Granite Bay Gazette, May 2023, Vol. 25, Issue 2

THE GRANITE BAY GAZETTE

FROM THE SENIOR EDITORS

Dear Readers,

This issue of the Granite Bay Gazette will be the last of the year and, as senior editors, our last for the publication. Endings are always difficult, but we are beyond proud of our work on the Gazette and grateful for the opportunity to lead this publication.

How do you sum up what has been one of our favorite high school experiences? Since we began writing for the Gazette, there have been many changes inside and outside of the publication. We reported through COVID-19, administrative changes and board meeting hostility, while creating a news magazine, revamping our website and updating our social media pages.

Between our 100+ stories, we’ve covered everything from student protests to gluten free crackers. We appreciate that you, as readers, have engaged with our work. Gazette readers are a critical motivator of our collaboration as a team of student journalists. It is for you that we have spent late hours drafting new articles and tinkering with our Adobe page spreads.

Through writing for the Gazette, we’ve met both great collaborators and great friends that have made every effort worthwhile. Each new journalist who steps foot in the newsroom becomes a member of our Gazette family.

Not only have we learned how to write headlines and conduct interviews, but we also figured out how to work as a group, make the class fun, and support each other through every moment.

Journalism has shaped us as people, pushing us outside of our comfort zone. Whether we were nervously interviewing politicians, leading the classroom or experiencing life in NYC at a national student journalism convention, this publication has been an avenue for personal growth.

As we wrap up our final edition (over some long nights of work complete with pizza), we are excited to see what happens next, and what Gazette journalists, new and returning, create.

We are in debt to every member of our incredibly industrious staff who have shaped the publication through their input, ideas, and exceptional work. Though we are sad to leave, we are confident that the future of the Gazette is in the hands of talented, diligent journalists and some of the most amazing friends.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and engaging with our work. We live in a world where attention is prized, so it means everything to us that you would give the Gazette your time, even if just for a little while.

Please enjoy this special edition of the Granite Bay Gazette.

Sincerely,

Elise Fisher Justin Ha

Kate Rowberry Ethan Shohet

Editors

Saihaj Cheema

Lichen Fischer

Elise Fisher

Justin Ha

Kate Rowberry

Ethan Shohet

Katherine Wilson

Sarah Yee

Batul Zanzi

Staff Writers

Brendan Alders

Sofia Baumgartner

Sean Coontz

Lola Engel

Rachel Guo

Anna Hufford

Frances Kassouni

Ryan Kim

Aiden Lai

Emily Lau

Samuel Lee

Jacob Marchuk

Grant Nolen

Asia Pangelinan

Riley Reed

Sienna Rodriguez

Loren Toeniskoetter

Lauren Wong

LIBRARY COUNCIL INITIATIVE

RJUHSD suggests Library Advisory Committee to amplify ‘community input’ in library processes

BY KATE ROWBERRY krowberry.granitebaytoday@gmail.com

At the April 13 RJUHSD Board of Trustees meeting, Dr. April Moore, the district’s assistant superintendent for education, outlined the district’s suggested Library Advisory Committee with a slideshow.

The proposed Library Advisory Committee would consist of 11 Board-appointed roles, including two librarians, two RJUHSD parents, two student board members and other individuals representing interested parties.

The Board invited both public comment and discussion with the district’s two librarians, Megan Blue and Zenia Treto. Blue said this was the first time the Board had met with librarians in ten years. She noted that ideally the current RJUHSD librarians would have increased professional support by being able to consult with a larger team of district librarians.

“It sounds like if we want to create a committee, maybe we need to hire more credentialed librarians to become that committee. They are the experts; let them set the policy,” GBHS parent Meg Weise said at the Board meeting.

According to the slideshow, the current functioning of district libraries could potentially improve upon factors such as a “lack of process for parent, guardian, and community input” and a “lack of a district plan for school libraries.”

A district library plan, as outlined by RJUHSD Board Policy 6163.1, may be created “in consultation with teacher librarians, classroom teachers, administrators, parents/guardians, and students as appropriate.” Policy 6163.1 explains that a library plan may be used to clarify district library goals and funding as well as “address staffing, facilities, selection and evaluation of materials, the development and maintenance of classroom libraries, prevention of loss or damage of library materials, prioritization of needs, and other related matters.”

Treto told the Gazette that the librar-

ians had begun to develop a plan for the libraries’ collection development, but it wasn’t approved at the Board meeting. The Library Advisory Committee as suggested during the meeting would have the ability to help create a library plan for the district, “including materials selection criteria,” per the slideshow.

However, the Library Advisory Committee, if put in place, may not be structured exactly as suggested in the Board meeting and for the time being it will simply remain an option.

“We’re always open to adjust and see what makes sense, but right now, we’re not making plans to implement that certain committee as it was presented, at least,” Moore said.

Blue, who is the librarian over GBHS, said that library advisory committees typically only have the role of being an “objective third party” in the case of book challenges.

“To pass some of those other responsibilities onto a committee like this, in my opinion, is to diminish a little bit our education (as librarians) and our

experience

and what we go through with developing our collections—the thought, the evaluation that we do, and obviously the education we’ve gone through in terms of curating not just a fiction collection, not just a book that looks pretty, but relevant, solid materials,” Blue said during the Board meeting.

Blue also stated that no books have been removed or banned from the district libraries and that since she started working in the district libraries in Aug. 2004, no books have been challenged.

In Sept. 2022, the Banned Book Week display at GBHS generated controversy due to confusion over its context. Blue explained at the Board meeting that she “neglected” to put up the whole display in a timely manner. Without some of the signage that typically would accompany the display, community members questioned certain titles in the library.

Parent attendees hold posters at the April 13th District Board meeting.

Currently the Administration Regulation 1312.2 form can be filled out if someone would like to challenge instructional materials, which by Board Policy 1312.2 would include library materials. While library materials are those that a student may choose to read, instructional materials are those that are part of the curriculum and incorporated in assignments.

The GBHS Site Council was reviewing the English curriculum during the American Library Association’s 2022 Banned Book Week in September. Because the Banned Book display was also up in the GBHS library in September, there was concurrent discussion about library materials and instructional materials.

“Both of those (circumstances) had books that some community members or parents and family were concerned about, and it got very confusing to them,” Moore said to the Gazette.

Treto said that after backlash over the Banned Book display, the district told librarians to “immediately” remove the display, then stop purchasing new books.

The district has been working with the librarians to develop a new process for the purchase of library books, which has taken time to implement. Instead of purchasing new books, the librarians have primarily been purchasing replacements for books that were lost this year.

“It’s been slowly evolved because we have more pieces to the puzzle right now with the introduction of an advisory committee, having to reinstitute a challenge policy and things like that. So we’ve had to take five steps back before we can take that step forward and start buying more books,” Blue said.

Historically, the district’s librarians have considered factors including student requests, grade level appropriateness, budget and expert reviews when choosing books to purchase.

For instance, the librarians previously received book recommendations through the Junior Library Guild’s subscription boxes. According to Treto, the subscription has begun to expire at some campuses and because the librarians were “told that (they) can’t purchase anything new,” they were unable to renew the subscription.

“I do believe next year we will have a much closer relationship with

the district in terms of what they are allowing us to purchase versus what we’re not allowed to purchase,” Blue said. “This year because of the uproar that we’ve had over some of the items, we’ve had to be much more careful with the process so we haven’t been able to make as many purchases.”

review and approve the plan.”

Book display creation was able to resume after approximately a month and a half, once a plan for a display approval process had been worked out.

Treto said librarians and media technicians previously had “complete creative control” over what to include in a book display. For the time being, they must vet each book for controversial topics, share an annotated bibliography with the suitable site administrator and meet with them for permission to proceed.

“So far, we’ve only done this for Asian (American) and Pacific Islander Month and it was approved at all sites by our site administrators,”

Treto said. “But it’s very cumbersome.”

According to Moore, earlier in the 2022-23 school year district administration had requested that book displays follow an approval process plan due to concerns about the displays. In Feb. 2023, the librarians were directed to put a hold on making new book displays. These pauses were put in place while the district determined what guiding policies could be created.

“We wanted to have a plan that was approved so we knew what to expect and could provide the appropriate support to librarians as we did that,” Moore said. “After a while, we realized that had not happened. So we needed to put a pause on (book displays) until we could really formally

However, given that a library plan is not a mandated component of library proceedings, RJUHSD may continue to function without one as well.

“I have had some meetings in which I feel very positive moving forward with the district librarians,” Blue said. “Our library media techs are amazing and they handle the day to day operations just phenomenally and we have a great one here (at GBHS) with Mrs. Cobian. And so I’m very optimistic about the future of libraries.”

Board president Pete Constant was not available for public comment at the time of this article’s publishing.

