McNicholas has been interested in politics because of modern politics and current world affairs.

“There is so much going on and everything is so one-sided, and there are so many conflicts that there is no avoiding politics,” McNicholas said.

Although he will only be 17 during the 2020 election and therefore unable to vote, he will be very interested in what happens during the primaries.

“It’s important to vote because you have the right to vote, and you should be able to express your right. It also can determine the future, people you put iwn power, [and] laws that are made,” McNicholas said.

The 2020 presidential election will take place in Nov. but the primary elections will be held Tuesday, March 3, to eliminate all but one candidate from each party. Most AHS students will not be old enough to vote during this election. However, a number of them will be 18. A few students like McNicholas will be eager to vote while others will not.

“Voting is our right, and when you vote it’s a form of activism because you get to express your opinions,” McNicholas said.

McNicholas believes that voting is important because it allows citizens to take advantage in democracy and have a voice.

Although it is understood that promises are not always upheld by candidates, which deters people from voting, McNicholas believes that you can be assured of your vote by researching the candidates and being aware of their past to make an informed decision. •

Illustration | Crystal Yeung

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Photo | Alexis Quino

W

ith the primary elections coming up on March 3, there will be students who will be eligible to participate in the voting process. The primaries are the main way for people to choose their preferred candidates and parties for the presidential elections in Nov. However, just as there are students who will vote, there are those who are choosing not to. Despite being of age, senior Ramil Briones is among those who will not be voting in this year’s primaries.

Out of thirty responses from a survey we conducted at AHS, 58.3% of students will be old enough to vote by March, but they are also choosing not to vote.

Even though he is not voting, Briones still thinks his vote would matter.

“It will matter in one way or another. If it comes down to...just a thousand votes, my vote would have mattered,” Briones said.

Briones believes that 2016 Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton could have won the 2016 presidential election if more people had voted, but because everyone assumed she would win, not many felt as if their vote would have mattered anyway.

There are a lot of reasons why students and people in general do not vote. For some, it may be due to the fact that they do not want to or that they are not very interested in politics. For others, it may be because they feel as if their vote would not matter.

Although there are those who believe it is vital for everyone to vote and participate, it is ultimately an individual decision. “[I] personally don’t feel obligated to go out and vote,” Briones said. •

Too Young to Vote

Voting

N

ot all students are skipping out on their first vote. Senior Victor Delatorre is choosing to participate in the primaries as well as working the poll booths.

Delatorre recently turned 18, and although he is working the poll booths and planning to vote, the last thing he needs to do is register to vote.

41.7% of the students that are old enough will be voting in March, and 100% of those are not registered to vote yet.

However, unlike senior Ramil Briones who believes each vote is important, Delatorre believes that his vote alone would not matter too much.

“One person’s vote alone...won’t matter but a bunch of people voting together [will],” Delatorre said.

If students feel like their vote does not matter, then why should they still choose to vote?

Despite believing his single vote would not be of too much importance, Delatorre still thinks it is important to go out and vote. “[J]ust like any other citizen, I need to get my opinion out there to make sure the politicians know what we need because they are out there representing our needs and our wants,” Delatorre said. “I want to make sure I’m going to pick the right one who’ll benefit us the most.” •

Teacher Jodi Soares

Senior Daniel Williams

Senior Victor Delatorre Photo | Alexis Quino

Voting

Photo | Alexis Quino

W

ith our generation becoming more politically aware and active, many people, such as The National Youth Rights Association, believe the voting age should be lowered. In fact, teenagers as young as 16 are allowed to register early.

However, there are many seniors who would not be 18 by the time primaries roll around and will miss their opportunity to vote for a presidential candidate.

Senior Daniel Williams would not be able to vote in March but will be able to in Nov. With the current state of politics, many students who are below the age requirement are annoyed by the restriction.

“Yes, [it’s frustrating not being able to vote] especially with the current political climate,” Williams said.

89.5% of the students we surveyed would not meet the age requirement by March, and 42.9% of those students said they wish the age requirement was lower.

Although he is frustrated by not being able to vote, Williams is on the fence about the age requirement being lowered. “[I] feel there’s good reasons to be holding the line to a standard because it’s like the slippery slope fallacy [a series of events that lead to one major event], but on the other hand, I don’t see why it couldn’t hurt to lower it,” Williams said.

Despite being underage, Williams still believes voting is important and involves a smart decision.

“I think it’s important to vote if you’re paying attention to what’s happening because if you aren’t making an informed decision, then you might as well not make a decision at all,” Williams said. “However, I do believe that everyone should take the time to research...

That way they can make the best choice...so that they can have a better future.” •

Photo | Claire Ramos

S

ocial studies department chair Jodi Soares believes that voting is an important privilege of a U.S. citizen.

Soares believes that by not voting we deny ourselves a voice. Although it can be hard to relate to candidates due to their large political campaigns and the demands of their donors, this next election is a chance to improve on current politics.

“There’s so much room for improvement.

I’m hoping we can’t do any worse,” Soares said.

Soares has been a part of the history department since 2005. She remembers the first time she voted in a national election, which was in 1988.

“When I was a little kid—maybe kindergarten age—my mom took me into the polling place, into the booth where she voted, so it was part of what you did. It was part of our family. It’s just how I grew up,” Soares said.

She believes voting is important because people do not always have the same political views as others, and if there is something that someone disagrees with or wants to change, voting is a great way to express that. It can be hard for teenagers and young adults to have power in politics because candidates have to listen to their campaign donors, but voting can give a group leverage.

“If you don’t vote, you’re not participating [in democracy], and you are letting someone else have a voice,” Soares said.

Soares encourages all of her students to vote and take part in society. By voting, we get a say in our country and a leader we can support.

“I need [my ideal leader] to be knowledgeable enough that they can ask questions of advisors. I need a candidate with compassion [that] they need to care about what the people are going through and a candidate who is aware there are other countries besides the United States. That’s important.” •

Illustration | Crystal Yeung

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Blacktop Now Closed for Lunch AHS closes off multiple areas due to lack of supervision.

By MarcAnthony Ramos

“I

t honestly sucks. I play basketball during lunch everyday, and now I have to stop out of nowhere for no reason,” sophomore Nate Herron said.

Recently, the blacktop has been closed “until further notice” during lunch and break which affected many people, including some who play basketball during lunch and some who like to hang out near the pool, but now the courts, fields, and the parking lots are not open for student use.

Herron claimed he now has to find other things to do.

“It’s been a struggle trying not to be bored while doing nothing in the quad,” Herron said. “I can’t even go off campus yet.”

Assistant Principal Kristian Hinz participated in making the decision.

“We don’t feel [like] we have enough supervision right now to adequately

supervise the entire campus,” Hinz said.

“The blacktop is closed until we have enough people to effectively monitor the areas. It’s not going to be closed forever, so if we can find someone who we can put permanently back there, then we might be able to open it up later on in the year.”

However, this does not mean that students are being unsafe, but they just want to be sure that they have enough personnel just in case something happens. But, Herron disagrees with Hinz.

“I mean I understand why they shut it down now, but it’s not like we were being hella dangerous in the first place. People fall sometimes and get small scrapes but that’s pretty much it,” Herron said.

Herron is not the only student voicing their opinion on the change. Freshman Darren Burch usually plays catch on the

blacktop near the courts during lunch. But now that it is closed, he is not happy about it.

“I feel like I’m just being lazy or something.

I was having fun playing football everyday at lunch, [so] what am I supposed to do now?

Just open it up again,” Burch said.

Hinz wants to make sure that the students are properly accounted for and are being taken care of, and if we do not have enough staff to have an open blacktop, then we will not have an open blacktop.

“The kids’ safety is paramount,” Hinz said.

“I’m not sure when or if the blacktop will open up again, but what I do know is that students will surely be eager to run around on the blacktop once more.” •

DGG Dry Gulch Gazette Arroyo High School | Volume 59 Issue 1 | Nov. 6, 2019

Arroyo High School | Volume 59 Issue 2 | Dec. 18, 2019

nts stude ly ff and fami k at sta m their fro A loo apart living pg. 15

Interested in taking journalism and helping make next year’s issues of the Dry Gulch Gazette?

Come to one of the two informational meetings on Friday 2/28.

Meeting #1: Friday 2/28 @ 11:30 in Room A9 Meeting #2: Friday 2/28 @ 3:15 in Room A9

10

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Living Locally

The secret behind the longstanding businesses of the Manor area.

By Alexis May Go and Dorothy Hoang Super Burger: Opened for more than fifty years, Super Burger is a small diner that is well-known for its burgers and fries dishes, particularly its rib-eye steak sandwich. Many customers also choose to order from a wide variety of milkshake flavors, which include banana, chocolate, mango, strawberry, and many more.

