The Point 2020 Senior Issue

THE

POINT

PALOS VERDES HIGH SCHOOL - ISSUE 5, VOLUME 24 - MAY 26, 2020

March 12

Students and teachers return to campus to pick up materials and check in with faculty

June 8-9

May 15

May 13

May 7-9

April 15

April 13

April 6

Announced via email: PVPUSD campuses to be closed until April 6

March 13

r all that’s changed, there is still a fair amount of normalcy. School is still in session: block schedule, three classes a day, but with zero period at noon and seventh riod classes at 1 pm. ieu of classrooms and desks, websites like Edmodo, Schoology, Edlio and Zoom act as home base for classmates and teachers to interact. Some teachers have ev gun to offer office hours in addition to or in place of class time instruction.

School closure extended to April 20

PVPUSD and the Palos Verdes Faculty Association establish a Memorandum of Understanding on duties during school closure

Kumiko Nagata

Matt Noland

Kyle Ahn

Sarah Corsaro

Savannah Scriven

Zack Johnson

Mary DiBernardo

Hailey Thompson

Ellie Pearson

Lily Vancans

Addie Kostrencich

Megan Gormley

Daniel Johnson

Sophia Kang

Aubrey Fixen

Rex Ringer

Nikki Ringer

Brooke Evans

Kyle Holcomb

Grady Hoffman

Class of 2020 reconnecting...

Schools close indefinitely

Faculty members surprise seniors with commemorative lawn signs Beaches open for physical activity only, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti requires the use of face masks in public areas After input from PVPUSD faculty and families, the school board enacts noharm grading

Students plan to take virtual finals

Annie Ruth

Stephanie Tom

Hannah Paddock

Tyler Knight

Alexis Dugel

McKinley Pieper

Anthony Vuoso

Emily Behrendsen

Noa Erikkson

Aya Cohen

Rhiannon Pailet

Alicia Mirat

Justin Shaul

Sophie Munro

Aly Mottram

Andrew Peterson

For all that’s changed, there is still a fair amount of normalcy.

School is still in block schedule but with zero period at noon and seventh

period classes at 1 pm.

Websites like Edmodo and Zoom act as home base for classmates and teachers.

Some teachers have begun to offer office hours in addition to or in place of classtime instruction. Teachers are recommended to assign 1/3 of their usual workload, but students have experienced a mixed bag. Assignments aren’t always due immediately, and teachers have become more lenient about taking late work. Others report having more assignments compared to before campus closed. Some quizzes and tests are still being administered with stringent time limits to prevent cheating. Some students receive credit for participation. Other teachers have allowed their tests to be open-note.

Platforms like Kahoot and Schoology have allowed teacher to facilitate their exams.

On May 15, the School Board enacted no-harm grading, which prohibits students’ grades from dropping lower than the grade they earned in the third quarter.

Finals have taken many forms. Some teachers have given students instructions on projects and presentations while others are sticking to traditional tests.

So what happens next?

NEWS

A COVID Kind of Commencement

By Gabriella Rudy reporter As the COVID-19 virus forces school shutdowns across the nation, PVHS is no exception.

With the shutdown comes the loss of the senior activities that mark the completion of a twelve year educational journey, such as Senior Sunset, the Senior Assassin game, and final Class Comp.

But it’s not a complete loss, as PVPUSD is searching for a way to hold the most notable senior events: prom and graduation.

Families were emailed a survey in which they were instructed to choose one of three options for scheduling these events: 1) Having a virtual graduation on June 11, 2) Having an in-person graduation and prom in mid-July, or 3) Having both a virtual and in-person graduation in addition to an in-person prom. They were also asked if seniors would be interested in participating in these activities over PVPUSD’s 2020 Winter Break if the current circumstances had not improved

by July.

“I chose to have an in-person graduation in mid-July because it is what I’ve looked forward to for years, said senior Isabella Potter. “It’s a very memorable event and it’s something that seniors have worked hard to achieve.”

According to principal Dr. Allan Tyner, “The results of the survey were clear: students and families want a live graduation.”

The district plans to achieve that, although they haven’t decided the best way in which to do so. Currently, they are looking

to host an event on June 11 to commemorate the originally scheduled of graduation.

“I’m glad we’re recognizing the day because we deserve to have that memory,” senior Renee Moore said.

However, the new graduation date remains undecided.

“As soon as we have clear guidelines from the CDC and the California Department of Education, we will move forward in finalizing the date of live graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020,” Dr. Tyner said.

Graphic by Sarah Liu

Local Hospital Tackles Coronavirus Response

By Vikesh Dheeriya reporter Local hospital Torrance Memorial Medical Center prepared for what they thought would be an outbreak similar to New York City, where the number of cases exceeded the number of hospital beds.

According to Chief Medical Officer of Torrance Memorial,

Dr. John McNamara, “we were diligent in the fact that we were doing this early.”

Torrance Memorial swiftly acquired the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and planned the separation of coronavirus patients.

Another priority was having an adequate number of ventilators before the outbreak started.

McNamara, along with their anesthesiologist and critical care specialist, discussed how they were going to organize and divide the work for caring for patients.

According to one anesthesiologist, Torrance Memorial was “ahead of the game.”

Because of their preparation, the hospital has not exceeded

capacity at any time, McNamara said, “The curve has been bent enough that we were not ever in a situation where the system was overwhelmed.”

Although the situation appears stable, “we aren’t letting our guard down now,” McNamara said.

“There could be a spike in fall that we have to prepare for.”

AP Testing Gets Makeover Amid Coronavirus

By Ella Dorst reporter With more than 50 million US students affected by school closures due to the Coronavirus, the College Board administered Advanced Placement tests online for the first time.

The College Board, which oversees AP testing, surveyed thousands of AP students to determine whether to proceed with testing amid widespread school closures.

Based on students’ overwhelming desire to carry out testing, the College Board developed online tests for every course so that students could have “the opportunity to earn college credit and placement.”

Prior to testing, the College Board provided free online classes via YouTube live streams to help students prepare.

From May 11-22, students took their AP Exam on any device they had access to and had the option to write their responses by hand and submit a photo.

Tests were open book and open note, covering only content that would have been taught in the majority of AP classes by early March. Most exams

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were 45 minutes long and had only one or two free-response questions.

Some aspects of AP testing stayed the same.The College Board will release scores using the traditional 1-5 scale starting July 15. The College Board stated that it was “confident” that higher education institutions would continue to accept passing AP scores for class credit.

However, not all agree with the decision to carry out tests.

Sophomore Will Sasaki believes that tests should have been canceled, and questioned the effectiveness of the new format.

“This way of testing completely negates the point of AP exams in the first place,” Sasaki said.

“These exams are supposed to test the knowledge of students, but are you really testing students if they can access the internet, notes, and other sources that show no understanding of the material?”

Exam security was another concern. Sophomore Camila Jongsma thinks the format made it easier to cheat, given easy access to online resources such as Google Translate for language tests.

Along with using only freeresponse questions to prevent cheating, each subject’s exam was taken at the same time worldwide, leaving some international students testing at odd hours.

These changes raised questions about whether testing would be fair for all students.

Differing test environments, rather than a controlled setting, could have been a disadvantage for some.

To address this issue, the College Board worked to ensure that all students had access to a device and an internet connection. Students could also request a retake exam, with acceptable justifications including a disruptive atmosphere and WiFi or battery failure.

The stress created by the pandemic further complicated AP testing.

“I think it was unfair to ask students to take a highly stressinducing test during this time,” Sasaki said.

Within the first week of testing, students and educators turned to social media to express frustration over technology failures. Students reported

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“Quarantainment” Keeps Kings Occupied

By Heather Bryant reporter

With quarantine keeping everyone in their homes, many Sea Kings are turning to different forms of entertainment to help pass the extra time Whether it’s tried-and-true favorites like a popular hit show or the latest music, everybody is finding different forms of entertainment to keep them busy.

“When quarantine hit, I had just moved into my new place in [Palos Verdes],” junior Aidan Gutierrez said. “I’ve been watching a lot of new Netflix shows and action and drama movies. I also enjoy playing online video games with old friends who go to other schools.”

“Sometimes when I’m doing homework I just ask Siri ‘Hey Siri play some new music you think I would like’ and it plays random songs, and I save the ones I like the most,” Gutierrez said.

For some, keeping themselves entertained hasn’t been very difficult, but they miss things they took for granted, like hanging out with friends.

“I listen to pop music, and I’m watching a Netflix show called You that I kind of like,” senior Angela Velasquez said.

“I’m a introvert, so quarantine isn’t so bad, however I still miss being able to go outside and hang out with my friends.”

Some are turning to old favorites for the comfort of nostagia.

“I’ve been rewatching Sherlock, and I’ve finally been able to start watching Game of Thrones, which I love so far.” said senior Julie Qiu. “I’ve been really into classical [music] during quarantine; it’s very soothing.”

Graphic by Sarah Liu submission buttons not working when clicked, or completing the test, only to be notified that their answers had not been received.

The College Board tried to quell concerns, suggesting that web browsers and phones used for testing needed to be updated by test-takers, and released a trouble-shooting guide.

In the second week of testing, students experiencing submission issues were allowed to send their responses to a personalized email address immediately after testing as a form of a back-up submission.

“I was quite anxious before my exam due to the lack of

in-class review,” Jongsma said.

“However... the test was easier than what I imagined since the questions asked were quite straightforward.”

Sasaki said that the simplified questions and shorter test made it “easier to prepare both mentally and academically,” adding that being in his familiar home environment and able to reference notes helped calm his nerves.

Jongsma believes that in the end, the updated AP test gave students “an opportunity to test their knowledge and receive a score that reflects all of their hard work.”

MAY 26, 2020

College Decisions Veer Towards Window Shopping

Without the chance to visit college campuses in person, seniors had to rely on other ways to tour their options As told to Isabella Ruiz editor-in-chief, edited for clarity Photos courtesy of Dane Dawson, Josie Bohannon and Rob Tsai

Dane Dawson, University of Texas, Austin “I had already toured the school, but there were live streams and tours for housing.

I was deciding between a few different programs and they had “discover days” on YouTube where we could type questions They also gave us the option to Zoom with academic advisors

and current students.

Out of nowhere, the Canfield Business Honors program I was in at UT Austin sent me a scholarship for full tuition. It was originally my top choice and it suddenly became the cheapest option also.”

Josie Bohannon, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo “Basically, to go about my college decision process, I reached out to Palos Verdes High School alumni about their experiences at my top choices. Luckily, I got great feedback that reassured me about my choice.

I also watched YouTube videos on campus tours as well. Overall, it was frustrating not being able to tour schools but I’m confident I made the right choice with the resources available.”

Rob Tsai: University of California, Los Angeles

NEWS

Taking the Spring Out of Easter’s Step

By Turner Helton reporter Graphic by Sarah Liu The Coronavirus pandemic brought life as people knew it to a halt, but how did it affect Easter?

For many, Easter is a time to come back to their hometown and spend time with their families.

But because of the global health crisis, many people were not able to celebrate Easter like they were used to.

“It was tough not being able to see my family, especially because I’m only able to see them a couple times a year,” PVHS alumni and COVID-19 patient Reid Helton said. “I still celebrated with my roommate who also has the virus, and still managed to find a way to have a good time.”

“Ruined family tradition.”

This is what sophomore Zach Dawson had to say about not being able to see his grandparents on Easter Sunday.

