High Tide: Oct. 1, 2021

ht high tide

Oct. 1, 2021 Vol. CII Edition 2

Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA

2 NEWS

4 OPINION

10 ENTERTAINMENT

Homecoming court is now expanded to grades 9-12

RUHS is not informing students on other students catching COVID-19

Local South Bay business Siam I Am review

BRACING FOR IMPACT How COVID-19 created learning loss in school programs and academic classes

ILLUSTRATION BY CECILIA APITZ

www.ruhsmedia.com

@ruhsmedia

2

news CLUB RUSH

H

UR

by MIA SCHRIFT

Students game competitively on a team in Valorant Club

V

alorant, a video game based on two five-versus-five teams battling each other, boasts 14 million monthly players. Because of Valorant’s rising popularity, senior Collin Fitzpatrick decided to create his own team, in the form of a club called the “Valorant Club.”

“I’ve been playing the game with my friends for a long time, and during the pandemic, when we started playing together as a team, I was inspired to create an official school club,” Fitzpatrick said.

The team itself has already been successful, as they have entered in a variety of competitions against other school teams and picked up about 65 members.

“Last year there was a competition, and we came in

second place, so we got trophies for that, which was pretty cool,” Fitzpatrick said.

The purpose of meetings varies, but the main focus is usually to “get organized” as upcoming competitions approach.

These victories don’t come from nowhere; tremendous effort goes into the assembly of this team, according to Fitzpatrick, who has been playing for almost two years.

With this experience, Fitzpatrick can assist his team when competing against other schools.

“We have two focuses,” Fitzpatrick said. “The first is just to have fun with each other, and the second is to compete and perform well.”

Aesthetic Arts Club provides students with an artistic outlet

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en Z has coined the phrase “that’s so aesthetic” as a way of saying something is beautiful or appealing.

Club president Sophomore Siena Chin decided to take her love for art to the next level by creating the Aesthetic Arts Club. This club gives students the opportunity to tap into their creative sides and forget about any stress or schoolwork that they are dealing with, even if it’s just for a little bit.

During meetings, students are given small assignments, such as mood boards, which are never due but highly encouraged. The club also plays games, like Pictionary and charades.

Chin has always had an interest in art, which is part ofwhat drove her to start the Aesthetic Arts Club in the first One of the submissions for a recycling art competition Environmental Outreach held last year. PHOTO COURTESY OF NEEKI JANANI

place.

“I really started doing art in fifth grade, where I would draw anime characters, book characters, or anything that I found inspiring and would want to recreate. Last year I took media arts, which I really enjoyed. This year I’m not actually doing media arts, but I really wanted to keep art a part of my daily life, which is why I made this club,” Chin said.

The club also focuses on positivity and ensuring that students are able “to relieve some of the stress, especially this year, since everybody’s just coming back to campus,” according to Chin. With the little down time that high schoolers have, Chin hopes to “give them some time to relax and just kind of find peace of mind.”

A collage made by Siena Chin for Aesthetic Arts Club.

“I went for a rustic beige and white aesthetic. There are multiple lyrics written down from songs I really like such as “Dear Dream” by NCT Dream,” Chin said.

PHOTO BY SIENA CHIN

In Environmental Outreach, students clean their community

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limate change may seem like a big, faraway issue, leaving students wondering how they can help.

Environmental Outreach, a club at RUHS, works to solve this pressing issue, one piece of trash at a time.

Junior Neeki Janani, Co-President of the club, has always found environmental issues “very interesting.”

“Especially now, with all of the burning of fossil fuels and everything, it’s important that we do our part to help,” Janani said.

Working with Co-President junior Moana Kobayashi, the two hope to “inform people about pollution and environmental issues,” while also “providing a way for students at our school to earn service hours easily,” according to

Changes in the Court

Janani.

The club provides instructions for how students can do their part in a fun and productive way.

“People go with their friends, log how much they cleaned up and take a photo, so we can keep a record of the types of trash,” Janani said.

The club, which currently has over 65 members, also does a variety of projects that they turn into contests. For example, last year they did an art project out of recycling.

Coming together on the first Wednesday of every month, Janani said the group has already done great work “informing more people about environmental issues and cleaning up the community.”

Homecoming court opened to all grade levels, and the titles of “King” and “Queen” abolished

by EMILIE TAKAHASHI

H

omecoming as students know it today hasn’t always been as it is now. Undergoing numerous name-changes and court-makeups since the 1940s, the annual Homecoming Dance has been changed again this year. Semper Club, in charge of planning the dance opened the homecoming court up to all grades, and the binary of the king and queen tradition has been eliminated.

Ms. Keasler, Semper Club advisor, discusses the reasoning behind the club’s decision.

“Homecoming is the one event that is meant to be for all four grades. Freshmen are the ones who mainly attend the dance, and we want them to feel represented. Everyone will get their chance to be on the prom court junior or senior year, but for an event that’s supposed to celebrate the whole school, we want to see the whole school involved,” Keasler said.

Some seniors, such as Carly Carter in ASB, were apprehensive at first when they heard of the change to include underclassmen in the courts.

“I was disappointed at first because homecoming royalty was something I had been waiting to experience for when I got to be an upperclassman, and it was a privilege that only upperclassmen got to have. But, I realized that so much around school has been changing after COVID-19 and everything got a reset,” Carter said. “Whether it be events or traditions or our new ASB advisor, a lot has changed already and this change definitely has the potential to be a good change.”

To Carter, homecoming court is an opportunity to honor students who have been involved around campus.

“I think that it can definitely become a popularity contest at times, but it’s about who’s really made a positive impact on campus. Sometimes that does end up being the people who are considered popular and sometimes it doesn’t,” Carter said.

Sophomore Ava Mathew, who was eligible for nomination due to the change, felt the excitement of the event and new circumstance firsthand when she was nominated.

Homecoming History PHOTOS COURTESY OF RUHS ARCHIVE RUHS’s first “homecoming dance,” called the “super colossal dance” was planned by the Boys’ League. It was one of the first co-ed dances at the school.

1941

The dance was called the “Red and White Dance” for the first time, a culmination of the spirit week, “Red and White Week.”

1949

“The underclassmen have never been to homecoming before, so it was really cool to get the younger grades involved because I know that freshmen and sophomores are still on edge about being in school,” Mathew said.

ASB also made the switch to the neutral term “homecoming royalty” rather than king and queen. This decision was made to include all students, regardless of their gender identity.

“We’re putting it out there that once people are nominated, they can pick whether they want to be a king or queen or stay as royalty. It’s easy and flexible. We don’t want to exclude anyone from the homecoming court because it is such a fun thing and great tradition,” Carter said.

As the world changes, Carter says, RUHS is changing too.

“I think that change always has to start somewhere,” Carter said. “Over time if it goes well then the change will be more accepted and it could be a really great thing for the RUHS community to experience.”

The naming of princesses from each grade was added.

Prior, the court was made only of senior girls, with one senior girl named as “Varsity [or Football] Sweetheart,” elected by the football team. Pictured (left) are the princesses of the 1978 Red and White Dance. In addition, male students were added to the court with the naming of kings and princes.

This policy was sporadic until the 2000s. Pictured (right) is Robert Velasquez, 1999 Homecoming King.

Late 1970s

The dance, called “Red and White Dance” or “Varsity Dance” in previous years, was finally officially named “Red and White Homecoming Dance.”

Pictured is 1979 Homecoming Queen Carolyn Smith.

1979

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

NEWS 3

Learning From Quarantine

COVID-19 quarantining procedures leave some students confused

by MIA DOWDELL

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o many students, the first day of school was almost cathartic. Zoom fatigue and waning motivation made distance learning an obstacle in students’ daily lives. Despite its positives, the return of in-person learning has left some students concerned about an increased exposure to COVID-19 and others wondering if they have been exposed but not notified.

“This is our daily reality. It is everyone’s responsibility to self-screen daily and stay home if they are not feeling well,” principal Anthony Bridi said. “It’s a collective effort to socially distance, mask, and wash with soap frequently.”

The procedure for a positive student case involves contact tracing in all classes and quarantining those who are unvaccinated or were within six feet of the student for more than 15 minutes. Those who had less than 15 minutes of contact within six feet of the exposed person, who previously tested positive for COVID 19 within the last three months, or are vaccinated are otherwise monitored closely. This is all part of the protocol outlined by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS) in the form of a diagram.

“There’s a lot of questions that do come about, like ‘Hey, why can’t we do this?’ or ‘How can this go?’ We can’t deviate from the guidelines that are there because we want to remain open and we want to remain as safe as we possibly can,” Bridi said.

Although this process is intricate, Bridi said that there are some questions that may not be answered with a diagram as these exposures are often treated as case-by-case scenarios.

“It’s hard for it all to be caught on one piece of paper. There’s a lot of what-if scenarios that this might not

answer,” Bridi said. “It’s constantly going to change with the ebb and flow of cases not only within our community, but within our state and our nation depending on new variants.”

One student, junior John Doe, who was unvaccinated, was told he was exposed to COVID-19 in late August and was sent home in his third period class. He later tested negative for COVID-19 the same day and a few days later, it was revealed that the

“

I just wish they would have informed me instead of just my parents.

It’s important for students to know what’s going on.

JOHN DOE JUNIOR

person he was exposed to was a false positive.

He expressed feeling “confused” by the process as initially, he was not told that he was exposed even as he was leaving school. Through emails from the administration, Doe was told to quarantine for ten days, along with a friend who sat next to him in the same class. He had trouble coming back after the false positive was revealed and he claimed that the procedures for coming back were unclear. His friends who were vaccinated were not asked to quarantine, per policy at the time.

“It was all so confusing before they emailed me because I was getting so many mixed signals from my family and what my friends heard [about the quarantining],” Doe said.

“My parents and I were really upset that I was negative and still had to quarantine and that I couldn’t come after the false positive. It felt unfair and that I was losing a lot of school time.”

According to Angelique Smith, Bridi’s assistant, Doe’s experience was a “fluke.” Students are supposed to be informed of their COVID-19 exposure as they arrive at the office.

The administration also tries to establish a line of communication with those in quarantine and make clear of how they should return.

Doe felt that the process of receiving schoolwork was mostly “frustrating” in that teachers “didn’t really have a plan” in giving instruction to quarantined students, with Doe having to initiate much of his learning through emailing teachers for clarification. However, he appreciated how the administration excused his absences without question and extended deadlines for his assignments. Without it, Doe said quarantining would have been “way more difficult.”

After experiencing the school’s new COVID-19 protocol this year, Doe wishes that the administration communicated with him better as he was called to the office.

“As far as I knew, I was just getting pulled out of school, and I had so many thoughts racing through my head like ‘Oh, something bad must have happened,’” Doe said. “I just wished they would have informed me instead of just my parents and guardians. I think it’s important that the students know what’s going on.”

COVID-19 Infection Procedure

Contact Tracing Once infected students are identified, they are quarantined for 10 days.

The administration will ask teachers for seating charts, the student’s movment and the infected student will identify who they were in contact with.

Exposed Students Exposed students who are fully vaccinated, asymptomatic (vaccinated or unvaccinated) or who tested positive within the last three months are not required to quarantine. Those who were within six feet of the infected student for more than 15 minutes are asked to quarantine. This overrides the vacciantion and previous COVID-19 test rule.

INFORMATION COURTESY OF LACDPH

Mr. Watts removed his flag of the Soviet Union from his classroom after complaints from parents

by SIMRA ZARGAR

ILLUSTRATION BY CARLY CARTER

A

fter having the flag up for eight years, Modern World and US History teacher Geoffrey Watts removed his flag of the Soviet Union from his window. The RBUSD Parents for Transparency claimed on their social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook), that he was breaking the Educational Code (ED Code) by promoting communist ideologies in his classroom.