Saigon House: A Vietnamese restaurant offers the flavors of well-known cuisines such as pho and spring rolls.

Mama Lupe’s Cocina: This Hispanic restaurant has been around since 1995 and has a menu ranging from breakfast burritos to quesadillas for lunch or dinner. However, their staple food are their carnitas.

Manor Point Kitchen: A new addition to the Manor Shopping Center, this Chinese restaurant is known for its roasted duck and roasted pork BBQ.

MANOR BLVD.

FARNSWORTH ST.

Illustrations | Dorothy Hoang and Alexis May Go

Clancy’s Ice Cream Parlour

Porky’s Pizza Palace

O

pened since 1975, this small ice cream shop was established by two families: an Irish family and a Chinese family.

John Clancy, who is now retired but continues to work at his family shop, says that there is a secret to their success.

“We got the good quality and [secondly we give] bigger amount—like one scoop used to be four ounces, [but] when you come in here we give you almost eight [ounces…]—and [for a] cheap [price],” Clancy said.

He also acknowledged that their shop’s most popular flavors include mango, ube, and macapuno. He believes that the reason why those flavors are so popular is due to the diverse Asian community settled here in the Bay Area and not just San Leandro.

“They come from far away from the Fremont, Vallejo, Daly City area, [and] the Bay Area,” Clancy said. “They want to come in [and] get the ube [...] because [of] the good quality.” •

local business that opened in 1963 in the Manor area has recently expanded its business out to Pleasanton. This pizza place is considered one of the local landmarks of the San Leandro area. Despite having expanded their business, manager Sean does not consider Porky’s a chain restaurant but a family restaurant.

“I think you’ll have to have five store[s] or more to be considered a chain,” Sean said. ”The original family is still heavily invested in this restaurant.”

Throughout the Manor Shopping Center, stores have changed their settings to fit the current decade, but that is not the case for Porky’s. Sean believes that there are reasons why this Porky’s location is so significant.

“Nothing’s really changed about this place. We’ve kept everything the same,” Sean said. “The recipe’s been the same, [and] the environment’s been the same.” •

A

COMMUNITY

11

Curtains Reopen A San Lorenzo native plans to reopen the San Lorenzo theater.

By Joseph Licano

O

12

n Nov. 22, 2019, Matt Delima, an AHS alumni and a business owner, presented his plans for the San Lorenzo theater infront of the selection panel of the Alameda County and a group of development professionals. Finally, he got approval to work on this project after 40 years since it closed its doors.

“While I was living here, I always wondered what was inside. I would...wonder if anyone was ever going to do something with it, and it feels like it was the ultimate challenge for me to go in there and do something,” Delima said.

Delima shared his vision in making it a multi-purpose building. He thinks that it should not only be a theater but also an inhouse brewery serving food. Moreover, it can also be an open venue for special events like weddings and parties.

“We were talking about it in our meeting, and everybody was so excited…I was actually expecting people to be not for it but...they like the idea. When the meeting was over, people came up to me and offered me help, I never had that reaction to any other restaurant I ever opened,” Delima said.

With housing projects also being developed in the San Lorenzo community, he feels it would bring in more people into the developing community which ultimately lead Delima to pursue the project.

“I like that they are redeveloping that area, the green village project. That’s an added bonus,” Delima said.

With the theater being planned to be multi-purpose, Delima plans to share the space for local schools so that they could have performances and concerts at the theater.

“During the week, I want people and schools from the unified school district to have all their performances there…It would allow young kids to perform on a stage that’s a whole other level from what they are used to,” Delima said.

Music teacher Pat Schultz was open to the idea and stated how much her students would love to perform away from their usual stage in the cafeteria.

COMMUNITY

Photo | Joseph Licano

The San Lorenzo theater shut down in 1982 due to the rise of more mordern theaters we have today.

“They always enjoy it because it makes them feel special, like they really are on a professional stage…The kids enjoy performing at other locations,” Schtultz said.

She believes the theater offers importance and untapped potential and was glad that someone finally decided to use the theater.

“I think that it has a great use. The property has been tied in red tape for a very long time…The community needs a place to hold all sorts of occasions,” Schultz said.

School Assistant Debbie Pierstorf has lived in San Lorenzo for most of her life and saw and visited the theater multiple times before it was closed.

“I would always go Saturday morning for the mantinais, [and] most kids did the same thing,” Pierstorf said. “It looked nothing like a theater now. It showed its time of age…It was just a plain old movie theater but still so much different from what we have today,” Pierstorf said.

Once hearing the news of the theater, she quickly shared similar feeling of gratitude that someone was finally using it, “It’s so sad to see it sit there. It’s just wasted property…Us old-schoolers miss a lot of what it had back then, and a lot of people who still live in the community would like to see a part of it come back,” Pierstorf said.

The theater has been set idle for long, and being a business owner with eight successful businesses, Delima plans to showcase its potential and make it into the theater the community has been waiting for.

“There’s definitely some emotional connection and sentimental value to opening up a business within the theater. Getting this place open would mean a lot to the community, and that would make me feel good that I was able to help get it open,” Delima said. •

_ _ H _ E _ R _ E S ?”

I “ ent speaks abou M

r stud

eet junior Leo Molina, a transgender student at AHS. They talk about their experiences and their opinion on the new law AB-711 that is meant to help and support the transgender commmunity as well as the whole LGBTQ+ community that feels as if they do not identify with their body or name. Molina had several suggestions on what laws to place into power in addition to the law AB-711.

The law AB-711 is a new law that makes schools in California legally change the name of transgender students. According to the California State Legislature’s website, they state, “This bill would require a school district, charter school, or county office of education to update a former pupil’s records to include the pupil’s updated legal name or gender if the school district, charter school, or county office of education receives governmentissued documentation, as described, demonstrating that the former pupil’s legal name or gender has been changed.

This bill would require the school district, charter school, or county office of education to reissue specified documents conferred upon, or issued to, the former pupil with the former pupil’s updated legal name or gender, if requested by the former pupil. The

AB-711

A brief explanation of the new law in California, AB-711.

Here is a look at what AB-711 is and how it impacts the AHS students and faculty as well as the state.

By Javier Manzano

t the law

AB7

11

.

n Tra

de sgen

bill would also require the school district, charter school, or county office of education to add a new document to the former pupil’s file documenting specified details of the request and reissuance, as provided.” ¨Just lower the age that you can change your name at to 17 because at 18 most kids can do it, most seniors can do it, and they can change it for their certificate so that it says their preferred name,” Molina said. “Then there ́s a few kids like me where I ́m going to graduate at 17, so I have to get my parent’s permission to change my name on my birth certificate so that it will show up on my diploma. And they might say no, and I really don’t want my birth name on my high school diploma, so just to lower it to 17.”

History teacher Kaedan Peters identifies as queer. Peters talked about the conflict between students wanting to be called by their new name and people coming out. ¨I feel positive. I have questions like if the person legally changes their name, then schools have to acknowledge it [because] I know there are some moments where a student doesn’t want their parents to know…

I have questions about how that might interact with that,” Peters said.

Peters believes that there are changes

the school can make to better support the LGBTQ+ community. ¨I would make it so kids could use whatever bathroom they wanted. I would make it so that there was more comprehensive sex-ed [and] to not make it so heterosexual and cisgender focused,” Molina said. “I would have curriculum expanded so it includes more mention of trans people. I would have more trainings for [teachers]. There’s just so many things that could support trans students just to be included.¨ This law would help with name-related problems such as names on diplomas and school IDs. Molina identifies an issue with substitutes, who call students by their birth names, and how this law would be very useful to them. ¨I know a problem that I have is that when substitute teachers are here, they call me by my birth name instead of my preferred name. That causes a lot of dysphoria, which is uncomfortability. In general, [it makes me feel like I´m] in the body that I don’t feel that I belong in,” Molina said. “So it will help a lot with dysphoria and not having to clarify to every single sub [that], ‘Hey, the name that‘s on the roster is not what I want you to call me.’¨ •

Understanding the law: “This bill would require a school district, charter school, or county office of education to update a former pupil’s records to include the pupil’s updated legal name or gender if the school district, charter school, or county office of education receives government-issued documentation, as described, demonstrating that the former pupil’s legal name or gender has been changed.

This bill would require the school district, charter school, or county office of education to reissue specified documents conferred upon, or issued to, the former pupil with the former pupil’s updated legal name or gender, if requested by the former pupil. The bill would also require the school district, charter school, or county office of education to add a new document to the former pupil’s file documenting specified details of the request and reissuance, as provided” - California State Legislature What AB-711 means for AHS: AB-711 means that if a student were to change their name, all the teachers and faculty must change everything associated with their old name and replace it with their current name. This law would allow students to feel more like themselves and overall benefit transgender students as well as our incoming student and generations.