“Me and my family would always go to church and go to my grandparents house and have a big dinner, but with these current restrictions, we had to stay home.”

Because places of worship have not been allowed to open, many churches celebrated Easter with live streams allowing people to worship from around the world.

Although Easter might have looked different, many are hopeful for change as states start to re-open some public areas such as barber shops.

“I think if we can get to the point where we don’t have to worry about this virus and just go back to our usual routines, we’ll be able to move on from this pandemic,” junior Ethan Hladek said. As governments evaluate safe living post-pandemic, people hope the hurdles of this Easter will make the next that much sweeter.

“Luckily, I was able to visit UCLA over the summer so I had a good idea of what UCLA was like. It was harder to turn down the schools I didn’t visit and I was banking on visiting to make a decision, but I figured that

it was better to choose the school I knew and liked rather than go for a Hail Mary.

In-state tuition was about half the cost of another school that I was considering and being close to home was also a good plus.”

Such issues were not foreign to the broadcast news department Live from 205 either, which has been continuing to produce episodes weekly on Fridays rather than biweekly, sans the ability to film in person.

“Being in charge of the sports team for 205 once we went online was hard. I didn’t know exactly how we were going to be able to do sports since all major league and high school sports were shut down,” senior Sydney Myrick said.

Junior John Mac Menamie addressed similar restrictions, saying that “story ideas are limited to what we can do at home rather than covering a story outside.” Nonetheless, he states that the staff still “makes do by using what [they] have at home.”

The team behind Yearbook has also been putting in efforts to finish the award-winning publication, though members encountered conflicts such as the possibility of a closing publishing company and an earlier deadline.

“The yearbook is a very collaborative project that requires generous amounts of time and access to people… Trying to get someone to respond to a text is a lot harder than pulling them out of class,” senior Tim Silva said.

Still, Silva said that the program is still anticipating to finish and print the books, though not without adaptations.

In lieu of a studio, 205 Anchor Gabby Rudy records an episode of Live From 205 from her home. Photo courtesy of Gabby Rudy

Back to School Home Night: Campus Programs Adjust to Functioning Online

By Phoebe Lai editor-in-chief

As students come to accept the closing of the school year altogether, a number of questions are left unanswered. Countless Sea Kings are left to their own devices to navigate the oncefamiliar world of campus clubs and programs - all of which must now be conducted at home.

Be The Change was recently struck with the challenge of tackling Diversity Week online.

Their efforts featured a week full of cultural and gender identity movie recommendations, a cultural dish day, a virtual Day of Silence, and more to promote involvement among home-bound students.

“It’s really tough during quarantine for us and ASB included because all of our activities are very hands-on,” senior and BTC member Chen Filler said.

Similarly, ASB was met with hardships when circumstances forced them to cancel major senior events in April and May such as Prom, Senior Assassin, and Ditch Day. Senior Hinano Negishi, Commissioner of Media and Communications, said she felt “bummed out that [they] aren’t going to have the opportunity to plan [their] last Class Comp, shoot a promo video for Prom, or facilitate PowderPuff for senior girls.”

MAY 26, 2020

“The company has two plants to print, but one of them is already shut down and the other is about to be shut down, so we are trying to finish the yearbook as soon as possible to get it in on time. If this quarantine goes in for a long time into the summer we might consider doing a pickup,” he continued.

A handful of clubs have also continued to express interest in meeting, such as Friendship Club, which has resorted to Zoom to continue making a difference.

“Meeting during quarantine helps the kids remember life before this happened and how it will go back… Friendship Club is

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a major part of my life and seeing the normality of meetings makes me know that there are still some things in this world that we can control,” said junior and Activities/ Social Media Director Emily Drawer.

Though technology was originally a hindrance in classrooms, it has recently transitioned into an asset for classes and clubs alike.

“We do Zooms during second and fourth period … and the EICs Zoom and share screen with [advisor] Mrs. Kostrencich to copy-edit the spreads and submit,” Editor-in-Chief Michaela Lee said.

And, while school spirit and events may be the last thought on students’ minds amidst such pressing times, many believe that it is especially vital now that programs and clubs on campus continue to operate as best they can, as involvement in school clubs or programs allow students a last taste of familiarity in these trying times.

“Seniors are recognizing the importance of connecting with their peers while they still can,” Negishi said. “Participating in our events is a way for them to not feel like they completely missed out on their high school experience.”

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FEATURES A Guide for Staying In State, Going Out of State, or Abroad

By Chloe Lendi features editor Entering the college application process, senior Izzie Lanes didn’t intend to stay in California. She wanted a variety of options available when choosing a university.

Lanes applied to five out-of-state schools but ultimately decided to continue her education at the University of California, San Diego.

“I chose UC San Diego because it checked all my boxes for a school perfectly. It’s right next to the beach, there’s plenty to do on and off campus, and is a medium-sized school so I can make new friends and meet my teachers without being completely drowned out by a giant study body,” Lanes said.

When deciding whether UCSD would be the right fit for Lanes, she made sure to do her research on opportunities that lay beyond her undergraduate education.

“The alumni from UCSD are very supportive, so I know I’ll have good networking opportunities to get jobs and internships pre and post graduation,” Lanes said.

Although staying close to home may seem less daunting, Lanes is prepared for anything coming her way.

“I don’t foresee any significant challenges that I can’t overcome or work through on my own, I’ve always been a natural problem solver,” Lanes said.

On the other hand, senior Lily Tessler purposely applied to nine out-

Photos courtesy of Alana Mendez de Magliane, Lily Tessler, and Izzie Lanes of-state schools and only one in-state school because of her need to experience a different climate and living environment.

“I intended to go out-of-state because my thought process is that California is a nice place to end up, so I would like to have experienced a new state,” Tessler said.

More specifically, Tessler had Seattle in the back of her mind when applying to college. She loves the Pacific Northwest and would appreciate the opportunity to spend more time there.

“There are a lot of opportunities with my field of study, health sciences, at the University of Washington. They have a great graduate program

to become a physician’s assistant,” Tessler said.

Although the shock may not hit until students have left home, Tessler is prepared to come up with solutions when she may face setbacks when adjusting to a college far from home.

“I can see myself feeling homesick and missing my friends and family. I also think I will miss the sunshine everyday,” Tessler said.

“To counteract this, I plan to keep in touch with my friends and make a strong effort to talk to them frequently.”

Senior Alana Mendez de Magliane is taking a big step by continuing her education in an entirely new country.

“I will be attending McGill University in Montreal, Canada because I want to attend a school where different cultures are gathered,” Mendez de Magliane said.

“At McGill 30% of students are international. People in Montreal and Quebec speak French, which is an important part of who I am because my mom is from France and I lived there for eight years.”

When entering the college application process, Mendez de Magliane kept her options open in the United States as well.

“I applied to 10 schools in the US, including several UCs and universities on the East

Coast that offer study abroad programs special to my major,” Mendez de Magliane said.

While Mendez de Magliane could not be more excited to experience a new country and meet people from all over the globe, she does have some fears heading into the fall semester.

“Although moving to Quebec will not be as hard for me since I speak fluent French, I have no family or friends there,” Mendez de Magliane said.

“I know I will become homesick eventually, but that won’t stop me from exploring a foreign city far from where I am comfortable.”

Sea King Senior Takes on The Navy

By Nikki Ringer social media editor Senior Anthony D’Ambra will be attending the United States Naval Academy and play Division 1 water polo there.

“I always had a desire to serve our country so I wanted to apply for the Naval Academy,” D’Ambra said.

The application process started in April of his junior year.

An additional application had to be sent to a congressman because he needed a recommendation from one in California to apply.

“The application for the Academy ended in October of my senior year and I found out I got into the school in November,” D’Ambra said.

He had been in contact with the Navy coach throughout the process of applying.

However, D’Ambra had back up plans to play at Pepperdine or

Anthony D’Ambra practices for collegiate water polo in a home game for Palos Verdes High School. (Photo Courtesy of Anthony D’ambra) Loyola Marymount University.

As the Coronavirus continues to spread, it’s up in the air when he will be going back for Plebe Summer, a 6-week boot camp to

Editors-in-Chief Phoebe Lai Isabella Ruiz Adviser Cynthia Mindicino

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get the freshman class ready for the next four years. Usually they are sent back June 25 to start getting ready.

“Since quarantine my team has

Editors News: Kyle Ahn, Sarah Liu Features: Chloe Lendi Centerspread: Chloe Slome Opinion: Nikolas Tempereau Sports: Claire Hardesty Photography: McKinley Pieper Online: Curtis Liu Social Media: Nikki Ringer

been using Google classroom to talk about what is going to happen to our season this next year,” D’Ambra said.

During his years at the Naval

Academy, D’Ambra plans to head toward flying F18 Hornets for the Navy.

After his four years at the Academy, there are five more years required to complete his time in the Navy.

“I started flying at the Torrance Airport during my sophomore year but I didn’t have time to finish because of waterpolo season getting so intense,” D’Ambra said.

His parents were very supportive throughout the whole process of him applying.

“The Navy is the right fit for him. He is proud to be an American and loves to defend what is right and just while being part of a cohesive passion and goal,” Mrs. D’Ambra said.

“We always knew Anthony would go into some form of service and are incredibly proud and terrified all in the same breath. We are grateful that he has found his home for the next phase in his life.”

Staff Jake Brusick, Heather Bryant, Vikesh Dheeriya, Ella Dorst, Kaylie Harley, Turner Helton, Aurora Khatibi Garrity, Fin Kehrli, Alycen Kim, John Kim, Ethan King,

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Sydney Lyle, Nevin Mann, Nicole Medawar, Sierra Namvari, Gabriella Rudy, Lucia Ruiz, Aidan Sun, Emily Typrowicz, Emily Vitanatchi, Nina Whitcomb

Follows us @pvhspoint!

MAY 26, 2020

Staying Sane During Quarantine: How Coronavirus has impacted mental health

By Nina Whitcomb reporter As the Coronavirus death rates have soared, the government has implemented a stay-at-home order effective until further notice.

Although we are practicing social distancing to keep ourselves and others safe, the quarantine has been very difficult on our minds.

For freshman Emma Islava, being an only child has been very stressful.

“Being an only child and being unable to see my friends can make my brain preoccupied with more negative thoughts,” Islava said.

As we are unable to see our friends and their body language, it is easy to think the worst and let worries fill our heads.

Islava said, “I put myself down

when my friends don’t respond and think the worst. I just have to realize others are just as busy as me in these difficult times.”

To keep her mental health in an overall positive place, Islava writes down her thoughts in a journal.

For sophomore Caiden Cunningham, the quarantine has affected his social life as well as his soccer season.

“Social distancing has stopped me from seeing my friends and girlfriend, as well as playing soccer, which I do daily,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham’s soccer team was invited to play at the National Cup, which is a high-level soccer tournament. It could have been an amazing opportunity for Cunningham to be scouted by colleges, but it has since been cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

Still, Cunningham is making the best of the situation.

“To keep my mental health in a good place, I am facetiming my girlfriend, going in the jacuzzi, and working out,” Cunningham said.

Many people are finding time during the quarantine to do things they never got the chance to prior.

Freshman Heather McClung said, “I have recently been going on bike rides and being outside more.”

Studies have shown that going outside reduces depression.

Many people have been spending more time outdoors.

In conclusion, many teens are finding new ways of coping as well as relying on things that provide a sense of comfortability like friends, old habits, and the outdoors.

