High Tide March 13, 2015

IGH H

Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA March 13, 2015 Vol. XCV Edition 11

TIDE

SENDING COSTA BACK

TO THE STABLES

T

he girls basketball team beat Mira Costa to win the CIF regional tournament over the weekend for the first time since 2008. [story on pg. 20] PHOTO BY SANDER FINK

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High Tide

news

News and Briefs

Intramural Dodgeball Tournament

In regards to Intramural sports games, out of 270 students surveyed...

1.

Games students would like to play

Volleyball

Volleyball

Softball

Softball

Basketball

Basketball Sport

Sport

Games students would like to watch

Dodgeball

Dodgeball

Ping pong

Ping pong

Football

Football

Other

Other 30 40 10 20 % Student Interest

0

40%

54%

Of students want to see more extra entertainment while at Intramural games: Bands playing, halftime shows, prize raffles, etc.

2.

PHOTOS BY ILENE GUERRERO

A little healthy competition. 1. Seniors Jake Dinetz, Zane Zent and Cole

Hennerson play in the Intramural Dodgeball Tournament. 2. Seniors Elle Inscore, Krisen Hamlin and Anevay Heihle plan ahead, strategizing the best ways to beat their opponents on the court.

Said that socializing with friends is the best part of going to an Intramural game.

While only

0217

Ticket

30 40 10 20 % Student Interest

0

2%

Said that the timing of the games, when they take place, are the best part.

INFORMATION COMPILED BY JASON ROCHLIN

Spring Musical Previews

Party like it’s the 1920s.

1. The cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie perform for the school in full dress, hoping to entice audiences to buy tickets for their upcoming shows, the opening show tonight at the Auditorium. 2. Junior Serenity Robb plays Miss Dorothy Brown, singing about wanting to know “How the other half lives” in a duet with sophomore Alex Bruckner, playing Millie Dillmount.

1.

2.

PHOTOS BY CARLA MACAR

Saturday School enforces attendance requirements

by Malek Chamas

Students at RUHS may want to try to increase their efforts to have better attendance in the future. Starting Mar 7, Saturday School was extended to students with multiple unexcused absences or tardies.

This is the first school year students with multiple cuts or tardies will have to attend one of the five Saturday School sessions this semester, including the session on Mar 7, which last from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. If attendance doesn’t improve, then students will need to attend another session. Accord-

ing to Assistant Principal Anthony Bridi, this move by the administration is a response to “an increase in tardies.”

“We’ve been forced to implement additional punishment,” Bridi said. “Students with habitual tardiness will be affected. Students with five cuts or ten tardies, they’ll be the ones attending Saturday school.”

Student Advisor Adam Genovese said the administration has two different ways to address students with bad attendance.

“We try to encourage them to join activities and sports and clubs, so that they’ll be

motivated to come to school on their own.

However, we also recognize that without a disciplinary piece to it, there’s no deterrent,” Genovese said. “Our goal would be to just have everybody come because we provide an atmosphere where they feel engaged, productive, and successful. But it’s human nature to respond to disciplinary measures.”

Genovese said the administration ensured Saturday School actually produces a positive effect, and that it’s productive and not “punitive”.

“If you talk to anyone who went to Satur-

day School, they’ll tell you they started out with a reflection assignment where they basically answered questions that made them think about their reasons for being tardy or absent,” Genovese said. “I think it was a good thing at the end of the day.”

Bridi says teaching students to focus on attendance now will allow them to be more successful in their adult lives.

“Students need to be taught to have good attendance,” Bridi said. “The number one reason for getting fired from your job is bad attendance.”

March 13, 2015

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news

ASB makes changes to Boys Vs. Girls Rally

by Simrun Ursani

Despite the controversy of gender issues during the Boys Vs. Girls rally this past school year, ASB has decided to continue the rally by making slight changes, such as having all students sit on one side of the field.

In addition to girls complaining and being offended, many other people, like staff and student body, were also uncomfortable, according to ASB Secretary/Treasurer Savannah Navarro.

Many transgender students were also offended, like juniors Tristen Taylor and Liam Kleinberg.

“Last year, I just felt really uncomfortable because I was sitting on the girls side and it got really bad with all the signs and the chanting,” Kleinsberg said. “It was uncomfortable from a couple stand points like the fact that I am transgender and the fact that I can see that all the girls were being bullied by the boys.”

According to Activities Commissioner Andriana Angelevski, there were many complications after last year’s rally but when weighing the issues, ASB and Angelevski decided to keep the Boys Vs. Girls themed rally.

“Because we have decided to go forward with the Boys Vs. Girls theme, if all the changes that we have made to the rally do not work out, next year’s ASB will be tasked with figuring out a new theme, adding to the already hectic and stressful rally planning process,” Angelevski said.

In both Kleinberg’s and Taylor’s opinions, the main problems students have with the

Come on buddy, hang out over here. Girls are lousy, you know?

I don’t see why you’d ever want to spend time with pigs like them...

Come on, you belong over here.

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN BELL-NIXON

PHOTO BY CHANDLER ROSS

Standing up. Junior Drew Decurtis is poses a question to ASB about their plans to address the controversy surrounding the Boys vs. Girls Rally at the GSA meeting Wednesday.

rally are the atmosphere and the fact that the genders are being pinned against each other.

“Even if this year they are not going to allow signs and are trying to stop guys from throwing things at the other side, I still don’t like the atmosphere the rally it brings about,” Taylor said.

According to Taylor, having a third section would be helpful, but it could also hinder the people who choose not to say which gender they associate with.

“In a way it would be better, but even with a third section, there are still people who aren’t ‘out,’ that aren’t open about the gender they identify with, so that’s just forcing

them to either pick one or choose to out themselves to the entire school,” Taylor said.

Navarro believes that with the changes made to the rally, it can still continue to be a part of RUHS. “If there continues to be a problem, I do not believe that we should have a Boys Vs. Girls rally, since ultimately I do not believe that the majority of the school having fun outweighs a minority of students dealing with extreme discomfort,” Navarro said.

Former ASB director Sherie Gross explains that the majority of the student body last year, according to a survey, enjoyed the rally. Therefore, ASB, “being an entity to try and please the masses,” is continuing to plan this event.

“If the girls and boys will be mixed on the home side I think that will create a different atmosphere. It’ll be a lot more difficult to say the things that the boys in the past have said when you’re sitting next to your girlfriend or girls that you know,” Gross said.

Angelevski and Navarro, along with ASB, are working hard to run the rally as smoothly as possible and make it like others to prevent the theme from changing for next year.

“A lot is riding on my shoulders at this point because my co-commissioner and I decided to proceed with the theme. I hope that people will be mindful of the kind of things that they shout or attempt to bring into the rally out of respect for other people at this school,” Angelevski said.

Robotics prepares for Regionals

by Roxanne Labat Beach Cities Robotics will participate in the Los Angeles regional competition of For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology (FIRST) from Mar 12 - 14 at the Long Beach Arena.

This year, over 4,000 teams from around the world were given 6 weeks to design, build and test 120-pound robots that can stack cans on top of totes to get points.

Electrical lead and senior Garrett Stribling attributes the team’s current success to their sponsors at Northrop Grumman, Impresa Aerospace and local businesses, in addition to the amount of time spent working towards the competition.

“We have dedicated students who spend around 30 hours per week in the lab. Each member has a different role on the team, whether it’s CADing (Computer Aided De-

sign), manufacturing parts, scouting, or wiring and programming the robot, which is what I do,” Stribling said.

Before proceeding to the Los Angeles regional competition, the team competed against 40 other teams in the first regional and placed 4th.

“The audience cheers for their robots the way fans cheer on their sports teams. Many people even dress up in silly costumes and dance to the music,” design lead and senior Luke Stevens said.

Although competitions are considered to be electric to Stevens, he also feels the pressure that comes with competition day.

“The matches themselves are intense.

The robot drivers must make split-second decisions that determine their fate in the match,” Stevens said. “The time limit in each match makes them fast-paced and very ex-

citing. Each match, our team must ally with two other teams against the opposing alliance of three teams since each match is two groups against each other, PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN GULLAND all with three robots.

The rivets are in.

Senior Nate Schickler from Mira Costa and senior There is a lot of colGarrett Stribling look over a practice robot together. laboration between teams but also a lot of competition.” ready, the execution is out of my hands.”

For mechanical sub-team lead and senior Winning the regional competition will alMatthew Chu, most of his job requires pre- low the team to qualify for the World Champaring the robot, as opposed to operating it pionship in St. Louis, MN. on competition day.

“We are all eager to get back to the World “Those of us not controlling the robot sit Championships, and for us seniors, this comin the stands watching our creation play,” petition is our last chance,” Stevens said. “We Chu said. “I just hope for the best and have have put countless hours of work into this to realize that I did all I can to get the robot robot, and we want to see it win.”

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High Tide

opinion

Fix, rather than avoid, the problem The “Boys Vs. Girls” rally is back, and with its annual opinion crossfire, it presents an opportunity to adress the sexism displayed by some students

Editorial

It’s back. The c o n t r o v e r s i a l “Boys Vs. Girls” spring rally will return, its return surrounded by debate over the unacceptable behavior of some students in attendance. As such, this very well could be our last chance to get this rally right. And yet, this rally forces us to address questions of how far we’ve come as a society, and how far we have yet to go — as such, it is worth trying to improve the rally rather than avoid the problem entirely.

