75:05 Feb. 24, 2023

The Cougar Press

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“Dealing with fear is the key to super success.”- Dan Peña

VHS soccer team earns title of Channel League Champs

VHS Girls Soccer Team beats rival team to take first place in league

On Jan. 31, the VHS Girls Soccer Team won their game against cross town rivals Buena High School, which enabled them to win the title of Channel League Champions. After winning games against rivals such as Pacifica High School, Oxnard High School and more, they rose in ranking to be number one in the league.

Esja Moore ‘23, a forward player, said, “Well we work really hard in preseason. We do a lot of running and getting into shape and we continue that through the season but we just keep our practices very focused and we all worked really hard and we worked on improving as a team and individually so that definitely prepared us.”

Head Coach Todd Tackett said, “[My favorite part was] beating Buena because we had to beat them, and it was at their place, and the history between Buena and Ventura has been so crazy over

the last 40 years. Ventura has only beaten Buena twice in 40 years. Since I took over, we were able to beat them eight times. So, I’m the only girls coach to have a winning record against Buena so it’s kind of cool to be able to have that and to go into that last game and know we needed to win, and to be able to win 2-0. It really felt great. We celebrated by taking a picture [where] I’m holding up a bulldog that’s dressed in Ventura colors, so that was kind of cool.”

The game ended with a 2-0 win for VHS and the official title of Channel League Champions. Throughout the season, VHS has won 14 times, lost four times and tied once. The win against BHS enabled them to acquire an 80 percent overall win rate on Max Preps.

Moore said, “Our team dynamic [helped us win] like how close everyone is and there’s a lot of seniors and we have really great senior leadership so that’s helped a lot. Our seniors are mentors to the younger girls and we are really close because we have been playing with each other

since we were really young. So that definitely played a role and then also coaches that have pushed us from the start also the coaches wanted what we wanted so that really helped.”

Moore said, “I really like [playing] forward because it’s really exciting, and I get a rush of adrenaline a lot because I’m fast and at times

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have breakaways or I get to shoot and the feeling of scoring or almost scoring is just so exciting.”

Tackett said, “[My goals] this year [are] we want to try and win the CIF championship and go on to state and hopefully repeat as state champions like we did in 2017.”

core”: How accurate is the aesthetic to the art?

VHS varsity girls basketball wins the first round of CIF

The girls won 21 games and lost eight in the regular season. They came out as first in Channel League and 12th in Division 2AA.

league and lost three times.

The VHS varsity girls basketball team lost in the second round of CIF finals to San Clemente High School. While the loss ended the team’s season, thier last win of the year, in round one, shows the young team has promise.

The team’s last win of the year came in the first round of CIF, on Feb. 9 against La Serna High School. They battled to the win after coming off wins against Buena High School and Oxnard High School.

The girls basketball team has won 11 times in

About the La Serna win, Skyler Knight ‘24, one of the shooting guards for the team this year said, “I feel pleased about my performance tonight, got some good shots in and a few fast break lays.”

Knight said, “My favorite part of the season so far has to be when we played Oxnard for the second time. It was a critical game, deciding if we won the league or not. The intensity was out the roof, and there was a ton of pressure on me to do well. Luckily my shot was on, and we ended up winning. As a bonus, l had a season high of 34 points and I beat the school record of threes in a game.”

The score after halftime of the La Serna game was 31 to eight with VHS in the lead.

Larson said, “We scouted the opponent, we had about four different game films on them that the coaches all watched. [We] learned their tendencies and taught that to the kids over the last week.”

Abigail Escalante ‘23, plays center for the team. She said, “I would say the best part of the season was getting to play with my best friend [Ryan Maquinalez ‘23] and getting to know other players like Saana Jormalainen ‘23. Just having our senior trio has been a lot of fun.”

Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 Visit

The team only has three seniors this year, the ratio of seniors is much smaller compared to other teams at VHS.

Escalante ‘23.

Ann Larson is the coach of the girls basketball team. She has been a coach at VHS for 23 years. The Cougars’ preparation for this game allowed them to see the outcome that they wanted against La Serna.

“We are a very young team. They’re very happy with each other, they like each other, they’re a very well bonded group of players and they are having fun playing the game,” said Larson.

The game ended with a score of 60 to 16, with VHS winning.

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Moore (number 4) said, “The Channel League Championship is the team that gets first place in the league with the most wins. Sometimes there’s a tie, but it’s not usually a tie. If there’s a tie they go by goal differential or they flip a coin.”

Photo by: Joe Curley

The Cougars won the tip off with the help of a VHS player, Sarah Beckman ‘25. “We’ve improved so much since the beginning of the season and we’ve been working a lot this past week learning some things about [La Serna],” said Abigail

Photo by: Belen Hibbler

Graphic by: Belen Hibbler

Foto por: Alexis Segovia

Weston Blackburn

Alexis Segovia

Blowout win against La Serna High School, last win of successful season before second round loss

Isabel Andrade

Lourdes Almalab

Belen Hibbler

Julian Martinez

Book drive to raise books for Malawian children

FTHS imported the two-month-long book drive to VHS

AlejandroNameHernandez

From Jan. 7 to March 7, VHS students can donate pre-K through eighth-grade level books to the Girl Up book drive. The book drive is run out of English teacher James Locher’s room 208, though there are also donation boxes in English teachers Erin Jones’ room 209 and Mary Dietz’s room 211. The book drive’s goal is to collect 1,000 books by March

7 for the construction of a library in Malawi.