“I’ve had the Soviet Union flag up for a while now, and I never once thought it would be interpreted the wrong way since I teach about the country to my classes,” Watts said. “In fact, kids have come in saying ‘Wow, that’s so cool that you have a flag from the Soviet Union.’ It’s sparked quite a few historical discussions that would lead to interesting conversations.”

During the Russian Revolution, the flag emerged under the Soviet Union regime until the country collapsed in 1991. The flag represents the communist party of the Soviet Union, and continues to encompass the communist movement in its entirety. Many current communist countries’ flags, such as China and North Korea, have similar designs inspired by it.

Watts declined any personal significance or belief in communism, saying the flag was on his window simply for “educational purposes.” Additionally, the Soviet Union flag is not the only one that can be seen in his classroom, as he’s hung up many other flags from different nations to represent history.

“The flag itself in my classroom is from the Cold War. On my window, I had the Soviet Union flag on one side, and the American flag on the other to represent the Cold War Era that we learn about in U.S History and Modern World History,” Watts said. “Teaching facts about communism is allowed, as long as you’re not indoctrinating students into the ideology.”

However, the RBUSD Parents for Transparency posted a picture of only the Soviet Union flag on their social media, which was hung up on one side of the window, excluding the American flag he put up on the opposite side of the window.

They claimed that parents should contact the superintendent and board members about it, as they found it offensive.

Principal Anthony Bridi said that he never found any problem with the historical flag being posted on the window.

“I’m aware Mr. Watts has a variety of flags in his classroom and knowing his current classroom environment, which is a history class, it shouldn’t be an issue. We just go with what’s being taught in the standards, and Mr. Watts teaches World and US History, which encompasses all histories in context of the historical timeline of events.”

According to Bridi, the ED Code is a set of rules that govern how students in the public education setting receive and get access to their education. RUHS follows the California ED Code.

In order to deal with issues among students, parents and teachers, Bridi said the school follows a protocol to overcome disputes anyone may have.

“If a parent has a complaint, they bring it to the teacher with the student and try to solve the issue. If anything is unresolved, then it goes to the counselor, assistant principal and then to me,” Bridi said. “As many students are self-advocating for themselves, they know their teachers are approachable. It’s expected to ask questions and raise concerns. It’s part of the equation.”

Watts similarly claimed this issue could’ve been alternatively fixed if the parents who had a problem with the flag had simply come to discuss their concerns with him. Yet, following the backlash from the RBUSD Parents for Transparency, Watts decided to remove the flag from his window.

“I was disappointed that the people who had a problem with my flag didn’t come and discuss the situation with me personally before putting an image that doesn’t tell the story on social media for people to get the wrong idea. But, no one told me I had to take it down. The group of parents thought I should take it down, but I wasn’t breaking any ED Code,” Watts said. “I took it down because it was my own personal choice. I didn’t want there to be a distraction on this campus, myself, this school, or my family.”

features

the Modesty Policy

4

P.E. accomodations present challenges for hijab-wearing students

by ROMI RISS

ILLUSTRATION BY KATELYN PERRY

T

he swimming unit starting in physical education (PE) might not seem like a big deal to most, but to freshman Rabab Boushehri, it is a world of unknowns and navigation to avoid compromising her religion. Boushehri practices Islam, a religion that highly values modesty, which can be expressed through many Muslim girls choosing to wear a hijab.

“Religion is a big part of my identity and who I am: I wear a hijab, and there are things I won’t do because of my religion,

but it doesn’t hold me back. It gives me an identity,” she said.

Students who practice modesty in PE wear layers underneath the uniform because other than a heavy hoodie, there are no lightweight workout clothes issued by the school.

“To help, the school could provide clothes that are more modest than the ones they have for us,” she said. “They could provide it for those who need it or want it because not everyone is comfortable wearing shorts and prefer to cover more.”

This leads to most students opting to sit out. For Boushehri and most people in the same situation, this is the case, as she hasn’t found a way to be able to participate.

“I do wish I could swim. It does feel nice to be able to swim after a hot day. I do wish there was a way for me to be able to swim,” she said.

Bouhshehri’s struggles in school do not

only pertain to PE. Since the age of nine, Boushehri has worn a hijab in a predominantly non-Muslim country and experiences daily struggles.

“On the first day [of high school] I was nervous about how people would view me,” Boushehri said. “I have met other Muslims in the school, but it is different when you are expressing it. I feel like the school is just largely built to accommodate Christian people, and it should be built to accommodate more people. The school should be more inclusive, but I am glad we are at a school that does understand that I need some accommodations.”

Stereotypes stem from ignorance and misinformation, and the lack of education students have on diversity and culture influences the school community.

“I wish our classes would take some time to educate students because stereotypes can be really harmful, and I wish the school would take time to teach the student

the right information, so there will be less ignorance,” she said.

Despite the many hardships she faces, Boushehri remains strong and unintimidated.

“Even though I look different, I am not that different from others. We are all different in our own ways, and the hijab also defines me and makes me unique from others,” she said. “I choose to be modest.

When I choose to be modest, I am choosing for others to judge me for who I am and not based on my looks.”

In a constantly changing society, our community of students and staff should work towards being as inclusive, accommodating, and informed as possible.

“There is much ignorance and misinformation in our community, but I am thankful to attend a school that is understanding of my identity and religion,” Boushehri said. “Wearing a hijab is a part of who I am and allows me to define myself.”

Mateen Aqmal and his family grapple with the crisis in Afghanistan and what it means for his relatives still living there

by LUCY DAVIS

A

ugust 15, 2021: Screens glare with the shouts and clamor of a crowded terminal in Kabul as every major news outlet breaks the news: Afghanistan falls to the Taliban as U.S. troops withdraw. And when senior Mateen Aqmal gets home after a block of Pre-Calc/Trig, his dinner table buzzes with commotion.

“It happened so suddenly,” Aqmal said.

“My cousins said that the Taliban were coming in 90 days, and then we went to bed, we woke up in the morning and suddenly, they had taken over. It was something that no one really expected.”

Mateen’s mother, Soraya Zahir, echoed her son’s sentiment. They’ve been watching the news as a family—following as the United States negotiates and signs treaties with the Taliban, all while anticipating a takeover—but it was “shocking” to see how quickly the country fell.

“People had hoped that the Afghan military was going to defeat [the Taliban],” Zahir said. “When the news kept track of their movement [throughout the country], it was ten, five, six provinces a day. Even when they were surrounding Kabul, people said, ‘Oh, no, they’re gonna fight,’ and within a couple of days the city had fallen.”

Much of Aqmal and Zahir’s family immigrated to America from Afghanistan over the past 30 years, but they still maintain close contact with extended family members who still live there. In fact, Zahir is in the process of helping her uncles and their families flee the country.

“It’s not easy to get them out. It’s not just like they could just leave Kabul; there are no flights coming or going. They have to go to a neighboring country—most likely Pakistan—but they don’t even know what will happen when they get there,” Zahir said.

In mid-August, thousands of Afghan ref-

ugees poured into foreign nations. Countries such as Turkey and Greece have set limits on the amount of refugees they are admitting, and Zahir says that families are worried about leaving their loved ones.

“Governments want people for their workforce,” Zahir said. “They want young people to come in, so they’re not accepting [many] seniors. The problem is that a lot of families don’t want the younger generation to leave their elders behind.”

Within their family, the ongoing conflict is something that Aqmal and Zahir discuss “every day.”

“For Afghans who live in America and Europe, we can’t really do anything. It’s a helpless feeling,” Aqmal said. “It’s like when you’re playing in a sports game and you get injured, and you have to watch the game from the sideline. You can’t do anything, so you just have to watch your team lose.”

While keeping an open dialogue about the conflict, Aqmal has noticed that discussions about the Taliban takeover have been received with various levels of alarm from his relatives. He explained that every Afghan immigrant comes from a specific time period, and their “era” impacts their level of attachment to the issue.

“For Afghans there are a few generations [with shared experiences]. It’s not just one war, it’s many different ones. My family came over during the war with the Russians. There’s also the generation that came during the civil war after [the Soviet-Afghan war, from 1996 - 2001]. There are those who moved during the time of the U.S. War in Afghanistan [2001-2021], and then the ones who came now. So obviously the ones who came now are going to care the most. The farther back you go, the more American you

are, so you don’t have as much connection,” Aqmal said.

Being so far away from the conflict in Afghanistan means that students are “seeing from their phones” instead of it being something that they have to confront. “[The conflict in Afghanistan] doesn’t impact [RUHS students] directly. But for some, there’s family, there’s culture. That could be you, and that could all be erased,” Aqmal said.

Unfortunately, American students “can’t do much to help,” Aqmal said. Posting on social media increases exposure, but ultimately any efforts do “little” to spark real change.

“It’s not gonna be like the Taliban will sign petitions [for peace], like, ‘Oh, okay’ and be done. When the government was still there, it might have had some effect be-

cause they could rally soldiers. Now you can raise awareness, but it doesn’t do much.

That’s why a lot of people here feel powerless. No matter what you do, you can’t directly impact the conflict,” Aqmal said.

There are no solutions, but Aqmal stays informed as much as he can. Tolo News and Ariana News are both relatively neutral Afghan media sources that he recommends for anyone wanting to keep up with the developments in Afghanistan.

“You wish you could do more, but the reality is that you can’t.

You’re benched,” Aqmal said.

PHOTO BY VALERIE TISCARENO Map of Afghanistan VIA VECTOR MAPS

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

FEATURES 5

OUTSIDE THE BOX ILLUSTRATIONS BY KATELYN PERRY

Some students have chosen to finish high school at El Camino

by ZELIA LERCH

U

nconventional academic pathways are available to students throughout their high school experiences, and quarantine has allowed for these “roads less travelled” to become more popular for students who don’t want to conform with the typical graduation track.

For example, some previously-enrolled upperclassmen chose to “opt out” of high school during quarantine and are currently enrolled in El Camino College. Junior Sean Stassi plans to take his qualifying exam this year to engage in the same route.

Stassi will take the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) in October, which would grant him a Certificate of Proficiency with the equivalency of a diploma. However, in order to transfer into a four-year university, many recipients of the CHSPE are required to finish their A through G requirements at a local community college.

“I don’t really like the feeling of being people but it just wasn’t the right fit for me in high school, and I feel like going to El personally,” Olschwang said.

Olschwang currently takes three psyCamino would be a more productive environment for me to learn and be motivated chology courses, which is a part of his plan to pursue the psychology program at ASU to learn,” Stassi said.

Stassi intends to transfer to a UC school to help others with their own mental struggles. to major in business and “Part of the reason engineering once he finwhy I transferred out of ishes his requirements.

Redondo is because I had According to Stassi, the problems with mental ill“lowered cost of eduness, and I didn’t receive cation and the freedom a lot of support, so it made you have in picking your Going to El Camime fall really behind. In schedule” is one of the no would be a the future I want to help most appealing factors in more productive people acknowledge the taking the test. mental illness so that they Remy Olschwang, who environment for can get treatment before it would be a high school me to learn. spirals into a more severe senior, took the CHSPE issue,” Olschwang said. during quarantine and SEAN STASSI Although he will “miss currently attends El JUNIOR his friends and social cirCamino community colcle,” Stassi is “unbothlege to fill his A through ered” by the fact that his G requirements, after which he will transfer to Arizona State Uni- senior year will be less than conventional.

“Some people might say you miss out on versity (ASU).

