THE
POINT
PALOS VERDES HIGH SCHOOL - ISSUE 1, VOLUME 26 - OCTOBER 7, 2021
Getting Personal With Paysinger: Meet Palos Verdes High School’s New Interim Principal By Aidan Sun editor-in-chief After the resignation of former principal Dr. Allan Tyner in July, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) was left searching for a last-minute replacement. Enter Carter Paysinger, an interim solution to filling the vacancy. A veteran educator, Paysinger coached and taught at Beverly Hills High School for many decades before becoming principal of the school in 2010. There, he led the school he once attended and published a best-selling novel, Where a Man Stands. After facing alledged racial prejudice from the Beverly Hills school board, Paysinger sued and won in a discrimination lawsuit and retired from his position as principal in 2015. This year, Paysinger was asked by PVPUSD to come out of retirement to lead Palos Verdes High School until a permanent principal is found. I sat down with him to ask a few questions about his life.
Q& A Where were you born? Describe the household you grew up in.
I was born in Muskegon, Michigan and raised in South Los Angeles. The house I group up in was a regular house on the block — three bedrooms, a couple bathrooms, a backyard. I grew up with my three brothers and my mom and dad. Describe a typical day in your childhood. On non-school days I played all kinds of sports and games from kickball, softball, baseball, football and basketball. We just entertained ourselves, my brothers and I. On school days we were going to school and doing what every school-aged child does.
What made you want to return to Beverly as a coach and then later as a teacher and principal? I was watching my younger brother play baseball and football. I’d go to his games and the coaches there actually recruited me to come back there. I was in college and getting my real estate license and was hoping to pursue a career in real estate. I was strongly encouraged by the coaches like Bill Standsbury who convinced me to come back and coach. The coaches believed that if I was going to be there watching my brother play, then I might as well coach and just have that as an experience while I was finishing up college. And that’s how it started. Once I got in and I started coaching, I started teaching and everything kind of fell in place.
What was your biggest success at Beverly? In my first three years as principal, we had the highest test scores in the school’s history.
My biggest success as a coach, I would probably say, would be the number of students that went through our program that became successful in a variety of different careers. That just fortified the belief that if you do it right and focus on the right things, the wins will come. And we focused on life skills and developing people and we won a lot of games and had a lot of really successful athletes. You had a falling out with the school board at Beverly Hills High School. You alleged that a school board member engaged in a smear campaign against you, leaking accusations to the L.A. Times. You later won a discrimination lawsuit against the board and were cleared of any wrongdoing. Describe that experience from your perspective.
That was the toughest experience of my life because for the first time I felt like I was really attacked for being African American. That’s naturally the bottom line to it. It’s a problem that many people go through and it’s unfortunate, but it happens. You chose to come out of retirement to be interim principal here at Palos Verdes High School. PVHS is pretty comparable in terms of socioeconomic and racial demographics. Why choose PV High? I was actually asked by Dr. Cherniss if I could do a limited term here. Obviously the previous principal left pretty close to the start of the school year and it’s really hard to find administrators, and teachers for that matter, at that time of the year. Usually those people are available in the spring for the next school year. I knew enough about Palos Verdes and the school district in general to know that not only is it similar to Beverly Hills, but they are very successful in a lot of aspects so it was an easy decision for me to accept the job.
I looked into your book, Where a Man Stands. You wrote that your mother moved you and your siblings to schools in West L.A., eventually allowing you to attend Beverly Hills High School. Describe that experience for me, especially as an African American from a different part of the city.
I saw in an interview that there was a plan for a Where a Man Stands movie and you wanted Denzel Washington to portray you. How are plans for that going?
It was different. At the time I didn’t realize how different it was just having to fit in with my friends in my neighborhood and my friends at school. They were separated. It was just different. At the time there were a number of Blacks at Beverly, probably a lot more than there are now. My friends were not segregated. They were segregated in terms of what activities you were involved in. All the athletes hung out together. It gave me an opportunity to learn a little bit more about other cultures.
We’ve had many conversations with the production companies and producers.
Well we haven’t moved forward on the movie. When you give up the rights to your story, then they can take it and do whatever they want.
The T.V. show All American is based on the life story of your nephew, Spencer Paysinger. The show is incredibly popular at our school. Any chance he can come speak to us? We’ll see. I’ll leave it at that.
Photo by Cynthia Mindicino
See pages 6-7 to meet all other new faculty members!
NEWS
Enrollment at PVHS Falls To Eight-Year Low
By Luka Ardon reporter For the third year since 2013, Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) has lost more than 100 students in its 2021-22 enrollment. This school year, PVHS enrollment decreased seven percent, losing 107 students. For the first time in at least eight years PVHS has gone under 1500 students with 1,431 students. Across the hill, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (PVPHS) only lost 20 students with a total number of 2,345. “We want kids to come here, PV High is a great school,” Associate Principal Dr. Keely Hafer said. This seven percent loss not only causes less kids to be on campus, but affects school materials. “Yeah, we’ve had to give some of our [textbooks] away to Pen,” librarian Ashley Brockman said. The previous eighth grade class of the Palos Verdes school district was expected to be a little smaller than the past classes, so PVHS anticipated fewer students. “We were prepared for a little smaller, but we obviously didn’t want to lose this many,” Hafer said.
COVID-19 did not seem to be the root cause of lower enrollment in PVHS or PVPHS in the 2020-21 school year. PV only lost 36 students and Peninsula actually gained 61 students. “It’s just a trend, I think COVID was a hiccup but it was a hiccup everywhere,” Registrar Karen Mills said. PVHS is looking for a positive enrollment year for the first in four years since the class grew by 114 students in the 2017-18 school year. “We are going to keep doing our recruiting and talking to the middle schools, private and public schools.” Hafer said. “[We’ll keep] spreading all of the wonderful things of PV High in the community so the community knows how amazing we are here.” The new freshman class is the smallest class of all four classes. The total number of new freshmen is 324 — 29 less students than the 2021 senior class. “Doing all those orientation meetings, the counselors and staff seemed really friendly and dedicated,” freshman Allison Yu said. Mills also believes that in-person open houses will help with next
Climate Crisis in California Affects Wildlife By Sierra Namvari reporter As California suffers through droughts, heatwaves and more deadly fires, many don’t realize how birds and other animals in these regions are being largely affected. The rising confusion causes birds to feel disoriented, and not be able to migrate and find food the way they normally do. Many species of birds have become endangered in our population. In addition to temperature rises, sea level rises are also affecting birds such as the Wandering Tattler, Sanderling, Gadwall, Sora and more. Sea level rising threatens these birds’ habitats from being wiped out. If these birds go extinct in the near future due to climate change, there will be gaps in the food chain and cause other imbalances in the environment. When one species falls, more will start to fall as well. The number of fires in the north right now is damaging not only the environment and air quality, but it’s also injuring many animals in the process. Although many fires have
started simply because of heat and brush fire, many have been from irresponsible matches that were either left unattended or campfires in heavy forest areas. The way to prevent this is to simply just follow the regulations in whatever city you are in. Most campgrounds in California have strict rules about open fires and it’s important to follow them in order to protect our environment, air quality and wildlife. It’s also known that in Palos Verdes there tend to be many goats that come in during fire seasons, to help prevent brush fires from starting by heat, according to NPR. “These wildfires are hotter than before, these fires are longer than before, and a lot of it is because of climate change which is drying out the trees,” Environmental Science teacher Marie Kuhn said. “Those little things individuals can do is carpooling, to reduce fossil fuel use, turning off lights when you’re not in a room are the immediate things. “If you want to go further, students can vote for people that align with climate change regulations...your vote holds a lot of power where we go with climate change.”