COMMUNITY

13

RISING UP Various environmental groups on campus are working to combat climate change.

By Sara Giretto Illustration | Rafael Eugenio Dúran

I

t can be hard to ignore the constant headlines in the news informing us about the climate crisis we are currently in. From rising temperatures as our climate heats up, to rising sea levels as our ice caps continue to melt, some students are beginning to rise up to advocate for the environment and bring more nature into our school and community.

“When I found out we have about 12 years [to save the environment] I was literally like, wow, I need to do something,” junior Alyssa Hannah said.

With various wildfires having occurred in California, mass wildfires burning in Australia, and worsening air and water quality seen in places such as Flint, Michigan, our climate is currently in a detrimental state. The effects of these events have been devastating. For example, in Australia alone, an estimated 1 billion animals and 25 people have died according to the New York Times as of Jan. 11th, 2020.

This type of environmental destruction has prompted various students to take action to try to preserve our environment. From environmental activism, to senior Civic Action Projects, to after school groups and clubs, some Dons are getting involved to reverse this damage to our climate.

Hannah thinks motivation to take action can stem from many different sources. For Hannah, she took a lot of inspiration from her history teacher Kaedon Peters. Peters is an environmental advocate, and through discussing how they want a more sustainable environment for the future of their child, Hannah’s passion for the environment began

to form.

“I thank my history teacher Peters, they opened my eyes about climate change. I also want kids, and I thought of my own goddaughter, and what their futures are going to be like. I realized I needed to do something,” Hannah said.

Hannah decides to take her worries and fight for what she is passionate about. She is an active member in the Green Club at AHS, which advocates for the environment and spreads awareness surrounding climate change.

“We did protests and walkouts, and this year we are planning one too, we just don’t know when yet,” Hannah said.

Furthermore, there is another group that is cleaning up the environment in our community: Arroyo’s Earth Team. The Earth Team is a group consisting of 12 students who go around and clean up the local environment after school every week.

“We do clean ups, habitat restoration, and go to different places and test and clean up the water,” Earth Team member and sophomore Maria Pena said.

Pena believes groups like Arroyo’s Earth Team and the Green lub are very important to clean up and preserve our environment.

Thus, she thinks that we should all start to get more involved with our environment.

“I think we should start by picking up trash. Last Tuesday, we did a clean up around the campus, and in less than an hour we had a whole trash bag filled with garbage. There really is a lot of garbage around campus,” Pena said.

Some seniors at AHS are using their Civic Action Projects to aid the environment as well. For example, senior April Rodriguez is opting to bring more nature into AHS with her group’s project.

“We are basically making a garden so that we can benefit both the students and the environment.

We could hopefully incorporate the food we grow into the school cafeteria, and get a greener environment around the school,” Rodriguez said.

With addressing as large and broad of an issue as climate change, some environmental advocates start by addressing the problems they see immediately around them.

Rodriguez thinks that the Civic Action Project has allowed her and her group to both express their concern about the environment, and take action to fix it on a school campus level.

“We looked around the school and we saw that there wasn’t much of a green environment, it was pretty dry, so we wanted to fix that so that the school would look and feel a lot nicer and greener,” Rodriguez said.

Although natural disasters and global warming can appear to be large and intimidating issues, some high schoolers are proving that we have the ability to make an impact to try to address these problems.

Hannah thinks it is important to do whatever you are capable of to fight for our planet and environment, and no action is too small.

“Small things make an impact too, you know, because with small things, at least you’re still doing what you can,” Hannah said.•

Talk to your local politicians

Do your Research

Take Action

Talk to local politicians such as Barbara Lee and Eric Swalwell, who ensure our voices are heard and can help initiate change.

Look into eco-friendly lifestyles such as veganism and minimalism or simple swaps that can help reduce your contribution to climate change.

An easy way to take action is by joining groups such as the Green Club and Earth Team, which take matters into their own hands to make an impact.

How can you help the environment?

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COMMUNITY

Special Feature Illustrations | Yves-Sebastian Lopez

SPECIAL FEATURE

15

Teachers share experiences of using online dating platforms.

59

-year-old English teacher Robert Guarino started talking to his current partner of three months through match.com, an online dating app that allows users to interact with other profiles that are similar to theirs, and “like” their profile.

“She liked my profile, I went and looked at her profile and I said, ‘Oh! Seems interesting.’ Then we started texting...and we started talking about common interests in music; it was very impressive to me, because I don’t meet a lot of people that I can talk to about popular music without doing a lot of explaining,” Guarino said.

Guarino decided to start online dating because of how hard it was to find people that were the same age as him and had the same interests as him. While there are other alternatives to finding compatible partners besides online dating, many of them fail to provide people with meaningful connections.

“I mean, there are bars; but then the question is raised: Do you really want to

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SPECIAL FEATURE

date somebody that frequents bars?

And then there is the issue of clubs; how likely are you to meet with someone around your age?” Guarino said.

36-year-old math teacher Gary Lo also thought that the process of meeting people in real life is difficult at times, and it poses a risk of rejection.

“At least for me, I find it socially hard to just approach someone and say, ‘What are you interested in?’ In everyday life, you don’t know if that person is dating somebody else or if they’re looking for someone. It’s a huge risk—or fear—of getting denied I guess,” Lo said.

Lo, who met his wife on eHarmony—a premium online dating service—found that online dating was more convenient than meeting someone in real life.

“I found that the easiest way to meet somebody was to meet them online; I found it to be an easier medium than just going out and saying ‘hi’ to somebody,” Lo said.

However, Guarino stated that the problem that many people might

find with online dating is the way you end up meeting people. In Guarino’s opinion, online dating turns typically natural interactions into something more artificial through the use of the internet.

“When I was younger, there seemed to be a more natural, in the course of your day-to-day activity way, of meeting people. There seemed to be more people looking to meet people.

Online it seems to be a bit more like matchmaker,” Guarino said.

However, Guarino didn’t find this matchmaking aspect to be bad. In fact, he thinks that it has power to bring together people with similar personalities, and increase the amount of connections we have with others.

“These matchmaking services bring you in contact, so I think it’s a positive development. Because in this increasingly isolated world, the internet is a forum for potentially bringing likeminded people together,” Guarino sai•

When Facing Issues...

Teacher Kaedan Peters finds communities for parents who raise their child as non-binary.

By Trinity Mai

H

istory teacher Kaedan Peters and their partner decided to raise their child as non-binary, allowing their child to choose their own gender.

To get guidance on raising their child as non-binary, especially during their later school years, Peters turns to several online communities such as Facebook parenting groups. In Peters’s mosttrusted group, Raising Theybies, they look to see how to get a parenting issue solved if they cannot solve it themselves.

“You get a much wider range of people you’re getting in contact with, like I’m never in a conversation with 500 people,” Peters said. ”But [if] I posted something on this site, then I have the potential to hear from 500 people if they’re reading it or seeing it...I feel like that is different.”

Despite the sense of community that comes from these groups, Peters admits that there are differences between having an online community and an inperson community. To Peters, having an additional online community also meant that they might turn to acquaintances

to ask for advice less frequently.

“There were times where I would worry too much or that would be the first place I would go in asking a question in these online communities rather than going to my network that I have people in person [to talk to],” Peters said. “Sometimes, I want to ask a question that I maybe feel embarrassed about, and I don’t want to ask an acquaintance, parent, or friend that I know. I’ll ask these strangers.”

Despite having more people who Peters can turn to, they believe that there are negative effects as well.

Having wider networks has led Peters and their partner to sometimes doubt themselves, but they have witnessed how the communities have impacted others. Peters saw how members of the group help one another out by answering questions that cannot be answered by the general public such as the topics of keeping their babies’ genitalia private, not disclosing their babies’ gender, using a gender-neutral pronoun in their native language if their

language does not have such pronouns, and filling out legal documents.

While the issues might not pertain to Peters, there are international members in the group who might not be able to get sufficient information on raising their child as non-binary in their local community. However, they can use the Facebook group as a resource with guidance from the members.

“Because I’m in the Bay Area, one of the most progressive places in the world, it was not shocking to many people when I was like...‘we’re going to use they/them pronouns for my kid,’” Peters said. “I see posts for people being like ‘I live in a town of 500 people in the middle of nowhere, and we’re the only queer family.’ So it’s really isolated. Having that kind of lifeline to an online community where you’re seen and you’re heard and you can get feedback from other people...it’s huge if you don’t have that in your dayto-day life.” •

SPECIAL FEATURE

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Long-Distance Dating

Student details his experience being in an online relationship.