“I had a handful of D’s and F’s [in high the ‘high school experience’ but that’s not school], and I realized that it wasn’t the something that I’m too concerned with. I best learning environment for me. It’s a don’t like feeling like a little kid, and I don’t great system, and it works well for a lot of participate in that much school stuff any-

“

way, so it’s not a big deal for me to miss out on that,” Stassi said.

Both Olschwang and Stassi’s parents weren’t sure of the transition at first, but grew to approve of their decisions.

Olschwang’s dad even drove him to Sacramento to take the CHSPE when it was the only location offering it during quarantine.

“First, they were a little bit skeptical that I was going to fall through the cracks and that it wasn’t gonna work for me. After I kept pursuing it, they came and talked to my counselor about it, and were eventually pretty supportive,” Olschwang said.

Stassi’s parents expressed their support of “whatever decision [he] decides to make, as long as it makes [him] happy.”

“I’m pretty nervous. It’s a big step to leave high school, especially to leave so early but I’m really excited to meet people and to be at a new campus. I’m really excited for my educational future there,” Stassi said.

by JESS ALVEAR

A

t our volleyball games, spectators will often notice a large and extra noisy section in the back, right side of the gym. Repping their school spirit and fun accessories, that student section, The Flock, is always ready to take flight. This is proven to be true as in mid-September, when The Student Section Report named the Flock the best volleyball student section of the week in Southern California.

The organization also has a podcast, run by Manny Alvarez in which it discusses high school student sections and marching bands and covers what it takes to bring the best school spirit every week.

“Head Hawk” is a position in RUHS ASB in charge of getting the student section excited and involved at sporting events. RUHS has four head hawks: sophomore Henry Cushman, junior Chris Thurman, and seniors Piper Frankel and Liam Heinz.

“The environment at volleyball and football games has been so fun and full of energy. Due to COVID-19, it has been a really long time since we were able to have these kinds of events, so I think everybody was just really excited to come out and support their school. We have had a really good crowd,” Thurman said.

The Student Section Report covers high school student sections across the United States.

During the week of voting, RUHS students spread the word about the competition on social media

The Flock cheers on the football team after a touchdown against West High School. The Seahawks won 20-7. PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH PETREY

The Flock won Best Student Section in Southern California platforms, and many voted on their website, socalstudentsections.com. RUHS was up against Chaparral Green Fanatics, Capo Valley Cage and Ranch Bernardo Stable.

“It felt good to see that the Flock won. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, whether it be letting people know when

games are or planning out theme nights. I’m just glad to see people are having a good time and our school is getting acknowledged,” Thurman said.

Heinz says that Hawaiian night was the biggest hit. He believes themes draw more people to games and the game itself was getting really intense, which made

the student section get “even more hyped up.”

“On Hawaiian night, our girls volleyball team played Marymount. It’s super exciting when you can see the girls on the court getting excited when The Flock gets louder. The first half of that game was just really intense and high energy,” Heinz said.

On the court, girls’ volleyball player and junior Mele Corral-Blagojevich says she could “feel all the love coming from The Flock.”

“When we have the student section at games, it just adds to the excitement in the gym and makes it so easy for us to get going. It is also such a momentum shifter. An opposing team can make a good play that gets them hype [from the crowd], but when we make a play, the Flock cheers ten times louder and brings momentum back on our side. I love it,” Corral-Blagojevich said.

Corral-Blagojevich “appreciates the support” of her classmates and friends attending the games.

“It is so heartwarming and just awesome to see my classmates and friends at the games because it feels like they’re invested in all the hard work we put in and adds an extra layer of motivation. It is also super cool to see people from different sports and clubs on campus cheering on our team. At the end of the day, we are all Seahawks,” Corral- Blagojevich said.

The Head Hawks encourage every student to join the Flock as “it helps bring together our Seahawk community.”

“You only have four years in high school and due to COVID-19, we missed out on so much of that.

These high school years are going to fly by, so enjoy every moment of it. Join us in the student section. Let’s grow that,” Heinz said.

OCT. 1, 2021 HIGH TIDE

6 FEATURES

WELCOME NEW

TEACHERS Redondo’s new staff share their values and beliefs on teaching as they start their careers at RUHS

by ANSEL REYES

1

Q: What are you looking forward to the most this year?

A: I used to work at a charter school in downtown LA, and we were a really

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

A: I was deciding what I wanted to do in college, and I had a math major

small school. Now that I’m teaching in a really big school, I’m really looking forward to all the school events. I love rallies; I went to a high school that was really similar to this. So I just really enjoy school spirit. I was a cheerleader, so I’m really just excited about all of it.

already. I was offered education courses, and as soon as I started there, I’ve never changed topics. I’ve stuck with it, and I’ve absolutely loved it ever since.

I love working with young adults, students, young children and whoever else.

Q: What are your values as a teacher?

A: I’m a math teacher, and my biggest value

Q:

What’s an experience this year that reminded you of why you love teaching?

is that I believe everybody can be good at math.

And so that’s kind of how I lead my classes, so when I see a student kind of doubting themselves, I say, “Hey maybe you don’t get it now, but we’ll figure this out.” I’m not someone who agrees with the idea that someone can be “not a math person.”

I think it’s just maybe you haven’t been given the right approach.

- Jennica Smith, AP Calculus and

A:

2

Geometry teacher

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

A: I know that a lot of students don’t like math, and I always hear people

Q: What are your values as a teacher?

A: My values include making sure that my students are successful, not just

in the classroom, but with any goals they have, especially their goals after high school. I think it’s important for students to realize that what they learned in the classroom is applicable after they graduate. I just want to make sure that they do well here, so that once they get their diploma, they’re good to go and have a path they want to go down.

Q: What does mental health for students mean to

Q:

you?

What’s an experience that reminded you of why you love teaching?

A:

A:

I think it’s one of the biggest things, actually. A lot of my deadlines are very tentative mostly because I know a lot of students, especially now, struggle with that. I think mental health is honestly a little more important than school is most of the time. Like if you need a break, just take 30 minutes for yourself.

And if you miss a couple points on something because you took a little break for yourself, it should be fine. I know that coming from a teacher it’s a little frowned upon to say that, but I think it’s important that you’re always taking care of yourself, before you try to do anything math related or otherwise.

I think it’s those tiny moments when the “light bulb,” so to speak, goes off, and they truly understand what’s happening in the classroom. What really makes a big difference for me is that they take this understanding from my class and they’re able to apply the things they’ve learned to real life.

- Lauren Lee, Algebra AB and CD teacher 4

- Sabrina Bodine, Algebra 1 and Geometry teacher

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

A: I didn’t want to have a typical office job in a cubicle. I’ve always loved Q:

What’s an experience this year that reminded you of why you love teaching?

in a traditional classroom. After being on Zoom last year, I was teaching but it’s not the same at all. Honestly, everything was harder on Zoom. Doing everything for the first time in person and planning out longer class periods according to this schedule is so different from what I did online.

A:

Q: Why did you become a teacher?

A: I just like the kids, the population. I’ve taught En-

1. ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF PABLO STANLEY ON OPENPEEPS.COM 2. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNICA SMITH 3. PHOTO COURTESY OF DANA NOMURA

5

kids, even when I was a kid, and I knew I wanted to do something that made a difference and impacted people. So that’s my hope.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most this year as a teacher?

A: I am looking forward to getting practice as a teacher being

- Cale Espinel, Biology, Physics and Chemistry teacher

3

- Dana Nomura, Algebra 1 and Geometry teacher

saying, “Oh you want to be a math teacher? I could never.” My goal is to really help at least one student change their mind or at least not like math a little less. The larger motivation was that I had a science teacher when I was younger that made me want to become a teacher. The way she ran her class told me that it is possible for students to be in a good environment, and for students to be happy. I wanted to be that teacher for other students: someone students could talk to about things outside of school and math.

glish, math and science. I’ve taught at the adult school.

I’ve taught a lot of classes here, so it really doesn’t matter what I’m teaching. I just like helping people, especially in special ed. I like the challenge that comes with teaching kids who may need more help or help in unique ways.

I think a lot of the students love the idea that I feed them based off of the system I have in class. There’s currency involved in our class, so they can always buy food from me, and I understand that we’re all human and I just want to be as fair as possible. So the idea is they’re going through puberty or they’re growing up or whatever right? I was in their shoes. I know what they’re going through, and I just want to support them. It’s really cool to see that.

6

This is my 13th year teaching, so I’ve had a lot of students. I remember one of my students at another school that I had for a third grade class; I saw his continuum of being a student. I saw him when he was a child, and again once he graduated. I loved seeing the progress that he made, how he changed and how he became a man. He was in the military, he was dating and now about to be married. It’s amazing to see the impact you’ve had. I still get notes from him and his mom who still reach out to me which makes me feel good.

It’s cool to know that I touched somebody and made a difference in their life.

7

- Elizabeth Cohen, English 10 teacher 4. PHOTO COURTESY OF SABRINA BODINE 5. PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN LEE 6. PHOTO COURTESY OF CALE ESPINEL 7. PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH COHEN

8. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SARAH ST. JOHN 9. PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLY CARTER

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

FEATURES 7

CROCHET THE STRESS AWAY

Senior Sarah St. John shares her creative hobby she uses to destress and make gifts for loved ones

by JESS ALVEAR from watching her. I stopped doing it for a while, but then I started having a lot of freetime due to COVID. So, I got right back into it,” St. John said.

St. John believes that gifting her creations to close family and friends is what makes the process so special. For example, one of her friends graduated last year and 8 left for UC Berkeley, and as a gift, she made a bear stuffed animal in a Berkeley sweatompetitive dancer Sarah St. John, er to represent the school’s mascot. This senior, dances six to seven days a took her about two days to create, as most week. On weekdays, she practic- stuffed animals take her to make.

“I don’t sell what I create. I feel like if I es up to four hours and on weekends up to eight hours. With all her commitments did, it would take away what I love about it,” to dance and busy schedule, St. John still St. John said. “I want to do it for enjoyment makes sure to save time for a relaxing hob- not for the money. I like just giving them as by she has practiced since she was ten years gifts to my loved ones, and I am planning to start donating.” old: crocheting.

All of St. John’s creations are posted on She was first introduced by her grandmother, who quickly became her inspira- her Instagram account, @sarahsjcrochet.

“I created the Instagram account betion when making her own designs. Now, she shares her creations on social media cause I was proud of what I was creating and makes a variety of things, ranging from and wanted to share it on a platform,” St. stuffed animals, to bags to sweaters, and John said. “Prior to sharing on social media, I used to send my friends like 30 picmore.

“When I was younger, my grandma used tures everytime I finished a project. So, to crochet. I actually became interested in it I decided to stop annoying them with all

C

Senior Carly Carter takes on the roles of Disney princesses in her job at kids’ parties

by ERIKA GLASS

W

earing a light yellow ball gown, a girl walks up to a party, immediately greeted by lively decorations and excited children. This type of scene is the usual for senior Carly Carter, who has worked as a princess for parties since July of 2020.

“I wanted to get some sort of job that was really fun and engaging,” Carter said. “I’ve always loved performing and singing and Disney, so I just thought it would be a really great opportunity to use some of the skills and passions I already had in a job.”

With this type of job, Carter normally dresses up as various Disney princesses and becomes the entertainment of kids’ birthday parties. Some of the characters she has played in the past include Belle, Aurora, Moana and Jasmine.

“It’s really cool to be able to portray characters who show such kindness, bravery, loyalty and courage. Kids look up to these princesses, so it’s really cool to be able to embody them and make a positive impact in their lives through personalized time with them,” Carter said.

At the parties, Carter talks to the kids in character, sings the characters’ main songs, helps with face painting and balloon twisting and concludes with singing happy birthday and taking pictures. However, one of the most memorable events Carter has attended wasn’t actually a party, but an Angelversary for a little girl named Gizzy.