Editors-in-Chief Alycen Kim Aidan Sun Adviser Cynthia Mindicino
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Total Enrollment at PV and Peninsula Over Past 10 Years year’s enrollment. “I think that’s always worked in our favor, our kids do a tremendous job selling our school,” Mills said. The problem seems to be not just PVHS, but their biggest feeder middle school, Palos Verdes Intermediate School, going down in enrollment too. “The bulk of our kids come from Palos Verdes Intermediate School,” Mills said. “I used to work up there, we had almost a 1000 students up there so it’s a lot less.” In Palos Verdes Estates, the median age is 52 years old compared to Torrance’s median of 42 years old. PVE is an older city, which means less high schoolers. Data gathered from school profiles, WASC reports, SARC reprts, “I know where I live there’s and school registrars. (Graphic by Luka Ardon) probably a street of 30 or 40 houses, but there’s probably only less and less and comes back to that oldest in LA. two or three that have school aged demographic,” Mills said. In 1992, Palos Verdes High children,” Mills said. The four cities that make up the School combined with Miraleste In Palos Verdes Estates, the age is PVPUSD all are in the top ten oldest High School and Rolling Hills changing. cities by median age in Los Angeles High School to form Peninsula The median age has gone up by county. High School. four years from 2011 to 2019. Rolling Hills is ranked as the The PVHS campus became For comparison, Torrance’s oldest city in LA county. a middle school, leaving Palos median age hasn’t changed in eight Palos Verdes Estates, where the Verdes with one high school and years. PVHS campus is located, is the third two middle schools. “Every year it’s been getting
California Recall Election Results By Andrew Carpenter design editor The California Recall Election was an attempt to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office took place on Sept. 14. There were two questions on the ballot. The first one asked if Newsom should or should not be removed. The second asked who should replace him if he were removed. The recal effort ultimately failed with over 60% of voters voting to keep Newsom in office. To qualify a recall of the Governor for the ballot, according to the California Constitution, proponents need a minimum of 1,495,709 valid petition signatures. This is equal to 12 percent of the votes cast for the office of Newsom in 2018. The front runner in the election against Newsom was Larry Elder, a radio talk show host who grew up in South Central LA and went to Brown University. Elder ran as a Republican and supports many libertarian policies. Other Canidates included Caitlyn Jenner, transgender rights activist and former Olympian; Kevin Faulconer, former San Diego mayor; and John Cox, a businessman and political activist who supported lowering income taxes. “I did not like the way that Newsom handled the pandemic and his hypocritical handling of the lockdowns,” senior and first-time voter Mikey Guirgis said. The recall effort gained major steam during the pandemic after recall supporters viewed
some of Newsom’s actions as hypocritical. However, this is not what started the movement. The recall was introduced February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic became an issue. The original reasons for the recall included high taxes, the homelessness problem, immigration laws, abolishing the death penalty and rationing water use. Some viewed Newsom’s handling of the pandemic as more of a reason to recall him and got many people who originally did not care about the election interested because of how their life had been affected by the pandemic. “While I was at home doing online school and having all of my activities cancelled, Newsom’s children were going to school and he was going to large events,” Guirgis said. “I voted for Elder because
Editors & Leadership News: Vikesh Dheeriya Features: Lucia Ruiz Opinion: Amber Chen Sports: Jonathan Liu Design: Andrew Carpenter
Photography: Sierra Namvari Online: Ella Sherry Social Media: Kelly Donahue and Reddin Kehrli
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he would be transparent and not hypocritical towards the people he is supposed to represent. He would also help the homelessness crisis.” However, most California voters were against the recall because they are in favor of his environmental policies such as banning fracking and dangerous pesticides and his support for women’s and LGBTQ rights. They feel that Elder does not care about those issues. “I favor Newsom because he believes in science, minimum wage and a woman’s right to choose,” senior Julia Soll said. . The election results showed that 62.6% of voters voted to keep Gavin Newsom governor while 37.4% voted to recall him. This means that Gavin Newsom will remain governor for the duration of his normally scheduled term which is set to end Jan. 2, 2023.
Staff Luka Ardon, Chloe Choi, Isabella Firmani, Naomi Gan, Quinn Kearns, Eva Mayrose, Victoria Nolan, Aaron Paik, Meeka Rahimi, Sophie Stoddart, Ayla Torres, Natalie Wang
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OCTOBER 7, 2021
NEWS
Canceled SATs Frustrate Students By Kelly Donahue reporter COVID-19 has had a heavy impact on students’ ability to take the SAT in the past year and a half, closing many testing locations sometimes within a few days of the scheduled test date. All the closures and cancellations have been a source of stress for many students at Palos Verdes High School. As a result of the pandemic, many colleges and universities made the decision to be testoptional on their applications. Some, including all of the UC schools, even opted to be testblind, meaning they don’t take test scores into account when reviewing applications. Some schools are continuing to stay test-optional for the foreseeable future, while others are starting to require the test scores again. The test center closures and SAT cancellations make it very difficult for high school seniors who have not taken the test to
get their scores in time for the rapidly approaching application deadlines. Senior Quentin Ruiz, who had his SAT cancelled less than 48 hours before he was supposed to take it, believes that the cancellations “will impact [his] admissions process much more than people think,” because he will not get his test scores back until close to the application deadlines. Students are feeling frustrated as they continue having to prepare for the test with the uncertainty of whether or not they will be able to take the test looming over their heads. Senior Izzy Farrow has had seven of her SATs cancelled and has prepared for each of the SATs she signed up to take. “It gets tiring every time it does [get cancelled] because it’s like doing work for no reward,” Farrow said. Like Farrow, Ruiz had his preparations impacted by the cancellation of his test. “All of the studying was super fresh in my mind and the exam was scheduled to be just a week after my prep finished,” Ruiz said.