Corsaro Runs to Fordham

By Claire Hardesty sports editor

Senior Sarah Corsaro has been running since the fourth grade, and has continued to grow as an athlete as she continued running all through high school.

“When I was in fourth grade, my teacher started a running club twice a week in the mornings. I really enjoyed it,” Corsaro said.

Corsaro has overcome obstacles to get where she is today and has never once slowed on her determination and will to improve in the sport she loves.

“I struggled a lot with running in middle school (Photo courtesy of Sarah Corsaro) and the beginning of highschool because I had “The programs I have been a part severe asthma. My asthma of have taught me to not stop just improved at the end of my because I want to, but to push sophomore year and I was finally myself to my breaking point.” able to race better and train Although Corsaro’s senior harder,” Corsaro said. season was cut short, it is Corsaro has had the nothing but motivation and opportunity to gain many life excitement for her to get back to lessons throughout her time racing in college. running competitively and looks “I wish I could have gotten to carry these on with her to some good times in my senior college. year, but this has also shown me “The biggest thing running has not to take anything for granted taught me is mental toughness so next year in college I will be and how to work hard without more grateful for each racing seeking a reward,” Corsaro said.

opportunity and being able to run in a group,” Corsaro said.

Being a part of the track and cross country team is not an easy sport to take up and requires extreme motivation and will.

“What keeps me motivated is reaching new goals in running,it keeps me motivated to work towards something,” Corsaro said.

Corsaro looks toward continuing her running career at Fordham with optimistic views. ”Fordham is a more trackbased school, so I am really looking forward to how well I will do during my track season next year because I didn’t get a track season this year,” Corsaro said.

As all seniors will be, Corsaro looks back on her high school career grateful for the memories and lessons learned.

“My coaches have pushed me to always be better and that if something seems overwhelming just take it one step at a time,” Corsaro said. “My teammates are my best friends and I will miss them so much next year.

I’m sad I won’t get to run with them everyday, go to pasta dinners with them, and I’ll miss all their other shenanigans.” “My teammates are my best friends and I will miss them so much next year. I’m sad I won’t get to run with them everyday, go to pasta dinners with them, and I’ll miss all their other shenanigans.”

FEATURES PV’s Favorite Sequestering Activities

By McKinley Pieper photo editor Students are finding creative and new ways to spend their time during quarantine. From sewing protective masks and gardening, to learning to play an instrument and cooking, our Sea Kings have time to participate in activities they would not have otherwise. They are even celebrating with drive-by birthday parties!

Senior Emmy Rener said, “Quarantine has provided me with a lot of time for reflection and I have found a new sense of respect for the individuals fighting on the front lines for our country every day, our doctors. I made posters for doctors and nurses in our community. After we safely signed the posters with words of gratitude and encouragement, I delivered them to the houses of each doctor and nurse.

The response from the receiving end was overwhelming and it was definitely the most meaningful part of my quarantine!”

Senior Emily Imbach said, “During quarantine, I’ve spent a lot of time making clothes. I have made tie dye and bleached sweatshirts and socks for myself and my friends, as well as custom college gear. It’s been really fun for me because it’s a way for me to be creative and gives me something to do.”

Sophomore Kate Spaulding said, “I reacted to a video on Tik Tok and almost 100K people viewed it. It’s really cool to be able to connect with so many different people even when in quarantine. I’ve also been spending more time with my family and going outside for walks and hikes!”`

Senior Marco Robles said, “During quarantine, I have been swimming and running. I’ve had time to clean my room. I’ve also been off-roading, writing code, and developing an app.”

Freshman Melanie Tilles said, “During this quarantine, my mom and I ordered paint by number canvases.

With all our extra time, we are trying to complete as many as possible while we paint and Zoom with our cousins in New Jersey. I am currently working on a mountain scene and I am excited to pick the next project!”

Hopes for Studying Abroad Amid Uncertainty

By Claire Hardesty sports editor Senior Samantha Steman leaves PV High with an astounding record. She placed in the top 10 of all the runners in the California state championship cross country race three years in a row and is a national merit scholar.

Her path after high school may seem somewhat unconventional, but holds a special place for her.

Steman plans on taking part in a rotary youth exchange through Rotary International.

MAY 26, 2020

The program includes students being sent anywhere in the world for a year, with a focus on picking up the culture and language of their new region. The program is unique as Steman has graduated high school already, but will return for an extra year in Belgium.

“I will be a high school senior [next year] but because I don’t need credits my classes probably won’t be normal. I’ll stay with probably around three host families over around a 10 month period,” Steman said.

The program allows students

to choose their region of preference, but one could also be assigned a place the program thinks is a better fit.

“I’ve taken French for five years so it makes sense that they’d put me in Belgium, I’m supposed to be in Wallonie which is the southern/French speaking part of Belgium,” Steman said.

Although Steman remains hopeful that her program will be safe to proceed when she leaves in August, in light of the Coronavirus other countries in the program are cancelling the exchanges.

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“As of now, Belgium cancelled all exchanges for 2020-21, my rotary country coordinator is sending me a list of countries that are still open in a few days, he says SCANEX (the region including Southern California), normally doesn’t exchange with but that exchange with other regions are opening up exchange programs,” Steman said.

Steman must defer her current college acceptance and return to them after her year abroad, but as it is still unknown whether or not her program will be officially cancelled, she’s going by ear.

“The good thing is colleges are being really understanding and flexible, so hopefully I won’t just be stuck at home for a year,” Steman said.

Though the uncertainty is very present in Steman’s post high school plans, Steman is waiting until July 15 to differ from a college and also to make her final decision on whether or not she will still participate in an exchange program.

“I’m hopeful, but I’m trying to not project too far into the future either,” Steman said.

PAGE 5

SENIORS

Senior Send-offs: Last words of wisdom, thanks you’s, reflections, and nods to the future from our Sea King Class of 2020 How have you changed since I would like to thank...

Freshman Year?

I’ve grown into a man I can be proud of

- Anthony D’Ambra Mentally my whole perspective of the world had changed

- Ryan Hynes Learned how to write a thesis statement

- Olivia Yang I have learned how to not let what people think of me affect me negatively

- Tori Criss My hair is purple now

- Olivia Spaulding I’ve learned to accept myself and be comfortable in my own skin

- Nicolas Mendez I’ve become a lot more relaxed and more approachable (I hope)

- Stephanie Tom I have become more of a people person

- Kyle Cross My emotional growth has far surpassed the 6 inches I grew!

- Emmy Rener I am more annoying but now I can legally buy a lotto ticket! (Or a fish)

- Riley Murakawa

Dear Underclassmen...

Advice from Seniors

Sleep, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get something done or if you don’t get the perfect grade because you slept instead of studying

- Chloe Gonzalez With strong extracurricular and a good essay, you can get into schools you would have never imagined getting into. The idea that one must have a certain GPA or test score to go certain places is a myth. It’s about being well-rounded

- Ryan Pascal Don’t sweat the small stuff, listen to your own intuition instead of your peers, freshmen year grades matter!!

- Caroline Pack If you have a crush on someone, ask her out

- Jerry Klerman Don’t worry about being judged for being yourself, it is the only way to stay positive and confident while in high school

- Niki Mabry Do whatever makes you happy. if you truly want it, you’ll make time to do it. yeah it might get a little stressful trying to manage everything, but once you accomplish it, the feeling is undoubtedly the best

- Rhiannon Pailet Go to every game, dance, event. You never know if it’ll be your last!

- Lucy Pluimer

Where Will You Be In Ten Years?

Training to become an astronaut

- Aubrey Fixen Hopefully becoming an FBI agent or a professional trainer for athletes

- Matthew Sala Teaching kindergarten or first grade after traveling the world with my husband

- Peyton Pope PAGE 6

Volunteering in the Peace Corps or living/working on the East Coast

- Isabella Ruiz On a luxury yacht. Preferably off the coast of Greece or the South of France, but I can settle for the Caribbean

- Justin Shaul Working to advance women’s rights in developing countries

- Lily Vancans

Mr. Hill because even when I was struggling in his class he pushed me to do well and I ended up getting a 4 on the APUSH test

- Tyler Imbach Ms. Varela. She has become such a maternal figure in my life, and I know I can trust her with everything. She never judges and encourages every student to be proud of their identity

- Aya Cohen Mrs. Mogilefsky. Always was so kind and so patient with everyone.

Had the sweetest heart and truly cared for all of her students. Was such a great role model

- Anna DeLeon I would like to thank Mr Larkins for giving us great life lessons and just having a class that is fun to participate in

- Macy Rowland Ms. Egan for being the most amazing teacher! My confidence grew so much throughout taking AP Capstone with Ms. Egan!

- Josie Bohannon Ms. Barton’s donut hole Friday’s for giving me a reason to go to school on Fridays

- Mikayla Keshtkar I would like to thank Señora Remeta for truly just being a kind teacher and embodying the true spirit of learning and teaching

- Carter Harrigian Mrs. Munoz, thank you for helping me discover my passion for understanding the human body and for always being a teacher I can go to if I need to talk

- Katelyn Chekian

A Letter to the Class of 2020

By Kyle Ahn news editor

To the Class of 2020, Never in our wildest dreams would any of us have thought that our senior year would end this way. Nobody would’ve thought that that Thursday would be the last time we would sit in our desks with our peers. We assumed it would’ve just been an extended spring break - my god, were we wrong.

Our class worked tirelessly throughout these four years. Those long hours to get that grade, to perfect that performance on stage, to sharpen those skills on the field or court, to shape the life of our campus - many feel like that work goes down the drain with no recognition.

That is absolutely false.

Yes, this unexpected and crushing ending to our final year in high school may feel like we’ve fallen in our deepest valleys, but let us never forget how it feels to climb some of the highest of mountain tops thus far like we have in our life at Palos Verdes High School.

Throughout our lives at PVHS, we’ve been climbing to reach that mountain top - that time of triumph, jubilance, and accomplishment not just in the fact that we can strut with our diplomas in Sea King Park with the people that we love, but in the progress that we’ve made, the mark that we left on Palos Verdes High School, and the change that we have become.

The resiliency and persistence I see in our class is second to none. Each of us has faced obstacles in our tenure here, but we didn’t drop to our knees

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and give up. We didn’t just abandon our post and let someone else take care of it. We didn’t fray away from the challenge. No, far from it.

We stood tall and amongst it all.

We stood tall and mustered faith and determination. We stood tall and worked hand-in-hand to continue our march to that mountain top. Together, we stood tall.

This historic crisis that has befallen upon us allowed us to open our eyes and recognize the trueness of the human spirit. We walked the halls and sat in classrooms, and sometimes we didn’t think much of the people that consist of the confines of the campus.

Once we’ve been taken out of that setting, we realized that those little moments at school were monumental.

The laughs, collaboration, and discussions are suddenly treasurable in our hearts. It’s that bittersweetness that inevitably bound us together as a family, whilst staying home and away from each other.

As this COVID-19 outbreak continues to sow worry and uncertainty, we shall wait. Let us yearn to see the days where we can slowly reconnect with our brothers and sisters. Let us yearn to see the days where we can enjoy the beauty of Palos Verdes with one another and say just one more farewell.

Let us yearn to see that fateful day where we can celebrate our legacy, our mark, our progress.

Together.