“Gizzy had passed away from cancer a year back, and her favorite princess was Moana,” Carter said. “I got to go to the cemetery dressed as her to sing a few songs and just lift this little girl up. It was a really important moment for me because it was just a really great chance to honor this girl who had gone through so much.”

Going to Gizzy’s memorial was “really special” for Carter, as she was able to celebrate Gizzy’s life as her favorite princess alongside Gizzy’s friends and family, who all had Moana balloons and pictures of the young child in Moana costumes.

“She’s just such a strong little girl. I love how she continued to have joy through listening to Moana and singing and dancing

to her songs even when she was close to passing away,” Carter said. “Even though I’ve never gotten to meet her in real life, I’ve heard about her, and just the energy and light that filled her. I would say that she’s had the biggest impact on me.”

Currently, Carter goes to three to four parties each weekend and enjoys the flexibility the job gives her; Carter is able to focus on school, hang out with friends and go to after school events during the week.

But the job has also had a greater impact, as Carter learned important lessons that she will take into her future.

“I’ve definitely learned organization.

You really have to be on top of it when booking your parties and making sure that you can get to each party on time and really provide the full hour or two hours. Another lesson is dedication. Dedication to the character, who you’re portraying, because you don’t want to ruin the magic,” Carter said. “Patience is also really important. Parties don’t always go the way you plan it and you still want to create a good moment for the kids.”

Carter continues to view performing as a princess for parties as a “cool” and “unique” experience that she enjoys.

“I love my job so much just because it gives me the opportunity to bring others joy, which I think is so important. I also really like how some parts of it are really consistent, but it’s always something new to look forward to at the same time,” Carter said. “It’s fulfilling to do something that’s so much fun and lighthearted and makes you feel like a kid again. ”

these pictures and just post them for everyone to see on Instagram.”

St. John says she sometimes has trouble focusing as “there’s so much to learn.”

“Sometimes it is hard for me to go through and finish a whole project because I get super distracted. It can be hard to sit down and finish one thing at a time since I have so many different ideas running around my brain and I just want to do them all,” St. John said.

She believes her crochet abilities have improved greatly due to social media positively influencing her design.

“I love using social media to find design patterns for free. I will just find patterns and look for different designs and try to copy them. Now, with all the practice I have done, I am capable of just improvising,” St. John said.

Although St. John puts great importance and effort into her dancing career, she thinks she will be able to balance both dancing and crocheting in her future and continue to enjoy them both.

“I have love for both crocheting and dancing. I want to pursue a career in dancing. I am pretty busy and work hard at it. I

don’t plan to take crocheti n g anywhere serious or to ever sell anything in the future, but I am sure I will keep up with it for fun and to keep learning,” St. John said.

St. John believes she has most enjoyed taking the time to step back, decompress and crochet as she uses the hobby as a break from her busy schedule.

“Crocheting has always been a way for me to destress, especially with all my stress from schoolwork and just different things going on around the world,” St. John said.

“Although it can be pretty frustrating when you are just starting out, it definitely gets easier once you learn the basics.”

Lucian Ashcraft and Mia Burzminski find comfort in witchcraft and spiritual practices

T

he realm of the extraordinary has become an ordinary part of the teenage experience—in the form of crystals, affirmations and spell jars. Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism and spirituality are everyday aspects in the lives of sophomore Lucian Ashcraft and senior Mia Burzminski.

Ashcraft (he/they) defines Wicca as “a spiritual connection to nature and the individual.”

“The whole thing has been a journey of self-love and self-appreciation,” Ashcraft said. “Before I started getting into it, there was a lot of mental health stuff going on that I still deal with sometimes and a lot of self consciousness. Getting into witchcraft has helped me gain confidence.”

Another piece of Ashcraft’s practice is deity work—forming relationships with deities (gods or goddesses of polytheistic religions) to have them aid in an individual’s life or spirituality. According to Ashcraft, they have been working with Apollo since they reached out to him through tarot cards and a pendulum a couple years ago.

“Usually I’ll have [Apollo’s] candle set aflame, and then I’m just sitting there, vibing with my earbuds in and listening to music with him,” Ashcraft said. “I can tell when he’s there because it’s a gut feeling that I get. It’s a warm feeling of joy.”

Ashcraft considers himself a Pagan and practices some aspects of Wicca, but he doesn’t like to identify with being Wiccan.

Paganism refers to typically polytheistic religions other than main world religions, while Wicca is more nature-oriented and includes witchcraft. He is also a member of The Satanic Temple, a nontheistic religious and human rights group that, according to 9 Ashcraft, doesn’t worship

by ELISE HAULUND Satan. It actually consists mostly of atheists who like its ideologies, such as treating others with respect and placing a strong emphasis on science and reason.

Unlike Ashcraft, Burzminski doesn’t associate with the religious aspect and describes her practice as “spirituality” instead of Wicca.

“There’s a misconception that it’s demon worship and Satanism, so there’s a big stigma around it. It’s actually the opposite,” Burzminski said. “It’s more positive and self-based, and it’s about self-love and trying to spread love.”

The moon cycle guides Burzminski through her spirituality and practice; on full moons, she sets intentions by making spell jars with herbs and spices.

“For me, it’s about getting in touch with myself and nature. It’s a lot of looking into myself and my past and how that defines me now,” Burzminski said. “I also really like it because it’s so disconnected from technology, the modern world and all the responsibilities we have. It’s a way of connecting emotionally that we wouldn’t in regular banter.”

Burzminski also shares crystals, spells and tarot readings on Instagram that she thinks would benefit people. According to Burzminski, her goal is to show who she is, not to push her ideas onto people.

“My practice is not something that I’m ever going to stop doing because having another way of thinking about the world, like, ‘There’s little spirits here,’ or, ‘There’s energy in the trees there’ makes it so much more interesting,” Burzminski said.

Looking forward, Burzminski would like to open a metaphysical shop (her favorite in the South Bay is Psychic Eye in Torrance) that would be a place “where people can feel accepted and feel like the world is a safe place for them to be.”

“I’ve learned that everybody’s different, and we’re all here trying to get through life and find our way in the world,” Burzminski said. “It’s more beneficial to go through life with love, live your life how you want and do whatever makes you happy, because you only have so long on this Earth.”

IN-FO

8 HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

2

ACADEMIC

57% A of RUHS students admit to cheating last year

Survey of 300 votes

Students struggle in in-

LEARNING LOSS

by ALLIE D’AMATO

imlessly staring at their tests, students struggle to formulate answers for the questions listed in front of them. They quickly realize they don’t have the luxury of an internet search to secretly aid them, and instead scavenge their minds to locate any knowledge they might find. Unmotivated and unfocused after a year on Zoom, they still come up blank and accept defeat.

For many students, this is the harsh reality of in-person school after a year online.

As students took classes online at home last year, several were susceptible to what is known as “academic learning loss.” Many teachers lost opportunities to cover content or discuss certain ideas in classes; this, in turn, led students to miss out on vital parts of their education, as they now lack a general knowledge basis to build upon.

“I think calling it ‘unfinished learning’ is a better representation of what students experienced. They didn’t necessarily lose or forget information; they just simply weren’t exposed to as much information,” assistant principal Dr. Jennifer Chatman said. “Students couldn’t kinesthetically learn or move around interpersonally.

Especially in STEM classes, where the curriculum i based, there was a gap.”

Chatman believes that Zoom was “fatiguing” and “definitely had some drawbacks” in regards to how students were able to absorb and retain content fro their classes.

“Sometimes, the conditions are out of our hands Students may have had bad WiFi connection or dem ing family lives. Other times, students try to find wa deliberately avoid engaging — we never know what one is doing behind their blocked-out camera and m microphone,” Chatman said.

Counselor Denise Holmes addresses how learnin loss affects every student differently, and it proves some students harder than others.”

“There were some problems with motivation and many students said that the pandemic took a toll on mental health. They were isolated, and therefore, th interest in learning went down,” Holmes said.

This was especially true for junior Jane Applese whose name has been changed to preserve anonym she described distance learning as a “debilitating ex ence.” She “didn’t enjoy” online school, and found h struggling to listen to instruction regularly.

BREAK NG PO NT

by ERIKA GLASS

E as R thic as m year clas lead form J since freshman year a er, says it was hard to mands the four-perso “Last year, I was al get to learn a lot of stu [Alpha Color Guard co that other people get,

Extracurriculars ing band experie learning loss

SPORTS

Girls’ volleyball must build

1. MCJROTC COMPANY COMMANDING OFFICER MACKENZIE VARGAS, SENIOR. 2. SENIOR EVAN FUNG. 3. SENIOR KENNEDY FRENCH. PHOTOS BY TISCARENO ROTC VALERIE COMMANDING CAPTAIN MACKENZIE VARGAS, SENIOR. PHOTO BY VALERIE TISCARENO

1

by SARA MIYAKE-SINGER

A

s the only RUHS sport in the entire that didn’t get a season last year, the girls’ volleyball team, the defending Southern Section Champions, faces the g challenge of rebuilding their team with o returning varsity members.

“Last season was frustrating since we only sport in the entire school and section didn’t get a chance to play,” varsity coach Chaffins said. “It affected us in several wa varsity members couldn’t mentor players freshmen who are now sophomores could any experience, and overall, we have very varsity experience.”

To help the team gain experience with other before the season, the team had pra team bonding activities during the summ “I think we did a really good job of get know each other at the beginning of the y we spent a lot of the summer working tog strengthen our team,” returning junior G Tagoi said. “[Summer training] was parti helpful. At the beginning, it was weird sin were a bunch of younger girls I didn’t kno were inexperienced. But we all came toge help them out.”

Still, some players knew each other sin had played together on club volleyball tea

OCUS

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021 9

-person classes after a year spent online, unmotivated, and often, cheating

is lab-

d w well om

s. mandays to t somemuted

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d n their heir

eed, mity, as xperiherself

IT WAS HARD FOR ME TO REFRAIN FROM CHEATING, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS SO EASY FOR ME TO GET AWAY WITH; THERE WERE NO REPERCUSSIONS AND NOBODY KNEW. JANE APPLESEED JUNIOR

Experienced upperclassmen in programs such ROTC and marching band graduated in the ck of the pandemic and were unable to pass on much of their wisdom as they would in a typical r. As a result, the students who were underssmen throughout online school are now filling dership positions with less experience than they merly would have.

Junior Sarah Yong, who has been in ROTC and is currently Alpha Color Guard commandtransition to her new role, where she comon Color Guard team. ll online because of COVID, so I didn’t really uff,” Yong said. “I was placed into this position ommander], and I didn’t really get the transfer because people usually get taught and learn

s like ROTC and marchence pandemic-induced

“Honestly, I started to become careless as online learning progressed. When you’re on Zoom, you’re alone in your room, and there’s no one there to keep you in check,” Appleseed said. “It became more and more apparent that my motivation and desire to engage was fleeting, and I often struggled to give my full attention to the lessons at hand.”

Appleseed explained how Zoom learning and online assignments prompted more cheating on coursework and assessments.

“Did I cheat? Yes. Was I consciously aware that it would contribute negatively to my academics in the future? Probably,” Appleseed said. “But it was hard for me to refrain from cheating, especially when it was so easy for me to get away with; there were no repercussions and nobody knew.”

Appleseed is now experiencing the negative effects of learning loss, as her growing disinterest coupled with her dishonest testing tactics both contributed to her “lack of general understanding of topics” across her classes.

“I’m struggling a lot this year. I took advantage of our situation last year, and a lot of my basic study habits dissolved. There’s a lot of information that I should know, but I don’t, and my grades are reflecting that, unfortu-

the ropes for positions their sophomore year.”