GBHS Library display from October recognized Banned Book Week, a national event.

Gazette photo/BATUL ZANZI

I have had some meetings in which I feel very positive moving forward with the district librarians.

Megan Blue, librarian

AP AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES APPROVED

New pilot course sheds light on African American stories past and present

BY FRANCES KASSOUNI franceskassouni@gmail.com

On April 23, the Roseville Joint Union High School District unanimously voted to approve a new AP African American Studies pilot course. The pilot will take place one year before the College Board starts a live, nationwide AP African American Studies course available to all high schools wanting to participate.

In the 2022-2023 school year, College Board introduced the first AP African American Studies Pilot course, available to only 60 schools. In the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, hundreds of more high schools will be able to offer the pilot course and provide feedback, including two RJUHSD high schools.

Students who take the course will be able to sit for an AP exam and get college credit starting in the spring of 2024.

Jessica Fork, a teacher at Roseville high school applied to bring the pilot

program to her classrooms last summer.

“I was reading in the New York Times, and saw that they have this pilot program for African American Studies … that’d be something that would do really well in Roseville

This can be attributed to the fact that “students are much more motivated to learn in classrooms that recognize them,” according to the University of Toronto.

Students will also be able to sit for an AP exam in the Spring of 2024, and get credit at more than 200 universities that have already pledged to give credit with a passing score or higher.

“I think eventually it will be another AP class and students will be able to take the test and have another way to improve their GPAs and outlook in going into college,” Hester said.

because we’re a very diverse school,” Fork said.

Antelope High School, one of the schools offering the pilot next year, has the largest African American population in RJUHSD. Roseville High School has the highest Hispanic and Latino population in the district.

“They’re trying to get a broad spectrum of experiences and get feedback from those schools to fine tune the framework,” Fork said. Hester teaches American History and African American History at Sierra College and serves as a representative on RJUHSD Curriculum and Instruction Leadership team. He is also a parent of an Oakridge student.

“The African American population at Sierra is probably around 3% to 4%...my classes are probably between 50% and 55% African American,” Hester said.

The district’s approval of the course follows recent national trends of state and local legislatures passing bills to restrict the teaching of critical race theory. The state of Florida, made the decision to ban AP African American Studies altogether.

“One of the things we’re seeing nationally and … in places like Florida, there’s a lot of resistance to what is perceived,” Jay Hester said.

“From my perspective as an instructor, to suggest that there’s no longer any sort of systemic racism institutionally in American society is a bit naive and short sighted,” Hester said.

In 2022, the State of California mandated Ethnic Studies to be a graduation requirement. The change was met with backlash within the Granite Bay community.

Kimberly Crabtree, a parent in RJUHSD, voiced concerns over content in the textbooks used in the pilot course. Crabtree is concerned with the breadth of the course covering politics and theory up to contemporary issues.

“I don’t understand what the purpose of the African American studies course is… what is this for if it’s not for activism?” Crabtree said.

“

To suggest that there’s no longer any sort of systemic racism institutionally in American society is a bit shortsighted Jay Hester, instructor

Although Ethnic Studies is now a California graduation requirement for high school students, the AP African American Studies course aims to highlight “the vital contributions and experiences of African Americans” according to the College Board.

“It’s politics and literature and it’s really all of these sort of humanities put together to help better explain the Black experience and to highlight Black culture” Fork said.

Marla Franz, a board member who ran on a position against Critical Race Theory, voted to approve the pilot course.

“I just think this class is an opportunity for students to just engage with material that maybe they feel like they haven’t seen before,” Franz said.

Franz said she read portions of the curriculum to better understand if there were potential biases in unit 4, which covers contemporary history past the Civil Rights Movement.

“I was just reading to find areas where maybe there may not be a balanced perspective, and, for the most part, I was pretty impressed,” Franz said.

On Mar. 6, 2023, RJUHSD CILT approved 3 textbooks to be used as supplemental materials for the course.

The course covers a breadth of topics and perspectives, starting with the migration of slaves from the sub saharan region, progressing all the way to COVID-19, modern musical artists and more.

“There is a big misunderstanding about a lot of things like critical race theory as to what that actually means,” Hester said.

Although the College Board outlines a curriculum and a list of topics for teachers to cover, it’s up to the teachers to fill in the gaps and bring in information to reach key educational objectives. Should a teacher want to bring in additional information not covered in the textbook, such as additional primary sources, news articles and more, it would have to come in the form of additional supplemental materials.

Fork says she would like to include supplemental materials based on what students would find interesting.

“It’ll be up to us to help bring in resources and material,” Fork said.

Although teachers in RJUHSD have to get long term supplemental materials approved, one-off uses of supplemental sources do not need to go through a CILT approval process. “I assume (Fork) will be drawing in supplemental materials that will not go

“Most people that are taking the class are taking the class because they genuinely want to learn about it,” Mann said.

Haddy Samba, a freshman at Granite Bay High School said she would support the class being taught at Granite Bay in the future.

“We don’t really get that many chances to learn about … African American culture or history. So I think that it’d be really nice to have a class where we could specifically learn that,” Samba said.

Should an RJUHSD teacher want to teach the course when it goes live in the 2024-2025 school year, they would have to seek approval from the district again.

through CILT as she’s experimenting with how this class flows,” Franz said.

For Mann, a Roseville High School student enrolled in the new pilot course, having a more interactive course is a positive.

“It’s not so much … test based, but you’re actually immersing yourself into the culture, which I thought was really interesting,” Olivia Mann said.

“I’m going to be going through this all over again next year,” Fork said.

Despite that, Fork says that the pilot is a special opportunity.

“I was trying to tell my kids this is one of the few times I think you can say your high school career you got to pilot a national class,” Fork said.

You’re actually immersing yourself into the culture which I thought was really interesting Olivia Mann, junior

ALL 5 BOARD MEMBERS APPROVED

NEW SUPPORT?

BY JUSTIN HA & GRANT NOLEN jha.gazette@gmail.com

Proposed bills could change mental health access for students

California legislators have proposed two bills, which would alter the mental health service laws for minors. The bills, AB 665 and SB 509, were both introduced in Feb. 2023 and could affect procedures at Granite Bay High School.

AB 665, which was introduced by Asm. Wendy Carrillo (D) and co-authored by Asm. Scott Wiener (D), would expand standing law by authorizing all minors 12 years or older to consent to mental health treatment or counseling services as long as the minor is “mature enough to participate intelligently in the outpatient services or counseling services.”

The standing law, Family Code § 6924, contains a second requirement that the minor must “present a danger of serious physical or mental harm to self or to others” or be an “alleged victim of incest or child abuse,” to use minor consent. AB 665 would remove this requirement.

As of publication, AB 665 has passed in the assembly and is being read in the State Senate.

According to GBHS mental health associate Emily Belgarde, the Wellness Center operates consistent with CA Health and Safety Code 124260,

which outlines provisions under which a minor, age 12 or over can engage in therapeutic services.

This code does not have the second requirement of Family Code § 6924 that AB 665 will be removing.

“In the Wellness Center at Granite Bay High School (and throughout RJUHSD), we acknowledge the value and importance of informing parents, guardians and caregivers of a student’s need for mental health treatment,” Belgarde said. “A majority of students receiving services from wellness are in

Quick Takes

wAB 665 - Expands existing laws that allow minors over 12 to receive mental health services without parental consent.

wSB 509 - Requires that 75% of classified and certificated employees at schools receive youth behavioral health training and expands mental health education for minors.

conjunction with parental consent and involvement.”

Belgarde also notes that minor consent doesn’t alleviate a mandated reporter’s legal responsibility to address risk and that there are limits to what can remain confidential when risk is involved.

“(My therapist) was one of the few forces in my life that put me back on the track of normalcy. She kind of helped me walk out of the initial despair I was in,” GBHS alum Fallon Ennis said. “I know that the Wellness Center has a lot of issues. Sometimes they were mismanaged … But I would say overwhelmingly, it was a decent service.”

Ennis, 19, graduated from GBHS in 2021. While attending GBHS, Ennis received counseling from the Wellness Center to address her chronic anxiety.

“Minor consent should be the basis for most. I think you do retain the right to privacy to some extent depending on the situation,” Ennis said. “I felt completely safe telling (my mom) about my issues. But some of my friends didn’t

necessarily have that.”

The bill has a particular focus on minors on Medi-Cal, the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income individuals. According to AB 665, approximately 50% of California’s children are covered by Medi-Cal, “the vast majority of whom are Black and children of color.”

“Removing barriers to mental health access for young people who are Medi-Cal recipients and destigmatizing mental health are equally important. Across all communities but in particular our Latino community, we are shifting the stigma related to mental health,” Carrillo said in a March 22 press release.

Under AB 665, those treating minors would also be required to “consult with the minor before determining whether involvement of the minor’s parent or guardian would be inappropriate.”