The rally, in its planned form, is a fun arena for students to enjoy themselves in a united competition against the opposite sex. However, the rally is annually hijacked by a small percentage of kids (most notably those on the boys’ side) and turned into a platform for their sexism — which, even if it is light hearted or in jest, is still unacceptable.

“Repeal the 19th;” “Make me a Sandwich;” “Back in the Kitchen.” Such deliberately offensive signs and chants over the years have taken what is intended by ASB to be a fun competition for the student body and transformed it into a hot button issue. And so the rally was very close to being cancelled this year, which would be a loss for RUHS and its student body.

Sexist signs brought into the rally should be and are now adamantly banned from being brought in. Chants are harder to control, but at the very least teachers, will be in the stands to identify the chanting students and respond appropriately. The minority of stu-

dents who are risking ruining what has the potential to be fun for everyone should be dealt with: filter signs at the door; identify and silence chanters; students, develop a sense of responsibilty and respect for persons of any or no gender. Ask yourselves if you want to be the reason why RUHS would never again have this rally — if they want to be responsible for ending one of this school’s fun traditions.

In a larger sense, though, sexism should be addressed. Yes, the minority of boys who chant and hold signs are the main proponents of sexism at this event. However, that label should not be extended to the entire gender — the few do not speak for the many; these offenders do not represent all of the boys at RUHS. There will always be bad eggs in a society, especially in high school. But that does not mean that we should sit by and watch as students express sexism. ASB and administration have taken action to prevent and punish such behavior. But students of RUHS can influence opinion and behavior far more effectively — it is up to students to pressure chanters into silence rather than add their voices in support.

The rally as planned by ASB isn’t intended to be offensive; its participants, most notably the boys who make chants and hold up signs, are intentionally and knowingly — even gleefully — sexist. The majority of the school enjoys the rally; a handful of loud, sign-waving kids should not cost the school fun inter-gender competition.

ILLUSTRATION BY LUMA WEGMAN

Editorial Board vote

The rally is enjoyed by many, and would be fun without the sexism of certain students; it is worth trying to do this event right before it is cancelled for good.

agree

6

disagree

3

Why you should care about March 3 Your vote can change Redondo Beach, especially with low turnouts

Chris Paludi March 3 was a big day for the South Bay: new School Board members were elected; voters chose not to rezone the land where the power plant will continue to stand; Her-

mosa Beach said no to oil drilling. Not as flashy as a presidential election, sure, but local city elections certainly have just as big of an impact upon our daily lives.

Why should you care about any of that?

You (probably) can’t vote, or if you can you probably didn’t, if our city’s dismal voter turnout rates are anything to judge by. So why should you care?

You should pay attention, be informed, care, because votes like the ones last week change the face of Redondo Beach and its surrounding cities. For example, Measure B would have torn down the power plant, rezoning AES’ land for mixed commercial uses. However, with its (very close) failure, Redondo’s citizens voted against it, and so the power plant stays as the land remains industrially zoned.

Now that may sound boring, but the citizens of Redondo Beach were in near civil war over the issue, embroiled in heated debate over the future of the city. And as literally the future of this city, we should know and help decide what kind of world we want to live in. Thankfully, we have that power: the power to vote.

Grassroots campaigns can work, especially when students care enough to be informed and take action: RUHS saw many volunteers, largely from the school’s AP Environmental Science class, advertise throughout Hermosa Beach on behalf of the “Keep Hermosa Hermosa” anti-oil drilling campaign. Oil drilling in Hermosa Beach failed, in large part due to student advocacy for a future they thought to be worth fighting for. Most of these students could not yet

vote, as they are not yet 18, and yet they still helped decide the elcetion by influencing the votes of others.

The only way to effect change or get the future that you want for yourself, your city or your country is to be informed, to care, and to vote yourself or ask others to vote.

Ghandi thought that if you want to see a change in the world, be that change. That may seem cheesy, but it’s never more true than in a democracy. People around the world fight and die to this day in wars for a right most of us don’t exercise. The least we as citizens is know what’s going on in our city; but with the power to influence or decide literally any and every local election, it’s tough to swallow that most of us don’t care enough to read an article and check a box to change our future.

March 13, 2015

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opinion

Letters to the

Editor

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 them 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

staff

Editor in Chief: Allegra Peelor Managing Editor: Alejandro Quevedo News Editor: Jason Rochlin Opinion Editor: Christopher Paludi Features Editors: Yasmeen El-Hasan;

Vaidehi Gandhi; Caterina Hyneman; Shawn Mallen; Shaniya Markalanda

Sports Editors: Nina Gomez; Sophie Maguy

Design Editor: Grace Zoerner Writing Editors: Stella Gianoukakis; Kayla Nicholls

Photo Editors: Ted Cavus; Chandler Ross Copy Editors: Joseph Blakely; Kira Bowen Online Editors: Vivian Vy Lam; Romy Moreno

Photographers: Dinah Aiad; Samantha

Bendall; Jennifer Blanco; Madison Brooks; Erin Czulewicz; Daniel Green; Janelle Howe; Lexi Kleen; Carla Macar; Masha Pescheryakova; Laua’e Schweitzer

O N R P CO

Chris Paludi

Saturday School: is it punishment or progress?

RUHS’s Saturday School commenced again last Saturday, bringing students with severe attendance issues back to school for a much-needed weekend reform session.

Students have to realize that school is a work environment, a place of business. Yes, our business is to get an education, but professoinalism is required at RUHS nonetheless. Coming into school 10, 15 minutes after class starts with a Starbucks coffee in hand is not just disrespectful to the teacher but disruptive for that studen’ts classmates, disruptive to their education which they showed up on time for.

If school is a job (and with our hours, it certainly does begin to feel like one) then there are consequences for disruptive behavior and for missing days — well, one consequence, really: firing.

However, firing is an employer’s way of getting rid of a problem; at RUHS, our administration wants to help these offenders rather than hurting them by casting them out.

The administrators who work with these students seek to help them to show up on time, to come to school more, to build better habits for the future. We’re all still in a developmental stage as people, and the habits we form now — good or bad — will be likely to stick with us throughout our lives. Administration wants to make sure that the habits we carry with us are good ones.

Reflection questions, grade and attenance checking, and career planning all are aimed to help students realize the impact of their habits on their academics and life overall. When confronted with the reality of current failings in school and a future compromised by poor education and bad habits, students will hopefully get back on track. Saturday School isn’t intended as a harsh punitive measure but as a consciouly reformative step to guide students towards a better lifestyle.

Cody Williams

Last weekend, RUHS’s Saturday School began again, designed to punish those students with “multiple tardies and/or unexcused period absences (cuts)” for their inability to adhere to the demands of the “professional world” known as high school. Although Saturday School presents itself as a straightforward consequence to excessive absence, it is a far cry from a solution to the underlying problem: a simple lack of motivation and enthusiasm toward school entirely.

Insufficient attendance due to student apathy can be viewed as a by-product of compulsory education as a whole. If people, especially teens, are forced to do anything, they are bound to be discontented.

School is no exception. It may seem taboo and impossible, but it’s worth consideration to make high school education optional.

Unmandated high school would naturally separate motivated learners from the disgruntled and dissatisfied; those students that have a desire to further their education would continue to attend, while those who feel that they would be more successful elsewhere would be strongly encouraged to attend trade schools early on or to enter the workforce, immediately building a resumé. A voluntary system would cut down class sizes for motivated students while introducing the world of skilled trade for those disinclined to pursue higher education. Best of all, there would be no need for looming threat of Saturday School. Student motivation would come solely from the individual, whether it is to stay in school or to begin a career early.

Simply punishing students with Saturday School will not fix dissatisfaction towards our monotonous education system as a whole.

Although it can be seen as outrageous, it is worth entertaining any idea that would best serve students as individuals. Maturing teens should not be limited by compulsion to a system and must be able to grow and develop freely in order to be prepared for the working world.

Illustrators: Steven Bell-Nixon; Kaita Pannor; Luma Wegman

Staff Writers: Gianna Aquilina; Malek

Chamas; Jason Clebowicz; Erin Czulewicz; Micah Ezzes; Lizzie Fauver; Yasamin Fazeli; Jason Fong; Daniel Green; Zach Hatakeyama; Kayla Hiken; Jessica Johnson; Jon Mallen; Marie Ona; Kaita Pannor; Samaya Rubio; Reema Saad; Mylene Silver; Simrun Ursani; Tyler Wunderli; Adam Yorke High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.

This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the rest of the staff.

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN BELL-NIXON

PHOTOS BY CHANDLER ROSS

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High Tide

features

2.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOUNGARTS

Jazzing it up. 1. Fishman, left, and Dean, right, re-

Art and inspiration

1.

hearse in the theater. “YoungArts is a great platform for collaboration with different artists. It gave me a broader perspective in my approach to my own music. It was challenging, but the difficulty of the task made it fun. 2. El-Hasan performs her essay “From Behind Windows” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Local students win national recognition from YoungArts Foundation

by Zach Hatakeyama In a time when academia is focused on math and science, it is difficult to excel in the arts; however, junior Yasmeen El-Hasan, along with two other South Bay students, junior Jamael Dean and senior Chris Fishman, did just that.

