CENTENNIAL YEAR
Vol. 99 / No. 3 / March 2021
The student-run newspaper of McKinley High School
Established in 1920
TIGER PRIDE MURALS DESIGNED TO INSPIRE ALL
by Shane Kaneshiro, reporter From morning to night fall, tiger stripes slowly emerge on the wall of McKinley High School’s tennis court. With precision, John Rau outlines McKinley High School’s logo to inspire all. The Rau family has been giving their time and money to create Tiger Pride murals on campus for the McKinley community and guests alike. John and Dionne Rau are alumni
of McKinley and have the commitment and dedication of a McKinley Tiger. They are former athletes of the baseball and softball teams, respectively. John Rau was also in the marching band. In addition, he was on the yearbook staff and a sports editor for The Pinion, the school newspaper, during his junior and senior years. “I have a lot of pride in the school,” said Rau. “I was always in school, especially in the summertime, I was here seven days a week. And I loved it.”
Artistic works and commitment are not new to the Rau family. In their backyard, replicas of the past ten Super Bowl stadiums, and the Sugar Bowl in 2008, when UH went against Georgia, were constructed and increasingly developed a cut above year after year. The images were created with stencils they constructed by hand. McKinley’s campus was at the baseball dugout and portrays the Please see MURAL on page 2.
Est abl i shed i n 1920 All content and more can be found at mhspinion.com.Print archives can be found at issuu.com/mhspinion.
Report ers Althea Cunningham Shane Kaneshiro Jerome Linear Justin Nguyen
Advi ser Cynthia Reves
Mi ssi on The Pinion staff strives to provide and maintain accurate, entertaining and informativenews for the students, staff and alumni of McKinley High School. We strive to show diligence in creating all our content so we can make a positive contribution to the public.
Publ i cat i on Informat i on The Pinion is published by the Newswriting class and printed by ReprographicsLearning Center.
The Pinion McKinley High School 1039 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814 Emai l comment s or quest i ons t o pinion@mckinleyhs.k12.hi.us
THE PINION / 2
Cover photo: The Rau family works on a mural at McKinley High School tennis courts Page 2: The top mural is in the weight room. The bottom is by the baseball dugout.
MURAL
Continued from page 1.
McKinley Tiger logo and the words ?The Home of The Tigers.? Inspiring quotes and tiger images also line the weight room walls. The tennis court wall mural is currently being designed with different McKinley logos that have been used throughout the years. These logos are boarded by tiger stripes. ?The reason I wanted to put up those designs, those specific ones, is because if and when there are games here, or events, the tennis or softball or track and field, cross country, whatever, then kids could take pictures in front of it with their family or teammates. And then if they had a stadium and alumni come back to watch, as they see their old design there, they might say, 'Oh, that's cool,'? Rau said. ?School is where you enjoy your time and is a special place and you can make what you want out of it. So you can be who you want to be and try what you want to try,? Rau said. He stressed, ?If people are teasing you about whatever you're doing, it's on them. But if you do what you want to do, then that's where you're going to find the most enjoyment.? ?I'm here with my wife, son, and daughter. We have family time. But then it's giving back to the school and creating this,? said Rau. ?It's kind of like you just can relax, listen to music, and just enjoy the day.? Rau said that it is the best day off when he and the family are painting. M ar ch 2021
NEWS
HOM ECOM ING DELAYED BUT SAVED
The 'M' burned bright until high winds snuffed it out.