Because last year was entirely virtual, the program didn’t draw in as many new people, particularly current sophomores. Yong cites the lack of sophomores as one of the program’s biggest struggles.

“Since there weren’t any sophomores that joined last year, we didn’t have enough leadership positions that were supposed to be given to sophomores,” Yong said. “There were around 11 new freshmen that came this year, and we had to put them in commander positions even though they just learned the rifle movements. It was overwhelming and made me doubt if I was teaching them correctly.”

80%

of RUHS students’ participation in extracurriculars either decreased or did not change during the pandemic Survey of 300 votes

Senior Delaney Vargas also came into a leadership position this year, as Band Captain of marching band. As one of three highest positions in the program, she runs practices, conducts at football games and has witnessed the band’s rebound after the pandemic firsthand.

“In band, we’ve always had leadership or hired techs to teach the new people [marching, music, or visuals for competitions],” Vargas

d up its post-pandemic team with only three returning varsity members

school e RUHS CIF great only three

were the n that h Tommy ays: our s last year, dn’t get y limited

h each actices and mer. tting to year since gether to Gianna icularly nce there ow who ether to

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nately,” Appleseed said.

Holmes points out that above all, the foundational knowledge in classes is lacking.

“For those who are taking classes which require foundational knowledge of a basic framework of information, like the hop from Pre-Calc to AP Calc for example, learning loss is more obvious,” Holmes said. “Students who took advanced math, science, or language classes online last year and are now expected to progress to a higher level of difficulty with the assumption that they have a good grip on the content covered in the past year are the ones who are probably struggling the most.”

Even though learning loss has taken a toll on the academic sphere, Honors and AP Chemistry teacher Wilkin Lee feels as though it provides some hope for students to “reach their full potential” this year.

“Learning loss may have many disadvantages, but I think it also encourages students to become more involved in their upcoming studies. I can see now that students are striving to make connections and grasp the processes behind concepts instead of just accepting and remembering plain facts,” Lee said. “Students recognize the gap, and they are putting forth their best efforts to get their learning back on track.”

said. “Even though we lost a lot of experienced people, we still have the same amount of people who actually teach the skills as we do every year.”

One of the Drum Majors, senior Avi Celestial, is in the highest position in marching band and plays trumpet in addition to conducting the band. Celestial acknowledges learning loss as a struggle in marching band, citing a lack of upperclassman knowledge to be passed down.

“With the pandemic, these last two years were weird. We didn’t have a season last year, and there was a bit of a gap of learning from the older members, especially when the new freshmen came in last year. We didn’t really get to pass on those traditions or knowledge that the other members had,” Celestial said. “But considering that, I do think that the band is doing a great job recuperating.”

Since the majority of marching band is freshmen and sophomores, the band was “pretty rough” during the summer band camp, but they have made “great” progress within the past few weeks of school, according to Celestial.

Despite what they lost due to the pandemic, Celestial still has high hopes for the band’s future particularly during its competitive marching season, from Oct. to late Nov. “There’s a loss of tradition or skills when seniors graduate, but I also believe that when we had that gap where there wasn’t a season, the leadership team in my graduating year was given the opportunity to help shape a new culture into the program,” Celestial said. “I hope what carries on into the next year is the hard working attitude that we’re really trying to push out this year. I hope that sticks.”

21% ONLY

outside of school. According to new varsity member Sarah Munn, senior, playing with her club team helped not only because she got to play with school teammates, but because she got to keep training and playing last year even when there was no school season.

“Being new to the varsity team wasn’t too intimidating for me as there were a lot of familiar faces who I’d already played with for years on both the JV school team and on my club team,” Munn said. “I’m thankful for getting a club season last year since I got to keep playing with many of the girls who are now on varsity, and I got to improve.”

Chaffins was also thankful for last year’s club volleyball season but still felt that there was “a big gap” due to not having a school season to back it up. He’s found that the three returning varsity members “mend this gap” and are helpful in uniting the team.

“We don’t have many veterans left but I’m very grateful to the three that we have. Mele Corral-Blagojevich, a returning junior, has been an excellent leader this year and has really helped the team out by encouraging them and being assertive about what they need to do,” Chaffins said.

Even with his veterans’ leadership, Chaffins was initially worried about his players’ inexperience as the sport “needs you to always be mentally strong”

and quick on your feet.

“Our players are there skill-wise, but I’m not so sure if everybody early on was fully prepared for this high standard of always making a move for the ball. But they’ve definitely improved in that aspect throughout the season,” Chaffins said.

After several victories, including one against defending state champions Torrey Pines, the varsity team, currently ranked in the top 10 in California, aims to “be as successful as possible” this school year, according to Chaffins.

“We want to keep the team culture alive and make it to the state playoffs as we’ve done for years. We’re playing every game as if it’s the last one because, as we saw last year, it very well could be,” Chaffins said.

of student athletes believe they improved during the pandemic Survey of 300 votes

333

opinion

10

The

Case

STAFF

for

Space Billionaires should pursue modern space travel

E

lon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ BlueOrigin have blasted off the surface of our blue marble with goals that would’ve seemed impossible ten years ago: cheaper and publicly available space travel. Both men stand as symbols of a new era of space travel since the U.S. versus USSR space race ended more than 45 years ago.

When the argument “Should we be trying to explore space when Earth still needs saving,” comes up, plenty of debate ensues. The answer, yes, is actually more straightforward than you’d think. But why is it not only valuable and ethical but also important to cultivate advancements in space travel and discovery when there are so many pressing issues on Earth?

To start, take a moment to reflect: Do you have a phone with a camera in your pocket? How about AirPods? Ever used Google Maps to get somewhere? All of those technologies are a result of different technologies invented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in their efforts to explore space.

According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA invented active-pixel sensors, a technology incorporated in 1/3 of cell-phone camera technology today. Astronauts also needed a way to communicate without the worry of tangled wires, so

NASA developed wireless headphones. As well, without NASA having developed and put GPS satellites into orbit, services like Google Maps would be impossible.

Further improvements in space travel would also allow for the biggest revolution in travel since the Wright Brothers first flight. An average 12 hour long-haul flight could be done in a fraction of the time, travelling at speeds in the miles per second.

Considering how much beneficial technology has been invented, think of how much will be invented as a result of companies like SpaceX and BlueOrigin pushing scientific and technological boundaries. Better technology for humanity is a plus one for everyone.

Concerning the multi-millions of dollars filling the budgets of these space companies, improvements in reusable rocket technology has allowed NASA to spend less on contracting companies like SpaceX to send their supplies, satellites and people into space. I don’t bring up BlueOrigin because they are not currently capable of putting anything in orbit. This reduction of cost indirectly saves the taxpayer money, too, as NASA requires less money to accomplish their goals.

On the issue of sustainability, as of 2021 space travel is not viable for the future since it would have disastrous effects on our plan-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS AND BLUE ORIGIN

et due to the carbon footprint left by rocket launches. It is a goal for SpaceX to make stellar travel zero-net carbon long-term, according to Elon Musk, through atmospheric carbon-capture methods for fuel.

BlueOrigin seeks the same result through hydrogen-based fuel. If in the future stellar travel becomes more eco-friendly then regards of environmental impacts could be disregarded.

Additionally, another argument says that exploration of space completely disregards those who cannot afford to spend millions on space travel, and I whole-heartedly agree. But there’s a catch. The point of what SpaceX and BlueOrigin are doing today is to make space travel cheaper, sustainable and accessible in the future, according to both Musk and Bezos companies’ motives.

If they need to charge millions to feel zero-g right now, so everyone can feel it later, then that’s okay in my eyes.

Even if what’s beyond Earth’s horizon doesn’t interest you, know that the smartest people on the planet are collectively working together to make and maintain space travel sustainable, ethical and closer than ever everyday because humanity wasn’t born not to be an interplanetary species.

by ETHAN LERNER

New Texas Abortion law is unreasonable and harmful

T

exas legislature has banned all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Government workers are prohibited from enforcing the law, but it allows citizens to sue anyone who aids or peforms the abortion, while the patients themselves cannot be sued. If plaintiffs win, they are rewarded $10,000.

The law is unconstitutional, illogical and unnecessary. If these pro-life politicians actually cared about human life and people’s well being, they would not ban abortions completely. They would work on ways to prevent it from being needed in the first place. Abortion isn’t the problem; the problem is men thinking they get to control what people with a uterus do with theWWir body.

The law goes against Roe v. Wade, a case that began in Texas, and went to the Supreme Court in 1973, legalizing abortion and recognizing it as a constitutional right.

And instead of respecting the case as time went on, the legislature just found a way around it. But surprisingly (it’s not very surprising) enough, the Supreme Court passed it with a 5 to 4 vote. The majority vote, according The New York Times, stated that the abortion providers who challenged the law did not prepare their case in order to answer “complex and novel” procedural questions. They have also made an emphasis that their ruling is not on whether the law is unconstitutional or not, which left me utterly confused. The Supreme Court’s one major job is to make sure that laws passed are constituby HADEEL AZZAM

tional. But in this case they have a law that clearly goes against a Supreme Court ruling, and they’re not only letting it pass, but there is a whole separate upcoming case on w h e t h e r or not Roe v. Wade

PHOTO COURTESY OF MS MAGAZINE

should be overturned.

Let’s also not forget that there is a $10,000 reward for the plaintiffs who win their case, and the state of Texas will cover all additional costs and fees. The state is turning their citizens into bounty hunters by giving them an incentive to persecute their peers.

The time constraints during which the new law says an abortion may not occur is also problematic. The law states abortions may not occur after six weeks of pregancy, but that is only two weeks after many people realize their period is late. A two week delay can be caused by stress, a change in

medication or a change in diet. Or it can be caused by nothing at all. The law does not give people enough time to figure out they are pregnant, let alone figure out what they are going to do. According to a 2018 study done by the CDC, 92.2% of abortion paitents that year in the United States, did not even have abortions until, during or after the thirteenth week. If the legislatures wanted to ban something, at least make the time frame reasonable.

This isn’t going to stop a majority of abortions; it will only put a stop to the safe ones. People will find other ways, and athome abortions are rarely safe or effective.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 22,800 people die each year world wide due to unsafe abortions.

Some people cannot carry a child to full term without suffering from serious health issues. But under the new law, they are still forced to follow through with the pregnancy even if that means putting their life on the line, and ethically, how can a politician tell someone to do that?

The law offers no expectations for victims of rape or incest. These people have already suffered enough, and now they have to carry around a reminder of that incident.

It is completely inhumane.

The state of Texas has been wasting time making laws that don’t benefit all of society.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Nadia Bidarian Chrissa Olson Meghan Jacob NEWS EDITORS Elise Haulund Erika Glass Sara Miyake-Singer FEATURES EDITORS Katarina (Haven) Beches Mia Dowdell Ruby Crosthwait OPINION EDITORS Allie D’Amato Emilie Takahashi ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Heather Lee Zelia Lerch SPORTS EDITORS Ty Soria Jess Alvear WRITING EDITORS Simra Zargar Mia Schrift COPY EDITORS Romi Riss ONLINE EDITORS Ben Ringel Ria Lopresto Ansel Reyes Troy Nevil ADVISOR Kerri Eastham

STAFF WRITERS Kat Otey Micah McFadden Yaya Kitagawa Meara Fay Marlie Cornwell Stavyah Naveen Ethan Chi Sadie Simmons Marley Van Pelt Sydney Lamich Hadeel Azzam Lara Magdesian Lucy Davis Rome Kanouse Strachan Ambrosi Michael Aprahamian Ava Warman Ella Silberling

Lauren Greene Zoe Rossi Sarah Bronstein Ryan Parhizi Andrew McKenna Madison Kurihara Lauren Choy Laura Strazerri Rena Felde Erin Hartman Jade Montoya Nicolas Tomsio Yara El-Hasan Ethan Lerner Sydney Palmer Cristina Couch Scarlett Mische Charlotte Goldstein

PHOTOGRAPHERS Pete Paguyo Meagan Ching Celina Moreno Spencer Rogers Rider SulikowSascha Perdue Collin Cruz ski Elizabeth Petrey ILLUSTRATORS Carly Carter Katelyn Perry Cecilia Aptiz Heather Lee

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR The High Tide encourages greater input of opinions from both students and staff. If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at: hightideonline@gmail.com We reserve the right to edit for content, grammar and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed. Please keep letters to a maximum of 250 words. Longer guest opinions are also accepted.