Foothill Technology High School’s Girl Up club created the book drive, and it extended the book drive to VHS due to its skepticism of reaching its 1,000 book donation goal at FTHS. FTHS Girl Up club co-president and student Claire Hadley ‘24 and co-communications director and student Natalie Schermer ‘24 organized the book drive through

the African Library Project. Schermer contacted VHS and Buena High School for their support.

Hadley said, “Getting 1,000 books is going to be really difficult with a small school like Foothill so we wanted to extend it to Ventura and Buena so Natalie reached out to [them]. Ventura was the only school that responded. We just don’t have the student body to [donate] all the books we need.”

Schermer said, “I emailed Mrs. Larson because I found out she’s the ASB director. Then Mr. Locher reached out to me and [said] he would really like to help. We had been in contact and he decided to help out.”

Locher said, “[Hadley and Schermer] brought the boxes to me at the start of January. Mrs. Larson forwarded an email to teachers to see who might be interested in supporting these two young ladies. I know Natalie

Schrermer from years ago. I was happy to help them.”

The FTHS Girl Up club must spend $650 to ship its donated books to Malawi and is planning to hold a garage sale in late February.

Hadley said, “We’ve been giving our money to the Girl Up organization. What they do with it is they go to different areas across the world and help women who are poor, like they’ll do

Cassie’s Cats: a cat lounge and adoption center

A place to take a break, relax and pet some cats

AceNameRico

Soraya Stegall

Dogs are a ‘man’s best friend’, but what about cats? Cassie’s Cats, on 1744 East Main St. in Ventura is a peaceful sanctuary for the city’s furry residents.

Founded by Jennifer Thompson, this lounge and adoption center for rescued cats is a non-profit organization with all funds going directly back into helping homeless cats.

According to Cat Cafe, cat cafes originated in Asia and are especially popular in countries such as Japan and Singapore. Many housing establishments in these countries prohibit pet ownership, so cat cafes allow

cat lovers to interact with their furry friends and escape from the stress of their everyday lives.

Andrea Ruvalcaba ‘23 said “I have two cats. I haven’t been to [a cat cafe] but I want to go.”

Thompson’s inspiration to start a cat lounge stemmed from her love of cats. When Thompson began visiting cat lounges in Santa Barbara, she made her decision it was time to start up a cat cafe of her own.

Thompson said, “I retired from working fulltime four years ago and started channeling that energy into opening this. I love cats, I want to help cats, I like to be around cats, I like to be around people who love cats.”

The name was inspired by Thompson’s childhood companion,

Editors

Managing Editor

Cassie, Thompson’s first cat. Thompson and Cassie had a loving relationship that lasted 18 years. One of the first things people will notice when they step into Cassie’s Cats is the large canvasprint picture of Thomson’s beloved companion hanging above her desk.

A volunteer at Cassie’s Cats, Maddy Wohlreich said, “I actually visited [a cat cafe] in Japan years ago when I was traveling. When I read on Facebook that somebody was starting to collect money to open a cat cafe here in Ventura, I immediately contacted [Thompson] and said I wanted to be involved. I’m [volunteer] two afternoons a week and help out other times.”

Donations are accepted as all money donated to their company

goes directly back into helping homeless kittens and cats find them a forever home. Volunteer work is also highly valued at Cassie’s Cats. Volunteers as young as 14 are welcome with the consent of a parent or guardian. Those

drives for women. They’ll educate them. They’ll put together fundraisers in different countries that will give beneficial money to women so they can make their lives better.” Schermer said, “We wanted to do a book drive in general. We thought Girl Up would be [a good option] because they’re about education, so we thought partnering [with them] would be a good idea.”

16 and over do not need a parent’s consent. Cassie’s Cats is a unique provider for not only spending leisurely time with furry friends but also having the opportunity to give one a home.

Staff

Lourdes Almalab

Isabel Andrade

Jane Armstrong

Weston Blackburn

Samantha Castañeda

Leslie Castro

Adi De Clerck

Davin Dedman

Kendall Garcia

Halle Gentry

Jayden Gentry

Santiago Gonzales

Lia Hersh

Belen Hibbler

Ruby Lacques

Julian Martinez

Angelica Matehuala

Kinda Mehael

Christian Montecino

Christopher Morrison

Hugh Murphy

Miles Newman

Anastasia Nisky

Savanna Nustad-Franzen

Brianna Ramirez

Ace Rico

Katie Rundle

Alexis Segovia

Soraya Stegall

Nicklaus Shelton

Jocelyn Wood

Ava Mohror

Avery Cameron Sophia Nacu

Editor-in-Chief Print Social Media

Alejandro Hernandez

The main area of Cassie’s Cats where visitors can lounge and play with the cats. Photo by: Ace Rico

Sophia Denzler

Assistant ME

Isabella Fierros

Online

There are book drive donation boxes in rooms 208, 209 and 211.