Critics of the bill say that it will diminish parent’s rights regarding their children’s health.

“People might not feel like they’re in control,” Julia Rachman, GBHS junior and president of the GBHS Bring Change to Mind club, said. “It just comes from them being a parent and wanting to protect their children.”

Bring Change to Mind is a national organization focused on promoting

We are shifting the stigma related to mental health.

Wendy Carillo, Asm.

a dialogue about mental health. While Rachman understands parents’ concerns, she says that people should trust mental health workers.

“Parents are amazing, but it is unlikely that your parents are actually a psychiatrist,” Rachman said. “There shouldn’t be a fear in your parents, because your child is getting help from a professional.”

A number of social media posts and news outlets have spread disinformation about the bill, falsely claiming that AB 665 would allow minors to receive gender affirming surgery without parental consent or allow mental health professionals to remove minors from their parent or guardian’s custody.

The second bill, SB 509, would expand youth behavioral health training and mental health curriculum in California schools.

California legislators passed SB 509 on April 20. As of publication, the bill, which was introduced by Senator Anthony Portantino, is now moving through the appropriations committee.

SB 509 would require that 75% of a school’s “classified and certificated employees, who have direct contact with pupils at school,” receive youth behavioral health training before July 2027.

“Healthy school environments are crucial to having healthy children,”

Portantino said in a Feb. press release. “While we focus necessary attention on first aid training for physical health, we must do the same for behavior health too.”

Under AB 2246, all schools are currently required to adopt a board policy on suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. In RJUHSD, all schools serving students grades 7-12 must train staff members on suicide prevention.

According to Belgarde, this is a districtwide effort, informed by school counselors, school psychologists and administrators.

SB 509 also details a state-mandated program to teach evidence-based age appropriate mental health education from trained instructors. Under the bill, all students would be required to receive mental health education at least once during elementary school, middle school and in high school.

Lessons taught would include identifying warning signs and symptoms of common mental health problems. The bill’s text states that depending on

the student’s age, this could include “defining conditions such as depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety, including post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“It’s easy to see something that is as severe as depression, eating disorders or anxiety, and be like ‘protect your kids. Don’t talk about that. That’s a big kid thing,’” Rachman said. “I don’t want to say that we shouldn’t be teaching ninth graders about depression because that’s often when it starts.”

In addition to the resources provided by the Wellness Center, GBHS currently offers AP Psychology and will offer Mind Matters next year. Both classes discuss aspects of mental health.

“Granite Bay is a school that is so caught up in image. It’s all about how we look,” Ennis said. “They did not care about the people who were actually suffering, the students who were actually taking the beating. They only cared about keeping their image.”

1 in 3 high school students experience

“poor mental health”

70% of minors say their school should teach about mental health

Source: CDC and IPSOS

(Granite Bay) did not care about the people who were actually suffering.

Fallon Ennis, Alum

Menstrual product access expands Menstrual product access expands

BY ELISE FISHER & SOPHIA HALEY efishergranitebaytoday@gmail.com

New on-campus program sees successes and setbacks

Starting your period without any pads or tampons on hand is a classic, coming of age crisis both on and off screen. The scene sets at school or work. You rummage through your bag and frantically ask friends for menstrual products.

If you and none of the people around you have any menstrual products, you’re stuck– at high schools in California– not anymore.

As of this year, California high schools, including Granite Bay High School, have been required to provide menstrual products free to all students.

California bill, AB 367, requires that starting in the 2022-23 school year, public schools that have any grades from 6-12th must stock all women’s restrooms with free menstrual products.

The bill is an expansion of an existing law in California that requires schools with a “40% pupil poverty threshold” to stock half of school restrooms with menstrual products.

With the new law, the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021 was enacted.

The act is an effort to address what is known as “period poverty,” which is limited access to menstrual products, a necessity for half of the country at some point in their lives.

The district allotted funding to purchase machines and products for every RJUHSD campus. They were installed and in use at the beginning of the school year.

While every women’s restroom has machines that provide tampons and pads free of charge, these products are not always available.

A Granite Bay Gazette survey conducted over 10 days in March and April of the most frequented restrooms, it was found that while some machines had period products, bathrooms were fully stocked with both

pads and tampons only around 40% of the time.

The bathroom next to the library had pads 30% of the time and tampons 10% of the time. In the math building bathroom, the machine had pads 40% of the time and tampons 40% of the time. Next to the quad, the bathroom in the 400 building had pads 40% of the time and tampons 60% of the time.

According to period. org, 1 in 4 students have “struggled to afford period products in the United States.”

Even for those who do not struggle to afford menstrual products, studies show the convenience of having them on hand in every restroom can prevent students from missing class or scrambling to find a pad or tampon midday at school.

The Menstrual Equity Act for All states in their findings that “individuals living in period poverty are more likely to experience depression than individuals with access to period products.”

Additionally, period poverty disproportionately affects “Black, Latina, immigrant, and first-generation students at higher rates than other cohorts.”

“Period” is a GBHS branch of the national club that focuses on education and advocacy, and pushed for the bill to be passed over the last couple of years. The club also collects menstrual product donations that are donated to local women’s shelters.

Members of Period wrote letters to California legislators urging them to pass AB 367 when it was being considered.

“We have a first hand perspective of

what it’s like being in high school and having the need for the menstrual products in the bathroom,” Annie Johng said.

Johng, the current president of Period, said last year the students wrote letters and emails, detailing student needs and advocating for increased accessibility to menstrual products to legislators, including current California Governor Gavin Newsom.

1 in 4 students have struggled to afford period products in the United States

“We really emphasized that we are the ones being affected by it, and we’re telling you this is what we need, “ Johng said.

A year later, Johng wants to see the school and district follow through with their efforts to comply with the new law.

“It’s really just a shame because of how hard we worked in order to pass this bill,” Johng said.

Restocking the machines is an effort by both campus custodians and Roseville Joint Union High School District maintenance and operations director, Kriss Knapp.

“The machines have an indicator light on them when they need restocking,” Knapp said.

Knapp’s phone number is also posted on each machine to be called in cases of needing to be restocked.

“While we try to check and restock regularly we do appreciate when people report dispensers that need supplies so we can address it as soon as possible,” Knapp said.

In March, Knapp and janitorial staff had a limited amount of menstrual products to stock in the bathrooms due to a backorder of supplies. As of May, Knapp said the shortage has now been resolved.

“We have not received any notices via work order requests from staff about dispensers needing to be stocked in several weeks,” Knapp said.

Maile Zeng is a new member of Period and has done advocacy speeches about period poverty.

Zeng wants the school to advertise access to pads and tampons in the women’s restrooms and continue making efforts to consistently provide these products.

Before the free products were made available in the bathroom dispensers, students were able to get pads and

tampons in the nurse’s office or wellness center.

Both of these locations are a distance from most classes and somewhat difficult to access, especially compared to campus bathrooms.

“I think our administration has to be held accountable for what they are supposed to do,” Zeng said. Johng said the quality of dispensed pads and tampons could be improved to increase comfort for those accessing them.

“The quality of those menstrual products are completely disregarded and they give us tampons in cardboard dispensers,” Johng said.

These products are purchased through a local custodial supply, according to Knapp.

California’s law is the first in the country to address period poverty and expand student access to menstrual products, but student advocates such as Zeng and Johng emphasize the work needs to continue.

Now, Period is shifting their focus to more educational opportunities for students in the club and at GB, expanding the conversations that exist around menstruation.

“It’s hard for girls to talk about it with each other and other people because it’s so stigmatized,” Zeng said.

Period is also expanding education on talking about everyone who menstruates, which extends beyond just those who identify as women.

“That’s not really a topic that we learn in like our ninth grade health class,” Johng said.

AB 367 addresses this disparity by requiring that free period products are also available in one men’s restroom on every campus.

Johng also explained Period’s plan to have an educational speaker talk to the club about what menstruating looks like for those who are non-binary or transgender.

While Johng still sees places where enacting the bill could be improved, having the bill passed is both a success story for Period and students across California.

“You either had (a pad or tampon) or you didn’t have it and you needed to rely on someone else before the bill passed,” Johng said.

“It’s hard for girls to talk about it with each other and other people because it’s so stigmatized”

- Maile Zeng, sophomore

How often do bathrooms have pads and tampons?

GBHS students react and respond to community and school gun violence nationally and locally

*Disclaimer/Trigger Warning*

This story discusses gun-related concerns, including gun violence and other gun safety concerns at schools.

Abarrage of reactions and responses resound through the community.

The conversations center around the hostage situation and exchange of gunfire between the suspect and Roseville police at Roseville’s Mahany Park on Apr. 7. The shooting resulted in one death and two injured. Local schools, Woodcreek High School and the nearby Rocklin High School, were placed on lockdown due to the incident. Mahany Park is less than 10 miles away from Granite Bay High School. The Mahany Park shooting occurred nearly a year after the deadliest mass shooting in Sacramento.