by Althea Cunningham, reporter McKinley High School?s Homecoming event, usually held in October, was pushed to Feb. 26 because of the pandemic. The planning committee had to get really creative. The theme was "Hollywood." To keep students safe, the event was a drive-thru, titled ?The Homecoming Cruise.? ?We still have Tiger pride and we still have to celebrate it,? Student Activities Coordinator April Nakamura said. The committee kept many traditional components of Homecoming, but because of the pandemic there wasn?t a football game or big pep rally assembly. ?It?s odd to have Homecoming in the second semester. It's odd to have Homecoming without a football game,? said Nakamura. ?But Homecoming is about coming home. It?s about alumni reengaging. It?s about us being proud of who we are as McKinley Tigers.? For the drive-thru, no more than five people were allowed per vehicle and all had to be wearing masks. As attendees drove through campus, they were entertained by the City Boys, Da Kolohe Krew, McKinley?s school band, and a Polynesian fire knife dance group. People were able to buy food from food truck stations. Vendors included Tea Girls, Teruya?s, Kettle Corn Hawaii, and Munchie Machine, and McKinley?s Class of 2021 provided drinks for $1. Students also had opportunities to show their Tiger pride through class-level competitions and games. ?We?re still McKinley High School. You can?t cage the Tiger. We?re still alive and well,? Nakamura said. I attended Homecoming not as a reporter, but as a student. I came dressed in school colors and ready to try all the events. My dad drove and my younger sister sat in the back seat. From our car, I threw balls into the NEWS
Dino-baskets for the Jurassic Toss event for class level points. I ran onto the red carpet to take a photo with my dad and bought a Homecoming shirt for $10. ?We want to see people having a good time,? Tracee Nguyen, student body president, said. ?One of the biggest payoffs for us would just be to see people having fun and smiling. It makes all the work and stress feel worth it.? McKinley has a deep sense of tradition, and the Lighting of the M is one tradition dear to all. Students gather after dark to watch a huge flammable ?M?get lit up and we celebrate our Tiger pride. This year, students experienced this camaraderie from the safety of their cars. I showed up towards the end of the Homecoming event and was disappointed that, due to the windy weather, the ?M? was no longer burning. Junior Irika Cruz said that, upon hearing the word ?Homecoming,? she thinks of alumni coming back to the place where they grew up together as family and friends and showing off the Tiger pride that they had from all those years being in high school, and that hasn?t changed despite being away from each other. ?It?s the time where we truly show the love and support that we students have for the school through the pride and tradition that the older senior Tigers have taught to the little freshie Tigers,? Cruz said. Although reporters aren?t supposed to put their own opinion in a news article, I have to say how glad I am to have attended this event. It showed me that McKinley Pride is still alive despite not having a normal school year. The pandemic hasn?t changed the fact that we Tigers are a big family. Students and faculty won?t be separated by screens forever and the situation will get better. ?We?re really pouring ourselves into this. We?re not just lying down and sleeping. We?re not hibernating,? Nakamura said. ?We?re not bears; we are Tigers.?
M ar ch 2021
THE PINION / 3
NEW SCHEDULE MORE TIME EACH DAY FOR by Justin Nguyen, reporter When students at McKinley High School came back to school after winter break for the third quarter, they were greeted by another new bell schedule. The bell schedule, proposed and agreed upon by a reopening committee, reduced class time for every class except for 20/20 by 10 minutes. The class time reduction allowed for more time for office hours. These changes were motivated by the fact that students and teachers wanted time for students to ask questions. They felt that this time needed to be built into the schedule itself for convenience. ?In a normal school year, students often come early or stay after class or stop by during lunch to ask questions and get help, but this doesn?t work well with distance learning," reopening committee member Jonathan Loomis said, "but we knew that there needed to be some way for these kinds of conversations to happen." Many students are using the extended office hours to get help for their classes and have found it to be useful.
Freshman Shane Kaneshiro said he appreciates how he no longer has to wait until Friday to get help. ?If we didn?t have the office hours, some of us including me could have a lower grade because we didn?t get the additional support,? Kaneshiro said. Another student found the 10-minute cut in class time to be insignificant. ?In most of my classes, they end a couple of minutes early anyway, so I don?t mind classes being cut by 10 minutes,? freshman Minh Nguyen said. Unlike students, this period of time is mandatory for teachers. It is part of their job to stay for office hours. Industrial and Engineering Technology teacher Kari Yoo said not a lot of her students take advantage of office hours. U.S. History teacher Corey Nakashima said having office hours makes his job easier because he gets fewer emails. English teacher Megan Serrao said she is glad these bell schedule changes took place. She noted the differences between an odd day and even day before these changes took place.
November
August
THE PINION / 4
M ar ch 2021
NEWS
O
MAKES OFFICE HOURS ?It makes it much easier to message them (students) during class to come to see me after school rather than trying to get them to remember to see me on an even day,? Serrao said. Math teacher Jason Yadao said the benefits and consequences of the class time reductions may depend on what kind of class a teacher is teaching. He shared his experience about how one of his classes was affected negatively because of the bell schedule changes. ?That is a class that is meant to be largely hands-on and the loss of 10 minutes of class time is a detriment. Instead of learning the ins and outs of each tool, we have been focusing on overall dexterity as there is now even less time to practice,? Yadao said. Yadao said the addition of office hours overall, though, is positive. ?We teachers have the potential to be much more than just educators. We can be mentors or even a parental figure to some. Office hours give us the time and space we need to take care of our students beyond the classroom,? he said.