Photo by: Alejandro Hernandez

English teacher James Locher, who runs the Girl Up book drive at Ventura High School, has collected 50 books as of Jan. 11.

Photo by: Alejandro Hernandez

Brody Daw

Assistant EIC

Emily Nguyen

Assistant ME

KendallNameGarcia

On Campus

VHS girls basketball shows promise for the future and wins in the present

Beckman finished with seven points on the night and led the team with nine rebounds. Beckman said, “During the Oxnard game I think we came out strong and threw them for a loop for sure. They weren’t expecting to lose that game. I think as a team we can work on slowing down and playing our own game, not speeding up or dropping down to the other team’s level. I think that I rebounded and played defense pretty well.”

VHS cheer squad shows their spirit for the team with a sequence of cheers to keep the crowd engaged. Kenley O’Steen ‘26 is lifted by the squad during a time out.

are improving daily.”

VHS Dance Program holds its annual showcase

Paisley Rae ‘25, a hip hop team member, said, “My favorite performance [in the showcase was] ‘Divas.’ It is about women’s empowerment and the dance definitely brings a confidence boost to the whole team.”

Olivia Blomquist ‘25 said, “I love being on [the] dance team because all the girls become your family, and you can rely on one another.”

For their final solo performance, VHS Dance Team performed “Dead or Alive.” Blomquist said, “My favorite thing about performing [is] when the crowd cheers us on.” Photo by: Leslie Castro

‘24 (pictured No. 25) shoots a free throw. Knight finished with 10 points and four rebounds on the night. Coach Larson said, “Skyler Knight and Sarah Beckman both played outstanding [defense] on [OHS’s] two best players”.

Guard

is wholesome.”

Mission Statement

The Cougar Press is a completely student-run, public forum of the Ventura High School community. We strive to present all sides of an issue fairly and without bias while being as resourceful to our readers as possible. From time to time, we make an error. When this happens, we try to correct it as soon as possible. Students and community members are encouraged to write for The Cougar Press and to submit photos and videos. We welcome all submissions but may edit them for clarity and brevity. This public forum is only as good as the community support it receives.

Contact us at thecougarpressvhs@gmail.com

Sarah Beckman (center) ‘25 said, “I think the toughest thing for us to overcome was not being scared to lose, just playing our own game and playing hard.”

Photo by: Ella Montano

VHS guard Kailee Staniland ‘26 (pictured No. 23) scores a point. Staniland was the team’s leading scorer that night, with 19 points and five assists, leading her team to victory. Larson said, “We have a young team and I’m excited for the future.”

Photo by: Ella Montano

Photo by: Ella Montano

Emily Rea ‘26 (pictured No. 22) makes a free throw, one out of her six points of the night. Larson said, “I think it has been a very successful season so far. Our record isn’t what it has been in past years, but I think we

Photo by: Ella Montano

The

Photo by: Ella Montano

Skyler Knight

Photo by: Ella Montano

Ella Montano Miles Newman

Photo by: Leslie Castro

Photo by: Leslie Castro

VHS Dance One class followed up with a performance titled “Wind It Up.” Vanelly Tapia ‘24 said, “I really like hip hop and it’s fun [to perform].” Photo by: Angelica Matehuala

The VHS Hip Hop Team kicked off the showcase with the new dance “JLO Medley.”

Photo by: Angelica Matehuala

Ivana Rico ‘23, captain of the hip hop team (center), said, “My favorite part about being on the team has to be the bonding that happens before any games or performances. The endless laughs and memories being created

Photo by: Leslie Castro

Angelica Matehuala Leslie Castro

Movie Reviews

Chaos occurs when a young girl moves to a new city

“Spirited Away” depicts a lost girl in a spirit world trying to save her parents and get back home

Brianna Ramirez

“Spirited Away” is an animated motion picture from Japan created by Hayao Miyazaki. It was released in the U.S. on Aug. 31, 2002. The film won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

Spirited Away takes place in early 2000’s Japan and is centered around a 10-yearold girl named Chihiro, who has just moved to a new town. On the way to their new home, Chihiro’s parents find an arrangement of food sitting outside a restaurant near a bathhouse and eat it, resulting in them transforming into pigs.

A boy named Haku, who can shapeshift into a dragon, finds Chihiro and explains to her what happened and what she needs to do. They must enter the spirit world to set her parents free, and upon returning to their own world, he tells Chihiro that she must work in the bathhouse owned by a spirit named Yubaba, who changes Chihiro’s name to Sen and makes her forget

“Spirited Away” is the only Non-English-Language animated film to have won an Oscar. Graphic By: Brianna Ramirez her true name. Along the way, Chihiro makes friends as she works to survive in the spirit world and save her parents. While Chihiro is working in the bathhouse, she accidentally leaves the window open, letting in a spirit called “No Face,” who creates gold with his hands for people that give him food and becomes obsessed with Chihiro because she has let him in. Once there’s no more food left, he starts to eat the other spirits, and Chihiro is the only one that can stop him.