The three won national recognition from YoungArts, an arts foundation that recognizes young artists. El-Hasan won for writing, while Dean and Fishman won for jazz. As part of their prize, the winners attended a week-long arts workshop in February.

“I had the best week of my life,” El-Hasan said, “I learned and wrote a lot, made incredible friendships, met wonderful people, and had a lot of really amazing, deep discussions.

The whole week was beautiful.”

To be chosen to participate in YoungArts, students must audition and submit an original piece of their art. Each year YoungArts receive nearly 12,000 applications from 1518 year olds, with .06% winning awards.

Throughout the week, winners participated in workshops and master classes taught by renowned artists in their discipline. El-Hasan worked with authors including Tyler Dilts, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum and Patty Seyburn. Dean and Fishman worked with musicians such as John Clayton, Eric Reed and Ben Williams.

The writers and jazz artists were faced with an unorthodox pairing.

“The writers and the jazz performances were at the same show, so someone had the brilliant idea of letting us collaborate,” she said. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t all too enthusiastic at first since I had always thought

of jazz as elevator music. Then I heard them play and I fell in love.”

To her surprise, El-Hasan had found inspiration through the jazz music and felt it worked perfectly when paired with the piece she performed.

“On February 20, we got to perform our work at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which was the most incredible experience.

I even worked with the jazz musicians. One of the pianists accompanied me during my performance. He played an improvisation as I spoke, and it was beautiful,” she said.

Through the training and master classes, El-Hasan saw her writing greatly improve.

“My writing has improved so much. I didn’t even think it was possible for that much improvement to happen over the course of a week. I am a much more critical thinker now,” she said.

Along with creating works during the classes workshops, she also created strong friendships within the groups.

“They were the loveliest, most intelligent, most talented group of people I have ever had the pleasure to be around. All us writers got really close and I made a lot of friends in other disciplines as well,” El-Hasan said. “Everyone was so dedicated and passionate. It was so admirable.”

While working with the jazz musicians, El-Hasan met Dean and Fishman.

“I was blown away by their music. They’re very dedicated and passionate about it. I love watching them play because of how engrossed they are. It’s almost entrancing to watch. I can’t even begin to describe how talented they are,” El-Hasan said.

Dean and Fishman auditioned for jazz pi-

ano, in which they played a blues standard, a jazz standard and a ballad. Dean also found inspiration in collaborating with writers.

“We met the writers two days before their performance and we collaborated with them to set a mood for each of their pieces.

After that, we performed and I invited my friend up to rap on my composition,” he said.

Fishman also enjoyed collaborating with other artists and the master teachers.

“I worked with the best musicians my age and amazing teachers, and I am now better at playing with a large group of musicians in terms of accompaniment,” Fishman said.

Dean finds inspiration in playing music and enjoys improvising while performing.

“It feels empowering because it gives me the ability to relax and mess with the fellow musicians I’m playing with by trying to throw them off with an idea I may have.

The audience is entertained without exactly knowing what’s going on,” he said.

Fishman also loves jazz because of the spontaneity of the genre.

“Jazz is the only thing I do where I can constantly create new things and it is always unpredictable what will happen. You never know where it is going to go -- it’s like a game,” Fishman said.

To Fishman, jazz is akin to a conversation.

“When we play, we’re having a conversation. You’re all speaking at the same time, but you have to respond silultaneously and pick up what everyone’s saying, or in this case, playing. If it’s something that I need to react to, then I’ll react to it. When you’re not playing, you’re still involved and listening,” Fishman said.

Dean sees himself pursuing music in the

future and is willing to put in all the work possible to make that happen.

“I am going to practice a lot, play with a lot of musicians that are around my age that I think are amazing, compose a lot, find myself, and pretty much hope for the best,” Through YoungArts, Dean and Fishman learned many valuable tools.

“I learned to work as hard as I can at my craft so that everything else will fall into place around me. In other words, I need to prepare myself for when the opportunity arrives,” Dean said.

Fishman also appreciates the opportunities that YoungArts has provided him.

“YoungArts is a great platform for collaboration with different artists. This gave me a broader perspective in my approach to my own music,” Fishman said.

Along with Dean and Fishman, El-Hasan has taken valuable skills from YoungArts.

“I think the biggest thing I got from YoungArts is confidence,” she said. “I’ve always been pretty confident, but during that week I gained so much confidence in my own abilities -- not just in writing and public speaking, but regarding life in general.”

The confidence she gained in YoungArts became helpful when it was time for her to perform one of her winning pieces.

“I learned to be more comfortable with my own vulnerability. For my performance, I read a very emotional, personal and controversial piece. I was a bit wary at first, both of being vulnerable in front of a huge audience and also the possibility of inciting anger, but I did it, and I am proud of myself for doing it,” she said. “I am so thankful for YoungArts for providing me with the opportunity to do so.”

March 13, 2015

page 7

features

Barbee brothers compete in airsoft

by Lizzie Fauver

PHOTO BY CARLA MACAR

Each time they walk out onto the field, raise their weapons, and prepare for battle, the bond between them strengthens a little bit more.

Brothers sophomore Steven Barbee and freshman Andrew Barbee participate in airsoft, a sport where the objective i s to eliminate members of the opposing team by shooting them with a 6mm BB gun.

“When I was almost 13, I wanted to try something different and exciting,” Steven said. “I heard about airsoft and decided to go with my brother and two friends. We had a fantastic time and we all wanted to come again at the end of the night.”

Since then, the brothers have found a passion for the sport.

When they go airsofting, they bring along as many people as they can to expose others to the sport.

“Every time I go I make several new friends of all ages as we work together in order to

What is airsoft?

Airsoft is a game where players aim to eliminate opponents by hitting each other with plastic pellets shot from Airsoft guns, which are made to replicate firearms. The game has many legal safety precautions in place to minimize injuries. There is some controversy over the similarity in the airsoft guns to actual firearms.

Therefore many cities have restrictions to distinguish airsoft materials from lethal weapons.

achieve the objective,” Steven said. “The realism aspect provides an adrenaline rush like no other due to the fact that you may have no idea where you are getting shot from or did get shot from.”

For Andrew, airsoft is more than just an elimination game. He believes that pride and sportsmanship are the most important qualities in participating in airsoft.

“Airsoft is an honor sport. That’s one of the most important qualities a player must have before going into a play,” Andrew said.

According to Andrew, playing airsoft is a good sport for everyone because there are no specific skills needed. He sees the sport as an opportunity to have fun.

“Anyone can play airsoft, there is no skill level that is required. The only skill is to be honorable,” Andrew said. “My team and I personally have seen a wide variety of body types and physicalities play and they still succeed.”

Since airsoft is an activity that a large variety of different people participate in, many don’t consider it an actual sport. According to Steven, although it is easy to partake in, it still takes dedication and time.

“I would like to call it one of my sports, but many people do not recognize it as such.

Also, if I wanted to consider it a sport I would need to dedicate more time to it in order to get better at airsoft tactics and techniques,” Steven said. “I would love to continue playing as long as I can, because it is a great way to get exercise and have a whole lot of fun while doing it.”

Although Andrew has put a lot of time into this sport, he would not call himself a professional.

“I am no master at it,” Andrew said. “Although, over the past three years, my brother and I have progressed to become some of the top players at our home fields to the point that the referees know our names.”

Even though the brothers would not consider themselves professionals, their dedication and hard work has paid off, benefitting not only their personal playing level, but also that of their team.

“We have a good relationship with the managers and airsoft companies. Our teams

have also progressed so much in skill level to the point that we have three different companies that sponsor us,” Andrew said.

Being sponsored by a variety of companies is extremely beneficial for the teams.

Their sponsors help to support the continuation of the sport through pick-up matches and future tournaments.

“So far we have never played in an exclusive team tournament,” Andrew said. “However, we have played against many different teams, varying in all sorts of skill level.

By playing public matches, anybody can be on the same team as us, and our opponents are anyone who shows up at the Airsoft park that day.”

Each of the boys love every aspect of airsoft, but Steven especially loves the teamwork.

“My favorite part of airsoft has to be the teamwork and realism,” Steven said. “Teamwork is such an important part, because without a good team you will not do well.”

While Steven enjoys the realism and teamwork of the sport, Andrew prefers the excitement involved while playing a match.

“The best part of airsoft for me would be the adrenaline rush I get from playing,” Andrew said. “Although it is just hobby for me, I will play for as long as I can afford it.”

Both Steven and Andrew have taken advantage of airsoft to improve their relationship with one another on and off the field.

“In airsoft, we have to protect each other’s six, which means we have to cover one another’s blind side,” Andrew said. “My brother and I have applied that to our everyday lives with one another. Airsoft has helped me learn to protect each other from things we don’t see coming our way.”

Overall, Steven thoroughly enjoys partaking in this sport, and hopes to continue this hobby for as long as he can, not only for exercise and fun, but also to strengthen the bond between him and his brother.

“In airsoft, teammates have to trust each other. Andy and I have developed this trust through airsoft, “ Steven said. “Off the field, this trust has allowed us to come much closer to one another and we now do more and more activities with one another.”

Types of airsoft guns

-Spring gun: Uses a high power spring to launch the pellet.