By David Ye

S

enior Mason Lewis started dating his current partner of two years through Skype, a social media platform that was frequented by kids and adults in the 2010s. They met through Minecraft, a popular sandbox video game.

“I was playing on a small modded server with a friend…[Her friend] told [her] about it, and they came over to say hi,” Lewis said. “Eventually, it [led us to talking on Skype], because [back then], who didn’t ask ‘You got Skype?’”

Since then, their connection has grown from playing Minecraft and calling on Skype to other games and social media platforms, most notably Stardew Valley and Discord, where Lewis’s new relationship was revealed to his friends.

“A lot of my friends started migrating to Discord,” Lewis said. “It was getting a bit tough to jump between Skype and Discord, so I asked her to join me on it,

and she did.”

When the relationship moved to being based on Discord, Lewis was hesitant about letting his friends know about his new relationship.

“It was getting a bit hard to jump back and forth between Skype and Discord, so I asked her to join me on it, and she did,” Lewis said. “However, at the time, a lot of my friends were getting on Discord as well, and I felt nervous on inviting her into my server, because I didn’t know whether or not [my friends would] understand the concept of dating someone over the Internet, or they’d judge me or something.”

Although he feels that his friends have gotten a better grasp on the concept of online relationships, Lewis still experiences setbacks within this relationship, as the distance brings about a lack of intimacy.

“I’m not really able to comfort her the way I would be able to, because

Friends or Foes

I’m not really expressive with how I talk sometimes,” Lewis said. “There’s also the disconnect[ion] between us since we can’t really see each other in person.”

Additionally, Lewis also recounts a time where he had to step away from the relationship, but he remained optimistic.

“I had doubts on if she was really ‘the one,’” said Lewis. “The breaks made me regret the decision, since I would always think about her during them, and how many mistakes I made during the relationship.”

Despite the setbacks he’s experienced, Lewis still believes that the relationship will continue to grow.

“I’ve met someone I can truly connect with, spend time with, enjoy things with, and just overall be happy with,” Lewis said. “I haven’t been able to have that sort of relationship with anyone in person, but with the Internet, it was possible.” •

Student shares his experience being in a gaming community.

By Rafael Eugenio Dúran

J

unior Jomar Belen meets new friends on the games League of Legends, Minecraft, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Belen talks to them through Discord. He also communicates with the friends he has made in person on the PlayStation 4 (PS4).

“I use [Discord] to meet new friends online and just talk to random people. I stay in contact with [people I’ve met in person] through PS4,” Belen said.

Psychology teacher Carrie Kelder explained how teenagers make friends online because they feel like they do not belong to any group.

“Sometimes teens feel like they don’t fit in or haven’t found their people, and I would want to encourage them on that human interaction. But I do think

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SPECIAL FEATURE

sometimes that online interaction can make some people feel less lonely or less isolated,” Kelder said.

However, for Belen, some of his friends had moved away so he has to use social media to to stay in touch with them. He recalled that one of his best experiences is his ability to stay connected to his friends. “[The best moment I’ve had is] making a Minecraft group chat with friends that are [living] an hour away.

We don’t really meet each other in real life [because they moved],” Belen said.

Kelder then talked about what teens should do if they are ever in a chat room and there is someone saying racial slurs or is mocking someone.

“I think that [the teens] should get out of the group chat or report the

group chat. If someone is being really offensive and is not stopping, then I think it’s time to shut it down,” Kelder said.

Belen resonates with Kelder, and he is less trustworthy with those he interacts with online than if he were to know them in person.

“I prefer to talk to them in person because in person you can actually trust the person since you know them.

But online, you can’t really trust people because they can be acting good online. But in real life, they can be a terrible person in general…Honestly it is just better to do things in person [because there is more trust],” Belen said. •

Our Better Half

By Christopher Yalung and Trinity Mai

A survey was created and given out to AHS students in fourth period Math 1, Math Modeling, and English 10 classes. The responses gathered include information about the romantic relationships of 59 students.

I’ve always been single

49.2%

I was in a relationship and am currently single

30.5%

I am in a relationship

20.3%

Throughout high school...

11.1% of students had four or more relationships

11.1% of students had zero relationships 22.2% of students had one relationship

14.8% of students had three relationships

40.8% of students had two relationships

52.5% 72.2%

of students who were in a relationship but are currenty single think social media has a negative effect on relationships

of students are confident that they will stay in their current relationship

SPECIAL FEATURE

19

M Su n a nd

Signs op St

oo

n g i s, N S n o

Illustration | Rafael Eugenio Dúran

The effectivness of astrology should not be a meduim of decision making.

“D

emocrats believe in astrology more than Republicans do. Pisces are most likely to run a red light.

Sagittarians have long legs. Capricorns have wandering eyes.”

A Google search of astrology will lead you to any one of these zodiac generalizations. By coincidence, one of these horoscope “facts” may be true. It is natural for human beings to want to seek out who they are. Astrology seems, for many, a good way to do that. The movement and position of stars and celestial bodies influence on our lives is very real to some. However, it is unreasonable to put so much reliance on what zodiac signs predict.

Although astrology can be an entertaining pastime, not too much thought should be put into what our horoscope tells us. Consulting horoscopes before making important life decisions is not the most productive way to decide things for ourselves. Instead, look to friends or family who know you and your situation so the given advice can be personalized for you. If horoscopes are the main resource used when you are addressing something in your life, you lose out on different perspectives and ideas. Following horoscopes advice on a daily basis can also result in many opportunities being lost out.

We learn more about ourselves through the choices we make when there is no outside influence. In the process of trying to discover more about ourselves, we lose sight

DGG Dry Gulch Gazette

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OPINION

of discoveries because there is too much pressure to act like we belong in our zodiac sign and that because a “template” of how we live our lives.

STAFF EDITORIAL

OPINION OF THE DRY GULCH GAZETTE EDITORIAL STAFF

Following astrology becomes dangerous when our heitations and personal opinions and feelings are put aside to follow a horoscope. When one believes that they are compatible with a person that we are not just because we have the right zodiac signs or when a healthy relationship ends because a horoscope says that they will meet someone new this month. Horoscopes are astrological predictions based on the position of the moon that relate to our lives based on when we were born. Supposedly, horoscopes can predict things like love, relationship motives, opportunities, and risks. The problem with astrology is it makes generalizations that are supposed to fit every single person that is born under that sign which is impossible.

There is always an exception, however, when it is evident that any detail about that person that fits the mold is turned into their defining factor.

Another risk of letting astrology control your life is just that. When horoscopes are followed closely, it can take away freedom of choice and leave one feeling confined. Although some choices in life can be big or stressful, they often come with satisfaction and consulting your horoscope.

In comparison, horoscopes will not always make a decision less stressful or more clear.

We find out who we are through these experiences and become more in tune to what we like, what we want, and what we need. By looking to our horoscopes to make these decisions for us is a bit of a cop-out.

If you would like to make your horoscope part of your decision and consider it while deciding something, that is okay, but it should not be your only point of view or voice.

Astrology has been studied and used thousands of years. It does not define you. It is fun to study and read about. It can bring people together and make us more intuitive of ourselves. Astrology can make us more mindful of the way we act and curious as to why that is. There may be value in astrology, but there can not be assumed truth in it. We should rely on more than astrology to guide our lives and trust our own voice. Just like how you would not allow what someone else thinks to guide all your decisions, astrology should be no different. •

The Dry Gulch Gazette is an open forum for students and does not necessarily represent the views of Arroyo High School or of the San Lorenzo Unified School District. We want to provide our readers with entertaining, informational, and relevant stories that will be worth their time. We intend to produce accurate and unbiased reporting, and we will therefore work to correct any significant mistakes. You should contact us at AHSGazette@gmail. com if you can find such a mistake in this publication. You may also email us to submit a letter to the editor, but we reserve the right to edit letters for length or accuracy. Letters will be rejected or published at the discretion of journalism staff.

SAT Requirements

Students with lower economic backgrounds have disadvantages.

I

n a recent study done by the College Board on the 2016 to 2018 scores, the College Board reported that students with a lower household income and with parents that have low education levels are more likely to earn lower scores, with few getting higher than 1100; and for many minorities like African Americans and Latinos, many scores do not even reach more than 1000. AHS is comprised of 47.1% of Latinx and 7.3% of Black/African American students according to the data from SLZUSD and assessments.

Considering that 54.5% of students are CSU-eligible, many of them would have been forced to take the SAT to truly go to the schools they dreamed of attending.