Toward the end of the movie, Chihiro remembered

What is wrong with “Girl Interrupted”

Mental illness depicted in movies can be revolutionary but over romanticized, why is that?

that when she was little, she fell into a river and was carried to safety, the Kohaku River. Chihiro tells Haku she thinks he was the river. When he hears his actual name, Haku’s dragon scales fall away, and he turns back into a boy.

When they get back to the bathhouse, Yubaba shows Chihiro a pig pen and tells her that if she can correctly guess which pigs are her parents, then they will be turned back into humans and be set free with Chihiro.

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

“Girl Interrupted,” tackles important topics of mental illness and portrays the hardships that arise from being a teenage girl with mental health issues. Graphic by: Jane Armstrong it depicts mental illness and life within mental asylums. It glamorizes mental illness and many girls end up looking up to a sociopath like Lisa Rowe, instead of seeing her faults and struggles as a real person.”

The romanticization of suffering and mental illness within our society today is prevalent. The need for validation and a sense of security has been rooted within our peers and us since we were children, and this movie has shown us just how correct that statement is.

“Waves:” Movie Review

Soraya Stegall

The 2019 film

“Waves,” starring Taylor Russell and Alexa Demie, is a work of the independent film company A24. The company has released other iconic

night a tragic accident due to his negligence causes him to destroy the rest of his life and any chance at a future.

Sloane Feingold ‘23 said, “That was so devastating and totally out of nowhere. I feel so bad for his family. I feel like he had no right to do that even though he was having some problems with himself. It was messed up.”

The film does a great job portraying the difficulties of understanding mental illness and how it affects each person uniquely. All of the girls in the film are young teenagers having to deal with the added struggles of mental illness to their already complicated lives. We get to see what life is like for these girls, who each see the world through such different lenses.

films such as “Moonlight,” “The Florida Project” and “Midsommar.” Directed by Trey Edward Shults, it tells the story of a suburban AfricanAmerican family dealing with loss as they navigate through pain, love, hatred, and forgiveness all while being soundtracked by iconic artists such as Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi and Animal Collective.

Tyler Williams and his girlfriend, Alexis. Graphic by Soraya Stegall

“Waves” is a two hour film split into two parts. The first part tells the story of Tyler Williams, a senior in high school devoted to athletics, specifically football and wrestling. When Williams learns that he is suffering from a level 5 SLAP tear, he continues to participate in sports against the recommendation of his doctor until his shoulder is further injured during a

wrestling match. With an end to Williams’ athletic career which he heavily devoted so much time and energy to, he begins a downward spiral of pent up anger, frustration and drug abuse. Factors such as his short-lived athletic path, fights with his girlfriend and controlling father Ronald Williams push him over the edge. Over the course of the next few weeks William’s anger leads him to physical retaliation, and on one fateful

Tyler’s emotional outburst and the consequences following it signify some of man’s worst evils: arrogance and inflexibility. Due to his stubborn mindedness, enabled primarily by his father, Williams ignored his increasing anger issues despite those around him voicing their concerns. He pushed and pushed himself until he finally broke in an irreparable way. This devastating story of wasted potential tells a tragic tale of how heavily our environment can affect our mental health, even pushing us to do the unthinkable.

When we are in an environment where we feel trapped and unable to express our emotions in healthy ways it can lead us to act out in anger, not always because we want to do harm to ourselves or others but because we feel there is no other way to cope.

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

“Girl Interrupted,” written by Susanna Kaysen in 1993, was adapted into a film in 1999 by James Mangold. This cult-classic film about mental health has become a staple in our movie lists, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have our reservations. The film is based on a true story and the author’s personal experiences with being admitted to a psychiatric facility for her borderline personality disorder in the late 1960s. The 17-year-old main character, Susanna Kaysen, played by Winona Ryder, is admitted into a mental institution and is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Kaysen meets Lisa Rowe, played by Angelina Jolie, who has been at the institution for eight years and is a diagnosed sociopath. Susanna idolizes Lisa, and they get into a lot of trouble together.

The representation of mental illness lies within the movie’s characters. There is Janet, the anorexic, Cynthia with depression, Pretty Polly who was burned in a house fire and diagnosed with schizophrenia, Georgina a pathological liar, Daisy who suffers from OCD, an eating disorder and the post traumatic stress from her father’s sexual abuse. We are submerged in the lives of these girls within this mental institute, and we can’t do anything to help them.

Sloane Feingold ‘23 said, “[Girl, Interrupted] is one of my favorite movies, but there’s a lot of things that rub me the wrong way about how

It is also important to remember the film is set in the 60’s. Whereas if this were to happen now, Susanna would have been hospitalized and treated for a brief period of time, in the 1960s it was considered more abnormal and constituted a lengthy stay at a mental institution. The film serves as a reminder of how poorly the mentally ill were treated then and how we should not treat someone any less human because of their mental health.