These guns are particularly useful to players who are snipers in the game.

-Electric gun: Uses electricity to power the gun. Prices can go as high as $400. These guns are popular in -Gas gun: Uses gas to propel the pellets at a very fast velocity.

The price of gas adds up to be expensive. These guns need to be at a minimum of 59° F to work. information from http://www.wikihow.com/Airsoft

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features

Contact sport Abi Hood plays as pivot and blocker on a roller derby team

by Gianna Aquilina

Roll out. Morley en-

PH

OT O

CO U

RT ES YO

FA

BI

HO

OD

joys roller derby because it defies standards set on women to act “ladylike”.

Squatting low, freshman Abi Hood waits for the impact of another girl trying to get by her.

The exhilarating feeling of skating is mixed with the anticipation of never knowing when she’s going to be knocked over. Hood has been playing on a roller derby team for over a year now.

Roller derby has helped Hood get out her anger and stress in a “healthy” way. She takes out her frustrations and issues on the rink.

“The sportsmanship of the game is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. its interesting to watch these girls knock each other around then get together to take pictures with after the game,” Hood said. “I hurt other girls and sometimes other girls hurt me.

That’s just the way the game works,” When Hood tells people that she is in roller derby she gets many mixed reactions.

Some people ask her why she does it while others can be very negative, saying that its

“unladylike”.

“Roller derby is a contact sport and people are scared of that. They don’t think that it’s safe for me because I’m a girl. It’s just like when guys play football. Neither sport is safe,” she said.

Hood loves roller derby because it defies the standards of being a woman.

“

I grew up with people telling me that women always have to be beautiful, elegant, and have poise. Roller derby is sort of my way to show them that that’s not always true. Roller derby defies the standards of always being delicate and soft. I think women are strong and we can be just as strong as men and that motivated me to start playing.

- Abi Hood

”

Hood also gets negative comments about the outfits they wear during the game. People call it “scandalous” because they wear spandex and tank tops.

“What they don’t realize is that those outfits are necessary. It helps us move around faster and easier,” she said.

Last year Hood was looking for a sport to start playing when she saw an advertisement for a roller derby game and went to

check it out.

“After the game I found out that they had a junior league called the Shark Bites Roller Derby Team and I decided to join,” Hood said.

Hood’s mother Missy Hood loves that she is playing roller derby and supports her despite the physical nature of the sport.

“I love that she finally found a sport that she genuinely enjoys playing.” Ms. Hood said.

Hood’s position in roller derby is a pivot and blocker so her job to keep people from breaking through the wall.

“I’m on the wall, which is the line of four girls, and I hit people to stop them from getting through the wall,” Hood said.

Even though Hood has only done roller derby for a little over a year now she has gained “a lot of knowledge”.

“I learned that I don’t need to be very soft to be vulnerable,” she said, “I can be as tough as I am and still be vulnerable.”

Hood is close to finishing her studies to become a disciple of Christianity and roller derby has taught her many things that she uses to practice Christianity.

“When you’re growing up in a Christian church you are always told that you have to be open and vulnerable enough to share your sin with others. For a very long time it was hard to do because I always had my guard up because I wanted to be tough. You can’t do that when you’re a Christian and roller derby taught me that it’s okay to be vulnerable at times.” Abi said.

Shallon promotes band, Armor

by Yasi Fazeli

Many people simply sit back and enjoy listening to their favorite music, but junior Beth Shallon was accepted to become part of a growing band’s promotional team.

Almost two years ago, the band, Armor, contacted Shallon through Twitter to get her and other’s to listen to their music.

“In December of 2013, this band contacted me saying, ‘Hey why don’t you listen to our music and on January 3rd of this year, they decided they were going change their name and redo what they look like. They changed their name to Armors, and they’ve released two new songs since then, “ Shallon said.

Shallon was surprised at how easy the application process was to join Armor’s promotional team.

“When I saw the opportunity to be a part

of this, I was thrilled. I just thought that its something thats really cool and I have to do it,” Shallon said. “You just had to email them saying that I love to be apart of this because I really like the band. I didn’t think it would be so easy to become a part of it, but now that I am, it’s really great.”

Armors provides special offers for people like Shallon who help promote their music.

“As a member of the promotional team, the band calls it a street team, we get a few perks. For example, we may get a free shirt, other free merchandise, or meet the band,” Shallon said.

Many people have not heard about the band still, but Shallon believes as a result of their street team, information about the team is spreading.

“I think that I have helped them in some ways. Honestly my twitter feed is just filled with their music. I’m either retweeting the

band or the advertising team, and it’s really great because they’re all such nice, down to earth people,” Shallon said.

Armor’s promotional team manager, Katie Beniche also believes they have helped the band grow.

“Even though the street team is still new, we have seen an impact on the fanbase.

Our Twitter account has reached hundreds of people in the past few weeks and seems to be gaining an overall positive response,” Beniche said.

As a result from efforts of the promotional team, Armor’s music is spreading to more mainstream radio stations and bigger venues.

“In total, they have eleven songs, so its not that much but its still really great because you can tell that they wrote it and while they’re playing it you can hear that they’ve taken it and made it their own,“

Shallon said. “At the same time, its also great because their music has also been played on KROQ. Sunday nights from 9 to 10 p.m. they play local music that many people haven’t heard of. It’s fun to hear their music on the radio every now and then and it’s great that they’re getting their music out there for people to hear.”

Along with the excitement of promoting a band she loves, this experience has helped her develop her appreciation for different kinds of music.

“Promoting Armors has definitely made music more important to me than it already was. Music is something that I use to get through the day, every day,” Shallon said.

“I’m constantly listening to music and I feel like just being able to get information about the band out there is really important because its helping me be able to spread my ideas and get information out there.”

March 13, 2015

features

More than a party game

page 9

Smash club brings Super Smash Bros to Redondo

by Mylene Silver Spectators shouting. Buttons mashing.

The Nintendo characters on the CRT televisions moving rapidly across the battle stage.

This is what the school’s new Super Smash Bros. club experiences during their hours of practice and competing.

“Melee is so advanced and it takes a lot of skill but anyone can pick up the game,” club president, senior Nate Maturo said. “One would think it was just this party game but it’s so much more than that. It brings people together. We’re playing each other and we make friends.”

The students from the club that compete competitively on a “crew” are Maturo, sophomore Dylan Allen, senior Kentaro Oshimoto, sophomore Michael Silver, and sophomore Logan Chaves.

“It’s like a new experience,” Maturo said.

“You meet these guys that all love the same game you do. And since we share the same interest, we just find them to be great people and you want to be friends with them.”

The five-person crew is a part of a SoCal High School circuit with 30 other high schools.

“There’s a bracket that shows all the schools that we have to play and we have to

play Warren high school next,” Maturo said.

“They want to wait 3 weeks before the play us and I think they’re a little intimidated because we’re a good crew. They’ll be in for a treat.”

Allen feels they have an advantage over other schools because of their brother-like bond.

“I didn’t really get that brotherhood feeling from the other high schools,” Allen said.

“They didn’t seem too comfortable around each other even though they were team mates.”

The RUHS Smash club crew recently beat Mira Costa in a “crew battle”.

“We plan to keep everything respectful and not have any bashfulness,” Maturo said. “At first there was a little bit of beef between the schools but we just had to tell everyone that we’re here for the love of the game and to just get along.”

According to Maturo, he is very confident in the crew’s ability to perform well in the future.

“Other crews don’t have the same spark that our crew has. We all try to motivate each other to do better,” Maturo said. “If we lose a couple matches we don’t really pick on each other but we motivate the other person to fix whatever they’re doing wrong.

It’s kind of like building blocks. I feel like our crew plays for each other and we try to motivate each other and exceed.”

The club plans on holding Smash 4 tournaments at school around the third Friday of every month in the Bingo Room. They also have plans to host a SmashFest in the Redondo area, where schools from around Southern California will come and compete against each other.

For the past four months, the crew has also attended a locally-run tournament called Mayhem in Pasadena.

“The first time we went there, we didn’t do so well. We had many flaws, but we realized what we did wrong. So, every month we try to improve and it’s kind of like a benchmark,” Maturo said. “How we do at Mayhem gives us an idea of good we are and how much we’ve improved. We can test ourselves against the many professionals there.”

Even though he’ll be graduating this year, Maturo says he will still maintain friendship with the friends he’s made in Super Smash Bros. Club.

“Melee is like glue. It sticks us together and we stay together,” Maturo said. “We’re going to keep the crew together because we’re a strong crew and we have a lot of potential.”

PHOTO BY CHANDLER ROSS

Taking stock. Sophomore Felipe Farias plays

as ice climbers, one of 25 different playable characters available in the game.

March 13, 2015

Hidden

190th

Del Amo Blvd

Angelina Fine Art

Gems

Diamond

Blv d

Rocketship Park

Rocketship Park

PV

Location: Torrance, Los Arboles Park, 5101 Calle de Ricardo Description: Situated above PCH, this park offers a view over the majority of Torrance and South Redondo, in addition to the large metal rocket it’s named for.

Sep u

lved a

Crenshaw Blvd

to the inside of the bay where you will find a rocky beach, canoe launch and several rest stops.