KEY CLUB CONTINUES DESPITE PANDEMIC by Shane Kaneshiro, reporter Clubs at McKinley High School have been challenged during this pandemic. April Nakamura, student activities coordinator, said about half the clubs were lost due to restrictions of social distancing. However, some of them have persevered and adapted through this trying time. One such club is the Key Club. The Key Club is a club that builds character and develops leadership. They are also a service-based club and focus on projects that will serve the community. The president of the Key Club, Jennifer Pae, said the club is doing well despite the pandemic. ?Key Club has been able to collaborate through WebEx,? Pae said. ?The covid environment made things very difficult for everybody to call and do things, but we've still been able to go ahead and do the service, find creative ideas to keep each other engaged.? Freshman Stacy Cabusas said the club members are able to keep doing service projects to help the community with food and using money to help Research Services. Justin Collado, in his first year as an adviser for the Key Club, said he is trying to help all he can. ?I'm trying to make sure that we were still contributing to our communities and whatnot, in the ways that we can,? Collado said Steven Le, secretary of the Key Club, said they had been able to get 20 members to participate. The Key Club is still accepting members. ?For those interested in service projects or helping the community, they are free to join. Just contact one of the advisers or the officers of the club,? Pae said.
J a n u a r y NEWS
M ar ch 2021
THE PINION / 5
MCKINLEY COMMUNITY
Up set At Ca p itol Riot by Jerome Linear, reporter On Jan. 6, rioters stormed the United States Capitol over Donald Trump?s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. After running past multiple police, the rioters destroyed, stole, and vandalized many parts of the building for many hours. McKinley High School students noted there was a big difference in how the police handled the Capitol rioters and Black Lives Matter protesters. ?I saw a lot of unfair stuff. I can imagine if they were Black and it would be tear gas and rubber bullets everywhere, ? freshman Jeremiah Samuelu said. When Black Lives Matter protesters were responding to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was seen on video gasping for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck, police replied with rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and military equipment such as helicopters and cargo trucks. However, during the Capitol riot, photographers and video show officers mostly trying to defend themselves and the Capitol. ?It not fair. It really didn?t look like the officers were trying, and during the Black Lives Matter protest, it looks like they were doing too much," freshman Shaiene Kate Acala said. The rioters supposedly broke into the Capitol to interrupt the counting of electoral votes to confirm president-elect Joe Biden?s victory. Five people died and many were injured during the Capitol riot. Also, THE PINION / 6
many people have been arrested, including Jake Chasely, the man with the horns and face paint, seen in many photos and videos, according to the FBI?s most wanted website. ?I do feel like there was a sense of privilege during the riot,? English teacher Evon Le said. After the riot, Trump was banned M ar ch 2021
from multiple social media platforms for allegedly spreading false voting claims. Many people have claimed that the Capitol riot is a form of treason and should not be taken lightly. ?I felt confused because I felt like they didn?t have a justified reason for storming the Capitol,? Le said. NEWS
Freshmanworldhistoryteacher CoreyNakashimauseshisauthority tomakelearningfunbylettinghis studentsact out historical events.