Avry Girstman ‘25 said, “I liked the movie a lot, but one of my main criticisms is the way it diagnosed people with homosexuality, like it’s a disorder. I know that this was set back then and that homosexuality wasn’t normalized, but I just hate that they made Cynthia feel crazy for the way she was.”

Susanna sums up all of these ideas perfectly in a defining quote from the movie, “Maybe I was really crazy, maybe it was the 60’s or just a girl, interrupted.” This encapsulates her feeling of being an outsider when mental health issues were not as normalized and the added struggles of being a teenage girl having to go through such a traumatic incident.

Sophia Nacu

“Waves:” A journey of forgiveness and coming together in the wake of loss

Anastasia Nisky

Julian Martinez

Jane Armstrong

Movie Reviews

Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” is a raw portrayal of obesity as a manifestation of misery

When trailers for director Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” released, audiences were unsure of what to expect from its seemingly humiliating title paired with the excessively large character of Charlie. Aronofksy’s filmography, however, hinted at the possible intention of his newest film.

Two of his most successful movies, “Requiem for a Dream” and “Black Swan,” both encompassed the topic of addiction, with the first film depicting drug addiction and the latter depicting an addiction to performing and striving for perfection. Likewise, “The Whale” portrays an addiction to food, something extremely prevalent in the U.S. but commonly viewed with less severity than drug or alcohol addiction.

Obesity in the media is often either glorified or mocked, with plus-size models being praised by the public while TLC shows such as “My 600-Lb. Life” are viewed as a source of entertainment for the audience to humiliate. Aronofsky’s film is a fresh contrast from

Book vs. movie: “Bones and All”

Is the book always better? Yes

Luca Guadagnino’s 2022 film “Bones and All,” starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet, is a coming-of-age story that follows Russell’s character, Maren Yearly, in the 1980s as an 18-year-old cannibal on a road trip through the Midwest to find her mother who abandoned her. Along the way, she meets other “eaters” like her, including Mark Rylance’s Sully, and her romantic interest in the film, Chalamet’s Lee.

switching characters’ ages, and spotlighting the romance, whereas, in DeAngelis’ novel, it was a mere subplot.

Cece Perez ‘23 has not read the novel but rated the film four out of five. Perez said, “I thought [the film] was so good [and] at some points it got kinda boring but it picked back up. It was so appealing to watch.”

these two extremities, as “The Whale” invites sympathy from its audience and does not attempt to glamorize nor demean Charlie’s weight and his struggles. Instead, it offers a raw and extremely vulnerable portrayal of obesity through graphic scenes of binge-eating in addition to scenes that depict Charlie’s difficulty in performing menial tasks, such as shaving or dressing himself.

Sophie Gonzalez

Rundle those struggling with obesity instead of making fun of it.” Charlie’s backstory helps the audience to sympathize with his state, as obesity is often judged without contemplation into what led that person to acquire so much weight in the first place. His partner, a man raised in a very religious family, killed himself due to his own religious uncertainty regarding whether his sexuality was a sin or not along with his family’s disapproval of his relationship.

‘23 said, “I haven’t seen [‘The Whale’], but I think the concept is interesting and I’m glad the purpose of the film is to sympathize with

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

Guadagnino’s film was based on Camille DeAngelis’ 2017 novel of the same name and adapted to a film by screenwriter David Kajganich.

Before I watched the film I read the novel, which I enjoyed more than the film. It’s a very faced paced young adult genre that I’d recommend to everyone interested, regardless if they’ve seen the film first.

Kajganich made lots of changes when writing the script, including gender swapping characters,

I think I enjoyed the novel more because of the narration from Yearly. It was much more relatable and interesting reading from 16-year-old Yearly’s point of view, whereas in the film, she was 18 because she was a much more developed and multi-dimensional character. In the film, filmmakers seemed to focus more on cannibalism and romance plots instead of the characters. Overall it was much easier to relate and sympathize with a cannibal by reading than watching.

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” is a promising frontrunner for this year’s Oscars

The absurdist multiverse drama is nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including best picture

Jane Armstrong

The 2022 film

“Everything Everywhere All

At Once” is a bizarre and heartwarming drama directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo also known

as The Daniels. The film stars

Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, known for his early roles in “Indiana Jones” and “The Goonies.”

Evelyn and Waymond

The directors of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, are known for their extremist humor and have worked on other projects together including “Swiss Army Man” and DJ Snake’s “Turn Down for What” music video. Graphic by: Jane Armstrong

Wang, played by Yeoh and Quan, are ChineseAmerican immigrants who run a laundromat business and encounter trouble when they are audited by an IRS agent Deirdre, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Like many immigrants coming to America, Evelyn has realized that the American dream is no more than a dream and faces the harsh realities of having to take care of her elderly father, a husband filing for divorce and the struggles of being an immigrant whose first language is Cantonese. Evelyn is also struggling to accept her teenage daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, when she brings her girlfriend Becky to their Lunar New Year party. During a meeting with the IRS, Evelyn is greeted by an alternate version of her husband from another universe and is tasked to save

the multiverse from an evil variant of her daughter Joy. The film tackles meaningful topics of parenthood, love and generational gaps in an humorous and extremist way that has viewers laughing and crying, sometimes all at once (hence its title).