Sincerely, a fellow Sea King

MAY 26, 2020

SENIORS

Class of 2020: In-State destinations American Musical & Dramatic Academy Nicholas Fair California Baptist University Lexi Guerrero California Institute of the Arts Kody Nelson Cal Poly Pomona Makoa Parslow Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Paige Arai Luc Balcom Canyon Bates Josie Bohannon Kyle Cross Katie Harris Gabrielle Mavar Anna Privett Gretchen Richter Lauren Shirley Stephanie Tom Emily Vitanatchi Wolfgang Weiss Matthew Wilhem Alana Wood CSU Chico Shannon Aguilar Ezra Galvin Danielle Nilsson CSU Fullerton Brianna Bugle Blake D’Angelo Paul Mance CSU Long Beach Liora Hess Addison Kostrencich Amanda Price CSU Los Angeles Leilani Carancho CSU Maritime Academy Mason McElroy CSU Northridge Bianca D Alfonso CSU San Marcos Lucy Battelle

MAY 26, 2020

Chapman University Eliana Harrison Sophia Greenberg McKinley Pieper Alexandros Tsiboukas Cypress College Anthony Habif El Camino College William Arnold Claudia Aldrete Neven Bacoka Max Banuelos Sean Campbell Samuel Cervana Cole Chelf Joy Collier Dylan Cosgrove Brianna Covarrubias Isabella Dileva Alexyss Gordon Cole Hajek Brian Hernanndez Bodie Hoover Megan Ho Anna Horeczko Ryan Hynes Breanna Jackson Zackary Johnson Iman Mashayekh Michael Matson Logan McKay Nicolas Mendez Alyssa Miramontes Michael Mizuguchi Ben Nader Emily Paulson Andrew Pena Mikenna Reisenauer Sage Roth-Berg Seven Smith-Mercer Harlan Smith Brody Susnjar Nikki Tom Anthony Vuoso Aidan Waters Jasmine Wright Kasra Youssofi Ziya Zeigler Long Beach City College Justin Booth Los Angeles Harbor College Allison Austin Brent Becker Jake Brusick Joseph Gutierrez Amelia Kaveladze

Los Angeles Film School

San Francisco State University

Karli Gregory

Heather Bryant Sebastian Delgado Smith Isabella Perry Glenys Rich Marco Robles

Loyala Marymount University Daniel Cross Mary DiBernardo Francisco Moore Samuel Takano Emily Yoon Mount Saint Mary’s University Brandon Clark Marymount California University Brittney Brannen Lucas Brown Mahaia Quan-Nguyen Mills College Kate Valente National University Polytechnic Institute Shane Gherardi Occidental College Kyle Ahn Pepperdine University Lexy Baumann Jade Readyhoff Point Loma Nazarene University Ethan Loo Saint Mary’s College of California Joseph Miyashita San Diego State University Ariana Alvarez Lucas Barajas Ashton Lebsack Jason Lee Ariana Mardani Matthew Noland Sophie Rokaw Haley Sanacore Kelli Takahashi Hailey Thompsen Ethan Zaro Santa Clara University Dylan Bartlett Lucas Royston PVHSPOINT.ORG

Santa Barbara City College Mazie Borda Matthew Johantgen Alden Shive Santa Monica College William NicholsonBonnel Robin Quaglio Jacklynn Stoler Stanford University Anton Lok UC Berkeley Min Kim Bradley Knoblauch Isabella Ruiz Carli Will UC Davis Sophia Aleixo Julian Alessi Ivan Barron Alyssa Padron UC Irvine Sean Agahee UCLA Cassidy Amberg Aya Cohen Tyler Knight Kate Lane Jacob Leonard Alicia Mirat Hinano Negishi Caroline Pack Lucy Pluimer Kelsy Sanchez Savannah Scriven Mari Shigekawa Robert Tsai Olivia Yang UC Riverside James Mance AJ Meade-Tatum UC Santa Cruz

UC San Diego Ethan Heffernan Izzie Lanes George Soliman UC Santa Barbara Kai Brady Charline Brenneiser Stefano Finazzo Natalia Gagliano Jessica Gonzalez Mikayla Keshtkar Riley Murakawa Isabella Potter Timothy Silva Chloe Slome Lola Torres Julia Voigt Isabelle Wang University of Redlands Sofia Schakel University of San Francisco Tatiana Blair Tyler Imbach Dennis Kim Sutter Leach University of the Pacific Joanna Choi Hania Taduran University of Southern California Genevieve Burda Chiara Di Camillo Alexis Dugel Morgan Farrier Sean Holt Jerry Klerman Phoebe Lai Alexander Mizrachi Francesco Motamedi Sara Namvari Toby Park Gabriella Rudy Salvatore Russo Nikolas Tempereau Charlotte Tight Jacob Wilson Westmont College Chloe Gonzalez Daniel Johnson Dylan Russell Work: Lifeguard Harrison Harper

Simone Guggenheim Angela Velazquez PAGE 7

Where in the World is the Class of 2020?

Fordh

S

Bar

E

New Y

Washington Seattle University

University of Washington

Matthew Salas

Montana University of Montana

Chloe Blakey Caelan Coffey Kyle Holcomb Annie Ruth Lily Tessler Cali Maguire Charlie Winkworth

University of Puget Sound Katelyn Chekian

Washington State University Aidan Ucmakli

W

Peyton Pope

Nebraska

Zoom University, No Harm Campus Derek Larkins

Oregon

Colorado

University of Oregon Jack Burns Beatriz Cabrera Tori Criss Chen Filler Delanie Guardado Jay Hwang Julia Lamberti Andrew Laurin

Hope Pawar Steven Poletti Mabbode Rahimi Juliette Sussman Grace Teren Jake Trujillo Liam Vlaco

University of Colorado, Boulder

Utah University of Utah

Alexa Cantella Pietra De Gasperis Isabella Gayton Arte Kosar Nicole Medawar Sydney Myrick Kat Nuttman Derek Roah Elena Wingard

Macy Rowland Rex Ringer

Oregon State University

Katherine Mantikas

University of Denver

Arizona University of Arizona Alexis Buda Journey Durroh Grady Hoffman Avery Larkin Max Mandala Thomas Miller

Army

Kheydon Gracie

Grand Canyon University Cameron Brown

Alyson Mottram

Concordia University Jackson Buzby

McGill University

University of Edinburgh Lily Vancans

Colorado State University Kale Meyer Jessica Bhany Caroline Trujillo

Colorado Mesa University Joseph Quinn

Victoria Dileva Anthony Kerker Justine Levy

Northern Arizona University Deklan Ireland Katelin O’Connell

Louisiana Louisiana State University Jack Moore

Texa Texas Christian University

England

City University, London Justin Shaul

Alana Mendez De Magliane

Scotland

Trevor Heise

Arizona State University

Abroad Canada

Colorado School of Mines

Switzerland Franklin University Switzerland Chloe Lendi

Hawaii University of Hawaii Derek McLean

University of Hawaii at Manoa Emily Imbach

Hawaii Pacific University Drake Mohabeer

Ryan Ammann Thomas Dunbar Katherine Kall Nicholas Lee Preston Miller Jenna Parker Andrew Peterson Kate Vuilleumier Greta Wendorff

S

U

Massachusetts

New York

Syracuse University

Brandeis University

Emerson College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Boston College

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

ham University

Sarah Corsaro Adam Real

Peter Fullerton Julie Qiu

Zack Dietl Anna Hill

rnard College

Emma Chang

Grace Hodges

Matthew Smalling

York University

Steven Davis

Boston University

Tufts University

Anna Lim

Gabby Kwon

University of Michigan

University of Wisconsin

Jacob Kawahara Emmy Rener Jason Shimoyama Olivia Spaulding

Morgan Burns Trevor Griffiths

Illinois

Ashley Chon

Connecticut

Michigan

Wisconsin

a

Alexa Lampe Birk Swan

Michigan State University Natalie Pollock Anna Sattler

Yale University Rhiannon Pailet Ryan Pascal

West Michigan University

Penny Pope

Tally Theder

New Jersey

University of IllinoisUrbana Champaign

Rutgers University

Pennsylvania

Evan Kim Eric Park

Carnegie Mellon University

Indiana Walter Moll Michael Mulkey Rhett Wilken

University of New Hampshire

Providence College

Sophia Kang

Indiana University

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Cas Flanagan

University of Chicago

University of New England Jordan White

Sacred Heart University Cole Clinton

Maine

Purdue University

Daniel Arriola Corbin Kunich Erin Magid

Ellie Pearson Nikki Ringer Sidney Rizzo Finley Shannon

Bucknell University

University of the Arts

Niki Mabry

Trent Swenson Eric Wang

Kentucky University of Kentucky

Emily Behrendsen

Kara Gillespie

Washington, DC Georgetown University

Joyce Neubauer

Case Western Reserve University

Kate Kresser

American University

Maryland

United States Naval Academy

Patrick Bloodgood

Ohio University

Vanderbilt University

Megan Gormley

Ariel Campbell Peter Furgis Hannah Paddock

Ohio

Tennessee

University of Tennessee

Penn State University

Madison Ticknor

Anthony D’Ambra

Bradley Nolan

University of Findlay Scarlett Pierson

North Carolina Duke University Ralphie Hageman Carter Harrigian Sophie Munro

Alabama University of Alabama Victoria Barez

as

Southern Methodist University Tanner Hickson Katherine Kemps

Texas A&M University Ella Petak

University of Texas, Austin Dane Dawson

Georgia

University of Georgia Brooke Evans Jake Jellison

Savanhah College of Art and Design Caroline Collins

Florida Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Gap Year April Higa Rene Moore Samantha Stemen

Aubrey Fixen

Florida Institute of Technology Daniel Tanielan

University of Florida Anna DeLeon

*Results from The Point newspaper/Triton yearbook senior surveys, Instagram bios/posts *State placement not to scale

OPINION

A Night to Remember...

When It Finally Happens

By Emily Vitanachi reporter I think it’s safe to say that out of all the things we do in high school that seem so monumental, many end up being insignificant later in life. However, considering how many parents, grandparents, and most people over 40 remember it, prom isn’t an insignificant memory in most people’s lives.

Though we won’t stay close to all the people we knew in high school, the final memories we make together last. The last time you take cliché pictures together on the cliffs and scream Bohemian Rhapsody with people you have known since you were five is a huge milestone.

Due to coronavirus, seniors are losing every senior activity such as graduation, prom, senior breakfast, grad night, ditch day, and even that feeling of walking around campus without a single care.

Missing prom isn’t my biggest concern right now, but when you are stuck at home all day it is hard not to wonder about all the things you could be doing if the circumstances were different.

Senior activities aren’t the worst thing people affected by coronavirus are losing, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t be sad about missing out on milestones and events that we’ve waited years for.

There is a chance that prom may happen in the summer, but in that case, the whole experience may be different due to how long we have all been

apart. We all know life will not just go back to normal overnight, so it just doesn’t make sense that we could pack into party busses and go to a school dance two months from now. Additionally, by July, most people will have made other plans for vacations and college that won’t be cancelled because of prom.

Some colleges have also considered hosting proms for incoming freshmen to compensate. Personally, having a “prom” in college as an incoming freshman doesn’t fill the hole that losing senior year leaves.

Senior prom is not just a school dance; it is the last time that seniors get to dress up and share a memorable experience with close friends.

Honestly, a prom in college would essentially be a glorified welcome week activity since no one knows each other very well yet. I do appreciate that some colleges are making an effort to show that they care about what seniors are losing, but I don’t think that this is the way to do it.

Though there are world issues that are holding us all back from our lives right now, it’s important that seniors, with big life changes coming our way, make the most out of this time. We can’t spend time together in conventional ways, but making sure to show others that you wish you could can keep us connected in a time where it’s so easy to grow apart.