by Justin Nguyen, reporter David is lounging on his bed, thinking about his weekend plans. His phone vibrates and he reaches for it on the drawer to his right. Its a text message from his mom. ?Go to bed; it?s almost midnight.? David thought ?Why do I have to do that?? David might not be a real person, but you might be having these questions as well. It?s pretty normal to question authority. One group with perceived authority is teachers and they have authority over their students. Science teacher Mark Dugay said his authority over students comes from his occupation itself and the laws and standards that come with it. Dugay said students may willingly place themselves under teacher authority by how much students are willing to respect him and other teachers. He said his power depends on student respect. He also said his authority should be used in a way that helps the students, not just himself. Being a teacher means making the learning environment stress-free, Dugay said. Doing this can improve teacher-student relationships. ?This authority should be given to people with justice and fairness,
FEATURES
especially to students. This teaching authority is important to set boundaries, which promotes the sense of security among the students in the teaching-learning process, Dugay said. Aristotle says natural hierarchies should determine how people get their authority. Certain groups may be more capable of doing certain tasks than others and are more naturally fit to have authority over another group. Age groups are one of these groups. ?For although there may be exceptions to the order of nature, ? the elder and full-grown is superior to the younger and more immature,? Aristotle says. We can see how Aristotle?s logic can apply to teachers and students. Freshman Christian Caoili said authority requires restraint. In other words, people with authority must control it so it doesn?t hurt the other person. Caoili said authority should be more lenient. It could go too far if people start getting hurt. Caoili?s advice hints at the danger of tyranny. Italian philosopher Thomas Aquinas says tyranny is not a matter of the amount of power but instead the use of that power. Aquinas argues that the ends of authority are to reach the common good of the people rather than being self-serving. Aquinas emphasizes the
M ar ch 2021
importance of collectivism over individualism. ?For if many men were to live together, with each providing what is convenient for himself, the community would break up into its various parts unless one of them had the responsibility for the good of the community as a whole, just as the body of a man and of any other animal would fall apart if there were not some general ruling force to sustain the body and secure the common good of all its parts,? Aquinas says. Teachers can use this as a guideline for using their authority without abusing it. Teachers, according to Aquina, should try to achieve the common good of the classroom. The common good could be factors such as minimizing stress, providing students with their essential education, and much more. Dugay said that reaching the common good is beneficial. ?The responsibilities bestowed upon me as a teacher are indispensable. Being a teacher, you need to set a stress-free learning environment which enhances teacher-student interactions as well as student-student interactions in order to establish good rapport and maximize the teaching-learning processes,? Dugay said.
THE PINION / 7
Sch olast ic February 21-27 was National Scholastic Journalism Week. McKinley's reporters reflected on a few questions to celebrate their free speech rights, as well as their journey as student reporters. This year's staff is full of first-year reporters who are eager to learn more and share their stories with the McKinley community.
BEYOND SCHOLASTIC JOURNALISM In McKinley High School, Newswriting is an elective class. Not everyone who takes this course goes into a journalism-related career, but this doesn't mean studying journalism doesn't prepare all of us for life after high school. "Journalism could prepare me for career opportunities such as when I have to do a presentation on the job. I could apply scholastic journalism skills to convey the message well," said Justin Nguyen Shane Kaneshiro said studying journalism helps him "be able to report factual and concise information."
"Newswriting is a great class because it doesn't just prepare you for a journalism career. This class relies heavily on communication, which is useful for any career path. From interviews to getting updates from the editor or just asking fellow peers for help, journalism helps one make connections and just talk to others," said Althea Cunningham.
by Althea Cunningham, reporter
The Hawaii New Voices bill, also known as the Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act, will allow student journalists to report without fear of administrative censorship. The First Amendment allows journalists to report the truth to the public, and this bill will strengthen the rights of student journalists as well as their advisers. A bill like this was first introduced in the 1980's and was brought back during the 2019 legislative session. Unfortunately, covid happened and the bill stalled.
THE PINION / 8
M ar ch 2021
FEATURES
Jou r n alism ISSUES M ATTER
W HY W E DO W HAT W E DO
As teen journalists, we believe young people should not shy away from tackling controversial or tough issues for their campus publications.
We believe in the value of what we do. "The purpose of The Pinion is to contribute information for the community we have at McKinley. It should benefit the readers of the publication," said Nguyen.
"Those kinds of topics may help readers to develop their abilities to form informed opinions," said Nguyen.
"The Pinion documents the current events and highlights student and faculty achievements, "said Kaneshiro.
"The Pinion is a platform for students to share their opinions on social issues, school policies, and school curriculum without restrictions," said Kaneshiro.
"The Pinion is here for the McKinley community. We talk about upcoming or past events so students, teachers, faculty can see what their fellow peers are thinking," said Cunningham.
"It will help find their voice. Teens are maturing into adulthood where everyone has an opinion on everything and teens can learn more about their own ideals/beliefs through reporting and writing about controversial issues. This will also help teens not bandwagon on taking a side and mindlessly follow the majority stand on things," said Cunningham.
While McKinley High School's principal does not censor The Pinion, Hawaii law does not forbid it. "Currently, the principal has the ability to censor information within the article that he or she believes could harm the reputation of the school," said student journalist Shane Kaneshiro, "This bill will help the students write freely without fear of censorship by the principal." This bill protects student journalists' first amendment rights. However, it does not protect anything obscene or libelous. Such speech is even forbidden by the Constitution. Journalists follow ethical rules to prevent overstepping their bounds and maintain credibility with their audience.