Evelyn is tossed into hundreds of alternate universes within the multiverse where she sees different versions of what her life could have become. She experiences a universe where she is a famous movie star, a rock and even one where she has hotdogs for fingers and is lovers with the IRS agent, Deirdre. Even with the absurdity of the variants, the movie is heartwarming and portrays deep and important themes. In the universe where Evelyn is a famous Kung-Fu action star and Waymond is a businessman, they are unable

to be together because of their differing lifestyles. As he leaves Evelyn, Waymond says, “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”

Jasmine Bruns ‘23 said, “I liked how the movie built up all this chaos and craziness only to make us realize none of it really mattered and how it connects to the film’s inherent themes of life.” Through these experiences, Evelyn comes to many realizations. She grows to appreciate her family and accept her daughter for who she is. She acknowledges the generational trauma caused by her traditionalist father and chooses to break the cycle and treat her daughter better than her father treated her.

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

The full title of the novel “Moby Dick” is “Moby Dick or, The Whale,” the latter which the title of Aronofsky’s film takes from. Graphic by: Katie

Avery Cameron

Aronofsky’s film reminds audiences that a person’s humanity does not reside in their physical appearance Katie Rundle

VHS teachers discuss their opinions about ChatGPT

ChatGPT has brought up many questions from both students and staff. How will this affect teaching and learning in the future? The website ChatGPT is able to write an entire essay in seconds. All users need to do is insert a topic. The website also never produces the same essay twice, even if you insert the same topic multiple times. Each time users will receive a brand new essay.

VHS science teacher

Woody Maxwell said, “The website is a really big deal in research. People are highly concerned about [students] forging research papers because ChatGPT has access to everything on the internet.”

VHS English teacher

Greg Raney said, “My first reaction was oh no, students already dislike writing in general and this isn’t going to help them like it anymore. In fact it will make it easier for them to side step the actual writing process which is important. So one of my responses was to ignore it and just kind of be in denial.”

However, the website is currently unable to write

Write a 200 word article about whether Ventura High School students should or shouldn’t use

ChatGPT

We asked ChatGPT to write an article on itself, and this was the result

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a website created

think this will push me as a writng teacher

I expect students to write

how I

by: Kendall Garcia opinion pieces, over time it has the resources to evolve into something that could. Currently, ChatGPT can only write based on facts it finds on the internet.

VHS English teacher

Elizabeth Mainz said, “I’ve heard about ChatGPT but I haven’t gone around and played with it yet. So far I think it’s really smart, it’s a thing that [students] can definitely use to make their lives easier but, you know I trust my students to do the stuff I’m asking them to do.

I hope that the change in my

curriculum will be that I’m giving them something that they don’t feel the need to use it for. I want my assignments to be something that [my students] enjoy doing or that they’ll see the value of doing. I’m sure [ChatGPT] will pop up at some point but there’s always things like this that come up as AI gets smarter.” The website is currently in its trial period accounts are free to make and is available for anyone 18 years and older.

Continued on. . . thecougarpress.org

ChatGPT is a cutting-edge language model developed by OpenAI that has revolutionized the way we interact with machines. This model is capable of generating human-like responses to a wide range of text-based queries, making it an invaluable tool for businesses, researchers, and individuals alike.

At its core, ChatGPT is a deep learning model that has been trained on vast amounts of text data, ranging from news articles and scientific papers to social media posts and online forums. By analyzing this data and learning to identify patterns and relationships between words and phrases, ChatGPT has become incredibly proficient at generating natural-sounding responses to a variety of inputs.

One of the most

remarkable things about ChatGPT is its versatility. This language model can handle a wide range of tasks, from answering factual questions and providing recommendations to engaging in open-ended conversations and even creative writing. Its ability to generate coherent and engaging text makes it an invaluable resource for a variety of applications, from customer service bots to chat-based therapy tools. Despite its many strengths, ChatGPT is not without its limitations. Like all AI models, it is only as good as the data it has been trained on, and it can sometimes struggle with complex or nuanced inputs. Nevertheless, its ability to generate text that is often indistinguishable from that produced by a human makes it a fascinating and valuable tool for anyone interested in the cutting-edge of artificial intelligence.

VUSD controls what the student body can and cannot see on their chromebooks

School-issued Chromebooks contain restrictive software to limit student browsing Miles Newman chromebooks, with restrictions being placed on videos that are deemed inappropriate. Restricted videos are hidden from YouTube search results, and attempting to click on one in Google search results displays the message, “This video is restricted. It must be approved for you to view it.”

Hugh Murphy

All students at VHS are given Chromebooks for use in and outside of class. These laptops are on a district-managed operating system, which regulates the software that can be downloaded and the websites that students can visit.

YouTube, a popular platform among teachers and students for educational content and entertainment, is also regulated on students’

Ventura Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Gregory Bayless said, “All public school districts, including VUSD of course, have

federal/state legal requirements [COPPA and CIPA] they must meet when providing internet access to minors that prevents them from viewing inappropriate material online.