“But now that I’m taking it significantly later, I fear that I will be unprepared and out of practice for the actual test.” While preparing for her SAT, junior Alex Donell was also preparing for the possibility that her test might get cancelled because she had friends taking the test at different sites who had their test cancelled less than 24 hours before they were supposed to take it. In the event that her test was cancelled, Donell would have “rescheduled to take it in October so that if [she] didn’t like [her] score [she] would still have plenty of time to take another test in the spring.” However, Donell was able to take the first test that she registered for. For students that have been frustrated by the SAT cancellations or worried about what the cancellations might mean for them, Joanne Lewis, director of the College and Career Center, believes that, “unless a student can produce an exceptionally strong test score that is well above their academic rigor and performance
PVPUSD’s Efforts to Fight COVID By Ella Sherry reporter Students, teachers, staff, and district personnel have all been doing their part to ensure that the school year is off to a safe start for everyone. There have been 10 cases at PVHS since the start of school on Aug. 25, as of Oct. 6. Seventeen students, as of Oct. 6, are currently quarantining, according to the PVPUSD COVID-19 dashboard. The district had a plan to keep students safe while returning to in-person school—encouraging remote work, mask requirements, self-assessment tools, following public health recommendations, social distancing when possible, air ventilation in classrooms and cleanings every day after school. While the cases have been minimal, it has affected the learning environment of students that had to quarantine. Sophomore Madalyn Barley, had to quarantine at the beginning of school because she was exposed. “I got really behind, and none of the teachers were really posting on Google Classroom,” Barley said. “I wanted to be back as soon as possible.” When she heard that she had been exposed at school, she wasn’t nervous just for herself, but for other students as well. “I got a little worried, because I was talking to a lot of people throughout the day [and] I was scared that other people were going to get sick,” Barley said. But there is a way that students can protect themselves and others from the virus and interrupting school: testing. COVID-19 testing sites have been set up at Peninsula High School, PV High School, and Miraleste Intermediate School, available from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Testing for students is optional, but there are testing/
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vaccination status requirements for student athletes. “Right now, anybody who is unvaccinated is going to be required to be part of the testing program for moderate and high contact sports,” said Athletic Director Brian Shapiro. “For outdoor sports, the testing is once a week. And for indoor sports, testing is twice a week.” Shapiro is also the cross country and track coach, and wants to keep his athletes safe because of the recent COVID cases. “As a coach, you want to make everything you can as safe as possible for our students, even though there will be some risk whenever we get together, that some people might get sick or spread to others,” Shapiro said. The plan for tracking COVID cases in sports is similar to the plan in tracking COVID-19 during regular school. “The first thing that we want to do is take care of that student and take care of the people that have been around that student, Shapiro said. “That student needs to make sure to get proper medical care, and their parents should know right away. And then part two is identifying who might
be at risk from exposure from that student. … We have seating charts ... for all of our classes, and practice plans that are from our sports.” Positive COVID-19 cases on teams can affect the individual player and the team’s performance. “That can be a big letdown for a team,” Shapiro said. “There’s also the individual’s health, and there’s a lot of studies that are still being done about the longlasting effects of [COVID-19] on youth and on athletes.” Even while COVID-19 is affecting regular school life, it’s also affecting the entire global community, and hasn’t changed just the lives of Palos Verdes high schoolers. “The big picture is, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, and there are people that are sick and there are people that are dying and hospital workers that are overwhelmed with providing care for everybody,” Shapiro said. “When it comes to actual prevention and protection, the only way we’re ever going to do that is through vaccination, wearing masks, washing hands and following as many of the guidelines as we can.”
PVHS is a COVID testing site for students and staff every Tuesday and Thursday. (Photo by Ella Sherry) PVHSPOINT.ORG
Graphic by Kelly Donahue as indicated on their transcript, and is well above the mid-range scores of the colleges they’re applying to, [she] would say forget the test. Stop stressing and focus on your schoolwork, your college apps, getting enough sleep and staying happy and healthy.” Just as Lewis recommended, Farrow has been “focusing on
the things [she] can control like extracurriculars, essays, etc.” Lewis’s advice to students who are preparing to take the test during this uncertain time is “not to spend too much time, if any at all, prepping for the test. Spend time doing the things you love to do — discover or try new things you might enjoy or are of interest to you.
COVID-19 Mutates; Delta and Mu Spread By Vikesh Dheeriya news editor With the authorization and distribution of vaccines in America, cases of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus decreased in case numbers; however, different variants of this virus have been identified and are possibly more deadly. “COVID-19 is an RNA virus, so they are going to mutate more often than DNA viruses,” biology teacher Julie Maemoto said. “It’s the natural mechanism that allows them to continue to infect more people.” Viruses like COVID-19 mutate all the time, but most of them aren’t much different from the original so there is little reason to identify them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only pays attention to certain variants if it affects vaccine effectiveness, severity and ease of transmission. These specific variants which cause a severe illness or hurt vaccine effectiveness are labeled a variant of concern (VOC). The most prevalent VOC, the Delta variant, was first discovered in India in December 2020. The variant is twice as contagious as the original virus and is more likely to hospitalize an infected individual. The Delta variant accounts for 99% of the recent cases nationwide and more than 2,000 deaths daily in the US. First discovered in Colombia in January 2021, the Mu variant continues to spread in Los Angeles County. Because this variant is so new, it has not
been labeled as a VOC as it is still being observed. There are still many questions on the contagiousness and severity of the Mu variant. Just like all COVID variants, the unvaccinated population takes on the highest risk of death as well as spreading most of the cases. “The most effective way to stop the transmission is with vaccines” Maemoto said. With President Joe Biden’s new mandate, requiring all employees in businesses larger than 100 employees to get vaccinated, the rates of vaccination continue to rise. At least 72% of the California population has received one dose of the vaccine, per CDC. As long as vaccination rates rise, less of the COVID-19 virus will have time to duplicate, circulate and mutate, reducing the types of variants being introduced into society. “If we keep giving [COVID-19] a chance to mutate, we are going to see more variants,” Maemoto said. A common justification for some people not getting the vaccine is that they already had COVID-19 and therefore have the antibodies, meaning that they are protected from COVID-19 in the future. However, when these people receive a second exposure, COVID-19 can continue to mutate, creating even more variants that have a possibility of being more transmissible or deadly. “To end it, to bring the numbers down globally, to really make it safe again without masks,” Maemoto said. “We have to get vaccinated.”
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FEATURES
Indigenous Recognition in Palos Verdes
By Eva Mayrose reporter “There is no land in North America that wasn’t once Native American land,” ethinic studies teacher and CARE advisor Christina Varela said. Despite the controversial American holiday of Columbus day coming up, as well as the reemerging prevalence of human rights movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate over the past year, Native and Indigenous cultures in the U.S. often go unrecognized and underrepresented in the media, government and public eye. “We need to acknowledge who was here before us,” Varela said. Although many Palos Verdes residents have lived in this area for decades or even a lifetime, few know about the history of the native tribes that inhabited the land we live on now. Continuing to talk about and acknowledge native cultures today is important because, as Varela said, “this was once all their land. We are still on it, but they are still with us.” On campus, student-run human rights club, CARE, recognizes Native American
History Month in November. The club’s focus during that month is “celebrating, appreciating and educating ourselves [about] Native American issues and history,” senior and CARE member Will Sasaki said. Moreover, CARE “has started to use a land acknowledgement at the beginning of each of [their] meetings [to help] remember and reflect [on] the stolen land from previous Indigenous communities,” Sasaki said.
“This was once all their land. We are still on it.” — Christina Varela Although many students are taking initiative and learning about issues that affect Native Americans, the school’s curriculum is excluding this information with a different textbook adoption. “Our new textbooks have even [less information about Indigenous cultures] than our new ones,” Varela said. The land of Southern California were once home to
the indigenous Tongva tribe for 7,000 years up until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries brought by Juan Cabrillo in 1542. Although interactions were friendly and mutualistic in the beginning, when settlers continued to immigrate to Palos Verdes and Baja California, the Tongva had their homeland, traditions and way of life ripped away as a result of being forced to assimilate into Spanish missionary culture. Students in the community have the resources and opportunities to address these issues and create positive change. Just one example is the Palos Verdes Interpretive Center, which offers an inperson learning experience about the history of this land and the natives who inhabited it. Built in 1984, the institution’s goal is to educate those on the history and wildlife of PV through interactive exhibits and tours. Decades later, the museum is still a popular and informative field trip for many history students in elementary and middle school. “The more we learn about our fellow human beings, the better we are to our fellow human beings,” said Varela.