PAGE 10

By Nevin Mann reporter

Overall, I believe that part of the tuition should be refunded to students, including meal plans, room and board, and activities.

This money that families are paying is spent on the tools provided by the college, such as the gyms, lab equipment, libraries, and other things that might not be accessible at home.

These tools that students are paying for in tuition are not being used for the students to learn with, so it is understandable that they would want to receive their money back.

I believe a partial amount of tuition should be given back if possible due to the lack of tools being provided. Certain majors need tools that are vital to learning and cannot access these tools from online learning.

Professors continue to teach and are helping students learn through other resources, which is improving students’ abilities to learn in different ways.

This is a very difficult time in our lives and testing our abilities to learn without the face to face connections, as we are starting to focus on learning through listening and watching through screens. Which for most people can be difficult to adapt to.

Changes in Standardized Testing Can Benefit Students

By Sierra Namvari reporter

(Photo by Emily Vitanatchi)

By Kaylie Harley reporter

(Photo Illustration by Kaylie Harley) freshman, sophomores, and juniors are exhibiting the symptoms of senioritis with an odd twist.

Since time no longer exists, students of all ages have been left confused on what the date is, what classes they are avoiding that day, and if it’s normal to go to sleep when the sun starts coming up.

“These past few months feel like that gap between Christmas and New Year. But with homework,” junior Jennifer Kamholz said.

In response to these revelations, exasperated parents have been searching for ways

Partially Refund Tuition As you have heard, this year’s college students had to be sent back home due to the Coronavirus. Did colleges give back their tuition money that students paid for? Sort of.

Some colleges have refunded their room and board portion of tuition. This was the right move because room and board fees can be around $10,000 without supplies, meal plans and transportation.

The college tuition for the academics side is still being used to pay for professors who are still teaching over different platforms.

Many students still have classes through Zoom and Teams websites.

In most cases the tuition money for classes is not being returned as far as we know and most likely will not be. At Sonoma State, they are not refunding tuition because they are continuing with classes online. The semester tuition makes up most of the cost and it is still being put to use by the students attending colleges during online classes and professors.

Senioritis: The Real Pandemic For hundreds upon thousands of years, doctors and teachers alike have been desperately looking for a cure for one of the severest diseases contracted by teens: senioritis.

Now, in the face of an ongoing quarantine locking students out of the protective walls of high school, rates of senioritis have been higher than ever.

Without the usual motivation to get out of bed everyday, seniors across the nation are expected to experience symptoms including, but not limited to, incomplete assignments, low zoom attendance rates, and sleeping past noon.

In the absence of conventional attendance taking, teachers cannot truly calculate how far this disease has spread.

However, from what has been seen, we could be looking at a global pandemic on top of a global pandemic.

To make matters worse, senioritis seems to have mutated during these past few months.

Instead of only infecting seniors, hundreds of cases have been discovered outside of the 12th grade.

For the first time in history,

Colleges Should

to combat the disease, such as waking their kids up early every morning, assigning extra chores, and taking away phones.

Alas, there seems to be no definitive cure in sight.

Questions have arisen on how to prevent further spread of this heinous disease but, unfortunately, it seems that scientists have caught an extremely rare form of senioritis and are instead focusing on finding a cure for coronavirus.

Obviously, their priorities have been deeply affected.

All we can hope for in this time of despair is a miracle, or summer vacation.

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Due to the stay-at-home orders, it’s uncertain if the Class of 2021 will be able to actually take their SAT and ACT tests.

Because of the this, all UC schools and many other schools, announced that they will no longer be requiring the class of 2021 to include an SAT or ACT score for admissions.

With this change, many juniors might either be more worried or less stressed. This will require colleges to look more at grades, essays, letters of rec, and extracurriculars, rather than their test score.

Since the transition happened so quickly, it might be much harder for students to pick up their grades considering that we’re doing school online. Some juniors were also more focused on test scores rather than their actual in class grades.

Many students who struggle with test taking could be relieved now knowing it’s not going to determine a big part in their college admission. Students who work really hard in school still often struggle with tests in general.

By seeing how the SAT and ACT won’t be required for juniors, it’ll open up the opportunity to explore future options for college admissions if they ever decide to get rid of the testing.

However, if we start to look at the overall picture, many students might also still be upset over the fact that all of their recent studying and prep classes are going to waste.

Although students who have already taken the test are allowed

to still submit it as part of their admission, many of the juniors were planning to take the SAT and ACT this spring. It’s unfair to many juniors considering a lot of people were depending on their test scores this spring to give them a boost if they were hoping to do well.

If you were someone who already took the test ahead of time and think your score can only help you, colleges still want to give students that opportunity.

There is still a chance that the rest of class of 2021 will end up taking their standardized tests, considering the movement is only temporary until further notice.

The chances of them actually getting to take the tests before admissions are due though, are very low.

If we look on the bright side, students who are majoring in more artistic careers or writing paths will have plenty of time on their hands to create better pieces for submissions.

During these days at home and away from other distractions, students have the chance to really submit something that they’re proud of for admissions.

Colleges are also saying that if the class of 2021 were to still end up taking the tests, they would be held during the summer.

Of course this would only happen if things seem to get much better by then. It would be in most people’s best interests as juniors to work hard on grades and admission essays during this time out of school.

For now, students should stay updated on what colleges are going to require over time, considering changes can be made within days.

MAY 26, 2020

OPINION

Zooming or Zoning Out in Class?

By Nicole Medawar reporter & Nikolas Tempereau opinion editor After being allowed into the zoom, I turned my audio on and selected the gallery view.

Immediately, a dark anonymous screen began aggressively shouting out loathsome comments then later displaying sickening photographs. The unknown zoom bomber put up a fight to stay in, but eventually got kicked out.

Zoom has been used by many teachers on campus as a way of substitution for the direct instruction since we cannot be on campus.

Each of the classes usually has a routine throughout the week.

For example, starting off with reviewing the homework and then asking questions that introduces us to a new topic. There are many ups and downs about using zoom.

While in session, a variety of disruptions occur making it difficult for the teachers and students to get through a successful meeting.

For instance, students writing or blurting out inappropriate language or phrases in meetings.

Lately, the meetings are being

locked after teachers accept them in the meeting, students are getting sneaky and finding their way around this changing their name to students enrolled in classes and gaining access.

Anybody is able to enter, interrupting the class with inappropriate language and sometimes racial slurs.

Zoom even updated their program to combat strangers entering, referred to as “Zoom bombers” with waiting rooms and host approval of participants.

However, this has not solved the problem. Zoom bombers can steal an approved students username and enter the class disrupting it.

In my opinion, using zoom at first was enjoyable, it was nice being able to see and speak to a group of friends and still is as we continue to social distance.

I think it is handy that Zoom provides the sharing screen feature, making it a lot easier to follow along.

In my perspective, I found it beneficial when after notes some of my teachers have shared a video relating to the topic then after viewing it the teacher asks if we have questions.

Although, after a while of using zoom, little things like people

talking over one another or sounds in the background became a little tiresome to listen to.

There are many technical difficulties like terrible internet connection cutting sentences short and freezing cameras till you missed half of the topic being discussed. I have experienced the internet connection issues that often kick me out of the meeting. Besides the option of controlling some of the features on the call, Zoom is not the most efficient application.

While technology can be used as a tool for school purposes, it also can be very distracting.

I believe the schools are doing their best to support the students and their education and right now by using zoom.

Zoom is a terribly ineffective way to hold school. The lack of privacy and inability to know

How the US Became so Unprepared for COVID-19

By Aidan Sun reporter The onset of the COVID-19 virus has, to say the least, radically altered our world. It brought death first to China before going on and tormenting the rest of the world. Worse was that, COVID-19 brought a plethora of other problems along with its symptoms.

It’s left us without schools, sports, or social gatherings. It brought fear, anger, and chaos.

It’s brought deadly sickness to some and financial hardship to many.

It’s changed every notion of what we once considered “normal” into something straight out of an apocalypse movie.

We’ve found ourselves frustrated, confined, and confused. We ask ourselves, “how did this come out of nowhere? How do we, the strongest nation in the world, have the largest number of Coronavirus cases?

But while it may seem that we could have done little to prevent this epidemic, many scientists and doctors saw COVID-19 coming.

Our government, our president, could see it coming too.

Yet we were too absorbed in our own problems, too absorbed in our security as the best country in the world that when it finally hit us, months after patient zero was identified, it was too late. We weren’t prepared for its

beginning. And, we failed to act when it had already begun.

As of May 25, the COVID-19 virus has infected 1,706,226 Americans and killed nearly 100,000 - close to the number of Americans killed during the United States’ 19-month involvement in World War I.

What Happened The mismanagement and chaos of the federal government’s COVID-19 response started long before schools, businesses, and homes frantically shuttered their doors on March 13 upon the declaration of a national emergency. (continued on page 16...)

No Safe Shelter for Victims of Domestic Abuse

By Carli Will guest writer

The Coronavirus Lockdown order has enclosed 97% of Americans and many other countries worldwide in order to distinguish the impact of the virus, but new dangers arise with the restriction. Domestic abuse, also called “intimate terrorism,” proves that home may not be the safe shelter the order intended.

At Houston police departments, domestic violence calls increased by 20% from February to March.

North Carolina received 18% more and Phoenix received 6% more domestic abuse calls this March than last (NBC). In California, The inescapable close quarters punctuate the stressors of

MAY 26, 2020

income loss, fear of sickness, and feelings of powerlessness amid the uncertain climate.

The containment feeds the abuser, heightening his or her level of control over other members of the household. Lele, a victim from China, explains that “‘conflicts just grew bigger and bigger and more and more frequent,’” between her abuser and herself, as “Everything was exposed’” (NBC News).

Women like Lele struggle to find a safe place to avoid their abusers-- many don’t have family or friends they may safely stay with (especially if their relatives are older and particularly atrisk) or an income to support themselves.

When Lele reported the

violence to the police, they took a report but provided nothing to ensure her future safety. Other perpetrators weaponize the virus, “threatening to throw their victims out on the street so they get sick” (Time). Shelters refused women, fearing the spread of coronavirus.

While respecting the social distancing order is critical to contain the virus, the immediate threat of domestic violence is itself a public health issue.

Some governments have already begun to utilize vacant hotels and college dormitories as safe havens for victims of abuse, despite controversy about risk of infection.

The government must prioritize the safety of its citizens, whether the perpetrator is human or viral.

PVHSPOINT.ORG

(Illustration by Phoebe Lai) who is in the call poses risks to younger students as zoom bombers can not only use inappropriate language but even screen share inappropriate content.

Zoom hasn’t been able to adapt because these problems arose so quickly.

While these issues persist,

people will need to become accustomed to this way of communication.

As of now, there isn’t a better method or solution to the problems listed.

Hopefully another meeting platform will become popular that has these issues fixed but until then, zoom in.

A+ For Letter Grade Option to Reward Students

By Lucia Ruiz reporter Amidst the chaos of online classes, the PVPUSD has made a decision that will impact all students.

There was controversy over what kind of grading system should be put in place while students adjust to online classes.

The two options were switching to a pass or fail system or keeping letter grades with a “no-harm” system in which a student’s current second semester grade could not drop.

For example, if a student already had an A in a certain class, they would not receive any lower letter, no matter the circumstances.

This should have been an easy decision. Letter grades are superior for many reasons.