Hawthorne Blvd

Location: Palos Verdes, off of PV Drive W and Paseo Lunado Description: A marine preserve. There is a short hike down

Torrance Blvd

Anza Ave

Catalina

Lunada Bay

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center

Prospect

High Tide

center

e osa Av Herm

Enchanted Forest

Blv d

La Costa Fire Station Trail Pacific Coast Highway

st We ve Dri

Sunken City

Lunada Bay PV

Francisca, this art gallery showcases and sells art by local artists.

Sil ver

Dr

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est Cr

Rd

ive No r

th

Portugese Bend

Location: San Pedro, south of

Point Fermin Park at the end of South Gaffey Street Description: Although not technically in the South Bay, the popularity of this location merits mentioning. The “city” is a graffiti-covered ruin on San Pedro’s coast, ending in a cliff before falling into the sea.

PV

Dri ve S out h

West 25th St

Sunken City

South Gaffey St

Location: Redondo Beach, on Francisca and Catalina Description: Hidden in the alley at the end of

PV

South Western Ave

Angelina’s Fine Art

PV Cliffs

PV Drive East

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High Tide

features

Behind the scenes of the school board

by Marie Ona

Michael Christensen, board vice-president, has spent several years doing volunteer work for the schools “I liked what I saw in the school district, so I volunteered and became a member of the bond oversight committee,” he said.

Christensen wants the best for Redondo students.

“I want to make sure that we hold the district administration and staff to a high standard and that we’re doing everything we can to get all of the funding we can to help pay for kids,” he said.

Christensen believes education is important and works to improve it in the community.

“One of the reasons I applied for the school board was that after I got a chance to spend some time on that bond oversight committee and watched the way the school board worked and having four children at the time in the district, I wanted to have a bigger voice in the way things were going and I wanted to give back to the community,” Christensen said.

Christensen has a large family with a total of eight kids and now 6 grandchildren. In his free time, Christensen is very active. “ I like to referee soccer, travel, and fish,” he said. “I also love to snow ski, so Southern California is kind of an odd place for me.”

Brad Serkin, school board president, believes Redondo provides great education.

“I think the district as a whole continues to improve upon our offerings. It’s very college focused, in that every kid has the opportunity to go to college,” he said. “It’s very focused on making sure every kid has every opportunity for them upon graduating high school. With a lot of the new things that are coming along like common core, I think that education victories out on that.”

According to Serkin, education in Redondo is moving forward.

“We have a good solid foundation and it continues to improve with what the district started with and has been building for years,” he said. “Ultimately at the end of the day it tends to the kids and the community at large.”

Serkin wants the best for the students.

“I want to ensure that students have every tool and opportunity available to them to succeed and have everyone start on the right path from kindergarten and up.

This could be textbooks to computers to resources,” Serkin said.

“We also need to have an awesome staff because it all starts with our teachers and all the support staff and administrators; everybody that comes together to have the best education possible.”

Serkin loves to spend time with his kids.

“My kids have definitely oriented me more towards sports. I enjoy hockey and basketball and get to volunteer and coach sometimes,” he said. “My oldest played hockey year round so we’ll always go to things like that and my youngest plays basketball.”

Brad Waller, board member, has been an active parent in the district since his daughter started preschool. He volunteered in PTA, site councils, and AYSO. Running for the school board was a “natural progression.”

“The school board lets me provide input and direction for RBUSD at a level that would not be possible otherwise. I wanted to be able to make a real difference in a way that could better the lives of all the students in Redondo Beach,” he said.

According to Waller, schools will need to provide a rigorous education that sets students up for success and makes sure they are able to have careers if they do not plan to go the college route right out of high school.

“I am a huge cheerleader for education. I think that our schools need to be able to prepare each and every child for their future life once they graduate,” he said.

Waller is passionate about SoCal ROC. He believes that education must instill knowledge, and teach both the application of knowledge, and life skills.

“I think the work I have been doing to ensure that SoCal ROC will have funding and be available for the foreseeable future will the one thing I look back on with the most pride,” he said.

Waller has little free time serving on both the RBUSD and SoCal ROC school boards, 33rd District PTA board, and California State PTA board.

“I’m a serial volunteer and help out when I can with other organizations. That said, if I do have free time I like to work on my cars, fix things, and watch TV late at night,” he said.

David Witkin, board memberelect, is looking forward to being in the district for a while with his son in kindergarten at Beryl Elementary and a newborn.

“I heard there was an opening on the board and I thought it was a great way for me to serve the community and get involved with improving education for all the kids in Redondo,” he said.

He decided to move to Redondo from New York two years ago.

“I really like how, especially at the high school, the teachers and students [in Redondo] are progressive and it feel like there’s a lot of positive momentum. This is something that I just want to help continue,” he said.

According to Witkin, it is important to be responsive to questions or concerns that students have.

“My favorite parts of the campaign are when you knock on someone’s door and you’d be speaking to a parent in the district and their kids come to the door and tell me what they liked and what they didn’t like about their classroom experience,” Witkin said.

Witkin has a “unique perspective” that he brings to the board.

“Myself being a parent of young children, I think [the board] has a really great spectrum of experience from people who are new parents, to those who have kids in high school and to people who have been in the district and have kids that have graduated,” he said.

In his free time, Witkin is active.

“My number one passion outside my family right now is ocean swimming and. I also still have it as my goal to complete my first olympic triathlon, so hopefully I’m able to do that by the end of this summer,” he said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RBUSD.ORG

Anita Avrick has been on the school board for four years.

“I think we have a phenomenal set of teachers and administrators.

I think they are creating new ways in classes to teach outside the box and to get all of our students the best education they can,” she said.

She has dedicated time in the district because she believes in our kids.

“Kids are our future. They’re the ones who are going to run this country,” she said. “If we can do at least one thing to help them accomplish their goal, this can be it.”

Avrick plans to help the future of the school district.

“I hope I can work on securing the future of our school district by balancing the budgets and spending money appropriately,” he said.

Avrick worked in the school district for over 20 years. She is also currently on the California State Board of PTA. “I’ve taught at elementary, middle and high schools and president of 36 districts,” she said. “So most people know just about anything about me.”

Avrick is now retired and has a lot of free time on her hands.

“I love to travel, my favorite place to go to is Mammoth,” she said. “I also have more time to just hang out at schools and pay attention more.”

March 13, 2015

features

page 13

Chasing the horizon

Junior Angela Stuckey has been with South Bay Sailing since age 8

by Kaita Pannor

She opens her eyes and the ocean is lit all around her, the sun rising slowly in the sky.

She and her crew are sailing in the middle of the ocean with no sight of land in any direction, many more miles to go before the race is over.

Junior Angela Stuckey sailed competitively in the sixth annual Islands Race last weekend. The Islands Race is a 140-mile offshore, multi-division race beginning in Long Beach, going around both Catalina and San Clemente Island and finishing in San Diego.

Stuckey and her team of eight placed 19th overall and 2nd in their boat type division.

“We did way better than we thought we would. It was close- we almost had first in our division,” Stuckey said.

The race began Friday afternoon and ended Saturday afternoon, totalling to over 23 hours on the water, with four people on deck at all times.

“You just have to pace yourself, like running a marathon: you know you’re only going to get a couple hours of sleep, so any time you can you should go change, eat, or go to the bathroom,” Stuckey said.

Because the race is so long it “takes a toll” on Stuckey and her team.

“It’s a real mental test. We’re doing it in

shifts. There are eight people on the boat, how far it is. You start to see land and it gets so once it‘s night time, people get tired and closer and closer, but then a couple more want to sleep. We’re going to do four people hours go by and it’s still really far away,” on and four people off. I’ll probably drive and Stuckey said.

Stuckey races with teams of other high turns the sails,” said Stuckey. “I know I should get some sleep, but I school students from am just going to be so around the South Bay, excited about it. I just all of whom she is very want to stay up and be close with. there when everything “We all hang out happens. after [each race], then Stuckey first began we have to wake up sailing when she took a the next day and do it summer camp at eight all again. So it’s a big years old and has been time commitment but involved ever since. it’s just so worth it, it’s - Angela Stuckey so much fun,” Stuckey Her grandfather owned sailboats and father grew up sailing. Her fa- said. ther’s passion for sailing got her interested Each member of the team works differin sailing. ent positions on the boat, each one impor“Some people will come down and try tant to doing well during a race. sailing for the first time and say ‘no, it’s not “Sailing is such a team sport. If somebody for me,’ but for me it’s like a totally different messes up then you’re screwed all around,” world. Getting on a boat for the first time Stuckey said. “You are very dependent [on just took me away. I love it so much it’s hard your team]. You’re only as strong as your to put into words,” Stuckey said. weakest member.” Stuckey said.

Though she has been racing inshore since Sophomore Kyle Collins, who attends freshman year, this was her first time racing West Torrance High School, raced on her offshore. team last weekend.

“It’s kind of crazy how you don’t realize “The race could not have gone smoother.

“

It’s like a totally different world. Getting on a boat for the first time just took me away. I love it so much it’s hard to put into words.

”

We had no issues and we had a breeze the entire time. It ended up being an incredible close finish,” Collins said.

This was not Collins’ first time racing offshore, but she still found the Island’s Race to be challenging.

“It is a race, so you’re constantly worried about where the competition is [while] doing everything you possibly can to make the boat go fast. It becomes exhausting and tedious after 23 hours,” Collins said.