AHS is a very diverse school, and students are not afraid to embrace who they are. They are proud of their ethnicity and culture. For a lot of these students, they plan to go off to college to make their families proud, to have a sense of pride for themselves even, but this can only be achieved by taking the SAT. As previously stated, the College Board reports that minorities have a harder time taking the SAT. The College Board reports that these students on average report scores that are below 1000, So wouldn’t this mean that a majority of the students at AHS are going to have a harder time taking the test?

Clearly there is a problem if there are racial minorities that are on average underperforming other racial groups. This begs a question if the SAT is truly a fair test. Is the SAT actually a good measure of a student’s intelligence? The answer is no; the SAT gives those of a higher economic status and those who are privileged a better chance to get a higher score on the test. Due to the fact that many racial minorities are commonly found in schools that are underfunded, it leaves them vulnerable to a lower score and takes them many steps back from achieving their goals.

It’s not anything new that students who don’t have to worry about money, are performing a lot better than those who do not. Students with a higher income have access to private tutors who know

the ins and outs of the test. If these private tutors were available to kids of all financial backgrounds, then every student would have an equal opportunity to do well on the test.

Unfortunately, most private tutors charge families upwards of $70 an hour for sessions.

Not every family is going to be able to hand their wallet over like that. Families of lower income need to worry about paying the bills and putting food on the table. Private tutors are not required for taking the test, so this isn’t a priority.

STAFF EDITORIAL

OPINION OF THE DRY GULCH GAZETTE EDITORIAL STAFF

SAT tutors are providing unfair advantages to students who can afford them.

By the time that these students take the test, they will already know what they need in order to speed through the test. Students without knowledge of how the test runs only have the practice test to rely on, but because of the large gap that exists between the practice test to the actual dates for available tests, many of these students will forget any strategies they formed on the practice test and will most certainly feel lost all over again.

In America, we have labeled the nicer neighborhoods as the “suburbs”. In the Bay Area, we know these as Piedmont, Pleasanton, and Palo Alto. These neighborhoods have it all: an abundance of shops, restaurants, parks and most importantly, well-funded schools.

Schools with better funding usually produce students that achieve high scores.

These high scores don’t come out of nowhere. However, schools with better funding give their students access to more AP classes, access to more updated textbooks, and teachers who receive better pay. With all these benefits, these students have what they need to learn all the subjects on the SAT in full depth. With more AP classes available

Editor-in-Chief: Trinity Mai Managing Editors: Christopher Yalung, Samantha Wang, Vivian Liu Campus Editor: Andrea Marie Lomeli Community Editor: Nanda Bean Special Feature Editor: Alexis May Go

Opinion Editor: Sebastian Lopez Arts and Culture Editor: Rafael E. Dúran Sports Editor: Che Munoz

to students, these students have more experience with standardized testing as opposed to students in schools where AP tests are small in quantity. The AP test is similar to that of the SAT. There is an abundance of multiple choice questions, and at the end for most tests, a timed essay where a student must think quick and problem solve to get to an answer. The more times a student takes an AP test, the more they become acquainted with that style of test, while students who don’t have to learn how to adapt to the style of standardized testing, while taking the SAT. Some may argue that you could take the test over and over again to keep getting better scores, and to be fair, yes you could, but this would only cost more money each time you took the test. Students of lower income have the option to have the cost of the test reduced, but according to the College Board, a student is eligible for a total of three price reductions. After this, the student has to pay full price for their tests. By the College Board doing this, they are not giving equal opportunities to those of lower income, students of higher income have the ability to take the test as many times as they want, while lower income students only have so many chances to ensure their futures.

Around the Bay and at AHS, students are submitting applications to a number of CSUs and UCs. These students are forced to have taken the SAT and give these colleges their scores, but due to the unfairness of the SAT, students of lower income have a harder time getting accepted. Everyone should have an equal opportunity at a better future, a chance to better themselves and perhaps the communities they grew up in to ensure a better future in general. This is why we need UCs and CSUs to stop requiring students to take the SAT. Instead, focus on how well a student did in their own school and how well they overcame the odds and persevered. By having these colleges not require the SAT, we will make sure that everyone is equal, and no one is given unfair advantages. • Photo | Che Muñoz

Gazette Staff Writers: Aaliyah Montgomery, Alexis

Quino, Angelina Buell, Claire Ramos, Crystal Yeung, David Ye, Dorothy Hoang, Elton Wong, Javier Manzano, Jeneen Doctor, Jose Chavez, Joseph Licano, MarcAnthony Ramos, Santina Davalos, Sara Giretto, Sarah Amani

Staff Adviser: Samved Sangameswara OPINION

21

Senior Monica Silva is in the process of making lip gloss.

Photo and Illustration Courtesy of Monica Silva

Audacity to Achieve

Student Monica Silva runs her own makeup business, inspiring others.

By Crystal Yeung

H

22

aving to set up inventory, reply to DMs through her Instagram, package orders, hand-make her own products, and mail them afterward by herself, senior Monica Silva is an aspiring entrepreneur.

Silva has been running her makeup business, Audacity Cosmetics, on Instagram since Oct. 2019. However, she had planned it for a year and eight months. She is also a freelance artist in addition to her business.

Silva had legalized her business under the state of California through her LLC (limited liability company) which gives her ownership and limited liability. Her products include a variety of vegan and cruelty-free beauty products, such as her top-selling lip products and lashes. Silva accepts orders online using direct messages through her Instagram, @audacitycos. Orders came flushing when Silva uploaded a video on TikTok that obtained more than eight million views, gaining recognition for her business.

Silva always had a passion for art, photography, entrepreneurship, and cosmetology. To combine everything she loved into one, Silva followed her parents’ footsteps in entrepreneurship as her father is a chef who runs his own catering business and her mother is a self-employed housekeeper.

“I finally realized cosmetology was my [career path] because I enjoy photography, modeling, makeup, being creative, and also creating digital designs,” Silva said.

ARTS & CULTURE

By running her own business, Silva had gained many followers as an influencer and became an inspiration to others. She has gained almost 200,000 followers on Tiktok and 30,000 on Instagram and is still counting.

“I received thousands and thousands of DMs regarding people saying [that] I’m an inspiration to them [and] a really good role model for them, and that I have inspired them to start their own business,” Sliva said.

Not only has Silva’s works impacted her followers, but she also affected her close friends. Senior Eryll Flores has been friends with Silva since sixth grade and has seen Silva grow as a person since starting her business.

“Personally, I feel like watching her grow from the quiet kitten in the class to being this really preppy, upbeat girl has made me happy because I get to surround myself around her and her energy feeds my energy, and it just makes me happy to be with her,” Flores said.

Being a senior in high school, Silva understood how difficult it is to balance her school work and business. The time for her business at times can come in conflict with her school life.

“I know that my business is important and that I understand that I started my career before graduating, but school does come first and the reason why I started my business was so that I could [be] able to afford school in the future,” Silva said.

Juggling school and her business can

be difficult, and adding onto the load is the pressure she received when not everyone is satisfied. Silva received questions through her DMs regarding her decisions such as when is she going to release a certain product or why did she decide to release a product.

“I remind myself that it’s my business, it’s under my own terms, [and that] a lot of people will say a lot of things,” Silva said.

Silva feels grateful for all of the support she received, especially from her family and friends. One of her close friends, senior Frances Li, has been friends with Silva since freshman year in high school.

“Her actually making the products and seeing her presenting [them] to me, I was just like ‘wow, you can actually do this,’ and it’s amazing to see,” Li said. “She’s had different ideas, but those never really went anywhere, so then her trying this new thing, especially with TikTok...it really helped her.”

Although Silva has struggled to make her dream come true, it all paid off at the end as she now feels like she can empower everyone through her business.

“I named it Audacity Cosmetics because ‘audacity’ means the willingness to take bold risks,” Silva said. “And I want to spread the message to young girls and to the pride community, to all people of all colors of all races, of all ethnicities so they can be themselves no matter what.” •

Photo Courtesy of AHS Music Department

In Need of Funds

Photo Courtesy of Arianne Delos Reyes

Music department creates a GoFundMe to keep the program running.

By AndreaMarie Lomeli

T

he state of music programs at AHS have deteriorated over the past several years as they have not been given the same affordable funding as other extracurricular activities. The music program has seen decreases in funds, preventing the program from reaching its full potential.

“In times past, when we asked for funding from the district, we really didn’t receive anything. I have been here for almost 26 years, and we never received funding. We always funded through boosters and fees.

The district assumes that it will be ongoing.

Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, they are unable to fund it this year,” music teacher and band director Vernon Miyata said.

This year, the music program, which includes the Marching Band, Winter Guard, and Winter Percussion, had to create a fundraiser on GoFundMe. GoFundMe is a for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows organizations to raise money on their website. The music students have been spreading awareness to fundraise and meet the goal of $20,000. The proceeds go to wards supporting replacements or repairs for the instruments and guard equipment in addition to paying the instructors throughout the season, purchasing props, renting trucks, purchasing food to feed the students at competitions, and paying competition fees.

