OPINION/EDITORIAL
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STAFF EDITORIAL Lights flashed and music roared at the Homecoming Dance, “Battle of the Genres,” on Nov. 2. In fact, midway through Rihanna’s dance anthem, “Please Don’t Stop the Music,” the lights flashed so brightly that gyrating students looked upward—into the glare of a police helicopter. The roaring music, as it turned out, had apparently bounced off the back walls of the D. Diane Anderson Humanities Building, across the 73 freeway and into Turtle Ridge and other surrounding communities in Irvine. The residents of those communities called the Irvine police. The Irvine police called the Newport Beach police. The Newport Beach police called Assistant Head of School Patricia Merz, and at 10:17 p.m. Merz took the microphone at the dance to inform the crowd that Homecoming was being shut down. The reactions were instant and jubilant. The entire Sage Hill community seemed to feel the same way: bemused and amused. On all sides, fists thrust into the air with cries of “Sager Rager!” and “YOLO.” Students streamed, beaming, into the parking
lot. Facebook statuses lauded Homecoming as being “shut down harder than the government” and mockingly referenced “Sage Hill Learning” as the reason for the dance’s premature end. Irvine follows California Penal Code 415, which states that noise is illegal when “any person…maliciously and willfully disturbs another person by loud and unreasonable noise,” regardless of the time of day. “The sheer volume and excitement was enough to draw complaints from nearby residents,” said senior Eric Zhang. Without someone complaining that they are being disturbed by the noise, the police can not shut down an event. However, no one seemed worried that the school or the students were in trouble. “We weren’t doing anything wrong,” said sophomore Millie Tanner. “It was just like any other dance.” On the whole, the police interference and earlier-than-planned ending created a stronger bond within the community and a firmer sense of what being a Sage student means. “It literally seemed to us students that we were
“raging” too hard, or in other words, having too much fun,” Zhang said. “ I think we all looked at it as an accomplishment.” This light and lively attitude of having fun despite obstacles and not taking ourselves too seriously will be increasingly important as the school’s Strategic Planning initiative moves forward. We must keep our joie de vivre even as
Sage Hill Publications Staff contact information: www.lightningboltonline.com 14lowet.publications@ gmail.com 14lynngreene.publications@gmail. com www.facebook.com/SageHillSchool @sagehill
Lorenzo Orozco Senior
Henry Damour Junior
A Hirsute Hiatus
Briton Valdez Senior
Gregory “JR” Tolver Athletics Department
Publications Staff
Co-Editors-in-Chief: Tiana Lowe ‘14 and Erika Lynn-Green ‘14 Executive Editors: Nellie Hamadani ‘15, The Sage Hill Storm Michelle Min ’15, The Bolt Online - Joelle Nanula ‘14, The Bolt Managing Editor: Hawken Miller ‘15 Photography Editor: Emily Shimano ‘14 Section Editors: Academics: Claire Goul ‘15 Arts: Namita Prakash ‘16 Online: Kellen Ochi ‘15 and Amelia Tanner ‘16 Seniors: Maddi Bukaty ‘14
Staff:
Sports: Maddy Abbott ‘15 and Kavi Sakraney ‘14 Student Life: Kristin Saroyan ‘16 Underclassmen: Ingrid Dickinson ‘15 and Bailey Super ‘15 Elizabeth Alvarez ‘15 - Cindy Choi ‘16 - Megan Diaz ‘14 - Claire Dwyer ‘16 - Tess Hezlep ‘16 - Selin Karaoguz ‘15 - Rebecca Lynskey ‘14 - Catherine Mai ‘14 - Kandis McGee ‘17 Stephanie Min ‘17 - Brittany Murphy ‘15 - Jackie Nam ‘16 Celine Wang ‘16 - Steven Du ‘16
Publications Adviser: Konnie Krislock