For instance, it could stunt the grade point average of students because if they had especially high grades this semester, they would not be rewarded the grades that they worked for, had the district swapped over to pass or fail grading.

Some may argue that GPA would be unaffected.

This is untrue because if a student had grades that would boost their GPA this semester, it would stay the same and all of the hard work would go to waste.

Say, for whatever reason, that next semester, the student’s

grades drop. They would not have a cushion to absorb the shock exerted upon their GPA, and it goes down.

Letter grades were the obvious choice for another reason: by switching to pass or fail, the hard work that many students put in for the entire semester would go to waste. The only people that would benefit from pass or fail grades would be those that have slacked off. They do not deserve to be the ones that are rewarded.

However, a new problem may arise.

The students with adequate grades may consider themselves to be done with school for the year which could harm them if the rest of the class learns material they need to move into a class for next year.

In rebuttal, to have impressive grades, students must have a strong work ethic and motivation to learn, which will not fail them even during these trying times.

If the district had decided on pass or fail grades, the schools would have to switch to the way that the UC system handles the grades: students must have a C or above to pass.

This would mean that students that put in the effort that would earn them an A, would be treated the same as those with a C. So, to the PVPUSD board, congratulations on a decision well-made.

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SPORTS

Softball Season Misses Out on a Final Swing

By Jake Brusick reporter The Sea King softball team was looking to have a very promising 2020 season before it was cut short due to COVID-19. Starting off the year 6-4, the Sea Kings were happy with how they had been playing.

Seniors Addison Kostrencich and Nicole Mabry were looking forward to another amazing season.

“This season was definitely our strongest of all four years. We were playing our very best all the way to the end. I think we would’ve gone undefeated in league again and possibly made a run in CIF,” Kostrencich said.

Having a tough pre-league schedule was a challenge the Sea Kings were ready for this season.

Playing great games against some on the top teams in Southern California gave Mabry her favorite memory of the short 2020 season.

“My favorite memory of this season was playing Gahr High School in the TNT Tournament as our last game,” Mabry said.

“I have friends that I have played with outside of this high school team and we had always talked about playing against each other in my four years of high school, but it didn’t happen until my senior year and coincidentally the last game of my high school career.”

Playing these top teams was certainly

The PVHS Varsity softball team stands for the National Anthem before their home game.

(Photo courtesy of Ed McClure) getting the Sea Kings prepared for their tough league schedule they were looking forward to playing.

This season the Sea Kings were looking to compete for their third straight bay league title and to also make a deep run into CIF this year.

Both seniors were extremely saddened to find out that their final season was ended so abruptly.

No Bump, Set, or Spike for These Seniors

“The saddest part was the day that CIF announced it was all over because we had hope up until that point. This team was something special and we wanted to prove that to everyone,” Kostrencich said.

Not knowing that their last game was going to be their last game in a Sea King uniform made it even tougher for the seniors.

“They always say play every game

Boys Tennis Brought to an Abrupt Halt

By Ethan King reporter The boys tennis season was cancelled due to concern for the Coronavirus and caution for the players’ health. Some players believe this was one of the best teams they have had in years and were disappointed it ended so soon.

“I think we could’ve gotten really far into CIF and maybe even won it which is a real shame since we didn’t get to have a chance to prove ourselves,” senior Wolfie Weiss said.

For many members of the tennis team, they will remember this senior class fondly. “[The Seniors] would always get hyped when I won a point. They were true teammates,” junior Bodi Brannen said.

Seniors on boys volleyball are heartbroken they can’t play this year.

They were 9th in the Southern Section for Division 1.

“This team just felt different because we all genuinely cared for each other like a brotherhood,” senior Grady Hoffman said.

Their team was gearing up for a great season with a new head coach this year.

The team played games away at Redondo Union but never got their home game.

“I was looking forward to all the bus rides we would have taken as a team,” senior Kyle Cross said.

For the seniors, this was their last chance to try and get a top spot in league

PAGE 12

and CIF. The boys wanted to try their best competing against schools like Mira Costa and Redondo.

“I was looking forward to CIF, I never expected it to end this way,” senior Kheydon Gracie said.

Before games, the boys would go together to eat and after practice they would play games on the computer.

They were just a really close team off the court as well as on it. Now, they still are close even though they can’t play “I just wanted to enjoy every moment I could with my friends and go out to compete every time because that was the best feeling for me,” Hoffman said.

Next year, the team will need the underclassmen to step up as they will be losing eight seniors.

The team was 1-2 when the season came to an end, after starting the season facing some of the toughest competition in the state.

“I was looking forward to spending my last season with my teammates and making a run in CIF,” senior Nikolas Tempereau said. “We had a really strong team and were ready to bond.”

For seniors, this was an especially difficult way to say goodbye to their high school golf careers.

“I will most my teammates the most and all the memories that we missed out on,” Weiss said.

“While it is disappointing not being able to see everything this team could have acomplished this year,” Tempereau said. “I am grateful for my past four years playing tennis for PV High.”

Swim Team Aims for Bay League Redemption

(Photo courtesy of Rex Ringer)

By Nikki Ringer social media editor

like it’s your last and for all the seniors out there that quote really stuck with us when we found out we weren’t going to be wearing our school jerseys again,” Mabry said.

Both seniors had amazing careers at PV high. Both Kostrencich and Mabry will be attending Division 1 schools to continue their softball careers but will both certainly miss representing the Sea Kings.

By Sarah Liu news editor Prior to the closure of the campus, the 2020 spring season was supposed to be one of great growth for the swim team.

With the introduction of a new head coach, Scott Papard, the group aspired to rise in the ranks of the Bay League and set their sights specifically on beating Redondo Union High School at their upcoming meet.

This year, varsity swimmers added morning practices twice a week from 5:30 to 7 am to their schedule, in addition to their two-hour afternoon practices.

Papard also strongly encouraged daily

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practices with more difficult workouts than what some of the swimmers were used to.

“There definitely was some progress that was made because of how hard we were working and the new level of intensity that our practices had,” senior and Varsity captain Justin Shaul said.

Girls Varsity captain and senior Emma Chang said, “The new coach had been really great with improving the strokes of a lot of swimmers, which has helped a lot of us drop time in our events.”

After placing last at 2019 Bay League Championships, the team, now smaller, was working for redemption.

“We were working really hard to get to that goal,” Shaul said. “We were definitely going in an upward direction.”

MAY 26, 2020

SPORTS Golden Quaran-Team

Running, No Matter the Situation

By Claire Hardesty sports editor

(Photo courtesy of Ed McClure)

By Emily Typrowicz reporter As the reigning LA champions, PVHS girls lacrosse was the team to beat this season. With a loss of twelve valuable seniors last season, the team had many new players. It was hard to know what to expect of them until the start of season.

“Our first couple of games we struggled and were not connecting as a team but we started getting into a groove and played better as a team,” senior Aubrey Fixen said.

At the start of the season they were having a hard time pulling out some wins. They worked hard and got closer, being able to work better together.

Since they were a new and younger team, expectations were different than years past.

“I was really hoping for a good season. I wanted the team to get close and to bring back that team culture we might have lost when the 12 seniors graduated last year,” senior Lily Vancans said.

Seniors Fixen and Vancans have been on varsity since freshman year.

This year they were named varsity captains and led the team to becoming a family.

With the quick end to season, Fixen and Vancans were upset that they could not have the senior day they waited for since freshman year.

Although they had a quick end

to season, they were able to end it with a few strong games and took some wins.

“Harper Skeie shot a behind the back in the middle of a game, everyone was really hyped,” Fixen said.

During the quarantine, the captains have been putting together fun challenges for the team and keeping the bond together.

Along with the normal Zoom calls they have had Tik Tok challenges. They passed the ball through the video and even did family Tik Toks.

With team bonding, they have been checking in with them and trying to motivate the team to continue working on their lacrosse skills and fitness.

Boys Golf Ends Before First Match

By Ethan King reporter The boys golf season came to an abrupt halt after school was shut down due to the Coronavirus. The Varsity team had only played in one tournament and had yet to play a match.

For the Seniors, this was a very sad way to see their season end, but they still cherish the

memories they had from the past four years on the team.

“My best memories from the last three years are getting up before sunrise for tournaments, team dinners, and just spending time with the boys on the course”, senior Alex Mizrachi said.

Several players had high hopes coming into the season. Last year, PV lost to Pen by a few strokes and many anticipated PV golf would beat them this season.

“I think this season would have

gone pretty good. It would have been a lot of fun” senior Bodie Hoover said.

I was personally looking forward to playing in some tournaments and enjoying nature on the course, but sadly the season came to an end just as it had started.

The graduating seniors this year will not be going on to play for colleges, but most will continue to play golf on the side.

Coming off incredible cross country seasons, the seniors of PV High’s track and field team were looking toward an amazing season.

The disappointment cannot be ignored, but these durable senior athletes keep themselves motivated and focused on their futures but also reflect on their lost time wearing their high school stripes and racing alongside (Photo their teammates.

A few of the girls from the two-time CIF winning team reflected on their lost seasons.

“I was looking forward to finishing off my senior year strong. I knew this was my last ever season of highschool sports so I really wanted to give it my all because it would be something I remembered forever,” senior Savannah Scriven said.

“I was looking forward to my last chance to race on the track alongside my teammates in high school,” senior Natalia Gagliano said.

“I would say I was also really looking forward to finally getting to run times I never thought were possible as a freshman.”

Although running a time trial alone isn’t ideal, senior Matthew Smalling hit an incredible mark in the 800 meters despite circumstances.

“It was very exciting to be able to continue to hit my goals even during quarantine, when I ran the 1:59 I saw that I came through the 400 in a high 57 and was able to push the third 200 really hard. I realized that I might not get another chance as good as this,” Smalling said.

courtesy of Natalia Gagliano) Although these seniors missed out on running in CIF, big relay meets like the Penn Relays and Arcadia, and missed out on time with their teammates, all of these runners have stayed highly motivated during this time, to continue pushing themselves to get where they want to be.

“I am staying motivated by realizing how fun and nice it feels to go out for a run,” Gagliano said.

“I also feel motivated by setting goals for myself and also remembering that my teammates are also working hard during these times, so I should get out of the house and push myself despite the lack of assurance of what the future holds.”

Seniors of all sports have lost valuable high school experiences not only competitively, but also time with their team and coaches of four years.

These seniors have been leaders for the rest of the team, and it is a common hope that they get through this time with some positives on the other side.

Unfinished Business for Boy’s LAX

By Emily Typrowicz reporter The boys’ lacrosse team had big expectations as they were going into season. They had a main goal in mind which they worked for all year: winning the CIF Championship.

“I had very high expectations this year, we were really talented all across the board and had unreal team chemistry. We were going places for sure,” senior varsity captain Cole Clinton said.

Along with winning the championship, the team was excited to play out of state teams and get a chance to play long-time rival, Loyola.

PV and Loyola lacrosse have had a rival since the very beginning. Each year these

MAY 26, 2020

teams face each other to see who will come out on top. Every season they are the two teams to beat.

“We see them in the championship every year so it has turned into a deep rivalry that I think will always be there for the two teams,” senior varsity captain Birk Swan said.

The team is well-known for always being a good match. During the season they came out and beat all of the teams they faced. Their record was 5-0, beating teams by large numbers.

“My favorite game we played was the Mira Costa game. I remember how highly anticipated that game was and I believe we executed very well,” senior Joey Quinn said.