Land in Southern California was once Native American land. (Graphic by Eva Mayrose)
Supporting the Seniors The CCC provides students with a plethora of college admissions resources.
By Naomi Gan reporter
Many seniors on campus are entering the thick of college application season and, thanks to the CCC, have access to various resources to guide them through this stressful time. The College and Career Center, better known as the CCC, is a valuable support system for PVHS students to utilize; particularly for seniors, it serves as a cornerstone for college application and post-highschool planning. Joanne Lewis, director of the CCC, knew seniors applying to college were going to face a huge learning curve this year with so many universities changing their admissions policies due to the pandemic. In light of this, the CCC is hosting a College Application Crash Course and an Essential College Knowledge presentation series, which will run through October. “We will continue to innovate and provide one-to-one meetings with students and parents, webinars, panel discussions, college visits and whatever else we can to assist our students,” Lewis said. The CCC’s new virtual series, which features highly applied-to colleges and allows students to have conversations with admissions representatives, has been very well received.
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In addition to the various resources offered, the CCC provides advice to seniors. “Students need to get motivated, organized and focus on college application deadlines and details,” Lewis said. “There’s really a lot of reflection, research and writing that needs to happen.” Not only does the CCC help seniors actually craft their applications, but they also aid students in deciding where to apply, looking at potential majors and exploring financial aid options. “The CCC has helped me immensely this year in the college app process,” senior Zoe Dearborn. “I have had some formal meetings with Mrs. Lewis to help decide where to apply and I have also dropped in the CCC without an appointment for quick questions and check-ins to make sure I am on the right track.” The CCC is truly considered an asset in the Sea King community and is vital in ensuring no student falls through the cracks. “Mrs. Lewis is brilliant and the CCC is an excellent resource for finding what your plan is after high school,” Dearborn said.
OCTOBER 7, 2021
FEATURES “Live from 205” Recieves Its Own Breaking News Executive Producer and Advisor Rene Vela Accepts New Job at Chino Hills High School
(From left to right) Live from 205’s sports photographer and editor Erik Gressett, sports anchor Jamie Robertson, executive producer Rene Vela, reporter Ben Jorgensen and anchor Isabella Firmani take a final photo together. (Photo courtesy of Isabella Firmani) By Isabella Firmani reporter On Sunday, Sept. 12, “Live From 205” students, as well as the rest of the school, were hit with news that would quickly shift the entire production of their
program. Rene Vela, the founder and Executive Producer of “Live From 205,” had accepted a job as Assistant Principal at Bellflower High School. “About three years ago [my husband and I] purchased a home in Chino Hills with the goal
of eventually moving there full time and pursuing my goal of becoming an administrator,” Vela said in his email to students and faculty that Sunday morning. Though he was anticipating the move for a while, the interview process for the position was
a lengthy one and he was still going through the application as school began in late August. However, once notified about the job, Vela had just a few days to close one chapter of his life and open up a new one. The next Monday morning, he would be in his new office 27 miles away from the all-sofamiliar home of PVHS. For both Vela and his students, this transition came with many emotions. “It is a hard adjustment,” senior and sports anchor Jamie Robertson said. “But ultimately I know we are all really proud of Mr. Vela for following what he wants to do.” This is a feeling many of his students relate to, knowing that despite how much they will miss him, the opportunity is one he can’t let pass him by. As for “Live From 205,” many Sea Kings were left wondering what would happen to the biweekly shows scheduled for Tuesday and Friday mornings, but Vela remained confident that his students would succeed even
without him there to guide them. “I am leaving this program in good hands,” Vela said. “That helps me sleep better at night.” Vela assured his students he will always be one GroupMe away for anything they may need but has no doubts when it comes to the ability of those in “Live From 205.” Leaders of the program feel the same way. “We really have no plans of stopping,” senior and 205 director Michael Sprengel said. “The team is really motivated to keep producing shows and we look forward to making Mr. Vela proud from his new school.” Despite the obstacles they may face and adjustments they may have to make, the 205 students welcome the challenge with open arms. They plan to work as hard as they can to ensure the program stays running at its usual awardwinning level and remain hopeful knowing that they have the love and support from teachers, students and administrators all throughout the PVPUSD.
Students Express Themselves Differently After Quarantine By Amber Chen opinion editor After a long year of isolation during quarantine, some students have completely changed. Whether it’s fashion, passions or entire personalities, it seems like many students have become different people — or have they just found the confidence to finally express their true selves? According to a survey of 87 students, 63 percent of students indicate that they have become more outgoing at school after staying at home for a year. Responses from the survey suggest that students who originally were more outgoing tended to become even more extroverted, while students who originally were more reserved tended to become even more introverted. “I think I became a little more outgoing after quarantine because after being at home with just my family, it was really exciting to see other people at school and socialize,” junior Naomi Kao said. After experiencing leadership opportunities during quarantine and becoming the co-captain of the girl’s tennis team, Naomi Kao became more confident. “When you’re on a team and
OCTOBER 7, 2021
(Graphic by Amber Chen) you want your teammates to do well, you cheer really loudly for them and give them as much support as possible, without worrying about what others think of you,” Naomi Kao said. On the other hand, being away from socialization for a year has made other students feel increased anxiety at school. “It’s just hard going from seeing a lot of people to no one, and then a whole school again,” junior Kayla Hirt said. “It’s hard to get back into meeting new people.” Although being introverted has its benefits, many people find that they can discover their passions
once they try new activities. “It’s not bad to be shy or quiet, but it’s also good to put yourself out there,” Naomi Kao said. “When you start to participate and get out there with everyone else, it’s actually a lot of fun and you become more comfortable and make a lot of friends.” Her sister, freshman Olivia Kao, agreed. “During the summer I was getting pretty nervous for high school, but by participating in band camp with the marching band the week before school started, I met a lot of my friends and got more familiar with the campus,” Olivia Kao said. To reserved students whose self-expression is inhibited by their concern of peer judgement, Hirt and freshman Mattias Eberhart have some advice. “In the end, no one else is stuck with you besides yourself, so do whatever makes you happy instead of trying to impress other people,” Hirt said. “You should stop caring about what you do around certain people, because in reality, if the person is a decent person, they’re not gonna really care if you do something if you make a mistake,” Eberhart said. “Just be yourself and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because those mistakes help you grow.”
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Meet the New Teac
Megan Babcock
Valerie Browers
Rye Chang
Roni Cross
What do you like to do in your free time?
What do you love most about your job?
What is one fun fact you would like to share about yourself?
What is your favorite thing about PV High so far?
Student Support Specialist
School Psychologist
“I love to go for walks and hikes, do puzzles, read, paint, travel, spend time with my husband, friends, and family, go to concerts, and watch my favorite TV shows! I am currently loving Ted Lasso.”
“I love when students come to me if they have a problem, then helping them find ways to solve the problem and learn how to be self-reliant. I love working with families and I work a lot with special-ed, so that includes helping families understand programs, how to work with the school system and how we can all work together.”