Stuckey plans on doing more offshore racing in the future and is already focusing on how she can improve.

“The people who sit there and really work at trimming their sail all day and all night are the ones who are going to get that extra advantage in the end. It seems kind of lame to sit there and work it when we’re not even going that fast, but that little extra effort goes a long way in the end,” Stuckey said.

Though she enjoys more laid-back sailing, Stuckey finds racing with a team to be “exciting and embracing.”

“We sail on the same boats, but every single day is a new day: the wind’s stronger, faster, lighter, or coming from a different direction… you’re in a different place and it’s totally different every time you wake up or go around a different island,” Stuckey said.

2.

A whole new world. 1. Stuckey

sails on the “Stampede,” a J111, a type of sailboat. 2. Stuckey and her team put the ship’s spinnaker up and trim it after going around Catalina Island. 3.

Stuckey poses with her teammates and the president of the Yaght Club, who gave them the award for their race, along with the owners of the boat. “They’re just insanely nice and just amazing people,” Stuckey said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OF ANGELA STUCKEY

1.

3.

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High Tide

features

Swordsmanship

Komori enjoys doing Kendo in her free time

by Reema Saad

As she gears up in her heavy armor for kendo, the only thing on sophomore Kylie Komori’s mind is remaining calm and peaceful. In her eyes, kendo is not just a physical challenge, but also a mental one.

Through kendo, or “the way of the sword,” Komori has learned not only the form of martial art of sword fighting, but also mental control.

“It enforces respect and discipline to your elders or the people you need to respect and being respectful and showing no fear and being intimidating. I have learned how to keep the mind calm and to not tense up and to stay relaxed in serious times to make sure I understand what is going on,” Komori said.

These traits and characteristics are important to Komori and she believes the skills she has learned can help her in everyday life.

“The mentality of being respectful will definitely get you far in the real world when

getting a job, as well as being a good leader figure and treating people equally,” Komori said.

According to Komori, what separates kendo from other martial arts, such as judo and karate, is the fact that it is not hand-tohand combat. She believes that putting the armor on in itself is an art form that should be taken seriously.

“It is with actual swords, therefore it is a little bit more dangerous. You are wearing armor instead of just wearing your uniform so you need to be protected. There is an art form in putting on the towel that you have to wear underneath the helmet, as well as tying everything on because if your armor is loose it will come off and give you a disadvantage,” Komori said.

Sophomore Leyna Duong agrees that being disciplined is a major factor in kendo, and that is what separates it from other martial arts.

“For me, kendo is a lot different than other martial arts because we put a lot

more training into being disciplined than other martial arts. It is a very traditional sport. We don’t just do kendo, we weight train and we run. We break down our bodies and then rebuild them again,” Duong said.

According to Duong, even though kendo is “not the easiest thing to do,” it has still been a large part of her life and a serious commitment outside of school.

“Like four in the morning practices twice a week is not fun at all and sweating like a big is not fun either, but for me, I like having a very straight clipped lifestyle, and kendo does that for me,” Duong said.

As dangerous as kendo might be, Komori does not fear getting hit.

“I am not scared of getting hit, I am more scared of accidentally missing and then hitting somebody in the wrong spot and hurting them. We have armor for our wrists and around our waist, kind of like a chest plate, and we have a helmet to protect us,” Komori said.

Another factor that distinguishes kendo

from traditional sports is that it is mostly a one-to-one sport.

“Normally people wouldn’t think it’s graceful when you’re swinging a bunch of swords around, but I feel like it’s sort of like golf. It’s more of a calm sport that still has a lot of passion. We do have teams but it is still one-on-one. There’s more of an interaction between the your teammates and the opponents,” Komori said.

Outside of her dojo, or place of training, Komori has done outside research to learn more about the history of kendo. Kendo was the basic form of martial art taught to the samurais in Japan.

“If you take the initiative to go and research more, then you will definitely learn more. Every martial art is definitely worth preserving. It is the same reason why we preserve the arts from the Renaissance in European culture. It is just a part of Japanese culture and we want to keep it going.

We want to continue to inspire other people to join and try it out.”

ILLUSTRATION BY LULU WEGMAN

March 13, 2015

page 15

features

Let’s go fly a kite

Fine helps his father at his kite shop

by Jon Mallen

On a windy day, flight can come in parafoil, fabric, ribbons, and a piece of string. For freshman Thomas Fine, the fun and beloved pastime of kites is a business. Fine’s dad, Thomas Fine, runs a kite shop on the Redondo Pier, and Fine sometimes helps out.

Mr. Fine has owned the shop for 25 years, and his love of kites is influential to his son.

“I help him sell stuff down there, and sometimes I even get free kites. It’s pretty cool. It’s really fun to just head down there and hang out with him and sell kites,” Fine said.

The shop sells many different kinds of kites, for both beginners and also those for more proficient kite flyers.

“We sell ones you can fly with one hand, and also two handers which are a bit harder to use in that you actually have to control them, and of course we sell toys too, such as yo-yos and bubbles; everyone loves bubbles,” Fine said.

Because Mr. Fine has “always had a passion” for kite surfing, the Fines’ shop also sells surfing kites, which are only available by special order.

“Back when I was a lot younger, he used

to do it,” Fine said, “Imagine a giant kite pulling you on a surfboard at speeds near 50-60 miles per hour. It’s crazy.”

Along with kitesurfing, Mr. Fine also enjoys riding what Fine calls “kite buggies.”

“Instead of having an engine, the buggy has a kite in front of it,” Fine said, “Pull the kite left, and the buggy turns left, pull the kite right, and the buggy turns right, It’s a thrill.”

However, the majority of the sales are from regular kites and probably always will go to regular kites, according to Fine.

“Business has been

go out and test them, and if they’re good, we’ll sell them, and if they’re not, we’ll send them back and tell them how the kite can be improved.”

Because of his love for kites, Fine may eventually take over the shop.

“I’ve thought about taking over the

shop when my parents are done,” Fine said, “I could take full ownership, work it myself, own and hire people, and really just keep the shop going.”

According to Fine, money gains are only a side benefit; the important thing to him is having fun and continuing the family business.

“It’s really cool that I can just hang out down there, hang out with my dad, and fly some kites,” Fine said.

up and down lately,” Fine said, “Valentine’s weekend brought some good sales, the last weekend was really bad, but this past weekend brought in a motherload of sales since it was the annual Redondo Beach kite festival this past Sunday.”

Along with renovations to the shop itself, the Fines are often changing up their products.

“My dad used to design kites, but he doesn’t do it anymore so now we have people design kites for us,” Fine said, “We’ll

Write on Point

PHOTO BY CHANDLER ROSS

High-flying. Fine poses with a simple kite from his father’s shop.

Edwards wrote a novella about six misfits in society

by Lulu Wegman Reading a twenty-five chapter book can be a commitment, but writing can be an even greater one. Sophomore Joshua Edwards has been writing since early childhood, and he recently completed an action novella titled Chronicles of Heroes.

“Chronicles of Heroes, at its core, is about a group of six misfits of society coming together to redeem themselves by defeating a common enemy. The characters all have their own stories, their own motives, their own fears, and the book explores these aspects and has the characters adapt around them,” Edwards said.

The seventy-eight page story portrays six characters all based off of, and with the same names as, Edwards’ real-life friends.

“Edwards, a billionaire hated by society, Wegman, an agent working for good, Boyle, a children’s entertainer with a past covered in shadow, O’Shea, a former police officer working for vengeance, Jackson, a former soldier who has lost everything,and Hauser, an experiment that went AWOL. Then you have the villains; The Broken Man, a ghost of a man with secretive intent, and Denny, a nobody in society who wishes for power,”

Edwards said.

Edwards began writing the first chapter of the book over a year ago, but took a break and then decided to continue writing the story five months ago.

“The idea started about a year ago when I was throwing around concepts. I realized the diversity of personalities I had in terms of friends and threw together an idea of what their lives might be like in the future,” Edwards said. “ The six main characters in the book are based around my closest friends in real life According to Edwards, writing a book has taught him “valuable” lessons.

“I learned that practice really does make perfect. After finishing the book, I started editing the whole thing over from the beginning.” Edwards said. “I re-read the first few chapters and I just thought, ‘wow, this really sucks,’ so I basically rewrote the entire first section of the book. That really shows that even over a short period of time you can get so much better at something,” Edwards said.

Sophomore Cosmo Wegman, one of Edward’s friends that a character is based off of, is the illustrator of the novella.

“At the time of first writing the book, I

didn’t really know Cosmo,” Edwards said. “ I the story. There are also many side charknew how awesome he was at drawing, so acters who make appearances and create I showed him what I had of the book at the a key balance in the storyline,” Edwards time and that was really how we became said. “It’s not very long, but it’s my biggest close friends. He was responsible for a huge attempt at creating a world which I plan to part of the book, and I don’t think I would flesh out more in future installments.” have gotten very far without his help”.

Wegman and Edwards worked together to design the characters. Wegman focuses on integrating the real friends’ appearances.

“Joshua helped me start off with the first set of designs for the characters by their descriptions in the story,” Wegman said. “ After that, I built on the basics, and combined it with what the real people actually look like”.