Going into the game they took it very seriously knowing they could be a strong

match up. Working hard in the practices leading up to the game. They ended up beating Mira Costa 19-5.

As the season came to an end, captains Quinn, Jake Jellison, Swan, and Clinton continued to keep the boys motivated.

They have been checking in on each other with oom calls and making sure everyone is doing well. To stay in shape, they have been doing wall ball, shooting and running.

“Don’t take your team for granted,” Swan said. “They can be closer than family after a while.”

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(Photo courtesy of Cole Clinton) PAGE 13

NEWS

Baseball Amidst Pandemic: Heading Home With No Score

By Jake Brusick reporter COVID-19 has brought a halt to spring sports across the country and at PVHS, one sport that has certainly been hurt by spring season being canceled is baseball.

The varsity team for this year’s Kings featured 17 seniors. This group of seniors was a very tight-knit group of kids who for the most part, have all been playing together since 7th grade, so receiving a text to find out that they had all most likely played together for the last time was extremely heartbreaking for the Senior 17.

Thankfully the graduating class is thrilled that they did get to make a few memories in their last

(Photo courtesy of Lisa Roah) season together.

The Sea Kings baseball this year finished with a record of 6-5. Four of those losses were by one run, a sign of hard fought games this year. One of those six wins came against a top city section team, Banning High School, which was a majority of the senior’s favorite games of the year.

After pitcher junior Ryan Anderson threw a perfect game into the 7th inning with a four run lead, things quickly changed for the Kings and they suddenly found themselves down two runs in the last inning. This was a defining moment for the team as the seniors pulled together before mounting a three-run comeback

in the last inning.

“The way we all came together at the end [of the Banning game] to pull off that win was insane,” Westmont-bound outfielder Daniel Johson said when asked about what his favorite game of the short season was.

The Kings played two more games before the season came to a sudden halt and the season’s end could not have come at a worse time for the Kings.

The varsity squad enjoyed saying, “The Kings are hot.” And they indeed were at the time the season came to a halt which made it all even harder for the seniors to realize their season was done.

“I started feeling more

COVID-19 Shakes Up Student Workers’ Status Quo Article and graphic by Sarah Liu news editor While classmates hurried to adjust to a new way of learning from home, student workers at PVHS had to adjust to a new reality at their jobs, too. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a stay-at-home order on March 16, with restaurants, grocery stores and drug stores deemed essential businesses.

For junior Daniel Belzberg, a Trader Joes crew member, and senior Drake Mohabeer, an El Pollo Inka host, server and busser, it was not business as usual. For Mohabeer, the stay-at-home order mean that his hours were drastically cut due to a decrease in personnel inside the restaurant. El Pollo Inka management has not called him into work for the past few months, due to dine-in services coming to a halt. However, the restaurant remains open for takeout orders by phone and online delivery services such as DoorDash and Postmates.

“I’d say they only have one person in the front and the kitchen staff has probably been cut in half now,” Mohabeer said. “There’s only probably five people in the restaurant every day now, whereas it used to be probably at least 15.”

Belzberg, who is currently taking personal leave from Trader Joes, was still on the job when

PAGE 14

the store began taking serious safety precautions. At the Golden Cove store, only a certain amount of people are let in to shop at a time, with customers having to wait outside the store in a line that follows the social-distancing rules of staying at least six feet apart. Additionally, customers are told that social distancing is in effect inside the store, and

that for the sake of maintaining inventory, they cannot purchase more than two units of any one item.

“The first two weeks [when US residents began to worry about the Coronavirus]… was easily the easiest workweek I’ve ever had,” Belzberg said. “My job pretty much is based around there being products on the shelves and when there’s absolutely nothing to sell.”

When citizens in the US began seeing social distancing and quarantining as a necessity, the store frequently sold out 80 to 90 percent of their products for around two weeks. Eventually, they would have 40 to 50 percent of their inventory still in stock in the morning that would sell out by night. However, a few weeks into the lockdown, “things settled out and we’re back to pretty much full inventory,” Belzberg said.

“The average amount per sale tripled,” he said. “We went from the average transaction being about 40 dollars to over 115 dollars.”

Mohabeer is currently not getting paid for his time off of work, but the restaurant is trying to do their part to help their employees by offering two free meals a day, which he believes is a helpful option for employees who provide food for themselves and their families. As for Trader Joe’s, Belzberg has not noticed any significant cut in hours for their employees, but instead a stronger sense of community between his coworkers.

“At times, [the stay-at-home order] makes work easier, but of course, everyone’s slightly afraid, if not… outright afraid,” Belzberg said. “I would say that people’s attitudes almost became more community-like because of this feeling that everyone’s in this together.”

PVHSPOINT.ORG

comfortable at the plate right as the season ended and I think as a team we all were and we were starting to play really well together,” Texas Christian University-bound outfielder Andrew Peterson said.

This year’s varsity squad truly believed they could have been something special and is devastated that they won’t get to see what they could have done.

“I felt that our team could have turned into something amazing as the season progressed,” Johnson said. This group certainly had a special bond and they are all going to miss being on the field together every day.

“Being with all the guys playing for the same team written

across our chests, it is just really heartbreaking to know we ever have that again,” Washington University-bound pitcher Kyle Holcomb said.

The three seniors interviewed for this article all had one common answer when asked about what advice they would give to underclassmen: be proud to be able to call yourself a Sea King baseball player and to cherish every moment on that field you guys have together because it certainly flies by and will be gone in the blink of an eye.

To the 2020 varsity baseball team, a cheers to all of you for what you guys have done these last four years.

Class of 2021’s Junior Grind Comes to a Stand-Still

By Sydney Lyle reporter The Coronavirus pandemic has dramatically altered the expectations for juniors as they enter their senior year, as the Class of 2021 struggles to cope with a new normal during their most important academic year of high school is put on hold.

With the cancellation of testing dates and extracurriculars, many juniors are starting to feel the pressure.

It is unclear what colleges will expect when juniors begin the application process. With the ACT and SAT becoming optional for select schools, students wonder how their applications will be evaluated if they withhold their test scores.

According to College and Career Center director, Joanne Lewis, highly selective colleges “will rely on a very holistic method of evaluating applicants that does not place a big weight on a test score.”

Devyn Hall is “pleased to know that they will be looking more into student narrative.”

Quarantine has given colleges the opportunity to view applicants in a way that has not have been done in previous years, making it possible that candidates can be accepted regardless of an exceptional test score.

As activities are put on hold, juniors may lack

accomplishments to add to their applications. However, there are still ways that students can demonstrate colleges how they would contribute to campus life.

“Colleges are going to rely on how students define themselves or set themselves apart by how they responded to this crisis and how they chose to use the time they were not able to participate in their traditional extracurriculars,” Lewis said.

Student-athletes looking to continue their sports in college have been especially impacted.

With the cancellation of practices, games and important showcases, many Sea Kings are disappointed that scouting may be postponed.

Some Sea Kings are taking matters into their own hands.

“Now, all I can do to get college coaches to be interested is send them emails and keep updating my highlight video,” Peyton Eberhard said. She had planned to attend a soccer showcase to demonstrate her talents, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Eberhard has been maintaining her skills through virtual practices with her teams.

Whether studying or trying to pick up new skills, students have been recommened to do things that they genuinely enjoy and show their authenticity to colleges if asked what activities they participated in while in quarantine.

MAY 26, 2020

High Schools and Colleges Adapt for Pandemic

By Fin Kehrli reporter As the COVID-19 virus has spread rapidly throughout the United States, it has wreaked havoc on communities, businesses, and ways of life. However, one of the most dramatic changes, especially for Sea Kings, has been the shakeup of high school grading and college admission for the Class of 2021.

Online school has posed many challenges, especially to students who thrive through face-to-face contact with teachers or need a rigid schedule in order to complete their work.

Junior Samantha Laurin created a petition in order to keep a letter grade system as supposed to pass/fail.

“The pass/fail system would only benefit the students who put in minimal effort in school and would harm the students who strive to achieve academic success,” she argued.

PVPUSD has decided to keep their letter grade system but is preventing

students’ grades drop any lower than the grade they earned in the third quarter.

College admissions have also changed dramatically.

Because the SAT and ACT have cancelled testing dates, students do not have as much time or as many opportunities to take these tests as years past. As a result, many leading universities such as the UC system have become “test-optional” schools.

The Class of 2020 has arguably taken the biggest hit from this pandemic.

The annual Europe trip was cancelled.

Graduation, prom, and all senior activities are all in limbo.

“I was really looking forward to the Europe trip, but then that got cancelled.

Now I don’t even know if I can go to Fordham in the fall,” senior Sarah Corsaro said.

While life as high school students know it has been disrupted, both students, faculty and educational systems alike have been quick to usher in a new normal.

FEATURES CARES Act Aims to Provide Economic Relief

By Chloe Slome centerspread editor On March 27, President Donald Trump signed into law a two trillion dollar relief bill, known as the Stimulus Bill or the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic (CARES) Act. The bill is the largest emergency aid package in US history and will provide emergency assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.The bill includes student loan payment suspensions through Sept.

30. Unemployment insurance gives the unemployed an additional $600 a week for four months, and the Treasury Department’s $500 billion loan lending program.

The bill provides a one-time, direct payment to American citizens who filed taxes in the last year and possess a social security number. Americans making less than $75,000 will receive direct payments of $1,200. Married couples with adjusted gross incomes less than $150,000 will

receive $2,400, and an additional $500 per child.

Senior Sophia Kang has been personally affected by the Coronavirus.

“I was hoping the stimulus payment would be a lot more generous and for it to be distributed a lot faster... [I] know a lot of families including mine are struggling to pay bills, rent, and other expenses so it’s just frustrating,” Kang said.

The Los Angeles Times discovered the bill excludes millions of tax-paying immigrants who are not US citizens from receiving the stimulus payment. It also blocks US citizens who file a joint tax return with a spouse who does not have a social security number from receiving the payment, unless one spouse is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.

While the government has mobilized to help American citizens and businesses affected by the Coronavirus through the stimulus bill, the situation is ever changing as new information is released on a daily basis from local,state, and federal governments.

Finding the Calm Within the Chaos of Coronavirus

By Aurora Khatibi Garrity reporter On March 12 at 8 pm, PVPUSD fired the shot heard ‘round the world, igniting shouts of happiness from students of Palos Verdes High School. We now had the ultimate freedom: school was closed. Naturally, I spent the passing days with my friends until that, too, was canceled. As of March 19th, I’ve been complying with California’s mandatory stay-at-home order to combat the coronavirus.

Reflecting on my month isolated from society, I can safely report that I have never felt better.

For high schoolers, the months of February and March are notorious for few breaks, which results in many late nights of stress-induced AP cramming, and very little sleep. The Coronavirus has hit pause on the fast-paced American lifestyle, allowing those who were bogged down by school to get more than six hours of sleep and explore different interests or hobbies, and even follow passions for which they never had time beforehand.

As students learn from home, they get a glimpse of the independent college learning lifestyle, and with the help of one-hour Zoom calls--the new framework for learning-students can socialize and learn comfortably, even if they prefer to do it in bed with snacks in their pajamas.

It’s understandable to think that the coronavirus has brought only chaos to society. However, the long term effects of quarantine may be a gift. Families now have the opportunity to learn to communicate effectively to resolve conflicts and work out differences and form deeper bonds with family members, or rebuild relationships. Some countries have stepped up to cooperate and confer with

MAY 26, 2020

Illustration by Aurora Khatibi Garrity each other to try to address the pandemic, promoting unity.