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

OPINION 11 1

COVID Case Concerns The district should be more transparent with students when releasing coronavirus statistics

by RUBY CROSTHWAIT

“

I want to inform you that one student has tested positive for COVID-19,” reads an email sent on Sept. 13 by RUHS principal Anthony Bridi. “We will continue to implement our cleaning and safety procedures,” and “I appreciate all that you are doing on your part to keep everyone safe.” If you are a Redondo student reading this for the first time, don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything—these were never written for us.

Due to the current plight of the COVID-19 pandemic, RBUSD has decided to send frequent reports to parents relaying information concerning new cases on campus and to reassure our community that safety procedures are being carried out. The official RBUSD website is also making sure to keep up a current “RBUSD COVID-19 Dashboard,” which includes numbers counting active cases among the district’s students and staff per location. However, I was only made aware of this information by one RUHS senior’s active Instagram story.

AS OF SEPT. 28, 2021...

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TESTS CONDUCTED ACROSS RBUSD

RUHS students do not receive any information themselves regarding the ever-fluctuating number of confirmed, active cases on campus. Many students, like myself, probably aren’t even aware that their parents are being notified, as the reports get lost in floods of emails that hit adult inboxes daily. Some parents are said to be aware of these reports yet don’t feel the need to transfer this information to their child, again setting up a barrier on what RUHS students are able to access. Despite their young age and their strong parental dependency, students still deserve to be adequately informed on the health status of their daily environment, as their 2-feet apart desks put them on the front-lines of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, Dr. Ashish Jha, says that withholding any information concerning the COVID-19 spread will make “disease control more difficult” and raise the anxieties of those involved, including students. As she said to The New York Times, “You don’t scare people by telling them what’s going on; you scare them by hiding information.” While this mostly pertains to schools that bar absolutely any word on cases, this could very well apply to students who are not given the resources needed to keep tabs on the spread.

For a school to be able to succeed, its staff and students need to feel like their safety is prioritized, and that they won’t be overlooked by administrators who aren’t taking care of business. Only by instilling this confidence in the campus community can the school year run smoothly.

Also, in providing meticulous records of new cases popping up on campus, a new kind of pressure would be put on the student body to take safety protocols more seriously. I can’t be the only one who anxiously watch-

25

CONFIRMED STUDENT CASES AT RUHS

es as crowds of students huddle together to chat in the halls with all their masks off. By putting the numbers in their faces, students will most likely come to realize the severity of the situation and attempt to keep better track of their unsafe habits, ones that not only endanger themselves but thousands of other people on campus.

RUHS staff are, indeed, going to great efforts to keep our campus free of health-concerns: requiring teachers to be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19, having teachers clean between classes and enforcing a mask mandate. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that our campus is actually free of COVID-19, and students should be made aware of this. The situation concerning this virus across the globe is a serious one, and students need to be made aware that safety requires their full compliance. But most importantly, they should be allowed to feel safe and secure in a transparent environment.

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CONFIRMED STAFF CASES AT RUHS

2 ILLUSTRATIONS 1-2 COURTESY OF FREEPIK INFORMATION IN CHART COURTESY OF LA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

The P.E. grading scale is unfairly skewed among students

by HEATHER LEE

T

he RUHS physical education grading scale is simple. For the fitness run, eight laps is an A, seven is a B, six is a C, five is a D and four is an F. In my high school career, spanning the three years between freshman year to junior year, I have only received three B’s. The first one was for health, where I took all the tests in one week. The next was for a semester of chemistry due to the fact that I was miserably failing to calculate joule values.

The last one, most shamefully, was in PE because I could not run anything over six laps during the fitness run.

I still remember it vividly: a field of tomato-faced freshmen nursing their bottles of sun-warmed water, the timer shrieking like it held a grudge against mankind and my PE teacher’s disappointed eyes as I said my assigned number, held onto my knees and dripped sweat onto his shoes.

My intention isn’t to recount my humiliation at the hands of the AstroTurf or all the precious electrolytes I lost to my teacher’s sneakers, but to point out a pattern I noticed in not only myself, but also in the people around me: the grading scale, based on skill

rather than effort, seems to be discouraging students.

There are some obvious flaws with this particular grading policy, such as physically strong students having the leg up on their less athletically inclined peers, heavier students having to work harder because of their higher body weights and the genuine shame that teens feel towards their inability to reach a certain marker of health and the teaching of potentially unhealthy fitness ideals that don’t respect each individual’s unique body types. There’s another flaw, however, that is much more odious: the constant negative feedback that skill-based grading hands to the students that need encouragement the most.

Commonly tossed around as buzzwords in dog training programs, parenting guidebooks and certain elementary school classrooms, negative versus positive reinforcement is forcefully emerging within popular culture. It’s broadly accepted that positive reinforcement is typically more effective and long-lasting—so why is it that our PE grading scale still demonstrates a model of negative reinforcement?

One of the earliest studies of the effects of negative reinforcement involved shocking a rat until it learned to pull a lever that stopped all the shocks immediately.

The current grading scale functions somewhat similarly to this: the student is dropped onto the field and has to suffer by running in circles until they reach the desired amount of laps, at which they are allowed to end their running and lay on the field. Students who cannot meet the required amount of

ILLUSTRATION BY HEATHER LEE

laps are forced to continue running, and their grades decrease with each lap they miss. PE asks you to exercise, meaning that the student, like the poor rat who can never find the lever, must also undergo physical discomfort until the authority ends the experiment.

Also, like the rat, there seems to be some unspeakable element of psychological torture here. While it has been found ILLUSTRAthat negative TION BY ALreinforcement LIE D’AMATO initially works b e t ter than positive reinforcement, it eventually stops working and builds resentment—on the track, you would see this in the form of students gradually getting slower and slower until they only walk two laps, accepting the inevitable F. So what can we do to decrease frustrated, disengaged students and increase PE’s overall enjoyability?

We could shift more towards an effort-based grading scale; adjusting how much those runs factor into the final grade would provide great relief to weaklings like me.

Perhaps the world is not ready for a PE that goes beyond running laps and teaches better eating, yoga, stretches, proper form and a sustainable relationship with fitness. Perhaps the world is not ready for a PE that encourages and praises each student and asks them to take responsibility for their own health.

But RUHS may be ready for an effort-based scale that would encourage students to do the wiggling and jumping and running that their bodies need them to do without the stress and humiliation that has traditionally been attached to PE.

12

entertainment Rejoice for fall and the pumpkin spice latte Franchise favorites from around the South Bay

by ALEZAR FORBES

L

et’s face it, coffee can be a bit pricey and you want to know where to get the best pumpkin spice latte for your buck. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Among Starbucks, Pete’s Coffee, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, I’ve professionally psychoanalyzed which coffee is a winner and which one doesn’t make the pumpkin patch proud.

Starbucks (3/5 stars): At Starbucks, I’ve gotten the iced matcha latte with oat milk so many times they could probably name the drink after me. So as a Starbucks connoisseur, I was expecting big things from their pumpkin spice latte. When I ordered it, there was no one inside the shop, so they whipped it up and served it to me on their cold granite countertop. I held its crisp, cold condensation against my hands and watched as the whipped cream slowly melted in with the light brown pumpkin-y concoction.

Upon the first sip, I was impressed by the simplicity of the drink. There was nothing that stood out, flavor-wise, besides the temperature juxtaposition between the whipped cream hitting my upper lip and the brisk caffeinated pumpkin beverage hitting my tongue. All-in-all the drink served its purpose as a pumpkin spice latte, and I recommend it if you want something sweet in a rush but do not recommend it if you are watching the leaves turn and need a flavorful companion.

Peet’s Coffee (4/5 stars): This.

This was something totally new for me.

Peet’s Coffee wasn’t a place I typically went for anything. Ever. But duty called for me to put out a review, so here I was ordering a pumpkin spice latte. After waiting in a slightly tense line filled with people who didn’t want anything to do with anyone, I finally got my fall drink and prepared my taste buds. I have to

“

It tasted as if they made the latte FRESH from the pumpkin and a happy cow’s udder.

admit, it wasn’t bad. It tasted as if they made the latte FRESH from the pumpkin and a happy cow’s udder. The prices are extremely reasonable with only a 5 dollar price tag, which makes the drink THAT much more delicious and full of flavor. If you have the time and energy to put on a coat and get a pumpkin spice latte early in the cold autumn morning, then this is a great choice. By the way, it’s worth the line you have to stand in because, yes, it was that good.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (4.8/5 stars): I tried something a little different for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Instead of going inside the restaurant and enjoying the experience within the sanctuary of a barista, I took the route of ordering through a drive-thru. “Elaborate a little bit more as to why you went through a drive-thru” I hear my editor ask. Well, it’s because I did not feel like talking t o s om e o n e inside a n d standing up at PHOTO CORTESY OF ALEZAR FORBES the same time. Very uninteresting. There were only a few soccer-mom-mobiles blocking the prominent in the coffee that I felt like I drive-thru, so I was able to get my latte was ingesting raw, fresh caffeine. I loved it quickly; I’m very busy. The guy at the winso much, so, so, so much. The experience dow gave it to me on a plate, and I drove with this latte compared to the other shops off into the sunset with my latte. The pricis much different. With this latte, you get an ing of the repeatedly said pumpkin spice experience. Upon first taste, you’re suddenlatte is as reasonable as its competitors, ly transported to a place of calm and happiand the quality is even better. The milk ness with undertones of your own utopia. was rich and sweet; the pumpkin flavor For me, I felt so serene drinking this fancy danced frantically throughout different latte I was thinking about reading a book! I places of my tongue without being overdidn’t, but I could’ve! Overall, it is number whelming. The coffee bean taste was so one on my list for pumpkin spice lattes.

The cozy little secret you drive past everyday

by MEGHAN JACOB

D

riving down PCH you might have passed by Siam I Am, a quaint family-owned Thai restaurant, more times than you probably remember, but have possibly made one big mistake: not walking in and ordering food.

Between the specials handwritten in sloping Expo markers and the register shadowed by the families’ hanging, filledout calendar, this restaurant offers a cozy, warm atmosphere that is hard to find elsewhere. As I sit there eating with Thai music playing on loop in the background, more people than I could count with my own two hands were walking in to pick up their take-out orders, and with each bite I took, it came as less and less of a surprise.

We first try the vegetarian pot stickers that have a crispy outside and come with san-boy, which translates to “plum sauce.”

Its sweet-smelling aroma permeates the air until we finish eating and the waitress, with a big smile on her face, hands us the rest of the food we ordered.

The pad see you, rice noodles cooked in a sweet onion sauce and lightened by steamed broccoli, was steaming hot and fragrant enough to have our neighbors turn to ask us what we ordered. The Kang Ped, a red curry cooked with various vegetables, bamboo shoots and served with coconut rice, is something I unashamedly reach for more than once.

The fluffy, coconut rice smelled like an

actual coconut as the waitress was bringing it over — that eaten with the piquant curry is out of this world.