Edwards’ plan for the series remains open.

“It all sounds very complicated but it all morphs together into a PHOTO COURTESY OF COSMO WEGMAN web of character relations Cartooning. Wegman illustrated the characters of the novel, who that will build throughout are based on Edwards’ actual friends.

page 16

High Tide

sports

athlete of the issue: Nathan Rice

Rice an inspiration to team and family

by Samaya Rubio

Every time he steps out onto the hardwood courts, he feels a surge of joy, an urge to go out and play his best no matter what.

Senior Nathan Rice has been playing volleyball since he was younger and currently plays on the boys varsity volleyball team.

“I feel joy, unrestrained joy. When I first saw the sport it has a really cool flow to it.

There’s no contact except with the ball and it’s really unrestricted and I feel great when I play,” Rice said.

Rice has wanted to play volleyball since the summer before his eighth grade year and was finally introduced to the sport by a friend of his. He soon joined a friend’s club volleyball team as a center and as soon as he started playing, he fell in love with it.

“It’s fast, and quick as well as energized,” Rice said.

He was playing basketball for years before he suffered from an injury to his knee in the summer before his eighth grade year.

“I landed on my knee on the hardwood floor and another person fell on me. Our combined weight fell on that knee,” Rice said.

He wanted to continue playing basketball, but feared another injury, and volleyball seemed like a logical sport to try. He rein-

Motivation and inspiration.

PHOTO BY MITCH ZIEGLER

Senior Nathan Rice blocks a spike from a Warren player during a recent tournament.

jured his knee before junior year, and had to go into knee surgery. He was forced to sit on the bench for the whole junior year season.

“It’s just the feeling I get when I play well and my knee doesn’t hurt was all that motivated me to keep playing,” Rice said.

He says he is constantly inspired by his team mates to continue playing despite the difficulties of playing with an injured knee.

“I get encouraged by my teammates. In

volleyball, if the coach sees that any of the players are being negative to others, he immediately calls them out,” Rice said.

According to his younger sister, junior Megan Rice, he inspires her to push herself in not only volleyball, but in all aspects of life.

“My brother inspired me to play volleyball, every day I try to have even half the work ethic he does. He’s so dedicated to everything he sets his mind to. Not only vol-

Softball strikes out

by Lizzie Fauver

Grand slam.

Senior Breanna Miskimen at bat in a game last season.

Photo by Ted Cavus.

Girls softball lost to Banning High School on Wednesday but are increasing their intensity for their upcoming game next Wednesday at Rolling Hills Prep.

“Our focus wasn’t where it needed to be,” junior Elena Ceja said.

“We are normally so much more into the game and so much more focused but we underestimated Banning coming off a 4-0 record.”

Despite the loss, Ceja still saw strengths in how the team played at Banning.

“We were down 2-1 and Makenna had a clutch hit that tied the game,” she said. “Our center fielder Haley Reed caught a ball that would’ve scored two runs and it ended the inning.”

Re e d believes t h a t t h e

lack of offense led to the team’s defeat.

“We didn’t play like we usually do.

We played well, but we didn’t hit in key moments of the game,” she said.

Staying positive for their next game, the girls are prepared for facing Rolling Hills Prep.

“Our next game is Wednesday and we are hoping we can hit as well as we have before,” Reed said. “We have to put this game behind us and come out strong.”

Learning from the loss, the team is practicing harder and increasing intensity to ensure a successful season.

“We are going to continue to work on some of our weaker areas,” junior Gayle Wilson said. “We need to continue to have faith in our teammates’ abilities, as well as our own.”

In order to be successful, Ceja hopes the team remains focused on their goals.

“I hope that we come in strong from start to finish,” Ceja said. “We need to attack hard and play Sea Hawk softball the way we normally do.”

leyball, but in his school work as well. I’m so proud of Nathan,” Junior Megan Rice said.

Rice constantly works hard to improve in volleyball so that no matter what competition he is up against, he’s confident.

“I always do my best anyways whether there is a person I’m competing against or not. If I do start over someone else, great, but if I don’t, I don’t take it personally and I know that I did my best,” Rice said.

Young players lead tennis

by Micah Ezzes The boys’ tennis team won against El Segundo last Tuesday 14-4.

“We played really well as a whole,” sophomore Jaideep Chakladar said. “We won all of our doubles matches and our singles starters won all of their matches as well.”

Despite the team’s victory, Chakladar still feels the team has to grow into their new lineup.

“We lost a few veteran players from last year, so we have a fair number of new varsity players that are still getting used to higher-level tennis,” he said.

The team’s youth will grow quickly, according to Chakladar, who believes that it is only a matter of experience before the younger players step up to the varsity level.

“The most apparent difference between JV and varsity is consistency and overall knowledge of the game,” he said. “The gap between the two teams is considerably large but only because [the returning varsity players] have more experience.”

Chakladar said that the key to getting a win against Culver City lies in mental preparation.

“A lot of the time, some of us lose focus and our game is affected,” he said, “so we just have to keep our heads high and stay focused.”

Feb. 27, 2015

page 17

sports

Girls lacrosse prepares early for Bay League

by Zach Hatakeyama

PHOTO BY SANDER FINK

Catching and cradling. Junior Haley Vorndran attempts to steal the ball from a PV player.

Girls lacrosse walked away with a 11-9 win against Chaminade on Wednesday, making them closer to achieving their goal of becoming Bay League Champions.

“The game went pretty well, although I think we were all hoping to win by a few more goals,” senior Allie Tsuji said. “Our transitions were really good, but we needed to maintain possession more consistently.”

Although the score wasn’t what the team had hoped for, senior Kayla Maanum still believes that the team performed strongly against their competition.

“I think that we were definitely a better team skill wise. We focused on accurate shots and to take a lot of them. It was a really solid game, even though some calls didn’t go our way,” Maanum said.

The team is hoping to bring the same intensity that they had in this game to their upcoming tournament against Esperanza and El Toro this weekend.

“We have been focusing on perfecting our feeding and shooting during practice to be competitive with higher level teams,” Tsuji said. “Next game we want to do all that

we did in this one, but improve more on our offensive and defensive plays as a whole.”

In preparation, the team is doing all they can on and off the field to work on their skill and overall cohesiveness in order benefit each individual player, and the team as a whole.

“We are going to have team dinners to help us bond, and our coach Cherish has been having us do drills where we learn something new about our partners as we pass,” Tsuji said. “We also have a buddy system to keep the team members connected.

As a team, we are a lot stronger on the field when we get along.”

Overall, Maanum believes that with each win, the team will work harder, and encourages the girls to play with maximum effort so they can continue the season strong.

“This win definitely will motivate us for our upcoming games. We need to continue to play well off each other to exploit our strengths,” Maanum said. “We have a lot of potential and the more we play together the better we are going to be able to execute it on the field.”

Swim starts off season strong in first tri-meet

by Jessica Johnson Last Thursday the swim team won their first swim meet and has high hopes for the upcoming season.

“I would like to see our team beat Peninsula at League Champs this year. That would be a huge step for us because they’ve won a few years in a row and I believe we can break their winning streak,” senior Jack Bradford says.

Bradford believes that if the team “does their best” they can get to CIF and further. ‘‘Sean Hamada and Anthony Dupin were both really close to making it last year,” Bradford says, “And I believe they can make automatic times this year and possibly make it back to finals.”

The team is pushing each other to try their personal best in practice and hopes that it will translate into the meet.

“Everyone needs to try in a main set as hard as they would at a meet because really, at the end of it all, what we do at a meet is proof of what we’ve accomplished in practice,” Bradford says.

Inscore explains the “family” atmosphere on the team, but when it comes down to competition time everyone needs to focus on one or two specific events so the school can win more meets.

“Winning more dual meets, winning

PHOTO BY DINAH AIAD

Stroke by stroke. Sean LaBeouff swims breaststroke in the meet against Torrance and West.

league, and getting top 10 at CIF. Just overall winning more events,” senior Elle Inscore says.

Setting individual goals will be necessary to create desire to set personal records and to advance to CIF finals.

“The team really needs to focus on their individual goal for the end of the year because that’s what really pushes someone to do well and keep improving throughout the season,” Bradford says.

The teams main goal this year is to support each other to improve the schools standings and to help others accomplish their goals.

“Just helping others focus the task on hand and being a teamplayer. Challenging one another other and pushing the whole group beyond limits can give them great results to achieve the goals,” sophomore Anthony Dupin said.

All the swimmers are looking forward to their next meet against South where they are going to work to improve their personal times. They are also looking forward to the entire season and improving overall.

“Swimming for Redondo the last 4 years has made me love the sport even more, and given me so many opportunities and memories. Redondo swimming is a huge reason I chose to swim collegiately,” Inscore says.

page 18

Bronzing

sports

High Tide

Boys volleyball earns third place in recent tournament and anticipates future wins

by Gianna Aquilina

Boys volleyball ended their tournament last week with a bronze medal in the semi finals. Finishing with one loss and two wins, they won the games against Salesian and Dana Hill and lost to Simi Valley.

The team views their losses optimistically, as they said that the tournament ultimately brought them closer together.

“It was a good experience for our [team’s] chemistry at the start of the season. The tournament did not go as well as we planned but we took our team vibes to a new level,” said Wes Graves.