In the weeks following the shooting, GBHS students and community members exchanged information on social media. Community members reflected on the gun-related events that had occurred not even half way through the year both locally and nationally–from the mass shooting that killed 11 in Monterey Park to the Half Moon Bay shooting that killed seven. Monterey Park is six hours away from GBHS, Half Moon Bay is two hours away. “We have more shootings than we do days in the year right now,” senior James Singh said. “Every other country looks at us and goes, ‘What are they doing?’ And we don’t do anything about it. Because why would we?”

Some GBHS students, including senior Yasmeen Ali, follow Everytown Research Organization’s social media

BY SARAH YEE , BATUL ZANZI , ASIA PANGELINAN syee.gazette@gmail.com

accounts where it releases independent research on school gun violence for related prevention policies.

As of May, “there were at least 52 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 20 deaths and 37 injuries nationally,” according to Everytown Research Organization. Interviewed students cited the rise of school shootings in the U.S. and compared national trends to local current events.

The American flag outside of Granite Bay High School was flown at halfstaff throughout the week of May 6 to May 13.

Nationally, flags were ordered to fly half-staff across multiple states, with

community have come with controversy.

“There’s like a stark divide being like … ‘Can we give our communities love, give them prayers’ which is completely okay,” Griffin said. “But then there’s also the side where it’s like, ‘we need to take action, we need to take this to our legal systems … strengthen background checks.’” Interviewed students emphasized the importance of increased awareness–whether that extends to situational awareness or awareness of local news coverage of gun related threats.

Erickson said his family conducts regular checks to make sure their doors are locked both inside and outside of the house; Scrifres said his family has installed additional floodlights and cameras.

Sophomore Cooper Raffety and Scifres expressed similar views on the impact of overarching societal issues on gun violence, particularly school related gun violence.

respect to the victims of the Allen, Texas shooting–a morbid milestone of the 200 mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. as of May 2023. “Locally, (gun violence) is a very big deal just because it doesn’t happen a lot in our area,” junior Kevin Scrifes said. “Nationally, it seems like it’s an everyday occurrence.”

Junior and treasurer of the Granite Bay trap club Brenden Hackett, said the Apr. 12 incident where gunshots were fired at Kaiser Roseville Permanente, hit close to home.

“My mom works at a Kaiser so she was kind of shook up about it,” Hackett said.

Junior Payton Griffin said conversations concerning gun violence in the

“We’ve really directed a lot of the problems at the guns themselves, and I think we need to direct some of that energy into the people and focusing more on the why, the who, what, when, where (and) the why they did it, what is driving people to actually go into schools and shoot up dozens of people,” Scifres said. “If we can find the why and we can solve the why then the problem is going to be fixed.” Raffety connected rising gun violence to increasing income inequality and lack of adequate support for those suffering mental health crises.

“We have a people problem,” Raffety said. “We have a mental health issue in America where…people aren’t being taken care of and that neglect of mental health…is leading to an

We have more shootings than we do days in the year right now.

“ ”

GRANITE BAY ON GUN VIOLENCE

uptick in gun violence, as well as the neglect for…underprivileged persons.”

Raffety is a GBHS trap team member who has experience in military programs.

Students shared diverse stances on legislative changes regarding guns. “I’ve always been really, really, really, really pro gun,” Raffety said. “If you’re going to have a gun even if the laws suck, even if you disagree with the laws, you need to follow them and then just work to get them changed.”

Ali offers a contrasting viewpoint.

“I’m very pro gun control,” Ali said. “People should be able to have guns…My personal belief is that we should have universal background checks and…if you commit a violent crime, I don’t think that you should be able to have the privilege of owning a gun again…people take the Second Amendment thing out of context, because when it was written, it was a very different time than it is now.”

Alongside legislative changes, Griffin and Scifres proposed school-specific changes to increase student safety

For Scifres, the most important consideration for schools’ gun safety policies is prevention.

“Prevention stops (a gun related incident) before it happens,” Scrifres said. “No one likes knocking on the doors when they go into classrooms, but it’s something that’s critical.”

Scrifres recommended schools, including GBHS, take increased security measures, including increasing the amount of police officers on campus and emphasizing the importance of the Lock Block policy.

Assistant principal Sara Wetteland said the Lock Block policy has made classroom communication more efficient.

“The Lock Block has always been great because it allows you to, from the inside of the classroom, put the Lock Block back in and have the door locked,” Wetteland said. “It allows people access to get in and out without the constant knocking on the door and letting somebody in.”

School resource officer (SRO) Shon

Schoer said his role on campus is to efficiently address and de-escalate any school security threats, including

addressed and it’s going to be addressed as quickly

addressing two gun-related threats.

Wetteland said the school’s security threat informant system, See Something, Say Something, provided the information needed to prompt their response.

See Something, Say Something is accessible through GBHS’ home page.

as possible and myself, including the school, is going to take appropriate actions to make sure that every student here on campus is safe,” Schoer said.

Schoer has been with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office for 16 years and served as a SRO for six years.

“As far as training within the sheriff’s office, we are doing a lot more training,” Schoer said. “And as far as what the school has done, they’ve continued to make it easier for reporting things online and addressing any issues that may be involved at the school.”

In the week of May 8 to May 12, Schoer and GBHS administration were

GBHS’ history of gun-related threats has elicited strong reactions in some students.

“The firewall has been pulled like twice this year, and both times I was like, ‘Oh, this might (not be a drill),’” senior Yasmeen Ali said.

Payton and many other students recognize the differing opinions about the topic of gun violence at GBHS. For Griffin the political conversation affects how she interacts with her family through the subject.

“Our political views are getting in the way of our personal relationships. I feel like I can’t talk about these things with my family,” Griffin said. “We just need to find common ground.”

We just need to find common ground.

-Payton Griffin, junior ”

GSA Summit Brin GS School S to G ether

BY AIDEN LAI & SAM LEE alai.gazette@gmail.com & samlee@gmail.com

On Friday, April 21, eight students selected by the Wellness Center represented Granite Bay’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance at the Summit hosted at Antelope High School.

The Summit was a safe-space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to get together and discuss ways to make the district GSAs more integrated into the school environment. There were multiple activities and stations to provide everyone with a chance to speak.

“We talked about activities that could be put on. Like, we do a lot of things for sports, but we don’t really do them as much for other things,” Noah Gould, a freshman said.

Gould explained that Granite Bay’s GSA is mostly inactive right now.

“We talked about what we could do to make it like a safe space and how to build it,” Gould said.

The main topic at the Summit was the issue of safety for those who belong to the queer community.

The students they attend school with pose a challenge for members of the

GSA.

“The biggest issue is that just we don’t know who is going to enter the doors and if they’re going to be rude to us, harm us, or yell slurs,” Taylor DeFreece said.

DeFreece is a sophomore and the current president of Granite Bay’s GSA.

“We also want GSA to be more than just a club, because it doesn’t

sanna Peeples says that bullying has changed from what it once was with the creation of social media.

“We have laws against hate crimes, we have all these sorts of things, and people should know that it’s not okay,” Peeples said. “We shouldn’t be treating minorities, people of the LGBT community, in these sorts of ways and I think that we have a lot of problems with that.”

Another concern students expressed is the lack of resources available to the LGBTQ+ community, due in part to the district’s recent move to stop The Landing Spot, an LGBTQ+ support group, from being on school campuses.

feel like equality, it feels like a safe space. There’s an uncertain vibe when you come to school. You’re hesitant to come out and you’re hesitant to go ‘these are my pronouns’. It’s kind of taboo to some people, even if they’re in the LGBT community because they don’t want to be discriminated against,” DeFreece said.

From a teacher’s perspective, Su-

“He used to come here every month and it was great. He would bring doughnuts, and it was a really welcoming environment. But some parents heard that he was coming on campus and weren’t okay with that,” Gould said.

“It’s great to express your opinion, but they were kind of just shutting it down without listening to us because he wasn’t doing anything bad.”

Beyond the school district, in some states, transgender health care is being restricted or even prohibited by law-

“We also want GSA to be more than just a club” Taylor DeFreece

makers which students express poses a large threat to the trans community. “Trans healthcare is life saving, it makes you comfortable with who you are. And when you are denied, it can be life threatening and invalidating because people don’t think that you deserve health care,” Gould said.

“There is also a law being passed right now in a couple states that makes it illegal for a teacher or any adult to know that someone is transgender and not report it. In some places, it’s illegal to be trans, which is scary because there’s already a lot of hate.”

GSA Summit attendees believe that it was worthwhile and helpful, being the first time that a GSA Summit has been held. Many felt that it was a good idea to meet up with one another and discuss concerns.