And some leaders’ capabilities and biases have been exposed throughout layers of government both domestically and internationally.

Environmental activism is stronger than ever, as the worldwide lockdown has revealed tremendous environmental benefits. As more individuals worked from home, the demand for oil decreased, leading to a decrease in the extraction of natural resources that increase air and water pollution. According to the World Health Organization, “air pollution [is] responsible for about 7 million deaths

globally per year…” meaning this decrease in human activity outside the home, although a temporary solution for a decrease in emitted air pollutants, may save individuals from premature death.

This brief period has allowed and continues to allow allow Earth to rebalance from years of negative human impact, and it may be just what humanity needs to create and solidify change to decrease the speed of global warming.

According to the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite, the atmospheric levels of nitrogen dioxide over Los Angeles were lower in the first

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two weeks of March than last March.

However, as people go back to work, increasing traffic and the need for oil, and the economy goes back into the double-digits, these beneficial short-term effects of the coronavirus will dissolve.

This eye-opener to the main cause of global warming-humans-- can benefit society if we treat climate change like we are treating the pandemic. That is, by proactively accounting and planning for all unknowns and actively working to prevent damage and loss, we can decrease the rate of or even reverse global warming.

Many families have been quick to practice better hygiene by washing their hands, and most, like mine, have made a project out of sanitizing each piece of food from the grocery store.

As our once-busy lives come to a halt, I suggest humanity embrace the calm in the chaos, and take such steps as practicing self-care to finally beginning the crazy projects one dreamed about, to fulfilling one’s inner child’s yearnings for unscheduled leisure, desires the daily grind of life often prevented one from embracing.

Remember, this will make a great story for your children and grandchildren, for years to come.

PAGE 15

OPINION

How the US Became so Unprepared for COVID-19

By Aidan Sun reporter (continued from page 11...)

Turmoil, disorganization, and failure to act can not only be found in the weeks and days leading up to social distancing measures being emplaced, but also in the months and even years before.

In April 2018, under the direction of President Donald Trump, ex-National Security Advisor, John Bolton, dismantled the national security team in charge of handling a pandemiclike emergency.

Along with proposing a $12.2 billion cut in funding to the Department of Health and Human Service during the fiscal year 2020 coupled with cuts to public health programs, the White House made it clear that public health was not a high priority.

Presidents of the past of both parties knew the potential hazard a pandemic could pose to the United States which is why for years we as a nation have valued public funding for healthcare not only as a social service but also as an integral part of our national security.

Yet when it came to President Trump and NSA Bolton, this possibility was too preposterous to even consider.

According to an ABC News investigation, the US government knew about the outbreak of a new virulent disease in Wuhan an entire month before the World Health Organization and the Chinese government gave first official reports.

Briefings to members of the federal government from the military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence were given in late November 2019, warning of a possible “cataclysmic event” that could ensue should the virus spread across the globe.

Analysts from the NCMI warned that the US needed to prepare in case the virus got out of hand - something that was already happening in China.

A few weeks later, in early December 2019, information about this unknown virus began showing up in President Trump’s daily briefing.

However, without official information coming out of China or the WHO, no action was taken and the threat was dismissed.

On December 31 the first official reports of the Coronavirus’ emergence in Wuhan began reaching the WHO and the world media became aware as well.

But, the reports seemingly downplayed the magnitude of dangers that the COVID-19 virus posed to China and the rest of the world. The WHO, China, and media all worked in conjunction to inform us of how little we had to worry about the Coronavirus.

And so we believed them.

Despite this though, our federal intelligence agencies knew about the danger the Coronavirus posed to our wellbeing but no lawmaker, Democrat or Republican, seemed to heed their warnings. These reports and memos by various government agencies would continue throughout January as Wuhan began to lockdown, other countries reported their first cases, and the first evidence of

MAY 26, 2020

chaos was shown on TV. But it seems our legislature and executive branch were too entrenched in their impeachment proceedings and personal egos to inform the public and properly secure funding to prepare for a possible public health and economic disaster.

The first case of Coronavirus was reported in the United States on January 21, 2020.

At this time, it is reasonable to assume that the federal government would begin to take action and they did, just not well enough. On January 29, the White House Coronavirus Task Force was formed.

However, by some accounts, this task force met for only ten minutes at most on some days.

And the task force did not even come into the public eye until late February when Vice President Mike Pence was placed in charge of the task force in place of Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar and press briefings began to be held.

On January 31, Trump boldly emplaced travel restrictions on China to try to prevent those with infections from coming in. But by that time, 300,000 people had already traveled from China to the US that month, some likely bringing COVID-19 with them.

By February, the Coronavirus seemed under control. But many disease experts were still sounding alarms warning our federal government that without adequate testing, we couldn’t truly know how many COVID-19 cases were in the US. But still, the government did little to assuage their worries.

“Again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done,” President Trump said at a press conference on February 26. This quote accurately reflects the number of actions our president and his cabinet took to combat COVID-19 before the March 13 lockdowns: down close to zero.

In early March, the federal government announced the expansion of testing as countries like Italy, Iran, and Spain saw cases rise exponentially. By this time it was too late. Hotspots in Washington, California, and New York made headlines.

Schools began to close. The stock market began to plummet.

The task force and the White House finally began to make us aware of the threat we were facing when guidelines and a declaration of a national emergency were announced on March 13, 52 days after the first case was reported in the US and more than three months after our government first became aware of the COVID-19 threat.

As hospitals cried out for more equipment and the number of cases, deaths, and unemployed soared, it became clear that the US was not prepared.

What Should Have Happened

South Korea confirmed its first case within the same 24 hour period as the United States.

And yet the early responses of the United States government when compared to that of the South Korean government are

completely different.

In South Korea, government officials immediately sprang into action following advice from the scientific community. Testing was immediately made a priority to identify which members of society were at risk of spreading COVID-19 so those citizens could self-isolate and prevent their friends and neighbors from getting sick. Citizens wore masks and temperatures were checked.

In addition, South Korea mass implemented contact tracing and efforts to spread information and data about Coronavirus hotspots, symptoms, and cases to its citizens - all integral parts of “flattening the curve.”

Meanwhile little was seen out of our federal government.

By March 8, South Korea had tested 189,236 of its citizens.

Meanwhile, by the same date, the US had only tested 1,707 people.

South Korea has a population 84% smaller than that of the United States and yet somehow had done 99.1% more tests. As a result of South Korea’s testing and early efforts in combating the virus, today the country has cases hovering around 11,000.

A country of 52 million with so few cases, when compared to a state like New York with a population of 8 million where 300 thousand people have been infected, should be a clear sign that we should have done more Through more testing, we could have accurately identified where Coronavirus hotspots were located in order to better allocate resources to affected areas.

Large scale testing is the key to isolating the infected, protecting the vulnerable, and identifying future hotspots before hospitals suddenly become overwhelmed.

Still, more than two months after the declaration of a national emergency, testing is still an issue here in the US. We have just recently reached 15 million total tests. And, while that may seem like a lot, many experts say that by summer’s end, we need to be at 26 million tests per day in order to “return to normal.”

The White House has refused to assist states in the procurement of tests and implement national contact tracing, instead forcing governors and other local

leadership to handle the COVID-19 crisis on their own.

Without centralized testing mechanisms in place, smaller states are unable to secure needed testing, leaving them vulnerable to new outbreaks.

From the moment we identified our first case, we should have been making sure every American knew the possibility that a pandemic could ensue.

We should have prepared our businesses, local governments, and hospitals to deal with the Coronavirus and how to adapt to ensure the safety of others.

A stimulus package should have been passed in early March when it became clear that the national emergency would cause panicked closures of businesses across the United States.

We should have adapted as well by pausing payments on things like student loans, prepared our schools with resources to teach online, provided broadband to poor rural areas of America, and provided mental health assistance for the vulnerable and those working on the frontlines.

Throughout February, the least we could have done was prepare protective equipment and ventilators so that shortages would not be an issue by enacting the Defense Production Act early on to produce this needed equipment.

The DPA gives the President the ability to force businesses to produce materials integral to US national security.

President Trump has used it sparingly since March 23 when he made car manufacturer, General Motors, produce ventilators. He’s only used it twice since then to bolster the production of N95 respirators and to controversially force meat processing plants to remain open during this pandemic.

Almost daily, hospitals can be seen desperately asking for more medical equipment to help protect their doctors, as well as to treat patients. It is integral that President Trump increase the number of manufacturers producing tests, PPE, and other essential equipment, especially as we prepare for an inevitable second wave.

What Happens Now

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Until a viable vaccine or cure is created it’s hard to see how we can go back to our normal routines. Even with a vaccine too, it’s not guaranteed that we’d all be protected.

The reopening of businesses and public spaces including our school will happen over a gradual period of many months in a series of phases.

In order to reopen a decent portion of businesses and schools safely, scientists say we must reach the 26 million test per day mark which we are far from.

And, even when we do repopen, things will look entirely different as we are starting to see places like the parks and beaches open with restrictions. We’ll likely all wear masks, stay mostly apart, and still avoid large public gatherings and non-essential travel, at least those of use with rationale.

It’s likely that this summer won’t be filled with vacations. It’s likely we’ll see many more sick and others dead too. And it’s far more likely that we will continue to change the way we live rather than go back to the way we were.

The gun-touting protestors are sure to continue their efforts to put an end to the public safety measures and places are indeed reopening.

However, the virus is still far from gone. It’s important that we listen to those who truly know this virus, not those who merely claim they do. True leadership will come from those who recognize the facts and openly try to solve them, and not those who wish them away with blaring distractions and boasts.

COVID-19’s disappearance is far off, and its enablers’ even further The months ahead are filled with more unknowns than certainties.

But what is certain is that we must continue to support our essential workers and others hit hard by the effects of this virus by wearing masks in public spaces, respecting law enforcement, and supporting Coronavirus relief efforts.

We must continue to stay safe by heeding the advice of our medical and scientific professionals for guidance, and rely on facts and evidence, not rumors or conspiracy theories.

Healthcare for Everyone is Necessary

By Curtis Liu online editor

A global pandemic has shaken up the world in many ways, including health and economics. Healthcare plays an important role during the most challenging times, and these flaws are often exposed by serious outbreaks that leave many challenges regarding health.

The United States lacks insurance coverage. More than 27 million people were uninsured in 2016 and this number has only gone up since then. Generally speaking, there are two different types of insurance plans: Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). HMO is

PVHSPOINT.ORG

cheaper but requires a primary care physician (PCP). Referrals are necessary via PCP. This complex system eventually leads to high costs, often more than the general population can afford.

High costs can also be attributed to technology improvements, economic growth, and aging.

Germany created the first healthcare system back in the days of Otto von Bismarck. The healthcare system is financially reasonable, however, doctors generally earn less money under this system. Employers also cannot penalize you for switching from public to private insurance, and a combination of both to satisfy your needs is possible.

There are also fewer prescription dependency issues in Germany

because there is less drug abuse compared to the United States.

Japan also has top notch healthcare. It is provided free for Japanese citizens, expatriates, and foreigners. Its system has played a large role in Japan’s lead as the nation with the highest life expectancy.

More importantly, it operates on a non-profit business model, further demonstrating its prioritization of health.

In order for health responses to be quicker, one thing is for sure: healthcare must be provided to everyone. However, this process is unlikely to be implemented due to immobile economic structures in our society.

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