According to Miyata, this is a trend over the last few years because of the decreasing rate of students and families who pay their contributions to the point where it caught up to the boosters. At AHS, boosters are organized to support clubs, sports, and organizations by funding and coordinating events.

“I have been here for almost 26 years, and we never received funding.”

Music teacher and band director Vernon Miyata said

“Unfortunately, this fall, we had only half of the marching band pay their contributions, which is $275 per person. Our boosters had to go into their savings to pay for our instructional help,” Miyata said.

The boosters pay for most of the necessities to provide for the program, but this year after the fall season, their booster’s account was left empty.

“Now that we are going to the winter season, we have seven competitions and the same needs,” Miyata said.

Senior Sophia Duong from marching band hopes that our music program can get the

proper funding to allow students to keep learning music, competing, and creating unforgettable memories in these musical programs.

“Although our program may seem small and have not many students, we have learned many valuable life lessons that we could not have possibly learn without this music department,” Duong said.

Students cannot be mandated to pay more fees than they already do. According to the the California Constitution, students and parents cannot be required to pay money to gain access to educational activities nor can they be charged for materials and supplies necessary to participate in educational activities.

Junior Nayeli Torres Belloso has been participating in the music program all three years. She had paid $250 individually towards the boosters for being in the marching band.

“Since we get very little money to support the program, we have to make our own money by doing fundraisers. We need to pay attention to art programs and give more funding to them,” Belloso said. “Art programs are very special and important to many students at AHS, and we need to be able to keep them alive.” •

ARTS & CULTURE

23

Students become popular TikTok content creators.

By Elton Wong

Senior William Wong | @will.3um

Senior Joshua Delos-Santos | @joshueuh

W

Senior Aaliyah Arellano | @phantomknives

H

aving a talent to create, senior Aaliyah Arellano showed her skills by making videos to showcase her works.

“I had a lot of free time, wanted somewhere to spend it, put my creativity somewhere, and show my friends off because I like them,” Arellano said.

Arellano paved the way to her TikTok success by making various types of videos, from DIYing and customizing Air Force shoes to making mini vlogs on the platform. Her account quickly grew to over 89,200 likes and 4,500 followers.

Being famous on the popular social media platform requires research on what is trending on the “For You” page before making content in order to take advantage of TikTok’s algorithm for getting their videos out there. The algorithm lets a user select few lesser-known content creators videos show up depending on their amount of likes.

“You really have to keep up with the algorithm when making TikTok videos,” Arellano said.

Although blowing up on TikTok has made her proud of her work, she questions whether to continue with TikTok. “I want to focus on other important things around me,” Arellano said. •

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ARTS & CULTURE

Photo Courtesy of Aaliyah Arellano

atching TikTok videos meticulously on his screen, senior Joshua Delos-Santos was inspired to make his own.

“At first I started watching videos. Then, I started making videos [on TikTok] and one of them kind of blew up,” Delos-Santos said.

For Delos-Santos, this was the origin story of his now flourishing TikTok account. His account now bolsters around 136,300 likes and around 8,000 followers. With those views comes a ton of dedication as he makes over six videos a week.

Delos-Santos’ secret to farming up the views and drawing in crowds is simple.

“I just look on the ‘For You’ page of my TikTok and see what people are laughing at. Maybe sometimes, [I] mix it up a little, ” Delos-Santos said.

Speaking from experience, Delos-Santos believes that being TikTok-famous is as difficult as it seems.

“If someone were to watch a few videos, they might get the algorithm down and be as famous as me,” Delos-Santos said. •

Photo Courtesy of Joshua Delos-Santos

W

ith the push of a button, the cameras start counting down from fifteen seconds to one. TikTok has become a fast and easy way for students to make content from music videos to POVs (point of view) videos. Now, some AHS students even went viral.

For senior William Wong, racking up views on this social media platform has made him an internet celebrity. With a follower count of over 30,000, his TikTok account has been getting him a lot of attention around campus lately.

“The recognition feels good. I would’ve never thought about being the kid that everyone knows is on TikTok,” Wong said.

However, racking up those views also comes with a lot of planning.

“When I make videos I ask myself , would I want to watch this?” Wong said.

However, Wong’s reason for making videos is not just for fame but for experience. He plans to keep up with his TikTok endeavors.

“I want to continue making people laugh through my TikToks,” Wong said. •

Photo Courtesy of William Wong

@15_Seconds_of_Fame @15_Seconds_of_Fame @15_Seconds_of_Fame

Written in the Stars Students and staff share their opinion on astrology.

By Nanda Bean

IIIustration | Nanda Bean

S

enior Nancy Iñiguez has been enthusiastic about astrology ever since her father gave her an astrology book for kids years ago. According to her personal sign as a scorpio, she is a “sun, capricorn, moon, and sun: rising.” Her sun sign says that she is very secretive, loyal, and trustworthy, which she finds is “pretty true.”

Astrology has become a fun phenomenon and a trend, influencing teens to check their predictions of how their life will go based off of the day they were born. According to the New York Times, astrology has become popular among Generation Z for many reasons, including rejecting the traditional scientific and religious values of belief. With the internet, users can search up astrology and multiple websites will pop up to help find their sign, give them daily horoscopes, offer them a free birth chart to give them a blueprint of who they are, and psychic and tarot card readings. These websites give users a variety of readings of their future based off of when they were born.

Iñiguez is one of many AHS students who are into astrology because she loves how it helps her find more about herself and likes to use it as a tool to better her actions.

“I just really like the concept of trying to learn more about myself and understanding myself. I try to use it as a tool to help better my actions and how I react to others in those circumstances,” Iñiguez said.

Iñiguez loves to share her knowledge of astrology with her friends and family. She is well-aware that not everyone believes in astrology, but she tries to let them know there are more to it other than zodiacs.

The problem is not looking past your sun sign, which is supposed to represent your ego and your exterior self.

“Honestly, I don’t believe everything that is based on your sun sign because I feel like that way [is] too general, and it might not be true for everybody. But I think that if you look more into other kinds of signs like your moon, rising, Mercury, and Venus [sign]. I think that could get you more accurate results,” Iñiguez said. •

P

sychology teacher Carrie Kelder does not believe in astrology, She believes that it is general and revolves around things that people can relate to but those things are about adolescent decision-making. Kelder thinks people are into it now because people are always looking for “something that would guide them,” and it is natural for people to believe in things to depend on.

“I don’t believe in astrology because I think a lot of it is just general kinds of things that most people can relate to...People are always looking for something that’s going to guide them or help them and you kind of want to believe [it]. It’s natural for us to want to believe in something that maybe [we] don’t have control over,” Kelder said.

Kelder also believes that what leads others to have the disbelief in astrology is looking at it in scientific, religious, and logical points of view.

“The more you believe in science, what can be proven, and what can be tested, the less likely you are able to believe in astrology. I also think that if you have a strong religious background, you might be less likely to believe in astrology because you have faith in something else and you might not be able to see or test your faith,” Kelder said.

Kelder believes that we like to look for things that can guide students and it’s natural to have a belief in something so we are trying to find control with a few things in our life. Students look at astrology as wisdom and advice to follow, making us feel relatable to others and we might want to know what the predictions say. On the other hand, people can have a natural disbelief if they want actual scientific proof of astrology being accurate in their predictions or they already have a belief in something else. But in general, it is easy to find something to feel relatable to and you have the feeling that it “describes” you, but it is what people are experiencing.

“If something helps you and you get comfort in something then I think ‘great’ that’s a great thing for anybody, so I wouldn’t necessarily judge anybody who likes astrology,” Kelder said. •

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25

Strike a Chord Students find a connection through music.

By Samantha Wang Senior Michael Huang, Elaine Lin, Evelyn Engen, chemistry teacher Tom Grace, and AP English Language teacher Robert Guarino performed Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” at the AHS talent show, “Make It Shine”, on Feb. 21. Huang played the cello; Lin played the violin; Grace played the piano, and Engen and Guarino played the ukelele.

W

hen senior Michael Huang was young, he saw his older sister playing the cello, and he was immediately captivated by the instrument.

In sixth grade, Huang took the opportunity to play the cello in orchestra and realized that he has a passion for it. He believes that music is a way of helping him to relax and expressing himself through the sound of music.

“Music helps me relax. When I am studying and I am really stressed out, I would go downstairs and play the piano for a bit, play the cello for a bit, mess around, play some random tunes. It got me to feel better because music can express a lot of emotion like a minor can express sadness, and a major can express happiness. It’s a good way, it’s a good outlet to really express yourself. Not really through verbal but through sound,” Huang said.