Another reason to take the time to go and dine at Siam I Am instead of opting for take out was the Thai iced tea. They don’t offer their beverages on their take-out menu, not only making you feel like the chosen one for dining at the restaurant, but also granting you the opportunity to try their glorious tea. Especially paired with the food, there is no better choice to make in life than to order the tea with the food at Siam I Am. Siam I Am also, alongside the plum sauce, offers a Nam chim chaeo sauce, a spicier chili sauce, and Tai pla sauce, made of fish and various spices from Southeast Asia. They added some much needed flavor to the pot stickers, but the plum sauce was the sauce that went best with everything we ordered.

It would have been nice to have more room while eating, and if you are going out to dinner with more than three people, this type of restaurant is not a great choice. The restaurant is also on one of the busiest and loudest streets, if not the busiest street, in the South Bay. But, if you don’t mind some hand-made menus and are willing to sacrifice some arm room for the authentic Thai food, there are very few restaurants that can replicate the wonderful service and inviting ambience they have created — it’s truly one of a kind.

1 2

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEGHAN JACOB

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

ENTERTAINMENT 13

SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST AN

OLD TOWN ROAD

Lil Nas X releases his debut album, “Montero”, two years after its announcement in 2019

by TROY NEVIL

T

wo years after breaking the charts with his country-rap single “Old Town Road,” rapper, singer and songwriter Lil Nas X released his highly anticipated debut album titled “Montero” on Sept. 17, 2021. Although expectations were high, Lil Nas X met them with ease; he released a body of work that perfectly embodies his musicianship, creativity, sexuality and personality.

It all started on March 26 of this year when Lil Nas X released what became an extremely popular but also controversial single titled “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Despite the controversy, the song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became another smash-hit. Later on, Lil Nas X released another hit titled “Industry Baby” on July 23. This song was also immensely successful, raising the expectations for the album which was teased on March 26, 2021, and then formally announced on Aug. 26, 2021.

“Montero” starts off strong, with three of the first four tracks on the album released as singles. The second track, “Dead Right Now,” is one of the strongest songs on the album; Lil Nas X sings about his fake interactionsh and how his rise to fame caused people to talk to him just because he is a successful celebrity. Lil Nas X’s ability to express these hardships in a soulful song starts off the album with a bang.

Following the first four tracks is a short interlude, “The Art of Realization,” where Lil Nas X contemplates if he is truly hap-

py with his direction in life. The rapper ponders whether love—a theme of the fourth track titled “That’s What I Want”— or fame—a theme of the sixth track titled “Scoop” featuring Doja Cat—is more important to him.

“Scoop” continues the more upbeat and fun part of “Montero” where Lil Nas X showcases his rap skills and his ability to write clean verses and a catchy chorus. The contribution from Doja Cat brings extra personality into the song, as the two brag about their bodies, fame, and eventful day-to-day lives as celebrities. “Dolla Sign Slime’’ featuring Megan Thee Stallion continues this braggy, self-assuring tone seen in “Scoop”, which is complemented by fast, staccato beats full of trumpets, trombones and drums. Although short, Megan Thee Stallion’s verse flows very well, showcasing her outstanding rapping and songwriting abilities.

A f t e r

“Scoop,” the album transitions to a slower, ballad-like and sentimental tone where Lil Nas X expresses some of his struggles within the music industry regarding his rise to fame, his personality, as well as his sexuality. “One of Me,” featuring Elton John, highlights how many thought that Lil Nas X would never succeed past his smash-hit “Old Town Road,” and “Tales of Dominica” sheds light on the many family problems and dark, depressive times he experienced. In what is already a very personal and emotional album, many of these songs add immersive depth to who Lil Nas X is as an artist.

While the album does end on a more somber note, Lil Nas X definitely did not disappoint with “Montero.”

The expectations on this album were wild; with such successful singles, Lil Nas X had a lot of pressure on his

shoulders to continue this momentum and deliver a project that was outstanding—and he effortlessly pulled it off.

Although I did prefer the first half of the album more, largely because the majority of the songs were rap and pop-heavy, the second half of “Montero” truly revealed a side of Lil Nas X the world hasn’t seen. His singles were all extremely energetic, pop and rap-heavy songs that the public could jam to, revealing his crazy and wild personality while also putting his sexuality up front. However, by adding these emotional, ballad-like songs, listeners saw a side of Lil Nas X that is far from perfect, and how many of the things he laughs off on Twitter or in front of paparazzi are real obstacles in his life.

“Montero” truly embodies Lil Nas X as an artist, and for a debut album, it is absolutely outstanding. It showcases how strong he is as a musician, but it also reveals the layers of his personality, sexuality and creativity that were not always noticeable.

It has a perfect balance of excitement and calmness, and a clear message—Lil Nas X is much more than just a queer rapper who released “Old Town Road.” He is a creative genius who created a work of art, full of outstanding music that truly captures who he is, both as a musician and as a person.

Lil Nas X poses for a promotional photoshoot for “Montero”. PHOTO

BY CHARLOTTE RUTHERFORD

GOODBYE EVAN HANSEN

by RIA LOPRESTO

“

Words Fail” — to describe how bad the adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen is. The movie premiered last Friday, Sept. 24 and is available in theaters everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Broadway musical - I’ve watched bootlegs countless times and ritually listen to the songs- but when the show made its debut from the stage onto the big screen, everything that was good about the musical disappeared.

The plot follows high school senior Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), who struggles with social anxiety and depression and has a crush on a junior named Zoe Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever). He writes a letter addressed to himself and signs “Your best and most dearest friend, Me” for an assignment given to him by his therapist. Evan prints the letter at school, but before he can take it, Zoe’s brother, Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan) reads it. Upon seeing his sister’s name mentioned in the letter, Connor gets mad and storms off with the note in his pocket, not to be heard from again. A couple days later, Connor’s mother and step-father show up at school with Evan’s letter (the one addressed to himself), thinking it is Connor’s suicide note. The story moves on from there, with Evan creating lies to keep up the ruse of Connor’s best friend, going as far to construct fake emails between Connor and himself.

The first mistake that the production made was in casting. At 27-years-old, Platt plays a 17-year-old, his face caked in makeup. Although his body language is good at

portraying an awkward teen, the noticeable difference between his age and the rest of the cast made every situation he was in uncomfortable and out of place.

Platt isn’t the only cast member playing someone 10 years younger than his actual age; Ryan, 26-years-old, plays Connor, but the age gap wasn’t as noticeable for him because Connor’s physical presence in the film is short lived. Unlike Platt, Ryan doesn’t keep showing up on screen to remind you that you’re not actually watching teens play teens.

Another casting issue prioritization of big names over singing ability. I absolutely love all the songs in the Broadway musical, but could not bring myself to enjoy any of the songs in the movie. I recognize that the actors were singing live while filming, which is no doubt hard to do, but even in the studio-recorded versions, the only voice I can listen to without cringing is Platt’s.

Adding to the list of errors was the filming style. A lot of the movie was shot with one character’s face as the focus in front of a blurred background, and there were a lot of jump cuts within the same scene. Maybe this is a personal preference, but I thought the movie spent too much time filming up close and singling out each character’s face when they were talking. It felt like I was just a little too close to the actors, especially when they looked into the camera.

One thing that the movie did differently from the musical was that it took out a few songs and extended the ending. I’m upset that the producers took out what I think to be the best songs in the show (“Any-

body have a Map?,” “Good For You,” “Disappear,” and “Break In a Glove”), at least they included the first two as instrumentals at the start of the movie when the Jazz Band played in the gym. They also replaced “Disappear” with a new song called “Anonymous Ones,” sung by Amandla Stenberg, who plays Evan’s classmate Alana Beck.

The song brought light to those who are burdened with struggles like anxiety or depression (like Evan and Alana), but something that stood out to me was how Alana asked Evan about his medications. The idea behind including this scene was to show that it’s okay not to be “perfect,” but the way Alana asked Evan about his diagnoses seemed a little invasive and not the best way to bring up the topic of mental health.

To touch on the changed ending, I liked how they made Evan take responsibility for his actions (unlike the musical, in which Evan’s lies were brushed aside by the Murphys), but there were still no major repercussions for Evan. The movie wanted us to believe that after a year of lying not only to the Murphys, but to millions around the world about being Connor’s only friend (a speech he presented about Connor went viral), no one would care about the fact that they actually never knew each other. There was a “hazing period” where everyone went back to not talking to Evan, but other than being shunned by his classmates and ignored by the Murphys, Evan never really received the weight of the consequences that should come with what he did. The most that Evan did to try to “make up” for how he lied was to reach out to people on-

line who actually knew Connor to hear real stories and watch videos of what Connor was like.

I guess for anyone who hasn’t seen the musical and can forgive the awkward acting, Dear Evan Hansen isn’t terrible. But for me, the stage-to-movie adaptation missed the mark too many times to be rewatched. If you ask me, your money is better spent paying hundreds to go to a theater and watch the musical.

The movie poster for the “Dear Evan Hansen” movie adaptation. PHOTO VIA UNIVERAL PICTURES

14

sports You just got served Girls’ volleyball establishes early leads in three sets and dominates against Culver City

by CHRISSA OLSON

T

hey just wouldn’t let up.

On Sept. 22, Girls’ Varsity Volleyball established strong leads early within their three sets and beat Culver City 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-13).

According to senior Gabriela Ramas, a Libero and Defensive Specialist, the team was “super confident” in their lead and refused to “stoop down to a lower level.” They kept their guard up for the entire game, and Culver City rarely got an edge on them.

“We’ve been working a lot on running our middles, so when our middles go up to hit, it’s a lot of fun watching them hit specific areas that our coach tells them to,” Ramas said. “When the middle goes up, and the set is just perfect and the connection is there, everyone gets riled up when we get a really big kill.”

With an uplifting and supportive team dynamic, they played fluidly, each person keeping their individual job in mind. The self-accountability led to cohesive rallies, where stealthy sets were followed by resounding strikes to the opposite end of the court.

However, they fell short on defensive readiness, allowing Culver City to score points. A stern reminder from Coach Tommy Chaffins regarding the position of an off-blocker put them back in the right head

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF CANVA

space to win.

“Once he said that, it kind of just got everyone together like, ‘We need to focus right now, we got this ball, we need to stay disciplined on defense.’ Even though we didn’t win that specific point, I think our mentality throughout the entire team was to stay disciplined, and I think it came through in the end when we won,” Ramas said.

“

We’re humble about our wins, and we’re hungry for the next game.”

TRIXIE MCMILLIN SOPHOMORE

Despite any shortcomings, the team always moved forward, huddling after every rally and reassuring each other that they’ll get the next point.

And if there was anything louder than the smack of the ball being struck down onto Culver City’s side of the court, it was the encouragement from RUHS’s bench.

Players on the bench cheered as if they had

scored every winning point themselves.

“As the bench, it’s your job to hype up the team and to build morale off the court, and it kind of gives the people on the court a reason to play harder, to respect the people on the bench. All the cheers and stuff are to intimidate the other side, but also for our morale,” sophomore Trixie McMillin, a Libero and Defensive Specialist, said.

“It’s nice to be a part of such a positive bench. We always get complimented on our bench because of how encouraging and positive we are.”

The team is not getting ahead of themselves, though. According to McMillin, one of their sayings is “humble and hungry,” which means, “every win we have, every game we do, no matter what, we’re always ready for the next one, playing every game with the same intent, energy and competitiveness.”

“Right after the game, we reflect, and we always think about what we could improve.

It goes back to the humble and hungry thing. We’re humble about our wins, and we’re hungry for the next game,” McMillin said. “We’re always trying to improve what we could have done better in the last game, and we always think about not only congratulating what we did as a team, but also what to look out for in the future.”