Paige Metcalfe
Kevin Neal
Algebra 1, Precalc What do you love most about your job? “Seeing others fall in love with math like I did, or just seeing students persevere. Or learning something more about math or my students. It’s definitely rewarding.”
Social Studies, Football Coach What do you like to do in your free time?
“In my free time I like to flyfish, ski, and do ocean sports, particularly body surfing.”
Korean 1, 2, 3 and 4
“I’ve taught Korean in three different countries- China, Cambodia, and the United States. I also was an actress for theatres in Daehangno, Korea. I was an actress for about two years.”
AP Secretary
“I love all the activities and clubs and I feel like there’s a little bit of everything for everyone. There was a club for chocolate chip cookies and I’m just like, ‘I wish my highschool had that!’ There’s a lot of fun things to do here. Someone can always find something to be a part of.”
Chris Pekich
Jodie Shurtleff
What is one fun fact you would like to share about yourself?
What is your favorite thing about PV High so far?
Art, Surf
“I go storm chasing. 2013 was the first time I went and the first trip I ever went on I saw the biggest tornado in history in Oklahoma. It was about two and a half miles wide.”
Student Support Specialist
“I think my favorite thing about PV High so far is watching everyone come back and come together. There’s a lot of energy right now and that’s really exciting to see. I love just seeing students interacting.”
chers and Staff at PVHS!
Melanie Gerling
Ellie Hung
Rachel Krupsky
Charlene Laird
What is one fun fact you would like to share about yourself?
What do you like to do in your free time?
What is your favorite thing about PV High so far?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Algebra 2H, Precalc, Statistics
“I’ve been a dancer all my life and in quarantine I was actually featured in a music video. I had to learn and record a dance routine from home and send it in to be selected by the video editing team. I danced in the music video for the song ‘Lay Your Head On Me’ by Major Lazer feat. Marcus Mumford.”
Algebra 2,Precalc with Limits
“I go hiking pretty much every week. I have a vegetable garden with a bunch of flowers and I also like to read.”
School Psychologist
“My favorite thing about PV High so far has been the location and the block schedule. I am slowly getting used to it, but I am enjoying the three periods a day.”
Robert Watt
Nina Sinsombutcharoen
Marissa Tartaglione
What is one fun fact you would like to share about yourself?
What do you love most about your job?
What do you like to do in your free time?
“The kids. I really like the kids. It’s fun seeing the students enjoy anatomy and physiology. I know that I love it and I know that it’s something I’m passionate about, but seeing the kids actually enjoying it and liking the projects we’re doing; that makes my job really fun.”
“I enjoy playing hockey, crossfit, and going to local sporting events.”
Geometry, Calc Regular
“During my first year of teaching, my students actually picked out the car that I later purchased. We did a lesson on exponential decay and calculated which car would have the best resale value in 6 years. I bought the car based on the students’ research. I’m about to buy a new car in a few years. Maybe the students at PVHS will be choosing which car I’ll buy too!”
Biology, Physio/Anatomy
Student Resource Officer
Sub Desk
“I enjoy hiking, playing tennis, and being outdoors.”
Maria Zarro-Anaya English 2
What is one fun fact you would like to share about yourself? “I was in the police academy before I had my second child. I’m also a swim coach (for 16 years) and a lifeguard, mainly for private occasions like pool parties or birthday parties.”
OPINION
PARENTAL ADVISORY: Explicit Content
Parents Unfairly Condemn Artists for Explicit Music
(Graphic by Chloe Choi) By Sierra Namvari photo editor
Recently, many parents have been complaining about the large amount of “explicit” content that celebrities are releasing. They believe that it’s inappropriate for their children to be looking up to these influencers. However, when has it ever been a celebrity’s job to look out for other people’s children? Parents should not complain and pressure celebrities online to change their platform for a child. It is the parents’ own responsibility to keep their children away from certain content online. Celebrities don’t intend mature songs or music videos to be directed towards a very young audience. Many celebrities are actually becoming very successful
through the marketing of mature content. For example, Cardi B has been on the rise for many years, and has become widely popularized through her explicit song “WAP.” This song has spread around every social media platform. This involves TikTok which happens to include a lot of younger users. TikTok specifically has a requirement for users to be 13 years or older. If an adult doesn’t want their child to be exposed to the languages and music videos, then they should use their authority to restrict their devices. For this purpose, platforms such as YouTube have actually applied these “parental restrictions.” Lil Nas X has been highlighted in the media recently because of all the backlash he has received
from his song “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” and from his shoe line that both involved references to the “Devil.” In the religiously diverse country of America, many audiences don’t mind the “Devil” references; however, they don’t sit well with conservative parents. Nonetheless, the excuses about “protecting their kids” these parents use to condemn artists’ music videos and marketing choices are invalid because the explicit content was never intended for young kids to see. If these parents properly use their authority and put more effort into monitoring and restricting the content their kids had access to, there would not be a problem. Parents shouldn’t be so overwhelmed by celebrities’ decisions in their own careers. To put it simply, if you don’t like it, don’t look at it.
New Gaming Laws in China Could Have Benefits for Children
By Natalie Wang reporter
China has cracked down on their video game industries, and as of Sept. 1, 2021, all Chinese minors under the age of 18 are restricted to only three hours of gaming maximum per week and can only play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 PM to 9 PM. However harsh this policy may seem, it may be justified by the gaming addiction “epidemic” in China, and its negative effect on the health of gaming addicts. Although China is the first country to really regulate video games, gaming addiction is a global problem. More than three billion people worldwide play video games. Video games could be a cause of increased obesity across the world, which has been on the rise in recent years, making it a major concern for the World Health Organization. Those who play video games excessively are less likely to go outside, which is a key component of staying healthy. Gaming for long hours can be harmful to eyesight. Staring at screens for long periods of time can cause eye strain, like many people experienced during the era of online school. Not only do video games affect physical health, but they also put mental health at risk as well. The next generation has grown up around technology,
and it has become normal to for them to be using devices even in social settings. This decreased face-to-face interaction has been found to contribute to social anxiety, depression and loneliness. Even though new technology has given the world more ways than ever to connect, today’s youth struggle to form physical relationships. According to a study done by Cigna, a global health service company, Gen Z is the loneliest generation. Another negative impact of video games is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a common occurrence in online gaming servers, and can be harmful to the mental health of the players. Cyberbullying is often even more vicious than physical bullying because the anonymity makes it less likely for the bully to be held responsible for what they said or did, therefore making them feel enabled to spew malicious words. Additionally, discrimination or harrassment of girls when they game online with other players is not uncommon. Therefore, the new regulation on the amount of hours Chinese minors can play video games may help minimize cyberbullying as well. In theory, it seems like there will be positive psychological and physical effects on China's youth. However, only time will tell whether this new law will actually benefit the youth, as well as how well they will adjust to a life without video games.