“We just played games and talked with people who are like us, and there wasn’t judgment, like there is here. You could just be who you were,” Gould said. “I think it’s important that this is getting recognized because the GSA Summit was definitely a big step in the right direction, and I really hope that it happens again, because it was fun, and it was good to get the problems out into the world so that they can change.”

The summit was not only a big step for RJUHSD GSAs, but also for the

district which has previously dealt with controversy surrounding this topic.

“It’s going to take a lot of time to get us to a place where students feel safe on campus regardless of their sexuality or gender. I hope that this is a good step in the right direction for the district to prove that they’re supporting all students on campuses,” Peeples said.

The Summit also opened the doors to collaboration between GSAs, gaining traction in making Granite Bay’s organization active again.

“Every single person was able to talk about what they took away from the experience and it really touched a ton of people,” DeFreece said. “We were able to hear from a lot of kids, and because of this we’re able to talk to other GSAs as well. Now, I have other GSA leaders’ numbers, so I can contact them and we’re able to do more group activities.”

Scan here to read the Gazette’s coverage of a recent district walkout for LGBTQ+ rights and visibiity

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GBacrosstheglobe

KATHERINE WILSON kawilson.granitebaytoday@gmail.com

Students traveled far and wide for their activites

Speech & Debate

San Diego, California

“I had a lot of fun meeting interesting people from all over. I normally don’t debate people from SoCal or the Bay Area and I got to debate with them, got to meet them and have fun. It was just really cool.”

Rugby

London, Bristol & Cardiff, United Kingdom

Choir & Band

Honolulu, Hawaii

“We got to meet with a ton of other choirs. It was just a super fun experience hanging out with the choir and bonding. I got to hang out with a ton of new people that I haven’t really hung out with before in choir.”

“(Our trip) was a great bonding experience. We got to experience the culture of rugby and its past, we went to a lot of different stadiums and we played a lot of teams that we definitely learned from for sure.”

- Solomon Auerbach, freshman

- Kailia Colon, senior

- Jack Ferguson, senior

Photo courtesy of Frances Kassouni

Photo courtesy of Jennifer McDermott

Photo courtesy of Ed Sanderson

GAZETTE REVIEWS

FILM: SUPER MARIO BROS.

BY SIENNA RODRIGUEZ srodriguez.gazette@gmail.com

The “Super Mario Bros. Movie” takes the childhood fun of Nintendo’s revolutionary “Super Mario” game and mixes action and humor to create an imaginative adventure.

After stumbling upon a green pipe, the Mario Brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a different world filled with princesses, evil turtles and talking toadstools.

Mario is tasked with saving his brother with the help of Princess Peach and Toad.

The animators captured the vi-

MUSIC: THE RECORD

BY ELISE FISHER & FRANCES KASSOUNI efishergranitebaytoday@gmail.com

Just for “The Record,” the new Boygenius album is a win. The album comes after much anticipation from the band’s last release in 2018.

The time was not lost on the band, however: Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus come together to form a cohesive sound and style, evident throughout the album.

The album opens with isolated vocals in “With You Without Them” where we hear the trio’s raw voices, a complementary moment to start off a vibrant and wide

ranging album. While it’s pretty short, the trio flex their lyrical muscles, a talent seen on every track on “The Record.”

The next track, “$20,” is pretty different from this quiet opening. Bridgers even screams “twenty-dollars” for the last 30 seconds of the song.

Written and led by Julien Baker, the song is closer to her personal style of music rather than a more cohesive sound of all three musicians. Despite that, it finds a way to read and play like a journal entry of a group of three women who have nothing but each other.

GENRE: Indie Rock

STARRING: Boygenius

brant world of Mario. The original designs have been maintained, and characters even have backstories for their design choices.

The voice acting was great. Standouts, including Chris Pratt as Mario and Jack Black as Bowser, made this movie bound to be a success. Their acting skills and own humor fit the characters well. Oddly, the Mario Brothers voice acting was fluctuating between a Boston and Italian accent.

Every detail, from the script to the animation, faithfully recreates the magic of the original Super Mario video games.

GENRE: Action, Comedy

STARRING: Chris Pratt, Jack Black

Photo courtesy of Interscope Records

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures, Illumination, Nintendo

TV: Queen Charlotte

BY ANNA HUFFORD ahufford.gazette@gmail.com

Queen Charlotte: a Bridgerton Story is a historical drama prequel to “Bridgerton” that explores the origins of Queen Charlotte and King George’s romance.

The love between Charlotte and George starts off slow and a little prickly, but expands in compelling directions. Starting from a meet cute in the royal garden, their love has all the drama and extavogencefit for monarchs.

The story line bounces between what the present day is like for Queen Charlotte and her life when

FILM: BEAU IS AFRAID

BY JUSTIN HA jha.gazette@gmail.com

In a time when theaters are increasingly dominated by world ending battles and larger than life heroes, “Beau is Afraid” brings that same big spectacle to the mundane and pathetic. This twisted horror comedy film is unabashedly self indulgent, which is both its greatest triumph and most disappointing downfall.

“Beau is Afraid” follows Beau, an anxiety-crippled man-child living in a crime-ridden parody of a city. On the anniversary of his father’s death, Beau, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is forced to visit his overbearing mother, Mona. But Beau’s plans are quickly derailed, turning his boring trip into a nightmarish adventure of epic proportions.

Every second of the movie is delightfully weird, supplemented by distinct cinematography and editing that draws the viewer in with a dream-like atmosphere. With so

many outlandish narrative tangents and creative concepts, which are best left unspoiled, it’s apparent that this is truly the movie that director Ari Aster wanted to makeand one that only he could make. Unfortunately, in refusing to compromise a creative vision and include all of Aster’s ideas, Beau is Afraid’s pacing suffers. The movie is more than three hours long, and at points, the film seems entitled to the viewer’s attention. Entire scenes and even sections of the movie should have been cut to avoid feeling bloated and distracting from the larger themes.

“Beau is Afraid” takes a lot of bold risks, so when these risks don’t pay off they stands out more. But when these risks work, the film stands alone in its authenticity. And for all its self-indulgence and petty issues, this uncompromised vision reaches new conceptual heights that will horrify, intrigue, charm and provoke.

GENRE: Horror, Comedy

STARRING: Joaquin Phoenix

she was first betrothed. I like that the show isn’t fully in Charlotte’s younger years because it gives context to her life.

I also like that both the Bridgerton shows have such elegant and dramatic aspects to them that make the seeting feel believable.

As much as I did enjoy this show, I felt that it should have been released before the original two series Bridgerton show because it would have provided context and a greater understanding for the people and the Conversations in “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.”

GENRE: Historic, Drama

STARRING: India Amarteifio

Read the full reviews at granitebaytoday.org

Photo courtesy of A24

Photo courtesy of NEXTFLIX

ATHLETE OF

February: Chase Bentley

SOPHOMORE, VARSITY BASEBALL

STATS

Earned Run Average: 2.72

Win %: .556

Batting AVG: .204

ACHIEVEMENTS

Chase led the 15u USA National Baseball team to a win at the 2022 World Championships.

FUTURE PLANS

Chase has committed to play baseball at Texas A&M for the class of 2029.

April: Drew McKown

SENIOR, VARSITY SOFTBALL

STATS

Batting AVG: .338 2023 Win %: .750

Fielding %: .931

ACHIEVEMENTS

Drew won the 2021 16u PGF National Championship in the Platinum Division with her club tem, All American Sports Academy.

FUTURE PLANS

Drew is committed to play Division I softball for Utah Tech University.

Photo courtesy of Drew McKown

Photo courtesy of Chase Bentley

THE MONTH

March: Davis Abell

JUNIOR, VARSITY BASKETBALL

STATS

PPG: 12 points

APG: 4 assists

RPG: 4 rebounds

ACHIEVEMENTS

After a dominate playoff season, Davis and the Grizzlies played in the 2023 CIF Section Final against Whitney.

FUTURE PLANS

Davis will play for Varsity during his senior year, and hopes to play Division I basketball at Clemson University like his father.

May: Molly Peterson

FRESHMAN, VARSITY POLE VAULT

STATS

Pole Vault: 10’0” ft 200 meter: 30.09 sec 800 meter: 2:44.42

ACHIEVEMENTS

In March, Molly vaulted 10’0”, which ranks 9th all time for GBHS girl’s pole vault.

FUTURE PLANS

Molly plans to continue track through her next three years of high school, and is considering competing collegiately.

Photo courtesy of Courtney Allison

Photo courtesy of Mark Peterson

WNBA THE REVIVAL

How star college players reignited the hype around women’s basketball

BY BRENDAN ALDERS & LOLA ENGEL balders.gazette@gmail.com

With record breaking viewership and attendance, it’s clear that women’s basketball is no longer just a niche interest, but a mainstream cultural phenomenon.