To Huang, music is a connection with his sister because his sister was the one who inspired him to play music.

“When I was young, I always heard her

playing the piano. I was like that’s pretty cool.

But when I was a child, I couldn’t play music.

So when I was in sixth grade, when I got off a start playing actual instruments in class, that’s when I started playing the piano and cello, and all started from there, because of my sister,” Huang said.

Huang explained that his sister and Guarino had performed with an odd matchup years ago: a ukelele, a piano, and a trumpet.

This time, Huang decided to perform on the talent show is also because of his sister.

He wants to continue with what his sister started.

“I want to continue that legacy from my sister with a cello, violin, ukelele, and a piano, an even wackier setup. Guarino held a special place in my sister’s heart with music and English through the talent show, and I want to continue what my sister started,” Huang said. “We just want to get together and play a song for quartet and the talent show is just a catalyst. But you know, I am not expecting a cheer.” •

S Senior Evelyn Engen plays the ukelele to her original song.

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ARTS & CULTURE

enior Evelyn Engen has never wanted to be famous or glow up like a celebrity by playing music. She is just passionate about it.

“I don’t have any interest [in being] famous on YouTube...It’s just a hobby. It’s a really really passionate hobby for me,” Engen said.

Engen has been playing the ukelele for six years and guitar for a year. She has always loved music and loved to sing from a young age. She explains that seeing her favorite artists playing music had made her want to learn to play musical instruments.

“When it comes to instruments, it was definitely seeing one of my favorite artists, singing like a band play, and then taking out their guitar, and seeing them take out ukeleles, and I wondered if I could do that... and then seeing how guitar sounds and hearing it, I was like I want to hear; I want to play something that makes that kind of sound...and I started to play that,” Engen said.

Engen had performed on the talent

Senior Michael Huang plays the cello to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.

show twice before, but the experience of performing this time will be different for her.

“I perform in the talent show in my freshman and junior year, so I was just like why not do it in my senior year...but this time I am doing it with a teacher, so I was really interested and entreat by the idea of being in a band, because I’ve done a duet and I’ve done a solo, but being in a band sounded cool,” Engen said.

Although she has not thought of becoming a famous singer, she wants to perform in many local shows to pursue her passion for performing.

“I definitely would like to play locally at different places,” Engen said. “Maybe put myself out more, try to make myself play more, and make my own material rather than doing covers all the time.” •

Photo | Samantha Wang

Junior Cruz Garcia played an original piece called “2056” with his band, Iron Front, at Arroyo’s Annual Talent Show on February 21 in the cafeteria.

Banding Together

President of metal club describes the in’s and out’s of running a band.

By Sarah Amani

J

unior Cruz Garcia recalled his first time hearing metal music on the radio.

“I was in fourth grade when a commercial came on of Metallica; the song playing in the commercial was the best thing I had ever heard.” Garcis said.

Inspired by his love for metal music, Garcia created the metal club where students come together twice a month to share their mutual interests for metal music; such as through bonding activities and games where the members pick specific songs and discuss the origins of the genres.

As president of the metal club, Garcia is attempting to expose AHS to metal music while gaining exposure for his own band, Iron Front, as well. Metal club is a place where Garcia hopes to make students spark their love for metal music and have a good time connecting and reflecting with the music. As for his band, Iron Front, Garcia performs along with his fellow bandmates in locations such as the Ashkenaz Center in Berkeley to publicize his music as well as having rehearsals at Bandworks in Oakland to practice before they reveal their final product on stage.

Garcia’s experience with metal music from

a young age opened his horizons at AHS to allow him to not only further his passion for the music itself, but to also make a successful band of his own as well as improve the quality of his high school experience.

“The impact [of being in metal club] on my high school experience has made me become more social overall,” Garcia said.

However, he is aware of the many negative stereotypes that are often associated with metal music, despite his opposing perceptions and interpretations regarding the music.

“I would tell those who believe the negative stereotypes that they should actually listen to the lyrics,” Garcia said. “Most of it is actually about politics and what people are feeling.”

Junior Vincent Boac has the behind the scenes view of just what it takes to be in Garcia’s shoes because of his position as vice president of the metal club as well as his many visits to Garcia’s concerts.

“You have to be really organized, know what you’re doing, and how to lead the activities efficiently,” Boac said.

Boac also admires the talent it takes to run both a club simultaneously with a band.

“Iron Front is successful because they have

good vocals and good rhythm with the guitar as well as a good bassist in the band,” Boac said.

Junior Michael Kvashin has experienced first hand what it is like to be in the crowd, watching as Iron Front performs.

“The show lasts around an hour to an hour and a half,” Kvashin said. “It’s very loud and energetic, with lots of lights and even a mosh pit, it’s a really fun time,” Similarly, Boac enjoys the energy of the Iron Front concerts.

“I love the chaoticness and craziness of it all,” Boac said.

Without hesitation, Garcia, Kvashin and Boac can all agree that with increased representation for Iron Front, their following will grow.

“To get more people, we could advertise more with posters and shout out our instagram page,” Kvashin said.

Based on their current success, Garcia has high expectations for what the future of Iron Front holds.

“My goal for this band is to play more gigs and make a career out of it,” Garcia said. •

ARTS & CULTURE

27

Rookies

A

Ris ng

By Angelina Buell and Jeneen Doctor

HS offers a variety of 19 sports. Most people have joined these sports at school because they have former experience in the sport.

However, there are some students who have never participated in a sport before and have only started in AHS. Below are six students who started a new sport in high school.

Sophomore Johnny Pham - Swimming Sophomore Johnny Pham joined swimming last year. Pham was first thinking of joining track but later joined swimming after he heard how fun it is. He knew how to swim but not well enough to join a swim team. He had a hard time learning the different strokes, but as time went on, he began to get comfortable in swimming and

this made him a better swimmer. Pham is most excited to try out new strokes this upcoming swim season. “[I am] mainly excited about trying out new swim strokes because I mostly freestyle, but this year I want to try backstroke.

Swimming now has become one of my hobbies that I like to do,” Pham said. •

Senior Alyssa Hayward and Senior Daniel Williams - Cross Country Senior Alyssa Hayward first joined cross country during her senior year. She originally played softball, but her friends convinced her to join cross country.

“It was new; it was definitely the last sport I would have picked because I have played softball since I was four, and I played through my junior year; then I quit. So I needed to find something else, and I decided to do cross country,” Hayward said.

Senior Daniel Williams had a disease called Osgood Schlatter which makes it harder for him to run, jump, and squat.

Around sophomore year, he was able to start

running more and joined cross country when he heard about it through Coach Andrew Eckloff. Williams started to get better with his condition and found the sport intriguing.

“I was really interested in that because I was starting to get better with my condition and I really wanted to run,” Williams said.

Now Williams has grown to love the sport and the competion it comes with.

“The thing I liked most about the sport was the competition and it is something I am passionate about because I really love running,” Williams said. •

Junior Miguel Yanez and Junior Arturo Garcia - Track Junior Miguel Yanez heard about track through his friend and joined. Yanez wanted to get fit for soccer, and track helped with that. He believes that running laps is not hard, but some of the workouts are. Junior Arturo Garcia joined track because his mom forced him. The hardest part of track for Gracia is sprinting because he does cross country and

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he is most comfortable with long distance.

“I would say it’s sprinting. I don’t like sprinting,” Garcia said.

Both will continue track in their senior year because they want to make state.

“We want to make state,” Yanez and Garcia said. •

Freshman Deloris Allen-Vaughn - Golf Freshman Deloris Allen-Vaughn joined the girls’ golf team freshman year. She never played golf before, but after she played in a summer camp, it sparked her interest. The challenge Allen-Vaughn experienced while learning how to play golf was learning how to hit the ball. Even though it was difficult for her to learn, she is joining golf again next year

because golf really interests her now and she has no other sports to do. Allen-Vaughn is planning on playing golf next season and does not regret joining this year.

“I do not regret it because it was a new experience, and I like experiencing new things,” said Allen-Vaughn. • Photos | Jeneen Doctore

Track Coach Also an Athletic Trainer Track coach Anthony Jackson on working two jobs.

By Santina Davalos

W

orking one job is hard as it is, but working two takes it to another level.

However, Anthony Jackson is a prime example of the hard work and dedication it takes to keep up with the responsibility it comes with.

Track Coach Anthony Jackson has been the coaching track since he was out of high school. Throughout that time, he has also taken his knowledge and talents to help people outside of the AHS community.

Jackson isn’t just a track coach, he also works as an athletic trainer. Jackson uses the knowledge and experience he has gained from being an athletic trainer to better his coaching.