The boys realized what they did wrong and will prepare differently in the next game.

“In order to win the match we lost, we could have had a lot more energy and presence on the court,” Evan Murray said Senior Wes Graves believes that they need to work on passing the ball more and serving.

“Volleyball is based on communion and cornerstones. Cornerstones of volleyball are passing and serving. We could have passed the ball better but Redondo has a history of prevailing. We brush our losses off, fix it with good practice and defend our title,” said Graves.

According to Avery, the team has already begun to fine-tune and prepare for upcoming games in practice.

“We work on serving and passing during practice to get better and more comfortable on the court with each other,” said Coach Avery.

The team plays Mater Dei next and they think that if they go into the game mentally prepared that they will do better.

“We played really hard as a team. This year we are starting a lot of sophomores and

PHOTOS BY MITCH ZIEGLER

juniors and a lot of inexperienced people so for us to get to the semi finals of our tournament and take third with very little experience just shows how hard these guys work,” Coach Avery said.

Reaching for the stars. 1. Senior Daniel

Ziegler spikes the ball out of the middle at a recent tournament. 2. Sophomore Logan Glave hits a set around the opposing block while the libero covers his shot.

Track and field kicks off season on positive note

by Jason Clebowicz

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

Pacing. State champion for Cross Country,

Amber Gore, runs in a meet earlier this season.

The track team has been preparing for the “most exciting” meet this season, the Redondo Nike Invitational, which will take place on Friday and Saturday.

“My expectations for Redondo’s Invitational are that it is going to be the best meet of our 2015 track season. Everything I’ve heard about this meet has been good, and those who were here last year really look forward to it and are super pumped,” sophomore Jeanette Echevarria-Herrera said.

In order to prepare for this “important” meet, the team has been training hard in practice and are working on being in the right mindset.

“Lately, training has been very intense,” Echevarria-Herrera said. “We have been picking up the pace a lot and the workouts are getting harder and faster.”

Not only has the training been helping the team prepare for the meet, but the coaches as well.

“The coaches are really pushing us on improving daily and are helping us stay focused for the meet. They are encouraging and supporting us every step of the way,” junior Ricky Fritz said.

Along with improving their skills and amping up their training, the track members mentioned a few key points along with improvements that can help them not only in the upcoming meet but in all of them.

“There’s always room for improvement, such as training harder and pushing through any limits our minds make. However, I think we need to compete at our fullest potential and not let our minds hold us back. Also, just having communication and cheering each

other on though the whole meet is a way we can help each other out,” Echevarria-Herrera said.

As the last few days of practice are coming to an end before the meet, the members of the team are excited and feel ready to compete.

“If the team keeps practicing and doing their own individual responsibility, along with supporting each other and doing their best, I think we will do very well,” Fritz said.

Senior Nicole Pederson is also excited for the meet in part because it will be held on their home track.

“I’m looking forward to competing against so many athletes from so many different schools and the fact that it’s at our school makes it really exciting,” Pederson said.

March 13, 2015

page 19

sports

The centennial

Baseball has set high hopes for the promising 100th season

by Tyler Wunderli Baseball has just kicked off its 100th anniversary season with some close games, including a walk off victory over California on March 6th.

Senior Brady Dorn is excited for the season going forward. He said his team has a chance to be “very successful.”

“Our team has potential to do something big this year. Every one of us has a key role and when we work together we give ourselves a good chance of winning,” Dorn said.

Senior Cole Henderson is also looking forward to the season and thinks the team will do very well, possibly going farther than last year’s team.

“I’m very confident our team has a good chance of doing something special and not only taking the Bay League title but the CIF title as well,” Henderson said.

The team went far in CIF last year, finishing only a game from playing in the championship in Dodgers stadium. According to Henderson, they return 7 starters from last year’s team.

“The positions we didn’t return we have solid guys to fill those spots, and I think we have the potential to be a lot better than last year’s team,” Henderson said.

While both Dorn and Henderson feel confident about their chances, they have had to win some close games up to this point. Cooper Gallion had to hit a walk off grand slam in one of their victories.

“All the momentum had shifted to the opposing teams side after they scored five runs to tie us,” Dorn said. “For us to load the bases and Cooper to come through with that huge hit just shows that we will never give up. Our team was ecstatic” Although they had some close wins, they also lost to South Torrance 2-0 in a “tough loss”, and the road will not always be smooth, according to Henderson, who thinks it “was good for us to experience.”

“Our team knows that we have a chance to be very successful,” Dorn said. “The biggest challenge for us will be to keep our heads level and not get cocky.”

Although Dorn is confident, he admits that “baseball is an interesting game” and no one on the team can really predict how the season will end up.

“It’s very hard to predict outcomes this early, but if we play the game how it’s supposed to be played and do the little things right I think we can win a championship,” Dorn said.

Curveball. Junior Jason Dicochea pitches in a recent game against Narbonne.

Boys golf ready for season

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

Cheer gets second in Arcadia comp

by Jason Clebowicz

have gotten some good experience from “ourWefirst two tournaments. Even though golf is

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

an individual sport, we need to become better at building each other up as a team.

”

-Garrett Stribling, 12

This past weekend the varsity cheer competition team competed in their second to last competition of the season, and for some team members their second to last ever.

The competition was held at Arcadia High School, where the team placed second in the 3.1 Varsity Showcase division.

“It was our best performance yet,” Suzanne Cole said. “No stunts fell and both the coaches and team were excited because it was the best [routine] we did all season.”

With only one competition left, the team has “increased the intensity” in order to end the season on a high note. Their last competition will be held at RUHS this weekend, March 14 and 15.

“We want to continue improving upon what we accomplished last weekend at Arcadi and finish off each of our senior members’ seasons on a high note,” Keely Brooks said.

Suzanne Cole is also looking forward to her last season on the cheer team, especially because they might have a home court advantage.

“It’s really sad that it’ll be my last competition routine but I’m happy to do it at Redondo and I think we will do our best at home and end our season on a good note,” Cole said.

page 20

features

High Tide | March 13, 2015

1.

Girls basketball wins CIF-SS

by Romy Moreno

With CIF behind them, the girls basketball team plans on using their momentum to take them all the way to a state title.

“Our team is playing really well right now so it’s really exciting,” junior Micaela Enriquez said. “I feel like we have a really good chance to go all the way and win it all.”

With their biggest win yet only a couple days behind them, the girls all agree that it will only have a positive effect on the remainder of their season.

“It definitely will give us a lot of positive momentum for our next couple of games, which we are going to need,” junior Kyra Hamlin said.

Senior Tori Lee has similar thoughts.

“Winning helps us get focused,” Lee said. “Wednesday’s win was another one that we needed to get off our chest to reach our next goal; 2. we needed this game to get PHOTOS BY SANDER FINK us started for these upcomBallers. 1. Nicole Swift goes for a layup. “I was happy that I won, but I was happier that ing ones.”

According to Hamlin, the it was with these group of girls,” Nao Shiota said. 2. Tori Lee attempts to make a shot. “Because we had such a huge lead late in the game, I was taken out with about 45 seconds left team went into Wednesday’s and I knew that we won. I was so dumbfounded that the game was over because it was my game with a positive mindset first and last CIF appearance and we just beat our rival school for the title,” Lee said. and their only focus being the state title. game because of their recent CIF win.

With their next game being tomor“We did our best at not underesti“We know that we have a good row at home against South High at mating the other team,” Hamlin said, chance to be a contender for the state 6pm, the girls are hoping for the best. “and to win by that much in such an im- championship,” Lee said. “In order to “It would be awesome if we won portant game made us so happy.” achieve this goal we need to stay hum- because then we’re on the road to beAccording to the team, they feel ble, hungry and focused. We already ing the first girls basketball team from confident going into their upcoming have great chemistry.”

Redondo to win state,” Enriquez said.

Boys basketball wins in first round of CIF states

by Tyler Wunderli Boys basketball continued in the state tournament with a win over Dorsey on Wednesday night. Despite, two playoff losses, the team hopes to continue to improve.

“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs but haven’t accomplished our main goal yet, so we’ve just been decent so far,” junior Morgan Means said.

According to junior Cameron Williams, even though the team won its last game, the players were not satisfied.

“We got off to a really good start but too

many mistakes by us let them back into the game,” Williams said. “We have to play all four quarters and try to limit our mistakes because the teams we play are only going to get better.”

Means echoed this statement as he was not content with the way the team played Wednesday night.

“We didn’t play too good actually. We played one good quarter and really coasted through the rest,” Means said.

Although both players did not believe the team played to the best of its abilities,

the players have confidence in their chances moving forward.

“Our chances are very good knowing this is our last chance to win a championship we’re going to put ourselves in a position to win every game,” Williams said.

The team’s last loss was at St. John Bosco, in the final game of the “consolation” bracket. Even after the loss, they still get to play for the state title.

However, the team has faced adversity before, including losing Billy Preston in the middle of the season. They will look to con-

tinue their success despite any losses they have sustained.

“I think we need to improve our focus through the entire game, but we got out to a good start when we came out and at halftime as well,” Means said.

Even when things did not go quite as planned, Williams had confidence this season. He felt that their work in practice and ability would enable them to win.

“We’ve had our ups and downs but no matter what’s happened we still play hard and remain competitive,” Williams said.