After a 65% viewing increase from last year, Women’s March Madness has put a spotlight onto women’s basketball and the players that make the sport what it is.

This increase in popularity can be attributed to a number of factors, including a general rise in women’s sports, growing visibility, success of women’s basketball players and the vigorous efforts of advocates and organizers who have worked to promote women’s sports.

“I do think (woman’s basketball) has gotten more popular, I have seen it on social media a lot more than I have in past years,” Kathryn Borges, GBHS varsity basketball player, said.

A lot of this popularity can be associated with Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese, two star players in the recent March Madness.

Clark, a point guard for the University of Iowa, became popular with her show-stopping play and winning attitude.

In the final game of the tournament there was an average of 9.92 million viewers, with the game having a peak of 12.6 million viewers. The men’s championship game averaged 35.1 million viewers.

This year there were a total of 357,542 fans that went to the March Madness games, the highest in the tournament’s history. There was also a high in total scoring for the championship game and the highest scoring half in the final game.

“I feel like with eyes on them, and then people watching their game, they will also realize that there’s a lot of great players in the league,” Sophie Stratton, GBHS varsity basketball player, said.

After the NCAA championship game Reese now holds 17 name, image and likeness deals that are worth 1.3 million dollars.

The average salary for a WNBA player in 2022 was just over $102,000 and a rookie contract is around $70,000. Comparitively, the NBA has a salary minimum of $953,000. It would take Reese 10 years to make what she is already making off of NIL deals if she decided to play in the WNBA.

Clark has become a key driver for

viewership in the WNBA. Her transcendent playstyle has grabbed a lot of people’s attention and has grown interest in women’s basketball. Clark is also popularizing shooting three pointers in women’s basketball.

“In my opinion she is like the female Steph Curry. He changed the game completely and is why the NBA is shooting so many 3’s now and she is starting to do the same thing,” Julia Ford, GBHS girls varsity basketball coach, said.

If Clark decides to take her talents to the WNBA she could revolutionize women’s basketball and attract a whole new audience along with it.

The WNBA’s playoff viewership was down 24% this past season, while NCAA viewership was up 27% from last year’s first round of March Madness.

This year’s draft class could provide the WNBA with the popularity it has been chasing. Translating the popularity of women’s college basketball to the WNBA could mean an increase in views, attendance and profits.

(Clark) is like the female Steph Curry.

-Julia Ford, Coach

w Sophie Stratton is the point guard of the varsity girls basketball team w

TRAP SH OTING

GBHS Trap Club’s marksmen take their shot at victory

BY RYAN KIM rkim.gazette@gmail.com

mong the various teams, clubs, and sports that GBHS currently has, one of the lesser known is the trap team. While technically referred to as the Sportsman Club, the team takes part in trap shooting every year, and has over 20 actively participating members.

Though trap might be seen as a more obscure sport to some, the members take pride in their skill and abilities.

“There’s definitely some really, really strong shooters, and we have a lot of fun with it, which is why I keep coming back; I just love the community and hanging out with friends,” Vice President Kelly Ben-

Aner said. “It’s not a super physical sport, and that’s why I like it so much…The mental aspect is my favorite part.”

The season takes place every spring, and players have practice twice a week: on Mondays the team goes to Coon Creek, and on Thursdays they go to Auburn Trap Shooting Club. The 30 minute drive both ways means that the members must devote a considerable amount of time towards the team, while maintaining a consistent and efficient practice method and schedule.

“When you’re up practicing or in a tournament, you just have to keep your mind steady,” senior Lorenzo Flores said. “You can’t get ahead of yourself, you have to think about each target individually because if you don’t, you’ll get distracted and you won’t perform as well.”

Despite the success that the team has had over the past few years as the Sportsman Club, it is a common criticism that the sport is too dangerous, regarding the use of firearms, especially when in the hands of high school students.

“Everyone is being safe out there. Nobody’s ever gotten hurt, not even a minor injury,” Flores said. “Everybody’s learning how to handle a firearm safely, and there’s no sense of danger at all around any of the people when they’re shooting.”

Despite any complications that the team has gone through, and though some may look upon the club negatively, the members of the GB trap team maintain that they take precautions when it comes to any part of the sport, and that anyone should have the opportunity to join the club, no matter the skill level.

CYCLING DEVELOPMENT

In an individualistic sport, Cycling Development emphasizes comradery

BY LOREN TOENISKOETTER ltoeniskoetter.gazette@gmail.com

Cycling Development is a nonprofit organization in the Sacramento area that many high school mountain biking teams have joined, including GBHS as of this year. Cycling Development helps new riders get into mountain biking and lightens the load of a mountain biking team on coaches and volunteers.

“Instead of wanting to quit, being overtaxed and just feeling like it was too much of a burden, (I thought) about how we could make it less work for the head coaches,” Mark Ferry, Managing Director for Cycling Development, said.

Cycling Development also aims to give a place for riders of all abilities and experience. Whereas most teams only have three to four levels, Cycling

Development offers 15 levels for riders to progress through.

However, having a great time on the trails is not the only goal of Cycling Development, they also emphasize the importance of comradery in the teams. Instead of having a lot of competition and rivalries between teams, they focus on building relationships and supporting each other when they’re out on the trails.

To achieve this, every team has two intermixed rides during the week, and events such as Team Camp hosted by parents are held for the entirety of Cycling Development with the aim of fostering team bonding and helping the riders branch out.

“Whatever team you’re on: Bruin, Trojan or Grizzly. We’re all bros, we’re all just having a great time together and we’re all a big family,”

Ferry said.

To add to the accessibility of the team, Cycling Development offers bikes and scholarships for people who want to ride but may not have the financial means to do so.

BY SARAH YEE syee.granitebaytoday@gmail.com

May is having an identity crisis.

It has been designated as both Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. Yet as an Asian American, the presence of Mental Health Awareness Month is minimal in my life.

AANHPI community conversations during May are abundant exchanges of jiaozi, lion dances and family reunions. However, candid discussions about mental health are rare—if not nonexistent.

Yet, May can and must be a space for conversation and celebration. Communication must extend to discussions of mental health, especially bridging gaps in intergenerational communication that I and many other AANHPI youth experience. Both within and outside of the AANHPI community, the alarming rates of youth suicides go underrecognized. According to a 2017 CDC report, AANHPI youth are the only racial

they weren’t validating.

Can I really achieve happiness in the 15 minutes it takes to clean my room? I imagine my depression, dust gathering in the corners.

The barriers I experience are nothing new; their roots are generational. To understand the cultural and familial influences that have uniquely shaped both of my parents’ views on mental health requires historical analysis.

I am the monolingual product of two distinct cultures—six generations of Chinese on my dad’s side and Thai from my immigrant mom. In the English and fragmented Thai and Cantonese I speak, certain words are censored. The S word represents not only suicide but shame and stigma— my mental health issues are the face of my family whether I want them to be or not. In other words, AANHPI communities often attribute mental health struggles to poor parenting and physical health.

Most of the time, people, especially youth, are looking for someone to listen and to let them come to their own conclusions in a supportive space.

challenge for AANHPI-friendly mental health resources. As the American Psychiatric Association finds, AANHPIs are the “least likely to seek mental health services than any other racial/ethnic group.”

Current dialogue around AANHPI

mental health is often conducted only after mental health concerns have compounded into crises—when the issue has become too big to ignore or has negative impacts on presentations of physical health.

Many existing support systems are inherently limited in the AANHPI audiences they can reach. The overwhelming majority of providers communicate in English, which presents challenges for nearly a third of the AANHPI who are not proficient in English.

group where suicide is the leading cause of death for ages 15-19.

When I first told my mom about my depression, she offered practical, action-based suggestions, a to-do list to maximize physical health: clean my room, exercise more or sleep more. Though her suggestions are valid,

What’s a mental health crisis to me is not to my mom.

Understanding the complex factors behind my parents’ response to my mental health was key. Yet understanding without application fails to achieve meaningful, systemic change.

Lack of accessibility is the largest

Moreover, providers must recognize the unspoken language many AANHPI carry—language that can include intergenerational trauma and internalization of racist myths like the “model minority.” If I, as an AANHPI youth, am struggling to communicate with my parents, there is more than language dividing us. While culturally competent resources and education should always be available, ultimately talks about AANHPI mental health must become more commonplace.

Now, I mentally mark my calendar for conversations; when I see my mom cleaning and I want to chat, I wait for the vacuum’s vroom to dull. I pick up my clothes and myself from the floor and speak.

“Can I really achieve happiness in the 15 minutes it takes to clean my room?”