It takes a lot of commitment to take on multiple roles like Jackson does.

Jackson revealed how athletic training and his experience has influenced his coaching.

“They kind of both go hand in hand, I can approach their workouts differently so we aren’t always doing the same dull thing. ” Senior Chris Michael Velasquez has been doing track at AHS for the past 4 years and has become very familiar with the coaching staff. Velasquez has witnessed first hand, the type of effort that goes into coaching.

“It’s nice to know that he knows a lot about the healthiest ways to do things.”

Velasquez said.

Jackson overall appreciates doing both things.

“It helps me be creative.” Jackson said. •

Photo Illustration | Santina Davalos

SPORTS

29

HITS

TAKING THE

H

Athletes open up about their feelings towards stereotypes involving their sports.

By Che Muñoz

ere at AHS, we promote anti-bully awareness, and we teach our students to refrain from making harsh comments about each other, but how much of this awareness extends to our student athletes?

With all of the sports here, there are a number of opinions and stereotypes that come along with the athletes who play them. These stereotypes can negatively affect our athletes in their performance, and with how they are viewed by others.

VOLLEYBALL

“We’re not here to please you guys”.

CHEERLEADING “It gives us a chance to show the things that we’re doing for good.”

BASEBALL “It’ll make the baseball team or any other team just look bad, even though that might not be true.”

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Volleyball is a sport at AHS that carries many stereotypes according to senior Andrea Alcantara. Alcantara played volleyball in the 2019 season as a senior. She felt like there were many stereotypes that surrounded her teammates and sport in general.

“You only tried out to look cute. It’s a girly sport, [and] that’s the only reason you tried out. You want to show off your body.

It’s not even a sport; you’re just hitting a ball around,” Alcantara said.

Alcantara knows the power that these stereotypes can have on her sport, but

she makes an effort to avoid these hurtful comments. She knows that by letting them affect her, it can really hurt her.

“If we took it to heart, it would affect us on the court, especially with a lot of people watching us. We all know that people have those little thoughts in their head, a little judgemental thought in their head, so obviously that gets in our heads sometimes,” Alcantara said. “But we like to play it off to prove to the people watching that we’re here to play and win. We’re not here to please you guys.” •

Cheerleader and senior Isabella Fitzgerald feels that she and her team are limited by stereotypes when it comes to when the team is out on the sidelines doing their dances.

Fitzgerald stated that the team has to think ahead and wonder what reactions would look like to certain dances that the cheer team has to perform.

“The stereotypes affect the team as a whole because it limits us in some of the things that we do. If we want to add something to a dance, we have to think about.

What will people think about this? How will people react?” Fitzgerald said.

These stereotypes can be portrayed in multiple forms of media, whether that be social media, movies, or TV shows. High school stereotypes for athletes are always being put on display. Fitzgerald commented on how the media impacts their thoughts.

“In movies and in TV shows, a lot of times cheerleaders are portrayed as...dumb...[and] all they do is dance around, but a lot of us are intelligent…” Fitzgerald said. “There’s a lot of negative connotation. It gives us a chance to show the things that we’re doing for good.

The cheerleaders...[are] doing a lot more community service.” •

Even though stereotypes have the ability to cloud a player’s thinking, to some, they play no role in the thinking of senior Enrique Batz. Batz plays baseball for AHS and goes on to say that these stereotypes have no effect on his in game performance.

“We could honestly care less about what people say because we know what we know about our team and how we do so. They can say what they want,” Batz said. “A lot of the stereotypes that I hear are about being cocky, and yeah, being cocky is not cool. It’s kind of annoying, but it’s just that most of the time, we can back it up.’’

Despite not being affected by these

stereotypes, Batz acknowledges what they could do to him and his team if they are not handled or addressed properly.

“If one person hears this thing, and then they hear another thing, that thing might not be true. It’ll make the baseball team or any other team just look bad, even though that might not be true,” Batz said. •

Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Change Athletes alter their body to accommodate to their sport.

By Aaliyah Montgomery

Does jewelry play a big role in softball?

J

unior Ashley Becknel has played softball at AHS for the last two years, making this year her third. In sports it is a common concern to be playing while wearing any form of jewelry. Most players remove their jewelry pieces (if any) before participating.

It is a requirement for players to remove all jewelry from their bodies before participating in their sport. Many of the girls on the softball team have piercings and would rather leave their jewelry in during the games than to remove them.

Becknel feels restricted by this jewelry rule given that she has to remove all jewelry.

She also has a hard time of timing when to get piercings to how long it will be before they heal so she can remove them from her body.

“Personally, I’d rather leave in my earrings

than take them out every time we have a game, especially because I have recently gotten new piercings. It would be a waste for me to remove them. I want to be able to get piercings whenever I please but because of my sport I feel like I can’t get them until the season is over,” Becknel said.

Even though Becknel may not love the rule or agree with it, she won’t disregard it and have to be reminded to remove her jewelry. That doesn’t make her enjoy softball any less and it is not much of a deal for her to remove her jewelry.

“Although I may have to wait a while to get new piercings or take out any jewelry on my body I’d rather remove them than to not play.

The adrenaline I get from playing is so worth it,” Becknel said. •

Photo Illustration | Aaliyah Montgomery

How are wrestlers affected by cutting wieght?

J Photo Illustration | Aaliyah Montgomery

unior Hallie Evans has been wrestling for six years now and she’s cut weight in order to fight in specific weight classes. Although Evans has much love and enjoyability for the sport she admits this can be a challenge.

“I guess in some ways I've altered my diet a bit to either gain or lose a pound or so. I’d rather it be one or two pounds than a couple.

It can be a little complicated when doing so,” Evans said.

Evans has had to cut weight and gain in order to fit into specific weight classes. She has wrestled since sixth grade which makes this year her sixth year of wrestling. Evans does admit that cutting and gaining weight to fit into specific weight classes is not as simple as it sounds. She struggled with it at first but she has recently become better at it.

“There are times I’ve been a pound or two over which is not too bad. One way I change my body is by gaining a lot of muscle and I focus that in my legs and arms. Another way

is I’ve had to cut weight in order to meet the weight class. Which does take a lot of energy out of my body but I try to counteract and make sure I was healthy at the same time,” Evans said.

Although Evans has had to put her body through difficult situations, she admitted that will never get in the way of how much love she has for wrestling. The feeling she gets after a great match is rewarding after all of the hard work of practice and weight managing she goes through.

“After a winning match all the effort you put in-sweat, blood and tears-into that match pays off. Knowing that you tried your hardest but you wrestled smart has to be my favorite part about wrestling,” Evans said. •

SPORTS

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Making the Right Choices

The way we conduct the ASB elections is flawed.

By David Ye

D

uring last year’s ASB elections, crowds of people were lining up in the quad to receive their ballot and cast their votes, and I was one of them. I remember all the Snapchat stories saying “vote for this person” on a daily basis. I thought it was great that students were actively campaigning, but I noticed that they were only campaigning for the candidate that they were friends with.

This social preference led me to become extremely frustrated with the student body.

The ASB elections aren’t a popularity contest, and we need to stop treating them as such.

However, I do think that the elections, to a certain extent, are irrelevant in the general AHS experience. The only noticeable everyday occurrence that our vote affects is the voice we hear on the loudspeaker, but even that is trivial. You might be asking yourself “Why is this guy getting so fed up over who I vote for if he just called the elections irrelevant?”

What this shows is that people don’t vote

for who they think is best for the school, which negates the whole point of having a school election, which is to prepare us for the presidential elections. In the presidential elections, there are things that running candidates do to persuade people to vote for them, such as making campaign speeches and debating on important topics with other running candidates. Instead of these, all we get are videos that are 30 seconds long at most where the candidates say why they deserve the spot they’re running for. Even with these videos, students are left to ponder what the candidates will do for them and why they deserve their vote.

Instead of the running candidates saying why they would be good for their desired position, they should publicly address problems at the school and what they plan to do to fix those problems. Doing so would allow students to get to know the candidates and their stances on said problems, and they

can vote for who they think took the better stance - just like in presidential elections.

From these campaign strategies, the ASB president wouldn’t be someone just reading off announcements and posting dance polls on Twitter, but someone that we can believe in; someone we can trust to solve problems on campus.

However, I’m not going to vote this year; it wouldn’t really affect me, since I won’t be here next year. However, who we vote for does affect us, as well as others. By participating in the ASB elections, we should be preparing ourselves for the presidential elections. If we aren’t voting properly here (and we aren’t), then we’ll never be ready to vote anywhere, and the problems we have with the school (and the nation) will never be handled, let alone resolved. •

Photo Illustration | Alexis-May Go

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COLUMN