It’s a Culture, Not a Costume:
The Issue with Culturally Inappropriate Costumes By Alycen Kim editor-in-chief Cobwebs, costumes, candy and cultural appropriation? Halloween is just around the corner, bringing about a night of dressing up and dishing out sweets. But, along with the influx of candy and decorations in grocery stores comes a conversation about wearing racist or insensitive costumes on one of the most festive nights of the year. Take a Native American costume, for example. Walk into any costume store and you’re bound to see one of these “Indian” costumes and matching accessories hanging from the rack. Think fringe, faux suede, braids and feather headdresses. Although this is a very common costume, especially for young children, it may be seen as disrespectful to wear such a
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stereotypical portrayal of Native American culture while remaining uneducated about their diverse culture and history of violent oppression at the hands of white colonizers. Interestingly, the rise of original Disney movies in the past few years has sparked a heated debate about culturally appropriate costumes. Popular movies that feature diverse casts such as “Black Panther” and “Coco” have subsequently created a demand for matching character attire. But, there is a fine line between portraying a character out of respect and admiration and portraying a character to exploit his or her identity and background. A prime example of this influx of Disney inspired costumes is the “Moana” movie, which is based on Polynesian culture and history. Auli’i Cravalho, the Hawaiian actress who voiced Moana, stated that she had no problem
with fans dressing up as her character for Halloween. At the same time, Disney was condemned for releasing a Maui (one of the characters in the film) costume that featured a long sleeve brown shirt with printed tattoos similar to those of Polynesian chiefs. Not only did the shirt change the skin color of the wearer, but it also insensitively displayed Polynesian tattoos representing sacred symbols, a vital and spiritual element of Polynesian history. The most important thing to keep in mind during Halloween is to stay respectful and appreciative of other peoples’ cultures and traditions. Avoid culturally significant embellishments, such as tattoos, hijabs, or specific hairstyles. Do your research if you are unsure about your costume.
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And before donning your attire and heading out on Halloween night, ask yourself one more time if your costume could be considered appropriation or admiration.
(Graphic by Alycen Kim) OCTOBER 7, 2021
OPINION
A Letter From the Editors
A Satire on Diligent Mask Wearing
The Legacy of Legacy in College Admissions Should be Ended
When we enter high school, we’re taught that our actions alone control our chances of getting into top schools. Our investment in extracurriculars, working for high GPAs and writing insightful essays — all things that college admissions officers “love,” can be molded out of nothing but pure motivation. But, there is one factor outside of our academics, personal accomplishments and self-discipline that may dictate one of the most important decisions of our lives: legacy. “Legacy” applicants are students who hold some kind of familial tie to a university. Depending on how a school defines “legacy,” having a parent, grandparent or other family member who graduated from the school can significantly increase the chances of admission. After so much reform in the past few decades moving towards making the college admissions process more equitable, many are skeptical that legacy admissions is still a prevalent issue. But the fact is, legacy still does, quietly, impact admissions, especially at America’s most elite schools, creating distinct inequities between the white, affluent class and their poorer, minority counterparts. Most universities, especially Ivy Leagues, argue that legacy is only “considered” during their holistic review process. However, statistics show just how much of a discrepancy exists. At Harvard, for example, America’s oldest university, the average acceptance rate for non-legacy applicants between 2013 and 2019 was 5.4%.
The acceptance rate in that same period of time for legacy applicants was more than five times that, at 33%. According to their admissions statistics, Harvard essentially accepts more legacy students per year than African American (15.9%) and Latino (12.5%) students combined. It’s worse at other schools. The University of Virginia (UVA), for example, during the 2018 admission cycle, accepted 50% of all legacy applicants into the highly selective university. Further adding to this disparity, UVA created a separate Admission Liaison Program (ALP). This exclusive program specifically caters to the children of UVA graduates only, supplying them with application consultations and special webinars. It’s safe to say that most of these children of alumni come from primarily wealthy, white families who had the means and privilege to attend such a prestigious, costly university at times when perhaps many top schools remained highly segregated. Many of today’s top schools claim to be havens of free-thought and egalitarianism — representations of what a progressive and representative society should look like. “Our community is strengthened by the diverse perspectives, interests and identities of its members,” Harvard’s admissions website states. But when your school is supplying a more than five-fold advantage to legacy applicants, the only thing that is being strengthened is the perpetuation of elitism and privilege from one generation down to another.
By Chloe Choi reporter
(Graphic by Chloe Choi)
As I walk down hallway at 8 a.m., there’s already a cluster of rowdy kids talking about their fantasy football teams, all while not wearing masks. I roll my eyes, but I can’t expect better because of course this group thinks ignoring safety makes them look “cool” in front of their friends. I hold my breath as I pass clusters of students congregating in the halls to catch up on whatever hot drama they heard from others. I see girls pulling down their masks and reapplying their lip gloss while eyeing their new crush of the week. Last time I checked, wearing a mask like a chin diaper wasn’t very fashionable and it really clashes with any outfit. During this pandemic people really take the phrase “America, the land of the free” too seriously. These kids are so caring: they share germs with one another to build the immune system. I am so glad that the youth want to challenge their white blood cells by inhaling each others’ germs. I must admit that many teachers at school take mask wearing seriously, constantly reminding students to keep their masks on, some students more often than others. Yes, smelling your own breath reminiscent of a school trash can sucks, and your small puberty mustache gets uncomfortably moist from your sweat, but you know what would be really unbearable? Being intubated in the hospital just to breathe.
Stereotypical or Empowering?
A Look Into the New Marvel Movie, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” By Aaron Paik reporter “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” was one of the most polarizing films of 2021. Reeling in around $247.6 million in gross revenue in its first two weeks and made possible by amazing performances from actors such as Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Meng’er Zhang and many more, this film has already solidified itself as a classic. Quite noticeably, the film’s most prominent feature is the fact that it is a Marvel movie with an Asian cast. Because Asians and Pacific Islanders account for less than 6% of actors in Hollywood, many
Asians finally felt represented by the release of this movie. However, some Asians felt a sense of racism and believed that this film and its comic book took on a stereotypical outlook on Asian culture. Some Marvel fans are upset by the original comic’s racist caricatures of Asians and, on the contrary, other die-hard fans are upset over the fact that the movie strays so far away from ShangChi’s comic book origins. Fans question the roots of the story as many believed that the only reason why Shang-Chi was made was to mock Asians and exploit their culture rather than give them representation. In the comics, Shang-Chi was colored a bright yellow color,
which was obviously an attempt to show the stereotype that Asians are “yellow.” Also, Shang-Chi’s father wasn’t even “The Mandarin’’ as shown in the film. His father was a character named Fu Manchu. He was a character made solely to profit off of Asian mockery. Fu Manchu was an avaricious Asian man with squinty eyes and an elongated mustache that wanted to conquer the West and was referred to as the “Yellow Peril Incarnate in One Man.” His villainry would come to instill fear into European and American nations, as Asians had still yet to assimilate to these countries. Sax Rohmer, the racist creator of Fu Manchu and contributor to
the Shang-Chi comics, created Fu Manchu only because an ouija board displayed a prophecy indicating he’d make a fortune off of a Chinese character. Romher wrongfully portrayed Asian people as greedy aliens from foreign lands, rather than embracing Asian culture. The racist portrayal of Asians fed into America’s fear of the rise of Asian culture and led misguided Western comic fans to grow cautious of Asians for unfounded reasons. These tropes, for the better, were completely scrapped in the movie as Marvel wanted to make this film as least controversial as possible. The movie empowered many Asians, since it was
the first Marvel movie with a predominantly Asian cast. Additionally, the soundtrack featured music from Asian American artists and performers from Asia’s music industry. For the first time, Asian comic book fans rightfully felt a sense of pride because of the movie’s rectified representation. However, this would evidently leave ignorant Marvel fans upset over the drastic modifications of the original comic’s racist portrayal of Asians. Despite the dispute about Shang-Chi’s discriminatory roots, Marvel did a great job discarding the racist concepts of the comics and incorporating traditional Asian elements in the movie, helping to diversify Hollywood.