Additionally, VUSD is a ‘Google District’ as many districts are [e.g., Google emails for students/ staff, organization – level Google license, automatic settings like ‘safe search’, etc.], and YouTube is a Google-owned company. Similar to ‘Safe Search’ mode in Google, with YouTube we are set up in ‘Restricted Mode,’ so they make decisions about what is allowable in that mode or not.”

Teachers are given unregulated access to YouTube and thus can show their students content in class, but the ability of students to view content on their own time is limited. VHS economics and history of American music teacher, Christian Gallo, said, “I think [YouTube] should be regulated in a school but the

things that [the district] is regulating don’t make sense to me like the financial content and the content for my music history class. They couldn’t pull up old clips of Elvis or The Beatles, those videos were blocked on the students’ end. I get why they’re doing it but I think they need to have more of a hands on policy, picking and choosing what is shown.”

For many students, their Chromebook is their only point of access to the internet besides their phone. The regulation of YouTube can prevent these students from accessing all of the information that could benefit their education.

Bennett Torgerson

‘23 said, “VUSD’s regulation of YouTube can damage how students learn. Not being able to see the comments on YouTube videos can harm what a student is learning as often times those comments can correct what the original poster made mistakes on. Students may not have

access to other devices at home, so having certain videos blocked out stops the student from finding videos that could help their education.”

The regulation of YouTube by VUSD is set by state and federal laws and by the district’s partnership with Google, but there is still the possibility for change.

Bayless said, “I’d love to have a system that allowed us to authorize videos at the grade-level specific level, but that’s not possible.”

Gallo said, “If it was more in our control and not in Google’s hands, [teachers] would have the ability to … judge what they are and aren’t able to show and [be able to] unblock content for students.”

Torgerson said, “I would change the system to let students see the likes and comments on videos. I also wouldn’t block out any videos because we should have access to whatever content can help us.”

by OpenAI. Raney said, “I

to think more carefully about what

and

expect them to write.” Graphic

ChatGPT is a chatbot that was launched in November of 2022 by OpenAI Kendall Garcia

YouTube is available on all student Chromebooks and is utilized by students and teachers to further the goal of education. However, the version of YouTube available to students is censored. Graphic by: Hugh Murphy

The role the world of social media plays in teen relationships

Can social media jeopardize healthy relationships and cause issues of trust and dishonesty?

Soraya Stegall

Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, the list goes on, social media apps like these have embedded themselves into our daily lives and has replaced face-

to-face communication with a fluorescent screen for many. Communication is easier than ever now and media can be shared and seen and shared at the speed of light. Social media is one of life’s leisures, but it can also be a breeding ground for issues of trust and honesty, and questioning the legitimacy of one’s relationship as a whole between romantic partners. It can be easy to let what we see online scare us

into overthinking. Cliche as it is, what is portrayed on social media is oftentimes altered and far from reality. Just because you see a TikTok of a girl whose boyfriend writes her love notes every morning, and yours doesn’t, does not mean yours is cheating on you.

Isaac Lopez ‘23, who has been in a committed relationship with his partner for over a year said, “Everyone is different and everyone’s relationship is different. If you know your [partner] I don’t think [social media] should affect your relationship.”

Despite the whole purpose of social media being about the public, it can encourage a lot of secrecy. With the press of a button, you can find anything you want. That’s the easy part, and apps such as Instagram allow users to see who likes posts, this is where problems in relationships can brew.

Oftentimes we come across some pretty risque things on social media while scrolling through our feed, and the posts someone like can tell you a lot about them, Instagram models are an example. It’s already hard enough for teenagers to feel good about themselves in a world full of ever-changing beauty standards.

girl in high school [I] see other girls and [I compare] myself, sometimes I just have to delete [Instagram] and say no.”

When we find our significant others liking suggestive pictures of women or men with unrealistic physical features, it can create a sense of insecurity within the relationship.

This liking of posts may start a lack of respect or trust in a relationship. We believe that if you respect your partner for who they are and what they have to offer, then there shouldn’t be a need to constantly be seeking out other

women or men online for the mere purpose of them being attractive, especially if you have no connection to them whatsoever, but may disagree.

Abby Block ‘23 said, “I’m not even the jealous type but [liking suggestive posts is] weird, that’s just wrong. Guys always like some random Instagram models’ bikini pictures, you don’t have to like it. You don’t have to let the whole world know that you saw that sh*t and you liked it.”

Continued on... thecougarpress.org

What we see on social media can heavily influence our sense of security in relationships. Graphic by:

Bryn Woleslagle ‘23 said, “Going on Instagram as a

Even things that may seem like no big deal, such as liking or commenting on someones post, can cause issues of mistrust in relationships. Graphic by:

What do VHS students think about the one-size-fits-all trend?

In the eyes of VHS students, are one-size-fits-all clothes a hit or miss?