In three sets, Girls’ Volleyball beats Culver City 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-13). PHOTO BY MEAGAN CHING

Football leaves their mark against West Torrance winning 20-3

by BEN RINGEL

A

fter a slower start to the season than they had hoped for, the varsity football team was hungry for a win at home against West Torrance this past Friday.

“We knew we had to come out and win.

We knew it was West, our neighbors, and we had a coach that switched over to West, so this game was definitely more personal for sure,” sophomore wide receiver and safety Nate Stiveson said.

The Seahawks defeated the Warriors 20-7; with this first win of the season, their record is now 1-4. The offense came out strong, scoring on their first drive and totaling two touchdowns in the first half, according to junior quarterback Christian Hunt. The Seahawks’ offense slowed in the NATE STIVESON second half un- SOPHOMORE til senior corner and running back Josh James intercepted the ball in the third quarter, which Stiveson believes catapulted the team into scoring their third and final touchdown.

Stiveson and Hunt credit the win to the entire team, saying each player executed their role well.

“Our defense obviously did great work, only letting up one touchdown. Offensively, we had everything clicking. Finally, we were able to put it all together and played well. The passes were opening and our plays were working; the running backs did their job, and we were just able to capitalize

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and make big plays,” Stiveson said.

The team was also “confident in [their] playbook” after adding a few new plays following their recent losses, which Hunt said “majorly contributed” to their success.

“Coach Cole Webb made some good play calls that we ran in practice and were confident would work, and Christian was able to execute them and gave me the ball. Our offensive line really put everything together,” Stiveson said.

All three of the Seahawks’ touchdowns were scored off of passes from Hunt to Stiveson.

According to Hunt, the corners were a “mismatch,” with West’s corner defense incapable of controlling Redondo’s corner offense, and his offensive line was strong, so he just had to “stay calm and wait for [Stiveson] to get open.

Beyond technical work and strategy, both players credited the team’s energy to The Flock.

“It was a great feeling to be hyped up by the student section,” Stiveson said. “They make it so much more fun when they're yelling and everything.”

According to Stiveson, this win gives the team “new life,” and Hunt thinks they are “ready to go” for their game today, Oct. 1 against Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, which is both the Homecoming game and the mark of the beginning of the Bay League.

Stiveson, Hunt and Bridi see this win as proof that the team can “turn [their season] around.” According to Stiveson, the season started off slow, in part due to difficult opponents, but this win will “be huge going into [their] game against Peninsula next week.”

Offensively, we had everything clicking.

Finally, we were able to put it all together and played well.”

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1 1 1. Stiveson and Hunt celebrating after scoring one of three touchdowns.

2. Hunt catching the snap from center Jacob Hatfield.

3. The Seahawks celebrating after their first win of the season.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GEOFF MALEMAN

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HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

SPORTS 15

Double Trouble Girls’ Tennis loses Bay League opener to Peninsula 12-6, with offensive agressiveness in doubles serving as a bright spot

by SYDNEY LAMICH

W

ith the sun scorching down on the court, junior and doubles player Julia Bell sets up to serve the ball. She knows her opponent is competitive, but she takes a deep breath anyway, swings the racquet, and begins the match.

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As a singles player, we do have to wait for opportunity, but lacking in offensive power could mean losing the point.

MAEGAN DENG SENIOR

At 3 p.m. on Sept. 22, the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team played Peninsula High School.

It was a “hard-fought game,” says Bell.

“Of course I’m a little bummed that we didn’t win, but we all knew Penn was a great team,” Bell said. “I’m just really hap-

py that I got a couple of games off of them.”

Losing 12-6, the girls faced their first loss of the season due to a series of mistakes like giving the other team free points and failing to keep the ball in play.

While they need to improve their techniques, the Girls’ Tennis team is a Division 1 team with many strengths.

“We are really good when it comes to communication and following our double lines, meaning just hitting crosscourt and not really hitting down the line,” Bell said.

In addition, according to junior and singles player Maegan Deng, the team has a “great foundation.”

“Even though we lost, our offense is very strong,” Deng said. “Our doubles teams’ aggressiveness is what gets us most of the points. As a singles player, we do have to wait for opportunity, but lacking in offensive power could mean losing the point.”

Already looking forward to their next match, the Girls’ Varsity tennis team plays in Palos Verdes on Tuesday, Oct. 5.

“Most of our current team has been together for a while, and we know each other well,” Deng said. “We never put pressure on one another and we feel comfortable in the atmosphere we’ve built, which makes the tennis team more than a sport.”

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1. Freshman Avery Rapoport hits a return. 2.

Sophomore Nicole Sasaki hits the ball underhand. PHOTOS BY MASON BECHES

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Mark Your Calendars

- Boys’ Water Polo vs. Peninsula Tuesday 10/5 - Girls’ Tennis vs. Palos Verdes Tuesday 10/5 - Girls’ Volleyball vs. Mira Costa Friday 10/8 - Football vs. Culver City Friday 10/8

Boys’ Water Polo wins three games out of four in the Diamond Bar Tournament and earns third place

by TY SORIA

O

n the weekend of Sept. 24 and 25, Boys Water Polo placed third overall in the Diamond Bar tournament after going 3-1. Staying disciplined, hustling, and taking good shots helped Redondo take victory against their opponents, beating El Toro and La Jolla Country Day by over ten points and edging out Long Beach Polytechnic 12-11.

Junior center defender Jack Guenther says there are still things to be worked on, but the team improved in many ways offensively and defensively during their four game run.

“We were good at taking outside shots, but we also did a really good job on getting back on defense and not getting beat on the counter attack,” Guenther said.

But according to junior attacker Sam Hendrickson, their game improved because their spacing was “on point”, and they were focusing on getting the ball to the Two Meter man, which solved most of the spacing problems on offense.

Both Hendrickson and Guenther were impressed with the team’s performance, but the winnable games with close scores can be won when opportunities arise.

“We need to work on our 5-on-6 and 6-on-5 opportunities on both sides of the ball because we didn’t take advantage of

them,” Guenther said. “We also need to work on preventing the ball from getting passed around easily on defense.”

In their third game, against University High School (Irvine), Redondo fell just short with a loss of 11-12. The team put up a good fight, but little mistakes that held cru-

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The Diamond Bar tournament served as a last preseason chance to tighten up their game and prepare for Bay League, as they play a home game against Peninsula on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 3 P.M. “There is always something to improve, like the team chemistry. I think it will come with just a little bit more time playing together,” Hendrickson said. “We had a great tournament, and we showed a lot of improvement this weekend.”

There is always something to improve, like the team chemistry. It will come with more time playing together.

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SAM HENDRICKSON JUNIOR cial value cost them the game, according to Hendrickson.

“We had a rough one taking on University, but overall it was just a few small mistakes that cost us the game,” Hendrickson said. “Our passes were off, and we weren’t entirely focused at times.”

1. Junior Jack Guenther looks for a pass. 2. Junior Sam Hendrickson guards the ball holder.

PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH PETREY

HIGH TIDE OCT. 1, 2021

IN-FOCUS 16

by KATARINA (HAVEN) BECHES

C

THE

OVID-19 has become synonymous with virtual school, neverending mask-wearing, and perpetually skewed social calendars. Amongst the various detriments caused by the pandemic is learning loss—a term that refers to the gaps or entire holes in knowledge due to distance learning.

Algebra Support teacher Kristin Valenciana notes how she “sees a bigger divide” due to distance learning, and that “students who were able to get additional help or were already math inclined have continued to progress, as opposed to students who would have struggled in a normal school year and also weren’t in the classroom.”

With a larger gap between those two groups, Valenciana believes distance learning “absolutely” impacted student retention and learning and “teachers had to scale back on the content they were teaching, which has impacted curriculums.”

Learning acceleration and recovering from the side effects of COVID-19 are a “really big focus of the school and will continue to be a focus for the coming years,” Valenciana said.

According to Valenciana, teachers met over the summer and hold monthly team and department meetings to “constantly discuss what has been covered, what hasn’t been covered, what teachers are struggling with, and how we are going to move forward.”

“The entire staff is also getting a lot of professional development on accelerated learning,” Valenciana said. “We’re trying to figure out exactly what students know and bring in supports to help them access grade-level content, while at the same time, reteaching those prerequisite skills that may have been missed during online learning that are necessary to be successful in their current math course.”

To assess learning loss and subsequently implem e n t learni n g accel-

SOLU

TION

RUHS focuses on MAP testing to identify where learning loss occurred

DIRECTORY TO

ACCELERATED LEARNING PHYSICS TUTORING ROOM 125 TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS DURING LUNCH CHEMISTRY TUTORING ROOM 122 TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS DURING LUNCH MATH TUTORING ROOM 313 TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS DURING LUNCH BIOLOGY TUTORING ROOM 126 TUESDAYS AFTER SCHOOL WELLNESS CENTER SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL HEALTH OPEN DURING SCHOOL HOURS COUNSELOR OFFICES FRONT OFFICE AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT FOR CLASS SCHEDULING, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, ETC

Photo via Google Maps

eration as soon as possible, RUHS is following a holistic approach emphasized by principal Anthony Bridi and instituted by staff and students alike.

RUHS will proctor the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) exam, to be taken tri-annually. It will assess students’ lexile (reading and writing) and quartile (mathematics) scores.

“MAP was an idea, and then it came into fruition. MAP assesses what students know; it tries its best to figure out where there might be gaps or holes in learning,” Bridi said. “This is beneficial because it shows us what each individual student knows or doesn’t know. We can draw commonalities on which standards would need to be addressed and which grade levels are struggling.”

Data gathered by the MAP exam will be used immediately by the RUHS administration to plan professional development days for teachers.

“We don’t have enough data to specifically tell where learning loss took place. Do we think that some of it has occurred?

Most likely. But where specifically? What classes? What subjects?” Bridi said. “MAP will help us answer some of those questions.”

In addition to MAP exams, self-advocacy and simply learning in-person are “great steps” towards regaining lost learning, according to Bridi.

“We have a plan in place, and it’s a strategic plan,” Bridi said. “We’re calling it learning acceleration. Rather than calling it learning loss, it’s ‘How do we embed the necessary lessons in the everyday classroom setting to accelerate learning?’”

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We have a plan in place, and it’s a strategic plan. We’re calling it learning acceleration. Rather than calling it learning loss, it’s ‘How do we embed the necessary lessons in the everyday classroom setting to accelerate learning?’

ANTHONY BRIDI PRINCIPAL

Learning acceleration consists of multiple methods, all aimed at providing apt resources and opportunities for students to get back on track.

“There are many different approaches that we’re using to support students,” Bridi said. “The bottom line is we want students to be successful. We want them to be successful not only here at Redondo, but for the rest of their lives. We don’t want there to be something missing that we’re knowledgeable about.”

Bridi notes that teachers will be advocating for students and doing their best to help them, but it is also up to the student to “self-advocate for areas they struggle in or need help in.”

“I want students to look at the information that’s coming out [MAP scores] because they will have access to it. They can take ownership of that and say, ‘You know what? I do need to improve in that area,’” Bridi said. “It’s a holistic approach, and it’s everyone’s responsibility.”

Numerous resources have been provided by RUHS for teachers and students during such a distressing time, ensuring that collaboration and learning are successful, something teachers are very appreciative of.

“We have professional development, TOSA’s [teacher’s on special assignments], co-teaching and lots of feedback opportunities,” Valenciana said.

“I can honestly say that if I asked for anything, the admin would really try and find a way to provide it as long as it’s going to help students learn. I think we’re in a really good place.”

MAPPED OUT