Out with Columbus Day; In with Indigenous Peoples’ Day By Lucia Ruiz features editor When Columbus first encountered the Taino tribe of Haiti in 1492, it was a successful tribe with over five million members. Two years later, there were only two million Taino people. By the time Columbus left Haiti 25 years later, 100,000 members remained. By 1542, only 200 Taino people survived Columbus and his cohorts’ terrors. We give Columbus credit for founding America, when Indigenous people have been there the entire time. Yet every year, Columbus is accredited
OCTOBER 7, 2021
with the title of “Discoverer of America”, when he never even set foot in North America. In fact, Columbus believed he reached India when he arrived in the Americas. Columbus Day feels like an elementary school participation trophy saying, “At least you tried!” When Columbus sailed to the New World, the Taino tribe was willing to help Columbus and his crew survive. In return, Columbus terrorized Indigenous people by spreading diseases, initiating the trans-atlantic slave trade and enslaving over a million people and murdering entire families and tribes.
Even after Columbus left, Native Americans still endured abuse. First they went through a genocide, then they were villified. Native Americans were labeled as savages for having a culture that was different from the white Spaniards and furthermore were called disgusting, yet it was the Spaniards who threw fits during bath time and brought an array of diseases during their voyages. This racist notion that Indigenous people are a subhuman species still exists today and it all started with Columbus. Native Americans are still advocating to be recognized
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by the government and given basic necessities such as clean water. However, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the Spanish monarchs who sponsored Columbus’ trip, had good intentions. The King directly ordered Columbus to “abstain from doing the inhabitants’ injury”. Columbus showed his true character by disobeying the king and doing exactly the opposite. When we celebrate Columbus Day, we are ignoring his acts of genocide, serial rape, enslavement of innocent people and land robbery. When we
(Graphic by Lucia Ruiz) celebrate Columbus Day, we are celebrating the terrorism and oppression of Indigenous people whom we stole land from. Instead, we should celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
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SPORTS
Twinning and Winning:
Two Freshmen Sisters Take on D1 Varsity Volleyball By Quinn Kearns reporter The fall season has brought in many talented athletes, especially from this year’s freshman class. After a long year of school online, the girls’ varsity volleyball team welcomed a few new members. Even with having younger members on the team, girls’ volleyball took first place in the gold division at the Orange County Tesoro Championship Tournament. “The first game was good,” freshman varsity player Molly LaBreche said. “I was really nervous at first but the second I got the ball it was super fun. Playing really helped me shake my nerves away.” Even though they are new to high school, Molly and her twin Mallory are not new to the sport. They started playing when they were eight years old and have been playing Surfside volleyball for about six years. “We got into it because our dad’s friend was doing lessons and I kind of just fell in love with it. It’s super fun getting to travel and play,” said LaBreche. Although volleyball has been
LaBreche in action at the PVHS vs. Culver City volleyball game (Photo by Quinn Kearns) a big part of the twin’s life, school also plays a major role. Having a fall sport and balancing the beginning of the school year has been more than time consuming. “It’s stressful at times but when I know I have games I try to do as much homework as I can beforehand.” LaBreche said. “I just try to be aware of what I have
to do and how much time I have to finish my work.” On Sept. 24, the girls’ volleyball team won against league rival Redondo Union for the first time since 2008. “It was really exciting to win, especially because we haven’t beaten them in a long time,” LaBreche said.
Twins Molly and Mallory LaBreche pose with the Tesoro Championship Trophy (Photo courtesy of Mallory LaBreche) Playing a team sport centers a lot around teamwork and a player’s relationship with the rest of the team. Being new members on the team is a hard adjustment to make, especially when you are used to playing with other players, but not for Mallory and Molly. “We actually knew a lot of the
older girls because they played on the older Surfside teams,” Labreche said. Being on a new team is scary enough, but being on a team with people who are much older is terrifying. “I was nervous at first but then everyone turned out to be really welcoming.”
Water Polo Team Keeps Their Heads Above Water: A New Coach Keeps up the Winning Culture
By Victoria Nolan reporter Soon before the start of the water polo season, Coach Pat O’Brien resigned, leaving a new coach, Zach Graper, in charge of leading the boys team towards their anticipated successes. After coaching water polo for several years, Coach O’Brien decided to leave his role at Palos Verdes High School due to his move to Northern California. Athletes on the team express it was a sudden departure they were not quite expecting. “It was really surprising,” said senior and co-captain Jonathan Ross. “We didn’t really have any warning of it and we all really liked the coach. It was a little bit sad.
Although beloved, O’Brien moving away left the team a bit disheartened, the athletes are liking their new leader. Junior water polo player Kieran Kearns feels that Coach Graper is doing a remarkable job at bringing the team into shape. “He’s really nice,” said Kearns. “He’s really trying to build a good culture for our team.” While Coach Graper has been a positive addition to the team, they admit they’ve had to make some adjustments to the change. “He didn’t get officially hired until like right before the season started,” said Kearns. “Our first couple of games were a big learning curve on kind of playing with a new coach and playing really competitive teams, so it was really tough.
These obstacles do not discourage the team from their goals. The team placed fifth at the Santa Barbara Invitational tournament and eigth at the South Coast Invite tournament. Currently, the team is ranked ninth in Division I CIF-SS water polo polls. After already beating league opponents Santa Monica and Culver City, Kearns says he thinks they are really getting into the groove of things now and a win over Bay League is foreseeable. “I would say our number one goal is to win the Bay League,” said Kearns. “Recently, we’ve split Bay League with Mira Costa. But this year we really think we have the best team in the league.”