FEATURES
"Ethical journalism is significant to me because it will help keep the rest of The Pinion professional," said student journalist Justin Ngyuen. "If I publish an unethical piece of journalism, the blame might be shifted onto the whole Pinion brand and ruin its reputation as a journalism brand. People might start thinking The Pinion is unreliable." If you are interested in getting involved and supporting this legislation, check out The Student Press Law Center or email The Pinion adviser Cindy Reves. "Journalist should have no fear of writing an article for the community's awareness," said Kaneshiro.
M ar ch 2021
THE PINION / 9
THE FIRST 50 YEARS This year marks the 100th year of The Pinion publishing articles about events that have made an impact on our school, our state and our country. In this Centennial Spread, we will share some of those articles from the first 50 years of The Pinion.
Oc tob er 14, 1920, The First Ed ition
On Oct. 14, 1920, The Pinion staff, the first organized journalism class in Hawaii, released its first bi-weekly issue. In Sept. 10, 1935, McKinley began publishing the Daily Pinion, which was believed to be the only daily paper in America and was made possible with the assistance of the McKinley print shop.
THE PINION / 10
M ar ch 2021
FEATURES
STUDENTS BUY B-24 LIBERATOR BOMBER IN 1940's McKinley students and teachers started a war bond campaign with the logo of "Buy a bomber with war bonds" and set a goal of $100,000 or $1.25 million in today?s dollars. The students sold war bonds to their parents, faculty and the community. More than 90 percent of the student body signed up to buy bonds each month. They raised $333,600 or $4.2 million today to buy the B-24 Liberator bomber.
HAWAII BECOMES STATE IN 1959 During the 1950's, Hawaii gained statehood. The Daily Pinion asked students, "What does Statehood mean to you?" The students stated they are given more opportunities to contribute to the United States and more of an integral part of the union, unlike being under a territory, where there were many limitations, such as to not be able to vote.
Centennia l Celeb ra tion in 1965
During the 60's, the McKinleys Centennial was a week long event that started with a parade on May 29.
The black and gold Centennial flag was presented to the school and public for the first time by Principal Timmy Hirata. The flag was designed by Edward Okutani, class of 1928.
FEATURES
The McKinley Centennial Celebration was a week-long event and began with a parade of floats, horse and buggies, and the oldest Ford truck with Miss McKinley of 1925, and the high school band.
M ar ch 2021
THE PINION / 11
RANGER COMMANDER PREPS FOR PANDEMIC PRACTICES From Left -2020 alumnus Jianne Miles, junior Eugene Asis, and sophomore Bruce Sipelii mug for the camera after getting dirty during the 2020 Warrior Recon Challenge before the pandemic worsened.
by Althea Cunningham, reporter Junior Eugene Asis is the JROTC Ranger Team Commander, and he has to face a lot of changes this year. The McKinley JROTC Ranger team plans to start practices after months of no activity due to the coronavirus. Weekly practices on campus resumed on Feb. 1. The plan was to send out safety contracts and revise the workout plans. ?It?s different being the ranger commander during the pandemic because it limits my abilities to do my duties, which is to make everyone competition ready,? Asis said The Ranger Team consists of cadets who work out multiple times a week and practice various skills inspired by the military. This includes knot tying, land navigation and first aid. The rangers put their skills to the test against other JROTC programs around the island in competitions throughout the school year. As team commander, Asis is in charge of workout routines and THE PINION / 12
preparing the team for the upcoming competitions. Before the pandemic, rangers practiced three to four times a week, having good times and working hard. ?I miss the hard workouts and being with my friends,? Asis said. Asis?s workout plans have changed greatly to meet the safety standards cadets must follow. The whole team must wear masks and are broken into groups of five with someone in charge of each squad. Asis and the JROTC instructors make sure that exercises can be done without any physical contact. ?It?s very different from what we?re used to, but we can adapt to it,? said Asis Asis said that, with so many people doing 100% virtual learning, he expects fewer people will show up and progress will slow down, but he?s still grateful that he can get back to working hard with his friends. ?Rangers taught us teamwork, patience,? Asis said, ?and it made us look at training to be a necessary part of life.?
M ar ch 2021
SPORTS