32.8% of deaths among non-Hispanic AAPI individuals aged 15-24 were caused by suicide. CDC, 2017

DO’s & DOn’ts

Opinion:Moviesdon’tofferadequaterepresentationofneurodivergency

BY KATHERINE WILSON kawilson.granitebaytoday@gmail.com

Every time I hear about a new film revolving around or featuring a character with special needs, I am immediately skeptical. I have a sister with Down syndrome and I desperately want neurodivergent representation in Hollywood media.

But let me be clear: I want good representation.

Throughout the years, I have watched movie studios humiliate themselves by disrespectfully representing special needs. While most of the time there is no harmful intent, there are still some instances where it’s obvious the film only included a neurodivergent person for tokenist benefits.

So how can movie studios represent neurodivergency properly and meaningfully?

Lucky for them, I have a few tips.

Don’t: Infantilize Infantilization is treating someone like a little kid, even though they aren’t one. People seem to forget that those with disabilities aren’t ‘innocent,’ ‘cute’ or needing ‘protection.’ I believe wholeheartedly that the misconceptions of disability mainly stem from infantilization.

“Champions,” released March 10, 2023, did wonders in straying away from the Hollywood stereotype of infantilization. The plot revolves around the foreseeable sports redemption arc, neurodivergent edition. Although it’s predictable, what I appreciated from this movie is how they didn’t shy away from mature topics. In fact, they embraced it, providing unfiltered and natural talk from the players.

Do: Treat all characters equally

If there’s another fault of Hollywood films with neurodivergent characters, it’s the copy-paste personality: childish and seemingly stupid. Just because a character has a disability doesn’t mean it must be their whole personality. People with special

needs are more than their diagnoses, my sister is more than her Down syndrome, and I’m sick of watching these characters’ personalities being dumbed down to simply their disabilities.

One of my favorite movies, “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (released in 2019), revolves around a man with Down syndrome escap ing a residential nursing home in pursuit of his goal: becoming a pro wrestler. While his disability is relevant to the story, his qualities don’t solely orbit around it. Rather, his love for wrestling and hilarious stubbornness shines through.

Don’t: Cast a neurotypical actor for a neurodivergent role

I thought this ‘don’t’ was obvious, but it has unfortunately revealed itself as a problem.

In 2021, artist Sia released the horrid joke of a film called “Music.” Sia, in all her glory, decided to cast Maddie Ziegler as the autistic, non-ver bal main charac ter. Ziegler is a neurotypical ac tress mainly rec ognized for participating in the reality TV show Dance Moms. Ziegler being casted for this role is blatantly ableist. Rather than casting an actual actress with autism or any other disability, films like “Music” have favored the neurotypical. If a role involves a disability, cast someone who actually has that disability. When a neurotypical actor plays the part of a neurodivergent character, the misconception of neurodivergent actors being incapable only grows.

Conclusion

With special needs inclusion becoming more common in media—such as Disney’s new “Peter Pan & Wendy” movie including a Lost Boy with Down syndrome—it’s critical to do it right. Misrepresentation creates bad impressions and hurts not only my own personal sanity, but also the actors and community the representation was intended for.

“If a role involves a disability,castsomeonewho actuallyhasthatdisability.”

Opinion: Should Sikhs secede?

TheIndiangovernment’sactionsjustifytheKhalistanseparatistmovement

BY SAIHAJ CHEEMA scheema.gazette@gmail.com

“Iam Punjabi, not Indian.” It’s a phrase that has become common among Sikhs but leaves most confused. “Isn’t Punjab in India?” is what most would ask in response. They don’t understand the irony in associating oneself with a nation that abuses its power and fails to respect your people.

Eighty-eight percent of Sikhs reside in India; the Sikh people have endured the violation of basic human rights and inhumane treatment on far too many occasions. In retaliation, the support for the separatist movement calling for a sovereign state named Khalistan is increasing. Towards the end of April 2023, the government began mass arresting Sikh activists who support the separatist movement and there was a prolonged internet blackout for 27 million people throughout the Indian state of Punjab. Over the mere span of a week, the manhunt by Indian authorities had resulted in approximate ly 200 Sikhs arrested and the online censorship of millions.

History continues to repeat itself as the Indian government and some of its supporting citizens attempt to silence Sikh voices and freedom of ex pression. The fight for justice and the government re action remains similar to how it was de cades ago.

In 1984, a massacre by the name of Operation Blue Star took place. The former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, ordered a military attack on more than 40 sacred Sikh temples. One of the main motives of the original plan was to kill separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in Harmandir Sahib, The Golden Temple. Upon hearing the news of this disastrous plan and the complete disrespect to religion, two of Gandhi’s Sikh guards were found responsible for her assassination. As a result, the anti-Sikh riots and violence increased and turned into genocidal killings of thousands of people.

Most of the Sikh people being arrested have views aligning with the current radical Khalistan separatist Amritpal

tion. Their influence has wreaked havoc in the eyes of the Indian government, as they posed a threat to the appearance of “utopia.”

Indian authorities have been on edge for years, lashing out against people who find flaws within their “perfect system,” which could be a prime reason why Deep Sidhu, at age 37, was declared dead after a car accident. It is suspicious when such “accidents” happen so often. It’s impossible to not wonder if in reality they may be acts carried out by the cowardly government or supporters. Another example of these instances would be the murder of Sidhu Moosewala. Moosewala was one of the only Punjabi singers who was unafraid of backlash. He spoke about justice and the issues regarding the treatment of Sikhs in Punjab, and incorporated them into his music as well. In 2022, at the young age of 28, he was assassinated.

Each person being killed is representative of the contradictory message being sent: the government is intimidated by the people they try to depict as inferior.

It would be more than generous to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government a democracy. Especially when time and time again, it has espoused Hindu supremacy over the ideals of religious tolerance and secularism. These ideals, however, are anything but new. In fact, they were what led to the partition of Muslims and Hindus in India. Pakistan was the result of a Muslim minority in India fearing discrimination and marginalization by the Hindu majority, who they believed would dominate politics and governance if India became an independent nation. Now Sikhs are noticing the same pattern.

Without questioning morality or righteousness, the government does anything in their power to end separatist movements. They view these movements as threats to the country’s unity and integrity. It’s a grave they dug for

Not only are Sikh activists, writers and artists being silenced, but they are also being portrayed in an extremely negative light. The manipulative and biased Indian media is pulling every string it can to make Sikhs look dishonorable and unhinged. Google searches of Khalistan and Sikh separatist leaders immediately lead to news sites such as “Hindustan Times,” a news site that is owned by a member in the Indian Congress. The information in the articles is skewed and they spread foolish rumors. One rumor that hundreds of newspapers referred to was Amritpal Singh receiving cosmetic surgery to look like Bhindrawale, as he idolizes the “terrorist.” Minorities in India are made to feel alienated and targeted in their own home, yet people are surprised when they begin to demand fair treatment.

It has been decades and the Sikh people are still defending themselves against continuous acts of repression and violence in their own “home.” The demand for Khalistan and self determination is both legitimate and justifiable.

“The government is intimidated by the people they try to depict as inferior.”

SENIOR SENIOR GBHS seniors play in the 3rd annual game ASSASSIN ASSASSIN

Since the announcement of Senior Assassin in January, 213 Granite Bay High School seniors have transformed into detectives, chased each other with squirt guns and adorned fashionable floaties all at the same time.

The deadly tradition began in 2021 by graduate Kelly Jones and has now been passed onto current senior Sophia Hickey, who runs the Instagram handle: @gb23seniorassassin.

“I wanted to take on the [Senior Assassin] Instagram because I’ve run Granite Bay social media accounts in the past,

and I’ve been in student government for eight terms, so I’m kind of used to helping run big events,” Hickey said. “I’m glad I did it, because of how big a thing it is for seniors. I knew people were gonna wanna take the challenge on, and everybody loved it in the past.”

The aim was simple. Win the game? Win $2750.

Senior Assassin revolves around pairs of students attempting to shoot their target, another assigned pair. You must eliminate your pair in order to progress, and when you’re shot, you’re out of the game. For the first place winners, $2000 is awarded. The second place pair gets $500, and $250 for the third place group.

“In previous years, they’ve had $5-$10 entry fees to pile up the

money. I ended up making it $15 so it would be a bigger cash prize. In the end, we rounded up $2750,” Hickey said.

Although the money may have been an incentive, many GBHS seniors also signed up for the fun of it, like player Kate Broers.

“I saw how much fun it was last year and was excited to be a part of that this year,” Broers said. “The excitement of it all and not knowing who is trying to get you out, while also trying to get your person out, it’s all very funny.”

Although the game seems simple enough, additional difficulties were implemented such as immunity floaties and purge days designed to prolong and bring excitement to the games. The only permanent safe zones are school, practices and moving vehicles.

“The floaties grant immunity, so students can go places safely. On the other hand, purge day is totally free for all,” Hickey said.