Coach Graper instructs the water polo team at Santa Barbara High School (Photo courtesy of John Sun)
Mid-Season Check-In: How’s It Going? “I do feel like we are getting better week by week even with a younger team. I think it’s good to play these teams because once we get into Bay League we will be prepared. It feels cool to play with high ranked schools because I can get a lot of experience out of it.” - Football, Luke Gayton (10). “I love going out to away team matches because the bus rides are fun and we always go out afterwards for a team dinner.” - Cross Country, Christine Xie (10) “At the Division I level, there is no shortage of talented athletes and it has been a humbling experience for the team. Playing against top teams has allowed us to solidify our position as a top Division I team going into CIF.” - Water Polo, Tristan Wattson (12) “I would say the best part of the season so far has been being with the team. I feel like high school golf is such a unique experience because normally golf is an individual sport; but in high school it’s your first real opportunity to be part of a team.” - Golf, Keira Wang (12)
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OCTOBER 7, 2021
SPORTS Marching Band and Color Guard Keep the Beat at Football Games
By Amber Chen opinion editor
sophomore Vanya Agrawal. Padilla agreed, stating, “it’s a As the music plays, color lot of moving your feet with the guard, the visual section of the flag. With the grandiose music marching band, spins flags while “It’s mostly just slow dancing performed live by the marching with the flag, but sometimes jazz band filling the field, Sea Kings are marching in-step, impressing the eyes of the crowd. comes into it,” said senior and always enthralled by the school Although it seems like they Color Guard Captain Madeline pride they feel at PVHS football do it with ease, the members Smith. games. must practice hard to be able to This year, the marching band Although it is an synchronize everyone. has been facing additional underrecognized program, “It’s hard to be on time with challenges, due to pandemic marching band plays a major everyone else and also to be on restrictions and the high ratio part in maintaining the exciting time by yourself, just with the of brand-new members to atmosphere at games. song,” said freshman Josephine experienced members. Marching band performs at Padilla. “A lot of our upperclassmen every varsity football game, Formerly a dancer, freshman either graduated or aren’t bringing their lively marching and Ariana Valenzuela switched continuing this year, so we only music to away games as well. to color guard because of the have a few members in the band “I think marching band gets the unique conjunction of footwork, who have actually marched crowd really pumped, especially a show; the vast majority of with their last song when we finish dancing and wielding a flag. “I like the combination of members are new. the game,” said senior and Red Most years we only have to Tide Captain Matthew Carroll. “It waving the flag around while doing cool tricks with it while teach three or four people the just brings everyone together.” dancing,” said Valenzuela. whole process, but this year, the Though most students have seen and heard PVHS’s outstanding marching band perform, many don’t know about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. The marching band consists of the brass section, the wind section, the percussion section (drumline) and the color guard. Due to the complexity of learning to play an instrument while marching in synchronization, the marching band started training during the summer, a week before school started. “There’s a lot of things you have to keep track of at one time [while marching]. One of PVHS marching band performing from the stands during PVHS vs the things we have to always watch out for is our posture,” said Inglewood Football game. (Photo by Cynthia Mindicino)
section leaders and I are teaching almost the entire band,” said senior and Drum Major Calvin Barnum. Although learning all of the songs in a small amount of time is difficult, the new members are extremely capable and are learning quickly. “I think they’re killing it,” said Barnum. “They’re sounding really good. I’m crazy optimistic for this Color Guard captain, Madeline Smith, performing year-- they pick at halftime during PVHS vs Inglewood Football things up really game. (Photo by Cynthia Mindicino) fast. In that one to adjust their ways of playing. week of band “All the wind players have camp, they learned all these to use these covers on their commands and implemented instruments, especially the them into their playing really trumpets,” said Barnum. quickly.” “We have to learn how to The color guard, with only four sound in-tune and play correctly members this year, finds perks within the difficulties of their small with the cover on.” Despite these challenges, size. the marching band marches on Although being off-beat is with resilience and strength, more noticeable due to the small continuing to bring their powerful number of members, it’s also music to football games. easier to sync up with only four “I think marching band adds a people. homely sort of atmosphere to the “We may be small, but we’re game,” said Carroll. mighty,” said Smith. “The music they play is uplifting Limited by pandemic and it’s fun to listen to. There’s regulations as well, the wind and brass members have been forced nothing better than live music.”
Taking the Plunge at UPenn Senior Austin Mone Commits to the University of Pennsylvania for Diving By Ayla Torres reporter The Point: When did you first start diving? Austin: I was probably around seven or eight years old. I had just moved to Illinois from New York and my mom wanted to put me into a sport. She said I was always rolling around and climbing up to high places around the house, so she decided to let me try diving lessons at Northwestern. I really liked it and I’ve been doing it ever since then. The Point: When did you find out about the offer? Did you accept immediately or did it take a lot of deciding? Austin: I think I first got the offer in either May or June of 2020. I filled out the recruitment questionnaire for UPenn on January 3, 2020 and he emailed
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me back like three hours later asking to set up a time to talk. The coach and I started talking for a few months and after a while of getting to know each other, the school, and the diving team, he made me an offer. I accepted pretty much immediately since Upenn is an amazing school and I can really see myself loving it there. The Point: What is your biggest accomplishment in diving (awards, tricks, competitions, etc)? Austin: I haven’t been able to compete too much to be honest,
The Point: What excites you most about your commitment to UPenn?
I usually get injured before competitions. However, the last national meet I was in, I placed fifth. I’ve done a lot of really high level dives that 99% of divers can’t do and never even try. Personally, I’d consider those dives a bigger accomplishment.
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Austin: Honestly I’m really excited about every aspect. I don’t have to worry about getting rejected from a school, and I don’t have to write too many essays. I’m also super super excited to attend the school because I think I’ll have a lot of fun. I’ll also get a first class education and gain the connections I’ll need to make me successful in life. The Point: Are there any coaches, family, or friends that
you’d like to thank for your success and help along the way? Austin: I’d like to thank my parents for giving me the opportunities I’ve needed to help me succeed and for always believing in me. Since I was a little kid they’ve always told me that I had a lot of potential for greatness, and now that I’m older I’m finally starting to see the product of all my hard work and effort. I’d also like to thank my coaches. Obviously without them I would never have become the diver I am today. They’re the ones who pushed me to improve even when I was afraid, and I couldn’t be where I am without them. I’d also like the thank my counselor Ms. McHugh, she has helped me a lot throughout high school and has been an amazing person to have on my team for the past four years. (Photo by Ayla Torres)
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FEATURES
A New Wave for Red Tide:
PV’s Student Section Introduces its First Female Duo
This year’s Red Tide captains are Shayli Atashi, Michael Kwon, Owen Park, Noah Wahl, Matthew Carroll, and Isabella Firmani. (Photo by Cynthia Mindicino)
By Reddin Kehrli Reporter The 2021-22 school year is different from the rest. There are seven Red Tide captains to help flood the campus with school spirit and, for the first time in school history, PV now has two female captains, seniors Bella Firmani and Shayli Atashi. Firmani has been interested in being a captain since her sophomore year and wants to be a role model by reigniting school spirit after being so disconnected last year.
During the school shutdown and Firmani’s junior year, she felt that “it was going to be hard to get people involved and the school spirit aspect is the most important thing to focus on.” Due to Firmani’s love of school involvement, she knows that the Red Tide captain position is a great fit for her. Since this year is the first with two female captains, Firmani noted that “it’s a big change for PV, in a positive way. It’s easier to get everyone more involved and to make people feel more welcome when everyone feels that they are more represented.
Having two girls will really help with that.” According to fellow Red Tide captain Owen Park, “the chemistry is great [and] each captain has a key role in the group.” Firmani also included that the number one comment she gets when talking about Red Tide is “they’re all expressing how happy they are [that there are] more girls this year.” Atashi feels the same way about the integration of more girls in the crew of captains, saying “it’s a change, but we’re moving towards the right
Sea Kings Rush to Sign Up for Clubs this Week Photos by Sierra Namvari
direction with more girls being represented.” Park added, “The inclusion of the two female captains is great. They really round out the group and have so much knowledge about spirit and how to get people at the games.” The past year and a half have been a whirlwind, but students now have a glimpse of hope and normality again. With a visible light at the end of the tunnel, school is starting to return to past traditions as well as starting new ones. Rallies, sports events, club fairs and other school activities
are all efforts organized by ASB and Red Tide to try and get students, returning and new, to expand their horizons and get involved. The biggest goal for the Red Tide captains this year according to Atashi is, “getting our old school spirit back and trying to build it up as much as possible.” Firmani added that they are attempting “to try and get more people involved and make everyone feel as welcome as possible… High school can be a lot of fun and we want people to put themselves out there and go out of their comfort zone.”