Lately, the “onesize-fits-all” clothing trend has risen in popularity. We wanted to know VHS students’ opinions on it. The one-size-fitsall trend became popular around 2019, especially

with the popularity of the clothing brand “Brandy Melville”, which strictly sells one-size-fits-all clothing. But not everyone can fit in these clothes, the actual sizes aren’t for everyone.

Tops at Brandy Melville range in length from around 18 inches to 22 inches, while the bust is 16 inches to 18

inches. The “oversized” product’s lengths range from roughly 28 inches to 32 inches, while the bust ranges from 22 inches to 28 inches.

This trend is more like “one size fits most,” if you ask us. If we were to walk into the Brandy Melville store and try on a one-size-fits-all item, and it doesn’t fit, we wouldn’t feel good about ourselves. When it says it is supposed to fit everyone, and it doesn’t fit us, we would feel abnormal, and people should feel good about themselves and their bodies.

Ne’John Rice ‘26 said, “Yeah [one-sizefits-all clothing should fit everyone], as long as you wear a belt to keep your pants up.”

Rice said, “I would [wear one-size-fits-all clothes] but it depends on what type of style and what the body positivity statement is. I don’t want to be disrespectful and unfashionable at the same time. I think people wear this type of clothes for fashion more than comfort

because I know I do. Some people just like baggier clothes more, and it’s sort of a trend right now and I think it is comfortable and fashionable honestly.”

colors, and sizes. [I think people wear one size fits all clothing for] comfort because some people like baggier clothing. I don’t think people wear it for

Kinzie Shuman ‘26 said, “I really don’t mind [one size fits all clothing], I like the idea of it. It’s not very hurtful to people. But everyone is all different sizes and not the same.”

“[One-size-fitsall clothing] cannot fit everyone. All people are all different sizes, everyone’s bodies are physically different. Like, different shapes,

fashion because it may not fit them,” Shuman said. Mel Shawgo ‘23 said, “[One-size-fits-all clothing] is a bunch of crap honestly. This type of clothing is just false marketing one hundred percent. There is just no genuine way that one size can fit everybody...”

Continued on... thecougarpress.org

Soraya Stegall

Soraya Stegall and Julian Martinez

VHS students (left to right) Isaac Ramirez ‘23, Carlos Simbara ‘25, Cody Joseph Ortiz ‘24, Brianna Hames ‘25, Alessia Moreno ‘25, Johanna Rames ‘25 and Ansleigh Foster ‘25 all wear one-size-fits-all clothing. Photo by: Lia Hersh

Students (left to right) Delany Polous ‘23, Ani Fermanski ‘23, Caleb Gordon ‘23, Mark Velthoen ‘23, Jacob Crouch ‘23, Harry Solomon ‘23, Henry Rose ‘23 and Jeremy Longmore ‘24 wear one-size-fitsall clothing. Jeremy Longmore says “One size fits all clothes are comfortable” Photo by: Lia Hersh

Julian Martinez

Sophia Nacu

Lia Hersh

Santiago Gonzales

Christopher Morrison

Belen Hibbler

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

Hot, Hot , HOT!

As we move away from January’s cold weather, we start to move into February and March’s warm spring breeze. It’s going to be a big pain for those with allergies or have a problem with pollen, because usually this is the time where allergies and such start to ramp up. Make sure if you have allergies, take your allergy medicine and wear clothes suited for the warm California weather like basketball shorts and a shirt rather than a hoodie and some sweats. Make sure you drink a lot of water so you don’t dehydrate and enjoy your three day weekend.

Cougar Catnips Feast, don’t snack

Why students need to drop the phone and pick up a book

I don’t understand how students are still being indulged in their phones. Books offer so much more to them and are never taken advantage of. Through a book, you can learn about new places and feel connected to characters you read about. Being able to relate to a character allows for a sense of comfort and can be nice when you feel alone or are just in a rough spot in life. Books are also free, and we all have access to so many in the library, so what are you waiting for? Go pick up a book and explore!

This weather sucks!

Can we please talk about this very gloomy and depressing weather in the mornings? Every morning I am so unmotivated to come to school or even get out of bed. I absolutely hate this weather on school days. When I wake up and look outside, all I see is a cloudy, depressing sky. It’s so unmotivating and, frankly, annoying. At least when I’m home, I can be comfy and cozy in my bed. It also sets my mood for the rest of the day because my energy levels just plummet. Let’s hope next month has sunny skies and positive vibes.

The entire concept of snacking seems like a ploy to sell more food. I don’t understand why people don’t fulfill their appetite during a meal that includes real food. I don’t even feel the need to eat outside of a meal. I’m either hungry and going to feast, or I won’t eat anything. Snacking foods don’t even taste good to begin with, as they’re mostly seed oils and processed sugars. There’s no power in potato chips. There’s no power in eating three meals a day. What kind of glutton has the desire to eat more than one or two meals per day, much less three meals and three snacks?

Alejandro Hernandez

Lourdes Almalab

Kinda Mehael

Christian Montecino

Graphic by: Ruby Lacques

Graphic by: Ruby Lacques

Graphic by: Diego Ibarra

Graphic by: Katie Rundle

Graphic by: Kinda Mehael

Graphic by: Sophia Nacu