“Everyone’s a free target and it’s total

ASSASSIN ASSASSIN

chaos.”

In retrospect to normal days, purge days have eliminated significantly more players. The first purge day, March 29, ended with over 50 players shot, double the amount killed within the first 9 days. There is one purge day per round.

“It’s so unpredictable,” senior Yousef Hashim said. “You don’t know if you’re gonna live or die.”

As of April 26th, round three has begun. While the game continues to progress, so have the rules and methods of elimination.

“The best kill of all time is when Olivia Stenson dressed up as an old lady and staged a fall,” Broers said. “So when her target went over to help her up she whipped out a water gun and got her out.”

BY KATHERINE WILSON kawilson.granitebaytoday@gmail.com

Whether full costume transformation or a simple speed shot, GBHS seniors have gotten creative in strategy. Hashim, for instance, uses knowledge rather than immediate and unpredictable action.

Granite Bay to date, it’s clear to see the intensity and passion placed into Senior Assassin.

After seeing the student body involvement for this year, Hickey is excited to see how the Senior Assassin trend progresses as time goes by.

“I think what’s so enticing about senior assassin is not only the money, but being able to play a fun game with everyone during our last high school year,” Hickey said.

“My strategy is information gathering, getting as much info from others about who has who, their schedules, what car they drive, where they live and just using that information to get my kills without putting myself out there and risking my life,” Hashim said.

Starting off officially in March, the game has gone on for several months now without a final winner. With this year being the most popular and participated Senior Assassin at

It’s so unpredictable. You don’t know if you’re gonna live or die.

-Yousef Hashim

“ ”

OH, THE PLACES WE’LL GO!

American River College

Rachel Nathanson

Arizona State University

Ronan Dougherty

Taylor Flynn

Cameran Gluskin

Gabby Mathis

Bryan Sedway

Barnard College of Columbia University

Frances Kassouni

Boise State University

Jacob Olberding

Presley Berg

Hannah Sommers

Brown University

Kate Rowberry

CSU Chico

Kameron Kaminski

Patrick O’Brien

Riley Robertson

Lakeesha Selvaratnam

Zoe Sherrets

Olivia Foster

CSU Fresno

Brooke Beauvais

CSU Fullerton

Kate Broers

Gavin Tomlin

CSU Long Beach

Kate Vincent

CSU Northridge

Angelica Bauer

CSU Sacramento

Fikar Alsakati

Jillian Gish

Gisela Gutierrez

Anthony Hanhan

Itzel Herrera Morales

Grace Wendering

Rose Wilson

CSU San Marcos

Brianna Duprel

Alyssa Zavala

Cal Poly

Shea Cook

Andrew Fowler

Ryan Gharib

Tobey Jennings

Kelli Lawson

McCade Long

Brooke McGrath

Ian Musser

Hannah Austin

Hanna Christopherson

Aiden Capps

Lucy Harmer

Ellery Martin

Kelly Benner

Bridget Sullivan

California Baptist University

Nathan McCourt

California College of the Arts

Anders Zhang

Chapman University

Addie Swift

Colorado State University

Ashley Hufford

Cornell University

Giselle Gutierrez

Alisha Bansal

Cosumnes River College

Mionet Arnold

Cuesta College

Sharyna Stratton

Drexel University

Spencer Richard

Embry Riddle

Aeronautical University

Alexa Boyer

Emory University

Maggie Lindhurst

FIDM

Nittilai Patel

Folsom Lake College

Mia Wiggen

Sugam Dhakal

Fordham University

Ann Vu

Georgia Tech

Elle Brommeland

Grand Canyon University

Jude Saba

Lucas Adcock

Isabelle Montez

Jacob Higgins

Harvard University

Salini Pillai

Loyola Marymount University

Hunter McDermott

New York University

Bree Donahue

Northeastern University

Luca Miniati

Carly Hsu

Northwest Nazarene University

Tyler Williams

Occidental College

Maya Reddy

Ohlone College

Christian Schiavo

Oregon State University

Campbell brown

Hudson Cole

Cade Myers

Lichen Fischer

Olive Jamarillo

Portland State University

Claire Warren

Abby Haas

Purdue University

Jonathan Webber

Evan Asti

Amy Basca

Reed College

Sela Sangwin

Saint Mary’s College of California

Wesson Brashear

Amanda McCarthy

Chloe Alaniz

San Diego Mesa College

Stryder Munoz

San Diego State University

Ava Anders

Sofia Bacsafra

Yousef Hashim

Taylor Jeffrey

Colton Snyder

Eddie Thomas

Jacob Abraham

Mustapha Hadi

San Jose State University

Cody Ferrante

Santa Barbara City College

Alyssa Placido

Makena McEvoy

Maddie Myers

Cole Resendez

Santa Clara University

Simran Mahajan

Jai Batra

Avery Seva

Sophia Soto

Santa Rosa Junior College

Cashmira Walker

Sierra College

Yasmeen Ali

Sparsh Kumar

Ayisha Ballout

Kianna Bates

Caleb Bonner

Zachary Bruno

Larissa Buscaglia

Cuban Castrellon

Brandon Chain

CLASS OF 2023

Benjamin Chan

Paige Day

Ethan Dickson

Troy Dillon

Gabrielle Doss

Kathleen Eaton

Cartyr Ferguson

Vincent Geiger

Makenna Greenfelder

Sarah Gul

Emily Haggerty

Kevin Hall Jones

Tyler Headley

Brayden Honebein

Katelynn Hopping

Hallie Huff

Luiza Iranco Orcy

Adarius Jackson

Ayaan Keval

Arielle King

Isabella Knotts

Abby Lee

Kieran Leja-Piano

Gabriel Lopez

Sofia Mariona

Lily Marzan

Ryan Masty

Imani Mcharo

Hayden Meads

Jessika Middleton

Jaidyn Miller

Niko Milner

Kiera Mogensen

Arian Moradkhani

Trevor Moresi

Martina Nabil

Noah Neal

Alex Noel

Oliviya Parr

Josh Perez

Diane Quezada

Terry Randolph

Sean Recoba

Sydney Roberts

Caitlin Roig

Marrisa Salazar

Cole Sanderson

Julia Santos

Amiya Shetra

Citlali Silva

Tyler Simmons

Hayden Sommers

Olivia Spamer

Tyler Steffinich

Tanya Syed

Zoran Tafoya

Danny Tejeda

Alec Thomas

Ethan Timoce

Ella Zumot

Patricia Iranco

Alecscie Dela Cruz

Kailia Colon

Andrew Bunton

Southern Virginia University

Jetty Huish

Stanford University

Alyssa Savig

Lauren Chan

Victoria Lin

Syracuse University

Lance Tsuchida

Texas Christian University

Sofia Birch

UC Berkeley

Elise Fisher

Andrew Ngai

Ethan Shohet

Dereck Phan

Khoa Nguyen

Talae Tuimanuei

Ella Rosenblatt

UC Davis

Angel Rose Joshy

Armaan Saini

Jiayin Song

Claire Tong

Theresa Tran

Michael Dunn

Sanna Ghatora

UC Irvine

Tyler Brazil

Leila Selim

Donal Sibichen

Imani Mcharo

UC Los Angeles

Momin Ahmed

Andrew Greene

Avery Moll

Olivia Stenson

UC Riverside

Yousif Altekreeti

Jason Ingram

Clayton Lee

Ali Zaidi

Limal Shaji

James Notley

UC San Diego

Yaqub Mir

Aiden Lai

Evelyn Huang

UC Santa Barbara

Olivia Conrad

Chloe Kim

Frank Reyes Felsner

Anusha Sood

Alka Nair

Paul Hartmeier

UC Santa Cruz

Courtney Le

Vincent Vergara

Hafsah Mahmood

Ryen Blanco

UT Austin

Raylie Dawson

UT Knoxville

Mia Oliviera

Katie Van Dusen

United States Air Force Academy

Carly Foster

United States Naval Academy

Spencer Longoria

University of Alabama

Haley Marks

University of Arizona

Ryan Atkinson

Trevor Alfstad

Fiona Liyanage

University of Chicago

Stuti Shelat

University of Colorado

Boulder

Harrison Wilson

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Schyler DiGiulio

Adam Root

Julius Stout

University of Kansas

Jane Gordon

University of Oregon

Carly Parker

Jacob Stieber

University of Portland

Seika Mitsuhashi

University of Southern California

Justin Ha

Amee Van

University of Utah

Sophia Hickey

University of Washington

Ashreiy Appajodu

Thomas Zeng

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Emmerson Moll

Virginia Tech

Elle Brommeland

West Point

Mary Brooke Chandler

Note: All information taken from the College and Career Center survey as of May 10, 2023.

Updated information can be found through the QR code.